bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
THE EVOLUTION OF HUMAN BIRTH AND TRANSHUMANIST PROPOSALS OF ENHANCEMENT
Authors: Cruz Eduardo R.
Published: November 2015

Some transhumanists argue that we must engage with theories and facts about our evolutionary past in order to promote future enhancements of the human body. At the same time, they call our attention to the flawed character of evolution and argue that there is a mismatch between adaptation to ancestral environments and contemporary life. One important trait of our evolutionary past which should not be ignored, and yet may hinder the continued perfection of humankind, is the peculiarly human way of bearing and raising children. The suffering associated with childbirth and a long childhood have demanded trade‐offs that have enhanced our species, leading to cooperation, creativity, intelligence and resilience. Behaviors such as mother–infant engagement, empathy, storytelling, and ritual have also helped to create what we value most in human beings. Therefore, the moral, cognitive, and emotional enhancements proposed by these transhumanists may be impaired by their partial appropriation of evolution, insofar as the bittersweet experience of parenthood is left aside.
MEDICAL MANAGEMENT OF INFANT INTERSEX: THE JURIDICO‐ETHICAL DILEMMA OF CONTEMPORARY ISLAMIC LEGAL RESPONSE
Authors: Haneef Sayed Sikandar Shah , Majid Mahmood Zuhdi Haji Abd
Published: November 2015

Technological advances in the field of medicine and health sciences not only manipulate the normal human body and sex but also provide for surgical and hormonal management of hermaphroditism (intersexuality). Consequently, sex assignment surgery has not only become a standard care for babies born with genital abnormalities in the West but even in some Muslim states. On the positive side, it goes a long way in saving children born with abnormal genitalia from numerous legal interdictions of the pre‐sex corrective surgery. Nevertheless, the larger ethical and legal questions that medical management of genital abnormality raises to some extent have not been adequately appreciated by contemporary Muslim responses. This article, therefore, in principle argues against surgical management of intersexuality during early infancy from the Islamic legal perspective.
Environmental boundaries as a mechanism for correcting and anchoring spatial maps
Authors: Giocomo Lisa M.
Published: November 2015

Ubiquitous throughout the animal kingdom, path integration‐based navigation allows an animal to take a circuitous route out from a home base and using only self‐motion cues, calculate a direct vector back. Despite variation in an animal's running speed and direction, medial entorhinal grid cells fire in repeating place‐specific locations, pointing to the medial entorhinal circuit as a potential neural substrate for path integration‐based spatial navigation. Supporting this idea, grid cells appear to provide an environment‐independent metric representation of the animal's location in space and preserve their periodic firing structure even in complete darkness. However, a series of recent experiments indicate that spatially responsive medial entorhinal neurons depend on environmental cues in a more complex manner than previously proposed. While multiple types of landmarks may influence entorhinal spatial codes, environmental boundaries have emerged as salient landmarks that both correct error in entorhinal grid cells and bind internal spatial representations to the geometry of the external spatial world. The influence of boundaries on error correction and grid symmetry points to medial entorhinal border cells, which fire at a high rate only near environmental boundaries, as a potential neural substrate for landmark‐driven control of spatial codes. The influence of border cells on other entorhinal cell populations, such as grid cells, could depend on plasticity, raising the possibility that experience plays a critical role in determining how external cues influence internal spatial representations.

image
Dopamine modulation of transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) receptor in dorsal root ganglia neurons
Authors: Chakraborty Saikat , Rebecchi Mario , Kaczocha Martin , Puopolo Michelino
Published: November 2015

Key points

Transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) receptors transduce noxious thermal stimuli and are responsible for the thermal hyperalgesia associated with inflammatory pain.

A large population of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons, including the C low threshold mechanoreceptors (C‐LTMRs), express tyrosine hydroxylase, and probably release dopamine.

We found that dopamine and SKF 81297 (an agonist at D1/D5 receptors), but not quinpirole (an agonist at D2 receptors), downregulate the activity of TRPV1 channels in DRG neurons.

The inhibitory effect of SKF 81297 on TRPV1 channels was strongly dependent on external calcium and preferentially linked to calcium–calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII).

We suggest that modulation of TRPV1 channels by dopamine in nociceptive neurons may represent a way for dopamine to modulate incoming noxious stimuli.

The transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) receptor plays a key role in the modulation of nociceptor excitability. To address whether dopamine can modulate the activity of TRPV1 channels in nociceptive neurons, the effects of dopamine and dopamine receptor agonists were tested on the capsaicin‐activated current recorded from acutely dissociated small diameter (<27 μm) dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons. Dopamine or SKF 81297 (an agonist at D1/D5 receptors), caused inhibition of both inward and outward currents by ∼60% and ∼48%, respectively. The effect of SKF 81297 was reversed by SCH 23390 (an antagonist at D1/D5 receptors), confirming that it was mediated by activation of D1/D5 dopamine receptors. In contrast, quinpirole (an agonist at D2 receptors) had no significant effect on the capsaicin‐activated current. Inhibition of the capsaicin‐activated current by SKF 81297 was mediated by G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), and highly dependent on external calcium. The inhibitory effect of SKF 81297 on the capsaicin‐activated current was not affected when the protein kinase A (PKA) activity was blocked with H89, or when the protein kinase C (PKC) activity was blocked with bisindolylmaleimide II (BIM). In contrast, when the calcium–calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) was blocked with KN‐93, the inhibitory effect of SKF 81297 on the capsaicin‐activated current was greatly reduced, suggesting that activation of D1/D5 dopamine receptors may be preferentially linked to CaMKII activity. We suggest that modulation of TRPV1 channels by dopamine in nociceptive neurons may represent a way for dopamine to modulate incoming noxious stimuli.
Silica Gel + Water Adsorber Chiller and Desalination System: A Transient Heat Transfer Study
Authors: Mitra Sourav , Srinivasan Kandadai , Kumar Pramod , Dutta Pradip
Published: November 2015

