bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma in Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease
Authors: Opotowsky Alexander R. , Moko Lilamarie E. , Ginns Jonathan , Rosenbaum Marlon , Greutmann Matthias , Aboulhosn Jamil , Hageman Abbie , Kim Yuli , Deng Lisa X. , Grewal Jasmine , Zaidi Ali N. , Almansoori Ghadeera , Oechslin Erwin , Earing Michael , Landzberg Michael J. , Singh Michael N. , Wu Fred , Vaidya Anand
Published: January 2015

Context:

Aberrant cellular oxygen sensing is a leading theory for development of pheochromocytoma (PHEO) and paraganglioma (PGL).

Objective:

The objective of the study was to test the hypothesis that chronic hypoxia in patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease (CCHD) increases the risk for PHEO-PGL.

Design/Setting/Participants:

We investigated the association between CCHD and PHEO-PGL with two complementary studies: study 1) an international consortium was established to identify congenital heart disease (CHD) patients with a PHEO-PGL diagnosis confirmed by pathology or biochemistry and imaging; study 2) the 2000–2009 Nationwide Inpatient Survey, a nationally representative discharge database, was used to determine population-based cross-sectional PHEO-PGL frequency in hospitalized CCHD patients compared with noncyanotic CHD and those without CHD using multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, and genetic PHEO-PGL syndromes.

Results:

In study 1, we identified 20 PHEO-PGL cases, of which 18 had CCHD. Most presented with cardiovascular or psychiatric symptoms. Median cyanosis duration for the CCHD PHEO-PGL cases was 20 years (range 1–57 y). Cases were young at diagnosis (median 31.5 y, range 15–57 y) and 7 of 18 had multiple tumors (two bilateral PHEO; six multifocal or recurrent PGL), whereas 11 had single tumors (seven PHEO; four PGL). PGLs were abdominal (13 of 17) or head/neck (4 of 17). Cases displayed a noradrenergic biochemical phenotype similar to reported hypoxia-related PHEO-PGL genetic syndromes but without clinical signs of such syndromes. In study 2, hospitalized CCHD patients had an increased likelihood of PHEO-PGL (adjusted odds ratio 6.0, 95% confidence interval 2.6–13.7, P < .0001) compared with those without CHD; patients with noncyanotic CHD had no increased risk (odds ratio 0.9, P = .48).

Conclusions:

There is a strong link between CCHD and PHEO-PGL. Whether these rare diseases coassociate due to hypoxic stress, common genetic or developmental factors, or some combination requires further investigation.
Nutrition transition in South Asia: the emergence of non-communicable chronic diseases
Authors: Bishwajit Ghose
Published: January 2015

Overview: South Asian countries have experienced a remarkable economic growth during last two decades along with subsequent transformation in social, economic and food systems. Rising disposable income levels continue to drive the nutrition transition characterized by a shift from a traditional high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets towards diets with a lower carbohydrate and higher proportion of saturated fat, sugar and salt. Steered by various transitions in demographic, economic and nutritional terms, South Asian population are experiencing a rapidly changing disease profile. While the healthcare systems have long been striving to disentangle from the vicious cycle of poverty and undernutrition, South Asian countries are now confronted with an emerging epidemic of obesity and a constellation of other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This dual burden is bringing about a serious health and economic conundrum and is generating enormous pressure on the already overstretched healthcare system of South Asian countries.

Objectives: The Nutrition transition has been a very popular topic in the field of human nutrition during last few decades and many countries and broad geographic regions have been studied. However there is no review on this topic in the context of South Asia  as yet. The main purpose of this review is to highlight the factors accounting for the onset of nutrition transition and its subsequent impact on epidemiological transition in five major South Asian countries including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Special emphasis was given on India and Bangladesh as they together account for 94% of the regional population and about half world’s malnourished population.

Methods: This study is literature based. Main data sources were published research articles obtained through an electronic medical databases search.
On the Impact of Scheduling Limits: A Case Study at Newark Liberty International Airport
Authors: Pyrgiotis Nikolas , Odoni Amedeo
Published: January 2015

Scheduling limits have become commonplace at congested airports throughout the world. This paper describes, first, a demand smoothing (DS) optimization model that generates a new flight schedule at busy U.S. airports in response to the introduction of scheduling limits. Given an existing schedule that has been created through the airlines’ scheduling choices, the model produces a feasible modified schedule that obeys the scheduling limits specified for an airport without canceling any flights. At the same time, the model respects all aircraft itineraries, so that aircraft fly their original daily routes through the airport network. In addition, it preserves all passenger connections, in the sense that any connecting passenger will be able to connect between exactly the same two flights under the modified schedule as under the existing one. We then demonstrate, through a detailed example based on operations at the hub airport of Newark Liberty International (EWR), an approach that combines the DS model with a new special-purpose network queuing model to estimate both the local and nationwide effects of alternative scheduling limits at a major airport. We examine the relationship between the scheduled demand and the capacity at EWR to identify plausible scheduling limits that may have a significant impact on delays. The DS model shows that, with a small schedule displacement of 30 minutes or less for any flight during the day, it is possible to obtain a feasible schedule that obeys slot limits as low as the airport’s capacity under Instrument Flight Rules. We find that the local delay savings that would result from introducing such scheduling limits at EWR can be of the order of 20% for arrivals and 50% for departures on busy days; we may also expect a reduction of 20% in delays propagated from EWR to the rest of the U.S. network of airports.
Relationship Characteristics and Contraceptive Use Among Dating and Cohabiting Young Adult Couples
Authors: Wildsmith Elizabeth , Manlove Jennifer , Steward‐Streng Nicole
Published: January 2015

CONTEXT

Contraceptive decision making occurs in the context of relationships. Although many individual‐level characteristics have been linked to youths’ contraceptive use, less is known about associations between contraceptive use and relationship‐level characteristics.

