bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Systematic Review of Social Network Analysis in Adolescent Cigarette Smoking Behavior*
Authors: Seo Dong‐Chul , Huang Yan
Published: December 2011

BACKGROUND: Social networks are important in adolescent smoking behavior. Previous research indicates that peer context is a major causal factor of adolescent smoking behavior. To date, however, little is known about the influence of peer group structure on adolescent smoking behavior.

METHODS: Studies that examined adolescent social networks with regard to their cigarette smoking behavior were identified through online and manual literature searches. Ten social network analysis studies involving a total of 28,263 adolescents were included in the final review.

RESULTS: Of the 10 reviewed studies, 6 identify clique members, liaisons, and isolates as contributing factors to adolescent cigarette smoking. Significantly higher rates of smoking are noted among isolates than clique members or liaisons in terms of peer network structure. Eight of the reviewed studies indicate that peer selection or influence precedes adolescents' smoking behavior and intent to smoke. Such peer selection or influence accounts for a large portion of similarities among smoking adolescents.

CONCLUSION: Adolescents who are identified as isolates are more likely to smoke and engage in risk‐taking behaviors than others in the peer network structure. Given that the vast majority of current adult smokers started their smoking habits during adolescence, adolescent smoking prevention efforts will likely benefit from incorporating social network analytic approaches and focusing the efforts on isolates and other vulnerable adolescents from a peer selection and influence perspective.
Adolescent Health Literacy: The Importance of Credible Sources for Online Health Information
Authors: Ghaddar Suad F. , Valerio Melissa A. , Garcia Carolyn M. , Hansen Lucy
Published: December 2011

BACKGROUND: Little research has examined adolescent health literacy and its relationship with online health information sources. The purpose of this study is to explore health literacy among a predominantly Hispanic adolescent population and to investigate whether exposure to a credible source of online health information, MedlinePlus®, is associated with higher levels of health literacy.

METHODS: An online survey was administered to a cross‐sectional random sample of high school students in South Texas. Self‐reported sociodemographic characteristics and data on health‐information‐seeking behavior and exposure to MedlinePlus® were collected. Health literacy was assessed by eHEALS and the Newest Vital Sign (NVS). Linear and binary logistic regressions were completed.

RESULTS: Of the 261 students who completed the survey, 56% had heard of MedlinePlus®, 52% had adequate levels of health literacy as measured by NVS, and the mean eHEALS score was 30.6 (possible range 8‐40). Health literacy was positively associated with self‐efficacy and seeking health information online. Exposure to MedlinePlus® was associated with higher eHealth literacy scores (p < .001) and increased the likelihood of having adequate health literacy (odds ratio: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.1, 4.1).

CONCLUSION: Exposure to a credible source of online health information is associated with higher levels of health literacy. The incorporation of a credible online health information resource into school health education curricula is a promising approach for promoting health literacy.
Immunoglobulin G levels can predict non‐diabetic renal disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: WENG Cheng‐Hao , HU Ching‐Chih , YU Chun‐Chen , LIN Ja‐Liang , YANG Chih‐Wei , HUNG Cheng‐Chieh , HSU Ching‐Wei , YEN Tzung‐Hai
Published: December 2011

Background:  Proteinuria in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) is sometimes caused by glomerular diseases other than diabetic nephropathy. In patients with type 2 DM (T2DM), specific predictors for non‐diabetic renal disease (NDRD) are needed in addition to the traditional indicators for renal biopsy.

Methods:  From 1 January 2000 to 31 March 2011, we retrospectively enrolled 54 T2DM patients with proteinuria who had undergone renal biopsies into the present study. Associations between NDRD and 20 potential biomarkers, including serum levels of Igs and proteins associated with kidney function, and urinary protein and red blood cell levels, and hepatitis virus carrier status, were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression.

Results:  Multivariate logistic regression showed that reduced serum IgG (odds ratio [OR] 0.997; P = 0.006; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.94–0.998) and creatinine (Cr; OR 0.587; P = 0.014; 95% CI 0.348–0.897) were predictors of NDRD. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCROC) confirmed the good discriminatory power of IgG (AUCROC 0.857 ± 0.058; 95% CI 0.744–0.970; P < 0.001) and Cr (AUCROC 0.838 ± 0.054; 95% CI 0.732–0.943; P < 0.001). The IgG level below which the risk for NDRD increased, as calculated by obtaining the best Youden index, was 919.5 mg/dL (sensitivity 91.7%; specificity 83.3%), and the corresponding Cr level was 4.1 mg/dL (sensitivity 58.3%; specificity 96.7%).

