bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A knee monitoring device and the preferences of patients living with osteoarthritis: a qualitative study
Authors: Papi Enrica , Belsi Athina , McGregor Alison H
Published: September 2015

Objectives

To identify perspective of patients with osteoarthritis, in particular design requirements and mode of use, of wearable technology to support the rehabilitation pathway. This study is part of a user-centred design approach adopted to develop a rehabilitation tool for patients with osteoarthritis.

Design

Qualitative study using a focus group approach; data management via a thematic analysis of patients’ responses.

Participants

21 patients with osteoarthritis (age range 45–65 years) participated in 1 of the 4 focus groups. Recruitment continued until data saturation.

Setting

The study was conducted in a university setting.

Results

Main determinants of user acceptance of a wearable technology were appearance and comfort during use. Patients were supportive of the use of wearable technologies during rehabilitation and could recognise their benefit as monitors for their progress, incentives to adhere to exercise, and tools for more informed interaction with clinicians.

Conclusions

This paper should encourage adoption and development of wearable technology to support rehabilitation of patients with osteoarthritis. It is pivotal that technological development takes into account patients’ views in that it should be small, light, discrete, not ‘appear medical’ or challenge the identity of the user. Derived data should be available to patients and clinicians. Furthermore, wearable technologies should be developed to operate in two modes: for exercise guidance and assessment only, and for unobtrusive everyday monitoring. The information obtained from this study should guide the design of new technologies and support their use in clinical practice.
Thoracic sinus tract secondary to a wooden skewer penetrating the vertebral canal in a dog
Authors: Hamon Martin , Barthelemy Nicolas , Bolen Geraldine , Claeys Stephanie
Published: September 2015

A six‐year‐old neutered male mixed breed dog was referred to the hospital for investigation of a thoracic sinus tract located caudal to the right axillary region. CT scan revealed the presence of a 17‐cm‐long intrathoracic foreign body surrounded by an inflammatory granuloma located in the dorsal mediastinum from T7 to T12. It entered the vertebral canal from T4 to T2, causing a medullary compression of 25 per cent of the canal diameter. A right ninth intercostal thoracotomy was performed to reach the intrathoracic portion of the foreign body. The foreign body, a wooden skewer, penetrated the dorsal part of the right caudal lung lobe. Lung lobectomy using a stapler was therefore performed. The foreign body was then gently removed from the vertebral canal. No intraoperative or postoperative complications occurred. Twelve months after surgery, owners confirmed full recovery of the dog.
UNEMPLOYMENT HYSTERESIS IN PIIGS COUNTRIES: A NEW TEST WITH BOTH SHARP AND SMOOTH BREAKS
Authors: LI JING-PING , RANJBAR OMID , CHANG TSANGYAO
Published: September 2015

In this empirical study, we apply the Panel stationary test with both sharp and smooth breaks to re-examine the hysteresis hypothesis of unemployment for five high-debt countries, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain (PIIGS) from 1960 to 2011. We find that our proposed model has greater power than a linear method if the true data-generating process of unemployment is a stationary, non-linear process of unknown form with structural changes. Hysteresis in unemployment is confirmed for all PIIGS countries when traditional unit root tests are employed; however, hysteresis in unemployment is confirmed only for Greece when our proposed Panel stationary test with both sharp and smooth breaks is utilized.
THE HETEROGENEOUS IMPACT OF CHILDREN ON THE PARTICIPATION OF MARRIED WOMEN IN THE LABOR MARKET IN TAIWAN
Authors: TSAI CHUN-LI
Published: September 2015

This paper is an attempt to investigate how children affect married women’s decision to participate in the Taiwanese labor market. The effect of children on the female labor supply is usually negative for most married women; however, it might also be positive for some subpopulations. Thus, herein, we use a local likelihood logit regression to detect the heterogeneity in the effects of children on married female employment that cannot be detected by parametric (e.g. probit or logit models) or semiparametric estimation. Our empirical findings provide evidence of some heterogeneity in the response related to children on the participation of Taiwanese married women in the work force. Since, we find evidence of heterogeneous effects, we suggest that different government policy instruments should be precisely targeted at different specific subpopulations in order to effectively increase the participation of married women in the labor force. When comparing these average characteristics of married women with positive versus negative employment effects due to having children, we find that the average married woman’s educational attainment and the logarithm of the husband’s wage income differ significantly between women with positive effects of children and those with negative effects of children.
BAILOUTS, FRANCHISE VALUE AND MORAL HAZARD IN BANKING
Authors: KAUKO KARLO
Published: September 2015

Policy discussions are dominated by the view that governmental safety nets offered to banks cause moral hazard and encourage risk-taking. However, [Cordella, T and E Levy Yeyati (2003). Bank bailouts: moral hazard vs. value effect. Journal of Financial Intermediation, 12, 300–330.] proposed that government support offered during crises may increase bank franchise value, resulting in less risk-taking. This paper presents additional theoretical results on the franchise value effect. The franchise value effect can dominate over the moral hazard effect even when there are no specific crisis periods. The franchise value effect dominates if bank shareholders have a weak time preference and if the decision on the intensity of risk monitoring is a long-term choice.
Quarkonia disintegration due to time dependence of the qq̄ potential in relativistic heavy-ion collisions
Authors: Bagchi Partha , Srivastava Ajit M.
Published: September 2015

