bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The historical origin of the term “meningioma” and the rise of nationalistic neurosurgery
Authors: Barthélemy Ernest Joseph , Sarkiss Christopher A. , Lee James , Shrivastava Raj K.
Published: January 2016

The historical origin of the meningioma nomenclature unravels interesting social and political aspects about the development of neurosurgery in the late 19th century. The meningioma terminology itself was the subject of nationalistic pride and coincided with the advancement in the rise of medicine in Continental Europe as a professional social enterprise. Progress in naming and understanding these types of tumor was most evident in the nations that successively assumed global leadership in medicine and biomedical science throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, that is, France, Germany, and the United States. In this vignette, the authors delineate the uniqueness of the term “meningioma” as it developed within the historical framework of Continental European concepts of tumor genesis, disease states, and neurosurgery as an emerging discipline culminating in Cushing's Meningiomas text.

During the intellectual apogee of the French Enlightenment, Antoine Louis published the first known scientific treatise on meningiomas. Like his father, Jean-Baptiste Louis, Antoine Louis was a renowned military surgeon whose accomplishments were honored with an admission to the Académie royale de chirurgie in 1749. His treatise, Sur les tumeurs fongueuses de la duremère, appeared in 1774. Following this era, growing economic depression affecting a frustrated bourgeoisie triggered a tumultuous revolutionary period that destroyed France's Ancien Régime and abolished its university and medical systems. The resulting anarchy was eventually quelled through legislation aiming to satisfy Napoleon's need for qualified military professionals, including physicians and surgeons. These laws laid the foundations for the subsequent flourishing of French medicine throughout the mid-19th century. Subsequent changes to the meningioma nomenclature were authored by intellectual giants of this postrevolutionary period, for example, by the Limogesborn pathologist Jean Cruveilhier known for the term “tumeurs cancéreuses de la duremère,” and the work of histopathologists, such as Hermann Lebert, who were influenced by Pasteur's germ theory and by Bernard's experimental medicine.

The final development of the meningioma nomenclature corresponded to the rise of American neurosurgery as a formal academic discipline. This historical period of growth is chronicled in Cushing's text Meningiomas, and it set the scientific stage for the modern developments in meningioma research and surgery that are conducted and employed today.
Chiari malformation Type I surgery in pediatric patients. Part 1: validation of an ICD-9-CM code search algorithm
Authors: Ladner Travis R. , Greenberg Jacob K. , Guerrero Nicole , Olsen Margaret A. , Shannon Chevis N. , Yarbrough Chester K. , Piccirillo Jay F. , Anderson Richard C. E. , Feldstein Neil A. , Wellons John C. , Smyth Matthew D. , Park Tae Sung , Limbrick David D.
Published: January 2016

OBJECTIVE

Administrative billing data may facilitate large-scale assessments of treatment outcomes for pediatric Chiari malformation Type I (CM-I). Validated International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code algorithms for identifying CM-I surgery are critical prerequisites for such studies but are currently only available for adults. The objective of this study was to validate two ICD-9-CM code algorithms using hospital billing data to identify pediatric patients undergoing CM-I decompression surgery.

METHODS

The authors retrospectively analyzed the validity of two ICD-9-CM code algorithms for identifying pediatric CM-I decompression surgery performed at 3 academic medical centers between 2001 and 2013. Algorithm 1 included any discharge diagnosis code of 348.4 (CM-I), as well as a procedure code of 01.24 (cranial decompression) or 03.09 (spinal decompression or laminectomy). Algorithm 2 restricted this group to the subset of patients with a primary discharge diagnosis of 348.4. The positive predictive value (PPV) and sensitivity of each algorithm were calculated.

RESULTS

Among 625 first-time admissions identified by Algorithm 1, the overall PPV for CM-I decompression was 92%. Among the 581 admissions identified by Algorithm 2, the PPV was 97%. The PPV for Algorithm 1 was lower in one center (84%) compared with the other centers (93%–94%), whereas the PPV of Algorithm 2 remained high (96%–98%) across all subgroups. The sensitivity of Algorithms 1 (91%) and 2 (89%) was very good and remained so across subgroups (82%–97%).

CONCLUSIONS

An ICD-9-CM algorithm requiring a primary diagnosis of CM-I has excellent PPV and very good sensitivity for identifying CM-I decompression surgery in pediatric patients. These results establish a basis for utilizing administrative billing data to assess pediatric CM-I treatment outcomes.
Lateral access to paravertebral tumors
Authors: Boah Akwasi Ofori , Perin Noel I.
Published: January 2016

Traditional transabdominal and retroperitoneal approaches for paravertebral tumors can be associated with injury to the viscera and lumbar plexus. The authors provide a technical description of a known approach with a new application for the resection of paraspinal tumors using both open and minimally invasive transpsoas techniques and report on 2 illustrative cases. In both cases, gross-total resection of the tumor was achieved and the patients experienced resolution of their presenting neurological symptoms, although one of the patients required 2 extra days of hospitalization due to an asymptomatic retroperitoneal hematoma, which was conservatively managed.

