bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Some Algebraic Polynomials and Topological Indices of Generalized Prism and Toroidal Polyhex Networks
Authors: Ajmal Muhammad , Nazeer Waqas , Munir Mobeen , Kang Shin , Kwun Young
Published: December 2016

A topological index of graph G is a numerical parameter related to G, which characterizes its topology and is preserved under isomorphism of graphs. Properties of the chemical compounds and topological indices are correlated. In this report, we compute closed forms of first Zagreb, second Zagreb, and forgotten polynomials of generalized prism and toroidal polyhex networks. We also compute hyper-Zagreb index, first multiple Zagreb index, second multiple Zagreb index, and forgotten index of these networks. Moreover we gave graphical representation of our results, showing the technical dependence of each topological index and polynomial on the involved structural parameters.
The cleaner, the greener? Product sustainability assessment of the biomimetic façade paint Lotusan® in comparison to the conventional façade paint Jumbosil®
Authors: Antony Florian , Grießhammer Rainer , Speck Thomas , Speck Olga
Published: December 2016

Background: The debate on the question whether biomimetics has a specific potential to contribute to sustainability is discussed among scientists, business leaders, politicians and those responsible for project funding. The objective of this paper is to contribute to this controversial debate by presenting the sustainability assessment of one of the most well-known and most successful biomimetic products: the façade paint Lotusan®.

Results: As a first step it has been examined and verified that the façade paint Lotusan® is correctly defined as a biomimetic product. Secondly, Lotusan® has been assessed and compared to a conventional façade paint within the course of a detailed product sustainability assessment (PROSA). For purposes of comparison, the façade paint Jumbosil® was chosen as reference for a conventional paint available on the market. The benefit analysis showed that both paints fulfil equally well the requirements of functional utility. With respect to the symbolic utility, Lotusan® has a particular added aesthetic value by the preservation of the optical quality over the life cycle. Within the social analysis no substantial differences between the two paints could be found regarding the handling and disposal of the final products. Regarding the life-cycle cost, Lotusan® is the more expensive product. However, the higher investment cost for a Lotusan®-based façade painting are more than compensated by the longer life time, resulting in both reduced overall material demand and lower labour cost. In terms of the life-cycle impact assessment, it can be ascertained that substantial differences between the paints arise from the respective service life, which are presented in terms of four scenario analyses.

Conclusion: In summary, the biomimetic façade paint Lotusan® has been identified as a cost-effective and at the same time resource-saving product. Based on the underlying data and assumptions it could be demonstrated that Lotusan®-based façade paintings have a comparatively low overall impact on the environment. Summarizing our results, it can be emphasized that Lotusan® is the more favourable product compared to Jumbosil® according to sustainability aspects.
ULTRAVIOLET ESCAPE FRACTIONS FROM GIANT MOLECULAR CLOUDS DURING EARLY CLUSTER FORMATION
Authors: Howard Corey , Pudritz Ralph , Klessen Ralf
Published: December 2016

The UV photon escape fraction from molecular clouds is a key parameter for understanding the ionization of the interstellar medium and extragalactic processes such as cosmic reionization. We present the ionizing photon flux and the corresponding photon escape fraction (f
esc) arising as a consequence of star cluster formation in a turbulent, 106
M
⊙ giant molecular cloud, simulated using the code FLASH. We make use of sink particles to represent young, star-forming clusters coupled with a radiative transfer scheme to calculate the emergent UV flux. We find that the ionizing photon flux across the cloud boundary is highly variable in time and space due to the turbulent nature of the intervening gas. The escaping photon fraction remains at ∼5% for the first 2.5 Myr, followed by two pronounced peaks at 3.25 and 3.8 Myr with a maximum f
esc of 30% and 37%, respectively. These peaks are due to the formation of large H ii regions that expand into regions of lower density, some of which reaching the cloud surface. However, these phases are short-lived, and f
esc drops sharply as the H ii regions are quenched by the central cluster passing through high-density material due to the turbulent nature of the cloud. We find an average f
esc of 15% with factor of two variations over 1 Myr timescales. Our results suggest that assuming a single value for f
esc from a molecular cloud is in general a poor approximation, and that the dynamical evolution of the system leads to large temporal variation.
NEW HIGH-z FERMI BL LACS WITH THE PHOTOMETRIC DROPOUT TECHNIQUE
Authors: Kaur A. , Rau A. , Ajello M. , Greiner J. , Hartmann D. H. , Paliya V. S. , Domínguez A. , Bolmer J. , Schady P.
Published: December 2016

Determining redshifts for BL Lacertae (BL Lac) objects using the traditional spectroscopic method is challenging due to the absence of strong emission lines in their optical spectra. We employ the photometric dropout technique to determine redshifts for this class of blazars using the combined 13 broadband filters from Swift-UVOT and the multi-channel imager GROND at the MPG 2.2 m telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory. The wavelength range covered by these 13 filters extends from far-ultraviolet to the near-infrared. We report results on 40 new Fermi-detected BL Lacs with the photometric redshift determinations for five sources, with 3FGL J1918.2–4110 being the most distant in our sample at z = 2.16. Reliable upper limits are provided for 20 sources in this sample. Using the highest energy photons for these Fermi-LAT sources, we evaluate the consistency with the gamma-ray horizon due to the extragalactic background light.
STRONG LENSING ANALYSIS OF THE GALAXY CLUSTER MACS J1319.9+7003 AND THE DISCOVERY OF A SHELL GALAXY
Authors: Zitrin Adi
Published: December 2016

