bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A FAST ADAPTATION TECHNIQUE FOR BUILDING DIALECTAL MALAY SPEECH SYNTHESIS ACOUSTIC MODEL
Authors: Jasmina Khaw Yen-Min , Tan Tien-Ping
Published: December 2015

This paper presents a fast adaptation technique to build a hidden Markov model (HMM) based dialectal speech synthesis acoustic model. Standard Malay is used as a source language whereas Kelantanese Malay is chosen to be target language in this study. Kelantan dialect is a Malay dialect from the northeast of Peninsular Malaysia. One of the most important steps and time consuming in building a HMM acoustic model is the alignment of speech sound. A good alignment will produce a clear and natural synthesize speech. The importance of this study is to propose a quick approach for aligning and building a good dialectal speech synthesis acoustic model by using a different source acoustic model. There are two proposed adaptation approaches in this study to synthesize dialectal Malay sentences using different amount of target speech and a source acoustic model to build the target acoustic model of speech synthesis system. From the results, we found out that the dialectal speech synthesis system built with adaptation approaches are much better in term of speech quality compared to the one without applying adaptation approach.
A NOVEL MULTIMEDIA INTERACTIVE APPLICATION TO SUPPORT ROAD SAFETY EDUCATION AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN MALAYSIA
Authors: Abdul Rawi Norkhairani , Mamat Abd. Rasid , Mat Deris Mohd Sufian , Mat Amin Maizan , Rahim Normala
Published: December 2015

The interactive multimedia is considered as a very promising potential to aid primary school pupils in learning and teaching method in introducing road safety education. Although web based applications for road safety education are available, they are based on overseas countries where the rules and environment settings are different from Malaysia’s environment. An effort to help pupils in interactively learning on road safety education in Malaysia has motivated this study. A framework encompass of learning theories, modules, multimedia elements and, usability and acceptance, has been developed and applied in an interactive multimedia prototype on road safety education called “FIQIR Road Safety”. The prototype has been developed based on a primary school textbook “Cermat Tiba Selamat” by Malaysian Ministry of Education (MOE).  FIQIR Road Safety has been designed and developed by utilizing multimedia elements to give an immersive experience to the user. It employs Watch, Learn and Play as the modules where the animations and activities represent actual traffic environment in Malaysia. The proposed framework hopefully can be a guide in developing interactive multimedia application such as FIQIR Road safety.
A CAUTION IN SOCIALIZATION: A PRELIMINARY IDENTIFICATION OF PERSONAL SECURITY JEOPARDIZING HABITS AMONG SOCIAL MEDIA USERS IN MALAYSIA
Authors: Ahmad Zawawi Md. Nabil
Published: December 2015

Social media is playing an important role to most people these days. People are using it to be connected among peers, updated with the latest information and also for e-commerce purposes. However, apart from its benefits there are others who would use the information obtained from social media in a malicious way such as harvesting personal information for black mailing, information manipulation and tele-marketing. This threat coupled with unsafe social media practice could expose the social media users to being manipulate into sharing sensitive and revealing information about them. In this paper, a preliminary investigation to identify distinct characterizations of unsafe social media habits is presented. For this study, we focused on one particular social engineering attack known as gatekeeper friending. In this attack, a would--be attacker or manipulator of information could exploit information shared over a social network and how an unsafe social media habits could expose its users to such attacks and exploitation. By identifying this habits we hope that a more secure and cautious code of conduct could be established to prevent unwanted disclosure of private information for malicious intention.
TRANSFORMATION MATRICES IN GENERATION OF CIRCULAR PATTERNS
Authors: Tan Wooi-Nee , Tan Yi-Fei , Ong Lee-Loon , Koo Ah-Choo , Lim Forest
Published: December 2015

This paper aims to explore the generation of circular patterns based on transformation matrix. The idea proposed here is to first design a fundamental pattern, known as ‘seed’. This is then followed by applying the transformation matrix to arrange the fundamental pattern to form a circular pattern. The transformation matrix can be applied once or applied iteratively. By assigning different values to the parameters involved, the patterns produced act in an interesting and appealing way.  The proposed method contributes to a simple and efficient framework in computational generation of endless circular patterns.
Asynchronous presynaptic glutamate release enhances neuronal excitability during the post‐spike refractory period
Authors: Iremonger Karl J. , Bains Jaideep S.
Published: December 2015

Key Points

Many excitatory synapses in the brain release glutamate with both synchronous and asynchronous components.

Immediately following an action potential, neurons display a reduced excitability due to the post‐spike afterhyperpolarization (AHP). This gives rise to a relative refractory period.

When an action potential is evoked by glutamate synaptic input possessing asynchronous release, the delayed glutamate release events act to depolarize the neuron during the AHP and overcome the relative refractory period.

These results demonstrate a new role for asynchronous release in regulating post‐spike excitability and the relative refractory period in central neurons.

