bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multiscale bilateral filtering for improving image quality in digital breast tomosynthesis
Authors: Lu Yao , Chan Heang‐Ping , Wei Jun , Hadjiiski Lubomir M. , Samala Ravi K.
Published: December 2014

Purpose:

Detection of subtle microcalcifications in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is a challenging task because of the large, noisy DBT volume. It is important to enhance the contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) of microcalcifications in DBT reconstruction. Most regularization methods depend on local gradient and may treat the ill‐defined margins or subtle spiculations of masses and subtle microcalcifications as noise because of their small gradient. The authors developed a new multiscale bilateral filtering (MSBF) regularization method for the simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART) to improve the CNR of microcalcifications without compromising the quality of masses.

Methods:

The MSBF exploits a multiscale structure of DBT images to suppress noise and selectively enhance high frequency structures. At the end of each SART iteration, every DBT slice is decomposed into several frequency bands via Laplacian pyramid decomposition. No regularization is applied to the low frequency bands so that subtle edges of masses and structured background are preserved. Bilateral filtering is applied to the high frequency bands to enhance microcalcifications while suppressing noise. The regularized DBT images are used for updating in the next SART iteration. The new MSBF method was compared with the nonconvex total p‐variation (TpV) method for noise regularization with SART. A GE GEN2 prototype DBT system was used for acquisition of projections at 21 angles in 3° increments over a ±30° range. The reconstruction image quality with no regularization (NR) and that with the two regularization methods were compared using the DBT scans of a heterogeneous breast phantom and several human subjects with masses and microcalcifications. The CNR and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the line profiles of microcalcifications and across the spiculations within their in‐focus DBT slices were used as image quality measures.

Results:

The MSBF method reduced contouring artifacts and enhanced the CNR of microcalcifications compared to the TpV method, thus preserving the image quality of the structured background. The MSBF method achieved the highest CNR of microcalcifications among the three methods. The FWHM of the microcalcifications and mass spiculations resulting from the MSBF method was comparable to that without regularization, and superior to that of the TpV method.

Conclusions:

The SART regularized by the multiscale bilateral filtering method enhanced the CNR of microcalcifications and preserved the sharpness of microcalcifications and spiculated masses. The MSBF method provided better image quality of the structured background and was superior to TpV and NR for enhancing microcalcifications while preserving the appearance of mass margins.
Commissioning the neutron production of a Linac: Development of a simple tool for second cancer risk estimation
Authors: Romero‐Expósito M. , Sánchez‐Nieto B. , Terrón J. A. , Lopes M. C. , Ferreira B. C. , Grishchuk D. , Sandín C. , Moral‐Sánchez S. , Melchor M. , Domingo C. , Gómez F. , Sánchez‐Doblado F.
Published: December 2014

Purpose:

Knowing the contribution of neutron to collateral effects in treatments is both a complex and a mandatory task. This work aims to present an operative procedure for neutron estimates in any facility using a neutron digital detector.

Methods:

The authors’ previous work established a linear relationship between the total second cancer risk due to neutrons (TRn) and the number of MU of the treatment. Given that the digital detector also presents linearity with MU, its response can be used to determine the TRn per unit MU, denoted as m, normally associated to a generic Linac model and radiotherapy facility. Thus, from the number of MU of each patient treatment, the associated risk can be estimated. The feasibility of the procedure was tested by applying it in eight facilities; patients were evaluated as well.

Results:

From the reading of the detector under selected irradiation conditions, m values were obtained for different machines, ranging from 0.25 × 10−4% per MU for an Elekta Axesse at 10 MV to 6.5 × 10−4% per MU for a Varian Clinac at 18 MV. Using these values, TRn of patients was estimated in each facility and compared to that from the individual evaluation. Differences were within the range of uncertainty of the authors’ methodology of equivalent dose and risk estimations.

Conclusions:

The procedure presented here allows an easy estimation of the second cancer risk due to neutrons for any patient, given the number of MU of the treatment. It will enable the consideration of this information when selecting the optimal treatment for a patient by its implementation in the treatment planning system.
Visualizing spin states using the spin coherent state representation
Authors: Lee Loh Yen , Kim Monica
Published: December 2014

Orbital angular momentum eigenfunctions are readily understood in terms of spherical harmonics. However, the quantum mechanical phenomenon of spin is often said to be mysterious and hard to visualize, with no classical analog. Many textbooks give a heuristic and somewhat unsatisfying picture of a precessing spin vector. Here, we show that the spin-coherent-state representation is a striking, elegant, and mathematically meaningful tool for visualizing spin states. We also demonstrate that cartographic projections such as the Hammer projection are useful for visualizing functions defined on spherical surfaces.
On equivalent resistance of electrical circuits
Authors: Kagan Mikhail
Published: December 2014

