bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hybrid Single-Packet IP Traceback with Low Storage and High Accuracy
Authors: Yang Ming Hour
Published: February 2014

Traceback schemes have been proposed to trace the sources of attacks that usually hide by spoofing their IP addresses. Among these methods, schemes using packet logging can achieve single-packet traceback. But packet logging demands high storage on routers and therefore makes IP traceback impractical. For lower storage requirement, packet logging and packet marking are fused to make hybrid single-packet IP traceback. Despite such attempts, their storage still increases with packet numbers. That is why RIHT bounds its storage with path numbers to guarantee low storage. RIHT uses IP header’s ID and offset fields to mark packets, so it inevitably suffers from fragment and drop issues for its packet reassembly. Although the 16-bit hybrid IP traceback schemes, for example, MORE, can mitigate the fragment problem, their storage requirement grows up with packet numbers. To solve the storage and fragment problems in one shot, we propose a single-packet IP traceback scheme that only uses packets’ ID field for marking. Our major contributions are as follows: (1) our fragmented packets with tracing marks can be reassembled; (2) our storage is not affected by packet numbers; (3) it is the first hybrid single-packet IP traceback scheme to achieve zero false positive and zero false negative rates.
Lower Estimates for Certain Harmonic Functions in the Half Space
Authors: Xu Gang , Zhou Xiaoyu
Published: February 2014

We will give the growth properties of harmonic functions of order greater than one in a half space, which generalize the result obtained by B. Levin in a half plane.
Entropy Based Test Point Evaluation and Selection Method for Analog Circuit Fault Diagnosis
Authors: Gao Yuan , Yang Chenglin , Tian Shulin , Chen Fang
Published: February 2014

By simplifying tolerance problem and treating faulty voltages on different test points as independent variables, integer‐coded table technique is proposed to simplify the test point selection process. Usually, simplifying tolerance problem may induce a wrong solution while the independence assumption will result in over conservative result. To address these problems, the tolerance problem is thoroughly considered in this paper, and dependency relationship between different test points is considered at the same time. A heuristic graph search method is proposed to facilitate the test point selection process. First, the information theoretic concept of entropy is used to evaluate the optimality of test point. The entropy is calculated by using the ambiguous sets and faulty voltage distribution, determined by component tolerance. Second, the selected optimal test point is used to expand current graph node by using dependence relationship between the test point and graph node. Simulated results indicate that the proposed method more accurately finds the optimal set of test points than other methods; therefore, it is a good solution to minimize the size of the test point set. To simplify and clarify the proposed method, only catastrophic and some specific parametric faults are discussed in this paper.
Characterization of Annur and Bedakam Ecotypes of Coconut from Kerala State, India, Using Microsatellite Markers
Authors: Rajesh M. K. , Samsudeen K. , Rejusha P. , Manjula C. , Rahman Shafeeq , Karun Anitha
Published: February 2014

The coconut palm is versatile in its adaptability to a wide range of soil and climatic conditions. A long history of its cultivation has resulted in development of many ecotypes, which are adapted to various agro-eco factors prevalent in a particular region. These ecotypes usually are known by the location where they are grown. It is important to explore such adaptation in the coconut population for better utilization of these ecotypes in coconut breeding programs. The aim of the present study was to identify the genetic diversity of the Bedakam and Annur ecotypes of coconut and compare these ecotypes with predominant West Coast Tall (WCT) populations, from which they are presumed to have been derived, using microsatellite markers. All the 17 microsatellite markers used in the study revealed 100% polymorphism. The clustering analysis showed that Annur and Bedakam ecotypes were two separate and distinct populations compared to WCT. It was also evident from the clustering that Annur ecotype was closer to WCT than Bedakam ecotype.
Poisson Shot Noise Traffic Model and Approximation of Significant Functionals
Authors: Jedidi Wissem
Published: February 2014

In Internet traffic modeling, many authors presented models based on particular fractal shot noise representations. The inconvenience of these approaches is the multitude of assumptions and the lack of tools to check them. In this paper we propose a unified model based on a general Poisson shot noise representation for the cumulative input process (CIP). We present a procedure of approximation of this process; then we give a procedure for controlling the bandwidth of Internet providers. The approximation and control go via limit theorems for functionals of the CIP, namely, the supremum process, the right inverse, and the storage mapping.
Dynamic Behaviors of an SEIR Epidemic Model in a Periodic Environment with Impulse Vaccination
Authors: Yan Mei , Xiang Zhongyi
Published: February 2014

We consider a nonautonomous SEIR endemic model with saturation incidence concerning pulse vaccination. By applying Floquet theory and the comparison theorem of impulsive differential equations, a threshold parameter which determines the extinction or persistence of the disease is presented. Finally, numerical simulations are given to illustrate the main theoretical results and it shows that pulse vaccination plays a key role in the disease control.
PCB Drill Path Optimization by Combinatorial Cuckoo Search Algorithm
Authors: Lim Wei Chen Esmonde , Kanagaraj G. , Ponnambalam S. G.
Published: February 2014

