bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Forest biomass supply chain optimization for a biorefinery aiming to produce high-value bio-based materials and chemicals from lignin and forestry residues: a review of literature
Authors: Dessbesell Luana , Xu Chunbao (Charles) , Pulkki Reino , Leitch Mathew , Mahmood Nubla
Published: November 2016

Technological development has enabled the production of new value-added products from lignocellulosic residues such as lignin. This has allowed the forest industry to diversify its product portfolio and maximize the economic returns from feedstock, while simultaneously working towards sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based products. Although previous research has explored industrial-scale production opportunities, many challenges persist, including the cost of woody biomass and its supply chain reliability. While numerous studies have addressed these issues, their emphasis has traditionally been on bioenergy, with little focus on biochemical, biomaterials, and bioproducts. This review seeks to address this gap through a systematic study of the work recently reported by researchers. A lot of work has been published from United States and Canada with an emphasis on bioenergy production (84.8%), 4.6% of the work is focused on biomass to materials and chemicals, and 10.6% addressed both. Between 2012 and 2015, the majority of published research focused on biomass to materials and chemicals and both biomass to energy and biomass to materials and chemicals. This fact highlights recent interests in diversified biorefinery portfolios. However, further work concerning forest biomass supply chain optimization and new high-value bio-based materials and chemicals is necessary.
R&D steps of a 12-T common coil dipole magnet for SPPC pre-study
Authors: Wang Chengtao , Zhang Kai , Xu Qingjin
Published: November 2016

IHEP (the Institute of High Energy Physics, Beijing, China) has started the R&D of high field accelerator magnet technology from 2014 for recently proposed CEPC-SppC (Circular Electron Positron Collider, Super proton–proton Collider) project. The conceptual design study of a 20-T dipole magnet is ongoing with the common coil configuration, and a 12-T model magnet will be fabricated in the next two years. A 3-step R&D process has been proposed to realize this 12-T common-coil model magnet: first, a 12-T subscale magnet will be fabricated with Nb3Sn and NbTi superconductors to investigate the fabrication process and characteristics of Nb3Sn coils, then a 12-T subscale magnet will be fabricated with only Nb3Sn superconductors to test the stress management method and quench protection method of Nb3Sn coils; the final step is fabricating the 12-T common-coil dipole magnet with HTS (YBCO) and Nb3Sn superconductors to test the field optimization method of the HTS and Nb3Sn coils. The characteristics of these R&D steps will be introduced in the paper.
Liquid crystal defects in the Landau–de Gennes theory in two dimensions — Beyond the one-constant approximation
Authors: Kitavtsev Georgy , Robbins J. M. , Slastikov Valeriy , Zarnescu Arghir
Published: November 2016

We consider the two-dimensional (2D) Landau–de Gennes energy with several elastic constants, subject to general [Formula: see text]-radially symmetric boundary conditions. We show that for generic elastic constants the critical points consistent with the symmetry of the boundary conditions exist only in the case [Formula: see text]. In this case we identify three types of radial profiles: with two, three of full five components and numerically investigate their minimality and stability depending on suitable parametres. We also numerically study the stability properties of the critical points of the Landau–de Gennes energy and capture the intricate dependence of various qualitative features of these solutions on the elastic constants and the physical regimes of the liquid crystal system.
Covariant perturbations of Schwarzschild black holes in f(R) gravity
Authors: Nzioki Anne Marie , Goswami Rituparno , Dunsby Peter K. S.
Published: November 2016

We consider general perturbations of a Schwarzschild black holes in the context of [Formula: see text] gravity. A reduced set of frame independent master variables are determined, which obey two closed wave equations — one for the transverse, trace-free, tensor perturbations and the other for the additional scalar degree of freedom which characterize fourth-order theories of gravity. We show that for the tensor modes, the underlying dynamics in [Formula: see text] gravity is governed by a modified Regge–Wheeler tensor which obeys the same Regge–Wheeler equation as in General Relativity (GR). We find that the possible sources of scalar quasinormal modes (QNMs) that follow from scalar perturbations for the lower multipoles result from primordial black holes, while higher mass, stellar black holes are associated with extremely high multipoles, which can only be produced in the first stage of black hole formation. Since scalar quasinormal modes are short ranged, this scenario makes their detection beyond the range of current experiments.
MIXED MULTIFRACTAL ANALYSIS OF CRUDE OIL, GOLD AND EXCHANGE RATE SERIES
Authors: DAI MEIFENG , SHAO SHUXIANG , GAO JIANYU , SUN YU , SU WEIYI
Published: November 2016

The multifractal analysis of one time series, e.g. crude oil, gold and exchange rate series, is often referred. In this paper, we apply the classical multifractal and mixed multifractal spectrum to study multifractal properties of crude oil, gold and exchange rate series and their inner relationships. The obtained results show that in general, the fractal dimension of gold and crude oil is larger than that of exchange rate (RMB against the US dollar), reflecting a fact that the price series in gold and crude oil are more heterogeneous. Their mixed multifractal spectra have a drift and the plot is not symmetric, so there is a low level of mixed multifractal between each pair of crude oil, gold and exchange rate series.
THE EFFECT OF THICKNESS OF SILVER THIN FILM ON STRUCTURAL AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF POROUS SILICON
Authors: CETINEL A. , OZDOGAN M. , UTLU G. , ARTUNC N. , SAHIN G. , TARHAN E.
Published: November 2016