The authors conclude that the lateral transpsoas approach is a safe approach for paravertebral tumors and may not require an access surgeon.
Reconstitution of degenerated ovine lumbar discs by STRO-3–positive allogeneic mesenchymal precursor cells combined with pentosan polysulfate
Authors: Oehme David , Ghosh Peter , Goldschlager Tony , Itescu Silviu , Shimon Susan , Wu Jiehua , McDonald Courtney , Troupis John M. , Rosenfeld Jeffrey V. , Jenkin Graham
Published: January 2016

OBJECTIVE

Disc degeneration and associated low-back pain are major causes of suffering and disability. The authors examined the potential of mesenchymal precursor cells (MPCs), when formulated with pentosan polysulfate (PPS), to ameliorate disc degeneration in an ovine model.

METHODS

Twenty-four sheep had annular incisions made at L2–3, L3–4, and L4–5 to induce degeneration. Twelve weeks after injury, the nucleus pulposus of a degenerated disc in each animal was injected with ProFreeze and PPS formulated with either a low dose (0.1 million MPCs) or a high dose (0.5 million MPCs) of cells. The 2 adjacent injured discs in each spine were either injected with PPS and ProFreeze (PPS control) or not injected (nil-injected control). The adjacent noninjured L1–2 and L5–6 discs served as noninjured control discs. Disc height indices (DHIs) were obtained at baseline, before injection, and at planned death. After necropsy, 24 weeks after injection, the spines were subjected to MRI and morphological, histological, and biochemical analyses.

RESULTS

Twelve weeks after the annular injury, all the injured discs exhibited a significant reduction in mean DHI (low-dose group 17.19%; high-dose group 18.01% [p < 0.01]). Twenty-four weeks after injections, the discs injected with the low-dose MPC+PPS formulation recovered disc height, and their mean DHI was significantly greater than the DHI of PPS- and nil-injected discs (p < 0.001). Although the mean Pfirrmann MRI disc degeneration score for the low-dose MPC+PPS–injected discs was lower than that for the nil- and PPS-injected discs, the differences were not significant. The disc morphology scores for the nil- and PPS-injected discs were significantly higher than the normal control disc scores (p < 0.005), whereas the low-dose MPC+PPS–injected disc scores were not significantly different from those of the normal controls. The mean glycosaminoglycan content of the nuclei pulposus of the low-dose MPC+PPS–injected discs was significantly higher than that of the PPS-injected controls (p < 0.05) but was not significantly different from the normal control disc glycosaminoglycan levels. Histopathology degeneration frequency scores for the low-dose MPC+PPS–injected discs were lower than those for the PPS- and Nil-injected discs. The corresponding high-dose MPC+PPS–injected discs failed to show significant improvements in any outcome measure relative to the controls.

CONCLUSIONS

Intradiscal injections of a formulation composed of 0.1 million MPCs combined with PPS resulted in positive effects in reducing the progression of disc degeneration in an ovine model, as assessed by improvements in DHI and morphological, biochemical, and histopathological scores.
Subsequent surgery rates after cervical total disc replacement using a Mobi-C Cervical Disc Prosthesis versus anterior cervical discectomy and fusion: a prospective randomized clinical trial with 5-year follow-up
Authors: Jackson Robert J. , Davis Reginald J. , Hoffman Gregory A. , Bae Hyun W. , Hisey Michael S. , Kim Kee D. , Gaede Steven E. , Nunley Pierce Dalton
Published: January 2016

OBJECTIVE

Cervical total disc replacement (TDR) has been shown in a number of prospective clinical studies to be a viable treatment alternative to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for the treatment of symptomatic degenerative disc disease. In addition to preserving motion, evidence suggests that cervical TDR may result in a lower incidence of subsequent surgical intervention than treatment with fusion. The goal of this study was to evaluate subsequent surgery rates up to 5 years in patients treated with TDR or ACDF at 1 or 2 contiguous levels between C-3 and C-7.

METHODS

This was a prospective, multicenter, randomized, unblinded clinical trial. Patients with symptomatic degenerative disc disease were enrolled to receive 1- or 2-level treatment with either TDR as the investigational device or ACDF as the control treatment. There were 260 patients in the 1-level study (179 TDR and 81 ACDF patients) and 339 patients in the 2-level study (234 TDR and 105 ACDF patients).

RESULTS

At 5 years, the occurrence of subsequent surgical intervention was significantly higher among ACDF patients for 1-level (TDR, 4.5% [8/179]; ACDF, 17.3% [14/81]; p = 0.0012) and 2-level (TDR, 7.3% [17/234]; ACDF, 21.0% [22/105], p = 0.0007) treatment. The TDR group demonstrated significantly fewer index- and adjacent-level subsequent surgeries in both the 1- and 2-level cohorts.

CONCLUSIONS

Five-year results showed treatment with cervical TDR to result in a significantly lower rate of subsequent surgical intervention than treatment with ACDF for both 1 and 2 levels of treatment.