Optimization of drill path can lead to significant reduction in machining time which directly improves productivity of manufacturing systems. In a batch production of a large number of items to be drilled such as printed circuit boards (PCB), the travel time of the drilling device is a significant portion of the overall manufacturing process. To increase PCB manufacturing productivity and to reduce production costs, a good option is to minimize the drill path route using an optimization algorithm. This paper reports a combinatorial cuckoo search algorithm for solving drill path optimization problem. The performance of the proposed algorithm is tested and verified with three case studies from the literature. The computational experience conducted in this research indicates that the proposed algorithm is capable of efficiently finding the optimal path for PCB holes drilling process.
The Effects of Gene Polymorphisms in Interleukin-4 and Interleukin-6 on the Susceptibility of Rheumatoid Arthritis in a Chinese Population
Authors: Li Xiang , Chai Wei , Ni Ming , Xu Meng , Lian Zijian , Shi Lewis , Bai Yang , Wang Yan
Published: February 2014

Background. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) have been reported to associate with pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, the role of IL-4 and IL-6 genetic polymorphisms in RA remains unknown.Method. A total of 752 unrelated Chinese patients with RA and 798 healthy Chinese volunteers with no family histories of any autoimmune diseases were recruited. The promoter IL-4-590 C/T and IL-6-174 G/C polymorphisms were genotyped.Result. The genotype distributions and allele frequencies of IL-4-590 C/T and IL-6-174 G/C polymorphisms in RA patients were significantly different from healthy volunteers. Statistically significant differences were observed in genotypes for IL-4-590 and IL-6-174. The frequencies of both the T allele on the IL-4-590 and the C on the IL-6-174 were significantly increased in RA patients.Conclusion. The IL-4-590 and IL-6-174 promoter polymorphisms may be associated with increased risk of RA and could be used as genetic marker for assessing the susceptibility and severity of RA in Chinese.
Numerical Treatment of a Modified MacCormack Scheme in a Nondimensional Form of the Water Quality Models in a Nonuniform Flow Stream
Authors: Pochai Nopparat
Published: February 2014

Two mathematical models are used to simulate water quality in a nonuniform flow stream. The first model is the hydrodynamic model that provides the velocity field and the elevation of water. The second model is the dispersion model that provides the pollutant concentration field. Both models are formulated in one-dimensional equations. The traditional Crank-Nicolson method is also used in the hydrodynamic model. At each step, the flow velocity fields calculated from the first model are the input into the second model as the field data. A modified MacCormack method is subsequently employed in the second model. This paper proposes a simply remarkable alteration to the MacCormack method so as to make it more accurate without any significant loss of computational efficiency. The results obtained indicate that the proposed modified MacCormack scheme does improve the prediction accuracy compared to that of the traditional MacCormack method.
The Integral Field View of the Orion Nebula
Authors: Mesa-Delgado Adal
Published: February 2014

This paper reviews the major advances achieved in the Orion Nebula through the use of integral field spectroscopy (IFS). Since the early work of Vasconcelos and collaborators in 2005, this technique has facilitated the investigation of global properties of the nebula and its morphology, providing new clues to better constrain its 3D structure. IFS has led to the discovery of shock-heated zones at the leading working surfaces of prominent Herbig-Haro objects as well as the first attempt to determine the chemical composition of Orion protoplanetary disks, also known asproplyds. The analysis of these morphologies using IFS has given us new insights into the abundance discrepancy problem, a long-standing and unresolved issue that casts doubt on the reliability of current methods used for the determination of metallicities in the universe from the analysis of H II regions. Results imply that high-density clumps and high-velocity flows may play an active role in the production of such discrepancies. Future investigations based on the large-scale IFS mosaic of Orion will be very valuable for exploring how the integrated effect of small-scale structures may have impact at larger scales in the framework of star-forming regions.
On the Strong Convergence of a Sufficient Descent Polak-Ribière-Polyak Conjugate Gradient Method
Authors: Sun Min , Liu Jing
Published: February 2014

Recently, Zhang et al. proposed a sufficient descent Polak-Ribière-Polyak (SDPRP) conjugate gradient method for large-scale unconstrained optimization problems and proved its global convergence in the sense thatlim infk→∞∥∇f(xk)∥=0when an Armijo-type line search is used. In this paper, motivated by the line searches proposed by Shi et al. and Zhang et al., we propose two new Armijo-type line searches and show that the SDPRP method has strong convergence in the sense thatlimk→∞∥∇f(xk)∥=0under the two new line searches. Numerical results are reported to show the efficiency of the SDPRP with the new Armijo-type line searches in practical computation.
Nephron Sparing Surgery for Renal Angiomyolipoma with Inferior Vena Cava Thrombus in Tuberous Sclerosis
Authors: Riviere Adrien , Bessede Thomas , Patard Jean-Jacques
Published: February 2014

