bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stability of Online Resource Managers for Distributed Systems under Execution Time Variations
Authors: Rafiliu Sergiu , Eles Petru , Peng Zebo , Lemmon Michael
Published: March 2015

Today's embedded systems are exposed to variations in resource usage due to complex software applications, hardware platforms, and impact of the runtime environments. When these variations are large and efficiency is required, on-line resource managers may be deployed on the system to help it control its resource usage. An often neglected problem is whether these resource managers are stable, meaning that the resource usage is controlled under all possible scenarios. In distributed systems, this problem is particularly hard because applications distributed over many resources generate complex dependencies between their resources. In this article, we develop a mathematical model of the system, and derive conditions that, if satisfied, guarantee stability.
The Cibola Flight Experiment
Authors: Quinn Heather , Roussel-Dupre Diane , Caffrey Mike , Graham Paul , Wirthlin Michael , Morgan Keith , Salazar Anthony , Nelson Tony , Howes Will , Johnson Eric , Johnson Jon , Pratt Brian , Rollins Nathan , Krone Jim
Published: March 2015

Over the past 15 years many organizations have researched the use of Static-Random Access Memory (SRAM)-based Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) in space. Although the components can provide a performance improvement over radiation-hardened processing components, random soft errors can occur from the naturally occurring space radiation environment. Many organizations have been developing methods for characterizing, emulating, and simulating radiation-induced events; mitigating and removing radiation-induced computational errors; and designing fault-tolerant reconfigurable spacecraft. Los Alamos National Laboratory has fielded one of the longest space-based FPGAs experiments, called the Cibola Flight Experiment (CFE), using Xilinx Virtex FPGAs. CFE has successfully deployed commercial SRAM FPGAs into a low-Earth orbit with Single-Event Upset (SEU) mitigation and was able to exploit effectively the reconfigurability and customization of FPGAs in a harsh radiation environment. Although older than current state-of-the-art FPGAs, these same concepts are used to deploy newer FPGA-based space systems since the launch of the CFE satellite and will continue to be useful for newer systems. In this article, we present how the system was designed to be fault tolerant, prelaunch predictions of expected on-orbit behaviors, and on-orbit results.
To Call or to Recall? That's the Research Question
Authors: Carrascal Juan Pablo , De Oliveira Rodrigo , Cherubini Mauro
Published: March 2015

We present findings of a study with 62 subjects who had 796 of their outgoing mobile phone calls recorded and transcribed for their later annotation—by highlighting important information shared during calls. We found that patterns in these calls (numbers, names, interrogative adverbs), as well as some contextual parameters, are better indicators of annotation needs than the callers' profile or call quality. Callers highlight information in both parties' turns (caller and callee) more often than highlighting solely information provided by the callee, which is mostly due to annotating questions with contextual information for the highlights in the callee's turns. We discuss how this behavior changes according to call purpose. Finally, we found that annotation needs change over time: whereas some annotations might not be considered relevant after weeks, others originally considered irrelevant might become important archival notes. We present implications of these findings for the design of mobile phone annotation tools.
Visualizing and Assessing Hypotheses for Marine Archaeology in a VR CAVE Environment
Authors: Katsouri Irene , Tzanavari Aimilia , Herakleous Kyriakos , Poullis Charalambos
Published: March 2015

The understanding and reconstruction of a wrecks formation process can be a complicated procedure that needs to take into account many interrelated components. The team of the University of Cyprus investigating the 4th-century BC Mazotos shipwreck are unable to interact easily and intuitively with the recorded data, a fact that impedes visualization and reconstruction and subsequently delays the evaluation of their hypotheses. An immersive 3D visualization application that utilizes a VR CAVE was developed, with the intent to enable researchers to mine the wealth of information this ancient shipwreck has to offer. Through the implementation and evaluation of the proposed application, this research seeks to investigate whether such an environment can aid the interpretation and analysis process and ultimately serve as an additional scientific tool for underwater archaeology.
Ontology-Based Mapping for Automated Document Management
Authors: Lee Yen-Hsien , Hu Paul Jen-Hwa , Tu Ching-Yi
Published: March 2015

Document clustering is crucial to automated document management, especially for the fast-growing volume of textual documents available digitally. Traditional lexicon-based approaches depend on document content analysis and measure overlap of the feature vectors representing different documents, which cannot effectively address word mismatch or ambiguity problems. Alternative query expansion and local context discovery approaches are developed but suffer from limited efficiency and effectiveness, because the large number of expanded terms create noise and increase the dimensionality and complexity of the overall feature space. Several techniques extend lexicon-based analysis by incorporating latent semantic indexing but produce less comprehensible clustering results and questionable performance. We instead propose a concept-based document representation and clustering (CDRC) technique and empirically examine its effectiveness using 433 articles concerning information systems and technology, randomly selected from a popular digital library. Our evaluation includes two widely used benchmark techniques and shows that CDRC outperforms them. Overall, our results reveal that clustering documents at an ontology-based, concept-based level is more effective than techniques using lexicon-based document features and can generate more comprehensible clustering results.
Dynamic User Modeling in Social Media Systems
Authors: Yin Hongzhi , Cui Bin , Chen Ling , Hu Zhiting , Zhou Xiaofang
Published: March 2015

