bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
INVESTIGATING THE POTENTIAL OF ACTIVITY TRACKING APP DATA TO ESTIMATE CYCLE FLOWS IN URBAN AREAS
Authors: Haworth J.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Traffic congestion and its associated environmental effects pose a significant problem for large cities. Consequently, promoting and investing in green travel modes such as cycling is high on the agenda for many transport authorities. In order to target investment in cycling infrastructure and improve the experience of cyclists on the road, it is important to know where they are. Unfortunately, investment in intelligent transportation systems over the years has mainly focussed on monitoring vehicular traffic, and comparatively little is known about where cyclists are on a day to day basis. In London, for example, there are a limited number of automatic cycle counters installed on the network, which provide only part of the picture. These are supplemented by surveys that are carried out infrequently. Activity tracking apps on smart phones and GPS devices such as Strava have become very popular over recent years. Their intended use is to track physical activity and monitor training. However, many people routinely use such apps to record their daily commutes by bicycle. At the aggregate level, these data provide a potentially rich source of information about the movement and behaviour of cyclists. Before such data can be relied upon, however, it is necessary to examine their representativeness and understand their potential biases. In this study, the flows obtained from Strava Metro (SM) are compared with those obtained during the 2013 London Cycle Census (LCC). A set of linear regression models are constructed to predict LCC flows using SM flows along with a number of dummy variables including road type, hour of day, day of week and presence/absence of cycle lane. Cross-validation is used to test the fitted models on unseen LCC sites. SM flows are found to be a statistically significant (p<0.0001) predictor of total flows as measured by the LCC and the models yield R squared statistics of ~0.7 before considering spatio-temporal variation. The initial results indicate that data collected using fitness tracking apps such as Strava are a promising data source for traffic managers. Future work will incorporate the spatio-temporal structure in the data to better account for the spatial and temporal variation in the ratio of SM flows to LCC flows.
LONG-TERM TRACKING OF A SPECIFIC VEHICLE USING AIRBORNE OPTICAL CAMERA SYSTEMS
Authors: Kurz F. , Rosenbaum D. , Runge H. , Cerra D. , Mattyus G. , Reinartz P.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. In this paper we present two low cost, airborne sensor systems capable of long-term vehicle tracking. Based on the properties of the sensors, a method for automatic real-time, long-term tracking of individual vehicles is presented. This combines the detection and tracking of the vehicle in low frame rate image sequences and applies the lagged Cell Transmission Model (CTM) to handle longer tracking outages occurring in complex traffic situations, e.g. tunnels. The CTM model uses the traffic conditions in the proximities of the target vehicle and estimates its motion to predict the position where it reappears. The method is validated on an airborne image sequence acquired from a helicopter. Several reference vehicles are tracked within a range of 500m in a complex urban traffic situation. An artificial tracking outage of 240m is simulated, which is handled by the CTM. For this, all the vehicles in the close proximity are automatically detected and tracked to estimate the basic density-flow relations of the CTM model. Finally, the real and simulated trajectories of the reference vehicles in the outage are compared showing good correspondence also in congested traffic situations.
SEMANTIC LOCATION EXTRACTION FROM CROWDSOURCED DATA
Authors: Koswatte S. , Mcdougall K. , Liu X.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Crowdsourced Data (CSD) has recently received increased attention in many application areas including disaster management. Convenience of production and use, data currency and abundancy are some of the key reasons for attracting this high interest. Conversely, quality issues like incompleteness, credibility and relevancy prevent the direct use of such data in important applications like disaster management. Moreover, location information availability of CSD is problematic as it remains very low in many crowd sourced platforms such as Twitter. Also, this recorded location is mostly related to the mobile device or user location and often does not represent the event location. In CSD, event location is discussed descriptively in the comments in addition to the recorded location (which is generated by means of mobile device's GPS or mobile communication network). This study attempts to semantically extract the CSD location information with the help of an ontological Gazetteer and other available resources. 2011 Queensland flood tweets and Ushahidi Crowd Map data were semantically analysed to extract the location information with the support of Queensland Gazetteer which is converted to an ontological gazetteer and a global gazetteer. Some preliminary results show that the use of ontologies and semantics can improve the accuracy of place name identification of CSD and the process of location information extraction.
A THREE-STEP SPATIAL-TEMPORAL-SEMANTIC CLUSTERING METHOD FOR HUMAN ACTIVITY PATTERN ANALYSIS
Authors: Huang W. , Li S. , Xu S.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. How people move in cities and what they do in various locations at different times form human activity patterns. Human activity pattern plays a key role in in urban planning, traffic forecasting, public health and safety, emergency response, friend recommendation, and so on. Therefore, scholars from different fields, such as social science, geography, transportation, physics and computer science, have made great efforts in modelling and analysing human activity patterns or human mobility patterns. One of the essential tasks in such studies is to find the locations or places where individuals stay to perform some kind of activities before further activity pattern analysis. In the era of Big Data, the emerging of social media along with wearable devices enables human activity data to be collected more easily and efficiently. Furthermore, the dimension of the accessible human activity data has been extended from two to three (space or space-time) to four dimensions (space, time and semantics). More specifically, not only a location and time that people stay and spend are collected, but also what people “say” for in a location at a time can be obtained. The characteristics of these datasets shed new light on the analysis of human mobility, where some of new methodologies should be accordingly developed to handle them. Traditional methods such as neural networks, statistics and clustering have been applied to study human activity patterns using geosocial media data. Among them, clustering methods have been widely used to analyse spatiotemporal patterns. However, to our best knowledge, few of clustering algorithms are specifically developed for handling the datasets that contain spatial, temporal and semantic aspects all together. In this work, we propose a three-step human activity clustering method based on space, time and semantics to fill this gap. One-year Twitter data, posted in Toronto, Canada, is used to test the clustering-based method. The results show that the approximate 55% spatiotemporal clusters distributed in different locations can be eventually grouped as the same type of clusters with consideration of semantic aspect.
A method for studying the development pattern of urban commercial service facilities based on customer reviews from social media
Authors: Wang Y. D. , Jiang B. T. , Ye X. Y.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Urbanization is one of the most important human social activities in the 21st century (Chaolin et al., 2012). With an increasing number of people visiting cities, the provision of adequate urban service facilities, including public and commercial service facilities, in locations where people live has become an important guarantee of the success of urbanization. Exploring the commercial service facilities in a specific area of a city can help us understand the progress and trends of urban renewal in the area, provide a quantitative basis for evaluating the rationality of planning implementation, and facilitate an analysis of the effects of different factors on the regional development of a city (Schor et al. 2003). In this paper, we proposed a data processing and analysis method for studying the distribution and development pattern of urban commercial facilities based on customer reviews. In addition, based on road network constraints, we explored the patterns contained in customer reviews data, including patterns for the spatial distribution and spatial-temporal evolution of facilities as well as the number of facilities and degree of satisfaction.
