bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Innovation Network for Entrepreneurship Development in Rural Indian Context: Exploratory Factor Analysis
Authors: Hukampal Singh Sonal , Bhowmick Bhaskar
Published: March 2016

Innovation has been considered as one of the key drivers of economic development for any nation. In the rural context, the innovation concept is applied with the intention to determine new ways to solve traditional and emerging problems that the rural people face. The innovation network concept has in the rural context become extremely important because it assists to complement scarce resources and create new opportunities for rural development base by establishing a relationship between rural actors with other actors. Thus, the main purpose of this paper is to identify variables of innovation network and to conceptualize innovation network in the rural context. The study has been executed through a field survey of the rural entrepreneurs, through interviews and closed ended questionnaires in rural regions of Gujarat in India. This paper has used exploratory factor analysis in order to investigate factors that might explain the underlying belief of rural entrepreneurs about innovation networks. The paper finds out three factors, namely: (a) innovation network with a private organization, (b) innovation network with NGOs, and (c) innovation network with public organizations. The finding of this study revealed that production enhancement, information accessibility, skill development and entrepreneurial opportunities are considered the most important criteria for conceptualization of innovation network in the rural context. This study allows for implications to be made for rural entrepreneurship development and policy formation. In future research there remains the scope to incorporate larger sample data, greater number of variables of innovation network and conduct the study in other countries.
A Study on the Influential Factors on Building Damage in Sri Lanka During the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami
Authors: Leelawat Natt , Suppasri Anawat , Murao Osamu , Imamura Fumihiko
Published: March 2016

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami damaged a number of buildings in many Asian countries. The research objective of this paper is to determine the significant predictor variables and the direction of their relationships regarding the building damage level. This quantitative study used data collected by Murao and Nakazato [“Recovery curves for housing reconstruction in Sri Lanka after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami,” J. Earthquake Tsunami 4(2), 51–60; “Vulnerability functions for buildings based on damage survey data in Sri Lanka after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami,” Proc. 1st Int. Conf. Sustainable Built Environment, Kandy, Sri Lanka, pp. 371–378] in Sri Lanka for analysis via the statistical approach. The tested explanatory parameters included the inundation depth, the structural materials, and the areas. This research is among the first pioneering efforts in applying the statistical analysis to investigate the influential parameters in tsunami damage areas. This work can contribute to the damage analysis research area in terms of providing the proved parameters as well as contributing to the practical understanding of urban planners, engineers, and related persons who are involved in building construction and disaster management.
Automation of input data to discrete event simulation for manufacturing: A review
Authors: Barlas Panagiotis , Heavey Cathal
Published: March 2016

Discrete event simulation (DES) is a well-established decision support tool in modeling work flows in manufacturing industry. But, there are an amount of practical and financial obstacles that deter the employment of this technology in industry. One of the main weaknesses of operating DES is the costs spent on collecting and mapping input data from different enterprise data resources into a DES model. Another issue is the cost of integrating simulation applications with other manufacturing applications. These barriers hinder the automated input of data into DES models and as a result deter use of real-time DES in manufacturing. This review presents the existing research studies in the literature that address the above issues, demonstrating in parallel the already implemented concepts. The scope of this review is to provide an overview of the input data phase, focusing on its automation and motivating researchers to re-examine this phase by highlighting future research directions.
The Latest Version of SiFAP: Beyond Microsecond Time Scale Photometry of Variable Objects
Authors: Ambrosino F. , Cretaro P. , Meddi F. , Rossi C. , Sclavi S. , Bruni I.
Published: March 2016

Technical improvements of the Silicon Fast optical Astronomical Photometer (SiFAP) allow the instrumentation to integrate photons coming from the target in time windows down to 20[Formula: see text]s. Further hardware improvement has been implemented to tag the Time of Arrival ([Formula: see text]) of each single photon. In addition, a new commercial GPS unit has replaced the older commercial unit improving time resolution. The latest version of SiFAP has been calibrated to check photometric sensitivity and linearity through observations of several standard stars. SiFAP has been also successfully tested by observing the HZ/Her X-1 Binary System estimating the spin period of the pulsar (Her X-1). Our results have been then compared to data available in literature.
Delay/Power Modeling and Optimization of FinFET Circuit Modules under PVT Variations
Authors: Tang Aoxiang , Gao Xun , Chen Lung-Yen , Jha Niraj K.
Published: March 2016

