bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
QUADRATIC STOCHASTIC OPERATORS AND PROCESSES: RESULTS AND OPEN PROBLEMS
Authors: GANIKHODZHAEV RASUL , MUKHAMEDOV FARRUKH , ROZIKOV UTKIR
Published: June 2011

The history of the quadratic stochastic operators can be traced back to the work of Bernshtein (1924). For more than 80 years, this theory has been developed and many papers were published. In recent years it has again become of interest in connection with its numerous applications in many branches of mathematics, biology and physics. But most results of the theory were published in non-English journals, full text of which are not accessible. In this paper we give all necessary definitions and a brief description of the results for three cases: (i) discrete-time dynamical systems generated by quadratic stochastic operators; (ii) continuous-time stochastic processes generated by quadratic operators; (iii) quantum quadratic stochastic operators and processes. Moreover, we discuss several open problems.
POLYNOMIALS EXPANSIONS FOR SOLUTION OF WAVE BESSEL EQUATION IN QUANTUM CALCULUS
Authors: NEMRI AKRAM , FITOUHI AHMED
Published: June 2011

In this paper, using the q2-Laplace transform early introduced by Abdi,1we study q-wave Bessel polynomials related with the q-Bessel operator Δq,α. We show in particular that they are linked to the q-little Jacobi polynomials pn(x;α, β|q2).
SUFFICIENT CONDITION FOR THE EXISTENCE OF INVARIANT STATES FOR THE ASYMMETRIC EXCLUSION QMS
Authors: GARCÍA JULIO CESAR , QUEZADA ROBERTO , PANTALEÓN-MARTÍNEZ LEOPOLDO
Published: June 2011

We improve the sufficient condition for existence of invariant states for the Asymmetric Exclusion Quantum Markov Semigroup given in Ref. 5.
AN INFINITE ELEMENT MODEL TO STUDY TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS DURING WOUND HEALING PROCESS AFTER PLASTIC SURGERY
Authors: JAIN MANISHA , SHAKYA MADHVI
Published: June 2011

The study of temperature regulation of human body will help to better understand the physiology and functioning of every biological system. Skin is the largest organ of the integumentory system playing an important role to maintain the body core temperature (Tb) at 37°C. Any disturbance in the temperature regulation may cause lots of abnormality in the body. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of temperature variations of tissues of human peripheral region during wound healing process after plastic surgery. An attempt has been made to study temperature variations of normal region (region before surgery) as well as abnormal region (region after surgery) of human peripheral region after the plastic surgery at different atmospheric temperatures and rates of evaporation for an undressed wound by extending finite domain to infinite using infinite element method (IEM). The two-dimensional peripheral region (skin and subcutaneous tissues) consists of finite triangular elements of very small size and the infinitely long rectangular elements. The appropriate shape functions are used for the elements. Physiological parameters like thermal conductivity, rate of metabolism, blood mass flow rate, latent heat, rate of evaporation etc. are used along with the proper initial and boundary conditions. The temperature variations are noted for tissue of donor site (normal region) as well as tissues after surgery (abnormal region). The information obtained from this model can be of great use for biomedical scientists for application in treatment of various diseases as well as helpful to develop protocols for medical purpose.
Hybrid checkpointing using emerging nonvolatile memories for future exascale systems
Authors: Dong Xiangyu , Xie Yuan , Muralimanohar Naveen , Jouppi Norman P.
Published: June 2011

The scalability of future Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) systems is being severely challenged by high failure rates. Current centralized Hard Disk Drive (HDD) checkpointing results in overhead of 25% or more at petascale. Since systems become more vulnerable as the node count keeps increasing, novel techniques that enable fast and frequent checkpointing are critical to the future exascale system implementation.

In this work, we first introduce one of the emerging nonvolatile memory technologies,
Phase-Change Random Access Memory
(PCRAM), as a proper candidate of the fast checkpointing device. After a thorough analysis of MPP systems, failure rates and failure sources, we propose a PCRAM-based hybrid local/global checkpointing mechanism which not only provides a faster checkpoint storage, but also boosts the effectiveness of other orthogonal techniques such as incremental checkpointing and background checkpointing. Three variant implementations of the PCRAM-based hybrid checkpointing are designed to be adopted at different stages and to offer a smooth transition from the conventional in-disk checkpointing to the instant in-memory approach. Analyzing the overhead by using a hybrid checkpointing performance model, we show the proposed approach only incurs less than 3% performance overhead on a projected exascale system.
DeFT
Authors: Venkataramani Guru , Hughes Christopher J. , Kumar Sanjeev , Prvulovic Milos
Published: June 2011

While multicore processors promise large performance benefits for parallel applications, writing these applications is notoriously difficult. Tuning a parallel application to achieve good performance, also known as performance debugging, is often more challenging than debugging the application for correctness. Parallel programs have many performance-related issues that are not seen in sequential programs. An increase in cache misses is one of the biggest challenges that programmers face. To minimize these misses, programmers must not only identify the source of the extra misses, but also perform the tricky task of determining if the misses are caused by interthread communication (i.e., coherence misses) and if so, whether they are caused by true or false sharing (since the solutions for these two are quite different).

