bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Free-Surface Flow and Fluid-Object Interaction Modeling With Emphasis on Ship Hydrodynamics
Authors: Akkerman I. , Bazilevs Y. , Benson D. J. , Farthing M. W. , Kees C. E.
Published: December 2011

This paper presents our approach for the computation of free-surface/rigid-body interaction phenomena with emphasis on ship hydrodynamics. We adopt the level set approach to capture the free-surface. The rigid body is described using six-degree-of-freedom equations of motion. An interface-tracking method is used to handle the interface between the moving rigid body and the fluid domain. An Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian version of the residual-based variational multiscale formulation for the Navier–Stokes and level set equations is employed in order to accommodate the fluid domain motion. The free-surface/rigid body problem is formulated and solved in a fully coupled fashion. The numerical results illustrate the accuracy and robustness of the proposed approach.
In situ study of the atomic layer deposition of HfO2 on Si
Authors: Kolanek Krzysztof , Tallarida Massimo , Michling Marcel , Schmeisser Dieter
Published: December 2011

The authors investigated in situ the initial stages of the atomic layer deposition (ALD) growth of HfO2 on Si(001)/SiO2 substrates by using tetrakis-di-methyl-amino-Hf and H2O as precursors. The surface morphology and the chemical and electronic properties of HfO2 ultrathin films were studied after each ALD cycle by surface-sensitive techniques. Atomic force microscopy image analysis was performed by analyzing the height–height correlation function (HHCF), the root mean square surface roughness, and the surface fractal dimension, as function of the number of ALD cycles. Parameters directly related to HHCF, e.g., surface width, correlation length, local slope, and roughness exponent, were calculated and used for determination of scaling exponents. A complex behavior of all parameters up to the eighth ALD cycle was evidenced. High-resolution synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy was applied to characterize the chemical nature of Si/SiO2/HfO2 interface. Changes arising in the Si 2p, O 1 s, and Hf 4f core level lines after each ALD cycle up to the complete formation of two layers of HfO2 were observed. The thickness of the growing HfO2 layer was calculated to estimate the growth per cycle to approximately 0.1 nm/cycle. By means of ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy, variations of valence band maximum and secondary electron cutoff after each ALD cycle were observed and the presence of an interfacial dipole was pointed out. Finally, the loss function onset of electron energy loss spectroscopy changed during ALD because of bandgap variations from SiO2 to HfO2. By combining all experimental results a new and fully comprehensive growth model of ALD during the initial stages was developed.
Suppressed phase separation in thick GaInAsSb layers across the compositional range grown by molecular beam epitaxy for 1.7–4.9 μm infrared materials
Authors: Yildirim Asli , Prineas John P.
Published: December 2011

Thick 2 um Ga1-xInxAsySb1-y layers lattice-matched to (100)-GaSb were grown by molecular beam epitaxy across the compositional range x = 0 to 1. By lowering the growth temperature to the 410 – 450 C range, phase separation was suppressed throughout the miscibility gap, as evidenced in measurements such as photoluminescence, high-resolution x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. Bright photoluminescence was recorded in the sample series ranging from 1.7 to 4.9 ums.
A passive inverse filter for Green’s function retrieval
Authors: Gallot Thomas , Catheline Stefan , Roux Philippe , Campillo Michel
Published: December 2011

Passive methods for the recovery of Green’s functions from ambient noise require strong hypotheses, including isotropic distribution of the noise sources. Very often, this distribution is nonisotropic, which introduces bias in the Green’s function reconstruction. To minimize this bias, a spatiotemporal inverse filter is proposed. The method is tested on a directive noise field computed from an experimental active seismic data set. The results indicate that the passive inverse filter allows the manipulation of the spatiotemporal degrees of freedom of a complex wave field, and it can efficiently compensate for the noise wavefield directivity.
Degenerating Neurons Direct the Circuit
Authors: Gough Nancy R.
Published: December 2011

Larval fly neurons degenerate and produce a signal that directs the adult neurons where to migrate.
Novel Potent Metallocenes against Liver Stage Malaria
Authors: Matos Joana , da Cruz Filipa P. , Cabrita Élia , Gut Jiri , Nogueira Fátima , do Rosário Virgílio E. , Moreira Rui , Rosenthal Philip J. , Prudêncio Miguel , Gomes Paula
Published: December 2011

Novel conjugates of the antimalarial drug primaquine (compound 1) with ferrocene, named primacenes, have been synthesized and screened for their activities against blood stage and liver stage malaria
in vitro
and host-vector transmission
in vivo
. Both transmission-blocking and blood-schizontocidal activities of the parent drug were conserved only in primacenes bearing a basic aliphatic amine group. Liver stage activity did not require this structural feature, and all metallocenes tested were comparable to or better than primaquine in this regard. Remarkably, the replacement of primaquine's aliphatic chain by hexylferrocene, as in compound 7, led to a ∼45-fold-higher level activity against liver stage parasitemia than that of primaquine.
Molecular Identification of Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase Genes from Enterobacteriaceae Isolated from Healthy Human Carriers in Switzerland
Authors: Geser Nadine , Stephan Roger , Korczak Bozena M. , Beutin Lothar , Hächler Herbert
Published: December 2011

