bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Balloon Entrapment: An Unusual Complication of Detachable Balloon Embolization of Traumatic Caroticocavernous Fistula
Authors: Kannath Santhosh , Rajan Jayadevan
Published: July 2017

Traumatic caroticocavernous fistula was attempted to embolize using detachable balloons. Though the fistula could be occluded, unexpected complication was observed during the detachment of the balloon, and the fistula was later tackled using coils and liquid embolic agent. Failure analysis revealed an interesting correlation between the anatomy of sac and the course of the balloon mounted microcatheter.
Renal Cell Carcinoma Embolization for the Treatment of Budd–Chiari Syndrome
Authors: Allison Stephen , Johnson Guy , Kogut Matthew , Monroe Eric
Published: July 2017

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the eighth most common malignancy, accounting for 3% of all newly diagnosed neoplasms. RCC venous invasion occurs in 4 to 10% of cases. We report a case of RCC with extensive vascular invasion and new-onset liver dysfunction. The etiology of the liver dysfunction was attributed to hepatic vein obstruction; herein we describe the first reported case of transcatheter embolization of RCC for Budd–Chiari syndrome.
Simultaneous Percutaneous Alcohol Ablation of Pulmonary and Hepatic Hydatid Cysts: “PAIR” in a Pair
Authors: Chauhan Udit , Puri Sunil , Jain Neeraj , Pargewar Sudheer , Goel Vandana
Published: July 2017

We present a 48-year-old lady with left chest pain and dyspnea of 6 months duration. Computed tomography scan revealed a left-sided cystic lesion in the lung parenchyma abutting the posterior pleura and chest wall along with a similar cystic lesion in the segment IV of the liver. A diagnosis of lung and liver hydatid cysts was made based on the imaging and positive serology. Percutaneous alcohol ablation of the lung and hepatic hydatid cysts was done using catheter drainage (PAIR-D: percutaneous aspiration, instillation of scolicidal agents, reaspiration of contents, and drainage) in the lung cyst and needle-PAIR in the liver lesion. The procedure was well tolerated without any intra- as well as postprocedure complication. The patient is well during 24 months follow-up without any recurrence or morbidity.
Temporary Biliary Stent Placement for Benign Stricture with Laparoscopic-Assisted Endoscopic Stent Retrieval in a Patient Status Post Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: A Multidisciplinary Approach to a Complex Condition
Authors: Anton Kevin , Khara Harshit , Bhanushali Ashok
Published: July 2017

Benign biliary strictures are multifactorial in etiology and can be difficult to treat, causing significant morbidity and mortality. In patients with prior upper gastrointestinal surgery, such as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, options for intervention are limited by the inability of an endoscope to reach the biliary ductal system due to altered anatomy. In patients with an inaccessible ductal system by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), percutaneous bile duct stent placement for benign strictures has traditionally been reserved for cases of failed cholangioplasty without additional surgical options. Our case details a novel multidisciplinary management approach for the treatment of a refractory biliary stricture in a patient with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass anatomy with remnant gastrectomy. Following interventional radiology-guided retrievable biliary stent placement and subsequent remodeling, laparoscopy-assisted ERCP with stent retrieval was performed through the combined efforts of minimally invasive surgery and gastroenterology.
Evolution of Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Lateral Femoral Condyle Combined with Discoid Meniscus
Authors: Bulgheroni Erica , Mattioli Lorenzo , Bulgheroni Paolo
Published: July 2017

The discoid meniscus is a rare anomaly of the knee that affects mostly the lateral meniscus and is often asymptomatic. The osteochondritis dissecans is a disorder of the subchondral bone and articular cartilage and occurs frequently associated with the discoid lateral meniscus. In the present case, we showed the evolution of this association related to surgical treatment. A patient with lateral knee pain and a magnetic resonance depicting a torn discoid lateral meniscus and osteochondritis dissecans of the lateral femoral condyle was treated with partial meniscectomy and meniscal sutures. After 1 year, the symptoms reappeared, and a new meniscal repair was performed to treat a bucket-handle tear, while cartilage was apparently intact. After 4 years, there was a new recurrence of symptoms, and the knee developed a valgus deformity. Cartilage was treated with microfractures, and a subsequent distal femoral osteotomy associated with lateral meniscal scaffold was performed. The patient was followed up clinically, with radiographs and magnetic resonance for 5 years with an improvement of the results up to 2 years and no signs of deterioration of results over time.
Two-Stage Treatment of a Large Pelvic Cystic Pseudotumor in a Metal-On-Metal Total Hip Arthroplasty
Authors: Cottino Umberto , Dettoni Federico , Risitano Salvatore , Marmotti Antonio , Rossi Roberto
Published: July 2017