In this article, we propose a new programmer-centric definition of false sharing misses and describe our novel algorithm to perform coherence miss classification. We contrast our approach with existing data-centric definitions of false sharing. A straightforward implementation of our algorithm is too expensive to be incorporated in real hardware. Therefore, we explore the design space for low-cost hardware support that can classify coherence misses on-the-fly into true and false sharing misses, allowing existing performance counters and profiling tools to expose and attribute them. We find that our approximate schemes achieve good accuracy at only a fraction of the cost of the ideal scheme. Additionally, we demonstrate the usefulness of our work in a case study involving a real application.
Evaluating indirect branch handling mechanisms in software dynamic translation systems
Authors: Hiser Jason D. , Williams Daniel W. , Hu Wei , Davidson Jack W. , Mars Jason , Childers Bruce R.
Published: June 2011

Software Dynamic Translation (SDT) is used for instrumentation, optimization, security, and many other uses. A major source of SDT overhead is the execution of code to translate an indirect branch's target address into the translated destination block's address.

This article discusses sources of Indirect Branch (IB) overhead in SDT systems and evaluates techniques for overhead reduction. Measurements using SPEC CPU2000 show that the appropriate choice and configuration of IB translation mechanisms can significantly reduce the overhead. Further, cross-architecture evaluation of these mechanisms reveals that the most efficient implementation and configuration can be highly dependent on the architecture implementation.
Interview with Frank Tompa
Authors: Atzenbeck Claus
Published: June 2011

Since completing his ScB and ScM at Brown University in 1970 and his PhD in Computer Science at the University of Toronto in 1974, Frank Tompa has been on the faculty in Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. He has also worked for periods of several months at the Oxford University Press, Bellcore, Microsoft Research, the University of Toronto, and Stanford University. His teaching and research interests are in the fields of data structures and databases, particularly the design of text management systems suitable for maintaining large reference texts and large, heterogeneous text collections. He has co-authored papers in the areas of database dependency theory, storage structure selection, query processing, materialized view maintenance, text matching, XML processing, structured text conversion, database integration, data retention and security, and text classification. In 2005, the University of Waterloo and the City of Waterloo announced the naming of the road
Frank Tompa Drive
in recognition of Professor Tompa being one of those who "epitomize the energy and enterprise that characterize the University of Waterloo." In 2010, he was named a Fellow of the ACM for contributions to text-dominated and semi-structured data management.
Differences in university teaching after learning management system adoption
Authors: Renzi Stefano
Published: June 2011

Current literature about university teaching argues that online teaching requires online social learning based on social interaction to be effective. This implies a shift in pedagogy based on engagement and collaboration, instead of trying to reproduce face-toface teaching, in online environments. There are several benefits that such change can bring in higher education which include: productive environments for students based on learning engagement and collaboration [Kimball 2002; Rudestam & Schoenholtz-Read 2002], interactive use of educational technology [Biggs 2003], encouragement of reflective learning [Palloff & Pratt 1999], and support for effective discourse learning methods [Kirschner 2004; Laurillard 2002]. However, when a university adopts an elearning platform (or Learning Management System, LMS), most teachers tend to reproduce their traditional teaching, delivering, through the LMS, educational material.
"Novel aspects coming from the directionality of online relationships: a case study of Twitter" by Haewoon Kwak, Changhyun Lee, Hosung Park, Hyunwoo Chun and Sue Moon with Ching-man Au Yeung as coordinator
Authors: Kwak Haewoon , Lee Changhyun , Park Hosung , Chun Hyunwoo , Moon Sue
Published: June 2011

The online relationship in Twitter, known as follow, is directed. People can follow any other person without an approval. In this article we show novel aspects of Twitter that come from the directionality in relationships: topological characteristics of the directed network, word-of-mouth information spreading via retweet, and online relationship dissolution. We wrap up the article with future directions in our information diffusion study.
Up and coming SIGWEB supported conferences
Authors: Deshpande Yogesh
Published: June 2011

SIGWEB supports several specialized conferences, short courses, and workshops, as well as the Annual Hypertext Conference. SIGWEB sponsored conferences focus on timely topics in applied and computational hypertext and Web disciplines and provide a place for members and the entire applied Hypermedia and Web community to exchange ideas and to meet with and expand their network of colleagues. In this article, we provide a brief overview of SIGWEB sponsored conferences, in addition to events that are in cooperation with SIGWEB.
An interview with Richard John
Authors: Press Gil
Published: June 2011

Richard John is a professor at the Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University, and a historian of communications networks in the United States. His most recent book,
Network Nation,
won the inaugural Ralph Gomory prize from the Business History Conference and the AEJMC prize for the best book in the history of journalism and mass communications.
Cooperation and contagion in web-based, networked public goods experiments
Authors: Suri Siddharth , Watts Duncan J.
Published: June 2011