Post‐spike afterhyperpolarizations (AHPs) functionally inhibit neuronal excitability for tens to hundreds of milliseconds following each action potential. This imposes a relative refractory period during which synaptic excitation is less effective at evoking spikes. Here we asked whether some synapses have mechanisms in place that allow them to overcome the AHP and drive spiking in target cells during this period of reduced excitability. We examined glutamate synapses onto oxytocin and vasopressin neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. These synapses can display pronounced asynchronous glutamate release following a single presynaptic spike, with the time course of release being similar to that of the post‐spike AHP. To test whether asynchronous release is more effective at overcoming the relative refractory period, we evoked a single action potential with either a brief synchronous depolarization or an asynchronous potential and then assessed excitability at multiple time points following the spike. Neurons receiving asynchronous depolarizing synaptic inputs had a shorter relative refractory period than those receiving synchronous depolarizations. Our data demonstrate that synapses releasing glutamate in an asynchronous and delayed manner are ideally adapted to counter the AHP. By effectively overcoming the relative refractory period, the kinetics of excitatory synaptic input can play an important role in controlling post‐spike excitability.
Resveratrol partially prevents oxidative stress and metabolic dysfunction in pregnant rats fed a low protein diet and their offspring
Authors: Vega Claudia C , Reyes‐Castro Luis A , Rodríguez‐González Guadalupe L , Bautista Claudia J , Vázquez‐Martínez Magaly , Larrea Fernando , Chamorro‐Cevallos Germán A , Nathanielsz Peter W , Zambrano Elena
Published: December 2015

Key points

Maternal protein restriction during pregnancy increases both maternal and offspring oxidative stress and leads to metabolic dysfunction.

Maternal low protein diet during pregnancy increases maternal and offspring corticosterone.

Resveratrol administration partially prevents both maternal and offspring adverse outcomes induced by maternal protein restriction during pregnancy.

Protein restriction in pregnancy produces maternal and offspring metabolic dysfunction potentially as a result of oxidative stress. Data are lacking on the effects of inhibition of oxidative stress. We hypothesized that maternal resveratrol administration decreases oxidative stress, preventing, at least partially, maternal low protein‐induced maternal and offspring metabolic dysfunction. In the present study, pregnant wistar rats ate control (C) (20% casein) or a protein‐restricted (R) (10% casein) isocaloric diet. Half of each group received resveratrol orally, 20 mg kg−1 day−1, throughout pregnancy. Post‐delivery, mothers and offspring ate C. Oxidative stress biomarkers and anti‐oxidant enzymes were measured in placenta, maternal and fetal liver, and maternal serum corticosterone at 19 days of gestation (dG). Maternal (19 dG) and offspring (postnatal day 110) glucose, insulin, triglycerides, cholesterol, fat and leptin were determined. R mothers showed metabolic dysfunction, increased corticosterone and oxidative stress and reduced anti‐oxidant enzyme activity vs. C. R placental and fetal liver oxidative stress biomarkers and anti‐oxidant enzyme activity increased. R offspring showed higher male and female leptin, insulin and corticosterone, male triglycerides and female fat than C. Resveratrol decreased maternal leptin and improved maternal, fetal and placental oxidative stress markers. R induced offspring insulin and leptin increases were prevented and other R changes were offspring sex‐dependent. Resveratrol partially prevents low protein diet‐induced maternal, placental and sex‐specific offspring oxidative stress and metabolic dysfunction. Oxidative stress is one mechanism programming offspring metabolic outcomes. These studies provide mechanistic evidence to guide human pregnancy interventions when fetal nutrition is impaired by poor maternal nutrition or placental function.
Determinants of rebound burst responses in rat cerebellar nuclear neurons to physiological stimuli
Authors: Dykstra Steven , Engbers Jordan D. T. , Bartoletti Theodore M. , Turner Ray W.
Published: December 2015

Key points

Cerebellar Purkinje cells project GABAergic inhibitory input to neurons of the deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) that generate a rebound increase in firing, but the specific patterns of input that might elicit a rebound response have not been established.

We used recordings of Purkinje cell firing obtained during perioral whisker stimulation in vivo to create a physiological stimulus template to activate Purkinje cell afferents in vitro.

DCN cell bursts were evoked by the stimulus pattern but not in relation to the perioral whisker stimulus, complex spikes or regular patterns within the Purkinje cell record.

Reverse correlation revealed that bursts were triggered by an elevation‐pause pattern of Purkinje cell firing, with pause duration a key factor in burst generation.

Our data identify for the first time a physiological pattern of Purkinje cell input that can be encoded by the generation of rebound bursts in DCN cells.

The end result of signal processing in cerebellar cortex is encoded in the output of Purkinje cells that project inhibitory input to deep cerebellar nuclear (DCN) neurons. DCN cells can respond to a period of inhibition in vitro with a rebound burst of firing, yet the optimal physiological pattern of Purkinje cell input that might evoke a rebound burst is unknown. The current study used spike trains recorded from rat Purkinje cells in response to perioral stimuli in vivo to create a physiological pattern to stimulate Purkinje cell axons in vitro. The perioral stimulus‐evoked Purkinje cell firing pattern proved to be virtually ineffective in evoking a rebound burst despite the ability to reliably evoke rebounds using a traditional brief 100 Hz stimulus. Similarly, neither complex spike firing nor Purkinje cell patterns identified by CV2 analysis were reliably associated with rebound bursts. Reverse correlation revealed that the optimal Purkinje cell input to evoke a rebound burst was a sequential increase in mean firing rate of at least 30 Hz above baseline over 250 ms followed by a reduction of 40–60 Hz below baseline for up to 500 ms. The most important factor was the duration of a pause in Purkinje cell firing that allowed DCN cells to recover from a state of net inhibitory influence. These data indicate that physiological patterns of Purkinje cell firing can elicit rebound bursts in DCN cells in vitro, with pauses in Purkinje cell firing rate acting as a key stimulus for DCN cell rebound responses.
Acceso y satisfacción con servicios curativos: análisis de casos en afiliados al régimen contributivo y afiliados al régimen subsidiado en un barrio estrato 2 - Cali, Colombia.
Authors: Díaz Grajales Constanza , Zapata Bermúdez Yolanda , Aristizábal Grisales Juan Carlos
Published: December 2015

