bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Deleuze and Badiou on the Nature of Events
Authors: Adkins Brent
Published: August 2012

While any number of topics would serve to compare and contrast Deleuze and Badiou, this article will focus on the event. Focusing on the event serves several purposes. First, it provides a vantage point from which to elucidate a number of key topics in both philosophers. Second, while Badiou’s most recent work is already organized around his conception of the event, Deleuze’s discussion of the event is more diffuse. Thus, a discussion of the event in Deleuze will serve as heuristic to relate several of Deleuze’s (Deleuze and Guattari’s) texts. Finally, focusing on a single issue will clarify what is at stake in each conception of the event.
Arranger Certification in Project Finance
Authors: Gatti Stefano , Kleimeier Stefanie , Megginson William , Steffanoni Alessandro
Published: August 2012

Using a sample of 4,122 project finance loans worth $769 billion arranged from 1991 to 2005, we demonstrate that certification by prestigious lead arranging banks creates economic value by reducing overall loan spreads compared to loans arranged by less prestigious arrangers. Banks participating in these loan syndicates, rather than the project sponsors, pay for this certification. They do so by allowing top tier arrangers to keep larger fractions of the upfront arranging fees. Results are robust to the correction for the endogenous choice of loans by prestigious arrangers and indicate that certification is even more valuable during periods of extreme financial stress.
Financial Misrepresentation and Its Impact on Rivals
Authors: Goldman Eitan , Peyer Urs , Stefanescu Irina
Published: August 2012

This paper examines how the announcement of an accusation of fraudulent financial misrepresentation affects industry rivals of the accused firm. Consistent with the importance of the industry competition effect, we find that rivals in less competitive industries benefit from the event. However, in competitive industries, the information spillover effect dominates the competition effect, resulting in negative returns to rival shareholders following the event. The spillover effect increases in importance with the severity of the accusation and is more important for opaque rivals and for rivals that had positive stock price reactions to past positive earnings surprises of the accused firm.
Thermally reflowed ZEP 520A for gate length reduction and profile rounding in T-gate fabrication
Authors: Downey Brian P. , Meyer David J. , Bass Robert , Katzer D. Scott , Binari Steven C.
Published: August 2012

The characteristics of thermally reflowed ZEP 520A-7 (ZEP), a resist commonly used in electron beam lithography, are presented for use as a gate stem resist layer in T-gate process development. As-developed ZEP lines possess a resist sidewall profile that displays varying amounts of undercut, which are determined by the conditions used to expose the line. The authors find that after thermal reflow, the top of the ZEP profile becomes substantially rounded in shape, mitigating “metal cathedraling” problems, a yield-affecting issue that becomes more pronounced as the gate length is reduced. In addition to profile rounding, a linewidth reduction of over 100 nm is observed, and this process has been used to produce gate lengths in the 30–40 nm range. The changes in feature size and the final profile shape depend on the as-developed sidewall angle. Additionally, the ZEP reflow process saturates after a certain amount of time, so reproducibility is not hindered by a lack of precise control in timing. As larger lines can be used to produce smaller features via reflow, the potential for faster throughput exists due to the use of a higher beam current, which would normally limit the attainable minimum feature size.
A dose point kernel database using GATE Monte Carlo simulation toolkit for nuclear medicine applications: Comparison with other Monte Carlo codes
Authors: Papadimitroulas Panagiotis , Loudos George , Nikiforidis George C. , Kagadis George C.
Published: August 2012

Purpose:

GATE is a Monte Carlo simulation toolkit based on the Geant4 package, widely used for many medical physics applications, including SPECT and PET image simulation and more recently CT image simulation and patient dosimetry. The purpose of the current study was to calculate dose point kernels (DPKs) using GATE, compare them against reference data, and finally produce a complete dataset of the total DPKs for the most commonly used radionuclides in nuclear medicine.

Methods:

Patient‐specific absorbed dose calculations can be carried out using Monte Carlo simulations. The latest version of GATE extends its applications to Radiotherapy and Dosimetry. Comparison of the proposed method for the generation of DPKs was performed for (a) monoenergetic electron sources, with energies ranging from 10 keV to 10 MeV, (b) beta emitting isotopes, e.g.,177Lu, 90Y, and 32P, and (c) gamma emitting isotopes, e.g., 111In, 131I, 125I, and 99mTc. Point isotropic sources were simulated at the center of a sphere phantom, and the absorbed dose was stored in concentric spherical shells around the source. Evaluation was performed with already published studies for different Monte Carlo codes namely MCNP, EGS, FLUKA, ETRAN, GEPTS, and PENELOPE. A complete dataset of total DPKs was generated for water (equivalent to soft tissue), bone, and lung. This dataset takes into account all the major components of radiation interactions for the selected isotopes, including the absorbed dose from emitted electrons, photons, and all secondary particles generated from the electromagnetic interactions.

