bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Successive convex approximation for rate maximisation in cooperative multiple‐input–multiple‐output‐orthogonal frequency‐division multiplexing systems
Authors: Hsu Chih‐yu , Yeoh Phee Lep , Krongold Brian Scott
Published: August 2015

In this study, the authors propose a continuous rate and power allocation algorithm for multiuser downlink multiple‐input–multiple‐output orthogonal frequency‐division multiplexing systems with coordinated multi‐point transmission. The optimisation problem is formulated as a weighted sum‐rate maximisation problem subject to per‐antenna power constraints across multiple cooperating base stations (BSs). The practical consideration of the per‐antenna power constraint limits the average transmit antenna power which indirectly controls the inherent issue of high peak powers in OFDM. The proposed algorithm employs a successive convex approximation (SCA) technique to dynamically allocate powers to multiple co‐channel user terminals. They provide a convexity proof of the transformed optimisation problem and they show that the proposed algorithm converges to a unique solution. They compare the proposed SCA algorithm with two alternative approaches: (i) iterative waterfilling (IWF) and (ii) zero‐forcing beamforming (ZFB) with semi‐orthogonal user selection under both per‐antenna and per‐BS power constraint scenarios. Their simulation results highlight that the proposed SCA algorithm outperforms the existing IWF and ZFB in noise‐limited environments under both power constraint scenarios.
Characteristics of power quality disturbances in Australia: voltage dips at low‐voltage sites
Authors: Elphick Sean , Smith Vic , Gosbell Vic , Perera Sarath , Ciufo Phil , Drury Gerrard
Published: August 2015

Voltage dips are considered to be one of the costliest of all power quality disturbances due to their disruption of industrial and commercial operations. The ability to characterise the voltage dip performance of distribution networks has many benefits for industry. There is considerable potential for industry to make large economic gains if voltage dip behaviour can be better understood and planned for. To put strategies in place to deal with voltage dips, there is a need for extensive data collection and analysis so that correct planning decisions can be made. This study details the characteristics of voltage dip data which has been collected at low‐voltage sites in Australia over a 9 year period. The data is displayed in a number of different formats to aid analysis.
Comparison among series compensators for transient stability enhancement of doubly fed induction generator based variable speed wind turbines
Authors: Hussein Ahmed Abu , Hasan Ali Mohd.
Published: August 2015

This study investigates the effects of series compensators, such as the dynamic voltage restorer (DVR), series dynamic braking resistor, thyristor switched series capacitor, and the high temperature superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL), in enhancing the transient stability of a doubly fed induction machine based variable speed wind generator system. The tested system consists of a 9 MW doubly fed induction generator based wind farm connected to an infinite bus through two step‐up transformers and a double run transmission lines. A three‐phase‐to‐ground (3LG) fault and a single‐line‐to‐ground fault (1LG) were applied to one of the lines to demonstrate the transient stability enhancement ability of the series devices. A performance comparison among the four series compensators is made based on responses of active/reactive power, terminal voltage, rotor speed, dc link voltage, and current variations. Simulations were carried out in the MATLAB/Simulink environment. Simulation results show that all series devices can improve the transient stability, however, the SFCL is the most efficient in terms of active power, rotor speed stability and fault current suppression, and the DVR seems to have a better performance than the SFCL in terms of voltage and reactive power.
Micro‐Doppler radar signature identification within wind turbine clutter based on short‐CPI airborne radar observations
Authors: Nepal Ramesh , Cai Jingxiao , Yan (Rockee) Zhang
Published: August 2015

An application of machine intelligence technique for the identification of micro‐Doppler features from an airborne pulsed‐Doppler radar sensor is developed. The key challenges for surveillance mode are the dynamic nature of the wind farm clutters, short‐CPI length, and lack of prior information on the specific wind turbine (WT) in the site. The micro‐Doppler spectrum segments based on short CPIs are used as the fundamental feature vectors for detection and classification. Both supervised and unsupervised approaches, including artificial neural network and random forest, are applied to airborne plan position indicator scan outputs. A simulator for airborne pulsed‐Doppler radar operation over wind farm is used with realistic WT scattering signatures, platform motion impacts as well as the terrain clutter impacts. Based on the clutter identification result, the feasibility of detecting small moving targets in the presence of WT clutter is discussed.
Environmental notification support using passage detecting sensor nodes
Authors: Reißner Daniel , Hardt Wolfram
Published: August 2015

