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Effective Way (effective + way)
Selected AbstractsPotassium Carbonate-Catalyzed Reactions of Salicylic Aldehydes with Allenic Ketones and Esters: an Effective Way to Synthesize Functionalized 2H -ChromenesADVANCED SYNTHESIS & CATALYSIS (PREVIOUSLY: JOURNAL FUER PRAKTISCHE CHEMIE), Issue 7-8 2006Min Shi Abstract Potassium carbonate-catalyzed reactions of salicylic aldehydes with 3-methylpenta-3,4-dien-2-one, 3-benzylpenta-3,4-dien-2-one or ethyl 2-methylbuta-2,3-dienoate gave the corresponding functionalized 2H -1-chromenes in good to excellent yields and good stereoselectivities in some cases in DMSO at 120,°C within 1,h, respectively. [source] We should work less at nightACTA ANAESTHESIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 3 2009O. A. MERETOJA There is growing amount of evidence that doctors' performance is poorer if they work for over-prolonged duties or at night. These working patterns decrease the standard of care and increase the health care expenses. Furthermore, night workers have serious health risks due to their non-physiological work shifts. Effective ways to reduce the overall consequences of fatigue and night work include minimising the amount of work carried out at nighttime and setting up rules for maximal hours for each work shift. [source] Recent advances in controlled/living radical polymerization in emulsion and dispersionJOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE (IN TWO SECTIONS), Issue 21 2008Jung Kwon Oh Abstract Effective ways to conduct controlled/living radical polymerization (CRP) in emulsion systems are necessary for commercial latex production without significant modification of current industrial facilities. Conducting CRP in emulsion media is more complicated and more challenging than its application in homogeneous bulk. These challenges come from the intrinsic kinetics of emulsion polymerization. They include mass transport, slow chain growth mechanism, and exit of short radicals from polymeric particles. This review describes the recent developments of CRP in heterogeneous dispersion, including miniemulsion, microemulsion, dispersion, and especially emulsion. Various approaches for conducting emulsion CRP are detailed, including controlled seeded emulsion polymerization, nanoprecipitation, use of short oligomers as macroinitiators for in situ block copolymerization, and RAFT-mediated self-assembly. In addition many remaining challenges of the current methods barring wide spread industrial application of emulsion CRP are also suggested. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 6983,7001, 2008 [source] (Re)designing mediation to address the nuances of power imbalanceCONFLICT RESOLUTION QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2001Ilan G. Gewurz This paper addresses the complex relationship between negotiating power and mediation. It begins with the premise that to say in absolute terms that mediation is or is not an effective way of dealing with power imbalance is to ignore the complexity of both the concept of power and the range of processes that can be deemed mediation. This article examines sources of power in an effort to develop a clear, yet thorough, understanding of negotiating power. It then turns to the scholarship on mediation, highlighting key characteristics that distinguish mediation approaches from one another and advancing the debate on what constitutes mediation. Finally, the article highlights bow a specific style of mediation may be appropriate for a given situation, depending on the existing power dynamics between the disputing parties. [source] FUNDING COMMUNITY POLICING TO REDUCE CRIME: HAVE COPS GRANTS MADE A DIFFERENCE?,CRIMINOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 1 2002JIHONG "SOLOMON" ZHAO Research Summary: This research examines how funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), has affected violent and property crime rates in the United States from 1995 to 1999. Drawing on six years of panel data, we examine the effects of three types of awards made by COPS to 6,100 law enforcement agencies serving more than 145 million citizens. We estimate their impact on crime reduction over time in jurisdictions receiving funding and controlling for baseline levels of crime, socioeconomic characteristics, city size, and population diversity and mobility. Our analyses suggest that COPS hiring and innovative grant programs have resulted in significant reductions in local crime rates in cities with populations greater than 10,000 for both violent and nonviolent offenses. Multivariate analysis shows that in cities with populations greater than 10,000, an increase in one dollar of hiring grant funding per resident contributed to a corresponding decline of 5.26 violent crimes and 21.63 property crimes per 100,000 residents. Similarly, an increase in one dollar of innovative grant funding per resident has contributed to a decline of 12.93 violent crimes and 45.53 property crimes per 100,000 persons. In addition, the findings suggest that COPS grants have had no significant negative effect on violent and property crime rates in cities with less than 10,000 population. Policy Implications: