bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Proposal for a Simplified Assessment Procedure to API-579 Standard
Authors: Hafiz Youssef A. F. , Younan Maher Y. A. , Abdalla Hany F.
Published: August 2014

The objective of this research paper is to propose, to API 579 standard, a simplified assessment procedure for shakedown limit load determination. The proposed assessment procedure applies the Simplified Technique, replacing the existing iterative elastic–plastic API 579 assessment procedures. The technique applies only two analyses (elastic and elastic–plastic) to determine the elastic shakedown limit. The shakedown limit load is determined from the residual stress that is calculated from the scaled elastic stress and subtracted from the elastic–plastic. Finally, to determine the shakedown limit from the residual stress calculated. For the purpose of validating the new assessment procedure to be applied to locally thinned-wall components, the shakedown boundary of a locally thinned-wall pipe-branch connection subjected to a spectrum of steady internal pressures and cyclic bending moments is generated. The results of the proposed assessment procedure are successfully verified against the existing API 579 elastic and elastic–plastic assessment procedures. A parametric study is performed through changing both the depth and location of the local wall thinning within the pipe-branch connection. The results of the parametric study show good agreement in the shakedown limit boundary results with the API 579 elastic–plastic stress analysis procedure.
Interstitial pregnancy rupture at 15 weeks of pregnancy
Authors: Pedroso Célia , Lermann Rita , Amaral Njila , Condeço Pedro
Published: August 2014

Ectopic pregnancy occurs when the developing blastocyst becomes implanted outside the uterine cavity. Interstitial pregnancy is a rare type, representing 2–3%, of all ectopic pregnancies. It is located outside the uterine cavity in the segment of the fallopian tube that penetrates the muscular layer of the uterus. Therefore, it is a difficult and challenging diagnosis. We report a case of a 19-year-old girl who was admitted to our emergency department because of a ruptured interstitial pregnancy at 15 weeks of gestation.
Landmines in the Golan Heights: a patient's perspective
Authors: Kreniske Jonah Susser , Harris Asaf , Safadi Wajdi
Published: August 2014

Fifteen years after the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty, landmines continue to negatively impact global public health. Recent estimates attribute 11–12 daily casualties to landmines and explosive remnants of war. The majority of these casualties are civilians. Children are disproportionately affected by landmine injuries. In this report, we examine the case and recovery of a child severely injured in a 1982 Golan Heights landmine accident, illustrating the danger landmines pose to civilians and their long-term health implications.
Improving the quality of hospital discharge summaries utilising an electronic prompting system
Authors: Maurice Andrew P , Chan Samuel , W Pollard Clifford , Richard A Kidd  , J Ayre Stephen , E Ward Helen , L Walters Darren
Published: August 2014

The discharge summary (DS) is a summary of an inpatient admission, patient's health state, and future treatment plans which is delivered to the patient's primary care provider. The DS is often incomplete, inaccurate, or unclear. The aim of this project was to improve the quality of the DS through the use of an electronic prompting system. The electronic prompting system was implemented in the acute medical and surgical wards of the hospital as an adjunct to a pre-existing, widely used hospital program that documents all the patients in a ward or belonging to a particular treating team. When using the program, a doctor enters information (with the assistance of the treating consultant) from a drop-down menu and is prompted to include common, departmental specific diagnoses, co-morbidities, complications, and procedures that were commonly missed or documented incorrectly in the DS.

Fifteen DSs were randomly selected from a two month period immediately prior to the intervention period and were rated by an external, experienced general practitioner (GP) using a scoring system consistent with the Australian Medical Association Guidelines for quality DSs. Fifteen random DSs from a two month period, four months post-implementation were also rated by the same GP.

The quality of the DS improved in all categories evaluated. The overall quality improved from mean (± SD) 2.86 ± 1.64 to 4.13 ± 0.92 out of 5 (p = 0.031). Additionally the implementation of the system was associated with improvements in documentation of the diagnosis, co-morbidities and other relevant clinical information.

In summary, electronic prompting systems can improve the quality of DSs to ensure the information contained within the DS is more accurate and complete.
Multilayer graphene synthesized using magnetron sputtering for planar supercapacitor application
Authors: Ionescu Mihnea Ioan , Sun Xueliang , Luan Ben
Published: August 2014

This study reports the direct preparation of graphene-based films using magnetron sputtering of graphite target. The nanomaterial was deposited at a low temperature of 620 °C on silicon wafers and on metallic foils including aluminum. The films were used in fabrication of supercapacitors with a planar geometry. Electrochemical characterizations demonstrated that the films produced showed nearly ideal electrical capacitive behavior. The maximum capacitance obtained from cyclic voltammetry analysis was 325 F/g for a scan rate of 1 mV/s. The device is capable of delivering an energy density of 13.9 Wh/kg at a very high power density of 50 000 W/kg for ultrafast scan rate of 1000 mV/s. The graphene nanomaterial electrode retains the electrochemical stability over a large number of charge-discharge cycles.
Using hidden Markov models to infer vessel activities in the snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) fixed gear fishery and their application to catch standardization
Authors: Charles Colin , Gillis Darren , Wade Elmer
Published: August 2014

