bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of Calcination Temperature and Pretreatment with Reaction Gas on Properties of Co/γ‐Al2O3 Catalysts for Partial Oxidation of Methane
Authors: Zhang Nuo‐Wei , Huang Chuan‐Jing , Zhu Xiao‐Quan , Xu Jing‐Dong , Weng Wei‐Zheng , Wan Hui‐Lin 
Published: May 2012

AbstractThe effects of calcination temperature and feedstock pretreatment on the catalytic performance of Co/γ‐Al2O3 catalysts were studied for partial oxidation of methane (POM) to synthesis gas, with emphasis on the role of feedstock pretreatment. The physicochemical properties of the catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), H2 temperature‐programmed reduction (H2‐TPR), and Raman spectroscopy. The results showed that the pretreatment of the catalyst by reaction gas significantly improved the catalytic activity and stability for the POM reaction. On the other hand, the effect of calcination temperature was less significant. Although the initial activity was increased by an increased calcination temperature, the catalyst without the feedstock pretreatment suffered a rapid deactivation. The reaction‐atmosphere pretreatment was revealed as a process that mainly modified the surface structure of the catalyst. In that process, the formation of a CoAl2O4‐like compound led to high Co metal dispersion after reduction, and the transformation of the carrier into α‐Al2O3 occurred over the catalyst surface. Both the high dispersion of cobalt and the presence of α‐Al2O3 surface phase were assumed as the important factors resulting in an excellent catalytic performance in terms of high activity and high stability.
Which Corporate Sustainability Activities are Associated with Greater Financial Payoffs?
Authors: Kurapatskie Brent , Darnall Nicole 
Published: May 2012

ABSTRACTWhile many company managers and academic researchers have argued that businesses that develop a sustainability focus also may improve their financial performance, little information is known about whether firms' different types of sustainability activities are related to varying degrees of financial gain. This paper assesses the economic relationship between two types of sustainability activities – lower‐ and higher‐order – derived from the sustainability value framework of Hart and Milstein (2003). Our analysis reveals that both types of sustainability activities are similarly associated with firms' financial performance in terms of direction and trend. However, the average level of financial benefits related to firms' higher‐order sustainability activities (which develop new products and processes) is greater than the average level of financial benefits related to firms' lower‐order sustainability activities (which modify existing products and processes). These findings offer initial evidence that companies that reach further by developing higher‐order sustainability activities may reap greater financial benefits, while improving the natural environment to a greater degree. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Synthesis of an Enlarged Library of Dynamic DNA Activators with Oxime, Disulfide and Hydrazone Bridges
Authors: Montenegro Javier , Bang Eun‐Kyoung , Sakai Naomi , Matile Stefan 
Published: May 2012