Clinical trial registration no.: NCT00389597 (clinicaltrials.gov)
The Challenges of Water Resource Management from Top to Bottom: A Case Study in Chi River Basin, Thailand
Authors: Pechpakdee Pechladda , Jan Cowan David
Published: January 2016

This paper focusses on the challenges of employing the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) approach in the Chi River basin in Northeast Thailand to determine its effectiveness and pitfalls. At the macro level, the problems of IWRM were found to be related to the fragmentation of the ministries associated with water issues and the poor coordination of political parties. Therefore, to address this challenge of IWRM, cooperation (sahakān) through deterritorialization and deregulation of both bureaucratic structures at the state level and the local authority’s recommendations needed to manage these water resources. Observation and interviewing methods were employed in the three villages to explore the conditions of IWRM. Gaps in cooperation between the institutions at the state and local levels were found from limited roles and budgets to manage water resources in each administrative area.

This paper discusses recommendations at both the state and local level. At the state level, there are structural and non-structural measurements to consider. These measurements must be addressed by the facilitators of the institutions in order to bridge gaps in cooperation and in order to plan and address the larger scheme of water issues at both national and regional levels. At the local level, deregulation and deterritorialization were found to be the key concerns of IWRM between the different local authorities.
Competition of Various Ions Present in Shallow Aquifer Water in Respect of Arsenic Removal by Hydrated Ferric Oxide
Authors: Emdadul Haque M. , Sabur Md Abdus , Mahamud-Ul-Hoque Md. , Safiullah Syed
Published: January 2016

Iron-oxides have long been used as adsorbent in the arsenic filter materials. Little is known about the arsenic removal efficiency of these materials in the presence of other naturally occurring ions. Hydrated ferric oxide (HFO) based mesoporous material was prepared freshly in our laboratory by co-precipitating silicic acid and ferric oxyhydroxide from silicate and iron salt solutions. We carried out detailed laboratory experiments to understand how the effect of other ions such as iron, bicarbonate, ammonium and phosphate influence the adsorption of arsenic on HFO at neutral pH. It was found that arsenate and phosphate were in direct competition and the efficiency of the material decreased in the presence of aqueous phosphate. Also, the material can remove carbonate/bicarbonate effectively but arsenic removal efficiency decreases to nearly the same extent as observed for phosphate. The presence of iron in the solution interestingly increases the life time of HFO and hence the efficiency for the removal of arsenic. The results from our experiments suggest that it is essential to know the concentration of other ions along with arsenic in the contaminated tubewell water before it is subjected to adsorption filtration using HFO.
Groundwater Quality Assessment for Drinking and Industrial Purpose of Rourkela, Sundergarh District, Odisha, India
Authors: Das Rosalin , Das Madhumita , Goswami Shreerup
Published: January 2016

A study on geochemical characterization of groundwater and its suitability for drinking and industrial purpose was carried out in and around Rourkela, an industrial city of Odisha. Altogether 36 groundwater samples were collected during May 2011 and analyzed for the water quality parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, sulphate, chloride etc. Suitability of the groundwater for drinking and industrial purpose is evaluated following various classification schemes and water quality standards. Piper’s Trilinear diagram reveals that water of the study area belongs to the Ca-Mg-HCO3 facies. Calcium and magnesium are major cations and bicarbonate is the major anion in the study area. The prolific presence of Ca, Mg and bicarbonate ions demonstrates that the total hydro-geochemistry is dominated by alkaline earths and weak acids. The chemical composition of ground water is controlled by sediment-water interaction. Various classifications show that present status of ground water is better for drinking purpose. Corrosivity ratio is analysed and Gibb’s diagram is plotted to estimate the quality of water for industrial use and rock water interaction.
Urban Pollution of Bagmati River Corridor within the Densely Populated Kathmandu Valley in Nepal
Authors: Khadka Y.J. , Iqbal M.Z. , De Nault K.J.
Published: January 2016

The Bagmati River within the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal was studied for its water quality and heavy metal distribution in the riverbed sediments. Water and sediment samples were collected from 10 sites for chemical analysis. The Water Quality Index (WQI) of the river was calculated using nine water quality parameters recommended by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF): Dissolved Oxygen (DO), E. coli, temperature, pH, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), turbidity, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), nitrate, and phosphate. Out of the 100 water samples, 77 were in the Bad category, six in the Medium category, and the remaining 17 were in the Good to Excellent categories. The two parameters that significantly impacted the WQI values were DO (range: 0.07 – 8.25 mg/L) and E. coli (range: 200 – 1.3 × 107 number per 100 ml). The highly impacted zone has urban/industrial land use where the average TDS (592 mg/L) is 34% higher than that observed (442 mg/L) at the urban sites immediately upstream. Sediment samples were analyzed for heavy metals of major environmental concern: As, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn. The urban/industrial areas are highly vulnerable to future impairment, especially with their possible influx from the numerous industrial sources.
Relationship Analysis between Phytoplankton Diversity and Water Quality of Lower Lake of Bhopal
Authors: Acharya Ruchi , Saify Tayyab , Sharma Bhawna , Gautam Rajani
Published: January 2016

