bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Monitoring the Microscopic Molecular Mechanisms of Proton Transfer in Acid‐base Reactions in Aqueous Solutions
Authors: Pines Dina , Nibbering Erik T. J. , Pines Ehud 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThis article provides a review of the authors’ collaborative work on acid‐base reactions under conditions allowing direct observation of mechanistic details of the proton transfer within reactive complexes of OH groups and the bases RCOO− (R=organic residues) in diffusion‐assisted neutralization reactions by using time‐resolved UV/Vis emission and IR absorption spectroscopy. We discuss the considerable insight gained by these experiments and outline the current status of the field.
Welfare and Stochastic Dominance for the Measurement of Banks' Domestic Systemic Importance: Analytical Framework and Application
Authors: Giordana Gaston Andrés 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThis paper proposes an analytical framework to rank alternative measures of banks' systemic importance in terms of their welfare impact. The advantage of our approach is that it does not require knowing the exact mathematical form of the underlying welfare function in the absence of a widely accepted model of systemic risk. The framework consists of two pillars. First, economic welfare is linked to the measured degree of systemic importance of banks. Second, the association between the concepts of stochastic and welfare dominance of distributions of the measured degree of systemic importance is defined. Then, the alternative measures can be welfare‐ranked by just establishing stochastic dominance relationships. An illustration is presented using Luxembourg data. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Motivations for Business Start‐up: Are There any Differences Between Disabled and Non‐disabled Microfinance Clients?
Authors: Beisland Leif Atle , Mersland Roy , Zamore Stephen 
Published: November 2015

AbstractWe use an Ecuadorian sample to investigate if there are differences in motivations for business start‐up between persons with and without disabilities. Generally, we do not document significant differences. The reason might be that we use a sample selected among customers of the microfinance bank Banco D‐MIRO. Without targeted incentives, disabled microfinance customers must resemble non‐disabled customers. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Study of Bacterial Cell Colonization on Plasma Induced Bio‐Adoptable Polymer Nanocomposites Membranes
Authors: Agrawal Narendra Kumar , Agarwal Ravi , Kumar Gautam Aashish , Jain Jeevanshu , Vijay Yogesh Kumar , Swami Kanti Chand 
Published: November 2015

SummaryPolymers are receiving great interest for synthesis of biomedical devices but to use them for any biomedical application they must show biocompatibility. In this work we have enhanced bio‐compatibility of Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) using TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) and plasma irradiation. Spherical shape, 15–20 nm TiO2 NPs were synthesized using wet chemical method and used to prepare polymer nano‐composite (PNC) membranes of 20 micron via solution casting method. Further these membranes were irradiated by low temperature glow discharge Oxygen (O2) ion plasma. Surface modifications produced by nanoparticle mixing and plasma irradiation were characterized by Optical Microscope, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). Results show increase in surface roughness and porosity thus changes surface energy and surface reactivity that helps to enhance selective bacterial growth on surface of the polymer nanocomposite membranes. The results are described in the paper.
A Comparative Study of the Effects of Oxygen Ions Upon the Free Volume and Physico‐Chemical Properties of Makrofol (KG & N) Polycarbonate
Authors: Gupta Sanjeev Kumar , Singh Paramjit , Awasthi K. , Roychowdhury A. , Kumar Rajesh 
Published: November 2015

SummaryMakrofol (KG & N) polymers are the important class of polycarbonates which are used as solid state nuclear track detectors. The effect of 100 MeV oxygen ions (O7+) on the free volume and physico‐chemical properties of Makrofol (KG & N) polymers were studied. The pristine and irradiated samples were characterized by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, UV‐visible and FTIR. A comparative study of free volume was carried out from the obtained values of the pristine and irradiated samples of both the polymers. The absorption edges of UV‐visible were found to be shifted towards longer wavelength region. The intensities of the various absorption bands of the infrared spectra were found to be modified; which indicated the changes in the chemical properties of the exposed samples.
Electronic Transducing Chip Platforms for Biosensing Applications
Authors: Qureshi Anjum , Pandey Ashish , Gurbuz Yasar , Niazi Javed H. 
Published: November 2015