The authors report a case of a huge cystic pseudotumor, surrounding a failed metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty (THA). The cyst surrounded the hip anteriorly, occupied part of the anterior portion of the thigh, and extended to the anterolateral aspect of the abdomen. The case was treated by a two-stage procedure. The first stage consisted of a percutaneous drainage of the fluid content of the cyst (∼1,200 mL). This procedure reduced the risk of tearing the cyst capsule spreading the liquid in the tissues surrounding the THA, and in the abdomen. Thanks to this simple procedure, the second stage treatment consisted of a relatively usual THA revision. The patient recovered completely from the treatment and returned to pain-free full activities of daily living.
Determinants and Evaluation of Nasal Airflow Perception
Authors: Hur Kevin , Zhao Kai , Leopold Donald , Wrobel Bozena , Shen Jasper
Published: July 2017

The sensation of nasal airflow, or nasal airway patency, is an important consideration in the treatment outcome of nasal airway obstruction. Clinicians striving to optimize the nasal passageway have relied on techniques aimed at decreasing peak airway resistance across nasal valves. Nonetheless, the evaluation of the nasal airway is multifaceted, and the objective determinants of subjective nasal patency remain incompletely elucidated. While rhinomanometry, peak nasal inspiratory airflow, and acoustic rhinometry have traditionally been used in research to focus on resistance as a measure of patency, an emerging body of evidence suggests that subjective nasal patency is more significantly correlated to the dynamic change of nasal mucosal temperature. The objective of this review is to provide the technical background on nasal airflow perception and intranasal trigeminal function as crucial to those performing functional and aesthetic rhinosurgery.
Objective Assessment of Nasal Patency
Authors: Giotakis Aristeidis , Tomazic Peter , Riechelmann Herbert , Vent Julia
Published: July 2017

The aim to objectify nasal airflow and patency is ongoing—many methods have been suggested, often lacking clinical relevance or showing weak correlations with patients' symptoms. It is crucial to thoroughly consult our patients presenting with nasal obstruction—and to inform them about realistic possible surgical outcomes. Often, a perfect-looking internal nose with a straight septum and normal-appearing turbinates does not guarantee a happy, symptom-free “owner.” A review of the literature and the current technical market is presented here to facilitate the rhinosurgeon's decision to perform pre- and postoperative objective measurements of nasal airflow. Recommendations by the societies have been included.
Full-dimensional multi-state simulation of the photodissociation of thioanisole
Authors: Li Shaohong L. , Truhlar Donald G.
Published: July 2017

The photodissociation of thioanisole is very interesting because the experiments of Lim and Kim provide evidence for mode-specific effects on the product distribution. They showed that, with a specific S–CH3 stretching mode being excited as the reagent is excited to the S1 electronic state, there is a sharp increase in the proportion of the ground-state product to the excited-state product. In the present work, we report 78 011 full-dimensional semiclassical multi-state trajectories of the photodissociation process using the coherent switching with decay of mixing dynamics method. The potential surfaces and couplings are based on electronic structure calculations that include dynamic correlation through second order perturbation theory. We report results for four sets of initial conditions, one corresponding roughly to 0–0 excitation and three corresponding to exciting one vibrational mode, to look for mode-specific effects. The simulations show no significant mode-specific effect on the product energy distributions, but they do show an effect on the distribution of minimum-energy gaps in the trajectories and on the lifetime for dissociation. In particular, excitation of the S–CH3 stretching mode leads to trajectories passing closer to the S1-S2 conical intersection and to shorter lifetimes. This provides a possible explanation of why experimental results are different for excitation of this vibration.
Structural and dynamic characteristics in monolayer square ice
Authors: Zhu YinBo , Wang FengChao , Wu HengAn
Published: July 2017

When water is constrained between two sheets of graphene, it becomes an intriguing monolayer solid with a square pattern due to the ultrahigh van der Waals pressure. However, the square ice phase has become a matter of debate due to the insufficient experimental interpretation and the slightly rhomboidal feature in simulated monolayer square-like structures. Here, we performed classical molecular dynamics simulations to reveal monolayer square ice in graphene nanocapillaries from the perspective of structure and dynamic characteristics. Monolayer square-like ice (instantaneous snapshot), assembled square-rhombic units with stacking faults, is a long-range ordered structure, in which the square and rhombic units are assembled in an order of alternative distribution, and the other rhombic unit forms stacking faults (polarized water chains). Spontaneous flipping of water molecules in monolayer square-like ice is intrinsic and induces transformations among different elementary units, resulting in the structural evolution of monolayer square ice in dynamics. The existence of stacking faults should be attributed to the spontaneous flipping behavior of water molecules under ambient temperature. Statistical averaging results (thermal average positions) demonstrate the inherent square characteristic of monolayer square ice. The simulated data and insight obtained here might be significant for understanding the topological structure and dynamic behavior of monolayer square ice.
Hydrogen bonding and vibrational energy relaxation of interfacial water: A full DFT molecular dynamics simulation
Authors: Jeon Jonggu , Hsieh Cho-Shuen , Nagata Yuki , Bonn Mischa , Cho Minhaeng
Published: July 2017

