bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Porous alumina through protein foaming–consolidation method: effect of dispersant concentration on the physical properties
Authors: Fadli Ahmad , Sopyan Iis , Mel Maizirwan , Ahmad Zuraida 
Published: January 2011

ABSTRACTThe influence of dispersant concentration on the physical properties of porous alumina ceramics formed by the protein foaming–consolidation method has been studied. Slurries of alumina powders, yolk, and dispersant were prepared by rigorously stirring the mixture for 3 h with an alumina‐to‐yolk ratio of 1:1 in weight and dispersant concentration of 0.01–0.05 wt.%. The resulting slip was poured into cylindrical shaped molds and followed by foaming and consolidation through drying at 180 °C for 1 h. The dried green bodies of the samples were then burned to remove the pore‐creating agent at 600 °C for 1 h, followed by sintering at 1550 °C for 2 h. The density of sintered alumina ceramics could be controlled by varying the dispersant concentration of the slurry. Measurement of the average pore size distribution showed that macropores of the sintered alumina porous bodies increased with decreasing density and were found in the range of 54.4 ± 12 to 424.5 ± 25 µm. The compressive strength was 4.6 ± 0.8 MPa at 54.5% porosity and it decreased significantly to 0.8 ± 0.1 MPa at 71.8% porosity. A shrinkage of 29.3 ± 2.7% was observed for the sample prepared using the slurry without dispersant and it increased to 35.8 ± 0.9% when the dispersant of 0.03% was added. Copyright © 2011 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Antimicrobial Activity of a New Combination System of Benzimidazole and Various Azoles
Authors: Özkay Yusuf , Tunalı Yağmur , Karaca Hülya , Işıkdağ İlhan 
Published: January 2011

AbstractIn the present study a new series of benzimidazole derivatives bearing various (benz)azolylthio moieties were synthesized so as to investigate their antimicrobial activity. Structures of the target compounds (5a–5i) were confirmed by their IR, 1H‐NMR, ES‐MS spectral data, and elemental analyses. The synthesized compounds (5a–5i) exhibited poor activity against bacterial strains. On the other hand, antifungal activity of the compounds against Candida species was very significant. Brine‐Shrimp lethality assay was performed for determination of toxicity of the compounds. Compounds 5a, 5c, and 5d were evaluated as non‐toxic in addition to their attractive antifungal activity. However, the other compounds (5b, e–i) in the series showed toxicity to different extents.
Synthesis and Structure‐Activity Relationships of A Novel Class of Dithiocarbamic Acid Esters as Anticancer Agent
Authors: Hou Xueling , Ge Zemei , Wang Tingmin , Guo Wei , Wu Jun , Cui Jingrong , Lai Chingsan , Li Runtao 
Published: January 2011

AbstractBased on a novel lead compound 4‐methylpiperazine‐1‐carbodithioic acid 3‐cyano‐3,3‐diphenylpropyl ester1, the systematic structural modification was carried out. All the synthesized compounds were evaluated for theirin‐vitroanticancer activities on four to six different cell lines at three different concentrations. Most of the tested compounds could selectively inhibit the growth of HL‐60 and Bel‐7402 cell lines at a medium concentration. Four compounds (3f,3g,3n, and5) were selected for the IC50test, and the results revealed that three compounds (3g,3n, and5) showed almost the same or a slightly weaker activity than compound1against HL‐60, and three compounds (3f,3g, and3n) showed >2‐fold higher potency than compound1against Bel‐7402. Thein‐vivoefficacy of3n · HClwas evaluated with transplanted hepatocyte carcinoma 22 as anin‐vivotest model. It was found that3n · HClcould inhibit significantly the growth of tumor, and that this effect was dose‐dependent. Meanwhile, the compound3n · HClshowed low toxicity compared with compound1 · HClas evidenced by the little body‐weight loss. These results confirmed that compound3n · HClis more potent than the lead compound1 · HCl. Preliminary structure–activity relationships indicated that: a) Both nitrile group and the cyclic amine containing at least two nitrogens were indispensable moieties to keep the activity; b) substitution of the piperazine ring is unfavorable for the improvement of activity; c) the suitable linker joining the piperazinyl dithiocarboxyl and diphenylacetonitril group should be ethylene; d) a non‐coplanar arrangement of the two benzene rings appears to be essential for activity.
Spatial abilities of expert clinical anatomists: Comparison of abilities between novices, intermediates, and experts in anatomy
Authors: Fernandez Ruth , Dror Itiel E. , Smith Claire 
Published: January 2011