A longstanding idea in the literature on human cooperation is that cooperation should be reinforced when conditional cooperators are more likely to interact. In the context of social networks, this idea implies that cooperation should fare better in highly clustered networks such as cliques than in networks with low clustering such as random networks. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a series of experiments on Amazon Mechanical Turk, in which 24 individuals played a local public goods game arranged on one of five network topologies that varied between disconnected cliques and a random regular graph. In contrast with previous work, we found that network topology had no significant effect on average contributions. This result implies either that individuals are not conditional cooperators, or else that cooperation does not benefit from positive reinforcement between connected neighbors. We then tested both of these possibilities in two subsequent series of experiments in which artificial "seed" players were introduced, making either full or zero contributions. First, we found that although players did generally behave like conditional cooperators, they were as likely to decrease their contributions in response to low contributing neighbors as they were to increase their contributions in response to high contributing neighbors. Second, we found that positive effects of cooperation did not spread beyond direct neighbors in the network. In total we report on 113 human subjects experiments, highlighting the speed, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness of web-based experiments over those conducted in physical labs.
A competitive strategy for routing flow over time
Authors: Bhaskar Umang , Fleischer Lisa , Anshelevich Elliot
Published: June 2011

Network routing games are used to understand the impact of individual users' decisions on network efficiency. Prior work on routing games uses a simplified model of network flow where all flow exists simultaneously. In our work, we examine routing games in a flow-over-time model. We show that by reducing network capacity judiciously, the network owner can ensure that the equilibrium is no worse than a small constant times the optimal in the original network, for two natural measures of optimality. These are the first upper bounds on the price of anarchy in the flow-over-time model for general networks.
Competitive equilibrium in two sided matching markets with general utility functions
Authors: Alaei Saeed , Jain Kamal , Malekian Azarakhsh
Published: June 2011

Two sided matching markets are among the most studied models in market design. There is a vast literature on the structure of competitive equilibria in these markets, yet most of it is focused on quasilinear settings. General (non-quasilinear) utilities can, for instance, model smooth budget constraints as a special case. Due to the difficulty of dealing with arbitrary non-quasilinear utilities, most of the existing work on non-quasilinear utilities is limited to the special case of hard budget constraints in which the utility of each agent is quasilinear as long as her payment is within her budget limit and is negative infinity otherwise. Most of the work on competitive equilibria with hard budget constraints rely on some form of ascending auction. For general non-quasilinear utilities, such ascending auctions may not even converge in finite time. As such, almost all of the existing work on general non-quasilinear utilities have resorted to non-constructive proofs based on fixed point theorems or discretization. We present the first direct characterization of competitive equilibria in such markets. Our approach is constructive and solely based on induction. Our characterization reveals striking similarities between the payments at the lowest competitive equilibrium for general utilities and VCG payments for quasilinear utilities. We also show that lowest competitive equilibrium is group strategyproof for the agents on one side of the market (e.g., for buyers).
Designing adaptive trading agents
Authors: Pardoe David , Stone Peter
Published: June 2011

This extended abstract summarizes the research presented in Dr. Pardoe's recently-completed Ph.D. thesis [Pardoe 2011]. The thesis considers how adaptive trading agents can take advantage of previous experience (real or simulated) in other markets while remaining robust in the face of novel situations in a new market. Its contributions are at the intersection of machine learning and electronic commerce, with particular focus on transfer learning and fully autonomous trading agents.
Borrowing in the limit as our nerdiness goes to infinity
Authors: Reeves Daniel
Published: June 2011

Suppose I owe you
n
payments of
S/n
dollars---total owed is
S
if there were no time-discounting---spread evenly over an amount of time
t
, at interest rate
r
per unit time. For example, I might owe you $120 in three payments over the coming year: $40 three months from now, another $40 in six months, and another $40 in nine months. If I wanted to instead just pay you once, a full $120, when should I do so to be perfectly equivalent to the three spread-out payments, given the interest rate?
Solution to Exchanges 9.1 puzzle
Authors: Karanikolas Nikos , Kyropoulou Maria , Sørensen Troels Bjerre
Published: June 2011

This is a solution to the Editor's Puzzle published in Issue 9.1 of SIGecom Exchanges [Conitzer 2010]. The puzzle is about finding the least expensive way for a player to borrow a certain amount of money from others under some given constraints and can be found at http://www.sigecom.org/exchanges/volume 9/1/puzzle.pdf.
The NEW ACM Digital Library interface
Authors: Owens Barbara Boucher
Published: June 2011

I was privy to a wonderful demo of the new Digital Library Interface by Wayne Graves, the head IT honcho at ACM. He showed off all the cool features that are now available.
SIGCSE by the numbers
Authors: Walker Henry M.
Published: June 2011

At the 2011 SIGCSE Symposium business meeting, someone asked whether the SIGCSE Symposia or ITiCSE conferences have a bias towards papers from a geographical region. We analyzed the number of submissions and acceptances for SIGCSE 2011 and ITiCSE 2011, according to the continent(s) of the author(s).
The Best of Both Worlds
Authors: Everson Michelle
Published: June 2011

