bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Delaunay‐based nonlocal interactions are sufficient and accurate in protein fold recognition
Authors: Mirzaie Mehdi , Sadeghi Mehdi
Published: August 2013

This study is aimed at showing that considering only nonlocal interactions (interactions of two atoms with a sequence separation larger than five amino acids) extracted using Delaunay tessellation is sufficient and accurate for protein fold recognition. An atomic knowledge‐based potential was extracted based on a Delaunay tessellation with 167 atom types from a sample of the native structures and the normalized energy was calculated for only nonlocal interactions in each structure. The performance of this method was tested on several decoy sets and compared to a method considering all interactions extracted by Delaunay tessellation and three other popular scoring functions. Features such as the contents of different types of interactions and atoms with the highest number of interactions were also studied. The results suggest that considering only nonlocal interactions in a Delaunay tessellation of protein structure is a discrete structure catching deep properties of the three‐dimensional protein data. Proteins 2014; 82:415–423. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
An efficient method for the synthesis of phenacyl ester‐protected dipeptides using neutral alumina‐supported sodium carbonate ‘Na2CO3/n‐Al2O3’
Authors: Hashimoto Chikao , Sugimoto Kazuhiro , Takahashi Youhei , Kodomari Mitsuo
Published: August 2013

In the synthesis of dipeptides (Boc‐AA1‐AA2‐OPac: AA1 and AA2 represent amino acids) protected by phenacyl (Pac) ester, amines and solid bases as the base for the conversion of the trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) salt of the amino component (TFA·H‐AA2‐OPac) into the corresponding free amino component (H‐AA2‐OPac) were examined. The synthesis of a dipeptide (Boc‐Ala‐Gly‐OPac) using amines for the conversion afforded an unsatisfactory yield with by‐products. On the other hand, the use of neutral alumina‐supported Na2CO3 (Na2CO3/n‐Al2O3) as a solid base for the conversion provided the dipeptide in a quantitative yield without by‐products. The application of Na2CO3/n‐Al2O3 to the synthesis of some dipeptides protected by Pac ester gave the desired peptides in excellent yields. Copyright © 2013 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Electric field manipulated reversible hydrogen storage in graphene studied by DFT calculations
Authors: Ao Zhimin , Li Sean
Published: August 2013

Enhancement of hydrogen storage capacity is a great challenge that the research community is facing. The challenge lies on the fact of interdependence of hydrogen storage and release processes. It presents that the hydrogen release would be difficult if the hydrogen can be stored easily or vice versa. This work strategically tackles this critical issue through density functional theory (DFT) calculations by applying defect engineering on graphene, and also changing the hydrogenation/dehydrogenation and hydrogen diffusion chemical potentials via applying electric field. It is found that hydrogen molecules are dissociatively adsorbed on N‐doped graphene spontaneously in the presence of a perpendicular electric field F. After adsorption, H atoms diffuse on N‐doped graphene surface with low energy barrier and the graphene can be fully hydrogenated. By removing the electric filed, the stored hydrogen can be released efficiently under ambient conditions. It demonstrates that the N‐doped graphene is a promising hydrogen storage material with the storage capacity up to 6.73 wt%. The electric field can act as a switch for hydrogen uptake/release processes.
Description of the superconducting state in the high‐pressure fcc phase of platinum‐hydride
Authors: Szcześniak R. , Szcześniak D. , Huras K. M.
Published: August 2013

The thermodynamic parameters of the superconducting state in PtH at the pressure 76GPa have been examined. The calculations have been carried out in the framework of the Eliashberg formalism. It has been found that the critical temperature () changes in the range from to K, depending on the assumed value of the Coulomb pseudopotential: . The other thermodynamic quantities differ significantly from the predictions of the classical BCS theory. In particular: (i) the parameter reaches the values from to , where denotes the low‐temperature order parameter. (ii) The ratio of the specific heat jump () to the specific heat in the normal state () takes the values from to . (iii) Finally, , where is the low‐temperature thermodynamic critical field.
On false data injection attacks against Kalman filtering in power system dynamic state estimation
Authors: Yang Qingyu , Chang Liguo , Yu Wei
Published: August 2013

State estimation is a very critical component in smart grid, a typical energy‐based cyber‐physical system. Kalman filter has been widely used in the dynamic state estimation of power systems. Although a large number of research efforts have been made on the robustness and filtering effectiveness, little effort has been conducted on cyber attacks against Kalman filtering. To address this issue, in this paper we systematically compare three representative Kalman filtering techniques and formalize the problem of anomaly detection against false data injection attacks in Kalman filter. On the basis of our modeling results, we investigate five novel attack approaches that can bypass the anomaly detection. To defend against those attacks, we develop two countermeasures: the enhancement of Kalman filtering and the temporal‐based detection algorithm. We conduct extensive performance evaluation and our data validates our theoretical finding well. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Determination of Activity Coefficients of Elements and Related Thermodynamic Properties of FeSi Binary Melts Based on the Atom–Molecule Coexistence Theory
Authors: Yang Xue‐min , Li Jin‐yan , Li Peng‐cheng , Zhang Meng , Zhang Jian
Published: August 2013

