bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Design of Synthetic Polymer Nanoparticles that Capture and Neutralize a Toxic Peptide
Authors: Hoshino Yu , Urakami Takeo , Kodama Takashi , Koide Hiroyuki , Oku Naoto , Okahata Yoshio , Shea Kenneth J. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractDesigned polymer nanoparticles (NPs) capable of binding and neutralizing a biomacromolecular toxin are prepared. A library of copolymer NPs is synthesized from combinations of functional monomers. The binding capacity and affinity of the NPs are individually analyzed. NPs with optimized composition are capable of neutralizing the toxin even in a complex biological milieu. It is anticipated that this strategy will be a starting point for the design of synthetic alternatives to antibodies.
Teaching evolution: Narratives with a view from three southern biology teachers in the USA
Authors: Goldston M. Jenice “Dee” , Kyzer Peggy 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis case study explored sociocultural forces that influenced three 10th grade public high school biology teachers' instructional goals, instructional acts, and identity narratives related to the teaching of evolution. Primary data included field observations of classroom instruction and teacher interviews. Secondary data included informal conversations with students, interviews with department chairs, and interviews with a Southern minister. Data were coded and analyzed resulting in categories and themes which provided insights into the sociocultural influences that gave shape to the teaching of evolution for three teachers in this southeastern state. Findings included: (a) changes in teaching identities as the teachers sought legitimacy for teaching evolution through dependency on the textbook as the authoritative knowledge, (b) socioculturally embedded lived experiences and the perceived teaching identity of each teacher that created idiosyncratic positionings related to decisions about teaching evolution, and (c) the complicatory influence of the state standards, the graduation exit examination, and teacher autonomy on teachers' decisions related to the teaching of evolution. This study revealed practical relationships between what actual practices occur when teachers include or exclude evolution within the curriculum and the liabilities and benefits of teacher autonomy related to controversial topics such as evolutionary theory. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 762–790, 2009
The OGLE-III catalog of variable stars: First results
Authors: Soszyński Igor 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe third phase of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-III) has been conducted since 2001 and regularly monitors the brightness of about 200 million stars. The OGLE-III fields cover both Magellanic Clouds and a large area in the Galactic bulge and disk. Here we describe the first parts of the OGLE-III Catalog of Variable Stars which is being prepared on the basis of these data. We present the principles of the catalog and methods used to select variable stars. We expect that the whole catalog will contain at least one million variable stars of all types. The catalog includes the list of variable sources along with their basic parameters, high precision multi-epoch I and V-band photometry and accurate astrometry. All objects are classified and cross-identified with previously published catalogs. We also carry out a preliminary statistical analysis of these huge samples of variable stars.
The binarity of the Clouds and the formation of the Magellanic Stream
Authors: Besla Gurtina , Kallivayalil Nitya , Hernquist Lars , van der Marel Roeland P. , Cox T. J. , Robertson Brant , Alcock Charles 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe HST proper motion (PM) measurements of the Clouds have severe implications for their interaction history with the Milky Way (MW) and with each other. The Clouds are likely on their first passage about the MW and the SMC's orbit about the LMC is better described as quasi-periodic rather than circular. Binary L/SMC orbits that satisfy observational constraints on their mutual interaction history (e.g., the formation of the Magellanic Bridge during a collision between the Clouds ~300 Myr ago) can be located within 1σ of the mean PMs. However, these binary orbits are not co-located with the Magellanic Stream (MS) when projected on the plane of the sky and the line-of-sight velocity gradient along the LMC's orbit is significantly steeper than that along the MS. These combined results ultimately rule out a purely tidal origin for the MS: tides are ineffective without multiple pericentric passages and can neither decrease the velocity gradient nor explain the offset stream in a polar orbit configuration. Alternatively, ram pressure stripping of an extended gaseous disk may naturally explain the deviation. The offset also suggests that observations of the little-explored region between RA 21h and 23h are crucial for characterizing the full extent of the MS.