The findings of this study imply that COPS program funding to medium- and large-size cities has been an effective force in reducing both violent and property crime. Federal government grants made directly to law enforcement agencies to hire additional officers and promote innovations may be an effective way to reduce crime on a national scale. [source] Growth of single-grain GdBa2Cu3O7-x superconductors by top seeded infiltration and growth techniqueCRYSTAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 3 2010Guo-Zheng Li Abstract The top seeded infiltration and growth technique (TSIG) is an effective way for the preparation of bulk REBa2Cu3O7-x (RE-123, where RE denotes rare earth) with finely dispersed RE2BaCuO5 (RE-211) particles compared to the conventional melt growth (MG) method. The nucleation temperature and the ending growth temperature are the most important parameters need to be optimized during the preparation of RE-123 bulks by the TSIG process. In this paper, the effects of these parameters on the growth of single-grain GdBa2Cu3O7-x (GdBCO) superconductors have been investigated experimentally. It is found that the temperature for the growth of single-grain GdBCO is in the region between 1040 °C and 1015 °C. In addition, the relation between growth rate and supercooling has been investigated in detail. The combined techniques of SEM and EDS were used to study the microstructure of the samples grown at different temperatures. Based on this, a two-step slow cooling method during the crystallization process is proposed for the fabrication of RE-123 bulks. Finally, the single-grain GdBCO samples of the diameters 20 mm and 30 mm were fabricated successfully by the TSIG technique, with the slow-cooling process in the temperature window 1030 °C,1020 °C for 60 h and 100 h respectively. (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] The Effectiveness of Jobs Reservation: Caste, Religion and Economic Status in IndiaDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 3 2007Vani K. Borooah ABSTRACT This article investigates the effect of jobs reservation on improving the economic opportunities of persons belonging to India's Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). Using employment data from the 55th NSS round, the authors estimate the probabilities of different social groups in India being in one of three categories of economic status: own account workers; regular salaried or wage workers; casual wage labourers. These probabilities are then used to decompose the difference between a group X and forward caste Hindus in the proportions of their members in regular salaried or wage employment. This decomposition allows us to distinguish between two forms of difference between group X and forward caste Hindus: ,attribute' differences and ,coefficient' differences. The authors measure the effects of positive discrimination in raising the proportions of ST/SC persons in regular salaried employment, and the discriminatory bias against Muslims who do not benefit from such policies. They conclude that the boost provided by jobs reservation policies was around 5 percentage points. They also conclude that an alternative and more effective way of raising the proportion of men from the SC/ST groups in regular salaried or wage employment would be to improve their employment-related attributes. [source] Reducing Child Poverty with Cash Transfers: A Sure Thing?DEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 5 2006Armando Barrientos Children are disproportionately represented among the income-poor, many suffer from severe deprivation, and their poverty and vulnerability have cumulative and long-term consequences. This article provides a comparative examination of the poverty-reduction effectiveness of cash transfer programmes targeting children, focusing on three types of such programmes: the Child Support Grant in South Africa, family allowances in transition countries, and targeted conditional cash transfer programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean. It finds that, despite differences in design, cash transfer programmes targeting children in poor households are an effective way of reducing poverty. [source] Adding biphasic insulin aspart 30 once or twice daily is more efficacious than optimizing oral antidiabetic treatment in patients with type 2 diabetesDIABETES OBESITY & METABOLISM, Issue 5 2007W. M. W. Bebakar Aim:, To evaluate the efficacy and safety of adding biphasic insulin aspart 30 (BIAsp30; NovoMix® 30) to existing oral antidiabetic agents (OADs) vs. optimizing OADs in a subgroup of Western Pacific patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled on oral monotherapy or oral combination therapy. Methods:, This 26-week, multi-centre, open-labelled, randomized, two-arm parallel trial consisted of a 2-week screening period, followed by 24 weeks of treatment. Subjects randomized to BIAsp30 treatment (n = 129) received BIAsp30 once daily (o.d.) at dinnertime between Week 2 and Week 14, and those not reaching treatment targets were switched to twice daily (b.i.d.) BIAsp30 at Week 14 (n = 50). Subjects randomized to the OAD-only arm (n = 63) continued with their previous OAD treatment and, in