bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Management of canine corneal squamous cell carcinoma with lamellar keratectomy and strontium 90 plesiotherapy: 3 cases
Authors: Nevile Jessica C. , Hurn Simon D. , Turner Andrew G. , McCowan Christina
Published: August 2014

Purpose

To report three cases of canine corneal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) treated with strontium 90 beta radiation as an adjunct to surgical excision.

Methods

CornealSCCwas excised with lamellar keratectomy. This was followed by local application of strontium 90 beta radiation.

Results

Available case follow‐up times range from 3 to 50 months. One case suffered a recurrence 5 months following initial excision and strontium 90 treatment.

Conclusion and discussion

Strontium 90 beta radiation has been used extensively as an adjunctive treatment for equine cornealSCCand in other canine ocular tumors; however, there is a paucity of information regarding use in canine cornealSCC. The cases presented here suggest its use following keratectomy may be helpful in preventing disease recurrence. At the dosage used, severe adverse effects were not observed.
The influence of patient positioning uncertainties in proton radiotherapy on proton range and dose distributions
Authors: Liebl Jakob , Paganetti Harald , Zhu Mingyao , Winey Brian A.
Published: August 2014

Purpose:

Proton radiotherapy allows radiation treatment delivery with high dose gradients. The nature of such dose distributions increases the influence of patient positioning uncertainties on their fidelity when compared to photon radiotherapy. The present work quantitatively analyzes the influence of setup uncertainties on proton range and dose distributions.

Methods:

Thirty‐eight clinical passive scattering treatment fields for small lesions in the head were studied. Dose distributions for shifted and rotated patient positions were Monte Carlo‐simulated. Proton range uncertainties at the 50%‐ and 90%‐dose falloff position were calculated considering 18 arbitrary combinations of maximal patient position shifts and rotations for two patient positioning methods. Normal tissue complication probabilities (NTCPs), equivalent uniform doses (EUDs), and tumor control probabilities (TCPs) were studied for organs at risk (OARs) and target volumes of eight patients.

Results:

The authors identified a median 1σ proton range uncertainty at the 50%‐dose falloff of 2.8 mm for anatomy‐based patient positioning and 1.6 mm for fiducial‐based patient positioning as well as 7.2 and 5.8 mm for the 90%‐dose falloff position, respectively. These range uncertainties were correlated to heterogeneity indices (HIs) calculated for each treatment field (38% <R2 < 50%). A NTCP increase of more than 10% (absolute) was observed for less than 2.9% (anatomy‐based positioning) and 1.2% (fiducial‐based positioning) of the studied OARs and patient shifts. For target volumes TCP decreases by more than 10% (absolute) occurred in less than 2.2% of the considered treatment scenarios for anatomy‐based patient positioning and were nonexistent for fiducial‐based patient positioning. EUD changes for target volumes were up to 35% (anatomy‐based positioning) and 16% (fiducial‐based positioning).

Conclusions:

The influence of patient positioning uncertainties on proton range in therapy of small lesions in the human brain as well as target and OAR dosimetry were studied. Observed range uncertainties were correlated with HIs. The clinical practice of using multiple fields with smeared compensators while avoiding distal OAR sparing is considered to be safe.
Fully automated segmentation of cartilage from the MR images of knee using a multi‐atlas and local structural analysis method
Authors: Lee June‐Goo , Gumus Serter , Moon Chan Hong , Kwoh C. Kent , Bae Kyongtae Ty
Published: August 2014

Purpose:

To develop a fully automated method to segment cartilage from the magnetic resonance (MR) images of knee and to evaluate the performance of the method on a public, open dataset.

Methods:

The segmentation scheme consisted of three procedures: multiple‐atlas building, applying a locally weighted vote (LWV), and region adjustment. In the atlas building procedure, all training cases were registered to a target image by a nonrigid registration scheme and the best matched atlases selected. A LWV algorithm was applied to merge the information from these atlases and generate the initial segmentation result. Subsequently, for the region adjustment procedure, the statistical information of bone, cartilage, and surrounding regions was computed from the initial segmentation result. The statistical information directed the automated determination of the seed points inside and outside bone regions for the graph‐cut based method. Finally, the region adjustment was conducted by the revision of outliers and the inclusion of abnormal bone regions.

Results:

A total of 150 knee MR images from a public, open dataset (available atwww.ski10.org) were used for the development and evaluation of this approach. The 150 cases were divided into the training set (100 cases) and the test set (50 cases). The cartilages were segmented successfully in all test cases in an average of 40 min computation time. The average dice similarity coefficient was 71.7% ± 8.0% for femoral and 72.4% ± 6.9% for tibial cartilage.

Conclusions:

The authors have developed a fully automated segmentation program for knee cartilage from MR images. The performance of the program based on 50 test cases was highly promising.
Response to Comment on “The hologenomic basis of speciation: Gut bacteria cause hybrid lethality in the genus
Nasonia
”
Authors: Brucker Robert M. , Bordenstein Seth R.
Published: August 2014

Chandler and Turelli postulate that intrinsic hybrid dysfunction underscores hybrid lethality in
Nasonia
. Although it is a suitable conception for examining hybrid incompatibilities, their account of the evidence is factually inaccurate and leaves out the evolutionary process for why lethality became conditional on nuclear-microbe interactions. Hybrid incompatibilities in the context of phylosymbiosis are resolved by hologenomic principles and exemplify this emerging postmodern synthesis.
Stories of Arctic colonization
Authors: Park Robert W.
Published: August 2014

Genetic data elucidate the population history of the North American Arctic

[Also see Research Article by

Raghavan
et al.