Quantitative evaluation of phytoplankton was carried out in different sites of lower lake of Bhopal (M.P.) during study period. The Chlorophyceae is dominant among Cyanophyceae, Bacillariophyceae, Euglenophyceae and Dinophyceae. The Boyd’s index indicates that lower lake is moderately polluted throughout the year except in the month of May and June in which lake is heavily polluted. Some species which indicated eutrophic status included Microcystis aeruginosa, Chlorococcus sp., Scenedesmus sp. and Chlorella sp. The relationship between quantitative analysis of phytoplankton and water quality of lower lake of Bhopal has been discussed.
A Review on the Chemical Pollution of Langat River, Malaysia
Authors: Farid Ahmed Minhaz , Lubna Alam , Choo Ta Goh , Rahim Mohamed CheAbd , Mazlin Mokhtar
Published: January 2016

Langat River, which is a very important source of drinking water, as well as development in the Langat Basin, needs special care to reduce the pollution. Environmental Quality Report of Department of Environment since 1997 to the latest 2013 addressed that the river possessed the status of class III which required extensive treatment before drinking. However, more than one of the nine water treatment plants in the basin had to remain closed several times during 2012-2015 due to high concentration of chemical pollution in the river. Therefore, the review of secondary literature found out the reasons of chemical pollution in Langat River. The hazardous chemical pollution in the river was mainly due to the anthropogenic activities as well as there was lack of enforcement of policies to reduce the pollution. Hence, a proper and up-to-date chemical using guideline is required for the basin in reducing the water pollution which would be applicable for all the basins in Malaysia.
Limnological Study of Asan Wetland in Relation to Water Quality in Doon Valley, Uttarakhand, India
Authors: Singh Mohit Kumar , Tripathi A.K. , Jeeva V.
Published: January 2016

Asan wetland is one of the biodiversity hotspot and ecologically sensitive habitat in Doon valley and this important Bird Area has been notified as an ‘Asan Conservation Reserve’ in Uttarakhand, India. Its water is used for drinking, irrigation, boating and recreation. In view of the above, an attempt was made to study certain limnological parameters to assess the nutrient status for its suitability from ecological point of view, drinking and irrigation purpose. The limnological parameters were seasonally examined following standard methods. Total 72 water samples were collected from eight sampling stations. Study revealed that most of the parameters were in the limit of standard except some parameters like BOD and COD (higher in monsoon season). NO3− and PO43− were found higher which can cause eutrophication in the water body. The wetland water was found to be slightly alkaline (pH 7.6) except in monsoon season and moderately hard (122.4 mg/l). Physico-chemical parameters indicate prevalence of good quality of water except in monsoon season in Asan wetland.
The Effects of Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment on Go/NoGo Semantic Categorization Task Performance and Event-Related Potentials
Authors: Mudar Raksha A. , Chiang Hsueh-Sheng , Eroh Justin , Nguyen Lydia T. , Maguire Mandy J. , Spence Jeffrey S. , Kung Fanting , Kraut Michael A. , Hart John
Published: January 2016

We examined the effects of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) on behavioral (response times and error rates) and scalp-recorded event-related potential (ERP) measures of response execution and inhibition, using Go/NoGo tasks involving basic and superordinate semantic categorization. Twenty-five aMCI (16 F; 68.5±8 years) and 25 age- and gender-matched normal control subjects (16 F; 65.4±7.1 years) completed two visual Go/NoGo tasks. In the single car task, responses were made based on single exemplars of a car (Go) and a dog (NoGo) (basic). In the object animal task, responses were based on multiple exemplars of objects (Go) and animals (NoGo) (superordinate). The aMCI subjects had higher commission errors on the NoGo trials compared to the control subjects, whereas both groups had comparable omission errors and reaction times during the Go trials. The aMCI subjects had significantly prolonged N2 ERP latency during Go and NoGo trials across tasks compared to the controls. Both groups showed similar categorization effects and response type effects in N2/P3 ERP latencies and P3 amplitude. Our findings indicate that altered early neural processing indexed by N2 latency distinguishes subjects with aMCI from controls during the Go/NoGo task. Prolonged Go-N2 latency in aMCI appears to precede behavioral changes in response execution, whereas prolonged NoGo-N2 latency underlies behavioral deterioration in response inhibition.
Different Patterns of Correlation between Grey and White Matter Integrity Account for Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms in Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Makovac Elena , Serra Laura , Spanò Barbara , Giulietti Giovanni , Torso Mario , Cercignani Mara , Caltagirone Carlo , Bozzali Marco
Published: January 2016