The semiconductor industry has moved to FinFETs because of their superior ability to mitigate short-channel effects relative to CMOS. Thus, good FinFET delay and power models are urgently needed to facilitate FinFET IC design at the upcoming technology nodes. Another urgent problem that needs to be addressed with continued technology scaling is how to analyze circuit performance and power consumption under process, voltage, and temperature (PVT) variations. Such variations arise due to limitations of lithography that lead to variations in the physical dimensions of the device or due to environmental variations. In this article, we propose a delay/power modeling framework for analysis of FinFET logic circuits under PVT variations. We present models for FinFET logic gates and three FinFET SRAM cells. We use GenFin, which is a genetic algorithm based statistical circuit-level delay/power optimizer, to produce the models for functional units (FUs) employed in a processor. We compare the impact of PVT variations at the 22nm and 14nm FinFET technology nodes. We evaluate cache performance for various cache capacities and temperatures as well as that of FUs. Our device simulation results show that the 3σ/μ spread for 14nm circuits is, on average, 38.5% higher in dynamic power and 21.4% higher in logarithm of leakage power relative to 22nm FinFET circuits. However, the delay spread depends on the circuit.
Extracting Arabic Causal Relations Using Linguistic Patterns
Authors: Sadek Jawad , Meziane Farid
Published: March 2016

Identifying semantic relations is a crucial step in discourse analysis and is useful for many applications in both language and speech technology. Automatic detection of
Causal
relations therefore has gained popularity in the literature within different frameworks. The aim of this article is the automatic detection and extraction of
Causal
relations that are explicitly expressed in Arabic texts. To fulfill this goal, a
Pattern Recognizer
model was developed to signal the presence of cause--effect information within sentences from nonspecific domain texts. This model incorporates approximately 700 linguistic patterns so that parts of the sentence representing the
cause
and those representing the
effect
can be distinguished. The patterns were constructed based on different sets of syntactic features by analyzing a large untagged Arabic corpus. In addition, the model was boosted with three independent algorithms to deal with certain types of grammatical particles that indicate causation. With this approach, the proposed model achieved an overall
recall
of 81% and a
precision
of 78%. Evaluation results revealed that the justification particles play a key role in detecting
Causal
relations. To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have been dedicated to dealing with this type of relation in the Arabic language.
A Socioecological Model for Advanced Service Discovery in Machine-to-Machine Communication Networks
Authors: Liu Lu , Antonopoulos Nick , Zheng Minghui , Zhan Yongzhao , Ding Zhijun
Published: March 2016

The new development of embedded systems has the potential to revolutionize our lives and will have a significant impact on future Internet of Thing (IoT) systems if required services can be automatically discovered and accessed at runtime in Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication networks. It is a crucial task for devices to perform timely service discovery in a dynamic environment of IoTs. In this article, we propose a Socioecological Service Discovery (SESD) model for advanced service discovery in M2M communication networks. In the SESD network, each device can perform advanced service search to dynamically resolve complex enquires and autonomously support and co-operate with each other to quickly discover and self-configure any services available in M2M communication networks to deliver a real-time capability. The proposed model has been systematically evaluated and simulated in a dynamic M2M environment. The experiment results show that SESD can self-adapt and self-organize themselves in real time to generate higher flexibility and adaptability and achieve a better performance than the existing methods in terms of the number of discovered service and a better efficiency in terms of the number of discovered services per message.
Adaptive Body Gesture Representation for Automatic Emotion Recognition
Authors: Piana Stefano , Staglianò Alessandra , Odone Francesca , Camurri Antonio
Published: March 2016

We present a computational model and a system for the automated recognition of emotions starting from full-body movement. Three-dimensional motion data of full-body movements are obtained either from professional optical motion-capture systems (Qualisys) or from low-cost RGB-D sensors (Kinect and Kinect2). A number of features are then automatically extracted at different levels, from kinematics of a single joint to more global expressive features inspired by psychology and humanistic theories (e.g., contraction index, fluidity, and impulsiveness). An abstraction layer based on dictionary learning further processes these movement features to increase the model generality and to deal with intraclass variability, noise, and incomplete information characterizing emotion expression in human movement. The resulting feature vector is the input for a classifier performing real-time automatic emotion recognition based on linear support vector machines. The recognition performance of the proposed model is presented and discussed, including the tradeoff between precision of the tracking measures (we compare the Kinect RGB-D sensor and the Qualisys motion-capture system) versus dimension of the training dataset. The resulting model and system have been successfully applied in the development of serious games for helping autistic children learn to recognize and express emotions by means of their full-body movement.
Near-Static Shading Exploration for Smart Photovoltaic Module Topologies Based on Snake-like Configurations
Authors: Baka Maria-Iro , Catthoor Francky , Soudris Dimitrios
Published: March 2016

Variable shading due to clouds and nearby objects has a severe impact on the energy yield of photovoltaic installations. Due to the industry's standard of permanently series-connected cells in a photovoltaic (PV) module, partial shading creates mismatches between the Current-Voltage (I-V) characteristics of cells. This article proposes an alternative configurable intramodule cell interconnection topology whereby cell connections can be adapted during operation to allow an optimized power production. The proposed configurable topology outperforms significantly a conventional 10 × 6 module under heavy shade. Moreover, this is achieved in a quite flexible way and with negligible overhead under uniform irradiation conditions.
Decentralized Network-Level Synchronization in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks
Authors: Voulgaris Spyros , Dobson Matthew , Van Steen Maarten
Published: March 2016