METHODS

Data from the 2001–2002 romantic pair subsample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used to describe characteristics of 322 dating relationships and 406 cohabiting relationships among young adults aged at least 18 years. Logistic regression was employed to assess associations between these characteristics and hormonal or long‐acting contraceptive use and condom use. Data from both partners allowed discordance in reports between partners in some measures to be examined.

RESULTS

Cohabiting couples were less likely than dating couples to have used condoms (19% vs. 37%) and hormonal or long‐acting methods (40% vs. 57%) at last sex. In dating relationships, couples reporting discordant levels of intimacy and couples in which neither partner reported a high level of intimacy had greater odds of condom use than couples in which both partners reported high intimacy (odds ratios, 4.5 and 3.3, respectively); mistrust and male problem drinking were negatively associated with condom use (0.3 for each). For cohabiting couples, frequency of sex was negatively associated with condom use and hormonal method use (0.8 for each).

CONCLUSIONS

At least for dating couples, contraceptive use is linked to multiple dimensions of relationships, particularly measures reflecting relationship quality—both positive and negative.
Potencialidades de la participación en la construcción de ciudad desde intervenciones urbanas en asentamientos precarios
Authors: Sánchez Mazo Liliana María , Gutiérrez Tamayo Alberto León
Published: January 2015

Se analiza la participación popular en intervenciones gubernamentales en Medellín, Colombia, realizadas desde 1980 hasta la actualidad, en contextos históricos de creciente precariedad urbana. El argumento central se teje desde la relación entre precariedad, participación e intervención, derivándose potencialidades para la construcción colectiva de ciudad, enmarcadas por el reconocimiento de la lucha social como condición que preexiste, subsiste y trasciende la misma intervención urbana, dinamizándola y fortaleciéndola. El artículo emerge como resultado de una investigación social cualitativa de tipo documental.
La supervivencia de la democracia en América Latina (1945-2005)
Authors: Pérez-Liñán Aníbal , Mainwaring Scott
Published: January 2015

¿Por qué las democracias sobreviven o se quiebran? En este trabajo retomamos esta clásica pregunta haciendo foco en América Latina entre 1945 y 2005. Nuestro argumento difiere de los resultados de los estudios cuantitativos y de buena parte de los análisis cualitativos sobre supervivencia y quiebra de los regímenes democráticos. Sostenemos que las variables estructurales como el grado de desarrollo y de desigualdad no han tenido mayor impacto en la supervivencia de la democracia en América Latina. De la misma manera, el desempeño de la economía tampoco ha tenido una incidencia importante en la supervivencia de los regímenes competitivos, contrariamente a lo que afirma una parte de la literatura sobre el tema. En cambio, nos centramos en el entorno político regional y en las preferencias normativas de los actores sobre la democracia y la dictadura, y en su moderación o radicalismo político. Se sostiene que: 1) un mayor nivel de desarrollo económico no aumentó la probabilidad de supervivencia democrática en América Latina durante el período analizado; 2) si los actores tienen una preferencia normativa a favor de la democracia, es más probable que sobreviva; y 3) la moderación política contribuye a la supervivencia de la democracia.
Competencias de los pobladores en vivienda y barrio: trayectoria y experiencias recientes en Chile
Authors: Castillo Couve María José
Published: January 2015

El artículo aborda el papel del habitante en la producción de su hábitat y en su relación con la política pública de vivienda y barrio en Chile. A partir de tres casos de estudio, se analizan las capacidades desplegadas, la experiencia y los saberes acumulados por los pobladores en la producción y gestión de su espacio habitable, y se estudia cómo se encuentran en la actualidad para contribuir y tomar parte en las decisiones sobre la política habitacional y urbana.
Easily usable human-device interface for microwave therapy apparatus
Authors: Surducan Vasile , Surducan Emanoil , Neamtu Camelia , Dadarlat Nicolae , Ciupa Radu
Published: January 2015

In this paper we investigate the possibility of using a large dot matrix LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) as the essential part of a low cost, user friendly human-device interface which is driving a microwave diathermy medical apparatus. The human-device interface uses only four buttons with multiple functionalities, an analog encoder and the said dot matrix LCD. The interface is a part of the embedded system that drives the entire unit, as a stand alone hardware and complex firmware program. This interface can handle the medical treatment parameters in an ergonomic and simple way. The human-device interface has been designed in agreement with the EN60601-1 and EN60601-1-4 requirements using “the simple to complex” writing and validation algorithm. The interface has been manufactured as prototype and tested on our own proprietary microwave hyperthermia and diathermy device and proves to be intuitive and easy to use. The human-device interface firmware is portable to other scientific apparatus as well; however, a reconfiguration of all displayed information is necessary, depending on the purpose of the served equipment. Compared with a colour graphic LCD equipped with touch screen, the interface presented here is definitely less expensive, can be implemented faster and uses  less hardware resources.
Using of SVM for diagnosis of major depressive disorder
Authors: Ansari Abdollah , Khalili Mehdi
Published: January 2015

artificial neural networks are used extensively in diagnosis are used and the system is able to detect a variety of conditions used in this study for diagnosis of major depressive disorder, 45 parameters were considered Implementation and operation using SVM model the use of different network error checked Education.
Pendidikan Agama Islam inklusifmultikultural
Authors: Arif Mahmud
Published: January 2015

