bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
High‐fidelity fractionation of ssDNA fragments differing in size by one‐base on a spiral‐channel electrophoretic chip
Authors: Sun Kai , Suzuki Nobuko , Li Zheyu , Araki Ryoko , Ueno Kosei , Juodkazis Saulius , Abe Masumi , Noji Sumihare , Misawa Hiroaki 
Published: December 2009

AbstractFor the fractionation of fragments of interest from selective PCR products generated by high coverage gene expression profiling (HiCEP) analysis, high‐resolution with the ability to discriminate and fractionate fragments differing by one base (base pair) in size is highly required. We report here on a new 4‐inch diameter spiral‐channel chip device for automatic high‐fidelity fractionation. Overlapping DNA fragments of 180, 181 and 182 bases, with only one‐base difference in size, were successfully fractionated. The collected fragments were PCR amplified, and then evaluated by size checking analysis, DNA sequencing, and homolog search. The high‐resolution fractionation has been achieved because of the combined contributions of (i) the high‐resolution separation using a 30 cm long spiral channel, (ii) a blocking technique to avoid contamination from unselected fragments during CE, and (iii) precise micro‐scale target extraction. Contaminations due to unselected fractions have been greatly decreased to a negligible level by optimization of the extraction position and extraction time corresponding to the targeted segment only. This technique can be adapted to a wide range of applications, such as protein or cell collections where requirements for the high purity are more important than the amount of recovered fractionated material.
Recent innovations in protein separation on microchips by electrophoretic methods: An update
Authors: Tran Nguyet Thuy , Ayed Ichraf , Pallandre Antoine , Taverna Myriam 
Published: December 2009

AbstractLab‐on‐a‐chip electrophoresis is becoming increasingly useful for protein analysis, thanks to recent developments in this field. This review is an update of the review we published at the start of 2008 [Peng, Y., Pallandre, A., Tran, N. T., Taverna, M., Electrophoresis 2008, 29, 156–177]. The superiority of polymers for the manufacture of analytical microchips has been confirmed. This trend implies several modifications to the processes previously used with glass/silicon chips and requires a better understanding of the interfacial phenomena of these materials. Significant progress in chip‐based techniques for protein analysis has been made in the last 2 years. In addition to advances in traditional electrokinetic modes, counter‐flow gradient focusing techniques have emerged as useful methods not only for separation, but also for the online preconcentration of samples. This review, with more than 175 references, presents recent advances and novel strategies for EOF measurement, surface treatment, sample pretreatment, detection and innovations relating to the different modes of separation.
Fabrication of PMMA microfluidic chips using disposable agar hydrogel templates
Authors: Yao Xiao , Chen Zhi , Chen Gang 
Published: December 2009

AbstractA novel method based on disposable agar hydrogel temples have been developed for the fabrication of PMMA microfluidic chips. Molten agar hydrogel was sandwiched between a glass plate and a PMMA template bearing negative relief of microstructure. After cooling, the negative PMMA template could be easily separated from the solidified agar hydrogel and a layer of agar hydrogel temple bearing high‐fidelity positive relief of the microstructure was left on the glass plate. Prepolymerized methyl methacrylate molding solution containing ultraviolet‐initiator was subsequently sandwiched between the agar hydrogel template and a PMMA plate and was allowed to polymerize under ultraviolet light to fabricate the PMMA channel plate at room temperature. Complete microchips could be obtained by bonding the channel plates with covers. The prepared microfluidic microchips have been successfully employed in the electrophoresis separation and detection of several ions in connection with contactless conductivity detection.
Response simulation and seismic assessment of highway overcrossings
Authors: Kotsoglou Anastasios , Pantazopoulou Stavroula 
Published: December 2009