Interconnected sensor nodes can be used for a long term monitoring of widely spread ecosystems. Individual nodes can be unavailable during the runtime due to a lack of energy, disruption of communication channels, or physical damages of nodes. In this study, a new approach to transfer messages from nodes to gateways (and optional to flood gate nodes) in such dynamically disturbed networks is presented. The focus is the routing in branched line‐structures, for example, flood barriers. The usage of gradient structures in each node allow tree routing, tree propagation, energy‐efficient exploring broadcast, exploitation of line‐structures, and collection of position information. In addition, a generic preference evaluation and decision making concept allows energy or signal quality evaluation, routing decision, structure setup decision, position estimation, synchronisation adaption, and randomisation of security approaches. It can be extended by further rules.
Li transport in fresh and aged LiMn2O4 cathodes via electrochemical strain microscopy
Authors: Luchkin Sergey Yu. , Romanyuk Konstantin , Ivanov Maxim , Kholkin Andrei L.
Published: August 2015

Transport properties of Li+ mobile ions in fresh and aged LiMn2O4 battery cathodes were studied at the nanoscale via electrochemical strain microscopy (ESM), time spectroscopy, and voltage spectroscopy mapping. Both Vegard and plausible non-Vegard contributions to the ESM signal were identified in electrochemical hysteresis loops obtained on fresh and aged samples. In the fresh cathodes, the Vegard contribution dominates the signal, while in the aged samples different shape of hysteresis loops indicates an additional plausible non-Vegard contribution. Non-uniform spatial distribution of the electrochemical loop opening in LiMn2O4 particles studied in the aged samples indicates stronger variation of the Li diffusion coefficient at the microscale as compared to the fresh specimens. Time spectroscopy measurements revealed a suppression of the local Li diffusivity in aged samples. The mechanisms of the cathode aging are discussed in the context of observed nanoscale ESM response.
Synthesis and characterization of nanorods for magnetic rotational spectroscopy
Authors: Aprelev Pavel , Gu Yu , Burtovyy Ruslan , Luzinov Igor , Kornev Konstantin G.
Published: August 2015

Magnetic rotational spectroscopy (MRS) with magnetic nanoprobes is a powerful method for in-situ characterization of minute amounts of complex fluids. In MRS, a uniformly rotating magnetic field rotates magnetic micro- or nano-probes in the liquid and one analyzes the features of the probe rotation to extract rheological parameters of liquids. Magnetic properties of nanoprobes must be well characterized and understood to make results reliable and reproducible. Ni and Co nanorods synthesized by electrochemical template synthesis in alumina membranes are discussed in applications to MRS. We employ alternating gradient field magnetometry, X-ray diffraction, and magnetic force microscopy to evaluate and compare properties of these nanorods and study their performance as the MRS probes. It is shown that nickel nanorods do not seem to violate any assumptions of the MRS rigid dipole theory, while cobalt nanorods do.
Magnetism in phosphorene: Interplay between vacancy and strain
Authors: Chintalapati Sandhya , Shen Lei , Xiong Qihua , Feng Yuan Ping
Published: August 2015

First-principles calculations based on the density functional theory were carried out to investigate the magnetic property of phosphorene. It is found that vacancy or external strain alone does not result in magnetism in phosphorene. However, an interplay between vacancy and external strain can lead to magnetism. When either a biaxial strain or a uniaxial strain along the zigzag direction of phosphorene containing P vacancies reaches 4%, the system favors a spin-polarized state with a magnetic moment of ∼1 μB per vacancy site. This is due to spin-polarized p states of under-coordinated P atoms next to the vacancy, which are bonded in the absence of the external strain or when phosphorene is subjected to a low strain.
A microfluidic model to study fluid dynamics of mucus plug rupture in small lung airways
Authors: Hu Yingying , Bian Shiyao , Grotberg John , Filoche Marcel , White Joshua , Takayama Shuichi , Grotberg James B.
Published: August 2015

Fluid dynamics of mucus plug rupture is important to understand mucus clearance in lung airways and potential effects of mucus plug rupture on epithelial cells at lung airway walls. We established a microfluidic model to study mucus plug rupture in a collapsed airway of the 12th generation. Mucus plugs were simulated using Carbopol 940 (C940) gels at concentrations of 0.15%, 0.2%, 0.25%, and 0.3%, which have non-Newtonian properties close to healthy and diseased lung mucus. The airway was modeled with a polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic channel. Plug motion was driven by pressurized air. Global strain rates and shear stress were defined to quantitatively describe plug deformation and rupture. Results show that a plug needs to overcome yield stress before deformation and rupture. The plug takes relatively long time to yield at the high Bingham number. Plug length shortening is the more significant deformation than shearing at gel concentration higher than 0.15%. Although strain rates increase dramatically at rupture, the transient shear stress drops due to the shear-thinning effect of the C940 gels. Dimensionless time-averaged shear stress, Txy, linearly increases from 3.7 to 5.6 times the Bingham number as the Bingham number varies from 0.018 to 0.1. The dimensionless time-averaged shear rate simply equals to Txy/2. In dimension, shear stress magnitude is about one order lower than the pressure drop, and one order higher than yield stress. Mucus with high yield stress leads to high shear stress, and therefore would be more likely to cause epithelial cell damage. Crackling sounds produced with plug rupture might be more detectable for gels with higher concentration.
Co-pyrolysis of biomass tar and iron ore fines for the production of direct reduced iron
Authors: Luo Siyi , Fu Jie
Published: August 2015

