bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Two-Stage Procedure for Microwave Imaging of a Buried Dielectric along with the Randomly Rough Surface above It
Authors: Gürbüz Tolga Ulaş , Aslanyürek Birol
Published: October 2015

A two-stage microwave imaging procedure based on the contrast source inversion (CSI) is proposed for the determination of a buried dielectric along with the rough surface above it. It was previously shown that, the CSI, is very effective for the determination of a dielectric buried under a known rough surface. However, for an unknown surface, the application of the CSI to the entire region containing both the object and the roughness will yield significantly inaccurate dielectric property values and, thus, determination of objects will be almost impossible especially when they are small in size or low in contrast. Thus, we propose to construct a reference model for the background without the object by preimaging the entire region in a frequency-hopping scheme and imposing the a priori known property values to the approximately determined morphology of the background. In the second stage, the CSI is performed at single frequency, assuming the constructed reference model as the background. In this case, by taking the advantage of nonlinear inversion and without a restrictive assumption about the characteristics of the rough surface, the proposed approach yields qualitatively satisfactory results even for multiple objects buried under a surface having a high frequency or large roughness.
Vacuum Condensates as a Mechanism of Spontaneous Supersymmetry Breaking
Authors: Capolupo Antonio , Di Mauro Marco
Published: October 2015

A possible mechanism for the spontaneous breaking of SUSY, based on the presence of vacuum condensates, is reviewed. Such a mechanism could occur in many physical examples, at both the fundamental and emergent levels, and would be formally analogous to spontaneous SUSY breaking at finite temperature in the TFD formalism, in which case it can be applied as well. A possible experimental setup for detecting such a breaking through measurement of the Anandan-Aharonov invariants associated with vacuum condensates in an optical lattice model is proposed.
Study on a Twice Transfer Alignment Based on Dual Model
Authors: Chen Shuai , Zhong Runwu , Liu Xiaohui , Alsaedi Ahmed
Published: October 2015

This paper proposes a twice rapid transfer alignment algorithm based on dual models in order to solve the problems such as long convergence time, poor accuracy, and heavy computation burden resulting from the traditional nonlinear error models. The quaternion matching method based on quaternion error model along with the extended Kalman filter (EKF) is applied to deal with the large misalignment in the first phase. Then in the second transfer alignment phase, velocity plus attitude matching method as well as classical Kalman filter is adopted. The simulation and the results of vehicle tests demonstrate that this method combines the advantages of both nonlinear and linear error models with the guarantee of accuracy and fastness.
Output-Only Modal Analysis Based on Improved Empirical Mode Decomposition Method
Authors: Qin Shiqiang , Wang Qiuping , Kang Juntao
Published: October 2015

The output-only modal analysis for bridge structures based on improved empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is investigated in this study. First, a bandwidth restricted EMD is proposed for decomposing nonstationary output measurements with close frequency components. The advantage of bandwidth restricted EMD to standard EMD is illustrated by a numerical simulation. Next, the modal parameters are extracted from intrinsic mode function obtained from the improved EMD by both random decrement technique and stochastic subspace identification. Finally, output-only modal analysis of a railway bridge is presented. The study demonstrates the mode mixing issues of standard EMD can be restrained by introducing bandwidth restricted signal. Further, with the improved EMD method, band-pass filter is no longer needed for separating the closely spaced frequency components. The modal parameters extracted based on the improved EMD method show good agreement with those extracted by conventional modal identification algorithms.
MAC Protocol for Quality-Aware Real-Time Voice Delivery in Cognitive Radio-Enabled WSNs
Authors: Kim Bosung , Lee Gyu-min , Roh Byeong-hee
Published: October 2015

We propose a quality-aware media access control (MAC) protocol for real-time voice delivery in cognitive radio- (CR-) enabled wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The temporal structure of the system model is addressed by using periodic timeslots in order to make more efficient use of the spectrum. In our proposed temporal structure, a bandwidth broker in such centralized CR networks (CCRNs) is selected as a central counterpart to synchronize with secondary users (SUs) and assign spectral resources to them. We develop an analytical model for SUs for the Call Admission Control (CAC) of voice traffic using the quality of service (QoS) requirements of delay bound and delay bound violation probability. Ours is an approach that provides reliable data transmission and reduces packet delay and packet delay jitter. In addition to the aforementioned packet-level performance metrics, we calculated a call-level performance metric, that is, the number of acceptable SUs, satisfying QoS requirements.
Quarkonium Suppression from Coherent Energy Loss in Fixed-Target Experiments Using LHC Beams
Authors: Arleo François , Peigné Stéphane
Published: October 2015

Quarkonium production in proton-nucleus collisions is a powerful tool to disentangle cold nuclear matter effects. A model based on coherent energy loss is able to explain the available quarkonium suppression data in a broad range of rapidities, from fixed-target to collider energies, suggesting coherent energy loss in cold nuclear matter to be the dominant effect in quarkonium suppression in p-A collisions. This could be further tested in a high-energy fixed-target experiment using a proton or nucleus beam. The nuclear modification factors ofJ/ψandΥas a function of rapidity are computed in p-A collisions ats=114.6 GeV, and in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions ats=72 GeV. These center-of-mass energies correspond to the collision on fixed-target nuclei of 7 TeV protons and 2.76 TeV (per nucleon) lead nuclei available at the LHC.
Distributed Forest Fire Monitoring Using Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Serna M. Ángeles , Casado Rafael , Bermúdez Aurelio , Pereira Nuno , Tennina Stefano
Published: October 2015

