среда, 1 февраля 2012 г.

Games

Games

Micromachines, Vol. 3, Pages 45-54: Arbitrary Super Surface Modes Bounded by Multilayered Metametal

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

The dispersion of the fundamental super mode confined along the boundary between a multilayer metal-insulator (MMI) stack and a dielectric coating is theoretically analyzed and compared to the dispersion of surface waves on a single metal-insulator (MI) boundary. Based on the classical Kretschmann setup, the MMI system is experimentally tested as an anisotropic material to exhibit plasmonic behavior and a candidate of "metametal" to engineer the preset surface plasmon frequency of conventional metals for optical sensing applications. The conditions to obtain artificial surface plasmon frequency are thoroughly studied, and the tuning of surface plasmon frequency is verified by electromagnetic modeling and experiments. The design rules drawn in this paper would bring important insights into applications such as optical lithography, nano-sensing and imaging.

Toxins, Vol. 4, Pages 68-82: Biocontrol of Penicillium nordicum Growth and Ochratoxin A Production by Native Yeasts of Dry Cured Ham

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Twelve yeast strains isolated from the surface of Italian typical dry-cured hams, belonging to D. hansenii, D. maramus, C. famata, C. zeylanoides and H. burtonii species, and previously selected for their ability to grow in dry-cured ham-like substrates, were screened for antagonistic activity against a toxigenic strain of P. nordicum and inhibition of ochratoxin A (OTA) biosynthesis. On average, yeast inhibitory activity was lowered by increasing fungal inoculum and enhanced by NaCl presence. In the assay conditions, H. burtonii and C. zeylanoides were the most effective, both in inhibiting P. nordicum growth and OTA production. D. hansenii was the species with the lowest inhibitory activity, especially in the absence of salt. OTA production dropped from the range < LOD − 5000 ppb in P. nordicum control plates to the range < LOD − 200 ppb in yeast-added plates. OTA production increased in the presence of NaCl in P. nordicum control plates, while salt enhanced inhibition against OTA production in yeast-added plates.

Applied Sciences, Vol. 2, Pages 61-99: Novel Fluorinated Indanone, Tetralone and Naphthone Derivatives: Synthesis and Unique Structural Features

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Several fluorinated and trifluoromethylated indanone, tetralone and naphthone derivatives have been prepared via Claisen condensations and selective fluorinations in yields ranging from 22–60%. In addition, we report the synthesis of new, selectively fluorinated bindones in yields ranging from 72–92%. Of particular interest is the fluorination and trifluoroacetylation regiochemistry observed in these fluorinated products. We also note unusual transformations including a novel one pot, dual trifluoroacetylation, trifluoroacetylnaphthone synthesis via a deacetylation as well as an acetyl-trifluoroacetyl group exchange. Solid-state structural features exhibited by these compounds were investigated using crystallographic methods. Crystallographic results, supported by spectroscopic data, show that trifluoroacetylated ketones prefer a chelated cis-enol form whereas fluorinated bindone products exist primarily as the cross-conjugated triketo form.

Catalysts, Vol. 2, Pages 101-120: Monometallic Supported Gold Catalysts in Organic Transformations: Ring Making and Ring Breaking

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Supported gold catalysts are highly active in oxidation reactions. Beside the most frequently studied CO oxidation, they are readily applied in the epoxidation of more or less complex olefinic compounds using air or oxygen directly or other oxidants like peroxides of various kinds. Less frequently though, the reverse reaction, ring opening with single or double C–O scission is also investigated. These and other ring making and breaking reactions are reviewed, and the catalytic roles of gold species are described.