While the standard (introductory physics) way of computing the equivalent resistance of nontrivial electrical circuits is based on Kirchhoff's rules, there is a mathematically and conceptually simpler approach, called the method of nodal potentials, whose basic variables are the values of the electric potential at the circuit's nodes. In this paper, we review the method of nodal potentials and illustrate it using the Wheatstone bridge as an example. We then derive a closed-form expression for the equivalent resistance of a generic circuit, which we apply to a few sample circuits. The result unveils a curious interplay between electrical circuits, matrix algebra, and graph theory and its applications to computer science. The paper is written at a level accessible by undergraduate students who are familiar with matrix arithmetic. Additional proofs and technical details are provided in appendices.
Spatiotemporal Gait Patterns During Overt and Covert Evaluation in Patients With Parkinson’s Disease and Healthy Subjects: Is There a Hawthorne Effect?
Authors: Robles-García Verónica , Corral-Bergantiños Yoanna , Espinosa Nelson , Jácome María Amalia , García-Sancho Carlos , Cudeiro Javier , Arias Pablo
Published: December 2014

Parkinson’s disease (PD) and aging lead to gait impairments. Some of the disturbances of gait are focused on step length, cadence, and temporal variability of gait cycle. Under experimental conditions gait can be overtly evaluated, but patients with PD are prone to expectancy effects; thus it seems relevant to determine if such evaluation truly reflects the spontaneous gait pattern in such patients, and also in healthy subjects. Thirty subjects (15 subjects with PD and 15 healthy control subjects) were asked to walk using their natural, preferred gait pattern. In half of the trials subjects were made aware that they were being evaluated (overt evaluation), while in the rest of the trials the evaluation was performed covertly (covert evaluation). During covert evaluation the gait pattern was modified in all groups. Gait speed was significantly increased (P = .022); step cadence and average step length were also significantly modified, the average step length increased (P = .002) and the cadence was reduced (P ≤ .001). Stride cycle time variability was unchanged significantly (P = .084). These changes were not significantly different compared between elderly and young healthy controls either. Due to the small sample size, a note of caution is in order; however, the significant results suggest that covert evaluation of gait might be considered to complement experimental evaluations of gait.
Elucidating Satellite Stem Cell Biology
Authors: Smith Orla
Published: December 2014

A Wnt-TGFβ2 signaling pathway may contribute to stem cell dysfunction in muscles of dystrophic mice.
A Chemokine Receptor Drives Lymphoma
Authors: Foley John F.
Published: December 2014

Activity-enhancing mutations in the chemokine receptor CCR4 may drive some cases of adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma.
In Vitro
Activities of Combinations of Rifampin with Other Antimicrobials against Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii
Authors: Bai Yan , Liu Bin , Wang Tianlin , Cai Yun , Liang Beibei , Wang Rui , Liu Youning , Wang Jin
Published: December 2014

The antimicrobial treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR)
Acinetobacter baumannii
infections has become a great challenge for medical staff all over the world. Increasing numbers of MDR
A. baumannii
infections have been identified and reported, but effective clinical treatments for them are decreasing. The objective of this study was to investigate the
in vitro
activities of combinations of rifampin (an established antimicrobial) and other antimicrobials, including biapenem, colistin, and tigecycline, against 73 clinical isolates of MDR
A. baumannii
. In total, 73 clinical isolates of MDR
A. baumannii
were collected from two A-level general hospitals in Beijing, and the MICs of rifampin, biapenem, colistin, and tigecycline were determined. The checkerboard method was used to determine the fractional inhibitory concentration indices (FICIs), that is, whether the combinations acted synergistically against these isolates. The MIC
50
, MIC
90
, and MIC
range
of rifampin combined with biapenem, colistin, and tigecycline against the isolates were clearly lower than those for four antimicrobials (rifampin, biapenem, colistin, and tigecycline) that were used alone. Combinations of rifampin with biapenem, colistin, and tigecycline individually demonstrated the following interactions: synergistic interactions (FICI ≤ 0.5) for 31.51%, 34.25%, and 31.51% of the isolates, partially synergistic interactions (0.5 < FICI < 1) for 49.31%, 43.83%, and 47.94% of the isolates, and additive interactions (FICI = 1) for 19.18%, 21.92%, and 20.55% of the isolates, respectively. There were no indifferent (1 < FICI < 4) or antagonistic (FICI ≥ 4) interactions. Therefore, combinations of rifampin with biapenem, colistin, or tigecycline may be future therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of MDR
A. baumannii
infections.
The Efflux Pump Inhibitor Timcodar Improves the Potency of Antimycobacterial Agents
Authors: Grossman Trudy H. , Shoen Carolyn M. , Jones Steven M. , Jones Peter L. , Cynamon Michael H. , Locher Christopher P.
Published: December 2014