Models for the dynamical evolution of the Magellanic System
Authors: Bekki Kenji 
Published: March 2009

AbstractI discuss the following five selected topics on formation and evolution of the LMC and the SMC based on fully self-consistent chemodynamical simulations of the Magellanic Clouds (MCs): (1) formation of bifurcated gaseous structures and young stars in the Magellanic bridge (MB), (2) formation of the Magellanic stream (MS) due to the tidal interaction between the LMC, the SMC, and the Galaxy within the last 2 Gyrs, (3) origin of the observed kinematical differences between H i gas and stars in the SMC, (4) formation of stellar structures dependent on their ages and metallicities in the LMC, and (5) a new common halo model explaining both the latest HST ACS observations on the proper motions of the LMC and the SMC and the presence of the MS in the Galactic halo. I focus exclusively on the latest developments in numerical simulations on formation and evolution of the Magellanic system.
The many streams of the Magellanic Stream
Authors: Stanimirović Snežana , Hoffman Samantha , Heiles Carl , Douglas Kevin A. , Putman Mary , Peek Joshua E. G. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractAs a part of the ongoing H i survey by the consortium for Galactic studies with the Arecibo L-band Feed Array (GALFA-HI), we have recently imaged the tip of the MS and found several long filamentary structures. This demonstrates that the northern portion of the MS, which has been interacting with the Galactic halo for a long time, is more extended than previously thought and in the form of highly organized H i structures. The observed filaments, and especially the kinematic dichotomy of H i clouds observed for the first time, agree with predictions by the Connors, Kawata & Gibson (2006) tidal model. However, specific time-stamps in the history of the Magellanic System are required to explain these phenomena. The 20-degree long filaments are accompanied by a large population of small H i clouds. We investigate the observed properties of these clouds and explore various instabilities that affect a warm tail of gas trailing through the Galactic halo. Interestingly, if the observed H i structure is mainly due to thermal instability, then the tip of the MS is at a distance of ~70 kpc.
Tracing the cold molecular gas reservoir through dust emission in the SMC
Authors: Bot Caroline , Rubio Mónica , Boulanger François , Albrecht Marcus , Bertoldi Frank , Bolatto Alberto D. , Leroy Adam K. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe amount of molecular gas is a key for understanding the future star formation in a galaxy. However, this quantity is difficult to infer as the cold H2 is almost impossible to observe and, especially at low metallicities, CO only traces part of the clouds, keeping large envelopes of H2 hidden from observations. In this context, millimeter dust emission tracing the cold and dense regions can be used as a tracer to unveil the total molecular gas masses. I present studies of a sample of giant molecular clouds in the Small Magellanic Cloud. These clouds have been observed in the millimeter and sub-millimeter continuum of dust emission: with SIMBA/SEST at 1.2 mm and the new LABOCA bolometer on APEX at 870 μm. Combining these with radio data for each cloud, the spectral energy distribution of dust emission are obtained and gas masses are inferred. The molecular cloud masses are found to be systematically larger than the virial masses deduced from CO emission. Therefore, the molecular gas mass in the SMC has been underestimated by CO observations, even through the dynamical masses. This result confirms what was previously observed by Bot et al. (2007). We discuss possible interpretations of the mass discrepancy observed: in the giant molecular clouds of the SMC, part of cloud's support against gravity could be given by a magnetic field. Alternatively, the inclusion of surface terms in the virial theorem for turbulent clouds could reproduce the observed results and the giant molecular clouds could be transient structures.
Stellar evolution models at the Magellanic Cloud metallicities
Authors: Hirschi Raphael , Ekström Sylvia , Georgy Cyril , Meynet Georges , Maeder André 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe Magellanic Clouds are great laboratories to study the evolution of stars at two metallicities lower than solar. They provide excellent testbeds for stellar evolution theory and in particular for the impact of metallicity on stellar evolution. It is important to test stellar evolution models at metallicities lower than solar in order to use the models to predict the evolution and properties of the first stars. In these proceedings, after recalling the effects of metallicity, we present stellar evolution models including the effects of rotation at the Magellanic Clouds metallicities. We then compare the models to various observations (ratios of sub-groups of massive stars and supernovae, nitrogen surface enrichment and gamma-ray bursts) and show that the models including the effects of rotation reproduce most of the observational constraints.
