bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Isotopic discrimination of stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) in a host-specific holocephalan tapeworm
Authors: Navarro J. , Albo-Puigserver M. , Coll M. , Saez R. , Forero M.G. , Kutcha R.
Published: March 2013

During the past decade, parasites have been considered important components of their ecosystems since they can modify food-web structures and functioning. One constraint to the inclusion of parasites in food-web models is the scarcity of available information on their feeding habits and host–parasite relationships. The stable isotope approach is suggested as a useful methodology to determine the trophic position and feeding habits of parasites. However, the isotopic approach is limited by the lack of information on the isotopic discrimination (ID) values of parasites, which is pivotal to avoiding the biased interpretation of isotopic results. In the present study we aimed to provide the first ID values of δ15N and δ13C between the gyrocotylidean tapeworm Gyrocotyle urna and its definitive host, the holocephalan Chimaera monstrosa. We also test the effect of host body size (body length and body mass) and sex of the host on the ID values. Finally, we illustrate how the trophic relationships of the fish host C. monstrosa and the tapeworm G. urna could vary relative to ID values. Similar to other studies with parasites, the ID values of the parasite–host system were negative for both isotopic values of N (Δδ15N = − 3.33 ± 0.63‰) and C (Δδ13C = − 1.32 ± 0.65‰), independent of the sex and size of the host. By comparing the specific ID obtained here with ID from other studies, we illustrate the importance of using specific ID in parasite–host systems to avoid potential errors in the interpretation of the results when surrogate values from similar systems or organisms are used.
A telephone-supported cardiovascular lifestyle programme (CLIP) for lipid reduction and weight loss in general practice patients: a randomised controlled pilot trial
Authors: Stuart Keren Louise , Wyld Belinda , Bastiaans Kathryn , Stocks Nigel , Brinkworth Grant , Mohr Phil , Noakes Manny
Published: March 2013

Objective

To evaluate a primary prevention care model using telephone support delivered through an existing health call centre to general practitioner-referred patients at risk of developing CVD, using objective measures of CVD risk reduction and weight loss.

Design

Participants were randomised into two groups: (i) those receiving a telephone-supported comprehensive lifestyle intervention programme (CLIP: written structured diet and exercise advice, plus seven telephone sessions with the Heart Foundation Health Information Service); and (ii) those receiving usual care from their general practitioner (control: written general lifestyle advice). Fasting plasma lipids, blood pressure, weight, waist circumference and height were assessed on general practice premises by a practice nurse at Weeks 0 and 12.

Setting

Two general practices in Adelaide, South Australia.

Subjects

Forty-nine men and women aged 48·0 (sd5·88) years identified by their general practitioner as being at future risk of CVD (BMI = 33·13 (sd5·39) kg/m2; LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) = 2·66 (sd0·92) mmol/l).

Results

CLIP participants demonstrated significantly greater reductions in LDL-C (estimated mean (EM)= 1·98 (se0·17) mmol/l) and total cholesterol (EM = 3·61 (se0·21) mmol/l) at Week 12 when compared with the control group (EM = 3·23 (se0·18) mmol/l and EM = 4·77 (se0·22) mmol/l, respectively). There were no significant treatment effects for systolic blood pressure (F(1,45) = 0·28,P= 0·60), diastolic blood pressure (F(1,43) = 0·52,P= 0·47), weight (F(1,42) = 3·63,P= 0·063) or waist circumference (F(1,43) = 0·32,P= 0·577).

Conclusions

In general practice patients, delivering CLIP through an existing telephone health service is effective in achieving reductions in LDL-C and total cholesterol. While CLIP may have potential for wider implementation to support primary prevention of CVD, longer-term cost-effectiveness data are warranted.
Use of dietary supplements in pregnant women in relation to sociodemographic factors – a report from The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study
Authors: Aronsson Carin Andrén , Vehik Kendra , Yang Jimin , Uusitalo Ulla , Hay Kristen , Joslowski Gesa , Riikonen Anne , Ballard Lori , Virtanen Suvi M , Norris Jill M
Published: March 2013

Objectives

The aim of the present study was to examine the prevalence and associated factors of dietary supplement use, particularly supplements containing vitamin D and fatty acids, in pregnant women enrolled in a multi-national study.

Design

The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study is a prospective longitudinal cohort study. Maternal dietary supplement use was self-reported through questionnaires at month 3 to 4 postpartum.

Setting

Six clinical research centres; three in the USA (Colorado, Georgia/Florida and Washington) and three in Europe (Sweden, Finland and Germany).

Subjects

Mothers (n 7326) to infants screened for high-risk HLA-DQ genotypes of type 1 diabetes.

Results

Ninety-two per cent of the 7326 women used one or more types of supplement during pregnancy. Vitamin D supplements were taken by 65 % of the women, with the highest proportion of users in the USA (80·5 %). Overall, 16 % of the women reported taking fatty acid supplements and a growing trend was seen in all countries between 2004 and 2010 (P < 0·0001). The use was more common in Germany (32 %) and the USA (24 %) compared with Finland (8·5 %) and Sweden (7·0 %). Being pregnant with the first child was a strong predictor for any supplement use in all countries. Low maternal age (<25 years), higher education, BMI ≥ 25·0 kg/m2 and smoking during pregnancy were factors associated with supplement use in some but not all countries.

