bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in children: a telephone-based survey in Korea
Authors: Kim Jung-Ha , Nam Chung-Mo , Kim Moo-Young , Lee Duk-Chul
Published: April 2012

Background

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence and patterns of CAM use in Korean children via a telephone based survey. We also investigated parent satisfaction, a proxy for their child, with CAM therapy and determined the factors affecting satisfaction with CAM use.

Methods

This study used a landline telephone-based survey to examine a random sample representative of Korean children, aged 0 to 18 years. We assigned and surveyed 2,000 subjects according to age group, gender, and geographical distributions by proportionate quota and systematic sampling of children throughout Korea in 2010. A household of 1,184 with a 18.6% response rate was projected to yield 2,077 completed data. We performed statistical analyses using sampling weight.

Results

The prevalence of CAM use was 65.3% for the Korean children in our sample population. The most commonly used CAM category was natural products (89.3%). More than half of CAM user’s parents reported satisfaction with their therapies (52.7%), but only 29.1% among them had consulted a Western trained doctor regarding the CAM therapies used. Doctor visits were associated with lower satisfaction with CAM use but not with consultation rate with a doctor.

Conclusions

Our study suggests that CAM is widely used among children in Korea. Medical doctors should actively discuss the use of CAM therapies with their patients and provide information on the safety and efficacy of diverse CAM modalities to guide the choices of CAM users.
Gene expression profiling of flaxseed in mouse lung tissues-modulation of toxicologically relevant genes
Authors: Dukes Floyd , Kanterakis Stathis , Lee James , Pietrofesa Ralph , Andersen Emily S , Arguiri Evguenia , Tyagi Sonia , Showe Louise , Amrani Yassine , Christofidou-Solomidou Melpo
Published: April 2012

Background

Flaxseed (FS), a nutritional supplement consisting mainly of omega-3 fatty acids and lignan phenolics has potent anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic and antioxidant properties. The usefulness of flaxseed as an alternative and complimentary treatment option has been known since ancient times. We have shown that dietary FS supplementation ameliorates oxidative stress and inflammation in experimental models of acute and chronic lung injury in mice resulting from diverse toxicants. The development of lung tissue damage in response to direct or indirect oxidant stress is a complex process, associated with changes in expression levels of a number of genes. We therefore postulated that flaxseed might modulate gene expression of vital signaling pathways, thus interfering with the development of tissue injury.

Methods

We evaluated gene expression in lungs of flaxseed-fed (10%FS) mice under unchallenged, control conditions. We reasoned that array technology would provide a powerful tool for studying the mechanisms behind this response and aid the evaluation of dietary flaxseed intervention with a focus on toxicologically relevant molecular gene targets. Gene expression levels in lung tissues were analyzed using a large-scale array whereby 28,800 genes were evaluated.

Results

3,713 genes (12.8 %) were significantly (p < 0.05) differentially expressed, of which 2,088 had a >1.5-fold change. Genes affected by FS include those in protective pathways such as Phase I and Phase II.

Conclusions

The array studies have provided information on how FS modulates gene expression in lung and how they might be related to protective mechanisms. In addition, our study has confirmed that flaxseed is a nutritional supplement with potentially useful therapeutic applications in complementary and alternative (CAM) medicine especially in relation to treatment of lung disease.
Multi-task hidden Markov modeling of spectrogram feature from radar high-resolution range profiles
Authors: Pan Mian , Du Lan , Wang Penghui , Liu Hongwei , Bao Zheng
Published: April 2012

In radar high-resolution range profile (HRRP)-based statistical target recognition, one of the most challenging task is the feature extraction. This article utilizes spectrogram feature of HRRP data for improving the recognition performance, of which the spectrogram is a two-dimensional feature providing the variation of frequency domain feature with time domain feature. And then, a new radar HRRP target recognition method is presented via a truncated stick-breaking hidden Markov model (TSB-HMM). Moreover, multi-task learning (MTL) is employed, from which a full posterior distribution on the numbers of states associated with the targets can be inferred and the target-dependent states information are shared among multiple target-aspect frames of each target. The framework of TSB-HMM allows efficient variational Bayesian inference, of interest for large-scale problem. Experimental results for measured data show that the spectrogram feature has significant advantages over the time domain sample in both the recognition and rejection performance, and MTL provides a better recognition performance.
Serum peptidome patterns of breast cancer based on magnetic bead separation and mass spectrometry analysis
Authors: Fan Nai-Jun , Gao Chun-Fang , Zhao Guang , Wang Xiu-Li , Liu Qing-Yin
Published: April 2012

Background

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, and the identification of biomarkers for the early detection of breast cancer is a relevant target. The present study aims to determine serum peptidome patterns for screening of breast cancer.

Methods

The present work focused on the serum proteomic analysis of 36 healthy volunteers and 37 breast cancer patients using a ClinProt Kit combined with mass spectrometry (MS). This approach allows the determination of peptidome patterns that are able to differentiate the studied populations. An independent group of sera (36 healthy volunteers and 37 breast cancer patients) was used to verify the diagnostic capabilities of the peptidome patterns blindly. An immunoassay method was used to determine the serum mucin 1 (CA15-3) of validation group samples.

