bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Development and validation of RP-HPLC method for glimepiride and its application for a novel self-nanoemulsifying powder (SNEP) formulation analysis and dissolution study
Authors: Mohd Abdul Bari , Sanka Krishna , Gullapelly Rakesh , Diwan Prakash V , Shastri Nalini
Published: April 2014

Background

There are many analytical methods available for estimation of glimepiride in biological samples and pharmaceutical preparations. To our knowledge, there is no specific reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for estimation of glimepiride and its dissolution study in self-nanoemulsifying powder (SNEP) formulation.

Methods

A simple method was carried out on a 5-μm particle octadesyl silane (ODS) column (250 × 4.6 mm) with acetonitrile: 0.2 M phosphate buffer (pH = 7.4) 40:60 v/v as a mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 mL/min, and quantification was achieved at 228 nm using PDA detector.

Results

The correlation coefficient (r
2) was found to be 0.999 over the concentration range of 0.2 to 2 μg/mL for glimepiride. The method was validated for linearity, accuracy, and precision. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were found to be 0.38 and 1.17 μg/mL, respectively.

Conclusions

The proposed method was found to be simple, precise, suitable, and accurate for quantification of glimepiride as an alternative to the existing methods for the routine analysis of glimepiride in pharmaceutical formulations and in vitro dissolution studies.
Resource-oriented therapeutic models in psychiatry: conceptual review
Authors: Priebe Stefan , Omer Serif , Giacco Domenico , Slade Mike
Published: April 2014

Background

Like other medical specialties, psychiatry has traditionally sought to develop treatments targeted at ameliorating a deficit of the patient. However, there are different therapeutic models that focus on utilising patients' personal and social resources instead of ameliorating presumed deficits. A synopsis of such models might help to guide further research and improve therapeutic interventions.

Aims

To conduct a conceptual review of resource-oriented therapeutic models in psychiatry, in order to identify their shared characteristics.

Method

The literature was searched to identify a range of resource-oriented therapeutic models, particularly for patients with severe mental illness. Key texts for each model were analysed using a narrative approach to synthesise the concepts and their characteristics.

Results

Ten models were included: befriending, client-centred therapy, creative music therapy, open dialogue, peer support workers, positive psychotherapy, self-help groups, solution-focused therapy, systemic family therapy and therapeutic communities. Six types of resources were utilised: social relationships, patients' decision-making ability, experiential knowledge, patients' individual strengths, recreational activities and self-actualising tendencies. Social relationships are a key resource in all the models, including relationships with professionals, peers, friends and family. Two relationship dimensions – reciprocity and expertise – differed across the models.

Conclusions

The review suggests that a range of different therapeutic models in psychiatry address resources rather than deficits. In various ways, they all utilise social relationships to induce therapeutic change. A better understanding of how social relationships affect mental health may inform the development and application of resource-oriented approaches.
Hope, optimism and delusion
Authors: McGuire-Snieckus Rebecca
Published: April 2014

Optimism is generally accepted by psychiatrists, psychologists and other caring professionals as a feature of mental health. Interventions typically rely on cognitive–behavioural tools to encourage individuals to ‘stop negative thought cycles’ and to ‘challenge unhelpful thoughts’. However, evidence suggests that most individuals have persistent biases of optimism and that excessive optimism is not conducive to mental health. How helpful is it to facilitate optimism in individuals who are likely to exhibit biases of optimism already? By locating the cause of distress at the individual level and ‘unhelpful’ cognitions, does this minimise wider systemic social and economic influences on mental health?
Impact on Survival and Toxicity by Duration of Weight Extremes During Treatment for Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Report From the Children's Oncology Group
Authors: Orgel Etan , Sposto Richard , Malvar Jemily , Seibel Nita L. , Ladas Elena , Gaynon Paul S. , Freyer David R.
Published: April 2014

Purpose

Previous studies regarding the influence of weight on event-free survival (EFS) and treatment-related toxicity (TRT) in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) considered only weight at diagnosis. Inasmuch as weight varies substantially over treatment, we hypothesized its impact on EFS is instead determined by cumulative time spent at an extreme weight during therapy and on TRT by weight at the time of toxicity.

Patients and Methods

In a cohort of 2,008 children treated for high-risk ALL in Children's Oncology Group study CCG-1961, we determined the effect on EFS of cumulative time receiving therapy at an extreme weight (either obese or underweight) between end of induction and start of maintenance therapy. We also evaluated the association between weight category and incidence and patterns of TRT during 13,946 treatment courses.

Results

Being obese or underweight at diagnosis and for ≥ 50% of the time between end of induction and start of maintenance therapy resulted in inferior EFS (hazard ratios, 1.43 and 2.30, respectively; global P < .001). Normalization of weight during that period resulted in mitigation of this risk comparable to never being obese or underweight. Obese or underweight status at start of each treatment course was significantly associated with specific patterns of TRT.