Conclusions

The majority of the women used dietary supplements during pregnancy. The use was associated with sociodemographic and behavioural factors, such as parity, maternal age, education, BMI and maternal smoking.
Nonscanning Three-Dimensional Optical Microscope Based on the Reflectivity-Height Transformation for Biological Measurements
Authors: Chiu Ming-Hung , Tan Chen-Tai , Lee Tsuan-Shih , Lee Jain-Cheng
Published: March 2013

We propose a nonscanning three-dimensional (3D) optical microscope based on reflectivity-height transformation in applications of biological and transparent plate measurements. The reflectivity of a prism can be transformed to the surface height of the specimen based on geometrical optics and the principle of internal reflection. Thus, the pattern of reflectivity is representative of the surface profile. Using charge-coupled device cameras to obtain the two-dimensional image patterns and combining with its reflectivity pattern, the 3D profile can be generated. The lateral resolution is determined by the diffraction limit, and the vertical resolution is better than several nanometers according to the incident angle and polarization used.
A (S)TEM Gas Cell Holder with Localized Laser Heating forIn SituExperiments
Authors: Mehraeen Shareghe , McKeown Joseph T. , Deshmukh Pushkarraj V. , Evans James E. , Abellan Patricia , Xu Pinghong , Reed Bryan W. , Taheri Mitra L. , Fischione Paul E. , Browning Nigel D.
Published: March 2013

The advent of aberration correction for transmission electron microscopy has transformed atomic resolution imaging into a nearly routine technique for structural analysis. Now an emerging frontier in electron microscopy is the development ofin situcapabilities to observe reactions at atomic resolution in real time and within realistic environments. Here we present a newin situgas cell holder that is designed for compatibility with a wide variety of sample type (i.e., dimpled 3-mm discs, standard mesh grids, various types of focused ion beam lamellae attached to half grids). Its capabilities include localized heating and precise control of the gas pressure and composition while simultaneously allowing atomic resolution imaging at ambient pressure. The results show that 0.25-nm lattice fringes are directly visible for nanoparticles imaged at ambient pressure with gas path lengths up to 20 μm. Additionally, we quantitatively demonstrate that while the attainable contrast and resolution decrease with increasing pressure and gas path length, resolutions better than 0.2 nm should be accessible at ambient pressure with gas path lengths less than the 15 μm utilized for these experiments.
Transparency and timeliness: the monitoring of agricultural policies in the WTO using OECD data
Authors: JOSLING TIM , MITTENZWEI KLAUS
Published: March 2013

Transparency in the multilateral trade system is fundamental. Monitoring the compliance of WTO members with their obligations is an important part of that transparency, and timeliness in the notification of compliance is crucial. In the case of domestic support to agriculture, the notifications of compliance with obligations has been slow and opaque. But another database exists that could both illuminate the extent to which policy instruments are correctly notified and provide a convenient way to ensure timely ‘pre-notifications’ in the event that delays occur in the future. This note shows how the OECD database can be used, for example, to shed light on the extent to which payments to producers that require production as a matter of eligibility are presently notified to the WTO as having no effect on production. We also demonstrate the feasibility of using OECD data to construct ‘pre-notifications’ by calculating the (as yet un-notified) domestic support notifications for the EU for the years 2009/10 and 2010/11.
Interprofessional Collaboration Within an Anesthesiology Department: Implications for the Education and Training of Pediatric Psychologists
Authors: Palermo Tonya M.
Published: March 2013

Interprofessional collaboration is a key activity of the pediatric psychologist. There are a multitude of benefits of interprofessional collaboration, such as the opportunity to provide interdisciplinary care to children and families, to contribute to initiatives that have policy impact across professions, and to integrate the knowledge and skills of multiple professions within a research team. In this commentary, several challenges and strategies for maximizing interprofessional collaboration are described based on experiences working within a department of anesthesiology. Specifically, challenges in understanding professional roles, relevance of the other profession, and leadership in an interprofessional context are highlighted. Education and training in interprofessional collaboration is critically needed to prepare the future pediatric psychologist to assume collaborative interprofessional roles.
Launching a New Journal: Opportunities for the Future of Pediatric Psychology
Authors: Drotar Dennis
Published: March 2013

The launching of a new journal, Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology (CPPP), is an important development in our field. The purpose of this commentary is to describe the significance of the journal in the context of the historical development of published work in the field of pediatric psychology, consider ways to enhance impact of the new journal on the field, and potential challenges to the success of the journal.
A Multidisciplinary Functional Toileting Pathway for Children With Cerebral Palsy: Preliminary Analysis
Authors: Millard Erin , Benore Ethan , Mosher Kathryn
Published: March 2013