Results

S upport Vector Machine (SVM) Algorithm was used to construct the peptidome patterns for the identification of breast cancer from the healthy volunteers. Three of the identified peaks at m/z 698, 720 and 1866 were used to construct the peptidome patterns with 91.78% accuracy. Furthermore, the peptidome patterns could differentiate the validation group achieving a sensitivity of 91.89% (34/37) and a specitivity of 91.67% (33/36) (> CA 15–3, P < 0.05).

Conclusions

These results suggest that the ClinProt Kit combined with MS shows great potentiality for the diagnosis of breast cancer.

Virtual slides

The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1501556838687844
Is there a link between diabetic glomerular injury and crescent formation? A case report and literature review
Authors: Otani Naoko , Akimoto Tetsu , Yumura Wako , Matsubara Daisuke , Iwazu Yoshitaka , Numata Akihiko , Miki Takuya , Takemoto Fumi , Fukushima Noriyoshi , Muto Shigeaki , Kusano Eiji
Published: April 2012

Glomerular crescents are most commonly associated with rapidly progressive crescentic glomerulonephritis; however, they also develop in response to a wide range of primary and secondary glomerular injuries. Since various kind of glomerulopathies occasionally overlay diabetic glomerular injuries, the presence of crescents in renal biopsy specimens of diabetics may have stimulated a search for etiologies other than diabetes. In this report, we describe an unusual case of diabetic glomerulosclerosis with peculiar extracapillary proliferation. Although such a relationship has so far been ignored in most of the literature, the etiological linkage between diabetic glomerulosclerosis and the development of crescents may not be exceptional. We have reviewed the previous literature and herein discuss the pathological implications of the development of crescents in patients with diabetic glomerulosclerosis.

Virtual slides

The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/3950457896920255.
Factors influencing heterogeneity of radiation-induced DNA-damage measured by the alkaline comet assay
Authors: Seidel Clemens , Lautenschläger Christine , Dunst Jürgen , Müller Arndt-Christian
Published: April 2012

Background

To investigate whether different conditions of DNA structure and radiation treatment could modify heterogeneity of response. Additionally to study variance as a potential parameter of heterogeneity for radiosensitivity testing.

Methods

Two-hundred leukocytes per sample of healthy donors were split into four groups. I: Intact chromatin structure; II: Nucleoids of histone-depleted DNA; III: Nucleoids of histone-depleted DNA with 90 mM DMSO as antioxidant. Response to single (I-III) and twice (IV) irradiation with 4 Gy and repair kinetics were evaluated using %Tail-DNA. Heterogeneity of DNA damage was determined by calculation of variance of DNA-damage (V) and mean variance (Mvar), mutual comparisons were done by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Results

Heterogeneity of initial DNA-damage (I, 0 min repair) increased without histones (II). Absence of histones was balanced by addition of antioxidants (III). Repair reduced heterogeneity of all samples (with and without irradiation). However double irradiation plus repair led to a higher level of heterogeneity distinguishable from single irradiation and repair in intact cells. Increase of mean DNA damage was associated with a similarly elevated variance of DNA damage (r = +0.88).

Conclusions

Heterogeneity of DNA-damage can be modified by histone level, antioxidant concentration, repair and radiation dose and was positively correlated with DNA damage. Experimental conditions might be optimized by reducing scatter of comet assay data by repair and antioxidants, potentially allowing better discrimination of small differences. Amount of heterogeneity measured by variance might be an additional useful parameter to characterize radiosensitivity.
Deficiency of the p53/p63 target Perp alters mammary gland homeostasis and promotes cancer
Authors: Dusek Rachel L , Bascom Jamie L , Vogel Hannes , Baron Sylvain , Borowsky Alexander D , Bissell Mina J , Attardi Laura D
Published: April 2012

Introduction

Perp is a transcriptional target of both p53 during DNA damage-induced apoptosis and p63 during stratified epithelial development. Perp-/- mice exhibit postnatal lethality associated with dramatic blistering of the epidermis and oral mucosa, reflecting a critical role in desmosome-mediated intercellular adhesion in keratinocytes. However, the role of Perp in tissue homeostasis in other p63-dependent stratified epithelial tissues is poorly understood. Given that p63 is essential for proper mammary gland development and that cell adhesion is fundamental for ensuring the proper architecture and function of the mammary epithelium, here we investigate Perp function in the mammary gland.

Methods

Immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis were performed to characterize Perp expression and localization in the mouse mammary epithelium throughout development. The consequences of Perp deficiency for mammary epithelial development and homeostasis were examined by using in vivo mammary transplant assays. Perp protein levels in a variety of human breast cancer cell lines were compared with those in untransformed cells with Western blot analysis. The role of Perp in mouse mammary tumorigenesis was investigated by aging cohorts of K14-Cre/+;p53
fl/fl
mice that were wild-type or deficient for Perp. Mammary tumor latency was analyzed, and tumor-free survival was assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis.

