bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Preparation of porous honeycomb monolith from UV‐curable monomer/dioxane solution via unidirectional freezing and UV irradiation
Authors: Okaji Rika , Taki Kentaro , Nagamine Shinsuke , Ohshima Masahiro 
Published: January 2012

AbstractA well‐ordered micrometer‐scale honeycomb monolith porous polymeric material with aligned channels was successfully prepared from UV‐curable urethane diacrylate monomer and 1,4‐dioxane solutions by conducting unidirectional freezing, photopolymerization, and sublimation of the frozen solvent. UV light was irradiated into the frozen solution, and the monomer was photopolymerized and solidified in a template of 1,4‐dioxane crystals. The effects of monomer concentration, freezing rate, and viscosity of the solution on the porous structure were investigated. High monomer concentration increases the solution viscosity, decreases the diffusivity of solute, and consequently, increases the degree of the supercooling. Thus, the pore size was decreased, and the channel wall feature was changed from smooth to dendrite as the solution viscosity increased. Pre‐UV irradiation was also conducted before the unidirectional freezing process so as to control the solution viscosity and change the porous structure. Experiments elucidated that the solution viscosity is one of the key factors of determining the cell structure in the unidirectional freezing technique. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012
Preparation of superabsorbent based on the graft copolymerization of acrylic acid and acrylamide onto konjac glucomannan and its application in the water retention in soils
Authors: Tian Da‐Ting , Li Shi‐Rong , Liu Xin‐Ping , Wang Jing‐Shou , Hu Sheng , Liu Cheng‐Mei , Xie Hong‐Quan 
Published: January 2012

AbstractA new konjac glucomannan (KGM)‐based superabsorbent polymer, KGM‐g‐poly(acrylic acid‐co‐acrylamide), was prepared by the free radical grafting solution polymerization of acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AM) monomers onto KGM in the presence of N,N′‐methylenebisacrylamide as a crosslinker with potassium persulfate as an initiator. The effects of reaction parameters, including the amount of crosslinking agent and initiator, the weight ratio of both (AA + AM) to KGM and AM to (AA + AM), neutralization degree of AA, bath temperature, and reaction time, on the water absorbency of the superabsorbent were investigated. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to characterize the structures of the copolymer. The maximum water absorbency of the optimized product was 650 g/g for distilled water and 70 g/g for a 0.9 wt % aqueous NaCl solution. Furthermore, the water retention of the copolymer in soils was studied. The effect of the copolymers on the aggregate distribution of soils was also evaluated. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012
Recasting shortfalls of marine protected areas as opportunities through adaptive management
Authors: Ban Natalie C. , Cinner Joshua E. , Adams Vanessa M. , Mills Morena , Almany Glenn R. , Ban Stephen S. , Mccook Laurence J. , White Alan 
Published: January 2012

ABSTRACT

Many marine ecosystems are in critical decline.
Iterative assessments of the costs, benefits, and problems associated with conservation initiatives such as marine protected areas (MPAs) can help to improve their effectiveness.
The increasingly popular framework of marine spatial planning (MSP) provides opportunities for improving marine management but also needs to avoid similar shortfalls to those identified for MPAs.
There is a critical need for realistic presentation of the scope and capacity of MPAs to counteract biodiversity loss, both in isolation and as part of marine spatial planning or other approaches to complementary management.
The purpose of this viewpoint is to generate increased momentum to integrate MPAs with other strategies and to recognize the important advances that have been made in MPA planning, implementation and management. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Inorganic Photocatalysts for Overall Water Splitting
Authors: Xing Jun , Fang Wen Qi , Zhao Hui Jun , Yang Hua Gui 
Published: January 2012