The Raoultian activity coefficient of Si and of Fe in the infinitely dilute solution of FeSi binary melts at temperatures of 1693, 1773, 1873, and 1973 K have been determined from the calculated mass action concentrations Ni of structural units in FeSi binary melts based on the atom and molecule coexistence theory (AMCT). The activity coefficients of elements γi relative to pure liquid matter as standard state or f%, i referred to 1 mass percentage as standard state or fH, i based on the hypothetical pure liquid matter as standard state have been obtained. The values of first‐order activity interaction coefficient or or of Si and Fe related with activity coefficients γi or f%, i or fH, i of Si and Fe are also determined. The standard molar Gibbs free energy change of dissolving liquid element i(l) for forming 1 mass percentage of element i in FeSi binary melts have been deduced in a temperature range from 1693 K to 1973 K. The molar mixing thermodynamic properties, such as molar mixing Gibbs energy change/enthalpy change/entropy change of FeSi binary melts have been reliably determined in a temperature range from 1693 K to 1973 K. The excess values and excess degrees of the above–mentioned molar mixing thermodynamic properties of FeSi binary melts have been also determined based on ideal solution or regular solution as a basis, respectively. The determined molar mixing Gibbs energy change of FeSi binary melts is equal to that based on regular solution as a basis in the full composition range of FeSi binary melts in a temperature range from 1693 K to 1973 K. The partial mixing thermodynamic properties of Si and Fe are not recommended to obtain from the calculated mass action concentration NSi of Si and NFe of Fe as well as the measured activity aR, Si of Si and aR, Fe of Fe in FeSi binary melts.
The First Recorded Space Weather Impact?
Authors: Cade William B.
Published: August 2013

Key Points

The first space weather impact on human technology was on the telegraph

The first impact on the telegraph is usually understood to be in 1847

There is evidence that the first impact on the telegraph occured in 1841
Insights into the roles of exogenous glutamate and proline in improving streptolydigin production ofStreptomyces lydicuswith metabolomic analysis
Authors: Cheng Jing-Sheng , Cui Shao-Fei , Ding Ming-Zhu , Yuan Ying-Jin
Published: August 2013

The addition of precursors was one strategy to improve antibiotic production. The exogenous proline and glutamate, as precursors of streptolydigin, could significantly improve the streptolydigin production, but their underlying molecular mechanisms remain unknown. Herein, metabolomic analysis was carried out to explore the metabolic responses of Streptomyces lydicus to the additions of proline and glutamine. The significant differences in the quantified 53 metabolites after adding the exogenous proline and glutamate were enunciated by gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Among them, the levels of some fatty acids (e.g., dodecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid) were significantly decreased after adding glutamate and proline, indicating that the inhibition of fatty acid synthesis might be benefit for the accumulation of streptolydigin. Particularly, the dramatic changes of the identified metabolites, which are involved in glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and the amino acid and fatty acid metabolism, revealed that the additions of glutamate and proline possibly caused the metabolic cross-talk in S. lydicus. Additionally, the level of intracellular glutamate dramatically enhanced at 12 h after adding proline, showing that exogenous proline may be firstly convert into glutamate and consequently result in crease of the streptolydigin production. The high levels of streptolydigin at 12 and 24 h after adding glutamate unveiled that part glutamate were rapidly used to synthesize the streptolydigin. Furthermore, there is the significant difference in metabolomic characteristics of S. lydicus after adding glutamate and proline, uncovering that multiple regulatory pathways are involved in responses to the additions of exogenous glutamate and proline. Taken together, exogenous glutamate and proline not only directly provided the precursors of streptolydigin biosynthesis, but also might alter the metabolic homeostasis of S. lydicus E9 during improving the production of streptolydigin.
Maternal effect on seed survival and emergence in Cytisus scoparius: an experimental approach
Authors: Magda Danièle , Gleizes Benoit , Jarry Marc
Published: August 2013

The role of the individual origin of seeds in the variability of demographic parameters within a seed‐bank has been little studied despite the recognition of its important contribution to species adaptation strategies to environmental constraints. This study analyzed the seed‐bank dynamics of Cytisus scoparius, a small woody species with a high aptitude for colonization and dominance. Our experimental setup made it possible to monitor seed emergence dynamics in situ for maternal individuals within the study population. In addition to the characteristic traits of the species (maximum seed life span between 4 and 5 years in 75 % of the cases), there was a high variability of the emergence dynamics between individuals, distinguished both by their total emergence rate and profile. The total emergence rate of seeds was correlated with their quality (seed weight and number of seeds per pod), but was unrelated to either maternal age or fecundity. Different emergence profiles can be recognized between two distinct patterns: on one hand, a strategy that concentrates on emergence in the second year and, on the other, a regular decrease of the germinant number over time. The coexistence of different seed‐bank strategies between individuals results in the ability for the population to face to disturbances and environmental variability.
Quantification of Phospholipids Classes in Human Milk
Authors: Giuffrida Francesca , Cruz‐Hernandez Cristina , Flück Brigitte , Tavazzi Isabelle , Thakkar Sagar K. , Destaillats Frédéric , Braun Marcel
Published: August 2013