Behavioral disorders and psychological symptoms (BPSD) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are known to correlate with grey matter (GM) atrophy and, as shown recently, also with white matter (WM) damage. WM damage and its relationship with GM atrophy are reported in AD, reinforcing the interpretation of the AD pathology in light of a disconnection syndrome. It remains uncertain whether this disconnection might account also for different BPSD observable in AD. Here, we tested the hypothesis of different patterns of association between WM damage of the corpus callosum (CC) and GM atrophy in AD patients exhibiting one of the following BPSD clusters: Mood (i.e., anxiety and depression; ADmood), Frontal (i.e., dishinibition and elation; ADfrontal), and Psychotic (delusions and hallucinations; ADpsychotic) related symptoms, as well as AD patients without BPSD. Overall, this study brings to light the strict relationship between WM alterations in different parts of the CC and GM atrophy in AD patients exhibiting BPSD, supporting the hypothesis that such symptoms are likely to be caused by characteristic patterns of neurodegeneration of WM and GM, rather than being a reactive response to accumulation of cognitive disabilities, and should therefore be regarded as potential markers of diagnostic and prognostic value in AD.
PRNP P39L Variant is a Rare Cause of Frontotemporal Dementia in Italian Population
Authors: Oldoni Emanuela , Fumagalli Giorgio G. , Serpente Maria , Fenoglio Chiara , Scarioni Marta , Arighi Andrea , Bruno Giuseppe , Talarico Giuseppina , Confaloni Annamaria , Piscopo Paola , Nacmias Benedetta , Sorbi Sandro , Rainero Innocenzo , Rubino Elisa , Pinessi Lorenzo , Binetti Giuliano , Ghidoni Roberta , Benussi Luisa , Grande Giulia , Arosio Beatrice , Bursey Devan , Kauwe John S. , Cioffi Sara MG , Arcaro Marina , Mari Daniela , Mariani Claudio , Scarpini Elio , Galimberti Daniela
Published: January 2016

The missense P39L variant in the prion protein gene (PRNP) has recently been associated with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Here, we analyzed the presence of the P39L variant in 761 patients with FTD and 719 controls and found a single carrier among patients. The patient was a 67-year-old male, with a positive family history for dementia, who developed apathy, short term memory deficit, and postural instability at 66. Clinical and instrumental workup excluded prion disease. At MRI, bilateral frontal lobe atrophy was present. A diagnosis of FTD was made, with a mainly apathetic phenotype. The PRNP P39L mutation may be an extremely rare cause of FTD (0.13%).
Design of magnetorheological valve using serpentine flux path method
Authors: Abd Fatah Abdul Yasser , Mazlan Saiful Amri , Koga Tsuyoshi , Zamzuri Hairi , Imaduddin Fitrian
Published: January 2016

Magnetorheological (MR) valve is widely applied in a lot of applications that utilizes the flow mode, which is one of the working modes available for MR fluid devices. This paper introduces the serpentine flux path method in an MR valve, whereby using this method it can help to increase the effective region of the valve. The magnetic flux is guided into the annular gap of the valve, as the magnetic flux can be weaved by alternating the magnetic and non-magnetic materials. The method is simulated using Finite Element Method Magnetics to see the effects of weaving steps and thicknesses of non-magnetic materials to the magnetic flux distribution and pressure drop change in the valve. The results show that MR effective region can be increased with the serpentine flux path method, and the additional steps and thicknesses of non-magnetic materials help to further increase the pressure drops within the valve.
Transmission of electromagnetic wave from anisotropic plasma coated nihility circular cylinder
Authors: Yaqoob M.Z. , Shakir I. , Ghaffar A. , Khan Y. , Naqvi Q.A.
Published: January 2016

Based on frame work of extended classical scattering theory, an analytical solution to transmission of an electromagnetic wave through nihility circular cylinder with anisotropic plasma coating is formulated, by expanding the incident wave, transmitted wave as well as scattered wave in the form of cylindrical vector wave function (CVWFs). The anisotropic effects associated with the parallel and perpendicular polarizations are described and analyzed. Further the scattering matrices approach is used to calculate the scattering coefficients. Under special condition, the results are found to be in good agreement with literature, which shows the accuracy of present work. Further, the effect of plasma parameters and external magnetic field strength (B) on scattering echo width is studied. The results show that the plasma based scatterer can be used for the controlling, manipulation and tuning of electromagnetic waves.
Field analysis of a sinusoidal-edged Halbach magnet array using the differential quadrature finite element method
Authors: Chen Junwei , Zhang Bo , Ding Ye , Ding Han
Published: January 2016

On the basis of the differential quadrature finite element method (DQFEM), this paper analyzes the field distribution of a new sinusoidal-edged Halbach magnet array in linear permanent-magnet actuators. By applying the proposed generalized blending function mapping from the irregular computational domain to the rectangular one, the magnetic field produced by a single sinusoidal-edged permanent magnet is solved. Then the magnetic field due to the magnet array is obtained by superposition. Numerical results show that the magnetic field obtained by the DQFEM is not only accurate in the middle part of the array, but also effective near the boundaries of the array. In addition, the sinusoidal-edged Halbach magnet array produces a larger flux density with a small harmonic distortion, compared with rectangular and trapezoidal ones. Finally, design optimization is implemented and optimal solutions are achieved to compromise between the amplitude of flux density and the harmonic distortion.
A novel fault diagnosis method in SVPWM voltage-source inverters for vector controlled induction motor drives
Authors: Huang Chengguang , Wu Feng , Zhao Jin , Zhou Dehong
Published: January 2016

