bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
‘Tempos’ management in primary care: a key factor for classifying adverse events, and improving quality and safety
Authors: Amalberti R , Brami J
Published: August 2012

Background

The role of time management in safe and efficient medicine is important but poorly incorporated into the taxonomies of error in primary care. This paper addresses the lack of time management, presenting a framework integrating five time scales termed ‘Tempos’ requiring parallel processing by GPs: the disease's tempo (unexpected rapid evolutions, slow reaction to treatment); the office's tempo (day-to-day agenda and interruptions); the patient's tempo (time to express symptoms, compliance, emotion); the system's tempo (time for appointments, exams, and feedback); and the time to access to knowledge. The art of medicine is to control all of these tempos in parallel and simultaneously.

Method

Two qualified physicians reviewed a sample of 1046 malpractice claims from one liability insurer to determine whether a medical injury had occurred and, if so, whether it was due to one or more tempo-related problems. 623 of these reports were analysed in greater detail to identify the prevalence and characteristics of claims and related time management errors.

Results

The percentages of contributing factors were as follows: disease tempo, 37.9%; office tempo, 13.2%; patient tempo, 13.8%; out-of-office coordination tempo, 22.6%; and GP's access to knowledge tempo, 33.2%.

Conclusion

Although not conceptualised in most error taxonomies, the disease and patient tempos are cornerstones in risk management in primary care. Traditional taxonomies describe events from an analytical perspective of care at the system level and offer opportunities to improve organisation, process, and evidence-based medicine. The suggested classification describes events in terms of (unsafe) dynamic control of parallel constraints from the carer's perspective, namely the GP, and offers improvement on how to self manage and coordinate different contradictory tempos and day-to-day activities. Further work is needed to test the validity and usefulness of this approach.
Visualising differences in professionals' perspectives on quality and safety
Authors: Travaglia Joanne Francis , Nugus Peter Ivan , Greenfield David , Westbrook Johanna Irene , Braithwaite Jeffrey
Published: August 2012

Background

The safety-and-quality movement is now two decades old. Errors persist despite best efforts, indicating that there are entrenched overt and perhaps less explicit barriers limiting the success of improvement efforts.

Objectives and hypotheses

To examine the perspectives of five groups of healthcare workers (administrative staff, nurses, medical practitioners, allied health and managers) and to compare and contrast their descriptions of quality-and-safety activities within their organisation. Differences in perspectives can be an indicator of divergence in the conceptualisation of, and impetus for, quality-improvement strategies which are intended to engage healthcare professions and staff.

Design, setting and participants

Study data were collected in a defined geographical healthcare jurisdiction in Australia, via individual and group interviews held across four service streams (aged care and rehabilitation; mental health; community health; and cancer services). Data were collected in 2008 and analysed, using data-mining software, in 2009.

Results

Clear differences in the perspectives of professional groups were evident, suggesting variations in the perceptions of, and priorities for, quality and safety.

Conclusions

The visual representation of quality and safety perspectives provides insights into the conceptual maps currently utilised by healthcare workers. Understanding the similarity and differences in these maps may enable more effective targeting of interprofessional improvement strategies.
ONLINE SEMI-SUPERVISED GROWING NEURAL GAS
Authors: BEYER OLIVER , CIMIANO PHILIPP
Published: August 2012

In this paper we introduce online semi-supervised growing neural gas (OSSGNG), a novel online semi-supervised classification approach based on growing neural gas (GNG). Existing semi-supervised classification approaches based on GNG require that the training data is explicitly stored as the labeling is performed a posteriori after the training phase. As main contribution, we present an approach that relies on online labeling and prediction functions to process labeled and unlabeled data uniformly and in an online fashion, without the need to store any of the training examples explicitly. We show that using on-the-fly labeling strategies does not significantly deteriorate the performance of classifiers based on GNG, while circumventing the need to explicitly store training examples. Armed with this result, we then present a semi-supervised extension of GNG (OSSGNG) that relies on the above mentioned online labeling functions to label unlabeled examples and incorporate them into the model on-the-fly. As an important result, we show that OSSGNG performs as good as previous semi-supervised extensions of GNG which rely on offline labeling strategies. We also show that OSSGNG compares favorably to other state-of-the-art semi-supervised learning approaches on standard benchmarking datasets.
AN INVESTIGATION ON SHAPE EVOLUTION OF Ti ISOTOPES WITH HARTREE–FOCK–BOGOLIUBOV THEORY
Authors: BAYRAM TUNCAY
Published: August 2012

Constrained Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov theory with SLy4 and SLy5 Skyrme forces is used to investigate the shape transition between spherical and γ-unstable nuclei in 38–66 Ti . By examining potential energy curves and neutron single-particle levels of even–even Ti isotopes, 46,52,60 Ti are suggested as possible candidates of the nuclei with E(5) symmetry.
THERMAL RADIATION FROM A FLUCTUATING EVENT HORIZON
Authors: ARIAS E. , KREIN G. , MENEZES G. , SVAITER N. F.
Published: August 2012