Social media provides valuable resources to analyze user behaviors and capture user preferences. This article focuses on analyzing user behaviors in social media systems and designing a latent class statistical mixture model, named
temporal context-aware mixture model
(TCAM), to account for the intentions and preferences behind user behaviors. Based on the observation that the behaviors of a user in social media systems are generally influenced by
intrinsic interest
as well as the
temporal context
(e.g., the public's attention at that time), TCAM simultaneously models the topics related to users' intrinsic interests and the topics related to temporal context and then combines the influences from the two factors to model user behaviors in a unified way. Considering that users' interests are not always stable and may change over time, we extend TCAM to a dynamic temporal context-aware mixture model (DTCAM) to capture users' changing interests. To alleviate the problem of data sparsity, we exploit the social and temporal correlation information by integrating a social-temporal regularization framework into the DTCAM model. To further improve the performance of our proposed models (TCAM and DTCAM), an item-weighting scheme is proposed to enable them to favor items that better represent topics related to user interests and topics related to temporal context, respectively. Based on our proposed models, we design a temporal context-aware recommender system (TCARS). To speed up the process of producing the top-
k
recommendations from large-scale social media data, we develop an efficient query-processing technique to support TCARS. Extensive experiments have been conducted to evaluate the performance of our models on four real-world datasets crawled from different social media sites. The experimental results demonstrate the superiority of our models, compared with the state-of-the-art competitor methods, by modeling user behaviors more precisely and making more effective and efficient recommendations.
Pareto-Optimal Adversarial Defense of Enterprise Systems
Authors: Serra Edoardo , Jajodia Sushil , Pugliese Andrea , Rullo Antonino , Subrahmanian V. S.
Published: March 2015

The National Vulnerability Database (NVD) maintained by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology provides valuable information about vulnerabilities in popular software, as well as any patches available to address these vulnerabilities. Most enterprise security managers today simply patch the most dangerous vulnerabilities—an adversary can thus easily compromise an enterprise by using less important vulnerabilities to penetrate an enterprise. In this article, we capture the vulnerabilities in an enterprise as a Vulnerability Dependency Graph (VDG) and show that attacks graphs can be expressed in them. We first ask the question: What set of vulnerabilities should an attacker exploit in order to maximize his expected impact? We show that this problem can be solved as an integer linear program. The defender would obviously like to minimize the impact of the worst-case attack mounted by the attacker—but the defender also has an obligation to ensure a high productivity within his enterprise. We propose an algorithm that finds a Pareto-optimal solution for the defender that allows him to simultaneously maximize productivity and minimize the cost of patching products on the enterprise network. We have implemented this framework and show that runtimes of our computations are all within acceptable time bounds even for large VDGs containing 30K edges and that the balance between productivity and impact of attacks is also acceptable.
Normal Higher-Order Termination
Authors: Jouannaud Jean-Pierre , Rubio Albert
Published: March 2015

We extend the termination proof methods based on reduction orderings to higher-order rewriting systems based on higher-order pattern matching. We accommodate, on the one hand, a weakly polymorphic, algebraic extension of Church’s simply typed λ-calculus and, on the other hand, any use of eta, as a reduction, as an expansion, or as an equation. The user’s rules may be of any type in this type system, either a base, functional, or weakly polymorphic type.
Engineering Pervasive Service Ecosystems
Authors: Castelli Gabriella , Mamei Marco , Rosi Alberto , Zambonelli Franco
Published: March 2015

Emerging pervasive computing services will typically involve a large number of devices and service components cooperating together in an open and dynamic environment. This calls for suitable models and infrastructures promoting spontaneous, situated, and self-adaptive interactions between components. SAPERE (Self-Aware Pervasive Service Ecosystems) is a general coordination framework aimed at facilitating the decentralized and situated execution of self-organizing and self-adaptive pervasive computing services. SAPERE adopts a nature-inspired approach, in which pervasive services are modeled and deployed as autonomous individuals in an ecosystem of other services and devices, all of which interact in accord to a limited set of coordination laws, or eco-laws. In this article, we present the overall rationale underlying SAPERE and its reference architecture. We introduce the eco-laws--based coordination model and show how it can be used to express and easily enforce general-purpose self-organizing coordination patterns. The middleware infrastructure supporting the SAPERE model is presented and evaluated, and the overall advantages of SAPERE are discussed in the context of exemplary use cases.
SHõ
WA
Authors: Magalhães João Paulo , Silva Luis Moura
Published: March 2015

The complexity of systems is considered an obstacle to the progress of the IT industry. Autonomic computing is presented as the alternative to cope with the growing complexity. It is a holistic approach, in which the systems are able to configure, heal, optimize, and protect by themselves. Web-based applications are an example of systems where the complexity is high. The number of components, their interoperability, and workload variations are factors that may lead to performance failures or unavailability scenarios. The occurrence of these scenarios affects the revenue and reputation of businesses that rely on these types of applications.

