bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
RELEVANCE OF FIRM SIZE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND INNOVATIVENESS
Authors: Kamaruddeen A.M. , Yahaya Bashir Hussain , Mohd Nawi M.N.
Published: November 2015

While empirical studies have found that certain organizational factors (such as culture) do influence the innovativeness of firms, little attention has been directed towards the effect of firm size on the innovativeness among housing developers operating in Malaysia. This paper therefore, examines the moderating effect of firm size on the relationship between organizational culture and innovativeness among housing developers in Malaysia. We adopted the proportionate stratified random sampling to collect data from the micro, small, medium and large housing developers operating in Peninsular Malaysia. We received 183 valid questionnaires out of 504 questionnaires distributed, yielding 36.3% response rate. While organizational culture was found to be significant in explaining the innovativeness, firm size significantly moderated the relationship. The findings in this paper have been complementary to the existing body of knowledge and contribute to future studies on innovativeness in the housing industry.
PRACTICES PROJECT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN OUTSOURCING BEST PRACTICES
Authors: Hassan Mohd Ghozali , Ojeniyi Adegoke , Razalli Mohd Rizal
Published: November 2015

The successful implementation of outsourcing project within the manufacturing industries has lot of benefits to all party involved  however, the management of such project come with huge pain and losses to the parties. Thus, this paper explores project management strategies in outsourcing best practices within Malaysia manufacturing sector. The study made use of quantitative research methodology by utilizing questionnaire for data collection through postal survey medium. The Malaysian Electrical and Electronic industries were chosen as the sample population where 865 organizations were considered based on Federation of Malaysian Manufacturer directory. The result of this study identified seven major project management strategies for outsourcing best practices namely communication management, performance management, knowledge transfer management, relationship management, crisis management, risk management and cost management. These strategies will guide the relationship between supplier-manufacturer to ensure best outsourcing practices within the manufacturing sector.
USABILITY EVALUATION METHOD FOR MOBILE LEARNING APPLICATION USING AGILE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Authors: Hussain Azham , Saleh Abdulkarim , Taher Abdussalam , Ahmed Imman , Lammasha Mohammed
Published: November 2015

The use of mobile phones for academic purpose has been on the rise in recent years. Most m-learning applications have been proved that they did not undergo usability evaluation while a few of the application underwent reliable usability evaluations. This paper reviews previous research that has been carried out to evaluate the usability of m-learning applications and how this approach could be integrated into the Agile development process in a bid to make a more effective and usable m-learning application. We focus on previous works that has been done in both, mobile application usability and integration of agile approaches for Usability evaluation. The incorporation of agile development processes and the usability evaluation of m-learning applications has produced a significant impact. This is seen as more m-learning applications are done in the sprints with the usability evaluation preceding it and following the development process which makes the applications more usable and user friendly.
LEARNING STIMULUS-STIMULUS ASSOCIATION IN SPATIO-TEMPORAL NEURAL NETWORKS
Authors: Yusoff N. , Ahmad F. Kabir , ChePa N. , Ab Aziz A.
Published: November 2015

We propose a stimulus-stimulus association learning by coupling firing rate and precise spike timing encoding for spatio-temporal neural networks. We simulate a generic recurrent network with random and sparse connectivity consisting of Izhikevich spiking neurons. The magnitude of weight adjustment in learning is dependent on pre- and postsynaptic spikes based on their spikes count and time correlation. As a result of learning, synchronisation of activity among inter- and intra-subpopulation neurons demonstrates association between two stimuli. The associations show in spill-over of activity between the two stimuli involved.
MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY, LEAN AND STRATEGIC FLEXIBILY THE SILVER BULLET FOR MALAYSIA LEAN MANUFACTURERS
Authors: Mohamed Ismail Risyawati , Che Razak Razli , Mad Lazim Halim
Published: November 2015

The purpose of this paper is to conceptually propose the elements that constitute an ideal manufacturing strategy framework needed by Malaysian manufacturing sector. Malaysian manufacturing sector has so far underwent various challenges and exhibited fluctuating performance as reaction to these challenges. This paper is the product of an extensive literature review done on previous researches on the subject of manufacturing strategy and performance. In this review, the subject matter was comprehensively studied, and thoroughly discussed from the strategic perspective of Malaysian manufacturing sector. This paper manages to provide a fundamental framework, for expert in the area of manufacturing strategy and performance, emphasising on the complementary effect of multiple strategies on performance. The subject approach is relatively new in Malaysia, however based on previous studies and the critical impact of manufacturing towards the economic health of Malaysia, the sector is in dire need of suitable and favourable manufacturing strategy in order to continue to compete globally. Malaysian manufacturing sector is still lacking of a strategic approach on its national manufacturing direction and guideline, to serve as the launching pad for the sector's sustainable growth.  This paper not only ventures into a new perspective of strategy-performance research, but it also explores the possibility of studying different complementing strategies impact on the performance of manufacturers.
ASCENDANCY OF ULTRASONIC REACTOR FOR MICRO BIODIESEL PRODUCTION
Authors: Abdullah C. S. , Baluch N. , Mohtar S.
Published: November 2015

