bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of toughening mechanisms of polypropylene/ethylene–octene copolymer/maleic anhydride‐grafted poly(ethylene‐co‐octene)/clay nanocomposite
Authors: Bagheri‐Kazemabad Sedigheh , Khavandi Alireza , Chen Biqiong 
Published: July 2012

AbstractThe toughness of a polypropylene (PP)/ethylene‐octene copolymer (EOC)/maleic anhydride‐grafted poly(ethylene‐co‐octene) (EOC‐g‐MA)/clay nanocomposite and blends of PP/EOC and PP/EOC/EOC‐g‐MA was investigated using Charpy impact and single‐edge‐notch tensile (SENT) tests. In order to understand the toughening mechanisms, impact fracture surfaces and damage zones of single‐edge‐notch samples were studied with scanning electron microscopy and transmission optical microscopy, respectively. It was observed that the addition of EOC‐g‐MA to PP/EOC blend led to improvements in both impact strength and fracture energy of SENT tests because of the enhanced compatibility of the blend, which resulted from reduced EOC particle size and improved interfacial adhesion, and the decreased crystallinity of PP. The incorporation of clay to PP/EOC/EOC‐g‐MA blend caused a further increase of the toughness, owing to the greater decrease in the size of elastomer particles, to the presence of clay tactoids inside the elastomer phase and presumably to debonding of clay layers during the low‐speed SENT tests. The results of microscopic observations showed that the main toughening mechanism in PP/EOC/EOC‐g‐MA blend and PP/EOC/EOC‐g‐MA/clay nanocomposite is crazing. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry
Thermal and mechanical properties of poly(ε‐caprolactone)/polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane nanocomposites
Authors: Lee Kang Suk , Chang Young‐Wook 
Published: July 2012

AbstractPoly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL)/trisilanolphenyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (TspPOSS) nanocomposites were prepared by solution mixing followed by film casting. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction and field‐emission scanning electron microscopy observations showed that the POSS molecules formed crystal domains and dispersed uniformly on the nanoscale in the PCL matrix. Fourier transform infrared analysis of the nanocomposites revealed that there are hydrogen‐bonded interactions between the silanol group of the TspPOSS and carbonyl oxygen of the PCL. Differential scanning calorimetry, tensile testing, and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) showed that, with increasing POSS content in the nanocomposites, the melting temperature and degree of crystallinity decreased while glass transition temperature, tensile modulus and strength increased without sacrificing the ductility of the PCL. DMA results also demonstrated the presence of a rubbery plateau above the melting temperature of the PCL/TspPOSS nanocomposites, and the moduli at the plateau region increased with increasing POSS content in the nanocomposites, implying that the PCL/TspPOSS nanocomposites formed a physically crosslinked structure. The physically crosslinked PCL/TspPOSS nanocomposites exhibited a thermally triggered shape memory effect. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry
Insecticide susceptibility status in three medically important species of mosquitoes, Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus, from Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, Karnataka, India
Authors: Shetty Vinaya , Sanil Deepak , Shetty Nadikere Jaya 
Published: July 2012

AbstractBACKGROUND: Development of resistance among mosquito vectors of diseases is of growing concern in many countries of the subtropics, including much of India. The distributions of susceptibility/resistance to insecticides are scarcely recorded and are unknown in many parts of India. This manuscript reports the susceptibility status among strains of Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus collected from different geographical areas of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Karnataka, to six conventionally used insecticides.RESULTS: An. stephensi, Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus from different geographic areas showed susceptibility towards temephos. However, susceptibility was meagre for most of the other insecticides used in the study. Strong resistance to propoxur was reported in Ullala (RR90 = 467.1) and Bannerghatta (RR90 = 12 265) populations of An. stephensi and Ae. aegypti respectively. RR90 ≥ 12 830 was recorded as higher in the Yelahanka (YLK) population of Cx. quinquefasciatus to neem. Significant differences at LC50 and LC90 concentrations were observed against various insecticides in different mosquito populations. Resistance was observed against some of the larvicides for the diagnostic dose recommended by WHO.CONCLUSION: The results form baseline data on the susceptibility status of three medically important mosquito vectors of diseases to commonly used insecticides in the field at present emphasise the importance of carrying out more effective and planned vector control measures. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry
Development of a multiplex allele‐specific primer PCR assay for simultaneous detection of QoI and CAA fungicide resistance alleles in Plasmopara viticola populations
Authors: Aoki Yoshinao , Hada Yosuke , Suzuki Shunji 
Published: July 2012