Este estudio presenta un análisis de casos para identificar diferencias en el acceso a servicios

curativos entre afiliados al régimen contributivo y afiliados al régimen subsidiado. A nivel

poblacional, alrededor de una décima parte de la población siente la necesidad y demanda

un servicio curativo, y se atiende al 97,8 %. Se trata de una investigación descriptiva de corte

transversal, las variables fundamentales se operacionalizaron teniendo en cuenta la necesidad

atendida. Se consideraron casos quienes presentaron un problema de salud en el último mes,

consultaron un servicio formal y fueron atendidos. Los resultados muestran diferencias entre

los regímenes en el acceso y en la satisfacción; por ejemplo, con relación a medicamentos, los

reclamaron el 87,8 % del régimen contributivo y el 55,9 % del régimen subsidiado, diferencias

estadísticamente significantes. Se encontraron barreras administrativas y económicas y

características de los servicios que afectan el acceso a la atención y la calidad en ambos regímenes,

y se evidenció vulneración del derecho fundamental a la atención en salud.
Para un análisis crítico del concepto de normalización filosófica
Authors: Betancur Juan Camilo
Published: December 2015

El concepto de “normalización filosófica” se ha convertido en un lugar común poco cuestionado en la narración del proceso histórico de la filosofía en Latinoamérica. A partir de la teoría de los estratos del tiempo planteada por R. Koselleck, el presente trabajo propone una revisión crítica de dicho concepto. 
El neocolonialismo en nuestros días: la perspectiva de Leopoldo Zea
Authors: Macías Chávez Karla Cecilia
Published: December 2015

El presente escrito busca contestar a dos preguntas: ¿Es la posición de Leopoldo Zea acerca del sistema neocolonialista de su tiempo obsoleta, respecto a la situación en que vivimos actualmente muchos habitantes de México y de otros países del mundo sujetos a un dominio neocolonial; o, es posible y adecuado pensar en su postura como una vía de crítica e incluso de propuesta de acción ante el panorama neocolonialista en nuestros días? ¿Por qué sostenemos una u otra postura? Para contestar a ambas preguntas definiremos y posicionaremos en un contexto histórico-teórico el término neocolonialismo. Además, expondremos algunas de las formas en las que se manifiesta este sistema de dominación en países latinoamericanos desde hace no mucho tiempo. Asimismo, ofreceremos algunos de los puntos más importantes que Zea consideraba al pensar, describir y explicar esta situación, y algunas posibles propuestas de reflexión y acción ante la misma. 
Numerical Study of Fluid–Structure Interaction With Heat Transfer at Supercritical Pressure in a Fuel Rod Assembly
Authors: Hartig Maximilian , Schulenberg Thomas , Batta Abdalla
Published: December 2015

Irregular temperature profiles inside nuclear reactors cause the deformation of fuel rods. Due to difficulties in implementing this phenomenon, it is usually neglected in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses. Thermoelasticity effect was analyzed in this study for a 7-rod test fuel assembly. The overall problem was simplified on both the fluid-dynamical and the structural side. Existing technology is capable of executing such analysis; although for reliable results, improvement in the mesh deformation algorithm is needed. The deflection proves to have a distinct impact on surface temperature in a limited area. To obtain reliable results, more thorough analysis regarding both domains is necessary.
Rapid visible color change and physical swelling during water exposure in triethanolamine-metalcone films formed by molecular layer deposition
Authors: Lemaire Paul C. , Oldham Christopher J. , Parsons Gregory N.
Published: December 2015

Molecular layer deposition (MLD) of “metalcones,” including alucone, zincone, titanicone, and others, involves self-limiting half-reactions between organic and organometallic (or metal-halide) reactants. Studies have typically focused on metal precursors reacting with ethylene glycol or glycerol to form the films' polymeric O-M-O-(CHx)y-O-M-O repeat units. The authors report new MLD materials that incorporate tertiary amine groups into the organic linkage. Specifically, reacting triethanolamine (TEA) with either trimethylaluminum or titanium tetrachloride produces TEA-alucone (Al-TEA) and TEA-titanicone (Ti-TEA), respectively, and the amine group leads to unique physical and optical properties. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis confirms that the films have prominent C-H, C-N, and M-O-C peaks, consistent with the expected bond structure. When exposed to vapors, including water, alcohol, or ammonia, the Ti-TEA films changed their visible color within minutes and increased physical thickness by >35%. The Al-TEA showed significantly less response. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and FTIR suggest that HCl generated during MLD coordinates to the amine forming a quaternary ammonium salt that readily binds adsorbates via hydrogen bonding. The visible color change is reversible, and ellipsometry confirms that the color change results from vapor absorption. The unique absorptive and color-changing properties of the TEA-metalcone films point to new possible applications for MLD materials in filtration, chemical absorption, and multifunctional chemical separations/sensing device systems.
An active mute for the trombone
Authors: Meurisse Thibaut , Mamou-Mani Adrien , Caussé René , Sluchin Benny , Sharp David B.
Published: December 2015

