bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of freezing and thawing on the hydraulic conductivity of paper mill sludges used as landfill covers
Authors: Moo-Young, Jr. Horace K , Zimmie Thomas F 
Published: May 2008

A major concern in the design of landfill covers and liners that use compacted clays as the hydraulic barrier is freezing and thawing. Paper mill sludges have been used in landfill covers to subtitute for clays as the hydraulic barrier. In this study, laboratory-compacted paper sludges have been subjected to one-dimensional and three-dimensional laboratory freezing and thawing cycles. Freezing and thawing increased the hydraulic conductivity of the paper sludges about one to two orders of magnitude. To determine why freezing and thawing cause an increase in hydraulic conductivity, an evaluation of the effects of freezing and thawing on the macrostucture of paper sludges was conducted. Frozen thin sections of paper sludges were prepared after freezethaw cycling and were compared to frozen thin sections of a compacted clay. Macrostructure analysis of the paper sludge and clay thin sections was conducted by using back lighting to reveal the details of ice structure. Analysis of the clay thin sections revealed ice lenses and shrinkage cracks. Ice lenses and shrinkage cracks in sludge thin sections were difficult to determine when the same procedure for compacted clays was used. Key words: freeze, paper sludge, landfill, permeability, macrostructure, thin sections.
Swelling behaviour of soilbentonite mixtures
Authors: Sivapullaiah P V , Sridharan A , Stalin V K 
Published: May 2008

Studies on the swelling behaviour of mixtures of bentonite clay and nonswelling coarser fractions of different sizes and shapes reveal that observed swelling occurs only after the voids of the nonswelling particles are filled up with swollen clay particles. The magnitude of the swell within the voids, called intervoid swelling is large when the size and percentage of the nonswelling coarser fraction is large. The observable swell, after intervoid swelling, is called primary swelling and follows a rectangular hyperbolic realtionship with time. The total swell per gram of the clay decreases with an increase in the size of the nonswelling fraction and with a decrease in the percentage of swelling clay. Timeswell realionships show that swelling continues to occur for a long time after the primary swelling, and this is called secondary swelling. Key words: clay, expansive soil, swelling, time factor.
A study on the behaviour of soilgeotextile systems in filtration tests
Authors: Palmeira E M , Fannin R J , Vaid Y P 
Published: May 2008

The behaviour of soilgeotextile systems in filtration tests is reported for nonwoven geotextiles under unidirectional flow. A new apparatus was developed to preform filtration tests under an applied vertical stress, and tests were then conducted with different soils and nonwoven geotextiles in order to evaluate the clogging potential and retention capacity of these materials under rather severe combinations of geotextile and soil characteristics. Results show that the geotextiles perfomed well and that observed permeability losses were acceptable even for gradient ratios close to 3. No progressive piping was observed, and it is believed that the retention capacity of the geotextiles may be influenced by their manufacturing process. In general, theoretical predictions for the maximum particle size passing through the geotextile compared well with measurements. Key words: geotextiles, filtration, gradient ratio, permeability, soil retention, clogging.
Rigid pile with a baseplate under large moments: laboratory model evaluations
Authors: Prasad Yenumula VSN , Chari T R 
Published: May 2008