In this study, fecal samples from 586 healthy humans were investigated to determine the occurrence of extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing
Enterobacteriaceae
in Swiss people. A total of 5.8% of the human fecal samples yielded ESBL producers, and all of the 34 isolated strains were
Escherichia coli
. PCR analysis revealed that 14 strains produced CTX-M-15, 10 produced CTX-M-1, 7 strains produced CTX-M-14, and 2 strains produced CTX-M-2 ESBLs. One strain produced SHV-12 ESBL. Of the 34 isolates, 15 produced additional TEM-1 broad-spectrum β-lactamases. By serotyping, a high degree of diversity among the strains was found.
A Novel Carbon Monoxide-Releasing Molecule Fully Protects Mice from Severe Malaria
Authors: Pena Ana C. , Penacho Nuno , Mancio-Silva Liliana , Neres Rita , Seixas João D. , Fernandes Afonso C. , Romão Carlos C. , Mota Maria M. , Bernardes Gonçalo J. L. , Pamplona Ana
Published: December 2011

Severe forms of malaria infection, such as cerebral malaria (CM) and acute lung injury (ALI), are mainly caused by the apicomplexan parasitePlasmodium falciparum. Primary therapy with quinine or artemisinin derivatives is generally effective in controllingP. falciparumparasitemia, but mortality from CM and other forms of severe malaria remains unacceptably high. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a novel carbon monoxide-releasing molecule (CO-RM; ALF492) that fully protects mice against experimental CM (ECM) and ALI. ALF492 enables controlled CO deliveryin vivowithout affecting oxygen transport by hemoglobin, the major limitation in CO inhalation therapy. The protective effect is CO dependent and induces the expression of heme oxygenase-1, which contributes to the observed protection. Importantly, when used in combination with the antimalarial drug artesunate, ALF492 is an effective adjunctive and adjuvant treatment for ECM, conferring protection after the onset of severe disease. This study paves the way for the potential use of CO-RMs, such as ALF492, as adjunctive/adjuvant treatment in severe forms of malaria infection.
High-Level Cefixime- and Ceftriaxone-Resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae in France: Novel
penA
Mosaic Allele in a Successful International Clone Causes Treatment Failure
Authors: Unemo Magnus , Golparian Daniel , Nicholas Robert , Ohnishi Makoto , Gallay Anne , Sednaoui Patrice
Published: December 2011

Recently, the first
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
strain (H041) highly resistant to the expanded-spectrum cephalosporins (ESCs) ceftriaxone and cefixime, which are the last remaining options for first-line gonorrhea treatment, was isolated in Japan. Here, we confirm and characterize a second strain (F89) with high-level cefixime and ceftriaxone resistance which was isolated in France and most likely caused a treatment failure with cefixime. F89 was examined using six species-confirmatory tests, antibiograms (33 antimicrobials),
porB
sequencing,
N. gonorrhoeae
multiantigen sequence typing (NG-MAST), multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and sequencing of known gonococcal resistance determinants (
penA
,
mtrR
,
penB
,
ponA
, and
pilQ
). F89 was assigned to MLST sequence type 1901 (ST1901) and NG-MAST ST1407, which is a successful gonococcal clone that has spread globally. F89 has high-level resistance to cefixime (MIC = 4 μg/ml) and ceftriaxone (MIC = 1 to 2 μg/ml) and resistance to most other antimicrobials examined. A novel
penA
mosaic allele (
penA-CI
), which was
penA-XXXIV
with an additional A501P alteration in penicillin-binding protein 2, was the primary determinant for high-level ESC resistance, as determined by transformation into a set of recipient strains.
N. gonorrhoeae
appears to be emerging as a superbug, and in certain circumstances and settings, gonorrhea may become untreatable. Investigations of the biological fitness and enhanced understanding and monitoring of the ESC-resistant clones and their international transmission are required. Enhanced disease control activities, antimicrobial resistance control and surveillance worldwide, and public health response plans for global (and national) perspectives are also crucial. Nevertheless, new treatment strategies and/or drugs and, ideally, a vaccine are essential to develop for efficacious gonorrhea management.
Efficacy and Tolerability of Antibiotic Combinations in Neurobrucellosis: Results of the Istanbul Study
Authors: Erdem Hakan , Ulu-Kilic Ayşegül , Kilic Selim , Karahocagil Mustafa , Shehata Ghaydaa , Eren-Tulek Necla , Yetkin Funda , Celen Mustafa Kemal , Ceran Nurgul , Gul Hanefi Cem , Mert Gurkan , Tekin-Koruk Suda , Dizbay Murat , Inal Ayse Seza , Nayman-Alpat Saygın , Bosilkovski Mile , Inan Dilara , Saltoglu Nese , Abdel-Baky Laila , Adeva-Bartolome Maria Teresa , Ceylan Bahadır , Sacar Suzan , Turhan Vedat , Yılmaz Emel , Elaldi Nazif , Kocak-Tufan Zeliha , Uğurlu Kenan , Dokuzoğuz Başak , Yılmaz Hava , Gundes Sibel , Guner Rahmet , Ozgunes Nail , Ulcay Asim , Unal Serhat , Dayan Saim , Gorenek Levent , Karakas Ahmet , Tasova Yesim , Usluer Gaye , Bayindir Yasar , Kurtaran Behice , Sipahi Oguz Resat , Leblebicioglu Hakan
Published: December 2011