We consider a pointlike two-level system undergoing uniformly accelerated motion. We evaluate the transition probability rate of this system coupled to a massless scalar field near a fluctuating event horizon. Such horizon fluctuations are generated using random noise. We study the case of centered, stationary and Gaussian random processes. The transition probability of the two-level system is obtained from the positive-frequency Wightman function calculated to one-loop order in the noise averaging process. Our results show how this fluctuating-horizon model modifies the response function of the two-level system.
COSMOLOGICAL CONSTRAINT AND ANALYSIS ON HOLOGRAPHIC DARK ENERGY MODEL CHARACTERIZED BY THE CONFORMAL-AGE-LIKE LENGTH
Authors: HUANG ZHUO-PENG , WU YUE-LIANG
Published: August 2012

We present a best-fit analysis on the single-parameter holographic dark energy model characterized by the conformal-age-like length, [Formula: see text]. Based on the Union2 compilation of 557 supernova Ia (SNIa) data, the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) results from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data release 7 (SDSS DR7) and the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) data from the 7-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP7), we show that the model gives the minimal [Formula: see text], which is comparable to [Formula: see text] for the ΛCDM model. The single parameter d concerned in the model is found to be d = 0.232±0.006±0.009. Since the fractional density of dark energy Ωde~ d2a2at a ≪ 1, the fraction of dark energy is naturally negligible in the early universe, Ωde≪ 1 at a ≪ 1. The resulting constraints on the present fractional energy density of matter and the equation of state are [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] respectively. We also provide a systematic analysis on the cosmic evolutions of the fractional energy density of dark energy, the equation of state of dark energy, the deceleration parameter and the statefinder. It is noticed that the equation of state crosses from wde> -1 to wde< -1, the universe transits from decelerated expansion (q > 0) to accelerated expansion (q < 0) recently, and the statefinder may serve as a sensitive diagnostic to distinguish the CHDE model with the ΛCDM model.
QCD PHASE TRANSITION IN DGP BRANE COSMOLOGY
Authors: ATAZADEH K. , GHEZELBASH A. M. , SEPANGI H. R.
Published: August 2012

In the standard picture of cosmology it is predicted that a phase transition, associated with chiral symmetry breaking after the electroweak transition, has occurred at approximately 10μ seconds after the Big Bang to convert a plasma of free quarks and gluons into hadrons. We consider the quark-hadron phase transition in a Dvali, Gabadadze and Porrati (DGP) brane world scenario within an effective model of QCD. We study the evolution of the physical quantities useful for the study of the early universe, namely, the energy density, temperature and the scale factor before, during and after the phase transition. Also, due to the high energy density in the early universe, we consider the quadratic energy density term that appears in the Friedmann equation. In DGP brane models such a term corresponds to the negative branch (ϵ = -1) of the Friedmann equation when the Hubble radius is much smaller than the crossover length in 4D and 5D regimes. We show that for different values of the cosmological constant on a brane, λ, phase transition occurs and results in decreasing the effective temperature of the quark-gluon plasma and of the hadronic fluid. We then consider the quark-hadron transition in the smooth crossover regime at high and low temperatures and show that such a transition occurs along with decreasing the effective temperature of the quark-gluon plasma during the process of the phase transition.
COSMOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS OF LORENTZ INVARIANCE VIOLATION AT THE LIFŠHITZ POINT
Authors: LUONGO ORLANDO , TOMMASINI DAMIANO
Published: August 2012

We consider the neutrino fluxes and photon lensing from Gamma Ray Bursts and galaxy shocks, in order to predict measurable quantum corrections at late times. In particular, changes of the Einstein shell condition are expected to modify the time delay of neutrinos and photons at the Planck scale. Hence, we study the consequences of the Lorentz invariance violation through the use of such photons and neutrinos. The Lorentz invariance violation is expected to depend on the cosmological model, considered a priori in the Einstein equations; therefore, we focus on the so-called Hořava model which has recently attracted great interest. In addition, we compare our results with the ΛCDM and modified Chaplygin gas models, respectively. We infer several theoretical constraints which could reveal such quantum gravity effects.
RELATIVISTIC SOLUTION FOR A CLASS OF STATIC COMPACT CHARGED STAR IN PSEUDO-SPHEROIDAL SPACETIME
Authors: CHATTOPADHYAY PRADIP KUMAR , DEB RUMI , PAUL BIKASH CHANDRA
Published: August 2012

Considering Vaidya–Tikekar metric, we obtain a class of solutions of the Einstein–Maxwell equations for a charged static fluid sphere. The physical 3-space (t = const. ) here is described by pseudo-spheroidal geometry. The relativistic solution for the theory is used to obtain models for charged compact objects; thereafter, a qualitative analysis of the physical aspects of compact objects are studied. The dependence of some of the properties of a superdense star on the parameters of the three geometry is explored. We note that the spheroidicity parameter a plays an important role for determining the properties of a compact object. A nonlinear equation of state (EOS) is required to describe a charged compact object with pseudo-spheroidal geometry, which we have shown for known masses of compact objects. We also note that the size of a static compact charged star is more than that of a static compact star without charge.
STUDY OF EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT REACTIONS ON PLASMA PARAMETERS IN D–T MAGNETIC CONFINEMENT FUSION
Authors: MOTEVALLI S. M. , FADAEI F.
Published: August 2012

