bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relationship between male hormonal status, Bezold–Jarisch reflex function, and ACE activity (cardiac and plasmatic)
Authors: Heringer Otávio Arruda , Cassaro Karla Oliveira dos Santos , Barbosa Nara Carolina Mateus Rabello , Brasil Girlandia Alexandre , do Nascimento Andrews Marques , de Lima Ewelyne Miranda , Bissoli Nazaré Souza , Lenz Dominik , Endringer Denise Coutinho , de Andrade Tadeu Uggere
Published: August 2015

The negative relationship between androgens and the Bezold–Jarisch reflex (BJR) has been demonstrated, but no studies evaluated the physiological influence of testosterone on this reflex. We evaluated the influence of male rat castration on the BJR, cardiac morphometric parameters, and the plasmatic and the cardiac angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activity. After castration (CAS), the rats were divided into 24 and 72 h (CAS24H, CAS72H), and 7 and 21 days (CAS7D, CAS21D) groups. The BJR was studied by administering increasing doses of phenylbiguanide (PBG; 1.5–24 μg/kg) at different times after castration. Castration results in the following: (i) reduction in testosterone levels (SHAM: 238.7 ± 15.1; CAS24H: 9.0 ± 0.5; CAS72H: 6.7 ± 0.4; CAS7D: 5.2 ± 0.2; and CAS21D: 2.2 ± 0.3 ng/dL; p < 0.05); (ii) no changes in 17β-estradiol; (iii) a reduced BJR sensitivity (PBG 6 μg/kg; SHAM: 77 ± 7; CAS24H: 63 ± 10; CAS72H: 55 ± 6; CAS7D: 54 ± 4; and CAS21D: 35 ± 2%; p < 0.01); (iv) a decrease in cardiac (SHAM: 107 ± 6; CAS24H: 92 ± 2; CAS72H: 82 ± 3; CAS7D: 54 ± 3; and CAS21D: 43 ± 4%; p < 0.05) and plasmatic (SHAM: 135 ± 8; CAS24H: 102 ± 5; CAS72H: 99 ± 3; CAS7D: 89 ± 4; and CAS21D: 56 ± 6%; p < 0.05) ACE activity. No changes were observed in cardiac morphometry and hemodynamic parameters. Therefore, castration leads to decrease in testosterone levels as early as 24 h, reduction in ACE activity and loss of BJR sensitivity 7 days after castration. The loss of BJR sensitivity was not related to cardiac morphometric changes and cardiovascular hemodynamics.
Administration of the glial cell modulator, minocycline, in the nucleus accumbens attenuated the maintenance and reinstatement of morphine-seeking behavior
Authors: Arezoomandan Reza , Haghparast Abbas
Published: August 2015

Relapse to drug use is one of the most difficult clinical problems in treating addiction. Glial activation has been linked with the drug abuse, and the glia modulators such as minocycline can modulate the drug abuse effects. The aim of the present study was to determine whether minocycline could attenuate the maintenance and reinstatement of morphine. Conditioned place preference (CPP) was induced by subcutaneous injection of morphine (5 mg/kg) for 3 days. Following the acquisition of the CPP, the rats were given daily bilateral intra-NAc injections of either minocycline (1, 5, and 10 μg/0.5 μL) or saline (0.5 μL). The animals were tested for conditioning score 60 min after each injection. To induce the reinstatement, a priming dose of morphine (1 mg/kg) was injected 1 day after the final extinction day. The morphine-induced CPP lasted for 7 days after cessation of morphine treatment. Our data revealed that a priming dose of morphine could reinstate the extinguished morphine-induced CPP. Daily intra-accumbal injection of minocycline during the extinction period blocked the maintenance of morphine CPP and also attenuated the priming-induced reinstatement. Our findings indicated that minocycline could facilitate the extinction and attenuate the reinstatement of morphine. These results provided new evidence that minocycline might be considered as a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of several symptoms associated with morphine abuse.
The protective effect of vildagliptin in chronic experimental cyclosporine A-induced hepatotoxicity
Authors: El-Sherbeeny Nagla A. , Nader Manar A.
Published: August 2015

The study examined the effect of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, vildagliptin, in cyclosporine (CsA)-induced hepatotoxicity. Rats were divided into 4 groups treated for 28 days: control (vehicle), vildagliptin (10 mg/kg, orally), CsA (20 mg/kg, s.c.), and CsA-vildagliptin group. Liver function was assessed by measuring serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma glutamyltransferase (γGT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and albumin, and histopathological changes of liver were examined. Oxidative stress markers were evaluated. Assessment of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) activity in hepatic nuclear extract, serum DPP-4, and expression of Bax and Bcl2 were also done. CsA-induced hepatotoxicity was evidenced by increase in serum levels of AST, ALT, and γGT; a decrease in serum albumin; and a significant alteration in hepatic architecture. Also, significant increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) and decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione (GSH) levels, increased expression Bax proteins with deceased expression of Bcl2, and increased hepatic activity of NF-κB and serum DPP-4 level were observed upon CsA treatment. Vildagliptin significantly improved all altered parameters induced by CsA administration. Vildagliptin has the potential to protect the liver against CsA-induced hepatotoxicity by reducing oxidative stress, DPP-4 activity, apoptosis, and inflammation.
Global existence of small amplitude solutions to the Vlasov–Poisson system with radiation damping
Authors: Chen Jing , Zhang Xianwen
Published: August 2015

