bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Draft Genome Sequence of Calcium-Dependent
Paenibacillus
sp. Strain TCA20, Isolated from a Hot Spring Containing a High Concentration of Calcium Ions
Authors: Fujinami Shun , Takeda-Yano Kiyoko , Onodera Takefumi , Satoh Katsuya , Sano Motohiko , Takahashi Yuka , Narumi Issay , Ito Masahiro
Published: September 2014

Calcium-dependent
Paenibacillus
sp. strain TCA20 was isolated from a water sample of a hot spring containing a high concentration of calcium ions. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of this bacterium, which may be the basis for the research of calcium ion homeostasis.
Complete Genome Sequence of Methanoregula formicica SMSP
T
, a Mesophilic Hydrogenotrophic Methanogen Isolated from a Methanogenic Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor
Authors: Yamamoto Kyosuke , Tamaki Hideyuki , Cadillo-Quiroz Hinsby , Imachi Hiroyuki , Kyrpides Nikos , Woyke Tanja , Goodwin Lynne , Zinder Stephen H. , Kamagata Yoichi , Liu Wen-Tso
Published: September 2014

Methanoregula formicica
SMSP
T
is a mesophilic H
2
/formate-utilizing methanogenic archaeon and a representative of the family
Methanoregulaceae
, a recently proposed novel family within the order
Methanomicrobiales
. Here, we report a 2.8-Mb complete genome sequence of this methanogenic archaeon.
Complete Genome Sequence of
Pelosinus
sp. Strain UFO1 Assembled Using Single-Molecule Real-Time DNA Sequencing Technology
Authors: Brown Steven D. , Utturkar Sagar M. , Magnuson Timothy S. , Ray Allison E. , Poole Farris L. , Lancaster W. Andrew , Thorgersen Michael P. , Adams Michael W. W. , Elias Dwayne A.
Published: September 2014

Pelosinus
species can reduce metals such as Fe(III), U(VI), and Cr(VI) and have been isolated from diverse geographical regions. Five draft genome sequences have been published. We report the complete genome sequence for
Pelosinus
sp. strain UFO1 using only PacBio DNA sequence data and without manual finishing.
Salmonella-related urinary tract infection in an elderly patient
Authors: Klosterman Scott Anthony
Published: September 2014

An elderly female patient with an uncomplicated urinary tract infection fromSalmonella newportis presented. Radiological and laboratory studies were performed because of her systemic and exposure risk factors as well as prior urinary tract abnormalities. While this patient was successfully treated as an outpatient with oral antibiotics, complications and recurrence are common and deserve close follow-up with repeat urine cultures at a minimum. Further laboratory and radiological testing should be guided by patient gender, risk factors and recurrence.
Comparison ofEnteral versusIntravenousPotassiumSupplementation in hypokalaemia in postcardiac surgery paediatric cardiac intensive care patients: prospective open label randomised control trial (EIPS)
Authors: Merchant Quratulain , Rehman Siddiqui Naveed ur , Rehmat Amina , Amanullah Muneer , Haq Anwar ul , Hasan Babar
Published: September 2014

Background

Hypokalaemia is frequently encountered in the daily clinical practices of a paediatric cardiac intensive care unit (PCICU). It is a strong independent predictor of mortality in patients with heart failure. Thus, prompt potassium replacement therapy holds pivotal importance in therapy for hypokalaemia. Although intravenous potassium replacement (IVPR) in hypokalaemia is the preferred route in most intensive care settings, it is associated with known safety risks and can lead to arrhythmias, cardiac arrest and death if inappropriately administered. Enteral potassium replacement (EPR), with its superior safety profile, may be a better alternative to IVPR.

Outcome

Primary outcome To compare the efficacy EPR and IVPR for treatment of hypokalaemia. Secondary outcome measures include a comparison of adverse effects (hyperkalaemia, diarrhoea, gastrointestinal bleeds, nausea and vomiting) after EPR and IVPR and a comparison of the number of dose/s required to achieve resolution of hypokalaemia for each episode of hypokalaemia.

Methods and analysis

The Enteral Versus Intravenous Potassium Supplementation trial is designed as a randomised, controlled, non-blinded trial with two arms. Intervention arms will be block randomised on alternate weeks for IVPR and EPR. Recruited patients will receive treatment accordingly. For analysis, the percentage change in serum potassium levels in mEq/L after each event of potassium replacement in both arms will be used as an end point to compare the efficacy EPR and IVPR for treatment of hypokalaemia.

Study setting

The study will be conducted at the PCICU at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.

Ethics and dissemination

This study has been approved by the Ethics Review Committee and Clinical Trials Unit at The Aga Khan University with respect to scientific content and compliance with applicable research and human subjects regulations.

Trial registration number

This trial is registered at Clinical Trials.Gov. Registration number:NCT02015962.
Health-related quality-of-life of coal-based sponge iron plant workers in Barjora, India: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Chattopadhyay Kaushik , Chattopadhyay Chaitali , Kaltenthaler Eva
Published: September 2014

Objectives

During the last decade, coal-based sponge iron plants, a highly polluted industry, have grown rapidly in Barjora, India. Understanding their workers’ perception of health is essential in people-centered healthcare. The aim of the study was to assess their health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL), and to determine factors that independently predict their HRQoL.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

Coal-based sponge iron plants in Barjora, India.