AbstractSpatial ability has been found to be a good predictor of success in learning anatomy. However, little research has explored whether spatial ability can be improved through anatomy education and experience. This study had two aims: (1) to determine if spatial ability is a learned or inherent facet in learning anatomy and (2) to ascertain if there is any difference in spatial ability between experts and novices in anatomy. Fifty participants were indentified: 10 controls, 10 novices, 10 intermediates, and 20 experts. Participants completed four computerized spatial ability tasks, a visual mental rotation task, categorical spatial judgment task, metric spatial task, and an image‐scanning task. The findings revealed that experts (P = 0.007) and intermediates (P = 0.016) were better in the metric spatial task than novices in terms of making more correct spatial judgments. Experts (P = 0.033), intermediates (P = 0.003), and novices (P = 0.004) were better in the categorical spatial task than controls in terms of speed of responses. These results suggest that certain spatial cognitive abilities are especially important and characteristic of work needed in clinical anatomy, and that education and experience contribute to further development of these abilities. Anat Sci Educ. © 2011 American Association of Anatomists.
An identification method for MIMO continuous‐time systems via iterative learning control concepts
Authors: Sakai Fumitoshi , Sugie Toshiharu 
Published: January 2011

AbstractThis paper presents an identification method based on an iterative learning control (ILC) concept for the multivariable continuous‐time system. For this purpose a projection type ILC, which updates the input in an appropriate parameter space, is extended to the case of multivariable systems. The robustness against measurement noise is achieved through both projection of continuous‐time I/O signals onto a finite dimensional space and noise tolerant learning algorithms. Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate how the parameter estimation can be achieved through the proposed identification method in the presence of heavy measurement noises.Copyright © 2010 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society
A study of upper troposphere and lower stratosphere water vapor above the Tibetan Plateau using AIRS and MLS data
Authors: Tian Wenshou , Tian Hongying , Dhomse Sandip , Feng Wuhu 
Published: January 2011

AbstractWe use water vapor data from Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) combined with meteorological data from ECMWF Interim (ERA‐Interim) reanalysis, to study some aspects of stratosphere–troposphere exchange (STE) near the Tibetan Plateau. Apart from a distinctive region of high water vapor in the lower stratosphere (LS) in summer near the southern Tibetan Plateau (between 30°N and 35°N), the water vapor in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) adjacent to the northern Tibetan Plateau (40°N–45°N) is found to be relatively higher than the surrounding regions of the same latitude in March and April. This relatively high water vapor in the northern Tibetan Plateau UTLS is proposed to be associated with approaching cold surges from the north and forced lifting of air by high orography. Another interesting feature detected in this study is the region of low water vapor values on the order of 5–7 ppmv, that is more pronounced from May to September at around 200 hPa and located at 30°N–40°N western Tibetan Plateau. This low water vapor region is found to be related to an anticyclone developed at the western Tibetan Plateau which causes sinking of dry air from the stratosphere resulting lower water vapor values in the upper troposphere. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society
Kinetic Data for the Transmetalation/Reductive Elimination in Palladium‐Catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura Reactions: Unexpected Triple Role of Hydroxide Ions Used as Base
Authors: Amatore Christian , Jutand Anny , Le Duc Gaëtan 
Published: January 2011

