bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Use of a Nursing Checklist to Facilitate Implementation of Therapeutic Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest
Authors: Avery Kathleen Ryan , O’Brien Molly , Pierce Carol Daddio , Gazarian Priscilla K.
Published: February 2015

Therapeutic hypothermia has become a widely accepted intervention that is improving neurological outcomes following return of spontaneous circulation after cardiac arrest. This intervention is highly complex but infrequently used, and prompt implementation of the many steps involved, especially achieving the target body temperature, can be difficult. A checklist was introduced to guide nurses in implementing the therapeutic hypothermia protocol during the different phases of the intervention (initiation, maintenance, rewarming, and normothermia) in an intensive care unit. An interprofessional committee began by developing the protocol, a template for an order set, and a shivering algorithm. At first, implementation of the protocol was inconsistent, and a lack of clarity and urgency in managing patients during the different phases of the protocol was apparent. The nursing checklist has provided all of the intensive care nurses with an easy-to-follow reference to facilitate compliance with the required steps in the protocol for therapeutic hypothermia. Observations of practice and feedback from nursing staff in all units confirm the utility of the checklist. Use of the checklist has helped reduce the time from admission to the unit to reaching the target temperature and the time from admission to continuous electroencephalographic monitoring in the cardiac intensive care unit. Evaluation of patients’ outcomes as related to compliance with the protocol interventions is ongoing.
Methods Used by Critical Care Nurses to Verify Feeding Tube Placement in Clinical Practice
Authors: Bourgault Annette M. , Heath Janie , Hooper Vallire , Sole Mary Lou , Nesmith Elizabeth G.
Published: February 2015

BACKGROUND

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses practice alert on verification of feeding tube placement makes evidence-based practice recommendations to guide nursing management of adult patients with blindly inserted feeding tubes. Many bedside verification methods do not allow detection of improper positioning of a feeding tube within the gastrointestinal tract, thereby increasing aspiration risk.

OBJECTIVES

To determine how the expected practices from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses practice alert were implemented by critical care nurses.

METHODS

This study was part of a larger national, online survey that was completed by 370 critical care nurses. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Seventy-eight percent of nurses used a variety of methods to verify initial placement of feeding tubes, although 14% were unaware that tube position should be confirmed every 4 hours. Despite the inaccuracy of auscultation methods, only 12% of nurses avoided this practice all of the time.

CONCLUSIONS

Implementation of expected clinical practices from this guideline varied. Nurses are encouraged to implement expected practices from this evidence-based, peer reviewed practice alert to minimize risk for patient harm.
Imprint cytology: A diagnostic aid in interpretation of upper gastrointestinal endoscopic biopsies
Authors: Vijayanarasimha Divya , Mahadevappa Asha , Manjunath G. V. , Sunila R.
Published: February 2015

Context: Although major advances have occurred in the cytological diagnosis of various organ pathologies, gastrointestinal (GI) cytology has not gained popularity and is only occasionally practiced in the form of brushings and washings. Biopsy touch imprint cytology (IC) is a rapid, simple and inexpensive method of diagnosis of upper GI lesions. Thus, a study to show a correlation of IC and standard histopathology will allow the procedure to be performed routinely as adjunct to histopathology. Aims: To correlate results of imprints made from upper GI biopsies with histopathology in case of suspected upper GI lesions and to compare detection of Helicobacter pylori by IC and histopathology in suspected H. pylori infection. Subjects and Methods: One hundred and ten cases of upper GI endoscopic biopsies were included in the study. Touch imprints were made from the biopsies, stained and studied. The same tissue was put in 10% formalin for histopathological processing. Results of IC were compared with histopathology. Statistical Analysis Used: Chi-square/Fisher exact test were used to find out significance of study parameters. Results: Sensitivity and specificity of IC for neoplastic lesions were 94.3%, 100% for esophageal lesions; 88.2%, 97.14% for gastric lesions and 100%, 100% for duodenal lesions respectively, which correlated with other studies. Imprint smears for H. pylori had sensitivity of 80%, which was higher than that of brush cytology. Conclusions: IC is a valuable diagnostic tool and can be routinely applied as an adjunct to histopathological examination in the diagnosis of GI lesions.
An unusual complication during papillotomy: Breaking of papillotome cutting wire and its subsequent penetration of papilla
Authors: Shah Nisar Ahmad , Kadla Showkat Ahmad , Khan Bilal Ahmad , Ali Irfan , Bindroo Muzaffar Ahmad
Published: February 2015

Thousands of papillotomies are done word wide in day today practice by Gastroenterologists. Papillotomy is a procedure which is fascinating by its results but frightening by its complications. There are some usual, unusual and unknown complications. The usual ones are Pancreatitis, hemorrhage, perforation and biliary sepsis. The unusual complications include subcutaneous emphysema, pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, pneumoperitoneum, migration of stents, systemic air embolism, portobiliary fistula, placement of ENBD in portal vein, basket impaction and breakage of basket etc. We report a forty year old female with an unknown complication; the breakage of papillotome cutting wire and its subsequent penetration of papilla.
Carbonic Anhydrase II Deficiency in a Saudi Woman
Authors: Alhuzaim Omar N. , Almohareb Ohoud M. , Sherbeeni Safiya M.
Published: February 2015

Objective

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) II deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutation in the CA II gene that leads to osteopetrosis, renal tubular acidosis (RTA), and cerebral calcification. Our aim is to present a patient with the classic triad of CA II deficiency syndrome to enhance the awareness about this rare syndrome.

