bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Water supply to Britain's eastern coastal defences in the 18th century and the work of Sir Thomas Hyde Page (1746–1821)
Authors: Mather John D.
Published: February 2012

In the latter part of the 18th century some of Britain's eastern coastal defences, although strategically well-positioned, were vulnerable because of the lack of a secure water supply. The military engineer Captain Thomas Hyde Page was tasked with identifying any water resources within the confines of the forts and garrisons that might be developed. At Sheerness he supervised the sinking of a deep, large-diameter well through the London Clay, which tapped water in underlying sands. The idea of a deep well was possibly influenced by the results of deepening a well at nearby Queenborough Castle some 60 years before. At Landguard Fort he constructed an infiltration gallery that skimmed water from the upper surface of a thin freshwater lens. At Harwich he sank two simple shallow wells to abstract water from beneath the London Clay. At each locality he used a different solution appropriate to local hydrogeological conditions. Although some of his ideas were outdated, he recognized that fresh water appeared to be floating on underlying salt water and speculated that this might be the result of differences in specific gravity. His work was important in publicizing the use of groundwater and foreshadowed the major developments of the following century.
Groundwater as a military resource: pioneering British military well boring and hydrogeology in World War I
Authors: Rose Edward P. F.
Published: February 2012

The first British Army hydrogeologist to be deployed as such on a battlefield was Lieutenant W.B.R. King, in June 1915 on the Western Front. There, the British Expeditionary Force, in Belgium and northern France, expanded at its peak to five armies: 1.5 million men and 0.5 million horses/mules, each man/animal requiring on average 10 gallons (45 l) per day of potable water. A ‘Water Boring Section Royal Engineers’ was eventually raised for each army, equipped with American-made ‘portable’ drilling rigs, and utilizing air-lift pumps. These innovations and King's pioneering ‘water supply’ maps facilitated the development of the British Army's first operational ability to exploit groundwater from deep aquifers, primarily those in Cretaceous Chalk, by drilling >470 boreholes. Additionally, in 1915, a report by three ‘British’ Geological Survey officers helped guide limited boring within Allied amphibious landing areas on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey. A civilian water adviser, Arthur Beeby Thompson, transferred from Gallipoli to the Balkans in January 1916 and thereafter used geology to guide significant groundwater abstraction by siting 125 military boreholes and 211 Norton tube wells. From 1915, the Director of the Geological Survey of Egypt, W.F. Hume, provided similar guidance for campaigns from Egypt into Palestine.
Aspects of military hydrogeology and groundwater development by Germany and its allies in World War I
Authors: Willig Dierk , Häusler Hermann
Published: February 2012

The German Army developed a military geological organization during World War I largely as a response to near-static battlefield conditions on the Western Front, in Belgium and northern France. In 1916 it was assigned to support military survey, but in late 1918 it was reassigned to the engineer branch of the Army. It contained over 350 geologists and associated technicians by the end of the war. Military geologists contributed advice on engineering geology and hydrogeology (principally on water supply, but also site drainage). They compiled a large number and wide range of groundwater prospect maps to guide military planning, at scales typically from 1:250 000 to 1:25 000. They contributed advice to guide effective use of groundwater by means of dug or bored wells, ‘Abyssinian’ driven tube wells, and protected capturing of springs. Field hygiene was of particular concern, and military geologists helped to avoid contamination of groundwater, for example by appropriate siting of cess-pits and cemeteries. A few officers made use of dowsing in attempts to locate groundwater, including at least one German in support of Ottoman Turk campaigns SW from Palestine towards the British-held Suez Canal, their Austro-Hungarian allies in campaigns south against Italy and in the Balkans, but with relatively insignificant success.
Groundwater as a military resource: development of Royal Engineers Boring Sections and British military hydrogeology in World War II
Authors: Rose Edward P. F.
Published: February 2012

To drill boreholes for water supply, the Royal Engineers raised ten ‘Boring Sections’ between September 1939 and May 1943, eight in the UK, two in Egypt. While supporting campaigns in World War II, two deployed briefly to France, seven served widely within the Middle East (one of these in Iraq and Iran and later Malta, the others mostly operating from Egypt), one deployed to Algeria/Tunisia, four to Sicily and/or Italy (one of these onward to Greece), two deployed to support the D-Day Allied landings in Normandy and the subsequent advance via Belgium to Germany, and three served long-term in the UK. Greatest use was by Middle East Command, which at its peak had about 35 officers, 750 men and 40 drilling rigs assigned to water supply, and whose boreholes attained a cumulative length of some 40 km. The British Army used geology to help guide emplacement of boreholes in all these regions. Innovations included groundwater prospect maps at scales of 1:50 000 and 1:250 000, to help planning for the Allied invasion of Normandy and the subsequent campaign in NW Europe. Geology also helped guide groundwater abstraction by Indian Engineers in the Far East, and British/South African troops in East Africa.
War as a catalyst for change: groundwater studies in the Geological Survey of Great Britain before 1950 and the impact of two World Wars
Authors: Mather John D.
Published: February 2012