The consideration of the three main nuclear reactions of the hydrogen isotopes ( D(D, n) 3 He , D(D, p)T and T(D, n) 4 He ) only leads to wrong results for determination of plasma parameters in magnetic confinement fusion reactors. The nuclear reaction 3 He(D, p) 4 He influences the amount of produced tritium since it makes an important contribution to the charged particle energy deposition and to the temperatures. In this paper, we have considered different nuclear reactions of Deuterium–Tritium (D–T) fusion in tokamak reactor. This study has been carried out on the base of the particle and power balance equations in a zero-dimensional model then plasma parameters have been calculated. Finally, the obtained results have been compared with the theoretical results reported by other researchers.
MATHEMATICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF HYBRID FAST FOURIER TRANSFORM AND DISCRETE WAVELET TRANSFORM FOR DEVELOPING GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE USING VISUAL BASIC FOR SIGNAL PROCESSING APPLICATIONS
Authors: WALI MOUSA K. , MURUGAPPAN M. , AHMMAD R. BADLISHAH
Published: August 2012

In recent years, the application of discrete wavelet transform (DWT) on biosignal processing has made a significant impact on developing several applications. However, the existing user-friendly software based on graphical user interfaces (GUI) does not allow the freedom of saving the wavelet coefficients in .txt or .xls format and to analyze the frequency spectrum of wavelet coefficients at any desired wavelet decomposition level. This work describes the development of mathematical models for the implementation of DWT in a GUI environment. This proposed software based on GUI is developed under the visual basic (VB) platform. As a preliminary tool, the end user can perform "j" level of decomposition on a given input signal using the three most popular wavelet functions — Daubechies, Symlet, and Coiflet over "n" order. The end user can save the output of wavelet coefficients either in .txt or .xls file format for any further investigations. In addition, the users can gain insight into the most dominating frequency component of any given wavelet decomposition level through fast Fourier transform (FFT). This feature is highly essential in signal processing applications for the in-depth analysis on input signal components. Hence, this GUI has the hybrid features of FFT with DWT to derive the frequency spectrum of any level of wavelet coefficient. The novel feature of this software becomes more evident for any signal processing application. The proposed software is tested with three physiological signal — electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), and electromyogram (EMG) — samples. Two statistical features such as mean and energy of wavelet coefficient are used as a performance measure for validating the proposed software over conventional software. The results of proposed software is compared and analyzed with MATLAB wavelet toolbox for performance verification. As a result, the proposed software gives the same results as the conventional toolbox and allows more freedom to the end user to investigate the input signal.
THE EFFECTS OF DRESS SHOES ON STABILITY DURING QUIET STANDING AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION WHILE WALKING
Authors: MIRBOD SAED MOHSEN , KARIMI MOHAMMAD TAGHI , ESHRAGHI A.
Published: August 2012

Footwear is an extremely important clothing item worn by all individuals. Currently, there is insufficient research regarding the influence of dress shoes on standing stability and energy consumption while walking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of dress shoes on the performance of normal subjects based on stability and energy consumption analysis. Fifteen normal subjects were recruited in this research study to stand and walk with and without shoes. The stability of the subjects in quiet standing was measured by the use of a force plate based on center of pressure (COP) sway. The energy consumption was evaluated by a heart rate monitoring system (Polar Electro) based on the physiological cost index (PCI). The mean values of PCI while walking with and without shoes were 0.29 ± 0.117 and 0.265 ± 0.112 beats/m, respectively (p-value > 0.05). The amplitudes of COP sways in the mediolateral and anteroposterior directions were 10.4 ± 3.5 and 25 ± 6.92 mm while standing with shoes and 9.3 ± 2.84 and 22.5 ± 5.25 mm in barefoot standing, respectively (p-value > 0.05). It can be concluded that wearing dress shoes does not influence the performance of subjects while standing or walking.
STRUCTURES AND ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF A Co2P CLUSTER DEPOSITED ON THE RUTILE TiO2(110) SURFACE BY FIRST–PRINCIPLES CALCULATIONS
Authors: ZHAO WEI-NA , CHEN WEN-KAI
Published: August 2012

The structures and electronic properties of different Co2P -supporting configurations on the rutile TiO2 (110) surface have been investigated by first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations. A number of possible structural candidates and adsorption sites have been considered, while the calculations are executed on periodic systems using slab model. Our results indicate that the O atoms on TiO2 (110) turn out to be preferable for the cluster to adsorb by Co atoms, with the largest adsorption energy of 211.50 kJ/mol in the most favorable model. According to the Mulliken charge analysis, the Co2P cluster carries a significant positive charge after adsorption, due to the charge transfer occurring from the adsorbate to the substrate. Moreover, the frontier molecular orbital analysis shows that the cluster-surface binding occurs mostly through the interplay of filled Co 3d orbital with unoccupied eigenstates of surface localized on O 2p orbital, which can be also corroborated by the projected density of states investigations, while the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital is mostly contributed by Ti 3d orbital of the surface. In addition, of particular significance is that deposition of Co2P on the rutile TiO2 (110) surface results in a small band gap narrowing vis-à-vis the pure surface, yielding a positive effect on catalytic activity.
DRASTIC INFLUENCE OF BORON ATOM ON THE ACIDITY OF ALCOHOL IN BOTH GAS PHASE AND SOLUTION PHASE, A DFT STUDY
Authors: KHEIRJOU SOMAYYEH , MEHRPAJOUH SIMA , FATTAHI ALIREZA
Published: August 2012

