bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Implementing AORN Recommended Practices for Care of Patients Undergoing Pneumatic Tourniquet‐Assisted Procedures
Authors: Hicks Rodney W. , Denholm Bonnie
Published: September 2013

Perioperative nurses are likely to encounter the use of pneumatic tourniquets in a variety of operative and invasive extremity procedures. Use of a pneumatic tourniquet offers an opportunity to obtain a near‐bloodless surgical field; however, the use of tourniquets is not without risk. Unfavorable outcomes include pain, thrombotic events, nerve compression injuries, and disruption of skin integrity. Perioperative nurses should be familiar with the indications, contraindications, and changes in physiology associated with pneumatic tourniquet use. The revised AORN “Recommended practices for care of patients undergoing pneumatic tourniquet‐assisted procedures” is focused on the perioperative nurse's role in patient care and provides guidance for developing, implementing, and evaluating practices that promote patient safety and improve the likelihood of positive outcomes.
La capacitación de ventas basada en inventarios críticos como determinante del apalancamiento operativo en farmacia comunitaria
Authors: Alonso Rojas Fernando , Paniagua Andrea Tatiana
Published: September 2013

En el presente documento se cuantifican los efectos de la capacitación de ventas basada en inventariossobre el apalancamiento operativo de una organización de retail farmacéutico. Se seleccionaron productosy temas de capacitación basándose en inventarios críticos de clasificación ABC, ordenados por márgenesde contribución. Los efectos de la capacitación fueron medidos por la optimización de la magnitud delgrado de apalancamiento operativo, y por la correlación lineal de los componentes de resultados y ven-tas que conforman el parámetro. El caso evidencia que la capacitación de ventas en productos críticoscontribuye a optimizar el apalancamiento operativo de un retail de farmacia comunitaria en magnitud yvolatilidad de sus constituyentes, lo que puede ser extrapolable a otros sectores del comercio.
Ankyrin repeat and BTB/POZ domain containing protein‐2 inhibits the aggregation of alpha‐synuclein: Implications for Parkinson's disease
Authors: Roy Avik , Pahan Kalipada
Published: September 2013

Aggregation of α‐synuclein is a pathological hallmark of sporadic or familial PD. However, the detailed molecular mechanism responsible for the aggregation of α‐synuclein has not been properly explored. In the present study, we have identified a novel role of an anti‐tumorigenic BTB/POZ domain containing protein‐2 (BPOZ‐2) in the regulation of α‐synuclein accumulation in dopaminergic (DA) neurons. MPP+, an etiological factor for PD, significantly downregulated the expression of BPOZ‐2 ahead of α‐synuclein upregulation. Moreover, siRNA knockdown of BPOZ‐2 alone stimulated the aggregation of α‐synuclein protein; the effect was further induced in presence of MPP+ in mouse primary DA neurons. Finally, the absence of BPOZ‐2 in α‐synuclein expressing neuronal populations of MPTP‐intoxicated mouse and primate nigra indicates that the suppression of BPOZ‐2 could be involved in the accumulation of α‐synuclein protein.
Clinical evaluation of peripartum outcomes of mediolateral versus lateral episiotomy
Authors: Karbanova Jaroslava , Rusavy Zdenek , Betincova Lucie , Jansova Magdalena , Parizek Antonin , Kalis Vladimir
Published: September 2013

Objective

To evaluate the incidence and extent of vaginal and perineal trauma among primiparous women after mediolateral and lateral episiotomy.

Methods

In a prospective randomized study at University Hospital Pilsen, Czech Republic, 790 consecutive primiparous women were enrolled between April 2010 and April 2012. Mediolateral episiotomy (MLE) followed an angle of at least 60° from the midline. Lateral episiotomy (LE) started 1–2 cm laterally from the midline and was directed toward the ischial tuberosity. A rectal examination was performed before episiotomy repair.

Results

MLE was performed for 390 women, and LE for 400. The groups did not differ in maternal or neonatal characteristics. No difference was found in incidence or extent of vaginal and perineal trauma; or in additional perineal (1.8% vs 1.5%, P = 0.6) or vaginal (8.5% vs 10.6%, P = 0.2) trauma continuing along the episiotomy incision. The incidence of anal sphincter injury did not differ between MLE and LE (1.5% vs 1.3%, P = 0.7). MLE was associated with shorter repair times (P < 0.05), less suturing material (P < 0.05), and shorter distances from the anus (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Risk of additional vaginal and perineal trauma, and anal sphincter injury after adequately performed mediolateral episiotomy is relatively low and corresponds to that of lateral episiotomy.
Perceptions matter: how fishermen's perceptions affect trends of sustainability in Indian fisheries
Authors: Karnad Divya , Gangal Mayuresh , Karanth Krithi K.
Published: September 2013