Tracking vessel movements has become increasingly important in fisheries research to identify fishing grounds, monitor responses to area closures, and other actions for fishery managers. Vessel monitoring systems (VMS) have given fishery managers and researchers the ability to study vessel interactions by automated tracking of vessels throughout fishing seasons. The high spatial and temporal resolution obtained from VMS records in the Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) fishery provides information on movement patterns and fishing locations. With the use of hidden Markov models (HMM), we inferred behaviours exhibited by the fishermen during the course of fishing trips and related these behaviours to catch rates across years with varying abundance estimates. The HMM classified three behavioural states in the VMS data that were identified with travelling, setting traps in novel locations (new sets), and retrieving previously set traps (resets). Catches within a trip were modeled by combining VMS-based estimates of these behaviours with logbook information in a generalized linear model. Our model demonstrates that behavioural variables can contribute to the standardization of catch similar to classical trip and vessel variables used in constructing abundance indices.
Nutrient status and its assessment by pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry of phytoplankton at sites in Lakes Erie and Ontario
Authors: Majarreis Joanna M. , Watson Sue B. , Smith Ralph E.H.
Published: August 2014

Variable fluorescence of chlorophyll a (Fv/Fm), as measured by pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry, has been proposed as a metric of nutrient deficiency in phytoplankton. However, not all studies use the same make or model of instrument, which may contribute to inconsistent findings. Three different PAM instruments (DivingPAM, WaterPAM, and PhytoPAM) were compared, testing the relationship between Fv/Fmand nutrient deficiency indicators (nitrogen (N) debt, phosphorus (P) debt, and alkaline phosphatase activity (APA)) in natural phytoplankton communities in Lakes Erie (all basins) and Ontario (two sites) in July and September 2011. Varying degrees of N and P deficiency were indicated in both lakes and months, with P deficiency most prevalent, though deficiency appeared to ease prior to the onset of a major cyanobacterial bloom. WaterPAM and PhytoPAM Fv/Fmwere positively well-correlated, whereas DivingPAM was negatively but poorly correlated with the others. DivingPAM Fv/Fmwas negatively correlated with P debt and APA, consistent with expected Fv/Fmresponses to nutrient deficiency. Measurements with the other PAMs designed specifically to measure phytoplankton produced systematically higher values of Fv/Fm, which were uncorrelated to measures of nutrient deficiency. Different models of PAM cannot be assumed to produce equivalent measures of Fv/Fm, and care must be taken in interpreting results.
Identification of gene expression profiles in the actinomycete Gordonia neofelifaecis grown with different steroids
Authors: Li Wenjing , Ge Fanglan , Zhang Qingyan , Ren Yao , Yuan Jiadai , He Junzhong , Li Wei , Chen Guiying , Zhang Guangxiang , Zhuang Yong , Xu Li
Published: August 2014

Gordonia neofelifaecis NRRL B-59395 was initially isolated from the fresh feces of a clouded leopard based on its ability to degrade cholesterol. The transcriptome profiles of G. neofelifaecis NRRL B-59395 grown with cholesterol, androstenedione (AD), and pyruvic acid were compared by RNA-Seq. The sterol catabolic genes are highly conserved in G. neofelifaecis, Rhodococcus jostii RHA1, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The RNA-Seq results indicated that the genes involved in the sterol side chain cleavage were exclusively induced by cholesterol, while the genes involved in the degradation of rings A/B and C/D were up-regulated by both cholesterol and AD. It appears that the induction mechanisms for the genes responsible for side chain cleavage and those for degradation of rings are different. There are approximately 21 genes encoding transporter proteins that are differentially expressed in cholesterol or AD compared with pyruvic acid. The genes camABCD and camM encode two systems that take up cholate, and they have been shown to be cholesterol- and AD-inducible. The potential biological functions of other differentially expressed genes are also discussed. These results will promote the functional characterization of the sterol catabolic genes and also provide important clues in understanding the mechanisms of their gene expression, and they may help us understand the mechanism underlying microbial cholesterol catabolism.
Quantitative estimates on the binding energy for hydrogen in non-relativistic QED, II: The spin case
Authors: Barbaroux Jean-Marie , Vugalter Semjon
Published: August 2014

The hydrogen binding energy in the Pauli–Fierz model with the spin Zeeman term is determined up to the order α3, where α denotes the fine-structure constant.
Effects of Al2O3–Cu/water hybrid nanofluid on heat transfer and flow characteristics in turbulent regime
Authors: Takabi Behrouz , Shokouhmand Hossein
Published: August 2014

In this paper, forced convection of a turbulent flow of pure water, Al 2 O 3/water nanofluid and Al 2 O 3– Cu /water hybrid nanofluid (a new advanced nanofluid composited of Cu and Al 2 O 3 nanoparticles) through a uniform heated circular tube is numerically analyzed. This paper examines the effects of these three fluids as the working fluids, a wide range of Reynolds number (10 000 ≤ Re ≤ 10 0000) and also the volume concentration (0% ≤ ϕ ≤ 2%) on heat transfer and hydrodynamic performance. The finite volume discretization method is employed to solve the set of the governing equations. The results indicate that employing hybrid nanofluid improves the heat transfer rate with respect to pure water and nanofluid, yet it reveals an adverse effect on friction factor and appears severely outweighed by pressure drop penalty. However, the average increase of the average Nusselt number (when compared to pure water) in Al 2 O 3– Cu /water hybrid nanofluid is 32.07% and the amount for the average increase of friction factor would be 13.76%.
The policy-dependent statistics and induced heterogeneity of the supported agents on the inter and intra company levels
Authors: Horváth Denis , Maliková Zuzana , Lučkaničová Martina
Published: August 2014

