bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Introducing a handshake for data dissemination using rateless codes in vehicular ad hoc networks
Authors: Khiadani Nadia H. , Safavi Hemami Sayed Mostafa , Hendessi Faramarz 
Published: May 2015

AbstractData dissemination in vehicular networks is a notable problem because of the highly dynamic characteristics of these networks and the instability state of channels. Protocols that perform data dissemination based on MAC structure cannot provide reliable communication between vehicles. Protocols that use coding for data dissemination are reliable; however, they are either confronted with collision or not suitable for short time communication. In some situation, the node cooperation is low. In this paper, we extend the idea of data dissemination using rateless codes, DDRC. We introduce a proper handshake for data dissemination using rateless codes, HDDRC. This handshake is based on accelerated movement mathematical calculations. It calculates communication time duration between two members of handshake and sets a proper NAV (Network Allocation Vector). During NAV time, the channel is reserved and only handshake's members are allowed to communicate with each other. Therefore, handshake eliminates collision problem in the receiver node. Simulation results show that the protocol performance is improved by the vehicle's acceleration, which results in increasing the number of cooperating nodes. Comparing the two existing algorithms, DDRC and CORP, HDDRC causes the vehicles to receive messages in a shorter period of time and shorter traveled length of roads. Therefore, HDDRC improves the network performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comparison of heat and mass transfer of different microwave‐assisted extraction methods of essential oil from Citrus limon (Lisbon variety) peel
Authors: Golmakani Mohammad‐Taghi , Moayyedi Mahsa 
Published: May 2015

AbstractDried and fresh peels of Citrus limon were subjected to microwave‐assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD) and solvent‐free microwave extraction (SFME), respectively. A comparison was made between MAHD and SFME with the conventional hydrodistillation (HD) method in terms of extraction kinetic, chemical composition, and antioxidant activity. Higher yield results from higher extraction rates by microwaves and could be due to a synergy of two transfer phenomena: mass and heat acting in the same way. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis did not indicate any noticeable differences between the constituents of essential oils obtained by MAHD and SFME, in comparison with HD. Antioxidant analysis of the extracted essential oils indicated that microwave irradiation did not have adverse effects on the radical scavenging activity of the extracted essential oils. The results of this study suggest that MAHD and SFME can be termed as green technologies because of their less energy requirements per ml of essential oil extraction.
Good Hospitals
Authors: Kaebnick Gregory E. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractThe two articles in this issue of the Report consider different ways that hospitals' organizational failings can be masked by ethics talk. In the lead article, Ann Hamric, John Arras, and Margaret Mohrmann take a critical look at the increasingly popular view that courage is a vital part of the moral armamentarium of health care professionals. It's easy to overemphasize and distort this point, they argue. Alexandra Junewicz and Stuart Youngner have a somewhat similar take on patient satisfaction surveys, which are now in widespread use at most hospitals. Surveys are valuable, say Junewicz and Younger, but it is very easy to make too much of them and to misuse them.
What Counts as Equipoise?
Authors: Silverman Henry J. , Dreyfuss Didier 
Published: May 2015

AbstractA commentary on “SUPPORT: Risks, Harms, and Equipoise,” by Robert M. Nelson; “The Controversy over SUPPORT Continues and the Hyperbole Increases,” by Alan R. Fleischman; and “SUPPORT and the Ethics of Study Implementation,” by John D. Lantos and Chris Feudtner, all in the January‐February 2015 issue.
The Potential Harms and Benefits from Research on Medical Practices
Authors: Wilfond Benjamin S. , Magnus David C. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractA commentary on “SUPPORT and the Ethics of Study Implementation: Lessons for Comparative Effectiveness Research from the Trial of Oxygen Therapy for Premature Babies,” by John D. Lantos and Chris Feudtner, in the January‐February 2015 issue.
Discharge Decisions and the Dignity of Risk
Authors: Mukherjee Debjani 
Published: May 2015

