bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Offshore support structure optimization by means of integrated design and controls
Authors: Fischer T. , de Vries W. , Rainey P. , Schmidt B. , Argyriadis K. , Kühn M. 
Published: January 2012

ABSTRACTSupport structures are one of the main cost drivers offshore, and since other offshore rules apply with regards to design and site conditions, different methodologies have to be developed to mitigate the loads on the support structure and therefore to reduce the associated component costs. Detailed onshore studies and field tests have already shown that advanced control algorithms can be an effective way to reduce fatigue and extreme loading on a wind turbine. Still, the overall cost‐effectiveness for large offshore wind farms has not been studied in detail yet. In the scope of this paper, studies of new controller concepts are integrated within the design process of offshore support structures in order to stretch the applicability of monopiles to larger water depths or simply to reduce the structural weight and associated costs.A reference design of the support structure is made for a site in the Dutch North Sea. The focus is on reducing the dominant hydrodynamic excitation on the support structure. The implemented load mitigation concept leads to significant reductions in loading, allowing considerable material savings and therefore a more cost‐effective design. The presented approach allows material reductions of more than 9% for the studied support structure. Undesired side effects, such as increased wear of turbine components, are unlikely, as other system loadings and characteristics remain within an acceptable range. Even if some of the rotor–nacelle assembly loads are slightly increased by the applied controller, the increases are low and probably still within the margins of the type‐class fatigue loads. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Role of purinergic P2X receptors in the control of liver homeostasis
Authors: Fausther Michel , Gonzales Emmanuel , Dranoff Jonathan A. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractIt is now accepted that extracellular ATP and other nucleotides are potent signaling molecules, akin to neurotransmitters, hormones, and lipid mediators. In the liver, several clues support a significant role for extracellular ATP‐induced signaling pathways in the control of tissue homeostasis. First, ATP and other nucleotides are physiologically detected in extracellular fluids within the liver, including sinusoidal blood and intraductular bile, in various mammalian species including human and rodents. Moreover, finely tuned mechanisms of ATP release by different liver cell types have been described, under physiological cellular changes. In addition, most hepatic cells constitutively express, at the membrane level, several ATP‐metabolizing ectoenzymes and ATP‐sensitive receptors that modulate and transduce these mediator signals, respectively. Finally, hepatic cells also express numerous membrane transporters that actively contribute to purinergic salvage pathways. Once released in the extracellular medium, unmetabolized ATP molecules can bind to purinergic P2X and P2Y receptors, and subsequently trigger various intracellular signal transduction pathways collectively referred to as purinergic signaling. In the liver, purinergic signaling has been shown to regulate key basic cellular functions, such as glucose/lipid metabolism, protein synthesis and ionic secretion, and homeostatic processes, such as cell cycle, inflammatory response, and immunity. While the functional relevance of P2Y receptors in liver physiology has been well documented, limited information is available regarding the potential role of hepatic P2X receptors in the modulation of liver homeostasis. WIREs Membr Transp Signal 2012,1:341–348. doi: 10.1002/wmts.32For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Metabotropic signaling by kainate receptors
Authors: Rodrigues Ricardo J. , Lerma Juan 
Published: January 2012

AbstractKainate receptors (KARs) are members of the ionotropic glutamate receptor family. Despite their ubiquitous presence in the central nervous system, and in contrast to the better characterized N‐methyl‐d‐aspartates (NMDARs) and α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazole propionic acid receptors (AMPARs), the contribution of KARs to synaptic transmission has only been demonstrated in a few central synapses. However, there is now accumulating evidence that KARs are present on both sides of the synapse, where they play distinct and diverse roles. In addition to their contribution to synaptic transmission, KARs can regulate synaptic activity and plasticity either by presynaptically modulating neurotransmitter release at GABAergic and glutamatergic synapses, or by postsynaptically regulating neuronal excitability. This prominent neuromodulatory role of KARs has been further highlighted by the finding that these glutamate‐gated ion‐channels can also signal through G‐proteins and other second messengers. This non‐canonical metabotropic signaling of KARs was firmly established by demonstrating it to be independent of ion flux. The discovery of this dual signaling capacity of KARs constituted a breakthrough in understanding how they function and since then, an increasing number of metabotropic actions of KARs have been reported. It is now clear that this dual signaling underlies the diverse functions of KARs and defining this metabotropic component of the signaling system operated by KARs will be necessary to understand the physiological contributions of glutamate receptors. WIREs Membr Transp Signal 2012, 1:399–410. doi: 10.1002/wmts.35For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Plant and fungal photopigments
Authors: Heintzen Christian 
Published: January 2012