To directly address the challenge of toilet training for children with cerebral palsy, providers at a Midwest multidisciplinary center initiated a medical pathway to assist providers with identifying presumed medical, physical, and psychosocial barriers to functional toileting. Using a multidisciplinary clinical pathway, common barriers to toileting were identified and treated, and behavioral interventions for toilet training were implemented (if indicated). Data from 5 participants, (mean age of 5 years, 9 months) who completed the pathway were analyzed. Participant progress was assessed using scores from 4 toileting domains of the Functional Independence Scale for Children (WeeFIM), which measures level of independence/assistance with activities of daily living. All participants increased their WeeFIM scores in at least 1 toileting domain, 80% increased in at least 2 domains, and 40% increased in all 4 domains monitored. The average increase on the WeeFIM scales was 3.08 points on a 7-point scale. These results were clinically significant but not statistically significant.
An RCT of an Internet Intervention for Pediatric Encopresis With One-Year Follow-Up
Authors: Ritterband Lee M. , Thorndike Frances P. , Lord Holly R. , Borowitz Stephen M. , Walker Lynn S. , Ingersoll Karen S. , Sutphen James L. , Cox Daniel J.
Published: March 2013

Encopresis is a significant medical problem for millions of children. Despite its prevalence, poor treatment success rates indicate that it is often difficult to treat. The goal of this study was to evaluate an Internet intervention for encopresis (UCanPoopToo) with children from across the US. A 2 (Group) × 3 (Time) RCT was used to evaluate the efficacy of UCanPoopToo. Participants were randomized to a treatment-as-usual (TAU) or TAU + UCanPoopToo group. Assessments were completed at baseline (Pre), 4–6 weeks following baseline (Post), and one year follow-up (Post12). At baseline, the TAU and TAU + UCanPoopToo retrospectively reported a median 9 and 8 accidents, respectively, over the previous two weeks. Using prospective online diary data, the TAU group reported a median 8 accidents at Post and 3 accidents at Post12, compared to the TAU + UCanPoopToo group report of a median 4.5 accidents at Post and 1 accident at Post12. At Post12, a significant difference was found between success rates (≤1 accident/2 weeks) of 28% for the TAU group and 64% for the TAU + UCanPoopToo group. At Post12, a significant difference was also found between cure rates (0 accidents/2 weeks) of 20% for the TAU group and 50% for the TAU + UCanPoopToo group. This study supports the use of an Internet intervention for encopresis. Increasing the ability for clinicians to refer their patients to evidence-based Internet interventions has meaningful implications for clinical practice as it extends the reach of treatment options for patients and enables provision of interventions otherwise unavailable.
Confidentiality and Electronic Medical Records for Behavioral Health Records: The Experience of Pediatric Psychologists at Four Children's Hospitals
Authors: Smolyansky Beverly H. , Stark Lori J. , Pendley Jennifer Shroff , Robins Paul M. , Price Karin
Published: March 2013

With the advent of electronic medical records (EMR), pediatric psychologists working in medical centers must address how confidentiality of behavioral health records will be defined and integrated into the larger EMR. Pediatric psychologists at four children’s hospitals share their decision-making and outcomes as their home institutions transitioned to an EMR. All four formed committees of relevant stakeholders and legal advisors to define the legal and ethical issues and all four had mechanisms to communicate provider concerns to and share committee opinions with providers. Two of the four required patients to give consent for behavioral health records to be integrated into the larger EMR, one integrated behavioral health records completely without required specific consent, and the fourth differentiated integration based on the type of service provided, with those focused primarily on physical health concerns fully integrated and those focused on behavioral health limited access to only behavioral health providers. The EMR at each institution allowed psychologists discretion to keep individual notes or portions of notes at a heightened level of confidentiality even when integrated. At all four institutions, medical colleagues valued having the behavioral health records fully integrated within the EMR, both the psychologists and their medical colleagues appreciate the improved communication with an integrated EMR (whether by consent or default), and the broader confidentiality protections of each institution has ensured that records are not accessed by those not involved in a patient’s care. Most important, families appear to appreciate the benefits of an integrated EMR.
Blind sparsity weak subspace pursuit for compressed sensing
Authors: Tian Wenbiao , Rui Guosheng
Published: March 2013

A type of back‐track algorithm has recently been proposed to handle sparse reconstruction problems arising in compressed sensing. This sort of algorithm is attractive owing to its recovery performance; however, it requires the sparsity level to be known a priori. A blind sparsity algorithm is presented based on subspace pursuit and weak pruning, and its convergence is demonstrated. The experiments validate the proposed algorithm's superior performance to that of several other back‐tracking‐type and optimisation methods.
Self‐calibrating evaluation method for microwave interferometry measurements
Authors: Prihoda M. , Hoffmann K.
Published: March 2013

Microwave interferometry provides a sensitive measurement of amplitudes and phases of reflections. Basically, the interferometric system can be used to measure a non‐electrical quantity, such as distance. Presented is a new method to evaluate data from a microwave interferometer. The method is compared with the previously used procedure. The new method provides more accurate results and also offers the possibility of self‐calibration.
Real‐time swimmers' feedback based on smart infrared (SSIR) optical wireless sensor
Authors: Hagem R.M. , Thiel D.V. , O'Keefe S. , Fickenscher T.
Published: March 2013

