bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Near‐optimum short‐term fade prediction on satellite links at Ka and V‐bands
Authors: Chambers Andrew P. , Otung Ifiok E. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractSeveral short‐term predictors of rain attenuation are implemented and tested using data recorded from a satellite link in Southern England, and a comparison is made in terms of the root‐mean‐square error and the cumulative distribution of under‐predictions. A hybrid of an autoregressive moving average and adaptive linear element predictor is created that makes use of Gauss–Newton and gradient direction coefficient updates and exhibits the best prediction error performance of all prediction methods in the majority of cases. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Procedural fairness and interfirm cooperation in strategic alliances
Authors: Luo Yadong 
Published: September 2007

AbstractThis study applies the justice theory to address interpartner cooperation in strategic alliances. It emphasizes how procedural fairness as perceived by boundary spanners in these alliances influences cooperation outcomes. We theorize that procedural fairness improves cooperation results through enhancing relational value and curtailing relational risk in an environment characterized by both economic and social exchange. Our path analysis suggests that procedural fairness has a direct effect on operational outcome, but an indirect effect on financial outcome via increased trust driven by fairness. Procedural fairness contributes more to performance outcomes when strategic alliances are equity joint ventures than if they are contractual agreements. Theoretical and managerial implications arising from the findings are highlighted. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Toward an integrative cartography of two strategic issue diagnosis frameworks
Authors: Julian Scott D. , Ofori‐Dankwa Joseph C. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractThere exist two prominent accounts of how managers make sense of and take action in relation to strategic issues. The threat–opportunity (TO) and feasibility–urgency (FU) approaches primarily emphasize automatic/affective and active/deliberative strategic issue diagnosis processes, respectively. Current research, however, does not effectively integrate or fully explore the relationship between these two frameworks. We employ theory‐building literature to develop a framework that highlights four distinct and increasingly integrative lenses through which such an exploration can be systematically carried out. Analyzing data from how firms reacted to the economic uncertainty of early 2003, the results of our study indicate that the FU approach is a better predictor of both intentions and actual responses than the TO approach. Our results also indicate that threat is positively related to urgency and negatively related to feasibility, while opportunity is positively related to feasibility and negatively related to urgency. Further, using the expectancy–instrumentality–valence (EIV) motivational theory as a framework, we factor analyze both TO and FU items, identifying three underlying constructs of favorability, urgency, and influence (which we dub FUI). FUI has a higher predictive efficacy than the TO approach alone. We highlight implications for theory building and research in the strategic issue diagnosis literature. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Interactive theater and self‐efficacy
Authors: Burgoyne Suzanne , Placier Peggy , Thomas Mallory , Welch Sharon , Ruffin Clyde , Flores Lisa Y. , Celebi Elif , Azizan‐Gardner Noor , Miller Marilyn 
Published: September 2007

AbstractWhat are the advantages and drawbacks of using inter‐active theater for faculty development on multicultural issues?
Lifetime‐maximized cluster association in two‐tiered wireless sensor networks
Authors: Song Wen‐Zhan , Wang WeiZhao , Moaveni‐Nejad Kousha , Li Xiang‐Yang 
Published: September 2007