Conclusion

Influence of weight extremes on EFS and TRT is not set at diagnosis as previously reported but is moderated by subsequent weight status during intensive postinduction treatment phases. These observations suggest that weight is a potentially addressable risk factor to improve EFS and morbidity in pediatric ALL.
Seriality and Settlement: Southworth, Lippard, andThe Panorama of the Monumental Grandeur of the Mississippi Valley
Authors: Gniadek Melissa
Published: April 2014

This essay reads George Lippard’s ’Bel of Prairie Eden (1848), E.D.E.N. Southworth’s The Hidden Hand (1859), and a moving panorama, The Panorama of the Monumental Grandeur of the Mississippi Valley (ca. 1850), to show how the serial structures and temporalities of these particular works and the narrative forms of recursion and repetition that result produce an aesthetic engagement with the past that emphasizes simultaneity and overlap. Highlighting the presence of multiple temporalities as they are represented in landscapes and topographies within popular works frequently read in relation to issues of empire surrounding the US-Mexico war, the essay refocuses attention on broader discourses of settler colonialism. Attending to the recurrence embedded in the ostensibly linear forms of these works, and to images in which they confront US settlement of lands that contain other histories of imperial violence and settlement, helps us recognize articulations of settler colonialism not merely as “forgetting” (forgetting previous claims on space, for example) to be combatted with the “hauntings” or “remembering” of postcolonial approaches, but as various, ongoing processes of “in-betweenness.” Reading popular fiction like Lippard’s and Southworth’s and visual material like The Panorama of the Monumental Grandeur of the Mississippi Valley for how it depicts the recurrence and copresence of temporalities alerts us to the narrative forms of settlement and reminds us of earlier efforts to narrate the multiple histories of settler space.
“Return of the Native”: Sterling Brown’sA Negro Looks at the Southand the Work of Signifying Ethnography
Authors: Retman Sonnet
Published: April 2014

In this essay, Retman explores Sterling Brown’s radical use of signifying ethnography in his posthumous collection A Negro Looks at the South (2007), a work of mostly unpublished essays written in the early 1940s when Brown journeyed as a participant observer to take stock of African American life in the South. Employing the methodology of anthropology and the genres of travelogue and documentary book, Brown attends to the silenced voices, ignored stories, displaced songs, and unmarked memorial sites of the South’s black inhabitants. He charts a narrative of the region altogether different from the white-authored Southern histories that preceded it. Indeed, A Negro Looks bears witness to the myriad ways in which Brown’s own mobility is constrained within the segregated spaces of the South, including its official monuments and markers. This is an ethnography that, in part, dramatizes the ways the ethnographer cannot gain access to his field. As Brown interrogates the practice of anthropology that he himself deploys, he adopts oppositional or signifying methods of observation and representation, different ways of seeing, hearing, moving and telling, in his fieldwork. Retman argues that Brown uses signifying ethnography to craft a radical counterhistory: as he dismantles glorified depictions of the South, Brown locates alternative geographies of dissent in which to secure modern black political identities.
“Times When Greater Disciplines Are Born”: The Zora Neale Hurston Revival and the Neoliberal Transformation of the Caribbean
Authors: Stuelke Patricia
Published: April 2014

This essay reframes the recovery and canonization of Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) in the late 1970s and early 1980s in relation to the US economic restructuring and military invasion of the Caribbean in that same period. Focusing on Paule Marshall’s novel Praisesong for the Widow (1983) and Audre Lorde’s biomythography Zami (1982), the essay demonstrates how US black feminist literature used Hurston’s work as a stimulant and script for representing the Caribbean as a free zone of individual autonomy and desire outside of hegemonic and cultural nationalist gender and sexual binds. By juxtaposing the spatiotemporalities and affects of these fantasies alongside those of Ronald Reagan’s speeches and CIA literature produced in the wake of the Grenada invasion, the essay shows how these Hurstonian fantasies of the Caribbean worked to both mask and enable the US government’s destruction of Caribbean revolutionary and anticolonial societies in the name of the freedoms and intimacy neoliberal capitalism purported to offer.
On Comparison of Clustering Properties of Point Processes
Authors: Błaszczyszyn Bartłomiej , Yogeshwaran D.
Published: April 2014

In this paper, we propose a new comparison tool for spatial homogeneity of point processes, based on the joint examination of void probabilities and factorial moment measures. We prove that determinantal and permanental processes, as well as, more generally, negatively and positively associated point processes are comparable in this sense to the Poisson point process of the same mean measure. We provide some motivating results on percolation and coverage processes, and preview further ones on other stochastic geometric models, such as minimal spanning forests, Lilypond growth models, and random simplicial complexes, showing that the new tool is relevant for a systemic approach to the study of macroscopic properties of non-Poisson point processes. This new comparison is also implied by the directionally convex ordering of point processes, which has already been shown to be relevant to the comparison of the spatial homogeneity of point processes. For this latter ordering, using a notion of lattice perturbation, we provide a large monotone spectrum of comparable point processes, ranging from periodic grids to Cox processes, and encompassing Poisson point processes as well. They are intended to serve as a platform for further theoretical and numerical studies of clustering, as well as simple models of random point patterns to be used in applications where neither complete regularity nor the total independence property are realistic assumptions.
Bounds for the Probability Generating Functional of a Gibbs Point Process
Authors: Stucki Kaspar , Schuhmacher Dominic
Published: April 2014

