bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Observer for Rigid Body Motion With Almost Global Finite-Time Convergence
Authors: Sanyal Amit K. , Izadi Maziar , Bohn Jan
Published: December 2014

An observer that obtains estimates of the translational and rotational motion states for a rigid body under the influence of known forces and moments is presented. This nonlinear observer exhibits almost global convergence of state estimates in finite time, based on state measurements of the rigid body’s pose and velocities. It assumes a known dynamics model with known resultant force and resultant torque acting on the body, which may include feedback control force and control torque. The observer design based on this model uses the exponential coordinates to describe rigid body pose estimation errors on SE(3), which provides an almost global description of the pose estimate error. Finite-time convergence of state estimates and the observer are shown using a Lyapunov analysis on the nonlinear state space of motion. Numerical simulation results confirm these analytically obtained convergence properties for the case that there is no measurement noise and no uncertainty (noise) in the dynamics. The robustness of this observer to measurement noise in body velocities and additive noise in the force and torque components is also shown through numerical simulation results.
Preparation of scanning tunneling microscopy tips using pulsed alternating current etching
Authors: Valencia Victor A. , Thaker Avesh A. , Derouin Jonathan , Valencia Damian N. , Farber Rachael G. , Gebel Dana A. , Killelea Daniel R.
Published: December 2014

An electrochemical method using pulsed alternating current etching (PACE) to produce atomically sharp scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) tips is presented. An Arduino Uno microcontroller was used to control the number and duration of the alternating current (AC) pulses, allowing for ready optimization of the procedures for both Pt:Ir and W tips using a single apparatus. W tips prepared using constant and pulsed AC power were compared. Tips fashioned using PACE were sharper than those etched with continuous AC power alone. Pt:Ir tips were prepared with an initial coarse etching stage using continuous AC power followed by fine etching using PACE. The number and potential of the finishing AC pulses was varied and scanning electron microscope imaging was used to compare the results. Finally, tip quality using the optimized procedures was verified by UHV-STM imaging. With PACE, at least 70% of the W tips and 80% of the Pt:Ir tips were of sufficiently high quality to obtain atomically resolved images of HOPG or Ni(111).
Practical method for evaluating the sound field radiated from a waveguide
Authors: Feng Xuelei , Shen Yong , Chen Simiao , Zhao Ye
Published: December 2014

This letter presents a simple and practical method for evaluating the sound field radiated from a waveguide. By using the proposed method, detailed information about the radiated sound field can be obtained by measuring the sound field in the mouth of the baffled waveguide. To examine this method's effectiveness, the radiated sound pressure distribution in space was first evaluated by using the proposed method, and then it was measured directly for comparison. Experiments using two different waveguides showed good agreement between the evaluated and the measured radiated sound pressure distributions.
A numerically stable formulation of the Green's function parabolic equation: Subtracting the surface-wave pole
Authors: Gilbert Kenneth E.
Published: December 2014

The original formulation of the Green's function parabolic equation (GFPE) can have numerical accuracy problems for large normalized surface impedances. To solve the accuracy problem, an improved form of the GFPE has been developed. The improved GFPE formulation is similar to the original formulation, but it has the surface-wave pole “subtracted.” The improved GFPE is shown to be accurate for surface impedances varying over 2 orders of magnitude, with the largest having a magnitude exceeding 1000. Also, the improved formulation is slightly faster than the original formulation because the surface-wave component does not have to be computed separately.
Effect of stimulus bandwidth and duration on monaural envelope correlation perception
Authors: Buss Emily , Dai Huanping , Hall Joseph W.
Published: December 2014

Monaural envelope correlation perception is the ability to discriminate between stimuli composed of two or more bands of noise based on envelope correlation. Sensitivity decreases as stimulus bandwidth is reduced below 100 Hz. The present study manipulated stimulus bandwidth (25–100 Hz) and duration (25–800 ms) to evaluate whether performance of highly trained listeners is limited by the number of inherent modulation periods in each presentation. Stimuli were two bands of noise, separated by a 500-Hz gap centered on 2250 Hz. Performance improved reliably with increasing numbers of envelope modulation periods, although there were substantial individual differences.
Stimulus-frequency otoacoustic emissions in human newborns
Authors: Kalluri Radha , Abdala Carolina
Published: December 2014

This study presents the first reported measurements of stimulus frequency emissions (SFOAEs) in 15 human newborns and compares their magnitudes and phase-gradient delays to those reported in adults. SFOAEs in newborns were measured at stimulus levels as low as 15 dB sound pressure level (SPL). Responses were compared between adults and newborns at stimulus levels where SFOAEs in both age groups demonstrated approximately linear growth (<40 dB SPL for newborns, <25 dB SPL for adults). Neonates had adult-like SFOAE delays when compared in this fashion, which compensates for newborn middle ear inefficiencies.
Chapter 1 Setting the Stage: Coordinated Approaches to School Health and Physical Education
Authors: Kelder Steven H. , Karp Grace Goc , Scruggs Philip W. , Brown Helen
Published: December 2014

Is there anything more important than the health, well-being and education of a nation’s children? This paper takes the position that school is the most important place to educate children about health and to develop lifelong health promoting skills. We believe that health promotion programs and activities are integral to the school’s educational program, not as extracurricular, but as central to school’s educational mission. In this chapter, we highlight the importance of physical education and physical activity as key components of a well-designed coordinated school health program. We also outline the skills that PE teachers must learn to take a leadership role in the school health movement.
Response to Comment on “A 12-million-year temperature history of the tropical Pacific Ocean”
Authors: Zhang Yi Ge , Pagani Mark , Liu Zhonghui
Published: December 2014