Islam is as a universal religion, as a religion for humanity (all humankind), or as a religion for the entire world because of its’ mission as rahmatan li al-’alamin. To realize such mission in Indonesian context, education activity is aimed to raise up a multicultural wisdom and global awareness of the pupils, so in next time they will be able to contribute in preservation of heterogenity and to develop it for attaining a prosperious life, besides to face globalization current appropiately. In this case, islamic education has a duty in transfering inclusive-multiculturalism Islamic teachings to students so that they are able to appreciate global values of Islam, like inclusivism, humanism, tolerance, and democracy.Islam sebagai agama universal, sebagai agama bagi manusia (umat manusia), atau sebagai agama untuk seluruh dunia karena misi sebagai rahmat untuk semua makhluk. Untuk mewujudkan misi tersebut dalam konteks Indonesia, aktivitas pendidikan bertujuan untuk membangkitkan kebijaksanaan dan kesadaran multikultural global murid, sehingga dalam waktu berikutnya mereka akan dapat memberikan kontribusi dalam pelestarian heterogenitas dan mengembangkannya untuk mencapai kehidupan yang sejahtera, selain untuk menghadapi globalisasi saat ini. Dalam hal ini, pendidikan Islam memiliki tugas dalam mentransfer inklusif-multikultural ajaran Islam kepada siswa agar mereka mampu menghargai nilai-nilai global Islam, seperti inklusivisme, humanisme, toleransi, dan demokrasi.
Paradigma pendidikan agama Integratif-transformatif
Authors: Rusydi Ibnu
Published: January 2015

Education is the process of transforming knowledge to become mature human beings plenary. However, the knowledge that is released from religious values even bring adverse effects, in which the humanity of human demolished. Consequently, the process of transformation must involve two things at once: the knowledge and values. This is called integrative education. This type of education is not a utopian fantasy but rational necessity that finds justification in philosophical and theological arguments.Pendidikan adalah proses transformasi pengetahuan guna mendewasakan manusia menjadi insan paripurna. Namun, pengetahuan yang dilepaskan dari nilai-nilai religius malah membawa dampak buruk, dimana kemanusiaan manusia diruntuhkan.Karenanya, proses transformasi tersebut harus melibatkan dua hal sekaligus:pengetahuan dan nilai. Inilah yang disebut pendidikan integratif. Pendidikan jenis ini bukan khalayan utopis yang mengawang melainkan keniscayaan rasional yang menemukan pembenarannya dalam argumentasi filosofis maupun teologis..
Fenomena pendidikan elitis dalam sekolah/madrasah unggulan berstandar internasional
Authors: Prastowo Andi
Published: January 2015

This article aims to review and discuss the phenomenon of eminent school/ madrasah in international standard in Indonesia that has a tendency to be elitist and reproductive force is not productive force. There are two formulations of problem studied in this article, namely how the elitism emerges in the eminent school / madrasah in international standard? Then, how to recommend the eminent school / madrasah in order to ensureequitable access of education for all children throughout the community of nations,especially among the poor? Artikel ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji dan mendiskusikan fenomena sekolah/ madrasah unggulan berstandar internasional di Indonesia yang memiliki kecenderungan elitis dan menjadi reproductive force bukan productive force. Ada dua rumusan masalah yang dikaji dalam artikel ini, yaitu bagaimana elitisme itumuncul dalam sekolah/madrasah unggulan berstandar internasional? Kemudian,bagaimana cara merekonstruksi sekolah/madrasah unggulan tersebut agar dapat menjamin akses pendidikan yang berkeadilan bagi semua anak bangsa dari seluruhkalangan masyarakat, terutama kalangan rakyat miskin?
Urgensi pembelajaran Pendidikan Agama Islam berbasis multikultural di sekolah
Authors: Muliadi Erlan
Published: January 2015

The theology subject taught at the school tends merely to reinforce the faith and itsachievements to go to heaven without consciousness for having dialogue with otherreligions. These conditions make religious education very exclusive and intolerant.Whereas, nowadays pluralism era, religious education must be done the philosophicalparadigmatic reorientation of how to make students understand about religion more inclusive, pluralistic, multicultural, humanistic, dialogue, persuasive, contextual,substantive and socially active. Therefore, in this study emphasizes the importance of thedevelopment of multicultural education in schools through a number of Islamic religiouseducation materials.Pelajaran teologi di sekolah cenderung diajarkan sekedar untuk memperkuat keimanan dan pencapaiannya menuju surga tanpa dibarengi dengan kesadaran berdialog dengan agama-agama lain. Kondisi inilah yang menjadikan pendidikan agama sangat eksklusif dan tidak toleran. Padahal di era pluralisme dewasa ini, pendidikan agama mesti melakukan reorientasi filosofis-paradigmatik tentang bagaimana membangun pemahaman keberagamaan peserta didik yang lebih inklusif-pluralis,multikultural, humanis, dialogis-persuasif, kontekstual, substantif dan aktif sosial.
Pendidikan multikultural-religius untuk mewujudkan karakter peserta didik yang humanis-religius
Authors: Arifin Zainal
Published: January 2015

