bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Molecular evidence for the occurrence of Japanese encephalitis virus genotype I and III infection associated with acute Encephalitis in Patients of West Bengal, India, 2010
Authors: Sarkar Arindam , Taraphdar Debjani , Mukhopadhyay Subhra Kanti , Chakrabarti Sekhar , Chatterjee Shyamalendu
Published: November 2012

Background

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a mosquito-borne zoonotic pathogen, is the sole etiologic agent of Japanese Encephalitis (JE); a neurotropic killer disease which is one of the major causes of viral encephalitis worldwide with prime public health concern. JE was first reported in the state of West Bengal, India in 1973. Since then it is being reported every year from different districts of the state, though the vaccination has already been done. Therefore, it indicates that there might be either partial coverage of the vaccine or the emergence of mutated/new strain of JEV. Considering this fact, to understand the JEV genotype distribution, we conducted a molecular epidemiological study on a total of 135 serum/cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples referred and/or collected from the clinically suspected patients with Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES), admitted in different district hospitals of West Bengal, India, 2010.

Findings

JEV etiology was confirmed in 36/135 (26.6%) and 13/61 (21.3%) 2–15 days’ febrile illness samples from AES cases by analyzing Mac-ELISA followed by RT-PCR test respectively. Phylogenetic analysis based on complete envelope gene sequences of 13 isolates showed the emergence of JEV genotype I (GI), co-circulating with genotype III (GIII).

Conclusion

This study represents the first report of JEV GI with GIII, co-circulating in West Bengal. The efficacy of the vaccine (derived from JEV GIII strain SA-14-14-2) to protect against emerging JEV GI needs careful evaluation. In future, JE outbreak is quite likely in the state, if this vaccine fails to protect sufficiently against GI of JEV.
Treatment-emergent adverse events after infusion of adherent stem cells: the MiSOT-I score for solid organ transplantation
Authors: Dillmann Johannes , Popp Felix C , Fillenberg Barbara , Zeman Florian , Eggenhofer Elke , Farkas Stefan , Scherer Marcus N , Koller Michael , Geissler Edward K , Deans Robert , Ladenheim Deborah , Loss Martin , Schlitt Hans J , Dahlke Marc H
Published: November 2012

Background

Cellular therapy after organ transplantation is emerging as an intriguing strategy to achieve dose reduction of classical immunosuppressive pharmacotherapy. Here, we introduce a new scoring system to assess treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) of adherent stem cell therapies in the clinical setting of allogeneic liver transplantation (for example, the MiSOT-I trial Eudract CT: 2009-017795-25).

Methods

The score consists of three independent modalities (set of parameters) that focus on clinically relevant events early after intravenous or intraportal stem cell infusion: pulmonary toxicity, intraportal-infusional toxicity and systemic toxicity. For each modality, values between 0 (no TEAE) and 3 (severe TEAE) were defined. The score was validated retrospectively on a cohort of n=187 recipients of liver allografts not receiving investigational cell therapy between July 2004 and December 2010. These patients represent a control population for further trials. Score values were calculated for days 1, 4, and 10 after liver transplantation.

Results

Grade 3 events were most commonly related to the pulmonary system (3.5% of study cohort on day 4). Almost no systemic-related TEAEs were observed during the study period. The relative frequency of grade 3 events never exceeded 5% over all modalities and time points. A subgroup analysis for grade 3 patients provided no descriptors associated with severe TEAEs.

Conclusion

The MiSOT-I score provides an assessment tool to score specific adverse events that may occur after adherent stem cell therapy in the clinical setting of organ transplantation and is thus a helpful tool to conduct a safety study.
Hepatitis B seroprevalence in persons attending youth clinics in Stockholm, Sweden in 2008
Authors: Stenkvist J , Lidbrink P , Olofsson I , von Sydow M , Lindh G
Published: November 2012

Sweden is a low endemicity country for hepatitis B virus (HBV). The previously reported prevalence of chronic HBV is <1% and of overall markers <5%. HBV is not included in the universal childhood vaccination programme. Instead, selected high-risk groups are targeted. Our aim was to examine the HBV seroprevalence in youth clinic clients in Stockholm and identify if this population might be a new target group for vaccination. In total, 515 clients aged 18–22 years were recruited. They completed a risk-assessment questionnaire and 464 (90%) had a serum specimen tested for HBV serology. Chronic HBV was found in 0.6% and 0.9% had previously been infected with HBV. A seroprevalence of 1.8% HBV markers was found among non-vaccinated persons. This is lower than reported from other countries and not different from the general population in Sweden. However, in persons originating from HBV endemic countries ( n = 123), the prevalence was higher, 6.5%. Only 14% were vaccinated and the majority hence susceptible to HBV. The target groups are not reached by the present vaccination strategy. Youth clinics are ideal settings for catch-up vaccination.
Investigation of the Various Spectral Decomposition Methods to Detect and Explore Hidden Complex Reef Reservoir Structures and Their Hydrocarbon Potentials in Northwestern Part of the Persian Gulf
Authors: Saadatinejad Mohammad Reza , Javaherian Abdolrahim , Sarkarinejad Khalil
Published: November 2012