Energy is the scarcest resource in ad hoc wireless networks, particularly in wireless sensor networks requiring a long lifetime. Intermittently switching the radio on and off is widely adopted as the most effective way to keep energy consumption low. This, however, prevents the very goal of communication, unless nodes switch their radios on at synchronized intervals—a rather nontrivial coordination task. In this article, we address the problem of synchronizing node radios to a single universal schedule in wireless mobile ad hoc networks that can potentially consist of thousands of nodes. More specifically, we are interested in operating the network with duty cycles that can be less than 1% of the total cycle time. We identify the fundamental issues that govern cluster merging and provide a detailed comparison of various policies using extensive simulations based on a variety of mobility patterns. We propose a specific scheme that allows a 4,000-node network to stay synchronized with a duty cycle of approximately 0.7%. Our work is based on an existing, experimental MAC protocol that we use for real-world applications and is validated in a real network of around 120 mobile nodes.
A Brief on Short Descriptions
Authors: Teutsch Jason , Zimand Marius
Published: March 2016

We discuss research developments on the complexity of shortest programs since the turn of the millennium. In particular, we will delve into the phenomenon of list approximation: while it's impossible to compute the shortest description for a given string, we can efficiently generate a short list of candidates which includes a (nearly) shortest description.
Opportunistic Spinlocks
Authors: Kashyap Sanidhya , Min Changwoo , Kim Taesoo
Published: March 2016

With increasing demand for big-data processing and faster in-memory databases, cloud providers are moving towards large virtualized instances besides focusing on the horizontal scalability.

However, our experiments reveal that such instances in popular cloud services (e.g., 32 vCPUs with 208 GB supported by Google Compute Engine) do not achieve the desired scalability with increasing core count even with a simple, embarrassingly parallel job (e.g., Linux kernel compile). On a serious note, the internal synchronization scheme (e.g., paravirtualized ticket spinlock) of the virtualized instance on a machine with higher core count (e.g., 80-core) dramatically degrades its overall performance. Our finding is different from the previously well-known scalability problem (i.e., lock contention problem) and occurs because of the sophisticated optimization techniques implemented in the hypervisor---what we call sleepy spinlock anomaly. To solve this problem, we design and implement OTICKET, a variant of paravirtualized ticket spinlock that effectively scales the virtualized instances in both undersubscribed and oversubscribed environments.
Tanshinol Rescues the Impaired Bone Formation Elicited by Glucocorticoid Involved in KLF15 Pathway
Authors: Yang Yajun , Su Yanjie , Wang Dongtao , Chen Yahui , Liu Yuyu , Luo Shiying , Wu Tie , Cui Liao
Published: March 2016

Decreased bone formation is responsible for the pathogenesis of glucocorticoid‐ (GC‐) induced osteoporosis (GIO), while the mechanism remains to be elucidated. The aim was to investigate how natural antioxidant tanshinol attenuates oxidative stress and rescues impaired bone formation elicited by GC in Sprague‐Dawley rats and in C2C12 cells and/or MC3T3‐E1 cells. The results showed that tanshinol prevented bone loss and decreased biomechanical characteristics and suppressed reduction of biomarkers related to osteogenesis in GIO rats. Further study revealed that tanshinol reversed decrease of transcription activity of Osterix‐luc and rescued impairment of osteoblastic differentiation and bone formation involved in induction of KLF15 mRNA. Meanwhile, tanshinol diminished inhibition of protein expression of β‐catenin and Tcf4 and transcription activity of Tcf4‐luc induced by GC, especially under conditions of KLF siRNA in vitro. Additionally, tanshinol attenuated increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, phosphorylation of p66Shc expression, TUNEL‐positive cells, and caspase‐3 activity elicited by KLF15 under conditions of GC. Taken together, the present findings suggest that tanshinol attenuated the decrease of bone formation and bone mass and bone quality elicited by GC involved in KLF15/Wnt signaling transduction and counteracted GC‐evoked oxidative stress and subsequent cell apoptosis involved in KLF15/p66Shc pathway cascade.
Mining the IPTV Channel Change Event Stream to Discover Insight and Detect Ads
Authors: Kren Matej , Kos Andrej , Sedlar Urban
Published: March 2016

IPTV has been widely deployed throughout the world, bringing significant advantages to users in terms of the channel offering, video on demand, and interactive applications. One aspect that has been often neglected is the ability of precise and unobtrusive telemetry. TV set-top boxes that are deployed in modern IPTV systems can be thought of as capable sensor nodes that collect vast amounts of data, representing both the user activity and the quality of service delivered by the system itself. In this paper we focus on the user-generated events and analyze how the data stream of channel change events received from the entire IPTV network can be mined to obtain insight about the content. We demonstrate that it is possible to predict the occurrence of TV ads with high probability and show that the approach could be extended to model the user behavior and classify the viewership in multiple dimensions.
Parameter Improvement of the Soccer League Competition Algorithm by Introducing Stubborn Players: Application to Water Distribution Network
Authors: Chagwiza Godfrey , Jaison Absalom , Masamha Tavengwa
Published: March 2016