an attempt to reach treatment goals, the dose was optimized (but OAD unchanged) in accordance to local treatment practice and labelling. Results:, Significantly greater reductions in HbA1c over Weeks 0,13 with BIAsp30 (o.d.) vs. OAD-only treatment (1.16 vs. 0.58%; p < 0.001), and over Weeks 0,26, with BIAsp30 (o.d.) and BIAsp30 (b.i.d.) treatments vs. OAD-only treatment (1.24 vs. 1.34 vs. 0.67%; p < 0.01). Hypoglycaemic episodes were reported in 54% of the patients in BIAsp30 (o.d. and b.i.d. pooled) and 30% of the patients in OAD-only group. All episodes were minor or symptomatic, except for one in each treatment group, which was major. Conclusions:, Initiating BIAsp30 treatment is a safe and more effective way to improve glycaemic control in Western Pacific patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with oral monotherapy or oral combination therapy compared with optimizing oral combination therapy alone. In patients not reaching treatment target on BIAsp30 (o.d.), treatment with BIAsp30 (b.i.d.) should be considered. [source] Oxidative damage of retinal pigment epithelial cells and age-related macular degenerationDRUG DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, Issue 5 2007Suofu Qin Abstract Damage to the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells is an early and crucial event in the molecular pathways leading to clinically relevant age-related macular degeneration (AMD) changes. Oxidative stress, the major environmental risk factor for atrophic AMD, causes RPE injury that results in a chronic inflammatory response, drusen formation, and RPE atrophy. RPE degeneration ultimately leads to a progressive irreversible degeneration of photoreceptors. In vitro studies show that oxidant-treated RPE cells undergo apoptosis, a possible mechanism by which RPE cells are lost during the early phase of atrophic AMD. The main target of oxidative injury appears to be mitochondria, an organelle known to accumulate genomic damage during aging. Addition of GSH, the most abundant intracellular thiol antioxidant, protects RPE cells from oxidant-induced apoptosis. Similar protection occurs with dietary enzyme inducers that increase GSH synthesis. In addition, enhancing survival signaling preserves RPE cells under oxidative stress. These results indicate that therapeutic or nutritional intervention to enhance the antioxidant capacity and survival signaling of RPE may provide an effective way to prevent or treat AMD. This review describes major molecular and cellular events leading to RPE death, and presents currently used and new experimental, forthcoming therapeutic strategies. Drug Dev Res 68:213,225, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Hybrid platform for high-tech equipment protection against earthquake and microvibrationEARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, Issue 8 2006Y. L. Xu Abstract To ensure the high quality of ultra-precision products such as semiconductors and optical microscopes, high-tech equipment used to make these products requires a normal working environment with extremely limited vibration. Some of high-tech industry centres are also located in seismic zones: the safety of high-tech equipment during an earthquake event becomes a critical issue. It is thus imperative to find an effective way to ensure the functionality of high-tech equipment against microvibration and to protect high-tech equipment from damage when earthquake events occur. This paper explores the possibility of using a hybrid platform to mitigate two types of vibration. The hybrid platform, on which high-tech equipment is installed, is designed to work as a passive isolation platform to abate mainly acceleration response of high-tech equipment during an earthquake and to function as an actively controlled platform to reduce mainly velocity response of high-tech equipment under normal working condition. To examine the performance of the hybrid platform, the analytical model of a coupled hybrid platform and building system incorporating with magnetostrictive actuators is established. The simulation results obtained by applying the analytical model to a high-tech facility indicate that the proposed hybrid platform is feasible and effective. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The spatial distribution of badgers, setts and latrines: the risk for intra-specific and badger-livestock disease transmissionECOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2008Monika Böhm The spatial distribution of wildlife hosts and the associated environmental distribution of their excretory products are important factors associated with the risk of disease transmission between wildlife and livestock. At a landscape scale, heterogeneous distribution of a wildlife host will create regional hot spots for disease risk, while at the farm level, distributional patterns of wildlife excretory products as well as habitat use are of primary importance to the assessment of disease risk to livestock. In the UK, badgers have been implicated in the transmission of bovine tuberculosis to cattle. In this study, we focus on the spatial and social organization and habitat use of badgers as well as the distributions of their excretions at