bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Meaning in life for patients with cancer: validation of the Life Attitude Profile‐Revised Scale
Authors: Erci Behice
Published: May 2008

Title. Meaning in life for patients with cancer: validation of the Life AttitudeProfile‐Revised Scale.

Aim. This paper is a report of a study to adapt the Life Attitude Profile‐Revised Scale for Turkish patients with cancer and to evaluate its psychometric properties.

Background. Cancer is a life‐threatening illness that can challenge the experience of meaning in life. Meaning in life is a multidimensional concept involving meaning and purpose in life, as well as the motivation to find meaning and purpose in life. As meaning in life may be influenced by culture, a culture‐sensitive tool is needed for its measurement.

Methods. A convenience sample of 199 patients with cancer at a Turkish university hospital completed a structured questionnaire including demographic characteristics and the Life Attitude Profile‐Revised Scale for Patients with Cancer in 2006. Item analysis, principal components analysis, internal consistency reliability and Cronbach’s alpha were used to measure the psychometric properties of the items of the scale.

Findings. In the assessment of construct validity, identified four factors with eigenvalues greater than 1 explained 46·91% of the total variance. Internal reliability coefficients of these four factor‐based scales were 0·73 and 0·82 respectively.

Conclusions. The present study provides evidence of the Life Attitude Profile‐Revised Scale’s validity, reliability and acceptability. This scale should be further evaluated with a larger sample, in different regions in Turkey and diverse populations of world. The scale has potential applications for use both in research and as a screening tool in clinical settings.
Adolescents with fluctuating symptoms of eating disorders: a 1‐year prospective study
Authors: Hautala Lea , Junnila Jouni , Helenius Hans , Väänänen Aija‐Mari , Liuksila Pirjo‐Riitta , Räihä Hannele , Välimäki Maritta , Saarijärvi Simo
Published: May 2008

Title.  Adolescents with fluctuating symptoms of eating disorders: a 1‐year prospective study.

Aim.  This paper is a report of a study to investigate the stability of self‐reported eating disorder symptoms, factors associated with them and the predictors of their recurrence.

Background.  In western cultures, eating‐related problems during adolescence are common but usually temporary. However, in approximately 10% of cases disordered eating is sustained, increasing the risk of a full‐blown eating disorder. To distinguish adolescents with temporary eating problems from those whose problems are likely to continue, healthcare providers need to understand the progress of disordered eating and the features of high‐risk adolescents.

Methods.  The two‐stage prospective survey was conducted with a school‐based sample of adolescents aged 15–17 years. At baseline, in 2003–2004, the SCOFF (‘Sick’, ‘Control’, ‘One’, ‘Fat’ and ‘Food’) questionnaire was administered to students in the 9th year of schooling in Finland. Follow‐up assessment took place 1 year later, and 372 students provided data at both assessments. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate which factors predict the recurrence of eating disorder symptoms, defined as the occurrence of eating disorder symptoms at both assessments.

Results.  Five per cent of the students reported eating disorder symptoms at both assessments. Typically, they had multiple psychological problems and health complaints. Anxiety perceived earlier in adolescence resulted in an estimated odds ratio of the logistic model of 20 for the recurrence of eating disorder symptoms.

Conclusion.  Earlier anxiety rather than dissatisfaction with appearance had a statistically significant effect on the progress of eating problems. Longitudinal research is needed to confirm the results. Until further knowledge is available, nurses should follow‐up all adolescents with disordered eating to identify a possible need for intervention.
International Code of Area Nomenclature
Authors: Ebach Malte C. , Morrone Juan J. , Parenti Lynne R. , Viloria Ángel L.
Published: May 2008

Biogeography needs a standard, coherent nomenclature. Currently, in biogeography, the same name is used for different areas of biological endemism, and one area of endemism is known by more than one name, which leads to conflict and confusion. The name ‘Mediterranean’, for example, may mean different things to different people – all or part of the sea, or the land in and around it. This results in ambiguity concerning the meaning of names and, more importantly, may lead to conflicts between inferences based on different aspects of a given name. We propose the International Code of Area Nomenclature (ICAN), a naming system that can be used to classify newly coined or existing names based on a standard. When fully implemented, the ICAN will improve communication among biogeographers, systematists, ecologists and conservation biologists.
Predicting maternal parenting stress in middle childhood: the roles of child intellectual status, behaviour problems and social skills
Authors: Neece C. , Baker B.
Published: May 2008

Background  Parents of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) typically report elevated levels of parenting stress, and child behaviour problems are a strong predictor of heightened parenting stress. Interestingly, few studies have examined child characteristics beyond behaviour problems that may also contribute to parenting stress. The present longitudinal study examined the contribution of child social skills to maternal parenting stress across middle childhood, as well as the direction of the relationship between child social skills and parenting stress.

Method  Families of children with ID (n = 74) or typical development (TD) (n = 115) participated over a 2‐year period. Maternal parenting stress, child behaviour problems and child social skills were assessed at child ages six and eight.

Results  Child social skills accounted for unique variance in maternal parenting stress above and beyond child intellectual status and child behaviour problems. As the children matured, there was a significant interaction between child social skills and behaviour problems in predicting parenting stress. With respect to the direction of these effects, a cross‐lagged panel analysis indicated that early parenting stress contributed to later social skills difficulties for children, but the path from children's early social skills to later parenting stress was not supported, once child behaviour problems and intellectual status were accounted for.