The Persian Gulf and its coastal areas are recognized as one of the biggest hydrocarbon basins in the world as world's largest petroleum reservoirs are located through its offshore and onshore oil and gas fields. Coastline countries of the Persian Gulf produce about 25% of the world's oil yearly and they have nearly two-thirds and one-third of the world's crude oil and natural gas reserves, respectively. In the Persian Gulf and south of Iran, Zagros orogeny process has a most important structural role as it causes many petroleum reservoirs into folds with northwest-southeast trends that are parallel with Zagros orogeny direction. However, there is good potential to explore new petroleum reservoirs in the Persian Gulf yet. One of these potential oilfields located northwestern of the Persian Gulf includes high petroleum potential, but with structural complexity and this investigation is focused to explore reservoir in its other horizons, specially Sarvak formation as the famous reservoir in the area. To achieve essential information from reservoir and locating it, we applied two useful seismic methods. Authors considered different advantages of the fast Fourier transform (FFT) and the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) as the most commonly applicable spectral analysis of seismic methods in an experimental investigation besides geological new findings. We found that the FFT can provide a good image from reservoir stratigraphic characteristics; it has specifically proven efficient even in carbonate reservoirs allowing individualization of geological bodies not easily defined in amplitude maps. Besides that, the CWT can provide an accurate and clear image from reservoir structural characteristics and low frequency shadows under petroleum reservoirs. We will prove our claims by using theoretical and experimental evidences. Objectives of this paper, beside geological evidences, are to show abilities of these two methods and to describes how, (1) the FFT method shows the distribution of the hidden reef boundaries and (2) the CWT shows the probable presence of hydrocarbons in purpose structure much better than the original seismic data and others methods.
Removal of Harmful Volatile Organic Compounds on Activated Carbon Fibres Prepared by Steam or Carbon Dioxide Activation
Authors: Alcañiz-Monge J. , Pérez-Cadenas M. , Marco-Lozar J.P.
Published: November 2012

In this work, we explain the removal of harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by adsorbing them on activated carbon fibres (ACFs). For this purpose, we prepared a significant number of ACFs with different surface chemistries and porosity developments, and analyzed the effect of these two variables on VOC adsorption. Our results showed that at low concentrations (around 1000 ppmv), pore size distribution (PSD) is the main parameter that controls the removal of VOC. Therefore, a narrow PSD with a mean pore size between 0.8 and 1.0 nm is most appropriate to achieve high VOC adsorption capacities at these concentrations. However, at lower concentrations (P/P0 < 10−2), VOC adsorption capacity depends on different adsorbent properties (not only on the PSD but also on the surface chemistry) and on the polarity of the VOC. For this reason, the selection of the activating agent (CO2 or H2O) has an important influence on the adsorption process depending on the polarity of the organic compound to be adsorbed. Thus, for example, steam activation would be better for the adsorption of polar compounds because of the higher amount of surface oxygenated groups developed from the steam activation.
Adsorption of Carbon Dioxide on Porous Catalyst Materials at Near-Critical Conditions
Authors: Capezzuoli Fabio , Stepanek Frantisek , Chadwick David
Published: November 2012

Herein, the construction of a manometric adsorption apparatus has been described and an experimental method has been developed to measure the adsorption of carbon dioxide on porous materials at sub-critical pressures. The materials used are silica gel and silica loaded with 5 mol% ZnO; γ-alumina and alumina with 5 mol% ZnO. It was observed that the addition of zinc oxide causes a 50–100% increase of the adsorbed amount at 350 K. However, this manometric apparatus is only suitable for relatively large adsorbed amounts due to its sensitivity and precision limitations.
Monte Carlo Simulation and Exact Statistical Mechanical Lattice Models as a Development Tool for Zeolite Multi-Component Adsorption Isotherm Derivation
Authors: Manos G. , Dunne L.J. , Jalili S. , Furgani A. , Neville T.
Published: November 2012

Developing a suitable separation and purification procedure for multi-component gas mixtures is a ubiquitous problem. Very little is known experimentally about multi-component adsorption isotherms, yet these are crucially important for designing separation processes. Multi-component adsorption isotherms over a wide range of composition, pressure and temperature are virtually unknown. Adsorption onto zeolites is widely used in adsorptive separation processes due to the unique characteristics of its structural pores which may be “engineered” to permit adsorption to take place on the basis of molecular shape and size. In this article, we discuss the methodological development of rapidly obtaining multi-component adsorption isotherms using the interplay between the essentially exact (in the statistical mechanical sense) lattice model and configurational bias Monte Carlo simulations. The latter technique has the known capability of being able to reproduce experimental isotherms reliably, but can be very time consuming and expensive. In contrast, the lattice model adsorption isotherms can be parameterized by comparing with those obtained by Monte Carlo simulation and thereafter used to cheaply and rapidly explore a very wide range of mixture concentrations and conditions. The interactions required in the lattice model are effective interaction-free energies. This approach has been applied to the adsorption isotherms of selective binary and ternary mixtures of small alkanes (methane, ethane) and carbon dioxide adsorbed in silicalite. The lattice model results are shown to have the potential, when suitably parameterized, to rapidly and cheaply reproduce the main features of the much more expensive Monte Carlo isotherms over a very wide range of mixture compositions, temperatures and pressures.
Evaluation of Biological Treatments for the Adsorption of Phenol from Polluted Waters
Authors: Namane A. , Ali O. , Cabana H. , Hellal A.
Published: November 2012