An IrDA link based on a serial infrared transceiver has been designed and implemented for real‐time swimmers' feedback. A wrist‐mounted accelerometer provided stroke information to the transmitter. The signal was detected using a photodiode detector. Both the transmitter and receiver units measured 27 × 19 mm. Propagation experiments in air and under water were performed in a glass tank (91 × 39 × 45 cm) to validate the system. The maximum link length in air was 2 m and in still water 70 cm. In water with bubbles, the range reduced to 50 cm. This distance is sufficient for wrist–head communications during swimming. The information transmitted was the time duration of one complete stroke, which was updated every stroke and presented to the swimmer using an RGB LED mounted on the goggles. The hardware, software and implementation methods for the IrDA system are described.
Fundamental relationship between bilateral kernel and locally adaptive regression kernel
Authors: Cho W. , Koschan A. , Abidi M.A.
Published: March 2013

The relationship between the bilateral kernel function and the recently proposed locally adaptive regression kernel is examined. Despite the difference in implementation, both locally adaptive approaches are designed to prevent averaging across edges while smoothing an image. Their similarity suggests that they can reasonably be linked although both filtering approaches have grown to become well‐established theories in their fields. First, the locally adaptive regression kernel is analysed theoretically. Then, the connection between the methods is explored by applying the spectral distance measure to the bilateral kernel. Finally, a direct relation is established between the bilateral kernel and the locally adaptive regression kernel.
Object tracking using random sparse appearance model
Authors: Yang Shuo , Xu Jie , Wang Ming‐Hui
Published: March 2013

Selection of reliable templates is important for robust tracking. To this end a novel appearance model is proposed. This model consists of several representive templates. Each template, whose feature vector is extracted from a group of randomly selected feature points on the object, represents a different view of the object. By means of a sparse representation method, the appearance model is updated according to the sparse coefficients of the best candidate by solving l1‐minimisation. Experiments with both public and the authors own challenging datasets show that the new method outperforms several state‐of‐the‐art methods in accuracy.
Metamaterial‐based frequency reconfigurable antenna
Authors: Cheribi H. , Ghanem F. , Kimouche H.
Published: March 2013

A frequency reconfigurable antenna based on metamaterial is presented. It is composed of a coplanar‐fed straight‐line monopole with two double split‐ring resonators (DSRRs) of different size disposed at its proximity. Each cell exhibits a negative permeability over a frequency band, which produces magnetic couplings with the monopole that starts to radiate at new bands; the whole structure is now a tri‐band antenna. The frequencies over which the two DSRRs exhibit a negative permeability have been arbitrarily chosen to show that the proposed approach can be used to create new operating bands and also to introduce notches. By using a single switch at each metamaterial cell, their effect can be deactivated and the corresponding resonance can be suppressed, resulting in a frequency reconfigurable antenna. Simulated and measured results are presented and good agreement is achieved.
Dual‐band bandstop filter using stub‐loaded resonators with sharp rejection characteristic
Authors: Chen Fu‐Chang , Qiu Jie‐Ming , Chu Qing‐Xin
Published: March 2013

Dual‐band bandstop filters using open‐circuited stub‐loaded resonators are presented. The first and second resonant frequencies of the open‐circuited stub‐loaded resonator can be flexibly controlled by tuning the length and position of the open‐circuited stub. To illustrate the concept, a dual‐band bandstop filter has been designed, fabricated and measured. The prototype of the dual‐band bandstop filter achieved attenuation of 42 and 44 dB at 2.4 and 5.2 GHz.
Broadly tunable quantum‐dot based ultra‐short pulse laser system with different diffraction grating orders
Authors: Alhazime A. , Ding Y. , Nikitichev D.I. , Fedorova K.A. , Krestnikov I.L. , Krakowski M. , Rafailov E.U.
Published: March 2013

A broadly tunable quantum‐dot based ultra‐short pulse master oscillator power amplifier with different diffraction grating orders as an external‐cavity resonance feedback is studied. A broader tuning range, narrower optical spectra as well as higher peak power spectal density (maximun of 1.37 W/nm) from the second‐order diffraction beam are achieved compared to those from the first‐order diffraction beam in spite of slightly broader pulse duration from the second‐order diffraction.
Compact hybrid broadband GaN HEMT power amplifier based on feedback technique
Authors: Qiu Y.J. , Xu Y.H. , Xu R.M. , Lin W.G.
Published: March 2013

A broadband hybrid power amplifier using a gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) is presented. A discrete GaN HEMT bare die with 1.25 mm of gate width is used, and a compact size of 8.3 × 12.7 mm is achieved by using a feedback technique based on lumped elements. The power amplifier operates from 100 to 1000 MHz, and shows more than 12.8 dB gain and higher than 30.7 dBm output power in the overall bandwidth. Power added efficiency of 61.3% was acquired at the mid‐band frequency and more than 54.5% throughout the bandwidth.
Innovative design of implanted medical lead to reduce MRI‐induced scattered electric fields
Authors: Das R. , Yoo H.
Published: March 2013