We present a strong-lensing (SL) analysis of the galaxy cluster MACS J1319.9+7003 (z = 0.33, also known as Abell 1722), as part of our ongoing effort to analyze massive clusters with archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging. We spectroscopically measured with Keck/Multi-Object Spectrometer For Infra-Red Exploration (MOSFIRE) two galaxies multiply imaged by the cluster. Our analysis reveals a modest lens, with an effective Einstein radius of

, enclosing

M
⊙. We briefly discuss the SL properties of the cluster, using two different modeling techniques (see the text for details), and make the mass models publicly available (ftp://wise-ftp.tau.ac.il/pub/adiz/MACS1319/). Independently, we identified a noteworthy, young shell galaxy (SG) system forming around two likely interacting cluster members, 20″ north of the brightest cluster galaxy. SGs are rare in galaxy clusters, and indeed, a simple estimate reveals that they are only expected in roughly one in several dozen, to several hundred, massive galaxy clusters (the estimate can easily change by an order of magnitude within a reasonable range of characteristic values relevant for the calculation). Taking advantage of our lens model best-fit, mass-to-light scaling relation for cluster members, we infer that the total mass of the SG system is

, with a host-to-companion mass ratio of about 10:1. Despite being rare in high density environments, the SG constitutes an example to how stars of cluster galaxies are efficiently redistributed to the intra-cluster medium. Dedicated numerical simulations for the observed shell configuration, perhaps aided by the mass model, might cast interesting light on the interaction history and properties of the two galaxies. An archival HST search in galaxy cluster images can reveal more such systems.
MASS–METALLICITY RELATION FOR LOCAL ANALOGS OF HIGH-REDSHIFT GALAXIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EVOLUTION OF THE MASS–METALLICITY RELATIONS
Authors: Bian Fuyan , Kewley Lisa J. , Dopita Michael A. , Blanc Guillermo A.
Published: December 2016

We revisit the evolution of the mass–metallicity relation of low- and high-redshift galaxies by using a sample of local analogs of high-redshift galaxies. These analogs share the same location of the UV-selected star-forming galaxies at

on the [O iii]λ5007/Hβ versus [N ii]λ6584/Hα nebular emission-line diagnostic (or BPT) diagram. Their physical properties closely resemble those in

UV-selected star-forming galaxies being characterized, in particular, by high ionization parameters (

) and high electron densities (

). With the full set of well-detected rest-frame optical diagnostic lines, we measure the gas-phase oxygen abundance in the SDSS galaxies and these local analogs using the empirical relations and the photoionization models. We find that the metallicity difference between the SDSS galaxies and our local analogs in the

stellar mass bin varies from −0.09 to 0.39 dex, depending on strong-line metallicity measurement methods. Due to this discrepancy, the evolution of mass–metallicity should be used to compare with the cosmological simulations with caution. We use the [S ii]/Hα and [O i]/Hα BPT diagram to reduce the potential AGN and shock contamination in our local analogs. We find that the AGN/shock influences are negligible on the metallicity estimation.
Réduire les disparités de participation au dépistage du cancer colorectal par une organisation à la frontière du dispositif de prévention : quand analyse de terrain et théorie se rejoignent
Authors: Ramone-Louis Jennifer , Buthion Valérie
Published: December 2016

Les inégalités sociales de santé sont un thème récurrent dans la littérature en santé de ces dernières années. Le cancer colorectal touche environ 40 000 personnes par an, 17 526 en sont décédées en 2011. Son dépistage contribue significativement à la baisse de la mortalité, en favorisant une prise en charge précoce. Depuis 2001, les autorités sanitaires françaises ont organisé une incitation systématique de la population des personnes âgées de 50 à 74 ans, dépistage auquel les populations de catégories socio-économiques les moins favorisées sont moins susceptibles de bénéficier. De 2012 à 2014, nous avons participé à l’étude interventionnelle française COLONAV, reproduisant une expérience née aux États Unis appelée « navigation program ». Le dispositif de navigation est une fonction intermédiaire permettant d’accéder à une population que le système de santé lui-même n’arrive pas à atteindre. Le design de ces programmes est décrit de façon sommaire et peu explicité dans ses fondements. Il n’est jamais étudié sur le plan théorique. L’étude approfondie du recrutement des navigateurs exposé dans la littérature américaine et l’expérience COLONAV permet de révéler les éléments qui contingentent le design de ce dispositif, ainsi que les fondements qui en assurent l’efficacité. Dans ce papier, nous étudions cette organisation par le prisme du profil de recrutement de celui qui porte le dispositif de navigation. Ce travail interroge sur la place dans le design du dispositif de cet intervenant supplémentaire. Est-il destiné à servir d’intermédiaire entre un système dont les dysfonctionnements sont nombreux et des personnes peu aptes à les surmonter ? Interroge-t-il sur la capacité de ce système à esquisser un modeste, mais nouveau design du dispositif de dépistage du cancer ? Ayant travaillé selon la perspective de la théorie ancrée (Grounded Theory), nous avons travaillé par abduction à partir des résultats de nos analyses pour identifier des pistes théoriques. Nous montrons comment le dispositif de navigation s’apparente à l’approche des organisations frontières développées à partir des travaux de Peton. Cette analyse théorique permet d’esquisser des pistes de réflexion quant à la manière d’organiser un dépistage accessible aux populations les plus éloignées actuellement des préoccupations qui l’ont fondé. Le dispositif de navigation, et donc par extension les navigateurs, sont une organisation frontière permettant de faire le lien et la traduction des attentes entre les différents organismes qui le composent et la population cible. Ils servent souvent d’intermédiaires entre un système dont les dysfonctionnements sont nombreux et des personnes peu aptes à les surmonter, mais dans le cadre du dépistage, leur fonction la plus intéressante est en amont de la levée des barrières logistiques, dans leur capacité à faire le lien de sens entre des objectifs divergents.
Vrai et faux Soleil(s) chez Gassendi
Authors: Taussig Sylvie
Published: December 2016