We present a simulation model of the technological innovations based on the former Guardiola's concept which relies on the notion of technological barriers. The central, novel feature of our proposal is the assumption that barriers can be reduced allowing public support to R&D. However, this can be applied under the different policies. The statistical treatment of the simulation results demonstrated that support of the elitist (super-threshold) innovating units yields higher innovation rate, but more profound variation of the technological levels. On the other hand, the favoring of innovators with sub-threshold technological levels may lead to the more integrated technological world. Simultaneously, we use the same model to study the effects of supporting knowledge sharing (that is to say, lowering sharing barriers) on average organizational knowledge. An interesting aspect of the model represents self-organized adjustment of the probabilistic parameters related to the social linkages.
Cascade Hybrid Recommendation as a Combination of One-Class Classification and Collaborative Filtering
Authors: Lampropoulos Aristomenis S. , Sotiropoulos Dionisios N. , Tsihrintzis George A.
Published: August 2014

In this paper, we formulate the recommendation problem as a hybrid combination of one-class classification with collaborative filtering. Specifically, we decompose the recommendation problem into a two-level cascade scheme. In the first level, only desirable items are selected for each user from the large amount of all possible items, taking into account only a small portion of his/her available preferences. This is achieved via a one-class classification scheme trained only with positives examples, i.e. only with desirable items for which users have provided a rating value. In the second level, a collaborative filtering approach is applied to assign a rating degree to the items identified at the first level. The efficiency of our approach is analyzed theoretically in terms of best/worst case scenarios and respective lower/upper mean absolute error (MAE) bounds are computed. Moreover, our approach is experimentally tested against pure collaborative and cascade content-based approaches. The results show that our approach outperforms them in terms of MAE and, moreover, the experimental MAE is close to the theoretical lower bound corresponding to the best case scenario. The superiority of our approach is due to the existence of the one class classifier in the first level of the cascade.
Some Algorithms for Group Decision Making with Intuitionistic Fuzzy Preference Information
Authors: Liao Huchang , Xu Zeshui
Published: August 2014

Intuitionistic fuzzy preference relation has turned out to be a powerful structure in representing the decision makers' preference information especially when the decision makers are not able to express their preferences accurately due to the unquantifiable information, incomplete information, unobtainable information, partial ignorance, and so forth. The aim of this paper is to develop some techniques for group decision making with intuitionistic fuzzy preference information. Based on the multiplicative consistency of intuitionistic fuzzy preference relation, three algorithms are proposed for intuitionistic fuzzy group decision making. In the case that the decision makers act as separate individuals, the priority vector of each decision maker can be derived directly from the individual intuitionistic fuzzy preference relation, after which an overall priority vector is obtained by synthesizing those individual priorities together. As for the scenario that the decision makers act as one individual, two different algorithms based on the multiplicative consistency are proposed to deal with this case. The main idea of the former procedure is firstly constructing a social intuitionistic fuzzy preference relation, while that of the later is building a fractional programming model. Some practical examples are given to demonstrate the developed algorithms.
CHARACTERISTIC SIGNIFICANCE OF MAGNETIC RELAXATIONS ON COPPER OXIDE THIN FILM USING THE BLOCH NMR
Authors: EMETERE MOSES E.
Published: August 2014

In this paper, a theoretical model was described to analyze the magnetic relaxations of samples of copper oxide thin film cells. Experimentally, the copper oxide thin film was characterized at different oxidation temperatures between 150°C to 450°C. The introduction of the Bloch NMR equations was developed to determine the functionality of the individual samples. The magnetic relaxation characterization confirmed the degree of disordered in the copper oxide sample. This disorderliness of the copper oxide sample engendered a magnetic instability which gave rise to magnetic deflagration. Magnetic deflagration was found to be dependent on the magnetic re-orientation initiated by the RF pulse. A new law was proposed which is a modification of the Arrhenius law.
Learning Discriminating Features for Gender Recognition of Real World Faces
Authors: Ali Haider , Tariq Umair Ullah , Abid Muhammad
Published: August 2014

The automatic gender recognition of faces has many applications, for example surveillance, targeted advertisement and human computer interaction, etc. Humans have the ability to accurately determine the gender from faces, however, for a machine, it is a difficult task. Many studies have targeted this problem, but most of these studies have used images taken under constrained conditions. In Real-world systems have to process images with wide variations in lighting and pose that makes the classification task very challenging. We have analyzed the gender classification of real world faces.

