bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Melanoma staging: Evidence‐based changes in the American Joint Committee on Cancer eighth edition cancer staging manual
Authors: Gershenwald Jeffrey E. , Scolyer Richard A. , Hess Kenneth R. , Sondak Vernon K. , Long Georgina V. , Ross Merrick I. , Lazar Alexander J. , Faries Mark B. , Kirkwood John M. , McArthur Grant A. , Haydu Lauren E. , Eggermont Alexander M. M. , Flaherty Keith T. , Balch Charles M. , Thompson John F. ,   for members of the American Joint Committee on Cancer Melanoma Expert Panel and the International Melanoma Database and Discovery Platform
Published: October 2017

Answer questions and earn CME/CNE

To update the melanoma staging system of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) a large database was assembled comprising >46,000 patients from 10 centers worldwide with stages I, II, and III melanoma diagnosed since 1998. Based on analyses of this new database, the existing seventh edition AJCC stage IV database, and contemporary clinical trial data, the AJCC Melanoma Expert Panel introduced several important changes to the Tumor, Nodes, Metastasis (TNM) classification and stage grouping criteria. Key changes in the eighth edition AJCC Cancer Staging Manual include: 1) tumor thickness measurements to be recorded to the nearest 0.1 mm, not 0.01 mm; 2) definitions of T1a and T1b are revised (T1a, <0.8 mm without ulceration; T1b, 0.8‐1.0 mm with or without ulceration or <0.8 mm with ulceration), with mitotic rate no longer a T category criterion; 3) pathological (but not clinical) stage IA is revised to include T1b N0 M0 (formerly pathologic stage IB); 4) the N category descriptors “microscopic” and “macroscopic” for regional node metastasis are redefined as “clinically occult” and “clinically apparent”; 5) prognostic stage III groupings are based on N category criteria and T category criteria (ie, primary tumor thickness and ulceration) and increased from 3 to 4 subgroups (stages IIIA‐IIID); 6) definitions of N subcategories are revised, with the presence of microsatellites, satellites, or in‐transit metastases now categorized as N1c, N2c, or N3c based on the number of tumor‐involved regional lymph nodes, if any; 7) descriptors are added to each M1 subcategory designation for lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level (LDH elevation no longer upstages to M1c); and 8) a new M1d designation is added for central nervous system metastases. This evidence‐based revision of the AJCC melanoma staging system will guide patient treatment, provide better prognostic estimates, and refine stratification of patients entering clinical trials. CA Cancer J Clin 2017;67:472‐492. © 2017 American Cancer Society.
James Hogg, ‘the beginner, and almost sole instigator' of Blackwood's – Not Once, but Twice
Authors: Richardson Thomas C.
Published: October 2017

James Hogg claims to have been instrumental in initiating both versions of William Blackwood's venture into magazine publishing in 1817. This essay examines Hogg's role in beginning the Edinburgh Monthly Magazine and its successor, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, and discusses the significance of his contributions to the Edinburgh Monthly and the early numbers of Blackwood's in terms of his influence on the direction of the magazine and the magazine's impact on him. Attention is given to key works in both versions, especially ‘Tales and Anecdotes of the Pastoral Life’ and ‘Shakspeare Club of Alloa’ in the Edinburgh Monthly and the ‘Chaldee Manuscript’ and ‘Elegy’ in Blackwood's. Also important for Hogg's relationship with Blackwood's were Hogg's submissions that Blackwood did not publish. This essay looks particularly at Hogg's failed effort to enter the attacks on the Cockney School and how he also became a victim of the social and intellectual disdain leveled against the Cockneys.
‘The malignity of Reviewers’: Coleridge, Wilson, and Blackwood's
Authors: Mahoney Charles
Published: October 2017

The first number of the refashioned Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine opens with a review of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Biographia Literaria which is still regarded as one of the most virulent ‘attacks’ in the history of periodical reviewing. What could have motivated John Wilson to disparage Coleridge so personally and at such length? One factor may have been the treatment of Francis Jeffrey in the Biographia. Jeffrey's presence in both the Biographia and Wilson's review reveals a complicated debate regarding reviewing practices in the 1810s at the same time as it illuminates the boisterous, unpredictable tone of the new magazine.
‘She has her ladies too’: Women and Scottish Periodical Culture in Blackwood's Early Years
Authors: Perkins Pam
Published: October 2017

This essay looks at some of the women who were published in and reviewed by Blackwood's Magazine in its early years. While the important contributions of women to the Blackwood's of the Victorian period have always been recognised, the Romantic-era magazine is better remembered for a sometimes aggressively ‘masculine’ tone. Women appeared in Blackwood's from the beginning, however, even if only in small numbers. Focusing first on reviews of major women writers – including Madame de Staël and Mary Shelley – and then turning to Felicia Hemans and Anne Grant, both of whom had poems published in the first year of the magazine's run, the essay argues that comments on these women and their work can illuminate the ways in which Blackwood's positioned itself in the competitive world of the Scottish periodical press.
‘The Only Irish Magazine’: Early Blackwood's and the Production of Irish ‘National Character’
Authors: Roberts Daniel S.
Published: October 2017

