bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Droplet motion on inclined heterogeneous substrates
Authors: Savva Nikos , Kalliadasis Serafim
Published: May 2013

We consider the static and dynamic behaviour of two-dimensional droplets on inclined heterogeneous substrates. We utilize an evolution equation for the droplet thickness based on the long-wave approximation of the Stokes equations in the presence of slip. Through a singular perturbation procedure, evolution equations for the location of the two moving fronts are obtained under the assumption of quasi-static dynamics. The deduced equations, which are verified by direct comparisons with numerical solutions to the governing equation, are scrutinized in a variety of dynamic and equilibrium settings. For example, we demonstrate the possibility for stick–slip dynamics, substrate-induced hysteresis, the uphill motion of the droplet for sufficiently strong chemical gradients and the existence of a critical inclination angle beyond which the droplet can no longer be supported at equilibrium. Where possible, analytical expressions are obtained for various quantities of interest, which are also verified by appropriate numerical experiments.
The effect of lactose–isomaltulose-containing growing-up milks on cognitive performance of Indonesian children: a cross-over study
Authors: Sekartini Rini , Wiguna Tjhin , Bardosono Saptawati , Novita Dian , Arsianti Tiana , Calame Wim , Schaafsma Anne
Published: May 2013

Glycaemic response to dietary carbohydrates might have an impact on cognitive performance. The present study investigated the effects of growing-up milks (GUM) with isomaltulose and extra minerals and vitamins or lower protein content on cognitive parameters in children aged 5–6 years. In a blinded, partly randomised, controlled, cross-over study, four GUM were provided, each taken over 14 d (2 × 200 ml/d): standard (Std) GUM; Std GUM+5 g isomaltulose (Iso-5 GUM); Iso-5 GUM with 26 % less protein (Iso-5 LP GUM); Std GUM with 2·5 g isomaltulose and extra Mg, Zn, Se, D3, B1, B2, B12, folic acid and choline (Iso-2·5 GUM). At test days, when GUM replaced breakfast, repeated (0, 60, 120 and 180 min post-dose) cognitive tasks were performed (picture presentation, simple reaction time, digit vigilance, choice reaction time, spatial and numeric working memory and picture recognition). Task performance of all subjects (n 50) worsened over the morning. Best performance was seen on isomaltulose GUM, most notably at 180 min. Iso-2·5 GUM showed best performance on several parameters of attention and memory, Iso-5 GUM performed best on parameters of memory and Iso-5 LP GUM was positively associated with parameters of attention but less with memory. Std GUM showed only a benefit on one attention and one memory task. Thus, isomaltulose-enriched GUM positively affected parameters of attention and memory at 180 min post-dose when compared with Std GUM. Extra minerals and vitamins seem beneficial, whereas lowering protein content might improve attention in particular.
Mediterranean diet adherence during pregnancy and risk of wheeze and eczema in the first year of life: INMA (Spain) and RHEA (Greece) mother–child cohort studies
Authors: Chatzi Leda , Garcia Raquel , Roumeliotaki Theano , Basterrechea Mikel , Begiristain Haizea , Iñiguez Carmen , Vioque Jesus , Kogevinas Manolis , Sunyer Jordi
Published: May 2013

Maternal diet during pregnancy might influence the development of childhood allergic disorders. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence during pregnancy on wheeze and eczema in the first year of life in two population-based mother–child cohorts in Spain and Greece. We studied 1771 mother–newborn pairs from the Spanish multi-centre ‘INMA’ (INfancia y Medio Ambiente) study (Gipuzkoa, Sabadell and Valencia) and 745 pairs from the ‘RHEA’ study in Crete, Greece. The symptoms of wheeze and eczema were based on the criteria of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. Maternal diet during pregnancy was assessed by FFQ and MD adherence was evaluated through an a priori score. Multivariate log-binomial regression models were used to adjust for several confounders in each cohort and summary estimates were obtained by a meta-analysis. MD adherence was not associated with the risk of wheeze and eczema in any cohort, and similar results were identified in the meta-analysis approach. High meat intake (relative risk (RR) 1·22, 95 % CI 1·00, 1·49) and ‘processed’ meat intake (RR 1·18, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·37) during pregnancy were associated with an increased risk of wheeze in the first year of life, while a high intake of dairy products was significantly associated with a decreased risk of infantile wheeze (RR 0·83, 95 % CI 0·72, 0·96). The results of the present study show that high meat intake during pregnancy may increase the risk of wheeze in the first year of life, while a high intake of dairy products may decrease it.
DNA barcoding and elucidation of cryptic aphid species (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in India
Authors: Rebijith K.B. , Asokan R. , Kumar N.K. Krishna , Krishna V. , Chaitanya B.N. , Ramamurthy V.V.
Published: May 2013