PROVIDING GEOGRAPHIC DATASETS AS LINKED DATA IN SDI
Authors: Hietanen E. , Lehto L. , Latvala P.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. In this study, a prototype service to provide data from Web Feature Service (WFS) as linked data is implemented. At first, persistent and unique Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI) are created to all spatial objects in the dataset. The objects are available from those URIs in Resource Description Framework (RDF) data format. Next, a Web Ontology Language (OWL) ontology is created to describe the dataset information content using the Open Geospatial Consortium’s (OGC) GeoSPARQL vocabulary. The existing data model is modified in order to take into account the linked data principles. The implemented service produces an HTTP response dynamically. The data for the response is first fetched from existing WFS. Then the Geographic Markup Language (GML) format output of the WFS is transformed on-the-fly to the RDF format. Content Negotiation is used to serve the data in different RDF serialization formats. This solution facilitates the use of a dataset in different applications without replicating the whole dataset. In addition, individual spatial objects in the dataset can be referred with URIs. Furthermore, the needed information content of the objects can be easily extracted from the RDF serializations available from those URIs. A solution for linking data objects to the dataset URI is also introduced by using the Vocabulary of Interlinked Datasets (VoID). The dataset is divided to the subsets and each subset is given its persistent and unique URI. This enables the whole dataset to be explored with a web browser and all individual objects to be indexed by search engines.
BIG GEO DATA MANAGEMENT: AN EXPLORATION WITH SOCIAL MEDIA AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS OPEN DATA
Authors: Arias Munoz C. , Brovelli M. A. , Corti S. , Zamboni G.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The term Big Data has been recently used to define big, highly varied, complex data sets, which are created and updated at a high speed and require faster processing, namely, a reduced time to filter and analyse relevant data. These data is also increasingly becoming Open Data (data that can be freely distributed) made public by the government, agencies, private enterprises and among others. There are at least two issues that can obstruct the availability and use of Open Big Datasets: Firstly, the gathering and geoprocessing of these datasets are very computationally intensive; hence, it is necessary to integrate high-performance solutions, preferably internet based, to achieve the goals. Secondly, the problems of heterogeneity and inconsistency in geospatial data are well known and affect the data integration process, but is particularly problematic for Big Geo Data. Therefore, Big Geo Data integration will be one of the most challenging issues to solve. With these applications, we demonstrate that is possible to provide processed Big Geo Data to common users, using open geospatial standards and technologies. NoSQL databases like MongoDB and frameworks like RASDAMAN could offer different functionalities that facilitate working with larger volumes and more heterogeneous geospatial data sources.
SENSING SLOW MOBILITY AND INTERESTING LOCATIONS FOR LOMBARDY REGION (ITALY): A CASE STUDY USING POINTWISE GEOLOCATED OPEN DATA
Authors: Brovelli M. A. , Oxoli D. , Zurbarán M. A.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. During the past years Web 2.0 technologies have caused the emergence of platforms where users can share data related to their activities which in some cases are then publicly released with open licenses. Popular categories for this include community platforms where users can upload GPS tracks collected during slow travel activities (e.g. hiking, biking and horse riding) and platforms where users share their geolocated photos. However, due to the high heterogeneity of the information available on the Web, the sole use of these user-generated contents makes it an ambitious challenge to understand slow mobility flows as well as to detect the most visited locations in a region. Exploiting the available data on community sharing websites allows to collect near real-time open data streams and enables rigorous spatial-temporal analysis. This work presents an approach for collecting, unifying and analysing pointwise geolocated open data available from different sources with the aim of identifying the main locations and destinations of slow mobility activities. For this purpose, we collected pointwise open data from the Wikiloc platform, Twitter, Flickr and Foursquare. The analysis was confined to the data uploaded in Lombardy Region (Northern Italy) – corresponding to millions of pointwise data. Collected data was processed through the use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in order to organize them into a suitable database. This allowed to run statistical analyses on data distribution in both time and space by enabling the detection of users’ slow mobility preferences as well as places of interest at a regional scale.
DO OPEN GEODATA ACTUALLY HAVE THE QUALITY THEY DECLARE? THE CASE STUDY OF MILAN, ITALY
Authors: Brovelli M. A. , Minghini M. , Molinari M. E. , Molteni M.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. In the past number of years there has been an amazing flourishing of spatial data products released with open licenses. Researchers and professionals are extensively exploiting open geodata for many applications, which, in turn, include decision-making results and other (derived) geospatial datasets among their outputs. Despite the traditional availability of metadata, a question arises about the actual quality of open geodata, as their declared quality is typically given for granted without any systematic assessment. The present work investigates the case study of Milan Municipality (Northern Italy). A wide set of open geodata are available for this area which are released by national, regional and local authoritative entities. A comprehensive cataloguing operation is first performed, with 1061 geospatial open datasets from Italian providers found which highly differ in terms of license, format, scale, content, and release date. Among the many quality parameters for geospatial data, the work focuses on positional accuracy. An example of positional accuracy assessment is described for an openly-licensed orthophoto through comparison with the official, up-to-date, and large-scale vector cartography of Milan. The comparison is run according to the guidelines provided by ISO and shows that the positional accuracy declared by the orthophoto provider does not correspond to the reality. Similar results are found from analyses on other datasets (not presented here). Implications are twofold: raising the awareness on the risks of using open geodata by taking their quality for granted; and highlighting the need for open geodata providers to introduce or refine mechanisms for data quality control.
COMPARISON OF USER PERFORMANCE WITH INTERACTIVE AND STATIC 3D VISUALIZATION – PILOT STUDY
Authors: Herman L. , Stachoň Z.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Interactive 3D visualizations of spatial data are currently available and popular through various applications such as Google Earth, ArcScene, etc. Several scientific studies have focused on user performance with 3D visualization, but static perspective views are used as stimuli in most of the studies. The main objective of this paper is to try to identify potential differences in user performance with static perspective views and interactive visualizations. This research is an exploratory study. An experiment was designed as a between-subject study and a customized testing tool based on open web technologies was used for the experiment. The testing set consists of an initial questionnaire, a training task and four experimental tasks. Selection of the highest point and determination of visibility from the top of a mountain were used as the experimental tasks. Speed and accuracy of each task performance of participants were recorded. The movement and actions in the virtual environment were also recorded within the interactive variant. The results show that participants deal with the tasks faster when using static visualization. The average error rate was also higher in the static variant. The findings from this pilot study will be used for further testing, especially for formulating of hypotheses and designing of subsequent experiments.
INVESTIGATING THE INFLUENCE OF TREE COVERAGE ON PROPERTY CRIME: A CASE STUDY IN THE CITY OF VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Authors: Chen Yifei , Li Yuenan , Li Jonathan
Published: June 2016