AbstractInteraction of bridge structures with the adjacent embankment fills and pile foundations is generally responsible for response modification of the system to strong ground excitations, to a degree that depends on soil compliance, support conditions, and soil mass mobilized in dynamic response. This paper presents a general modeling and assessment procedure specifically targeted for simulation of the dynamic response of short bridges such as highway overcrossings, where the embankment soil–structure interaction is the most prevalent. From previous studies it has been shown that in this type of interaction, seismic displacement demands are magnified in the critical bridge components such as the central piers. This issue is of particular relevance not only in new design but also in the assessment of the existing infrastructure. Among a wide range of issues relevant to soil–structure interaction, typical highway overcrossings that have flexible abutments supported on earth embankments were investigated extensively in the paper. Simulation procedures are proposed for consideration of bridge‐embankment interaction effects in practical analysis of these structures for estimation of their seismic performance. Results are extrapolated after extensive parametric studies and are used to extract ready‐to‐use, general, and parameterized capacity curves for a wide range of possible material properties and geometric characteristics of the bridge‐embankment assembly. Using two instrumented highway overpasses as benchmark examples, the capacity curves estimated using the proposed practical procedures are correlated successfully with the results of explicit incremental dynamic analysis, verifying the applicability of the simple tools developed herein, in seismic assessment of existing short bridges. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Focal 9p instability in hematologic neoplasias revealed by comparative genomic hybridization and single‐nucleotide polymorphism microarray analyses
Authors: Usvasalo Anu , Ninomiya Shinsuke , Räty Riikka , Hollmén Jaakko , Saarinen‐Pihkala Ulla M. , Elonen Erkki , Knuutila Sakari 
Published: December 2009

AbstractCopy number losses in chromosome arm 9p are well‐known aberrations in malignancies, including leukemias. The CDKN2A gene is suggested to play a key role in these aberrations. In this study overviewing 9p losses in hematologic neoplasias, we introduce the term focal 9p instability to indicate multiple areas of copy number loss or homozygous loss within a larger heterozygous one in 9p. We have used microarray comparative genomic hybridization to study patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL, n = 140), acute myeloid leukemia (n = 50), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (n = 20), and myelodysplastic syndromes (n = 37). Our results show that 9p instability is restricted to ALL. In total, 58/140 (41%) patients with ALL had a loss in 9p. The 9p instability was detected in 19% of the patients with ALL and always included homozygous loss of CDKN2A along with loss of CDKN2B. Other possibly important genes included MTAP, IFN, MLLT3, JAK2, PTPLAD2, and PAX5. 13/27 (48%) patients with the instability had the BCR/ABL1 fusion gene or other oncogene‐activating translocation or structural aberrations. Two patients had homozygous loss of hsa‐mir −31, a microRNA known to regulate IKZF1. IKZF1 deletion at 7p12.1 was seen in 10 (37%) patients with the 9p instability. These findings suggest that, in ALL leukemogenesis, loss of CDKN2A and other target genes in the instability region is frequently associated with BCR/ABL1 and IKZF1 dysfunction. The multiple mechanisms leading to 9p instability including physical or epigenetic loss of the target genes, loss of the microRNA cluster, and the role of FRA9G fragile site are discussed. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Gene, region and pathway level analyses in whole‐genome studies
Authors: De la Cruz Omar , Wen Xiaoquan , Ke Baoguan , Song Minsun , Nicolae Dan L. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractIn the setting of genome‐wide association studies, we propose a method for assigning a measure of significance to pre‐defined sets of markers in the genome. The sets can be genes, conserved regions, or groups of genes such as pathways. Using the proposed methods and algorithms, evidence for association between a particular functional unit and a disease status can be obtained not just by the presence of a strong signal from a SNP within it, but also by the combination of several simultaneous weaker signals that are not strongly correlated. This approach has several advantages. First, moderately strong signals from different SNPs are combined to obtain a much stronger signal for the set, therefore increasing power. Second, in combination with methods that provide information on untyped markers, it leads to results that can be readily combined across studies and platforms that might use different SNPs. Third, the results are easy to interpret, since they refer to functional sets of markers that are likely to behave as a unit in their phenotypic effect. Finally, the availability of gene‐level P‐values for association is the first step in developing methods that integrate information from pathways and networks with genome‐wide association data, and these can lead to a better understanding of the complex traits genetic architecture. The power of the approach is investigated in simulated and real datasets. Novel Crohn's disease associations are found using the WTCCC data. Genet. Epidemiol. 34: 222–231, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Aspects of observing and claiming allele flips in association studies
Authors: Clarke Geraldine M. , Cardon Lon R. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractSignificant allele flipping, where associations for the same disease occur at opposite alleles of the same bi‐allelic locus, is increasing. But when is a significant allele flip genuine? We address the statistical issues of claiming and observing genuine allele flips in actual samples. We show that unless an allele flip is genuine, the probability of observing a significant allele flip in samples ascertained similarly from a common population is negligible. We derive expressions for the expected values of commonly used measures of association, which confirm previous findings that the underlying mechanism of a genuine allele flip is variation in the haplotype frequencies and show further how this variation interacts with variation in the genetic effects to impact allele flipping. We show that for association testing at proxy SNPs, common in genome‐wide association studies, variation in haplotype frequencies must coincide with a reversal in the sign of linkage disequilibrium (LD) to trigger genuine allele flips. Using HapMap data and r, rather than r2, to highlight previously unobserved effects, we show that unless genetic effects are large, variation in LD is unlikely to cause genuine allele flips in samples drawn from the same population. However, as populations diverge, it is an increasingly viable cause of a genuine allele flip for sufficiently large genetic effect and/or sample sizes. We conclude that evidence of variation in local patterns of LD, ancestral composition of study samples, and environmental exposures between study populations can provide compelling practical evidence in defense of a genuine allele flip. Genet. Epidemiol. 34: 266–274, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Inter‐organizational collaboration projects in the public sector: a balance between integration and demarcation
Authors: Löfström Mikael 
Published: December 2009