In the early years of the Geological Survey, staff built up a considerable understanding of the movement of groundwater, and water supply memoirs were published from 1899. During World War I, one of the tasks of the Survey was to advise on the provision of water supplies. However, this emphasis did not continue when war ended, and it was not until the 1930s that interest in groundwater began to increase. An Inland Water Survey Committee was formed and the groundwater component of its work was entrusted to the Survey. A modest Water Unit was set up in 1937, staffed by members of Field Units on rotation, but limited progress was made. At the outbreak of World War II, attitudes changed and manpower was diverted to the systematic collection of groundwater data, published in a series of Wartime Pamphlets. At the end of the war, the Water Acts imposed significant obligations on the Survey and over the next five years the systematic collection and analysis of information became a professional operation. The Unit became a Department with its own permanent staff. The war acted as a catalyst highlighting problems and initiating action to the benefit of the water industry.
Soil and water: research by the British Army's Committee on Mud Crossing Performance of Tracked Armoured Fighting Vehicles in World War II
Authors: Greenwood David A.
Published: February 2012

Problems experienced by armoured fighting vehicles (‘tanks’) crossing soft ground became apparent during World War I. These were avoided early in World War II by the use of ‘going’ maps in North Africa from 1940 to 1943, but when operations moved to NW Europe it was realized that there would be the additional problem of changes in ground conditions due to variations in soil moisture according to the weather. This led to an investigation into factors controlling the movement of tracked vehicles over water-softened ground, beginning in July 1944 with the establishment of the ‘Mud Committee’, tasked to consider problems in light of recent developments in the (then) new science of soil mechanics. Contemporary ideas, as applied to building and road construction, were found to be inapplicable, and attention was therefore focused on empirical trials. The Committee faced the constant problem of balancing the requirement for short-term results with the need for long-term research. As a result, it failed to meet many of its objectives by the end of hostilities, but its work did provide a sound basis for the development of a method of classifying soils for military purposes and for future work on track design.
Auction-based P2P VoD streaming
Authors: Wu Chuan , Li Zongpeng , Qiu Xuanjia , Lau Francis C. M.
Published: February 2012

Real-world large-scale Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Video-on-Demand (VoD) streaming applications face more design challenges as compared to P2P live streaming, due to higher peer dynamics and less buffer overlap. The situation is further complicated when we consider the selfish nature of peers, who in general wish to download more and upload less, unless otherwise motivated. Taking a new perspective of distributed dynamic auctions, we design efficient P2P VoD streaming algorithms with simultaneous consideration of peer incentives and streaming optimality. In our solution, media block exchanges among peers are carried out through local auctions, in which budget-constrained peers bid for desired blocks from their neighbors, which in turn deliver blocks to the winning bidders and collect revenue. With strategic design of a discriminative second price auction with seller reservation, a supplying peer has full incentive to maximally contribute its bandwidth to increase its budget; requesting peers are also motivated to bid in such a way that optimal media block scheduling is achieved effectively in a fully decentralized fashion. Applying techniques from convex optimization and mechanism design, we prove (a) the incentive compatibility at the selling and buying peers, and (b) the optimality of the induced media block scheduling in terms of social welfare maximization. Large-scale empirical studies are conducted to investigate the behavior of the proposed auction mechanisms in dynamic P2P VoD systems based on real-world settings.
New combinatorial topology bounds for renaming
Authors: Castañeda Armando , Rajsbaum Sergio
Published: February 2012

In the
renaming
task,
n
+1 processes start with unique input names from a large space and must choose unique output names taken from a smaller name space, 0,1,…,
K
. To rule out trivial solutions, a protocol must be
anonymous
: the value chosen by a process can depend on its input name and on the execution, but not on the specific process ID.

Attiya et al. [1990] showed that renaming has a wait-free solution when
K
≥ 2
n
. Several algebraic topology proofs of a lower bound stating that no such protocol exists when
K
< 2
n
have been published. In a companion article, we present the first completely combinatorial renaming lower bound proof stating if
n
+ 1 is a primer power, then renaming is not wait-free solvable when
K
< 2
n
. In this article, we show that if
n
+ 1 is not a primer power, then there exists a wait-free renaming protocol for
K
= 2
n
−1. Therefore the renaming lower bound for
K
< 2
n
is incorrect. More precisely, our main theorem states that there exists a wait-free renaming protocol for
K
< 2
n
if and only if
n
+ 1 is not a prime power. We prove this result using the known equivalence of
K
-renaming for
K
= 2
n
− 1 and the
weak symmetry breaking
task: processes have no input values and the output values are 0 or 1, and it is required that in every execution in which all processes participate, at least one process decides 1 and at least one process decides 0.
Priority inversion with fungible resources
Authors: Levine Gertrude
Published: February 2012

Priority inversion occurs when the execution of a task is unnecessarily delayed by the dispatch of a lower priority task. This anomaly can result in failure if it causes the delay of hard real-time tasks. Priority inheritance protocols have been developed to limit priority inversions during competition over shared resources. Such methods are designed for individually identifiable resource units. Other approaches are indicated when shared resources contain interchangeable resource units. Current practices with resource deadlock, a scheduling anomaly that has many characteristics in common with priority inversion, provide insight into the control of priority inversion with these fungible resources.
Gem #78
Authors: Briot Emmanuel
Published: February 2012

