bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preliminary Study on the Effect of Four-phasic Estradiol Valerate and Dienogest (E2V/DNG) Oral Contraceptive on the Quality of Sexual Life
Authors: Caruso Salvatore , Agnello Carmela , Romano Mattea , Cianci Stefano , Lo Presti Lucia , Malandrino Chiara , Cianci Antonio
Published: August 2011

Introduction

A new oral contraceptive containing the natural estrogen estradiol and a 19-nortestosterone derivate dienogest (DNG) in a four-phasic 28-day regimen may be used by women.

Aim

To investigate the quality of sexual life of healthy women on estradiol valerate and DNG (E2V/DNG) oral contraceptive.

Methods

Fifty-seven women (age range 18–48 years) were enrolled. The Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire to assess quality of life (QoL) was administered at baseline and at the 26th day of both the 3rd and 6th cycles of oral contraceptive (OC) intake. The Short Personal Experience Questionnaire (SPEQ) to measure the change of sexual behavior was used at the 2nd, 7th, 14th, 21st, 26th, and 28th days of the baseline cycle, as well as at the same days of both the 3rd and 6th cycle of contraceptive intake.

Main Outcome Measure

The SF-36 and the SPEQ questionnaires.

Results

Women reported QoL improvement at the 3rd (P < 0.05) and at the 6th cycles (P < 0.01). By SPEQ, improvement of sexuality during the 3rd and the 6th cycle with respect to baseline experience was observed (P < 0.05). The frequency of sexual activity remained basically unchanged (P = NS). Enjoyment and desire improved at the 6th cycle with respect to the 3rd cycle (P < 0.05). All women reported decreased dyspareunia at the 3rd and 6th cycles (P < 0.05). Interestingly, desire, arousal, orgasm, enjoyment, and sexual activity improved, reaching a peak around the 14th day of the menstrual cycle (P < 0.05). At the 3rd and 6th cycle, women on OCs were sexually cyclic, but the peak improvement of desire, arousal, orgasm, enjoyment, and sexual activity appeared around the 7th day of OC intake (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Reduced hormone-free interval is a new concept in low-dose OC regimens. Moreover, the E2V/DNG multiphasic extended regimen has been found to positively modify the sexuality of users.
Penile Necrosis due to Priapism Developed After Circumcision in a Patient with Protein S Deficiency
Authors: Canter Halil I. , Coskuner Enis R.
Published: August 2011

Introduction

Hypercoagulable state is a complex condition with an abnormal propensity for thrombosis. The consequences of it due to thrombosis of veins and arteries are the most common cause of sickness.

Aim

The present study is a report of a case describing penis necrosis after circumcision and evaluation of hypercoagulable state as a reason of it.

Methods

Nine-year-old boy referred from another hospital with the sequelae of the penile ischemia with discoloration of the penis after traditional circumcision.

Results

The ischemic event developed 3 weeks after circumcision. Priapism that was treated with needed glandulocavernous shunt initially developed following circumcision. All values of routine blood count and blood biochemical analysis were within normal limits. Further, hematologic studies revealed that there might be a hypercoagulable state as a result of lower protein S level.

Conclusion

Circumcision is a common procedure frequently performed in many communities around the world. Although it is seen as an easy procedure and performed even by unauthorized medical stuff, it is not complication-free. Severe penile necrosis after circumcision should be treated on an individual basis, necessitating different techniques. Hypercoagulable state should be concerned and evaluated in such a complication. In short, circumcision has to be done by specialists who can handle such serious complications.
State‐owned Enterprises' Outward Investment and the Structural Reform in China
Authors: Song Ligang , Yang Jidong , Zhang Yongsheng
Published: August 2011

Since China's accession to the WTO in 2001, China has been on a steep learning curve in terms of engaging in outward direct investment, and state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) have played a predominant role in this drive. We argue that investment overseas by SOEs is a double‐edged sword as far as its impact on domestic reform is concerned. Investing overseas offers opportunities to deepen structural reform in China, but such investment could also strengthen the monopoly position of some SOEs, which is inconsistent with the objective of domestic reform. Therefore, it is important for China to deepen domestic reform with respect to competition, ownership and regulations, to maximize the benefits from investing overseas. The present paper also discusses how building market‐compatible institutions will result in increased innovation. This provides opportunities for Chinese firms to effectively catch up with the advanced technologies to remain competitive in overseas markets.
Combined Effects of Cycled Starvation and Feeding Frequency on Growth and Oxygen Consumption of Gilthead Sea Bream, Sparus aurata
Authors: Yılmaz Hatice Asuman , Eroldogan Orhan Tufan
Published: August 2011