Conclusion:  Serum IgG levels <919.5 mg/dL and serum Cr levels <4.1 mg/dL are associated with NDRD in T2DM patients.
Variables relating to the allocation of pocket money to children: Parental reasons and values
Authors: Feather N. T.
Published: December 2011

This study was concerned with relations among parents' beliefs, values and practices in regard to the allocation of pocket money to their children. Mothers and fathers in 133 Adelaide families provided information about the pocket money allowance they gave to each child in their family and they completed items designed to measure the importance of various possible reasons for their allocations (family concern, independence training, child's needs), as well as items that assessed value dimensions (work ethic, social welfare, compassion). Results showed that social welfare values were associated with family concern reasons, and that individualistic work ethic values were associated with independence training reasons but were antagonistic to reasons concerned with meeting the child's needs. The amount of pocket money provided was positively related to both the age of the child and to the importance of family concern reasons. Parents saw independence training and meeting the child's needs as more important reasons for older children and mothers emphasized children's needs more than fathers. These results were discussed in relation to other research on distributive justice, allocation decisions, pocket money and household tasks.
An Approach for Realistic Simulation of Real Road Condition in a Moving Base Driving Simulator
Authors: Bolling Anne , Jansson Jonas , Hjort Mattias , Lidström Mats , Nordmark Staffan , Sehammar Håkan , Sjögren Leif
Published: December 2011

With today’s advanced measurement equipment for monitoring road condition, it is possible to measure road geometry at high precision within a large span of wavelengths. Detailed information about the roads’ longitudinal and lateral profiles, including macro texture, would in theory be sufficient for a realistic reproduction of road induced vibration and noise in a driving simulator. Especially, it would be possible to create a direct connection between the visual information of the road condition and the ride experience, which would increase the level of realism in the simulation. VTI has, during three years, performed an internal project called SHAKE with the aim to develop and implement models in VTI driving simulator III that use measured road data for generating realistic vibrations and audible road noise connected to the visual impression presented on the projection screen. This has indeed resulted in a more realistic driving experience, and a validation study with test persons driving both in the simulator and in the field has been undertaken. The OpenDRIVE standard is used as a framework for describing the road properties (e.g., visual, vibrations, and noise). For this purpose, some augmentations to the OpenDRIVE standard had to be made. This paper describes the technical implementations in the driving simulator, along with results from test drives on the implemented road sections.
Tn
125
-Related Acquisition of
bla
NDM
-Like Genes in Acinetobacter baumannii
Authors: Poirel Laurent , Bonnin Rémy A. , Boulanger Anne , Schrenzel Jacques , Kaase Martin , Nordmann Patrice
Published: December 2011

A multidrug-resistant
Acinetobacter baumannii
isolate recovered from a patient hospitalized in Switzerland after a transfer from Serbia produced the NDM-1 carbapenemase. The
bla
NDM-1
gene was part of a chromosomally located Tn
125
composite transposon bracketed by two copies of the same insertion sequence, IS
Aba125
. This transposon was also associated with the acquisition and expression of the
bla
NDM-2
gene in an
A. baumannii
isolate in Germany. Tn
125
appears to be the main vehicle for dissemination of
bla
NDM
genes in that species.
High Rates of Perinatal Group B Streptococcus Clindamycin and Erythromycin Resistance in an Upstate New York Hospital
Authors: Back Ephraim E. , O'Grady Elisa J. , Back Joshua D.
Published: December 2011

The objective of this study was to evaluate the rates of clindamycin and erythromycin resistance among group B
Streptococcus
(GBS)-positive isolates cultured from pregnant women in an upstate New York community hospital. All GBS-positive perinatal rectovaginal cultures obtained from January 2010 through October 2011 were tested for resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin. Among the 688 GBS-positive cultures, clindamycin resistance was found in 38.4% and erythromycin resistance was found in 50.7%. Rates of GBS resistance to clindamycin and erythromycin are much higher than reported in earlier U.S. studies, suggesting both increasing resistance and regional variation in resistance. These findings lend strong support to the CDC and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommendations that clindamycin use for intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis be restricted to penicillin-allergic women at high risk of anaphylaxis and that GBS isolates be tested for antibiotic resistance prior to the use of clindamycin in these women.
OmpT Outer Membrane Proteases of Enterohemorrhagic and Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Contribute Differently to the Degradation of Human LL-37
Authors: Thomassin Jenny-Lee , Brannon John R. , Gibbs Bernard F. , Gruenheid Samantha , Le Moual Hervé
Published: December 2011

Enterohemorrhagic
Escherichia coli
(EHEC) and enteropathogenic
E. coli
(EPEC) are food-borne pathogens that cause serious diarrheal diseases. To colonize the human intestine, these pathogens must overcome innate immune defenses such as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Bacterial pathogens have evolved various mechanisms to resist killing by AMPs, including proteolytic degradation of AMPs. To examine the ability of the EHEC and EPEC OmpT outer membrane (OM) proteases to degrade α-helical AMPs,
ompT
deletion mutants were generated. Determination of MICs of various AMPs revealed that both mutant strains are more susceptible than their wild-type counterparts to α-helical AMPs, although to different extents. Time course assays monitoring the degradation of LL-37 and C18G showed that EHEC cells degraded both AMPs faster than EPEC cells in an OmpT-dependent manner. Mass spectrometry analyses of proteolytic fragments showed that EHEC OmpT cleaves LL-37 at dibasic sites. The superior protection provided by EHEC OmpT compared to EPEC OmpT against α-helical AMPs was due to higher expression of the
ompT
gene and, in turn, higher levels of the OmpT protein in EHEC. Fusion of the EPEC
ompT
promoter to the EHEC
ompT
open reading frame resulted in decreased OmpT expression, indicating that transcriptional regulation of
ompT
is different in EHEC and EPEC. We hypothesize that the different contributions of EHEC and EPEC OmpT to the degradation and inactivation of LL-37 may be due to their adaptation to their respective niches within the host, the colon and small intestine, respectively, where the environmental cues and abundance of AMPs are different.
Docking alignment-3D-QSAR of a new class of potent and non-chiral indole-3-carboxamide-based renin inhibitors
Authors: Ghasemi Jahan B. , Pirhadi Somayeh
Published: December 2011

