bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Coping Card Usage can Further Reduce Suicide Reattempt in Suicide Attempter Case Management Within 3‐Month Intervention
Authors: Wang Ying‐Chuan , Hsieh Ling‐Yu , Wang Ming‐Yu , Chou Cheng‐Hsiang , Huang Min‐Wei , Ko Huei‐Chen
Published: July 2015

This randomized controlled trial was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of using crisis coping cards (n = 32) in the case management of suicide prevention compared with case management without the use of coping cards (n = 32) over a 3‐month intervention period. The generalized estimating equation was used to examine the interaction effect between treatments and time on suicide risk, depression, anxiety, and hopelessness. Results indicated that subsequent suicidal behaviors, severity of suicide risk, depression, anxiety, and hopelessness were reduced more in the coping card intervention group compared to the case management only group. Moreover, for the survival curves of time to suicide reattempt, the coping card group showed a significantly longer time to reattempt than the case management only group at 2‐month and 3‐month intervention periods.
Identification of a new HLA‐B*27 allele, B*27:133, in a Russian individual
Authors: Loginova M. , Paramonov I.
Published: July 2015

The sequence of HLA‐B*27:133 differs from HLA‐B*27:05:02 by one nucleotide change within exon 3.
A novel human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele, HLA‐DRB1*08:71, was found in a Taiwanese unrelated hematopoietic stem cell donor
Authors: Yang K. L. , Hung J. H. , Lin P. Y.
Published: July 2015

One nucleotide substitution at residue 367 of HLA‐DRB1*08:03:02 results in a new allele, HLA‐DRB1*08:71.
Characterization of a novel HLA‐B allele (HLA‐B*18:108) by intron–exon sequencing of the HLA‐B locus
Authors: Curcio M. , Sciarrino R. , Biagini C. , Marchetti L. , Gobbo F. , Scatena A. , Presciuttini S.
Published: July 2015

HLA‐B*18:108 has two nucleotide changes from B*18:01:01:02 at nt 430 where A → G and nt 431 where G → A.
Meta‐analysis of the human leukocyte antigen‐G (HLA‐G) 14 bp insertion/deletion polymorphism as a risk factor for preeclampsia
Authors: Pabalan N. , Jarjanazi H. , Sun C. , Iversen A. C.
Published: July 2015

The non‐classical major histocompatibility complex, human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐G, plays an important role in pregnancy. HLA‐G mediates proper interaction between maternal immune cells and fetal trophoblasts invading the uterine wall, to ensure successful placental development and function. Several HLA‐G gene variants have been shown to be associated with development of preeclampsia (PE), but the reported associations of the HLA‐G 14 base pair (bp) insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism (rs66554220) with PE are inconsistent. In this meta‐analysis of HLA‐G 14 bp I/D in each member of the family triad, we estimated risk (odds ratio [OR], 95% confidence interval) of associations with PE based on nine published offspring, nine mother and three father case–control studies. No significant increased risk associations between PE and HLA‐G 14 bp I/D were detected in any of the family triad members (offspring: OR = 1.08–1.21, P = 0.57–0.74; mothers: OR = 1.11–1.28, P = 0.07–0.44; fathers: OR = 1.09–1.65, P = 0.07–0.70). Of the 20 comparisons performed, 14 (70%) were non‐heterogeneous and seven of these had zero heterogeneity (I2 = 0%). Sensitivity treatment confirmed robustness for the overall lack of association for HLA‐G 14 bp I/D. In subgroup analysis, significant association between HLA‐G 14 bp I/D and PE was shown in offspring from primipara (OR = 1.66–1.95, P = 0.04) and European Caucasian pregnancies (OR = 1.37–2.03, P = 0.02–0.03). However, heterogeneity and sensitivity tests suggest that further investigation is needed to determine if HLA‐G 14 bp I/D is involved in trophoblast HLA‐G expression and PE development in these subgroups.
Incidence and risk factors for herpes zoster in patients undergoing liver transplantation
Authors: Hamaguchi Y. , Mori A. , Uemura T. , Ogawa K. , Fujimoto Y. , Okajima H. , Kaido T. , Uemoto S.
Published: July 2015

Background

Herpes zoster (HZ) is the most common manifestation of latent varicella zoster virus reactivation, which occurs naturally as a result of aging or in immunocompromised patients. Solid organ transplant recipients are at increased risk for HZ owing to their chronic immunosuppression. Although several reports investigated risk factors for the development of HZ in heart or renal transplantation, data in liver transplantation (LT) are limited.

Methods

We evaluated clinical data retrospectively in 377 adult patients undergoing LT between January 2005 and December 2012 in our institution. We analyzed the incidence rate of HZ and the standardized incidence ratio (SIR) by comparing with the general Japanese population. We additionally investigated risk factors for HZ after LT.

Results

HZ developed in 27 (7.16%) of the 377 patients after LT. The incidence rate of HZ after LT was 17.83 per 1000 person‐years, which was significantly higher than in the general Japanese population (SIR = 4.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.13–5.14). Multivariate analysis showed that older age (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.95; P < 0.001) and exposure to mycophenolate mofetil (HR = 3.03; P = 0.007) were independent risk factors for HZ after LT.

