bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mass attack by the ambrosia beetlePlatypus quercivorusoccurs in single trees and in groups of trees
Authors: Yamasaki Michimasa , Ito Yasuto , Ando Makoto
Published: November 2013

Bark and ambrosia beetles sometimes kill trees by attacking them en masse; however, their attack is not necessarily successful. Less than half of the fagaceous trees attacked by the ambrosia beetle Platypus quercivorus (Murayama) die, and the factors affecting this mortality are still unknown. To examine this issue, the survival of all stems of fagaceous trees attacked by the ambrosia beetle was investigated in a secondary forest from 2008 to 2010. In an area of 93 ha, 2130 stems (1278 genets) of fagaceous trees were attacked by P. quercivorus during the study period, and 813 of these stems died. A generalized additive mixed model was constructed to predict the probability of mortality of the attacked stems. A best-fit model showed that the probability of mortality was higher in Quercus crispula Blume than in Castanea crenata Sieb. & Zucc. A positive correlation was determined between the density of the attacked trees and the probability of mortality, suggesting that mass attack of P. quercivorus occurs not only on individual trees, but also on groups of trees. Assuming that trees attacked earlier in the season have a higher probability of mortality, the observed negative effects of altitude suggest that P. quercivorus initially seeks hosts at lower elevations.
Improved photovoltaic response by incorporating green tea modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes in organic–inorganic hybrid solar cell
Authors: Khatri Ishwor , Liu Qiming , Ishikawa Ryo , Ueno Keiji , Shirai Hajime
Published: November 2013

In this work, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are separated and cut into short pipes using a green tea solution and embedded at interface of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(stylenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/n-Si hybrid solar cells. Devices fabricated with embedding green tea modified MWCNTs show much better performance (10.02%) than that of a device without MWCNTs (9.2%) due to better hole transportation, easy exciton splitting, and suppression of charge recombination.
Self assembled silver nanowire mesh as top electrode for organic–inorganic hybrid solar cell
Authors: Khatri Ishwor , Liu Qiming , Ishikawa Ryo , Ueno Keiji , Shirai Hajime
Published: November 2013

We prepare transparent, selfassembled polygonal silver nanowire (AgNW) mesh by bubble template and use as top electrode for a poly (3,4ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(stylenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/n-Si hybrid solar cell. Devices were fabricated by pressing the self-assembled AgNW and ITO electrodes onto the surface of the PEDOT:PSS and device performances were compared. In identical transmittances of ITO and self-assembled AgNW (i.e., 87% transmittance at wavelength of 550 nm), the self-assembled AgNW mesh electrodes shows lower sheet resistance (8 Ω/square) with enhanced transparency in the ultraviolet and infrared regions. As a result, a device performance with an efficiency of 9.60% was obtained with the self-assembled electrode compared to 9.07% efficiency from the indium–tin oxide (ITO) electrode under 100 mW/cm2 of AM 1.5 illumination. This study suggests the potential application of a self-assembled AgNW electrode as the transparent conducting electrode for future optoelectronic devices.
Sprint speed is related to blood parasites, but not to ectoparasites, in an insular population of lacertid lizards
Authors: Garrido M. , Pérez-Mellado V.
Published: November 2013

Parasites are able to negatively affect the locomotor performance of their hosts, and consequently, their biological fitness. In this study, we examine the relationship between parasitism and burst speed in an insular population of Lilford’s Wall Lizard (Podarcis lilfordi (Günther, 1874)). Podarcis lilfordi is normally infected with haemogregarine blood parasites and mites in our study location, Aire Island (Balearic Islands, Spain). Unlike the results from other studies on lizards, we found a significant negative correlation between intensity of infection by haemogregarines and burst speed. Body condition is also significantly related to burst speed. Thus, lizards with a lower blood parasite load and better body condition show a faster sprint speed. Intensity of infection by haemoparasites shows a lack of correlation with both body condition and mite load. Our results are compared with those from other lizard species living in different habitats. We discuss the influence of insular environmental conditions on locomotor performances, such as low predation pressure, lack of competitors, and high lizard densities.
EFFICIENT METHOD FOR DESIGNING MODULO {2n ± k} MULTIPLIERS
Authors: PETTENGHI HECTOR , COTOFANA SORIN , SOUSA LEONEL
Published: November 2013

In this paper, an efficient method for designing memoryless modulo {2n ± k} multipliers is proposed, which can be used to compose larger residue number system (RNS) moduli sets. This technique includes a novel choice for the weights associated with the partial products of the inputs is used, which improves the performance of the resulting multipliers. Experimental results suggest that the use of this choice of input weights in the structure herein proposed, provides an average improvement of 36.3% in area-delay-product (ADP) in comparison with the related state-of-the-art. Furthermore, the structures presented in the state-of-the-art are also improved by 43.5% in ADP.
RECONFIGURABLE LOW POWER ARCHITECTURE FOR FAULT TOLERANT PSEUDO-RANDOM NUMBER GENERATION
Authors: SAVIĆ NEMANJA , STOJČEV MILE , NIKOLIĆ TATJANA , PETROVIĆ VLADIMIR , JOVANOVIĆ GORAN
Published: November 2013