In this paper, with some dispersion property and Schauder’s fixed point theorem, we establish the existence of a global classical solution to a damped Vlasov–Poisson system in three-dimensional space under the assumption that the initial datum is sufficiently small and decays at infinity in phase space. Before this work, only a local solution was obtained for the three-dimensional damped Vlasov–Poisson system.
Ab initio prediction of electronic, transport and bulk properties of Li2S
Authors: Malozovsky Yuriy , Franklin Lashounda , Ekuma Chinedu , Bagayoko Diola
Published: August 2015

In this paper, we present results from ab initio, self-consistent, local density approximation (LDA) calculations of electronic and related properties of cubic antifluorite (anti-[Formula: see text]) lithium sulfide [Formula: see text]. Our nonrelativistic computations implemented the linear combination of atomic orbital (LCAO) formalism following the Bagayoko, Zhao and Williams method, as enhanced by Ekuma and Franklin (BZW–EF). Consequently, using several self-consistent calculations with increasing basis sets, we searched for the smallest basis set that yields the absolute minima of the occupied energies. The outcomes of the calculation with this basis set, called the optimal basis set, have the full physical content of density functional theory (DFT). Our calculated indirect band gap, from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text], is 3.723 eV, for the low temperature experimental lattice constant of 5.689 Å. The predicted indirect band gap of 3.702 eV is obtained for the computationally determined equilibrium lattice constant of 5.651 Å. We have also calculated the total density of states (DOS) and partial densities of states (pDOS), electron and hole effective masses and the bulk modulus of [Formula: see text]. Due to a lack of experimental results, most of the calculated ones reported here are predictions for this material suspected of exhibiting a high temperature superconductivity similar to that of [Formula: see text].
Diameter control of carbon nanotubes using argon–acetylene mixture and their application as IR sensor
Authors: Afzal Rana Arslan , Afrin Rahat , Manzoor Umair , Bhatti Arshad Saleem , Islam Mohammad , Amin Muhammad T. , Alazba Abdulrahman A.
Published: August 2015

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were grown via pyrolytic chemical vapor deposition technique and explored for their infrared sensing behavior. CNT synthesis was carried out over cobalt zinc ferrite [Formula: see text] catalyst nanoparticles under different gas flow conditions to control outside diameter of the nanotubes. It was found that a progressive decrease in the carbon precursor gas (acetylene in this case) from 5:1 to 9:1 (v/v) causes reduction of average CNT diameter from 85 nm to 635 nm. Growth conditions involving higher temperatures yield nanotubes/nanofibers with outer diameter of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]500 nm, presumably due to surface aggregation of nanoparticles or increased flux of carbonaceous species at the catalyst surface or both. Current–voltage characteristics of the nanotubes depending on the CNT diameter, revealed linear or nonlinear behavior. When incorporated as sensing layer, the sensitivity of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]5.3 was noticed with response time of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]4.1 s. It is believed that IR sensing characteristics of such CNT-based detectors can be further enhanced through post-synthesis purification and chemical functionalization treatments.
On the Witten–Reshetikhin–Turaev invariants of torus bundles
Authors: Andersen Jørgen Ellegaard , Jørgensen Søren Fuglede
Published: August 2015

By methods similar to those used by L. Jeffrey [L. C. Jeffrey, Chern–Simons–Witten invariants of lens spaces and torus bundles, and the semiclassical approximation, Commun. Math. Phys.147 (1992) 563–604], we compute the quantum SU (N)-invariants for mapping tori of trace 2 homeomorphisms of a genus 1 surface when N = 2, 3 and discuss their asymptotics. In particular, we obtain directly a proof of a version of Witten's asymptotic expansion conjecture for these 3-manifolds. We further prove the growth rate conjecture for these 3-manifolds in the SU(2) case, where we also allow the 3-manifolds to contain certain knots. In this case we also discuss trace -2 homeomorphisms, obtaining — in combination with Jeffrey's results — a proof of the asymptotic expansion conjecture for all torus bundles.
COMPUTATION OF GREEKS FOR JUMP-DIFFUSION MODELS
Authors: EDDAHBI M'HAMED , CHERIF SIDI MOHAMED LALAOUI BEN , NASROALLAH ABDELAZIZ
Published: August 2015

In the present paper, we compute the Greeks for a class of jump diffusion models by using Malliavin calculus techniques. More precisely, the model under consideration is governed by a Brownian component and a jump part described by a compound Poisson process. Our approach consists of approximating the compound Poisson process by a suitable sequence of standard Poisson processes. The Greeks of the original model are obtained as limits or weighted limits of the Greeks of the approximate model. We illustrate our results by the computation of the Greeks for digital options in the framework of the Merton model. The technique of Malliavin weights is found to be efficient compared to the finite difference approach.
AUTOMATIC HUMAN STRESS DETECTION BASED ON WEBCAM PHOTOPLETHYSMOGRAPHIC SIGNALS
Authors: MAAOUI CHOUBEILA , BOUSEFSAF FREDERIC , PRUSKI ALAIN
Published: August 2015