Conclusion  When examining parenting stress, child social skills are an important variable to consider, especially in the context of child behaviour problems. Early parenting stress predicted child social skills difficulties over time, highlighting parenting stress as a key target for intervention.
‘Care’: Moral concept or merely an organisational suffix?
Authors: Clapton J.
Published: May 2008

Background Over recent decades, a couple of interesting trends have occurred in regard to human services practices in Australia. First, there has been a significant shift from practices that previously have intentionally responded to emerging and continuing human need within communities to practices that are now managed within a context of managerialism and influenced by market forces. Second, in such a changing context, increasingly, organisations have added the suffix ‘care’ to their organisational name. One is therefore left to consider why this latter change has occurred, and how is care being considered, particularly in organisations supporting people with intellectual disability (ID).

Method A conceptual‐theoretical analysis is undertaken to explore the characteristics of human services that embrace managerialism. The moral constructions of personhood in regard to people with ID within this service context are investigated; and the implications of how care is practised are considered.

Results An immoral‐amoral binary of personhood within an underpinning neo‐liberal context is identified and analysed. Further analysis reveals a more insidious independent–dependent binary for people with an ID linked to a dominating Ethic of Normalcy. This latter binary suggests that care seemingly becomes neither ethically relevant nor legitimate for people with ID in managerialist service contexts.

Conclusions Ethical transformation in regard to care is needed for contemporary human services practice for people with ID. The underpinning Ethic of Normalcy is challenged for an Ethic of Engagement; whereby a deep understanding of care as a moral concept needs to be at the core of practice, rather than merely attached in an organisational name.
Spatially resolved fluorescence lifetime mapping of enzyme kinetics in living cells
Authors: RAMANUJAN V.K. , JO J.A. , CANTU G. , HERMAN B.A.
Published: May 2008

Traditional cuvette‐based enzyme studies lack spatial information and do not allow real‐time monitoring of the effects of modulating enzyme functions in vivo. In order to probe the realistic timescales of steric modifications in enzyme–substrate complexes and functional binding–unbinding kinetics in living cells without losing spatial information, it is imperative to develop sensitive imaging strategies that can report enzyme kinetics in real time over a wide dynamic range of timescales. Here we present a multi‐photon excitation‐based, ultra‐fast photon detection using a streak camera and Laguerre expansion‐based fast deconvolution approach for achieving high spatio‐temporal resolution in monitoring real‐time enzyme kinetics in single cells. In particular, we report spatially resolved, nanosecond‐scale fluorescence dynamics associated with binding–unbinding kinetics of endogenous metabolic co‐factor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide with enzymes in intact living cells. By monitoring real‐time kinetics of NAD(P)H–enzyme kinetics in primary hepatocytes isolated from young and aged mouse models, we observed that the mechanism of inhibition of mitochondrial respiration at complex I site is mediated by redistribution of free and protein‐bound nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide pools and that this equilibrium redistribution is affected by age‐related modifications in mitochondrial function. We describe unique advantages of Laguerre deconvolution algorithm in comparison with conventional lifetime analysis approaches. Non‐invasive monitoring of metabolic dysfunctions in intact animal models is an attractive strategy for gaining insight into the dynamics of tissue metabolism in health and in various metabolic syndromes such as cancer, diabetes and aging‐induced metabolic dysfunctions. Besides the example demonstrated above, we envisage that the proposed method can find applications in a variety of other situations where intensity‐based approaches fall short owing to spectroscopic artefacts.
Automated identification of neurons and their locations
Authors: INGLIS A. , CRUZ L. , ROE D. L. , STANLEY H. E. , ROSENE D. L. , URBANC B.
Published: May 2008

Individual locations of many neuronal cell bodies (>104) are needed to enable statistically significant measurements of spatial organization within the brain such as nearest‐neighbour and microcolumnarity measurements. In this paper, we introduce an Automated Neuron Recognition Algorithm (ANRA) which obtains the (x, y) location of individual neurons within digitized images of Nissl‐stained, 30 μm thick, frozen sections of the cerebral cortex of the Rhesus monkey. Identification of neurons within such Nissl‐stained sections is inherently difficult due to the variability in neuron staining, the overlap of neurons, the presence of partial or damaged neurons at tissue surfaces, and the presence of non‐neuron objects, such as glial cells, blood vessels, and random artefacts. To overcome these challenges and identify neurons, ANRA applies a combination of image segmentation and machine learning. The steps involve active contour segmentation to find outlines of potential neuron cell bodies followed by artificial neural network training using the segmentation properties (size, optical density, gyration, etc.) to distinguish between neuron and non‐neuron segmentations. ANRA positively identifies 86 ± 5% neurons with 15 ± 8% error (mean ± SD) on a wide range of Nissl‐stained images, whereas semi‐automatic methods obtain 80 ± 7%/17 ± 12%. A further advantage of ANRA is that it affords an unlimited increase in speed from semi‐automatic methods, and is computationally efficient, with the ability to recognize ∼100 neurons per minute using a standard personal computer. ANRA is amenable to analysis of huge photo‐montages of Nissl‐stained tissue, thereby opening the door to fast, efficient and quantitative analysis of vast stores of archival material that exist in laboratories and research collections around the world.
Systematic evaluation of FRAP experiments performed in a confocal laser scanning microscope – Part II: Multiple diffusion processes
Authors: HAUSER G. I. , SEIFFERT S. , OPPERMANN W.
Published: May 2008