Contrary to our conclusions, Ravelo
et al
. argue that our TEX
86
-based sea surface temperature (SST) records do not conflict with the supposition of “permanent El Niño–like” conditions during the early Pliocene. We show that the way Ravelo
et al
. treat the existing temperature data perpetuates an inaccurate impression of cooler Pacific warm-pool SSTs and low equatorial temperature gradients in the past.
An Aharonov-Bohm interferometer for determining Bloch band topology
Authors: Duca L. , Li T. , Reitter M. , Bloch I. , Schleier-Smith M. , Schneider U.
Published: December 2014

Nailing down graphene's topology

An electron traveling along a closed path in the momentum space of the graphene crystal lattice may not end up exactly the way it started. If its path happens to include one of the special points in momentum space, it will acquire a phase shift. Physicists can detect the signatures of this process by studying the transport properties of graphene. Duca
et al.
used interferometry to directly measure this so-called Berry flux in a hexagonal optical lattice, where intersecting laser beams simulate the environment that electrons experience in graphene (see the Perspective by Lamacraft). The high-precision technique may be useful in characterizing other topological structures.

Science
, this issue p.
288
; see also p.
232
The thoroughly bred horse
Authors: Gibbons Ann
Published: December 2014

Genomes from ancient horses show the genetic changes wrought by domestication—and their costs.
Ambitious children's study meets disappointing end
Authors: Kaiser Jocelyn
Published: December 2014

After 14 years and $1.2 billion spent, design and management troubles topple National Children's Study.
Detection of self-reactive CD8
+
T cells with an anergic phenotype in healthy individuals
Authors: Maeda Yuka , Nishikawa Hiroyoshi , Sugiyama Daisuke , Ha Danbee , Hamaguchi Masahide , Saito Takuro , Nishioka Megumi , Wing James B. , Adeegbe Dennis , Katayama Ichiro , Sakaguchi Shimon
Published: December 2014

Immunological tolerance to self requires naturally occurring regulatory T (T
reg
) cells. Yet how they stably control autoimmune T cells remains obscure. Here, we show that T
reg
cells can render self-reactive human CD8
+
T cells anergic (i.e., hypoproliferative and cytokine hypoproducing upon antigen restimulation) in vitro, likely by controlling the costimulatory function of antigen-presenting cells. Anergic T cells were naïve in phenotype, lower than activated T cells in T cell receptor affinity for cognate antigen, and expressed several coinhibitory molecules, including cytotoxic T lymphocyte–associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4). Using these criteria, we detected in healthy individuals anergic T cells reactive with a skin antigen targeted in the autoimmune disease vitiligo. Collectively, our results suggest that T
reg
cell–mediated induction of anergy in autoimmune T cells is important for maintaining self-tolerance.
Meeting global challenges: Discovery and innovation through convergence
Authors: Sharp Phillip A.
Published: December 2014

Integrate biology, physics, engineering, and social science to innovate
Retroviral help for B cells
Authors: Grasset Emilie K. , Cerutti Andrea
Published: December 2014

Silent retroviruses present in the human genome help B cells launch a rapid response to pathogenic antigens

[Also see Research Article by

Zeng
et al.

]
Breakthrough to our origins
Authors: McNutt Marcia
Published: December 2014

Long before I dreamed of becoming a scientist, I wondered why Earth was teeming with life, while Mars was a barren, rocky outpost and Venus was shrouded in a dense atmosphere. Somewhere, I read that comets were the reason. Strike a rocky planet with one volatile- and organic-rich comet and an Earth-like environment results. Two comets produce a Venus. No comets: Mars. Of course, this theory was far too simple to explain the differences in the evolution of the inner planets, but no one had ever explored comets up close to know how they might alter a planet's composition and history—until now. Last month, after many years of planning and a decade in transit, the European Space Agency's spacecraft Rosetta reached Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, surveyed landing sites, and deployed its probe, Philae, to execute the first-ever soft landing on a comet's surface (see the News story, p. 1442).
Complete Genome Sequence of a Betanodavirus Isolated from Half-Smooth Tongue Sole (
Cynoglossus semilaevis
)
Authors: Li Jin , Shi Cheng Yin , Huang Jie , Geng Wei Guang , Wang Sheng Qiang , Su Zi Dan
Published: December 2014

Betanodavirus, commonly called nervous necrosis virus (NNV) of fish, has emerged as a major constraint on marine aquaculture worldwide. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of a betanodavirus (strain CsCN128) isolated from diseased half-smooth tongue sole (
Cynoglossus semilaevis
) in China. The genome sequence of strain CsCN128 shares ≥98.7% similarity with seven-band grouper nervous necrosis virus from Japan. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that strain CsCN128 belongs to the red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV) genotype of betanodavirus. The genome of the strain CsCN128 will facilitate further study on the molecular epidemiology and natural susceptible host range of betanodaviruses.
Draft Genome Sequence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strain WS394, a Multidrug-Resistant and Highly Cytotoxic Wound Isolate from Chronic Ulcus Cruris
Authors: Vorhölter Frank-Jörg , Arnold Martin , Wibberg Daniel , Blom Jochen , Winkler Anika , Viehoever Prisca , Albersmeier Andreas , Goesmann Alexander , Zange Sabine , Heesemann Jürgen , Pühler Alfred , Hogardt Michael
Published: December 2014

