bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Saving for the future: Pre‐winter uptake of algal lipids supports copepod egg production in spring
Authors: Schneider Tobias , Grosbois Guillaume , Vincent Warwick F. , Rautio Milla
Published: April 2017

The freshwater copepod Leptodiaptomus minutus in boreal lakes has its main annual reproductive period at the end of winter. This follows months of ice cover and limited food production, yet the females transfer large quantities of algal‐derived carotenoids (predominantly astaxanthin) and fatty acids (FAs) to their eggs at this time, thereby providing the offspring with antioxidant protection and energy reserves.

We hypothesised that this winter transfer of carotenoid pigments and FAs is based on accumulated reserves that are reinvested into reproduction (i.e. capital breeding). This strategy would allow the animals to produce offspring in time for the nauplii to feed on the spring phytoplankton bloom, thus gaining a competitive advantage.

To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the seasonal production of precursor carotenoids and essential FAs by the phytoplankton, the amounts of these compounds required for egg production and the transfer rates from phytoplankton to copepod eggs.

Pelagic primary production vastly outweighed the demand for copepod eggs during summer–autumn. However, the major peak of egg production in spring could not be sustained by the low phytoplankton productivity during winter, indicating reliance on previously accumulated reserves as hypothesised.

High rates of lipid reserve accumulation in L. minutus in late autumn and early winter accounted for up to 128% (astaxanthin precursors) and 70% (FAs) of the daily production by the phytoplankton, further indicating the importance of pre‐winter primary production for reserve building in this copepod.

During winter, the sum of carotenoid pigments as well as the sum of essential FAs stocked in copepods exceeded the concentrations in the seston. Consequently, adult copepods act as a lipid storage pool linking the biosynthesis of carotenoids and FAs by primary producers in autumn to the production of copepod eggs at the end of winter.
La montée du travail précaire en Europe. Concepts, indicateurs et effets de la crise économique mondiale
Authors: GUTIÉRREZ BARBARRUSA Tomás
Published: April 2017

Depuis les années 1970, l'emploi se précarise en Occident, sous l'effet d'une réorganisation des processus productifs et des politiques de flexibilisation néolibérales. L'auteur analyse le concept de précarité en s'intéressant à deux aspects, l'insécurité et la pauvreté. Il utilise ensuite un indicateur reposant sur ces měmes dimensions et des données d'Eurostat pour 1995–2015 afin d'examiner l'évolution du phénomène dans l'UE‐15 et l'effet à cet égard de la crise économique de 2008. Il conclut à une hausse généralisée de la précarité depuis cette date, qui découle plutôt de la pauvreté sur les marchés les plus déréglementés et plutôt de l'insécurité dans les pays d'Europe méridionale.
Face à la prolifération des stages: quel encadrement pour des pratiques conformes aux principes du travail décent?
Authors: OWENS Rosemary , STEWART Andrew
Published: April 2017

La multiplication des stages et autres formes non rémunérées d'expérience préprofessionnelle constitue une caractéristique importante – mais souvent ignorée – du marché du travail actuel. Les stages répondent au désir compréhensible des demandeurs d'emploi de s'insérer sur des marchés du travail extrěmement compétitifs. Ils peuvent néanmoins ětre source d'exploitation, s'ils sont utilisés à la place d'emplois salariés, et entraver la mobilité sociale. Les auteurs examinent les mesures adoptées dans ce contexte par certains pays développés et s'appliquent à jeter les bases d'une stratégie plus adaptée face à une évolution qui compromet manifestement la réalisation des objectifs en matière de travail décent.
Self‐affirmation, political value congruence, and support for refugees
Authors: Badea Constantina , Tavani Jean‐Louis , Rubin Mark , Meyer Thierry
Published: April 2017

This research tested the potential for self‐affirmation on left‐ and right‐wing political values to increase behavioral intentions to provide help and assistance to refugees. We present a pilot study defining left‐ and right‐wing values, and a main study in which participants completed either a self‐affirmation task, a group‐affirmation task, or participated in a control condition on values that were either congruent or incongruent with their own political views. Results show that left‐wing oriented participants showed more supportive intentions in the self‐affirmation condition compared to the group‐affirmation and control conditions, independent of values congruency. In contrast, right‐wing participants showed more supportive intentions in the self‐affirmation condition, but only when they affirmed on values that were congruent with their own political views.
Treatment For Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior: A Review of Family‐Based Interventions
Authors: Frey Laura M. , Hunt Quintin A.
Published: April 2017

The purpose of this article is to review the scientific evidence on the effects of family based interventions for suicidal ideation and behavior. We conducted an extensive search of electronic databases using a comprehensive search strategy. This search resulted in 16 studies that tested 13 interventions for treating suicidal ideation and behavior using family based interventions. Of the interventions identified, three yielded an overall improvement in suicidal ideation and behavior while an additional three interventions produced partial improvement in mental health symptoms. These studies targeted suicidal ideation and behavior in youth or adolescents while no studies examined family interventions for adults with suicidal ideation and behavior. The limitations of these studies and the need for additional research are examined.
Learning from the Swiss Corporate Governance Exception
Authors: Vatiero Massimiliano
Published: April 2017

