bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Compartmental flux andin situmethods underestimate total feed nitrogen as judged by the omasal sampling method due to ignoring soluble feed nitrogen flow
Authors: Huhtanen Pekka , Bayat Alireza , Krizsan Sophie J. , Vanhatalo Aila
Published: August 2013

The objective of the present study was to estimate ruminal feed N outflow in lactating cows using the omasal sampling, compartmental flux orin situmethod. A total of five ruminally fistulated Finnish Ayrshire dairy cows were used in a 5 × 5 Latin square study with 21 d periods. Experimental silages of grass or red clover harvested at two stages of maturity in addition to a supplement of 9·0 kg concentrate/d were fed to the cows.In vivoomasal N flow was determined using the omasal sampling technique. Ruminalin situN flow was calculated from N intake and degradability (38 μm nylon bags). The samples of ruminal contents and faeces were divided into seven particle-size fractions by wet sieving; the concentrations of indigestible neutral-detergent fibre and N were used to calculate N flow in the compartmental flux method.In vivoomasal N flow was greater for the red clover silage diets than for the grass silage diets. The N flow calculated using the compartmental flux technique and that calculated using thein situtechnique were highly correlated, but both were less than and poorly correlated with thein vivoN flow. In bothin situand compartmental flux techniques, forage maturity increased the particle-associated N flow, with the increase being significantly greater for the red clover diets than for the grass silage diets. In conclusion, the compartmental flux andin situmethods described the N flow associated with the particle fractions rather than the total ruminal outflow of feed N.
Lotteries, Knowledge, and Irrelevant Alternatives
Authors: MCKINNON RACHEL
Published: August 2013

The lottery paradox plays an important role in arguments for various norms of assertion. Why is it that, prior to information on the results of a draw, assertions such as, “My ticket lost,” seem inappropriate? This paper is composed of two projects. First, I articulate a number of problems arising from Timothy Williamson’s analysis of the lottery paradox. Second, I propose a relevant alternatives theory, which I call the Non-Destabilizing Alternatives Theory (NDAT), that better explains the pathology of asserting lottery propositions, while permitting assertions of what I call fallible propositions such as, “My car is in the driveway.”
L’énonciation non sérieuse a-t-elle une force illocutoire? À propos de l’hypothèse performative de la fiction littéraire
Authors: FOURNIER SIMON
Published: August 2013

Dans la foulée des récentes recherches interdisciplinaires sur la fiction littéraire, cet article a pour objectif d’identifier la force illocutoire de l’énonciation dite «non sérieuse» (Frege, Austin et Searle) de l’auteur de fiction sur la base de l’hypothèse théorique que les unités minimales de la signification des énonciations sont des actes de discours du genre illocutoire (Austin), composés d’une force (Frege) et d’un contenu propositionnel (Searle). À la lumière des analyses philosophiques des énonciations non sérieuses et performatives d’énoncés déclaratifs, je formule l’hypothèse fondamentale selon laquelle les unités minimales de la signification des énonciations non sérieuses sont des déclarations linguistiques de forme F(dans le jeu de langage x, P) ayant pour but d’instaurer des événements extralinguistiques représentés dans le contenu propositionnel de cet acte de discours par le fait de faire ce que l’énoncé signifie par convention.
A VARIATIONAL APPROACH FOR A BI-NON-LOCAL ELLIPTIC PROBLEM INVOLVING THE p(x)-LAPLACIAN AND NON-LINEARITY WITH NON-STANDARD GROWTH
Authors: CORRÊA FRANCISCO JULIO S. A. , DOS REIS COSTA AUGUSTO CÉSAR
Published: August 2013

In this paper we are concerned with a class of p(x)-Kirchhoff equation where the non-linearity has non-standard growth and contains a bi-non-local term. We prove, by using variational methods (Mountain Pass Theorem and Ekeland Variational Principle), several results on the existence of positive solutions.
Prognostic factors for secondary recurrence of pleomorphic adenoma: a 20-year, retrospective study
Authors: Malard O , Wagner R , Joubert M , Delemazure A-S , Rio E , Durand N , Espitalier F
Published: August 2013

Purpose:

To evaluate the results of treatment of parotid pleomorphic adenoma, and the risk factors for secondary recurrence.

Materials and methods:

Single-centre, retrospective study of 32 patients with pleomorphic adenoma recurrence managed between 1988 and 2008.

Results:

The mean age at diagnosis of primary pleomorphic adenoma recurrence was 43.4 years. Twenty-eight per cent of patients had secondary recurrence; 32 per cent had undergone two or more surgical resections and external adjuvant radiotherapy. An age of less than 25 years was significantly associated with an earlier primary recurrence (p = 0.008). The most significant histopathological risk factor for secondary recurrence was the presence of a multifocal tumour (p = 0.019). Other histopathological criteria (i.e. cellularity and capsule rupture) were not significant. Radiotherapy was not associated with a decrease in recurrence. Nine per cent of patients progressed to malignancy. The main surgical complication was definitive facial palsy (14 per cent).

