bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Vitamin D in Dialysis: Defining Deficiency and Rationale for Supplementation
Authors: Singer Richard Francis
Published: September 2012

Vitamin D status is determined by the serum concentration of one of its metabolites, 25‐hydroxy‐D. Defining vitamin D deficiency based on its classical roles in gut calcium absorption and bone mineralization is problematic in dialysis patients and, until recently, was ignored in the nephrology literature. The newly recognized nonclassical functions of vitamin D include effects on the immune system, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. The nonclassical effects are likely to be equally relevant in the dialysis population, but suffer from a lack of strong evidence on which to base therapeutic targets. Past medical opinion in the nondialysis population warned that higher dose vitamin D supplementation may be toxic and was unnecessary. This is because older supplementation recommendations were based on early twentieth century studies using cod‐liver oil to treat rickets. The clinical resolution of rickets requires a relatively low dose of vitamin D. Current vitamin D guidelines generally target higher 25‐hydroxy‐D levels of 30 ng/ml, based on optimizing markers of bone health. This results in very high estimates of 50–100% for the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in dialysis patients. This review examines the relevance of data on the classical and nonclassical effects of vitamin D in dialysis patients. An evidence‐based dosing regimen for use in dialysis patients is suggested to safely and reliably achieve vitamin D sufficiency.
The influence of grip on oxygen consumption and leg forces when using classical style roller skis
Authors: Ainegren M. , Carlsson P. , Laaksonen M. S. , Tinnsten M.
Published: September 2012

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of classical style roller skis' grip (static friction coefficients, μS) on cross‐country skiers' oxygen consumption and leg forces during treadmill roller skiing, when using the diagonal stride and kick double poling techniques. The study used ratcheted wheel roller skis from the open market and a uniquely designed roller ski with an adjustable camber and grip function. The results showed significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher oxygen consumption (∼14%), heart rate (∼7%), and lower propulsive forces from the legs during submaximal exercise and a shorter time to exhaustion (∼30%) in incremental maximal tests when using roller skis with a μS similar to on‐snow skiing, while there was no difference between tests when using different pairs of roller skis with a similar, higher μS. Thus, we concluded that oxygen consumption (skiing economy), propulsive leg forces, and performance time are highly changed for the worse when using roller skis with a lower μS, such as for on‐snow skiing with grip‐waxed cross‐country skis, in comparison to ratcheted wheel roller skis with several times higher μS.
Imaging a relic of complex tectonics: the lithosphere‐asthenosphere structure in the Eastern Mediterranean
Authors: ElGabry Mohamed N. , Panza Giuliano Francesco , Badawy Ahmed A. , Korrat Ibrahim M.
Published: September 2012

Terra Nova, 25, 102–109, 2013

The crust and upper mantle structure of the Eastern Mediterranean is investigated through the nonlinear inversion of Raleigh wave dispersion curves extracted from broadband records in the region along two profiles crossing the Hellenic and Cyprian arcs. Corresponding density models are constructed, consistent with the observed gravity anomalies. The modelled profiles exhibit a continental crust type overlain by a thick sedimentary cover and underlain by a thick lithospheric mantle. The lithosphere‐asthenosphere system exhibits features, which suggest the presence of upducted asthenosphere exhumed to the north of the Hellenic arc, where the slab extension is limited to depths of about 220 km.
Thermal Property Measurements of Reactive Materials: The Macroscopic Behavior of a Nanocomposite
Authors: Gordon Amanda , Kappagantula Keerti , Pantoya Michelle L.
Published: September 2012

This study experimentally examined the thermal properties of reactive materials that are a composite of fuel and oxidizer particles. Three reactive materials were selected: aluminum (Al) with iron (III) oxide (Fe2O3); Al with Teflon (C2F4); and Al with titanium (IV) oxide (TiO2). The experimental measurements were performed using a laser flash analyzer (LFA) and then compared with calculations based on weighted averages of each component in the composite. The effects of fuel particle size, oxidizer, and initial temperature on thermal properties were studied. Nanometric Al composites are more insulative than their micron-scale counterparts, exhibiting three times lower thermal conductivity in some cases. Increased overall contact resistance may be a key contributor to the reduction in thermal conductivity. The measured values deviated as high as 69% from weighted average estimates of thermal properties. These results suggest that factors not accounted for in weighted average estimates significantly influence the thermal properties of the matrix.
Real-Time Evaluation of Severe Heat Load Over Moving Interface of Decomposing Composites
Authors: Mohammadiun Hamid , Molavi Hosein , Bahrami Hamid Reza Talesh , Mohammadiun Mohammad
Published: September 2012

Decomposing composites undergo both surface removal and in-depth decomposition, when they are subjected to severe heating environments. As a result, the gas phase and the chemical species are injected into the boundary layer, resulting in a reduction of the heat flux entering into the solid structure. Under such conditions that geometry changes, the reconstruction of heat flux at the ablating front is quite complicated. Utilizing a procedure based on the sequential function specification method, an inverse problem is solved to anticipate the front-surface heating condition. Temperature measurements as well as measurement of the position of the ablating surface accompanied with additive noises are used for the implementation of the current procedure. Taking into account a complex set of phenomena, a numerical experiment is employed to examine the accuracy and appropriateness of the proposed technique for such problems. The results obtained demonstrate the usefulness and efficiency of the proposed method for the estimation of heat flux at the moving boundary of decomposing materials.
MicroCT Imaging and In Vivo Temperature Elevations in Implanted Prostatic Tumors in Laser Photothermal Therapy Using Gold Nanorods
Authors: Manuchehrabadi N. , Attaluri A. , Cai H. , Edziah R. , Lalanne E. , Bieberich C. , Ma R. , Johnson A. M. , Zhu L.
Published: September 2012