Phospholipids are integral constituents of the milk fat globule membranes and they play a central role in infants' immune and inflammatory responses. A methodology employing liquid chromatography coupled with evaporative light scattering detector has been optimized and validated to quantify the major phospholipids classes in human milk. Phospholipids were extracted using chloroform and methanol and separated on C18 column. Repeatability, intermediate reproducibility, and recovery values were calculated and a large sample set of human milk analyzed. In human milk, phospholipid classes were quantified at concentrations of 0.6 mg/100 g for phosphatidylinositol; 4.2 mg/100 g for phosphatidylethanolamine, 0.4 mg/100 g for phosphatidylserine, 2.8 mg/100 g for phosphatidylcholine, and 4.6 mg/100 g for sphingomyelin. Their relative standard deviation of repeatability and intermediate reproducibility values ranging between 0.8 and 13.4 % and between 2.4 and 25.7 %, respectively. The recovery values ranged between 67 and 112 %. Finally, the validated method was used to quantify phospholipid classes in human milk collected from 50 volunteers 4 weeks postpartum providing absolute content of these lipids in a relatively large cohort. The average content of total phospholipids was 23.8 mg/100 g that corresponds to an estimated mean intake of 140 mg phospholipids/day in a 4‐week old infant when exclusively breast‐fed.
Operative treatment for spinal deformities in cerebral palsy
Authors: Hasler Carol C.
Published: August 2013

The higher the functional impairment, the more likely patients with cerebral palsy (cP) are to develop a scoliotic deformity. This is usually long-sweeping, C-shaped, and progressive in nature, since the causes of the deformity, such as muscular weakness, imbalance, and osteoporosis, persist through adulthood. In contrast to idiopathic scoliosis, not only is the spine deformed, the patient is also sick. This multimorbidity warrants a multidisciplinary approach with close involvement of the caregivers from the beginning. Brace treatment is usually ineffective or intolerable in light of the mostly stiff and severe deformities and the poor nutritional status. The pros and cons of surgical correction need to weighed up when pelvic obliquity, subsequent loss of sitting balance, pressure sores, and pain due to impingement of the rib cage on the ileum become issues. General risks of, for example, pulmonary or urogenital infections, pulmonary failure, the need for a tracheostoma, permanent home ventilation, and death add to the particular surgery-related hazards, such as excessive bleeding, surgical site infections, pseudarthrosis, implant failure, and dural tears with leakage of cerebrospinal fluid. The overall complication rate averages around 25 %. From an orthopedic perspective, stiffness, marked deformities including sagittal profile disturbances and pelvic obliquity, as well as osteoporosis are the main challenges. In nonambulatory patients, long fusions from T2/T3 with forces distributed over all segments, low-profile anchors in areas of poor soft tissue coverage (sublaminar bands, wires), and strong lumbosacropelvic modern screw fixation in combination with meticulous fusion techniques (facetectomies, laminar decortication, use of local autologous bone) and hemostasis can be employed to keep the rate of surgical and implant-related complications at an acceptably low level. Excessive posterior release techniques, osteotomies, or even vertebrectomies in cases of very severe short-angled deformity mostly prevent anterior one- or two-stage releases. Despite improved operative techniques and implants with predictable and satisfactory deformity corrections, the comorbidities and quality-of-life related issues demand a thorough preoperative, multidisciplinary decision-making process that takes ethical and economic aspects into consideration.
The interplay of genotype and environment in the development of fear and anxiety
Authors: Sachser N. , Lesch K.-P.
Published: August 2013

Individual differences in fear, anxiety, and the etiology of anxiety disorders develop dur­ing ontogeny. They are due to both genet­ic and environmental factors. With regard to the role of the environment, the organism is most susceptible to external influences dur­ing early development. Accordingly, stressors that impinge on the maternal organism dur­ing pregnancy evoke high levels of anxiety in the offspring later in life, as does an adverse early postnatal environment. However, anxi­ety-related circuits in the central nervous sys­tem retain their plasticity in adulthood, i.e., levels of anxiety can also be modified by ex­perience across the entire successive lifespan. Notably, the effects of external stressors on the individual’s level of anxiety are modulat­ed by genotype. Such genotype-by-environ­ment interactions are particularly well stud­ied in relation to genetic variants that modu­late the function of the serotonin transport­er. Thus, this review focuses on this candidate gene to elucidate the interplay of genotype and environment in the development of fear and anxiety.
Identification and characterization of an Egr ortholog as a neural immediate early gene in the European honeybee (Apis mellifera L.)
Authors: Ugajin Atsushi , Kunieda Takekazu , Kubo Takeo
Published: August 2013

To date, there are only few reports of immediate early genes (IEGs) available in insects. Aiming at identifying a conserved IEG in insects, we characterized an Egr homolog of the honeybee (AmEgr:
Apis mellifera Egr
). AmEgr was transiently induced in whole worker brains after seizure induction. In situ hybridization for AmEgr indicated that neural activity of a certain mushroom body (a higher brain center) neuron subtype, which is the same as that we previously identified using another non‐coding IEG, termed kakusei, is more enhanced in forager brains. These findings suggest that Egr can be utilized as an IEG in insects.
Reactive oxygen species mediate dopamine‐induced signaling in renal proximal tubule cells
Authors: Acquier Andrea B. , Mori Sequeiros García Mercedes , Gorostizaga Alejandra B. , Paz Cristina , Mendez Carlos F.
Published: August 2013

