bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sequenciamento gênico: prelúdio para o entendimento da diversidade do gênero "Tetragonisca" (HYMENOPTERA, APIDAE). DOI: 10.7902/ecb.v3i2.12
Authors: Maurício Bárbara Silva Siqueira , Fernandes Anderson , Sampaio Wagner Martins Santana , Lopes Denilce Meneses , Campos Lúcio Antonio de Oliveira
Published: December 2012

As abelhas do gênero Tetragonisca (Hymenoptera, Apidae), conhecidas por “Jataís”, apresentam problemas no que diz respeito ao status taxonômico de suas espécies (T. angustula e T. fiebrigi) e ao caráter utilizado para tal classificação. Com o objetivo de estabelecer as relações filogenéticas das espécies envolvidas, o presente trabalho tem por objetivo padronizar o processo de amplificação de DNA (via PCR) para sequenciamento. Um teste de gradiente envolvendo os genes selecionados (COI, CytB e EF1a) foi realizado. Após a análise dos produtos de PCR nas 4 temperaturas testadas, foram escolhidas as temperaturas de 52°C para a amplificação de COI e 51°C para os genes CytB e EF1a. O fragmento CytB se mostrou mais variável e com mais autapomorfias quando comparado aos demais. O fragmento de EF1a mesmo sendo o maior fragmento sequenciado, apresentou-se menos variável.
A cachoeira do padre como divisor da biodiversidade da ictiofauna do rio Claro, Minas Gerais, Brasil. DOI: 10.7902/ecb.v3i2.2
Authors: Moreira Fernandes Caroliny Helena , Belei Frederico , Sampaio Wagner Martins Santana , Giongo Patrícia , Ferreira Frederico Fernandes
Published: December 2012

O presente estudo busca fornecer dados sobre a ictiofauna do baixo curso do rio Claro, na região da Cachoeira do Padre e teve por objetivo investigar se a cachoeira do Padre atua como barreira geográfica para as populações de peixes do rio Claro. Para a realização do inventário foram utilizados métodos de coletas quantitativos e qualitativos. Foram levantadas 26 espécies e pertencentes a nove famílias. Entre as espécies capturadas não foram encontradas espécies ameaçadas de extinção, porém espécies de importância econômica foram registradas. A estrutura da assembleia de peixes local encontra se relativamente estável com espécies representativas de todas as categorias tróficas. Os resultados deste estudo demonstram que a cachoeira do Padre funciona como uma barreira natural para os peixes do rio Claro.
Diversidade cariotípica de "Astyanax asuncionensis" (Teleostei, Characiformes) na microbacia do rio Sepotuba (Alto Paraguai). DOI: 10.7902/ecb.v3i2.9
Authors: Giongo Patrícia , Sampaio Wagner Martins Santana , Fernandes Anderson , Dergam Jorge Abdala , Kavalco Karine Frehner , Pazza Rubens
Published: December 2012

Este trabalho teve por objetivo utilizar ferramentas da citogenética para estudar A. asunsionensis na microbacia do Sepotuba. Os espécimes foram coletados, nos córregos São José e Bocaiuval e no Rio Sepotuba, na região de Tangará da Serra – MT. Os peixes coletados foram submetidos às técnicas citogenéticas clássicas. A partir da coloração convencional foi possível observar a ocorrência de 5 citótipos. Citótipo A foi encontrado no Rio Sepotuba com número cromossômico 2n=50, número fundametal (NF)=94 e morfologia cromossômica 14m+10sm+18st+8a. No córrego São José encontrou-se 3 citótipos, o citótipo B com 2n=50, 4m+20sm+14st+12a e NF=88, o citótipo C com 2n=50, 26m+14sm+22st+8a e NF=92, o citótipo D com 2n=48, 6m+10sm+16st+16a e NF= 80. O citótipo E do córrego Bocaiuval encontrou-se 2n=50, 6m+10sm+20st+14a e NF=86. A impregnação com nitrato de prata registrou-se marcações simples nas regiões teloméricas dos cromossomos submetacêntricos e a banda C evidenciou regiões heterocromáticas na região teloméricas, centroméricas e pericentroméricas. Os resultados evidenciam uma variação interpopulacional da macroestrutura cariotípica em Astyanax asuncionensis.

 
In Vivo Rapid Assessment of Compound Exposure (RACE) for Profiling the Pharmacokinetics of Novel Chemical Probes
Authors: McAnally Danielle , Vicchiarelli Michael , Siddiquee Khandaker , Smith Layton H.
Published: December 2012

The Rapid Assessment of Compound Exposure (RACE) assay is an easy and efficient method for estimating the pharmacokinetic parameter of exposure (AUC: area under the curve) of novel chemical probe compounds in mice. RACE is a truncated and compressed version of a traditional comprehensive in vivo pharmacokinetics study. The method uses a single standard formulation, dose, route of administration, and a small cohort of mice (n = 4). Standardized protocols and an abbreviated sample collection scheme reduce the labor needed to perform both the in‐life and bioanalytical phases of the study. The procedure reduces the complexity of data analysis by eliminating all but one calculated pharmacokinetic parameter; estimated exposure (eAUC20‐120), a parameter that is sufficient to rank order compounds based on exposure, but is also easily determined by most software using the simple trapezoidal rule. The RACE assay protocol is readily applicable to early/exploratory studies of most compounds, and is intended to be employed by laboratories with limited expertise in pharmacology and pharmacokinetics. Curr. Protoc. Chem. Biol. 4:299‐309 © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
A High‐Throughput Screening Method for Identification of Inhibitors of the Deubiquitinating Enzyme USP14
Authors: Lee Byung‐Hoon , Finley Daniel , King Randall W.
Published: December 2012

Deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) reverse the process of ubiquitination, and number nearly 100 in humans. In principle, DUBs represent promising drug targets, as several of the enzymes have been implicated in human diseases. The isopeptidase activity of DUBs can be selectively inhibited by targeting the catalytic site with drug‐like compounds. Notably, the mammalian 26S proteasome is associated with three major DUBs: RPN11, UCH37, and USP14. Because the ubiquitin ‘chain‐trimming’ activity of USP14 can inhibit proteasome function, inhibitors of USP14 can stimulate proteasomal degradation. We recently established a high‐throughput screening (HTS) method to identify small‐molecule inhibitors specific for USP14. The protocols in this article cover the necessary procedures for preparing assay reagents, performing HTS for USP14 inhibitors, and carrying out post‐HTS analysis. Curr. Protoc. Chem. Biol. 4:311‐330 © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Quality of Rapeseed Oil Produced by Conditioning Seeds at Modest Temperatures
Authors: Kraljić Klara , Škevin Dubravka , Pospišil Milan , Obranović Marko , Neđeral Sandra , Bosolt Tina
Published: December 2012

Conditioning rapeseed can significantly increase the amount of bioactive compounds in the crude oil, but if the conditioning temperatures are too high, they can cause unwanted side effects such as darker color and sensory defects. Modest conditioning temperatures may be more suitable, but little is known about the effects on the quality and bioactive composition of the resulting oil. Oil was recovered from five rapeseed cultivars by cold pressing (CP) or by pressing seeds conditioned at 80 °C for 30 min (HP). Conditioning rapeseed increased oil yield without changing fatty acid composition and increased the amount of total sterols by 16 %, total tocopherols by 20 %, and the levels of polyphenols. Levels of the polyphenol canolol were up to 55‐fold higher in HP oil than in CP oil. These higher levels of bioactive compounds gave HP oil higher radical scavenging activity. Although HP oil also had higher free fatty acid contents, peroxide levels, and specific UV extinctions (K values). The quality parameters of HP and CP oils were within codex limits indicating high quality. Modest conditioning temperatures can be used to produce rapeseed oil with high quality and radical scavenging activity.
Mega Sheath Fold of the Mahadevi Hills, Cauvery Suture Zone, Southern India: Implication for Accretionary Tectonics
Authors: Chetty T. R. K. , Yellappa T. , Mohanty D. P. , Nagesh P. , Sivappa V. V. , Santosh M. , Tsunogae T.
Published: December 2012

The Mahadevi hills, located in the axial zone of Cauvery Suture Zone, comprise a sequence of granulite facies rocks represented by garnet-bearing pyroxene granulites and quartzo-feldspathic gneisess interfolded with banded iron formations. Structural mapping with hand held GPS reveals that the Mahadevi hills constitute a mega sheath fold structure exposing well developed easterly plunging extension lineations. Depressional and culmination surfaces are well demarcated in association with elliptical map patterns. The development of the mega sheath fold structure is genetically related to the regional thrust-nappe tectonics, supporting the model of subduction-accretion-collisional history for the evolution of the Cauvery Suture Zone.
Lipoic acid increases glutamate uptake, glutamine synthetase activity and glutathione content in C6 astrocyte cell line
Authors: Kleinkauf‐Rocha Juliana , Bobermin Larissa Daniele , Machado Priscila de Mattos , Gonçalves Carlos‐Alberto , Gottfried Carmem , Quincozes‐Santos André
Published: December 2012

Alpha lipoic acid (LA) is a sulfhydryl compound, used as dietary supplement and to treat a variety of conditions associated to oxidative stress. Glial cells are key modulators of neuroprotection. We show here that LA modulates specific glial parameters in C6 astrocyte cell line, such as glutamate uptake, glutamine synthetase (GS) activity and glutathione content, commonly associated with the protective role of glial cells. LA (10 and 50 μM) after 24 h of treatment significantly decreased the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) levels, and increased glutamate uptake (up to 20%), GS activity (25%) and GSH content (up to 40%). LA increase glutamate uptake probably by decreasing oxidizing conditions and/or by mechanism dependent of protein kinase C (PKC). In contrast, high concentrations of LA (1000 μM) decreased these glial functions. Moreover, this concentration increased ROS production and NO levels. In summary, these findings show that low doses of LA were able to modulate glial functions and it appears to have remarkable therapeutic potential in neurological diseases involving oxidative stress by improving glutamatergic metabolism.
Aquaporin-4–dependent K+ and water transport modeled in brain extracellular space following neuroexcitation
Authors: Jin Byung-Ju , Zhang Hua , Binder Devin K. , Verkman A.S.
Published: December 2012