In this study, in vivo animal experiments are performed on implanted xenograph prostatic tumors in nude mice to investigate enhanced laser energy absorption in the tumors by an intratumoral injection of gold nanorod solutions. In vivo temperature mapping of the tumors during laser photothermal therapy has shown the feasibility of elevating tumor temperatures higher than 50 °C using only 0.1 ml nanorod solution and a low laser irradiance of 1.6 W/cm2 incident on the tumor surface. The temperature profile suggests that normal tumor tissue still absorbs some amount of the laser energy without nanorod presence; however, the injected nanorods ensure that almost all the laser energy is absorbed and confined to the targeted tumors. The inverse relationship between the temperature elevations and the tumor size implies a relatively uniform spreading of the nanorods to the entire tumor, which is also shown by microcomputed tomography (microCT) imaging analyses. The feasibility of detecting 250 OD gold nanorod solution injected to the tumors is demonstrated via a high resolution microCT imaging system. Compared to other nanostructures, the gold nanorods used in this study do not accumulate surrounding the injection site. The relatively uniform deposition of the nanorods in the tumors observed by the microCT scans can be helpful in future study in simplifying theoretical simulation of temperature elevations in tumors during laser photothermal therapy.
The Effect of Helix Angle Variation on Milling Stability
Authors: Dombovari Zoltan , Stepan Gabor
Published: September 2012

Helical milling tools of nonuniform helix angles are widely used in manufacturing industry. While the milling tools with these special cutting edges are already available in the market, their cutting dynamics has not been fully explored. Also, there have been several attempts to introduce complex harmonically varied helix tools, but the manufacturing of harmonic edges is extremely difficult, and their effect on cutting dynamics is not clear either. In this study, a general mechanical model is introduced to predict the linear stability of these special cutters with optional continuous variation of the helix angle. It is shown that these milling tools cause distribution in regeneration. The corresponding time-periodic distributed delay differential equations are investigated by semi-discretization. This work points out how the nonuniform and harmonically varied helix cutters behave in case of high and low cutting speed applications.
Ultrasonic Vibration-Assisted Pelleting of Cellulosic Biomass for Biofuel Manufacturing: A Study on Pellet Cracks
Authors: Tang Yongjun , Zhang Pengfei , Liu Defu , Pei Z. J. , Cong Weilong
Published: September 2012

Biofuels produced from cellulosic biomass are an alternative to petroleum-based liquid transportation fuels. The costs of cellulosic biofuel manufacturing are high partly due to the low density of raw cellulosic materials. Processing cellulosic biomass into pellets can increase density and handling efficiency of cellulosic feedstocks, resulting in reduction of transportation and handling costs. The literature on ultrasonic vibration-assisted (UV-A) pelleting includes studies about effects of pelleting parameters on pellet quality, pelleting temperature, charring, and sugar yield. However, there are no studies on pellet cracks. This paper, for the first time, presents a study on pellet cracks in UV-A pelleting of wheat straw. It first describes experimental conditions and then presents experimental results about effects of pelleting parameters on crack size. Afterward, it proposes a hypothesis on crack formation in UV-A pelleting and discusses some evidences that support this hypothesis. Finally, it provides explanations to experimental results based on the hypothesis.
Concurrent Design Optimization and Calibration-Based Validation Using Local Domains Sized by Bootstrapping
Authors: Drignei Dorin , Mourelatos Zissimos P. , Pandey Vijitashwa , Kokkolaras Michael
Published: September 2012

The design optimization process relies often on computational models for analysis or simulation. These models must be validated to quantify the expected accuracy of the obtained design solutions. It can be argued that validation of computational models in the entire design space is neither affordable nor required. In previous work, motivated by the fact that most numerical optimization algorithms generate a sequence of candidate designs, we proposed a new paradigm where design optimization and calibration-based model validation are performed concurrently in a sequence of variable-size local domains that are relatively small compared to the entire design space. A key element of this approach is how to account for variability in test data and model predictions in order to determine the size of the local domains at each stage of the sequential design optimization process. In this article, we discuss two alternative techniques for accomplishing this: parametric and nonparametric bootstrapping. The parametric bootstrapping assumes a Gaussian distribution for the error between test and model data and uses maximum likelihood estimation to calibrate the prediction model. The nonparametric bootstrapping does not rely on the Gaussian assumption providing; therefore, a more general way to size the local domains for applications where distributional assumptions are difficult to verify, or not met at all. If distribution assumptions are met, parametric methods are preferable over nonparametric methods. We use a validation literature benchmark problem to demonstrate the application of the two techniques. Which technique to use depends on whether the Gaussian distribution assumption is appropriate based on available information.
Personal Plants: Making Botany Meaningful by Experimentation
Authors: Hyatt Laura A.
Published: September 2012

Personal Plants, an IBI Prize–winning module, offers students connections to taxonomy and systematics, plant chemistry, water relations, and pollination biology.
Out of the Tropics: The Pacific, Great Basin Lakes, and Late Pleistocene Water Cycle in the Western United States
Authors: Lyle Mitchell , Heusser Linda , Ravelo Christina , Yamamoto Masanobu , Barron John , Diffenbaugh Noah S. , Herbert Timothy , Andreasen Dyke
Published: September 2012

Changing Rains

The water cycle of the western United States has varied dramatically across the glacial cycles of the Pleistocene, possibly because of changes in the tracks of the storms that deliver moisture to the region.