We derive explicit lower and upper bounds for the probability generating functional of a stationary locally stable Gibbs point process, which can be applied to summary statistics such as theFfunction. For pairwise interaction processes we obtain further estimates for theGandKfunctions, the intensity, and higher-order correlation functions. The proof of the main result is based on Stein's method for Poisson point process approximation.
Stability of Multi-Dimensional Birth-and-Death Processes with State-Dependent 0-Homogeneous Jumps
Authors: Jonckheere Matthieu , Shneer Seva
Published: April 2014

We study the conditions for positive recurrence and transience of multi-dimensional birth-and-death processes describing the evolution of a large class of stochastic systems, a typical example being the randomly varying number of flow-level transfers in a telecommunication wire-line or wireless network. First, using an associated deterministic dynamical system, we provide a generic method to construct a Lyapunov function when the drift is a smooth function on ℝN. This approach gives an elementary and direct proof of ergodicity. We also provide instability conditions. Our main contribution consists of showing how discontinuous drifts change the nature of the stability conditions and of providing generic sufficient stability conditions having a simple geometric interpretation. These conditions turn out to be necessary (outside a negligible set of the parameter space) for piecewise constant drifts in dimension two.
Random Fluid Limit of an Overloaded Polling Model
Authors: Remerova Maria , Foss Sergey , Zwart Bert
Published: April 2014

In the present paper, we study the evolution of an overloaded cyclic polling model that starts empty. Exploiting a connection with multitype branching processes, we derive fluid asymptotics for the joint queue length process. Under passage to the fluid dynamics, the server switches between the queues infinitely many times in any finite time interval causing frequent oscillatory behavior of the fluid limit in the neighborhood of zero. Moreover, the fluid limit is random. In addition, we suggest a method that establishes finiteness of moments of the busy period in an M/G/1 queue.
Bounded Variation Control of Itô Diffusions with Exogenously Restricted Intervention Times
Authors: Lempa Jukka
Published: April 2014

In this paper, bounded variation control of one-dimensional diffusion processes is considered. We assume that the agent is allowed to control the diffusion only at the jump times of an observable, independent Poisson process. The agent's objective is to maximize the expected present value of the cumulative payoff generated by the controlled diffusion over its lifetime. We propose a relatively weak set of assumptions on the underlying diffusion and the instantaneous payoff structure, under which we solve the problem in closed form. Moreover, we illustrate the main results with an explicit example.
Joint Densities of First Hitting Times of a Diffusion Process Through Two Time-Dependent Boundaries
Authors: Sacerdote Laura , Telve Ottavia , Zucca Cristina
Published: April 2014

Consider a one-dimensional diffusion process on the diffusion interval I originated in x0 ∈ I. Let a(t) and b(t) be two continuous functions of t, t > t0, with bounded derivatives, a(t) < b(t), and a(t), b(t) ∈ I, for all t > t0. We study the joint distribution of the two random variables Ta and Tb, the first hitting times of the diffusion process through the two boundaries a(t) and b(t), respectively. We express the joint distribution of Ta and Tb in terms of ℙ(Ta < t, Ta < Tb) and ℙ(Tb < t, Ta > Tb), and we determine a system of integral equations verified by these last probabilities. We propose a numerical algorithm to solve this system and we prove its convergence properties. Examples and modeling motivation for this study are also discussed.
Perpetuities in Fair Leader Election Algorithms
Authors: Kalpathy Ravi , Mahmoud Hosam
Published: April 2014

We consider a broad class of fair leader election algorithms, and study the duration of contestants (the number of rounds a randomly selected contestant stays in the competition) and the overall cost of the algorithm. We give sufficient conditions for the duration to have a geometric limit distribution (a perpetuity built from Bernoulli random variables), and for the limiting distribution of the total cost (after suitable normalization) to be a perpetuity. For the duration, the proof is established via convergence (to 0) of the first-order Wasserstein distance from the geometric limit. For the normalized overall cost, the method of proof is also convergence of the first-order Wasserstein distance, augmented with an argument based on a contraction mapping in the first-order Wasserstein metric space to show that the limit approaches a unique fixed-point solution of a perpetuity distributional equation. The use of these two steps is commonly referred to as the contraction method.
Keeping It Simple: Financial Literacy and Rules of Thumb
Authors: Drexler Alejandro , Fischer Greg , Schoar Antoinette
Published: April 2014

Micro-entrepreneurs often lack the financial literacy required to make important financial decisions. We conducted a randomized evaluation with a bank in the Dominican Republic to compare the impact of two distinct programs: standard accounting training versus a simplified, rule-of-thumb training that taught basic financial heuristics. The rule-of-thumb training significantly improved firms' financial practices, objective reporting quality, and revenues. For micro-entrepreneurs with lower skills or poor initial financial practices, the impact of the rule-of-thumb training was significantly larger than that of the standard accounting training, suggesting that simplifying training programs might improve their effectiveness for less sophisticated individuals. (JEL D4, G21, J24, L25, L26, M41, O16)
Demand Spillovers, Combative Advertising, and Celebrity Endorsements
Authors: Garthwaite Craig L.
Published: April 2014