The radio frequency coils in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems induce scattered electric fields in the implanted medical lead and result in tissue heating. A novel structure of the medical lead has been designed to reduce the scattered field. Proposed metal nails are placed along the medical lead. The scattered electric field is calculated near the medical lead tip at 64 MHz (1.5 T MRI). By installing this design on the conventional lead, a significant decrease in the scattered electric field at the tip of the lead is observed.
2–4 GHz wideband power amplifier with ultra‐flat gain and high PAE
Authors: Ding X. , He S. , You F. , Xie S. , Hu Z.
Published: March 2013

Demonstrated is a 2–4 GHz wideband power amplifier (WPA) using Cree 10 W GaN HEMT CGH40010. Also a novel process to find the optimum impedances is presented, with which the gain flatness can be taken into account. A compact PCB has been fabricated and tested with continuous waves at low (20 dBm) and high (28 dBm) input power level. From the measured results, at low power level, the gain is 13.1–14.1 dB across 2.0–3.9 GHz and 12.3–14.1 dB across 2.0–4.0 GHz. For large signals, power gain is 11.1–12.6 dB with power‐added efficiency (PAE) 36.5–53.4% while output power is around 40 dBm. Gain flatness keeps less than 1 dB beyond 95% of the band. For a 5 MHz WCDMA signal, the adjacent channel leakage ratio of the WPA with digital predistortion reaches − 45.3 dBc with an average drain efficiency of 46.7%.
Fabrication and characterisation of high sensitivity copper‐copper oxide‐copper (Cu‐CuO‐Cu) metal‐insulator‐metal tunnel junctions
Authors: Abdel‐Rahman M. , Syaryadhi M. , Debbar N.
Published: March 2013

A report is presented on the realisation and characterisation of symmetrical metal‐insulator‐metal (MIM) diodes using the new material combination: copper‐copper oxide‐copper (Cu‐CuO‐Cu). The MIM diodes, having contact areas of 2 × 2 µm2, were fabricated using electron beam lithography and sputter deposition. The MIM diodes exhibited an absolute sensitivity as high as 4.497 V− 1.
FPGA realisation of inverse kinematics for biped robot based on CORDIC
Authors: Wong C.C. , Liu C.C.
Published: March 2013

A FPGA realisation structure based on CORDIC is proposed to implement inverse kinematics for a biped robot. First, the angle equations of inverse kinematics for the biped robot are described. Based on these equations represented by the inverse tangent function, a FPGA structure based on two CORDIC operators of circular vectoring and hyperbolic vectoring is proposed and implemented on a FPGA chip. Finally, comparison of the proposed FPGA realisation and the software realisation to calculate these angle equations is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed structure.
Performance analysis for mobile‐relay‐based M2M two‐way AF relaying in N*Nakagami‐m fading
Authors: Zhang C. , Ge J. , Li J. , Hu Y.
Published: March 2013

The system outage probability of a mobile‐relay‐based two‐way amplify‐and‐forward (AF) relaying system is investigated. Independently but not necessarily identically distributed N*Nakagami‐m fading is adopted to provide a realistic description of the mobile‐to‐mobile (M2M) channel. By slightly adjusting the integral region, concise and generalised closed‐form lower and upper bounds are obtained, providing valuable insight into practical system designs. Simulation results highlight the derived expressions and show that the lower bound can act as a tight closed‐form outage probability expression.
Inductive‐varying grid for highly beam‐steerable cavity antennas
Authors: Ghasemi A. , Burokur S.N. , Dhouibi A. , de Lustrac A.
Published: March 2013

The design of a locally one‐dimensional inductive‐varying metamaterial operating near 10 GHz is reported. This is combined with a fixed capacitive grid to design a phase‐varying metasurface. This composite metasurface is then used as a partially reflecting surface (PRS) together with a perfect electric conductor surface to form a resonant Fabry‐Pérot type cavity. A patch antenna acting as a primary source is embedded in the cavity to constitute a highly beam‐steerable directive antenna. A 56° deflection of the antenna beam is experimentally observed.
Responsivity improvement in PbS colloidal quantum dot photoconductors using colloidal gold nanoparticles
Authors: Heves E. , Ozturk C. , Gurbuz Y.
Published: March 2013

A study is presented on improving the absorption of the PbS colloidal quantum dot (CQD) films using plasmonic scattering. Unlike previous methods that include high temperature annealing, an integrated circuits (IC) compatible method of introducing colloidal gold nanoparticles to PbS film during the spin deposition process is developed. The devices are composed of eight layers of PbS and gold nanoparticles are spin cast after the fourth layer that places them in the middle, sandwiched between PbS films in order to avoid electrical shorts between the fingers. Two different solutions of gold nanoparticles in citrate, 0.1% and 0.01%, are used to fabricate two different devices. Introducing 0.01% Au nanoparticles in PbS film increases the responsivity 2.6‐fold, whereas introducing 0.1% Au nanoparticles results in a 6.5‐fold increase in responsivity.
Electromagnetic characterisation of flexible conductive membranes at millimetre‐waves
Authors: Romano P. , Rosset S. , Maffli L. , Shea H. , Perruisseau‐Carrier J.
Published: March 2013