AbstractDynamic amphiphiles have a “bridge” between their charged head and their hydrophobic tails. The presence of dynamic covalent bonds is of interest for differential and biosensing applications as well as for rapid access to the libraries needed to screen for gene delivery or cellular uptake of siRNA. However, efforts to develop libraries have so far concentrated on hydrazone bridges to monocationic heads. Here, we report synthesis efforts to enlarge this focused library with oxime and disulfide bridges and dynamic amphiphiles with more than one positive charge. Evaluation in fluorogenic vesicles reveals best activation of DNA as ion transporters by dynamic amphiphiles with dendritic scaffolds, doubly charged heads and four tails. Moreover, oximes, contrary to hydrazones, remain active under acidic conditions. Linear elongation of dendritic head‐groups seems to cause increasing detergent effects and should therefore be avoided.
A truncating mutation of Alms1 reduces the number of hypothalamic neuronal cilia in obese mice
Authors: Heydet Déborah , Chen Lesley X. , Larter Claire Z. , Inglis Chrystal , Silverman Michael A. , Farrell Geoffrey C. , Leroux Michel R. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractPrimary cilia are ubiquitous cellular antennae whose dysfunction collectively causes various disorders, including vision and hearing impairment, as well as renal, skeletal, and central nervous system anomalies. One ciliopathy, Alström syndrome, is closely related to Bardet–Biedl syndrome (BBS), sharing amongst other phenotypic features morbid obesity. As the cellular and molecular links between weight regulation and cilia are poorly understood, we used the obese mouse strain foz/foz, bearing a truncating mutation in the Alström syndrome protein (Alms1), to help elucidate why it develops hyperphagia, leading to early onset obesity and metabolic anomalies. Our in vivo studies reveal that Alms1 localizes at the base of cilia in hypothalamic neurons, which are implicated in the control of satiety. Alms1 is lost from this location in foz/foz mice, coinciding with a strong postnatal reduction (∼70%) in neurons displaying cilia marked with adenylyl cyclase 3 (AC3), a signaling protein implicated in obesity. Notably, the reduction in AC3‐bearing cilia parallels the decrease in cilia containing two appetite‐regulating proteins, Mchr1 and Sstr3, as well as another established Arl13b ciliary marker, consistent with progressive loss of cilia during development. Together, our results suggest that Alms1 maintains the function of neuronal cilia implicated in weight regulation by influencing the maintenance and/or stability of the organelle. Given that Mchr1 and Sstr3 localization to remaining cilia is maintained in foz/foz animals but known to be lost from BBS knockout mice, our findings suggest different molecular etiologies for the satiety defects associated with the Alström syndrome and BBS ciliopathies. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2013
A local modified chan–vese model for segmenting inhomogeneous multiphase images
Authors: Gao Shangbing , Yang Jian , Yan Yunyang 
Published: May 2012

AbstractIn this article, we propose a novel model to overcome the drawbacks of the modified Chan–Vese (MCV) model. Our model is devoted to find an optimal partition of inhomogeneous regions accurately and computationally efficient. MCV model was proposed on the concept of using one level‐set function for one region. It needs fewer numbers of iterations and improves the efficiency of image segmentation in contrast to the multiphase Chan–Vese model. The MCV model, however, is highly dependent on initial curves placement and often leads to erroneous segmentations on images with intensity inhomogeneity. In our model, to eliminate the affection of background information on the curve evolution and speed up the curve evolution, we first use the k‐means algorithm to presegment the image to get the initial curves and then add the local image information to the total energy functional of MCV model to deal with the intensity inhomogeneity. Finally, extensive experiments are done and the segmentation results on homogeneous multiphase images verify that the proposed method has the better accuracy and efficiency comparing to MCV model. Moreover, we show results on challenging multiphase inhomogeneous image to illustrate the robust and accurate segmentation that are possible with this novel model. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 22, 103–113, 2012
In vivo correlation between semi‐quantitative hemodynamic parameters and Ktrans derived from DCE‐MRI of brain tumors
Authors: Chih‐Feng Chen , Ling‐Wei Hsu , Chun‐Chung Lui , Chen‐Chang Lee , Hsu‐Huei Weng , Yuan‐Hsiung Tsai , Ho‐Ling Liu 
Published: May 2012

AbstractDynamic contrast‐enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become more and more widely applied in cancer diagnosis and treatment follow‐up. Without complicated calculation, a semiquantitative parameter – modified initial area under the curve (mIAUCc) – was proposed for better correlation with volume transfer constant (Ktrans) by computer simulation. In this study, we aim to further investigate the correlation between mIAUCc and Ktrans in clinical. A total of 10 patients with brain tumors participated in this study and images were acquired by using a 3‐Tesla clinical MR scanner. The results showed that mIAUCc was highly correlated with Ktrans with the correlation coefficient of 0.913. Although the ideals of Ktrans and mIAUCc are different, mIAUCc does the trick for brain tumors evaluations in DCE‐MRI. It reveals that mIAUCc could be an alternative for physiological condition evaluation in DCE‐MRI. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 22, 132–136, 2012
SPATIAL FILTERING, MODEL UNCERTAINTY AND THE SPEED OF INCOME CONVERGENCE IN EUROPE
Authors: Crespo Cuaresma Jesús , Feldkircher Martin 
Published: May 2012