In this article, we present a self-healing framework for Web-based applications (
SHõ
WA).
SHõ
WA is composed by several modules, which monitor the application, analyze the data to detect and pinpoint anomalies, and execute recovery actions autonomously. The monitoring is done by a small aspect-oriented programming agent. This agent does not require changes to the application source code and includes adaptive and selective algorithms to regulate the level of monitoring. The anomalies are detected and pinpointed by means of statistical correlation. The data analysis detects changes in the server response time and analyzes if those changes are correlated with the workload or are due to a performance anomaly. In the presence of performance anomalies, the data analysis pinpoints the anomaly. Upon the pinpointing of anomalies,
SHõ
WA executes a recovery procedure. We also present a study about the detection and localization of anomalies, the accuracy of the data analysis, and the performance impact induced by
SHõ
WA. Two benchmarking applications, exercised through dynamic workloads, and different types of anomaly were considered in the study. The results reveal that (1) the capacity of
SHõ
WA to detect and pinpoint anomalies while the number of end users affected is low; (2)
SHõ
WA was able to detect anomalies without raising any false alarm; and (3)
SHõ
WA does not induce a significant performance overhead (throughput was affected in less than 1%, and the response time delay was no more than 2 milliseconds).
Investigating Essential Factors on Students' Perceived Accomplishment and Enjoyment and Intention to Learn in Web Development
Authors: Zhang Yulei (Gavin) , Dang Yan (Mandy)
Published: March 2015

Web development is an important component in the curriculum of computer science and information systems areas. However, it is generally considered difficult to learn among students. In this study, we examined factors that could influence students' perceptions of accomplishment and enjoyment and their intention to learn in the web development course. Specifically, we investigated both student-related and instructor-related factors. A research model was developed. To empirically test the model and the hypotheses, the survey method was used and the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was adopted for data analysis. Overall, the results indicated that both student-related factors (perceived web development efficacy and motivation) and instructor-related factors (instructor characteristics and teaching method) could significantly influence students' perceptions toward accomplishment and enjoyment and their intention to learn web development. We also summarized comments collected from students to gain a deeper understanding of their ideas toward learning web development techniques. We believe the research results can help provide better knowledge and insights to educators on teaching web development.
NoCMsg
Authors: Zimmer Christopher , Mueller Frank
Published: March 2015

The number of cores of contemporary processors is constantly increasing and thus continues to deliver ever higher peak performance (following Moore’s transistor law). Yet high core counts present a challenge to hardware and software alike. Following this trend, the network-on-chip (NoC) topology has changed from buses over rings and fully connected meshes to 2D meshes.

This work contributes NoCMsg, a low-level message-passing abstraction over NoCs, which is specifically designed for large core counts in 2D meshes. NoCMsg ensures deadlock-free messaging for wormhole Manhattan-path routing over the NoC via a polling-based message abstraction and non--flow-controlled communication for selective communication patterns. Experimental results on the TilePro hardware platform show that NoCMsg can significantly reduce communication times by up to 86% for single packet messages and up to 40% for larger messages compared to other NoC-based message approaches. On the TilePro platform, NoCMsg outperforms shared memory abstractions by up to 93% as core counts and interprocess communication increase. Results for fully pipelined double-precision numerical codes show speedups of up to 64% for message passing over shared memory at 32 cores. Overall, we observe that shared memory scales up to about 16 cores on this platform, whereas message passing performs well beyond that threshold. These results generalize to similar NoC-based platforms.
A Wearable Assistant for Gait Training for Parkinson’s Disease with Freezing of Gait in Out-of-the-Lab Environments
Authors: Mazilu Sinziana , Blanke Ulf , Dorfman Moran , Gazit Eran , Mirelman Anat , M. Hausdorff Jeffrey , Tröster Gerhard
Published: March 2015

People with Parkinson’s disease (PD) suffer from declining mobility capabilities, which cause a prevalent risk of falling. Commonly, short periods of motor blocks occur during walking, known as freezing of gait (FoG). To slow the progressive decline of motor abilities, people with PD usually undertake stationary motor-training exercises in the clinics or supervised by physiotherapists. We present a wearable system for the support of people with PD and FoG. The system is designed for independent use. It enables motor training and gait assistance at home and other unsupervised environments. The system consists of three components. First, FoG episodes are detected in real time using wearable inertial sensors and a smartphone as the processing unit. Second, a feedback mechanism triggers a rhythmic auditory signal to the user to alleviate freeze episodes in an assistive mode. Third, the smartphone-based application features support for training exercises. Moreover, the system allows unobtrusive and long-term monitoring of the user’s clinical condition by transmitting sensing data and statistics to a telemedicine service.

