bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Workshop report: The 2012 Antimicrobial Agents in Veterinary Medicine: exploring the consequences of antimicrobial drug use: a 3‐D approach
Authors: Martinez M. , Blondeau J. , Cerniglia C. E. , Fink‐Gremmels J. , Guenther S. , Hunter R. P. , Li X.‐Z. , Papich M. , Silley P. , Soback S. , Toutain P.‐L. , Zhang Q.
Published: January 2014

Antimicrobial resistance is a global challenge that impacts both human and veterinary health care. The resilience of microbes is reflected in their ability to adapt and survive in spite of our best efforts to constrain their infectious capabilities. As science advances, many of the mechanisms for microbial survival and resistance element transfer have been identified. During the 2012 meeting of Antimicrobial Agents in Veterinary Medicine (AAVM), experts provided insights on such issues as use vs. resistance, the available tools for supporting appropriate drug use, the importance of meeting the therapeutic needs within the domestic animal health care, and the requirements associated with food safety and food security. This report aims to provide a summary of the presentations and discussions occurring during the 2012 AAVM with the goal of stimulating future discussions and enhancing the opportunity to establish creative and sustainable solutions that will guarantee the availability of an effective therapeutic arsenal for veterinary species.
Regulatory shifts: developing sector participation in regulation for charities in England and Wales
Authors: Dunn Alison
Published: January 2014

Cuts in the Charity Commission's budget have caused it to retrench in its regulatory activity and re-prioritise its core functions. As a consequence, the Commission has promoted greater trustee self-reliance and charity-sector provision of regulatory services. This paper analyses these regulatory developments alongside a broader analysis of self-regulation in the charity sector. This paper argues that while self-reliance and self-regulation offer opportunities to the charity sector to create nuanced, sector-sensitive regulation, they could also compromise the credibility and quality of charity regulation. This paper further argues that the charity sector needs to address as a matter of priority the drivers for regulatory reform, the purposes and priority of charity regulation, and the shift in the balance of power that results.
Fallen Uterus: Social Suffering, Bodily Vigor, and Social Support among Women in Rural Mexico
Authors: Smith‐Oka Vania
Published: January 2014

This article focuses on rural indigenous Mexican women's experiences with uterine prolapse, particularly the illness's expression of social suffering. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted during 2004–2005 and 2007 in a Nahua village in the state of Veracruz, the article analyzes the multifactorial nature of women's social suffering. Results show that the roots of uterine displacement for the women lie in lack of social relations and in perceptions of bodily vigor. Additionally, inequality present in the women's interactions with mainstream Mexico brings into focus the larger structural factors that shape their reproductive health. The implications of research on the effect of social support on women's embodiment of social suffering can extend beyond one illness, linking it to broader issues shaping the health of marginalized populations.
Novel trophic niches drive variable progress towards ecological speciation within an adaptive radiation of pupfishes
Authors: Martin Christopher H. , Feinstein Laura C.
Published: January 2014

Adaptive radiation is recognized by a rapid burst of phenotypic, ecological and species diversification. However, it is unknown whether different species within an adaptive radiation evolve reproductive isolation at different rates. We compared patterns of genetic differentiation between nascent species within an adaptive radiation ofCyprinodonpupfishes using genotyping by sequencing. Similar to classic adaptive radiations, this clade exhibits rapid morphological diversification rates and two species are novel trophic specialists, a scale‐eater and hard‐shelled prey specialist (durophage), yet the radiation is <10 000 years old. Both specialists and an abundant generalist species all coexist in the benthic zone of lakes on San Salvador Island, Bahamas. Based on 13 912 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we found consistent differences in genetic differentiation between each specialist species and the generalist across seven lakes. The scale‐eater showed the greatest genetic differentiation and clustered by species across lakes, whereas durophage populations often clustered with sympatric generalist populations, consistent with parallel speciation across lakes. However, we found strong evidence of admixture between durophage populations in different lakes, supporting a single origin of this species and genome‐wide introgression with sympatric generalist populations. We conclude that the scale‐eater is further along the speciation‐with‐gene‐flow continuum than the durophage and suggest that different adaptive landscapes underlying these two niche environments drive variable progress towards speciation within the same habitat. Our previous measurements of fitness surfaces in these lakes support this conclusion: the scale‐eating fitness peak may be more distant than the durophage peak on the complex adaptive landscape driving adaptive radiation.
Complications and outcomes of trimethoprim–sulphamethoxazole as chemoprophylaxis for pneumocystis pneumonia in renal transplant recipients
Authors: Mitsides Nicos , Greenan Kerry , Green Darren , Middleton Rachel , Lamerton Elizabeth , Allen Judith , Redshaw Jane , Chadwick Paul R , Subudhi Chinari PK , Wood Grahame
Published: January 2014

Background

Following a pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) outbreak in our nephrology unit, all transplant patients were offered chemoprophylaxis with trimethoprim–sulphamethoxazole (TMP‐SMX) as the first line agent. A high rate of complications was noted. We aimed to quantify TMP‐SMX associated adverse events and evaluate its prophylactic benefit in their light. Potential risk factors for complications' development were also investigated.