SummaryGrowing demand for a range of portable, rapid and low cost biosensing devices for the detection of disease biomarkers, toxic chemicals/drugs and engineered nanomaterials are ever demanding. Biosensors can play a critical role especially in the early diagnosis of disease such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) without having to rely on hospital visits where expensive and time‐consuming laboratory tests are recommended. Other major areas where biosensors are essential include chemical and biomedical industries. In order to address these applications, our research mainly focused on developing suitable electronic transducing platforms that enable label‐free, sensitive and single/multianalyte detection. One such example successfully applied was detection of a panel of disease biomarkers such as CRP, TNFα, and IL6 to potentially determine the CVD risks. This approach can be potentially extended to developing hand‐held devices for point‐of‐care applications. Another area we employed biosensors are for detecting toxic effects of engineered nanomaterials (NMs) that induce cellular toxicity using living whole‐cells‐on‐chip as biorecognition elements. Here, we summarized our research work carried out in our laboratory on capacitive transducing chip platforms for biosensing applications.
Polymer Concentration Dependent Morphological and Electro‐Optic Properties of Polymer Dispersed Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal Composites
Authors: Jayoti Divya , Malik Praveen 
Published: November 2015

SummaryPolymer Dispersed Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal (PDFLC) composites comprising of ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) and Ultra‐Violet (UV) curable polymer in different compositions have been synthesized by polymerization induced phase separation (PIPS) method and studied in thin sample cells of thickness 10 μm. Changes in liquid crystal (LC) droplet morphology and droplet size are investigated as a function of polymer concentration. The effect of polymer concentration on electro‐optical parameters (polarization, response time and rotational viscosity) has been studied. Faster response time (∼200–400 μsec) was seen in low concentration based PDFLC than higher polymer content PDFLC.
Oral administration of oleuropein attenuates cisplatin‐induced acute renal injury in mice through inhibition of ERK signaling
Authors: Potočnjak Iva , Škoda Marko , Pernjak‐Pugel Ester , Peršić Martina Pavletić , Domitrović Robert 
Published: November 2015

ScopeOleuropein possesses numerous health beneficial effects. We investigated the renoprotective effects of oleuropein against cisplatin (CP) induced kidney injury.Methods and resultsMale BALB/cN mice were orally gavaged with 5, 10 and 20 mg oleuropein/kg body weight for 2 days, 48 h after intraperitoneal injection of CP (13 mg/kg). Four days after CP administration, serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels were significantly elevated, with histopathological changes in renal tissue. In addition, renal oxidative stress was evidenced by increased expression of 3‐nitrotyrosine (3‐NT), 4‐hydroxynonenal (4‐HNE), cytochrome P450 E1 (CYP2E1) and heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1). The expression of nuclear factor‐kappaB (NF‐κB) p65, phospho‐p65, tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) and cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) in the kidneys increased upon CP treatment, suggesting renal inflammation. CP intoxication increased the expression of p53, Bax and caspase‐3 and induced apoptosis in the kidneys. CP administration also resulted in enhanced phosphorylation of extracellular signal‐regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2). All these effects were dose dependently diminished by oleuropein. Oral administration of PD0325901, an MEK inhibitor, coincided with the oleuropein‐mediated suppression of apoptotic, inflammatory and antioxidant markers.ConclusionThe results of the current study suggest that oleuropein attenuated CP‐induced acute renal injury, which was mediated through the inhibition of ERK signaling.
Proton observed phosphorus editing (POPE) for in vivo detection of phospholipid metabolites
Authors: Wijnen Jannie P. , Klomp Dennis W. J. , Nabuurs Christine I. H. C. , de Graaf Robin A. , van Kalleveen Irene M. L. , van der Kemp Wybe J. M. , Luijten Peter R. , Kruit Mark C. , Webb Andrew , Kan Hermien E. , Boer Vincent O. 
Published: November 2015