latrine and sett sites to assess intra- and inter-species (badger,cattle) disease risk. Across the study site, badger latrines and setts were found in prominent clusters, at distances of up to 250 and 200 m respectively. This was partly due to small-scale clustering of latrines around sett sites, so that disease risk may be higher within the vicinity of setts. The clustered distribution suggests that sites of high risk for TB transmission may be localised within farms. Exclusion of cattle from the few sett and latrine sites within their grazing pasture is therefore likely to provide an effective way of reducing the risk of disease transmission. We also found evidence of social sub-division within badger social groups based on differences in the use of main and outlier setts. This may contribute to localised clusters of infection within the badger population, resulting in heterogeneous patterns of environmental disease risk to the wider host community. A greater understanding of variation in host behaviour and its implications for patterns of disease will allow the development of more targeted and effective management strategies for wildlife disease in group-living hosts. [source] LAND USE PLANNING: PUBLIC OR PRIVATE CHOICE?ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 2 2003Mark Pennington Focusing on house prices and residential densities, this paper offers a comparative institutions account of the likely performance of public and private land use planning regimes. The analysis suggests that whilst far from ,perfect,' a system of private land use planning is likely to offer a more effective way of balancing the costs and benefits of land use change than a government-driven system. [source] Predictors of smoking relapse by duration of abstinence: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country SurveyADDICTION, Issue 12 2009Natalie Herd ABSTRACT Aim To explore predictors of smoking relapse and how predictors vary according to duration of abstinence. Design, setting and participants A longitudinal survey of 1296 ex-smokers recruited as part of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey (Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and United States). Measurements Quitters were interviewed by telephone at varying durations of abstinence (from 1 day to approximately 3 years) and then followed-up approximately 1 year later. Theorized predictors of relapse (i.e. urges to smoke; outcome expectancies of smoking and quitting; and abstinence self-efficacy) and nicotine dependence were measured in the survey. Findings Relapse was associated with lower abstinence self-efficacy and a higher frequency of urges to smoke, but only after the first month or so of quitting. Both these measures mediated relationships between perceived benefits of smoking and relapse. Perceived costs of smoking and benefits of quitting were unrelated to relapse. Conclusions Challenging perceived benefits of smoking may be an effective way to increase abstinence self-efficacy and reduce frequency of urges to smoke (particularly after the initial weeks of quitting), in order to reduce subsequent relapse risk. [source] Behavioral intervention to promote smoking cessation and prevent weight gain: a systematic review and meta-analysisADDICTION, Issue 9 2009Bonnie Spring ABSTRACT Aims The prospect of weight gain discourages many cigarette smokers from quitting. Practice guidelines offer varied advice about managing weight gain after quitting smoking, but no systematic review and meta-analysis have been available. We reviewed evidence to determine whether behavioral weight control intervention compromises smoking cessation attempts, and if it offers an effective way to reduce post-cessation weight gain. Methods We identified randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared combined smoking treatment and behavioral weight control to smoking treatment alone for adult smokers. English-language studies were identified through searches of PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Of 779 articles identified and 35 potentially relevant RCTs screened, 10 met the criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. Results Patients who received both smoking treatment and weight treatment showed increased abstinence [odds ratio (OR) = 1.29, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01, 1.64] and reduced weight gain (g = ,0.30, 95% CI = ,0.57, ,0.02) in the short term (<3 months) compared with patients who received smoking treatment alone. Differences in abstinence (OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 0.85, 1.79) and weight control (g = ,0.17, 95% CI = ,0.42, 0.07) were no longer significant in the long term (>6 months). Conclusions Findings provide no evidence that combining smoking treatment and behavioral weight control produces any harm and significant evidence of short-term benefit for both abstinence and weight control. However, the absence of long-term enhancement of either smoking cessation or weight control by the time-limited interventions studied to date provides insufficient basis to recommend societal expenditures on weight gain prevention treatment for patients who are quitting smoking. [source] Analysis