AbstractBACKGROUND: DNA‐based diagnosis has become a common tool for the evaluation of fungicide resistance in obligate phytopathogenic fungus Plasmopara viticola.RESULTS: A multiplex allele‐specific primer PCR assay has been developed for the rapid detection of fungicide resistance in P. viticola populations. With this assay, a glycine‐to‐alanine substitution at codon 143 of the P. viticola cytochrome b gene, which conferred QoI fungicide resistance, and a glycine‐to‐serine substitution at codon 1105 of the P. viticola cellulose synthase gene PvCesA3, which conferred CAA fungicide resistance, were detected simultaneously.CONCLUSION: It is suggested that the present assay is a reliable tool for the rapid and simultaneous detection of QoI and CAA fungicide resistance alleles in P. viticola populations. The assay required only 2 h from the sampling of symptoms to the detection of resistance alleles to both fungicides. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry
Hantavirus infections in Europe and their impact on public health
Authors: Vaheri Antti , Henttonen Heikki , Voutilainen Liina , Mustonen Jukka , Sironen Tarja , Vapalahti Olli 
Published: July 2012

SUMMARYHantaviruses (genus Hantavirus, family Bunyaviridae) are enveloped tri‐segmented negative‐stranded RNA viruses each carried by a specific rodent or insectivore host species. Several different hantaviruses known to infect humans circulate in Europe. The most common is Puumala (PUUV) carried by the bank vole; another two important, genetically closely related ones are Dobrava–Belgrade (DOBV) and Saaremaa viruses (SAAV) carried by Apodemus mice (species names follow the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses nomenclature). Of the two hantaviral diseases, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantaviral cardiopulmonary syndrome, the European viruses cause only HFRS: DOBV with often severe symptoms and a high case fatality rate, and PUUV and SAAV more often mild disease. More than 10,000 HFRS cases are diagnosed annually in Europe and in increasing numbers. Whether this is because of increasing recognition by the medical community or due to environmental factors such as climate change, or both, is not known. Nevertheless, in large areas of Europe, the population has a considerable seroprevalence but only relatively few HFRS cases are reported. Moreover, no epidemiological data are available from many countries. We know now that cardiac, pulmonary, ocular and hormonal disorders are, besides renal changes, common during the acute stage of PUUV and DOBV infection. About 5% of hospitalized PUUV and 16%–48% of DOBV patients require dialysis and some prolonged intensive‐care treatment. Although PUUV–HFRS has a low case fatality rate, complications and long‐term hormonal, renal, and cardiovascular consequences commonly occur. No vaccine or specific therapy is in general use in Europe. We conclude that hantaviruses have a significant impact on public health in Europe. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tuning supersymmetric models at the LHC: a comparative analysis at two-loop level.
Authors: Ghilencea D. M. , Lee H. M. , Park M. 
Published: July 2012

