bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Common plants as alternative analytical tools to monitor heavy metals in soil
Authors: Malizia Daniela , Giuliano Antonella , Ortaggi Giancarlo , Masotti Andrea 
Published: June 2013

Abstract

Background
Herbaceous plants are common vegetal species generally exposed, for a limited period of time, to bioavailable environmental pollutants. Heavy metals contamination is the most common form of environmental pollution. Herbaceous plants have never been used as natural bioindicators of environmental pollution, in particular to monitor the amount of heavy metals in soil. In this study, we aimed at assessing the usefulness of using three herbaceous plants (Plantago major L., Taraxacum officinale L. and Urtica dioica L.) and one leguminous (Trifolium pratense L.) as alternative indicators to evaluate soil pollution by heavy metals.

Results
We employed Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) to assess the concentration of selected heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Mn, Pb, Cr and Pd) in soil and plants and we employed statistical analyses to describe the linear correlation between the accumulation of some heavy metals and selected vegetal species. We found that the leaves of Taraxacum officinale L. and Trifolium pratense L. can accumulate Cu in a linearly dependent manner with Urtica dioica L. representing the vegetal species accumulating the highest fraction of Pb.

Conclusions
In this study we demonstrated that common plants can be used as an alternative analytical tool for monitoring selected heavy metals in soil.
How effective are traditional methods of compositional analysis in providing an accurate material balance for a range of softwood derived residues?
Authors: Burkhardt Sabrina , Kumar Linoj , Chandra Richard , Saddler Jack 
Published: June 2013

Abstract

Background
Forest residues represent an abundant and sustainable source of biomass which could be used as a biorefinery feedstock. Due to the heterogeneity of forest residues, such as hog fuel and bark, one of the expected challenges is to obtain an accurate material balance of these feedstocks. Current compositional analytical methods have been standardised for more homogenous feedstocks such as white wood and agricultural residues. The described work assessed the accuracy of existing and modified methods on a variety of forest residues both before and after a typical pretreatment process.

Results
When “traditional” pulp and paper methods were used, the total amount of material that could be quantified in each of the six softwood-derived residues ranged from 88% to 96%. It was apparent that the extractives present in the substrate were most influential in limiting the accuracy of a more representative material balance. This was particularly evident when trying to determine the lignin content, due to the incomplete removal of the extractives, even after a two stage water-ethanol extraction. Residual extractives likely precipitated with the acid insoluble lignin during analysis, contributing to an overestimation of the lignin content. Despite the minor dissolution of hemicellulosic sugars, extraction with mild alkali removed most of the extractives from the bark and improved the raw material mass closure to 95% in comparison to the 88% value obtained after water-ethanol extraction. After pretreatment, the extent of extractive removal and their reaction/precipitation with lignin was heavily dependent on the pretreatment conditions used. The selective removal of extractives and their quantification after a pretreatment proved to be even more challenging. Regardless of the amount of extractives that were originally present, the analytical methods could be refined to provide reproducible quantification of the carbohydrates present in both the starting material and after pretreatment.

Conclusion
Despite the challenges resulting from the heterogeneity of the initial biomass substrates a reasonable summative mass closure could be obtained before and after steam pretreatment. However, method revision and optimisation was required, particularly the effective removal of extractives, to ensure that representative and reproducible values for the major lignin and carbohydrate components.
Exploratory benchtop study evaluating the use of surgical design and simulation in fibula free flap mandibular reconstruction
Authors: Logan Heather , Wolfaardt Johan , Boulanger Pierre , Hodgetts Bill , Seikaly Hadi 
Published: June 2013