This paper presents a novel single and multiple open circuit fault detection and identification method for three phase Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) fed vector controlled drives. In healthy condition, d-axis reference voltage is constant. When fault occurs, it is distorted, which is applied to detect the insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) open circuit fault occurrence. The d-axis reference voltage distorted last for an interval time, the fault can be isolated by calculating the instant current vector rotating angles when the d-axis reference voltage gets distorted and recovered to constant, respectively, combined with space position of the current arc trajectory. The proposed method is fair robust to load torque changes and variable speed, and can be embedded into the existing drive software as a subroutine without excessive computational effort. The feasibility of the proposed fault diagnosis algorithm is evaluated by both simulation and experimental results.
Bifurcation control for electromechanical coupling torsional vibration in rolling mill system driven by DC motor
Authors: Liu Shuang , Liu Jinjie , Wu Zheng , Li Jianxiong
Published: January 2016

Bifurcation control for electromechanical coupling torsional vibration in rolling mill system driven by DC motor is studied in this paper. Considering the electromechanical devices under unsaturated magnetic circuit, the dynamical equation of electromechanical coupling vibration in rolling mill drive system is deduced by using the dissipation Lagrange equation. Analysing the system equilibrium point and characteristic roots. Choosing the torsional rigidity of rotating shaft as a bifurcation parameter and the necessary and sufficient conditions of Hopf bifurcation are given. The bifurcation characteristics of the system is investigated and the Washout filter is adopted to control the Hopf bifurcation, then the effect of the filter's time constant and the linear gain on the location of bifurcation point is analyzed. The Normal Form factor is obtained by using the Direct Normal Form method. It is revealed that, the nonlinear gain can modify the periodic solution's amplitude and Hopf bifurcation type. Numerical simulations are also performed, which confirm the analytical results.
A new NZRI metamaterial for electromagnetic cloaking operation
Authors: Islam Sikder Sunbeam , Faruque Mohammad Rashed Iqbal , Islam Mohammad Tariqul
Published: January 2016

The paper reveals a near zero refractive index (NZRI) property based metamaterial unit cell for electromagnetic cloaking operation. The metamaterial unit cell displays resonance in the frequency of 8.29 GHz and exhibits near zero refractive index property there. The metamaterial was then utilized in designing a single layer rectangular cloaking device. The rectangular cloaking device hides a cylindrical metal object in the C-band region where almost zero scattering cross section is achieved for the object. The metamaterial also exhibits NZRI property there. The commercially available CST Microwave Studio simulation software, was utilized to obtain all the reflection and transmission parameters of the unit cell and the cloak. The experimental results were presented as well for both of the metamaterial and the cloak. It was also revealed that the cloak was object size independent in the certain region of C-band. This is a promising design in the electromagnetic paradigm for the rectangular and C-band cloaking operation.
Analysis and improvement of HF circuits based on SIW and DGS technologies using iterative method
Authors: Jamel Ben Romdhan Hajri , Hrizi Hafedh , Sboui Noureddine
Published: January 2016

This paper introduces a new formulation of the iterative wave method to study the DGS `Defected Ground Structure' technique applied to the SIW `Substrate Integrated Waveguide' technology. This makes possible the analysis of arbitrary forms of the ground and circuit planes and the{non-conventional} metallic via holes configuration. The study is based on the recursive relationship of longitudinal reflected and incident waves in both spatial and spectral domains. The unconditional stability and the convergence of the method were well verified. In fact, we will validate the proposed approach by the analysis of a SIW filter with folded DGS. The numerical results are in good agreement with those obtained by the HFSS software `High-Frequency Structure Simulator'. Moreover, the presented method shows a considerable reduction in the required computational resources, which proves the high effectiveness of our method.
Performance evaluation of magnetically driven cytology brush applicable to capsule endoscopy
Authors: Hajima Kohei , Yamashita Maki , Honda Takashi
Published: January 2016

This article provides a novel magnetic actuator suitable for brush cytology using capsule endoscopy. Its space-saving mechanism consisting of a brush-tipped elastic wire coupled with a rotatable permanent magnet can be easily assembled in a swallowable capsule. When external magnetic fields are applied, the brush projects outwards with rotation of the magnet, and then collects cells from gastrointestinal tract. The distinctive feature of the proposed actuator is that it can perform four different actuations including projection/pullback/scrape modes for the brush and a rotation mode for the capsule body. Each actuation mode can be selected by the direction of the external magnetic fields. This study has verified that each mode can exhibit the desired performance and determined its driving conditions. Furthermore, an additional small magnet attached to the brush tip has been found to enhance the performance of the scrape mode. The results obtained in this study suggested that the proposed actuator should be a hopeful candidate for cytological diagnosis with capsule endoscopy.
Analysis on unbalance vibration and compensation for maglev flywheel
Authors: Gao Hui , Song Wei
Published: January 2016

