bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The role of dysfunctional attentional control networks in visual misperceptions in Parkinson's disease
Authors: Shine James M. , Halliday Glenda M. , Gilat Moran , Matar Elie , Bolitho Samuel J. , Carlos Maria , Naismith Sharon L. , Lewis Simon J.G.
Published: June 2013

Visual misperceptions and hallucinations represent a problematic symptom of Parkinson's disease. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these symptoms remain poorly understood, however, a recent hypothesis has suggested that visual misperceptions and hallucinations may arise from disrupted processing across attentional networks. To test the specific predictions of this hypothesis, 22 patients with Parkinson's disease underwent 3T fMRI while performing the Bistable Percept Paradigm, a task that has previously been shown to identify patients with hallucinations. Subjects are required to study a battery of randomly assigned “monostable” and “bistable” monochromatic images for the presence or absence of a bistable percept. Those patients who scored a high percentage of misperceptions and missed images on the task were less able to activate frontal and parietal hubs of the putative Dorsal Attention Network. Furthermore, poor performance on the task was significantly correlated with the degree of decreased activation in a number of these hubs. At the group level, the difference between processing a bistable versus a monostable cue was associated with increased recruitment of the anterior insula. In addition, those patients with impaired performance on the paradigm displayed decreased resting state functional connectivity between hubs of the Ventral and Dorsal Attention Networks. These same patients had significantly decreased gray matter in the insula bilaterally. In addition, a combined analysis of the separate neuroimaging approaches revealed significant relationships across the impaired networks. These findings are consistent with specific predictions from a recently proposed hypothesis that implicates dysfunction within attentional networks in Parkinsonian hallucinations. Hum Brain Mapp 35:2206–2219, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Campus Administrator and Student Perspectives for Improving Transfer Policy and Practice
Authors: Fann Amy
Published: June 2013

This chapter offers a set of recommendations for two‐year and four‐year institutions related to the evaluation and implementation of transfer policy and practice. These recommendations were drawn from a major study to investigate the perspectives of students, staff, and administrators.
Institutional Practices That Facilitate Bachelor's Degree Completion for Transfer Students
Authors: Miller Abby
Published: June 2013

This chapter presents findings from two recent Pell Institute studies, which explored the characteristics and experiences of low‐income, first‐generation community college transfer students in Texas and two‐year and four‐year institutional approaches to facilitating transfer student degree completion.
Building a Transfer‐Receptive Culture at Four‐Year Institutions
Authors: Herrera Alfred , Jain Dimpal
Published: June 2013

This chapter reviews a four‐year university's role in developing and implementing a transfer‐receptive culture. In particular, it focuses on the first element of a transfer‐receptive culture by highlighting a series of visits by the chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles, to community colleges within California.
Navigating the New Normal: Transfer Trends, Issues, and Recommendations
Authors: Marling Janet L.
Published: June 2013

This chapter establishes the use of data and effective communications as the foundation of comprehensive approaches to facilitating transfer student success and examines transfer trends and future issues. Recommendations are offered to institutions and individuals for navigating the new normal—collegiate transfer.
AN AUSTRALIAN DISCRETE CHOICE EXPERIMENT TO VALUE EQ‐5D HEALTH STATES
Authors: Viney Rosalie , Norman Richard , Brazier John , Cronin Paula , King Madeleine T. , Ratcliffe Julie , Street Deborah
Published: June 2013

Conventionally, generic quality‐of‐life health states, defined within multi‐attribute utility instruments, have been valued using a Standard Gamble or a Time Trade‐Off. Both are grounded in expected utility theory but impose strong assumptions about the form of the utility function. Preference elicitation tasks for both are complicated, limiting the number of health states that each respondent can value and, therefore, that can be valued overall. The usual approach has been to value a set of the possible health states and impute values for the remainder. Discrete Choice Experiments (DCEs) offer an attractive alternative, allowing investigation of more flexible specifications of the utility function and greater coverage of the response surface. We designed a DCE to obtain values for EQ‐5D health states and implemented it in an Australia‐representative online panel (n = 1,031). A range of specifications investigating non‐linear preferences with respect to time and interactions between EQ‐5D levels were estimated using a random‐effects probit model. The results provide empirical support for a flexible utility function, including at least some two‐factor interactions. We then constructed a preference index such that full health and death were valued at 1 and 0, respectively, to provide a DCE‐based algorithm for Australian cost–utility analyses. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Organizational Support for Action Learning in South Korean Organizations
Authors: Cho Yonjoo , Egan Toby
Published: June 2013