Lyle
et al.

(p.
1629
) present evidence from a collection of Great Basin lakes which show that water levels rose over the last 20,000 years because of moisture transported from the tropical Pacific, not from a southward diversion of the westerly storm track. Furthermore, the timing of the lake level highs in the Great Basin shows a progression from south to north that does not coincide with the northward progression of wet intervals.
Toward Peace: Foreign Arms and Indigenous Institutions in a Papua New Guinea Society
Authors: Wiessner Polly , Pupu Nitze
Published: September 2012

Beyond Youthful Aggression

Two decades ago, the combination of a demographic bulge of young males in Enga Province of Papua New Guinea and more deadly armaments triggered a series of intertribal wars and a surge in war-related fatalities; more recently, both wars and deaths have dropped. Drawing upon 20 years of conflict data, as well as historical records of the local social institutions,
Wiessner and Pupu
(p.
1651
) analyzed the impact of youth-driven violence upon the traditional hierarchies and the subsequent evolution of the indigenous institutions into political structures capable of controlling conflict and reducing bloodshed.
Fermentation, Hydrogen, and Sulfur Metabolism in Multiple Uncultivated Bacterial Phyla
Authors: Wrighton Kelly C. , Thomas Brian C. , Sharon Itai , Miller Christopher S. , Castelle Cindy J. , VerBerkmoes Nathan C. , Wilkins Michael J. , Hettich Robert L. , Lipton Mary S. , Williams Kenneth H. , Long Philip E. , Banfield Jillian F.
Published: September 2012

Bacterial PERegrinations

Many branches of the bacterial domain of life are only known from sequences that turn up in metagenomic analyses and are still only named by acronym—for example, the phylum-level groups BD1-5, OP11, OD1, and the PERs. The parent organisms are probably widespread, but they have not been cultured, and very little is known about their metabolisms or their contributions and functions in the natural environment.

Wrighton
et al.

(p.
1661
) pumped acetate into an aquifer in Colorado to prompt the naturally occurring bacteria into action and then, from the runoff, filtered out the smaller microbial cells for further analysis. Mass-spectrometry–based proteomics was used to test for functional activity, and 49 distinct genomes were recovered, many with surprising functional attributes. All of the recovered organisms appeared to be strict anaerobes with a full glycolytic pathway that were capable of augmenting energy production by coupling proton-pumping activity to adenosine triphosphate synthase. Several hydrogenases were found that seemed to be able to switch between hydrogen production and polysulfide reduction, depending on the substrate available. Notably, carbon dioxide assimilation was a common feature, with many genes having similarity to those of archaea.
Gene Loops Enhance Transcriptional Directionality
Authors: Tan-Wong Sue Mei , Zaugg Judith B. , Camblong Jurgi , Xu Zhenyu , Zhang David W. , Mischo Hannah E. , Ansari Aseem Z. , Luscombe Nicholas M. , Steinmetz Lars M. , Proudfoot Nick J.
Published: September 2012

PolII Goes Loopy

To execute their function, genes must be transcribed into RNA, often by RNA polymerase II (PolII), which binds at the 5′ end of genes and therefore transcribes through the coding region to make messenger RNA. But, presented with nucleosome-depleted chromatin, PolII will, wastefully, initiate transcription nonspecifically and bidirectionally away from the gene. Noting that actively transcribed genes often form loops, such that their 5′ and 3′ ends are juxtaposed.

Tan-Wong
et al.

(p.
671
, published online 27 September; see the Perspective by

Hampsey

) showed that PolII's propensity for promiscuous bidirectional transcription is reined in by gene loop formation.
Radical SAM-Dependent Carbon Insertion into the Nitrogenase M-Cluster
Authors: Wiig Jared A. , Hu Yilin , Lee Chi Chung , Ribbe Markus W.
Published: September 2012

A Radical Mechanism

The bacterial enzyme nitrogenase plays a key role in the global nitrogen cycle by catalyzing the reduction of N
2
to ammonia. At the heart of the enzyme is a metal-sulfur cluster that contains an interstitial light atom recently identified as a carbide. The identification raised questions concerning the role of the carbide in the enzyme mechanism and how it is inserted into the metal cluster.

Wiig
et al.