Indian marine fisheries have expanded four-fold in the last 50 years in the form of open-access commons. Although studies predict that fish stocks are on the decline there is little evidence that these declines are being countered by changes in either fishing regulations or fishing practices. Fishermen rarely comply with regulations, instead operationalizing and directing the fishery on their own. In these circumstances understanding how fishermen perceive and use resources has significant management and policy implications. Our study examined fishermen's perceptions about the state of fish stocks and documents current fishing practice and management strategies in India. We surveyed 342 fishermen in two states, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. We found that 86% of fishermen perceived a decline in catch and 69% perceived a decline in bycatch. Fishermen adapt to these declines by increasing fishing area and time spent, changing their gear, and overlapping in fishing zones. The convoluted interactions between ineffective community and state regulations guiding their actions has prevented fishermen from developing successful models of sustainable fisheries management. We identified non-compliance with regulations and government incentives as an important livelihood opportunity. Non-compliance drives change in fishing practice by giving fishermen the flexibility to respond to perceived fish catch dynamics by modifying their practices. We recommend strengthening local fishing communities by enabling them to enforce fishing regulations locally and by scaling back of existing government incentives, to protect the sustainability of these fisheries.
Almgren-type monotonicity methods for the classification of behaviour at corners of solutions to semilinear elliptic equations
Authors: Felli Veronica , Ferrero Alberto
Published: September 2013

A monotonicity approach to the study of the asymptotic behaviour near corners of solutions to semilinear elliptic equations in domains with a conical boundary point is discussed. The presence of logarithms in the first term of the asymptotic expansion is excluded for boundary profiles sufficiently close to straight conical surfaces.
An existence result for the mean-field equation on compact surfaces in a doubly supercritical regime
Authors: Jevnikar Aleks
Published: September 2013

We consider a class of variational equations with exponential nonlinearities on a compact Riemannian surface, describing the mean-field equation of the equilibrium turbulence with arbitrarily signed vortices. For the first time, we consider the problem with both supercritical parameters and we give an existence result by using variational methods. In doing so, we present a new Moser–Trudinger-type inequality under suitable conditions on the centre of mass and the scale of concentration of both eu and e−u, where u is the unknown function in the equation.
Characterization of hepatitis C infection in tuberculosis patients in an urban city in the USA
Authors: CAMPO M. , SHRESTHA A. , OREN E. , THIEDE H. , DUCHIN J. , NARITA M. , CROTHERS K.
Published: September 2013

The impact of hepatitis C virus infection (HCI), the most common bloodborne virus infection in the USA, on outcome of active tuberculosis (TB) treatment is largely unknown. We aimed to describe characteristics of TB patients with hepatitis C virus infection (TB-HCI) in King County, Washington, including TB treatment duration and outcome. We reviewed 1510 records of patients treated for active TB at the Public Health – Seattle & King County Tuberculosis Control Program between 2000 and 2010, and identified 53 with HCI. Advanced age, being born in the USA, HIV infection, homelessness and injection drug use were independently associated with HCI in TB cases. Independent factors associated with increased treatment duration included HIV infection, excess alcohol use, extrapulmonary TB, and any drug-resistant TB disease. Our findings suggest that TB-HCI patients can be successfully treated for active TB without extending treatment duration.
Temporal and farm-management-associated variation in faecal-pat prevalence ofCampylobacter fetusin sheep and cattle
Authors: DUNCAN J. S. , LEATHERBARROW A. J. H. , FRENCH N. P. , GROVE-WHITE D. H.
Published: September 2013

The faecal-pat prevalence (as estimated by culture) ofCampylobacter fetusfrom cattle and sheep on 19 farms in rural Lancashire was investigated using standardCampylobacterculture techniques and PCR during a 2-year longitudinal study.C. fetuswas isolated from 9·48% [95% confidence interval (CI) 8·48–10·48] of cattle faecal pats and 7·29% (95% CI 6·21–9·62) of sheep faecal pats. There was evidence of significant differences in shedding prevalence between geographical regions; cows in geographical zone 3 had an increased risk of sheddingC. fetuscompared to cows in geographical zones 1 and 2 (OR 6·64, 95% CI 1·67–26·5,P = 0·007), as did cows at pasture (OR 1·66, 95% CI 1·01–2·73,P = 0·046) compared to when housed. Multiple logistic regression modelling demonstrated underlying seasonal periodicity in both species.
Challenges facing human rabies control: the Lebanese experience
Authors: BIZRI A. , ALAWIEH A. , GHOSN N. , BERRY A. , MUSHARRAFIEH U.
Published: September 2013

Rabies is one of the most important zoonotic infections worldwide. The burden of the disease continues to be significant in countries in the Middle East where the most important vector is stray dogs. Control efforts are hindered by lack of awareness and incomplete post-exposure prophylaxis. The aim of this article is to re-assess the situation of rabies in Lebanon and compare it to other Middle Eastern countries. Eight cases of rabies and 5280 incidents of animal bites to humans were reported to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health between 2001 and 2012. Dogs were the only vector of infection and were responsible for most reported animal bites to humans. An average of 3·2 doses of vaccine per bite was administered as post-exposure prophylaxis. The status of human and canine rabies control, the risks associated with children's behaviour and the hazards of secondary wild reservoirs are discussed. Our data illustrates the importance of prevention through vector control, public awareness and education, and timely administration of active and passive immunization, as well as the significance of regional cooperation and monitoring the circulation of viral variants in wild animals.
Learning words in a new language: Orthography doesn't always help
Authors: ESCUDERO PAOLA , SIMON ELLEN , MULAK KAREN E.
Published: September 2013