Rapid thermalization in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions leads to fast changing potential between a heavy quark and antiquark from zero temperature potential to the finite temperature one. Time-dependent perturbation theory can then be used to calculate the survival probability of the initial quarkonium state. In view of very short time scales of thermalization at relativistic heavy-ion collider (RHIC) and large hadron collider (LHC) energies, we calculate the survival probability of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] using sudden approximation. Our results show that quarkonium decay may be significant even when temperature of quark–gluon plasma (QGP) remains low enough so that the conventional quarkonium melting due to Debye screening is ineffective.
Scale-invariant tensor spectrum from conformal gravity
Authors: Myung Yun Soo , Moon Taeyoon
Published: September 2015

We study cosmological tensor perturbations generated during de Sitter inflation in the conformal gravity with mass parameter [Formula: see text]. It turns out that tensor power spectrum is scale-invariant.
First-order minisuperspace model for the Faddeev formulation of gravity
Authors: Khatsymovsky V. M.
Published: September 2015

Faddeev formulation of general relativity (GR) is considered where the metric is composed of ten vector fields or a ten-dimensional tetrad. Upon partial use of the field equations, this theory results in the usual GR.

Earlier we have proposed some minisuperspace model for the Faddeev formulation where the tetrad fields are piecewise constant on the polytopes like 4-simplices or, say, cuboids into which [Formula: see text] can be decomposed.

Now we study some representation of this (discrete) theory, an analogue of the Cartan–Weyl connection-type form of the Hilbert–Einstein action in the usual continuum GR.
Influence of critical current density on magnetic force of HTSC bulk above PMR with 3D-modeling numerical solutions
Authors: Lu Yiyun , Qin Yujie
Published: September 2015

Numerical simulations of thermo-electromagnetic properties of a high temperature superconducting (HTS) bulk levitating over a permanent magnetic guideway (PMG) are performed by resorting to the quasistatic approximation of the H-method coupling with the classical description of the heat conduction equation. The numerical resolving codes are practiced with the help of the finite element program generation system (FEPG) platform using finite element method (FEM). The [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] power law is used to describe the electric current nonlinear characteristics of HTS bulk. The simulation results show that the heat conduction and the critical current density are tightly relative to the thermal effects of the HTS bulk over the PMG. The heat intensity which responds to the heat loss of the HTS bulk is mainly distributed at the two bottom-corners of the bulk sample.
Evaluating Cloud Service Elasticity Behavior
Authors: Copil Georgiana , Truong Hong-Linh , Moldovan Daniel , Dustdar Schahram , Trihinas Demetris , Pallis George , Dikaiakos Marios D.
Published: September 2015

To optimize the cost and performance of complex cloud services under dynamic requirements, workflows and diverse cloud offerings, we rely on different elasticity control processes. An elasticity control process, when being enforced, produces effects in different parts of the cloud service. These effects normally evolve in time and depend on workload characteristics, and on the actions within the elasticity control process enforced. Therefore, understanding the effects on the behavior of the cloud service is of utter importance for runtime decision-making process, when controlling cloud service elasticity.

In this paper, we present a novel methodology and a framework for estimating and evaluating cloud service elasticity behaviors. To estimate the elasticity behavior, we collect information concerning service structure, deployment, service runtime, control processes, and cloud infrastructure. Based on this information, we utilize clustering techniques to identify cloud service elasticity behavior, in time, and for different parts of the service. Knowledge about such behavior is utilized within a cloud service elasticity controller to substantially improve the selection and execution of elasticity control processes. These elasticity behavior estimations are successfully being used by our elasticity controller, in order to improve runtime decision quality. We evaluate our framework with three real-world cloud services in different application domains. Experiments show that we are able to estimate the behavior in 89.5% of the cases. Moreover, we have observed improvements in our elasticity controller, which takes better control decisions, and does not exhibit control oscillations.
Dynamic Damage Analysis for Seismic Responses of Arch Dam
Authors: Xue Xinhua , Yang Xingguo , Zhang Wohua
Published: September 2015

The accuracy of the risk evaluation associated with existing dams as well as the efficient design of future dams is highly dependent on a proper understanding of their behavior due to earthquakes. This paper presents a 3D anisotropic damage model for arch dam under strong earthquakes. The modified effective Mohr–Coulomb criterion is adopted as the failure criteria of the dynamic damage evolution of concrete. From the simulation of the dynamic damage process, some process fields of the dynamic displacement, the dynamic stress, dynamic damage distribution and other necessary information for the safety evaluation are obtained. These results show that the seismic behavior of concrete dams can be satisfactorily predicted. This will provide a reasonable theoretical support on the safety evaluation of the capability for concrete arch dams against earthquake loading.
Geography and Local (Dis)advantage: Evidence from Muni Bond Funds
Authors: Deng Saiying , Rakowski David
Published: September 2015