Previous studies indicated that inhibition of efflux pumps augments tuberculosis therapy. In this study, we used timcodar (formerly VX-853) to determine if this efflux pump inhibitor could increase the potency of antituberculosis (anti-TB) drugs against
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
in
in vitro
and
in vivo
combination studies. When used alone, timcodar weakly inhibited
M. tuberculosis
growth in broth culture (MIC, 19 μg/ml); however, it demonstrated synergism in drug combination studies with rifampin, bedaquiline, and clofazimine but not with other anti-TB agents. When
M. tuberculosis
was cultured in host macrophage cells, timcodar had about a 10-fold increase (50% inhibitory concentration, 1.9 μg/ml) in the growth inhibition of
M. tuberculosis
and demonstrated synergy with rifampin, moxifloxacin, and bedaquiline. In a mouse model of tuberculosis lung infection, timcodar potentiated the efficacies of rifampin and isoniazid, conferring 1.0 and 0.4 log
10
reductions in bacterial burden in lung, respectively, compared to the efficacy of each drug alone. Furthermore, timcodar reduced the likelihood of a relapse infection when evaluated in a mouse model of long-term, chronic infection with treatment with a combination of rifampin, isoniazid, and timcodar. Although timcodar had no effect on the pharmacokinetics of rifampin in plasma and lung, it did increase the plasma exposure of bedaquiline. These data suggest that the antimycobacterial drug-potentiating activity of timcodar is complex and drug dependent and involves both bacterial and host-targeted mechanisms. Further study of the improvement of the potency of antimycobacterial drugs and drug candidates when used in combination with timcodar is warranted.
Novel Quorum-Quenching Agents Promote Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Wound Healing and Sensitize MRSA to β-Lactam Antibiotics
Authors: Kuo David , Yu Guanping , Hoch Wyatt , Gabay Dean , Long Lisa , Ghannoum Mahmoud , Nagy Nancy , Harding Clifford V. , Viswanathan Rajesh , Shoham Menachem
Published: December 2014

The dwindling repertoire of antibiotics to treat methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) calls for novel treatment options. Quorum-quenching agents offer an alternative or an adjuvant to antibiotic therapy. Three biaryl hydroxyketone compounds discovered previously (F1, F12, and F19; G. Yu, D. Kuo, M. Shoham, and R. Viswanathan, ACS Comb Sci 16:85–91, 2014) were tested for efficacy in MRSA-infected animal models. Topical therapy of compounds F1 and F12 in a MRSA murine wound infection model promotes wound healing compared to the untreated control. Compounds F1, F12, and F19 afford significant survival benefits in a MRSA insect larva model. Combination therapy of these quorum-quenching agents with cephalothin or nafcillin, antibiotics to which MRSA is resistant in monotherapy, revealed additional survival benefits. The quorum-quenching agents sensitize MRSA to the antibiotic by a synergistic mode of action that also is observed
in vitro
. An adjuvant of 1 μg/ml F1, F12, or F19 reduces the MIC of nafcillin and cephalothin about 50-fold to values comparable to those for vancomycin, the antibiotic often prescribed for MRSA infections. These findings suggest that it is possible to resurrect obsolete antibiotic therapies in combination with these novel quorum-quenching agents.
Monitoring digestibility of forages for herbivores: a new application for an old approach
Authors: VanSomeren L.L. , Barboza P.S. , Thompson D.P. , Gustine D.D.
Published: December 2014

Ruminant populations are often limited by how well individuals are able to acquire nutrients for growth, maintenance, and reproduction. Nutrient supply to the animal is dictated by the concentration of nutrients in feeds and the efficiency of digesting those nutrients (i.e., digestibility). Many different methods have been used to measure digestibility of forages for wild herbivores, all of which rely on collecting rumen fluid from animals or incubation within animals. Animal-based methods can provide useful estimates, but the approach is limited by the expense of fistulated animals, wide variation in digestibility among animals, and contamination from endogenous and microbial sources that impairs the estimation of nutrient digestibility. We tested an in vitro method using a two-stage procedure using purified enzymes. The first stage, a 6 h acid–pepsin treatment, was followed by a combined 72 h amylase–cellulase or amylase–Viscozyme treatment. We then validated our estimates using in sacco and in vivo methods to digest samples of the same forages. In vitro estimates of dry matter (DM) digestibility were correlated with estimates of in sacco and in vivo DM digestibility (both P < 0.01). The in vitro procedure using Viscozyme (r2 = 0.77) was more precise than the in vitro procedure using cellulase (r2 = 0.59). Both procedures can be used to predict in sacco digestibility after correcting for the biases of each method. We used the in vitro method to measure digestibility of nitrogen (N; 0.07–0.95 g/g), which declined to zero as total N content declined below 0.03–0.06 g/g of DM. The in vitro method is well suited to monitoring forage quality over multiple years because it is reproducible, can be used with minimal investment by other laboratories without animal facilities, and can measure digestibility of individual nutrients such as N.
Conductivity anisotropy inY1-yPryBa2Cu3O7-δsingle crystals in a wide range of praseodymium concentrations
Authors: Vovk Ruslan V. , Khadzhai Georgij Ya. , Dobrovolskiy Oleksandr V.
Published: December 2014

Anisotropies of different conductivity mechanisms in Y1-yPryBa2Cu3O7-δsingle crystals in a wide range of praseodymium concentrations are reported, assuming a transition from the metallic conductivity to the semiconductor-like regime, in conjunction with the fluctuation conductivity within the 3D Aslamazov–Larkin model. The Tcanisotropy grows with increasing y, with a most drastic rise when approaching the non-superconducting composition. As the praseodymium concentration increases, the ideal resistance anisotropy passes through a maximum at y ≈ 0.19. The temperature dependence of the semiconductor-like resistance anisotropy exhibits a maximum associated with variable-range jumps along the c-axis. The temperature dependence of the fluctuation conductivity anisotropy passes through a maximum due to a significant anisotropy of the coherence length.
A NOVEL APPROACH FOR SOLVING THE DYNAMIC VEHICLE ROUTING PROBLEM BASED ON HIERARCHICAL SELF-ORGANIZING MAPS
Authors: JEMAI JABER
Published: December 2014