On the ‘Irish Question’ of the 1820s and 30s, Blackwood's Magazine developed a fearsome reputation for intransigence. Yet its early engagements with Ireland were far from unsympathetic, viewing its peasantry, in particular, as warm-hearted and likeable, though also overly passionate and prone to disorderly behaviour. Arguing for John Wilson's theorisation of ‘national character’ as a crucial determinant of Blackwood's representative position, this article analyses the manner in which Maga responded to Irish literature and society in a transperipheral manner, seeking to integrate Ireland more fully into the Union, and to accept its destiny as a partner in Britain's imperial enterprise. Ireland's failure, through its poets (such as Thomas Moore) and its people, to conform to this ideal, and its headstrong movement towards Catholic Emancipation under the leadership of Daniel O'Connell, would generate the choleric position that came to characterize the magazine.
Blackwood's Byron: The Lakers, the Cockneys, and the ‘throne of poetical supremacy’
Authors: Morrison Robert
Published: October 2017

Blackwood's in its earliest numbers was a staunch admirer of Lord Byron. But when he published Beppo, it damned him in a June 1818 review as a hypocrite and a reveller, and thereafter the magazine lurched between celebrating him for his genius and castigating him for his perversion of it. Byron objected to the uneven treatment he received at the hands of the Blackwood's critics, but in ‘Some Observations Upon an Article in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine’ he echoes their views on several contemporary poets, and seems to reconcile himself to the exuberant unpredictability of the magazine.
#Virtual Lexicality. The semantics of innovative prefixed verbal anglicisms in German
Authors: Baeskow Heike
Published: October 2017

The increasing influence of the digital media affects not only the behaviour of Internet users, but also calls for constant lexical innovation. Since most of the IT-related vocabulary originated in English, it is a particular challenge to examine how individual lexical items from this domain are processed as loan words in a receptor language. In this article it will be shown that there is a tendency in present-day German to form verbs denoting the use of online services by means of analogy (e.g. googeln > facebooken, youtuben, whatsappen) and that these verbs already participate in native derivational processes. Significantly, web-based searches performed for this study revealed that they occur in the context of the German inseparable prefixes er-, be-, ent-, ver- and zer- at least in computer-mediated communication. Given this behaviour on the one hand and the restricted use on the other, it is assumed here that these hybrid formations are pragmatically motivated. In particular, they allow Internet users to differentiate between real-world activities and corresponding activities simulated in the virtual world. Moreover, it will be argued that the prefixed verbal anglicisms activate slots in the paradigms of the grammaticalized prefixes, where they are paradigmatically related to genuinely native neighbours (e.g. ergoogeln, erfragen, erarbeiten). In the course of the discussion, the analyses will be extended to include borrowed verbs like chatten, liken, or followen, which are also compatible with the prefixes under consideration.
Procyanidin B2 Protects Neurons from Oxidative, Nitrosative, and Excitotoxic Stress
Authors: Sutcliffe Taylor , Winter Aimee , Punessen Noelle , Linseman Daniel
Published: October 2017

The aberrant generation of oxygen and nitrogen free radicals can cause severe damage to key cellular components, resulting in cell apoptosis. Similarly, excitotoxicity leads to protease activation and mitochondrial dysfunction, which subsequently causes cell death. Each of these factors play critical roles in the neuronal cell death underlying various neurodegenerative diseases. Procyanidin B2 (PB2) is a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound found in high concentrations in cocoa, apples, and grapes. Here, we examine the neuroprotective effects of PB2 in primary cultures of rat cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) exposed to various stressors. CGNs were pre-incubated with PB2 and then neuronal stress was induced as described below. Mitochondrial oxidative stress was triggered with HA14-1, an inhibitor of the pro-survival Bcl-2 protein which induces glutathione-sensitive apoptosis. Glutamate and glycine were used to induce excitotoxicity. Sodium nitroprusside, a nitric oxide generating compound, was used to induce nitrosative stress. We observed significant dose-dependent protection of CGNs with PB2 for all of the above insults, with the greatest neuroprotective effect being observed under conditions of nitrosative stress. Intriguingly, the neuroprotective effect of PB2 against nitric oxide was superoxide-dependent, as we have recently shown for other catechol antioxidants. Finally, we induced neuronal stress through the removal of depolarizing extracellular potassium and serum (5K conditions), which is a classical model of intrinsic apoptosis in CGNs. PB2 did not display any significant protection against 5K-induced apoptosis at any concentration tested. We conclude that PB2 offers neuronal protection principally as an antioxidant by scavenging reactive oxygen and nitrogen species instead of through modulation of pro-survival cell signaling pathways. These findings suggest that PB2 may be an effective neuroprotective agent for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.
The Challenges of Advanced CMOS Process from 2D to 3D
Authors: Radamson Henry , Zhang Yanbo , He Xiaobin , Cui Hushan , Li Junjie , Xiang Jinjuan , Liu Jinbiao , Gu Shihai , Wang Guilei
Published: October 2017