Biodiesel is a form of biofuel; diesel fuel manufactured from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled greases. Biodiesel is produced through a process called transesterification which involves taking naturally occurring carbon chain molecules, known as triglycerides, found in such feed stocks as seed oils and animal fats, and converting them into methyl esters, which is the chemical term for biodiesel. The conventional transesterification of the triglycerides to fatty methyl esters and glycerin is slow and not complete. During the conversion process not all fatty acid chains are turned into alkyl esters (biodiesel) reducing biodiesel quality and yield, significantly. In considering a new biodiesel facility or an upgrade of existing biodiesel plant, it is imperative that ultrasonic mixing technology be considered; it is efficient and ideal for micro scale biodiesel processing. This paper infers the efficiency of Ultrasonics for the ultrasonication of liquids and gleans that Ultrasonic cavitational mixing is the most advanced means to form fine-size emulsions at micro processing scale.  The paper construes the innovative ascendancy of ‘Ultrasonic Reactor’ for micro scale production of biodiesel and demonstrates that there is a direct link between methanol droplet size, biodiesel yield, and conversion speed which makes ultrasonic reactors the most productive technology in the biodiesel industry. The paper concludes that biofuels are sustainable alternative to fossil fuels and biodiesel is a green energy source for agriculture, transport and power generation at micro level use in rural communities.
A STUDY OF IM-SMARTSAFETY COURSEWARE DEVELOPMENT FOR FOREIGN WORKERS IN SAFETY COURSE MALAYSIA CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Authors: Salleh Nurul Azita , Abdul Nifa Faizatul Akmar , Shah Zakaria Muhammad Nazrin , Mohd Nordin Norazah , Abdul Rashid Abdul Khalim
Published: November 2015

IM-SmartSAFETY is an application developed as a medium for delivering contents to foreign workers in response to language problem in Health and Safety Induction Course (HSIC). It is a compulsory initial course for all workers including local and foreign workers and professionals before entering into construction sites. In ensuring IM-SmartSAFETY meets the objective of the course, learning theories, particularly constructivism, social, and minimalism, have been applied along the development process. In accordance, this paper discusses the importance of applying learning theories in the IM-SmartSAFETY. Constructivism theory is important in IM-SmartSAFETY because it supports the creation of new knowledge through creative and critical thinking based on the existing knowledge while solving problems in existing cases. Meanwhile through social theory, emphasis on cognitive is deeper than on physical behavior in which visual representation of positive and negative behavior could be imitated. It also promotes social interaction among the peers and between the trainees and the trainers through activities provided in the application. Further, minimalism theory is important because it ensures the application is appealing in terms arrangement of text, information, graphic, color, and audio so that they never confuse the foreign workers, but make them understand.
Overall Effectiveness and Flowfield Measurements for an Endwall With Nonaxisymmetric Contouring
Authors: Mensch Amy , Thole Karen A.
Published: November 2015

Endwall contouring is a technique used to reduce the strength and development of three-dimensional secondary flows in a turbine vane or blade passage in a gas turbine. The secondary flows locally affect the external heat transfer, particularly on the endwall surface. The combination of external and internal convective heat transfer, along with solid conduction, determines component temperatures, which affect the service life of turbine components. A conjugate heat transfer model is used to measure the nondimensional external surface temperature, known as overall effectiveness, of an endwall with nonaxisymmetric contouring. The endwall cooling methods include internal impingement cooling and external film cooling. Measured values of overall effectiveness show that endwall contouring reduces the effectiveness of impingement alone, but increases the effectiveness of film cooling alone. Given the combined case of both impingement and film cooling, the laterally averaged overall effectiveness is not significantly changed between the flat and the contoured endwalls. Flowfield measurements indicate that the size and location of the passage vortex changes as film cooling is added and as the blowing ratio increases. Because endwall contouring can produce local effects on internal cooling and film cooling performance, the implications for heat transfer should be considered in endwall contour designs.
Celebrating the Centenary of Timoshenko's Study of Effects of Shear Deformation and Rotary Inertia
Authors: Elishakoff Isaac , Kaplunov Julius , Nolde Evgeniya
Published: November 2015

This study revisits Timoshenko beam theory (TBT). It discusses at depth a more consistent and simpler governing differential equation. The so-called second spectrum is also addressed. Then, we provide the asymptotic justification of the aforementioned differential equation along with detailed discussion of the boundary and initial conditions. The paper also presents remarks of historical character, in the context of other pertinent studies.
Combustion Characteristics of Partially Premixed Prevaporized Palm Methyl Ester and Jet A Fuel Blends
Authors: Balakrishnan A. , Parthasarathy R. N. , Gollahalli S. R.
Published: November 2015