Participants

258 coal-based sponge iron plant workers.

Primary outcome measure

HRQoL was measured using the EuroQol-5D-5L.

Results

The response rate was 100%. Participants with problems in mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression were 23.3%, 5.1%, 10.9%, 39.5% and 45.5%, respectively. 36.8% of participants reported health state 11111 (no problem in any EQ-5D dimension). The mean visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) was 69.8 (18.5 SD). The odds of mobility problems decreased with age (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.91 to 0.99, p=0.016), were lower in participants with presence/history of any respiratory disease (0.27, 0.13 to 0.55, p<0.001), scheduled caste/scheduled tribe/other backward class workers (0.44, 0.22 to 0.89, p=0.021), manual workers (0.40, 0.16 to 0.99, p=0.047) and non-smokers (2.63, 1.27 to 5.46, p=0.009). The odds of pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression were lower in participants with any respiratory disease (0.44, 0.24 to 0.79, p=0.006; and 0.52, 0.29 to 0.92, p=0.026, respectively). The EQ-VAS was worse in manual participants (coefficient −6.91, 95% CI −12.40 to −1.41, p=0.014), with any respiratory disease (−8.13, −13.12 to −3.13, p=0.002), alcohol drinkers (−4.81, −9.47 to −0.15, p=0.043), literates (7.70, 0.97 to 14.43, p=0.025) and Hindus (13.41, 2.62 to 24.20, p=0.015).

Conclusions

Many coal-based sponge iron plant workers in Barjora have problems in their HRQoL, and the predictors of different aspects of HRQoL were identified. The study findings could be taken into consideration in future interventional studies aimed at improving the HRQoL of these workers.
Interventions associated with drowning prevention in children and adolescents: systematic literature review
Authors: Wallis Belinda A , Watt Kerrianne , Franklin Richard C , Taylor Monica , Nixon James W , Kimble Roy M
Published: September 2014

Introduction

Drowning remains a leading cause of preventable death in children across the world. This systematic review identifies and critically analyses studies of interventions designed to reduce fatal and non-fatal drowning events among children and adolescents or reduce the injury severity incurred by such incidents.

Methods

A systematic search was undertaken on literature published between 1980 and 2010 relating to interventions around fatal and non-fatal drowning prevention in children and adolescents 0–19 years of age. Search methods and protocols developed and used by the WHO Global Burden of Disease Injury Expert Group were applied.

Results

Seven studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Interventions were categorised into three themes of Education, Swimming Lessons and Water Safety, and Pool Fencing. All are possible effective strategies to prevent children from drowning, particularly young children aged 2–4 years, but very little evidence exists for interventions to reduce drowning in older children and adolescents. There were methodological limitations associated with all studies, so results need to be interpreted in the context of these.

Conclusions

Relatively few studies employ rigorous methods and high levels of evidence to assess the impact of interventions designed to reduce drowning. Studies are also limited by lack of consistency in measured outcomes and drowning terminology. Further work is required to establish efficacy of interventions for older children and adolescents. There is a need for rigorous, well-designed studies that use consistent terminology to demonstrate effective prevention solutions.
Care pathways for UK and US service personnel who are visually impaired
Authors: Malcolm Estelle , Stevelink S A M , Fear N T
Published: September 2014

Objectives

The aim of this paper is to outline the different care pathways for sudden and gradual vision loss within UK and US military systems, as well as the provision of support by the main third-sector organisations looking after visually impaired (ex-) service personnel.

Methods

The Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Headley Court and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham were consulted to obtain information and relevant documentation on UK care pathways. Experts in the field of visual impairment and the military-provided information on care pathways for US service personnel were consulted. The majority of the information on US care pathways was gathered from the Department of Veterans Affairs website and unclassified documents.

Results

The care pathways for UK and US service personnel with a visual impairment vary depending on the cause of visual impairment. Blind Veterans UK and the Blinded Veterans Association are the main organisations that support UK and US (ex-) service personnel, often filling in the gaps that other services do not have the resources to provide. The main difference between the two pathways, other than the UK healthcare system being free at the point of service, is that the Veteran Health Administration is one of the first national healthcare systems to integrate rehabilitation services for personnel with a visual impairment into the health services provided.