Intrarenally‐produced dopamine (DA) induces a large increase in urinary sodium excretion mainly due to the inhibition of tubular sodium reabsorption. We aimed to study the participation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in DA signaling pathway in proximal tubule cells. Our results show that DA increased ROS production in OK cells and indicate the mitochondria as the main source of ROS. DA also increased ERK1/2, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and transcription factor κB (NF‐κB) activity. These findings suggest that DA generates mitochondria‐derived ROS that activate ERK1/2 and subsequently NF‐κB and SOD activity at concentrations that exert a physiological regulation of renal function.
c‐Ski activates cancer‐associated fibroblasts to regulate breast cancer cell invasion
Authors: Wang Liyang , Hou Yixuan , Sun Yan , Zhao Liuyang , Tang Xi , Hu Ping , Yang Jiajia , Zeng Zongyue , Yang Guanglun , Cui Xiaojiang , Liu Manran
Published: August 2013

Aberrant expression of c‐Ski oncoprotein in some tumor cells has been shown to be associated with cancer development. However, the role of c‐Ski in cancer‐associated fibroblasts (CAFs) of tumor microenvironment has not been characterized. In the current study, we found that c‐Ski is highly expressed in CAFs derived from breast carcinoma microenvironment and this CAF‐associated c‐Ski expression is associated with invasion and metastasis of human breast tumors. We showed that c‐Ski overexpression in immortalized breast normal fibroblasts (NFs) induces conversion to breast CAFs by repressing p53 and thereby upregulating SDF‐1 in NFs. SDF‐1 treatment or p53 knockdown in NFs had similar effects on the activation of NFs as c‐Ski overexpression. The c‐Ski‐activated CAFs show increased proliferation, migration, invasion and contraction compared with NFs. Furthermore, c‐Ski‐activated CAFs facilitated the migration and invasion of MDA‐MB‐231 breast cancer cells. Our data suggest that c‐Ski is an important regulator in the activation of CAFs and may serve as a potential therapeutic target to block breast cancer progression.
Lake Agassiz during the Younger Dryas
Authors: Teller James T.
Published: August 2013

Lake Agassiz was ponded on the northward-sloping surface of the Hudson Bay and Arctic Ocean basins, as the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated. The level of Lake Agassiz abruptly fell ~ 12.9 cal (11 14C) ka BP, exposing the lake floor over a large region for > 1000 yr. The routing of overflow during this (Moorhead low-water) period is uncertain, and there is evidence on the continent and in ocean basins for both an easterly route through the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence to the North Atlantic and for a northwesterly route through the Clearwater–Athabasca–Mackenzie system to the Arctic Ocean. The Moorhead low water phase coincides with the Younger Dryas cooling, and a cause–effect relationship has been proposed by attributing a change in ocean thermohaline circulation to the re-routing of Lake Agassiz freshwaters from the Gulf of Mexico to more northern oceans. Paleoclimatic interpretations from ecosystems in lake sediments in the region, and a simple calculation of the paleohydrological budget of Lake Agassiz, indicate that the climate remained wet and cool throughout the YD in this region, and was not warm nor dry enough to allow evaporative loss to offset the influx of meltwater and precipitation; thus, the Moorhead phase resulted from changes in the outlet that carried overflow.
Advances in diagnosis and spatial analysis of cysticercosis and taeniasis
Authors: RAOUL FRANCIS , LI TIAOYING , SAKO YASUHITO , CHEN XINGWANG , LONG CHANGPING , YANAGIDA TETSUYA , WU YUNFEI , NAKAO MINORU , OKAMOTO MUNEHIRO , CRAIG PHILIP S. , GIRAUDOUX PATRICK , ITO AKIRA
Published: August 2013

Human cysticercosis, caused by accidental ingestion of eggs ofTaenia solium, is one of the most pathogenic helminthiases and is listed among the 17 WHO Neglected Tropical Diseases. Controlling the life-cycle ofT. soliumbetween humans and pigs is essential for eradication of cysticercosis. One difficulty for the accurate detection and identification ofT. soliumspecies is the possible co-existence of two other humanTaeniatapeworms (T. saginataandT. asiatica, which do not cause cysticercosis in humans). Several key issues for taeniasis/cysticercosis (T/C) evidence-based epidemiology and control are reviewed: (1) advances in immunological and molecular tools for screening of human and animals hosts and identification ofTaeniaspecies, with a focus on real-time detection of taeniasis carriers and infected animals in field community screenings, and (2) spatial ecological approaches that have been used to detect geospatial patterns of case distributions and to monitor pig activity and behaviour. Most recent eco-epidemiological studies undertaken in Sichuan province, China, are introduced and reviewed.
Narratives of vicarious experience in conversation
Authors: Norrick Neal R.
Published: August 2013

Stories of personal experience have been a staple of research on narrative, while stories of vicarious experience have remained largely ignored, though they offer special insights into issues of epistemic authority, telling rights, and evaluation. This article seeks to show that stories of vicarious experience can fulfill the same functions as stories of personal experience in conversation, illustrating a point in an argument, sharing news, and for their entertainment value. Discrepancies between stories of vicarious experience and stories of personal experience follow from the distinction between third person and first person narrative along with corresponding differences in their participation frameworks in the sense of Goffman (1981): conversationalists cannot deploy third person stories of vicarious experience in functions such as mutual self-disclosure or to display resistance to troubles; conversely, stories of vicarious experience offer greater opportunities for co-narration. (Epistemic authority, evaluation, identity, narrative, participation frameworks, telling rights, vicarious experience)
Modelling future changes of habitat and fauna in the Tonle Sap wetland of the Mekong
Authors: ARIAS MAURICIO E. , COCHRANE THOMAS A. , ELLIOTT VITTORIA
Published: August 2013