Results

We show that Perp protein is expressed in the mammary epithelium, where it colocalizes with desmosomes. Interestingly, although altering desmosomes through genetic inactivation of Perp does not dramatically impair mammary gland ductal development, Perp loss affects mammary epithelial homeostasis by causing the accumulation of inflammatory cells around mature mammary epithelium. Moreover, we show reduced Perp expression in many human breast cancer cell lines compared with untransformed cells. Importantly, Perp deficiency also promotes the development of mouse mammary cancer.

Conclusions

Together, these observations demonstrate an important role for Perp in normal mammary tissue function and in mammary cancer suppression. In addition, our findings highlight the importance of desmosomes in cancer suppression and suggest the merit of evaluating Perp as a potential prognostic indicator or molecular target in breast cancer therapy.
Deep-pass — An aeromagnetic data filter to enhance deep features in marginal basins
Authors: Santos Darcicléa F. , Silva João B. C. , Barbosa Valéria C. F. , Braga Luiz F. S.
Published: April 2012

An aeromagnetic data filter was tested as a tool in enhancing the magnetic responses of deep sources associated with marginal basins. Our approach consists in amplifying the responses of magnetic sources which extend through the continental slope and continental rise. This amplification compensates for the magnetic response attenuation over the continental slope as a result of (1) the seaward increase of the distance between the source and the magnetometer and (2) the seaward decrease in the volume of sources within the continental crust. To amplify the source response, we multiply the total-field anomaly at a given location by the exponential of the bathymetric depth at the same point. Tests on synthetic and real data showed that the filter was able to recover the locations of linear magnetic responses not clearly seen in the total-field-anomaly map. When compared with the analytic signal amplitude and the total horizontal derivative filters, the proposed filter proved to be complementary in enhancing lineaments with different orientations. When applied in conjunction with these filters, the proposed filter produced a synergistic effect, revealing lineaments that were not present in individual applications of the filters. The application of the filter to an offshore Brazilian margin comprising the Camamu-Almada and Jequitinhonha marginal basins highlighted northwest–southeast and northeast–southwest lineaments not clearly seen in the total-field data. The northeast–southwest lineaments were interpreted as related to fracture zones that may cut across the continental margin, controlling basement structures and fluid migration paths.
Identification of gas hydrate dissociation from wireline-log data in the Shenhu area, South China Sea
Authors: Wang Xiujuan , Lee Myung , Wu Shiguo , Yang Shengxiong
Published: April 2012

Wireline logs were acquired in eight wells during China’s first gas hydrate drilling expedition (GMGS-1) in April–June of 2007. Well logs obtained from site SH3 indicated gas hydrate was present in the depth range of 195–206 m below seafloor with a maximum pore-space gas hydrate saturation, calculated from pore water freshening, of about 26%. Assuming gas hydrate is uniformly distributed in the sediments, resistivity calculations using Archie’s equation yielded hydrate-saturation trends similar to those from chloride concentrations. However, the measured compressional (P-wave) velocities decreased sharply at the depth between 194 and 199 mbsf, dropping as low as [Formula: see text], indicating the presence of free gas in the pore space, possibly caused by the dissociation of gas hydrate during drilling. Because surface seismic data acquired prior to drilling were not influenced by the in situ gas hydrate dissociation, surface seismic data could be used to identify the cause of the low P-wave velocity observed in the well log. To determine whether the low well-log P-wave velocity was caused by in situ free gas or by gas hydrate dissociation, synthetic seismograms were generated using the measured well-log P-wave velocity along with velocities calculated assuming both gas hydrate and free gas in the pore space. Comparing the surface seismic data with various synthetic seismograms suggested that low P-wave velocities were likely caused by the dissociation of in situ gas hydrate during drilling.
Effects of time-varying sea surface in marine seismic data
Authors: Orji Okwudili C. , Söllner Walter , Gelius Leiv-J.
Published: April 2012

A method of imaging sea surfaces based on marine seismic measurements has recently been developed. The imaging technique is based on extrapolating decomposed wavefields obtained from dual-sensor streamers to the sea surface where an adequate imaging condition is applied. Earlier feasibility tests of the method involved only controlled data associated with frozen sea surfaces. Here, the issue of time-varying effects will be in focus. We introduced a modeling approach based on the Kirchhoff-Helmholtz integral and computed the scattered wavefield from time-varying rough sea surfaces (e.g., Pierson-Moskowitz sea surfaces). We generated data for a realistic wind speed and verify the robustness of the proposed sea surface imaging technique by taking into account possible effects of moving receivers as well as streamers with variable shape. We investigate the feasibility of estimating the surface wave velocity from the spectra of the imaged sea surfaces and finally present a successful application of the sea surface imaging technique to data from the North Sea.
TLX controls angiogenesis through interaction with the von Hippel-Lindau protein
Authors: Zeng Zhao-jun , Johansson Erik , Hayashi Amiko , Chavali Pavithra L. , Akrap Nina , Yoshida Takeshi , Kohno Kimitoshi , Izumi Hiroto , Funa Keiko
Published: April 2012