Introduction. Angiomyolipoma is a common benign renal tumor. It is associated with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) in 20% of patients. Angiomyolipomas are classically multiple, bilateral, and growing; they may lead to complications such as Wunderlich syndrome or, in rare cases, to venous extension.Observation. a 74-year-old woman with TSC presented with an angiomyolipoma of the right kidney with inferior vena cava (IVC) fatty thrombus. She underwent partial nephrectomy and thrombectomy. After a 7-year follow-up there was no evidence of recurrence or metastasis and her renal function was preserved.Review of Literature. It is the 44th reported angiomyolipoma associated with IVC thrombus. The mean size of angiomyolipomas was 86.1 mm and 67.4% of patients were symptomatic. Pulmonary embolism was found in 6 patients. There were 2 cases of recurrence/metastatic outcome after radical nephrectomy and thrombectomy. They were associated with epithelioid form. The mean size of epithelioid tumors was significantly bigger than in classical angiomyolipomas (127.1 mm versus 82.6 mm,P=0.037). With a median follow-up of 12 months, 91.3% of patients were recurrence and metastasis free, with 3 cases of nephron sparing surgery.Conclusion. Nephron sparing surgery for angiomyolipoma with IVC fatty thrombus can be safely performed in TSC, even in sporadic angiomyolipoma.
Deep Tissue Massage and Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs for Low Back Pain: A Prospective Randomized Trial
Authors: Majchrzycki Marian , Kocur Piotr , Kotwicki Tomasz
Published: February 2014

Objective. To investigate whether chronic low back pain therapy with deep tissue massage (DTM) gives similar results to combined therapy consisting of DTM and non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID).Design. Prospective controlled randomized single blinded trial.Settings. Ambulatory care of rehabilitation.Participants. 59 patients, age 51.8 ± 9.0 years, with chronic low back pain.Interventions. 2 weeks of DTM in the treatment group (TG) versus 2 weeks of DTM combined with NSAID in the control group (CG).Main Outcome Measures. Visual analogue scale, Oswestry disability index (ODI), and Roland-Morris questionnaire (RM).Results. In both the TG and the CG, a significant pain reduction and function improvement were observed. VAS decreased from 58.3 ± 18.2 to 42.2 ± 21.1 (TG) and from 51.8 ± 18.8 to 30.6 ± 21.9 (CG). RM value decreased from 9.8 ± 5.1 to 6.4 ± 4.4 (TG), and from 9.3 ± 5.5 to 6.1 ± 4.6 (CG). ODI value decreased from 29.2 ± 17.3 to 21.4 ± 15.1 (TG) and from 21.4 ± 9.4 to 16.6 ± 9.4 (CG). All pre-post-treatment differences were significant; however, there was no significant difference between the TG and the CG.Conclusion. DTM had a positive effect on reducing pain in patients with chronic low back pain. Concurrent use of DTM and NSAID contributed to low back pain reduction in a similar degree that the DTM did.
Comparing Microspheres with Different Internal Phase of Polyelectrolyte as Local Drug Delivery System for Bone Tuberculosis Therapy
Authors: Wu Gang , Chen Long , Li Hong , Deng Chun-Ling , Chen Xiao-Feng
Published: February 2014

We use hydrophobic poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) to encapsulate hydrophilic ofloxacin to form drug loading microspheres. Hyaluronic acid (HA) and polylysine (Pls) were used as internal phase additives to see their influences on the drug loading and releasing. Double emulsion (water-in-oil-in-water) solvent extraction/evaporation method was used for the purpose. Particle size analysis display that the polyelectrolytes have low impact on the microsphere average size and distribution. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) pictures show the wrinkled surface resulted by the internal microcavity of the microspheres. Microspheres with HA inside have higher drug loading amounts than microspheres with Pls inside. The loading drug amounts of the microspheres increase with the HA amounts inside, while decreasing with the Pls amounts inside. All the polyelectrolytes adding groups have burst release observed in experiments. The microspheres with Pls internal phase have faster release rate than the HA groups. Among the same polyelectrolyte internal phase groups, the release rate increases with the amounts increasing when Pls is inside, while it decreases with the amounts increasing when HA is inside.
Prevalence of Haemoplasma Infections in Stray Cats in Northern Italy
Authors: Spada Eva , Proverbio Daniela , Galluzzo Paola , Della Pepa Alessandra , Bagnagatti De Giorgi Giada , Perego Roberta , Ferro Elisabetta
Published: February 2014

This study investigated the prevalence of feline haemoplasma infections in a number of stray cat colonies in Milan, Northern Italy. Blood samples from 260 stray cats were evaluated, with conventional PCR, for the presence of DNA associated with Mycoplasma haemofelis (Mhf) and “Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum” (CMhm). Odd ratios (OR) were calculated to identify risk factors for haemoplasma infections. PCR was positive in 86 out of 260 subjects (33.1%), with a prevalence of 10.8% (28/260 cats) for Mhf and 22.3% (58/260 cats) for CMhm. No coinfections were registered. There were significant associations between infections and season of sampling, that is, a negative association between winter sampling and a haemoplasma positive status (OR=0.29, P=0.001), or CMhm positive status (OR=0.29, P=0.01). Haemoplasma infections are common in stray cats in Milan. Thus, domestic cats with outdoor access should be routinely monitored and treated for ectoparasites to minimize risks of disease acquisition. Moreover, as these infections are transmitted via blood, feline blood donors from this area should be screened by PCR and preferably be drawn from a population of indoor cats regularly treated for fleas.
Subchannel Analysis of Wire Wrapped SCWR Assembly
Authors: Shan Jianqiang , Wang Henan , Liu Wei , Song Linxing , Chen Xuanxiang , Jiang Yang
Published: February 2014