Discussion

The UK could benefit from having specific care coordinators for service personnel that specifically integrate rehabilitation, medical care and treatment for their visual impairment.
Correlates of sedentary behaviour in 8- to 10-year-old children at elevated risk for obesity
Authors: Herman Katya M. , Sabiston Catherine M. , Mathieu Marie-Eve , Tremblay Angelo , Paradis Gilles
Published: September 2014

The purpose of this study was to describe correlates of sedentary behaviour (SED) in children at elevated risk of obesity because of parental obesity. Participants were 534 children aged 8–10 years with ≥1 obese parent. SED and physical activity (PA) were measured by accelerometer, screen time by self-report, and height, weight, waist circumference, and cardiovascular fitness objectively measured. Data describing the child, parents, friends, and home and neighbourhood environments were from child self-report. Higher total SED time was significantly positively associated with child’s age, mother’s age, Tanner stage, weight status or waist circumference, less self-reported PA, choosing screen time over PA/sport, mother saying PA/sport good for them, and fewer weekly physical education (PE) classes. Exceeding 2 h/day screen time was significantly associated with child’s age, male sex, weight status or waist circumference, choosing screen time over PA/sport, and dinnertime TV viewing. Children regularly watching TV with dinner had 2.3 times greater odds (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.52, 3.58) of exceeding screen time guidelines compared with children rarely watching TV with dinner; children reporting ≤2 PE classes/week had 2.4 times greater odds (95% CI 1.41, 4.10) of being in the highest SED tertile compared with children reporting >2 PE classes/week. Hence, the most sedentary children are older, more biologically mature, less active, more overweight/obese, have fewer PE classes, and are more likely to choose screen time over PA and watch TV with dinner compared with less sedentary children. PE opportunities and mealtime TV viewing are potentially modifiable targets for reducing total SED and screen time in children.
Folate, vitamin B12, and vitamin B6status of a group of high socioeconomic status women in the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) cohort
Authors: Fayyaz Faiqa , Wang Flora , Jacobs René L. , O’Connor Deborah L. , Bell Rhonda C. , Field Catherine J. ,   the APrON Study Team
Published: September 2014

Folic acid supplementation and food fortification policies have improved folate status in North American women of child bearing age. Recent studies have reported the possible inadequacy of vitamin B12and B6in the etiology of neural tube defects in folate-fortified populations. The aims of this study were to describe folate status and its relationship to supplementation and to assess vitamin B12and B6status in a cohort of pregnant women. Supplement intake data were collected in each trimester from the first cohort (n = 599) of the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study. Red blood cell folate (RBCF) and plasma folate, holotranscobalamin, and pyridoxal 5-phosphate were measured. Overt folate deficiency was rare (3%) but 24% of women in their first trimester had suboptimal RBCF concentration (<906 nmol·L−1). The proportion of the cohort in this category declined substantially in second (9%) and third (7%) trimesters. High RBCF (>1360 nmol·L−1) was observed in approximately half of the women during each pregnancy trimester. Vitamin B12and B6deficiencies were rare (<1% of the cohort). Women consuming folic acid supplements above the upper level had significantly higher RBCF and plasma folate concentrations. In conclusion, the prevalence of vitamin B12and B6deficiency was very low. A quarter of the women had suboptimal folate status in the first trimester of pregnancy and over half the women had abnormally high RBCF, suggesting that supplementation during pregnancy is not appropriate in a cohort of women considered to be healthy and a low risk for nutritional deficiencies.
Inhibitory effects of capsaicin on hepatic stellate cells and liver fibrosis
Authors: Yu Fu-Xiang , Teng Yin-Yan , Zhu Qian-Dong , Zhang Qi-Yu , Tang Yin-He
Published: September 2014

Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play an important role in the process of liver fibrosis. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of capsaicin on HSCs and liver fibrosis. Cultured HSCs were incubated with various concentrations of capsaicin. Cell proliferation was examined using a cell counting kit. Production of hydrogen peroxide was determined using a 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFH-DA) assay. The mRNA and protein expression of target genes was analyzed by reverse transcription PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. Cell apoptosis was evaluated by annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide (PI) costaining followed by flow cytometric analysis. A CCl4 rat liver fibrosis model was used to assess in vivo effects of capsaicin by histological examination and measurement of liver fibrosis markers, including hydroxyproline content, serum type III collagen, and hyaluronic acid (HA) levels. Our results show that capsaicin dose-dependently inhibited cell proliferation, suppressed cell activation, and decreased hydrogen peroxide production in cultured HSCs. Capsaicin reduced the mRNA levels of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in HSCs. Moreover, capsaicin-induced cell apoptosis was associated with increased expression of Bax, cytochrome c (cyt c), and caspase-3, but reduced levels of Bcl-2. The animal studies further revealed that capsaicin efficiently reduced the extent of liver fibrosis, inhibited HSC proliferation, and promoted cell apoptosis. Our findings suggest that capsaicin might inhibit fibrogenesis by inhibiting the activities of HSCs.
Dissolved organic carbon and relationship with bacterioplankton community composition in 3 lake regions of Lake Taihu, China
Authors: Pang Xinghong , Shen Hong , Niu Yuan , Sun Xiaoxue , Chen Jun , Xie Ping
Published: September 2014