Disaster management is one of the most relevant application fields of wireless sensor networks. In this application, the role of the sensor network usually consists of obtaining a representation or a model of a physical phenomenon spreading through the affected area. In this work we focus on forest firefighting operations, proposing three fully distributed ways for approximating the actual shape of the fire. In the simplest approach, a circular burnt area is assumed around each node that has detected the fire and the union of these circles gives the overall fire’s shape. However, as this approach makes an intensive use of the wireless sensor network resources, we have proposed to incorporate two in-network aggregation techniques, which do not require considering the complete set of fire detections. The first technique models the fire by means of a complex shape composed of multiple convex hulls representing different burning areas, while the second technique uses a set of arbitrary polygons. Performance evaluation of realistic fire models on computer simulations reveals that the method based on arbitrary polygons obtains an improvement of 20% in terms of accuracy of the fire shape approximation, reducing the overhead in-network resources to 10% in the best case.
Multiagent Cooperative Learning Strategies for Pursuit-Evasion Games
Authors: Kuo Jong Yih , Yu Hsiang-Fu , Liu Kevin Fong-Rey , Lee Fang-Wen
Published: October 2015

This study examines the pursuit-evasion problem for coordinating multiple robotic pursuers to locate and track a nonadversarial mobile evader in a dynamic environment. Two kinds of pursuit strategies are proposed, one for agents that cooperate with each other and the other for agents that operate independently. This work further employs the probabilistic theory to analyze the uncertain state information about the pursuers and the evaders and uses case-based reasoning to equip agents with memories and learning abilities. According to the concepts of assimilation and accommodation, both positive-angle and bevel-angle strategies are developed to assist agents in adapting to their environment effectively. The case study analysis uses the Recursive Porous Agent Simulation Toolkit (REPAST) to implement a multiagent system and demonstrates superior performance of the proposed approaches to the pursuit-evasion game.
Polymer Drilling Fluid with Micron-Grade Cenosphere for Deep Coal Seam
Authors: Xu Peng , Xiong Han-qiao , Pu Xiao-lin , Liu Ju-quan , Liu Xing
Published: October 2015

Traditional shallow coal seam uses clean water, solid-free system, and foam system as drilling fluid, while they are not suitable for deep coal seam drilling due to mismatching density, insufficient bearing capacity, and poor reservoir protection effect. According to the existing problems of drilling fluid, micron-grade cenosphere with high bearing capacity and ultralow true density is selected as density regulator; it, together with polymer “XC + CMC” and some other auxiliary agents, is jointly used to build micron-grade polymer drilling fluid with cenosphere which is suitable for deep coal seam. Basic performance test shows that the drilling fluid has good rheological property, low filtration loss, good density adjustability, shear thinning, and thixotropy; besides, drilling fluid flow is in line with the power law rheological model. Compared with traditional drilling fluid, dispersion stability basically does not change within 26 h; settlement stability evaluated with two methods only shows a small amount of change; permeability recovery rate evaluated with Qinshui Basin deep coal seam core exceeds 80%. Polymer drilling fluid with cenosphere provides a new thought to solve the problem of drilling fluid density and pressure for deep coal seam drilling and also effectively improves the performance of reservoir protection ability.
Parameter Estimation in Rainfall-Runoff Modelling Using Distributed Versions of Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm
Authors: Jakubcová Michala , Máca Petr , Pech Pavel
Published: October 2015

The presented paper provides the analysis of selected versions of the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The tested versions of the PSO were combined with the shuffling mechanism, which splits the model population into complexes and performs distributed PSO optimization. One of them is a new proposed PSO modification, APartW, which enhances the global exploration and local exploitation in the parametric space during the optimization process through the new updating mechanism applied on the PSO inertia weight. The performances of four selected PSO methods were tested on 11 benchmark optimization problems, which were prepared for the special session on single-objective real-parameter optimization CEC 2005. The results confirm that the tested new APartW PSO variant is comparable with other existing distributed PSO versions, AdaptW and LinTimeVarW. The distributed PSO versions were developed for finding the solution of inverse problems related to the estimation of parameters of hydrological model Bilan. The results of the case study, made on the selected set of 30 catchments obtained from MOPEX database, show that tested distributed PSO versions provide suitable estimates of Bilan model parameters and thus can be used for solving related inverse problems during the calibration process of studied water balance hydrological model.
Bias Modeling for Distantly Supervised Relation Extraction
Authors: Xiang Yang , Zhang Yaoyun , Wang Xiaolong , Qin Yang , Han Wenying
Published: October 2015

