bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Medicine safety: experiences and perceptions of the general public in Liverpool
Authors: Krska Janet , Jones Laura , McKinney Jonathan , Wilson Craig 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACTPurposeTo determine whether views of medicine safety, awareness of medicines' side effects and reporting behaviours were related to experiences of suspected side effects among the general public.MethodStreet interviews with the general public in central Liverpool, using closed and open questions. University ethics approval was obtained.ResultsA total of 436 people were interviewed, most (313; 71.8%) of whom obtained a medicine at least once every 3 months, 153 (37.4%) only prescribed medicines, 73 (16.7%) only over‐the‐counter (OTC) medicines and 87 (19.9%) both. A total of 198 (45.4%) respondents claimed to have experienced a side effect from a prescription medicine, an OTC medicine or both, and 110 (25.2%) knew someone who had experienced a side effect. Experiences of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) did not appear to influence perceptions of medicine safety, with most feeling that both prescribed and OTC medicines were safe.Only 94 (21.6%) respondents identified the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency as being responsible for monitoring medicine safety, and only 27 (6.2%) were aware of direct patient reporting. Once informed about direct reporting, over half said that they were strongly likely to report in the future, with the main reasons (272) for reporting being an ADR which was serious, caused hospital admission or affected daily life.ConclusionPublic understanding of medicine safety, how safety is monitored and how to report suspected ADRs is generally limited despite ADRs being commonly experienced. If awareness of direct patient reporting can be increased, the public appear to be willing to report and to be appropriately selective in reporting. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Structural and biochemical analysis of mammalian methionine sulfoxide reductase B2
Authors: Aachmann Finn L. , Kwak Geun‐Hee , Del Conte Rebecca , Kim Hwa‐Young , Gladyshev Vadim N. , Dikiy Alexander 
Published: August 2011

AbstractMethionine sulfoxide reductases are antioxidant enzymes that repair oxidatively damaged methionine residues in proteins. Mammals have three members of the methionine‐R‐sulfoxide reductase family, including cytosolic MsrB1, mitochondrial MsrB2, and endoplasmic reticulum MsrB3. Here, we report the solution structure of reduced Mus musculus MsrB2 using high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. MsrB2 is a β‐strand rich globular protein consisting of eight antiparallel β‐strands and three N‐terminal α‐helical segments. The latter secondary structure elements represent the main structural difference between mammalian MsrB2 and MsrB1. Structural comparison of mammalian and bacterial MsrB structures indicates that the general topology of this MsrB family is maintained and that MsrB2 more resembles bacterial MsrBs than MsrB1. Structural and biochemical analysis supports the catalytic mechanism of MsrB2 that, in contrast to MsrB1, does not involve a resolving cysteine (Cys). pH dependence of catalytically relevant residues in MsrB2 was accessed by NMR spectroscopy and the pKa of the catalytic Cys162 was determined to be 8.3. In addition, the pH‐dependence of MsrB2 activity showed a maximum at pH 9.0, suggesting that deprotonation of the catalytic Cys is a critical step for the reaction. Further mobility analysis showed a well‐structured N‐terminal region, which contrasted with the high flexibility of this region in MsrB1. Our study highlights important structural and functional aspects of mammalian MsrB2 and provides a unifying picture for structure‐function relationships within the MsrB protein family. Proteins 2011; © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Exploring conformational changes coupled to ionization states using a hybrid Rosetta‐MCCE protocol
Authors: Song Yifan 
Published: August 2011