Palm methyl ester (PME) is an attractive alternate biofuel produced by the transesterification of palm oil with methanol. This paper is a sequel to our earlier papers on the comparison of the flame structure and emission characteristics of neat PME with those of petroleum-derived fuels (No. 2 diesel and neat Jet A). Blends of prevaporized Jet A fuel and PME (25%, 50%, and 75% by volume) were studied in a laminar flame environment at burner-exit equivalence ratios of 2, 3, and 7. The global combustion characteristics including flame length, CO and NO emission indices, radiative heat fraction, and in-flame profiles of species concentration (CO, CO2, NO, and O2), temperature, and soot volume concentration were measured. The global CO emission index decreased significantly with the PME content in the blend at an equivalence ratio of 7; a 30% reduction was observed with the addition of 25% PME by volume, and a further reduction of 25% was observed with the addition of another 25% PME. The global NO emission index of the neat PME flame was 35% lower than that of the Jet A flame at an equivalence ratio of 2. The near-burner homogeneous gas-phase reaction zone increased in length with the addition of PME at all equivalence ratios. The concentration measurements highlighted the nonmonotonic variation of properties with the volume concentration of PME in the fuel blend. The fuel-bound oxygen and hydrogen of PME affected the combustion properties significantly.
Laser Ignition and Flame Speed Measurements in Oxy-Methane Mixtures Diluted With CO2
Authors: Almansour Bader , Thompson Luke , Lopez Joseph , Barari Ghazal , Vasu Subith S.
Published: November 2015

Ignition and flame propagation in methane/O2 mixtures diluted with CO2 are studied. A laser ignition system and dynamic pressure transducer are utilized to ignite the mixture and to record the combustion pressure, respectively. The laminar burning velocities (LBVs) are obtained at room temperature and atmospheric pressure in a spherical combustion chamber. Flame initiation and propagation are recorded by using a high-speed camera in select experiments to visualize the effect of CO2 proportionality on the combustion behavior. The LBV is studied for a range of equivalence ratios (ϕ = 0.8–1.3, in steps of 0.1) and oxygen ratios, D = O2/(O2 + CO2) (26–38% by volume). It was found that the LBV decreases by increasing the CO2 proportionality. It was observed that the flame propagates toward the laser at a faster rate as the CO2 proportionality increases, where it was not possible to obtain LBV due to the deviation from spherical flame shape. Current LBV data are in very good agreement with existing literature data. The premixed flame model from chemkin pro (Reaction Design, 2011, CHEMKIN-PRO 15112, Reaction Design, San Diego, CA) software and two mechanisms (GRI-Mech 3.0 (Smith et al., 1999, “The GRI 3.0 Chemical Kinetic Mechanism,” http://www.me.berkeley.edu/gri_mech/) and ARAMCO Mech 1.3 (Metcalfe et al., 2013, “A Hierarchical and Comparative Kinetic Modeling Study of C1–C2 Hydrocarbon and Oxygenated Fuels,” Int. J. Chem. Kinetics, 45(10), pp. 638–675)) are used to simulate the current data. In general, simulations are in reasonable agreement with current data. Additionally, sensitivity analysis is carried out to understand the important reactions that influence the predicted flame speeds. Improvements to the GRI predictions are suggested after incorporating latest reaction rates from literature for key reactions.
Data Mining Pt. Reyes Buoy for Rare Wave Groups
Authors: Seyffert Harleigh C. , Troesch Armin W.
Published: November 2015

This paper addresses the existence of rare wave groups by examining time series data from the Pt. Reyes buoy. The buoy is operated by the Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP), University of California San Diego. The definition of rare wave groups, as defined by Kim and Troesch, used in this paper differs from the more commonly used wave group definition based on threshold crossings. With the time series data from the Pt. Reyes buoy, these rare wave groups are shown to be a naturally occurring phenomenon. The essential features of the data are examined, as well as the analysis methods and findings. By sifting through 17 years of wave elevation data from the Pt. Reyes buoy, this preliminary work addresses not only the question to what extent rare wave groups exist in nature but also what their probability of occurrence is.
Frictionally Excited Thermoelastic Instability of Functionally Graded Materials Sliding Out-of-Plane With Contact Resistance
Authors: Mao Jia-Jia , Ke Liao-Liang , Wang Yue-Sheng , Liu Jing
Published: November 2015

This paper investigates the frictionally excited thermoelastic instability (TEI) of a functionally graded material (FGM) half-plane sliding against a homogeneous half-plane at the out-of-plane direction with the thermal contact resistance. A uniform pressure presses these two half-planes together. The material properties of FGMs are assumed to be varied as an exponential form. Using the perturbation method, we derive the characteristic equation for the TEI problem to solve the unknown critical heat flux and critical sliding speed. The effects of the thermal contact resistance, gradient index, friction coefficient, and heat generation factor on the stability boundaries are discussed for four different material combinations. The results may provide a possible method to improve the contact stability in the sliding system by using FGMs.
Dynamics of a Self-Balancing Double-Pendulum System
Authors: Jankowski Krystof P. , Mitura Andrzej , Warminski Jerzy
Published: November 2015