We investigate the at-home acceptance of the wearable system in a study with nine PD subjects. Participants deployed and used the system on their own, without any clinical support, at their homes during three protocol sessions in 1 week. Users’ feedback suggests an overall positive attitude toward adopting and using the system in their daily life, indicating that the system supports them in improving their gait. Further, in a data-driven analysis with sensing data from five participants, we study whether there is an observable effect on the gait during use of the system. In three out of five subjects, we observed a decrease in FoG duration distributions over the protocol days during gait-training exercises. Moreover, sensing data-driven analysis shows a decrease in FoG duration and FoG number in four out of five participants when they use the system as a gait-assistive tool during normal daily life activities at home.
Layer Systems for Proving Confluence
Authors: Felgenhauer Bertram , Middeldorp Aart , Zankl Harald , Van Oostrom Vincent
Published: March 2015

We introduce layer systems for proving generalizations of the modularity of confluence for first-order rewrite systems. Layer systems specify how terms can be divided into layers. We establish structural conditions on those systems that imply confluence. Our abstract framework covers known results like modularity, many-sorted persistence, layer-preservation, and currying. We present a counterexample to an extension of persistence to order-sorted rewriting and derive new sufficient conditions for the extension to hold. All our proofs are constructive.
A Reinforcement Learning Approach for Interdomain Routing with Link Prices
Authors: Vrancx Peter , Gurzi Pasquale , Rodriguez Abdel , Steenhaut Kris , Nowé Ann
Published: March 2015

In today’s Internet, the commercial aspects of routing are gaining importance. Current technology allows Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to renegotiate contracts online to maximize profits. Changing link prices will influence interdomain routing policies that are now driven by monetary aspects as well as global resource and performance optimization. In this article, we consider an interdomain routing game in which the ISP’s action is to set the price for its transit links. Assuming a cheapest path routing scheme, the optimal action is the price setting that yields the highest utility (i.e., profit) and depends both on the network load and the actions of other ISPs. We adapt a continuous and a discrete action learning automaton (LA) to operate in this framework as a tool that can be used by ISP operators to learn optimal price setting. In our model, agents representing different ISPs learn only on the basis of local information and do not need any central coordination or sensitive information exchange. Simulation results show that a single ISP employing LAs is able to learn the optimal price in a stationary environment. By introducing a selective exploration rule, LAs are also able to operate in nonstationary environments. When two ISPs employ LAs, we show that they converge to stable and fair equilibrium strategies.
Introduction to the Special Issue on Web Development
Authors: Miller Craig S. , Connolly Randy
Published: March 2015

Despite its prevalence in computing, web development is underrepresented in computing curricula and computing education research. This special issue takes a step towards improving its representation with three articles on web development education. Drawing upon diverse methods from a variety of contexts, the articles address challenges of teaching web development and common difficulties students encounter when learning particular concepts. All three articles identify web development as a promising avenue for motivating students in their study of computing.
Characteristics and Performance of Nanozinc Oxide/Mesoporous Silica Gel Photocatalytic Composite Prepared by a Sol‐Gel Method
Authors: Xu Hang , Yu Tianlong , Liu Yi
Published: March 2015

Nano‐ZnO loaded mesoporous SiO2 was prepared by sol‐gel technology as a photocatalytic composite. XRD, SEM, TEM, EDX, and N2 sorption isotherms were used to characterize the nano‐ZnO/mesoporous SiO2. Acid Red 18 was used as simulated pollutant to determine the photocatalytic performance of nano‐ZnO/mesoporous SiO2 under ultraviolet light and solar light. The results showed that 6.4 nm ZnO was obtained and immobilized on mesoporous SiO2. Compared to the mesoporous SiO2, the surface area and average pore width of nano‐ZnO/mesoporous SiO2 were reduced by 12 m2/g and 0.7 nm, respectively. 50% ZnO content in a composite calcinated at 200∘C exhibited the best photocatalytic activity. The removal of Acid Red 18 under solar irradiation was 10% higher than ultraviolet light.
Emergence: Complexity Pedagogy in Action
Authors: Jonas-Simpson Christine , Mitchell Gail , Cross Nadine
Published: March 2015

Many educators are looking for new ways to engage students and each other in order to enrich curriculum and the teaching-learning process. We describe an example of how we enacted teaching-learning approaches through the insights of complexity thinking, an approach that supports the emergence of new possibilities for teaching-learning in the classroom and online. Our story begins with an occasion to meet with 10 nursing colleagues in a three-hour workshop using four activities that engaged learning about complexity thinking and pedagogy. Guiding concepts for the collaborative workshop were nonlinearity, distributed decision-making, divergent thinking, self-organization, emergence, and creative exploration. The workshop approach considered critical questions to spark our collective inquiry. We asked, “What is emergent learning?” and “How do we, as educators and learners, engage a community so that new learning surfaces?” We integrated the arts, creative play, and perturbations within a complexity approach.
Impact of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine on Pediatric Tympanostomy Tube Insertion in Partial Immunized Population
Authors: Wang Mao-Che , Wang Ying-Piao , Chu Chia-Huei , Tu Tzong-Yang , Shiao An-Suey , Chou Pesus
Published: March 2015