Quel que soit le caractère nécessairement insuffisant de la traduction de spurius par faux, la question du vrai et des faux soleils est au cœur de l’émergence de la méthode expérimentale dont Gassendi est un des héros. Premier astronome à observer le passage de Mercure devant le Soleil, il affirme, à travers ses Lettres en latin, sa position dans la république des lettres et la conception de la vérité sous-jacente à la méthode expérimentale : il n’y a pas d’opposition entre l’apparence et la réalité ; la perception est le point de passage obligé de la connaissance de la réalité ; toutes les théories anciennes, une fois pensées, trouvent leur place dans la recherche de la vérité. Le Soleil, n’étant pas central dans sa théorie de la connaissance, devient curieusement central dans sa mise en place d’un style philosophique.
Mathesis universalis et algèbre générale dans les Regulae ad directionem ingenii de Descartes
Authors: Rabouin David
Published: December 2016

Cet article se propose de revenir sur la question de la mathématique universelle ( mathesis universalis ) qui apparaît dans les Règles pour la direction de l’esprit de Descartes en prenant comme fil directeur son lien à l’algèbre. Cette question a été l’objet de nombreuses interprétations divergentes, mais qui souffrent de n’avoir pas toujours pris en compte les documents existants sur les mathématiques de Descartes avant La Géométrie . Or ces documents livrent bien des surprises à celui qui les étudie. L’algèbre des Regulae comporte, en effet, de nombreuses maladresses dont on trouve de stricts parallèles dans les échanges avec Isaac Beeckman en 1628-1629 et dans les Progymnasmata de solidorum elementis , un traité de mathématique cartésienne largement négligé dans le commentaire.
L’« ordre géométrique » et le dispositif argumentatif des Méditations métaphysiques de René Descartes
Authors: Dubouclez Olivier
Published: December 2016

Si aucun élément n’atteste à première vue de la présence d’un modèle mathématique au sein des Méditations métaphysiques , la revendication de Descartes d’avoir suivi le «  mos geometricus  » nous invite à surmonter cette impression pour réexaminer son art de la méditation. En relisant les principales lettres de 1640 (où Descartes caractérise et critique sa démarche métaphysique), en prenant acte de la continuité qui relie ces lettres aux dernières pages des Secondes réponses de 1641, on voit émerger un modèle argumentatif de nature mathématique s’appuyant sur la notion classique de l’analyse des géomètres. Mais, si l’analyse participe activement à la concrétisation de « l’ordre des raisons » dans le contexte du doute hyperbolique, cette analyse s’entend en un sens nouveau, proprement cartésien, où sont combinés deux outils argumentatifs communs à la géométrie et à la métaphysique, la supposition et l’énumération. Cet article cherche à montrer en quel sens le dispositif central de la métaphysique cartésienne peut être dit authentiquement géométrique sans relever pourtant d’une « chaîne de raisons » strictement linéaire.
Des évolutionnismes sans mécanisme
Authors: Herring Emily
Published: December 2016

Albert Vandel et Pierre-Paul Grassé furent des zoologistes reconnus et influents en France dès le milieu du xx e siècle. Ils furent également, en France, parmi les derniers opposants scientifiques aux thèses du néodarwinisme, défendant une forme de néolamarckisme jusque dans les années 1980. Leurs théories ne sont pas équivalentes mais sont toutes deux fondées sur l’idée que l’évolution est le résultat de processus et de réactions internes à l’organisme, qu’elle est orientée dans le sens d’une complexification du psychisme mais qu’elle est tout de même « créatrice », au sens où elle est imprévisible et porteuse de nouveautés. Ils ne proposent néanmoins jamais de mécanisme pouvant constituer une alternative à la sélection naturelle. Notre analyse des arguments que Vandel et Grassé avancent contre les thèses du néodarwinisme nous conduira à montrer que leur évolutionnisme repose sur leurs thèses cosmogoniques et métaphysiques. On retrouve dans ces thèses des éléments de la métaphysique d’Henri Bergson et de la cosmogonie théologique de Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Leurs postulats scientifiques et métaphysiques diffèrent, parfois de manière très importante, mais leur vision de l’Homme, de la valeur et la destinée de l’humanité, semble être le point où convergent leurs pensées, justifiant leur rejet commun de l’adaptation et du hasard darwiniens et leur vision philosophique de la biologie.
Making Lifelike Medical Games in the Age of Virtual Reality
Authors: Talbot Thomas B.
Published: December 2016