We examine the relationship between the geographic location of mutual fund managers and fund performance using the unique setting of single-state municipal-bond mutual funds. We find that local managers underperform non-local muni-bond fund managers. Furthermore, we document that local muni-bond fund managers perform relatively better in states with more local funds, consistent with knowledge spillovers, business connections and networking effects associated with those areas. Locals also perform relatively better in states with higher levels of political integrity, consistent with less political pressure on local fund managers in these locations. Our results are robust to several sensitivity checks.
The contribution of maps to appreciating physical landscape: examples from Derbyshire's Peak District
Authors: Henry C. John , Hose Thomas A.
Published: September 2015

It is only in the last 100 years or so that most of Britain has been covered by accurate, published, topographic and geological maps. Although travellers’ guides were available from the late seventeenth century, they lacked adequate maps. Whilst fairly accurate maps of the major roads were published in the early seventeenth century as strip maps, topographic maps were not generally available until the nineteenth century. Cartographers, usually when preparing county maps, struggled with the representation of Britain's varied topography. In the nineteenth century, medium-scale (1-inch-to-the-mile) topographic maps initially developed through the agency of the prizes offered by the Royal Society of Arts but primarily due to the Ordnance Survey. Geological maps benefitted from improved base maps – those of John Cary and the Ordnance Survey. This paper especially explores and illustrates the development of maps and the role they played in the depiction and understanding of landscape and promotion of the major early geotourism region of the Peak District from 1780 to 1930.
Lithospheric structure in Central Eurasia derived from elevation, geoid anomaly and thermal analysis
Authors: Robert Alexandra M. M. , Fernàndez Manel , Jiménez-Munt Ivone , Vergés Jaume
Published: September 2015

We present new crustal and lithospheric thickness maps for Central Eurasia from the combination of elevation and geoid anomaly data and thermal analysis. The results are strongly constrained by numerous previous data based on seismological and seismic experiments, tomographic imaging and integrated geophysical studies. Our results indicate that high topography regions are associated with crustal thickening that is at a maximum below the Zagros, Himalaya, Tien Shan and the Tibetan Plateau. The stiffer continental blocks that remain undeformed within the continental collision areas are characterized by a slightly thickened crust and flat topography. Lithospheric thickness and crustal thickness show different patterns that highlight an important strain partitioning within the lithosphere. The Arabia–Eurasia collision zone is characterized by a thick lithosphere underneath the Zagros belt, whereas a thin to non-existent lithospheric mantle is observed beneath the Iranian and Anatolian plateaus. Conversely, the India–Eurasia collision zone is characterized by a very thick lithosphere below its southern part as a consequence of the underplating of the cold and stiff Indian lithosphere. Our new model presents great improvements compared to previous global models available for the region, and allows us to discuss major aspects related to the lithospheric structure and acting geodynamic processes in Central Eurasia.

Supplementary material:
Residual geoid anomaly between different order and degree of filtering, our compilation of crustal thickness from publications and our resulting crustal and lithospheric thickness in .txt format are available at:
http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18846
Late Eocene palaeogeography of the proto-Paratethys Sea in Central Asia (NW China, southern Kyrgyzstan and SW Tajikistan)
Authors: Bosboom Roderic , Mandic Oleg , Dupont-Nivet Guillaume , Proust Jean-Noël , Ormukov Cholponbek , Aminov Jovid
Published: September 2015

The Cretaceous and Palaeogene sediments of the basins in Central Asia include the remnants of the easternmost extent of a vast shallow epicontinental sea, which extended across the Eurasian continent before it retreated westwards and eventually isolated as the Paratethys Sea. To improve understanding of its long-term palaeogeographical evolution, we complement the well-constrained chronological framework of the Tarim Basin in China with stratigraphic records of the sea retreat from the Fergana Basin and the Alai Valley Basin in southern Kyrgyzstan and the Afghan–Tajik Basin in SW Tajikistan. By lithostratigraphic analyses and identification of bivalve assemblages, this study establishes for the first time a clear and detailed regional correlation of Palaeogene marine strata across Central Asia, showing that the basins share a similar palaeogeographical evolution characterized by a long-term stepwise retreat punctuated by short-term shallow-marine incursions. Our correlation shows that the last two marine incursions recognized in the Tarim Basin can be traced westwards. The permanent disappearance of the sea from Central Asia probably occurred with limited diachroneity in the late Eocene, before the isolation of the Paratethys Sea, shifting the easternmost margin of the sea hundreds of kilometres westwards and probably significantly reducing moisture supply to the Asian interior.
Does Automated Unit Test Generation Really Help Software Testers? A Controlled Empirical Study
Authors: Fraser Gordon , Staats Matt , McMinn Phil , Arcuri Andrea , Padberg Frank
Published: September 2015