A modified soccer league algorithm is presented in this paper. The effect of stubborn fixed players is investigated and the algorithm is implemented to three benchmark water distribution networks. The modified algorithm is compared to several algorithms. The results show that the modified algorithm performs better than the soccer league competition algorithm, in particular, on the average number of evaluations required to find the optimal cost. Computational results show that the utility benefit of both the individual player and team is essential. The algorithm becomes more reliable when utility benefits are high and as the number of fixed players increases.
SNP Mining in Functional Genes from Nonmodel Species by Next-Generation Sequencing: A Case of Flowering, Pre-Harvest Sprouting, and Dehydration Resistant Genes in Wheat
Authors: Chen Zhong-Xu , Deng Mei , Wang Ji-Rui
Published: March 2016

As plenty of nonmodel plants are without genomic sequences, the combination of molecular technologies and the next generation sequencing (NGS) platform has led to a new approach to study the genetic variations of these plants. Software GATK, SOAPsnp, samtools, and others are often used to deal with the NGS data. In this study, BLAST was applied to call SNPs from 16 mixed functional gene’s sequence data of polyploidy wheat. In total 1.2 million reads were obtained with the average of 7500 reads per genes. To get accurate information, 390,992 pair reads were successfully assembled before aligning to those functional genes. Standalone BLAST tools were used to map assembled sequence to functional genes, respectively. Polynomial fitting was applied to find the suitable minor allele frequency (MAF) threshold at 6% for assembled reads of each functional gene. SNPs accuracy form assembled reads, pretrimmed reads, and original reads were compared, which declared that SNPs mined from the assembled reads were more reliable than others. It was also demonstrated that mixed samples’ NGS sequences and then analysis by BLAST were an effective, low-cost, and accurate way to mine SNPs for nonmodel species. Assembled reads and polynomial fitting threshold were recommended for more accurate SNPs target.
Calculating Heat of Formation Values of Energetic Compounds: A Comparative Study
Authors: Elioff Michael S. , Hoy Jordan , Bumpus John A.
Published: March 2016

Heat of formation is one of several important parameters used to assess the performance of energetic compounds. We evaluated the ability of six different methods to accurately calculate gas-phase heat of formation (ΔfH298,go) values for a test set of 45 nitrogen-containing energetic compounds. Density functional theory coupled with the use of isodesmic or other balanced equations yielded calculated results in which 82% (37 of 45) of the ΔfH298,go values were within ±2.0 kcal/mol of the most recently recommended experimental/reference values available. This was compared to a procedure using density functional theory (DFT) coupled with an atom and group contribution method in which 51% (23 of 45) of the ΔfH298,go values were within ±2.0 kcal/mol of these values. The T1 procedure and Benson’s group additivity method yielded results in which 51% (23 of 45) and 64% (23 of 36) of the ΔfH298,go values, respectively, were within ±2.0 kcal/mol of these values. We also compared two relatively new semiempirical approaches (PM7 and RM1) with regard to their ability to accurately calculate ΔfH298,go. Although semiempirical methods continue to improve, they were found to be less accurate than the other approaches for the test set used in this investigation.
Child Who Presented with Facial Hematohidrosis Compared with Published Cases
Authors: Jafar Ali , Ahmad Ali
Published: March 2016

Hematohidrosis is a rare condition in which an individual sweats blood from intact, unbroken skin. The aetiology of hematohidrosis is not clear, although various theories exist to explain such a phenomenon. The general consensus however in the literature relates the finding to dermal capillary blood vessels that rupture under extreme emotional or physical stress exuding blood through the skin. In this case report we disclose a case of 12-year-old girl who presented with unusual painless bleeding from her face, eye, and tear duct. The condition was investigated intensively during hospital admission for a cause, and no actual cause was speculated. The management mostly involved supportive care and medical advice.
Influence of PEEK Coating on Hip Implant Stress Shielding: A Finite Element Analysis
Authors: Anguiano-Sanchez Jesica , Martinez-Romero Oscar , Siller Hector R. , Diaz-Elizondo Jose A. , Flores-Villalba Eduardo , Rodriguez Ciro A.
Published: March 2016

Stress shielding is a well-known failure factor in hip implants. This work proposes a design concept for hip implants, using a combination of metallic stem with a polymer coating (polyether ether ketone (PEEK)). The proposed design concept is simulated using titanium alloy stems and PEEK coatings with thicknesses varying from 100 to 400 μm. The Finite Element analysis of the cancellous bone surrounding the implant shows promising results. The effective von Mises stress increases between 81 and 92% for the complete volume of cancellous bone. When focusing on the proximal zone of the implant, the increased stress transmission to the cancellous bone reaches between 47 and 60%. This increment in load transferred to the bone can influence mineral bone loss due to stress shielding, minimizing such effect, and thus prolonging implant lifespan.
Modeling of the Strain Rate Dependency of Polycarbonate’s Yield Stress: Evaluation of Four Constitutive Equations
Authors: Al-Juaid Abdullah A. , Othman Ramzi
Published: March 2016