Dynamic routing problems ask for policies and algorithms to build reactive plans able to integrate dynamically generated requests in currently running plans. The main desired quality of such approaches is to overcome the lack of information availability in the beginning of the solving process. That is by proposing flexible partial solutions anticipating future requests. In this paper, we propose a neural model based on Hierarchical self-organizing maps (HSOM) for solving the dynamic vehicle routing problem (DVRP). The DVRP consists of finding routes for a set of vehicles to serve customer's dynamically issued requests while minimizing routing costs and satisfying some constraints. We present the concept of problem control bloc (PCB) to represent the problem to solve by the HSOM algorithm when triggered by a new event. The overall solving approach is integrated within a discrete event manager that will wait for any new event to build the PCB, call the HSOM solver, get the proposed solution and update the running plan accordingly. The proposed approach was applied to solve the DVRP problems adapted from VRP benchmarks. The obtained results are compared to the best known solutions.
How Do Campaigns Matter?
Authors: Jacobson Gary C.
Published: December 2014

A review of the evidence leaves no doubt election campaigns do matter in a variety of important ways. The serious questions concern when, where, why, how, for what, and for whom they matter. This essay reviews a selection of high-quality studies that address these questions, focusing on several distinct lines of research that have been particularly productive in recent years: on the effects of events and advertising in presidential elections; on the effects of campaign spending in elections for down-ballot offices; on the effects of mobilization campaigns on voting turnout; on campaign influences on the vote choice (with special attention to the effects of negative campaigns); and on the nature of persuadable voters. It also offers some suggestions of areas where additional research should be productive.
Evidence of Insulin Resistance in Adult Uncomplicated Malaria: Result of a Two-Year Prospective Study
Authors: Acquah Samuel , Boampong Johnson Nyarko , Eghan Jnr Benjamin Ackon , Eriksson Magdalena
Published: December 2014

The study aimed at investigating the effects of adult uncomplicated malaria on insulin resistance. Fasting levels of blood glucose (FBG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and serum insulin were measured in 100 diabetics and 100 age-matched controls before and during Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Insulin resistance and beta cell function were computed by homeostatic models assessment of insulin resistance (HOMAIR) and beta cell function (HOMAB) formulae, respectively. Body mass index (BMI) was computed. At baseline, diabetics had significantly (P<0.05) higher levels of BMI, FBG, HbA1c, and HOMAIR but lower level of HOMAB than controls. Baseline insulin levels were comparable (P>0.05) between the two study groups. During malaria, diabetics maintained significantly (P<0.05) higher levels of BMI, FBG, and HbA1c but lower levels of insulin and HOMAB than controls. Malaria-induced HOMAIR levels were comparable (P>0.05) between the two study groups but higher than baseline levels. Apart from BMI and HOMAB, mean levels of all the remaining parameters increased in malaria-infected controls. In malaria-infected diabetics, significant (P<0.05) increase was only observed for insulin and HOMAIR but not the other measured parameters. Uncomplicated malaria increased insulin resistance in diabetics and controls independent of BMI. This finding may have implications for the evolution of T2DM in malaria-endemic regions.
Passivity-Sliding Mode Control of Uncertain Chaotic Systems with Stochastic Disturbances
Authors: Fu Zhumu , Liu Leipo , Wang Xiaohong
Published: December 2014

This paper is concerned with the stabilization problem of uncertain chaotic systems with stochastic disturbances. A novel sliding function is designed, and then a sliding mode controller is established such that the trajectory of the system converges to the sliding surface in a finite time. Using a virtual state feedback control technique, sufficient condition for the mean square asymptotic stability and passivity of sliding mode dynamics is derived via linear matrix inequality (LMI). Finally, a simulation example is presented to show the validity and advantage of the proposed method.
A Vertebral Artery Dissection with Basilar Artery Occlusion in a Child
Authors: Devue Katleen , Van Ingelgem Annemie , De Keukeleire Katrien , De Leeuw Marc
Published: December 2014

This paper presents the case report of an 11-year-old boy with an acute dissection with thrombosis of the left vertebral artery and thrombosis of the basilar artery. The patient was treated with acute systemic thrombolysis, followed by intra-arterial thrombolysis, without any clinical improvement, showing left hemiplegia, bilateral clonus, hyperreflexia, and impaired consciousness. MRI indicated persistent thrombosis of the arteria basilaris with edema and ischemia of the right brainstem. Heparinization for 72 hours, followed by a two-week LMWH treatment and subsequent oral warfarin therapy, resulted in a lasting improvement of the symptoms. Vertebral artery dissection after minor trauma is rare in children. While acute basilar artery occlusion as a complication is even more infrequent, it is potentially fatal, which means that prompt diagnosis and treatment are imperative. The lack of class I recommendation guidelines for children regarding treatment of vertebral artery dissection and basilar artery occlusion means that initial and follow-up management both require a multidisciplinary approach to coordinate emergency, critical care, interventional radiology, and child neurology services.
The Moss Flora of Akdağ Mountain (Amasya, Turkey)
Authors: Canli Kerem , Çetin Barbaros
Published: December 2014