Work on automated test generation has produced several tools capable of generating test data which achieves high structural coverage over a program. In the absence of a specification, developers are expected to manually construct or verify the test oracle for each test input. Nevertheless, it is assumed that these generated tests ease the task of testing for the developer, as testing is reduced to checking the results of tests. While this assumption has persisted for decades, there has been no conclusive evidence to date confirming it. However, the limited adoption in industry indicates this assumption may not be correct, and calls into question the practical value of test generation tools. To investigate this issue, we performed two controlled experiments comparing a total of 97 subjects split between writing tests manually and writing tests with the aid of an automated unit test generation tool, E
vo
S
uite
. We found that, on one hand, tool support leads to clear improvements in commonly applied quality metrics such as code coverage (up to 300% increase). However, on the other hand, there was no measurable improvement in the number of bugs actually found by developers. Our results not only cast some doubt on how the research community evaluates test generation tools, but also point to improvements and future work necessary before automated test generation tools will be widely adopted by practitioners.
Computing Swarms for Self-Adaptiveness and Self-Organization in Floating-Point Array Processing
Authors: Pani Danilo , Sau Carlo , Palumbo Francesca , Raffo Luigi
Published: September 2015

Advancements in CMOS technology enable the integration of a huge number of resources on the same system-on-chip. Managing the consequent growing complexity, including fault tolerance issues in deep submicron technologies, is a hard challenge for hardware designers. Self-organization may represent a viable path toward the development of massively parallel architectures in current and future technologies. This approach is progressively more studied in multiprocessor architectures where, however, a further mind-set shift in terms of programming paradigm is required.

In this article, self-organization and self-adaptiveness are exploited for the design of a coprocessing unit for array computations, supporting floating-point arithmetic. From the experience of previous explorations, an architecture embodying some principle of swarm intelligence to pursue adaptability, scalability, and fault tolerance is proposed. The architecture realizes a loosely structured collection of hardware agents implementing fixed behavioral rules aimed at the best exploitation of the available resources in whatever kind of context without any hardware reconfiguration. Comparisons with off-the-shelf very long instruction word (VLIW) digital signal processors (DSPs) on specific tasks reveal similar performance thus not paying the improved robustness with performance. The multitasking capabilities, together with the intrinsic scalability, make this approach valuable for future extensions as well, especially in the field of neuronal networks simulators.
Distributed Binary Consensus in Networks with Disturbances
Authors: Gogolev Alexander , Marchenko Nikolaj , Marcenaro Lucio , Bettstetter Christian
Published: September 2015

This article evaluates convergence rates of binary majority consensus algorithms in networks with different types of disturbances and studies the potential capacity of randomization to foster convergence. Simulation results show that (a) additive noise, topology randomness, and stochastic message loss may improve the convergence rate; (b) presence of faulty nodes degrades the convergence rate; and (c) explicit randomization of consensus algorithms can be exploited to improve the convergence rate. Watts-Strogatz and Waxman graphs are used as underlying network topologies. A consensus algorithm is proposed that exchanges state information with dynamically randomly selected neighbors and, through this randomization, achieves almost sure convergence in some scenarios.
Guest Column
Authors: Pighizzini Giovanni
Published: September 2015

We present two restricted versions of one-tape Turing machines. Both characterize the class of context-free languages. In the first version, proposed by Hibbard in 1967 and called
limited automata
, each tape cell can be rewritten only in the first
d
visits, for a fixed constant
d
≥ 2. Furthermore, for
d
= 2 deterministic limited automata are equivalent to deterministic pushdown automata, namely they characterize deterministic context-free languages. Further restricting the possible operations, we consider
strongly limited automata
. These models still characterize context-free languages. However, the deterministic version is less powerful than the deterministic version of limited automata. In fact, there exist deterministic context-free languages that are not accepted by any deterministic strongly limited automaton.
Erfolge und Grenzen zielgerichteter Krebstherapien beim Melanom
Authors: Romano Emanuela , Michielin Olivier
Published: September 2015

In der Therapie des Melanoms im Stadium IV waren die letzten Jahre von einem äußerst beeindruckenden Innovationstempo geprägt - heute hat die Behandlung der Patienten kaum noch etwas mit dem gemein, was vor 5 Jahren gängige Praxis war. Doch nicht nur die Zugewinne beim Gesamtüberleben, die hohen Ansprechraten und das Erreichen langer Überlebenszeiten bei einem signifikanten Anteil der Patienten sind sehr wichtige Neuerungen für unsere Patienten und ihre Angehörigen, auch der Weg, der zu diesen Neuerungen geführt hat, ist sehr interessant. Die neuen Strategien wurden weniger aus einem empirischen als vielmehr aus einem streng rationalen Ansatz heraus entwickelt, der sich auf neueste Erkenntnisse der Grundlagenforschung in Biologie und Immunologie stützte. Weitere Säulen der erzielten Fortschritte sind eine herausragende Translationsforschung und hypothesengeleitete, zielgerichtete Studien, die rasche Zulassungen ermöglicht haben. In der vorliegenden Übersichtsarbeit sollen alle neuen Targeting-Therapien vorgestellt werden, die aus diesen translationalen Programmen hervorgegangen sind, mit einem Schwerpunkt auf Therapien, die bei Signalwegen und Immun-Checkpoints ansetzen. Zusammengenommen geben diese neuen Entwicklungen den Standard für ein neues Paradigma der künftigen translationalen und klinischen Forschung sowohl zum Melanom als auch zu anderen Krebsarten vor.
The Value of Prognostic Grouping of Prostatic Carcinomas for Urologists and Pathologists
Authors: Helpap Burkhard , Ringli Daniel , Breul Jürgen , Tonhauser Jens , Poser Immanuel , Seifert Hans-Helge
Published: September 2015