Biomass tar can be used as reducing agent for reduction of iron oxide, and simultaneously iron is a good catalyst for tar cracking. Thus, an iron ore reduction system integrated tar cracking and iron ore reduction was proposed. The influences of raw material characteristics, the equivalence ratio of tar to iron ore fines as well as reduction conditions on the reduction behaviors of iron ore fines were discussed. Also, the co-pyrolysis of mixture of tar and iron ore fines was investigated. The results show that the iron ore reduction using tar is reliable with a high tar cracking efficiency and a high reduction degree. Due to the formation of porous structures, preheated iron ore fines showed an excellent reduction behavior than those without preheating. At the initial stage, iron oxide did not exert any obvious effect on tar destruction, while as reaction temperature raised above 600 °C, a noticeable decline of tar content was observed, which was attributed to the enhanced reduction consumption and catalytic decomposition by the reduced iron. Increasing the ratio of tar to iron ore was favorable for the reduction of iron oxide, while, when the ratio exceeding 0.6, the effect became less notable. The introduction of proper amount of steam can improve tar cracking and further improve iron oxide reduction. At optimum conditions (iron ore fines was first preheated at 400 °C and then mixed with tar according to tar/iron ore fines 0.6, reacted at 900 °C for 30 min under the steam atmosphere with the mass ratio of steam/tar 0.87), the reduced iron product with metallization rate 94.1% was achieved.
Asymmetric tunneling model of forward leakage current in GaN/InGaN light emitting diodes
Authors: Zhi Ting , Tao Tao , Liu Bin , Li Yi , Zhuang Zhe , Zhang Guogang , Xie Zili , Zhang Rong , Zheng Youdou
Published: August 2015

Through investigating the temperature dependent current-voltage (T-I-V) properties of GaN based blue and green LEDs in this study, we propose an asymmetric tunneling model to understand the leakage current below turn-on voltage (V < 3.2 V): At the forward bias within 1.5 V ∼ 2.1 V (region 1), the leakage current is main attributed to electrons tunneling from the conduction band of n-type GaN layer to the valence band of p-type GaN layer via defect states in space-charge region (SCR); While, at the forward bias within 2 V ∼ 2.4 V (region 2), heavy holes tunneling gradually becomes dominant at low temperature (T < 200K) as long as they can overcome the energy barrier height. The tunneling barrier for heavy holes is estimated to be lower than that for electrons, indicating the heavy holes might only tunnel to the defect states. This asymmetric tunneling model shows a novel carrier transport process, which provides better understanding of the leakage characteristics and is vital for future device improvements.
The Nucleophilic Addition of In Situ Generated Calcium Thiolate of Benzonitrile to the Sidewall of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: A New and Direct Approach for Thioamidation
Authors: Darabi Hossein Reza , Roozkhosh Atefeh , Aghapoor Kioumars
Published: August 2015

A new and efficient method for the thioamidation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) has been introduced by direct addition of an intermediately generated nitrogen-based nucleophile. In this approach, there is a synergistic effect between benzonitrile, CaH2, and thioacetic acid leading to the formation of calcium thiolate which subsequently added to the sidewalls of the tubes. This finding was also confirmed when SWCNTs with benzonitrile moieties on their sidewalls were tested. The successful covalent functionalization of SWCNTs has been proven by thermogravimetric analysis, Raman, IR, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques.
An observational study of antiretroviral drug resistance in treatment-naïve patients with HIV infection in New Zealand, from 2007 to 2011
Authors: Hobbs Mark , Shi Jinyang , Maze Michael , Briggs Simon
Published: August 2015

Background
Genotypic testing for antiretroviral drug resistance is recommended for all patients newly diagnosed with HIV infection. This study sought to quantify the prevalence of antiretroviral drug resistance in treatment-naïve patients with HIV infection in New Zealand. Methods: All genotypic antiretroviral drug resistance testing in New Zealand is performed at LabPLUS, Auckland City Hospital. The clinicians who requested antiretroviral drug resistance testing during the period 2007–2011 were contacted and were asked to identify which patients with HIV infection were treatment-naïve at the time of testing. Results of the antiretroviral drug resistance tests for treatment-naïve patients with HIV infection were reviewed and the prevalence of resistance determined. Results: Two hundred and 10 treatment-naïve patients with HIV infection who had antiretroviral drug resistance testing performed were included; 20 (10%) were found to have a significant resistance mutation. Nine patients had virus resistant to one or more nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, 13 to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and one to protease inhibitors. Conclusions: The prevalence of antiretroviral drug resistance in treatment-naïve patients with HIV infection identified in this study is comparable to rates identified in studies from North America, the UK and Europe. This prevalence demonstrates the need for antiretroviral drug resistance testing for all treatment-naïve patients with HIV infection in New Zealand.
Demographic and behavioural correlates of six sexting behaviours among Australian secondary school students
Authors: Patrick Kent , Heywood Wendy , Pitts Marian K. , Mitchell Anne
Published: August 2015