The main focus of this paper is in evaluating four constitutive relations which model the strain rate dependency of polymers yield stress. Namely, the two-term power-law, the Ree-Eyring, the cooperative, and the newly modified-Eyring equations are used to fit tensile and compression yield stresses of polycarbonate, which are obtained from the literature. The four equations give good agreement with the experimental data. Despite using only three material constants, the modified-Eyring equation, which considers a strain rate-dependent activation volume, gives slightly worse fit than the three other equations. The two-term power-law and the cooperative equation predict a progressive increase in the strain rate sensitivity of the yield stress. Oppositely, the Ree-Eyring and the modified-Eyring equations show a clear transition between the low and high strain rate ranges. Namely, they predict a linear dependency of the yield stress in terms of the strain rate at the low strain rate range. Crossing a threshold strain rate, the yield stress sensitivity sharply increases as the strain rate increases. Hence, two different behaviors were observed though the four equations fit well the experimental data. More experimental data, mainly at the intermediate strain rate range, are needed to conclude which, of the two behaviors, is more appropriate for polymers.
Physicochemical and Antimicrobial Properties of Cocoa Pod Husk Pectin Intended as a Versatile Pharmaceutical Excipient and Nutraceutical
Authors: Adi-Dako Ofosua , Ofori-Kwakye Kwabena , Frimpong Manso Samuel , Boakye-Gyasi Mariam EL , Sasu Clement , Pobee Mike
Published: March 2016

The physicochemical and antimicrobial properties of cocoa pod husk (CPH) pectin intended as a versatile pharmaceutical excipient and nutraceutical were studied. Properties investigated include pH, moisture content, ash values, swelling index, viscosity, degree of esterification (DE), flow properties, SEM, FTIR, NMR, and elemental content. Antimicrobial screening and determination of MICs against test microorganisms were undertaken using agar diffusion and broth dilution methods, respectively. CPH pectin had a DE of 26.8% and exhibited good physicochemical properties. Pectin had good microbiological quality and exhibited pseudoplastic, shear thinning behaviour, and high swelling capacity in aqueous media. The DE, FTIR, and NMR results were similar to those of previous studies and supported highly acetylated low methoxy pectin. CPH pectin was found to be a rich source of minerals and has potential as a nutraceutical. Pectin showed dose-dependent moderate activity against gram positive and gram negative microorganisms but weak activity against Listeria spp. and A. niger. The MICs of pectin ranged from 0.5 to 4.0 mg/mL, with the highest activity against E. coli and S. aureus (MIC: 0.5–1.0 mg/mL) and the lowest activity against A. niger (MIC: 2.0–4.0 mg/mL). The study has demonstrated that CPH pectin possesses the requisite properties for use as a nutraceutical and functional pharmaceutical excipient.
Absence of Flexor Carpi Radialis during an Elective Carpometacarpal Arthroplasty of the Thumb: A Rare Anatomical Variation
Authors: Sofos Stratos S. , Riaz Muhammad
Published: March 2016

Purpose. We present an extremely rare anatomical variation of unilateral flexor carpi radialis (FCR) absence. This rare anatomical variation posed a clinical dilemma to us and we highlight the importance of the surgeon being aware of this anatomical variation of an important structure both as a reconstruction tool and as an anatomical landmark.Methods. This anatomical variation of the unilaterally absent FCR was found upon dissection during a carpometacarpal arthroplasty of the thumb.Results. Upon the discovery of an absent FCR tendon, we proceeded with a simple trapeziectomy.Conclusions. We present an extremely rare anatomical variation of unilateral FCR absence. This rare anatomical variation may pose clinical dilemmas to the operating surgeon who aims to utilise the FCR either for tendon transfer, for tendon graft, or, as seen in our case, in the reconstruction of a carpometacarpal excision at the thumb. We highlight this diagnosis of suspicion, which may influence the clinical procedure.
A Mobile Information System Based on Crowd-Sensed and Official Crime Data for Finding Safe Routes: A Case Study of Mexico City
Authors: Mata Félix , Torres-Ruiz Miguel , Guzmán Giovanni , Quintero Rolando , Zagal-Flores Roberto , Moreno-Ibarra Marco , Loza Eduardo
Published: March 2016