Using generated conformations from docking analysis by CDOCKER algorithm, some 3D-QSAR models; CoMFA region focusing (CoMFA-RF) and CoMSIA have been created on a series of a new class of potent and non-chiral renin inhibitors. The satisfactory predictions were obtained by CoMFA-RF and CoMSIA based on docking alignment in comparison to CoMFA. Robustness and predictability of the models were further verified by using the test set, cross validation (leave one out and leave ten out), bootstrapping, and progressive scrambling. All-orientation search (AOS) strategy was used to acquire the best orientation and minimize the effect of the initial orientation of aligned compounds. The results of 3D-QSAR models are in agreement with docking results. Moreover, the resulting 3D CoMFA-RF/ CoMSIA contour maps and corresponding models were applied to design new and more active inhibitors.
Employment status and work-related problems of gastrointestinal cancer patients at diagnosis: a cross-sectional study
Authors: de Boer A G E M , Bruinvels D J , Tytgat K M A J , Schoorlemmer A , Klinkenbijl J H G , Frings-Dresen M H W
Published: December 2011

Objective

To assess the employment status of patients with gastrointestinal cancer at diagnosis and to examine work-related problems of employed patients.

Design

New, consecutive patients were included at the Gastrointestinal Oncology Center Amsterdam, a one-stop, rapid access diagnostic assessment centre. Patients were interviewed on their employment status by a nurse. If (self-) employed, patients were asked to self-report on work-related problems, perceived distress (0–10), cancer-related problems, fatigue (MFI-20, range 4–20) and work ability (three WAI questions, range 0–10).

Results

Of all 333 included new consecutive patients (age range 32–89 years), 95 patients (28%) were (self-) employed at time of diagnosis, 179 (54%) were pensioners, and 59 were not working (18%). For the assessment of work-related problems, 45 (47%) of these 95 employed patients with cancer participated. Their mean age was 56 years, and patients had oesophageal/stomach (49%), colorectal (18%) or hepatic/pancreatic/biliary cancer (33%). Half of the employed patients (49%) were still at work, while 51% were on sick leave. The main reasons for sick leave were stress (35%), (scheduled) operation (26%), fatigue (17%) and pain (13%). Most patients on sick leave (70%) had no contact with their own occupational physician, although the majority (67%) would like to continue to work. Work-related problems were experienced by 73% of working patients. The mean work ability was 5.4, the mean general fatigue score was 11.5, and the mean distress score was 4.7. Employed patients on sick leave reported a lower work ability, more fatigue and higher distress but no more cancer-related problems compared with those still working.

Conclusion

A quarter of all patients with gastrointestinal cancer seen at an oncological centre are employed at time of diagnosis, and of these employed patients, 73% experience work-related problems. During diagnosis and treatment, information and support on work-related issues should be offered to patients with cancer as an essential part of high-quality oncological care.
How to avoid unfair discrimination against disabled patients in healthcare resource allocation
Authors: Sinclair Sean
Published: December 2011

The paper proposes a new method of researching public opinion for the purposes of valuing the outcomes of healthcare interventions. The issue I address is that, under the quality-adjusted life-year system, disabled patients face a higher cost-effectiveness hurdle than able-bodied patients. This seems inequitable. The author considers the alternative approaches to valuing healthcare interventions that have been proposed, and shows that all of them face the same problem. It is proposed that to value an outcome, instead of researching the general public, the population that is to be targeted with the intervention should be researched.
Persons, post-persons and thresholds
Authors: Wilson James
Published: December 2011

DeGrazia argues that post-persons have as much justification in believing that they have higher moral status than persons as persons have in believing that they have higher moral status than animals. DeGrazia's claim presupposes that what Buchanan calls the “moral equality assumption” is false. This article argues that DeGrazia has given us no reason to disbelieve the moral equality assumption. Further, even if DeGrazia's arguments about moral status were sound, it is unclear that his first-order normative claims about how we should weigh human against animal interests would follow.
Still unconvinced, but still tentative: a reply to DeGrazia
Authors: Buchanan Allen
Published: December 2011