of poly(amidoamine)-succinamic acid dendrimers by slab-gel electrophoresis and capillary zone electrophoresisELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 15 2005Xiangyang Shi Abstract Ethylenediamine (EDA)-core poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) succinamic acid dendrimers (Ex.SAH, where x refers to the generation) were synthesized and analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), potentiometric acid-base titration, and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). Various generations (E1.SAH,E7.SAH) PAMAMs and a succinamic acid terminated core-shell tecto(dendrimer) (E5(E3.SAH)n) were first analyzed by PAGE. PAGE results show that the relative mobilities of generation,2 to generation,7 dendrimers decreased with the increasing number of generations. The molecular mass of a generation,5 core generation,3 shell tecto(dendrimer) (denoted as E5(E3.SAH)n) was determined to be between the Mw of E6.SAH and E7.SAH. CZE analysis allowed the evaluation of electrophoretic properties of given-generation dendrimers. The electrophoretic mobilities of individual generations PAMAM polyanions are similar, indicating that the separation mainly depends on their approximately identical charge/mass ratio. The E5(E3.SAH)n tectodendrimer had a lower electrophoretic mobility, which was consistent with its lower charge/mass ratio. The combination of PAGE and CZE analysis provides an alternative and effective way to characterize this group of PAMAM-succinamic acid dendrimers. [source] Governance challenges and the prevention of industrial environmental accidents: the case of finlandENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 6 2008Nina Wessberg Abstract This paper examines the challenges faced in governing accidental industrial emissions. Accidental emissions are unexpected situations where harmful runaway emissions are released into the environment, causing damage to people, ecosystems, human property and company images. We claim that in Finland the practices of environmental authorities do not encourage companies to prevent accidental emissions in the most effective way. According to our study, based on action research and case study augmented with document analysis and interviews, authorities operate under three different kinds of frame: an environmental permit frame, a risk prevention frame and a major accident prevention frame. Accidental industrial emissions are, in our view, best governed under the risk prevention frame, where practices and management systems are addressed covering the entire complex socio-technical nature of an industrial process. However, environmental authorities, in Finland, focus on environmental permit frames, stressing limit values, hence concentrating on managing the industrial process component by component. This approach may be suitable for the governing of continuous emissions, but not that of accidental emissions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Assessment of high density of onsite wastewater treatment systems on a shallow groundwater coastal aquifer using PCAENVIRONMETRICS, Issue 3 2005Steven Carroll Abstract Onsite wastewater treatment systems are common throughout the world, including Australia, with approximately 17% of the Australian population relying on these systems to treat and ultimately dispose of wastewater. Systems which are properly sited, designed and managed are an effective way of providing the necessary treatment of wastewater. However, incidence of onsite system failure is common, and this is further compounded in areas where high densities of systems are established. The density of systems is not appropriately assessed in the siting and design stage. Various factors, such as site and soil characteristics and climate, can influence the treatment efficiency, and this is more critical in high density areas. Principal component analysis was used for assessing chemical and microbiological data from shallow groundwater below a high density of onsite treatment systems. The results of this study confirmed that high system densities can significantly impact shallow groundwater systems. Additionally, changes in spatial and climatic conditions, as well as the type of onsite system, can also influence the quality of groundwater. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] New technologies in self-help: another effective way to get better?EUROPEAN EATING DISORDERS REVIEW, Issue 3 2003Chris WilliamsArticle first published online: 25 APR 200 First page of article [source] Self-reported changes in clinical behaviour by undergraduate dental students after video-based teaching in paediatric dentistryEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 3 2005M. Kalwitzki Abstract, Four cohorts of undergraduate students (n = 113) were filmed on video tapes whilst performing paediatric treatments. Selected parts of these tapes were shown the day after. Thus, within one term each student was able to view his performance on a videotape as well as those of fellow students. After completion of the clinical course in paediatric dentistry students were asked by means of a questionnaire about behavioural changes in their clinical work regarding different