Distant supervision (DS) automatically annotates free text with relation mentions from existing knowledge bases (KBs), providing a way to alleviate the problem of insufficient training data for relation extraction in natural language processing (NLP). However, the heuristic annotation process does not guarantee the correctness of the generated labels, promoting a hot research issue on how to efficiently make use of the noisy training data. In this paper, we model two types of biases to reduce noise: (1)bias-distto model the relative distance between points (instances) and classes (relation centers); (2)bias-rewardto model the possibility of each heuristically generated label being incorrect. Based on the biases, we propose three noise tolerant models:MIML-dist,MIML-dist-classify, andMIML-reward, building on top of a state-of-the-art distantly supervised learning algorithm. Experimental evaluations compared with three landmark methods on the KBP dataset validate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
Monitoring Antibiotic Residues and Corresponding Antibiotic Resistance Genes in an Agroecosystem
Authors: Awad Yasser M. , Kim Kwon Rae , Kim Sung-Chul , Kim Kangjoo , Lee Sang Ryong , Lee Sang Soo , Ok Yong Sik
Published: October 2015

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been commonly reported due to the overuse worldwide of antibiotics. Antibiotic overuse disturbs the environment and threatens public human health. The objective of this study was to measure the residual concentrations of veterinary antibiotics in the tetracycline group (TCs), including tetracycline (TC) and chlortetracycline (CTC), as well as those in the sulfonamide group (SAs), including sulfamethazine (SMT), sulfamethoxazole (SMX), and sulfathiazole (STZ). We also isolated the corresponding ARGs in the agroecosystem. Four sediment samples and two rice paddy soil samples were collected from sites near a swine composting facility along the Naerincheon River in Hongcheon, Korea. High performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was employed with a solid-phase extraction method to measure the concentration of each antibiotic. ARGs were identified by the qualitative polymerase chain-reaction using synthetic primers. SAs and their corresponding ARGs were highly detected in sediment samples whereas TCs were not detected except for sediments sample #1. ARGs for TCs and SAs were detected in rice paddy soils, while ARGs for TCs were only found in sediment #2 and #4. Continuous monitoring of antibiotic residue and its comprehensive impact on the environment is needed to ensure environmental health.
Clinical Outcome of Hypertensive Uveitis
Authors: Lewkowicz Deborah , Willermain François , Relvas Lia Judice , Makhoul Dorine , Janssens Sarah , Janssens Xavier , Caspers Laure
Published: October 2015

Purpose. To review the clinical outcome of patients with hypertensive uveitis.Methods. Retrospective review of uveitis patients with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) > 25 mmHg and >1-year follow-up. Data are uveitis type, etiology, viral (VU) and nonviral uveitis (NVU), IOP, and medical and/or surgical treatment.Results. In 61 patients, IOP values are first 32.9 mmHg (SD: 9.0), highest 36.6 mmHg (SD: 9.9), 3 months after the first episode 19.54 mmHg (SD: 9.16), and end of follow-up 15.5 mmHg (SD: 6.24). Patients with VU (n=25) were older (50.6 y/35.7 y,p=0.014) and had more unilateral disease (100%/72.22%  p=0.004) than those with NVU (n=36). Thirty patients (49.2%) had an elevated IOP before topical corticosteroid treatment. Patients with viral uveitis might have higher first elevated IOP (36.0/27.5 mmHg,p=0,008) and maximal IOP (40.28/34.06 mmHg,p=0.0148) but this was not significant when limited to the measurements before the use of topical corticosteroids (p=0.260and 0.160). Glaucoma occurred in 15 patients (24.59%) and was suspected in 11 (18.03%) without difference in viral and nonviral groups (p=0.774).Conclusion. Patients with VU were older and had more unilateral hypertensive uveitis. Glaucoma frequently complicates hypertensive uveitis. Half of the patients had an elevated IOP before topical corticosteroid treatment.
Deepure Tea Improves High Fat Diet-Induced Insulin Resistance and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Authors: Deng Jing-Na , Li Juan , Mu Hong-Na , Liu Yu-Ying , Wang Ming-Xia , Pan Chun-Shui , Fan Jing-Yu , Ye Fei , Han Jing-Yan
Published: October 2015

This study was to explore the protective effects of Deepure tea against insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis and elucidate the potential underlying molecular mechanisms. C57BL/6 mice were fed with a high fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks to induce the metabolic syndrome. In the Deepure tea group, HFD mice were administrated with Deepure tea at 160 mg/kg/day by gavage for 14 days. The mice in HFD group received water in the same way over the same period. The age-matched C57BL/6 mice fed with standard chow were used as normal control. Compared to the mice in HFD group, mice that received Deepure tea showed significantly reduced plasma insulin and improved insulin sensitivity. Deepure tea increased the expression of insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS-2), which plays an important role in hepatic insulin signaling pathway. Deepure tea also led to a decrease in hepatic fatty acid synthesis and lipid accumulation, which were mediated by the downregulation of sterol regulatory element binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c), fatty acid synthesis (FAS), and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) proteins that are involved in liver lipogenesis. These results suggest that Deepure tea may be effective for protecting against insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis via modulating IRS-2 and downstream signaling SREBP-1c, FAS, and ACC.
Fault Diagnosis of Supervision and Homogenization Distance Based on Local Linear Embedding Algorithm
Authors: Wang Guangbin , Luo Jun , He Yilin , Chen Qinyi
Published: October 2015