Method

This was an observational study of outcomes in transplant recipients commenced on TMP‐SMX prophylaxis for 1year period. End‐points were adverse events due to TMP‐SMX, the additional medical burden resulting from these events, and PCP diagnosis.

Results

290 patients commenced on TMP‐SMX. 110 (38%) developed complications with most common being rise in serum creatinine (Cr) (n = 63, 22%) followed by gastrointestinal symptoms (n = 15, 5%), and leucopenia (n = 5, 2%). PCP incidence fell from 19 cases in 19 months to 2 cases in 12 months. Baseline renal function (P = 0.019) was an independent predictors for developing rise in Cr with TMP‐SMX.

Conclusion

Use of chemoprophylaxis is an effective strategy in dealing with a PCP outbreak but can lead to a high number of complications. Rises in serum Cr can cause significant concern and increase in the number of investigations.
How Much Rationality Do We Need to Explain Conventions?
Authors: Huttegger Simon M.
Published: January 2014

This article surveys the main philosophical and formal ideas revolving around language as being conventional from the perspective of game theory. For very basic situations, this leads to a coherent view of conventions that offers interesting insights. Although there exist many open problems, this article will argue by outlining partial solution attempts that there is no principled reason for not applying methods from game theory to them.
Religion and Literature: Outsider, Tradition, and Transcendence
Authors: Britt Brian
Published: January 2014

The American field of religion and literature emerged in the mid‐20th century with a particular interest in the theological resonance of modern literature. By the 1970s, the field had grown and diversified, leading David Hesla to announce a ‘second stage’ in which various approaches and topics, including social science and popular culture, would replace the first, theological stage. For Hesla and others, the second stage signaled confusion as well as pluralism. This article frames the field differently, highlighting its broader context and concerns with the categories of outsider, tradition, and transcendence. In this, light, religion and literature offers crucial perspective on current debates about secularity, society, and aesthetics.
Towards compassionate care through aesthetic rationality
Authors: Fisher Pamela , Freshwater Dawn
Published: January 2014

The Francis Report, which was based on the investigation of complaints regarding standards of care in the Staffordshire NHS Trust in the UK, was published in 2013. The Report revealed that while the Trust appeared to be compliant with the standards set by official regulating bodies, the quality of care provided to patients was often appalling. While the Report constituted a ‘critical moment’ in health care, its findings resonated with widespread concern in the UK and elsewhere that health care is sometimes characterised by a lack of compassion. The Francis Report partially attributed this lack of compassion to a task‐based culture which tended to prioritise the meeting of targets over the quality of care provided to patients. Older patients, in particular, were identified as being vulnerable to neglect. This qualitative study of hospice volunteers responds to concerns regarding the quality of organisational forms of care by considering how motivations to care may be sustained and enhanced within organisational contexts. Charitable and third sector organisations, such as the hospice in this study, have been identified as potentially relevant to other health and social care contexts precisely because they emphasise values such as altruism and goodwill. Our sociological approach suggests that altruism or compassion can be encouraged within contexts that emphasise a sociability of care. We argue that a sociability of care may be encouraged in organisational contexts if dominant understandings of rationality are extended through the incorporation of aesthetic rationality, a feminist perspective taken from Roslyn Bologh. This, however, would require a degree of authentic emotional engagement on the part of formal caregivers, which is more typically associated with relationships in the private sphere.
Prediction Error of Small Area Predictors Shrinking Both Means and Variances
Authors: Maiti Tapabrata , Ren Hao , Sinha Samiran
Published: January 2014

The article considers a new approach for small area estimation based on a joint modelling of mean and variances. Model parameters are estimated via expectation–maximization algorithm. The conditional mean squared error is used to evaluate the prediction error. Analytical expressions are obtained for the conditional mean squared error and its estimator. Our approximations are second‐order correct, an unwritten standardization in the small area literature. Simulation studies indicate that the proposed method outperforms the existing methods in terms of prediction errors and their estimated values.
Eco‐National Discourse and the Case of the Finnhorse
Authors: Schuurman Nora , Nyman Jopi
Published: January 2014

In eco‐national discourses, animals and other nonhumans are represented as national through their position as native breeds or species. In this article, we investigate the definition of the animal as a representative of a ‘national breed’ and its support to nation‐building. This article is a case‐study of the contemporary representation of the Finnhorse as a ‘national breed’ in the context of Finnish discourses of national identity. The materials analysed consist of documents and reports seeking to develop and ‘rebrand’ the Finnhorse, as well as the representation of the breed in contemporary Finnish popular music and culture. The materials are analysed using discourse analysis. According to the study, nationality is a central part of the representation of the Finnhorse, and nature is an essential element in defining the animal as native, therefore claiming its nationality to be natural. The Finnhorse is often also portrayed in the context of nostalgia. In the new contexts of contemporary equine activities, the horse is also provided with a role in rural development.
Co‐occurrence and distribution of East (L1014S) and West (L1014F) African knock‐down resistance in Anopheles gambiae sensu lato population of Tanzania
Authors: Kabula Bilali , Kisinza William , Tungu Patrick , Ndege Chacha , Batengana Benard , Kollo Douglas , Malima Robert , Kafuko Jessica , Mohamed Mahdi , Magesa Stephen
Published: January 2014

Objective

Insecticide resistance molecular markers can provide sensitive indicators of resistance development in Anopheles vector populations. Assaying these makers is of paramount importance in the resistance monitoring programme. We investigated the presence and distribution of knock‐down resistance (kdr) mutations in Anopheles gambiae s.l. in Tanzania.