In this study, porous silicon (PS) samples were prepared on [Formula: see text]-type silicon (100) wafers by electrochemical etching method, varying the current density from 20 to 100[Formula: see text]mA/cm2and keeping constant HF concentration (10%) and etching time of 15[Formula: see text]min. Then, Ag thin films, which have 10, 50 and 100[Formula: see text]nm film thicknesses, were deposited on PS layers by using thermal evaporation to investigate the influence of Ag film thickness on structural and optical properties of PS. The structural and optical properties of PS and Ag deposited PS layers have been investigated by XRD, FE-SEM, Raman and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. FE-SEM XRD and Raman analyzes indicate that average pore size and porosity of PS layers increase with the increasing current density. Further, Ag nanoparticles have embedded in pore channel. PL measurement reveals that higher porosity of PS would be better to form the Ag–PS nano-composite material leading to stronger PL band. The PL spectra of PS and Ag–PS samples indicate that PL bands show blue shift with increasing current density and film thickness. Consequently, it has been found that the structural and optical properties of PS depend on current density and Ag film thickness individually.
Is the average shortest path length of gene set a reflection of their biological relatedness?
Authors: Embar Varsha , Handen Adam , Ganapathiraju Madhavi K.
Published: November 2016

When a set of genes are identified to be related to a disease, say through gene expression analysis, it is common to examine the average distance among their protein products in the human interactome as a measure of biological relatedness of these genes. The reasoning for this is that, genes associated with a disease would tend to be functionally related, and that functionally related genes would be closely connected to each other in the interactome. Typically, average shortest path length (ASPL) of disease genes (although referred to as genes in the context of disease-associations, the interactions are among protein-products of these genes) is compared to ASPL of randomly selected genes or to ASPL in a randomly permuted network. We examined whether the ASPL of a set of genes is indeed a good measure of biological relatedness or whether it is simply a characteristic of the degree distribution of those genes. We examined the ASPL of genes sets of some disease and pathway associations and compared them to ASPL of three types of randomly selected control sets: uniform selection, from entire proteome, degree-matched selection, and random permutation of the network. We found that disease associated genes and their degree-matched random genes have comparable ASPL. In other words, ASPL is a characteristic of the degree of the genes and the network topology, and not that of functional coherence.
Images de représentations galoisiennes associées à certaines formes modulaires de Siegel de genre 2
Authors: Tayou Salim
Published: November 2016

We study the image of the [Formula: see text]-adic Galois representations associated to the four vector valued Siegel modular forms appearing in the work of Chenevier and Lannes [3]. These representations are symplectic of dimension 4. Following methods used by Dieulefait in [4], we determine the primes [Formula: see text] for which these representations are absolutely irreducible. In addition, we show that their image is “full” for all primes [Formula: see text] such that the associated residual representation is absolutely irreducible, except in two cases.
Surface abéliennes à multiplication quaternionique munie d'une structure de niveau Γ0(N)
Authors: Gillibert Florence
Published: November 2016

A theorem of Mazur gives the set of possible prime degrees for rational isogenies between elliptic curves. In this paper, we are working on a similar problem in the case of abelian surfaces of [Formula: see text]-type over [Formula: see text] with quaternionic multiplication (over [Formula: see text]) endowed with a [Formula: see text] level structure. We prove the following result: for a fixed indefinite quaternion algebra [Formula: see text] of discriminant [Formula: see text] and a fixed quadratic imaginary field [Formula: see text], there exists an effective bound [Formula: see text] such that for a prime number [Formula: see text], not dividing the conductor of the order [Formula: see text], there do not exist abelian surfaces [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text] is a maximal order of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] is endowed with a [Formula: see text] level structure.
Preparation of N-Doped Graphene by Hydrothermal Method and Interpretation of N-Doped Mechanism
Authors: Shang Yan , Xu Huizhu , Li Mingyue , Zhang Guiling
Published: November 2016

Nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) was generated by hydrothermal method, using GO as the raw material and formamide as the reducing-doping source. The composite material was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum, X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectrum, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that Nitrogen was successfully doped in the graphene. Through regulating the reaction temperature, time and the ratio of graphite oxide and formamide, the different nitrogen contents were obtained, the highest nitrogen content was 5.67%. NG was also synthesized by urea or ammonia, characterizing by XPS. The characterization results showed that for taking urea and ammonia as nitrogen source, pyrrolic-N was the main form of nitrogen existing, taking formamide as a nitrogen, pyridinic-N was the main form of nitrogen existing. Based on these experimental results by different nitrogen source, the N-doped graphene mechanism was interpreted.
A novel image fusion algorithm based on 2D scale-mixing complex wavelet transform and Bayesian MAP estimation for multimodal medical images
Authors: Bengueddoudj Abdallah , Messali Zoubeida , Mosorov Volodymyr
Published: November 2016