The moss flora of Akdağ Mountain (Amasya, Turkey) was investigated. At the result of identifications of 1500 moss specimens, collected from the research area, 178 taxa belonging to 69 genera and 26 families were determined. Among them, 94 taxa are new for A3 grid square according to the Turkey grid system which was adopted by Henderson. The location data ofGrimmia crinitoleucophaeaCardot andBarbula enderesiiGarov. are the first records for Turkey, andEncalypta spathulataMüll. Hal.,Schistidium dupretii(Thér.) W. A. Weber,Weissia condensavar.armata(Thér. & Trab.) M. J. Cano, Ros & J. Guerra,Tortella bambergeri(Schimp.),Barbula enderesiiGarov.,Hedwigia ciliatavar.leucophaeaBruch & Schimp., andCampyliadelphus elodes(Lindb.) Kanda are recorded for the second time to the byroflora of Turkey.
Emerging Nonvolatile Memories to Go Beyond Scaling Limits of Conventional CMOS Nanodevices
Authors: Wang Lei , Yang CiHui , Wen Jing , Gai Shan
Published: December 2014

Continuous dimensional scaling of the CMOS technology, along with its cost reduction, has rendered Flash memory as one of the most promising nonvolatile memory candidates during the last decade. With the Flash memory technology inevitably approaching its fundamental limits, more advanced storage nanodevices, which can probably overcome the scaling limits of Flash memory, are being explored, bringing about a series of new paradigms such as FeRAM, MRAM, PCRAM, and ReRAM. These devices have indeed exhibited better scaling capability than Flash memory while also facing their respective physical drawbacks. The consequent tradeoffs therefore drive the information storage device technology towards further advancement; as a result, new types of nonvolatile memories, including carbon memory, Mott memory, macromolecular memory, and molecular memory have been proposed. In this paper, the nanomaterials used for these four emerging types of memories and the physical principles behind the writing and reading methods in each case are discussed, along with their respective merits and drawbacks when compared with conventional nonvolatile memories. The potential applications of each technology are also briefly assessed.
Novel Glycosylated VEGF Decoy Receptor Fusion Protein, VEGF-Grab, Efficiently Suppresses Tumor Angiogenesis and Progression
Authors: Lee Jung-Eun , Kim Chan , Yang Hannah , Park Intae , Oh Nuri , Hua Serenus , Jeong Haneul , An Hyun Joo , Kim Sun Chang , Lee Gyun Min , Koh Gou Young , Kim Ho Min
Published: December 2014

Antiangiogenic therapies targeting VEGFA have been commonly used in clinics to treat cancers over the past decade. However, their clinical efficacy has been limited, with drawbacks including acquisition of resistance and activation of compensatory pathways resulting from elevated circulating VEGFB and placental growth factor (PlGF). To bypass these disadvantages, we developed a novel glycosylated soluble decoy receptor fusion protein, VEGF-Grab, that can neutralize VEGFA, VEGFB, and PlGF. VEGF-Grab has the second and third immunoglobulin (Ig)-like domains of VEGF receptor 1 (VEGFR1) fused to IgG1 Fc, with three potential glycosylation sites introduced into the third Ig-like domain of VEGF-Grab by mutagenesis. Compared with VEGF-Trap, VEGF-Grab showed more potent decoy activity against VEGF and PlGF, mainly attributed to the VEGFR1 backbone. Most importantly, the negatively charged O-glycans attached to the third Ig-like domain of VEGFR1 counterbalanced the originally positively charged VEGFR1 backbone, minimizing nonspecific binding of VEGF-Grab to the extracellular matrix, and resulting in greatly improved pharmacokinetic profile. These advancements led to stronger and more durable antiangiogenic, antitumor, and antimetastatic efficacy in both implanted and spontaneous tumor models as compared with VEGF-Trap, while toxicity profiles were comparable with VEGF-Trap. Collectively, our results highlight VEGF-Grab as a promising therapeutic candidate for further clinical drug development. Mol Cancer Ther; 14(2); 470–9. ©2014 AACR.
Evaluating Gesture-Augmented Keyboard Performance
Authors: Yang Qi , Essl Georg
Published: December 2014

The technology of depth cameras has made designing gesture-based augmentation for existing instruments inexpensive. We explored the use of this technology to augment keyboard performance with 3-D continuous gesture controls. In a user study, we compared the control of one or two continuous parameters using gestures versus the traditional control using pitch and modulation wheels. We found that the choice of mapping depends on the choice of synthesis parameter in use, and that the gesture control under suitable mappings can outperform pitch-wheel performance when two parameters are controlled simultaneously.
Two new species and a new record of Comesomatidae (Nematoda, Araeolaimida) from Southern Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand
Authors: Rosli Norliana , Leduc DANIEL , Probert P. Keith
Published: December 2014

We describe two new species and provide one new species record of the family Comesomatidae from a submarine canyon habitat on the Southern Hikurangi margin, New Zealand. Vasostoma hexodontium n. sp. is characterized by having an amphideal fovea with three turns, buccal cavity with six teeth and gubernaculum with long and straight caudal apophyses. Sabatieria dispunctata n. sp. is characterized by the absence of cuticle punctations, large amphideal fovea with 4.5 turns, pharynx with posterior bulb, absence of pre-cloacal supplements, strongly arcuate and cuticularized spicules, simple gubernaculum with short caudal apophyses, and vulva opening directed posteriorly. Laimella subterminata Chen & Vincx, 2000, which was originally described from the Beagle Channel and the Magellan Strait (Chile), is recorded from the Southwest Pacific for the first time.
Leptohelia flexibilis gen. nov. et sp. nov., a remarkable deep-sea stylasterid (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Stylasteridae) from the southwest Pacific
Authors: LINDNER ALBERTO , CAIRNS STEPHEN D. , ZIBROWIUS HELMUT
Published: December 2014

Leptohelia flexibilis gen. nov. et sp. nov., the first stylasterid with a combined calcified and non-calcified skeleton, is described from seamounts and the slope off the islands of New Caledonia, in the southwestern Pacific. The new species is distinguished from all other species of the family Stylasteridae by having a non-calcified organic axis, internal to the basal portion of the calcified corallum. The internal axis is flexible and enclosed by a series of up to 10 calcified annuli, allowing passive lateral bending of the colony. Molecular phylogenetic analyses confirm that Leptohelia flexibilis is a stylasterid coral and reveal that the species is closely related to Leptohelia microstylus comb. nov., a southwestern Pacific stylasterid that lacks an internal axis.
Mevalonates Restore Zoledronic Acid–induced Osteoclastogenesis Inhibition
Authors: Nagaoka Y. , Kajiya H. , Ozeki S. , Ikebe T. , Okabe K.
Published: December 2014

Bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) is likely to be caused by continuous imperfection of bone healing after surgical treatments in patients with long-term administration of nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates (NBPs). NBPs inhibit osteoclastic bone resorption by impairing the mevalonic acid sterol pathway in osteoclasts. Thus, we hypothesized that exogenous mevalonic acid metabolites restore the inhibitory effects of NBPs on osteoclastogenesis and bone remodeling. To clarify the effects of mevalonic acid metabolites, especially geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP) and geranylgeranyl transferase substrate geranylgeranyl acid (GGOH), we examined the effects of zoledronic acid with or without GGOH or GGPP on osteoclast differentiation, multinucleation, and bone mineral deposition in tooth-extracted sockets. Zoledronic acid decreased the number of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)–positive multinuclear cells derived from mouse osteoclast precursors treated with receptor activator of nuclear factor–κB ligand and macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Zoledronic acid simultaneously suppressed not only the expressions of osteoclastic differentiation-related molecules such as TRAP, cathepsin K, calcitonin receptor, and vacuolar H-ATPase but also those of multinucleation-related molecules such as dendrocyte-expressed 7 transmembrane proteins and osteoclast stimulatory transmembrane protein. Treatment with GGOH or GGPP, but not farnesyl acid, restored the zoledronic acid–inhibited number of TRAP-positive multinuclear cells together with the expressions of these molecules. Although intraperitoneal administration of zoledronic acid and lipopolysaccharide into mice appeared to induce BRONJ-like lesions with empty bone lacunae and decreased mineral deposition in tooth-extracted socket, both GGOH and GGPP partially restored the inhibitory effects on zoledronic acid–related mineral deposition. These results suggest the potential of mevalonic acid metabolites as therapeutic agents for BRONJ.
An Exploration of Spirituality and the Traumatizing Experiences of Combat
Authors: Gubkin Rut
Published: December 2014

The complex experiences of combat demand significant levels of adaptation and resilience. An individual’s spirituality may be challenged by these experiences, and as a result, he or she may be left both psychologically and spiritually wounded. Incorporating spirituality into the healing process may help mend the wounds of combat soldiers, especially within an integrative treatment framework. In this article, spirituality and the impact of traumatizing combat experiences are discussed from a cultural perspective, using the experiences of an Israeli soldier as an example.
Dispositional Envy Revisited
Authors: Lange Jens , Crusius Jan
Published: December 2014

Previous research has conceptualized dispositional envy as a unitary construct. Recently however, episodic envy has been shown to emerge in two qualitatively different forms. Benign envy is related to the motivation to move upward, whereas malicious envy is related to pulling superior others down. In four studies ( N = 1,094)—using the newly developed Benign and Malicious Envy Scale (BeMaS)—we show that dispositional envy is also characterized by two independent dimensions related to distinct motivational dynamics and behavioral consequences. Dispositional benign and malicious envy uniquely predict envious responding following upward social comparisons. Furthermore, they are differentially connected to hope for success and fear of failure. Corresponding to these links, dispositional benign envy predicted faster race performance of marathon runners mediated via higher goal setting. In contrast, dispositional malicious envy predicted race goal disengagement. The findings highlight that disentangling the two sides of envy opens up numerous research avenues.
Dealing with market failure: A new dilemma in UK health and social care policy?
Authors: Hudson Bob
Published: December 2014