AbstractFor several years, the development of the Swedish public sector has been accompanied by a discussion about inter‐organizational collaboration, which has been examined in several national experiments. The experience, however, indicates significant difficulties in implementing collaboration in local authorities' regular activities. This article argues that organizing inter‐organizational collaboration in projects tends to be counterproductive, since the purpose of this collaboration is to increase the integration of local authorities. This article is based on case studies of three different collaboration projects. Each project is analyzed in relation to the way collaboration is organized within the project and how the relationship to the local authorities' activities is designed. The outcome of these studies shows that while collaboration projects increase integration between the responsible authorities, the integration stays within the projects. This is due to the fact that the projects were designed as units separate from the responsible authorities. As a result, the collaboration that occurs in the projects is not implemented in the local authorities' activities, and the viability of the increased integration of different responsible authorities does not extend beyond the projects. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prenatal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging depiction of a small sublingual ranula
Authors: Tamaru Shunsuke , Kikuchi Akihiko , Ono Kyoko , Kita Mariko , Horikoshi Tsuguhiro , Takagi Kimiyo 
Published: December 2009

AbstractPrenatal diagnosis of a congenital ranula has rarely been reported. We describe the case of a small ranula depicted on prenatal sonogram and magnetic resonance imaging, in which we could confirm the intact airway. Although the size of the ranula noted in our fetus was the smallest among the cases reported in the English literature, both of these imaging modalities clearly presented typical diagnostic features present on both ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 2010
Inpatient glucose control: a glycemic survey of 126 U.S. hospitals
Authors: Cook Curtiss B. , Kongable Gail L. , Potter Daniel Jason , Abad Victor J. , Leija Dora E. , Anderson Marcy 
Published: December 2009