AbstractPhotocatalytic water splitting using semiconductor photocatalysts has been considered as a “green” process for converting solar energy into hydrogen. The pioneering work on electrochemical photolysis of water at TiO2 electrode, reported by Fujishima and Honda in 1972, ushered in the area of solar fuel. As the real ultimate solution for solar fuel‐generation, overall water splitting has attracted interest from researchers for some time, and a variety of inorganic photocatalysts have been developed to meet the challenge of this dream reaction. To date, high‐efficiency hydrogen production from pure water without the assistance of sacrificial reagents remains an open challenge. In this Focus Review, we aim to provide a whole picture of overall water splitting and give an outlook for future research.
A new lost time estimation method for right‐turn traffic in Japan considering signal phasing and sneakers
Authors: Tang Keshuang , Ono Takeshi , Kuwahara Masao , Tanaka Shinji 
Published: January 2012

SUMMARYPrecise estimation of the capacity for right‐turn traffic (comparable to left‐turn traffic in the USA) is of great importance to determine signal phasing schemes at signalized intersections in Japan, where the left‐hand driving rule is valid. However, in most signal timing procedures across the world, the lost time of right‐turn traffic is simply determined by the duration of intergreen intervals and thus lacks considerations of various signal phasing and driver behavior. Meanwhile, sneakers per cycle are usually applied to account for the number of drivers completing right turns during the effective red portion of the clearance‐and‐change intervals. As a result, an initial cycle length must be hypothesized in order to assess the total number of sneakers within the analysis period. Consequently, a time‐consuming iterative calculation process often becomes necessary. Therefore, the present study aims to develop a new lost time estimation method for right‐turn traffic to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks. Lost times of right‐turn traffic under three conventional phasing plans are theoretically formulated on the basis of a time–space diagram and shock‐wave theory. The new method is validated using field data, with case studies of its application in the signal timing procedure. Results indicated that the proposed method is capable of offering more accurate estimation than conventional approaches, which leads to shorter cycle length and simplifies signal timing process by eliminating an iterative check to determine the number of sneakers. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Microflotation performance for algal separation
Authors: Hanotu James , Bandulasena H.C. Hemaka , Zimmerman William B. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractThe performance of microflotation, dispersed air flotation with microbubble clouds with bubble size about 50 µm, for algae separation using fluidic oscillation for microbubble generation is investigated. This fluidic oscillator converts continuous air supply into oscillatory flow with a regular frequency to generate bubbles of the scale of the exit pore. Bubble characterization results showed that average bubble size generated under oscillatory air flow state was 86 µm, approximately twice the size of the diffuser pore size of 38 µm. In contrast, continuous air flow at the same rate through the same diffusers yielded an average bubble size of 1,059 µm, 28 times larger than the pore size. Following microbubble generation, the separation of algal cells under fluidic oscillator generated microbubbles was investigated by varying metallic coagulant types, concentration and pH. Best performances were recorded at the highest coagulant dose (150 mg/L) applied under acidic conditions (pH 5). Amongst the three metallic coagulants studied, ferric chloride yielded the overall best result of 99.2% under the optimum conditions followed closely by ferric sulfate (98.1%) and aluminum sulfate with 95.2%. This compares well with conventional dissolved air flotation (DAF) benchmarks, but has a highly turbulent flow, whereas microflotation is laminar with several orders of magnitude lower energy density. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2012; 109:1663–1673. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Cannabinoids and Atherosclerotic Coronary Heart Disease
Authors: Singla Sandeep , Sachdeva Rajesh , Mehta Jawahar L. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractMarijuana is the most abused recreational drug in the United States. Cannabinoids, the active ingredients of marijuana, affect multiple organ systems in the human body. The pharmacologic effects of marijuana, based on stimulation of cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2, which are widely distributed in the cardiovascular system, have been well described. Activation of these receptors modulates the function of various cellular elements of the vessel wall, and may contribute to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Clinically, there are reports linking marijuana smoking to the precipitation of angina and acute coronary syndromes. Recently, large published clinical trials with CB1 antagonist rimonabant did not show any significant benefit of this agent in preventing progression of atherosclerosis. In light of these findings and emerging data on multiple pathways linking cannabinoids to atherosclerosis, we discuss the literature on the role of cannabinoids in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis. We also propose a marijuana paradox, which implies that inhalation of marijuana may be linked to precipitation of acute coronary syndromes, but modulation of the endocannabinoid system by a noninhalation route may have a salutary effect on the development of atherosclerosis.The authors have no funding, financial relationships, or conflicts of interest to disclose.
Exploring biomarkers in head and neck cancer