The architecture, size and density of metal oxide field effect transistors (MOSFETs) as unit bricks in integrated circuits (ICs) have constantly changed during the past five decades. The driving force for such scientific and technological development is to reduce the production price, power consumption and faster carrier transport in the transistor channel. Therefore, many challenges and difficulties have been merged in the processing of transistors which have to be dealed and solved. This article highlights the transition from 2D planar MOSFETs to 3D fin field effective transistors (FinFETs) and then presents how the process flow faces different technological challenges. The discussions contain nano-scaled patterning and process issues related to gate and (source/drain) S/D formation as well as integration of III-V materials for high carrier mobility in channel for future FinFETs.
Dynamic Scheduling of a Semiconductor Production Line Based on a Composite Rule Set
Authors: Ma Yumin , Qiao Fei , Zhao Fu , Sutherland John
Published: October 2017

Various factors and constraints should be considered when developing a manufacturing production schedule, and such a schedule is often based on rules. This paper develops a composite dispatching rule based on heuristic rules that comprehensively consider various factors in a semiconductor production line. The composite rule is obtained by exploring various states of a semiconductor production line (machine status, queue size, etc.), where such indicators as makespan and equipment efficiency are used to judge performance. A model of the response surface, as a function of key variables, is then developed to find the optimized parameters of a composite rule for various production states. Furthermore, dynamic scheduling of semiconductor manufacturing is studied based on support vector regression (SVR). This approach dynamically obtains a composite dispatching rule (i.e., parameters of the composite dispatching rule) that can be used to optimize production performance according to real-time production line state. Following optimization, the proposed dynamic scheduling approach is tested in a real semiconductor production line to validate the effectiveness of the proposed composite rule set.
A Novel Adaptive PID Controller with Application to Vibration Control of a Semi-Active Vehicle Seat Suspension
Authors: Phu Do Xuan , An Jin-Hee , Choi Seung-Bok
Published: October 2017

This work proposes a novel adaptive hybrid controller based on the sliding mode controller and H-infinity control technique, and its effectiveness is verified by implementing it in vibration control of a vehicle seat suspension featuring a magneto-rheological damper. As a first step, a sliding surface of the sliding mode controller is established and used as a bridge to formulate the proposed controller. In this process, two matrices such as Hurwitz constants matrix are used as components of the sliding surface and H-infinity technique are adopted to achieve robust stability. Secondly, a fuzzy logic model based on the interval type 2 fuzzy model which is featured by online clustering is established and integrated to take account for external disturbances. Subsequently, a new adaptive hybrid controller is formulated with a solid proof of the robust stability. Then, the effectiveness is demonstrated by implementing the proposed hybrid controller on the vibration control of a vehicle seat suspension associated with a controllable damper. Vibration control performances are evaluated on bump and random road profiles by presenting both displacement and acceleration on the seat and the driver positions. In addition, a comparative study between the proposed and one of existing controllers is undertaken to highlight some benefits of the hybrid adaptive controller developed in this work.
Accelerated Simulation of Discrete Event Dynamic Systems via a Multi-Fidelity Modeling Framework
Authors: Choi Seon , Seo Kyung-Min , Kim Tag
Published: October 2017

Simulation analysis has been performed for simulation experiments of all possible input combinations as a “what-if” analysis, which causes the simulation to be extremely time-consuming. To resolve this problem, this paper proposes a multi-fidelity modeling framework for enhancing simulation speed while minimizing simulation accuracy loss. A target system for this framework is a discrete event dynamic system. The dynamic property of the system facilitates the development of variable fidelity models for the target system due to its high computational cost; and the discrete event property allows for determining when to change the fidelity within a simulation scenario. For formal representation, the paper defines several key concepts such as an interest region, a fidelity change condition, and a selection model. These concepts are integrated into the framework to allow for the achievement of a condition-based disjunction of high- and low-fidelity simulations within a scenario. The proposed framework is applied to two case studies: unmanned underwater and urban transportation vehicles. The results show that simulation speed increases at least 1.21 times with a 5% accuracy loss. We expect that the proposed framework will resolve a computationally expensive problem in the simulation analysis of discrete event dynamic systems.
Evaluating the NOx Storage Catalysts (NSC) Aging: A Preliminary Analytical Study with Electronic Microscopy
Authors: Bellebuono Leonarda , Annese Cosimo , Catucci Lucia , Colafemmina Giuseppe , Comparelli Roberto , Cotugno Pietro , Fracassi Francesco , Fusco Caterina , Nacci Angelo , D’Accolti Lucia
Published: October 2017