Methods

We describe the clinical and radiological findings of a Saudi woman patient with CA II deficiency syndrome.

Results

A Saudi woman in her 20s presented to our hospital for evaluation of increased bone density. She was known to have delayed developmental milestone with growth retardation and poor scholastic performance. She had multiple fragile fractures started at the age of 15 involving the lower extremities. A physical examination revealed dysmorphic features and intellectual disability with intelligence quotient (IQ) of 36. The initial blood workup showed a picture of distal RTA with hypokalemia, and the radiological imaging confirmed the presence of osteopetrosis and multiple kidney stones. The combination of osteopetrosis with RTA raised the possibility of CA II deficiency. Therefore, computed tomography (CT) of the brain was done and showed intracranial calcification involving the basal ganglia. She was started on potassium chloride and sodium bicarbonate. In addition, she underwent right-sided percutaneous nephrolithotripsy. Her DNA analysis came to show a sequence variant c.232+1G>A, which was detected in both of the CA II genes (homozygous).

Conclusion

Early recognition of the disease is a key, as an early appropriate treatment institution is essential in order to prevent further complications.
Empirical Transition Probability Indexing Sparse-Coding Belief Propagation (ETPI-SCoBeP) Genome Sequence Alignment
Authors: Roozgard Aminmohammad , Barzigar Nafise , Wang Shuang , Jiang Xiaoqian , Cheng Samuel
Published: February 2015

The advance in human genome sequencing technology has significantly reduced the cost of data generation and overwhelms the computing capability of sequence analysis. Efficiency, efficacy, and scalability remain challenging in sequence alignment, which is an important and foundational operation for genome data analysis. In this paper, we propose a two-stage approach to tackle this problem. In the preprocessing step, we match blocks of reference and target sequences based on the similarities between their empirical transition probability distributions using belief propagation. We then conduct a refined match using our recently published sparse-coding belief propagation (SCoBeP) technique. Our experimental results demonstrated robustness in nucleotide sequence alignment, and our results are competitive to those of the SOAP aligner and the BWA algorithm. Moreover, compared to SCoBeP alignment, the proposed technique can handle sequences of much longer lengths.
sfDM: Open-Source Software for Temporal Analysis and Visualization of Brain Tumor Diffusion MR Using Serial Functional Diffusion Mapping
Authors: Ceschin Rafael , Panigrahy Ashok , Gopalakrishnan Vanathi
Published: February 2015

A major challenge in the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors is tissue heterogeneity leading to mixed treatment response. Additionally, they are often difficult or at very high risk for biopsy, further hindering the clinical management process. To overcome this, novel advanced imaging methods are increasingly being adapted clinically to identify useful noninvasive biomarkers capable of disease stage characterization and treatment response prediction. One promising technique is called functional diffusion mapping (fDM), which uses diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) to generate parametric maps between two imaging time points in order to identify significant voxel-wise changes in water diffusion within the tumor tissue. Here we introduce serial functional diffusion mapping (sfDM), an extension of existing fDM methods, to analyze the entire tumor diffusion profile along the temporal course of the disease. sfDM provides the tools necessary to analyze a tumor data set in the context of spatiotemporal parametric mapping: the image registration pipeline, biomarker extraction, and visualization tools. We present the general workflow of the pipeline, along with a typical use case for the software. sfDM is written in Python and is freely available as an open-source package under the Berkley Software Distribution (BSD) license to promote transparency and reproducibility.
Temporary Mechanical Circulatory Support: A Review of the Options, Indications, and Outcomes
Authors: Gilotra Nisha A. , Stevens Gerin R.
Published: February 2015

Cardiogenic shock remains a challenging disease entity and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Temporary mechanical circulatory support (MCS) can be implemented in an acute setting to stabilize acutely ill patients with cardiomyopathy in a variety of clinical situations. Currently, several options exist for temporary MCS. We review the indications, contraindications, clinical applications, and evidences for a variety of temporary circulatory support options, including the intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), CentriMag blood pump, and percutaneous ventricular assist devices (pVADs), specifically the TandemHeart and Impella.
Fungal Partial Transverse Myelitis of the Cervical Spine in an Immunocompetent Individual: A Case Report
Authors: Kasinathan Ganesh
Published: February 2015

This case report describes the presentation of new onset of worsening bilateral proximal and distal upper and lower limb weaknesses for the past three months in a 48-year-old man. His past medical history includes only essential hypertension. He denied any fever, diarrhea, or recent vaccination prior to the onset of his symptoms. He had vague patchy sensory loss in both right upper and lower limbs with no clear dermatomal distribution. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine revealed features consistent of partial transverse myelitis. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis showed raised opening pressure with evidence of yeast cells on gram stain examination on three different occasions. His neurological symptoms and signs responded to a two-week course of intravenous amphotericin B and oral flucytosine, but there remained minimal residual neurological deficit.
An Adjuvanted, Tetravalent Dengue Virus Purified Inactivated Vaccine Candidate Induces Long-Lasting and Protective Antibody Responses Against Dengue Challenge in Rhesus Macaques
Authors: Fernandez Stefan , Thomas Stephen J. , De La Barrera Rafael , Im-erbsin Rawiwan , Jarman Richard G. , Baras Benoît , Toussaint Jean-François , Mossman Sally , Innis Bruce L. , Schmidt Alexander , Malice Marie-Pierre , Festraets Pascale , Warter Lucile , Putnak J. Robert , Eckels Kenneth H.
Published: February 2015

The immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a candidate tetravalent dengue virus purified inactivated vaccine (TDENV PIV) formulated with alum or an Adjuvant System (AS01, AS03 tested at three different dose levels, or AS04) was evaluated in a 0, 1-month vaccination schedule in rhesus macaques. One month after dose 2, all adjuvanted formulations elicited robust and persisting neutralizing antibody titers against all four dengue virus serotypes. Most of the formulations tested prevented viremia after challenge, with the dengue serotype 1 and 2 virus strains administered at 40 and 32 weeks post-dose 2, respectively. This study shows that inactivated dengue vaccines, when formulated with alum or an Adjuvant System, are candidates for further development.
Suitability of Capillary Blood for Quantitative Assessment of G6PD Activity and Performances of G6PD Point-of-Care Tests
Authors: Bancone Germana , Chu Cindy S. , Chowwiwat Nongnud , Somsakchaicharoen Raweewan , Wilaisrisak Pornpimon , Charunwatthana Prakaykaew , Bansil Pooja , McGray Sarah , Domingo Gonzalo J. , Nosten François H.
Published: February 2015

The use of primaquine and other 8-aminoquinolines for malaria elimination is hampered by, among other factors, the limited availability of point-of-care tests for the diagnosis of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. Historically, the most used source of blood for G6PD analyses is venous blood, whereas diagnostic devices used in the field require the use of capillary blood; data have shown that the two sources of blood often differ with respect to hemoglobin concentration and number of red blood cells. Therefore, we have analyzed, in both capillary and venous blood drawn from the same healthy donors, the correlation of G6PD activity assessed by two qualitative tests (the Fluorescent Spot test and the CareStart test) with the gold standard quantitative spectrophotometric assay. Results obtained on 150 subjects with normal, intermediate, and deficient G6PD phenotypes show that, although differences exist between the aforementioned characteristics in capillary and venous blood, these do not impact on the quantitative assessment of G6PD activity after corrected for hemoglobin concentration or red blood cell count. Furthermore, we have assessed the sensitivity and specificity of the two qualitative tests against the gold standard spectrophotometric assay at different activity thresholds of residual enzymatic activity in both blood sources.
Global Business Networks and Competitiveness of SMEs
Authors: Tresca Roberta
Published: February 2015