Faces from images are detected, aligned and represented using local binary pattern histograms. Adaptive boosting selects the discriminating features and boosted LBP features are used to train a support vector machine that provides a recognition rate of 95.5%.
Comparative study of quantum discord and geometric discord for generic bipartite states
Authors: Liu Bao , Hu Zheng , Hou Xi-Wen
Published: August 2014

The characterization of quantum discord (QD) and geometric discord (GD) has mostly concentrated on two-qubit states since the minimization in both discords is a daunting task for high-dimensional states. Numerical calculations of both discords are carried out for a generic bipartite state. When one-dimensional orthogonal projectors for a local measurement on n-dimensional Hilbert space are realized by the generators and the Euler angles of SU (n), the optimal measurements have a figure of merit that includes n(n - 1) Euler parameters. As an representative example, such projectors and two kinds of algorithms are used to estimate both discords for two-qutrit mixed states in recent literature. The generalized negativity as a measure of quantum entanglement is calculated for reference purposes. For those states with one parameter the discords and the negativity respectively display the nonlinear and the linear function of the parameter, with different turning points. However, they are positively correlated in the suitable ranges of the parameter for those states. The hierarchy of those quantities is discussed as well. Those shed new light on the understanding of QDs and quantum entanglement of mixed states in high-dimensions.
Effective field theory from modified gravity with massive modes
Authors: Capozziello Salvatore , De Laurentis Mariafelicia , Paolella Mariacristina , Ricciardi Giulia
Published: August 2014

Massive gravitational modes in effective field theories can be recovered by extending General Relativity and taking into account generic functions of the curvature invariants, not necessarily linear in the Ricci scalar R. In particular, adopting the minimal extension of f(R) gravity, an effective field theory with massive modes is straightforwardly recovered. This approach allows to evade shortcomings like ghosts and discontinuities if a suitable choice of expansion parameters is performed.
Novel π-extended porphyrin derivatives for use in dye-sensitized solar cells
Authors: Chae Seung Hyun , Yoo Kicheon , Lee Yo Sub , Cho Min Ju , Kim Jong Hak , Ko Min Jae , Lee Suk Joong , Choi Dong Hoon
Published: August 2014

Two novel donor-π-acceptor (D-π-A type) porphyrin dyes were successfully synthesized and use in a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The molecular structures of both porphyrins are composed of the same dialkyl-substituted diphenylamino unit acting as the donor part, and two bisalkoxyphenyl substituents at the 5,15-meso positions. The acceptor part is composed of different ethyne-linked π-extended bridges, and a cyanoacrylic acid (Dye I) or carboxyphenyl (Dye II) moiety acting as anchoring groups. In order to investigate the effects of including the π-extended bridge between the porphyrin and acceptor unit, two different π-extended bridges such as 2,2′-bithiophene and 2-(phenylethynyl)-thiophene, were employed. In particular, Dye II contains two triple bonds between donor substituted porphyrin and carboxylic acid group. These modifications could potentially reduce dye aggregation on the TiO 2 surface. The charge recombination resistance and diffusion length for the cells with Dye II were relatively higher for all the measured ranges of bias potentials, implying that electron recombination loss from injected electrons was highly suppressed when Dye II molecules were adsorbed on the TiO 2 surface. Eventually, Dye II containing a 2,2′-bithiophene π-spacer and anchored trough a carboxyphenyl group exhibited a superior power conversion efficiency of 6.7% under AM 1.5 illumination (100 mW.cm-2) in a photoactive area of 0.46 cm2 than Dye I with a 2-(phenylethynyl)thiophene (PCE = 3.5%) anchored through a cyanoacrylic group.
Development of viscometric methods for studying the interaction of various porphyrins with DNA. Part I: meso-tetra-(4N-hydroxyethylpyridyl) porphyrin and its Ni-, Cu-, Co- and Zn- containing derivatives
Authors: Barkhudaryan Vigen G. , Ananyan Gayane V. , Dalyan Yeva B. , Haroutiunian Samvel G.
Published: August 2014

The influence of water soluble cationic meso-tetra(4N-hydroxyethyl)pyridyl porphyrin ( H 2 THOEtPyP 4) and it's metal complexes with Ni ( II ), Cu ( II ), Co ( II ) and Zn ( II ) on hydrodynamic and spectral behavior of DNA solutions has been studied by viscometry and UV-vis absorption methods. It was shown that the presence of planar porphyrins, such as H 2 THOEtPyP 4, NiTHOEtPyP 4 and CuTHOEtPyP 4 leads to an increase in viscosity at relatively small concentrations, and then decreases to stable values. Such behavior corresponds to intercalation of these porphyrins in DNA structure, which results in a decrease of helical twist and lengthening of the DNA molecule. In the case of porphyrins with axial ligands, such as ZnTHOEtPyP 4 and CoTHOEtPyP 4, the relative viscosity decreases, which is explained by self-stacking of these porphyrins on DNA surface. Calculation and interpretation of binding parameters (Kb and n) demonstrated good agreement of viscometric and spectrophotometric measurements.
Simplicial volume of compact manifolds with amenable boundary
Authors: Kim Sungwoon , Kuessner Thilo
Published: August 2014

