bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing the Reliability of a Semiautomated Segmentation Algorithm for Quantifying Erosions in the Metacarpophalangeal Joints of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Tomizza Michael A. , Jessome Matthew A. , Barbosa Joshua , Beattie Karen A. , Bensen William G. , Bobba Raja S. , Cividino Alfred A. , Emond Patrick D. , Gordon Chris , Hart Lawrence , Ioannidis George , Koh Melissa X.P. , Larché Maggie , Tavares Ruben , Tytus Stephen , Adachi Jonathan D.
Published: July 2015

Objective.

Assess the reliability of early erosions in rheumatoid arthritis (EERA) software for quantifying erosive damage to the metacarpophalangeal joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods.

One hundred magnetic resonance image sets from 68 patients with early referral RA were evaluated. Reliability was assessed using 95% limits of agreement and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with 95% CI.

Results.

Limits of agreement linearly depended on erosion volume: 0.44× between readers and 0.19× within readers. Interrater ICC was 0.976 (95% CI 0.965–0.984) and intrarater ICC was 0.996 (95% CI 0.994–0.997).

Conclusion.

EERA is highly reproducible for quantifying erosions in patients with early RA.
Prevalence of Inflammatory Back Pain and Axial Spondyloarthritis Among University Employees in Izmir, Turkey
Authors: Onen Fatos , Solmaz Dilek , Cetin Pinar , Sari Ismail , Balci Ali , Birlik Merih , Akar Servet , Akkoc Nurullah
Published: July 2015

Objective.

To estimate the prevalence of inflammatory back pain (IBP) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) using the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society (ASAS) classification criteria among employees in a university.

Methods.

In the first stage of the study, a face-to-face interview was done using a standard questionnaire to investigate IBP in 381 subjects randomly selected from 2894 employees at Dokuz Eylul University in Izmir, Turkey. In the second stage, subjects with back pain for ≥ 3 months and age at onset < 45 years were evaluated for axSpA using the ASAS criteria. Both the European Spondyloarthropathy Study Group (ESSG) criteria and Amor criteria were used for the classification of the whole group of spondyloarthritis (SpA).

Results.

There were 131 male and 250 female subjects (mean age: 38.0 yrs). Twenty-five subjects (6.6%) were classified as having IBP according to the ASAS criteria. The prevalence of IBP according to the Berlin and Calin criteria was 7.1% and 21.5%, respectively. The prevalence of axSpA was estimated at 1.3% according to the ASAS classification criteria (0.5% for radiographic axSpA and 0.8% for nonradiographic axSpA). A total of 7 patients (1.8%) fulfilled both the Amor and ESSG criteria for the whole group of SpA.

Conclusion.

This is the first prevalence study of IBP and axSpA using ASAS classification criteria in the Turkish population. The prevalence estimates of IBP and axSpA reported here are within the upper range of other studies in European countries and the United States.
Incidence of Cyclophosphamide-induced Urotoxicity and Protective Effect of Mesna in Rheumatic Diseases
Authors: Yilmaz Neslihan , Emmungil Hakan , Gucenmez Sercan , Ozen Gulsen , Yildiz Fatih , Balkarli Ayşe , Kimyon Gezmis , Coskun Belkis Nihan , Dogan Ismail , Pamuk Omer Nuri , Yasar Sule , Cetin Gozde Yildirim , Yazici Ayten , Ergulu Esmen Serpil , Cagatay Yonca , Yilmaz Sema , Cefle Ayse , Sayarlioglu Mehmet , Kasifoglu Timucin , Karadag Omer , Pehlivan Yavuz , Dalkilic Ediz , Kisacik Bunyamin , Cobankara Veli , Erken Eren , Direskeneli Haner , Aksu Kenan , Yavuz Sule
Published: July 2015

Objective.

To assess bladder toxicity of cyclophosphamide (CYC) and uroprotective effect of mesna in rheumatic diseases.

Methods.

Data of 1018 patients (725 women/293 men) treated with CYC were evaluated in this retrospective study. All of the following information was obtained: the cumulative CYC dose, route of CYC administration, duration of therapy, concomitant mesna usage, and hemorrhagic cystitis. Cox proportional hazard model was used for statistics.

Results.

We identified 17 patients (1.67%) with hemorrhagic cystitis and 2 patients (0.19%) with bladder cancer in 4224 patient-years. The median time for diagnosis to hemorrhagic cystitis was 10 months (4–48) and bladder cancer was 8 years (6–10.9). There were 583 patients (57.2%) who received mesna with intravenous CYC therapy. We observed similar incidence rate for hemorrhagic cystitis in both patient groups concomitantly treated with or without mesna [9/583 (1.5%) vs 8/425 (1.8%) respectively, p = 0.08]. Cumulative CYC dose (HR for 10-g increments 1.24, p < 0.001) was associated with hemorrhagic cystitis.

Conclusion.

Cumulative dose was the only risk factor for hemorrhagic cystitis in patients treated with CYC. No proof was obtained for the uroprotective effect of mesna in our cohort.
Nuclear Factor-κB–inducing Kinase Is Expressed in Synovial Endothelial Cells in Patients with Early Arthritis and Correlates with Markers of Inflammation: A Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Maijer Karen I. , Noort Ae Ri , de Hair Maria J.H. , van der Leij Christiaan , van Zoest Katinka P.M. , Choi Ivy Y. , Gerlag Daniëlle M. , Maas Mario , Tak Paul P. , Tas Sander W.
Published: July 2015

Objective.

The nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) family of transcription factors is strongly involved in synovial inflammation. We have previously shown that NF-κB–inducing kinase (NIK) is a key regulator of inflammation-induced angiogenesis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovial tissue (ST). Here, we investigated synovial NIK expression in patients with early arthritis and in autoantibody-positive individuals at risk of developing RA.

Methods.

ST biopsies were obtained by arthroscopy from 154 patients with early arthritis (duration < 1 yr) with various diagnoses and 54 IgM rheumatoid factor–positive and/or anticitrullinated protein antibodies–positive individuals without evidence of arthritis. ST was stained for NIK and endothelial cell (EC) markers. Additionally, measures of disease activity were collected and contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in a subset of these patients.

Results.

In patients with early arthritis, NIK was predominantly expressed in EC of small blood vessels. Further, NIK expression correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r 0.184, p = 0.024), C-reactive protein (r 0.194, p = 0.017), joint swelling (r 0.297, p < 0.001), synovial immune cell markers (lining r 0.585, p < 0.001; sublining macrophages r 0.728, p < 0.001; T cells r 0.733, p < 0.001; and B cells r 0.264, p = 0.040), MRI effusion (r 0.665, p < 0.001), MRI synovitis (r 0.632, p < 0.001), and MRI total score (r 0.569, p < 0.001). In 18.5% of autoantibody-positive individuals, ST NIK+EC were present, but this was not predictive of the development of arthritis.

Conclusion.

NIK+EC are present in the earliest phase of synovial inflammation and may be indicative of high angiogenic activity in the inflamed ST. Therefore, NIK+EC may play an important role in the persistence of synovitis. Collectively, our data underscore the importance of angiogenesis in synovial inflammation and identify NIK as a potential therapeutic target in arthritis.
The Psychology of Medical Tourism
Authors: Hieda M.
Published: July 2015

What can clinical psychology contribute to medical tourism? Well, of course, clinicians are a very important part of any form of medical treatment, but psychologists are important because of their training in the mental condition of the patient, an aspect of medicine that is often not valued as highly as that of physical intervention in disease control or accident recovery. And yet, the whole concept of health and wellness (of which medical tourism is increasingly a part) relies heavily on the addition of psychological support in the healing and rehabilitation process. This chapter provides some insights into the processes and value of psychological intervention in the physical and mental wellbeing of patients in the medical system, provides information on the Japanese variants of this, and seeks to extend understanding of the value of this intervention for medical tourists.
Singapore and Malaysia
Authors: Eades Jerry , Cooper Malcolm
Published: July 2015

This chapter assesses the status of medical tourism in two of the most developed countries in Asia; Singapore and Malaysia. Singapore was an early participant: in 1986, private medical services were added to the government's inventory of facilities, with the objective of making the island into an international medical hub. In 1986 this was not labelled medical tourism as the connection had not been identified. Following the identification of medical tourism as a growth sector by the Malaysian government later in 1998, that country too saw significant public and private sector investment in the development of the industry. Malaysia now compares favorably to India, Thailand, and Singapore in terms of its medical facilities, skills and costs. Both destinations can add excellent medical services at a reasonable cost to the mix of easy access, reasonably-priced hotel rooms, excellent public transport systems, and good visa regulations for visitors. All of these factors help to make the choice of destination for medical treatment an easy decision for the potential patient.
The Emerging Markets of the Asian Region
Authors: Vafadari Kazem
Published: July 2015

Medical tourism has become a catchphrase in the early years of the 21st Century for even the most unlikely of destinations. This chapter outlines the issues and practices involved in an assessment of the status of medical tourism in the emerging economies and destinations of the Asian Region. A selection of countries as case studies covers the region from the Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, South Asia (Sri Lanka), through to Cambodia, Taiwan, Myanmar, and Japan. The growth of medical tourism in the Asian region, and its various economic and social impact on abovementioned countries is under focus in this chapter. It provides a comprehensive view of how different countries should capitalize on their advantage to increase their share of regional or international medical tourism market. Both technological advances and traditional medicine have provided comparative advantage for medical tourism destinations in the Asian region.
The Impact of Social Business Strategies in Creating Empirical Social Business Models
Authors: Moheb Siavash , Golrokh Ali
Published: July 2015

The purpose of this chapter is to define social business and its difference with conventional business type. Governments could not address all the social problems. Because they don't have the knowledge ore the money to do so .however big enterprises have much more resources. Social business is form at the intersection pf social needs and business expertise. Also corporates want to have a good publicity through social responsibility .social business can help them to run social responsibility process through a sustainable approach. The articles reviews the recent literature about social business evolution and definition. And then it goes through social business model literature review to run a social business the definition and models of conventional business models should be redefined. Finally it compare the different Social business models and introduces the social business components in the end there are two cases from Grameen group one of the leading social groups in the word.
The Use of Social Media in the Higher Education Institutions in Turkey
Authors: Acılar Ali
Published: July 2015