Modeling and analysis of a system of two self-balancing pendulums is presented in this paper. Such systems are commonly used as elements of automotive door latch mechanisms that can be subjected to oscillatory excitation or vibratory inertia forces occurring during crash events. In order to avoid an unwanted behavior such as opening of the door, the considered mechanism should be properly designed and its dynamical response well understood and predictable. One pendulum of the double-pendulum system, playing the role of a counterweight (CW), is used to reduce the second (or main) pendulum motion under inertia loading. The interaction force between the pendulums is defined as the reaction of a holonomic constraint linking the rotations of both pendulums. Another reaction force acts between one of the pendulums and the support, reinforced by the action of a preloaded spring. An important aspect of the model is its discontinuous nature due to the presence of a gap in the interface area. This may result in impacts between both pendulums and between one of the pendulums and the support. High-frequency/high-acceleration amplitude vibratory motion of the base part provides inertia input to the system. Classical multibody dynamics approach is adopted first to solve the equations of motion. It is shown that the considered system under certain conditions responds with a high-amplitude irregular motion. A special methodology is used in order to study the regions of chaotic motion, with the goal to gain more understanding of the considered system dynamics. Bifurcation diagrams are presented together with quantitative and qualitative analysis of the motion. The sensitivity of solutions to variation of system parameters and input characteristics is also analyzed in the paper.
Object Tracking With a Range Camera for Augmented Reality Assembly Assistance
Authors: Radkowski Rafael
Published: November 2015

This paper introduces a 3D object tracking method for an augmented reality (AR) assembly assistance application. The tracking method relies on point clouds; it uses 3D feature descriptors and point cloud matching with the iterative closest points (ICP) algorithm. The feature descriptors identify an object in a point cloud; ICP align a reference object with this point cloud. The challenge is to achieve high fidelity while maintaining camera frame rates. The point cloud and reference object sampling density are one of the key factors to meet this challenge. In this research, three-point sampling methods and two-point cloud search algorithms were compared to assess their fidelity when tracking typical products of mechanical engineering. The results indicate that a uniform sampling maintains the best fidelity at camera frame rates.
Gas permeation barriers deposited by atmospheric pressure plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition
Authors: Hoffmann Lukas , Theirich Detlef , Hasselmann Tim , Räupke André , Schlamm Daniel , Riedl Thomas
Published: November 2015

This paper reports on aluminum oxide (Al2O3) thin film gas permeation barriers fabricated by atmospheric pressure atomic layer deposition (APPALD) using trimethylaluminum and an Ar/O2 plasma at moderate temperatures of 80 °C in a flow reactor. The authors demonstrate the ALD growth characteristics of Al2O3 films on silicon and indium tin oxide coated polyethylene terephthalate. The properties of the APPALD-grown layers (refractive index, density, etc.) are compared to that deposited by conventional thermal ALD at low pressures. The films films deposited at atmospheric pressure show water vapor transmission rates as low as 5 × 10−5 gm−2d−1.
Combined neural and behavioural measures of temporal pitch perception in cochlear implant users
Authors: Carlyon Robert P. , Deeks John M.
Published: November 2015

Four experiments measured the perceptual and neural correlates of the temporal pattern of electrical stimulation applied to one cochlear-implant (CI) electrode, for several subjects. Neural effects were estimated from the electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP) to each pulse. Experiment 1 attenuated every second pulse of a 200-pps pulse train. Increasing attenuation caused pitch to drop and the ECAP to become amplitude modulated, thereby providing an estimate of the relationship between neural modulation and pitch. Experiment 2 showed that the pitch of a 200-pps pulse train can be reduced by delaying every second pulse, so that the inter-pulse-intervals alternate between longer and shorter intervals. This caused the ECAP to become amplitude modulated, but not by enough to account for the change in pitch. Experiment 3 replicated the finding that rate discrimination deteriorates with increases in baseline rate. This was accompanied by an increase in ECAP modulation, but by an amount that produced only a small effect on pitch in experiment 1. Experiment 4 showed that preceding a pulse train with a carefully selected “pre-pulse” could reduce ECAP modulation, but did not improve rate discrimination. Implications for theories of pitch and for limitations of pitch perception in CI users are discussed.
Differential contribution of visual and auditory information to accurately predict the direction and rotational motion of a visual stimulus
Authors: Park Seoung Hoon , Kim Seonjin , Kwon MinHyuk , Christou Evangelos A.
Published: November 2015

Vision and auditory information are critical for perception and to enhance the ability of an individual to respond accurately to a stimulus. However, it is unknown whether visual and auditory information contribute differentially to identify the direction and rotational motion of the stimulus. The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of an individual to accurately predict the direction and rotational motion of the stimulus based on visual and auditory information. In this study, we recruited 9 expert table-tennis players and used table-tennis service as our experimental model. Participants watched recorded services with different levels of visual and auditory information. The goal was to anticipate the direction of the service (left or right) and the rotational motion of service (topspin, sidespin, or cut). We recorded their responses and quantified the following outcomes: (i) directional accuracy and (ii) rotational motion accuracy. The response accuracy was the accurate predictions relative to the total number of trials. The ability of the participants to predict the direction of the service accurately increased with additional visual information but not with auditory information. In contrast, the ability of the participants to predict the rotational motion of the service accurately increased with the addition of auditory information to visual information but not with additional visual information alone. In conclusion, this finding demonstrates that visual information enhances the ability of an individual to accurately predict the direction of the stimulus, whereas additional auditory information enhances the ability of an individual to accurately predict the rotational motion of stimulus.
Eight weeks of pre- and postexercise whey protein supplementation increases lean body mass and improves performance in Division III collegiate female basketball players
Authors: Taylor Lemuel W. , Wilborn Colin , Roberts Michael D. , White Andrew , Dugan Kristen
Published: November 2015