Let M be the interior of a connected, oriented, compact manifold V of dimension at least 2. If each path component of ∂V has amenable fundamental group, then we prove that the simplicial volume of M is equal to the relative simplicial volume of V and also to the geometric (Lipschitz) simplicial volume of any Riemannian metric on M whenever the latter is finite. As an application we establish the proportionality principle for the simplicial volume of complete, pinched negatively curved manifolds of finite volume.
Graphene-wrapped CuInS2 composites for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells
Authors: Zhou Lei , Luo Juan , Yang Xiao , Yang Bo , Zuo Xueqin , Tang Huaibao , Zhang Haijun , Li Guang
Published: August 2014

Graphene-wrapped CuInS 2 composites were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal approach. The as-synthesized products were characterized by scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscopy and the reduction of GO were confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. Graphene-wrapped CuInS 2 composites exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity for the triiodide reduction due to the improved conductivity and the synergetic catalysis of CuInS 2 and graphene. The graphene-wrapped CuInS 2 composites were exploited as counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells and therefore achieved a power conversion efficiency of 6.4%, which is comparable to that of Pt CE (6.9%).
Facile fabrication of ZnO nanorods/ZnO nanosheet–spheres hybrid photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cells
Authors: Bai Te , Xie Yahong , Zhang Chunyang , Zhang Yun , Hu Jing , Wang Jide
Published: August 2014

Zinc oxide ( ZnO ) nanorods (ZNRs) and hierarchical ZnO nanosheet–spheres (ZNSs) were prepared through a simple aqueous chemical growth process and a low-temperature solid-phase method, respectively. The prepared ZNRs and ZNSs were mixed to obtain a composite structure by using a circumference oscillator. After structure and morphology characterizations via X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, the mixture of ZNRs and ZNSs was used as a photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Photovoltaic performance and optimal mixture ratio were investigated. The results indicated that the photovoltaic properties of DSSCs depended on the microstructures, morphologies and mixture ratios of the electrodes. In addition, the mixture of ZNRs and ZNSs (molar ratio of 1:12) yielded an overall light conversion efficiency of 6.02%, with a fill factor of 65.0%, a short-circuit current of 13.49 mA/cm2, and an open-circuit voltage of 0.69 V. These values are higher than those of pure ZNRs or pure ZNSs.
Leptin restores the insulinotropic effect of exenatide in a mouse model of type 2 diabetes with increased adiposity induced by streptozotocin and high-fat diet
Authors: Sakai Takeru , Kusakabe Toru , Ebihara Ken , Aotani Daisuke , Yamamoto-Kataoka Sachiko , Zhao Mingming , Gumbilai Valentino Milton Junior , Ebihara Chihiro , Aizawa-Abe Megumi , Yamamoto Yuji , Noguchi Michio , Fujikura Junji , Hosoda Kiminori , Inagaki Nobuya , Nakao Kazuwa
Published: August 2014

Leptin may reduce pancreatic lipid deposition, which increases with progression of obesity and can impair β-cell function. The insulinotropic effect of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and the efficacy of GLP-1 receptor agonist are reduced associated with impaired β-cell function. In this study, we examined whether leptin could restore the efficacy of exenatide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, in type 2 diabetes with increased adiposity. We chronically administered leptin (500 μg·kg−1·day−1) and/or exenatide (20 μg·kg−1·day−1) for 2 wk in a mouse model of type 2 diabetes with increased adiposity induced by streptozotocin and high-fat diet (STZ/HFD mice). The STZ/HFD mice exhibited hyperglycemia, overweight, increased pancreatic triglyceride level, and reduced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS); moreover, the insulinotropic effect of exenatide was reduced. However, leptin significantly reduced pancreatic triglyceride level, and adding leptin to exenatide (LEP/EX) remarkably enhanced GSIS. These results suggested that the leptin treatment restored the insulinotropic effect of exenatide in the mice. In addition, LEP/EX reduced food intake, body weight, and triglyceride levels in the skeletal muscle and liver, and corrected hyperglycemia to a greater extent than either monotherapy. The pair-feeding experiment indicated that the marked reduction of pancreatic triglyceride level and enhancement of GSIS by LEP/EX occurred via mechanisms other than calorie restriction. These results suggest that leptin treatment may restore the insulinotropic effect of exenatide associated with the reduction of pancreatic lipid deposition in type 2 diabetes with increased adiposity. Combination therapy with leptin and exenatide could be an effective treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes with increased adiposity.
Spatial Multiple Description Coding for Scalable Video Streams
Authors: Choupani Roya , Wong Stephan , Tolun Mehmet
Published: August 2014

The need for adapting video stream delivery over heterogeneous and unreliable networks requires self-adaptive and error resilient coding. Network bandwidth fluctuations can be handled by means of a video coding scheme which adapts to the channel conditions. However, packet losses which are frequent in wireless networks can cause a mismatch during the reconstruction in the receiver end and result in an accumulation of errors which deteriorates the quality of the delivered video. A combination of multiple description coding in pixel domain and scalable video coding schemes which addresses both video adaptation and robustness to data loss is proposed in this paper. The proposed scheme combines error concealment with spatial video scalability. In order to improve the fidelity of the reconstructed to the original frames in presence of packet loss, a multilayer polyphase spatial decomposition algorithm is proposed. Classical multiple description methods interpolate the missing data which results in smoothing and artifact at object boundaries. The proposed algorithm addresses the quality degradation due to low-pass filtering effect of interpolation methods. We also comparatively analyze the trade-off between robustness to channel errors and coding efficiency.
Tackling a Recurrent Pinealoblastoma
Authors: Palled Siddanna , Kalavagunta Sruthi , Beerappa Gowda Jaipal , Umesh Kavita , Aal Mahalaxmi , Abdul Razack Tanvir pasha Chitraduraga , Gowda Veerabhadre , Viswanath Lokesh
Published: August 2014