One of the goals of affective computing field is to provide to computers the ability to recognize automatically the affective state of the user in order to have more intuitive human–machine communication. This paper aims to detect automatically the stress user when he is interacting with computer. The developed system is based on instantaneous pulse rate (PR) signal extracted from imaging photoplethysmography (PPG). Seven features from time and frequency domain are extracted from PR signal and processed by learning pattern recognition systems. Two methods based on Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) are used and compared to classify the user’s emotional state. A computer application based on “Stroop color word Test” is developed to elicit emotional stress in the subject. The proposed method can achieve the overall average classification accuracy of 94.42% and 91.10% with SVM and LDA, respectively. Current results indicate that our approach is effective for stress classification.
The Analysis for the Cargo Volume with Hybrid Discrete Wavelet Modeling
Authors: Xiao Yi , Wang Shouyang , Xiao Ming , Xiao Jin , Hu Yi
Published: August 2015

Many efforts have been made to the development of models that able to analyze and predict marine cargo volume. However, improving forecasting especially marine cargo throughput time series forecasting accuracy is an important yet often difficult issue facing managers. In this study, a TEI@I methodology based hybrid forecasting model is proposed. The original time series are decomposed different scale components using discrete wavelet technique based on seasonality analysis of components. All decomposed components are predicted by radial basis function networks due to its flexible nonlinear modeling capability. Empirical results suggest that the use of discrete wavelet technique enhances the ability of monthly volatility mining and demonstrate consistent better performance of the proposed approach.
On the symmetric determinantal representations of the Fermat curves of prime degree
Authors: Ishitsuka Yasuhiro , Ito Tetsushi
Published: August 2015

We prove that the defining equations of the Fermat curves of prime degree cannot be written as the determinant of symmetric matrices with entries in linear forms in three variables with rational coefficients. In the proof, we use a relation between symmetric matrices with entries in linear forms and non-effective theta characteristics on smooth plane curves. We also use some results of Gross–Rohrlich on the rational torsion points on the Jacobian varieties of the Fermat curves of prime degree.
Three consecutive almost squares
Authors: Rouse Jeremy , Yang Yilin
Published: August 2015

Given a positive integer [Formula: see text], we let [Formula: see text] denote the squarefree part of [Formula: see text]. We determine all positive integers [Formula: see text] for which [Formula: see text] by relating the problem to finding integral points on elliptic curves. We also prove that there are infinitely many [Formula: see text] for which [Formula: see text].
Analyzing Activity Recognition Uncertainties in Smart Home Environments
Authors: Kim Eunju , Helal Sumi , Nugent Chris , Beattie Mark
Published: August 2015

In spite of the importance of activity recognition (AR) for intelligent human-computer interaction in emerging smart space applications, state-of-the-art AR technology is not ready or adequate for real-world deployments due to its insufficient accuracy. The accuracy limitation is directly attributed to uncertainties stemming from multiple sources in the AR system. Hence, one of the major goals of AR research is to improve system accuracy by minimizing or managing the uncertainties encountered throughout the AR process. As we cannot manage uncertainties well without measuring them, we must first quantify their impact. Nevertheless, such a quantification process is very challenging given that uncertainties come from diverse and heterogeneous sources. In this article, we propose an approach, which can account for multiple uncertainty sources and assess their impact on AR systems. We introduce several metrics to quantify the various uncertainties and their impact. We then conduct a quantitative impact analysis of uncertainties utilizing data collected from actual smart spaces that we have instrumented. The analysis is intended to serve as groundwork for developing “diagnostic” accuracy measures of AR systems capable of pinpointing the sources of accuracy loss. This is to be contrasted with the currently used accuracy measures.
Fast Image Classification for Monument Recognition
Authors: Amato Giuseppe , Falchi Fabrizio , Gennaro Claudio
Published: August 2015

Content-based image classification is a wide research field that addresses the landmark recognition problem. Among the many classification techniques proposed, the
k
-nearest neighbor (
kNN
) is one of the most simple and widely used methods. In this article, we use
kNN
classification and landmark recognition techniques to address the problem of monument recognition in images. We propose two novel approaches that exploit
kNN
classification technique in conjunction with local visual descriptors.

The first approach is based on a relaxed definition of the local feature based image to image similarity and allows standard
kNN
classification to be efficiently executed with the support of access methods for similarity search.

The second approach uses
kNN
classification to classify local features rather than images. An image is classified evaluating the consensus among the classification of its local features. In this case, access methods for similarity search can be used to make the classification approach efficient.

The proposed strategies were extensively tested and compared against other state-of-the-art alternatives in a monument and cultural heritage landmark recognition setting. The results proved the superiority of our approaches.