A mute is a device that is placed in the bell of a brass instrument to alter its sound. However, when a straight mute is used with a brass instrument, the frequencies of its first impedance peaks are slightly modified, and a mistuned, extra impedance peak appears. This peak affects the instrument's playability, making some lower notes difficult or impossible to produce when playing at low dynamic levels. To understand and suppress this effect, an active mute with embedded microphone and speaker has been developed. A control loop with gain and phase shifting is used to control the damping and frequency of the extra impedance peak. The stability of the controlled system is studied and then the effect of the control on the input impedance and radiated sound of the trombone is investigated. It is shown that the playability problem results from a decrease in the input impedance magnitude at the playing frequency, caused by a trough located on the low frequency side of the extra impedance peak. When the extra impedance peak is suppressed, the playability of the note is restored. Meanwhile, when the extra impedance peak is moved in frequency, the playability problem position is shifted as well.
Sequential streaming, binaural cues and lateralization
Authors: David Marion , Lavandier Mathieu , Grimault Nicolas
Published: December 2015

Interaural time differences (ITDs) and interaural level differences (ILDs) associated with monaural spectral differences (coloration) enable the localization of sound sources. The influence of these spatial cues as well as their relative importance on obligatory stream segregation were assessed in experiment 1. A temporal discrimination task favored by integration was used to measure obligatory stream segregation for sequences of speech-shaped noises. Binaural and monaural differences associated with different spatial positions increased discrimination thresholds, indicating that spatial cues can induce stream segregation. The results also demonstrated that ITDs and coloration were relatively more important cues compared to ILDs. Experiment 2 questioned whether sound segregation takes place at the level of acoustic cue extraction (ITD per se) or at the level of object formation (perceived azimuth). A difference in ITDs between stimuli was introduced either consistently or inconsistently across frequencies, leading to clearly lateralized sounds or blurred lateralization, respectively. Conditions with ITDs and clearly perceived azimuths induced significantly more segregation than the condition with ITDs but reduced lateralization. The results suggested that segregation was mainly based on a difference in lateralization, although the extraction of ITDs might have also helped segregation up to a ceiling magnitude.
The Microbiome, Systemic Immune Function, and Allotransplantation
Authors: Nellore Anoma , Fishman Jay A.
Published: December 2015

Diverse effects of the microbiome on solid organ transplantation are beginning to be recognized. In allograft recipients, microbial networks are disrupted by immunosuppression, nosocomial and community-based infectious exposures, antimicrobial therapies, surgery, and immune processes. Shifting microbial patterns, including acute infectious exposures, have dynamic and reciprocal interactions with local and systemic immune systems. Both individual microbial species and microbial networks have central roles in the induction and control of innate and adaptive immune responses, in graft rejection, and in ischemia-reperfusion injury. Understanding the diverse interactions between the microbiome and the immune system of allograft recipients may facilitate clinical management in the future.
Vibrio Iron Transport: Evolutionary Adaptation to Life in Multiple Environments
Authors: Payne Shelley M. , Mey Alexandra R. , Wyckoff Elizabeth E.
Published: December 2015

Iron is an essential element for
Vibrio
spp., but the acquisition of iron is complicated by its tendency to form insoluble ferric complexes in nature and its association with high-affinity iron-binding proteins in the host. Vibrios occupy a variety of different niches, and each of these niches presents particular challenges for acquiring sufficient iron.
Vibrio
species have evolved a wide array of iron transport systems that allow the bacteria to compete for this essential element in each of its habitats. These systems include the secretion and uptake of high-affinity iron-binding compounds (siderophores) as well as transport systems for iron bound to host complexes. Transporters for ferric and ferrous iron not complexed to siderophores are also common to
Vibrio
species. Some of the genes encoding these systems show evidence of horizontal transmission, and the ability to acquire and incorporate additional iron transport systems may have allowed
Vibrio
species to more rapidly adapt to new environmental niches. While too little iron prevents growth of the bacteria, too much can be lethal. The appropriate balance is maintained in vibrios through complex regulatory networks involving transcriptional repressors and activators and small RNAs (sRNAs) that act posttranscriptionally. Examination of the number and variety of iron transport systems found in
Vibrio
spp. offers insights into how this group of bacteria has adapted to such a wide range of habitats.
Effects of Acupuncture at Ht7 on Glucose Metabolism in a Rat Model of Alzheimer's Disease: An 18F-FDG-PET study
Authors: Lai Xinsheng , Ren Jie , Lu Yangjia , Cui Shaoyang , Chen Junqi , Huang Yong , Tang Chunzhi , Shan Baoci , Nie Bingbing
Published: December 2015

Objective

To explore the effects of acupuncture at HT7 on different cerebral regions in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with the application of 18F-2-fluoro-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET).