Conclusions

This is the first and largest study, to our knowledge, to investigate the incidence rate of HZ and risk factors for development of HZ after LT in the Japanese population. Further investigations to focus on immunosuppressive regimens to reduce the risk for HZ incidence in this high‐risk population could establish a new protocol of immunosuppression after LT.
A novel cis‐AB variant allele arising from a de novo nucleotide substitution c.796A>G (p.M266V) in the B glycosyltransferase gene
Authors: Lee S. Y. , Phan M. T. T. , Shin D. J. , Shin M. G. , Park J. T. , Shin J. W. , Yazer M. H. , Shin H. B. , Cho D.
Published: July 2015

Background

Cis‐AB, a rare ABO variant, is the result of a mutated ABO gene that produces a glycosyltransferase enzyme with dual A and B glycosyltransferase activity. It may lead to ABO discrepancies and a delay in establishing the blood group. To date, there have been no reports of a de novo mutation leading to a cis‐AB allele.

Objectives and Methods

Sequencing of the ABO gene using blood and hair follicle cells from the proposita were performed along with blood from her parents. To establish maternity and paternity, short tandem repeat (STR) analysis was also performed. The A and B enzyme activities of the novel enzyme were measured in an in vitro expression study.

Results

A novel cis‐AB allele arising from nucleotide substitution c.796A>G (p.M266V) in the B glycosyltransferase gene were discovered in the blood and hair follicle cells from the proposita, which was absent from her parents. In all 15 autosomal STR loci analysed, the probability of maternity and paternity were 0·999999 and 0·999989, respectively. The novel enzyme created 33·1% and 60·2% of A and B antigen compared to wild type A and B glycosyltransferases.

Conclusion

A novel mechanism leading to a cis‐AB allele was discovered.
Reducing intraoperative red blood cell unit wastage in a large academic medical center
Authors: Whitney Gina M. , Woods Marcella C. , France Daniel J. , Austin Thomas M. , Deegan Robert J. , Paroskie Allison , Booth Garrett S. , Young Pampee P. , Dmochowski Roger R. , Sandberg Warren S. , Pilla Michael A.
Published: July 2015

BACKGROUND

The wastage of red blood cell (RBC) units within the operative setting results in significant direct costs to health care organizations. Previous education‐based efforts to reduce wastage were unsuccessful at our institution. We hypothesized that a quality and process improvement approach would result in sustained reductions in intraoperative RBC wastage in a large academic medical center.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Utilizing a failure mode and effects analysis supplemented with time and temperature data, key drivers of perioperative RBC wastage were identified and targeted for process improvement.

RESULTS

Multiple contributing factors, including improper storage and transport and lack of accurate, locally relevant RBC wastage event data were identified as significant contributors to ongoing intraoperative RBC unit wastage. Testing and implementation of improvements to the process of transport and storage of RBC units occurred in liver transplant and adult cardiac surgical areas due to their history of disproportionately high RBC wastage rates. Process interventions targeting local drivers of RBC wastage resulted in a significant reduction in RBC wastage (p < 0.0001; adjusted odds ratio, 0.24; 95% confidence interval, 0.15‐0.39), despite an increase in operative case volume over the period of the study. Studied process interventions were then introduced incrementally in the remainder of the perioperative areas.

CONCLUSIONS

These results show that a multidisciplinary team focused on the process of blood product ordering, transport, and storage was able to significantly reduce operative RBC wastage and its associated costs using quality and process improvement methods.
Blood donor deferral for men who have sex with men: the Blood Donation Rules Opinion Study (Blood DROPS)
Authors: Custer Brian , Sheon Nicolas , Siedle‐Khan Bob , Pollack Lance , Spencer Bryan , Bialkowski Walter , D'Andrea Pam , Sullivan Marian , Glynn Simone , Williams Alan ,   for the NHLBI Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study‐III (REDS‐III)
Published: July 2015

BACKGROUND

In the United States, any man who discloses having had sex with another man (MSM) even once since 1977 is currently deferred from donating blood. A study was conducted to assess noncompliance with the policy at four geographically dispersed blood centers.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Male donors 18+ years of age with e‐mail addresses were randomly selected and invited to complete a confidential online survey between August and October 2013. No additional recruitment e‐mails were sent. Survey content included demographics, sexual history, donation history, compliance with the policy, and opinions about current and modified policies.

RESULTS

Response rate was 11.5% but varied by center (6.3% to 21.7%). Of 3183 completed surveys, 2.6% of respondents (95% confidence interval, 2.1%‐3.2%) reported donation after male–male sex. Noncompliance was not statistically different among the centers (p = 0.1), but was related to age with 5.7, 4.6, 2.5, and 1.0% of donors 18 to 24, 25 to 34, 35 to 54, and 50+ years of age, respectively, reporting noncompliance (p < 0.001). Of all respondents, 6.8% reported at least six female and 0.3% reported at least six male sex partners in the past 5 years. Opinions about the current MSM policy were mixed with noncomplying donors more supportive of change than complying donors. Approximatey half of noncompliers indicated they would adhere to a 1‐year deferral.