Objectives: To improve the prognostic stratification for different therapeutic options of prostatic carcinomas (PCa) with low and intermediate grade by combining Gleason grading with cytological findings and prognostic grade grouping. Methods: We analyzed PCa after radical prostatectomy using the combined grading of Gleason and Helpap, which allows an exact differentiation particularly of low and intermediate grade tumors. Additionally, we attached time-interval and percentage value of recurrences of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) as well as death on disease (DoD) to the prognostic grade grouping. Results: Carcinomas of group I/V are very low-grade tumors with very good prognosis without biochemical recurrence and DoD predestining for active surveillance (AS). The group II/V with low progress of PSA without DoD allows the options of an active treatment or AS and shows a prognostic separation of the intermediate group III/V. Within the high-grade groups, a differentiation is necessary between GS 7b (4 + 3), 8, and 9-10 regarding TNM staging and rate of DoD. Prognosis of GS 7b (4 + 3) group III/V is more favourable without DoD in contrast to group IV and V/V with cases of DoD. Conclusion: Morphologically prognostic classification by using combined grading may improve the prognostic stratification of patients with PCa.
Self-Disturbance and the Bizarre: On Incomprehensibility in Schizophrenic Delusions
Authors: Sass Louis A. , Byrom Greg
Published: September 2015

The notion of ‘bizarre delusion' has come into question in contemporary anglophone psychopathology. In DSM-5, it no longer serves as a special criterion for diagnosing schizophrenia nor as an exclusion criterion for delusional disorder. Empirical studies influencing this development have, however, been relatively sparse and subject to methodological criticism. Major reviews have concluded that current conceptualizations of bizarre delusions may require rethinking and refinement. Defining bizarreness entails a return to Jaspers, whose influential views on the supposed incomprehensibility of bizarre delusions and schizophrenic experience are more nuanced than is generally recognized. Jaspers insisted we must ‘get behind' three ‘external characteristics' (extraordinary conviction, imperviousness, impossible content) in order to acknowledge a ‘primary experience traceable to the illness' in the ‘delusions proper' of schizophrenia. He also denied that one could empathize with or otherwise ‘understand' this basis. Here, we focus on three features of bizarre delusions that Jaspers foregrounded as illustrating schizophrenic incomprehensibility: disturbance of the cogito, certitude combined with inconsequentiality, delusional mood. We link these with the contemporary ipseity disturbance model of schizophrenia, arguing that Jaspers' examples of incomprehensibility can be understood as manifestations of the three complementary aspects of ipseity-disturbance: diminished self-presence, hyperreflexivity and disturbed grip/hold. We follow Jaspers' lead in acknowledging a distinctive strangeness that defies ready comprehension, but we challenge the absolutism of Jaspers' skepticism by offering a phenomenological account that comprehends bizarreness in two ways: rendering it psychologically understandable, and fitting the various instances of bizarreness into a comprehensive explanatory framework.
Testosterone Mediates Seasonal Growth of the Song Control Nuclei in a Tropical Bird
Authors: Small Thomas W. , Brenowitz Eliot A. , Wojtenek Winfried , Moore Ignacio T.
Published: September 2015

In mid- to high-latitude songbirds, seasonal reproduction is stimulated by increasing day length accompanied by elevated plasma sex steroid levels, increased singing, and growth of the song control nuclei (SCN). Plasticity of the SCN and song behavior are primarily mediated by testosterone (T) and its metabolites in most species studied thus far. However, the majority of bird species are tropical and have less pronounced seasonal reproductive cycles. We have previously documented that equatorial rufous-collared sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis) exhibit seasonal neuroplasticity in the SCN. Manipulating T in these birds, however, did not alter singing behavior. In the current study, we investigated whether T mediates plasticity of the SCN in a similar manner to temperate songbirds. In the first experiment, we treated captive male birds with T or blank implants during the nonbreeding season. In a second experiment, we treated captive male birds with either blank implants, T-filled implants, T with flutamide (FLU; an androgen receptor antagonist) or T with FLU and 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD; an estrogen synthesis inhibitor) during the breeding season. In both experiments, the volumes of the brain areas high vocal center (HVC), Area X, and robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) were measured along with singing behavior. In summary, T stimulated growth of HVC and RA, and the combined effect of FLU and ATD reversed this effect in HVC. Area X was not affected by T treatment in either experiment. Neither T-treated birds nor controls sang in captivity during either experiment. Together, these data indicate that T mediates seasonal changes in the HVC and RA of both tropical and higher- latitude bird species even if the environmental signals differ. However, unlike most higher-latitude songbirds, we found no evidence that motivation to sing or growth of Area X are stimulated by T under captive conditions.
Globalization in Urology: A Bibliographical Analysis of Cross-Continent Publication between 2002 and 2012
Authors: Mani Jens , Juengel Eva , Bartsch Georg , Filmann Natalie , Ackermann Hanns , Nelson Karen , Haferkamp Axel , Engl Tobias , Blaheta Roman A.
Published: September 2015