Potassium (K+) ions released into brain extracellular space (ECS) during neuroexcitation are efficiently taken up by astrocytes. Deletion of astrocyte water channel aquaporin-4 (AQP4) in mice alters neuroexcitation by reducing ECS [K+] accumulation and slowing K+ reuptake. These effects could involve AQP4-dependent: (a) K+ permeability, (b) resting ECS volume, (c) ECS contraction during K+ reuptake, and (d) diffusion-limited water/K+ transport coupling. To investigate the role of these mechanisms, we compared experimental data to predictions of a model of K+ and water uptake into astrocytes after neuronal release of K+ into the ECS. The model computed the kinetics of ECS [K+] and volume, with input parameters including initial ECS volume, astrocyte K+ conductance and water permeability, and diffusion in astrocyte cytoplasm. Numerical methods were developed to compute transport and diffusion for a nonstationary astrocyte–ECS interface. The modeling showed that mechanisms b–d, together, can predict experimentally observed impairment in K+ reuptake from the ECS in AQP4 deficiency, as well as altered K+ accumulation in the ECS after neuroexcitation, provided that astrocyte water permeability is sufficiently reduced in AQP4 deficiency and that solute diffusion in astrocyte cytoplasm is sufficiently low. The modeling thus provides a potential explanation for AQP4-dependent K+/water coupling in the ECS without requiring AQP4-dependent astrocyte K+ permeability. Our model links the physical and ion/water transport properties of brain cells with the dynamics of neuroexcitation, and supports the conclusion that reduced AQP4-dependent water transport is responsible for defective neuroexcitation in AQP4 deficiency.
Positions of β2 and β3 subunits in the large-conductance calcium- and voltage-activated BK potassium channel
Authors: Wu Roland S. , Liu Guoxia , Zakharov Sergey I. , Chudasama Neelesh , Motoike Howard , Karlin Arthur , Marx Steven O.
Published: December 2012

Large-conductance voltage- and Ca2+-gated K+ channels are negative-feedback regulators of excitability in many cell types. They are complexes of α subunits and of one of four types of modulatory β subunits. These have intracellular N- and C-terminal tails and two transmembrane (TM) helices, TM1 and TM2, connected by an ∼100-residue extracellular loop. Based on endogenous disulfide formation between engineered cysteines (Cys), we found that in β2 and β3, as in β1 and β4, TM1 is closest to αS1 and αS2 and TM2 is closest to αS0. Mouse β3 (mβ3) has seven Cys in its loop, one of which is free, and this Cys readily forms disulfides with Cys substituted in the extracellular flanks of each of αS0–αS6. We identified by elimination mβ3-loop Cys152 as the only free Cys. We inferred the disulfide-bonding pattern of the other six Cys. Using directed proteolysis and fragment sizing, we determined this pattern first among the four loop Cys in β1. These are conserved in β2–β4, which have four additional Cys (eight in total), except that mβ3 has one fewer. In β1, disulfides form between Cys at aligned positions 1 and 8 and between Cys at aligned positions 5 and 6. In mβ3, the free Cys is at position 7; position 2 lacks a Cys present in all other β2–β4; and the disulfide pattern is 1–8, 3–4, and 5–6. Presumably, Cys 2 cross-links to Cys 7 in all other β2–β4. Cross-linking of mβ3 Cys152 to Cys substituted in the flanks of αS0–S5 attenuated the protection against iberiotoxin (IbTX); cross-linking of Cys152 to K296C in the αS6 flank and close to the pore enhanced protection against IbTX. In no case was N-type inactivation by the N-terminal tail of mβ3 perturbed. Although the mβ3 loop can move, its position with Cys152 near αK296, in which it blocks IbTX binding, is likely favored.
Effect of muscle length on cross-bridge kinetics in intact cardiac trabeculae at body temperature
Authors: Milani-Nejad Nima , Xu Ying , Davis Jonathan P. , Campbell Kenneth S. , Janssen Paul M.L.
Published: December 2012

Dynamic force generation in cardiac muscle, which determines cardiac pumping activity, depends on both the number of sarcomeric cross-bridges and on their cycling kinetics. The Frank–Starling mechanism dictates that cardiac force development increases with increasing cardiac muscle length (corresponding to increased ventricular volume). It is, however, unclear to what extent this increase in cardiac muscle length affects the rate of cross-bridge cycling. Previous studies using permeabilized cardiac preparations, sub-physiological temperatures, or both have obtained conflicting results. Here, we developed a protocol that allowed us to reliably and reproducibly measure the rate of tension redevelopment (ktr; which depends on the rate of cross-bridge cycling) in intact trabeculae at body temperature. Using K+ contractures to induce a tonic level of force, we showed the ktr was slower in rabbit muscle (which contains predominantly β myosin) than in rat muscle (which contains predominantly α myosin). Analyses of ktr in rat muscle at optimal length (Lopt) and 90% of optimal length (L90) revealed that ktr was significantly slower at Lopt (27.7 ± 3.3 and 27.8 ± 3.0 s−1 in duplicate analyses) than at L90 (45.1 ± 7.6 and 47.5 ± 9.2 s−1). We therefore show that ktr can be measured in intact rat and rabbit cardiac trabeculae, and that the ktr decreases when muscles are stretched to their optimal length under near-physiological conditions, indicating that the Frank–Starling mechanism not only increases force but also affects cross-bridge cycling kinetics.
Action of nicotine and analogs on acetylcholine receptors having mutations of transmitter-binding site residue αG153
Authors: Jadey Snehal , Purohit Prasad , Auerbach Anthony
Published: December 2012