Background
There has been increasing attention on assessing rates of sexting in adolescents and of the potential negative effects of the behaviour. Our aim was to assess rates and correlates of sexting in Australian students in years10, 11 and 12. Methods: The current study was part of The Fifth National Survey of Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health and reports on responses of 2114 students (811 male, 1303 female). Sexting was assessed using six items: sending a sexually explicit written text message; receiving a sexually explicit text message; sending a sexually explicit nude or nearly nude photo or video of themselves; sending a sexually explicit nude or nearly nude photo or video of someone else; receiving a sexually explicit nude or nearly nude photo or video of someone else; and using a social media site for sexual reasons. Results: Approximately half of the students had received (54%, 1139/2097) or sent (43%, 904/2107) a sexually explicit written text message. Sexually explicit images had been received by 42% (880/2098) of students, one in four students had sent a sexually explicit image of themselves (26%, 545/2102) and one in 10 had sent a sexually explicit image of someone else (9%, 180/2095). Finally, 22% (454/2103) of students had used social media for sexual reasons. Sexting was associated with several correlates. Conclusions: Sexting was relatively common in this sample of year 10, 11 and 12 Australian students, particularly among older students, those who are sexually active, and those who use recreational substances.
Pedological concepts to be considered in soil chronosequence studies
Authors: Sauer Daniela
Published: August 2015

Soil chronosequence data may easily be interpreted in a too straightforward and simple a way if some relevant theoretical background is not kept in mind. This paper discusses pedological concepts that are considered relevant for soil chronosequence studies and may provide some guidance for establishing soil chronosequences and interpreting obtained data. Concepts related to the soil system, soil body, and soil-forming factors are introduced, and advantages and disadvantages of different types of soil chronosequences are pointed out. The question of whether soil formation reaches steady-state is raised, leading to the conclusion that some soil properties achieve steady-state whereas others do not, and that soil formation as a whole may only rarely reach a kind of near steady-state. The influence of climate and relief, and associated three-dimensional water and material fluxes in landscapes, are addressed, and concepts related to pedogenic processes, soil properties, and energy and matter transfers as drivers of soil formation are discussed. Feedback systems and thresholds in soil development are highlighted, the concept of progressive vs regressive pedogenesis is introduced, and potential shortcomings of soil chronosequence studies are addressed. Implications of each of the mentioned concepts for soil chronosequence studies are pointed out.
Enzyme activity, microbial biomass and community structure in a long-term restored soil under semi-arid conditions
Authors: Torres I. F. , Bastida F. , Hernández T. , Albaladejo J. , García C.
Published: August 2015

Our aim was to evaluate the long-term influences of urban organic amendments on the enzymes involved in the carbon cycle under semi-arid conditions, including changes in the biomass and structure of the microbial community. A soil was restored 24 years ago with an organic amendment based on domestic organic waste. Organic amendment was applied to soil in order to increase the content of total organic carbon (TOC) by 0.5% and 1.5% with respect to the original TOC content. Enzyme isoform composition was studied by using zymographic techniques based on protein extraction, separation by gel electrophoresis and further enzyme-specific, in-gel staining. Total cellulose and β-glucosidase activities, microbial biomass estimated by phospholipid-fatty acid analysis and the number of isoforms of each enzyme showed increases related to the initial amount of organic amendment and the consequent development of vegetation. The information obtained by enzyme activity assays may be improved by the use of zymographic techniques, which allow the investigation of the variety of isoforms of each enzyme. This information could improve the understanding of the relationship between the microbial community and carbon cycling in restored areas.
Collection-limited theory interprets the extraordinary response of single semiconductor organic solar cells
Authors: Ray Biswajit , Baradwaj Aditya G. , Khan Mohammad Ryyan , Boudouris Bryan W. , Alam Muhammad Ashraful
Published: August 2015

Significance

We demonstrate that, instead of the charge generation mechanism, charge collection can readily explain the bottleneck toward higher efficiency single organic semiconductor based OPVs (SS-OPVs). This change in archetype has the potential to transform the design rules for materials used in OPV devices and would inspire searches for a completely different set of polymers for OPV cells. Furthermore, we believe that our findings will broaden the understanding of the physics of charge transport and the impact of charged defect states in organic electronic devices. Hence, this work should have deep and immediate impact on the chemists, materials scientists, and device physicists in the field and would be of broad interest to the organic electronics community.
Mapping vaccinia virus DNA replication origins at nucleotide level by deep sequencing
Authors: Senkevich Tatiana G. , Bruno Daniel , Martens Craig , Porcella Stephen F. , Wolf Yuri I. , Moss Bernard
Published: August 2015

