bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An antithetic variate to facilitate upper-stem height measurements for critical height sampling with importance sampling
Authors: Lynch Thomas B. , Gove Jeffrey H.
Published: October 2013

Critical height sampling (CHS) estimates cubic volume per unit area by multiplying the sum of critical heights measured on trees tallied in a horizontal point sample (HPS) by the HPS basal area factor. One of the barriers to practical application of CHS is the fact that trees near the field location of the point-sampling sample point have critical heights that occur quite high on the stem, making them difficult to view from the sample point. To surmount this difficulty, use of the “antithetic variate” associated with the critical height together with importance sampling from the cylindrical shells integral is proposed. This antithetic variate will be u = (1 − b/B), where b is the cross-sectional area at “borderline” condition and B is the tree’s basal area. The cross-sectional area at borderline condition b can be determined with knowledge of the HPS gauge angle by measuring the distance to the sample tree. When the antithetic variate u is used in importance sampling, the upper-stem measurement will be low on tree stems close to the sample point and high on tree stems distant from the sample point, enhancing visibility and ease of measurement from the sample point. Computer simulations compared HPS, CHS, CHS with importance sampling (ICHS), ICHS and an antithetic variate (AICHS), and CHS with paired antithetic varariates (PAICHS) and found that HPS, ICHS, AICHS, and PAICHS were very nearly equally precise and were more precise than CHS. These results are favorable to AICHS, since it should require less time than either PAICHS or ICHS and is not subject to individual-tree volume equation bias.
Extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing Escherichia coli in hospital wastewaters and sewage treatment plants in Queensland, Australia
Authors: Gündoğdu Aycan , Jennison Amy V. , Smith Helen V. , Stratton Helen , Katouli Mohammad
Published: October 2013

We investigated the prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli in untreated hospital wastewaters and 2 sewage treatment plants (STPs). A collection of 252 ESBL-producing E. coli isolates from hospital wastewater and STPs were typed and tested for resistance to 17 antimicrobial agents and for the presence of integron-associated integrases (intI gene) and ESBL genes. Eighty-nine percent (n = 176) of the ESBL-producing E. coli strains from hospital wastewater were found in more than 1 sample (common types), with 1 common type accounting for 35% of isolates, found in all samples. These strains were also resistant to up to 9 non-β-lactam antibiotics and showed the same pattern of resistance in all samples. More than 73% of the hospital wastewater isolates possessed SHV-type ESBL as opposed to isolates from STPs that carried only CTX-M-type ESBL genes. The prevalence of the intI gene did not differ between the sources of the isolates. Certain ESBL-producing E. coli were dominant in hospital wastewaters. These strains possessed β-lactamase genes that were different from isolates found in STPs. From a public health point of view, the presence of such a high level of ESBL-producing E. coli strains in hospital wastewaters is of great importance.
Self-time-delay synchronization of time-delay coupled complex chaotic system and its applications to communication
Authors: Zhang Fangfang , Liu Shutang
Published: October 2013

Considering the time lag produced by the transmission in chaos-communication, we present self-time-delay synchronization (STDS) of complex chaotic systems. STDS implies that the synchronization between the time-delay system (the receiver) and the original system (the transmitter) while maintaining the structure and parameters of systems unchanged, thus these various problems produced by time-delay in practice are avoided. It is more suitable to simulate real communication situation. Aimed to time-delay coupled complex chaotic systems, the control law is derived by active control technique. Based on STDS, a novel communication scheme is further designed according to chaotic masking. In simulation, we take time-delay coupled complex Lorenz system transmitting actual speech signal (analog signal) and binary signal as examples. The speech signal contains two components, which are transmitted by the real part and imaginary part of one complex state variable. Two sequences of binary bits are converted into analog signals by 2M-ary and zero-order holder, then added into the real part and imaginary part of one complex state variable. Therefore, the STDS controller is realized by one critical state variable. It is simple in principle and easy to implement in engineering. Moreover, the communication system is robust to noise. It is possible to adopt cheap circuits with time-delay, which is economical and practical for communication.
Transient conduction simulation of a nano-scale hotspot using finite volume lattice Boltzmann method
Authors: Samian R. S. , Abbassi A. , Ghazanfarian J.
Published: October 2013

This paper uses the finite volume lattice Boltzmann method (FVLBM) to simulate the transient heat conduction from macro- to nano-scales corresponding to Kn = 0.01–10. This model is used for two dimensional (2D) transient hotspot modeling. The results of the diffusive regime are compared with those of the Fourier law as a model of continuum mechanics and an excellent agreement is found in this regime. After the validation of model for the case of Kn = 0.01, it has been used for high-Knudsen number simulations and a test case with Kn = 10 is studied. By increasing the Knudsen number from 0.01 up to 10, the transition from totally diffusive to totally ballistic behavior has been discussed and the wave-feature of heat transport through the solid material has been investigated.
RESILIENT PRICE IMPACT OF TRADING AND THE COST OF ILLIQUIDITY
Authors: ROCH ALEXANDRE , METE SONER H.
Published: October 2013