Medical simulations differ from other training modalities in that life processes must be simulated as part of the experience. Biological fidelity is the degree to which character anatomical appearance and physiology behavior are represented within a game or simulation. Methods to achieve physiological fidelity include physiology engines, complex state machines, simple state machines and kinetic models. Games health scores that can be used in medical sims. Selection of technique depends upon the goals of the simulation, expected user inputs, development budget and level of fidelity required. Trends include greater availability of physiology engines rapid advances in virtual reality (VR). In VR, the expectation for a naturalistic interface is much greater, resulting in technical challenges regarding natural language and gesture-based interaction. Regardless of the technical approach, the user's perception of biological fidelity, responsiveness to user inputs and the ability to correct mistakes is often more important than the underlying biological fidelity of the model.
Using Serious Gaming to Improve the Safety of Central Venous Catheter Placement
Authors: Katz Daniel , Goldberg Andrew , Khanal Prabal , Kahol Kanav , DeMaria Samuel
Published: December 2016

Serious gaming a tool that can be used to train new physicians in a manner that keeps patients out of harm's way. This is especially true when teaching procedures, which in the medical community if often done in a “see one, do one, teach one” manner. Additionally, many teachers focus on technical aspects of the procedure and may leave out or de-emphasize non-technical portions of the procedure such as hand washing and patient positioning. This chapter per the authors investigates the utility of serious gaming in teaching physicians technical procedures. The chapter begins with game development and will end with a discussion of the results of the prospective randomized study.
Beyond Gaming
Authors: Patel Roma P. , Lin Jerry , Khaderi S. Khizer R.
Published: December 2016

The interest around the utilization of video games as a component of rehabilitative therapy has dramatically increased over the past decade. Research efforts have confirmed the positive effects of repetitive gaming in improving visual outcomes; however, there is limited knowledge on the mechanism of action delivered by repetitive gaming. Utilizing knowledge of the visual system, including targeting specific cells in the retina with visual stimuli, the authors captured the training effects of gaming to augment pre-selected skills. Specifically, the authors embedded a homerun derby style baseball game with a contrast threshold test, to stimulate parvocellular retinal ganglion cells. Parvocellular cells are the first line of the ventral, or “what” pathway of visual processing. Repetitive stimulation of the parvocellular system shows promising preliminary results in improving batting performance.
Games and Other Training Interventions to Improve Cognition in Healthy Older Adults
Authors: Zelinski Elizabeth M.
Published: December 2016

Many of the cognitive declines in healthy aging are moderated by experience, suggesting that interventions may be beneficial. Goals for aging outcomes include improving performance on untrained tasks, remediating observed cognitive declines, and ensuring preservation of functional ability. This selective review evaluates current progress towards these goals. Most research focuses on untrained tasks. Interventions associated with this outcome include games and exercises practicing specific cognitive skills, as well as aerobic exercise, and modestly benefit a relatively narrow range of cognitive tasks. Few studies have directly tested improvements in tasks on which individuals have been shown to experience longitudinal decline, so this goal has not been realized, though remediation can be examined rather easily. Little work has been done to develop psychometrically strong functional outcomes that could be used to test preservation of independence in everyday activities. Virtual reality approaches to functional assessment show promise for achieving the third goal.
Is Artificial Intelligence (AI) Friend or Foe to Patients in Healthcare?
Authors: Litinski Veronika
Published: December 2016

Failure to appropriately measure Value is one of the reasons for slow reform in health. Value brings together quality and cost, both defined around the patient. With technology we can measure value in the new ways: commercially developed algorithms are capable of mining large, connected data sets to present accurate information for patients and providers. But how do we align these new capabilities with clinical and operational realities, and further with individual privacy? The right amount of information, shared at the right time, can improve practitioners' ability to choose treatments, and patients' motivation to provide consent and follow the treatment. Dynamic Consent, where IT is used to determine just what patients are consenting to share, can address the inherent conflict between the demand from AI for access to data and patients' privacy principles. This chapter describes a pragmatic Commercial Development framework for building digital health tool. It overlays Value Model for healthcare IT investments with Patient Activation Measures and innovation management techniques.
Staphylococcus aureus Protein A Disrupts Immunity Mediated by Long-Lived Plasma Cells
Authors: Keener Amanda B. , Thurlow Lance T. , Kang SunAh , Spidale Nicholas A. , Clarke Stephen H. , Cunnion Kenji M. , Tisch Roland , Richardson Anthony R. , Vilen Barbara J.
Published: December 2016

Infection with Staphylococcus aureus does not induce long-lived protective immunity for reasons that are not completely understood. Human and murine vaccine studies support a role for Abs in protecting against recurring infections, but S. aureus modulates the B cell response through expression of staphylococcus protein A (SpA), a surface protein that drives polyclonal B cell expansion and induces cell death in the absence of costimulation. In this murine study, we show that SpA altered the fate of plasmablasts and plasma cells (PCs) by enhancing the short-lived extrafollicular response and reducing the pool of bone marrow (BM)-resident long-lived PCs. The absence of long-lived PCs was associated with a rapid decline in Ag-specific class-switched Ab. In contrast, when previously inoculated mice were challenged with an isogenic SpA-deficient S. aureus mutant, cells proliferated in the BM survival niches and sustained long-term Ab titers. The effects of SpA on PC fate were limited to the secondary response, because Ab levels and the formation of B cell memory occurred normally during the primary response in mice inoculated with wild-type or SpA-deficient S. aureus mutant. Thus, failure to establish long-term protective Ab titers against S. aureus was not a consequence of diminished formation of B cell memory; instead, SpA reduced the proliferative capacity of PCs that entered the BM, diminishing the number of cells in the long-lived pool.
Cardiac magnetic resonance feature tracking in Kawasaki disease convalescence
Authors: Bratis Konstantinos , Hachmann Pauline , Child Nicholas , Krasemann Thomas , Hussain Tarique , Mavrogeni Sophie , Botnar Rene , Razavi Reza , Greil Gerald
Published: December 2016

Objective:

The objective of this study was to determine whether left ventricular (LV) myocardial deformation indices can detect subclinical abnormalities in Kawasaki disease convalescence. We hypothesized that subclinical myocardial abnormalities due to inflammation represent an early manifestation of the disease that persists in convalescence.