In view of the problems of uneven distribution of reality fault samples and dimension reduction effect of locally linear embedding (LLE) algorithm which is easily affected by neighboring points, an improved local linear embedding algorithm of homogenization distance (HLLE) is developed. The method makes the overall distribution of sample points tend to be homogenization and reduces the influence of neighboring points using homogenization distance instead of the traditional Euclidean distance. It is helpful to choose effective neighboring points to construct weight matrix for dimension reduction. Because the fault recognition performance improvement of HLLE is limited and unstable, the paper further proposes a new local linear embedding algorithm of supervision and homogenization distance (SHLLE) by adding the supervised learning mechanism. On the basis of homogenization distance, supervised learning increases the category information of sample points so that the same category of sample points will be gathered and the heterogeneous category of sample points will be scattered. It effectively improves the performance of fault diagnosis and maintains stability at the same time. A comparison of the methods mentioned above was made by simulation experiment with rotor system fault diagnosis, and the results show that SHLLE algorithm has superior fault recognition performance.
MicroRNAs Based Therapy of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: The Road Traveled So Far
Authors: Roma-Rodrigues Catarina , Raposo Luís R. , Fernandes Alexandra R.
Published: October 2015

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by variable expressivity, age penetrance, and a high heterogeneity. The transcriptional profile (miRNAs, mRNAs), epigenetic modifications, and posttranslational modifications seem to be highly relevant for the onset of the disease. miRNAs, small noncoding RNAs with 22 nucleotides, have been implicated in the regulation of cardiomyocyte function, being differentially expressed in several heart diseases, including HCM. Moreover, a different miRNA expression profile in the various stages of HCM development is also observed. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the profile of miRNAs characteristic of asymptomatic to overt HCM patients, discussing alongside their potential use for diagnosis and therapy. Indeed, the stability and specificity of miRNAs make them suitable targets for use as biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis and as therapeutical targets.
Generalized Lacunary Statistical Difference Sequence Spaces of Fractional Order
Authors: Kadak Ugur
Published: October 2015

We generalize the lacunary statistical convergence by introducing the generalized difference operatorΔναof fractional order, whereαis a proper fraction andν=(νk)is any fixed sequence of nonzero real or complex numbers. We study some properties of this operator and investigate the topological structures of related sequence spaces. Furthermore, we introduce some properties of the strongly Cesaro difference sequence spaces of fractional order involving lacunary sequences and examine various inclusion relations of these spaces. We also determine the relationship between lacunary statistical and strong Cesaro difference sequence spaces of fractional order.
DFT Study on the Oxidative Addition of 4-Substituted Iodobenzenes on Pd(0)-Phosphine Complexes
Authors: Kégl Tímea R. , Kollár László , Kégl Tamás
Published: October 2015

The oxidative addition of 4-substituted iodobenzenes on Pd(0)-PMe3 complexes has been studied at the BP86 level of theory including dispersion correction and solvation effect, with tetrahydrofuran as solvent. The bisphosphine pathway was found to be barrierless, whereas the monophosphine route is hampered by the high dissociation energy of trimethylphosphine. The reaction free energy of this step shows linear correlation with the Hammett constants of the para substituents with the most electron withdrawing groups being the most exergonic.
Feasibility Studies for Quarkonium Production at a Fixed-Target Experiment Using the LHC Proton and Lead Beams (AFTER@LHC)
Authors: Massacrier L. , Trzeciak B. , Fleuret F. , Hadjidakis C. , Kikola D. , Lansberg J. P. , Shao H.-S.
Published: October 2015

Being used in the fixed-target mode, the multi-TeV LHC proton and lead beams allow for studies of heavy-flavour hadroproduction with unprecedented precision at backward rapidities, far negative Feynman-x, using conventional detection techniques. At the nominal LHC energies, quarkonia can be studied in detail inp+p,p+d, andp+Acollisions atsNN≃115 GeV and in Pb +pand Pb +Acollisions atsNN≃72 GeV with luminosities roughly equivalent to that of the collider mode that is up to 20 fb−1 yr−1inp+pandp+dcollisions, up to 0.6 fb−1 yr−1inp+Acollisions, and up to 10 nb−1 yr−1in Pb +Acollisions. In this paper, we assess the feasibility of such studies by performing fast simulations using the performance of a LHCb-like detector.
A Chargeless Complex Vector Matter Field in Supersymmetric Scenario
Authors: Colatto L. P. , Penna A. L. A.
Published: October 2015

We construct and study a formulation of a chargeless complex vector matter field in a supersymmetric framework. To this aim we combine two nochiral scalar superfields in order to take the vector component field to build the chargeless complex vector superpartner where the respective field strength transforms into matter fields by a globalU1gauge symmetry. For the aim of dealing with consistent terms without breaking the globalU1symmetry we imposes a choice to the complex combination revealing a kind of symmetry between the choices and eliminates the extra degrees of freedom which is consistent with the supersymmetry. As the usual case the mass supersymmetric sector contributes as a complement to dynamics of the model. We obtain the equations of motion of the Proca’s type field for the chiral spinor fields and for the scalar field on the mass-shell which show the same mass as expected. This work establishes the first steps to extend the analysis of charged massive vector field in a supersymmetric scenario.
A Self-Adaptive Hidden Markov Model for Emotion Classification in Chinese Microblogs
Authors: Liu Li , Luo Dashi , Liu Ming , Zhong Jun , Wei Ye , Sun Letian
Published: October 2015