Application of wire wrap spacers in SCWR can reduce pressure drop and obtain better mixing capability. As a consequence, the required coolant pumping power is decreased and the coolant temperature profile inside the fuel bundle is flattened which will obviously decrease the peak cladding temperature. The distributed resistance model for wire wrap was developed and implemented in ATHAS subchannel analysis code. The HPLWR wire wrapped assembly was analyzed. The results show that: (1) the assembly with wire wrap can obtain a more uniform coolant temperature profile than the grid spaced assembly, which will result in a lower peak cladding temperature; (2) the pressure drop in a wire wrapped assembly is less than that in a grid spaced assembly, which can reduce the operating power of pump effectively; (3) the wire wrap pitch has significant effect on the flow in the assembly. SmallerHwire/Drodwill result in stronger cross flow a more uniform coolant temperature profile, and also a higher pressure drop.
Asymptotic Normality of the Estimators for Fractional Brownian Motions with Discrete Data
Authors: Sun Lin , Yu Xiaojian , Guan Xuewei , Meng Qinghao
Published: February 2014

This paper deals with the problem of estimating the Hurst parameter in the fractional Brownian motion when the Hurst index is greater than one half. The estimation procedure is built upon the marriage of the autocorrelation approach and the maximum likelihood approach. The asymptotic properties of the estimators are presented. Using the Monte Carlo experiments, we compare the performance of our method to existing ones, namely, R/S method, variations estimators, and wavelet method. These comparative results demonstrate that the proposed approach is effective and efficient.
A Rare Coexistence of Villoglandular Papillary Adenocarcinoma of the Uterine Cervix and Brenner Tumor of the Ovary
Authors: Guzin Kadir , Sahin Sadik , Goynumer Gokhan , Eroğlu Mustafa , Usta Akın , Ozel Nurver
Published: February 2014

Synchronous primary gynecological cancers have been reported to be seen rarely in the literature. In this report, we aimed to describe a 51-year-old patient with the coexistence of villoglandular papillary adenocarcinoma of the cervix uteri and Brenner tumor in the right ovary. She successfully underwent radical hysterectomy, bilateral salphing-oopherectomy and pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy.
Peeling of Long, Straight Carbon Nanotubes from Surfaces
Authors: Barker Kane M. , Poggi Mark A. , Lizarraga Leonardo , Lillehei Peter T. , Ferri Aldo A. , Bottomley Lawrence A.
Published: February 2014

The adhesion of long, straight, single-walled carbon nanotubes to surfaces is examined using multidimensional force spectroscopy. We observed characteristic signatures in the deflection and frequency response of the cantilever indicative of nanotube buckling and slip-stick motion as a result of compression and subsequent adhesion and peeling of the nanotube from the surface. The spring constant and the elastic modulus of the SWNT were estimated from the frequency shifts under tension. Using elastica modeling for postbuckled columns, we have determined the static coefficient of friction for the SWNT on alkanethiol-modified gold surfaces and showed that it varies with the identity of the monolayer terminal group.
Characterization of Consistent Completion of Reciprocal Comparison Matrices
Authors: Benítez Julio , Carrión Laura , Izquierdo Joaquín , Pérez-García Rafael
Published: February 2014

Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is a leading multi-attribute decision-aiding model that is designed to help make better choices when faced with complex decisions involving several dimensions. AHP, which enables qualitative analysis using a combination of subjective and objective information, is a multiple criteria decision analysis approach that uses hierarchical structured pairwise comparisons. One of the drawbacks of AHP is that a pairwise comparison cannot be completed by an actor or stakeholder not fully familiar with all the aspects of the problem. The authors have developed a completion based on a process of linearization that minimizes the matrix distance defined in terms of the Frobenius norm (a strictly convex minimization problem). In this paper, we characterize when an incomplete, positive, and reciprocal matrix can be completed to become a consistent matrix. We show that this characterization reduces the problem to the solution of a linear system of equations—a straightforward procedure. Various properties of such a completion are also developed using graph theory, including explicit calculation formulas. In real decision-making processes, facilitators conducting the study could use these characterizations to accept an incomplete comparison body given by an actor or to encourage the actor to further develop the comparison for the sake of consistency.
Nanocasting Process to Pore-Expanded Ordered Mesoporous Carbons with 2D Hexagonal Mesostructure
Authors: Jiang Chongwen , Zhou Keyuan , Zhong Xin
Published: February 2014

Pore-expanded ordered mesoporous carbons with 2D hexagonal mesostructure were synthesized by a simple nanocasting process. We adopted sucrose as carbon precursors, mesoporous silica materials SBA-15 as the hard templates, and hexane as micelle swelling agents. The pore size distribution of OMCs was narrow and centered at 5.4 nm, which is larger than the upper limit of pore diameters typically reported for CMK-3. The BET surface area and mesopore volume of PE-CMK-3 can reach to 1213.47 m2/g and 1.56 cm3/g, respectively, indicating that choosing large pore size materials as template is good for preparation of high performance of OMCs.
Generalized Reflexive and Generalized Antireflexive Solutions to a System of Matrix Equations
Authors: Lin Yong , Wang Qing-Wen
Published: February 2014