Triplicate groups of gilthead sea bream, Sparus aurata (10.4 g), were distributed among 27 tanks (12 fish per tank) and reared in flow‐through seawater. A factorial experiment (3 × 3) was designed to include a continuously fed control group and two cycled starvation groups: 1 + 3 (starved 1 d, fed 3 d), 1 + 5 (starved 1 d, fed 5 d). Each of the feeding groups was subjected to one of three feeding frequencies (2, 4, and 6 times per day) over the 60‐d experiment duration. The average final weight of fish in 1 + 3 and 1 + 5 groups were significantly lower than that of the control group. Partial compensation was observed in the starved groups subjected to any of the three feeding frequencies. Regardless of the feeding frequency, control fish consumed less feed than the starved groups. The highest body protein content was found in the control group. The rate of oxygen consumption significantly increased 30 min after the feeding and the magnitude of the effect increased with the feeding frequency. These results suggest that the present cycling starvation schedules did not invoke a full compensation in gilthead sea bream.
Evaluation of the Ability of GroBiotic®‐A to Enhance Growth, Muscle Composition, Immune Responses, and Resistance Against Aeromonas hydrophila in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus
Authors: Zheng Z. L. , Wang K. Y. , Gatlin Delbert M. , Ye J. M.
Published: August 2011

This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of graded levels of GroBiotic®‐A to improve performance of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, fed a 29% crude protein (CP) diet. A 29% CP diet was formulated and supplemented with 0, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2% GroBiotic®‐A and compared to performance of fish fed a 33% CP diet. Enhanced weight gain and feed efficiency were generally observed in fish fed the diets supplemented with GroBiotic®‐A compared to the 29% CP diet. No significant differences in these responses were observed between fish fed diets supplemented with GroBiotic®‐A compared to those fed the 33% CP diet. Supplementation of 0.8 and 1.2% GroBiotic®‐A induced significantly lower condition factor and hepatosomatic index compared to fish fed the 29% CP diet, but those values were similar to that of fish fed the 33% CP diet. GroBiotic®‐A supplementation and protein reduction had no effect on the viscerosomatic index of fish or moisture, lipid, and protein content of muscle samples. However, muscle ash increased significantly with protein reduction (29% CP diet), but GroBiotic®‐A supplementation (0.8 and 1.2%) reduced muscle ash content. Activities of catalase and superoxide dismutase were markedly reduced in fish fed GroBiotic®‐A (0.8 and 1.2%) compared to those fed the control diet. GroBiotic®‐A supplementation also induced significantly higher neutrophil oxidative radical production compared to fish fed the 29% CP diet, but no significant difference was observed in comparison with the 33% CP diet. After 8 wk of feeding, exposure to Aeromonas hydrophila for 3 wk resulted in 40% (0.4, 0.8% GroBiotic®‐A) and 27% (1.2% GroBiotic®‐A) mortality and reduced signs of disease, while 47% mortality was observed in fish fed the 29% CP diet. Based on the result of this study, it is concluded that 0.8 and 1.2% GroBiotic®‐A positively influenced growth performance and feed efficiency of tilapia fed diets containing 29% crude protein to levels comparable to fish fed the 33% CP diet. GroBiotic®‐A supplementation also significantly increased neutrophil oxidative radical production as well as resistance to Ae. hydrophila infection.
GnRHa‐induced Multiple Spawns and Volition Spawning of Captive Spotted Rose Snapper, Lutjanus guttatus, at Mazatlan, Mexico
Authors: Ibarra‐Castro Leonardo , Alvarez‐Lajonchère Luis
Published: August 2011

Sexual maturation and induced spawning treatments were carried out with captive spotted rose snapper, Lutjanus guttatus. A total of 3013 × 106 eggs (64.7% were floating) were produced from eight treated females in 42 spawns induced with GnRHa implants during the course of the present study. GnRHa ethylene‐vinyl acetate copolymer effective doses were 204 ± 11 µg/kg in June 2005, and 224 ± 13 µg/kg in July 2005. General fertilization was 50.9 ± 34.5% and 12–14 h after spawning, viability of floating eggs was 90.4 ± 12.4%. Mean incubation period at 29–31 C was 18–20 h, and mean hatching was 94.4 ± 8.2% (73–100%). Newly hatched larvae were 2.18 ± 0.15 mm in total length (TL). One month after the last hormone experiment, previously GnRHa‐treated and untreated fish began spawning voluntarily. Hormone‐treated breeders had higher fecundity than untreated fish, producing 72.5 million eggs versus 13.9 million eggs for the untreated fish, over the following 11 mo. Combined data of volitional spawning for total egg fertilization, viability, hatching, and larval TL were 77.7 ± 1.8%, 90.3 ± 1.3%, 87.9 ± 2%, and 2.50 ± 0.12 mm, respectively. These results can ensure the sustainability of a commercial hatchery.
Religion and European Integration: Predominant Themes and Emerging Research Priorities
Authors: Houston Kenneth
Published: August 2011

Even before the controversy over theInvocatio Dei, proposed for inclusion in the preamble to the European Union’s defunct Draft Constitution, the role of religion in European integration had moved toward the centre of political consciousness. As early as 1992 the then European Commission President, Jacques Delors, had stated that ‘If in the next twenty years we have not given a soul to Europe, given it spirituality and meaning, then the game will be up’.1Throughout the remainder of his tenure, and beyond it, corporate religion was given an increasingly prominent role in strategic and affective considerations of further European integration. This new role for religious associations has now been incorporated into the recently ratified Lisbon Treaty, where ‘open, transparent and regular dialogue’ has been formally established. The article will consider the question of European integration and the role of ‘public’ religion within this by disentangling two predominating thematic approaches, and thereafter discussing their inter‐ (and intra‐) thematic tensions along with the potential avenues that they offer for future research.
Microwave and Radio Frequency Processing
Authors: DATTA ASHIM K. , DAVIDSON P. MICHAEL
Published: August 2011