Results:

GATE comparison provided reliable results in all cases (monoenergetic electrons, beta emitting isotopes, and photon emitting isotopes). The observed differences between GATE and other codes are less than 10% and comparable to the discrepancies observed among other packages. The produced DPKs are in very good agreement with the already published data, which allowed us to produce a unique DPKs dataset using GATE. The dataset contains the total DPKs for67Ga, 68Ga, 90Y, 99mTc, 111In, 123I, 124I, 125I, 131I, 153Sm, 177Lu 186Re, and 188Re generated in water, bone, and lung.

Conclusions:

In this study, the authors have checked GATE's reliability for absorbed dose calculation when transporting different kind of particles, which indicates its robustness for dosimetry applications. A novel dataset of DPKs is provided, which can be applied in patient‐specific dosimetry using analytical point kernel convolution algorithms.
Comparison of Gafchromic EBT2 and EBT3 films for clinical photon and proton beams
Authors: Reinhardt S. , Hillbrand M. , Wilkens J. J. , Assmann W.
Published: August 2012

Purpose:

Dose verification in highly conformal radiation therapy such as IMRT or proton therapy can benefit from the high spatial resolution offered by radio‐chromic films such as Gafchromic EBT or EBT2. Recently, a new generation of these films, EBT3, has become available. The composition and thickness of the sensitive layer are the same as for the previous EBT2 films. The most important change is the symmetric layer configuration to eliminate side orientation dependence, which is reported for EBT2 films.

Methods:

The general film characteristics such as sensitivity to read‐out orientation and postexposure darkening evolution of the new EBT3 film are evaluated. Film response has been investigated in clinical photon and proton beams and compared to former EBT2 films. Quenching effects in the proton Bragg peak region have been studied for both, EBT2 and EBT3 films.

Results:

The general performance of EBT3 is comparable to EBT2, and the orientation dependence with respect to film side is completely eliminated in EBT3 films. Response differences of EBT2 and EBT3 films are of the same order of magnitude as batch‐to‐batch variations observed for EBT2 films. No significant difference has been found for both generations of EBT films between photon and proton exposure. Depth dose measurements of EBT2 and EBT3 show an excellent agreement, though underestimating dose by up to 20% in the Bragg peak region.

Conclusions:

The symmetric configuration of EBT3 presents a major improvement for film handling. EBT3 has similar dosimetric performance as its precursor EBT2 and can, thus, be applied to dose verification in IMRT in the same way. For dose verification in proton therapy the underresponse in the Bragg peak region has to be taken into account.
Unmasking Lung Injury in Sepsis
Authors: Methe Heiko
Published: August 2012

Degradation of the glycocalyx of lung endothelium promotes acute lung injury during sepsis.
Prenatal Conditions Shape Cognition
Authors: Singh Manpreet K.
Published: August 2012

Subtle differences in prenatal brain growth influence later brain maturation.
Unusual case of hyponatraemia
Authors: Hannaway Ryan Karlus , Cowie Fiona , Jude Edward
Published: August 2012

Hyponatraemia is the most common electrolyte abnormality, encountered in up to 30% of inpatients. Inappropriate management can have serious implications for patients; including demyelinating disease, coma and death. We have used a case report to identify the common problems, and provide useful strategies in management for which these can be avoided. The aim was to provide a framework which clinicians can adopt, in order to improve clinical practice and provide optimum outcome for the patient.
Graves’ disease—familiar foe, unfamiliar face
Authors: Kamalanathan Sadishkumar , Balachandran Karthik , Packirisamy Gobu , Hamide Abdoul
Published: August 2012

A 38-year-old man from a remote tribal area of South India presented with right heart failure. On evaluation, he was found to have untreated Graves’ disease (GD) with atrial fibrillation and pulmonary hypertension. The left ventricular function was normal. Secondary causes for pulmonary hypertension were ruled out. He was treated with carbimazole and low-dose propranolol. Post 4 months medical therapy, his pulmonary hypertension completely reversed, thus establishing GD as a reversible cause of pulmonary hypertension and isolated right heart failure.
Varicella infection in a neonate with subsequent staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome and fatal shock
Authors: Singh Shakal Narayan , Tahazzul Mohammad , Singh Anita , Chandra Surabhi
Published: August 2012

A male term neonate, at day 23 of life, presented with vesicular lesions over the trunk, which spread to allover the body on the next day. Five days later, he started developing blistering of the skin over the trunk and extremities, which subsequently ruptured, leaving erythematous, tender raw areas with peeling of the skin. The mother had vesicular eruptions, which started on the second day of delivery and progressed over the next 3 days. Subsequently, similar eruptions were noticed in two of the siblings before affecting the neonate. On the basis of the exposure history and clinical picture, a diagnosis was made of varicella infection with staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSSS). The blood culture and the wound surface culture grewStaphylococcus aureus. Treatment included intravenous fluid, antibiotics, acyclovir and wound care. However, after 72 h of hospitalisation, the neonate first developed shock, refractory to fluid boluses, vasopressors and catecholamine along with other supports; and he then succumbed. In all neonates, staphylococcal infection with varicella can be fatal due to SSSS, the toxic shock syndrome or septicaemia.
An incidental peri-adrenal cystic lesion: Figure 1
Authors: Powell George , Burrows Cerys , Houghton Andrew , Otter Mark
Published: August 2012