Ada Gem #78 --- A number of tools and libraries exist to monitor memory usage, detect memory leaks and more generally solve issues with memory management. The Gems in this three-part series offer an overview of these issues and explain how you can benefit from these tools in your own development.
Gem #79:
Authors: Briot Emmanuel
Published: February 2012

Ada Gem #79 --- A number of tools and libraries exist to monitor memory usage, detect memory leaks and more generally solve issues with memory management. The Gems in this three-part series offer an overview of these issues and explain how you can benefit from these tools in your own development.
Gem #87
Authors: Quinot Thomas
Published: February 2012

Ada Gem #87 --- This is the third in a series of gems introducing the facilities defined by the optional annex for Distributed systems (Annex E) of the Ada Reference Manual. In the previous two installments, we introduced the Distributed Systems Annex (DSA). We showed how a client/server architecture can be implemented, and we introduced distributed objects. The present gem shows how asynchronous message passing can be implemented on top of these facilities.
Dynamics of Fuzzy BAM Neural Networks with Distributed Delays and Diffusion
Authors: Zhang Qianhong , Yang Lihui , Liu Jingzhong
Published: February 2012

Constructing a new Lyapunov functional and employing inequality technique, the existence, uniqueness, and global exponential stability of the periodic oscillatory solution are investigated for a class of fuzzy bidirectional associative memory (BAM) neural networks with distributed delays and diffusion. We obtained some sufficient conditions ensuring the existence, uniqueness, and global exponential stability of the periodic solution. The results remove the usual assumption that the activation functions are differentiable. An example is provided to show the effectiveness of our results.
Cochlear Implantation in Patients with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 and Patients with Vestibular Schwannoma in the Only Hearing Ear
Authors: Celis-Aguilar Erika , Lassaletta Luis , Gavilán Javier
Published: February 2012

Cochlear implants are a new surgical option in the hearing rehabilitation of patients with neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) and patients with vestibular schwannoma (VS) in the only hearing ear. Auditory brainstem implant (ABI) has been the standard surgical treatment for these patients. We performed a literature review of patients with NF2 and patients with VS in the only hearing ear. Cochlear implantation (CI) provided some auditory benefit in all patients. Preservation of cochlear nerve integrity is crucial after VS resection. Results ranged from environmental sound awareness to excellent benefit with telephone use. Promontory stimulation is recommended although not crucial. MRI can be performed safely in cochlear implanted patients.
Activations of Both Extrinsic and Intrinsic Pathways in HCT 116 Human Colorectal Cancer Cells Contribute to Apoptosis through p53-Mediated ATM/Fas Signaling byEmilia sonchifoliaExtract, a Folklore Medicinal Plant
Authors: Lan Yu-Hsuan , Chiang Jo-Hua , Huang Wen-Wen , Lu Chi-Cheng , Chung Jing-Gung , Wu Tian-Shung , Jhan Jia-Hua , Lin Kuei-Li , Pai Shu-Jen , Chiu Yu-Jen , Tsuzuki Minoru , Yang Jai-Sing
Published: February 2012

Emilia sonchifolia(L.) DC (Compositae), an herbaceous plant found in Taiwan and India, is used as folk medicine. The clinical applications include inflammation, rheumatism, cough, cuts fever, dysentery, analgesic, and antibacteria. The activities ofEmilia sonchifoliaextract (ESE) on colorectal cancer cell death have not been fully investigated. The purpose of this study explored the induction of apoptosis and its molecular mechanisms in ESE-treated HCT 116 human colorectal cancer cellsin vitro. The methanolic ESE was characterized, and γ-humulene was formed as the major constituent (63.86%). ESE induced cell growth inhibition in a concentration- and time-dependent response by MTT assay. Apoptotic cells (DNA fragmentation, an apoptotic catachrestic) were found after ESE treatment by TUNEL assay and DNA gel electrophoresis. Alternatively, ESE stimulated the activities of caspase-3, -8, and -9 and their specific caspase inhibitors protected against ESE-induced cytotoxicity. ESE promoted the mitochondria-dependent and death-receptor-associated protein levels. Also, ESE increased ROS production and upregulated the levels of ATM, p53, and Fas in HCT 116 cells. Strikingly, p53 siRNA reversed ESE-reduced viability involved in p53-mediated ATM/Fas signaling in HCT 116 cells. In summary, our result is the first report suggesting that ESE may be potentially efficacious in the treatment of colorectal cancer.
Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Associated Lipid Droplet Formation and Type II Diabetes
Authors: Zhang Xuebao , Zhang Kezhong
Published: February 2012