This paper studies the economic effects of endorsements. In the publishing sector, endorsements are found to be a business stealing form of advertising that raises title level sales without expanding the market size. If anything, the endorsements decrease aggregate adult fiction sales. This might be a result of the endorsed books being more difficult than those that otherwise would have been purchased. Economically meaningful sales increases are also found for nonendorsed titles written by endorsed authors. This spillover demand demonstrates the broad range of benefits of advertising for firms operating in a multiproduct brand setting. (JEL L82, M31, M37)
Towards a framework for analysis of eye-tracking studies in the three dimensional environment: a study of visual search by experienced readers of endoluminal CT colonography
Authors: Helbren E , Halligan S , Phillips P , Boone D , Fanshawe T R , Taylor S A , Manning D , Gale A , Altman D G , Mallett S
Published: April 2014

Objective:

Eye tracking in three dimensions is novel, but established descriptors derived from two-dimensional (2D) studies are not transferable. We aimed to develop metrics suitable for statistical comparison of eye-tracking data obtained from readers of three-dimensional (3D) “virtual” medical imaging, using CT colonography (CTC) as a typical example.

Methods:

Ten experienced radiologists were eye tracked while observing eight 3D endoluminal CTC videos. Subsequently, we developed metrics that described their visual search patterns based on concepts derived from 2D gaze studies. Statistical methods were developed to allow analysis of the metrics.

Results:

Eye tracking was possible for all readers. Visual dwell on the moving region of interest (ROI) was defined as pursuit of the moving object across multiple frames. Using this concept of pursuit, five categories of metrics were defined that allowed characterization of reader gaze behaviour. These were time to first pursuit, identification and assessment time, pursuit duration, ROI size and pursuit frequency. Additional subcategories allowed us to further characterize visual search between readers in the test population.

Conclusion:

We propose metrics for the characterization of visual search of 3D moving medical images. These metrics can be used to compare readers' visual search patterns and provide a reproducible framework for the analysis of gaze tracking in the 3D environment.

Advances in knowledge:

This article describes a novel set of metrics that can be used to describe gaze behaviour when eye tracking readers during interpretation of 3D medical images. These metrics build on those established for 2D eye tracking and are applicable to increasingly common 3D medical image displays.
Health tourism as a factor of territory development on the example of The Peter the Great Gulf, Sea of Japan
Authors: Деркачева Людмила , Derkacheva Lyudmila
Published: April 2014

The approach to the territorial organization of health tourism on the coast of the Gulf of Peter the Great is suggested. The urgency of the development of health tourism by designing modern recreational centers of a year-round activities in areas with high natural recreational potential is shown.The questions of the possibility of expanding of health tourism objects and their territorial planning on the coast of the Gulf of Peter the Great, taking into account natural recreational potential including a complex of such factors as the particular coastal climate from positions of climatotherapy and recreation, the availability of therapeutic mud and other natural factors allowing their use for health purposes, are considered.
Peer review
Authors: Twaij H. , Oussedik S. , Hoffmeyer P.
Published: April 2014

The maintenance of quality and integrity in clinical and basic science research depends upon peer review. This process has stood the test of time and has evolved to meet increasing work loads, and ways of detecting fraud in the scientific community. However, in the 21st century, the emphasis on evidence-based medicine and good science has placed pressure on the ways in which the peer review system is used by most journals.

This paper reviews the peer review system and the problems it faces in the digital age, and proposes possible solutions.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2014;96-B:436–41.
Anomalous vertebral and posterior communicating arteries as a risk factor in instrumentation of the posterior cervical spine
Authors: Nagahama K. , Sudo H. , Abumi K. , Ito M. , Takahata M. , Hiratsuka S. , Kuroki K. , Iwasaki N.
Published: April 2014

We investigated the incidence of anomalies in the vertebral arteries and Circle of Willis with three-dimensional CT angiography in 55 consecutive patients who had undergone an instrumented posterior fusion of the cervical spine.

We recorded any peri-operative and post-operative complications. The frequency of congenital anomalies was 30.9%, abnormal vertebral artery blood flow was 58.2% and vertebral artery dominance 40%.

The posterior communicating artery was occluded on one side in 41.8% of patients and bilaterally in 38.2%. Variations in the vertebral arteries and Circle of Willis were not significantly related to the presence or absence of posterior communicating arteries. Importantly, 18.2% of patients showed characteristic variations in the Circle of Willis with unilateral vertebral artery stenosis or a dominant vertebral artery, indicating that injury may cause lethal complications. One patient had post-operative cerebellar symptoms due to intra-operative injury of the vertebral artery, and one underwent a different surgical procedure because of insufficient collateral circulation.

Pre-operative assessment of the vertebral arteries and Circle of Willis is essential if a posterior spinal fusion with instrumentation is to be carried out safely.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2014;96-B:535–40.
Mechanical influences in disc degeneration and prolapse: medico-legal relevance
Authors: Adams M. A.
Published: April 2014

This short contribution aims to explain how intervertebral disc ‘degeneration’ differs from normal ageing, and to suggest how mechanical loading and constitutional factors interact to cause disc degeneration and prolapse. We suggest that disagreement on these matters in medico-legal practice often arises from a misunderstanding of the nature of ‘soft-tissue injuries’.
Measurements for 8 Common Analytes in Native Sera Identify Inadequate Standardization among 6 Routine Laboratory Assays
Authors: Stepman Hedwig C M , Tiikkainen Ulla , Stöckl Dietmar , Vesper Hubert W , Edwards Selvin H , Laitinen Harri , Pelanti Jonna , Thienpont Linda M
Published: April 2014

BACKGROUND

External quality assessment (EQA) with commutable samples is essential for assessing the quality of assays performed by laboratories, particularly when the emphasis is on their standardization status and interchangeability of results.