Two efficient iterative algorithms are presented to solve a system of matrix equationsA1X1B1+A2X2B2=E,C1X1D1+C2X2D2=Fover generalized reflexive and generalized antireflexive matrices. By the algorithms, the least norm generalized reflexive (antireflexive) solutions and the unique optimal approximation generalized reflexive (antireflexive) solutions to the system can be obtained, too. For any initial value, it is proved that the iterative solutions obtained by the proposed algorithms converge to their true values. The given numerical examples demonstrate that the iterative algorithms are efficient.
Contrast Media Viscosity versus Osmolality in Kidney Injury: Lessons from Animal Studies
Authors: Seeliger Erdmann , Lenhard Diana C. , Persson Pontus B.
Published: February 2014

Iodinated contrast media (CM) can induce acute kidney injury (AKI). CM share common iodine-related cytotoxic features but differ considerably with regard to osmolality and viscosity. Meta-analyses of clinical trials generally failed to reveal renal safety differences of modern CM with regard to these physicochemical properties. While most trials’ reliance on serum creatinine as outcome measure contributes to this lack of clinical evidence, it largely relies on the nature of prospective clinical trials: effective prophylaxis by ample hydration must be employed. In everyday life, patients are often not well hydrated; here we lack clinical data. However, preclinical studies that directly measured glomerular filtration rate, intrarenal perfusion and oxygenation, and various markers of AKI have shown that the viscosity of CM is of vast importance. In the renal tubules, CM become enriched, as water is reabsorbed, but CM are not. In consequence, tubular fluid viscosity increases exponentially. This hinders glomerular filtration and tubular flow and, thereby, prolongs intrarenal retention of cytotoxic CM. Renal cells become injured, which triggers hypoperfusion and hypoxia, finally leading to AKI. Comparisons between modern CM reveal that moderately elevated osmolality has a renoprotective effect, in particular, in the dehydrated state, because it prevents excessive tubular fluid viscosity.
Diversity Controlling Genetic Algorithm for Order Acceptance and Scheduling Problem
Authors: Chen Cheng , Yang Zhenyu , Tan Yuejin , He Renjie
Published: February 2014

Selection and scheduling are an important topic in production systems. To tackle the order acceptance and scheduling problem on a single machine with release dates, tardiness penalty, and sequence‐dependent setup times, in this paper a diversity controlling genetic algorithm (DCGA) is proposed, in which a diversified population is maintained during the whole search process through survival selection considering both the fitness and the diversity of individuals. To measure the similarity between individuals, a modified Hamming distance without considering the unaccepted orders in the chromosome is adopted. The proposed DCGA was validated on 1500 benchmark instances with up to 100 orders. Compared with the state‐of‐the‐art algorithms, the experimental results show that DCGA improves the solution quality obtained significantly, in terms of the deviation from upper bound.
The Improved Moving Least‐Square Ritz Method for the One‐Dimensional Sine‐Gordon Equation
Authors: Wei Qi , Cheng Rongjun
Published: February 2014

Analysis of the one‐dimensional sine‐Gordon equation is performed using the improved moving least‐square Ritz method (IMLS‐Ritz method). The improved moving least‐square approximation is employed to approximate the 1D displacement field. A system of discrete equations is obtained by application of the Ritz minimization procedure. The effectiveness and accuracy of the IMLS‐Ritz method for the sine‐Gordon equation are investigated by numerical examples in this paper.
Experimental and Numerical Simulation of Wheel-Rail Adhesion and Wear Using a Scaled Roller Rig and a Real-Time Contact Code
Authors: Bosso Nicola , Zampieri Nicolò
Published: February 2014

The work shows the use of a scaled roller rig to validate a real time wheel-rail contact code developed to study the wheel rail adhesion and the wear evolution. The code allows the profiles to change at each time step in order to take into account the material loss due to the wear process. The contact code replicates a testing machine composed of a roller rig with a prototype of a single suspended wheelset pressed onto it with a variable load. The roller rig, developed at Politecnico di Torino, is used to validate and optimize the contact code referring to experimental data directly measured in real time. The test bench, in fact, allows measurement of specific kinematical quantities and forces that are elaborated by the real-time code in order to produce numerical results for comparison with the experimental ones. This approach can be applied both to the determination of wheel-rail adhesion and to the wear process. The test rig is also equipped with a laser profilometer that allows measurement of the wheel and rail profiles with a very high accuracy.
A Numerical Method for Analyzing Electromagnetic Scattering Properties of a Moving Conducting Object
Authors: Kuang Lei , Zhu Shouzheng , Gao Jianjun , Zheng Zhengqi , Dong Danan
Published: February 2014

A novel numerical approach is developed to analyze electromagnetic scattering properties of a moving conducting object based on the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithm. Relativistic boundary conditions are implemented into the FDTD algorithm to calculate the electromagnetic field on the moving boundary. An improved technique is proposed to solve the scattered field in order to improve the computational efficiency and stability of solutions. The time-harmonic scattered field from a one-dimensional moving conducting surface is first simulated by the proposed approach. Numerical results show that the amplitude and frequency of the scattered field suffer a modulation shift. Then the transient scattered field is calculated, and broadband electromagnetic scattering properties of the moving conducting surface are obtained by the fast Fourier transform (FFT). Finally, the scattered field from a two-dimensional moving square cylinder is analyzed. The numerical results demonstrate the Doppler effect of a moving conducting object. The simulated results agree well with analytical results.
Avocado Oil Supplementation Modifies Cardiovascular Risk Profile Markers in a Rat Model of Sucrose-Induced Metabolic Changes
Authors: Carvajal-Zarrabal Octavio , Nolasco-Hipolito Cirilo , Aguilar-Uscanga M. Guadalupe , Melo-Santiesteban Guadalupe , Hayward-Jones Patricia M. , Barradas-Dermitz Dulce M.
Published: February 2014