David DeGrazia's article provides a careful and fair rendition of my position on the possibility of post-persons. However, I am unconvinced that he has shown that such beings are possible. My view is based on two assumptions: (1) the concept of moral status is a threshold concept; and (2) the most plausible understanding of moral status as a threshold concept is a Kantian respect-based view, according to which all and only those beings who have the capacity to be accountable for reasons have the high status we associate with persons. I argue that the superior beings DeGrazia describes would be more morally admirable than us, but would not have a higher moral status. I also argue that, contrary to DeGrazia, even the most intelligent of canines do not have the capacity for accountability for reasons, even in an attenuated form. I then argue that DeGrazia faces a painful dilemma: either he must give up the assumption that moral status (so far as persons are concerned) is a threshold concept and say that for any two beings with the capacity for accountability for reasons, the one with the greater capacity has a higher moral status; or he must retain the view that moral status is a threshold concept but concede that he has not account of where the threshold lies.
v*-ALGEBRAS, INDEPENDENCE ALGEBRAS AND LOGIC
Authors: ARAÚJO JOÃO , EDMUNDO MÁRIO , GIVANT STEVEN
Published: December 2011

Independence algebras were introduced in the early 1990s by specialists in semigroup theory, as a tool to explain similarities between the transformation monoid on a set and the endomorphism monoid of a vector space. It turned out that these algebras had already been defined and studied in the 1960s, under the name of v*-algebras, by specialists in universal algebra (and statistics). Our goal is to complete this picture by discussing how, during the middle period, independence algebras began to play a very important role in logic.
RECONSTRUCTION OF f(R, T) GRAVITY DESCRIBING MATTER DOMINATED AND ACCELERATED PHASES
Authors: HOUNDJO M. J. S.
Published: December 2011

We investigate the cosmological reconstruction in modified f(R, T) gravity, where R is the Ricci scalar and T the trace of the stress–energy tensor. Special attention is attached to the case in which the function f is given by f(R, T) = f1(R) + f2(T). The use of auxiliary scalar field is considered with two known examples for the scale factor corresponding to an expanding universe. In the first example, where ordinary matter is usually neglected for obtaining the unification of matter dominated and accelerated phases with f(R) gravity, it is shown in this paper that this unification can be obtained without neglecting ordinary matter. In the second example, as in f(R) gravity, model of f(R, T) gravity with transition of matter dominated phase to the acceleration phase is obtained. In both cases, linear function of the trace is assumed for f2(T) and it is obtained that f1(R) is proportional to a power of R with exponents depending on the input parameters.
GRAS
Authors: Paik Jiaul H. , Mitra Mandar , Parui Swapan K. , Järvelin Kalervo
Published: December 2011

A novel graph-based language-independent stemming algorithm suitable for information retrieval is proposed in this article. The main features of the algorithm are retrieval effectiveness, generality, and computational efficiency. We test our approach on seven languages (using collections from the TREC, CLEF, and FIRE evaluation platforms) of varying morphological complexity. Significant performance improvement over plain word-based retrieval, three other language-independent morphological normalizers, as well as rule-based stemmers is demonstrated.
Private and Continual Release of Statistics
Authors: Chan T.-H. Hubert , Shi Elaine , Song Dawn
Published: December 2011

We ask the question: how can Web sites and data aggregators continually release updated statistics, and meanwhile preserve each individual user’s privacy? Suppose we are given a stream of 0’s and 1’s. We propose a differentially private continual counter that outputs at every time step the approximate number of 1’s seen thus far. Our counter construction has error that is only poly-log in the number of time steps. We can extend the basic counter construction to allow Web sites to continually give top-
k
and hot items suggestions while preserving users’ privacy.
A Motivation Guided Holistic Rehabilitation of the First Programming Course
Authors: Nikula Uolevi , Gotel Orlena , Kasurinen Jussi
Published: December 2011

It has been estimated that more than two million students started computing studies in 1999 and 650,000 of them either dropped or failed their first programming course. For the individual student, dropping such a course can distract from the completion of later courses in a computing curriculum and may even result in changing their course of study to a curriculum without programming. In this article, we report on how we set out to rehabilitate a troubled first programming course, one for which the dropout statistic and repercussion was evident. The five-year longitudinal case study described in this article began by systematically tracking the pass rate of a first programming course, its throughput, as proposed by the Theory of Constraints. The analyses of these data indicated three main problems in the course: programming discipline difficulty, course arrangement complexity, and limited student motivation. The motivation problem was approached from the Two-Factor Theory point of view. It investigated those factors that led to dissatisfaction among the students, the hygiene factors, and those factors that led to satisfaction, the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. The course arrangement complexity was found to be a hygiene factor, while the lack of extrinsic and intrinsic motivators contributed to the high dropout rates. The course improvement efforts made no attempt to change the inherent characteristics of the programming discipline, but introduced holistic changes in the course arrangements over a five-year period, from 2005 to 2009, to eliminate the hygiene factors and to increase motivational aspects of the course. This systems approach to course improvement resulted in an increase in the pass rate, from 44% prior to the changes to 68% thereafter, and the overall course atmosphere turned positive. This paper reports on the detailed changes that were made and the improvements that were achieved over this five-year period.
Data-driven synthesis for object-oriented frameworks
Authors: Yessenov Kuat , Xu Zhilei , Solar-Lezama Armando
Published: December 2011

Software construction today often involves the use of large frameworks. The challenge in this type of programming is that object-oriented frameworks tend to grow exceedingly intricate; they spread functionality among numerous classes, and any use of the framework requires knowledge of many interacting components. We present a system named MATCHMAKER that from a simple query synthesizes code that interacts with the framework. The query consists of names of two framework classes, and our system produces code enabling interaction between them. MATCHMAKER relies on a database of dynamic program traces called DELIGHT that uses novel abstraction-based indexing techniques to answer queries about the evolution of heap connectivity in a matter of seconds.

