bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PERCEPÇÃO DA POPULAÇÃO SOBRE ZOONOSES E SEU CONTROLE NA ÁREA URBANA EM DIVERSOS MUNICÍPIOS DO EIXO CAMPINAS - RIBEIRÃO PRETO
Authors: Macedo Silva Tarcísio , Franzini Camila , Roberto Scherma Marcos
Published: August 2016

Entender a percepção da população sobre o risco de enfermidades zoonóticas, configura-se, como uma ferramenta de grande valia para o planejamento e a organização de ações que busquem melhorias na qualidade de vida humana e animal, tais ações dependem, sobretudo do conhecimento da população. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo objetivou enfocar conceitos teóricos básicos sobre zoonoses, entrevistando proprietários ou não de cães e gatos com diferentes faixas etárias e diferentes condições socioeconômicas e culturais. De fevereiro a abril de 2012 foram entrevistadas 2.036 pessoas residentes em área urbana em diversos municípios do eixo Campinas - Ribeirão Preto e feitas as análises descritivas das respostas. Diante dos resultados obtidos, verificou-se que, a maior parte da população conhece ou já ouviu falar sobre as principais enfermidades abordadas. No entanto, o modo de prevenção e as medidas profiláticas ainda não encontram totalmente elucidados para a população, necessitando de ênfase para a adoção de medidas educativas em massa, com abordagem dos principais pontos críticos sobre zoonoses.
Pulmonary lobe eventration in a dog: case report
Authors: Carli Ploks Rafael , Thomazoni Dhyego , Voitena Jéssica Naiara , Pavelski Mariana , Da Cunha Olicies , Machado Silva Marilene
Published: August 2016

A mixed breed dog, six years old was referred, after an episode of thoracic trauma bite, with posterior swelling in the thoracic region, to perform chest radiographs due to dry cough after physical exertion or dorsal position. Through radiographs, pulmonary protrusion through the fifth left intercostal space was observed. Thoracotomy and resection of cranial portion of the left cranial pulmonary lobe and eventration repair were performed. Postoperative chest radiographs confirmed the normal expansion of the remaining left cranial lobe. The intercostal eventration should be considered a differential diagnosis in cases of increased thoracic volume and episodes of trauma.
Rabies in herbivores in the state of Piauí during 2007 to 2011
Authors: SANTOS Ana Virginia Piauilino , CALDAS Mikaela Lopes de , KLEIN JUNIOR Manoel Henrique , SILVA Airton Leôncio Dutra da , CARDOSO FILHO Francisco Das Chagas
Published: August 2016

Rabies is an acute contagious infectious disease, mainly characterized by nervous symptoms that can affect all mammals. It is characterized by sometimes signs of aggression, and others by paresis, paralysis and acute viral encephalitis. This study aimed to describe, by using the basis of the data recorded in the Continental Epidemiological Surveillance System , SivCont, the epidemiological profile of rabies of herbivores in Piauí in 2007 to 2011. Durante the period there were reported 66 cases of nervous syndromes in the state of Piaui, where 35 cases were confirmed positive laboratory result for rabies in herbivores, and of this total, 94%were in cattle. Also noted is that there are areas in the state of Piaui without nerve syndromes notifications, showing the complete "epidemiological silence", suggesting situations of underreporting, even when in the vicinity there have been outbreaks of disease. Situations like this suggests the necessity of an increase in animal health protection actions, actions in health education, covering all segments of the community and intensifying surveillance activities.
Influence of dirtiness and hyperkeratosis teat in occurrence of bovine subclinical mastitis
Authors: Fonseca Lauro Henrique Mendonça , Cunha Adriano França da , Saraiva Luís Henrique Gouvêa , Coelho Kamila Soares , Nunes Mariana Fonseca
Published: August 2016

The influence of dirtiness and hyperkeratosis teat in the occurrence of subclinical mastitis was evaluated in cattle of Oliveira (MG) with 70 dairy cows in the summer and 77 in winter, 2012. The teats were classified through the hyperkeratosis degree and dirtiness level according to methods described in the literature. The detection of animals with mastitis was performed by California Mastitis Test. The prevalence teats with mastitis, hyperkeratosis and dirty were 37.6, 87.9 and 71.4% in summer, respectively. In winter, the prevalences were 39.6, 73.2 and 68.8%, respectively. Teats with hyperkeratosis have 8.3 times the risk of having mastitis that healthy teats (p0.05) the occurrence of subclinical mastitis. The maintenance of milking machine should be performed in cattle with a high prevalence of hyperkeratosis teat. The sources of dirt on cows teats should be detected in free-stall system.
Germicidal activity of plant extracts of Origanum vulgare and Rosmarinus officinalis against Sporothrix schenckii complex
Authors: De Matos Caroline Bohnen , Guterres Karina Affeldt , Giordani Claudia , Madrid Isabel Martins , Cleff Marlete Brum , Meireles Mário Carlos Araújo
Published: August 2016