Mobile information systems agendas are increasingly becoming an essential part of human life and they play an important role in several daily activities. These have been developed for different contexts such as public facilities in smart cities, health care, traffic congestions, e-commerce, financial security, user-generated content, and crowdsourcing. In GIScience, problems related to routing systems have been deeply explored by using several techniques, but they are not focused on security or crime rates. In this paper, an approach to provide estimations defined by crime rates for generating safe routes in mobile devices is proposed. It consists of integrating crowd-sensed and official crime data with a mobile application. Thus, data are semantically processed by an ontology and classified by the Bayes algorithm. A geospatial repository was used to store tweets related to crime events of Mexico City and official reports that were geocoded for obtaining safe routes. A forecast related to crime events that can occur in a certain place with the collected information was performed. The novelty is a hybrid approach based on semantic processing to retrieve relevant data from unstructured data sources and a classifier algorithm to collect relevant crime data from official government reports with a mobile application.
Free Vibration and Damping of Rotating Composite Shaft with a Constrained Layer Damping
Authors: Ren Yongsheng , Zhang Yuhuan
Published: March 2016

The free vibration and damping characteristics of rotating shaft with passive constrained layer damping (CLD) are studied. The shaft is made of fiber reinforced composite materials. A composite beam theory taking into account transverse shear deformation is employed to model the composite shaft and constraining layer. The equations of motion of composite rotating shaft with CLD are derived by using Hamilton’s principle. The general Galerkin method is applied to obtain the approximate solution of the rotating CLD composite shaft. Numerical results for the rotating CLD composite shaft with simply supported boundary condition are presented; the effects of thickness of constraining layer and viscoelastic damping layers, lamination angle, and rotating speed on the natural frequencies and modal dampings are discussed.
The Importance of Leisure Activities in the Relationship between Physical Health and Well-Being in a Life Span Sample
Authors: Paggi Michelle E. , Jopp Daniela , Hertzog Christopher
Published: March 2016

Background: Previous studies have examined the relationships between physical health and leisure activities and between leisure activities and well-being, but, to our knowledge, none has examined these relationships simultaneously. Objective: This study investigated the relationships between leisure activities, health and well-being considering the role of age, and whether leisure activities mediate the relationship between physical health and well-being. Methods: Utilizing a cross-sectional database of 259 adults (ages 18-81 years) who completed several questionnaires, linear regression models and mediation models were tested. Results: Regression analyses indicated that physical health was related to leisure activities and leisure activities were related to well-being. When physical health was measured by subjective ratings, age had a stronger relationship with leisure activities. However, when physical health was indicated by health restrictions, physical health had a stronger relationship with leisure activities than did age. Leisure activities were a partial mediator of the relationship between physical health and well-being. Conclusion: The results demonstrated that the reduction in leisure activities with age has more to do with physical health limitations than with older age itself. In addition, regardless of age, the benefits of physical health for well-being are due in part to the level of leisure activity participation. These results highlight the importance of leisure activities for successful aging throughout the adult life span. Interventions designed to improve well-being through increasing leisure activity participation should take physical health into consideration, particularly for older adults.
High Prevalence of Stroke in Rural Gadchiroli, India: A Community-Based Study
Authors: Kalkonde Yogeshwar V. , Sahane Vikram , Deshmukh Mahesh D. , Nila Sindhu , Mandava Pitchaiah , Bang Abhay
Published: March 2016

Background: In the near future, a majority of strokes are projected to occur in developing countries. However, population-level information on the prevalence of stroke from rural areas of developing countries, including India, is rare. We estimated the prevalence of stroke in a rural area of one of the most underdeveloped districts of India. Methods: Trained surveyors conducted a house-to-house survey using a validated screening questionnaire in a well-defined population of 45,053 living in 39 villages in a demographic surveillance site in Gadchiroli district. A trained physician and a neurologist evaluated screen-positive patients and diagnosed stroke using the World Health Organization's criteria. Results: In the screened population, 175 patients had stroke. The mean age of patients with stroke was 60.9 ± 14.7 years and 32.5% were women. The crude prevalence rate of stroke was 388.43 (95% CI 335.04-450.33) and the age-standardized prevalence rate of stroke was 535.58 (95% CI 492.41-583.01) per 100,000 population. The crude prevalence rate of stroke was significantly higher among men than among women (520 vs. 255/100,000 population, p < 0.05). Conclusion: In this prevalence study, conducted after a gap of 20 years in rural India, the prevalence of stroke was high and was more than twice the prevalence reported from the previous study. The prevalence was double among men compared to women. Stroke is emerging as a public health priority in rural India.
Cerebral Microbleeds and Lacunar Infarcts Are Associated with Walking Speed Independent of Cognitive Performance in Middle-Aged to Older Adults
Authors: Stijntjes Marjon , de Craen Anton J.M. , van der Grond Jeroen , Meskers Carel G.M. , Slagboom P. Eline , Maier Andrea B.
Published: March 2016