Rapid, precise and timely identification of invasive pest insects such as aphids is important and a challenge worldwide due to their complex life cycles, parthenogenetic reproduction, sex and colour morphs. In this respect, DNA barcoding employing a 658 bp fragment of 5′ region of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (CO-I) gene is an effective tool in addressing the above. In the present study, we employed CO-I for discriminating 142 individuals representing 32 species of aphids from India. Sequence analyses revealed that the intraspecific and interspecific distances ranged from zero to 3.8% and 2.31 to 18.9%, respectively. In addition, the study also showed for the first time the prevalence of three cryptic species, namely Brevicoryne brassicae (Linnaeus), Hyperomyzus carduellinus (Theobald) and Brachycaudus helichrysi (Kaltenbach) from India. Our work has clearly demonstrated that DNA barcoding is an efficient and accurate method for identification of aphid species (including cryptic species), an approach that potentially could play an important role in formulating viable pest management strategies, more especially biocontrol.
IMMEDIATE AND RESIDUAL EFFECTS OF LIME AND PHOSPHORUS FERTILIZER ON SOIL ACIDITY AND MAIZE PRODUCTION IN WESTERN KENYA
Authors: KISINYO P. O. , OTHIENO C. O. , GUDU S. O. , OKALEBO J. R. , OPALA P. A. , NG'ETICH W. K. , NYAMBATI R. O. , OUMA E. O. , AGALO J. J. , KEBENEY S. J. , TOO E. J. , KISINYO J. A. , OPILE W. R.
Published: May 2013

Soil acidity and phosphorus (P) deficiency are some of the major causes of low maize yields in Kenya. This study determined the immediate and residual effects of lime and P fertilizer on soil pH, exchangeable aluminium (Al), available P, maize grain yield, agronomic P use and P fertilizer recovery efficiencies on a western Kenya acid soil. The treatments were: P fertilizer (0, 26 and 52 kg P ha−1as triple super phosphate) and lime (0, 2, 4 and 6 tons lime ha−1) applied once at the beginning of the study. A burnt liming material with 92.5% calcium carbonate equivalent was used. Soil samples were analysed prior to and after treatment application. The site had low soil pH–H2O (4.9), available P (2.3 mg kg−1), total N (0.17%), high Al (2.0 cmol kg−1exchangeable Al and 29% Al saturation). Lime reduced soil pH and exchangeable Al, leading to increased soil available P. Lime at 2, 4 and 6 tons ha−1maintained soil pH ≥ 5.5 for 2, 3 and 4 years, respectively. The study observed that the recommended P fertilizer rate (26 kg P ha−1) for maize production in Kenya was inadequate to raise soil available P to the critical level (≥10 mg P kg−1soil bicarbonate extractable P) required for healthy maize growth. To maintain soil available P at the critical level where 52 kg P ha−1and combined 52 kg P ha−1+ 4 tons lime ha−1were applied, it would be necessary to reapply the same P fertilizer rate after every one and two cropping seasons, respectively. The 4-year mean grain yield increments were 0.17, 0.34, 0.50, 0.58 and 1.17 tons ha−1due to 2, 4, 6 tons lime ha−1, 26 kg P and 52 kg P ha−1, respectively. Both agronomic P use and P fertilizer recovery efficiencies increased with increasing rates of lime and decreased with increasing rates of P fertilizer. Therefore, combined applications of both lime and P fertilizer are important for enhancing maize production on P-deficient acid soils in western Kenya.
A new species of Largocephalosaurus (Diapsida: Saurosphargidae), with implications for the morphological diversity and phylogeny of the group
Authors: LI CHUN , JIANG DA-YONG , CHENG LONG , WU XIAO-CHUN , RIEPPEL OLIVIER
Published: May 2013

Largocephalosaurus polycarpon Cheng et al. 2012a was erected after the study of the skull and some parts of a skeleton and considered to be an eosauropterygian. Here we describe a new species of the genus, Largocephalosaurus qianensis, based on three specimens. The new species provides many anatomical details which were described only briefly or not at all in the type species, and clearly indicates that Largocephalosaurus is a saurosphargid. It differs from the type species mainly in having three premaxillary teeth, a very short retroarticular process, a large pineal foramen, two sacral vertebrae, and elongated small granular osteoderms mixed with some large ones along the lateral most side of the body. With additional information from the new species, we revise the diagnosis and the phylogenetic relationships of Largocephalosaurus and clarify a set of diagnostic features for the Saurosphargidae Li et al. 2011. Largocephalosaurus is characterized primarily by an oval supratemporal fenestra, an elongate dorsal ‘rib-basket’, a narrow and elongate transverse process of the dorsal vertebrae, and the lack of a complete dorsal carapace of osteoderms. The Saurosphargidae is distinct mainly in having a retracted external naris, a jugal–squamosal contact, a large supratemporal extensively contacting the quadrate shaft, a leaf-like tooth crown with convex labial surface and concave lingual surface, a closed dorsal ‘rib-basket’, many dorsal osteoderms, a large boomerang-like or atypical T-shaped interclavicle. Current evidence suggests that the Saurosphargidae is the sister-group of the Sauropterygia and that Largocephalosaurus is the sister-group of the Saurosphargis–Sinosaurosphargis clade within the family.
Indigeneity and Kenya's Nubians: seeking equality in difference or sameness?
Authors: Balaton-Chrimes Samantha
Published: May 2013