topics. Considerable changes in behaviour were reported for various topics. Most of the students emphasised the viable role of the video for changing their behaviour. This was especially true for aspects of verbal and non-verbal communication where mainly female students benefited. Moreover, video was thought to have been useful for improving capacities to deal with patients in fear or pain and for ergonomics. About two-thirds of the students (64.6%) thought that watching the video had made it easier for them to put theoretical knowledge into action. Video does not seem to play an important role for confirmation and maintenance of behaviour patterns. In conclusion however, it can be stated that video has a high impact on the modification of behaviour patterns of undergraduate students for many aspects of clinical work. The use of video can thus attribute to dental education in an effective way. [source] Students' perceptions of seminar and lecture-based teaching in restorative dentistryEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 3 2000Paul A. Brunton In an era of self-directed learning, it is important to seek the views of dental students regarding their learning experience. Using an anonymous questionnaire, clinical dental students' perceptions of seminar and lecture-based teaching in restorative dentistry were sought. 116 of 136 questionnaires circulated were returned for analysis giving a response rate of 85%. Clinical seminars as opposed to lectures were, in the opinion of the students, a more effective way of learning, more relevant to self-development and more interactive. Seminar-based learning was considered to be more amenable to self-direction than formal didactic lectures. It is concluded that the students included in this study were found to prefer seminar-based learning opportunities as opposed to more traditional styles of learning, specifically, didactic lectures. [source] Appraisal of current vitamin K dosing algorithms for the reversal of over-anticoagulation with warfarin: the need for a more tailored dosing regimenEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 6 2006Elizabeth A. Sconce Abstract:, Warfarin is the most commonly prescribed oral anticoagulant in the UK for the treatment and prevention of thromboembolic disorders. Vitamin K administration is an effective way of reversing excessive anticoagulation. Over-anticoagulated patients present with a wide range of international normalized ratio (INR) values and may respond differently to a fixed dose of vitamin K. Current dosing algorithms for vitamin K administration in the non-urgent treatment of over-anticoagulation do not take this variability in response into account. Consequently, over a third of over-anticoagulated patients still remain outside their target INR 24 h after treatment. Such patients are therefore prone to either haemorrhage (if the patient is still over-anticoagulated) or thromboembolism (if the INR reversal is over-corrected). A number of factors such as patient age, body weight, co-morbidity, frailty, warfarin daily dose and CYP2C9 and VKORC1 polymorphism could affect response to vitamin K and thus the rate and extent of INR reversal. There is a need for a more individualized approach to the reversal of over-anticoagulation in asymptomatic or mildly haemorrhagic patients in order to improve the safety of warfarin therapy. [source] Study of oil uptake and some quality attributes of potato chips affected by hydrocolloidsEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF LIPID SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 11 2008Amir Daraei Garmakhany Abstract The use of coating agents is one effective way to reduce oil absorption in fried products. Reducing the fat content of fried foods by application of coatings is an alternative solution to comply with both health concerns and consumer preferences. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of hydrocolloids as coating agent on the quantity of oil uptake and on sensory attributes of potato chips. The effect of the coating composition showed that the minimum fat content was related to 1% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), 0.5% xanthan, 0.3% guar and 1% xanthan with 21.2, 21.7, 22.4 and 24.8%, respectively, and the highest of fat content was related to blank sample (non-coated), 2% tragacanth, 0.5% guar gum with 49.4, 41.7 and 33.2% of oil content, respectively (p,<0.05). The most effective coating agent reduced the oil uptake by 57.03, 55.94, 54.67 and 49.71%, respectively (p,<0.05). Sensory evaluation showed that the best color was related to 1% CMC, 0.3% guar and 2% tragacanth, and with respect to flavor evaluation the best flavor was observed in tragacanth 2%, CMC 0.5% and CMC 0.1%, and the best texture referred to tragacanth 2%, CMC 0.5% and CMC 1%. In sensory evaluation, all coated chips got high scores compared with blank (non-coated chips) samples (p,<0.05). [source] The representation of Kanizsa illusory contours in the monkey inferior temporal cortexEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 10 2008Gy. Sáry Abstract Stimulus reduction is an effective way to study visual performance. Cues such as surface characteristics, colour