Conclusion:

Pleomorphic adenoma recurrence requires surgery, with greatly increased risk to the facial nerve. Resection with clear surgical margins is required, especially in young patients with multifocal tumours. Radiotherapy may delay second recurrence in cases of multifocal tumour.
THE IMPACT OF PERSISTENT CYCLES ON ZERO FREQUENCY UNIT ROOT TESTS
Authors: Castro Tomás del Barrio , Rodrigues Paulo M.M. , Taylor A.M. Robert
Published: August 2013

In this paper we investigate the impact of persistent (nonstationary or near nonstationary) cycles on the asymptotic and finite-sample properties of standard unit root tests. Results are presented for the augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) normalized bias andt-ratio-based tests (Dickey and Fuller, 1979,Journal of the American Statistical Association745, 427–431; Said and Dickey, 1984;Biometrika71, 599–607). the variance ratio unit root test of Breitung (2002,Journal of Econometrics108, 343–363), and theMclass of unit-root tests introduced by Stock (1999, in Engle and White (eds.),A Festschrift in Honour of Clive W.J. Granger) and Perron and Ng (1996,Review of Economic Studies63, 435–463). We show that although the ADF statistics remain asymptotically pivotal (provided the test regression is properly augmented) in the presence of persistent cycles, this is not the case for the other statistics considered and show numerically that the size properties of the tests based on these statistics are too unreliable to be used in practice. We also show that thet-ratios associated with lags of the dependent variable of order greater than two in the ADF regression are asymptotically normally distributed. This is an important result as it implies that extant sequential methods (see Hall, 1994,Journal of Business & Economic Statistics17, 461–470; Ng and Perron, 1995,Journal of the American Statistical Association90, 268–281) used to determine the order of augmentation in the ADF regression remain valid in the presence of persistent cycles.
RIGHT-TAIL INFORMATION IN FINANCIAL MARKETS
Authors: Xiao Zhijie
Published: August 2013

It is well known that when investors evaluate risk or opportunity, they often depart from predictions of expected utility. In addition, for both academic and financial communities it is a familiar stylized fact that stock return distributions are not normal. Both empirical evidence and experimental evidence indicate that distributional information of asset returns has an important impact on investors. In this paper, we argue that the right-tail distributional information of returns can provide very valuable information to investors and portfolio managers, and right-tail information should be used together with other (say, left-tail) information in analyzing financial markets. Here, we introduce measures for the right-tail distribution. Quantile regression estimators for the right-tail measures are proposed, and their asymptotic properties are developed. Statistical inference on testing for changes of right-tail distribution is also discussed. A Monte Carlo experiment is conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed estimator. The proposed estimation method may also be applied to estimation of other measures in finance.
NONPARAMETRIC NONSTATIONARITY TESTS
Authors: Bandi Federico M. , Corradi Valentina
Published: August 2013

We propose additive functional-based nonstationarity tests that exploit the different divergence rates of the occupation times of a (possibly nonlinear) process under the null of nonstationarity (stationarity) versus the alternative of stationarity (nonstationarity). We consider both discrete-time series and continuous-time processes. The discrete-time case covers Harris recurrent Markov chains and integrated processes. The continuous-time case focuses on Harris recurrent diffusion processes. Notwithstanding finite-sample adjustments discussed in the paper, the proposed tests are simple to implement and rely on tabulated critical values. Simulations show that their size and power properties are satisfactory. Our robustness to nonlinear dynamics provides a solution to the typical inconsistency problem between assumed linearity of a time series for the purpose of nonstationarity testing and subsequent nonlinear inference.
Analogues between 2D Linear Equations and Great Circle Sailing
Authors: Tseng Wei-Kuo , Chang Wei-Jie
Published: August 2013

This paper presents the similarities between equations used for great circle sailing and 2D linear equations. Great circle sailing adopts spherical triangle equations and vector algebra to solve problems of distance, azimuth and waypoints on the great circle; these equations are sophisticated and deemed hard for those unfamiliar with them, whereas on the other hand, 2D linear equations can be solved easily with basic algebra and trigonometry definitions. By pointing out the similarities, readers can quickly comprehend great circle equations and grasp just how similar they are to the corresponding 2D linear equations.
Feasibility of customised unipolar conversion using bipolar temporary pacing wires in patients after surgical repair of congenital heart disease
Authors: Peters Bjoern , Miera Oliver , Ewert Peter , Yilmaz Sevim , Berger Felix , Schmitt Boris
Published: August 2013