Methods

Indoor‐resting Anopheles mosquitoes were collected from 10 sites and tested for insecticide resistance using the standard WHO protocol. Polymerase chain reaction‐based molecular diagnostics were used to genotype mosquitoes and detect kdr mutations.

Results

The An. gambiae tested were resistance to lambdacyhalothrin in Muheza, Arumeru and Muleba. Out of 350 An. gambiae s.l. genotyped, 35% were An. gambiae s.s. and 65% An. arabiensis. L1014S and L1014F mutations were detected in both An. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis. L1014S point mutation was found at the allelic frequency of 4–33%, while L1014F was at the allelic frequency 6–41%. The L1014S mutation was much associated with An. gambiae s.s. (χ2 = 23.41; P < 0.0001) and L1014F associated with An. arabiensis (χ2 = 11.21; P = 0.0008). The occurrence of the L1014S allele was significantly associated with lambdacyhalothrin resistance mosquitoes (Fisher exact P < 0.001).

Conclusion

The observed co‐occurrence of L1014S and L1014F mutations coupled with reports of insecticide resistance in the country suggest that pyrethroid resistance is becoming a widespread phenomenon among our malaria vector populations. The presence of L1014F mutation in this East African mosquito population indicates the spreading of this gene across Africa. The potential operational implications of these findings on malaria control need further exploration.
Oral lesions among HIV‐infected children on antiretroviral treatment in West Africa
Authors: Meless David , Ba Boubacar , Faye Malick , Diby Jean‐Serge , N'zoré Serge , Datté Sébastien , Diecket Lucrèce , N'Diaye Clémentine , Aka Edmond Addi , Kouakou Kouadio , Ba Abou , Ekouévi Didier Koumavi , Dabis François , Shiboski Caroline , Arrivé Elise
Published: January 2014

Objective

To estimate the prevalence of oral mucosal diseases and dental caries among HIV‐infected children receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) in West Africa and to identify the factors associated with the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions.

Methods

Multicentre cross‐sectional survey in five paediatric HIV clinics in Côte d'Ivoire, Mali and Sénégal. A standardised examination was performed by trained dentists on a random sample of HIV‐infected children aged 5–15 years receiving ART. The prevalence of oral and dental lesions and mean number of decayed, missing/extracted and filled teeth (DMFdefT) in temporary and permanent dentition were estimated with their 95% confidence interval (95% CI). We used logistic regression to explore the association between children's characteristics and the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions, expressed as prevalence odds ratio (POR).

Results

The median age of the 420 children (47% females) enrolled was 10.4 years [interquartile range (IQR) = 8.3–12.6]. The median duration on ART was 4.6 years (IQR = 2.6–6.2); 84 (20.0%) had CD4 count<350 cells/mm3. A total of 35 children (8.3%; 95% CI: 6.1–11.1) exhibited 42 oral mucosal lesions (24 were candidiasis); 86.0% (95% CI = 82.6–89.3) of children had DMFdefT ≥ 1. The presence of oral mucosal lesions was independently associated with CD4 count < 350 cells/mm3 (POR = 2.96, 95% CI = 1.06–4.36) and poor oral hygiene (POR = 2.69, 95% CI = 1.07–6.76).

Conclusions

Oral mucosal lesions still occur in HIV‐infected African children despite ART, but rarely. However, dental caries were common and severe in this population, reflecting the need to include oral health in the comprehensive care of HIV.
Effectiveness of prevention of mother‐to‐child HIV transmission programmes in Kilimanjaro region, northern Tanzania
Authors: Mwendo Emanuel M. , Mtuy Tara B. , Renju Jenny , Rutherford George W. , Nondi Joseph , Sichalwe Aifello W. , Todd Jim
Published: January 2014

Objective

To monitor the effectiveness of the prevention of mother‐to‐child transmission (PMTCT) components in reducing mother‐to‐child transmission of HIV in Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective registry‐based cohort study of HIV‐exposed children aged 4 weeks to 18 months. Eligible children had a DNA polymerase chain reaction HIV antigen test between January 2009 and August 2012. We collected and analysed the data on the PMTCT components provided. We used logistic regression to explore factors associated with successful PMTCT usage and with infant infection.

Results

We studied 561 children; 283 (50.5%) were from rural areas. Breastfeeding was reported by 519 (92.5%) of mothers. In 469 (83.6%) mother–baby pairs, both received chemoprophylaxis, whereas in 9 (1.6%) pairs, neither mother nor baby received any chemoprophylaxis. Of the 522 (93.0%) infants with known outcomes at 6 months, 227 (43.5%) were alive, 258 (49.4%) were lost to follow‐up, 34 (6.5%) had transferred and 3 (0.6%) had died. A total of 54 (9.6%) children were infected. Transmission rates of HIV when only the mother (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.49, 95% CI: 0.47–4.77) or only the baby (aOR 1.06, 95% CI: 0.23–5.01) received chemoprophylaxis were not significantly different from transmission rates when both mother and baby received antiretroviral chemoprophylaxis. Mixed feeding practices were not associated with significantly increased risk (aOR 4.09, 95% CI: 0.58–28.76) compared with exclusive breastfeeding.