AbstractThe mechanism of the reaction of trans‐[ArPdX(PPh3)2] (Ar=p‐Z‐C6H4; Z=CN, F, H; X=I, Br, Cl) with Ar′B(OH)2 (Ar′=p‐Z′‐C6H4; Z′=CN, H, OMe) has been established in DMF in the presence of the base OH− in the context of real palladium‐catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura reactions. The formation of the cross‐coupling product ArAr′ and [Pd0(PPh3)3] has been followed through the application of electrochemical techniques. Kinetic data have been obtained for the first time, with determination of the observed rate constant, kobs, of the overall reaction. trans‐[ArPdX(PPh3)2] is not reactive in the absence of the base. The base OH− plays three roles. It favors the reaction: 1) by formation of trans‐[ArPd(OH)(PPh3)2], a key complex which, in contrast to trans‐[ArPdX(PPh3)2], reacts with Ar′B(OH)2 (rate‐determining transmetalation), and 2) by unexpected promotion of the reductive elimination from the intermediate trans‐[ArPdAr′(PPh3)2], which generates ArAr′ and a Pd0 species. Conversely, the base OH− disfavors the reaction by formation of the unreactive anionic Ar′B(OH)3−. As a consequence of these antagonistic effects of OH−, the overall reactivity is controlled by the concentration of OH− and passes through a maximum as the concentration of OH− is increased. Therefore, the base favors the rate‐determining transmetalation and unexpectedly also the reductive elimination.
Direct Determination of Bioavailable Molybdenum in Carbon Nanotubes
Authors: Giovanni Marcella , Ambrosi Adriano , Pumera Martin 
Published: January 2011

AbstractBioavailable residual metallic impurities within carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are responsible for the toxicity of CNTs. Herein we present a method for fast, sensitive determination of bioavailable molybdenum residual catalyst impurities within CNTs by using electrochemical oxidation in neutral pH buffers at low potentials. This method is unique because no other method can rapidly distinguish between bioavailable/mobilizable impurities from defects in CNTs and between the total amounts of impurities. This method will be indispensable for future toxicological studies of CNTs.
Sonochemical Degradation of Pharmaceutical Wastewater
Authors: Sivakumar Ramalingam , Muthukumar Karuppan 
Published: January 2011

AbstractThis study presents the influence of the addition of additives such as activated carbon, carbon tetra chloride, hydrogen peroxide, and potassium dichromate on ultrasonic reduction of pharmaceutical wastewater chemical oxygen demand (COD) under laboratory conditions. The addition of activated carbon increased the % COD reduction whereas the combined addition of activated carbon and H2O2/CCl4/K2Cr2O7 was found to show higher reduction. Among the various combinations investigated, the combined addition of activated carbon and CCl4 was found to be the best combination. However, the environmental and health problems associated with these chemicals limit the applicability of the process in an industrial level. Further investigation with this system showed that the initial pH and initial COD have significant influence on the removal rate. The data obtained were fitted with first order and Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetic models. The values of the rate constants obtained indicated that the pharmaceutical wastewater can be treated efficiently by the proposed methods.
Plasma cells in systemic lupus erythematosus: The long and short of it all
Authors: Liu Zheng , Zou YongRui , Davidson Anne 
Published: January 2011

AbstractPlasma cells can be classified as long‐ or short‐lived. The lifespan of a plasma cell largely depends on whether it arises from a germinal center or an extrafollicular locus and most importantly whether it can find a survival niche in the spleen or BM. In systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, long‐lived plasma cells are believed to be responsible for the production of anti‐RNA and anti‐cardiolipin antibodies, whereas short‐lived plasma cells, which are more susceptible to anti‐proliferation therapies, are the main producers of anti‐DNA antibodies. A previous study showed that transient overexpression of interferon‐α (IFN‐α), a cytokine that plays a pathogenic role in SLE, accelerates disease onset in lupus‐prone NZB/W mice. In this issue of the European Journal of Immunology, the same group report that IFN‐α induces large numbers of short‐lived plasma cells, accompanied by high titers of anti‐dsDNA antibodies in NZB/W, but not BALB/c, mice. Our commentary discusses this interesting observation in the context of the previous data regarding plasma cell differentiation and conveys our view about the clinical implications with respect to therapies that target plasma cells in SLE patients.
Bioelectronic Devices Controlled by Biocomputing Systems
Authors: Katz Evgeny 
Published: January 2011

AbstractThis paper outlines recent advances in the integration of enzyme‐based biocomputing systems operating as Boolean logic gates and their networks with various bioelectronic devices. “Smart” switchable electrodes for biosensors and biofuel cells with built‐in biomolecular logic were designed. Interfacing between the biocomputing systems and switchable electrodes resulted in bioelectronic devices controlled by complex patterns of variable biomolecular signals. Various biomedical applications of the novel logically‐controlled bioelectronic devices are feasible.
Image Printing on the Surface of Anti‐Biofouling Zwitterionic Polymer Brushes by Ion Beam Irradiation
Authors: Kitano Hiromi , Suzuki Hisatomo , Kondo Takuya , Sasaki Kenta , Iwanaga Shintaroh , Nakamura Makoto , Ohno Kohji , Saruwatari Yoshiyuki 
Published: January 2011