Thermally-pulsing asymptotic giant branch stars in the Magellanic Clouds
Authors: Marigo Paola , Girardi Léo , Bressan Alessandro , Groenewegen Martin A. T. , Aringer Bernhard , Silva Laura , Granato Gian Luigi 
Published: March 2009

AbstractWe present the latest results of a theoretical project aimed at investigating the properties of thermally-pulsing asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) stars in different host systems. For this purpose, we have recently calculated calibrated synthetic TP-AGB tracks — covering a wide range of metallicities (0.0001 ≤ Z ≤ 0.03) up to the complete ejection of the envelope by stellar winds (Marigo & Girardi 2007) — and used them to generate new sets of stellar isochrones (Marigo et al. 2008). The latter are converted to about 25 different photometric systems, including the mid-infrared filters of Spitzer and AKARI as the effect of circumstellar dust from AGB stars is taken into account. First comparisons with AGB data in the MC field and stellar clusters are discussed.
On the self-consistent physical parameters of LMC intermediate-age clusters
Authors: Kerber Leandro O. , Santiago Basílio X. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe LMC clusters with similar ages to the Milky Way open clusters are in general more metal-poor and more populous than the latter, being located close enough to allow their stellar content to be well resolved. Therefore, they are unique templates of simple stellar population (SSP), being crucial to calibrate models describing the integral light as well as to test the stellar evolution theory. With this in mind we analyzed HST/WFPC2 (V, B − V) colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of 15 populous LMC clusters with ages between ~0.3 Gyr and ~4 Gyr using different stellar evolutionary models. Following the approach described by Kerber, Santiago & Brocato (2007), we determined accurate and self-consistent physical parameters (age, metallicity, distance modulus and reddening) for each cluster by comparing the observed CMDs with synthetic ones generated using isochrones from the PEL and BaSTI libraries. These determinations were made by means of simultaneous statistical comparison of the main-sequence fiducial line and the red clump position, offering objective and robust criteria to select the best models. We compared these results with the ones obtained by Kerber, Santiago & Brocato (2007) using the Padova isochrones. This revealed that there are significant trends in the physical parameters due to the choice of stellar evolutionary model and treatment of convective core overshooting. In general, models that incorporate overshooting presented more reliable results than those that do not. Furthermore, the Padova models fitted better the data than the PEL and BaSTI models. Comparisons with the results found in the literature demonstrated that our derived metallicities are in good agreement with the ones from the spectroscopy of red giants. We also confirmed that, independent of the adopted stellar evolutionary library, the recovered 3D distribution for these clusters is consistent with a thick disk roughly aligned with the LMC disk as defined by field stars. Finally, we also provide new estimates of distance modulus to the LMC center, that are marginally consistent with the canonical value of 18.50 mag.
A study of AGB stars in LMC clusters
Authors: Lebzelter Thomas , Lederer Michael T. , Cristallo Sergio , Straniero Oscar , Hinkle Kenneth H. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractLMC clusters offer an outstanding opportunity to investigate the late stages of stellar evolution of stars in the mass range between 1.5 and 2 M⊙. In this presentation we will focus on our results on mixing events during the evolution along the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB). Surface abundances have been determined for a number of cluster AGB stars from high resolution near infrared spectra. We show for the first time the evolution of C/O and 12C/13C ratios along a cluster AGB. The change of both quantities due to dredge up events is compared with model predictions. Our results indicate the late occurrence of a moderate extra-mixing in some cases.