Background:

Myocardial inflammation has been described as a global finding in the acute phase of Kawasaki disease. Despite normal systolic function by routine functional measurements, reduced longitudinal strain and strain rate have been detected by echocardiography in the acute phase.

Methods and Results:

Peak systolic LV myocardial longitudinal, radial, and circumferential strain and strain rate were examined in 29 Kawasaki disease convalescent patients (15 males; mean [standard deviation] age: 11 [6.6] years; median interval from disease onset: 5.8 [5.4] years) and 10 healthy volunteers (5 males; mean age: 14 [3.8] years) with the use of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) feature tracking. Routine indices of LV systolic function were normal in both groups. Comparisons were made between normal controls and (i) the entire Kawasaki disease group, (ii) Kawasaki disease subgroup divided by coronary artery involvement. Average longitudinal and circumferential strain at all levels was lower in patients compared to normal controls. In subgroup analysis, both Kawasaki disease patients with and without a history of coronary involvement had similar longitudinal and circumferential strain at all levels and lower when compared to controls. There were lower circumferential and longitudinal values in Kawasaki disease patients with persisting coronary artery lesions when compared to those with regressed ones.

Conclusion:

In this CMR study in Kawasaki disease convalescent patients with preserved routine functional indices, we detected lower circumferential and longitudinal strain values compared to normal controls, irrespective of the coronary artery status.
Congenital pseudoaneurysm of mitral-aortic intervalvular fibrosa masquerading as left atrial mass in fetal life
Authors: Chidambarathanu Shanthi , Raja Vijayalakshmi , Suresh Indrani
Published: December 2016

A 28-week-old fetus was detected to have a single left atrial mass in prenatal ultrasound. Postnatal echocardiography showed an aneurysm between the anterior mitral leaflet and aortic valve, to the left of atrioventricular junction and communicating with the left ventricle through a narrow mouth. It probably originated from the mitral-aortic intervalvular fibrous tissue and an inherent weakness at this site might be the cause. Reported cases of pseudoaneurysm of mitral-aortic intervalvular fibrosa and subvalvular ventricular aneurysms seen following infective endocarditis, surgery, or trauma seem to have a similar anatomical background. This case explains the possibility of congenital aneurysm in this location which needs to be considered a differential diagnosis in similar cases.
Multimodality Imaging Characteristics of the Common Renal Cell Carcinoma Subtypes: An Analysis of 544 Pathologically Proven Tumors
Authors: Fu Winnie , Huang Guan , Moloo Zaahir , Girgis Safwat , Patel Vimal H , Low Gavin
Published: December 2016

Objectives:

The objective of this study was to define the characteristic imaging appearances of the common renal cell carcinoma (RCC) subtypes.

Materials and Methods:

The Institutional Review Board approval was obtained for this HIPAA-compliant retrospective study, and informed consent was waived. 520 patients (336 men, 184 women; age range, 22–88 years) underwent preoperative cross-sectional imaging of 544 RCCs from 2008 to 2013. The imaging appearances of the RCCs and clinical information were reviewed. Data analysis was performed using parametric and nonparametric statistics, descriptive statistics, and receiver operating characteristic analysis.

Results:

The RCC subtypes showed significant differences (P< 0.001) in several imaging parameters such as tumor margins, tumor consistency, tumor homogeneity, the presence of a central stellate scar, T2 signal intensity, and the degree of tumor enhancement. Low T2 signal intensity on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allowed differentiation of papillary RCC from clear cell and chromophobe RCCs with 90.9% sensitivity and 93.1% specificity. A tumor-to-cortex ratio ≥1 on the corticomedullary phase had 98% specificity for clear cell RCC.

Conclusion:

The T2 signal intensity of the tumor on MRI and its degree of enhancement are useful imaging parameters for discriminating between the RCC subtypes while gross morphological findings offer additional value in RCC profiling.
Horizontal Long Axis Imaging Plane for Evaluation of Right Ventricular Function on Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Authors: Chaturvedi Abhishek , Whitnah Joseph , Maki Jeffrey H , Baran Timothy , Mitsumori Lee M
Published: December 2016

Purpose:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a horizontal long axis (HLA) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plane aligned to the long axis of the right ventricular (RV) cavity for functional analysis by comparing the measurement variability and time required for the analysis with that using a short-axis (SAX) image orientation.

Materials and Methods:

Thirty-four cardiac MRI exams with cine balanced steady-state free precession image stacks in both the SAX and the HLA of the RV (RHLA) were evaluated. Two reviewers independently traced RV endocardial borders on each image of the cine stacks. The time required to complete each set of traces was recorded, and the RV end-diastolic volume, end-systolic volume, and ejection fraction were calculated. Analysis times and RV measurements were compared between the two orientations.