The purpose of this study was (1) to examine the impact of organizational support on employee learning and performance and (2) to elaborate on the context of organizational support for action learning in South Korean organizations. For this inquiry, two central questions were posed: What are employee reactions to organizational support for action learning? And what are key elements of organizational support for action learning? Framed by organizational support theory (OST), this study involved a mixed methods research design, including (1) a survey involving 268 action learning participants and their supervisors from 28 participating companies asked to report their perceptions of their organizations' support of action learning and (2) one‐on‐one, semistructured interviews with 34 HR managers and executives aimed at elaborating on the nature of support for action learning in their organization. Study findings support OST and indicate that South Korean organizations support action learning in a variety of ways and that such support was a critical factor in the success of their action learning efforts.
Magnesium‐based bone implants: Immunohistochemical analysis of peri‐implant osteogenesis by evaluation of osteopontin and osteocalcin expression
Authors: Bondarenko A. , Angrisani N. , Meyer‐Lindenberg A. , Seitz J. M. , Waizy H. , Reifenrath J.
Published: June 2013

The functions of some bone proteins, as osteopontin (OPN) and osteocalcin (OC), have been discovered by the latest studies. This fact suggests the possibility of their immunodetection to characterize peri‐implant osteogenesis and implant impact on it. Cylindrical pins of Mg alloys (MgCa0.8, LAE442, ZEK100, LANd442) and titanium alloy (TiAl6V4) were implanted into the tibial medullae of 46 rabbits. Each group was divided regarding to implant duration (3 and 6 months). Bone samples adjacent to the implants were decalcified and treated with routine histological and immunohistochemical protocols using OC and OPN‐antibodies. OC was detected in matrix of compact bone, but very rarely in osteoid and bone cells. OPN was detected intracellularly and in osteoid. After 3 months, the highest level of both markers was found in titanium group, followed by LAE442‐group. In contrast to LAE442 and TiAl6V4, the other Mg alloys showed increasing levels of OC after 6 months. Lower levels of OP and OC compared to the control group are related to the continuous implant degradation and instability of bone‐implant interface in early post‐surgical period. Reduced marker's expression in LAE442 and TiAl6V4 groups after 6 months may indicate stabilization of bone‐implant interface and completion of peri‐implant neo‐osteogenesis. Declining characters of OC and OPN expression over the implantation time, as well as their lowest levels in late post‐surgical term, suggest a more appropriate biocompatibility of LAE442, which therefore seems to be the most preferable of the tested materials for the use in orthopaedic applications. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 102A: 1449–1457, 2014.
Effects of hyaluronic acid conjugation on anti‐TNF‐α inhibition of inflammation in burns
Authors: Friedrich Emily E. , Sun Liang Tso , Natesan Shanmugasundaram , Zamora David O. , Christy Robert J. , Washburn Newell R.
Published: June 2013

Biomaterials capable of neutralizing specific cytokines could form the basis for treating a broad range of conditions characterized by intense, local inflammation. Severe burns, spanning partial‐ to full‐thickness of the dermis, can result in complications due to acute inflammation that contributes to burn progression, and early mediation may be a key factor in rescuing thermally injured tissue from secondary necrosis to improve healing outcomes. In this work, we examined the effects on burn progression and influence on the inflammatory microenvironment of topical application of anti‐tumor necrosis factor‐α (anti‐TNF‐α) alone, mixed with hyaluronic acid (HA) or conjugated to HA. We found that non‐conjugated anti‐TNF‐α decreased macrophage infiltration to a greater extent than that conjugated to HA; however, there was little effect on the degree of progression or IL‐1β levels. A simple transport model is proposed to analyze the results, which predicts qualitative and quantitative differences between untreated burn sites and those treated with the conjugates. Our results indicate that conjugation of anti‐TNF‐α to high molecular weight HA provides sustained, local modulation of the post‐injury inflammatory responses compared to direct administration of non‐conjugated antibodies. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 102A: 1527–1536, 2014.
Seroprevalence of Seasonal and Pandemic Influenza A in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2008–2010
Authors: Sam I‐Ching , Shaw Robert , Chan Yoke‐Fun , Hooi Poh‐Sim , Hurt Aeron C. , Barr Ian G.
Published: June 2013

Relatively little is known about the burden of influenza in tropical countries. The seroprevalence of pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009, seasonal H1N1 and H3N2 was determined in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Pre‐ and post‐pandemic residual laboratory sera were tested by hemagglutination‐inhibition. The seroprevalence of A(H1N1)pdm09 increased from 3.7% pre‐pandemic to 21.9% post‐pandemic, giving an overall cumulative incidence of 18.1% (95% CI, 13.8–22.5%), mainly due to increases in those <5, 5–17, and 18–29 years old. In contrast with findings from USA, Europe, and Australia, pre‐existing seroprevalence to A(H1N1)pdm09 was low at 5.6% in the elderly age group of >55 years. A(H1N1)pdm09 affected almost a third of those <30 years in Kuala Lumpur. Pre‐pandemic seroprevalence was 14.7% for seasonal H1N1 and 21.0% for H3N2, and these rates did not change significantly after the pandemic. Seasonal and pandemic influenza cause a considerable burden in tropical Malaysia, particularly in children and young adults. J. Med. Virol. 85:1420–1425, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effect of antiretroviral therapy on inflammatory markers of endothelial dysfunction in HIV treatment‐Naïve infected patients
Authors: Mata‐Marín José A. , Méndez‐Cruz René , Arroyo‐Anduiza Carla I. , Mata‐Marín Luis A. , Gaytán‐Martínez Jesús , Asbún‐Bojalil Juan
Published: June 2013