SUMMARYIn this paper we put forward a Bayesian model averaging method aimed at performing inference under model uncertainty in the presence of potential spatial autocorrelation. The method uses spatial filtering in order to account for uncertainty in spatial linkages. Our procedure is applied to a dataset of income per capita growth and 50 potential determinants for 255 NUTS‐2 European regions. We show that ignoring uncertainty in the type of spatial weight matrix can have an important effect on the estimates of the parameters attached to the model covariates. After integrating out the uncertainty implied by the choice of regressors and spatial links, human capital investments and transitional dynamics related to income convergence appear as the most robust determinants of growth at the regional level in Europe. Our results imply that a quantitatively important part of the income convergence process in Europe is influenced by spatially correlated growth spillovers. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Biodegradation behavior of silk fibroin membranes in repairing tympanic membrane perforations
Authors: Lee Ok Joo , Lee Jung Min , Kim Ji Heui , Kim Jin , Kweon HaeYong , Jo You Young , Park Chan Hum 
Published: May 2012

AbstractSilk fibroin (SF) from silkworms has been widely studied as a biomaterial. The degradation behavior of silk biomaterials is important for medical applications, but few studies have examined long‐term degradation behavior in vivo. In this study, we investigated the degradation behavior of SF membranes in vitro and in vivo. For the in vitro assay, we observed degradation of silk membranes in phosphate buffered saline, culture media, and an enzyme (proteinase K) solution. In the proteinase K solution, 80% of the silk membranes degraded within 10 days. Silk membranes exhibited no cytotoxicity toward L929 cells and rat tissues. To investigate the degradation of silk membranes in vivo, they were implanted subcutaneously in rats and harvested 19 months after surgery. Scanning electron microscopy imaging and histological analysis of silk membrane explants showed that they broke into several pieces after 16 months. Results show that silk membranes are biocompatible and display excellent long‐term degradation behavior when used as biomaterials. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2012.
An investigation into the effect of amphiphilic siloxane oligomers on dermal fibroblasts
Authors: Farrugia Brooke L. , Keddie Daniel J. , George Graeme A. , Lynam Emily C. , Brook Michael A. , Upton Zee , Dargaville Tim R. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractThis study investigates the effect of well‐defined poly(dimethylsiloxane)–poly(ethylene glycol) (PDMS–PEG) ABA linear block co‐oligomers on the proliferation of human dermal fibroblasts. The co‐oligomers assessed ranged in molecular weight (MW) from 1335 to 5208 Da and hydrophilic–lipophilic balance (HLB) from 5.9 to 16.6 by varying the number of both PDMS and PEG units. In general, it was found that co‐oligomers of low MW or intermediate hydrophilicity significantly reduced fibroblast proliferation. A linear relationship between down‐regulation of fibroblast proliferation, and the ratio HLB/MW was observed at concentrations of 0.1 and 1.0 wt % of the oligomers. This enabled the structures with highest efficiency to be determined. These results suggest the possible use of the PEG–PDMS–PEG block co‐oligomers as an alternative to silicone gels for hypertrophic scar remediation. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A:, 2012.
Indirect coating of RGD peptides using a poly‐L‐lysine spacer enhances jaw periosteal cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation into osteogenic tissue
Authors: Ardjomandi N. , Klein C. , Kohler K. , Maurer A. , Kalbacher H. , Niederländer J. , Reinert S. , Alexander D. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractThe aim of our study was to generate a biofunctionalized, three‐dimensional (3D) biomaterial to enhance jaw periosteal cell (JPC) adhesion and differentiation into osteogenic tissue. Therefore, open‐cell polylactic acid (OPLA) scaffolds were coated covalently with different RGD peptides (a conserved recognition sequence of the most ECM proteins—arginine‐glycine‐asparagine) and different coating variants. The linear and cyclic RGD peptides were either applied directly or indirectly via a poly‐L‐lysine (PLL) spacer. JPCs were analyzed on coated constructs in 2D and 3D cultures and showed enhanced rates for indirectly coated scaffolds using the PLL spacer. By gene expression, we detected significantly increased levels of osteogenic marker genes, such as alkaline phosphatase, RUNX2, and AMELY in JPCs seeded onto PLL/linear RGD constructs compared to the otherwise‐coated constructs. An analysis of the JPC mineralization capacity revealed the highest amounts of calcium–phosphate precipitates in cells growing within the PLL/linear scaffolds. Additionally, the JPC adhesion behavior on OPLA scaffolds seems to be mediated by ITGB3, ITGB1, and ITGAV, as shown by blocking assays. We concluded that coating of OPLA constructs with linear RGD peptides via PLL represents a suitable approach for functionalizing the polymer surface and enhancing adhesion, proliferation, and mineralization of JPCs. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2012.
Design of injectable organic–inorganic hybrid for bone tissue repair
Authors: Dessì Mariagemiliana , Raucci Maria Grazia , Zeppetelli Stefania , Ambrosio Luigi 
Published: May 2012