No data on whether brucellar meningitis or meningoencephalitis can be treated with oral antibiotics or whether an intravenous extended-spectrum cephalosporin, namely, ceftriaxone, which does not accumulate in phagocytes, should be added to the regimen exist in the literature. The aim of a study conducted in Istanbul, Turkey, was to compare the efficacy and tolerability of ceftriaxone-based antibiotic treatment regimens with those of an oral treatment protocol in patients with these conditions. This retrospective study enrolled 215 adult patients in 28 health care institutions from four different countries. The first protocol (P1) comprised ceftriaxone, rifampin, and doxycycline. The second protocol (P2) consisted of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, rifampin, and doxycycline. In the third protocol (P3), the patients started with P1 and transferred to P2 when ceftriaxone was stopped. The treatment period was shorter with the regimens which included ceftriaxone (4.40 ± 2.47 months in P1, 6.52 ± 4.15 months in P2, and 5.18 ± 2.27 months in P3) (
P
= 0.002). In seven patients, therapy was modified due to antibiotic side effects. When these cases were excluded, therapeutic failure did not differ significantly between ceftriaxone-based regimens (
n
= 5/166, 3.0%) and the oral therapy (
n
= 4/42, 9.5%) (
P
= 0.084). The efficacy of the ceftriaxone-based regimens was found to be better (
n
= 6/166 [3.6%] versus
n
= 6/42 [14.3%];
P
= 0.017) when a composite negative outcome (CNO; relapse plus therapeutic failure) was considered. Accordingly, CNO was greatest in P2 (14.3%,
n
= 6/42) compared to P1 (2.6%,
n
= 3/117) and P3 (6.1%,
n
= 3/49) (
P
= 0.020). Seemingly, ceftriaxone-based regimens are more successful and require shorter therapy than the oral treatment protocol.
Identification of Components of the Host Type IA Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase Pathway That Promote Internalization of Listeria monocytogenes
Authors: Jiwani Shahanawaz , Wang Yi , Dowd Georgina C. , Gianfelice Antonella , Pichestapong Phannipha , Gavicherla Balramakrishna , Vanbennekom Neyda , Ireton Keith
Published: December 2011

The bacterial pathogen
Listeria monocytogenes
causes food-borne illnesses resulting in gastroenteritis, meningitis, or abortion.
Listeria
promotes its internalization into some human cells through binding of the bacterial surface protein InlB to the host receptor tyrosine kinase Met. The interaction of InlB with the Met receptor stimulates host signaling pathways that promote cell surface changes driving bacterial uptake. One human signaling protein that plays a critical role in
Listeria
entry is type IA phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase). The molecular mechanism by which PI 3-kinase promotes bacterial internalization is not understood. Here we perform an RNA interference (RNAi)-based screen to identify components of the type IA PI 3-kinase pathway that control the entry of
Listeria
into the human cell line HeLa. The 64 genes targeted encode known upstream regulators or downstream effectors of type IA PI 3-kinase. The results of this screen indicate that at least 9 members of the PI 3-kinase pathway play important roles in
Listeria
uptake. These 9 human proteins include a Rab5 GTPase, several regulators of Arf or Rac1 GTPases, and the serine/threonine kinases phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTor), and protein kinase C-ζ. These findings represent a key first step toward understanding the mechanism by which type IA PI 3-kinase controls bacterial internalization.
HIGH-ORDER HARMONIC GENERATION IN DIATOMIC MOLECULES: QUANTUM INTERFERENCE, NODAL STRUCTURES AND MULTIPLE ORBITALS
Authors: AUGSTEIN B. B. , DE MORISSON FARIA C. FIGUEIRA
Published: December 2011

We present a summarizing account of a series of investigations of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in diatomic molecules beyond the single-active electron and single-active orbital approximation. In these investigations, we include not only the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), but also the lower lying orbitals and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) in modified versions of the strong-field approximation. We employ perturbation theory around the HOMO, multielectron wavefunctions and initial coherent superpositions of the HOMO and LUMO. The imprints of multiple orbitals, nodal structures and two-center interference on the HHG spectra are investigated in detail, for homonuclear and heteronuclear molecules. We find that, in many situations, different molecular orbitals can be traced back to different energy regions in the spectra. Furthermore, imprints of nodal structures in heteronuclear molecules can be understood by analyzing nodal planes in isoelectronic homonuclear molecules. This opens up a wide range of possibilities for molecular imaging applications.
Time-Varying Sharpe Ratios and Market Timing
Authors: Tang Yi , Whitelaw Robert F.
Published: December 2011

This paper documents predictable time-variation in stock market Sharpe ratios. Predetermined financial variables are used to estimate both the conditional mean and volatility of equity returns, and these moments are combined to estimate the conditional Sharpe ratio, or the Sharpe ratio is estimated directly as a linear function of these same variables. In sample, estimated conditional Sharpe ratios show substantial time-variation that coincides with the phases of the business cycle. Generally, Sharpe ratios are low at the peak of the cycle and high at the trough. In an out-of-sample analysis, using 10-year rolling regressions, relatively naive market-timing strategies that exploit this predictability can identify periods with Sharpe ratios more than 45% larger than the full sample value. In spite of the well-known predictability of volatility and the more controversial forecastability of returns, it is the latter factor that accounts primarily for both the in-sample and out-of-sample results.
Inference about Survivors
Authors: Stambaugh Robert F.
Published: December 2011