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of antiretroviral therapy on inflammatory markers of endothelial dysfunction in HIV treatment‐naïve infected patients. This was a prospective cohort study in HIV treatment‐naïve infected patients. The patients were assigned to a untreated group or a treatment group according to the therapeutic strategy received. Patients in the treatment group received efavirenz or lopinavir/ritonavir, each given with zidovudine and lamivudine. HIV RNA, CD4+ cell count, and the levels of hsCRP, sCD40L, sICAM‐1, sVCAM‐1, and sE‐selectin were measured before and 12 weeks after treatment. Fifty patients were enrolled: 13 in the untreated group and 37 in the treatment group; 48 (96%) completed the follow‐up. The mean (±SD) age was 33 ± 9 years, and 38 (79%) were men. The median pretreatment CD4+ cell counts were 263 cells/ml (IQR 118–341) in the treatment group and 658 cells/ml (IQR 475–887) in the untreated group. In the treatment group, the median serum sVCAM‐1 and sICAM‐1 levels decreased by a small but significant amount (1,400 and 228 ng/ml, respectively, P < 0.05) from before to after the 12 weeks. These levels did not change in the untreated group. Antiretroviral therapy is associated with a decrease in sVCAM‐1 and sICAM‐1 levels after 12 weeks of treatment. J. Med. Virol. 85:1321–1326, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Rapid separations by LC using ion‐exchange media based on spongy monoliths
Authors: Kubo Takuya , Tanigawa Tetsuya , Tominaga Yuichi , Hosoya Ken , Otsuka Koji
Published: June 2013

Novel sponge‐based monoliths containing ionic functional groups were developed for rapid separation and/or concentration of ionic solutes. The cationic and anionic spongy monoliths were prepared by chemical modifications of the pore surface on an original spongy monolith consisting of poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl acetate). After hydrolysis of the spongy monolith, an anionic or a cationic moiety was introduced with succinyl chloride or acryloyl chloride/diethylamine, respectively. As a result of liquid chromatographic evaluations for the columns packed with these ionic spongy monoliths, both anionic and cationic monoliths showed ionic interactions with the opposing ionic solutes even if a higher flow rate (9.0 mL/min) was employed. Furthermore, we demonstrated the effective and rapid preconcentration of adenosine 5′‐monophosphate in water using column‐switching LC combined with the cationic spongy monolith as an online SPE adsorbent.
Nanocomposites of Poly(1,4‐cis‐Isoprene) with Graphite Oxide Intercalation Compounds
Authors: Galimberti Maurizio , Cipolletti Valeria , Mauro Marco , Conzatti Lucia
Published: June 2013

Innovative nanocomposites are obtained by melt blending poly(1,4‐cis‐isoprene) (PI) and graphite oxide intercalation compounds (GOICs) with dimethyl di(hydrogenated tallow) ammonium (2HT) cations ionically bonded to the graphite oxide layers. GOIC samples with different contents of 2HT are prepared and homogeneously dispersed in the PI matrix. The X‐ray diffraction pattern of the GOIC shows an intense 100 reflection due to the hexagonal rotator order of the methylene sequences of long alkyl chains. Said rotator order is present in the nanocomposites, in the absence of any evidence of stacked layers, suggesting the prevailing exfoliation of the GOICs. The cross‐linking reaction promoted by sulfur is remarkably accelerated by the GOICs and the maximum modulus is enhanced. GOICs increase stresses at given elongations and the reinforcement under strain.

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Induction of G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis by the flavonoid tamarixetin on human leukemia cells
Authors: Nicolini Fabio , Burmistrova Olga , Marrero María Teresa , Torres Fernando , Hernández Cristina , Quintana José , Estévez Francisco
Published: June 2013

Flavonoids are naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds which display a vast array of biological activities. In this study, we investigated the effects of tamarixetin on viability of human tumor cell lines and found that it was cytotoxic against leukemia cells and in particular P‐glycoprotein‐overexpressing K562/ADR cells. This compound inhibited proliferation in a concentration‐ and time‐dependent manner, induced apoptosis and blocked cell cycle progression at G2‐M phase. This was associated with the accumulation of cyclin B1, Bub1 and p21Cip1/Waf‐1, changes in the phosphorylation status of cyclin B1, Cdk1, Cdc25C and MPM‐2, and inhibition of tubulin polymerization. Moreover, cell death was found to be associated with cytochrome c release and cleavage of caspases and of poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase, and completely abrogated by the free‐radical scavenger N‐acetyl‐L‐cysteine. The sensitivity of leukemic cells to tamarixetin suggests that it should be considered for further preclinical and in vivo testing. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Ultrashort‐TE MRI longitudinal study and characterization of a chronic model of asthma in mice: inflammation and bronchial remodeling assessment
Authors: Bianchi Andrea , Ozier Annaïg , Ousova Olga , Raffard Gérard , Crémillieux Yannick
Published: June 2013