This paper describes an expeditious and reliable method for determining the thermal effects in a static condition of commercial NOx storage catalysts (NSCs) using scanning electron microscopy with an energy dispersive X-ray analytical system (SEM/EDS). It is worth remarking that possible changes in the morphology and in the elemental composition of the catalyst may be considered as the most important causes of the lower conversion of NOx. The information attained in this work indicates that Pt nanoparticle sintering is strongly increased by the oxygen exposure, and this can be considered a very useful preliminary investigation for the studies already present in the literature on the efficiency of NSCs.
Investigation of the Optical Performance of a Novel Planar Static PV Concentrator with Lambertian Rear Reflectors
Authors: Liu Xiao , Wu Yupeng , Hou Xianghui , Liu Hao
Published: October 2017

Due to the demands for energy saving and environmental conservation, the development of sustainable zero-carbon buildings has become an inevitable trend. Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) is a promising technology capable of producing clean electricity onsite and replacing conventional building materials. This paper designs and investigates the performance of a planar Lambertian reflector-based concentrating BIPV system. A comprehensive 3D ray-tracing simulation was applied to study the optical characteristics of the proposed module. It was found that when the geometric concentration ratio is 2.0, the optical efficiency of the investigated Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV) module is 62.5% and the radiant flux received by the solar cells is about 1.4 times that of the counterpart module without solar concentrators. Through parametric analyses, it was concluded that the optical performance can be enhanced by selecting a suitable glass thickness and type, integrating the glazing cover with edge mirrors, adjusting the distance between the solar cells and improving the reflectivity of the Lambertian reflectors. Comparative analysis was also conducted for the CPV systems integrated with Lambertian and v-groove rear reflectors under different incident light angles, respectively. It was confirmed that the system integrated with Lambertian rear reflectors shows less angular dependence.
Structural Resistance of Reinforced Concrete Buildings in Areas of Moderate Seismicity and Assessment of Strategies for Structural Improvement
Authors: Dominguez-Santos David , Ballesteros-Perez Pablo , Mora-Melia Daniel
Published: October 2017

Moderate magnitude seismic events have occurred during the last decade in non-seismic areas and have highlighted that many existing buildings do not sufficiently resist these types of events. The objective of this work is to illustrate that most buildings dating from 2002–2010 constructed from wide beams, which were designed to previous earthquake resistance codes, do not offer a satisfactory seismic behaviour, and to identify which structural attributes can best help alleviate this problem. In this work the effect of a real earthquake of medium magnitude (Lorca, 2011) on buildings of three, five and eight stories with unidirectional frames of wide-beam concrete was assessed. The methodology included non-linear static (pushover) analyses and dynamic response simulations with the aim to understand the effect on the seismic performance of changing some of the geometrical and material parameters. Maximum displacements and capacity curves for the top floor of a set of representative buildings were evaluated and compared. In particular, capacity curves obtained from non-linear static (pushover) analysis are compared for different building configurations, as well as the maximum displacements obtained through non-linear dynamic analysis. This paper highlights the seismic vulnerability of buildings constructed between 2002 and 2010 and the results indicate that a higher density of infill walls (walls whose bricks are not part of the main structure) is the feature that most significantly improves the seismic behaviour of the structures analysed. Moreover, counterintuitively, incorporating stronger concrete and reinforcing steel and using alternative column arrangements only have a small positive effect on the seismic behaviour of these types of buildings.
Radiation-Induced Changes of microRNA Expression Profiles in Radiosensitive and Radioresistant Leukemia Cell Lines with Different Levels of Chromosome Abnormalities
Authors: Liamina Daria , Sibirnyj Wladimir , Khokhlova Anna , Saenko Viacheslav , Rastorgueva Eugenia , Fomin Aleksandr , Saenko Yury
Published: October 2017

In our study, we estimate an effect from chromosome aberrations and genome mutations on changes in microRNA expression profiles in cancer cell lines demonstrating different radiosensitivity. Here, cell viability and microRNA spectrum have been estimated 1, 4, and 24 h after irradiation. MiSeq high-throughput sequencing system (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA) is employed to perform microRNA spectrum estimation. In the K562 cell line, the number of expressed microRNAs in chromosomes demonstrates a more pronounced variation. An analysis of microRNA effects on signaling pathway activity demonstrates differences in post-transcriptional regulation of the expression of genes included into 40 signaling pathways. In the K562 cell line, microRNA dynamics analyzed for their dependence on chromosome localization show a wider scattering of microRNA expression values for a pair of chromosomes compared to the HL-60 cell line. An analysis of microRNAs expression in the K562 and HL-60 cell lines after irradiation has shown that chromosome abnormalities can affect microRNA expression changes. A study of radiation-induced changes of microRNA expression profiles in the K562 and HL-60 cell lines has revealed a dependence of microRNA expression changes on the number of chromosome aberrations and genome mutations.
Deposition of Photocatalytic TiO2 Coating by Modifying the Solidification Pathway in Plasma Spraying
Authors: Wen Kui , Liu Min , Liu Xuezhang , Deng Chunming , Zhou Kesong
Published: October 2017