Diabetes mellitus (DM), a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia, is caused by insufficient insulin production due to excessive loss of pancreatic β cells (type I diabetes) or impaired insulin signaling due to peripheral insulin resistance (type II diabetes). Pancreatic β cell is the only insulin-secreting cell type that has highly developed endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to cope with high demands of insulin synthesis and secretion. Therefore, ER homeostasis is crucial to the proper function of insulin signaling. Accumulating evidence suggests that deleterious ER stress and excessive intracellular lipids in nonadipose tissues, such as myocyte, cardiomyocyte, and hepatocyte, cause pancreatic β-cell dysfunction and peripheral insulin resistance, leading to type II diabetes. The excessive deposition of lipid droplets (LDs) in specialized cell types, such as adipocytes, hepatocytes, and macrophages, has been found as a hallmark in ER stress-associated metabolic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, fatty liver disease, and atherosclerosis. However, much work remains to be done in understanding the mechanism by which ER stress response regulates LD formation and the pathophysiologic role of ER stress-associated LD in metabolic disease. This paper briefly summarizes the recent advances in ER stress-associated LD formation and its involvement in type II diabetes.
Renal Metastases of a Femur Osteosarcoma: A Case Report and a Review of the Literature
Authors: Akasbi Yousra , Arifi Samia , Lahlaidi Karim , Namad Tarik , Mellas Nawfel , El Fassi Mohammed Jamal , Farih My Hassan , Amarti Afaf , El Mesbahi Omar
Published: February 2012

This paper discusses a rare case of renal metastatic osteosarcoma. A 25-year-old man with a history of metastatic osteosarcoma involving his right kidney was referred to our institution for treatment. He was managed with chemotherapy. An exhaustive review of the English literature pertaining to this disease was performed. To our knowledge, this case represents only the sixteenth. The literature suggests that the incidence of renal involvement in osteosarcoma is significant and that the treatment should be multidisciplinary in such patients.
Erasing Synapses in Sleep: Is It Time to Be SHY?
Authors: Frank Marcos Gabriel
Published: February 2012

Converging lines of evidence strongly support a role for sleep in brain plasticity. An elegant idea that may explain how sleep accomplishes this role is the “synaptic homeostasis hypothesis (SHY).” According to SHY, sleep promotes net synaptic weakening which offsets net synaptic strengthening that occurs during wakefulness. SHY is intuitively appealing because it relates the homeostatic regulation of sleep to an important function (synaptic plasticity). SHY has also received important experimental support from recent studies inDrosophila melanogaster. There remain, however, a number of unanswered questions about SHY. What is the cellular mechanism governing SHY? How does it fit with what we know about plasticity mechanisms in the brain? In this review, I discuss the evidence and theory of SHY in the context of what is known about Hebbian and non-Hebbian synaptic plasticity. I conclude that while SHY remains an elegant idea, the underlying mechanisms are mysterious and its functional significance unknown.
Arterial Emboli Complicating Cisplatin Therapy
Authors: Tait Campbell D. , Rankin Elaine M.
Published: February 2012

We report three cases of arterial emboli in patients with lung cancer treated with cisplatin chemotherapy. All three patients were managed without surgical intervention but subsequent oncological treatment was complicated by the sequelae of arterial emboli. We discuss the issues surrounding these patients and the importance of identifying patients at risk of arterial embolic phenomena with cisplatin treatment.
Doppler Impedance Changes at the Fetal Brain Vessels in a Pregnancy Affected with a Multiple Combination of Uteroplacental Anomalies
Authors: Morales-Roselló José , Peralta Llorens Núria
Published: February 2012

A fetus with a very rare five-fold combination of uteroplacental anomalies, bicornuate uterus, short cervix with cervical incompetence, multilobed placenta succenturiata, accessory cotyledon within the cervical funneling, and umbilical cord insertion into the anomalous cervical cotyledon, presented an early and marked decrease at the vertebral and middle cerebral arteries Doppler resistances. This cerebral low-impedance state, usually found before labor, and considered an adaptive mechanism developed to protect the fetus at term from labor asphyxia, was present for an unknown reason at 20 weeks. After the patient was treated with vaginal progesterone, the cervix shortening improved and markedly, at the same time, the cerebral vascular resistances increased and maintained an adequate for gestational age impedance until delivery at 34 weeks. As the described uteroplacental anomalies determined a high risk of preterm delivery, due to cervical dilation, cord compresion, and placental haemorrhage, these fluctuating brain vascular changes might be the result of the fetal adaptation to the changes preceding an imminent delivery.
The Mural Form of Eosinophilic Esophagitis Is Accompanied by Superficial Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Jingsheng Zhao , Yuncheng Luo , Yingye Miao , Hao Li , Congyang Li
Published: February 2012

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) is an increasingly recognized primary clinicopathologic disorder of the esophagus which lacks a specific etiology. Most reports on EE have been limited to the esophagus mucosa. We present a 56-year-old man with the mural form of EE and superficial squamous cell carcinoma in the esophagus. The eosinophils diffusely invaded the full-thickness of the esophagus, mainly infiltrating the muscularis, including the skeletal and smooth muscles. The lesions in the mucosa, submucosa, and adventitia were slight. Although the superficial squamous cell carcinoma was excited by an endoscopic biopsy, there were some changes in the architecture and size of the squamous epithelial cells. The changed cells also expressed the p53 protein. It appears that the eosinophils stimulated cell proliferation, followed by genetic mutations and cancer development. The patient survived with resection of the esophagus and inhaled corticosteroids.
Study of the Interference Affecting the Performance of the Theremin
Authors: Bachiller Martín Carmen , Sastre Martínez Jorge , Ricchiuti Amelia , Esteban González Héctor , Hernández Franco Carlos
Published: February 2012