Previous studies have shown that orthography is activated during speech processing and that it may have positive and negative effects for non-native listeners. The present study examines whether the effect of orthography on non-native word learning depends on the relationship between the grapheme–phoneme correspondences across the native and non-native orthographic systems. Specifically, congruence between grapheme–phoneme correspondences across the listeners’ languages is predicted to aid word recognition, while incongruence is predicted to hinder it. Native Spanish listeners who were Dutch learners or naïve listeners (with no exposure to Dutch) were taught Dutch pseudowords and their visual referents. They were trained with only auditory forms or with auditory and orthographic forms. During testing, non-native listeners were less accurate when the target and distractor pseudowords formed a minimal pair (differing in only one vowel) than when they formed a non-minimal pair, and performed better on perceptually easy than on perceptually difficult minimal pairs. For perceptually difficult minimal pairs, Dutch learners performed better than naïve listeners and Dutch proficiency predicted learners’ word recognition accuracy. Most importantly and as predicted, exposure to orthographic forms during training aided performance on minimal pairs with congruent orthography, while it hindered performance on minimal pairs with incongruent orthography.
Delimited continuations for prolog
Authors: SCHRIJVERS TOM , DEMOEN BART , DESOUTER BENOIT , WIELEMAKER JAN
Published: September 2013

Delimited continuations are a famous control primitive that originates in the functional programming world. It allows the programmer to suspend and capture the remaining part of a computation in order to resume it later. We put a new Prolog-compatible face on this primitive and specify its semantics by means of a meta-interpreter. Moreover, we establish the power of delimited continuations in Prolog with several example definitions of high-level language features. Finally, we show how to easily and effectively add delimited continuations support to the WAM.
ASP with non-herbrand partial functions: a language and system for practical use
Authors: BALDUCCINI MARCELLO
Published: September 2013

Dealing with domains involving substantial quantitative information in Answer Set Programming (ASP) often results in cumbersome and inefficient encodings. Hybrid “CASP” languages combining ASP and Constraint Programming aim to overcome this limitation, but also impose inconvenient constraints – first and foremost that quantitative information must be encoded by means of total functions. This goes against central knowledge representation principles that contribute to the power of ASP, and makes the formalization of certain domains difficult. ASP{f} is being developed with the ultimate goal of providing scientists and practitioners with an alternative to CASP languages that allows for the efficient representation of qualitative and quantitative information in ASP without restricting one's ability to deal with incompleteness or uncertainty. In this paper we present the latest outcome of such research: versions of the language and of the supporting system that allow for practical, industrial-size use and scalability. The applicability of ASP{f} is demonstrated by a case study on an actual industrial application.
Disjunctive logic programs with existential quantification in rule heads
Authors: YOU JIA-HUAI , ZHANG HENG , ZHANG YAN
Published: September 2013

We consider disjunctive logic programs without function symbols but with existential quantification in rule heads, under the semantics of general stable models. There are at least two interesting prospects in these programs. The first is that a program can be made more succinct by using existential variables, and the second is on the potential in representing defeasible ontological knowledge by these logic programs. This paper studies some of the properties of these programs. First, we show a simple yet intuitive definition of stable models for these programs that does not resort to second-order logic. Second, the stable models of these programs can be characterized by an extension of progression for disjunctive programs, which provides a native characterization of justification for stable models. We then study the decidability issue. While the stable model existence problem for safe disjunctive programs is decidable, with existential quantification allowed in rule heads the problem becomes undecidable. We identify an interesting decidable fragment by exploring a new notion of stratification over existential quantification.
A declarative extension of horn clauses, and its significance for datalog and its applications
Authors: MAZURAN MIRJANA , SERRA EDOARDO , ZANIOLO CARLO
Published: September 2013

FS-rules provide a powerful monotonic extension for Horn clauses that supports monotonic aggregates in recursion by reasoning on the multiplicity of occurrences satisfying existential goals. The least fixpoint semantics, and its equivalent least model semantics, hold for logic programs with FS-rules; moreover, generalized notions of stratification and stable models are easily derived when negated goals are allowed. Finally, the generalization of techniques such as seminaive fixpoint and magic sets, make possible the efficient implementation of DatalogFS, i.e., Datalog with rules with Frequency Support (FS-rules) and stratified negation. A large number of applications that could not be supported efficiently, or could not be expressed at all in stratified Datalog can now be easily expressed and efficiently supported in DatalogFS and a powerful DatalogFS system is now being developed at UCLA.
Business process verification with constraint temporal answer set programming
Authors: GIORDANO LAURA , MARTELLI ALBERTO , SPIOTTA MATTEO , DUPRÉ DANIELE THESEIDER
Published: September 2013

The paper provides a framework for the verification of business processes, based on an extension of answer set programming (ASP) with temporal logic and constraints. The framework allows to capture expressive fluent annotations as well as data awareness in a uniform way. It allows for a declarative specification of a business process but also for encoding processes specified in conventional workflow languages. Verification of temporal properties of a business process, including verification of compliance to business rules, is performed by bounded model checking techniques in Answer Set Programming, extended with constraint solving for dealing with conditions on numeric data.
SeaLion: An eclipse-based IDE for answer-set programming with advanced debugging support
Authors: BUSONIU PAULA-ANDRA , OETSCH JOHANNES , PÜHRER JÖRG , SKOČOVSKÝ PETER , TOMPITS HANS
Published: September 2013