In this study, the drastic influence of the boron atom on the acidity of alcohol has been considered. The calculated ΔHacid(320.9–338.1 kcal/mol) and pKarange of boron containing alcohol (-0.1–9.4) indicate that the boronation of alcohol leads to considerable enhancement of its acidity. For instance, we have obtained the ΔHacidvalues 338.1, 335.2 kcal/mol and the pKavalues 4.12, 2.81 for BH2CH2OH , BF2CH2OH alcohols, respectively, which are much smaller than that of CH3OH (with ΔHacid= 374.9 kcal/mol and pKa= 15). The increase in the acidity of boronated alcohol can be related to the stabilization of alkoxy ion due to overlap of unoccupied orbital of boron atom with the electron pairs of negative oxygen. All gas phase computations were performed at MP2/6-311++G(d,p)//(B3LYP/6-31+G(d)) level. The primary results indicate that the presence of boron atom in an alcohol might make it as acidic as nitric acid. The geometry optimization of studied structures was performed with DFT computation and optimized structures were used to carry out natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis. NBO analysis revealed that the increase in the acidity of boron-containing alcohols is due to the charge transfer from the negative oxygen (in deprotonated structure) to the empty orbital of - BH2and - BF2. Quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) was also applied to determine the nature of bonds formed in the deprotonated structure.
GEOMETRY OF THE HOMOLOGY CURVE COMPLEX
Authors: IRMER INGRID
Published: August 2012

Suppose S is a closed, oriented surface of genus at least two. This paper investigates the geometry of the homology multicurve complex, [Formula: see text], of S; a complex closely related to complexes studied by Bestvina–Bux–Margalit and Hatcher. A path in [Formula: see text] corresponds to a homotopy class of immersed surfaces in S × I. This observation is used to devise a simple algorithm for constructing quasi-geodesics connecting any two vertices in [Formula: see text], and for constructing minimal genus surfaces in S × I. It is proven that for g ≥ 3 the best possible bound on the distance between two vertices in [Formula: see text] depends linearly on their intersection number, in contrast to the logarithmic bound obtained in the complex of curves. For g ≥ 4 it is shown that [Formula: see text] is not δ-hyperbolic.
ON THE VARIANCE OF THE INDEX FOR THE GAUSSIAN UNITARY ENSEMBLE
Authors: WITTE N. S. , FORRESTER P. J.
Published: August 2012

We derive simple linear, inhomogeneous recurrences for the variance of the index by utilizing the fact that the generating function for the distribution of the number of positive eigenvalues of a Gaussian unitary ensemble is a τ-function of the fourth Painlevé equation. From this we deduce a simple summation formula, several integral representations and finally an exact hypergeometric function evaluation for the variance.
Development of a Biocrystallisation Assay for Examining Effects of Homeopathic Preparations Using Cress Seedlings
Authors: Baumgartner S. , Doesburg P. , Scherr C. , Andersen J.-O.
Published: August 2012

A major challenge in basic research into homeopathic potentisation is to develop bioassays that yield consistent results. We evaluated the potential of a seedling-biocrystallisation method. Cress seeds (Lepidium sativumL.) germinated and grew for 4 daysin vitroinStannum metallicum30x or water 30x in blinded and randomized assignment. 15 experiments were performed at two laboratories. CuCl2-biocrystallisation of seedlings extracted in the homeopathic preparations was performed on circular glass plates. Resulting biocrystallograms were analysed by computerized textural image analysis. All texture analysis variables analysed yielded significant results for the homeopathic treatment; thus the texture of the biocrystallograms of homeopathically treated cress exhibited specific characteristics. Two texture analysis variables yielded differences between the internal replicates, most probably due to a processing order effect. There were only minor differences between the results of the two laboratories. The biocrystallisation method seems to be a promising complementary outcome measure for plant bioassays investigating effects of homeopathic preparations.
Low Birth Weight due to Intrauterine Growth Restriction and/or Preterm Birth: Effects on Nephron Number and Long-Term Renal Health
Authors: Zohdi Vladislava , Sutherland Megan R. , Lim Kyungjoon , Gubhaju Lina , Zimanyi Monika A. , Black M. Jane
Published: August 2012

Epidemiological studies have clearly demonstrated a strong association between low birth weight and long-term renal disease. A potential mediator of this long-term risk is a reduction in nephron endowment in the low birth weight infant at the beginning of life. Importantly, nephrons are only formed early in life; during normal gestation, nephrogenesis is complete by about 32–36 weeks, with no new nephrons formed after this time during the lifetime of the individual. Hence, given that a loss of a critical number of nephrons is the hallmark of renal disease, an increased severity and acceleration of renal disease is likely when the number of nephrons is already reduced prior to disease onset. Low birth weight can result from intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) or preterm birth; a high proportion of babies born prematurely also exhibit IUGR. In this paper, we describe how IUGR and preterm birth adversely impact on nephrogenesis and how a subsequent reduced nephron endowment at the beginning of life may lead to long-term risk of renal disease, but not necessarily hypertension.
Human Schistosome Infection and Allergic Sensitisation
Authors: Rujeni Nadine , Taylor David W. , Mutapi Francisca
Published: August 2012

