bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of an ultra‐lightweight, single‐patient‐use negative pressure wound therapy system over dermal regeneration template and skin grafts
Authors: Gabriel Allen , Thimmappa Brinda , Rubano Christopher , Storm‐Dickerson Toni
Published: June 2012

As the use of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) over skin grafts has increased, traditional methods of NPWT system reimbursement and application are increasingly being challenged. A simplified method of accessing and operating NPWT in the outpatient setting is needed, particularly in cases where immediate outpatient use of NPWT is optimal. We evaluated use of a new ultra‐lightweight, off‐the‐shelf, disposable, single‐patient‐use NPWT system (SP‐NPWT; V.A.C.Via™ Therapy, KCI USA, Inc., San Antonio, TX) over dermal regeneration template (DRT) and/or skin grafts. SP‐NPWT was initiated over a DRT and/or skin graft in 33 patients with 41 graft procedures. Endpoints were recorded and compared to a historical control group of 25 patients with 28 grafts bolstered with traditional rental NPWT (V.A.C.® Therapy, KCI USA, Inc.). Average length of inpatient hospital stay was 0·0 days for the SP‐NPWT group and 6·0 days for the control group (P < 0·0001). The average duration of SP‐NPWT post‐DRT or skin graft was 5·6 days for the SP‐NPWT group and 7·0 days for the control (P < 0·0001). Preliminary data suggest that, compared to traditional NPWT, off‐the‐shelf SP‐NPWT may provide a quicker, seamless transition to home, resulting in decreased hospital stay and potential cost savings.
Influence of hyaluronic acid on wound healing using composite porcine acellular dermal matrix grafts and autologous skin in rabbits
Authors: Zhao Jing‐Yu , Chai Jia‐Ke , Song Hui‐Feng , Zhang Jin , Xu Ming‐Huo , Liang Yue‐Dan
Published: June 2012

This study aims to explore the influence of hyaluronic acid (HA) on wound healing during xenogeneic porcine acellular dermal matrix (PADM) composite skin grafting. The results will facilitate the development of methods for improving graft contracture and poor elasticity of composite transplantation. Exogenous HA was added to composite PADM grafts and to thin autologous skin grafts during rabbit full‐thickness skin wound repair. The influence of HA on wound healing was evaluated according to its contracture rate and its expression of collagen types I and III. The possible mechanism was then explored based on HA metabolism and vascularisation in the skin graft. The results show that exogenous HA relieves graft contracture on rabbit wound surfaces, increases collagen I and III expression and decreases the ratio between collagen types. HA stimulates the generation of more CD44 receptors to strengthen its enzymolysis. The resulting metabolites promote the vascularisation of the wound surface, which are conducive for mitigating graft contracture, and further improve the composite grafting effect.
Reactive Processing of a ZrB2/ZrC/Zr–Si Ceramic Composite with a Controlled Oxygen Potential
Authors: Maheswaraiah Nischel , Sandate Alvaro V. , Bronson Arturo
Published: June 2012

A Zr–Si liquid reacted with B4C in a graphite enclosure was configured to control the oxygen potential (10−45 kPa) to form a
ZrB2

/
ZrC
/
Zr
–
Si
ceramic composite. The graphite enclosure was placed in a temperature gradient with the hot zone at >2133 K to react
Zr
–
Si
with B4C and with the opposite end approximating 933–1000 K at the position of an aluminum melt. A
ZrB2

/
ZrC
/
Zr
–
Si
composite forms with the scanning‐electron microscope (SEM), microstructures showing rectangular
ZrB2

precipitates and hexagonally shaped
ZrC
precipitates embedded in a
Zr
–
Si
matrix.
Probing ionizing radiation of L ≲ 0.1 L✻ star-forming galaxies at z ≲ 3 with strong lensing
Authors: Vanzella Eros , Nonino Mario , Cristiani Stefano , Rosati Piero , Zitrin Adi , Bartelmann Matthias , Grazian Andrea , Broadhurst Tom , Meneghetti Massimo , Grillo Claudio
Published: June 2012

We show the effectiveness of strong lensing in the characterization of Lyman continuum emission from faint L≲ 0.1L* star-forming galaxies at redshift ≳3. Past observations of L≳L* galaxies at redshift ≳3 have provided upper limits of the average escape fraction of ionizing radiation of fesc∼ 5 per cent. Galaxies with relatively high fesc (>10 per cent) seem to be particularly rare at these luminosities; there is therefore the need to explore fainter limits. Before the advent of giant ground-based telescopes, one viable way to probe fesc down to 0.05–0.15L* was to exploit strong lensing magnification. This is investigated with Monte Carlo simulations that take into account the current observational capabilities. Adopting a lensing cross-section of 10 arcmin2 within which the magnification is higher than 1 (achievable with about four to five galaxy clusters), with a U-band survey depth of 30 (30.5) (AB, 1σ), it is possible to constrain fesc for z≃ 3 star-forming galaxies down to 15 (10) per cent at 3σ for L < 0.15L* luminosities. This is particularly interesting if fesc increases at fainter luminosities, as predicted from various H i reionization scenarios and radiation transfer modelling. Ongoing observational programmes on galaxy clusters are discussed and positive prospects for the future are offered, even though from space the Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument represents the only option we have to investigate details of the spatial distribution of the Lyman continuum emission arising from z∼ 2–4 galaxies.
An Overview of the Use of Fatty Acids in Fish Farming Research during the Last Decade, with Particular Emphasis on Fish Quality
Authors: Karakatsouli Nafsika
Published: June 2012