AbstractA hybrid protocol combining Rosetta fullatom refinement and Multi‐Conformation Continuum Electrostatics (MCCE) to estimate pKa is applied to the blind prediction of 94 mutated residues in Staphylococcal nuclease (SNase), as part of the pKa‐cooperative benchmark test. The standard MCCE method is limited to sidechain conformational changes. The Rosetta refinement protocol is used to add the backbone conformational changes in pKa calculations. The non‐electrostatic energy component from Rosetta and the electrostatic energy from MCCE are combined to weight the calculated ionization states. Of 63 measured pKas, the root mean squared deviation (RMSD) between the calculated pKas and the measured values is 4.3, showing an improvement compared to the RMSD of 6.6 in the standard MCCE calculations, using a low protein dielectric constant of 4. The breakdown of pKa shift from the solution values (ΔpKa) shows that the desolvation energy contributes the most in the standard MCCE calculations. Lowering desolvation penalties and optimizing electrostatic interactions with the Rosetta/MCCE protocol reduces the ΔpKa to favor the charged states. Analysis also showed that the Rosetta/MCCE protocol samples conformations with pKas close to the solution values. The question remains whether the correct conformational changes coupled to the ionization changes are found here. Nevertheless, a challenge emerges to accurately estimate the reorganization energy, which is not directly measured from the electrostatic environment of the site of interest. Possible improvements to the protocol are also discussed. Proteins 2011; © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Design of a modified mouse protein with ligand binding properties of its human analog by molecular dynamics simulations: The case of C3 inhibition by compstatin
Authors: Tamamis Phanourios , Pierou Panayiota , Mytidou Chrystalla , Floudas Christodoulos A. , Morikis Dimitrios , Archontis Georgios 
Published: August 2011

AbstractThe peptide compstatin and its derivatives inhibit the complement‐component protein C3 in primate mammals and are potential therapeutic agents against the unregulated activation of complement in humans, but are inactive against C3 from lower mammals. Recent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations showed that the most potent compstatin analog comprised entirely of natural amino acids (W4A9) had a smaller affinity for rat C3, due to reproducible changes in the rat protein structure with respect to the human protein, which eliminated or weakened specific protein–ligand interactions seen in the human C3:W4A9 complex. Here, we study by MD simulations three W4A9 complexes with the mouse C3 protein, and two “transgenic” mouse derivatives, containing a small number (6–9) of human C3 substitutions. The mouse complex experiences the conformational changes and affinity reduction of the rat complex. In the “transgenic” complexes, the conformation remains closer to that of the human complex, the protein–ligand interactions are improved, and the affinity for compstatin becomes “human‐like.” The present work creates new avenues for a compstatin‐sensitive animal model. A similar strategy, involving the comparison of a series of complexes by MD simulations, could be used to design “transgenic” sequences in other systems. Proteins 2011;. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Analysis and design of waveguide structures for InGaAs/InAlAs quantum cascade lasers at λ ∼ 4.6–9.5 µm
Authors: Ko Yeong Hwan , Yu Jae Su 
Published: August 2011

AbstractOptical waveguide structures of InP‐based quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) are theoretically analyzed and designed using the finite element method. The optical confinement factor (Γ) and absorption coefficient (α) of the waveguide structures for λ ∼ 4.6, 6, 8.8, and 9.5 µm QCLs with different numbers of active/injector stages (Ns) are calculated. As Ns is decreased at longer wavelength, Γ is gradually decreased and α is increased. For double‐channel (DC) ridge waveguide structures of QCLs operating at λ ∼ 9.5 µm, a relatively high optical loss is caused by the lossy insulation layer. To improve the performance, the buried heterostructure (BH) by InP regrowth is used for waveguide design in terms of Ns and waveguide width. For a narrow BH width of ∼10 µm, a low α value of 3.92 cm−1 is obtained compared to 12.32 cm−1 in the DC ridge waveguide structure. With the calculated optical properties of waveguide structures, the device characteristics of QCLs operating at λ ∼ 4.6 and 9.5 µm are theoretically investigated in comparison with the experimental results.
Antarctic local wind dynamics and polynya effects on the Adélie Land coast
Authors: Savijärvi Hannu 
Published: August 2011