AbstractIn this paper, we study the two‐tiered wireless sensor network (WSN) architecture and propose the optimal cluster association algorithm for it to maximize the overall network lifetime. A two‐tiered WSN is formed by number of small sensor nodes (SNs), powerful application nodes (ANs), and base‐stations (BSs, or gateways). SNs capture, encode, and transmit relevant information to ANs, which then send the combined information to BSs. Assuming the locations of the SNs, ANs, and BSs are fixed, we consider how to associate the SNs to ANs such that the network lifetime is maximized while every node meets its bandwidth requirement. When the SNs are homogeneous (e.g., same bandwidth requirement), we give optimal algorithms to maximize the lifetime of the WSNs; when the SNs are heterogeneous, we give a 2‐approximation algorithm that produces a network whose lifetime is within 1/2 of the optimum. We also present algorithms to dynamically update the cluster association when the network topology changes. Numerical results are given to demonstrate the efficiency and optimality of the proposed approaches. In simulation study, comparing network lifetime, our algorithm outperforms other heuristics almost twice. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Background of x‐ray nanophotonics based on the planar air waveguide resonator
Authors: Egorov V. K. , Egorov E. V. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractThe work elucidates some model details of x‐ray flux waveguide resonance propagation through a planar, narrow, extended slit. The phenomenological substantiation of the correctness of the introduction of the waveguide resonance model is confirmed on the basis of the concept of flux spatial coherence. The peculiarities of the model realization in various designs of planar x‐ray waveguide resonators (PXWR) are discussed. The main fields of practical application of PXWRs are characterized by experimental results. Nanophotonics perspectives using waveguide resonance structures are outlined. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
In vivo x‐ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) of the thyroid iodine content—Influence of measurement geometries on the iodine Kα signal
Authors: Hansson M. , Berg G. , Isaksson M. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractThe thyroid gland is unique in that it stores a large amount of iodine, an element suitable for x‐ray fluorescence analysis (XRF). Knowledge of the amount of iodine stored in the thyroid in the iodine pool may contribute to the understanding of thyroid diseases and possibly predict treatment outcome. XRF is a non‐invasive method which can be used for direct evaluations of the iodine pool in vitro as well as in vivo. However, in contrast to in vitro studies, which involve a measurement geometry that is well known and can be carefully controlled, complications may arise when using the technique in vivo. In this study, Monte Carlo (MC) simulations were used for finding an optimal measurement geometry regarding source and detector collimator apertures. The relative importance of primary and scattered radiation in the production of iodine Kα x‐rays for a simulated thyroid gland at different depths in the neck was investigated. The results showed that incoherently scattered radiation may be a considerable contributor of Kα photons in commonly encountered in vivo geometries. Calibrations should thus be performed with precise knowledge of the measurement geometry and it is important that corrections are made for primary photon fluence but also for photon scattering in the neck. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A National Survey of Genetic Counselors’ Personal Values
Authors: Pirzadeh Sara M. , McCarthy Veach Patricia , Bartels Dianne M. , Kao Juihsien , LeRoy Bonnie S. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractPersonal values are motivational sources for an individual's actions [Hitlin and Piliavin (Annual Review of Sociology 30:359–393, 2004)]. Genetic counselors’ values may influence their behaviors in clinical practice, but a profile of their personal values has not been identified empirically. In this study, 292 genetic counselors completed the Schwartz Universal Values Questionnaire (SUVQ; Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 1–65). Boston, MA: Academic.), a widely used measure of value types, and provided information about their demographic characteristics. Results indicate that respondents highly valued benevolence, self‐direction, achievement, and universalism indicating a strong pattern of concern for the welfare of others. They placed considerably less value on stimulation, tradition, and power, which reflect personal interests. Respondents who reported practicing a religion scored significantly lower on stimulation and hedonism and higher on tradition and spirituality than those not practicing; married respondents and parents scored significantly lower on stimulation and achievement; and males scored higher on power than females. The value types are described, and training and research recommendations are provided.
Production and Application of Novel Sterol Esterases from Aspergillus Strains by Solid State Fermentation
Authors: Tőke Enikő R. , Nagy Viviána , Recseg Katalin , Szakács György , Poppe László 
Published: September 2007

AbstractAmong numerous mesophilic fungi screened for sterol esterase activity followed by the esterification reaction between plant β‐sitosterol and lauric acid in organic solvent, six Aspergillus strains were selected as the most active producers. These fungi had not been studied previously for sterol esterase production. The fungi were cultivated under solid state fermentation (SSF) conditions. The gently dried SSF cultures as such were tested in the esterification reactions, without any special enzyme isolation and purification (downstream) processes. All the six Aspergillus SSF preparations were able to synthesize sterol esters. Sterol esterase activity of these GRAS cleared Aspergillus strains was inducible by sterol ester supplementation to the SSF medium and showed remarkably different moisture optimum during growth as compared to the production of lipase (determined by pNP‐palmitate). Genome analysis revealed that sterol esterase production might be a common feature of many Aspergillus species. The synthetic usefulness of the best SSF preparations of A. oryzae NRRL 6270 and A. sojae NRRL 6271 was demonstrated by synthesis of esters of plant sterols with lauric acid resulting in 45–63% conversions (GC) and 27–38% isolated yields of steryl laurates. The isomer preference of A. oryzae NRRL 6270 towards the 10E,12Z isomer of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in the esterification reaction with plant sterols was also determined.
Gender-specific modulation of tumorigenesis by folic acid supply in theApc+/Minmouse during early neonatal life
Authors: McKay Jill A. , Williams Elizabeth A. , Mathers John C. 
Published: September 2007