SCOPE OF DELIVERABLES: The use of microwave and radio frequencies to heat food for commercial pasteurization and sterilization in order to enhance microbial safety is discussed here. Although not under FDA regulations, use of microwave technology to enhance microbial food safety in the home is also discussed briefly. Mechanisms of heating food and destroying pathogens, and the validation of industrial processes are also discussed, followed by conjecture on handling deviations during industrial processing. This document summarizes information obtained through published literature and personal contacts with industry, academia, and government. Although radio frequency is covered whenever possible, very little information on radio frequency heating for commercial pasteurization or sterilization of food is available in the published literature and no commercial facility for this purpose could be located. The microbial inactivation mechanisms of radio frequency heating are also quite similar to those of microwave heating. Thus, this document refers mostly to microwave processing with the implicit assumption that the principles are generally applicable to radio frequency. Specific information on radio frequency is included whenever available.
High Pressure Processing
Authors: FARKAS DANIEL F. , HOOVER DALLAS G.
Published: August 2011

Scope of Deliverables: This section covers high pressure processing as an alternative technology for preservation of foods. It includes critical process factors, their effect on inactivation levels and mechanisms of inactivation, as well as pathogens of concern and recommendations for surrogates. Methods to handle deviations are also described.
Ultrasound
Authors: Hoover Dallas G.
Published: August 2011

Scope of Deliverables: This section describes the uses of ultrasound in the food industry. A general theory about the mechanism of microbial inactivation is presented. Data from inactivation of food microorganisms are scarce, and most applications of ultrasound involve its use in combination with other preservation methods. This review points to the need for more research on microbial inactivation in food systems when ultrasonication is used with other methods.
Queering Asian Cultures
Authors: Tang Denise
Published: August 2011

Queer Asian studies emerged from a need to study non‐normative genders and sexualities amidst discussions of transnationalism and the globalization of sexualities. In particular, it fills in a gap within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer studies by focusing on marginalized sexual subjectivities affected by race, ethnicity, immigration and citizenship. Major recent debates in the field of queer Asian studies include the contested usage of the term ‘queer’ and the application of ‘queer theory’ as an analytical framework, the call for intraregional dialogues within Asia and the discussion of normativity as a counter‐analytical framework to understand sexual cultures. Two developing trends can be identified as in growing numbers of research studies on everyday lives that extends beyond sexual identification categories, and pedagogical concerns with teaching sexuality and queer studies in the classroom.
Complex Intersections: Reproductive Justice and Native American Women
Authors: Gurr Barbara
Published: August 2011

This article presents an overview of reproductive justice as a theoretical and activist paradigm developed in response to reproductive oppression in the United States, and focuses on the reproductive justice needs of Native American women, as well as the responses developed by Native American women and their allies to these needs. I make explicit the links between reproductive justice, environmental justice and human rights for Native American communities, and articulate the ways in which reproductive healthcare for Native American women as it is provided by the Indian Health Service (IHS) acts as a fulcrum for these links. Ultimately, the failure of the IHS to meet the reproductive healthcare needs of Native American women reflects the failure of the federal government to meet its obligations to Tribal nations; further, these failures produce structures of reproductive oppression in Native communities which scholars and activists seek to redress utilizing the rubric of women’s reproductive health.
Cultural Imperialism Versus Globalization of Culture: Riding the Structure‐Agency Dialectic in Global Communication and Media Studies
Authors: Demont‐Heinrich Christof
Published: August 2011

This article discusses and analyzes the dialectic between so‐called cultural imperialism and globalization of culture perspectives in global communication and media studies. At an extreme, cultural imperialism is cast as the international extension of the long‐discredited hypodermic needle theory which views cultural consumers as passive automatons. At the other end of the extreme, the globalization of culture perspective is cast as a wildly postmodern standpoint in which free‐floating individuals are said to be able to make an infinite set of localized meanings from cultural products. There has been a growing trend among many global communication and media scholars to locate a productive middle ground between cultural imperialism and globalization of culture. In this author’s view, the most effective melding of the two perspectives would situate local, creative appropriation of cultural objects against the backdrop of larger, hegemonic regional and global macro‐forces. This approach ought also to acknowledge the many complexities that characterize the intersections among globalization, culture, and media, including the ways in which the local, national, regional, and global constitute one another and the ways in which resistance to local hegemony can paradoxically fuel national or global hegemony.
The French Republican Calendar: Time, History and the Revolutionary Event
Authors: PEROVIC SANJA
Published: August 2011

This paper recovers the power, real and symbolic, that the French revolutionaries associated with calendar time. The Republican calendar was crucial in establishing the French Revolution as an irreversible rupture with the past but never succeeded as a viable time‐frame. Drawing on this double‐sided aspect of revolutionary time, this paper demonstrates some of the difficulties in conflating revolutionary rupture with a ‘modern’ experience of time. It does so by contrasting the Revolution's intentional time‐frame, which was global and cosmological, with the shorter historical time‐frame of revolutionary events, in which the Revolution failed to institute a total rupture with the past.
LIVING KIDNEY DONORS: THE NEED TO MINIMISE LONG TERM RISK
Authors: Trevitt Ray
Published: August 2011

Living kidney donor (LKD) transplantation is an important option for people with established renal disease and their families. Outcome data for donors shows that it is a relatively safe procedure. Long‐term studies do not take into account the wider acceptance criteria currently employed, or the increasing number of ethnic minority donors.