The term of multicultural education, religious education contains of two conceptscombined, i.e between multicultural education and religious education. Multiculturaleducation as the basis of education values cultural diversity. Whereas, the religiouseducation is as a basis of education on religious values to produce religious men. The combination of these two concepts of education aims to make an educational system that integrates from both of them, or reduce the advantages, especially to produce religious humanist students in a good character.Istilah pendidikan multikultural-religius mengandung dua konsep pendidikanyang dipadukan, yaitu antara pendidikan multikultural dan pendidikan agama.Pendidikan multikultural sebagai basis pendidikan yang menghargai kemajemukan budaya sedangkan pendidikan agama sebagai basis pendidikan yang bersumberkan pada nilai-nilai keagamaan untuk melahirkan manusia-manusia religius. Perpaduan dua konsep pendidikan ini bertujuan untuk dapat membangun sistem pendidikan yang dapat mengintegrasikan dari keduanya atau mengurangi kelemahannya,khususnya untuk mewujudkan karakter peserta didik yang humanis dan religius.
Logoterapi, sebuah upaya pengembangan spiritualitas dan makna hidup dalam perspektif psikologi pendidikan Islam
Authors: Suyadi Dr.
Published: January 2015

Sense of life is achieved by realizing three values of life, the values of creative (creative values), the values of experiment (experiential values) and the values of attitude (attitudinal values). With this logoterapi expect we will be able to better understand the potential and spiritual resources that are universal. The resources and potential are oftensuppressed, blocked, and ignored even forgotten.With the approach of Islamic educationalpsychology, sense of life will be more meaningful because it contains theoretical andphilosophical foundations that are based on spiritual values (Deity)
Membangun kesadaran inklusifmultikultural untuk deradikalisasi pendidikan Islam
Authors: Muqoyyidin Andik Wahyun
Published: January 2015

There are still many acts of terrorism that are as concrete evidences of how the use of the security approach alone isn’t effective enough to eradicate terrorism and Islamic radicalism to its roots in Indonesian. Therefore, various approaches of handling terrorism and Islamic radicalism must also be constantly pursued. That is the de-radicalization program through the nuances of Islamic education multicultural inclusiveness. In this case, they should pay attention to curriculum factors, educators, and educators use learning strategies.Masih banyaknya aksi terorisme di bumi Indonesia merupakan bukti konkritbetapa penggunaan pendekatan keamanan saja tidak cukup efektif untukmembasmi terorisme dan radikalisme Islam hingga akar-akarnya. Oleh karena itu,berbagai pendekatan penanganan terorisme dan radikalisme Islam lainnya harus pula senantiasa diupayakan. Salah satunya adalah dengan program deradikalisasi melalui pendidikan Islam bernuansa inklusif-multikultural. Dalam hal ini, mereka perlu memprhatikan faktor kurikulum, pendidik, dan strategi pembelajaran yang digunakan pendidik.
Pancasila dan deradikalisasi berbasis agama
Authors: Ridwan Nur Khalik
Published: January 2015

Pancasila is the state foundation and national philosophy that is received by the majorityof the Indonesian people. Religious education with no concept of Pancasila makes only the generation of separation instead of national integration that is needed by the nation of Indonesia. Religious education must be the education of sensitive peace, sensitive to people’s issues and social justice that is as an important part of the Pancasila and the needs of our nation. Religious education becomes an important part to increase faith, to have a good nation, and to make a good beliver and patriotic. Pancasila adalah dasar negara dan falsafah bangsa yang diterima mayoritas masyarakat Indonesia. Pendidikan agama tanpa wawasan Pancasila justru akan membentuk generasi separasi, bukan integrasi nasional yang sangat dibutuhkan oleh bangsa Indonesia. Pendidikan agama harus menjadi pendidikan yang sensitif perdamaian,sensitif terhadap persoalan rakyat, dan keadilan sosial yang menjadi bagian penting dari Pancasila dan kebutuhan bangsa. Pendidikan agama juga menjadi bagian penting untuk meningkatkan keimanan, berbangsa, dan membentuk orang yang shalih dan patriotik.
Kesadaran multikultural dan deradikalisasi pendidikan Islam: pengalaman Bhinneka Tunggal Ika dan Qabul al-Akhar
Authors: Misrawi Zuhairi
Published: January 2015