AbstractLight is both an energy source and a carrier of information. Changes in light intensity, direction, quality, spectral composition, and the metronomic predictability of the Earths' light‐dark cycles carry vital information about the environment. Photoreceptors have evolved that sense these characteristics of light and trigger cellular signaling processes that control physiology, development, and behavior and enable organisms to develop a sense of space and time. In plants and fungi the photoreceptive rhodopsins, light oxygen voltage proteins, phytochromes and cryptochromes sense changes in and facilitate the adaptation to the light environment. WIREs Membr Transp Signal 2012, 1:411–432. doi: 10.1002/wmts.36For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Identification of informative metabolic responses using a minibioreactor: a small step change in the glucose supply rate creates a large metabolic response in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Aboka Fredrick O. , van Winden Wouter A. , Reginald Mashego M. , van Gulik Walter M. , van de Berg Marco , Oudshoorn Arthur , Heijnen Joseph J. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractIn this study, a previously developed mini‐bioreactor, the Biocurve, was used to identify an informative stimulus–response experiment. The identified stimulus–response experiment was a modest 50% shift‐up in glucose uptake rate (qGLC) that unexpectedly resulted in a disproportionate transient metabolic response. The 50% shift‐up in qGLC in the Biocurve resulted in a near tripling of the online measured oxygen uptake (qO2) and carbon dioxide production (qCO2) rates, suggesting a considerable mobilization of glycogen and trehalose. The 50% shift‐up in qGLC was subsequently studied in detail in a conventional bioreactor (4 l working volume), which confirmed the results obtained with the Biocurve. Especially relevant is the observation that the 50% increase in glucose uptake rate led to a three‐fold increase in glycolytic flux, due to mobilization of storage materials. This explains the unexpected ethanol and acetate secretion after the shift‐up, in spite of the fact that after the shift‐up the qGLC was far less than the critical value. Moreover, these results show that the correct in vivo fluxes in glucose pulse experiments cannot be obtained from the uptake and secretion rates only. Instead, the storage fluxes must also be accurately quantified. Finally, we speculate on the possible role that the transient increase in dissolved CO2 immediately after the 50% shift‐up in qGLC could have played a part in triggering glycogen and trehalose mobilization. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Variation in seed germination of 86 subalpine forest species from the eastern Tibetan Plateau: phylogeny and life‐history correlates
Authors: Wang JuHong , Chen Wen , Baskin Carol C. , Baskin Jerry M. , Cui XianLiang , Zhang Yong , Qiang WeiYa , Du GuoZhen 
Published: January 2012

AbstractWe have examined the seed germination strategy of 86 subalpine woody species from the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau and assessed correlations between seed germination and phylogeny, life‐history attributes, habitat, and altitude using stepwise analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and phylogenetically independent contrasts (PICs). A series of ANOVAs revealed that the total amount of variance in the arcsine‐transformed value of germination percentage among species could be accounted for by phylogeny (19.2%) and dispersal mode (14.3%) in seeds incubated in the light and by phylogeny (29.3%) and dispersal mode (11.0%) in those incubated in the dark. In addition, the total amount of variance in T50 (days to half of the final germination) can be accounted for by phylogeny (22.7%) and dispersal mode (17%) in seeds incubated in the light and by phylogeny (32.1%) and dispersal mode (9.9%) in those incubated in the dark. PICs indicated a significant correlation between germination percentage and dispersal mode and a positive correlation between T50 and seed mass, showing that wind‐dispersed seeds had higher germination percentages than both unassisted and vertebrate‐dispersed seeds and that small seeds germinated faster than large ones. We suggest that phylogeny and dispersal mode may constrain variation in seed germination across species and that the speed of germination and seed mass may co‐vary to adapt to a variable environment. Therefore, from an evolutionary perspective, seed germination might be the result of both selective pressures over long‐term ecological time and phylogenetic constraints over the long‐standing evolutionary history of the phylogenetic group.
BMI among Timorese aged ≥40 years
Authors: Ramke Jacqueline , Brian Garry 
Published: January 2012

AbstractObjectiveTo determine the distribution and sociodemographic associations of BMI (kg/m2) among adults aged ≥40 years living in Timor-Leste.DesignBMI was calculated for participants of a population-based cross-sectional survey.SettingUrban and rural Timor-Leste.SubjectsAdults aged ≥40 years living in Timor-Leste.ResultsOf those enumerated, 2014 participated (89·5 %). Male gender, rural domicile, older age, illiteracy and source of household income were associated with BMI < 18·5 kg/m2 on multivariate analysis. Female gender, urban domicile and literacy were associated with BMI ≥25·0 and ≥30·0 kg/m2. Adjusting for gender, age and domicile, and extrapolating to those aged ≥40 years across Timor-Leste, 9·9 %, 36·0 %, 6·6 % and 0·8 % had BMI <16·0, <18·5, ≥25·0 and ≥30·0 kg/m2, respectively.ConclusionsAt this time, being ‘underweight’ or ‘severely thin’ is more prevalent in the Timorese adult population than being ‘overweight’ or ‘obese’.
THEHYAKUMANTŌ DARANIAND THE ORIGINS OF PRINTING IN EIGHTH-CENTURY JAPAN
Authors: Kornicki Peter 
Published: January 2012