A 50-year-old man was found to have an incidental peri-adrenal cystic lesion on CT imaging which was removed laparoscopically. Histological examination showed a cystic structure composed of respiratory and cuboidal-type epithelium with underlying smooth muscle, cartilage and seromucinous glands. The differential diagnosis for such a lesion includes bronchogenic cyst or teratoma differentiated. This case report offers an overview of both the conditions and the difficulties encountered in the histological distinction.
A qualitative study to identify reasons for discharges against medical advice in the cardiovascular setting
Authors: Onukwugha Eberechukwu , Saunders Elijah , Mullins C Daniel , Pradel Françoise G , Zuckerman Marni , Loh F Ellen , Weir Matthew R
Published: August 2012

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is responsible for the largest number of discharges against medical advice (AMA). However, there is limited information regarding the reasons for discharges AMA in the CVD setting.

Objective

To identify reasons for discharges AMA among patients with CVD.

Design

Qualitative study using focus group interviews (FGIs).

Participants

A convenience sample of patients with a CVD-related discharge diagnosis who left AMA and providers (physicians, nurses and social workers) whose patients have left AMA.

Primary and secondary outcomes

To identify patients' reasons for discharges AMA as identified by patients and providers. To identify strategies to reduce discharges AMA.

Approach

FGIs were grouped according to patients, physicians and nurses/social workers. A content analysis was performed independently by three coauthors to identify the nature and range of the participants' viewpoints on the reasons for discharges AMA. The content analysis involved specific categories of reasons as motivated by the Health Belief Model as well as reasons (ie, themes) that emerged from the interview data.

Results

9 patients, 10 physicians and 23 nurses/social workers were recruited for the FGIs. Patients and providers reported the same three reasons for discharges AMA: (1) patient's preference for their own doctor, (2) long wait time and (3) factors outside the hospital. Patients identified an unmet expectation to be involved in setting the treatment plan as a reason to leave AMA. Participants identified improved communication as a solution for reducing discharges AMA.

Conclusions

Patients wanted more involvement in their care, exhibited a strong preference for their own primary physician, felt that they spent a long time waiting in the hospital and were motivated to leave AMA by factors outside the hospital. Providers identified similar reasons except the patients' desire for involvement. Additional research is needed to determine the applicability of results in broader patient and provider populations.
Strategies for improving patient safety culture in hospitals: a systematic review
Authors: Morello Renata Teresa , Lowthian Judy A , Barker Anna Lucia , McGinnes Rosemary , Dunt David , Brand Caroline
Published: August 2012

Purpose

To determine the effectiveness of patient safety culture strategies to improve hospital patient safety climate.

Data sources

Electronic search of the Cochrane Library, OVID Medline, Embase, CINAHL, proQuest and psychinfo databases, with manual searches of quality and safety websites, bibliographies of included articles and key journals.

Study selection

English language studies published between January 1996 and April 2011 that measured the effectiveness of patient safety culture strategies using a quantitative measure of patient safety climate in a hospital setting. Studies included were randomised controlled trials (RCTs), non-RCTs, controlled before and after studies, interrupted time series and historically controlled studies.

Data extraction

Data extraction and critical appraisal were conducted by two independent reviewers. Study design, intervention, level of application, setting, study participants, safety climate outcome measures and implementation lessons were extracted from each article.

Results of data synthesis

Over 2000 articles were screened, with 21 studies meeting the inclusion criteria, one cluster RCT, seven controlled before and after studies, and 13 historically controlled studies. There was marked methodological heterogeneity amongst studies. Impacts of 11 different strategies were reported. There was some evidence to support that leadership walk rounds (p=0.02) and multi-faceted unit-based programmes (p < 0.05) may have a positive impact on patient safety climate.

Conclusions

Despite strong face validity for a variety of patient safety culture strategies, there is limited evidence to support definitive impacts on patient safety climate outcomes. Organisations are advised to consider robust evaluation designs when implementing these potentially resource intensive strategies.
Review of hepatocellular cancer, hypertension and renal impairment as late complications of acute porphyria and recommendations for patient follow-up
Authors: Stewart Mary Felicity
Published: August 2012

This review critically appraises the data emerging from small retrospective and prospective cohort studies suggesting that patients with the autosomal dominant acute porphyrias may be at increased risk of hepatocellular cancer (HCC), hypertension (HT) and renal impairment. The most striking finding is a marked excess risk of HCC in Swedish patients with acute intermittent porphyria (AIP). As Sweden has a relatively high prevalence of AIP due to a founder effect, it is uncertain to what extent the finding is generalisable to other populations or other acute porphyrias and whether early intervention through screening can improve outcomes. As yet there is no evidence for the cost-effectiveness of systematic surveillance for HCC in acute porphyria outside Sweden. Data from several populations also suggest a high prevalence of chronic sustained HT and renal impairment in AIP, but it is uncertain if this represents a true excess risk, in particular for asymptomatic patients. As these long-term complications are important and potentially treatable, a pragmatic recommendation is that symptomatic patients with acute porphyria should be offered specialist long-term follow-up and, for those aged >50 years, annual liver ultrasound may be considered following discussion of the likely risks and benefits. Opportunistic cardiovascular risk assessment can readily be incorporated into a structured annual review so that appropriate drugs safe for use in acute porphyria are prescribed promptly. As these diseases are rare, collaborative international epidemiological studies such as those being coordinated through the European Porphyria Network are essential to inform best clinical practice.
Radial variation in Kraft pulp yield and cellulose content in Eucalyptus globulus wood across three contrasting sites predicted by near infrared spectroscopy
Authors: Downes Geoffrey M. , Harwood Christopher E. , Wiedemann John , Ebdon Nick , Bond Helen , Meder Roger
Published: August 2012