When I am asked whether I enjoy teaching online more than I enjoy teaching in the classroom (or vice versa), it is a very hard question for me to answer. Experiences teaching in both online and more traditional classroom environments can make one a better teacher. What you learn from students in one environment naturally informs what you do in the other environment.
Reports of the Death of the LMS Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
Authors: Little Bob
Published: June 2011

In today's business world, you need learning management system (LMS) software that's simple enough to be useful and complex enough to be relevant. During the Learning Experts' panel session at Plateau Insights, the European user group conference, respected experts in the learning technologies sphere agreed that the advent of social learning is far from causing the death of the LMS.
On the Supposed Importance of Education
Authors: Schank Roger
Published: June 2011

Learning (e or any kind really) is about practice and about non-conscious knowledge. The schools tell us that content matters because they know how to test content. E-learning programs need to be smarter than that if their intent is for students to actually get better at working or living.
It's the Pedagogy, Stupid: Lessons from an iPad Lending Program
Authors: Beattey Johnston Heather , Stoll Carolyn J.
Published: June 2011

To encourage the use of technology in the classroom, an equipment lending program was initiated within the Faculty Technology Resources Center at the University of Cincinnati. Faculty were asked to evaluate the utility of various tablet computers.
App Throwdown: Writing on the iPad
Authors: Dusablon Brian
Published: June 2011

The increasing popularity of tablet computers—overwhelmingly, now, the iPad in particular—brings hundreds of choices about applications ("apps") promising improved productivity and ease of tasks.
Staying Sane While Creating Online or Hybrid Courses by Committee
Authors: Thackaberry A. Sasha
Published: June 2011

In 2008 Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) was awarded a grant from the Department of Education to develop and improve distance learning at the college. Tri-C's senior instructional designer offers lessons on how to survive and thrive in a committee-driven course creation environment.
Interval Type‐2 Recurrent Fuzzy Neural System for Nonlinear Systems Control Using Stable Simultaneous Perturbation Stochastic Approximation Algorithm
Authors: Lee Ching-Hung , Chang Feng-Yu
Published: June 2011

This paper proposes a new type fuzzy neural systems, denoted IT2RFNS‐A (interval type‐2 recurrent fuzzy neural system with asymmetric membership function), for nonlinear systems identification and control. To enhance the performance and approximation ability, the triangular asymmetric fuzzy membership function (AFMF) and TSK‐type consequent part are adopted for IT2RFNS‐A. The gradient information of the IT2RFNS‐A is not easy to obtain due to the asymmetric membership functions and interval valued sets. The corresponding stable learning is derived by simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation (SPSA) algorithm which guarantees the convergence and stability of the closed‐loop systems. Simulation and comparison results for the chaotic system identification and the control of Chua′s chaotic circuit are shown to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.
Pollen Sources forMelipona capixabaMoure & Camargo: An Endangered Brazilian Stingless Bee
Authors: Luz Cynthia Fernandes Pinto da , Fernandes-Salomão Tânia Maria , Lage Lorena Gusmão Alvarenga , Resende Helder Canto , Tavares Mara Garcia , Campos Lucio Antonio de Oliveira
Published: June 2011

Pollen samples were collected in three different periods from 11Melipona capixabaMoure & Camargo hives and analyzed with melissopalynological methodology. A total of 33 pollen types were identified, of which 23 genera and 15 families were identified. The following families showed the highest pollen richness: Fabaceae (7), Myrtaceae (3), Solanaceae (3), Arecaceae (2), Asteraceae (2), Euphorbiaceae (2), Melastomataceae/Combretaceae (2), Rubiaceae (2), and Sapindaceae (2). The most frequent pollen types (>45%) wereEucalyptus, which generated great similarities between the samples, except one in which theTibouchinawas predominant. Although the majority of the pollen types showed low percentage values, the results demonstrated thatM. capixabahas taken advantage of the polliniferous sources available in the Atlantic Rainforest as well as in the “Capoeira” (brushwood, secondary forest) and “ruderal” (field) plants, probably implying its importance as a pollinator of the native flora and of the exotic species.
Effect of Superhydrophobic Surface of Titanium onStaphylococcus aureusAdhesion
Authors: Tang Peifu , Zhang Wei , Wang Yan , Zhang Boxun , Wang Hao , Lin Changjian , Zhang Lihai
Published: June 2011

Despite the systemic antibiotics prophylaxis, orthopedic implants still remain highly susceptible to bacterial adhesion and resulting in device-associated infection. Surface modification is an effective way to decrease bacterial adhesion. In this study, we prepared surfaces with different wettability on titanium surface based on TiO2nanotube to examine the effect of bacterial adhesion. Firstly, titanium plates were calcined to form hydrophilic TiO2nanotube films of anatase phase. Subsequently, the nanotube films and inoxidized titaniums were treated with 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctyl-triethoxysilane (PTES), forming superhydrophobic and hydrophobic surfaces. Observed by SEM and contact angle measurements, the different surfaces have different characteristics.Staphylococcus aureus(SA) adhesion on different surfaces was evaluated. Our experiment results show that the superhydrophobic surface has contact angles of water greater than 150∘and also shows high resistance to bacterial contamination. It is indicated that superhydrophobic surface may be a factor to reduce device-associated infection and could be used in clinical practice.
Location, Location, Location: Is Membrane Partitioning Everything When It Comes to Innate Immune Activation?
Authors: Triantafilou Martha , Lepper Philipp M. , Olden Robin , Dias Ivo de Seabra Rodrigues , Triantafilou Kathy
Published: June 2011