Asthma is a chronic disease characterized by bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR), bronchial inflammation and remodeling. The great improvements in 1H MRI ultrashort‐TE (UTE) sequences in the last decade have allowed lung images with high‐resolution and good signal‐to‐noise ratio to be obtained in parenchymal tissues. In this article, we present a UTE 1H MRI high‐resolution study of a chronic model of asthma in mice with the aim to longitudinally assess the main features of asthma using a fully noninvasive approach. Balb/c mice (n = 6) were sensitized with ovalbumin over a period of 75 days. The control group (n = 3) received normal saline on the same days. MRI acquisitions were performed on days 0, 38 and 78 to study the inflammatory volumes and bronchial remodeling (peribronchial signal intensity index, PBSI). Plethysmographic studies were performed on days 0, 39 and 79 to assess BHR to methacholine using the enhanced pause (Penh) ratio. The average inflammatory volume measured by MRI in the ovalbumin group (15.6 ± 2.4 μL) was increased significantly relative to control mice (–0.3 ± 0.7 μL) on day 38. The inflammatory volume was larger (34.2 ± 3.1 μL) on day 78 in the ovalbumin group. PBSI was significantly higher in the ovalbumin group on day 78 (1.53 ± 0.08) relative to the control group (1.16 ± 0.10), but not on day 38. After sensitization, asthmatic mice presented BHR to methacholine on days 39 and 79. Penh ratios correlated significantly with the inflammatory volume on day 39 and with the PBSI on day 79. This study shows, for the first time, that high‐resolution UTE 1H MRI of the lungs may allow the noninvasive quantification of peribronchial eosinophilic inflammation with airways occlusion by mucus and of bronchial remodeling in a murine asthma model that correlates with functional parameters. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
3D domain decomposition for violent wave‐ship interactions
Authors: Greco M. , Colicchio G. , Lugni C. , Faltinsen O.M.
Published: June 2013

A 3D Domain‐Decomposition (DD) strategy has been developed to deal with violent wave‐ship interactions involving water‐on‐deck and slamming occurrence. It couples a linear potential flow seakeeping solver with a Navier–Stokes method. The latter is applied in an inner domain where slamming, water‐on‐deck, and free surface fragmentation may occur, involving important flow nonlinearities. The field solver combines an approximated projection method with a level set technique for the free surface evolution. A hybrid strategy, combining the Eulerian level set concept to Lagrangian markers, is used to enforce more accurately the body boundary condition in case of high local curvatures. Main features of the weak and the strong coupling algorithms are described with special focus on the boundary conditions for the inner solver. Two ways of estimating the nonlinear loads by the Navier–Stokes method are investigated, on the basis of an extrapolation technique and an interpolation marching cubes algorithm, respectively. The DD is applied for the case of a freely floating patrol ship in head sea regular waves and compared against water‐on‐deck experiments in terms of flow evolution, body motions, and pressure on the hull. Improvement of the solver efficiency and accuracy is suggested. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Monotone first‐order weighted schemes for scalar conservation laws
Authors: Jerez Silvia
Published: June 2013

In this work, we present a monotone first‐order weighted (FORWE) method for scalar conservation laws using a variational formulation. We prove theoretical properties as consistency, monotonicity, and convergence of the proposed scheme for the one‐dimensional (1D) Cauchy problem. These convergence results are extended to multidimensional scalar conservation laws by a dimensional splitting technique. For the validation of the FORWE method, we consider some standard bench‐mark tests of bidimensional and 1D conservation law equations. Finally, we analyze the accuracy of the method with L1 and L∞ error estimates. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2013
Cranial nerve palsy in diabetes: ‘Hunt’ for the diagnosis
Authors: Meenakshi‐Sundaram S , Karthik SN , Bharathi S , Periyakaruppan A , Badrinarayanan T , Swaminathan K
Published: June 2013

A 55‐year‐old diabetic woman presenting with right sixth nerve palsy was diagnosed initially as having diabetic cranial neuropathy. Worsening headache and reported blurring of the right optic disc margin warranted further evaluation. CT scan of the brain was normal and a diagnosis of idiopathic intracranial hypertension was made. Her headache worsened and a partial pupil involving third nerve palsy evolved, at which point she was referred to our institution.

Cranial MRI revealed features suggestive of Tolosa‐Hunt syndrome and she responded dramatically to steroid therapy. While third nerve palsy is the most common cranial neuropathy in diabetic patients, sixth nerve palsy merits a wide array of differential diagnoses. A gadolinium‐enhanced MRI of the brain is the preferred imaging modality for evaluating such patients, before branding them as having diabetic cranial neuropathy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons.
Impact of family‐oriented rehabilitation and prevention: an inpatient program for mothers with breast cancer and their children
Authors: John Katja , Becker Katja , Mattejat Fritz
Published: June 2013

Objective

This pilot intervention study assessed the impact of a 3‐week inpatient program for mothers with primary breast cancer and their children. The program combined rehabilitative treatment and preventive, psychosocial, child‐centered interventions.