There is little published information on the variability of pulp yield within eucalypt stems. This is primarily due to the difficulty in measuring pulp yield in small samples, especially those obtained nondestructively. Thus, information of the effect of site, climate, and silviculture on pulp yield variability is lacking, minimizing its consideration in the economic optimization of pulpwood production. Near infrared spectroscopic measurement of pulp yield directly from intact wood surfaces at a small, radial sampling interval provides forest managers with opportunities to better understand and manage its sources of variability. Calibrations based on solid wood samples were constructed to describe radial variation in Kraft pulp yield and cellulose content using intact wood samples from Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Plantations at three sites with contrasting annual rainfall were studied. Pulp yield and cellulose content were higher at the more productive, wetter sites. Outer wood near the cambium had pulp yield values up to 8% higher than those at the pith. There was no clear intra-annual cycle of variation. The more productive sites exhibited significantly steeper pith-to-bark increases in pulp yield than the driest site. This has implications for optimizing pulp productivity by considering rotation length and site quality.
Trade-offs between growth and cold and drought hardiness in submaritime Douglas-fir
Authors: Darychuk N. , Hawkins B.J. , Stoehr M.
Published: August 2012

Trade-offs between growth and stress tolerance in plants may limit the possible phenotypes that can evolve or be selected. Such limits would have important implications for tree breeding. We examined evidence for trade-offs between growth and stress tolerance, particularly cold and drought tolerance, in 56 families of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) from wild stand and seed orchard seed with a range of predicted growth rates. Families were assessed in field and controlled-environment experiments for growth and key physiological traits related to abiotic stress response. In the field, family growth was negatively correlated with fall and spring cold hardiness, indicating a trade-off between growth and cold hardiness. Combined results from field and controlled-environment experiments showed lower stomatal conductance and higher water potential in fast-growing families, indicating greater water conservation; thus no evidence existed for a growth – drought hardiness trade-off. Multivariate regression trees of normalized family means of growth and physiological parameters in the field split the families primarily by an index of continentality. Continental families had greater growth, survival, and fall hardiness than coastal families. We conclude that selection pressures in Douglas-fir have resulted in a trade-off between cold hardiness and high vigour, but little evidence exists for a trade-off between growth and drought hardiness.
Statistical modeling of baleen and body length at age in bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus)
Authors: Lubetkin S.C. , Zeh J.E. , George J.C.
Published: August 2012

We used baleen lengths and age estimates from 175 whales and body lengths and age estimates from 205 whales to test which of several single- and multi-stage growth models best characterized age-specific baleen and body lengths for bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus L., 1758) with the goal of determining which would be best for predicting whale age based on baleen or body length. Previous age estimates were compiled from several techniques, each of which is valid over a relatively limited set of physical characteristics. The best fitting single-stage growth model was a variation of the von Bertalanffy growth model for both baleen and body length data. Based on Bayesian information criterion, the two- and three-stage versions of the von Bertalanffy model fit the data better than did the single-stage models for both baleen and body length. The best baleen length models can be used to estimate expected ages for bowhead whales with up to 300–325 cm baleen, depending on sex, which correspond to age estimates approaching 60 years. The best body length models can be used to estimate expected ages for male bowhead whales up to 14 m, and female bowheads up to 15.5 m or ages up to approximately 40 years.
Scale-dependent drivers of ungulate patch use along a temporal and spatial gradient of snow depth
Authors: Witt J.C. , Webster C.R. , Froese R.E. , Drummer T.D. , Vucetich J.A.
Published: August 2012

Anthropogenic changes in landscape composition or configuration have the potential to increase the abundance of generalist species, often resulting in cascading effects on other trophic levels and ecosystem function. The selection or utilization of individual patches of habitat, however, may vary in both time and space, as a result of patch and landscape attributes as well as dynamic abiotic factors (i.e., snowfall). We hypothesized that the use of high-quality habitat would be most strongly influenced by snow at local scales and by composition and the configuration of the landscape at greater spatial scales. To test this, we examined white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)) selection of eastern hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière) patches as winter habitat over a 3-year period. Patch-level attributes were poor predictors of patch use in areas with strong gradients in abiotic factors relevant to the energetics of movement or forage acquisition. Additionally, heterogeneity in the greater landscape (3000 m radius buffer) served to increase use, while homogeneity appeared to decrease use. Our results suggest that interactions between deer migratory behavior, interannual variation in winter severity, and landscape context might provide spatial and temporal refugia for hemlock regeneration; a better understanding of which could aide conservation and restoration.
Scale and landscape perception: the case of refuge use by Boreal Toads (Anaxyrus boreas boreas)
Authors: Long Z.L. , Prepas E.E.
Published: August 2012