A primary target for nicotine is the acetylcholine receptor channel (AChR). Some of the ability of nicotine to activate differentially AChR subtypes has been traced to a transmitter-binding site amino acid that is glycine in lower affinity and lysine in higher affinity AChRs. We studied the effects of mutations of this residue (αG153) in neuromuscular AChRs activated by nicotine and eight other agonists including nornicotine and anabasine. All of the mutations increased the unliganded gating equilibrium constant. The affinity of the resting receptor (Kd) and the net binding energy from the agonist for gating (ΔGB) were estimated by cross-concentration fitting of single-channel currents. In all but one of the agonist/mutant combinations there was a moderate decrease in Kd and essentially no change in ΔGB. The exceptional case was nicotine plus lysine, which showed a large, >8,000-fold decrease in Kd but no change in ΔGB. The extraordinary specificity of this combination leads us to speculate that AChRs with a lysine at position αG153 may be exposed to a nicotine-like compound in vivo.
Induced pluripotent stem cells used to reveal drug actions in a long QT syndrome family with complex genetics
Authors: Terrenoire Cecile , Wang Kai , Chan Tung Kelvin W. , Chung Wendy K. , Pass Robert H. , Lu Jonathan T. , Jean Jyh-Chang , Omari Amel , Sampson Kevin J. , Kotton Darrell N. , Keller Gordon , Kass Robert S.
Published: December 2012

Understanding the basis for differential responses to drug therapies remains a challenge despite advances in genetics and genomics. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the pharmacology of disease processes in therapeutically and genetically relevant primary cell types in vitro and to interweave clinical and basic molecular data. We report here the derivation of iPSCs from a long QT syndrome patient with complex genetics. The proband was found to have a de novo SCN5A LQT-3 mutation (F1473C) and a polymorphism (K897T) in KCNH2, the gene for LQT-2. Analysis of the biophysics and molecular pharmacology of ion channels expressed in cardiomyocytes (CMs) differentiated from these iPSCs (iPSC-CMs) demonstrates a primary LQT-3 (Na+ channel) defect responsible for the arrhythmias not influenced by the KCNH2 polymorphism. The F1473C mutation occurs in the channel inactivation gate and enhances late Na+ channel current (INaL) that is carried by channels that fail to inactivate completely and conduct increased inward current during prolonged depolarization, resulting in delayed repolarization, a prolonged QT interval, and increased risk of fatal arrhythmia. We find a very pronounced rate dependence of INaL such that increasing the pacing rate markedly reduces INaL and, in addition, increases its inhibition by the Na+ channel blocker mexiletine. These rate-dependent properties and drug interactions, unique to the proband’s iPSC-CMs, correlate with improved management of arrhythmias in the patient and provide support for this approach in developing patient-specific clinical regimens.
Altmetric: enriching scholarly content with article‐level discussion and metrics
Authors: ADIE Euan , ROE William
Published: December 2012

Scholarly content is increasingly being discussed, shared, and bookmarked online by researchers. Altmetric is a start‐up that focuses on tracking, collecting, and measuring this activity on behalf of publishers; here we describe our approach and general philosophy. Over the past year we have seen sharing and discussion activity around approximately 750,000 articles. The average number of articles shared each day grows by 5–10% a month. We look at examples of how people are interacting with papers online and at how publishers can collect and present the resulting data to deliver real value to their authors and readers.
Why serious academic fraud occurs in China
Authors: LIN Songqing
Published: December 2012

While it is clear that academic papers play an important role in the establishment of status in research a misguided academic evaluation system in China leads some researchers to pursue quantity of papers rather than quality, especially Science Citation Index‐indexed papers. It seems some people do anything to get promotion, even to the point of fabricating academic credentials. In recent years some serious academic fraud has been reported in China. The paper is an attempt to discuss the reasons behind such fraud, which, even though it is rare, nevertheless could potentially destroy academic ethics in China.
The future of learned associations in the humanities
Authors: BENNETT Emma
Published: December 2012

This article is concerned with how six of the largest learned associations in the humanities perceive their own futures and the future of academic publishing, and is based upon informal interviews with representatives of these associations. The outcome of this research indicates that although these organizations are aware of the changing role of learned associations in relation to their members and a wider public, they are struggling to embrace the opportunities represented by the transition to electronic forms of interaction within scholarly communities, and are limited by the lack of funding available in the humanities and an historical commitment to traditional forms of publication and evaluation. In conclusion, this study proposes that the future of learned associations in the humanities is closely linked to the future of academic publishers working in these disciplines.
Self‐citation rates of scientific and technical journals in SCI from China, Japan, India, and Korea
Authors: Hongling FANG
Published: December 2012

We analyze the self‐citation rates of scientific and technical journals in the SCI database from China, Japan, India, and Korea from 2007 to 2009. Korea has the highest self‐citation rate, Japan the lowest. Compared with 2007, the overall level of self‐citation rate declined across all four countries in 2008. In 2009, however, the self‐citation rate of the three countries other than China rose a little. The total cited frequency and impact factor of excessive self‐citing journals and zero self‐citation journal in China, Japan, India, and Korea are all lower than those of the mean of all journals included in the SCI in 2009. It appears that the academic influence of journals whose self‐citation rates is either too low or too high is small.
Marketing OA journals now that authors are customers: the role of RSS
Authors: CHUMBE Santiago , MacLEOD Roddy
Published: December 2012