In this study, we describe the efficiency of three biological techniques (using Pseudomonas aeruginosa) for the removal of phenol from polluted water. We explore the possibilities of elimination with free bacteria present in solution, fixed bacteria on granular activated carbon (GAC) and immobilized bacteria in calcium alginate beads. Our study results show that for all the three methods the removal of phenol from solution (300 mg l−1) is complete. The kinetic constants for phenol removal are equivalent for two methods, namely, bacteria fixed on the GAC and those immobilized in calcium alginate beads (≈0.2 h−1), while for the free bacteria in solution, it is about half of this value. We also report how the biomass production in solution depends on the method applied. The concentration seems to act as a regulator for the amount of bacteria released in solution.
Transformable Linked Panels
Authors: Takatsuka Masao , Ohmori Hiroshi
Published: November 2012

The objective of the present paper is to show a new concept different from the ‘2D-deployable flat-panel structure’ which was previously proposed by us, and to simulate its rigid body motion. The new concept consists mainly of square panels which are linked by rotational actuators and can be deployed and extended like a scissors mechanism. This is simpler than the previously proposed ‘2D-deployable flat-panel structure’ composed mainly of a scissors mechanism, square panels, and tilted rotational axes. We propose a new system for realization of a solar power satellite as a huge flat construction in space.
Stability Analysis of Single-Layer Barrel Vault Space Structures
Authors: Mohammadi M. , Abedi K. , Taghizadieh N.
Published: November 2012

In the present study, the stability of single-layer barrel vault space structures with three-way triangular configuration is investigated by carrying out nonlinear collapse analysis using finite element method. The effects of different parameters, such as initial geometric imperfections, load on a single node, loads on some nodes, unsymmetrical load distribution with different intensities, length to span ratio, height to span ratio, boundary conditions and material yield stress are investigated on the stability of single-layer barrel vaults. The results of analysis indicate that the geometry, initial geometric imperfections, type of loading, unsymmetrical load distribution, boundary conditions and material yield stress have considerable effect on the type of collapse mechanism, load carrying capacity and structural stiffness of studied systems.
Airframe Noise Sources and Reduction Technologies in Aircraft
Authors: Gorji-Bandpy Mofid , Azimi Mohammadreza
Published: November 2012

The continuous increase of the air traffic linked to the operations around airports leads to increase the community noise problem. Aircraft noise is an issue of enormous environmental and technological impact. Projected growth in significant quieting of modern jet engine has brought renewed attention to the nonpropulsive component of aircraft noise. Airframe-generated noise can be the dominant component of the total noise radiated from commercial aircraft, particularly for large aircraft and especially during the landing approach. In this paper, a review of major components of airframe noise and technologies with the greatest potential to reduce airframe noise are presented.
A Novel Approach to the Design of Hybrid Anti-Vibration Mounts
Authors: Moshrefi-Torbati M.
Published: November 2012

Vibration isolation of aerospace structures that support high precision instrumentations demand a novel design approach. In order to create a design that is suitable for use in harsh environments with no risk of drift in alignment of the structure, the commonly used viscoelastic elements should ideally be eliminated. The novel isolator proposed here is a space-frame structure that is folded in on itself to act as a mechanical filter over a defined frequency range. The design uses a genetic algorithm based geometric optimisation routine to maximise passive vibration isolation hybridised with a geometric feasibility search. To complement the passive isolation, an active system is incorporated in the design which in effect adds damping to the system. The active-passive structure is shown to achieve transmissibility of about 19 dB over a range of 1–250 Hz. The design has no or little consequent weight and cost penalties whilst maintaining its effectiveness with the vibration levels. The results indicate the promise of a new breed of anti-vibration mounting design.
Analytical Modeling and Damage Assessment of Shallow Embedment Pile-Deck Connections
Authors: Caiza-Sánchez P. , Andrawes B. , LaFave J.
Published: November 2012