In this paper, we propose a new image fusion algorithm based on two-dimensional Scale-Mixing Complex Wavelet Transform (2D-SMCWT). The fusion of the detail 2D-SMCWT coefficients is performed via a Bayesian Maximum a Posteriori (MAP) approach by considering a trivariate statistical model for the local neighboring of 2D-SMCWT coefficients. For the approximation coefficients, a new fusion rule based on the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is applied. We conduct several experiments using three different groups of multimodal medical images to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. The obtained results prove the superiority of the proposed method over the state of the art fusion methods in terms of visual quality and several commonly used metrics. Robustness of the proposed method is further tested against different types of noise. The plots of fusion metrics establish the accuracy of the proposed fusion method.
Numerical investigation of low relative humidity aeration impact on the moisture content of stored wheat
Authors: Hammami Faten , Ben Mabrouk Salah , Mami Abdelkhader
Published: November 2016

High moisture content wheat kernels are subject to elevated respiration rates due to enzyme activity and mould growth that reduce the dry grain and may produce sufficient energy which may be harmful to wheat quality. Grain aeration provides a powerful nonchemical stored grain insect management. Currently, aeration is a suitable and economical device to overcome this problem. The moisture management is vital to prevent spoilage in stored grain. The objective of this study is to investigate the influence of using low relative humidity (RH) aeration on the wheat moisture content. The numerical investigation based on heat and mass balances is developed and used to simulate the evolution of grain temperature and moisture under various air RH in a wheat storage silo. Results show that the dehumidification of blown air had greater potential for decreasing RH of interstitial air and wheat moisture at [Formula: see text]C temperature and RH of 40%, 50% and 60%.
DSN Transient Observatory
Authors: Kuiper T. B. H. , Monroe R. M. , White L. A. , Miro C. Garcia , Levin S. M. , Majid W. A. , Soriano M.
Published: November 2016

The Deep Space Network (DSN) Transient Observatory (DTO) is a signal processing facility that can monitor up to four DSN downlink bands for astronomically interesting signals. The monitoring is done commensally with reception of deep space mission telemetry. The initial signal processing is done with two CASPER a ROACH1 boards, each handling one or two baseband signals. Each ROACH1 has a 10 GBe interface with a GPU-equipped Debian Linux workstation for additional processing. The initial science programs include monitoring Mars for electrostatic discharges, radio spectral lines, searches for fast radio bursts and pulsars and SETI. The facility will be available to the scientific community through a peer review process.
Understanding and detecting real-world performance bugs
Authors: Jin Guoliang , Song Linhai , Shi Xiaoming , Scherpelz Joel , Lu Shan
Published: November 2016

Developers frequently use inefficient code sequences that could be fixed by simple patches. These inefficient code sequences can cause significant performance degradation and resource waste, referred to as performance bugs. Meager increases in single threaded performance in the multi-core era and increasing emphasis on energy efficiency call for more effort in tackling performance bugs.

This paper conducts a comprehensive study of 110 real-world performance bugs that are randomly sampled from five representative software suites (Apache, Chrome, GCC, Mozilla, and MySQL). The findings of this study provide guidance for future work to avoid, expose, detect, and fix performance bugs.

Guided by our characteristics study, efficiency rules are extracted from 25 patches and are used to detect performance bugs. 332 previously unknown performance problems are found in the latest versions of MySQL, Apache, and Mozilla applications, including 219 performance problems found by applying rules across applications.
Input-sensitive profiling
Authors: Coppa Emilio , Demetrescu Camil , Finocchi Irene
Published: November 2016

In this paper we present a profiling methodology and toolkit for helping developers discover hidden asymptotic inefficiencies in the code. From one or more runs of a program, our profiler automatically measures how the performance of individual routines scales as a function of the input size, yielding clues to their growth rate. The output of the profiler is, for each executed routine of the program, a set of tuples that aggregate performance costs by input size. The collected profiles can be used to produce performance plots and derive trend functions by statistical curve fitting or bounding techniques. A key feature of our method is the ability to automatically measure the size of the input given to a generic code fragment: to this aim, we propose an effective metric for estimating the input size of a routine and show how to compute it efficiently. We discuss several case studies, showing that our approach can reveal asymptotic bottlenecks that other profilers may fail to detect and characterize the workload and behavior of individual routines in the context of real applications. To prove the feasibility of our techniques, we implemented a Valgrind tool called aprof and performed an extensive experimental evaluation on the SPEC CPU2006 benchmarks. Our experiments show that aprof delivers comparable performance to other prominent Valgrind tools, and can generate informative plots even from single runs on typical workloads for most algorithmically-critical routines.
Efficient state merging in symbolic execution
Authors: Kuznetsov Volodymyr , Kinder Johannes , Bucur Stefan , Candea George
Published: November 2016

Symbolic execution has proven to be a practical technique for building automated test case generation and bug finding tools. Nevertheless, due to state explosion, these tools still struggle to achieve scalability. Given a program, one way to reduce the number of states that the tools need to explore is to merge states obtained on different paths. Alas, doing so increases the size of symbolic path conditions (thereby stressing the underlying constraint solver) and interferes with optimizations of the exploration process (also referred to as search strategies). The net effect is that state merging may actually lower performance rather than increase it.