Abstract. With the development of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), crime mapping becomes an effective approach to investigate the spatial pattern of crime in a defined area. Understanding the relationship between crime and its surrounding environment can reveal possible strategies that can reduce crime in a neighbourhood. The relationship between vegetation density and crime has been under debate for a long time. This research is conducted to investigate the impacts of tree coverage on property crime in the City of Vancouver. High spatial resolution airborne LiDAR data collected in 2013 was used for the extraction of tree covered area for cross-sectional analysis. The independent variables were put into Ordinary Least-Squares (OLS) regression, Spatial Lag regression, and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) models to examine their influences on property crime rates. According to the results, the cross-sectional analysis demonstrated statistical evidences that property crime rates had negative correlations with tree coverage, with greater influences occurred around Downtown Vancouver.
Offset stable piezoresistive high-temperature pressure sensors based on silicon
Authors: Täschner Robert , Hiller Erik , Blech Michael
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The exploitation of new application fields and the drive to size reduction even in highly stable pressure sensing systems makes the extension of the operating temperature range of the microelectromechanical sensors (MEMS) essential. For this reason a silicon-based pressure sensor with an application temperature ranging up to 300 °C and the associated manufacturing technology was developed. With special design and manufacturing approaches mounting stress-insensitive sensors with high linearity, excellent offset stability, low hysteresis and low sensitivity changes over the entire temperature range were developed. At the moment, the sensors are tested till 300 °C at wafer level and between 135 and 210 °C as a first-level package.
A spatial Bayesian network model to assess the benefits of early warning for urban flood risk to people
Authors: Balbi Stefano , Villa Ferdinando , Mojtahed Vahid , Hegetschweiler Karin Tessa , Giupponi Carlo
Published: June 2016

