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Additional Contribution (additional + contribution)
Selected AbstractsAdditional Contributions From the 8th Vienna International Workshop on Functional Electrical StimulationARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 6 2005Winfried Mayr PhD No abstract is available for this article. [source] Mechanical Support for Postcardiotomy Cardiogenic Shock: Has Progress Been Made?JOURNAL OF CARDIAC SURGERY, Issue 4 2010Erik A. Sylvin M.D. A previous review of this topic by our group suggested that regardless of device, only 25% of patients survived to hospital discharge. In the interim, newer technologies have entered the clinical arena. Additional contributions have been made to the literature and new databases are collecting data that are likely to provide more robust guidance for the management of these very complex patients. In this review, we update the experience of mechanical support in the PCCS patient and provide a strategy to maximize survival for a patient who develops PCCS in the community cardiac surgery center. (J Card Surg 2010;25:442-454) [source] ,-Crustacyanin, the blue,purple carotenoprotein of lobster carapace: consideration of the bathochromic shift of the protein-bound astaxanthinACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 8 2003P. F. Zagalsky The crystal structure of a ,-crustacyanin allows an analysis of the various proposals for the mechanism of the bathochromic shift from orange to purple,blue of astaxanthin in this lobster carotenoprotein. Structural and previous chemical and biophysical studies suggest that extension of conjugation by coplanarization of the ,-ionone rings with the polyene chain and polarization resulting from hydrogen bonding at the C(4) and C(4,) keto groups may be mainly responsible for the bathochromic shift. Additional contributions may arise from medium effects and possibly from bowing of the polyene chain on binding. Previous biophysical data revealing a somewhat symmetrical polarization of astaxanthin in crustacyanin are thereby also accounted for. A puzzling feature remains unexplained: the bathochromic shifts, larger than that of astaxanthin, shown by some cyclopentenedione carotenoids in reconstituted carotenoproteins. This mini review enlarges on the original analysis and conclusions of Cianci et al. [(2002), Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, 99, 9795,9800]. [source] Eating problems at age 6 years in a whole population sample of extremely preterm childrenDEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 2 2010MUTHANNA SAMARA Aim, The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of eating problems and their association with neurological and behavioural disabilities and growth among children born extremely preterm (EPC) at age 6 years. Method, A standard questionnaire about eating was completed by parents of 223 children (125 males [56.1%], 98 females [43.9%]) aged 6 years who were born at 25 weeks' gestation or earlier (mean 24.5wks, SD 0.7wks; mean birthweight 749.1g, SD 116.8g), and parents of 148 classmates born at term (66 males [44.6%], 82 females [55.4%]). All children underwent neurological, cognitive, and anthropometric assessment, and parents and teachers completed a behaviour scale. Results, Eating problems were more common among the EPC than the comparison group (odds ratio [OR] 3.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.1,6.3), including oral motor (OR 5.2, 95% CI 2.8,9.9), hypersensitivity (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.6,5.6), and behavioural (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.9,7.6) problems. Group differences were reduced after adjustment for cognitive impairment, neuromotor disability, and other behaviour problems. EPC with eating problems were shorter, lighter, and had lower mid-arm circumference and lower body mass index (BMI) even after adjusting for disabilities, gestational age, birthweight, and feeding problems at 30 months. Interpretation, Eating problems are still frequent in EPC at school age. They are only partly related to other disabilities but make an additional contribution to continued growth failure and may require early recognition and intervention. [source] Strategy shifts in leaf physiology, structure and nutrient content between species of high- and low-rainfall and high- and low-nutrient habitatsFUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2001I. J. Wright Summary 1,Relationships were examined among photosynthetic capacity (Amass and Aarea), foliar dark respiration rate (Rd-mass and Rd-area), stomatal conductance to water (Gs), specific leaf area (SLA), and leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) across 79 perennial species occurring at four sites with contrasting rainfall levels and soil nutrients in eastern Australia. We hypothesized that the slope of log,log ,scaling' relationships between these traits would be positive and would not differ between sites, although slope elevations might shift between habitat types. 2,Amass, Rd-mass, SLA, Nmass and Pmass were positively associated in common slopes fitted across sites or rainfall zones, although rather weakly within individual sites in some cases. The relationships between Amass (and Rd-mass) with each of Nmass and SLA were partially independent of each other, with Amass (or Rd-mass) increasing with SLA at a given Nmass, or with Nmass at a given SLA (only weakly in the case of Amass). These results improve the quantification and extend the generalization of reported patterns to floras largely unlike those studied previously, with the additional contribution of including phosphorus data. 3,Species from drier sites differed in several important respects. They had (i) higher leaf N and P (per dry mass or area); (ii) lower photosynthetic capacity at a given leaf N or P; (iii) higher Rd-mass at a given SLA or Amass; and (iv) lower Gs at a given Aarea (implying lower internal CO2 concentration). 