In Indonesia, plurality of historical religion, ethnic, culture, and language madenational consciousness in the historical course up to now. This phenomenon made public disappointed, especially regarding to the rise of intolerance, and violence. This article is about the importance of multiculturalism as an alternative to develop peacefully life awareness and togetherness in the context of national and universal humanity. In this case, the multiculturalism necessitates coexistence, openness, recognition, understanding, acknowledgement, and appreciation. The comparison between Indonesia and Egypt in building multicultural awareness, especially through the philosophy of unity in diversity and Qabul al-Akhar. Pluralitas agama, suku, budaya, dan bahasa yang bersejarah di Indonesia telahmembuat kesadaran kebangsaan dalam lintasan sejarah hingga sekarang. Fenomena ini mengkhawatirkan publik, terutama perihal maraknya intoleransi, dan kekerasan. Artikel ini tentang pentingnya multikulturalisme sebagai alternatif membangun kesadaran hidup kebersamaan secara damai dalam konteks kebangsaan dan kemanusiaan universal. Dalam hal ini, multikulturalisme meniscayakan koeksistensi,keterbukaan, pengenalan, pemahaman, pengakuan, dan penghargaan. Perbandingan antara Indonesia dan Mesir dalam membangun kesadaran multikultural, terutama melalui falsafah Bhinneka Tunggal Ika dan Qabul al-Akhar.
Perspektif filosofis Sir Muhammad Iqbal tentang pendidikan Islam
Authors: Hidayatullah Syarif
Published: January 2015

These are Sir Muhammad Iqbal’s philophical views and his thoughts on Islamiceducation.This is a qualitative descriptive study that describes Iqbal’s philophicalviews and his thought on Islamic education. This is a qualitative descriptive study that describes Iqbal’s philophical views and his thought on Islamic education. The study result is that the philophical views and his aim thought on Islamic education is how to create Insan Kamil. The Insan Kamil must be a basic goal of the aim education. According to Iqbal, there are main eight ideas to reconstruct the philosophically Islamic education by improving human dynamics and creativity. They are: the concept of individuality,the individual growth, the balance of spiritual and physical, uniting both individuality and society, an individual creativity, intelligence and intuition instruction, education of characters, and social education. Inilah pandangan filosofis Sir Muhammad Iqbal dan pemikirannya tentangpendidikan Islam. Ini penelitian kualitatif deskriptif yang mendeskripsikanpandangan filosofis dan pemikiran tentang pendidikan Islam menurut Iqbal. Hasil penelitian, bahwa pandangan filosofis dan pemikiran utamanya tentang pendidikan Islam, adalah bagaimana menciptakan Insan Kamil (manusia sempurna). Insan Kamil harus dijadikan tujuan dasar dan pendidikan utama. Menurut Iqbal ada delapan gagasan pokok untuk merekonstruksi pendidikan Islam secara filosofis  dengan meningkatkan dinamika dan kreativitas manusia. Diantaranya: konsep individualitas, pertumbuhan individu, keseimbangan rohani dan jasmani, menyatukan keduanya individu dan masyarakat, sebuah kreativitas individu, kecerdasan dan instruksi intuisi, pendidikan karakter, dan pendidikan sosial.
Assessment of the Effect of Selected Components of Equine Seminal Plasma on Semen Freezability
Authors: Mráčková Miroslava , Zavadilová Marta , Sedlinská Markéta
Published: January 2015

In this study, selected components of seminal plasma in equine semen were evaluated. Levels of enzymes, electrolytes, microelements and some other components were observed. The aim of this study was to find some important differences between the levels of these components and the total sperm motility after freezing and thawing (freezability of the semen). Total of 32 ejaculates from 7 stallions were collected, assessed and prepared in 0,5 ml straws for freezing. After thawing, the sperm motility was analyzed and ejaculates were divided into two groups: “good” freezable and “poor” freezable. The only statistically significant difference between groups of „good“ and „poor“ freezable ejaculates was in the concentration of vitamin E in the seminal plasma. In the group of „good“ freezable ejaculates, the level of vitamin E was significantly lower (p≤0,05) than in the group of “poor” freezable ejaculates
An example of an infinite Steiner tree
connecting an uncountable set
Authors: Paolini Emanuele , Stepanov Eugene , Teplitskaya Yana
Published: January 2015

We construct an example of a Steiner tree with an infinite number of branching points connecting an uncountable set of points. Such a tree is proven to be the unique solution to a Steiner problem for the given set of points. As a byproduct we get
the whole family of explicitly defined finite Steiner trees, which are unique connected solutions of the Steiner problem for
some given finite sets of points, and with growing complexity (i.e. the number of branching points).
Financing High-tech Start-ups: Moral Hazard, Information Asymmetry and the Reallocation of Control Rights
Authors: Jia Ye (George)
Published: January 2015

Recent data suggest that venture capital investments concentrate in the high-tech sector only in those countries where banks are not allowed to offer equity financing. To explain this fact, I develop a simple principal-agent model of start-up financing with both private information and hidden actions in which the equity investor can vary the level of control over the firm and the debt investor cannot. The model shows that when three commonly documented characteristics of the high-tech industry coexist, namely: (i) a high degree of information asymmetry, (ii) a high level of uncertainty about returns, and (iii) a large amount of R&D investments preceding production, then the ability to reallocate control rights that are contingent on performance becomes the key. Unlike debt contracts, equity contracts specify detailed provisions regarding the allocation of control rights. Thus, venture capitalists as equity holders have a clear advantage in financing young high-tech firms in places where banks are not allowed to offer equity contracts; in countries with no such restriction, they no longer have such an advantage. This result helps explain why most European governments’ efforts in promoting venture capital activities failed to attract such investments in the high-tech sector.
Effect of angular stability and other locking parameters on the mechanical performance of intramedullary nails
Authors: Hoffmann Stefanie , Gerber Claus , von Oldenburg Geert , Kessler Manuel , Stephan Daniel , Augat Peter
Published: January 2015