The present literature overview was carried out in order to assess the use of fatty acids (FA) analysis in fish farming research during the last decade. As aquaculture products are mainly intended for human consumption, the overview is focused on fish fillet, carcass or whole body FA, as a major aspect of fish nutritional value. This survey used 394 papers and demonstrated that a) 71% of papers report FA as relative percentage of total FA (% totFA), b) 23% of papers report actual FA amounts, c) in 63% of papers not enough information is provided in “Materials and Methods” section to understand exactly how FA analysis was performed, and d) based on FA percentages, results are not always the same as when based on FA amounts, and thus divergent conclusions about treatment effects could be drawn. These findings indicate that certain issues need to be addressed regarding adequate description of analytical methods followed for FA analysis, presentation and interpretation of FA results and may help to highlight critical points that should be considered from the researchers' and scientific journals' sides in order to foster more informative research publications.
Bioprospection of Microalgae and Cyanobacteria as Biocontrol Agents Against Vibrio campbellii and Their Use in White Shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei Culture
Authors: González‐Davis Oscar , Ponce‐Rivas Elizabeth , Sánchez‐Saavedra M. Del Pilar , Muñoz‐Márquez María‐Enriqueta , Gerwick William H.
Published: June 2012

Vibrio spp. are the most common and harmful shrimp pathogenic bacteria; however, microalgae and cyanobacteria have the ability to produce antimicrobial substances against these species. In this study, the organic and aqueous extracts of 28 species of marine microalgae and cyanobacteria were screened against Vibrio campbellii M1. Two of these phytoplankton species with antibacterial activity in aqueous extracts (Dunaliella tertiolecta and Skeletonema costatum) and nontoxic to brine shrimp Artemia franciscana nauplii were used to evaluate their anti‐Vibrio effect when used as green‐water cultures in Vibrio‐challenged white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei cultures. No differences in mortality of juvenile L. vannamei were observed between treatments tested, suggesting that the pathogenicity of V. campbellii could be related to the growth stage of shrimp. The proximal composition of D. tertiolecta and S. costatum was in the recommended range for penaeid shrimp nutrition, allowing shrimp supplemented with these microalgae to have significantly greater total length and weight than control shrimp. Shrimp supplemented with S. costatum presented the highest values of organic mass (11.48 mg/organism) and growth rate (0.31 mg/d) in comparison to D. tertiolecta. These results indicate that microalgae are not only capable of producing antibacterial compounds against Vibrio but can also help shrimp nutrition.
Effect of Salinity on Larval Rearing of Pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus, a Freshwater Species
Authors: Jomori Rosângela K. , Luz Ronald K. , Célia Portella Maria
Published: June 2012

The aim of this study was to evaluate the growth and survival of pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus, larvae reared in different salinities and to determine the Artemia nauplii life span in freshwater and in saline water. First feeding 5‐d‐old pacu larvae were reared in freshwater or at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 ppt salinities. The larvae were reared in 1.5‐L aquaria at a density of 10 larvae/L with three replicates per treatment. After 10 d of rearing, significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed for growth and survival. Larval growth was higher at 2 and 4 ppt, and survival at 2 ppt was 100%. In freshwater and at 4, 6 and 8 ppt, the survival was 91.1, 93.3, 73.3, and 39.9%, respectively. At higher salinities, there was 100% mortality after 2 h (12 and 14 ppt) and 8 h (10 ppt) of exposure. The slightly saline water of at least 2 ppt increased the Artemia nauplii life span compared to the life span in freshwater. Later, in a second trial, 5‐d‐old pacu larvae were reared in freshwater and at 2 and 4 ppt salinities during the first 5 or 10 d of active feeding, and then the fish were transferred to freshwater. At the end of 15 d, larval growth was lower in freshwater (42 mg) than in treatments 2 and 4 ppt (59–63 mg). The abrupt transfer of fish from freshwater to slightly saline water and the return to freshwater did not affect the survival rates (89–97%). The larvae were able to adapt to these saline environments and handle abrupt changes in salt concentration. We concluded that salinity concentration of 2 ppt can be used for pacu larval rearing, allowing the Artemia nauplii lifetime to last longer and cause faster fish growth.
Patho‐Genes.org: a website dedicated to gene sequences of potential bioterror bacteria and PCR primers used to amplify them
Authors: Gardès Julien , Bachar Dipankar , Croce Olivier , Christen Richard
Published: June 2012

Pathogenic agents can be very hard to detect, and usually they do not cause illness for several hours or days. To improve the speed and the accuracy of detection tests and satisfy the needs of early diagnosis, molecular biology methods such as PCR are now used. However, selecting a proper target gene and designing good primers is often not easy. We present a dedicated website, http://patho‐genes.org, where we provide every sequence, functional annotation, published primer and relevant article for every annotated gene of major pathogenic bacterial species listed as key agents to be used for a bioterrorism attack. Each published primer was analysed to determine its melting temperature, its specificity and its coverage (i.e. its sensitivity against every allele of its target gene). Data generated have been organized in the form of data sheet for each gene, which are available through multiple browser panels and query systems.
The biology of small, introduced populations, with special reference to biological control
Authors: Fauvergue Xavier , Vercken Elodie , Malausa Thibaut , Hufbauer Ruth A.
Published: June 2012