]
Genomes reveal start of Ebola outbreak
Authors: Vogel Gretchen
Published: August 2014

Viral sequences demonstrate how the disease spread in Sierra Leone.
A chocolate habit in ancient North America
Authors: Bawaya Michael
Published: August 2014

Residues on pottery suggest close ties between Mesoamerica and cultures to the north.
Why null results rarely see the light of day
Authors: Mervis Jeffrey
Published: August 2014

“File drawer” study proposes registry for unpublished social science data.
Severe Sepsis Due to Chryseobacterium indologenes in an Immunocompetent Adventure Traveler
Authors: McKew Genevieve
Published: August 2014

Chryseobacterium indologenesis an environmental organism which is usually an opportunistic pathogen, most usually associated with nosocomial or device-related infections. This case, affecting a fit and well adventure traveler, demonstrates that it may be an agent of severe sepsis in otherwise healthy humans.
Socioeconomic inequalities in parent-reported and teacher-reported psychological well-being
Authors: Lewis Hannah , Hope Steven , Pearce Anna
Published: August 2014

Objective

To determine whether there are differences in the social gradient of parent-reported and teacher-reported child psychological well-being.

Design

Secondary data analysis comparing ratings of child psychological well-being (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ) in the UK Millennium Cohort Study at 7 years by socioeconomic circumstances (SEC). A number of measures of SEC were tested; results are reported for maternal education. From a sample of 13 168 singletons who participated at the age of 7 years, complete data were available for 8207 children.

Results

There was a social gradient in SDQ scores reported by parents and teachers, with ‘borderline/abnormal’ scores more prevalent in children with lower-educated mothers. However, the gradient was more marked in parent report compared with teacher report, and discrepancies between parent and teacher reports were greatest for children from higher SECs.

Conclusions

The social gradient in child psychological well-being, although present, was weaker in teacher report compared with parent report. This may be because children behave differently in school and home settings, or parents and teachers demonstrate reporting bias.
Increasing smoke alarm operability through theory-based health education: a randomised trial
Authors: Miller Ted R , Bergen Gwen , Ballesteros Michael F , Bhattacharya Soma , Gielen Andrea Carlson , Sheppard Monique S
Published: August 2014

Background

Although working smoke alarms halve deaths in residential fires, many households do not keep alarms operational. We tested whether theory-based education increases alarm operability.

Methods

Randomised multiarm trial, with a single arm randomly selected for use each day, in low-income neighbourhoods in Maryland, USA. Intervention arms: (1) Full Education combining a health belief module with a social-cognitive theory module that provided hands-on practice installing alarm batteries and using the alarm's hush button; (2) Hands-on Practice social-cognitive module supplemented by typical fire department education; (3) Current Norm receiving typical fire department education only. Four hundred and thirty-six homes recruited through churches or by knocking on doors in 2005–2008. Follow-up visits checked alarm operability in 370 homes (85%) 1–3.5 years after installation. Main outcome measures: number of homes with working alarms defined as alarms with working batteries or hard-wired and number of working alarms per home. Regressions controlled for alarm status preintervention; demographics and beliefs about fire risks and alarm effectiveness.

Results

Homes in the Full Education and Practice arms were more likely to have a functioning smoke alarm at follow-up (OR=2.77, 95% CI 1.09 to 7.03) and had an average of 0.32 more working alarms per home (95% CI 0.09 to 0.56). Working alarms per home rose 16%. Full Education and Practice had similar effectiveness (p=0.97 on both outcome measures).

Conclusions

Without exceeding typical fire department installation time, installers can achieve greater smoke alarm operability. Hands-on practice is key. Two years after installation, for every three homes that received hands-on practice, one had an additional working alarm.

Trial registration number

http://www.clinicaltrials.govnumberNCT00139126.
An unusual presentation of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in a Royal Python (Python regius)
Authors: Cope Iain , Wheelhouse Nick , Pocknell Ann , Dagleish Mark , Summers Brian
Published: August 2014

Chlamydia species are a relatively newly recognised and emerging pathogen in reptile species. Chlamydia pneumoniae has been reported to cause infections in several snake species, as well as other reptiles and amphibia, leading to granulomatous lesions in multiple organs, enteritis, pneumonia‐like signs and generalised condition loss. In this case the snake presented with anorexia, severe loss of condition and the neurological sign of loss of its righting reflex. No pneumonia‐like clinical signs were present. C pneumoniae was identified by PCR from the pooled viscera and as the causal agent of the splenitis by immunolocalisation within a splenic granuloma. This the first case report of C pneumoniae infection in a Royal Python and also of the neurological presentation that makes this case unusual. C pneumoniae should be included in the list of differentials for neurological disease in snakes.
Acute onset of blindness secondary to a splenosystemic shunt in an adult cat
Authors: Bennaim Michael , Pivetta Mauro , Puig Jordi , Beltran Elsa
Published: August 2014