The present work describes a silica gel + water adsorption-based desalination and chiller system, an emerging low cost process of integrating thermal desalination and cooling by utilizing low-grade heat. The cycle employs a combination of flash evaporation and thermal compression of steam in single/two stage to generate the dual effect. The current study aims at simulating a four-bed/stage adsorption system using energy and mass balance along with kinetics of adsorption. The performance of single- and two-stage adsorption systems is compared for ambient temperatures in the range of 25–45 °C and a constant heat source temperature of 85 °C.
Multidisciplinary Assessment of the Control of the Propellers of a Pusher Geared Open Rotor—Part I: Zero-Dimensional Performance Model for Counter-Rotating Propellers
Authors: Bellocq Pablo , Garmendia Inaki , Sethi Vishal , Patin Alexis , Capodanno Stefano , Rodriguez Lucas Fernando
Published: November 2015

Due to their high propulsive efficiency, counter-rotating open rotors (CRORs) have the potential to significantly reduce fuel consumption and emissions relative to conventional high bypass ratio turbofans. However, this novel engine architecture presents many design and operational challenges both at engine and aircraft level. The assessment of the impact of the main low-pressure preliminary design and control parameters of CRORs on mission fuel burn, certification noise, and emissions is necessary at preliminary design stages in order to identify optimum design regions. These assessments may also aid the development process when compromises need to be performed as a consequence of design, operational, or regulatory constraints. The required preliminary design simulation tools should ideally be 0D or 1D (for computational purposes) and should capture the impact of the independent variation of the main low-pressure system design and control variables, such as the number of blades, diameter and rotational speed of each propeller, the spacing between the propellers, and the torque ratio (TR) of the gearbox or the counter-rotating turbine (CRT), among others. From a performance point of view, counter-rotating propellers (CRPs) have historically been modeled as single propellers. Such a performance model does not provide the required flexibility for a detailed design and control study. Part I of this two-part publication presents a novel 0D performance model for CRPs allowing an independent definition of the design and operation of each of the propellers. It is based on the classical low-speed performance model for individual propellers, the interactions between them, and a compressibility correction which is applied to both propellers. The proposed model was verified with publicly available wind tunnel test data from NASA and was judged to be suitable for preliminary design studies of geared and direct drive open rotors. The model has to be further verified with high-speed wind tunnel test data of highly loaded propellers, which was not found in the public domain. In Part II, the novel CRP model is used to produce a performance model of a geared open rotor (GOR) engine with a 10% clipped propeller designed for a 160 PAX and 5700 NM aircraft. This engine model is first used to study the impact of the control of the propellers on the engine specific fuel consumption (SFC). Subsequently, it was integrated in a multidisciplinary simulation platform to study the impact of the control of the propellers on engine weight, certification noise, and NOx emission.
Enhanced interfacial thermal transport in pnictogen tellurides metallized with a lead-free solder alloy
Authors: Devender  , Lofgreen Kelly , Devasenathipathy Shankar , Swan Johanna , Mahajan Ravi , Borca-Tasciuc Theodorian , Ramanath Ganpati
Published: November 2015

Controlling thermal transport across metal–thermoelectric interfaces is essential for realizing high efficiency solid-state refrigeration and waste-heat harvesting power generation devices. Here, the authors report that pnictogen chalcogenides metallized with bilayers of Sn96.5Ag3Cu0.5 solder and Ni barrier exhibit tenfold higher interfacial thermal conductance Γc than that obtained with In/Ni bilayer metallization. X-ray diffraction and x-ray spectroscopy indicate that reduced interdiffusion and diminution of interfacial SnTe formation due to Ni layer correlates with the higher Γc. Finite element modeling of thermoelectric coolers metallized with Sn96.5Ag3Cu0.5/Ni bilayers presages a temperature drop ΔT ∼ 22 K that is 40% higher than that obtained with In/Ni metallization. Our results underscore the importance of controlling chemical intermixing at solder–metal–thermoelectric interfaces to increase the effective figure of merit, and hence, the thermoelectric cooling efficiency. These findings should facilitate the design and development of lead-free metallization for pnictogen chalcogenide-based thermoelectrics.
Ultraviolet optical properties of aluminum fluoride thin films deposited by atomic layer deposition
Authors: Hennessy John , Jewell April D. , Balasubramanian Kunjithapatham , Nikzad Shouleh
Published: November 2015