The literature shows that is a resistance by the microorganisms against commercial products used for the disinfection of contaminated environments. Due to this, the aim of this study was to evaluate the activity of the tincture, aqueous extract (decoction and infusion) and hydroalcoholic extract of Origanum vulgare and Rosmarinus officinalis, as an alternative to disinfectants, using the technique of direct exposure, against Sporothrix schenckii complex. For this, the direct exposure tests, with fungal isolates from clinical cases pertaining to dogs and cats with sporotrichosis, were used to evaluate the sensitivity of Sporothrix spp. against plants extracts, with the action evaluated in the times of 5, 10 and 15 minutes of exposure . As a positive control, it was used a sterile water solution containing innocuous and disinfectants used to control was sodium hypochlorite alcohol and 70°GL. As a result, it can be shown the sensitivity of the fungal isolates front to tincture of Origanum vulgare and Rosmarinus officinalis and hydroalcoholic extract of Origanum vulgare at all times of exposure, in 10% concentration of the extract.
The Need for Skill Development in India and Contribution of Public-Private Partnership: The Case of National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)
Authors: Singh Abhijeet , Sharma Mahendra Kumar
Published: August 2016

India is growing as a prominent destination for almost every market among the developing nations world over. Increasing manufacturing capacity and export of commodities; incline towards the substantial growth of the country. The changing composition of the Indian economy in terms of its structure has affected the demand pattern of the industrial labor. In the past, Indian labor was chiefly engaged in agriculture sector but in recent decades the shift has been towards the industry and service sectors. As a matter of fact, the Indian workforce lags far behind the required expertise and skills to perform the jobs in an efficient mode. This skill gap not only leads to the loss of productivity but also adds to huge financial losses of the nation. To ensure a comprehensive economic growth of the country, skill development has emerged as a matter of immediate concern. The present study is an attempt to document the initiatives of National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for improving the skills of the Indian workforce. The NSDC is a unique example of the Public-Private Partnership in this field. An intensive review of NSDC publications, impact studies of NSDC activities and direct interaction with skill development centre members assisted by NSDC has helped to unravel the changes that NSDC has brought for skill development in India.
E-Commerce: Adoption Barriers in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in India
Authors: Ahmad Iftaqar , Sinha Jyotsna
Published: August 2016

India is considered as the youth capital of the world. Globalization and the KnowledgeEconomy pose numerous challenges as well as opportunities for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in India. Indian labour force numbers around 500 million. Over 90% of them work inunincorporated, unorganized enterprises gaining traditional knowledge on the job.With the opening up of the economy and increase inexports, improving the productivity of the workforceis a key challenge. Therefore there is an urgency to adopt e-Commerce and become internet savvy so that production and selling goes simultaneously. In today's era when environment is changing with the blink of an eye one must work on the theme “SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST”. SMEs need to get connected with online shoppers or else adopt E-commerce in order to have competitive advantage over others. This research paper has been written in an article form in order to discuss the important key issues related to adoption and opportunities that eCommerce offers for SMEs in India.
He's fractional derivative for non-linear fractional heat transfer equation
Authors: Wang Kang-Le , Liu San-Yang
Published: August 2016

This paper adopts He's fractional derivative for non-linear fractional heat
transfer equation. The fractional complex transform and He's variational
iteration method are used to solve the fractional equation.
Numerical investigation of time-dependent cloud cavitating flow around a hydrofoil
Authors: Zhang De-Sheng , Zhang Guan-Gjian , Wang Hai-Yu , Shi Wei-Dong
Published: August 2016

Time-dependent cloud cavitation around the 2-D Clark-Y hydrofoil was
investigated in this paper based on an improved filter based model and a
density correction method. The filter-scale in filter based model simulation
was discussed and validated according to the grid size. Numerical results
show that in the transition from sheet cavitation to cloud cavitation, the
sheet cavity grows slowly to the maximum length during the re-entrant jet
develops. The mild shedding bubble cluster convects downwards the hydrofoil
and continues to grow up after detaching from the suction surface of
hydrofoil, and a bubble cluster introduced at the rear part of hydrofoil.
While the sheet cavity generates, the bubble cluster breakups.
Effect of Na2CO3 degumming concentration on LiBr-formic acid-silk fibroin solution properties
Authors: Liu Zhi , Wan Yuqin , Dou Hao , He Ji-Huan
Published: August 2016

Salt-acid system has been proved to be of high efficiency for silk fibroin
dissolution. Using salt-acid system to dissolve silk, native silk fibrils can
be preserved in the regenerated solution. Increasing experiments indicate
that acquirement of silk fibrils in solution is strongly associated with the
degumming process. In this study, the effect of sodium carbonate degumming
concentration on solution properties based on lithium bromide-formic acid
dissolution system was systematically investigated. Results showed that the
morphology transformation of silk fibroin in solution from nanospheres to
nanofibrils is determined by sodium carbonate concentration during the
degumming process. Solutions containing different silk fibroin structure
exhibited different rheological behaviors and different electrospinnability,
leading to different electrospun nanofibre properties. The results have
guiding significance for preparation and application of silk fibroin
solutions.
Duration of serum antibody response to rabies vaccination in horses
Authors: Harvey Alison M. , Watson Johanna L. , Brault Stephanie A. , Edman Judy M. , Moore Susan M. , Kass Philip H. , Wilson W. David
Published: August 2016

OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of age and inferred prior vaccination history on the persistence of vaccine-induced antibody against rabies in horses.

DESIGN Serologic response evaluation.

ANIMALS 48 horses with an undocumented vaccination history.