In today’s global economy new opportunities for growth and development are opening up for businesses, particularly those of a limited size. Projecting one’s area of activity onto the global markets was once seen as one of the many strategic options open to businesses, but today it has become a necessity, a real “condition for survival”. In this regard, global networks have become the system that most SMEs spontaneously choose to adopt in order to increase their competitiveness in a global environment. These networks make it possible to overcome the limitations of their small size, granting access, at a low cost, to the tangible and intangible resources all over the world that can be taken advantage of thanks to the network.
Dual-spacecraft reconstruction of a three-dimensional magnetic flux rope at the Earth's magnetopause
Authors: Hasegawa H. , Sonnerup B. U. Ö. , Eriksson S. , Nakamura T. K. M. , Kawano H.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. We present the first results of a data analysis method, developed by Sonnerup and Hasegawa (2011), for reconstructing three-dimensional (3-D), magnetohydrostatic structures from data taken as two closely spaced satellites traverse the structures. The method is applied to a magnetic flux transfer event (FTE), which was encountered on 27 June 2007 by at least three (TH-C, TH-D, and TH-E) of the five THEMIS probes near the subsolar magnetopause. The FTE was sandwiched between two oppositely directed reconnection jets under a southward interplanetary magnetic field condition, consistent with its generation by multiple X-line reconnection. The recovered 3-D field indicates that a magnetic flux rope with a diameter of ~ 3000 km was embedded in the magnetopause. The FTE flux rope had a significant 3-D structure, because the 3-D field reconstructed from the data from TH-C and TH-D (separated by ~ 390 km) better predicts magnetic field variations actually measured along the TH-E path than does the 2-D Grad–Shafranov reconstruction using the data from TH-C (which was closer to TH-E than TH-D and was at ~ 1250 km from TH-E). Such a 3-D nature suggests that the field lines reconnected at the two X-lines on both sides of the flux rope are entangled in a complicated way through their interaction with each other. The generation process of the observed 3-D flux rope is discussed on the basis of the reconstruction results and the pitch-angle distribution of electrons observed in and around the FTE.
Simulating ice core 10Be on the glacial–interglacial timescale
Authors: Elsässer C. , Wagenbach D. , Levin I. , Stanzick A. , Christl M. , Wallner A. , Kipfstuhl S. , Seierstad I. K. , Wershofen H. , Dibb J.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. 10Be ice core measurements are an important tool for paleoclimate research, e.g., allowing for the reconstruction of past solar activity or changes in the geomagnetic dipole field. However, especially on multi-millennial timescales, the share of production and climate-induced variations of respective 10Be ice core records is still up for debate. Here we present the first quantitative climatological model of the 10Be ice concentration up to the glacial–interglacial timescale. The model approach is composed of (i) a coarse resolution global atmospheric transport model and (ii) a local 10Be air–firn transfer model. Extensive global-scale observational data of short-lived radionuclides as well as new polar 10Be snow-pit measurements are used for model calibration and validation. Being specifically configured for 10Be in polar ice, this tool thus allows for a straightforward investigation of production- and non-production-related modulation of this nuclide. We find that the polar 10Be ice concentration does not immediately record the globally mixed cosmogenic production signal. Using geomagnetic modulation and revised Greenland snow accumulation rate changes as model input, we simulate the observed Greenland Summit (GRIP and GISP2) 10Be ice core records over the last 75 kyr (on the GICC05modelext timescale). We show that our basic model is capable of reproducing the largest portion of the observed 10Be changes. However, model–measurement differences exhibit multi-millennial trends (differences up to 87% in case of normalized to the Holocene records) which call for closer investigation. Focusing on the (12–37) b2k (before the year AD 2000) period, mean model–measurement differences of 30% cannot be attributed to production changes. However, unconsidered climate-induced changes could likely explain the model–measurement mismatch. In fact, the 10Be ice concentration is very sensitive to snow accumulation changes. Here the reconstructed Greenland Summit (GRIP) snow accumulation rate record would require revision of +28% to solely account for the (12–37) b2k model–measurement differences.
Finite-Element Sea Ice Model (FESIM), version 2
Authors: Danilov S. , Wang Q. , Timmermann R. , Iakovlev N. , Sidorenko D. , Kimmritz M. , Jung T. , Schröter J.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. The Finite-Element Sea-Ice Model, used as a component of the Finite-Element Sea ice Ocean Model, is presented. Version 2 includes the elastic-viscous-plastic (EVP) and viscous-plastic (VP) solvers and employs a flux corrected transport algorithm to advect the ice and snow mean thicknesses and concentration. The EVP part also includes a modified approach proposed recently by Bouillon et al., which is characterized by an improved stability compared to the standard EVP approach. The model is formulated on unstructured triangular meshes. It assumes a collocated placement of ice velocities, mean thicknesses and concentration at mesh vertices, and relies on a piecewise-linear (P1) continuous elements. Simple tests for the modified EVP and VP solvers are presented to show that they may produce very close results provided the number of iterations is sufficiently high.
Brief Communication: Climate, topographical and meteorological investigation of the 16–17 June 2013 Kedarnath (India) disaster causes
Authors: Singh R. , Siingh D. , Gokani S. A. , Buchunde P. S. , Singh R. P. , Singh A. K.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. The devastating episode (17–18 June 2013) at Kedarnath (Uttrakhand, India) caused huge loss of lives and physical/material wealth. To understand this catastrophic event, rainfall/convective data and associated climate meteorological parameters are investigated. Low pressure zone with very high cloud cover (60–90%), and relative humidity (70–100%) associated with low (< 4 m s−1) wind velocity over Kedarnath region during 15–17 June are observed. The cause of disaster seems to be the heavy and continuous rainfall associated with snow melting and over flooding/collapse of the Chorabari Lake, located upstream. Monsoon advancement was much faster due to the presence of convectively active phase of the Madden Julian Oscillation.
Soil organic carbon along an altitudinal gradient in the Despeñaperros Natural Park, southern Spain
Authors: Parras-Alcántara L. , Lozano-García B. , Galán-Espejo A.
Published: February 2015

Abstract. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is extremely important in the global carbon (C) cycle as C sequestration in non-disturbed soil ecosystems can be a C sink and mitigate greenhouse-gas-driven climate change. Soil organic carbon changes in space and time are relevant to understand the soil system and its role in the C cycle. This is why the influence of topographic position on SOC should be studied. Seven topographic positions from a toposequence between 607 and 1168 m were analyzed in the Despeñaperros Natural Park (Jaén, SW Spain). Depending on soil depth, one to three control sections (0–25, 25–50 and 75 cm) were sampled at each site. The SOC content in studied soils was below 30 g kg−1 and strongly decreases with depth. These results were related to the gravel content and to the bulk density. The SOC content from the topsoil (0–25 cm) varied largely through the altitudinal gradient ranging between 27.3 and 39.9 g kg−1. The SOC stock (SOCS) varied between 53.8 and 158.0 Mg ha−1 in the studied area, which had been clearly conditioned by the topographic position. Therefore, results suggest that elevation should be included in SOCS models and estimations at local and regional scales.
Digitalisering van de civiele procedure: gevolgen voor de procespraktijk
Authors: Wefers Bettink H.W.
Published: February 2015