Recent studies of indigeneity in Africa have highlighted the problematic nature of the concept in a continent where it is difficult to determine which groups have temporal priority in a given location. These studies have suggested, with varying degrees of criticism, that indigeneity in Africa is a strategic identity deployed to attain a special status and associated benefits, often to remedy past harms. This article agrees that indigeneity is an act of positioning, but suggests that in the Kenyan context it can be deployed in another way as well, that is, as an act that seeksequalrather thanspecialpositioning within the dominant population. In this case indigeneity is not a special ‘slot’ but rather the norm. The article illustrates this by drawing on research with the Nubian community of Nairobi who seek to shed their ethnic stranger status and instead position themselves as indigenous to Nairobi in order to access the same quality of citizenship as that enjoyed by Kenya's ‘42 tribes’.
Non-state actors and universal services in Tanzania and Lesotho: state-building by Alliance
Authors: D'arcy Michelle
Published: May 2013

In recent years over half of all African states have re-introduced some form of universal basic service provision, though many more have done so in education when compared with health. Most existing explanations of these developments have emphasised the importance of demand side factors associated with democratisation. This paper argues that while democratisation has been important in generating pressure for reform, alliances with actors outside the state – such as donors and non-state service providers – have been the critical enabling factor allowing weak states to overcome their capacity constraints and respond. Two illustrative case studies are used to show how variation in alliance opportunities has led to differences in outcomes both between social sectors and across countries. An inter-sector comparison of health and education policy in Tanzania shows how a difference in donor policy preferences between sectors – donors having converged behind the principle of universal primary education but not universal healthcare – has led to variation in alliance opportunities and hence policy outcomes. A ‘least likely’ case of healthcare reform in Lesotho shows how an alliance with a non-state provider has made difficult reforms possible.
‘We do our bit in our own space’: DAL Group and the development of a curiously Sudanese enclave economy
Authors: Mann Laura
Published: May 2013

The family firm, DAL Group, is Sudan's largest and most diversified company. Its growth has concentrated on consumer goods, rather than on state concessions or exports. It has developed its own training programmes, construction units, transportation networks and market research departments to manage the unstable environment outside its business walls. This paper focuses on the company's recruitment policies, demonstrating how the firm relies on its own internal family structure and a transnational network of Sudanese professionals in order to grow and prosper. Such self-reliance contributes to growing political frustration among young unemployed people. Graduates from ‘marginal’ areas rely more heavily on public advertisements and on information obtained from state bodies, not the private channels ofwasta(personal intermediation) that cut through contemporary business. The paper concludes by comparing DAL with similar business networks in Ethiopia and Rwanda, arguing that DAL is a unique and interesting form of ‘enclave economy’, shaped by a displaced transnational elite operating in a hostile political environment. Within the wider political context of Sudan, there is a limit to what similar businesses can achieve.
Dietary lipid modification for mild and severe dyslipidaemias
Authors: Marais A. David
Published: May 2013

The aim of this review is to place a historical perspective on linking dyslipidaemia with atherosclerosis and emphasises previous knowledge about the impact on the lipoprotein profile and health in persons with mild dyslipidaemia and in those with defined genetic disorders. CVD is becoming the leading cause of death and disability in developed and developing countries and is strongly related to lifestyle factors that influence plasma lipoprotein concentrations. It is established that risk of complications from atherosclerosis increases with increasing LDL and decreasing HDL and that there is potentiation of risk when these and other risk factors co-exist. High-fat diets used for losing body mass may increase risk through dyslipidaemia. Pharmaceutical modulation of the lipoproteins has lowered risk powerfully but residual risk persists, possibly relating to existing disease as well as progression relating in many instances to dietary lipids. The impact of various dietary lipids is reviewed as they relate to the conventional lipoprotein profile in persons who do not have significant metabolic defects, as well as the impact on inherited metabolic disease such as familial hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia and phytosterolaemia. For most persons with dyslipidaemias a significant benefit will be seen on the lipid profile by adopting a low saturated fat diet with less cholesterol intake.
Annulus twist and diffeomorphic 4-manifolds
Authors: ABE TETSUYA , JONG IN DAE , OMAE YUKA , TAKEUCHI MASANORI
Published: May 2013

We give a method for obtaining infinitely many framed knots which represent a diffeomorphic 4-manifold. We also study a relationship between the n-shake genus and the 4-ball genus of a knot. Furthermore we give a construction of homotopy 4-spheres from a slice knot with unknotting number one.
The Virgin Mary, Miriam, and Jewish Reactions to Marian Devotion in the High Middle Ages
Authors: Shoham-Steiner Ephraim
Published: May 2013

While discussing the rites and customs of burial and mourning in his bookTashbeẓ katan, the early fourteenth-century Rabbi Shimshon ben Ẓadok made the following remark:

And the fact that we spill the water [that was in the presence of the dead man] outside [after the death] is because that when Miriam died the well ceased. For it is written: ‘And there was no water for the congregation [‘eda] since it was for her merit that the well traveled [with the Israelites] and we allude to it that he [the deceased] is a great man and he is worthy that water would cease on his behalf.
Evaluating governance processes in the sharing of revenues from wildlife tourism and hunting in Ethiopia
Authors: YITBAREK T. W. , TADIE DEGU , TIMER GIRMA , FISCHER ANKE
Published: May 2013