Several field studies have reported an inverse relationship between the prevalence of helminth infections and that of allergic sensitisation/atopy. Recent studies show that immune responses induced by helminth parasites are, to an extent, comparable to allergic sensitisation. However, helminth products induce regulatory responses capable of inhibiting not only antiparasite immune responses, but also allergic sensitisation. The relative effects of this immunomodulation on the development of protective schistosome-specific responses in humans has yet to be demonstrated at population level, and the clinical significance of immunomodulation of allergic disease is still controversial. Nonetheless, similarities in immune responses against helminths and allergens pose interesting mechanistic and evolutionary questions. This paper examines the epidemiology, biology and immunology of allergic sensitisation/atopy, and schistosome infection in human populations.
Surgery Should Complement Endocrine Therapy for Elderly Postmenopausal Women with Hormone Receptor-Positive Early-Stage Breast Cancer
Authors: Nguyen Olivier , Sideris Lucas , Drolet Pierre , Gagnon Marie-Claude , Leblanc Guy , Leclerc Yves E. , Mitchell Andrew , Dubé Pierre
Published: August 2012

Introduction. Endocrine therapy (ET) is an integral part of breast cancer (BC) treatment with surgical resection remaining the cornerstone of curative treatment. The objective of this study is to compare the survival of elderly postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive early-stage BC treated with ET alone, without radiation or chemotherapy, versus ET plus surgery.Materials and Methods. This is a retrospective study based on a prospective database. The medical records of postmenopausal BC patients referred to the surgical oncology service of two hospitals during an 8-year period were reviewed. All patients were to receive ET for a minimum of four months before undergoing any surgery.Results. Fifty-one patients were included and divided in two groups, ET alone and ET plus surgery. At last follow-up in exclusive ET patients (n=28), 39% had stable disease or complete response, 22% had progressive disease, of which 18% died of breast cancer, and 39% died of other causes. In surgical patients (n=23), 78% were disease-free, 9% died of recurrent breast cancer, and 13% died of other causes.Conclusions. These results suggest that surgical resection is beneficial in this group and should be considered, even for patients previously deemed ineligible for surgery.
The Role ofM. lepraeHsp65 Protein and Peptides in the Pathogenesis of Uveitis
Authors: Commodaro Alessandra Gonçalves , Marengo Eliana Blini , Peron Jean Pierre S. , Brandao Wesley , Arslanian Christina , Melo Robson Lopes , Baldon Estevam J. , Belfort Rubens , Sant'Anna Osvaldo Augusto , Rizzo Luiz Vicente
Published: August 2012

Experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) is a well established model for immune-mediated organ-specific disease. Our group has recently shown that theM. lepraeHsp65 aggravated the uveitis in mice; in the present study, we evaluated the action ofM. leprae  K409Amutant protein and the synthetic peptides Leader pep andK409Apep (covering amino acids residues 352–371 of WT andK409Aproteins ofM. lepraeHsp65, resp.) on the pathogenesis of EAU. Mice received the 161–180 IRBP peptide andB. pertussistoxin followed by the intraperitoneal inoculation ofK409Aprotein or the Leader pep orK409Apep. The Leader pep aggravated the disease, but mice receiving theK409Apep did not develop the disease and presented an increase in IL-10 levels by spleen cells and a decrease in the percentage of CD4+ IFN-γ+ T cells. Moreover, animals receiving the Leader pep presented the highest scores of the disease associated with increase percentage of CD4+ IFN-γ+ T cells. These results would contribute to understanding of the pathogenesis of EAU and support the concept that immune responses to Hsp are of potential importance in exacerbating, perpetuating, or even controlling organ-restricted autoimmune diseases, and it is discussed the irreversibility of autoimmune syndromes.
Antiplatelet Effects of Qishen Yiqi Dropping Pill in Platelets Aggregation in Hyperlipidemic Rabbits
Authors: Wang Yi , Wang Jie , Guo Liping , Gao Xiumei
Published: August 2012

We investigated the effects of Qishen Yiqi Dropping Pill (QSYQ) on platelets aggregation and its possible mechanisms. Hyperlipidemic model in rabbits was produced by a high fat/cholesterol diet for 6 weeks, the therapeutic effect of QSYQ with 2.0 g/kg, 1.0 g/kg, and 0.5 g/kg was observed. Fourteen days after drug treatment, platelet aggregation induced by adenosine diphosphate (ADP), arachidonic acid (AA), and collagen (COLL) was significantly reduced in rabbits of model group. Moreover,β-thromboglobulin (β-TG) level decreased obviously but no significant change in P-selectin and platelet factor 4 (PF4) level, while QSYQ significantly decreased the ratio of thromboxane B2 (TXB2) to 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α(6-Keto-PGF1α) and increased cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) level in rabbits. In summary, QSYQ can improve platelets aggregation and inhibit the over-release ofβ-TG in hyperlipidemic rabbits; and the increased cAMP level may be involved in this process. These results suggest that the antiplatelet aggregation effect of QSYQ may be due to its ability to increase cAMP level for improving cAMP metabolism.
Dynamic Optimization of a Polymer Flooding Process Based on Implicit Discrete Maximum Principle
Authors: Lei Yang , Li Shurong , Zhang Xiaodong , Zhang Qiang , Guo Lanlei
Published: August 2012