Introduction: Asian scientists have now increasingly begun to contribute to globalization; yet it is not clear whether publishing in the field of urology is paralleled by elevated cross-continental scientific publishing. Materials and Methods: An exemplary bibliometric analysis of urologic journals from 3 different continents was conducted between 2002 and 2012. Based on the ISI Web of Knowledge Journal Citation Reports, 2 urologic journals with similar impact factors (IFs) in 2013 were selected from Europe (‘British Journal of Urology International', ‘World Journal of Urology'), Asia (‘International Journal of Urology', ‘Asian Journal of Andrology') and North America (‘Urologic Oncology-Seminars and Original Investigations', ‘Urology'). The home continent of the journal, the workplace continental affiliation of the last author, article type (clinical, experimental or review) as well as the IF were documented. Results: Most authors published their manuscripts in journals from the same continent in which they worked. However, a significant increase in cross-continental publishing was apparent from 2002 to 2012. Asians publishing in North America increased from 17% in 2002 to 35% in 2012. Europeans also increased the number of articles they published in North American journals, while publications from North American authors were shifted towards both European and Asian journals. Experimental and clinical articles showed significant increases in cross-continental publishing, while review publishing showed no significant change. The average IF for authors from all 3 continents increased from 2002 to 2012 (p < 0.001). The largest increase in the IF was found for Asian authors (0.11 per year). Conclusions: Cross-continental publication significantly increased during the period from 2002 to 2012. The impact that the Asian authors have experienced was found to be gradually impacting the North American and European colleagues.
Indications and Specific Surgical Techniques in Crohn's Disease
Authors: Seifarth Claudia , Kreis Martin E. , Gröne Jörn
Published: September 2015

Background: Crohn's disease (CD) as one of the major entities of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases can affect all segments of the gastrointestinal tract but occurs most often in the small bowel, the terminal ileum, the colon, and the rectum. Typical symptoms include tiredness, lower abdominal pain, fever, and diarrhea, which are initially treated by conservative measures. Most patients will eventually develop complications such as fistulas, abscesses, or strictures. Surgery is often unavoidable in these cases. Methods: This review considers studies on the treatment of CD, published from 1979 up to now. The literature regarding the course, complications, and surgical therapy of CD was reviewed. Searches were performed in PubMed, using the following key words: CD, surgery, immunosuppression, guidelines, malnutrition as well as appropriate sub-items. In most cases the literature is limited to detailed information on specific therapeutic or diagnostic topics. Moreover, many studies are designed retrospectively and with a small number of patients. Additionally, our long-standing experience with patients suffering from CD is taken into consideration in this review. Results: There is a wide variety of indications for surgery in CD which includes complications like strictures, fistulas and abscess formation, neoplasia, or refractoriness to medical therapy. The risk of developing complications is about 33% after 5 years, and 50% after 20 years. Furthermore, one-third of CD patients need surgical therapy within the ﬁrst 5 years of diagnosis. The treatment requires close cooperation between gastroenterologists and surgeons. When indicated, surgery should be performed in a ‘conservative' fashion, i.e. as limited as possible, in order to achieve the required result and to avoid small bowel syndrome. Conclusion: This article provides a complete overview of indications and specific surgical treatment in patients with CD. Surgery is typically indicated when complications of CD occur. An interdisciplinary collaboration is necessary in order to ensure optimal indications and timing of surgery. This is of paramount importance to achieve the ultimate goal, i.e. a good quality of life of the patients.
Recurrent Immunodeficiency-Associated Burkitt Lymphoma Presenting as Severe Anterior Uveitis
Authors: Huang Susan , Suhrland Mark J. , Gritz David
Published: September 2015

Purpose: To report a case of recurrent immunodeficiency-associated Burkitt lymphoma (BL) that initially presented as severe anterior uveitis. Methods: Case report. Results: To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of isolated anterior uveitis related to immunodeficiency-associated BL. A 34-year-old African American woman with a history of HIV and BL in remission presented with unilateral anterior uveitis. Histopathologic study of an aqueous humor specimen was consistent for BL. Conclusion: The patient's initial presentation masqueraded as anterior uveitis, but her condition rapidly progressed with significant central nervous system involvement. Ocular involvement of immunodeficiency-associated BL is rare, with isolated anterior uveitis being even rarer. This must be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis for any patient with immunodeficiency, especially with a history of previous BL.
Roles of Caenorhabditis elegans WRN Helicase in DNA Damage Responses, and a Comparison with Its Mammalian Homolog: A Mini-Review
Authors: Ryu Jin-Sun , Koo Hyeon-Sook
Published: September 2015