Objective. To investigate the impact of seven‐valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on tube insertions in a partial immunized pediatric population. Study Design. Retrospective ecological study. Methods. This study used Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database for the period 2000–2009. Every child under 17 years old who received tubes during this 10‐year period was identified and analyzed. The tube insertion rates in different age groups and the risk to receive tubes in different birth cohorts before and after the release of the vaccine in 2005 were compared. Results. The tube insertion rates for children under 17 years of age ranged from 21.6 to 31.9 for 100,000 persons/year. The tube insertion rate of children under 2 years old decreased significantly after 2005 in period effect analysis (β = −0.074, P < 0.05, and the negative β value means a downward trend) and increased in children 2 to 9 years old throughout the study period (positive β values which mean upward trends, P < 0.05). The rate of tube insertion was lower in 2004‐2005 and 2006‐2007 birth cohorts than that of 2002‐2003 birth cohort (RR = 0.90 and 0.21, 95% CI 0.83–0.97 and 0.19–0.23, resp.). Conclusion. The seven‐valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine may reduce the risk of tube insertion for children of later birth cohorts. The vaccine may have the protective effect on tube insertions in a partial immunized pediatric population.
The Hidden Cost of Untreated Paragangliomas of the Head and Neck: Systemic Reactive (AA) Amyloidosis
Authors: Dervisoglu Erkan , Ozturk Murat , Tuncay Mehmet , Dervisoglu Gulhatun Kilic , Gurbuz Yesim , Derin Serhan
Published: March 2015

We report a case of a 51-year-old man who was diagnosed with systemic reactive (AA) amyloidosis in association with untreated glomus jugulare and glomus caroticum tumors. He refused radiotherapy and renal replacement therapy. Paragangliomas, although rare, should be considered one of the tumors that can result in AA amyloidosis.
On Interval-Valued Hesitant Fuzzy Soft Sets
Authors: Zhang Haidong , Xiong Lianglin , Ma Weiyuan
Published: March 2015

By combining the interval-valued hesitant fuzzy set and soft set models, the purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of interval-valued hesitant fuzzy soft sets. Further, some operations on the interval-valued hesitant fuzzy soft sets are investigated, such as complement, “AND,” “OR,” ring sum, and ring product operations. Then, by means of reduct interval-valued fuzzy soft sets and level hesitant fuzzy soft sets, we present an adjustable approach to interval-valued hesitant fuzzy soft sets based on decision making and some numerical examples are provided to illustrate the developed approach. Finally, the weighted interval-valued hesitant fuzzy soft set is also introduced and its application in decision making problem is shown.
A Prospective Study of Tuberculosis Drug Susceptibility in Sabah, Malaysia, and an Algorithm for Management of Isoniazid Resistance
Authors: Rashid Ali Muhammad Redzwan S. , Parameswaran Uma , William Timothy , Bird Elspeth , Wilkes Christopher S. , Lee Wai Khew , Yeo Tsin Wen , Anstey Nicholas M. , Ralph Anna P.
Published: March 2015

Introduction. The burden of tuberculosis is high in eastern Malaysia, and rates ofMycobacterium tuberculosisdrug resistance are poorly defined. Our objectives were to determineM. tuberculosissusceptibility and document management after receipt of susceptibility results.Methods. Prospective study of adult outpatients with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in Sabah, Malaysia. Additionally, hospital clinicians accessed the reference laboratory for clinical purposes during the study.Results. 176 outpatients were enrolled; 173 provided sputum samples. Mycobacterial culture yieldedM. tuberculosisin 159 (91.9%) and nontuberculous Mycobacterium (NTM) in three (1.7%). Among outpatients there were no instances of multidrug resistantM. tuberculosis(MDR-TB). Seven people (4.5%) had isoniazid resistance (INH-R); all were switched to an appropriate second-line regimen for varying durations (4.5–9 months). Median delay to commencement of the second-line regimen was 13 weeks. Among 15 inpatients with suspected TB, 2 had multidrug resistant TB (one extensively drug resistant), 2 had INH-R, and 4 had NTM.Conclusions. Current community rates of MDR-TB in Sabah are low. However, INH-resistance poses challenges, and NTM is an important differential diagnosis in this setting, where smear microscopy is the usual diagnostic modality. To address INH-R management issues in our setting, we propose an algorithm for the treatment of isoniazid-resistant PTB.
DFT Study on Adiabatic and Vertical Ionization Potentials of Graphene Sheets
Authors: Petrushenko Igor K.
Published: March 2015

Adiabatic and vertical ionization potentials (IPs) of finite-size graphene sheets as a function of size were determined by using density functional theory. In the case of graphene a very moderate gap between vertical and adiabatic IPs was observed, whereas for coronene molecule as a model compound these values differ considerably. The ionization process induces large changes in the structure of the studied sheets of graphene; “horizontal” and “vertical” bond lengths have different patterns of alternation. It was also established that the HOMO electron density distribution in the neutral graphene sheet affects its size upon ionization. The evolution of IPs of graphene sheets towards their work functions was discussed.
Theoretical Research Progress in High-Velocity/Hypervelocity Impact on Semi-Infinite Targets
Authors: Sun Yunhou , Shi Cuncheng , Liu Zheng , Wen Desheng
Published: March 2015