Pineoblastomas are rare, malignant, pineal region lesions that account for <0.1% of all intracranial tumors and can metastasize along the neuroaxis. Pineoblastomas are more common in children than in adults and adults account for <10% of patients. The management of pinealoblastoma is multimodality approach, surgery followed with radiation and chemotherapy. In view of aggressive nature few centres use high dose chemotherapy with autologus stem cell transplant in newly diagnosed cases but in recurrent setting the literature is very sparse. The present case represents the management of pinealoblastoma in the recurrent setting with reirradiation and adjuvant carmustine chemotherapy wherein the management guidelines are not definitive.
A Therapeutic Challenge: Liddle’s Syndrome Managed with Amiloride during Pregnancy
Authors: Caretto Amelia , Primerano Liviana , Novara Francesca , Zuffardi Orsetta , Genovese Stefano , Rondinelli Maurizio
Published: August 2014

Liddle’s syndrome (LS) is a rare heritable form of hypertension that often affects young patients. It is caused by gain-of-function mutations of the kidney epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) and it is classically associated with hypokalemia and suppression of renin and aldosterone. LS is characterized by responsiveness to ENaC inhibitors but not to mineralocorticoid receptor inhibitors. Consequently the most effective treatment is amiloride. This drug is not used in pregnancy, as it has not been sufficiently studied during gestation. However for pregnant LS patient amiloride is the most effective drug in decreasing blood pressure. Herein we report the case of a LS patient, who has been followed up by a multidisciplinary teamwork during her first pregnancy. Hypertension worsened after the 25th week of gestation and amiloride was safely administered, firstly in combination with hydrochlorothiazide (the only formulation commercially available in Italy) and, thereafter, as a single drug. Genetic testing was performed in the patient’s family in order to support diagnosis and clinical management.
A Sensitivity‐Based Improving Learning Algorithm for Madaline Rule II
Authors: Zhong Shuiming , Xue Yu , Jiang Yunhao , Jin Yuanfeng , Yang Jing , Yang Ping , Tian Yuan , Al-Rodhaan Mznah
Published: August 2014

This paper proposes a new adaptive learning algorithm for Madalines based on a sensitivity measure that is established to investigate the effect of a Madaline weight adaptation on its output. The algorithm, following the basic idea of minimal disturbance as the MRII did, introduces an adaptation selection rule by means of the sensitivity measure to more accurately locate the weights in real need of adaptation. Experimental results on some benchmark data demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has much better learning performance than the MRII and the BP algorithms.
Source Allocation of Long-Range Asian Dusts Transportation across the Taiwan Strait by Innovative Chemical-Assisted Identification Methods
Authors: Jen Yi-Hsiu , Liu Yi-Chi , Ie Iau-Ren , Yuan Chung-Shin , Hung Chung-Hsuang
Published: August 2014

This study used the backward trajectory calculation to obtain the transportation routes of Asian dusts and further combined the chemical composition with the enrichment factor (EF) and the grey relational analysis (GR) to identify the potential sources of eighteen Asian dust storm (ADS) events. The results showed that the chemical compositions of atmospheric particles sampled at the Pescadores Islands were very similar to source soils fugitively emitted from Inner Mongolia, which could assist in identifying the source regions of Asian dusts. This study further compared the source allocation of Asian dusts obtained from EF, GR, and backward trajectory, which showed that the source regions of Asian dusts obtained from these three methods were quite similar. The similarity of backward trajectory and GR reached as high as 83.3%. Moreover, the similarity of backward trajectory calculation and EF or GR was up to 77.8% while that of the GR and EF was up to 83.3%. Overall, these three methods can successfully allocate the source regions of Asian dusts by 66.7%. Moreover, these innovative chemical-assisted methods can be successfully applied to identify the source regions of Asian dusts for 18 ADS events.
Thermochemical Analysis of Hypergolic Propellants Based on Triethylaluminum/Nitrous Oxide
Authors: Davis Stephen M. , Yilmaz Nadir
Published: August 2014

The vacuum specific impulse, density vacuum specific impulse, and solid exhaust products were examined for several propellant formulations based on the pyrophoric material triethylaluminum (TEA) using CEA thermodynamics code. Evaluation of TEA neat and mixed with hydrocarbon fuels with LOX, N2O, N2O4, liquefied air, and HNO3were performed at stoichiometry. The vacuum specific impulse of neat TEA with N2O is comparable to that of nitric acid with the same, but the N2O formulation will produce slightly less solid products during combustion. Additionally, N2O-TEA propellants have vacuum specific impulses and density vacuum specific impulses within 92.9% and 86.7% of traditional hydrazine propellant formulations under stoichiometric conditions.
Alkaloids in Processed Rhizoma Corydalis and Crude Rhizoma Corydalis Analyzed by GC/MS
Authors: Guo Zhifeng , Cai Ru , Su Huidan , Li Yunlong
Published: August 2014