AbstractMesoscale winds on the sloping coast of Adélie Land in East Antarctica were studied via idealized clear‐sky integrations with a two‐dimensional model. The calm‐case (Vg = 0) wintertime surface winds were steady katabatic southeasterlies. They were enhanced to a strong downslope low‐level jet (LLJ) during a southerly geostrophic flow but damped during a moderate westerly ‘counter‐katabatic’ flow. A strong westerly flow could overwhelm the katabatic component while a northerly Vg induced strong coastal easterlies with an easterly LLJ. On‐slope flow without the katabatic forcing generated a barrier effect. An ice‐free wintertime zone (a coastal polynya) increased the coastal 2 m winds by about 50% (and drag on the ice floes, by 125%) through the induced extra land breeze circulation and unstable stratification. The midsummer morning coastal winds were also katabatic in the morning as the slopes cooled rapidly after midnight. In a prevailing flow these behaved much as in wintertime but were strong only at 0400–0700 hours local time. By 0800–0900 hours local time the snowy slopes were melting in sunshine. With Vg = 0 this induced weak anabatic winds up the slope. At the coast a midday ‘sea breeze’‐like circulation was present, insensitive however to the sea state (frozen vs. open) or the coast state (snowy vs. black rock) of the model. These anabatic winds were quite weak and hence easily overwhelmed by any larger‐scale flow, surviving only during a weak westerly flow. The typically easterly Vg along the East Antarctica coast induced katabatic‐like surface winds throughout the day, as is commonly observed, despite the midday solar heating. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society
Multidecadal and interannual changes of stationary Rossby waves
Authors: Freitas Ana Carolina Vasques , Brahmananda Rao V. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractChanges in stationary Rossby waves (SRW) are connected to regional climate change and the propagation of these waves has a large influence on the evolution and development of the general circulation. Since the late 1970s and early 1980s many studies have noted a major shift in the structure of large‐scale circulation occurring in both hemispheres. This paper explores the changes in the SRW pattern and their propagation associated with these climate shifts. First, multidecadal changes in SRW activity are examined, using NCEP‐NCAR reanalysis data, for two periods: 1948–1978 and 1979–2000. For comparison of these two periods, the zonal wind, SRW kinetic energy pattern along the waveguide and stationary wavenumber (Ks) are analysed. The results showed that in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) the SRW propagation is favoured in the Asian jet stream (AJS) waveguide (Ks = 7) in the period 1979–2000, mainly in the east Asia region. There are indications that this could be associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation warm phase. A favoured SRW propagation also occurs in the North Atlantic subtropical jet (NASJ) waveguide (Ks = 5) region in the latter period and could be linked with positive North Atlantic Oscillation. In the Southern Hemisphere (SH), a favoured SRW propagation in the polar jet waveguide (Ks = 4) region is observed in the latter period and this could be associated, indirectly, with tropical sea surface temperature fluctuations. The interannual changes in the SRW propagation during stronger El Niño and La Niña events, which occurred from 1948 to 2000 are then examined. The results showed that, during stronger El Niño events, in NH the SRW propagation in the AJS, mainly in the east Asia region, and in the NASJ waveguides (Ks = 7, 5, respectively) is reduced. On the other hand, in SH the SRW propagation in Australian and polar waveguides (Ks = 7, 4, respectively) is favoured. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society
Leakage‐probability‐constrained secrecy capacity of a fading channel
Authors: Chen Zhi , Wu Dapeng , Fan Pingyi , Letaief Khaled Ben 
Published: August 2011