(p.
1672
; see the Perspective by

Boal and Rosenzweig

) now show that the carbide derives from S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and is inserted into the core by the radical SAM enzyme NifB.
Mutations in the
neverland
Gene Turned
Drosophila pachea
into an Obligate Specialist Species
Authors: Lang Michael , Murat Sophie , Clark Andrew G. , Gouppil Géraldine , Blais Catherine , Matzkin Luciano M. , Guittard Émilie , Yoshiyama-Yanagawa Takuji , Kataoka Hiroshi , Niwa Ryusuke , Lafont René , Dauphin-Villemant Chantal , Orgogozo Virginie
Published: September 2012

Limiting Your Options

Many species are dependent on specific resources that may limit their range of hosts to that of a few or even a single species. The restriction of the fly
Drosophila pachea
to senita cactus is a classic case of an ecological specialization.

Lang
et al.

(p.
1658
) reveal how multiple amino acid substitutions in the
neverland
gene have rendered
D. pachea
dependent upon the lathosterol of the senita cactus. Thus, relatively few genetic changes can play a large role in determining a species' ecological niche.
When Scientific Research and Legal Practice Collide
Authors: Camilli R. , Bowen A. , Reddy C. M. , Seewald J. S. , Yoerger D. R.
Published: September 2012

Legal equality safeguards deliberative process while improving transparency in scientific research.
Coagulation Factor X Activates Innate Immunity to Human Species C Adenovirus
Authors: Doronin Konstantin , Flatt Justin W. , Di Paolo Nelson C. , Khare Reeti , Kalyuzhniy Oleksandr , Acchione Mauro , Sumida John P. , Ohto Umeharu , Shimizu Toshiyuki , Akashi-Takamura Sachiko , Miyake Kensuke , MacDonald James W. , Bammler Theo K. , Beyer Richard P. , Farin Frederico M. , Stewart Phoebe L. , Shayakhmetov Dmitry M.
Published: September 2012

Wound Healing and Immunity

Although wound healing and infection are often overlapping processes, whether the wound healing response modulates the immune response is not well understood.

Doronin
et al.

(p.
795
, published online 27 September; see the Perspective by

Herzog and Ostrov

) now show that coagulation factor X, an important component of the blood clotting cascade, helps to trigger antiviral immunity in response to adenovirus infection in mice. Factor X binds to human type C adenovirus with very high affinity. Structural analysis identified the critical binding residues between factor X and adenovirus, which, when mutated, inhibited binding. Despite being able to infect splenic macrophages in mice, transcriptional profiling of spleens from mice infected with a mutant adenovirus unable to bind to factor X revealed impaired activation of signaling cascades associated with innate immunity.
Parallel Molecular Evolution in an Herbivore Community
Authors: Zhen Ying , Aardema Matthew L. , Medina Edgar M. , Schumer Molly , Andolfatto Peter
Published: September 2012

Making the Change

The Apocynaceae plant family produces toxic cardenolids. However, many insects have managed to escape the deleterious effects of these chemicals and even, in some cases, use them in their own defense.

Zhen
et al.

(p.
1634
) investigated a broad range of taxa and found several examples of parallel changes, as well as duplications, in members of the ATPα family that likely explain the shift to allow insects to avoid the toxic effects of these plants. Thus, natural selection can harness a combination of gene duplication, protein evolution, and regulatory evolution to allow distantly related species to adapt to specific niches.
Far-Reaching Impacts of Energetics
Extreme Measures
The Ecological Energetics of Birds and Mammals

by Brian K. McNab

University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2012. 322 pp. $100, £64.50. ISBN 9780226561226. Paper, $35, £22.50. ISBN 9780226561233.
Authors: Hammond Kimberly
Published: September 2012

Drawing on his extensive work with mammals and birds in diverse environments, McNab offers a personal perspective on comparative physiology and ecological energetics.
The APC/C Inhibitor XErp1/Emi2 Is Essential for
Xenopus
Early Embryonic Divisions
Authors: Tischer Thomas , Hörmanseder Eva , Mayer Thomas U.
Published: September 2012

Mastering Early Divisions

The regulation of canonical mitotic cell cycles is well understood, but the basic principles of the rapid, synchronized early mitotic divisions in embryos remains a mystery. Early embryos lack key mitotic regulators such as checkpoints, the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C)-inhibitory protein Emi1, and the inhibitory phosphorylations of cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (Cdk1). Working in
Xenopus
embryos,

Tischer
et al.

(p. 520, published online 27 September) identified XErp1/Emi2 as a mitotic APC/C-inhibitor essential for early mitotic divisions. The mitotic APC/C-inhibitory activity of XErp1 is positively regulated by protein kinase A (PKA) and protein phosphatase IIA (PP2A), which antagonizes Cdk1's inhibitory effect on XErp1. Thus, Cdk1 and PP2A/PKA appear to act antagonistically to control XErp1 activity, which results in the oscillatory activation and inactivation of the APC/C required for fast and synchronous mitotic divisions.
Suppression of Sleep for Mating
Authors: Siegel Jerome M.
Published: September 2012

Sleep can be seen as an environmentally determined, adaptive behavior.
The End of “Small Science”?
Authors: Alberts Bruce
Published: September 2012

I am prompted to write this editorial by the release of 30 papers this month from the encode Project Consortium. This decade-long project involved an international team of 442 scientists who have compiled what is being called an “encyclopedia of DNA elements,” a comprehensive list of functional elements in the human genome. The detailed overview is expected to spur further research on the fundamentals of life, health, and disease. ENCODE exemplifies a “big-science” style of research that continues to sweep the headlines, and the increased efficiency of data production by such projects is impressive. Does this mean that the highly successful “small-science” era of biological research will soon be over? Will government funding increasingly favor big-science projects? I certainly hope that the answer is no.
Drug Trial Offers Uncertain Start in Race to Save Children With Progeria
Authors: Couzin-Frankel Jennifer
Published: September 2012