The purpose of this article was to compare the sensitivity of proton observed phosphorus editing (POPE) with direct 31P MRS with Ernst angle excitation for 1H–31P coupled metabolites at 7 T.POPE sequences were developed for detecting phosphocholine (PC), phosphoethanolamine (PE), glycerophosphocholine (GPC), and glycerophosphoethanolamine (GPE) on the 1H channel, thereby using the enhanced sensitivity of the 1H nuclei over 31P detection. Five healthy volunteers were examined with POPE and 31P‐MRS.POPE editing showed a more than doubled sensitivity in an ideal phantom experiment as compared with direct 31P MRS with Ernst angle excitation. In vivo, despite increased relaxation losses, significant gains in signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) of 30–40% were shown for PE and GPE + PC levels in the human brain. The SNR of GPC was lower in the POPE measurement compared with the 31P‐MRS measurement. Furthermore, selective narrowband editing on the 31P channel showed the ability to separate the overlapping GPE and PE signals in the 1H spectrum.POPE can be used for enhanced detection of 1H–31P coupled metabolites in vivo. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Place Attachment and the Decision to Stay in the Neighbourhood
Authors: Clark William A. V. , Duque‐Calvache Ricardo , Palomares‐Linares Isabel 
Published: November 2015

AbstractResearch on residential mobility has focused on moving rather than staying, and as a consequence, we have a much poorer understanding of why people stay in contrast to why people move. But in fact staying is the usual practice and moving is a relatively rare event. We draw on previous work on staying and the notions of place attachment, that is being invested in a place, owning a house and having connections in the neighbourhood, to investigate the underlying dimensions of the decision to stay. We utilise a retrospective survey data set from Granada (Spain) to model, first, the decision to stay in the house versus moving and, second, the decision to move but stay in the neighbourhood versus moving outside the neighbourhood. The logit models show that family in the neighbourhood, interaction with the neighbours – local connection (using the facilities of the neighbourhood) and a measure of satisfaction with the neighbourhood provide a contextual understanding of why people stay, and who is likely to stay. The models provide data on the different meanings and ways of staying. Neighbourhood variables are crucial to explain the moves inside the same area, well beyond the personal and household characteristics included in most residential mobility models. As we would expect in the Spanish context, family plays an important role in attachment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Testing of uniformity of seven Lathyrus species using Bennett’s and Miller’s methods
Authors: Zawieja Bogna , Rybiński Wojciech , Nowosad Kamila , Piesik Dariusz , Bocianowski Jan 
Published: November 2015

AbstractIn this paper we focused on uniformity of seven Lathyrus species: Lathyrus aphaca, L. cicero, L. clymenum, L. hirsutus, L. ochrus, L. sativus and L. tingitanus. Two statistical methods, the Bennett’s and the Miller’s were compared. In both methods, coefficient of variation for evaluation of the uniformity of crop varieties was used. Four quantitative traits were analyzed: length of the pod, width of the pod, weight of seeds from the pod and 100 seed weight. The results of the study demonstrated that, the Bennett’s method is less restrictive (lesser species were found to be uniform in analyzed traits) compared to the Miller’s one.
The efficacy of the COMFORT score and pain management protocol in ventilated pediatric patients following cardiac surgery
Authors: Elella Raja Abou , Adalaty Hani , Koay Yah Nga , Mokrusova Pavla , Theresa Maria , Male Benito , Francis Bency , Jarrab Chairmain , Wadai Abdullah Al 
Published: November 2015

Background and objectives:
An optimal scoring system for pain assessment in pediatric intensive care is necessary to determine the efficacy of analgesics. We assess the COMFORT scale in postoperative ventilated children and study the effect of pain and sedation protocols on their outcomes.