The Swiss economy represents an exception to the legal origin theory (e.g., Roe, 2006). Although Switzerland is a country belonging to the civil law family, many of its public companies have diffused corporate ownership, as do those in common law countries. This paper maintains that the Swiss exception relies on the complementarity between corporate ownership and policies addressing employment protection and innovation. The Swiss case presents two lessons. First, the current corporate governance is the result of a long and composite path in which politics plays a pivotal role; second, the institutional differences and similarities across countries, which one would try to explain along with the legal origin theory, can also emerge from politics‐based accounts, such as those referring to policies on employment protection and innovation.
Effect of phytoliths for mitigating water stress in durum wheat
Authors: Meunier Jean Dominique , Barboni Doris , Anwar‐ul‐Haq Muhammad , Levard Clément , Chaurand Perrine , Vidal Vladimir , Grauby Olivier , Huc Roland , Laffont‐Schwob Isabelle , Rabier Jacques , Keller Catherine
Published: April 2017

The role of silicon (Si) in alleviating biotic and abiotic stresses in crops is well evidenced by empirical studies; however, the mechanisms by which it works are still poorly known. The aim of this study is to determine whether or not phytolith composition and distribution in wheat are affected by drought and, if so, why.

Durum wheat was grown using hydroponics in the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG)‐6000 to perform a water‐stress simulation. We developed an original method for in situ analysis of phytoliths in leaves via X‐ray imaging.

PEG was efficient in inhibiting water uptake by roots and creating stress, and prevented a small fraction of Si from being accumulated in the shoots. The application of Si with PEG maintained shoot and root fresh weights (FW) and relative water content at higher values than for plants without Si, especially at PEG 12%.

Our data show that, under water stress in the presence of Si, accumulation of phytoliths over the veins provides better support to the leaf, thus allowing for a better development of the whole plant than in the absence of Si. The development of silicified trichomes in durum wheat depends primarily on the availability of Si in soil and is not an adaptation to water stress.
Ranking Economics Journals Using Data From a National Research Evaluation Exercise
Authors: Hole Arne Risa
Published: April 2017

This paper describes an algorithm for creating a ranking of economics journals, using data from the 2014 UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise. The ranking generated by the algorithm can be viewed as a measure of the average quality of the papers published in the journal, as judged by the REF Economics and Econometrics sub‐panel, based on the outputs submitted to the REF.
At the Nexus of Advocacy and Accountability: New Challenges and Strategies for Japanese Development NGOs
Authors: Sohn Hyuk‐Sang , Jeong Bok Cheol , Kim Taekyoon
Published: April 2017

This study explores how Japanese development non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) had altered their patterns of advocacy and accountability after changes in political structure that occurred in the 2000s when the Democratic Party of Japan created the two‐party system and the Liberal Democratic Party took power again. After the 1990s, a unique feature of development NGOs actively performing advocacy and accountability within the ODA domain, while also eagerly reaching political authorities by forming networks, was found. Behind their efforts were the appearance and expansion of the Democratic Party of Japan through its systematic and political ties. As concluding remarks, the active participation of civil society not only represents the level of internal resources mobilized within the civil society network, but is also an indicator on how supportive the policy space at the bottom is towards civil society.
Cracks in the Blood‐Shared Alliance? Explaining Strained PRC–DPRK Relations in the Post‐Cold War World
Authors: Kim Min‐hyung
Published: April 2017

The Sino–DPRK relationship had often been described, at least until the end of the Cold War, as one of “lips and teeth” or “blood‐cemented” brothers. However, remarkable changes in the previously strong Sino–DPRK relations have been observed in recent years. Most importantly, the DPRK has ignored the People's Republic of China's repeated warnings to withhold nuclear tests, instead conducting them five times in a row since 2006. In response to those tests, China has vehemently criticized the DPRK. In addition, it voted for UN Security Council resolutions that imposed strict sanctions on Pyongyang. China even imposed its own sanctions against the DPRK. The strained relationship between China and North Korea is demonstrated by the fact that China's new president, Xi Jinping, has met South Korea's President Park Geun‐hye eight times since he came to office in 2013, whereas he has never had a summit meeting with North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong‐un, who succeeded his father, Kim Jong‐il, in 2011. What has driven this dramatic change in the relationships of these two military allies? This paper argues that while multiple factors have pushed formerly strong Sino–DPRK relations into a new direction, the three most important factors are mistrust between two allies (historical), diverging interests (strategic), and growing Sino–ROK ties (economic and political).
Pathogenetic significance and possibility as a therapeutic target of platelet derived growth factor
Authors: Ishii Yoko , Hamashima Takeru , Yamamoto Seiji , Sasahara Masakiyo
Published: April 2017

Platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) is one of the major mitogens and chemoattractants for mesenchymal and glial cells. Nowadays, the expression of PDGFs are recognized widely in our body, and emerging data indicate the relevance of PDGFs in the homeostatic control of systemic connective tissue as well as parenchymal cells such as neurons. Aberrant PDGF signal is primarily tumorigenic, and also regulates tumor microenvironments. The roles of the PDGF signal in tumorigenesis are diverse depending on the type of cancer, and anti‐PDGF therapy needs to be carefully designed based on the information of each tumor cell type and the surrounding microenvironment. PDGFs and receptors (PDGFRs) are abundant in neurons and glial cells, and are neuroprotective through the regulation of neurovascular unit. PDGF signal is functionally correlated with neurotransmission, and can be pathogenetically correlated with psychosomatic neurological diseases. Growing genetic information has been unraveling novel connective tissue diseases and vascular abnormalities in which aberrant PDGF signaling is etiologically correlated. Novel therapeutic approaches targeting PDGF signal are beginning to emerge in various diseases.
Optimal Capital Income Taxation with Means‐tested Benefits
Authors: Kumru Cagri S. , Piggott John
Published: April 2017

This paper studies the interaction between capital income taxation and a means‐tested age pension. Our results document that the existence of a social insurance program financed from general revenue puts an upward pressure on the optimal tax rate. We also show that there is a negative relation between taper (benefit‐reduction) and optimal capital income tax rates. The potential welfare gain from optimizing capital taxation in the presence of a universal retirement transfer system is relatively higher. However, when the transfer is substantially means tested, the gain is lower, because the means test effectively operates as a tax on retirement capital.
Laser‐ablation electrospray ionization mass spectrometry with ion mobility separation reveals metabolites in the symbiotic interactions of soybean roots and rhizobia
Authors: Stopka Sylwia A. , Agtuca Beverly J. , Koppenaal David W. , Paša‐Tolić Ljiljana , Stacey Gary , Vertes Akos , Anderton Christopher R.
Published: April 2017

Technologies enabling in situ metabolic profiling of living plant systems are invaluable for understanding physiological processes and could be used for rapid phenotypic screening (e.g., to produce plants with superior biological nitrogen‐fixing ability). The symbiotic interaction between legumes and nitrogen‐fixing soil bacteria results in a specialized plant organ (i.e., root nodule) where the exchange of nutrients between host and endosymbiont occurs. Laser‐ablation electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LAESI‐MS) is a method that can be performed under ambient conditions requiring minimal sample preparation. Here, we employed LAESI‐MS to explore the well characterized symbiosis between soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) and its compatible symbiont, Bradyrhizobium japonicum. The utilization of ion mobility separation (IMS) improved the molecular coverage, selectivity, and identification of the detected biomolecules. Specifically, incorporation of IMS resulted in an increase of 153 differentially abundant spectral features in the nodule samples. The data presented demonstrate the advantages of using LAESI–IMS–MS for the rapid analysis of intact root nodules, uninfected root segments, and free‐living rhizobia. Untargeted pathway analysis revealed several metabolic processes within the nodule (e.g., zeatin, riboflavin, and purine synthesis). Compounds specific to the uninfected root and bacteria were also detected. Lastly, we performed depth profiling of intact nodules to reveal the location of metabolites to the cortex and inside the infected region, and lateral profiling of sectioned nodules confirmed these molecular distributions. Our results established the feasibility of LAESI–IMS–MS for the analysis and spatial mapping of plant tissues, with its specific demonstration to improve our understanding of the soybean‐rhizobial symbiosis.
Sloshing in a Horizontal Cylindrical Tank Subjected to Pitching Excitation and Damping Effects by Perforated Plates
Authors: Sakai Hidemitsu , Uemichi Akane , Takai Akihiro , Yamasaki Yudai , Kaneko Shigehiko
Published: April 2017

Natural gas is relatively clean, and its demand is currently increasing. In most cases, gas fields are located at the bottom of the sea. Therefore, floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) systems are now attracting considerable attention. This paper is related to the dynamical design of a FPSO system; in particular, it focuses on the free surface elevation induced by the waves in a horizontal cylindrical and axisymmetric liquid vessel with end caps. In this study, the theory of the wave height and resonant frequency in a horizontal cylinder subjected to pitching via external excitation is developed. Then, a theory taking into account the effect of perforated plates is introduced. A special discussion is made with regard to the number and location of the perforated plates and the effect of a partial opening in a perforated plate on the damping. Finally, the experimental data of resonant wave heights up to the third mode are shown in comparison to the theoretically derived results.
Designing and embedding authentic learning opportunities in a social work curriculum: Reflections and lessons learned
Authors: Bowers Eva , Pack Margaret
Published: April 2017

INTRODUCTION: A challenge for many busy educators in social work is how to design realistic case studies to evoke learning experiences that engage the imagination and clinical reasoning of the student. This article focuses on the authors’ experiences of designing and developing authentic case scenarios to embed in learning in a four-year Bachelor of Social Work programme in Australia.METHOD: Assisted by a grant from the Australian Government Office of Learning and Teaching, a project plan was developed, inspired by Lipsky’s (2010) framework, “street level bureaucracy” and methodology derived from Maynard-Moody and Musheno (2012). The aim was to produce a series of online, filmed podcasts to be embedded into blended learning to enable students to build confidence in ethical decision making.FINDINGS: Early results from the project suggest that the students found deliberating on ethical dilemmas evoked by the resource a useful addition to more conventional teaching approaches as it tangibly demonstrated the connection of theory to practice in action.IMPLICATIONS: The approach to both conceptualising and developing such resources could further be utilised in social work education settings and more broadly, in human services occupations including the health sector to focus on confidence building in ethical decision making and navigating the complex interplay between theory and practice. There is potential for the approach to be adapted and used as a reflective tool for established social workers.
Phases in holographic helical superconductor
Authors: Mukhopadhyay Subir , Paul Chandrima
Published: April 2017

