bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ORGANIZING RETAIL: IDEAS FOR LABOR'S ONGOING CHALLENGE
Authors: Ikeler Peter
Published: September 2011

Building on previous research that denotes the centrality of retail trade and employment to twenty‐first‐century U.S. capitalism, this article explores the potential for union organizing within the U.S. retail sector. First, I review U.S. Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Bureau of Economic Analysis data to assess where “structural power” exists for retail workers and, failing this, the extent to which “associational power” would be needed to counteract employer prerogatives. Then, I discuss the current state of retail unionism and recent organizing campaigns, from which four strategies for union growth are derived: supply‐chain leveraging, global city targeting, occupational unionism, and global unionism. Although supply‐chain leveraging appears to offer the greatest potential strength for organizing efforts, I argue that intervening factors, such as worker consciousness, union prerogatives, the extent of interunion cooperation, and specific tactics employed, may provide more immediate efficacy for other strategies.
MICROFLUIDIZATION OF FULL‐FAT ICE CREAM MIXES: EFFECTS OF GUM STABILIZER CHOICE ON PHYSICAL AND SENSORY CHANGES
Authors: CAVENDER GEORGE A. , KERR WILLIAM L.
Published: September 2011

In this study, we examined the changes in ice cream induced by microfluidization at 220–250 MPa of their respective mixes. Two full‐fat ice cream mixes were formulated with either xanthan or locust bean gum (LBG) and either frozen into ice cream using a batch freezer or microfluidized and then frozen. The resultant products were subjected to modified texture profile analysis, meltdown testing, and sensory testing for difference and preference. Increases in hardness and adhesiveness were observed between treatment groups in both formulations, as well as an increase in gumminess in the LBG formulation. No difference was observed in meltdown rate between any of the treatment/formulation combinations. Sensory difference tests showed that panelists could distinguish differences between ice creams prepared from low‐ or high‐pressure treated mix. Acceptability tests indicated that consumers preferred the firmness and creaminess of ice cream made from microfluidized mixes with LBG.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Dynamic high‐pressure processing technologies like microfluidization, can effect marked changes in the quality characteristics of liquid foods, but limited work has been done to fully understand its effects in complex systems. This study shows that ice cream made from microfluidized mixes also expresses changes, that the formulation of the ice cream affects the degree and type of those changes and that in certain cases, the changes effected are desirable to the consumer. This knowledge contributes to a better understanding of the technology, how it interacts differently with different ingredients and provides an insight into potential commercial uses.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CONCENTRATED MILK AND ITS INFLUENCE ON POWDER MILK CHARACTERISTICS AND SPRAY DRYER DESIGN PARAMETERS
Authors: ENRÍQUEZ‐FERNÁNDEZ BLANCA E. , CAMARILLO‐ROJAS CARLOS R. , VÉLEZ‐RUIZ JORGE F.
Published: September 2011

The present work analyzed the properties of two concentrated milks, as well as the influence of the reconstituted type on some properties of milk powder. Two sets of milk with high solids content (43–60% w/w) were employed; one set was concentrated by evaporation of liquid milk, while the other was prepared by reconstitution of milk powder. Both concentrated milks were characterized at the different solids contents, measuring flow and physicochemical properties; finding a non‐Newtonian behavior well fitted by the Power law model. The bh color parameter, density and consistency coefficient increased, while luminosity, redness and flow index decreased as a function of solids concentration. Lately, the reconstituted milk with four levels of concentration was spray dried, and their properties, such as apparent density, color, moisture, particle size and rehydration, were determined. Based on properties of reconstituted and powder milks, other engineering parameters, such as drop diameter and heat transfer coefficient, were equated, in order to relate physical properties for dryer design.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

This work is not a sophisticated study. It covers the fundamentals and practical aspects of a very important food process operation, drying of milk. Most of the works on food preservation methods have been conducted to analyze microbiological, physicochemical and processing aspects, and very few studies have been carried out to analyze the transport phenomena in spray drying, passing by concentration aspects and properties. Thus, this practical and useful work applies momentum, heat and mass transfer approaches to quantify the flow properties of two concentrates and how they influence some physical properties for milk powder and two design parameters for the dryer performance.
Veterinary surgeons' opinions on dog welfare issues
Authors: Yeates J. W. , Main D. C. J.
Published: September 2011

Objectives: To begin to determine the significance of various dog welfare issues as perceived by veterinary practitioners.

Methods: Using an online questionnaire, respondents were asked how frequently they were made aware of 12 welfare issues and how important they felt each one was for each dog affected. Respondents were also asked how much they agreed with statements that the veterinary practitioners in their area, and the veterinary profession, should do more about each issue.

Results: Responses were received from 59 practitioners. The most frequently noted problems were “obesity”, “chronic pain/poor mobility” and “breed‐related conditions”. The most important issues for each dog affected were “lack of treatment for suffering”, “abuse or active cruelty” and “malnutrition”. “Breed‐related conditions”, “obesity” and “behavioural problems” were the issues for which there was greatest agreement that veterinary practitioners should do more, both in their area and as a profession.