We construct a model for liquidity risk and price impacts in a limit order book setting with depth, resilience and tightness. We derive a wealth equation and a characterization of illiquidity costs. We show that we can separate liquidity costs due to depth and resilience from those related to tightness, and obtain a reduced model in which proportional costs due to the bid-ask spread is removed. From this, we obtain conditions under which the model is arbitrage free. By considering the standard utility maximization problem, this also allows us to obtain a stochastic discount factor and an asset pricing formula which is consistent with empirical findings (e.g., Brennan and Subrahmanyam (1996); Amihud and Mendelson (1986)). Furthermore, we show that in limiting cases for some parameters of the model, we derive many existing liquidity models present in the arbitrage pricing literature, including Çetin et al. (2004) and Rogers and Singh (2010). This offers a classification of different types of liquidity costs in terms of the depth and resilience of prices.
FUNCTIONAL INTEGRATION AND SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTATION OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IN HOTEL INDUSTRY: A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS
Authors: KU EDWARD C. S.
Published: October 2013

Successful customer relationship management (CRM) depend on strategic skills and reflect the sharpness of long-term cooperation and organizational values. The purpose of the study will explore operational and analytical implementation of information system (IS) may lead to market strategy and CRM performances of a hotel. A CRM performance model was formulated by ISs success perspective in the study, and we collected international tourism hotel samples by mailing questionnaire survey in Taiwan. We mailed 232 questionnaires to hotels, of which 151 returned completed questionnaires and we test the model and hypotheses by structural equation modeling (SEM) and multilevel analysis for our research. As this result of the study, the role of IS will transfer from the transaction process system to a strategic supporting role, collecting information is important process to hoteliers, staffs prepare to personalize service for a guest in advance when they have more information about guest. And the capability of leveraging analytics in operations can be a critical differentiator for hotel to stay competitive. As a business discipline, this research could be directed toward helping managers and practitioners decide CRM implementation priority, and improve both business processes and competitiveness through the deployment of a CRM system.
DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN HYPERPLASTIC AND ADENOMATOUS POLYPS AND NORMAL COLONIC MUCOSA BY USING MULTIPHOTON LASER SCANNING MICROSCOPY
Authors: LI HONGSHENG , FENG CHANGYIN , CHEN ZHIFEN , YANG YINGHONG , JIANG WEIZHONG , ZHUO SHUANGMU , ZHU XIAOQIN , GUAN GUOXIAN , CHEN JIANXIN
Published: October 2013

Precisely distinguishing between hyperplastic and adenomatous polyps and normal human colonic mucosa at the cellular level is of great medical significance. In this work, multiphoton laser scanning microscopy (MPLSM) was used to obtain the high-contrast images and the morphological characteristics from normal colonic mucosa, hyperplastic polyps and tubular adenoma. By integrating the length and area measurement tools and computing tool, we quantified the difference of crypt morphology and the alteration of nuclei in normal and diseased human colonic mucosa. Our results demonstrated that the morphology of crypts had an obvious tendency to cystic dilatation or elongated in hyperplastic polyps and tubular adenoma. The content and number of mucin droplets of the scattered goblet cells had a piecemeal reduction in hyperplastic polyps and a large decrease in tubular adenoma. The nuclei of epithelial cells might be elongated and pseudostratified, but overt dysplasia was absent in hyperplastic polyps. Nevertheless, the nuclei showed enlarged, crowded, stratified and a rod-like structure, with loss of polarity in tubular adenoma. These results suggest that MPLSM has the capacity to distinguish between hyperplastic and adenomatous polyps and normal human colonic mucosa at the cellular level.
Syncollisional tholeiitic magmatism induced by asthenosphere upwelling owing to slab detachment at the southern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt
Authors: Song Xie-Yan , Chen Lie-Meng , Deng Yu-Feng , Xie Wei
Published: October 2013

The mafic–ultramafic complexes containing magmatic sulphides at the southern margins of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt have been recently proposed to result from an Early Permian mantle plume. However, in this study we show that the plume model cannot account for the observed geological characteristics of the Huangshan–Jingerquan mafic–ultramafic belt in the Northern Tianshan. Low K
2
O contents and positive correlation between TiO
2
and (Fe
2
O
3
)
T
/MgO of the mafic–ultramafic complexes of this belt demonstrate a tholeiitic affinity. Enrichment of large ion lithophile elements and depletion of high field strength elements (in particular Nb and Ta) relative to mid-ocean ridge basalt indicate a subduction-modified mantle source. Lead isotope values and compositions of chromite indicate a significant contribution from the melting of asthenosphere. The absence of Late Carboniferous strata in the Huangshan–Jingerquan belt and Early Permian exhumation of blueschist and eclogite along the Aqikkuduk suture at the southern boundary of the belt indicate that an arc–continent collision occurred in the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian. We propose that the detachment of oceanic lithosphere from continental lithosphere during the collision induced asthenospheric upwelling, which resulted in melting of both the asthenosphere and the overlying metasomatized mantle wedge, and the formation of the mafic–ultramafic complexes with ages of 270–285 Ma along the Huangshan–Jingerquan belt.