CONCLUSION

Noncompliance with the MSM policy is evident and may be increasing compared to earlier data. Any change from the current policy will require close monitoring to determine whether it affects residual risk of HIV in the US blood supply.
RTAs' Proliferation and Trade‐diversion Effects: Evidence of the ‘Spaghetti Bowl’ Phenomenon
Authors: Sorgho Zakaria
Published: July 2015

This paper investigates the trade‐diversion effects of regional trade agreements (RTAs), so‐called spaghetti bowl phenomenon (SBP), in multilateral trade. The SBP is due to the proliferation of RTAs. Thus, I investigate the relationship between the number of RTAs concluded by a country and the additional trade value attributed to a RTA. Using bilateral trade data in a sample of 119 countries, from 1995 to 2012, my main finding reveals a negative trade effect between them, confirming the existence of SBP in multilateral trade. However, results could not conclude the evidence of a negative effect of overlapping RTAs, involving the existence of SBP, within North–North, North–South or South–South trade. But, the additional trade value attributed to a RTA concluded with EU countries or US seems to confirm significantly a trade‐diversion effect because of the number of RTAs signed by these countries.
River engineering works and lamprey ammocoetes; impacts, recovery, mitigation
Authors: King James J. , Wightman Glen D. , Hanna Grainne , Gilligan Nathy
Published: July 2015

Channel form and biotic features create a network of niches that facilitate sediment deposition, creating habitat for lamprey larvae or ammocoetes. Flood conveyance management and channel maintenance can lead to a general loss of instream features that permit biotic diversity and sediment deposition. Studies presented here identified the potential for loss of both ammocoete habitat and populations during channel maintenance, in the absence of mitigation measures. Recovery of population structure and density of ammocoetes commenced within 12 months and took 3 years to reach preimpact levels in one study. In another, where mitigations were implemented, no impact was evident 12 months after channel maintenance. In view of the conflict between conveyance for flood management and conservation of designated Habitats Directive species (lamprey), there is a clear need for practical ammocoete mitigation measures to be developed and implemented in river engineering works.
Plasma-Texturing Processes and a-Si:H Surface Passivation on c-Si Wafers for Photovoltaic Applications
Authors: Murias D. , Moreno M. , Reyes-Betanzo C. , Torres A. , Ambrosio R. , Rosales P. , Martínez J. , Vivaldo I. , Roca i Cabarrocas P.
Published: July 2015

In this work, we report the formation of pyramidlike structures on crystalline silicon (c-Si) substrates using plasma-texturing processes, and also, we present optimized process conditions for the deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon in order to passivate low cost CZ c-Si wafers. A relatively high effective lifetime of minority carriers was measured on nontextured wafers. Our results demonstrate that plasma-texturing processes can produce similar results or even better than wet-texturing processes. Finally, combined plasma texturing and passivation at low temperature is a promising approach for the fabrication of low cost heterojunction solar cells in CZ c-Si substrates.
Convection Heat Transfer of Power-Law Fluids Along the Inclined Nonuniformly Heated Plate With Suction or Injection
Authors: Sui Jize , Zheng Liancun , Zhang Xinxin
Published: July 2015

A comprehensive analysis to convection heat transfer of power-law fluids along the inclined nonuniformly heated plate with suction or injection is presented. The effects of power-law viscosity on temperature field are taken into account in highly coupled velocity and temperature fields. Analytical solutions are established by homotopy analysis method (HAM), and the effects of pertinent parameters (velocity power-law exponent, temperature power index, suction/injection parameter, and inclination angle) are analyzed. Some new interesting phenomena are found, for example, unlike classical boundary layer problem in which the skin friction monotonically increases (decreases) with suction increases (injection increases), but there exists a special region where the skin friction is not monotonic, which is strongly bound up with Prandtl number, which have never been reported before. The nonmonotony occurs in suction region for Prandtl number Npr < 1 and injection region for Npr > 1. Results also illustrate that the velocity profile decreases but the heat convection is enhanced obviously with increasing in temperature power exponent m (generalized Prandtl number Npr has similar effects), the decreases in inclination angle lead to the reduction in convection and heat transfer efficiency.
The effects of acoustic variability on absolute pitch categorization: Evidence of contextual tuning
Authors: Van Hedger Stephen C. , Heald Shannon L. M. , Nusbaum Howard C.
Published: July 2015

Absolute pitch (AP) is defined as the ability to label a musical note without the aid of a reference note. Despite the large amounts of acoustic variability encountered in music, AP listeners generally experience perceptual constancy for different exemplars within note categories (e.g., recognizing that a C played on a tuba belongs to the same category as a C played on a piccolo). The present studies investigate whether AP possessors are sensitive to context variability along acoustic dimensions that are not inherently linked to the typical definition of a note category. In a speeded target recognition task, AP participants heard a sequence of notes and pressed a button whenever they heard a designated target note. Within a trial the sequence of notes was either blocked according to note-irrelevant variation or contained a mix of different instruments (Experiment 1), amplitude levels (Experiment 2), or octaves (Experiment 3). Compared to the blocked trials, participants were significantly slower to respond in the mixed-instrument and mixed-octave trials, but not the mixed-amplitude trials. Importantly, this performance difference could not be solely attributed to initial performance differences between instruments, amplitudes, or octaves. These results suggest that AP note identification is contextually sensitive.
Broadband implementation of coprime linear microphone arrays for direction of arrival estimation
Authors: Bush Dane , Xiang Ning
Published: July 2015