ClinicalSignificance: This pilot study suggests that the veterinary profession believes that obesity, breed‐related conditions and behavioural problems are important concerns, and that more should be done about them. Although these results cannot be taken as definitive from a study of this size, it does provide a background for such further work involving companion dog welfare and the veterinary profession.
New developments and concepts related to biomarker application to vaccines
Authors: Ahmed S. Sohail , Black Steve , Ulmer Jeffrey
Published: September 2011

This minireview will provide a perspective on new developments and concepts related to biomarker applications for vaccines. In the context of preventive vaccines, biomarkers have the potential to predict adverse events in select subjects due to differences in genetic make‐up/underlying medical conditions or to predict effectiveness (good versus poor response). When expanding them to therapeutic vaccines, their utility in identification of patients most likely to respond favourably (or avoid potentially negative effects of treatment) becomes self‐explanatory. Despite the progress made so far on dissection of various pathways of biological significance in humans, there is still plenty to unravel about the mysteries related to the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the human host response. This review will provide a focused overview of new concepts and developments in the field of vaccine biomarkers including (i) vaccine‐dependent signatures predicting subject response and safety, (ii) predicting therapeutic vaccine efficacy in chronic diseases, (iii) exploring the genetic make‐up of the host that may modulate subject‐specific adverse events or affect the quality of immune responses, and (iv) the topic of volunteer stratification as a result of biomarker screening (e.g. for therapeutic vaccines but also potentially for preventive vaccines) or as a reflection of an effort to compare select groups (e.g. vaccinated subjects versus patients recovering from infection) to enable the discovery of clinically relevant biomarkers for preventive vaccines.
Enzymes for the laundry industries: tapping the vast metagenomic pool of alkaline proteases
Authors: Niehaus F. , Gabor E. , Wieland S. , Siegert P. , Maurer K. H. , Eck J.
Published: September 2011

In the wide field of laundry and cleaning applications, there is an unbroken need for novel detergent proteases excelling in high stability and activity and a suitable substrate range. We demonstrated the large amount of highly diverse subtilase sequences present in metagenomic DNA by recovering 57 non‐redundant subtilase sequence tags with degenerate primers. Furthermore, an activity‐ as well as a sequence homology‐based screening of metagenomic DNA libraries was carried out, using alkaline soil and habitat enrichments as a source of DNA. In this way, 18 diverse full‐length protease genes were recovered, sharing only 37–85% of their amino acid residues with already known protease genes. Active clones were biochemically characterized and subjected to a laundry application assay, leading to the identification of three promising detergent proteases. According to sequence similarity, two proteases (HP53 and HP70) can be classified as subtilases, while the third enzyme (HP23) belongs to chymotrypsin‐like S1 serine proteases, a class of enzymes that has not yet been described for the use in laundry and cleaning applications.
The glycerophospholipid inventory of Pseudomonas putida is conserved between strains and enables growth condition‐related alterations
Authors: Rühl Jana , Hein Eva‐Maria , Hayen Heiko , Schmid Andreas , Blank Lars M.
Published: September 2011

Microorganisms, such as Pseudomonas putida, utilize specific physical properties of cellular membrane constituents, mainly glycerophospholipids, to (re‐)adjust the membrane barrier to environmental stresses. Building a basis for membrane composition/function studies, we inventoried the glycerophospholipids of different Pseudomonas and challenged membranes of growing cells with n‐butanol. Using a new high‐resolution liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method, 127 glycerophospholipid species [e.g. phosphatidylethanolamine PE(32:1)] with up to five fatty acid combinations were detected. The glycerophospholipid inventory consists of 305 distinct glycerophospholipids [e.g. PE(16:0/16:1)], thereof 14 lyso‐glycerophospholipids, revealing conserved compositions within the four investigated pseudomonads P. putida KT2440, DOT‐T1E, S12 and Pseudomonas sp. strain VLB120. Furthermore, we addressed the influence of environmental conditions on the glycerophospholipid composition of Pseudomonas via long‐time exposure to the sublethal n‐butanol concentration of 1% (v/v), focusing on: (i) relative amounts of glycerophospholipid species, (ii) glycerophospholipid head group composition, (iii) fatty acid chain length, (iv) degree of saturation and (v) cis/trans isomerization of unsaturated fatty acids. Observed alterations consist of changing head group compositions and for the solvent‐sensitive strain KT2440 diminished fatty acid saturation degrees. Minor changes in the glycerophospholipid composition of the solvent‐tolerant strains P. putida S12 and Pseudomonas sp. VLB120 suggest different strategies of the investigated Pseudomonas to maintain the barrier function of cellular membranes.
Racial Profiling/Biased Policing
Authors: Mosher Clayton
Published: September 2011