Results:

Analysis time for each reviewer was significantly shorter for the RHLA stack (reviewer 1 = 6.4 ± 1.8 min, reviewer 2 = 6.0 ± 3.3 min) than for the SAX stack (7.5 ± 2.1 and 6.9 ± 3.6 min, respectively; P < 0.002). Bland–Altman analysis revealed lower mean differences, limits of agreement, and coefficients of variation for RV measurements obtained with the RHLA stack.

Conclusions:

RV functional analysis using a RHLA stack resulted in shorter analysis times and lower measurement variability than for a SAX stack orientation.
L1 Prosodic Interference: the Case of Slovene Students of Japanese
Authors: GOLOB Nina
Published: December 2016

A bi-directional perception experiment was conducted on Japanese and Slovene subjects to evaluate the result of a full L1 prosodic interference in recognizing (lexical) accent place in declaratives and interrogatives. Perceptual hypercorrection into L1 prosody on the side of the listener was achieved by making the subjects think they were listening to their own language, and results show clear tendencies for errors, which in general agree with predictions. However, mapping from phonetic to phonological representations was found to be asymmetric, suggesting that subjects of the two languages rely on different phonetic cues, as well as that distinctive function of certain phonetic cues, such as duration, has different effects on perception of segmental structure.
IBM Slovenija in e-izobraževanje - Primeri dobre prakse
Authors: Ozebek Tadeja
Published: December 2016

IBM Slovenija je del globalne korporacije IBM, ki je navzoča v več kot 170 državah. Ukvarja se z informacijsko tehnologijo in je na tem področju ena vodilnih na svetu. Zaposluje približno 400 tisoč ljudi. IBM že nekaj let ustvarja in sledi globalne trende na področju IT – to so storitve v oblaku, digitalizacija, internet stvari, kognitivni sistemi in podobno. Da lahko zaposleni sledijo tem trendom, je IBM oblikoval platformo e-izobraževanj, ki dopolnjuje klasična izobraževanja. Ker so strokovnjaki z določenih področij razpršeni po vsem svetu, je e-izobraževanje priročna oblika, kako doseči izobraževalne učinke brez dolgih potovanj in odsotnosti. Izobraževanje je v IBM zelo pomembno – poudarjeno je na kadrovski ravni in ravni osebnih ciljev. Redno spremljanje trendov ter dodatno izobraževanje in usposabljanje so del vsakdana vsakega IBM-ovca v vseh državah po svetu in to velja tudi za Slovenijo. To IBM Slovenija dokazuje tudi z že večkratnim prejemom priznanja TOP 10 Izobraževalni management, ki ga podeljujeta Planet GV in Inštitut SOFOS.
Odprto izobraževanje v zdravstvu – tehnologija in metoda
Authors: Pučko Marjeta , Jurca Bojan , Jermol Mitja
Published: December 2016

V članku predstavljamo metodo e-izobraževanja odraslih v ožjem smislu, oblikovano posebej za odprto izobraževanje v zdravstvu, ter empirične rezultate pri uporabi v pilotnem projektu v Bolnišnici Topolšica. Metoda vključuje kombinacijo kombiniranega in obrnjenega učenja z uporabo prosto dostopnih izobraževalnih virov, ki so eden od ključnih rezultatov projekta. Tehnološka podlaga je spletni izobraževalni portal Videolectures.NET. Rezultati so potrdili ustreznost pristopa in zadovoljstvo udeležencev izobraževalnega procesa pri usposabljanju novozaposlenih v bolnišnici. Opisana raziskava je potekala kot del aktivnosti iniciative Odpiramo Slovenijo (Opening up Slovenia – OuS) in se nadaljuje s širjenjem pilotnega projekta na druge slovenske bolnišnice. Prikazan je tudi primer dobre prakse prenosa izobraževalnih vsebin med zdravstvenim in izobraževalnim sektorjem z uporabo zdravstvenih vsebin v spletnem tečaju za osnovne šole.
Wikiji v izobraževanju - Po desetih letih izkušenj
Authors: Hladnik Miran , Polajnar Jernej
Published: December 2016

V zadnjih desetih letih je uporaba Wikimedijinih spletišč v razredu postala vsakdanja nuja. Na Wikiverzi se na začetni strani predmetov študentje vpisujejo v seminarski urnik, učitelj objavlja povezave na učna gradiva in napotke za delo ter povzema izkušnje. Študentje na osebnih straneh dokumentirajo svojo dejavnost, poročajo o domačih nalogah, se pogovarjajo z učiteljem in drugimi. Tu kot v peskovniku koncipirajo gesla za Wikipedijo, kamor jih prenesejo po preverbi v razredu. Z Wikiverze napravijo povezave na Wikivir, kamor postavljajo leposlovne tekste z dLiba, korigirajo napake, ki jih je zagrešil OCR, in besedila opremljajo z metapodatki. Wikiji prisilijo udeležence, da iz šolskega geta stopijo v realno strokovno življenje in sodelovalno gradijo trajno strokovno digitalno infrastrukturo. Glede na potencial, ki ga imajo wikiji pri menjavi civilizacijske paradigme, v kateri se tekmovalnost umika sodelovanju in se jemanje nadomešča s prispevanjem, so v izobraževanju premalo izrabljeni.
Ponudba e-izobraževanja v Sloveniji v letih 2006 in 2015
Authors: Godina Tina , Vrhovec Neža
Published: December 2016