Methods

A total of 116 mothers (age 29–57 years, mean = 41.1) with primary, non‐metastasized breast cancer completed standardized questionnaires before (Pre1), at the beginning of (Pre2), and at the end of (Post) a 3‐week inpatient intervention. The standardized scales included mothers' and children's quality of life and children's psychological symptoms. Mothers' emotional functioning and their 116 children's (age 3–14 years, mean = 7.4; 47% female) psychological health and emotional symptoms were defined as primary outcome measures. A within‐subject‐control‐group design was used to compare changes before the intervention (measurements Pre1–Pre2) to changes during the intervention (measurements Pre2–Post) via dependent one‐sided t‐tests. Additional exploratory analyses for further outcome variables were performed.

Results

Changes during the intervention period were significantly greater than changes during the waiting period for all primary outcome measures (mothers' emotional functioning: p < 0.0001; children's psychological health: p = 0.0035; and children's emotional symptoms: p = 0.0005).

Conclusions

Data suggest that the family‐oriented intervention ‘getting well together’ seems to be beneficial to mothers' and children's quality of life and psychological well‐being. Combining oncological rehabilitation and preventive child‐centered interventions might be a feasible approach to supporting breast cancer patients and their children and improving their emotional state. Further research is warranted. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Characterisation of the Permafrost Carbon Pool
Authors: Kuhry P. , Grosse G. , Harden J. W. , Hugelius G. , Koven C. D. , Ping C‐L. , Schirrmeister L. , Tarnocai C.
Published: June 2013

The current estimate of the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool in the northern permafrost region of 1672 Petagrams (Pg) C is much larger than previously reported and needs to be incorporated in global soil carbon (C) inventories. The Northern Circumpolar Soil Carbon Database (NCSCD), extended to include the range 0–300 cm, is now available online for wider use by the scientific community. An important future aim is to provide quantitative uncertainty ranges for C pool estimates. Recent studies have greatly improved understanding of the regional patterns, landscape distribution and vertical (soil horizon) partitioning of the permafrost C pool in the upper 3 m of soils. However, the deeper C pools in unconsolidated Quaternary deposits need to be better constrained. A general lability classification of the permafrost C pool should be developed to address potential C release upon thaw. The permafrost C pool and its dynamics are beginning to be incorporated into Earth System models, although key periglacial processes such as thermokarst still need to be properly represented to obtain a better quantification of the full permafrost C feedback on global climate change. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bias temperature instability analysis on memory properties improved by hydrogen annealing treatment in Ti/HfOx /Pt capacitors
Authors: Kim Hee‐Dong , Yun Min Ju , Hong Seok Man , An Ho‐Myoung , Kim Tae Geun
Published: June 2013

The influence of the hydrogen annealing treatment on the reliability of Ti/HfOx /Pt capacitors is investigated by analyzing bias temperature instability (BTI). As compared to the N2‐annealed sample, in the case of hydrogen‐annealed samples, both the set/reset voltages and currents are reduced from 6.5 V/–1.6 V to 3.8 V/–1.2 V and from 4 mA/170 nA to 800 µA/30 nA at 0.1 V, respectively. Of particular interest is the dramatic reduction in the set voltage variation from 3.3 V to 1.8 V. In addition, in BTI experiments, the current shift at the high resistance state (HRS) is reduced from 1.5 µA to 40 nA under a bias stress of –1 V/1000 s and from 40 µA to 0.5 µA under a temperature stress of 120 °C/1000 s. These results show that the hydrogen annealing treatment is very effective in improving the reliability of RRAM cells because it reduces the leakage current under bias temperature stress. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Superior electric storage in de‐alloyed and anodic oxidized Ti–Ni–Si glassy alloy ribbons
Authors: Fukuhara M. , Yoshida H. , Sato M. , Sugawara K. , Takeuchi T. , Seki I. , Sueyoshi T.
Published: June 2013

Ti–Ni–Si glassy alloy supercapacitors, devices that store electric charge on their TiO2 surfaces that contain many nanometer‐sized cavities, display many advantages over other power‐source technologies. The use of de‐alloying and anodic oxidization methods has made possible the synthesis of a TiO2 surface accessible to electron trapping. Until recently, no studies have addressed the “dry” electric storage in light glassy alloys. Our device realizes AC electric storage from 193 to 453 K with a voltage variation from 10 to 150 V, and DC capacitance of ∼4.8 F (∼52.8 kF/cm3), on the basis of electric double layers, deep electronic trapping sites and Shottky barriers. Further gains could be attained with surface optimization.

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(© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
A comparison of two numerical weather prediction methods for diagnosing fast‐physics errors in climate models
Authors: Klocke D. , Rodwell M. J.
Published: June 2013

An important aspect of the assessment of climate models is the representation of fast physical processes, which have a strong impact on climate projections. Since these fast processes also have a strong impact on weather forecasts, there is potential in using numerical weather prediction (NWP)‐based methodologies in climate model assessments.