Results of tests on a rigid embedded pile with baseplate are presented. Laboratory tests were conducted with an instrumented 102 mm rigid circular pile embedded in sand and subjected to combined moment and horizontal load. Two different backfills and two different baseplates were used. The rotation of pile and the soil pressure distributions along the length of the pile and at the bottom of the baseplate were measured. It was found that the moment carrying capacity of a rigid pile can be increased between 25 and 50% by using a baseplate. The investigations reported in this paper are useful in the design of directly embedded transmission-pole foundations. Key words:baseplate, model tests, rigid pile, sand, transmission poles, ultimate moment.
Optimization of the Regional Spatial Distribution of Wind Power Plants to Minimize the Variability of Wind Energy Input into Power Supply Systems
Authors: Cassola Federico , Burlando Massimiliano , Antonelli Marta , Ratto Corrado F. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractIn contrast to conventional power generation, wind energy is not a controllable resource because of its stochastic nature, and the cumulative energy input of several wind power plants into the electric grid may cause undesired fluctuations in the power system. To mitigate this effect, the authors propose a procedure to calculate the optimal allocation of wind power plants over an extended territory to obtain a low temporal variability without penalizing too much the overall wind energy input into the power system. The procedure has been tested over Corsica (France), the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Basin. The regional power supply system of Corsica could be sensitive to large fluctuations in power generation like wind power swings caused by the wind intermittency. The proposed methodology is based on the analysis of wind measurements from 10 anemometric stations located along the shoreline of the island, where most of the population resides, in a reasonably even distribution. First the territory of Corsica has been preliminarily subdivided into three anemological regions through a cluster analysis of the wind data, and the optimal spatial distribution of wind power plants among these regions has been calculated. Subsequently, the 10 areas around each station have been considered independent anemological regions, and the procedure to calculate the optimal distribution of wind power plants has been further refined to evaluate the improvements related to this more resolved spatial scale of analysis.
Supporting Graduate Students of Color in Educational Administration Preparation Programs: Faculty Perspectives on Best Practices, Possibilities, and Problems
Authors: Young Michelle D. , Brooks Jeffrey S. 
Published: May 2008

Overview: This article presents findings from a study that examined faculty perspectives on how individual faculty members and institutions support graduate students of color in educational administration preparation programs. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify strategies that faculty members and institutions employ to support graduate students of color. The authors were also interested in understanding challenges that face individuals and institutions as they seek to provide such support. Data Sources: Data were collected through a series of focus group sessions and from individual interviews conducted with a diverse sample of faculty members during a 3-year period. Findings: Findings suggested that effective support for graduate students of color in educational administration preparation programs entails proactive yet thoughtful, individual, and institutional work in four areas: (a) recognizing and engaging issues of race in educational administration preparation programs, (b) effective and race-sensitive mentorship, (c) creation and sustenance of multi-tiered and multi-purpose support networks, and (d) establishment of formal and informal support structures.
The management of Clostridium difficile infection: using small-scale audit to indicate the knowledge of nursing and medical staff in an acute hospital setting
Authors: Madeo Maurice , Owen Elizabeth , Baruah Joy 
Published: May 2008

An audit was undertaken in a large teaching hospital to assess the knowledge of healthcare workers about the management of patients with Clostridium difficile. One hundred and four questionnaires were completed by nurses (n = 46) and medical staff (n = 58). Knowledge on the microbiology of C. difficile appeared to be superior in medical staff, although nurses had more awareness of decontamination issues. The sampling strategy and definition of diarrhoea were found to be areas of poor knowledge as was the ability to identify the main route of spread of the bacterium. This work resulted in a planned programme of interventions such as educational road shows, updating the C. difficile policy, increasing the stock of chlorine-based agents for cleaning, and the introduction of the Bristol stool chart. It is hoped that these interventions will have an impact on reducing the number of C. difficile cases.
Reduced-toxicity conditioning with fludarabine, BCNU, and melphalan in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation: particular activity against advanced hematologic malignancies
Authors: Marks Reinhard , Potthoff Karin , Hahn Joachim , Ihorst Gabriele , Bertz Hartmut , Spyridonidis Alexandros , Holler Ernst , Finke Jürgen M. 
Published: May 2008