Coprime arrays represent a form of sparse sensing which can achieve narrow beams using relatively few elements, exceeding the spatial Nyquist sampling limit. The purpose of this paper is to expand on and experimentally validate coprime array theory in an acoustic implementation. Two nested sparse uniform linear subarrays with coprime number of elements (M and N) each produce grating lobes that overlap with one another completely in just one direction. When the subarray outputs are combined it is possible to retain the shared beam while mostly canceling the other superfluous grating lobes. In this way a small number of microphones (N+M−1) creates a narrow beam at higher frequencies, comparable to a densely populated uniform linear array of MN microphones. In this work beampatterns are simulated for a range of single frequencies, as well as bands of frequencies. Narrowband experimental beampatterns are shown to correspond with simulated results even at frequencies other than the arrays design frequency. Narrowband side lobe locations are shown to correspond to the theoretical values. Side lobes in the directional pattern are mitigated by increasing bandwidth of analyzed signals. Direction of arrival estimation is also implemented for two simultaneous noise sources in a free field condition.
Human NK cell repertoire diversity reflects immune experience and correlates with viral susceptibility
Authors: Strauss-Albee Dara M. , Fukuyama Julia , Liang Emily C. , Yao Yi , Jarrell Justin A. , Drake Alison L. , Kinuthia John , Montgomery Ruth R. , John-Stewart Grace , Holmes Susan , Blish Catherine A.
Published: July 2015

Human natural killer cell diversity is a metric of immune function associated with less effective antiviral response.
Speedy repair with stabilized β-catenin
Authors: Shaw Tanya J
Published: July 2015

CXXC5 inhibition is a novel strategy to stabilize β-catenin and, in turn, accelerate wound healing.
Phlomis fruticosa scrublands in the central Mediterranean region: syntaxonomy and ecology
Authors: Fanelli Giuliano , Attorre Fabio , Del Giudice Matteo , Gjeta Ermelinda , De Sanctis Michele
Published: July 2015

Phlomis fruticosa is a weakly lignified shrub which colonizes large expanses in Albania and Greece in overgrazed areas, and is also present throughout the northern Mediterranean region from Italy to Cyprus. It is characteristic for species-rich vegetation, with up to 65 species
on 50 m2. We assembled a dataset of 129 original and published relevés and analyzed the floristic variability and the ecology of vegetation containing Phlomis fruticosa in the central Mediterranean region. We floristically and ecologically differentiated three previously
described associations: a) the Salvio fruticosae-Phlomidetum fruticosae, distributed in Sicily, is characterized by high species richness of nano-phanerophytes, and is restricted to the warmest and more oceanic part of the range of P. fruticosa; b) the Sideritido italicae-Phlomidetum
fruticosae is characterized by high chamaephyte richness, and occurs in cooler, relatively oceanic areas; c) the Allio pulchelli-Phlomidetum fruticosae is very rich in therophytic species and occupies the drier, more continental part of the distribution area of P. fruticosa.
The vegetation syntaxa of the P. fruticosa scrubland belong to two structural types: a relatively low scrubland with a poorly developed herb layer on limestone boulders, and a taller, more open scrubland with a rich herb layer that grows in pastures and abandoned fields. Our results
suggest that scree and boulders is the primary habitat of low-growing P. fruticosa scrublands (first structural type), from which the species colonized overgrazed areas and abandoned fields, after humans cleared the primeval Mediterranean forest.
Genomics and Transcriptomics Analyses of the Oil-Accumulating Basidiomycete Yeast
Trichosporon oleaginosus
: Insights into Substrate Utilization and Alternative Evolutionary Trajectories of Fungal Mating Systems
Authors: Kourist Robert , Bracharz Felix , Lorenzen Jan , Kracht Octavia N. , Chovatia Mansi , Daum Chris , Deshpande Shweta , Lipzen Anna , Nolan Matt , Ohm Robin A. , Grigoriev Igor V. , Sun Sheng , Heitman Joseph , Brück Thomas , Nowrousian Minou
Published: July 2015

Microbial fermentation of agro-industrial waste holds great potential for reducing the environmental impact associated with the production of lipids for industrial purposes from plant biomass. However, the chemical complexity of many residues currently prevents efficient conversion into lipids, creating a high demand for strains with the ability to utilize all energy-rich components of agricultural residues. Here, we present results of genome and transcriptome analyses of
Trichosporon oleaginosus
. This oil-accumulating yeast is able to grow on a wide variety of substrates, including pentoses and
N
-acetylglucosamine, making it an interesting candidate for biotechnological applications. Transcriptomics shows specific changes in gene expression patterns under lipid-accumulating conditions. Furthermore, gene content and expression analyses indicate that
T. oleaginosus
is well-adapted for the utilization of chitin-rich biomass. We also focused on the
T. oleaginosus
mating type, because this species is a member of the
Tremellomycetes
, a group that has been intensively analyzed as a model for the evolution of sexual development, the best-studied member being
Cryptococcus neoformans
. The structure of the
T. oleaginosus
mating-type regions differs significantly from that of other
Tremellomycetes
and reveals a new evolutionary trajectory paradigm. Comparative analysis shows that recruitment of developmental genes to the ancestral tetrapolar mating-type loci occurred independently in the
Trichosporon
and
Cryptococcus
lineages, supporting the hypothesis of a trend toward larger mating-type regions in fungi.