Microblogging is increasingly becoming one of the most popular online social media for people to express ideas and emotions. The amount of socially generated content from this medium is enormous. Text mining techniques have been intensively applied to discover the hidden knowledge and emotions from this huge dataset. In this paper, we propose a modified version of hidden Markov model (HMM) classifier, called self-adaptive HMM, whose parameters are optimized by Particle Swarm Optimization algorithms. Since manually labeling large-scale dataset is difficult, we also employ the entropy to decide whether a new unlabeled tweet shall be contained in the training dataset after being assigned an emotion using our HMM-based approach. In the experiment, we collected about 200,000 Chinese tweets from Sina Weibo. The results show that theF-score of our approach gets 76% on happiness and fear and 65% on anger, surprise, and sadness. In addition, the self-adaptive HMM classifier outperforms Naive Bayes and Support Vector Machine on recognition of happiness, anger, and sadness.
Temperature Management After Cardiac Arrest
Authors: Donnino Michael W. , Andersen Lars W. , Berg Katherine M. , Reynolds Joshua C. , Nolan Jerry P. , Morley Peter T. , Lang Eddy , Cocchi Michael N. , Xanthos Theodoros , Callaway Clifton W. , Soar Jasmeet , Aibiki Mayuki , Böttiger Bernd W. , Brooks Steven C. , Deakin Charles D. , Drajer Saul , Kloeck Walter , Morrison Laurie J. , Neumar Robert W. , Nicholson Tonia C. , O’Neil Brian J. , Paiva Edison F. , Parr Michael , Wang Tzong-Luen , Witt Jonathan
Published: October 2015

For more than a decade, mild induced hypothermia (32°C–34°C) has been standard of care for patients remaining comatose after resuscitation from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with an initial shockable rhythm, and this has been extrapolated to survivors of cardiac arrest with initially nonshockable rhythms and to patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest. Two randomized trials published in 2002 reported a survival and neurological benefit with mild induced hypothermia. One recent randomized trial reported similar outcomes in patients treated with targeted temperature management at either 33°C or 36°C. In response to these new data, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation Advanced Life Support Task Force performed a systematic review to evaluate 3 key questions: (1) Should mild induced hypothermia (or some form of targeted temperature management) be used in comatose post–cardiac arrest patients? (2) If used, what is the ideal timing of the intervention? (3) If used, what is the ideal duration of the intervention? The task force used Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation methodology to assess and summarize the evidence and to provide a consensus on science statement and treatment recommendations. The task force recommends targeted temperature management for adults with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with an initial shockable rhythm at a constant temperature between 32°C and 36°C for at least 24 hours. Similar suggestions are made for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with a nonshockable rhythm and in-hospital cardiac arrest. The task force recommends against prehospital cooling with rapid infusion of large volumes of cold intravenous fluid. Additional and specific recommendations are provided in the document.
Hymenolepis glabra (Anthemideae, Asteraceae), a new species from the Little Karoo (South Africa)
Authors: MAGOSWANA SIMON Luvo , Magee Anthony Richard , SCHUTTE-VLOK ANNE LISE , VLOK JAN
Published: October 2015

Hymenolepis glabra Magoswana & Magee (Asteraceae, tribe Anthemideae) is a new species from the Little Karoo, within the Greater Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, bringing the number of recognised species in the genus to nine. The species shares the glabrous involucre and open, doubly compound corymbs with H. crithmifolia and H. indivisa but is distinguished by the erect to suberect, 2- or 3-sect leaves, entire towards the synflorescence, and the complete lack of vestiture. The new species is described, and the existing key to the species is updated.
Catalog of the subgenus Melanoconion of Culex (Diptera: Culicidae) for South America
Authors: TORRES-GUTIERREZ CAROLINA , SALLUM MARIA ANICE MUREB
Published: October 2015

Species of Culex (Melanoconion) Theobald are recognized as vectors of arboviruses. The species of this subgenus pose a real taxonomic challenge. The current classification of the subgenus recognizes a total of 160 species divided in two major sections, Melanoconion and Spissipes; and several non-formal groupings within each section. We gathered bibliographic records of the subgenus in South America, with particular focus on the period of time after the publication of the Catalog by Pecor et al. (1992) until present time. This compilation included 139 species occurring in South American countries with all the relevant bibliographic sources, including the corresponding information for those medically important species.
New and remarkable Asian and North African species of Colletes Latreille (Hymenoptera: Colletidae)
Authors: KUHLMANN MICHAEL , PROSHCHALYKIN MAXIM YU.
Published: October 2015

In addition to previous studies on Asian and North African species of Colletes Latreille, we here further report records of 25 rarely collected and little known species. Six new species are described: Colletes comaticus Kuhlmann, sp. nov. (♂, Iran), C. uzbekus Kuhlmann & Proshchalykin, sp. nov. (♀, Uzbekistan), C. kazakhus Kuhlmann & Proshchalykin, sp. nov. (♂, Kazakhstan), C. tibestensis Kuhlmann, sp. nov. (♀, Chad, Sudan), C. packeri Kuhlmann, sp. nov. (♀, ♂, Thailand, Laos) and C. jemeniticus Kuhlmann, sp. nov. (♂, Yemen). The female of C. issykkuli Kuhlmann 2003 and the male of C. kaline Kuhlmann & Proshchalykin 2013 are here described for the first time. New synonymies are established for Colletes uralensis Noskiewicz 1936 (=C. kipyatkovi Kuhlmann & Proshchalykin 2013, syn. nov.) and C. salsolae Cockerell 1934 (=C. omanus Kuhlmann 2003, syn. nov.).
Predicting parental monitoring behaviours for sugar-sweetened beverages in parents of school-aged children: An application of the Integrative Behavioural Model
Authors: Housely Alexandra , Branscum Paul , Cheney Marshall , Hofford Craig
Published: October 2015

Objective:

The objective of this study was to identify theory-based psychosocial and environmental determinants of parental monitoring practices related to child sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.