Patients and methods:
We included postoperative ventilated patients. The unit-based pain management protocol was used. The assessment of the COMFORT and FLACC scales was per-formed by 2-nurses at 2-h intervals on the day of surgery and at 4-h intervals during the first 2-postoperative days or until the patient was ex-tubated. The patients’ outcomes were compared with age-matched and RACHS score matched patients prior to the application of the pain protocol.

Results:
One-hundred-ten prospective patients were included. The mean age and weight was 24 months and 9.8 ± 8.4 kg, respectively. There was a weak, statistically significant correlation between the COMFORT and FLACC scales, with a range of (r = 0.01-0.7). The COMFORT scale demonstrated good internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.75. The mean ventila-tion days were 1.3 ± 3, with a mean ICU and hospital stay of 5 ± 5 and 10 ± 9 days, respec-tively. The 110 patients were compared to 50 retrospective matching patients. The prospective group demonstrated statistically less ventilation days, ICU stay time and hospital stay time, with P-values of 0.0004, 0.001 and 0.0003, respectively.

Conclusion:
The COMFORT scale is a valuable and reliable pain assessment tool for use in post-operative ventilated pediatric patients. The implementation of a pain and sedation protocol decreased the incidence of withdrawal and the duration of mechanical ventilation as well as ICU and hospital stays.
Translation and validation of the Malay version of the Stroke Knowledge Test
Authors: Sowtali Siti Noorkhairina , Yusoff Dariah Mohd , Harith Sakinah , Mohamed Monniaty 
Published: November 2015