Pseudomonas aeruginosa
is a frequent human pathogen that increasingly causes chronic infections of nonhealing wounds. Here we present the 6.8 Mb draft genome of strain WS394, a multidrug-resistant chronic ulcer isolate that exhibited outstanding high cell cytotoxicity despite defective secretion of exotoxin U, suggesting a habitat-dependent adaptation process.
Type, size and age of vehicles driven by teenage drivers killed in crashes during 2008–2012
Authors: McCartt Anne T , Teoh Eric R
Published: December 2014

Given teenagers’ elevated crash rates, it is especially important that their vehicles have key safety features and good crash protection. A profile of vehicles driven by teenagers killed in crashes was developed. Data on vehicles of drivers ages 15–17 and ages 35–50 who died in crashes during 2008–2012 were obtained from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Using vehicle identification numbers, the vehicle make, model and model year were identified. 29% of fatally injured teenagers were driving mini or small cars, 82% were driving vehicles at least 6 years old, and 48% were driving vehicles at least 11 years old. Compared with middle-aged drivers, teenagers’ vehicles more often were small or mini cars or older vehicles. Few teenagers’ vehicles had electronic stability control or side airbags as standard features. Parents should consider safety when choosing vehicles for their teenagers.
Effects of predation risk on elk (Cervus elaphus) landscape use in a wolf (Canis lupus) dominated system
Authors: Eisenberg Cristina , Hibbs David E. , Ripple William J.
Published: December 2014

Food acquisition and predation avoidance are key drivers of herbivore behaviour. We investigated the interaction of top-down (predator) and bottom-up (food, fire, thermal) effects by measuring the relationship between wolf (Canis lupus L., 1758) predation risk perceived by elk (Cervus elaphus L., 1758) and elk landscape use. We conducted fecal pellet and wolf scat surveys in three valleys with three wolf population levels (Saint Mary: low; Waterton: moderate; North Fork: high). In the North Fork, 90% of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) stands burned recently; the other valleys had no fire. We created predictive models of elk pellet density that incorporated bottom-up and top-down variables. All valleys had a high elk pellet density (≥10 per 100 m2). Wolf scat density was similar where there was no fire, but one order of magnitude greater in burned areas. Elk pellet density was lower in the North Fork, a predation-related response. In all valleys, site-specific elk density declined as impediments to detecting or escaping wolves increased, and elk avoided aspen, except for North Fork unburned areas. Models that best predicted elk density contained bottom-up and top-down effects. At local scales, high predation risk negatively influence elk occurrence, suggesting that even with minimal wolf exposure elk avoid risky sites.
Normal Mode Analysis of Three-Dimensional Propagation Over a Small-Slope Cosine Shaped Hill
Authors: Ballard Megan S. , Goldsberry Benjamin M. , Isakson Marcia J.
Published: December 2014

Three-dimensional propagation over an infinitely long cosine shaped hill is examined using an approximate normal mode/parabolic equation hybrid model that includes mode coupling in the out-going direction. The slope of the hill is relatively shallow, but it is significant enough to produce both mode-coupling and horizontal refraction effects. In the first part of the paper, the modeling approach is described, and the solution is compared to results obtained with a finite element method to evaluate the accuracy of the solution in light of assumptions made in formulating the model. Then the calculated transmission loss is interpreted in terms of a modal decomposition of the field, and the solution from the hybrid model is compared to adiabatic and N × 2D solutions to assess the relative importance of horizontal refraction and mode-coupling effects. An analysis using a horizontal ray trace is presented to explain differences in the modal interference pattern observed between the 3D and N × 2D solutions. The detailed discussion provides a thorough explanation of the observed 3D propagation effects and demonstrates the usefulness of the approximate normal mode/parabolic equation hybrid model as a tool to understand measured transmission loss in complex environments.
Sound Transmission Loss of Adhesively Bonded Sandwich Panels with Pyramidal Truss Core: Theory and Experiment
Authors: Shen C. , Zhang Q. C. , Chen S. Q. , Xia H. Y. , Jin F.
Published: December 2014

In this paper, an analytical model is developed to investigate sound transmission loss characteristic of adhesively bonded metal sandwich panels with pyramidal lattice truss cores based on 3D elasticity theory. Meanwhile, practical specimen is fabricated to conduct corresponding sound insulation experiment test via a standing wave tube method. The effective elastic constant of truss cores is derived using one homogenization theory on account of equivalent strain energy. It is found that satisfactory agreement is achieved between theoretical solutions and experiment results, and damping effect of adhesive bonding interface between facesheets and core has a great impact on transmission loss. Further parameter investigations demonstrate the significant effect of the elevation and azimuth angles of the pyramidal cores, which can be conveniently changed to tailor the acoustic performance of the sandwich panels in the whole frequency range.
Integrating Social and Auxiliary Semantics for Multifaceted Topic Modeling in Twitter
Authors: Vosecky Jan , Jiang Di , Leung Kenneth Wai-Ting , Xing Kai , Ng Wilfred
Published: December 2014