With the hypervelocity kinetic weapon and hypersonic cruise missiles research projects being carried out, the damage mechanism for high-velocity/hypervelocity projectile impact on semi-infinite targets has become the research keystone in impact dynamics. Theoretical research progress in high-velocity/hypervelocity impact on semi-infinite targets was reviewed in this paper. The evaluation methods for critical velocity of high-velocity and hypervelocity impact were summarized. The crater shape, crater scaling laws and empirical formulae, and simplified analysis models of crater parameters for spherical projectiles impact on semi-infinite targets were reviewed, so were the long rod penetration state differentiation, penetration depth calculation models for the semifluid, and deformed long rod projectiles. Finally, some research proposals were given for further study.
MFI and FAU-Type Zeolites as Trapping Materials for Light Hydrocarbons Emission Control at Low Partial Pressure and High Temperature
Authors: Migliardini Fortunato , Iucolano Fabio , Caputo Domenico , Corbo Pasquale
Published: March 2015

The adsorption of light hydrocarbons (C2–C5 olefins and paraffins, toluene) on HZSM-5, silicalite, and HY was studied for application in treatment of exhaust streams of the petrochemical industry and of vehicles under cold start conditions. At this aim the trapping capability was evaluated on hydrated zeolites by breakthrough curves at low hydrocarbon partial pressure (0-1 kPa), in the temperature range 298–523 K and at space velocity of 30000 h−1. The basic adsorption properties of materials were also verified for three selected hydrocarbons (ethylene, isobutene, and toluene) by equilibrium isotherms on dehydrated zeolites at 298 K. The role of physicochemical characteristics of adsorbent materials was discussed in relation with their trapping capability of different types of hydrocarbons.
Orbital Pseudotumor: Uncommon Initial Presentation of IgG4-Related Disease
Authors: Carbone Teresa , Azêdo Montes Ricardo , Andrade Beatriz , Lanzieri Pedro , Mocarzel Luis
Published: March 2015

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) encompasses a group of fibroinflammatory conditions recognized in recent times. The main clinical features include variable degrees of tissue fibrosis, tumorlike expansions, perivascular lymphocytic infiltration rich in IgG4-positive plasma cells, and elevated serum IgG4. A case has been reported of an elderly patient with an unexplained unilateral exophthalmia; biopsy was performed and revealed lymphocytic infiltration, suggesting IgG4-RD. High serum levels of IgG4, in association with a good response to steroid therapy and to the exclusion of other diagnoses, confirmed the hypothesis of orbital pseudotumor by IgG4-RD.
Conservative Treatment of a Large Facial Midroot Perforation
Authors: Kerner Stephane , Bronnec François
Published: March 2015

Aim. To report on the endodontic and periodontal management of a root and alveolar process perforation in a maxillary front tooth.Summary. Perforation during access cavity preparation is an infrequent complication during endodontic therapy, leading to potential periodontal tissue breakdown. The case described the two-stage management of a massive facial root perforation requiring a connective tissue graft to correct a mucosal fenestration persisting after orthograde repair of the root defect with MTA.
Effect of Physical Activity on Blood Pressure Distribution among School Children
Authors: Durrani Anisa M. , Fatima Waseem
Published: March 2015

The present study analyzed the relationship between physical activity and blood pressure in 701 school children aged 12–16 years (girls = 338, boys = 363). During the baseline examination, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), height, weight, and 24-hour recall of the working day activity with duration were recorded. Total activity score and type of activity were calculated by weighing the activity level. Mean, standard deviation, and correlation coefficient were calculated by using SPSS 12.0 version. The results revealed that rise in blood pressure was directly proportional to the increase in age. The range of systolic blood pressure was found to be high in low risk blood pressure (LBP) group than in elevated blood pressure (EBP) group showing direct association of activity level and systolic blood pressure. Physical activity score was found to be more in LBP group than in EBP group. Our results support the hypothesis that SBP is independently related to the level of habitual physical activity in children.
Amisulpride Augmentation for Clozapine-Refractory Positive Symptoms: Additional Benefit in Reducing Hypersialorrhea
Authors: Bogorni Fabiani , Moreira Frederico Fernandes , Pimentel Eduardo Mylius , Grohs Géder Evandro Motta , Diaz Alexandre Paim
Published: March 2015

One-third to half of patients taking clozapine suffer from refractory symptoms despite adequate treatment. Among other adverse effects, clozapine-induced hypersalivation (CIH) occurs in approximately half of all patients. This is a case of a 30-year-old male with refractory schizophrenia; in this patient, the remission of residual positive symptoms, as well as the reduction of CIH, was achieved by treatment with clozapine augmented with amisulpride.
Impact on Human Health of Microorganisms Present in Fermented Dairy Products: An Overview
Authors: Fernández María , Hudson John Andrew , Korpela Riitta , de los Reyes-Gavilán Clara G.
Published: March 2015