This study explores inference about assets that have survived by avoiding poor performance. The greater is the commonality across assets in prior uncertainty about parameters, the more an asset's inferred expected return should depend on its having survived. If there is no commonality, then a surviving asset's average return can possess substantial sampling bias while nevertheless equaling the appropriate conditional expected return. Survival bias as typically computed generally makes too severe an adjustment to survivors, unless one assumes that expected returns on all assets, dead or alive, are equal to one common value that is completely unknown before observing returns data.
Detecting common-cause relationships with directional information transfer
Authors: Hannisdal Bjarte
Published: December 2011

Correlations between sedimentary rock and fossil records may involve a combination of rock-record sampling bias and common response to external forcing. Quantifying their relative importance from incomplete and uncertain proxy data is not trivial given the potential complexity of interactions among the underlying processes. This paper shows how a non-parametric method can be used to detect causal interactions directly from incomplete and irregular time series, by quantifying directional information transfer between variables. A numerical experiment illustrates how estimates of the relative strength, scale, and directionality of coupling can correctly distinguish a common-cause variable from a spurious relationship, even in cases where correlations are misleading. With a joint analysis of Phanerozoic rock and fossil records pending, the method is applied to oxygen, carbon, and sulphur stable isotope records from marine carbonates, identifying complex interactions between climatic changes and the cycling of carbon and sulphur over the Phanerozoic.
A Novel Power Delivery Method for Asynchronous Loads in Energy Harvesting Systems
Authors: Zhang Xuefu , Shang Delong , Xia Fei , Yakovlev Alex
Published: December 2011

For systems depending on power harvesting, a fundamental contradiction in the power delivery chain has existed between conventional synchronous computational loads requiring relatively stable Vdd and power harvesters unable to supply it. DC/DC conversion has therefore been an integral part of such systems to resolve this contradiction. On the other hand, asynchronous computational loads, in addition to their potential power-saving capabilities, can be made tolerant to a much wider range of Vdd variance. This may open up opportunities for much more energy efficient methods of power delivery. This article presents in-depth investigations into the behavior and performance of different on-chip power delivery methods driving both asynchronous and synchronous loads directly from a harvester source. A novel power delivery method, which employs a capacitor bank for adaptively storing the energy from power harvesters depending on load and source conditions, is developed. Its advantages, especially when driving asynchronous loads, are demonstrated through comprehensive comparative analysis.
Microarchitectural Transformations Using Elasticity
Authors: Galceran-Oms Marc , Gotmanov Alexander , Cortadella Jordi , Kishinevsky Mike
Published: December 2011

Elasticity is a paradigm that tolerates the variations in computation and communication delays. By applying elastic transformations that allow varying the original timing, circuits can be optimized beyond the conventional rigid transformations that do not modify the external timing.

Pipelining is one of the classical techniques to improve the throughput of a circuit. This article reveals how elasticity can be effectively and practically used to derive pipelined circuits by using correct-by-construction transformations that can be fully automated. Two designs, one of them industrial, are used to demonstrate how the area-performance trade-off can be explored using elasticity.
Energy-Efficient Pipeline Templates for High-Performance Asynchronous Circuits
Authors: Sheikh Basit Riaz , Manohar Rajit
Published: December 2011

We present two novel energy-efficient pipeline templates for high throughput asynchronous circuits. The proposed templates, called N-P and N-Inverter pipelines, use a single-track handshake protocol. There are multiple stages of logic within each pipeline. The proposed techniques minimize handshake overheads associated with input tokens and intermediate logic nodes within a pipeline template. Each template can pack a significant amount of logic in a single stage, while still maintaining a fast cycle time of only 18 transitions. Noise and timing robustness constraints of our pipelined circuits are quantified across all process corners. We present completion detection scheme based on wide NOR gates, which results in significant latency and energy savings especially as the number of outputs increase. To fully quantify all design trade-offs, three separate pipeline implementations of an 8x8-bit Booth-encoded array multiplier are presented. Compared to a standard QDI pipeline implementation, the N-Inverter and N-P pipeline implementations reduced the energy-delay product by 38.5% and 44% respectively. The overall multiplier latency was reduced by 20.2% and 18.7%, while the total transistor width was reduced by 35.6% and 46% with N-Inverter and N-P pipeline templates respectively.
Complete Fairness in Secure Two-Party Computation
Authors: Gordon S. Dov , Hazay Carmit , Katz Jonathan , Lindell Yehuda
Published: December 2011

In the setting of secure two-party computation, two mutually distrusting parties wish to compute some function of their inputs while preserving, to the extent possible, various security properties such as privacy, correctness, and more. One desirable property is
fairness
which guarantees, informally, that if one party receives its output, then the other party does too. Cleve [1986] showed that complete fairness cannot be achieved
in general
without an honest majority. Since then, the accepted folklore has been that
nothing
non-trivial can be computed with complete fairness in the two-party setting.