The Tonle Sap is the largest wetland in South-east Asia and the heart of the largest inland fishery in the world. Its unique flood pulse system and annual flow reversal is a hotspot for biodiversity and productivity, as well as an essential habitat for many endangered fishes and birds. Despite predicted changes to the wetland's hydrology due to climate change and hydropower development in the Mekong, the consequent impacts on the fauna of the lake are poorly understood. A spatial modelling framework was developed to simulate the impact of potential scenarios of change using relationships between fauna and biophysical characteristics. Potential impacts on 61 animal species with documented nutritional, conservation or ecological value were examined. A large number of species rely on gallery forest to provide important habitats for their life history, yet this area is likely to be highly impacted by permanent inundation. There is a strong synchronicity between life histories and the flood pulse; consequently continued hydrological disruptions will have a significant impact on ecosystem dynamics, imposing further challenges to conservation. Protecting areas that may become suitable for gallery forests and shrublands under a modified flood regime will be crucial to management planning and the maintenance of a diverse and healthy ecosystem.
Prolonged mechanical ventilation associated with hypothyroidism after paediatric cardiac surgery
Authors: Tanidir Ibrahim C. , Unuvar Tolga , Haydin Sertac
Published: August 2013

Hypothyroidism in patients undergoing congenital heart defect surgery is known to be possible. This generally temporary condition can progress as it involves yet other factors, increasing the patients’ time to heal. The case presented here is that of a 5-month-old girl who was dependent in the long term on mechanical ventilation following cardiac surgery. After having been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, she was extubated on the fourth day of her hormone replacement therapy, and discharged from hospital on the tenth day.
Does development reduce fatalities from natural disasters? New evidence for floods
Authors: Ferreira Susana , Hamilton Kirk , Vincent Jeffrey R.
Published: August 2013

We analyze the impact of development on flood fatalities using a new data set of 2,171 large floods in 92 countries between 1985 and 2008. Our results challenge the conventional wisdom that development results in fewer fatalities during natural disasters. Results indicating that higher income and better governance reduce fatalities during flood events do not hold up when unobserved country heterogeneity and within-country correlation of standard errors are taken into account. We find that income does have a significant, indirect effect on flood fatalities by affecting flood frequency and flood magnitude, but this effect is nonmonotonic, with net reductions in fatalities occurring only in lower income countries. We find little evidence that improved governance affects flood fatalities either directly or indirectly.
Assessment of Metal Pollution Sources by SEM/EDS Analysis of Solid Particles in Snow: A Case Study of Žerjav, Slovenia
Authors: Miler Miloš , Gosar Mateja
Published: August 2013

Solid particles in snow deposits, sampled in mining and Pb-processing area of Žerjav, Slovenia, have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). Identified particles were classified as geogenic–anthropogenic, anthropogenic, and secondary weathering products. Geogenic–anthropogenic particles were represented by scarce Zn- and Pb-bearing ore minerals, originating from mine waste deposit. The most important anthropogenic metal-bearing particles in snow were Pb-, Sb- and Sn-bearing oxides and sulphides. The morphology of these particles showed that they formed at temperatures above their melting points. They were most abundant in snow sampled closest to the Pb-processing plant and least abundant in snow taken farthest from the plant, thus indicating that Pb processing was their predominant source between the last snowfall and the time of sampling. SEM/EDS analysis showed that Sb and Sn contents in these anthropogenic phases were higher and more variable than in natural Pb-bearing ore minerals. The most important secondary weathering products were Pb- and Zn-containing Fe-oxy-hydroxides whose elemental composition and morphology indicated that they mostly resulted from oxidation of metal-bearing sulphides emitted from the Pb-processing plant. This study demonstrated the importance of single particle analysis using SEM/EDS for differentiation between various sources of metals in the environment.
FIB-SEM: An Additional Technique for Investigating Internal Structure of Pollen Walls
Authors: House Alisoun , Balkwill Kevin
Published: August 2013

Pollen grain morphology has been widely used in the classification of the Acanthaceae, where external pollen wall features have proved useful in determining relationships between taxa. Although detailed information has been accumulated using light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques, internal pollen wall features lack investigation and the techniques are cumbersome. A new technique involving precise cross sectioning or slicing of pollen grains at a selected position for examining wall ultrastructure, using a focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM), has been explored and promising results have been obtained. The FIB-SEM offers a good technique for reliable, high resolution, three-dimensional (3D) viewing of the internal structure of the pollen grain wall.
Pawlowsch-Instrumentelle Transfereffekte bei Alkoholabhängigkeit
Authors: Genauck Alexander , Huys Quentin J. M. , Heinz Andreas , Rapp Michael A.
Published: August 2013