The paper evaluates the performance and effectiveness of MATCHMAKER on a number of benchmarks from the Eclipse framework. The paper also presents the results of a user study that showed a 49% average productivity improvement from the use of our tool.
Why nothing matters
Authors: Yang Xi , Blackburn Stephen M. , Frampton Daniel , Sartor Jennifer B. , McKinley Kathryn S.
Published: December 2011

Memory safety defends against inadvertent and malicious misuse of memory that may compromise program correctness and security. A critical element of memory safety is zero initialization. The direct cost of zero initialization is surprisingly high: up to 12.7%, with average costs ranging from 2.7 to 4.5% on a high performance virtual machine on IA32 architectures. Zero initialization also incurs indirect costs due to its memory bandwidth demands and cache displacement effects. Existing virtual machines either: a) minimize direct costs by zeroing in large blocks, or b) minimize indirect costs by zeroing in the allocation sequence, which reduces cache displacement and bandwidth. This paper evaluates the two widely used zero initialization designs, showing that they make different tradeoffs to achieve very similar performance. Our analysis inspires three better designs: (1) bulk zeroing with cache-bypassing (non-temporal) instructions to reduce the direct and indirect zeroing costs simultaneously, (2) concurrent non-temporal bulk zeroing that exploits parallel hardware to move work off the application's critical path, and (3) adaptive zeroing, which dynamically chooses between (1) and (2) based on available hardware parallelism. The new software strategies offer speedups sometimes greater than the direct overhead, improving total performance by 3% on average. Our findings invite additional optimizations and microarchitectural support.
Flow-sensitive type recovery in linear-log time
Authors: Adams Michael D. , Keep Andrew W. , Midtgaard Jan , Might Matthew , Chauhan Arun , Dybvig R. Kent
Published: December 2011

The flexibility of dynamically typed languages such as JavaScript, Python, Ruby, and Scheme comes at the cost of run-time type checks. Some of these checks can be eliminated via control-flow analysis. However, traditional control-flow analysis (CFA) is not ideal for this task as it ignores flow-sensitive information that can be gained from dynamic type predicates, such as JavaScript's 'instanceof' and Scheme's 'pair?', and from type-restricted operators, such as Scheme's 'car'. Yet, adding flow-sensitivity to a traditional CFA worsens the already significant compile-time cost of traditional CFA. This makes it unsuitable for use in just-in-time compilers. In response, we have developed a fast, flow-sensitive type-recovery algorithm based on the linear-time, flow-insensitive sub-0CFA. The algorithm has been implemented as an experimental optimization for the commercial Chez Scheme compiler, where it has proven to be effective, justifying the elimination of about 60% of run-time type checks in a large set of benchmarks. The algorithm processes on average over 100,000 lines of code per second and scales well asymptotically, running in only O(n log n) time. We achieve this compile-time performance and scalability through a novel combination of data structures and algorithms.
Gradual typing for generics
Authors: Ina Lintaro , Igarashi Atsushi
Published: December 2011

Gradual typing is a framework to combine static and dynamic typing in a single programming language. In this paper, we develop a gradual type system for class-based object-oriented languages with generics. We introduce a special type to denote dynamically typed parts of a program; unlike dynamic types introduced to C# 4.0, however, our type system allows for more seamless integration of dynamically and statically typed code.

We formalize a gradual type system for Featherweight GJ with a semantics given by a translation that inserts explicit run-time checks. The type system guarantees that statically typed parts of a program do not go wrong, even if it includes dynamically typed parts. We also describe a basic implementation scheme for Java and report preliminary performance evaluation.
First-class state change in plaid
Authors: Sunshine Joshua , Naden Karl , Stork Sven , Aldrich Jonathan , Tanter Éric
Published: December 2011

Objects model the world, and state is fundamental to a faithful modeling. Engineers use state machines to understand and reason about state transitions, but programming languages provide little support for building software based on state abstractions. We propose Plaid, a language in which objects are modeled not just in terms of classes, but in terms of changing abstract states. Each state may have its own representation, as well as methods that may transition the object into a new state. A formal model precisely defines the semantics of core Plaid constructs such as state transition and trait-like state composition. We evaluate Plaid through a series of examples taken from the Plaid compiler and the standard libraries of Smalltalk and Java. These examples show how Plaid can more closely model state-based designs, enhancing understandability, enhancing dynamic error checking, and providing reuse benefits.
Self-adjusting stack machines
Authors: Hammer Matthew A. , Neis Georg , Chen Yan , Acar Umut A.
Published: December 2011