Conclusion

This study showed that rate of MTCT of HIV was 9.6% in Tanzania between 2009 and 2012. The intrapartum and child chemoprophylaxis components of the PMTCT programme were well implemented with 84% of both mothers and their babies getting full chemoprophylaxis, and effective in reducing mother‐to‐child transmission.
Evaluation of a point‐of‐care anticoagulant rodenticide test for dogs
Authors: Istvan Stephanie A. , Marks Steven L. , Murphy Lisa A. , Dorman David C.
Published: January 2014

Objective

To evaluate a point‐of‐care anticoagulant rodenticide lateral flow analyzer for the detection of various rodenticide compounds.

Design

Prospective, laboratory study.

Setting

University teaching hospital.

Animals

The study utilized a serum sample from one healthy canine donor. Samples were centrifuged and serum samples were aliquoted and either used within 4 hours or frozen at −70°C for further quantitative analysis.

Interventions

Samples were spiked with clinically relevant concentrations of 1 of 6 rodenticide compounds (warfarin, pindone, chlorphacinone, brodifacoum, bromethalin, and its metabolite desmethylbromethalin). Seventy‐five microliters of spiked serum (or unaltered serum) was introduced into the lateral flow test.

Measurements and Main Results

Three readers who were blinded to the sample preparation interpreted the lateral flow test as either positive or negative for the presence of anticoagulant rodenticide. All readers were in agreement for the results of each serum sample. The point‐of‐care test kit was able to detect a single anticoagulant rodenticide (warfarin) at concentrations below the manufacturer's recommended limit of detection, but was unable to detect any other anticoagulant rodenticide.

Conclusions

The results of this test and therapeutic interventions must be considered in light of history, physical examination, and other clinical data. Based on results from this study, the test kit only detects warfarin and not other more common second‐generation anticoagulant rodenticides.
Treatment of six cases of equine corneal stromal abscessation with intracorneal injection of 5% voriconazole solution
Authors: Smith Kathryn M. , Pucket Jonathan D. , Gilmour Margi A.
Published: January 2014

Objective

To describe a reproducible technique for intrastromal injection in the standing horse for treatment of corneal stromal abscessation.

Animal Studied

A retrospective clinical study addressing the history, treatment, and outcome of six equids (six eyes) that received intrastromal voriconazole injection.

Procedure

Equids having a deep stromal abscess suspected to be of fungal origin were administered intrastromal injection of 5% voriconazole solution under standing sedation in an effort to bring about enhanced resolution of clinical disease.

Results

Intracorneal administration of 5% voriconazole solution resulted in resolution of clinical disease, specifically stromal abscessation and secondary uveitis. All animals displayed decreased blepharospasm and no significant complications in the immediate postinjection period. Convalescent periods were subjectively shorter than anticipated with traditional medical therapy. All animals developed mild to moderate stromal fibrosis relative to the initial severity and depth of abscessation.

Conclusions

Intrastromal injection of 5% voriconazole solution may provide a safe and effective treatment option for corneal stromal abscessation in horses. In all reported cases, administration of injection early in the treatment period appeared to contribute to rapid resolution of clinical disease without significant complications. The authors present this technique as an alternative to traditional surgical intervention, being more economical, having shorter treatment duration, and potentially resulting in less scar formation.
Regulatory effects of introduction of an exogenous FGF2 gene on other growth factor genes in a healing tendon
Authors: Tang Jin Bo , Chen Chuan Hao , Zhou You Lang , McKeever Clarie , Liu Paul Y.
Published: January 2014

In this study of a tendon injury model, we investigated how injection of a vector incorporating one growth factor gene changes expression levels of multiple growth factor genes in the healing process. The flexor tendon of chicken toes was completely cut and repaired surgically. The tendons in the experimental arm were injected with an adeno‐associated virus‐2 vector incorporating basic fibroblast growth‐factor gene, whereas the tendons in the control arm were not injected or injected with sham vectors. Using real‐time polymerase chain reaction, we found that, within the tendon healing period, a set of growth factor genes—transforming growth factor‐β1, vascular endothelial growth factor, and connective tissue growth factor—were significantly up‐regulated. Expression of the platelet‐derived growth factor‐B gene was not changed, and the insulin‐like growth factor was down‐regulated. A tendon marker gene, scleraxis, was significantly up‐regulated in the period. Our study revealed an intriguing finding that introduction of one growth factor gene in the healing tendon modulated expression of multiple growth factor genes. We believe this study may have significant implications in determining the approach of gene therapy, and the findings substantiate that gene therapy using a single growth factor could affect multiple growth factors.
Chyluria: is retrograde pyelogram mandatory prior to endoscopic sclerotherapy?
Authors: Paul Sagorika , Kumar Manoj , Singh Viswajeet , Sankhwar Satyanarayan
Published: January 2014