Objective: Temporary pacing wires play a crucial role in the diagnosis and therapy of post-operative arrhythmia after surgery for congenital heart disease. At present, bipolar pacing wires are used in most institutions. In case of functional failure of these wires, a unipolar mode of stimulation and sensing should be theoretically possible as a rescue procedure. Methods: We tested the feasibility of the customised unipolar mode in 18 post-operative patients with congenital heart disease (age 9.2 ± 13.9 months, weight 6.3 ± 3.8 kg, and cardiopulmonary bypass time 70 ± 29 minutes). As there are two possible unipolar configurations, there are twice the number of testing parameters; of those, we compared sensing (mV) and pacing thresholds (V at 0.5 ms). Results: Atrial sensing was significantly better in the unipolar modes (p < 0.001, p < 0.003). The ventricular unipolar sensing did not differ significantly in the “better” of the two possible configurations from the bipolar values (p = 0.363). For the unipolar pacing thresholds, only the “better” unipolar configuration did not differ significantly from the bipolar measurements (atrial: p = 0.058, ventricular: p = 0.138). There was no exit block or undersensing. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that unipolar stimulation and sensing using bipolar epicardial temporary pacing wires is feasible. In the case of failure of bipolar temporary pacing wires, this modality represents an easy rescue measure that in such cases should always be considered.
Vijaya and Romulus: Interpreting the Origin myths of Sri Lanka and Rome
Authors: STRATHERN ALAN
Published: August 2013

The story of Vijaya, has long been central to the Sinhalese idea of themselves as a distinct ethnic group of Aryan origin with ancient roots in the island of Lanka. The ‘national’ chronicle of the Sinhalese, theMahāvaṃsa(circa fifth centuryce) presents Vijaya, an exiled prince from India descended from a lion, as the founder hero of Sinhala civilisation. In a companion article to this, I argued that the narrative of Vijaya and other founder-heroes in theMahāvaṃsarevolves around the theme of transgression, and that this puzzling fact can only be explained by a consideration of the symbolic logic of the ‘stranger-king’ in origin stories and kingship rituals worldwide. In the present article, I look at other ways of explaining the narrative of Sīhabāhu, Vijaya, and Paṇḍukābhaya. First I break down the narrative into four different origin stories and consider their distribution in a range of texts from South Asia in order to reflect on possible textual inspirations for them (and even consider parallels with the Greek tale of Odysseus and Circe). Second, I consider the possibility that the narrative concerning relations with Pāṇḍu royalty reflects immediate political imperatives of the fifth centuryce. Do such interpretations negate the assumption that an organic communal process of mythogenesis has been at work? In the final section this methodological dilemma is approached through comparisons with the way in which scholars have looked at the origin myths of ancient Greek and particularly Roman society. Lastly, these reflections add further weight to the global comparative model of the stranger king, for the stories of Romulus and Vijaya share an emphasis on alien and transgressive beginnings.

In 2009 the Sri Lankan government finally destroyed the conventional forces of the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) as the civil war that had afflicted the island since 1983 was brought to a violent denouement in the north-east of the Vanni region. From some of the subsequent celebrations by the Sinhalese majority, it seemed that the President Mahinda Rajapaksa was hailed not only for having rid Sri Lanka of a violent menace, but for having, in one sense, re-created the island. The country could now attain the kind of genuine independence and wholeness that had been lacking for much of the period following decolonisation in 1948. After the victory, Rajapaksa was hailed as a ‘great king’ and his admirers were not slow to draw historical analogies with kings and founder-heroes of the past. Such heroes typically have to wade through blood to obtain political mastery; the Lankan chronicles imply that such is the price that must be paid for the re-establishment of society or civilisation itself.
DID THE GREEKS BELIEVE IN THEIR ROBOTS?
Authors: Devecka Martin
Published: August 2013

This paper investigates the ‘prehistory’ of automata in fourth-century Greece. It argues, first, that automata appear more frequently in the philosophy and drama of this period than has usually been recognised; second, that robots function in classical Greek literature as a utopian substitute for slavery or other forms of bound labour; and, finally, that the failure of Hellenistic automata to realise this utopia illustrates some basic constraints on the power of technology to disturb social institutions in the ancient world.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of psychiatric disorder and the perpetration of partner violence
Authors: Oram S. , Trevillion K. , Khalifeh H. , Feder G. , Howard L.M.
Published: August 2013

Backgrounds.

The extent to which psychiatric disorders are associated with an increased risk of violence to partners is unclear. This review aimed to establish risk of violence against partners among men and women with diagnosed psychiatric disorders.

Methods.

Systematic review and meta-analysis. Searches of eleven electronic databases were supplemented by hand searching, reference screening and citation tracking of included articles, and expert recommendations.

Results.

Seventeen studies were included, reporting on 72 585 participants, but only three reported on past year violence. Pooled risk estimates could not be calculated for past year violence against a partner and the three studies did not consistently report increased risk for any diagnosis. Pooled estimates showed an increased risk of having ever been physically violent towards a partner among men with depression (odds ratio (OR) 2.8, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 2.5–3.3), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) (OR 3.2, 95% CI 2.3–4.4) and panic disorder (OR 2.5, 95% CI C% 1.7–3.6). Increased risk was also found among women with depression (OR 2.4, 95% CI 2.1–2.8), GAD (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.9–3.0) and panic disorder (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.4–2.5).

Conclusions.