An eight‐year‐old female, spayed, domestic, shorthair cat was presented for acute onset of blindness, lethargy, dysorexia and weight loss. On the basis of clinical presentation, clinicopathological findings, liver function tests and diagnostic imaging, a diagnosis of hepatic encephalopathy secondary to the presence of a hepatic vascular anomaly was made. The patient responded successfully to medical treatment. This case raises the importance of considering a portosystemic shunt as a possible cause of acute onset of neurological signs in adult cats. Additionally, it suggests a potential good response to medical treatment for splenosystemic shunts.
Follicular cystitis in a dog
Authors: Sul Rui Moncao , Hammond Gawain , Pratschke Kathryn
Published: August 2014

A four‐year‐old female Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with a history of recurrent lower urinary tract disease refractory to treatment was referred to our hospital. Clinical examination was unremarkable apart from thickening of the dorsal vulva. Abdominal ultrasound was compatible with possible areas of mild thickening of the bladder wall. Lower genitourinary‐contrast radiographic studies showed multiple small lesions in the bladder wall. Surgical biopsy of the bladder was compatible with follicular cystitis and excised uterine tissue was consistent with cervicitis. Clinical signs resolved after treatment with a combination of antibiosis, NSAIDs, pentosan polysulfate and amitriptyline. Follow‐up 30 months after surgery confirmed that the dog was free of clinical signs. Follicular cystitis has not been previously reported in dogs but should be considered as a differential for patients with refractory long‐standing lower urinary tract disease.
Atypical, non‐secretory presentation of multiple myeloma in a dog
Authors: Elliott James William
Published: August 2014

A 9‐year‐old, female‐neutered West Highland White Terrier presented with a left forelimb lameness and maxillary oral mass. Radiography revealed a large, extensive aggressive bone lesion in the distal radius. CT scan revealed a large invasive oral mass and widespread skeletal osteolysis. Cytology and histology samples confirmed multiple myeloma. Haematology and biochemistry revealed no typical changes, including an absence of hyperglobulinaemia. There was no monoclonal gammopathy detected on protein electrophoresis.
Closantel toxicity in a pregnant ewe at mid gestation: the pathological evaluation of the ewe and lamb nine months later
Authors: Hannon Fergus Patrick , Ellis Kathryn Amanda , Guevar Julien , Marchesi Francesco , Geraghty Timothy , Leach Joshua David George
Published: August 2014

In February 2013, a flock of 20 pastured ewes was treated with oral closantel. Within 10 days of dosing, one 2‐year‐old Texel‐cross ewe that was approximately three months in lamb was noticed to be spending a prolonged time in recumbency. On the 6th of March, the animal was referred to Scottish Centre for Production Animal Health and Food Safety (SCPAHFS). At admission, the ewe appeared blind, pupils were dilated with a negative menace response and pupillary light reflex bilaterally. Closantel toxicity was suspected. Following admission, this ewe was housed and was stable despite remaining blind. On April 21, a single male lamb was born. This lamb was found to have normal clinical and neurological parameters over five months of observation following birth. On postmortem examination closantel toxicity was confirmed in the ewe while following detailed gross and histological examination of all tissues of the lamb there was no indication of the toxicity suffered by its mother.
IAA-producing rhizobacteria from chickpea (Cicer arietinumL.) induce changes in root architecture and increase root biomass
Authors: Fierro-Coronado Rosario Alicia , Quiroz-Figueroa Francisco Roberto , García-Pérez Luz María , Ramírez-Chávez Enrique , Molina-Torres Jorge , Maldonado-Mendoza Ignacio Eduardo
Published: August 2014

Rhizobacteria promote and have beneficial effects on plant growth, making them useful to agriculture. Nevertheless, the rhizosphere of the chickpea plant has not been extensively examined. The aim of the present study was to select indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) producing rhizobacteria from the rhizosphere of chickpea plants for their potential use as biofertilizers. After obtaining a collection of 864 bacterial isolates, we performed a screen using the Salkowski reaction for the presence of auxin compounds (such as IAA) in bacterial Luria–Bertani supernatant (BLBS). Our results demonstrate that the Salkowski reaction has a greater specificity for detecting IAA than other tested auxins. Ten bacterial isolates displaying a wide range of auxin accumulation were selected, producing IAA levels of 5 to 90 μmol/L (according to the Salkowski reaction). Bacterial isolates were identified on the basis of 16S rDNA partial sequences: 9 isolates belonged to Enterobacter, and 1 isolate was classified as Serratia. The effect of BLBS on root morphology was evaluated in Arabidopsis thaliana. IAA production by rhizobacteria was confirmed by means of a DR5::GFP construct that is responsive to IAA, and also by HPLC–GC/MS. Finally, we observed that IAA secreted by rhizobacteria (i) modified the root architecture of A. thaliana, (ii) caused an increase in chickpea root biomass, and (iii) activated the green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene driven by the DR5 promoter. These findings provide evidence that these novel bacterial isolates may be considered as putative plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria modifying root architecture and increasing root biomass.
Geography of log models via asymptotic base loci
Authors: Choi Sung Rak
Published: August 2014

The geography of log models refers to the decomposition of the set of effective adjoint divisors into the polytopes defined by the resulting models obtained by the log minimal model program. We will describe the geography of log models in terms of the asymptotic base loci and Zariski decompositions of adjoint divisors. As an application, we prove some structure theorems on partially ample cones, thereby giving a partial answer to a question of B. Totaro.
Propagation and stability in software: A complex network perspective
Authors: Wang Lei , Wang Ping
Published: August 2014