We study SU(2)[Formula: see text]×[Formula: see text]U(1) gauge theory with Chern–Simons term, coupled to scalar field in adjoint, in a probe approximation by ignoring back reaction on metric. Considering a simple ansatz for non-Abelian gauge field with helical structure, we find it admits s-wave and p-wave phases along with their coexistence. We study free energies for different phases along with those for p-wave phases for different values of pitch and frequency dependence of optical conductivities below critical temperature.
Reduction Method for Search of Chaotic Attractors in Generic Autonomous Quadratic Dynamical Systems
Authors: Belozyorov Vasiliy Ye.
Published: April 2017

The search method of chaotic attractors for arbitrary [Formula: see text]-dimensional autonomous quadratic dynamical system, which contains at least two nonlinear equations, is presented. This method allows to reduce the search problem to that of chaotic attractors for some two-dimensional nonautonomous quadratic dynamical system with periodic coefficients. Examples of new chaotic attractors in 4D hyperchaotic Rabinovich system and 5D chaotic system arising from double-diffusive convection in a fluid layer, which were found by the Reduction Method, are given.
Hypercyclicity for a Class of Discrete Spatiotemporal Systems
Authors: Tian Chuanjun
Published: April 2017

This paper studies the hypercyclicity of the following discrete spatiotemporal system: [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text] is a system function and [Formula: see text] is a bounded subset of [Formula: see text]. By using the relationship between this system and a corresponding infinite-dimensional discrete system, a new definition of hypercyclicity for this discrete spatiotemporal system is introduced and some sufficient conditions are derived for the special cases of this system to be hypercyclic.
Indoor Localiza tion
Authors: Bahl Paramvir
Published: April 2017

Wi-Fi-based indoor localization is a solved problem --- given a space with enough Wi-Fi access points (APs) and a set of radio frequency (RF) signal strength measurements that profile the environment, we can provide a service that can accurately locate uncalibrated devices in that space. No one would argue with this assertion, yet after more than 15 years of research, there are no pervasive products and the research community continues to work on this problem. Why?
Scikit-learn
Authors: Varoquaux G. , Buitinck L. , Louppe G. , Grisel O. , Pedregosa F. , Mueller A.
Published: April 2017

Machine learning is a pervasive development at the intersection of statistics and computer science. While it can benefit many data-related applications, the technical nature of the research literature and the corresponding algorithms slows down its adoption. Scikit-learn is an open-source software project that aims at making machine learning accessible to all, whether it be in academia or in industry. It benefits from the general-purpose Python language, which is both broadly adopted in the scientific world, and supported by a thriving ecosystem of contributors. Here we give a quick introduction to scikit-learn as well as to machine-learning basics.
Pushing the boundaries
Authors: Gollakota Shyamnath , Kravets Robin
Published: April 2017

In this edition of GetMobile, we focus on three papers from MobiSys 2014 that embody the goal of enabling new services and using mobile systems in unique ways.
Enfold
Authors: Ling Patrick , Lu Feng , Snoeren Alex C. , Voelker Geoffrey M.
Published: April 2017

The link rate of popular wireless technologies, such as 802.11, has increased markedly over the past two decades: 802.11ac promises near-gigabit speeds in handset form factors. Yet only a small fraction of the devices outfitted with such radios actually make use of the full channel capacity and, even if they do, only do so sporadically. Hence many existing wireless devices frequently underutilize the channel, yet reap no particular benefits for doing so. In particular, neither transmission nor reception is power proportional in typical devices, even when the channel quality is sufficiently high to support far more energy-efficient modulations and encodings.
Deployment Study Length
Authors: Truong Khai , Kientz Julie , Banerjee Nilanjan , Brush A. J. , Mahajan Ratul
Published: April 2017

There are many different ways to evaluate a novel interactive system. However, placing that system into the hands of real users and allowing them to use it as they would like in their natural environments may arguably be the best approach to understand if it "really" works. This is because findings learned from user studies conducted in the lab or a controlled setting are limited in external validity and therefore might not generalize beyond the studied usage scenario. Furthermore, the scenario used in a controlled study often lacks full authenticity, and thus it may not faithfully represent situations from the users' live.
To Replicate or Not to Replicate?
Authors: Banovic Nikola
Published: April 2017

To replicate or not to replicate experiments and studies seems to be a burning question in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community. This question is equally relevant to the field of mobile computing, where researchers face unique challenges when attempting to replicate studies of mobile device usage in the field. Some of those challenges are inherent in conducting such studies to understand complex socio-technical systems, which involve different technologies and diverse populations of users from different social, economic, and cultural backgrounds. However, those same challenges point to a great opportunity to expand our knowledge of how people use and interact with their mobile devices and understand how those interactions evolve over time.
Why and How to Use Phonelab
Authors: Shi Jinghao , Santos Edwin , Challen Geoffrey
Published: April 2017