To clarify the relationships between dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and bacterioplankton community composition (BCC), a 1-year survey (June 2009 – May 2010) was conducted in 3 regions of Lake Taihu (Meiliang Bay, Lake Center, and Eastern Taihu), China. Polymerase chain reaction – denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was used to analyze the composition and heterogeneity of the bacterioplankton community. Canonical correspondence analysis was used to explore the relationships between DOC concentration and BCC. We found a significant negative correlation between DOC concentration and bacterioplankton community diversity (as measured by the Shannon–Wiener index (H′)). The results show that spatial variation in the bacterioplankton population was stronger than the seasonal variation and that DOC concentration influences BCC in Lake Taihu. DOC concentration, followed by macrophyte biomass, water turbidity, and phytoplankton biomass were the most influential factors that account for BCC changes in Lake Taihu. More detailed studies on the relationship between DOC concentration and BCC should focus on differences in DOC concentrations and quality among these lake regions. DOC had a significant impact on BCC in Meiliang Bay. The relationship between DOC and BCC in the 2 other regions studied (Lake Center and Eastern Taihu) was weaker. The results of this study add to our understanding of the BCC in eutrophic lakes, especially regarding the role of the microbial loop in lake ecosystems.
Potential pharmacological strategies for the improved treatment of organophosphate-induced neurotoxicity
Authors: Kaur Shamsherjit , Singh Satinderpal , Chahal Karan Singh , Prakash Atish
Published: September 2014

Organophosphates (OP) are highly toxic compounds that cause cholinergic neuronal excitotoxicity and dysfunction by irreversible inhibition of acetylcholinesterase, resulting in delayed brain damage. This delayed secondary neuronal destruction, which arises primarily in the cholinergic areas of the brain that contain dense accumulations of cholinergic neurons and the majority of cholinergic projection, could be largely responsible for persistent profound neuropsychiatric and neurological impairments such as memory, cognitive, mental, emotional, motor, and sensory deficits in the victims of OP poisoning. The therapeutic strategies for reducing neuronal brain damage must adopt a multifunctional approach to the various steps of brain deterioration: (i) standard treatment with atropine and related anticholinergic compounds; (ii) anti-excitotoxic therapies to prevent cerebral edema, blockage of calcium influx, inhibition of apoptosis, and allow for the control of seizure; (iii) neuroprotection by aid of antioxidants and N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists (multifunctional drug therapy), to inhibit/limit the secondary neuronal damage; and (iv) therapies targeting chronic neuropsychiatric and neurological symptoms. These neuroprotective strategies may prevent secondary neuronal damage in both early and late stages of OP poisoning, and thus may be a beneficial approach to treating the neuropsychological and neuronal impairments resulting from OP toxicity.
Pseudoharmonic oscillator in quantum mechanics with a minimal length
Authors: Bouaziz Djamil , Boukhellout Abdelmalek
Published: September 2014

The pseudoharmonic oscillator potential is studied in non-relativistic quantum mechanics with a generalized uncertainty principle characterized by the existence of a minimal length scale, [Formula: see text]. By using a perturbative approach, we derive an analytical expression of the energy spectrum in the first-order of the minimal length parameter β. We investigate the effect of this fundamental length on the vibration–rotation energy levels of diatomic molecules through this potential function interaction. We explicitly show that the minimal length would have some physical importance in studying the spectra of diatomic molecules.
Radially excited axial-vector mesons in the extended Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model
Authors: Vishneva A. V. , Volkov M. K.
Published: September 2014

The first radial excitations of axial-vector mesons are considered in the framework of the extended U(3) × U(3) Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model. We calculate the mass spectrum of a1, f1 and also strange axial-vector mesons. For description of radially excited states, we used the form factors of polynomial type of the second order in transverse quark momentum. For the ground- and excited-state mesons consisting of light quarks we have calculated the widths of a number of strong and radiative decays. We got satisfactory agreement with experimental data for the ground states. A set of predictions for the excited states of mesons is given.
Lattice gauge theory for condensed matter physics: ferromagnetic superconductivity as its example
Authors: Ichinose Ikuo , Matsui Tetsuo
Published: September 2014

Recent theoretical studies of various strongly-correlated systems in condensed matter physics reveal that the lattice gauge theory (LGT) developed in high-energy physics is quite a useful tool to understand physics of these systems. Knowledge of LGT is to become a necessary item even for condensed matter physicists. In the first part of this paper, we present a concise review of LGT for the reader who wants to understand its basics for the first time. For illustration, we choose the Abelian Higgs model, a typical and quite useful LGT, which is the lattice version of the Ginzburg–Landau model interacting with a U(1) gauge field (vector potential). In the second part, we present an account of the recent progress in the study of ferromagnetic superconductivity (SC) as an example of application of LGT to topics in condensed matter physics. As the ferromagnetism (FM) and SC are competing orders with each other, large fluctuations are expected to take place and therefore nonperturbative methods are required for theoretical investigation. After we introduce a LGT describing the FMSC, we study its phase diagram and topological excitations (vortices of Cooper pairs) by Monte Carlo simulations.
A Refinement Technique for Duplication and Collision Between Features in Software Product Line Engineering
Authors: Song Cheeyang , Lee Soonbok , Lee Woojin
Published: September 2014

In software product line engineering (SPLE), many studies have been conducted on commonality- and variability-based feature extraction methods and on the reasoning and refinement of feature models (FMs), aiming to enhance the appropriateness and reusability of the constructed FMs in compliance with feature-oriented development. The existing methods, however, failed to assure the developed applications that contain ambiguities between the features generated in FMs by analyzers' intuitions, and hindered the reuse of such applications. Moreover, the accuracy measurements of models based on mathematics-based theoretical verification methods are difficult to apply in practice. Therefore, a refinement technique is demanded to enhance the FM accuracy.