The origins of printing in East Asia have been the subject of lively debate over the last twenty years, and a constant point of reference has been the first recorded act of printing in Japan, which took place in the 760s. The term Hyakumantō Darani 百万塔陀羅尼 (hereafter HD) is commonly used in Japan to refer to this episode, and it denotes the Buddhist dhāraṇī or spells which are thought to have been printed in Nara and then inserted into wooden miniature pagodas, and which have for a century been regarded as the oldest printed texts in the world.1They were printed, so the evidence suggests, in the closing years of the reign of Shōtoku 稱德 (718–770, r. 764–770), who was the last woman on the Japanese throne for nearly one thousand years and who had had an earlier reign under the name Kōken 孝謙 (r. 749–758).2In this article I shall first examine the evidence relating to the HD and the origins of printing, since the whole question has long been clouded by hypotheses masquerading as fact. Second, I shall explore the origins of the practice of producing miniature pagodas and its transmission to Japan. Third, I shall argue that the established views on the motivation for the HD are inadequate, and shall identify the factors that demand a new explanation, particularly the pagodas themselves. Finally, I turn to the ideological and political factors underlying these events and suggest a new explanation. This new explanation focuses on the politics of Shōtoku's situation and the connection with empress Wu (Wu Zetian 武則天; 624–705, r. 690–705), and it goes some way towards explaining why printing was not resorted to again in Japan for several centuries.
The legacy of bio-molecules as a bio-fertilizer: Context of single cell fertilizer Isolation and partial characterization of an amylolytic bacterium
Authors: Sen Sribir , Banerjee Anwesha , Sanyal Sanghamitra 
Published: January 2012

AbstractRepeated cultivation of crop plants is the reason for the depletion of nutrients in an agricultural land. Therefore, modern procedures of agriculture cascaded with the addition of organic and inorganic fertilizers, the use of insecticides and pesticides, the addition of proper water, etc. Various inorganic molecules are used as fertilizers. However, the use of organic manures is also in practice. They have many roles such as improving soil porosity, air holding capacity, water holding capacity, structure, texture, etc. Agricultural scientists suggest using organic molecules for many reasons. Bio-fertilizers of many kinds are used by farmers of all nations. However, these fertilizers are unable to cause tremendous effects on the growth and development of crop plants, even though these fertilizers have cumulative effects. The present work focuses on the use of bio-molecules as bio-fertilizer. To make these molecules, an amylolytic bacterium was isolated and partially identified based on microscopic observations and biochemical tests. The optimum pH, temperature, substrate concentration, etc. were studied. The optimum pH and temperature for the growth of the isolate were pH 7.0 and 37.0°C, respectively. However, the organism grows even in 60.0°C. The organism uses four commonly available natural substrates as carbon source. Among these, potato starch is the most conveniently utilized by the organism. The amy gene of the strain was cloned using a vector. It expressed a high amount of amylase (data is not shown). The recombinant organism was used to make bio-molecules. It was grown in the presence of various natural substrates and enzymatic activities, and other associated studies were also carried out. The experimental results obtained in this study showed that the recombinant organism can be utilized to make a huge amount of bio-molecules. It will be a unique fertilizer for future generations.
Fully programmable single-photon detection module for InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diodes with clean and sub-nanosecond gating transitions
Authors: Tosi Alberto , Della Frera Adriano , Bahgat Shehata Andrea , Scarcella Carmelo 
Published: January 2012

We present the design and characterization of a modern near-infrared photon counting module, able to exploit the best performance of InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diodes for the detection of fast and faint optical signals up to 1.7 μm. Such instrument is suitable for many applications, thanks to the user-friendly interface and the fully adjustable settings of all operating parameters. We extensively characterized both the electronics and the detector, and we validated such instrument up to 133 MHz gate repetition frequency, for photon-counting and photon-timing applications, with very clean temporal response and excellent timing performance of less than 100 ps.
MBE growth of high electron mobility 2DEGs in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures controlled by RHEED
Authors: Broxtermann D. , Sivis M. , Malindretos J. , Rizzi A. 
Published: January 2012