Refugia likely represent a critical resource necessary for the persistence of populations of Boreal Toads ( Anaxyrus boreas boreas (Baird and Girard, 1852)) in a given area. However, the features that define suitable refuge microsites and the extent to which the habitat surrounding refugia is exploited remains unclear. We sought to describe refuge characteristics in the context of their surroundings and to determine whether local-scale movement behaviour associated with refuge use might provide a novel perspective of landscape-level habitat selection. A pilot study suggested that refugia were selected primarily for physical structure in the form of coarse woody debris, but this was not the case. Instead, refugia provided favourable microclimates with elevated relative humidity compared with the surrounding habitat. Boreal Toads tended to forage at night within 15 m from refugia. This distance was used to calculate activity centres across toad summer home ranges. Activity centres prioritized the importance of treeless habitat overall and wetland habitat for females when compared with 50% core home ranges. This approach could be used to pinpoint critical habitat at the landscape scale, which may be of particular importance for conserving populations currently in decline.
AN EFFICIENT QUANTUM SECRET SHARING SCHEME WITH DECOY STATES
Authors: WANG TIAN-YIN , CAI XIAO-QIU
Published: August 2012

We present a multiparty quantum secret sharing scheme of classical information with Bell states and decoy states. This scheme can save a lot of photons because eavesdropping checks are performed only twice; in addition, it has the advantage of high intrinsic efficiency for qubits because every Bell states can generate two bits of classical secret information; moreover, only the dealer and one of the agents are required to store photons; most important of all, this scheme can resist all the attacks that have been proposed.
Synthesis and photodynamic properties of maltohexaose-conjugated porphyrins
Authors: Mikata Yuji , Shibata Minako , Baba Yasuko , Kakuchi Toyoji , Nakai Misaki , Yano Shigenobu
Published: August 2012

A series of porphyrin derivatives with one to four maltohexaose moieties in their meso positions have been synthesized. Zinc or free-base m-THPP (5,10,15,20-tetrakis(m-hydroxyphenyl)-porphyrin) was used as the porphyrin platform. The reaction of m-THPP with 3-iodopropyl nonadecaacetylmaltohexaoside afforded a mixture of all possible combinations of glycoconjugated porphyrins having one to four maltohexaose moieties; monoglycosylated (Ac-1), bisglycosylated (Ac-cis-2 and Ac-trans-2), triglycosylated (Ac-3), and tetraglycosylated (Ac-4) porphyrins were obtained in 11–26% yield. Removal of acetyl groups at maltohexaose moiety afforded highly water-soluble glycoconjugated porphyrins 1–4. Zinc derivatives were synthesized in a similar manner. These maltohexaose-linked porphyrins exhibit remarkable water-solublity (530 mg/mL for 4). The singlet oxygen production ability upon visible light irradiation is not affected by the maltohexaose substitution. Photo- and dark cytotoxicities of the maltohexaose-conjugated porphyrins 1–4 and Zn-1–4 were examined against a HeLa cell line, which showed that the mono-maltohexaosylated derivative (1 and Zn-1) was the most effective photosensitizer for PDT.
Different lead sources in an abandoned uranium mine (
Urgeiriça - Central Portugal
) and its environment impact – isotopic evidence
Authors: Santos Rui M.P. , Tassinari Colombo C. G.
Published: August 2012

Different lead sources were identified in a large uranium tailings deposit (5Mton) in the Central Region of Portugal using lead isotopic ratios obtained by ICP-QMS. These ratios helped to clarify the different sources of Pb within the tailings deposit and the impact of the tailings on the surroundings. Ten depth profiles were used for isotopic characterization of the tailings deposit; the lead background signature was evaluated in seven regional rocks (granites) and was defined as being 28 ± 1 mg kg
−1
for Pb bulk concentration and with isotopic ratios of 1.264(2) for
206
Pb/
207
Pb and 1.962(7) for
208
Pb/
206
Pb. In order to understand Pb isotope distribution within the tailings deposit, simple mixing/mass balance models were used to fit experimental data, involving: (1) the background component; (2) uranium ores (pitchblende) characterized by the ratios
206
Pb/
207
Pb of 1.914(3) and
208
Pb/
206
Pb of 1.235(2); and (3) an unknown Pb source (named ‘Fonte 5’) characterized by the ratios
206
Pb/
207
Pb of 3.079(7) and
208
Pb/
206
Pb of 0.715(1). This unknown source showed high radiogenic ratios found in the water of some tailings depth profiles located in a very specific position in the dump. In terms of isotopic characterization, 69% of the deposit material resulted from the background source, 25% from uranium minerals and only 6% from other uranium mines in the region. Finally, the environment impact revealed that the pollution was focused only in the beginning of the stream and not in the surroundings, nor in the groundwater system. The lead in the water was found only in colloidal form with a clear pitchblende signature. Those data revealed possible remobilization phenomena along the bedside and margins of the watercourse.
Integration of outcrop and subsurface data during the development of a naturally fractured Eocene carbonate reservoir at the East Ras Budran concession, Gulf of Suez, Egypt
Authors: Bosworth William , Khalil Samir , Clare Alan , Comisky Joe , Abdelal Hany , Reed Tom , Kokkoros George
Published: August 2012