Sharing of benefits from nature conservation is widely regarded as a way to enhance local residents’ support for protected areas. While in past years, the effectiveness of such approaches has been investigated in detail, governance processes underpinning benefit sharing have received less attention. This study examines the legislation and implementation practice of a revenue sharing scheme in southern Ethiopia, an area that is currently undergoing substantial social and environmental changes that threaten livelihoods and ecosystems. Based on qualitative data from interviews, group discussions and workshops, four main areas of shortcomings in the current legislation and implementation practice were identified: information provision; imbalanced roles and responsibilities; compromised accountability; and the lack of connection between revenue and wildlife tourism in the minds of the recipients. While some of these factors fostered misunderstandings and misuse of the monies, others meant that even where revenue was disbursed it was not connected with wildlife conservation, and thus did not have the intended effect. A comparison between these factors and those in the literature on the evaluation of comanagement arrangements revealed substantial overlap. Revenue sharing may be regarded as part of the comanagement of wildlife areas, but to be successful the management of these areas needs to be shared, and not just the financial benefits.
A linear category of polynomial diagrams
Authors: HYVERNAT PIERRE
Published: May 2013

We present a categorical model for intuitionistic linear logic in which objects are polynomial diagrams and morphisms aresimulation diagrams. The multiplicative structure (tensor product and its adjoint) can be defined in any locally cartesian closed category, but the additive (product and coproduct) and exponential (-comonoid comonad) structures require additional properties and are only developed in the categorySet, where the objects and morphisms have natural interpretations in terms of games, simulation and strategies.
On the computability of a construction of Brownian motion
Authors: DAVIE GEORGE , FOUCHÉ WILLEM L.
Published: May 2013

We examine a construction due to Fouché in which a Brownian motion is constructed from an algorithmically random infinite binary sequence. We show that although the construction is provably not computable in the sense of computable analysis, a lower bound for the rate of convergence is computable in any upper bound for the compressibilty of the sequence, making the construction layerwise computable.
Growth factor receptor-bound protein 14: a potential new gene associated with oocyte competence
Authors: Rosa Paulo Roberto Antunes , Bohrer Rodrigo Camponogara , De Cesaro Matheus Pedrotti , Gutierrez Karina , Ferreira Rogério , Pereira Gabriel Ribas , Oliveira João Francisco Coelho , Gonçalves Paulo Bayard Dias
Published: May 2013

The Grb14 protein is a member of the Grb7 protein family. This protein family acts by binding to tyrosine kinase receptors, promoting cell proliferation and differentiation. There is evidence of the involvement of tyrosine kinase factors in the bovine oocyte maturation process. However, Grb14 has not been studied for bovine cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs). The aim of the present study was to characterize Grb14 mRNA expression in bovine COCs during follicular development. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the expression of Grb14 mRNA is not regulated by estradiol. mRNA expression of Grb14 was assessed in 480 COCs from follicles of different sizes (1–3, 4–6, 6–8 or >8 mm) by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Grb14 mRNA expression decreased in COCs throughout follicular growth (P < 0.05). The role of estradiol in the expression of Grb14 mRNA in COCs was studied. Grb14 mRNA abundance did not differ in COCs cultured in the presence or absence of 17β-estradiol or fulvestrant. In conclusion, we showed that Grb14 mRNA is downregulated in COCs during antral follicle development, a finding that suggests a role for Grb14 in oocyte competence.
Screening miRNA and their target genes related to tetralogy of Fallot with microarray
Authors: Wang Xian-min , Zhang Kui , Li Yan , Shi Kun , Liu Yi-ling , Yang Yan-feng , Fang Yu , Mao Meng
Published: May 2013

Our aim is to screen miRNAs and genes related to tetralogy of Fallot and construct a co-expression network based on integrating miRNA and gene microarrays. We downloaded the gene expression profile GSE35490 (miRNA) and GSE35776 (mRNA) of tetralogy of Fallot from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, which includes eight normal and 15 disease samples from infants, and screened differentially expressed miRNAs and genes between normal and disease samples (cut-off: p < 0.05; FDR < 0.05; and log FC > 2 or log FC < −2); in addition, we downloaded human miRNA and their targets, which were collected in the miRNA targets prediction database TargetScan, and selected ones that also appeared in our differentially expressed miRNAs and their predicted targets (score >0.9) and then made a relationship of diff_miRNAs and diff_genes of our results. Finally, we uploaded all the diff_target genes into String, constructed a co-expression network regulated by diff_miRNAs, and performed functional analysis with the software DAVID. Comparing normal and disease lesion tissue, we got 32 and 875 differentially expressed miRNAs and genes, respectively, and found hsa-miR-124 with 34 diff_target genes and hsa-miR-138 with two diff_target genes. Then we constructed a co-expression network that contains 231 pairs of genes. Genes in the network were enriched into 14 function clusters, and the most significant one is protein localisation. We screened the tetralogy of Fallot-related hsa-miR-124 and hsa-miR-138 with their direct and indirect differentially expressed target genes, and found that protein localisation is the significant cause affecting tetralogy of Fallot. Our approach may provide the groundwork for a new therapy approach to treating tetralogy of Fallot.
Normalisation of left ventricular systolic function after change from VVI pacing to biventricular pacing in a child with congenital complete atrioventricular block, long-QT syndrome, and congenital muscular dystrophy: a 10-year follow-up
Authors: Ellesøe Sabrina G. , Reimers Jesper I. , Andersen Henrik Ø.
Published: May 2013

