bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ongoing Crestal Bone Loss around Implants Subjected to Computer‐Guided Flapless Surgery and Immediate Loading Using the All‐on‐4® Concept
Authors: Browaeys Hilde , Dierens Melissa , Ruyffelaert Christian , Matthijs Carine , De Bruyn Hugo , Vandeweghe Stefan
Published: January 2014

Background

The All‐on‐4® concept is widely applied for full‐arch rehabilitations, using two tilted and two axially loaded implants in order to overcome anatomical constraints.

Purpose

The aim of this study was to assess the survival and individual success of implants immediately loaded with an All‐on‐4 full‐arch screw‐retained prosthetic bridge in fully edentulous mandibles or maxillae over up to 3 years.

Materials and Methods

In total, 20 patients with atrophic jaws (9 maxillae, 11 mandibles) were treated with computer‐guided flapless surgery and immediately provided with a provisional bridge. The final prosthesis was delivered after 6 months. In total, 80 TiUnite™ Brånemark implants were placed. Radiographs were taken after surgery and 1 and 3 years later.

Results

A 3‐year survival rate of 100% was seen for all implants, both in lower and in upper jaw. None of the temporary or definite prostheses were lost over the follow‐up period of 3 years. After 1 year, the mean bone loss was 1.13 mm (SD 0.94; range −0.1 to 3.8), and after 3 years, it was 1.61 mm (SD 1.40; range 0 to 5). The mean bone loss between the 1‐year and 3‐year follow‐ups was 0.48 mm (SD 0.66; range −1.2 to 3.6). This difference was statistically significant (p < .001), indicative of ongoing bone loss. Twenty‐six percent of the implants had bone loss above 1.5 mm after 1 year, but after 3 years, 30% of the implants had already lost more than 1.9 mm.

Conclusion

The implant and prosthetic survival was 100%, and patients benefited from the All‐on‐4 treatment. However, unacceptable ongoing bone loss was seen in 49.2% of the patients; this may be a warning sign for future problems and needs clinical attention. Overloading and surgery‐related aspects need to be investigated as potential explanations.
Quantitative resistance can lead to evolutionary changes in traits not targeted by the resistance QTLs
Authors: van den Berg Femke , Lannou Christian , Gilligan Christopher A. , van den Bosch Frank
Published: January 2014

This paper addresses the general concern in plant pathology that the introduction of quantitative resistance in the landscape can lead to increased pathogenicity. Hereto, we study the hypothetical case of a quantitative trait loci (QTL) acting on pathogen spore production per unit lesion area. To regain its original fitness, the pathogen can break the QTL, restoring its spore production capacity leading to an increased spore production per lesion. Or alternatively, it can increase its lesion size, also leading to an increased spore production per lesion. A data analysis shows that spore production per lesion (affected by the resistance QTL) and lesion size (not targeted by the QTL) are positively correlated traits, suggesting that a change in magnitude of a trait not targeted by the QTL (lesion size) might indirectly affect the targeted trait (spore production per lesion). Secondly, we model the effect of pathogen adaptation towards increased lesion size and analyse its consequences for spore production per lesion. The model calculations show that when the pathogen is unable to overcome the resistance associated QTL, it may compensate for its reduced fitness by indirect selection for increased pathogenicity on both the resistant and susceptible cultivar, but whereby the QTLs remain effective.
Exposure to phages has little impact on the evolution of bacterial antibiotic resistance on drug concentration gradients
Authors: Zhang Quan‐Guo
Published: January 2014

The use of phages for treating bacterial pathogens has recently been advocated as an alternative to antibiotic therapy. Here, we test a hypothesis that bacteria treated with phages may show more limited evolution of antibiotic resistance as the fitness costs of resistance to phages may add to those of antibiotic resistance, further reducing the growth performance of antibiotic‐resistant bacteria. We did this by studying the evolution of phage‐exposed and phage‐free Pseudomonas fluorescens cultures on concentration gradients of single drugs, including cefotaxime, chloramphenicol, and kanamycin. During drug treatment, the level of bacterial antibiotic resistance increased through time and was not affected by the phage treatment. Exposure to phages did not cause slower growth in antibiotic‐resistant bacteria, although it did so in antibiotic‐susceptible bacteria. We observed significant reversion of antibiotic resistance after drug use being terminated, and the rate of reversion was not affected by the phage treatment. The results suggest that the fitness costs caused by resistance to phages are unlikely to be an important constraint on the evolution of bacterial antibiotic resistance in heterogeneous drug environments. Further studies are needed for the interaction of fitness costs of antibiotic resistance with other factors.
Dynamic protein ligand interactions – insights from MS
Authors: Schmidt Carla , Robinson Carol V.
Published: January 2014

