bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Spray drying as a strategy for biosurfactant recovery, concentration and storage
Authors: Barcelos Gisely S , Dias Lívia C , Fernandes Péricles L , Fernandes Rita de Cássi R , Borges Arnaldo C , Kalks Karlos HM , Tótola Marcos R 
Published: January 2014

Abstract
The objective of this study was to analyze the use of Spray Drying for concentration and preservation of biosurfactants produced by Bacillus subtilis LBBMA RI4914 isolated from a heavy oil reservoir. Kaolinite and maltodextrin 10DE or 20DE were tested as drying adjuvants. Surface activity of the biosurfactant was analyzed by preparing dilution x surface activity curves of crude biosurfactant, crude biosurfactant plus adjuvants and of the dried products, after their reconstitution in water. The shelf life of the dried products was also evaluated. Spray drying was effective in the recovery and concentration of biosurfactant, while keeping its surface activity. Drying adjuvants were required to obtain a solid product with the desired characteristics. These compounds did not interfere with tensoactive properties of the biosurfactant molecules. The dehydrated product maintained its surfactant properties during storage at room temperature during the evaluation period (120 days), with no detectable loss of activity.
Reduced levels of CCL2 and CXCL10 in systemic lupus erythematosus patients under treatment with prednisone, mycophenolate mofetil, or hydroxychloroquine, except in a high STAT1 subset
Authors: Dominguez-Gutierrez Paul R , Ceribelli Angela , Satoh Minoru , Sobel Eric S , Reeves Westley H , Chan Edward KL 
Published: January 2014

Abstract
Introduction
Our recent data showed that signal transducers and activators of transcription 1 (STAT1), adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR), C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2), and C-X-C motif chemokine 10 (CXCL10) were significantly elevated in a systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) cohort compared to healthy donors. High and low STAT1 subsets were identified in SLE patient visits. The present study analyzed the correlation of common treatments used in SLE with the levels of these biomarkers.

Methods
Peripheral blood leukocytes were collected from 65 healthy donors and 103 SLE patients, of whom 60 had samples from two or more visits. Total RNA was isolated and analyzed for the expression of mRNA and microRNA using Taqman real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. Relative expression of interferon signature genes, CCL2, and CXCL10 were determined by the ΔΔCT method. Results were correlated with therapy using prednisone, mycophenolate mofetil, and hydroxychloroquine and analyzed by Wilcoxon/Kruskal-Wallis test and Fisher’s exact test.

Results
CCL2 and CXCL10 were significantly higher in untreated patients compared to treated patients, however, in high STAT1 patient visits there is no significant difference between treated and untreated patients’ visits. When comparing linear regression fits of interferon (IFN) score with CCL2 and CXCL10, untreated patients and high STAT1 patients displayed significantly higher slopes compared to treated patients. There was no significant difference between the slopes of high STAT1 and untreated patients indicating that CCL2 and CXCL10 were correlated with type-I IFN in high STAT1 patients similar to that in untreated patients. CCL2 and CXCL10 levels in the high STAT1 subset remained high in treated patient visits compared to those of the low STAT1 subset.

Conclusions
Among the biomarkers analyzed, only CCL2 and CXCL10 showed significantly reduced levels in treated compared to untreated SLE patients. STAT1, CCL2, and CXCL10 are potentially useful indicators of therapeutic action in SLE patients. Further work is needed to determine whether high STAT1 levels convey resistance to therapies commonly used to treat SLE and whether STAT1 inhibitors may have therapeutic implication for these patients.
Equine bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells are heterogeneous in MHC class II expression and capable of inciting an immune response in vitro
Authors: Schnabel Lauren V , Pezzanite Lynn M , Antczak Douglas F , Felippe M Julia Bevilaqua , Fortier Lisa A 
Published: January 2014

Abstract
Introduction
The horse is a valuable species to assess the effect of allogeneic mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in regenerative treatments. No studies to date have examined recipient response to major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-mismatched equine MSCs. The purposes of this study were to immunophenotype MSCs from horses of known MHC haplotype and to compare the immunogenicity of MSCs with differing MHC class II expression.