This paper presents a simple, yet accurate, approach for analytically describing the nonlinear behavior of shallow embedment pile-deck connections under cyclic loading. The approach is based on incorporating at the pile-deck interface a rotational spring fiber-based element connecting to frame elements where the nonlinearity is distributed along the pile length. This additional element directly takes into account the impacts of the pile's rigid body motion, as well as the interaction between the softening of concrete and slipping of the reinforcement at the end of the pile. Experimental results of four test specimens from the literature are used to calibrate and validate this analytical modeling approach. Comparison between analytical and experimental results shows that the proposed modeling technique is capable of accurately describing the cyclic behavior and damage progression in pile-deck connections.
Evaluation of Bridge Load Carrying Capacity Using Updated Finite Element Model and Nonlinear Analysis
Authors: Ding Lina , Hao Hong , Xia Yong , Deeks Andrew J.
Published: November 2012

The integrity of ageing bridges is in doubt because of increasing traffic loads, deterioration of materials, possible damage during service, and revised code requirements. Traditional methods in prediction of load varying capacity of bridges are usually based on the design blueprints and may not reflect the bridge condition as is. In this paper, the nonlinear finite element analysis, incorporating the model updating technique, is used to predict the behaviour of a 30-year-old slab-girder bridge. The original finite element model based on the design drawings is updated by modifying the stiffness parameters of the girders, slab, shear connectors and bearings so that the vibration properties of the model match the field vibration measurement data. The updated model represents the present condition of the bridge better than the original model that is based on the design blueprints. The load carrying capacity of the bridge is then calculated using the original and updated finite element models, respectively, with consideration of nonlinear material properties. The comparison shows that the bridge load carrying capacity under the present condition is lower than that under the design condition, whereas is still above the design requirement. The influence of the shear connectors on the load carrying capacity is specially investigated.
Hysteretic Analysis of Steel Plate Shear Walls (SPSWs) and a Modified Strip Model for SPSWs
Authors: Guo Lanhui , Li Ran , Zhang Sumei , Yan Guirong
Published: November 2012

Steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) have become more and more popular in recent years because of their potential huge energy dissipation capacity and ductility under lateral loads. Due to their low cost and fast construction, SPSWs have potential application in practice. The finite element software ANSYS applied to the analysis of the hysteretic behavior of SPSWs is described in this paper first. It was found that compressive stress existed in SPSWs and the effects became more evident with decreasing height-to-thickness ratio. This was validated by comparing theoretical and experimental test results. Secondly, based on the analytical results, a modified strip model is proposed. In the modified model, the compressive effects in the panel were taken into account and it was then found that the load-carrying capacity and the energy dissipation capacity agreed well with the already carefully validated experimental results.
Seismic Performance of Lightly Reinforced Concrete Exterior Beam-Column Joints
Authors: Meas Kimreth , Li Bing , Imran Iswandi
Published: November 2012

This paper presents the experimental results of four lightly Reinforced Concrete (RC) exterior beam-column joints with and without beam stubs under cyclic loading with constant column axial force applied at the top of the column. The parameter investigated was the type of reinforcement used in the beam, i.e. plain and deformed bars. Test results showed that when the hooks anchored down in the column increased the tensile stress in the diagonal concrete strut in the joint core, this led to diagonal crack of the concrete and a decrease in the joint shear strength. The seismic performance of the exterior RC joints without beam stub was also observed to be much improved when the hook tail of beam reinforcements was bent inside the joint core. The strut-and-tie model based on the recorded strain in the joint transverse reinforcement could be used to determine the force flow in the joint core.
Fatigue Tests of Cracked Steel Plates Strengthened with UHM CFRP Plates
Authors: Wu Chao , Zhao Xiao-Ling , Al-Mahaidi Riadh , Emdad Mohammad R. , Duan Wenhui
Published: November 2012

Carbon fibre reinforced polymer ( CFRP) has shown promise for improving the fatigue performance of steel structures. Previous studies have indicated that increasing the Young's modulus of CFRP can be beneficial for decreasing the stress intensity factor at the fatigue crack tip. In this project, ultra high modulus (UHM) CFRP plates with Young's modulus of 460 GPa were adopted to study their fatigue repair effectiveness. A series of fatigue tension tests was carried out on steel plates with an initial crack in the centre. Five strengthening configurations were used and a constant amplitude fatigue loading was applied to all the specimens. The beach marking technique was utilized to record the fatigue crack propagation. The effects of CFRP bond length, bond width and bond locations on the fatigue performance of cracked steel plates were also studied. The experimental results show that UHM CFRP plates can greatly increase the fatigue life of cracked steel plates by a factor ranging from 3.26 to 7.47. When CFRP plates cover the whole crack surface, the fatigue crack of the steel plate is arrested. The strengthening effectiveness of UHM CFRP plates is also compared with those using high Young's modulus CFRP sheeting and normal Young's modulus CFRP plates with or without prestressing.
Effect of the Seismic Input on Non-Linear Response of R/C Building Structures
Authors: Maddaloni Giuseppe , Magliulo Gennaro , Cosenza Edoardo
Published: November 2012