Psychiatric disorders are associated with high prevalence and increased odds of having ever been physically violent against a partner. As history of violence is a predictor of current violence, mental health professionals should ask about previous partner violence when assessing risk.
Video object segmentation with shape cue based on spatiotemporal superpixel neighbourhood
Authors: Tian Zhiqiang , Zheng Nanning , Xue Jianru , Lan Xuguang , Li Ce , Zhou Gang
Published: August 2013

In this study, the authors present a method to extract moving objects in image sequences. The proposed approach is based on a graph cuts algorithm defined on a spatiotemporal superpixel neighbourhood. Presegmented superpixels are partitioned into foreground and background while preserving temporal and spatial coherence. It achieves this goal by three steps. First, instead of operating at pixel level, the superpixels are advocated as basic units of the authors segmentation scheme. Second, within the graph cuts framework, two superpixel‐based data terms and two superpixel‐based smoothness terms are proposed to solve segmentation problem. Finally, the proposed method yields the segmentation of all the superpixels within video volume by the graph cuts algorithm. To illustrate the advantages of this approach, the quantitative and qualitative results are compared with other state‐of‐the‐art methods. The experimental results show that the proposed method gives better performance of segmentation with respect to these methods.
Multiple instance learning tracking method with local sparse representation
Authors: Xie Chengjun , Tan Jieqing , Chen Peng , Zhang Jie , He Lei
Published: August 2013

When objects undergo large pose change, illumination variation or partial occlusion, most existed visual tracking algorithms tend to drift away from targets and even fail in tracking them. To address this issue, in this study, the authors propose an online algorithm by combining multiple instance learning (MIL) and local sparse representation for tracking an object in a video system. The key idea in our method is to model the appearance of an object by local sparse codes that can be formed as training data for the MIL framework. First, local image patches of a target object are represented as sparse codes with an overcomplete dictionary, where the adaptive representation can be helpful in overcoming partial occlusion in object tracking. Then MIL learns the sparse codes by a classifier to discriminate the target from the background. Finally, results from the trained classifier are input into a particle filter framework to sequentially estimate the target state over time in visual tracking. In addition, to decrease the visual drift because of the accumulative errors when updating the dictionary and classifier, a two‐step object tracking method combining a static MIL classifier with a dynamical MIL classifier is proposed. Experiments on some publicly available benchmarks of video sequences show that our proposed tracker is more robust and effective than others.
Background suppression of small target image based on fast local reverse entropy operator
Authors: Deng He , Wei Yantao , Tong Mingwen
Published: August 2013

Background suppression is vitally important for the small target detection, which aims to enhance targets and improve the signal‐to‐noise ratio of small target images. Consequently, the study proposes a background suppression approach based on the fast local reverse entropy operator, which is designed according to the fact that the appearance of a small target could result in the great change of the value of local reverse entropy in the local region. The operator is adopted to suppress complex backgrounds of small target images in order to enhance small targets, and then bring about high probabilities of detection and low probabilities of false alarm in the small target detection. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses contribute to confirm the validity and efficiency of the proposed approach.
Using vanishing points to estimate parameters of fisheye camera
Authors: Zhu Haijiang , Xu Xiaobo , Zhou Jinglin , Wang Xuejing
Published: August 2013

This study presents an approach for estimating the fisheye camera parameters using three vanishing points corresponding to three sets of mutually orthogonal parallel lines in one single image. The authors first derive three constraint equations on the elements of the rotation matrix in proportion to the coordinates of the vanishing points. From these constraints, the rotation matrix is calculated under the assumption of the image centre known. The experimental results with synthetic images and real fisheye images validate this method. In contrast to the existing methods, the authors method needs less image information and does not know the three‐dimensional reference point coordinates.
Multiple subsequence combination in human action recognition
Authors: Onofri Leonardo , Soda Paolo , Iannello Giulio
Published: August 2013

Human action recognition is an active research area with applications in several domains such as visual surveillance, video retrieval and human–computer interaction. Current approaches assign action labels to video streams considering the whole video as a single sequence but, in some cases, the large variability between frames may lead to misclassifications. The authors propose a multiple subsequence combination (MSC) method that divides the video into several consecutive subsequences. It applies part‐based and bag of visual words approaches to classify each subsequence. Then, it combines subsequence labels to assign an action label to the video. The proposed approach was tested on the KTH, UCF sports, Youtube and Robo‐Kitchen datasets, which have large differences in terms of video length, object appearance and pose, object scale, viewpoint, background, as well as number, type and complexity of actions performed. Two main results were achieved. First, the MSC approach shows better performances compared to classify the video as a whole, even when few subsequences are used. Second, the approach is robust and stable since, for each dataset, its performances are comparable to the part‐based approach at the state‐of‐the‐art.
Shape‐from‐shading using sensor and physical object characteristics applied to human teeth surface reconstruction
Authors: Abdelrahim Aly S. , Farag Aly A. , Elhabian Shireen Y. , El‐Melegy Moumen T.
Published: August 2013