V članku so predstavljene značilnosti ponudbe e-izobraževanja za odrasle v Sloveniji v letih 2006 in 2015. Uvodoma so opisani nekatere značilnosti te oblike izobraževanja in njen razvoj. E-izobraževanje je oblika izobraževanja, ki je zaradi svoje odprtosti in fleksibilnosti še posebej primerna za odraslo populacijo. Za pregled stanja v Sloveniji in primerjavo smo izbrali leto 2006, ko je bila objavljena zadnja analiza e-izobraževalne ponudbe v Sloveniji (Zagmajster, 2006), in leto 2015. Podatke smo pridobili z analizo izobraževalne ponudbe, ki je zbrana na spletnem portalu Kam po znanje Andragoškega centra Slovenije.
Odnos dijakov in študentov do vseživljenjskega učenja
Authors: Mašić Marijeta , Zovko Anita , Kovačić Samaržija Tihana
Published: December 2016

Članek predstavlja rezultate raziskave, ki je analizirala odnos mladih do vseživljenjskega učenja. Študija je bila izvedena na vzorcu 100 hrvaških univerzitetnih študentov različnih programov ter 100 dijakov srednje šole iz Opatije. Cilj študije je bil pridobiti vpogled v znanje o vseživljenjskem učenju in v odnos udeležencev do njega ter hkrati preveriti, ali pri tem obstajajo razlike med dijaki in študenti. Pri pridobivanju podatkov sta bila uporabljena dva vprašalnika, eden za dijake in drugi za študente. Rezultati so pokazali, da študenti o vseživljenjskem učenju vedo več kot dijaki ter da pri večini udeležencev obstaja zanimanje za nadaljevanje učenja v prihodnosti. Medtem ko več kot polovica dijakov vseživljenjskega učenja ne doživlja kot nujnega, je večina študentov prepričana, da je pomembno za njihovo prihodnost. V zaključku članka so podana priporočila in nakazani možni praktični nastavki raziskave.
The relationship between (in)alienable possession and the (three potential) forms of possessed nouns in Hungarian
Authors: Farkas Judit , Alberti Gábor
Published: December 2016

The paper gives a thorough insight into the system of possible forms of (in)alienably possessed nouns in Hungarian. Its point of departure is the group of [Nominative + -j- +A] possessive forms the stem of which has an alternative (morphologically “shorter”) possessive form; such longer possessive forms are claimed to express alienable possession (see den Dikken 2015). We point out that Hungarian deverbal nominals― and especially the groups of T-nouns―play an interesting role in this system via the thematic character of their possessors (given the obvious connection between alienable possession and external argumenthood, on the one hand, and inalienable possession and internal argumenthood, on the other).
Strategies of participle agreement with conjoined subjects in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian
Authors: Leko Nedžad , Čordalija Nermina , Jovović Ivana , Marijanović Nevenka , Perković Lidija , Telalagić Dženana , Bešić Amra , Šaljić Midhat
Published: December 2016

In this paper, we demonstrate that Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS), like Slovenian, has three distinct strategies of subject-predicate agreement when the subject consists of conjoined noun phrases: 1. agreement with the maximal projection – a Boolean Phrase (&P), 2. agreement with the conjunct which is closest to the participle, and 3. agreement with the conjunct which is hierarchically the highest. In order to test the initial hypothesis that there are three agreement strategies, we conducted a controlled experimental study of the morphosyntax of agreement between conjoined subjects and participles in BCS, which consisted of an oral production experiment and a written production experiment. These experiments revealed a high presence of default agreement and closest  conjunct agreement in the language. 50% of preverbal conjoined phrases elicited the default masculine agreement and 95% of postverbal conjoined noun phrases elicited the closest conjunct agreement. However, the bulk of the analysis focused on the possibility of treating the highest conjunct agreement (HCA) as a legitimate agreement strategy. 7% of all of the agreement forms in the subject preverbal (SV) examples demonstrated HCA. These figures increased to 13% if individual conditions were considered. Last conjunct agreement (LCA) for subject postverbal (VS) examples, on the other hand, was only present in 1% of the examples. For this reason, we classified them as performance errors and refuted LCA as an agreement strategy. These results are contrary to Bošković’s findings (2009), in which he does not acknowledge HCA as a legitimate strategy, however, our results do confirm the findings of Marušič et al. (2015).
Sign order in Slovenian Sign Language locative constructions
Authors: Pavlič Matic
Published: December 2016

In both sign and spoken languages, locative relations tend to be encoded within constructions that display the non-basic word/sign order. In addition, in such an environment, sign languages habitually use a distinct predicate type – a classifier predicate – which may independently affect the order of constituents in the sentence. In this paper, I present Slovenian Sign Language (SZJ) locative constructions, in which (i) the argument that enables spatial anchoring (“ground”) precedes both the argument that requires spatial anchoring (“figure”) and the predicate. At the same time, (ii) the relative order of the figure with respect to the predicate depends on the type of predicate employed: a non-classifier predicate precedes the figure, while a classifier predicate only comes after the figure.
What is sent to spell-out is phases, not phasal complements
Authors: Bošković Željko
Published: December 2016