The East Ras Budran Concession is located in the eastern rift shoulder of the Gulf of Suez. Syn- and pre-rift rocks are exposed in the north and east of the concession, and the Markha alluvial plain covers the SW. The Markha plain occupies the hanging wall of a large extensional fault which preserves most of the pre-rift stratigraphic sequence and >3500 m of syn-rift strata. Vertical wells drilled in 1999 indicated the presence of a >200 m oil column in low-porosity naturally fractured limestone beds of the Eocene Darat and Thebes formations. Outcrop, borehole image and core data define NW, WNW, N, NE, and ENE steeply dipping fracture sets. Borehole breakouts and drilling-induced fractures show that the minimum horizontal stress is aligned NNE to NE, so the NW and WNW fractures should be open in the subsurface. Using this structural picture, a near-horizontal well of 300 m length was drilled into the Darat in a NE direction. During testing, the well flowed at a rate of 1900 barrels of oil per day with no water. Future development of the field includes drilling similarly oriented wells with longer horizontal sections.
Verification and coverage of message passing multicore applications
Authors: Deniz Etem , Sen Alper , Holt Jim
Published: August 2012

We describe verification and coverage methods for multicore software that uses message passing libraries for communication. Specifically, we provide techniques to improve reliability of software using the new industry standard MCAPI by the Multicore Association. We develop dynamic predictive verification techniques that allow us to find actual and potential errors in a multicore software. Some of these error types are deadlocks, race conditions, and violation of temporal assertions. We complement our verification techniques with a mutation-testing-based coverage metric. Coverage metrics enable measuring the quality of verification tests. We implemented our techniques in tools and validated them on several multicore programs that use the MCAPI standard. We implement our techniques in tools and experimentally show the effectiveness of our approach. We find errors that are not found using traditional dynamic verification techniques and we can potentially explore execution schedules different than the original program with our coverage tool. This is the first time such predictive verification and coverage metrics have been developed for MCAPI.
Fast poisson solvers for thermal analysis
Authors: Qian Haifeng , Sapatnekar Sachin S. , Kursun Eren
Published: August 2012

Accurate and efficient thermal analysis for a VLSI chip is crucial, both for sign-off reliability verification and for design-time circuit optimization. To determine an accurate temperature profile, it is important to simulate a die together with its thermal mounts: this requires solving Poisson's equation on a nonrectangular 3D domain. This article presents a class of eigendecomposition-based Fast Poisson Solvers (FPS) for chip-level thermal analysis. We start with a solver that solves a rectangular 3D domain with mixed boundary conditions in O(
N
⋅ log
N
) time, where
N
is the dimension of the finite difference matrix. Then we reveal, for the first time in the literature, a strong relation between fast Poisson solvers and Green-function-based methods. Finally, we propose an FPS method that leverages the preconditioned conjugate gradient method to solve nonrectangular 3D domains efficiently. We demonstrate this approach on thermal analysis of an industrial microprocessor, showing accurate results verified by a commercial tool, and that it solves a system of dimension 4.54e6 in only 13 conjugate gradient iterations, with a runtime of 65 seconds, a 15X speedup over the popular ICCG solver.
"Ad you like it"
Authors: Jain Ajay , Singh Chandan
Published: August 2012

Sourcing and selection of online advertisement is done with the objective of streaming advertisements that match user's interests and internet surfing habits. Choosing relevant advertisements that bring user's focus and attention have higher click rate. Innovative concepts, such as crawling recently surfed web pages (or websites), user's (or web portal server) geographical location, user's profile, age, gender, and surfing habits., have been used to identify most relevant advertisements. However, selecting and streaming an advertisement that exactly matches user's interest continues to be a challe.

This paper proposes and shares an innovative technique that significantly helps in mapping user's interest quotient to streamed advertisements. This technique respects the individuality of a user and is able to differentiate between users. The proposed solution is implemented by enabling communication channels across multiple heterogeneous user-initiated applications. Applications that do not directly communicate with advertisement data sources, leverage other application running on the same user's account and submit their own metadata to the applications attached to advertisement data sources. The proposed paper helps in substituting publisher's assumptions of a user's interest with real-time user's objects of interest.
A Bayesian network based approach for software reusability prediction
Authors: Jeet Kawal , Rana Yadvirender , Xin Ruichi
Published: August 2012

Various factors having impact on reusability have been found in research and practice. However, their true interdependencies were never taken into consideration. Using the approach discussed in this paper, various factors and their dependencies can be depicted and the true probability of success of reusability could be easily found. Factors which are not found to have any influence on reusability are also identified. Non consideration of these factors decreases the burden of evaluation and confines the study and evaluation to only important factors for the study under consideration.
On Protection by Layout Randomization
Authors: Abadi Martín , Plotkin Gordon D.
Published: August 2012