High operating speed, fault tolerance (FT), low power and reconfiguration become today dominant issues during development and design of linear feedback shift registers (LFSRs), used as sequence generators, with randomness properties, in a process of testing complex CMOS VLSI ICs. In our design solution, we accomplish FT by using triple modular redundancy (TMR), i.e., a hardware scheme that uses spatial redundancy. For reduction of dynamic power consumption, clock-gating technique, as a simple and effective method, is implemented. The reconfigurable FPGA architecture provides us a feature to program and configure the degree of the primitive polynomial that the LFSR uses. High speed of operation, over 100 MHz, during testing is achieved by using circuits fabricated in submicron technology. An architecture which integrates in a single structure (IP core) all aforementioned design issues, named fault tolerant reconfigurable low-power pseudo-random number generator (FT_RLRG), is described in this article. The design of FT_RLRG is of practical interest in testing triple modular FT systems in the presence of single event upsets (SEUs), especially in a case when the design is SRAM-based. As an IP core the FT_RLRG has been implemented both on FPGA and ASIC technology. The main idea was to design a low-cost and low-power hardware structure which is able to adjust to any standards (past, present and future) operating at high-speed with different polynomials (currently up to 32nd order). The performance of FT_RLRG in respect to speed of operation (up to 150 MHz for FPGA and ASIC designs), low hardware overhead (0.033 mm2 area for ASIC and up to 530 slices for FPGA) and low-power consumption (0.45 mW for ASIC), for three different FPGA architecture (Spartan-3E, Virtex-4 and Virtex-6LP) and as an ASIC design implemented in 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology, have been estimated.
A NEW ENHANCED DIFFERENTIAL CMOS COLPITTS OSCILLATOR
Authors: EBRAHIMI AMIR , YAGHMAEE POURIA
Published: November 2013

This paper represents a new enhanced Colpitts oscillator, which is designed based on gm-boosting of a conventional Colpitts oscillator. The proposed topology increases the negative resistant and enhances the start-up difficulty of the conventional Colpitts oscillator. This enables the Colpitts oscillator to operate in low-power consumption. Moreover, the differential and balanced structure helps limit even-order harmonics and degrades the common mode noise effects in output. The proposed circuit is designed using 0.18 μm technology and is simulated under 1.8 V supply voltage in advanced design system (ADS). Simulations show the output phase noise of -140 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset frequency when the operating frequency is 1 GHz.
THE IMPACT OF THE NUMBER OF TEARS IN PATIENT-SPECIFIC STANFORD TYPE B AORTIC DISSECTING ANEURYSM: CFD SIMULATION
Authors: WAN AB NAIM WAN NAIMAH , GANESAN POO BALAN , SUN ZHONGHUA , OSMAN KAHAR , LIM EINLY
Published: November 2013

It is believed that the progression of Stanford type B aortic dissection is closely associated with vascular geometry and hemodynamic parameters. The hemodynamic differences owing to the presence of greater than two tears have not been explored. The focus of the present study is to investigate the impact of an additional re-entry tear on the flow, pressure and wall shear stress distribution in the dissected aorta. A 3D aorta model with one entry and one re-entry tear was generated from computed tomography (CT) angiographic images of a patient with Stanford Type B aortic dissection. To investigate the hemodynamic effect of more than two tear locations, an additional circular re-entry tear was added 24 mm above the original re-entry tear. Our simulation results showed that the presence of an additional re-entry tear provided an extra return path for blood back to the true lumen during systole, and an extra outflow path into the false lumen during diastole. The presence of this additional path led to a decrease in the false lumen pressure, particularly at the distal region. Meanwhile, the presence of this additional tear causes no significant difference on the time average wall shear stress (TAWSS) distribution except at regions adjacent to re-entry tear 2. Moderate and concentrated TAWSS was observed at the bottom region of this additional tear which may lead to further extension of the tear distally.
On Symmetric Bound Entangled States of Two Qudits
Authors: Chruściński Dariusz , Matsuoka Takashi , Saito Tatsunori , Hirota Yuji , Asano Masanari
Published: November 2013

We provide a symmetric class of 2-qudit bound entangled states within a so-called magic simplex of Bell diagonal states. This class generalizes well-known family of 2-qutrit states introduced by Horodecki.
Anomalies in Strongly Coupled Harmonic Quantum Brownian Motion II
Authors: Giraldi F. , Petruccione F.
Published: November 2013

The analysis of a strongly coupled harmonic quantum Brownian motion has been performed in [1] for a special class of spectral densities obtained as a generalization of the Drude model. In the present scenario, we extend the study of the strongly coupled harmonic quantum Brownian motion to regular spectral densities that are structured as sub-Ohmic at low frequencies and arbitrarily shaped at high frequencies. The bosonic environment is initially in the vacuum state unentangled from the coherent state of the main oscillator. As a generalization of the previous results, we obtain that the long time dynamics is determined uniquely by the initial condition and the low frequency structure of the spectral density. Also in the present framework, inverse power law regressions to the asymptotics appear. The position and the momentum tend to undamped oscillations. The number of excitations relaxes to its initial value with damped oscillations enveloped in inverse power law relaxations. For the momentum and the number of excitations the inverse power law decays become arbitrarily slow in critical configurations by approaching the upper bound of the sub-Ohmic regime. The critical frequencies of the main oscillator are determined by the first negative moment of the spectral densities. Differences with respect to the weak coupling regime arise.
A METHOD OF LEUKOCYTE SEGMENTATION BASED ON S COMPONENT AND B COMPONENT IMAGES
Authors: YANG YIPING , CAO YIPING , SHI WENXIAN
Published: November 2013