In this paper, we attempt to understand the propagation and stability feature of large-scale complex software from the perspective of complex networks. Specifically, we introduced the concept of "propagation scope" to investigate the problem of change propagation in complex software. Although many complex software networks exhibit clear "small-world" and "scale-free" features, we found that the propagation scope of complex software networks is much lower than that of small-world networks and scale-free networks. Furthermore, because the design of complex software always obeys the principles of software engineering, we introduced the concept of "edge instability" to quantify the structural difference among complex software networks, small-world networks and scale-free networks. We discovered that the edge instability distribution of complex software networks is different from that of small-world networks and scale-free networks. We also found a typical structure that contributes to the edge instability distribution of complex software networks. Finally, we uncovered the correlation between propagation scope and edge instability in complex networks by eliminating the edges with different instability ranges.
Converting neutron stars into strange stars: Instanton model
Authors: Gurovich Victor Ts. , Fel Leonid G.
Published: August 2014

We calculate the quasiclassical probability to emerge the quantum fluctuation which gives rise to the quark-matter drop with interface propagating as the self-similar spherical detonation wave (DN) in the ambient nuclear matter. For this purpose, we make use of instanton method which is known in the quantum field theory.
GLYCOSAMINOGLYCAN CHANGES IN REGENERATIVE MENISCI OF THE IMMATURE RABBITS — HISTOLOGICAL AND SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC QUANTITATION
Authors: Moon Myung-Sang , Kim Sung-Soo , Chu In-Taek , Kim Sung Sim
Published: August 2014

Purpose: This study was conducted primarily to compare the contents and distribution of Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) in the normal and regenerated menisci, and partly to elucidate the role of GAG in the meniscus to fulfill its function. Method: A total of 60 immature rabbits, weighing 300–400 gm and aged 4 weeks, were used for the study. Total medial meniscectomy in the right knee joint was performed in all rabbits. The medial menisci of the left knee joints were used as control. After 16, 20, 24 and 28 weeks postoperatively, the amount of GAG in normal and regenerated menisci were measured. For the measurement of quantity and distribution of GAG contents, photon absorptiometry and Safranin O staining method were used. Results: (1) In 48 of the 60 medial meniscectomized knees, menisci were regenerated in various sizes with degenerative changes of joints, especially on tibial side. (2) In normal menisci, GAG was distributed at inner and middle 1/3, while GAG in regenerated menisci was diffusely found in the entire width. (3) The concentration of GAG per 1 mg of regenerated menisci were 4.36 ± 1.68, 4.58 ± 1.14, 4.65 ± 2.21, 4.60 ± 2.06 μg in each 16, 20, 24, and 28 week groups, while those of normal menisci were 9.10 ± 2.09, 9.75 ± 3.97, 11.80 ± 8.44 and 14.51 ± 8.91 μg. (4) In normal menisci, the amount of GAG was gradually increased as rabbit got older. However, there was no statistical differences of quantitative amount of GAG of regenerated menisci among the 16, 20, 24, and 28 weeks groups during the observation periods (p > 0.05). (5) There was a distinctive difference in Safranin O stainability by every 4 μg increase of GAG in both 1 mg of normal and regenerated menisci. Conclusion: This study showed the quantitative change of GAG between normal and regenerated menisci, and comparative analysis of GAG contents in the menisci by biochemical method and histological method were found to be useful tools.
Chemical bond and entanglement of electrons in the hydrogen molecule
Authors: Iliopoulos Nikos , Terzis Andreas F.
Published: August 2014

We theoretically investigate the quantum correlations (in terms of concurrence of indistinguishable electrons) in a prototype molecular system (hydrogen molecule). With the assistance of the standard approximations of the linear combination of atomic orbitals and the configuration interaction methods we describe the electronic wavefunction of the ground state of the H 2 molecule. Moreover, we managed to find a rather simple analytic expression for the concurrence (the most used measure of quantum entanglement) of the two electrons when the molecule is in its lowest energy. We have found that concurrence does not really show any relation to the construction of the chemical bond.
Object-Based Visual Servoing for Autonomous Mobile Manipulators
Authors: Seo Jonghyun , Lee Jangmyung
Published: August 2014

This paper proposes an object based vision (O-BV) system to implement visual servoing for autonomous mobile manipulators using two charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras. Conventional stereo vision (C-SV) system estimates the depth based on the disparity between two camera images for the same object. However, the disparity is not an effective cue for a small disparity at a long distance. To resolve this problem, in the proposed O-BV system, the individual camera tracks the object independently, and the angles of the two cameras are used to estimate the distance to the object. This depth estimation technique is applied for an autonomous mobile robot to approach to a target object precisely. The O-BV system is experimentally compared to the C-SV system in terms of computing time and depth estimation accuracy. Also the two cameras which are attached on the top of the autonomous mobile manipulator have been utilized for the mobile manipulator to approach to a target object precisely through the visual servoing. Through the experiments, it is demonstrated that the fast and precise depth estimation is a critical factor for the successful visual servoing.
Finite groups with generalized ℙ-subnormal second maximal subgroups
Authors: Kovaleva Viktoria A.
Published: August 2014