Microblogging platforms, such as Twitter, have already played an important role in recent cultural, social and political events. Discovering latent topics from social streams is therefore important for many downstream applications, such as clustering, classification or recommendation. However, traditional topic models that rely on the bag-of-words assumption are insufficient to uncover the rich semantics and temporal aspects of topics in Twitter. In particular, microblog content is often influenced by external information sources, such as Web documents linked from Twitter posts, and often focuses on specific entities, such as people or organizations. These external sources provide useful semantics to understand microblogs and we generally refer to these semantics as
auxiliary semantics
. In this article, we address the mentioned issues and propose a unified framework for Multifaceted Topic Modeling from Twitter streams. We first extract social semantics from Twitter by modeling the social chatter associated with hashtags. We further extract terms and named entities from linked Web documents to serve as auxiliary semantics during topic modeling. The Multifaceted Topic Model (MfTM) is then proposed to jointly model latent semantics among the social terms from Twitter, auxiliary terms from the linked Web documents and named entities. Moreover, we capture the temporal characteristics of each topic. An efficient online inference method for MfTM is developed, which enables our model to be applied to large-scale and streaming data. Our experimental evaluation shows the effectiveness and efficiency of our model compared with state-of-the-art baselines. We evaluate each aspect of our framework and show its utility in the context of tweet clustering.
Fast Interactive Coding against Adversarial Noise
Authors: Brakerski Zvika , Kalai Yael Tauman , Naor Moni
Published: December 2014

Consider two parties who wish to communicate in order to execute some interactive protocol π. However, the communication channel between them is noisy: An adversary sees everything that is transmitted over the channel and can change a constant fraction of the bits arbitrarily, thus interrupting the execution of π (which was designed for an error-free channel). If π only contains a single long message, then a good error correcting code would overcome the noise with only a constant overhead in communication. However, this solution is not applicable to
interactive protocols
consisting of many short messages.

Schulman [1992, 1993] introduced the notion of
interactive coding
: A simulator that, given any protocol π, is able to simulate it (i.e., produce its intended transcript) even in the presence of constant rate adversarial channel errors, and with only constant (multiplicative) communication overhead. However, the running time of Schulman's simulator, and of all simulators that followed, has been exponential (or subexponential) in the communication complexity of π (which we denote by
N
).

In this work, we present three efficient simulators, all of which are randomized and have a certain failure probability (over the choice of coins). The first runs in time poly(
N
), has failure probability roughly 2

-
N

, and is resilient to 1/32-fraction of adversarial error. The second runs in time
O
(
N
log
N
), has failure probability roughly 2

-
N

, and is resilient to some constant fraction of adversarial error. The third runs in time
O
(
N
), has failure probability 1/poly(
N
), and is resilient to some constant fraction of adversarial error. (Computational complexity is measured in the RAM model.) The first two simulators can be made
deterministic
if they are a priori given a random string (which may be known to the adversary ahead of time). In particular, the simulators can be made to be nonuniform and deterministic (with equivalent performance).
On the Dynamics of Social Media Popularity
Authors: Figueiredo Flavio , Almeida Jussara M. , Gonçalves Marcos André , Benevenuto Fabrício
Published: December 2014

Understanding the factors that impact the popularity dynamics of social media can drive the design of effective information services, besides providing valuable insights to content generators and online advertisers. Taking YouTube as case study, we analyze how video popularity evolves since upload, extracting popularity trends that characterize groups of videos. We also analyze the referrers that lead users to videos, correlating them, features of the video and early popularity measures with the popularity trend and total observed popularity the video will experience. Our findings provide fundamental knowledge about popularity dynamics and its implications for services such as advertising and search.
Baroreceptor unloading does not limit forearm sweat rate during severe passive heat stress
Authors: Schlader Zachary J. , Gagnon Daniel , Lucas Rebekah A. I. , Pearson James , Crandall Craig G.
Published: December 2014

This study tested the hypothesis that sweat rate during passive heat stress is limited by baroreceptor unloading associated with heat stress. Two protocols were performed in which healthy subjects underwent passive heat stress that elicited an increase in intestinal temperature of ∼1.8°C. Upon attaining this level of hyperthermia, in protocol 1 ( n = 10, 3 females) a bolus (19 ml/kg) of warm (∼38°C) isotonic saline was rapidly (5–10 min) infused intravenously to elevate central venous pressure (CVP), while in protocol 2 ( n = 11, 5 females) phenylephrine was infused intravenously (60–120 μg/min) to return mean arterial pressure (MAP) to normothermic levels. In protocol 1, heat stress reduced CVP from 3.9 ± 1.9 mmHg (normothermia) to −0.6 ± 1.4 mmHg ( P < 0.001), while saline infusion returned CVP to normothermic levels (5.1 ± 1.7 mmHg; P > 0.999). Sweat rate was elevated by heat stress (1.21 ± 0.44 mg·cm−2·min−1) but remained unchanged during rapid saline infusion (1.26 ± 0.47 mg·cm−2·min−1, P = 0.5), whereas cutaneous vascular conductance increased from 77 ± 10 to 101 ± 20% of local heating max ( P = 0.029). In protocol 2, MAP was reduced with heat stress from 85 ± 7 mmHg to 76 ± 8 mmHg ( P = 0.048). Although phenylephrine infusion returned MAP to normothermic levels (88 ± 7 mmHg; P > 0.999), sweat rate remained unchanged during phenylephrine infusion (1.39 ± 0.22 vs. 1.41 ± 0.24 mg·cm−2·min−1; P > 0.999). These data indicate that both cardiopulmonary and arterial baroreceptor unloading do not limit increases in sweat rate during passive heat stress.
Effects of Oils and Essential Oils from Seeds of Zanthoxylum schinifolium against Foodborne Viral Surrogates
Authors: Oh Mi , Chung Mi Sook
Published: December 2014

