bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An interesting case of cryptogenic stroke in a young man due to left ventricular non-compaction: role of cardiac MRI in the accurate diagnosis
Authors: Kannan Arun , Das Anindita , Janardhanan Rajesh
Published: June 2014

A 28-year-old man arrived for an outpatient cardiac MRI (CMR) study to evaluate cardiac structure. At the age of 24 the patient presented with acute onset expressive aphasia and was diagnosed with ischaemic stroke. Echocardiography at that time was reported as ‘apical wall thickening consistent with apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy’. CMR revealed a moderately dilated left ventricle with abnormal appearance of the left ventricular (LV) apical segments. Further evaluation was consistent with a diagnosis of LV non­compaction (LVNC) cardiomyopathy with a ratio of non­compacted to compacted myocardium measuring 3. There was extensive delayed hyperenhancement signal involving multiple segments representing a significant myocardial scar which is shown to have a prognostic role. Our patient, with no significant cerebrovascular risk factors, would likely have had an embolic stroke. This case demonstrates the role of CMR in accurately diagnosing LVNC in a patient with young stroke where prior echocardiography was non­diagnostic.
Neurocysticercosis presenting as focal hydrocephalus
Authors: Malik Azharuddin Mohammed , Shamim Md Dilawez , Ahmad Mehtab , Abdali Nasar
Published: June 2014

A 40-year-old man presented with a 2-month history of headache, nausea and vomiting, with generalised seizures for the past 15 days. On examination he had bilateral papilloedema, visual acuity was 6/6 in both eyes but perimetry showed right homonymous inferior quadrantanopia. His MRI showed numerous small cystic lesions with eccentric nodules, diffusely distributed in bilateral cerebral and cerebellar hemispheres. There was also focal hydrocephalus involving occipital and temporal horns of the left lateral ventricle leading to its selective dilation. Stool examination showed ova ofTaenia solium. He was treated with albendazole, prednisone and sustained release sodium valproate for 1 month. His headache resolved and he is free of seizures. Repeat perimetry at 1 month also showed resolution of visual field defect.
Hypercalcaemia of malignancy: two primaries in the same patient
Authors: Trisal Deepshikha , Kumar Naveen , Sundriyal Deepak , Gadpayle Adesh Kumar
Published: June 2014

Hypercalcaemia of malignancy (HCM) is a grave emergency in a cancer patient. Metastatic breast cancer and multiple myeloma are two of its important causes. Moreover, breast cancer is a predisposing factor for secondary malignancy, multiple myeloma being one of them. We report an interesting case of HCM in which we labelled the first two admissions to metastatic breast cancer. However, on third admission again for HCM, we diagnosed a coexisting multiple myeloma. As early diagnosis is the crux to decrease morbidity and prolong survival in HCM, this case emphasises the fact that more than one malignant cause can exist in the same patient.
Subacute bacterial endocarditis and subsequent shunt nephritis from ventriculoatrial shunting 14 years after shunt implantation
Authors: Burström Gustav , Andresen Morten , Bartek Jiri , Fytagoridis Anders
Published: June 2014

Fourteen years after shunt implantation, a 26-year-old patient with myelomeningocele, concomitant hydrocephalus and a ventriculoatrial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt presented with brief but recurrent episodes of fever predominantly when taking showers or during physical exertion. After 4 years of inconclusive multidisciplinary investigations, the patient progressed into end-stage renal disease before an echocardiogram revealed a vegetative plaque on the tendinous chords of the tricuspid valve. CSF cultures were grown from the shunt valve, confirming bacterial growth ofPropionibacterium acnessuspected of causing subacute bacterial endocarditis and subsequent shunt nephritis. The patient was successfully treated with antibiotics combined with ventriculoatrial shunt removal and endoscopic third ventriculocisternostomy (VCS). This case illustrates the nowadays rare, but potentially severe complication of subacute bacterial endocarditis and shunt nephritis. It also exemplifies the VCS as an alternative to implanting foreign shunt systems for CSF diversion.
Cerebral atrophy and subdural haemorrhage after cerebellar and cerebral infarcts in an 8-month-old child after having been stung by a scorpion
Authors: Sığırcı Ahmet , Öztürk Mehmet , Yakıncı Cengiz
Published: June 2014