A subgroup H of a group G is said to be K-ℙ-subnormal inG [A. F. Vasilyev, T. I. Vasilyeva and V. N. Tyutyanov, On finite groups with almost all K-ℙ-subnormal Sylow subgroups, in Algebra and Combinatorics: Abstracts of Reports of the International Conference on Algebra and Combinatorics on Occasion the 60th Year Anniversary of A. A. Makhnev (Ekaterinburg, 2013), pp. 19–20] if there exists a chain of subgroups H = H0 ≤ H1 ≤ ⋯ ≤ Hn = G such that either Hi-1 is normal in Hi or |Hi : Hi-1| is a prime, for i = 1, …, n. In this paper, we describe finite groups in which every second maximal subgroup is K-ℙ-subnormal.
Insulin sensitivity is independent of lipid binding protein trafficking at the plasma membrane in human skeletal muscle: effect of a 3-day, high-fat diet
Authors: Jordy Andreas B. , Serup Annette K. , Karstoft Kristian , Pilegaard Henriette , Kiens Bente , Jeppesen Jacob
Published: August 2014

The aim of the present study was to investigate lipid-induced regulation of lipid binding proteins in human skeletal muscle and the impact hereof on insulin sensitivity. Eleven healthy male subjects underwent a 3-day hypercaloric and high-fat diet regime. Muscle biopsies were taken before and after the diet intervention, and giant sarcolemmal vesicles were prepared. The high-fat diet induced decreased insulin sensitivity, but this was not associated with a relocation of FAT/CD36 or FABPpm protein to the sarcolemma. However, FAT/CD36 and FABPpm mRNA, but not the proteins, were upregulated by increased fatty acid availability. This suggests a time dependency in the upregulation of FAT/CD36 and FABPpm protein during high availability of plasma fatty acids. Furthermore, we did not detect FATP1 and FATP4 protein in giant sarcolemmal vesicles obtained from human skeletal muscle. In conclusion, this study shows that a short-term lipid-load increases mRNA content of key lipid handling proteins in human muscle. However, decreased insulin sensitivity after a high-fat diet is not accompanied with relocation of FAT/CD36 or FABPpm protein to the sarcolemma. Finally, FATP1 and FATP4 protein was located intracellularly but not at the sarcolemma in humans.
Sex- and age-related differences in the chronic pressure-natriuresis relationship: role of the angiotensin type 2 receptor
Authors: Mirabito Katrina M. , Hilliard Lucinda M. , Kett Michelle M. , Brown Russell D. , Booth Sean C. , Widdop Robert E. , Moritz Karen M. , Evans Roger G. , Denton Kate M.
Published: August 2014

Sex hormones regulate the renin-angiotensin system. For example, estrogen enhances expression of the angiotensin type 2 receptor. We hypothesized that activation of the angiotensin type 2 receptor shifts the chronic pressure-natriuresis relationship leftward in females compared with males and that this effect is lost with age. Mean arterial pressure was measured by radiotelemetry in adult (4 mo old) and aged (14 mo old) wild-type and angiotensin type 2 receptor knockout male and female mice. Chronic pressure-natriuresis curves were constructed while mice were maintained on a normal-salt (0.26%) diet and following 6 days of high salt (5.0%) diet. Mean arterial pressure was lower in adult wild-type females than males (88 ± 1 and 97 ± 1 mmHg, respectively), a difference that was maintained with age, but was absent in adult knockout mice. In wild-type females, the chronic pressure-natriuresis relationship was shifted leftward compared with knockout females, an effect that was lost with age. In males, the chronic pressure-natriuresis relationship was not influenced by angiotensin type 2 receptor deficiency. Compared with age-matched females, the chronic pressure-natriuresis relationships in male mice were shifted rightward. Renal expression of the angiotensin type 2 receptor was fourfold greater in adult wild-type females than males. With age, the angiotensin type 2 receptor-to-angiotensin type 1 receptor balance was reduced in females. Conversely, in males, angiotensin receptor expression did not vary significantly with age. In conclusion, the angiotensin type 2 receptor modulates the chronic pressure-natriuresis relationship in an age- and sex-dependent manner.
The Influence of Electrophoretic Deposition for Fabricating Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cell
Authors: Chou Jung-Chuan , Lin Shen-Chang , Liao Yi-Hung , Hu Jui-En , Chuang Shen-Wei , Huang Chin-Hui
Published: August 2014

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) film was deposited on fluorine‐doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate by electrophoretic deposition method (EPD). TiO2 films were prepared with different I2 dosages, electric field intensities and deposition time (D.T.), electrophotic deposition times. By different I2 dosages, electric field intensities, deposition time, electrophotic deposition times fabricated TiO2 films and compared photoelectric characteristics of TiO2 films to find optimal parameters which were the highest photovoltaic conversion efficiency. And use electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to measure the Nyquist plots under different conditions and analyze the impendence of dye‐sensitized solar cells at the internal heterojunction. According to the experimental results, the I2 dosage was 0.025 g which obtained the optimal characteristic parameters. Thickness of TiO2 film was 10.6 μm, the open‐circuit voltage (Voc) was 0.77 V, the short‐circuit current density (Jsc) was 7.20 mA/cm2, the fill factor (F.F.) was 53.41%, and photovoltaic conversion efficiency (η) was 2.96%.
Defect Characterization Based on Eddy Current Technique: Technical Review
Authors: Ghoni Ruzlaini , Dollah Mahmood , Sulaiman Aizat , Ibrahim Fadhil Mamat
Published: August 2014