We examined if 8 weeks of whey protein (WP) supplementation improved body composition and performance measures in NCAA Division III female basketball players. Subjects were assigned to consume 24 g WP (n = 8; age, 20 ± 2 years; height, 170 ± 6 cm; weight, 66.0 ± 3.1 kg) or 24 g of maltodextrin (MD) (n = 6; age, 21 ± 3 years; height, 169 ± 6 cm; weight, 68.2 ± 7.6 kg) immediately prior to and following training (4 days/week anaerobic and resistance training) for 8 weeks. Prior to (T1) and 8 weeks following supplementation (T2), subjects underwent dual X-ray absorptiometry body composition assessment as well as performance tests. The WP group gained lean mass from T1 to T2 (+1.4 kg, p = 0.003) whereas the MD group trended to gain lean mass (+0.4 kg, p = 0.095). The WP group also lost fat mass from T1 to T2 (–1.0 kg, p = 0.003) whereas the MD group did not (–0.5 kg, p = 0.41). The WP group presented greater gains in 1-repetition maximum (1RM) bench press (+4.9 kg) compared with the MD group (+2.3 kg) (p < 0.05). Moreover, the WP group improved agility from T1 to T2 (p = 0.001) whereas the MD group did not (p = 0.38). Both groups equally increased leg press 1RM, vertical jump, and broad jump performances. This study demonstrates that 8 weeks of WP supplementation improves body composition and select performance variables in previously trained female athletes.
Endemism in native floras of California’s Channel Islands correlated with seasonal patterns of aeolian processes
Authors: Riley Lynn , McGlaughlin Mitchell E.
Published: November 2015

This study revisits the hypothesis that dispersal to California’s Channel Islands follows a stepping-stone pattern from mainland California, based on earlier work indicating that the floras conform to classic island-biogeographic expectations. A re-examination of data incorporating the directions of prevailing and seasonal Santa Ana winds greatly strengthens the power of the model to explain levels of endemism in the Channel Island floras, and suggests the importance of aoelian processes for island colonization. Regression analysis of percent endemism in the native flora against distances measured along the axis of winds improves the r2 from 0.099 to 0.482. The endemic species that flower in the dry season as a percent of the native flora of the islands is also strongly related to these revised source distances (r2 = 0.665). Furthermore, the native floras of the southern islands are nested subsets of the floras of the northern islands, and angiosperm flowering peaks during the dry season, providing seed for seasonally based dispersal. These results suggest that the northern islands may have served as a source of colonists for the southern islands, and that the pattern of aeolian inputs into an island system should be considered in other plant biogeographic studies.
Evaluation of an unmanned aircraft system for detecting surrogate caribou targets in Labrador
Authors: Patterson Charla , Koski William , Pace Paul , McLuckie Brian , Bird David M.
Published: November 2015

Regular, standardized population inventories have been suggested as an important component to the recovery of declining populations of boreal caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou). Current survey methods typically employ manned aircraft, which can be noisy, expensive to operate, and dangerous for the people conducting the surveys. Small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have garnered attention as a promising alterative to conducting aerial surveys in manned aircraft. Our research investigates the feasibility of using an UAS to conduct aerial surveys and determine which factors affect the detection of surrogate caribou targets, and hence may affect detection of real caribou. In the fall of 2013, we tested the capabilities of the Brican TD100E, a small, electric-powered fixed-wing UAS, to fly beyond visual line of sight near Goose Bay, Labrador. Seven surveys were done using different flight paths to collect aerial images of 26 surrogate caribou targets placed in six different habitats. Mixed effects logistic regression models were used to evaluate how habitat type, distance of the target from the image centerline, photo analysts’ experience level, flight time, and the target contrast against the landscape influenced the detection of surrogate caribou targets. We found that habitat type, target contrast, and the flight time affected target detection. Overall, 77.5% of the targets were detected; the odds of a photo analyst detecting a target in open habitat were roughly 10.5 times higher than in burned habitat and 42 times higher than in heavy forest. Target detection was influenced by the contrast of the target against the landscape, where a higher corrected integrated density was associated with greater target detection. The detection of targets was 87% during evening flights and 75% for morning flights. This study was the first of its kind to successfully fly a UAS beyond line of sight over land for non-military applications in North America and the findings of our research will provide an evaluation for using UAS to survey caribou in the future.
State of matter at high density and entropy bounds
Authors: Masoumi Ali
Published: November 2015