A scorpion sting causing cerebellar and cerebral infarctions with corpus callosum involvement and bilateral cerebral atrophy with subdural haemorrhage in an 8-month-old girl, has not been previously described to the best of our knowledge.
Understanding how appraisal of doctors produces its effects: a realist review protocol
Authors: Brennan Nicola , Bryce Marie , Pearson Mark , Wong Geoff , Cooper Chris , Archer Julian
Published: June 2014

Introduction

UK doctors are now required to participate in revalidation to maintain their licence to practise. Appraisal is a fundamental component of revalidation. However, objective evidence of appraisal changing doctors’ behaviour and directly resulting in improved patient care is limited. In particular, it is not clearhowthe process of appraisal is supposed to change doctors’ behaviour and improve clinical performance. The aim of this research is to understandhow and whyappraisal of doctors is supposed to produce its effect.

Methods and analysis

Realist review is a theory-driven interpretive approach to evidence synthesis. It applies realist logic of inquiry to produce an explanatory analysis of an intervention that is, what works, for whom, in what circumstances, in what respects. Using a realist review approach, an initial programme theory of appraisal will be developed by consulting with key stakeholders in doctors’ appraisal in expert panels (ethical approval is not required), and by searching the literature to identify relevant existing theories. The search strategy will have a number of phases including a combination of: (1) electronic database searching, for example, EMBASE, MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, ASSIA, (2) ‘cited by’ articles search, (3) citation searching, (4) contacting authors and (5) grey literature searching. The search for evidence will be iteratively extended and refocused as the review progresses. Studies will be included based on their ability to provide data that enable testing of the programme theory. Data extraction will be conducted, for example, by note taking and annotation at different review stages as is consistent with the realist approach. The evidence will be synthesised using realist logic to interrogate the final programme theory of the impact of appraisal on doctors’ performance. The synthesis results will be written up according to RAMESES guidelines and disseminated through peer-reviewed publication and presentations.

Trial registration number

The protocol is registered with PROSPERO 2014:CRD42014007092.
Increasing frequency of severe clinical toxicity after use of 2,4-dinitrophenol in the UK: a report from the National Poisons Information Service
Authors: Kamour Ashraf , George Nathan , Gwynnette David , Cooper Gillian , Lupton David , Eddleston Michael , Thompson John Paul , Vale John Allister , Thanacoody Harry Krishna Ruben , Hill Simon , Thomas Simon Hugh Lynton
Published: June 2014

Objective

2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) increases energy consumption by uncoupling oxidative phosphorylation. Although not licensed as a medicine, it is sometimes used by ‘body sculptors’ and for weight loss as a ‘fat burning’ agent. This research was performed to characterise patterns of presentation, clinical features and outcomes of patients reported to the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) in the UK after exposure to DNP.

Methods

NPIS telephone enquiry records and user sessions for TOXBASE, the NPIS online information database, related to DNP, were reviewed from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013.

Results

Of the 30 separate systemic exposures to DNP reported by telephone to NPIS during the study period (27 males, 3 females, with a median age of 23.5 years), there were 3 during 2007–2011 (inclusive), 5 during 2012 and 22 during 2013. TOXBASE user sessions also increased sharply from 6 in 2011 to 35 in 2012 and 331 in 2013. The modes of exposure reported in telephone enquiries were chronic (n=2), acute (n=12) and subacute (n=16). Commonly reported clinical features were fever (47%), tachycardia (43%), sweating (37%), nausea or vomiting (27%), skin discolouration or rash (23%), breathing difficulties (23%), abdominal pain (23%), agitation (13%) and headache (13%). There were five (17%, 95% CI 6.9% to 34%) fatalities, four involving acute overdose.