Presented is the experimental surface impedance characterisation of stretchable conductors at Ka‐band, using a non‐contact technique based on two‐port rectangular waveguide measurements. Two different types of metallisations are analysed, namely gold ion implantation and corrugated Ag deposition on polydimethylsiloxane membranes. The method allows characterising, in a simple configuration, the surface impedance of any thin metallisation, and is able to reduce the effects of tolerances of substrates and the possible gap between the conductive sheet and the holder waveguide. The obtained surface impedances are discussed in the light of potential applications.
Wideband and non‐dispersive wavelet transmission using leaky lens antenna
Authors: Vakili I. , Ohlsson L. , Gustafsson M. , Wernersson L.‐E.
Published: March 2013

An ultra‐wideband, non‐dispersive leaky lens antenna system for impulse applications has been designed, fabricated and characterised. An in‐house wavelet generator is connected to the antenna to transmit 100 ps‐long square pulses with centre frequencies at 45, 60 and 75 GHz. It is shown that the leaky lens antenna has negligible distortion and preserves the pulse shape generated by the millimetre‐wave pulse generator.
Iterative Wiener filter
Authors: Xi Bin , Liu Yuehong
Published: March 2013

A new adaptive filter algorithm, the iterative Wiener filter (IWF), is proposed to overcome the drawback of slow convergence speed for most LMS‐type algorithms. The adaptive filter is posed as a problem of finding the solution of a linear matrix equation, equivalent to the Wiener equation. Then the step size is optimised, which is time variant in terms of the residual error in each step. This property gives the IWF the ability of fast convergent speed. The stability of the algorithm can be secured when the estimation of covariance and cross‐covariance statistics become stationary. Only the product of the matrix and vector is needed for the implementation in each iteration. Numerical results demonstrate the superior performance of the IWF over some other LMS‐type algorithms.
Broadband beam scanning circularly‐polarised leaky‐wave antenna based on modified substrate integrated waveguide
Authors: Jin C. , Mujumdar M. , Alphones A.
Published: March 2013

A high gain broadband beam scanning circularly‐polarised (CP) leaky‐wave antenna (LWA) is proposed based on a modified substrate integrated waveguide. The designed CP LWA has been fabricated and its performance measured. The reported antenna presents expected broadband matched impedance with a measured reflection coefficient |S11| < − 10 dB from 15.4 to 19 GHz. The radiation pattern was measured and the axial ratio of the antenna is within 3 dB from 15.9 to 17.2 GHz. The antenna exhibits continuous beam scanning from 35° at 15.5 GHz to 47° at 18 GHz according to the broadside with maximum gain of 12.3 dBi.
Communicating in the pre-hospital emergency environment
Authors: Eadie Kathy , Carlyon Marissa J. , Stephens Joanne , Wilson Matthew D.
Published: March 2013

Aim.
To develop and evaluate the implementation of a communication board for paramedics to use with patients as an augmentative or alternative communication tool to address communication needs of patients in the pre-hospital setting.

Method.
A double-sided A4-size communication board was designed specifically for use in the pre-hospital setting by the Queensland Ambulance Service and Disability and Community Care Services. One side of the board contains expressive messages that could be used by both the patient and paramedic. The other side contains messages to support patients’ understanding and interaction tips for the paramedic. The communication board was made available in every ambulance and patient transport vehicle in the Brisbane Region.

Results.
A total of 878 paramedics completed a survey that gauged which patient groups they might use the communication board with. The two most common groups were patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and children. Staff reported feeling confident in using the board, and 72% of interviewed paramedics agreed that the communication board was useful for aiding communication with patients. Feedback from paramedics suggests that the board is simple to use, reduces patient frustration and improves communication.

Conclusion.
These results suggest that a communication board can be applied in the pre-hospital setting to support communication success with patients.

What is known about the topic?
It is imperative that communication between patient and paramedic is clear and effective. Research has shown that communication boards have been effective with people with temporary or permanent communication difficulties.

What does this paper add?
This is the first paper outlining the development and use of a communication board by paramedics in the pre-hospital setting in Australia. The paper details the design of the communication board for the unique pre-hospital environment. The paper provides some preliminary data on the use of the communication board with certain patient groups and its effectiveness as an alternative communication tool.

What are the implications for practitioners?
The findings support the use of the tool as a viable option in supporting the communication between paramedics and a range of patients. It is not suggested that this communication board will meet the complete communication needs of any individual in this environment, but it is hoped that the board’s presence within the Queensland Ambulance Service may result in paramedics introducing the board on occasions where communication with a patient is challenging.
Genetic and environment interactions of seed storage proteins in narrow-leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolius)
Authors: Islam Shahidul , Ma Wujun , Buirchell Bevan J. , Appels Rudi , Yan Guijun
Published: March 2013