Entropy of all systems that we understand well is proportional to their volumes except for black holes given by their horizon area. This makes the microstates of any quantum theory of gravity drastically different from the ordinary matter. Because of the assumption that black holes are the maximum entropy states, there have been many conjectures that put the area, defined one way or another, as a bound on the entropy in a given region of spacetime. Here, we construct a simple model with entropy proportional to volume which exceeds the entropy of a single black hole. We show that a homogeneous cosmology filled with this gas exceeds one of the tightest entropy bounds, the covariant entropy bound and discuss the implications.
Uncovering the effective spacetime: Lessons from the effective field theory rationale
Authors: Barceló Carlos , Carballo-Rubio Raúl , Garay Luis J.
Published: November 2015

The cosmological constant problem can be understood as the failure of the decoupling principle behind effective field theory, so that some quantities in the low-energy theory are extremely sensitive to the high-energy properties. While this reflects the genuine character of the cosmological constant, finding an adequate effective field theory framework which avoids this naturalness problem may represent a step forward to understand nature. Following this intuition, we consider a minimal modification of the structure of general relativity which as an effective theory permits to work consistently at low energies, i.e. below the quantum gravity scale. This effective description preserves the classical phenomenology of general relativity and the particle spectrum of the standard model, at the price of changing our conceptual and mathematical picture of spacetime.
Composite dark matter and direct-search experiments
Authors: Wallemacq Quentin
Published: November 2015

The results of the direct searches for dark matter are reinterpreted in the framework of composite dark matter, i.e. dark matter particles that form neutral bound states, generically called “dark atoms”.

Two different scenarios are presented: milli-interacting dark matter and dark anti-atoms. In both of them, dark matter interacts sufficiently strongly with terrestrial matter to be stopped in it before reaching underground detectors, which are typically located at a depth of 1 km. As they drift towards the center of the Earth because of gravity, these thermal dark atoms are radiatively captured by the atoms of the active medium of underground detectors, which causes the emission of photons that produce the signals through their interactions with the electrons of the medium. This provides a way of reinterpreting the results in terms of electron recoils instead of nuclear recoils.

The two models involve milli-charges and are able to reconcile the most contradictory experiments. We determine, for each model, the regions in the parameter space that reproduce the experiments with positive results in consistency with the constraints of the experiments with negative results.
New holographic dark energy model inspired by the DGP braneworld
Authors: Sheykhi A. , Dehghani M. H. , Ghaffari S.
Published: November 2015

The energy density of the holographic dark energy (HDE) is based on the area law of entropy, and thus any modification of the area law leads to a modified holographic energy density. Inspired by the entropy expression associated with the apparent horizon of a Friedmann–Robertson–Walker (FRW) universe in DGP braneworld, we propose a new model for the HDE in the framework of DGP brane cosmology. We investigate the cosmological consequences of this new model and calculate the equation of state (EoS) parameter by choosing the Hubble radius, [Formula: see text], as the system’s IR cutoff. Our study show that, due to the effects of the extra dimension (bulk), the identification of IR cutoff with Hubble radius, can reproduce the present acceleration of the universe expansion. This is in contrast to the ordinary HDE in standard cosmology which leads to the zero EoS parameter in the case of choosing the Hubble radius as system’s IR cutoff in the absence of interaction between dark matter (DM) and dark energy (DE).
Segmentation of Retinal Blood Vessels Based on Cake Filter
Authors: Bao Xi-Rong , Ge Xin , She Li-Huang , Zhang Shi
Published: November 2015

Segmentation of retinal blood vessels is significant to diagnosis and evaluation of ocular diseases like glaucoma and systemic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. The retinal blood vessel segmentation for small and low contrast vessels is still a challenging problem. To solve this problem, a new method based on cake filter is proposed. Firstly, a quadrature filter band called cake filter band is made up in Fourier field. Then the real component fusion is used to separate the blood vessel from the background. Finally, the blood vessel network is got by a self-adaption threshold. The experiments implemented on the STARE database indicate that the new method has a better performance than the traditional ones on the small vessels extraction, average accuracy rate, and true and false positive rate.
Determining the IC50 Values for Vorozole and Letrozole, on a Series of Human Liver Cytochrome P450s, to Help Determine the Binding Site of Vorozole in the Liver
Authors: Raymond Lendelle , Rayani Nikita , Polson Grace , Sikorski Kylie , Lian Ailin , VanAlstine-Parris Melissa A.
Published: November 2015

Vorozole and letrozole are third-generation aromatase (cytochrome P450 19A1) inhibitors. [11C]-Vorozole can be used as a radiotracer for aromatase in living animals but when administered by IV, it collects in the liver. Pretreatment with letrozole does not affect the binding of vorozole in the liver. In search of finding the protein responsible for the accumulation of vorozole in the liver, fluorometric high-throughput screening assays were used to test the inhibitory capability of vorozole and letrozole on a series of liver cytochrome P450s (CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP2A6, and CYP3A4). It was determined that vorozole is a potent inhibitor of CYP1A1 (IC50 = 0.469 μM) and a moderate inhibitor of CYP2A6 and CYP3A4 (IC50 = 24.4 and 98.1 μM, resp.). Letrozole is only a moderate inhibitor of CYP1A1 and CYP2A6 (IC50 = 69.8 and 106 μM) and a very weak inhibitor of CYP3A4 (<10% inhibition at 1 mM). Since CYP3A4 makes up the majority of the CYP content found in the human liver, and vorozole inhibits it moderately well but letrozole does not, CYP3A4 is a good candidate for the protein that [11C]-vorozole is binding to in the liver.
Leakage after Surgery for Rectum Cancer: Inconsistency in Reporting to the Danish Colorectal Cancer Group
Authors: Borly L. , Ellebæk M. B. , Qvist N.
Published: November 2015