The theremin is one of the earliest electronic musical instruments. It is named after the Russian physics Professor Lev S. Termen who invented it in 1919. This musical instrument belongs to a very short list of devices which are played without physical contact between the musician and the instrument. theremin players complain about the interference that any object in a radius of approximately 3 meters produces when playing the theremin, modifying the intonation of the instrument. This is a problem when playing in small scenarios, with other musicians which move around it. With the aim of reducing the degree of interference from nearby obstacles, some metallic isolating bars conforming an antenna array can be placed around the theremin pitch antenna. The paper shows different simulations calculated with the commercial software Ansoft HFSS, a tool which allows three-dimensional full wave electromagnetic field simulation, with radio frequencies, millimeter and micro waves, and experimental measures, both showing a reduction in the effect of the interference.
Sprengel's Deformity Associated with Musculoskeletal Dysfunctions and Renal Anomalies: A Case Report
Authors: Kariminasab Mohammad Hossein , Shayeste-Azar Masoud , Sajjadi Saravi Majid , Taghipour Gorgikolai Mehrdad
Published: February 2012

Background. Sprengel's deformity is a rare congenital anomaly of the shoulder girdle. The deformity is due to failure of descent of the scapula in intrauterine life.Case Presentation. We report a case of unilateral Sprengel's deformity associated with several other musculoskeletal and renal disorders consisting of absence of pectoralis major, weakness of trapezius and serratus anterior muscles, one kidney agenesis, and severe hydronephrosis of the other kidney in a 7-year-old boy.Conclusion. Sprengel's deformity can be associated with other musculoskeletal abnormalities and it is much more than a cosmetic problem.
Preparation and Photocatalytic Activity of Magnetic Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2Composites
Authors: Wang Rijing , Wang Xiaohong , Xi Xiaoguang , Hu Ruanbing , Jiang Guohua
Published: February 2012

A simple sol-gel method was used to prepare magnetic Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2composites with core-shell structure. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) have been applied to investigate the structure and morphology of the resultant composites. The obtained composites showed excellent magnetism and higher photodegradation ability than pure TiO2. The photocatalytic mechanism was also discussed. The magnetic composites should be extended to various potential applications, such as photodegradation, catalysis, separation, and purification processes.
Extramammary Paget’s Disease: 20 Years of Experience in Chinese Population
Authors: Chan Jimmy Yu Wai , Li George Kam Hop , Chung Joseph Hon Ping , Chow Velda Ling Yu
Published: February 2012

Background. To examine the results of treatment of Extramammary Paget’s disease (EMPD) in ethnic Chinese.Method. Between 1990 and 2010, patients treated for EMPD were reviewed. Data were analyzed retrospectively.Results. Forty-eight patients were treated by surgical resection. Local recurrence rate was 14.6%. The postresection defects were repaired by primary closure (8.3%), partial thickness skin graft (72.9%), or local/regional flaps (18.8%). Dermal invasion was found in 9 patients (18.8%). Seven patients (14.6%) developed regional lymph node metastasis (concurrent with surgery, ; subsequent to surgery, ), and 3 patients (6.3%) had systemic metastasis after surgery. The presence of dermal invasion was associated with significantly higher incidence of regional lymph nodes and systemic metastasis. The incidence of associated internal malignancy was 8.3%.Conclusion. The mainstay of treatment for EMPD is surgery. Pathological dermal invasion increases the chance of regional lymph node as well as systemic metastasis. The association with internal malignancy warrants preoperative endoscopic examination in all patients.
Effects of Cisplatin in Neuroblastoma Rat Cells: Damage to Cellular Organelles
Authors: Santin Giada , Scietti Luigi , Veneroni Paola , Barni Sergio , Bernocchi Graziella , Bottone Maria Grazia
Published: February 2012

Cisplatin (cisPt) is a chemotherapy agent used as a treatment for several types of cancer. The main cytotoxic effect of cisplatin is generally accepted to be DNA damage. Recently, the mechanism by which cisPt generates the cascade of events involved in the apoptotic process has been demonstrated. In particular it has been shown that some organelles are cisPt target and are involved in cell death. This paper aims to describe the morphological and functional changes of the Golgi apparatus and lysosomes during apoptosis induced in neuronal rat cells (B50) by cisplatin. The results obtained show that the cellular organelles are the target of cisPt, so their damage can induce cell death.
Hardware and Software Synthesis of Heterogeneous Systems from Dataflow Programs
Authors: Roquier Ghislain , Bezati Endri , Mattavelli Marco
Published: February 2012