This week marks the publication of a paper describing the first clinical trial of a drug for progeria, an ultrarare syndrome that seemingly ages children at warp speed.
Safely ruling out inflammatory bowel disease in children and teenagers without referral for endoscopy
Authors: Van de Vijver Els , Schreuder Andrea Bertilde , Cnossen Wybrich Riemke , Muller Kobold Anna Caecilia , van Rheenen Patrick Ferry
Published: September 2012

Background

Up to 70% of children and teenagers referred to a paediatric gastroenterology centre with suspected inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) do not have the disease.

Objective

To evaluate whether faecal calprotectin as an ‘add-on test’ improves the specificity of the clinical case definition for suspected IBD in a general paediatric practice.

Design

A prospective diagnostic accuracy study.

Setting

Six outpatient clinics for general paediatrics and one tertiary care hospital in the Netherlands.

Patients

117 children and teenagers with a clinical suspicion of IBD.

Diagnostic tests

Faecal calprotectin was measured (index test) in all patients. Patients with a high index of suspicion on the basis of the paediatrician's global assessment, physical examination and blood results were referred for endoscopy (reference standard). Children and teenagers who were not selected for endoscopy initially were followed for half a year for the appearance of possible additional symptoms (delayed type reference standard).

Primary outcome

The proportion of referred patients with confirmed IBD.

Results

The mean age of patients was 14 years (range 6–18). A total of 42 (36%) had confirmed IBD. The paediatricians, who were blinded to the faecal calprotectin result, referred 68 children and teenagers for endoscopy. If they had referred only those patients with a positive faecal calprotectin result (>50 μg/g), 54 patients would have undergone endoscopy.

Limitation

The study relied on clinical follow-up to detect missed IBD.

Conclusions

A diagnostic strategy in general paediatric practice of using a simple clinical case definition for suspected IBD in combination with a positive faecal calprotectin result increases the specificity to detect IBD and reduces the need for referral to a paediatric gastroenterology centre with a very low risk of missing cases.
Efficacy of metronome sound guidance via a phone speaker during dispatcher-assisted compression-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation by an untrained layperson: a randomised controlled simulation study using a manikin
Authors: Park Sang O , Hong Chong Kun , Shin Dong Hyuk , Lee Jun Ho , Hwang Seong Youn
Published: September 2012

Aim

Untrained laypersons should perform compression-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (COCPR) under a dispatcher's guidance, but the quality of the chest compressions may be suboptimal. We hypothesised that providing metronome sounds via a phone speaker may improve the quality of chest compressions during dispatcher-assisted COCPR (DA-COCPR).

Methods

Untrained laypersons were allocated to either the metronome sound-guided group (MG), who performed DA-COCPR with metronome sounds (110 ticks/min), or the control group (CG), who performed conventional DA-COCPR. The participants of each group performed DA-COCPR for 4 min using a manikin with Skill-Reporter, and the data regarding chest compression quality were collected.

Results

The data from 33 cases of DA-COCPR in the MG and 34 cases in the CG were compared. The MG showed a faster compression rate than the CG (111.9 vs 96.7/min; p=0.018). A significantly higher proportion of subjects in the MG performed the DA-COCPR with an accurate chest compression rate (100–120/min) compared with the subjects in the CG (32/33 (97.0%) vs 5/34 (14.7%); p<0.0001). The mean compression depth was not different between the MG and the CG (45.9 vs 46.8 mm; p=0.692). However, a higher proportion of subjects in the MG performed shallow compressions (compression depth <38 mm) compared with subjects in the CG (median % was 69.2 vs 15.7; p=0.035).

Conclusions

Metronome sound guidance during DA-COCPR for the untrained bystanders improved the chest compression rates, but was associated more with shallow compressions than the conventional DA-COCPR in a manikin model.
The role of physical examination in diagnosing common causes of vaginitis: a prospective study
Authors: Singh Rameet H , Zenilman Jonathan M , Brown Kathryn M , Madden Tessa , Gaydos Charlotte , Ghanem Khalil G
Published: September 2012

Objective

We evaluated agreement in diagnoses for bacterial vaginosis (BV),Trichomonas vaginalis(TV) and vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) between clinicians examining the patient and performing diagnostic tests versus a clinician with access only to the patient's history and diagnostic findings from self-obtained vaginal swabs (SOVS).

Design

Women presenting with vaginal discharge to a sexually transmitted infections clinic provided SOVS for evaluation and completed the study and qualitative questionnaires. A clinician then obtained a history and performed speculum and bimanual examinations. Participants’ history and diagnostic test results from SOVS were provided to a masked non-examining clinician who rendered independent diagnoses. Overall agreement in diagnoses and κ statistics was calculated.

Results

The prevalence of infections among the 197 participants was 63.4% (BV), 19% (TV) and 14% (VVC). The per cent agreement between the examining and non-examining clinician for the diagnoses of BV was 68.5%, 90.9% for TV and 91.9% for VVC. Of the 105 women diagnosed with BV by the examining clinician, 34 (32%) were missed by the non-examining clinician. The non-examining clinician missed 13 (48%) of 27 women and 12 (34%) of 35 women treated for VVC and TV, respectively. Four women who all presented with abdominal pain were diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease.