Supplementary materials:

Zircon SHRIMP U–Pb ages of the Tudun and Huangshannan intrusions, major oxide and trace element compositions of the discussed intrusions, and clinopyroxene and chromite compositions of the selected intrusions are available at
www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18656
.
40
Ar/
39
Ar hornblende provenance clues about Heinrich event 3 (H3)
Authors: Downing Greg E. , Hemming Sidney R. , Jost Anne , Roy Martin
Published: October 2013

Iceberg discharges into the North Atlantic are important sources of fresh water, and the sediments they deposit can provide constraints on which sectors of different ice sheets were contributing icebergs.
40
Ar/
39
Ar ages of sand-sized hornblende grains provide useful constraints on IRD (ice-rafted detritus) source areas.

Heinrich events are intervals of anomalously high percentages of IRD in marine sediment cores of the North Atlantic IRD belt. In contrast to the others, Heinrich event 3 (H3) records a significantly lower flux of IRD. This study compares
40
Ar/
39
Ar hornblende age distributions from the interval around and including H3 in giant gravity core EW9303-GGC31 from Orphan Knoll, in the southern part of the Labrador Sea, with piston core V28-82 in the eastern part of the North Atlantic IRD belt. Collectively, these results confirm that H3 represents a Hudson Strait IRD event, but that it was smaller than during H1, H2, H4 and H5, and therefore comprises only a small fraction of the detritus at the eastern North Atlantic location of V28-82. These results support a previously published interpretation of across-strait ice flow during H3 at Hudson Strait.

Supplementary material:

Appendix 1 is
40
Ar/
39
Ar data from core EW9303-GGC31; Appendix 2 is grain counts across H3 from core V28-82; Appendix 3 is
40
Ar/
39
Ar data from core V28-82; these are available at
http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18631
.
Perspectives on
40
Ar/
39
Ar dating
Authors: McDougall Ian
Published: October 2013

Isotopic dating of geological samples using the K/Ar method and its variant, the
40
Ar/
39
Ar dating technique, provides ages that in favourable circumstances are precise and accurate to within 1%. Limiting factors include the accuracy of the decay constants for
40
K and the age of neutron fluence monitor minerals. For rapidly cooled igneous rocks, a K/Ar or
40
Ar/
39
Ar age normally will give a good estimate of the age of eruption, but for slowly cooled igneous rocks or metamorphic rocks an age measured on a sample is likely to be a cooling age. As
40
Ar*/
39
Ar
K
ratios can now be determined often to better than 0.1%, the main limitation on accuracy relates to how well the
40
K decay constants are known. Better determination of the β
−
and γ decays of
40
K, the basis for the decay constants, is suggested at the present time, rather than adoption of new decay constants linked to another decay scheme. Until improved independently measured decay constants for
40
K become available, there may be some circumstances where the newly proposed decay constants need to be used, especially when comparing ages on volcanic igneous rocks with those measured in another system.
Submodular secretary problem and extensions
Authors: Bateni Mohammadhossein , Hajiaghayi Mohammadtaghi , Zadimoghaddam Morteza
Published: October 2013

Online auction is the essence of many modern markets, particularly networked markets, in which information about goods, agents, and outcomes is revealed over a period of time, and the agents must make irrevocable decisions without knowing future information. Optimal stopping theory, especially the classic
secretary problem
, is a powerful tool for analyzing such online scenarios which generally require optimizing an objective function over the input. The secretary problem and its generalization the
multiple-choice secretary problem
were under a thorough study in the literature. In this article, we consider a very general setting of the latter problem called the
submodular secretary problem
, in which the goal is to select
k
secretaries so as to maximize the expectation of a (not necessarily monotone) submodular function which defines efficiency of the selected secretarial group based on their overlapping skills. We present the first constant-competitive algorithm for this case. In a more general setting in which selected secretaries should form an independent (feasible) set in each of
l
given matroids as well, we obtain an
O
(
l
log
2
r
)-competitive algorithm generalizing several previous results, where
r
is the maximum rank of the matroids. Another generalization is to consider
l
knapsack constraints (i.e., a knapsack constraint assigns a nonnegative cost to each secretary, and requires that the total cost of all the secretaries employed be no more than a budget value) instead of the matroid constraints, for which we present an
O
(
l
)-competitive algorithm. In a sharp contrast, we show for a more general setting of
subadditive secretary problem
, there is no
õ
(√
n
)-competitive algorithm and thus submodular functions are the most general functions to consider for constant-competitiveness in our setting. We complement this result by giving a matching
O
(√
n
)-competitive algorithm for the subadditive case. At the end, we consider some special cases of our general setting as well.
Corrigendum
Authors: Gandhi Rajiv , Halldórsson Magnús M. , Kortsarz Guy , Shachnai Hadas
Published: October 2013

In Gandhi et al. [2006], we gave an algorithm for the data migration and non-deterministic open shop scheduling problems in the minimum sum version, that was claimed to achieve a 5.06-approximation. Unfortunately, it was pointed to us by Maxim Sviridenko that the argument contained an unfounded assumption that has eluded all of its readers until now. We detail in this document how this error can be amended. A side effect is an improved approximation ratio of 4.96.
CHEBINT
Authors: Poppe Koen , Cools Ronald
Published: October 2013

We present the fast approximation of multivariate functions based on Chebyshev series for two types of Chebyshev lattices and show how a fast Fourier transform (FFT) based discrete cosine transform (DCT) can be used to reduce the complexity of this operation. Approximating multivariate functions using rank-1 Chebyshev lattices can be seen as a one-dimensional DCT while a full-rank Chebyshev lattice leads to a multivariate DCT.