Populations are introduced into novel environments in different contexts, one being the biological control of pests. Despite intense efforts, less than half introduced biological control agents establish. Among the possible approaches to improve biological control, one is to better understand the processes that underpin introductions and contribute to ecological and evolutionary success. In this perspective, we first review the demographic and genetic processes at play in small populations, be they stochastic or deterministic. We discuss the theoretical outcomes of these different processes with respect to individual fitness, population growth rate, and establishment probability. Predicted outcomes differ subtly in some cases, but enough so that the evaluating results of introductions have the potential to reveal which processes play important roles in introduced populations. Second, we attempt to link the theory we have discussed with empirical data from biological control introductions. A main result is that there are few available data, but we nonetheless report on an increasing number of well‐designed, theory‐driven, experimental approaches. Combining demography and genetics from both theoretical and empirical perspectives highlights novel and exciting avenues for research on the biology of small, introduced populations, and great potential for improving both our understanding and practice of biological control.
The association between anxiety and the degree of illness in mild obstructive sleep apnoea
Authors: Lehto Soili Marianne , Sahlman Johanna , Soini Erkki Jaakko , Gylling Helena , Vanninen Esko , Seppä Juha , Viinamäki Heimo , Tuomilehto Henri
Published: June 2012

Introduction

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) has been reported to associate with anxiety, but earlier observations are scarce and the role of the persistence of anxiety in this connection is unclear.

Objectives

To examine the associations between OSA and anxiety, and in particular clarify the observations regarding the role of the persistence of anxiety in this connection.

Methods

A total of 61 overweight patients with mild OSA participated in a 12‐month lifestyle modification study and reported the presence of anxiety both at baseline and on 12‐month follow up. They were divided into three groups (no anxiety, n = 25; past anxiety, n = 13; persistent anxiety, n = 23), and the degree of illness was assessed with the apnoea‐hypopnea index (AHI).

Results

The persistence of anxiety was linearly associated with the AHI (P = 0.025), which was highest in individuals with persistent anxiety. The likelihood of belonging to the group with persistent anxiety increased 18% for each one‐unit increase in the AHI in a model adjusted for age, gender and bodyfat % (odds ratio 1.18, 95% confidence interval 1.03–1.34, P = 0.014). Further adjustments for daytime sleepiness and the effect of participating in the lifestyle modification intervention did not alter this finding.

Conclusion

Our observations suggest that the persistence of anxiety is independently associated with elevated levels of sleep‐disordered breathing and that lifestyle modification interventions with a focus on diet and exercise alone may not be sufficient to treat OSA in individuals with simultaneous persistent anxiety.

Please cite this paper as:
Lehto SM, Sahlman J, Soini EJ, Gylling H, Vanninen E, Seppä J, Viinamäki H and Tuomilehto H. . Clin Respir J 2012; 7: 197–203.
Metabolomics as a Key Integrator for “Omic” Advancement of Personalized Medicine and Future Therapies
Authors: Eckhart Andrea D. , Beebe Kirk , Milburn Mike
Published: June 2012

Investigation into biological complexity, whether for a better understanding of disease or drug process, is a monumental task plaguing investigators. The lure of “omic” technologies for circumventing much of these challenges has led to widespread efforts and adoption. It is becoming clearer that a single “omic” approach (e.g., genomics) is often insufficient for completely defining the complexity in these biological systems. Hence, there is an increasing awareness that a “systems” approach will serve to increase resolution and confidence and provide a strong foundation for further hypothesis‐driven investigation. Although certain metabolites are already considered clinically important, the profiling of metabolites via metabolomics (the profiling of metabolites to fully characterize metabolic pathways) is the most recent to mature of these “omic” technologies and has been only recently adopted as compared to genomic or proteomic approaches in systems inquiries. Recent reports suggest that this “omic” may well be a key data stream in systems investigations for endeavors in personalized medicine and biomarker identification, as it seems most closely relevant to the phenotype. Clin Trans Sci 2012; Volume #: 1–4
Where do national and local conservation actions meet? Simulating the expansion of ad hoc and systematic approaches to conservation into the future in Fiji
Authors: Mills Morena , Adams Vanessa M. , Pressey Robert L. , Ban Natalie C. , Jupiter Stacy D.
Published: June 2012