and inner lines can be removed from stimuli, revealing how the change affects recognition and neural processing. An extreme reduction is the removal of the very stimulus, defining it with illusory lines. Perceived boundaries without physical differences between shape and background are called illusory (or subjective) contours. Illusory and real contours activate early stages of the macaque visual pathway in similar ways. However, data relating to the processing of illusory contours in higher visual areas are scarce. We recently reported how illusory contours based on abutting-line gratings affect neurones in the monkey inferotemporal cortex, an area essential for object and shape vision. We now present data on how inferotemporal cortical neurones of monkeys react to another type of shapes, the Kanizsa figures. A set of line drawings, silhouettes, their illusory contour-based counterparts, and control shapes have been presented to awake, fixating rhesus monkeys while single-cell activity was recorded in the anterior part of the inferotemporal cortex. Most of the recorded neurones were responsive and selective to shapes presented as illusory contours. Shape selectivity was proved to be different for line drawings and illusory contours, and also for silhouettes and illusory contours. Neuronal response latencies for Kanizsa figures were significantly longer than those for line drawings and silhouettes. These results reveal differences in processing for Kanizsa figures and shapes having real contours in the monkey inferotemporal cortex. [source] Sampling and analytical plus subsampling variance components for five soil indicators observed at regional scaleEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 5 2009B. G. Rawlins Summary When comparing soil baseline measurements with resampled values there are four main sources of error. These are: i) location (errors in relocating the sample site), ii) sampling errors (representing the site with a sample of material) iii) subsampling error (selecting material for analysis) and iv) analytical error (error in laboratory measurements). In general we cannot separate the subsampling and analytical sources of error (since we always analyse a different subsample of a specimen), so in this paper we combine these two sources into subsampling plus analytical error. More information is required on the relative magnitudes of location and sampling errors for the design of effective resampling strategies to monitor changes in soil indicators. Recently completed soil surveys of the UK with widely differing soils included a duplicate site and subsampling protocol to quantify ii), and the sum of iii) and iv) above. Sampling variances are estimated from measurements on duplicate samples , two samples collected on a support of side length 20 m separated by a short distance (21 m). Analytical and subsampling variances are estimated from analyses of two subsamples from each duplicate site. After accounting for variation caused by region, parent material class and land use, we undertook a nested analysis of data from 196 duplicate sites across three regions to estimate the relative magnitude of medium-scale (between sites), sampling and subsampling plus analytical variance components, for five topsoil indicators: total metal concentrations of copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn), soil pH and soil organic carbon (SOC) content. The variance components for each indicator diminish by about an order of magnitude from medium-scale, to sampling, to analytical plus subsampling. Each of the three fixed effects (parent material, land use and region) were statistically significant for each of the five indicators. The most effective way to minimise the overall uncertainty of our observations at sample sites is to reduce the sampling variance. [source] Angiotensin AT1 Receptor Antagonist Losartan and the Defence Reaction in the Anaesthetised Rat.EXPERIMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 3 2003Effect on the Carotid Chemoreflex Modulation at the level of the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) appears to be an effective way of controlling cardiovascular reflexes. Angiotensin II acting on angiotensin AT1 receptors at the central nervous system appears to have an important role in these modulatory processes. The hypothalamic defence area (HDA) is a potential source of descending fibres containing angiotensin II that innervate the NTS. We investigated the effect of AT1 receptor blockade in the NTS on the response to stimulation of HDA in anaesthetised rats treated with the neuromuscular blocking agent pancuronium bromide. The characteristic increase in heart rate, blood pressure and phrenic nerve activity evoked by electrical stimulation of HDA is decreased by the microinjection of the AT1 receptor antagonist losartan into the NTS and the cardiovascular response to carotid body chemical stimulation is also reduced. These results support the hypothesis that AT1 receptors in the NTS play a role in the modulation of cardiovascular reflexes, and modify the influence exerted on the processing of these reflexes by other areas of the central nervous system. [source] Understanding the Endogeneity Between