The article discusses the emergence of authors as consumers with considerable purchasing power in the publishing chain of a new publishing economic model whereby open access (OA) articles are available free of charge to all readers, whilst revenue to cover publication costs comes from authors' fees. Some early evidence suggests that publishers are engaged in competition for the new consumers, and their efforts are shifting from marketing and selling subscriptions, to marketing and selling publishing venues (OA journals). Within this context, the article suggests that RSS is a very important cost‐effective marketing tool if used properly and can play an important role in the marketing and dissemination process of OA articles, in particular when those articles are published in hybrid journals. The article presents real examples of TOC RSS feeds produced by leading publishers and shows that the benefits and effectiveness of those RSS fees are directly related with the availability, quality and richness of its content.
Book Reviews
Authors: SAUNDERS Joss
Published: December 2012

How to Fix Copyright William Patry Oxford University Press, 2011, 323 pp. ISBN 978‐0‐19‐976009‐1, $21.95/£13.99, hbk
A strict Positivstellensatz for rings of definable analytic functions
Authors: Fischer Andreas
Published: December 2012

Consider an expansion of the real field in which every unary definable continuous function can be ultimately majorized by a definable analytic function. We prove the strict Positivstellensatz for analytic functions which are definable in such structures. The methods also work for a large class of quasianalytic subrings of the ring of those smooth functions that are definable in a polynomially bounded structure.
Levels, Distribution, and Health Risks of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Four Freshwater Edible Fish Species from the Beijing Market
Authors: Wu Wen-Jing , Qin Ning , He Wei , He Qi-Shuang , Ouyang Hui-Ling , Xu Fu-Liu
Published: December 2012

We first estimated the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the brain, liver, bladder, roe, and muscle of four species of edible freshwater fish from the Beijing market. The distribution characteristics of PAHs in these tissues and organs were analyzed to determine their health risks to humans. The results showed that the residual levels of wet weight and lipid-normalized weight∑PAHs in various tissues of these fish ranged from 0.51 ng·g−1to 28.78 ng·g−1and from 93.62 ng·g−1to 8203.43 ng·g−1, respectively. The wet weight contents of∑PAHs were relatively higher in the brain and lower in the liver and muscle. But the differences were not significant. And the differences of lipid-normalized weight PAHs were significant, which in the bighead carp were found significantly the highest, followed in crucian carp, and the lowest in grass carp and carp. The contents of∑PAHs were the highest in the liver and the lowest in the brain. In the tissues with a higher lipid content, higher residual levels of PAHs were found. The carcinogenic risks for humans from residual∑PAHs in the various fish tissues were far below 10−5.
Potentials and Limitations of Real-Time Elastography for Prostate Cancer Detection: A Whole-Mount Step Section Analysis
Authors: Junker Daniel , Schäfer Georg , Aigner Friedrich , Schullian Peter , Pallwein-Prettner Leo , Bektic Jasmin , Horninger Wolfgang , Halpern Ethan J. , Frauscher Ferdinand
Published: December 2012

Objectives. To evaluate prostate cancer (PCa) detection rates of real-time elastography (RTE) in dependence of tumor size, tumor volume, localization and histological type.Materials and Methods. Thirdy-nine patients with biopsy proven PCa underwent RTE before radical prostatectomy (RPE) to assess prostate tissue elasticity, and hard lesions were considered suspicious for PCa. After RPE, the prostates were prepared as whole-mount step sections and were compared with imaging findings for analyzing PCa detection rates.Results. RTE detected 6/62 cancer lesions with a maximum diameter of 0–5 mm (9.7%), 10/37 with a maximum diameter of 6–10 mm (27%), 24/34 with a maximum diameter of 11–20 20 mm (70.6%), 14/14 with a maximum diameter of >20 mm (100%) and 40/48 with a volume ≥0.2 cm3(83.3%). Regarding cancer lesions with a volume ≥ 0.2 cm³ there was a significant difference in PCa detection rates between Gleason scores with predominant Gleason pattern 3 compared to those with predominant Gleason pattern 4 or 5 (75% versus 100%;P=0.028).Conclusions. RTE is able to detect PCa of significant tumor volume and of predominant Gleason pattern 4 or 5 with high confidence, but is of limited value in the detection of small cancer lesions.
HCHs and DDTs in Soils around Guanting Reservoir in Beijing, China: Spatial-Temporal Variation and Countermeasures
Authors: Wang Tie-yu , Tan Bing , Lu Yong-long
Published: December 2012

The concentrations of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) in the topsoil samples around the Guanting Reservoir in Beijing were measured, and their spatial distribution and environmental risks were analyzed by GIS. The results showed that in 2003, 2007, and 2009, the HCHs concentrations were 0.66, 0.85, and 0.73 ng/g, and the DDTs concentrations were 9.50, 7.80, and 6.46 ng/g in the studied area, respectively. In the topsoil, the HCHs concentrations did not change much while the DDTs concentrations declined steadily. Most of the current residues in soil come from the POPs used in the past years but some new input is also detected in certain regions. The level of HCHs and DDTs residues in the south reservoir is lower than that in the north reservoir. The middle region has the highest HCHs and DDTs concentrations, especially near the Beixinpu town. The high risk regions of pollution of HCHs and DDTs are mainly distributed in the vicinity of Beixinpu town as well. Based on the aforementioned results, a comprehensive countermeasure is proposed entailing decision making, local implementation, scientific support, and public participation with regard to the long-term control and management of POPs around the Guanting Reservoir.
Distribution and Bioconcentration of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Surface Water and Fishes
Authors: Li Haiyan , Ran Yong
Published: December 2012