Image formation involves understanding the sensors characteristics and object reflectance. In dentistry, for example an accurate three‐dimensional (3D) representation of the human jaw may be used for diagnostic and treatment purposes. Photogrammetry can offer a flexible, cost‐effective solution in that regard. Nonetheless there are several challenges, such as non‐friendly image acquisition environment inside the human mouth, problems with lighting (specularity effects because of saliva, gum discolourisation, and occlusion because of the tongue in the lower jaw), and errors because of the data acquisition sensors (e.g. camera calibration errors, lens distortion and so on). In this study, the authors focus on the 3D surface reconstruction aspect for human jaw modelling based on physical surface characteristics and sensor properties. Owing to apparent lens distortion imposed by near‐field imaging, the authors propose a new flexible calibration for lens radial distortion based on a single image of a sphere. The authors propose a non‐Lambertian shape‐from‐shading (SFS) algorithm under perspective projection which benefits from camera calibration parameters. Our experiments provide quantitative metric results for the proposed approach. The reflectance of the tooth surface is modelled by the Oren–Nayar reflectance model for rough surfaces whose roughness parameter is physically computed from an optical surface profiler measurements. As compared to state‐of‐the‐art SFS approaches, our approach is able to recover geometric details of tooth occlusal surface. This work is fundamental for establishing an optical‐based approach for reconstructing the human jaw, that is inexpensive and does not use ionising radiation.
Power and bandwidth efficiency of wireless mesh networks
Authors: Zhao Liqiang , Gao Lu , Zhao Xiaodong , Ou Shumao
Published: August 2013

As a prevalent network topology, mesh, has been actively researched and developed as a key solution to improve the performance and services of wireless communications. In this study, the authors carry out a comprehensive analysis of the bandwidth efficiency (BE) in b/s/Hz and power efficiency (PE) in b/s/Hz/W of carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance, the basic medium access control protocol for wireless mesh networks (WMNs). Analysis results show that the suboptimal, not the maximal, power and BE can be achieved simultaneously under the same conditions, for example, the number of competing nodes and contention windows. Hence, the authors present a heuristic bandwidth‐PE tradeoff design. Simulation results show that the authors proposed protocol works well in both single‐hop and multi‐hop WMNs.
Wireless network access selection scheme for heterogeneous multimedia traffic
Authors: Mehbodniya Abolfazl , Kaleem Faisal , Yen Kang K. , Adachi Fumiyuki
Published: August 2013

Global connectivity, at anyplace and anytime, to provide high‐speed, high‐quality and reliable communication channels, is now becoming a reality. The credit mainly goes to the recent technological advances in wireless communications, which consist of a wide range of technologies and applications to fulfil the particular needs of end‐users in different deployment scenarios (Bluetooth, Wi‐Fi, WiMAX and third generation/fourth generation cellular systems). In such a heterogeneous wireless environment, one of the key ingredients to provide efficient ubiquitous computing is the design of intelligent handoff algorithms, which select the optimal target network. This study presents a novel approach for the design and implementation of a multi‐criteria vertical handoff decision algorithm for heterogeneous wireless networks to achieve seamless mobility while maximising end‐users’ satisfaction. Two important modules are designed; the first module estimates the necessity of handoffs and the second module selects the best network as the target of handoff. Several parallel fuzzy logic controllers with reduced rule sets are used, in combination with a fuzzy ranking algorithm, to implement these modules. Simulation results are provided and compared with a benchmark for different evaluation metrics.
Transmission protocol selection for dual‐hop amplify‐and‐forward relaying networks
Authors: Yingnan Zhang
Published: August 2013

This study solves the problem of transmission protocol selection for dual‐hop amplify‐and‐forward relaying networks. The two available protocols are parallel and non‐parallel, and the selection metric is the system data rate. First, for the non‐parallel protocol, the joint optimal power allocation (PA) scheme is derived using a single parameter optimisation approach. Secondly, for the parallel protocol, the optimal PA scheme is obtained through introducing a novel interval splitting approach, which considerably reduces the solution space from exponential to polynomial order. Finally, based on the proposed optimal PA schemes, the rate performance of the two protocols are compared, which reveals that their relationship is decided by the given average power constraint. The critical value of the average power constraint, above which the performance of the non‐parallel protocol outperforms that of the parallel protocol, is determined via numerical simulations. Therefore the critical value provides a selection criterion between the two protocols under data rate metric.
Mobility aware‐Termite: a novel bio inspired routing protocol for mobile ad‐hoc networks
Authors: Manjappa Kiran , Guddeti Ram Mohana Reddy
Published: August 2013

In recent years, a lot of work has been done in an effort to incorporate swarm intelligence (SI) techniques in building an adaptive routing protocol for mobile ad‐hoc networks (MANETs). As centralised approach for routing in MANETs lack in scalability and fault‐tolerance, SI technique gives natural solutions through distributed approach to the adaptive routing for MANETs. The mobile nodes (MNs) found in existing MANETs are capable of monitoring the network status as well as data processing. Thus, the MANET can be made context aware with the help of MNs local monitoring capability. In the present work, a novel mobility aware bio inspired routing protocol for MANETs referred to as mobility aware‐Termite (MA‐Termite) is proposed. The objectives of the proposed protocol are twofold. (1) To find the reliable path based on the stable nodes in terms of its mobility with the help of the local monitoring capability of nodes. (2) To mitigate the measurement bias using pheromone smoothing. The proposed MA‐Termite is implemented in NS‐2 and the results are compared with other state‐of‐the‐art bio inspired and non‐bio inspired routing protocols for its evaluation. The MA‐Termite results are found to be convincing against its competing protocols in the carried out simulations.
A video distribution game with enhanced quality of experience for wireless networks
Authors: Goudarzi Pejman
Published: August 2013