The air-water interface has been a subject of extensive theoretical and experimental studies due to its ubiquity in nature and its importance as a model system for aqueous hydrophobic interfaces. We report on the structure and vibrational energy transfer dynamics of this interfacial water system studied with equilibrium and non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations employing a density functional theory -based description of the system and the kinetic energy spectral density analysis. The interfacial water molecules are found to make fewer and weaker hydrogen (H)-bonds on average compared to those in the bulk. We also find that (i) the H-bonded OH groups conjugate to the free OH exhibit rather low vibrational frequencies (3000-3500 cm−1); (ii) the presence of a significant fraction (>10%) of free and randomly oriented water molecules at the interface (“labile water”), neither of whose OH groups are strong H-bond donors; (iii) the inertial rotation of free OH groups, especially from the labile water, contribute to the population decay of excited free OH groups with comparable rate and magnitude as intramolecular energy transfer between the OH groups. These results suggest that the labile water, which might not be easily detectable by the conventional vibrational sum frequency generation method, plays an important role in the surface water dynamics.
Hysteretic phenomena in GFET: Comprehensive theory and experiment
Authors: Kurchak Anatolii I. , Morozovska Anna N. , Strikha Maksym V.
Published: July 2017

We propose a comprehensive analytical theory for the description of versatile hysteretic phenomena in a graphene field effect transistor (GFET). Our theory account for the existence of the three most important rival factors, such as external dipoles on graphene free surface, localized states at the graphene-substrate interface, and the bound polarization charge coming from a ferroelectric substrate. In particular, we demonstrated that the absorbed dipole molecules (e.g., dissociated or highly polarized water molecules) can cause hysteretic form of carrier concentration as a function of gate voltage and corresponding dependence of graphene conductivity in GFET on the substrate of different types, including the most common SiO2 and ferroelectric ones. It was shown that the increase in the gate voltage sweeping rate leads to the complete vanishing of hysteresis for GFET on SiO2 substrate as well as for GFET on ferroelectric substrate for applied electric fields E less than the critical value Ec. For E > Ec, the cross-over from the anti-hysteresis to hysteresis take place. The carriers' trapping from the graphene channel by the interface states describes the “anti-hysteresis” in GFET on PZT substrate well enough. These results well correlate with the available experimental data up to the quantitative agreement. So, the obtained analytical results predict new and clarify existing effects in GFET. They describe quantitatively the physical principles of GFET operation and can become the first necessary step to transform the state-of-art from almost empirical to analytical level, because they can be directly applied to describe the basic characteristics of advanced non-volatile ultra-fast memory devices using GFET on versatile substrates.
Real-time visualization of the vibrational wavepacket dynamics in electronically excited pyrimidine via femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron imaging
Authors: Li Shuai , Long Jinyou , Ling Fengzi , Wang Yanmei , Song Xinli , Zhang Song , Zhang Bing
Published: July 2017

The vibrational wavepacket dynamics at the very early stages of the S1-T1 intersystem crossing in photoexcited pyrimidine is visualized in real time by femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron imaging and time-resolved mass spectroscopy. A coherent superposition of the vibrational states is prepared by the femtosecond pump pulse at 315.3 nm, resulting in a vibrational wavepacket. The composition of the prepared wavepacket is directly identified by a sustained quantum beat superimposed on the parent-ion transient, possessing a frequency in accord with the energy separation between the 6a1 and 6b2 states. The dephasing time of the vibrational wavepacket is determined to be 82 ps. More importantly, the variable Franck-Condon factors between the wavepacket components and the dispersed cation vibrational levels are experimentally illustrated to identify the dark state and follow the energy-flow dynamics on the femtosecond time scale. The time-dependent intensities of the photoelectron peaks originated from the 6a1 vibrational state exhibit a clear quantum beating pattern with similar periodicity but a phase shift of π rad with respect to those from the 6b2 state, offering an unambiguous picture of the restricted intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution dynamics in the 6a1/6b2 Fermi resonance.
Effects of external stress field on the charge stability of nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond
Authors: Yao Miao-Miao , Zhu Tian-Yuan , Shu Da-Jun
Published: July 2017

The interaction of the atom-like defects in semiconductors with external fields provides an avenue to quantum information processing and nanoscale sensors. Meanwhile, external fields may induce instability of the desired charge state of the defects. It is essential to understand how the charge state of a defect is affected by external fields that introduced in diverse applications. In this letter, we explore the stability of the negatively charged state (NV–) and the neutral state (NV0) of the nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond under stress by first-principles calculations. We find that the relative stability of NV– to NV0 is always reduced by the stress if the NV center is free to relax its orientation. Once the NV center has formed and retains its orientation, however, the relative stability of NV– can be always enhanced by compressive stress along its trigonal symmetry axis. We believe that the results are not only significant for control of the charge stability of NV center but also enlightening for applications based on specific charge states of other kinds of defects in the stress field.
Efficient energy resource scheduling for sustainable diversified farming
Authors: Afzal M. , Naeem M. , Iqbal M. , Sharif M. , Huang Qi
Published: July 2017