Chyluria is the passage of milky urine due to a lymphourinary fistula secondary to lymphatic stasis caused by obstruction of the lymphatic flow. This can be caused by parasitic or non-parasitic infections. Though chyluria is a commonly encountered entity in clinical practice particularly in developing countries like India, it is rarely discussed in English literature. We report a case of chyluria with right bifid ureter in a 50-year-old male patient who was treated with intrarenal pelvic instillation of 1% silver nitrate (AgNO3) and emphasis on the diagnostic implication of retrograde pyelography prior to endoscopic sclerotherapy in managing chyluria particularly in renal anomalies.
Nanoreactors or nanoscale stablizers: routes for solution processed indium tin oxide nanoparticles by reverse micelle deposition
Authors: Yu Hyeonghwa , Turak Ayse
Published: January 2014

The production of nanoparticles from solution typically involves the use of complex solution additives or particle functionalization with organic ligands to prevent aggregation. Another approach would be to produce the particles within a nanoscale environment, such as inside a micelle. In this contribution, we produced indium tin oxide nanoparticles using the diblock copolymer reverse micelle approach. We examined different solution precursor routes without any additives. Additionally, we examined the role of the reaction sequence, either nanoparticle formation outside the micelles or using the micelle itself as a nanoreactor.
A GENETIC GRAPH-BASED APPROACH FOR PARTITIONAL CLUSTERING
Authors: MENÉNDEZ HÉCTOR D. , BARRERO DAVID F. , CAMACHO DAVID
Published: January 2014

Clustering is one of the most versatile tools for data analysis. In the recent years, clustering that seeks the continuity of data (in opposition to classical centroid-based approaches) has attracted an increasing research interest. It is a challenging problem with a remarkable practical interest. The most popular continuity clustering method is the spectral clustering (SC) algorithm, which is based on graph cut: It initially generates a similarity graph using a distance measure and then studies its graph spectrum to find the best cut. This approach is sensitive to the parameters of the metric, and a correct parameter choice is critical to the quality of the cluster. This work proposes a new algorithm, inspired by SC, that reduces the parameter dependency while maintaining the quality of the solution. The new algorithm, named genetic graph-based clustering (GGC), takes an evolutionary approach introducing a genetic algorithm (GA) to cluster the similarity graph. The experimental validation shows that GGC increases robustness of SC and has competitive performance in comparison with classical clustering methods, at least, in the synthetic and real dataset used in the experiments.
MULTI-INSTANCE DICTIONARY LEARNING FOR DETECTING ABNORMAL EVENTS IN SURVEILLANCE VIDEOS
Authors: HUO JING , GAO YANG , YANG WANQI , YIN HUJUN
Published: January 2014

In this paper, a novel method termed Multi-Instance Dictionary Learning (MIDL) is presented for detecting abnormal events in crowded video scenes. With respect to multi-instance learning, each event (video clip) in videos is modeled as a bag containing several sub-events (local observations); while each sub-event is regarded as an instance. The MIDL jointly learns a dictionary for sparse representations of sub-events (instances) and multi-instance classifiers for classifying events into normal or abnormal. We further adopt three different multi-instance models, yielding the Max-Pooling-based MIDL (MP-MIDL), Instance-based MIDL (Inst-MIDL) and Bag-based MIDL (Bag-MIDL), for detecting both global and local abnormalities. The MP-MIDL classifies observed events by using bag features extracted via max-pooling over sparse representations. The Inst-MIDL and Bag-MIDL classify observed events by the predicted values of corresponding instances. The proposed MIDL is evaluated and compared with the state-of-the-art methods for abnormal event detection on the UMN (for global abnormalities) and the UCSD (for local abnormalities) datasets and results show that the proposed MP-MIDL and Bag-MIDL achieve either comparable or improved detection performances. The proposed MIDL method is also compared with other multi-instance learning methods on the task and superior results are obtained by the MP-MIDL scheme.
THE NON-DICRITICAL ORDER AND ATTRACTING DOMAINS OF HOLOMORPHIC MAPS TANGENT TO THE IDENTITY
Authors: RONG FENG
Published: January 2014

We study the local dynamics of holomorphic maps f in Cn tangent to the identity at a fixed point p with a non-degenerate characteristic direction [v]. In [M. Hakim, Analytic transformation of (Cp, 0) tangent to the identity, Duke Math. J.92 (1998) 403–428], n - 1 invariants αj, 1 ≤ j ≤ n - 1, called the directors, were associated to [v] and it was shown that if Re αj > 0 for all j then f has an attracting domain at p tangent to [v]. In this paper, we study the case Re αj = 0 for some j. With the help of a new invariant μ called the non-dicritical order, we show that f has an attracting domain at p tangent to [v] if μ ≥ 1. We also study the "spiral domains" when μ = 0. For n = 2, we show that f has an attracting domain at p tangent to [v] if and only if either the director α > 0 or μ ≥ 1.
MONADS FOR FRAMED TORSION-FREE SHEAVES ON MULTI-BLOW-UPS OF THE PROJECTIVE PLANE
Authors: HENNI AMAR ABDELMOUBINE
Published: January 2014