In this paper, we present SeaLion, an integrated development environment (IDE) for answer-set programming (ASP). SeaLion provides source-code editors for the languages of Gringo and DLV and offers popular amenities like syntax highlighting, syntax checking, code completion, visual program outline, and refactoring functionality. The tool has been realised in the context of a research project whose goal is the development of techniques to support the practical coding process of answer-set programs. In this respect, SeaLion is the first IDE for ASP that provides debugging features that work for real-world answer-set programs and supports the rich languages of modern answer-set solvers. Indeed, SeaLion implements a stepping-based debugging approach that allows the developer to quickly track down programming errors by simply following his or her intuitions on the intended semantics. Besides that, SeaLion supports ASP development using model-driven engineering techniques including domain modelling with extended UML class diagrams and visualisation of answer sets in corresponding instance diagrams. Moreover, customised visualisation as well as visual editing of answer sets is realised by the Kara plugin of SeaLion. Further implemented features are a documentation generator based on the Lana annotation language, support for external solvers, and interoperability with external tools. SeaLion comes as a plugin of the popular Eclipse platform and provides interfaces for future extensions of the IDE.
A practical analysis of non-termination in large logic programs
Authors: LIANG SENLIN , KIFER MICHAEL
Published: September 2013

A large body of work has been dedicated to termination analysis of logic programs but relatively little has been done to analyze non-termination. In our opinion, explaining non-termination is a much more important task because it can dramatically improve a user's ability to effectively debug large, complex logic programs without having to abide by punishing syntactic restrictions. Non-termination analysis examines program execution history when the program is suspected to not terminate and informs the programmer about the exact reasons for this behavior. In Liang and Kifer (2013), we studied the problem of non-termination in tabled logic engines with subgoal abstraction, such as XSB, and proposed a suite of algorithms for non-termination analysis, called Terminyzer. These algorithms analyze forest logging traces and output sequences of tabled subgoal calls that are the likely causes of non-terminating cycles. However, this feedback was hard to use in practice: the same subgoal could occur in multiple rule heads and in even more places in rule bodies, so Terminyzer left too much tedious, sometimes combinatorially large amount of work for the user to do manually.

Here we propose a new suite of algorithms, Terminyzer+, which closes this usability gap. Terminyzer+ can detect not only sequences of subgoals that cause non-termination, but, importantly, the exact rules where they occur and the rule sequences that get fired in a cyclic manner, thus causing non-termination. This makes Terminyzer+ suitable as a back-end for user-friendly graphical interfaces on top of Terminyzer+, which can greatly simplify the debugging process. Terminyzer+ back-ends exist for the SILK system as well as for the open-source ${\cal F}$lora-2 system. A graphical interface has been developed for SILK and is currently underway for ${\cal F}$lora-2. We also report experimental studies, which confirm the effectiveness of Terminyzer+ on a host of large real-world knowledge bases. All tests used in this paper are available online.1

In addition, we make a step towards automatic remediation of non-terminating programs by proposing an algorithm that heuristically fixes some causes of misbehavior. Furthermore, unlike Terminyzer, Terminyzer+ does not require the underlying logic engine to support subgoal abstraction, although it can make use of it.
Finding optimal plans for multiple teams of robots through a mediator: A logic-based approach
Authors: ERDEM ESRA , PATOGLU VOLKAN , SARIBATUR ZEYNEP G. , SCHÜLLER PETER , URAS TANSEL
Published: September 2013

We study the problem of finding optimal plans for multiple teams of robots through a mediator, where each team is given a task to complete in its workspace on its own and where teams are allowed to transfer robots between each other, subject to the following constraints: 1) teams (and the mediator) do not know about each other's workspace or tasks (e.g., for privacy purposes); 2) every team can lend or borrow robots, but not both (e.g., transportation/calibration of robots between/for different workspaces is usually costly). We present a mathematical definition of this problem and analyze its computational complexity. We introduce a novel, logic-based method to solve this problem, utilizing action languages and answer set programming for representation, and the state-of-the-art ASP solvers for reasoning. We show the applicability and usefulness of our approach by experiments on various scenarios of responsive and energy-efficient cognitive factories.
Stigma, Shame and the Experience of Poverty in Japan and the United Kingdom
Authors: Sutton Eileen , Pemberton Simon , Fahmy Eldin , Tamiya Yuko
Published: September 2013