A literature review was carried out to look for evidence that the risk to donors should be reassessed in order to be able to inform donors better about those risks and whether they are modifiable. Strong evidence was found that LKD has good short‐term outcomes; long‐term evidence is incomplete in view of the selection criteria currently used for donors and lack of studies.

LKD remains a low risk procedure and should continue to be encouraged. However, evaluation of donors should be more thorough with particular respect to any long‐term risk of diabetes mellitus and other cardiovascular risk factors related to family or ethnic disposition and lifestyle. Long‐term surveillance is essential to modify risk factors, allow early intervention and to further develop evaluation criteria.
PREVENTION OF INFECTION IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE PART III: SURVEILLANCE AND AUDITING IN A RENAL CARE ENVIRONMENT
Authors: Donlon Sheila , Redmond Avril , McCann Margaret , Einarsdottir Hildur
Published: August 2011

This third paper, in a three‐part CE series on the preventions of infection in patients with chronic kidney disease, focuses on surveillance and auditing of healthcare‐associated infections within the renal care environment. The last decade has seen an increased awareness of the threat to patient safety from healthcare‐associated infection (HCAI) and the emergence of multi‐drug resistance organisms. Effective HCAI prevention strategies include adequate governance structures, access to expert advice, adherence to standard and transmission‐based precautions, minimising the use of invasive medical devices, and surveillance. Surveillance data can be collected using outcome (e.g. infection) and/or process (e.g. hand hygiene compliance audit) measures. Establishing a surveillance programme requires: commitment from senior management and the multidisciplinary team, prompt feedback of the data to clinical managers resulting in action been taken if necessary, to address specific areas of concern. While many renal units have access to infection prevention and control expertise to assist in the development of such a programme, units without such expertise should also have a surveillance programme in place.
The Sri Lanka Clinical Trials Registry – Moving forward
Authors: Ranawaka Udaya K , Goonaratna Colvin
Published: August 2011

The Sri Lanka Clinical Trials Registry (SLCTR) is a Primary Registry in the Registry Network of the World Health Organization's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO‐ICTRP), and regularly feeds data to its Clinical Trials Search Portal. Over the last few years, the SLCTR has been able to achieve its original objective of providing a national trial register for Sri Lankan researchers, but its role has always been more than that of a mere storehouse of trial data. The research landscape is rapidly changing in Sri Lanka, and the SLCTR has been a key stimulus to a resurgent interest in clinical research among the Sri Lankan research community. The SLCTR is working together with its partner stakeholders to facilitate research in the country, and to ensure that clinical trials conducted in Sri Lanka meet the highest ethical and scientific standards.
Attributable causes of lung cancer incidence and mortality in China
Authors: Wang Jian‐Bing , Fan Ya‐Guang , Jiang Yong , Li Ping , Xiao Hui‐Juan , Chen Wan‐Qing , Wei Wen‐Qiang , Zhou Qing‐hua , Qiao You‐Lin , Boffetta Paolo
Published: August 2011

The aims of our study were to estimate the contribution of known lung cancer risk factors, and provide evidence to support the National Cancer Prevention and Control Program in China. We calculated the proportion of lung cancer attributable to specific risk factors. Data on exposure prevalence were from meta‐analyses and large‐scale national surveys of representative samples of the Chinese population. Data on relative risks were from meta‐analyses and large‐scale prospective studies. Lung cancer mortality and incidence were taken from the Third National Death Survey and from cancer registries in China. We estimated that in China 285 304 lung cancer deaths and 327 465 cases were attributable to smoking, involuntary smoking (women only), occupational exposure, indoor radon, and low fruit intake in 2005. The proportion of lung cancer deaths attributable to smoking, involuntary smoking among non‐smoking women, occupational exposure, indoor radon and low fruit intake was 56.9%, 11.1%, 9.5%, 0.2% and 12.4%, respectively. About 41% of lung cancer mortality and incidence in women was caused by risk factors in our study. However, over half of lung cancer deaths and cases among women were not attributable to known risk factors. It is necessary to conduct large‐scale studies to identify additional risk factors of lung cancer in non‐smoking women.
Pyongyang and the World: North Korean Perspectives on International Relations under Kim Jong‐il*
Authors: Woo Seongji
Published: August 2011