Media and legal attention to the issue of racial profiling in the United States intensified in the 1990s, with numerous studies from a wide range of jurisdictions revealing evidence of biased policing. This article briefly examines the history of biased policing in the United States, discusses the results of some of the more recent studies as well as studies of biased policing in other countries, and also devotes considerable attention to important theoretical and methodological issues in conducting research on racial profiling. These issues include how race/ethnicity should be coded, how to establish an appropriate denominator/benchmark in racial profiling studies, and what factors in addition to race/ethnicity need to be considered in analyses of bias in citations/arrests/and searches. Although attention to racial profiling waned somewhat after the September 11, 2001, attacks, recent events suggest a renewed interest in this problem.
Work and Neoliberal Globalization: A Polanyian Synthesis
Authors: Bandelj Nina , Shorette Kristen , Sowers Elizabeth
Published: September 2011

This article reviews sociological research about economic globalization’s impact on work and labor in developed and developing countries since the 1980s. We find that this period of neoliberal globalization influences work because of intensified activities of multinational corporations (MNCs), financialization of the global economy, and amplified prominence of international organizations, some of which diffuse neoliberal policy scripts while others mobilize a transnational civil society. Research we review generally points to liabilities of neoliberal globalization for workers. To understand these findings, we apply Karl Polanyi’s concepts of fictitious commodities, the self‐regulating market, and the double movement. We propose that, on the one hand, the activities of MNCs, international financial organizations, and many states exemplify pushes for institutional separation of economy and society in effort to institutionalize the idea of a self‐regulating market at a global scale, which increases labor commodification and global inequalities. On the other hand, the activities of social movements, including unions and transnational actors that target globalization’s impact on work, constitute the counter movement at national and global levels resisting marketization and pushing for labor decommodification. The aftermath of the ongoing economic crisis will tell to what extent this countermovement will be successful in generating an alternative to neoliberal globalization, and more protections for workers.
The Effects of Family Therapies for Adolescent Delinquency and Substance Abuse: A Meta‐analysis
Authors: Baldwin Scott A. , Christian Sarah , Berkeljon Arjan , Shadish William R.
Published: September 2011

This meta‐analysis summarizes results from k = 24 studies comparing either Brief Strategic Family Therapy, Functional Family Therapy, Multidimensional Family Therapy, or Multisystemic Therapy to either treatment‐as‐usual, an alternative therapy, or a control group in the treatment of adolescent substance abuse and delinquency. Additionally, the authors reviewed and applied three advanced meta‐analysis methods including influence analysis, multivariate meta‐analysis, and publication bias analyses. The results suggested that as a group the four family therapies had statistically significant, but modest effects as compared to treatment‐as‐usual (d = 0.21; k = 11) and as compared to alternative therapies (d = 0.26; k = 11). The effect of family therapy compared to control was larger (d = 0.70; k = 4) but was not statistically significant probably because of low power. There was insufficient evidence to determine whether the various models differed in their effectiveness relative to each other. Influence analyses suggested that three studies had a large effect on aggregate effect sizes and heterogeneity statistics. Moderator and multivariate analyses were largely underpowered but will be useful as this literature grows.
Soil carbon sequestration during the establishment phase of Miscanthus × giganteus: a regional‐scale study on commercial farms using 13C natural abundance
Authors: Zimmermann Jesko , Dauber Jens , Jones Michael B.
Published: September 2011

The use of biomass for energy production is considered a promising way to reduce net carbon emissions and mitigate climate change. However, land‐use change to bioenergy crops can result in carbon emissions from soil and vegetation in amounts that could take decades to compensate. Perennial grasses such as Miscanthus offer a possible solution to this problem as measurements on experimental plots planted with Miscanthus have shown significant carbon sequestration in the soil. It can, however, be expected that sequestration potentials in commercial use might differ from those measured in experimental plots due to different farming practices and soil characteristics. For this study, Miscanthus plantations on 16 farms in SE Ireland as well as on‐farm controls representing the former land‐use (grassland and tillage) have been examined. The Miscanthus plantations were 2–3 years old. Soil organic carbon (SOC) content and a number of soil properties were measured and the amount of Miscanthus‐derived carbon was determined using the 13C natural abundance method. On both former tillage fields and grasslands, although there were no significant differences in SOC contents between Miscanthus and control sites, it was shown that 2–3 years after Miscanthus establishment, 1.82 ± 1.69 and 2.17 ± 1.73 Mg ha−1 of the SOC under former‐tilled and former grassland respectively were Miscanthus‐derived. Mixed‐effects models were used to link the total SOC concentrations and Miscanthus‐derived carbon to the land‐use parameters as well as to soil properties. It was shown that on control sites, pH had an effect on total SOC. In the case of Miscanthus‐derived carbon, the initial SOC content, pH, former land‐use and crop age had significant effects.
A new species of the extinct genusAustrohamia(Cupressaceaes.l.) in the Daohugou Jurassic flora of China and its phytogeographical implications
Authors: ZHANG Jian‐Wei , D'ROZARIO Ashalata , WANG Li‐Jun , LI Ya , YAO Jian‐Xin
Published: September 2011