A procedure for a systematic evaluation of fluorescence recovery after photo‐bleaching (FRAP) data is presented that allows one to determine distributions of diffusion coefficients. The method provides a straightforward and calibration‐free way to quantify multiple diffusion processes when FRAP is measured as a function of time and space by means of confocal laser scanning microscopy. It is verified utilizing FRAP experiments on mixtures of differently sized fluorescent micro‐spheres as realizations of discrete D distributions.
An application of spatial deconvolution to a capillary‐based high‐pressure chamber for fluorescence microscopy imaging
Authors: HAVER T. , RABER E.C. , URAYAMA P.
Published: May 2008

Capillary‐based high‐pressure chambers for which the wall serves as both the optical window and mechanical support have been reported for fluorescence microscopy imaging. Although capillary chambers are straightforward and economical to construct, the curved capillary wall introduces image aberrations. The significance of these aberrations in imaging sub‐cellular‐dimension objects has yet to be assessed. Using a capillary chamber that is routinely pressurized to between 20 and 30 MPa, a pressure range suitable for studying a wide variety of cellular processes, we demonstrate sub‐cellular‐dimension spatial resolution in the imaging of fluorescent micro‐spheres. Objectives with a range of numerical apertures (0.5–1.3) and working distances (0.1–7.4 mm) are considered. We show that spatial (or point‐spread function, PSF) deconvolution improves image contrast in capillary‐based images by comparing deconvolution results with those obtained from slide‐mounted controls. Furthermore, similar deconvolution results between a measured PSF and a calculated, flat‐geometry PSF indicate that the capillary wall is optically flat on cellular length scales. Results here facilitate the application of contemporary techniques in fluorescence microscopy to high‐pressure imaging fields.
Compositional analysis of mixed–cation‐anion III–V semiconductor interfaces using phase retrieval high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy
Authors: MAHALINGAM K. , EYINK K.G. , BROWN G.J. , DORSEY D.L. , KISIELOWSKI C.F. , THUST A.
Published: May 2008

Employing exit‐plane wave function (EPWF) reconstruction in high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), we have developed an approach to atomic scale compositional analysis of III‐V semiconductor interfaces, especially suitable for analyzing quaternary heterostructures with intermixing in both cation and anion sub‐lattices. Specifically, we use the focal‐series reconstruction technique, which retrieves the complex‐valued EPWF from a thru‐focus series of HRTEM images. A study of interfaces in Al0.4Ga0.6As–GaAs and In0.25Ga0.75Sb–InAs heterostructures using focal‐series reconstruction shows that change in chemical composition along individual atomic columns across an interface is discernible in the phase image of the reconstructed EPWF. To extract the interface composition profiles along the cation and anion sub‐lattices, quantitative analysis of the phase image is performed using factorial analysis of correspondence. This enabled independent quantification of changes in the In–Ga and As–Sb contents across ultra‐thin interfacial regions (approximately 0.6 nm wide) with true atomic resolution, in the In0.25Ga0.75Sb–InAs heterostructure. The validity of the method is demonstrated by analyzing simulated HRTEM images of an InAs–GaSb–InAs model structure with abrupt and graded interfaces. Our approach is general, permitting atomic‐level compositional analysis of heterostructures with two species per sub‐lattice, hitherto unfeasible with existing HRTEM methods.
Nanoparticle shape and configuration analysis by transmission electron tomography
Authors: AHRENKIEL S.P. , YU P.R. , MURPHY J.E. , NEDELJKOVIĆ J.M. , DONOHOE B.S.
Published: May 2008

Tomographic reconstruction by transmission electron microscopy is used to reveal three‐dimensional nanoparticle shapes and the stacking configurations of nanoparticle ensembles. Reconstructions are generated from bright‐field image tilt series, with a sample tilt range up to ± 70°, using single or dual tilt axes. We demonstrate the feasibility of this technique for the analysis of nanomaterials, using appropriate acquisition conditions. Tomography reveals both cubic and hexagonal close‐packing configurations in multi‐layered arrays of size‐selected In nanospheres. By tomography and phase‐contrast lattice imaging, we relate the three‐dimensional shape of PbSe octahedral nanoparticles to the underlying crystal structure. We also confirm simple‐cubic packing in multi‐layers of PbSe nanocubes and see evidence that the particle shapes have cubic symmetry. The shapes of TiO2 nanorod bundles are shown by tomographic reconstruction to resemble flattened ellipsoids.
Immuno‐EM using colloidal metal nanoparticles and electron spectroscopic imaging for co‐localization at high spatial resolution
Authors: BLEHER R. , KANDELA I. , MEYER D.A. , ALBRECHT R.M.
Published: May 2008