Methods
MSCs and peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) were obtained from Thoroughbred horses (n = 10) of known MHC haplotype (ELA-A2, -A3, and -A9 homozygotes). MSCs were cultured through P8; cells from each passage (P2 to P8) were cryopreserved until used. Immunophenotyping of MHC class I and II, CD44, CD29, CD90, LFA-1, and CD45RB was performed by using flow cytometry. Tri-lineage differentiation assays were performed to confirm MSC multipotency. Recombinant equine IFN-γ was used to stimulate MHC class II negative MSCs in culture, after which expression of MHC class II was re-examined. To assess the ability of MHC class II negative or positive MSCs to stimulate an immune response, modified one-way mixed leukocyte reactions (MLRs) were performed by using MHC-matched and mismatched responder PBLs and stimulator PBLs or MSCs. Proliferation of gated CFSE-labeled CD3+ responder T cells was evaluated via CFSE attenuation by using flow cytometry and reported as the number of cells in the proliferating T-cell gate.

Results
MSCs varied widely in MHC class II expression despite being homogenous in terms of “stemness” marker expression and ability to undergo trilineage differentiation. Stimulation of MHC class II negative MSCs with IFN-γ resulted in markedly increased expression of MHC class II. MLR results revealed that MHC-mismatched MHC class II-positive MSCs caused significantly increased responder T-cell proliferation compared with MHC-mismatched MHC class II-negative and MHC-matched MSCs, and equivalent to that of the positive control of MHC-mismatched leukocytes.

Conclusions
The results of this study suggest that MSCs should be confirmed as MHC class II negative before allogeneic application. Additionally, it must be considered that even MHC class II-negative MSCs could upregulate MHC class II expression if implanted into an area of active inflammation, as demonstrated with in vitro stimulation with IFN-γ.
Human ethmoid sinus mucosa: a promising novel tissue source of mesenchymal progenitor cells
Authors: Cho Kyu-Sup , Park Hee-Young , Roh Hwan-Jung , Bravo Dawn T , Hwang Peter H , Nayak Jayakar V 
Published: January 2014

Abstract
Introduction
The identification of new progenitor cell sources is important for cell-based tissue engineering strategies, understanding regional tissue regeneration, and modulating local microenvironments and immune response. However, there are no reports that describe the identification and isolation of mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPCs) from paranasal sinus mucosa, and compare the properties of MPCs between tissue sources within the sinonasal cavity. We report here the identification of MPCs in the maxillary sinus (MS) and ethmoid sinus (ES). Furthermore, we contrast these MPCs in the same individuals with MPCs from two additional head and neck tissue sources of the inferior turbinate (IT) and tonsil (T).

Methods
These four MPC sources were exhaustively compared for morphology, colony-forming potential, proliferation capability, immunophenotype, multilineage differentiation potential, and ability to produce soluble factors.

Results
MS-, ES, IT-, and T-MPCs showed similar morphologies and surface phenotypes, as well as adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation capacity by immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR for defined lineage-specific genes. However, we noted that the colony-forming potential and proliferation capability of ES-MPCs were distinctly higher than other MPCs. All MPCs constitutively, or upon stimulation, secrete large amounts of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IFN-γ, and TGF-β. After stimulation with TNF-α and IFN-γ, ES-MPCs notably demonstrated significantly higher secretion of IL-6 and IL-10 than other MPCs.