Proteins undergo dynamic interactions with carbohydrates, lipids and nucleotides to form catalytic cores, fine‐tuned for different cellular actions. The study of dynamic interactions between proteins and their cognate ligands is therefore fundamental to the understanding of biological systems. During the last two decades MS, and its associated techniques, has become accepted as a method for the study of protein–ligand interactions, not only for covalent complexes, where the use of MS is well established, but also, and significantly for protein–ligand interactions, for noncovalent assemblies. In this review, we employ a broad definition of a ligand to encompass protein subunits, drug molecules, oligonucleotides, carbohydrates, and lipids. Under the appropriate conditions, MS can reveal the composition, heterogeneity and dynamics of these protein–ligand interactions, and in some cases their structural arrangements and binding affinities. Herein, we highlight MS approaches for studying protein–ligand complexes, including those containing integral membrane subunits, and showcase examples from recent literature. Specifically, we tabulate the myriad of methodologies, including hydrogen exchange, proteomics, hydroxyl radical footprinting, intact complexes, and crosslinking, which, when combined with MS, provide insights into conformational changes and subtle modifications in response to ligand‐binding interactions.
Universal Health Coverage: Solution or Siren? Some Preliminary Thoughts
Authors: Temkin Larry S.
Published: January 2014

In recent years, there has been a growing groundswell of support for the idea that universal health coverage should be provided even in the developing world. While I wholeheartedly agree with the eventual goal of attaining universal health coverage globally, and the sooner the better, I have worries as to whether the world's rich countries, or institutions like the World Health Organization, should be pushing the world's poorest countries to take whatever steps are necessary to achieve that goal. My fear is that universal health coverage in the developing world is an intoxicating, but potentially dangerous, idea whose time may not yet have come. This article's aim is not to settle the question of whether the developing world should be urged, or pushed, to adopt policies of universal health coverage. It is merely to explore some worries about the wisdom of such a tack.

The article is divided into eight sections. In Section 1, I give a brief introduction. In Section 2, I provide some background for my topic. In Section 3, I discuss the notion of universal health coverage, and what the push for such a goal in the developing world seemingly involves. In Section 4, I raise some general worries I have about the push for universal health coverage in the developing world. In Section 5, I present a wide range of possible justifications for universal health coverage in the developing world. In Section 6, I discuss whether any of the purported justifications of universal health coverage in the developing world actually do so. In Section 7, I consider some comments, objections, and responses. Finally, in Section 8, I offer a brief conclusion.
Model averaging for genome‐enabled prediction with reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces: a case study with pig litter size and wheat yield
Authors: Tusell L. , Pérez‐Rodríguez P. , Forni S. , Gianola D.
Published: January 2014

Predictive ability of yet‐to‐be observed litter size (pig) grain yield (wheat) records of several reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces (RKHS) regression models combining different number of Gaussian or t kernels was evaluated. Predictive performance was assessed as the average (over 50 replicates) predictive correlation in the testing set. Predictions from these models were combined using three different types of model averaging: (i) mean of predicted phenotypes obtained in each model, (ii) weighted average using mean squared error as weight or (iii) using the marginal likelihood as weight. (ii) and (iii) were obtained in a validation set with 5% of the data. Phenotypes consisted of 2598, 1604 and 1879 average litter size records from three commercial pig lines and wheat grain yield of 599 lines evaluated in four macro‐environments. SNPs from the PorcineSNP60 BeadChip and 1447 DArT markers were used as predictors for the pig and wheat data analyses, respectively. Gaussian and univariate t kernels led to same predictive performance. Multikernel RKHS regression models overcame shortcomings of single kernel models (increasing the predictive correlation of RKHS models by 0.05 where 3 Gaussian or t kernels were fitted in the RKHS models simultaneously). None of the proposed averaging strategies improved the predictive correlations attained with single models using multiple kernel fitting.
Effect of allele frequencies, effect sizes and number of markers on prediction of quantitative traits in chickens
Authors: Abdollahi‐Arpanahi R. , Nejati‐Javaremi A. , Pakdel A. , Moradi‐Shahrbabak M. , Morota G. , Valente B.D. , Kranis A. , Rosa G.J.M. , Gianola D.
Published: January 2014

The objective was to assess goodness of fit and predictive ability of subsets of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers constructed based on minor allele frequency (MAF), effect sizes and varying marker density. Target traits were body weight (BW), ultrasound measurement of breast muscle (BM) and hen house egg production (HHP) in broiler chickens. We used a 600 K Affymetrix platform with 1352 birds genotyped. The prediction method was genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP) with 354 564 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) used to derive a genomic relationship matrix (G). Predictive ability was assessed as the correlation between predicted genomic values and corrected phenotypes from a threefold cross‐validation. Predictive ability was 0.27 ± 0.002 for BW, 0.33 ± 0.001 for BM and 0.20 ± 0.002 for HHP. For the three traits studied, predictive ability decreased when SNPs with a higher MAF were used to construct G. Selection of the 20% SNPs with the largest absolute effect sizes induced a predictive ability equal to that from fitting all markers together. When density of markers increased from 5 K to 20 K, predictive ability enhanced slightly. These results provide evidence that designing a low‐density chip using low‐frequency markers with large effect sizes may be useful for commercial usage.
Long‐Term Follow‐Up of Pure Linear Ablation for Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Without Circumferential Pulmonary Vein Isolation
Authors: WU LINGMIN , YAO YAN , ZHENG LIHUI , ZHANG KUIJUN , ZHANG SHU
Published: January 2014

Long‐Term Follow‐Up of Linear Ablation for AF

Background

The long‐term outcome of radiofrequency catheter ablation in persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) patients remains controversial due to different procedural strategies. This study aimed to present the clinical outcome of a pure linear ablation approach without circumferential pulmonary vein isolation (CPVI) over an extended (>5 years) follow‐up period.