Two NWP‐based methods have been proposed in the literature. The first is referred to as the ‘initial tendency’ approach and assesses the systematic departure in the first few hours of short climate model resolution forecasts from the weather trajectory. For this method, the forecast model needs data assimilation capabilities to create initial conditions consistent with the model physics. The second approach is referred to as the ‘transpose‐AMIP’ method. This makes use of analyses produced with a different forecast model to initiate weather forecasts with a climate model. It is generally recommended that errors are diagnosed after a few forecast days to minimise the impact of the non‐native initial conditions.

Here we compare these two methods in one NWP model over the subtropical South Pacific, which encompasses climatologically important regimes and transitions between them. The impact of the non‐native initial conditions is compared with the impact of an error introduced in the convection scheme.

Results show that care is needed in the design and evaluation of transpose‐AMIP‐style experiments if model errors are to be disentangled from, at short lead‐times, the initial shock of using non‐native initial conditions and, at longer lead‐times, the complicating effects of interactions and the growth of chaos. On the other hand, the initial tendency approach is able to identify the introduced model error. This provides some evidence that it might be worthwhile for climate centres to explore the use of data assimilation.
An Adaptive Sequential Experimentation Methodology for Expensive Response Surface Optimization – Case Study in Traumatic Brain Injury Modeling
Authors: Alaeddini Adel , Yang Kai , Mao Haojie , Murat Alper , Ankenman Bruce
Published: June 2013

The preset response surface designs often lack the ability to adapt the design based on the characteristics of application and experimental space so as to reduce the number of experiments necessary. Hence, they are not cost effective for applications where the cost of experimentation is high or when the experimentation resources are limited. In this paper, we present an adaptive sequential methodology forn‐dimensional response surface optimization (n‐dimensional adaptive sequential response surface methodology (N‐ASRSM)) for industrial experiments with high experimentation cost, which requires high design optimization performance. We also develop a novel risk adjustment strategy for effectively considering the effect of noise into the design. The N‐ASRSM is a sequential adaptive experimentation approach, which uses the information from previous experiments to design the subsequent experiment by simultaneously reducing the region of interest and identifying factor combinations for new experiments. Its major advantage is the experimentation efficiency such that, for a given response target, it identifies the input factor combination in less number of experiments than the classical response surface methodology designs. We applied N‐ASRSM to the problem of traumatic brain injury modeling and compared the result with the conventional central composite design. Also, through extensive simulated experiments with different quadratic and nonlinear cases, we show that the proposed N‐ASRSM method outperforms the classical response surface methodology designs and compares favorably with other sequential response surface methodologies in the literature in terms of both design optimality and experimentation efficiency. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Robotic surgery for deep endometriosis: a paradigm shift
Authors: Siesto Gabriele , Ieda Nicoletta , Rosati Riccardo , Vitobello Domenico
Published: June 2013

Background

Minimally invasive surgery represents the gold standard for the management of deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE). This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of robotic surgery for the management of DIE.

Methods

A 5‐year retrospective cohort study was made of robotic procedures including: segmental bowel resections, removal of nodules from the rectovaginal septum (RVS) with or without rectal shaving and partial bladder resection.

Results

Overall, 19 bowel resections, 23 removals of RVS nodules and five bladder resections were performed, alone or in combination. Associated posterior vaginal resections were performed in 12 cases. Neither intra‐operative complications, nor conversion to laparotomy occurred. One anastomotic leakage was recorded.

Conclusion

This series of robotic procedures for DIE represents the largest currently available and it helps to promote robotics as a safe and attractive alternative to accomplish a comprehensive surgical treatment of DIE, especially when bowel or bladder resections are needed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Combined MODFLOW‐FRACTRAN Application to Assess Chlorinated Solvent Transport and Remediation in Fractured Sedimentary Rock
Authors: Chapman Steven W. , Parker Beth L. , Cherry John A. , McDonald Shane D. , Goldstein Kenneth J. , Frederick Jeffrey J. , Germain Daniel J. St. , Cutt Diana M. , Williams Charles E.
Published: June 2013

Detailed field investigations and numerical modeling were conducted to evaluate transport and fate of chlorinated solvent contamination in a fractured sedimentary bedrock aquifer (sandstone/siltstone/mudstone) at a Superfund site in central New Jersey. Field investigations provided information on the fractured rock system hydrogeology, including hydraulic gradients, bulk hydraulic conductivity, fracture network, and rock matrix, and on depth discrete contaminant distribution in fractures (via groundwater sampling) and matrix (via detailed subsampling of continuous cores). The numerical modeling endeavor involved application of both an equivalent porous media (EPM) model for flow and a discrete fracture network (DFN) model for transport. This combination of complementary models, informed by appropriate field data, allowed a quantitative representation of the conceptual site model (CSM) to assess relative importance of various processes, and to examine efficacy of remedial alternatives. Modeling progressed in two stages: first a large‐scale (20 km x 25 km domain) 3‐D EPM flow model (MODFLOW) was used to evaluate the bulk groundwater flow system and contaminant transport pathways under historic and current aquifer stress conditions and current stresses. Then, results of the flow model informed a 2‐D DFN transport model (FRACTRAN) to evaluate transport along a 1,000‐m flowpath from the source represented as a 2‐D vertical cross‐section. The combined model results were used to interpret and estimate the current and potential future extent of rock matrix and aqueous‐phase contaminant conditions and evaluate remedial strategies. Results of this study show strong effects of matrix diffusion and other processes on attenuating the plume such that future impacts on downgradient well fields under the hydraulic stresses modeled should be negligible. Results also showed futility of source remediation efforts in the fractured rock, and supported a technical impracticability (TI) waiver for the site. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
An In Situ Bioreactor for the Treatment of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Groundwater
Authors: Key Katherine C. , Sublette Kerry L. , Johannes Tyler W. , Raes Eric , Sullivan Edward , Duba James , Ogles Dora , Baldwin Brett R. , Biernacki Anita
Published: June 2013