Conclusions

Tests from SOVS and history alone cannot be used to adequately diagnose BV, TV and VVC in women presenting with symptomatic vaginal discharge. Cost benefits from eliminating the speculum examination and using only tests from SOVS may be negated by long-term costs of mistreatment.
An insight into veterinary education in Iraq
Authors: Al‐Salihi Kareema A.
Published: September 2012

Iraq has a long‐standing, well‐established history of veterinary education, says Kareema Al‐Salihi of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Baghdad university. However, it is currently in an ‘unenviable’ situation, with depleted resources following years of economic sanctions, and a lack of facilities and equipment as a result of financial constraints imposed by the Gulf wars. Professor Al‐Salihi argues that there is now an urgent need to revitalise the system of veterinary education in Iraq and discusses ways in which this might be achieved.
PARTIAL PHASES IN A CIRCLING ELECTRON
Authors: ENGLMAN ROBERT , YAHALOM ASHER
Published: September 2012

An extended electronic cloud can acquire different Aharonov–Bohm (AB) phases in its parts when these parts experience different solenoidal fields. This is demonstrated by two models that describe an electron moving within a confining circular tube around a solenoidal vector potential and outside a magnetic field domain (just as in a usual AB set up): one in which the motion of the electron along the tube is restricted and moves adiabatically and another in which it extends freely and without restriction on its speed. When the electron cloud is split into two parts circling in opposite directions, we show that when the two parts of the electronic cloud rejoin, they do so with different phases. This set-up complements (and confirms the finding of) our previous work [Europhys. Lett.93, 20001 (2011)], in which the vector source was moving and the electron position was fixed.
A COMPUTATIONAL STUDY OF STRAIN EFFECTS IN THE BAND-TO-BAND-TUNNELING CARBON NANOTUBE FIELD-EFFECT TRANSISTORS
Authors: YOUSEFI REZA , GHOREISHI SEYYED SALEH
Published: September 2012

In this paper, the transport properties of the band-to-band-tunneling carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (BTBT-CNTFETs) under uniaxial strain are studied, with the nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) formalism. The effects of the uniaxial strain on the electrical properties, such as the ON current (I ON ), OFF current (I OFF ), I ON /I OFF ratio, subthreshold swing and intrinsic delay are evaluated. It was observed that the uniaxial strain has strong effects on the transport properties of these transistors. The results show that appropriate uniaxial strain, although degrades the ON current and the intrinsic delay, it also decreases the power consumption of the BTBT-CNTFETs and as a result can be used for low-power applications.
THE ESCAPE PROBABILITIES FOR SLAB AND SPHERICAL GEOMETRIES IN PLASMA SPECTROSCOPY
Authors: HE JIAN
Published: September 2012

In this paper, the concepts of the photon escape probability and the transmission factor are reviewed and the photon escape probabilities for infinite plane-parallel slab and spherical geometries are discussed. The photon escape probabilities using the transmission factor, for Lorentzian profile and Holtsmarkian profile, are discussed. Finally, the photon escape probabilities we calculated are compared with that calculated using before method for Lorentzian profile and Holtsmarkian profile, and some useful conclusions are drawn.
FRACTAL PATTERN IN SPATIAL STRUCTURE OF URBAN ROAD NETWORKS
Authors: SUN ZHUO , ZHENG JIANFENG , HU HONGTAO
Published: September 2012

In this paper, we investigate the fractal pattern in spatial structure of urban road networks. By introducing sub-domain, an improved box-counting algorithm is proposed to obtain the fractal pattern. Numerical experiments explore the realistic urban road network at Dalian city in China. In order to clearly show the performance of our proposed box-counting algorithm, two other measures for urban road networks, i.e., density pattern and accessibility pattern are introduced, compared and discussed.
AN IMAGE INPAINTING ALGORITHM BASED ON ENERGY MINIMIZATION
Authors: ZHI ZHANJIANG , SUN YI
Published: September 2012

Image inpainting is an active research area in the image processing field. The essential idea of image inpainting algorithm is to fill in the missing or damaged regions with available information from their surroundings. In this paper, we propose two image inpainting models based on the variational method. We show that the diffusion performance of the proposed models for image inpainting are superior to classical total variation (TV) inpainting model according to the physical characteristics in local coordinates. To show the effective performance of the proposed models, we apply it to restoring of scratched photos, text removal and even removal of entire objects from images.
IMAGE COSEGMENTATION BASED ON LOCAL AND GLOBAL LEVEL SET METHODS
Authors: ZHANG LIHE , LIU ZHENZHEN
Published: September 2012