A leukocyte segmentation method based on S component and B component images is proposed. Threshold segmentation operation is applied to get two binary images in S component and B component images. The samples used in this study are peripheral blood smears. It is easy to find from the two binary images that gray values are the same at every corresponding pixels in the leukocyte cytoplasm region, but opposite in the other regions. The feature shows that "IMAGE AND" operation can be employed on the two binary images to segment the cytoplasm region of leukocyte. By doing "IMAGE XOR" operation between cytoplasm region and nucleus region, the leukocyte segmentation can be retrieved effectively. The segmentation accuracy is evaluated by comparing the segmentation result of the proposed method with the manual segmentation by a hematologist. Experiment results show that the proposed method is of a higher segmentation accuracy and it also performs well when leukocytes overlap with erythrocytes. The average segmentation accuracy of the proposed method reaches 97.7% for segmenting five types of leukocyte. Good segmentation results provide an important foundation for leukocytes automatic recognition.
Replicated data consistency explained through baseball
Authors: Terry Doug
Published: November 2013

A broader class of consistency guarantees can, and perhaps should, be offered to clients that read shared data.
A survey of mobility in information-centric networks
Authors: Tyson Gareth , Sastry Nishanth , Cuevas Ruben , Rimac Ivica , Mauthe Andreas
Published: November 2013

'Where's' in a name?
The lure of live coding; the attraction of small data
Authors: Guzdial Mark , Barr Valerie
Published: November 2013

The
Communications
Web site, http://cacm.acm.org, features more than a dozen bloggers in the BLOG@CACM community. In each issue of
Communications
, we'll publish selected posts or excerpts.

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Mark Guzdial ponders a new set of research questions, while Valerie Barr considers the utility of one person's data.
The challenge of cross-language interoperability
Authors: Chisnall David
Published: November 2013

Interfacing between languages is becoming more important
Patrick Blackett
Authors: Anderson David
Published: November 2013

Reflections on a Nobel Prize-winning physicist's early contributions to computing.
Bringing young women into computing through the NCWIT Aspirations in Computing program
Authors: DuBow Wendy M. , Farmer Ruthe , Wu Zhen , Fredrickson Malia
Published: November 2013

A program to encourage and support girls and women in pursuing their computer science interests.
Data-driven equivalence checking
Authors: Sharma Rahul , Schkufza Eric , Churchill Berkeley , Aiken Alex
Published: November 2013

We present a data driven algorithm for equivalence checking of two loops. The algorithm infers simulation relations using data from test runs. Once a candidate simulation relation has been obtained, off-the-shelf SMT solvers are used to check whether the simulation relation actually holds. The algorithm is sound: insufficient data will cause the proof to fail. We demonstrate a prototype implementation, called DDEC, of our algorithm, which is the first sound equivalence checker for loops written in x86 assembly.
Code optimizations using formally verified properties
Authors: Shi Yao , Blackham Bernard , Heiser Gernot
Published: November 2013

Formal program verification offers strong assurance of correctness, backed by the strength of mathematical proof. Constructing these proofs requires humans to identify program invariants, and show that they are always maintained. These invariants are then used to prove that the code adheres to its specification.

In this paper, we explore the overlap between formal verification and code optimization. We propose two approaches to reuse the invariants derived in formal proofs and integrate them into compilation. The first applies invariants extracted from the proof, while the second leverages the property of program safety (i.e., the absence of bugs). We reuse this information to improve the performance of generated object code.

We evaluated these methods on seL4, a real-world formally-verified microkernel, and obtained improvements in average runtime performance (up to 28%) and in worst-case execution time (up to 25%). In macro-benchmarks, we found the performance of para-virtualized Linux running on the microkernel improved by 6-16%.
Class hierarchy complementation
Authors: Balatsouras George , Smaragdakis Yannis
Published: November 2013

We present the problem of class hierarchy complementation: given a partially known hierarchy of classes together with subtyping constraints ("A has to be a transitive subtype of B") complete the hierarchy so that it satisfies all constraints. The problem has immediate practical application to the analysis of partial programs--e.g., it arises in the process of providing a sound handling of "phantom classes" in the Soot program analysis framework. We provide algorithms to solve the hierarchy complementation problem in the single inheritance and multiple inheritance settings. We also show that the problem in a language such as Java, with single inheritance but multiple subtyping and distinguished class vs. interface types, can be decomposed into separate single- and multiple-subtyping instances. We implement our algorithms in a tool, JPhantom, which complements partial Java bytecode programs so that the result is guaranteed to satisfy the Java verifier requirements. JPhantom is highly scalable and runs in mere seconds even for large input applications and complex constraints (with a maximum of 14s for a 19MB binary).
Forsaking inheritance
Authors: Gerakios Prodromos , Biboudis Aggelos , Smaragdakis Yannis
Published: November 2013