Methods

From January 2005 to December 2009, 120 consecutive patients (94 men; age, 53.6 ± 10.3 years) with drug‐refractory persistent AF that underwent pure linear ablation using AF termination as the desired procedural endpoint were enrolled.

Results

In the primary procedure, sinus rhythm was restored by ablation in 75 (62.5%) patients, and the remaining 45 patients in whom AF could not be terminated by ablation received electrical cardioversion. During a median follow‐up period of 5.1 (range 3.2–7.5) years, sinus rhythm was maintained in 48 (40.0%) patients without any antiarrhythmic drugs after a single procedure. There was a higher long‐term success in the patients in whom AF was terminated by ablation than in those requiring cardioversion (49.3 vs. 24.4%; P = 0.007).

Conclusion

Linear catheter ablation without CPVI is effective for persistent AF. Patients with AF terminated by ablation were associated with a better long‐term outcome than those requiring cardioversion
Anticoagulation Management in Individuals with Hip Fracture
Authors: Gleason Lauren J. , Mendelson Daniel A. , Kates Stephen L. , Friedman Susan M.
Published: January 2014

Objectives

To determine the interventions taken to lower international normalized ratio (INR) in individuals with hip fracture using warfarin before admission for hip fracture surgery in a geriatric fracture center (GFC) and compare outcomes with those of individuals not taking warfarin.

Design

Cohort study using retrospective chart review.

Setting

University‐affiliated community teaching hospital.

Participants

Individuals aged 60 and older admitted to a GFC for surgical repair of a nonpathological, nonperiprosthetic hip fracture between April 2006 and April 2012.

Measurements

Descriptive data collected from a quality improvement registry with additional information for individuals taking warfarin obtained from chart review.

Results

Of the 1,080 individuals included in the analysis, 84 (7.8%) were taking warfarin on admission. Participants using warfarin had a higher average Charlson Comorbidity Index (3.8 vs 3.1, P < .001). Atrial fibrillation was the most common indication for anticoagulation (83.3%). Average INR before surgery was 1.7 (range 1.2–3.6). Vitamin K, fresh frozen plasma, or both were given to 100% of those taking warfarin with an admission INR of 2.0 or greater. There was a trend toward longer time to surgery in those taking warfarin than in those not taking warfarin (28.9 vs 21.7 hours, P = .05). Length of stay was longer for those taking warfarin than those not taking warfarin (4.8 vs 4.2 days, P = .04). Neither time to surgery nor length of stay were significantly different after adjustment for baseline comorbidity. Participants taking warfarin were not found to have any significant differences in thromboembolic event rates, bleeding complications rates, mortality, or 30‐day readmission after surgery than those not taking warfarin on admission.

Conclusion

Active management in a GFC model to reverse anticoagulation before surgery may facilitate earlier surgery without increasing observed complications.
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Obesity and Overweight as Predictors of the Onset of Functional Impairment
Authors: Wei Liang , Wu Bei
Published: January 2014

Objectives

To examine racial and ethnic differences in the effects of body mass index (BMI) on the onset of functional impairment over 10 years of follow‐up.

Design

Longitudinal analyses of a cohort from a nationally representative survey of community‐dwelling American adults.

Setting

Six waves (1996–2006) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS).

Participants

Two groups of HRS participants aged 50 and older without functional impairment at baseline (1996): 5,884 with no mobility difficulty and 8,484 with no activity of daily living (ADL) difficulty.

Measurements

Mobility difficulty was a composite measure of difficulty walking several blocks, walking one block, climbing several flights of stairs, and climbing one flight of stairs. ADL difficulty was measured as difficulty in dressing, bathing or showering, eating, and getting in and out of bed without help. The association between baseline BMI and risk of developing functional impairment was estimated using generalized estimating equation models.

Results

Overweight and obesity were significant predictors of functional impairment. Overweight and obese Hispanics were 41% and 91% more likely, respectively, to develop ADL disability than whites in the same BMI categories. Overweight and severely obese blacks were also more likely than their white counterparts to develop ADL disability. Risk of developing ADL difficulty was higher for Hispanics than for blacks in the obese category. No significant differences in onset of mobility difficulty were found between racial or ethnic groups within any BMI category.

Conclusion

Blacks and Hispanics were at higher risk than whites of ADL but not mobility impairment. In addition to weight control, prevention efforts should promote exercise to reduce functional impairment, especially for blacks and Hispanics, who are at higher risk.
Behavioral Treatment of Insomnia: Also Effective for Nocturia
Authors: Tyagi Shachi , Resnick Neil M. , Perera Subashan , Monk Timothy H. , Hall Martica H. , Buysse Daniel J.
Published: January 2014

Objectives

To evaluate changes in self‐reported nocturia in community‐dwelling adults aged 60 and older who received behavioral treatment for chronic insomnia.

Design

Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of a behavioral intervention for sleep.