Whilst stigma and shame are central features of the experience of poverty in capitalist societies, we know relatively little about crucial aspects of these phenomena, particularly how these experiences differ according to variety of capitalist formation. This article draws on the available empirical literature to examine these relational aspects of poverty in two very different societies, the UK and Japan. Through comparing these literatures, we are able to comment on the ways in which stigma is manifest in differing social, personal and institutional contexts and, therefore, is internalised as shame in similar and divergent forms in these respective societies. We note the very different social values and forms of welfare that constitute these societies which are at times responsible for contrasting experiences of shame, yet conclude that stigma and shame perform important functions within capitalist societies as a means to legitimate the continued existence of poverty within these social systems, and are therefore universal phenomena.
Cerebral Oxygen Metabolism in Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy during and after Therapeutic Hypothermia
Authors: Dehaes Mathieu , Aggarwal Alpna , Lin Pei-Yi , Rosa Fortuno C , Fenoglio Angela , Roche-Labarbe Nadège , Soul Janet S , Franceschini Maria Angela , Grant P Ellen
Published: September 2013

Pathophysiologic mechanisms involved in neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) are associated with complex changes of blood flow and metabolism. Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is effective in reducing the extent of brain injury, but it remains uncertain how TH affects cerebral blood flow ( CBF) and metabolism. Ten neonates undergoing TH for HIE and seventeen healthy controls were recruited from the NICU and the well baby nursery, respectively. A combination of frequency domain near infrared spectroscopy (FDNIRS) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) systems was used to non-invasively measure cerebral hemodynamic and metabolic variables at the bedside. Results showed that cerebral oxygen metabolism ( CMRO 2i) and CBF indices ( CBF i) in neonates with HIE during TH were significantly lower than post-TH and age-matched control values. Also, cerebral blood volume ( CBV) and hemoglobin oxygen saturation ( SO 2) were significantly higher in neonates with HIE during TH compared with age-matched control neonates. Post-TH CBV was significantly decreased compared with values during TH whereas SO 2 remained unchanged after the therapy. Thus, FDNIRS–DCS can provide information complimentary to SO 2 and can assess individual cerebral metabolic responses to TH. Combined FDNIRS–DCS parameters improve the understanding of the underlying physiology and have the potential to serve as bedside biomarkers of treatment response and optimization.
Non-Invasive Measurement of Cerebral Oxygen Metabolism in the Mouse Brain by Ultra-High Field 17O MR Spectroscopy
Authors: Cui Weina , Zhu Xiao-Hong , Vollmers Manda L , Colonna Emily T , Adriany Gregor , Tramm Brandon , Dubinsky Janet M , Öz Gülin
Published: September 2013

To assess cerebral energetics in transgenic mouse models of neurologic disease, a robust, efficient, and practical method for quantification of cerebral oxygen consumption is needed. 17O magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has been validated to measure cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) in the rat brain; however, mice present unique challenges because of their small size. We show that CMRO2 measurements with 17O MRS in the mouse brain are highly reproducible using 16.4 Tesla and a newly designed oxygen delivery system. The method can be utilized to measure mitochondrial function in mice quickly and repeatedly, without oral intubation, and has numerous potential applications to study cerebral energetics.
Capturing Drug Responses by Quantitative Promoter Activity Profiling
Authors: Kajiyama K , Okada‐Hatakeyama M , Hayashizaki Y , Kawaji H , Suzuki H
Published: September 2013

Quantitative analysis of cellular responses to drugs is of major interest in pharmaceutical research. Microarray technologies have been widely used for monitoring genome‐wide expression changes. However, this approach has several limitations in terms of coverage of targeted RNAs, sensitivity, and quantitativeness, which are crucial for accurate monitoring of cellular responses. In this article, we report an application of genome‐wide and quantitative profiling of cellular responses to drugs. We monitored promoter activities in MCF‐7 cells by Cap Analysis of Gene Expression using a single‐molecule sequencer. We identified a distinct set of promoters affected even by subtle inhibition of the Ras‐ERK and phosphatidylinositol‐3‐kinase‐Akt signal‐transduction pathways. Furthermore, we succeeded in explaining the majority of promoter responses to inhibition of the upstream epidermal growth factor receptor kinase quantitatively based on the promoter profiles upon inhibition of the two individual downstream signaling pathways. Our results demonstrate unexplored utility of highly quantitative promoter activity profiling in drug research.

CPT: Pharmacometrics & Systems Pharmacology (2013) 2, e77; doi:10.1038/psp.2013.53; published online 25 September 2013
Green Tea Extract Containing a Highly Absorbent Catechin Prevents Diet-Induced Lipid Metabolism Disorder
Authors: Suzuki Takashi , Kumazoe Motofumi , Kim Yoonhee , Yamashita Shuya , Nakahara Kanami , Tsukamoto Shuntaro , Sasaki Masako , Hagihara Takatoki , Tsurudome Yukari , Huang Yuhui , Maeda-Yamamoto Mari , Shinoda Yuki , Yamaguchi Wataru , Yamada Koji , Tachibana Hirofumi
Published: September 2013