ABSTRACTSecure transmission of information over wireless channels in the presence of an eavesdropper has attracted much attention recently. Previous work assumes that a transmitter has perfect knowledge of the channel side information (CSI) of the legitimate channel and the eavesdropper's channel. To loosen this strong requirement, this paper considers the case where a transmitter has perfect knowledge of the CSI of the legitimate channel and only the average channel gain of the eavesdropper's channel. In this case, some information may be leaked to the eavesdropper because the eavesdropper's channel may have a higher gain than the legitimate channel. Hence, we propose, for the first time, to study leakage‐probability‐constrained secrecy capacity of a fading channel, that is, secrecy capacity under the constraint on leakage probability. We also propose an optimal power allocation strategy that maximizes leakage‐probability‐constrained secrecy capacity under average power constraint. Moreover, we study the impact of the bias of the average gain estimate of the eavesdropper's channel on leakage‐probability‐constrained secrecy capacity. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Insulin‐Coated Gold Nanoparticles: A Plasmonic Device for Studying Metal–Protein Interactions
Authors: Chanana Munish , Correa‐Duarte Miguel A. , Liz‐Marzán Luis M. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractInsulin‐capped gold nanoparticles (Au@insulin NPs) are highly sensitive towards pH and heavy metals, due to the protein coating. Au@insulin NPs aggregate and disaggregate reversibly with pH and in the presence of various heavy metal ions, which can be monitored through reversible changes in their optical properties. The sensitivity of the NPs towards different metal ions is dissimilar and depends on the coordinative properties of each specific metal ion, its valence number, concentration, and reaction time (kinetics), representing a simple tool for studying fundamental metal–protein interactions. Moreover, Au@insulin NPs are biocompatible and highly stable at high ionic strengths, due to their robust protein coating.
Controlled Collapse of High‐Aspect‐Ratio Nanostructures
Authors: Duan Huigao , Yang Joel K. W. , Berggren Karl K. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractCapillary‐force‐induced collapse of high‐aspect‐ratio (HAR) micro‐ and nanostructures is common in the evaporation–drying process and a number of applications based on the collapse have been proposed. However, the collapse of small HAR structures is usually uncontrollable, which has prevented it from being used in engineering applications. Here, the collapse of 10‐nm‐scale structures is separately controlled through engineering an asymmetric cross section, curvature, and tilt in the structures prior to collapse. It is shown that this deterministic‐collapse approach can be used to create linear structures from collapsed pillars and planar rectangular structures from collapsed fencelike linear structures, and can further be used to create small gaps by controlling the collapse of nearby structures. These techniques could be used to improve the performance of beam‐based lithography methods for certain types of patterns by increasing throughput and resolution, reducing the proximity effect, and reducing irradiation damage. In addition, this controlled‐collapse concept provides a possible platform with which to study mechanical behavior at the 10‐nm scale.
Cyclic Deformation Behaviour of Three Austenitic Cast CrMnNi TRIP/TWIP Steels with Various Ni Content
Authors: Glage A. , Weidner A. , Biermann H. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractThis study presents the cyclic deformation behaviour of three high‐alloyed austenitic cast steels which are characterized by different chemical compositions leading to different austenite stabilities and stacking fault energies. Thus, depending on the chemical composition different deformation mechanisms arise which have a significant influence on the cyclic deformation behaviour and life time relations.The materials were characterized under total‐strain control. The fatigue life relations of Basquin and Manson‐Coffin are applied successfully for all steel variants. The cyclic stress‐strain response is described using the Ramberg‐Osgood relationship. It is shown that the parameters n' and K' depend strongly on the accumulated plastic strain λp. The mechanical properties are discussed together with microstructural investigations of deformation structures and martensitic transformations as well as twinning, respectively.
Sodium arsenite induced reactive oxygen species generation, nuclear factor (erythroid‐2 related) factor 2 activation, heme oxygenase‐1 expression, and glutathione elevation in Chang human hepatocytes
Authors: Li Bing , Li Xin , Zhu Bo , Zhang Xinyu , Wang Yi , Xu Yuanyuan , Wang Huihui , Hou Yongyong , Zheng Quanmei , Sun Guifan 
Published: August 2011

AbstractLiver is one of the major target organs of arsenic toxicity and carcinogenesis. Nuclear factor (erythroid‐2 related) factor 2 (Nrf2) is a redox‐sensitive transcription factor, regulating critically cellular defense responses against the toxic metallic arsenic in many cell types and tissues. This study was conducted to evaluate the hepato‐cellular Nrf2 and Nrf2‐regulated antioxidant reactions of sodium arsenite exposure in Chang human hepatocytes. Nrf2 and heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1) protein levels were detected by Western blot, and Nrf2‐regulated HO‐1 mRNA expressions were determined using semiquantitative RT‐PCR by 0∼50 μmol/L of sodium arsenite exposure for 2, 6, 12, and 24 h. We also observed the changes of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and total cellular glutathione (GSH) by flow cytometry and spectrophotometry, respectively. Our results showed that intracellular ROS were both dose‐ and time‐dependent induced by inorganic arsenic; Cellular Nrf2 protein levels increased rapidly after 2 h of exposure, elevated significantly at 6 h, and reached the maximum at 12 h. The endogenous Nrf2‐regulated downstream HO‐1 mRNA and protein were also induced dramatically and lasted for as long as 24 h. In addition, intracellular GSH levels elevated in consistent with Nrf2 activation. Our findings here suggest that inorganic arsenic alters cellular redox balance in hepatocytes to trigger Nrf2‐regulated antioxidant responses promptly, which may represent an adaptive cell defense mechanism against inorganic arsenic induced liver injuries and hepatoxicity. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2013.
Laser Safety: The Game Is On
Authors: Castelluccio Donna L. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractAny recurring mandatory education offering presents the risk of losing the audience's interest because of its repetitious nature. For example, laser safety in the OR is an important issue that should be reviewed annually, but most perioperative personnel have heard the laser safety talk and performed hands‐on training numerous times. Educational offerings that must be presented repeatedly should be provided in new and creative ways to maintain staff members' attention. Presenting valuable and necessary educational material in a game show format can engage personnel, heighten their interest, and improve the chances that learning will occur. As a means of accomplishing this, a perioperative educator created an inservice game that was a successful and fun way to provide laser safety education.
Managing Tissue Bank Access to the OR for Tissue Recovery
Authors: Trim Robert S. 
Published: August 2011