Abstract. This article presents a novel methodology to assess flood risk to people by integrating people's vulnerability and ability to cushion hazards through coping and adapting. The proposed approach extends traditional risk assessments beyond material damages; complements quantitative and semi-quantitative data with subjective and local knowledge, improving the use of commonly available information; and produces estimates of model uncertainty by providing probability distributions for all of its outputs. Flood risk to people is modeled using a spatially explicit Bayesian network model calibrated on expert opinion. Risk is assessed in terms of (1) likelihood of non-fatal physical injury, (2) likelihood of post-traumatic stress disorder and (3) likelihood of death. The study area covers the lower part of the Sihl valley (Switzerland) including the city of Zurich. The model is used to estimate the effect of improving an existing early warning system, taking into account the reliability, lead time and scope (i.e., coverage of people reached by the warning). Model results indicate that the potential benefits of an improved early warning in terms of avoided human impacts are particularly relevant in case of a major flood event.
Combined effects of grain size, flow volume and channel width on geophysical flow mobility: 3-D discrete element modeling of dry and dense flows of angular rock fragments
Authors: Cagnoli Bruno , Piersanti Antonio
Published: June 2016

Abstract. We have carried out 3-D numerical simulations by using a discrete element method (DEM) to study the mobility of dry granular flows of angular rock fragments. These simulations are relevant for geophysical flows such as rock avalanches. The model is validated by previous laboratory experiments. We show that: 1) the finer the grain size, the larger the mobility of the center of mass of granular flows, 2) the smaller the flow volume, the larger the mobility of the center of mass of granular flows and 3) the wider the channel, the larger the mobility of the center of mass of granular flows. The grain size effect is due to the fact that finer grain size flows dissipate intrinsically less energy. This volume effect is the opposite of that experienced by the flow fronts. Six different channel cross sections are tested. We introduce here a new scaling parameter χ that has the product of grain size and the cubic root of flow volume at the numerator and the product of channel width and flow length at the denominator. The linear correlation between the reciprocal of mobility and parameter χ is statistically highly significant. Parameter χ implies that the mobility of the center of mass of granular flows is an increasing function of the ratio of the number of fragments per unit of flow mass to the total number of fragments in the flow. These are two characteristic numbers of particles whose effect on mobility is scale invariant.
The Eternal Feminine in Sufism: readings of Ibn ‘Arabī and Emir Abd el-Kader
Authors: Geoffroy Eric
Published: June 2016

While Ibn ‘Arabī is known as the “greatest master” of the spirituality and esotericism of Islam, the Emir Abd el-Kader is better known for his uprising against the French occupation, between 1832 and 1847. Yet, he was brought up in a Sufi environment and always declared that his spiritual vocation came before all else. This article explores the symbolism of the Feminine in the metaphysical and mystical teachings of these two Sufi sages.
Absorption Curve and Germination of Jucá Seeds under Different Salts
Authors: Sousa Danielle Marie Macedo , Maia Celsemy Eleutério , Morais Elis Regina Costa de
Published: June 2016

The plants are subjected to conditions of multiple stresses that limit their growth and development, which affects their chances of survival wherever they grow. To evaluate the plant tolerance to these conditions, one of the most used methods is the observation of seed germination under salt stress. The action of salts on the seeds varies widely among species and can exert toxic effects, causing damage before and/or after the onset of germination. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of different salts in water absorption and germination in jucá seeds (Libidibia ferrea). For absorption and germination curve, were used non-scarified and scarified seeds, and subjected to the treatments in distilled water (control) and NaCl solutions, KCl, CaCl2 and K2HPO4, in an electric conductivity of 5 dS m-1. The saline solution composed by K2HPO4 influence on water absorption of L. ferrea in intact seeds. The scarified and non-scarified seeds of L. ferrea have different times for the physiological phases of water absorption. The action of salts in the germination and vigor in non-scarified and scarified seeds, does not significantly reduce these values due to electrical conductivity of 5 dS m-1 not be enough to affect the seed germination of L. ferrea.
Best Irrigation Practices Designed for Pesticides Use to Reduce Environmental Impact on Groundwater Resource in the Tunisian Context
Authors: Nouna Béchir Ben , Rezig Mourad , Bahrouni Hassouna
Published: June 2016