Multiple‐labelling immuno‐EM is a powerful tool for localizing and co‐localizing different antigens simultaneously in cells and tissues at high spatial resolution. Commonly used labels for this purpose are differently sized gold spheres. A comparison of results obtained with differently sized markers is often difficult, because the diameters of markers influence labelling efficiency. In the current study, we investigate a method for high‐resolution multiple‐labelling immuno‐EM, using equally sized colloidal markers made of different metals. Energy filtering transmission electron microscopy is used to differentiate particles based on elemental composition. The labels consist of colloidal gold, palladium and platinum‐core gold‐shell particles of approximately 6 nm in diameter, which are conjugated to different primary antibodies. Applicability of the electron spectroscopic imaging, methodology is demonstrated by labelling of actin, α‐actinin and myosin on ultra‐thin cryosections of skeletal muscle tissue.
Modelling a ceramic foam using locally adaptable morphology
Authors: LAUTENSACK C. , GIERTZSCH M. , GODEHARDT M. , SCHLADITZ K.
Published: May 2008

In this paper, a ceramic open foam is modelled using a two‐step procedure. First, a random Laguerre tessellation is fitted to the edge system of the polyurethane foam forming the core of the ceramic foam. In a second phase, a model of the ceramic foam is obtained using dilations with balls of locally varying size. The model fitting is based on geometric characteristics of both polyurethane and ceramic foam estimated from reconstructed tomographic images of these structures.
Application of EBSD to the analysis of interface planes: evolution over the last two decades
Authors: RANDLE V.
Published: May 2008

Over the last two decades, several methods, of increasing sophistication, have evolved to measure boundary plane orientation by electron backscatter diffraction. Originally, metallographic sectioning was used to obtain the location of the boundary plane. The most recently designed approach allows the relative frequency distribution of boundary misorientation and boundary plane types to be obtained, for very large sample populations, by a stereological method. In this review, the progress in measuring boundary planes by electron backscatter diffraction is charted. Each technique is described in chronological order, illustrated by a series of examples, all relating to boundary plane reorientation.
Texture evolution in grain‐oriented electrical steel during hot band annealing and cold rolling
Authors: SHIN S. M. , BIROSCA S. , CHANG S. K. , DE COOMAN B. C.
Published: May 2008

The optimization of magnetic and physical properties of electrical steel is imperative for many engineering applications. The key factors to improve magnetic properties are the steel composition as well as control of the crystallographic orientation and microstructure of the steel during processing. However, this requires careful control of processing at all stages of production. Under certain conditions of deformation and annealing, electrical steel can be produced to have favourable texture components. For grain‐oriented (GO) electrical steels that are used in most transformer cores, a pronounced {110}〈001〉 Goss texture plays a vital role to achieve low power losses and high permeability. Essentially, Goss texture develops during secondary re‐crystallization in GO electrical steels; however, the mechanism of the abnormal Goss grain growth is still disputed in the literature. In the current study, the influence of the annealing conditions on the development of annealing, cold rolling and re‐crystallization textures of hot‐rolled GO electrical steel were investigated in detail following each processing step. Furthermore, the orientation data from electron backscatter diffraction were used to evaluate the orientation‐dependent stored energy of deformed grains after hot rolling. In the light of new findings in the present study, annealing and deformation texture development mechanisms were critically reviewed.
Oxide formation and alloying elements enrichment on TRIP steel surface during inter‐critical annealing
Authors: GONG Y. F. , BIROSCA S. , KIM H. S. , DE COOMAN B. C.
Published: May 2008

The gas atmosphere in continuous annealing and galvanizing lines alters both composition and microstructure of the surface and sub‐surface of sheet steels. The alloying element enrichments and the oxide morphology on transformation‐induced plasticity steel surfaces are strongly influenced by the dew point of the furnace atmosphere and annealing temperature. The formation of a thin oxide film and enrichment of the alloying elements during annealing may result in surface defects on galvanized sheet products. The present contribution reports on the use of microanalysis techniques such as electron backscatter diffraction, glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy and electron probe micro‐analysis for the detailed surface analysis of inter‐critically annealed transformation‐induced plasticity steel such as oxide phase determination, microstructure and microtexture evolutions.
Using EBSD and TEM‐Kikuchi patterns to study local crystallography at the domain boundaries of lead zirconate titanate
Authors: FAROOQ M. U. , VILLAURRUTIA R. , MACLAREN I. , KUNGL H. , HOFFMANN M. J. , FUNDENBERGER J.‐J. , BOUZY E.
Published: May 2008

Reliable EBSD mapping of 90° domains in a tetragonal ferroelectric perovskite has been achieved for the first time, together with reliable automated orientation determination from TEM‐Kikuchi patterns. This has been used to determine misorientation angles at 90° domain boundaries and thus local c/a ratios. The sources of orientation noise/error and their effects on the misorientation angle data have been thoroughly analyzed and it is found that this gives a cosine distribution of misorientation angles about the mean with a characteristic width related to the width of the orientation noise distribution. In most cases, a good agreement is found between local c/a ratios and global measurements by X‐ray diffraction, but some clear discrepancies have also been found suggesting that real local variations are present, perhaps as a consequence of compositional inhomogeneities.
On the orientations of abnormally grown grains in nanocrystalline Ni and Ni–Fe
Authors: KLEMENT U. , Da SILVA M. , SKROTZKI W.
Published: May 2008