Remote Sensing, Vol. 4, Pages 354-376: Inter-Sensor Comparison between THEOS and Landsat 5 TM Data in a Study of Two Crops Related to Biofuel in Thailand

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Knowledge of the spatial distribution of biofuel crops is an important criterion to determine the sustainability of biofuel energy production. Remotely sensed image analysis is a proven and effective tool for describing the spatial distribution of crops using vegetation characteristics. Increases in the number of options and availability of satellite sensors have expanded the horizon of choices of imagery sources for appropriate image acquisitions. The Thailand Earth Observation System (THEOS) satellite is one of the newest satellite sensors. The growing number of satellite sensors warrants their comparative evaluation and the standardization of data obtained from various sensors. This study conducted an inter-sensor comparison of the visible/near-infrared surface reflectance and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data collected from the Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and THEOS. The surface reflectance and the derived NDVI of the sensors were randomly obtained for two biofuel crops, namely, cassava and sugarcane. These crops had low values of visible surface reflectance, which were not significantly (p < 0.05) different. In contrast, the crops had high values of near-infrared surface reflectance that differed significantly (p > 0.05) between the crops. Strong linear relationships between the remote sensing products for the examined sensors were obtained for both cassava and sugarcane. The regression models that were developed can be used to compute the NDVI for THEOS using those determined from Landsat 5 TM and vice versa for the given biofuel crops.

Monkey Room cocktail menu

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 02:09 AM PST


Here's a cocktail menu from the Monkey Room, a drinking establishment once ensconced in Spokane, WA's Sillman Hotel. What a lovely piece of design, and what a deadly collection of concoctions.

cocktail menu from Monkey Room, Sillman Hotel - Spokane, WA (Thanks, Frycook!)

IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 1512-1523: Olmesartan Attenuates the Impairment of Endothelial Cells Induced by Oxidized Low Density Lipoprotein through Downregulating Expression of LOX-1

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) and its receptor, lectin-Like ox-LDL receptor-1 (LOX-1), play important roles in the development of endothelial injuries. Olmesartan can protect endothelial cells from the impairment caused by various pathological stimulations. In the present study we investigated whether olmesartan decreased the impairment of endothelial cells induced by ox-LDL by exerting its effects on LOX-1 both in vitro and in vivo. Incubation of cultured endothelial cells of neonatal rats with ox-LDL for 24 h or infusion of ox-LDL in mice for 3 weeks led to the remarkable impairment of endothelial cells, including increased lactate dehydrogenase synthesis, phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (p38 MAPK) and expression of apoptotic genes such as B-cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2)-associated X protein (Bax) and caspase-3. Simultaneously, the cell vitality and expression of Bcl-2 gene were greatly reduced. All these effects, however, were significantly suppressed by the treatment with olmesartan. Furthermore, ox-LDL promoted up-regulation of LOX-1 expression either in cultured endothelial cells or in the aortas of mice, which was reversed with the administration of olmesartan. Our data indicated that olmesartan may attenuate the impairment of endothelial cell via down-regulation of the increased LOX-1 expression induced by ox-LDL.

IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 1497-1511: Molecular Diagnostic and Pathogenesis of Hereditary Hemochromatosis

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by enhanced intestinal absorption of dietary iron. Without therapeutic intervention, iron overload leads to multiple organ damage such as liver cirrhosis, cardiomyopathy, diabetes, arthritis, hypogonadism and skin pigmentation. Most HH patients carry HFE mutant genotypes: homozygosity for p.Cys282Tyr or p.Cys282Tyr/p.His63Asp compound heterozygosity. In addition to HFE gene, mutations in the genes that encode hemojuvelin (HJV), hepcidin (HAMP), transferrin receptor 2 (TFR2) and ferroportin (SLC40A1) have been associated with regulation of iron homeostasis and development of HH. The aim of this review was to identify the main gene mutations involved in the pathogenesis of type 1, 2, 3 and 4 HH and their genetic testing indication. HFE testing for the two main mutations (p.Cys282Tyr and p.His63Asp) should be performed in all patients with primary iron overload and unexplained increased transferrin saturation and/or serum ferritin values. The evaluation of the HJV p.Gly320Val mutation must be the molecular test of choice in suspected patients with juvenile hemochromatosis with less than 30 years and cardiac or endocrine manifestations. In conclusion, HH is an example that genetic testing can, in addition to performing the differential diagnostic with secondary iron overload, lead to more adequate and faster treatment.