We investigated the effects of extracts of Benifuuki (a tea cultivar that contains methylated catechins such as epigallocatechin-3-O-(3-O-methyl) gallate (EGCG3”Me)) in mice fed a high-fat/high-sucrose (HF/HS) diet. This tea cultivar was then compared with an extract of Yabukita (a popular tea cultivar that lacks methylated catechins). For 6 weeks, C57BL/6J mice were fed either HF/HS diet with or without tea extracts from tea cultivars, which contained almost identical ingredients except for methylated catechins (i.e., Yabukita (0.2% and 1%) or Benifuuki (0.2% and 1%) extract powders). Supplementation with Benifuuki 0.2% markedly lowered plasma levels of TG and NEFAs compared with mice supplemented with Yabukita 0.2%. The diet containing Benifuuki 1% decreased adipose tissue weights, liver TG and expression of lipogenic genes in the liver. These results suggested that Benifuuki had much greater lipid-lowering effects than Yabukita. Taken together, these data suggest that methylated catechins direct the strong lipid-lowering activity of Benifuuki.
Positive and negative phosphorylation regulates RIP1- and RIP3-induced programmed necrosis
Authors: McQuade Thomas , Cho YoungSik , Chan Francis Ka-Ming
Published: September 2013

Programmed necrosis or necroptosis is controlled by the action of two serine/threonine kinases, RIP1 (receptor-interacting serine/threonine protein kinase 1; also known as RIPK1) and RIP3. The phosphorylation of RIP1 and RIP3 is critical for assembly of the necrosome, an amyloid-like complex that initiates transmission of the pro-necrotic signal. In the present study, we used site-directed mutagenesis to systematically examine the effects of putative phosphoacceptor sites on RIP1 and RIP3 on TNF (tumour necrosis factor)-induced programmed necrosis. We found that mutation of individual serine residues in the kinase domain of RIP1 had little effect on RIP1 kinase activity and TNF-induced programmed necrosis. Surprisingly, an alanine residue substitution for Ser89 enhanced RIP1 kinase activity and TNF-induced programmed necrosis without affecting RIP1–RIP3 necrosome formation. This indicates that Ser89 is an inhibitory phosphoacceptor site that can dampen the pro-necrotic function of RIP1. In addition, we show that a phosphomimetic mutant of RIP3, S204D, led to programmed necrosis that was refractory to RIP1 siRNA and insensitive to necrostatin-1 inhibition. Our results show that programmed necrosis is regulated by positive and inhibitory phosphorylation events.
microRNA profiles in coeliac patients distinguish different clinical phenotypes and are modulated by gliadin peptides in primary duodenal fibroblasts
Authors: Vaira Valentina , Roncoroni Leda , Barisani Donatella , Gaudioso Gabriella , Bosari Silvano , Bulfamante Gaetano , Doneda Luisa , Conte Dario , Tomba Carolina , Bardella Maria Teresa , Ferrero Stefano , Locatelli Martina , Elli Luca
Published: September 2013

CD (coeliac disease) is a frequent autoimmune disorder of the small bowel, which is characterized by an immunological reaction against gluten and transglutaminase in genetically predisposed subjects. However, the molecular determinants underpinning CD pathogenesis are yet to be fully elucidated and little data are available about the involvement of miRNAs (microRNAs) in CD. In the present study, the duodenal mucosa miRNA expression was profiled in adult untreated CD presenting with a classic phenotype or iron-deficiency anaemia, treated patients with or without duodenal normalization, and non-CD subjects as controls. Deregulation of seven miRNAs (miR-31-5p, miR-192-3p, miR-194-5p, miR-551a, miR-551b-5p, miR-638 and miR-1290) was determined in a larger series of CD patients with different clinical phenotypes compared with non-CD subjects. These seven microRNAs were then analysed in duodenal fibroblasts obtained from CD patients and incubated with gliadin peptides (13- and 33-mer). The miRNA cluster miR-192/194, involved in matrix remodelling, was deregulated in CD according to the different clinical presentations, and miR-192-3p levels were modulated by gliadin peptides in vitro. In conclusion, the analysis of miRNAs deserves further consideration for its potential use in the treatment and management of CD.
Fault line detection in neutral point ineffectively grounding power system based on phase‐locked loop
Authors: Zhixia Zhang , Xiao Liu , Zailin Piao
Published: September 2013

Fault line detection timely and accurately when single‐phase‐to‐earth fault occurs in neutral point ineffectively grounding power system is still a focus of research. To perfect these existing detection methods and enhance their accuracy, an improved phase‐locked loop (IPLL) is used to extract the fifth harmonic zero‐sequence currents in this study and fifth harmonic current characteristics are employed to select the fault line. Through relative processing, the fifth harmonic data differences of all lines are more noticeable, which is better for fault line detection. The line‐detection function of IPLL is shown based on Matlab/Simulink. Simulation result reveals the good performance of this proposed method in effectively fault line detection. This method is able to detect different types of grounding faults in power system. This study gives a new train of thought for fault line detection.
Implementation of soft‐switching bidirectional flyback converter without auxiliary switch
Authors: Delshad Majid , Madiseh Nasrin Asadi , Amini Mohammad Reza
Published: September 2013

A new bidirectional flyback converter is introduced in this study. To provide soft‐switching condition, two identical auxiliary circuits are applied to both sides of the converter, without using any extra switches. These circuits do not impose high voltage or current stresses on the converter. To transfer the power in each direction, only one switch is gated through pulse‐width modulation technique. So, the control circuit of this converter is very simple. Regardless of the power flow direction, the switch of the converter is turned on under zero‐current condition and is almost turned off under zero‐voltage condition. The experimental results of the proposed bidirectional converter are presented to verify the theoretical analysis.
Cascade‐multi‐cell multilevel converter with reduced number of switches
Authors: Ajami Ali , Jannati Oskuee Mohammad Reza , Toopchi Khosroshahi Mahdi , Mokhberdoran Ataollah
Published: September 2013