Despite the strategic importance of North Korea, we know relatively little about how Pyongyang perceives international relations. This paper represents an effort to remedy that paucity. I seek to construct Pyongyang's perspectives on international relations under Chairman Kim Jong‐il through analysis of primary texts produced by the DPRK and additional secondary materials. North Korea's international relations theory includes perspectives that: see the state as a basic unit, focus on military capability and conflict, value the importance of ideology, and seek to disclose the unfair nature of the current world order and to build a new world order. The DPRK demands a democratization of international relations that will secure peace and stability and pave the way toward independence of member states and a world economic order that will guarantee a just distribution of wealth among them. The core of Pyongyang's perception of Northeast Asian politics is the dichotomy between the land powers and sea powers. The North identifies itself as a land power along with China and Russia. South Korea belongs to the group of sea powers, siding with Japan and the USA. It is difficult to anticipate a dramatic rewriting of Pyongyang's international relations theory under the current leadership. For the rise of a new theory of international relations more bent on harmony and interdependence, we might have to wait till the arrival of a new leadership in Pyongyang.
Asia‐Only versus Asia–Pacific Regionalism: The Regionalism Cycle in Summits and Financial Cooperation
Authors: Hamanaka Shintaro
Published: August 2011

While many believe that Asian regionalism lacks institutions, Asia, in fact, is home to a wide range of regional institutions and frameworks. The rise and fall of regional institutions in Asia is an extremely dynamic process. This paper argues that the dynamic nature of Asian regionalism can be explained by a “regionalism cycle” with regard to membership. The institutional outcomes of regionalism in Asia have been cyclical because the interplay between Japan and the USA has not had a stable equilibrium. This paper tests the hypothesized regionalism cycle using actual cases of regional institutions in the areas of financial cooperation and summit meetings.
A combined rain shelter and free‐air CO2 enrichment system to study climate change impacts on plants in the field
Authors: Erbs Martin , Manderscheid Remy , Weigel Hans‐Joachim
Published: August 2011

1. There is a clear need for field experiments to estimate the effects of global climate change like decreasing precipitation and rising atmospheric CO2 concentration. Adequate methods for controlled manipulations of these environmental parameters under field conditions are scarce, particularly in regard to multi‐factor experiments. Here, we describe a new flexible rain shelter system, which can be assembled manually and easily be combined with further experimental treatments in field studies.

2. Frames of tents with a ground area of 12 m × 20 m were assembled on a field site after the sowing of the maize and sorghum crop and after the equipment for free‐air CO2 enrichment has been set up. The tents were equipped with transparent tarpaulins, which were installed on the frames only in cases of high amounts of precipitations forecast. In autumn, the entire experimental equipment was removed from the field site.

3. The rain shelter tents were operated in the growing seasons 2008 and 2010 for 9 and 20 days with 54 mm and 176 mm of precipitation excluded, respectively. In the months with rain shelters in operation, pronounced reductions in precipitation were achieved (2008: 39·5%, 2010: 58·6%). The tent frames did not affect temperature or CO2 concentration, but slightly decreased incident photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) by 6·6%. In times with tarpaulins installed, PAR decreased by 24·1%. Comparing times without and with tarpaulins installed, the fraction of time in which 1‐min mean CO2 concentration was within ±20% limits of the setpoint was decreased from 99·7% to 97·8% in 2008 and from 99·0% to 96·7% in 2010, respectively.

4. The rain shelter tents provide a suitable and versatile tool for excluding precipitation from larger areas in the field without relevant disturbances to the soil and aerial environment except a slight decrease in incident radiation, which can be accounted for i.e. in the evaluation of plant growth data. Furthermore, they can be easily combined with further experimental treatments like free‐air CO2 enrichment.
Nonseptic osteitis of the distal phalanx and its palmar processes
Authors: Dyson S.
Published: August 2011

There is a large spectrum of radiological variants of the distal phalanx that can be seen in both sound and lame horses. Osteitis of the distal phalanx implies active inflammation, a diagnosis that can only be made supported by nuclear scintigraphy, magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography. Osteitis of the distal phalanx as a primary cause of lameness is relatively unusual, but may be the result of acute or chronic bone trauma or be associated with adjacent laminar disruption. Bone trauma may also be seen in association with moderate to extensive uniaxial or biaxial ossification of the cartilages of the foot. Bone lesions also occur in association with osteoarthritis of the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint or at, or adjacent to, the insertion of one of the collateral ligaments of the DIP joint.
Arrhythmogenic adverse effects of cardiac glycosides are mediated by redox modification of ryanodine receptors
Authors: Ho Hsiang‐Ting , Stevens Sarah C. W. , Terentyeva Radmila , Carnes Cynthia A. , Terentyev Dmitry , Györke Sandor
Published: August 2011

Non‐Technical Summary  Cardiac glycosides (CGs) have been routinely used in the treatment of congestive heart failure (HF). Unfortunately, the therapeutic use of CGs in treating HF is limited by their adverse side effects, including cardiac arrhythmias. The arrhythmic side effects of CGs have been traditionally ascribed to excessive cellular Ca2+ retention (Ca2+ overload) leading to spontaneous discharges of intracellular Ca2+ stores, or Ca2+ waves, in turn causing oscillations of the cardiac membrane potential. In the present study, we demonstrate that the proarrhythmic effects of CGs on Ca2+ cycling in cardiac myocytes involve alterations in the function of ryanodine receptor calcium channels caused by oxidative changes in the channel structure by reactive oxygen species. Our findings reveal a new mechanism for CG‐induced Ca2+ waves and suggest a potential target for antiarrhythmic therapy in HF patients treated with CGs.
Acute localized administration of tetrahydrobiopterin and chronic systemic atorvastatin treatment restore cutaneous microvascular function in hypercholesterolaemic humans
Authors: Holowatz Lacy A. , Kenney W. Larry
Published: August 2011