The irrigated areas in Tunisia were esteemed in 2010 to over 420 thousand hectares and represents 8% of farmland, this little area providing 35% of the total crop production. This situation makes it exert enormous pressure on the irrigated sector that his intensification is very associated to increased inputs including especially pesticides. However, the irrational use and abuse of pesticides associated with an inadequate irrigation system management are a great threat of contamination to groundwater resources and constitute one of the greatest challenges facing Tunisian government today. According to FAO, 2013, the adoption of the concept of best practices can meet this challenge. These best practices are not only a practice that are best, but a practices that have been proven to work well and produce good results, and are therefore recommended as a model. This paper aims to analyze in a framework of global environmental approach, the role of the best irrigation practices (BIPs) to reduce environmental impact on groundwater resource. Finally, it was proposed a set of best irrigation practices completed by the technical recommendations for limiting the environmental impact of pesticide in groundwater resource.
Evaluation of Drought Tolerant Maize Varieties under Drought and Rain-Fed Conditions: A Rainforest Location
Authors: Oluwaranti Abimbola , Ajani Oluwatosin Temilade
Published: June 2016

Newly developed drought tolerant maize (Zea mays L.) varieties have been hypothesized to be of different genetic make-ups, hence this study was conducted to evaluate drought-tolerant maize varieties under drought and rain-fed conditions, identify the highest yielding varieties and determine the relationship between agronomic traits and varieties’ yield under these conditions in a rainforest location. Nine drought tolerant varieties of maize and a local check were evaluated during the early part of the early cropping season (March) (Drought) as well as the actual early cropping season (May-June) (Rain-fed) of 2015 at the Teaching and Research Farm (T&RF) of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (7°28'N, 4°33'E and 244 m above sea level). There were significant differences among the two environments for all the traits measured. The performance of the drought tolerant maize varieties is better under the rain-fed condition. The yield performance of all varieties are not significantly different from each other (1.36 tons/ha to 2.75 tons/ha) under drought except EVDT-W 2000 STR C0 (1.10 tons/ha). All the varieties evaluated under rain-fed condition produce higher grain yield (2-44 tons/ha-3.69 tons/ha) which are not significantly different each other. All the yield components except ear height and length had a strong positive relationship with grain yield under drought while only ear number and weight had relationship with yield under rain-fed condition. In conclusion, among the drought tolerant maize varieties, EVDT-W 2000 STR C0 need further improvements to drought. Furthermore, ear weight can be used to select parents for the development of drought tolerant maize varieties in this agro-ecology.
Soil Water Storage in Soybean Crop Measured by Polymer Tensiometers and Estimated by Agrometeorological Methods
Authors: Schwantes A. P. , Reichardt Klaus , Neto Durval Dourado , Durigon Angélica , Pinto Victor Meriguetti
Published: June 2016

The estimation of soil water status in cropped areas continues to be challenging for soil and climate scientists. This study contributes to this issue estimating soil water storage by the water balance of Thornthwaite and Mather, Rijtema and Aboukhaled, and Dourado and de Jong van Lier, combined with crop potential evapotranspiration estimated by Penman-Monteith, to compare them with soil water storage values calculated from polymer tensiometer data of a soybean crop field experiment. The experiment was conducted in Piracicaba, SP, with tensiometers installed at 0.05, 0.15 and 0.3 m depths. Results show that the tensiometers presented good performance to measure soil water pressure head in the whole range of the available water capacity for the crop. The tensiometer presents the advantage of allowing measurements of soil water storage in layers, in contraposition to climatologic water balance calculations which assume one single layer. Rijtema and Aboukhaled presented the best correlation with the water storage estimated from tensiometer data.
Assessment of Improved Ladder Terraces in Controlling Soil Erosion on Uluguru Mountains-Tanzania
Authors: Materu S. T.
Published: June 2016

This study assesses effectiveness of improved ladder terraces in controlling soil erosion on steep slopes of Uluguru Mountains in Morogoro Region, where runoff collection tanks were located downstream of the divisor system were all runoff from the catchment upstream where improved ladder terraces were located. The soil properties percentage weight for sand, silt and clay were average 40, 10 and 50 respectively. Half of the terraces were left barely and half were planted with maize crop. Runoff and soil loss generated during every rainstorm was collected from six field plots of improved ladder terraces to the tanks. There was statistically significant different between reductions of soil loss in bare improved ladder terrace and cropped improved ladder terrace. The amount of runoff on the bare soil was high by 15% to 18% compare to runoff on cropped soils. It was found that cropped improved ladder terrace reduced soil loss by 74% while bare improved ladder terrace reduced soil loss only by 41%. Simple linear regression shows runoff water generated from rainfall amount with soil losses from different land cover. Bare soils behave with linear relationship (r² = 0.85) unlike cropped soil were r² = 0.36 because of gradual increase of crop canopy at every crop stage hence less impact to the soil. Soils losses from the bare soil ladder terrace and that of cropped soil ladder terrace was significantly difference with correlation coefficient of 0.863 at vegetative stage and 0.928 at the full booting stage.
Morphological and osteological malformations in hatchery bred redline torpedo fish, Sahyadria denisonii (Day 1865) (Cyprinidae)
Authors: Sajeevan Sajan , Anna-Mercy Thoranam Varkey
Published: June 2016