Diversified farming has an important role to play in the economic activity of any country. It provides raw materials to numerous industries along with meeting the food demands of the people. Continuous and cost effective supply of electricity is one of the main challenges in the diversified farming sector. Integration of renewable energy sources at the farm level and/or the village level coupled with the efficient management of these resources can alleviate the problem of continuous and cost effective supply of electricity to the diversified farming sector. In this research, efficient energy resource scheduling in diversified farming has been proposed to manage the energy resources efficiently. The proposed scheme can perform real time energy forecasting of renewable resources and controllable loads for making proper short term scheduling to minimize the total operating cost. A branch and bound algorithm is used for binary integer linear programming problems for optimization. This helps to minimize energy consumption from utilities. It maximizes the profit of farmers and minimizes the cost of energy. Efficient energy resource scheduling in diversified farming helps to achieve a trade-off between the operation cost, peak load, and farmer welfare.
Assessing the profitability of native pasture grazing systems: a stochastic whole-farm modelling approach
Authors: Amidy Martin R. , Behrendt Karl , Badgery Warwick B.
Published: July 2017

Grazing enterprises on the Central Tablelands of New South Wales employ a range of different strategies to manage temperate native grassland pastures common in the high rainfall zone of southern Australia. This paper uses a stochastic whole-farm simulation modelling approach to assess the impact of grazing system and stocking rate (SR) on the long-term profitability of a representative case-study enterprise. In particular, the impact of infrastructure costs, debt and downside risk, on whole-farm performance are examined over a 10-year planning horizon. In total, 12 different strategies were modelled under both price and climate risk, with a matrix of three paddock systems (1-paddock, 4-paddock and 20-paddock rotations) and four stocking rates (SR of 3, 4.2, 5.3 and 7 ewes/ha). Profitability was primarily driven by SR. In general, higher SR increased total farm output and annual profits under favourable conditions, although they were also associated with higher costs and greater downside risk in poor seasons, which in turn was magnified by the compounding effect of accumulating debt over time. When SR increased above 4.2 ewes/ha, it had a negative impact on lamb sale weights, resulting in lower prices due to lambs not meeting the ≥40-kg liveweight specification. Although this was offset by increased whole-farm production volumes at 5.3 ewes/ha, declines in profitability occurred at 7 ewes/ha as a result of significant increases in supplement feeding costs, and lambs not meeting sale weight specifications. The analytical scale of the analysis also had an impact on the relative profitability between alternative treatments. When assessed using a partial measure of economic analysis (gross margin per ha), there was little difference between paddock system treatments at the same SR. When the cost of additional fencing and water infrastructure were accounted for at the whole-farm analytical scale, the 20 paddock system was markedly less profitable than the 1- and 4-paddock rotations. This highlights the need for assessing production systems at an appropriate analytical and temporal scale to better understand the relationship between the key drivers of long-term profitability and risk. Overall there were relatively small differences in whole-farm performance between the four best performing strategies in this study. Given the trade-offs between profitability, downside risk, ground cover and feedbase sustainability, the lower risk 1- and 4-paddock systems with a SR of 4.2 ewes/ha are proposed as being optimal.
Public attitudes predict community behaviours relevant to the pork industry
Authors: Coleman G. J. , Rohlf V. , Toukhsati S. R. , Blache D.
Published: July 2017

Concerns about livestock animal welfare are well documented worldwide. Public attitudes are often studied as indicators of risk for the livestock industries, but are less often studied in relation to behaviours that may affect the livestock industries. The present paper examines the relationships between public attitudes, opinion leadership and self-reported pork consumption and community behaviours that may have a negative impact on livestock industries by promulgating views that farming engages in unacceptable practices. To the extent that these attitudes and behaviours are based on a lack of knowledge or a lack of understanding about the actual relationship between current practices and animal welfare and farm productivity, care needs to be exercised to determine what industry practice change should occur or what should be done to inform the public. The results showed that in regard to consumption, being male and holding positive attitudes towards eating meat and livestock welfare explained 11% of the variance in pork consumption. Notably, however, information seeking and trust in information, attitudes related to animal welfare and the livestock industries, and membership to an animal-welfare group, accounted for 44% of the variance in community behaviours that express dissatisfaction with the livestock industries. Opinion leaders, that is, people in the community who indicate that they are used by others as a source of information about livestock animal welfare, tended to eat less pork and engaged in many more community behaviours, such as calling talkback radio or writing to politicians. Together, these results suggest that more needs to be done to identify the population segment of opinion leaders and to engage them in dialogue about pork production.
Illegal trade of aquarium species through the Brazilian postal service in Ceará State
Authors: Gurjão Lívio M. , Barros Glaura M. L. , Lopes Daniele P. , Machado Daniel A. N. , Lotufo Tito M. C.
Published: July 2017