In the last twenty years, the general view of the plasma membrane has changed from a homogeneous arrangement of lipids to a mosaic of microdomains. It is currently thought that islands of highly ordered saturated lipids and cholesterol, which are laterally mobile, exist in the plane of the plasma membrane. Lipid rafts are thought to provide a means to explain the spatial segregation of certain signalling pathways emanating from the cell surface. They seem to provide the necessary microenvironment in order for certain specialised signalling events to take place, such as the innate immune recognition. The innate immune system seems to employ germ-lined encoded receptors, called pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), in order to detect pathogens. One family of such receptors are the Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which are the central “sensing” apparatus of the innate immune system. In recent years, it has become apparent that TLRs are recruited into membrane microdomains in response to ligands. These nanoscale assemblies of sphingolipid, cholesterol, and TLRs stabilize and coalesce, forming signalling platforms, which transduce signals that lead to innate immune activation. In the current paper, we will investigate all past and current literature concerning recruitment of extracellular and intracellular TLRs into lipid rafts and how this membrane organization modulates innate immune responses.
Performance of Deconvolution Methods in Estimating CBOC-Modulated Signals
Authors: Skournetou Danai , Sayed Ali H. , Lohan Elena Simona
Published: June 2011

Multipath propagation is one of the most difficult error sources to compensate in global navigation satellite systems due to its environment-specific nature. In order to gain a better understanding of its impact on the received signal, the establishment of a theoretical performance limit can be of great assistance. In this paper, we derive the Cramer Rao lower bounds (CRLBs), where in one case, the unknown parameter vector corresponds to any of the three multipath signal parameters of carrier phase, code delay, and amplitude, and in the second case, all possible combinations of joint parameter estimation are considered. Furthermore, we study how various channel parameters affect the computed CRLBs, and we use these bounds to compare the performance of three deconvolution methods: least squares, minimum mean square error, and projection onto convex space. In all our simulations, we employ CBOC modulation, which is the one selected for future Galileo E1 signals.
Inapproximability and Polynomial-Time Approximation Algorithm for UET Tasks on Structured Processor Networks
Authors: Bouznif M. , Giroudeau R.
Published: June 2011

We investigate complexity and approximation results on a processor networks where the communication delay depends on the distance between the processors performing tasks. We then prove that there is no heuristic with a performance guarantee smaller than 4/3 for makespan minimization for precedence graph on a large class of processor networks like hypercube, grid, torus, and so forth, with a fixed diameter . We extend complexity results when the precedence graph is a bipartite graph. We also design an efficient polynomial-time -approximation algorithm for the makespan minimization on processor networks with diameter .
Characterization of Ex Vivo Expanded Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes from Patients with Malignant Melanoma for Clinical Application
Authors: Junker Niels , thor Straten Per , Andersen Mads Hald , Svane Inge Marie
Published: June 2011

Clinical trials of adoptive transfer of autologous tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) to patients with advanced malignant melanoma have shown remarkable results with objective clinical responses in 50% of the treated patients. In order to initiate a clinical trial in melanoma, we have established a method for expanding TILs to clinical relevant quantities in two steps with in 8 weeks. Further characterization of expanded TILs revealed an oligoclonal composition of T-cells with an effector memory like phenotype. When autologous tumor was available, TILs showed specific activity in all patients tested. TIL cultures contained specificity towards tumor cells as well as peptides derived from tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) during expansion procedures.
Kinetics of Nonisothermal Degradation of Some Polymer Composites: Change of Entropy at the Formation of the Activated Complex from the Reagents
Authors: Turmanova Sevdalina , Genieva Svetlana , Vlaev Lyubomir
Published: June 2011

Studying the nonisothermal kinetics of degradation of rice husks in air or nitrogen atmosphere, polypropylene and tetrafluoroethylene‐ethylene copolymer filled with different quantities of rice husks flour or the products of its thermal degradation, namely “white” or “black” rice husks ash, a linear dependence was observed between the ln  A and EA, known as the kinetic compensation effect or theta rule. A linear relationship was also established between EA and the change of the entropy ΔS≠ for the formation of the activated complex from the reagents. These dependences are related to the assumption of identical kinetic mechanisms of thermal degradation of the composites studied. The negative values of ΔS≠ obtained show that the activated complex is a “more organized” structure than the initial reactants and that these reactions may be classified as “slow” ones. It may be concluded that the products of the thermal degradation of rice husks in a fluidized bed reactor can successfully replace the more expensive synthetic fillers to obtain different polymer composites. These polymer composites can lead to the futuristic “organic‐inorganic hybrid materials” with specific properties.
Dissecting the Syndrome of Schizophrenia: Progress toward Clinically Useful Biomarkers
Authors: Dean Brian
Published: June 2011