Significance

DNA replication occurs in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, which is also the site of replication of many DNA viruses. In contrast, poxviruses replicate entirely within the cytoplasm, using enzymes encoded within their genomes. Whether poxviruses replicate their linear, covalently closed, double-stranded DNA exclusively by nicking and strand displacement or by leading and lagging strand synthesis at replication forks similar to eukaryotes remained unclear. Furthermore, poxvirus genome replication origins had not been mapped, and even their existence has been questioned. Here, using directional deep sequencing, we provide evidence for the leading/lagging strand replication mode with origins located near the end of the genome and at the concatemer junction of replicative intermediates.
The translators’ positioning in an institutional setting
Authors: Xu Yun Susan
Published: August 2015

Translators in Singapore face the dilemma of serving the needs of a heterogeneous population in this multi-racial and multilingual city-state and have often become the “scapegoat” in the event of a controversy arising from the translation. A case in point is the heated debate triggered by a newspaper article in the Straits Times, translated from a Chinese article in Lianhe Zaobao. Drawing on two sociological notions, that is, erasure and indexing of social identity, this paper sets out to investigate whether the translator who worked in an institutional setting positioned himself in favour of an institutionally-aligned culture and ideology in order to strengthen the institutional voice. It will first review the key concepts, namely, institutional power, ideology and positioning, and their relevance to the Singapore context, and then scrutinize the source text and its two translated versions in an effort to detect any traces of cultural and ideological shifts that lead to the controversy. The paper reveals that the translator working in an institutional setting in Singapore does align himself with the authority and the erasure of translators paradoxically jeopardizes the author’s social identity and ideological positioning.
De la ficha terminológica a la ficha traductológica
Authors: Ramos Fernando Prieto , Jutorán Mariana Orozco
Published: August 2015

The complex variables involved in mediating between asymmetrical legal realities explain, to a great extent, the limitations of traditional terminological resources (particularly, bilingual legal dictionaries) as working tools for legal translators. After a brief review of these limitations, a new approach to the development of terminological resources is presented that responds to the real needs of legal translators and draws on advances in Legal Translation Studies. This change of paradigm is illustrated by a terminological database designed for the English-Spanish translation of technological law, more precisely, for the localization of software license agreements (mostly from the United States) for Spain. The lexicographical work is contextualized, and the features and advantages of the proposed terminological entries are described in detail. These entries are called “translation-oriented terminological entries” (fichas traductológicas) because of their distinctive translation dimension, particularly the inclusion of comments on the acceptability of terminological options on the basis of comparative legal analysis in different translation scenarios. This aspect greatly contributes to the added value of the approach, which is intended as a model for similar applications in legal translation.
Subtitling Naguib Mahfouz
Authors: Gamal Muhammad Y.
Published: August 2015

Naguib Mahfouz, Egypt’s literary icon, wrote a large number of novels that were turned into films. As the DVD industry in Egypt enters its second decade, the number of these films appearing on DVD and subtitled into English is also increasing. Despite this trend, academic institutions in Egypt, and elsewhere in the Arab world, remain largely oblivious to the new specialization of audiovisual translation. So far, academic research into audiovisual translation, particularly subtitling Arabic-language films into English, has been minuscule. This paper examines the complex task of subtitling one of Mahfouz’s most popular films,Midaq Alley. It argues that subtitling a classic film is a lot more than just translating the film dialogue and the subtitler needs more resources than just the dialogue list and the video of the film.
Ameliorative effect of betulin from Betula platyphylla bark on scopolamine-induced amnesic mice
Authors: Cho Namki , Kim Hyeon Woo , Lee Hee Kyoung , Jeon Byung Ju , Sung Sang Hyun
Published: August 2015

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease induced by cholinergic neuron damage or amyloid-beta aggregation in the basal forebrain region and resulting in cognitive disorder. We previously reported on the neuroprotective effects of Betula platyphylla bark (BPB) in an amyloid-beta-induced amnesic mouse model. In this study, we obtained a cognitive-enhancing compound by assessing results using a scopolamine-induced amnesic mouse model. Our results show that oral treatment of mice with BPB and betulin significantly ameliorated scopolamine-induced memory deficits in both passive avoidance and Y-maze tests. In the Morris water maze test, administration of BPB and betulin significantly improved memory and cognitive function indicating the formation of working and reference memories in treated mice. Moreover, betulin significantly increased glutathione content in mouse hippocampus, and the increase was greater than that from betulinic acid treatment. We conclude that BPB and its active component betulin have potential as therapeutic, cognitive enhancer in AD.
Regional Challenges to Land Restitution and Peace in Colombia: The Case of the Lower Atrato
Authors: Melo Jairo Baquero
Published: August 2015