To examine spatial distribution and bioconcentration of PAHs, water and fish samples were collected from Pearl River Delta in summer and spring, respectively. Particulate organic carbon, dissolved organic carbon, biodegradable DOC (BDOC), and chlorophyll a were measured. PAHs were dominated by 2- and 3-ring compounds in the water and SPM samples. Aqueous and solid-phase PAHs, respectively, showed significant correlations with total organic matter (TOC) in SPM or dissolved organic matter (DOC) in the water. The in-situ partitioning coefficients (logKoc, mL/g) for the samples were observed to be related tologKow, implying that the hydrophobicity of PAHs is a critical factor in their distribution. It was also observed that BCF increased with the increasingKowin the viscera of tilapia (logBCF=0.507logKow−1.368,r=0.883). However, most of the observed log BCF values in other different fish tissues at first increased with the increasing of logKow, then reached a maximum value whenlogKowis between 5 and 7, and then decreased whenlogKowis higher than 7, indicating that the value of BCF may vary due to the diversity of fish species.
Informal and Formal Supports for Former Child Soldiers in Northern Uganda
Authors: Vindevogel Sofie , Wessells Michael , De Schryver Maarten , Broekaert Eric , Derluyn Ilse
Published: December 2012

This study aimed to evaluate the potential contribution of informal community initiatives and formal interventions in support of former child soldiers' resilience in the wake of armed conflict. Using a cross-sectional survey design, a stratified random sample of 330 formerly recruited and 677 nonrecruited young people was consulted about their perspective on desirable support for former child soldiers provided by close support figures, communities, humanitarian organizations, and governments. Data analysis occurred by conducting qualitative thematic analysis and statistical chi-square analysis to explore clusters, similarities, and variations in reported support across the different “agents,” hereby comparing the perspectives of formerly recruited and non-recruited participants. The results indicated that formerly recruited and non-recruited participants had comparable perspectives that call for the contribution of various informal and formal support systems to former child soldiers' human capacities and the communal sociocultural fabric of war-affected societies. This highlights the importance of community-based, collective, and comprehensive support of formerly recruited young people and their surroundings in the aftermath of armed conflict.
Trading Optimality for Scalability in Large-Scale Opportunistic Routing
Authors: Li Yanhua , Mohaisen Abedelaziz , Zhang Zhi-Li
Published: December 2012

Opportunistic routing utilizes the broadcast nature of wireless networks, significantly promoting the unicast throughput. Many variations of opportunistic routing designs have been proposed, although all of the current designs consistently rely on all of the topology information to construct forwarder lists and process data forwarding, which indeed restricts the application in large-scale wireless networks, where collecting global optimal information is very costly. In this paper, we propose the localized opportunistic routing (LOR) protocol, which utilizes the distributed minimum transmission selection (MTS-B) algorithm to partition the topology into several nested close-node-sets (CNSs) using local information. LOR can locally realize the optimal opportunistic routing for a large-scale wireless network with low control overhead cost. Since it does not use global topology information, LOR highlights an interesting tradeoff between the global optimality of the used forwarder lists and scalability inferred from the incurred overhead. Extensive simulation results show that LOR dramatically improves performances over extremely opportunistic routing (ExOR) and MAC-independent opportunistic routing protocol (MORE), which are two well-known designs from the literature, in terms of control overhead, end-to-end delay, and throughputs. It also exhibits promising performance in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs).
A SURVEY OF TRADE AND WAGE INEQUALITY: ANOMALIES, RESOLUTIONS AND NEW TRENDS
Authors: Kurokawa Yoshinori
Published: December 2012

This paper surveys recent studies on trade and wage inequality. We first introduce some trade‐based explanations for increased wage inequality. There are, however, a number of criticisms of this line of thought based on the ‘trade‐wage inequality anomaly’, the ‘price‐wage anomaly’, and the small volume of trade. Mainly due to these criticisms, trade‐based explanations for rising wage inequality have been limited in the economic literature. Rather, the primary explanations for wage inequality have been based on skill‐biased technological change. Some trade models, however, have weakened the above criticisms, and more economists now argue that the effect of trade, though relatively small compared to that of technological change, is more significant than generally believed. Finally, we attempt to link new trends in inequality, such as job polarization and within‐group inequality, to the trade and wage inequality literature.
A randomized comparison of caudal block by sacral hiatus injection under ultrasound guidance with traditional sacral canal injection in children
Authors: Wang Li‐Zhong , Hu Xiao‐Xia , Zhang Ying‐Fa , Chang Xiang‐Yang
Published: December 2012

Background

There is a risk of inadvertent dural or vascular puncture for the traditional single‐shot caudal block performed by inserting the needle into the sacral canal through the sacral hiatus. This prospective, randomized study was to evaluate the clinical feasibility of the hiatus injection under ultrasound guidance for caudal block in children.

Methods

140 ASA I–II children undergoing inguinal hernia repair were randomly allocated to one of two groups (Group C or Group H, n = 70). 1 ml·kg−1 of 0.25% ropivacaine was injected after the needle was inserted into the sacral canal in Group C, or after the needle pierced the sacrococcygeal ligament under a transverse ultrasound view in Group H. Success rate of block, puncture frequency, complications, and durations of block were recorded.