Hintergrund: Alkoholabhängigkeit ist eine Verkettung ungünstiger Entscheidungen in Bezug auf Alkoholkonsum. Dieses Entscheidungsmuster scheint sich u. a wegen pawlowsch-instrumentellen Transfereffekten (PIT-Effekten) immer wieder zu reproduzieren. Ziel dieser Literaturzusammenschau ist, wichtige Befunde zum Zusammenhang zwischen PIT-Effekten und Suchterkrankungen zusammenzutragen und offene Fragen im Hinblick auf PIT bei Alkoholabhängigkeit aufzuzeigen. Methoden: Die Literaturzusammenschau nutzte keine systematische Literaturrecherche, sondern basierte auf den Recherchen im Rahmen der Forschergruppe 1617 (Learning and Habitization in Alcohol Dependence, LeAD) der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). Ergebnisse: PIT-Effekte könnten im Zusammenhang mit Alkoholabhängigkeit möglicherweise zu einem Teufelskreis führen. Dieser besteht aus der Verstärkung von PIT-Effekten durch Alkoholkonsum und verstärktem Alkoholkonsum aufgrund von verstärkten PIT-Effekten. Diskussion: PIT-Effekte bei Alkoholabhängigkeit sind bisher vorwiegend aus Tierstudien bekannt. Das PIT-Paradigma kann uns allerdings auch in der humanen Suchtforschung Aufschluss darüber geben, wie bestimmte Reizmuster Alkoholabhängige zum wiederholten Alkoholkonsum motivieren. Demnach können PIT-Experimente womöglich auch helfen Alkoholrückfälle vorherzusagen.
Indikatoren für das Ausmaß jugendlichen Rauschtrinkens in Bayern
Authors: Wurdak Mara , Ihle Katharina , Stürmer Marco , Dirnberger Isabella , Fischer Uwe C. , Funk Tatjana , Kraus Ludwig , Wolstein Jörg
Published: August 2013

Fragestellung: Ist der Anstieg der Krankenhausbehandlungen Jugendlicher wegen einer Alkoholintoxikation ein Indikator für eine Zunahme riskanten Trinkverhaltens? Methodik: Durchgeführt wurden zwei Sekundäranalysen (Untersuchung der Straftaten und Unfälle unter Alkoholeinfluss von 10 – 20-jährigen Jugendlichen sowie der Blutalkoholkonzentrationen (BAK) von stationär behandelten Jugendlichen, n = 1 020) und eine Feldstudie (Bevölkerungsbefragung, n = 285). Ergebnisse: Die Zahl der Krankenhausbehandlungen korrelierte positiv mit den Straftaten, jedoch nicht mit den Unfällen unter Alkoholeinfluss. In einer Stadt mit hohen Behandlungszahlen würden mehr Studienteilnehmer in Notfallsituationen als Erstes den Rettungsdienst verständigen als in einer vergleichbaren Stadt mit geringen Behandlungszahlen. Die durchschnittlichen BAK sanken innerhalb eines Zweijahreszeitraums (2008 – 2009) kontinuierlich. Schlussfolgerungen: Die Entwicklung von Krankenhausbehandlungen und Straftaten unter Alkoholeinfluss sprechen für einen gestiegenen Risikokonsum. Die Zunahme der Behandlungen wegen Alkoholintoxikation ist jedoch mit einer erhöhten Sensibilisierung der Bevölkerung assoziiert und wird durch alkoholbezogene Unfallzahlen nicht unterstützt.
Perfect imaging, epsilon-near zero phenomena and waveguiding in the scope of nonlocal effects
Authors: David C. , Mortensen N. A. , Christensen J.
Published: August 2013

Plasmons in metals can oscillate on a sub-wavelength length scale and this large-k response constitutes an inherent prerequisite for fascinating effects such as perfect imaging and intriguing wave phenomena associated with the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) regime. While there is no upper cut-off within the local-response approximation (LRA) of the plasma polarization, nonlocal dynamics suppress response beyond ω/vF, where vF is the Fermi velocity of the electron gas. Nonlocal response has previously been found to pose limitations to field-enhancement phenomena. Accounting for nonlocal hydrodynamic response, we show that perfect imaging is surprisingly only marginally affected by nonlocal properties of a metal slab, even for a deep subwavelength case and an extremely thin film. Similarly, for the ENZ response we find no indications of nonlocal response jeopardizing the basic behaviors anticipated from the LRA. Finally, our study of waveguiding of gap plasmons even shows a positive nonlocal influence on the propagation length.
Outage probability analysis of signal space cooperative communications over Nakagami‐m fading channels
Authors: Lu Tao , Ge Jianhua , Yang Ye , Gao Yang
Published: August 2013

The outage probability of an efficient signal space cooperative (SSC) scheme is investigated over general independent and non‐identically distributed Nakagami‐m fading channels. In particular, the exact outage probability expression is derived for arbitrary values of the fading parameter m (m ≥ 0.5). Furthermore, an asymptotic approximation for the outage probability is obtained, which clearly shows the diversity and coding gains of the SSC scheme, and therefore can offer important theoretical guidance to scheme designers. Simulation results are provided to verify the theoretical analysis.
Design of integer motion estimator of HEVC for asymmetric motion‐partitioning mode and 4K‐UHD
Authors: Byun J. , Jung Y. , Kim J.
Published: August 2013

A design for an integer motion estimator of high‐efficiency video coding (HEVC) is presented. HEVC supports the 64 × 64 coding tree unit, the recursive quad‐tree coding unit structure and the asymmetric motion‐partitioning mode in a high compression ratio. These features require a structure of integer motion estimation that is more complex than that of H.264/AVC. The new structures of a memory read controller and a sum of absolute difference (SAD) summation block are proposed. The new memory read controller reduces the internal memory read time, and the new SAD summation block structure supports the recursive quad‐tree coding unit structure and the asymmetric motion‐partitioning mode. The proposed design is implemented in Verilog HDL and synthesised using the 65 nm CMOS technology. The gate count is 3.56 M, and the internal static random access memory is about 20 kbyte. The operation frequency is 250 MHz when a 4 K‐Ultra high definition (UHD) (3840 × 2160P at 30 Hz) sized video is encoded.
Clock buffer with supply noise active compensation for reduced period jitter
Authors: Ravezzi L.
Published: August 2013