IMPORTANCE
Finite fossil fuel resources pose sustainability challenges to society and industry. Microbial oils are a sustainable feedstock for biofuel and chemical production that does not compete with food production. We describe genome and transcriptome analyses of the oleaginous yeast
Trichosporon oleaginosus
, which can accumulate up to 70% of its dry weight as lipids. In contrast to conventional yeasts, this organism not only shows an absence of diauxic effect while fermenting hexoses and pentoses but also effectively utilizes xylose and
N
-acetylglucosamine, which are building blocks of lignocellulose and chitin, respectively. Transcriptome analysis revealed metabolic networks that govern conversion of xylose or
N
-acetylglucosamine as well as lipid accumulation. These data form the basis for a targeted strain optimization strategy. Furthermore, analysis of the mating type of
T. oleaginosus
supports the hypothesis of a trend toward larger mating-type regions in fungi, similar to the evolution of sex chromosomes in animals and plants.
Acute spinal cord compression: a rare complication of dual antiplatelet therapy
Authors: Iskandar Muhammad Zaid , Chong Victor , Hutcheon Stuart
Published: July 2015

A 73-year-old woman presented with acute shortness of breath and exacerbation of chronic back pain. She was diagnosed with pulmonary oedema and a non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction following chest X-ray, ECG and high sensitivity troponin levels. She subsequently underwent coronary angioplasty with deployment of drug-eluting stents to her circumflex and left anterior descending arteries and was started on aspirin and clopidogrel for her dual antiplatelet therapy. Unfortunately, following the procedure, she gradually lost power and sensation in both lower limbs. MRI of her spine confirmed an extradural haematoma causing thoracic cord compression. She was managed conservatively following discussions with neurosurgeons and developed further complications secondary to her immobility.
A mixed methods study of the factors that influence whether intervention research has policy and practice impacts: perceptions of Australian researchers
Authors: Newson Robyn , King Lesley , Rychetnik Lucie , Bauman Adrian E , Redman Sally , Milat Andrew J , Schroeder Jacqueline , Cohen Gillian , Chapman Simon
Published: July 2015

Objectives

To investigate researchers’ perceptions about the factors that influenced the policy and practice impacts (or lack of impact) of one of their own funded intervention research studies.

Design

Mixed method, cross-sectional study.

Setting

Intervention research conducted in Australia and funded by Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council between 2003 and 2007.

Participants

The chief investigators from 50 funded intervention research studies were interviewed to determine if their study had achieved policy and practice impacts, how and why these impacts had (or had not) occurred and the approach to dissemination they had employed.

Results

We found that statistically significant intervention effects and publication of results influenced whether there were policy and practice impacts, along with factors related to the nature of the intervention itself, the researchers’ experience and connections, their dissemination and translation efforts, and the postresearch context.

Conclusions

This study indicates that sophisticated approaches to intervention development, dissemination actions and translational efforts are actually widespread among experienced researches, and can achieve policy and practice impacts. However, it was the links between the intervention results, further dissemination actions by researchers and a variety of postresearch contextual factors that ultimately determined whether a study had policy and practice impacts. Given the complicated interplay between the various factors, there appears to be no simple formula for determining which intervention studies should be funded in order to achieve optimal policy and practice impacts.
Prevalence of antileptospiral serum antibodies in dogs in Ireland
Authors: Schuller S. , Arent Z. J. , Gilmore C. , Nally J.
Published: July 2015

A total of 474 serum samples from client owned Irish dogs were tested for the presence of antibodies to serovars Canicola, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Bratislava, Autumnalis, Pomona, Altodouro, Grippotyphosa, Mozdok, Hardjobovis and Ballum. Six per cent of dogs presented to veterinary practitioners for problems unrelated to leptospirosis showed evidence of prior exposure to leptospiral serovars belonging to the serogropus Ballum, Australis, Pomona and Sejroe. One unvaccinated dog suspected to have leptospirosis showed seroconversion to serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae. Based on these results the authors conclude that canine exposure to serogroup Ballum should be monitored because dogs may serve as sentinels for this serovar in the environment. Vaccination with multivalent vaccines containing serovar Bratislava in addition to serogroups Icterohaemorrhagiae and Canicola is advisable.
Diseases in pet guinea pigs: a retrospective study in 1000 animals
Authors: Minarikova A. , Hauptman K. , Jeklova E. , Knotek Z. , Jekl V.
Published: July 2015