The search for clinically useful biomarkers has been one of the holy grails of schizophrenia research. This paper will outline the evolving notion of biomarkers and then outline outcomes from a variety of biomarkers discovery strategies. In particular, the impact of high-throughput screening technologies on biomarker discovery will be highlighted and how new or improved technologies may allow the discovery of either diagnostic biomarkers for schizophrenia or biomarkers that will be useful in determining appropriate treatments for people with the disorder. History tells those involved in biomarker research that the discovery and validation of useful biomarkers is a long process and current progress must always be viewed in that light. However, the approval of the first biomarker screen with some value in predicting responsiveness to antipsychotic drugs suggests that biomarkers can be identified and that these biomarkers that will be useful in diagnosing and treating people with schizophrenia.
Industrial Fungal Enzymes: An Occupational Allergen Perspective
Authors: Green Brett J. , Beezhold Donald H.
Published: June 2011

Occupational exposure to high-molecular-weight allergens is a risk factor for the development and pathogenesis of IgE-mediated respiratory disease. In some occupational environments, workers are at an increased risk of exposure to fungal enzymes used in industrial production. Fungal enzymes have been associated with adverse health effects in the work place, in particular in baking occupations. Exposure-response relationships have been demonstrated, and atopic workers directly handling fungal enzymes are at an increased risk for IgE-mediated disease and occupational asthma. The utilization of new and emerging fungal enzymes in industrial production will present new occupational exposures. The production of antibody-based immunoassays is necessary for the assessment of occupational exposure and the development of threshold limit values. Allergen avoidance strategies including personal protective equipment, engineering controls, protein encapsulation, and reduction of airborne enzyme concentrations are required to mitigate occupational exposure to fungal enzymes.
First Observation of Defined Structural Motifs in the Sulfur‐Iodine Thermochemical Cycle and Their Role in Hydrogen Production
Authors: Ramos-Sánchez Víctor H. , Tomkinson John , Muñiz-Soria Jesús , Valenzuela Edgar , Devonshire Robin
Published: June 2011

The present paper investigates the ionic species coexisting in the HI x feed of the sulfur‐iodine thermochemical cycle. For this purpose, Raman and inelastic neutron scattering as well as molecular modelling were applied to the study of the binary HI‐H2O system and the ternary HI‐I2‐H2O and KI‐I2‐H2O systems. Raman spectra, obtained at 298 K, strongly suggest the coexistence of , I−(I2), and I−(I2)2 species. Whereas on the other hand, inelastic neutron scattering spectra (20 K) revealed, for the first time, evidence for the presence of discrete water structural motifs under specific conditions. Molecular modelling of two idealized structures has allowed us to establish a reasonable interpretation of the important structural motifs in these systems, in terms of the azeotrope of the HI‐H2O system and the pseudoazeotrope of the HI‐I2‐H2O system.
Fixed Point and Common Fixed Point Theorems for Generalized WeakContraction Mappings of Integral Type in Modular Spaces
Authors: Mongkolkeha Chirasak , Kumam Poom
Published: June 2011

We prove new fixed point and common fixed point theorems for generalized weak contractive mappings of integral type in modular
spaces. Our results extend and generalize the results of A. Razani and R. Moradi (2009) and M. Beygmohammadi and A. Razani (2010).
Determination of Potassium, Sodium, and Total Alkalies in Portland Cement, Fly Ash, Admixtures, and Water of Concrete by a Simple Flow Injection Flame Photometric System
Authors: Junsomboon Jaroon , Jakmunee Jaroon
Published: June 2011

A simple flow injection with flame photometric detection has been developed for determination of sodium, potassium, and total alkalies in portland cement, fly ash, admixtures, and water of concrete. A liquid sample or a digest of solid sample was injected into a water carrier stream which flowed to a flame photometer. A change in emission intensity at a selected wavelength was recorded as a peak. An amplifier circuit was fabricated, which helped improve sensitivity of the flame photometer. Calibration graphs in the range of 0.05–1.0 mg L−1and 1.0–20.0 mg L−1were obtained with a detection limit of 0.02 mg L−1, for both potassium and sodium determination. Relative standard deviations for 11 replicates of injecting of 10 mg L−1potassium and sodium solutions were 1.69 and 1.79%, respectively. Sample throughput of 120 h−1was achieved. The proposed method was successfully applied to portland cement, fly ash, admixtures, and water samples validated by the ASTM standard method and certified reference materials of portland cement.
A Fast Optical Method for the Determination of Liquid Levels in Microplates
Authors: Thurow Kerstin , Stoll Norbert , Ritterbusch Kai
Published: June 2011