Abstract
Toxicity-reduced conditioning is being used for allogeneic stem cell transplantation in older and/or comorbid patients. We report on the treatment of 133 patients (median age: 55.6 years [23-73 years]) with acute myeloid leukemia (AML)/myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS; n = 81), myeloproliferative syndromes (MPS; n = 20), and lymphoid malignancies (n = 32) using conditioning with FBM: fludarabine (5 × 30 mg/m2), 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (or carmustine, BCNU; 2 × 200 mg/m2), and melphalan (140 mg/m2). Patients 55 years or older received fludarabine with reduced BCNU (2 ×150 mg/m2) and melphalan (110 mg/m2). After engraftment, chimerism analyses revealed complete donor hematopoiesis in 95.7% of patients. With a median follow-up of 58.5 months, 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) was 53.0% and 46.1%, event-free survival (EFS) was 46.4% and 41.9%. No significant differences in OS and EFS were evident considering disease status (early vs advanced), patient age (<55 vs≥55 years), or donor type (related vs unrelated) in univariate and multivariate analyses. The cumulative 5-year incidence of death due to relapse was 20.1%. Nonrelapse mortality (NRM) after 100 days and 1 year was 15.8% and 26.3%. Among patients with AML/MDS, advanced cases (n = 64, including 61 with active disease) showed an OS of 44.6% and 42.4% after 3 and 5 years, respectively. Therefore, FBM conditioning combines effective disease control with low NRM.
Development of gene therapy for blood disorders
Authors: Nienhuis Arthur W. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractThe concept of introducing genes into human cells for therapeutic purposes developed nearly 50 years ago as diseases due to defects in specific genes were recognized. Development of recombinant DNA techniques in the 1970s and their application to the study of mouse tumor viruses facilitated the assembly of the first gene transfer vectors. Vectors of several different types have now been developed for specific applications and over the past decade, efficacy has been demonstrated in many animal models. Clinical trials began in 1989 and by 2002 there was unequivocal evidence that children with severe combined immunodeficiency could be cured by gene transfer into primitive hematopoietic cells. Emerging from these successful trials was the realization that proto-oncogene activation by retroviral integration could contribute to leukemia. Much current effort is focused on development of safer vectors. Successful gene therapy applications have also been developed for control of graft-versus-host disease and treatment of various viral infections, leukemias, and lymphomas. The hemophilias seem amenable to gene therapy intervention and informative clinical trials have been conducted. The hemoglobin disorders, an early target for gene therapy, have proved particularly challenging although ongoing research is yielding new information that may ultimately lead to successful clinical trials.
Characterization of immortalized MARCO and SR-AI/II-deficient murine alveolar macrophage cell lines
Authors: Zhou Hongwei , Imrich Amy , Kobzik Lester 
Published: May 2008

AbstractBackgroundAlveolar macrophages (AM) avidly bind and ingest unopsonized inhaled particles and bacteria through class A scavenger receptors (SRAs) MARCO and SR-AI/II. Studies to characterize the function of these SRAs have used AMs from MARCO or SR-AI/II null mice, but this approach is limited by the relatively low yield of AMs. Moreover, studies using both MARCO and SR-AI/II-deficient (MS-/-) mice have not been reported yet. Hence, we sought to develop continuous cell lines from primary alveolar macrophages from MS-/-mice.ResultsWe usedin vitroinfection of the primary AMs with the J2 retrovirus carrying thev-rafandv-myconcogenes. Following initial isolation in media supplemented with murine macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), we subcloned three AM cell lines, designated ZK-1, ZK-2 and ZK-6. These cell lines grow well in RPMI-1640-10% FBS in the absence of M-CSF. These adherent but trypsin-sensitive cell lines have a doubling time of approximately 14 hours, exhibit typical macrophage morphology, and express macrophage-associated cell surface Mac-1 (CD11b) and F4/80 antigens. The cell lines show robust Fc-receptor dependent phagocytosis of opsonized red blood cells. Similar to freshly isolated AMs from MS-/-mice, the cell lines exhibit decreased phagocytosis of unopsonized titanium dioxide (TiO2), fluorescent latex beads and bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) compared with the primary AMs from wild type (WT) C57BL/6 mice.ConclusionOur results indicated that three contiguous murine alveolar macrophage cell lines with MS-/-(ZK1, ZK2 and ZK6) were established successfully. These cell lines demonstrated macrophage morphology and functional activity. Interestingly, similar to freshly isolated AMs from MS-/-mice, the cell lines have a reduced, but not absent, ability to bind and ingest particles, with an altered pattern of blockade by scavenger receptor inhibitors. These cell lines will facilitatein vitrostudies to further define MARCO and SR-AI/II function, and may also be useful to identify other novel scavenger-type macrophage receptors and for additional studies of particle toxicology.
A Critique of the Report of the Committee of Inquiry, Warlingham Park Hospital
Authors: Glaister Brian 
Published: May 2008