PROCEDURES Horses were vaccinated against rabies once. Blood samples were collected prior to vaccination, 3 to 7 weeks after vaccination, and at 6-month intervals for 2 to 3 years. Serum rabies virus–neutralizing antibody (RVNA) values were measured. An RVNA value of ≥ 0.5 U/mL was used to define a predicted protective immune response on the basis of World Health Organization recommendations for humans. Values were compared between horses < 20 and ≥ 20 years of age and between horses inferred to have been previously vaccinated and those inferred to be immunologically naïve.

RESULTS A protective RVNA value (≥ 0.5 U/mL) was maintained for 2 to 3 years in horses inferred to have been previously vaccinated on the basis of prevaccination RVNA values. No significant difference was evident in response to rabies vaccination or duration of protective RVNA values between horses < 20 and ≥ 20 years of age. Seven horses were poor responders to vaccination. Significant differences were identified between horses inferred to have been previously vaccinated and horses inferred to be naïve prior to the study.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE A rabies vaccination interval > 1 year may be appropriate for previously vaccinated horses but not for horses vaccinated only once. Additional research is required to confirm this finding and characterize the optimal primary dose series for rabies vaccination.
Outcomes assessment of on-site communication skills education in a companion animal practice
Authors: Shaw Jane R. , Barley Gwyn E. , Broadfoot Kirsti , Hill Ashley E. , Roter Debra L.
Published: August 2016

OBJECTIVE To evaluate veterinarian-client communication and veterinarian and client satisfaction with veterinary visits before and after veterinarians underwent a 6-month communication skills training program in a practice setting.

DESIGN Case-based pretest-posttest intervention study.

SAMPLE 1 purposely selected companion-animal practice.

PROCEDURES The practice team (3 veterinarians, 5 veterinary technicians, 1 receptionist, and 1 office manager) participated in a 6-month educational program (intervention) that included interactive communication modules, individual coaching, and a communication laboratory. For each of the veterinarians, 6 appointments were video recorded and 30 additional clients completed a visit satisfaction survey both before and after the intervention. The Roter interaction analysis system was used to analyze the video-recorded appointments.

RESULTS After the intervention, appointments were 5.4 minutes longer and veterinarians asked 60% fewer closed-ended lifestyle-social questions, provided 1.4 times as much biomedically related client education, and used 1.5 and 1.25 times as much facilitative and emotional rapport communication, respectively, compared with before the intervention. Clients provided veterinarians with 1.3 times as much biomedically related information and engaged in twice as much social conversation. After the intervention, veterinarians perceived their clients as complaining less and being more personable and trusting, and clients felt more involved in the appointment and reported that the veterinarian expressed greater interest in their opinion.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicated that the intervention resulted in veterinarians who spent more time educating and building rapport with their clients and facilitating client input in an unhurried environment, which enhanced overall veterinarian visit satisfaction and various aspects of client visit satisfaction.
Rotator Cuff Tear Consequent to Glenohumeral Dislocation
Authors: Gilotra Mohit N. , Christian Matthew W. , Lovering Richard M.
Published: August 2016

The patient was a 21-year-old collegiate running back who was tackled during a football game and sustained a posterior glenohumeral dislocation. He was referred to an orthopaedist and presented 3 weeks after the injury, and, following examination, further imaging was ordered by the orthopaedist due to rotator cuff weakness. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a complete tear of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus, as well as a posterior Bankart lesion, a subscapularis tear, and a dislocation of the biceps long head tendon into the reverse Hill-Sachs lesion.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2016;46(8):708. doi:10.2519/jospt.2016.0413
Sport-Related Concussion: Optimizing Treatment Through Evidence-Informed Practice
Authors: Schneider Kathryn J.
Published: August 2016

Concussion is one of the most common injuries in sport and recreation today. Reports of concussion have increased in recent years, likely due to increased societal awareness and the risk of longer-term sequelae. Presently, treatment includes a period of prescribed rest in the acute period following injury, followed by a protocol of graded exertion. Despite an initial period of rest and attempts at a gradual return to play, up to 30% of individuals may have ongoing symptoms past the acute period. The goal of this viewpoint is to introduce the reader to the most common symptoms of concussion and the need for a new, more active paradigm during treatment.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2016;46(8):613–616. doi:10.2519/jospt.2016.0607
Is Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy Combined With Isokinetic Exercise More Effective Than Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy Alone for Subacromial Impingement Syndrome? A Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors: Santamato Andrea , Panza Francesco , Notarnicola Angela , Cassatella Gennaro , Fortunato Francesca , de Sanctis Jula Laura , Valeno Giovanni , Kehoe Patrick G. , Seripa Davide , Logroscino Giancarlo , Fiore Pietro , Ranieri Maurizio
Published: August 2016

Study Design

Single-blind randomized trial.

Background

Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) has been shown to produce good results in the treatment of subacromial impingement syndrome (SAIS). The efficacy of a combined administration of ESWT and isokinetic exercise (IE) has not yet been studied.

Objectives

To evaluate the efficacy of focused ESWT combined with IE for the rotator cuff versus focused ESWT alone in the treatment of SAIS. The secondary objective was to assess the isokinetic torque recovery (external rotation at 210°/s, 180°/s, and 120°/s).