AbstractHospitals often have tissue recovery service agreements with regional tissue banks to facilitate the donation process. The agreements that outline the tissue bank–hospital relationship frequently allow tissue bank personnel to perform tissue recovery procedures in the referring hospital's OR and may or may not specify any preparatory orientation or any written protocols for tissue bank staff members to follow. This creates the potential for unintentional breaches of protocol that can affect operation of equipment or result in contamination that may put surgical patients and staff members at risk. The OR manager is responsible for establishing appropriate orientation plans for tissue bank employees to ensure they understand and adhere to the hospital's protocols.
Clinical Issues—August 2011
Authors: Van Wicklin Sharon A. 
Published: August 2011

This MonthDiscarding used syringesKey words: needles, syringes, recapping, disposal.Requirements for storing autologous tissueKey words: autologous grafts, tissue storage.Developing policies and procedures for autologous tissue bankingKey words: autologous grafts, tissue banking.Labeling autograft storage packagesKey words: autologous grafts, tissue storage.Documentation requirements for autologous tissueKey words: documentation for autologous grafts, tissue banking.
The moderating effects of supplier portfolio characteristics on the competitive performance impacts of supplier‐facing process capabilities
Authors: Tang Xinlin , Rai Arun 
Published: August 2011

AbstractWe draw on the interorganizational relationship management literature to examine how contextual characteristics of the supplier portfolio (portfolio concentration, relationship length, and supplier substitutability) moderate the impacts of process alignment and partnering flexibility – two of a firm's key supplier‐facing process capabilities to manage supplier relationships – on a product line's competitive performance. Our analysis of survey data on a firm's supplier portfolio for a major product line indicates that the impacts of process alignment and partnering flexibility on competitive performance are moderated by the three supplier portfolio characteristics. Specifically, while concentrated relationship portfolios, long‐term relationships, and supplier substitutability amplify the positive effect of process alignment on competitive performance, concentrated relationship portfolios and long‐term relationships attenuate the competitive benefits that firms derive from partnering flexibility. While long‐term relationships and concentrated supplier portfolios enhance the competitive benefits of process alignment, operations managers also need to recognize the detrimental effects of these supplier portfolio characteristics on the competitive benefits of partnering flexibility.
SCALAR CURVATURE OF HYPERSURFACES WITH CONSTANT MEAN CURVATURE IN SPHERES
Authors: ZHANG QIN 
Published: August 2011

AbstractLet Mn be an n-dimensional closed hypersurface with constant mean curvature H satisfying |H| ≤ ϵ(n) in a unit sphere Sn+1(1), n ≤ 8 and S the square of the length of the second fundamental form of M. There exists a constant δ(n, H) > 0, which depends only on n and H such that if S0 ≤ S ≤ S0 + δ(n, H), then S ≡ S0 and M is isometric to a Clifford hypersurface, where ϵ(n) is a sufficiently small constant depending on n and $S_0=n+\frac{n^3}{2(n-1)}H^2+\frac{n(n-2)}{2(n-1)}\sqrt{n^2H^4+4(n-1)H^2}$.