The production of dust in the Magellanic Clouds
Authors: Sloan G. C. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe sensitivity of the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope has enabled detailed surveys of mass-losing stars in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Comparisons of samples from these galaxies and the Milky Way reveal how the dust produced by evolved stars depends on the metallicity of the host environment. Oxygen-rich stars show several trends with metallicity. In more metal-poor environments, fewer of them show dust excesses, the circumstellar SiO absorption grows weaker, the quantity of silicate dust decreases, and alumina dust grows rare. As carbon stars grow more metal-poor, the amount of circumstellar acetylene gas increases, while the amount of trace dust elements like SiC and MgS decreases. However, there is little dependence on metallicity in the amount of amorphous carbon dust produced by carbon stars, because they produce the carbon needed to make dust themselves. As galaxies grow more metal-poor, the composition of the dust they produce should grow more carbon rich.
High-exitation nebulae around Magellanic Wolf-Rayet stars
Authors: Pakull Manfred W. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe SMC harbours a class of hot nitrogen-sequence Wolf-Rayet stars (WNE) that display only relatively weak broad Heiiλ4686 emission indicative of their low mass-loss rates and which are therefore hard to detect. However, such stars are possible emitters of strong He+Lyman continua which in turn could ionize observable Heiiiregions, i.e. highly excited Hiiregions emitting nebular Heiiλ4686 emission. We here report the discovery of a second Heiiiregion in the SMC within OB association NGC 249 within which the weak-lined WN star SMC WR10 is embedded. SMC WR10 is of special importance since it is a single star showing the presence of atmospheric hydrogen. While analysing the spectrum in the framework of two popular, independent WR atmosphere models we found strongly discrepant predictions (by 1 dex) of the He+continuum for the same input parameters. A second interesting aspect of the work reported here concerns the beautiful MCELS images which clearly reveal a class of strongly Oiiiλ5007 emitting (blue-coded) nebulae. Not unexpectedly, most of the “blue” nebulae are known Wolf-Rayet bubbles, but new bubbles around a few WRs are also detected. Moreover, we report the existence of blue nebulae without associated known WRs and discuss the possibility that they reveal weak-wind WR stars with very faint stellar Heiiλ4686 emission. Alternatively, such nebulae might hint at the hitherto missing population of relatively low-mass, hot He stars predicted by massive binary evolution calculations. Such a binary system is probably responsible for the ionization of the unique Heiiλ4686-emitting nebula N 44C.
2 Getting and Giving
Authors: Rotman Andy 
Published: March 2009

Abstract
Chapter 2 explores the contrast between śraddhā and bhakti. While bhakti is portrayed in the Divyāvadāna as a false confidence in divine forces, śraddhā is represented as a mental state that arises with regard to trustworthy individuals and with regard to certain “indirect objects” whose truth is professed by those trustworthy individuals. The practice of śraddhā begins with a visual confirmation of the truth of certain objects and phenomena, and it culminates in the making of offerings. This connection between seeing and giving, with śraddhā as the mediator, results in an epistemological and ethical formulation that engages the problem of karmic materialism. The chapter then discusses the idea of a gold standard of the karmic system, a method of conversion between merit and money, and what it means for the Buddhist believer.
4 Participation and Exclusion
Authors: Rotman Andy 
Published: March 2009

Abstract
Chapter 4 considers prasāda as praxis, and how beggars, gods, kings and monks engage with it, try to engage with it, or ignore it. A close reading of the four parts of the Nagarāvalambikā-avadāna, is offered in an attempt to explain who it is that can and cannot make offerings within the prasāda paradigm and why that is the case. The issue of the agency of prasāda is then discusses as well as its significance for Buddhist ethics. An individual’s karma is represented as a closed system in the Divyāvadāna, and only an outside agent can generate a karmic intrusion that will allow one to escape from one’s karmic destiny and the inevitable suffering of saṃsāra. Prasāda is just such a force, and it allows one to escape one’s fate and embark on the Buddhist path toward liberation.
8 Images and Imagination
Authors: Rotman Andy 
Published: March 2009

Abstract
Chapter 8 reflects further on the role of images in Buddhist worship, and what the sculptures and paintings on Buddhist monuments in South Asia may be able to tell us about the ways of seeing of premodern Buddhist practitioners. Seeing Buddhist art, it seems, involved quite a bit of listening. The chapter considers more broadly the world of the visual in the Divyāvadāna and offers some suggestions with regard to the social and political transformations that may account for its construction.