Brazil is one of the main suppliers of aquarium species globally, and Ceará state is a recognised trading centre for this activity. Despite Brazilian Postal Law forbidding the mailing of live or dead organisms, smugglers still use this service to transport aquarium species throughout the country. To assess this unlawful practice, the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA, Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis) and the Brazilian Post and Telegraph Co. (ECT, Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos) conducted 57 confiscations involving domestic transportation only. The main origin and principal destination of the confiscated packages was south-eastern Brazil, especially São Paulo state, where package inspections must be intensified. Considering all groups of seized species, freshwater fish were by far the most represented organisms due to intense translocation of Betta splendens. Some of the confiscated marine fish, echinoderms and cnidarians are included in the Brazilian List of Threatened Species; thus, their exploitation is restricted or forbidden. In addition, only 18 of the seized species were native to Brazil, and just 12 of them occur naturally in Ceará state, which both raises concerns about potential bioinvasions and demands more control by the Brazilian authorities of smuggled species. Although some illegal traders were repeatedly caught mailing organisms, confiscations do seem to mitigate the illicit transportation of species to some extent.
Classical genetics and breeding.
Authors: Batlle I. , Dicenta F. , Socias i Company R. , Gradziel T. M. , Wirthensohn M. , Duval H. , Vargas F. J.
Published: July 2017

This chapter describes almond germplasm and genetics, including ploidy, genome size, inheritance of qualitative characters and heritability of quantitative traits. The objectives, methodology, achievements and prospects of breeding programmes are discussed. Major breeding objectives include productivity, self-compatibility, late blooming time, kernel quality, tree architecture, and disease and pest resistance. There is a long-standing dilemma affecting tree crops, which partially affects almond breeding: despite extensive genetic improvement efforts, commercial production remains dominated by a few elite and usually old cultivars.
Molecular breeding and genomics.
Authors: Font i Forcada C. , Sánchez-Pérez R. , Eduardo I. , Wu ShuBiao Wu ShuBiao , Fernández i Martí Á.
Published: July 2017

This chapter describes several types of DNA markers, each of which has different advantages/disadvantages which make them more or less desirable to use in certain applications (highly discriminative and environmentally stable, inexpensive, repeatable across different tissues and co-dominant): restriction fragment length polymorphism, random amplified polymorphic DNA, amplified fragment length polymorphism, simple sequence repeat microsatellites, and single nucleotide polymorphism. Their application in almond breeding and the impact of advances in modern molecular biological techniques, such as high-throughput sequencing and microarray systems, are discussed.
Almond water requirements.
Authors: Doll D.
Published: July 2017

This chapter discusses the irrigation requirements of an almond orchard, and describes the impacts of drought stress on almond vegetative growth, in-season kernel and fruit bud development, as well as yield. The management of orchard irrigation in water-limited environments is also discussed. Additional factors and considerations of water management are presented, discussing the effects of crop load, negative effects of canopy reduction, increasing soil salinity from reduced water quantity or quality, cultivar influences on water requirements, micro-irrigation systems and timing of water applications, reduction of water losses through evaporation, removal of the cover crop, minimal impacts of anti-transpirants, reduction in nitrogen applications, and insect management.
Almond pests.
Authors: Zalom F. G. , Núñez E. , Baldwin R. A.
Published: July 2017

This chapter aims to provide an overview of current knowledge on major pests affecting almond which is intended to be applicable worldwide. The chapter includes two main groups of pests: arthropods and vertebrates. The information presented is based on published sources as well as the authors' experience. It is divided into two sections relating to differences between the two groups of pests. The first section addresses arthropod species, including insects and mites, while the second section addresses vertebrate pests. The damages they caused to the crop are described, as well as their management strategies.
Chemical composition of almond nuts.
Authors: Kodad O.
Published: July 2017

This chapter summarizes the current knowledge of the almond kernel chemical composition (lipids, fatty acids, vitamins, phytosterols, minerals, protein and amino acids, phenols, carbohydrates and fibres) and the factors affecting its variability, which include cultivar/genotype, environmental conditions of the growing region and irrigation strategies. The biochemical constituents of almond hulls and shells are also described.
World almond market.
Authors: Ryan N. T.
Published: July 2017

In order to make good almond marketing decisions, it is important to have a comprehensive understanding of the world almond market and how it works. This chapter looks at the history and growth of the almond market, its structure and behaviour, then some of the specific decisions a grower or processor makes within this context, and finally ways to minimize risk in an almond market known for volatile prices. Growing almonds comes with financial risk because of the variability of market prices from one crop year to the next, as well as within an individual crop year. This market price risk is counterbalanced by the many factors that have favoured the growth of the world market and the ability of California (USA) growers to not only remain competitive but to dominate the world market. Factors responsible for this world market growth and California's advantages are enumerated.
Resisting for other reasons
Authors: Silvermint Daniel
Published: July 2017