TLX is known as the orphan nuclear receptor indispensable for maintaining neural stem cells in adult neurogenesis. We report here that neuroblastoma cell lines express high levels of TLX, which further increase in hypoxia to enhance the angiogenic capacity of these cells. The proangiogenetic activity of TLX appears to be induced by its direct binding to the von Hippel-Lindau protein (pVHL), which stabilizes TLX. In turn, TLX competes with hydroxylated hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-α) for binding to pVHL, which contributes to the stabilization of HIF-2α in neuroblastoma during normoxia. Upon hypoxia, TLX increases in the nucleus where it binds in close proximity of the HIF-response element on the VEGF-promoter chromatin, and, together with HIF-2α, recruits RNA polymerase II to induce VEGF expression. Conversely, depletion of TLX by shRNA decreases the expression of HIF-2α and VEGF as well as the growth-promoting and colony-forming capacity of the neuroblastoma cell lines IMR-32 and SH-SY5Y. On the contrary, silencing HIF-2α will slightly increase TLX, suggesting that TLX acts to maintain a hypoxic environment when HIF-2α is decreasing. Our results demonstrate TLX to play a key role in controlling angiogenesis by regulating HIF-2α. TLX and pVHL might counterbalance each other in important fate decisions such as self-renewal and differentiation, as well as angiogenesis and anti-angiogenesis.
Electroencephalogram-based anaesthetic depth monitoring in laboratory animals
Authors: Silva Aura , Antunes Luis
Published: April 2012

Objective measurements of physiological parameters controlled by the autonomic nervous system such as blood pressure, heart rate and respiration are easily obtained nowadays during anaesthesia by the use of monitors: oscillometers, pulseoximeters, electrocardiograms and capnographs are available for laboratory animals. However, the effect-site of hypnotic drugs that cause general anaesthesia is the central nervous system (the brain). In the present, the adjustment of hypnotic drugs in veterinary anaesthesia is performed according to subjective evaluation of clinical signs which are not direct reflexes of anaesthetic effects on the brain, making depth of anaesthesia (DoA) assessment a complicated task. The difficulties in assessing the real anaesthetic state of a laboratory animal may not only result in welfare-threatening situations, such as awareness and pain sensation during surgery, but also in a lack of standardization of experimental conditions, as it is not easy to keep all animals from an experiment in the same DoA without a measure of anaesthetic effect. A direct measure of this dose–effect relationship, although highly necessary, is still missing in the veterinary market. Meanwhile, research has been intense in this subject and methods based on the brain electrical activity (electroencephalogram) have been explored in laboratory animal species. The objective of this review is to explain the achievements made in this topic and clarify how far we are from an objective measure of DoA for animals.
Optimal Lower Bounds for Anonymous Scheduling Mechanisms
Authors: Ashlagi Itai , Dobzinski Shahar , Lavi Ron
Published: April 2012

We consider the problem of designing truthful mechanisms on m unrelated machines, to minimize some optimization goal. Nisan and Ronen [Nisan, N., A. Ronen. 2001. Algorithmic mechanism design. Games Econom. Behav. 35 166–196] consider the specific goal of makespan minimization, and show a lower bound of 2, and an upper bound of m. This large gap inspired many attempts that yielded positive results for several special cases, but very partial success for the general case: the lower bound was slightly increased to 2.61 by Christodoulou et al. [Christodoulou, G., E. Koutsoupias, A. Kovács. 2010. Mechanism design for fractional scheduling on unrelated machines. ACM Trans. Algorithms (TALG) 6(2) 1–18] and Koutsoupias and Vidali [Koutsoupias, E., A. Vidali. 2007. A lower bound of 1+phi for truthful scheduling mechanisms. Proc. 32nd Internat. Sympos. Math. Foundations Comput. Sci. (MFCS)], while the best upper bound remains unchanged. In this paper we show the optimal lower bound on truthful anonymous mechanisms: no such mechanism can guarantee an approximation ratio better than m. Moreover, our proof yields similar optimal bounds for two other optimization goals: the sum of completion times and the lp norm of the schedule.
Distributionally Robust Markov Decision Processes
Authors: Xu Huan , Mannor Shie
Published: April 2012

We consider Markov decision processes where the values of the parameters are uncertain. This uncertainty is described by a sequence of nested sets (that is, each set contains the previous one), each of which corresponds to a probabilistic guarantee for a different confidence level. Consequently, a set of admissible probability distributions of the unknown parameters is specified. This formulation models the case where the decision maker is aware of and wants to exploit some (yet imprecise) a priori information of the distribution of parameters, and it arises naturally in practice where methods for estimating the confidence region of parameters abound. We propose a decision criterion based on distributional robustness: the optimal strategy maximizes the expected total reward under the most adversarial admissible probability distributions. We show that finding the optimal distributionally robust strategy can be reduced to the standard robust MDP where parameters are known to belong to a single uncertainty set; hence, it can be computed in polynomial time under mild technical conditions.
Analysis of a Dynamic Adverse Selection Model with Asymptotic Efficiency
Authors: Zhang Hao
Published: April 2012