We construct monads for framed torsion-free sheaves on blow-ups of the complex projective plane at finitely many distinct points. Using these monads we prove that the moduli space of such sheaves is a smooth algebraic variety. Moreover, we construct monads for families of such sheaves parametrized by a noetherian scheme S of finite type. A universal monad on the moduli space is introduced and used to prove that the moduli space is fine.
Optimal conditions for the numerical calculation of the largest Lyapunov exponent for systems of ordinary differential equations
Authors: Dubeibe F. L. , Bermúdez-Almanza L. D.
Published: January 2014

A general indicator of the presence of chaos in a dynamical system is the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE). This quantity provides a measure of the mean exponential rate of divergence of nearby orbits. In this paper, we show that the so-called two-particle method introduced by Benettin et al. could lead to spurious estimations of the LLE. As a comparator method, the maximum Lyapunov exponent is computed from the solution of the variational equations of the system. We show that the incorrect estimation of the LLE is based on the setting of the renormalization time and the initial distance between trajectories. Unlike previously published works, we here present three criteria that could help to determine correctly these parameters so that the LLE is close to the expected value. The results have been tested with four well known dynamical systems: Ueda, Duffing, Rössler and Lorenz.
RESULTS ON NEUTRINOLESS DOUBLE-BETA DECAY FROM GERDA PHASE I
Authors: MACOLINO CARLA ,   (on behalf of the GERDA Collaboration)
Published: January 2014

The GERmanium Detector Array, GERDA, is designed to search for neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay of 76 Ge and it is installed in the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) of INFN, Italy. In this review, the detection principle and detector setup of GERDA are described. Also, the main physics results by GERDA Phase I, are discussed. They include the measurement of the half-life of 2νββ decay, the background decomposition of the energy spectrum and the techniques for the discrimination of the background, based on the pulse shape of the signal. In the last part of this review, the estimation of a limit on the half-life of 0νββ ([Formula: see text] at 90% C.L.) and the comparison with previous results are discussed. GERDA data from Phase I strongly disfavor the recent claim of 0νββ discovery, based on data from the Heidelberg–Moscow experiment.
ESTIMATES FOR THE ABELIAN Z′ COUPLINGS FROM THE LHC DATA
Authors: GULOV ALEXEY , KOZHUSHKO ANDREY
Published: January 2014

In this paper, we investigate the Drell–Yan process with the intermediate heavy Z′ boson. We use a general approach to the Abelian Z′ that utilizes the renormalization-group relations between the Z′ couplings and allows to reduce the number of unknown Z′ parameters significantly. In a newly proposed strategy, we estimate the LHC-driven constraints for the Z′ couplings to lepton and quark vector currents. To do this, we calculate the Z′-related contribution in the narrow-width approximation and compare the obtained values to the experimental data presented by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations. Our method allows to estimate the values of Z′ couplings to the u and d quarks and to final-state leptons.
HARTREE–FOCK SOLUTIONS OF 2D INTERACTING TIGHT-BINDING ELECTRONS: MOTT PROPERTIES AND ROOM TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTIVITY INDICATIONS
Authors: CABO MONTES DE OCA A. , MARCH N. H. , CABO-BIZET A.
Published: January 2014

Former results for a tight-binding (TB) model of CuO planes in La 2 CuO 4 are reinterpreted here to underline their wider implications. It is noted that physical systems being appropriately described by the TB model can exhibit the main strongly correlated electron system (SCES) properties, when they are solved in the HF approximation, by also allowing crystal symmetry breaking effects and noncollinear spin orientations of the HF orbitals. It is argued how a simple 2D square lattice system of Coulomb interacting electrons can exhibit insulator gaps and pseudogap states, and quantum phase transitions as illustrated by the mentioned former works. A discussion is also presented here indicating the possibility of attaining room temperature superconductivity, by means of a surface coating with water molecules of cleaved planes of graphite, being orthogonal to its c-axis. The possibility that 2D arrays of quantum dots can give rise to the same effect is also proposed to consideration. The analysis also furnishes theoretical insight to solve the Mott–Slater debate, at least for the La 2 CuO 4 and TMO band structures. The idea is to apply a properly noncollinear GW scheme to the electronic structure calculation of these materials. The fact is that the GW approach can be viewed as a HF procedure in which the screening polarization is also determined. This directly indicates the possibility of predicting the assumed dielectric constant in the previous works. Thus, the results seem to identify that the main correlation properties in these materials are determined by screening. Finally, the conclusions also seem to be of help for the description of the experimental observations of metal-insulator transitions and Mott properties in atoms trapped in planar photonic lattices.
EFFECT OF INTENSE LASER FIELD ON THE NONLINEAR OPTICAL SUSCEPTIBILITIES IN MODIFIED-PÖSCHL–TELLER QUANTUM WELL
Authors: PANDA S. , PANDA B. K. , DAS G.
Published: January 2014

In this paper, the effect of high-frequency laser fields on a symmetric Modified-Pöschl–Teller (MPT) potential is studied by the laser dressing parameter. The magnitude of the laser dressing parameter is determined by the intensity and the frequency of the laser field. The well depth decreases with increasing laser dressing parameter. The symmetric MPT potential becomes asymmetric under an applied electric field. In this well the optical absorption coefficients, the changes in refractive indices, and the second-order susceptibilities such as the nonlinear optical rectification (NOR) and the second harmonic generation (SHG) are calculated using the density matrix method. The nonlinear susceptibilities are found to get reduced in the laser-driven potential.
SILICON ON RAISED INSULATOR FIELD EFFECT DIODE (SORI-FED) FOR ALLEVIATING SCALING PROBLEM IN FED
Authors: VADIZADEH MAHDI , FATHIPOUR MORTEZA , DARVISH GHAFAR
Published: January 2014