The new generation of multicore processors and reconfigurable
hardware platforms provides a dramatic increase of
the available parallelism and processing capabilities. However,
one obstacle for exploiting all the promises of such platforms
is deeply rooted in sequential thinking. The sequential
programming model does not naturally expose potential
parallelism that effectively permits to build parallel applications
that can be efficiently mapped on different kind of platforms.
A shift of paradigm is necessary at all levels of application
development to yield portable and scalable implementations
on the widest range of heterogeneous platforms. This
paper presents a design flow for the hardware and software
synthesis of heterogeneous systems allowing to automatically
generate hardware and software components as well as appropriate
interfaces, from a unique high‐level description
of the application, based on the dataflow paradigm, running
onto heterogeneous architectures composed by reconfigurable
hardware units and multicore processors. Experimental results
based on the implementation of several video coding algorithms
onto heterogeneous platforms are also provided to
show the effectiveness of the approach both in terms of portability
and scalability.
Kelp Forests versus Urchin Barrens: Alternate Stable States and Their Effect on Sea Otter Prey Quality in the Aleutian Islands
Authors: Stewart Nathan L. , Konar Brenda
Published: February 2012

Macroalgal and urchin barren communities are alternately stable and persist in the Aleutians due to sea otter presence and absence. In the early 1990s a rapid otter population decline released urchins from predation and caused a shift to the urchin-dominated state. Despite increases in urchin abundance, otter numbers continued to decline. Although debated, prey quality changes have been implicated in current otter population status. This study examined otter prey abundance, size, biomass, and potential energy density in remnant kelp forest and urchin-dominated communities to determine if alternate stable states affect prey quality. Findings suggest that although urchin barrens provide more abundant urchin prey, individual urchins are smaller and provide lower biomass and potential energy density compared to kelp forests. Shifts to urchin barrens do affect prey quality but changes are likely compensated by increased prey densities and are insufficient in explaining current otter population status in the Aleutians.
Independent Benefits of Meeting the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines to Insulin Resistance in Obese Latino Children
Authors: Mirza Nazrat , Palmer Matilde , O'Connell Johanna , DiPietro Loretta
Published: February 2012

We examined the independent association between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and insulin resistance (IR) among obese Latino children (N=113; 7–15 years) who were enrolled in a community-based obesity intervention. Baseline information on physical activity was gathered by self-report. Clinical assessments of body composition, resting energy expenditure (REE), as well as glucose and insulin responses to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were performed after an overnight fast. Insulin resistance was defined as a 2 h insulin concentration >57 μU·mL-1. We observed that those obese children who met the 2008 Guidelines for MVPA (≥60 min/day) experienced a significantly lower odds of IR compared with those not meeting the Guidelines (OR=0.29; 95% CI: (0.10–0.92)) and these findings were independent of age, sex, pubertal stage, acculturation, fasting insulin, and 2 h glucose concentrations. Efforts to promote 60 min or more of daily MVPA among children from ethnic minority and high-risk communities should assume primary public health importance.
A Buffer‐Sizing Algorithm for Network‐on‐Chips with Multiple Voltage‐Frequency Islands
Authors: Kumar Anish S. , Kumar M. Pawan , Murali Srinivasan , Kamakoti V. , Benini Luca , De Micheli Giovanni
Published: February 2012

Buffers in on‐chip networks constitute a significant
proportion of the power consumption and area of the
interconnect, and hence reducing them is an important problem.
Application‐specific designs have nonuniform network
utilization, thereby requiring a buffer‐sizing approach that
tackles the nonuniformity. Also, congestion effects that occur
during network operation need to be captured when sizing the
buffers. Many NoCs are designed to operate in multiple voltage/frequency islands, with interisland communication taking
place through frequency converters. To this end, we propose
a two‐phase algorithm to size the switch buffers in network‐on‐chips (NoCs) considering support for multiple‐frequency
islands. Our algorithm considers both the static and dynamic
effects when sizing buffers. We analyze the impact of placing
frequency converters (FCs) on a link, as well as pack and send
units that effectively utilize network bandwidth. Experiments
on many realistic system‐on‐Chip (SoC) benchmark show
that our algorithm results in 42% reduction in amount of
buffering when compared to a standard buffering approach.
Adverse Effects of Systemic Immunosuppression in Keratolimbal Allograft
Authors: Krakauer M. , Welder J. D. , Pandya H. K. , Nassiri N. , Djalilian A. R.
Published: February 2012

Purpose. Keratolimbal allograft (KLAL) is a treatment for limbal stem cell deficiency. One disadvantage is systemic immunosuppression to avoid rejection. Our purpose was to examine the adverse effects of systemic immunosuppression in KLAL.Methods. A retrospective case review of 16 patients with KLAL who received systemic immunosuppression consisting of a corticosteroid, an antimetabolite, and/or a calcineurin inhibitor was performed. Patients were monitored for signs, symptoms, or laboratory evidence of toxicity.Results. Twelve of 16 patients (75%) experienced an adverse effect. The average age of those with adverse effects was 50.0 years (SD 17.8) and those without was 23.6 years (SD: 14.3), which was statistically significant (unpairedt-testP=0.022). Ten of 11 patients (91%) had resolution during mean followup of 16.4 months. No serious adverse effects occurred. The most common included anemia, hyperglycemia, elevated creatinine, and elevated liver function tests. Prednisone and tacrolimus were responsible for the most adverse effects. More patients with comorbidities experienced adverse effects (83%) than those without comorbidities (25%).Conclusions. KLAL requires prolonged systemic immunosuppression. Our data demonstrated that systemic immunosuppression did not result in serious adverse effects in our population and is relatively safe with monitoring for toxicity. In addition, we demonstrated that adverse effects occurred more frequently in older patients and those with comorbidities.
Hylastes ater(Curculionidae: Scolytinae) AffectingPinus radiataSeedling Establishment in New Zealand
Authors: Reay Stephen D. , Glare Travis R. , Brownbridge Michael
Published: February 2012