Conclusions
ES-MPCs may be a uniquely promising source of MPCs due to their high proliferation ability and superior capacity toward secretion of immunomodulatory cytokines.
Anion-conducting Pore-filling Membranes with Optimization of Transport Number and Resistance for Reverse Electrodialysis
Authors: Lee Seoyoon , Shin Mun-Sik , Park Jin-Soo 
Published: January 2014

Abstract
Pore-filling membranes filled with quaternized poly(styrene-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) were prepared with the degree of crosslinking (DC) for reverse electrodialysis (RED). It was shown in power density performance that the pore-filling membranes with low DC had lower open circuit voltage (Voc) and resistance, but those with high DC had higher Voc and resistance than the commercial AMX membrane. Thus, the compromise between their transport number and resistance is necessary for the application of pore-filling membranes in RED.
Forms and directions of pedagogical support
Authors: Сильченкова  , Silchenkova Svetlana 
Published: January 2014

Considered the earliest forms of modern concepts of «educational support»:
assistance provided to children, patronage, mentoring. The definitions of pedagogical
support from the standpoint of system activity and system-structural approaches, these
definitions are analyzed. The basic direction of educational support: psychologicaleducational,
social-pedagogical, and valeologo-pedagogical. As a result, isolated and
revealed a new direction pedagogical support — «information-educational support»,
identified its main stages: diagnosis, methodical, transformative, reflective.
Scientific and methodological potential of textbooks on the history and philosophy of science: the experience of teaching in Siberian State Technological University
Authors: Махонина  , Makhonina V. , Черняева  , Chernyaeva Aleksandra , Викторук  , Viktoruk Elena , Яровенко  , Yarovenko S. 
Published: January 2014

The article is devoted to the lessons learned from the use of textbooks, edited
by professor S.A. Lebedev in teaching «History and Philosophy of Science» postgraduate
students of Department of Philosophy of the Siberian State Technological
University. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the structure and system of
category of textbooks for universities «History and Philosophy of Science» (2007) and
«Philosophy of science: a dictionary of key terms» (2006).
Antimold Effect of Ultrasonic Treatment on Chinese Moso Bamboo
Authors: Guan Mingjie , Zhou Mingming , Yong Cheng 
Published: January 2014

Abstract
This study examined the antimold effect of ultrasonic treatment on Moso bamboo. Six different ultrasonic processes were conducted, and mold development was observed after 4-week high-humidity conditioning. The results showed that the mold rate of bamboo decreased after ultrasonic treatment, which was inversely proportional to the power and duration of treatment time. Scanning electron microscopic analysis revealed that the starch granules largely disappeared after ultrasonic treatment, which likely occurred because the ultrasonic wave broke or gelatinized the starch and widened the pits of the cell wall so that the starch could easily flow out resulting in slightly reduced mold growth.
Vermont Stumpage Price Trends Revisited: With Comparisons to New Hampshire
Authors: Sendak Paul E. , McEvoy Thom J. 
Published: January 2014

Abstract
Our objective was to describe the trends of Vermont stumpage prices for major sawtimber species and products over the approximately last quarter century and propose a likely explanation of changes that we observed. Annual percentage rates of change (APR) were estimated for 10 forest products in Vermont from the third quarter of 1981 (1981Q3) to the first quarter of 2007 (2007Q1) when the price series was discontinued. In addition, we tested for changes in the percentage rate within the period. We found differences in the trend of APR between hardwood sawtimber and softwood sawtimber. With one exception, price trends differed significantly between 1981Q3 to 1992Q2 and 1992Q3 to 2007Q1 for inflation-adjusted (real) hardwood sawtimber prices. There were no differences in price trends for any of the softwood sawtimber species between the two periods. Real price trends for pulpwood and firewood were similar to those for hardwood sawtimber. We also examined stumpage price trends for selected species in adjacent New Hampshire from 1985Q1 to 2011Q1. Stumpage price trends for like species and proximate time periods in Vermont and New Hampshire were similar, but no statistical tests were done. The direction of trend (positive or negative) was the same for sugar maple, red oak, yellow birch, and white pine, and the magnitude of APR was similar for sugar maple, yellow birch, and white pine.
Water Pipe Smoking: Effects, Attitudes and Directions
Authors: Watad Waseem , Sukhera Javeed , Shushan Sagit , Kazlak Mazen , Skinner Harvey A. , Alnueirat Arafat A. , Roth Yehudah 
Published: January 2014

