bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Producers' complex risk management choices
Authors: Pennings Joost M.E. , Isengildina‐Massa Olga , Irwin Scott H. , Garcia Philip , Good Darrel L. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractProducers have a wide variety of risk management instruments available, making their choice(s) complex. The way producers deal with this complexity can vary and may influence the impact that the determinants, such as risk aversion, have on their choices. A recently developed choice bracketing framework recognizes that producers are unable to evaluate all alternatives simultaneously and that to manage a complex task, they often group or bracket individual alternatives and their consequences together in choice sets. Data on 1,105 U.S. producers show that producers do not use all available combinations of risk management tools and that the influence of the determinants of producer's risk management decisions are not necessarily the same across risk management strategies within and across bracketing levels. The findings may help resolve puzzling results on the role that well‐known determinants of risk management behavior have on producers' choices, extending knowledge on producers' risk management behavior. Further, the findings have managerial implications for policy makers and agribusiness companies that provide risk management services. [EconLit citations: M000, G1000, Q130] © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Public approval of plant and animal biotechnology in South Korea: an ordered probit analysis
Authors: Govindasamy Ramu , Onyango Benjamin , Hallman William K. , Jang Ho‐Min , Puduri Venkata 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThis study analyzes predictors of South Korean public acceptance of the use of biotechnology to create genetically modified food products. Results indicate that those consumers with above average knowledge of specific outcomes of genetic modification were more likely to approve of the use of plant or animal genetic modification for the creation of new food products than those with inaccurate or no knowledge. Moreover, younger South Korean consumers were more likely than older consumers to approve of the use of biotechnology to create both plant and animal based foods. Further, the study produced evidence of different levels of approval of biotechnology among consumers from different residential areas, income levels and political affiliation. Thus, those living in cities, those with incomes above 40 million Won, and those who described themselves as having a liberal political affiliation were found to have a higher approval level for animal biotechnology. [JEL Classification: Q13, M31, D12] © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Aluminum Oxidation Catalysis under Aqueous Conditions: Highly Enantioselective Sulfur Oxidation Catalyzed by Al(salalen) Complexes
Authors: Matsumoto Kazuhiro , Yamaguchi Tetsufumi , Fujisaki Junichi , Saito Bunnai , Katsuki Tsutomu 
Published: January 2008

AbstractAsymmetric oxidation catalysis with an aluminum‐based complex was achieved by a combination of newly synthesized chiral aluminum(salalen) complexes (salalen=half‐reduced salen=salan/salen‐hybridized [ONNO]‐type tetradentate ligand; salan=reduced salen, salen=N,N′‐ethylenebis(salicylideneiminato)) derived from binol (1,1′‐bi‐2,2′‐naphthol) with aqueous hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant. The combination was found to be efficient for asymmetric sulfur oxidation. Various sulfides were smoothly converted into the corresponding sulfoxides with high to excellent enantioselectivity. Thioacetals are also good substrates for the oxidation.
Rapid determination of gatifloxacin in biological samples and pharmaceutical products using europium‐sensitized fluorescence spectrophotometry
Authors: Guo Changchuan , Dong Peng , Chu Zhijie , Wang Lei , Jiang Wei 
Published: January 2008