Setting

Academic medical center.

Participants

Of the 79 enrollees, this analysis focused on 30 who, in addition to insomnia, also reported at least one nightly episode of waking up to void.

Intervention

The brief behavioral treatment of insomnia (BBTI) group (n = 14) received instructions on reducing time in bed and setting a regular sleep schedule. The information control (IC) group (n = 16) received printed materials. A nurse clinician delivered both interventions.

Measurements

Self‐reported nocturnal awakenings to void assessed daily for 14 days at baseline and 4 weeks after the intervention. Participants who reported at least one episode of nocturia per night at baseline were included in this analysis.

Results

In individuals with nocturia at baseline, the total number of nocturnal voids over the 14‐day assessment period decreased by 6.5 ± 4.8 in the BBTI group and increased by 1.3 ± 7.3 in the IC group (P = .04, effect size 0.82). After adjusting for baseline nocturia episodes, the difference remained significant (P = .05).

Conclusion

In older adults with concurrent insomnia and nocturia, behavioral treatment directed solely at insomnia may also improve self‐reported nocturia. Behavioral treatment of insomnia should be further investigated for its effect on nocturia in individuals with concurrent insomnia and nocturia.
Family Matters: Effects of Birth Order, Culture, and Family Dynamics on Surrogate Decision‐Making
Authors: Su Christopher T. , McMahan Ryan D. , Williams Brie A. , Sharma Rashmi K. , Sudore Rebecca L.
Published: January 2014

Cultural attitudes about medical decision‐making and filial expectations may lead some surrogates to experience stress and family conflict. Thirteen focus groups with racially and ethnically diverse English and Spanish speakers from county and Veterans Affairs hospitals, senior centers, and cancer support groups were conducted to describe participants' experiences making serious or end‐of‐life decisions for others. Filial expectations and family dynamics related to birth order and surrogate decision‐making were explored using qualitative, thematic content analysis, and overarching themes from focus group transcripts were identified. The mean age of the 69 participants was 69 ± 14, and 29% were African American, 26% were white, 26% were Asian or Pacific Islander, and 19% were Latino. Seventy percent of participants engaged in unprompted discussions about birth order and family dynamics. Six subthemes were identified within three overarching categories: communication (unspoken expectations and discussion of death as taboo), emotion (emotional stress and feelings of loneliness), and conflict (family conflict and potential solutions to prevent conflict). These findings suggest that birth order and family dynamics can have profound effects on surrogate stress and coping. Clinicians should be aware of potential unspoken filial expectations for firstborns and help facilitate communication between the patient, surrogate, and extended family to reduce stress and conflict.
Midsagittal brain variation and MRI shape analysis of the precuneus in adult individuals
Authors: Bruner Emiliano , Rangel de Lázaro Gizéh , de la Cuétara José Manuel , Martín‐Loeches Manuel , Colom Roberto , Jacobs Heidi I. L.
Published: January 2014

Recent analyses indicate that the precuneus is one of the main centres of integration in terms of functional and structural processes within the human brain. This neuroanatomical element is formed by different subregions, involved in visuo‐spatial integration, memory and self‐awareness. We analysed the midsagittal brain shape in a sample of adult humans (n = 90) to evidence the patterns of variability and geometrical organization of this area. Interestingly, the major brain covariance pattern within adult humans is strictly associated with the relative proportions of the precuneus. Its morphology displays a marked individual variation, both in terms of geometry (mostly in its longitudinal dimensions) and anatomy (patterns of convolution). No patent differences are evident between males and females, and the allometric effect of size is minimal. However, in terms of morphology, the precuneus does not represent an individual module, being influenced by different neighbouring structures. Taking into consideration the apparent involvement of the precuneus in higher‐order human brain functions and evolution, its wide variation further stresses the important role of these deep parietal areas in modern neuroanatomical organization.
Political Institutions, Political Careers and Environmental Policy
Authors: Fredriksson Per G. , Wollscheid Jim R.
Published: January 2014

High party discipline and high party strength induce legislators to stay committed to the party's promised policies after their election. This is because party leaders are able to punish deviations and reward behavior that is in the party's interest. Higher political stability induces party leaders to take a longer‐term perspective. We investigate the following interrelated hypotheses: (i) the effects of party discipline and party strength on environmental policy are conditional on the degree of political stability; and (ii) the effect of political stability is conditional on the levels of party discipline and party strength. Our empirical findings support these hypotheses.
Change blindness and eyewitness identification: Effects on accuracy and confidence
Authors: Fitzgerald Ryan J. , Oriet Chris , Price Heather L.
Published: January 2014

Purpose

Large changes in the visual field often go undetected, an effect referred to as change blindness. We investigated change blindness for an eyewitness event to examine its potential influence on identification accuracy and confidence.

Methods

Participants viewed a video that started with an innocent person walking through a building and finished with another person committing a theft. Participants subsequently attempted the thief's identification from a line‐up that contained either the thief or the innocent person from the video.