Authors: Langer Corey J. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractPersonalized medicine based on predictive markers linked to drug response, it is hoped, will lead to improvements in outcomes and avoidance of unnecessary treatment in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Recent research has shown that expression of ERCC1 may predict resistance to treatment with platinum agents. Future testing for this marker may help select the optimal type of chemotherapy. Infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated with less aggressive disease and better prognosis in locally advanced SCCHN treated with chemoradiation or radiation alone; HPV‐positive patients may ultimately benefit from less intensive, less toxic therapy. K‐RAS mutations, occurring in about 40% of colorectal cancers and associated with lack of benefit from epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibodies in this disease, are found in <5% of SCCHN patients, making routine testing for K‐RAS mutations unwarranted at this time. Virtually all head and neck tumors overexpress EGFR, which limits the usefulness of EGFR expression as a marker for treatment selection. Although the incidence of EGFR tyrosine kinase domain mutations is very rare, a better understanding of the role of EGFR mutations, expression, amplification, and downstream effects in SCCHN may help define the role of EGFR in this setting. These observations caution against extrapolating results obtained with biomarkers in other types of cancer to SCCHN. Validation of each biomarker in the context of SCCHN clinical trials will be required before a specific marker can be incorporated into daily practice. Cancer 2012;. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
Copy number alterations of c‐MYC and PTEN are prognostic factors for relapse after prostate cancer radiotherapy
Authors: Zafarana Gaetano , Ishkanian Adrian S. , Malloff Chad A. , Locke Jennifer A. , Sykes Jenna , Thoms John , Lam Wan L. , Squire Jeremy A. , Yoshimoto Maisa , Ramnarine Varune Rohan , Meng Alice , Ahmed Omar , Jurisca Igor , Milosevic Michael , Pintilie Melania , van der Kwast Theo , Bristow Robert G. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractDespite the use of PSA, Gleason score, and T‐category as prognosticators in intermediate‐risk prostate cancer, 20–40% of patients will fail local therapy. In order to optimize treatment approaches for intermediate‐risk patients, additional genetic prognosticators are needed. Previous reports using array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) in radical prostatectomy cohorts suggested a combination of allelic loss of the PTEN gene on 10q and allelic gain of the c‐MYC gene on 8q were associated with metastatic disease. We tested whether copy number alterations (CNAs) in PTEN (allelic loss) and c‐MYC (allelic gain) were associated with biochemical relapse following modern‐era, image‐guided radiotherapy (mean dose 76.4 Gy). We used aCGH analyses validated by fluorescence in‐situ hybridization (FISH) of DNA was derived from frozen, pre‐treatment biopsies in 126 intermediate‐risk prostate cancer patients. Patients whose tumors had CNAs in both PTEN and c‐MYC had significantly increased genetic instability (percent genome alteration; PGA) compared to tumors with normal PTEN and c‐MYC status (p < 0.0001). We demonstrate that c‐MYC gain alone, or combined c‐MYC gain and PTEN loss, were increasingly prognostic for relapse on multivariable analyses (hazard ratios (HR) of 2.58/p = 0.005 and 3.21/p = 0.0004; respectively). Triaging patients by the use of CNAs within pre‐treatment biopsies may allow for better use of systemic therapies to target sub‐clinical metastases or locally recurrent disease and improve clinical outcomes. Cancer 2012. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
An open‐label, phase 2 trial of RPI.4610 (angiozyme) in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer
Authors: Morrow Phuong Khanh , Murthy Rashmi K. , Ensor Joe D. , Gordon Gilad S. , Margolin Kim A. , Elias Anthony D. , Urba Walter J. , Weng David E. , Rugo Hope S. , Hortobagyi Gabriel N. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractBACKGROUND:Serum and plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) correlate with prognosis in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). VEGF binds to 2 receptors on endothelial cells, VEGFR‐1 and VEGFR‐2. RPI.4610 (Angiozyme0) is an antiangiogenic ribozyme targeting the VEGFR‐1 mRNA. Preclinical and phase 1 studies suggested that RPI.4610 is a well‐tolerated agent with clinical activity in solid tumors. The authors' trial evaluated the efficacy of RPI.4610 in the treatment of patients with progressive MBC.METHODS:This phase 2, multicenter, single‐arm study was designed to assess the objective response rate of RPI.4610 in patients with MBC who had experienced disease progression with at least 1 course of chemotherapy for MBC. Patients received daily subcutaneous injections of RPI.4610 100 mg/m2 for 12 weeks.RESULTS:Most patients (93%) had received at least 2 lines of chemotherapy previously; 69% of patients had received at least 3 lines of chemotherapy. Median follow‐up was 2.76 months (range, 0.89‐36.6 months). No partial responses nor complete responses were found. Median progression‐free survival was 1.41 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.35‐1.45). The median overall survival from start of treatment was 11.89 months (95% CI, 4.11‐23.66). Treatment‐related adverse events (AEs) were primarily grade 1 to 2 in intensity. Most common AEs were: injection site reactions, abdominal pain, anorexia, chromaturia, constipation, dyspnea, fatigue, headache, pain at the injection site, nausea, vomiting, and fever.CONCLUSIONS:Although RPI.4610 demonstrated a well‐tolerated safety profile, its lack of clinical efficacy precludes this drug from further development. Cancer 2012.© 2012 American Cancer Society.
The impact of insurance status on outcomes after surgery for spinal metastases
Authors: Dasenbrock Hormuzdiyar H. , Wolinsky Jean‐Paul , Sciubba Daniel M. , Witham Timothy F. , Gokaslan Ziya L. , Bydon Ali 
Published: January 2012