We also present a MATLAB/Octave toolbox which uses this fast algorithms to approximate functions on a axis aligned hyper-rectangle. Given a certain accuracy of this approximation, interpolation of the original function can be achieved by evaluating the approximation while the definite integral over the domain can be estimated based on this Chebyshev approximation. We conclude with an example for both operations and actual timings of the two methods presented.
gHull
Authors: Gao Mingcen , Cao Thanh-Tung , Nanjappa Ashwin , Tan Tiow-Seng , Huang Zhiyong
Published: October 2013

A novel algorithm is presented to compute the convex hull of a point set in ℝ
3
using the graphics processing unit (GPU). By exploiting the relationship between the Voronoi diagram and the convex hull, the algorithm derives the approximation of the convex hull from the former. The other extreme vertices of the convex hull are then found by using a two-round checking in the digital and the continuous space successively. The algorithm does not need explicit locking or any other concurrency control mechanism, thus it can maximize the parallelism available on the modern GPU.

The implementation using the CUDA programming model on NVIDIA GPUs is exact and efficient. The experiments show that it is up to an order of magnitude faster than other sequential convex hull implementations running on the CPU for inputs of millions of points. The works demonstrate that the GPU can be used to solve nontrivial computational geometry problems with significant performance benefit.
Algorithm 931
Authors: Hao Wenrui , Sommese Andrew J. , Zeng Zhonggang
Published: October 2013

A Matlab implementation, multiplicity, of a numerical algorithm for computing the multiplicity structure of a nonlinear system at an isolated zero is presented. The software incorporates a newly developed equation-by-equation strategy that significantly improves the efficiency of the closedness subspace algorithm and substantially reduces the storage requirement. The equation-by-equation strategy is actually based on a variable-by-variable closedness subspace approach. As a result, the algorithm and software can handle much larger nonlinear systems and higher multiplicities than their predecessors, as shown in computational experiments on the included test suite of benchmark problems.
Algorithm 934
Authors: Erricolo Danilo , Carluccio Giuseppe
Published: October 2013

Software to compute angular and radial Mathieu functions is provided in the case that the parameterqis a complex variable and the independent variablexis real. After an introduction on the notation and the definitions of Mathieu functions and their related properties, Fortran 90 subroutines to compute them are described and validated with some comparisons. A sample application is also provided.
A systematic approach for optimized bypass configurations for application-specific embedded processors
Authors: Jungeblut Thorsten , Hübener Boris , Porrmann Mario , Rückert Ulrich
Published: October 2013

The diversity of today's mobile applications requires embedded processor cores with a high resource efficiency, that means, the devices should provide a high performance at low area requirements and power consumption. The fine-grained parallelism supported by multiple functional units of VLIW architectures offers a high throughput at reasonable low clock frequencies compared to single-core RISC processors. To efficiently utilize the processor pipeline, common system architectures have to cope with data hazards due to data dependencies between consecutive operations. On the one hand, such hazards can be resolved by complex forwarding circuits (i.e., a pipeline bypass) which forward intermediate results to a subsequent instruction. On the other hand, the pipeline bypass can strongly affect or even dominate the total resource requirements and degrade the maximum clock frequency. In this work the CoreVA VLIW architecture is used for the development and the analysis of application-specific bypass configurations. It is shown that many paths of a comprehensive bypass system are rarely used and may not be required for certain applications. For this reason, several strategies have been implemented to enhance the efficiency of the total system by introducing application-specific bypass configurations. The configuration can be carried out statically by only implementing required paths or at runtime by dynamically reconfiguring the hardware. An algorithm is proposed which derives an optimized configuration by iteratively disabling single bypass paths. The adaptation of these application-specific bypass configurations allows for a reduction of the critical path by 26%. As a result, the execution time and energy requirements could be reduced by up to 21.5%. Using Dynamic Frequency Scaling (DFS) and dynamic deactivation/reactivation of bypass paths allows for a runtime reconfiguration of the bypass system. This ensures the highest efficiency while processing varying applications.
Automatic synthesis of physical system differential equation models to a custom network of general processing elements on FPGAs
Authors: Huang Chen , Vahid Frank , Givargis Tony
Published: October 2013