Human noroviruses are the most frequent cause of foodborne viral disease and are responsible for the vast majority of nonbacterial gastroenteritis. However, no specific therapies are available for the efficient control or prevention of foodborne viral disease. Here, we determined the antiviral activities of oils from seeds of Zanthoxylum schinifolium (ZSO) against foodborne viral surrogates, feline calicivirus‐F9 (FCV‐F9), and murine norovirus‐1 (MNV‐1), using plaque assay. Time‐of‐addition experiments were designed to determine the antiviral mechanism of action of ZSO against the surrogates. Maximal antiviral effect was observed upon pretreatment of FCV‐F9 or MNV‐1 with ZSO, which comprised oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, and linolenic acid as the major fatty acids. FCV‐F9 was more sensitive to ZSO than MNV‐1, and the 50% effective concentration of ZSO against pretreatment of FCV‐F9 was 0.0007%. However, essential oils from Z. schinifolium (ZSE), which comprised 42% estragole, showed no inhibitory effects against FCV‐F9 and MNV‐1. These results suggest that the inhibitory activities of ZSO were exerted by direct interaction of FCV‐F9 or MNV‐1 virion with ZSO, which may be a food material candidate for control of foodborne viral disease.
Automatic Segmentation of Anatomical Structures from CT Scans of Thorax for RTP
Authors: Özsavaş Emin Emrah , Telatar Ziya , Dirican Bahar , Sağer Ömer , Beyzadeoğlu Murat
Published: December 2014

Modern radiotherapy techniques are vulnerable to delineation inaccuracies owing to the steep dose gradient around the target. In this aspect, accurate contouring comprises an indispensable part of optimal radiation treatment planning (RTP). We suggest a fully automated method to segment the lungs, trachea/main bronchi, and spinal canal accurately from computed tomography (CT) scans of patients with lung cancer to use for RTP. For this purpose, we developed a new algorithm for inclusion of excluded pathological areas into the segmented lungs and a modified version of the fuzzy segmentation by morphological reconstruction for spinal canal segmentation and implemented some image processing algorithms along with them. To assess the accuracy, we performed two comparisons between the automatically obtained results and the results obtained manually by an expert. The average volume overlap ratio values range between 94.30 ± 3.93% and 99.11 ± 0.26% on the two different datasets. We obtained the average symmetric surface distance values between the ranges of 0.28 ± 0.21 mm and 0.89 ± 0.32 mm by using the same datasets. Our method provides favorable results in the segmentation of CT scans of patients with lung cancer and can avoid heavy computational load and might offer expedited segmentation that can be used in RTP.
On Henstock Method to Stratonovich Integral with respect to Continuous Semimartingale
Authors: Yang Haifeng , Toh Tin Lam
Published: December 2014

We will use the Henstock (or generalized Riemann) approach to define the Stratonovich integral with respect to continuous semimartingale in L2 space. Our definition of Stratonovich integral encompasses the classical definition of Stratonovich integral.
Polyangiitis with Granulomatosis as a Paraneoplastic Syndrome of B-Cell Lymphoma of the Lacrimal Gland
Authors: Wills Sanín Beatriz , Bolivar Yenny R. Cárdenas , Carvajal Jose J. , Quintero Guillermo E. , Andrade Rafael
Published: December 2014

Introduction. The clinical course of an autoimmune paraneoplastic syndrome parallels the natural history of the primary malignancy. In most cases, such paraneoplastic are syndromes hardly distinguishable from idiopathic autoimmune diseases. A case of polyangiitis with granulomatosis as a paraneoplastic syndrome in a patient with B-cell Lymphoma of the lacrimal gland has not yet been reported.Case Presentation. We present the case of a male patient with a B-cell Lymphoma of the lacrimal gland, who debuted with symptoms similar to rheumatoid arthritis and acute renal failure, secondary to polyangiitis with granulomatosis. The current pathophysiological hypotheses explaining the relationship between a lymphoproliferative disease and an autoimmune paraneoplastic disorder are discussed.Conclusion. Tumor-associated segmental necrotizing glomerulopathy is a very rare manifestation of glomerular diseases. Some atypical clinical features should increase the suspicion of an underlying tumor, in which case it is essential to treat the primary neoplasia, in order to control the autoimmune manifestations.
Flying Robot Based Viewpoint Selection for the Electricity Transmission Equipment Inspection
Authors: Liu Chang-an , Dong Rui-fang , Wu Hua
Published: December 2014

In the process of inspection for the electricity transmission equipment using flying robots, an automatic way to find the best viewpoint to get the high quality of image would be beneficial to observe the state of the electricity transmission equipment. Finding the best viewpoint belongs to the viewpoint selection problem. A strategy is proposed in this paper to find the best viewpoint for the electricity transmission equipment inspection, according to which the candidate viewpoints can be generated based on the 3D model of the equipment. Then a scoring function is constructed which combines three factors including the amount of the information, the viewing quality, and the visibility of the information to evaluate the quality of the candidate viewpoint. Finally, the best viewpoint can be selected from all of candidate viewpoints according to the scoring function. The proposed algorithm is tested on the experiment to demonstrate its effectiveness.
Yttrium-90 Microsphere Radioembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Edeline Julien , Gilabert Marine , Garin Etienne , Boucher Eveline , Raoul Jean-Luc
Published: December 2014