We present a way to automatically choose when and how to merge states such that the performance of symbolic execution is significantly increased. First, we present
query count estimation
, a method for statically estimating the impact that each symbolic variable has on solver queries that follow a potential merge point; states are then merged only when doing so promises to be advantageous. Second, we present
dynamic state merging
, a technique for merging states that interacts favorably with search strategies in automated test case generation and bug finding tools.

Experiments on the 96 GNU Coreutils show that our approach consistently achieves several orders of magnitude speedup over previously published results. Our code and experimental data are publicly available at http://cloud9.epfl.ch.
Copatterns
Authors: Abel Andreas , Pientka Brigitte , Thibodeau David , Setzer Anton
Published: November 2016

Inductive datatypes provide mechanisms to define finite data such as finite lists and trees via constructors and allow programmers to analyze and manipulate finite data via pattern matching. In this paper, we develop a dual approach for working with infinite data structures such as streams. Infinite data inhabits coinductive datatypes which denote greatest fixpoints. Unlike finite data which is defined by constructors we define infinite data by observations. Dual to pattern matching, a tool for analyzing finite data, we develop the concept of copattern matching, which allows us to synthesize infinite data. This leads to a symmetric language design where pattern matching on finite and infinite data can be mixed.

We present a core language for programming with infinite structures by observations together with its operational semantics based on (co)pattern matching and describe coverage of copatterns. Our language naturally supports both call-by-name and call-by-value interpretations and can be seamlessly integrated into existing languages like Haskell and ML. We prove type soundness for our language and sketch how copatterns open new directions for solving problems in the interaction of coinductive and dependent types.
Advanced automata minimization
Authors: Mayr Richard , Clemente Lorenzo
Published: November 2016

We present an efficient algorithm to reduce the size of nondeterministic Buchi word automata, while retaining their language. Additionally, we describe methods to solve PSPACE-complete automata problems like universality, equivalence and inclusion for much larger instances (1-3 orders of magnitude) than before. This can be used to scale up applications of automata in formal verification tools and decision procedures for logical theories.

The algorithm is based on new transition pruning techniques. These use criteria based on combinations of backward and forward trace inclusions. Since these relations are themselves PSPACE-complete, we describe methods to compute good approximations of them in polynomial time.

Extensive experiments show that the average-case complexity of our algorithm scales quadratically. The size reduction of the automata depends very much on the class of instances, but our algorithm consistently outperforms all previous techniques by a wide margin. We tested our algorithm on Buchi automata derived from LTL-formulae, many classes of random automata and automata derived from mutual exclusion protocols, and compared its performance to the well-known automata tool GOAL.
Fully abstract compilation to JavaScript
Authors: Fournet Cedric , Swamy Nikhil , Chen Juan , Dagand Pierre-Evariste , Strub Pierre-Yves , Livshits Benjamin
Published: November 2016

Many tools allow programmers to develop applications in high-level languages and deploy them in web browsers via compilation to JavaScript. While practical and widely used, these compilers are ad hoc: no guarantee is provided on their correctness for whole programs, nor their security for programs executed within arbitrary JavaScript contexts. This paper presents a compiler with such guarantees. We compile an ML-like language with higher-order functions and references to JavaScript, while preserving all source program properties. Relying on type-based invariants and applicative bisimilarity, we show full abstraction: two programs are equivalent in all source contexts if and only if their wrapped translations are equivalent in all JavaScript contexts. We evaluate our compiler on sample programs, including a series of secure libraries.
Effects of the Advisor and Environment on Requesting and Complying With Automated Advice
Authors: Sutherland Steven C. , Harteveld Casper , Young Michael E.
Published: November 2016

Given the rapid technological advances in our society and the increase in artificial and automated advisors with whom we interact on a daily basis, it is becoming increasingly necessary to understand how users interact with and why they choose to request and follow advice from these types of advisors. More specifically, it is necessary to understand errors in advice utilization. In the present study, we propose a methodological framework for studying interactions between users and automated or other artificial advisors. Specifically, we propose the use of virtual environments and the tarp technique for stimulus sampling, ensuring sufficient sampling of important extreme values and the stimulus space between those extremes. We use this proposed framework to identify the impact of several factors on when and how advice is used. Additionally, because these interactions take place in different environments, we explore the impact of where the interaction takes place on the decision to interact. We varied the cost of advice, the reliability of the advisor, and the predictability of the environment to better understand the impact of these factors on the overutilization of suboptimal advisors and underutilization of optimal advisors. We found that less predictable environments, more reliable advisors, and lower costs for advice led to overutilization, whereas more predictable environments and less reliable advisors led to underutilization. Moreover, once advice was received, users took longer to make a final decision, suggesting less confidence and trust in the advisor when the reliability of the advisor was lower, the environment was less predictable, and the advice was not consistent with the environmental cues. These results contribute to a more complete understanding of advice utilization and trust in advisors.
(Meta) Kernelization
Authors: Bodlaender Hans L. , Fomin Fedor V. , Lokshtanov Daniel , Penninkx Eelko , Saurabh Saket , Thilikos Dimitrios M.
Published: November 2016