Eddy current testing is widely used for nondestructive evaluation of metallic structures in characterizing numerous types of defects occurring in various locations. It offers remarkable advantages over other nondestructive techniques because of its ease of implementation. This paper presents a technical review of Eddy current technique in various scope of defect detection. The first part presents Eddy current evaluation on various defects location and orientation such as steam generator tubes, stress crack corrosion, and fatigue cracks. The next section analyzes the use of pulsed Eddy current and pulsed Eddy current thermography as an alternative method for monitoring the growth of cracks with the aid of computational techniques for postsignal analysis.
Numerical Study of Thermal and Flow Characteristics of Plate‐Fin Heat Sink with Longitudinal Vortex Generator Installed on the Ground
Authors: Chang Yen-Tso , Lin Han-Ching , Huang Chi-Jui , Tsai Go-Long , Jiang Jinn-Feng
Published: August 2014

This study applied the commercial software ANSYS CFD (FLUENT), for simulating the transient flow field and investigating the influence of each parameter of longitudinal vortex generators (LVGs) on the thermal flux of a plate‐fin heat sink. Vortex generator was set in front of plate‐fin heat sink and under the channel, which was in common‐flow‐down (CFD) and common‐flow‐up (CFU) conditions, which have the result of vortex generator of delta winglet pair (DWP). In this study the parameters were varied, such as the minimum transverse distance between winglet pair, the attack angle of the vortex generator, fins number, the fin height, and the distance between the vortex generator and plate‐fin. The coolant fluid flew into the fin‐to‐fin channel and pushed the vortex from different geometry toward the bottom. This phenomenon took off the heat from the plate to enhance the heat transfer. The numerical results indicated that the LVGs located close to the plate‐fin heat sink are zero with the attack angle being 30°, presenting optimal overall conditions.
Study of an Amorphous Silicon Oxide Buffer Layer for p-Type Microcrystalline Silicon Oxide/n-Type Crystalline Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells and Their Temperature Dependence
Authors: Krajangsang Taweewat , Moollakorn Apichan , Inthisang Sorapong , Limmanee Amornrat , Sriprapha Kobsak , Boriraksantikul Nattaphong , Taratiwat Tianchai , Akarapanjavit Nirod , Sritharathikhun Jaran
Published: August 2014

Intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide (i-a-SiO:H) films were used as front and rear buffer layers in crystalline silicon heterojunction (c-Si-HJ) solar cells. The surface passivity and effective lifetime of these i-a-SiO:H films on an n-type silicon wafer were improved by increasing the CO2/SiH4ratios in the films. Using i-a-SiO:H as the front and rear buffer layers in c-Si-HJ solar cells was investigated. The front i-a-SiO:H buffer layer thickness and the CO2/SiH4ratio influenced the open-circuit voltage(Voc), fill factor (FF), and temperature coefficient (TC) of the c-Si-HJ solar cells. The highest total area efficiency obtained was 18.5%(Voc=700 mV,Jsc=33.5 mA/cm2, andFF=0.79). The TC normalized for this c-Si-HJ solar cell efficiency was −0.301%/°C.
Adaptive Inverse Optimal Control for Rehabilitation Robot Systems Using Actor‐Critic Algorithm
Authors: Meng Fancheng , Dai Yaping
Published: August 2014

The higher goal of rehabilitation robot is to aid a person to achieve a desired functional task (e.g., tracking trajectory) based on assisted‐as‐needed principle. To this goal, a new adaptive inverse optimal hybrid control (AHC) combining inverse optimal control and actor‐critic learning is proposed. Specifically, an uncertain nonlinear rehabilitation robot model is firstly developed that includes human motor behavior dynamics. Then, based on this model, an open‐loop error system is formed; thereafter, an inverse optimal control input is designed to minimize the cost functional and a NN‐based actor‐critic feedforward signal is responsible for the nonlinear dynamic part contaminated by uncertainties. Finally, the AHC controller is proven (through a Lyapunov‐based stability analysis) to yield a global uniformly ultimately bounded stability result, and the resulting cost functional is meaningful. Simulation and experiment on rehabilitation robot demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.
Energy‐Aware Real‐Time Task Scheduling for Heterogeneous Multiprocessors with Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm
Authors: Zhang Weizhe , Xie Hucheng , Cao Boran , Cheng Albert M. K.
Published: August 2014

Energy consumption in computer systems has become a more and more important issue. High energy consumption has already damaged the environment to some extent, especially in heterogeneous multiprocessors. In this paper, we first formulate and describe the energy‐aware real‐time task scheduling problem in heterogeneous multiprocessors. Then we propose a particle swarm optimization (PSO) based algorithm, which can successfully reduce the energy cost and the time for searching feasible solutions. Experimental results show that the PSO‐based energy‐aware metaheuristic uses 40%–50% less energy than the GA‐based and SFLA‐based algorithms and spends 10% less time than the SFLA‐based algorithm in finding the solutions. Besides, it can also find 19% more feasible solutions than the SFLA‐based algorithm.
Comparison of Back Propagation Neural Network and Genetic Algorithm Neural Network for Stream Flow Prediction
Authors: Gowda C. Chandre , Mayya S. G.
Published: August 2014