The deposition of photocatalytic TiO2 coatings with plasma spraying is attractive for large-scale applications due to its low cost and simplicity, but it is still a challenge to obtain a TiO2 coating with high anatase content. The solidification pathway of inflight melted particles was investigated in the present paper, and TiO2 coatings with enhanced photocatalytic activity were obtained without a significant loss of the microhardness. The coating microstructure, phase composition, and crystallite size were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Photocatalytic performance was evaluated by decomposing an aqueous solution of methylene blue. Results showed that the anatase content in TiO2 coating was augmented to 19.9% from 4%, and the time constant of the activity was increased to 0.0046 h−1 from 0.0017 h−1.
Investigating the Thermodynamic Performances of TO-Based Metamaterial Tunable Cells with an Entropy Generation Approach
Authors: Xu Guoqiang , Zhang Haochun , Zhang Xiu , Jin Yan
Published: October 2017

Active control of heat flux can be realized with transformation optics (TO) thermal metamaterials. Recently, a new class of metamaterial tunable cells has been proposed, aiming to significantly reduce the difficulty of fabrication and to flexibly switch functions by employing several cells assembled on related positions following the TO design. However, owing to the integration and rotation of materials in tunable cells, they might lead to extra thermal losses as compared with the previous continuum design. This paper focuses on investigating the thermodynamic properties of tunable cells under related design parameters. The universal expression for the local entropy generation rate in such metamaterial systems is obtained considering the influence of rotation. A series of contrast schemes are established to describe the thermodynamic process and thermal energy distributions from the viewpoint of entropy analysis. Moreover, effects of design parameters on thermal dissipations and system irreversibility are investigated. In conclusion, more thermal dissipations and stronger thermodynamic processes occur in a system with larger conductivity ratios and rotation angles. This paper presents a detailed description of the thermodynamic properties of metamaterial tunable cells and provides reference for selecting appropriate design parameters on related positions to fabricate more efficient and energy-economical switchable TO devices.
Is Cetacean Intelligence Special? New Perspectives on the Debate
Authors: Chinea Alejandro
Published: October 2017

In recent years, the interpretation of our observations of animal behaviour, in particular that of cetaceans, has captured a substantial amount of attention in the scientific community. The traditional view that supports a special intellectual status for this mammalian order has fallen under significant scrutiny, in large part due to problems of how to define and test the cognitive performance of animals. This paper presents evidence supporting complex cognition in cetaceans obtained using the recently developed intelligence and embodiment hypothesis. This hypothesis is based on evolutionary neuroscience and postulates the existence of a common information-processing principle associated with nervous systems that evolved naturally and serves as the foundation from which intelligence can emerge. This theoretical framework explaining animal intelligence in neural computational terms is supported using a new mathematical model. Two pathways leading to higher levels of intelligence in animals are identified, each reflecting a trade-off either in energetic requirements or the number of neurons used. A description of the evolutionary pathway that led to increased cognitive capacities in cetacean brains is detailed and evidence supporting complex cognition in cetaceans is presented. This paper also provides an interpretation of the adaptive function of cetacean neuronal traits.
A Flexible Experimental Laboratory for Distributed Generation Networks Based on Power Inverters
Authors: Miret Jaume , García de Vicuña José , Guzmán Ramón , Camacho Antonio , Moradi Ghahderijani Mohammad
Published: October 2017

In the recently deregulated electricity market, distributed generation based on renewable sources is becoming more and more relevant. In this area, two main distributed scenarios are focusing the attention of recent research: grid-connected mode, where the generation sources are connected to a grid mainly supplied by big power plants, and islanded mode, where the distributed sources, energy storage devices, and loads compose an autonomous entity that in its general form can be named a microgrid. To conduct a successful research in these two scenarios, it is essential to have a flexible experimental setup. This work deals with the description of a real laboratory setup composed of four nodes that can emulate both scenarios of a distributed generation network. A comprehensive description of the hardware and software setup will be done, focusing especially in the dual-core DSP used for control purposes, which is next to the industry standards and able to emulate real complexities. A complete experimental section will show the main features of the system.
Crosstalk Study of Simultaneous Wireless Power/Information Transmission Based on an LCC Compensation Network
Authors: Ji Li , Wang Lifang , Liao Chenglin , Li Shufan
Published: October 2017

The effective simultaneous wireless transmission of power and information (SWTPI) is an issue of great interest. To reduce the crosstalk between power and information channels while increasing the transmission air gap and power level, we introduce an inductor–capacitor–capacitor (LCC) compensation network for an SWTPI system. First, the crosstalk between the power and information channels is analyzed. An effective parametric design method is then proposed for the LCC compensation network, which is analyzed theoretically to minimize the crosstalk. Finally, experiments are conducted at 1000 W and 115.2 kbps with an air gap of 100 cm to verify whether the proposed structure and design method of the LCC compensation network are suitable for the SWTPI.
A Practical Resource Management Scheme for Cellular Underlaid D2D Networks
Authors: Ban Tae-Won
Published: October 2017