In a parameterized problem, every instance
I
comes with a positive integer
k
. The problem is said to admit a polynomial kernel if, in polynomial time, one can reduce the size of the instance
I
to a polynomial in
k
while preserving the answer. In this work, we give two meta-theorems on kernelization. The first theorem says that all problems expressible in counting monadic second-order logic and satisfying a coverability property admit a polynomial kernel on graphs of bounded genus. Our second result is that all problems that have finite integer index and satisfy a weaker coverability property admit a linear kernel on graphs of bounded genus. These theorems unify and extend all previously known kernelization results for planar graph problems.
Design, Implementation, and Measurement of a Crowdsourcing-Based Content Distribution Platform
Authors: Zhou Yipeng , Chen Liang , Jing Mi , Zou Shenglong , Ma Richard Tianbai
Published: November 2016

Content distribution, especially the distribution of video content, unavoidably consumes bandwidth resources heavily. Internet content providers invest heavily in purchasing content distribution network (CDN) services. By deploying tens of thousands of edge servers close to end users, CDN companies are able to distribute content efficiently and effectively, but at considerable cost. Thus, it is of great importance to develop a new system that distributes content at a lower cost but comparable service quality. In lieu of expensive CDN systems, we implement a crowdsourcing-based content distribution system, Thunder Crystal, by renting bandwidth for content upload/download and storage for content cache from agents. This is a large-scale system with tens of thousands of agents, whose resources significantly amplify Thunder Crystal’s content distribution capacity. The involved agents are either from ordinary Internet users or enterprises. Monetary rewards are paid to agents based on their upload traffic so as to motivate them to keep contributing resources. As far as we know, this is a novel system that has not been studied or implemented before. This article introduces the design principles and implementation details before presenting the measurement study. In summary, with the help of agent devices, Thunder Crystal is able to reduce the content distribution cost by one half and amplify the content distribution capacity by 11 to 15 times.
VizRec
Authors: Mutlu Belgin , Veas Eduardo , Trattner Christoph
Published: November 2016

Visualizations have a distinctive advantage when dealing with the information overload problem: Because they are grounded in basic visual cognition, many people understand them. However, creating proper visualizations requires specific expertise of the domain and underlying data. Our quest in this article is to study methods to suggest appropriate visualizations autonomously. To be appropriate, a visualization has to follow known guidelines to find and distinguish patterns visually and encode data therein. A visualization tells a story of the underlying data; yet, to be appropriate, it has to clearly represent those aspects of the data the viewer is interested in. Which aspects of a visualization are important to the viewer? Can we capture and use those aspects to recommend visualizations? This article investigates strategies to recommend visualizations considering different aspects of user preferences. A multi-dimensional scale is used to estimate aspects of quality for visualizations for collaborative filtering. Alternatively, tag vectors describing visualizations are used to recommend potentially interesting visualizations based on content. Finally, a hybrid approach combines information on what a visualization is about (tags) and how good it is (ratings). We present the design principles behind
VizRec
, our visual recommender. We describe its architecture, the data acquisition approach with a crowd sourced study, and the analysis of strategies for visualization recommendation.
DBMS Metrology
Authors: Currim Sabah , Snodgrass Richard T. , Suh Young-Kyoon , Zhang Rui
Published: November 2016

It is surprisingly hard to obtain accurate and precise measurements of the time spent executing a query because there are many sources of variance. To understand these sources, we review relevant per-process and overall measures obtainable from the Linux kernel and introduce a structural causal model relating these measures. A thorough correlational analysis provides strong support for this model. We attempted to determine why a particular measurement wasn’t repeatable and then to devise ways to eliminate or reduce that variance. This enabled us to articulate a timing protocol that applies to proprietary DBMSes, that ensures the repeatability of a query, and that obtains a quite accurate query execution time while dropping very few outliers. This resulting query time measurement procedure, termed the Tucson Timing Protocol Version 2 (TTPv2), consists of the following steps: (i) perform sanity checks to ensure data validity; (ii) drop some query executions via clearly motivated predicates; (iii) drop some entire queries at a cardinality, again via clearly motivated predicates; (iv) for those that remain, compute a single measured time by a carefully justified formula over the underlying measures of the remaining query executions; and (v) perform post-analysis sanity checks. The result is a mature, general, robust, self-checking protocol that provides a more precise and more accurate timing of the query. The protocol is also applicable to other operating domains in which measurements of multiple processes each doing computation and I/O is needed.
Laparoscopic Extirpation of a Schwannoma in the Lateral Pelvic Space
Authors: Hidaka Eiji , Ishiyama Yasuhiro , Maeda Chiyo , Nakahara Kenta , Shimada Shoji , Mukai Shumpei , Sawada Naruhiko , Ishida Fumio , Kudo Shin-ei
Published: November 2016