Fermented dairy products provide nutrients in our diet, some of which are produced by the action of microorganisms during fermentation. These products can be populated by a diverse microbiota that impacts the organoleptic and physicochemical characteristics foods as well as human health. Acidification is carried out by starter lactic acid bacteria (LAB) whereas other LAB, moulds, and yeasts become dominant during ripening and contribute to the development of aroma and texture in dairy products. Probiotics are generally part of the nonstarter microbiota, and their use has been extended in recent years. Fermented dairy products can contain beneficial compounds, which are produced by the metabolic activity of their microbiota (vitamins, conjugated linoleic acid, bioactive peptides, and gamma-aminobutyric acid, among others). Some microorganisms can also release toxic compounds, the most notorious being biogenic amines and aflatoxins. Though generally considered safe, fermented dairy products can be contaminated by pathogens. If proliferation occurs during manufacture or storage, they can cause sporadic cases or outbreaks of disease. This paper provides an overview on the current state of different aspects of the research on microorganisms present in dairy products in the light of their positive or negative impact on human health.
Severe Gingival Enlargement with Coexisting Erosive Lichen Planus in Severe Chronic Periodontitis Patient
Authors: Sharma Ambika , Aggarwal Chakshu , Mathur Vijay P. , Sardana Divesh
Published: March 2015

Plaque induced gingival enlargement is most commonly seen and when encountered simultaneously with erosive lichen planus poses a challenge to the treating dentist. Prognosis of one condition may influence the prognosis of another condition. The presented case highlights the significance of proper diagnosis and the management of simultaneously occurring gingival lesions. A 49-year-old hypertensive female presented with painful enlarged bleeding and suppurating gums with burning sensation on eating food along with long-term usage of antihypertensive drug amlodipine known for its gingival enlargement effect. All these multiple factors led to diagnostic dilemma. Effective management of the gingival enlargement was done by using electrocautery to rehabilitate the functions and esthetics of the patient. Gingival condition was also complicated by the presence of coexisting lichen planus which was predominantly erosive for which topical corticosteroid, antifungal, and antimicrobial agents were prescribed. Eight-month follow-up did not show recurrence of gingival enlargement. Electrocautery is an effective tool for the gingivectomy in severe inflammatory type of gingival enlargement because of rapid postoperative hemostasis. For the management of erosive lichen planus, long-term use of topical corticosteroids is an effective approach. Maintenance of oral hygiene and regular follow-ups are essential for these conditions.
Attenuating Photostress and Glare Disability in Pseudophakic Patients through the Addition of a Short-Wave Absorbing Filter
Authors: Hammond Billy R.
Published: March 2015

To evaluate the effects of filtering short wavelength light on visual performance under intense light conditions among pseudophakic patients previously implanted with a clear intraocular lens (IOL). This was a patient-masked, randomized crossover study conducted at 6 clinical sites in the United States between September 2013 and January 2014. One hundred fifty-four bilaterally pseudophakic patients were recruited. Photostress recovery time and glare disability thresholds were measured with clip-on blue-light-filtering and placebo (clear; no blue-light filtration) glasses worn over patients’ habitual correction. Photostress recovery time was quantified as the time necessary to regain sight of a grating target after intense light exposure. Glare disability threshold was assessed as the intensity of a white-light annulus necessary to obscure a central target. The order of filter used and test eye were randomized across patients. Photostress recovery time and glare disability thresholds were significantly improved (bothP<0.0001) when patients used blue-light-filtering glasses compared with clear, nonfiltering glasses. Compared with a nonfiltering placebo, adding a clip-on blue-absorbing filter to the glasses of pseudophakic patients implanted with clear IOLs significantly increased their ability to cope with glare and to recover normal viewing after an intensive photostress. This result implies that IOL designs with blue-light-filtering characteristics may be beneficial under intense light conditions.
Indoxyl Sulfate‐Induced Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, and Impaired Biogenesis Are Partly Protected by Vitamin C and N‐Acetylcysteine
Authors: Lee Wen-Chin , Li Lung-Chih , Chen Jin-Bor , Chang Hsueh-Wei
Published: March 2015

Indoxyl sulfate (IS) contributes to oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction in chronic kidney disease patients. However, the role of mitochondria in IS‐induced oxidative stress is not very clear. In this study, we examined whether mitochondria play a pivotal role in modulating the effects of antioxidants during IS treatment. In the context of human umbilical vein endothelial cells, we found that IS had a dose‐dependent antiproliferative effect. In addition, we used flow cytometry to demonstrate that the level of reactive oxygen species increased in a dose‐dependent manner after treatment with IS. High doses of IS also corresponded to increased mitochondrial depolarization and decreased mitochondrial DNA copy number and mitochondrial mass. However, these effects could be reversed by the addition of antioxidants, namely, vitamin C and N‐acetylcysteine. Thus, our results suggest that IS‐induced oxidative stress and antiproliferative effect can be attributed to mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired biogenesis and that these processes can be protected by treatment with antioxidants.
Telomerization of Vinyl Chloride with Chloroform Initiated by Ferrous Chloride-Dimethylacetamide under Ultrasonic Conditions
Authors: Qian Hua , Quan Hengdao
Published: March 2015

Telomerization of vinyl chloride with chloroform was investigated using ferrous chloride-dimethylacetamide system, and 42.1% yield, more than four times the one reported before, was achieved. The addition of ultrasound further improved the reaction and yield was raised to 51.9% with trace byproducts at highly reduced reaction time and temperature. Ferrous chloride-dimethylacetamide under ultrasonic irradiation acts as a very efficient catalyst system for the 1 : 1 telomerization.
Automatic Segmentation of Colon in 3D CT Images and Removal of Opacified Fluid Using Cascade Feed Forward Neural Network
Authors: Gayathri Devi K. , Radhakrishnan R.
Published: March 2015