AbstractA CMB monomer was polymerized on a glass plate with a surface‐confined ATRP initiator containing a 2‐bromoisobutyryl group. The glass plate modified with a PCMB brush was highly hydrophilic and showed a strong resistance against non‐specific adsorption of proteins and cell adhesion. Upon ion beam irradiation, furthermore, the PCMB brush was ablated and a hollow space with a designed shape could be made to which HEK293 cells (from human embryonic kidney) and Hep G2 (from human hepatoma) cells non‐specifically adhered, while no adhesion of these cells to the non‐treated area on the brush was observed. The present results clearly indicate the usefulness of ion beam‐printed patterns of anti‐biofouling zwitterionic polymer brushes in the biomedical field. magnified image
Extrinsic eigenvalue estimates of Dirac operators on Riemannian manifolds
Authors: Huang Guangyue , Chen Li , Sun Xiaomei 
Published: January 2011

AbstractFor eigenvalues of generalized Dirac operators on compact Riemannian manifolds, we obtain a general inequality. By using this inequality, we study eigenvalues of generalized Dirac operators on compact submanifolds of Euclidean spaces, of spheres, and of real, complex and quaternionic projective spaces. We obtain explicit bounds for the (k + 1)‐th eigenvalue of generalized Dirac operators on such objects in terms of its first k eigenvalues, which depend on the mean curvature of the embedding and the curvature term in the Bochner‐Weitzenböck formula for the square of the Dirac operator. These inequalities of eigenvalues extend the recent results in 15. © 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Phase Evolution Theory for Polymer Blends with Extreme Chemical Dispersity: Parameterization of DDFT Simulations and Application to Poly(propylene) Impact Copolymers
Authors: Fraaije Johannes G. E. M. , Nath Shyamal K. , Remerie Klaas , Groenewold Jan 
Published: January 2011

AbstractDDFT is applied to phase formation in homopolymer/copolymer blends in which the copolymer is extremely disperse with a uniform chemical composition distribution. Such systems develop a core/shell structure with a thick interface. This study is motivated by peculiarities in the phase evolution of industrial PP high‐impact copolymers. It is demonstrated that it is possible to reach time and length scales of relevance for realistic industrial blend systems. A rational method for improving the numerical efficiency of the calculations is presented. The model can be applied to a variety of industrially relevant systems with similar “random chemistry” or extreme copolymer dispersity in coatings, crude oil recovery systems, food emulsions, and so forth. magnified image
General decompositions of multiattribute utility functions with partial utility independence
Authors: Abbas Ali E. 
Published: January 2011

AbstractThe construction of a multiattribute utility function is significantly simplified if it is possible to decompose the function into lower‐order utility assessments. When every attribute is utility independent of its complement, we have a powerful property that reduces the functional form into a multilinear combination of single‐attribute functions. We propose a natural extension to the multilinear form requiring the milder set of independence conditions: every attribute is utility independent of a subset of the attributes in its complement. We introduce a graph, which we call the bidirectional utility diagram, to facilitate the elicitation of these utility independence conditions. We also define a class of bidirectional diagrams, which we refer to as the canonical form. We show how this canonical representation leads to tractable functional forms of utility functions that may appeal to the decision analyst and can be used in practice. We also discuss situations where a canonical form does not exist. We then present an iterative approach to determine the lower‐order utility assessments that are required for a given set of utility independence assertions. We conclude with some extensions of this graph‐based approach to independence relations of the form: a subset of the attributes is utility independent of another subset. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Retinal ganglion cell death is induced by microglia derived pro‐inflammatory cytokines in the hypoxic neonatal retina
Authors: Sivakumar Viswanathan , Foulds Wallace S , Luu Chi D , Ling Eng‐Ang , Kaur Charanjit 
Published: January 2011