Public services are being increasingly outsourced across Europe, and especially in England. This trend raises the question of how to deal with ‘market failure’ where outsourced providers are no longer able or willing to continue with provision. The case of social care and health care in England is a critical policy arena. Following the collapse of Southern Cross – a major care provider – in 2011, policies on stronger provider regulation have been put in train in an attempt to forestall potential service failure. This commentary examines these proposals, concludes that they are insufficiently robust and suggests some alternative measures.
Some children with multiple disabilities and cerebral visual impairment can engage when enclosed by a ‘tent’: Is this due to Balint syndrome?
Authors: Little Suzanne , Dutton Gordon N
Published: December 2014

This article describes and reflects upon the use of diffusely coloured tents to enclose both child and therapist which, in our service, has brought about remarkable transformations in attention, engagement, and understanding for severely impaired children with multiple disabilities and cerebral visual impairment (MDVI). A brief overview of how to construct this simple tent is presented, and the ways in which these tents have proved effective are described by means of two case studies of students with complex needs. The positive impact over a 2-year period was considerable. The changes brought about persisted into typical environments, and parents and carers expressed surprise and delight at the outcome. The proposed explanation is that the children who benefitted had profound impairment in seeing more than one or two items at once (simultanagnosia) due to presumed damage in the posterior parietal lobes of the brain, related to their cerebral palsy, and that elimination of distraction allowed this limited visual function to be recruited, to afford meaningful experience and enhance learning.
Mobility of a guide dog team in Singapore: A case study
Authors: Bohan Danial Bin , Tuck Wah James Chan
Published: December 2014

The use of guide dogs by people with visual impairment is relatively new in many Asian societies. The case study research explores the mobility experience of a guide dog team (a person with visual impairment and a guide dog) in Singapore. Emergent themes of adaptation, knowledge, symbiosis, advocacy, and agency, with overarching themes of functional-instrumental and symbolic-expressive were identified. The study identified themes and issues surrounding the use of guide dogs in the Singapore context.
An evidence-based review of oral magnesium supplementation in the preventive treatment of migraine
Authors: Teigen Levi , Boes Christopher J
Published: December 2014

Background

Migraine is an incompletely understood, debilitating disorder that lacks a universally effective treatment. Magnesium participates in a variety of biochemical processes related to migraine pathophysiology, and a deficiency could contribute to migraine development.

Methods

A review of the literature from 1990 to the present on magnesium and migraine was conducted.

Review

The authors identified 16 studies aimed at magnesium status assessment in migraine, and four intervention trials assessing the efficacy of oral magnesium supplementation, independent of other therapies, in the prevention of migraine.

Conclusion

The strength of evidence supporting oral magnesium supplementation is limited at this time. With such limited evidence, a more advantageous alternative to magnesium supplementation, in patients willing to make lifestyle changes, may be to focus on increasing dietary magnesium intake.
Does violence pay? The effect of ethnic rebellion on overcoming political deprivation
Authors: Koos Carlo
Published: December 2014

Studies have found that politically deprived groups are more likely to rebel. However, does rebellion increase the likelihood of achieving political rights? This article proposes that rebellion helps ethnic groups to overcome deprivation. I illustrate this by using a “typical” case (the Ijaw’s struggle against the Nigerian government) to demonstrate how ethnic rebellion increases the costs for the government to a point where granting political rights becomes preferable to war. Further, I exploit time-series-cross-sectional data on deprived ethnic groups to show that rebellion is significantly associated with overcoming deprivation. The statistical analysis shows that democratic change is an alternative mechanism.
Autonomy, Race, and State Reproduction of Status: Durkheim and Weber on Education and Immigration
Authors: Mannion Elgin
Published: December 2014

Durkheim and Weber contributed a neglected, but substantial and controversial body of literature to the topics of education and immigration. A sanitized version of Durkheim and Weber exists in the literature that should be critically revisited. Durkheim’s work fails to engage the implementation of one of the most selective school systems, Weber’s work contains Darwinian, racial overtones in response to Polish migration. Durkheim and Weber’s articulation of autonomy vis-a-vis their subjects of inquiry is examined. The article argues that a limited and restricted version of autonomy out of necessity impaired the progressive potential of the policy reforms that Durkheim and Weber pursued. It draws on McNally’s concept of a ‘feudalized’ bourgeois elite aligned with nationalist interests in order to explain Durkheim and Weber’s conservative, statist solutions for education and immigration, and the administrative, political reproduction of class distinctions that were to follow in France and Germany.
Bibliometric Methods in Management and Organization
Authors: Zupic Ivan , Čater Tomaž
Published: December 2014