The introduced pine bark beetleHylastes aterhas been present in New Zealand for around 100 years. The beetle has been a minor pest on pines. Research was undertaken to control the pest in the 1950s–1970s, with a biological control agent introduced with limited success. Following a reasonably long period with minimal research attention, renewed interest in developing a better understanding of the pest status was initiated in the mid to late 1990s. Subsequently, a significant amount of research was undertaken, with a number of studies exploring the role of this pest of exotic forests in New Zealand. These studies ranged from attempting to quantify damage to seedlings, evaluate the role of the beetle in vectoring sapstain fungi, explore options for management, and evaluate the potential for chemical and biological control. From these studies, a number of findings were made that are relevant to the New Zealand exotic forest industry and shed new light onto the role of secondary bark beetles globally.
Thrombomodulin: A Bifunctional Modulator of Inflammation and Coagulation in Sepsis
Authors: Okamoto Takayuki , Tanigami Hironobu , Suzuki Koji , Shimaoka Motomu
Published: February 2012

Deregulated interplay between inflammation and coagulation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of sepsis. Therapeutic approaches that simultaneously target both inflammation and coagulation hold great promise for the treatment of sepsis. Thrombomodulin is an endogenous anticoagulant protein that, in cooperation with protein C and thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor, serves to maintain the endothelial microenvironment in an anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant state. A recombinant soluble form of thrombomodulin has been approved to treat patients suffering from disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and has thus far shown greater therapeutic potential than heparin. A phase II clinical trial is currently underway in the USA to study the efficacy of thrombomodulin for the treatment of sepsis with DIC complications. This paper focuses on the critical roles that thrombomodulin plays at the intersection of inflammation and coagulation and proposes the possible existence of interactions with integrins via protein C. Finally, we provide a rationale for the clinical application of thrombomodulin for alleviating sepsis.
Regional Climate Model Sensitivity to Domain Size for the Simulation of the West African Summer Monsoon Rainfall
Authors: Browne Nana A. K. , Sylla Mouhamadou B.
Published: February 2012

We use the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) Regional Climate Model (RegCM3) to study the impact of different domain sizes on the simulation of the West African summer monsoon rainfall and circulation features. RegCM3 simulates drier conditions over the default domain (RegCM-D1) and its westward extension (RegCM-D2), much less dryness over the eastward extended domain (RegCM-D3) and excessive wetness in the domain extended northward into the extratropical regions (RegCM-D4). This overestimation is related to the existence of larger source of humidity due to the inclusion of a more significant portion of the Atlantic Ocean and to a weakening of the African Easterly Jet (AEJ), which both favor stronger westerlies advecting moisture towards the land. The best performance is, however, captured in the RegCM-D3 experiment, and this originates from a simulation of moderate westerly moisture fluxes along with a stronger AEJ and occurrences of more frequent African Easterly Waves (AEWs). Therefore, the choice of the domain for regional climate model simulation of the West African summer monsoon rainfall is of critical importance, and caution needs to be taken to account for the main regional forcings including mostly the necessary humidity sources of the tropical Atlantic Ocean and the AEWs genesis region upstream of Sudanese Highlands.
Chloroform Fraction ofCentratherum anthelminticum(L.) Seed Inhibits Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha and Exhibits Pleotropic Bioactivities: Inhibitory Role in Human Tumor Cells
Authors: Arya Aditya , Achoui Mouna , Cheah Shiau-Chuen , Abdelwahab Siddig Ibrahim , Narrima Putri , Mohan Syam , Mustafa Mohd Rais , Mohd Mustafa Ali
Published: February 2012

We investigated the antioxidant potential, cytotoxic effect, and TNF-α inhibition activity with NF-κB activation response in a chloroform fraction ofCentratherum anthelminticumseeds (CACF). The antioxidant property of CACF was evaluated with DPPH, ORAC, and FRAP assays, which demonstrated significant antioxidant activity. The cytotoxicity of CACF was tested using the MTT assay; CACF effective inhibitory concentrations (IC50) for A549, PC-3, MCF-7, and WRL-68 cells were31.42±5.4,22.61±1.7,8.1±0.9, and54.93±8.3 μg/mL, respectively. CACF effectively and dose-dependently inhibited TNF-α release,in vitroandin vivo. CACF inhibited TNF-α secretion in stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage supernatants with an IC50of 0.012 μg/mL, without affecting their viability; the highest dose tested reduced serum TNF-α by 61%. Acute toxicity testing in rats revealed that CACF was non-toxic at all doses tested. Matching the cytotoxic activity towards a mechanistic approach, CACF dose-dependently exhibitedin vitroinhibitory effects against the activation of NF-κB translocation in MCF-7 cells. Preliminary phytochemical screening with GC/MS analysis detected 22 compounds in CACF, of which morpholinoethyl isothiocyanate was the most abundant (29.04%). The study reveals the potential of CACF in the treatment of breast cancer and in oxidative stress conditions with associated inflammatory responses.
Fabrication and Characterization of Composite Containing HCl‐Doped Polyaniline and Fe Nanoparticles
Authors: Liu Rongcheng , Qiu Hong , Zong Hua , Fang Chunying
Published: February 2012