Polymer flooding is one of the most important technologies for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). In this paper, an optimal control model of distributed parameter systems (DPSs) for polymer injection strategies is established, which involves the performance index as maximum of the profit, the governing equations as the fluid flow equations of polymer flooding, and some inequality constraints as polymer concentration and injection amount limitation. The optimal control model is discretized by full implicit finite‐difference method. To cope with the discrete optimal control problem (OCP), the necessary conditions for optimality are obtained through application of the calculus of variations and Pontryagin’s discrete maximum principle. A modified gradient method with new adjoint construction is proposed for the computation of optimal injection strategies. The numerical results of an example illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Improved ESPRIT Method for Joint Direction-of-Arrival and Frequency Estimation Using Multiple-Delay Output
Authors: Xudong Wang , Zhang Xiaofei , Li Jianfeng , Bai Jinchao
Published: August 2012

An automatic pairing joint direction-of-arrival (DOA) and frequency estimation is presented to overcome the unsatisfactory performances of estimation of signal parameter via rotational invariance techniques- (ESPRIT-) like algorithm of Wang (2010), which requires an additional pairing. By using multiple-delay output of a uniform linear antenna arrays (ULA), the proposed algorithm can estimate joint angles and frequencies with an improved ESPRIT. Compared with Wang’s ESPRIT algorithm, the angle estimation performance of the proposed algorithm is greatly improved. The frequency estimation performance of the proposed algorithm is same with that of Wang’s ESPRIT algorithm. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm can obtain automatic pairing DOA and frequency parameters, and it has a comparative computational complexity in contrast to Wang’s ESPRIT algorithm. By the way, this proposed algorithm can also work well for nonuniform linear arrays. The useful behavior of this proposed algorithm is verified by simulations.
Model Driven Integrated Decision-Making in Manufacturing Enterprises
Authors: Weston Richard H.
Published: August 2012

Decision making requirements and solutions are observed in four world class Manufacturing Enterprises (MEs). Observations made focus on deployed methods of complexity handling that facilitate multi-purpose, distributed decision making. Also observed are examples of partially deficient “integrated decision making” which stem from lack of understanding about how ME structural relations enable and/or constrain reachable ME behaviours. To begin to address this deficiency the paper outlines the use of a “reference model of ME decision making” which can inform the structural design of decision making systems in MEs. Also outlined is a “systematic model driven approach to modelling ME systems” which can particularise the reference model in specific case enterprises and thereby can “underpin integrated ME decision making”. Coherent decomposition and representational mechanisms have been incorporated into the model driven approach to systemise complexity handling. The paper also describes in outline an application of the modelling method in a case study ME and explains how its use has improved the integration of previously distinct planning functions. The modelling approach is particularly innovative in respect to the way it structures the coherent creation and experimental re-use of “fit for purpose” discrete event (predictive) simulation models at the multiple levels of abstraction.
Modeling and Implementation of a Power Estimation Methodology for SystemC
Authors: Kuehnle Matthias , Wagner Andre , Brito Alisson V. , Becker Juergen
Published: August 2012

This work describes a methodology to model power consumption of logic modules. A detailed mathematical model is presented and incorporated in a tool for translation of models written in VHDL to SystemC. The functionality for implicit power monitoring and estimation is inserted at module translation. The translation further implements an approach to wrap RTL to TLM interfaces so that the translated module can be connected to a system-level simulator. The power analysis is based on a statistical model of the underlying HW structure and an analysis of input data. The flexibility of the C++ syntax is exploited, to integrate the power evaluation technique. The accuracy and speed-up of the approach are illustrated and compared to a conventional power analysis flow using PPR simulation, based on Xilinx technology.
Adsorption Sites of Hydrogen Atom on Pure and Mg‐Doped Multi‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes
Authors: Al-Ghamdi A. A. , Shalaan E. , Al-Hazmi F. S. , Faidah Adel S. , Al-Heniti S. , Husain M.
Published: August 2012

Hydrogen adsorption sites on pure multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and Mg‐doped MWCNTs material system have been investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations as well as quantum chemical calculations. Through combining MWCNTs with Mg, the hydrogen adsorption sites energy on this Mg‐MWCNTs system is found to be larger than that of the pure MWCNTs. Additionally, it was found that, through Mg‐doping, new adsorption sites for hydrogen molecules are created in comparison with undoped nanotubes. It is also found that H atom is preferably adsorbed at every place near magnesium atom.
ECMO for Cardiac Rescue after Accidental Intravenous Mepivacaine Application
Authors: Froehle Michael , Haas Nikolaus A. , Kirchner Guenther , Kececioglu Deniz , Sandica Eugen
Published: August 2012

Mepivacaine is a potent local anaesthetic and used for infiltration and regional anaesthesia in adults and pediatric patients. Intoxications with mepivacaine affect mainly the CNS and the cardiovascular system. We present a case of accidental intravenous mepivacaine application and intoxication of an infant resulting in seizure, broad complex bradyarrhythmia, arterial hypotension and finally cardiac arrest. The patient could be rescued by prolonged resuscitations and a rapid initiation of ECMO and survived without neurological damage. The management strategies of this rare complication including promising other treatment options with lipid emulsions are discussed.
Further Development of Jarratt Method for Solving Nonlinear Equations
Authors: Thukral R.
Published: August 2012

We present two new families of Jarratt-type methods for solving nonlinear equations. It is proved that the order of convergence of each family member is improved from four to six by the addition of one function evaluation. Per iteration, these new methods require two evaluations of the function and two evaluations of the first-order derivatives. In fact, the efficiency index of these methods is 1.565. Numerical comparisons are made with other existing methods to show the performance of the presented methods.
Tricho-Dento-Osseous Syndrome: Diagnosis and Dental Management
Authors: Al-Batayneh Ola B.
Published: August 2012