Background Surgical design and simulation (SDS) is a useful tool to help surgeons visualize the anatomy of the patient and perform operative maneuvers on the computer before implementation in the operating room. While these technologies have many advantages, further evidence of their potential to improve outcomes is required. The present benchtop study was intended to identify if there is a difference in surgical outcome between free-hand surgery completed without virtual surgical planning (VSP) software and preoperatively planned surgery completed with the use of VSP software. Methods Five surgeons participated in the study. In Session A, participants were asked to do a free-hand reconstruction of a 3d printed mandible with a defect using a 3d printed fibula. Four weeks later, in Session B, the participants were asked to do the same reconstruction, but in this case using a preoperatively digitally designed surgical plan. Digital registration computer software, hard tissue measures and duration of the task were used to compare the outcome of the benchtop reconstructions. Results The study revealed that: (1) superimposed images produced in a computer aided design (CAD) software were effective in comparing pre and post-surgical outcomes, (2) there was a difference, based on hard tissue measures, in surgical outcome between the two scenarios and (3) there was no difference in the time it took to complete the sessions. Conclusion The study revealed that the participants were more consistent in the preoperatively digitally planned surgery than they were in the free hand surgery.
Modeling population growth in online social networks
Authors: Zhu Konglin , Li Wenzhong , Fu Xiaoming 
Published: June 2013

Abstract

Purpose
Online social networks (OSNs) are now among the most popular applications on the web offering platforms for people to interact, communicate and collaborate with others. The rapid development of OSNs provides opportunities for people’s daily communication, but also brings problems such as burst network traffic and overload of servers. Studying the population growth pattern in online social networks helps service providers to understand the people communication manners in OSNs and facilitate the management of network resources. In this paper, we propose a population growth model for OSNs based on the study of population distribution and growth in spatiotemporal scale-space.

Methods
We investigate the population growth in three data sets which are randomly sampled from the popular OSN web sites including Renren, Twitter and Gowalla. We find out that the number of population follows the power-law distribution over different geographic locations, and the population growth of a location fits a power function of time. An aggregated population growth model is conducted by integrating the population growth over geographic locations and time.

Results
We use the data sets to validate our population growth model. Extensive experiments also show that the proposed model fits the population growth of Facebook and Sina Weibo well. As an application, we use the model to predict the monthly population in three data sets. By comparing the predicted population with ground-truth values, the results show that our model can achieve a prediction accuracy between 86.14% and 99.89%.

Conclusions
With our proposed population growth model, people can estimate the population size of an online social network in a certain time period and it can also be used for population prediction for a future time.
Book Reviews
Authors: Biggane Julia , Tedaldi Chiara , McCarthy Eamon , Vargas Marta del Moral , Raminger Kathrin , Reckling Tobias 
Published: June 2013

Abstract
The Truth About Spain! Mobilising British Public Opinion 1936–1939, Hugo García (2010) Brighton, Portland and Ontario: Sussex Academic Press, 337 pp., ISBN 978-1-84519-332-4 (hbk), £55
British News Media and The Spanish Civil War. Tomorrow May be Too Late, David Deacon (2008) Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, viii + 196 pp., ISBN 978-0-7486-2748-6 (hbk), £60.00
A Companion to Spanish Women’s Studies, Xon De Ros and Geraldine Hazbun (Eds) (2011) Woodbridge: Tamesis, 405 pp., ISBN 978-1-85566-224-7 (hbk), £65
Feminismos Y Antifeminismos, Ana Aguado and Teresa Mª Ortega (Eds) (2011) Valencia and Granada: PUV & Editorial Universidad de Granada, 362 pp., ISBN 978-84-370-7892-2 (pbk), €24.50.
Legacies Of War and Dictatorship in Contemporary Portugal and Spain, Alison Ribeiro De Menezes and Catherine O’leary (Eds) (2011) Oxford: Peter Lang (Iberian and Latin American Studies: The Arts, Literature and Identity, 1), xvii + 270 pp., ISBN 978-3-03911-872-4 (pbk); 978-3-0353-0198-4 (Ebook), £36.
Top-down Fabricated Polysilicon Nanoribbon Biosensor Chips for Cancer Diagnosis
Authors: Chang Hsiao-Kang , Wang Xiaoli , Aroonyadet Noppadol , Zhang Rui , Song Yan , Datar Ram , Cote Richard , Thompson Mark , Zhou Chongwu 
Published: June 2013