Recently applications of multilevel converters have been pointed out because of some advantages include high‐quality output waveform, reduced harmonic distortion and lower electromagnetic interference. However, some drawbacks such as increased number of components like switches and dc power supplies and complex pulse width modulation control method are associated with these converters. In this study, a new cascade multilevel converter is introduced named ‘cascade‐multi‐cell’ converter. First, the basic constitutive of the proposed multilevel converter has been explained. Then, symmetric and asymmetric configurations are presented. The number of switches and gate driver circuits in the proposed structure are less than the conventional cascade converter. Therefore its output voltage levels will be increased. Also, the number of on‐state switches is reduced in presented topology, and so the conductive losses will be reduced. The peak inverse voltage of the proposed converter is equal with the traditional cascade converter. Finally, simulation and experimental results are presented. The presented results show the validity and effectiveness of the proposed multilevel structure.
Analysis of polarisation mode splitting characteristic in optical race‐track resonator based on silicon‐on‐insulator rib waveguide
Authors: Wei Liping , Zang Junbin , Wang Yonghua , Cui Danfeng , Li Yanna , Liu Yaoying , Xue Chenyang
Published: September 2013

The detailed design and analysis of a polarisation mode splitting resonator based on a silicon‐on‐insulator rib waveguide are presented. By analysing the mode birefringence in the ultra‐small rib waveguide, the directional coupler is introduced to the microring resonator to realise the splitting of the quasi‐TE and quasi‐TM polarisation modes from the same output port for a specific wavelength range. It is demonstrated that after splitting the quasi‐TM polarisation mode, the Q ‐value of the quasi‐TE polarisation mode is about 2.3 × 104, almost twice of that without splitting the quasi‐TM polarisation mode. This novel characteristic of a race‐track resonator allows it to obtain single polarisation mode at a specific wavelength by itself. This characteristic makes a contribution to accurate wavelength selection, which has been proved to be very useful in the dynamic testing of electrooptical modulators and quite promising in many other applications of optical components.
Analysis of electroluminescence images in small-area circular CdTe solar cells
Authors: Bokalič Matevž , Raguse John , Sites James R. , Topič Marko
Published: September 2013

The electroluminescence (EL) imaging process of small area solar cells is investigated in detail to expose optical and electrical effects that influence image acquisition and corrupt the acquired image. An approach to correct the measured EL images and to extract the exact EL radiation as emitted from the photovoltaic device is presented. EL images of circular cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells are obtained under different conditions. The power-law relationship between forward injection current and EL emission and a negative temperature coefficient of EL radiation are observed. The distributed Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis (SPICE®) model of the circular CdTe solar cell is used to simulate the dark J-V curve and current distribution under the conditions used during EL measurements. Simulation results are presented as circularly averaged EL intensity profiles, which clearly show that the ratio between resistive parameters determines the current distribution in thin-film solar cells. The exact resistance values for front and back contact layers and for CdTe bulk layer are determined at different temperatures, and a negative temperature coefficient for the CdTe bulk resistance is observed.
Light induced changes in the amorphous—crystalline silicon heterointerface
Authors: Mahtani Pratish , Varache Renaud , Jovet Bastien , Longeaud Christophe , Kleider Jean-Paul , Kherani Nazir P.
Published: September 2013

The photostability of the amorphous—crystalline silicon heterointerface is investigated. It is revealed that the metastability of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) causes significant light induced changes in the heterointerface. Unlike bulk a-Si:H, the photostability of the heterointerface is not controlled by the microstructural properties of a-Si:H but rather by the initial heterointerface properties. Interfaces that initially have low interface defect density show the greatest degradation while those that initially have high interface defect density actually show light-induced improvement. It is shown that the degree of light induced change in the interface defect density is linearly proportional to the natural logarithm of the initial interface defect density. Further, it is revealed that the kinetics of light-induced change in the heterointerface defect density can be faster or slower than light-induced changes in bulk a-Si:H films depending on the initial properties of the heterointerface. Light soaking measurements on heterointerfaces with doped a-Si:H films reveal that interface defect density of these structures improves with light soaking. It is proposed that this is caused by a combination of the high initial interface defect density of samples using doped a-Si:H films and reduced generation of defects near the heterointerface due to the enhanced field effect provided by the doped films.
A simple method to verify the opacity and equation of state of high-Z plasmas
Authors: Meng Guangwei , Li Jinghong , Yang Jiamin , Zhu Tuo , Zou Shiyang , Wang Min , Zhang Weiyan
Published: September 2013