Conclusions

The study indicates a substantial recent increase in clinical presentations with toxicity caused by exposure to DNP in the UK with an associated high mortality. Further steps are needed to warn potential users of the severe and sometimes fatal toxicity that may occur after exposure to this compound.
RESPOND—a patient-centred programme to prevent secondary falls in older people presenting to the emergency department with a fall: protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial
Authors: Barker A L , Cameron P A , Hill K D , Flicker L , Haines T P , Lowthian J A , Waldron N , Arendts G , Redfern J , Forbes A , Brand C A , Etherton-Beer C D , Hill A M , Hunter P , Nyman S R , Smit D
Published: June 2014

Introduction

Participation in falls prevention activities by older people following presentation to the emergency department (ED) with a fall is suboptimal. This randomised controlled trial (RCT) will test the RESPOND programme, an intervention designed to improve older persons’ participation in falls prevention activities through delivery of patient-centred education and behaviour change strategies.

Design and setting

A RCT at two tertiary referral EDs in Melbourne and Perth, Australia.

Participants

528 community-dwelling people aged 60–90 years presenting to the ED with a fall and discharged home will be recruited. People who require an interpreter or hands-on assistance to walk; live in residential aged care or >50 km from the trial hospital; have terminal illness, cognitive impairment, documented aggressive behaviour or a history of psychosis; are receiving palliative care or are unable to use a telephone will be excluded.

Methods

Participants will be randomly allocated to the RESPOND intervention or standard care control group. RESPOND incorporates (1) a home-based risk factor assessment; (2) education, coaching, goal setting and follow-up telephone support for management of one or more of four risk factors with evidence of effective interventions and (3) healthcare provider communication and community linkage delivered over 6 months. Primary outcomes are falls and fall injuries per person-year.

Discussion

RESPOND builds on prior falls prevention learnings and aims to help individuals make guided decisions about how they will manage their falls risk. Patient-centred models have been successfully trialled in chronic and cardiovascular disease; however, evidence to support this approach in falls prevention is limited.

Trial registration number

The protocol for this study is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12614000336684).
Robotic cardiac surgery: an anaesthetic challenge
Authors: Wang Gang , Gao Changqing
Published: June 2014

Robotic cardiac surgery with the da Vinci robotic surgical system offers the benefits of a minimally invasive procedure, including a smaller incision and scar, reduced risk of infection, less pain and trauma, less bleeding and blood transfusion requirements, shorter hospital stay and decreased recovery time. Robotic cardiac surgery includes extracardiac and intracardiac procedures. Extracardiac procedures are often performed on a beating heart. Intracardiac procedures require the aid of peripheral cardiopulmonary bypass via a minithoracotomy. Robotic cardiac surgery, however, poses challenges to the anaesthetist, as the obligatory one-lung ventilation (OLV) and CO2 insufflation may reduce cardiac output and increase pulmonary vascular resistance, potentially resulting in hypoxaemia and haemodynamic compromise. In addition, surgery requires appropriate positioning of specialised cannulae such as an endopulmonary vent, endocoronary sinus catheter, and endoaortic clamp catheter under the guidance of transoesophageal echocardiography. Therefore, cardiac anaesthetists should have a working knowledge of these systems, OLV and haemodynamic support.
Comparison of airborne laser scanning, terrestrial laser scanning, and terrestrial photogrammetry for mapping differential slope change in mountainous terrain
Authors: Lato Matthew J. , Hutchinson D. Jean , Gauthier Dave , Edwards Thomas , Ondercin Matthew
Published: June 2014

Traditional mapping and monitoring of active slope processes in mountainous terrain is challenging, given often difficult site accessibility, obstructed visibility, and high complexity of the terrain. For example, the rockfall hazard evaluation system employed by Canadian railways relies partly on visibility of the rockfall source zone from track level, which is often impossible for large or complex slopes, in the mountains and elsewhere. Recent advancements in remote sensing, data collection, and analysis algorithms have helped resolve some of these issues by allowing the slope processes to be mapped, and thereby understood, with a greater degree of accuracy and confidence than was previously possible. For example, a better understanding of the rate of movement of material around a natural rock slope affecting a transportation corridor would certainly improve any assessment of the hazards caused by those movements. Various remote sensing technologies have the capability to be used to assess these processes; however, the optimal conditions under which the technology should be deployed are not clearly defined. Between December 2012 and December 2013 the efficacy of three remote sensing technologies (terrestrial and aerial LiDAR (light detection and ranging) and terrestrial photogrammetry) were compared for their ability to detect natural and anthropogenic changes at a location along the CN railway, in British Columbia, Canada. The results demonstrate a high degree of interoperability between the different technologies, the ability to map topographical change with all three technologies, and the limitations and (or) weaknesses of each technology with respect to mapping change. The project location and site accessibility represent a real world situation with nonideal facets, which challenge the capabilities of these state-of-the-art technologies. These results will aid decision-making with respect to implementation of remote sensing technologies to monitor changes to rock slopes adjacent to transportation corridors, which will lead to better understanding and assessment of hazards.
Simple quinoline-based “turn-on” fluorescent sensor for imaging copper (II) in living cells
Authors: Zhou Chen , Xiao Ning , Li Yapeng
Published: June 2014