Social media has been widely adopted world-wide, especially by young generations, and has become an integral part of today's society. As a popular Web 2.0 application, social media has significantly affected our daily life; from communication to education, from entertainment to business life. With a large percentage of young adults using social media in daily life, social media has become present in nearly all aspects of the higher education, ranging from admission to education in the classroom. Despite the many benefits and advantages, while many universities actively use social media, some lag behind in adopting this technology, especially in developing countries. The main aim of this chapter is to investigate the presence of social media in Web sites of the higher education institutions in Istanbul and analyze how they use it.
Social Media, Customer Relationship Management, and Consumers' Organic Food Purchase Behavior
Authors: Chronis Evelyn , Lu Qiang , Miller Rohan
Published: July 2015

Extant research has been focusing on the effectiveness of social media in driving consumer engagement and interaction. However, little research has examined how social media influences firms' Customer Relationship Management. This chapter fills this gap by proposing a conceptual framework to capture the impact of social media on traditional Customer Relationship Management in the context of consumers' organic food purchasing. Specifically, this study investigates how social media influences the purchase behavior of loyalty program members and non-loyalty program members. This study also examines the effectiveness of different types of social media content on consumer purchase behavior of organic food.
Electronic Word of Mouth Marketing
Authors: Zamanian Sahra , Khanlari Amir
Published: July 2015

Social networks as new form of popular and widely used communities (especially among Iranians) are considered as places to talk about brands and sharing comments, experiences, interests and help users to play more prominent role in their own and others informed choices. Purpose of this chapter is to find a logical relationship between brand loyalty on one hand, and participating in eWOM and individuals' identification through specific brands (Adidas in present chapter) on the other. Research results show a significant and positive correlation between brand loyalty, participating in eWOM and brand identification among consumers. Model presented in this chapter explains the same process. Regarding objective methodology and data collection method, this is an applied descriptive and surveying study. We used Regression approach and SPSS software to test hypotheses.
Detection of Pre-Analytical Laboratory Testing Errors
Authors: Al-Zahrani Wafa , Sheikh Mohamud
Published: July 2015

A Few years later, after the publication of ‘To Err is Human: building a Safer Health System', patient safety became the major concern of the medical services and for the public. The clinical laboratory is not completely empty of errors, and these errors may affect the patient's health and the health care service. Evidence from studies indicate that a large percentage of laboratory errors occur in the pre-analytical and post-analytical phases. Based on reliable data, laboratories that established ongoing quality monitoring system have low percentage of errors. Most of laboratory errors are attributed to ineffective systems and less attributed to the individual malpractice, thus the laboratory quality improvement programs should focus more on the system in a holistic manner. This chapter aims to explore the critical issues that underpin laboratory errors and in particular the pre-analytical errors and provides some recommendations of ways to overcome such critical domains.
The Role and Use of Telemedicine by Physicians in Developing Countries
Authors: Alajmi Dana , Khalifa Mohamed , Jamal Amr , Zakaria Nasria , Alomran Suleiman , El-Metwally Ashraf , Al-Salamah Majed , Househ Mowafa
Published: July 2015

As technological advance leaps into the developing world, telemedicine is expected to significantly grow in many developing countries. It is important to investigate the awareness, preferences, requirements, perceptions and attitudes of physicians in Saudi Arabia towards the use of telemedicine technology. In order to promote the use of telemedicine among physicians, training should be focused on older professionals and those who show lower levels of IT knowledge and experience. This chapter uses the results of a survey that was conducted in the city of Al-Dammam, Saudi Arabia, which gathered information about physicians' awareness and attitude towards telemedicine. Most physicians reported high level of awareness of telemedicine and showed interest in using telemedicine technology in their work. Physicians' preference of using such technology was predicted by their awareness, knowledge and previous experience, using telemedicine and technology affinity. Physicians' willingness to use telemedicine was influenced by age, technology preparedness and practice.
Indications of Spontaneous Chaos in the Chemotaxis of E. coli under Noise-Induced Parametric Perturbations
Authors: Patnaik Pratap R.
Published: July 2015

Bacteria such as Escherichia coli navigating through real environments in response to chemical stimuli are under the continual influence of perturbations (or ‘noise') from within the cells, at the interface between the cell walls and the chemical ligands, and from the extra-cellular surroundings. These perturbations interact with one another and affect the chemosensory reactions that determine the movements of a population of cells. A recent analysis has shown that the response coefficients of certain key variables describing the chemotaxis of E. coli can vary by several orders of magnitude when the kinetic parameters are disturbed by noise-induced fluctuations, thereby inducing corresponding variations in cellular locomotion. This possibility is explored quantitatively here by using the same mathematical model as in the earlier work. The model considers the cells to be in one of three states: some cells moving toward the chemoattractant, some moving away and others in an intermediate ‘tumbling' state. The focus was on the tumbling cells since they are the most sensitive to disturbances. Based on previous work, the fractal dimensions of the cells tracked over a length of time were used as indicators of stable or unstable chemotaxis. Results showed that while noise-induced variations in some parameters had only marginal effects on cell motility, other parameters strongly influenced the population movement. In the latter cases the chemically guided movement of the population toward the chemoattractant could, under sufficiently intense noise, become chaotic in certain intervals of time. Significantly, the time intervals for such spontaneous chaos differed from one parameter to another, being contiguous with one another, rather than overlapping. Thus at any point in time there is the likelihood of chaotic instability caused by one or more of the parameters, thereby destabilizing the population as a whole. These observations underscore (a) the importance of analyzing the effects of noise on bacterial chemosensory kinetics, (b) limiting the intensity of noise permeating the cells, and (c) the usefulness of fractal dimensions in aiding such analysis.
Tracking Future Path of Consumers' Empowerment in E-Health
Authors: Anshari Muhammad , Almunawar Mohammad Nabil
Published: July 2015