This paper aims to identify abnormal feature duplications and collisions based on the feature attributes to address the potential ambiguities between the features in an FM generated for a target domain, and to construct more precise FMs by presenting a technique for eliminating such abnormalities. For this purpose, the profiles of the formalized attributes were first defined based on MDR. Based on the semantics and relationships between the attributes, the duplications and collisions were identified using an analysis matrix, and were generalized to formulate rules by level. Such rules were evaluated to remove the duplications and collisions. In addition, using a supporting analyzer, the features in the initial FM were registered on a repository and were analyzed for feature duplications and collisions based on the saved attribute data.

The refinements of the ambiguities between such features are likely to enable the construction of more precise application FMs and the generation of common features with higher reusability. Further, the environments using support tools are expected to provide convenience in the similarity analysis and reuse of features.
An Iterative Approach to Managing Uncertain Mappings in Dataspace Support Platforms
Authors: Kuicheu Nathalie Cindy , Wang Ning , Tchuissang Gile Narcisse Fanzou , Xu De , Dai Guojun , Siewe François
Published: September 2014

A DataSpace Support Platform (DSSP) is a self-sustained and self-managed system which needs to support uncertainty among its mediated schemas and its schema mappings. Some approaches for managing such uncertainty by assigning probabilities and reliability degrees to schema mappings have been proposed. Unfortunately, the number of mappings self-generated by a DSSP is usually too large and among those possible mappings, some might be totally correct and others partially correct. Therefore, providing probabilities or reliability degrees to the mappings is necessary but not sufficient to resolve uncertainty among them. This paper proposes a stepper-based approach called pos-mapping to managing reliable mappings using possibility theory. Instead of choosing a threshold for managing the reliable mappings, pos-mapping approach orders and divides the set of reliable mappings into subsets of possibility distributions and assigns to each of these subsets a recursive possibility degree function. The recursiveness of the possibility degree function leads to an incremental management of the possibility distributions. Experimental results show that our system is more efficient than the existing systems and the accuracy of the results increases with the number of reliable schemas in the DSSP.
LACUNARITY ANALYSES OF MULTIFRACTAL AND NATURAL GRAYSCALE PATTERNS
Authors: ROY ANKUR , PERFECT EDMUND
Published: September 2014

Lacunarity (L) is a scale (r)-dependent parameter that was developed for quantifying clustering in fractals and has subsequently been employed to characterize various natural patterns. For multifractals it can be shown analytically that L is related to the correlation dimension, D2, by: d log (L)/d log (r) = D2 - 2. We empirically tested this equation using two-dimensional multifractal grayscale patterns with known correlation dimensions. These patterns were analyzed for their lacunarity using the gliding-box algorithm. D2 values computed from the d log (L)/d log (r) analysis gave a ~1:1 relationship with the known D2 values. Lacunarity analysis was also employed in discriminating between multifractal grayscale patterns with the same D2 values, but different degrees of scale-dependent clustering. For this purpose, a new lacunarity parameter, 〈L〉, was formulated based on the weighted mean of the log-transformed lacunarity values at different scales. This approach was further used to evaluate scale-dependent clustering in soil thin section grayscale images that had previously been classified as multifractals based on standard method of moments box-counting. Our results indicate that lacunarity analysis may be a more sensitive indicator of multifractal behavior in natural grayscale patterns than the standard approach. Thus, multifractal behavior can be checked without having to compute the whole spectrum of non-integer dimensions, Dq(-∞ < q < +∞) that typically characterize a multifractal. The new 〈L〉 parameter should be useful to researchers who want to explore the correlative influence of clustering on flow and transport in grayscale representations of soil aggregates and heterogeneous aquifers.
PREDICTION OF EFFECTIVE THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF POROUS MEDIA WITH FRACTAL-MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS
Authors: XU YOUSHENG , ZHENG YOUQU , KOU JIANLONG
Published: September 2014

On the basis of the fractal scaling laws of pore distribution in natural porous media, a probability model is developed for thermal conductivity in porous media by combining fractal theory and Monte Carlo technique. The current numerical model, which was validated by comparison with the existing experimental data, shows that the thermal conductivity of porous media is a function of the thermal conductivities of volume fraction, pore area fractal dimension, tortuosity fractal dimension and random number. The effect of microstructure parameters on the effective thermal conductivity of porous media is studied. The proposed fractal Monte Carlo simulation technique has advantages compared with conventional numerical methods and may have the potential in analyzing other transport properties of porous media.
PORE STRUCTURE RECONSTRUCTION AND MOISTURE MIGRATION IN POROUS MEDIA
Authors: ZHENG JIAYI , SHI XING , SHI JUAN , CHEN ZHENQIAN
Published: September 2014