AbstractA europium‐sensitized fluorescence spectrophotometry method using an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl benzene sulphonate (SDBS), was developed for the determination of gatifloxacin (GFLX). The GFLX–Eu3+–SDBS system was studied and it was found that SDBS significantly enhanced the fluorescence intensity of the GFLX–Eu3+ complex (about 25‐fold). The optimal experimental conditions were determined as follows: excitation and emission wavelengths of 338 and 617 nm, pH 7.5, 3.0 × 10–6 mol/L europium(III), and 5.0 × 10–5 mol/L SDBS. The enhanced fluorescence intensity of the system (ΔIf) showed a good linear relationship with the concentration of GFLX over the range 1.0 × 10–8–8.0 × 10–7 mol/L with a correlation coefficient of 0.9990. The detection limit (S:N = 3) was determined as 1.0 × 10–9 mol/L. This method has been successfully applied for the determination of GFLX in pharmaceuticals and human urine/serum samples. Compared with most other methods reported, the rapid and simple procedure proposed here offered higher sensitivity, wider linear range and good stability. The luminescence mechanism of the system is also discussed in detail. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The indication for postchemotherapy lymph node dissection in clinical stage IS nonseminomatous germ cell tumor
Authors: Dash Atreya , Carver Brett S. , Stasi Jason , Bajorin Dean F. , Motzer Robert J. , Bosl George J. , Sheinfeld Joel 
Published: January 2008

AbstractBACKGROUNDThe initial management of patients with clinical stage IS (cIS) nonseminomatous germ cell tumor (NSGCT) has evolved from primary retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) to induction chemotherapy. The objectives of the current study were to determine the clinical outcome, patterns of relapse, and incidence of teratoma in the retroperitoneum for men with cIS NSGCT.METHODSBetween 1988 and 2004, 24 patients with cIS stage NSGCT were evaluated and treated at Memorial Sloan‐Kettering Cancer Center. Clinical and pathologic data were obtained from the institutional prospective database. Seven patients underwent primary RPLND, and 17 patients received induction chemotherapy as initial management. Clinical outcomes, patterns of relapse, and pathologic findings were reported.RESULTSSix of the 7 patients who underwent primary RPLND had viable germ cell tumor (GCT) present. Four of those patients did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy, and all experienced systemic relapse. Of the 17 patients who received induction chemotherapy, 3 patients underwent elective postchemotherapy RPLND (PC‐RPLND), and 14 patients were followed expectantly. Four patients who were followed expectantly relapsed in the retroperitoneum and underwent PC‐RPLND. Of the 7 patients who underwent PC‐RPLND, 1 patient had fibrosis (14%), but 6 patients (86%) had teratoma, including 1 patient who also had a viable GCT in the retroperitoneum. Overall, the incidence of teratoma or viable GCT in the retroperitoneum after chemotherapy was 43% (6 of 14 patients). At a median follow‐up of 35 months, 23 men remained alive, and 1 man had died of disease.CONCLUSIONSThe current data suggest that patients with cIS stage NSGCT will benefit from adjuvant PC‐RPLND. Cancer 2008. © 2008 American Cancer Society.
High‐temperature infrared and dielectric properties of large sapphire crystal for seeker dome application
Authors: Wang Guigen , Zhang Mingfu , Han Jiecai , He Xiaodong , Zuo Hongbo , Yang Xinhong 
Published: January 2008

AbstractIn this paper, large‐sized (∅︁230 mm × 210 mm, 27.5 kg) sapphire was successfully grown by SAPMAC (sapphire growth technique with micro‐pulling and shoulder‐expanding at cooled center) method; and hemisphere dome (140 mm diameter, 5 mm thickness) was fabricated from as‐grown boule. Also, its high temperature infrared transmission (2∼7 µm, 20–800°C) and microwave dielectric properties (8–16.5 GHz, 30–1300°C) were investigated. The experimental results show that sapphire crystal exhibits high infrared transmittance (3 μm, 80–86%), essentially negligible dielectric loss (4.9×10‐5–3.7×10‐4), but fairly high dielectric constants (ε=9.4–12.5) in the temperature range of 30–1300°C. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
The use of intuition in mediation
Authors: Rooney Greg 
Published: January 2008

AbstractHow mediators make decisions about what to do in the mediation session is one of the least understood, but most important, issues in the study of mediation. This article explores a number of different approaches, including the use of intuition. It examines the effectiveness of developing premediation strategies and hypotheses and their impact on the mediator's ability to engage with the parties in the here‐and‐now of the mediation session.