AbstractWater pipe (WP) smoking is prevalent in several countries and is emerging as a major international public health issue. This article reviews the literature on WP smoking practices and its health effects. Water pipe smoking in the Middle East is more common in women compared to cigarette smoking. WP smoking has harmful effects similar to cigarette smoking, and the nicotine and tar content of WP smoke is higher than that of cigarettes. Still, many users believe that WP is less harmful than cigarettes and are unaware of the damage that WP can cause to their health. There is limited literature on WP smoking, highlighting the need for research in several areas including: epidemiology of WP smoking, sociological dimensions and tobacco control. The unique social and traditional role of WP smoking renders forgiving, culture-sensitive and patient approach.
A Process Evaluation of E-Mail Counselling for Smoking Cessation in College Students: Feasibility, Acceptability and Cost
Authors: Abroms Lorien C. , Gill Jennifer , Windsor Richard , Simons-Morton Bruce 
Published: January 2014

AbstractBackground: Few smoking cessation interventions have made extensive use of e-mail. Objective: This study set out to document how the e-mail component of an e-mail-based smoking cessation program was received by college smokers. Methods: Participants were randomised after enrolment to receive either a moderately intensive, e-mail-based intervention — the X-Pack Group — or a less intensive program based on a widely available smoking cessation guidebook. Participants were assessed at baseline and 3 months post-enrolment. This analysis is limited to those in the X-Pack Group (n = 48). Results: Twelve e-mails on average were sent out to each participant over the course of 6 months. Ninety-one per cent of participants reported reading all or most of the e-mails and 73% replied to at least one of the e-mails they received. On average, participants were positive about the e-mails received and most reported that they had liked the e-mails because of the social support and encouragement provided. The average time for counsellors to write and send each e-mail from the templates was 12 minutes, with a range from 2 to 60 minutes. Conclusions: These findings offer evidence of feasibility of an e-mail-based smoking cessation intervention in a college population.
Effects of Feedback on Spirometry in Primary Care on Motivation for Smoking Cessation
Authors: Walters Julia A. , Johns David P. , Blizzard Leigh , Walters E. Haydn , Wood-Baker Richard 
Published: January 2014

AbstractWe evaluated the effect of feedback after opportunistic spirometry in general practice on motivation for smoking cessation using stage change in the transtheoretical model. A total of 328 smokers aged over 35 years were given immediate feedback on the presence or absence of lung damage due to smoking, plus brief standard cessation advice. At 3 months, 99 (30.2%) smokers reported making an attempt to quit and 17 (5.2%) smokers reported moving into action stage for cessation. Of 297 (80.5%) successfully followed up, 81 (27.3%) smokers demonstrated forward shift and 35 (11.8%) smokers demonstrated backward shift. Feedback on the presence of lung damage was not significantly associated with reporting a quit attempt (p = .31) or moving into action stage for cessation (p = .30). Odds of forward or backward shift were not independently associated with either feedback on the presence of lung damage or normal lung function. Odds of backward shift with feedback on lung damage depended on participants' assessments of quit benefits, which were correlated with their prior self-assessment of lung damage. Our findings suggest that feedback to smokers after spirometry about the absence of lung damage is not harmful. However, eliciting personal health attitudes is also important so cessation advice can be tailored especially for smokers who believe they already have lung damage from smoking.
Audience perception of the reality in the representations of women in Nigerian films
Authors: Azeez Adesina Lukuman 
Published: January 2014