Aluminum fluoride (AlF3) is a low refractive index material with promising optical applications for ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths. An atomic layer deposition process using trimethylaluminum and anhydrous hydrogen fluoride has been developed for the deposition of AlF3 at substrate temperatures between 100 and 200 °C. This low temperature process has resulted in thin films with UV-optical properties that have been characterized by ellipsometric and reflection/transmission measurements at wavelengths down to 200 nm. The optical loss for 93 nm thick films deposited at 100 °C was measured to be less than 0.2% from visible wavelengths down to 200 nm, and additional microstructural characterization demonstrates that the films are amorphous with moderate tensile stress of 42–105 MPa as deposited on silicon substrates. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis shows no signature of residual aluminum oxide components making these films good candidates for a variety of applications at even shorter UV wavelengths.
Application of cyclic fluorocarbon/argon discharges to device patterning
Authors: Metzler Dominik , Uppireddi Kishore , Bruce Robert L. , Miyazoe Hiroyuki , Zhu Yu , Price William , Sikorski Ed S. , Li Chen , Engelmann Sebastian U. , Joseph Eric A. , Oehrlein Gottlieb S.
Published: November 2015

With increasing demands on device patterning to achieve smaller critical dimensions and pitches for the 5 nm node and beyond, the need for atomic layer etching (ALE) is steadily increasing. In this work, a cyclic fluorocarbon/Ar plasma is successfully used for ALE patterning in a manufacturing scale reactor. Self-limited etching of silicon oxide is observed. The impact of various process parameters on the etch performance is established. The substrate temperature has been shown to play an especially significant role, with lower temperatures leading to higher selectivity and lower etch rates, but worse pattern fidelity. The cyclic ALE approach established with this work is shown to have great potential for small scale device patterning, showing self-limited etching, improved uniformity and resist mask performance.
Fabrication of pyramidal probes with various periodic patterns and a single nanopore
Authors: Choi Seong Soo , Park Myoung Jin , Han Chul Hee , Oh Sae Joong , Han Sang Hun , Park Nam Kyou , Kim Yong-Sang , Choo Hyuck
Published: November 2015

The nanometer-scale patterned pyramidal probe with an electron beam-induced nanopore on the pyramid apex is an excellent candidate for an optical biosensor. The nanoapertures surrounded with various periodic groove patterns on the pyramid sides were fabricated using a focused ion beam technique, where the optical characteristics of the fabricated apertures with rectangular, circular, and elliptical groove patterns were investigated. The elliptical groove patterns on the pyramid were designed to maintain an identical distance between the grooves and the apex for the surface waves and, among the three patterns, the authors observed the highest optical transmission from the elliptically patterned pyramidal probe. A 103-fold increase of the transmitted optical intensity was observed after patterning with elliptical grooves, even without an aperture on the pyramid apex. The nanopore on the apex of the pyramid was fabricated using electron beam irradiation and was optically characterized.
Internal oxidation of laminated Hf–Ru coatings
Authors: Chen Yung-I , Huang Yu-Ren , Chang Li-Chun
Published: November 2015

This study explored the internal oxidation of laminated Hf–Ru coatings by using cyclical gradient chemical concentration distribution along the growth direction. Hf-rich, near-equiatomic, and Ru-rich Hf–Ru coatings were prepared using direct-current magnetron cosputtering. Oxidation was examined by annealing the coatings at 500 and 600 °C in a 1% O2–99% Ar atmosphere for 30 min. The results indicated that internally oxidized laminated Hf–Ru coatings formed after annealing at 600 °C. Hf preferentially oxidized and formed monoclinic HfO2. The Ru-rich Hf0.11Ru0.89 coatings exhibited a higher oxidation resistance and superior mechanical properties.
Using dual‐energy x‐ray imaging to enhance automated lung tumor tracking during real‐time adaptive radiotherapy
Authors: Menten Martin J. , Fast Martin F. , Nill Simeon , Oelfke Uwe
Published: November 2015

Purpose:

Real‐time, markerless localization of lung tumors with kV imaging is often inhibited by ribs obscuring the tumor and poor soft‐tissue contrast. This study investigates the use of dual‐energy imaging, which can generate radiographs with reduced bone visibility, to enhance automated lung tumor tracking for real‐time adaptive radiotherapy.

Methods:

kV images of an anthropomorphic breathing chest phantom were experimentally acquired and radiographs of actual lung cancer patients were Monte‐Carlo‐simulated at three imaging settings: low‐energy (70 kVp, 1.5 mAs), high‐energy (140 kVp, 2.5 mAs, 1 mm additional tin filtration), and clinical (120 kVp, 0.25 mAs). Regular dual‐energy images were calculated by weighted logarithmic subtraction of high‐ and low‐energy images and filter‐free dual‐energy images were generated from clinical and low‐energy radiographs. The weighting factor to calculate the dual‐energy images was determined by means of a novel objective score. The usefulness of dual‐energy imaging for real‐time tracking with an automated template matching algorithm was investigated.