Guinea pigs are commonly kept as pet animals; however, information about particular disease prevalence is lacking. The objective of this article was to present disease prevalence in 1000 pet guinea pigs from private owners divided into three age groups: under two years; between two and five years; and above five years. Medical records of guinea pigs (Cavia aperea f. porcellus) that were presented to the authors’ clinic in the period from January 2008 to August 2013 were reviewed. The most commonly diagnosed disease in guinea pigs was dental disease (36.3 per cent), with higher prevalence in the middle age group (P<0.001) and in males (P<0.001) rather than females. Skin problems were seen as the second most common disease (33.3 per cent), with higher prevalence in male guinea pigs (P<0.001) and in animals younger than two years (P<0.001). Ovarian cystic disease was the third most commonly seen disorder, with higher prevalence in females older than two years (P<0.001). Other common health disorders included gastrointestinal stasis, heterotopic ciliary body calcifications, fatty eye and tibiofemoral osteoarthritis. Only 81 guinea pigs from a total of 1000 animals were healthy. This is the first study to describe the disease prevalence in three age groups of pet guinea pigs.
Protein: A nutrient in focus
Authors: Arentson-Lantz Emily , Clairmont Stephanie , Paddon-Jones Douglas , Tremblay Angelo , Elango Rajavel
Published: July 2015

Protein is an essential component of a healthy diet and is a focus of research programs seeking to optimize health at all stages of life. The focus on protein as a nutrient often centers on its thermogenic and satiating effect, and when included as part of a healthy diet, its potential to preserve lean body mass. A growing body of literature, including stable isotope based studies and longer term dietary interventions, suggests that current dietary protein recommendations may not be sufficient to promote optimal muscle health in all populations. A protein intake moderately higher than current recommendations has been widely endorsed by many experts and working groups and may provide health benefits for aging populations. Further, consuming moderate amounts of high-quality protein at each meal may optimally stimulate 24-h muscle protein synthesis and may provide a dietary platform that favors the maintenance of muscle mass and function while promoting successful weight management in overweight and obese individuals. Dietary protein has the potential to serve as a key nutrient for many health outcomes and benefits might be increased when combined with adequate physical activity. Future studies should focus on confirming these health benefits from dietary protein with long-term randomized controlled studies.
Superoxygenation: analysis of oxygen transfer design parameters using high-purity oxygen and a pressurized column
Authors: Barber Tyler W. , Ashley Ken I. , Mavinic Donald S. , Christison Ken
Published: July 2015

There remains significant potential for improvement in oxygen transfer efficiency, which can account for 60% of water and wastewater treatment energy requirements. This research examined superoxygenation, or aerating water under pressure with high-purity oxygen gas. Examined were the effects superoxygenation has on five key aeration design parameters: the mass transfer coefficient (KLa), saturation concentration ([Formula: see text]), standard oxygen transfer rate (SOTR), standard aeration efficiency (SAE), and standard oxygen transfer efficiency (SOTE). This research compared values under pressures of 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 kPa using air and pressure swing adsorption (PSA) generated oxygen. It was found that with increasing pressure for both air and PSA oxygen: KLa decreased, [Formula: see text] increased, SOTR and SAE remained constant, and SOTE increased. While comparing air and PSA oxygen, oxygen was found to have a similar KLa, larger [Formula: see text], SOTR, and SOTE, and a lower SAE. It was concluded that superoxygenation is a viable method for increasing oxygen transfer and could potentially reduce oxygenation costs in water treatment processes.
First-principles calculations for optical investigations of PbX (X = S, Te) compounds under quantum dots diameter effect
Authors: Al-Douri Y. , Khachai H. , Khenata R. , Bouhemadou A.
Published: July 2015

The full potential-linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method is implemented in WIEN2K code to calculate the indirect energy gap (Γ–X) using density functional theory. The Engel–Vosko generalized gradient approximation (EVGGA) and modified Becke–Johnson (mBJ) formalisms are used to optimize the corresponding potential for energetic transition and optical properties calculations of PbS and PbTe compounds as a function of quantum dot diameter and are used to test the validity of our model of quantum dot potential. The refractive index and optical dielectric constant are investigated to explore best applications for solar cells. The calculated results are in agreement with other experimental and theoretical data.
Electronic and optical properties of Er doped in AlN
Authors: Wang Sanjun , Wang Xueqing , Li Jinming , Jia Yu , Wang Fei
Published: July 2015

Using density functional theory combined [Formula: see text] method, the structural, electronic and optical properties of rare earth Er substituted Al atom [Formula: see text] and its complex with neighboring N vacancy [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] in wurtzite AlN were investigated, respectively. Calculated results show that both defects induced quite localized [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] related defect donor levels in the band gap but had few effects on host electronic structures. Moreover, the calculated complex dielectric functions and other optical constants show that these two defects show clear bulk optical properties, only a small peak near the redshift edge appears for the complex defect. These results show that Er dopant AlN should be a good optical material candidate for optoelectronics application.
Influence of Rashba spin-orbit interaction and Zeeman splitting on the ground state energy of polaron in an asymmetric quantum dot
Authors: Li Zhi-Xin , Yin Cheng-Hong , Zhu Xiu-Yun
Published: July 2015