Methods

Thirty participants with SAIS were randomly assigned to a focused-ESWT group or focused ESWT-plus-IE group. Subjects of both groups received 3 treatment sessions of focused ESWT over a period of 10 days. Participants in the second group also received IE for 10 therapy sessions. Outcome measures were the Constant-Murley score (CMS), the visual analog scale (VAS), and isokinetic parameters (peak torque and total work calculated from 5 repetitions) measured with the isokinetic test. Subjects were assessed at baseline, 10 days after the last treatment session with focused ESWT, and after 2 months of follow-up.

Results

At 2 months posttreatment, participants in the focused ESWT-plus-IE group showed significantly less pain (focused-ESWT VAS, 3.4 ± 0.8 versus focused ESWT-plus-IE VAS, 1.5 ± 0.5; P<.001) and greater improvement in functionality (focused-ESWT CMS, 75.9 ± 6.7 versus focused ESWT-plus-IE CMS, 92.1 ± 6.3; P<.001) and muscle endurance than the subjects in the focused-ESWT group.

Conclusion

In subjects with SAIS, combined administration of focused ESWT and IE for the rotator cuff resulted in greater reduction of pain, as well as superior functional recovery and muscle endurance in the short to medium term, compared with ESWT alone.

Level of evidence

Therapy, 2b. Trial registration: unregistered 2011 trial. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2016;46(9):714–725. Epub 5 Aug 2016. doi:10.2519/jospt.2016.4629
Clinical, surgical, and molecular prognostic factors for survival after spinal sarcoma resection
Authors: Sciubba Daniel M. , De la Garza Ramos Rafael , Rory Goodwin C. , Abu-Bonsrah Nancy , Bydon Ali , Witham Timothy F. , Bettegowda Chetan , Gokaslan Ziya L. , Wolinsky Jean-Paul
Published: August 2016

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to investigate the local recurrence rate and long-term survival after resection of spinal sarcomas.

METHODS

A retrospective review of patients who underwent resection of primary or metastatic spinal sarcomas between 1997 and 2015 was performed. Tumors were classified according to the Enneking classification, and resection was categorized as Enneking appropriate (EA) if the specimen margins matched the Enneking recommendation, and as Enneking inappropriate (EI) if they did not match the recommendation. The primary outcome measure for all tumors was overall survival; local recurrence was also an outcome measure for primary sarcomas. The association between clinical, surgical, and molecular (tumor biomarker) factors and outcomes was also investigated.

RESULTS

A total of 60 patients with spinal sarcoma were included in this study (28 men and 32 women; median age 38 years). There were 52 primary (86.7%) and 8 metastatic sarcomas (13.3%). Thirty-nine tumors (65.0%) were classified as high-grade, and resection was considered EA in 61.7% of all cases (n = 37). The local recurrence rate was 10 of 52 (19.2%) for primary sarcomas; 36.8% for EI resection and 9.1% for EA resection (p = 0.010). Twenty-eight patients (46.7%) died during the follow-up period, and median survival was 26 months. Overall median survival was longer for patients with EA resection (undefined) compared with EI resection (13 months, p < 0.001). After multivariate analysis, EA resection significantly decreased the hazard of local recurrence (HR 0.24, 95% CI 0.06–0.93; p = 0.039). Age 40 years or older (HR 4.23, 95% CI 1.73–10.31; p = 0.002), previous radiation (HR 3.44, 95% CI 1.37–8.63; p = 0.008), and high-grade sarcomas (HR 3.17, 95% CI 1.09–9.23; p = 0.034) were associated with a significantly increased hazard of death, whereas EA resection was associated with a significantly decreased hazard of death (HR 0.22, 95% CI 0.09–0.52; p = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings in the present study suggest that EA resection may be the strongest independent prognostic factor for improved survival in patients with spinal sarcoma. Additionally, patients who underwent EA resection had lower local recurrence rates. Patients 40 years or older, those with a history of previous radiation, and those with high-grade tumors had an increased hazard of mortality in this study.
The 100 most cited articles in metastatic spine disease
Authors: Cohen Jonathan , Alan Nima , Zhou James , Kojo Hamilton D.
Published: August 2016

OBJECTIVE

Despite the growing neurosurgical literature, a subset of pioneering studies have significantly impacted the field of metastatic spine disease. The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the 100 most frequently cited articles in the field.

METHODS

A keyword search using the Thomson Reuters Web of Science was conducted to identify articles relevant to the field of metastatic spine disease. The results were filtered based on title and abstract analysis to identify the 100 most cited articles. Statistical analysis was used to characterize journal frequency, past and current citations, citation distribution over time, and author frequency.

RESULTS

The total number of citations for the final 100 articles ranged from 74 to 1169. Articles selected for the final list were published between 1940 and 2009. The years in which the greatest numbers of top-100 studies were published were 1990 and 2005, and the greatest number of citations occurred in 2012. The majority of articles were published in the journals Spine (15), Cancer (11), and the Journal of Neurosurgery (9). Forty-four individuals were listed as authors on 2 articles, 9 were listed as authors on 3 articles, and 2 were listed as authors on 4 articles in the top 100 list. The most cited article was the work by Batson (1169 citations) that was published in 1940 and described the role of the vertebral veins in the spread of metastases. The second most cited article was Patchell's 2005 study (594 citations) discussing decompressive resection of spinal cord metastases. The third most cited article was the 1978 study by Gilbert that evaluated treatment of epidural spinal cord compression due to metastatic tumor (560 citations).