The marginal benefits of systematic over ad hoc selection of protected areas are rarely measured, even though this information is crucial to investing limited conservation resources effectively. We developed a method to predict the marginal benefits of systematic over ad hoc approaches to conservation over time. We tested it in Fiji, where ambitious national conservation goals for inshore marine waters rely on community support to implement the required management. We used Maxent to develop a suitability layer for different forms of marine resource management based on predictors derived from interviews with key informants. This suitability layer, together with data on established marine protected areas (MPAs) and the software Marxan with Zones, informed simulations of the expansion of ad hoc and systematic conservation. With the same constraints on the additional extent of MPAs, the ad hoc approach achieved quantitative conservation objectives for half the ecosystems in our analysis, although all objectives were achieved or nearly achieved with the systematic approach. By defining the likely upper and lower bounds of plausible futures given different decisions about conservation investments, this work was designed to guide conservation strategies and actions in Fiji. This work is currently influencing the development of policies in Fiji to promote more strategic use of limited conservation resources.
Social identification when an in‐group identity is unclear: The role of self‐anchoring and self‐stereotyping
Authors: van Veelen Ruth , Otten Sabine , Hansen Nina
Published: June 2012

The present paper investigates how people identify with groups depending on the clarity of a group's identity content. According to self‐categorization theory, self‐stereotyping (i.e., projection of group prototypes onto self) should be the cognitive process underlying social identification. We argue, however, that this is only plausible in clearly defined groups. If a group is unclear in terms of its identity content, we argue that self‐anchoring (i.e., projection of personal self onto group) accounts for social identification. In line with these hypotheses, two studies (with minimal and real groups) reveal that self‐anchoring positively predicts the level of social identification and entitativity in unclearly, but not clearly defined groups. Conversely, self‐stereotyping positively predicts the level of social identification in clearly, but not unclearly defined groups. Together, these findings are the first to demonstrate the differential impact of cognitive projection processes on social identification depending on group clarity.
Photoemission band mapping with a tunable femtosecond source using nonequilibrium absorption resonances
Authors: Yilmaz Mehmet B. , Dadap Jerry I. , Knox Kevin R. , Zaki Nader , Hao Zhaofeng , Johnson Peter D. , Osgood Richard M.
Published: June 2012

The authors show that the tunability of a femtosecond optical parametric amplifier combined with its high-repetition rate and short pulses provide a powerful tool for an alternate approach to conventional nonresonant band mapping by two-photon photoemission (2PPE). The authors demonstrate this 2PPE mapping via use of two model systems, i.e., the pair of sp surface and image states on flat Cu(111) and vicinal Cu(775) surfaces, over a photon energy range of 3.9–4.6 eV by making use of direct resonant band-to-band electronic transitions. Since the experimental excitation of the Cu image state from the surface state is comparable in time to the electron-electron equilibration time, the authors measure sharp resonant features in the electron energy distributions. In this approach, the authors track these resonant electronic transitions using 2PPE by varying the photon energy so as to achieve resonant excitation at each value of photoelectron emission angle over a large wavelength range on both types of surfaces. In addition, the authors explore the range of photon energies and optical intensities which may be used for this approach. The repetition rate of this laser was sufficient to yield a good signal-to-noise ratio while maintaining pump pulse intensities at levels that were low enough to prevent significant photon-induced space-charge broadening and electron-kinetic-energy shifting, even for photon energies close to the work function of the sample.
Genome Sequence of Sphingomonas wittichii DP58, the First Reported Phenazine-1-Carboxylic Acid-Degrading Strain
Authors: Ma Zhiwei , Shen Xuemei , Hu Hongbo , Wang Wei , Peng Huasong , Xu Ping , Zhang Xuehong
Published: June 2012

Sphingomonas wittichii
DP58 (CCTCC M 2012027), the first reported phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA)-degrading strain, was isolated from pimiento rhizosphere soils. Here we present a 5.6-Mb assembly of its genome. This sequence would contribute to the elucidation of the molecular mechanism of PCA degradation to improve the antifungal's effectiveness or remove superfluous PCA.
Draft Genome Sequence of the Human Pathogen Streptomyces somaliensis, a Significant Cause of Actinomycetoma
Authors: Kirby Ralph , Sangal Vartul , Tucker Nicholas P. , Zakrzewska-Czerwińska Jolanta , Wierzbicka Katarzyna , Herron Paul R. , Chu Chun-Jong , Chandra Govind , Fahal Ahmed H. , Goodfellow Michael , Hoskisson Paul A.
Published: June 2012

We report the draft genome sequence of the human pathogen
Streptomyces somaliensis
(DSM 40738), a pathogen within a genus of largely saprophytic organisms.
S. somaliensis
causes severe and debilitating deep tissue and bone infections. The genome sequence is deposited in DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank with the accession number
AJJM01000000
.
Genome Sequence of Fibrella aestuarina BUZ 2
T
, a Filamentous Marine Bacterium
Authors: Filippini Manuela , Qi Weihong , Blom Jochen , Goesmann Alexander , Smits Theo H. M. , Bagheri Homayoun C.
Published: June 2012

Fibrella aestuarina
BUZ 2
T
is the type strain of the recently characterized genus
Fibrella
. Here we report the draft genome sequence of this strain, which consists of a single scaffold representing the chromosome (with 11 gaps) and a 161-kb circular plasmid.
Genome Sequence of Bacillus licheniformis WX-02
Authors: Yangtse Wuming , Zhou Yinhua , Lei Yang , Qiu Yimin , Wei Xuetuan , Ji Zhixia , Qi Gaofu , Yong Yangchun , Chen Lingling , Chen Shouwen
Published: June 2012