Results

The success rate of block was similar between two groups (95.7% in Group C vs 92.8% in Group H, P > 0.05). The first puncture success rate was higher, and the durations of block were shorter in Group H than in Group C (92.8% vs 60% and 145 ± 23s vs 164 ± 31s, respectively P < 0.05). Bloody puncture had an incidence of 18.6% in Group C and 5.7% in Group H (P < 0.05). Subcutaneous bulging occurred in six patients (7.1%) in Group C but none in Group H (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Sacral hiatus injection offers a reliable caudal block for pediatric inguinal hernia repair with the advantages of easier performance and fewer complications compared with traditional sacral canal injection.
Effect of rapid fluid resuscitation using crystalloids or colloids on hemostasis in piglets
Authors: Mauch Jacqueline , Madjdpour Caveh , Kutter Annette P. N. , Spielmann Nelly , Bettschart‐Wolfensberger Regula , Weiss Markus , Haas Thorsten
Published: December 2012

Background and Objectives

Impairment of blood coagulation is one of the main side effects of volume replacement, particularly if artificial colloids such as hydroxyethyl starch (HES) and gelatine preparations are used. This animal study aimed to evaluate the effect of a single fast intravenous crystalloid or colloid fluid bolus on blood coagulation as measured by rotation thromboelastometry (ROTEM®).

Methods

Thirty‐two anesthetized piglets were infused with a rapid 20 ml·kg−1 fluid bolus of either normal saline (NS), 4% gelatine, 5% albumin or 6% HES 130/0.4 (n = 8 per group) over a period of 2 min. Hemostasis was assessed by ROTEM® before and 1 min after fluid administration. Within‐group differences were analyzed by Wilcoxon test, and additionally overall Kruskal–Wallis test followed by posthoc Mann–Whitney U‐test were applied to detect differences between groups.

Results

All fluids caused a significant weakening of clot strength within groups. HES and gelatine showed a significantly stronger impairment of clot growth and maximum clot firmness as compared with albumin and normal saline. Impairment of fibrin polymerization was more pronounced following HES as compared with all other fluids.

Conclusion

After moderate but very fast volume loading, HES and gelatine impair blood coagulation to a larger extent as compared with albumin or normal saline, while no significant differences were observed between both artificial colloids.
IDENTIFICATION OF ESSENTIAL PROTEINS FROM WEIGHTED PROTEIN–PROTEIN INTERACTION NETWORKS
Authors: LI MIN , WANG JIAN-XIN , WANG HUAN , PAN YI
Published: December 2012

Identifying essential proteins is very important for understanding the minimal requirements of cellular survival and development. Fast growth in the amount of available protein–protein interactions has produced unprecedented opportunities for detecting protein essentiality on network level. A series of centrality measures have been proposed to discover essential proteins based on network topology. Unfortunately, the protein–protein interactions produced by high-throughput experiments generally have high false positives. Moreover, most of centrality measures based on network topology are sensitive to false positives. We therefore propose a new method for evaluating the confidence of each interaction based on the combination of logistic regression-based model and function similarity. Nine standard centrality measures in weighted network were redefined in this paper. The experimental results on a yeast protein interaction network shows that the weighting method improved the performance of centrality measures considerably. More essential proteins were discovered by the weighted centrality measures than by the original centrality measures used in the unweighted network. Even about 20% improvements were obtained from closeness centrality and subgraph centrality.
THE SURFACE MODIFICATION OF CdSe–TGA QUANTUM DOTS WITH MULTIDENTATE BIOPOLYMER LIGAND BASED ON SALEP: AN EASY ROUTE FOR ENHANCING FLUORESCENCE INTENSITY
Authors: BARDAJEE G. R. , MIZANI F. , ROSTAMI I. , HOOSHYAR Z. , MINABIAN F. M.
Published: December 2012

The optical properties of CdSe quantum dots (QDs) capped by thioglycolic acid (TGA) before and after surface modification with poly (acrylic acid) grafted onto salep (salep-g-PAA), as a biopolymer-based multidentate ligand, were examined. The results showed that the fluorescence intensity as well as the stability of CdSe QDs was incredibly increased after surface modification with the biopolymer-based ligand. To provide more evidence for the occurrence of surface modification, the prepared CdSe –salep-g-PAA QDs were characterized by thermo-gravimetric analysis (TG), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR).
A PATTERN SYSTEM FOR DESCRIBING THE SEMANTICS OF STRUCTURED MULTIMEDIA DOCUMENTS
Authors: SCHERP ANSGAR , SAATHOFF CARSTEN , SCHEGLMANN STEFAN
Published: December 2012

Today's metadata models and metadata standards often focus on a specific media type only, lack combinability with other metadata models, or are limited with respect to the features they support. Thus they are not sufficient to describe the semantics of rich, structured multimedia documents. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a comprehensive model for representing multimedia metadata, the Multimedia Metadata Ontology (M3O). The M3O has been developed by an extensive analysis of related work and abstracts from the features of existing metadata models and metadata standards. It is based on the foundational ontology DOLCE+DnS Ultralight and makes use of ontology design patterns. The M3O serves as generic modeling framework for integrating the existing metadata models and metadata standards rather than replacing them. As such, the M3O can be used internally as semantic data model within complex multimedia applications such as authoring tools or multimedia management systems. To make use of the M3O in concrete multimedia applications, a generic application programming interface (API) has been implemented based on a sophisticated persistence layer that provides explicit support for ontology design patterns. To demonstrate applicability of the M3O API, we have integrated and applied it with our SemanticMM4U framework for the multi-channel generation of semantically annotated multimedia documents.
EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF DIMENSION REDUCTION AND WORD ORDER ON SEMANTIC VECTORS
Authors: SITBON LAURIANNE , BRUZA PETER D. , PROKOPP CHRISTIAN
Published: December 2012