Results:

Regular dual‐energy imaging was able to increase tracking accuracy in left–right images of the anthropomorphic phantom as well as in 7 out of 24 investigated patient cases. Tracking accuracy remained comparable in three cases and decreased in five cases. Filter‐free dual‐energy imaging was only able to increase accuracy in 2 out of 24 cases. In four cases no change in accuracy was observed and tracking accuracy worsened in nine cases. In 9 out of 24 cases, it was not possible to define a tracking template due to poor soft‐tissue contrast regardless of input images. The mean localization errors using clinical, regular dual‐energy, and filter‐free dual‐energy radiographs were 3.85, 3.32, and 5.24 mm, respectively. Tracking success was dependent on tumor position, tumor size, imaging beam angle, and patient size.

Conclusions:

This study has highlighted the influence of patient anatomy on the success rate of real‐time markerless tumor tracking using dual‐energy imaging. Additionally, the importance of the spectral separation of the imaging beams used to generate the dual‐energy images has been shown.
Dosimetric evaluation of three adaptive strategies for prostate cancer treatment including pelvic lymph nodes irradiation
Authors: Cantin Audrey , Gingras Luc , Lachance Bernard , Foster William , Goudreault Julie , Archambault Louis
Published: November 2015

Purpose:

The movements of the prostate relative to the pelvic lymph nodes during intensity‐modulated radiation therapy treatment can limit margin reduction and affect the protection of the organs at risk (OAR). In this study, the authors performed an analysis of three adaptive treatment strategies that combine information from both bony and gold marker registrations. The robustness of those treatments against the interfraction prostate movements was evaluated.

Methods:

A retrospective study was conducted on five prostate cancer patients with 7–13 daily cone‐beam CTs (CBCTs). The clinical target volumes (CTVs) consisting of pelvic lymph nodes, prostate, and seminal vesicles as well as the OARs were delineated on each CBCT and the initial CT. Three adaptive strategies were analyzed. Two of these methods relied on a two‐step patient positioning at each fraction. First step: a bony registration was used to deliver the nodal CTV prescription. Second step: a gold marker registration was then used either to (1) complete the dose delivered to the prostate (complement); (2) or give almost the entire prescription to the prostate with a weak dose gradient between the targets to compensate for possible motions (gradient). The third method (COR) used a pool of precalculated plans based on images acquired at previous treatment fractions. At each new fraction, a plan is selected from that pool based on the daily position of prostate center‐of‐mass. The dosimetric comparison was conducted and results are presented with and without the systematic shift in the prostate position on the CT planning. The adaptive strategies were compared to the current clinical standard where all fractions are treated with the initial nonadaptive plan.

Results:

The minimum daily prostate D95% is improved by 2%, 9%, and 6% for the complement, the gradient, and the COR approaches, respectively, compared to the nonadaptive method. The average nodal CTV D95% remains constant across the strategies, except for the gradient approach where a reduction of 7% is observed. However, a correction of the systematic shift reduced the problem, and the adaptive strategies remain robust against the prostate movement across the fraction. The bladder V55Gy is reduced by 35% on average for the adaptive strategies.

Conclusions:

Because they offer increased CTV coverage and OAR sparing, adaptive methods may be suitable candidates for simple and efficient adaptive treatment strategies for prostate cancer. Margin reduction and systematic error correction in the prostate position improve the protection of the OAR and the dose coverage. A cumulative dose to simulate a complete treatment would show real effects and allow a better comparison between each method.
An External Focus of Attention Improves Stability After a Perturbation During a Dynamic Balance Task
Authors: Ducharme Scott W. , Wu Will F.W.
Published: November 2015

An external focus of attention has been shown to improve balance measures during static postural tasks. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of different attentional focus strategies in response to a perturbation while performing a dynamic balance task. Participants (n = 29) performed a dynamic balance task that consisted of stepping onto an uneven surface while attempting to continuously walk in a straight line. The orientation of the surface was unknown to the participants. During the external focus conditions, participants were instructed to focus on the surface they walked on. During the internal focus conditions, participants were instructed to focus on keeping their body over their feet. Analyses revealed that the external focus condition exhibited significantly less lateral displacement from the intended walking line following the perturbation (4.56 ± 2.56 cm) than the internal (5.61 ± 2.89 cm, p = .019) and baseline (6.07 ± 2.6 cm, p = .004) conditions. These data indicate that participants were more resilient to the perturbing surface when their attention was focused on external information. Thus, participants were able to respond to a perturbation more effectively when utilizing an external focus of attention.
Attentional Focus and Motor Learning in Clinical Settings and in Older Age: A Review
Authors: Ziv Gal , Lidor Ronnie
Published: November 2015

During the past two decades, research has shown that an external focus (EF) of attention is superior to an internal focus (IF) of attention when performing a variety of motor skills. However, most of the studies on the use of EF and IF instructions for motor skill acquisition were conducted on young and healthy adults. The purpose of the current article was fourfold: (a) to review the current research on attentional focus in clinical populations and in older age, (b) to provide evidence-based knowledge about attentional focus instructions and their possible advantages in clinical settings, (c) to discuss methodological concerns associated with the reviewed studies, and (d) to propose practical implications for those who work with clinical populations and older individuals. We found that in 14 out of the 18 reviewed studies, EF instructions led to results that were superior to those of IF instructions. For example, in stroke patients, EF instructions can lead to faster, smoother, and more forceful reaching movements compared with IF instructions. However, a number of methodological concerns should be taken into account, among them the lack of a control group and the absence of studies using electromyography.
Evidence for two-dimensional Ising superconductivity in gated MoS
2
Authors: Lu J. M. , Zheliuk O. , Leermakers I. , Yuan N. F. Q. , Zeitler U. , Law K. T. , Ye J. T.
Published: November 2015