In this paper, we investigate a resource management scheme for cellular underlaid device-to-device (D2D) communications, which are an integral part of mobile caching networks. D2D communications are allowed to share radio resources with cellular communications as long as the generating interference of D2D communications satisfies an interference constraint to secure cellular communications. Contrary to most of the other studies, we propose a distributed resource management scheme for cellular underlaid D2D communications focusing on a practical feasibility. In the proposed scheme, the feedback of channel information is not required because all D2D transmitters use a fixed transmit power and every D2D transmitter determines when to transmit data on its own without centralized control. We analyze the average sum-rates to evaluate the proposed scheme and compare them with optimal values, which can be achieved when a central controller has the perfect entire channel information and the full control of all D2D communications. Our numerical results show that the average sum-rates of the proposed scheme approach the optimal values in low or high signal-to-noise power ratio (SNR) regions. In particular, the proposed scheme achieves almost optimal average sum-rates in the entire SNR values in practical environments.
Collaborative Web Service Discovery and Recommendation Based on Social Link
Authors: Duan Lijun , Tian Hao
Published: October 2017

With the increasing application of web services in varying fields, the demand of effective Web service discovery approaches is becoming unprecedentedly strong. To improve the performance of service discovery, this paper proposes a collaborative Web service discovery and recommendation mechanism based on social link by extracting the latent relationships behind users and services. The presented approach can generate a set of candidate services through a complementary manner, in which service discovery and service recommendation could collaborate according to the formalized social link. The experimental results reveal that the proposed mechanism can effectively improve the efficiency and precision of Web service discovery.
To Facilitate or Curb? The Role of Financial Development in China’s Carbon Emissions Reduction Process: A Novel Approach
Authors: Xing Tiancai , Jiang Qichuan , Ma Xuejiao
Published: October 2017

With the Paris Agreement coming into effect, China, as the largest CO2 emitter in the world, will be facing greater pressure to reduce its carbon emissions. This paper discusses how to solve this issue from the perspective of financial development in China. Although many studies have analyzed its impact on carbon emissions, the conclusions are contradictory. A major criticism of the existing studies is the reasonability of the selection of appropriate indicators and panel estimation techniques. Almost all studies use only one or limited indicators to represent the financial development and ignore the cross-sectional dependence. To fulfil the gaps mentioned above, a financial development index system is built, and with the framework of the STIRPAT (Stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology) model, this paper applies an ARDL approach to investigating the long-run relationship between financial development and carbon emissions and a dynamic panel error-corrected model to capture the short-run impact. The empirical results show that financial development can improve carbon emissions, and such impact not only shows a regional difference but also reflects the features of stage differences. Additionally, based on the discussion on seven specific aspects of financial development, our findings can be helpful for policy makers to enact corresponding policies to realize the goal of reducing carbon emissions in China.
High Resistance Training Volume and Low Caloric and Protein Intake Are Associated with Detrimental Alterations in Body Composition of an Amateur Bodybuilder Using Anabolic Steroids: A Case Report
Authors: Viana Ricardo , Gentil Paulo , Brasileiro Eloy , Pimentel Gustavo , Vancini Rodrigo , Andrade Marilia , De Lira Claudio
Published: October 2017

Many bodybuilders use anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) to potentiate muscle mass gain as a result of specific resistance training and nutrition. The case we describe hereafter outlines alterations in body composition of an amateur bodybuilder during his pre-competitive period (11 weeks). The Participant was a 28-year old Caucasian male who was aiming to participate in his first bodybuilding competition under the “Men’s Physique” category. The Participant self-administered AAS for the whole pre-competitive period, followed a 13 set-meal plan consisting of 10 daily meals interspersed by approximately 2 h, and performed six high-volume resistance-training sessions a week. Body mass and anthropometric variables were measured at the beginning, during and at the end of his pre-competitive period. Dietetic analysis revealed a reduction in protein intake at the 10th (% decrease: −51.3%) and 11th weeks (% decrease: −64.5%) and in calorie intake at the 10th (% decrease: −57.9%) and 11th weeks (% decrease: −59.5%) in comparison to the 1st week. As a result, the Participant reduced both total body mass and fat percentage. However, there was a reduction in absolute fat free mass, despite the use of AAS. Apparently, the combination of excessive volumes of training with inadequate protein consumption was responsible for this outcome.
On the Effect of Hydrogen on the Low-Temperature Elastic and Anelastic Properties of Ni-Ti-Based Alloys
Authors: Sapozhnikov Konstantin , Torrens-Serra Joan , Cesari Eduard , Van Humbeeck Jan , Kustov Sergey
Published: October 2017

Linear and non-linear internal friction and the effective Young’s modulus of a Ni50.8Ti49.2 alloy have been studied after different heat treatments, affecting hydrogen content, over wide ranges of temperatures (13–300 K) and strain amplitudes (10−7–10−4) at frequencies near 90 kHz. It has been shown that the contamination of the alloy by hydrogen strongly affects the internal friction and Young’s modulus of the martensitic phase. Presence of hydrogen gives rise to a non-relaxation internal friction maximum due to a competition of two different temperature-dependent processes. The temperature position and height of the maximum depend strongly on the hydrogen content. We conclude that many of the internal friction peaks, reported earlier for differently treated Ni-Ti-based alloys, had the same origin as the present maximum.
Evaluation of Tool Path Strategy and Cooling Condition Effects on the Cutting Force and Surface Quality in Micromilling Operations
Authors: Koklu Ugur , Basmaci Gültekin
Published: October 2017