The aim of this paper is to provide a comparison of various algorithms and parameters to build reduced semantic spaces. The effect of dimension reduction, the stability of the representation and the effect of word order are examined in the context of the five algorithms bearing on semantic vectors: Random projection (RP), singular value decomposition (SVD), non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), permutations and holographic reduced representations (HRR). The quality of semantic representation was tested by means of synonym finding task using the TOEFL test on the TASA corpus. Dimension reduction was found to improve the quality of semantic representation but it is hard to find the optimal parameter settings. Even though dimension reduction by RP was found to be more generally applicable than SVD, the semantic vectors produced by RP are somewhat unstable. The effect of encoding word order into the semantic vector representation via HRR did not lead to any increase in scores over vectors constructed from word co-occurrence in context information. In this regard, very small context windows resulted in better semantic vectors for the TOEFL test.
NUMERICAL SOLUTION OF DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS IN IRREGULAR PLANE REGIONS USING QUALITY STRUCTURED CONVEX GRIDS
Authors: DOMÍNGUEZ-MOTA F. , FERNÁNDEZ-VALDEZ P. , MENDOZA-ARMENTA S. , TINOCO-GUERRERO G. , TINOCO-RUIZ J. G.
Published: December 2012

The variational grid generation method is a powerful tool for generating structured convex grids on irregular simply connected domains whose boundary is a polygonal Jordan curve. Several examples that show the accuracy of a finite difference approximation to the solution of a Poisson equation using this kind of structured grids have been recently reported. In this paper, we compare the accuracy of the numerical solution calculated using those structured grids and finite differences against the solution obtained with Delaunay-like triangulations on irregular regions.
Performance Analysis of Production Systems with Correlated Demand via Diffusion Approximations
Authors: Lu Yingdong
Published: December 2012

We investigate the performance of a production system with correlated demand through diffusion approximation. The key performance metric under consideration is the extreme points that this system can reach. This problem is mapped to a problem of characterizing the joint probability density of a two-dimensional Brownian motion and its coordinate running maximum. To achieve this goal, we obtain the stationary distribution of a reflected Brownian motion within the positive quarter-plane, which is of independent interest, through investigating a solution of an extended Helmhotz equation.
Optical and Physical Properties of Methyltrimethoxysilane Transparent Film Incorporated with Nanoparticles
Authors: Ismail W. Ahliah , Ali Zainal Abidin , Puteh R.
Published: December 2012

Methyltrimethoxysilane has been used as a base in the formation of transparent sol-gel coatings on glass substrates. Several types of alcohol were used as solvents in order to obtain the highest transparency and scratch hardness of the film. The coating cures at room temperature (26∘C). The clarity of the coated film on the glass substrate was measured using haze meter. The best formulation based on the lowest haze values and light diffusion is the ratio of 1 : 1 trimethoxy silane to N-propanol. The haze value obtained for this system is 0.86, and the light diffusion was measured at 0.77%. Tack-free time and hardness were within acceptable value. Nanoparticles of silver, zinc oxide, and titanium dioxide were incorporated into the coating system from 0.5% to 2.5% by weight, and the haze values of the dried film were measured. The highest transparency was obtained from the samples that were mixed with 0.5% silver. The haze value for this sample is of 0.5.
Mechanical Erosion in a Tropical River Basin in Southeastern Brazil: Chemical Characteristics and Annual Fluvial Transport Mechanisms
Authors: Fernandes Alexandre Martins , Nolasco Murilo Basso , Hissler Christophe , Mortatti Jefferson
Published: December 2012

This study aims to evaluate the mechanical erosion processes that occur in a tropical river basin, located in the São Paulo state, southeastern Brazil, through the chemical characterization of fine suspended sediments and the transport mechanisms near the river mouth, from March 2009 to September 2010. The chemical characterization indicated the predominance of SiO2, Al2O3, and Fe2O3 and showed no significant seasonal influences on the major element concentrations, expressed as oxides. The concentration variations observed were related to the mobility of chemical species. The evaluation of the rock-alteration degree indicated that the physical weathering was intense in the drainage basin. The fine suspended sediments charge was influenced by the variation discharges throughout the study period. The solid charge estimate of the surface runoff discharge was four times higher in the rainy season than the dry season. The transport of fine suspended sediments at the Sorocaba River mouth was 55.70 t km−2 a−1, corresponding to a specific physical degradation of 37.88 m Ma−1, a value associated with the mechanical erosion rate that corresponds to the soil thickness reduction in the drainage basin.
“We Are Not Being Heard”: Aboriginal Perspectives on Traditional Foods Access and Food Security
Authors: Elliott Bethany , Jayatilaka Deepthi , Brown Contessa , Varley Leslie , Corbett Kitty K.
Published: December 2012

Aboriginal peoples are among the most food insecure groups in Canada, yet their perspectives and knowledge are often sidelined in mainstream food security debates. In order to create food security for all, Aboriginal perspectives must be included in food security research and discourse. This project demonstrates a process in which Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal partners engaged in a culturally appropriate and respectful collaboration, assessing the challenges and barriers to traditional foods access in the urban environment of Vancouver, BC, Canada. The findings highlight local, national, and international actions required to increase access to traditional foods as a means of achieving food security for all people. The paper underscores the interconnectedness of local and global food security issues and highlights challenges as well as solutions with potential to improve food security of both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples alike.