Parallel liquid handling systems are widely used in different applications of life sciences. In order to avoid false positive or negative results which lead to higher costs due to the replication of the experiments it is necessary to monitor the process and success of liquid delivery. An easy method for the determination of the liquid levels in microplates has been developed and evaluated. The optical method bases on the measurement of the liquid level using CCD cameras followed by special algorithms for the evaluation and visualization of the measured data. The proposed method was tested in changing environmental lighting for two different liquids. These tests confirm our approach towards optical liquid level determination for smallest volumes in microplates and also show the challenges regarding environmental lighting and different physical properties of fluids.
Adhesion Mechanism of Water Droplets on Hierarchically Rough Superhydrophobic Rose Petal Surface
Authors: Teisala Hannu , Tuominen Mikko , Kuusipalo Jurkka
Published: June 2011

Extremely hydrophobic surfaces, on which water droplets sit in a spherical shape leaving air entrapped into the roughness of the solid, are often called superhydrophobic. Hierarchically rough superhydrophobic surfaces that possess submicron scale fine structures combined with micron scale structures are generally more hydrophobic, and water droplet adhesion to those surfaces is lower in comparison with surfaces possessing purely micrometric structures. In other words, usually a fine structure on a superhydrophobic surface reduces liquid-solid contact area and water droplet adhesion. Here we show that this does not apply to a high-adhesive superhydrophobic rose petal surface. Contrary to the present knowledge, the function of the fine structure on the petal surface is to build up the high adhesion to water droplets. Understanding of the specific adhesion mechanism on the rose petal gives insight into an interesting natural phenomenon of simultaneous superhydrophobicity and high water droplet adhesion, but, in addition, it contributes to more precise comprehension of wetting and adhesion mechanisms of superhydrophobic surfaces overall.
TGR5: A Novel Target for Weight Maintenance and Glucose Metabolism
Authors: Chen Xiaosong , Lou Guiyu , Meng Zhipeng , Huang Wendong
Published: June 2011

TGR5, an emerging G protein-coupled receptor, was identified as a membrane receptor for bile acids. The expression of TGR5 and its function are distinct from the previously identified nuclear bile acid receptor, farnesoid X receptor (FXR). These two bile acid receptors complement with each other for maintaining bile acid homeostasis and mediating bile acid signaling. Both receptors are also shown to play roles in regulating inflammation and glucose metabolism. An interesting finding for TGR5 is its role in energy metabolism. The discovery of TGR5 expression in brown adipocyte tissues (BATs) and the recent demonstration of BAT in adult human body suggest a potential approach to combat obesity by targeting TGR5 to increase thermogenesis. We summarize here the latest finding of TGR5 research, especially its role in energy metabolism and glucose homeostasis.
The Simplified Tikhonov Regularization Method for Identifying the Unknown Source for the Modified Helmholtz Equation
Authors: Yang Fan , Guo HengZhen , Li XiaoXiao
Published: June 2011

This paper discusses the problem of determining an unknown source which
depends only on one variable for the modified Helmholtz equation. This problem
is ill‐posed in the sense that the solution (if it exists) does not depend continuously on the data. The regularization solution is obtained by the simplified Tikhonov regularization method. Convergence estimate is presented between the
exact solution and the regularization solution. Moreover, numerical results are
presented to illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of this method.
Evaluation of Selected Culinary-Medicinal Mushrooms for Antioxidant and ACE Inhibitory Activities
Authors: Abdullah Noorlidah , Ismail Siti Marjiana , Aminudin Norhaniza , Shuib Adawiyah Suriza , Lau Beng Fye
Published: June 2011

Considering the importance of diet in prevention of oxidative stress-related diseases including hypertension, this study was undertaken to evaluate thein vitroantioxidant and ACE inhibitory activities of selected culinary-medicinal mushrooms extracted by boiling in water for 30 min. Antioxidant capacity was measured using the following assays: DPPH free radical scavenging activity,β-carotene bleaching, inhibition of lipid peroxidation, reducing power ability, and cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC). Antioxidant potential of each mushroom species was calculated based on the average percentages relative to quercetin and summarized as Antioxidant Index (AI).Ganoderma lucidum(30.1%),Schizophyllum commune(27.6%), andHericium erinaceus(17.7%) showed relatively high AI. Total phenolics in these mushrooms varied between 6.19 to 63.51 mg GAE/g extract. In the ACE inhibitory assay,G. lucidumwas shown to be the most potent species (IC50= 50 μg/mL). Based on our findings, culinary-medicinal mushrooms can be considered as potential source of dietary antioxidant and ACE inhibitory agents.
Dynamic Changes in Regulatory T Cells Are Linked to Levels of Diet-Induced Hypercholesterolemia
Authors: Maganto-García Elena , Tarrio Margarite L. , Grabie Nir , Bu De-xiu , Lichtman Andrew H.
Published: June 2011

Background—

Regulatory T cells (Treg) are present in atherosclerotic lesions and can modulate disease. In this study we characterized changes in Treg responses associated with prolonged hypercholesterolemia and lesion progression.