One of the main shortcomings in a field effect diode (FED) is its scaling. Use of an oxide layer in the channel is proposed to enhance the control of the gate on the channel carriers. This is the so-called silicon on raised insulator FED (SORI-FFD) structure. The Shockley–Read–Hall (SRH) mechanism is one of the main components of leakage current in FED devices. The potential induced by the gates in the OFF-state of a SORI-FFD, is larger than that induced by the gates of a regular FED. This reduces, SRH recombination rate. Hence, OFF-state characteristics of the SORI-FED device improves. We evaluate the impact of band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) on the electrical characteristics of Modified FED (M-FED).We show that for channel lengths of 35 nm and lower this device does not turn off. While, the proposed structure makes device channel length scaling possible down to 15 nm. We will also compare electrical characteristics of SORI-FED and M-FED using three metrics: gate delay time versus channel length, gate delay time versus I ON /I OFF ratio and energy-delay product versus channel length. Benchmarking results show the proposed FED structure provides improvement in I ON /I OFF ratio and holds promise for future logic transistor applications.
Learning to control listening-oriented dialogue using partially observable markov decision processes
Authors: Meguro Toyomi , Minami Yasuhiro , Higashinaka Ryuichiro , Dohsaka Kohji
Published: January 2014

Our aim is to build listening agents that attentively listen to their users and satisfy their desire to speak and have themselves heard. This article investigates how to automatically create a dialogue control component of such a listening agent. We collected a large number of listening-oriented dialogues with their user satisfaction ratings and used them to create a dialogue control component that satisfies users by means of Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDPs). Using a hybrid dialog controller where high-level dialog acts are chosen with a statistical policy and low-level slot values are populated by a wizard, we evaluated our dialogue control method in a Wizard-of-Oz experiment. The experimental results show that our POMDP-based method achieves significantly higher user satisfaction than other stochastic models, confirming the validity of our approach. This article is the first to verify, by using human users, the usefulness of POMDP-based dialogue control for improving user satisfaction in nontask-oriented dialogue systems.
Composition of semantic relations
Authors: Blanco Eduardo , Moldovan Dan
Published: January 2014

Extracting semantic relations from text is a preliminary step towards understanding the meaning of text. The more semantic relations are extracted from a sentence, the better the representation of the knowledge encoded into that sentence. This article introduces a framework for the Composition of Semantic Relations (CSR). CSR aims to reveal more text semantics than existing semantic parsers by composing new relations out of previously extracted relations. Semantic relations are defined using vectors of semantic primitives, and an algebra is suggested to manipulate these vectors according to a CSR algorithm. Inference axioms that combine two relations and yield another relation are generated automatically. CSR is a language-agnostic, inventory-independent method to extract semantic relations. The formalism has been applied to a set of 26 well-known relations and results are reported.
Combining co-clustering with noise detection for theme-based summarization
Authors: Cai Xiaoyan , Li Wenjie , Zhang Renxian
Published: January 2014

To overcome the fact that the length of sentences is short and their content is limited, we regard words as independent text objects rather than features of sentences in sentence clustering and develop two co-clustering frameworks, namely integrated clustering and interactive clustering, to cluster sentences and words simultaneously. Since real-world datasets always contain noise, we incorporate noise detection and removal to enhance clustering of sentences and words. Meanwhile, a semisupervised approach is explored to incorporate the query information (and the sentence information in early document sets) in theme-based summarization. Thorough experimental studies are conducted. When evaluated on the DUC2005-2007 datasets and TAC 2008-2009 datasets, the performance of the two noise-detecting co-clustering approaches is comparable with that of the top three systems. The results also demonstrate that the interactive with noise detection algorithm is more effective than the noise-detecting integrated algorithm.
Design of cultural heritage information systems based on information layers
Authors: Soler F. , Torres J. C. , León A. J. , Luzón M. V.
Published: January 2014

The information about cultural heritage artifacts that archeologists must manage is usually very heterogenous, and, due to its spatial nature, cannot be easily represented using conventional data management frameworks. The strong spatial dependence of this data suggests that the information should be linked to a 3D model of the artifact. This article presents a 3D information system that has been designed to manage cultural heritage information. The system allows information layers to be associated with the surface of the artifact, following an approach similar to that used in geographical information systems. This permits relationships between the different elements to be ascertained, and allows both specialists and the layperson to more easily understand the information. We describe here the structure and functionality of the system.
Control-Flow Patterns for Decentralized RESTful Service Composition
Authors: Bellido Jesus , Alarcón Rosa , Pautasso Cesare
Published: January 2014