Does a victim have to intend to resist oppression in order to discharge her obligation to do so, or is it sufficient to resist oppression intentionally in the course of pursuing other plans and projects of importance to her? I argue that resisting intentionally can be sufficient: given the ways that oppression interferes with the lives of victims, trying to counteract that interference by living the life you want is genuine resistance. Requiring that victims have justice-oriented or agency-preserving reasons before their actions count as resistance will distort or miss a wide range of everyday responses to oppressive burdens.
Patterning of nanopillars-based CdS/CdTe thin films for photonic applications
Authors: Ilango Murugaiya Sridar , Ramasesha Sheela K.
Published: July 2017

In this study we propose a new design to place the contacts for both p-type and n-type semiconductors at the bottom of solar cell to increase photons entering the absorber layer. The fabricated device contains periodic nanopillars of ∼243 nm radius and centre to centre pillar distance of ∼550 nm. In addition to the fabrication, thin films of n-CdS and p-CdTe have been characterised for their material properties at different annealing temperatures in this study. The X-ray diffraction pattern for CdTe and CdS revealed that the growth is preferentially along the (111) plane with a cubic zinc blend and cubic structure, respectively. Optimum absorption of the solar spectrum for a single junction solar cell occurs with the optical band gap of 2.36 eV for CdS and 1.45 eV for CdTe. The significance of the work creates a new beginning for the fabrication of textured thin film photovoltaic cell.
Selective attention in pigeon temporal discrimination
Authors: Subramaniam Shrinidhi , Kyonka Elizabeth G E
Published: July 2017

Cues can vary in how informative they are about when specific outcomes, such as food availability, will occur. This study was an experimental investigation of the functional relation between cue informativeness and temporal discrimination in a peak-interval (PI) procedure. Each session consisted of fixed-interval (FI) 2- and 4-s schedules of food and occasional, 12-s PI trials during which pecks had no programmed consequences. Across conditions, the phi (ϕ) correlation between key light color and FI schedule value was manipulated. Red and green key lights signaled the onset of either or both FI schedules. Different colors were either predictive (ϕ = 1), moderately predictive (ϕ = 0.2-0.8) or not predictive (ϕ = 0) of a specific FI schedule. This study tested the hypothesis that temporal discrimination is a function of the momentary conditional probability of food; that is, pigeons peck the most at either 2 s or 4 s when ϕ = 1 and peck at both intervals when ϕ < 1. Response distributions were bimodal Gaussian curves; distributions from red- and green-key PI trials converged when ϕ ≤ 0.6. Peak times estimated by summed Gaussian functions, averaged across conditions and pigeons, were 1.85 and 3.87 s; however, pigeons did not always maximize the momentary probability of food. When key light color was highly correlated with FI schedules (ϕ ≥ 0.6), estimates of peak times indicated that temporal discrimination accuracy was reduced at the unlikely interval, but not the likely interval. The mechanism of this reduced temporal discrimination accuracy could be interpreted as an attentional process.
C. G. Jung on plagiarism in Pierre Benoît’s L’Atlantide
Authors: Fike Matthew A.
Published: July 2017

Jung explained the possible plagiaristic relationship between Henry Rider Haggard’sSheand Pierre Benoît’sL’Atlantideas either cryptomnesia or archetypal inspiration, but he was misinformed about the case and unfamiliar with Benoît’s life. This essay critiques Jung’s statements about Benoît and then considers the case for plagiarism that was published inThe French Quarterlyin 1919–1920. Neither the typical reply – thatL’Atlantidereflects the author’s African experience and historical knowledge – nor the reading of the novel that arose from Jung’s 1925 seminar adequately refutes the plagiarism charge. A depth-psychological reading ofL’Atlantideshows the danger of seeking the anima archetype itself rather than experiencing the anima in a relationship with an available woman. But even if literary analogies, including the Circe myth, suggest that Haggard and Benoît may have tapped into the same archetypal vein, the novels’ similarities and verbal echoes cannot be dismissed outright.
Key comparison BIPM.RI(I)-K3 of the air-kerma standards of the NIST, USA and the BIPM in medium-energy x-rays
Authors: Burns D T , Kessler C , O'Brien M , Minniti R
Published: July 2017

A key comparison has been made between the air-kerma standards of the NIST, USA and the BIPM in the medium-energy x-ray range. The results show the standards to be in agreement at the level of the standard uncertainty of the comparison of 3.8 parts in 103, except at 250 kV where the difference is 1.5 times the standard uncertainty. The results are analysed and presented in terms of degrees of equivalence, suitable for entry in the BIPM key comparison database.

Main text

To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/.

The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCRI, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).
International comparison CCQM-K111.1—propane in nitrogen
Authors: van der Veen Adriaan M H , van der Hout J Wouter , Ziel Paul R , Jozela Mudalo , Tshilongo James , Ntsasa Napo G , Botha Angelique
Published: July 2017

This key comparison aims to assess the core capabilities of the participants in gas analysis. Such competences include, among others, the capability of preparing Primary Standard gas Mixtures (PSMs), performing the necessary purity analysis on the materials used in the gas mixture preparation, the verification of the composition of newly prepared PSMs against existing ones, and the capability of calibrating the composition of a gas mixture. According to the Strategy for Key Comparisons of the Gas Analysis Working Group, this subsequent key comparison is classified as a track B key comparison, which means that the results of this key comparison can be used to underpin calibration and measurement capabilities for propane under the default scheme.