CONCLUSIONS

The field of metastatic spine disease has witnessed numerous milestones and so it is increasingly important to recognize studies that have influenced the field. In this bibliographic study the authors identified and analyzed the most influential articles in the field of metastatic spine disease.
The role of the mini-open thoracoscopic-assisted approach in the management of metastatic spine disease at the thoracolumbar junction
Authors: Ravindra Vijay M. , Brock Andrea , Awad Al-Wala , Kalra Ricky , Schmidt Meic H.
Published: August 2016

OBJECTIVE

Treatment advances have resulted in improved survival for many cancer types, and this, in turn, has led to an increased incidence of metastatic disease, specifically to the vertebral column. Surgical decompression and stabilization prior to radiation therapy have been shown to improve functional outcomes, but anterior access to the thoracolumbar junction may involve open thoracotomy, which can cause significant morbidity. The authors describe the treatment of 12 patients in whom a mini-open thoracoscopic-assisted approach (mini-open TAA) to the thoracolumbar junction was used to treat metastatic disease, with an analysis of outcomes.

METHODS

The authors reviewed a retrospective cohort of patients treated for thoracolumbar junction metastatic disease with mini-open TAA between 2004 and 2016. Data collection included operative time, estimated blood loss, length of stay, follow-up duration, and pre- and postoperative visual analog scale scores and Frankel grades.

RESULTS

Twelve patients underwent a mini-open TAA procedure for metastatic disease at the thoracolumbar junction. The mean age of patients was 59 years (range 53–77 years), mean estimated blood loss was 613 ml, and the mean duration of the mini-open TAA procedure was 234 minutes (3.8 hours). The median length of stay in the hospital was 7.5 days (range 5–21 days). All 12 patients had significant improvement in their postoperative pain scores in comparison with their preoperative pain scores (p < 0.001). No patients suffered from worsening neurological function after surgery, and of 7 patients who presented with neurological dysfunction, 6 (86%) had an improvement in their Frankel grade after surgery. No patients experienced delayed hardware failure requiring reoperation over a mean follow-up of 10 months (range 1–45 months).

CONCLUSIONS

The mini-open TAA to the thoracolumbar junction for metastatic disease is a durable procedure that has a reduced morbidity rate compared with traditional open thoracotomy for ventral decompression and fusion. It compares well with traditional and novel posterior approaches to the thoracolumbar junction. The authors found a significant improvement in preoperative pain and neurological symptoms that supports greater use of the mini-open TAA for the treatment of complex metastatic disease at the thoracolumbar junction.
Surgical treatment of aggressive vertebral hemangiomas
Authors: Vasudeva Viren S. , Chi John H. , Groff Michael W.
Published: August 2016

OBJECTIVE

Vertebral hemangiomas are common tumors that are benign and generally asymptomatic. Occasionally these lesions can exhibit aggressive features such as bony expansion and erosion into the epidural space resulting in neurological symptoms. Surgery is often recommended in these cases, especially if symptoms are severe or rapidly progressive. Some surgeons perform decompression alone, others perform gross-total resection, while others perform en bloc resection. Radiation, embolization, vertebroplasty, and ethanol injection have also been used in combination with surgery. Despite the variety of available treatment options, the optimal management strategy is unclear because aggressive vertebral hemangiomas are uncommon lesions, making it difficult to perform large trials. For this reason, the authors chose instead to report their institutional experience along with a comprehensive review of the literature.

METHODS

A departmental database was searched for patients with a pathological diagnosis of “hemangioma” between 2008 and 2015. Medical records were reviewed to identify patients with aggressive vertebral hemangiomas, and these cases were reviewed in detail.

RESULTS

Five patients were identified who underwent surgery for treatment of aggressive vertebral hemangiomas during the specified time period. There were 2 lumbar and 3 thoracic lesions. One patient underwent en bloc spondylectomy, 2 patients had piecemeal gross-total resection, and the remaining 2 had subtotal tumor resection. Intraoperative vertebroplasty was used in 3 cases to augment the anterior column or to obliterate residual tumor. Adjuvant radiation was used in 1 case where there was residual tumor as well. The patient who underwent en bloc spondylectomy experienced several postoperative complications requiring additional medical care and reoperation. At an average follow-up of 31 months (range 3–65 months), no patient had any recurrence of disease and all were clinically asymptomatic, except the patient who underwent en bloc resection who continued to have back pain.