In this paper, we propose a novel cosegmentation algorithm based on active contour model which utilizes local and global image statistics. Many localized region-based active contour models have been proposed to solve a challenging problem of the property (such as intensity, color, texture, etc.) inhomogeneities that often occurs in real images, but these models usually cannot reasonably evolve the curve in this situation that some center points along the curve are in homogeneous regions and their local regions are far away from the object. In order to overcome the difficulties we selectively enlarge the driven force of some points and introduce the edge indicator function to avoid the curve over-shrinking or over-expanding on the salient boundaries. In addition, we introduce global image statistics to better the curve evolution and try to avoid the given energy functional converging to a local minimum. Practical experiments show that our algorithm can obtain better segmentation results.
A Study of Sputtered TiN Gate Electrode Etching with Various Wet Chemicals and Post Etch Annealing for Complementary Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor Device Integration Applications
Authors: Heo Seung Chan , Yoo Dongjun , Choi Moon Suk , Kim Dohyung , Chung Chulwon , Choi Changhwan
Published: September 2012

Wet chemicals for etching sputtered TiN metal gate and post etch annealing on HfO2 and HfSiON gate dielectrics were studied with metal–oxide–semiconductor devices. Various wet solutions such as SC1 (NH4/H2O2/H2O= 1:2:5), SPM (H2SO4/H2O2= 10:1), and H2O2 were employed to etch the sputtered TiN. Difference in equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) is negligible among etchants while the lowest leakage current density (J
g) is attained with only SPM solution. Even though SPM treatment shows relative poor surface morphologies compared to H2O2 process, difference in J
g is mainly affected by the amount of absorbed Ti into high-k gate dielectrics during wet etch process. Lower J
g using SPM is attributable to the reduced amount of Ti-adsorption due to additional H2SO4 acid in wet chemical solution, which is confirmed by total reflection X-ray fluorescence. Post etch annealing on high-k layer improves film qualities such as suppressed defects – less frequency dependence – and lowers J
g further while EOT is slightly increased by about 0.2 nm due to SiO2 interfacial regrowth. HfSiON gate dielectric shows stronger immunity against TiN wet etch compared with HfO2. Thus, appropriate etchant and post annealing for the selective TiN etching are carefully considered to suppress defects and J
g for attaining complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) device.
In situ Micro-Raman Investigation of Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Heat in Ultrafast Laser Microprocessing of Glass
Authors: Yoshino Tomoki , Ozeki Yasuyuki , Matsumoto Masato , Itoh Kazuyoshi
Published: September 2012

We describe a micro-Raman spectroscopic study of temperature dynamics in glass during the irradiation of focused ultrafast laser pulses. In the experiment, femtosecond pulses followed by nanosecond Raman pump pulses were focused inside a sample. Back-scattered Stokes and anti-Stokes Raman signals were detected by a time-gated polychromator to directly probe local temperature in the sample. We found that the time evolution and spatial diffusion are consistent with thermal diffusion model, whereas their dependences on pulse energy are different in fused silica and borofloat glass.
Femtosecond Laser Micro- and Nanopatterning of the Fused Silica Tube to Enhance Capillary Effect
Authors: Kim Youngseop , Sohn Ik-Bu , Noh Young-Chul
Published: September 2012

Femtosecond lasers have considerable advantages over conventional lasers for micromachining of transparent materials, and here we use these advantages to fabricate a new type of glass capillary tube with micro- and nanopatterns on the inner surface of the tube. In terms of femtosecond laser patterning, we focused on the polarization state of the femtosecond laser and found that the variation of polarization affected the performance of capillary tubes, especially capillary rise and contact angle. We subsequently confirmed that the number of micropatterns and the direction of nanoripples most greatly affected the capillary rise.
Use of Fringe-Resolved Autocorrelation for the Diagnosis of the Wavelength Stability of a Free Electron Laser
Authors: Qin Yu , Nakajima Takashi , Kii Toshiteru , Ohgaki Hideaki
Published: September 2012

Although monitoring the wavelength stability of a free-electron laser provides users valuable useful information, a single-shot measurement of the laser spectrum is not always an easy task in the mid/far-infrared wavelength region due to the lack or very high cost of an array-type photodetector, etc. We propose to use fringe-resolved autocorrelation to monitor the wavelength stability of an oscillator-type free-electron laser. The idea is verified by the numerical experiments for intensity and fringe-resolved autocorrelations which include shot-to-shot fluctuations of intensity, duration, and central wavelength of micropulses as well as the chirps of both micro/macro pulses.
Crystal Growth of Indium-Doped Czochralski Silicon for Photovoltaic Application
Authors: Yu Xuegong , Zheng Xue , Hoshikawa Keigo , Yang Deren
Published: September 2012

In this paper we have investigated the crystal growth of indium-doped Czochralski (CZ) silicon for photovoltaic application. It is found that during the CZ silicon crystal growth the evaporation of indium is rather severe, which makes the accurate control of desired resistivity in the crystal difficult. The rapid indium doping after melting raw poly-silicon materials has been proposed to reduce the indium evaporation. The segregation coefficient of indium in silicon has been verified to be 4.0×10-4 by the method of quenching the crystal growth. With an increase of doping concentration, the electrical activity of indium dopants in silicon is found to become smaller. Beyond a critical doping concentration, the cellular growth of indium-doped CZ silicon crystal generally occurs. These results are of interest for the application of indium-doped silicon solar cells without light-induced degradation in photovoltaics.
Acceptor-Like States in SiGe Alloy Related to Point Defects Induced by Si+ Ion Implantation
Authors: Satoh Motoki , Arimoto Keisuke , Yamanaka Junji , Nakagawa Kiyokazu , Sawano Kentarou , Shiraki Yasuhiro
Published: September 2012