The artefact was a binary mixture of propane in nitrogen at a nominal amount-of-substance fraction level of 1000 μmol/mol. The values and uncertainties from the gravimetric gas mixture preparation were used as key comparison reference values (KCRVs). Each transfer standard had its own KCRV. The result of the participating laboratory is consistent with the key comparison reference value within the respective expanded uncertainties and deviates less than 0.1 %.

Main text

To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/.

The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCQM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).
FAF-Drugs4: free ADME-tox filtering computations for chemical biology and early stages drug discovery
Authors: Lagorce David , Bouslama Lina , Becot Jerome , Miteva Maria A , Villoutreix Bruno O
Published: July 2017

Motivation

Identification of small molecules that could be interesting starting points for drug discovery or to investigate a biological system as in chemical biology endeavours is both time consuming and costly. In silico approaches that assist the design of quality compound collections or help to prioritize molecules before synthesis or purchase are therefore valuable. Here quality refers to the selection of molecules that pass one or several selected filters that can be tuned by the users according to the project and the stage of the project. These filters can involve prediction of physicochemical properties, search for toxicophores or other unwanted chemical groups.

Results

FAF-Drugs4 is a novel version of our online server dedicated to the preparation and annotation of compound collections. The tool is now faster and several parameters have been optimized. In addition, a new service referred to as FAF-QED, an implementation of the quantitative estimate of drug-likeness method, is now available.

Availability and implementation

The server is available at http://fafdrugs4.mti.univ-paris-diderot.fr.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
First detection of HC515N in the interstellar medium
Authors: Taniguchi Kotomi , Saito Masao
Published: July 2017

We report the first detection of HC515N with the J = 9–8 rotational line from the cyanopolyyne peak in Taurus Molecular Cloud-1 (TMC-1 CP) using the 45 m radio telescope of the Nobeyama Radio Observatory. The column density of HC515N is derived to be (1.9 ± 0.5) × 1011 cm−2 (1σ). We apply the double-isotope method to derive the 14N/15N ratios of HC5N and HC3N in TMC-1 CP. The 14N/15N ratios are calculated to be 344 ± 53 and 257 ± 54 for HC5N and HC3N, respectively. The 14N/15N ratio of HC5N is lower than the elemental ratio in the local interstellar medium (∼440) and slightly higher than that of HC3N in TMC-1 CP. Since HC3N is formed via the neutral–neutral reaction between C2H2 and CN, the slightly higher 14N/15N ratio of HC5N may support our previous suggestions that the main formation mechanism of HC5N is the ion–molecule reactions between hydrocarbon ions (C5H$_{n}^{+}$) and nitrogen atoms.
Electronic Cigarette Use Among Counseled Tobacco Users Hospitalized in 2015
Authors: De Genna Natacha M. , Ylioja Thomas , Schulze Anna E. , Manta Christine , Douaihy Antoine B. , Davis Esa M.
Published: July 2017

Objectives:

Few studies have examined the prevalence of electronic cigarette use among the inpatient population regardless of the patients’ cessation goals. The objectives of this study were to examine the prevalence of electronic cigarette use among counseled tobacco users admitted to 2 academic hospitals.

Methods:

Cross-sectional data of hospitalized adult tobacco users who were admitted between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015 and who received bedside tobacco cessation counseling from a tobacco treatment service counselor were examined. Demographic and smoking history items were compared as a function of electronic cigarette use using chi-square and independent t tests. Logistic regression was used to test independent associations with electronic cigarette use.

Results:

Of 2194 hospitalized tobacco users counseled, 22% had used an electronic cigarette. Most of these patients used electronic cigarettes to quit or reduce use of combustible cigarettes. Adjusted odds of electronic cigarette use were higher for females (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.60 for male patients, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.47–0.76), younger patients (AOR 0.98 for older patients, 95% CI 0.97–0.99), and individuals who initiated tobacco use earlier in life (AOR 0.97 for later smoking initiation, 95% CI 0.95–0.99).

Conclusions:

Screening hospitalized cigarette smokers for electronic cigarette use offers an opportunity to counsel all patients on evidence-based quit aids. Young, female patients are most likely to use electronic cigarettes and may benefit most from directed discussions about electronic cigarette use and Federal Drug Administration-approved cessation methods during smoking cessation counseling.
Auditory and Audiovisual Close Shadowing in Post-Lingually Deaf Cochlear-Implanted Patients and Normal-Hearing Elderly Adults
Authors: Scarbel Lucie , Beautemps Denis , Schwartz Jean-Luc , Sato Marc
Published: July 2017

Objectives:

The goal of this study was to determine the effect of auditory deprivation and age-related speech decline on perceptuo–motor abilities during speech processing in post-lingually deaf cochlear-implanted participants and in normal-hearing elderly (NHE) participants.