An additional relevant contribution of this work is the exhaustive comparison of various types of local features and image matching solutions for recognition of monuments and cultural heritage related landmarks.
Interview with Yeliz Yesilada
Authors: Atzenbeck Claus
Published: August 2015

Yeliz Yesilada is an Assistant Professor at Middle East Technical University Northern Cyprus Campus (METU NCC) since 2009. She has previously worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Computer Science at the University of Manchester. She has received her B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from the Eastern Mediterranean University, Cyprus in 1999 with merits, her M.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Manchester, UK in 2000 with distinction and have also completed her Ph.D. in 2005 in Computer Science at the University of Manchester. Her primary research interest is centred on the Human Centred Web; in particular Web accessibility, the mobile Web and using Semantic Web technologies to improve user experience. Further information about Dr. Yesilada can be found at: http://www.metu.edu.tr/~yyeliz/.
Intensional data on the web
Authors: Amarilli Antoine , Maniu Silviu , Senellart Pierre
Published: August 2015

We call data
intensional
when it is not directly available, but must be accessed through a costly interface. Intensional data naturally arises in a number of Web data management scenarios, such as Web crawling or ontology-based data access. Such scenarios require us to model an uncertain view of the world, for which, given a query, we must answer the question "What is the best thing to do next?" Once data has been retrieved, the knowledge of the world is revised, and the whole process is repeated, until enough knowledge about the world has been obtained for the particular application considered. In this article, we give an overview of the steps underlying all intensional data management scenarios, and illustrate them on three concrete applications: focused crawling, online influence maximization in social networks, and mining crowdsourced data.
Upcoming SIGWEB supported conferences
Authors: Samuel Hamman
Published: August 2015

The Special Interest Group on Hypertext and the Web, SIGWEB was created in 1989 to support the community participating in the annual ACM Hypertext Conference. Now in its third decade, SIGWEB has grown considerably and now sponsors five annual conferences of different sizes and covering a wide range of topics. SIGWEB supports several specialized conferences, short courses, and workshops, as well as the Annual Hypertext Conference. SIGWEB sponsored conferences focus on timely topics in applied and computational hypertext and Web disciplines and provide a place for members and the entire applied Hypermedia and Web community to exchange ideas and to meet with and expand their network of colleagues. In this article, we provide a brief overview of SIGWEB sponsored conferences, in addition to events that are in cooperation with SIGWEB.
On-the-Fly Data Synopses
Authors: Heinis Thomas , Ham David A.
Published: August 2015

As a consequence of ever more powerful computing hardware and increasingly precise instruments, our capacity to produce scientific data by far outpaces our ability to efficiently store and analyse it. Few of today's tools to analyse scientific data are able to handle the deluge captured by instruments or generated by supercomputers.

In many scenarios, however, it suffices to analyse a small subset of the data in detail. What scientists analysing the data consequently need are efficient means to explore the full dataset using approximate query results and to identify the subsets of interest. Once found, interesting areas can still be scrutinised using a precise, but also more time-consuming analysis. Data synopses fit the bill as they provide fast (but approximate) query execution on massive amounts of data. Generating data synopses after the data is stored, however, requires us to analyse all the data again, and is thus inefficient

What we propose is to generate the synopsis for simulation applications on-the-fly when the data is captured. Doing so typically means changing the simulation or data capturing code and is tedious and typically just a one-off solution that is not generally applicable. In contrast, our vision gives scientists a high-level language and the infrastructure needed to generate code that creates data synopses on-the-fly, as the simulation runs. In this paper we discuss the data management challenges associated with our approach
...like Commanding an Anthill
Authors: Pirk Holger
Published: August 2015

Computer system architecture has changed: an assembly of autonomous components has replaced the omnipotent CPU and its legion of dumb devices. Database Management System (DBMS) architecture, however, does not yet reflect this change: it is still dominated by a centralized kernel that limits the autonomy of the devices and, thus, their ability to exploit their increased 'smartness'. Distributed data management research can serve as an inspiration for an architecture that addresses this problem. However, the respective algorithms were never designed with CPU efficiency in mind implementing principles like dynamic programming and recursion. More than two decades ago, the transition to memory resident databases spawned a plethora of research on CPU-efficient query processors. We predict that hardware heterogeneity will trigger a similar line of research on CPU-efficient distributed algorithms and architectures. In this paper, we examine benefits and challenges that come with such a micro-distributed database management system. We also discuss a number of approaches that we consider steps towards a micro-distributed system
A formal method for modeling deployment architectures based on bigraphs
Authors: Gassara Amal , Rodriguez Ismael Bouassida , Jmaiel Mohamed , Drira Khalil
Published: August 2015

Software deployment is executed according a deployment architecture which describes the allocation of software components to its hardware hosts. In this paper, we tackle the issue of constructing correct deployment architectures for large distributed systems. Actually, such architectures should satisfy various constraints related to the software components and the target environment such as the hierarchical description of components, their connections and the resource constraints. We present a formal method for constructing deployment architectures using a formal language called BRS (Bigraphical Reactive System). This method provides a correct by design approach based on multi-scale modeling ensuring the correctness of the obtained deployment architectures. Following our approach, the designer starts by modeling the first scale architecture which is refined automatically by successively adding smaller scale components until obtaining the last scale deployment architecture.
K-expressions visualisation
Authors: Husselmann Alwyn V.
Published: August 2015