Layout randomization is a powerful, popular technique for software protection. We present it and study it in programming-language terms. More specifically, we consider layout randomization as part of an implementation for a high-level programming language; the implementation translates this language to a lower-level language in which memory addresses are numbers. We analyze this implementation, by relating low-level attacks against the implementation to contexts in the high-level programming language, and by establishing full abstraction results.
BAF and FI-BAF
Authors: Yavuz Attila A. , Ning Peng , Reiter Michael K.
Published: August 2012

Audit logs are an integral part of modern computer systems due to their forensic value. Protecting audit logs on a physically unprotected machine in hostile environments is a challenging task, especially in the presence of active adversaries. It is critical for such a system to have
forward security
and
append-only
properties such that when an adversary compromises a logging machine, she cannot forge or selectively delete the log entries accumulated before the compromise. Existing public-key-based secure logging schemes are computationally costly. Existing symmetric secure logging schemes are not publicly verifiable and open to certain attacks.

In this article, we develop a new forward-secure and aggregate signature scheme called
Blind-Aggregate-Forward (BAF)
, which is suitable for secure logging in resource-constrained systems. BAF is the only cryptographic secure logging scheme that can produce publicly verifiable, forward-secure and aggregate signatures with
low computation, key/signature storage, and signature communication overheads for the loggers, without requiring any online trusted third party support
. A simple variant of BAF also allows a fine-grained verification of log entries without compromising the security or computational efficiency of BAF. We prove that our schemes are secure in Random Oracle Model (ROM). We also show that they are significantly more efficient than all the previous publicly verifiable cryptographic secure logging schemes.
Practical Problem-Based Learning in Computing Education
Authors: O’Grady Michael J.
Published: August 2012

Computer Science (CS) is a relatively new disciple and how best to introduce it to new students remains an open question. Likewise, the identification of appropriate instructional strategies for the diverse topics that constitute the average curriculum remains open to debate. One approach considered by a number of practitioners in CS education involves Problem-Based Learning (PBL), a radical departure from the conventional lecturing format. PBL has been adopted in other domains with success, but whether these positive experiences will be replicated in CS remains to be seen. In this article, a systematic review of PBL initiatives in undergraduate and postgraduate CS is presented from a Computing Education Research (CER) perspective. This includes analyses of a range of practical didactic issues, including the degree to which PBL has been systematically evaluated, practical problem description in the literature, as well as a survey of topics for which a PBL approach has been adopted.
Computer analysis of art
Authors: Shamir Lior , Tarakhovsky Jane A.
Published: August 2012

Analysis of visual art is a highly complex cognitive task that depends on the very many aspects of the art as well as complex brain connectivity, and the examination of visual art and the analysis of influential links between artists and artistic movements require the trained eye of knowledgeable art historians. However, while the human eye and brain can perceive visual art and notice the differences, similarities, and influential links between painters, computers employing artificial intelligence find this task far more challenging. In this article we show that computers can automatically analyze paintings of different artists and different schools of art in an unsupervised fashion. Experimental results show that the automatic computer analysis can group artists by their artistic movements, and provide a map of similarities and influential links that is largely in agreement with the analysis of art historians. These results demonstrate that machine vision and pattern recognition algorithms are able to mimic the complex cognitive task of the human perception of visual art, and can be used to measure and quantify visual similarities between paintings, painters, and schools of art.
A switch in Sertoli cell responsiveness to FSH may be responsible for robust onset of germ cell differentiation during prepubartal testicular maturation in rats
Authors: Bhattacharya Indrashis , Pradhan Bhola Shankar , Sarda Kanchan , Gautam Mukesh , Basu Sayon , Majumdar Subeer S.
Published: August 2012

FSH and Testosterone (T) regulate spermatogenesis via testicular Sertoli cells (Sc), which bear receptors for these hormones. Despite sufficient circulating levels of FSH and T postnatally, predominant appearance of spermatogonia B and spermatocytes is not discernible until 11 and 18 days of postnatal age, respectively, in rat testes. In an attempt to explore the underlying causes, we cultured Sc from neonatal (5- and 9-day-old) and prepubertal (12- and 19-day-old) rat testes and compared the status of FSH receptor (FSH-R) and androgen receptor (AR) signaling. Protein and mRNA levels of FSH-R and AR remained uniform in cultured Sc from all age groups. Androgen binding ability of AR was similar, and T-induced nuclear localization of AR was discernible in Sc from all age groups. Binding of FSH to FSH-R, subsequent production of cAMP, and mRNA of stem cell factor (SCF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), known to be essential for the robust differentiation of repopulating spermatogonia, were significantly augmented in prepubertal Sc compared with those in neonatal Sc. However, treatment of neonatal Sc with cholera toxin or forskolin, which stimulate cAMP production bypassing FSH-R, demonstrated a concomitant rise in SCF and GDNF mRNA expression, which was similar to the FSH-mediated rise observed in prepubertal Sc. These observations suggested that, during prepubertal Sc maturation, the ability of FSH-R to respond to FSH is significantly augmented and is associated with the robust differentiation of repopulating spermatogonia, and such a switch in Sc from FSH-resistant to FSH-responsive mode during prepubertal development may underlie the initiation of robust spermatogenesis.
Land Application of Biosolids in the USA: A Review
Authors: Lu Qin , He Zhenli L. , Stoffella Peter J.
Published: August 2012