This study investigated the genetic and environmental influences and their interactions on seed protein profiles of five narrow-leafed lupin cultivars grown under three different environmental conditions. High throughput MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry revealed 133 reproducible seed protein mass peaks. Thirty-one seed protein mass peaks were detected in all 15 combinations of cultivar × environment. Twenty mass peaks were influenced by cultivars irrespective of environment. Only six protein mass peaks were influenced by environments. Seventy-six mass peaks were highly variable. Number of mass peaks of lupin seed protein is mostly genetically controlled (P = 0.008) with no significant influence of the environment (P = 0.131). Environment and cultivar interactions were not significant (P = 0.889). Multivariate analyses of mass peak profiles supported the above analysis showing that protein mass peak profile was significantly (P = 0.001) influenced by cultivar but not by environment (P = 0.053). This result indicates the possibility of breeding new lupin cultivars targeting specific proteins for human food and animal feed without being too concerned about environmental influences.
Genetic variation in the root growth response of barley genotypes to salinity stress
Authors: Shelden Megan C. , Roessner Ute , Sharp Robert E. , Tester Mark , Bacic Antony
Published: March 2013

We aimed to identify genetic variation in root growth in the cereal crop barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in response to the early phase of salinity stress. Seminal root elongation was examined at various concentrations of salinity in seedlings of eight barley genotypes consisting of a landrace, wild barley and cultivars. Salinity inhibited seminal root elongation in all genotypes, with considerable variation observed between genotypes. Relative root elongation rates were 60–90% and 30–70% of the control rates at 100 and 150 mM NaCl, respectively. The screen identified the wild barley genotype CPI71284–48 as the most tolerant, maintaining root elongation and biomass in response to salinity. Root elongation was most significantly inhibited in the landrace Sahara. Root and shoot Na+ concentrations increased and K+ concentrations decreased in all genotypes in response to salinity. However, the root and shoot ion concentrations did not correlate with root elongation rates, suggesting that the Na+ and K+ concentrations were not directly influencing root growth, at least during the early phase of salt stress. The identification of genetic diversity in root growth responses to salt stress in barley provides important information for future genetic, physiological and biochemical characterisation of mechanisms of salinity tolerance.
Non-native accents and simultaneous interpreting quality perceptions
Authors: Cheung Andrew K. F
Published: March 2013

A controlled experiment measured native Hong Kong Cantonese speakers’ perceptions of the quality of three different simultaneous interpretations (SIs) into Cantonese. The SIs differed only in the interpreters’ accents, native in one case and non-native in the other two. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups, listening to the following versions of the SI: (1) native-accented Cantonese (control group); (2) Mandarin-accented Cantonese; (3) English-accented Cantonese. To motivate participants to listen attentively, they were told beforehand that they would take a comprehension test before assessing the quality of the SI delivery. Ten questionnaire items measuring SI quality perception were analyzed quantitatively, while any additional comments were examined qualitatively. Overall, respondents in the two groups who listened to SI delivered with a non-native accent assigned lower quality ratings on all survey items than did respondents listening to native-accented Cantonese SI. Qualitative data suggest three possible explanations for the low ratings of the two SIs with a non-native accent: (1) extra listening effort was required to understand these SIs; (2) negative stereotypes were triggered by the interpreters’ non-native accents; (3) feelings of insecurity or threat were prompted by the non-native interpreters’ ability to perform SI into Cantonese.
Interpreting in one’s own and in closely related languages
Authors: Hlavac Jim
Published: March 2013

Interpreters may see affinities between their own or working language(s) and others in the same family as an opening to a broader range of professional opportunities. This paper presents data from an online survey, completed by 23 mainly Australian-based interpreters for the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian languages. Main points include: number of accreditations (one, two or three languages); willingness to work in languages other than one’s ‘own’; and views on adapting language to the variety spoken by interlocutors (in both everyday usage and interpreted speech). Other questions examine negotiation of mismatches between ethnicity and the language variety expected by the client, as well as personal views regarding the distinctness of the three languages. Informants form three main groups: some work in one language only, with no accommodation to others; some consider the languages as separate but might accommodate to other varieties, extemporaneously or by prior arrangement; others consider that their native-speaker status in two or three languages makes accommodation superfluous. Two smaller groups (totalling four interpreters) consider substantial accommodation unnecessary: in one case they see the languages as separate but mutually understandable, in the other they see them as one single language. Quantitative data are complemented by informants’ comments.
Quantifying the evolutionary dynamics of German verbs
Authors: Carroll Ryan , Svare Ragnar , Salmons Joseph C.
Published: March 2013

Notions of constant rates of language change, whether relative or absolute, are widespread but controversial. Lieberman et al. (2007: 713) posit a frequency-based principle for verb regularization, tested against English historical data: “a verb that is 100 times less frequent regularizes 10 times as fast”. We present similar data from German, a closely related language. Until the Early Modern period, regularization was relatively uncommon, while the modern period shows a dramatic upswing in strong verbs becoming weak. As Lieberman et al. and others have found, frequency plays a clear role in regularization. We show that regularization also interacts with verb class membership (type frequency), and suggest that greater regularization in and since the Early Modern period correlates with socio-historical changes in language acquisition and use. While the notion of a general half-life for verb regularization proves challenging, more nuanced quantitative research on verb regularization can advance our understanding of language change, structurally and in its socio-historical context.
Oxyrhynchus 1381
Authors: Disler Caroline
Published: March 2013