Government policies and practices of land restitution may impede Colombia's peace process. Given the rural origin of the contemporary Colombian armed conflict, peacebuilding and land restitution policies are linked. Based on a qualitative study undertaken by the author, this article analyses regional challenges to the implementation of land restitution policies in Colombia. The study site was the Lower Atrato region, in the Curbaradó and Jiguamiandó river basins. The study's thesis maintains that regional challenges to restitution relate to processes of regional state formation and an end to strife that includes at least five dimensions. First, land claimants face insecurity due to ongoing struggles among armed groups. Second, restitution has a contested nature that includes disputes among regional and national elites. Third, restitution expands ethnic-based land rights but is challenged to identify the rights' beneficiaries. Fourth, restitution relates to techniques of governmentality. Last, contradictions exist between development policies and restitution policies. Restitution during the ongoing war is largely infeasible given violent opposition to its processes, thereby increasing the risk of conflict reproduction.
The objects of visuospatial short-term memory: Perceptual organization and change detection
Authors: Nikolova Atanaska , Macken Bill
Published: August 2015

We used a colour change-detection paradigm where participants were required to remember colours of six equally spaced circles. Items were superimposed on a background so as to perceptually group them within (a) an intact ring-shaped object, (b) a physically segmented but perceptually completed ring-shaped object, or (c) a corresponding background segmented into three arc-shaped objects. A nonpredictive cue at the location of one of the circles was followed by the memory items, which in turn were followed by a test display containing a probe indicating the circle to be judged same/different. Reaction times for correct responses revealed a same-object advantage; correct responses were faster to probes on the same object as the cue than to equidistant probes on a segmented object. This same-object advantage was identical for physically and perceptually completed objects, but was only evident in reaction times, and not in accuracy measures. Not only, therefore, is it important to consider object-level perceptual organization of stimulus elements when assessing the influence of a range of factors (e.g., number and complexity of elements) in visuospatial short-term memory, but a more detailed picture of the structure of information in memory may be revealed by measuring speed as well as accuracy.
Facilitation effect of observed motor deviants in a cooperative motor task: Evidence for direct perception of social intention in action
Authors: Quesque François , Delevoye-Turrell Yvonne , Coello Yann
Published: August 2015

Spatiotemporal parameters of voluntary motor action may help optimize human social interactions. Yet it is unknown whether individuals performing a cooperative task spontaneously perceive subtly informative social cues emerging through voluntary actions. In the present study, an auditory cue was provided through headphones to an actor and a partner who faced each other. Depending on the pitch of the auditory cue, either the actor or the partner were required to grasp and move a wooden dowel under time constraints from a central to a lateral position. Before this main action, the actor performed a preparatory action under no time constraint, consisting in placing the wooden dowel on the central location when receiving either a neutral (“prêt”–ready) or an informative auditory cue relative to who will be asked to perform the main action (the actor: “moi”–me, or the partner: “lui”–him). Although the task focused on the main action, analysis of motor performances revealed that actors performed the preparatory action with longer reaction times and higher trajectories when informed that the partner would be performing the main action. In this same condition, partners executed the main actions with shorter reaction times and lower velocities, despite having received no previous informative cues. These results demonstrate that the mere observation of socially driven motor actions spontaneously influences the low-level kinematics of voluntary motor actions performed by the observer during a cooperative motor task. These findings indicate that social intention can be anticipated from the mere observation of action patterns.
Introduction
Authors: Blackwood Stephen
Published: August 2015

This Introduction sets this book in the context of aurality, both by evoking ancient literary culture, in which books were typically (that is not to say always) read aloud, and by pointing to Boethius’ own awareness of the power of spoken or sung sound. The starting-point here is his De institutione musica, where he refers repeatedly and emphatically to the special character of the sense of hearing, and to the therapeutic power of music, rhythm, and mode. This investigation then turns to the Consolation’s many references to its own sound, especially to the sound of its poems. The Introduction concludes by setting forth the hypothesis that the remainder of the book aims to prove: the Consolation’s metres play a central role in the therapy, or consolation, the work is meant to provide.
The First Four
Authors: Blackwood Stephen
Published: August 2015

This chapter looks at the four metres that occur twice each in the Consolation—elegiac couplets, limping iambic trimeter, anapaestic dimeter catalectic, and sapphic hendecasyllable—as well as the hexameter, 3, IX, around which these pairs seem to occur. It is argued that each repetition of a metre intentionally recalls the earlier instance of the same sound in order to administer a medicine matched precisely to a particular wound.
Of Time, the Body, and the City
Authors: Strhan Anna
Published: August 2015

This chapter argues that conservative evangelicals’ orientation towards the coherence of God’s character is bound up with a sense of His transcendence, leading to a consciousness of His absence. It describes how conservative evangelicals’ focus on word-based practices in a busy metropolitan context can generate experiences of uncertainty and doubt, and a sense that their becoming disciples requires hard work and struggle. The chapter describes how St John’s congregants develop relationships of accountability with each other that encourage them to keep going in their faith. It shows how through individual and communal practices, they work to incorporate themselves into a wandering body that is in the process of turning away from the immanent city and seeking to make a passage through time to the City of God beyond time, a turning away that is, however, often interrupted and difficult.
Epistemic indefinites and methods of identification
Authors: Aloni Maria , Port Angelika
Published: August 2015