Results

Most viewers (64%) experienced change blindness and were unaware of the person change. Overall identification accuracy in the change blindness group was significantly lower than in the change detection group. The decrease in accuracy in the change blindness group was primarily driven by poor performance when the line‐up did not contain the thief. However, rather than misidentifying the innocent from the video, most witnesses who experienced change blindness misidentified a filler. Although change detection did not lead to a significant increase in correct identifications, it did lead to a significant increase in post‐identification confidence.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that (1) although change blindness increases misidentifications, under these conditions witnesses primarily misidentify known innocents who are not at risk of wrongful conviction; and (2) confidence is inferred not only from recognition strength but also from how well observers believe the event was encoded.
The Sound of Rock Art. The Acoustics of the Rock Art of Southern Andalusia (Spain)
Authors: Díaz‐Andreu Margarita , García Benito Carlos , Lazarich María
Published: January 2014

This paper explores the potential of acoustics to interpret the prehistoric rock art of southern Andalusia (Spain). Tests undertaken in two areas, north of the Celemín river and the Bacinete area, will form the basis of our discussion. The results obtained at a selection of rock art sites show that the two key rock art sites, El Tajo de las Figuras and the large shelter at Bacinete, both with the majority of paintings in the earlier Laguna de la Janda style, had good resonance values. In contrast, at most of the other minor sites tested, the values for resonance were negative or insignificant, regardless of whether they were painted in Laguna de la Janda or schematic style. We conclude that the major rock art sites in southern Andalusia were chosen not only for their geological appearance and location in the landscape, but also for their acoustic properties.
Bacteria associated with yellow lupine grown on a metal‐contaminated soil: in vitro screening and in vivo evaluation for their potential to enhance Cd phytoextraction
Authors: Weyens N. , Gielen M. , Beckers B. , Boulet J. , van der Lelie D. , Taghavi S. , Carleer R. , Vangronsveld J.
Published: January 2014

In order to stimulate selection for plant‐associated bacteria with the potential to improve Cd phytoextraction, yellow lupine plants were grown on a metal‐contaminated field soil. It was hypothesised that growing these plants on this contaminated soil, which is a source of bacteria possessing different traits to cope with Cd, could enhance colonisation of lupine with potential plant‐associated bacteria that could then be inoculated in Cd‐exposed plants to reduce Cd phytotoxicity and enhance Cd uptake. All cultivable bacteria from rhizosphere, root and stem were isolated and genotypically and phenotypically characterised. Many of the rhizobacteria and root endophytes produce siderophores, organic acids, indole‐3‐acetic acid (IAA) and aminocyclopropane‐1‐carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, as well as being resistant to Cd and Zn. Most of the stem endophytes could produce organic acids (73.8%) and IAA (74.3%), however, only a minor fraction (up to 0.7%) were Cd or Zn resistant or could produce siderophores or ACC deaminase. A siderophore‐ and ACC deaminase‐producing, highly Cd‐resistant Rhizobium sp. from the rhizosphere, a siderophore‐, organic acid‐, IAA‐ and ACC deaminase‐producing highly Cd‐resistant Pseudomonas sp. colonising the roots, a highly Cd‐ and Zn‐resistant organic acid and IAA‐producing Clavibacter sp. present in the stem, and a consortium composed of these three strains were inoculated into non‐exposed and Cd‐exposed yellow lupine plants. Although all selected strains possessed promising in vitro characteristics to improve Cd phytoextraction, inoculation of none of the strains (i) reduced Cd phytotoxicity nor (ii) strongly affected plant Cd uptake. This work highlights that in vitro characterisation of bacteria is not sufficient to predict the in vivo behaviour of bacteria in interaction with their host plants.
Estimation after classification using lot quality assurance sampling: corrections for curtailed sampling with application to evaluating polio vaccination campaigns
Authors: Olives Casey , Valadez Joseph J. , Pagano Marcello
Published: January 2014

Objectives

To assess the bias incurred when curtailment of Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) is ignored, to present unbiased estimators, to consider the impact of cluster sampling by simulation and to apply our method to published polio immunization data from Nigeria.

Methods

We present estimators of coverage when using two kinds of curtailedLQASstrategies: semicurtailed and curtailed. We study the proposed estimators with independent and clustered data using three field‐testedLQASdesigns for assessing polio vaccination coverage, with samples of size 60 and decision rules of 9, 21 and 33, and compare them to biased maximum likelihood estimators. Lastly, we present estimates of polio vaccination coverage from previously published data in 20 local government authorities (LGAs) from five Nigerian states.

Results

Simulations illustrate substantial bias if one ignores the curtailed sampling design. Proposed estimators show no bias. Clustering does not affect the bias of these estimators. Across simulations, standard errors show signs of inflation as clustering increases. Neither sampling strategy norLQASdesign influences estimates of polio vaccination coverage in 20 Nigerian LGAs. When coverage is low, semicurtailedLQASstrategies considerably reduces the sample size required to make a decision. CurtailedLQASdesigns further reduce the sample size when coverage is high.