Self-adjusting computation offers a language-based approach to writing programs that automatically respond to dynamically changing data. Recent work made significant progress in developing sound semantics and associated implementations of self-adjusting computation for high-level, functional languages. These techniques, however, do not address issues that arise for low-level languages, i.e., stack-based imperative languages that lack strong type systems and automatic memory management. In this paper, we describe techniques for self-adjusting computation which are suitable for low-level languages. Necessarily, we take a different approach than previous work: instead of starting with a high-level language with additional primitives to support self-adjusting computation, we start with a low-level intermediate language, whose semantics is given by a stack-based abstract machine. We prove that this semantics is sound: it always updates computations in a way that is consistent with full reevaluation. We give a compiler and runtime system for the intermediate language used by our abstract machine. We present an empirical evaluation that shows that our approach is efficient in practice, and performs favorably compared to prior proposals.
AC
Authors: Harris Tim , Abadi Martin , Isaacs Rebecca , McIlroy Ross
Published: December 2011

This paper introduces AC, a set of language constructs for composable asynchronous IO in native languages such as C/C++. Unlike traditional synchronous IO interfaces, AC lets a thread issue multiple IO requests so that they can be serviced concurrently, and so that long-latency operations can be overlapped with computation. Unlike traditional asynchronous IO interfaces, AC retains a sequential style of programming without requiring code to use multiple threads, and without requiring code to be "stack-ripped" into chains of callbacks. AC provides an "async" statement to identify opportunities for IO operations to be issued concurrently, a "do..finish" block that waits until any enclosed "async" work is complete, and a "cancel" statement that requests cancellation of unfinished IO within an enclosing "do..finish". We give an operational semantics for a core language. We describe and evaluate implementations that are integrated with message passing on the Barrelfish research OS, and integrated with asynchronous file and network IO on Microsoft Windows. We show that AC offers comparable performance to existing C/C++ interfaces for asynchronous IO, while providing a simpler programming model.
Ecological Relevance of Hemolymph Total Protein Concentration in Seven Unrelated Crustacean Species from Different Habitats Measured Predictively by a Density-Salinity Refractometer
Authors: Lorenzon Simonetta , Martinis Marzia , Ferrero Enrico A.
Published: December 2011

In recent years, blood metabolites have been investigated as a tool for monitoring physiological condition in wild or cultured crustaceans exposed to different environmental conditions. Blood protein levels fluctuate with changes in environmental and physiological conditions and play fundamental roles in the physiology of crustaceans from O2transport to reproduction up to stress responses. Proteins are major contributors to hemolymph density, and the present study correlates the easy and low cost measure of hemolymph density by a density-salinity refractometer with the total protein concentration, measured with a colorimetric method. Moreover, the study evaluates the accuracy of the relationship and provides a conversion factor from hemolymph density to protein in seven species of crustaceans, representative of taxa far apart in the phylogenetic tree and characterized by different life habits. Measuring serum-protein concentration by using a refractometer can provide a non-destructive field method to assess crustacean populations/species protein-related modifications of physiological state without need of costly laboratory facilities and procedures.
The Effects of a Multiflavonoid Supplement on Vascular and Hemodynamic Parameters following Acute Exercise
Authors: Kappus Rebecca M. , Curry Chelsea D. , McAnulty Steve , Welsh Janice , Morris David , Nieman David C. , Soukup Jeffrey , Collier Scott R.
Published: December 2011

Antioxidants can decrease oxidative stress and combined with acute exercise they may lead to further decreases in blood pressure. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 2 weeks of antioxidant supplementation on vascular distensibility and cardiovascular hemodynamics during postexercise hypotension.Methods. Twenty young subjects were randomized to placebo () or antioxidant supplementation () for two weeks. Antioxidant status, vascular distensibility, and hemodynamics were obtained before, immediately, and 30 minutes after an acute bout of aerobic exercise both before and after supplementation.Results. Two weeks of antioxidant supplementation resulted in a greater systolic blood pressure (SBP) decrease during postexercise hypotension (PEH) and significant decreases in augmentation index versus placebo (12.5% versus 3.5%, resp.). Also ferric-reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) increased significantly (interactionP= 0.024) after supplementation.Conclusion. Supplementation showed an additive effect on PEH associated with increased FRAP values and decreases in systolic blood pressure and augmentation index.
Optimization of Recombination Layer in the Tunnel Junction of Amorphous Silicon Thin-Film Tandem Solar Cells
Authors: Lin Yang-Shin , Lien Shui-Yang , Wang Chao-Chun , Hsu Chia-Hsun , Yang Chih-Hsiang , Nautiyal Asheesh , Wuu Dong-Sing , Tsai Pi-Chuen , Lee Shuo-Jen
Published: December 2011

The amorphous silicon/amorphous silicon (a-Si/a-Si) tandem solar cells have attracted much attention in recent years, due to the high efficiency and low manufacturing cost compared to the single-junction a-Si solar cells. In this paper, the tandem cells are fabricated by high-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (HF-PECVD) at 27.1 MHz. The effects of the recombination layer and the i-layer thickness matching on the cell performance have been investigated. The results show that the tandem cell with a p+recombination layer and i2/i1thickness ratio of 6 exhibits a maximum efficiency of 9.0% with the open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 1.59 V, short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 7.96 mA/cm2, and a fill factor (FF) of 0.70. After light-soaking test, our a-Si/a-Si tandem cell with p+recombination layer shows the excellent stability and the stabilized efficiency of 8.7%.
Cantor Limit Set of a Topological Transformation Group on S1
Authors: Guan Keying , Chen Zuming
Published: December 2011