Abstract A new conifer,Austrohamia acanthobractea, sp. nov., is described from the Jurassic Daohugou flora, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. The material consists of impressions represented by well‐preserved leafy twigs and branches as well as ovulate cones. Leafy shoots with at least two orders of branching; ultimate branchlets alternate or sub‐opposite with helically arranged leaves, decurrent at base with distal rounded tip; dorsiventrally flattened and univeined. Ovuliferous cones elliptical, less than 1 cm long, terminally borne on ultimate and penultimate branches, composed of helically arranged bracts with ovules disposed on their adaxial surfaces. The presence of similar, if not identical taxa, on both sides of the Pacific indicates the cosmopolitan distribution of primitive Cupressaceae between East Asia (Eurasia) and South America in the Pangaea.
Higher temperature improves the efficacy of magnetic fluid hyperthermia for Lewis lung cancer in a mouse model
Authors: Hu Runlei , Zhang Xiaodong , Liu Xuan , Xu Bo , Yang Hongsheng , Xia Qisheng , Li Liya , Chen Chunling , Tang Jintian
Published: September 2011

Purpose:  The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a higher temperature on the efficacy of magnetic fluid hyperthermia for Lewis lung cancer in a mouse model.

Materials and methods:  Magnetic fluids were prepared in vitro and directly injected into tumors. Twenty‐four hours later, the mice were subjected to an alternating magnetic field. The temperature in the tumor was increased to 46.0°C, higher than the usual temperature used in hyperthermia therapy. The higher temperature was maintained for 30 min with a stable strength of magnetic field.

Results:  Magnetic fluid hyperthermia with a higher temperature significantly inhibited the growth of the tumors (P < 0.05). The tumors completely regressed in four out of 12 mice. Histological analysis demonstrated that the tumor cells underwent apoptosis and necrosis, and the cells were arrested at the G1/G0 phase of the cell cycle. The lifespan of the treated animals also increased significantly (P < 0.05).

Conclusions:  Magnetic fluid hyperthermia with a higher temperature could improve the efficacy of this therapy on lung cancer.
Psychiatric disorder, IQ, and emotional intelligence among adolescent detainees: A comparative study
Authors: Margaret Hayes Jennifer , Reilly Gary O’
Published: September 2011

Objectives. To document criminality, psychiatric difficulty, IQ, EQ, and EI amongst Irish, male juvenile detainees (Detainee Group). To compare their IQ, EQ, and EI to non‐offending boys attending a child psychiatry clinic (Psychiatric Group) and boys without offending or psychiatric problems (Community Group). To compare psychiatric morbidity between the detainee and psychiatric groups.

Method. Criminality levels of 30 detainees were evaluated using official court charge sheets. Psychiatric status was assessed through structured clinical interview (DISC‐IV); IQ through an individually administered IQ‐scale (WASI); EQ using the BarOn EQi:Youth Version (EQi:YV); and EI using the MSCEIT: Youth Version – Research Edition (MSCEIT:YV‐RE). IQ, EQ, and EI levels in the psychiatric and community groups were compared. Psychiatric morbidity between detainee and psychiatric groups were compared.

Results. A total of 335 crimes led to the detention of detainees. Eighty‐three percent of detainees had a psychiatric disorder compared to 60% of young people in the psychiatric group. Detainees had 3.1 disorders each compared to 1.4 disorders in the psychiatric group. A total of 63.3% of detainees had an externalizing problem, 37.9% an internalizing problem, and 66.7% a substance dependency or use problem. A total of 21.4% of detainees had an IQ score below 70. The detainee and psychiatric groups had similar deficits in EI and significantly lower EI than the community groups.

Conclusions. Serious levels of criminality and psychiatric disorder exist amongst Irish detainees. They have significantly lower IQ than young people attending a psychiatry clinic and both share deficits in the ability to accurately identify emotions, use emotions to guide thought processes and to prioritize thinking and to effectively regulate emotions.
Ca2+ permeable AMPA receptors switch allegiances: mechanisms and consequences
Authors: Liu Siqiong June , Savtchouk Iaroslav
Published: September 2011

Abstract  The subunit composition of synaptic AMPA receptors can undergo dynamic changes during physiological functioning and under pathological conditions. This switch in AMPA receptor phenotype involves changes in the level of GluA2 subunits that are mediated via regulated AMPA receptor trafficking, modification of local protein synthesis and altered gene transcription of GluA2 subunits. Incorporation of the GluA2 subunits into an AMPA receptor alters a number of key biophysical properties, including Ca2+ permeability and the waveform of the synaptic current. These changes alter the ability of synaptic currents to evoke an action potential and therefore have a profound effect on the computational capability of individual neurons and thus the output of neuronal circuits.
Gamma Irradiation Studies I. Dental Grafts
Authors: Türker Selcan , Özer A. Yekta , Kutlu Burak , Nohutcu Rahime , Bilgili Hasan , Öztürk Didem , Özalp Meral , Sungur Arzu
Published: September 2011