HCl‐doped polyaniline powder (HCl‐PANI) was synthesized by using a polymerization procedure. Fe nanoparticles were then deposited on the HCl‐PANI at room temperature by direct current magnetron sputtering. After this process the HCl‐PANI‐Fe composite was obtained. Fe nanoparticle size in the composite is about 100 nm. HCl‐PANI structure is not influenced by the Fe nanoparticles. The composite pellet has room temperature ferromagnetism and a conductivity of 0.25 S/cm. Temperature dependence of the conductivity reveals that a carrier transport mechanism in the composite is three‐dimensional variable range hopping. Thermogravimetric analysis reveals that a weight loss of the HCl‐PANI‐Fe composite is smaller than that of the HCl‐PANI for the same heating temperature when the temperature exceeds 230∘C.
Assessment of Hereditary Retinal Degeneration in the English Springer Spaniel Dog and Disease Relationship to anRPGRIP1Mutation
Authors: Narfström Kristina , Jeong Manbok , Hyman Jennifer , Madsen Richard W. , Bergström Tomas F.
Published: February 2012

Intensive breeding and selection on desired traits have produced high rates of inherited diseases in dogs. Hereditary retinal degeneration, often called progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), is prevalent in dogs with disease entities comparable to human retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and Leber’s congenital amaurosis (LCA). Recent molecular studies in the English Springer Spaniel (ESS) dog have shown that PRA cases are often homozygous for a mutation in the RPGRIP1 gene, the defect also causing human RP, LCA, and cone rod dystrophies. The present study characterizes the disease in a group of affected ESS in USA, using clinical, functional, and morphological studies. An objective evaluation of retinal function using electroretinography (ERG) is further performed in a masked fashion in a group of American ESS dogs, with the examiner masked to the genetic status of the dogs. Only 4 of 6 homozygous animals showed clinical signs of disease, emphasizing the need and importance for more precise studies on the clinical expression of molecular defects before utilizing animal models for translational research, such as when using stem cells for therapeutic intervention.
Electronic Nose for Microbiological Quality Control of Food Products
Authors: Falasconi M. , Concina I. , Gobbi E. , Sberveglieri V. , Pulvirenti A. , Sberveglieri G.
Published: February 2012

Electronic noses (ENs) have recently emerged as valuable candidates in various areas of food quality control and traceability, including microbial contamination diagnosis. In this paper, the EN technology for microbiological screening of food products is reviewed. Four paradigmatic and diverse case studies are presented: (a)Alicyclobacillusspp. spoilage of fruit juices, (b) early detection of microbial contamination in processed tomatoes, (c) screening of fungal and fumonisin contamination of maize grains, and (d) fungal contamination on green coffee beans. Despite many successful results, the high intrinsic variability of food samples together with persisting limits of the sensor technology still impairs ENs trustful applications at the industrial scale. Both advantages and drawbacks of sensor technology in food quality control are discussed. Finally, recent trends and future directions are illustrated.
High‐Order Stochastic Adaptive Controller Design with Application to Mechanical System
Authors: Tian Jie , Feng Wei , Wang Yuzhen
Published: February 2012

The main purpose of this paper is to apply stochastic adaptive controller design to mechanical system. Firstly, by a series of coordinate transformations, the mechanical system can be transformed to a class of special high‐order stochastic nonlinear system, based on which, a more general mathematical model is considered, and the smooth state‐feedback controller is designed. At last, the simulation for the mechanical system is given to show the effectiveness of the design scheme.
A Six-Month Supplementation of Mulberry, Korean Red Ginseng, and Banaba Decreases Biomarkers of Systemic Low-Grade Inflammation in Subjects with Impaired Glucose Tolerance and Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Kim H.-J. , Yoon K.-H. , Kang M.-J. , Yim H.-W. , Lee K.-S. , Vuksan V. , Sung M.-K.
Published: February 2012

We sought the long-term efficacy of traditionally used antidiabetic herbs in controlling blood glucose homeostasis and low-grade inflammation. Ninety-four subjects with either impaired glucose tolerance or mild T2D were randomized either to treatment arm or placebo arm and received 1 : 1 : 1 mixture of ginseng roots, mulberry leaf water extract, and banaba leaf water extract (6 g/d) for 24 weeks. Oral 75 g glucose tolerance test was performed to measure glucose and insulin responses. Blood biomarkers of low-grade inflammation were also determined. Results found no significant difference in glucose homeostasis control measure changes. However, plasma intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) concentration was decreased showing a significant between-treatment changes (P=0.037). The concentrations of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) (P=0.014) and ICAM-1 (P=0.048) were decreased in the treatment group at week 24, and the oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) concentration was reduced at week 24 compared to the baseline value in the treatment group (P=0.003). These results indicate a long-term supplementation of ginseng, mulberry leaf, and banaba leaf suppresses inflammatory responses in T2D.