This paper studies an infinite horizon adverse selection model with an underlying two-state Markov decision process. It introduces a novel approach that constructs the continuation payoff frontier exactly, as the fixed point of a functional operator. If the model supports an incentive-compatible first-best (ICFB) contract, the continuation payoff frontier can be efficiently constructed, and the principal's optimal contracts converge to ICFB contracts over time. The existence of an ICFB contract is implied by the common assumption of private values and is a fairly general scenario. The paper generalizes some key findings in the dynamic adverse selection literature to this scenario.
B Cells With High Side Scatter Parameter by Flow Cytometry Correlate With Inferior Survival in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma
Authors: Bashashati Ali , Johnson Nathalie A. , Khodabakhshi Alireza Hadj , Whiteside Matthew D. , Zare Habil , Scott David W. , Lo Kenneth , Gottardo Raphael , Brinkman Fiona S.L. , Connors Joseph M. , Slack Graham W. , Gascoyne Randy D. , Weng Andrew P. , Brinkman Ryan R.
Published: April 2012

Despite advances in the understanding of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) biology, only the clinically based International Prognostic Index (IPI) is used routinely for risk stratification at diagnosis. To find novel prognostic markers, we analyzed flow cytometric data from 229 diagnostic DLBCL samples using an automated multiparameter data analysis approach developed in our laboratory. By using the developed automated data analysis pipeline, we identified 71 of 229 cases as having more than 35% B cells with a high side scatter (SSC) profile, a parameter reflecting internal cellular complexity. This high SSC B-cell feature was associated with inferior overall and progression-free survival (P = .001 and P = .01, respectively) and remained a significant predictor of overall survival in multivariate Cox regression analysis (IPI, P = .001; high SSC, P = .004; rituximab, P = .53).

This study suggests that high SSC among B cells may serve as a useful biomarker to identify patients with DLBCL at high risk for relapse. This is of particular interest because this biomarker is readily available in most clinical laboratories without significant alteration to existing routine diagnostic strategies or incurring additional costs.
The Intensity of the Rwandan Genocide: Measures from the Gacaca Records
Authors: Verpoorten Marijke
Published: April 2012

This article illustrates how fine continuous and categorical measures of genocide intensity can be derived from the records of the Rwandan transitional justice system. The data, which include the number of genocide suspects and genocide survivors across 1484 administrative sectors, are highly skewed and contain a non-negligible number of outlying observations. A number of genocide proxies are subjected to Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to obtain a genocide index, and the effect of survival bias on this index is reduced by augmenting the set of genocide proxies subjected to PCA with the distance from an administrative sector to the nearest mass grave. Finally, the administrative sectors are divided into distinct categories of low, moderate and high genocide intensity by means of Local Indicators of Spatial Auto-Correlation (LISA) that allow identifying significant high-high and low-low clusters of genocide intensity.
Copper Corrosion in Aqueous Sulfide Solutions under Nuclear Waste Repository Conditions
Authors: Chen J. , Qin Z. , Shoesmith D. W.
Published: April 2012

The corrosion behavior of oxygen-free copper in anoxic sulfide solutions under nuclear waste disposal conditions was studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with a focused ion beam (FIB), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Micro X-ray diffraction (μXRD). The film growth process and mechanism were elucidated using an Au marker test, and the contribution of solution diffusion to corrosion was demonstrated in magnetically-stirred experiments. The effect of groundwater chemistry, particularly chloride content on copper corrosion and film properties was characterized using long-term corrosion experiments.
Separation of alicyclic and aromatic hydrocarbons on a PLOT column coated with 3-benzylketoiminepropyl group
Authors: Wawrzyniak Rafał
Published: April 2012

An interpretation of specific electron-donor-acceptor interactions between the adsorbent coating the walls of a capillary column and adsorbates from the groups of alicyclic and aromatic hydrocarbons is proposed. The adsorbent was based on silica the surface of which was modified with silane containing 3-benzylketoimine groups to improve its adsorption properties. The columns studied had walls coated with 3-benzylketoimine groups, and Cu(II) chloride complexes or with Ni(II) chloride complexes. The adsorbate-adsorbent interactions were interpreted on the basis of the Kovats retention index, specific retention volume, molecular retention index, and ΔM e values. The influence of particular elements of spatial structure and the positions of double bonds in the adsorbate molecule was evaluated on the modelling calculations based on the quantitative structure-retention relationships. The introduction of transition metal ions in the form of complexes into the adsorbents studied increased the strength of the interactions between the adsorption layer of the capillary column and the adsorbate molecules. The increased strength of the interactions was accompanied by increased selectivity of the columns with regard to a group of alicyclic and aromatic hydrocarbons. The analytical performance of the columns thus obtained was compared with that of a commercial column coated with the 100 % dimethyl polysiloxane phase.
Influence of purine on copper behavior in neutral and alkaline sulfate solutions
Authors: Petrović Marija , Simonović Ana , Radovanović Milan , Milić Snežana , Antonijević Milan
Published: April 2012