AbstractInjectable bone substitutes are rapidly gained success in tissue engineering applications for their less invasive surgical aspect. Here, the design and the characterization of a novel degradable paste of PCL reinforced with nanocrystals of hydroxyapatite have been presented aiming to mimic natural tissue. Nanohydroxyapatite has been successfully synthesized via sol–gel technique. Dynamic and steady state viscoelastic properties of the solutions and paste were investigated to control the kinetic of phase transition. Correspondingly, the morphology and composition were characterized via TEM, EDAX, and thermal analysis. Injection test underlines the completely ability of the paste of being injected without altering its features. Preliminary biological study showed that the composite paste is not cytotoxic. The synergistic rheological and biological properties, combined with the positive effect of chemical synthesis method indicate that the composite paste is very suitable as local bone substitute in low‐load areas. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2012.
Left anterior descending artery occlusion secondary to blunt chest trauma diagnosed by comprehensive echocardiography and coronary angiography
Authors: Sun Lin , Li Zhi‐an , Zhao Ying , Han Jiancheng , Henein Michael Y. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractBlunt chest trauma can cause serious complications, but coronary artery occlusion is rare. In a 19‐year‐old man, 40 days after a motorcycle accident, comprehensive echocardiography detected left anterior descending artery occlusion and left ventricular dysfunction, which was confirmed by coronary angiography and ventriculography. Echocardiography was also able to confirm restored left anterior descending artery flow and improved left ventricular function after coronary artery bypass grafting. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound, 2012;
Scoring protein interaction decoys using exposed residues (SPIDER): A novel multibody interaction scoring function based on frequent geometric patterns of interfacial residues
Authors: Khashan Raed , Zheng Weifan , Tropsha Alexander 
Published: May 2012

AbstractAccurate prediction of the structure of protein–protein complexes in computational docking experiments remains a formidable challenge. It has been recognized that identifying native or native‐like poses among multiple decoys is the major bottleneck of the current scoring functions used in docking. We have developed a novel multibody pose‐scoring function that has no theoretical limit on the number of residues contributing to the individual interaction terms. We use a coarse‐grain representation of a protein–protein complex where each residue is represented by its side chain centroid. We apply a computational geometry approach called Almost‐Delaunay tessellation that transforms protein–protein complexes into a residue contact network, or an undirectional graph where vertex‐residues are nodes connected by edges. This treatment forms a family of interfacial graphs representing a dataset of protein–protein complexes. We then employ frequent subgraph mining approach to identify common interfacial residue patterns that appear in at least a subset of native protein–protein interfaces. The geometrical parameters and frequency of occurrence of each “native” pattern in the training set are used to develop the new SPIDER scoring function. SPIDER was validated using standard “ZDOCK” benchmark dataset that was not used in the development of SPIDER. We demonstrate that SPIDER scoring function ranks native and native‐like poses above geometrical decoys and that it exceeds in performance a popular ZRANK scoring function. SPIDER was ranked among the top scoring functions in a recent round of CAPRI (Critical Assessment of PRedicted Interactions) blind test of protein–protein docking methods. Proteins 2012; © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Ionization and double‐excitations within the framework of the G‐particle‐hole hypervirial equation method
Authors: Valdemoro Carmela , Alcoba Diego R. , Tel Luis M. 
Published: May 2012