In this work, a novel fluorescent sensor based on a quinoline derivative was designed and synthesized for detecting copper ions in a near-aqueous media. According to its extra-nuclear structure, copper (II) normally exhibits effectiveness for quenching the singlet excited state of organic chromophores through a fast electron transfer mechanism. However, this molecule displayed a strong fluorescence “turn-on” phenomenon upon addition of Cu2+, which was rarely reported in previous research. In addition, density functional theory calculations were adopted to investigate the molecular orbitals as well as the spatial structure. Furthermore, this sensor was applied into living SGC-7901 cells to extend its application in biological systems.
Effects of Time-Periodic Intercoupling Strength on the Spiking Regularity of a Clustered Neuronal Network
Authors: Sun Xiaojuan , Zheng Yanhong
Published: June 2014

We investigate the effects of time-periodic intercoupling strength on the spiking regularity of a clustered neuronal network. Inside the clustered neuronal network, each cluster has the same regular structure with each node modeled by a stochastic Hodgkin–Huxley neuronal model. From simulation results, we find that there exist some optimal frequencies of the time-periodic intercoupling strength, at which the spiking regularity of the considered clustered neuronal network becomes higher. When we consider the effects of the amplitude of time-periodic intercoupling strength, we find that the clustered neuronal network could exhibit more regular spiking activity at some intermediate amplitude for higher noise level; while for lower noise level, the spiking regularity of the neuronal network decreases with the amplitude increase. And the obtained results are independent of the cluster number.
When Two Dual Chaotic Systems Shake Hands
Authors: Sprott J. C. , Wang Xiong , Chen Guanrong
Published: June 2014

This letter reports an interesting finding that the parametric Lorenz system and the parametric Chen system "shake hands" at a particular point of their common parameter space, as the time variable t → +∞ in the Lorenz system while t → -∞ in the Chen system. This helps better clarify and understand the relationship between these two closely related but topologically nonequivalent chaotic systems.
DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH STATUS AMONG PATIENTS WITH KNEE OR HIP OSTEOARTHRITIS: THE ROLE OF DEMOGRAPHIC, CLINICAL AND HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE VARIABLES
Authors: Saffari Mohsen , Meybodi Mohammad Kazem Emami , Ghanizadeh Ghader , Koenig Harold G.
Published: June 2014

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic disease especially among older adults and has a considerable negative impact on health status (HS). This study investigated associations between demographic, clinical and health related quality of life (HRQOL) factors and the HS of patients with knee or hip OA. We surveyed a convenience sample of 356 patients from two general hospitals in Tehran, Iran. The short form health survey (SF-12), EuroQol (EQ-5D) and a demographic questionnaire were administered. Clinical variables such as body mass undex (BMI), duration of disease and radiographic evidence of the severity of OA were also collected. Two hierarchical regression models identified independent factors related to HS. The mean age of participants was 63.0 (SD, 12.3) and majority were female (90.7%). More than three-quarters were overweight or obese and over two-thirds had an OA severity grade of 3 or 4 based on Kellgren–Lawrence scale. The mean score on the physical and mental components of the SF-12 were 30.50 (SD, 9.63) and 44.38 (SD, 8.64), respectively. The mean scores for HS were 0.47 (SD, 0.34) on the EQ-5D and 63.23 (SD 17.58) on the EQ-VAS. Residence, duration of disease, BMI, OA joint, pain, vitality and mental health (MH) were identified as significant predictors of HS. Future studies are needed to better understand factors that may affect the HS of patients with knee or hip OA.
Groups with Cyclic Outer Automizers
Authors: Celentani Maria Rosaria , Cutolo Giovanni , Leone Antonella
Published: June 2014