Digitalisering van de civiele procedure: gevolgen voor de procespraktijk

Het wetsontwerp Vereenvoudiging en digitalisering van het procesrecht, dat op 20 oktober 2014 bij de Tweede Kamer is ingediend, introduceert onder meer een nieuwe basisprocedure in eerste instantie voor het civiele recht en maakt digitalisering van de procedure mogelijk. (Kamerstukken II 2014/15, 34059, 2 (wetsvoorstel) en 3 (MvT). Het wetsvoorstel bevat ook bepalingen om volledig digitaal procederen in het bestuursrecht mogelijk te maken. Deze blijven in deze bijdrage buiten beschouwing.) In 2013 is een voorontwerp als consultatiedocument gepubliceerd. Blijkens de memorie van toelichting heeft de consultatie geleid tot een groot aantal aanpassingen zonder dat overigens het wezen van de voorstellen is aangetast. In deze bijdrage wordt ingegaan op enkele gevolgen van de voorgestelde digitalisering van de civiele procedure voor de procespraktijk.
Belgische consumenten-class action
Authors: Voet S.
Published: February 2015

Belgische consumenten-class action

De Belgische wet van 28 maart 2014 voegde in het Wetboek van economisch recht een rechtsvordering tot collectief herstel (of class action) in. Deze bijdrage bespreekt dit nieuwe instrument, dat enkel van toepassing is op consumenten-massaschade. Vooreerst komen de drie ontvankelijkheidsvoorwaarden aan bod: de rechtsvordering moet een inbreuk betreffen op één of meerdere Belgische of Europese consumentenwetten, zij moet worden ingesteld door een geschikte groepsvertegenwoordiger (die enkel een vereniging kan zijn) en de rechtsvordering tot collectief herstel moet doelmatig zijn. Vervolgens wordt het facultatieve opt-in- of opt-out-systeem besproken. Tot slot wordt dieper ingegaan op de vier fases van de procedure: de ontvankelijkheidsfase, een verplichte onderhandelingsfase, de eventuele gegrondheidsfase en de uitvoeringsfase.
The Use of a Water Market to Minimize Drought‐Induced Losses in the Bay Area of California
Authors: Kirsch Brian R. , Maxwell Reed M.
Published: February 2015

In the Bay Area of California, a collection of utilities must determine how to allocate a shared resource during drought. If they choose to use market principles, the market price for water will be determined by the total demand for water, which is dependent on the elasticity of demand for water for each utility. The elasticity of demand for water has proved a difficult metric to estimate, involving considerable uncertainty. This work, rather than trying to use a single estimate of elasticity for each utility, uses Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate a market using a range of elasticity values. The use of a market is shown to reduce economic losses by at least 25%, compared with the current nonmarket allocation. The robustness of the benefits shown by the market, even with the inherent uncertainty in elasticity values, may inspire confidence in policymakers to adopt more market‐based allocation strategies.
An initial investigation into the effects of isolation and enrichment on the welfare of laboratory pigs housed in the PigTurn®system, assessed using tear staining, behaviour, physiology and haematology
Authors: DeBoer SP , Garner JP , McCain RR , Lay DC , Eicher SD , Marchant-Forde JN
Published: February 2015

In some parts of the world, the laboratory pig(Sus scrofa)is often housed in individual, sterile housing which may impose stress. Our objectives were to determine the effects of isolation and enrichment on pigs housed within the PigTurn® — a novel penning system with automated blood sampling — and to investigate tear staining as a novel welfare indicator. Twenty Yorkshire × Landrace weaner pigs were randomly assigned to one of four treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial combination of enrichment (non-enriched [NE] or enriched [E]) and isolation (visually isolated [I] or able to see another pig [NI]). Pigs were catheterised and placed into the PigTurns® 48 h post recovery. Blood was collected automatically twice daily to determine white blood cell (WBC) differential counts and assayed for cortisol. Photographs of the eyes were taken daily and tear staining was quantified using a 0-5 scoring scale and Image-J software to measure stain area and perimeter. Behaviour was video recorded and scan sampled to determine time budgets. Data were analysed as an REML using the MIXED procedure of SAS. Enrichment tended to increase proportion of time standing and lying laterally and decrease plasma cortisol, tear-stain area and perimeter. There was a significant isolation by enrichment interaction. Enrichment given to pigs housed in isolation had no effect on plasma cortisol, but greatly reduced it in non-isolated pigs. Tear-staining area and perimeter were highest in the NE-I treatment compared to the other three treatments. Eosinophil count was highest in the E-NI treatment and lowest in the NE-I treatment. The results suggest that in the absence of enrichment, being able to see another animal but not interact may be frustrating. The combination of no enrichment and isolation maximally impacted tear staining and eosinophil numbers. However, appropriate enrichment coupled with proximity of another pig would appear to improve welfare.
Broiler chicken welfare assessment in GLOBALGAP®certified and non-certified farms in Brazil
Authors: Souza APO , de Oliveira Sans EC , Müller BR , Molento CFM
Published: February 2015

Regarding broilers, Brazil is the third largest producer and the leading chicken meat exporter in the world. Independent certifications are required by some importers in the European Union (EU) to guarantee compliance with minimum welfare requirements. Our objective was to compare broiler chicken welfare in GLOBALGAP®certified (C) and non-certified (N) intensive farms in the State of Paraná, Brazil, using the Welfare Quality®protocol. Ten farms in each group were evaluated and data were transformed using scores that ranged from 0 to 100, where 100 is the best condition. Results suggested that farms adhered to minimum welfare standards, regardless of certification and that the adoption of standards based on overseas rules may have limitations for the improvement of animal welfare. In order to further improve broiler welfare in Brazil, more rigorous standards should be developed.
Comparison of locomotion scoring for dairy cows by experienced and inexperienced raters using live or video observation methods
Authors: Schlageter-Tello A , Bokkers EAM , Groot Koerkamp PWG , Van Hertem T , Viazzi S , Romanini CEB , Halachmi I , Bahr C , Berckmans D , Lokhorst K
Published: February 2015