Developments in ICT have created a new generation of networking technology that affects all areas, including healthcare. The use of ICT in healthcare organizations, for example in health information systems (HIS), has developed the same way as the wider landscape, and includes the use of Internet-based technology. The adoption of social network features as the ‘front end' of electronic health (e-health) systems is believed to boost sharing between consumers, leading to greater satisfaction. E-health is likely to become more consumer-centric, accommodating consumers' participation in the healthcare process, including decision-making. The government of Taiwan has successfully implemented a National Health Insurance (NHI) system as the foundation for e-health. Improvements in technology may drive changing consumer behavior concerning healthcare services. This paper addresses some important concepts, milestones, challenges, and future direction of consumer empowerment in Taiwan, and proposes that empowerment will be personal, social, and medical.
Identification of Chronic Wound Status under Tele-Wound Network through Smartphone
Authors: Chakraborty Chinmay , Gupta Bharat , Ghosh Soumya K.
Published: July 2015

This paper presents a tele-wound framework for monitoring chronic wound status based on color variation over a period of time. This will facilitate patients at remote locations to connect to medical experts through mobile devices. Further this will help medical professionals to monitor and manage the wounds in more timely, accurate and precise manner using the proposed framework. Tele-medical agent (TMA) collects the chronic wound data using smart phone and send it to the Tele-medical hub (TMH). In TMH, the wound image has been segmented using Fuzzy C-Means which gives highest segmented accuracy i.e. 92.60%, then the wound tissue is classified using proposed Bayesian classifier. The smart phone supported prototype system has been demonstrated with snapshots using very compatible and easy to integrate Hypertext preprocessor (PHP) and MySqL. The proposed system may facilitate better wound management and treatment by providing percentage of wound tissues.
Binary Fireworks Algorithm Based Thermal Unit Commitment
Authors: Panwar Lokesh Kumar , Srikanth Reddy K  , Kumar Rajesh
Published: July 2015

This paper presents the first application of fireworks algorithm to solve thermal unit commitment and scheduling problem. The scheduling problem accompanied by many constraints i.e., equality constraints like load balance and inequality constraints like system reserve and bounds like power generation, up/down time and ramp rate limits, finally shapes into a complex optimization problem. In this work, the scheduling and commitment problem is solved using binary fireworks algorithm (BFWA), which mimics explosion of fireworks in the sky to define search space and distance between associated sparks to evaluate global minimum. Further, the effectiveness of fireworks pertaining to problem dimension, wide range of generation units from 10 to 100 are considered and evaluated. In addition, simulations results are compared to the existing optimization techniques in literature used for unit commitment and scheduling problem and it is observed that, BFWA is superior to some of the profound existing algorithms in achieving near optimal scheduling.
Application of Fireworks Algorithm in Gamma-Ray Spectrum Fitting for Radioisotope Identification
Authors: Alamaniotis Miltiadis , Choi Chan K. , Tsoukalas Lefteri H.
Published: July 2015

Identification of radioisotopic signature patterns in gamma-ray spectra is of paramount importance in various applications of gamma spectroscopy. Therefore, there are several active research efforts to develop accurate and precise methods to perform automated spectroscopic analysis and subsequently recognize gamma-ray signatures. In this work, the authors present a new method for radioisotope identification in gamma-ray spectra obtained with a low resolution radiation detector. The method fits the obtained spectrum with a linear combination of known template signature patterns. Coefficients of the linear combination are evaluated by computing the solution of a single objective optimization problem, whose objective is the Theil-1 inequality coefficient. Optimization of the problem is performed by the Fireworks Algorithm, which identifies a set of coefficients that minimize the Theil-1 value. The computed coefficients are statistically tested for being significantly different than zero or not, and if at least one is found to be zero then the Fireworks Algorithm is used to reiterate fitting using the non-zero templates. Fitting iterations are continued up to the point that no linear coefficients are found to be zero. The output of the method is a list that contains the radioisotopes that have been identified in the measured spectrum. The method is tested on a set of both simulated and real experimental gamma-ray spectra comprised of a variety of isotopes, and compared to a multiple linear regression fitting, and genetic algorithm Theil-1 based fitting. Results demonstrate the potentiality of the Fireworks Algorithm based method, expressed as higher accuracy and similar precision over the other two tested methodologies for radioisotope signature pattern identification in the framework of gamma-ray spectrum fitting.
“Be Excellent and Do More with Less”
Authors: Evenstad Solveig Beyza Narli
Published: July 2015