Non‐Technical Summary  A high concentration of cholesterol in the blood, known as hypercholesterolaemia, in the absence of overt atherosclerotic disease induces changes throughout the circulation including an inability to fully respond to vasodilatory stimuli. Here we examined the underlying factors that contribute to reduced skin blood flow responses to local warming in hypercholesterolaemic men and women before and after a common cholesterol‐lowering intervention (atorvastatin). We found that skin blood flow responses are reduced in hypercholesterolaemic men and women and that localized administration of the essential enzymatic cofactor, called tetrahydrobiopterin, increases the skin blood flow response to local heating. After 3 months of a cholesterol‐lowering intervention (atorvastatin) blood cholesterol was reduced and the skin blood flow responses to local warming were corrected such that there was no longer a difference between the hypercholesterolaemics and the normocholesterolaemic control group. Our data suggest that reduced availability of tetrahydrobiopterin induced by high cholesterol in part contributes to reduced vasodilatory responses in the skin microcirculation which is corrected with a common cholesterol‐lowering statin therapy.
Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with impaired vascular endothelial and smooth muscle function and hypertension in young rats
Authors: Tare Marianne , Emmett Sarah J. , Coleman Harold A. , Skordilis Con , Eyles Darryl W. , Morley Ruth , Parkington Helena C.
Published: August 2011

Non‐Technical Summary  Adverse environments during early life are linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. There is an alarming increase in the prevalence of vitamin D (VitD) deficiency in women of reproductive age. We show that male and female rat offspring that were exposed to VitD deficiency in the womb and early life have high blood pressure. The arteries from VitD deficient offspring have an impaired ability to relax due to deficiencies in the production of two important factors, nitric oxide and endothelium‐derived hyperpolarizing factor. VitD deficient female offspring have an additional impairment in the nitric oxide signalling pathway in the arterial muscle. The findings of this study are particularly relevant for women intending to become pregnant. Ensuring VitD sufficiency before and during pregnancy in women will reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease risk in their offspring.
Effects of cyclooxygenase inhibition on vascular responses evoked in fingers of men and women by iontophoresis of α1‐ and α2‐adrenoceptor agonists
Authors: Srinivasa Amar , Marshall Janice M.
Published: August 2011

Non‐technical summary  Sympathetic nerve fibres in the fingers release noradrenaline, which has the potential to act on α1‐ or α2‐adrenoreceptors on the blood vessels. We used iontophoresis, which generates a tiny electrical charge, to push selective α1‐ or α2‐receptor agonists through the skin and recorded changes in finger blood flow before and after aspirin, which inhibits cyclooxygenase (COX), an enzyme which synthesises vasodilator and vasoconstrictor prostaglandins. Our results yielded the novel findings that finger vasoconstriction produced by α1‐adrenoceptors is blunted by locally synthesised vasodilator COX products in young men and in young women in the high but not the low oestrogen phase of the menstrual cycle. By contrast, finger vasoconstriction evoked by α2‐adrenoceptors is largely attributable to vasoconstrictor COX products in young men, but overcome by vasodilator COX products in young women. This provides a foundation for testing whether COX products similarly modify vasoconstriction evoked by changes in sympathetic nerve activity.
Unsteady Flow in Oscillating Turbine Cascades: Part 1—Linear Cascade Experiment
Authors: He L.
Published: August 2011

An experimental and computational study has been carried out on a linear cascade of low-pressure turbine blades with the middle blade oscillating in a torsion mode. The main objectives of the present work were to enhance understanding of the behavior of bubble-type flow separation and to examine the predictive ability of a computational method. In addition, an attempt was made to address a general modeling issue: Was the linear assumption adequately valid for such kind of flow? In Part 1 of this paper, the experimental work is described. Unsteady pressure was measured along blade surfaces using off-board mounted pressure transducers at realistic reduced frequency conditions. A short separation bubble on the suction surface near the trailing edge and a long leading-edge separation bubble on the pressure surface were identified. It was found that in the regions of separation bubbles, unsteady pressure was largely influenced by the movement of reattachment point, featured by an abrupt phase shift and an amplitude trough in the first harmonic distribution. The short bubble on the suction surface seemed to follow closely a laminar bubble transition model in a quasi-steady manner, and had a localized effect. The leading-edge long bubble on the pressure surface, on the other hand, was featured by a large movement of the reattachment point, which affected the surface unsteady pressure distribution substantially. As far as the aerodynamic damping was concerned, there was a destabilizing effect in the separated flow region, which was, however, largely balanced by the stabilizing effect downstream of the reattachment point due to the abrupt phase change.
Endwall Heat Transfer Measurements in a Transonic Turbine Cascade
Authors: Giel P. W. , Thurman D. R. , Van Fossen G. J. , Hippensteele S. A. , Boyle R. J.
Published: August 2011