Firm Value and Shareholder RightsFINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2005Jianxin (Daniel) Chi I explore the relation between firm value and the shareholder rights-based Governance Index "G," which has become a popular measure of governance quality among researchers and investors. I show that the relation is not spuriously driven by unobservable firm heterogeneity or an assortment of observable firm characteristics, such as firm growth potential and profitability. The causality seems to run from G to firm value, rather than from firm value to G. My results suggest that granting more rights to shareholders could be an effective way to reduce agency costs and enhance firm value. [source] SNP selection and multidimensional scaling to quantify population structureGENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 6 2009Kelci Miclaus Abstract In the new era of large-scale collaborative Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS), population stratification has become a critical issue that must be addressed. In order to build upon the methods developed to control the confounding effect of a structured population, it is extremely important to visualize and quantify that effect. In this work, we develop methodology for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) selection and subsequent population stratification visualization based on deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in conjunction with non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS); a distance-based multivariate technique. Through simulation, it is shown that SNP selection based on Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium (HWD) is robust against confounding linkage disequilibrium patterns that have been problematic in past studies and methods as well as producing a differentiated SNP set. Non-metric MDS is shown to be a multivariate visualization tool preferable to principal components in conjunction with HWD SNP selection through theoretical and empirical study from HapMap samples. The proposed selection tool offers a simple and effective way to select appropriate substructure-informative markers for use in exploring the effect that population stratification may have in association studies. Genet. Epidemiol. 33:488,496, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Ligand-Driven Wavelength-Tunable and Ultra-Broadband Infrared Luminescence in Single-Ion-Doped Transparent Hybrid MaterialsADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 13 2009Shifeng Zhou Abstract Here, tuning of the optical properties of emission centers by tailoring the ligand fields is investigated. Experimentally, it is demonstrated that Ni2+ can act as a single emission species in multiple octahedral local environments. Nanocrystal-embedded hybrid materials are employed as hosts in order to take advantage of their convenience in local environment design for practical applications. Novel composite gain materials with high transparence are successfully made, and show interesting wavelength-tunable and ultra-broadband infrared luminescence covering the whole near-infrared region from 1,100 to 1,800,nm. The infrared luminescence peak positions can be finely tuned from 1,300 to 1,450 and to 1,570,nm, with the largest full width at half maximum being about 400,nm and covering the telecommunication bands at 1,200,1,500,nm. According to the results of characterization, the unusual luminescence, interestingly, originates from Ni2+ in nanocrystals and the doping efficiency of Ni2+ is surprisingly high. The results demonstrate that the method presented may be an effective way to fabricate multifunctional light sources with various fundamental multifunctional applications from efficient broadband optical amplifiers to bio-imaging. [source] Social Capital, Networks, and Community Environments in Bangkok, ThailandGROWTH AND CHANGE, Issue 4 2002Amrita Daniere This paper considers the case of Bangkok where, as in many Asian cities, the expansion of urban areas has outpaced the ability of public entities to manage and provide basic services. One potential way to improve the capacity of neighborhoods to assist in provision or improvement in environmental services is to enhance the positive contributions provided by local social networks and social capital. A conceptual framework is presented to explore the role of social networks in environmental management in polluted urban environments. This is followed by a brief description of the methodology and survey instrument used to collect information from a sample of community households in Bangkok and an analysis of the results from this survey regarding environmental practices, community action, and social networks. Some of the results suggest that increasing the number of social interactions that residents of a community experience is associated with increased community participation as, apparently, is increasing knowledge about what happens to waste or waste water after it leaves the community. Local public education efforts that focus on useful knowledge about environmental impacts may well be an effective way to encourage community participation. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||