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of avocado oil administration on biochemical markers of cardiovascular risk profile in rats with metabolic changes induced by sucrose ingestion. Twenty-five rats were divided into five groups: a control group (CG; basic diet), a sick group (MC; basic diet plus 30% sucrose solution), and three other groups (MCao, MCac, and MCas; basic diet plus 30% sucrose solution plus olive oil and avocado oil extracted by centrifugation or using solvent, resp.). Glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids, low- and high-density lipoproteins (LDL, HDL), very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), lactic dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein concentration were analyzed. Avocado oil reduces TG, VLDL, and LDL levels, in the LDL case significantly so, without affecting HDL levels. An effect was exhibited by avocado oil similar to olive oil, with no significant difference between avocado oil extracted either by centrifugation or solvent in myocardial injury biochemical indicators. Avocado oil decreased hs-CRP levels, indicating that inflammatory processes were partially reversed. These findings suggested that avocado oil supplementation has a positive health outcome because it reduces inflammatory events and produces positive changes in the biochemical indicators studied, related to the development of metabolic syndrome.
Strength Development of High-Strength Ductile Concrete Incorporating Metakaolin and PVA Fibers
Authors: Nuruddin Muhammad Fadhil , Khan Sadaqat Ullah , Shafiq Nasir , Ayub Tehmina
Published: February 2014

The mechanical properties of high-strength ductile concrete (HSDC) have been investigated using Metakaolin (MK) as the cement replacing material and PVA fibers. Total twenty-seven (27) mixes of concrete have been examined with varying content of MK and PVA fibers. It has been found that the coarser type PVA fibers provide strengths competitive to control or higher than control. Concrete with coarser type PVA fibers has also refined microstructure, but the microstructure has been undergone with the increase in aspect ratio of fibers. The microstructure of concrete with MK has also more refined and packing of material is much better with MK. PVA fibers not only give higher stiffness but also showed the deflection hardening response. Toughness Index of HSDC reflects the improvement in flexural toughness over the plain concrete and the maximum toughness indices have been observed with 10% MK and 2% volume fraction of PVA fibers.
Injured Workers Perspectives on Recovery following Non-Life-Threatening Acute Orthopaedic Trauma: A Descriptive Study
Authors: Clay Fiona J. , Shourie Swati , Robinson Priscilla , McKenzie Donna , Kerr Emily
Published: February 2014

Background. Little is known about the recovery process following non-life-threatening acute orthopaedic trauma from the viewpoint of the injured person. A better understanding could facilitate optimal rehabilitative planning.
Objective. To explore patients’ views on factors important to them in recovery following non-life threatening acute orthopaedic trauma.
Methods. Descriptive study utilizing content analysis and chi-square analysis. To better understand recovery expectations, 168 adults who had sustained non-life threatening acute orthopaedic trauma were surveyed at 2, 12, and 26 weeks after injury and invited to respond to the following question “what are the most important things necessary for you to best recover?” Results. According to participant’s responses, major themes on recovery involved a return to health and a return to health but with an ongoing plan, and for a minority (12%) recovery involved a focus on their current status. The study found that some recovery expectations changed over time.
Conclusion. The journey to recovery is complex, often prolonged, and highly individual. Responses suggest that some injured persons need more assistance for a successful recovery than others. Those who appeared “caught in the moment” of the injury may benefit from clinical and rehabilitative management focusing on long-term recovery and acceptance of the injury event.
Microcystic Changes in the Retinal Internal Nuclear Layer Associated with Optic Atrophy: A Prospective Study
Authors: Wolff Benjamin , Azar Georges , Vasseur Vivien , Sahel José-Alain , Vignal Catherine , Mauget-Faÿsse Martine
Published: February 2014

Purpose. This study aimed at assessing the prevalence of pathologies presenting retinal inner nuclear layer (RINL) microcystic perimacular changes associated with optic nerve atrophy (OA). The charts of patients presenting a significant defect of the Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer (RNFL) were included prospectively in this study. Patients were classified according to the etiology of the RNFL defect. Two hundred and one eyes of 138 patients were enrolled in this analysis. Retinal images obtained showed the typical hyporeflective perifoveal crescent-shaped lesion composed of small round hyporeflective microcysts confined to the RINL in 35.3% of the eyes. Those findings were found in 75% of eyes presenting hereditary OA, 50% of eyes presenting ischemic optic neuritis, 50% of eyes with drusen of the optic nerve (ON), 44.4% of eyes presenting a compressive OA, 32% of eyes presenting inflammatory optic neuropathy from multiple sclerosis, 18.5% of eyes presenting OA from undetermined origin, and 17.6% of eyes having primary open-angle glaucoma. This study demonstrates that microcystic changes in RINL are not specific to a disease but are found in OA of various etiologies. Moreover, their incidence was found to be dependent upon the cause of OA, with the highest incidence occurring in genetic OA.
Strengthening of Hollow Square Sections under Compression Using FRP Composites
Authors: Sundarraja M. C. , Sriram P. , Ganesh Prabhu G.
Published: February 2014