Bacillus licheniformis
is an important bacterium that has been used extensively for large-scale industrial production of exoenzymes and peptide antibiotics.
B. licheniformis
WX-02 produces poly-gamma-glutamate increasingly when fermented under stress conditions. Here its genome sequence (4,270,104 bp, with G+C content of 46.06%), which comprises a circular chromosome, is announced.
Draft Genome Sequence of Thermus sp. Strain RL, Isolated from a Hot Water Spring Located atop the Himalayan Ranges at Manikaran, India
Authors: Dwivedi Vatsala , Sangwan Naseer , Nigam Aeshna , Garg Nidhi , Niharika Neha , Khurana Paramjit , Khurana Jitendra P. , Lal Rup
Published: June 2012

Thermus
sp. strain RL was isolated from a hot water spring (90°C to 98°C) at Manikaran, Himachal Pradesh, India. Here we report the draft genome sequence (20,36,600 bp) of this strain. The draft genome sequence consists of 17 contigs and 1,986 protein-coding sequences and has an average G+C content of 68.77%.
Membrane Proteases in the Bacterial Protein Secretion and Quality Control Pathway
Authors: Dalbey Ross E. , Wang Peng , van Dijl Jan Maarten
Published: June 2012

Proteolytic cleavage of proteins that are permanently or transiently associated with the cytoplasmic membrane is crucially important for a wide range of essential processes in bacteria. This applies in particular to the secretion of proteins and to membrane protein quality control. Major progress has been made in elucidating the structure-function relationships of many of the responsible membrane proteases, including signal peptidases, signal peptide hydrolases, FtsH, the rhomboid protease GlpG, and the site 1 protease DegS. These enzymes employ very different mechanisms to cleave substrates at the cytoplasmic and extracytoplasmic membrane surfaces or within the plane of the membrane. This review highlights the different ways that bacterial membrane proteases degrade their substrates, with special emphasis on catalytic mechanisms and substrate delivery to the respective active sites.
Subversion of Host Recognition and Defense Systems by Francisella spp
Authors: Jones Crystal L. , Napier Brooke A. , Sampson Timothy R. , Llewellyn Anna C. , Schroeder Max R. , Weiss David S.
Published: June 2012

Francisella tularensisis a Gram-negative intracellular pathogen and the causative agent of the disease tularemia. Inhalation of as few as 10 bacteria is sufficient to cause severe disease, makingF. tularensisone of the most highly virulent bacterial pathogens. The initial stage of infection is characterized by the “silent” replication of bacteria in the absence of a significant inflammatory response.Francisellaachieves this difficult task using several strategies: (i) strong integrity of the bacterial surface to resist host killing mechanisms and the release of inflammatory bacterial components (pathogen-associated molecular patterns [PAMPs]), (ii) modification of PAMPs to prevent activation of inflammatory pathways, and (iii) active modulation of the host response by escaping the phagosome and directly suppressing inflammatory pathways. We review the specific mechanisms by whichFrancisellaachieves these goals to subvert host defenses and promote pathogenesis, highlighting as-yet-unanswered questions and important areas for future study.
Why does Scotland have a higher suicide rate than England? An area-level investigation of health and social factors
Authors: Mok Pearl L H , Leyland Alastair H , Kapur Navneet , Windfuhr Kirsten , Appleby Louis , Platt Stephen , Webb Roger T
Published: June 2012

Background

Up until the mid–late 2000s, the national suicide rate in Scotland was the highest among all the UK countries, but the reasons for this phenomenon are poorly understood.

Methods

In a multilevel study of suicide risk in Scotland and England during 2001–2006, the authors examined a range of social, cultural and health-related factors at small area level: postcode sector and Health Board in Scotland and ward and Primary Care Organisation in England.

Results

Scotland's national suicide rate was 79% higher than in England (rate ratio 1.79, 95% CI 1.62 to 1.98), with younger male and female Scots aged 15–44 years having double the risk compared with their English peers. Overall, 57% of the excess suicide risk in Scotland was explained by a range of area-level measures, including prescriptions for psychotropic drugs, alcohol and drug use, socioeconomic deprivation, social fragmentation, and other health-related indices. The use of psychotropic drugs, acting as a proxy measure for mental ill health, was the variable most strongly associated with the between-country differences in suicide risk. Alcohol misuse also made an important contribution to the differentials. Overall, the contribution of socioeconomic deprivation and social fragmentation was relatively small.

Conclusions

Any attempt to reverse the divergent trend in suicide between Scotland and England will require initiatives to prevent and treat mental ill health and to tackle alcohol and drug misuse. Differences in prescribing rates, however, may also be explained by differences in illness behaviour or the availability of psychosocial interventions, and addressing these may also reduce Scotland's excess risk.
ADAPTIVE RESOURCE ALLOCATION TO MAXIMIZE RUN-OUT TIMES
Authors: LEE ALAN , ZIEDINS ILZE
Published: June 2012

We introduce a method for maximizing the run-out time for a system where the number of components available to make repairs is finite, and some of the components may be substituted for one another. The objective is to maximize the time at which the earliest run-out of any component occurs. The approach proposed here is to find the minimum time horizon such that no feasible allocation exists for a related linear programming problem. An adaptive version of this algorithm is proposed as a heuristic for the stochastic problem.
ESTIMATED AND ACCURATE SYSTEM RELIABILITIES OF A MAINTAINABLE COMPUTER NETWORK SUBJECT TO MAINTENANCE BUDGET
Authors: LIN YI-KUEI , CHANG PING-CHEN
Published: June 2012