We demonstrate that this folklore belief is
false
by showing completely fair protocols for various nontrivial functions in the two-party setting based on standard cryptographic assumptions. We first show feasibility of obtaining complete fairness when computing any function over polynomial-size domains that does not contain an “embedded XOR”; this class of functions includes boolean AND/OR as well as Yao’s “millionaires’ problem”. We also demonstrate feasibility for certain functions that do contain an embedded XOR, though we prove a lower bound showing that any completely fair protocol for such functions must have round complexity super-logarithmic in the security parameter. Our results demonstrate that the question of completely fair secure computation without an honest majority is far from closed.
Truthful and Near-Optimal Mechanism Design via Linear Programming
Authors: Lavi Ron , Swamy Chaitanya
Published: December 2011

We give a general technique to obtain approximation mechanisms that are truthful in expectation. We show that for packing domains, any
α
-approximation algorithm that also bounds the integrality gap of the LP relaxation of the problem by
α
can be used to construct an
α
-approximation mechanism that is truthful in expectation. This immediately yields a variety of new and significantly improved results for various problem domains and furthermore, yields truthful (in expectation) mechanisms with guarantees that match the best-known approximation guarantees when truthfulness is not required. In particular, we obtain the first truthful mechanisms with approximation guarantees for a variety of multiparameter domains. We obtain truthful (in expectation) mechanisms achieving approximation guarantees of
O
(√
m
) for combinatorial auctions (CAs), (1 +
ϵ
) for multiunit CAs with
B
=
Ω
(log
m
) copies of each item, and 2 for multiparameter knapsack problems (multi-unit auctions).

Our construction is based on considering an LP relaxation of the problem and using the classic VCG mechanism to obtain a truthful mechanism in this fractional domain. We argue that the (fractional) optimal solution scaled down by
α
, where
α
is the integrality gap of the problem, can be represented as a convex combination of integer solutions, and by viewing this convex combination as specifying a probability distribution over integer solutions, we get a randomized, truthful in expectation mechanism. Our construction can be seen as a way of exploiting VCG in a computational tractable way even when the underlying social-welfare maximization problem is
NP
-hard.
New Constructive Aspects of the Lovász Local Lemma
Authors: Haeupler Bernhard , Saha Barna , Srinivasan Aravind
Published: December 2011

The Lovász Local Lemma (LLL) is a powerful tool that gives sufficient conditions for avoiding all of a given set of “bad” events, with positive probability. A series of results have provided algorithms to efficiently construct structures whose existence is non-constructively guaranteed by the LLL, culminating in the recent breakthrough of Moser and Tardos [2010] for the full asymmetric LLL. We show that the output distribution of the Moser-Tardos algorithm well-approximates the
conditional LLL-distribution
, the distribution obtained by conditioning on all bad events being avoided. We show how a known bound on the probabilities of events in this distribution can be used for further probabilistic analysis and give new constructive and nonconstructive results.

We also show that when a LLL application provides a small amount of slack, the number of resamplings of the Moser-Tardos algorithm is nearly linear in the number of underlying independent variables (not events!), and can thus be used to give efficient constructions in cases where the underlying proof applies the LLL to super-polynomially many events. Even in cases where finding a bad event that holds is computationally hard, we show that applying the algorithm to avoid a polynomial-sized “core” subset of bad events leads to a desired outcome with high probability. This is shown via a simple union bound over the probabilities of non-core events in the conditional LLL-distribution, and automatically leads to simple and efficient Monte-Carlo (and in most cases
RNC
) algorithms. We demonstrate this idea on several applications. We give the first constant-factor approximation algorithm for the Santa Claus problem by making a LLL-based proof of Feige constructive. We provide Monte Carlo algorithms for acyclic edge coloring, nonrepetitive graph colorings, and Ramsey-type graphs. In all these applications, the algorithm falls directly out of the non-constructive LLL-based proof. Our algorithms are very simple, often provide better bounds than previous algorithms, and are in several cases the first efficient algorithms known.

As a second type of application we show that the properties of the conditional LLL-distribution can be used in cases beyond the critical dependency threshold of the LLL: avoiding all bad events is impossible in these cases. As the first (even nonconstructive) result of this kind, we show that by sampling a selected smaller core from the LLL-distribution, we can avoid a fraction of bad events that is higher than the expectation. MAX
k
-SAT is an illustrative example of this.
Thessaloniki Mud Volcano, the Shallowest Gas Hydrate-Bearing Mud Volcano in the Anaximander Mountains, Eastern Mediterranean
Authors: Perissoratis C. , Ioakim Chr. , Alexandri S. , Woodside J. , Nomikou P. , Dählmann A. , Casas D. , Heeschen K. , Amman H. , Rousakis G. , Lykousis V.
Published: December 2011

A detailed multibeam survey and the subsequent gravity coring carried out in the Anaximander Mountains, Eastern Mediterranean, detected a new active gas hydrate-bearing mud volcano (MV) that was named Thessaloniki. It is outlined by the 1315 m bathymetric contour, is 1.67 km2 in area, and has a summit depth of 1260 m. The sea bottom water temperature is . The gas hydrate crystals generally have the form of flakes or rice, some larger aggregates of them are up to 2 cm across. A pressure core taken at the site contained 3.1 lt. of hydrocarbon gases composed of methane, nearly devoid of propane and butane. The sediment had a gas hydrate occupancy of 0.7% of the core volume. These characteristics place the gas hydrate field at Thessaloniki MV at the upper boundary of the gas hydrate stability zone, prone to dissociation with the slightest increase in sea water temperature, decrease in hydrostatic pressure, or change in the temperature of the advecting fluids.
Q Fever: Current State of Knowledge and Perspectives of Research of a Neglected Zoonosis
Authors: Porter Sarah Rebecca , Czaplicki Guy , Mainil Jacques , Guattéo Raphaël , Saegerman Claude
Published: December 2011