Comparison of stream flow prediction models has been presented. Stream flow prediction model was developed using typical back propagation neural network (BPNN) and genetic algorithm coupled with neural network (GANN). The study uses daily data from Nethravathi River basin (Karnataka, India). The study demonstrates the prediction ability of GANN. The statistical tests show that GANN model performs much better when compared to BPNN model.
On Descriptions of Particle Transverse Momentum Spectra in High Energy Collisions
Authors: Liu Fu-Hu , Gao Ya-Qin , Wei Hua-Rong
Published: August 2014

The transverse momentum spectra obtained in the frame of an isotropic emission source are compared in terms of Tsallis, Boltzmann, Fermi-Dirac, and Bose-Einstein distributions and the Tsallis forms of the latter three standard distributions. It is obtained that, at a given set of parameters, the standard distributions show a narrower shape than their Tsallis forms which result in wide and/or multicomponent spectra with the Tsallis distribution in between. A comparison among the temperatures obtained from the distributions is made with a possible relation to the Boltzmann temperature. An example of the angular distributions of projectile fragments in nuclear collisions is given.
Microstructure and Properties of SCE‐Al2O3/PES‐MBAE Composite
Authors: Chen Yufei , Dai Qiwang , Zhang Xiwang , Feng Tao
Published: August 2014

SCE‐Al2O3 was the nano‐Al2O3 modified by supercritical ethanol and the surface of SCE‐Al2O3 was coated with active group. 4,4′‐diaminodiphenylmethane bismaleimide (MBMI) was used as matrix; 3,3′‐diallyl bisphenol A (BBA) and bisphenol‐A diallyl ether (BBE) were used as reactive diluent, polyethersulfone (PES) as toughening agent, and SCE‐Al2O3 as modifier; SCE‐Al2O3/PES‐MBAE nanocomposite was prepared through in situ sol‐gel method. The mechanism of composite toughened by PES was observed and analyzed. FTIR indicated that the reaction between MBMI and allyl compound occurred and SCE‐Al2O3 had doped into the polymer matrix. SEM showed that PES particle was inlaid in matrix and presented as a two‐phase structure in matrix. The heat resistance, dielectric properties, and mechanical properties of SCE‐Al2O3/PES‐MBAE nanocomposites were evaluated. The results showed that with the incorporation of PES, although the toughness of the material improved, the heat resistance and dielectric properties of material declined, meanwhile. The adulteration of SCE‐Al2O3 could remedy the harmful effect caused by PES, while the content of SCE‐Al2O3 was reasonable. The decomposition temperature, dielectric constant, and dielectric loss of composite were 441.23°C, 3.63 (100 Hz), and 1.52 × 10−3 (100 Hz); the bending strength and impact strength were 129.22 MPa and 13.19 kJ/mm2, respectively, when the content of SCE‐Al2O3 was 3 wt% and PES was 5 wt%.
Arcwise Connected Domains, Quasiconformal Mappings, and Quasidisks
Authors: Chu Yu-Ming
Published: August 2014

We prove that a homeomorphismf:R2→R2is a quasiconformal mapping if and only iff(D)is an arcwise connected domain for any arcwise connected domainD⊆R2, andDis a quasidisk if and only if bothDand its exteriorD*=R2∖D¯are arcwise connected domains.
Free and Forced Vibration Analysis of an Infilled Steel Frame: Experimental, Numerical, and Analytical Methods
Authors: Hariri-Ardebili Mohammad Amin , Rahmani Samani Hamid , Mirtaheri Masoud
Published: August 2014

Structural frames with masonry infill panels make up a significant portion of the buildings constructed in earthquake-prone areas prior to the developing of the seismic design standards. In this paper, the effects of masonry panels on the vibration response of an infilled steel-frame building are investigated. Various ambient and steady state forced vibration tests are carried out to realize the dynamic characteristics of the system. 3D finite element models of the building with and without infill panels are provided based on marcomodeling theorem. A set of analytical approximate formulas are also derived to estimate the vibrational period. The natural frequencies of the building are computed using numerical, analytical, and experimental methods. The results show that neglecting the effect of infill panels leads to considerable error. Moreover, it is shown that there is good agreement among the results obtained by the three methods considering the effect of infill panels.
Sinusoidal Generator withπ/4-Shifted Four/Eight Voltage Outputs Employing Four Grounded Components and Two/Six Active Elements
Authors: Maheshwari Sudhanshu
Published: August 2014

This paper presents a new circuit proposal for multiphase sine-wave generation, employing two active elements and four grounded passive elements. The proposed oscillator provides four 45° phase-shifted voltage outputs. Incorporation of additional inverters for generation of eight-phase outputs is further shown. Simultaneous current outputs can also be generated with additional output stages. The compact circuit structure is studied for nonideal and parasitic effects and simulation results are given, which are in good agreement with the theory. The utility of the proposal forπ/4-QPSK generation is explored as an interesting application example with supporting results.
Litter Production and Nutrient Dynamic on a Moso Bamboo Plantation following an Extreme Disturbance of 2008 Ice Storm
Authors: Ge Xiaogai , Zhou Benzhi , Tang Yilin
Published: August 2014