Abstract

We provide a comparative study of the fine tuning amount (Δ) at the two-loop leading log level in supersymmetric models commonly used in SUSY searches at the LHC. These are the constrained MSSM (CMSSM), non-universal Higgs masses models (NUHM1, NUHM2), non-universal gaugino masses model (NUGM) and GUT related gaugino masses models (NUGMd). Two definitions of the fine tuning are used, the first (Δmax) measures maximal fine-tuning w.r.t. individual parameters while the second (Δ
q
) adds their contribution in “quadrature”. As a direct consequence of two theoretical constraints (the EW minimum conditions), fine tuning (Δ
q
) emerges at the mathematical level as a suppressing factor (effective prior) of the averaged likelihood (
$ L $
) under the priors, under the integral of the global probability of measuring the data (Bayesian evidence p(D)). For each model, there is little difference between Δ
q
, Δmax in the region allowed by the data, with similar behaviour as functions of the Higgs, gluino, stop mass or SUSY scale (
$ {m_{\text{SUSY}}} = {\left( {{m_{{\overline t 1}}}{m_{{\overline t 2}}}} \right)^{{{{1} \left/ {2} \right.}}}} $
) or dark matter and g − 2 constraints. The analysis has the advantage that by replacing any of these mass scales or constraints by their latest bounds one easily infers for each model the value of Δ
q
, Δmax or vice versa. For all models, minimal fine tuning is achieved for M
higgs near 115 GeV with a Δ
q
≈ Δmax ≈ 10 to 100 depending on the model, and in the CMSSM this is actually a global minimum. Due to a strong (≈ exponential) dependence of Δ on M
higgs, for a Higgs mass near 125 GeV, the above values of Δ
q
≈ Δmax increase to between 500 and 1000. Possible corrections to these values are briefly discussed.
The importance of local and landscape‐scale processes to the occupancy of wetlands by pond‐breeding amphibians
Authors: Scherer Rick D. , Muths Erin , Noon Barry R. 
Published: July 2012

AbstractVariation in the distribution and abundance of species across landscapes has traditionally been attributed to processes operating at fine spatial scales (i.e., environmental conditions at the scale of the sampling unit), but processes that operate across larger spatial scales such as seasonal migration or dispersal are also important. To determine the relative importance of these processes, we evaluated hypothesized relationships between the probability of occupancy in wetlands by two amphibians [wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) and boreal chorus frogs (Pseudacris maculata)] and attributes of the landscape measured at three spatial scales in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. We used cost‐based buffers and least‐cost distances to derive estimates of landscape attributes that may affect occupancy patterns from the broader spatial scales. The most highly ranked models provide strong support for a positive relationship between occupancy by breeding wood frogs and the amount of streamside habitat adjacent to a wetland. The model selection results for boreal chorus frogs are highly uncertain, though several of the most highly ranked models indicate a positive association between occupancy and the number of neighboring, occupied wetlands. We found little evidence that occupancy of either species was correlated with local‐scale attributes measured at the scale of individual wetlands, suggesting that processes operating at broader scales may be more important in influencing occupancy patterns in amphibian populations.
Biological pest control by investing crops in pests
Authors: Ito Hiroshi C. , Kondo Natsuko I. 
Published: July 2012

AbstractWe propose a biological pest control system that invests part of a crop in feeding a pest in a cage. The fed pest maintains a predator that attacks the pest in the target area (i.e., the area for storing or growing crops). The fed pest cannot leave the cage nor the target pest cannot enter the cage. The predator, however, can freely attack both the fed and target pests in the target area. By introducing a refuge in the cage against the predator for the fed pest, the fed pest and predator may be stably sustained. In this study, we analyzed the potential performance of this system by modeling the population dynamics of the target pest, fed pest, and predator as differential equations. First, we show analytically that the target pest can be suppressed at extremely low abundance by adjusting both refuge efficiency and crop investment. Second, we show numerically that crop damage by the pest may be effectively suppressed by investing only small amounts of the crop. Third, we show numerically that the magnitude of required crop investment can be estimated by an index comprising of the predator's searching cost for prey and the relative growth efficiency of the predator with respect to the pest. Even if the system structure is changed or its population dynamics is modeled based on host–parasitoid interactions, crop damage can be suppressed effectively by small amounts of crop investment.
Microbial Oxidation of Medium Chain Fatty Alcohol in the Synthesis of Sophorolipids by Candida bombicola and its Physicochemical Characterization
Authors: Dengle Pulate Vrushali , Bhagwat Sunil , Prabhune Asmita 
Published: July 2012