To extend the indications of intramedullary nails for distal or proximal fractures, nails with angle stable locking options have been developed. Studies on the mechanical efficacy of these systems have been inconsistent likely due to confounding variables such as number, geometry, or orientation of the screws, as well as differences in the loading mode. Therefore, the aim of this study was to quantify the effect of angular stability on the mechanical performance of intramedullary nails. The results could then be compared with the effects of various locking screw parameters and loading modes. A generic model was developed consisting of artificial bone material and titanium intramedullary nail that provided the option to systematically modify the locking screw configuration. Using a base configuration, the following parameters were varied: number of screws, distance and orientation between screws, blocking of screws, and simulation of freehand locking. Tension/compression, torsional, and bending loads were applied. Stiffness and clearance around the zero loading point were determined. Angular stability had no effect on stiffness but completely blocked axial clearance (p=0.003). Simulation of freehand locking reduced clearance for all loading modes by at least 70% (p<0.003). The greatest increases in torsional and bending stiffness were obtained by increasing the number of locking screws (up to 80%, p<0.001) and by increasing the distance between them (up to 70%, p<0.001). In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the mechanical performance of IM nailing can be affected by various locking parameters of which angular stability is only one. While angular stability clearly reduces clearance of the screw within the nail, mechanical stiffness depends more on the number of screws and their relative distance. Thus, optimal mechanical performance in IM nailing could potentially be obtained by combining angular stability with optimal arrangement of locking screws.
Performance characteristics of a new automated method for measurement of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide
Authors: Noordegraaf Madelon , Wolthuis Albert , Peters Frans , de Groot Monique , Hoedemakers Rein
Published: January 2015

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory auto-immune disease affecting approximately 1%–2% of the population worldwide. RA is a potentially crippling disease since it results in malformation of the joints. RA is mostly diagnosed based on clinical manifestations but serological tests against autoantibodies, such as rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides (aCCP), are available. The presence of aCCP antibodies is strongly associated with a more severe, destructive disease course. Recently, a new test for the measurement of aCCP antibodies on the IMMULITE 2000(XPi) platform was developed by Siemens Healthcare. In this study we investigated the performance characteristics of this new aCCP test in four different hospital laboratories and compared the new test with three different commercially available platforms.

Samples were collected from patients presented to the hospital for aCCP measurement. Serum aCCP levels were determined by aCCP (Ig)G assay for IMMULITE 2000(XPi) systems (Siemens Healthcare), ImmunoScan RA enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test (Eurodiagnostica), Immunocap 250 (Thermofisher) or aCCP IgG assay on the Modular system (Roche Diagnostics). The evaluation protocol consisted of within-run imprecision (20 sequential runs), between-run imprecision (16 workdays), comparison of serum and plasma measurement and method comparison.

The within-run imprecision (n=20) for aCCP IgG assay on three different IMMULITE 2000(XPi) systems ranged from 3.0% to 6.9% at levels 3.2–171.2 U/mL. Between-run imprecision (n=16 days) ranged from 5.2% to 11% at levels of 3.2–106.9 U/mL. Method comparison showed good correlation when samples were measured on two different Immulite analyzers in two different hospital laboratories [0.21+0.96x (n=40)]. Method comparison of the IMMULITE 2000(XPi) aCCP test with aCCP on Immunoscan RA ELISA (n=112), Immunocap 250 (n=105) and the Modular system (n=289) resulted in a concordance of 90.2%, 93.3% and 94.8%, respectively. Correlation of serum versus heparin samples showed a correlation of 0.12+1.08x for the Immulite 2000(XPi) test.

The aCCP assay on the IMMULITE 2000(XPi) has good performance characteristics and shows high level of concordance with the aCCP test on Immunoscan RA ELISA test, Immunocap 250 and the Modular systems.
Aspartate 496 from the subsite S2 drives specificity of human dipeptidyl peptidase III
Authors: Abramić Marija , Karačić Zrinka , Šemanjski Maja , Vukelić Bojana , Jajčanin-Jozić Nina
Published: January 2015

Human dipeptidyl peptidase III (hDPP III) is a member of the M49 metallopeptidase family, which is involved in intracellular protein catabolism and oxidative stress response. To investigate the structural basis of hDPP III preference for diarginyl arylamide, using site-directed mutagenesis, we altered its S2 subsite to mimic the counterpart in yeast enzyme. Kinetic studies revealed that the single mutant D496G lost selectivity due to the increase of the K
m value. The D496G, but not S504G, showed significantly decreased binding of peptides with N-terminal arginine, and of tynorphin. The results obtained identify Asp496 as an important determinant of human DPP III substrate specificity.
Analysis of Photovoltaic (PV) Module during Partial Shading based on Simplified Two-Diode Model
Authors: Chitti Babu B. , Gurjar Suresh , Meher Ashish
Published: January 2015