ABSTRACTNanobiosensors have drawn significant research interest in recent years owing to the advantages of label-free, electrical detection. However, nanobiosensors fabricated by bottom-up process are limited in terms of yield and device uniformity due to the challenges in assembly. Nanobiosensors fabricated by top-down process, on the other hand, exhibit better uniformity but require time and costly processes and materials to achieve the critical dimensions required for high sensitivity. In this report, we introduce a top-down nanobiosensor based on polysilicon nanoribbon. The polysilicon nanoribbon devices can be fabricated by conventional photolithography with only materials and equipments used in the standard CMOS process, thus resulting in great time and cost efficiency, as well as scalability. The devices show great response to pH changes with a wide dynamic range and high sensitivity. Biomarker detection is also demonstrated with clinically relevant sensitivity. Such results suggest that polysilicon nanoribbon devices exhibit great potential toward a highly efficient, reliable and sensitive biosensing platform.
Acute Infection in Total Knee Arthroplasty: Diagnosis and Treatment
Authors: Martínez-Pastor Juan Carlos , Maculé-Beneyto Francisco , Suso-Vergara Santiago 
Published: June 2013

Infection is one of the most serious complications after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The current incidence of prosthetic knee infection is 1-3%, depending on the series.For treatment and control to be more cost effective, multidisciplinary groups made up of professionals from different specialities who can work together to eradicate these kinds of infections need to be assembled. About the microbiology,Staphylococcus aureusand coagulase-negative staphylococcus were among the most frequent microorganisms involved (74%).Anamnesis and clinical examination are of primary importance in order to determine whether the problem may point to a possible acute septic complication. The first diagnosis may then be supported by increased CRP and ESR levels. The surgical treatment for a chronic prosthetic knee infection has been perfectly defined and standardized, and consists in a two-stage implant revision process. In contrast, the treatment for acute prosthetic knee infection is currently under debate. Considering the different surgical techniques that already exist, surgical debridement with conservation of the prosthesis and polythene revision appears to be an attractive option for both surgeon and patient, as it is less aggressive than the two-stage revision process and has lower initial costs.The different results obtained from this technique, along with prognosis factors and conclusions to keep in mind when it is indicated for an acute prosthetic infection, whether post-operative or haematogenous, will be analysed by the authors.
Special Issues Involving Periprosthetic Infection in Immunodeficiency Patients
Authors: Tornero Eduard , Riba Josep , Garcia-Ramiro Sebastian 
Published: June 2013

Chronic systemic illnesses such as diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease (CKD), liver cirrhosis, neoplasia, etc. have been clearly associated with high rates of SWI. However, the exact mechanisms underlying these observations are still under investigation.Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a growing problem in our society. Many of these patients will require an arthroplasty and it appears that the prosthetic infection risk for these types of patients is much higher than in the normal population. The risk of complications due to infection seems to be lower in patients with kidney transplants than in patients undergoing haemodialysis. Both prophylaxis and treatment of infection in patients with CKD should be carried out with a strict monitoring of potentially nephrotoxic antibiotics.The literature on the prognosis and risk of infection in patients with haematopoietic stem cell transplant is scarce and occasionally contradictory. The optimal time for the surgery should be determined by taking into account the immunological state of the patient and should be avoided, as much as possible, during the first year after the HSCT.Child’s classification system is the most widely used method of stratifying the surgical risk for patients with cirrhosis; the infection appeared to be associated in a statistically significant way with advanced age and a Child B pre-operative classification.The prevention of prosthetic joint infections in HIV-infected patients should not be significantly different from the prevention for any other patient. Those patients that receive adequate antiretroviral treatment and periodic laboratory control show infection rates and periprosthetic complications that are similar to those for patients not affected by HIV. Therefore, the patient’s level of immunodeficiency is the most important prognostic factor for prosthetic infection.The particular immunological condition of these patients can lead to infections due to particular microorganisms that immunocompetent patients do not have to deal with. Of all possibilities, because of their frequency and difficulty to treat, infections caused by methicillin-resistantS. aureusand fungus are highlighted.
Bromine as a Potential Threat to the Aquatic Environment in Areas of Mining Operations
Authors: Winid Bogumiła 
Published: June 2013