AbstractHypoxic injury, including that resulting in the retinopathy of prematurity, may induce retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death in the neonatal retina. We hypothesized that this may be mediated by excess production of tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) and interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) by microglia. One‐day‐old Wistar rats were subjected to hypoxia for 2 h and the expression of TNF‐α and IL‐1β and their receptors was determined in the retina. The mRNA and protein expression of TNF‐α, IL‐1β, TNF‐receptor 1 (TNF‐R1), and IL‐1 receptor 1 (IL‐1R1) and the tissue concentration of TNF‐α and IL‐1β were up‐regulated significantly after the hypoxic exposure. TNF‐α and IL‐1β immunoreactivity was localized in microglial cells, whereas that of TNF‐R1 and IL‐1R1 was restricted to RGCs, as confirmed by double immunofluorescence labelling. Along with this, increased expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 and its receptor CCR2 was detected in the microglia. Primary cultured microglia subjected to hypoxia showed enhanced release of TNF‐α and IL‐1β. Primary cultured retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) treated with conditioned medium derived from hypoxic microglia showed enhanced apoptosis, which was significantly reduced when the cells were treated with microglia conditioned medium neutralized with TNF‐α/IL‐1β antibody. Our results suggest that activated microglial cells in hypoxic neonatal retina produce increased amounts of TNF‐α and IL‐1β that could induce RGC death. Copyright © 2011 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The 25th IWEPNM in Kirchberg – A look back to the past and prospects for the future
Authors: Kuzmany Hans , Thomsen Christian 
Published: January 2011

AbstractFor the 25th time, the Kirchberg Winterschool (IWEPNM 2011) provides a platform for reviewing and discussing new developments in the field of electronic properties of molecular nanostructures and their applications. The organizers use this occasion to look at the history, status, and future perspective of this high‐class scientific event. magnified image
Imaging surfaces of nano‐scale roughness by atomic force microscopy with carbon nanotubes as tips: a comparative study
Authors: Munz Martin , Kim Jae‐Ho , Krause Oliver , Roy Debdulal 
Published: January 2011

AbstractAccurate knowledge of the nanoroughness of surfaces is crucial for many applications related to optics, electronics or tribology. Although atomic force microscopy (AFM) can image surfaces with a nanometre spatial resolution, the finite size of standard tips means that pores, pits or grooves with dimensions similar to or smaller than the tip apex will not be accurately imaged. Furthermore, standard tips are made of silicon or silicon nitride and are prone to wear. Mitigation may arise from the availability of AFM tips with a carbon nanotube (CNT) at their foremost end. This study compares the imaging performance of ultrasharp Si tips, CNT AFM tips prepared by a Langmuir‐Blodgett (LB) technique, and of CNT AFM tips prepared by a chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technique. The free length of the CNT AFM tips is in the range 80–200 and 600–750 nm, respectively. A polycrystalline niobium film surface is imaged that shows nanoroughness. The measurements demonstrate that CNT AFM tips allow excellent imaging if the scan parameters are adjusted very carefully. Nevertheless, in some cases distortions are found. The measured average grain diameter is 19.9 ± 3.6 nm in the case of a CNT AFM tip made by the LB technique, and 18.0 ± 3.3 nm in the case of a CNT AFM tip made by CVD. In addition to cross‐sections of topography images, also the power spectral density (PSD) is analyzed. An empirical approach for the readout of the characteristic length is suggested that involves the first derivative of the decadic logarithm of the PSD. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Short‐term forecasting of surface layer wind speed using a continuous random cascade model
Authors: Baïle R. , Muzy J. F. , Poggi P. 
Published: January 2011

AbstractThis paper describes a statistical method for short‐term forecasting (1–12  h ahead) of surface layer wind speed using only recent observations, relying on the notion of continuous cascades. Inspired by recent empirical findings that suggest the existence of some cascading process in the mesoscale range, we consider that wind speed can be described by a seasonal component and a fluctuating part represented by a ‘multifractal noise’ associated with a random cascade. Performances of our model are tested on hourly wind speed series gathered at various locations in Corsica (France) and the Netherlands. The obtained results show that a better modeling of the noise term based on cascade process enhances the forecast; furthermore, there is a systematic improvement in the prediction as compared with reference models. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.