AbstractBackgroundTo date, there is a lack of published studies on assessment tools to evaluate the effectiveness of stroke education programs.MethodsThis study developed and validated the Malay language version of the Stroke Knowledge Test research instrument. This study involved translation, validity, and reliability phases. The instrument underwent backward and forward translation of the English version into the Malay language. Nine experts reviewed the content for consistency, clarity, difficulty, and suitability for inclusion. Perceived usefulness and utilization were obtained from experts’ opinions. Later, face validity assessment was conducted with 10 stroke patients to determine appropriateness of sentences and grammar used. A pilot study was conducted with 41 stroke patients to determine the item analysis and reliability of the translated instrument using the Kuder Richardson 20 or Cronbach's alpha.ResultsThe final Malay version Stroke Knowledge Test included 20 items with good content coverage, acceptable item properties, and positive expert review ratings. Psychometric investigations suggest that Malay version Stroke Knowledge Test had moderate reliability with Kuder Richardson 20 or Cronbach's alpha of 0.58. Improvement is required for Stroke Knowledge Test items with unacceptable difficulty indices. Overall, the average rating of perceived usefulness and perceived utility of the instruments were both 72.7%, suggesting that reviewers were likely to use the instruments in their facilities.ConclusionsMalay version Stroke Knowledge Test was a valid and reliable tool to assess educational needs and to evaluate stroke knowledge among participants of group‐based stroke education programs in Malaysia.
Proteomic research on diapause-related proteins in the female ladybird,Coccinella septempunctataL.
Authors: Ren X.Y. , Zhang L.S. , Han Y.H. , An T. , Liu Y. , Li Y.Y. , Chen H.Y. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractIn the experiments reported here, we used the female ladybirdCoccinella septempunctataL. as a model to identify diapause-associated proteins using proteomics technology. Our results indicated that protein expression patterns of diapausing and nondiapausing individuals were highly differentiated. A total of 58 spots showed significant differences in abundance (Ratio > 2 andP< 0.05) according to two-dimensional electrophoresis and GE Image Scanner III analysis. Sixteen protein spots were further investigated using mass spectrometry. Eight proteins were characterized, including chaperones and proteins involved in glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Among these proteins, five proteins were upregulated in diapausing female adults, including a chaperone (Symbionin symL), malate dehydrogenase (putative), two proteins linked to lipid metabolism (unknown and conserved hypothetical protein) and phosphoglyceromutase (partial). By contrast, isocitrate dehydrogenase (RH49423p), fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (AGAP001942-PA), and a putative medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase were downregulated. These results contribute to the understanding of diapause mechanisms of the ladybirdC. septempunctataand may suggest methods for improving the application of this natural enemy insect.
Climate change benchmarking: Constructing a sustainable future?
Authors: KUZEMKO CAROLINE 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThis article analyses discourses on climate change and mitigation through the deconstruction of European Union (EU) rhetoric and practices on climate benchmarking. It critically examines the motivations behind climate benchmarking, the methods used to construct international benchmarks, and the reasons for variety in domestic compliance. Germany and the United Kingdom are analysed as cases where domestic politics drive very different reactions to the practice of climate mitigation, differences that have been largely hidden by the type of quantification that EU benchmarking involves. Through an exploration of the methods used to formulate climate benchmarks, the article demonstrates that these commitments have privileged certain responses over others, and thus helped to paint a picture of EU benchmarks as ‘reformist’ but not ‘radical’. EU climate benchmarks often end up concealing more than they reveal, making it difficult to fully engage with the scale and complexity of the far-reaching domestic changes that are required in order to comply with agreed international benchmarks. The deficiencies of benchmarks as a mechanism for driving long-term sustainable change, and importantly discouraging harmful policies, may ultimately undermine their credibility as a means for governing climate change at a distance in the EU.
Turn-taking, timing, and planning in early language acquisition
Authors: CASILLAS MARISA , BOBB SUSAN C. , CLARK EVE V. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractYoung children answer questions with longer delays than adults do, and they don't reach typical adult response times until several years later. We hypothesized that this prolonged pattern of delay in children's timing results from competing demands: to give an answer, children must understand a question while simultaneously planning and initiating their response. Even as children get older and more efficient in this process, the demands on them increase because their verbal responses become more complex. We analyzed conversational question–answer sequences between caregivers and their children from ages 1;8 to 3;5, finding that children (1) initiate simple answers more quickly than complex ones, (2) initiate simple answers quickly from an early age, and (3) initiate complex answers more quickly as they grow older. Our results suggest that children aim to respond quickly from the start, improving on earlier-acquired answer types while they begin to practice later-acquired, slower ones.
Widespread dispersion of the resistance element tet(B)::ISCR2 in XDR Acinetobacter baumannii isolates
Authors: VILACOBA E. , ALMUZARA M. , GULONE L. , TRAGLIA G. M. , MONTAÑA S. , RODRÍGUEZ H. , PASTERAN F. , PENNINI M. , SUCARI A. , GÓMEZ N. , FERNÁNDEZ A. , CENTRÓN D. , RAMÍREZ M. S. 
Published: November 2015

SUMMARYAcinetobacter baumannii is a significant nosocomial pathogen often associated with extreme drug resistance (XDR). In Argentina, isolates of A. baumannii resistant to tetracyclines have accounted for more than 40% of drug-resistant isolates in some hospitals. We have previously reported the dispersion of the tet(B) resistance element associated with the ISCR2 transposase in epidemiologically unrelated A. baumannii isolates recovered from 1983 to 2011. This study extends this surveillance to 77 recent (2009–2013) XDR A. baumannii isolates with different levels of minocycline susceptibility. Isolates were examined by a pan-PCR assay, which showed six different amplification patterns, and specific PCRs were used for the confirmation of the the ΔISCR2-tet(B)-tet(R)-ISCR2 element. The tet(B) gene was present in 66 isolates and the ISCR2 element in 68 isolates; the tet(B) gene was associated with ISCR2 in all tet(B)-positive isolates. We conclude that this element is widespread in XDR A. baumannii isolates from Argentina and could be responsible for the emergence of tetracycline resistance in recent years.