The limit set of a topological transformation group on S1 generated by two generators is proved to be totally disconnected (or thin) and perfect if the conditions (i–v) are satisfied. A concrete application to a Doubly Periodic Riccati equation is given.
Huntington's Disease: Two-Year Observational Follow-Up of Executive Function Evaluation with CNS Vital Signs Test in an Adult Patient
Authors: King Anna Lucia Spear , Valença Alexandre Martins , e Silva Adriana Cardoso de Oliveira , Cerqueira Ana Claudia , Ferraz Lígia Maria Chaves , Nardi Antonio Egidio
Published: December 2011

Huntington's disease (HD) is a genetic, degenerative, and progressive central nervous system disease. It is characterized by motor abnormalities and cognitive and psychiatric symptoms.Objective. To describe the precise degree of clinical severity of patients with HD through a new neurocognitive assessment.Methods. Unprecedented battery of computerized tests, CNSVS (Central Nervous System Vital Signs), was applied at three different moments in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The accurate and reliable CNSVS objectively provided the cognitive state of patients and allowed for the evaluation of disease progression.Case Report. P., 26, female, without any medication, with normal psychomotor development is a parent carrier of HD. In 2008, she was diagnosed with HD in accordance with the Medical Genetics Laboratories.Conclusion. The tests may be useful to reveal the exact measure of the current evolutionary stage of HD patients, allowing for more efficient planning of treatment and future procedures, such as the medication, therapy, and physical activity to be administered.
Long‐Term Prediction of Emergency Department Revenue and Visitor Volume Using Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average Model
Authors: Chen Chieh-Fan , Ho Wen-Hsien , Chou Huei-Yin , Yang Shu-Mei , Chen I-Te , Shi Hon-Yi
Published: December 2011

This study analyzed meteorological, clinical and economic factors in terms of their effects on monthly ED revenue and visitor volume. Monthly data from January 1, 2005 to September 30, 2009 were analyzed. Spearman correlation and cross‐correlation analyses were performed to identify the correlation between each independent variable, ED revenue, and visitor volume. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model was used to quantify the relationship between each independent variable, ED revenue, and visitor volume. The accuracies were evaluated by comparing model forecasts to actual values with mean absolute percentage of error. Sensitivity of prediction errors to model training time was also evaluated. The ARIMA models indicated that mean maximum temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, non‐trauma, and trauma visits may correlate positively with ED revenue, but mean minimum temperature may correlate negatively with ED revenue. Moreover, mean minimum temperature and stock market index fluctuation may correlate positively with trauma visitor volume. Mean maximum temperature, relative humidity and stock market index fluctuation may correlate positively with non‐trauma visitor volume. Mean maximum temperature and relative humidity may correlate positively with pediatric visitor volume, but mean minimum temperature may correlate negatively with pediatric visitor volume. The model also performed well in forecasting revenue and visitor volume.
Studies on Modification of Surface Properties in Polycarbonate (PC) Film Induced by DC Glow Discharge Plasma
Authors: Vijayalakshmi K. A. , Mekala M. , Yoganand C. P. , Navaneetha Pandiyaraj K.
Published: December 2011

The polycarbonate film (PC) surface was treated using glow discharge low-pressure air plasma. The modified surface was characterized by contact angle, FTIR, XRD, AFM, and XPS analysis. The surface-modified samples were further investigated using T-peel test for technical applications. The surface energy of the sample was estimated by measuring contact angle. The results show that, after plasma treatment, the root mean square (RMS) roughness of PC film was gradually increased with exposure time. Plasma treatment modified the chemical composition of the polymer surface and it made the surface to be highly hydrophilic. It was found that the air plasma treatment increases the polar component of PC film.
Laser Ablation for Small Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Pacella Claudio Maurizio , Francica Giampiero , Di Costanzo Giovanni Giuseppe
Published: December 2011

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide and is increasingly detected at small size (<5 cm) owing to surveillance programmes in high-risk patients. For these cases, curative therapies such as resection, liver transplantation, or percutaneous ablation have been proposed. When surgical options are precluded, image-guided tumor ablation is recommended as the most appropriate therapeutic choice in terms of tumor local control, safety, and improvement in survival. Laser ablation (LA) represents one of currently available loco-ablative techniques: light is delivered via flexible quartz fibers of diameter from 300 to 600 μm inserted into tumor lesion through either fine needles (21g Chiba needles) or large-bore catheters. The thermal destruction of tissue is achieved through conversion of absorbed light (usually infrared) into heat. A range of different imaging modalities have been used to guide percutaneous laser ablation, but ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging are most widely employed, according to local experience and resource availability. Available clinical data suggest that LA is highly effective in terms of tumoricidal capability with an excellent safety profile; the best results in terms of long-term survival are obtained in early HCC so that LA can be proposed not only in unresectable cases but, not differently from radiofrequency ablation, also as the first-line treatment.
Spatial Profile of the Dead Core for the Fast Diffusion Equation with Dependent Coefficient
Authors: Zhang Zhengce , Wang Biao
Published: December 2011