Background: The positive relationship between cognitive and physical performance has been widely established. The influence of brain structure on both domains has been shown as well. Objective: We studied whether the relationship between brain structure and physical performance is independent of cognitive performance. Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis of 297 middle-aged to older adults (mean age ± SD 65.4 ± 6.8 years). Memory function, executive function and physical performance measured by the Tandem Stance Test, Chair Stand Test, 4-meter walk and 25-meter walk were assessed. Magnetic resonance imaging was available in 237 participants and used to determine the (sub)cortical gray matter, white matter, hippocampal and basal ganglia volumes and the presence of cerebral small-vessel disease, i.e. white matter hyperintensities, cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) and lacunar infarcts (LIs). Regression analysis was used adjusting for age, gender, education and whole-brain volume. A Bonferroni correction was applied considering p values <0.017 as statistically significant. Results: Poor memory function was associated with a slower 4-meter walking speed (p < 0.01). No association was found between brain structure and cognitive performance. The presence of CMBs and LIs was associated with a slower 25-meter walking speed (p < 0.001). This result did not change after additional adjustment for cognitive performance. Conclusions: In middle-aged to older adults, CMBs and LIs are associated with walking speed independent of cognitive performance. This emphasizes the clinical relevance of identifying each of the possible underlying mechanisms of physical performance, which is required for the development of timely and targeted therapies.
SHOX Haploinsufficiency as a Cause of Syndromic and Nonsyndromic Short Stature
Authors: Fukami Maki , Seki Atsuhito , Ogata Tsutomu
Published: March 2016

SHOX in the short arm pseudoautosomal region (PAR1) of sex chromosomes is one of the major growth genes in humans. SHOX haploinsufficiency results in idiopathic short stature and Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis and is associated with the short stature of patients with Turner syndrome. The SHOX protein likely controls chondrocyte apoptosis by regulating multiple target genes including BNP, Fgfr3, Agc1, and Ctgf. SHOX haploinsufficiency frequently results from deletions and duplications in PAR1 involving SHOX exons and/or the cis-acting enhancers, while exonic point mutations account for a small percentage of cases. The clinical severity of SHOX haploinsufficiency reflects hormonal conditions rather than mutation types. Growth hormone treatment seems to be beneficial for cases with SHOX haploinsufficiency, although the long-term outcomes of this therapy require confirmation. Future challenges in SHOX research include elucidating its precise function in the developing limbs, identifying additional cis-acting enhancers, and determining optimal therapeutic strategies for patients.
Shared Risk Factors in Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer
Authors: Koene Ryan J. , Prizment Anna E. , Blaes Anne , Konety Suma H.
Published: March 2016

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer are the 2 leading causes of death worldwide. Although commonly thought of as 2 separate disease entities, CVD and cancer possess various similarities and possible interactions, including a number of similar risk factors (eg, obesity, diabetes mellitus), suggesting a shared biology for which there is emerging evidence. Although chronic inflammation is an indispensable feature of the pathogenesis and progression of both CVD and cancer, additional mechanisms can be found at their intersection. Therapeutic advances, despite improving longevity, have increased the overlap between these diseases, with millions of cancer survivors now at risk of developing CVD. Cardiac risk factors have a major impact on subsequent treatment-related cardiotoxicity. In this review, we explore the risk factors common to both CVD and cancer, highlighting the major epidemiological studies and potential biological mechanisms that account for them.
New names of fossil Hemitrapa and Trapa (Lythraceae)
Authors: DOWELD ALEXANDER B.
Published: March 2016

The creation of the International Fossil Plant Names Index (IFPNI, 2014 onwards) with the aim of listing of all fossil plant species reveals a few new cases of homonymy between fossil and extant species. In the present paper there are proposed two new combinations in Hemitrapa Miki (1941: 289) and four replacing names for later homonyms of Trapa Linnaeus (1753: 120) that are illegitimate (Art. 53.1 of the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi and Plants—ICN, McNeill et al., 2012).
Dissolving the Other: Orientalism, Consumption, and Katy Perry’s Insatiable Dark Horse
Authors: Pennington Rosemary
Published: March 2016

Pop star Katy Perry courts controversy with the performance choices she makes. She has been accused of peddling sex to young girls and of perpetuating racist stereotypes in her music videos and live shows. In early 2014, Perry stirred up controversy when she destroyed a necklace with the word Allah—Arabic for god—on it in her Dark Horse video. What received less attention was her destruction of Orientalized men of color in Dark Horse. Informed by postcolonial scholarship and research on music videos, this qualitative textual analysis examines how Orientalism manifests in Katy Perry’s video. It uncovers a framing of Egypt as a mute object designed for consumption as well as a narrative that portrays men of color as a threat to Perry’s liberated, Western, female pharaoh.
Possibilities beyond crisis: Neoliberal globalization and the reconstruction of morality
Authors: Lafferty George
Published: March 2016