Compared to milling on a macro scale, the micromilling process has several cumbersome points that need to be addressed. Rapid tool wear and fracture, severe burr formation, and poor surface quality are the major problems encountered in the micromilling process. This study aimed to reveal the effect of cutting path strategies on the cutting force and surface quality in the micromilling of a pocket. The hatch zigzag tool path strategy and the contour climb tool path strategy under different cooling conditions (e.g., dry, air blow, and flood coolant) at fixed cutting parameters. The micromilling tests revealed that better results were obtained with the use of the contour tool path strategy in terms of cutting forces (by up to ~43% compared to the dry condition) and surface quality (by up to ~44% compared to the air blow condition) when compared to the hatch tool path strategy. In addition, the flood coolant reduces the cutting temperature and eliminates chips to significantly enhance the quality of the micro milled surface.
Bioactive Coating with Two-Layer Hierarchy of Relief Obtained by Sol-Gel Method with Shock Drying and Osteoblast Response of Its Structure
Authors: Zemtsova Elena , Arbenin Andrei , Yudintceva Natalia , Valiev Ruslan , Orekhov Evgeniy , Smirnov Vladimir
Published: October 2017

In this work, we analyze the efficiency of the modification of the implant surface. This modification was reached by the formation of a two-level relief hierarchy by means of a sol-gel approach that included dip coating with subsequent shock drying. Using this method, we fabricated a nanoporous layer with micron-sized defects on the nanotitanium surface. The present work continues an earlier study by our group, wherein the effect of osteoblast-like cell adhesion acceleration was found. In the present paper, we give the results of more detailed evaluation of coating efficiency. Specifically, cytological analysis was performed that included the study of the marker levels of osteoblast-like cell differentiation. We found a significant increase in the activity of alkaline phosphatase at the initial incubation stage. This is very important for implantation, since such an effect assists the decrease in the induction time of implant engraftment. Moreover, osteopontin expression remains high for long expositions. This indicates a prolonged osteogenic effect in the coating. The results suggest the acceleration of the pre-implant area mineralization and, correspondingly, the potential use of the developed coatings for bone implantation.
Worldwide Scientific Production Indexed by Scopus on Labour Relations
Authors: Salmerón-Manzano Esther , Manzano-Agugliaro Francisco
Published: October 2017

This article examines the features of the worldwide contributions to the specialized literature in labour relations in the period 1970–2016. The source considered has been the Scopus Elsevier database, together with bibliometric analysis techniques. Different aspects of the publications are analysed, such as publication type, field, language, subcategory and journal type, as well as the keyword occurrence frequency. The results of this work show that the most popular keywords were Trade Union, Employment, Labour Market and Industrial Relations. It is observed how the United States, being the most productive country, leads in almost all the keywords except in two, “Labour market” and “Working Conditions”, which are led by UK. If the keywords are studied only as geographical terms we can find the United States, Eurasia and India. The contributions are geographically and institutionally broken down. The most active categories are Social Sciences, Business, and Management and Accounting. The evolution of the most popular keywords indicates how in the last years “Trade Unions” “Industrial Relations” and “Personnel” have lost importance against “Labor Market” and “Employment”, showing new concerns in the labour relations field.
Performance Analysis of Slinky Horizontal Ground Heat Exchangers for a Ground Source Heat Pump System
Authors: Ali Md. , Kariya Keishi , Miyara Akio
Published: October 2017

This paper highlights the thermal performance of reclined (parallel to ground surface) and standing (perpendicular to ground surface) slinky horizontal ground heat exchangers (HGHEs) with different water mass flow rates in the heating mode of continuous and intermittent operations. A copper tube with an outer surface protected with low-density polyethylene was selected as the tube material of the ground heat exchanger. Effects on ground temperature around the reclined slinky HGHE due to heat extraction and the effect of variation of ground temperatures on reclined HGHE performance are discussed. A higher heat exchange rate was experienced in standing HGHE than in reclined HGHE. The standing HGHE was affected by deeper ground temperature and also a greater amount of backfilled sand in standing HGHE (4.20 m3) than reclined HGHE (1.58 m3), which has higher thermal conductivity than site soil. For mass flow rate of 1 L/min with inlet water temperature 7 °C, the 4-day average heat extraction rates increased 45.3% and 127.3%, respectively, when the initial average ground temperatures at 1.5 m depth around reclined HGHE increased from 10.4 °C to 11.7 °C and 10.4 °C to 13.7 °C. In the case of intermittent operation, which boosted the thermal performance, a short time interval of intermittent operation is better than a long time interval of intermittent operation. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of power consumption by the circulating pump, the intermittent operation is more efficient than continuous operation.
Etched Polymer Fibre Bragg Gratings and Their Biomedical Sensing Applications
Authors: Rajan Ginu , Bhowmik Kishore , Xi Jiangtao , Peng Gang-Ding
Published: October 2017