On the basis of Lee–Low–Pines unitary transformation, the influence of Rashba spin-orbit (RSO) interaction and Zeeman splitting on the ground state energy of polaron in an asymmetric quantum dot (AQD) is studied by using the variational method of Pekar type. The variations of the absolute ratios of the Zeeman splitting energy and the RSO coupling energy to the ground state energy of polaron with the transverse confinement length (TCL) and the longitudinal confinement length (LCL) of AQD and the magnetic field adjusting length (MFAL) are derived when the RSO interaction and the Zeeman splitting are taken into account. We find the influences of the Zeeman splitting energy and the RSO coupling energy on the ground state energy of a polaron are more dominant when the values of the TCL and the LCL are small. The absolute ratio of the Zeeman splitting energy to the ground state energy rapidly decreases with increasing the MFAL and the absolute ratio of the RSO coupling energy to the ground state energy slowly decreases with increase in MFAL when [Formula: see text], whereas the absolute ratio of the RSO coupling energy to the ground state energy rapidly increases with increase in MFAL when [Formula: see text]. The above results can be attributed to the interesting quantum size confining and spin effects.
An experimental scheme to generate nonclassical states in interacting Fock space
Authors: Das P. K. , Haldar Prasanta
Published: July 2015

An experimentally realizable scheme is considered for manipulating quantum states using a general superposition (SUP) of products of interacting annihilation and creation operators. Application of such an operation on states with classical features introduces strong nonclassicality. This provides the possibility of engineering quantum states with nonclassical features.
A problem of Zagier on quadratic polynomials and continued fractions
Authors: Jameson Marie
Published: July 2015

For non-square [Formula: see text] (mod 4), Don Zagier defined a function [Formula: see text] by summing over certain integral quadratic polynomials. He proved that [Formula: see text] is a constant function depending on [Formula: see text]. For rational [Formula: see text], it turns out that this sum has finitely many terms. Here we address the infinitude of the number of quadratic polynomials for non-rational [Formula: see text], and more importantly address some problems posed by Zagier related to characterizing the polynomials which arise in terms of the continued fraction expansion of [Formula: see text]. In addition, we study the indivisibility of the constant functions [Formula: see text] as [Formula: see text] varies.
Cubic congruences and sums involving 3k k
Authors: Sun Zhi-Hong
Published: July 2015

Let [Formula: see text] be a prime greater than [Formula: see text] and let [Formula: see text] be a rational [Formula: see text]-adic integer. In this paper, we try to determine [Formula: see text], and reveal the connection between cubic congruences and the sum [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is the greatest integer not exceeding [Formula: see text]. Suppose that [Formula: see text] are rational [Formula: see text]-adic integers, [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we show that the number of solutions of the congruence [Formula: see text] depends only on [Formula: see text]. Let [Formula: see text] be a prime of the form [Formula: see text] and so [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text]. When [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], we establish congruences for [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] modulo p. As a consequence, when [Formula: see text] we show that [Formula: see text] has three solutions if and only if [Formula: see text] is a cubic residue of [Formula: see text].
P
ar
C
ube
Authors: Papalexakis Evangelos E. , Faloutsos Christos , Sidiropoulos Nicholas D.
Published: July 2015

How can we efficiently decompose a tensor into sparse factors, when the data do not fit in memory? Tensor decompositions have gained a steadily increasing popularity in data-mining applications; however, the current state-of-art decomposition algorithms operate on main memory and do not scale to truly large datasets. In this work, we propose P
ar
C
ube
, a new and highly parallelizable method for speeding up tensor decompositions that is well suited to produce sparse approximations. Experiments with even moderately large data indicate over 90% sparser outputs and 14 times faster execution, with approximation error close to the current state of the art irrespective of computation and memory requirements. We provide theoretical guarantees for the algorithm’s correctness and we experimentally validate our claims through extensive experiments, including four different real world datasets (E
nron
, L
bnl
, F
acebook
and N
ell
), demonstrating its effectiveness for data-mining practitioners. In particular, we are the first to analyze the very large N
ell
dataset using a sparse tensor decomposition, demonstrating that P
ar
C
ube
enables us to handle effectively and efficiently very large datasets. Finally, we make our highly scalable parallel implementation publicly available, enabling reproducibility of our work.
Hierarchical Density Estimates for Data Clustering, Visualization, and Outlier Detection
Authors: Campello Ricardo J. G. B. , Moulavi Davoud , Zimek Arthur , Sander Jörg
Published: July 2015

An integrated framework for density-based cluster analysis, outlier detection, and data visualization is introduced in this article. The main module consists of an algorithm to compute hierarchical estimates of the level sets of a density, following Hartigan’s classic model of density-contour clusters and trees. Such an algorithm generalizes and improves existing density-based clustering techniques with respect to different aspects. It provides as a result a complete clustering hierarchy composed of all possible density-based clusters following the nonparametric model adopted, for an infinite range of density thresholds. The resulting hierarchy can be easily processed so as to provide multiple ways for data visualization and exploration. It can also be further postprocessed so that: (i) a normalized score of “outlierness” can be assigned to each data object, which unifies both the global and local perspectives of outliers into a single definition; and (ii) a “flat” (i.e., nonhierarchical) clustering solution composed of clusters extracted from local cuts through the cluster tree (possibly corresponding to different density thresholds) can be obtained, either in an unsupervised or in a semisupervised way. In the unsupervised scenario, the algorithm corresponding to this postprocessing module provides a global, optimal solution to the formal problem of maximizing the overall stability of the extracted clusters. If partially labeled objects or instance-level constraints are provided by the user, the algorithm can solve the problem by considering both constraints violations/satisfactions and cluster stability criteria. An asymptotic complexity analysis, both in terms of running time and memory space, is described. Experiments are reported that involve a variety of synthetic and real datasets, including comparisons with state-of-the-art, density-based clustering and (global and local) outlier detection methods.
Rationality Analytics from Trajectories
Authors: Liu Siyuan , Qu Qiang , Wang Shuhui
Published: July 2015