Epidemiological studies suggest an inverse association between folic acid intake and colorectal cancer risk. Conversely, conventional treatment of existing tumours includes the use of folate antagonists. This suggests that the level of exposure to folate and its timing in relation to stage of tumorigenesis may be critical in determining outcomes. We hypothesised that folic acid depletionin uteroand during early neonatal life may affect tumorigenesis in offspring. To investigate this hypothesis, female C57Bl6/J mice were randomised to a folic acid adequate (2 mg folic acid/kg diet) or folic acid depleted diet (0·4 mg folic acid/kg) from mating withApc+/Minsires and throughout pregnancy and lactation. At weaning theApc+/Minoffspring were randomised to a folic acid adequate (2 mg folic acid/kg diet) or depleted (0·26 mg folic acid/kg diet) diet, creating fourin utero/post-weaning dietary regimens. At 10 weeks post-weaning, mice were killed and the intestinal tumour number and size were recorded. Folic acid depletion during pregnancy and post-weaning reduced erythrocyte folate concentrations in offspring significantly. Folic acid depletion during pregnancy and lactation did not affect tumour multiplicity or size. However, female mice fed normal folic acid diets post-weaning had more, and larger, tumours when compared with depleted females and both depleted and adequate folic acid fed males. These data suggest that folate depletion post-weaning was protective against neoplasia in femaleApc+/Minmice and highlights the need for further investigation of the optimal timing and dose of folic acid supplementation with regard to colorectal cancer risk.
Absolute bioavailability and dose-dependent pharmacokinetic behaviour of dietary doses of the chemopreventive isothiocyanate sulforaphane in rat
Authors: Hanlon Natalya , Coldham Nick , Gielbert Adriana , Kuhnert Nikolai , Sauer Maurice J. , King Laurie J. , Ioannides Costas 
Published: September 2007

Sulforaphane is a naturally occurring isothiocyanate with promising chemopreventive activity. An analytical method, utilising liquid chromatography-MS/MS, which allows the determination of sulforaphane in small volumes of rat plasma following exposure to low dietary doses, was developed and validated, and employed to determine its absolute bioavailability and pharmacokinetic characteristics. Rats were treated with either a single intravenous dose of sulforaphane (2·8 μmol/kg) or single oral doses of 2·8, 5·6 and 28 μmol/kg. Sulforaphane plasma concentrations were determined in blood samples withdrawn from the rat tail at regular time intervals. Following intravenous administration, the plasma profile of sulforaphane was best described by a two-compartment pharmacokinetic model, with a prolonged terminal phase. Sulforaphane was very well and rapidly absorbed and displayed an absolute bioavailability of 82 %, which, however, decreased at the higher doses, indicating a dose-dependent pharmacokinetic behaviour; similarly,Cmaxvalues did not rise proportionately to the dose. At the highest dose used, the rate of absorption constantkab, biological half-lifet½and apparent volume of distribution decreased significantly. It is concluded that in the rat orally administered sulforaphane is rapidly absorbed, achieving high absolute bioavailability at low dietary doses, but dose-dependent pharmacokinetics was evident, with bioavailability decreasing with increasing dose.
Dietary inulin affects the expression of intestinal enterocyte iron transporters, receptors and storage protein and alters the microbiota in the pig intestine
Authors: Tako E. , Glahn R. P. , Welch R. M. , Lei X. , Yasuda K. , Miller D. D. 
Published: September 2007