The alkaloids in the processed Rhizoma Corydalis and the crude Rhizoma Corydalis were qualitatively and semiquantitatively analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method. The processing herb drug procedure was carried out according to the standard method of Chinese Pharmacopoeia. The samples were extracted using Soxhlet extractor with different solvents: methanol and acetone. The extraction effect on different solvents was investigated. The results showed that 11 kinds of alkaloids were identified from the crude Rhizoma Corydalis and only two were from the processed Rhizoma Corydalis. A total of 13 kinds of alkaloids were all based on two backbones. The alkaloids in the processed sample were less than those in the crude Rhizoma Corydalis significantly, while almost the corydaline has been changed in conformation after the sample had undergone processing, which provided support for the conclusion of reducing toxicity when the herbal medicine having been undergone a traditional drugs treatment process.
A Mean Value Formula for Elliptic Curves
Authors: Feng Rongquan , Wu Hongfeng
Published: August 2014

It is proved in this paper that, for any point on an elliptic curve, the mean value of x-coordinates of its n-division points is the same as its x-coordinate and that of y-coordinates of its n-division points is n times that of its y-coordinate.
Effects and Management ofParthenium hysterophorus: A Weed of Global Significance
Authors: Kaur Manpreet , Aggarwal Neeraj Kumar , Kumar Vikas , Dhiman Romika
Published: August 2014

Congress grass,Parthenium hysterophorusL., of the family Asteraceae (tribe: Heliantheae), is an erect and much branched annual or ephermeral herb, known for its notorious role as environmental, medical, and agricultural hazards. It is believed to have been introduced into India and Australia from North America and in the last few years the weed has emerged as the seventh most devastating weed in Africa, Asia, and Australia. The aim of this review is to provide general information about the physiology, distribution, ill effects, and management of parthenium. Control of parthenium has been tried by various methods, but no single management option would be adequate to manage parthenium, and there is a need to integrate various management options. Successful management of this weed can only be achieved by an integrated approach with biological control as the key element.
An Experimental Investigation of Ethanol-Diesel Blends on Performance and Exhaust Emissions of Diesel Engines
Authors: Sandalcı Tarkan , Karagöz Yasin , Orak Emre , Yüksek Levent
Published: August 2014

Ethanol is a promising alternative fuel, due to its renewable biobased origin. Also, it has lower carbon content than diesel fuel and it is oxygenated. For this reason, ethanol is providing remarkable potential to reduce particulate emulsions in compression-ignition engines. In this study, performance of ethanol-diesel blends has been investigated experimentally. Tested fuels were mineral diesel fuel (E0D100), 15% (v/v) ethanol/diesel fuel blend (E15D85), and 30% (v/v) ethanol/diesel fuel blend (E30D70). Firstly, the solubility of ethanol and diesel was experienced. Engine tests were carried out to reveal the performance and emissions of the engine fuelled with the blends. Full load operating conditions at various engine speeds were investigated. Engine brake torque, brake power, brake specific fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency, exhaust gas temperature, and finally exhaust emissions were measured. Performance of the tested engine decreased substantially while improvement on smoke and gaseous emissions makes ethanol blend favorable.
Double Girder Bridge Crane with Double Cycling: Scheduling Strategy and Performance Evaluation
Authors: Wang Dandan , Goodchild Anne , Li Xiaoping , Wang Zun
Published: August 2014

This paper introduces a novel quay crane design, double girder bridge crane (DGBC). DGBC is capable of handling containers of two adjacent bays simultaneously, avoiding crane collisions, saving travelling and reposition cost, and eventually improving terminal efficiency. This problem is formulated as a resource-constrained project scheduling with objective to minimize the maximum completion time. A two-stage heuristic algorithm is proposed in which an operating sequences on each bay is obtained by double cycling, and the integrated timetable for both bays is constructed by solving resource conflicts using the proposed minimum cost strategy. We examine effectiveness and performance of applying DGBC with double cycling. A case study is presented to illustrate how DGBC works with the two-stage method. Three extreme cases with respective conflict types are investigated to develop the performance bounds of DGBC with double cycling. The results show that DGBC can significantly improve terminal productivity, and outperforms single girder crane in both makespan and the lift operation percentage. The highest DGBC efficiency does not require maximum double cycles in two bay schedules; rather the integrated timetable for two bays is the main contribution to the DGBC performance as it yields better cooperation between two spreaders and the driver.
Structural Breaks in Mean Temperature over Agroclimatic Zones in India
Authors: Paul Ranjit Kumar , Birthal P. S. , Khokhar Ankit
Published: August 2014

Amongst Asian countries India is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. During the past century, surface temperature in India has shown a significant increasing trend. In this paper, we have investigated behavior of mean monthly temperature during the period 1901–2001 over four agroclimatic zones of India and also tried to detect structural change in the temperature series. A structural break in the series has been observed at the national as well regional levels between 1970 and 1980. An analysis of trends before and after the structural break shows a significant increase in July temperature in the arid zone since 1972.
Effect of Aging Time and Film Thickness on the Photoelectrochemical Properties of TiO2Sol-Gel Photoanodes
Authors: Regonini D. , Alves A. K. , Berutti F. A. , Clemens F.
Published: August 2014