Locking the spins in a superconductor

In Cooper pairs—pairs of electrons responsible for the exotic properties of superconductors—the two electrons' spins typically point in opposite directions. A strong-enough external magnetic field will destroy superconductivity by making the spins point in the same direction. Lu
et al.
observed a two-dimensional superconducting state in the material MoS
2
that was surprisingly immune to a magnetic field applied in the plane of the sample (see the Perspective by Suderow). The band structure of MoS
2
and its spin-orbit coupling conspired to create an effective magnetic field that reinforced the electron pairing, with spins aligned perpendicular to the sample.

Science
, this issue p.
1353
; see also p.
1316
Genome Sequence of Hydrocarbon-Degrading
Cronobacter
sp. Strain DJ34 Isolated from Crude Oil-Containing Sludge from the Duliajan Oil Fields, Assam, India
Authors: Pal Siddhartha , Das Banerjee Tirtha , Roy Ajoy , Sar Pinaki , Kazy Sufia K.
Published: November 2015

We report here the 4,856,096-bp draft genome sequence of hydrocarbon-degrading
Cronobacter
sp. strain DJ34 isolated from crude oil-containing sludge from the Duliajan oil fields, India. DJ34 contains genes that mediate hydrocarbon degradation, metal resistance, and biosurfactant production. This is the first report of the genome sequence of
Cronobacter
sp. inhabiting an oil-contaminated environment.
Draft Genome Sequence of Desulfatitalea tepidiphila S28bF
T
Authors: Higashioka Yuriko , Kojima Hisaya , Watanabe Tomohiro , Fukui Manabu
Published: November 2015

Desulfatitalea tepidiphila
S28bF
T
is a sulfate-reducing bacterium closely related to
Desulfosarcina
species. Here, the draft genome sequence of strain S28bF
T
is reported.
Complete Genome Sequences of an H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus Isolated from Pigeon in China in 2012
Authors: Yao Yanfeng , Fu Shulin , He Bin , Chen Xiabing , Shao Zhiyong , Yang Wenhai , Chen Jie
Published: November 2015

An avian influenza virus strain, A/pigeon/Hubei/RP25/2012 (H5N1), was isolated from pigeons in Hubei province, China. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the HA gene belongs to clade 2.3.4 and the other internal genes present different recombination events. Information about the strain provides basic research data for epidemiological evidences for revealing influenza evolution.
Breast filariasis or inflammatory breast carcinoma? Reaching a diagnosis
Authors: Panda Dwijesh Kumar , Mohapatra Devi Prasad , Mohapatra Madhusmita Mohanty
Published: November 2015

Lymphatic filariasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by the parasiteWuchereria bancrofti. Involvement of the breast is relatively uncommon and may affect only 10% of individuals with lymphatic filariasis. We present a case of an elderly woman with breast pathology. The condition clinically appeared as a malignancy. Routine diagnostic tests including tissue histopathological studies failed to clinch a diagnosis. However, a serological test helped in identifying the pathology, which turned out to be a manifestation of breast filariasis, and aided in instituting appropriate therapy for this condition.
Heavy smoking rate trends and related factors in Korean occupational groups: analysis of KNHANES 2007–2012 data
Authors: Kim Bo-Guen , Pang Do-Dam , Park Young-Jun , Lee Jong-In , Kim Hyoung-Ryoul , Myong Jun-Pyo , Jang Tae-Won
Published: November 2015

Objectives

The present study was designed to investigate the smoking and heavy smoking trends and identify possible related factors among Korean male workers from 2007 to 2012 by occupational groups.

Methods

The data were derived from the fourth (2007–2009) and fifth (2010–2012) waves of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Occupational groups were categorised into three groups, which were non-manual, manual and service and sales groups. Age-adjusted prevalence rates of smoking and heavy smoking (>20 cigarettes/day) in men aged 25–64 years were calculated. Factors associated with heavy smoking were investigated using logistic regression analyses.

Results

Smoking rate in manual workers decreased gradually over time (p for trend <0.0001). Smoking rate was higher in manual than non-manual workers, but the difference reduced over time (p for trend <0.0001). Heavy smoking rate decreased from 2007 to 2012 (p for trend <0.0001). Heavy smoking rate was higher in manual than non-manual workers; however, this difference increased over time. Stress, depressive mood and long working hours (≥60 h/week) were associated with heavy smoking.

Conclusions

Antismoking policy should focus on current and heavy smokers. Workplace antismoking programmes should consider working hours and stress, especially in manual workers.
Clinical trial registration, reporting, publication and FDAAA compliance: a cross-sectional analysis and ranking of new drugs approved by the FDA in 2012
Authors: Miller Jennifer E , Korn David , Ross Joseph S
Published: November 2015

Objective

To evaluate clinical trial registration, reporting and publication rates for new drugs by: (1) legal requirements and (2) the ethical standard that all human subjects research should be publicly accessible to contribute to generalisable knowledge.