This paper proposes a performance index to evaluate the capability of a maintainable computer network (MCN) that is required to send d units of data from the source to the sink through two paths within time T. The proposed system reliability performance index quantifies the probability that a MCN delivers a sufficient capacity with a maintenance budget no greater than B. Two procedures are integrated in the algorithm — an estimation procedure for estimated system reliability and an adjusting procedure utilizing the branch-and-bound approach for accurate system reliability. Subsequently, the estimated system reliability with lower bound and upper bound, and accurate system reliability can be derived by applying the recursive sum of disjoint products (RSDP) algorithm.
WARRANTY SERVICING WITH A BROWN–PROSCHAN REPAIR OPTION
Authors: BANERJEE RUDRANI , BHATTACHARJEE MANISH C.
Published: June 2012

Reducing warranty servicing costs are of great interest to product manufacturers or sellers who are contractually bound to provide post-sales support, up to a specified warranty period, usually in the form of some remedial action that restores a failed item to a functioning condition. Here, in the spirit of Jack et al. (2009) strategy based on partitioning the effective warranty period into three intervals, we consider and analyze the cost of a new two-dimensional warranty servicing strategy, that probabilistically exercises a choice between a replacement and a minimal repair to rectify the first failure if any, in the middle interval. The behavior of the expected cost is numerical illustration with Weibull failure model.
CODESIGN-ORIENTED AND USER-PERCEIVED SERVICE AVAILABILITY MEASUREMENT FOR HARDWARE/SOFTWARE SYSTEM
Authors: TOKUNO KOICHI
Published: June 2012

Service availability is one of the customer-oriented attribute and defined as the attribute that the system can successfully satisfy the customers' requests. This paper discusses the stochastic service availability measurement for the computer-based system incorporating the concept of hardware/software codesign. We assume that the computer-based system consists of one hardware subsystem and one software subsystem and consider the situation where one customer intermittently uses the system which is operating and available anytime. From the viewpoint of a customer, occurrence of a system failure is recognized when either one of the following two events arises: A system failure occurs when the customer is using the system, or a usage request occurs when the system is down. We propose and derive three kinds of novel service-oriented system availability assessment measure. These are given as the functions of time and the number of software debuggings. The time-dependent behaviors of the system alternating between up and down states and the customer's request are described by a Markov process. Especially for the software subsystem, we incorporate the dynamic software reliability growth process, the upward tendency of difficulty in debugging, and the imperfect debugging environment into the model. Finally, we present several numerical examples of these measures for system service availability analysis.
ON THE PRESERVATION OF UNITARITY DURING BLACK HOLE EVOLUTION AND INFORMATION EXTRACTION FROM ITS INTERIOR
Authors: PAPPAS NIKOLAOS D.
Published: June 2012

For more than 30 years the discovery that black holes radiate like black bodies of specific temperature has triggered a multitude of puzzling questions concerning their nature and the fate of information that goes down the black hole during its lifetime. The most tricky issue in what is known as information loss paradox is the apparent violation of unitarity during the formation/evaporation process of black holes. A new idea is proposed based on the combination of our knowledge on Hawking radiation as well as the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen phenomenon, that could resolve the paradox and spare physicists from the unpalatable idea that unitarity can ultimately be irreversibly violated even under special conditions.
CONCEPTUAL AND MATHEMATICAL MODELS OF BATCH SIMULTANEOUS SACCHARIFICATION AND FERMENTATION: DIMENSIONLESS GROUPS FOR PREDICTING PROCESS DYNAMICS
Authors: RAMAN D. RAJ , ANEX ROBERT P.
Published: June 2012

This paper describes a modeling effort demonstrating that dimensionless groupings of classical process parameters can be used to predicting process dynamics of batch simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) processes. Michaelis–Menten enzyme kinetics and Monod growth kinetics were employed, and inhibition of enzyme action and inhibition of microbial growth were neglected. The SSF process was characterized by the relative durations of three phases: A microbially-limited phase, a hydrolysis-limited phase, and a monosaccharide-depletion phase. The duration of these three phases were interrelated, and well predicted by the dimensionless magnitude of the monosaccharide peak (MSP). Thus, the MSP could be used as a single-value descriptor of an SSF process. The dimensionless ratio of the initial hydrolysis rate to the initial substrate consumption rate was shown to predict MSP, and an overall system time constant was shown to predict the total run time of a batch SSF process.
DRINFELD-JIMBO QUANTUM LIE ALGEBRA
Authors: OGIEVETSKY OLEG , POPOV TODOR
Published: June 2012

Quantum Lie algebras related to multi-parametric Drinfeld–Jimbo R-matrices of type GL(m|n) are classified.
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF P3HT/PCBM BULK HETEROJUNCTION ORGANIC SOLAR CELL
Authors: CHIEW ENG KOK , YAHAYA MUHAMMAD , OTHMAN AHMAD PUAAD
Published: June 2012