METHODS

We used a panel of 20 fresh-frozen single-donation serum samples to assess assays for the measurement of creatinine, glucose, phosphate, uric acid, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. The commercial random access platforms included: Abbott Architect, Beckman Coulter AU, Ortho Vitros, Roche Cobas, Siemens Advia, and Thermo Scientific Konelab. The assessment was done at the peer group level and by comparison against the all-method trimmed mean or reference method values, where available. The considered quality indicators were intraassay imprecision, combined imprecision (including sample–matrix interference), bias, and total error. Fail/pass decisions were based on limits reflecting state-of-the-art performance, but also limits related to biological variation.

RESULTS

Most assays showed excellent peer performance attributes, except for HDL- and LDL cholesterol. Cases in which individual assays had biases exceeding the used limits were the Siemens Advia creatinine (−4.2%), Ortho Vitros phosphate (8.9%), Beckman Coulter AU triglycerides (5.4%), and Thermo Scientific Konelab uric acid (6.4%), which lead to considerable interassay discrepancies. Additionally, large laboratory effects were observed that caused interlaboratory differences of >30%.

CONCLUSIONS

The design of the EQA study was well suited for monitoring different quality attributes of assays performed in daily laboratory practice. There is a need for improvement, even for simple clinical chemistry analytes. In particular, the interchangeability of results remains jeopardized both by assay standardization issues and individual laboratory effects.
Modellbasierte Zustandsschätzung für Lithium-Ionen-Batterien
Authors: Rausch Matthias , Klein Reinhardt , Streif Stefan , Pankiewitz Christian , Findeisen Rolf
Published: April 2014

Batterien, insbesondere Lithium-Ionen-Batterien, gewinnen zunehmend an Bedeutung als elektrischer Energieträger, vor allem im Bereich
der Elektromobilität. Dies liegt insbesondere an ihrer hohen Energiedichte und dem geringen Kapazitätsverlust durch Lade- und
Entladevorgänge. Ein langfristiger, sicherer und zuverlässiger Betrieb von Batterien erfordert eine genaue Schätzung der Parameter und
der Zustände, insbesondere des Ladezustandes. Die Schätzung dieser Größen ist schwierig, unter anderem aufgrund von Mess- und
Modellunsicherheiten, Parameterschwankungen, des großen Arbeitsbereiches, der verhältnismäßig geringen Anzahl an verfügbaren Messgrößen
sowie auftretenden Nichtlinearitäten. Im ersten Teil dieser Arbeit wird die Problematik der zuverlässigen Schätzung der Zustände und
Parameter umrissen, es werden die systemtheoretischen und praktischen Herausforderungen aufgezeigt und ein Überblick über existierende
Schätzverfahren und verschiedene Modellierungsansätze gegeben. Im zweiten Teil dieser Arbeit werden beispielhaft zwei neue Verfahren
für die Schätzung des Ladezustandes vorgestellt. Das erste Verfahren basiert auf einer mengenbasierten Betrachtung des
Beobachtungsproblems. Der Schätzer bestimmt, unter direkter Berücksichtigung von Messfehlern und Parameterunsicherheiten, eine Menge an
konsistenten Zustandswerten. Beim zweiten Verfahren handelt es sich um einen verteiltparametrischen Beobachter, welcher auf einem
geeignet reduzierten verteiltparametrischen Modell der Batterie beruht. Der Beobachter erlaubt, neben der Schätzung des Ladezustandes,
einen Einblick in die internen physikalischen Zustände. Beide Verfahren werden mittels eines detaillierten verteiltparametrischen
Modells anhand eines realen Fahrzykluses verglichen sowie ihre Vor- und Nachteile in Bezug auf existierende Schätzverfahren
herausgearbeitet.
Nonlinear PDE aspects of the tt* equations of Cecotti and Vafa
Authors: Guest Martin A. , Lin Chang-Shou
Published: April 2014

Using nonlinear pde techniques, we construct a new family of globally
smooth

t

t
*

$\textup {tt}^\ast $

structures. This includes

t

t
*

$\textup {tt}^\ast $

structures
associated to the (orbifold) quantum cohomology of a finite number of complex
projective spaces and weighted projective spaces. The existence of such
“magical solutions” of the

t

t
*

$\textup {tt}^\ast $

equations, namely smooth solutions characterised
by asymptotic boundary conditions, was predicted by Cecotti and
Vafa. In our situation, the

t

t
*

$\textup {tt}^\ast $

equations belong to a class of equations which
we call the

t

t
*

$\textup {tt}^\ast $

-Toda lattice. Solutions of the

t

t
*

$\textup {tt}^\ast $

-Toda lattice are harmonic maps which have dual interpretations as Frobenius structures
or variations of (semi-infinite) Hodge structures.
Structural modification of isoalantolactone and biological activity against the hepatoma cell lines
Authors: Guo Rui-Xia , Li Li-Geng , Zhang Man-Li , Sauriol Françoise , Shi Qing-Wen , Gu Yu-Cheng , Kiyota Hiromasa
Published: April 2014