Methods

Sixty Wistar rats were included after undergoing a Y-maze electric sensitivity test. Ten rats were used as a healthy control group. The remaining 50 rats were injected stereotaxically with ibotenic acid into the right nucleus basalis magnocellularis and injected intraperitoneally with D-galactose. AD was successfully modelled in 36 rats, which were randomly divided into three groups (n=12 each): the AD group, which remained untreated; the AD+HT7 group, which received 20 sessions of acupuncture at HT7 over 1 month; and the AD+Sham group, which received acupuncture at a distant non-acupuncture point. Total reaction time (TRT) was measured by Y-maze and 18F-FDG-PET scans were conducted on day 1 and 30. PET images were processed with Statistical Parametric Mapping 8.0.

Results

Pre-treatment, TRT was greater in all AD groups versus controls (mean±SD 24.10±2.48 vs 41.34±5.00 s). Post-treatment, TRT was shortened in AD+HT7 versus AD+Sham and AD groups (p<0.0001, two-way analysis of variance). Glucose metabolic activity in the hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus, frontal lobe, and temporal lobe was decreased in AD rats compared with healthy controls and relatively elevated after HT7 acupuncture. Compared with sham acupuncture, HT7 needling had a greater positive influence on brain glucose metabolism.

Conclusions

Needling at HT7 can improve memory ability and cerebral glucose metabolic activity of the hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus, and frontal/temporal lobes in an AD rat model.
Delayed postoperative dural arteriovenous fistula presenting with progressive dementia
Authors: Higashida Tetsuhiro
Published: December 2015

A 64-year-old woman underwent right suboccipital craniotomy to treat spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) otorrhoea. Although the CSF leak was cured, the patient developed pulsatile tinnitus, ambulatory disturbance and progressive dementia. Four years after the surgery, she presented with generalised seizure. Cerebral angiography showed a dural arteriovenous fistula at the right transverse-sigmoid sinus, which was associated with sinus occlusion, retrograde blood flow in the sinus and diffuse intracranial cortical venous reflux. A combination of endovascular transarterial embolisation and transvenous embolisation with direct sinus puncture was performed. After the procedure, the patient's mental status and cognitive function improved significantly.
Computerised versus conventional methodology of radiographic joint destruction assessment in early rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Huo Yinghe , De Hair Maria J H , Shaib Yasmin O , van der Heijde Désirée , Kuchuk Natalia O , Viergever Max A , van Laar Jacob M , Vincken Koen L , Lafeber Floris P
Published: December 2015

Objectives

To compare computerised and conventional methodology of radiographic joint destruction assessment in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods

We investigated the contribution of the 3rd-to-5th carpometacarpal joints (CMC3-5, which are excluded in computerised assessment so far owing to bone overlapping) to total joint space narrowing (JSN) scores in two cohorts of patients with early RA (n=392). Next, we investigated agreement between JSN scoring using single time point individual joint-based method (individual joint of a single time point (IJSTP), reflecting computerised reading) and conventional JSN scoring using the Sharp-van der Heijde (SvdH) method in a cohort of patients with early RA (n=59). We used intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), Bland and Altman plots, and linear mixed modelling to analyse differences in progression between two methods. Radiographs were available at baseline, and at 1 and 2 years of follow-up.

Results

Of all joints affected by JSN at baseline or JSN progression during 2 years of follow-up, 3.9% and 6.6% concerned CMC3-5. Exclusion of CMC3-5 resulted in a decrease of 1.9–4.6% in JSN progression scores during 2 years of follow-up. The ICCs for JSN progression scores using IJSTP with or without CMC3-5 compared with SvdH were 0.71–0.81 and 0.69–0.78 at 1 and 2 years of follow-up. Signal-to-noise ratios for IJSTP-based and SvdH scoring were 0.51 and 0.58, respectively. The progression rate for each year was not statistically significantly different between two scoring methods (p=0.59 and 0.89).

Conclusions

This study showed that excluding CMC3-5 has limited influence on JSN (progression) scores and showed the feasibility of using IJSTP-based reading for computerised scoring of JSN (progression) in RA.
Ligation of the ipsilateral common carotid artery and topical treatment for the prevention of epistaxis from guttural pouch mycosis in horses
Authors: Cousty M. , Tricaud C. , De Beauregard T. , Picandet V. , Bizon‐Mercier C. , Tessier C.
Published: December 2015

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of ligation of the ipsilateral common carotid artery (CCA) combined with various antimycotic treatments for the prevention of epistaxis in horses with guttural pouch mycosis. For each case, ipsilateral ligation of the CCA was performed, followed by application of various topical medications under endoscopic guidance. Frequency and number of treatments, outcome and recurrence of haemorrhage were retrospectively recorded. Twenty‐four horses were included. Topical medication was administered by detachment of the diphtheric membrane and spraying (n=16) or by intralesional injection directly in the plaques using a transendoscopic needle (n=8). Epistaxis recurred in five horses (20.8 per cent), causing death of four horses (16.6 per cent). The mean number of treatments was 6.3±4.0 (range 2–14) for all topical treatments. Ligation of the ipsilateral CCA and topical medication carries a fair prognosis for avoidance of recurrent episodes of epistaxis, but fatal haemorrhage can occur. Removal of the fungal plaque and topical treatment of the underlying lesion appeared to speed up resolution of the mycotic mucosal lesions. The described technique is a salvage procedure when financial or technical constraints prevent the use of transarterial catheter occlusion techniques.
Seed-specific overexpression of Arabidopsis DGAT1 in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) increases seed oil content and seed weight
Authors: Savadi Siddanna , Naresh Vasupalli , Kumar Vajinder , Bhat Shripad Ramachandra
Published: December 2015