Photovoltaic performance of bulk heterojunction organic solar cell based on poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) were investigated. The active layer is a spin coated organic blend of a p material (P3HT) and an n-material from the fullerene derivative PCBM; it is sandwiched between electrodes ITO-PEDOT/PSS and Al/LiF as back-contact. Modeling of organic bulk heterojunction solar cells is complicated because of various internal mechanisms involved. Two models have been suggested, namely an effective medium model and a network model. We applied an effective medium model where the main assumption is the p–n nanostructure is treated as one single effective semiconductor layer, and parameters in this configuration are fed into a standard solar cell device simulator, called SCAPS. In this model, other non-carrier related properties, such as the refractive index n, the dielectric constant ε and the absorption constant α are influenced by both p–n materials and used as input parameters. The power conversion efficiency of 3.88% with short circuit current density of 20.61 mA/cm2, open circuit voltage of 0.39 V and fill factor of 48% were obtained. Finally, factors which could limit cell conversion efficiency are discussed.
FIRST-PRINCIPLE STUDY ON STRUCTURAL, ELASTIC AND ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF BINARY RARE EARTH INTERMETALLIC COMPOUNDS: GdCu AND GdZn
Authors: SINGH R. P. , SINGH R. K. , SHALU  , RAJAGOPALAN M.
Published: June 2012

First principle study on structural, elastic and electronic properties of binary copper and zinc based rare earth intermetallics have been carried out using the full-potential augmented plane waves plus local orbital (APW+ lo) within density functional theory (DFT). Results on elastic properties are obtained using generalized gradient approximation (GGA) for exchange correlation potentials. The equilibrium lattice parameter, bulk modulus and its pressure derivative have been obtained using optimization method. Young's modulus, shear modulus, Poisson ratio, sound velocities for longitudinal and shear waves, Debye average velocity, Debye temperature and Grüneisen parameters have been calculated. From electronic calculations, it has been found that electronic conduction in copper and zinc based rare earth intermetallics is mainly attributed to 3d-orbital electrons of Cu and Zn .
A NEW ELEMENT-FREE GALERKIN METHOD BASED ON IMPROVED COMPLEX VARIABLE MOVING LEAST-SQUARES APPROXIMATION FOR ELASTICITY
Authors: REN HONGPING , CHENG YUMIN
Published: June 2012

In this paper, by constructing a new functional, an improved complex variable moving least-squares (ICVMLS) approximation is presented. Based on element-free Galerkin (EFG) method and the ICVMLS approximation, a new complex variable element-free Galerkin (CVEFG) method for two-dimensional elasticity problems is presented. Galerkin weak form is used to obtain the discretized equations and the essential boundary conditions are applied with Lagrange multiplier. Then the formulae of the new CVEFG method for two-dimensional elasticity problems are obtained. Compared with the conventional EFG method, the new CVEFG method has greater computational precision and efficiency. For the purposes of demonstration, some selected numerical examples are solved using the ICVEFG method.
Toward a Unified Framework for Standard and Update Multi-Document Summarization
Authors: Wang Hongling , Zhou Guodong
Published: June 2012

This article presents a unified framework for extracting standard and update summaries from a set of documents. In particular, a topic modeling approach is employed for salience determination and a dynamic modeling approach is proposed for redundancy control. In the topic modeling approach for salience determination, we represent various kinds of text units, such as word, sentence, document, documents, and summary, using a single vector space model via their corresponding probability distributions over the inherent topics of given documents or a related corpus. Therefore, we are able to calculate the similarity between any two text units via their topic probability distributions. In the dynamic modeling approach for redundancy control, we consider the similarity between the summary and the given documents, and the similarity between the sentence and the summary, besides the similarity between the sentence and the given documents, for standard summarization while for update summarization, we also consider the similarity between the sentence and the history documents or summary. Evaluation on TAC 2008 and 2009 in English language shows encouraging results, especially the dynamic modeling approach in removing the redundancy in the given documents. Finally, we extend the framework to Chinese multi-document summarization and experiments show the effectiveness of our framework.
Integrating Generative and Discriminative Character-Based Models for Chinese Word Segmentation
Authors: Wang Kun , Zong Chengqing , Su Keh-Yih
Published: June 2012

Among statistical approaches to Chinese word segmentation, the
word-based n-gram
(
generative
) model and the
character-based tagging
(
discriminative
) model are two dominant approaches in the literature. The former gives excellent performance for the
in-vocabulary
(IV) words; however, it handles
out-of-vocabulary
(OOV) words poorly. On the other hand, though the latter is more robust for OOV words, it fails to deliver satisfactory performance for IV words. These two approaches behave differently due to the unit they use (word vs. character) and the model form they adopt (generative vs. discriminative). In general, character-based approaches are more robust than word-based ones, as the vocabulary of characters is a closed set; and discriminative models are more robust than generative ones, since they can flexibly include all kinds of available information, such as future context.