Design

Cross-sectional analysis of all clinical trials submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for drugs approved in 2012, sponsored by large biopharmaceutical companies.

Data sources

Information from Drugs@FDA, ClinicalTrials.gov, MEDLINE-indexed journals and drug company communications.

Main outcome measures

Clinical trial registration and results reporting in ClinicalTrials.gov, publication in the medical literature, and compliance with the 2007 FDA Amendments Acts (FDAAA), analysed on the drug level.

Results

The FDA approved 15 drugs sponsored by 10 large companies in 2012. We identified 318 relevant trials involving 99 599 research participants. Per drug, a median of 57% (IQR 32–83%) of trials were registered, 20% (IQR 12–28%) reported results in ClinicalTrials.gov, 56% (IQR 41–83%) were published, and 65% (IQR 41–83%) were either published or reported results. Almost half of all reviewed drugs had at least one undisclosed phase II or III trial. Per drug, a median of 17% (IQR 8–20%) of trials supporting FDA approvals were subject to FDAAA mandated public disclosure; of these, a median of 67% (IQR 0–100%) were FDAAA-compliant. 68% of research participants (67 629 of 99 599) participated in FDAAA-subject trials, with 51% (33 405 of 67 629) enrolled in non-compliant trials. Transparency varied widely among companies.

Conclusions

Trial disclosures for new drugs remain below legal and ethics standards, with wide variation in practices among drugs and their sponsors. Best practices are emerging. 2 of our 10 reviewed companies disclosed all trials and complied with legal disclosure requirements for their 2012 approved drugs. Ranking new drugs on transparency criteria may improve compliance with legal and ethics standards and the quality of medical knowledge.
Intensive care discharges: improving the quality of clinical handover through changes to discharge documentation
Authors: Hall William , Keane Philip , Wang Sarra , Debell Frances , Allana Alisha , Karia Priyesh
Published: November 2015

Patients who have stepped down from intensive care tread a precarious clinical course, and the handover of care between clinical teams at this point should be treated as a high risk event. Poor handover can leave patients vulnerable to suboptimal care and preventable harm. Properly structured written discharge summaries have been shown to improve information transfer and quality of care. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidelines entitled "Acute illness in adults in hospital: recognising and responding to deterioration," which states that patients transferred from intensive care should have a formal structured handover supported by a written plan, and it provides minimum criteria for what information should be included. A retrospective audit was carried out (n=28) to identify if discharge summaries were compliant with these standards. Discharge summaries consistently lacked essential criteria, including psychosocial needs (29%), nutritional needs (50%), therapy needs (29%), ceilings of care (39%), and communication needs (18%). Less than a third of verbal handovers between the nursing and medical teams were documented. After consultation, a new summary template was developed and embedded into practice. The new design prompted trainees to ensure they completed adequate information in all domains of care. Additional sections were added to improve recording of when, and to whom, clinical handover took place, which led to improved clinical governance. The overall quality of discharge summaries was improved, with increased compliance in 11 out of 13 domains. Feedback from staff about the new discharge summaries was positive. This project is easily transferable, and has the potential to improve patient safety and quality of care.
Apelin targets gut contraction to control glucose metabolism via the brain
Authors: Fournel Audren , Drougard Anne , Duparc Thibaut , Marlin Alysson , Brierley Stuart M , Castro Joel , Le-Gonidec Sophie , Masri Bernard , Colom André , Lucas Alexandre , Rousset Perrine , Cenac Nicolas , Vergnolle Nathalie , Valet Philippe , Cani Patrice D , Knauf Claude
Published: November 2015

Objective

The gut–brain axis is considered as a major regulatory checkpoint in the control of glucose homeostasis. The detection of nutrients and/or hormones in the duodenum informs the hypothalamus of the host's nutritional state. This process may occur via hypothalamic neurons modulating central release of nitric oxide (NO), which in turn controls glucose entry into tissues. The enteric nervous system (ENS) modulates intestinal contractions in response to various stimuli, but the importance of this interaction in the control of glucose homeostasis via the brain is unknown. We studied whether apelin, a bioactive peptide present in the gut, regulates ENS-evoked contractions, thereby identifying a new physiological partner in the control of glucose utilisation via the hypothalamus.

Design

We measured the effect of apelin on electrical and mechanical duodenal responses via telemetry probes and isotonic sensors in normal and obese/diabetic mice. Changes in hypothalamic NO release, in response to duodenal contraction modulated by apelin, were evaluated in real time with specific amperometric probes. Glucose utilisation in tissues was measured with orally administrated radiolabeled glucose.

Results

In normal and obese/diabetic mice, glucose utilisation is improved by the decrease of ENS/contraction activities in response to apelin, which generates an increase in hypothalamic NO release. As a consequence, glucose entry is significantly increased in the muscle.