Fast execution of physical system models has various uses, such as simulating physical phenomena or real-time testing of medical equipment. Physical system models commonly consist of thousands of differential equations. Solving such equations using software on microprocessor devices may be slow. Several past efforts implement such models as parallel circuits on special computing devices called Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), demonstrating large speedups due to the excellent match between the massive fine-grained local communication parallelism common in physical models and the fine-grained parallel compute elements and local connectivity of FPGAs. However, past implementation efforts were mostly manual or ad hoc. We present the first method for automatically converting a set of ordinary differential equations into circuits on FPGAs. The method uses a general Processing Element (PE) that we developed, designed to quickly solve a set of ordinary differential equations while using few FPGA resources. The method instantiates a network of general PEs, partitions equations among the PEs to minimize communication, generates each PE's custom program, creates custom connections among PEs, and maintains synchronization of all PEs in the network. Our experiments show that the method generates a 400-PE network on a commercial FPGA that executes four different models on average 15x faster than a 3 GHz Intel processor, 30x faster than a commercial 4-core ARM, 14x faster than a commercial 6-core Texas Instruments digital signal processor, and 4.4x faster than an NVIDIA 336-core graphics processing unit. We also show that the FPGA-based approach is reasonably cost effective compared to using the other platforms. The method yields 2.1x faster circuits than a commercial high-level synthesis tool that uses the traditional method for converting behavior to circuits, while using 2x fewer lookup tables, 2x fewer hardcore multiplier (DSP) units, though 3.5x more block RAM due to being programmable. Furthermore, the method does not just generate a single fastest design, but generates a range of designs that trade off size and performance, by using different numbers of PEs.
LegUp
Authors: Canis Andrew , Choi Jongsok , Aldham Mark , Zhang Victor , Kammoona Ahmed , Czajkowski Tomasz , Brown Stephen D. , Anderson Jason H.
Published: October 2013

It is generally accepted that a custom hardware implementation of a set of computations will provide superior speed and energy efficiency relative to a software implementation. However, the cost and difficulty of hardware design is often prohibitive, and consequently, a software approach is used for most applications. In this article, we introduce a new high-level synthesis tool called
LegUp
that allows software techniques to be used for hardware design. LegUp accepts a standard C program as input and automatically compiles the program to a hybrid architecture containing an FPGA-based MIPS soft processor and custom hardware accelerators that communicate through a standard bus interface. In the hybrid processor/accelerator architecture, program segments that are unsuitable for hardware implementation can execute in software on the processor. LegUp can synthesize most of the C language to hardware, including fixed-sized multidimensional arrays, structs, global variables, and pointer arithmetic. Results show that the tool produces hardware solutions of comparable quality to a commercial high-level synthesis tool. We also give results demonstrating the ability of the tool to explore the hardware/software codesign space by varying the amount of a program that runs in software versus hardware. LegUp, along with a set of benchmark C programs, is open source and freely downloadable, providing a powerful platform that can be leveraged for new research on a wide range of high-level synthesis topics.
A feature-word-topic model for image annotation and retrieval
Authors: Nguyen Cam-Tu , Kaothanthong Natsuda , Tokuyama Takeshi , Phan Xuan-Hieu
Published: October 2013

Image annotation is a process of finding appropriate semantic labels for images in order to obtain a more convenient way for indexing and searching images on the Web. This article proposes a novel method for image annotation based on combining feature-word distributions, which map from visual space to word space, and word-topic distributions, which form a structure to capture label relationships for annotation. We refer to this type of model as Feature-Word-Topic models. The introduction of topics allows us to efficiently take word associations, such as {ocean, fish, coral} or {desert, sand, cactus}, into account for image annotation. Unlike previous topic-based methods, we do not consider topics as joint distributions of words and visual features, but as distributions of words only. Feature-word distributions are utilized to define weights in computation of topic distributions for annotation. By doing so, topic models in text mining can be applied directly in our method. Our Feature-word-topic model, which exploits Gaussian Mixtures for feature-word distributions, and probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis (pLSA) for word-topic distributions, shows that our method is able to obtain promising results in image annotation and retrieval.
Virtual private social networks and a facebook implementation
Authors: Conti Mauro , Hasani Arbnor , Crispo Bruno
Published: October 2013

The popularity of Social Networking Sites (SNS) is growing rapidly, with the largest sites serving hundreds of millions of users and their private information. The privacy settings of these SNSs do not allow the user to avoid sharing some information (e.g., name and profile picture) with all the other users. Also, no matter the privacy settings, this information is always shared with the SNS (that could sell this information or be hacked). To mitigate these threats, we recently introduced the concept of Virtual Private Social Networks (VPSNs).

In this work we propose the first complete architecture and implementation of VPSNs for Facebook. In particular, we address an important problem left unexplored in our previous research—that is the automatic propagation of updated profiles to all the members of the same VPSN. Furthermore, we made an in-depth study on performance and implemented several optimization to reduce the impact of VPSN on user experience.