Visualisation is important for gaining a qualitative understanding of how algorithms operate [1, 2]. Visualization techniques have been used to shed light on 3D voxel sets [3], vector fields [4], as well as spatial data structures [5], lattice gases [6], and several evolutionary algorithms.
2014 Women@GECCO workshop
Authors: Doerr Carola , Ochoa Gabriela
Published: August 2015

The Women@GECCO workshop series started in 2013 with the aim of generating and supporting academic, professional, and social opportunities for women in evolutionary computation. The second edition, led by Una-May O'Reilly in collaboration with Anna Esparcia, Aniko Ekart, and Gabriela Ochoa, was held this year in Vancouver. Anne Auger and Carola Doerr ran an associated event: a work-life balance panel featuring the contribution of both female and male colleagues, who shared their experience in dividing their time between working hours and time for personal projects. Elena Popovici, the local chair, provided invaluable support and organised the provision of child-care facilities at the conference.
2014 symposium on search-based software engineering
Authors: Alshahwan Nadia
Published: August 2015

The city of Fortaleza, Brazil hosted the sixth edition of the Symposium on Search-Based Software Engineering (SBSE) between the 26th and 29th of August. Brazil was chosen to host the symposium because of its strong and growing SBSE community.
Adaptive environment perception in cyber-physical systems
Authors: Zug Sebastian , Dietrich André , Steup Christoph , Kaiser Jörg
Published: August 2015

The concept of an adaptive acquisition of environment data in distributed scenarios promises a number of benefits. If an application aggregates and uses all available sensing information in an intelligent environment it may provide a higher precision and an increased fault-tolerance. Unfortunately, the application developer has to cope with a number of additional challenges compared to static sensor evaluation. It is not possible to generate an optimized sensor application schedule for a dynamic system at design-time. Due to the adaptive selection process, this has to be executed at runtime. In this paper we propose a general approach for this problem based on a two-level analysis. The first level compares sensor parameter sets (periods, offsets, delays) and application requirements (number of measurements, quality) based on a worst/best case analysis. If a more precise evaluation is necessary, the second level needs to be started. This one considers additional, situation-specific properties like phase shift of sensor periods, communication delays and jitter. At the end, it provides an online optimization of common goals e.g., minimization of the age of data and a constant number of input counts.
Adaptive offloading for infotainment systems
Authors: Ferreira Luis Lino , Pinho Luis Miguel , Albano Michele , Teixeira César
Published: August 2015

Infotainment applications in vehicles are currently supported both by the in-vehicle platform, as well as by user's smart devices, such as smartphones and tablets. More and more the user expects that there is a continuous service of applications inside or outside of the vehicle, provided in any of these devices (a simple but common example is hands-free mobile phone calls provided by the vehicle platform). With the increasing complexity of 'apps', it is necessary to support increasing levels of Quality of Service (QoS), with varying resource requirements. Users may want to start listening to music in the smartphone, or video in the tablet, being this application transparently 'moved' into the vehicle when it is started. This paper presents an adaptable offloading mechanism, following a service-oriented architecture pattern, which takes into account the QoS requirements of the applications being executed when making decisions.
Towards adaptive resource reservations for component-based distributed real-time systems
Authors: Khalilzad Nima , Ashjaei Mohammad , Almeida Luis , Behnam Moris , Nolte Thomas
Published: August 2015

In this paper we present our ongoing work on developing a framework supporting adaptive resource reservations targeting component-based distributed real-time systems. The components may be spread over different resources in a distributed system. The proposed framework utilizes a reservation-based scheduling technique in which the sizes of reservations are adjusted during run-time to deal with dynamic resource demands of the software components. We present our modeling approach, we describe design options made and we present corresponding challenges.
Virtual release advancing for earlier deadlines
Authors: Tanaka Kiyofumi
Published: August 2015

Giving tasks more urgent deadlines leads to shorter response times in EDF-based scheduling. This paper describes a technique that gives earlier deadlines by virtually advancing release times in the Total Bandwidth Server (TBS) context. This technique improves aperiodic tasks' responsiveness while it guarantees the schedulability of the system. Simulations show the technique outperforms TBS and its enhanced one.
Tolerating partial failures on IEC 61499 applications
Authors: de Sousa Mário , Chrysoulas Christos , Homay Aydin
Published: August 2015

In a modern industrial environment control programs are distributed among several devices. This raises new challenges, especially in handling the failure modes. Automatic reconfiguration is a possible approach in dealing with partial failures. The authors have proposed an IEC 61499 based replication framework for building fault tolerant applications - thus a failure of one sub-component does not to jeopardize the execution of the whole application. The proposed framework is capable of supporting dynamic reconfiguration on all automation levels in an industrial cell in order to patronage a fault tolerant and seamless production line.
Merging network coding with feedback management in multicast streaming
Authors: Moreira André , Almeida Luis , Lucani Daniel E.
Published: August 2015