The availability of trajectories tracking the geographical locations of people as a function of time offers an opportunity to study human behaviors. In this article, we study rationality from the perspective of user decision on visiting a point of interest (POI) which is represented as a trajectory. However, the analysis of rationality is challenged by a number of issues, for example, how to model a trajectory in terms of complex user decision processes? and how to detect hidden factors that have significant impact on the rational decision making? In this study, we propose Rationality Analysis Model (RAM) to analyze rationality from trajectories in terms of a set of impact factors. In order to automatically identify hidden factors, we propose a method, Collective Hidden Factor Retrieval (CHFR), which can also be generalized to parse multiple trajectories at the same time or parse individual trajectories of different time periods. Extensive experimental study is conducted on three large-scale real-life datasets (i.e., taxi trajectories, user shopping trajectories, and visiting trajectories in a theme park). The results show that the proposed methods are efficient, effective, and scalable. We also deploy a system in a large theme park to conduct a field study. Interesting findings and user feedback of the field study are provided to support other applications in user behavior mining and analysis, such as business intelligence and user management for marketing purposes.
Utility-Theoretic Ranking for Semiautomated Text Classification
Authors: Berardi Giacomo , Esuli Andrea , Sebastiani Fabrizio
Published: July 2015

Semiautomated Text Classification
(SATC) may be defined as the task of ranking a set
D
of automatically labelled textual documents in such a way that, if a human annotator validates (i.e., inspects and corrects where appropriate) the documents in a top-ranked portion of
D
with the goal of increasing the overall labelling accuracy of
D
, the expected increase is maximized. An obvious SATC strategy is to rank
D
so that the documents that the classifier has labelled with the lowest confidence are top ranked. In this work, we show that this strategy is suboptimal. We develop new utility-theoretic ranking methods based on the notion of
validation gain
, defined as the improvement in classification effectiveness that would derive by validating a given automatically labelled document. We also propose a new effectiveness measure for SATC-oriented ranking methods, based on the expected reduction in classification error brought about by partially validating a list generated by a given ranking method. We report the results of experiments showing that, with respect to the baseline method mentioned earlier, and according to the proposed measure, our utility-theoretic ranking methods can achieve substantially higher expected reductions in classification error.
From Security to Assurance in the Cloud
Authors: Ardagna Claudio A. , Asal Rasool , Damiani Ernesto , Vu Quang Hieu
Published: July 2015

The cloud computing paradigm has become a mainstream solution for the deployment of business processes and applications. In the public cloud vision, infrastructure, platform, and software services are provisioned to tenants (i.e., customers and service providers) on a pay-as-you-go basis. Cloud tenants can use cloud resources at lower prices, and higher performance and flexibility, than traditional on-premises resources, without having to care about infrastructure management. Still, cloud tenants remain concerned with the cloud’s level of service and the nonfunctional properties their applications can count on. In the last few years, the research community has been focusing on the nonfunctional aspects of the cloud paradigm, among which cloud security stands out. Several approaches to security have been described and summarized in general surveys on cloud security techniques. The survey in this article focuses on the interface between cloud security and cloud security assurance. First, we provide an overview of the state of the art on cloud security. Then, we introduce the notion of cloud security assurance and analyze its growing impact on cloud security approaches. Finally, we present some recommendations for the development of next-generation cloud security and assurance solutions.
Exploring the Effect of Motion Type and Emotions on the Perception of Gender in Virtual Humans
Authors: Zibrek Katja , Hoyet Ludovic , Ruhland Kerstin , Mcdonnell Rachel
Published: July 2015

In this article, we investigate the perception of gender from the motion of virtual humans under different emotional conditions and explore the effect of emotional bias on gender perception (e.g., anger being attributed to males more than females). As motion types can present different levels of physiological cues, we also explore how two types of motion (walking and conversations) are affected by emotional bias. Walking typically displays more physiological cues about gender (e.g., hip sway) and therefore is expected to be less affected by emotional bias. To investigate these effects, we used a corpus of captured facial and body motions from four male and four female actors, performing basic emotions through conversation and walk. We expected that the appearance of the model would also influence gender perception; therefore, we displayed both male and female motions on two virtual models of different sex. Two experiments were then conducted to assess gender judgments from these motions. In both experiments, participants were asked to rate how male or female they considered the motions to be under different emotional states, then classified the emotions to determine how accurately they were portrayed by actors. Overall, both experiments showed that gender ratings were affected by the displayed emotion. However, we found that conversations were influenced by gender stereotypes to a greater extent than walking motions. This was particularly true for anger, which was perceived as male on both male and female motions, and sadness, which was perceived as less male when portrayed by male actors. We also found a slight effect of the model when observing gender on different types of virtual models. These results have implications for the design and animation of virtual humans.