An appealing property of the phase theory is that it is relevant to many phenomena, i.e. many domain-based mechanisms are stated in terms of phases. However, although phasal complements have no theoretical status in the phase theory (only phases do), they are taken to define spell-out units. This paper argues for an approach where phases define spell-out domains, which means that what is sent to spell-out is the phase itself. Several arguments to this effect are presented regarding syntax phonology interaction (in particular, encliticization in Bulgarian and Arabic, stress assignment in German and English, raddoppiamento fonosintattico in Abruzzese, and tone sandhi in Taiwanese), as well as more theoretical issues such as labeling. The assumption, however, has significant consequences for successive-cyclic movement. If phases are sent to spell-out and what is sent to spell-out is inaccessible to the syntax, successive-cyclic movement cannot target phases. Under the account argued for here, successive-cyclic movement therefore does not proceed via phases (i.e. phasal edges). As a result, the account also eliminates the PIC.
Low Vowel ˝Lengthening˝ in Hungarian
Authors: Szabó Ildikó Emese
Published: December 2016

This paper examined the topic of Low Vowel Lengthening in Hungarian, which is a term describing the short-long alternation that low vowels show. After an introduction of the vowel system and phonotactics of the language, two main criteria were identified that an analysis of LVL has to satisfy: (i) being able to explain suffixes that do not trigger LVL, yet interact with the stem and (ii) being a close-fitting model for other phenomena related to linking vowels, as well (the need for the latter rose from a functional motivation). From the two possible groups of analyses (lengthening and shortening approaches), it was lengthening that proved to be a more suitable account for the phenomena. Examples of both were given with explanation and evaluation on the two criteria. Finally, the empty-V approach suggested in this paper was also tested against these criteria.
Ambiguous adjectives in French: the case of “gros” when combined with deverbal nouns
Authors: Tual Lucas
Published: December 2016

In this paper, I analysed the interaction between the French adjective “gros” and -eur deverbal nouns. This adjective gives rise to a preferred non-intersective reading when it is in a prenominal position, but only an intersective reading when it appears after the noun. I claim that it is necessary to take into account both the semantics of the adjective and the semantics of the noun to account for the ambiguity present at the DP-level (a “blame both” analysis). An abstract operator, eur, is always present within deverbal nouns such as “fumeur” (“smoker”), and is partially responsible for the interpretation of the DP: if the adjective is within the scope of this operator, the DP will assume a non-intersective reading, whereas when it is outside of its scope, the DP bears an intersective interpretation. The adjective “gros” itself actually has two semantic values: one modifies the event argument present in deverbal nouns, and the other modifies the individual argument of the noun (the agent of the verbal root).
Conditional antecedents containing the German discourse particle denn: a corpus study
Authors: Zobel Sarah , Csipak Eva
Published: December 2016

We discuss the semantic contribution and distribution of conditional antecedents containing the discourse particle denn (“antecedents with denn”, abbreviated as AWD). We propose that AWDs occur only in contexts where (i) the speaker does not believe the antecedent proposition p to hold, and (ii) the truth of p has been nonexplicitly (= tacitly) proposed. To gain a better understanding of (ii), we conduct two corpus studies. The first study investigates the relative location of AWDs with respect to their consequents. We find that unlike antecedents of regular hypothetical conditionals, AWDs occur significantly more often after the material in the consequent and parenthetically inside this material than before it. In a second study, we investigate the position of the tacit proposal relative to the AWD. We find that it typically precedes the AWD. Both results are in accordance with (ii). We then present a classification of the types of tacit proposals that we find with AWDs: speakers use AWDs to qualify their own statements or to doubt proposals of others, in both cases managing potential updates to the common ground.
On the (in)definiteness of impersonal pronouns
Authors: Zobel Sarah
Published: December 2016

This paper addresses the question whether impersonal pronouns should be analyzed as indefinite or definite expressions based on their discourse anaphoric potential. I present new data that support the claim that impersonal pronouns should be analyzed as neither (see Koenig & Mauner 1999). I sketch a formal analysis that captures this behaviour. Furthermore, I show that the availability of quantificational variability effects for impersonal pronouns is not foolproof evidence for their indefiniteness as is usually assumed in the literature (see Malamud 2013).
Constraints on the position and interpretation of bare singular indefinites in Russian
Authors: Borik Olga
Published: December 2016

In this paper, I discuss the distribution of bare singular indefinite nominals in Russian. I argue that these nominal phrases are full-fledged indefinites and can have both specific and non-specific indefinite interpretations. However, their appearance in the preverbal subject position is not common. I argue in this paper that this restriction exists because a specific interpretation, or, in other words, a referential reading, required for this position cannot be unambiguously established with BSgs without any additional sentential specification. Additionally, I discuss some consequences of my proposal, such as BSg subjects of individual-level predicates, and BSg subjects in thetic judgments.
Experimental evidence for neg-raising in Slavic
Authors: Dočekal Mojmír , Dotlačil Jakub
Published: December 2016

Most research studying neg-raising focuses on English. Two notable exceptions are Bošković & Gajewski (2009) and Dočekal (2014) who discuss neg-raising in Slavic. In contrast to Bošković & Gajewski (2009), Dočekal (2014) argues that predicates of intention and obligation pass standard tests for neg-raisers in Czech. This article discusses new experimental data that provide additional evidence for the existence of negraising in Slavic languages, in particular, in Czech. The experiment that is conducted to test neg-raising predicates consists of an acceptability judgment task and an inference task. Sixty native speakers of Czech participated in the study. The results of the experiment are interpreted in Romoli’s scalar theory of neg-raising (Romoli 2012, 2013). We claim that neg-raising exists in Czech, and argue that strict negative polarity items are more acceptable under neg-raising predicates than under non-neg-raising predicates.