Reliable multicast over wireless poses interesting challenges arising from the unreliable nature of the wireless medium. Recovering lost packets is particularly challenging in multicast scenarios since different receivers lose different packets. For this reason, simply retransmitting packets does not scale well with the number of receivers and particularly with the packet loss rate. A more efficient alternative is to use erasure codes to generate packets that can help many receivers at the same time. In this paper, we propose using online network coding to send coded packets that repair losses according to feedback reports sent by the clients. In particular, we propose using a recently developed scheduler for controlling feedback reports, which also allows differentiating the QoS provided to clients, and combine it with an online coding approach to provide novel stochastic guarantees of worst-case delay as required for QoS sensitive applications. We show preliminary simulation results that confirm the bounded decoding delay of our approach in a streaming application.
Reverse Shock Emission in Gamma-Ray Bursts Revisited
Authors: Gao He , Mészáros Peter
Published: August 2015

A generic synchrotron external shock model is the widely preferred paradigm used to interpret the broadband afterglow data of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), including predicted observable signatures from a reverse shock which have been confirmed by observations. Investigations of the nature of the reverse shock emission can provide valuable insights into the intrinsic properties of the GRB ejecta. Here we briefly review the standard and the extended models of the reverse shock emission, discussing the connection between the theory and observations, including the implications of the latest observational advances.
Nummular Eczema of Breast: A Potential Dermatologic Complication after Mastectomy and Subsequent Breast Reconstruction
Authors: Iwahira Yoshiko , Nagasao Tomohisa , Shimizu Yusuke , Kuwata Kumiko , Tanaka Yoshio
Published: August 2015

Purposes. The present paper reports clinical cases where nummular eczema developed during the course of breast reconstruction by means of implantation and evaluates the occurrence patterns and ratios of this complication.Methods. 1662 patients undergoing breast reconstruction were reviewed. Patients who developed nummular eczema during the treatment were selected, and a survey was conducted on these patients regarding three items: (1) the stage of the treatment at which nummular eczema developed; (2) time required for the lesion to heal; (3) location of the lesion on the reconstructed breast(s). Furthermore, histopathological examination was conducted to elucidate the etiology of the lesion.Results. 48 patients (2.89%) developed nummular eczema. The timing of onset varied among these patients, with lesions developing after the placement of tissue expanders for 22 patients (45.8%); after the tissue expanders were replaced with silicone implants for 12 patients (25%); and after nipple-areola complex reconstruction for 14 patients (29.2%). Nummular eczema developed both in periwound regions (20 cases: 41.7%) and in nonperiwound regions (32 cases: 66.7%). Histopathological examination showed epidermal acanthosis, psoriasiform patterns, and reduction of sebaceous glands.Conclusions. Surgeons should recognize that nummular eczema is a potential complication of breast reconstruction with tissue expanders and silicone implants.
Dependence of Shape-Based Descriptors and Mass Segmentation Areas on Initial Contour Placement Using the Chan-Vese Method on Digital Mammograms
Authors: Acho S. N. , Rae W. I. D.
Published: August 2015

Variation in signal intensity within mass lesions and missing boundary information are intensity inhomogeneities inherent in digital mammograms. These inhomogeneities render the performance of a deformable contour susceptible to the location of its initial position and may lead to poor segmentation results for these images. We investigate the dependence of shape-based descriptors and mass segmentation areas on initial contour placement with the Chan-Vese segmentation method and compare these results to the active contours with selective local or global segmentation model. For each mass lesion, final contours were obtained by propagation of a proposed initial level set contour and by propagation of a manually drawn contour enclosing the region of interest. Differences in shape-based descriptors were quantified using absolute percentage differences, Euclidean distances, and Bland-Altman analysis. Segmented areas were evaluated with the area overlap measure. Differences were dependent upon the characteristics of the mass margins. Boundary moments presented large percentage differences. Pearson correlation analysis showed statistically significant correlations between shape-based descriptors from both initial locations. In conclusion, boundary moments of digital mass lesions are sensitive to the placement of initial level set contours while shape-based descriptors such as Fourier descriptors, shape convexity, and shape rectangularity exhibit a certain degree of robustness to changes in the location of the initial level set contours for both segmentation algorithms.
Relation between Apolipoprotein E Gene Polymorphism and Severity of Coronary Artery Disease in Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Karahan Zülküf , Uğurlu Murat , Uçaman Berzal , Uluğ Ali Veysel , Kaya İlyas , Çevik Kemal , Öztürk Önder , Iyem Hikmet
Published: August 2015

Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is a plasma protein and associated with cholesterol transport system. In several studies, the relationship between ApoE gene polymorphism and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) has been shown. However, the relationship between ApoE gene polymorphism and severity of CAD in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) has not been well known. The aim of this study is to investigate the relation between ApoE polymorphism and severity of CAD in patients with acute MI by using the Gensini Score. In this study, 138 patients were admitted to cardiology clinic with diagnosis of acute MI, and angiographic assessment was performed using the Gensini Score. Blood samples were obtained from all patients in the first day. The patients with ApoE34 genotype had high Gensini scores. Besides, the patients with E4 allele carriers were associated with high Gensini score compared with the patients without E4 allele carriers (p:0,22). The patients with E4 allele carriers were associated with higher LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol compared with the patients without E4 allele carriers (p:0,001andp:0,03, resp.). There were no statistically significant differences between ApoE genotypes and severity of CAD by using the Gensini Score. But, the patients with E4 allele carriers were associated with high lipid levels.
Simultaneous Labyrinthectomy and Cochlear Implantation for Patients with Single-Sided Ménière’s Disease and Profound Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Authors: Doobe G. , Ernst A. , Ramalingam R. , Mittmann P. , Todt I.
Published: August 2015