Tricho-dento-osseous (TDO) syndrome is a rare, autosomal dominant disorder principally characterised by curly hair at infancy, severe enamel hypomineralization and hypoplasia and taurodontism of teeth, sclerotic bone, and other defects. Diagnostic criteria are based on the generalized enamel defects, severe taurodontism especially of the mandibular first permanent molars, an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance, and at least one of the other features (i.e., nail defects, bone sclerosis, and curly, kinky or wavy hair present at a young age that may straighten out later). Confusion with amelogenesis imperfecta is common; however, taurodontism is not a constant feature of any of the types of amelogenesis imperfecta. Management of TDO requires a team approach, proper documentation, and a long-term treatment and follow-up plan. The aim of treatment is to prevent problems such as sensitivity, caries, dental abscesses, and loss of occlusal vertical dimension through attrition of hypoplastic tooth structure. Another aim is to restore function of the dentition and enhance the esthetics and self-esteem of the patient. This paper proposes treatment approaches that include preventive, restorative, endodontic, prosthetic, and surgical options to management. In addition, it sheds light on the difficulties faced during dental treatment of such cases.
Marital Status, the Economic Benefits of Marriage, and Days of Inactivity due to Poor Health
Authors: Stimpson Jim P. , Wilson Fernando A. , Peek M. Kristen
Published: August 2012

Purpose. This study explored whether the economic benefits of marriage mediate the association between marriage and health and if that relationship is conditional on the level of shared economic resources. Methods. Pooled, cross-sectional data from NHANES 2001–2006 were analyzed using multivariate zero-inflated negative binomial regression for the number of days of inactivity due to poor physical or mental health. Results. Persons that were divorced/separated reported the highest average number of days of inactivity (mean = 2.5) within a 30 day period, and married persons reported the lowest number of days of inactivity (mean = 1.4). Multivariate results indicated that widowed persons did not report significantly more days of inactivity than married persons. Income to poverty ratio reduced the size and eliminated statistical significance of the difference between divorced/separated and never married marital statuses compared to married persons. The interaction effect for marital status and income to poverty ratio was statistically significant suggesting that the relationship between marital status and inactivity is conditional on shared income. Conclusion. Marriage confers health protective benefits in part through pooled income relative to other marital statuses.
Infantile Myofibroma Eroding into the Frontal Bone: A Case Report and Review of Its Histopathologic Differential Diagnosis
Authors: Thennavan Aatish , Narayanaswamy Venkadasalapathi , Niazi Thanvir Mohammed , Rao Lakshmi , Radhakrishnan Raghu
Published: August 2012

Infantile myofibroma is a rare and benign tumour of children presenting in the head and neck region. Rendering a final diagnosis of infantile myofibroma can be challenging in the light of nonspecific clinical, radiological findings and its histopathological similarities with a number of neoplasms especially spindle cell tumours. In this paper we discuss a case of infantile myofibroma in a 2-month-old infant, enumerating the various differential entities that have to be eliminated in reaching its specific diagnosis and highlighting the importance of immunopositivity to vimentin and smooth muscle actin (SMA) in establishing its myofibroblastic differentiation.
Depression Treatment Patterns among Elderly with Cancer
Authors: Findley Patricia A. , Shen Chan , Sambamoorthi Usha
Published: August 2012

Little is known about cancer treatment patterns among the elderly as depression and cancer in this older population have not been well explored. This study seeks to fill a gap in the literature by using data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey from years 2000–2005 to examine depression treatment patterns among elderly diagnosed with both cancer and depression. Depression treatments examined include antidepressants with and without psychotherapy. We found that of those with both cancer and depression, 57.7% reported antidepressant use only, 19.7% received psychotherapy with or without antidepressants, and 22.6% had no depression treatment. We found those with greater comorbidity, of a minority race, with lower levels of education, and living in rural areas were less likely to receive treatment for depression. These findings highlight the need to address disparities in the treatment of depression in the elderly population with cancer.
Consistent Price Systems in Multiasset Markets
Authors: Maris Florian , Sayit Hasanjan
Published: August 2012

Let be any d-dimensional continuous process that takes values in an open connected domain in . In this paper, we give equivalent formulations of the conditional full support (CFS) property of in . We use them to show that the CFS property of X in implies the existence of a martingale M under an equivalent probability measure such that M lies in the neighborhood of for any given under the supremum norm. The existence of such martingales, which are called consistent price systems (CPSs), has relevance with absence of arbitrage and hedging problems in
markets with proportional transaction costs as discussed in the recent paper by Guasoni et al. (2008), where the CFS property is introduced and shown sufficient for CPSs for processes with certain state space. The current paper extends the results in the work of Guasoni et al. (2008), to processes with more general state space.
A Challenging Case of Metastatic Intra-Abdominal Synovial Sarcoma with Unusual Immunophenotype and Its Differential Diagnosis
Authors: Changchien Yi-Che , Katalin Uhrin , Fillinger János , Fónyad László , Papp Gergő , Salamon Ferenc , Sápi Zoltán
Published: August 2012