Schwannomas in the lateral pelvic space are very rare. Here, we report the case of a 48-year-old woman who had a tumor detected in her abdomen by abdominal ultrasonography. Abdominal computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a well-defined solid tumor of 65 mm in diameter in the right lateral pelvic space. We performed laparoscopic surgery under a diagnosis of a gastrointestinal tumor or neurogenic tumor. The tumor was safely dissected and freed from the surrounding tissues using sharp and blunt maneuvers. The tumor originated from the right sciatic nerve. Complete laparoscopic extirpation was performed with preservation of the right sciatic nerve. Pathological examination suggested schwannoma. The patient recovered well but had remaining sciatic nerve palsy in her right foot. Laparoscopic extirpation for a schwannoma in the lateral pelvic space was safe and feasible due to the magnified surgical field afforded by laparoscopy.
Fréchet Envelopes of Nonlocally Convex Variable Exponent Hörmander Spaces
Authors: Motos Joaquín , Planells María Jesús , Talavera César F.
Published: November 2016

We show that the dual Bp·locΩ′ of the variable exponent Hörmander space Bp(·)loc(Ω) is isomorphic to the Hörmander space B∞c(Ω) (when the exponent p(·) satisfies the conditions 0<p-≤p+≤1, the Hardy-Littlewood maximal operator M is bounded on Lp(·)/p0 for some 0<p0<p- and Ω is an open set in Rn) and that the Fréchet envelope of Bp(·)loc(Ω) is the space B1loc(Ω). Our proofs rely heavily on the properties of the Banach envelopes of the p0-Banach local spaces of Bp(·)loc(Ω) and on the inequalities established in the extrapolation theorems in variable Lebesgue spaces of entire analytic functions obtained in a previous article. Other results for p(·)≡p, 0<p<1, are also given (e.g., all quasi-Banach subspace of Bploc(Ω) is isomorphic to a subspace of lp, or l∞ is not isomorphic to a complemented subspace of the Shapiro space hp-). Finally, some questions are proposed.
An Overlapping Case of Miller Fisher Syndrome, Bickerstaff’s Encephalitis, and the ASMAN Variant of Guillain-Barre Syndrome
Authors: Pegg E. J. , Chhetri S. K. , Lekwuwa U. G. , Majeed T.
Published: November 2016

A 56-year-old man presented with a 3-day history of progressive tingling of the hands, unsteadiness, and diplopia. He was initially diagnosed clinically with Miller Fisher Syndrome (MFS) but later developed limb weakness consistent with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) and subsequently reduced consciousness consistent with Bickerstaff’s brainstem encephalitis (BBE). Neurophysiology revealed an axonal motor and sensory neuropathy, in keeping with the Acute Motor and Sensory Axonal Neuropathy (AMSAN) variant of GBS. We believe that our patient had an MFS-AMSAN-BBE overlap syndrome. This is supported by his glycolipid antibody profile with high titres of anti-GQ1b IgG antibody and anti-GD1a IgG antibody. Anti-GQ1b antibodies are frequently found in both MFS and BBE and the anti-GD1a antibody is associated with axonal forms of GBS. Overlapping cases of MFS and BBE are well described, and because the same antibody is often found in both conditions, it is thought that they share a common autoimmune mechanism. BBE has also been previously reported in association with GBS lending support that it also lies on the same spectrum. This overlapping case of ASMAN variant of GBS, MFS, and BBE provides further support that these conditions are part of the same spectrum.
A Small Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial Comparing Mobile and Traditional Pain Coping Skills Training Protocols for Cancer Patients with Pain
Authors: Somers Tamara J. , Kelleher Sarah A. , Westbrook Kelly W. , Kimmick Gretchen G. , Shelby Rebecca A. , Abernethy Amy P. , Keefe Francis J.
Published: November 2016

Psychosocial pain management interventions are efficacious for cancer pain but are underutilized. Recent advances in mobile health (mHealth) technologies provide new opportunities to decrease barriers to access psychosocial pain management interventions. The objective of this study was to gain information about the accessibility and efficacy of mobile pain coping skills training (mPCST) intervention delivered to cancer patients with pain compared to traditional in-person pain coping skills training intervention. This study randomly assigned participants (N=30) to receive either mobile health pain coping skills training intervention delivered via Skype or traditional pain coping skills training delivered face-to-face (PCST-trad). This pilot trial suggests that mPCST is feasible, presents low burden to patients, may lead to high patient engagement, and appears to be acceptable to patients. Cancer patients with pain in the mPCST group reported decreases in pain severity and physical symptoms as well as increases in self-efficacy for pain management that were comparable to changes in the PCST-trad group (p’s < 0.05). These findings suggest that mPCST, which is a highly accessible intervention, may provide benefits similar to an in-person intervention and shows promise for being feasible, acceptable, and engaging to cancer patients with pain.
Reliability Assessment of Cloud Computing Platform Based on Semiquantitative Information and Evidential Reasoning
Authors: Wei Hang , Qiao Pei-Li
Published: November 2016