We propose DelphJ: a Java-based OO language that eschews inheritance completely, in favor of a combination of class morphing and (deep) delegation. Compared to past delegation approaches, the novel aspect of our design is the ability to emulate the best aspects of inheritance while retaining maximum flexibility: using morphing, a class can select any of the methods of its delegatee and export them (if desired) or transform them (e.g., to add extra arguments or modify type signatures), yet without needing to name these methods explicitly and handle them one-by-one. Compared to past work on morphing, our approach adopts and adapts advanced delegation mechanisms, in order to add late binding capabilities and, thus, provide a full substitute of inheritance. Additionally, we explore complex semantic issues in the interaction of delegation with late binding. We present our language design both informally, with numerous examples, and formally in a core calculus.
Effective race detection for event-driven programs
Authors: Raychev Veselin , Vechev Martin , Sridharan Manu
Published: November 2013

Like shared-memory multi-threaded programs, event-driven programs such as client-side web applications are susceptible to data races that are hard to reproduce and debug. Race detection for such programs is hampered by their pervasive use of ad hoc synchronization, which can lead to a prohibitive number of false positives. Race detection also faces a scalability challenge, as a large number of short-running event handlers can quickly overwhelm standard vector-clock-based techniques.

This paper presents several novel contributions that address both of these challenges. First, we introduce
race coverage
, a systematic method for exposing ad hoc synchronization and other (potentially harmful) races to the user, significantly reducing false positives. Second, we present an efficient connectivity algorithm for computing race coverage. The algorithm is based on
chain decomposition
and leverages the structure of event-driven programs to dramatically decrease the overhead of vector clocks.

We implemented our techniques in a tool called
EventRacer
and evaluated it on a number of public web sites. The results indicate substantial performance and precision improvements of our approach over the state-of-the-art. Using
EventRacer
, we found many harmful races, most of which are beyond the reach of current techniques.
Efficient concurrency-bug detection across inputs
Authors: Deng Dongdong , Zhang Wei , Lu Shan
Published: November 2013

In the multi-core era, it is critical to efficiently test multi-threaded software and expose concurrency bugs before software release. Previous work has made significant progress in detecting and validating concurrency bugs under a given input. Unfortunately, software testing always faces large sets of test inputs, and existing techniques are still too expensive to be applied to every test input in practice.

In this paper, we use open-source software to study how existing concurrency-bug detection tools work for a set of inputs. The study shows that an interleaving pattern, such as a data race or an atomicity violation, can often be exposed by many inputs. Consequently, existing bug detectors would inevitably waste their bug detection effort to generate duplicate bug reports, when applied to a set of inputs.

Guided by the above study, we propose a coverage metric, Concurrent Function Pairs (CFP), to efficiently approximate how interleavings overlap across inputs. Using CFP, we have designed a new approach to detecting data races and atomicity-violation bugs for a set of inputs.

Our evaluation on open-source C/C++ applications shows that our CFP-guided approach can effectively accelerate concurrency-bug detection for a set of inputs by reducing redundant detection effort across inputs.
Ironclad C++
Authors: DeLozier Christian , Eisenberg Richard , Nagarakatte Santosh , Osera Peter-Michael , Martin Milo M.K. , Zdancewic Steve
Published: November 2013

The C++ programming language remains widely used, despite inheriting many unsafe features from C---features that often lead to failures of type or memory safety that manifest as buffer overflows, use-after-free vulnerabilities, or abstraction violations. Malicious attackers can exploit such violations to compromise application and system security.

This paper introduces Ironclad C++, an approach to bringing the benefits of type and memory safety to C++. Ironclad C++ is, in essence, a library-augmented, type-safe subset of C++. All Ironclad C++ programs are valid C++ programs that can be compiled using standard, off-the-shelf C++ compilers. However, not all valid C++ programs are valid Ironclad C++ programs: a syntactic source-code validator statically prevents the use of unsafe C++ features. To enforce safety properties that are difficult to check statically, Ironclad C++ applies dynamic checks via templated ``smart pointer'' classes.

Using a semi-automatic refactoring tool, we have ported nearly 50K lines of code to Ironclad C++. These benchmarks incur a performance overhead of 12% on average, compared to the original unsafe C++ code.
Testing noninterference, quickly
Authors: Hritcu Catalin , Hughes John , Pierce Benjamin C. , Spector-Zabusky Antal , Vytiniotis Dimitrios , Azevedo de Amorim Arthur , Lampropoulos Leonidas
Published: November 2013