Generally, the characteristics of photovoltaic (PV) array are largely affected by solar temperature, solar irradiance, shading patterns, array configuration and location of shading modules. Partial shading is due to moving clouds and shadows of nearby obstacles and can cause a significant degradation in the output of PV system. Hence, the characteristics of PV array get more multifaceted with multiple peaks. The ultimate aim of the paper is to analyze the performance of PV module during such adverse condition based on simplified two-diode model. To reduce the computational time, the simplified two-diode model has a photocurrent source in parallel with two ideal diodes. Only four parameters are required to be calculated from datasheet in order to simulate the model. Moreover, the performance of PV array is evaluated at different shaded patterns and it is found that the model has less computational time and gives accurate results.
Electrolyzed Water Generated Using a Circulating Reactor
Authors: Ding Tian , Xuan Xiao-Ting , Liu Dong-Hong , Ye Xing-Qian , Shi John , Warriner Keith , Xue Sophia , Jones Carol L
Published: January 2015

Electrolyzed water offers several advantages over other sanitizers for sanitation of both food contact and non-contact surfaces. However, current electrolyzed water-generating process has low fluid output. To overcome such limitations, a circulating electrolyzed water-generating system has been developed in this study. The effects of NaCl/HCl concentration and electrolysis time were investigated. The free chlorine form (HClO and ClO–) of circulating electrolyzed water, and NaClO with the available chlorine concentrations of 50, 100, 200 mg/L were analyzed by using an ultraviolet spectrophotometer. The results show that the main chlorine form was HClO when the pH of solution was 6.44–6.53. The only ClO– in NaClO solutions when the pH of solution is 11.90. With the dilution of circulating electrolyzed water, the HClO concentration decreased while its proportion account for total available chlorine concentration increased (from 56.99% to 74.29%). The results indicated the potential application of diluted circulating electrolyzed water with high available chlorine concentration. The developed circulating electrolyzed water system in this study could be considered as a potential sanitizer due to its high stability, strong antimicrobial activity with high concentration of HClO and minimized equipment requirements for production.
The effect of nicotine and cotinine on human gingival fibroblasts attachment to root surfaces
Authors: Esfahrood Zeinab Rezaei , Zamanian Amirhosein , Torshabi Maryam , Abrishami Maryam
Published: January 2015

Background: Different compounds of smoking (e.g., nicotine and cotinine) are risk factors for various diseases such as oral cancer and periodontal diseases. Some studies reported the negative effects of nicotine on cell proliferation and differentiation. The present in vitro study assessed the effects of nicotine and cotinine (long-acting metabolite of nicotine) on the attachment and viability of human gingival fibroblast (HGF) cells to tooth root surfaces.

Methods: A total of 70 teeth specimens were placed into 48-well culture plates and covered with HGF cell suspension, in complete Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium culture medium containing 1 nM, 1 μm, 1 mM, and 5 mM of nicotine and cotinine concentrations. Cellular attachment and viability measured using an MTT assay and a scanning electron microscope were used for cell morphological evaluation.

Results: After 24 h, low (nanomolar and micromolar) and high concentrations (millimolar) of nicotine and cotinine caused a significant reduction in the initial cell adhesion in comparison with the control group, but no significant difference was observed between the nicotine and the cotinine groups (p<0.05). Dentally attached cells with low concentrations of nicotine and cotinine proliferated 48 h after exposure, the same as the control group. However, dentally attached cells with high concentrations of nicotine and cotinine (especially 5 mM) did not proliferate 24 h after exposure (p<0.05).

Conclusions: Low concentrations of nicotine and cotinine caused a reduction in the initial cell adhesion. However, no significant adverse effects on the proliferation of attached cells were seen in the longer period. High concentrations of nicotine and cotinine have adverse effects on the cell adhesion and proliferation of HGF cells.
Complementary and alternative medicine in diabetes (CALMIND) – a prospective study
Authors: Tan Aaron C. , Mak Jenson C.S.
Published: January 2015

Background: This study aims to further elucidate the demographic and diabetes characteristics of diabetic patients in Australia who use complementary and alternative medicines (CAM).

Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional questionnaire-based study of 149 patients with diabetes attending a general endocrine clinic in a tertiary referral hospital in Sydney, Australia.

Results: Thirty-seven patients (25%) stated they had used CAM therapies within the past 5 years. Vitamins (53%) were the most common CAM therapy used. A greater number of CAM nonusers reported calf pain whilst walking (21% vs. 9%, p=0.051), and HbA1c values were lower for CAM nonusers (7.7% vs. 8.1%, p=0.057). Amongst CAM users, a majority of patients (85%) did not consult with their specialist or general practitioner prior to starting CAM therapy.