Se publican, por primera vez, malformaciones morfológicas y osteológicos de Sahyadria denisonii producidas en criadero. Se fotografiaron anomalías morfológicas con cámara digital y de rayos X digital. De 950 larvas producidas, sólo 12 individuos (1,26 %) presentaron algún tipo de anomalía, incluyendo lordosis, escoliosis, cifosis, semi-opérculo, deformidad de la aleta, deformidad de la boca, deformación de la cabeza y deformidades múltiples. La causa exacta de anomalías no se pudo determinar, pero se discuten las posibles etiologías. Sin embargo, el registro actual es significativo debido a la aparición de deformidades en peces ornamentales de agua dulce de criadero, para los que se considera la reproducción inducida como la clave de su conservación.

This is the first published report on morphological and osteological malformations in hatchery produced Sahyadria denisonii. Morphological abnormalities were photographed with a digital camera and digital X-ray. In present study, out of 950 larvae produced only 12 individuals (1.26%) were found to have any type of abnormality, including lordosis, scoliosis, kyphosis, semi-operculum, fin deformity, mouth deformity, head deformity and multiple type deformities. The exact cause of abnormalities could not be definitively determined, but the possible aetiologies are discussed. The present record is, nevertheless, significant owing to the occurrence of deformity in hatchery produced young ones of a freshwater ornamental fish for which induced breeding is considered to be the key to conservation.
La pensée iconique
Authors: Everaert-Desmedt Nicole
Published: June 2016

Nous partons de la distinction que Peirce (C.P. 2.276) établit entre les signes iconiques ou hypoicônes et l’icône pure. Cette distinction nous est apparue fondamentale pour rendre compte du fonctionnement des oeuvres d’art.

Dans des travaux antérieurs, nous avons élaboré, à la lumière de Peirce, un modèle de la communication artistique qui met en rapport la production et la réception d’une oeuvre. Nous considérons que l’objectif d’une oeuvre d’art est de capter ce que Peirce appelle des “qualités de sentiments” (de l’ordre du possible, de lapriméité), qui, au départ, sont vagues et confuses. L’artiste les rend intelligibles sous la forme de signes iconiques ou hypoicônes. Cependant, les signes ne parviennent jamais à matérialiser complètement la priméité : l’icône pure demeure irreprésentable.

Ce que fait essentiellement une oeuvre d’art - sa spécificité, à notre avis -, c’est, par un agencement de signes iconiques, conduire le récepteur au-delà de la limite du représentable, à un niveau depensée iconique, c’est-à-dire une pensée capable d’envisager une qualité totale et infinie.
Murine Fam65b forms ring-like structures at the base of stereocilia critical for mechanosensory hair cell function
Authors: Zhao Bo , Wu Zizhen , Müller Ulrich
Published: June 2016

Cochlear hair cells convert sound-induced vibration into electrical signals. FAM65B mutations cause hearing loss by an unknown mechanism. Using biochemistry and stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM), we show here that Fam65b oligomers form a circumferential ring near the basal taper of the mechanically sensitive stereocilia of murine hair cells. Taperin, a second protein near the taper, forms a dense-core-like structure that is disrupted in the absence of Fam65b. Stereocilia of Fam65b-deficient murine hair cells start to develop, but mechanotransduction is affected and stereocilia deteriorate. Yeast-two-hybrid screens identify RhoC as a Fam65b binding partner. RhoC co-localizes with Fam65b in stereocilia and regulates Fam65b oligomerization. Binding to RhoC and oligomerization are critical for Fam65b function. Our findings thus reveal a highly organized compartment near the base of stereocilia that is critical for hair cell function and affected in disease.
Nucleosome disassembly during human non-homologous end joining followed by concerted HIRA- and CAF-1-dependent reassembly
Authors: Li Xuan , Tyler Jessica K
Published: June 2016