Information-flow control mechanisms are difficult to design and labor intensive to prove correct. To reduce the time wasted on proof attempts doomed to fail due to broken definitions, we advocate modern random testing techniques for finding counterexamples during the design process. We show how to use QuickCheck, a property-based random-testing tool, to guide the design of a simple information-flow abstract machine. We find that both sophisticated strategies for generating well-distributed random programs and readily falsifiable formulations of noninterference properties are critically important. We propose several approaches and evaluate their effectiveness on a collection of injected bugs of varying subtlety. We also present an effective technique for shrinking large counterexamples to minimal, easily comprehensible ones. Taken together, our best methods enable us to quickly and automatically generate simple counterexamples for all these bugs.
Modular monadic meta-theory
Authors: Delaware Benjamin , Keuchel Steven , Schrijvers Tom , Oliveira Bruno C.d.S.
Published: November 2013

This paper presents 3MT, a framework for modular mechanized meta-theory of languages with effects. Using 3MT, individual language features and their corresponding definitions -- semantic functions, theorem statements and proofs-- can be built separately and then reused to create different languages with fully mechanized meta-theory. 3MT combines modular datatypes and monads to define denotational semantics with effects on a per-feature basis, without fixing the particular set of effects or language constructs.

One well-established problem with type soundness proofs for denotational semantics is that they are notoriously brittle with respect to the addition of new effects. The statement of type soundness for a language depends intimately on the effects it uses, making it particularly challenging to achieve modularity. 3MT solves this long-standing problem by splitting these theorems into two separate and reusable parts: a feature theorem that captures the well-typing of denotations produced by the semantic function of an individual feature with respect to only the effects used, and an effect theorem that adapts well-typings of denotations to a fixed superset of effects. The proof of type soundness for a particular language simply combines these theorems for its features and the combination of their effects. To establish both theorems, 3MT uses two key reasoning techniques: modular induction and algebraic laws about effects. Several effectful language features, including references and errors, illustrate the capabilities of 3MT. A case study reuses these features to build fully mechanized definitions and proofs for 28 languages, including several versions of mini-ML with effects.
C-SHORe
Authors: Broadbent Christopher , Carayol Arnaud , Hague Matthew , Serre Olivier
Published: November 2013

Higher-order recursion schemes (HORS) have recently received much attention as a useful abstraction of higher-order functional programs with a number of new verification techniques employing HORS model-checking as their centrepiece. This paper contributes to the ongoing quest for a truly scalable model-checker for HORS by offering a different, automata theoretic perspective. We introduce the first practical model-checking algorithm that acts on a generalisation of pushdown automata equi-expressive with HORS called collapsible pushdown systems (CPDS). At its core is a substantial modification of a recently studied saturation algorithm for CPDS. In particular it is able to use information gathered from an approximate forward reachability analysis to guide its backward search. Moreover, we introduce an algorithm that prunes the CPDS prior to model-checking and a method for extracting counter-examples in negative instances. We compare our tool with the state-of-the-art verification tools for HORS and obtain encouraging results. In contrast to some of the main competition tackling the same problem, our algorithm is fixed-parameter tractable, and we also offer significantly improved performance over the only previously published tool of which we are aware that also enjoys this property. The tool and additional material are available from http://cshore.cs.rhul.ac.uk.
Simple and compositional reification of monadic embedded languages
Authors: Svenningsson Josef David , Svensson Bo Joel
Published: November 2013

When writing embedded domain specific languages in Haskell, it is often convenient to be able to make an instance of the Monad class to take advantage of the do-notation and the extensive monad libraries. Commonly it is desirable to compile such languages rather than just interpret them. This introduces the problem of monad reification, i.e. observing the structure of the monadic computation. We present a solution to the monad reification problem and illustrate it with a small robot control language. Monad reification is not new but the novelty of our approach is in its directness, simplicity and compositionality.
Behavioural composition constructively built server algorithms
Authors: Kumar Pratyush , Thiele Lothar
Published: November 2013

Composability and compositionality are well recognised as key enablers in rigorous design and analysis of complex systems. We argue that existing work on these enablers, specific to real-time systems, has exclusively focussed on design and analysis of
structural
composition, by which we refer to composition of either separate software tasks or compositions thereof on a shared platform such as a processor. Though structural composition is common and likely the most useful such composition, we make the case of an altogether different kind of composition which we refer to as
behavioural
composition. As a specific example of behavioural composition, we discuss how to constructively build complex server algorithms, called Demand Bound Servers (DBS), by composing constituent simpler server algorithms, even hierarchically. As a result of such composition, we can build server algorithms to more tightly match the requirements of tasks they need to serve, which indeed is not possible with the simpler components themselves. This is an example of how new behaviour is emergent out of the composition. We remain curious if there are other such examples of behavioural composition of interest to real-time systems.
Integrating independently developed real-time applications on a shared multi-core architecture
Authors: Afshar Sara , Behnam Moris , Nolte Thomas
Published: November 2013

The shift towards multi-core platforms has become inevitable from an industry perspective, therefore proper techniques are needed to deal with challenges related to this migration from single core architectures to a multi-core architecture. One of the main concerns for system developers in this context is the migration of legacy real-time systems to multi-core architectures. To address this concern and to simplify the migration, independently-developed subsystems are abstracted with an interface, such that when working with multiple independently-developed subsystems to be integrated on a shared platform, one does not need to be aware of information or policies used in other subsystems in order to determine subsystem-level schedulability. Instead schedulability can be checked through their interfaces at the time of integration on a shared multi-core architecture. In this paper we propose a solution for investigating the system schedulability via providing interfaces for independently-developed subsystems where some of them are distributed over more than one processor and may share resources.
Nonstructural Carbon in Woody Plants
Authors: Dietze Michael C. , Sala Anna , Carbone Mariah S. , Czimczik Claudia I. , Mantooth Joshua A. , Richardson Andrew D. , Vargas Rodrigo
Published: November 2013