Structural modifications were performed on isoalantolactone in an effort to find compounds with potential anticancer activity. Seven previously unknown adducts of active methylene compounds with isoalantolactone were synthesized by the Michael reaction. Moreover, four derivatives of aryl-substituted isoalantolactone were prepared by the Heck reaction. All synthetic products were evaluated for toxic activities against three different hepatoma cell lines, Bel-7402, SMMC-7721, and Hep G2. Products prepared through the Heck reaction and 3a,b show potential antiproliferative activity against the Hep G2 cell.
An access to new N-pyrrolylcarboxylic acids as potential COX-2 inhibitors via Paal-Knorr cyclization
Authors: Vladimirova Stanislava , Bijev Atanas
Published: April 2014

Twenty new N-pyrrolylcarboxylic acids were designed to assume the architecture of contemporary selective COX-2 inhibitors as potential anti-inflammatory agents. The targeted products were synthesized in 70–82% yields by Paal-Knorr cyclization of a set of eight amino acids, acting as primary amines, and four 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds. The latter substrates were prepared by C-alkylation of three commercially available β-dicarbonyl compounds with two ω-bromoacetophenones and used in situ. These compounds inhibit carrageenin-induced rat paw edema and show analgesic activity.
One-pot two-step synthesis of 2,5-dihydro-2-oxofuran-3-carboxamides
Authors: Tokmajyan Gayane , Karapetyan Lusine
Published: April 2014

2,5-Dihydro-2-oxofuran-3-carboxamides were synthesized by a one-pot two-step reaction catalyzed by sodium methoxide. Readily available tertiary α-hydroxyketones were condensed with substituted cyanoacetamides to give 2-imino-2,5-dihydrofuran-3-carboxamides that, without isolation, were hydrolized to the title products.
An Evidence Theory-based Algorithm for System Reliability Evaluation under Mixed Aleatory and Epistemic Uncertainties
Authors: Suo Bin , Zeng Chao , Cheng Yong-sheng , Li Jun
Published: April 2014

For the reliability evaluation of a complex system, the aleatory uncertainty and epistemic uncertainty always exist at the same time because of the inadequate experimental data and the incomplete information. To reduce the computational cost of the reliability evaluation, an effective method based on evidence theory was developed. In this method, the mean of the belief measure and the plausibility measure was taken as the approximation of the system reliability. The discretization methods for uncertain parameters were discussed in the cases of only aleatory uncertainty was involved in the system, and mixed aleatory and epistemic uncertainties were involved, respectively. Algorithms of the evaluations of belief and plausibility functions were proposed for monotonic and non-monotonic systems. Four numerical examples under different conditions were studied. Simulation results showed that, the proposed method was much more effective than Monte Carlo method without sacrificing the accuracy of the resulting reliability. It was a general method suitable for various systems with different types of information.
French expressive motion verbs as functional heads
Authors: Tellier Christine
Published: April 2014

This paper investigates the syntactic properties of a construction with
Understanding exposure from natural gas drilling puts current air standards to the test
Authors: Brown David , Weinberger Beth , Lewis Celia , Bonaparte Heather
Published: April 2014

Case study descriptions of acute onset of respiratory, neurologic, dermal, vascular, abdominal, and gastrointestinal sequelae near natural gas facilities contrast with a subset of emissions research, which suggests that there is limited risk posed by unconventional natural gas development (UNGD). An inspection of the pathophysiological effects of acute toxic actions reveals that current environmental monitoring protocols are incompatible with the goal of protecting the health of those living and working near UNGD activities. The intensity, frequency, and duration of exposures to toxic materials in air and water determine the health risks to individuals within a population. Currently, human health risks near UNGD sites are derived from average population risks without adequate attention to the processes of toxicity to the body. The objective of this paper is to illustrate that current methods of collecting emissions data, as well as the analyses of these data, are not sufficient for accurately assessing risks to individuals or protecting the health of those near UNGD sites. Focusing on air pollution impacts, we examined data from public sources and from the published literature. We compared the methods commonly used to evaluate health safety near UNGD sites with the information that would be reasonably needed to determine plausible outcomes of actual exposures. Such outcomes must be based on the pathophysiological effects of the agents present and the susceptibility of residents near these sites. Our study has several findings. First, current protocols used for assessing compliance with ambient air standards do not adequately determine the intensity, frequency or durations of the actual human exposures to the mixtures of toxic materials released regularly at UNGD sites. Second, the typically used periodic 24-h average measures can underestimate actual exposures by an order of magnitude. Third, reference standards are set in a form that inaccurately determines health risk because they do not fully consider the potential synergistic combinations of toxic air emissions. Finally, air dispersion modeling shows that local weather conditions are strong determinates of individual exposures. Appropriate estimation of safety requires nested protocols that measure real time exposures. New protocols are needed to provide 1) continuous measures of a surrogate compound to show periods of extreme exposure; 2) a continuous screening model based on local weather conditions to warn of periodic high exposures; and 3) comprehensive detection of chemical mixtures using canisters or other devices that capture the major components of the mixtures.
Schätzung der Einspritzzeitpunkte und -dauern eines Dieselmotors mithilfe der Keramikglühkerze
Authors: Demirdelen Ismet , Puente León Fernando
Published: April 2014