Purpose. Colon segmentation is an essential step in the development of computer-aided diagnosis systems based on computed tomography (CT) images. The requirement for the detection of the polyps which lie on the walls of the colon is much needed in the field of medical imaging for diagnosis of colorectal cancer.Methods. The proposed work is focused on designing an efficient automatic colon segmentation algorithm from abdominal slices consisting of colons, partial volume effect, bowels, and lungs. The challenge lies in determining the exact colon enhanced with partial volume effect of the slice. In this work, adaptive thresholding technique is proposed for the segmentation of air packets, machine learning based cascade feed forward neural network enhanced with boundary detection algorithms are used which differentiate the segments of the lung and the fluids which are sediment at the side wall of colon and by rejecting bowels based on the slice difference removal method. The proposed neural network method is trained with Bayesian regulation algorithm to determine the partial volume effect.Results. Experiment was conducted on CT database images which results in 98% accuracy and minimal error rate.Conclusions. The main contribution of this work is the exploitation of neural network algorithm for removal of opacified fluid to attain desired colon segmentation result.
Cognitive-Motor Interference in Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review of Evidence, Correlates, and Consequences
Authors: Wajda Douglas A. , Sosnoff Jacob J.
Published: March 2015

Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) regularly exhibit deficits in motor and cognitive function. Recent evidence suggests that these impairments are compounded when motor and cognitive task are performed simultaneously such as walking while talking. The changes incurred during simultaneous performance of motor and cognitive tasks are a result of cognitive-motor interference (CMI) and operationalized as dual task costs (DTC). Recently in MS, research has been conducted to understand and analyze the impact of CMI. The purpose of this paper was to review the current literature related to the evidence, correlates, and consequences of CMI in MS. Relevant literature was collected from the results of a PubMed search for terms including “Cognitive-motor interference” or “Cognitive-motor interaction” or “Dual task” and “multiple sclerosis.” Overall, 20 papers were included for review which focused on CMI during balance and walking tasks. The finding that there is a lack of evidence pertaining to changes in the cognitive domain as well as to the specific consequences of CMI in MS was noted. Future work should aim to fill these gaps and ultimately investigate the usefulness of targeted interventions in reducing the deleterious effects of CMI in individuals with MS.
Thyroid Storm Precipitated by Duodenal Ulcer Perforation
Authors: Natsuda Shoko , Nakashima Yomi , Horie Ichiro , Ando Takao , Kawakami Atsushi
Published: March 2015

Thyroid storm is a rare and life-threatening complication of thyrotoxicosis that requires prompt treatment. Thyroid storm is also known to be associated with precipitating events. The simultaneous treatment of thyroid storm and its precipitant, when they are recognized, in a patient is recommended; otherwise such disorders, including thyroid storm, can exacerbate each other. Here we report the case of a thyroid storm patient (a 55-year-old Japanese male) complicated with a perforated duodenal ulcer. The patient was successfully treated with intensive treatment for thyroid storm and a prompt operation. Although it is believed that peptic ulcer rarely coexists with hyperthyroidism, among patients with thyroid storm, perforation of a peptic ulcer has been reported as one of the causes of fatal outcome. We determined that surgical intervention was required in this patient, reported despite ongoing severe thyrotoxicosis, and reported herein a successful outcome.
MHC Class I Chain-Related Gene A Diversity in Patients with Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma from Southeastern Spain
Authors: Campillo José Antonio , López-Hernández Ruth , Martínez-Banaclocha Helios , Bolarín José Miguel , Gimeno Lourdes , Mrowiec Anna , López Manuela , Heras Beatriz Las , Minguela Alfredo , Moya-Quiles Maria Rosa , Legáz Isabel , Frías-Iniesta José Francisco , García-Alonso Ana María , Álvarez-López María Rocío , Martínez-Escribano Jorge Antonio , Muro Manuel
Published: March 2015

A limited number of studies have been performed so far on the polymorphism in the transmembrane region (exon 5) of the major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related gene A (MICA) in patients with melanoma. However, the influence of MICA polymorphism in extracellular domains (exons 2, 3, and 4) has not been investigated on melanoma disease. This study aims to characterize the influence of extracellular MICA polymorphism, and its previously described linkage disequilibrium with HLA-B locus, on patients with cutaneous melanoma from southeastern Spain. For this purpose, MICA and HLA-B genotyping was performed in 233 patients and 200 ethnically matched controls by luminex technology. Patients were classified according to the presence of methionine or valine at codon 129 of MICA gene. We found a high frequency of MICA*009 in melanoma patients compared with controls (P=0.002, Pc = 0.03). Our results also showed an association between MICA*009 and HLA-B*51 alleles in both patients and controls. This association was stronger in patients than controls (P=0.015). However, a multivariate logistic regression model showed that neither MICA*009 nor the combination MICA*009/HLA-B*51 was associated with melanoma susceptibility. No relationship was observed between MICA-129 dimorphism and melanoma nor when MICA polymorphism was evaluated according to clinical findings at diagnosis.