Development of dilated cardiomyopathy in patients with congenital complete atrioventricular block with or without pacemaker is well described. We report a case of dilated cardiomyopathy in a child with congenital complete atrioventricular block, long-QT syndrome, and VVI pacemaker. Temporary pacing in the right ventricular outflow tract demonstrated a 63% increase in cardiac output. After change to biventricular DDD pacing, left ventricular systolic function and diastolic dimensions normalised.
Time-Course of Attentional Bias for Positive Social Words in Individuals with High and Low Social Anxiety
Authors: Yu Hongyu , Li Songwei , Qian Mingyi , Yang Peng , Wang Xiaoling , Lin Muyu , Yao Nisha
Published: May 2013

Background: Although accumulating research demonstrates the association between attentional bias and social anxiety, the bias for positive stimuli has so far not been adequately studied. Aims: The aim is to investigate the time-course of attentional bias for positive social words in participants with high and low social anxiety. Method: In a modified dot-probe task, word-pairs of neutral and positive social words were randomly presented for 100, 500, and 1250 milliseconds in a nonclinical sample of students to test their attentional bias. Results: Non-significant interaction of Group × Exposure Duration was found. However, there was a significant main effect of group, with significantly different response latencies between the high social anxiety (HSA) and low social anxiety (LSA) groups in the 100 ms condition, without for 500 or 1250 ms. With respect to attentional bias, the LSA group showed enhanced preferential attention for positive social words to which the HSA group showed avoidance in the 100 ms condition. In the 500 ms condition, preferential attention to positive social words was at trend in the LSA group, relative to the HSA group. Neither group showed attentional bias in the 1250 ms condition. Conclusions: These findings extend recent research about the attention training program and add to the empirical literature suggesting that the initial avoidance of positive stimuli may contribute to maintaining social anxiety.
Nutritional contribution of street foods to the diet of people in developing countries: a systematic review
Authors: Steyn Nelia Patricia , Mchiza Zandile , Hill Jillian , Davids Yul Derek , Venter Irma , Hinrichsen Enid , Opperman Maretha , Rumbelow Julien , Jacobs Peter
Published: May 2013

Objective

To review studies examining the nutritional value of street foods and their contribution to the diet of consumers in developing countries.

Design

The electronic databases PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Proquest Health and Science Direct were searched for articles on street foods in developing countries that included findings on nutritional value.

Results

From a total of 639 articles, twenty-three studies were retained since they met the inclusion criteria. In summary, daily energy intake from street foods in adults ranged from 13 % to 50 % of energy and in children from 13 % to 40 % of energy. Although the amounts differed from place to place, even at the lowest values of the percentage of energy intake range, energy from street foods made a significant contribution to the diet. Furthermore, the majority of studies suggest that street foods contributed significantly to the daily intake of protein, often at 50 % of the RDA. The data on fat and carbohydrate intakes are of some concern because of the assumed high contribution of street foods to the total intakes of fat, trans-fat, salt and sugar in numerous studies and their possible role in the development of obesity and non-communicable diseases. Few studies have provided data on the intake of micronutrients, but these tended to be high for Fe and vitamin A while low for Ca and thiamin.

Conclusions

Street foods make a significant contribution to energy and protein intakes of people in developing countries and their use should be encouraged if they are healthy traditional foods.
Are probiotics more efficacious than placebo at preventing radiotherapy-induced diarrhoea in adults with cancer
Authors: Suadoni Marco Tullio
Published: May 2013

Background

Patients with cancer undergoing radiotherapy often develop diarrhoea, causing distress and hindering treatment. As probiotics have favourable effects on the gut flora, they are potentially good candidates in the prevention of radiotherapy-induced diarrhoea (RID).

Purpose

The outcome of interest of this systematic review was the efficacy of probiotics in preventing RID.

Materials and methods

Medline and Embase databases were systematically searched. Four randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were finally selected.

Results

Three RCTs showed beneficial results, which were statistically significant. One RCT showed non-beneficial results, which were not statistically significant. The quality of the studies was mixed, and serious limitations were found.