AbstractBACKGROUND:Disparities based on insurance status in the American health care system are well established. However, to the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate variables that may explain differences based on payer type in the outcomes after surgery for spinal metastases.METHODS:Data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2005‐2008) were retrospectively extracted. Patients ages 18 to 64 years who underwent surgery for spinal metastases were included. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to calculate the adjusted odds of in‐hospital death and the development of a complication for Medicaid recipients and for those without insurance compared with privately insured patients. All analyses were adjusted for differences in patient age, gender, primary tumor histology, socioeconomic status, hospital bed size, and hospital teaching status.RESULTS:A total of 2157 hospital admissions were evaluated. The adjusted odds of in‐hospital death were significantly higher for Medicaid recipients (crude rate: 6.5%; odds ratio [OR], 1.79; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.11‐2.88 [P = .02]) and uninsured patients (crude rate: 7.7%; OR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.04‐4.46 [P = .04]) compared with privately insured patients (crude rate: 3.8%). Complication rates were also significantly higher for Medicaid recipients (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.04‐1.72 [P = .02]). However, after also adjusting for acuity of presentation, the odds of in‐hospital death were not significantly different for Medicaid (OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 0.86‐2.21 [P = .18]) or uninsured patients (OR, 1.86; 95% CI, 0.90‐3.83 [P = .09]); in addition, complication rates did not appear to differ significantly.CONCLUSIONS:This nationwide study suggests that disparities based on insurance status for patients undergoing surgery for spinal metastases may be attributable to a higher acuity of presentation. Cancer 2012. © 2012 American Cancer Society
A non‐Markovian stochastic Petri net‐based approach to performance evaluation of ontology‐based service composition
Authors: Xia Yunni , Wan Neng , Dai Gang , Luo Xin , Sun Tianhao 
Published: January 2012

SUMMARYThe Ontology Web Language (OWL)‐based web service ontology is one of the major standards for modeling and description of distributed service composition. To analyze the performance of composite service, processes specified in OWL‐S give way to tell whether the process meets the performance requirements and to choose the process with higher efficiency from those with similar function. In this paper, we propose a stochastic Petri net‐based approach for performance analysis of OWL‐S processes, which employs non‐Markovian stochastic Petri nets as the intermediate representation. The main innovation of this research includes a translation from OWL‐S to non‐Markovian stochastic Petri nets and a performance (using expected‐process‐normal‐completion‐time as the metric) analysis method. We also validate the correctness of the approach in the case study by showing 90% CI obtained from experimental results that cover corresponding theoretical prediction values. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A component‐based middleware for hybrid grid/cloud computing platforms
Authors: Manias Elton , Baude Françoise 
Published: January 2012