Accurate opacity and equation of state (EOS) data are important parameters for reliable modeling and understanding many phenomena of high energy density physics. However, they are difficult to obtain either theoretically or experimentally especially for high-Z plasmas. In this paper, we proposed a simple method to verify the opacity and EOS of high-Z plasmas in rarefactive states, which is build on the two key aspects of ablation processes, i.e., the propagation of heatwave into materials and the hydrodynamic expansion of the blow-off plasmas. Based on the integrated analysis of the Au foil burnthrough and foam-confined plasma expansion experiments performed on the Shenguang II and Shenguang III prototype laser facilities, we suggested two semi-empirical multipliers to adjust the opacity and EOS of Au plasma. These adjusted opacity and EOS may then provide a foundation for other radiation hydrodynamic simulations under similar drive conditions.
Envelope excitations in electronegative plasmas with electrons featuring the Tsallis distribution
Authors: Bains A. S. , Li Bo , Tribeche Mouloud
Published: September 2013

We examine the modulational instability (MI) of ion-acoustic waves (IAWs) in an electronegative plasma containing positive and negative ions as well as electrons that follow the nonextensive statistics proposed by Tsallis [J. Stat. Phys. 52, 479 (1988)]. Using the reductive perturbation method, the nonlinear Schrödinger equation that governs the modulational instability of the IAWs is obtained. Inspired by the experimental work of Ichiki et al. [Phys. Plasmas 8, 4275 (2001)], three types of electronegative plasmas are investigated. The effects of various parameters on the propagation of IAWs are discussed in detail numerically. We find that the plasma supports both bright and dark solutions. The presence of the non-extensively distributed electrons is found to play a crucial role in the formation of envelope excitations. The region in the parameter space where the MI exists depends sensitively on the positive to negative ion mass ratio (M) and negative to positive ion density ratio (ν). An extensive range of the nonextensive q-parameters (−1<q<3) is considered and in each case the MI sets in under different conditions. The finding of this investigation is useful for understanding stable wave propagation of envelope ion-acoustic solitary waves in space and laboratory plasmas comprising ions with both positive and negative charges as well as non-Maxwellian electrons.
Three dimensional electrostatic solitary waves in a dense magnetoplasma with relativistically degenerate electrons
Authors: Ata-ur-Rahman  , Masood W. , Eliasson B. , Qamar A.
Published: September 2013

In this paper, small but finite amplitude electrostatic solitary waves in a relativistic degenerate magnetoplasma, consisting of relativistically degenerate electrons and non-degenerate cold ions, are investigated. The Zakharov-Kuznetsov equation is derived employing the reductive perturbation technique and its solitary wave solution is analyzed. It is shown that only compressive electrostatic solitary structures can propagate in such a degenerate plasma system. The effects of plasma number density, ion cyclotron frequency, and direction cosines on the profiles of ion acoustic solitary waves are investigated and discussed at length. The relevance of the present investigation vis-a-vis pulsating white dwarfs is also pointed out.
Comparison of different metaheuristic algorithms for parameter identification of photovoltaic cell/module
Authors: Hachana O. , Hemsas K. E. , Tina G. M. , Ventura C.
Published: September 2013

The estimation of the photovoltaic (PV) cell/module model parameters could lead to accomplish a diagnostic tool and to estimate several factors which affect the health state of a PV generator. In this context, it is crucial to look for an extraction technique which performs this evaluation precisely and quickly. Due to the nonlinear and implicit nature of the PV cell/module, significant computational effort is required to obtain all the parameters; therefore, in this context different metaheuristic algorithms are proposed. For the identification of the meaningful parameters of PV cell/module models, illuminated current-voltage (I–V) curves, under real conditions of PV cells temperature and incident irradiance, are employed. Considering several PV cell/module models, the goodness of the proposed algorithms is analyzed by means of statistical errors, convergence speed, and unknown parameters precision. Then these algorithms are tested and validated using a daily set of measured I–V curves, specifically for each one both the whole set of measured data and a reduced set around the maximum power point are used.
Note: Comparative experimental studies on the performance of 2-2 piezocomposite for medical ultrasound transducers
Authors: Marinozzi F. , Bini F. , Biagioni A. , Grandoni A. , Spicci L.
Published: September 2013

The paper reports the experimental investigation of the behavior of 2-2 Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT)-polymer composite transducers array for clinical ultrasound equipments. Several 2-2 plate composites having the same dicing pitch of 0.11 mm and different volume fractions were manufactured and investigated. Measurements were performed through different techniques such as electrical impedance, pulse-echo, and Laser Doppler Vibrometer. With the last one, maps of the surface displacement were presented relative to thickness mode and first lateral mode resonance frequencies. The transducers with volume fractions of the 40% resulted markedly inefficient, whereas the largest bandwidth and best band shape were achieved by the 50%.
Formation and coarsening of sponge-like Si-SiO2 nanocomposites
Authors: Liedke B. , Heinig K.-H. , Mücklich A. , Schmidt B.
Published: September 2013

It has been recently found by energy filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) that metastable SiOx≈1 films decay into a Si nanowire network embedded in SiO2 by spinodal decomposition during thermal treatment. To have a guideline for nanocomposites fabrication, details of the morphology evolution have been studied by comparison of EFTEM images with kinetic Monte-Carlo (kMC) simulations. Pair correlation functions calculated by kMC have been adjusted to that extracted from EFTEM. This comparison leads to the conclusion about characteristic lengths of 3D morphologies. Combining kMC with EFTEM delivers the understanding for tailoring the properties like quantum confinement of the spongy Si.