The proposed solution is lightweight, completely distributed, does not depend on the collaboration from Facebook, does not have a central point of failure, it offers (with some limitations) the same functionality as Facebook, and apart from some simple settings, the solution is almost transparent to the user. Thorough experiments, with an extended set of parameters, we have confirmed the feasibility of the proposal and have shown a very limited time-overhead experienced by the user while browsing Facebook pages.
Design and Performance Evaluation of Data Dissemination Systems for Opportunistic Networks Based on Cognitive Heuristics
Authors: Conti Marco , Mordacchini Matteo , Passarella Andrea
Published: October 2013

In the convergence of theCyber-Physical World, user devices will act as proxies of the humans in the cyber world. They will be required to act in a vast information landscape, asserting the relevance of data spread in the cyber world, in order to let their human users become aware of the content they really need. This is a remarkably similar situation to what the human brain has to do all the time when deciding what information coming from the surrounding environment is interesting and what can simply be ignored. The brain performs this task using so called cognitive heuristics, i.e. simple, rapid, yet very effective schemes. In this article, we propose a new approach that exploits one of these heuristics, therecognition heuristic, for developing a self-adaptive system that deals with effective data dissemination in opportunistic networks. We show how to implement it and provide an extensive analysis via simulation. Specifically, results show that the proposed solution is as effective as state-of-the-art solutions for data dissemination in opportunistic networks, while requiring far less resources. Finally, our sensitiveness analysis shows how various parameters depend on the context where nodes are situated, and suggest corresponding optimal configurations for the algorithm.
The Functional Significance of Cattle Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Genetic Diversity
Authors: Ellis Shirley A. , Hammond John A.
Published: October 2013

Current concerns about food security highlight the importance of maintaining productive and disease-resistant livestock populations. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I genes have a central role in immunity. A high level of diversity in these genes allows populations to survive despite exposure to rapidly evolving pathogens. This review aims to describe the key features of MHC class I genetic diversity in cattle and to discuss their role in disease resistance. Discussion centers on data derived from the cattle genome sequence and studies addressing MHC class I gene expression and function. The impact of intensive selection on MHC diversity is also considered. A high level of complexity in MHC class I genes and functionally related gene families is revealed. This highlights the need for increased efforts to determine key genetic components that govern cattle immune responses to disease, which is increasingly important in the face of changing human and environmental demands.
MicroRNAs in Cancer
Authors: Di Leva Gianpiero , Garofalo Michela , Croce Carlo M.
Published: October 2013

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that typically inhibit the translation and stability of messenger RNAs (mRNAs), controlling genes involved in cellular processes such as inflammation, cell-cycle regulation, stress response, differentiation, apoptosis, and migration. Thus, miRNAs have been implicated in the regulation of virtually all signaling circuits within a cell, and their dysregulation has been shown to play an essential role in the development and progression of cancer. Here, after a brief description of miRNA genomics, biogenesis, and function, we discuss the effects of miRNA dysregulation in the cellular pathways that lead to the progressive conversion of normal cells into cancer cells and the potential to develop new molecular miRNA-targeted therapies.
GLP-1-derived nonapeptide GLP-1(28–36)amide represses hepatic gluconeogenic gene expression and improves pyruvate tolerance in high-fat diet-fed mice
Authors: Ip Wilfred , Shao Weijuan , Chiang Yu-ting Alex , Jin Tianru
Published: October 2013

Certain “degradation” products of GLP-1 were found to possess beneficial effects on metabolic homeostasis. Here, we investigated the function of the COOH-terminal fragment of GLP-1, the nonapeptide GLP-1(28–36)amide, in hepatic glucose metabolism. C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 13 wk were injected intraperitoneally with GLP-1(28–36)amide for 6 wk. A significant reduction in body weight gain in response to HFD feeding was observed in GLP-1(28–36)amide-treated mice. GLP-1(28–36)amide administration moderately improved glucose disposal during glucose tolerance test but more drastically attenuated glucose production during pyruvate tolerance test, which was associated with reduced hepatic expression of the gluconeogenic genes Pck1, G6pc, and Ppargc1a. Mice treated with GLP-1(28–36)amide exhibited increased phosphorylation of PKA targets, including cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), ATF-1, and β-catenin. In primary hepatocytes, GLP-1(28–36)amide reduced glucose production and expression of Pck1, G6pc, and Ppargc1a, which was associated with increased cAMP content and PKA target phosphorylation. These effects were attenuated by PKA inhibition. We suggest that GLP-1(28–36)amide represses hepatic gluconeogenesis involving the activation of components of the cAMP/PKA signaling pathway. This study further confirmed that GLP-1(28–36)amide possesses therapeutic potential for diabetes and other metabolic disorders.
Spectrum Sensing for Cognitive Coexistent Heterogeneous Networks
Authors: Zhao Bingxuan , Sasaki Shigenobu
Published: October 2013

This paper proposes a noncoherent spectrum sensing scheme for the cognitive coexistent heterogeneous networks with the assistance of geolocation information of primary and secondary nodes. Different from the conventional networks with single secondary network, the spectrum sensing scheme in the coexistence scenario should not only detect the primary signal but also detect the secondary signals to avoid the interference with both the primary network and the operating coexistent secondary networks. Therefore, the sensing scheme in this case should be able to differentiate the primary signal from each kind of the secondary signals. However, in the coexistent heterogeneous scenarios, the secondary signals may exploit different PHY modes (some of them may be the same as the primary PHY mode), which imposes difficulties in the coherent signal detection schemes. Aiming to tackle this problem, the parallel detection of both primary signal and each kind of secondary signals is implemented through a proposed noncoherent power decomposition scheme. In this scheme, the power decomposition is formulated into a problem of solving a nonhomogeneous linear equation matrix. During the signal detection, the characteristics of both primary and secondary signals are not required. Both the analysis and the simulation results show the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed scheme.
Security Analysis of Scalable Block Cipher PP-1 Applicable to Distributed Sensor Networks
Authors: Lee Yuseop , Jeong Kitae , Sung Jaechul , Lee Changhoon , Hong Seokhie , Chang Ku-Young
Published: October 2013