CONCLUSIONS

Gross-total resection or subtotal resection in combination with vertebroplasty or adjuvant radiation therapy to treat residual tumor seems sufficient in the treatment of aggressive vertebral hemangiomas. En bloc resection appears to provide a similar oncological benefit, but it carries higher morbidity to the patient.
VLBA DETERMINATION OF THE DISTANCE TO NEARBY STAR-FORMING REGIONS. VII. MONOCEROS R2
Authors: Dzib Sergio A. , Ortiz-León Gisela N. , Loinard Laurent , Mioduszewski Amy J. , Rodríguez Luis F. , Torres Rosa M. , Deller Adam
Published: August 2016

We present a series of 16 Very Long Baseline Array high angular resolution observations of a cluster of suspected low-mass young stars in the Monoceros R2 region. Four compact and highly variable radio sources are detected; three of them in only one epoch, the fourth one a total of seven times. This latter source is seen in the direction of the previously known UC H ii region VLA 1, and has radio properties that resemble those of magnetically active stars; we shall call it VLA 1⋆. We model its displacement on the celestial sphere as a combination of proper motion and trigonometric parallax. The fit obtained using a uniform proper motion yields a parallax ϖ = 1.10 ± 0.18 mas, but with a fairly high post-fit dispersion. If acceleration terms (probably due to an undetected companion) are included, the quality of the fit improves dramatically, and the best estimate of the parallax becomes ϖ = 1.12 ± 0.05 mas. The magnitude of the fitted acceleration suggests an orbital period of the order of a decade. The measured parallax corresponds to a distance d = 

, in very good agreement with previous, indirect determinations.
MAGNETIC FIELD STRENGTH IN AN INTERMEDIATE-VELOCITY IONIZED FILAMENT IN THE FIRST GALACTIC QUADRANT
Authors: Stil J. M. , Hryhoriw A.
Published: August 2016

We investigate the magnetic field in an intermediate-velocity filament for which the Hα intensity in the WHAM survey correlates with excess Faraday rotation of extragalactic radio sources over the length of the filament from b ≈ 20° to b ≈ 55°. The density-weighted mean magnetic field is

, derived from rotation measures and an empirical relation between Hα emission measure and dispersion measure from Berkhuijsen et al. In view of the uncertainties in the derived magnetic field strength, we propose an alternative use of the available data, rotation measure, and emission measure, to derive a lower limit to the Alfvén speed, weighted by electron density

. We find lower limits to the Alfvén speed that are comparable to or larger than the sound speed in a

plasma, and conclude that the magnetic field is dynamically important. We discuss the role of intermediate-velocity gas as a locus of Faraday rotation in the interstellar medium, and propose that this lower limit to the Alfvén speed may also be applicable to Faraday rotation by galaxy clusters.
ANGULAR MOMENTUM LOSS IN THE ENVELOPE–DISK TRANSITION REGION OF THE HH 111 PROTOSTELLAR SYSTEM: EVIDENCE FOR MAGNETIC BRAKING?
Authors: Lee Chin-Fei , Hwang Hsiang-Chih , Li Zhi-Yun
Published: August 2016

HH 111 is a Class I protostellar system at a distance of ∼400 pc, with the central source VLA 1 associated with a rotating disk deeply embedded in a flattened envelope. Here we present the observations of this system at ∼0.″6 (240 au) resolution in C18O (J = 2 — 1) and a 230 GHz continuum obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array, and in SO (

) obtained with the Submillimeter Array. The observations show for the first time how a Keplerian rotating disk can be formed inside a flattened envelope. The flattened envelope is detected in C18O, extending out to ≳2400 au from the VLA 1 source. It has a differential rotation, with the outer part (≳2000 au) better described by a rotation that has constant specific angular momentum, and the innermost part (≲160 au) by a Keplerian rotation. The rotationally supported disk is therefore relatively compact in this system, which is consistent with the dust continuum observations. Most interestingly, if the flow is in steady state, there is a substantial drop in specific angular momentum in the envelope–disk transition region from 2000 to 160 au, by a factor of ∼3. Such a decrease is not expected outside a disk formed from simple hydrodynamic core collapse, but can happen naturally if the core is significantly magnetized, because magnetic fields can be trapped in the transition region outside the disk by the ram pressure of the protostellar accretion flow, which can lead to efficient magnetic braking. In addition, SO shock emission is detected around the outer radius of the disk and could trace an accretion shock around the disk.
Alarmin S100A9 Induces Proinflammatory and Catabolic Effects Predominantly in the M1 Macrophages of Human Osteoarthritic Synovium
Authors: van den Bosch Martijn H. , Blom Arjen B. , Schelbergen Rik F. , Koenders Marije I. , van de Loo Fons A. , van den Berg Wim B. , Vogl Thomas , Roth Johannes , van der Kraan Peter M. , van Lent Peter L.
Published: August 2016

Objective.

The alarmins S100A8 and S100A9 have been shown to regulate synovial activation, cartilage damage, and osteophyte formation in osteoarthritis (OA). Here we investigated the effect of S100A9 on the production of proinflammatory cytokines and matrix metalloprotease (MMP) in OA synovium, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-differentiated/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF)-differentiated macrophages, and OA fibroblasts.

Methods.

We determined which cell types in the synovium produced S100A8 and S100A9. Further, the production of proinflammatory cytokines and MMP, and the activation of canonical Wnt signaling, was determined in human OA synovium, OA fibroblasts, and monocyte-derived macrophages following stimulation with S100A9.

Results.