Turbine blade endwall heat transfer measurements are presented for a range of Reynolds and Mach numbers. Data were obtained for Reynolds numbers based on inlet conditions of 0.5 and 1.0 × 106, for isentropic exit Mach numbers of 1.0 and 1.3, and for free-stream turbulence intensities of 0.25 and 7.0 percent. Tests were conducted in a linear cascade at the NASA Lewis Transonic Turbine Blade Cascade Facility. The test article was a turbine rotor with 136 deg of turning and an axial chord of 12.7 cm. The large scale allowed for very detailed measurements of both flow field and surface phenomena. The intent of the work is to provide benchmark quality data for CFD code and model verification. The flow field in the cascade is highly three dimensional as a result of thick boundary layers at the test section inlet. Endwall heat transfer data were obtained using a steady-state liquid crystal technique.
Discharge Coefficient of Turbine Cooling Holes: A Review
Authors: Hay N. , Lampard D.
Published: August 2011

Published information on the discharge coefficient of film cooling holes is classified in terms of the hole geometry, the external flow conditions at inlet and outlet, and the method of evaluation. This may be either theoretical or experimental. The information is reviewed primarily in the context of its use for evaluating discharge coefficients for conditions not directly covered by published data. It is shown that potential flow analyses can give acceptable accuracy for simple geometries with crossflows, while more complex cases require the use of correlated data, which may be incorporated in a range of predictive schemes. Deficiencies and inconsistencies in the published information are highlighted, and future developments are discussed.
An Experimental Investigation of the Velocity and Temperature Fields of Cold Jets Injected Into a Hot Crossflow
Authors: Rydholm H. A.
Published: August 2011

It is shown here by dimensional analysis that the near-wall flow field of an effusion-cooled combustor can be scaled if the Reynolds, Mach, and Prandtl numbers and the temperature and velocity ratios are kept constant. It is also demonstrated that a practical model experiment can be designed, which fulfills all the scaling laws. A test rig meeting these requirements has been designed, built and tested. The experimental conditions have been chosen to correspond to the conditions usually met in a real effusion-cooled combustion chamber. One geometric configuration has been investigated. This consists of one transverse row of holes drilled with a 30 deg angle to the wall through which the cooling air enters a cross-flowing mainstream. The mean values of all three velocity components and the three normal fluctuating Reynolds stresses as well as the mean temperature have been measured in a large number of points surrounding the central injection hole. Experiments were carried out for jet-to-mainstream density ratios of 1.2 and 1.8. The results indicate that realistic density ratios are necessary to provide data directly applicable to effusion-cooling design.
Flowfield Measurements for Film-Cooling Holes With Expanded Exits
Authors: Thole K. , Gritsch M. , Schulz A. , Wittig S.
Published: August 2011

One viable option to improve cooling methods used for gas turbine blades is to optimize the geometry of the film-cooling hole. To optimize that geometry, effects of the hole geometry on the complex jet-in-crossflow interaction need to be understood. This paper presents a comparison of detailed flowfield measurements for three different single, scaled-up hole geometries, all at a blowing ratio and density ratio of unity. The hole geometries include a round hole, a hole with a laterally expanded exit, and a hole with a forward-laterally expanded exit. In addition to the flowfield measurements for expanded cooling hole geometries being unique to the literature, the testing facility used for these measurements was also unique in that both the external mainstream Mach number (Ma∞ = 0.25) and internal coolant supply Mach number (Mac = 0.3) were nearly matched. Results show that by expanding the exit of the cooling holes, both the penetration of the cooling jet and the intense shear regions are significantly reduced relative to a round hole. Although the peak turbulence level for all three hole geometries was nominally the same, the source of that turbulence was different. The peak turbulence level for both expanded holes was located at the exit of the cooling hole resulting from the expansion angle being too large. The peak turbulence level for the round hole was located downstream of the hole exit where the velocity gradients were very large.
Characterization and Laboratory Simulation of Turbine Airfoil Surface Roughness and Associated Heat Transfer
Authors: Bogard D. G. , Schmidt D. L. , Tabbita M.
Published: August 2011

The physical characteristics of surface roughness observed on first-stage high-pressure turbine vanes that had been in service for a long period were investigated in this study. Profilometry measurements were utilized to provide details of the surface roughness formed by deposits of foreign materials on different parts of the turbine vane. Typical measures of surface roughness such as centerline average roughness values were shown to be inadequate for characterizing roughness effects. Using a roughness shape parameter originally derived from regular roughness arrays, the turbine airfoil roughness was characterized in terms of equivalent sand-grain roughness in order to develop an appropriate simulation of the surface for laboratory experiments. Two rough surface test plates were designed and fabricated. These test plates were evaluated experimentally to quantify the heat transfer rate for flow conditions similar to that which occurs on the turbine airfoil. Although the roughness levels on the two test plates were different by a factor of two, both surfaces caused similar 50 percent increases in heat transfer rates relative to a smooth surface. The effects of high free-stream turbulence, with turbulence levels from 10 to 17 percent, were also investigated. Combined free-stream turbulence and surface roughness effects were found to be additive, resulting in as much as a 100 percent increase in heat transfer rate.
An Unsteady Velocity Formulation for the Edge of the Near-Wall Region
Authors: Wilson D. E. , Hanford A. J.
Published: August 2011