A simple circuit that actively compensates supply noise and reduces period jitter in CMOS clock buffers is presented. The locally sensed supply noise modulates a current injected in the buffer output node during transitions. By injecting the current in opposite phase to the supply noise, the transient variations are counterbalanced and the jitter removed. Designed in a 28 nm CMOS technology, a chain of 16 inverters using the proposed circuit shows a period jitter up to three times smaller than that of an equally long chain of basic inverters. Conventional local supply noise filtering would require approximately 70 times the area used by the proposed circuit to achieve similar performance.
Compact ultra‐wideband differential bandpass filter using self‐coupled ring resonator
Authors: Wang Hui , Yang Yu‐Qian , Kang Wei , Wu Wen , Tam Kam‐Weng , Ho Sut‐Kam
Published: August 2013

A compact ultra‐wideband differential bandpass filter (BPF) based on a self‐coupled ring resonator is proposed. The self‐coupled line contributes to not only three poles in differential‐mode (DM) but also three zeros in common‐mode (CM) offering both a wide differential passband and good CM suppression. A fabricated filter with a 3 dB fractional bandwidth of 118% for the DM and insertion loss greater than 18 dB for the CM has been designed and measured. This filter is only 30.4 × 1.0 mm (1.0λ0 × 0.03λ0) and it is only 15% of the size of the most reported differential BPFs. The simulated and measured results are in good agreement.
Ultra‐dense and ultra‐low power microhotplates using silica aerogel
Authors: Seyedjalali M. , Kumar S. , Madani M.R.
Published: August 2013

A thin film of silica aerogel has been spin coated on silicon wafers to investigate its super thermal insulating capability. The temperature of the thin film heaters fabricated on the aerogel coated wafer is measured at different applied powers. Simulations are performed to compare the aerogel coated wafers with the micromachined wafers. Both experimental and simulation results show better heat insulation for aerogel coated wafers as compared with simulated micromachined wafers. The measurement and simulation results of aerogel coated wafers are in good agreement. The aerogel film can replace the air cavity created by conventional micromachining of wafers to save power and chip area in metal oxide gas sensor arrays.
Compact microstrip lowpass filter with sharp roll‐off and ultra‐wide stop‐band
Authors: Hayati M. , Abdipour A. , Abdipour A.
Published: August 2013

A compact microstrip lowpass filter (LPF) with sharp roll‐off and ultra‐wide stop‐band bandwidth is presented. The structure consists of high‐impedance meandered transmission lines loaded by triangular and polygonal resonant patches. The cutoff frequency of the proposed LPF is 2.44 GHz and the measured results show good performance such as sharp roll‐off, good insertion loss and an ultra‐wide stop‐band from 2.53 to 35 GHz with the insertion‐loss higher than 20 dB. There is a good agreement between the electromagnetic‐simulation and measurement results.
Two‐dimensional crest factor reduction for performance improvement of concurrent dual‐band power amplifiers
Authors: Chen Xiaofan , Zhang Silong , Chen Wenhua
Published: August 2013

A two‐dimensional crest factor reduction (2D‐CFR) is proposed to improve the performance of concurrent dual‐band power amplifiers (PAs). Experimental measurements are performed on a 1.9–2.6 GHz concurrent dual‐band LTE PA by using the proposed 2D‐CFR and conventional 1D‐CFR, respectively. Measured results after 2D digital predistortion (2D‐DPD) show that the output power with the proposed 2D‐CFR is increased by 10%, the efficiency is improved from 28.1 to 30.6% and the error vector magnitude is reduced from 3.46 to 2.67%, indicating a significant performance improvement.
Parametric estimation of structural similarity degradation for video transmission over error‐prone networks
Authors: Kwon YoungJae , Lee Jong‐Seok
Published: August 2013

A parametric model to estimate the degradation of objective video quality over error‐prone networks is proposed. The model estimates an expected quality degradation in terms of one of the most reliable perceptual quality metrics, structural similarities (SSIMs), for a given encoded video and network condition described by a packet loss rate. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed model can estimate the expected SSIM degradation of H.264/ advanced video coding encoded videos with high accuracy.
Millimetre‐wave quasi‐optical low‐loss power combiner based on dipole antenna
Authors: Song K. , Zhang F. , Hu S. , Fan Y.
Published: August 2013

A novel millimetre‐wave quasi‐optical low‐loss power divider based on the dipole antenna is presented. This dipole antenna array is inserted in the E‐plane of the rectangular waveguide to implement the power‐dividing function. A Ka‐band four‐way passive power combiner is designed, fabricated and measured. The measured results show that the minimum insertion loss is about 0.4 dB from 32.1 to 34 GHz, whereas the return loss is less than 10 dB from 31.5 to 35.9 GHz. The measured results agree with the simulated ones closely.
Minimum mean‐square‐error expression of LMMSE channel estimation in SISO OFDM systems
Authors: Savaux V. , Louët Y. , Djoko‐Kouam M. , Skrzypczak A.
Published: August 2013