Abstract
This study examines the reactions of audiences to the representation of women in Nigerian films by investigating how audience, particularly female viewers, perceive and read the representations. The study suggests that the portrayals of women in Nigerian films are a representation of the dominant ideas about women, which are created and valued by the discursive practices and cultural system of Nigerian society. Since these discursive practices or dominant ideas about women are ideologically biased, the representations of women that are mainly drawn from them represented only a fraction of the reality of women’s lives. There is a marked difference in the ways women with high education and those with little or no education perceive Nigerian films and their representations of women. This difference is related to the way each group of women understands, reads, interprets and identifies/dis-identifies with the meanings of the images in the films. The study recommends that there is a need to challenge and change the pattern of the representations of women in Nigerian films.
‘You Kiss in Westerns’: Cultural translation in Moustapha Alassane’s Le retour d’un aventurier
Authors: Saint Lily 
Published: January 2014

Abstract
Le retour d’un aventurier/The Return of an Adventurer, a 1966 short film by Nigerien director Moustapha Alassane, stands at the forefront of a long history of fascination with cowboys in African film-making (Alassane, 1966a). This article revisits Le retour via recent theoretical considerations of cultural assimilation and translation, to argue that instances of cultural appropriation from non-African sources should not be dismissed under the rubric of cultural imperialism. Instead they should be thought of as functioning within specific local, national and global economies of cultural production. By focusing on the production of film in an African space rather than on its consumption, I explore the agential nature of cultural appropriation. Such theoretical reorientation remains necessary in African studies where questions of authenticity and origin, as well as political intention, persist despite abundant evidence testifying to the heterogeneity of African cinema’s central motifs and preoccupations.
Effects of the Characteristics of High Range Water Reducing Agents and the Water to Powder Ratio on Rheological and Setting Behavior of Self-Consolidating Concrete
Authors: Schmidt Wolfram , Brouwers H. J. H. , Kuehne Hans-Carsten , Meng Birgit 
Published: January 2014

Abstract
To design robust self-consolidating concrete (SCC) for various environmental conditions, it is essential to understand the relevant mechanisms that control the flow performance. This paper depicts how high range water reducing agents (HRWRAs) interact with clinker and hydration phases, and it discusses the important role of the charge density of polycarboxylic HRWRAs in the way the rheology is affected. Based on the rheometric investigations on SCC mixture compositions with different water to powder ratios (w/p) and observations of their pastes' Vicat setting times, the study shows that increasing charge densities of the HRWRA and decreasing w/p reduce the flow retention and have lesser retarding effect on the setting. Based on the test results and discussions optimization procedures for the mixture composition and the HRWRA modification are suggested to achieve optimized performance for varying environmental situations and highest robustness for specific conditions.
Fracture Toughness Determined by the Centrally Cracked Brazilian-Disc Test: Some Critical Issues in the Light of an Alternative Analytic Solution
Authors: Kourkoulis S. K. , Markides C. F. 
Published: January 2014

Abstract
The centrally cracked Brazilian-disc test is among the configurations proposed for the experimental determination of fracture toughness of brittle rock-like materials. In spite of its wide use and the fact that the test is already standardized by the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM), quite a few issues are still open related especially to the exact expressions of the respective stress intensity factors (SIFs) and the actual shape of the crack during loading. The latter is crucial since for specific crack inclinations, the crack lips are coming in contact and contact stresses appear which alter the boundary conditions, rendering analytic solutions erroneous. In this context, an alternative analytic approach is here introduced assuming that the cracked disc is under uniform pressure along two finite symmetric arcs of its periphery. The main advantage of the present approach is that it provides physically acceptable results independently of whether the crack is under opening- or closing-mode. The results of the analysis are validated against experimental data obtained using the method of Caustics and the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique. Based on the analytic solution, some critical practical aspects of the cracked Brazilian-disc test are explored including the influence of the loading type and the length of the loaded arc, the role of the specimen's thickness, the range of crack inclination angles for which generation of contact stress is unavoidable, and the rotation of the crack axis. Moreover, a redefinition of the SIFs in case of Mixed Fundamental problems is proposed. The limitations of the analysis are critically considered and finally some thoughts about the future steps concerning the fracture toughness determination using the cracked Brazilian-disc test are discussed.