Three kinds of porous media (isotropic, perpendicular anisotropic and parallel anisotropic porous media) with the same porosity, different pore size distributions and fractal spectral dimensions were reconstructed by random growth method. It was aimed to theoretically study the impact of microscopic pore structure on water vapor diffusion process in porous media. The results show that pore size distribution can only denote the static characteristics of porous media but cannot effectively reflect the dynamic transport characteristics of porous media. Fractal spectral dimension can effectively analyze and reflect pores connectivity and moisture dynamic transport properties of porous media from the microscopic perspective. The pores connectivity and water vapor diffusion performance in pores of porous media get better with the increase of fractal spectral dimension of porous media. Fractal spectral dimension of parallel anisotropic porous media is more than that of perpendicular anisotropic porous media. Fractal spectral dimension of isotropic porous media is between parallel anisotropic porous media and perpendicular anisotropic porous media. Other macroscopic parameters such as equilibrium diffusion coefficient of water vapor, water vapor concentration variation at right boundary in equilibrium, the time when water vapor diffusion process reaches a stable state also can characterize the pores connectivity and water vapor diffusion properties of porous media.
An Improved Series Expansion Method to Accelerate the Multi-Frequency Acoustic Radiation Prediction
Authors: Zhang Qunlin , Mao Yijun , Qi Datong , Gu Yuanyuan
Published: September 2014

Multi-frequency calculation is usually very time-consuming due to the repeated numerical integration for numerous frequencies in acoustic scattering or radiation problems. A series expansion method has been proposed to speed up this process just by taking the frequency-dependent terms out of the integral sign. However, this method, constrained by the number of truncation terms, is only applicable to low and medium frequencies and/or small-size structures. This paper develops an improved series expansion method that can be employed in a wider frequency band and larger-scale problems but with less computing expense. In the present method, the frequency-dependent term kr in the integral kernel is firstly transformed into the range from -π to π due to the periodicity of sine and cosine functions. Afterwards, truncation error would be kept reasonably small while the number of expansion terms would not increase with kr. Test cases of acoustic radiation from a pulsating sphere and a cat's eye structure are conducted and numerical results show significant reduction of computational time but suffering little accuracy loss for multi-frequency problems with this approach.
Integrating TOPSIS and DEMATEL Methods to Rank the Risk of Failure of FMEA
Authors: Chang Kuei-Hu , Chang Yung-Chia , Lee Yu-Tsai
Published: September 2014

Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) is one of the risk analysis techniques recommended by international quality certification systems, such as ISO 9000, ISO/TS 16949, CE, and QS9000. Most current FMEA methods use the risk priority number (RPN) value to evaluate the risk of failure. The RPN value is the mathematical product of the three parameters of a failure mode that is rated between 1 and 10 in terms of its severity (S), occurrence (O), and detection (D), respectively. However, the RPN method has been found with three main drawbacks: (1) high duplicate RPN values, (2) failure to consider the ordered weights of S, O, and D, and (3) failure to consider the direct and indirect relationships between the failure modes and causes of failure. Therefore, this paper integrates the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) approach to rank the risk of failure. A case of an inlet plate ring that has been drawn from a professional mechanical factory is presented to further illustrate the proposed approach. After comparing the result that was obtained from the proposed method with the conventional RPN and DEMATEL methods, it was found that the proposed method can resolve the abovementioned RPN ranking issues and give a more appropriate risk assessment than other listed approaches to provide valuable information for the decision makers.
General Yang–Mills type gauge theories for p-form gauge fields: From physics-based ideas to a mathematical frameworkorFrom Bianchi identities to twisted Courant algebroids
Authors: Grützmann Melchior , Strobl Thomas
Published: September 2014

Starting with minimal requirements from the physical experience with higher gauge theories, i.e. gauge theories for a tower of differential forms of different form degrees, we discover that all the structural identities governing such theories can be concisely recombined into what is called a Q-structure or, equivalently, an L∞-algebroid. This has many technical and conceptual advantages: complicated higher bundles become just bundles in the category of Q-manifolds in this approach (the many structural identities being encoded in the one operator Q squaring to zero), gauge transformations are generated by internal vertical automorphisms in these bundles and even for a relatively intricate field content the gauge algebra can be determined in some lines and is given by what is called the derived bracket construction. This paper aims equally at mathematicians and theoretical physicists; each more physical section is followed by a purely mathematical one. While the considerations are valid for arbitrary highest form degree p, we pay particular attention to p = 2, i.e. 1- and 2-form gauge fields coupled nonlinearly to scalar fields (0-form fields). The structural identities of the coupled system correspond to a Lie 2-algebroid in this case and we provide different axiomatic descriptions of those, inspired by the application, including e.g. one as a particular kind of a vector-bundle twisted Courant algebroid.
LIGHT-SENSITIVE SILICON NANOWIRE ARRAY FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR FOR GLUCOSE DETECTION
Authors: AHN CHISUNG , KULKARNI ATUL , KIM HYEONG-U , SHIN CHEOLMIN , XU YANG , JUNG SUKWON , KIM HYUNGCHUL , LEE MINHO , KIM TAESUNG
Published: September 2014