Conclusions

Results presented dispel the misconception that curtailedLQASdata are unsuitable for estimation. These findings augment the utility ofLQASas a tool for monitoring vaccination efforts by demonstrating that unbiased estimation using curtailed designs is not only possible but these designs also reduce the sample size.
Optimization of EDTA Exudation Technique for Proteome Study of the Phloem
Authors: Rahmat Zaidah , Turnbull Colin
Published: January 2014

Phloem proteome study is gaining recognition due to the phloem important function to a plant. Identification of proteins within the phloem with varying function could help understand the regulation of growth and development. EDTA exudation technique applied to obtain Arabidopsis phloem protein was optimized. It was found that plants grown up until 6 weeks in SD (short day) condition, exposed to 3 days LD (long day) condition, the phloem sap collected in 20 mM EDTA with overnight incubation in LD and precipitated using Amicon filter device gave the optimum amount of protein with good quality. Sufficient amount of protein was obtained using the optimized EDTA exudation technique for protein identification.
Determination of Bahasa Melayu Word List From Friday Sermon Transcripts Using PHP and MySQL
Authors: Harun Mokhtar , Asyafi’ie Ahmad Muhammad ‘Aasim , Abdul Hamid Siti Zaleha , Abdul Rahman Fareha , Khalid Puspa Inayat
Published: January 2014

Almost all of the speech intelligibility (SI) assessors today are from the West. The words used in the development of these SI assessors are mainly English. However, recent finding has found that word components that contribute to intelligibility of speech is different from one language to another. The purpose of this study is to determine Bahasa Melayu (BM) word list from Friday sermon transcripts. The project was undertaken by deriving BM words spoken during 52 Friday sermons read in mosques in Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur. PHP is the programming language used to compute the frequency of words appears in the Friday sermon transcripts. These words were then stored into a database. The database used is MySQL. It has been found that the highest number of repeated word is 2509. The list is then truncated so that the numbers of repeated words range from 52 to 2509 times. The frequency of Bahasa Melayu words used in Friday sermons is an initial and important inventory that can be used in the development of SI assessor using BM words.
Investigation of Ferroresonance Mitigation Techniques in Voltage Transformer Using ATP-EMTP Simulation
Authors: Abdul-Malek Zulkurnain , Mehranzamir Kamyar , Salimi Behnam , Nabipour Afrouzi Hadi , Vahabi Mashak Saeed
Published: January 2014

Ferroresonance is a complex nonlinear electrical phenomenon that can cause dielectric and thermal problems for electrical equipment. Electrical systems with ferroresonant behavior are nonlinear dynamical systems. The ferroresonance phenomenon may take place when the core of an inductive device becomes saturated, and its current flux characteristic becomes nonlinear. While in the case of a linear resonant circuit the resonance frequency is well defined, in the case of a nonlinear circuit, the oscillations may exist at various frequencies, depending on many factors of the particular case. In this paper, ferroresonance phenomenon and its mitigation techniques in 33 kV/110 V voltage transformers (VT) were studied using ATP-EMTP simulation. Initial investigations were carried out for the VT failures occurred at one substation in Malaysia. Physical and burn characteristics of the failed VTs were studied. Simulation results show that ferroresonance cannot be proven to have occurred at the VT due to switching operations since one precondition, namely the critical capacitance, could not have been satisfied. However, in the event of a ferroresonance occurring, several mitigation techniques such as using load resistors, proper grounding sequence, reconfiguration of VT connection, and overcurrent and overvoltage protection can be implemented.
Corporate Governance: Board Structure, Information Technology and CSR Reporting
Authors: Wong Yew Choong , Bajuri Norkhairul Hafiz
Published: January 2014

Good corporate governance practices are considered vital for attracting investment capital, improving the performance of companies and reducing risk for investors. This paper provides some general overviews on board structure, information technology (IT) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting. This paper also discusses the various theories related to corporate governance in order to understand the corporate phenomena. This is important to understand each of the theory concept and its implications. These theories include agency theory, stewardship theory, stakeholder theory, resource dependency theory and legitimacy theory. Certainly, board structure, IT and CSR have significant bearing on a firm’s state of corporate governance and performance.
Knowledge Management for Banking Industry Continuous Improvement
Authors: Irjayanti Maya , Mulyono Azis Anton
Published: January 2014

Knowledge Management (KM) provides formal activity so the industry could implement to prevent knowledge lost. Subsequently, KM plays important role to manage the intellectual capital for maintaining industrial sustainability. Finally, increases the performance through saving all tacit knowledge from their potential workers. Especially in service industry like banking, where most knowledge obtained from experience while serving clients, to achieve its best performance, service industry should put KM as a standard. Since most KM starts from identify tacit knowledge, service industry must create certain process to transfer it as an explicit knowledge. This research aim to build KM system not only to transform tacit into explicit knowledge, but also to prevent important knowledge lost. The method used in this research were divided into three sections: literature review, study the standard of creating KM process, and synthesis process in knowledge management as a preliminary model. Based on the result, KM system consists certain formal activities like building managerial commitment, creating KM division, socializing KM, sharing, documenting, and implementing the knowledge. The results expected is a valuable contribution to secure employees’ tacit knowledge through building of Standard Operating Procedure for KM, so the company could perform with certain standard without rely on certain employees ability.
Penghujahan Saintifik: Memahami Perlaksanaannya dalam Proses Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Kimia
Authors: Ling Heng Lee , Surif Johari
Published: January 2014