We aim to develop a meaningful single-source reference for management and organization scholars interested in using bibliometric methods for mapping research specialties. Such methods introduce a measure of objectivity into the evaluation of scientific literature and hold the potential to increase rigor and mitigate researcher bias in reviews of scientific literature by aggregating the opinions of multiple scholars working in the field. We introduce the bibliometric methods of citation analysis, co-citation analysis, bibliographical coupling, co-author analysis, and co-word analysis and present a workflow for conducting bibliometric studies with guidelines for researchers. We envision that bibliometric methods will complement meta-analysis and qualitative structured literature reviews as a method for reviewing and evaluating scientific literature. To demonstrate bibliometric methods, we performed a citation and co-citation analysis to map the intellectual structure of the Organizational Research Methods journal.
A systematic review of the incidence and prevalence of cancer in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Marrie Ruth Ann , Reider Nadia , Cohen Jeffrey , Stuve Olaf , Trojano Maria , Sorensen Per Soelberg , Reingold Stephen C , Cutter Gary
Published: December 2014

Background:

Studies of cancer incidence and prevalence in multiple sclerosis (MS) have produced conflicting results.

Objective:

To estimate the incidence and prevalence of cancer in persons with MS and review the quality of included studies.

Methods:

We searched the PUBMED, SCOPUS, Web of Knowledge, and EMBASE databases, conference proceedings, and reference lists of all articles retrieved. Abstracts were screened for relevance by two reviewers. Data from included articles were captured using a standardized form, and the abstraction was verified by a second reviewer. We assessed quality of the included studies. We quantitatively assessed studies using the I2 statistic, and conducted meta-analyses for population-based studies.

Results:

We identified 38 studies. Estimates for incidence and prevalence varied substantially for most cancers. In population-based studies, cervical, breast, and digestive cancers had the highest incidence. The risk of meningiomas and urinary system cancers appeared higher than expected, while the risks of pancreatic, ovarian, prostate and testicular cancer were lower than expected.Conclusion: The complexity of understanding cancer risk in MS is augmented by inconsistencies in study design, and the relative paucity of age, sex and ethnicity-specific risk estimates from which the strong impact of age on the incidence of cancers can be assessed.
Gravity shift: What pharma MNCs can learn from generic companies
Authors: Rehmat Nadeem
Published: December 2014

The pharmaceutical industry in Asia is gearing up to be at the center of global market, and most expect that the shift has already started. Asia has its own set of challenges and risks and demands a “whole New Strategy Approach” for all emerging markets to compensate internal factors of MNCs limiting the success in the Asian markets. Some key challenges are: IPRs, corruption, regulated pricing pressures, affordability, and lack of knowledge of local business environment and culture.Generic/domestic companies have been performing so well in the same environment.
Staged memories: Conflicts and tensions in Argentine public memory sites
Authors: da Silva Catela Ludmila
Published: December 2014

The creation of museums, archives and other memorial sites since the start of the millennium has generated debates in Argentina over how and on whose behalf these spaces should be ‘recovered’, what their narratives should account for and who should be in charge of them. Less critical effort has been devoted to what comes next, namely, what happens once memories, in having been turned over to the public space, have become available ‘for everyone’. What conflicts are being unleashed by memory’s inscription in the public realm? This article analyses some of these in relation to the display of images of the disappeared, to exhibitions incorporating sensitive material and to the incorporation within archives and museums of minoritarian memories.
Against depolitization: Prison-museums, escape memories, and the place of rights
Authors: Draper Susana
Published: December 2014

This essay compares postdictatorial transformations of former spaces of confinement for political prisoners into shopping malls, such as the Buen Pastor prison in Córdoba (Argentina) and the Punta Carretas prison in Montevideo (Uruguay). It places these within the context of past and current debates on the human rights of “common prisoners,” as distinct from those of “political ones.” Yet precisely the omission of the political is mirrored at the prison-malls in the architectural erasure of territorial marks of repression (the cells) but also of all material traces of a poetics of freedom within the site, such as a window through which political prisoners had once successfully plotted a mass escape. These erasures can be read, I suggest, within a program of invisibilization of acts of freedom in the reconfiguration of memorial practices and places. Here, I want to ask, How are escapes being remembered/forgotten in current sites of memory, where the dominant imaginary neutralizes political content? Can we conceive of an “architecture of affect” that would relate to memories of escape?
A Descriptive Survey of the Character of English Lexis in Sermons
Authors: Esimaje Alexandra Uzoaku
Published: December 2014

This study investigated language use in the context of Christian sermons using the sermons of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome as a case study. The aim was to examine the lexical characteristics of language in context to establish whether or not the character of English lexis is determined by linguistic context or co-text. It therefore sought to discover whether there is a network of lexis peculiar to sermons: definite words associated with them, specific patterns of association or collocation, and peculiar meaning relations. In doing this, a corpus-computational technique was adopted in which 200 actual sermons of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome were selected, built into a corpus, then computer processed and compared with a reference corpus of contemporary English, which was chosen as a measure of normality. The results show major differences: Those words that were unusually frequent, and therefore the most significant in the sermons, were found to be unusually infrequent and therefore insignificant in general English, showing that the key lexis of the sermons is different from the key lexis of general English. This finding was strengthened by the differences recorded in the collocation patterns of the words selected for detailed examination in both contexts, and by the variations in their semantic relations.