Micromachines, Vol. 3, Pages 36-44: Design of an Angle Detector for Laser Beams Based on Grating Coupling

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

A novel angle detector for laser beams is designed in this paper. It takes advantage of grating coupling to couple the incident light into a slab waveguide; and, the incident light's angle can be determined by reading the outputs of light detectors within the waveguide. This device offers fast-responding on-chip detection of laser beam's angle. Compared to techniques based on quadrant photodiodes or lateral effect photodiodes, the device in this paper has far greater detectable range (up to a few degrees, to be specific). Performance of the laser angle detector in this paper is demonstrated by finite-difference-time-domain simulations. Numerical results show that, the detectable angle range can be adjusted by several design parameters and can reach [−4°, 4°]. The laser beam angle detector in this paper is expected to find various applications such as ultra-fast optical interconnects.

Cancers, Vol. 4, Pages 77-87: Fotemustine: A Third-Generation Nitrosourea for the Treatment of Recurrent Malignant Gliomas

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Malignant gliomas account for approximately 60% of all primary brain tumors in adults. The prognosis for patients with malignant glioma has not changed significantly in recent years. Despite debulking surgery, radiotherapy and cytotoxic chemotherapy, the median survival time is nine to 12 months, and very few, if any, patients are cured from this illness. Fotemustine is an alkylating agent characterized by the grafting of a phosphonoalanine group onto the nitrosourea radical with consequent high lipophilicity and improved diffusion through the cell membrane and the blood-brain barrier. Fotemustine has been registered for use in two indications: disseminated malignant melanoma, including cerebral metastases, and primary brain tumors. Fotemustine is currently used in Europe, particularly in France and Italy, as a salvage therapy for recurrent malignant gliomas. Myelosuppression, leucopenia and thrombocytopenia are the most frequent side effects of treatment with fotemustine. The objective response to this treatment is between 26% and 70%, and the reported median survival time is 10 months. New drug combinations containing fotemustine and angiogenesis inhibitors, such as bevacizumab, are currently under development. In this review, we describe all the combinations of fotemustine currently used in clinical practice for recurrent malignant gliomas.

Materials, Vol. 5, Pages 239-247: Aligned Layers of Silver Nano-Fibers

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

We describe a new dichroic polarizers made by ordering silver nano-fibers to aligned layers. The aligned layers consist of nano-fibers and self-assembled molecular aggregates of lyotropic liquid crystals. Unidirectional alignment of the layers is achieved by means of mechanical shearing. Aligned layers of silver nano-fibers are partially transparent to a linearly polarized electromagnetic radiation. The unidirectional alignment and density of the silver nano-fibers determine degree of polarization of transmitted light. The aligned layers of silver nano-fibers might be used in optics, microwave applications, and organic electronics.

Biosensors, Vol. 2, Pages 43-56: Linking Single Domain Antibodies that Recognize Different Epitopes on the Same Target

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Single domain antibodies (sdAb) are the recombinantly expressed variable regions from the heavy-chain-only antibodies found in camelids and sharks. SdAb are able to bind antigens with high affinity, and most are capable of refolding after heat or chemical denaturation to bind antigen again. Starting with our previously isolated ricin binding sdAb determined to bind to four non-overlapping epitopes, we constructed a series of sdAb pairs, which were genetically linked through peptides of different length. We designed the series so that the sdAb are linked in both orientations with respect to the joining peptide. We confirmed that each of the sdAb in the constructs was able to bind to the ricin target, and have evidence that they are both binding ricin simultaneously. Through this work we determined that the order of genetically linked sdAb seems more important than the linker length. The genetically linked sdAb allowed for improved ricin detection with better limits of detection than the best anti-ricin monoclonal we evaluated, however they were not able to refold as well as unlinked component sdAb.

Water, Vol. 4, Pages 123-134: Improving Water Supply Systems for Domestic Uses in Urban Togo: The Case of a Suburb in Lomé

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

The rapid urbanization facing developing countries is increasing pressure on public institutions to provide adequate supplies of clean water to populations. In most developing countries, the general public is not involved in strategies and policies regarding enhancement, conservation, and management of water supply systems. To assist governments and decision makers in providing potable water to meet the increasing demand due to the rapid urbanization, this study sought to characterize existing water supply systems and obtain public opinion for identifying a community water supply system model for households in a residential neighborhood in Lomé, Togo. Existing water supply systems in the study area consist of bucket-drawn water wells, mini water tower systems, rainwater harvesting, and public piped water. Daily domestic water consumption in the study area compared well with findings on water uses per capita from Sub-Saharan Africa, but was well below daily water usage in developed nations. Based on the surveys, participants thought highly of a large scale community water tower and expressed interest in maintaining it. Even though people rely on water sources deemed convenient for drinking, they also reported limited confidence in the quality of these sources.

IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 1481-1496: Pharmacological Mechanisms Underlying Gastroprotective Activities of the Fractions Obtained from Polygonum minus in Sprague Dawley Rats

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

The leaves of Polygonum minus were fractionated using an eluting solvent to evaluate the pharmacological mechanisms underlying the anti-ulcerogenic activity of P. minus. Different P. minus fractions were obtained and evaluated for their ulcer preventing capabilities using the ethanol induction method. In this study, Sprague Dawley rats weighing 150–200 g were used. Different parameters were estimated to identify the active fraction underlying the mechanism of the gastroprotective action of P. minus: the gastric mucus barrier, as well as superoxide dismutase, total hexosamine, and prostaglandin synthesis. Amongst the five fractions from the ethanolic extract of P. minus, the ethyl acetate:methanol 1:1 v/v fraction (F2) significantly (p < 0.005) exhibited better inhibition of ulcer lesions in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, rats pre-treated with F2 showed a significant elevation in superoxide dismutase (SOD), hexosamine and PGE2 levels in the stomach wall mucosa in a dose-dependent matter. Based on these results, the ethyl acetate:methanol 1:1 v/v fraction was considered to be the best fraction for mucous protection in the ethanol induction model. The mechanisms underlying this protection were attributed to the synthesis of antioxidants and PGE2.

IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 1461-1480: Nanoscopic and Photonic Ultrastructural Characterization of Two Distinct Insulin Amyloid States

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Two different conformational isoforms or amyloid strains of insulin with different cytotoxic capacity have been described previously. Herein these filamentous and fibrillar amyloid states of insulin were investigated using biophysical and spectroscopic techniques in combination with luminescent conjugated oligothiophenes (LCO). This new class of fluorescent probes has a well defined molecular structure with a distinct number of thiophene units that can adopt different dihedral angles depending on its binding site to an amyloid structure. Based on data from surface charge, hydrophobicity, fluorescence spectroscopy and imaging, along with atomic force microscopy (AFM), we deduce the ultrastructure and fluorescent properties of LCO stained insulin fibrils and filaments. Combined total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) and AFM revealed rigid linear fibrous assemblies of fibrils whereas filaments showed a short curvilinear morphology which assemble into cloudy deposits. All studied LCOs bound to the filaments afforded more blue-shifted excitation and emission spectra in contrast to those corresponding to the fibril indicating a different LCO binding site, which was also supported by less efficient hydrophobic probe binding. Taken together, the multi-tool approach used here indicates the power of ultrastructure identification applying AFM together with LCO fluorescence interrogation, including TIRFM, to resolve structural differences between amyloid states.

Polymers, Vol. 4, Pages 341-354: Effects of Emulsion-Based Resonant Infrared Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (RIR-MAPLE) on the Molecular Weight of Polymers

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

The molecular weight of a polymer determines key optoelectronic device characteristics, such as internal morphology and charge transport. Therefore, it is important to ensure that polymer deposition techniques do not significantly alter the native polymer molecular weight. This work addresses polymers deposited by resonant infrared matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (RIR-MAPLE). By using a novel emulsion-based target technique, the deposition of smooth, contiguous films with no evidence of chemical degradation have been enabled. However, structural degradation via a reduction in molecular weight remains an open question. The common polymer standard, PMMA, and the optoelectronic polymers, P3HT and MEH-PPV, have been characterized before and after emulsion-based RIR-MAPLE deposition via gel permeation chromatography to determine if RIR-MAPLE affects the deposited polymer molecular weight. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements have also been conducted to verify the absence of chemical degradation. These measurements verify that there is no chemical degradation of the polymers, and that PMMA and P3HT show no structural degradation, but MEH-PPV exhibits a halving of the weight-averaged molecular weight after RIR-MAPLE deposition. Compared with competing laser deposition techniques, RIR-MAPLE is shown to have the least effect on the molecular weight of the resulting thin films.