The effects of the variability of seismic input on system structural response are investigated. Non linear time history analyses are performed using as input sets of accelerograms satisfying the compatibility criteria with an elastic design spectrum according to the Eurocode 8. The response of elastic SDOF systems, in terms of spectral acceleration, is analyzed; the same parameter, for corresponding non linear SDOF systems as well as ductility demand and strength reduction factors, is also discussed. The analyses are extended to a r/c multi-storey space frame, which is designed according to Eurocode provisions. The main conclusion of the paper is that, when the input is selected according to the Eurocode 8 provisions as recorded accelerograms, a “natural” mean CoV of spectra ordinates is expected; it proportionally conditions the CoV of the parameters characterising the non linear response of structures.
Study of nanostructured polymeric composites used for organic light emitting diodes and organic solar cells
Authors: Chung Do , Dinh Nguyen , Thao Tran , Nam Nguyen , Trung Tran , Hui David
Published: November 2012

Polymeric nanocomposite films from PEDOT and MEH-PPV embedded with surface modified TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared, respectively for the hole transport layer (HTL) and emission layer (EL) in Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED). The composite of MEH-PPV + nc-TiO2 was used for Organic Solar Cells (OCS). The results from the characterization of the properties of the nanocomposites and devices showed that electrical (I-V characteristics) and spectroscopic (photoluminescent) properties of the conjugate polymers were enhanced due to the incorporation of nc-TiO2 in the polymers. The OLEDs made from the nanocomposite films would exhibit a larger photonic efficiency and a longer lasting life. For the OSC made from MEH-PPV + nc-TiO2 composite, the fill factor (FF) reached a value as high as 0.34. Under illumination of light with a power density of 50 mW/cm2, the photoelectrical conversion efficiency (PEC) was found to be of 0.15% corresponding to an open circuit voltage VOC = 1.15 V and a short-cut circuit current density JSC = 0.125 mA/cm2.
Some Remarks on FCMLS with its Application to Foreground Extraction
Authors: Xie Zhenping , Wang Shitong
Published: November 2012

It is well known that fuzzy clustering and level set are two important tools for image segmentation. The former focuses on analyzing the statistical characteristics of image features, while the latter aims to acquire the good geometrical continuity of segmentation boundaries. Obviously, two kinds of methods may be complement to each other. Inspired by this idea, a new level set model integrated with fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering FCMLS has been presented in our previous studies. Compared with FCM and original level set methods, some remarkable characteristics and better performance have been demonstrated. In this paper, we mainly concern with the foreground extraction problem, wherein some extended works are also reported including detailed analysis on the convergence of FCMLS, multiregional FCMLS. Our research results indicate that FCMLS has good performance and is very worthful for foreground image extraction.
Detection of Paddle Vats in Wafer Images
Authors: Pan Nengyuan , Liu Rong , Wang Meiqing
Published: November 2012

Wafer dicing is a basic step in building electronic devices such as CPU or GPU. It is automatically accomplished in the wafer Dicing Machine in which a little misalignment of wafers may lead to damaged chips. The information of misalignment may be obtained by detecting the paddle vat to calculate the misalignment between the blade and the part of the wafer which has been diced in real-time. In this paper, methods for detecting the paddle vat are studied. For most of simple wafer images where the intensities of paddle vats are quite different from that of the background, a binary segmentation approach is used to detect the paddle vat of the wafer image. The threshold for binarization is calculated by the grey-scale histogram of the wafer image which is smoothed by using exponentially smoothed method. For wafer images with complex backgrounds, the improved Canny detection algorithm with anisotropic diffusion is used to detect the edges of paddle vats. Experimental results show the validity of the methods.
Stability of Constrained Markov-Modulated Diffusions
Authors: Budhiraja Amarjit , Liu Xin
Published: November 2012

A family of constrained diffusions in a random environment is considered. Constraint set is a polyhedral cone and coefficients of the diffusion are governed by, in addition to the system state, a finite-state Markov process that is independent of the driving noise. Such models arise as limit objects in the heavy traffic analysis of generalized Jackson networks (GJN) with Markov-modulated arrival and processing rates. We give sufficient conditions (which, in particular, includes a requirement on the regularity of the underlying Skorohod map) for positive recurrence and geometric ergodicity. When the coefficients only depend on the modulating Markov process (i.e., they are independent of the system state), a complete characterization for stability and transience is provided. The case, where the pathwise Skorohod problem is not well posed but the underlying reflection matrix is completely-S, is treated as well. As consequences of geometric ergodicity various results, such as exponential integrability of invariant measures and central limit results (CLT) for fluctuations of long-time averages of process functionals about their stationary values, are obtained. Conditions for stability are formulated in terms of the averaged drift, where the average is taken with respect to the stationary distribution of the modulating Markov process. Finally, steady-state distributions of the underlying GJN are considered and it is shown that under suitable conditions, such distributions converge to the unique stationary distribution of the constrained random environment diffusion.
Optimal Cost Sharing for Resource Selection Games
Authors: von Falkenhausen Philipp , Harks Tobias
Published: November 2012