To investigate the origin of the p-type conduction of nondoped SiGe layers, we have carried out Si+ ion implantation into strained n-SiGe layers without dislocations and studied the relationship between transport properties and point defects (or dangling bonds) introduced by ion implantation. The change in conduction from n-type to p-type was observed by introducing point defects into SiGe. In addition, after annealing ion-implanted SiGe layers to eliminate point defects, the conduction returned from p-type to n-type. Therefore, we consider that the origin of acceptor-like states in SiGe alloys is related to intrinsic point defects generated during SiGe alloy growth.
Spider-Venom Peptides: Structure, Pharmacology, and Potential for Control of Insect Pests
Authors: King Glenn F. , Hardy Margaret C.
Published: September 2012

Spider venoms are an incredibly rich source of disulfide-rich insecticidal peptides that have been tuned over millions of years to target a wide range of receptors and ion channels in the insect nervous system. These peptides can act individually, or as part of larger toxin cabals, to rapidly immobilize envenomated prey owing to their debilitating effects on nervous system function. Most of these peptides contain a unique arrangement of disulfide bonds that provides them with extreme resistance to proteases. As a result, these peptides are highly stable in the insect gut and hemolymph and many of them are orally active. Thus, spider-venom peptides can be used as stand-alone bioinsecticides, or transgenes encoding these peptides can be used to engineer insect-resistant crops or enhanced entomopathogens. We critically review the potential of spider-venom peptides to control insect pests and highlight their advantages and disadvantages compared with conventional chemical insecticides.
Causes for Contemporary Regional Sea Level Changes
Authors: Stammer Detlef , Cazenave Anny , Ponte Rui M. , Tamisiea Mark E.
Published: September 2012

Regional sea level changes can deviate substantially from those of the global mean, can vary on a broad range of timescales, and in some regions can even lead to a reversal of long-term global mean sea level trends. The underlying causes are associated with dynamic variations in the ocean circulation as part of climate modes of variability and with an isostatic adjustment of Earth's crust to past and ongoing changes in polar ice masses and continental water storage. Relative to the coastline, sea level is also affected by processes such as earthquakes and anthropogenically induced subsidence. Present-day regional sea level changes appear to be caused primarily by natural climate variability. However, the imprint of anthropogenic effects on regional sea level—whether due to changes in the atmospheric forcing or to mass variations in the system—will grow with time as climate change progresses, and toward the end of the twenty-first century, regional sea level patterns will be a superposition of climate variability modes and natural and anthropogenically induced static sea level patterns. Attribution and predictions of ongoing and future sea level changes require an expanded and sustained climate observing system.
Systemic and Topical Drugs for the Prevention of HIV Infection: Antiretroviral Pre-exposure Prophylaxis
Authors: Baeten Jared , Celum Connie
Published: September 2012

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), in which HIV-uninfected persons use oral or topical antiretroviral medications to protect against HIV acquisition, is a promising new HIV prevention strategy. The biologic rationale for evaluation of PrEP for sexual HIV prevention included nonhuman primate models and the efficacy of antiretroviral prophylaxis for HIV-exposed infants. Proof-of-concept that PrEP protects against sexual HIV acquisition has been demonstrated in four clinical trials, which used the antiretroviral medication tenofovir, either as a vaginal gel or as daily oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, alone or coformulated with emtricitabine. Importantly, however, two trials failed to demonstrate HIV protection with PrEP; low adherence to daily use of PrEP is the leading hypothesis to account for the lack of efficacy. Next steps in the field include rigorous evaluation of uptake and adherence to PrEP in implementation settings and research into next-generation PrEP agents with longer half-life and less user dependence.
Mechanisms of Premature Atherosclerosis in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus
Authors: Kahlenberg J. Michelle , Kaplan Mariana J.
Published: September 2012

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the two most common systemic autoimmune disorders, have both unique and overlapping manifestations. One feature they share is a significantly enhanced risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular (CV) disease that significantly contributes to morbidity and mortality. The primary mechanisms that drive CV damage in these diseases remain to be fully characterized, but recent discoveries indicate that distinct inflammatory pathways and immune dysregulation characteristic of RA and SLE likely play prominent roles. This review focuses on analyzing the major mechanisms and pathways potentially implicated in the acceleration of atherothrombosis and CV risk in SLE and RA, as well as in the identification of putative preventive strategies that may mitigate vascular complications in systemic autoimmunity.
Abiraterone and Novel Antiandrogens: Overcoming Castration Resistance in Prostate Cancer
Authors: Ferraldeschi R. , Pezaro C. , Karavasilis V. , de Bono J.
Published: September 2012

Suppression of gonadal androgens by medical or surgical castration remains the mainstay of treatment for patients with advanced prostate cancer. However, the response to treatment is not durable, and transition to a “castration-resistant” state is invariable. Recent advances in our understanding of the androgen receptor signaling pathway have led to the development of therapeutic strategies to overcome castration resistance. This article reviews current concepts and challenges behind targeting continued androgen receptor signaling in castration-resistant prostate cancer and provides an overview of recently completed and ongoing clinical trials of novel hormonal agents, with a focus on abiraterone acetate and enzalutamide (MDV3100).