Toxins, Vol. 4, Pages 55-67: Plant Ureases and Related Peptides: Understanding Their Entomotoxic Properties

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Recently, ureases were included in the arsenal of plant defense proteins, alongside many other proteins with biotechnological potential such as insecticides. Isoforms of Canavalia ensiformis urease (canatoxin—CNTX and jack bean urease—JBURE-I) are toxic to insects of different orders. This toxicity is due in part to the release of a 10 kDa peptide from the native protein, by cathepsin-like enzymes present in the insect digestive tract. The entomotoxic peptide, Jaburetox-2Ec, exhibits potent insecticidal activity against several insects, including many resistant to the native ureases. JBURE-I and Jaburetox-2Ec cause major alterations of post-feeding physiological processes in insects, which contribute to, or can be the cause of, their entomotoxic effect. An overview of the current knowledge on plant urease processing and mechanisms of action in insects is presented in this review.

JLPEA, Vol. 2, Pages 30-68: CASPER: Embedding Power Estimation and Hardware-Controlled Power Management in a Cycle-Accurate Micro-Architecture Simulation Platform for Many-Core Multi-Threading Heterogeneous Processors

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Despite the promising performance improvement observed in emerging many-core architectures in high performance processors, high power consumption prohibitively affects their use and marketability in the low-energy sectors, such as embedded processors, network processors and application specific instruction processors (ASIPs). While most chip architects design power-efficient processors by finding an optimal power-performance balance in their design, some use sophisticated on-chip autonomous power management units, which dynamically reduce the voltage or frequencies of idle cores and hence extend battery life and reduce operating costs. For large scale designs of many-core processors, a holistic approach integrating both these techniques at different levels of abstraction can potentially achieve maximal power savings. In this paper we present CASPER, a robust instruction trace driven cycle-accurate many-core multi-threading micro-architecture simulation platform where we have incorporated power estimation models of a wide variety of tunable many-core micro-architectural design parameters, thus enabling processor architects to explore a sufficiently large design space and achieve power-efficient designs. Additionally CASPER is designed to accommodate cycle-accurate models of hardware controlled power management units, enabling architects to experiment with and evaluate different autonomous power-saving mechanisms to study the run-time power-performance trade-offs in embedded many-core processors. We have implemented two such techniques in CASPER–Chipwide Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling, and Performance Aware Core-Specific Frequency Scaling, which show average power savings of 35.9% and 26.2% on a baseline 4-core SPARC based architecture respectively. This power saving data accounts for the power consumption of the power management units themselves. The CASPER simulation platform also provides users with complete support of SPARCV9 instruction set enabling them to run a full operating system software stack, and hence a wide variety of benchmarking applications.

‘GAMING’ OR ‘GAMBLING’?

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 11:04 PM PST

SLED officials in September said they would launch a massive crackdown to seize possibly hundreds of suspected new gambling machines popping up in stores and nightspots across the state.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

JSAN, Vol. 1, Pages 3-35: A Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT)-Based Energy-Efficient Selective Retransmission Mechanism for Wireless Image Sensor Networks

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 AM PST

Source nodes in wireless image sensor networks transmit much more information than traditional scalar sensor networks, thereby demanding more energy of intermediate relaying nodes and putting energy efficiency as a key design issue. Intermediate nodes are usually interconnected by error-prone links where bit-errors are common, potentially degrading the application monitoring quality. When reliability is assured by retransmission mechanisms, higher packet error rates do not affect the application quality but result in additional energy consumption due to packet retransmission, even though many monitoring applications can tolerate some loss in the quality of the received image. DWT coding can decompose an image in data subbands, each one with different relevancies for the reconstruction of the original image at the receiver side. We propose an energy-efficient selective hop-by-hop retransmission mechanism where the reliability level of each packet is a function of the relevance of the payload data, according to the resulting subbands and the number of times a 2D DWT is applied over the images captured by the sensors' cameras. In so doing, some lost packets are not retransmitted, saving energy of intermediate nodes with low impact to the quality of the reconstructed images. In order to estimate the benefits of this tradeoff between energy consumption and image quality, we designed a comprehensive energy consumption model and applied it in extensive mathematic simulations, providing substantial information about the mean performance of the proposed approach when compared with a fully-reliable transmission mechanism.
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