While smartphone app marketplaces have enabled large-scale app-level experimentation, medium-scale experimentation with the platform code implementing the app interface and providing core device services remains difficult for academic researchers. But this is where many of the ideas currently being explored by the mobile systems community must be evaluated---including new networking protocols, security and privacy mechanisms, storage abstractions, and energy management strategies. To enable these experiments, we built and are operating PhoneLab, a 175-smartphone testbed where real users run experimental Android platform builds on their primary devices. We are eager to make PhoneLab useful to the mobile systems community. To aid in this effort, this article discusses why PhoneLab might be useful for your research and provides an overview of how to use the testbed, including examples drawn from our group's current projects.
A QUARTER CENTURY of User-Centered Design Engineering Project Classes with Multi-Disciplinary Teams
Authors: Siewiorek Dan , Smailagic Asim
Published: April 2017

Carnegie Mellon University has developed and employed a User-Centered Interdisciplinary Concurrent System Design Methodology (UICSM) that takes teams of electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, computer scientists, industrial designers and human computer interaction students that work with an end-user to generate a complete prototype system during a four-month long course. With more than 25 years of use, the last 20 years in a formal class setting, the methodology has proven robust in creating increasingly capable applications leveraging state-of-the-art components. For example, wireless technology bandwidth increased by over four orders of magnitude during the course. UICSM is web-supported and defines intermediary products that document the evolution of the design. These products are posted on the web so that even remote designers and end-users can participate in the design activities. The design methodology proceeds through three phases: conceptual design, detailed design and implementation. End-users critique the design at each phase. In addition, simulated and real application tasks provide further focus for design evaluation. Th e methodology has been used in designing more than three dozen computer systems, with diverse applications ranging from inspection and maintenance of heavy transportation vehicles to augmented reality in manufacturing and plant operations to car/driver interaction. [SSLT 1994; SS 1999; SS 2002a; SS 2002b; SSS 2001; SSMRT 2005].
CONTROLLED STUDIES OUTSIDE OF THE LAB
Authors: Truong Khai
Published: April 2017

Often, evaluators study a computing system inside a laboratory setting to best gain an understanding of the effect of the system when different factors are manipulated. The laboratory setting allows evaluators to create not only the environment, but also the scenario in which a user study of system is conducted. Thus, the laboratory setting allows evaluators to control possible confounding variables and to develop insight about the cause-and-effect of the system when they manipulate specific usage factors. For example, it is clear that people often use mobile devices while walking. Thus, a laboratory study can be designed to test how well users might be able to interact with a mobile device while walking on a treadmill machine. Such a study, because it is conducted in a laboratory setting, would allow the evaluators to control the speed at which study participants would walk while using a mobile device, without fearing that participants must also pay attention to traffic or could be distracted otherwise.
Prototyping Capacitive Sensing Applications with OpenCapSense
Authors: Grosse-Puppendahl Tobias , Braun Andreas , Dellangnol Xavier
Published: April 2017

OpenCapSense is a prototyping platform to develop innovative applications that rely on perceiving humans with electric fields. Despite today's use of capacitive sensing mostly as a method to detect touch, it offers many interesting facets that range from mid-air interaction to contactless indoor localization and identification. The platform provides active sensors to detect human interactions at distances of more than 40 cm, by generating electric fields. Passive sensors allow for measuring changes in electric fields that occur naturally in the environment, enabling detection distances up to 2 m.
THE "I" IN THE EYE
Authors: Mayberry Addison , Tun Yamin , Hu Pan , Smith-Freedman Duncan , Ganesan Deepak , Marlin Benjamin M. , Salthouse Christopher
Published: April 2017

Excerpted from "CIDER: Enabling Robustness-Power Tradeoffs on a Computational Eyeglass," from Proceedings of the 21st Annual ACM International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking with permission. http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2790096 © ACM 2015.

The eye is a truly unique and fascinating piece of physiology. Through it, organisms take in massive amounts of sensory data; through it, they also communicate emotion and intent both consciously and unconsciously. It is so tightly coupled with the operation of the brain that even slight mental blocks like being tired are measurable through eye movements. Eye-related research has long worn out the cliche "the eyes are the window to the soul," and this is largely because there is a deeper truth behind this phrase that has come to light in the last several decades of psychology and neurology research. In short, we now understand that the eyes are the best window to the mind. (Kahneman 2011).
A SURVEY OF LTE WI-FI COEXISTENCE IN UNLICENSED BANDS
Authors: Wang Xuyu , Mao Shiwen , Gong Michelle X.
Published: April 2017