Nonstructural carbon (NSC) provides the carbon and energy for plant growth and survival. In woody plants, fundamental questions about NSC remain unresolved: Is NSC storage an active or passive process? Do older NSC reserves remain accessible to the plant? How is NSC depletion related to mortality risk? Herein we review conceptual and mathematical models of NSC dynamics, recent observations and experiments at the organismal scale, and advances in plant physiology that have provided a better understanding of the dynamics of woody plant NSC. Plants preferentially use new carbon but can access decade-old carbon when the plant is stressed or physically damaged. In addition to serving as a carbon and energy source, NSC plays important roles in phloem transport, osmoregulation, and cold tolerance, but how plants regulate these competing roles and NSC depletion remains elusive. Moving forward requires greater synthesis of models and data and integration across scales from -omics to ecology.
Thyroid Cancer
Authors: Carling Tobias , Udelsman Robert
Published: November 2013

Thyroid cancer is rapidly increasing in incidence, but the mortality rate remains flat. Debate has arisen over the need to detect or treat most thyroid cancers early, given their favorable natural history. The appropriate extent of surgery for thyroid cancer is also controversial: some researchers advocate partial and others total thyroidectomy; some advocate prophylactic central cervical lymph node dissection, whereas others only rarely recommend lymphadenectomy. Although radioactive iodine is effective, its appropriate use and dosage remain controversial. In addition, molecular analysis of thyroid cancer is frequently used for diagnostic purposes involving preoperative fine-needle biopsy specimens as well as to define targetable pathways altered in the disease to guide clinical trials of drug therapy for advanced thyroid cancers.
Molecular Mechanisms for Synchronous, Asynchronous, and Spontaneous Neurotransmitter Release
Authors: Kaeser Pascal S. , Regehr Wade G.
Published: November 2013

Most neuronal communication relies upon the synchronous release of neurotransmitters, which occurs through synaptic vesicle exocytosis triggered by action potential invasion of a presynaptic bouton. However, neurotransmitters are also released asynchronously with a longer, variable delay following an action potential or spontaneously in the absence of action potentials. A compelling body of research has identified roles and mechanisms for synchronous release, but asynchronous release and spontaneous release are less well understood. In this review, we analyze how the mechanisms of the three release modes overlap and what molecular pathways underlie asynchronous and spontaneous release. We conclude that the modes of release have key fusion processes in common but may differ in the source of and necessity for Ca2+ to trigger release and in the identity of the Ca2+ sensor for release.
Statistical Ecology
Authors: King Ruth
Published: November 2013

Statistical ecology deals with the development of new methodologies for analyzing ecological data. Advanced statistical models and techniques are often needed to provide robust analyses of the available data. The statistical models that are developed can often be separated into two distinct processes: a system process that describes the underlying biological system and an observation process that describes the data collection process. The system process is often a function of the demographic parameters of interest, such as survival probabilities, transition rates between states, and/or abundance, whereas the model parameters associated with the observation process are conditional on the underlying state of the system. This review focuses on a number of common forms of ecological data and discusses their associated models and model-fitting approaches, including the incorporation of heterogeneity within the given biological system and the integration of different data sources.
Subcutaneous Emphysema and Pneumomediastinum after Tonsillectomy
Authors: Koukoutsis George , Balatsouras Dimitrios G. , Ganelis Panayotis , Fassolis Alexandros , Moukos Antonis , Katotomichelakis Michael , Kaberos Antonis
Published: November 2013

Cervicofacial subcutaneous emphysema is a rare complication of tonsillectomy that often resolves spontaneously but may progress to obstruct upper airways or spread to the thorax causing pneumomediastinum or pneumothorax. The mechanisms by which subcutaneous emphysema and pneumomediastinum may develop after tonsillectomy are poorly understood. A case of a 21-year-old female undergoing routine adenotonsillectomy, who developed cervicofacial emphysema and pneumomediastinum, is presented. Possible pathogenetic mechanisms and treatment options are discussed.
The Pressure Relief System Design for Industrial Reactors
Authors: Hace Iztok
Published: November 2013

A quick and simple approach for reactor—emergency relief system design—for runaway chemical reactions is presented. A cookbook for system sizing with all main characteristic dimensions and parameters is shown on one realistic example from process industry. System design was done based on existing theories, standards, and correlations obtained from the literature, which were implemented for presented case. A simple and effective method for emergency relief system is shown, which may serve as an example for similar systems design. Obtained results may contribute to better understanding of blow down system frequently used in industrial plants, for increasing safety, decreasing explosion damage, and alleviating the ecological problems together with environmental pollution in case of industrial accidents.
A mm-Wave 2D Ultra-Wideband Imaging Radar for Breast Cancer Detection
Authors: Moscato Stefano , Matrone Giulia , Pasian Marco , Mazzanti Andrea , Bozzi Maurizio , Perregrini Luca , Svelto Francesco , Magenes Giovanni , Arcioni Paolo , Summers Paul
Published: November 2013