SummaryThe Committee's terms of reference were ‘To inquire into the deaths by suicide of patients at Warlingham Park Hospital during 1974 and 1975 and to prepare a Report to the Area Health Authority on these and the wider significance in relation to psychiatric care facilities in Croydon.’ The 143-page Report (Committee of Inquiry, Warlingham Park Hospital 1976) is now being read by the local public who demanded the inquiry and by psychiatric hospital managers who expect to find causes and cures for suicides in their own hospitals. Unfortunately, the Report fails to reveal that the suicides were of doubtful significance; that the suggested causes are of even more doubtful validity; and that there was a period of abnormally low rate immediately prior to the period in question, the causes of which the Committee failed to investigate.
“I mean to say …”
Authors: Footring Ralph 
Published: May 2008

You might regard words as dependable things, that never do anything more tricksy than linger overly long on the tip of your tongue. But beware – don't let them gang up on you, or you'll be left with phrases.George Orwell (1946) wrote in ‘Politics and the English language’ that:“prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together … the ready-made phrases come crowding in. They will construct your sentences for you – even think your thoughts for you, to a certain extent – and at need they will perform the important service of partially concealing your meaning even from yourself.”(pp. 145, 152, italics in original)
Oxytocin Deficiency Mediates Hyperphagic Obesity of Sim1 Haploinsufficient Mice
Authors: Kublaoui Bassil M. , Gemelli Terry , Tolson Kristen P. , Wang Yu , Zinn Andrew R. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractSingle-minded 1 (Sim1) encodes a transcription factor essential for formation of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Sim1 haploinsufficiency is associated with hyperphagic obesity and increased linear growth in humans and mice, similar to the phenotype of melanocortin 4 receptor (Mc4r) mutations. PVN neurons in Sim1+/− mice are hyporesponsive to the melanocortin agonist melanotan II. PVN neuropeptides oxytocin (Oxt), TRH and CRH inhibit feeding when administered centrally. Consequently, we hypothesized that altered PVN neuropeptide expression mediates the hyperphagia of Sim1+/− mice. To test this hypothesis, we measured hypothalamic expression of PVN neuropeptides in Sim1+/− and wild-type mice. Oxt mRNA and peptide were decreased by 80% in Sim1+/− mice, whereas TRH, CRH, arginine vasopressin (Avp), and somatostatin mRNAs were decreased by 20–40%. Sim1+/− mice also showed abnormal regulation of Oxt but not CRH mRNA in response to feeding state. A selective Mc4r agonist activated PVN Oxt neurons in wild-type mice, supporting involvement of these neurons in melanocortin feeding circuits. To test whether Oxt itself regulates feeding, we measured the effects of central administration of an Oxt receptor antagonist or repeated doses of Oxt on food intake of Sim1+/− and wild-type mice. Sim1+/− mice were hypersensitive to the orexigenic effect of the Oxt receptor antagonist. Oxt decreased the food intake and weight gain of Sim1+/− mice at a dose that did not affect wild-type mice. Our results support the importance of Oxt neurons in feeding regulation and suggest that reduced Oxt neuropeptide is one mechanism mediating the hyperphagic obesity of Sim1+/− mice.
Hypoxia-induced vasoconstriction in alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) intrapulmonary arteries: a role for endothelin-1?
Authors: Skovgaard Nini , Zibrandtsen Helle , Laursen Britt Elmedal , Simonsen Ulf , Wang Tobias 
Published: May 2008