The scanning electron microscopy–based electron backscatter diffraction technique has been used to determine grain orientations of abnormally grown grains upon annealing in nanocrystalline Ni and Ni–20 at.% Fe electrodeposits. The results show that in nanocrystalline Ni and Ni–Fe, the first grown grains that can be detected are 〈411〉 oriented with respect to the normal direction (〈411〉//ND). Upon annealing, further grain growth occurs and the dominant orientation of the abnormally growing grains changes from 〈411〉//ND to 〈111〉//ND. Twinning is found to be the mechanism responsible for the orientation change and is for the first time described in connection with abnormal grain growth in nanocrystalline materials. This means that well‐known models for the formation of annealing twins (initially introduced in connection with recrystallization) also seem to apply in nanocrystalline materials.
Recrystallization phenomena in an IF steel observed by in situ EBSD experiments
Authors: NAKAMICHI H. , HUMPHREYS F. J. , BROUGH I.
Published: May 2008

In situ electron backscatter diffraction microstructural analysis of recrystallizing interstitial free steels deformed to strains of 0.75 and 1.6 has been carried out in a FEG‐SEM. The experimental procedures are discussed, and it is shown that there is no degradation of the electron backscatter diffraction patterns at temperatures up to 800°C. Analysis of the surface and interior microstructures of annealed samples shows only minor difference, which suggests that in situ annealing experiments are of value. In addition, it is shown that in situ measurements allow a detailed comparison between the same areas before and after annealing, thereby providing information about the recrystallization mechanisms. Sequential recrystallization phenomena, such as initiation and growth of new grains, are observed at temperatures over 740°C, and depending on the deformation histories, different recrystallization behaviour is observed. It is found that {111}〈123〉 recrystallized grains are preferentially formed in the highly deformed material, whereas no strong recrystallization texture is formed in the lower strained material.
Three‐dimensional EBSD study on the relationship between triple junctions and columnar grains in electrodeposited Co–Ni films
Authors: BASTOS A. , ZAEFFERER S. , RAABE D.
Published: May 2008

Electrodeposited nanocrystalline materials are expected to have a homogeneous grain size and a narrow grain size distribution. In Co–Ni electrodeposited films, however, under certain conditions an undesired columnar grain structure is formed. Fully automated three‐dimensional (3D) orientation microscopy, consisting of a combination of precise material removal by focussed ion beam and subsequent electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis, was applied to fully characterize the grain boundaries of these columnar grains in order to gain further understanding on their formation mechanisms. Two‐dimensional orientation microscopy on these films indicated that the development of columnar grains could be related to the formation of low‐energy triple junctions. 3D EBSD allowed us to verify this suggestion and to determine the boundary planes of these triples. The triplets are formed by grain boundaries of different quality, a coherent twin on the {} plane, an incoherent twin and a large‐angle grain boundary. These three boundaries are related to each other by a rotation about the 〈〉 direction. A second particularity of the columnar grains is the occurrence of characteristic orientation gradients created by regular defects in the grain. Transmission electron microscopy was applied to investigate the character of the defects. For this purpose, a sample was prepared with the focussed ion beam from the last slice of the 3D EBSD investigation. From the TEM and 3D EBSD observations, a growth mechanism of the columnar grains is proposed.
EBSD as a tool to identify and quantify bainite and ferrite in low‐alloyed Al‐TRIP steels
Authors: ZAEFFERER S. , ROMANO P. , FRIEDEL F.
Published: May 2008

Bainite is thought to play an important role for the chemical and mechanical stabilization of metastable austenite in low‐alloyed TRIP steels. Therefore, in order to understand and improve the material properties, it is important to locate and quantify the bainitic phase. To this aim, electron backscatter diffraction–based orientation microscopy has been employed. The main difficulty herewith is to distinguish bainitic ferrite from ferrite because both have bcc crystal structure. The most important difference between them is the occurrence of transformation induced geometrically necessary dislocations in the bainitic phase. To determine the areas with larger geometrically necessary dislocation density, the following orientation microscopy maps were explored: pattern quality maps, grain reference orientation deviation maps and kernel average misorientation maps. We show that only the latter allow a reliable separation of the bainitic and ferritic phase. The kernel average misorientation threshold value that separates both constituents is determined by an algorithm that searches for the smoothness of the boundaries between them.
Spherical EBSD
Authors: DAY A.P.
Published: May 2008

Spheres, or more usually spherical surfaces, are important in electron backscatter diffraction. Both electron backscatter patterns (EBSPs) and pole figure texture data are more accurately represented on the spherical surface, S2; and unit quaternions, which are the optimal method for orientation calculations, exist on the surface of the hypersphere, S3.