It is common to think of sustainability in the context of environmental issues. However as companies are downsizing, the human dimension of sustainability, i.e. the organizational sustainability is at stake. The sole focus on cost competitiveness pushes already stressed-out employees to be excellent and do more with less at the same time. When employees are caugth between such paradoxal injunctions and organizational defense routines hinder dialog, some employees develop dysfunctional coping strategies and end up being burned out. Burnout is associated with depression, lack of motivation, absenteeism, and intention to leave. It has both human and economic consequences threatening the sustainability of an organization. The study of the experience of burnout among three Information and Communication Technology (ICT) workers in Norway conducted as an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) is presented as the case and the pathological communication patterns in the organizational culture behind burnout are identified.
Plant bugs (Hemiptera: Miridae) on field beans and soybeans in Manitoba, Canada: species composition and seasonal occurrence
Authors: Nagalingam T. , Holliday N. J.
Published: July 2015

In Manitoba, Canada, commercial soybeans and two types of field beans, navy and pinto, were sampled for plant bugs. At the centre and margins of 36 fields, sweep net and tap tray samples were taken weekly. In all three crops, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) (Hemiptera: Miridae) comprised >78% and Adelphocoris lineolatus (Goeze) (Hemiptera: Miridae) <10% of adult mirids. Species composition varied among years but not among crops. For Lygus Hahn, nymphs were 46% of the catch in trays and 23% in sweeps, but total Lygus catch in trays was >2% of that in sweeps. Catch/sample effort was similar at field centres and margins for both Lygus adults and nymphs. Lygus lineolaris reproduced and developed in all three crops. In field beans, Lygus adults were first collected in late vegetative and early pod set stages and late instar nymphs and adults were present from pod elongation until maturity – results consistent with immigration of first summer generation reproductive adults and development of the second generation in the crops. There was evidence of late season immigration of Lygus into all crops. There was no loss of seed quantity attributable to mirids in any of the crops; in field beans there was no evidence that mirids reduced seed quality.
Cost-benefit analysis of maintenance and management plans for rivers: Case study of the Buffelsjags River
Authors: Kok Conrad
Published: July 2015

No abstract available
Synthesis of a bi-functional monomer
Authors: Prinsloo Marlene
Published: July 2015

No abstract available
Self-organized Kidney Rudiments: Prospects for Betterin vitroNephrotoxicity Assays
Authors: Davies Jamie A.
Published: July 2015

Kidneys are essential to life but vulnerable to a range of toxicants, including therapeutic drugs and their metabolites. Indeed, nephrotoxicity is often a limiting factor in both drug use and drug development. Most toxicants damage kidneys by one of four mechanisms: damage to the membrane and its junctions, oxidative stress and free radical generation, activation of inflammatory processes, and interference with vascular regulation. Traditionally, animal models were used in preclinical screening for nephrotoxicity, but these can be poorly predictive of human reactions. Animal screens have been joined by simple single-cell–type in vitro assays using primary or immortalized human cells, particularly proximal tubule cells as these are especially vulnerable to toxicants. Recent research, aimed mainly at engineering new kidneys for transplant purposes, has resulted in a method for constructing anatomically realistic mini-kidneys from renogenic stem cells. So far, this has been done only using renogenic stem cells obtained directly from mouse embryos but, in principle, it should be possible to make them from renogenically directed human-induced pluripotent cells. If this can be done, the resulting human-based mini-kidneys would be a promising system for detecting some types of nephrotoxicity and for developing nephroprotective drugs.
A Single-Array-Based Method for Detecting Copy Number Variants Using Affymetrix High Density SNP Arrays and its Application to Breast Cancer
Authors: Li Ming , Wen Yalu , Fu Wenjiang
Published: July 2015

Cumulative evidence has shown that structural variations, due to insertions, deletions, and inversions of DNA, may contribute considerably to the development of complex human diseases, such as breast cancer. High-throughput genotyping technologies, such as Affymetrix high density single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays, have produced large amounts of genetic data for genome-wide SNP genotype calling and copy number estimation. Meanwhile, there is a great need for accurate and efficient statistical methods to detect copy number variants. In this article, we introduce a hidden-Markov-model (HMM)-based method, referred to as the PICR-CNV, for copy number inference. The proposed method first estimates copy number abundance for each single SNP on a single array based on the raw fluorescence values, and then standardizes the estimated copy number abundance to achieve equal footing among multiple arrays. This method requires no between-array normalization, and thus, maintains data integrity and independence of samples among individual subjects. In addition to our efforts to apply new statistical technology to raw fluorescence values, the HMM has been applied to the standardized copy number abundance in order to reduce experimental noise. Through simulations, we show our refined method is able to infer copy number variants accurately. Application of the proposed method to a breast cancer dataset helps to identify genomic regions significantly associated with the disease.
Efficacy of Bacillus Thuringiensis (var. Kurstaki) against Diamondback Moth (Plutella Xylostella L.) Eggs and Larvae on Cabbage Under Semi-Controlled Greenhouse Conditions
Authors: Legwaila Mitch M. , Munthali David C. , Kwerepe Baone C. , Obopile Motshwari
Published: July 2015

The efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis (var. kurstaki) ( Btk) against the diamondback moth (DBM) on cabbage was studied at Botswana College of Agriculture, Gaborone, Botswana. Using five concentrations of Btk: 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 g/L, bioassays were conducted against DBM eggs and second instar larvae at 30°C ± 5°C. Each treatment was replicated three times. Probit analysis was used to determine the LD50 and LD90 values for the treatments against eggs and larvae. When the treatments were assessed at 72, 96, 120, and 144 hours, LD90 values against larvae were 11.02, 10.22, 5.92, and 4.01 g/L, whereas they were 7.71, 6.94, and 6.24 g/L against eggs when assessed 48, 72, and 96 hours after the expected time of hatching. This indicated that Btk was effective against both eggs and larvae when exposed for long periods. The slopes of the probit lines for larvae assessed at 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, and 144 hours after application were 0.250, 1.064, 0.910, 0.383, 0.453, and 0.414, while those against eggs were 1.153, 1.246, and 0.933 when assessed 48, 72, and 96 hours after the expected time of hatching. This indicates a smaller change in mortality with increase in pesticide dosage for both eggs and larvae. Btk treatments achieved 85.7%–94.6% reduction in DBM damage on cabbage. Therefore, Btk can be used to achieve effective control of DBM eggs and larvae and reduce damage on cabbage under greenhouse conditions.
On the roots of generalized Wills $\mu$-polynomials
Authors: Hernández Cifre María A. , Yepes Nicolás Jesús
Published: July 2015

We investigate the roots of a family of geometric polynomials of convex bodies associated to a given measure

\mu

on the non-negative real line

\mathbb R_{\geq 0}

, which arise from the so called Wills functional. We study its structure, showing that the set of roots in the upper half-plane is a closed convex cone, containing the non-positive real axis

\mathbb R_{\leq0}

, and strictly increasing in the dimension, for any measure

\mu

. Moreover, it is proved that the 'smallest' cone of roots of these

\mu

-polynomials is the one given by the Steiner polynomial, which provides, for example, additional information about the roots of

\mu

-polynomials when the dimension is large enough. It will also give necessary geometric conditions for a sequence

\{m_i\colon i=0,1,\dots\}

to be the moments of a certain measure on

\mathbb R_{\geq0}

, a question regarding the so called (Stieltjes) moment problem.
Boundary measures, generalized Gauss–Green formulas, and mean value property in metric measure spaces
Authors: Marola Niko , Miranda Jr. Michele , Shanmugalingam Nageswari
Published: July 2015

We study mean value properties of harmonic functions in metric measure spaces. The metric measure spaces we consider have a doubling measure and support a (1, 1)-Poincaré inequality. The notion of harmonicity is based on the Dirichlet form defined in terms of a Cheeger differentiable structure. By studying fine properties of the Green function on balls, we characterize harmonic functions in terms of a mean value property. As a consequence, we obtain a detailed description of Poisson kernels. We shall also obtain a Gauss–Green type formula for sets of finite perimeter which posses a Minkowski content characterization of the perimeter. For the Gauss–Green formula we introduce a suitable notion of the interior normal trace of a regular ball.
$\aleph$-injective Banach spaces and $\aleph$-projective compacta
Authors: Avilés Antonio , Cabello Sánchez Félix , Castillo Jesús M.F. , González Manuel , Moreno Yolanda
Published: July 2015

A Banach space

E

is said to be injective if for every Banach space

X

and every subspace

Y

of

X

every operator

t\colon Y\to E

has an extension

T\colon X \to E

. We say that

E

is

\aleph

-injective (respectively, universally

\aleph

-injective) if the preceding condition holds for Banach spaces

X

(respectively

Y

) with density less than a given uncountable cardinal

\aleph

. We perform a study of

\aleph

-injective and universally

\aleph

-injective Banach spaces which extends the basic case where

\aleph=\aleph_1

is the first uncountable cardinal. When dealing with the corresponding "isometric" properties we arrive to our main examples: ultraproducts and spaces of type

C(K)

. We prove that ultraproducts built on countably incomplete

\aleph

-good ultrafilters are

(1,\aleph)

-injective as long as they are Lindenstrauss spaces. We characterize

(1,\aleph)

-injective

C(K)

spaces as those in which the compact

K

is an

F_\aleph

-space (disjoint open subsets which are the union of less than

\aleph

many closed sets have disjoint closures) and we uncover some projectiveness properties of

F_\aleph

-spaces.
Multilinear paraproducts revisited
Authors: Grafakos Loukas , He Danqing , Kalton Nigel , Mastyło Mieczysław
Published: July 2015

We prove that multilinear paraproducts are bounded from products of Lebesgue spaces

L^{p_1}\!\times \cdots \times L^{p_{m+1}}

to

L^{p,\infty}

, when

1\le\! p_1, \dots , p_m

,

p_{m+1}<\infty

,

1/p_1+\cdots +1/p_{m+1}=1/p

. We focus on the endpoint case when some indices

p_j

are equal to

1

, in particular we obtain a new proof of the estimate

L^1\times \cdots \times L^1\to L^{1/(m+1),\infty}

.
Roth's theorem in the Piatetski-Shapiro primes
Authors: Mirek Mariusz
Published: July 2015

Let

\mathbf{P}

denote the set of prime numbers and, for an appropriate function

h

, define a set

\mathbf{P}_{h}=\{p\in\mathbf{P}\colon \exists_{n\in\mathbb{N}}\ p=\lfloor h(n)\rfloor\}

. The aim of this paper is to show that every subset of

\mathbf{P}_{h}

having positive relative upper density contains a nontrivial three-term arithmetic progression. In particular the set of Piatetski-Shapiro primes of fixed type