With the rapid growth of mobile data, many LTE operators are interested in leveraging unlicensed bands to enhance data rates and user experience. Th is paper investigates the problem of the coexistence of LTE and Wi-Fi in 5 GHz unlicensed bands. We fi rst introduce the current rules for the 5 GHz unlicensed bands and the carrier aggregation technique. We then discuss four deployment scenarios and two LTE-unlicensed (LTE-U) coexistence scenarios. Further, we provide a feature comparison between LTE and Wi-Fi in the PHY/MAC layers, and review the coexistence methods for LTE-U and Wi-Fi without or with the Listen- Before-Talk (LBT) mechanism. Th is paper is concluded by an examination of Wi-Fi link aggregation and in-device coexistence issues.
A Horned Viper Bite Victim with PRES
Authors: Ibrahim Ahmed Mustafa , ElSefi Tarek Talaat , Ghanem Maha , Fayed Akram Muhammad , Shaban Nesreen Adel
Published: April 2017

Neurological complications of snake bites have been well documented in the literature as neuromuscular paralysis and cerebrovascular complications; posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome was rarely described. A 23-year-old lady presented near full term of her pregnancy with a horned snakeCerastes cerastesbite; after successful delivery she started complaining of altered mental status and visual disturbance with ulceration over the site of the snake bite. On admission, the patient had Glasgow Coma Score of 12, blood pressure 130/80 mmHg, temperature 38°C, sinus tachycardia at 120 beats per minute, severe dehydration, and reduction in visual acuity to “hand motion” in both eyes with poor light projection and sluggish pupillary reactions. CT brain was not conclusive; MRI revealed features of PRES. Treatment was mostly supportive within one week; the patient regained consciousness; visual disturbance, however, persisted. This patient as well as the few previously described cases highlights PRES as a possible complication of snake bites.
The Compressibility and Swell of Mixtures for Sand-Clay Liners
Authors: Dafalla Muawia A.
Published: April 2017

Sand-clay liners utilize expansive clay to act as a filler to occupy the voids in the sand and thus reduce the hydraulic conductivity of the mixture. The hydraulic conductivity and transfer of water and other substances through sand-clay mixtures are of prime concern in the design of liners and hydraulic barriers. Many successful research studies have been undertaken to achieve appropriate mixtures that satisfy hydraulic conductivity requirements. This study investigates compressibility and swelling properties of mixtures to ensure that they were acceptable for light structures, roads, and slabs on grade. A range of sand-expansive clay mixtures were investigated for swell and compression properties. The swelling and compressibility indices were found to increase with increasing clay content. The use of highly expansive material can result in large volume changes due to swell and shrinkage. The inclusion of less expansive soil material as partial replacement of bentonite by one-third to two-thirds is found to reduce the compressibility by 60% to 70% for 10% and 15% clay content, respectively. The swelling pressure and swell percent were also found significantly reduced. Adding less expansive natural clay to bentonite can produce liners that are still sufficiently impervious and at the same time less problematic.
Strategies for Growing User Popularity through Retweet: An Empirical Study
Authors: Díaz-Beristain Yecely Aridaí , Hoyos-Rivera Guillermo-de-Jesús , Cruz-Ramírez Nicandro
Published: April 2017

Web-based Social Networks (W-bSNs) have recently experienced a significant rise regarding users and the number of relations among them. Twitter is a case of W-bSN in which the relevance of the commentaries posted influences how users create new relations. The reputation of a user has a direct effect on the perception and opinions of other people and can be appropriately used to obtain advantages. The thought expressed by an influential user can produce, as an effect, which other users changed an idea about a topic. In this work, we present the design and results of the empirical study to analyze the cross influence among users, for their interest, and the messages they post and how relevant these messages are in how we create new relations. One of the main contributions of this approach is to analyze the behavior of users and the impact of the diversification of topics and the inclusion of additional resources to the tweet such as videos, images, or URLs. Finally, the experimental results show that the proposed strategies are efficient for all accounts.
Impact of Vehicular Countdown Signals on Driving Psychologies and Behaviors: Taking China as an Example
Authors: Pan Fuquan , Zhang Lixia , Ma Changxi , Li Haiyuan , Yang Jinshun , Liu Tao , Wang Fengyuan , Chai Shushan
Published: April 2017

Countdown signal control is a relatively new control mode that can inform a driver in advance about the remaining time to pass through intersections or the time needed to wait for other drivers and pedestrians. At present, few countries apply vehicular countdown signals. However, in China, some cities have applied vehicular countdown signals for years, though it is unclear how and how much such signals influence driving psychologies and behaviors compared with non-countdown signal controls. The present work aims to clarify the impact of vehicular countdown signals on driving psychologies and behaviors on the cognitive level. A questionnaire survey with 32 questions about driving psychologies and behaviors was designed, and an online survey was conducted. A total of 1051 valid questionnaires were received. The survey data were analyzed, and the main results indicate that most of the surveyed drivers prefer countdown signal controls and think that such controls can improve not only traffic safety but also traffic operational efficiency. The surveyed drivers also think that countdown signal controls have an impact on driving psychologies and behaviors and the survey results have demonstrated that the driving behaviors of female drivers surveyed are not conservative under the clear conditions of green countdown signal control. Further studies and methods concerning the effects of countdown signals on driving psychologies and behaviors are discussed.
Response of Extreme Precipitation to Solar Activity and El Nino Events in Typical Regions of the Loess Plateau
Authors: Li H. J. , Gao J. E. , Zhang H. C. , Zhang Y. X. , Zhang Y. Y.
Published: April 2017