The development of nanoceramics-polymer composites and bioactive materials such as calcium phosphates and bioglasses and ceramics especially hydroxyapatite (HAp) and β-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) for bone regeneration has been carried out for bone regeneration. Due to their resorption in the body and direct contact with tissues, it is necessary to sterilize the dental graft before administration to the patient. Three different dental graft materials including TCP, bioglass, and equine bone tissue (G1, G2, and G3, respectively) were studied in this study. The effects of γ irradiation were evaluated with different analytical methods (organoleptic analysis, FTIR, DSC, TGA, and SEM) and microbiological analysis (sterility, pyrogenity, and sterility assurance level (SAL) determination). The physicochemical results indicated that G1 is the most γ stable (optimum) dental graft material for γ radiation sterilization with minimum changes in chemical and physical properties in comparison with other two dental graft materials. G3, was the most sensitive dental graft material according to organoleptic investigations, TGA and SEM analysis. Another aspect of this study was, to investigate the effect of ethylene oxide (EtO) sterilization on optimum dental graft material, G1 and the comparison of two sterilization methods with analytical and microbiological examinations. The resorption times and resorption characteristics of γ sterilized dental graft material (G1G) and EtO sterilized one (G1E) were evaluated on New Zealand rabbits for 12 weeks. Histological studies showed that TCP containing dental graft material, G1, did not induce inflammation in bone and soft tissue. Resorption and bone formation of G1G was faster than G1E. Total resorption time of G1 was 12 weeks for both sterilization groups. The analytical, microbiological and in vivo results suggest that the dental graft G1 can be sterilized with γ radiation safely with validated doses lower than medical γ sterilization dose, 25 kGy.
Finite Element Implementation of Mechanochemical Phenomena in Neutral Deformable Porous Media Under Finite Deformation
Authors: Ateshian Gerard A. , Albro Michael B. , Maas Steve , Weiss Jeffrey A.
Published: September 2011

Biological soft tissues and cells may be subjected to mechanical as well as chemical (osmotic) loading under their natural physiological environment or various experimental conditions. The interaction of mechanical and chemical effects may be very significant under some of these conditions, yet the highly nonlinear nature of the set of governing equations describing these mechanisms poses a challenge for the modeling of such phenomena. This study formulated and implemented a finite element algorithm for analyzing mechanochemical events in neutral deformable porous media under finite deformation. The algorithm employed the framework of mixture theory to model the porous permeable solid matrix and interstitial fluid, where the fluid consists of a mixture of solvent and solute. A special emphasis was placed on solute-solid matrix interactions, such as solute exclusion from a fraction of the matrix pore space (solubility) and frictional momentum exchange that produces solute hindrance and pumping under certain dynamic loading conditions. The finite element formulation implemented full coupling of mechanical and chemical effects, providing a framework where material properties and response functions may depend on solid matrix strain as well as solute concentration. The implementation was validated using selected canonical problems for which analytical or alternative numerical solutions exist. This finite element code includes a number of unique features that enhance the modeling of mechanochemical phenomena in biological tissues. The code is available in the public domain, open source finite element program FEBio (http://mrl.sci.utah.edu/software).
An Efficient and Accurate Prediction of the Stability of Percutaneous Fixation of Acetabular Fractures With Finite Element Simulation
Authors: Shim V. B. , Böshme J. , Vaitl P. , Josten C. , Anderson I. A.
Published: September 2011

Posterior wall fracture is one of the most common fracture types of the acetabulum and a conventional approach is to perform open reduction and internal fixation with a plate and screws. Percutaneous screw fixations, on the other hand, have recently gained attention due to their benefits such as less exposure and minimization of blood loss. However their biomechanical stability, especially in terms interfragmentary movement, has not been investigated thoroughly. The aims of this study are twofold: (1) to measure the interfragmentary movements in the conventional open approach with plate fixations and the percutaneous screw fixations in the acetabular fractures and compare them; and (2) to develop and validate a fast and efficient way of predicting the interfragmentary movement in percutaneous fixation of posterior wall fractures of the acetabulum using a 3D finite element (FE) model of the pelvis. Our results indicate that in single fragment fractures of the posterior wall of the acetabulum, plate fixations give superior stability to screw fixations. However screw fixations also give reasonable stability as the average gap between fragment and the bone remained less than 1 mm when the maximum load was applied. Our finite element model predicted the stability of screw fixation with good accuracy. Moreover, when the screw positions were optimized, the stability predicted by our FE model was comparable to the stability obtained by plate fixations. Our study has shown that FE modeling can be useful in examining biomechanical stability of osteosynthesis and can potentially be used in surgical planning of osteosynthesis.
A Nonlinear Biphasic Fiber-Reinforced Porohyperviscoelastic Model of Articular Cartilage Incorporating Fiber Reorientation and Dispersion
Authors: Seifzadeh A. , Wang J. , Oguamanam D. C. D. , Papini M.
Published: September 2011