The chapter proposes an account of epistemic indefinites cross-linguistically, focusing on the case of German irgendein and Italian un qualche. Four main functions for EIs are identified initially: specific unknown (SU); epistemic unknown (epiU); negative polarity (NPI); and the deontic free choice (deoFC). It is subsequently observed that while irgendein qualifies for all functions, un qualche qualifies only for the first two. The second part of the chapter proposes an account of these data in the framework of a Dynamic Semantics with Conceptual Covers. Our point of departure is the assumption that epistemic indefinites are existentials with two additional characteristics: (i) they induce an obligatory domain shift and (ii) they are felicitous only if such a shift is for a reason.
Ignorance, indifference, and individuation withwh-ever
Authors: Condoravdi Cleo
Published: August 2015

Wh-ever phrases give rise to implications of ignorance or indifference. Previous analyses fold these implications into the truth-conditional or presuppositional content of wh-ever and posit a variation condition requiring non-rigid reference of the wh-ever description across possibilities in a modal domain, such as the speaker’s epistemic state. This chapter shows first that variation based on non-rigidity is not strong enough to account for the precise form of the ignorance implication. Secondly, the ignorance or indifference implication is obligatory only with singular wh-ever phrases. The chapter proposes an analysis which unifies the different uses and solves both these problems. It relies on property-based individuation and associates contextually determined alternatives to wh-ever phrases which yield more specific descriptions. The ignorance and indifference implications result from the enriched meaning contributed by the alternatives and their locus of discharge.
svviz: a read viewer for validating structural variants
Authors: Spies Noah , Zook Justin M. , Salit Marc , Sidow Arend
Published: August 2015

Summary: Visualizing read alignments is the most effective way to validate candidate structural variants (SVs) with existing data. We present svviz, a sequencing read visualizer for SVs that sorts and displays only reads relevant to a candidate SV. svviz works by searching input bam(s) for potentially relevant reads, realigning them against the inferred sequence of the putative variant allele as well as the reference allele and identifying reads that match one allele better than the other. Separate views of the two alleles are then displayed in a scrollable web browser view, enabling a more intuitive visualization of each allele, compared with the single reference genome-based view common to most current read browsers. The browser view facilitates examining the evidence for or against a putative variant, estimating zygosity, visualizing affected genomic annotations and manual refinement of breakpoints. svviz supports data from most modern sequencing platforms.

Availability and implementation: svviz is implemented in python and freely available from http://svviz.github.io/.

Contact:  nspies@stanford.edu

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Real-time in-vivo microscopic imaging of the cervix using confocal laser endomicroscopy: preliminary observations and feasibility study
Authors: Degueldre Michel , Vandromme Jean , de Wind Alexander , Feoli Francesco
Published: August 2015

Confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) enables in-vivo, real-time, imaging of tissues with a micron-scale resolution through a fiber optic probe. CLE could be a valuable tool for the detection and characterization of suspicious (dysplastic) areas on the uterine cervix in a minimally invasive manner. This study evaluates the technical feasibility and safety of CLE on the cervix. The study also aims to create a preliminary iconography of normal and dysplastic squamous and columnar cervical epithelium. In-vivo CLE was performed on nine patients scheduled for a cervical loop electric excision procedure for high-grade superficial intraepithelial lesions. The CLE images were compared with standard hematoxylin and eosin analysis of loop electric excision procedure specimens. The histopathological diagnosis on the surgical specimen was established as per standard of care. CLE images were then reviewed by pathologists to point out specific histopathological features. pCLE of the exocervix and the transformation zone was performed successfully on seven out of nine patients. Uninterpretable images were obtained in two other cases: one using the AlveoFlex and one using the GastroFlex UHD after the application of acetic acid 2%. A total of 82.5% of the sequences recorded with the GastroFlex were suitable for interpretation. No adverse event or complications occurred. CLE enables proper in-vivo imaging of healthy and dysplastic cervical tissue. Images correlate well with the histopathological features established through traditional histology. Future blinded prospective analysis will determine the reliability of the real-time diagnosis and its potential use in the assessment and treatment of cervical lesions.
Inferior ST-Elevation Acute Myocardial Infarction or an Inferior-Lead Brugada-like Electrocardiogram Pattern Associated With the Use of Pregabalin and Quetiapine?
Authors: Brunetti Natale D. , Ieva Riccardo , Correale Michele , Cuculo Andrea , Santoro Francesco , Guaricci Andrea I. , De Gennaro Luisa , Gaglione Antonio , Di Biase Matteo
Published: August 2015