AbstractMrs. Smith's eyes filled with tears as she said, “I feel like I've done something wrong. Are they punishing me because I've been refusing therapy and won't go to a nursing home?” She acknowledged that she hadn't always listened to her doctors but said that she knew better now and wanted to go home and see if she could make it work. Many staff members at our rehabilitation hospital had explained their safety concerns to her, and some had enlisted her adult daughter, with whom she lived, to convince her too. The rehabilitation team had called on the ethics consultation service, of which I am a part, to help figure out whether Mrs. Smith had the capacity to make an informed refusal of discharge recommendations.
“Right to Try” Laws: The Gap between Experts and Advocates
Authors: Dresser Rebecca 
Published: May 2015

AbstractThe year 2014 brought a new development in the bioethics “laboratory of the states.” Five states adopted “right to try” laws intended to promote terminally ill patients' access to investigational drugs. Many more state legislatures are now considering such laws. The campaign for right to try laws is the latest move in an ongoing effort to give seriously ill patients access to drugs whose safety and effectiveness remain largely unknown. Although scientists and policy‐makers oppose the right to try approach, it has proven quite popular among state legislators and the public.
“Aid in Dying” in the Courts
Authors: Latham Stephen R. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractThree states—Oregon, Washington, and Vermont—have used straightforwardly democratic means to legalize the practice formerly known as “physician‐assisted suicide” but now termed “aid‐in‐dying.” In two states—Montana and New Mexico—aid‐in‐dying has been declared legal neither by directly democratic action by citizens nor by representatively democratic action by the legislature but by court rulings in cases brought by aid‐in‐dying activists. The court case in New Mexico (Morris v. New Mexico, 2014) is undoubtedly of greater significance to the rest of the states. The Morris opinion is as interesting for what it declined to hold as for what it held.
Graphic Medicine in the University
Authors: Squier Susan M. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractThe spring I first offered a graphic medicine graduate seminar, I wasn't sure what to expect. Every class meeting included one hour in which the students, from fields that stress rigorous verbal and written achievement, were required to embrace the position of the amateur by learning to create comics. They experimented with putting images and words together in sequential drawn panels in order to tell a story of their own devising. Of course, they did more than draw; the other two hours of the seminar introduced them both to the medium of comics and to graphic medicine in particular.What happened surprised me. Not only did the students, none of whom were medical students, explore illness, disability, and medical treatment in their comics, but they also often articulated bioethics issues as well.
Ethics of Development Assistance for Health
Authors: Ruger Jennifer Prah 
Published: May 2015

AbstractIn the past three decades, levels of and contributors to global health aid have increased at an unprecedented pace. Development assistance for health—financial contributions from public and private institutions to low‐ and middle‐income countries to help improve health and health systems—nearly quintupled from 1990 to 2012 (from $5.7 billion to $28.1 billion). DAH is now provided by more than one hundred seventy major global health agencies and organizations, 15 percent of which are private entities (such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), other not‐for‐profit organizations, and public‐private partnerships. Governments are still the largest source for DAH. While increased DAH is essential and welcome, these system developments raise numerous ethical questions. Are the resources sustainable, and do expenditures target correct priorities? Who should decide, and how should these decisions be made?.
Practitioner Courage and Ethical Health Care Environments
Authors: Oakley Justin 
Published: May 2015

AbstractIn this issue of the Hastings Center Report, Ann Hamric, John Arras, and Margaret Mohrmann highlight how contemporary accounts of the virtue of courage in health care often gloss over deeper problems in the underlying health care systems themselves. They express particular concerns about the appropriateness and personal costs of exhortations to health professionals to take courageous action in circumstances where this is “required only because of unethical institutional structures” (p. 39). They offer valuable points that are not adequately recognized in discussions of courage as a professional virtue in health care practice. The call for more judicious appeals to health professionals to exercise courage in health care practice should clearly be heeded. A sole reliance on practitioner courage for exposing unethical workplace practices would be misguided. Nevertheless, there is still a legitimate place for encouraging health professionals to develop and act on courage.
Observational uncertainties in hypothesis testing: investigating the hydrological functioning of a tropical catchment
Authors: Westerberg Ida K. , Birkel Christian 
Published: May 2015