Synthesis and Structure of Dinucleotides with S‐Type Sugar Puckering and Noncanonical ϵ and ζ Torsion Angle Combination (ν2,ϵ,ζ‐D‐CNA)
Authors: Dupouy Christelle , Lavedan Pierre , Escudier Jean‐Marc 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThe synthesis of the diastereoisomers of ν2,ϵ,ζ‐D‐CNA dinucleotide building units of nucleic acids and their (2′,5′)‐ν2,ϵ′,ζ′‐D‐CNA analogues, in which the ϵ and ζ torsional angles are stereocontrolled by a dioxaphosphorinane ring structure (D‐CNA family) is described from a common 3‐deoxy‐3‐(hydroxymethyl)‐D‐allofuranose intermediate. NMR spectroscopic and circular dichroism structure analysis of ν2,ϵ,ζ‐D‐CNA shows that the sugar puckering is fixed in the C‐2′‐endo conformation and that these D‐CNA structuralelements allow stabilization of the ϵ/ζ torsion angle combinations, which are significantly different from the typical combinations observed in canonical A‐ or B‐form duplexes. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2008)
Radiosynthesis of [11C]ximelagatran via palladium catalyzed [11C]cyanation
Authors: Airaksinen Anu J. , Andersson Jan , Truong Phong , Karlsson Olle , Halldin Christer 
Published: January 2008

AbstractN‐hydroxyamidines (amidoximes) may be used in prodrug technology in improving oral bioavailability of drugs containing amidino functional groups. In the body, amidoximes are reduced quickly to amidines by enzymes that are present in several organs. Ximelagatran is a benzamidoxime and ethyl ester prodrug of melagatran, which is a thrombin inhibitor. Our aim was to develop a fast and efficient labeling route for the synthesis of [11C]ximelagatran ([11C]3) with a label in a metabolically stable position. [11C]3 was synthesized via a two‐step synthesis sequence, starting from palladium catalyzed [11C]cyanation of its corresponding bromide precursor (2‐[2‐(4‐bromo‐benzylcarbamoyl)‐azetidin‐1‐yl]‐1‐cyclohexyl‐2‐oxo‐ethyl amino‐acetic acid ethyl ester) (1), followed by a reaction with hydroxylamine. [11C]3 was synthesized with 27±17% total overall decay corrected yield (specific radioactivity of 2360±165 Ci/mmol at EOS), with a total synthesis time of 45 min. A fast and efficient labeling route for the synthesis of [11C]3 was developed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Radioiodine labelling of a small chemotactic peptide, utilizing two different prosthetic groups: a comparative study
Authors: Rossouw Daniel D. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThe use of iodobenzoates as pre‐labelled prosthetic groups in the radioiodination of peptides is becoming increasingly popular. The utilization of an iodovinyl ester unit as an alternative conjugation agent for the preparation of a radioiodinated peptide conjugate (peptide‐[123I]I‐PEA) was investigated in this study. A pre‐labelled unit, containing a tetrafluorophenyl ester group, was purified on a small C18 column and the dimethylformamide eluate was used directly in the conjugation step. Similar methodology was applied for a comparative radiosynthesis of an iodobenzoate analogue (peptide‐[123I]IB), using a succinimidyl ester. The influences of various reaction parameters on conjugation yields were investigated while maintaining a fixed amount of peptide. At high activity levels (more than 200 MBq) the conjugation yield of peptide‐[123I]I‐PEA was very sensitive to relatively large reaction volumes and increased amount of base. By optimizing these parameters, the formation of radiochemical impurities was minimized. Under similar conditions, peptide‐[123I]I‐PEA formed much faster than peptide‐[123I]IB. Sep‐Pak C18 purification afforded conjugates with radiochemical purities both in excess of 98% and free from unreacted peptide. Recovered conjugation yields of peptide‐[123I]I‐PEA in 50% ethanol were in excess of 60%, while those for peptide‐[123I]IB were less than 40%. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The protein fluorescence and structural toolkit: Database and programs for the analysis of protein fluorescence and structural data
Authors: Shen Chi , Menon Rajiv , Das Dipanwita , Bansal Nidhi , Nahar Neha , Guduru Neelima , Jaegle Stephen , Peckham Joan , Reshetnyak Yana K. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractProtein fluorescence is a powerful tool for studying protein structure and dynamics if we have a means to interpret the spectral data in terms of protein structural properties. Our previous research successfully provided this support through the development of individual software modules implementing the algorithms for fluorescence and structural analyses. Now we have integrated the developed software modules, introduced a new program for the assignment of tryptophan residues to spectral‐structural classes, and created a web‐based toolkit PFAST: protein fluorescence and structural toolkit: http://pfast.phys.uri.edu/. PFAST contains three modules: (1) FCAT is a fluorescence‐correlation analysis tool, which decomposes protein fluorescence spectra to reveal the spectral components of individual tryptophan residues or groups of tryptophan residues located close to each other, and assigns spectral components to one of five previously established spectral‐structural classes. (2) SCAT is a structural‐correlation analysis tool for the calculation of the structural parameters of the environment of tryptophan residues from the atomic structures of the proteins from the Protein Data Bank (PDB), and for the assignment of tryptophan residues to one of five spectral‐structural classes. (3) The last module is a PFAST database that contains protein fluorescence and structural data obtained from results of the FCAT and SCAT analyses. Proteins 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Conformational and dynamics changes induced by bile acids binding to chicken liver bile acid binding protein