Two pilot tests of an aerobic in situ bioreactor (ISBR) have been conducted at field sites contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. The two sites differed with respect to hydrocarbon concentrations. At one site, concentrations were low but persistent, and at the other site concentrations were high enough to be inhibitory to biodegradation. The ISBR unit is designed to enhance biodegradation of hydrocarbons by stimulating indigenous microorganisms. This approach builds on existing Bio‐Sep® bead technology, which provides a matrix that can be rapidly colonized by the active members of the microbial community and serves to concentrate indigenous degraders. Oxygen and nutrients are delivered to the bioreactor to maintain conditions favorable for growth and reproduction, and contaminated groundwater is treated as it is circulated through the bed of Bio‐Sep® beads. Groundwater moving through the system also transports degraders released from Bio‐Sep® beads away from the bioreactor, potentially increasing biodegradation rates throughout the aquifer.

Groundwater sampling, Bio‐Traps, and molecular biological tools were used to assess ISBR performance during the two pilot tests. Groundwater monitoring indicated that contaminant concentrations decreased at both sites, and the microbial data suggested that these decreases were due to degradation by indigenous microorganisms rather than dilution or dispersion mechanisms. Taken together, these lines of evidence showed that the ISBR system effectively increased the number and activity of indigenous microbial degraders and enhanced bioremediation at the test sites. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effectiveness of Capture Zones Generated by Intermittent Pumping of a PV‐Powered Pump‐and‐Treat System Without Energy Storage
Authors: Lena Yovanna Cortes Di , Elmore Andrew Curtis , Conroy John
Published: June 2013

A common technology to remediate and/or contain contaminated groundwater is pump‐and‐treat remediation (P&T). Traditionally, P&T systems have been designed to operate continuously to achieve steady‐state capture zones, for which large amounts of energy are required. Green and sustainable remediation (GSR) is emerging as a viable method to minimize the adverse effects of remediation on the environment. One of the challenges associated with photovoltaic‐ (PV‐) powered P&T systems is the assessment of their performance given the intermittent nature of the power availability. This article characterizes the hydraulic containment effectiveness of a PV‐powered P&T system without energy storage using data collected at two different remediation sites, a Dry‐Cleaning Environmental Response Trust Fund site in Rolla, Missouri, and the Former Nebraska Ordnance Plant near Mead, Nebraska. Additionally, a method to estimate the effectiveness of the hydraulic containment as a function of the total volume of groundwater expected to be extracted is being proposed. Two transient and a continuously pumped capture zones were modeled using Visual MODFLOW® 2012.1 along with MODPATH and compared. The study shows that smaller capture zones will be generated from intermittent pumping when compared to continuous pumping. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
An Ecological Multidisciplinary Approach to Protecting Society, Human Health, and the Environment at Nuclear Facilities
Authors: Burger Joanna , Gochfeld Michael , Clarke James , Powers Charles W. , Kosson David
Published: June 2013

As the United States and other countries move toward a greater reliance on nuclear energy, it becomes increasingly important to characterize the environment around such facilities to protect society, human health, and the environment. This article presents an ecological, multidisciplinary approach to gathering the information needed to establish baselines, site new nuclear facilities, protect existing nuclear facilities and nuclear wastes, improve the basis for emergency planning, devise suitable monitoring schemes to ensure continued protection, provide data to track local and regional response changes, and provide for mitigation, remediation, and decommissioning planning. We suggest that there are five categories of information or data needs: (1) geophysical, sources, fate and transport; (2) biological systems; (3) human health; (4) stakeholder and environmental justice; and (5) societal, economic, and political. All of these categories are influenced by temporal and spatial patterns, vulnerabilities, and global changes. These informational needs are more expansive than the traditional site characterization but encompass a suite of physical, biological, and societal needs to protect all aspects of human health and the environment, not just physical health. We suggest that technical teams be established for each of the major informational categories, with appropriate representation among teams and with a broad involvement of a range of governmental personnel, natural and social scientists, Native Americans, environmental justice communities, and other stakeholders. Although designed for nuclear facilities, the templates and information teams can be adapted for other hazardous facilities. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Why caution is recommended with post‐hoc individual patient matching for estimation of treatment effect in parallel‐group randomized controlled trials: The case of acute stroke trials
Authors: Jafari Nahid , Hearne John , Churilov Leonid
Published: June 2013