The feasibility study on carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) fabrics in axial strengthening of hollow square sections (HSS) was investigated in this paper. CFRP was used as strips form with other parameters such as the number of layers and spacing of strips. Experimental results revealed that the external bonding of normal modulus CFRP strips significantly enhanced the load carrying capacity and stiffness of the hollow sections and also reduced the axial shortening of columns by providing external confinement against the elastic deformation. The increase in the CFRP strips thickness effectively delayed the local buckling of the above members and led to the inward buckling rather than outward one. Finally, three-dimensional nonlinear finite element modeling of CFRP strengthened hollow square sectionswas created by using ANSYS 12.0 to validate the results and the numerical results such as failure modes and load deformation behaviour fairly agreed with the experimental results.
Multinorms and Approximate Amenability of Weighted Group Algebras
Authors: Ghaderkhani Saman
Published: February 2014

Let G be a locally compact group, and take p,q with 1≤p,q<∞. We prove that, for any left (p,q)-multiinvariant functional on L∞(G) and for any weight function ω≥1 on G, the approximate amenability of the Banach algebra L1(G,ω) implies the left (p,q)-amenability of G, but in general the opposite is not true. Our proof uses the notion of multinorms. We also investigate the approximate amenability of M(G,ω).
Isolated Aspergillosis Myocardial Abscesses in a Liver-Transplant Patient
Authors: Dang-Tran Kim-Diêp , Chabbert Valérie , Esposito Laure , Guilbeau-Frugier Céline , Dédouit Fabrice , Rostaing Lionel , Rousseau Hervé , Otal Phillippe , Kamar Nassim
Published: February 2014

Cardiac abscess is an uncommon and fatal complication after transplantation. We report a case of an initially isolated aspergillosis myocardial abscess diagnosed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI). At that time, there was no other biological evidence or other extracardiac manifestations. A three-month course of dual antifungal therapy followed by a single antifungal therapy was empirically given. Six month after admission,Aspergillus fumigatuswas isolated for the first time and the patient deceased from a disseminated aspergillosis.
Unisoft Hypervector Spaces
Authors: Al-Roqi Abdullah M.
Published: February 2014

The notion of unisoft subfields, unisoft algebras over unisoft subfields, and unisoft hypervector spaces are introduced, and their properties and characterizations are considered. In connection with linear transformations, unisoft hypervector spaces are discussed.
PET Demonstrates Functional Recovery after Treatment by Danhong Injection in a Rat Model of Cerebral Ischemic‐Reperfusion Injury
Authors: Wang Zefeng , Song Fahuan , Li Jinhui , Zhang Yuyan , He Yu , Yang Jiehong , Zhou Huifen , Zhao Tao , Fu Wei , Xing Panke , Wan Haitong , Tian Mei , Zhang Hong
Published: February 2014

This study aimed to investigate neuroprotection of Danhong injection (DHI) in a rat model of cerebral ischemia using 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F‐FDG‐PET). Method. Rats were divided into 5 groups: sham group, ischemia‐reperfusion untreated (IRU) group, DHI‐1 group (DHI 1 mL/kg/d), DHI‐2 group (DHI 2 mL/kg/d), and DHI‐4 group (DHI 4 mL/kg/d). AII the treated groups were intraperitoneally injected with DHI daily for 14 days. The therapeutic effects in terms of cerebral infarct volume, neurological function, and cerebral glucose metabolism were evaluated. Expression of TNF‐α and IL‐1β was detected with enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Levels of mature neuronal marker (NeuN), glial marker (GFAP), vascular density factor (vWF), and glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Results. Compared with the IRU group, rats treated with DHI showed dose dependent reductions in cerebral infarct volume and levels of proinflammatory cytokines, improvement of neurological function, and recovery of cerebral glucose metabolism. Meanwhile, the significantly increased numbers of neurons, gliocytes, and vessels and the recovery of glucose utilization were found in the peri‐infarct region after DHI treatment using immunohistochemical analysis. Conclusion. This study demonstrated the metabolic recovery after DHI treatment by micro‐PET imaging with 18F‐FDG and the neuroprotective effects of DHI in a rat model of cerebral ischemic‐reperfusion injury.
Control Problems for Semilinear Neutral Differential Equations in Hilbert Spaces
Authors: Jeong Jin-Mun , Cho Seong Ho
Published: February 2014

We construct some results on the regularity of solutions and the approximate controllability for neutral functional differential equations with unbounded principal operators in Hilbert spaces. In order to establish the controllability of the neutral equations, we first consider the existence and regularity of solutions of the neutral control system by using fractional power of operators and the local Lipschitz continuity of nonlinear term. Our purpose is to obtain the existence of solutions and the approximate controllability for neutral functional differential control systems without using many of the strong restrictions considered in the previous literature. Finally we give a simple example to which our main result can be applied.
A Hypothesis: Hydrogen Sulfide Might Be Neuroprotective against Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Induced Brain Injury
Authors: Yu Yong-Peng , Chi Xiang-Lin , Liu Li-Jun
Published: February 2014