Ice storm is known to play a role in determining forest succession and litter dynamics constitute an important aspect of nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. However, ice storm effects on amount and pattern of litterfall are not clearly understood. We investigated litter production and litter leaf nutrient dynamic in a moso bamboo plantation in China following an extreme disturbance of ice storm in 2008. The litterfall in on-years was significantly lower than in off-years. Ice storm caused total litterfall increasing from 16.68% to 35.60% and greatly disturbed the litterfall peak rhythm especially in the on-year. The litter leaf nutrient concentrations at two latitudes significantly fluctuated after ice-snow disaster in 2008, litter leaf stoichiometric traits indicated that litter leaf chemistry showed more easily decomposition with higher C/P ratio, N/P ratio, and lower C/N ratio. It is clear from this study that litterfall restoration dynamic would result in long-term changes in litter nutrient cycling and may help predicting below ground carbon dynamic in future research as well as subtropical forest inventories following extreme disturbance.
A Computing Approach with the Heat-Loss Model for the Transient Analysis of Liquid Metal Natural Circulation Loop
Authors: Lu Daogang , Zhang Xun , Guo Chao
Published: August 2014

The transient behaviors of natural circulation loop (NCL) are important for the system reliability under postulated accidents. The heat loss and structure thermal inertia may influence the transient behaviors of NCL greatly, so a transient analysis model with consideration of heat loss was developed based on the MATLAB/Simulink to predict the thermal-hydraulic characteristic of liquid metal NCL. The transient processes including the start-up, the loss of pump, and the shutdown of thermal-hydraulic ADS lead bismuth loop (TALL) experimental facility were simulated by using the model. A good agreement is obtained to validate the transient model. The appended structure would provide significant thermal inertia and flatten the temperature distribution in the transients. The oscillations of temperature and flow rate are also weakened. The temperature difference between hot leg and cold leg would increase with the decrease of heat loss, so the flow rate increases as well. However, a significant increase of hot section temperature may cause a failure of facility integrity due to the decrease of heat loss. Hence, the full power of the core tank may also be limited.
Automated Image Analysis of Lung Branching Morphogenesis from Microscopic Images of Fetal Rat Explants
Authors: Rodrigues Pedro L. , Rodrigues Nuno F. , Duque Duarte , Granja Sara , Correia-Pinto Jorge , Vilaça João L.
Published: August 2014

Background.Regulating mechanisms of branching morphogenesis of fetal lung rat explants have been an essential tool for molecular research. This work presents a new methodology to accurately quantify the epithelial, outer contour, and peripheral airway buds of lung explants during cellular development from microscopic images.Methods.The outer contour was defined using an adaptive and multiscale threshold algorithm whose level was automatically calculated based on an entropy maximization criterion. The inner lung epithelium was defined by a clustering procedure that groups small image regions according to the minimum description length principle and local statistical properties. Finally, the number of peripheral buds was counted as the skeleton branched ends from a skeletonized image of the lung inner epithelia.Results.The time for lung branching morphometric analysis was reduced in 98% in contrast to the manual method. Best results were obtained in the first two days of cellular development, with lesser standard deviations. Nonsignificant differences were found between the automatic and manual results in all culture days.Conclusions.The proposed method introduces a series of advantages related to its intuitive use and accuracy, making the technique suitable to images with different lighting characteristics and allowing a reliable comparison between different researchers.
Workload‐Aware and CPU Frequency Scaling for Optimal Energy Consumption in VM Allocation
Authors: Liu Zhen , Xiang Yongchao , Qu Xiaoya
Published: August 2014

In the problem of VMs consolidation for cloud energy saving, different workloads will ask for different resources. Thus, considering workload characteristic, the VM placement solution will be more reasonable. In the real world, different workload works in a varied CPU utilization during its work time according to its task characteristics. That means energy consumption related to both the CPU utilization and CPU frequency. Therefore, only using the model of CPU frequency to evaluate energy consumption is insufficient. This paper theoretically verified that there will be a CPU frequency best suit for a certain CPU utilization in order to obtain the minimum energy consumption. According to this deduction, we put forward a heuristic CPU frequency scaling algorithm VP‐FS (virtual machine placement with frequency scaling). In order to carry the experiments, we realized three typical greedy algorithms for VMs placement and simulate three groups of VM tasks. Our efforts show that different workloads will affect VMs allocation results. Each group of workload has its most suitable algorithm when considering the minimum used physical machines. And because of the CPU frequency scaling, VP‐FS has the best results on the total energy consumption compared with the other three algorithms under any of the three groups of workloads.
An Efficient Frequency Recognition Method Based on Likelihood Ratio Test for SSVEP-Based BCI
Authors: Zhang Yangsong , Dong Li , Zhang Rui , Yao Dezhong , Zhang Yu , Xu Peng
Published: August 2014

An efficient frequency recognition method is very important for SSVEP-based BCI systems to improve the information transfer rate (ITR). To address this aspect, for the first time, likelihood ratio test (LRT) was utilized to propose a novel multichannel frequency recognition method for SSVEP data. The essence of this new method is to calculate the association between multichannel EEG signals and the reference signals which were constructed according to the stimulus frequency with LRT. For the simulation and real SSVEP data, the proposed method yielded higher recognition accuracy with shorter time window length and was more robust against noise in comparison with the popular canonical correlation analysis- (CCA-) based method and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator- (LASSO-) based method. The recognition accuracy and information transfer rate (ITR) obtained by the proposed method was higher than those of the CCA-based method and LASSO-based method. The superior results indicate that the LRT method is a promising candidate for reliable frequency recognition in future SSVEP-BCI.