An expression of the minimum mean square error (MMSE) of the linear MMSE channel estimation is given in the case of a non‐invertible channel covariance matrix, as in single‐input single‐output (SISO) OFDM system. A matrix expression, already proposed for a multi‐input multi‐output OFDM system in a previous article, is not valid in SISO. A new proof is then proposed, by deriving a scalar expression of the MMSE, which leads to solve an optimisation problem. Furthermore, we show that the proposed solution is the global minimum. Simulations validate the proposed development.
Automatic foreground extraction via joint CRF and online learning
Authors: Zou W. , Kpalma K. , Ronsin J.
Published: August 2013

A novel approach is proposed for automatic foreground extraction which aims to segment out all foreground objects from the background in the image. The segmentation problem is formulated as an iterative energy minimisation of the conditional random field (CRF), which can be efficiently optimised by graph‐cuts. The energy minimisation is initialised and modulated by a soft location map predicted by a discriminative classifier which is learned on‐the‐fly from a set of segmented exemplar images. Iteratively minimising the CRF energy leads to optimal segmentation. Experimental results on the Pascal visual object classes (VOC) 2010 segmentation dataset, a widely acknowledged difficult dataset, show that the proposed approach outperforms the state‐of‐the‐art techniques.
Double‐slot Vivaldi antenna with improved gain
Authors: Wang Y.W. , Wang G.M. , Gao X.J. , Zhou C.
Published: August 2013

A double‐slot structure is proposed to design a new Vivaldi antenna with improved gain. The two slots are excited in uniform amplitude and phase by using a T‐junction power divider. The double‐slot structure can generate plane‐like waves across the slot aperture of the antenna. As a result, the gain of the double‐slot Vivaldi antenna is significantly improved compared with that of a typical Vivaldi antenna of the same size. The measured results show that the impedance bandwidth of the double‐slot Vivaldi antenna is from 2.5 to 15 GHz. The gain of the proposed antenna is considerably higher than the typical antenna at frequencies above 6 GHz. What is more, the structure proposed is far simpler than those designed before.
Specularity detection method based on MSER
Authors: Zhu H. , Gao C. , Guo Y. , Shao Y.
Published: August 2013

A new algorithm for specularity detection using a single image, which is based on the maximally stable extremal regions (MSER) detector, is presented. This algorithm takes full advantage of the characteristics of specularity and requires no assumptions. For this reason, it separates specularities very well regardless of the illumination condition and the surface material. To illustrate the effectiveness of the prposed algorithm, experiments are performed using the images of both dielectric and metal surfaces. Experimental results show that the presented approach outperforms the traditional methods from the point of view of sensitivity to correctness.
Robust stabilisation for a class of stochastic two‐dimensional non‐linear systems with time‐varying delays
Authors: Liang Jinling , Wang Zidong , Liu Xiaohui
Published: August 2013

This study addresses the robust stabilisation problem for the two‐dimensional (2D) discrete non‐linear stochastic systems with time‐varying delays in states. Based on the well‐known Fornasini–Marchesini local state‐space model, a more general 2D discrete non‐linear system is considered with both stochastic disturbances and time‐varying delays. Our attention is focused on the design of a delay‐dependent state‐feedback controller so that the 2D stochastic non‐linear system is guaranteed to be globally asymptotically stabilisable in the mean square. By using the stochastic analysis and some inequality techniques, sufficient criteria ensuring the existence of such controllers are derived in terms of matrix inequalities, which can be effectively solved by resorting to some standard convex optimisation algorithms. Furthermore, such stabilisation results are extended to more general cases where the system matrices contain either polytopic or norm‐bounded parameter uncertainties. Finally, a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed controller design approach.
Acoustic signal based detection and localisation of faults in motorcycles
Authors: Anami Basavaraj S. , Pagi Veerappa B.
Published: August 2013

Vehicles produce dissimilar sound patterns under different working conditions. The study approaches detection and localisation of faults in motorcycles, by exploiting the variations in the spectral behaviour. Fault detection stage uses chaincode of the pseudospectrum of the sound signal. Fault localisation stage uses statistical features derived from the wavelet subbands. Dynamic time warping classifier is used for classification of samples into healthy and faulty in the first stage. In essence, the same classifier classifies the faulty samples into valve‐setting, muffler leakage and timing chain faults in the second stage. Classification results are over 90% for both the stages. The proposed study finds applications in surveillance, fault diagnosis of vehicles, machinery, musical instruments etc.
Realisation of new single‐layer triple‐mode substrate‐integrated waveguide and dual‐mode half‐mode substrate‐integrated waveguide filters using a circular shape perturbation
Authors: Rezaee Morteza , Attari Amir Reza
Published: August 2013

A method of ‘mode shifting’ is presented for realisation of triple‐mode and dual‐mode filters, in which the resonant frequency of one mode is shifted near to the resonant frequency of another mode using a perturbation. To realise a triple‐mode filter, a single‐layer substrate‐integrated waveguide (SIW) square cavity is perturbed by introducing vias at the middle of the structure. This perturbation causes mode shifting of the dominant mode (TE101) near to the next modes (TE102 and TE201). Operation of this triple‐mode resonator is analysed and resonant frequencies of the perturbed cavity are obtained theoretically. A triple‐mode filter is realised using this resonator and the filter is modelled by a coupling matrix based on the global eigenmodes. Moreover, by using the mode shifting technique, a novel dual‐mode bandpass filter with half‐mode SIW (HMSIW) structure is presented. Both the triple‐mode SIW and dual‐mode HMSIW filters are fabricated on a single‐layer substrate using a printed circuit board process.