The vibration matrix equation of a maglev flywheel because of existing unbalance force is established in this paper to study the unbalance vibration problem. The generalized dynamic stiffness is introduced to obtain the analytical solutions for the vibration equation. The unbalance vibration kinds and corresponding compensation strategies are analyzed according to the analytical solutions, including free vibration and unbalance vibration. To verify the correctness of the analysis result, a simulation model is created of the maglev flywheel system, and the experiment results are given when the flywheel at different rotational frequencies. The simulation and experiment results show that the analytical solutions and corresponding vibration compensation analyses are effective.
Gain and directivity enhancement of microstrip antenna loaded with multiple splits octagon-shaped metamaterial superstrate
Authors: Ma Bo , Yang Xiao-Ming , Li Tian-Qian , Chen Hong-Yuan , He Hang , Chen Yuan-Wen , Lin Ao , Chen Jiao , Wang Bang-Ji
Published: January 2016

This paper presents a novel multiple splits octagon-shaped metamaterial which exhibits double left-handed frequency bands roughly from 9.25 GHz to 9.68 GHz and from 15.28 GHz to 15.36 GHz derived from the transmission characteristics by homogenization retrieval method. Two conventional microstrip patch antennas whose resonance frequency bands are located at the first left-handed frequency band and the second one respectively are designed to further investigate the influence by loading the proposed metamaterial as its superstrate. HFSS simulation numerical results indicate that the far field radiation directivity half-power bandwidth(HPBW) of the E-plane and H-plane have reduced by 64%, 63.7% and 59.4%, 59%, and the maximal gain increases from 8.251 dB to 11.024 dB and from 8.5432 dB to 11.9653 dB respectively after loading with the multiple splits octagonal metamaterial superstrate.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Actuators in 2015
Authors:   Actuators Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of Actuators would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015. [...]
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Animals in 2015
Authors:   Animals Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of Animals would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015.[...]
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Applied Sciences in 2015
Authors:   Applied Sciences Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of Applied Sciences would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015. [...]
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Atoms in 2015
Authors:   Atoms Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of Atoms would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015. [...]
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Beverages in 2015
Authors:   Beverages Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of Beverages would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015. [...]
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Biology in 2015
Authors:   Biology Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of Biology would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015. [...]
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Buildings in 2015
Authors:   Buildings Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of Buildings would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015. [...]
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Cancers in 2015
Authors:   Cancers Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of Cancers would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015. [...]
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Chemosensors in 2015
Authors:   Chemosensors Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of Chemosensors would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015. [...]
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Coatings in 2015
Authors:   Coatings Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of Coatings would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015. [...]
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Computers in 2015
Authors:   Computers Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of Computers would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015. [...]
A Family of Nitrogen-Enriched Metal Organic Frameworks with CCS Potential
Authors: Dooris Emma , McAnally Craig , Cussen Edmund , Kennedy Alan , Fletcher Ashleigh
Published: January 2016

Materials with enhanced carbon capture capacities are required to advance post-combustive amelioration methods; these are necessary to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions and the associated rate of global temperature increase. Current technologies tend to be very energy intensive processes with high levels of waste produced; this work presents three new metal organic framework materials with embedded Lewis base functionalities, imparted by the nitrogen-rich ligand, demonstrating an affinity for carbon dioxide. Thus, we report the synthesis and characterization of a series of metal organic framework materials using a range of metal centers (Co, Ni, and Zn) with the 1,4-bis(pyridin-4-yl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine organic linker, in the presence of ammonium hexafluorosilicate. Three distinct crystal structures are reported for Zn-pytz(hydro) 1D chains, and Ni-pytz and Co-pytz isostructural 1D Ladders. Co-pytz shows an uptake of 47.53 mg CO2/g of sorbent, which equates to 15 wt % based on available nitrogen sites within the structure, demonstrating potential for carbon capture applications.
Preventive Effects of Cocoa and Cocoa Antioxidants in Colon Cancer
Authors: Martín María , Goya Luis , Ramos Sonia
Published: January 2016

Colorectal cancer is one of the main causes of cancer-related mortality in the developed world. Carcinogenesis is a multistage process conventionally defined by the initiation, promotion and progression stages. Natural polyphenolic compounds can act as highly effective antioxidant and chemo-preventive agents able to interfere at the three stages of cancer. Cocoa has been demonstrated to counteract oxidative stress and to have a potential capacity to interact with multiple carcinogenic pathways involved in inflammation, proliferation and apoptosis of initiated and malignant cells. Therefore, restriction of oxidative stress and/or prevention or delayed progression of cancer stages by cocoa antioxidant compounds has gained interest as an effective approach in colorectal cancer prevention. In this review, we look over different in vitro and in vivo studies that have identified potential targets and mechanisms whereby cocoa and their flavonoids could interfere with colonic cancer. In addition, evidence from human studies is also illustrated.
Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Study through NMR-Based Metabolomics Combined with Transcriptomics
Authors: Ragone Rosa , Sallustio Fabio , Piccinonna Sara , Rutigliano Monica , Vanessa Galleggiante , Palazzo Silvano , Lucarelli Giuseppe , Ditonno Pasquale , Battaglia Michele , Fanizzi Francesco , Schena Francesco
Published: January 2016