The effect of purine (concentration range of 1.00 × 10−6–1.00 × 10−2 M) on the behavior of copper in a 0.5 M Na2SO4 solution (pH 7 and pH 9) was studied using the open circuit potential measurement, potentiodynamic polarization, and chronoamperometry. Potentiodynamic polarization shows that purine acts as a copper corrosion inhibitor in both alkaline and neutral sulfate solutions. The efficiency of inhibition increases as the purine concentration increases. Chronoamperometric results follow the same trend as the results of potentiodynamic polarization. The inhibition effect can also be observed visually by microscopic examination of the electrode surface. Purine is adsorbed on copper surface according to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm.
Development of polyaniline microarray electrodes for cadmium analysis
Authors: Oliveira Marta , Viswanathan Subramanian , Morais Simone , Delerue-Matos Cristina
Published: April 2012

Disposable screen-printed electrodes (SPCE) were modified using a cosmetic product to partially block the electrode surface in order to obtain a microelectrode array. The microarrays formed were electropolymerized with aniline. Scanning electron microscopy was used to evaluate the modified and polymerized electrode surface. Electrochemical characteristics of the constructed sensor for cadmium analysis were evaluated by cyclic and square-wave voltammetry. Optimized stripping procedure in which the preconcentration of cadmium was achieved by depositing at −1.20 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) resulted in a well defined anodic peak at approximately −0.7 V at pH 4.6. The achieved limit of detection was 4 × 10−9 mol dm−3. Spray modified and polymerized microarray electrodes were successfully applied to quantify cadmium in fish sample digests.
A morphological study of Durance River terraces from Tallard to Avignon, South-East France
Authors: Warner Robin
Published: April 2012

This study of Durance River terrace morphologies in the lower 200 km of the valley shows that terrace ages, elevations and heights above the river generally all increase upstream. It is based on extensive fieldwork checked against geological maps and memoirs. Subdivision of the valley, based on gorges and former tectonic blockages, is relevant because there are no Durance terraces downstream of Mallemort and there are considerable differences between each reach. For most of the Pleistocene, the river was diverted through the Crau Plains to the sea. Below the Mirabeau gorge, there are a few narrow low and middle terraces. The best terrace development is between Mirabeau and the Sisteron defile. Upstream of that barrier there is glacial dominance. Changes in terrace continuity are illustrated by means of height-range diagrams and their rates of dissection have been quantified approximately, based on cosmic ray exposure age modelling. Climate forcing cannot explain all the changes found. The influence of tectonic activity was found to increase in an upstream direction and also with age on the southwestern flanks of the Alps.
Wardium Ponticum Sp. N. (Cestoda, Cyclophyllidea, Hymenolepidoidea), a Parasite of Pratincole (Glareola Pratincola) from the Black Sea Coast
Authors: Kornyushin V. , Georgiev B. , Greben O.
Published: April 2012

Wardium PonticumSp. N. (Cestoda, Cyclophyllidea, Hymenolepidoidea), a Parasite of Pratincole (Glareola Pratincola) from the Black Sea Coast

The new speciesWardium ponticumKornyushin, Georgiev et Greben, sp. n. (Aploparksidae Mayhew, 1925) parasitic in pratincole (Glareola pratincolaLinnaeus, 1766) from Bulgaria and Ukraine is described. The species is characterized by 10 aploparaksoid hooks, 9-10 mm long, and clearly differs from all congeneric species by the shape and armament of the cirrus.
A New Species of Baccharomyia (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) from Baccharis Pseudomiryocephala (Asteraceae) in Brazil
Authors: Maia V. , Carneiro M.
Published: April 2012

A New Species of Baccharomyia (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) from Baccharis Pseudomiryocephala (Asteraceae) in Brazil

Baccharomyia magna Maia, sp. n., a gall midge (Lasiopteridi) that induces galls on Baccharis pseudomiryocephala (Asteraceae) is described and illustrated based on material from Minas Gerais, Brazil. A key to species is presented.
Morphological Characteristics of Male Genitalia in Some Species in the Genus Torymus
Authors: Klymenko S.
Published: April 2012

Morphological Characteristics of Male Genitalia in Some Species in the GenusTorymus

Morphology of male genitalia in some species in the genusTorymusDalman is studied for the first time. In contrast to genitalia of Eurytomidae species, where this structure is highly species-specific, the structure of genitalia in Torymidae species show no distinct specific differences: phallobase in studied species is opened; most species have three hooks on digital sclerites with the small indents at their bases.
Subject-subject relationship as a significant aspect of personal development in adulthood
Authors: Zagórska Wanda
Published: April 2012

Subject-subject relationship as a significant aspect of personal development in adulthood

The issue of the subject-subject relationship, also known as the relationship of encounter or the I-Thou relationship, which has a strong presence in the humanities and Christian mysticism, is rarely addressed by psychology. This type of relationship goes beyond the psychosocial approach to personal maturity and human development at the so-called higher stages, thus falling outside the predominant lines of psychological inquiry. Consequently, this paper concerns issues that are not popular in psychology, albeit they are close to the problem of the person's development as a subject. Drawing inspiration from cultural anthropology and intersubjective philosophy - especially Martin Buber's philosophy of dialogue and Gabriel Marcel's concrete philosophy - the author presents from a psychological stance the phenomenon of the subject-subject relationship and its prerequisite conditions. Adopting the perspective of personalistic psychology in its existentialist-phenomenological strands, the author indicates the place of this relationship in human personal development and highlights its crucial significance to this process.
Integration of Schwartz's value theory and Scheler's concept of value in research on the development of the structure of values during adolescence
Authors: Cieciuch Jan
Published: April 2012