The cell achieves DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair in the context of chromatin structure. However, the mechanisms used to expose DSBs to the repair machinery and to restore the chromatin organization after repair remain elusive. Here we show that induction of a DSB in human cells causes local nucleosome disassembly, apparently independently from DNA end resection. This efficient removal of histone H3 from the genome during non-homologous end joining was promoted by both ATM and the ATP-dependent nucleosome remodeler INO80. Chromatin reassembly during DSB repair was dependent on the HIRA histone chaperone that is specific to the replication-independent histone variant H3.3 and on CAF-1 that is specific to the replication-dependent canonical histones H3.1/H3.2. Our data suggest that the epigenetic information is re-established after DSB repair by the concerted and interdependent action of replication-independent and replication-dependent chromatin assembly pathways.
Evaluating the Patient with Peripheral Nervous System Complaints
Authors: Scott Kevin , Kothari Milind J.
Published: June 2016

Patients commonly seek care from their family physicians for symptoms that are suggestive of peripheral nervous system (PNS) dysfunction. At some point in active practice, virtually all family physicians will be required to conduct at least an initial evaluation of a patient with PNS. The authors outline and describe common themes found in the symptoms and diagnoses of PNS dysfunctions. These themes may be useful to physicians when performing initial evaluations of patients with PNS dysfunctions. The authors also discuss diagnostic methods and effective therapeutic interventions for this population.
Effects of Comprehensive Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment on Balance in Elderly Patients: A Pilot Study
Authors: Lopez Daniel , King Hollis H. , Knebl Janice A. , Kosmopoulos Victor , Collins DeRaan , Patterson Rita M.
Published: June 2016

Context: Falls, many of which are caused by balance problems, are a leading cause of injuries in elderly persons. Few studies have investigated osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) for patients with balance problems.

Objective: To test whether an OMT protocol with an emphasis on cranial manipulation can improve vestibular balance control structures and postural stability in a healthy elderly population.

Design: A pilot prospective clinical trial.

Setting: Research laboratories of the University of North Texas Health Science Center Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth.

Patients: Forty healthy elderly patients aged 65 or older were enrolled and separated into an OMT group and a control group. Owing to the recruitment process and limited time for the study, the first 20 patients to enroll were in the OMT group, and the next 20 were in the control group. Patients were excluded if they had a condition that could impair balance.

Intervention: The OMT protocol comprised 7 OMT techniques applied weekly by the same osteopathic physician before balance tests. Patients in the control group received no treatment.

Main Outcome Measures: Patients were asked to stand on a force plate and to perform 3 balance tests: (1) eyes open, (2) eyes closed, and (3) a modified Romberg test. The center of pressure between their feet was recorded for 30 seconds. The average center of pressure displacement for each test was used to determine anteroposterior (AP) sway and mediolateral (ML) sway. Balance tests were performed each week for 4 weeks. Tests were performed at the same time of day as the first test.

Results: Changes in AP sway values between visits 1 and 4 were as follows: eyes open, -0.72 and 0.75 mm for the control and OMT groups, respectively; eyes closed, -0.49 and 0.44 mm; and Romberg test, -0.17 and 0.52 mm. The changes in ML sway values between visits 1 and 4 were as follows: eyes open, -0.58 and 0.07 mm for the control and OMT groups, respectively; eyes closed, -0.21 and 0.03 mm; and Romberg test, -0.15 and 0.39 mm. The OMT group had significantly reduced sway for the eyes-open test after 4 visits (P=.001).

Conclusion: The OMT protocol used in the present study improved the postural stability of healthy elderly patients, as measured by changes in sway values. (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT01153412)
Predictors of Scoring at Least 600 on COMLEX-USA Level 1: Successful Preparation Strategies
Authors: Vora Aditya , Maltezos Nathan , Alfonzo Lauren , Hernandez Nilda , Calix Erica , Fernandez M. Isabel
Published: June 2016

Context: Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA (COMLEX-USA) Level 1 scores are an important criterion used by residency directors to make residency placement decisions.

Objective: To explore the association between scoring at least 600 on COMLEX-USA Level 1 and grade point average (GPA), scores on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), and different test preparation strategies.

Methods: Third-year osteopathic medical students at Nova Southeastern University were invited to complete a self-administered survey regarding their COMLEX-USA preparation strategies and to provide consent for the researchers to access their preclinical GPA and their MCAT and COMLEX-USA scores. Descriptive analyses were conducted to understand examination preparation procedures and resources used, and bivariate analyses were conducted to identify the statisically significant predictors of scoring 600 or higher. Two separate logistic regressions were also run. The first included all of the statisically significant factors that emerged from the bivariate analyses, and the second examined which candidate predictors remained statistically significant once the effects of GPA and MCAT scores were removed.

Results: One hundred twenty-two students completed the survey, and 113 (93%) provided informed consent to access their preclinical GPA and their MCAT and COMLEX-USA scores. In the first regression, scoring 600 or higher was associated with a higher GPA (P<.02), a higher MCAT score (P<.05), earlier preparation initiation (P<.05), and not ranking the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Self-Assessment Examination (COMSAE) as the most helpful practice examination (P<.04). In the second regression, scoring 600 or higher was associated with earlier initiation of examination preparation (P<.01) and not ranking COMBANK (question bank for COMLEX-USA) as the most helpful question bank (P<.03). Among the different examination preparation methods, the specific resources ranked as most helpful were First Aid for the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) (review book), the COMSAE (practice examination); COMBANK (question bank); and Kaplan USMLE (lecture videos).