This essay discusses two books on the continuing global economic crisis that occupy the highly contested intersection between economics and sociology. In exploring the possibilities for progressive alternatives to neoliberal globalization, two leading French theorists, Daniel Cohen and Alain Touraine, both integrate social, political, and cultural factors with economic analysis. Each illustrates how the dominance of financial imperatives has steadily displaced moral considerations, leading to socioeconomic polarization and fragmentation. For Cohen, in his critique of the key neoliberal concept of ‘homo economicus,’ a reassertion of human values of reciprocity and cooperation is required in order to construct a viable postmaterialist project. Touraine proposes a political future based on the enduring principles of human rights, through which a radically progressive individual and global subjectivity can be realized. The essay evaluates the arguments of each theorist, while examining the possibilities for morally informed alternatives to neoliberal globalization.
Megalencephalic Leukoencephalopathy with Subcortical Cysts in Two Siblings Owing to Two Novel Mutations: Case Reports and Review of the Literature
Authors: Riel-Romero Rosario Maria S. , Smith Charles D. , Pettigrew Anjana L.
Published: March 2016

Megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts is a rare leukodystrophy characterized by macrocephaly and a slowly progressive clinical course marked by spasticity and cognitive decline. We report two full siblings with neuroimaging studies and clinical courses typical for megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts, in whom a pair of novel mutations in the MLC1 gene was identified. We review the current knowledge of this disorder in relation to the patients reported.
Severe Refractory Status Epilepticus Owing to Presumed Encephalitis
Authors: Kramer Uri , Shorer Zamir , Ben-Zeev Bruria , Lerman-Sagie Tally , Goldberg-Stern Hadassa , Lahat Eli
Published: March 2016

The severe refractory type of status epilepticus is very rare in the pediatric population. Eight children with the severe refractory type of status epilepticus owing to presumed encephalitis are described. The age at the onset of status epilepticus of the eight study children ranged between 2.5 and 15 years. Seven of the eight children presented with fever several days prior to the onset of seizures. A comprehensive clinical and laboratory investigation failed to delineate a cause for their seizures. Burst suppression coma was induced by pentothal, midazolam, propofol, or ketamine in all of the children. The mean duration of anesthesia was 28 days (range 4—62 days), but the seizures persisted in spite of repeated burst suppression cycles in all of them. Two children died. Four of the surviving children continued to suffer from seizures, and cognitive sequelae were present throughout follow-up in four children. In summary, the severe refractory type of status epilepticus of the acute symptomatic type owing to relatively mild encephalitis carries a high mortality rate and poor morbidity in terms of seizures and cognition at follow-up. ( J Child Neurol 2005;20:184—187).
Spike Morphology, Location, and Frequency in Benign Epilepsy With Centrotemporal Spikes
Authors: Berroya Anna M. , Bleasel Andrew F. , Stevermuer Tara L. , Lawson John , Bye Ann M. E.
Published: March 2016

The literature on benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes reports a constellation of neurophysiologic features in selected populations with heterogeneous methodologies. The aim of this study was to determine the specific electroencephalographic (EEG) features (spike morphology, location, and frequency and associated background slowing) in a broad population-based cohort identified through EEG laboratories. The mean spike frequency in the awake state was 9.3 per minute (95% confidence interval 6.5—12.0), in drowsiness, 21.2 per minute (16.7—25.6); and in sleep, 45.6 per minute (38.3—52.8), where 60% of patients had > 40 discharges per minute. In five patients, spike train rates occupied > 80% of the sleep record, and in nine patients, they occupied 61% to 80%. An ambulatory overnight record did not add new information comparing early-onset sleep with a mean spike frequency of 37.1 per minute (27.3—46.9) with slow-wave sleep, 36.0 per minute (27.3—44.7). Patients with benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes have a high spike burden, which can impact on cognitive function. ( J Child Neurol 2005;20:188—194).
Electrophysiologic Evaluation of Peripheral Nerve Injuries in Children Following the Marmara Earthquake
Authors: Uzun Nurten , Savrun Feray Karaali , Kiziltan Meral Erdemir
Published: March 2016

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical, demographic, and electromyographic (EMG) characteristics of 12 earthquake victims in the pediatric age group and to compare the findings with those of the adult group. Following the 1999 Marmara earthquake, 75 subjects with suspected peripheral nerve injury were referred to our EMG laboratory for evaluation. In the pediatric age group, five patients had a history of short-term temporary trauma and seven had a history of being trapped under the debris for 4 to 10 hours and sustaining long-term trauma. Five patients had developed compartment syndrome and one had developed crush syndrome. The EMG examinations revealed peripheral nerve injury findings in all patients. The brachial plexus was damaged in 2 patients, and 19 peripheral nerves were damaged in 10 patients. Peroneal and posterior tibial nerves were predominantly affected. Regeneration was detected in all of the patients with brachial plexus damage at a mean follow-up of 3.5 months and in 62.5% of patients with peripheral nerve damage at a mean follow-up of 7.7 months. Being buried under the debris, compartment syndrome, peripheral nerve injuries in the lower extremities, and total axonal damage in the first EMG examinations were found to be higher in the pediatric age group. Regeneration findings were found at similar rates in both groups, with the brachial plexus being the most favorable. When it is considered that the regeneration process lasts 15 to 18 months and EMG findings mostly show pathologies in the form of neuropraxia and axonotmesis, we think that the prognosis of our patients will be good. ( J Child Neurol 2005;20:207—212).