Design:

Cross-sectional design.

Method:

Data were obtained from a convenience sample of parents ( n = 270) with children attending an after-school programme (ages 7–12 years old), in a small, southwestern community in the USA. Parents were approached and asked to complete a valid and reliable survey based upon the Integrative Behavioural Model.

Results:

Using structural equation modelling, a final model proved to have a good fit (Comparative Fit Index = .986, Tucker–Lewis index = .947), and results indicated 28.5% of the variance of parental monitoring was explained by intentions, skills and the home environment, with 56.3% of the variance of intentions being explained by attitudes, injunctive norms and perceived behavioural control.

Conclusion:

Results suggest that the Integrative Behavioural Model offers a useful framework for predicting parental monitoring of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and can be useful when planning future health promotion programmes. Future researchers should consider applying the Integrative Behavioural Model to other obesogenic behaviours.
Expanding and Mapping the Indexical Field
Authors: Tyler Joseph C.
Published: October 2015

While rising terminal pitch on declarative syntax (“uptalk”) has received a fair amount of attention in scholarly and popular media, relatively little work has focused specifically on perceptions of uptalk. And among perceptual work, no study has systematically asked listeners to provide their own meanings for uptalk. Study 1 was designed to fill this gap, where listeners were presented with two cases of stereotypical uptalk and asked to answer questions about its meaning. Two follow-up studies analyzed variability in the perception of meanings supplied in Study 1. Study 2 used a matched guise design to compare perceptions of nonstereotypical uptalk and synthetically manipulated falling versions of the same tokens, finding that rises were perceived as less finished, happier, and clearer. Study 3 elicited perceptions of the stereotypical uptalk samples from Study 1, showing perceptions of ‘youth’ and ‘California’ and low agreement with meanings like ‘finished’ and ‘intelligent.’ In both studies, correlation analyses reveal relationships among the meanings for uptalk, for example, the relative independence of perceptions of ‘finished.’ These results are theorized in the context of Eckert’s indexical field and Silverstein’s indexical orders, and I argue that indexical fields need to incorporate semantic and pragmatic meanings to more fully capture the meaning of a linguistic feature. Moreover, correlation analyses can help map the indexical field, identifying which meanings cluster together and which ones are more independent.
Effectiveness of long-acting risperidone in a patient with comorbid intellectual disability, catatonic schizophrenia, and oneiroid syndrome
Authors: Serata Daniele , Rapinesi Chiara , Demetrios Kotzalidis Georgios , Chiara Alessi Maria , Janiri Delfina , Claudia Massolo Anna , Rachele Ferri Vittoria , Criscuolo Silvia , Callovini Gemma , Angeletti Gloria , Girardi Paolo , Del Casale Antonio
Published: October 2015

A patient with comorbid intellectual disability, catatonic schizophrenia, and recurrent oneiroid state of consciousness improved on long-acting risperidone and remains well at the three-year follow-up. We report a case treated with 50 mg long-acting risperidone administered every 14 days, who has been followed-up for three years. We studied his regional cerebral blood flow through technetium-99 m hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime single-photon emission computed tomography after two years of treatment. Symptoms of catatonic schizophrenia improved after two months of treatment, followed suit by oneiroid syndrome remission. Two years later, his brain perfusion was normal. No side effect has occurred since the patient was started on long-acting risperidone. Long-acting risperidone proved to be safe and effective in treating symptoms of catatonia and oneiroid syndrome.
Who Wrote This Clinical Practice Guideline?
Authors: Tunkel David E. , Jones Stephanie L.
Published: October 2015

The American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation clinical practice guidelines address a variety of otolaryngologic diseases and/or procedures. It may seem reasonable to create these guidelines by assembling a team of expert clinicians familiar with the pertinent clinical issues and the available evidence, with debate and eventual agreement leading to recommendations. However, trustworthy clinical practice guidelines are in fact created via a defined process to assemble a guideline development group composed of diverse stakeholders: clinician generalists and specialists, content experts, methodologists, physicians and nonphysicians, patients, and advocates. Such a guideline development group can create a valuable and trusted guideline for clinicians and affected patients.
Does Medial Meniscal Allograft Transplantation With the Bone-Plug Technique Restore the Anatomic Location of the Native Medial Meniscus?
Authors: Kim Nam-Ki , Bin Seong-Il , Kim Jong-Min , Lee Chang-Rack
Published: October 2015

Background:

Previous work has shown the importance of restoring the normal structure of the native meniscus with meniscal allograft transplantation.