The Brugada electrocardiogram pattern is characterized by coved-type ST-elevation (>2 mm) in the right precordial leads. We report the case of a 62-year-old man, with bipolar disorder, admitted to the emergency department because of dyspnea and chest discomfort. The patient was on treatment with pregabalin and quetiapine. Unexpectedly, electrocardiogram at admission showed diffuse ST-elevation, more evident in inferior leads, where a Brugada-like pattern was present. The patient underwent coronary angiography with a diagnosis of suspected acute coronary syndrome. Coronary angiography, however, showed mild coronary artery disease not requiring coronary angioplasty. Echocardiography did not reveal left ventricular dysfunction or pericardial effusion. Troponin levels remained normal over serial controls. Eventually, chest radiography showed lung opacities and consolidation suggestive for pneumonia. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first cases showing a transient Brugada-like electrocardiogram pattern in inferior leads, probably amplified by the administration of pregabalin and quetiapine.
The Reinfusion of Autogenous Shed Blood After Unilateral Total Knee Arthroplasty Using the Perioperative Autologous Transfusion System OrthoPAT
Authors: Shen Wen-Sheng , Li Dan-Sheng , Shao Jin , Lou Jie , Chen Qun-Sheng
Published: August 2015

This study aims to explore the use of postoperative autogenous shed blood reinfusion using Orthopedic Perioperative Autotransfusion System (OrthoPAT) system in treating patients undergoing unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Fifty patients undergoing unilateral TKA were enrolled as the experimental group A and were treated with reinfusion of autologous shed blood within 6 hours after unilateral TKA using OrthoPAT. Accordingly, 50 patients undergoing unilateral TKA were selected as the experimental group B and were treated with allogeneic blood transfusion. Different indexes were observed at different times. Patients in both groups had relatively stable hemodynamics, and there was no postoperative coagulopathy. Prothrombin time, thrombin time, and activated partial thromboplastin time were lower, and fibrinogen was higher in group A than that in group B 24 hours after surgery (allP< 0.05). White blood cell, red blood cell, hemoglobin, hematocrit (Hct), and platelet count levels in group A were lower than those in group B 12 hours after surgery (allP< 0.05). The postoperative complications of the 2 groups have significant difference (P< 0.05). Postoperative autogenous shed blood reinfusion using OrthoPAT system in the treatment of patients undergoing unilateral TKA may improve the coagulation function of patients and reduce the rejection caused by standard allogeneic blood transfusion.
Roseomonas wooponensis sp. nov., isolated from wetland freshwater
Authors: Lee Ji Hee , Kim Mi Sun , Baik Keun Sik , Kim Hyang Mi , Lee Kang Hyun , Seong Chi Nam
Published: August 2015

A non-motile, cocobacilli-shaped and pink-pigmented bacterium, designated strain WW53T, was isolated from wetland freshwater (Woopo wetland, Republic of Korea). Cells were Gram-stain-negative, catalase- and oxidase-positive. The major fatty acids were C18 : 1ω7c/C18 : 1ω6c and C16 : 0.The predominant quinone and polyamine were ubiquinone 10 (Q-10) and spermidine, respectively. The DNA G+C content was 71 mol%. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine and an unknown aminolipid. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain WW53T belongs to the family Acetobacteraceae, and is related to the genus Roseomonas. Strain WW53T was most closely related to Roseomonas stagni HS-69T (95.3 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). Results of a polyphasic taxonomy study suggested that the isolate represents a novel species in the genus Roseomonas, for which the name Roseomonas wooponensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is WW53T ( = KCTC 32534T = JCM 19527T).
The human experience with intravenous levodopa
Authors: Siddiqi Shan H , Abraham Natalia K , Geiger Christopher L , Karimi Morvarid , Perlmutter Joel S , Black Kevin J
Published: August 2015

Objective: To compile a comprehensive summary of published human experience with levodopa given intravenously, with a focus on information required by regulatory agencies. Background: While safe intravenous use of levodopa has been documented for over 50 years, regulatory supervision for pharmaceuticals given by a route other than that approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has become increasingly cautious. If delivering a drug by an alternate route raises the risk of adverse events, an investigational new drug (IND) application is required, including a comprehensive review of toxicity data. Methods: Over 200 articles referring to intravenous levodopa (IVLD) were examined for details of administration, pharmacokinetics, benefit and side effects. Results: We identified 142 original reports describing IVLD use in humans, beginning with psychiatric research in 1959-1960 before the development of peripheral decarboxylase inhibitors. At least 2781 subjects have received IVLD, and reported outcomes include parkinsonian signs, sleep variables, hormones, hemodynamics, CSF amino acid composition, regional cerebral blood flow, cognition, perception and complex behavior. Mean pharmacokinetic variables were summarized for 49 healthy subjects and 190 with Parkinson’s disease. Side effects were those expected from clinical experience with oral levodopa and dopamine agonists. No articles reported deaths or induction of psychosis. Conclusion: At least 2781 patients have received i.v. levodopa with a safety profile comparable to that seen with oral administration.