We report on the sensitive detection of glucose using silicon nanowire array field-effect-transistor ( SiNW -FET) upon illumination. The uniformly distributed and size-controlled SiNWs were fabricated by "top-down" approach. The fabricated SiNW -FET device was evaluated for detection of glucose in the range of 100–900 mg/dL. The SiNW -FET shows enhanced sensitivity of 0.988 ± 0.030 nA (mg/dl)-1 upon illumination at 480 nm light as compared to without illumination as 0.486 ± 0.014 nA (mg/dL)-1. The presented SiNW -FET device is fast, stable and sensitive to light as well as to bio analyte, and hence can be utilized as sensitive biological sensing platform.
Enzyme-Functionalized PLGA Nanoparticles with Enhanced Mucus Permeation Rate
Authors: Samaridou Eleni , Karidi Konstantina , de Sousa Irene Pereira , Cattoz Beatrice , Griffiths Peter , Kammona Olga , Bernkop-Schnürch Andreas , Kiparissides Costas
Published: September 2014

The surface functionalization of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) with various proteolytic enzymes (i.e., trypsin, papain, bromelain) via a two-step carbodiimide coupling method is presented. Depending on the initial Enzyme:NPs ratio, enzyme loadings up to 4.0 wt.%, 4.4 wt.% and 5.34 wt.% were achieved for trypsin, papain and bromelain, respectively. All three conjugated enzymes partially maintained their enzymatic activity after their coupling reaction with the NPs. NPs functionalized with papain and bromelain exhibited a three-fold higher permeability in porcine intestinal mucus compared to nonfunctionalized NPs whereas those conjugated with trypsin showed an almost two-fold higher permeability value. Measurements of the diffusion rates of intestinal mucin, using a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique, further confirmed these observations, as the enzyme-functionalized NPs were proven to be capable of disrupting the mucin gel structure. According to the reported results, the coupling of proteolytic enzymes to the PLGA NPs' surface largely increases the NPs mucus permeability, thus making it a potentially important mucus permeation strategy.
SPIN-FILTERING, RECTIFYING AND NEGATIVE DIFFERENTIAL RESISTANCE BEHAVIORS IN Co(dmit)2 MOLECULAR DEVICES WITH MONATOMIC (C, Fe, Au) ELECTRODES
Authors: YAN SHENLANG , LONG MENGQIU , ZHANG XIAOJIAO , HE JUN , XU HUI , GAO YONGLI
Published: September 2014

Using nonequilibrium Green's functions (NEGFs) combined with the density functional theory (DFT), we study the electronic transport properties of a single molecule magnet Co ( dmit )2, which is sandwiched between two monatomic chain electrodes, and the different electrode materials carbon, iron and gold, have been considered. The results show that the electrodes play a crucial role in the spin-dependent transport of the Co ( dmit )2 molecular device, and some interesting phenomenon, such as perfect spin-filtering effect, rectifying and negative differential resistance (NDR) can be observed. We demonstrated that the magnetic Fe electrode can lead to high spin-flittering effect, and the different hybridization and alignment of energy levels between the molecule and the electrodes may be responsible for the rectification performance, and the distributions (delocalization or localization) of the frontier molecular orbitals under different bias result in the NDR behaviors. These characteristics could be used in the study of spin physics and the realization of nanospintronic devices.
Challenges for privacy preservation in data integration
Authors: Christen Peter , Vatsalan Dinusha , Verykios Vassilios S.
Published: September 2014

Techniques for integrating data from diverse sources have attracted significant interest in recent years. Much of today’s data collected by businesses and governments are about people, and integrating such data across organizations can raise privacy concerns. Various techniques that preserve privacy during data integration have been developed, but several challenges persist that need to be solved before such techniques become useful in practical applications. We elaborate on these challenges and discuss research directions.
The invisible work of health providers
Authors: Chen Yunan , Cheng Karen , Tang Charlotte , Siek Katie A. , Bardram Jakob E.
Published: September 2014

This forum is dedicated to personal health in all its many facets: decision-making, goal setting, celebration, discovery, reflection, and coordination, among others. We look at innovations in interactive technologies and how they help address current critical healthcare challenges.
---Gillian R. Hayes, Editor
Automatic versus interactive program verification
Authors: Alagic Suad
Published: September 2014

We report on experiences in using two very different program verification technologies. One of them is based on object-oriented assertion languages and it comes with automatic static verification of object-oriented programs. The other technology is independent of a programming language or programming paradigm and it offers static interactive verification of very complex constraints. These two technologies were applied to the problem of static verification of object-oriented transactions. The problem was chosen because database technologies are not equipped to handle general integrity constraints and verification technologies are not used to verify transactions. The implications of static verification on data integrity, effciency, and reliability of transactions are significant.
Bounded model checking of high-integrity software
Authors: Chaki Sagar
Published: September 2014

Model checking [5] is an automated algorithmic technique for exhaustive verification of systems, described as finite state machines, against temporal logic [9] specifications. It has been used successfully to verify hardware at an industrial scale [6]. One of the most successful variants of model checking is Bounded Model Checking (BMC) [2] which leverages the power of state-of-the-art satisfiability (SAT)
1
and satisfiability-modulo-theory (SMT)
2
to push the boundaries of automated verification. Like model checking, BMC was developed originally for hardware, but has since been extended and applied successfully to verify sequential [4], multi-threaded [1, 10], as well as real-time software [3].