The Hellenistic Greek papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1381 contains a translator’s prologue that has been overlooked by translation historians despite its significance as evidence for a far more creative view of religious translation outside the confines of the Judaeo-Christian tradition. This important text is described in its historical context and compared to contemporaneous Pagan and early contending Judaeo-Christian developments in sacred translation as well as to classical secular translation practices. This will provide some valuable insights into the many factors informing the ancient origins and evolution of modern expectations and concerns in the western translation community such as translatability issues, preoccupations with fidelity, rigid adherence to the source text, the translator’s invisibility and lack of creative freedom.
The public life of contemporary Chinese poetry in English translation
Authors: Bruno Cosima
Published: March 2013

This essay is an exploration of some of the social and cultural factors that have played a role in the production, publication and reception of English translations of contemporary Chinese poetry, from the beginning of the 1980s to today. The aim is to link translations to the broader context, highlighting modalities and expectations of reception that have evolved within the social structures through which the translation of contemporary Chinese poetry has been circulating: the publishing industry, universities, the periodical press, public intellectual debates, and the market. The article does not try to establish if this or that expectation are either real or perceived features of the source texts. Nor does it deal with translators’ individual interpretations, their private readings. Instead, adopting a wider sociocultural approach, the analysis proposes to shed light on the industrial and commercial dimension—the public life—of contemporary Chinese poetry in English translation.
Patterns in (in)directness
Authors: Pięta Hanna
Published: March 2013

The goal of this descriptive, exploratory paper is to identify and analyse patterns in a case study of direct and indirect literary transfer from Poland to Portugal between 1855 and 2010. By doing so, the paper intends to contribute to a deeper understanding of indirect translation. Firstly, relevant information concerning the corpus is presented. Secondly, the methodological issues are elucidated. Thirdly, the results of the study are discussed in detail. More specifically, the correlations between the dependent variables (directness and indirectness) and the independent variables (author profile, translator profile, publisher profile and target text literary genre) are examined. In addition, the correlation between the occurrence of the label ‘(in)direct’ is tested against the independent time variable. Finally, the preliminary conclusions and future research avenues are presented.
A corpus-based study of the mediation effect in translated and edited language
Authors: Kruger Haidee
Published: March 2013

This paper presents the results of a study investigating the hypothesis that the recurrent features, or universals, of translated language are primarily the result of a mediation process that is shared among different kinds of mediated language, rather than the particularities of bilingual language processing. The investigation made use of a comparable corpus consisting of a subcorpus of English texts translated from Afrikaans, a subcorpus of comparable edited English texts, and a subcorpus of comparable unedited (and also untranslated) English texts. The frequency and distribution of linguistic features associated with three of the universals of translated language (explicitation, normalisation/conservatism, and simplification) across the three subcorpora were analysed. The study was guided by the hypothesis that the frequency and distribution of linguistic features associated with the universals of translated language would demonstrate similarities in the two subcorpora of mediated text (i.e., the translated and edited subcorpus), as compared to the subcorpus of unmediated text (i.e., the unedited subcorpus). However, the study yields almost no evidence for a mediation effect that is shared by translated and edited language, at least not along the linguistic features investigated. There is, however, evidence for what appears to be a separate translation-specific effect, which seems likely to be more unconscious, more proceduralised and more related to the linguistic level alone. This offers some support for the hypothesis of universals of translated language that are unique to this kind of text mediation specifically. Furthermore, the findings of the study suggest that editing may involve a different kind of mediation effect altogether, which frequently remains invisible in conventional corpus-based studies comparing translated and non-translated language, and which requires further investigation.
Notochord vacuoles make a rod for the vertebrate back
Authors: Short Ben
Published: March 2013

A mysterious organelle is related to lysosomes and has functions in both early and late development.
Notochord vacuoles are lysosome-related organelles that function in axis and spine morphogenesis
Authors: Ellis Kathryn , Bagwell Jennifer , Bagnat Michel
Published: March 2013

The notochord plays critical structural and signaling roles during vertebrate development. At the center of the vertebrate notochord is a large fluid-filled organelle, the notochord vacuole. Although these highly conserved intracellular structures have been described for decades, little is known about the molecular mechanisms involved in their biogenesis and maintenance. Here we show that zebrafish notochord vacuoles are specialized lysosome-related organelles whose formation and maintenance requires late endosomal trafficking regulated by the vacuole-specific Rab32a and H+-ATPase–dependent acidification. We establish that notochord vacuoles are required for body axis elongation during embryonic development and identify a novel role in spine morphogenesis. Thus, the vertebrate notochord plays important structural roles beyond early development.
Classification of Cuntz–Krieger algebras by orbit equivalence of topological Markov shifts
Authors: Matsumoto Kengo
Published: March 2013

Let

A
,
B

A, B

be square irreducible matrices with entries in

{
0
,
1
}

\{0,1 \}

. Assume that the determinants of

1
−
A

1-A

and

1
−
B

1-B

have the same sign. We will show that the Cuntz–Krieger algebras

O

A

{\mathcal O}_A

and

O

B

{\mathcal O}_B

are isomorphic if and only if the right one-sided topological Markov shifts

(

X
A

,

σ
A

)

(X_A,\sigma _A)

and

(

X
B

,

σ
B

)

(X_B,\sigma _B)

are continuously orbit equivalent.