SUMMARYCurrent solutions for hybrid grid/cloud computing have been developed to hide from heterogeneity, dynamicity, and distributed nature of resources. These solutions are, however, insufficient to support distributed applications with non‐trivial communication patterns among processes or that are structured so as to reflect the organization of resources they are deployed onto. In this paper, we present a generic, adaptable, and extensible component‐based middleware that seamlessly enables a transition of non‐trivial applications from traditional grids to hybrid grid–cloud platforms. This middleware goes beyond the resolution of well‐known technical challenges for multi‐domain computing, as it offers mechanisms to exploit the hierarchical, heterogeneous, and dynamic natures of platforms. We validate its capabilities and versatility through two use cases: an Internet‐wide federation of Distributed Service Buses and a runtime supporting DD high‐performance computing in heterogeneous computing environments using programming that is similar to message‐passing interface. Performance results show the efficiency and usefulness of our middleware and so contribute to promote research efforts geared toward flexible, on‐demand information technology solutions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Effect of Temperature on Single‐Polypeptide Adsorption
Authors: Kienle Sandra , Liese Susanne , Schwierz Nadine , Netz Roland R. , Hugel Thorsten 
Published: January 2012

AbstractThe hydrophobic attraction (HA) is believed to be one of the main driving forces for protein folding. Understanding its temperature dependence promises a deeper understanding of protein folding. Herein, we present an approach to investigate the HA with a combined experimental and simulation approach, which is complementary to previous studies on the temperature dependence of the solvation of small hydrophobic spherical particles. We determine the temperature dependence of the free‐energy change and detachment length upon desorption of single polypeptides from hydrophobic substrates in aqueous environment. Both the atomic force microscopy (AFM) based experiments and the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations show only a weak dependence of the free energy change on temperature. In fact, depending on the substrate, we find a maximum or a minimum in the temperature‐dependent free energy change, meaning that the entropy increases or decreases with temperature for different substrates. These observations are in contrast to the solvation of small hydrophobic particles and can be rationalized by a compensation mechanism between the various contributions to the desorption force. On the one hand this is reminiscent of the protein folding process, where large entropic and enthalpic contributions compensate each other to result in a small free energy difference between the folded and unfolded state. On the other hand, the protein folding process shows much stronger temperature dependence, pointing to a fundamental difference between protein folding and adsorption. Nevertheless such temperature dependent single molecule desorption studies open large possibilities to study equilibrium and non‐equilibrium processes dominated by the hydrophobic attraction.
Structural and optical response of 2‐Mercaptoethonal capped CdS nanocrystals to Fe3+ ions
Authors: Murali G. , Reddy D. Amaranatha , Poornaprakash B. , Vijayalakshmi R. P. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractCadmium sulfide (CdS) semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) doped with Fe3+ have been synthesized via a solution‐based method utilizing dopant concentrations of (0–5%) and employing 2‐mercaptoehonal as a capping agent. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) results showed that the undoped CdS NCs are in mixed phase of cubic and hexagonal, where as the doped CdS NCs are in hexagonal phase. The crystallite size was increased from ∼1.2 nm to ∼2 nm. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy studies (DRS) reveals that the band gap energy was decreased with Fe doping and it lies in the range of 2.58 ‐ 2.88 eV. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of undoped CdS NCs show a strong green emission peak centered at 530 nm and a weak red emission shoulder positioned at 580 nm. After doping all the luminescence intensity was highly quenched and the green emission peak was shifted to orange region (580 nm), but the position of weak red emission shoulder was unaltered with doping. FTIR studies revealed that the NCs were sterically stabilized by 2‐mercaptoethanol. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)