This paper is split into two distinct parts. The first shows a little of the history of the EBSP technique, including the use of spheres to assemble a spherical Kikuchi map (SKM) and as calibration artefacts. The second part relates new developments in the analysis of EBSPs on the surface of a sphere, a new spherical Hough transform and ideas for fully automatic,ab initioanalysis of unknown phases using collections of EBSPs assembled as spherical Kikuchi maps.
A 3D Hough transform for indexing EBSD and Kossel patterns
Authors: MAURICE C. , FORTUNIER R.
Published: May 2008

A three‐dimensional Hough transform is designed for the detection of conic curves (hyperbolae and ellipses) formed by the gnomonic projection of diffraction Kossel cones. This new procedure is applied to a high‐angular‐accuracy analysis of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) patterns and to a fully automatic indexing of X‐ray Kossel patterns in the SEM. The high‐accuracy analysis of EBSD patterns allows for the determination of local elastic strains, without any reference pattern, and with a spatial resolution of a few tens of nanometres. An accuracy of 2 × 10−4 is achieved on geometrically calculated diagrams. This paper presents also the first fully automatic indexing of Kossel patterns. This automatic indexing procedure can be applied to local texture analysis, as well as to local elastic strain measurements. Although the spatial resolution of Kossel is about 1 μm, the accuracy of strain measurement is in this case much higher than that presently obtained on EBSD.
Impact of climate change on crop nutrient and water use efficiencies
Authors: Brouder Sylvie M. , Volenec Jeffrey J.
Published: May 2008

Implicit in discussions of plant nutrition and climate change is the assumption that we know what to do relative to nutrient management here and now but that these strategies might not apply in a changed climate. We review existing knowledge on interactive influences of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, temperature and soil moisture on plant growth, development and yield as well as on plant water use efficiency (WUE) and physiological and uptake efficiencies of soil‐immobile nutrients. Elevated atmospheric CO2 will increase leaf and canopy photosynthesis, especially in C3 plants, with minor changes in dark respiration. Additional CO2 will increase biomass without marked alteration in dry matter partitioning, reduce transpiration of most plants and improve WUE. However, spatiotemporal variation in these attributes will impact agronomic performance and crop water use in a site‐specific manner. Nutrient acquisition is closely associated with overall biomass and strongly influenced by root surface area. When climate change alters soil factors to restrict root growth, nutrient stress will occur. Plant size may also change but nutrient concentration will remain relatively unchanged; therefore, nutrient removal will scale with growth. Changes in regional nutrient requirements will be most remarkable where we alter cropping systems to accommodate shifts in ecozones or alter farming systems to capture new uses from existing systems. For regions and systems where we currently do an adequate job managing nutrients, we stand a good chance of continued optimization under a changed climate. If we can and should do better, climate change will not help us.
Methane emission associated with anatomical and morphophysiological characteristics of rice (Oryza sativa) plant
Authors: Das Kaushik , Baruah Kushal Kumar
Published: May 2008

Plant‐mediated transport is the primary route of methane (CH4) emission from the reduced paddy field to the aboveground atmosphere. Experiments were conducted at North Bank Plain Agro‐climatic Zone of Assam, India, during monsoon rice‐growing season (July to December 2006) to elucidate the influences of anatomical and morphophysiological characteristics of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars on methane emission from submerged agroecosystem. Ten rice cultivars were grown in light‐textured loamy soil under rainfed uniform field condition. Among the 10 cultivars, 5 were traditional rice genotypes commonly grown in the agroclimatic zone and the other 5 were improved high‐yielding varieties. Wide variation in CH4 flux was recorded among the rice cultivars, which may be regulated by the difference in anatomical and morphophysiological characteristics of rice plant. Microscopic analysis of stem portion showed that high‐ and medium‐CH4‐emitting cultivars recorded higher size of the medullary cavity. Leaf area and transpirational rates were also found to be higher in high‐CH4‐emitting varieties. Scanning electron microscopic analysis revealed higher stomatal frequencies in high‐methane‐emitting cultivars. Data presented in this study suggest that variation in anatomical and morphophysiological characteristics among different rice genotypes may influence CH4 emission from paddy fields.
Adjustments of water use efficiency by stomatal regulation during drought and recovery in the drought‐adapted Vitis hybrid Richter‐110 (V. berlandieri × V. rupestris)
Authors: Pou Alícia , Flexas Jaume , Alsina Maria del Mar , Bota Josefina , Carambula Cecilia , De Herralde Felicidad , Galmés Jeroni , Lovisolo Claudio , Jiménez Miguel , Ribas‐Carbó Miquel , Rusjan Denis , Secchi Francesca , Tomàs Magdalena , Zsófi Zsolt , Medrano Hipólito
Published: May 2008

The hybrid Richter‐110 (Vitis berlandieri × Vitis rupestris) (R‐110) has the reputation of being a genotype strongly adapted to drought. A study was performed with plants of R‐110 subjected to water withholding followed by re‐watering. The goal was to analyze how stomatal conductance (gs) is regulated with respect to different physiological variables under water stress and recovery, as well as how water stress affects adjustments of water use efficiency (WUE) at the leaf level. Water stress induced a substantial stomatal closure and an increase in WUE, which persisted many days after re‐watering. The gs during water stress was mainly related to the content of ABA in the xylem and partly related to plant hydraulic conductivity but not to leaf water potential. By contrast, low gs during re‐watering did not correlate with ABA contents and was only related to a sustained decreased hydraulic conductivity. In addition to a complex physiological regulation of stomatal closure, gs and rate of transpiration (E) were strongly affected by leaf‐to‐air vapor pressure deficit (VPD) in a way dependent of the treatment. Interestingly, E increased with increasing VPD in control plants, but decreased with increasing VPD in severely stressed plants. All together, the fine stomatal regulation in R‐110 resulted in very high WUE at the leaf level. This genotype is revealed to be very interesting for further studies on the physiological mechanisms leading to regulation of stomatal responsiveness and WUE in response to drought.
Characterization of 19 novel cotton FLA genes and their expression profiling in fiber development and in response to phytohormones and salt stress
Authors: Huang Geng‐Qing , Xu Wen‐Liang , Gong Si‐Ying , Li Bing , Wang Xiu‐Lan , Xu Dan , Li Xue‐Bao
Published: May 2008