Objective.To investigate the treatment outcome of a simultaneous labyrinthectomy and cochlear implantation in patients with single-sided Ménière’s disease and profound sensorineural hearing loss.Study Design.Prospective study.Method.Five patients with single-sided Ménière’s disease with active vertigo and functional deafness were included. In all cases, simultaneous cochlear implantation combined with labyrinthectomy surgery was performed. The outcome has been evaluated by the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) and speech recognition.Results.The combined labyrinthectomy and cochlear implantation led in all patients to a highly significant reduction of dizziness up to arestitutio ad integrum. After activation of the cochlear implant and rehabilitation, a mean monosyllabic speech understanding of 69% at 65 dB was observed.Conclusion.For patients with single-sided Ménière’s disease and profound sensorineural hearing loss the simultaneous labyrinthectomy and cochlear implantation are efficient method for the treatment of vertigo as well as the rehabilitation of the auditory system.
Free-Form Optimization of Thin-Walled Structure for Frequency Response Problem
Authors: Shimoda Masatoshi , Liu Yang
Published: August 2015

We present a node-based free-form optimization method for designing forms of thin-walled structures in order to control vibration displacements or mode at a prescribed frequency. A squared displacement error norm is introduced at the prescribed surface as the objective functional to control the vibration displacements to target values in a frequency response problem. It is assumed that the thin-walled structure is varied in the normal direction to the surface and the thickness is constant. A nonparametric shape optimization problem is formulated, and the shape gradient function is theoretically derived using the material derivative method and the adjoint variable method. The shape gradient function obtained is applied to the surface of the thin-walled structure as a fictitious traction force to vary the form. With this free-form optimization method, an optimum thin-walled structure with a smooth free-form surface can be obtained without any shape parameterization. The calculated results show the effectiveness of the proposed method for the optimal free-form design of thin-walled structures with vibration mode control.
Atypical Miller Fisher Syndrome with Anisocoria and Rapidly Fluctuating Pupillary Diameter
Authors: Gupta Garima , Liu Antonio
Published: August 2015

Miller Fisher syndrome is a variant of Guillain-Barre syndrome characterized by the classic triad of ophthalmoplegia, ataxia, and areflexia. Pupillary involvement is common in MFS and has been reported in 35–42% of MFS patients. Although case reports have discussed isolated ophthalmoplegia as a presentation of MFS, anisocoria and rapid fluctuation of pupillary diameter have not been reported in anti-GQ1b antibody positive individuals. Here we describe an individual who presented with diplopia and was found to have progressive internal and external ophthalmoplegia with frequent fluctuations in pupillary diameter and anisocoria. These exam findings are not commonly described even in atypical presentations of MFS. The onset of symptoms was preceded by an upper respiratory infection but no gastrointestinal symptoms. Imaging and CSF studies were unremarkable; however serum levels of immunoglobulin G anti-GQ1b antibody and anti-GAD antibody were elevated confirming the diagnosis of MFS. The patient was treated with IVIG and intravenous steroids with mild resolution of external ophthalmoplegia. He did not go on to develop more typical features of MFS such as ataxia or areflexia. This demonstrates that isolated external and internal ophthalmoparesis with rapidly fluctuating pupillary diameter and associated anisocoria can be the sole manifestation of atypical MFS.
Forceps, Actual Use, and Potential Cesarean Section Prevention: Study in a Selected Mexican Population
Authors: Ayala-Yáñez Rodrigo , Bayona-Soriano Paulette , Hernández-Jimenez Arturo , Contreras-Rendón Alejandra , Chabat-Manzanera Paulina , Nevarez-Bernal Roberto
Published: August 2015

Objective. Assessment of the frequency of complications observed with various forceps and operative vaginal delivery (OVD) techniques performed at the ABC Medical Center (Mexico City) to evaluate their safety, bearing in mind the importance of decreasing our country’s high cesarean section incidence.Methods. We reviewed 5,375 deliveries performed between the years 2007 and 2012, only 146 were delivered by OVD.  Results. Only 1.0% of the cases had a serious, life-threatening situation (uterine rupture). The Simpson forceps was the most favored instrument (46%) due to its simplicity of use, effectiveness, and familiarity. Prophylactic use was the most common indication (30.8%) and significant complications observed were vaginal lacerations (p=0.016), relative risk (RR) of 3.4 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15–10.04), and fourth degree perineal tear (p=0.016), RR of 3.4 (95% CI: 1.15–10.04).Conclusions. Forceps use and other OVD techniques are a safe alternative to be considered, diminishing C-section incidence and its complications.
Late Onset Traumatic Diaphragmatic Herniation Leading to Intestinal Obstruction and Pancreatitis: Two Separate Cases
Authors: Dinc Tolga , Kayilioglu Selami Ilgaz , Coskun Faruk
Published: August 2015