Purpose/Hypothesis:

The purpose of this study was to compare the anatomic positions of the anterior horn and posterior horn between the preoperative medial meniscus and the postoperative meniscal allograft after medial meniscal allograft transplantation with the bone-plug technique. The hypothesis was that the bone-plug technique could restore the preoperative structure of the native medial meniscus.

Study Design:

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

Between December 1999 and December 2013, a total of 59 patients (49 male, 10 female) underwent medial meniscal allograft transplantation by use of the bone-plug technique. The anatomic positions of both horns in the native medial meniscus and in the meniscal allograft were measured via MRI. The percentage reference method was used to measure the locations of both horns.

Results:

On coronal MRI, the mean absolute distance of the posterior horn from the lateral border of the tibial plateau changed from 45.2 ± 3.3 to 48.1 ± 4.2 mm ( P < .05), and the percentage distance of the posterior horn changed from 59.6% to 63.0% ( P < .05). On sagittal MRI, the mean absolute distance of the posterior horn from the anterior reference point changed from 40.3 ± 3.0 to 42.0 ± 3.5 mm ( P < .05), and the mean percentage distance of the posterior horn changed from 76.5% to 79.4% ( P <.05). On coronal MRI, the mean absolute distance of the anterior horn from the lateral border of the tibial plateau changed from 41.3 ± 4.2 to 48.5 ± 5.6 mm ( P < .05), and the mean percentage distance of the anterior horn changed from 54.5% to 63.8% ( P < .05). On sagittal MRI, the mean absolute distance of the anterior horn from the anterior reference point changed from 5.5 ± 1.0 to 9.9 ± 2.9 mm ( P < .05), and the mean percentage distance of the anterior horn changed from 10.6% to 19.0% ( P < .05).

Conclusion:

Despite attempts to place the meniscal allograft in the same position as the native meniscus, the anatomic locations of both horns were shifted posteromedially compared with those of the native medial meniscus. There were significant differences, attributed to several limitations in the bone-plug technique, between the preoperative and postoperative values of both horns. However, the posterior horn showed a location change of <5 mm, on average, in both the coronal and sagittal planes, whereas the anterior horn showed a location change of ≥5 mm in the coronal plane but <5 mm in the sagittal plane.
Social Marketing Physical Activity Interventions Among Adults 60 Years and Older
Authors: Fujihira Haruka , Kubacki Krzysztof , Ronto Rimante , Pang Bo , Rundle-Thiele Sharyn
Published: October 2015

This article describes results of a systematic review of social marketing physical activity interventions targeting adults 60 years and over. Thirty-four articles covering seven social marketing interventions were identified following systematic literature review procedures. None of the identified interventions gave evidence that they addressed all six social marketing benchmark criteria; three interventions addressed five social marketing benchmark criteria and a further three interventions addressed four social marketing benchmark criteria. Four interventions reported positive behavior change, and no negative behavioral changes were reported among all seven social marketing interventions. Previous research shows that social marketing interventions employing all six benchmark criteria offer greater potential to change behaviors, yet none of the interventions in this review used all of the benchmark criteria. Audience segmentation and exchange were used by only three interventions.
Extracranial, peritoneal seeding of primary malignant brain tumors through ventriculo-peritoneal shunts in children: Case report and review of the literature
Authors: Narayan Anand , Jallo George , Huisman Thierry AGM
Published: October 2015

Introduction

Ventriculoperitoneal shunts (VPS) have been implicated as a source of the extraneural spread of a wide variety of central nervous system tumors. The purpose is to review the literature on peritoneal seeding of central nervous system tumors from VPS in the context of a case report.

Methods

Medline was searched using the phrase ‘peritoneal seeding ventriculoperitoneal shunt’. Inclusion criteria included patients (<18 years) with evidence of peritoneal seeding from VPS.

Results

Search of the literature revealed a final total of 22 articles and a total of 28 patients.

Case report

A 7-year-old boy presented with intermittent vomiting, headaches, photophobia; a 4.4 cm left thalamic mass (glioblastoma multiforme) was found. Occipital VPS catheters were placed for increasing hydrocephalus and the patient developed increased abdominal distention and pain. Computed tomography revealed diffuse ascites with carcinomatosis and the patient was diagnosed clinically with peritoneal metastases.

Discussion

Our case report and literature review revealed 28 cases of central nervous system tumors demonstrating evidence of extraneural spread associated with VPS in children in a wide variety of tumors. Larger studies are required to evaluate VPS as potential risk factors for peritoneal seeding and familiarity with potential VPS-related peritoneal seeding is important for diagnostic consideration.
Tumor-specific HSP90 inhibition as a therapeutic approach in JAK-mutant acute lymphoblastic leukemias
Authors: Kucine Nicole , Marubayashi Sachie , Bhagwat Neha , Papalexi Efthymia , Koppikar Priya , Sanchez Martin Marta , Dong Lauren , Tallman Marty S. , Paietta Elisabeth , Wang Kai , He Jie , Lipson Doron , Stephens Phil , Miller Vince , Rowe Jacob M. , Teruya-Feldstein Julie , Mullighan Charles G. , Ferrando Adolfo A. , Krivtsov Andrei , Armstrong Scott , Leung Laura , Ochiana Stefan O. , Chiosis Gabriela , Levine Ross L. , Kleppe Maria
Published: October 2015