Q fever is an ubiquitous zoonosis caused by an resistant intracellular bacterium,Coxiella burnetii. In certain areas, Q fever can be a severe public health problem, and awareness of the disease must be promoted worldwide. Nevertheless, knowledge ofCoxiella burnetiiremains limited to this day. Its resistant (intracellular and environmental) and infectious properties have been poorly investigated. Further understanding of the interactions between the infected host and the bacteria is necessary. Domestic ruminants are considered as the main reservoir of bacteria. Infected animals shed highly infectious organisms in milk, feces, urine, vaginal mucus, and, very importantly, birth products. Inhalation is the main route of infection. Frequently asymptomatic in humans and animals, Q fever can cause acute or chronic infections. Financial consequences of infection can be dramatic at herd level. Vaccination with inactive whole-cell bacteria has been performed and proved effective in humans and animals. However, inactive whole-cell vaccines present several defects. Recombinant vaccines have been developed in experimental conditions and have great potential for the future. Q fever is a challenging disease for scientists as significant further investigations are necessary. Great research opportunities are available to reach a better understanding and thus a better prevention and control of the infection.
Primary Sarcoma of the Specialised Prostatic Stroma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Zamparese Rosanna , Corini Francesco , Braccischi Antonio , D'Angelo Antonella , Diamanti Lucilla , Del Vecchio Marina , Giannubilo Willy , Mambelli Vladimiro
Published: December 2011

Primary sarcoma tumours of the prostate are rare and are classified, according to their histology, as stromal tumours of uncertain malignant potential (STUMP) and stromal prostatic sarcoma (PS; low and high grade). We describe a case of a 71-year-old man that developed progressive urinary obstruction symptoms and was subjected to a transurethral prostatic resection (TURP). Histologically, there is a diffuse proliferation of epithelioid and spindle cells that showed rare atypical mitotic figures. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic cells express diffusely CD34 and focally progesterone whereas no immunoreactivity was seen for cytocheratin, desmin, S-100, Bcl-2, chromogranin, CD117, and actin smooth muscle. A final diagnosis of low-grade prostatic stromal sarcoma (LG-PS) was made. This is a really rare neoplasm; in the literature, in fact, to our knowledge, only 6 cases are described and all of these were alive and free of disease at followup. Our patient too is free of disease at 15 months from the diagnosis.
Depression Is Associated with Cognitive Dysfunction in Older Adults with Heart Failure
Authors: Garcia Sarah , Spitznagel Mary Beth , Cohen Ronald , Raz Naftali , Sweet Lawrence , Colbert Lisa , Josephson Richard , Hughes Joel , Rosneck Jim , Gunstad John
Published: December 2011

Persons with heart failure (HF) frequently exhibit cognitive impairment with deficits in attention and memory. Depression is common in HF though its possible contribution to cognitive impairment is unknown. Cognitive dysfunction and depression may share common mechanisms in HF, as both are associated with similar abnormalities on neuroimaging. A total of 116 participants with HF (68.53±9.30 years) completed a neuropsychological battery and self-report measures of depression. Regression models showed depression incrementally and independently predicted test performance in all cognitive domains. Follow-up partial correlations revealed that greater depressive symptoms were associated with poorer performance on tests of attention, executive function, psychomotor speed, and language. These results indicate that depressive symptoms are associated with poorer cognitive performance in HF though further work is needed to clarify mechanisms for this association and possible cognitive benefits of treating depression in persons with HF.
Fabrication and Optical Property of PeriodicSn1-xTixO2Nanostructures Patterned by the Polystyrene Microsphere Templates
Authors: Chen Shutian , Li Zhengcao , Zhang Zhengjun
Published: December 2011

Regular arrays ofSn1-xTixO2nanostructures were fabricated by glancing angle sputter deposition onto self-assembled close-packed arrays of 200 nm diameter, 500 nm diameter, and 1 μm diameter polystyrene microspheres, respectively. The morphology of the nanostructures could be modulated by the variation of the sputtering power of Ti target and the size of polystyrene microspheres templates. Accordingly, the performance of reflection which was dependent on the morphology of nanostructures could be tuned by optimizing the parameters. The anisotropic morphology of nanoflakes achieved by adjusting the sputtering power of Ti target could generate the anisotropism of reflectance. With the increase of the PS sphere size, the anisotropism of nanostructures weakened; however, they exhibited excellent antireflection effects by creating a smaller gradient of refractive index.
Gene Expression Analysis of In Vitro Cocultures to Study Interactions between Breast Epithelium and Stroma
Authors: Casbas-Hernandez Patricia , Fleming Jodie M. , Troester Melissa A.
Published: December 2011