Joint use of resources with usage-dependent cost raises the question: who pays how much? We study cost sharing in resource selection games where the strategy spaces are either singletons or bases of a matroid defined on the ground set of resources. Our goal is to design cost sharing protocols so as to minimize the resulting price of anarchy and price of stability. We investigate three classes of protocols: basic protocols guarantee the existence of at least one pure Nash equilibrium; separable protocols additionally require that the resulting cost shares only depend on the set of players on a resource; uniform protocols are separable and require that the cost shares on a resource may not depend on the instance, that is, they remain the same even if new resources are added to or removed from the instance. We find optimal basic and separable protocols that guarantee the price of stability and price of anarchy to grow logarithmically in the number of players, except for the case of matroid games induced by separable protocols where the price of anarchy grows linearly with the number of players. For uniform protocols we show that the price of anarchy is unbounded even for singleton games.
Consistency of Vanishingly Smooth Fictitious Play
Authors: Benaïm Michel , Faure Mathieu
Published: November 2012

We discuss consistency of vanishingly smooth fictitious play, a strategy in the context of game theory, which can be regarded as a smooth fictitious play procedure, where the smoothing parameter is time dependent and asymptotically vanishes. This answers a question initially raised by Drew Fudenberg and Satoru Takahashi.
Mitochondrial pathways in sarcopenia of aging and disuse muscle atrophy
Authors: Calvani Riccardo , Joseph Anna-Maria , Adhihetty Peter J. , Miccheli Alfredo , Bossola Maurizio , Leeuwenburgh Christiaan , Bernabei Roberto , Marzetti Emanuele
Published: November 2012

Muscle loss during aging and disuse is a highly prevalent and disabling condition, but knowledge about cellular pathways mediating muscle atrophy is still limited. Given the postmitotic nature of skeletal myocytes, the maintenance of cellular homeostasis relies on the efficiency of cellular quality control mechanisms. In this scenario, alterations in mitochondrial function are considered a major factor underlying sarcopenia and muscle atrophy. Damaged mitochondria are not only less bioenergetically efficient, but also generate increased amounts of reactive oxygen species, interfere with cellular quality control mechanisms, and display a greater propensity to trigger apoptosis. Thus, mitochondria stand at the crossroad of signaling pathways that regulate skeletal myocyte function and viability. Studies on these pathways have sometimes provided unexpected and counterintuitive results, which suggests that they are organized into a complex, heterarchical network that is currently insufficiently understood. Untangling the complexity of such a network will likely provide clinicians with novel and highly effective therapeutics to counter the muscle loss associated with aging and disuse. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the mechanisms whereby mitochondrial dysfunction intervenes in the pathogenesis of sarcopenia and disuse atrophy, and highlight the prospect of targeting specific processes to treat these conditions.
ADAMTS: Novel proteases expressed by activated mast cells
Authors: García-Faroldi Gianni , Rönnberg Elin , Orro Adolfo , Calounova Gabriela , Guss Bengt , Lundequist Anders , Pejler Gunnar
Published: November 2012

Here we show that mast cells (MCs) express the metalloproteases of the A
disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS) family, and that ADAMTS expression is influenced by MC activation. Co-culture of MCs with live Gram-positive bacteria caused a profound induction of ADAMTS-9 and -6, as well as down-regulated expression of ADAMTS-5. Similar patterns were also seen after MC activation with calcium ionophore and by immunoglobulin E receptor crosslinking. Moreover, ADAMTS-5, -6 and -9 were all induced by activation of terminally differentiated murine peritoneal MCs and in a human MC line. ADAMTS-9 up-regulation in response to immunoglobulin E receptor crosslinking was strongly dependent on Gö6976-sensitive protein kinase C and partly dependent on nuclear factor of activated T cells and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells, respectively. The expression of ADAMTS-5, -6 and -9 was closely linked to MC maturation, as shown by their strong induction during the differentiation of bone marrow precursor cells into mature MCs. ADAMTS family members have been shown to possess aggrecanase activity. Accordingly, MCs were shown to express aggrecanase activity. Finally, ADAMTS-5 protein was detected in MCs by immunocytochemistry. Taken together, the present study reveals ADAMTS expression by MCs and that MC activation regulates the expression of these proteases, thus implicating the ADAMTS family of proteases in MC function.
Odd Incongruent Restricted Disjoint Covering Systems
Authors: Emanuel Paul Robert
Published: November 2012

This paper presents all known information on incongruent restricted disjoint covering systems with only odd moduli. The results in this paper formed part of the author's doctoral dissertation completed at Macquarie University.
Cubes in {0,1,...,n}3
Authors: Ionascu Eugen J. , Obando Rodrigo A.
Published: November 2012