Key Points

PU-H71, a novel purine scaffold inhibitor, shows potent therapeutic efficacy in JAK-mutant ALL cells and mouse models. HSP90 inhibition retains therapeutic efficacy in ruxolitinib-persistent JAK-mutant ALL cells.
Inversion structures in a foreland domain: Seismic examples from the Italian Adriatic Sea
Authors: Pace Paolo , Scisciani Vittorio , Calamita Fernando , Butler Robert W. H. , Iacopini David , Esestime Paolo , Hodgson Neil
Published: October 2015

Positive structural inversion within foreland domains ahead of thrust belts can create structures with significant hydrocarbon potential in mature and underexplored areas. Within this context, the Adriatic region represents a well-established hydrocarbon province constituting a foreland domain bounded by the Apennines, Southern Alps, and Dinaric fold-and-thrust belts. Newly reprocessed regional 2D seismic data and a renewed exploration interest in the area motivate a reappraisal of the regional structure and stratigraphy of the deformed Central Adriatic region of Italy (i.e., the Mid-Adriatic Ridge). Here, we developed and discussed examples of inversion structures that have different structural styles. The structural interpretations displayed on time-to-depth converted profiles had been validated by 2D structural-kinematic balancing and forward modeling. Our aim was to better define the geometry, style, and timing of the analyzed inversion-related folds. Positive inversion structures appeared locally as asymmetric harpoon-shaped anticlines riding over high-angle blind thrusts. More commonly, inversion structures were symmetric anticlines formed above conjugate faults. Retrodeformed cross sections showed that positive inversion involved symmetric graben and asymmetric half-graben that originated during the Triassic and Jurassic. That these inversion structures developed during basement-involved thrusting, as suggested for the Adriatic in general, was consistent with forward modeling. Regionally, the contractional structures belonging to the Mid-Adriatic Ridge can be explained in terms of intraplate deformation that chiefly acted through reactivation of Mesozoic normal faults.
Combining multiple quantitative structural analysis techniques to create robust structural interpretations
Authors: Eichelberger Nathan W. , Hughes Amanda N. , Nunns Alan G.
Published: October 2015

Carefully selected 2D transects contain an abundance of structural information that can constrain 3D analyses of petroleum systems. Realizing the full value of the information in a 2D transect requires combining multiple, independent structural analysis techniques using fully interactive tools. Our approach uses quantitative structural geologic software that instantaneously displays structural computations and analyses, eliminating time-intensive manual measurements and calculations. By quickly testing multiple hypotheses, we converged on an optimal solution that is consistent with available data. We have combined area-depth-strain (ADS) analysis, structural restoration, and forward modeling of a structural interpretation of a fault-propagation fold in the Niger Delta. These methods confirmed the original interpretation and furthermore quantified displacement, strain, detachment depth, and kinematic history. ADS analysis validated the interpreted detachment depth and revealed significant layer-parallel strain (LPS) that varied systematically with stratigraphic depth. The stratigraphic distribution of the LPS was diagnostic of structural style and, in this example, discriminated against fixed-axis and constant-thickness fault-propagation folding. A quantitative forward model incorporating backlimb shear and trishear fault-propagation folding accurately reproduced folding and faulting in the pregrowth section and folding in the growth section. The model-predicted strain distributions were consistent with those from ADS analysis. The highest local strains on the back limb of the structure were spatially coincident with two backthrusts, which accommodated these strains. Animations of a more complete model including the backthrusts revealed that the backthrusts formed sequentially as rock passed through the main fault bend.
Designing Antigenic Peptides with Dual Binding Affinities for HSP70 and MHC
Authors: Waku Tomonori , Watanabe Yukari , Haida Hirotoshi , Kunugi Shigeru , Tanaka Naoki
Published: October 2015

We report herein a protein engineering design to improve the affinity of antigenic peptides for heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) without compromising affinity for major histocompatibility complex (MHC) based on crystalline structures of substrate binding site of MHC and of HSP; these engineering strategies can unlock the possibility of designing antigen delivery systems using HSP70 protein molecules as carriers.
Gold Nanoparticles Incorporated into Electrospun Polyimide Fibers
Authors: Aflori Magdalena , Serbezeanu Diana , Carja Ionela-Daniela , Fortunato Giuseppino
Published: October 2015

This study focused on the generation of gold nanoparticles on a 4,4′-oxydiphthalic anhydride/4,4′-diamino-4′′-hydroxytriphenylmethane-based polyimide matrix via electrospinning technique. Gold(III) chloride hydrate was used as gold precursor. The average fiber diameters of the hybrid fibers decreased up to 48% as compared with the one corresponding to the pristine polyimide fibers due to the increased Coulombic repulsions within the fibers. Gold nanoparticles were generated by thermally treating the gold salt-containing polyimde fibers. The gold nanoparticles were found to be more or less homogeneously dispersed into the polyimide fiber matrix.
Lower Critical Solution Temperature Behaviors of Aromatic Compounds with Oligo(ethylene glycol) Chains
Authors: Arai Masato , Ito Kazuaki
Published: October 2015

Amphiphilic small molecules comprising aromatic units and amphiphilic oligo(ethylene glycol) side chains were synthesized. These compounds exhibit lower critical solution temperatures (LCST) in aqueous solutions. Control of the LCST has been achieved by changing the solute concentration and adding salts or organic solvents.