AbstractBACKGROUND:Despite increased awareness of the value of treating inpatient hyperglycemia, little is known about glucose control in U.S. hospitals.METHODS:The Remote Automated Laboratory System‐Plus (RALS®‐Plus Medical Automation Systems, Charlottesville, VA) was used to extract inpatient point‐of‐care bedside glucose (POC‐BG) tests from 126 hospitals for the period January to December 2007. Patient‐day‐weighted mean POC‐BG and hypoglycemia/hyperglycemia rates were calculated for intensive care unit (ICU) and non‐ICU areas. The relationship of POC‐BG levels with hospital characteristics was determined.RESULTS:A total of 12,559,305 POC‐BG measurements were analyzed: 2,935,167 from the ICU and 9,624,138 from the non‐ICU. Patient‐day‐weighted mean POC‐BG was 165 mg/dL for ICU and 166 mg/dL for non‐ICU. Hospital hyperglycemia (>180 mg/dL) prevalence was 46.0% for ICU and 31.7% for non‐ICU. Hospital hypoglycemia (<70 mg/dL) prevalence was low at 10.1% for ICU and 3.5% for non‐ICU. For ICU and non‐ICU there was a significant relationship between number of beds and patient‐day‐weighted mean POC‐BG levels, with larger hospitals (≥400 beds) having lower patient‐day weighted mean POC‐BG per patient day than smaller hospitals (<200 beds, P < 0.001). Rural hospitals had higher POC‐BG levels compared to urban and academic hospitals (P < 0.05), and hospitals in the West had the lowest values.CONCLUSIONS:POC‐BG data captured through automated data management software can support hospital efforts to monitor the status of inpatient glycemic control. From these data, hospital hyperglycemia is common, hypoglycemia prevalence is low, and POC‐BG levels vary by hospital characteristics. Increased hospital participation in data collection and reporting may facilitate the creation of a national benchmarking process for the development of best practices and improved inpatient hyperglycemia management. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2009;4:E7–E17. © 2009 Society of Hospital Medicine.
“Why did I do this?”: Understanding leadership behavior through a dynamic five‐factor model of leadership
Authors: Seiler Stefan , Pfister Andres C. 
Published: December 2009

AbstractLeadership theories referring to complex adaptive system theory (CAS) describe leadership as a dynamic process of interdependent, cooperating agents. However, research on leadership behavior focuses mainly on the leader as an influencing, active agent. This article offers a different perspective by focusing on factors that influence leadership behavior. A dynamic five‐factor model of leadership is introduced, which identifies (1) the leader's individual competence, (2) the group, (3) the organization, (4) the context, and (5) the immediate situation as all influencing factors on leadership behavior. To address the problem of the procedural nature of leadership behavior, the dynamic five‐factor model is combined with a scenario‐based approach. The scenario approach focuses on situational developments in a given context, whereby a previous situation influences a leader's behavior in the subsequent situation. By integrating the dynamic five‐factor model into a scenario approach, one can understand a leader's behavior in its procedural nature. The practical usability of the dynamic five‐factor model and the scenario approach was assessed in a leadership development program with 81 military officers. Structured feedback from participants indicated that the model and the approach were perceived as helpful and relevant for understanding leadership behavior.
Spiritual leadership as a model for student inner development
Authors: Fry Louis W. (Jody) 
Published: December 2009

Abstract“Although American higher education can justifiably take pride in its capacity to develop the student's ability to manipulate the material world through its programs in science, medicine, technology, and commerce, it has paid relatively little attention to the student's “inner” development—the sphere of values and beliefs, emotional maturity, moral development, spirituality, and self‐understanding.”—from the Foreword to Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education by Alexander W. Astin and Helen S. Astin
Spirit Guides
Authors: Poole Eve 
Published: December 2009

Abstract“Although American higher education can justifiably take pride in its capacity to develop the student's ability to manipulate the material world through its programs in science, medicine, technology, and commerce, it has paid relatively little attention to the student's “inner” development—the sphere of values and beliefs, emotional maturity, moral development, spirituality, and self‐understanding.”—from the Foreword to Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education by Alexander W. Astin and Helen S. Astin
Suitability of a hydraulic‐conductivity model for predicting salt effects on swelling soils
Authors: Chaudhari Suresh K. , Singh Ravender , Kumar Ashwani 
Published: December 2009