This paper presents the preliminary design of a mm-wave ultra-wideband (UWB) radar for breast cancer detection. A mass screening of women for breast cancer is essential, as the early diagnosis of the tumour allows best treatment outcomes. A mm-wave UWB radar could be an innovative solution to achieve the high imaging resolution required without risks for the patient. The 20–40 GHz frequency band used in the system proposed in this work guarantees high cross/range resolution performances. The developed preliminary architecture employs two monomodal truncated double-ridge waveguides that act as antennas; these radiators are shifted by microstep actuators to form a synthetic linear aperture. The minimum antenna-to-antenna distance achievable, the width of the synthetic aperture, and the minimum frequency step determine the performance of the 2D imaging system. Measures are performed with a mm-wave vector network analyzer driven by an automatic routine, which controls also the antennas shifts. The scattering matrix is then calibrated and the delay-multiply-and-sum (DMAS) algorithm is applied to elaborate a high-resolution 2D image of the targets. Experimental results show that 3 mm cross and 8 mm range resolutions were achieved, which is in line with theoretical expectations and promising for future developments.
Interval and Continuous Exercise Training Produce Similar Increases in Skeletal Muscle and Left Ventricle Microvascular Density in Rats
Authors: Pereira Flávio , de Moraes Roger , Tibiriçá Eduardo , Nóbrega Antonio C. L.
Published: November 2013

Interval training (IT), consisting of alternated periods of high and low intensity exercise, has been proposed as a strategy to induce more marked biological adaptations than continuous exercise training (CT). The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of IT and CT with equivalent total energy expenditure on capillary skeletal and cardiac muscles in rats. Wistar rats ran on a treadmill for 30 min per day with no slope (0%), 4 times/week for 13 weeks. CT has constant load of 70% max; IT has cycles of 90% max for 1 min followed by 1 min at 50% max. CT and IT increased endurance and muscle oxidative capacity and attenuated body weight gain to a similar extent (P>0.05). In addition, CT and IT similarly increased functional capillary density of skeletal muscle (CT:30.6±11.7%; IT:28.7±11.9%) and the capillary-to-fiber ratio in skeletal muscle (CT:28.7±14.4%; IT:40.1±17.2%) and in the left ventricle (CT:57.3±53.1%; IT:54.3±40.5%). In conclusion, at equivalent total work volumes, interval exercise training induced similar functional and structural alterations in the microcirculation of skeletal muscle and myocardium in healthy rats compared to continuous exercise training.
Union Rate on Hinge Side after Open-Door Laminoplasty Using Maxillofacial Titanium Miniplate
Authors: Siribumrungwong Koopong , Kiriratnikom Theerasan , Tangtrakulwanich Boonsin
Published: November 2013

Background. One of the important complications of open-door laminoplasty is a premature laminoplasty closure. In order to prevent premature laminoplasty closure many techniques have been described and a titanium miniplate is one of the instruments to maintain cervical canal expansion. This study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of titanium miniplates on the union rate for open-door laminoplasty.Materials and Methods. We performed open-door laminoplasty in 68 levels of fourteen patients using maxillofacial titanium miniplates. Axial computed tomography scans were obtained at 6 months postoperatively to evaluate the union rates of the hinge side. The Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score was used to compare the clinical outcomes before and after surgery.Results. Computed tomography scan data was available on 68 levels in 14 patients. There were no premature closures of the hinge or miniplate dislodgements. The union rate on the hinge side was 70.5% (48/68). The mean JOA score increased significantly from 7.0 before surgery to 10.2, 12.2, and 13.0 after surgery at 1, 3, and 6 months, respectively.Conclusion. Open-door laminoplasty using maxillofacial titanium miniplates can provide union rates comparable to other techniques. It can maintain canal expansion without failures, dislodgements, and premature closures.
The Use of a Brain Computer Interface Remote Control to Navigate a Recreational Device
Authors: Chen Shih Chung , See Aaron Raymond , Chen Yeou Jiunn , Yeng Chia Hong , Liang Chih Kuo
Published: November 2013

People suffering from paralysis caused by serious neural disorder or spinal cord injury also need to be given a means of recreation other than general living aids. Although there have been a proliferation of brain computer interface (BCI) applications, developments for recreational activities are scarcely seen. The objective of this study is to develop a BCI-based remote control integrated with commercial devices such as the remote controlled Air Swimmer. The brain is visually stimulated using boxes flickering at preprogrammed frequencies to activate a brain response. After acquiring and processing these brain signals, the frequency of the resulting peak, which corresponds to the user’s selection, is determined by a decision model. Consequently, a command signal is sent from the computer to the wireless remote controller via a data acquisition (DAQ) module. A command selection training (CST) and simulated path test (SPT) were conducted by 12 subjects using the BCI control system and the experimental results showed a recognition accuracy rate of 89.51% and 92.31% for the CST and SPT, respectively. The fastest information transfer rate demonstrated a response of 105 bits/min and 41.79 bits/min for the CST and SPT, respectively. The BCI system was proven to be able to provide a fast and accurate response for a remote controller application.
On Inequalities of Lyapunov for Two-Dimensional Nonlinear Dynamic Systems on Time Scales
Authors: Li Qiao-Luan , Cheung Wing-Sum , Fu Xu-Yang
Published: November 2013