Video communication over unpredictable wireless medium is a challenging research area. Many mathematical solutions have been proposed by researchers for high‐quality video forwarding over such networks. An important example is the game theory. The non‐cooperative game theory can be adopted to represent the selfish behaviour of network users. In the current study, a non‐cooperative quality game framework (QGF) has been introduced, in which by exploiting a related quality metric, scalable video users try to enhance their perceived quality in a distributed manner in mobile ad‐hoc networks. The behaviour of the Nash equilibrium point has been analysed and a distributed resource allocation strategy has been introduced. Also, the quality properties of the proposed QGF under the user churn effects have been investigated. The assigned rates in the quality game can be considered as rate‐feedbacks for on‐line rate adaptation of a moderate scalable video encoder such as HEVC, H.264/MPEG4 AVC etc. Some experimental results have been presented to validate the theoretical results.
Characterisation of copper thin films deposited on machinable glass–ceramic and glass by DC magnetron sputtering
Authors: Desideri Daniele , Cavallin Tommaso , Maschio Alvise , Natali Marco
Published: August 2013

Thin film metallisation of machinable glass–ceramic is a technique used for industrial applications. Data of copper thin films on machinable glass–ceramic, realised by using a magnetron sputtering system in an extensive pressure range, are uncommon. Aim of this study is to obtain and analyse these data, and to use as comparison the same copper depositions performed on glass. Surface analyses of materials used as substrates have been performed, and treatments prior to depositions are reported. Films with thicknesses of some hundreds of nanometres have been obtained by DC magnetron sputtering, varying the gas discharge pressure in the range 0.13–6.6 Pa. The films have been analysed, and the mechanical and structural data have been determined by profilometer, X‐ray diffraction and atomic force measurements, whereas electrical resistivity has been derived from sheet resistance measurement. The analyses have shown that the films obtained on glass and machinable glass–ceramic have similar structural (crystallite sizes and preferred orientation) and electrical (resistivity) characteristics. The resistivity data obtained from coatings realised at the highest pressures present an increase of more than one order of magnitude with respect to the values measured at the lowest pressures, and this result may be related to film ‘intra‐grain’ size effect.
Study of the effect of angle errors in conical ultrasonic sensors
Authors: García‐Álvarez Javier , García‐Hernández Miguel J. , Chávez Juan A. , Turó Antoni , Salazar Jordi
Published: August 2013

Many ultrasonic sensors intended for non‐destructive testing include a plastic or metal element, known as buffer rod, between the ultrasonic transducer and the material under analysis. Buffer rods are often terminated in the form of a conical tip for ultrasonic inspection of liquid‐like substances. The conical tip is carefully shaped in a 45° angle to favour the in phase reception of all the components of the ultrasonic wave reflected at the buffer tip, obtaining thus a maximum amplitude measurement signal. The effect of the buffer rod cone angle on measurement signals is studied in this work. A straightforward approximate formula for the effect of the error angle on measurement signal amplitude is used. Simulations are performed using a two‐dimensional finite differences tool. Measurements are conducted with the same operating conditions and buffer rod materials and dimensions as those defined for both approximate formula evaluation and simulations. Thus, a comparison of the approximate formula, simulation and measurement results are established. Furthermore, the significance of some parameters such as ultrasonic transducer operating frequency and diameter, and buffer rod material are also analysed. The obtained results show that significant loss of the measurement signal amplitude is found only for cone error angles beyond the range of usual machining errors.
Efficient strategies for reliability‐based design optimisation of a superconducting magnetic energy storage system‐based on reliability index approach
Authors: Kim Dong‐Wook , Jeung Gi‐Woo , Choi Kyung K. , Kim Dong‐Hun
Published: August 2013

This study presents an enriched reliability index approach for reliability‐based design optimisation of electromagnetic devices in the presence of variability in design variables. To substantially improve computational efficiency, two new optimisation strategies consisting of a constraint indicator condition and a successive optimum search technique are incorporated into the existing method based on the reliability index approach. The constraint indicator decides whether reliability analysis is needed for each intermediate design during the reliability‐based optimisation process. Employing the successive optimum search technique, a deterministic optimum is first sought from an initial design and then a probabilistic optimum is obtained by launching at the deterministic optimum. The proposed method is tested with a coil design problem for a superconducting magnetic energy storage system, and is thoroughly investigated by comparing the results with the conventional method based on the reliability index approach and the Monte Carlo simulation in terms of computational efficiency and accuracy. Finally, the results show that the method leads to a significantly decreasing computational cost.
Fuzzy sliding mode control scheme for a class of non‐linear uncertain chaotic systems
Authors: Niknam Taher , Khooban Mohammad Hassan
Published: August 2013