Inulin, a linear β fructan, is present in a variety of plants including chicory root and wheat. It exhibits prebiotic properties and has been shown to enhance mineral absorption and increase beneficial bacteria in the colon. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of dietary inulin on the gene expression of selected intestinal Fe transporters and binding proteins. Anaemic piglets at age 5 weeks were allocated to a standard maize–soya diet (control) or the same diet supplemented with inulin at a level of 4 %. After 6 weeks, the animals were killed and caecum contents and sections of the duodenum and colon were removed. Segments of the genes encoding for the pig divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) and duodenal cytochrome-b reductase (Dcytb) were isolated and sequenced. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analyses were performed to evaluate the expression of DMT1, Dcytb, ferroportin, ferritin, transferrin receptor (TfR) and mucin genes. DMT1, Dcytb, ferroportin, ferritin and TfR mRNA levels in duodenal samples were significantly higher in the inulin group (P ≤ 0·05) compared with the control. In colon, DMT1, TfR and ferritin mRNA levels significantly increased in the inulin group. Additionally, the caecal content microflora was examined using 16S rDNA targeted probes from bacterial DNA. TheLactobacillusandBifidobacteriumpopulations were significantly increased in the inulin group (P ≤ 0·05) compared with the control group. These results indicate that dietary inulin might trigger an up regulation of genes encoding for Fe transporters in the enterocyte. The specific mechanism for this effect remains to be elucidated.
FIST: a sensory domain for diverse signal transduction pathways in prokaryotes and ubiquitin signaling in eukaryotes
Authors: Borziak Kirill , Zhulin Igor B. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractMotivation: Sensory domains that are conserved among Bacteria, Archaea and Eucarya are important detectors of common signals detected by living cells. Due to their high sequence divergence, sensory domains are difficult to identify. We systematically look for novel sensory domains using sensitive profile-based searches initiated with regions of signal transduction proteins where no known domains can be identified by current domain models.Results: Using profile searches followed by multiple sequence alignment, structure prediction and domain architecture analysis, we have identified a novel sensory domain termed FIST, which is present in signal transduction proteins from Bacteria, Archaea and Eucarya. Chromosomal proximity of FIST-encoding genes to those coding for proteins involved in amino acid metabolism and transport suggest that FIST domains bind small ligands, such as amino acids.Contact: joulineib@ornl.govSupplementary information: http://genomics.ornl.gov/research/pubs/fist
Cyto-Sim: a formal language model and stochastic simulator of membrane-enclosed biochemical processes
Authors: Sedwards Sean , Mazza Tommaso 
Published: September 2007

AbstractMotivation: Compartments and membranes are the basis of cell topology and more than 30% of the human genome codes for membrane proteins. While it is possible to represent compartments and membrane proteins in a nominal way with many mathematical formalisms used in systems biology, few, if any, explicitly model the topology of the membranes themselves.Discrete stochastic simulation potentially offers the most accurate representation of cell dynamics. Since the details of every molecular interaction in a pathway are often not known, the relationship between chemical species in not necessarily best described at the lowest level, i.e. by mass action.Simulation is a form of computer-aided analysis, relying on human interpretation to derive meaning. To improve efficiency and gain meaning in an automatic way, it is necessary to have a formalism based on a model which has decidable properties.Results: We present Cyto-Sim, a stochastic simulator of membrane-enclosed hierarchies of biochemical processes, where the membranes comprise an inner, outer and integral layer. The underlying model is based on formal language theory and has been shown to have decidable properties (Cavaliere and Sedwards, 2006), allowing formal analysis in addition to simulation. The simulator provides variable levels of abstraction via arbitrary chemical kinetics which link to ordinary differential equations.In addition to its compact native syntax, Cyto-Sim currently supports models described as Petri nets, can import all versions of SBML and can export SBML and MATLAB® m-files.Availability: Cyto-Sim is available free, either as an applet or a stand-alone Java program via the web page (http://www.cosbi.eu/Rpty_Soft_CytoSim.php). Other versions can be made available upon request.Contact: t.mazza@unicz.it
Evolutionary analysis of enzymes using Chisel
Authors: Rodriguez Alexis A. , Bompada Tanuja , Syed Mustafa , Shah Parantu K. , Maltsev Natalia 
Published: September 2007