Conclusions

Here, we identify a novel mode of communication between the intestine and the hypothalamus that controls glucose utilisation. Moreover, our data identified oral apelin administration as a novel potential target to treat metabolic disorders.
An Upper Jurassic ichthyosaur (Ichthyosauria: Ophthalmosauridae) from the Bowser Basin, British Columbia
Authors: Sissons Robin L. , Caldwell Michael W. , Evenchick Carol A. , Brinkman Donald B. , Vavrek Matthew J.
Published: November 2015

Although the Jurassic was a period of high diversity in ichthyosaurs, only a small number of specimens have been recorded from Canada to date. We describe here a new occurrence of an ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from a shallow marine depositional environment within the Bowser Basin of northern British Columbia. Based on vertebral diameters and the size of the humerus, the ichthyosaur was relatively large compared to other contemporaneous forms, yet possessed teeth that were small for its body size. As well, the height to length ratio of the preserved vertebrae suggests it may have had a more elongate, less regionalized body shape. Although indeterminate at a generic level, the presence of Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs in nearshore waters of northwestern North America further demonstrates their cosmopolitan distribution.
Simultaneous emergence of curved space–time and quantum mechanics
Authors: De S.S. , Rahaman F.
Published: November 2015

It is shown in this paper that the geometrically structureless space–time manifold is converted instantaneously to a curved, a Riemannian, or may be a Finslerian space–time with an associated Riemannian space–time, on the appearance of quantum Weyl spinors dependent only on time in a background flat manifold and having the symplectic property in the abstract space of spinors. The scenario depicts simultaneous emergence of gravity in accord with general relativity and quantum mechanics. The emergent gravity leads to the generalized uncertainty principle, which in turn ushers in discrete space–time. The emerged space–time is specified here as to be Finslerian and the field equation in that space–time has been obtained from the classical one due to the arising quantized space and time. From this field equation we find the quantum field equation for highly massive (of the Planck order) spinors in the associated Riemannian space of the Finsler space, which is in fact, the background homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann–Robertson–Walker space–time of the universe. These highly massive spinors provide the mass distribution complying with the Einstein equivalence principle. All these occurred in the indivisible minimum time considered as zero time or spontaneity.
Independence polynomial and matching polynomial of the Koch network
Authors: Liao Yunhua , Xie Xiaoliang
Published: November 2015

The lattice gas model and the monomer-dimer model are two classical models in statistical mechanics. It is well known that the partition functions of these two models are associated with the independence polynomial and the matching polynomial in graph theory, respectively. Both polynomials have been shown to belong to the “[Formula: see text]-complete” class, which indicate the problems are computationally “intractable”. We consider these two polynomials of the Koch networks which are scale-free with small-world effects. Explicit recurrences are derived, and explicit formulae are presented for the number of independent sets of a certain type.
Geometric phase of two-qubit system in dephasing environment
Authors: Cai Xiaoya , Pan Hui , Wang Z. S.
Published: November 2015

We investigated the geometric phase for interaction between superconducting two-qubit system in dephased environment. The Pancharatnam phase and the Berry phase are studied. Numerical results are discussed. By considering the differently initial conditions, we find that the time-dependent Pancharatnam phase keeps the initial entangling message. On the other hand, the transition of Pancharatnam phase is dependent of the phase change in the superconducting two-qubit coupling system. Our results may be helpful to implement the time-dependent geometric quantum computation.
Thermal radiation, radiation force and dynamics of a polarizable particle in vacuum
Authors: Dedkov George , Kyasov Arthur
Published: November 2015

We discuss the basic expressions and interrelations between various physical quantities describing the fluctuation–electromagnetic interaction of a small polarizable particle during relativistic motion relative to the blackbody radiation, namely, the radiation tangential force, rate of heating, intensity of thermal radiation/absorption and acceleration. We also obtain an explicit formula for the frictional force acting on the particle in its rest frame and discuss its connection with tangential force in the reference frame of the background radiation.
Improvement of glass forming ability and magnetic properties of a Gd55Al20Co25 bulk metallic glass by minor Fe substitution for Co
Authors: Guan Q. , Yu P. , Chan K. C. , Xia L.
Published: November 2015

[Formula: see text] bulk metallic glass (BMG) exhibits good glass forming ability (GFA) and excellent magneto-caloric effect (MCE). In order to further improve the GFA and MCE of the [Formula: see text] BMG, we attempted to add small amount of Fe as a replacement of Co in the BMG and obtained [Formula: see text] glassy rod using a traditional suction casting method. The [Formula: see text] BMG shows a better GFA and MCE than the [Formula: see text] BMG. The magneto-caloric behavior of the [Formula: see text] BMG was investigated by studying the field dependence of the magnetic entropy change peak and the refrigeration capacity.
Flow mechanism of self-induced reversed limit-cycle wing rock for a chined forebody configuration
Authors: Shi Wei , Deng Xueying , Wang Yankui , Li Qian
Published: November 2015