We establish some new Lyapunov-type inequalities for two-dimensional nonlinear dynamic systems on time scales. As for application, boundedness of the Emden-Fowler-type equation is proved.
Nonlinear Model Predictive Control with Terminal Invariant Manifolds for Stabilization of Underactuated Surface Vessel
Authors: Liu Lutao , Liu Zhilin , Zhang Jun
Published: November 2013

A nonlinear model predictive control (MPC) is proposed for underactuated surface vessel (USV) with constrained invariant manifolds. Aimed at the special structure of USV, the invariant manifold under the given controller is constructed in terms of diffeomorphism and Lyapunov stability theory. Based on MPC, the states of the USV are steered into the constrained terminal invariant manifolds. After the terminal manifolds set is reached, a linear feedback control is used to stabilize the system. The simulation results verified the effectiveness of the proposed method. It is shown that, based on invariant manifolds constraints, it is easy to get the MPC for the USV and it is suitable for practical application.
Generation of Constitutive Active ERK Mutants as Tools for Cancer Research in Zebrafish
Authors: Rian Hanan , Krens S. F. Gabriel , Spaink Herman P. , Snaar-Jagalska B. Ewa
Published: November 2013

The extracellular-signal-regulated-kinase (ERK) signaling pathway is essential for vertebrate development and is frequently deregulated in human and zebrafish tumors. Previously, we cloned and characterized the zebrafish MAPK gene family and showed that ERK2 is crucial for cell migration and early zebrafish embryogenesis. To further study ERK2 function we generated constitutively active mutant forms of the ERK proteins by introducing conserved point mutations. We validated the enhanced protein activity in vitro by transfection of constructs into zebrafish fibroblast (zf4) cells and demonstrated elevated phosphorylation levels of downstream targets P90RSK and CREB, by ERK2L84P/S162D and ERK2L84P/S162D/D330N specifically. In vivo validation was performed by ectopic expression of corresponding mRNAs in the transgenic zebrafish FGF-ERK2 reporter fish line Tg(Dusp6:d2EGFP). Both mutant ERK2 isoforms induced elevated transgene expression compared to ERK2WT, confirming increased kinase activity in vivo. Phospho-kinomic analysis on peptide microarrays was performed to identify new targets in embryos injected with FGF8 or ERK2L84P/S162D/D330N mRNAs. We detected both FGF8 specific and common signalling targets. Interestingly, with both mRNAs we found increased phosphorylation levels of CDK1, which is critical for proper G2/M phase transition and mitotic entry in proliferation control. These results corroborate that constitutive activation of the ERK2 pathway leads to enhanced, possibly oncogenic, proliferation.
Survival Rate of Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants and Its Risk Factors: Case-Control Study in Japan
Authors: Ogawa Masaki , Matsuda Yoshio , Kanda Eriko , Konno Jun , Mitani Minoru , Makino Yasuo , Matsui Hideo
Published: November 2013

Aim. To clarify the effect of perinatal events on the survival of ELBW infants in Japan. Methods. 1,713 ELBW infants, from 92,630 live births in 2001 and 2002, born at 22–36 weeks of gestation were registered. Case was defined as death at discharge. The relevant variables were compared between the cases (n=366) and the controls (n=1,347). Results. The total survival rate was 78.6%. There was a significant difference between the survival rate in cesarean and vaginal delivery at 24–31 weeks of gestation. Cesarean delivery in infants with a birth weight >400 g was significantly advantageous to the survival rate of ELBW infants than vaginal delivery. The significant contributing factors were gestational age at delivery (OR: 0.97), Apgar score at 5 min (0.56), antenatal steroid (0.41), and birth weight (0.996). Nonvertex presentation (1.81), vaginal delivery (1.56), and placental abruption (2.50) were found to be significantly associated with neonatal death. Conclusions. Cesarean section might be advantageous for survival in ELBW infants over 24 gestational weeks or 400 grams of birth weight. Nonvertex presentation, vaginal delivery, and placental abruption could be significant risk factors for survival of ELBW infants.
Fast Fourier Transform Based Power Option Pricing with Stochastic Interest Rate, Volatility, and Jump Intensity
Authors: Huang Jiexiang , Zhu Wenli , Ruan Xinfeng
Published: November 2013

Firstly, we present a more general and realistic double-exponential jump model with stochastic volatility, interest rate, and jump intensity. Using Feynman-Kac formula, we obtain a partial integrodifferential equation (PIDE), with respect to the moment generating function of log underlying asset price, which exists an affine solution. Then, we employ the fast Fourier Transform (FFT) method to obtain the approximate numerical solution of a power option which is conveniently designed with different risks or prices. Finally, we find the FFT method to compute that our option price has better stability, higher accuracy, and faster speed, compared to Monte Carlo approach.