The REST architectural style has attracted a lot of interest from industry due to the nonfunctional properties it contributes to Web-based solutions. SOAP/WSDL-based services, on the other hand, provide tools and methodologies that allow the design and development of software supporting complex service arrangements, enabling complex business processes which make use of well-known control-flow patterns. It is not clear if and how such patterns should be modeled, considering RESTful Web services that comply with the statelessness, uniform interface and hypermedia constraints. In this article, we analyze a set of fundamental control-flow patterns in the context of stateless compositions of RESTful services. We propose a means of enabling their implementation using the HTTP protocol and discuss the impact of our design choices according to key REST architectural principles. We hope to shed new light on the design of basic building blocks for RESTful business processes.
Cognitive canonicalization of natural language queries using semantic strata
Authors: Roy Suman Deb , Zeng Wenjun
Published: January 2014

Natural language search relies strongly on perceiving semantics in a query sentence. Semantics is captured by the relationship among the query words, represented as a network (graph). Such a network of words can be fed into larger ontologies, like DBpedia or Google Knowledge Graph, where they appear as subgraphs— fashioning the name subnetworks (subnets). Thus, subnet is a canonical form for interfacing a natural language query to a graph database and is an integral step for graph-based searching. In this article, we present a novel standalone NLP technique that leverages the cognitive psychology notion of semantic
strata
for semantic subnetwork extraction from natural language queries. The cognitive model describes some of the fundamental structures employed by the human cognition to construct semantic information in the brain, called semantic strata. We propose a computational model based on conditional random fields to capture the cognitive abstraction provided by semantic strata, facilitating cognitive canonicalization of the query. Our results, conducted on approximately 5000 queries, suggest that the cognitive canonicals based on semantic strata are capable of significantly improving parsing and role labeling performance beyond pure lexical approaches, such as parts-of-speech based techniques. We also find that cognitive canonicalized subnets are more semantically coherent compared to syntax trees when explored in graph ontologies like DBpedia and improve ranking of retrieved documents.
Classification in P2P networks with cascade support vector machines
Authors: Ang Hock Hee , Gopalkrishnan Vivekanand , Hoi Steven C. H. , Ng Wee Keong
Published: January 2014

Classification in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks is important to many real applications, such as distributed intrusion detection, distributed recommendation systems, and distributed antispam detection. However, it is very challenging to perform classification in P2P networks due to many practical issues, such as scalability, peer dynamism, and asynchronism. This article investigates the practical techniques of constructing Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers in the P2P networks. In particular, we demonstrate how to efficiently cascade SVM in a P2P network with the use of reduced SVM. In addition, we propose to fuse the concept of cascade SVM with bootstrap aggregation to effectively balance the trade-off between classification accuracy, model construction, and prediction cost. We provide theoretical insights for the proposed solutions and conduct an extensive set of empirical studies on a number of large-scale datasets. Encouraging results validate the efficacy of the proposed approach.
Slow change interaction design
Authors: Siegel Martin A. , Beck Jordan
Published: January 2014

A theoretical sketch exploring the mindsets required for creating interactive technologies that facilitate attitudinal and behavioral change over time.
Special topic: Designing for and with vulnerable people
Authors: Vines John , McNaney Róisín , Lindsay Stephen , Wallace Jayne , McCarthy John
Published: January 2014

HCI has started to explore the positive roles that technology can play in improving the lives of people facing cognitive, emotional, physical, and socioeconomic challenges. Despite this encompassing a large percentage of the population, an overarching characteristic that people facing such challenges likely share is that society considers them
vulnerable
in one way or another [1]. In these contexts, undertaking even the most fundamental aspects of research and design---or even just meeting with potential participants in your project---can present many unexpected and significant challenges to researchers and practitioners. This issue prompted us to organize the "Designing for and with Vulnerable People" workshop at CHI 2013 in Paris earlier this year [2].
Engaging homeless young people in HCI research
Authors: Woelfer Jill Palzkill
Published: January 2014

They are not just vulnerable, but also susceptible
Automatic data allocation and buffer management for multi-GPU machines
Authors: Ramashekar Thejas , Bondhugula Uday
Published: January 2014

Multi-GPU machines are being increasingly used in high-performance computing. Each GPU in such a machine has its own memory and does not share the address space either with the host CPU or other GPUs. Hence, applications utilizing multiple GPUs have to manually allocate and manage data on each GPU. Existing works that propose to automate data allocations for GPUs have limitations and inefficiencies in terms of allocation sizes, exploiting reuse, transfer costs, and scalability.

We propose a scalable and fully automatic data allocation and buffer management scheme for affine loop nests on multi-GPU machines. We call it the Bounding-Box-based Memory Manager (BBMM). BBMM can perform at
runtime
, during standard set operations like union, intersection, and difference, finding subset and superset relations on hyperrectangular regions of array data (bounding boxes). It uses these operations along with some compiler assistance to identify, allocate, and manage data required by applications in terms of
disjoint
bounding boxes. This allows it to (1) allocate exactly or nearly as much data as is required by computations running on each GPU, (2) efficiently track buffer allocations and hence maximize data reuse across tiles and minimize data transfer overhead, and (3) and as a result, maximize utilization of the combined memory on multi-GPU machines. BBMM can work with any choice of parallelizing transformations, computation placement, and scheduling schemes, whether static or dynamic. Experiments run on a four-GPU machine with various scientific programs showed that BBMM reduces data allocations on each GPU by up to 75% compared to current allocation schemes, yields performance of at least 88% of manually written code, and allows excellent weak scaling.