Das moderne Common-Rail-System, das eine gezielte Direkteinspritzung des Brennstoffes ermöglicht, fand zum ersten Mal im
Jahre 1997 in einem Serienfahrzeug Einsatz. Seitdem setzen immer mehr Automobilhersteller (heutzutage mehr als 90%) auf dieses
System. Im Gegensatz zu alten Einspritzsystemen können sie die unter hohem Druck stehenden Brennstoffe über eine im Motorsteuergerät
integrierte Steuerung, welche die Einspritzzeitpunkte und -dauern für eine bessere Kraftstoffdosierung über Kennfelder zur Verfügung
stellt, zuverlässiger und gezielter in den Brennraum einbringen. Die Systemkalibrierung und die Applikation der Steuerungskennfelder
finden im Vorfeld statt. Dabei entstehen verschiedene Ungenauigkeiten bei der Kraftstoffdosierung, die es zu vermeiden gilt.
Beispielsweise wird das den Kraftstoff dosierende Magnetventil während des Motorbetriebes unzureichend oder überhaupt nicht überwacht.
In diesem Beitrag wird die Keramikglühkerze als Sensor vorgestellt. Ohne zusätzliche Hardware
kann sie Informationen über die Einspritzzeitpunkte und -dauern in Echtzeit liefern, welche wiederum Rückschlüsse über die während des Einspritzvorgangs
im Brennraum entstehenden Phänomene ermöglichen.
NICU Follow-up: Medical and Developmental Management Age 0 to 3 Years
Authors: Andrews Bree , Pellerite Matthew , Myers Patrick , Hageman Joseph R.
Published: April 2014

Over the last several decades, the number of infants graduating neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) continues to increase despite advances in obstetrical practice. Many of these NICU graduates have complex medical, social, developmental, and medicinal needs that require a physician dedicated to providing a NICU follow-up medical home. The object of the present review is to address the epidemiology and management of common problems that occur in the at-risk NICU graduate.
Live Vaccine Use and Safety in DiGeorge Syndrome
Authors: Hofstetter Annika M. , Jakob Kathleen , Klein Nicola P. , Dekker Cornelia L. , Edwards Kathryn M. , Halsey Neal A. , Baxter Roger , Williams S. Elizabeth , Graham Philip L. , LaRussa Philip
Published: April 2014

OBJECTIVE:

Live vaccines are generally contraindicated in patients with DiGeorge syndrome (DGS), a congenital disorder characterized by cellular immune deficiency. Vaccine utilization and safety in this population are not well described. This study examined vaccination patterns and adverse events following live immunization (AEFLI) in these individuals.

METHODS:

A multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted in subjects with DGS confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization assay (chromosome 22q11.2 microdeletion). Live vaccine-preventable illnesses, vaccination coverage and timeliness, and AEFLIs in the 56-day window after live vaccination were examined. Bivariate and multivariable analyses assessed the impact of demographics medical history, timing of diagnostic confirmation, and preceding immune function on vaccination patterns and AEFLIs.

RESULTS:

Of 194 subjects, 77% and 75% received measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) and varicella vaccines, respectively; 58% completed recommended vaccinations by age 19 to 35 months. Adverse events occurred after 14% and 20% of MMR and varicella vaccine doses, respectively. Most events were minor, few were serious, and no deaths were reported in post–live vaccination windows. Although early diagnostic confirmation negatively affected live vaccination coverage and timeliness (P < .001), baseline CD4% did not differ between subjects who did or did not receive live vaccines by 12 to 18 months. Among varicella vaccine recipients, those with a subsequent adverse event had a lower preceding CD4% (24.8% ± 7.3%) than those without (35.5% ± 11.7%) (P < .05); no CD4% differences were observed with MMR vaccination. Fourteen unvaccinated subjects experienced live vaccine–preventable illnesses.

CONCLUSIONS:

Live vaccines were frequently given and generally well-tolerated among patients with DGS with mild-to-moderate immunosuppression.
Chimerism of Buccal Membrane Cells in a Monochorionic Dizygotic Twin
Authors: Fumoto Seiko , Hosoi Kenichiro , Ohnishi Hiroaki , Hoshina Hiroaki , Yan Kunimasa , Saji Hiroh , Oka Akira
Published: April 2014