SUMMARY
Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) is an adaptive response that diverts pulmonary blood flow from poorly ventilated and hypoxic areas of the lung to better ventilated parts, matching blood perfusion to ventilation. HPV is an ancient and highly conserved response expressed in the respiratory organs of all vertebrates. However, the underlying mechanism and the role of the endothelium remain elusive. Isolated intrapulmonary arteries (internal diameter &lt;346 μm) from the American alligator Alligator mississippiensis were mounted in microvascular myographs for isometric tension recording. Resting vessels and vessels contracted with either serotonin (5-HT) or endothelin-1 (ET-1) were exposed to sustained (45 min)hypoxia (PO2&lt;5 mmHg). In ET-1-contracted vessels, hypoxia induced a monophasic, sustained and fully reversible constriction, which was independent of the endothelium. In relaxed or in 5-HT-contracted vessels, hypoxia did not cause constriction. The effects of ET-1, ETA and ETB as well as the general ET-receptor antagonist were studied. ET-1 caused a contraction of the pulmonary arteries through stimulation of ETA-receptors. ETA and ETB immunoreactive staining revealed the location of both receptors in the smooth muscle layer and of ETB receptors in the endothelium. In conclusion, because precontraction with serotonin did not facilitate HPV,the required precontraction in alligators seems specific to ET-1, which implies that ET-1 plays an important permissive role for the HPV response in alligators.
Influence of Friction in Simple Upsetting and Prediction of Hardness Distribution in a Cold Forged Product
Authors: Ganesh Narayanan R. , Gopal M. , Rajadurai A. 
Published: May 2008

Abstract
Predicting inhomogeneous deformation in any forging process will definitely be helpful in deciding the tool, billet material, lubrication, annealing sequences, and number of stages to make products. In this work, the influence of varied friction conditions on the hardness and effective strain variation during simple upsetting is studied. Also, hardness variation in a typical cold forging process is predicted by relating hardness and effective strain evolution in a simple upsetting operation empirically. Four different lubricants, viz., castor oil (m=0.33), soap (m=0.25), grease (m=0.2), teflon (m=0.16), are considered for experimentation. The friction factors of these lubricants were obtained from a Ring Compression Test (RCT) and are used in FE simulations of upsetting and forging operations. It is found from the analyses that: (1) Teflon shows relatively less variation in hardness and effective strain depicting homogeneous upsetting operation, whereas other lubricants show a larger variation in hardness and effective strain in radial and axial directions; (2) hardness is observed to vary linearly with effective strain; (3) the empirical relationship between hardness and effective strain obtained from a simple upsetting operation, which is common for all the lubricants, predicts the hardness distribution during the forging-extrusion process with moderate accuracy. This depends on the interface friction conditions, i.e., solid and semi-solid lubricants with better holdability like Teflon and soap show good correlation between experimental and predicted hardness values than liquid lubricant, i.e., castor oil.
Serum vascular endothelial growth factor levels in patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma
Authors: João Bugalho Maria , Madureira Deolinda , Espadinha Carla , Paula Font Ana , Sobrinho Luís G 
Published: May 2008

BackgroundHigh levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) have been reported in patients with cancers of different origins. There are no data comparing serum VEGF levels of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) patients with that of the healthy subjects.ObjectiveWe tried to assess whether serum VEGF concentration in MTC patients is correlated with tumour extension and whether this marker might be used to further refine the selection of candidates for future therapies with receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors.MethodsSera from 57 individuals divided into five groups: group I, healthy individuals (n=14); group II, MTC patients in remission (n=10); group III, MTC patients with residual disease (n=12); group IV, MTC patients with loco-regional disease (n=11) and group V, MTC patients with distant metastases (n=10) were analysed for serum VEGF and calcitonin (CT) levels.ResultsAnalysis of serum VEGF did not disclose significant differences among the five groups. Mean serum VEGF level of patients with distant metastases was not significantly different from that observed in healthy individuals (319.4±49.78 vs 313.7±43.13 ng/l). Serum VEGF levels correlated positively with serum CT (r=0.4891; P=0.0394) for CT values below 2500 ng/l whereas there was no correlation for CT values above this threshold.ConclusionsSerum VEGF levels in MTC patients are not significantly different from those found in healthy individuals and did not correlate with the extension of disease.