Integration of Schwartz's value theory and Scheler's concept of value in research on the development of the structure of values during adolescence

A proposal is presented in the article of integrating Schwartz's circular model of values (1992, 1994, 2006) with Scheler's concept of values (Brzozowski, 1995). The main research goals were: 1) empirical verification of the attempt to include the values of Scheler into the circle of Schwartz's values; 2) use of the concept and measurement of Scheler's values to describe the development of the value structure during adolescence. Two studies were conducted in a group of 988 persons aged from 15 to 20 years. The Scheler Value Scale of Brzozowski (1995) was used along with the new version of the Schwartz's Portrait Value Questionnaire (Schwartz et al., 2011). In the first study, multidimensional scaling of multitrait-multimathod (MTMM) matrix was carried out, into which were introduced the indexes of Scheler's values and the indexes of Schwartz's value types. In this way, it was demonstrated that it is possible to include Scheler's values in the four higher order values within Schwartz's circle of values. In the second study, it was shown that by using the Schelerian values to analyse the development of the value structure, similar results were obtained to those that were acquired with the aid of instruments intended to measure values in Schwartz's approach. The structure becomes differentiated with age and takes on the shape of a circle.
Merely a threat? Worldwide transformation as a chance of development - psychological reflection
Authors: Ledzińska Maria
Published: April 2012

Merely a threat? Worldwide transformation as a chance of development - psychological reflection

The author considers the psychological aspects of globalisation, drawing attention to the possible effects of worldwide transformations. She presents definition problems and characterises the main currents and mechanisms of globalisation at the turn of the 20th and 21st century. Several standpoints of contemporaneity researchers concerning the evaluation of the effects of undergoing transformations have also been recalled. Noticing the diverse effects for development and the functioning of individuals and groups, she concentrates on a selected aspect of the living environment, namely, on diversity. She formulates the thesis that the heterogeneity of the environment, which constitutes a characteristic of globalisation, stimulates development in its various phases and fields, optimising particularly the functioning of reflective persons who enter into dialogue with contemporaneity.
Acknowledgments
Authors: Dolinski Dariusz
Published: April 2012

Acknowledgments
Psychological gender of women taking up typically masculine sports activity
Authors: Burdzicka-Wołowik Joanna
Published: April 2012

Psychological gender of women taking up typically masculine sports activity

Study aim: To examine which gender scheme is used by women who take up stereotypically masculine sports activity and to obtain an answer to the question of whether these subjects achieve higher results on the masculinity scale and lower results in femininity than women who practise other sports and women who do not take up any sports activity. Do women who practise masculine sports achieve a higher sports class and self-evaluate their results better if they identify with a masculine image?

Material and methods: 90 women participated in the research: 30 sportswomen who practise masculine sports (judo, boxing, wrestling); 30 women training in gymnastics, swimming and basketball; and 30 women not taking up any sports activity. The research utilized the inventory of psychological gender assessment (IPP) by Kuczynska and a questionnaire prepared by the author.

Results: The analysis of the results revealed that individuals taking up sports activity are to a large extent androgynic, while as far as masculine sports are concerned, a masculine gender scheme dominates. Women practising masculine sports gain significantly higher masculinity indices and lower femininity indices when compared to the remaining subjects. Simultaneously it was not proved whether individuals with a higher intensity of masculinity achieved a higher sports class or whether they self-evaluated their sports skills better.

Conclusions: Women that take part in sport activities considered by society as masculine, identify themselves with masculine and androgynic gender schema.
Transient stability analysis and control of power systems with considering flux decay by energy function approach
Authors: Lu D. , Zhang X.
Published: April 2012

Transient stability analysis and control of power systems with considering flux decay by energy function approach

In this paper, transient stability of power systems with structure preserving models is considered. A Hamiltonian function which can be regarded as a Lyapunov function for the system is proposed. Based on this, the influence of flux decay dynamics, especially during a fault, on transient stability is analyzed. With the increase of load power, the variation of stability boundary in the rotor angle/E'q plane is shown. The Energy-based excitation control, aiming at injecting additional damping into the post-fault system may reduce the critical clearing time (CCT). This can be demonstrated by the comparison of different flux decay dynamics in the fault-on condition, and the reason is illustrated by the relationship between rotor angle/E'q and the stability boundary. An improved control strategy is proposed and applied to increase the CCT. Simulation results verify that improvement is obtained both in transient stability and dynamic performance.
Positive fractional continuous-time linear systems with singular pencils
Authors: Kaczorek T.
Published: April 2012