Methods and Results—

Low-density lipoprotein receptor null mice in which Treg express green fluorescent protein were fed a control or cholesterol-rich diet, and green fluorescent protein–positive cells were enumerated in lymphoid tissues and in aorta. Splenic Treg numbers increased after 4, 8, and 20 weeks in cholesterol-diet–fed mice. However, the number of circulating and lesional Treg peaked at 4 weeks and decreased significantly at 8 and 20 weeks, concomitant with increased numbers of CD4
+
effector T cells and increased lesion size over this period. Treg expression of selectin ligands and their ability to bind to aortic endothelium decreased after prolonged hypercholesterolemia, and apoptosis of lesional Treg increased. After 4 weeks of cholesterol-rich diet, a switch to a control diet for 4 weeks reduced serum cholesterol and stopped lesion growth, and the high aortic Treg content was maintained, compared with mice fed a cholesterol diet for 8 weeks. After the diet reversal, the splenic Treg retained the phenotype of Treg after 4 weeks of cholesterol diet.

Conclusions—

Prolonged hypercholesterolemia impairs Treg but not effector T cell accumulation in lesions, but reversal of hypercholesterolemia can prevent loss of lesional Treg. Therefore, cholesterol-lowering therapies may induce dynamic and beneficial changes in Treg:effector T cell ratios in atherosclerotic lesions.
Perishock Pause
Authors: Cheskes Sheldon , Schmicker Robert H. , Christenson Jim , Salcido David D. , Rea Tom , Powell Judy , Edelson Dana P. , Sell Rebecca , May Susanne , Menegazzi James J. , Van Ottingham Lois , Olsufka Michele , Pennington Sarah , Simonini Jacob , Berg Robert A. , Stiell Ian , Idris Ahamed , Bigham Blair , Morrison Laurie
Published: June 2011

Background—

Perishock pauses are pauses in chest compressions before and after defibrillatory shock. We examined the relationship between perishock pauses and survival to hospital discharge.

Methods and Results—

We included out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients in the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Epistry–Cardiac Arrest who suffered arrest between December 2005 and June 2007, presented with a shockable rhythm (ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia), and had cardiopulmonary resuscitation process data for at least 1 shock (n=815). We used multivariable logistic regression to determine the association between survival and perishock pauses. In an analysis adjusted for Utstein predictors of survival, the odds of survival were significantly lower for patients with preshock pause ≥20 seconds (odds ratio, 0.47; 95% confidence interval, 0.27 to 0.82) and perishock pause ≥40 seconds (odds ratio, 0.54; 95% confidence interval, 0.31 to 0.97) compared with patients with preshock pause <10 seconds and perishock pause <20 seconds. Postshock pause was not independently associated with a significant change in the odds of survival. Log-linear modeling depicted a decrease in survival to hospital discharge of 18% and 14% for every 5-second increase in both preshock and perishock pause interval (up to 40 and 50 seconds, respectively), with no significant association noted with changes in the postshock pause interval.

Conclusions—

In patients with cardiac arrest presenting in a shockable rhythm, longer perishock and preshock pauses were independently associated with a decrease in survival to hospital discharge. The impact of preshock pause on survival suggests that refinement of automatic defibrillator software and paramedic education to minimize preshock pause delays may have a significant impact on survival.
Rhesus Macaques Develop Metabolic Syndrome With Reversible Vascular Dysfunction Responsive to Pioglitazone
Authors: Zhang Xiuqin , Zhang Rongli , Raab Susanne , Zheng Wen , Wang Jue , Liu Na , Zhu Tiangang , Xue Lifang , Song Zhentao , Mao Jiaming , Li Kaitao , Zhang Huiliang , Zhang Yan , Han Chao , Ding Yi , Wang Hui , Hou Ning , Liu Yuli , Shang Shujiang , Li Chuanyun , Sebokova Elena , Cheng Heping , Huang Paul L.
Published: June 2011

Background—

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a constellation of clinical features that include central obesity, hypertension, atherogenic dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. However, the concept remains controversial; it has been debated whether MetS represents nothing more than simultaneous co-occurrence of individual risk factors or whether there are common shared pathophysiological mechanisms that link the individual components.

Methods and Results—

To investigate the emergence of metabolic and cardiovascular components during the development of MetS, we identified MetS-predisposed animals (n=35) in a large population of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta, 12.7±2.9 years old, n=408), acclimated them to standardized conditions, and monitored the progression of individual component features over 18 months. In 18 MetS animals with recently developed fasting hyperinsulinemia, central obesity, hypertension, and atherogenic dyslipidemia, we found that individual metabolic and cardiovascular components track together during the transition from pre-MetS to onset of MetS; MetS was associated with a 60% impairment of flow-mediated dilation, establishing the mechanistic link with vascular dysfunction. Pioglitazone treatment (3 mg/kg body weight/d for 6 weeks), a peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor γ agonist, reversibly improved atherogenic dyslipidemia and insulin resistance and fully restored flow-mediated dilation with persistent benefits.

Conclusions—

Coemergence of metabolic and cardiovascular components during MetS progression and complete normalization of vascular dysfunction with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ agonists suggest shared underlying mechanisms rather than separate processes, arguing for the benefit of early intervention of MetS components. Predictive nonhuman primate (NHP) models of MetS should be highly valuable in mechanistic and translational studies on the pathogenesis of MetS in relation to cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus.