bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identifiability and Identification of Trace Continuous Pollutant Source
Authors: Qu Hongquan , Liu Shouwen , Pang Liping , Hu Tao
Published: April 2014

Accidental pollution events often threaten people’s health and lives, and a pollutant source is very necessary so that prompt remedial actions can be taken. In this paper, a trace continuous pollutant source identification method is developed to identify a sudden continuous emission pollutant source in an enclosed space. The location probability model is set up firstly, and then the identification method is realized by searching a global optimal objective value of the location probability. In order to discuss the identifiability performance of the presented method, a conception of a synergy degree of velocity fields is presented in order to quantitatively analyze the impact of velocity field on the identification performance. Based on this conception, some simulation cases were conducted. The application conditions of this method are obtained according to the simulation studies. In order to verify the presented method, we designed an experiment and identified an unknown source appearing in the experimental space. The result showed that the method can identify a sudden trace continuous source when the studied situation satisfies the application conditions.
Unified Finite Horizon H∞ Fusion Filtering for Networked Dynamical System
Authors: Wen Chenglin , Feng Xiaoliang , Yan Jingjing
Published: April 2014

This paper addresses the H∞ fusion filtering problem for networked dynamical systems, where measurements may arrive at fusion center in four different scenes and the fusion center could receive none, one, or multiple measurements in a fusion period. A unified H∞ performance criterion function, which is suitable for different measurement arrival scenes, is designed for the filtering process of networked dynamical systems. Then, the H∞ performance criterion function is described as an indefinite quadratic inequality and solved by a novel noise projection method in Krein space. On this basis, a unified finite horizon H∞ filtering method is proposed for networked dynamical systems. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the correctness and the effectiveness of the theoretical analysis.
Review of Cyber-Physical System in Healthcare
Authors: Haque Shah Ahsanul , Aziz Syed Mahfuzul , Rahman Mustafizur
Published: April 2014

Cyber-physical system (CPS) is an integration of physical processes with computation and communication. It has the ability to add more intelligence to social life. Wireless sensor networks (WSN) can be a vital part of CPS as strong sensing capability is one of the major driving factors for CPS applications. CPS is still considered to be a nascent technology, and there are many challenges yet to be addressed. A few CPS applications in healthcare have been proposed to date, and they lack the flexibility of technology integration, such as integration of computing resources with sensor networks. This paper presents a survey of CPS in healthcare applications that have been proposed to date by academia as well as industry. A comprehensive taxonomy is also provided that characterizes and classifies different components and methods that are required for the application of CPS in healthcare. The taxonomy not only highlights the similarities and differences of the state-of-the-art technologies utilized in CPS for healthcare from the perspective of WSN and Cloud Computing but also identifies the areas that require further research. It is expected that this taxonomy and its mapping to relevant systems will be highly useful for further development of CPS for healthcare.
Distributed SLAM Using Improved Particle Filter for Mobile Robot Localization
Authors: Pei Fujun , Wu Mei , Zhang Simin
Published: April 2014

The distributed SLAM system has a similar estimation performance and requires only one-fifth of the computation time compared with centralized particle filter. However, particle impoverishment is inevitably because of the random particles prediction and resampling applied in generic particle filter, especially in SLAM problem that involves a large number of dimensions. In this paper, particle filter use in distributed SLAM was improved in two aspects. First, we improved the important function of the local filters in particle filter. The adaptive values were used to replace a set of constants in the computational process of importance function, which improved the robustness of the particle filter. Second, an information fusion method was proposed by mixing the innovation method and the number of effective particles method, which combined the advantages of these two methods. And this paper extends the previously known convergence results for particle filter to prove that improved particle filter converges to the optimal filter in mean square as the number of particles goes to infinity. The experiment results show that the proposed algorithm improved the virtue of the DPF-SLAM system in isolate faults and enabled the system to have a better tolerance and robustness.
The Effects of Wenxin Keli on Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction and Brain Natriuretic Peptide in Patients with Heart Failure: A Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Chen Yu , Xiong Xingjiang , Wang Chunmei , Wang Chenggang , Zhang Ying , Zhang Xingyong , Gao Yonghong , Xing Yanhui , Li Jun , Wang Jie , Liu Xiaoqiu , Xing Yanwei
Published: April 2014

Objective. To evaluate the beneficial and adverse effects of Wenxin Keli (WXKL), either alone or in combination with Western medicine, on the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in the treatment of heart failure (HF). Methods. Seven major electronic databases were searched to retrieve potential randomized controlled trials (RCTs) designed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of WXKL, either alone or in combination with Western medicine, for HF, with the LVEF or BNP after eight weeks of treatment as main outcome measures. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using criteria from the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Review of Interventions, Version 5.1.0, and analyzed using RevMan 5.1.0 software. Results. Eleven RCTs of WXKL were included. The methodological quality of the trials was generally evaluated as low. The risk of bias was high. The results of the meta‐analysis showed that WXKL, either alone or in combination with Western medicine, was more effective in LVEF and BNP, compared with no medicine or Western medicine alone, in patients with HF or HF complicated by other diseases. Five of the trials reported adverse events, while the others did not mention them, indicating that the safety of WXKL remains uncertain. Conclusions. WXKL, either alone or in combination with Western medicine, appears to be more effective in improving the LVEF and BNP in patients with HF and HF complications.
Developing an Estimate of Supported Housing Needs for Persons with Serious Mental Illnesses
Authors: Waegemakers Schiff Jeannette , Schiff Rebecca , Schneider Barbara
Published: April 2014

A rich body of literature attests to the importance of affordable accommodation and support services necessary, appropriate, and acceptable to persons disabled by a mental illness. However, there is a little which provides a means for housing and service planners to determine the gap between available supportive housing and need. Such understandings are needed to prepare strategies and develop the resources needed to accommodate persons with a disabling mental illness in the community. While housing studies that examine shelter needs of the homeless acknowledge that a sizable proportion has a disabling mental illness, these numbers underestimate need in the cohort that experiences disabling mental illnesses. This underestimate exists because many of those who are disabled by mental illness and in need of supportive housing are among the hidden homeless: doubled-up, couch-surfing, and temporarily sheltered by friends and family. Thus, little is known about the size of this cohort or their supportive shelter needs. The present analysis examines two approaches and offers one methodology as most feasible and parsimonious which can approximate housing need and may be extrapolated to other urban locations.
Electrochemical Immunoassay ofEscherichia coliO157:H7 Using Ag@SiO2Nanoparticles as Labels
Authors: Chen Guang-Zhu , Yin Zheng-Zhi , Lou Jv-Feng
Published: April 2014

Silica coated silver (Ag@SiO2) nanoparticles were prepared and characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and UV-vis absorption, and the nanoparticles were used as labels in sandwich-type immunosensor ofEscherichia coliO157:H7 (E. coliO157:H7). The labels involved in immunoreaction were dissolved by mixed acid of hydrofluoric acid and nitric acid, and the released Ag+ions were electrochemical stripping analyzed (via differential pulse voltammetry, DPV) at poly(acrylic acid)/poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)/carbon nanotubes (PAA/PDCNT) modified glass carbon electrode (GCE), which obviously enhanced the signal of Ag+stripping. Then, the number ofE. coliO157:H7 could be indirectly reflected by the signal intensity of labeled Ag+. And the results showed that the DPV signals were proportional to the logarithm of theE. coliO157:H7 concentration in the range from 20 cfu/mL to8.0×103 cfu/mL with the detection limit of 13 cfu/mL.
Nature and Properties of Lateritic Soils Derived from Different Parent Materials in Taiwan
Authors: Ko Tzu-Hsing
Published: April 2014

The objective of this study was to investigate the physical, chemical, and mineralogical composition of lateritic soils in order to use these soils as potential commercial products for industrial application in the future. Five lateritic soils derived from various parent materials in Taiwan, including andesite, diluvium, shale stone, basalt, and Pleistocene deposit, were collected from theBt1level of soil samples. Based on the analyses, the Tungwei soil is an alfisol, whereas other lateritic soils are ultisol. Higher pH value of Tungwei is attributed to the large amounts of Ca2+and Mg2+. Loupi and Pingchen soils would be the older lateritic soils because of the lower active iron ratio. For the iron minerals, the magnetic iron oxides such as major amounts of magnetite and maghemite were found for Tamshui and Tungwei lateritic soils, respectively. Lepidocrocite was only found in Soka soil and intermediate amounts of goethite were detected for Loupi and Pingchen soils. After Mg-saturated and K-saturated processes, major amounts of mixed layer were observed in Loupi and Soka soils, whereas the montmorillonite was only detected in Tungwei soil. The investigation results revealed that the parent materials would play an important role during soil weathering process and physical, chemical, and mineralogy compositions strongly affect the formation of lateritic soils.
Comparative Study of Snodgrass and Mathieu’s Procedure for Primary Hypospadias Repair
Authors: Hamid Raashid , Baba Aejaz A. , Shera Altaf H.
Published: April 2014

Objective. Present study was undertaken to compare the results of two single stage hypospadias repairs, namely, Tubularized Incised Plate (TIP) repair and Mathieu’s repair.Methods. The study included 100 patients of distal penile hypospadias, from January, 2008 to January, 2013. After a detailed history, local examination was performed with reference to the site of meatus, shape of glans, and presence of chordee. TIP repair was performed in 52 patients and Mathieu’s repair in 48 patients. On follow-up, the patients were examined for the position of meatus, shape of meatus, urinary stream, urethrocutaneous fistula, and stricture formation.Results. The mean age of presentation was 6.2 ± 3.2 years (range 1.5–15years). The mean operative time was 63.7 ± 14.3 (45–90) minutes and 95.0 ± 19.1 (70–125) minutes in TIP and Mathieu’s repair, respectively.Complications after surgery were urethero cutaneous fistula in 3(5.76%) and 7 (14.5%), meatal stenosis in 3(5.33%) and 4(8.33%), wound infection in 19.2% and 8.3% cases in TIP repair and Mathieu repair, respectively. The shape of meatus was slit-like and vertically oriented in 48(92.3%) patients who had undergone TIP repair.Conclusion. The Snodgrass repair is significantly faster, with more natural cosmetic appearance of the meatus than the Mathieu’s repair.
Synchronous and Metachronous Breast Malignancies: A Cross-Sectional Retrospective Study and Review of the Literature
Authors: Londero Ambrogio P. , Bernardi Sergio , Bertozzi Serena , Angione Vito , Gentile Giuliana , Dri Cinzia , Minucci Antonio , Caponnetto Filippo , Petri Roberto
Published: April 2014

Objective. There is increasing interest in patients with metachronous (MBC) and synchronous breast cancer (SBC). The objective of this study was to evaluate the occurrence and outcome of MBCs and SBCs.Methods. A retrospective study on women operated in our department for breast cancer between 2002 and 2005 was carried out. Patients were divided into three groups: women with MBC, SBC, and unilateral breast cancer (UBC). Moreover, we performed a meta-analysis of the English literature about multiple breast cancers between 2000 and 2011 taking into consideration their prevalence and overall survival (OS).Results. We identified 584 breast cancer patients: 16 women (3%) presented SBC and 40 MBC (7%, second cancer after 72-month follow-up IQR 40–145). Although the meta-analysis showed significant OS differences between MBC or SBC and UBC, we did not observe any significant OS difference among the three groups of our population. Anyway, we found a significant worse disease-free survival in MBC than UBC and a significant higher prevalence of radical surgery in MBC and SBC than UBC.Conclusions.Despite the low prevalence of MBC and SBC, the presence of a long time risk of MBC confirms the crucial role of ipsi- and contralateral mammographies in the postoperative follow-up.
The Modification of Polyurethane Foams Using New Boroorganic Polyols: Obtaining of Polyols with the Use of Hydroxypropyl Urea Derivatives
Authors: Zarzyka Iwona
Published: April 2014

Methods of synthesis of new prospective polyol components for obtaining of polyurethane foams of reduced combustibility using eco-friendly substrates have been presented. With this end in view, N,N′-bis(2-hydroxypropyl)urea was esterified with boric acid and next the hydrogenborate obtained was hydroxyalkylated by the excess of propylene carbonate. The influence of the way of esterification on the hydroxypropyl derivatives of borate substituted urea properties has been investigated. Esterification was run in the presence and in the absence of solvent. According to instrumental analysis, the characteristic of hydrogenborates obtained in both methods was found to be similar. The hydroxypropyl derivatives of borate substituted urea show similar spectral characteristics and thermal stabilities and differ slightly in molar masses, by-product contents, and physical properties, particularly viscosities. The properties of these derivatives were assessed paying special attention to their application as the polyol components of polyurethane foams. Hydroxypropyl urea derivatives, modified by boric acid, show changes in physical properties with temperature, similarly to typical polyols used for obtaining of polyurethane foams.
Glycerol Containing Triacetylborate Mediated Syntheses of Novel 2-Heterostyryl Benzimidazole Derivatives: A Green Approach
Authors: Taduri Ashok Kumar , Babu P. N. Kishore , Devi B. Rama
Published: April 2014

A very simple, mild, efficient, and novel green methodology has been developed for the syntheses of some 2-hetero/styryl-benzimidazoles. Title compounds were synthesized by the condensation of o-phenylenediamine with cinnamic acids at 150–180°C for 5-6 h using glycerol containing triacetylborate (10–20 mol%) as the reaction medium. In an alternative approach, condensation of 2-methylbenzimidazole derivatives with aromatic aldehydes was done using glycerol containing triacetylborate (10–20 mol%) as the reaction medium.
Simplices in the Endomorphism Semiring of a Finite Chain
Authors: Trendafilov Ivan
Published: April 2014

We establish new results concerning endomorphisms of a finite chain, if the cardinality of the image of such endomorphism is no more than some fixed number. The semiring of all such endomorphisms can be seen as a simplex whose vertices are the constant endomorphisms. We explore the properties of these simplices.
Real-Time Shop-Floor Production Performance Analysis Method for the Internet of Manufacturing Things
Authors: Zhang Yingfeng , Wang Wenbo , Liu Sichao , Xie Gongnan
Published: April 2014

Typical challenges that manufacturing enterprises are facing now are compounded by lack of timely, accurate, and consistent information of manufacturing resources. As a result, it is difficult to analyze the real-time production performance for the shop-floor. In this paper, the definition and overall architecture of the internet of manufacturing things is presented to provide a new paradigm by extending the techniques of internet of things (IoT) to manufacturing field. Under this architecture, the real-time primitive events which occurred at different manufacturing things such as operators, machines, pallets, key materials, and so forth can be easily sensed. Based on these distributed primitive events, a critical event model is established to automatically analyze the real-time production performance. Here, the up-level production performance analysis is regarded as a series of critical events, and the real-time value of each critical event can be easily calculated according to the logical and sequence relationships among these multilevel events. Finally, a case study is used to illustrate how to apply the designed methods to analyze the real-time production performance.
Study on Informational Transaction and Its Effect on China′s Stock Index Futures Market
Authors: Che Hongli , Xiong Xiong , Han Jiatong , Zhang Wei , Zhang Yongjie
Published: April 2014

Information is one of the important factors that influence the behavior of investors and then have an effect on the price of the risky assets in the market. Firstly, the new procedure developed by Easley et al. (2011) is used to estimate the Volume‐Synchronized Probability of Informed Trading (VPIN) of the Chinese stock index futures market. Then VPIN for special scenarios is depicted. As a result, we find that the future contracts generally have a larger number of information transactions. We also find that, for particular scenarios, the probability of informed trading in the market has obvious exceptions. The larger proportion of informed trader is, the higher the volatility of the price is.
Binary Structuring Elements Decomposition Based on an Improved Recursive Dilation‐Union Model and RSAPSO Method
Authors: Zhang Yudong , Wang Shuihua , Sun Yi , Ji Genlin , Phillips Preetha , Dong Zhengchao
Published: April 2014

This paper proposed an improved approach to decompose structuring elements of an arbitrary shape. For the model of this method, we use an improved dilation‐union model, adding a new termination criterion, as the sum of 3‐by‐3 matrix should be less than 5. Next for the algorithm of this method, we introduced in the restarted simulated annealing particle swarm optimization method. The experiments demonstrate that our method can find better results than Park′s method, Anelli′s method, Shih′s SGA method, and Zhang′s MFSGA method. Besides, our method gave the best decomposition tree of different SE shapes including “ship,” “car,” “heart,” “umbrella,” “vase,” “tree,” “cat,” “V,” “bomb,” and “cup.”
OWL Reasoning Framework over Big Biological Knowledge Network
Authors: Chen Huajun , Chen Xi , Gu Peiqin , Wu Zhaohui , Yu Tong
Published: April 2014

Recently, huge amounts of data are generated in the domain of biology. Embedded with domain knowledge from different disciplines, the isolated biological resources are implicitly connected. Thus it has shaped a big network of versatile biological knowledge. Faced with such massive, disparate, and interlinked biological data, providing an efficient way to model, integrate, and analyze the big biological network becomes a challenge. In this paper, we present a general OWL (web ontology language) reasoning framework to study the implicit relationships among biological entities. A comprehensive biological ontology across traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and western medicine (WM) is used to create a conceptual model for the biological network. Then corresponding biological data is integrated into a biological knowledge network as the data model. Based on the conceptual model and data model, a scalable OWL reasoning method is utilized to infer the potential associations between biological entities from the biological network. In our experiment, we focus on the association discovery between TCM and WM. The derived associations are quite useful for biologists to promote the development of novel drugs and TCM modernization. The experimental results show that the system achieves high efficiency, accuracy, scalability, and effectivity.
Platinum(0)‐1,3‐divinyl‐1,1,3,3‐tetramethyldisiloxane Complex as a Pt Source for Pt/SnO2 Catalyst
Authors: Martyla Agnieszka , Kopczyk Maciej , Marciniak Piotr , Przekop Robert
Published: April 2014

This paper presents new preparation method of Pt/SnO2, an important catalytic system. Besides of its application as a heterogenic industrial catalyst, it is also used as a catalyst in electrochemical processes, especially in fuel cells. Platinum is commonly used as an anode catalyst in low temperature fuel cells, fuelled with alcohols of low molecular weight such as methanol. Platinum(0)‐1,3‐divinyl‐1,1,3,3‐tetramethyldisiloxane complex was used as a precursor of metallic phase. The aim of the research was to obtain a highly active in electrochemical system Pt/SnO2 catalyst with low metal load. Considering small size of Pt crystallites, it should result in high activity of Pt/SnO2 system. The presented method of SnO2 synthesis allows for obtaining support consisting of nanoparticles. The effect of the thermal treatment on activity of Pt/SnO2 gel was demonstrated. The system properties were investigated using TEM, FTIR (ATR), and XRD techniques to describe its thermal structural evolution. The results showed two electrocatalytical activity peaks for drying at a temperature of 430 K and above 650 K.
An Improved Biometric-Based User Authentication Scheme for C/S System
Authors: Jiping Li , Yaoming Ding , Zenggang Xiong , Shouyin Liu
Published: April 2014

The authors first review the recently proposed Das's biometric-based remote user authentication scheme, and then show that Das's scheme is still insecure against some attacks and has some problems in password change phase. In order to overcome the design flaws in Das's scheme, an improvement of the scheme is further proposed. Cryptanalysis shows that our scheme is more efficient and secure against most of attacks; moreover, our scheme can provide strong mutual authentication by using verifying biometric, password as well as random nonces generated by the user and server.
Circular Abscess Formation of the Inner Preputial Leaf as a Complication of a Penile Mondor's Disease: The First Case Report
Authors: Wendler Johann Jakob , Schindele Daniel , Baumunk Daniel , Liehr Uwe-Bernd , Porsch Markus , Schostak Martin
Published: April 2014

Introduction.Mondor's disease of the penis is an uncommon condition characterized by thrombosis or thrombophlebitis involving the superficial dorsal veins. An accompanied lymphangitis is discussed. There is typical self-limiting clinical course.Case Presentation.This paper firstly reports a secondary abscess formation of the preputial leaf two weeks after penile Mondor's disease and subcutaneous lymphangitis as complication of excessive sexual intercourse of a 44-year-old man. Sexual transmitted diseases could be excluded. Lesions healed up completely under abscess drainage, antibiotic, and anti-inflammatory medication.Conclusion.Previous reports in the literature include several entities of the penile Mondor's disease. Our patient is very unusual in that he presented with a secondary preputial abscess formation due to superficial thrombophlebitis, subcutaneous lymphangitis, and local bacterial colonisation. Abscess drainage plus antiphlogistic and antibiotic medication is the treatment of choice.
A Novel Approach toward Fuzzy Generalized Bi-Ideals in Ordered Semigroups
Authors: Khan Faiz Muhammad , Sarmin Nor Haniza , Khan Hidayat Ullah
Published: April 2014

In several advanced fields like control engineering, computer science, fuzzy automata, finite state machine, and error correcting codes, the use of fuzzified algebraic structures especially ordered semigroups plays a central role. In this paper, we introduced a new and advanced generalization of fuzzy generalized bi-ideals of ordered semigroups. These new concepts are supported by suitable examples. These new notions are the generalizations of ordinary fuzzy generalized bi-ideals of ordered semigroups. Several fundamental theorems of ordered semigroups are investigated by the properties of these newly defined fuzzy generalized bi-ideals. Further, using level sets, ordinary fuzzy generalized bi-ideals are linked with these newly defined ideals which is the most significant part of this paper.
Integrated and Consistent Active Control Formulation and Piezotransducer Position Optimization of Plate Structures considering Spillover Effects
Authors: Biglar Mojtaba , Mirdamadi Hamid Reza
Published: May 2014

This study addresses new formulation for active vibration control of plates by optimal locations of attached piezotransducers. Free vibrations are solved by Rayleigh-Ritz and transient by assumed modes methods. Optimal orientations of patches are determined by spatial controllability/observability, as well as residual modes to reduce spillover. These criteria are used to achieve optimal fitness function defined for genetic algorithm to find optimal locations. To control vibrations, negative velocity feedback control is designed. Results indicate that, by locating piezopatches at optimal positions, depreciation rate increases and amplitudes of vibrations reduce effectively. The effect of number of piezodevices is analyzed.
The Effects of High-Intensity versus Low-Intensity Resistance Training on Leg Extensor Power and Recovery of Knee Function after ACL-Reconstruction
Authors: Bieler Theresa , Aue Sobol Nanna , Andersen Lars L. , Kiel Peter , Løfholm Peter , Aagaard Per , Magnusson S. Peter , Krogsgaard Michael R. , Beyer Nina
Published: April 2014

Objective. Persistent weakness is a common problem after anterior cruciate ligament- (ACL-) reconstruction. This study investigated the effects of high-intensity (HRT) versus low-intensity (LRT) resistance training on leg extensor power and recovery of knee function after ACL-reconstruction.Methods. 31 males and 19 females were randomized to HRT (n=24) or LRT (n=26) from week 8–20 after ACL-reconstruction. Leg extensor power, joint laxity, and self-reported knee function were measured before and 7, 14, and 20 weeks after surgery. Hop tests were assessed before and after 20 weeks.Results. Power in the injured leg was 90% (95% CI 86–94%) of the noninjured leg, decreasing to 64% (95% CI 60–69%) 7 weeks after surgery. During the resistance training phase there was a significant group by time interaction for power (P=0.020). Power was regained more with HRT compared to LRT at week 14 (84% versus 73% of noninjured leg, resp.;P=0.027) and at week 20 (98% versus 83% of noninjured leg, resp.;P=0.006) without adverse effects on joint laxity. No other between-group differences were found.Conclusion. High-intensity resistance training during rehabilitation after ACL-reconstruction can improve muscle power without adverse effects on joint laxity.
Endocrinopathies after Allogeneic and Autologous Transplantation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells
Authors: Orio Francesco , Muscogiuri Giovanna , Palomba Stefano , Serio Bianca , Sessa Mariarosaria , Giudice Valentina , Ferrara Idalucia , Tauchmanovà Libuse , Colao Annamaria , Selleri Carmine
Published: April 2014

Early and late endocrine disorders are among the most common complications in survivors after hematopoietic allogeneic- (allo-) and autologous- (auto-) stem cell transplant (HSCT). This review summarizes main endocrine disorders reported in literature and observed in our center as consequence of auto- and allo-HSCT and outlines current options for their management. Gonadal impairment has been found early in approximately two-thirds of auto- and allo-HSCT patients: 90–99% of women and 60–90% of men. Dysfunctions of the hypothalamus-pituitary-growth hormone/insulin growth factor-I axis, hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis, and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis were documented as later complicances, occurring in about 10, 30, and 40–50% of transplanted patients, respectively. Moreover, overt or subclinical thyroid complications (including persistent low-T3 syndrome, chronic thyroiditis, subclinical hypo- or hyperthyroidism, and thyroid carcinoma), gonadal failure, and adrenal insufficiency may persist many years after HSCT. Our analysis further provides evidence that main recognized risk factors for endocrine complications after HSCT are the underlying disease, previous pretransplant therapies, the age at HSCT, gender, total body irradiation, posttransplant derangement of immune system, and in the allogeneic setting, the presence of graft-versus-host disease requiring prolonged steroid treatment. Early identification of endocrine complications can greatly improve the quality of life of long-term survivors after HSCT.
JAK Inhibitors: Treatment Efficacy and Safety Profile in Patients with Psoriasis
Authors: Hsu Leeyen , Armstrong April W.
Published: May 2014

Janus kinase (JAK) pathways are key mediators in the immunopathogenesis of psoriasis. Psoriasis treatment has evolved with the advent of targeted therapies, which inhibit specific components of the psoriasis proinflammatory cascade. JAK inhibitors have been studied in early phase trials for psoriasis patients, and the data are promising for these agents as potential treatment options. Tofacitinib, an oral or topically administered JAK1 and JAK3 inhibitor, and ruxolitinib, a topical JAK1 and JAK2 inhibitor, have been most extensively studied in psoriasis, and both improved clinical symptoms of psoriasis. Additional JAK1 or JAK3 inhibitors are being studied in clinical trials. In phase III trials for rheumatoid arthritis, tofacitinib was efficacious in patients with inadequate responses to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, methotrexate monotherapy, or disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. The results of phase III trials are pending for these therapies in psoriasis, and these agents may represent important alternatives for patients with inadequate responses to currently available agents. Further investigations with long-term clinical trials are necessary to verify their utility in psoriasis treatment and assess their safety in this patient population.
The Analysis of Surface EMG Signals with the Wavelet-Based Correlation Dimension Method
Authors: Wang Gang , Zhang Yanyan , Wang Jue
Published: April 2014

Many attempts have been made to effectively improve a prosthetic system controlled by the classification of surface electromyographic (SEMG) signals. Recently, the development of methodologies to extract the effective features still remains a primary challenge. Previous studies have demonstrated that the SEMG signals have nonlinear characteristics. In this study, by combining the nonlinear time series analysis and the time-frequency domain methods, we proposed the wavelet-based correlation dimension method to extract the effective features of SEMG signals. The SEMG signals were firstly analyzed by the wavelet transform and the correlation dimension was calculated to obtain the features of the SEMG signals. Then, these features were used as the input vectors of a Gustafson-Kessel clustering classifier to discriminate four types of forearm movements. Our results showed that there are four separate clusters corresponding to different forearm movements at the third resolution level and the resulting classification accuracy was 100%, when two channels of SEMG signals were used. This indicates that the proposed approach can provide important insight into the nonlinear characteristics and the time-frequency domain features of SEMG signals and is suitable for classifying different types of forearm movements. By comparing with other existing methods, the proposed method exhibited more robustness and higher classification accuracy.
Biochemical Engineering Parameters for Hydrometallurgical Processes: Steps towards a Deeper Understanding
Authors: Kundu K. , Kumar A.
Published: April 2014

Increasing interest in biomining process and the demand for better performance of the process has led to a new insight toward the mining technologies. From an engineering point of view, the complex network of biochemical reactions encompassed in biomining would best be performed in reactors which allow a good control of the significant variables, resulting in a better performance. The subprocesses are in equilibrium when the rate of particular metal ion; for example, iron turnover between the mineral and the bacteria, is balanced. The primary focus is directed towards improved bioprocess kinetics of the first two subprocesses of chemical reaction of the metal ion with the mineral and later bacterial oxidation. These subprocesses are linked by the redox potential and controlled by maintenance of an adequate solids suspension, dilution rate, and uniform mixing which are optimised in bioreactors during mining operations. Rate equations based on redox potential such as ferric/ferrous-iron ratio have been used to describe the kinetics of these subprocesses. This paper reviews the basis of process design for biomining process with emphasis on engineering parameters. It is concluded that the better understanding of these engineering parameters will make biomining processes more robust and further help in establishing it as a promising and economically feasible option over other hydrometallurgical processes worldwide.
Global Optimization Ensemble Model for Classification Methods
Authors: Anwar Hina , Qamar Usman , Muzaffar Qureshi Abdul Wahab
Published: April 2014

Supervised learning is the process of data mining for deducing rules from training datasets. A broad array of supervised learning algorithms exists, every one of them with its own advantages and drawbacks. There are some basic issues that affect the accuracy of classifier while solving a supervised learning problem, like bias-variance tradeoff, dimensionality of input space, and noise in the input data space. All these problems affect the accuracy of classifier and are the reason that there is no global optimal method for classification. There is not any generalized improvement method that can increase the accuracy of any classifier while addressing all the problems stated above. This paper proposes a global optimization ensemble model for classification methods (GMC) that can improve the overall accuracy for supervised learning problems. The experimental results on various public datasets showed that the proposed model improved the accuracy of the classification models from 1% to 30% depending upon the algorithm complexity.
On a Rankin-Selberg L-Function over Different Fields
Authors: Gillespie Tim
Published: April 2014

Given two unitary automorphic cuspidal representations π and π′ defined on GLm(𝔸E) and GLm'(𝔸F), respectively, with E and F being Galois extensions of ℚ, we consider two generalized Rankin-Selberg L-functions obtained by forcefully factoring L(s,π)  and  L(s,π'). We prove the absolute convergence of these L-functions for Re(s)>1. The main difficulty in our case is that the two extension fields may be completely unrelated, so we are forced to work either “downstairs” in some intermediate extension between E∩F and ℚ, or “upstairs” in some extension field containing the composite extension EF. We close by investigating some special cases when analytic continuation is possible and show that when the degrees of the extension fields E and F are relatively prime, the two different definitions give the same generating function.
A Comparison of Three Dry Matter Forage Production Methods Used in South Africa
Authors: Joubert A. J. , Myburgh W. J.
Published: April 2014

A common method for determining forage production of rangelands is by clipping and weighing forage from quadrats with predetermined areas. This technique is however time consuming. Other techniques which require less time and labour include amongst others using the disk pasture meter or phytomass derived from the vegetation classification program PHYTOTAB, in conjunction with the Plant Number Scale, which is used to determine vegetation canopy cover. The phytomass determined using PHYTOTAB/Plant Number Scale and the disk pasture meter was compared to the phytomass obtained from the actual clipping and weighing of forage. Tests showed that there were indeed statistically significant differences between the mean phytomass values of the three techniques. Considerable variation was shown in the results of the disk pasture meter readings compared to the other two techniques. The phytomass values obtained using the disk pasture meter were significantly higher than the phytomass determined using both the PHYTOTAB/Plant Number Scale and the clipping and weighing techniques. Results further indicated a significant similarity in the phytomass determined using the PHYTOTAB/Plant Number Scale and the clipping and weighing technique. The results of this pilot study need further investigation.
Current Concepts and Future Directions for the Assessment of Autoantibodies to Cellular Antigens Referred to as Anti-Nuclear Antibodies
Authors: Mahler Michael , Meroni Pier-Luigi , Bossuyt Xavier , Fritzler Marvin J.
Published: April 2014

The detection of autoantibodies that target intracellular antigens, commonly termed anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), is a serological hallmark in the diagnosis of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD). Different methods are available for detection of ANA and all bearing their own advantages and limitations. Most laboratories use the indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) assay based on HEp-2 cell substrates. Due to the subjectivity of this diagnostic platform, automated digital reading systems have been developed during the last decade. In addition, solid phase immunoassays using well characterized antigens have gained widespread adoption in high throughput laboratories due to their ease of use and open automation. Despite all the advances in the field of ANA detection and its contribution to the diagnosis of SARD, significant challenges persist. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current status on ANA testing including automated IIF reading systems and solid phase assays and suggests an approach to interpretation of results and discusses meeting the problems of assay standardization and other persistent challenges.
Using Fuzzy Logic in Test Case Prioritization for Regression Testing Programs with Assertions
Authors: Alakeel Ali M.
Published: April 2014

Program assertions have been recognized as a supporting tool during software development, testing, and maintenance. Therefore, software developers place assertions within their code in positions that are considered to be error prone or that have the potential to lead to a software crash or failure. Similar to any other software, programs with assertions must be maintained. Depending on the type of modification applied to the modified program, assertions also might have to undergo some modifications. New assertions may also be introduced in the new version of the program, while some assertions can be kept the same. This paper presents a novel approach for test case prioritization during regression testing of programs that have assertions using fuzzy logic. The main objective of this approach is to prioritize the test cases according to their estimated potential in violating a given program assertion. To develop the proposed approach, we utilize fuzzy logic techniques to estimate the effectiveness of a given test case in violating an assertion based on the history of the test cases in previous testing operations. We have conducted a case study in which the proposed approach is applied to various programs, and the results are promising compared to untreated and randomly ordered test cases.
Electronic Structure and Optical Properties of N/Si-Codoped Anatase TiO2Evaluated Using First Principles Calculations
Authors: Lin Huey-Jiuan , Wu Hsuan-Chung
Published: April 2014

First principles calculations were used to evaluate the electronic structure and optical properties of N/Si-monodoped and N/Si-codoped TiO2to further understand their photocatalytic mechanisms. In accordance with the atomic distance between N and Si dopants, this study considered three N/Si codoping configurations, in which the N dopant had a tendency to bond with the Si dopant. The calculations showed that the bandgaps of the N/Si codoping models were narrow, in the range 3.01–3.05 eV, redshifting the intrinsic absorption edge. The Si 3porbital of N/Si-codoped TiO2plays a key role in widening the valence band (VB), thereby increasing carrier mobility. In addition, the N-induced impurity energy level in the forbidden band appears in all three N/Si codoping models, strengthening absorption in the visible region. The bandgap narrowing, VB widening, and impurity energy levels in the forbidden band are beneficial for improving the photocatalytic activity of N/Si-codoped TiO2.
Warm Inflation with Nonminimal Derivative Coupling
Authors: Nozari Kourosh , Shoukrani M. , Rashidi N.
Published: April 2014