This study deals with the problem of controlling class of uncertain non‐linear systems in the presence of external disturbances. To achieve this goal, a robust fuzzy sliding mode (RFSM) controller is introduced. First known dynamics of the system are eliminated through feedback linearisation and then fuzzy sliding mode controller is designed using Takagi–Sugeno (TS) method, based on the Lyapunov method which is capable of handling uncertainties. There is no sign of the undesired chattering phenomenon in the proposed method. The globally asymptotic stability of the closed‐loop system is mathematically proved. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed controller, the results are compared with those obtained by optimal H∞ adaptive proportional integral derivative controller and an optimal Type‐2 fuzzy proportional integral derivative, which are the latest researches in the problem in hand. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the RFSM controller.
Novel designs of wideband Rogowski coils for high pulsed current measurement
Authors: Metwally Ibrahim A.
Published: August 2013

This study presents design, calibration and testing of six novel flat‐spiral self‐integrating Rogowski coils wound in two layers. These coils are two varnished‐wire wound coils with air and ferrite cores (RC1 and RC2, respectively), two flat‐twin wire wound coils with air and ferrite cores (RC3 and RC4, respectively) and two coaxial‐cable wound coils with and without the insulating jacket and with ferrite core and RC5 and RC6, respectively. All coil parameters are calculated and good agreement is found between these values and the corresponding measured ones. Coil sensitivity decreases as coil‐to‐wire separation increases and so does mutual inductance between the coil and the current‐carrying wire. Linearity of all coil sensitivities are checked for different separations and waveforms, and good agreement is found. Designed coils with ferrite core give better response than those with air core because the low cutoff frequency decreases. On the contrary, the droop effect is slightly observed for coils wound on wooden core, where RC4 and RC6 give the best response. Finally, the frequency response analysis for all coils shows that the percentage relative errors of the measured and the calculated coil sensitivities are within ±0.1%.
Disparities in equity and access for hospitalised atherothrombotic disease
Authors: Atkins Emily R. , Geelhoed Elizabeth A. , Nedkoff Lee , Briffa Tom G.
Published: August 2013

Objective.
This study of equity and access characterises admissions for coronary, cerebrovascular and peripheral arterial disease by hospital type (rural, tertiary and non-tertiary metropolitan) in a representative Australian population.

Methods.
We conducted a descriptive analysis using data linkage of all residents aged 35–84 years hospitalised in Western Australia with a primary diagnosis for an atherothrombotic event in 2007. We compared sociodemographic and clinical features by atherothrombotic territory and hospital type.

Results.
There were 11670 index admissions for atherothrombotic disease in 2007 of which 46% were in tertiary hospitals, 41% were in non-tertiary metropolitan hospitals and 13% were in rural hospitals. Coronary heart disease comprised 72% of admissions, followed by cerebrovascular disease (19%) and peripheral arterial disease (9%). Comparisons of socioeconomic disadvantage reveal that for those admitted to rural hospitals, more than one-third were in the most disadvantaged quintile, compared with one-fifth to any metropolitan hospital.

Conclusions.
Significant differences in demographic characteristics were evident between Western Australian tertiary and non-tertiary hospitals for patients hospitalised for atherothrombotic disease. Notably, the differences among tertiary, non-tertiary metropolitan and rural hospitals were related to socioeconomic disadvantage. This has implications for atherothrombotic healthcare provision and the generalisation of research findings from studies conducted exclusively in the tertiary metropolitan hospitals.

What is known about the topic?
Equity and access to hospital care for atherothrombotic disease in a geographically diverse population is poorly characterised. National data show that both fatal and non-fatal coronary heart disease and non-fatal stroke hospitalisations increase with remoteness. Fatal in-hospital stroke is greatest in major cities, whereas peripheral arterial disease hospitalisations are greatest in the inner and outer regional areas.

What does this paper add?
This study demonstrates that around 13% of atherothrombotic events were treated in rural hospitals with in-hospital case fatality higher than in tertiary and non-tertiary metropolitan hospitals. A greater proportion of atherothrombotic disease cases treated in rural hospitals were in the most disadvantaged Socioeconomic Indices For Area group.

What are the implications for practitioners?
It is important to consider differences in disadvantage when generalising results of studies generated from tertiary hospital data to non-tertiary metropolitan and rural patients.
Factors associated with calf mortality in tropically adapted beef breeds managed in extensive Australian production systems
Authors: Bunter Kim L. , Johnston David J. , Wolcott Matthew L. , Fordyce Geoffry
Published: August 2013