Werner syndrome protein (WRN) is unusual among RecQ family DNA helicases in having an additional exonuclease activity. WRN is involved in the repair of double-strand DNA breaks via the homologous recombination and nonhomologous end joining pathways, and also in the base excision repair pathway. In addition, the protein promotes the recovery of stalled replication forks. The helicase activity is thought to unwind DNA duplexes, thereby moving replication forks or Holliday junctions. The targets of the exonuclease could be the nascent DNA strands at a replication fork or the ends of double-strand DNA breaks. However, it is not clear which enzyme activities are essential for repairing different types of DNA damage. Model organisms such as mice, flies, and worms deficient in WRN homologs have been investigated to understand the physiological results of defects in WRN activity. Premature aging, the most remarkable characteristic of Werner syndrome, is also seen in the mutant mice and worms, and hypersensitivity to DNA damage has been observed in WRN mutants of all three model organisms, pointing to conservation of the functions of WRN. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the WRN homolog contains a helicase domain but no exonuclease domain, so that this animal is very useful for studying the in vivo functions of the helicase without interference from the activity of the exonuclease. Here, we review the current status of investigations of C. elegans WRN-1 and discuss its functional differences from the mammalian homologs.
Overcoming low environmental temperatures in the primary feeding season: low-level activity and long basking in the tortoise Homopus signatus
Authors: Loehr Victor J.T. , Stark Tariq , Weterings Martijn , Kuipers Henry
Published: September 2015

Tortoises that live in regions where food plants grow in winter may have to cope with relatively low environmental temperatures to obtain resources. The speckled tortoise, Homopus signatus, inhabits an arid winter rainfall range where it is active in winter and spring at environmental temperatures well below its preferred body temperature. Although H. signatus is a threatened species, we have no information how it deals with low environmental temperatures. Therefore, we made continuous recordings of behaviour in nine female H. signatus on 29 days in the early spring. The group of females as a whole showed activity (i.e., behaviours other than hiding) throughout the day in a unimodal pattern. However, individual tortoises were active only for approximately 4.5 h per day and spent as much as 73% of their active time basking, mostly under the protective cover of shrubs. In addition, a negative relationship between the percentage of active time spent in sun and environmental temperature indicated that H. signatus used active behaviours other than basking to absorb heat, particularly on cold days. Tortoises completed all active behaviours other than basking in 1.2 h per day, including a mere 24 min of feeding, probably facilitated by the abundant availability of food plants in the early spring. We predict that a reduced availability of food plants for H. signatus might lead to increased active time and possibly increased predation pressure, or to a decreased proportion of active time spent basking and reduced body temperatures.
Development and characterization of new polymorphic microsatellite loci for Trionyx triunguis (Testudines: Trionychidae) in the Mediterranean Basin
Authors: Güçlü Özgür , Durmuş Salih Hakan , Candan Kamil , Beşer Nurettin , Türkyilmaz Süheyla , Yerli Sedat , Bozdoğan Bülent
Published: September 2015

The Mediterranean subpopulation of T. triunguis has been listed by IUCN as critically endangered (European Reptile and Amphibian Specialist Group 1996, category CR C2A). There are very few studies for determination of distribution and population genetics of this species in the world. A total of 13 polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from 42 samples of T. triunguis by using biotinylated (GT)10, (CT)10, (GATA)5-enriched library. The range of observed heterozygosities was 0.000-0.833 with a mean of 0.274, and the range of expected heterozygosities was 0.081-0.607 with a mean of 0.374. It was found that four loci deviated significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium after Bonferroni correction analysis. There was no evidence for large allele dropout. Null alleles may be present at ttmed-6, ttmed-8, and ttmed-9 loci, as suggested by the general excess of homozygote for most allele size classes. Designed microsatellite loci could provide a powerful tool for the population structure and conservation genetics studies of the Nile soft-shelled turtle and for captive breeding programs or to detect species illegal trade.
Beam Brook revisited: a molecular study of a historically introduced non-native amphibian (Triturus carnifex) and its limited introgression into native UK Triturus cristatus populations
Authors: Brede Edward
Published: September 2015

Human mediated introductions of non-native species can pose a major threat to global biodiversity on several accounts i.e. through competition, the introduction of novel pathogens, and genetic pollution. Where hybridization occurs between two closely related species the F1 offspring are usually phenotypically discernible whereas F2 hybrid, backcrossed or admixed individuals become more difficult to separate. At this point the utilization of molecular methods is required in conservation efforts to differentiate and manage populations. This study demonstrated how a possible threat of hybridization from an introduced non-native (T. carnifex) with a protected native newt species (T. cristatus) could be investigated with molecular tools, and examined the current extent of its genetic introgression over an 80 years period. The results confirmed that hybridization had taken place at the site of introduction (and continues to do so), and that historically limited local dispersal of both non-natives and/or hybrids had occurred sometime in the past. However, the data suggests that although dispersal of hybrids into a local satellite site may still be occuring, hybridization with native species appears limited.
eu Product Safety Law, Whistleblowers and Member State Liability for Acts of Officials
Authors: Brüggemeier Gert
Published: September 2015

The significant Finnish case of a.g.m.-cos.met offered the chance for the ecj to revitalise and consolidate the forgotten second track of Union and Member State responsibility under eu law: vicarious State liability. It requires a tort of a public servant in performing his official duties (ex-Art. 40(2) tecsc, Art. 340(2) tfeu). The intricacy of the case was that the subject matter was not a regular everyday tort, but the tort of breach of eu law (effective infringement of free movement of goods – Art. 28 tfeu) through statements of a public servant. To determine an unjustified breach of eu law by the servant, the Court would have had to weigh and balance the fundamental freedom of the manufacturer and the servant’s fundamental right of freedom of expression. - The ecj missed the problem of the case. It pressed the public warning into the rigid scheme of breach of eu product safety law. Therefore acts of public servants must be transformed into acts of the State itself. Thus, the Court introduced a new type of semi-vicarious eu State liability, unknown to Member States’ law and to the international law. Last but not least, the Court missed the chance to make freedom of expression and public warnings outside the safeguard procedure compatible with the structure of eu product safety law.
Secalonic Acid A from Pseudoparmelia sphaerospora (Nyl.) Hale and P. hypomilta (Fée) Hale (Parmeliaceae)