Extreme climatic oscillation has been the subject of global attention. The purpose of this study is to explore the response of extreme precipitation to solar activity and El Nino events in typical regions of the Loess Plateau—a case study in the Yan’an area. The precipitation data was from nine weather stations in Yan’an and the sunspot number and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) were from 1951 to 2015. The results show that maximum precipitation occurred mainly at the peak sunspot number or 2a near it and the sunspot number minimum and valley values were not significantly correlated. The results of Morlet wavelet showed that a 41-year period of precipitation was the most obvious within the 64-year scale. Similarly, sunspot number showed a 16-year periodic variability. Correlation analyses of the 16-year and 41-year scales demonstrated that the relationships between precipitation and sunspot number were close. In addition, extreme precipitation often occurred in the year following El Nino events. According to 10-year moving average curves, precipitation generally showed a downward trend when SOI was negative. The results indicate that solar activity and El Nino events had significant impacts on precipitation in typical regions of the Loess Plateau.
Nebenwirkungen ästhetischer Behandlungen: kritischer Blick statt voreilige Diagnosen
Authors: Prager Welf
Published: April 2017

Hintergrund: Bisher ist nicht bekannt, dass Injektionen von Botulinumtoxin Typ A in die Stirn Nebenwirkungen auf das Haar hätten. Ziel: Ziel des vorliegenden Papers ist es, einen neuen Alopezietyp bei Frauen zu beschreiben, die regelmäßige Injektionen von Botulinumtoxin Typ A gegen Stirnfalten erhielten, und diesen Alopezietyp von anderen Arten des Haarausfalls abzugrenzen. Methoden: Wir führten eine Beobachtungsstudie an 5 Frauen durch, die aus einer Privatpraxis sowie einer institutionellen Praxis rekrutiert worden waren und über einen fortschreitenden Rückgang des Haaransatzes nach regelmäßigen Injektionen von Botulinumtoxin Typ A in die Stirn klagten. Ergebnisse: Alopezie des frontalen Haaransatzes war bei allen 5 Patientinnen evident, wobei die Trichoskopie keine Hautatrophie, Vernarbung oder progressive Haarminiaturisierung zeigte. Schlussfolgerung: Dermatologen sollten sich bewusst sein, dass nach wiederholten Injektionen von Botulinumtoxin Typ A gegen Stirnfalten frontale Alopezie auftreten kann.
Bedenken gegenüber topischen Kortikosteroiden: Zuwendung und Patientenaufklärung sind für Therapietreue essenziell
Authors: Gieler Uwe
Published: April 2017

Hintergrund/Ziele: Bedenken gegenüber topischen Kortikosteroiden (TCC; topical corticosteroid concerns) sind bei Patienten mit atopischer Dermatitis ein wichtiges Thema, das mit mangelnder Therapietreue, entsprechend schlechter Krankheitskontrolle und erhöhten Kosten für das Gesundheitswesen einhergeht. Doch weder die Prävalenz von TCC in einer überschaubareren dermatologischen Patientenpopulation noch die Auswirkungen der Patientenaufklärung zu topischen Kortikosteroiden durch Ärzte sind bekannt. Daher untersuchten wir die Prävalenz, Merkmale und Quellen von TCC in einer dermatologischen Population sowie die Auswirkungen schriftlicher und mündlicher Patientenaufklärung über TCC. Methoden: Insgesamt 643 ambulante Patienten mit verschiedenen Hautkrankheiten beantworteten während der Wartezeit in der Praxis einen Fragebogen mit 12 Items. Vor und nach der Patienteninformation, bestehend aus einer schriftlichen und mündlichen dermatologischen Aufklärung über topische Kortikosteroide (TCS), stuften die Patienten mit TCC das Ausmaß ihrer Bedenken auf einer separaten visuellen Analogskala ein. Ergebnisse: Die TCC-Prävalenz lag bei 41,5%; die Prävalenz TCC-bedingter Non-Adhärenz bei 28,3%. TCC war positiv assoziiert mit einem Lebensalter <60 Jahren, weiblichem Geschlecht, Anwendung von Komplementär- und Alternativmedizin (CAM) sowie Inanspruchnahme von nicht-ärztlicher Gesundheitsberatung. Die stärksten Bedenken bestanden gegenüber Hautatrophie, systemischen Wirkungen und Beeinträchtigungen des Immunsystems. Die häufigsten Quellen von TCC waren negative Berichte in den Medien oder von Angehörigen und Freunden. Sowohl die schriftliche als auch die mündliche Aufklärung reduzierten die TCC signifikant. Die «number needed to benefit from (patient) information» betrug für die Patientenaufklärung etwa 2. Die Non-Responder waren überdurchschnittlich häufig weiblich, TCS-unerfahren, CAM-Anwender und von mittlerem Bildungsniveau. Schlussfolgerungen: TCC sind in bei dermatologischen Patienten sehr weit verbreitet. Die Aufklärung des Patienten kann die TCC in nahezu jedem zweiten Fall reduzieren.
Cost of Deep Brain Stimulation Infection Resulting in Explantation
Authors: Chen Tsinsue , Mirzadeh Zaman , Lambert Margaret , Gonzalez Omar , Moran Ana , Shetter Andrew G. , Ponce Francisco A.
Published: April 2017