4,These trends can be interpreted as part of a previously undocumented water conservation strategy in species from dry habitats. By investing heavily in photosynthetic enzymes, a larger drawdown of internal CO2 concentration is achieved, and a given photosynthetic rate is possible at a lower stomatal conductance. Transpirational water use is similar, however, due to the lower-humidity air in dry sites. The benefit of the strategy is that dry-site species reduce water loss at a given Aarea, down to levels similar to wet-site species, despite occurring in lower-humidity environments. The cost of high leaf N is reflected in higher dark respiration rates and, presumably, additional costs incurred by N acquisition and increased herbivory risk. [source] Independent comparative study of PCA, ICA, and LDA on the FERET data setINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF IMAGING SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 5 2005Kresimir Delac Abstract Face recognition is one of the most successful applications of image analysis and understanding and has gained much attention in recent years. Various algorithms were proposed and research groups across the world reported different and often contradictory results when comparing them. The aim of this paper is to present an independent, comparative study of three most popular appearance-based face recognition projection methods (PCA, ICA, and LDA) in completely equal working conditions regarding preprocessing and algorithm implementation. We are motivated by the lack of direct and detailed independent comparisons of all possible algorithm implementations (e.g., all projection,metric combinations) in available literature. For consistency with other studies, FERET data set is used with its standard tests (gallery and probe sets). Our results show that no particular projection,metric combination is the best across all standard FERET tests and the choice of appropriate projection,metric combination can only be made for a specific task. Our results are compared to other available studies and some discrepancies are pointed out. As an additional contribution, we also introduce our new idea of hypothesis testing across all ranks when comparing performance results. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 15, 252,260, 2005 [source] Updating Geographic Distribution of Artemia urmiana Günther, 1890 (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) in Europe: An Integrated and Interdisciplinary ApproachINTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF HYDROBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2009Theodore J. Abatzopoulos Abstract Artemia urmiana (a species previously considered endemic of Lake Urmia, NW Iran) has been found in Lake Koyashskoe, a hypersaline lake on the Black Sea coast of the Crimean peninsula (Ukraine). Therefore, this is the first record of A. urmiana in Europe which updates its distribution. The species identification was based on an integrated and interdisciplinary approach using discriminant analysis of the morphometric characters, scanning electron microscopy, and molecular profile analysis. The data derived from the above mentioned approaches converge to significant similarity of the population under investigation with A. urmiana. The updated geographic distribution of the species, deriving from the present report, asks for additional contribution of other disciplines (e.g., avian dispersal of cysts, history of salt trade) to be finally clarified. At present we suggest that the punctuated geographic distribution of A. urmiana is probably linked to its low dispersal capability, and we suppose that its presence in two distant sites could be explained by historical human salt trade between Lake Urmia and the ancient port of Kimmerik, whose remains have been found in the present Lake Koyashskoe. (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Inclusion of the ligand field contribution in a polarizable molecular mechanics: SIBFA-LF,JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 16 2003Jean-Philip Piquemal Abstract To account for the distortion of the coordination sphere that takes place in complexes containing open-shell metal cations such as Cu(II), we implemented, in sum of interactions between fragments ab initio computed (SIBFA) molecular mechanics, an additional contribution to take into account the ligand field splitting of the metal d orbitals. This term, based on the angular overlap model, has been parameterized for Cu(II) coordinated to oxygen and nitrogen ligands. The comparison of the results obtained from density functional theory computations on the one hand and SIBFA or SIBFA-LF on the other shows that SIBFA-LF gives geometric arrangements similar to those obtained from quantum mechanical computations. Moreover, the geometric improvement takes place without downgrading the energetic agreement obtained from SIBFA. The systems considered are Cu(II) interacting with six water molecules, four ammonia or four imidazoles, and four water plus two formate anions. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 24: 1963,1970, 2003 [source] Third Virial Coefficient for 4-Arm and 6-Arm Star PolymersMACROMOLECULAR THEORY AND SIMULATIONS, Issue 2-3 2008Sergio Caracciolo Abstract We discuss the computation of the third virial coefficient in polymer systems, focusing on an additional contribution absent in the case of monoatomic fluids. We determine the interpenetration ratio and several quantities that involve the third virial coefficient for star polymers with 4 and 6 arms in the good-solvent regime, in the limit of a large degree of polymerization. [source] Pyroelectric investigations of a hydrogen bonded ferroelectric liquid crystal gel by LIMMPOLYMERS FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, Issue 1 2005Jianjun Li Abstract The laser intensity modulation method (LIMM) is employed to determine spatially resolved polarization distributions in sandwich cells containing a hydrogen-bonded ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) gel. At no external electric fields, contributions to the distributions at the surface of the FLC layer are dominating in all the samples with different concentration of gel former. These are attributed to non-vanishing polarization due to surface interaction. In this case, the effect of hydrogen-bonded network on the polarization distribution is not visible. In external electric fields, additional contribution to the resulting distribution caused by the induced polarization due to unwinding the FLC helix has been observed. Furthermore, the influence of hydrogen-bonded network on the polarization distribution is also detected when the gel former content is increased up to 5.0,wt%. Therein the shape of the measured pyrospectra is completely different to other FLC gel samples with lower gel former concentration, where their maximum distributions still locate at the surface of FLC layer which is comparable to the initial field-free state. These result indicate that the helical structure and orientation director of FLC are able to be stabilized effectively by the gel network even under strong external electric field. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Morphogenesis of the Marine Ciliate, Pseudoamphisiella alveolata (Kahl, 1932) Song & Warren, 2000 (Ciliophora, Stichotrichia, Urostylida) During Binary FissionTHE JOURNAL OF EUKARYOTIC MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2006CHEN SHAO ABSTRACT. Morphogenesis during the binary fission of the stichotrich ciliate Pseudoamphisiella alveolata, isolated from Jiaozhou Bay near Qingdao, China, was investigated using protargol silver impregnation. The process is characterized as follows: (1) in the proter, only the posterior part of the parental adoral zone of membranelles is renewed, where the membranelles dedifferentiate and then rebuild the UM-anlage and the missing membranelles, (2) the oral primordium in the opisthe and the FVT-anlagen in both dividers are formed de novo on the cell surface, (3) an "extra" anlage, which is generated on the right of the right marginal anlage, develops into three or four "extra" marginal cirri that connect the caudal cirri with the marginal rows, (4) the right marginal anlage is formed within the old structure, (5) the FVT-cirri develop in a primary mode, and (6) unlike most stichotrichs, the right marginal anlagen in both dividers generate closely together. As an additional contribution, the diversity of morphogenetic patterns within the genus Pseudoamphisiella is discussed. Based on both morphogenetic and SS rRNA gene sequencing data, the systematic position of the genus Pseudoamphisiella as well as the family Pseudoamphisiellidae Song et al. 1997 is briefly analyzed. The results indicate that they should very possibly represent a higher evolved group in the order Urostylida. [source] Association of a functional polymorphism in the IRF5 region with systemic sclerosis in a Japanese populationARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 6 2009Ikue Ito Objective Interferon regulatory factor 5, an established susceptibility factor for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), plays a role in type I interferon and proinflammatory cytokine induction. A recent study showed association of a functional single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in intron 1 of IRF5, rs2004640, with systemic sclerosis (SSc) in a European French population. We undertook the present study to determine whether IRF5 polymorphisms are also associated with a predisposition to SSc in Japanese. Methods A case,control association study was performed for rs2004640 as well as for rs10954213 and rs2280714, all of which were previously reported to be associated with SLE, in 281 SSc patients and 477 healthy controls. Patients with SSc complicated by SLE or Sjögren's syndrome were excluded. Association of the rs2280714 genotype with messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of IRF5 and adjacently located transportin 3 (TNPO3) was examined using the GENEVAR database. Results All 3 SNPs were significantly associated with SSc, with the rs2280714 A allele having the strongest association (allele frequency P = 0.0012, odds ratio 1.42 [95% confidence interval 1.15,1.75]). Association was preferentially observed in subsets of patients with diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc) and anti,topoisomerase I antibody positivity. Conditional analysis revealed that rs2280714 could account for most of the association of these SNPs, while an additional contribution of rs2004640 was also suggested for dcSSc. The genotype of rs2280714 was strongly associated with IRF5 mRNA expression, while only marginal association was detected with TNPO3 