This article first proposes a character-based
n
-gram model to enhance the robustness of the generative approach. Then the proposed generative model is further integrated with the character-based discriminative model to take advantage of both approaches. Our experiments show that this integrated approach outperforms all the existing approaches reported in the literature. Afterwards, a complete and detailed error analysis is conducted. Since a significant portion of the critical errors is related to numerical/foreign strings, character-type information is then incorporated into the model to further improve its performance. Last, the proposed integrated approach is tested on cross-domain corpora, and a semi-supervised domain adaptation algorithm is proposed and shown to be effective in our experiments.
Interventional and Intrinsic Airway Homeostasis and Repair
Authors: Butler Colin , Birchall Martin , Giangreco Adam
Published: June 2012

Human airways are a paragon of intrinsic engineering. They experience 7,000–10,000 liters of airflow/day, have a 70-m2surface area, and undergo complete renewal every 100–400 days. Despite this, airways are susceptible to aging, injury, and diseases that are major causes of mortality. Current airway regeneration research is focused both on understanding the cells and strategies responsible for maintaining intrinsic tissue homeostasis as well as on establishing clinical interventions for improving repair.
Orphan Nuclear Receptors and the Regulation of Nutrient Metabolism: Understanding Obesity
Authors: Pearen Michael A. , Muscat George E. O.
Published: June 2012

Nuclear hormone receptors (NRs) are a superfamily of eukaryotic ligand-dependent transcription factors that translate endocrine, metabolic, nutritional, developmental, and pathophysiological signals into gene regulation. Members of the NR superfamily (on the basis of sequence homology) that lack identified natural and/or synthetic ligands are/were classified as “orphan” NRs. These members of the NR superfamily are abundantly expressed in tissues associated with major metabolic activity, such as skeletal muscle, adipose, and liver. Subsequently, in vivo genetic studies on these orphan NRs and exploitation of novel natural and synthetic agonists has revealed that orphan NRs regulate 1) carbohydrate, lipid, and energy homeostasis in a tissue-specific manner, and 2) the pathophysiology of dyslipidemia, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. This review discusses key studies that have implicated the orphan NRs as organ-specific regulators of metabolism and mediators of adverse pathophysiological effects. The emerging discovery of novel endogenous orphan NR ligands and synthetic agonists has provided the foundation for therapeutic exploitation of the orphans in the treatment of metabolic disease.
From Pluripotency to Distinct Cardiomyocyte Subtypes
Authors: David Robert , Franz Wolfgang-Michael
Published: June 2012

Differentiated adult cardiomyocytes (CMs) lack significant regenerative potential, which is one reason why degenerative heart diseases are the leading cause of death in the western world. For future cardiac repair, stem cell-based therapeutic strategies may become alternatives to donor heart transplantation. The principle of reprogramming adult terminally differentiated cells (iPSC) had a major impact on stem cell biology. One can now generate autologous pluripotent cells that highly resemble embryonic stem cells (ESC) and that are ethically inoffensive as opposed to human ESC. Yet, due to genetic and epigenetic aberrations arising during the full reprogramming process, it is questionable whether iPSC will enter the clinic in the near future. Therefore, the recent achievement of directly reprogramming fibroblasts into cardiomyocytes via a milder approach, thereby avoiding an initial pluripotent state, may become of great importance. In addition, various clinical scenarios will depend on the availability of specific cardiac cellular subtypes, for which a first step was achieved via our own programming approach to achieve cardiovascular cell subtypes. In this review, we discuss recent progress in the cardiovascular stem cell field addressing the above mentioned aspects.
Nanoscale Devices for Rectification of High Frequency Radiation from the Infrared through the Visible: A New Approach
Authors: Miskovsky N. M. , Cutler P. H. , Mayer A. , Weiss B. L. , Willis Brian , Sullivan T. E. , Lerner P. B.
Published: June 2012

We present a new and viable method for optical rectification. This approach has been demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally and is the basis fot the development of devices to rectify radiation through the visible. This technique for rectification is based not on conventional material or temperature asymmetry as used in MIM (metal/insulator/metal) or Schottky diodes, but on a purely sharp geometric property of the antenna. This sharp “tip” or edge with a collector anode constitutes a tunnel junction. In these devices the rectenna (consisting of the antenna and the tunnel junction) acts as the absorber of the incident radiation and the rectifier. Using current nanofabrication techniques and the selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, junctions of 1 nm can be fabricated, which allow for rectification of frequencies up to the blue portion of the spectrum. To assess the viability of our approach, we review the development of nanoantenna structures and tunnel junctions capable of operating in the visible region. In addition, we review the detailed process of rectification and present methodologies for analysis of diode data. Finally, we present operational designs for an optical rectenna and its fabrication and discuss outstanding problems and future work.
Distributed Routing and Spectrum Allocation Algorithm with Cooperation in Cognitive Wireless Mesh Networks
Authors: Chen Zhigang , Kuang Zhufang , Yang Yiqing , Deng Xiaoheng , Zhao Ming
Published: June 2012

Routing and spectrum allocation is an important challenge in cognitive wireless mesh networks. A distributed routing and spectrum allocation algorithm with cooperation (DRSAC-W) in cognitive wireless mesh networks is proposed in this paper. In order to show the decrease of the average end-to-end delay with cooperation in DRSAC-W, a distributed routing and spectrum allocation algorithm without cooperation (DRSAC-WO) is proposed in this paper. Minimizing the average end-to-end delay is the objective of DRSAC-W and DRSAC-WO. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm DRSAC-W with cooperation can alleviate the high delay due to the heterogeneity of available channels of different nodes and achieve low average end-to-end delay.