A reliability assessment method based on evidential reasoning (ER) rule and semiquantitative information is proposed in this paper, where a new reliability assessment architecture including four aspects with both quantitative data and qualitative knowledge is established. The assessment architecture is more objective in describing complex dynamic cloud computing environment than that in traditional method. In addition, the ER rule which has good performance for multiple attribute decision making problem is employed to integrate different types of the attributes in assessment architecture, which can obtain more accurate assessment results. The assessment results of the case study in an actual cloud computing platform verify the effectiveness and the advantage of the proposed method.
Becker’s Nevus Syndrome in a Pediatric Female Patient
Authors: Hernandez-Quiceno Sara , Uribe-Bojanini Esteban , Ramírez-Jiménez Juan Jose , Lopera-Cañaveral Maria Victoria , Toro-Ramos Martin , Usuga-Arcila Yuri , Correa-Londoño Luis , Martinez Juan Camilo , Monroy Jennifer , Alfaro Juan Manuel
Published: November 2016

Becker’s nevus syndrome is part of the epidermal nevus syndromes and has been described with a phenotype that includes Becker’s nevus, ipsilateral breast hypoplasia, and variable skeletal malformations. It is more frequent in males than in females (5 : 1) but is more relevant in females. The diagnosis is clinically based and the skin lesion must be present and no other numbered criteria have been established, but with more criteria being present the possibility of the diagnosis is higher. Regarding the treatment of breast hypoplasia, the use of antiandrogen medication has demonstrated adequate clinical response in a dose of 50 mg/day of spironolactone.
Comparison of Subjective and Objective Sleep Estimations in Patients with Bipolar Disorder and Healthy Control Subjects
Authors: Ritter Philipp S. , Sauer Cathrin , Pfeiffer Steffi , Bauer Michael , Pfennig Andrea
Published: November 2016

Background. Several studies have described but not formally tested discrepancies between subjective and objective measures of sleep.Study Objectives. To test the hypothesis that patients with bipolar disorder display a systematic bias to underestimate sleep duration and overestimate sleep latency.Methods. Actimetry was used to assess sleep latency and duration in 49 euthymic participants (bipolar = 21; healthy controls = 28) for 5–7 days. Participants simultaneously recorded estimated sleep duration and sleep latency on a daily basis via an online sleep diary. Group differences in the discrepancy between subjective and objective parameters were calculated usingt-tests and corrected for multiple comparisons.Results. Patients with bipolar disorder significantly underestimated their sleep duration but did not overestimate their sleep latency compared to healthy controls.Conclusions. Studies utilizing diaries or questionnaires alone in patients with bipolar disorders may systematically underestimate sleep duration compared to healthy controls. The additional use of objective assessment methods such as actimetry is advisable.
Lung Ultrasound in Early Diagnosis of Neonatal Ventilator Associated Pneumonia before Any Radiographic or Laboratory Changes
Authors: Ibrahim Mohammed , Omran Ahmed , Ibrahim Mostafa , Bioumy Nouran , El-Sharkawy Sonya
Published: November 2016

Neonatal pneumonia is reported to be the primary cause of neonatal respiratory failure and one of the common causes of neonatal hospitalization and death in developing countries. Chest X-ray was considered the gold standard for diagnosis of neonatal pneumonia. Lung ultrasonography has been described as a valuable noninvasive tool for the diagnosis of many neonatal pulmonary diseases. We report a case of ventilation associated neonatal pneumonia with very early diagnosis using lung ultrasound before any significant radiographic changes in chest X-ray or laboratory findings suggestive of infection.
Lidar-Based Detection and Interpretation of Glaciotectonic Features of the Morainic Topography of Finland
Authors: Seppälä Matti Veli Juhani
Published: November 2016

In Finland’s digital elevation model, marks of glaciotectonics as an important formation process of glacial geomorphology can be seen. This is a new finding to this extent regarding central parts of the former ice sheets. Deformational processes produced fragmented till surfaces probably mostly by brittle fracture of frozen till. Good signs of deformational effect to the till surfaces are the plucked edges or steps and semilinear or fan-like quarry edges in topography, which are often oblique compared with the main direction of the flow of the glacier. Plucked fractured steps of blocks of till can be so tight that they construct horizontal-like diamond patterned surfaces. Sometimes punctate proximal endings of fan-like hollows of transported rafts can be seen. Within main ice lobes or streams the glaciated terrain is often divided into longitudinal smooth looking drumlin terrain and into rough erosional slightly lower level situated zones, where the erosion has happened firstly by glaciotectonism and then by glaciofluvial streams. The eskers and different kind of hummocky moraines are often located in same zones. Among them deformational hummocky moraines and ribbed moraines are common. The abundance of glaciotectonic and plucking related features indicates that the base of the receding ice sheet was cold based in places or from time to time.
A Fast Algorithm of Generalized Radon-Fourier Transform for Weak Maneuvering Target Detection
Authors: Xia Weijie , Zhou Ying , Jin Xue , Zhou Jianjiang
Published: November 2016