Authors: Eberini Ivano , Guerini Rocco Alessandro , Ientile Anna Rita , Baptista António M. , Gianazza Elisabetta , Tomaselli Simona , Molinari Henriette , Ragona Laura 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThe correlation between protein motions and function is a central problem in protein science. Several studies have demonstrated that ligand binding and protein dynamics are strongly correlated in intracellular lipid binding proteins (iLBPs), in which the high degree of flexibility, principally occurring at the level of helix‐II, CD, and EF loops (the so‐called portal area), is significantly reduced upon ligand binding. We have recently investigated by NMR the dynamic properties of a member of the iLBP family, chicken liver bile acid binding protein (cL‐BABP), in its apo and holo form, as a complex with two bile salts molecules. Binding was found to be regulated by a dynamic process and a conformational rearrangement was associated with this event. We report here the results of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations performed on apo and holo cL‐BABP with the aim of further characterizing the protein regions involved in motion propagation and of evaluating the main molecular interactions stabilizing bound ligands. Upon binding, the root mean square fluctuation values substantially decrease for CD and EF loops while increase for the helix‐loop‐helix region, thus indicating that the portal area is the region mostly affected by complex formation. These results nicely correlate with backbone dynamics data derived from NMR experiments. Essential dynamics analysis of the MD trajectories indicates that the major concerted motions involve the three contiguous structural elements of the portal area, which however are dynamically coupled in different ways whether in the presence or in the absence of the ligands. Motions of the EF loop and of the helical region are part of the essential space of both apo and holo‐BABP and sample a much wider conformational space in the apo form. Together with NMR results, these data support the view that, in the apo protein, the flexible EF loop visits many conformational states including those typical of the holo state and that the ligand acts stabilizing one of these pre‐existing conformations. The present results, in agreement with data reported for other iLBPs, sharpen our knowledge on the binding mechanism for this protein family. Proteins 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Expanding GPCR homology model binding sites via a balloon potential: A molecular dynamics refinement approach
Authors: Kimura S. Roy , Tebben Andrew J. , Langley David R. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractHomology modeling of G protein‐coupled receptors is becoming a widely used tool in drug discovery. However, unrefined models built using the bovine rhodopsin crystal structure as the template, often have binding sites that are too small to accommodate known ligands. Here, we present a novel systematic method to refine model active sites based on a pressure‐guided molecular dynamics simulation. A distinct advantage of this approach is the ability to introduce systematic perturbations in model backbone atoms in addition to side chain adjustments. The method is validated on two test cases: (1) docking of retinal into an MD‐relaxed structure of opsin and (2) docking of known ligands into a homology model of the CCR2 receptor. In both cases, we show that the MD expansion algorithm makes it possible to dock the ligands in poses that agree with the crystal structure or mutagenesis data. Proteins 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Incisional Hernia after McBurney Incision: Retrospective Case‐control Study of Risk Factors and Surgical Treatment
Authors: Beltrán Marcelo A. , Cruces Karina S. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractBackgroundFew reports have dealt with incisional hernias originating at a McBurney incision after appendectomy. The purpose of the present study was to identify risk factors for development of incisional hernia at a McBurney incision, and to describe our experience with the treatment of this kind of hernia.Patients and methodsWe reviewed 4,862 files of patients older than 15 years of age operated on for acute appendicitis. Some 4,523 (93%) of that group were operated on through a McBurney incision, and 34 (0.7%) of them developed incisional hernia. To identify risk factors for development of incisional hernia we used binary logistic regression analysis.ResultsThe following risk factors were identified: female gender (p = 0.011), diabetes (p < 0.0001), peritonitis, abscess or phlegmon as the cause of the first operation (p = 0.009), wound infection (p = 0.034), seroma (p = 0.023), the use of catgut to suture the aponeurosis (p < 0.0001), and interrupted suture to the aponeurotic layer (p = 0.046). Twenty‐two hernias were repaired with Mayo‐herniorrhaphy and 12 with a subaponeurotic polypropylene prosthesis. Recurrences developed in 3 patients, none in hernias repaired with prosthesis.ConclusionsThe risk of incisional hernia after a McBurney incision for acute appendicitis was very low; we recommend the repair of this uncommon incisional hernia with current standard tension‐free prosthetic techniques.