A nonlinear biphasic fiber-reinforced porohyperviscoelastic (BFPHVE) model of articular cartilage incorporating fiber reorientation effects during applied load was used to predict the response of ovine articular cartilage at relatively high strains (20%). The constitutive material parameters were determined using a coupled finite element-optimization algorithm that utilized stress relaxation indentation tests at relatively high strains. The proposed model incorporates the strain-hardening, tension-compression, permeability, and finite deformation nonlinearities that inherently exist in cartilage, and accounts for effects associated with fiber dispersion and reorientation and intrinsic viscoelasticity at relatively high strains. A new optimization cost function was used to overcome problems associated with large peak-to-peak differences between the predicted finite element and experimental loads that were due to the large strain levels utilized in the experiments. The optimized material parameters were found to be insensitive to the initial guesses. Using experimental data from the literature, the model was also able to predict both the lateral displacement and reaction force in unconfined compression, and the reaction force in an indentation test with a single set of material parameters. Finally, it was demonstrated that neglecting the effects of fiber reorientation and dispersion resulted in poorer agreement with experiments than when they were considered. There was an indication that the proposed BFPHVE model, which includes the intrinsic viscoelasticity of the nonfibrillar matrix (proteoglycan), might be used to model the behavior of cartilage up to relatively high strains (20%). The maximum percentage error between the indentation force predicted by the FE model using the optimized material parameters and that measured experimentally was 3%.
Penetrating Annulus Fibrosus Injuries Affect Dynamic Compressive Behaviors of the Intervertebral Disc Via Altered Fluid Flow: An Analytical Interpretation
Authors: Michalek Arthur J. , Iatridis James C.
Published: September 2011

Extensive experimental work on the effects of penetrating annular injuries indicated that large injuries impact axial compressive properties of small animal intervertebral discs, yet there is some disagreement regarding the sensitivity of mechanical tests to small injury sizes. In order to understand the mechanism of injury size sensitivity, this study proposed a simple one dimensional model coupling elastic deformations in the annulus with fluid flow into and out of the nucleus through both porous boundaries and through a penetrating annular injury. The model was evaluated numerically in dynamic compression with parameters obtained by fitting the solution to experimental stress-relaxation data. The model predicted low sensitivity of mechanical changes to injury diameter at both small and large sizes (as measured by low and high ratios of injury diameter to annulus thickness), with a narrow range of high sensitivity in between. The size at which axial mechanics were most sensitive to injury size (i.e., critical injury size) increased with loading frequency. This study provides a quantitative hypothetical model of how penetrating annulus fibrosus injuries in discs with a gelatinous nucleus pulposus may alter disc mechanics by changing nucleus pulposus fluid pressurization through introduction of a new fluid transport pathway though the annulus. This model also explains how puncture-induced biomechanical changes depend on both injury size and test protocol.
Effect of Pulse Frequency on the Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a Pulsatile Perfusion Bioreactor
Authors: Kavlock Katherine D. , Goldstein Aaron S.
Published: September 2011

Perfusion bioreactors are a promising in vitro strategy to engineer bone tissue because they supply needed oxygen and nutrients and apply an osteoinductive mechanical stimulus to osteoblasts within large porous three-dimensional scaffolds. Model two-dimensional studies have shown that dynamic flow conditions (e.g., pulsatile oscillatory waveforms) elicit an enhanced mechanotransductive response and elevated expression of osteoblastic proteins relative to steady flow. However, dynamic perfusion of three-dimensional scaffolds has been primarily examined in short term cultures to probe for early markers of mechanotransduction. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of extended dynamic perfusion culture on osteoblastic differentiation of primary mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). To accomplish this, rat bone marrow-derived MSCs were seeded into porous foam scaffolds and cultured for 15 days in osteogenic medium under pulsatile regimens of 0.083, 0.050, and 0.017 Hz. Concurrently, MSCs seeded in scaffolds were also maintained under static conditions or cultured under steady perfusion. Analysis of the cells after 15 days of culture indicated that alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, mRNA expression of osteopontin (OPN), and accumulation of OPN and prostaglandin E2 were enhanced for all four perfusion conditions relative to static culture. ALP activity, OPN and OC mRNA, and OPN protein accumulation were slightly higher for the intermediate frequency (0.05 Hz) as compared with the other flow conditions, but the differences were not statistically significant. Nevertheless, these results demonstrate that dynamic perfusion of MSCs may be a useful strategy for stimulating osteoblastic differentiation in vitro.
A Nonlinear Model of Passive Muscle Viscosity
Authors: Meyer G. A. , McCulloch A. D. , Lieber R. L.
Published: September 2011