Yttrium-90 (Y90) radioembolization is an emerging strategy to treat liver malignancies, and clinical data supporting its use have accumulated in recent years. Y90-radioembolization has shown clinical effectiveness in intermediate and advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, with a favorable safety profile. Retrospective data show similar levels of effectiveness to transarterial chemoembolization in intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma, with some evidence of better tolerance. While phase 3 studies comparing Y90-radioembolization to chemoembolization in intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma would be difficult to conduct, studies comparing or combining Y90-radioembolization with sorafenib are under way. Questions also remain about the most suitable modalities for defining the dose to administer. Phase 3 studies are under way to clarify the place of Y90-radioembolization in the algorithm of HCC treatment.
Platelet adhesion on endothelium early after vein grafting mediates leukocyte recruitment and intimal hyperplasia in a murine model
Authors: Tseng Chi-Nan , Chang Ya-Ting , Lengquist Mariette , Kronqvist Malin , Hedin Ulf , Eriksson Einar E.
Published: December 2014

Intimal hyperplasia (IH) is the substrate for accelerated atherosclerosis and limited patency of vein grafts. However, there is still no specific treatment targeting IH following graft surgery. In this study, we used a mouse model of vein grafting to investigate the potential for early intervention with platelet function for later development of graft IH. We transferred the inferior vena cava (IVC) from donor C57BL/6 mice to the carotid artery in recipients using a cuff technique. We found extensive endothelial injury and platelet adhesion one hour following grafting. Adhesion of leukocytes was distinct in areas of platelet adhesion. Platelet and leukocyte adhesion was strongly reduced in mice receiving a function-blocking antibody against the integrin αIIbβ3. This was followed by a reduction of IH one month following grafting. Depletion of platelets using antiserum also reduced IH at later time points. These findings indicate platelets as pivotal to leukocyte recruitment to the wall of vein grafts. In conclusion, the data also highlight early intervention of platelets and inflammation as potential treatment for later formation of IH and accelerated atherosclerosis following bypass surgery.
Estimation of dabigatran plasma concentrations in the perioperative setting
Authors: Dincq Anne-Sophie , Hjemdahl Paul , Rönquist-Nii Yuko , Pohanka Anton , Gourdin Maximilien , Chatelain Bernard , Dogné Jean-Michel , Mullier François , Douxfils Jonathan , Lessire Sarah
Published: December 2014

The perioperative management of dabigatran is challenging, and recommendations based on activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and thrombin time (TT) are unsatisfactory. Dedicated coagulation tests have limitations at plasma concentrations < 50 ng/ml. Therefore, a more sensitive test, which is available 24/7, is required. It was the aim of this study to investigate the performance of the Hemoclot Thrombin Inhibitors® LOW (HTI LOW) kit, a diluted thrombin time, and the STA® – ECA II (ECA-II) kit, a chromogenic variant of the ecarin clotting time, that were developed to measure low dabigatran concentrations, compared to reference dabigatran analysis by liquid chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). This study included 33 plasma samples from patients treated with dabigatran etexilate who had plasma concentrations < 200 ng/ml. HTI LOW and ECA-II were performed along with HTI, aPTT (STA®-C. K.Prest® and SynthasIL ®) and TT (STA® – Thrombin). All procedures were performed according to recommendations by the manufacturers. Linear (or curvilinear) correlations and Bland-Altman analyses were calculated. For free dabigatran concentrations < 50 ng/ml, the R2 of linear correlations were 0.69, 0.84 and 0.61, with HTI, HTI LOW and ECA-II, respectively. The R2 for TT, STA®-C. K.Prest® and SynthasIL® were 0.67, 0.42 and 0.15. For HTI, HTI LOW and ECA-II, Bland-Altman analyses revealed mean differences of –6 ng/ml (95 %CI: –25–14 ng/ml), 1 ng/ml (95 %CI: –18–19 ng/ml) and –1 ng/ml (95 %CI: –25–23 ng/ml), demonstrating that tests dedicated to measuring low concentrations are more accurate than HTI. In conclusion, the use of HTI LOW or ECA-II to assess low plasma dabigatran concentrations is supported by our findings.
Effects of exposure to glyphosate in male and female mice behavior in pubertal period
Authors: Joaquim Andréia De Oliveira , Macrini Daclé Juliane , Ricci Esther Lopes , Rodrigues Paula Andreotti , Spinosa Helenice De Souza , Suffredini Ivana Barbosa , Bernarndi Maria Martha
Published: December 2014

O presente estudo teve como objetivo investigar em camundongos machos e fêmeas o efeito da exposição a uma formulação comercial de glifosato durante o período de pré-pubere em modelos comportamentais de emocionalidade, ansiedade e depressão. Para isto, camundongos foram expostos a partir de 23 dias de idade (dia pós-natal- PND) até o PND 45 ao glifosato (50 mg/kg, oral route) ou solução salina. Dez dias após o término do tratamento, os animais, machos e fêmeas, foram observados no campo aberto (OF), labirinto em cruz elevado (EPM) ou teste de natação forçada (FWT). Os resultados mostraram que a exposição ao glifosato: 1) reduziu de forma similar a frequência de locomoção dos camundongos em ambos os sexos; 2) reduziu a atividade motora tanto no OF como no PM em camundongos machos, sem alterações observadas em fêmeas; 3) no SWT os camundongos machos apresentaram redução no tempo de flutuação similar ao das fêmeas. Concluiu-se que a exposição pré-pubere ao glifosato reduziu em machos a capacidade de exploração no OF e EPM e no tempo de flutuação no FWT sugerindo que o herbicida interferiu com mecanismos centrais relacionados com masculinização do cérebro ligados a exploração e ansiedade. No FWT observou-se menor depressão em machos e exacerbação da resposta em fêmeas.
Molecular detection of leptospiral carriers in sheep under tropical field conditions
Authors: Director Ariel , Martins Gabriel Mendes de Souza , Loureiro Ana Paula Pereira , Reis Camila Hamond Regua Motta , Medeiros Marco Alberto , Lilenbaum Walter
Published: December 2014

O objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar a aplicabilidade da PCR na detecção de ovinos carreadores de Leptospira em ambiente tropical. Brevemente, dois rebanhos ovinos, previamente reportados como sororeativo (A) e soronegativo (B) foram selecionados para este estudo. Da totalidade de animais de cada rebanho, amostras de urina e fluido vaginal (FV)/sêmen foram colhidas para cultura bacteriológica e PCR. Além disso, amostras de soro foram colhidas e utilizadas na sorologia (teste da soroaglutinação microscópica). Esta técnica confirmou o estado prévio dos dois rebanhos. Nenhuma amostra pura de leptospiras foi obtida no cultivo. Já na PCR, animais do Rebanho A apresentaram 26,7% (FV), 33,3% (sêmen) e 38,9% (urina) de amostras positivas. O Rebanho B apresentou 40,0% (FV), 33,3% (sêmen) e 5,6% (urina) de positividade pela PCR. Em conclusão, a PCR foi uma importante ferramenta na identificação de carreadores de leptospiras, incluindo animais do rebanho soronegativo, o que reforça as vantagens do uso desta técnica para a detecção de ovinos portadores como parte dos programas de controle da leptospirose em ambiente tropical.
Canine mammary tumors in Santos, Brazil: clinicopathological and survival profile
Authors: Biondi Luiz Roberto , Gentile Luciana Boffoni , Rego Alexandre Aparecido Mattos da Silva , Noronha Nathalia Pisciottano , Dagli Maria Lucia Zaidan
Published: December 2014

Os tumores das glândulas mamárias são as neoplasias mais comuns em cadelas em nosso país; no entanto, são poucos os trabalhos brasileiros dedicados ao estudo clinicopatológico e de sobrevida nesta doença. O presente trabalho teve por objetivo o estudo clínico e patológico dos tumores mamários caninos na Região Metropolitana de Santos, uma área no estado de São Paulo com uma população canina estimada em 120 mil animais. Dados de 14.298 cães foram coletados retrospectivamente dos prontuários médicos do Hospital Veterinário da Universidade Metropolitana de Santos – São Paulo – Brasil. Durante o período do estudo, foram atendidas 317 fêmeas com diagnóstico histopatológico de neoplasia, dos quais, 170 se referiam a lesões mamárias epiteliais distribuídas em 13 tumores benignos, 152 malignos (89,4% dos diagnósticos) e 5 lesões epiteliais não-neoplásicas (hiperplasia ductal). O tumor mais frequente foi o carcinoma tubular (38,2% dos tumores malignos) e tumores de grau I, respondendo por 73,0% do total diagnosticado. Estudos de sobrevida apontaram para o estadiamento clínico das neoplasias mamárias caninas como importante fator prognóstico, e na análise multivariada, diâmetro do tumor, grau histológico, quimioterapia adjuvante e recorrência apresentaram-se como covariáveis com valor preditivo de sobrevida. Levando-se em conta a elevada prevalência de carcinoma tubular simples na população canina de Santos, pode-se considerá-la como promissor modelo translacional para o estudo da doença.
A Peptide Antagonist of Thrombospondin-1 Promotes Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Progression in the Angiotensin II–Infused Apolipoprotein-E–Deficient Mouse
Authors: Krishna Smriti M. , Seto Sai Wang , Jose Roby J. , Biros Erik , Moran Corey S. , Wang Yutang , Clancy Paula , Golledge Jonathan
Published: December 2014

Objective—

Interaction of the activating sequence in thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) with the conserved sequence (leucine-serine-lysine-leucine [LSKL]) in the latency-associated peptide region of latent transforming growth factor (TGF)-β complex is important in regulating TGF-β1 activity. We aimed to assess the effect of blocking peptide LSKL on the progression of pre-established abdominal aortic aneurysm in angiotensin II–infused apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE
−/−
) mice.

Approach and Results—

Abdominal aortic aneurysm was established in 3-month-old male ApoE
−/−
mice with subcutaneous infusion of angiotensin II for 28 days. After this, mice received LSKL peptide or control SLLK (serine–leucine–leucine–lysine) peptide (4 mg/kg) via daily intraperitoneal injection for an additional 2 weeks. Administration of LSKL peptide promoted larger suprarenal aortic diameter, as determined by ultrasound and morphometric analysis, and stimulated more severe atherosclerosis within the aortic arch. In addition, mice receiving LSKL peptide exhibited elevated circulating proinflammatory cytokine levels and greater inflammatory cells within the suprarenal aorta compared with controls. Mice receiving LSKL peptide showed low plasma TGF-β1 activity and low levels of aortic tissue phosphorylated to total Smad2/3. Aortic gene expression of TGF-β receptor 1 (
TGFBRI
) and receptor 2 (
TGFBRII
), but not TGF-β1 and thrombospondin-1, were lower in mice receiving LSKL peptide than controls. LSKL peptide administration was associated with greater aortic elastin fragmentation and lower expression and activity of the TGF-β1-target gene lysyl oxidase like 1 (
LOXL1
).