Purpose. Anastomotic leakage accounts for up to 1/3 of all fatalities after rectal cancer surgery. Evidence suggests that anastomotic leakage has a negative prognostic impact on local cancer recurrence and long-term cancer specific survival. The reported leakage rate in 2011 in Denmark varied from 7 to 45 percent. The objective was to clarify if the reporting of anastomotic leakage to the Danish Colorectal Cancer Group was rigorous and unequivocal.Methods. An Internet-based questionnaire was e-mailed to all Danish surgical departments, who reported to Danish Colorectal Cancer Group (DCCG) in 2011. There were 23 questions. Four core questions were whether pelvic collection, fecal appearance in a pelvic drain, rectovaginal fistula, and “watchfull” waiting patients were reported as anastomotic leakage.Results. Fourteen out of 17 departments, who in 2011 according to DDCG performed rectal cancer surgery, answered the questionnaire. This gave a response rate of 82%. In three of four core questions there was disagreement in what should be reported as anastomotic leakage.Conclusion. The reporting of anastomotic leakage to the Danish Colorectal Cancer Group was not rigorous and unequivocal. The reported anastomotic leakage rate in Danish Colorectal Cancer Group should be interpreted with caution.
Corrosion Inhibiting Mechanism of Nitrite Ion on the Passivation of Carbon Steel and Ductile Cast Iron for Nuclear Power Plants
Authors: Kim K. T. , Kim H. W. , Chang H. Y. , Lim B. T. , Park H. B. , Kim Y. S.
Published: November 2015

While NaNO2addition can greatly inhibit the corrosion of carbon steel and ductile cast iron, in order to improve the similar corrosion resistance,ca.100 times more NaNO2addition is needed for ductile cast iron compared to carbon steel. A corrosion and inhibition mechanism is proposed wherebyNO2-ion is added to oxidize. TheNO2-ion can be reduced to nitrogen compounds and these compounds may be absorbed on the surface of graphite. Therefore, since nitrite ion needs to oxidize the surface of matrix and needs to passivate the galvanic corroded area and since it is absorbed on the surface of graphite, a greater amount of corrosion inhibitor needs to be added to ductile cast iron compared to carbon steel. The passive film of carbon steel and ductile cast iron, formed by NaNO2addition showed N-type semiconductive properties and its resistance, is increased; the passive current density is thus decreased and the corrosion rate is then lowered. In addition, the film is mainly composed of iron oxide due to the oxidation byNO2-ion; however, regardless of the alloys, nitrogen compounds (not nitrite) were detected at the outermost surface but were not incorporated in the inner oxide.
Selection of Single-Stranded DNA Molecular Recognition Elements against Exotoxin A Using a Novel Decoy-SELEX Method and Sensitive Detection of Exotoxin A in Human Serum
Authors: Hong Ka Lok , Yancey Kailey , Battistella Luisa , Williams Ryan M. , Hickey Katherine M. , Bostick Chris D. , Gannett Peter M. , Sooter Letha J.
Published: November 2015

Exotoxin A is one of the virulence factors ofPseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that can cause infections resulting in adverse health outcomes and increased burden to health care systems. Current methods of diagnosingP. aeruginosainfections are time consuming and can require significant preparation of patient samples. This study utilized a novel variation of the Systematic Evolution of Ligand by Exponential Enrichment, Decoy-SELEX, to identify an Exotoxin A specific single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) molecular recognition element (MRE). Its emphasis is on increasing stringency in directing binding toward free target of interest and at the same time decreasing binding toward negative targets. A ssDNA MRE with specificity and affinity was identified after fourteen rounds of Decoy-SELEX. Utilizing surface plasmon resonance measurements, the determined equilibrium dissociation constant(Kd)of the MRE is between 4.2 µM and 4.5 µM, and is highly selective for Exotoxin A over negative targets. A ssDNA MRE modified sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been developed and achieved sensitive detection of Exotoxin A at nanomolar concentrations in human serum. This study has demonstrated the proof-of-principle of using a ssDNA MRE as a clinical diagnostic tool.
Improved Iterative Decoding of Network-Channel Codes for Multiple-Access Relay Channel
Authors: Majumder Saikat , Verma Shrish
Published: November 2015

Cooperative communication using relay nodes is one of the most effective means of exploiting space diversity for low cost nodes in wireless network. In cooperative communication, users, besides communicating their own information, also relay the information of other users. In this paper we investigate a scheme where cooperation is achieved using a common relay node which performs network coding to provide space diversity for two information nodes transmitting to a base station. We propose a scheme which uses Reed-Solomon error correcting code for encoding the information bit at the user nodes and convolutional code as network code, instead of XOR based network coding. Based on this encoder, we propose iterative soft decoding of joint network-channel code by treating it as a concatenated Reed-Solomon convolutional code. Simulation results show significant improvement in performance compared to existing scheme based on compound codes.
Prefiltering Strategy to Improve Performance of Semantic Web Service Discovery
Authors: Ghayekhloo Samira , Bayram Zeki
Published: November 2015