The material properties of passive skeletal muscle are critical to proper function and are frequently a target for therapeutic and interventional strategies. Investigations into the passive viscoelasticity of muscle have primarily focused on characterizing the elastic behavior, largely neglecting the viscous component. However, viscosity is a sizeable contributor to muscle stress and extensibility during passive stretch and thus there is a need for characterization of the viscous as well as the elastic components of muscle viscoelasticity. Single mouse muscle fibers were subjected to incremental stress relaxation tests to characterize the dependence of passive muscle stress on time, strain and strain rate. A model was then developed to describe fiber viscoelasticity incorporating the observed nonlinearities. The results of this model were compared with two commonly used linear viscoelastic models in their ability to represent fiber stress relaxation and strain rate sensitivity. The viscous component of mouse muscle fiber stress was not linear as is typically assumed, but rather a more complex function of time, strain and strain rate. The model developed here, which incorporates these nonlinearities, was better able to represent the stress relaxation behavior of fibers under the conditions tested than commonly used models with linear viscosity. It presents a new tool to investigate the changes in muscle viscous stresses with age, injury and disuse.
H-POWER Facility Expansion
Authors: Gesell Greg H. , Langham Stephen , Margolis Robert L. , Nelson John R. , Miller Joshua R.
Published: September 2011

The City and County of Honolulu on the Island of Oahu in the Hawaiian chain has been taking steps to reduce the need for landfilling and to continue to be self-sufficient for waste disposal. For an island, having the capacity to process all of its waste is crucial and producing power helps reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels. The City and County relies upon its waste-to-energy facility to manage the waste stream. The existing H-POWER Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Facility, which has been in operation for about twenty years, is a 2,000 ton-per-day (tpd) refuse derived fuel (RDF) two-unit plant with a single condensing steam turbine generator. Recent actions to enhance and expand the H-POWER Facility have been undertaken to ensure the needs to the island will be met for the foreseeable future. Enhancements and an expansion of the existing H-POWER Facility have begun and are well into construction. The enhancements will improve environmental performance and reliability and the expansion will add nearly fifty percent to the facility capacity. When complete, the expanded facility will have a number of unique features that will improve its ability to manage more types of municipal solid waste. The facility expansion will utilize mass burn technology in a single 900 tpd combustion unit with an associated turbine generator. The expansion unit will feature fabric filters for particulate control and state-of-the-art Covanta Very Low NOx (VLN™) technology intended to reduce NOx emissions well below that achieved with conventional selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) used at many other WTE plants in the USA. Independent of the expansion, the existing facility has been retrofitted with new fabric filters and induced-draft fans, which offer greater particulate and heavy metal control and improve control of other emissions. The existing facility is also getting much-needed improvements to boost reliability for many years to come. When the expansion comes on line, the facility will reliably generate about 7 percent of the island’s electrical power as opposed to 5 percent from the current 2,000 tpd of waste processed. This paper explores progress to date on the revitalization of the H-POWER Facility and its expansion.
Carbon and Green House Gas Evaluation of the Lancaster County Waste Management System
Authors: Traeger David , Nelson John , Zorbaugh Robert
Published: September 2011

HDR partnered with the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (Authority) to use the Carbon Assessment Planning Tool (CAPT) to evaluate GHG emissions in their solid waste system. The Authority owns three primary facilities, which comprise the Authority’s solid waste processing and disposal system (the System). The primary facilities in the System are the Transfer Station (TS), the Frey Farm Landfill (FFLF) and the Lancaster County Resource Recovery Facility (RRF). The Authority has recently added wind turbines to its energy portfolio and is considering other changes within its system. The model will be used to evaluate the net effect of the changing system characteristics on the Green House Gas emissions from the system. Reduction in the waste landfilled, changes in Landfill Gas production and increases in energy production will all be evaluated. The paper will review the model assumptions and parameters and will discuss system characteristics. The paper will also discuss a methodology for monetization of additional “green benefits” associated with the GHG emissions reductions through the sale of emission offsets.
Science Signaling
Podcast: 6 September 2011
Authors: Gupta Vineet , VanHook Annalisa M.
Published: September 2011

Activating integrin signaling may be an effective strategy for developing therapeutics to reduce leukocyte recruitment during inflammation.
Modified by
Legionella
Authors: Wong Wei
Published: September 2011

A
Legionella
effector protein adds phosphocholine to Rab GTPases to manipulate membrane trafficking in host cells.
cAMPing in the Mitochondria
Authors: Adler Elizabeth M.
Published: September 2011

A phosphodiesterase 2A isoform acts in concert with soluble adenylyl cyclase to create a cyclic AMP signaling domain in the mitochondrial matrix.
Intracellular Therapy Tool
Authors: Vinson Valda
Published: September 2011

A synthetic biomolecular circuit identifies abnormal cell states by the integration of multiple endogenous microRNA inputs.
Chimeric Channels
Authors: Vinson Valda
Published: September 2011

Engineered ion channels enable manipulation of cellular function by selective chemical control of ionic conductance.
SUSY ENHANCEMENT OF HEAVY HIGGS PRODUCTION
Authors: BEDNYAKOV A. V. , KAZAKOV D. I. , TANYILDIZI Ş. H.
Published: September 2011