AbstractMany empirical approaches have been developed to analyze changes in hydraulic conductivity due to concentration and composition of equilibrium solution. However, in swelling soils these approaches fail to perform satisfactorily, mainly due to the complex nature of clay minerals and soil–water interactions. The present study describes the changes in hydraulic conductivity of clay (Typic Haplustert) and clay‐loam (Vertic Haplustept) soils with change in electrolyte concentration (TEC) and sodium‐adsorption ratio (SAR) of equilibrium solution and assesses the suitability of a model developed by Russo and Bresler (1977) to describe the effects of mixed Na‐Ca‐Mg solutions on hydraulic conductivity. Four solutions encompassing two TEC levels viz., 5 and 50 mmolc L–1 and two SAR levels viz., 2.5 and 30 mmol1/2 L–1/2 were synthesized to equilibrate the soil samples using pure chloride salts of Ca, Mg, and Na at Ca : Mg = 2:1. Diluting 50 mmolc L–1 solution to 5 mmolc L–1 reduced saturated hydraulic conductivity of both soils by 66%, and increasing SAR from 2.5 to 30 mmol1/2 L–1/2 decreased saturated hydraulic conductivity by 82% and 79% in clay and clay‐loam soils, respectively. Near saturation, the magnitude of the change in unsaturated hydraulic conductivity due to the change in TEC and SAR was of 103‐ and 102‐fold, and at volumetric water content of 0.20 cm3 cm–3, it was of 1014‐ and 106‐fold in clay and clay‐loam soils, respectively. Differences between experimental and predicted values of saturated hydraulic conductivity ranged between 0.6% and 11% in clay and between 0.06% and 2.1% in clay‐loam soils. Difference between experimental and predicted values of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity widened with drying in both soils. Predicted values were in good agreement with the experimental values of hydraulic conductivity in clay and clay‐loam soils with R2 values of 0.98 and 0.94, respectively. The model can be satisfactorily used to describe salt effects on hydraulic conductivity of swelling soils in arid and semiarid areas, where groundwater quality is poor.
Potassium substitution by sodium in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) nutrition on K‐fixing soils
Authors: Wakeel Abdul , Steffens Diedrich , Schubert Sven 
Published: December 2009

AbstractAlluvial soils with illite and vermiculite clay minerals are highly potassium (K)‐fixing. Such soils have been reported to require a huge amount of K fertilization for optimum plant growth. For halophytic plants such as sugar beet, sodium (Na) can be an alternative to K under such conditions. This study was conducted to investigate the possible substitution of K by Na fertilization with reference to K‐fixing soils. Three soils, i.e., Kleinlinden (subsoil), Giessen (alluvial), and Trebur (alluvial), differing in K‐fixing capacities, were selected, and sugar beet plants were grown in Ahr pots with 15 kg soil pot–1. Three treatments (no K and Na, K equal to K‐fixing capacity of soil, and Na equivalent to regular K fertilization) were applied. In a second experiment, containers (90 cm × 40 cm × 40 cm) were used with 170 kg Kleinlinden soil each, and one sugar beet plant per container was grown. In both experiments, plants were grown till beet maturity, and beets were analyzed for sucrose concentration and other quality parameters such as α‐amino nitrogen to calculate white‐sugar yield with the New Brunswick formula. The results showed that growth and quality of sugar beet were not affected by Na application, and ultimately there was no decrease in white‐sugar yield. Moreover, the soils with more K‐fixing capacity were more suitable for K substitution by Na. It is concluded that Na can substitute K in sugar beet nutrition to a high degree and soils with high K‐fixing capacity have more potential for this substitution.