The generalized Radon-Fourier transform (GRFT) has been proposed to detect radar weak maneuvering targets by realizing coherent integration via jointly searching in motion parameter space. Two main drawbacks of GRFT are the heavy computational burden and the blind speed side lobes (BSSL) which will cause serious false alarms. The BSSL learning-based particle swarm optimization (BPSO) has been proposed before to reduce the computational burden of GRFT and solve the BSSL problem simultaneously. However, the BPSO suffers from an apparent loss in detection performance compared with GRFT. In this paper, a fast implementation algorithm of GRFT using the BSSL learning-based modified wind-driven optimization (BMWDO) is proposed. In the BMWDO, the BSSL learning procedure is also used to deal with the BSSL phenomenon. Besides, the MWDO adjusts the coefficients in WDO with Levy distribution and uniform distribution, and it outperforms PSO in a noisy environment. Compared with BPSO, the proposed method can achieve better detection performance with a similar computational cost. Several numerical experiments are also provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Gender and Racial Differences in the Cardiovascular Risk Factors among Overweight and Obese Rural Adults, Kuching and Samarahan Division, Sarawak, Malaysia
Authors: Cheah Whye Lian , Chang Ching Thon , Hazmi Helmy , Wan Muda Wan Manan
Published: November 2016

Objective. This study aimed to determine whether gender and ethnic differences had an effect on cardiovascular risk factors in overweight and obese rural adults in Sarawak. Design and Setting. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in rural communities in Kuching and Samarahan division, Malaysia. Data was obtained using a set of questionnaire (sociodemographic data and physical activity), measurement of blood pressure, height, weight (body mass index, BMI), body fat percentage, fasting blood sugar, and lipid profile from three ethnic groups—Iban, Malay, and Bidayuh. Analysis of data was done using SPSS version 23.0. Results. A total of 155 respondents participated in the study (81.6% response rate). The levels of physical activity, BMI status, body fat, hypercholesterolemia, and hyperglycemia were similar across the three ethnic groups and both females and males. Iban and Bidayuh had significant higher Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP) when compared to the Malay (Bidayuh OR = 0.30, 95% CI 0.12, 0.78; Iban OR = 0.29, 95% CI 0.12, 0.69). Conclusions. The relationship between cardiovascular risk factors varied according to ethnic groups and gender. A better understanding of these differences would help in the design and implementation of intervention programme for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
A Note on the vec Operator Applied to Unbalanced Block-Structured Matrices
Authors: Caswell Hal , van Daalen Silke F.
Published: November 2016

The vec operator transforms a matrix to a column vector by stacking each column on top of the next. It is useful to write the vec of a block-structured matrix in terms of the vec operator applied to each of its component blocks. We derive a simple formula for doing so, which applies regardless of whether the blocks are of the same or of different sizes.
Deregulated MicroRNAs in Biliary Tract Cancer: Functional Targets and Potential Biomarkers
Authors: Mayr Christian , Beyreis Marlena , Wagner Andrej , Pichler Martin , Neureiter Daniel , Kiesslich Tobias
Published: November 2016

Biliary tract cancer (BTC) is still a fatal disease with very poor prognosis. The lack of reliable biomarkers for early diagnosis and of effective therapeutic targets is a major demanding problem in diagnosis and management of BTC. Due to the clinically silent and asymptomatic characteristics of the tumor, most patients are diagnosed at an already advanced stage allowing only for a palliative therapeutic approach. MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs well known to regulate various cellular functions and pathologic events including the formation and progression of cancer. Over the last years, several studies have shed light on the role of microRNAs in BTC, making them potentially attractive therapeutic targets and candidates as biomarkers. In this review, we will focus on the role of oncogenic and tumor suppressor microRNAs and their direct targets in BTC. Furthermore, we summarize and discuss data that evaluate the diagnostic power of deregulated microRNAs as possible future biomarkers for BTC.
Internal Jugular Vein Thrombosis in Isolated Tuberculous Cervical Lymphadenopathy
Authors: Khaladkar Sanjay , Chauhan Avadhesh , Ghosh Arijit , Jain Kunaal , Chauhan Surbhi
Published: November 2016

Tuberculosis is a common infectious disease with a high prevalence in developing countries and presents a major public health issue. Internal jugular vein (IJV) thrombosis is a rare complication in tuberculous cervical lymphadenopathy. We report a case of 26-year male patient with a history of low-grade evening rise in fever, dry cough, loss of appetite, and loss of weight with swelling in lower neck on right side. Ultrasonography (USG) neck showed well-defined hypoechoic lymph nodes posterior to right IJV and common carotid artery in the lower neck at level IV and in the right supraclavicular region showing central necrotic areas with adjoining IJV thrombosis. The association between tuberculosis and deep vein thrombosis is rare. Awareness of IJV thrombosis in isolated cervical lymphadenopathy needs high diagnostic suspicion and prompt treatment to avoid fatal complication. Our case is rare as there was isolated tuberculous cervical lymphadenopathy with adjoining IJV thrombosis. Both USG and computed tomography (CT) are accurate and reliable radiological investigations for detecting IJV thrombosis along with cervical lymph nodes. They are useful in assessing surrounding soft tissue and fat planes and knowing the size and extent of cervical lymphadenopathy. USG is inexpensive and readily available for monitoring response to treatment.