The main aim of this paper is to describe a procedure for calculating the number of cubes that have coordinates in the set {0,1,...,n}. For this purpose we continue and, at the same time, revise some of the work begun in a sequence of papers about equilateral triangles and regular tetrahedra all having integer coordinates for their vertices. We adapt the code that was included in a paper by the first author and was used to calculate the number of regular tetrahedra with vertices in {0,1,...,n}
Prediction-Based Synchronized Human Motion Imitation by a Humanoid Robot
Authors: Hu Kai , Lee Dongheui
Published: November 2012

In this paper we propose a framework of realtime whole-body human motion imitation for humanoid robots. The approach starts with a kinematic mapping in combination with a balancing algorithm in order to ensure the dynamic constraints during different stance phases. In order to compensate for time delays in the imitation, which emerge from the required weight transfer before stance changes, we apply a machine learning approach based on Hidden Markov Models and Gaussian Regression. Once locomotion primitives are learned from demonstrations, the robot can recognize human´s current locomotion state and predict future trajectories. The proposed approaches are implemented and evaluated using a small humanoid robot NAO.
Can Robots Help to Understand Human Locomotion?
Authors: Seyfarth Andre , Grimmer Sten , Häufle Daniel F. B. , Kalveram Karl-Theodor
Published: November 2012

As robots are becoming increasingly powerful and consequently potentially capable of reproducing human-like movements and interactions, the question appears how these motor skills found in biology could be transferred to the technical system. Such a transfer of biological movements to robots also offers the chance to question and to improve our understanding of the underlying principles on how movements are organized in nature. For this, a new conceptual framework, a test trilogy comparing human, simulation, and robot behavior will be presented and demonstrated exemplary.
Briefing: The value of professional accreditation for degree programmes
Authors: Clarke Barry , Prichard Jon
Published: November 2012

Most engineers start their career by completing an accredited degree. The accreditation process is an internationally recognised fully audited process that ensures that the learning outcomes of an accredited engineering degree meet the needs of industry. The process is managed by the professional institutions under licence from the Engineering Council. Employers are engaged in setting the learning outcomes and in the auditing process; academics are involved in designing the programmes and in the auditing process; and students are provided with a clear route to achieve the educational base necessary to become a professional engineer. There are a number of accredited routes to complete the educational base including higher education, workplace education or a combination of both.
Experiences of Transgender-Related Discrimination and Implications for Health: Results From the Virginia Transgender Health Initiative Study
Authors: Bradford Judith , Reisner Sari L. , Honnold Julie A. , Xavier Jessica
Published: November 2012

Objectives. We examined relationships between social determinants of health and experiences of transgender-related discrimination reported by transgender people in Virginia.

Methods. In 2005 through 2006, 387 self-identified transgender people completed a statewide health needs assessment; 350 who completed eligibility questions were included in this examination of factors associated with experiences of discrimination in health care, employment, or housing. We fit multivariate logistic regression models using generalized estimating equations to adjust for survey modality (online vs paper).

Results. Of participants, 41% (n = 143) reported experiences of transgender-related discrimination. Factors associated with transgender-related discrimination were geographic context, gender (female-to male spectrum vs male-to-female spectrum), low socioeconomic status, being a racial/ethnic minority, not having health insurance, gender transition indicators (younger age at first transgender awareness), health care needed but unable to be obtained (hormone therapy and mental health services), history of violence (sexual and physical), substance use health behaviors (tobacco and alcohol), and interpersonal factors (family support and community connectedness).

Conclusions. Findings suggest that transgender Virginians experience widespread discrimination in health care, employment, and housing. Multilevel interventions are needed for transgender populations, including legal protections and training for health care providers.
Gender Role Conflict Among African American Men Who Have Sex With Men and Women: Associations With Mental Health and Sexual Risk and Disclosure Behaviors
Authors: Bingham Trista A. , Harawa Nina T. , Williams John K.
Published: November 2012

Objectives. We investigated whether high gender role conflict (GRC; internal conflict with traditional gender-role stereotypes and an individual’s perceived need to comply with these roles) is associated with psychological distress and HIV-related risk behaviors in a sample of African American men who have sex with men and women (MSMW).

Methods. We analyzed baseline data collected from questionnaires completed by 400 MSMW participating in the Men of African American Legacy Empowering Self project in Los Angeles, California, in 2007 to 2010 for associations between participants’ GRC and experiences of poor mental health and HIV risk outcomes.

Results. MSMW who reported higher levels of GRC than other participants also reported more psychological distress, lower self-esteem, greater internalized homophobia, less HIV knowledge, lower risk reduction skills, less disclosure of same-sex behaviors to others, and more unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse with female partners.

Conclusions. Future research should consider how high GRC affects African American MSMW’s lives and identify specific approaches to help alleviate the psychological distress and other negative behavioral outcomes associated with internal conflict caused by rigid gender role socialization.
Hepatitis C Testing, Infection, and Linkage to Care Among Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the United States, 2009–2010
Authors: Tohme Rania A. , Xing Jian , Liao Youlian , Holmberg Scott D.
Published: November 2012

Objectives. We estimated rates and determinants of hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing, infection, and linkage to care among US racial/ethnic minorities.