We study the effects of the nonminimal derivative coupling on the dissipative dynamics of the warm inflation where the scalar field is nonminimally coupled to gravity via its kinetic term. We present a detailed calculation of the cosmological perturbations in this setup. We use the recent observational data from the joint data set of WMAP9 + BAO +H0and also the Planck satellite data to constrain our model parameters for natural and chaotic inflation potentials. We study also the levels of non-Gaussianity in this warm inflation model and we confront the result with recent observational data from the Planck satellite.
An Improved User Authentication Protocol for Healthcare Services via Wireless Medical Sensor Networks
Authors: Khan Muhammad Khurram , Kumari Saru
Published: April 2014

Healthcare service sector is one of the major applications of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) acknowledged as Wireless Medical Sensor Network (WMSNs). It deploys tiny medical sensor-nodes ( MS-nodes) on the body of the patient to sense crucial physiological signs which can be accessed and analyzed by registered medical professionals. Recently, Khan et al. analyzed Kumar et al.'s scheme proposed for healthcare applications using WMSNs and observed that the scheme is susceptible to many security weaknesses if an adversary extracts the information from the lost smart card of some user. The adversary can access patient's physiological data without knowing actual password, can deceive medical professionals by sending fake information about patients, can guess the password of a user from the corresponding smart card, and so forth. Besides, the scheme fails to resist insider attack, lacks user anonymity and the session key shared between the user and the MS-node is insecure. To overcome these problems, we propose an improved user authentication scheme for healthcare applications using WMSNs. We show that the scheme is free from the identified weaknesses and excels in performance and efficiency scheme.
Gender Socialization: Differences between Male and Female Youth in India and Associations with Mental Health
Authors: Ram Usha , Strohschein Lisa , Gaur Kirti
Published: April 2014

This paper describes patterns of gender socialization among youth in India and evaluates how these patterns are associated with their mental health. Data come from the Youth in India: Situation and Needs Study (N=44,769), a subnationally representative survey conducted during 2006–2008. Descriptive results underscored the gendered nature of socialization experiences, showing that male and female youth inhabit different social worlds. Female youth expressed more gender-egalitarian attitudes than male youth but reported greater restrictions to their independence than male youth. Male youth recognized more gender-discriminatory practices within their households than did the female youth. Poisson models revealed that female youth experienced more mental health problems when their households engaged in practices that favoured males over females, even as these same practices were associated with fewer mental health problems among male youth. Family violence and restrictions to independence were associated with mental health problems for both male and female youth. When males and females engaged in behaviours contravening sex-specific gender norms, there were corresponding increases in mental health problems for both sexes. Together, these findings suggest that gender inequality permeates family life in India, with corresponding consequences for the mental well-being of male and female youth.
Sentiment Prediction Based on Dempster‐Shafer Theory of Evidence
Authors: Basiri Mohammad Ehsan , Naghsh-Nilchi Ahmad Reza , Ghasem-Aghaee Nasser
Published: April 2014

Sentiment prediction techniques are often used to assign numerical scores to free‐text format reviews written by people in online review websites. In order to exploit the fine‐grained structural information of textual content, a review may be considered as a collection of sentences, each with its own sentiment orientation and score. In this manner, a score aggregation method is needed to combine sentence‐level scores into an overall review rating. While recent work has concentrated on designing effective sentence‐level prediction methods, there remains the problem of finding efficient algorithms for score aggregation. In this study, we investigate different aggregation methods, as well as the cases in which they perform poorly. According to the analysis of existing methods, we propose a new score aggregation method based on the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence. In the proposed method, we first detect the polarity of reviews using a machine learning approach and then, consider sentence scores as evidence for the overall review rating. The results from two public social web datasets show the higher performance of our method in comparison with existing score aggregation methods and state‐of‐the‐art machine learning approaches.
Generalized Common Fixed Point Results with Applications
Authors: Kutbi Marwan Amin , Arshad Muhammad , Ahmad Jamshaid , Azam Akbar
Published: April 2014

We obtained some generalized common fixed point results in the context of complex valued metric spaces. Moreover, we proved an existence theorem for the common solution for two Urysohn integral equations. Examples are presented to support our results.
Improving Vector Evaluated Particle Swarm Optimisation Using Multiple Nondominated Leaders
Authors: Lim Kian Sheng , Buyamin Salinda , Ahmad Anita , Shapiai Mohd Ibrahim , Naim Faradila , Mubin Marizan , Kim Dong Hwa
Published: April 2014

The vector evaluated particle swarm optimisation (VEPSO) algorithm was previously improved by incorporating nondominated solutions for solving multiobjective optimisation problems. However, the obtained solutions did not converge close to the Pareto front and also did not distribute evenly over the Pareto front. Therefore, in this study, the concept of multiple nondominated leaders is incorporated to further improve the VEPSO algorithm. Hence, multiple nondominated solutions that are best at a respective objective function are used to guide particles in finding optimal solutions. The improved VEPSO is measured by the number of nondominated solutions found, generational distance, spread, and hypervolume. The results from the conducted experiments show that the proposed VEPSO significantly improved the existing VEPSO algorithms.