Micellization Behavior of Mixtures of Sodium Dioctylsulfosuccinate with Sodium Dodecylsulfate in Water
Authors: Singh O. G. , Ismail K. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractMixtures of sodium dioctylsulfosuccinate (AOT) and sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) that were studied in water at 25 °C by using surface tension, conductance, emf and fluorescence emission methods exhibit synergism in the region where the mole fraction of AOT in the bulk solution (α1) is less than 0.7 and ideality in the region where α1 ≥ 0.7. The molal conductance versus the concentration behavior of an aqueous solution of AOT is found to be different from that of other ionic surfactants with the exception of bile salts. Composition of the mixed micelle was evaluated and discussed using the Rubingh's and the Rodenas–Valiente–Villafruela (RVV) treatments. The values of the counter ion binding constant determined from the emf data show that the counter ion binding behavior of the mixed micelle is controlled entirely by AOT. The free energy for mixed micelle formation was calculated using a modified equation. The aggregation number determined by the fluorescence quenching method indicated that in the mixed micelle, as α1 increases, the number of molecules of AOT remains constant and that of SDS decreases. Characteristics of the adsorption layer of the mixed surfactant system were also examined using the theoretical treatment of Rosen and Hua.
Effects of Amazonian forest fragmentation on the interaction between plants, insect herbivores, and their natural enemies
Authors: Fáveri Sarita B. , Vasconcelos Heraldo L. , Dirzo Rodolfo 
Published: January 2008

Abstract:We evaluated the effects of forest fragmentation on herbivory on central Amazonian trees. Levels of herbivory were measured on leaves from a total of 1200 saplings from 337 species. There was a positive and significant effect of forest fragment area on herbivore damage, with plants from continuous forest having twice as much damage as plants in the smallest fragments studied (1 ha). Measurements of herbivory rates on two species, however, indicate that the effect can be species-specific. Forest area had a positive and linear effect on rates of herbivory inHenriettella caudata(Melastomataceae), whereas inProtium hebetatum(Burseraceae), rates of herbivory were greater in the 10-ha fragments than in the 1-ha fragments and in continuous forest. There is no evidence that the nutritional and defensive characteristics of the leaves of the species we studied changed as a result of forest fragmentation, at least not in a manner consistent with the observed herbivory patterns. Herbivore predation levels, measured with artificial caterpillars, also showed no significant relationship with forest area. Therefore, neither of these top-down and bottom-up forces could explain the observed patterns of herbivory. It is suggested, instead, that forest fragmentation may affect the dispersal of insect herbivores, and reduce their abundances on small forest isolates. Altered patterns of herbivory on tree saplings may have important consequences for forest structure and dynamics.
Boundary alignment enables 11-month-olds to segment vowel initial words from speech
Authors: SEIDL AMANDA , JOHNSON ELIZABETH K. 
Published: January 2008

ABSTRACTPast research has indicated that English-learning infants begin segmenting words from speech by 7·5 months of age (Jusczyk & Aslin, 1995). More recent work has demonstrated, however, that 7·5-month-olds' segmentation abilities are severely limited. For example, the ability to segment vowel-initial words from speech reportedly does not appear until 13·5 to 16 months of age (Mattys & Jusczyk, 2001; Nazzi, Dilley, Jusczyk, Shattuck-Hufnagel & Jusczyk, 2005). In this paper, we report on three experiments using the Headturn Preference procedure that investigate both phonetic and phonological factors influencing 11-month-olds' segmentation of vowel-initial words from speech. We replicate earlier findings suggesting that infants have difficulty segmenting vowel-initial words from speech. In addition we extend these findings by demonstrating that under certain conditions, infants are capable of segmenting vowel-initial words from speech at a much younger age than earlier studies have reported. Our findings suggest that infants' ability to segment vowel-initial words from speech is tightly constrained by acoustic-phonetic factors such as pitch movement at the onset of vowel-initial words and segmental strengthening. These experiments underscore the complexity of early word segmentation, and highlight the importance of including contextual factors in developmental models of word segmentation.