Measurement of salivary cortisol with liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry in patients undergoing dynamic endocrine testing
Authors: Perogamvros Ilias , Owen Laura J. , Keevil Brian G. , Brabant Georg , Trainer Peter J. 
Published: March 2009

SummaryObjective  Liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) eliminates cross‐reactivity, which is a major limitation of immunoassays used for the measurement of salivary cortisol (SalC). We aimed to evaluate the potential of SalC measured by LC‐MS/MS in patients undergoing assessment of the HPA axis.Design and patients  Cross‐sectional study of 78 patients admitted for routine testing in a specialized endocrine unit.Measurements  Matched serum and saliva samples were collected from 68 patients who had a short synacthen test (SST, 250 mcg im) and 10 patients who had an insulin tolerance test (ITT, insulin 0·15 U/kg iv). Serum cortisol (SerC) was measured with an automated immunoassay and SalC with LC‐MS/MS. Adequate SerC responses were >500 nmol/l.Results  In all patients with adequate responses, the relative increase in SalC was significantly higher than that in SerC [6·4(0·3–26·1) vs. 1·0(0·3–4·9), P < 0·0001)]. The SerC–SalC relationship was better explained by an exponential rather than a linear model (R2 = 0·83 vs. R2 = 0·65, both P < 0·0001). Based on 59 patients with adequate SerC responses to an SST, an adequate SalC response was defined as 8·3 nmol/l. Seven patients following an SST and three patients following an ITT showed inadequate responses in both SerC and SalC, but two patients with CBG deficiency showed a low SerC with normal SalC.Conclusions  We have shown an excellent diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of LC‐MS/MS SalC in the assessment of the HPA axis and superiority over SerC when CBG levels are altered. The exponential relationship between SerC and SalC supports the concept of CBG binding capacity saturation.
Effects of hypocaloric very‐low‐carbohydrate diet vs. Mediterranean diet on endothelial function in obese women*
Authors: Buscemi S. , Verga S. , Tranchina M. R. , Cottone S. , Cerasola G. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractBackground  Obesity is a cardiovascular risk factor associated with endothelial dysfunction, but the effect of different weight loss strategies on endothelial function is not known. The effect of diet on endothelial function in two hypocaloric diets, a very‐low‐carbohydrate diet (A) and a Mediterranean diet (M), was measured by brachial artery flow‐mediated dilation (FMD).Design  Using a longitudinal, randomized, open study design, subjects were engaged in a 2‐month weight loss diet. FMD, inflammatory cytokines [interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and tumour necrosis factor‐α] and a marker of oxidative stress [8‐iso‐prostaglandin F2α (8‐iso‐PGF2α)] were measured in subjects on three occasions: before initiating the diet (T0), after 5–7 days of dieting (T5) and after 2 months of dieting (T60). The very short‐ and medium‐term time points were established to discriminate respectively the effect of the diet itself (T5) from that of weight loss (T60). Twenty overweight/obese but otherwise healthy women (BMI: 27–34·9 kg m−2; age 30–50 years) completed the study.Results  Group A lost more weight (mean ± SEM; −7·6 ± 0·8 kg) than group M (−4·9 ± 0·6 kg, P = 0·014) at T60. The FMD was not significantly different between the two groups at T0 (group A: 12·2 ± 2·9% vs. group B: 10·3 ± 2·3%, P = ns). In group A, FMD was significantly reduced at T5 and returned to baseline at T60; in group M, FMD increased at T5 and returned to baseline at T60 (P = 0·007 for diet × time interaction). Serum concentrations of IL‐6 and 8‐iso‐PGF2α were not significantly different between the two groups at T0 and increased significantly at T5 only in group A (P < 0·001 and P < 0·005 respectively).Conclusion  As endothelial dysfunction is known to be associated with acute cardiovascular events, this study suggests that the cardiovascular risk might be increased in the first days of a very‐low‐carbohydrate diet.