A key benefit of BMC-based software model checkers, such as CBMC [4], is that they are able to handle bit-level semantics of programs precisely. Thus, they are able to detect errors due to integer overflows, and prove correctness of programs that use bit-level operations, without reporting false warnings, or missing bugs. This makes BMC ideal for verifying high-integrity software, where the cost of failure is substantial. Indeed, CBMC has been used to verify a wide variety of low-level safety and security-critical systems, such as co-pilots [8], OS schedulers [7], and hypervisors [11] (see url{http://www.cprover.org/cbmc/applications.shtml} for a more expansive list).

This tutorial will provide an introduction to BMC, its underlying technical principles, and applications to verifying sequential, multi-threaded, and real-time software. The tutorial will be hands-on, with live demonstrations of using BMC tools for verifying sample programs written in C.
Building confidence in system behavior
Authors: Goodenough John B.
Published: September 2014

If the use of Ada (or SPARK or some other tool) increases our confidence in the behavior of high integrity software systems, why does it do so? What do we mean by confidence, and what is a justified basis for asserting some level of confidence? In this talk, I'll address some recent research on the potential value of thinking about confidence in terms of eliminative induction, assurance cases, and confidence maps.
Expressing and verifying probabilistic assertions
Authors: Sampson Adrian , Panchekha Pavel , Mytkowicz Todd , McKinley Kathryn S. , Grossman Dan , Ceze Luis
Published: September 2014

Traditional assertions express correctness properties that must hold on every program execution. However, many applications have probabilistic outcomes and consequently their correctness properties are also probabilistic (e.g., they identify faces in images, consume sensor data, or run on unreliable hardware). Traditional assertions do not capture these correctness properties. This paper proposes that programmers express probabilistic correctness properties with
probabilistic assertions
and describes a new
probabilistic evaluation
approach to efficiently verify these assertions. Probabilistic assertions are Boolean expressions that express the
probability
that a property will be true in a given execution rather than asserting that the property must always be true. Given either specific inputs or distributions on the input space, probabilistic evaluation verifies probabilistic assertions by first performing
distribution extraction
to represent the program as a Bayesian network. Probabilistic evaluation then uses statistical properties to simplify this representation to efficiently compute assertion probabilities directly or with sampling. Our approach is a mix of both static and dynamic analysis: distribution extraction statically builds and optimizes the Bayesian network representation and sampling dynamically interprets this representation. We implement our approach in a tool called Mayhap for C and C++ programs. We evaluate expressiveness, correctness, and performance of Mayhap on programs that use sensors, perform approximate computation, and obfuscate data for privacy. Our case studies demonstrate that probabilistic assertions describe useful correctness properties and that Mayhap efficiently verifies them.
Modular control-flow integrity
Authors: Niu Ben , Tan Gang
Published: September 2014

Control-Flow Integrity (CFI) is a software-hardening technique. It inlines checks into a program so that its execution always follows a predetermined Control-Flow Graph (CFG). As a result, CFI is effective at preventing control-flow hijacking attacks. However, past fine-grained CFI implementations do not support separate compilation, which hinders its adoption.

We present Modular Control-Flow Integrity (MCFI), a new CFI technique that supports separate compilation. MCFI allows modules to be independently instrumented and linked statically or dynamically. The combined module enforces a CFG that is a combination of the individual modules' CFGs. One challenge in supporting dynamic linking in multithreaded code is how to ensure a safe transition from the old CFG to the new CFG when libraries are dynamically linked. The key technique we use is to have the CFG represented in a runtime data structure and have reads and updates of the data structure wrapped in transactions to ensure thread safety. Our evaluation on SPECCPU2006 benchmarks shows that MCFI supports separate compilation, incurs low overhead of around 5%, and enhances security.
Don't sweat the small stuff
Authors: Greenaway David , Lim Japheth , Andronick June , Klein Gerwin
Published: September 2014

We present an approach for automatically generating
provably correct
abstractions from C source code that are useful for practical implementation verification. The abstractions are easier for a human verification engineer to reason about than the implementation and increase the productivity of interactive code proof. We guarantee soundness by automatically generating proofs that the abstractions are correct.

In particular, we show two key abstractions that are critical for verifying systems-level C code: automatically turning potentially overflowing machine-word arithmetic into ideal integers, and transforming low-level C pointer reasoning into separate abstract heaps. Previous work carrying out such transformations has either done so using unverified translations, or required significant proof engineering effort.

We implement these abstractions in an existing proof-producing specification transformation framework named AutoCorres, developed in Isabelle/HOL, and demonstrate its effectiveness in a number of case studies. We show scalability on multiple OS microkernels, and we show how our changes to AutoCorres improve productivity for total correctness by porting an existing high-level verification of the Schorr-Waite algorithm to a low-level C implementation with minimal effort.