71/72<\gamma<1

, i.e.,

\{p\in\mathbf{P}: \exists_{n\in\mathbb{N}}\ p=\lfloor n^{1/\gamma}\rfloor\}

has this feature. We show this by proving the counterpart of the Bourgain–Green restriction theorem for the set

\mathbf{P}_{h}

.
On 2D nonlinear Schrödinger equation on non-trapping exterior domains
Authors: Abou Shakra Farah
Published: July 2015

Global existence and scattering for the nonlinear defocusing Schrödinger equation in 2 dimensions are known for domains exterior to star-shaped obstacles and for nonlinearities that grow at least as the quintic power. In this paper, we extend the global existence result for all non-trapping obstacles and for nonlinearities with power strictly greater than quartic. For such nonlinearities, we also prove scattering for a class of so-called almost star-shaped obstacles.
Some constructions for the fractional Laplacian on noncompact manifolds
Authors: Banica Valeria , González María del Mar , Sáez Mariel
Published: July 2015

We give a definition of the fractional Laplacian on some noncompact manifolds, through an extension problem introduced by Caffarelli–Silvestre. While this definition in the compact case is straightforward, in the noncompact setting one needs to have a precise control of the behavior of the metric at infinity and geometry plays a crucial role. First we give explicit calculations in the hyperbolic space, including a formula for the kernel and a trace Sobolev inequality. Then we consider more general noncompact manifolds, where the problem reduces to obtain suitable upper bounds for the heat kernel.
The Dirichlet problem with BMO boundary data and almost-real coefficients
Authors: Barton Ariel
Published: July 2015

It is known that a function, harmonic in a Lipschitz domain, is the Poisson extension of a BMO function if and only if its gradient satisfies a Carleson-measure condition. We show that the same is true of functions that satisfy elliptic equations in two-dimensional Lipschitz domains, provided the coefficients are independent of one coordinate and have small imaginary part.
Water vapour profiles from Raman lidar automatically calibrated by microwave radiometer data during HOPE
Authors: Foth A. , Baars H. , Di Girolamo P. , Pospichal B.
Published: July 2015

Abstract. In this paper, we present a method to derive water vapour profiles from Raman lidar measurements calibrated by the integrated water vapour (IWV) from a collocated microwave radiometer during the intense observation campaign HOPE in the frame of the HD(CP)2 initiative. The simultaneous observation of a microwave radiometer and a Raman lidar allowed an operational and continuous measurement of water vapour profiles also during cloudy conditions. The calibration method provides results which are in a good agreement with conventional methods based on radiosondes. The calibration factor derived from the proposed IWV method is very stable with a relative uncertainty of 5 %. This stability allows for the calibration of the lidar even in the presence of clouds using the calibration factor determined during the most recent clear sky interval. Based on the application of this approach, it is possible to retrieve water vapour profiles during all non-precipitating conditions. A statistical analysis shows a good agreement between the lidar measurements and collocated radiosondes. The relative biases amount to less than 6.7 % below 2 km.
The southern stratospheric gravity wave hot spot: individual waves and their momentum fluxes measured by COSMIC GPS-RO
Authors: Hindley N. P. , Wright C. J. , Smith N. D. , Mitchell N. J.
Published: July 2015

Abstract. Nearly all general circulation models significantly fail to reproduce the observed behaviour of the southern wintertime polar vortex. It has been suggested that these biases result from an underestimation of gravity wave drag on the atmosphere at latitudes near 60° S, especially around the "hot spot" of intense gravity wave fluxes above the mountainous Southern Andes and Antarctic peninsula. Here, we use Global Positioning System radio occultation (GPS-RO) data from the COSMIC satellite constellation to determine the properties of gravity waves in the hot spot and beyond. We show considerable southward propagation to latitudes near 60° S of waves apparently generated over the southern Andes. We propose that this propagation may account for much of the wave drag missing from the models. Furthermore, there is a long leeward region of increased gravity wave energy that sweeps eastwards from the mountains over the Southern Ocean. Despite its striking nature, the source of this region has historically proved difficult to determine. Our observations suggest that this region includes both waves generated locally and orographic waves advected downwind from the hot spot. We describe and use a new wavelet-based analysis technique for the quantitative identification of individual waves from COSMIC temperature profiles. This analysis reveals different geographical regimes of wave amplitude and short-timescale variability in the wave field over the Southern Ocean. Finally, we use the increased numbers of closely spaced pairs of profiles from the deployment phase of the COSMIC constellation in 2006 to make estimates of gravity wave horizontal wavelengths. We show that, given sufficient observations, GPS-RO can produce physically reasonable estimates of stratospheric gravity wave momentum flux in the hot spot that are consistent with measurements made by other techniques. We discuss our results in the context of previous satellite and modelling studies and explain how they advance our understanding of the nature and origins of waves in the southern stratosphere.
Formation of hydroxyl radicals from photolysis of secondary organic aerosol material
Authors: Badali K. M. , Zhou S. , Aljawhary D. , Antiñolo M. , Chen W. J. , Lok A. , Mungall E. , Wong J. P. S. , Zhao R. , Abbatt J. P. D.
Published: July 2015