Conclusions—

Attenuation of thrombospondin-1-directed activation of TGF-β1 promotes abdominal aortic aneurysm and atherosclerosis progression in the angiotensin II–infused ApoE
−/−
mouse model.
Molecular Controls of Lymphatic VEGFR3 Signaling
Authors: Deng Yong , Zhang Xi , Simons Michael
Published: December 2014

Objectives—

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 (VEGFR3) plays important roles both in lymphangiogenesis and angiogenesis. On stimulation by its ligand VEGF-C, VEGFR3 is able to form both homodimers as well as heterodimers with VEGFR2 and activates several downstream signal pathways, including extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK)1/2 and protein kinase B (AKT). Despite certain similarities with VEGFR2, molecular features of VEGFR3 signaling are still largely unknown.

Approach and Results—

Human dermal lymphatic endothelial cells were used to examine VEGF-C–driven activation of signaling. Compared with VEGF-A activation of VEGFR2, VEGF-C–induced VEGFR3 activation led to a more extensive AKT activation, whereas activation of ERK1/2 displayed a distinctly different kinetics. Furthermore, VEGF-C, but not VEGF-A, induced formation of VEGFR3/VEGFR2 complexes. Silencing VEGFR2 or its partner neuropilin 1 specifically abolished VEGF-C–induced AKT but not ERK activation, whereas silencing of neuropilin 2 had little effect on either signaling pathway. Finally, suppression of vascular endothelial phosphotyrosine phosphatase but not other phosphotyrosine phosphatases enhanced VEGF-C–induced activation of both ERK and AKT pathways. Functionally, both ERK and AKT pathways are important for lymphatic endothelial cells migration.

Conclusions—

VEGF-C activates AKT signaling via formation of VEGFR3/VEGFR2 complex, whereas ERK is activated by VEGFR3 homodimer. Neuropilin 1 and vascular endothelial phosphotyrosine phosphatase are involved in regulation of VEGFR3 signaling.
Afghanistan: Balancing Social and Security Spending in the Context of a Shrinking Resource Envelope
Authors: Aslam Aqib , Berkes Enrico , Fukac Martin , Menkulasi Jeta , Schimmelpfennig Axel
Published: December 2014

For Afghanistan, the dual prospect of declining donor support and high ongoing security spending over the medium term keeps its government budget tight. This paper uses a general equilibrium model to capture the security–development trade-off facing the government in its effort to rehabilitate growth and fiscal sustainability. In particular, it considers strategic policy options for counteracting and minimizing the negative macroeconomic impact of possible aid and revenue shortfalls. We find that the mobilization of domestic revenues through changes in tax policy is the preferred policy response for the Afghan central government. Such a response helps to place its finances on a sustainable path in the near term and preserve most of the growth potential. Cutting expenditures balances public finances but causes the economy to permanently shrink. Debt financing helps to preserve much of the economy size but can quickly put the sustainability of public finances at risk.
The “Great Divergence,” Politics, and Capitalism
Authors: Ghosh Shami
Published: December 2014

Proceeding from a critical assessment of two recent books, Prasannan Parthasarathi’s Why Europe Grew Rich and Asia Did Not, and Jean-Laurent Rosenthal and R. Bin Wong’s Before and Beyond Divergence, this paper takes stock of the present state of the “Great Divergence” debate. It is argued that the discussion needs to be refined to distinguish between levels of economic development, and paths or trends, in the eighteenth century as well as between causes of sustained growth, and of stagnation or decline in the nineteenth century. It is further suggested that the debate needs to be connected to an understanding of the causes of a “Great Convergence” in the early modern world, and how different regions might have reached similar levels of economic complexity, but might nevertheless have been on different paths for future growth. Finally, this paper suggests that the divergence debate also needs to be connected to the debate on the transition to capitalism.
A Contribution to the Fauna of Raspy Crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllacrididae: Gryllacridinae) in Korea
Authors: TAEWOO KIM , BYEONGMIN JEONG , JAEIL SHIM
Published: December 2014

The little known raspy cricket subfamily Gryllacridinae is reviewed for Korea. Three species are confirmed through material examination and are taxonomically considered as follows: Eugryllacris japonica (Matsumura et Shiraki, 1908) comb. nov. is transferred from Prosopogryllacris japonica (Matsumura et Shiraki, 1908), Nippancistroger testaceus (Matsumura et Shiraki, 1908) has a newly proposed junior synonym Nippancistroger koreanus Storozhenko & Paik, 2003 syn. nov., and Metriogryllacris tigris sp. nov. is newly described from the far southern Yeoseo-do Island.
Two new cleistocheliferous species of Clathria of sciophilous habitats from
Northeastern Brazil (Poecilosclerida: Demospongiae: Porifera)
Authors: SANTOS GEORGE GARCIA , PINHEIRO ULISSES
Published: December 2014

We describe two new species of Clathria (Microciona) Bowerbank, 1862: C. (M.) crassitoxa sp. nov. and C. (M.) trairae sp. nov. from Paraíba State (Northeastern Brazil). All are sciophilous species and are represented by small fragments removed from the substrate. Both new species have cleistochelae, and are compared with their cleistocheliferous congeners, differing from all of them by the possession of different combinations of other megascleres and microscleres.
Are Special Processes at Work in the Rapid Intensification of Tropical Cyclones?
Authors: Kowch Roman , Emanuel Kerry
Published: December 2014

Probably not. Frequency distributions of intensification and dissipation developed from synthetic open-ocean tropical cyclone data show no evidence of significant departures from exponential distributions, though there is some evidence for a fat tail of dissipation rates. This suggests that no special factors govern high intensification rates and that tropical cyclone intensification and dissipation are controlled by statistically random environmental and internal variability.