PP-1 is a scalable block cipher which can be implemented on a platform with limited resource. In this paper, we analyze the security of PP-1 by using truncated differential cryptanalysis. As concrete examples, we consider four versions of PP-1, PP-1/64, PP-1/128, PP-1/192, and PP-1/256. Our attack is applicable to full-round versions of them, respectively. The proposed attacks can recover a secret key of PP-1 with the computational complexity which is faster than the exhaustive search. These are the first known cryptanalytic results on PP-1.
A Case of Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (Wegener’s Granulomatosis) Presenting with Marked Inflamed Tracheobronchial Mucosa
Authors: Nishiuma Teruaki , Ohnishi Hisashi , Yoshimura Sho , Kinami Saori , Sakamoto Susumu
Published: October 2013

A 70-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of weight loss and persistent dry cough. Chest radiograph and CT showed multiple infiltrates in the bilateral upper lobes and the remarkably thickened bronchial walls. Bronchoscopy revealed diffuse erythema and edema of the tracheobronchial mucosa without any ulcerous legions. Serum MPO-ANCA was positive (155 EU). Transbronchial biopsy was performed and revealed necrotic granulomas with multinucleated giant cells in the bronchial/bronchiolar and parenchymal lesions. Thus, we diagnosed it as a localized form of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA, Wegener’s granulomatosis). After treatment with corticosteroid and cyclophosphamide, the bronchial findings were entirely resolved. We report here a rare case of GPA presenting with markedly inflamed tracheobronchial mucosa.
A Betweenness Calibration Topology Optimal Control Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Yang Ting , Lin Zhixian , Yuan Bo
Published: October 2013

In self-organized wireless sensor networks (WSNs), any two sensor nodes can connect if they are placed in each other's communication range. Therefore, the physical topology of WSNs is usually a strongly connected topology. Sensor nodes should frequently receive and process data from their large number of neighbors, which will consume great amounts of energy. Shocking wireless channel collision also causes low throughput and high loss packets ratio during data transmission. To improve the transmission performance and save scarce energy, a logical topology generating from the physical one is necessary for the self-organized WSNs. Based on the complex network theory, this paper proposed a novel betweenness addition edges expansion algorithm (BAEE). With betweenness calibration, BAEE algorithm expanded the minimum-cost edges to optimize the network topology. Two performance metrics-connectivity functions, robustness function [Formula: see text] and efficiency function [Formula: see text], were utilized to evaluate the network capability of the robustness and invulnerability. [Formula: see text] is the parameter to measure the topology connectivity, and [Formula: see text] is the parameter to evaluate the network exchanging information capability. Based on the simulation under various random failures and intentional attack scenarios, BAEE can effectively optimize WSNs' topology and improve the network's robust connectivity and extremely efficient exchanging information capability.
The Effect of Metal‐Semiconductor Contact on the Transient Photovoltaic Characteristic of HgCdTe PV Detector
Authors: Cui Haoyang , Xu Yongpeng , Yang Junjie , Tang Naiyun , Tang Zhong
Published: October 2013

The transient photovoltaic (PV) characteristic of HgCdTe PV array is studied using an ultrafast laser. The photoresponse shows an apparent negative valley first, then it evolves into a positive peak. By employing a combined theoretical model of pn junction and Schottky potential, this photo‐response polarity changing curves can be interpreted well. An obvious decreasing of ratio of negative valley to positive peak can be realized by limiting the illumination area of the array electrode. This shows that the photoelectric effect of Schottky barrier at metal‐semiconductor (M/S) interface is suppressed, which will verify the correctness of the model. The characteristic parameters of transient photo‐response induced from p-n junction and Schottky potential are extracted by fitting the response curve utilizing this model. It shows that the negative PV response induced by the Schottky barrier decreases the positive photovoltage generated by the pn junction.
An Investigation on the Effects of Ship Sourced Emissions in Izmir Port, Turkey
Authors: Saraçoğlu Halil , Deniz Cengiz , Kılıç Alper
Published: October 2013

Maritime transportation is a major source of climate change and air pollution. Shipping emissions cause severe impacts on health and environment. These effects of emissions are emerged especially in territorial waters, inland seas, canals, straits, bays, and port regions. In this paper, exhaust gas emissions from ships in Izmir Port, which is one of the main ports in Turkey, are calculated by the ship activity‐based methodology. Total emissions from ships in the port is estimated as 1923 ton y−1 for NOx, 1405 ton y−1 for SO2, 82753 ton y−1 for CO2, ton y−1 for HC, and 165 ton y−1 for PM in the year 2007. These emissions are classified regarding operation modes and types of ships. The results are compared with the other studies including amounts of exhaust pollutants generated by ships. According to the findings, it is clear that the ships calling the Izmir Port are important air polluting causes of the Izmir city and its surroundings.
Combination with Methotrexate and Cyclophosphamide Attenuated Maturation of Dendritic Cells: Inducing Treg Skewing and Th17 SuppressionIn Vivo
Authors: Yu Xiaoyang , Wang Caihong , Luo Jing , Zhao Xiangcong , Wang Lixing , Li Xiaofeng
Published: October 2013