Fasciclin‐like arabinogalactan proteins (FLAs), a subclass of arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs), are usually involved in cell development in plants. To investigate the expression profiling as well as the role of FLA genes in fiber development, 19 GhFLA genes (cDNAs) were isolated from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum). Among them, 15 are predicted to be glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchored to the plasma membranes. The isolated cotton FLAs could be divided into four groups. Real‐time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction results indicated that the GhFLA genes are differentially expressed in cotton tissues. Three genes (GhFLA1/2/4) were specifically or predominantly expressed in 10 days post‐anthesis fibers, and the transcripts of the other four genes (GhFLA6/14/15/18) were accumulated at relatively high levels in cotton fibers. Furthermore, expressions of the GhFLA genes are regulated in fiber development and in response to phytohormones and NaCl. The identification of cotton FLAs will facilitate the study of their roles in cotton fiber development and cell wall biogenesis.
Infectious complications in living‐donor liver transplant recipients: a 9‐year single‐center experience
Authors: Kim Y.J. , Kim S.I. , Wie S.H. , Kim Y.R. , Hur J.A. , Choi J.Y. , Yoon S.K. , Moon I.S. , Kim D.G. , Lee M.D. , Kang M.W.
Published: May 2008

Background. Infectious complications following living‐donor liver transplantation (LDLT) remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality. We analyzed the frequency and type of infectious complications according to the post‐transplantation period, and their risk factors with regard to morbidity and mortality.

Methods. We retrospectively analyzed 208 subjects who had undergone LDLT during a 9‐year period.

Results. The rate of infection was 1.69 per patient during the study period. The predominant infections were intra‐abdominal infections (37.6%), primary bacteremia (17.4%), and pneumonia (14.5%). Within the first post‐transplant month, 140 (39.9%) infections were detected, and catheter‐related coagulase‐negative staphylococci (44) were the most common infectious agents. During the 2–6‐month post‐transplant period, 109 infectious episodes occurred (31.1%), and Enterococcus sp. (n=16) related to biliary infection was the most frequent isolate. After the sixth month, 96 infectious episodes (29%) occurred, and biliary tract‐related Escherichia coli (n=19) was the major causative organism. The overall mortality was 24.5% (51/208); 1‐year survival rate was 88% (196/208). Post‐transplant infection‐related mortality was 52.9% (27/51). Biliary tract complications, such as biliary stenosis or leakage, significantly increased the mortality (P=0.01); however, reoperation (retransplantation or resurgery for biliary tract obstruction/leakage or to control bleeding) significantly reduced the mortality (P=0.01).

Conclusions. Our data showed that early catheter removal would mainly aid in reducing infectious complications in the 1‐month post‐transplantation period. Aggressive management, including reoperation, would lower the mortality in the LDLT recipients.
Iatrogenic emphysematous pyelonephritis in a renal transplant patient
Authors: Boltan L.E. , Randall H. , Barri Y.M.
Published: May 2008

Abstract: Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) is a rare condition that typically occurs in patients with diabetes mellitus, urinary tract obstruction, or immunosuppression such as solid organ transplant recipients. It has high mortality and frequently requires nephrectomy to achieve cure, although percutaneous drainage has been reported to be successful in some patients. We report a renal transplant recipient with underlying diabetes mellitus who developed iatrogenic EPN. The patient initially presented with dyspnea and was admitted for cardiac evaluation. There was no evidence of urinary tract infection at the time of admission. The patient developed high‐grade fever 3 days after admission. Despite intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy, the patient developed acute renal failure requiring hemodialysis. Studies revealed Klebsiella bacteremia and EPN. We believe that urinary tract infection was precipitated by urinary bladder catheterization performed on the day of admission. Despite 2 weeks of IV antibiotic therapy, infection persisted with progressive extension of gas into the perinephric space on repeat imaging. The patient underwent a transplant nephrectomy with subsequent clinical recovery. This case illustrates that antibiotics alone are often inadequate to cure and preserve renal function in EPN despite immediate therapy. Furthermore, this patient underscores the risk of serious infection precipitated by urinary bladder catheterization in immunocompromised patients.
SEVOFLURANE POST‐CONDITIONING PROTECTS AGAINST MYOCARDIAL REPERFUSION INJURY BY ACTIVATION OF PHOSPHATIDYLINOSITOL‐3‐KINASE SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION
Authors: Li Heng , Wang Jun‐Ke , Zeng Yin‐Ming , Yang Cheng‐Xiang , Chen Hong‐Tao , Wen Xian‐Jie , Shui Chun‐Ling , Liang Hua
Published: May 2008

The mechanisms underlying myocardial protection by sevoflurane post‐conditioning are unclear. In the present study, we tested two hypotheses: (i) that sevoflurane post‐conditioning produces cardioprotection via a phosphatidylinositol‐3‐kinase (PI3‐K)‐dependent pathway; and (ii) combining sevoflurane and ischaemic post‐conditioning offers an additional benefit against reperfusion injury.