Positive fractional continuous-time linear systems with singular pencils

A method for checking the positivity and finding the solution to the positive fractional descriptor continuous-time linear systems with singular pencils is proposed. The method is based on elementary row and column operations of the fractional descriptor systems to equivalent standard systems with some algebraic constraints on state variables and inputs. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the positivity of the fractional descriptor systems are established.
Implementation of MUSCL-Hancock method into the C++ code for the Euler equations
Authors: Murawski K. , Murawski K. , Stpiczyński P.
Published: April 2012

Implementation of MUSCL-Hancock method into the C++ code for the Euler equations

In this paper we present implementation of the MUSCL-Hancock method for numerical solutions of the Euler equations. As a result of the internal complexity of these equations solving them numerically is a formidable task. With the use of the original C++ code, we developed and presented results of a numerical test that was performed. This test shows that our code copes very well with this task.
Overheat protection circuit for high frequency processors
Authors: Frankiewicz M. , Kos A.
Published: April 2012

Overheat protection circuit for high frequency processors

The paper describes design and structure of the overheat protection circuit based on the PTAT sensors. The digital core of the system is driven by a 3-bit information generated by the structure. As a result, behaviour of the core differs for each temperature. The circuit was designed in LF CMOS 0.15 μm technology using full-custom technique. The presented paper focuses especially on the structure of the overheat protection circuit and simulations results of the functional blocks of the system. Layout and some parameters of the circuit are also considered.
Performance analysis of the sensorless adaptive sliding-mode neuro-fuzzy control of the induction motor drive with MRAS-type speed estimator
Authors: Orlowska-Kowalska T. , Dybkowski M.
Published: April 2012

Performance analysis of the sensorless adaptive sliding-mode neuro-fuzzy control of the induction motor drive with MRAS-type speed estimator

This paper discusses a model reference adaptive sliding-mode control of the sensorless vector controlled induction motor drive in a wide speed range. The adaptive speed controller uses on-line trained fuzzy neural network, which enables very fast tracking of the changing speed reference signal. This adaptive sliding-mode neuro-fuzzy controller (ASNFC) is used as a speed controller in the direct rotor-field oriented control (DRFOC) of the induction motor (IM) drive structure. Connective weights of the controller are trained on-line according to the error between the actual speed of the drive and the reference model output signal. The rotor flux and speed of the vector controlled induction motor are estimated using the model reference adaptive system (MRAS) - type estimator. Presented simulation results are verified by experimental tests performed on the laboratory-rig with DSP controller.
Estimation and tracking of fundamental, 2nd and 3d harmonic frequencies for spectrogram normalization in speech recognition
Authors: Fujimoto K. , Hamada N. , Kasprzak W.
Published: April 2012

Estimation and tracking of fundamental, 2nd and 3d harmonic frequencies for spectrogram normalization in speech recognition

A stable and accurate estimation of the fundamental frequency (pitch,F0) is an important requirement in speech and music signal analysis, in tasks like automatic speech recognition and extraction of target signal in noisy environment. In this paper, we propose a pitch-related spectrogram normalization scheme to improve the speaker - independency of standard speech features. A very accurate estimation of the fundamental frequency is a must. Hence, we develop a non-parametric recursive estimation method ofF0 and its 2nd and 3d harmonic frequencies in noisy circumstances. The proposed method is different from typical Kalman and particle filter methods in the way that no particular sum of sinusoidal model is used. Also we tend to estimate F0 and its lower harmonics by using novel likelihood function. Through experiments under various noise levels, the proposed method is proved to be more accurate than other conventional methods. The spectrogram normalization scheme makes a mapping of real harmonic structure to a normalized structure. Results obtained for voiced phonemes show an increase in stability of the standard speech features - the average within-phoneme distance of the MFCC features for voiced phonemes can be decreased by several percent.
The model of end-to-end call setup time calculation for Session Initiation Protocol
Authors: Gutkowski P. , Kaczmarek S.
Published: April 2012

The model of end-to-end call setup time calculation for Session Initiation Protocol

End-to-end call setup delay is one of the most important grade of service (GoS) parameters for VoIP networks with Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). A typical subscriber wants to have a connection established as soon as possible. From the operator's perspective call setup time is also crucial because he needs to know how probability of successful packet transmission on SIP links is related to a call setup delay. Then he can make calculations how many resources are needed to guarantee such a transmission. In this paper we proposed the model for end-to-end call setup time calculation. The fundamentals of the model are to check all or almost all (highly probable) possible situations during the call setup. Formulas for calculation are included and results of numerical calculation are presented. Comparison against the values obtained from the simulation shows that it is possible to make calculations of end-to-end call setup time and prepare the discrete cumulative distribution function for a trapezoid model in reasonable time using the proposed model.
Reactive compensator synthesis in time-domain
Authors: Siwczyński M. , Jaraczewski M.
Published: April 2012

Reactive compensator synthesis in time-domain

The source reactive-current compensation is crucial in the energy transmission efficiency. The compensator design in a frequency-domain has already been widely discussed and examined. This paper presents results of a study on how to design reactive compensators in a time-domain. It is the first time the reactive compensator has been designed in a time domain. The example of a compensator is presented.