Discovery of semantic Web services is a heavyweight task when the number of Web services or the complexity of ontologies increases. In this paper, we present a new logical discovery framework based on semantic description of the capability of Web services and user goals using F-logic. Our framework tackles the scalability problem and improves discovery performance by adding two prefiltering stages to the discovery engine. The first stage is based on ontology comparison of user request and Web service categories. In the second stage, yet more Web services are eliminated based upon a decomposition and analysis of concept and instance attributes used in Web service capabilities and the requested capabilities of the client, resulting in a much smaller pool of Web services that need to be matched against the client request. Our prefiltering approach is evaluated using a new Web service repository, called WSMO-FL test collection. The recall rate of the filtering process is 100% by design, since no relevant Web services are ever eliminated by the two prefiltering stages, and experimental results show that the precision rate is more than 53%.
Management of Delayed Onset Postoperative Hemorrhage after Anastomotic Urethroplasty
Authors: Bertrand L. A. , Elliott S. P. , Breyer B. N. , Erickson B. A.
Published: November 2015

Excision with primary anastomosis (EPA) urethroplasty is generally the preferred method for short strictures in the bulbar urethra, given its high success rate and low complication rate compared to other surgical interventions. Bleeding is a presumed risk factor for any surgical procedure but perioperative hemorrhage after an EPA requiring hospitalization and/or reintervention is unreported with no known consensus on the best course for management. Through our experience with three separate cases of significant postoperative urethral hemorrhage after EPA, we developed an algorithm for treatment beginning with conservative management and progressing through endoscopic and open techniques, as well as consideration of embolization by interventional radiology. All the three of these cases were managed successfully though they did require multiple interventions. We theorize that younger patients with more robust corpus spongiosum and more vigorous spontaneous erections, patients that have undergone fewer prior urethral procedures and therefore have more prominent vasculature, and those patients managed with a two-layer closure of the ventral urethra without ligation of the transected bulbar arteries are at a higher risk for this complication.
Descemet’s Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty versus Descemet’s Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty in the Fellow Eye for Fuchs Endothelial Dystrophy: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Bhandari Vipul , Reddy Jagdeesh K. , Relekar Kirti , Prabhu Vijayalakshmi
Published: November 2015

Aim. To evaluate visual outcome and endothelial cell density (ECD) after Descemet’s Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK) in comparison with Descemet’s Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSAEK) in the fellow eye for Fuchs endothelial dystrophy (FED).Design. Single-centre, retrospective case series.Methods. 30 eyes of 30 patients undergoing DMEK, who completed a 1-year follow-up, were compared with 30 fellow eyes which underwent DSAEK for bilateral FED. Main outcome measures studied included Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) and ECD during a 1-year follow-up period.Results. BCVA improved from 0.78 ± 0.35 logMAR, and 0.73 ± 0.31 logMAR before surgery to 0.22 ± 0.1 logMAR and 0.35 ± 0.12 logMAR 6 months after DMEK and DSEK, respectively (P<0.001). At one year after surgery, the BCVA was maintained at 0.21 ± 0.12 logMAR and 0.34 ± 0.1 logMAR, respectively, after DMEK and DSAEK. A statistically better visual outcome was observed after DMEK compared to DSAEK (P<0.05) in fellow eyes.Conclusions. DMEK provided better visual rehabilitation when compared to DSAEK. Nevertheless, there were no significant differences with regard to the ECD within a 1-year follow-up.
Feasibility of Using High-Performance Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete for Simplifying Reinforcement Details of Critical Members
Authors: Jang Seok-Joon , Kang Dae-Hyun , Ahn Kyung-Lim , Park Wan-Shin , Kim Sun-Woong , Yun Hyun-Do
Published: November 2015

This paper addresses the effects of hooked-end steel fibre contents on the mechanical properties of high-performance concrete (HPC) and investigates the feasibility of utilizing steel fibres to simplify the complicated reinforcement detailing of critical HPC members under high shear stress. Mechanical properties of HPCs with specified compressive strength of 60 and 100 MPa include the flow, air content, compressive strength, and flexural strength. The effectiveness of 1.50% steel fibre content on the shear behaviour of diagonally reinforced concrete coupling beam without additional transverse reinforcement was investigated to alleviate complex reinforcing details for the full section confinement of diagonal bar groups. The test results revealed the incorporation of steel fibres significantly affected the mechanical properties of the HPCs. For diagonally reinforced coupling beam (SFRCCB) without additional transverse reinforcement, the addition of 1.5% steel fibre content into 60 MPa HPC coupling beam provides similar cracking and structural behaviours compared to those of diagonally reinforced coupling beam (CCB) with full section confinement details. However, the ductility of SFRCCB was less than that of CCB. It is recommended that both stirrups and steel fibre should be used for fully confining the diagonal bar groups of coupling beams to achieve the ductile behaviour.