Oil content is an important yield trait in Brassica juncea (L.) Coss. Improvements to yield levels of mustard by conventional breeding methods have reached a plateau. The application of transgenic technology is an area that has not yet been explored for improving the oil content of B. juncea. In this study, the effect of overexpression of AtDGAT1 (a key gene involved in oil biosynthesis) on the seed oil content of B. juncea was investigated. For seed-specific overexpression, the gene was linked to Arabidopsis thaliana oleosin promoter and mobilized into mustard through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Transformants were selected on MS medium containing 50 mg/L kanamycin, and a transformation frequency of 10.5% was obtained. A total of 10 transgenic events were generated. Analyses of seed weight, oil content, and other yield traits in T1 transgenics showed that seed-specific overexpression of AtDGAT1 significantly improved the oil content and seed weight. The maximum oil content increase observed in the transgenic seeds was 8.3% compared with the wild-type plants. Total fatty acid content was increased from 4% to 14% in six of the seven events. However, the content of oleic and linoleic acid was reduced and, of these two, oleic acid content showed drastic reduction.
Area-Throughput Trade-Offs for SHA-1 and SHA-256 Hash Functions’ Pipelined Designs
Authors: Michail Harris E. , Athanasiou George S. , Kelefouras Vasileios I. , Theodoridis George , Stouraitis Thanos , Goutis Costas E.
Published: December 2015

High-throughput designs of hash functions are strongly demanded due to the need for security in every transmitted packet of worldwide e-transactions. Thus, optimized and non-optimized pipelined architectures have been proposed raising, however, important questions. Which is the optimum number of the pipeline stages? Is it worth to develop optimized designs or could the same results be achieved by increasing only the pipeline stages of the non-optimized designs? The paper answers the above questions studying extensively many pipelined architectures of SHA-1 and SHA-256 hashes, implemented in FPGAs, in terms of throughput/area (T/A) factor. Also, guides for developing efficient security schemes designs are provided.
Photovoltaic Systems with Passive Lossless Cuk Converter Using Hybrid Sliding Mode Control
Authors: Kanimozhi K. , Shunmugalatha A.
Published: December 2015

In this paper, performance enhancement of Photovoltaic (PV) system is done by a passive lossless soft switched noninverting Cuk converter with Perturb and Observe (P&O) based maximum power point tracker (MPPT) that uses a hybrid sliding mode controller (SMC). In the proposed Cuk converter, conduction losses, voltage stress and switching losses are mitigated by introducing a snubber cell. Therefore, Cuk converter efficiency is improved which in turn increases efficiency of PV system. Peak power is continuously collected from PV panel and optimal operating point is detected using hybrid SMC based MPPT method. Performance analysis of the modified Cuk converter and conventional converter is illustrated by simulation and experimental methods for various irradiation and temperature changes. Experimental results verify the performance of modified Cuk converter implemented in PV system.
Simulation-Based Evaluation of Criteria Rank-Weighting Methods in Multi-Criteria Decision-Making
Authors: Alfares Hesham K. , Duffuaa Salih O.
Published: December 2015

This paper presents a simulation study to assess the performance of the five known methods for converting ranks of several criteria into weights in multi-criteria decision-making. The five methods assessed for converting criteria ranks into weights are: rank- sum (RS) weights, rank reciprocal (RR) weights, rank order centroid (ROC) weights, geometric weights (GW), and variable-slope linear (VSL) weights. The methods are compared in terms of weight estimation accuracy considering different numbers of criteria and decision makers’ (MS) preference structures. Alternative preference structures are represented by different probability distributions of randomly generated criteria weights, namely the uniform, normal, and exponential distributions. Results of the simulation experiments indicate that no single method is consistently superior to all others. On average, RS is best for uniform weights, VSL is best for normal weights, and ROC is best for exponential weights. However, for any multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem, the best method for converting criteria ranks into weights depends on both the number of criteria and the weight distribution.
Interpretation of generalized matrix functions via geometric measure of quantum entanglement
Authors: Chang Haixia , Paksoy Vehbi E. , Zhang Fuzhen
Published: December 2015

By using representation theory and irreducible characters of the symmetric group, we introduce character dependent states and study their entanglement via geometric measure. We also present a geometric interpretation of generalized matrix functions via this entanglement analysis.
Environmental Regulation and Enforcement: Structures, Processes and the Use of Data for Fraud Detection
Authors: Rivers Louie , Dempsey Tamara , Mitchell Jade , Gibbs Carole
Published: December 2015

Several major environmental programmes require regulated entities to measure and self-report pollutant levels to state regulatory agencies. This data is used to assess compliance, but critics suggest that it could be used more effectively to detect fraud in self-reports, a criminal offense. Efforts to develop and implement fraud detection tools are restricted by a lack of knowledge regarding how regulatory and enforcement systems operate in regulatory agencies and whether/how data is used, particularly for fraud detection. To address this gap in knowledge, we conducted a case study of these issues in one state environmental agency. We triangulate interview, focus group and observational data to describe the current system and assess points in the system in which data is being used. We draw upon organisational learning theory to suggest the ways to use data more effectively in the future, particularly to improve fraud detection.
Eutrophication of Piedmont Quarry Lakes (North-Western Italy): Hydrogeological Factors, Evaluation of Trophic Levels and Management Strategies
Authors: Castagna Sara Elisa Domenica , De Luca Domenico Antonio , Lasagna Manuela
Published: December 2015