Streszczenie
Brom w wodach słabo zmineralizowanych występuje w niewielkich ilościach. Średnia zawartość bromków w wodach powierzchniowych i podziemnych strefy aktywnej wymiany na ogół nie przekracza 200 p,g/dm3 (0,2 mg/dm3). W większych ilościach jony te mogą występować w wodach zmineralizowanych, ale także w niektórych swoistych wodach leczniczych, wodach termalnych oraz solankach. Bromki w wodach gruntowych i powierzchniowych mogą być wynikiem dopływu zasolonych wód podziemnych. W obszarach eksploatacji górniczej gospodarka wodami zasolonymi (złożowymi, kopalnianymi i produkcyjnymi) może wpływać na wzrost zawartości bromków w wodach powierzchniowych i płytkich wodach podziemnych. Bromki w ilościach znacznie przekraczających 1 mg/dm3 rejestrowane są w odciekach i zanieczyszczonych wodach rejonów składowisk odpadów komunalnych i przemysłowych.
Obecność bromków w wodach poddawanych ozonowaniu i chlorowaniu może spowodować utworzenie bromianów, które są związkami kancerogennymi, a także szeregu związków organicznych zawierających brom, które mogą mieć działanie mutagenne. Problem powstawania bromianów dotyczy wód o zawartości powyżej 50 ^g/dm3 (0,05 mg/dm3).
W artykule zamieszczono dane dotyczące zawartości bromków w wodach o różnej mineralizacji. Omówiono antropogeniczne przyczyny występowania bromków z uwzględnieniem górnictwa i procesu szczelinowania hydraulicznego. Z doświadczeń eksploatacji gazu łupkowego stanu Pensylwania (USA) wynika, że konsekwencją procesu szczelinowania hydraulicznego może być obecność wód o podwyższonej zawartości bromków i problem ich utylizacji. Zwiększone zawartości bromków w wodach powierzchniowych obszarów pozostających pod wpływem eksploatacji górniczej można wiązać z wodami produkcyjnymi, ale również z innymi (poza górniczymi) ogniskami zanieczyszczeń.
Zwrócono uwagę na niewielką ilość danych dotyczących zawartości bromków w wodach Polski, co jest spowodowane tym, że składnik ten nie jest uwzględniony w procedurze badania jakości wód. Znajomość tła pozwoliłaby w przyszłości na dokładniejszą ocenę stanu środowiska także przy poszukiwaniach i ewentualnej eksploatacji gazu łupkowego.
The basic assumptions of the quantitative version of the Comprehensive Method of Rockburst Hazard Evaluation
Authors: Kurzeja Joanna , Kornowski Jerzy 
Published: June 2013

Streszczenie
W artykule opisano podstawy i wyniki stosowania nowej, ilościowej wersji znanej w polskim górnictwie Kompleksowej Metody Oceny Stanu Zagrożenia Tąpaniami (ang.: CMRHE). W skład Metody Kompleksowej (MK) wchodzą cztery tzw. „metody szczegółowe”: sejsmologii górniczej, sejsmoakustyki, wierceń małośredni- cowych i „ekspercka” metoda rozeznania górniczego. Mimo swej popularności, MK nie jest dobrze zdefiniowana w sensie matematycznym: ani sama MK ani żadna z metod szczegółowych nie definiują ilościowo przedmiotu swego zainteresowania, tzn. zagrożenia tąpaniami, wskutek czego usiłują one ocenić lub prognozować niezdefi­niowaną wielkość. Nie ma też pewności, że każda z metod bada tę samą wielkość fizyczną i nie jest oczywiste w jaki sposób poprawnie łączyć wyniki metod szczegółowych by otrzymać poszukiwane wynikowe zagrożenie. Opisana tu wersja ilościowa MK, od samego początku definiuje zagrożenie tąpnięciem jak również wszystkie jego składniki jako prawdopodobieństwa, na których wszelkie przekształcenia mogą być dokonywane zgodnie z zasadami rachunku prawdopodobieństwa. W artykule zademonstrowano, że wszystkie informacje o czynnikach kształtujących zagrożenie, które wykorzystywane są w oryginalnej Metodzie Kompleksowej, mogą być przed­stawione w formie rozkładów prawdopodobieństwa - zawsze zależnych od właściwej zmiennej objaśniającej - a dla konkretnej, lokalnej wartości tej zmiennej, każdy rozkład daje skalarną wartość prawdopodobieństwa. Iloczyn tych rozkładów prawdopodobieństwa jest estymatorem zagrożenia tąpnięciem i jest oparty na dokładnie tej samej informacji co oryginalna ocena z MK. Można zauważyć, że logarytm iloczynu prawdopodobieństw daje sumę składników, analogiczną lecz nie identyczną względem sumy „punktów” w oryginalnej MK, co podkreśla bezpośredni związek opisanej tu ilościowej wersji z oryginalną MK. W końcowej części artykułu przedstawiono przykład oceny zagrożenia tąpnięciem, ilustrując prostotę metody.
Determination of 10B in lymphoma human cells after boron carrier treatment: comparison of 10BPA and immuno-nanoparticles
Authors: Persico Marco , Chiari Patrizia , Biesuz Raffaela , Alberti Giancarla 
Published: June 2013