We study the cross-section of heavy Higgs production at the LHC within the framework of the constrained MSSM. It is not only enhanced by tan 2β but sometimes is also enhanced by the squark contribution. First, we consider the universal scenario within mSUGRA and find out that to get the desired enhancement one needs large negative values of A0, which seems to be incompatible with the b → sγ decay rate. To improve the situation, we release the unification requirement in the Higgs sector. Then it becomes possible to satisfy all requirements simultaneously and enhance the squark contribution. The latter can gain a factor of several units increasing the overall cross-section which, however, is still smaller than the cross-section of the associated [Formula: see text] production. We consider also some other consequences of the chosen benchmark point.
THE FIRST PRINCIPLES CALCULATION OF STRUCTURAL, ELECTRONIC AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF MnXY (X = Ru, Rh AND Y = Ga, Ge, Sb) ALLOYS
Authors: MONIRI S. M. , NOURBAKHSH Z. , MOSTAJABODAAVATI M.
Published: September 2011

The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of MnXY ( X = Ru , Rh and Y = Ga , Ge , Sb ) Heusler alloys are studied using density functional theory by the WIEN2k package. These materials are ferromagnetic. Also they have some interesting half-metallic properties. The electron density of states, total and local magnetic moment of these alloys are calculated. We have calculated the effective Coulomb interaction U eff using the ab initio method. We have compared the magnetic moments of these alloys in GGA and LDA + U with the Slater–Pauling rule. Furthermore the effect of hydrostatic pressure on the magnetic moment of these alloys is studied. The calculated results are fitted with a second order polynomial.
IMPLEMENTATION OF OVERLAPPING SOLITON PAIR TO REDUCE TIME DELAY IN FEMTOSECOND PULSE PROPAGATION OVER SHORT STANDARD SINGLE MODE FIBER
Authors: ESMAEILIAN-MARNANI A. , ABAS A. F. , MAHDI M. A. , SAMSUDIN K.
Published: September 2011

Propagation of 50 femtosecond soliton pulse over short Standard Single Mode Fiber (SSMF) is reported by using soliton pair as the input pulse. The attraction of two solitons to propagate as one pulse is intended. The time deviation and average amplitude of propagating pulses are compared for several soliton orders and initial inter-pulse delays. It is discovered that by considering overlapping soliton pair as the input pulse, under special conditions, better propagation characteristic and lower time delay is experienced over short SSMF in comparison to the fundamental soliton.
CHARACTERIZATION OF NICKEL OXIDE THIN FILM — DC REACTIVE MAGNETRON SPUTTERING
Authors: ASHOK K.
Published: September 2011

Nickel oxide ( NiO ) thin films were deposited on glass substrates by reactive direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering of a Ni target in an Ar / O 2 mixture. The effect of thickness (0.2 μm, 0.4 μm and 1 μm) on the structural and surface morphological properties of NiO thin films was investigated. These films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The films were cubic NiO , with preferred orientation in the (111) direction at lower deposition time (10 mins). At higher deposition time (60 mins) the preferred orientation shifted to (200) plane. Electrochemical behavior of NiO thin films for different thickness samples were analyzed between the electrode potential ‑0.2 and 0.8 V vs scanning calomel electrode (SCE) in both anodic and cathodic directions and the current responses were measured.
STUDY OF THE STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF (Bi1-xCex)2Ti2O7 THIN FILMS PREPARED BY CHEMICAL SOLUTION DECOMPOSITION METHOD
Authors: JING XIANGYANG , HOU YANGBO , ZHANG XIAOYANG , QIN XIAOYAN
Published: September 2011

( Bi 1-x Ce x)2 Ti 2 O 7 thin films were grown on p- Si 〈100〉 substrates by chemical solution decomposition method. The relationship between the doping levels of cerium ions and the phase transition temperatures was studied. The doping of cerium ions could improve the phase stability of Bi 2 Ti 2 O 7, and the reason was comprehensively explained by the charge compensating theory. The doping of Ce ions enhances the crystallization temperature, which make the crystallization difficult, so the amount of cerium ions should be kept appropriate. The dielectric properties of ( Bi 1-x Ce x)2 Ti 2 O 7 thin films with different X values at different temperatures and different doping levels were listed, and the latent variation tendency was found. When the annealing temperature was 650–700°C and X = 0.12 or 0.16, the thin films showed better dielectric properties than the others.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF FEMTOSECOND PULSES LASER ON HOLE DRILLING OF SILICON WAFER
Authors: JIAO L. , NG E. Y. K. , ZHENG H. , WEE L. M.
Published: September 2011

This study investigated the relationship and parameters interactions between five independent variables in laser percussion drilling of micro-hole. Experiments were conducted on single crystal silicon wafer with material thickness of 725 μm using femtosecond (fs) laser with wavelength of 775 nm and pulse duration of 200 fs. Laser power, focus position, number of pulses, workpiece temperature and assist liquid were selected as independent process variables. Taguchi L18 orthogonal array was applied to design the experiments. The drilling process was evaluated in terms of entrance hole diameter and exit hole diameter. The analysis of the variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the significant parameters that are affecting the entrance hole diameter and exit hole diameter. The result shows that laser power and focus position has highly significant effect on entrance hole diameter. The number of pulses, focus position and assist liquid however has highly significant effect on exit hole diameter.