Methods. We analyzed the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Across the US Risk Factor Survey conducted in 2009–2010 (n = 53 896 minority adults).

Results. Overall, 19% of respondents were tested for HCV. Only 60% of those reporting a risk factor were tested, with much lower rates among Asians reporting injection drug use (40%). Odds of HCV testing decreased with age and increased with higher education. Of those tested, 8.3% reported HCV infection. Respondents with income of $75 000 or more were less likely to report HCV infection than those with income less than $25 000. College-educated non-Hispanic Blacks and Asians had lower odds of HCV infection than those who did not finish high school. Of those infected, 44.4% were currently being followed by a physician, and 41.9% had taken HCV medications.

Conclusions. HCV testing and linkage to care among racial/ethnic minorities are suboptimal, particularly among those reporting HCV risk factors. Socioeconomic factors were significant determinants of HCV testing, infection, and access to care. Future HCV testing and prevention activities should be directed toward racial/ethnic minorities, particularly those of low socioeconomic status.
Multivariate or Multivariable Regression?
Authors: Hidalgo Bertha , Goodman Melody
Published: November 2012

The terms multivariate and multivariable are often used interchangeably in the public health literature. However, these terms actually represent 2 very distinct types of analyses. We define the 2 types of analysis and assess the prevalence of use of the statistical term multivariate in a 1-year span of articles published in the American Journal of Public Health. Our goal is to make a clear distinction and to identify the nuances that make these types of analyses so distinct from one another.
Adaptive Bayesian Randomized Trials: Realizing Their Potential
Authors: Pullenayegum Eleanor M.
Published: November 2012

Bayesian adaptive designs offer the flexibility to adapt the conduct of a trial in response to accumulating evidence. This ability of the trial to adapt is especially appealing when studying an intervention that evolves rapidly. Examples of design adaptations include dropping arms from a study, sample size re-estimation, or stopping a trial early. The choice of adaptive design must match the objectives of the trial, and this paper gives examples of designs suitable for exploratory trials, explanatory trials, and trials assessing cost-effectiveness.
The Changing Landscape of Product Development and Randomized Trials
Authors: Stengel Dirk
Published: November 2012

Controversy exists about whether or not similar standards apply to the clinical evaluation of orthopaedic implants and pharmaceuticals. The long-lasting dispute is likely to be abandoned shortly, given that certain regulatory bodies in Europe now mandate proof of effectiveness by randomized controlled trials (RCTs) prior to market approval of innovative devices. This is a timely signal—it will help to strengthen both the credibility of orthopaedic researchers among all health-care disciplines and the role of manufacturers as creative minds and scientific partners. Yet, it must be accompanied by substantial changes in the current trial landscape.

Given the level of perfection of available orthopaedic technology, superiority of a new product over an established standard will become a rare finding. Noninferiority or equivalence must be accepted as important trial results by investigators, sponsors, clinicians, and health authorities to enhance the spectrum of therapeutic options and help to individualize patient care.

Specific problems are slow recruitment rates and long intervals from the protocol stage to publication of results. This may counteract the innovative potential of a novel product. Pragmatic trial designs, lean but complete documentation, limited but precise end points, the avoidance of competing trials, and the fostering of international collaboration are possible ways to streamline clinical trials of orthopaedic devices. Finally, RCTs should be conducted, conditional to the presumed level of innovation of a new implant, and supplemented by data from registries to fully determine the utility, value, and safety of the intervention.
Ethical Issues in the Design of Randomized Trials: To Sham or Not to Sham
Authors: Dowrick Adam S. , Bhandari Mohit
Published: November 2012

The placebo effect is based on the expectations of the patient regarding the effectiveness of the treatment. The high levels of stress and rituals involved with surgery can lead to a strong placebo effect. However, the ethical principles of performing sham surgery to measure any placebo effect have been questioned, and sham-controlled surgical trials are rarely conducted. While there are a number of ethical principles that must be considered to justify the implementation of a sham-controlled surgical clinical trial, four areas deserve particular attention: equipoise, risk minimization, informed consent, and deception. Particularly in orthopaedics, where equipoise is common, sham-controlled trials may be important to ensure that inferior or ineffective treatments do not become standard practice.
Comparison of Bariatric Surgical Procedures for Diabetes Remission: Efficacy and Mechanisms
Authors: Vetter Marion L. , Ritter Scott , Wadden Thomas A. , Sarwer David B.
Published: November 2012

In Brief

Bariatric surgery induces a mean weight loss of 15–30% of initial body weight (depending on the procedure), as well as a 45–95% rate of diabetes remission. Procedures that induce greater weight loss are associated with higher rates of diabetes remission. Improvements in glucose homeostasis after bariatric surgery are likely mediated by a combination of caloric restriction (followed by weight loss) and the effects of altered gut anatomy on the secretion of glucoregulatory gut hormones.