Abstract. This paper demonstrates that OH radicals are formed by photolysis of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) material formed by terpene ozonolysis. The SOA is collected on filters, dissolved in water containing a radical trap (benzoic acid), and then exposed to ultraviolet light in a photochemical reactor. The OH formation rates, which are similar for both α-pinene and limonene SOA, are measured from the formation rate of p-hydroxybenzoic acid as measured using offline HPLC analysis. To evaluate whether the OH is formed by photolysis of H2O2 or organic hydroperoxides (ROOH), the peroxide content of the SOA was measured using the horseradish peroxidase-dichlorofluorescein (HRP-DCF) assay, which was calibrated using H2O2. The OH formation rates from SOA are 5 times faster than from the photolysis of H2O2 solutions whose concentrations correspond to the peroxide content of the SOA solutions, assuming that the HRP-DCF signal arises from H2O2 alone. The higher rates of OH formation from SOA are likely due to ROOH photolysis, but we cannot rule out a contribution from secondary processes as well. This result is substantiated by photolysis experiments conducted with t-butyl hydroperoxide and cumene hydroperoxide which produce over 3 times more OH than photolysis of equivalent concentrations of H2O2. Relative to the peroxide level in the SOA and assuming that the peroxides drive most of the ultraviolet absorption, the quantum yield for OH generation from α-pinene SOA is 0.8 ± 0.4. This is the first demonstration of an efficient photolytic source of OH in SOA, one that may affect both cloud water and aerosol chemistry.
Brown carbon aerosol in the North American continental troposphere: sources, abundance, and radiative forcing
Authors: Liu J. , Scheuer E. , Dibb J. , Diskin G. S. , Ziemba L. D. , Thornhill K. L. , Anderson B. E. , Wisthaler A. , Mikoviny T. , Devi J. J. , Bergin M. , Perring A. E. , Markovic M. Z. , Schwarz J. P. , Campuzano-Jost P. , Day D. A. , Jimenez J. L. , Weber R. J.
Published: July 2015

Abstract. Chemical components of organic aerosol (OA) selectively absorb light at short wavelengths. In this study, the prevalence, sources, and optical importance of this so-called brown carbon (BrC) aerosol component are investigated throughout the North American continental tropospheric column during a summer of extensive biomass burning. Spectrophotometric absorption measurements on extracts of bulk aerosol samples collected from an aircraft over the central USA were analyzed to directly quantify BrC abundance. BrC was found to be prevalent throughout the 1 to 12 km altitude measurement range, with dramatic enhancements in biomass-burning plumes. BrC to black carbon (BC) ratios, under background tropospheric conditions, increased with altitude, consistent with a corresponding increase in the absorption Ångström exponent (AAE) determined from a three-wavelength particle soot absorption photometer (PSAP). The sum of inferred BC absorption and measured BrC absorption at 365 nm was within 3 % of the measured PSAP absorption for background conditions and 22 % for biomass burning. A radiative transfer model showed that BrC absorption reduced top-of-atmosphere (TOA) aerosol forcing by ~ 20 % in the background troposphere. Extensive radiative model simulations applying this study background tropospheric conditions provided a look-up chart for determining radiative forcing efficiencies of BrC as a function of a surface-measured BrC : BC ratio and single scattering albedo (SSA). The chart is a first attempt to provide a tool for better assessment of brown carbon's forcing effect when one is limited to only surface data. These results indicate that BrC is an important contributor to direct aerosol radiative forcing.
The contrasting roles of water and dust in controlling daily variations in radiative heating of the summertime Saharan Heat Low
Authors: Marsham J. H. , Parker D. J. , Todd M. C. , Banks J. R. , Brindley H. E. , Garcia-Carreras L. , Roberts A. J. , Ryder C. L.
Published: July 2015

Abstract. The summertime Sahara Heat Low (SHL) is a key component of the West African Monsoon (WAM) system. Considerable uncertainty remains over the relative roles of water vapour and dust aerosols in controlling the radiation budget over the Sahara and therefore our ability to explain variability and trends in the SHL, and in turn, the WAM. Here, new observations from the Fennec field campaign during June 2011 and June 2012, together with satellite retrievals from GERB, are used to quantify how total column water vapour (TCWV) and dust aerosols (from aerosol optical depth, AOD) control day-to-day variations in energy balance in both observations and ECWMF reanalyses (ERA-I). The data show that the earth-atmosphere system is radiatively heated in June 2011 and 2012. It is TCWV that largely determines variations in daily mean TOA net flux and the net heating of the earth-atmosphere system. In contrast, dust provides the primary control on surface heating, but the decreased surface heating from dust is largely compensated by increased atmospheric heating, and so dust control on net TOA radiation is weak. Dust and TCWV are both important for direct atmospheric heating. ERA-I captures the control of TOA net flux by TCWV, with a positive correlation (r=0.6) between observed and modelled TOA net radiation, despite the use of a monthly dust climatology in ERA-I that cannot capture the daily variations in dustiness. Variations in surface net radiation, and so the vertical profile of radiative heating, are not captured in ERA-I, since it does not capture variations in dust. Results show that ventilation of the SHL by cool moist air leads to a radiative warming, stabilising the SHL with respect to such perturbations. It is known that models struggle to capture the advective moistening of the SHL, especially that associated with mesoscale convective systems. Our results show that the typical model errors in Saharan water vapour will lead to substantial errors in the modelled TOA energy balance (tens of W m−2), which will lead to errors in both the SHL and the WAM.