This work has focused on the investigation of a non-aqueous based sol-gel process to produce TiO2based photoelectrodes for solar water splitting. In particular, the effect of the aging time of the sol and TiO2film thickness on the photoelectrochemical properties of the photoanodes has been investigated. In order to achieve optimal performances (i.e., photocurrent density up to 570 µA/cm2and IPCE of 26% at 300 nm), the sol needs to be aged for 3 to 6 h, before being dip-coated to produce the photoanodes. The importance of the aging time can also be appreciated from the optical properties of the TiO2films; the absorbance threshold of the sol-gel aged for 3–6 h is slightly shifted towards longer wavelenghts in comparison to 0 h aging. Aging is necessary to build up a well-interconnected sol-gel network which finally leads to a photoelectrode with optimized light absorption and electron collection properties. This is also confirmed by the higher IPCE signal of aged photoelectrodes, especially below 340 nm. Among thicknesses considered, there is no apparent significant difference in the photoresponse (photocurrent density and IPCE) of the TiO2sol-gel films.
Crossing Fibers Detection with an Analytical High Order Tensor Decomposition
Authors: Megherbi T. , Kachouane M. , Oulebsir-Boumghar F. , Deriche R.
Published: August 2014

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) is the only technique to probein vivoand noninvasively the fiber structure of human brain white matter. Detecting the crossing of neuronal fibers remains an exciting challenge with an important impact in tractography. In this work, we tackle this challenging problem and propose an original and efficient technique to extract all crossing fibers from diffusion signals. To this end, we start by estimating, from the dMRI signal, the so-called Cartesian tensor fiber orientation distribution (CT-FOD) function, whose maxima correspond exactly to the orientations of the fibers. The fourth order symmetric positive definite tensor that represents the CT-FOD is then analytically decomposed via the application of a new theoretical approach and this decomposition is used to accurately extract all the fibers orientations. Our proposed high order tensor decomposition based approach is minimal and allows recovering the whole crossing fibers without any a priori information on the total number of fibers. Various experiments performed on noisy synthetic data, on phantom diffusion, data and on human brain data validate our approach and clearly demonstrate that it is efficient, robust to noise and performs favorably in terms of angular resolution and accuracy when compared to some classical and state-of-the-art approaches.
Synthesis, Characterization, and Crystal Structure of [Co4(CH3CO2)2L4]2[BPh4]4·0.5H2O, Where HL = 4-(Salicylaldiminato)antipyrine
Authors: El-mehdawi Ramadan M. , EL-dewik Abdussalam N. , Ben-Younes Mufida M. , Treish Fathia A. , Abuhmaiera Ramadan G. , Poleti Dejan , Rogan Jelena
Published: August 2014

The title complex was isolated as a red solid from the reaction of 4-(salicylaldiminato)antipyrine, HL, and cobalt (II) acetate in ethanol. The complex has been characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR, UV-Vis, and X-ray single crystal diffraction. Two crystallographically different cationic units, A and B, of the title complex are found. Both units are essentially isostructural; nevertheless, small differences exist between them. Both units contain four cobalt atoms arranged at the corners of distorted cubane-like core alternatively with phenoxy oxygen of the Schiff base. In both cases, one cobalt binds to three coordinated sites from the corresponding tridentate Schiff base ligand, and the fourth one was bonded by the acetate oxygen, and the fifth and the sixth donor sites come from the phenolate oxygen of another Schiff base ligand.
Solving a Location, Allocation, and Capacity Planning Problem with Dynamic Demand and Response Time Service Level
Authors: Lin Carrie Ka Yuk
Published: August 2014

Logistic systems with uncertain demand, travel time, and on‐site processing time are studied here where sequential trip travel is allowed. The relationship between three levels of decisions: facility location, demand allocation, and resource capacity (number of service units), satisfying the response time requirement, is analysed. The problem is formulated as a stochastic mixed integer program. A simulation‐based hybrid heuristic is developed to solve the dynamic problem under different response time service level. An initial solution is obtained from solving static location‐allocation models, followed by iterative improvement of the three levels of decisions by ejection, reinsertion procedure with memory of feasible and infeasible service regions. Results indicate that a higher response time service level could be achieved by allocating a given resource under an appropriate decentralized policy. Given a response time requirement, the general trend is that the minimum total capacity initially decreases with more facilities. During this stage, variability in travel time has more impact on capacity than variability in demand arrivals. Thereafter, the total capacity remains stable and then gradually increases. When service level requirement is high, the dynamic dispatch based on first‐come‐first‐serve rule requires smaller capacity than the one by nearest‐neighbour rule.
Bilateral Hip Joint Hylan G-F 20 Granulomatous Synovitis due to Viscosupplementation Injections
Authors: Weinrauch Patrick , Trigger Robert , Tsikleas George
Published: August 2014

We present the diagnosis of bilateral granulomatous inflammation of the hip joints associated with Hylan G-F 20 viscosupplementation injections. Clinicians recommending therapeutic Hylan injections for the management of hip arthritis should maintain clinical awareness regarding this potential complication.