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) hardware infection is a serious complication, often resulting in multiple hardware salvage attempts, hospitalizations, and long-term antibiotic therapy. Objectives: We aimed to quantify the costs of DBS hardware-related infections in patients undergoing eventual device explantation. Methods: Of 362 patients who underwent 530 electrode placements (1 January 2010 to 30 December 2014), 16 (4.4%) had at least 2 hardware salvage procedures. Most (n = 15 [93.8%]) required complete explantation due to recurrent infection. Financial data (itemized hospital and physician costs) were available for 13 patients and these were analyzed along with the demographic data. Results: Each patient underwent 1-5 salvage procedures (mean 2.5 ± 1.4; median 2). The mean total cost for a patient undergoing the median number of revisions (n = 2), device explantation, and subsequent reimplantation after infection clearance was USD 75,505; just over half this cost (54.2% [USD 40,960]) was attributable to reimplantation, and nearly one-third (28.9% [USD 21,816]) was attributable to hardware salvage procedures. Operating-room costs were the highest cost category for hardware revision and explantation. Medical and surgical supplies accounted for the highest reimplantation cost. Conclusions: DBS infection incurs significant health care costs associated with hardware salvage attempts, explantation, and reimplantation. The highest cost categories are operating-room services and medical and surgical supplies.
The Role of Stress Echocardiography in Valvular Heart Disease: A Current Appraisal
Authors: Gentry III James L. , Phelan Dermot , Desai Milind Y. , Griffin Brian P.
Published: April 2017

Stress echocardiography is a widely available, safe, low-cost, versatile imaging modality which is becoming increasingly recognized as a valuable tool in the assessment of patients with native and prosthetic left-sided valvular heart disease. It provides a quantitative assessment to help guide clinical decision-making when discordance exists between symptoms and severity of valve disease. Exercise (treadmill or bicycle) remains the preferred stress modality, but pharmacological augmentation with dobutamine can be used if needed. Low-dose dobutamine stress echocardiography is specifically valuable in patients with low-flow, low-gradient aortic stenosis when attempting to differentiate true severe aortic stenosis from pseudo-severe aortic stenosis. Stress echocardiography not only identifies high-risk features that indicate need for earlier surgery, it also provides useful information for the peri- and postoperative period, including long-term outcome, risk stratification to guide monitoring frequency, and offers guidance for eligibility in competitive sports participation. As research continues to expand the utility of stress echocardiography in the management of patients with valvular heart disease, future research should focus on the recognition of newer parameters identifying high-risk features including subsequent validation in a large population.
Long-Term Clinical Course in a Patient with Complete Congenital Stationary Night Blindness
Authors: Kurata Kentaro , Hosono Katsuhiro , Hotta Yoshihiro
Published: April 2017

Background: This report describes a 45-year-old man with complete congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB1) who has been followed up for 38 years. Case: The patient first visited our hospital as a 7-year-old boy with a complaint of low visual acuity. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.5 in the right eye and 0.6 in the left eye. The refractive error was approximately –5.0 D in both eyes. The fundus showed only myopic changes. A bright-flash electroretinogram (ERG) revealed a negative configuration. We diagnosed CSNB and corrected the refractive error with glasses. We continued to monitor the ERG and various waveform components as well as visual acuity and the appearance of the fundus. All NYX exons were screened for a causative mutation by polymerase chain reaction amplification, and direct sequencing was performed. Results: By 10 years of age, BCVA had increased to 0.8 on the right and 0.9 on the left, with little change thereafter. The fundus continued to show only myopic changes. No changes were seen in the amplitude or implicit time of the a-wave or b-wave or in the b/a-wave ratio. A novel hemizygous insertion mutation, c.1205_1206insT, p.(Glu404Argfs*89), was detected in exon 2 of the NYX gene. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the longest follow-up of a patient with CSNB1. No changes in the clinical course have been seen during follow-up. We believe that it is important to continue observations and accumulate clinical data for prognostic purposes on patients with CSNB1.
A Foreign Body (Toothbrush) in the Esophagus of a Patient with Hiatal Hernia
Authors: Klancnik Marisa , Grgec Maja , Perković Nikola , Ivanišević Petar , Poljak Nikola Kolja
Published: April 2017

Toothbrush ingestion is rare and most commonly seen in patients with psychiatric comorbidities and in young women with a medical history of eating disorders who try to induce emesis. Long ingested objects, such as a toothbrush, cannot pass the gastrointestinal tract spontaneously and require endoscopic removal or even a surgical approach in cases of unsuccessful endoscopic removal or complication development. We present a case of a 71-year-old male with hiatal hernia without psychiatric or neurological comorbidity who accidentally ingested a toothbrush during oral hygiene routine. After X-ray confirmation, the toothbrush was removed endoscopically.