Data from 9296 calves born to 2078 dams over 9 years across five sites were used to investigate factors associated with calf mortality for tropically adapted breeds (Brahman and Tropical Composite) recorded in extensive production systems, using multivariate logistic regression. The average calf mortality pre-weaning was 9.5% of calves born, varying from 1.5% to 41% across all sites and years. In total, 67% of calves that died did so within a week of their birth, with cause of death most frequently recorded as unknown. The major factors significantly (P < 0.05) associated with mortality for potentially large numbers of calves included the specific production environment represented by site-year, low calf birthweight (more so than high birthweight) and horn status at branding. Almost all calf deaths post-branding (assessed from n = 8348 calves) occurred in calves that were dehorned, totalling 2.1% of dehorned calves and 15.9% of all calf deaths recorded. Breed effects on calf mortality were primarily the result of breed differences in calf birthweight and, to a lesser extent, large teat size of cows; however, differences in other breed characteristics could be important. Twin births and calves assisted at birth had a very high risk of mortality, but <1% of calves were twins and few calves were assisted at birth. Conversely, it could not be established how many calves would have benefitted from assistance at birth. Cow age group and outcome from the previous season were also associated with current calf mortality; maiden or young cows (<4 years old) had increased calf losses overall. More mature cows with a previous outcome of calf loss were also more likely to have another calf loss in the subsequent year, and this should be considered for culling decisions. Closer attention to the management of younger cows is warranted to improve calf survival.
Genomic selection for female reproduction in Australian tropically adapted beef cattle
Authors: Zhang Y. D. , Johnston D. J. , Bolormaa S. , Hawken R. J. , Tier B.
Published: August 2013

The usefulness of genomic selection was assessed for female reproduction in tropically adapted breeds in northern Australia. Records from experimental populations of Brahman (996) and Tropical Composite (1097) cattle that had had six calving opportunities were used to derive genomic predictions for several measures of female fertility. These measures included age at first corpus luteum (AGECL), at first calving and subsequent postpartum anoestrous interval and measures of early and lifetime numbers of calves born or weaned. In a second population, data on pregnancy and following status (anoestrous or pregnancy) were collected from 27 commercial herds from northern Australia to validate genomic predictions. Cows were genotyped with a variety of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panels and, where necessary, genotypes imputed to the highest density (729 068 SNPs). Genetic parameters of subsets of the complete data were estimated. These subsets were used to validate genomic predictions using genomic best linear unbiased prediction using both univariate cross-validation and bivariate analyses. Estimated heritability ranged from 0.56 for AGECL to 0.03 for lifetime average calving rate in the experimental cows, and from 0.09 to 0.25 for early life reproduction traits in the commercial cows. Accuracies of predictions were generally low, reflecting the limited number of data in the experimental populations. For AGECL and postpartum anoestrous interval, the highest accuracy was 0.35 for experimental Brahman cows using five-fold univariate cross-validation. Greater genetic complexity in the Tropical Composite cows resulted in the corresponding accuracy of 0.23 for AGECL. Similar level of accuracies (from univariate and bivariate analyses) were found for some of the early measures of female reproduction in commercial cows, indicating that there is potential for genomic selection but it is limited by the number of animals with phenotypes.
RETRACTED: PINK1 regulates histone H3 trimethylation and gene expression by interaction with the polycomb protein EED/WAIT1
Authors: Berthier Arnaud , Jiménez-Sáinz Judit , Pulido Rafael
Published: August 2013

Mutations in PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1) gene are associated to early-onset recessive forms of Parkinson disease. PINK1 function is related to mitochondria homeostasis, but the molecular pathways in which PINK1 is involved are largely unknown. Here, we report the identification of the embryonic ectoderm development polycomb histone-methylation modulator (EED/WAIT1) as a PINK1-interacting and -regulated protein. The PINK1:EED/WAIT1 physical interaction was mediated by the PINK1 kinase domain and the EED/WAIT1 40 amino acid ending with tryptophan and aspartate (WD40)-repeat region, and PINK1 phosphorylated EED/WAIT1 in vitro. PINK1 associated with EED/WAIT1 in cells and relocated EED/WAIT1 to the mitochondria. This interaction reduced the trimethylation of lysine 27 from histone H3, which affected polycomb-regulated gene transcription during RA differentiation of SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. Our findings unveil a pathway by which PINK1 regulates histone methylation and gene expression through the polycomb repressor complex.
Hypoxic retinal Müller cells promote vascular permeability by HIF-1–dependent up-regulation of angiopoietin-like 4
Authors: Xin Xiaoban , Rodrigues Murilo , Umapathi Mahaa , Kashiwabuchi Fabiana , Ma Tao , Babapoor-Farrokhran Savalan , Wang Shuang , Hu Jiadi , Bhutto Imran , Welsbie Derek S. , Duh Elia J. , Handa James T. , Eberhart Charles G. , Lutty Gerard , Semenza Gregg L. , Montaner Silvia , Sodhi Akrit
Published: August 2013

Significance

Ischemic retinopathies include a diverse group of diseases in which immature retinal vasculature or damage to mature retinal vessels leads to retinal ischemia. The anticipated rise in the worldwide prevalence of diabetes will result in a concurrent increase in the number of patients with vision impairment from diabetic eye disease, the most common cause of ischemic retinopathy. We set out to identify novel hypoxia-inducible genes that promote vascular permeability and may therefore play a role in the pathogenesis of diabetic eye disease. We demonstrate that angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) is up-regulated by the transcriptional enhancer, hypoxia-inducible factor-1 in hypoxic retinal Müller cells, and can promote vascular permeability. Our findings suggest that ANGPTL4 may be a potential therapeutic target for ischemic retinopathies.