Gases such as nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO) play important roles both in normal physiology and in disease. Recent studies have shown that hydrogen sulfide (H2S) protects neurons against oxidative stress and ischemia-reperfusion injury and attenuates lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induced neuroinflammation in microglia, exhibiting anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic activities. The gas H2S is emerging as a novel regulator of important physiologic functions such as arterial diameter, blood flow, and leukocyte adhesion. It has been known that multiple factors, including oxidative stress, free radicals, and neuronal nitric oxide synthesis as well as abnormal inflammatory responses, are involved in the mechanism underlying the brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Based on the multiple physiologic functions of H2S, we speculate that it might be a promising, effective, and specific therapy for brain injury after SAH.
Parallel Monte Carlo Simulation of Aerosol Dynamics
Authors: Zhou Kun , He Zhu , Xiao Ming , Zhang Zhiquan
Published: February 2014

A highly efficient Monte Carlo (MC) algorithm is developed for the numerical simulation of aerosol dynamics, that is, nucleation, surface growth, and coagulation. Nucleation and surface growth are handled with deterministic means, while coagulation is simulated with a stochastic method (Marcus-Lushnikov stochastic process). Operator splitting techniques are used to synthesize the deterministic and stochastic parts in the algorithm. The algorithm is parallelized using the Message Passing Interface (MPI). The parallel computing efficiency is investigated through numerical examples. Near 60% parallel efficiency is achieved for the maximum testing case with 3.7 million MC particles running on 93 parallel computing nodes. The algorithm is verified through simulating various testing cases and comparing the simulation results with available analytical and/or other numerical solutions. Generally, it is found that only small number (hundreds or thousands) of MC particles is necessary to accurately predict the aerosol particle number density, volume fraction, and so forth, that is, low order moments of the Particle Size Distribution (PSD) function. Accurately predicting the high order moments of the PSD needs to dramatically increase the number of MC particles.
Adsorption of Hexavalent Chromium from Aqueous Solution Using Chemically Activated Carbon Prepared from Locally Available Waste of Bamboo (Oxytenanthera abyssinica)
Authors: Dula Tamirat , Siraj Khalid , Kitte Shimeles Addisu
Published: February 2014

This study reports on the adsorption of Hexavalent Chromium from aqueous solutions using activated carbon prepared from bamboo (Oxytenanthera abyssinica) waste by KOH activation heating in an electrical furnace at 1073 K for 3 hrs. Batch adsorption experiments were also carried out as a function of pH, contact time, initial concentration of the adsorbate, adsorbent dosage, and temperature of the solution. Kinetic studies of the data showed that the adsorption follows the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Thermodynamic parameters showed that adsorption on the surface of BWAC was feasible, spontaneous in nature, and exothermic between temperatures of 298 and 318 K. The equilibrium data better fitted the Freundlich isotherm model for studying the adsorption behavior of Hexavalent Chromium by BWAC. IR spectrum for loaded and unloaded BWAC was obtained using FT-IR spectrophotometer. Adsorption efficiency and capacity of Hexavalent Chromium were found to be 98.28% at pH 2 and 59.23 mg/g at 300 K.
A Hybrid and Secure Priority-Guaranteed MAC Protocol for Wireless Body Area Network
Authors: Ullah Sana , Imran Muhammad , Alnuem Mohammed
Published: February 2014

This paper introduces a hybrid and secure MAC protocol (PMAC) for WBAN. The PMAC protocol uses two contention access periods (CAPs) for accommodating normal and life-critical traffic and one contention-free period (CFP) for accommodating large amount of data packets. The priority-guaranteed CSMA/CA procedure is used in the CAP period, where different priorities are assigned to WBAN nodes by adjusting the backoff window size. In addition, a set of security keys is used to prevent illegal access to the network. Analytical expressions are derived to analyze the average delay, power consumption, throughput, and packet loss probability of the PMAC protocol. Results derived from these expressions are validated by computer simulations.
Microwave Assisted Enzymatic Kinetic Resolution of (±)-1-Phenyl-2-propyn-1-ol in Nonaqueous Media
Authors: Devendran Saravanan , Yadav Ganapati D.
Published: February 2014

Kinetic resolution of 1-phenyl-2-propyn-1-ol, an important chiral synthon, was studied through trans-esterification with acyl acetate to investigate synergism between microwave irradiation and enzyme catalysis. Lipases from different microbial origins were employed for the kinetic resolution of (R/S)-1-phenyl-2-propyn-1-ol, among whichCandida antarcticalipase B, immobilized on acrylic resin (Novozym 435), was found to be the best catalyst inn-hexane as solvent. Vinyl acetate was the most effective among different acyl esters studied. The effect of various parameters was studied in a systematic manner. Definite synergism between microwave and enzyme was observed. The initial rate was improved around 1.28 times under microwave irradiation than conventional heating. Under optimum conditions, maximum conversion (48.78%) and high enantiomeric excess (93.25%) were obtained in 2 h. From modeling studies, it is concluded that the reaction follows the Ping-Pong bi-bi mechanism with dead end alcohol inhibition. Kinetic parameters were obtained by using nonlinear regression. This process is green, clean, and easily scalable as compared to the chemical process.