Rat isolated perfused hearts were exposed to 25 min ischaemia followed by 90 min reperfusion. Sevoflurane post‐conditioning was induced by administration of sevoflurane (3.0 vol%) for 15 min from the onset of reperfusion. In some groups, 15 µmol/L LY294002, a selective PI3‐K inhibitor, was coadministrated with sevoflurane. Other groups of hearts were exposed to ischaemic post‐conditioning or combined sevoflurane plus ischaemic post‐conditioning in the presence and absence of LY294002. After 15 min reperfusion, phosphorylation of Akt and glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) was determined by Western blot analysis. Infarct size was determined by 2,3,5‐triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining and subsarcolemmal mitochondrial lesions were assessed by electron microscopy after 90 min reperfusion.

Sevoflurane post‐conditioning significantly decreased infarct size compared with control hearts (31 ± 2 vs 42 ± 3%, respectively; P < 0.05), diminished mitochondrial lesions and increased phosphorylation of Akt and GSK3β, as did ischaemic post‐conditioning. However, combined sevoflurane plus ischaemic post‐conditioning did not further improve the cardiaoprotective effects compared with either intervention alone. Sevoflurane‐mediated cardioprotection was abolished or inhibited by 15 µmol/L LY294002.

In conclusion, sevoflurane acts during early reperfusion after ischaemia to salvage the myocardium by activating PI3‐K. The combination of sevoflurane plus ischaemic post‐conditioning does not offer any additional benefit over either intervention alone.
ILLUMINATING THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF CYS‐LOOP RECEPTORS
Authors: Pless Stephan A , Lynch Joseph W
Published: May 2008

Cys‐loop receptors are an important class of ligand‐gated ion channels. They mediate fast synaptic neurotransmission, are implicated in various ‘channelopathies’ and are important pharmacological targets. Recent progress in X‐ray crystallography and electron microscopy has provided a considerable insight into the structure of Cys‐loop receptors. However, data from these experiments only provide ‘snapshots’ of the proteins under investigation. They cannot provide information about the various conformations the protein adopts during transition from the closed to the open and desensitized states.

Voltage‐clamp fluorometry helps overcome this problem by simultaneously monitoring movements at the channel gate (through changes in current) and conformational rearrangements in a domain of interest (through changes in fluorescence) in real time. Thus, the technique can provide information on both transitional and steady state conformations and serves as a real time correlate of the channel structure and its function.

Voltage‐clamp fluorometry experiments on Cys‐loop receptors have yielded a large body of data concerning the mechanisms by which agonists, antagonists and modulators act on these receptors. They have shed new light on the conformational mobility of both the ligand‐binding and the transmembrane domain of Cys‐loop receptors.
ROLE OF NITRIC OXIDE PRODUCED BY CONSTITUTIVE AND INDUCIBLE NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASES IN THE MOUSE GASTRIC FUNDUS
Authors: Arab HA , Hassanpour H , Bozorgi A
Published: May 2008

In the present study, the role of nitric oxide (NO) produced by constitutive and inducible nitric oxide synthases (cNOS and iNOS, resepctively) on the contraction and relaxation of fundus in normal and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐treated mice was examined.

A whole fundic ring isolated from mice pretreated with reserpine was mounted in an organ bath containing Krebs’ solution with 0.001 mmol/L atropine. Rings were contracted initially by 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT; 0.03 mmol/L) before relaxation was induced using ATP (0.03 mmol/L), ADP (0.03 mmol/L), pentoxifylline (0.002 mmol/L), electrical field stimulation (EFS; 50 V, 1 msec, 50 Hz, 3 min) and l‐arginine (0.05 mmol/L). All drugs and EFS induced significant relaxation of isolated rings. The relaxations induced were significantly inhibited by NG‐nitro‐l‐arginine methyl ester (l‐NAME; 1.0 mmol/L). However, the iNOS inhibitors l‐N6‐(1‐iminoethyl) lysine hydrochloride (l‐NIL; 1.0 mmol/L) and amino guanidine (AMG; 1.0 mmol/L) had no significant effect on tissue relaxation.

Then, the relaxant effects of 0.03 mmol/L ATP were tested on precontracted isolated fundic rings taken from 10 mg/kg LPS‐treated animals. The non‐selective NOS inhibitor l‐NAME (10 mg/kg), the iNOS inhibitors l‐NIL (3 mg/kg) and AMG (20 mg/kg) and betamethasone (0.1 mg/kg) were used to examine the role of NO produced by iNOS in the relaxation responses. It was found that the level of contraction induced by 0.03 mmol/L 5‐HT in rings isolated from LPS‐treated animals was significantly (P < 0.5) less than that in rings from untreated mice. However, precontracted tissues from LPS‐treated mice were significantly relaxed by ATP and the relaxation response to ATP was significantly inhibited by l‐NIL, ANG and betamethasone, but not by l‐NAME.

We suggest that, in LPS‐treated mice, the production of NO from iNOS produces a reduction in the contractile response, as well as a decrease in NO formation by cNOS, resulting in changes to smooth muscle cell function.