AbstractRecently, through the use of one‐electron excitation operators, the set of low‐lying excited states of several electronic systems was obtained within the framework of the Hermitian Operator method combined with the G‐particle‐hole Hypervirial equation method [Valdemoro et al., J. Math. Chem. 2012, 50, 492]. The main aim of this article is to extend our study by including higher‐order excitations as well as extended ionization and electron affinity operators. Several examples show the convenience of this extension to improve the accuracy of the results in some relevant cases. Through the use of geminal excitations, the algebra of the formal derivations is considerably simplified. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
TRANSFERABILITY OF HYDRAULIC PREFERENCE MODELS FOR AQUATIC MACROINVERTEBRATES
Authors: Lamouroux N. , Mérigoux S. , Dolédec S. , Snelder T. H. 
Published: May 2012

ABSTRACTQuantifying the transferability across stream reaches and sampling occasions of models relating the density of aquatic taxa to microhabitat hydraulics are important for increasing our understanding of the mechanisms explaining microhabitat selection. We revisited data collected at multiple occasions in two regions, that is, in nine reaches of seven German streams and in four reaches of a large French river, to provide detailed information by taxon on the transferability of hydraulic preferences of aquatic macroinvertebrates. In each region and for each taxon, we tested the statistical significance of a regional preference model relating density to microhabitat hydraulics simultaneously in all surveys (i.e. reach–occasion combinations). The transferability of hydraulic preferences was assessed using cross‐validation procedures within each region. The regional models showed significant associations with microhabitat hydraulics for 56% of the 151 taxa collected in Germany and for 67% of 66 taxa in France. Cross validations indicated that regional models significantly explained density variations within independent surveys for 60% of the cases in Germany and 54% in France. We conclude that both regional and survey‐specific models are useful in specific studies, depending on the taxa considered and the spatial extent and objectives of the application. Graphs of all raw data and models are supplied as supporting information. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Is the Exponent 3/2 Justified in Analysis of Loading Curve of Pyramidal Nanoindentations?
Authors: Troyon M. , Abbès F. , Garcia Guzman J. A. 
Published: May 2012

SummaryKaupp and Naimi‐Jamal (2010) claimed that the analysis of published loading curves reveals the exponent 3/2 to the depth for nanoindentations with sharp pyramidal or conical tips. To demonstrate this, they plotted the load vs. the penetration depth to the power 3/2. We show, through examples, the authors’ assertion is not credible because the methodology used is misleading and it cannot be asserted that the exponent 3/2 has a universal validity that applies to all kinds of materials. SCANNING 34: 410‐417, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Thermodynamic Parameters of Anionic Surfactant‐Quaternary Phosphonium Bromides Systems at the Cloud Point
Authors: Khan Ziya Ahmad , Albishri Hassan M. , Ghazali Arniza , Ahmad Tanweer 
Published: May 2012

AbstractThe thermodynamics of clouding in an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and quaternary phosphonium bromides systems in the presence of glycerol are reported. The standard Gibbs energy change of solubilization (ΔsG°) for all of the additives was found to be negative. The standard enthalpy change (ΔsH°) and the standard entropy change (TΔsS°) values were found to be negative as well as positive depending upon the type and nature of the additive. The results were explained on the basis of their nature, effect on the water structure, and solubilization of these additives either in the micellar or aqueous phase.