The primary and metastatic gastrointestinal synovial sarcoma is rare with a wide differential diagnosis. It usually expresses cytokeratins EMA, BCL2 with an occasional CD99, and S100 positivity but not desmin. We present a case of metastatic synovial sarcoma with unusual immunophenotype causing diagnostic challenges. The tumor cells showed focal cytokeratin, EMA, and, unexpectedly, desmin positivity. Additional intranuclear TLE-1 positivity and negativity for CD34 and DOG-1 were also identified. A diagnosis of monophasic synovial sarcoma was confirmed by using FISH break-apart probe. RT-PCR revealed the SYT-SSX1 fusion gene. Intra-abdominal synovial sarcoma, either primary or metastatic, with unusual desmin positivity raises the diagnostic challenge, since a wide range of differential diagnoses could show a similar immunophenotype (leiomyosarcoma, desmoid tumor, myofibroblastic tumor, and rarely GIST etc.). Typical morphology and focal cytokeratin/EMA positivity should alert to this tumor, and FISH and RT-PCR remain the gold standard for the confirmation.
Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Pulsatile Blood Flow Behavior in Modelled Stenosed Vessels with Different Severities
Authors: Mehrabi Mohsen , Setayeshi Saeed
Published: August 2012

This study focuses on the behavior of blood flow in the stenosed vessels. Blood is modelled as an incompressible non‐Newtonian fluid which is based on the power law viscosity model. A numerical technique based on the finite difference method is developed to simulate the blood flow taking into account the transient periodic behaviour of the blood flow in cardiac cycles. Also, pulsatile blood flow in the stenosed vessel is based on the Womersley model, and fluid flow in the lumen region is governed by the continuity equation and the Navier‐Stokes equations. In this study, the stenosis shape is cosine by using Tu and Devil model. Comparing the results obtained from three stenosed vessels with 30%, 50%, and 75% area severity, we find that higher percent‐area severity of stenosis leads to higher extrapressure jumps and higher blood speeds around the stenosis site. Also, we observe that the size of the stenosis in stenosed vessels does influence the blood flow. A little change on the cross‐sectional value makes vast change on the blood flow rate. This simulation helps the people working in the field of physiological fluid dynamics as well as the medical practitioners.
Complementary Medicine, Exercise, Meditation, Diet, and Lifestyle Modification for Anxiety Disorders: A Review of Current Evidence
Authors: Sarris J. , Moylan S. , Camfield D. A. , Pase M. P. , Mischoulon D. , Berk M. , Jacka F. N. , Schweitzer I.
Published: August 2012

Use of complementary medicines and therapies (CAM) and modification of lifestyle factors such as physical activity, exercise, and diet are being increasingly considered as potential therapeutic options for anxiety disorders. The objective of this metareview was to examine evidence across a broad range of CAM and lifestyle interventions in the treatment of anxiety disorders. In early 2012 we conducted a literature search of PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane Library, for key studies, systematic reviews, and metaanalyses in the area. Our paper found that in respect to treatment of generalized anxiety or specific disorders, CAM evidence revealed current support for the herbal medicine Kava. One isolated study shows benefit for naturopathic medicine, whereas acupuncture, yoga, and Tai chi have tentative supportive evidence, which is hampered by overall poor methodology. The breadth of evidence does not support homeopathy for treating anxiety. Strong support exists for lifestyle modifications including adoption of moderate exercise and mindfulness meditation, whereas dietary improvement, avoidance of caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine offer encouraging preliminary data. In conclusion, certain lifestyle modifications and some CAMs may provide a beneficial role in the treatment of anxiety disorders.
Role of Mean Platelet Volume in Diagnosis of Childhood Acute Appendicitis
Authors: Uyanik Bunyamin , Kavalci Cemil , Arslan Engin Deniz , Yilmaz Fevzi , Aslan Ozgur , Dede Serdal , Bakir Fatih
Published: August 2012

Introduction. Acute appendicitis is the leading cause of abdominal pain in children requiring emergency surgical intervention. The aim of this study is to investigate the diagnostic value of MPV in early diagnosis of acute appendicitis cases in pediatric age group.Methods. This study was performed retrospectively. Three hundred five patients operated on with the diagnosis of appendicitis and pathologically found to be acute appendicitis were classified as Group 1 and 305 healthy children were classified as control Group 2.Results. One hundred ninety-seven of 305 cases in Group 1 are males (64.6%), in Group 2, 151 of 305 cases are males (49.5%). The mean MPV in Group 1 was7.9±0.9(fL), and whereas in Group 2 was7.7±0.8(fL). There was no statistically significant difference regarding MPV values (P>0.05).Conclusion. In our study we detected that mean platelet volume has no diagnostic value in pediatric acute appendicitis cases.
Graphs with Constant Sum of Domination and Inverse Domination Numbers
Authors: Tamizh Chelvam T. , Asir T.
Published: August 2012

A subset D of the vertex set of a graph G, is a dominating set if every vertex in V−D is adjacent to at least one vertex in D. The domination number γ(G) is the minimum cardinality of a dominating set of G. A subset of V−D, which is also a dominating set of G is called an inverse dominating set of G with respect to D. The inverse domination number γ′(G) is the minimum cardinality of the inverse dominating sets. Domke et al. (2004) characterized connected graphs G with γ(G)+γ′(G)=n, where n is the number of vertices in G. It is the purpose of this paper to give a complete characterization of graphs G with minimum degree at least two and γ(G)+γ′(G)=n−1.