Authors: Honda Neli K. , Devincenzi Izilda A. A. , Filho Lauro Xavier
Published: September 2015

Secalonic acid A, a yellow pigment from fungal metabolism, was isolated from the lichens Pseudoparmelia sphaerospora and P. hypomilta. From P. sphaerospora was also isolated the depsidone hypostictic acid. The structure of these compounds was determined by spectroscopic methods and comparison with literature data.
Mosses New to Hong Kong (I)
Authors: So S. Y. , So M. L.
Published: September 2015

Ten moss species - Garkea flexuosa (Griffith) Marg. & Nork., Campylopus laxitextus Lac., Fissidens dubius P. Beauv., Fissidens ceylonensis Dozy & Molk, Fissidens maceratus Mitt., Philonotis thwaitesii Mitt., Isopterygium minutirameum (C. Muell.)Jaeg., Homalia trichomanoides (Hedw.) B.S.G., Pogonatum neesii (C. Muell.) Dozy and Polytrichum formosum Hedw. are reported new to Hong Kong. Among them, five are new to Guangdong Province of China.
Mosses New to Hong Kong (III)
Authors: So M. L. , Yip K. L.
Published: September 2015

Ten moss species - Philonotis turneriana (Schwaegr.) Mitt., Fissidens javanicus Dozy & Molk., Lopidium nazeense (Ther.) Broth., Himatocladium cyclophyllum (C. Muell.) Fleisch., Homaliodendron exigiuum (Bosch & Lac.) Fleisch., Homaliodendron microdendron (Mont.) Fleisch., Homaliodendron scapellifolium (Mitt.) Fleisch., Pinnatella anacamptolepis (C.Muell.) Broth., Calyptothecium wrightii (Mitt.) Fleisch. and Haplocladium angustifolium (Hampe & C. Muell.) Broth. are reported new to Hong Kong. Among them, four are new to Guangdong Province of China. An updated checklist of Hong Kong mosses is provided.
Las Lejeuneaceae (Hepaticae) de Misiones, Argentina IV. Aphanolejeunea
Authors: Reiner-Drehwald M. Elena
Published: September 2015

The three species of Aphanolejeunea (Lejeuneaceae, subfam. Lejeuneoideae) found in Misiones, Argentina: Aphanolejeunea misionensis Reiner sp. nov., A. paucifolia (Spruce) Reiner comb. nov. and A. clavatopapillata (Steph.) Reiner comb. nov., are decribed and illustrated. A. tuberculata (Evans) Schust. and Cololejeunea cristallina Herz. are proposed as new synonyms of A.
New and noteworthy records and new synonyms in pottiaceous mosses, mostly from SE Asia

Authors: Sollman Philip
Published: September 2015

New country records and range extensions for several pottiaceous mosses, mostly from S.E. Asia, are reported. Thirteen new synonyms are proposed.
Conservation Status of Bryophytes in Eastern Australia
Authors: Streimann Heinar
Published: September 2015

No bryophyte conservation programs are in place in Australia as the knowledge of bryophytes is poor, especially of their habitat preferences and distribution. The conservation of species against habitats is discussed and it is maintained on present evidence that areas conserved for vascular plants and/or animal habitats, as national parks and forest reserves, in most cases would adequately conserve bryophytes.
Taxonomic Results of the BRYOTROP Expedition to Zaïre and Rwanda 28. Lejeuneaceae, a ramicolous collection

Authors: Pócs Tamás
Published: September 2015

The treatment of non epiphyllous Lejeuneaceae taxa was published in the first part of the Central African BRYOTROP results (Pócs 1993b). Anyhow, a nice material collected on tiny twigs (partly from fallen canopy branches) from the W edge of Nyungwe Forest Reserve, in a wet type of montane rainforest at 2000 m altitude, remained unidentified. As this collection contained a number of species, which did not occur in the previous Lejeuneaceae treat-
New Synonyms and Deletions for the Moss Floras of Colombia and Ecuador

Authors: Churchill Steven P.
Published: September 2015

Several new synonyms are recognized for Colombian taxa: Aongstroemia maculata = A. julacea, Callicostella acutifolia and C. plicatula = Thamniopsis diffusa, Dicranella mayorii and D. peruviana = D. hilariana, Glyphomitrium lobuliferum = Ptychomitrium lindigii, Trichostomum novo-granatense = T. brachydontium; and for Ecuadorean taxa: Grimmia cinerea = G. longirostris, Grimmia benoistii = G. trichophylla, Neckera benoistii = N. chilensis, Orthostichopsis incertus = Porotrichendron superbum, and Renauldia obovata = Neckera obtusifolius. Additional Colombian synonyms recognized by specialists are listed.