AbstractMotivation: Availability of large volumes of genomic and enzymatic data for taxonomically and phenotypically diverse organisms allows for exploration of the adaptive mechanisms that led to diversification of enzymatic functions. We present Chisel, a computational framework and a pipeline for an automated, high-resolution analysis of evolutionary variations of enzymes. Chisel allows automatic as well as interactive identification, and characterization of enzymatic sequences. Such knowledge can be utilized for comparative genomics, microbial diagnostics, metabolic engineering, drug design and analysis of metagenomes.Results: Chisel is a comprehensive resource that contains 8575 clusters and subsequent computational models specific for 939 distinct enzymatic functions and, when data is sufficient, their taxonomic variations. Application of Chisel to identification of enzymatic sequences in newly sequenced genomes, analysis of organism-specific metabolic networks, ‘binning’ of metagenomes and other biological problems are presented. We also provide a thorough analysis of Chisel performance with other similar resources and manual annotations on Shewanella oneidensis MR1 genome.Availability: Chisel is available for interactive use at http://compbio.mcs.anl.gov/CHISEL. The website also provides a user manual, clusters and function-specific computational models.Contact: arodri7@mcs.anl.gov or maltsev@mcs.anl.govSupplementary information: Additional data can be found at http://compbio.mcs.anl.gov/CHISEL/htmls/refs.html
Accurate prediction of deleterious protein kinase polymorphisms
Authors: Torkamani Ali , Schork Nicholas J. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractMotivation: Contemporary, high-throughput sequencing efforts have identified a rich source of naturally occurring single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), a subset of which occur in the coding region of genes and result in a change in the encoded amino acid sequence (non-synonymous coding SNPs or ‘nsSNPs’). It is hypothesized that a subset of these nsSNPs may underlie common human disease. Testing all these polymorphisms for disease association would be time consuming and expensive. Thus, computational methods have been developed to both prioritize candidate nsSNPs and make sense of their likely molecular physiologic impact.Results: We have developed a method to prioritize nsSNPs and have applied it to the human protein kinase gene family. The results of our analyses provide high quality predictions and outperform available whole genome prediction methods (74% versus 83% prediction accuracy). Our analyses and methods consider both DNA sequence conservation, which most traditional methods are based on, as well unique structural and functional features of kinases. We provide a ranked list of common kinase nsSNPs that have a higher probability of impacting human disease based on our analyses.Contact: nschork@scripps.eduSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available on Bioinformatics online.
RagPools: RNA-As-Graph-Pools—a web server for assisting the design of structured RNA pools forin vitroselection
Authors: Kim Namhee , Shin Jin Sup , Elmetwaly Shereef , Gan Hin Hark , Schlick Tamar 
Published: September 2007

AbstractSummary: Our RNA-As-Graph-Pools (RagPools) web server offers a theoretical companion tool for RNA in vitro selection and related problems. Specifically, it suggests how to construct RNA sequence/structure pools with user-specified properties and assists in analyzing resulting distributions. This utility follows our recently developed approach for engineering sequence pools that links RNA sequence space regions with corresponding structural distributions via a ‘mixing matrix’ approach combined with a graph theory analysis of RNA secondary-structure space; the mixing matrix specifies nucleotide transition rates, and graph theory links sequences to simple graphical objects representing RNA motifs. The companion RagPools web server (‘Designer’ component) provides optimized starting sequences, mixing matrices and associated weights in response to a user-specified target pool structure distribution. In addition, RagPools (‘Analyzer’ component) analyzes the motif distribution of pools generated from user-specified starting sequences and mixing matrices. Thus, RagPools serves as a guide to researchers who aim to synthesize RNA pools with desired properties and/or experiment in silico with various designs by our approach.Availability: The web server is accessible on the web at http://rubin2.biomath.nyu.eduContact: schlick@nyu.edu