Quarry lakes resulting from alluvium extraction have excavation depths that can reach the shallow aquifer and extend beyond the piezometric surface. Similar to natural lakes, pit lakes are subject to eutrophication process, both during and after quarrying activity; during mining activity, the eutrophic level is strongly controlled by the excavation method. The present study describes the trophic status of several quarry lakes in the Piedmont plain (north-western Italy) that were evaluated by applying classifications from scientific literature. Most of the studied quarry lakes were mesotrophic or eutrophic, and a slight worsening of water quality was observed over time. In addition, the paper focuses on the pit lake water quality and pit dimension; it was shown that lakes with a larger depth and volume generally had a lower tendency towards eutrophication. At last some management strategies were suggested to achieve environmental sustainability.
Early Cretaceous exhumation of the Sulu orogenic belt as a consequence of the eastern Eurasian tectonic extension: insights from the newly discovered Wulian metamorphic core complex, eastern China
Authors: Ni Jinlong , Liu Junlai , Tang Xiaoling , Yang Haibo , Xia Zengming , Zhang Tingting
Published: December 2015

The mechanisms of thinning of the lithosphere and destruction of the North China Craton have been debated in recent decades. Their causal link with regional tectonic extension is well exemplified by the exhumation of the Wulian metamorphic core complex (mcc), along the Sulu orogenic belt to the SE of the North China Craton. The Wulian mcc is a Cordilleran type mcc with a northwestward dipping low-angle master detachment fault zone (the Wulian detachment fault zone), an Early Cretaceous supradetachment basin (the Zhucheng Basin) and a lower plate of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks in the Sulu orogenic belt. Synthetic structural, fabric and thermochronological data suggest that tectonic extension is responsible for the exhumation of the lower plate and triggered syn- and post-tectonic magmatisms. A new cooling path for the lower plate rocks indicates that the lower plate was exhumed at a high rate of 2.0 km Ma
−1
from before
c
. 128 Ma to 123 Ma and at a moderate rate of 0.35 km Ma
−1
from 81 to 61 Ma. The rapid exhumation is consistent temporally with the sedimentation of terrestrial deposits of the Laiyang Group in the Zhucheng supradetachment basin. The post-kinematic granitic intrusions are dated as
c.
122 Ma, which marks the cessation of rapid exhumation of the lower plate. Vast amount of andesitic volcanic rocks from 120 to 105 Ma in the Qingshan Group in the Zhucheng Basin may be related to the peak of lithospheric thinning in the Wulian area. These data highlight the importance of regional tectonic extension in the formation of the detachment fault zone and the exhumation of the Wulian mcc, and in triggering syn- and post-kinematic magmatisms. The scenario is consistent with the parallel extension tectonics model in which tectonic extension of the lithosphere led to detachment faulting in both the crust and mantle, resulted in the loss of some of the subcontinental roots, gave rise to the exhumation of the mccs, and triggered plutonic emplacement and volcanic eruptions of hybrid magmas.
The control of basin evolution on patterns of sedimentation and diagenesis: an example from the Mississippian Great Orme, North Wales
Authors: Juerges A. , Hollis C. E. , Marshall J. , Crowley S.
Published: December 2015

The Mississippian North Wales Platform is located on the margins of the East Irish Sea Basin and has been little studied over the last 30 years. The exposed Visean limestones provide new insights into the deposition, porosity evolution, distribution of dolomitization, and Pb–Zn and Cu mineralization on the North Wales carbonate platform. This is of relevance to the characterization of fault-related dolomite hydrocarbon reservoirs and age-equivalent Mississippi Valley-type mineral deposits. In particular, the study demonstrates the intimate relationship between sedimentation, basin-scale tectonism and post-depositional fluid flux. Depositional cyclicity is marked, with metre-scale upward-shallowing cycles in which pervasive marine and meteoric calcite cements occlude matrix porosity and syndepositional fractures. Consequently, subsequent burial diagenetic replacive dolomitization is matrix selective and cements are primarily restricted to fractures. Seven phases of dolomite are defined based on texture and cathodoluminescence petrography, with phases D1–D3 as the most volumetrically significant. Dolomite phases D0–D2 are matrix replacive, cross-cutting stratigraphy and locally fingering along beds for several metres. Dolomite phases D3–D7 are hosted by faults and fractures and also line vugs. Evidence of telogenesis is recorded where burial diagenetic products are post-dated by calcite cements precipitated from meteoric fluids. Dolomitization probably occurred during the Mississippian and continued into the Pennsylvanian. Pb–Zn mineralization is also interpreted to have occurred during the Pennsylvanian, associated with Variscan tectonism. Overall, the North Wales Platform displays a more complex paragenesis than age-equivalent platforms in the Pennine Basin, owing to multiple phases of burial and exhumation. The study demonstrates the importance of linking burial history to detailed field and petrographical data to understand and predict the spatial and temporal controls on diagenetic processes and products within syn- and post-rift sequences.
Petrogenesis and tectonomagmatic significance of Eocene mafic intrusions from the Neotethyan suture zone in the Muslim Bagh–Khanozai region, Pakistan
Authors: Kerr Andrew C. , Lavis Owain , Kakar M. Ishaq , McDonald Iain
Published: December 2015

New geochemical data for mafic intrusions within the Eocene Nisai Formation along the suture zone between the Indian and Eurasian plates are used to constrain their petrogenesis and assess the local tectonics and mantle dynamics. Petrological and geochemical data indicate that these alkalic intrusions have moderately enriched incompatible trace element compositions similar to ocean island basalt magmatism. Modelling suggests that these intrusions are the result of 1–5% melting of a deep, enriched, predominantly garnet lherzolite, with a small amount of subduction-derived fluids. These melts then underwent fractional crystallization at lithospheric depths of
c
. 30 km.