Immune disorder is considered the main pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The balance of the two special subsets of CD4+T cells, T helper cell 17 (Th17), and Regulator T cell (Treg) is the key factor of maintaining a normal immune response. Dendritic cells (DCs), which are the most powerful antigen-presenting cells, play an important role in regulating the balance of Th17 and Treg. The combination of disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) is an important strategy of RA therapy. In this study, we investigated the effect of MTX and CTX on DC maturation in ovalbumin (OVA) immunized mice. Th17 inflammatory response is stronger, while the level of DCs maturity is higher. In contrast, the immunosuppression of Treg is stronger. We found that MTX combined with CTX significantly inhibited the DCs maturity and downregulated the antigen presenting capacity of DCs. As a result, it reestablished a balance of Th17 and Treg. Our study adds a novel mechanism and therapeutic target of MTX combined with CTX for autoimmune disease treatment.
The Sorption of Ni(II) by Grape Shell Ash from Aqueous Solution: Kinetic and Thermodynamic Studies
Authors: Ghasemi Nahid , Ghasemi Maryam , Khosravi-Fard Yaghoub
Published: October 2013

The sorption of Ni(II) onto grape shell ash (GSA) was studied by performing batch kinetic sorption experiments. The influences of major parameters in Nickel(II) ions sorption on GS such as initial of pH, initial concentration of Ni(II) ions, the initial temperatures of solution, and contact time were investigated. The maximum increase in the rate of sorption of Ni(II) ions on GS was observed at an initial pH = 5, initial concentration of nickel 50 mgL−1, temperature of solution (328 K), andt=90 min. The rate constants and the equilibrium sorption capacities were calculated. The results indicate that the sorption process follows the second-order kinetics and the values of rate constants were found to be 0.224, 0.402, 0.193 and 0.123 min−1at 298, 308, 318, and 328 K, respectively. The values of correlation coefficients for the adsorption of Ni(II) on GSA from all the systems were found to be 0.999, and the values of predicted equilibrium sorption capacities showed good agreement with the experimental equilibrium uptake values. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔG°,ΔH°, andΔS°) of the adsorption process were calculated, and these parameters showed that the adsorption process is spontaneous.
An Increasing Prominent Disease ofKlebsiella pneumoniaeLiver Abscess: Etiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment
Authors: Liu Yun , Wang Ji-yao , Jiang Wei
Published: October 2013

Background. During the past two decades,Klebsiella pneumoniae(K. pneumoniae) had surpassedEscherichia coli(E. coli) as the predominant isolate from patients with pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) in Asian countries, the United States, and Europe, and it tended to spread globally. Since the clinical symptom is atypical, the accurate and effective diagnosis and treatment ofK. pneumoniaeliver abscesses (KLAs) are very necessary.Methods. Here, we have comprehensively clarified the epidemiology and pathogenesis of KLA, put emphases on the clinical presentations especially the characteristic radiographic findings of KLA, and thoroughly elucidated the most effective antibiotic strategy of KLA.Results. K1 serotype is strongly associated with KLA especially in diabetic patients. Computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US) were two main diagnostic methods of KLA in the past. Most of KLAs have solitary, septal lobular abscesses in the right lobe of liver, and they are mainly monomicrobial. Broad-spectrum antibiotics combined with the US-guided percutaneous drainage of liver abscesses can increase their survival rates, but surgical intervention still has its irreplaceable position.Conclusion. The imaging features contribute to the early diagnosis, and the percutaneous intervention combined with an aminoglycoside plus either an extended-spectrum betalactam or a second- or third-generation cephalosporin is a timely and effective treatment of KLA.
A Novel Series Connected Batteries State of High Voltage Safety Monitor System for Electric Vehicle Application
Authors: Jiaxi Qiang , Lin Yang , Jianhui He , Qisheng Zhou
Published: October 2013

Batteries, as the main or assistant power source of EV (Electric Vehicle), are usually connected in series with high voltage to improve the drivability and energy efficiency. Today, more and more batteries are connected in series with high voltage, if there is any fault in high voltage system (HVS), the consequence is serious and dangerous. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the electric parameters of HVS to ensure the high voltage safety and protect personal safety. In this study, a high voltage safety monitor system is developed to solve this critical issue. Four key electric parameters including precharge, contact resistance, insulation resistance, and remaining capacity are monitored and analyzed based on the equivalent models presented in this study. The high voltage safety controller which integrates the equivalent models and control strategy is developed. By the help of hardware‐in‐loop system, the equivalent models integrated in the high voltage safety controller are validated, and the online electric parameters monitor strategy is analyzed and discussed. The test results indicate that the high voltage safety monitor system designed in this paper is suitable for EV application.