No monochorionic dizygotic twins (MCDZTs) with cellular chimerism involving cells other than blood cells have been reported in the literature to date. Here we report a probable first case of MCDZTs with buccal cell chimerism. A 32-year-old woman conceived twins by in vitro fertilization by using 2 cryopreserved blastocysts that were transferred into her uterus. An ultrasound scan at 8 weeks’ gestation showed signs indicative of monochorionic twins. A healthy boy and a healthy girl were born, showing no sexual ambiguity. Cytogenetic analyses and microsatellite studies demonstrated chimerism in blood cells of both twins. Notably, repeated fluorescence in situ hybridization and microsatellite studies revealed chimerism in buccal cells obtained from 1 of the twins. Although the mechanism through which buccal cell chimerism was generated remains to be elucidated, ectopic differentiation of chimeric hematopoietic cells that migrated to the buccal membrane or the cellular transfer between the 2 embryos at the early stage of development might be responsible for the phenomenon. This hypothesis raises an interesting issue regarding embryonic development and cellular differentiation into organs during fetal development. Given the possibility of cryptic chimerism in various organs including gonadal tissues in MCDZTs, close observation will be required to determine whether complications develop in the course of the patients’ growth.
Ontogeny of a New Species of the Cambrian Series 3 (Middle Cambrian) Trilobite Genus Liostracina Monke, 1903 from North China and the Taxonomic Position of the Superfamily Trinucleoidea
Authors: Park Tae-Yoon S. , Kihm Ji-Hoon , Kang Imseong , Choi Duck K.
Published: April 2014

The Order Asaphida was grouped by the presence of a ventral median suture and a globular protaspis. The Superfamily Trinucleoidea has been assigned to the Order Asaphida, based on the recognition of a globular protaspis in the Ordovician representatives of the group, and the presence of a ventral median suture in the middle Cambrian genus Liostracina which has been regarded as a primitive sister-group to the post-Cambrian trinucleoideans. Recent studies demonstrate that the ventral median suture and the globular protaspis could have evolved multiple times in the trilobite evolutionary history, casting doubt on the traditional concept of the Order Asaphida. Inclusion of the Trinucleoidea into the Order Asaphida, therefore, has to be tested. It has recently been revealed that Liostracina simesi Jago and Cooper, 2005 did not possess a ventral median suture, implying that there could have been variable types of ventral suture within the genus Liostracina. Here we report the ontogeny of Liostracina tangwangzhaiensis n. sp. from the Cambrian Series 3 (middle Cambrian) strata of Shandong Province of North China. The material for this study includes protaspides, which are of flat, benthic morphology, contrasting to the globular protaspid morphology of the Ordovician trinucleoideans. The benthic protaspid morphology of L. tangwangzhaiensis indicates an independent evolution of the globular protaspis within the Superfamily Trinucleoidea. Together with the variable types of ventral suture within the genus Liostracina, the benthic protaspid morphology of Liostracina leads us to propose that the Superfamily Trinucleoidea be excluded from the Order Asaphida.
Processing and characterization of AA6082/TiC composites by stir casting
Authors: Thangarasu Arumugam , Murugan Nadarajan , Mohankumar Ramaswamy , Thangapandi Perumalsamy
Published: April 2014

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) play a major role in materials science, particularly in the field of aerospace, marine, transportation, military and structural applications. They are used mainly in a relatively high temperature and wear resistance applications. Among MMCs, aluminum matrix composite (AMC), reinforced with titanium carbide, has better potential for high-temperature applications. Production of AMC has been carried out using various methods. The present study focuses on the fabrication of aluminum (6082-T6) matrix composites (AMCs), reinforced with titanium carbide particulates, using stir casting route. The composite was successfully fabricated with the addition of 5 and 10% TiC particles. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the fabricated AMCs have been analyzed. The optical microstructure and scanning electron microscope images reveal homogeneous dispersion of titanium carbide particles in the matrix. The mechanical properties such as tensile strength, microhardness and wear resistance show improvement with the increase in weight per cent of titanium carbide particulates in the aluminum matrix.
Natural and anthropogenic factors affecting the feeding ecology of a top marine predator, the Magellanic penguin
Authors: Ramírez Francisco , Afán Isabel , Hobson Keith A. , Bertellotti Marcelo , Blanco Guillermo , Forero Manuela G.
Published: April 2014

Understanding how top predators respond to natural and anthropogenically induced changes in their environment is a major conservation challenge especially in marine environments. We used a multidisciplinary approach to explore the mechanisms through which a typical central‐place forager, the Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) from the Chubut province of Argentina, responds to variations in oceanic conditions and prey resources. We combined habitat and species distribution modeling with isotopic dietary reconstructions based on blood δ13C and δ15N values to quantify the role of bathymetry, sea‐surface temperature and chlorophyll‐a concentration, abundance of conspecifics, and extent of fisheries activities in explaining the foraging and feeding ecology of individuals breeding at different colonies. The at‐sea distribution of penguins was tightly coupled with the spatial distribution of their staple prey species, anchovies (Engraulis anchoita), especially in areas over the continental shelf (>200 m depth), with relatively warm water (from 16° to 21°C), and moderate abundances of conspecifics (from 50 to 250 individuals). Competition with conspecifics and human fisheries were also identified as important factors explaining penguin diet with decreasing relative contributions of anchovies with increasing abundance of conspecifics and fishing activity. Our multifactorial approach allowed us to simultaneously explore different physical, biological and anthropogenic features likely affecting marine resource availability, and, consequently, driving the feeding and foraging ecology of this central‐place forager. Our approach can be extended to a large suite of central‐place foragers, thus providing important advances in the way we investigate how to effectively conserve and manage these species.