We consider the dead‐core problem for the fast diffusion equation with
spatially dependent coefficient and obtain precise estimates on the single‐point
final dead‐core profile. The proofs rely on maximum principle and
require much delicate computation.
Conforming Finite Element Approximations for a Fourth‐Order Steklov Eigenvalue Problem
Authors: Bi Hai , Ren Shixian , Yang Yidu
Published: December 2011

This paper characterizes the spectrum of a fourth‐order Steklov eigenvalue problem by using the spectral theory of completely continuous operator. The conforming finite element approximation for this problem is analyzed, and the error estimate is given. Finally, the bounds for Steklov eigenvalues on the square domain are provided by Bogner‐Fox‐Schmit element and Morley element.
A Zero-Voltage-Transition Interleaved Boost Converter and Its Application to PFC
Authors: Barbosa Lúcio dos Reis
Published: December 2011

An efficient power factor correction converter is presented. Two boost-topology switching cells are interleaved to minimize EMI while operating at lower switching frequency and soft switching to minimize losses. The result is a system with high conversion efficiency, able to operate in a pulse-width-modulation (PWM) way. Seven transition states of the ZVT converter in one switching period are described. In order to illustrate the operational principle key, implementation details, including simulations, are described. The validity of this converter is guaranteed by the obtained results.
Role of Oxidative Stress in Transformation Induced by Metal Mixture
Authors: Martín Silva-Aguilar , Emilio Rojas , Mahara Valverde
Published: December 2011

Metals are ubiquitous pollutants present as mixtures. In particular, mixture of arsenic-cadmium-lead is among the leading toxic agents detected in the environment. These metals have carcinogenic and cell-transforming potential. In this study, we used a two step cell transformation model, to determine the role of oxidative stress in transformation induced by a mixture of arsenic-cadmium-lead. Oxidative damage and antioxidant response were determined. Metal mixture treatment induces the increase of damage markers and the antioxidant response. Loss of cell viability and increased transforming potential were observed during the promotion phase. This finding correlated significantly with generation of reactive oxygen species. Cotreatment withN-acetyl-cysteine induces effect on the transforming capacity; while a diminution was found in initiation, in promotion phase a total block of the transforming capacity was observed. Our results suggest that oxidative stress generated by metal mixture plays an important role only in promotion phase promoting transforming capacity.
A Novel System for Rapid and Cost-Effective Production of Detection and Diagnostic Reagents of West Nile Virus in Plants
Authors: He Junyun , Lai Huafang , Brock Christopher , Chen Qiang
Published: December 2011

The threat of West Nile virus (WNV) epidemics necessitates the development of a technology platform that can produce reagents to support detection and diagnosis rapidly and inexpensively. A plant expression system is attractive for protein production due to its low-cost and high-scalability nature and its ability to make appropriate posttranslational modifications. Here, we investigated the feasibility of using plants to produce two WNV detection and diagnostic reagents to address the current cost and scalability issues. We demonstrated that WNV DIII antigen and E16 monoclonal antibody are rapidly produced at high levels in two plant species and are easily purified. Furthermore, they are effective in identifying WNV and in detecting human IgM response to WNV infection. E16 mAb does not cross-react with other flaviviruses, therefore, is valuable for improving diagnostic accuracy. This study provides a proof of principle for using plants as a robust and economical system to produce diagnostic reagents for arboviruses.
Enhancement of the Quality and Robustness in Synchronization of Nonlinear Lur′e Dynamical Networks
Authors: Xu Shiyun , Tang Yong , Sun Huadong , Zhou Ziguan , Yang Ying
Published: December 2011

In order to improve the synchronous reliability and dependability of complex dynamical networks, methods need to be proposed to enhance the quality and robustness of the synchronization scheme. The
present study focuses on the robust fault detection issue within the synchronization for a class of nonlinear
dynamical networks composed by identical Lur′e systems. Sufficient conditions in terms of linear
matrix inequalities (LMIs) are established to guarantee global robust ℋ−/ℋ∞ synchronization of the
network. Under such a synchronization scheme, the error dynamical system is globally asymptotically
stable, the effect of external disturbances is suppressed, and at the same time, the network is sensitive to
possible faults based on a mixed ℋ−/ℋ∞ performance. The fault sensitivity ℋ− index, moreover, can
be optimized via a convex optimization algorithm. The effectiveness and applicability of the analytical
results are demonstrated through a network example composed by the Chua′s circuit, and it shows that
the quality and robustness of synchronization has been greatly enhanced.
Numerical Solution of Poisson′s Equation Using a Combination of Logarithmic and Multiquadric Radial Basis Function Networks
Authors: Mazarei Mohammad Mehdi , Aminataei Azim
Published: December 2011

This paper presents numerical solution of elliptic partial differential equations (Poisson′s equation) using a combination of logarithmic and multiquadric radial basis function networks. This method uses a special combination between logarithmic and multiquadric radial basis functions with a parameter r. Further, the condition number which arises in the process is discussed, and a comparison is made between them with our earlier studies and previously known ones. It is shown that the system is stable.