A post‐hoc individual patient matching procedure was recently proposed within the context of parallel group randomized clinical trials (RCTs) as a method for estimating treatment effect. In this paper, we consider a post‐hoc individual patient matching problem within a parallel group RCT as a multi‐objective decision‐making problem focussing on the trade‐off between the quality of individual matches and the overall percentage of matching. Using acute stroke trials as a context, we utilize exact optimization and simulation techniques to investigate a complex relationship between the overall percentage of individual post‐hoc matching, the size of the respective RCT, and the quality of matching on variables highly prognostic for a good functional outcome after stroke, as well as the dispersion in these variables. It is empirically confirmed that a high percentage of individual post‐hoc matching can only be achieved when the differences in prognostic baseline variables between individually matched subjects within the same pair are sufficiently large and that the unmatched subjects are qualitatively different to the matched ones. It is concluded that the post‐hoc individual matching as a technique for treatment effect estimation in parallel‐group RCTs should be exercised with caution because of its propensity to introduce significant bias and reduce validity. If used with appropriate caution and thorough evaluation, this approach can complement other viable alternative approaches for estimating the treatment effect. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Magnetic Targeting of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells with Internalized Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles
Authors: Landázuri Natalia , Tong Sheng , Suo Jin , Joseph Giji , Weiss Daiana , Sutcliffe Diane J. , Giddens Don P. , Bao Gang , Taylor W. Robert
Published: June 2013

Cell therapies offer exciting new opportunities for effectively treating many human diseases. However, delivery of therapeutic cells by intravenous injection, while convenient, relies on the relatively inefficient process of homing of cells to sites of injury. To address this limitation, a novel strategy has been developed to load cells with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs), and to attract them to specific sites within the body by applying an external magnetic field. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated using human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), which may have a significant potential for regenerative cell therapies due to their ease of isolation from autologous tissues, and their ability to differentiate into various lineages and modulate their paracrine activity in response to the microenvironment. The efficient loading of hMSCs with polyethylene glycol‐coated SPIOs is achieved, and it is found that SPIOs are localized primarily in secondary lysosomes of hMSCs and are not toxic to the cells. Further, the key stem cell characteristics, including the immunophenotype of hMSCs and their ability to differentiate, are not altered by SPIO loading. Through both experimentation and mathematical modeling, it is shown that, under applied magnetic field gradients, SPIO‐containing cells can be localized both in vitro and in vivo. The results suggest that, by loading SPIOs into hMSCs and applying appropriate magnetic field gradients, it is possible to target hMSCs to particular vascular networks.
Density functional tight binding: application to organic and biological molecules
Authors: Gaus Michael , Cui Qiang , Elstner Marcus
Published: June 2013

In this work, we review recent extensions of the density functional tight binding (DFTB) methodology and its application to organic and biological molecules. DFTB denotes a class of computational models derived from density functional theory (DFT) using a Taylor expansion around a reference density. The first‐ and second‐order models, DFTB1 and DFTB2, have been reviewed recently (WIREs Comput Mol Sci 2012, 2:456–465). Here, we discuss the extension to third order, DFTB3, which in combination with a modification of the Coulomb interactions in the second‐order formalism and a new parametrization scheme leads to a significant improvement of the overall performance. The performance of DFTB2 and DFTB3 for organic and biological molecules are discussed in detail, as well as problems and limitations of the underlying approximations. WIREs Comput Mol Sci 2014, 4:49–61. doi: 10.1002/wcms.1156

This article is categorized under:

Electronic Structure Theory > Semiempirical Electronic Structure Methods
Self‐induced vibrations of a DU96‐W‐180 airfoil in stall
Authors: Skrzypiński Witold Robert , Gaunaa Mac , Sørensen Niels , Zahle Frederik , Heinz Joachim
Published: June 2013

This work presents an analysis of two‐dimensional (2D) and three‐dimensional (3D) non‐moving, prescribed motion and elastically mounted airfoil computational fluid dynamics (CFD) computations. The elastically mounted airfoil computations were performed by means of a 2D structural model with two degrees of freedom. The computations aimed at investigating the mechanisms of both vortex‐induced and stall‐induced vibrations related to a wind turbine blade at standstill conditions. In this work, a DU96‐W‐180 airfoil was used in the angle‐of‐attack region potentially corresponding to stall‐induced vibrations. The analysis showed significant differences between the aerodynamic stability limits predicted by 2D and 3D CFD computations. A general agreement was reached between the prescribed motion and elastically mounted airfoil computations. 3D computations indicated that vortex‐induced vibrations are likely to occur at modern wind turbine blades at standstill. In contrast, the predicted cut‐in wind speed necessary for the onset of stall‐induced vibrations appeared high enough for such vibrations to be unlikely. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.