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a heterogeneous cancer often showing late symptoms. Until now, some candidate protein markers have been proposed for its diagnosis. Metabolomics approaches have been applied, predominantly using Mass Spectrometry (MS), while Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)-based studies remain limited. There is no study about RCC integrating NMR-based metabolomics with transcriptomics. In this work, 1H-NMR spectroscopy combined with multivariate statistics was applied on urine samples, collected from 40 patients with clear cell RCC (ccRCC) before nephrectomy and 29 healthy controls; nine out of 40 patients also provided samples one-month after nephrectomy. We observed increases of creatine, alanine, lactate and pyruvate, and decreases of hippurate, citrate, and betaine in all ccRCC patients. A network analysis connected most of these metabolites with glomerular injury, renal inflammation and renal necrosis/cell death. Interestingly, intersecting metabolites with transcriptomic data from CD133+/CD24+ tumoral renal stem cells isolated from ccRCC patients, we found that both genes and metabolites differentially regulated in ccRCC patients belonged to HIF-α signaling, methionine and choline degradation, and acetyl-CoA biosynthesis. Moreover, when comparing urinary metabolome of ccRCC patients after nephrectomy, some processes, such as the glomerular injury, renal hypertrophy, renal necrosis/cell death and renal proliferation, were no more represented.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Entropy in 2015
Authors:   Entropy Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of Entropy would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015. [...]
Falling Behind, Forging Ahead and Falling Behind Again: Thailand from 1870 to 2014
Authors: Booth Anne
Published: January 2016

The paper argues that Thailand’s economic and social development from the late 19th century to the early 21st century presents a puzzle. For much of the period from 1870 to 1940, the country’s economic growth was slow, and the economy remained agricultural, with little diversification into modern industry or services. It was the only Southeast Asian country to escape direct colonization, and yet it did not use its relative freedom from colonial control to embark on a programme of accelerated economic, social and political modernization. The contrast with Meiji Japan has been made by several Thai and foreign scholars, but Thailand’s growth was also slow in comparison with several neighbouring countries under colonial control. Only in the late 1950s did economic growth start to accelerate and by 1996, per capita GDP was well ahead of other ASEAN countries except Malaysia and Singapore. The paper explores the reasons for the accelerated growth, looking particularly at the role of government. The paper also examines the reasons for the growth collapse of 1997/1998, and the slower economic growth since then.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Energies in 2015
Authors:   Energies Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of energies would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015.
Aerodynamic and Structural Integrated Optimization Design of Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine Blades
Authors: Zhu Jie , Cai Xin , Gu Rongrong
Published: January 2016

A procedure based on MATLAB combined with ANSYS is presented and utilized for the aerodynamic and structural integrated optimization design of Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) blades. Three modules are used for this purpose: an aerodynamic analysis module using the Blade Element Momentum (BEM) theory, a structural analysis module employing the Finite Element Method (FEM) and a multi-objective optimization module utilizing the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm. The former two provide a sufficiently accurate solution of the aerodynamic and structural performances of the blade; the latter handles the design variables of the optimization problem, namely, the main geometrical shape and structural parameters of the blade, and promotes function optimization. The scope of the procedure is to achieve the best trade-off performances between the maximum Annual Energy Production (AEP) and the minimum blade mass under various design requirements. To prove the efficiency and reliability of the procedure, a commercial 1.5 megawatt (MW) HAWT blade is used as a case study. Compared with the original scheme, the optimization results show great improvements for the overall performance of the blade.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Forests in 2015
Authors:   Forests Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of Forests would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015. [...]
Expression Profiles and Biological Roles of miR-196a in Swine
Authors: Ning Xiaomin , Liu Shuai , Qiu Yang , Li Guoxi , Li Yanjie , Li Meihang , Yang Gongshe
Published: January 2016

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNA molecules, which play important roles in animals by targeting mRNA transcripts for translational repression. Recent studies have demonstrated that miRNAs are involved in regulation of adipocyte development. The expression of miR-196a in different porcine tissues and developing fat tissues was detected, and gene ontology (GO) term enrichment was then used to predict the expression profiles and potential biological roles of miR-196a in swine. To further verify the roles of miR-196a in porcine adipocyte development, a recombinant adenovirus encoding miR-196a gene (Ad-miR-196a) was constructed and used to study the effect of miR-196a on preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation. Here, our data demonstrate that miR-196a displays a tissue-specific expression pattern and has comprehensive biological roles in swine, especially in adipose development. In addition, overexpression of miR-196a had no effect on preadipocyte proliferation, but induced preadipocyte differentiation by increasing expression of adipocyte specific markers, lipid accumulation and triglyceride content. These data represent the first demonstration of miR-196a expression profiles and roles in swine, thereby providing valuable insight into the functions of miR-196a in adipocyte biology.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Geosciences in 2015
Authors:   Geosciences Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of Geosciences would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015. [...]
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Humanities in 2015
Authors:   Humanities Editorial Office
Published: January 2016

The editors of Humanities would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2015. [...]