Although diaphragmatic injuries caused by blunt or penetrating trauma are rare entities, they are the most commonly misdiagnosed injuries in trauma patients and occur in approximately 3–7% of all abdominal or thoracic traumas. Acute pancreatitis secondary to late presenting diaphragmatic hernia is very rare. Here we present two separate cases: one with acute bowel obstruction and the other with acute pancreatitis secondary to late onset traumatic diaphragmatic hernia (three and twenty-eight years after chest trauma, resp.).
Pyoderma Gangrenosum Mimicking an Infected Wound following Dynamic Hip Screw Fixation
Authors: Nizamoglu Metin
Published: August 2015

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an inflammatory ulcerative neutrophilic dermatosis that can occur following skin trauma. The correct diagnosis is not often made immediately as the condition can mimic an infective appearance. This leads to delays in the appropriate management of high dose steroids. Although debridement can offer aid in resolving lesions, this is contraindicated in the acute phase as this can cause acceleration of the pathogenic process. Biopsy of the lesion does not offer a definitive diagnosis; therefore suspicion must be maintained as the diagnosis is ultimately a clinical one. Any postoperative pustular ulcerative lesion not improving despite antibiotic therapy that also yields negative bacteriological and fungal studies should lead to consideration of this diagnosis. We document the first case of PG developing following intertrochanteric femur fracture fixation using dynamic hip screw.
Tetramethylpyrazine Inhibits Activation of Hepatic Stellate Cells through Hedgehog Signaling Pathways In Vitro
Authors: Hu Jue , Cao Gang , Wu Xin , Cai Hao , Cai Baochang
Published: August 2015

Background and Aim. Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), a major alkaloid isolated fromLigusticum chuanxiong, has been reported in hepatic fibrosis models. However, the action mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, effects of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) against hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation as well as the possible mechanisms were evaluated.Methods. Western blot assay was used to detect TMP effects on protein expression of Smo, Patched, Hhip, and Gli and to investigate the effects of TMP on Cyclin D1, Cyclin E1, CDK2, Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase expression with cyclopamine supplementation.Results. Our results showed that TMP significantly inhibits the expression of Cyclin D1, Cyclin E1, and Cyclin-dependent kinase CDK2 and changes the HSC cycle by inhibiting the proliferation of HSC. Moreover, TMP has also been shown to decrease the expression of Bcl-2 and increase the expression of Bax in HSC-T6 cells. Furthermore, TMP can inhibit the expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), and the inhibitory effect was intensified after the application of joint treatment with TMP and cyclopamine.Conclusion. TMP may be an effective Hh signaling pathway inhibitor for hepatic fibrosis treatment.
Tyrosine 705 Phosphorylation of STAT3 Is Associated with Phenotype Severity in TGFβ1 Transgenic Mice
Authors: Guadagnin Eleonora , Narola Jigna , Bönnemann Carsten G. , Chen Yi-Wen
Published: August 2015

Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ1) is a key player in skeletal muscle degenerative and regenerative processes. We previously showed that conditionally overexpressing TGFβ1 in skeletal muscles caused myofiber atrophy and endomysial fibrosis in mice. However, the disease severity varied significantly among individual mice. While 40% of mice developed severe muscle pathology and lost body weight within 2 weeks of TGFβ1 transgene induction in muscles, the rest showed milder or no phenotype. This study aims at determining whether signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) plays a role in the phenotypic difference and whether it can be activated by TGFβ1 directly in muscle cells. Our results show that while total STAT3 was not differentially expressed between the two groups of mice, there was significantly higher pSTAT3 (Tyr705) in the muscles of the mice with severe phenotype. Immunohistochemistry showed that pSTAT3 (Tyr705) was localized in approximately 50% of the nuclei of the muscles. We further showed that TGFβ1 induced Tyr705 phosphorylation of STAT3 in C2C12 cells within 30 minutes of treatment while total STAT3 was not affected. Our findings suggest that TGFβ1 alone can induce Tyr705 phosphorylation of STAT3 in skeletal muscle cells and contribute to disease severity in transgenic TGFβ1 mice.
Indicators for Evaluating the Performance and Quality of Care of Ambulatory Care Nurses
Authors: Rapin Joachim , D’Amour Danielle , Dubois Carl-Ardy
Published: August 2015

The quality and safety of nursing care vary from one service to another. We have only very limited information on the quality and safety of nursing care in outpatient settings, an expanding area of practice. Our aim in this study was to make available, from the scientific literature, indicators potentially sensitive to nursing that can be used to evaluate the performance of nursing care in outpatient settings and to integrate those indicators into the theoretical framework of Dubois et al. (2013). We conducted a scoping review in three databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, and EMBASE) and the bibliographies of selected articles. From a total of 116 articles, we selected 22. The results of our study not only enable that framework to be extended to ambulatory nursing care but also enhance it with the addition of five new indicators. Our work offers nurses and managers in ambulatory nursing units indicators potentially sensitive to nursing that can be used to evaluate performance. For researchers, it presents the current state of knowledge on this construct and a framework with theoretical foundations for future research in ambulatory settings. This work opens an unexplored field for further research.