AbstractHypothesis testing about catchment functioning with conceptual hydrological models is affected by uncertainties in the model representation of reality as well as in the observed data used to drive and evaluate the model. We formulated a learning framework to investigate the role of observational uncertainties in hypothesis testing using conceptual models and applied it to the relatively data‐scarce tropical Sarapiqui catchment in Costa Rica. Observational uncertainties were accounted for throughout the framework that incorporated different choices of model structures to test process hypotheses, analyses of parametric uncertainties and effects of likelihood choice, a posterior performance analysis and (iteratively) formulation of new hypotheses. Estimated uncertainties in precipitation and discharge were linked to likely non‐linear near‐surface runoff generation and the potentially important role of soils in mediating the hydrological response. Some model‐structural inadequacies could be identified in the posterior analyses (supporting the need for an explicit soil‐moisture routine to match streamflow dynamics), but the available information about the observational uncertainties prevented conclusions about other process representations. The importance of epistemic data errors, the difficulty in quantifying them and their effect on model simulations was illustrated by an inconsistent event with long‐term effects. Finally we discuss the need for new data, new process hypotheses related to deep groundwater losses, and conclude that observational uncertainties need to be accounted for in hypothesis testing to reduce the risk of drawing incorrect conclusions. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Maternal exposure to hexachlorophene targets intermediate‐stage progenitor cells in the hippocampal neurogenesis involving myelin vacuolation of cholinergic and glutamatergic inputs in mice
Authors: Kato Mizuho , Abe Hajime , Itahashi Megu , Kikuchihara Yoh , Kimura Masayuki , Mizukami Sayaka , Yoshida Toshinori , Shibutani Makoto 
Published: May 2015

AbstractHexachlorophene (HCP) has been shown to induce myelin vacuolation due to intramyelinic edema of the nerve fibers in animal neural tissue. We investigated the maternal exposure effect of HCP on hippocampal neurogenesis in the offspring of pregnant mice supplemented with 0 (control), 33 or 100 ppm HCP in diet from gestational day 6 to day 21 after delivery. On postnatal day (PND) 21, offspring as examined in males exhibited decreased granule cell lineage populations expressing paired box 6, sex‐determining region Y‐box 2 and eomesodermin in the hippocampal subgranular zone (SGZ) accompanied by myelin vacuolation involving white matter tracts of the hippocampal fimbria at ≥ 33 ppm. However, SGZ cellular populations expressing brain lipid binding protein and doublecortin were unchanged at any dose. Transcript expression of cholinergic receptor genes, Chrna4 and Chrnb2, and glutamate receptor genes, Grm1 and Grin2d, examined at 100 ppm, decreased in the dentate gyrus. HCP exposure did not alter the number of proliferating or apoptotic cells in the SGZ, or reelin‐ or calcium‐binding protein‐expressing γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic interneurons in the dentate hilus, on PND 21 and PND 77. All neurogenesis‐related changes observed in HCP‐exposed offspring on PND 21 disappeared on PND 77, suggesting that maternal HCP exposure at ≥ 33 ppm reversibly decreased type 2 intermediate‐stage progenitor cells in the hippocampal neurogenesis. Myelin vacuolation might be responsible for changes in neurogenesis possibly by reducing nerve conduction velocity of cholinergic inputs from the septal–hippocampal pathway to granule cell lineages and/or GABAergic interneurons, and of glutamatergic inputs to granule cell lineages. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Physical protection of soil carbon in macroaggregates does not reduce the temperature dependence of soil CO2 emissions
Authors: Chevallier Tiphaine , Hmaidi Kaouther , Kouakoua Ernest , Bernoux Martial , Gallali Tahar , Toucet Joële , Jolivet Claudy , Deleporte Philippe , Barthès Bernard G. 
Published: May 2015