The interactions between breast epithelium and stroma are fundamental to normal tissue homeostasis and for tumor initiation and progression. Gene expression studies of in vitro coculture models demonstrate that in vitro models have relevance for tumor progression in vivo. For example, stromal gene expression has been shown to vary in association with tumor subtype in vivo, and analogous in vitro cocultures recapitulate subtype‐specific biological interactions. Cocultures can be used to study cancer cell interactions with specific stromal components (e.g., immune cells, fibroblasts, endothelium) and different representative cell lines (e.g., cancer‐associated versus normal‐associated fibroblasts versus established, immortalized fibroblasts) can help elucidate the role of stromal variation in tumor phenotypes. Gene expression data can also be combined with cell‐based assays to identify cellular phenotypes associated with gene expression changes. Coculture systems are manipulable systems that can yield important insights about cell‐cell interactions and the cellular phenotypes that occur as tumor and stroma co‐evolve.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease as a Cause of Cognitive Decline and Seizures in the Elderly: Diagnostic Pointers and Strategy for Investigation
Authors: Williams R. , Cresswell F. , McClure M. , Lane R.
Published: December 2011

Cognitive decline affects one in twenty people over the age of 65. There is often a paucity of clues as to the underlying pathology, and while the diagnosis will usually prove to be either Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia, there may be clinical features suggesting rarer alternatives. This case of a 71-year-old lady with a 3-month history of progressive cognitive decline illustrates clinical features suggestive of Creutzfeltd-Jakob disease such as rapid decline in conscious level and myoclonic jerking. Diagnosis was confirmed by 3 means: (1) Electroencephalogram demonstrating periodic sharp wave complexes, (2) MRI brain showing cortical ribboning and high signal in the caudate nucleus, and (3) presence of protein S100 and protein14-3-3 in the cerebrospinal fluid. Postmortem brain histology confirmed a typical spongiform encephalopathy. Establishing an underlying aetiology is dementia is important not only for prognostic reasons but in order to detect potentially reversible causes. In cases of an atypical dementing illness our proposed investigations may assist in confirming or excluding underlying Creutzfeltd-Jakob disease.
Some Geometric Properties of Lacunary Sequence Spaces Related to Fixed Point Property
Authors: Mongkolkeha Chirasak , Kumam Poom
Published: December 2011

The main purpose of this paper is considering the lacunary sequence spaces defined by Karakaya (2007), by proving the property (β) and Uniform Opial property.
Iterative Algorithms for General MultivaluedVariational Inequalities
Authors: Yao Yonghong , Noor Muhammad Aslam , Liou Yeong-Cheng , Kang Shin Min
Published: December 2011

We introduce and study some new classes of variational inequalities and the Wiener‐Hopf equations. Using essentially the projection technique, we establish the equivalence between these problems. This equivalence is used to suggest and
analyze some iterative methods for solving the general multivalued variational in
equalities in conjunction with nonexpansive mappings. We prove a strong convergence
result for finding the common element of the set of fixed points of a nonexpansive
mapping and the set of solutions of the general multivalued variational inequalities
under some mild conditions. Several special cases are also discussed.
Nested Quantization Index Modulation for Reversible Watermarking and Its Application to Healthcare Information Management Systems
Authors: Ko Lu-Ting , Chen Jwu-E. , Shieh Yaw-Shih , Hsin Hsi-Chin , Sung Tze-Yun
Published: December 2011

Digital watermarking has attracted lots of researches to healthcare information management systems for access control, patients' data protection, and information retrieval. The well-known quantization index modulation-(QIM-) based watermarking has its limitations as the host image will be destroyed; however, the recovery of medical images is essential to avoid misdiagnosis. In this paper, we propose the nested QIM-based watermarking, which is preferable to the QIM-based watermarking for the medical image applications. As the host image can be exactly reconstructed by the nested QIM-based watermarking. The capacity of the embedded watermark can be increased by taking advantage of the proposed nest structure. The algorithm and mathematical model of the nested QIM-based watermarking including forward and inverse model is presented. Due to algorithms and architectures of forward and inverse nested QIM, the concurrent programs and special processors for the nested QIM-based watermarking are easily implemented.
Current Understanding and Future Prospects of Host Selection, Acceptance, Discrimination, and Regulation of Phorid Fly Parasitoids That Attack Ants
Authors: Mathis Kaitlyn A. , Philpott Stacy M.
Published: December 2011

Phorid fly parasitoids (Diptera: Phoridae) have evolved a diverse array of cues used to successfully parasitize their ant hosts. Successful parasitism often involves (a) host habitat location, (b) host location, (c) host acceptance, (d) host discrimination, and (e) host regulation. In this paper we discuss our current understanding of how phorid flies use each of these steps to successfully parasitize ant hosts. We examine the wide variety of strategies and cues used by a multiple species of phorid flies within three separate genera that most commonly parasitize ants (Apocephalus,Pseudacteon,and Neodohrniphora) and discuss future directions within this field of study.
Operative Techniques for Cervical Radiculopathy and Myelopathy
Authors: Moran C. , Bolger C.
Published: December 2011

The surgical treatment of cervical spondylosis and resulting cervical radiculopathy or myelopathy has evolved over the past century. Surgical options for dorsal decompression of the cervical spine includes the traditional laminectomy and laminoplasty, first described in Asia in the 1970's. More recently the dorsal approch has been explored in terms of minimally invasive options including foraminotomies for nerve root descompression. Ventral decompression and fusion techniques are also described in the article, including traditional anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, strut grafting and cervical disc arthroplasty. Overall, the outcome from surgery is determined by choosing the correct surgery for the correct patient and pathology and this is what we hope to explain in this brief review.
Nanocarriers Enhance Doxorubicin Uptake in Drug-Resistant Ovarian Cancer Cells
Authors: Arora Hans C. , Jensen Mark P. , Yuan Ye , Wu Aiguo , Vogt Stefan , Paunesku Tatjana , Woloschak Gayle E.
Published: December 2011