Lameness is considered a major problem in dairy production. Lameness is commonly detected with locomotion scores assigned to cows under farm conditions, but raters are often trained and assessed for reliability and agreement by using video recordings. The aim of this study was to evaluate intra- and inter-rater reliability and agreement of experienced and inexperienced raters for locomotion scoring performed live and from video, and to calculate the influence of raters and the method of observation (live or video) on the probability of classifying a cow as lame. Using a five-level locomotion score, cows were scored twice live and twice from video by three experienced and two inexperienced raters for three weeks. Every week different cows were scored. Intra- and inter-rater reliability (expressed as weighted kappa,kw) and agreement (expressed as percentage of agreement, PA) for live/live, live/video and video/video comparisons were determined. A logistic regression was performed to estimate the influence of the rater and method of observation on the probability of classifying a cow as lame in live and video observation. Experienced raters had higher values for intra-rater reliability and agreement for video/video than for live/live and live/video comparison. Inexperienced raters, however, did not differ for intra- and inter-rater reliability and agreement for live/live, live/video and video/video comparisons. The logistic regression indicated that raters were responsible for the main effect and the method of observation (live or from video) had a minor effect on the probability for classifying a cow as lame (locomotion score ≥ 3). In conclusion, under the present experimental conditions, experienced raters performed better than unexperienced raters when locomotion scoring was done from video. Since video observation did not show any important influence in the probability of classifying a cow as lame, video observation seems to be an acceptable method for locomotion scoring and lameness assessment in dairy cows.
The risk factors affecting the development of vent pecking and cannibalism in free-range and organic laying hens
Authors: Lambton SL , Knowles TG , Yorke C , Nicol CJ
Published: February 2015

Injurious pecking remains one of the biggest animal welfare and economic challenges for free-range egg producers. This prospective epidemiological study investigated the development of vent pecking (VP) and cannibalism on 62 free-range and organic UK farms (119 flocks). Flocks were visited at 25 (± 5) and 40 (± 5) weeks of age. Rates of VP were recorded and farmers were asked whether they had observed cannibalism in their flocks. Environmental and management data were collected for each flock. Risk factors associated with these behaviours were modelled using MLwiN. VP was observed in 19.5 and 29.9% of flocks, at mean rates of 0.35 and 0.21 bouts per bird per h, at 25 and 40 weeks, respectively. Cannibalism was reported at 22.6% of visits. The odds of flocks showing VP or cannibalism increased with rate of severe feather pecking (SFP). VP was more likely to be observed in laying houses with more and/or longer pop holes and where feed was scattered on the floor. Providing more aerial perch length, or perches > 0.5 m in height, was associated with increased risk of VP. When SFP was excluded from the model, likelihood of VP was higher in flocks fed pelleted feed. All of these may provide a useful basis from which to derive management strategies to reduce the risk of VP and thus improve the welfare of laying hens. However, it is important to remember that this study does not elucidate the causal relationships between these variables, and further work is needed to understand the mechanism behind these associations.
La interactividad como arte
Authors: Zapata Ignacio Vázquez
Published: February 2015

Desde los inicios del siglo XX la tecnología ha tenido una influencia creciente sobre la actividad artística y la expresión creativa. En la era digital la  interactividad ha abierto a muchos artistas y técnicos la posibilidad de realizar obras en las que la interactividad constituye el componente fundamental de la obra. Los principios que determinan este tipo de relación entre artista y espectador tienen que ver con las posibilidades tecnológicas pero también con la forma en que contemplamos la obra de arte.
Adaptation on a genomic scale
Authors: Bartha István , Fellay Jacques
Published: February 2015

Sequencing the genome of Candida albicans as it evolves in a patient reveals the genetic changes that allow the yeast to adapt to its environment.
Effects of material property variations on slip estimates for subduction interface slow‐slip events
Authors: Williams Charles A. , Wallace Laura M.
Published: February 2015

We investigate the influence of elastic heterogeneity on geodetic inversions of slow‐slip events by inverting for slip distributions of four events along the Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand. We generate Green's functions using a finite element code in conjunction with a New Zealand‐wide seismic velocity model to assign elastic properties. We find that these heterogeneous models typically require ~20% less slip than homogeneous models in cases where the slip is deep or there is reasonable geodetic coverage above the slipping region. In cases where the slip is shallow (and mostly offshore) and there is little geodetic coverage directly above the slipping region, the heterogeneous models can predict significantly larger amounts of slip (42% in our study). These changes in the predicted amounts of slip have important implications for quantifying slip budgets accommodated by slow slip at subduction zones worldwide.
Near‐field tsunami inundation forecast using the parallel TUNAMI‐N2 model: Application to the 2011 Tohoku‐Oki earthquake combined with source inversions
Authors: Oishi Yusuke , Imamura Fumihiko , Sugawara Daisuke
Published: February 2015