Penghujahan saintifik merupakan amalan utama dalam pendidikan sains yang amat kritikal untuk dilaksanakan dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran sains bagi membekalkan pengalaman serta kesedaran tentang situasi sebenar bagaimana saintis membentuk dan menjustifikasi pengetahuan saintifik. Penyelidikan ini bertujuan mengkaji pengaplikasian aspek-aspek yang menggalakkan penghujahan saintifik dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran kimia. Kajian secara kuantitatif dan kualitatif dengan menggunakan rekabentuk deskriptif telah dilaksanakan. Kajian yang dijalankan melibatkan lima orang guru yang mengajar mata pelajaran kimia tingkatan empat di lima buah sekolah di daerah Pasir Gudang. Data kajian dikumpul melalui pencerapan proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran guru dan temu bual guru. Data pemerhatian dianalisis dengan teknik analisis kandungan dan ditriangulasi dengan data temu bual. Dapatan menunjukkan bahawa aspek-aspek yang menggalakkan penghujahan saintifik jarang diaplikasikan oleh guru dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran kimia. Kaedah yang biasa diamalkan oleh guru kimia dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran tertumpu pada kaedah penerangan diikuti dengan penyoalan soalan tertutup manakala aktiviti pelajar lebih tertumpu pada mendengar dan memberi maklum balas terhadap soalan guru berdasarkan bahan rujukan. Lebih daripada separuh masa pengajaran dan pembelajaran kimia ditumpukan kepada aktiviti penerangan guru, demonstrasi, arahan dan penyoalan yang dituju kepada seluruh kelas. Amalan yang sedemikian tidak membantu pelajar ke arah pembangunan penghujahan saintifik. Oleh itu, amalan pengajaran dan pembelajaran kimia perlu dinilai semula dengan menekankan aktiviti-aktiviti yang menggalakkan penghujahan saintifik.
Removal of Methylene Blue Dye by Using Eggshell Powder
Authors: Ngadi Norzita , Chiek Ee Chin , Yusoff Nor Aida
Published: January 2014

Dyes contain carcinogenic materials which can cause serious hazards to aquatic life and the users of water. Textile industry is the main source of dye wastewater which results in environmental pollution. Many studies have been conducted to investigate the use of low cost adsorbent as an alternative technique for the adsorption of dye. The objective of this study is to determine the potential of eggshell powder as an adsorbent for methylene blue removal and find out the best operating conditions for the color adsorption at laboratory scale. The adsorption of cationic methylene blue from aqueous solution onto the eggshell powder was carried out by varying the operating parameters which were contact time, pH, dosage of eggshell powder and temperature in order to study their effect in adsorption capacity of eggshell powder. The results obtained showed that the best operating condition for removal of methylene blue was at pH 10 (78.98 %) and temperature 50°C (47.37 %) by using 2 g of eggshell powder (57.03 %) with 30 minutes equilibrium time (41.36 %). The kinetic studies indicated that pseudo-second-order model best described the adsorption process.
Composting of Mixed Yard and Food Wastes with Effective Microbes
Authors: Mat Saad Nur Fatin , Maâ€™min Nurqaidah Nadrah , Md Zain Shahrom , Ahmad Basri Noor Ezlin , Md Zaini Najah Sofia
Published: January 2014

Composting is one of the alternatives that can be used in waste management to control the increment of waste generation including that is in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). However, a conventional composting is rarely applied due to the longer time consumed to reach maturity phase. This research is focus on the use of effective microbes (EM) that will accelerate the composting process hence composting can be an alternative to treat the problem of organic waste in UKM.This research which took 7 weeks of completion is intend on finding the best EM that can be used to accelerate the composting process. Two types of organic waste are being used in this composting process which is yard waste and food waste. Two EM are applied in this research which is Takakura EM and Fruit Waste EM. The parameters which include temperature, moisture content, pH value, C:N ratio, NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) value and heavy metals concentrationhave been examined. The composting methods applied in this research are composter barrel and rotary drum. Based on the result of observations and experiments after 7 weeks, all pH values for the composts are approximately at neutral value (7.0-8.0) showing that the compost has approached mature phase. For C:N ratio, all of the compost has reached a value of less than 20:1 which is suitable to be used for agriculture. NPK content for potassium is from 0.073 to 0.133 and for phosphorus is from 0.049 to 0.512. For heavy metals, all compost has low levels of heavy metals where it is safe to use for agricultural. Thus, it is concluded that the quality of compost for this research is good and EM Takakura is said to be the suitable solution in decreasing the time taken for composting.
Preliminary Study for Designing a Yard Waste Composting Facility in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Authors: Shahudin Zarina , Md Zain Shahrom , Ahmad Basri Noor Ezlin , Md Zaini Najah Sofea , Mat Saad Nur Fatin , Basri Hassan
Published: January 2014