Land application of biosolids has proven a cost-effective method of waste disposal by beneficially recycling organic matter and nutrients and improving soil quality; however, it may also pose potential threat to the environment and human health. The purpose of this paper is to provide information on recent research progresses and regulation efforts regarding land application of biosolids, including forms and types and nutrient values of biosolids, environmental and health concerns, and related best management practices (BMPs) of biosolids application, with emphasis on its land application in agriculture. More research and regulations are expected to minimize potential risks of biosolids land application, especially its long-term impacts.
The Role of Hyaluronan and CD44 in the Pathogenesis of Lupus Nephritis
Authors: Yung Susan , Chan Tak Mao
Published: August 2012

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prototype autoimmune disease that affects multiorgan systems. Lupus nephritis is one of the most severe manifestations of SLE whereby immune-mediated inflammation can lead to permanent damage within the glomerular, tubulo-interstitial, and vascular compartments of the kidney, resulting in acute or chronic renal failure. The mechanisms that regulate host inflammatory responses and tissue injury are incompletely understood. Accumulating evidence suggests that hyaluronan and its interaction with its cell surface receptor CD44 plays an important role in mediating pathogenic mechanisms in SLE. This paper discusses the putative mechanisms through which hyaluronan and CD44 contribute to the pathogenesis of SLE, with particular emphasis on lupus nephritis.
Effective Potential for Ultracold Atoms at the Zero Crossing of a Feshbach Resonance
Authors: Zinner N. T.
Published: August 2012

We consider finite-range effects when the scattering length goes to zero near a magnetically controlled
Feshbach resonance. The traditional effective-range expansion is badly behaved at this point,
and we therefore introduce an effective potential that reproduces the full T-matrix. To lowest order
the effective potential goes as momentum squared times a factor that is well defined as the scattering
length goes to zero. The potential turns out to be proportional to the background scattering
length squared times the background effective range for the resonance.
We proceed to estimate the applicability and relative importance of this potential for Bose-Einstein condensates
and for two-component Fermi gases
where the attractive nature of the effective potential can lead to collapse above a critical particle number
or induce instability toward pairing and superfluidity. For broad Feshbach resonances the higher order effect is
completely negligible. However, for narrow resonances in tightly confined samples signatures might be
experimentally accessible. This could be relevant for suboptical wavelength microstructured traps
at the interface of cold atoms and solid-state surfaces.
Existence and Nonexistence of Positive Solutions for Quasilinear Elliptic Problem
Authors: Saoudi K.
Published: August 2012

Using variational arguments we prove some existence and nonexistence results for positive solutions of a class of elliptic boundary‐value problems involving the p‐Laplacian.
Corrosion of Modified Concrete with Sugar Cane Bagasse Ash
Authors: Núñez-Jaquez R. E. , Buelna-Rodríguez J. E. , Barrios-Durstewitz C. P. , Gaona-Tiburcio C. , Almeraya-Calderón F.
Published: August 2012

Concrete is a porous material and the ingress of water, oxygen, and aggressive ions, such as chlorides, can cause the passive layer on reinforced steel to break down. Additives, such as fly ash, microsilica, rice husk ash, and cane sugar bagasse ash, have a size breakdown that allows the reduction of concrete pore size and, consequently, may reduce the corrosion process. The objective of this work is to determine the corrosion rate of steel in reinforced concrete by the addition of 20% sugar cane bagasse ash by weight of cement. Six prismatic specimens (7×7×10 cm) with an embedded steel rod were prepared. Three contained 20% sugar cane bagasse ash by weight of cement and the other three did not. All specimens were placed in a 3.5% NaCl solution and the corrosion rate was determined using polarization resistance. The results showed that reinforced concrete containing sugar cane bagasse ash has the lowest corrosion rates in comparison to reinforced concrete without the additive.
The Role of Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography in Glaucoma
Authors: Salim Sarwat
Published: August 2012

The anterior segment optical coherence tomography provides an objective method to assess the anterior segment of the eye, including the anatomy of the anterior chamber angle. This technology allows both qualitative and quantitative analyses of the angle and has shown potential in detecting and managing angle-closure glaucoma. In addition, it has a role in identifying pathology in some forms of secondary open-angle glaucoma and postsurgical management of glaucoma. Limitations of this technology include its cost and inability to visualize well structures posterior to the iris, such as the ciliary body. This paper focuses on potential benefits and limitations of anterior segment optical coherence tomography when compared with conventional gonioscopy and ultrasound biomicroscopy. Various clinical entities will be described to discuss its potential role in glaucoma practice.