To contribute to tsunami early warning systems, we investigated the currently achievable speed of tsunami inundation simulations on a parallel computer as well as the benefits of high‐resolution and faster than real‐time inundation predictions. We found that a 5 m resolution inundation simulation can be 75 times faster than real time, requiring only 1.5 min to overview the inundation situation in Sendai City for the 2011 Tohoku tsunami. We developed a novel parallel tsunami model based on the well‐known TUNAMI‐N2 model and achieved 9.17 tera Floating‐point Operations Per Second (FLOPS) on 9469 CPU cores. The present model can accurately hindcast the observed inundated regions of the 2011 Tohoku tsunami using tsunami source estimations of the tFISH and tFISH/RAPiD algorithms, which can be instantly derived from real‐time observation data. The present high‐resolution predictions can provide clear images of imminent hazards/disasters and can provide guidance for appropriate evacuation actions.
Is inner core seismic anisotropy a marker for plastic flow of cubic iron?
Authors: Lincot A. , Merkel S. , Cardin P.
Published: February 2015

This paper investigates whether observations of seismic anisotropy are compatible with a cubic structure of the inner core Fe alloy. We assume that anisotropy is the result of plastic deformation within a large‐scale flow induced by preferred growth at the inner core equator. Based on elastic moduli from the literature, body‐centered cubic or face‐centered cubic Fe produces seismic anisotropy well below seismic observations (<0.4%). A Monte Carlo approach allows us to generalize this result to any form of elastic anisotropy in a cubic system. Within our model, inner core global anisotropy is not compatible with a cubic structure of Fe alloy. Hence, if the inner core material is indeed cubic, large‐scale coherent anisotropic structures, incompatible with plastic deformation induced by large‐scale flow, must be present.
Tropical cyclones in the North American Regional Reanalysis: An assessment of spatial biases in location, intensity, and structure
Authors: Zick Stephanie E. , Matyas Corene J.
Published: February 2015

Long‐term reanalysis data sets, such as the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) and Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR), are data‐rich resources for weather and climate research. However, investigations into tropical cyclone (TC) structures are lacking. This study examines position, intensity, and structure of U.S. landfalling TCs in these data sets during 1998–2012. TC positions are determined using three dynamic and thermodynamic parameters. In NARR, positions are problematic near the domain boundary but show statistically significant improvements compared with CFSR in regions over the U.S. and near its coastlines. TC intensity is universally underestimated in both data sets, yet the pressure‐wind relationship is reasonably maintained. NARR and CFSR intensities are highly correlated (r = 0.93), suggesting that these data sets are limited in a similar fashion in their generation of intensity and that advanced data assimilation techniques are unable to overcome the shortcomings of low resolutions. To investigate TC structure, a 10‐storm composite is constructed using the most intense model TCs at peak intensity. Both models develop robust warm cores (T′ ~ 6–7 K), but the radius of maximum winds (>100 km) is too broad compared with storms in nature. Secondary circulation features in NARR are more realistic, particularly the shallow inflow layer, vertical motion in the inner core, and confined outflow in the upper troposphere. Results indicate that, over the U.S. and near its coastline, NARR positions and structure are competitive with or slightly improved upon CFSR. Away from the domain boundary, NARR is a suitable resource for evaluating TC positions and certain aspects of the secondary circulation.
Estimates of CO2 traffic emissions from mobile concentration measurements
Authors: Maness H. L. , Thurlow M. E. , McDonald B. C. , Harley R. A.
Published: February 2015

We present data from a new mobile system intended to aid in the design of upcoming urban CO2‐monitoring networks. Our collected data include GPS probe data, video‐derived traffic density, and accurate CO2 concentration measurements. The method described here is economical, scalable, and self‐contained, allowing for potential future deployment in locations without existing traffic infrastructure or vehicle fleet information. Using a test data set collected on California Highway 24 over a 2 week period, we observe that on‐road CO2 concentrations are elevated by a factor of 2 in congestion compared to free‐flow conditions. This result is found to be consistent with a model including vehicle‐induced turbulence and standard engine physics. In contrast to surface concentrations, surface emissions are found to be relatively insensitive to congestion. We next use our model for CO2 concentration together with our data to independently derive vehicle emission rate parameters. Parameters scaling the leading four emission rate terms are found to be within 25% of those expected for a typical passenger car fleet, enabling us to derive instantaneous emission rates directly from our data that compare generally favorably to predictive models presented in the literature. The present results highlight the importance of high spatial and temporal resolution traffic data for interpreting on‐ and near‐road concentration measurements. Future work will focus on transport and the integration of mobile platforms into existing stationary network designs.
A multiscale modeling framework model (superparameterized CAM5) with a higher‐order turbulence closure: Model description and low‐cloud simulations
Authors: Wang Minghuai , Larson Vincent E. , Ghan Steven , Ovchinnikov Mikhail , Schanen David P. , Xiao Heng , Liu Xiaohong , Rasch Philip , Guo Zhun
Published: February 2015