mRNA expression. Conclusion Association of IRF5 with SSc was replicated in a Japanese population. Whether the causal SNP is different among populations requires further investigation. [source] Nondestructive, Stereological Estimation of Canopy Surface AreaBIOMETRICS, Issue 1 2010Dvoralai Wulfsohn Summary We describe a stereological procedure to estimate the total leaf surface area of a plant canopy in vivo, and address the problem of how to predict the variance of the corresponding estimator. The procedure involves three nested systematic uniform random sampling stages: (i) selection of plants from a canopy using the,smooth fractionator, (ii) sampling of leaves from the selected plants using the,fractionator, and (iii) area estimation of the sampled leaves using,point counting. We apply this procedure to estimate the total area of a chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium L.) canopy and evaluate both the time required and the precision of the estimator. Furthermore, we compare the precision of point counting for three different grid intensities with that of several standard leaf area measurement techniques. Results showed that the precision of the plant leaf area estimator based on point counting is high. Using a grid intensity of 1.76 cm2/point we estimated plant and canopy surface areas with accuracies similar to or better than those obtained using image analysis and a commercial leaf area meter. For canopy surface areas of approximately 1 m2 (10 plants), the fractionator leaf approach with sampling fraction equal to 1/9 followed by point counting using a 4.3 cm2/point grid produced a coefficient of error of less than 7%. The,smooth fractionator,can be used to ensure that the additional contribution to the estimator variance due to between-plant variability is small. [source] Motor foundations of higher cognition: similarities and differences in processing regular and violated perceptual sequences of different specificityEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 12 2009Andreja Bubic Abstract Processing perceptual sequences relies on the motor system, which is able to simulate the dynamics of the environment by developing internal representations of external events and using them to predict the incoming stimuli. Although it has previously been demonstrated that such models may incorporate predictions based on exact stimulus properties and single stimulus dimensions, it is not known whether they can also support abstract predictions pertaining to the level of stimulus categories. This issue was investigated within the present event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study, which compared the processing of perceptual sequences of different specificity, namely those in which the sequential structure was based on the order of presentation of individual stimuli (token), and those in which such structure was defined by stimulus categories (type). The results obtained indicate a comparable engagement of the basic premotor,parietal network in processing both specific and categorical perceptual sequences. However, type sequences additionally elicited activations within the lateral prefrontal, occipital and posterior temporal regions that supported categorization in this task context. Introducing sequential deviants into token sequences activated parietotemporal and ventrolateral frontal cortices, whereas a less pronounced overall response, dominated by lateral prefrontal activation, was elicited by violations introduced into type sequences. Overall, the findings obtained suggest that, although forward models in perception may be able to incorporate expectations of lower specificity when compared to the motor domain, such processing is crucially dependent on additional contributions from lateral prefrontal as well as inferior occipital and temporal cortices that support categorization occurring in such a dynamic context. [source] Analysis of water solubility data on the basis of HYBOT descriptors.MOLECULAR INFORMATICS, Issue 9-10 2003Part 1. Abstract This work describes the analysis of water-gas phase partitioning data Lw=Cw/Cg for 559 organic chemicals on the basis of physicochemical descriptors calculated by the HYBOT program package. Physicochemical descriptors combined with indicator variables as well as a new approach combining traditional QSAR and molecular similarity are used to take structural features into account. The H-bond acceptor ability of chemicals (i.e. interaction of acceptor atoms with hydrogen atoms of water) is the main factor that influences the partitioning of vapors into water. The simultaneous consideration of H-bond acceptor and donor factors leads to a description of the solubility of vapors with a correlation coefficient of about 0.92. The influence of steric interactions of solutes (characterized by means of molecular polarizability) with water molecules contributes slightly but significantly from the statistics point of view. The use of a set of indicator variables for hydrocarbons and for molecules containing amino, amido, CX3, ether and nitro groups as well as for molecules with ability to form intramolecular hydrogen bonds improves the correlation and helps to take structural features into account. Furthermore, the application of an approach based on the calculation of additional contributions to solubility by considering ,nearest neighbor chemicals' and their difference in physicochemical parameters gives in many cases good results and could be very useful in the analysis of vast data sets. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||