AbstractIn a warmer world, soil CO2 emissions are likely to increase. There is still much discussion about which soil organic C (SOC) pools are more sensitive to increasing temperatures. While the temperature sensitivity of C stabilized by biochemical recalcitrance or by sorption to mineral surfaces has been characterized, few studies have been carried out on the temperature sensitivity—expressed as Q10—of C physically protected inside soil macroaggregates (0.2–2 mm). It has been suggested that increasing the availability of labile SOC by exposing C through macroaggregate crushing would decrease Q10, i.e., the temperature dependence of soil CO2 emissions. To test this hypothesis, the temperature dependence of CO2 emissions from C physically protected in macroaggregates was measured through 21‐d laboratory incubations of crushed and uncrushed soils, at 18°C and 28°C. 199 topsoil samples, acidic or calcareous, with SOC ranging from 2 to 121 g kg−1 soil were investigated. The CO2 emissions were slightly more sensible to temperature than to C deprotection: about 0.3 mg C g−1 soil (= 13 mg C g−1 SOC) and 0.2 mg C g−1 (= 12 mg C g−1 SOC) were additionally mineralized, in average, by increasing the temperature or by disrupting the soil structure, respectively. The mean Q10 index ratio of CO2 emitted at 28°C and 18°C was similar for crushed and uncrushed soil samples and equaled 1.6. This was partly explained because Q10 of macro‐aggregate‐protected C was 1. The results did not support the initial hypothesis of lower temperature dependence of soil CO2 emissions after macroaggregate disruption, although a slight decrease of Q10 was noticeable after crushing for soils with high amounts of macroaggregate‐protected C. Field research is now needed to confirm that soil tillage might have no effect on the temperature sensitivity of SOC stocks.
Fire‐Free Fallow Management by Mechanized Chopping of Biomass for Sustainable Agriculture in Eastern Amazon: Effects on Soil Compactness, Porosity, and Water Retention and Availability
Authors: Reichert José Miguel , Rodrigues Miriam Fernanda , Bervald Clóvis Moisés Priebe , Kato Osvaldo Ryohei 
Published: May 2015

AbstractMany Amazon soils are naturally fragile and develop under intense rainfall and high temperature climate. Soil structural quality is improvable through vegetation management systems providing abundant soil mulch and little soil disturbance. We tested the effect of the chopping‐and‐mulching systems of secondary forest‐vegetation on selected soil physical properties of a sandy Oxisol, located in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. The treatments consisted of two fallow forest‐vegetation, namely, chop‐and‐mulch of secondary vegetation with a dual vertical‐rotor chopper (VC) and with a horizontal‐rotor chopper (HC) and a control composed of standing secondary forest‐vegetation (SF). Six months after vegetation chopping, we evaluated soil bulk density (BD), degree‐of‐compactness (DC), pore‐size distribution and soil hydraulic properties. Compared with SF, the VC and HC systems did not affect soil BD in surface layer (0·00–0·05 m) but increased BD in subsurface layers. DC in surface layer are below the range of the optimum values for most crops (77%–88%), while for other layers DC was within this optimum range. High macroporosity and sandy granulometry were responsible for high drainable water from soil saturation until field capacity, down to 0·20 m depth in all systems. Pore‐size distribution was influenced by vegetation chopping with increase in smaller pores. These pores represent a small percentage of total porosity and contribute more to water retention and availability. Chopping by VC and HC mechanisms was effective in maintaining soil physical quality, characterized by lower soil bulk density, higher porosity and water retention, build up during growth of secondary vegetation in fallow period between cash crops. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Click Functionalization of Aromatic Polymers for Organic Electronic Device Applications
Authors: Michinobu Tsuyoshi 
Published: May 2015