Conclusion

While the indications are towards a benefit of the use of probiotics in preventing RID, more robust evidence is required in the form of well-designed RCTs.
Introns of plant pri‐miRNAs enhance miRNA biogenesis
Authors: Bielewicz Dawid , Kalak Malgorzata , Kalyna Maria , Windels David , Barta Andrea , Vazquez Franck , Szweykowska‐Kulinska Zofia , Jarmolowski Artur
Published: May 2013

Plant MIR genes are independent transcription units that encode long primary miRNA precursors, which usually contain introns. For two miRNA genes, MIR163 and MIR161, we show that introns are crucial for the accumulation of proper levels of mature miRNA. Removal of the intron in both cases led to a drop‐off in the level of mature miRNAs. We demonstrate that the stimulating effects of the intron mostly reside in the 5′ss rather than on a genuine splicing event. Our findings are biologically significant as the presence of functional splice sites in the MIR163 gene appears mandatory for pathogen‐triggered accumulation of miR163 and proper regulation of at least one of its targets.
Integrated power‐saving scheduling algorithm in IEEE 802.16e networks
Authors: Liao Wen‐Hwa , Shih Kuei‐Ping , Lee Nien‐Tsung
Published: May 2013

In IEEE 802.16e networks, with the popularisation of multimedia services, multicast and unicast services can coexist in one mobile subscriber station (MSS). The mobile devices are generally powered by battery, which is limited in energy. Thus, power saving is an important issue to be considered for extending the lifetime of the MSSs. The authors have proposed a multicast services‐based scheduling (MSBS) algorithm that improves the energy efficiency of both unicast and multicast services, while satisfying the quality of service requirements of the MSSs in 802.16e wireless networks. MSBS schedules the packets in such a way that each packet is transmitted before its deadline and the energy consumed by the MSSs is reduced by minimising the number of state transitions by the MSSs. The simulation results show that MSBS can produce significant overall energy‐saving and prolonged lifetime as compared to other scheduling schemes in 802.16e wireless networks.
Physical layer assist authentication technique for smart meter system
Authors: Wen Hong , Wang Yifan , Zhu Xiping , Li Jianqiang , Zhou Liang
Published: May 2013

The study introduces the novel message authentication schemes for the smart meter system, where the symmetric cryptography‐based physical layer‐assisted message authentication (PLAA) scheme and the public key infrastructure‐ based PLAA scheme are introduced. The proposed schemes integrate the conventional message authentication schemes and the physical layer authentication mechanisms by taking advantage of temporal and spatial uniqueness in physical layer channel responses, aiming to achieve fast authentication while minimising the packet transmission overhead. The authors also verify their claims through extensive analysis and simulation via comparing with proposed PLAA scheme with traditional upper layer authentication schemes. The proposed novel schemes yield the lower time delay for authenticating each message, which can satisfy the requirement of the real‐time control over the smart grid.
Enabling polarisation filtering in wireless communications: models, algorithms and characteristics
Authors: Cao Bin , Yu Jia , Wang Ye , Zhang Qinyu
Published: May 2013

To suppress co‐channel interference in polarisation‐enabled wireless communication systems, this work aims to provide an interference suppression scheme by exploiting polarisation domain, besides the state‐of‐the‐art temporal, frequency, spatial and code domains. System models, algorithms, characteristics and applications of polarisation filtering (PF) for co‐channel interference suppressions for polarisation‐enabled (e.g. orthogonal dually polarised antennas) wireless communications are investigated. Specifically, four system models for PF using subspace analysis are established and discussed. The four proposed system models are categorised based on different statistic characteristics of the target signal and that of the interfering signal: both the target signal and interference are temporal deterministic, the target signal is deterministic whereas interference is temporal random, the target signal is random whereas interference is deterministic and both the target signal and interference are random, respectively. Based on the statistic characteristics and subspace theory, the detailed PF implementation for each model is analysed and the closed‐form filtering operator is given. It is also shown that the PF implementation for each model can be attained by using one of the zero‐forcing matched subspace processing, decorrelating matched subspace processing or Wiener subspace processing. Furthermore, relationship among these four models indicates that, under certain conditions, the implementation of the other three models can be fulfilled by using the implementation of the first model. Numerical and simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Hierarchical spatial pyramid max pooling based on SIFT features and sparse coding for image classification
Authors: Han Hong , Han Qiqiang , Li Xiaojun , Gu Jianyin
Published: May 2013

It is essential to build good image representations for many computer vision tasks. In this study, the authors propose a hierarchical spatial pyramid max pooling method based on scale‐invariant feature transform (SIFT) features and sparse coding, which builds image representations through a hierarchical network. It includes three parts: SIFT features’ extraction, sparse coding and spatial pyramid max pooling. To mimic visual cortex, spatial pyramid max pooling is, firstly, performed on the original SIFT features in the image patches, which distils the features and extracts the most distinctive and significant feature, the SIFT‐pooled feature, in each local patch, instead of using the original SIFT features as usual. Then, a dictionary is trained using some random SIFT‐pooled features and sparse coding is performed using the trained dictionary for all SIFT‐pooled features through K‐singular value decomposition algorithm. Finally, on the sparse codes of all image patches, spatial pyramid max pooling is carried again on the image level. The image representations will be built by concatenating the pooling features of each level. The authors use the algorithm and simple linear support vector machine (SVM) for image classification on three datasets: Caltech‐101, Caltech‐256 and 15‐Scenes and the experimental results show that the authors algorithm can reach a competitive performance compared with recently published results.
Automatic classification of medical X‐ray images using a bag of visual words
Authors: Reza Zare Mohammad , Mueen Ahmed , Chaw Seng Woo
Published: May 2013