We observed that S100A8 and S100A9 were mainly produced by GM-CSF–differentiated macrophages present in the synovium, and to a lesser extent by M-CSF–differentiated macrophages, but not by fibroblasts. S100A9 stimulation of OA synovial tissue increased the production of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL) 1β, IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α. Additionally, various MMP were upregulated after S100A9 stimulation. Experiments to determine which cell type was responsible for these effects revealed that mainly stimulation of GM-CSF–differentiated macrophages and to a lesser extent M-CSF-differentiated macrophages with S100A9 increased the expression of these proinflammatory cytokines and MMP. In contrast, stimulation of fibroblasts with S100A9 did not affect their expression. Finally, stimulation of GM-CSF–differentiated, but not M-CSF–differentiated macrophages with S100A9 activated canonical Wnt signaling, whereas incubation of OA synovium with the S100A9 inhibitor paquinimod reduced the activation of canonical Wnt signaling.

Conclusion.

Predominantly mediated by M1-like macrophages, the alarmin S100A9 stimulates the production of proinflammatory and catabolic mediators and activates canonical Wnt signaling in OA synovium.
Wireless Mesh Sensor Networks with Mobile Devices
Authors: Meralto Carlos , Moura José , Marinheiro Rui
Published: August 2016

Mesh communications is emerging as a popular networking solution. Mesh networks have a decentralized and multihop design. These characteristics arouse interest for the research of the following features: cooperation, task distribution, scalability and communication with limited infrastructure support. This chapter studies relevant solutions in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) with a mesh design that is used with mobile devices. The use of mobile devices on WSNs has recently grown due to: hardware evolution, large number of embedded sensors and daily high utilization of handheld devices. Consequently, novel requisites in the design and implementation of WSNs urge to be satisfied: autonomy of sensors battery and, efficient data exchange amongst sensors and the Internet. A real mesh testbed with two Layer 2 mesh solutions (Open802.11s and B.A.T.M.A.N) was implemented with different topologies. Some relevant results for a mesh network are discussed in terms of its scalability, performance and volatility.
Performance Evaluation of Quality of Service in IEEE 802.15.4-Based Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Mohanty Sanatan , Patra Sarat Kumar
Published: August 2016

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) consists of many tiny, autonomous sensor nodes capable of sensing, computation and communication. The main objective of IEEE 802.15.4 based WSN standard is to provide low cost, low power and short range communication. Providing QoS in WSN is a challenging task due to its severe resource constraints in terms of energy, network bandwidth, memory, and CPU. In this chapter, Quality of Service (QoS) performance evaluation has been carried out for IEEE 802.15.4 networks based WSN star and mesh topology using routing protocols like AODV, DSR and DYMO in QualNet 4.5 simulator. Performance evaluations metrics like Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR), throughput, average end to end delay, energy per goodput bit, network lifetime of battery model and total energy consumption which includes transmission, reception, idle and sleep mode were considered for both the topology. From the simulation studies and analysis, it can be seen that on an average DSR and DYMO performs better than AODV for different traffic load rates.
Internet of Things Services, Applications, Issues, and Challenges
Authors: Nayak Padmalaya
Published: August 2016

Internet of Things (IoT) is not a futuristic intuition, it is present everywhere. It is with devices, Sensors, Clouds, Big data, and data with business. It is the combination of traditional embedded systems combined with small wireless micro sensors, control systems with automation, and others that makes a huge infrastructure. The integration of wireless communication, micro electro mechanical devices, and Internet has led to the development of new things in the Internet. It is a network of network objects that can be accessed through the Internet and every object can be identified by unique identifier. By replacing IPV4, IPV6 plays a key role and provides a huge increase of address spaces for the development of things in the Internet. The objective of IoT application is to make the things smart without the human intervention. With the increasing number of smart nodes and amount of data that generated by each node is expected to create new concerns about data privacy, data scalability, data security, data manageability and many more issues that have been discussed in this chapter.
A Comprehensive Study of Security in Cloud Computing
Authors: Manohari Prasanta K. , Ray Niranjan K.
Published: August 2016

Cloud computing is one of the emerging technology in the recent times which has varieties of applications at different fields. It is an Internet dependent technology and it store and maintain the data in a cloud data center. Cloud center usually supports more numbers of user, applications and data. In the same time, it also suffered with numerous challenges. Security is a key requirement for cloud data center. Different security mechanisms are proposed for cloud computing environment. In this chapter, we address the background of cloud computing, security risk, requirements, issues, and some of the security techniques are discussed. We discuss different security issues and focus on some existing solutions.
Quantum Dots Searching for Bondots
Authors: Putz Mihai V. , Tudoran Marina A. , Mirica Marius C.
Published: August 2016

The relatively new technique of quantum-dots sensitizing the solar cells for optimum cost-efficiency of photovoltaics is reviewed while launching new concept of bonding-quantum dots – the so called bondots (abbreviated as D), founded on the Dirac quantum theory of coupling spinors, while the associated analytics and basic illustration on paradigmatic chemical bonds are revealed, so paving the way for experimentally searching of at least doubling the photo-electric conversion in sustainable bondotic sensitized solar cells.
Bondonic Electrochemistry
Authors: Putz Mihai V. , Tudoran Marina A. , Mirica Marius C.
Published: August 2016