AbstractSophorolipids (SL) are glycolipid biosurfactants abundantly produced from different feedstocks by yeasts and have been widely developed for various applications. The amphipathic structures of sophorolipids imparts to them surfactant type properties. These biosurfactants are readily isolated in high yield and are nontoxic and biodegradable, which make them industrially interesting as surfactants or emulsifiers. Sophorolipid production was carried out using glucose as a hydrophilic source and lauryl alcohol C12–14, as a hydrophobic source by Candida bombicola (ATCC 22214). Process economics and environmental attractiveness was increased by using a low cost substrate. Optimization studies were carried out where the effect of glucose concentration, pH, temperature and metal ions on sophorolipid production was studied. Optimum production of sophorolipid obtained using lauryl alcohol (SLLA) was achieved after 96 h, the initial pH of the medium was 6.0 with 10 % glucose at 30 °C. Primary characterization of SLLA was done by FTIR. The SLLA showed high physicochemical properties in terms of the surface activities when compared with synthetic surfactants including dodecyl tetraethylene glycol ether and sodium lauryl sulfate. The surface tension of SLLA thus obtained was found to be 24 mN/m with a critical micellar concentration (CMC) value of 0.68 mg/L. Antimicrobial testing showed that SLLA have potent antimicrobial activity against both gram negative bacteria, Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739) and gram positive cocci, Staphylococcus aureuss (ATCC 2079).
Safety and resource utilization of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion
Authors: Feng Yu‐Tung , Hwang Shiuh‐Lin , Lin Chih‐Lung , Lee I‐Chen , Lee King‐Teh 
Published: July 2012

AbstractDegenerative cervical spondylosis (DCS) is part of the aging process and is the most common reason for degenerative changes with the spinal column. Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is a major option for operative management of DCS in our institution. This retrospective study investigated the frequency of postoperative complications and resource utilization in 145 patients who underwent ACDF procedures from January 2009 to December 2011. Patients with degenerative changes that involved cervical intervertebral levels C1–C2, spinal injury of traumatic origin, spinal tumors, or previous cervical fusion were excluded. Patients were then further classified into two groups: (1) level 1 or 2 disease (Group M) and (2) level 3 or 4 disease (Group S). Measures of mortality, complications after surgery as well as immediate reoperation for any reason were evaluated. Operation time, length of hospital stay, and hospitalization cost were defined as resource utilization. Ninety seven patients met the inclusion criteria and were further reviewed to characterize the sample better. There were no hematomas, airway complications or deaths, except in one patient who developed postoperative hemorrhage that required immediate surgical intervention, and resolved without any neurological deficit or casualty. Resource utilization indicated that the average operation time for Group S was significantly higher than for Group M (4.31 ± 1.25 vs. 2.88 ± 0.90 hours, p < 0.0001). There were no significant differences in length of hospital stay and hospitalization cost between the two groups (p = 0.265 and p = 0.649). Our results indicate that neurosurgical intervention is safe for patients with DSC. Postoperative complication rates associated with these procedures are low. When surgery is considered appropriate for patients with multilevel diseases, these data suggest that ACDF is a safe surgical option.
Blockade of NFκB activity by Sunitinib increases cell death in Bortezomib‐treated endometrial carcinoma cells
Authors: Sorolla Anabel , Yeramian Andrée , Valls Joan , Dolcet Xavier , Bergadà Laura , Llombart-Cussac Antoni , Martí Rosa Maria , Matias-Guiu Xavier 
Published: July 2012

Endometrial carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies in the female genital tract, usually treated by surgery and radiotherapy. Chemotherapy is used when endometrial carcinoma is associated with widespread metastasis or when the tumor recurs after radiation therapy. In the present study, we demonstrate that the tyrosine kinase receptor inhibitor Sunitinib reduces cell viability, proliferation, clonogenicity and induces apoptotic cell death in endometrial carcinoma cell lines, which is not due to its action through the most known targets like VEGFR, nor through EGFR as demonstrated in this work. Interestingly, Sunitinib reduces NFκB transcriptional activity either at basal level or activation by EGF or TNF‐α. We observed that Sunitinib was able to inhibit the Bortezomib‐induced NFκB transcriptional activity which correlates with a decrease of the phosphorylated levels of IKKα and β, p65 and IκBα. We evaluated the nature of the interaction between Sunitinib and Bortezomib by the dose effect method and identified a synergistic effect (combination index < 1). Analogously, silencing of p65 expression by lentiviral‐mediated short‐hairpin RNA delivery in Bortezomib treated cells leads to a strongly increased sensitivity to Bortezomib apoptotic cell death. Altogether our results suggest that the combination of Sunitinib and Bortezomib could be considered a promising treatment for endometrial carcinoma after failure of surgery and radiation.
Boron neutron capture therapy as a novel modality of radiotherapy for oral cancer: Principle and antitumor effect
Authors: Yura Yoshiaki , Fujita Yusei 
Published: July 2012