A novel approach is presented to gain high classification rate for each class of ImageCLEF 2007 medical database. The learning phase consists of four iterations where different classification models were generated as per iteration. For the iterations, a model generation process was performed in two steps. The first step starts with construction of a model from the entire dataset. This model was then assessed to filter high accuracy classes (HAC). These classes were those predicted with an accuracy rate above 80%. This evaluation performed on 20% of the training dataset was taken as test data. In the second step, classes under HAC were only used to construct the classification model. The same processes will be performed in the next iteration on the classes which were left with accuracy below 80% from the previous iteration. The methodology presented is based on a bag of visual words for feature extraction and the radial basis function (RBF)‐based support vector machine classifier. As a result, four classification models were generated from 77, 17, 12 and 10 classes, respectively. These models were constructed and evaluated on a database consisting of 11 000 medical X‐ray images (training dataset) and 1000 (testing dataset) of 116 classes. The accuracy rate obtained by each generated model outperformed the results obtained by only one model on the entire dataset.
Modelling an AC motor with high accuracy in a wide frequency range
Authors: Jia Kelin , Bohlin Georg , Enohnyaket Mathias , Thottappillil Rajeev
Published: May 2013

This study presents a practical method to construct a high‐frequency equivalent circuit model for AC motors in Spice‐like simulation software. This model can be used to analyse the characteristics of the motor and predict the conducted electromagnetic noise in an adjustable speed drive system. The modelling is based on measured data of the impedance and vector fitting technique. The procedure of the modelling is elaborated in this study and verified by comparing simulated data with experimental data on a 200 kW induction motor in the frequency range from 10 kHz to 10 MHz. This modelling method can be extended to model other types of motors irrespective of the power rating of the motors. Applications of the motor modelling to study common mode voltage in the system and current oscillation in motor winding are presented.
Investigations of furanic derivatives in transformer oil using ultra‐violet light absorption property
Authors: Karthik R. , Sree Renga Raja T. , Iruthayarajan M. Willjuice
Published: May 2013

Power transformers are one of the critical components in power system. Insulation plays a promistic role in determining the lifetime of transformers. Insulation used in transformers is of solid and liquid insulation. Solid insulation like kraft paper, press board on degradation process generates furanic derivatives such as 5‐methyl furan, 2‐acetyl furan, 2‐hydroxymethyl furan and 2‐furaldehyde. Traditionally, the presence of furanic compounds in transformer oil is determined using high‐sperformance liquid chromatography. An effort has been made to estimate the presence of furanic derivatives using artificial neural network (ANN) with the aid of ultra‐violet–visible light absorbance property. In ANN system, Levenberg Marquardt back propagation optimisation technique is used to determine the furanic derivatives in transformer oil. Degree of polymerisation of insulation paper and percentage tensile strength of paper remaining has been examined.
Generating a pure circularly polarised axial beam from a pattern reconfigurable square loop antenna
Authors: Pal Arpan , Mehta Amit , Marhic Michel E.
Published: May 2013

A pattern reconfigurable square loop antenna (SLA) is capable of generating tilted and doughnut beam patterns. In this study, it is demonstrated that the same antenna can be used to generate a circularly polarised axial beam if all four feeds are excited simultaneously with equal amplitude and a sequential phasing of 90°. Thus, the same square loop is capable of generating three distinct unit patterns by changing its feed excitation mechanism. This phenomenon makes the SLA an exceptional candidate for integration in the unit pattern reconfigurable antenna array. The study presents a complete design of SLA in conjunction with the feeding network and validates the computed and experimental results for a test band from 4.3 to 5 GHz. The antenna provides an axial beam of a maximum directivity of 7.4 dBi over the test band and yields near to ideal circular polarisation at broadsight. Using current distributions an explanation for the mechanism of generation of circularly polarised axial beam is also presented.
Three‐dimensional micromachined silicon‐substrate integrated millimetre‐wave helical antennas
Authors: Somjit Nutapong , Oberhammer Joachim
Published: May 2013

This study presents a design study of a novel concept of a three‐dimensional (3D) micromachined square helical antenna designed for 75 GHz, which is completely integrated into a semiconductor silicon substrate. In contrast to conventional on‐chip integrated antennas which typically are built on top of the substrate surface, the proposed antenna concept utilises, for the first time to the knowledge of the authors, the whole volume of the wafer by building the helical structure inside the substrate, which results in a very area‐efficient high‐gain radiating element for a substrate‐integrated millimeter‐wave system. The effective permittivity of the antenna core and the surrounding substrate can be tailor‐made by 3D micromachining, for optimising the maximum antenna performance with this design study it was found, that such an antenna concept can achieve a maximum gain of 13.2 dBi, a radiation efficiency of 95.3% at the axial ratio of 0.94 and a half‐power beamwidth (HPBW) of smaller than 40°, and a return loss S11 of −22.3 dB at the nominal frequency of 74.5 GHz, with a 15‐GHz bandwidth with a reflection coefficient better than −10 dB. A 16‐element substrate‐integrated helical line array is demonstrated and achieves a maximum gain of 24.2 dBi with a HPBW of 6.3° in the y–z‐plane. This study also studies intensively the influences of the surrounding silicon substrate and dielectric‐core etching, the matching transition between the helical structure and a coplanar‐waveguide feeding, as well as size and geometry of the ground structure.
Miniaturisation of quadrifilar helical antenna: impact on efficiency and phase centre position
Authors: Takacs Alexandru , Aubert Hervé , Belot Daniel , Diez Hubert
Published: May 2013