The [2 + 2] cycloaddition–retroelectrocyclization between electron‐rich alkynes and tetracyanoethylene (TCNE)/7,7,8,8‐tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ), yielding the tetracyanated donor–acceptor (D–A) chromophores, is a new class of click chemistry reactions, due to the high efficiencies, no byproducts, and applicability to polymer syntheses. As compared to the conventional click reactions represented by the Cu(I)‐catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), these new click reactions provide fascinating optoelectronic properties originating from the D–A chromophore structures formed. A series of π‐conjugated aromatic polymers containing electron‐rich alkynes were successfully functionalized by these click reactions, producing novel organic or organometallic materials featuring conducting and photovoltaic properties in thin film electronic devices. This review article describes the recent results of the author's research group. The power of click chemistry is highlighted by the polymer synthesis using CuAAC. This is followed by the alkyne–TCNE/TCNQ postfunctionalization to produce high‐performance aromatic polymers for use as active components in organic electronic devices, such as thin film transistors, organic solar cells and polymer memory devices.
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α‐Tocopherol long‐chain metabolite α‐13’‐COOH affects the inflammatory response of lipopolysaccharide‐activated murine RAW264.7 macrophages
Authors: Wallert Maria , Schmölz Lisa , Koeberle Andreas , Krauth Verena , Glei Michael , Galli Francesco , Werz Oliver , Birringer Marc , Lorkowski Stefan 
Published: May 2015

ScopeInflammatory response of macrophages is regulated by vitamin E forms. The long‐chain metabolite α‐13′‐carboxychromanol (α‐13′‐COOH) is formed by hepatic α‐tocopherol (α‐TOH) catabolism and acts as a regulatory metabolite via pathways that are different from its metabolic precursor.Methods and resultsUsing semisynthetically‐derived α‐13′‐COOH we profiled its action on LPS‐induced expression of pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory genes using RT‐qPCR and of key proteins by Western blotting. Effects on inflammatory response were assessed by measuring production of nitric oxide and prostaglandin (PG) E2, PGD2, and PGF2α. α‐13′‐COOH inhibits proinflammatory pathways in LPS‐stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages more efficiently than α‐TOH. Profiling inflammation‐related genes showed significant blocking of interleukin (Il)1β by the metabolite and its precursor as well, while upregulation of Il6 was not impaired. However, induction of Il10, cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNos) by LPS and consequently the formation of nitric oxide and PG was significantly reduced by α‐13′‐COOH. Interestingly, α‐13′‐COOH acted independently from translocation of NFκB subunit p65.ConclusionOur study sheds new light on the mode of action of α‐TOH on the inflammatory response in macrophages, which may be mediated in vivo at least in part by its metabolite α‐13′‐COOH. Our data show that α‐13′‐COOH is a potent anti‐inflammatory molecule.
Protocatechuic acid activates key components of insulin signaling pathway mimicking insulin activity
Authors: Scazzocchio Beatrice , Varì Rosaria , Filesi Carmelina , Del Gaudio Ilaria , D'Archivio Massimo , Santangelo Carmela , Iacovelli Annunziata , Galvano Fabio , Pluchinotta Francesca Romana , Giovannini Claudio , Masella Roberta 
Published: May 2015

ScopeInsulin resistance represents an independent risk factor for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Researchers have been interested in identifying active harmless compounds, as many insulin‐sensitizing drugs have shown unwanted side‐effects. It has been demonstrated that anthocyanins and one of their representative metabolites, protocatechuic acid (PCA), ameliorate hyperglycemia, and insulin sensitivity. This study investigated the mechanism of action of PCA responsible for the glucose uptake upregulation.Methods and resultsIn human visceral adipocytes, PCA stimulated insulin receptor substrate‐1 (IRS‐1) tyrosine phosphorylation (+40% with respect to untreated cells) and the downstream events, i.e. phosphoinositide 3‐kinase binding to IRS‐1 and Akt phosphorylation (+100%, +180%, respectively, with respect to untreated cells). The insulin‐like activity of PCA seemed to be mediated by insulin receptor since by inhibiting its autophosphorylation, the PCA effects were completely abolished. Furthermore, PCA was able to activate adenosine monophosphate–activated protein kinase, a serine/threonine kinase whose activation elicits insulin‐sensitizing effects.ConclusionThis study showed that PCA stimulates the insulin signaling pathway in human adipocytes increasing GLUT4 translocation and glucose uptake. Decreasing insulin resistance is a most desirable aim to be reached for an effective therapeutic/preventive action against metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Identifying specific food/food components able to improve glucose metabolism can offer an attractive, novel, and economical strategy.