The wing rock phenomenon reduces the maneuverability and affects the flight safety of modern advanced fighters, such as the F-35, which have chined forebodies. Understanding the flow mechanism is critical to suppressing this phenomenon. In this study, experiments were conducted to reveal the motion and flow behavior over a chined forebody configuration. The tests were performed in a wind tunnel at an angle of attack of [Formula: see text] with a Reynolds number of [Formula: see text]. Reversed limit-cycle oscillation was discovered in the free-to-roll tests. The unstable rolling moment around zero roll angle in the static case suggests that the model tends to be driven away from zero roll angle. Thus, the model cannot maintain its equilibrium at zero roll angle during free-to-roll motion. The unstable rolling moment is generated by the wing vortex structure above the upward wing, which is induced by the forebody asymmetric vortices. During wing rock, the wing vortex structure appears above the upward wing at a large roll angle after crossing zero roll angle owing to a time lag in the forebody vortex position, which is conducive to the motion. The forebody asymmetric vortices are thus the key to induce and maintain the motion.
Mutual Embeddings
Authors: BOZKURT ILKER NADI , HUANG HAI , MAGGS BRUCE , RICHA ANDRÉA , WOO MAVERICK
Published: November 2015

This paper introduces a type of graph embedding called a mutual embedding. A mutual embedding between two n-node graphs [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] is an identification of the vertices of V1 and V2, i.e., a bijection [Formula: see text], together with an embedding of G1 into G2 and an embedding of G2 into G1 where in the embedding of G1 into G2, each node u of G1 is mapped to π(u) in G2 and in the embedding of G2 into G1 each node v of G2 is mapped to [Formula: see text] in G1. The identification of vertices in G1 and G2 constrains the two embeddings so that it is not always possible for both to exhibit small congestion and dilation, even if there are traditional one-way embeddings in both directions with small congestion and dilation. Mutual embeddings arise in the context of finding preconditioners for accelerating the convergence of iterative methods for solving systems of linear equations. We present mutual embeddings between several types of graphs such as linear arrays, cycles, trees, and meshes, prove lower bounds on mutual embeddings between several classes of graphs, and present some open problems related to optimal mutual embeddings.
Reducing Power Consumption in Data Centers by Jointly Considering VM Placement and Flow Scheduling
Authors: LI DAWEI , WU JIE
Published: November 2015

Two important components that consume the majority of IT power in data centers are the servers and the Data Center Network (DCN). Existing works fail to fully utilize power management techniques on the servers and in the DCN at the same time. In this paper, we jointly consider VM placement on servers with scalable frequencies and flow scheduling in the DCN, to minimize the overall system’s power consumption. Due to the convex relation between a server’s power consumption and its operating frequency, we prove that, given the number of servers to be used, computation workloads should be allocated to severs in a balanced way, to minimize the power consumption on servers. To reduce the power consumption of the DCN, we further consider the flow requirements among the VMs during VM allocation and assignment. Also, after VM placement, flow consolidation is conducted to reduce the number of active switches and ports. We notice that, choosing the minimum number of servers to accommodate the VMs may result in high power consumption on servers, due to servers’ increased operating frequencies. Choosing the optimal number of servers purely based on servers’ power consumption leads to reduced power consumption on servers, but may increase power consumption of the DCN. We propose to choose the optimal number of servers to be used, based on the overall system’s power consumption. Simulations show that, our joint power optimization method helps to reduce the overall power consumption significantly, and outperforms various existing state-of-the-art methods in terms of reducing the overall system’s power consumption.
A Hybrid Ranking Approach to Chinese Spelling Check
Authors: Liu Xiaodong , Cheng Fei , Duh Kevin , Matsumoto Yuji
Published: November 2015

We propose a novel framework for Chinese Spelling Check (CSC), which is an automatic algorithm to detect and correct Chinese spelling errors. Our framework contains two key components:
candidate generation
and
candidate ranking
. Our framework differs from previous research, such as Statistical Machine Translation (SMT) based model or Language Model (LM) based model, in that we use both SMT and LM models as components of our framework for generating the correction candidates, in order to obtain maximum recall; to improve the precision, we further employ a Support Vector Machines (SVM) classifier to rank the candidates generated by the SMT and the LM. Experiments show that our framework outperforms other systems, which adopted the same or similar resources as ours in the SIGHAN 7 shared task; even comparing with the state-of-the-art systems, which used more resources, such as a considerable large dictionary, an idiom dictionary and other semantic information, our framework still obtains competitive results. Furthermore, to address the resource scarceness problem for training the SMT model, we generate around 2 million artificial training sentences using the Chinese character confusion sets, which include a set of Chinese characters with similar shapes and similar pronunciations, provided by the SIGHAN 7 shared task.
Chinese Spelling Checker Based on an Inverted Index List with a Rescoring Mechanism
Authors: Yeh Jui-Feng , Chen Wen-Yi , Su Mao-Chuan
Published: November 2015

An approach is proposed for Chinese spelling error detection and correction, in which an inverted index list with a rescoring mechanism is used. The inverted index list is a structure for mapping from word to desired sentence, and for representing nodes in lattices constructed through character expansion (according to predefined phonologically and visually similar character sets). Pruning based on a contextual dependency confidence measure was used to markedly reduce the search space and computational complexity. Relevant mapping relations between the original input and desired input were obtained using a scoring mechanism composed of class-based language and maximum entropy correction models containing character, word, and contextual features. The proposed method was evaluated using data sets provided by SigHan 7 bakeoff. The experimental results show that the proposed method achieved acceptable performance in terms of recall rate or precision rate in error sentence detection and error location detection, and it outperformed other approaches in error location detection and correction.