Conclusion: Preclinical GPA and MCAT scores continue to be important predictors of scoring at least 600 on COMLEX-USA Level 1. However, the findings underscore the importance of maintaining a high GPA during the first 2 years of medical school and initiating COMLEX-USA preparation early.
Cu2Sn1−
xGexS3 solar cells fabricated with a graded bandgap structure
Authors: Umehara Mitsutaro , Tajima Shin , Aoki Yuko , Takeda Yasuhiko , Motohiro Tomoyoshi
Published: June 2016

We fabricated Cu2Sn1−

x
Ge
x
S3 (CTGS) solar cells with a graded bandgap structure in order to improve their photovoltaic performance. Bandgap gradation was formed by changing the Ge/Sn ratio in the depth direction of the CTGS layers. The composition profile of each sample was measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry, and we confirmed that the Ge/Sn ratio near the buffer layer was lower than that near the back electrode. This means that the bandgap increases with depth from the surface. The performance of the cells was improved to over 6.7% in conversion efficiency.
Sparc: a sparsity-based consensus algorithm for long erroneous sequencing reads
Authors: Ye Chengxi , Ma Zhanshan (Sam)
Published: June 2016

Motivation.The third generation sequencing (3GS) technology generates long sequences of thousands of bases. However, its current error rates are estimated in the range of 15–40%, significantly higher than those of the prevalent next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies (less than 1%). Fundamental bioinformatics tasks such asde novogenome assembly and variant calling require high-quality sequences that need to be extracted from these long but erroneous 3GS sequences.

Results.We describe a versatile and efficient linear complexity consensus algorithm Sparc to facilitatede novogenome assembly. Sparc builds a sparse k-mer graph using a collection of sequences from a targeted genomic region. The heaviest path which approximates the most likely genome sequence is searched through a sparsity-induced reweighted graph as the consensus sequence. Sparc supports using NGS and 3GS data together, which leads to significant improvements in both cost efficiency and computational efficiency. Experiments with Sparc show that our algorithm can efficiently provide high-quality consensus sequences using both PacBio and Oxford Nanopore sequencing technologies. With only 30× PacBio data, Sparc can reach a consensus with error rate <0.5%. With the more challenging Oxford Nanopore data, Sparc can also achieve similar error rate when combined with NGS data. Compared with the existing approaches, Sparc[i] calculates the consensus with higher accuracy, uses 80% less memory and time, approximately. The source code is available for download athttps://github.com/yechengxi/Sparc.
Repeatability of Junctional Zone Measurements Using 3‐Dimensional Transvaginal Sonography in Healthy Fertile Women
Authors: Rasmussen Christina Kjaergaard , Glavind Julie , Madsen Lene Duch , Uldbjerg Niels , Dueholm Margit
Published: June 2016

Objectives

To describe the junctional zone and determine the intraobserver and interobserver repeatability of junctional zone measurements using 3‐dimensional (3D) transvaginal sonography in healthy fertile women.

Methods

We examined 82 consecutive women with 3D transvaginal sonography. The maximum and minimum junctional zone thickness was measured in all uterine walls. The difference between maximum and minimum thickness and average measurements (maximum thickness + minimum thickness/2) of the anterior, posterior, fundal, and lateral walls were calculated. Among the first 40 consecutive women, intraobserver and interobserver repeatability was evaluated according to the Bland‐Altman method and expressed as a coefficient of repeatability.

Results

Using 3D transvaginal sonography, we visualized a thin and regular junctional zone in most women. The posterior uterine wall had the largest median maximum junctional zone thickness value of 5.2 (interquartile range, 3.8–6.5) mm. Ten women (12%) had maximum thickness values of 8.0 to 12.0 mm. The maximum thickness in each uterine wall had intraobserver and interobserver coefficients of repeatability of ±2.1 to ±3.4 and ±2.6 to ±3.9 mm, respectively, which were reduced by average measurements: ±1.9 and ±2.0 mm (anterior and posterior walls) and ±1.5 mm (fundal and lateral walls) for intraobserver and interobserver values. Correlations between measurements were poor in the narrow range of junctional zone thickness.

Conclusions

The junctional zone has an indistinct outline on 3D transvaginal sonography, resulting in measurement errors within a broad range of ±2 to ±4 mm, which were only reduced to some extent by average measurements. The thickness of the junctional zone varied within a narrow range in this healthy fertile population, and reliability measurements of junctional zone thickness have to be evaluated in women with a wider range of thickness. The observer repeatability and reliability of junctional zone measurements need to be further evaluated and refined before applying this method in clinical practice.