We have grown 2DEG AlGaN/GaN heterostructures by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) with electron mobilities up to 21500 cm2V−1s−1 at 2 K. In-situ RHEED was applied to optimize different aspects of Ga-rich growth. This paper gives a compact overview of the experimental key aspects that significantly affect the low temperature electron mobility in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. Growth at the transition towards Ga droplet formation produced the best results. A quantitative analysis of the magnetoresistance confirmes scattering at dislocations as the dominant scattering process at low temperature.
Trends in death attributed to heart failure over the past two decades in Europe
Authors: Laribi Said , Aouba Albertine , Nikolaou Maria , Lassus Johan , Cohen‐Solal Alain , Plaisance Patrick , Pavillon Gérard , Jois Preeti , Fonarow Gregg C. , Jougla Eric , Mebazaa Alexandre ,   the GREAT network
Published: January 2012

AimsLittle is known regarding temporal trends in mortality attributed to heart failure (HF) from a population perspective. The aim of this study was to assess the mortality related to HF as an underlying cause during the last 20 years in seven European countries.Methods and resultsThe number of deaths with HF as the underlying cause was collected in seven European states: Germany, Greece, England and Wales, Spain, France, Finland, and Sweden from 1987 to 2008. Disease coding for HF was based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 9th and 10th versions). We computed age‐standardized death rates (SDRs) per 100 000 inhabitants. Mean age at death from HF was also calculated for the same period. In the seven studied countries, the HF SDR decreased continuously from 54.2 (1987) to 32.6 (2008). Despite differences in the early 1990s, SDRs related to HF seemed to converge, in these seven European countries, to ~30 deaths per 100 000 population in the near future, for both men and women. During the study period, the mean age at death increased from 80.0 to 82.7 years. Half of the deaths from HF occurred in hospital, without change over time.ConclusionThere has been a 40% reduction of the SDR due to HF in seven European countries during two decades and a concomitant increase in the mean age at death from HF. We hypothesize that these results may be related to a better management of chronic and acute HF patients over the past 20 years.
First Report of Twig Canker on Peach Caused by Phomopsis amygdali in China
Authors: Dai F. M. , Zeng R. , Lu J. P. 
Published: January 2012

During May and June of 2009, canker and twig dieback were observed with 30 to 40% incidence in trees in one peach orchard in Nanhui of Shanghai (cv. YuLu juicy peach) and one orchard (cv. JingXiu yellow peach) in Jiaxin of Zhejiang Province, China. Cankers were generally centrally positioned on the nodes at the base of shoots with sunken, reddish brown/tan-to-silver symptoms. Blight was also observed on a few shoots (1). Five samples were collected from each orchard and isolations were conducted on potato sucrose agar (PSA). Ten isolates were obtained and all had white mycelia on PSA. Black pycnidia, formed in culture, produced two types of conidia: hyaline, fusiform alpha conidia and hyaline, string-like beta conidia. Alpha conidia varied from 5.0 to 6.3 × 1.5 to 2.5 μm and beta conidia ranged from 20 to 25 × 1.2 to 1.5 μm. Morphological characteristics suggested the identity of the fungal isolates to be Phomopsis amygdali. To confirm pathogenicity, an inoculum suspension was made from one isolate (106 conidia/ml) and was sprayed until runoff onto five twigs with buds. Inoculated twigs were maintained at 26°C and 100% relative humidity in a growth chamber with a 12-h period of fluorescent light daily. Twigs inoculated with sterilized water were included as noninoculated controls. After 4 days, dark brown lesions appeared around buds on inoculated twigs. No symptoms were observed on the control twigs. Constriction cankers were reproduced and P. amygdali was reisolated from the lesions. To confirm the identity of the pathogen, total genomic DNA was extracted with the cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide (CTAB) method from the mycelia of two isolates from YuLu juicy peach and Jinxiu yellow peach (2). PCR was performed with universal primers ITS1 (5′-TCCGTAGGTGAACCTGCGG-3′) and ITS4 (5′-TCCTCCGCTTATTGATATGC-3′) to amplify a DNA fragment of approximately 550 bp. The PCR products were purified and sequenced in both directions (Sangon Biotech (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., China). The sequences (GenBank Accession Nos. HQ632013 and HQ632014) shared 98.9% identity with each other (MegAlign software; DNASTAR, Madison, WI). A comparison of these two sequences with those in GenBank showed that the sequences had the highest nucleotide similarity (99%) with P. amygdali isolate FAU1052 from peach in the southeastern United States (Accession No. AF102998). To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. amygdali causing twig canker on peach in China and will provide useful information for developing effective control strategies. References: (1) D. F. Farr et al. Mycologia 91:1008, 1999. (2) M. A. Saghai-Maroof et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 81:8014, 1984.