AbstractRadiotherapy is essential for the treatment of oral cancer, especially in advanced cases. There has been marked progress in this field due to the prevalence of intensity‐modified radiation therapy and introduction of particle radiotherapy using protons and carbon‐ions. However, these treatments are still non‐selective. Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a unique modality in which neutron beams destroy only boron compound‐bearing tumor cells while leaving the surrounding normal tissues intact. Thus, BNCT is a selective form of radiotherapy, if high tumor/normal tissue ratio in boron concentration could be achieved. The principle of BNCT, and the basic study of the mechanism by which BNCT exerts antitumor effects using oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cells and oral SCC xenografts in mice are described.
Calcineurin inhibitors and immunosuppression – a tale of two isoforms
Authors: Williams Clintoria R. , Gooch Jennifer L. 
Published: July 2012

Organ transplantation is the state of the art for treating end-stage organ failure. Over 25 000 organ transplants are performed in the USA each year. Survival rates following transplantation are now approaching 90% for 1 year and 75% for 5 years. Central to this success was the introduction of drugs that suppress the immune system and prevent rejection. The most commonly used class of immunosuppressing drugs are calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs). Calcineurin is a ubiquitous enzyme that is important for T-cell function. With more people taking CNIs for longer and longer periods of time the consequences of calcineurin inhibition on other organ systems – particularly the kidney – have become a growing concern. Virtually all people who take a CNI will develop some degree of kidney toxicity and up to 10% will progress to kidney failure. In the past 15 years, research into calcineurin action has identified distinct actions of the two main isoforms of the catalytic subunit of the enzyme. The α-isoform is required for kidney function whereas the β-isoform has a predominant role in the immune system. This review will discuss the current state of knowledge about calcineurin isoforms and how these new insights may reshape post-transplant immunosuppression.
The European wintering population of Steller’s Eider Polysticta stelleri reassessed
Authors: AARVAK TOMAS , JOSTEIN ØIEN INGAR , KRASNOV YURI V. , GAVRILO MARIA V. , SHAVYKIN ANATOLY A. 
Published: July 2012

SummaryProlonged declines in the number of Steller’s Eider Polysticta stelleri wintering in Europe have raised concerns about the conservation status of the Western Palearctic population. Coordinated helicopter surveys of all known wintering areas in Norway and Russia and ground counts in the Baltic in 2009 found c.27,000 Steller’s Eiders, similar to numbers found during the last such survey in the mid-1990s. However, around 85% of the population now winters in Russia compared to 30–50% then. The reasons for this rapid shift in distribution are unknown but are likely linked to climate change. The continuing small population size, specialist feeding and restricted distribution of Steller’s Eider necessitate continued survey and research to track population changes and provide evidence for conservation management actions to safeguard the species.
The microbiome of the soft palate of swine
Authors: Kernaghan Shaun , Bujold Adina R. , MacInnes Janet I. 
Published: July 2012

AbstractThe tonsil of the soft palate in pigs is a secondary lymphoid tissue that provides a first line of defense against foreign antigens entering by the mouth or nares. It has been known for a long time to be the site of colonization of important swine and zoonotic bacterial pathogens. Initially our understanding of microbes present at this site came from culture-based studies. Very recently, sequence-based approaches have been used to identify the core microbiome of the swine tonsil. Although animal to animal and herd to herd variation was detected in these studies, >90 of the organisms detected belonged to the phyla Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Members of the family Pasteurellaceae appeared to be predominate in the tonsil; however, the relative proportions of Actinobacillus, Haemophilus, and Pasteurella varied. Members of the families Moraxellaceae, Fusobacteriaceae, Veillonellaceae, and Neisseriaceae were also seen as frequent residents of the tonsil.