Composting has been occurring naturally with the decomposition of organic matter by microorganism and is the best technique in yard waste management to produce landscape fertilizer. This article discusses the management of yard waste in UKM and determines the feasibility of using windrow composting for mixed yard and food wastes. The amount of yard waste generated in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) approximately is 2.36 tonne/day. An estimated the total of 3.36 tonne of yard and food waste is generated per day at UKM, which would require 8 rows of 42-meter long windrows. The contents of the windrows are periodically turned (mixed) to ensure homogeneity, increase porosity and to assist aeration. This study complements the concept of the UKM Zero Waste Campus by producing a valuable material from waste.
Investigating the Relationship between Creativity and Academic Achievement of Malaysian Undergraduates
Authors: Bolandifar Saeideh , Noordin Nooreen
Published: January 2014

The present study focused on investigating the relationship between creativity and academic achievement of Malaysian undergraduates who are studying TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language). Through random sampling, 100 students (46 males and 54 females) from different Universities in Malaysia were selected to participate in this study. As the research instruments, Cumulative grade point average (CGPA), and Nicolas Holt Creativity Test (NHCT) were used to measure the academic achievement and creative potential of students. Inferential statistics were utilized to analyze the data. The Pearson Correlation coefficient indicated a significant positive relationship between creativity and academic achievement of students. A significant gender differences were found between male and female students, their creativity and their academic achievement. Finally, the results of the study and their implications are discussed.Â
Adhesive Dynamics
Authors: Hammer Daniel A.
Published: January 2014

Adhesive dynamics (AD) is a method for simulating the dynamic response of biological systems in response to force. Biological bonds are mechanical entities that exert force under strain, and applying forces to biological bonds modulates their rate of dissociation. Since small numbers of events usually control biological interactions, we developed a simple method for sampling probability distributions for the formation or failure of individual bonds. This method allows a simple coupling between force and strain and kinetics, while capturing the stochastic response of biological systems. Biological bonds are dynamically reconfigured in response to applied mechanical stresses, and a detailed spatio-temporal map of molecules and the forces they exert emerges from AD. The shape or motion of materials bearing the molecules is easily calculated from a mechanical energy balance provided the rheology of the material is known. AD was originally used to simulate the dynamics of adhesion of leukocytes under flow, but new advances have allowed the method to be extended to many other applications, including but not limited to the binding of viruses to surface, the clustering of adhesion molecules driven by stiff substrates, and the effect of cell-cell interaction on cell capture and rolling dynamics. The technique has also been applied to applications outside of biology. A particular exciting recent development is the combination of signaling with AD (so-called integrated signaling adhesive dynamics, or ISAD), which allows facile integration of signaling networks with mechanical models of cell adhesion and motility. Potential opportunities in applying AD are summarized.
Parametric Effects on Internal Aerodynamics of Lobed Mixer-Ejector With Curved Mixing Duct
Authors: Cheng-xiong Pan , Yong Shan , Jing-zhou Zhang
Published: January 2014

The internal flow characteristics inside lobed mixer-ejector with curved mixing duct and the parametric effects on the lobed mixer-ejector performance are investigated numerically and validated by experimental test. The curved mixing duct affects the development of the streamwise vortices induced by the lobed mixer. When the mixing process undergoes the transition from the straight section to the bent section, the flow inside the curved mixing duct is dominated by the impinging and centrifugal effects. In general, the pumping ratio is decreased approximately 20%–30% once the bent section is mounted on the straight duct. The mixer-ejector performance could by improved by increasing the straight section length, due to more fully momentum utilization of primary jet and weaker influence of bent section on the back pressure near nozzle exit. The mixer-ejector pumping capacity is also augmented with the increase of mixing duct area ratio until the area ratio is reached to 3.5. And the fully-utilization of primary jet momentum inside mixing duct with big area ratio needs long mixing distance. The pumping ratio is decreased as the increase of bent angle of curved mixing duct in approximately linear relationship. When the bent angle exceeds 45 deg, the thermal mixing efficiency is decreased rapidly as the increase of bent angle.
Windage Heating in a Shrouded Rotor-Stator System
Authors: Tao Zhi , Zhang Da , Luo Xiang , Xu Guoqiang , Han Jianqiao
Published: January 2014

This paper has experimentally and numerically studied the windage heating in a shrouded rotor-stator disk system with superimposed flow. Temperature rise in the radius direction on the rotating disk is linked to the viscous heating process when cooling air flows through the rotating component. A test rig has been developed to investigate the effect of flow parameters and the gap ratio on the windage heating, respectively. Experimental results were obtained from a 0.45 m diameter disk rotating at up to 12,000 rpm with gap ratio varying from 0.02 to 0.18 and a stator of the same diameter. Infrared temperature measurement technology has been proposed to measure the temperature rise on the rotor surface directly. The PIV technique was adapted to allow for tangential velocity measurements. The tangential velocity data along the radial direction in the cavity was compared with the results obtained by CFD simulation. The comparison between the free disk temperature rise data and an associated theoretical analysis for the windage heating indicates that the adiabatic disk temperature can be measured by infrared method accurately. For the small value of turbulence parameter, the gap ratio has limited influence on the temperature rise distribution along the radius. As turbulence parameter increases, the temperature rise difference is independent of the gap ratio, leaving that as a function of rotational Reynolds number and throughflow Reynolds number only. The PIV results show that the swirl ratio of the rotating core between the rotor and the stator has a key influence on the windage heating.