AbstractCurrent cancer treatments lead to insufficient distribution of therapeutic agents in tumor cells due to their lack of selectivity often causing adverse effects in the normal cell uptake of the drug. The challenge is to design therapeutic drugs able to maximize the treatment of malignant cancers while minimizing their adverse effects. In this study, 10B incorporation in the B chronic lymphocytic leukemia cell line MEC-1 was investigated. The cells were treated with l-p-10borophenylalanine (10BPA) and 10boron immuno-nanoparticles (BNPs) loaded with 10BPA with or without the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody for different contact times. The uptake of 10B by the cells was determined by the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after acid mineralization. To obtain accurate and consistent data, the analytical procedure was optimized using factorial experimental design. It was observed that BNP loaded with 10BPA and anti-CD20 represents the best carrier system for 10B in B cells for long time (>10 h) whereas 10BPA seems to be the top drug for short time (< 4 h) procedures.
British Water Policy in Mandate Palestine: Environmental Orientalism and Social Transformation
Authors: Broich John 
Published: June 2013

Abstract
During the period of the British Mandate in Palestine, British water policies combined with Zionist groups' settlement and 'development' activities to drastically change the waterscape in the region. The changing water conditions had dire consequences for rural Arabs' ability to carry on farming, support livestock, and undertake water-dependent industries. The roots of British water policy lay in part in conceptions of the so-called Arab 'race'. An instance of 'environmental Orientalism', this case offers an opportunity to examine links between racial conceptions and environmental changes that had lasting influence on landscapes and peoples.Â
Computational Semantics in Clinical Text Supplement
Authors: Pestian John P. 
Published: June 2013

As scientists, we create and disseminate knowledge. Resources from various benefactors open the doors of discovery. Likewise, we are obliged to disseminate our finding where they will have an impact. We want our thoughts and words to be heard. Yet, neither creation nor dissemination of newfound knowledge is easy. Some facts are more stubborn than others; prying them loose and describing them takes effort and discipline. In the 1980's some of challenges to dissemination were reduced when open-access journals emerged. While the hallowed peer-review process remained, these journals provided access to knowledge without financial, legal or technical constraints to the reader. They provided an innovative venue to disseminate findings by using the world wide web as the main source of distribution. 1 The impact of these journals is growing. In 2000 there were 740 open-access journals that produced 19,500 articles. In 2009, this grew to 4769 journals and 191,850 articles; this represents 20% of scholarly publications. 2 In the open access world, the journal increasingly assumes the distribution role formerly undertaken by institutional libraries, while maintaining essential editorial quality. Intuitively, the increased accessibility of open access journals ought to lead to a greater number of citations. Numerous studies have verified this. 3 Multiple studies have shown that articles published in an open access journal are referenced more frequently than those published elsewhere. 3 , 4 I acknowledge that other factors influence whether a paper is cited aside from its publication in an open access journal: it must be widely accessible through the channels that researchers employ and–-at the risk of making a trite argument–-the paper must have sufficient merit to justify being cited. All of this supports the emerging importance of Biomedical Informatics Insights as a vehicle for disseminating scientific findings. In this special issue we present a second series of conference proceedings. The first, Sentiment Analysis of Suicide Notes: A Shared Task, 5 produced over 20 manuscripts and was published soon after the conference. This issue reviews the scientific productivity of the first Computational Semantics in Clinical Text conference. This conference, chaired by Drs. Stephen Wu, Nigam Shah, and Kevin Bretonnel Cohen is described elsewhere, but it is an honor for Biomedical Informatics Insights to be the repository of the proceedings.