Bragg gratings in etched polymer fibres and their unique properties and characteristics are discussed in this paper. Due to the change in material and mechanical properties of the polymer fibre through etching, Bragg gratings inscribed in such fibres show high reflectivity and enhanced intrinsic sensitivity towards strain, temperature, and pressure. The short-term and long-term stability of the gratings and the effect of hysteresis on the dynamic characteristics are also discussed. The unique properties and enhanced intrinsic sensitivity of etched polymer fibre Bragg grating are ideal for the development of high-sensitivity sensors for biomedical applications. To demonstrate their biomedical sensing capabilities, a high-sensitivity pressure transducer that operates in the blood pressure range, and a breathing rate monitoring device are developed and presented.
Robust Stereo Visual Odometry Using Improved RANSAC-Based Methods for Mobile Robot Localization
Authors: Liu Yanqing , Gu Yuzhang , Li Jiamao , Zhang Xiaolin
Published: October 2017

In this paper, we present a novel approach for stereo visual odometry with robust motion estimation that is faster and more accurate than standard RANSAC (Random Sample Consensus). Our method makes improvements in RANSAC in three aspects: first, the hypotheses are preferentially generated by sampling the input feature points on the order of ages and similarities of the features; second, the evaluation of hypotheses is performed based on the SPRT (Sequential Probability Ratio Test) that makes bad hypotheses discarded very fast without verifying all the data points; third, we aggregate the three best hypotheses to get the final estimation instead of only selecting the best hypothesis. The first two aspects improve the speed of RANSAC by generating good hypotheses and discarding bad hypotheses in advance, respectively. The last aspect improves the accuracy of motion estimation. Our method was evaluated in the KITTI (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Toyota Technological Institute) and the New Tsukuba dataset. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves better results for both speed and accuracy than RANSAC.
Maximum Strength, Rate of Force Development, Jump Height, and Peak Power Alterations in Weightlifters across Five Months of Training
Authors: Hornsby W. , Gentles Jeremy , MacDonald Christopher , Mizuguchi Satoshi , Ramsey Michael , Stone Michael
Published: October 2017

The purpose of this monitoring study was to investigate how alterations in training affect changes in force-related characteristics and weightlifting performance. Subjects: Seven competitive weightlifters participated in the study. Methods: The weightlifters performed a block style periodized plan across 20 weeks. Force plate data from the isometric mid-thigh pull and static jumps with 0 kg, 11 kg, and 20 kg were collected near the end of each training block (weeks 1, 6, 10, 13, 17, and 20). Weightlifting performance was measured at weeks 0, 7, 11, and 20. Results: Very strong correlations were noted between weightlifting performances and isometric rate of force development (RFD), isometric peak force (PF), peak power (PP), and jump height (JH). Men responded in a more predictable manner than the women. During periods of higher training volume, RFD was depressed to a greater extent than PF. JH at 20 kg responded in a manner reflecting the expected fatigue response more so than JH at 0 kg and 11 kg. Conclusions: PF appears to have been more resistant to volume alterations than RFD and JH at 20 kg. RFD and JH at 20 kg appear to be superior monitoring metrics due to their “sensitivity.”
Ruptures dans la filiation et transmissions lacunaires
Authors: Collins-Bur Sophie
Published: October 2017

La famille est un lieu de transmission, et le groupe familial se crée à partir de l’héritage qui lui a été transmis. Lorsqu’il se produit une rupture dans la filiation, qu’elle soit généalogique ou génétique, cela donne lieu à une transmission lacunaire. Une famille suivie en thérapie familiale analytique viendra illustrer la manière dont ces transmissions lacunaires peuvent influer sur le groupe familial, notamment en ce qui concerne le contrat narcissique et la prise en charge de l’héritage en négatif. Elle montrera aussi comment l’affiliation peut combler ce qui fait lacune. Cet exemple clinique s’intéressera également au rôle joué par le mythe familial et la matrice de l’identité culturelle familiale dans le maintien du « nous » groupal familial.
Esclavage et réparations. Construction d’un problème public (1998-2001)
Authors: Michel Johann
Published: October 2017

La présente contribution vise à analyser les conditions qui ont rendu possible la construction, entre 1998 et 2001, en France métropolitaine et ultramarine, du problème public des réparations de l’esclavage. Les commémorations du 150 e anniversaire de l’abolition offrent une opportunité inédite à des entrepreneurs de mémoire pour problématiser et publiciser autrement la mémoire de l’esclavage et de la traite africaine et transatlantique. Il ne s’agit plus de glorifier la grandeur de la République française qui a libéré les esclaves de leurs chaînes. Il s’agit désormais de penser les conditions qui permettront de réparer les préjudices subis par les victimes de l’esclavage et par leurs descendants. L’article s’attarde à la fois sur les acteurs collectifs à l’initiative de ce processus, sur les espaces de certification et de labélisation, sur les instruments mobilisés qui ont contribué à construire le problème public des réparations.