A phenomenological model is presented that relates free-stream turbulence to the augmentation of stagnation-point surface flux quantities. The model requires the turbulence intensity, the longitudinal scale of the turbulence, and the energy spectra as inputs for the unsteady velocity at the edge of the near-wall viscous region. The form of the edge velocity contains both pulsations of the incoming flow and oscillations of the streamline. Incompressible results using a single fluctuating component are presented within the stagnation region of a two-dimensional cylinder. The time-averaged Froessling number is determined from the computations. These predictions are compared to existing incompressible experimental data. Additionally, the variations in the surface flux quantities with the longitudinal scale of the incoming free-stream turbulence, the Reynolds number, and the free-stream turbulence intensity are considered.
Convective Heat Transfer of Cubic Fin Arrays in a Narrow Channel
Authors: Chyu M. K. , Hsing Y. C. , Natarajan V.
Published: August 2011

The present study explores the heat transfer enhancement induced by arrays of cubic fins. The fin element is either a cube or a diamond in shape. The array configurations studied include both in-line and staggered arrays of seven rows and five columns. Both cubic arrays have the same geometric parameters, i.e., H/D = 1, S/D = X/D = 2.5, which are similar to those of earlier studies on circular pin-fin arrays. The present results indicate that the cube element in either array always yields the highest heat transfer, followed by diamond and circular pin-fin. Arrays with diamond-shaped elements generally cause the greater pressure loss than those with either cubes or pin fins. For a given element shape, a staggered array generally produces higher heat transfer enhancement and pressure loss than the corresponding inline array. Cubic arrays can be viable alternatives for pedestal cooling near a blade trailing edge.
Rib Heat Transfer Coefficient Measurements in a Rib-Roughened Square Passage
Authors: Korotky G. J. , Taslim M. E.
Published: August 2011

Three staggered 90 deg rib geometries corresponding to blockage ratios of 0.133, 0.167, and 0.25 were tested for pitch-to-height ratios of 5, 8.5, and 10, and for two distinct thermal boundary conditions of heated and unheated channel walls. Comparisons were made between the surface-averaged heat transfer coefficients and friction factors for ribs with rounded corners and those with sharp corners, reported previously. Heat transfer coefficients of the furthest upstream rib and that of a typical rib located in the middle of the rib-roughened region of the passage wall were also compared. It was concluded that: (a) For the geometries tested, the rib average heat transfer coefficient was much higher than that for the area between the ribs. For the sharp-corner ribs, the rib average heat transfer coefficient increased with blockage ratio. However, when the corners were rounded, the trend depended on the level of roundness. (b) High-blockage-ratio (e/Dh = 0.25) ribs were insensitive to the pitch-to-height ratio. For the other two blockage ratios, the pitch-to-height ratio of 5 produced the lowest heat transfer coefficient. Results of the other two pitch-to-height ratios were very close, with the results of S/e = 10 slightly higher than those of S/e = 8.5. (c) Under otherwise identical conditions, ribs in the furthest upstream position produced lower heat transfer coefficients for all cases except that of the smallest blockage ratio with S/e of 5. In that position, for the rib geometries tested, while the sharp-corner rib average heat transfer coefficients increased with the blockage ratio, the trend of the round-corner ribs depended on the level of roundness, r/e. (d) Thermal performance decreased with the blockage ratio. While the smallest rib geometry at a pitch-to-height ratio of 10 had the highest thermal performance, thermal performance of high blockage ribs at a pitch-to-height ratio of 5 was the lowest. (e) The general effects of rounding were a decrease in heat transfer coefficient for the midstream ribs and an increase in heat transfer coefficient for ribs in the furthest upstream position.
Electrostatic focusing Spindt-type field emitter array for an image sensor with a high-gain avalanche rushing amorphous photoconductor target
Authors: Honda Y. , Takiguchi Y. , Egami N. , Nanba M. , Saishu Y. , Nakamura K. , Taniguchi M.
Published: August 2011

A new electrostatic focusing Spindt-type field emitter array (FEA) was simulated and fabricated to develop a compact FEA image sensor with a high-gain avalanche rushing amorphous photoconductor target. Although the conventional double-gated FEAs can generate focused electron beams by applying a lower voltage to the focusing electrode (second gate) than that of the gate electrode, the emission current drastically decreases. These experimental results show that by increasing the thickness of the gate electrode the emission current can be improved without deterioration of the focusing characteristics.
MicroRNAs Add an Additional Layer to the Complexity of Cell Signaling
Authors: Herschkowitz Jason I. , Fu Xiaoyong
Published: August 2011

Down-regulation of microRNAs associated with EGF signaling may contribute to tumor progression.
Magnesium Required?
Authors: Foley John F.
Published: August 2011

Deficiency in a Mg
2+
transporter is associated with defective antigen receptor–dependent activation of phospholipase C γ1 and Ca
2+
flux in T cells.
Pruning Dendrites
Authors: Wong Wei
Published: August 2011

CaMKIIβ activity at the centrosome alters the subcellular localization of a ubiquitin ligase complex and promotes dendrite retraction.
Trafficking Rapid Responses
Authors: Gough Nancy R.
Published: August 2011

Endocytosis is necessary for full activation of downstream signaling by the D1 dopamine receptor.