Supplementary materials:
Detailed information on each analysed sample including field notes and latitude and longitude, replicate analysis of standards, and fractional crystallization modelling are available at
http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18893
.
Segmentation of Trajectories on Nonmonotone Criteria
Authors: Aronov Boris , Driemel Anne , Kreveld Marc Van , Löffler Maarten , Staals Frank
Published: December 2015

In the trajectory segmentation problem, we are given a polygonal trajectory with
n
vertices that we have to subdivide into a minimum number of disjoint segments (subtrajectories) that all satisfy a given criterion. The problem is known to be solvable efficiently for
monotone
criteria: criteria with the property that if they hold on a certain segment, they also hold on every subsegment of that segment. To the best of our knowledge, no theoretical results are known for nonmonotone criteria.

We present a broader study of the segmentation problem, and suggest a general framework for solving it, based on the
start-stop diagram
: a 2-dimensional diagram that represents all valid and invalid segments of a given trajectory. This yields two subproblems: (1) computing the start-stop diagram, and (2) finding the optimal segmentation for a given diagram. We show that (2) is NP-hard in general. However, we identify properties of the start-stop diagram that make the problem tractable and give a polynomial-time algorithm for this case.

We study two concrete nonmonotone criteria that arise in practical applications in more detail. Both are based on a given univariate attribute function
f
over the domain of the trajectory. We say a segment satisfies an
outlier-tolerant criterion
if the value of
f
lies within a certain range for at least a given percentage of the length of the segment. We say a segment satisfies a
standard deviation criterion
if the standard deviation of
f
over the length of the segment lies below a given threshold. We show that both criteria satisfy the properties that make the segmentation problem tractable. In particular, we compute an optimal segmentation of a trajectory based on the outlier-tolerant criterion in
O
(
n
2
log
n
+
kn
2
) time and on the standard deviation criterion in
O
(
kn
2
) time, where
n
is the number of vertices of the input trajectory and
k
is the number of segments in an optimal solution.
Simultaneous PQ-Ordering with Applications to Constrained Embedding Problems
Authors: Bläsius Thomas , Rutter Ignaz
Published: December 2015

In this article, we define and study the new problem of S
imultaneous
PQ-O
rdering
. Its input consists of a set of PQ-trees, which represent sets of circular orders of their leaves, together with a set of child-parent relations between these PQ-trees, such that the leaves of the child form a subset of the leaves of the parent. S
imultaneous
PQ-O
rdering
asks whether orders of the leaves of each of the trees can be chosen
simultaneously
; that is, for every child-parent relation, the order chosen for the parent is an extension of the order chosen for the child. We show that S
imultaneous
PQ-O
rdering
is
NP
-complete in general, and we identify a family of instances that can be solved efficiently, the
2-fixed instances
. We show that this result serves as a framework for several other problems that can be formulated as instances of S
imultaneous
PQ-O
rdering
. In particular, we give linear-time algorithms for recognizing simultaneous interval graphs and extending partial interval representations. Moreover, we obtain a linear-time algorithm for P
artially
PQ-C
onstrained
P
lanarity
for biconnected graphs, which asks for a planar embedding in the presence of PQ-trees that restrict the possible orderings of edges around vertices, and a quadratic-time algorithm for S
imultaneous
E
mbedding with
F
ixed
E
dges
for biconnected graphs with a connected intersection. Both results can be extended to the case where the input graphs are not necessarily biconnected but have the property that each cutvertex is contained in at most two nontrivial blocks. This includes, for example, the case where both graphs have a maximum degree of 5.
A New Approach to Incremental Cycle Detection and Related Problems
Authors: Bender Michael A. , Fineman Jeremy T. , Gilbert Seth , Tarjan Robert E.
Published: December 2015

We consider the problem of detecting a cycle in a directed graph that grows by arc insertions and the related problems of maintaining a topological order and the strong components of such a graph. For these problems, we give two algorithms, one suited to sparse graphs, the other to dense graphs. The former takes
O
(min {
m
1/2
,
n
2/3
}
m
) time to insert
m
arcs into an
n
-vertex graph; the latter takes
O
(
n
2
log
n
) time. Our sparse algorithm is substantially simpler than a previous
O
(
m
3/2
)-time algorithm; it is also faster on graphs of sufficient density. The time bound of our dense algorithm beats the previously best time bound of
O
(
n
5/2
) for dense graphs. Our algorithms rely for their efficiency on vertex numberings weakly consistent with topological order: we allow ties. Bounds on the size of the numbers give bounds on running time.