The main concepts of electrochemistry are reviewed in a fundamental manner as well for the applicative approach of asymmetric currents in the galvanic cells; the whole electrochemical process is eventually combined with embedded the bondonic chemistry modeling the electronic charge transfer sensitizing the anode electrode and the overall photovoltaic effect through the electrolyte fulfilling the red-ox closed circuit; the resulted bondonic electrochemistry may be suited for integration with the fresh approach of sensitization of the solar cells by the bonding quantum dots (the bondots), see the preceding chapter of the same book, towards a bondonic-bondotic photo-electrochemical integrated and cost-effective photo-current conversion; it may be used as well as for laser-based technique in controlling the electrochemical effects with optical lattices acting towards condensing the electrons into bondons and controlling them thereof.
Designing Engaging Educational Games and Assessing Engagement in Game-Based Learning
Authors: Ge Xun , Ifenthaler Dirk
Published: August 2016

The focus of this chapter is on designing engaging educational games for cognitive, motivational, and emotional benefits. The concept of engagement is defined and its relationship with motivation and cognition are discussed. Design issues with many educational games are examined in terms of factors influencing sustained motivation and engagement. A theoretical framework to design engaging digital games is presented, including three dimensions of engagement (i.e., behavioral, cognitive, and emotional). Later, the chapter considers how to harness the appealing power of engaging games for designing engaging educational games. Various motivational features of game design and learner experiences are considered. In conclusion, the chapter also discusses various methods to assess engagement in order to inform the design of educational games that motivate learners.
Game Dimensions and Pedagogical Dimension in Serious Games
Authors: Gros Begoña
Published: August 2016

Designing serious games is a complex process because finding the right balance between the ‘serious' and the ‘game' dimensions is vital, as pointed out in some meta-analyses (Wouters, et al. 2013). If educational content prevails over the entertainment element, users' motivation may decrease and this can have a negative impact on the effectiveness of learning. On the other hand, if entertainment predominates over content, this can also limit learning opportunities. Another major concern identified regarding the use of digital games in education is the difficulty in assessing effectiveness in achieving the learning goals. This chapter discusses and analyses different models for guiding the design cycle of serious games with the aim of supporting not only the design process but also the implementation and assessment of serious games in education. This contribution emphasises the importance of in-game assessment and the need for further research on adaptive serious games.
Security and Privacy Issues, Solutions, and Tools for MCC
Authors: Tank Darshan M.
Published: August 2016

With the development of cloud computing and mobility, mobile cloud computing has emerged and become a focus of research. Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) integrates mobile computing and cloud computing aiming to extend mobile devices capabilities. By the means of on-demand self-service and extendibility, it can offer the infrastructure, platform, and software services in a cloud to mobile users through the mobile network. There is huge market for mobile based e-Commerce applications across the globe. Security and privacy are the key issues for mobile cloud computing applications. The limited processing power and memory of a mobile device dependent on inherently unreliable wireless channel for communication and battery for power leaves little scope for a reliable security layer. Thus there is a need for a lightweight secure framework that provides security with minimum communication and processing overhead on mobile devices. The security and privacy protection services can be achieved with the help of secure mobile-cloud application services.
Laser Scanners
Authors: Lindner Lars
Published: August 2016

The presented book chapter provides an overview and detailed description about actual used laser scanner systems. It explains and compares the mainly used coordinate measurement methods, like Time-of-flight, Phasing and Triangulation and Imaging. A Technical Vision System, developed by the engineering institute at the Autonomous University Baja California (UABC) is presented. The mostly used mechanical principles to position a laser beam in a field of view are described and which mechanical actuators are applied. The reflected laser beam gets measured by light sensors or image sensors, which are explained and some principle measuring circuits are provided. The received measuring data gets post-processed by different algorithm or principles, which close the chapter.
Machine Vision Application on Science and Industry
Authors: Starostenko Oleg , Cruz-Perez Claudia , Alarcon-Aquino Vicente , Melnik Viktor I. , Tyrsa Vera
Published: August 2016

Face detection, tracking and recognition is still actual field of human centered technologies used for developing more natural communication between computing artefacts and users. Analyzing modern trends and advances in this field, two approaches for face sensing and recognition have been proposed. The first color/shape-based approach uses sets of fuzzy saturated color regions providing face detection by Fourier descriptors and recognition by SVM. The second approach provides fast face detection by adaptive boosting algorithm, and recognition based on SIFT key point extraction into eye-nose-mouth regions has been improved using Bayesian approach. Designed systems have been tested in order to evaluate capability of the proposed approaches to detect, trace and interpret faces of known individuals registered into facial standard databases providing correct recognition rate in range of 94.5-99.0% with recall up to 46%. The conducted tests ensure that both approaches have satisfactory performance achieving less than 3 seconds for human face detection and recognition in live video streams.
Facebook Content Analysis
Authors: Senadheera Vindaya , Warren Matthew , Leitch Shona , Pye Graeme
Published: August 2016

Understanding the motives that encourage users to adopt social media to communicate with businesses is very important. This research study was conducted with Australian banks and adds to the development of empirically tested social media adoption model consisting of technological and social communication aspects (Senadheera, 2015). This chapter presents the findings of the research study based on analysis of wall posts gathered from Australian banks' Facebook presence in the year 2013. The research study involves a thematic analysis of frequently used words by Australian banks in their respective Facebook wall posts following an outcome of a word frequency test conducted using NVivo. This analysis was conducted with the proposed adoption model as the basis to determine whether banks' Facebook content addresses the basic user requirements driving them to adopt social media to communicate with Australian banks. The results strengthens the robustness and the applicability of the social media adoption model.