This study addresses the intrinsic limitations of the miniaturisation of very‐high frequency‐band quadrifilar helical antennas. Several designs with a relative size (i.e. the ratio between antenna's heights after and before the miniaturisation) down to 27% are obtained using an optimisation process based on intensive full‐wave electromagnetic simulations. Reported simulation and experimental results underline the impact of height reduction on the antennas main descriptors: radiation pattern, directivity, polarisation purity, input matching, efficiency and maximum achievable gain. It was observed that the efficiency and the gain do not decrease linearly with the reduction of the antenna height and the input matching is slightly improved for the compact antennas. The shape of radiation pattern and the polarisation purity are not significantly degraded for relative size down to 27%.
Design of high‐efficiency SiGe hetrojunction bipolar transistor linear power amplifier with new adaptive bias configuration
Authors: Huang Chien‐Chang , Lin Wu‐Chieh
Published: May 2013

This study shows a 2.4 GHz linear power amplifier (PA) design with a new adaptive bias configuration using TSMC 0.35 μm SiGe hetrojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology, for wireless communication applications such as WLAN. The proposed bias configuration adequately compromises the consumed current and the output power to avoid dramatic current increases in the high‐input power condition, while the output power capability is also maintained to achieve optimal efficiency through a proper size selection for the bias HBT. The final designed PA displays P1 dB of 23.76 dBm and 29.76% power‐added‐efficiency (PAE) with a 33.1 dBm output‐intercept‐point in the third order (OIP3). The saturated output power is 27.54 dBm with 39.12% in PAE, while the chip size is 0.91 × 0.83 mm2.
Kurtosis index to characterise near line‐of‐sight conditions in reverberating chambers
Authors: Sorrentino Antonio , Ferrara Giuseppe , Migliaccio Maurizio
Published: May 2013

In this study, the kurtosis index, k, is first applied to the phase of the electromagnetic field within the reverberating chamber (RC) to characterise near line‐of‐sight (near LOS) conditions. This k approach is time effective and granular enough to characterise this working region. A large set of experiments accomplished at the RC of the Università di Napoli Parthenope, formerly Istituto Universitario Navale, demonstrate the effectiveness of the new index.
Dual‐band resonance antennas using epsilon negative transmission line
Authors: Majedi Mohammad Saeed , Attari Amir Reza
Published: May 2013

Two types of dual‐band resonance antennas based on the epsilon negative (ENG) transmission line are presented in this study. The first antenna has two unit cells with mushroom‐like structure in which two notches are cut from their edges. This antenna has two different radiation patterns at its operating frequencies and hence it is a dual‐mode antenna. In the second antenna, the structure of unit cells is modified in order to have the same radiation patterns at two operating frequencies. This antenna has two orthogonal polarisations at its operating frequencies and hence it is a dual‐polarised antenna. The operating frequencies of the presented antennas correspond to the zeroth‐ and first‐order resonance frequencies of the ENG resonator. Two prototypes of the proposed antennas have been fabricated and tested. The measured return loss and radiation patterns are given and discussed.
Low profile antenna radiation enhancement with novel electromagnetic band gap structures
Authors: Karaaslan Muharrem , Ünal Emin , Tetik Erkan , Delihacıoğlu Kemal , Karadağ Faruk , Dinçer Furkan
Published: May 2013

The authors design, characterise and fabricate electromagnetic band gap (EBG) structure composed of three different scale planar rectangular mushrooms for low profile antenna applications. Proof of principle demonstration of surface wave minimisation is realised between three different bands depending on mushroom numbers in one unit cell and low profile antenna radiation pattern enhancement is observed by monitoring transmission changes of surface waves using both two different numerical methods and measurements. Three different scale rectangular mushrooms show significantly better performance and wider EBG than many other EBG systems for improved antenna applications such as bow‐tie and logarithmically periodic antennas.
Buried object adaptive shape reconstruction and ground parameters estimation using differential evolution
Authors: Akhlaghi Bouzan Milad , Dehmollaian Mojtaba
Published: May 2013

In this study, the capability of the opposition‐based differential evolution stochastic searching algorithm in shape reconstruction of a two‐dimensional conducting target buried in a lossy dielectric half‐space is investigated using simulated backscattered fields calculated above the ground by both method of moment with far‐field approximation and geometrical optics approximation at different observation and frequency points. For an efficient reconstruction, the target boundary is approximated by a non‐uniform cubic B‐spline curve with variable number of curve control parameters (CP). Using the knot insertion Oslo algorithm and through the optimisation process, the DE algorithm finds the optimum number of CP, successfully reconstructs the ground parameters (i.e. permittivity and conductivity) together with target upper part shape and location for moderate values of the signal‐to‐noise power ratio.