Design:

A close-shadowing experiment was carried out on 10 cochlear-implanted patients and on 10 NHE participants, with two groups of normal-hearing young participants as controls. To this end, participants had to categorize auditory and audiovisual syllables as quickly as possible, either manually or orally. Reaction times and percentages of correct responses were compared depending on response modes, stimulus modalities, and syllables.

Results:

Responses of cochlear-implanted subjects were globally slower and less accurate than those of both young and elderly normal-hearing people. Adding the visual modality was found to enhance performance for cochlear-implanted patients, whereas no significant effect was obtained for the NHE group. Critically, oral responses were faster than manual ones for all groups. In addition, for NHE participants, manual responses were more accurate than oral responses, as was the case for normal-hearing young participants when presented with noisy speech stimuli.

Conclusions:

Faster reaction times were observed for oral than for manual responses in all groups, suggesting that perceptuo–motor relationships were somewhat successfully functional after cochlear implantation and remain efficient in the NHE group. These results are in agreement with recent perceptuo–motor theories of speech perception. They are also supported by the theoretical assumption that implicit motor knowledge and motor representations partly constrain auditory speech processing. In this framework, oral responses would have been generated at an earlier stage of a sensorimotor loop, whereas manual responses would appear late, leading to slower but more accurate responses. The difference between oral and manual responses suggests that the perceptuo–motor loop is still effective for NHE subjects and also for cochlear-implanted participants, despite degraded global performance.
Poor Agreement Between Imaging and Histologic and Colonoscopy Findings in Pediatric Patients
Authors: Chapa‐Rodriguez Adrian , Bhatia Tavleen , Buckley Andrew , Baker Susan S. , Baker Robert D. , Alkhouri Razan H.
Published: July 2017

Background:

Computed tomography scans (CTs), more recently magnetic resonance imaging, are often used to assess the gastrointestinal tract in patients complaining of abdominal pain. We aim to determine the strength of agreement among abdominal imaging, endoscopic, and histologic findings.

Methods:

Retrospective chart review of pediatric patients who underwent colonoscopy between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2014, at Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo. Patients who had abdominal and pelvic CTs or magnetic resonance imaging within 30 days before or after a colonoscopy were included.

Results:

One hundred two patients were included: mean age 12.7 ± 3.8 years, 66% girls. A total of 109 imaging studies were performed. Overall 61% of imaging studies were abnormal. The most frequent intestinal radiological findings were colonic wall thickening (CWT) (55%) and colonic wall enhancement (CWH) (24%). Free fluid (20%) and fat stranding (18%) were the most common extra‐intestinal findings. Imaging studies agreed with histology in 81% and with colonoscopy in 75% with a moderate strength of agreement (k: 0.59 and 0.466, respectively). CWT agreed with histology in 74% with a moderate strength of agreement (k: 0.47). History of weight loss (OR 5.35, P = 0.041), chronic diarrhea (OR 4.22, P = 0.014), a positive lactoferrin (OR 7.00, P = 0.011), and presence of CWT on imaging study (OR 5.20, P = 0.001) were predictive of having abnormal histology.

Conclusions:

The strength of agreement among imaging, endoscopic, and histologic findings was suboptimal. Colonoscopy and imaging are both likely to be necessary in patients with suspected inflammatory bowel disease. Although colonoscopy may be superior in diagnosis of colitis, imaging may provide more information regarding small bowel disease.
Cystic Fibrosis–related Liver Disease
Authors: Debray Dominique , Narkewicz Michael R. , Bodewes Frank A.J.A. , Colombo Carla , Housset Chantal , de Jonge Hugo R. , Jonker Johan W. , Kelly Deirdre A. , Ling Simon C. , Poynard Thierry , Sogni Philippe , Trauner Michael , Witters Peter , Baumann Ulrich , Wilschanski Michael , Verkade Henkjan J.
Published: July 2017

Objectives:

Hepatobiliary complications are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Knowledge of the underlying pathological aspects and optimal clinical management is, however, sorely lacking.

Methods:

We provide a summary of the lectures given by international speakers at the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) monothematic conference on cystic fibrosis–related liver disease (CFLD) held in Paris in January 2016, to discuss the status of our current knowledge of liver disease in CF patients, to define the critical areas that need to be addressed, and to resolve actions to elucidate relevant mechanisms of disease to optimise future therapeutic options.

Conclusions:

The need for a universal consensus on the definition of CFLD to clarify disease stage and to identify relevant biomarkers to assess disease severity was highlighted. A deeper understanding of the pathophysiology and prognostic factors for the long‐term evolution of CFLD is fundamental to move forward and has a strong bearing on identifying potential treatments. Novel experimental models and new treatment options under investigation are discussed and offer hope for the near future of CFLD.