Resistance to anthracyclines and other chemotherapeutics due to P-glycoprotein (pgp)-mediated export is a frequent problem in cancer treatment. Here, we report that iron oxide–titanium dioxide core-shell nanocomposites can serve as efficient carriers for doxorubicin to overcome this common mechanism of drug resistance in cancer cells. Doxorubicin nanocarriers (DNC) increased effective drug uptake in drug-resistant ovarian cells. Mechanistically, doxorubicin bound to the TiO2 surface by a labile bond that was severed upon acidification within cell endosomes. Upon its release, doxorubicin traversed the intracellular milieu and entered the cell nucleus by a route that evaded pgp-mediated drug export. Confocal and X-ray fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry were used to show the ability of DNCs to modulate transferrin uptake and distribution in cells. Increased transferrin uptake occurred through clathrin-mediated endocytosis, indicating that nanocomposites and DNCs may both interfere with removal of transferrin from cells. Together, our findings show that DNCs not only provide an alternative route of delivery of doxorubicin to pgp-overexpressing cancer cells but also may boost the uptake of transferrin-tagged therapeutic agents. Cancer Res; 72(3); 769–78. ©2011 AACR.
Clinical Effects of Adjuvant Active Specific Immunotherapy Differ between Patients with Microsatellite-Stable and Microsatellite-Instable Colon Cancer
Authors: de Weger Vincent A. , Turksma Annelies W. , Voorham Quirinus J.M. , Euler Zelda , Bril Herman , van den Eertwegh Alfons J. , Bloemena Elisabeth , Pinedo Herbert M. , Vermorken Jan B. , van Tinteren Harm , Meijer Gerrit A. , Hooijberg Erik
Published: December 2011

Purpose: Active specific immunotherapy (ASI) consisting of an autologous tumor cell vaccine given as adjuvant treatment has been shown to improve recurrence-free survival of patients with colon cancer. The aim of the current retrospective study was to investigate whether the beneficial effects of ASI given as adjuvant treatment correlated with microsatellite instability (MSI), which is considered an important biologic determinant of colon cancer.

Experimental Design: Microsatellite status was assessed on archival tumor material from patients with stage II and III colon cancer. Microsatellite status was next associated with clinical outcome in control and ASI treatment groups using Kaplan–Meier analysis.

Results: We identified 162 (83%) microsatellite-stable tumors (MSS) and 34 (17%) MSI tumors. Patients with MSI tumors did well in recurrence-free interval (RFI) as well as disease-specific survival (DSS) irrespective of treatment arm and tumor stage. Patients with MSI tumors had significantly fewer recurrences and prolonged DSS than those with MSS tumors. Patients with MSS Dukes B tumors who received ASI treatment showed a significantly improved recurrence-free survival compared with controls. ASI treatment did not improve recurrence-free interval or DSS for patients with MSS Dukes C tumors.

Conclusion: This retrospective study indicated that patients with MSI tumors did well, irrespective of treatment arm and tumor stage. The data also indicate that the clinical benefit, measured as recurrence-free survival, from adjuvant ASI treatment of patients with colon cancer was restricted to patients with MSS Dukes B tumors. Clin Cancer Res; 18(3); 882–9. ©2011 AACR.
Selective BRAF Inhibitors Induce Marked T-cell Infiltration into Human Metastatic Melanoma
Authors: Wilmott James S. , Long Georgina V. , Howle Julie R. , Haydu Lauren E. , Sharma Raghwa N. , Thompson John F. , Kefford Richard F. , Hersey Peter , Scolyer Richard A.
Published: December 2011

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of treatment with the potent mutant BRAF inhibitors GSK2118436 or vemurafenib (PLX4720) on immune responses to metastatic melanoma in tissues taken before and after treatment.

Experimental Design: Thirty-seven tumor biopsies were collected from 15 patients with unresectable American Joint Committee on Cancer stage III or IV melanoma immediately before and approximately 7 days after the commencement of BRAF inhibitor treatment and at the time of tumor progression. Immunohistochemical staining was carried out on the biopsies using specific antibodies for CD8, CD4, CD20, CD1a, and Granzyme B.

Results: Tumor infiltration by CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes increased markedly following BRAF inhibitor treatment (both ρ = 0.015). There was a correlation between the degree of tumor infiltration by CD8+ and Granzyme B–expressing lymphocytes in post–BRAF inhibitor–treated biopsies (r = 0.690 and ρ = 0.013). Increased intratumoral CD8+ lymphocyte expression was correlated with a reduction in tumor size and an increase in necrosis in posttreatment biopsies (r = −0.793, ρ = 0.011; and r = 0.761, ρ = 0.004, respectively).

Conclusions: The increase in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes induced by treatment with BRAF inhibitors provides strong support for conducting trials that combine BRAF inhibitors with immunotherapy in the hope of prolonging clinical responses. Clin Cancer Res; 18(5); 1386–94. ©2011 AACR.