In this study, a higher‐order turbulence closure scheme, called Cloud Layers Unified By Binormals (CLUBB), is implemented into a Multiscale Modeling Framework (MMF) model to improve low‐cloud simulations. The performance of CLUBB in MMF simulations with two different microphysics configurations (one‐moment cloud microphysics without aerosol treatment and two‐moment cloud microphysics coupled with aerosol treatment) is evaluated against observations and further compared with results from the Community Atmosphere Model, Version 5 (CAM5) with conventional cloud parameterizations. CLUBB is found to improve low‐cloud simulations in the MMF, and the improvement is particularly evident in the stratocumulus‐to‐cumulus transition regions. Compared to the single‐moment cloud microphysics, CLUBB with two‐moment microphysics produces clouds that are closer to the coast and agrees better with observations. In the stratocumulus‐to‐cumulus transition regions, CLUBB with two‐moment cloud microphysics produces short‐wave cloud forcing in better agreement with observations, while CLUBB with single‐moment cloud microphysics overestimates short‐wave cloud forcing. CLUBB is further found to produce quantitatively similar improvements in the MMF and CAM5, with slightly better performance in the MMF simulations (e.g., MMF with CLUBB generally produces low clouds that are closer to the coast than CAM5 with CLUBB). Improved low‐cloud simulations in MMF make it an even more attractive tool for studying aerosol‐cloud‐precipitation interactions.
Mobile Domain Walls as a Bridge between Nanoscale Conductivity and Macroscopic Electromechanical Response
Authors: Rojac Tadej , Ursic Hana , Bencan Andreja , Malic Barbara , Damjanovic Dragan
Published: February 2015

The interfaces in complex oxides present unique properties exploitable in nanoscale devices. Recent studies on ferroelectric BiFeO3, BaTiO3, and Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 have revealed an unusually high electric conductivity of the domain walls (DWs), adding another degree of freedom for controlling the local properties of these materials. While most of the investigations are focused on thin films for nanoscale applications, many practical devices, including piezoelectric sensors, actuators, and transducers, rely on the macroscopic properties of bulk polycrystalline materials where the average effect of local properties should be small. It is shown that in polycrystalline BiFeO3 the local domain‐wall conductivity interferes with the dynamics of the DWs within the grains, resulting in an unexpectedly large effect on the macroscopic piezoelectric response. The results thus bridge the local conductivity and the macroscopic piezoelectricity via domain‐wall dynamics, revealing that the domain‐wall conductivity must be considered when interpreting and controlling macroscopic electromechanical properties.
A Novel Design Strategy for Fully Physically Linked Double Network Hydrogels with Tough, Fatigue Resistant, and Self‐Healing Properties
Authors: Chen Qiang , Zhu Lin , Chen Hong , Yan Hongli , Huang Lina , Yang Jia , Zheng Jie
Published: February 2015

Double network (DN) hydrogels with two strong asymmetric networks being chemically linked have demonstrated their excellent mechanical properties as the toughest hydrogels, but chemically linked DN gels often exhibit negligible fatigue resistance and poor self‐healing property due to the irreversible chain breaks in covalent‐linked networks. Here, a new design strategy is proposed and demonstrated to improve both fatigue resistance and self‐healing property of DN gels by introducing a ductile, nonsoft gel with strong hydrophobic interactions as the second network. Based on this design strategy, a new type of fully physically cross‐linked Agar/hydrophobically associated polyacrylamide (HPAAm) DN gels are synthesized by a simple one‐pot method. Agar/HPAAm DN gels exhibit excellent mechanical strength and high toughness, comparable to the reported DN gels. More importantly, because the ductile and tough second network of HPAAm can bear stress and reconstruct network structure, Agar/HPAAm DN gels also demonstrate rapid self‐recovery, remarkable fatigue resistance, and notable self‐healing property without any external stimuli at room temperature. In contrast to the former DN gels in both network structures and underlying association forces, this new design strategy to prepare highly mechanical DN gels provides a new avenue to better understand the fundamental structure‐property relationship of DN hydrogels, thus broadening current hydrogel research and applications.
Transforming Benzophenoxazine Laser Dyes into Chromophores for Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells: A Molecular Engineering Approach
Authors: Schröder Florian A. Y. N. , Cole Jacqueline M. , Waddell Paul G. , McKechnie Scott
Published: February 2015

The refunctionalization of a series of four well‐known industrial laser dyes, based on benzophenoxazine, is explored with the prospect of molecularly engineering new chromophores for dye‐sensitized solar cell (DSC) applications. Such engineering is important since a lack of suitable dyes is stifling the progress of DSC technology. The conceptual idea involves making laser dyes DSC‐active by chemical modification, while maintaining their key property attributes that are attractive to DSC applications. This molecular engineering follows a stepwise approach. First, molecular structures and optical absorption properties are determined for the parent laser dyes: Cresyl Violet (1), Oxazine 170 (2), Nile Blue A (3), Oxazine 750 (4). These reveal structure‐property relationships which define the prerequisites for computational molecular design of DSC dyes; the nature of their molecular architecture (D‐π‐A) and intramolecular charge transfer. Second, new DSC dyes are computationally designed by the in silico addition of a carboxylic acid anchor at various chemical substitution points in the parent laser dyes. A comparison of the resulting frontier molecular orbital energy levels with the conduction band edge of a TiO2 DSC photoanode and the redox potential of two electrolyte options I−/I3− and Co(II/III)tris(bipyridyl) suggests promise for these computationally designed dyes as co‐sensitizers for DSC applications.