Conclusions: With the increasing burden of diabetes, health practitioners will need to be more vigilant and understanding of the potential impact of CAM use on diabetes management.
A Musical Fight between Soul and Body in 1600
Authors: Petersen Nils Holger
Published: January 2015

The subject of this article is a discussion of Emilio de’ Cavalieri’s early Baroque music drama, Rappresentatione di anima, et di corpo (The Play of Soul and Body), performed in Rome in 1600 with a particular focus on the ambivalence apparent in this work between the text’s explicit pious plea for renouncing worldly pleasures on the one hand and, on the other hand, the theatrical, musical, and even textual means in the play intended to delight the audience, but also through this delight to bring about its religious message to the audience. This ambivalence may shed light on broader issues of cultural history connected to continuities and changes in Reform Catholicism in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Although seemingly influenced by a general pessimism of the time, the Catholic world could draw on a devotional, aesthetically resourceful, tradition providing ambiguous relief in contemporary pious culture, including Cavalieri’s avant-garde music dramatic devotion.
A Radon-type transform arising in photoacoustic tomography with circular detectors
Authors: Moon Sunghwan
Published: January 2015

Photoacoustic tomography is the most well-known example of a hybrid imaging method.
In this article, we define a Radon-type transform arising in a version of photoacoustic tomography that uses integrating circular detectors and describe how the Radon transform integrating over all circles with a fixed radius is determined from this Radon-type transform. We consider three situations in which the centers of the circular detectors are located on a cylinder, on a plane, and on a sphere. This transform is similar to a toroidal Radon transform, which maps a given function to its integrals over a set of tori. We also study this object.
Homophily-Based Link Prediction in The Facebook Online Social Network: A Rough Sets Approach
Authors: Elkabani Islam , Aboo Khachfeh Roa A.
Published: January 2015

Online social networks are highly dynamic and sparse. One of the main problems in analyzing these networks is the problem of predicting the existence of links between users on these networks: the link prediction problem. Many studies have been conducted to predict links using a variety of techniques like the decision tree and the logistic regression approaches. In this work, we will illustrate the use of the rough set theory in predicting links over the Facebook social network based on homophilic features. Other supervised learning algorithms are also employed in our experiments and compared with the rough set classifier, such as naive Bayes, J48 decision tree, support vector machine, logistic regression, and multilayer perceptron neural network. Moreover, we studied the influence of the “common groups” and “common page likes” homophilic features on predicting friendship between users of Facebook, and also studied the effect of using the Jaccard coefficient in measuring the similarity between users’ homophilic attributes compared with using the overlap coefficient. We conducted our experiments on two different datasets obtained from the Facebook online social network, where users in each dataset live within the same geographical region. The results showed that the rough set classifier significantly outperformed the other classifiers in all experiments. The results also demonstrated that the common groups and the common page likes features have a significant influence on predicting the friendship between users of Facebook. Finally, the results revealed that using the overlap coefficient homophilic features provided better results than that of the Jaccard coefficient features.
CFD of the MHD Mold Flow by Means of Hybrid LES/RANS Turbulence Modeling
Authors: Kratzsch Christoph , Asad Amjad , Schwarze Rüdiger
Published: January 2015

In the last decades, electromagnetic braking (EMBr) systems become a powerful tool to dampen possible jet oscillations in the continuous casting mold. Further studies showed that if a EMBr is not positioned correctly, it can induce flow oscillations. Hence, the design of these braking systems can be promoted by adequate CFD simulations. In most cases, unsteady RANS simulations (URANS) are sufficient to resolve low-frequency, large-scale oscillations of these MHD flows. Alternatively, Large Eddy Simulations (LES) may also resolve important details of the turbulence. However, since they require much finer computational grids, the computational costs are much higher. A bridge between both approaches are hybrid methods like the Scale Adaptive Simulation (SAS). In this study, we compare the performance of SAS with URANS and LES. Results are validated in detail by comparison with data from a Ruler-EMBr model experiment.
All-Optical Switching in Ultrashort Photonic Crystal Couplers Modified Y-branch Structure
Authors: Zahravi Masoud , Zahravi Mitra , Alipour-Banaei Hamed
Published: January 2015

In this paper, an all-optical switch based on photonic crystal directional coupler has been simulated and analyzed by the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. An ultra small 3-channel wavelength division demultiplexer based on 2D photonic crystal was modified into all-optical switch suitable for integration. The output wavelengths of designed structure can be tuned for communication applications (around 1.5 µm, 1.4 µm, 1.3 µm) by locating suitable defect parameters in the corner of each resonance cavity and input waveguides. The bandwidth of each channel is about 1 nm.
The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among schoolchildren: a cohort study from Xinxiang, China
Authors: Li Pei-ling , Tian Yun-jiao , Wang Yan-hua , Zhang Cui-zhen , Gao Jun , Li Yu-hua , Li Shu-jun
Published: January 2015

Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) in children is widespread. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess the prevalence of VDD in schoolchildren from Henan Province, China.

The study was conducted on school students from areas of Xinxiang, one of the largest cities of Henan Province in China, in the winter of 2013. A questionnaire on demographic data, socioeconomic status, sun exposure, and times of acute respiratory infections (RTI) in the past 12 months were completed for each student. Blood samples were taken to assess serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D].

In our study, 606 schoolchildren completed the questionnaire. The median serum level of 25(OH)D was 20.5 ng/mL (interquartile range: 15.9–25.1). The prevalence of VDD and insufficiency was 46.9% (284/606) and 85.8% (520/606), respectively. VDD was more associated with female gender, high body mass index, lower socio-professional status, residence in urban areas, and less time spent outdoors. There was an inverse correlation between levels of 25(OH) and times of RTI (p<0.001).

VDD and insufficiency are common among schoolchildren in Xinxiang. Supplementation with food fortification or vitamin D for Chinese children is warranted.