We consider groups G such that NG(H)/HCG(H) is cyclic for all H ≤ G. More specifically, we characterise locally nilpotent and supersoluble groups with this property.
On Generalized (m,n)-Derivations and Generalized (m,n)-Jordan Derivations in Rings
Authors: Ali Shakir , Fošner Ajda
Published: June 2014

The aim of this paper is to define the notions of generalized (m,n)-derivations and generalized (m,n)-Jordan derivations and to prove two theorems involving these mappings.
Some Properties of the c-Nilpotent Multiplier and c-Covers of Lie Algebras
Authors: Rismanchian Mohammad Reza , Araskhan Mehdi
Published: June 2014

This paper is devoted to present some properties of the c-nilpotent multiplier [Formula: see text] and some features of c-central extensions of a (finite dimensional) Lie algebra L. Moreover, we give the structure of all c-covers of Lie algebras whose c-nilpotent multipliers have the Hopfian property.
Existence of Nonabelian Free Subgroups in the Maximal Subgroups of GLn(D)
Authors: Dorbidi H. R. , Fallah-Moghaddam R. , Mahdavi-Hezavehi M.
Published: June 2014

Given a non-commutative finite dimensional F-central division algebra D, we study conditions under which every non-abelian maximal subgroup M of GLn(D) contains a non-cyclic free subgroup. In general, it is shown that either M contains a non-cyclic free subgroup or there exists a unique maximal subfield K of Mn(D) such that NGLn(D)(K*)=M, K* ◁ M, K/F is Galois with Gal (K/F) ≅ M/K*, and F[M]=Mn(D). In particular, when F is global or local, it is proved that if ([D:F], Char (F))=1, then every non-abelian maximal subgroup of GL1(D) contains a non-cyclic free subgroup. Furthermore, it is also shown that GLn(F) contains no solvable maximal subgroups provided that F is local or global and n ≥ 5.
On the Ranks of Semigroups of Transformations on a Finite Set with Restricted Range
Authors: Fernandes Vítor H. , Sanwong Jintana
Published: June 2014

Let [Formula: see text] be the semigroup of all partial transformations on X, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] be the subsemigroups of [Formula: see text] of all full transformations on X and of all injective partial transformations on X, respectively. Given a non-empty subset Y of X, let [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. In 2008, Sanwong and Sommanee described the largest regular subsemigroup and determined Green's relations of [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we present analogous results for both [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. For a finite set X with |X| ≥ 3, the ranks of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are well known to be 4, 3 and 3, respectively. In this paper, we also compute the ranks of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] for any proper non-empty subset Y of X.
A Note on the Cartan Type Lie Superalgebra $\widetilde{S}(n)$ over a Field of Positive Characteristic
Authors: Ren Li , Mu Qiang
Published: June 2014

The main result of this paper is that every derivation of the finite-dimensional simple modular Lie superalgebra [Formula: see text] is inner, and [Formula: see text] has no nonsingular associative form.
Integrable Representations for the Extended Affine Lie Algebra Coordinated by Quantum Tori in Two Variables
Authors: Kong Fei , Li Zhiqiang , Tan Shaobin , Wang Qing
Published: June 2014

In this paper we classify the irreducible integrable modules for the core of the extended affine Lie algebra of type Ad-1 coordinated by ℂq with finite-dimensional weight spaces and the center acting trivially, where ℂq is the quantum torus in two variables.
Physical analogue modelling of Martian dyke-induced deformation
Authors: Wyrick Danielle Y. , Morris Alan P. , Todt Mary K. , Watson-Morris Morgan J
Published: June 2014

The Tharsis region of Mars is characterized by large volcanic and tectonic centres that have been active throughout Martian geological history, including distinct sets of graben that extend radially for distances of hundreds to thousands of kilometres. Formation of these graben has been attributed to crustal extension and/or dyke propagation. Physical analogue models using layered sand and liquid paraffin wax were constructed to test the magnitude and style of deformation in the host rock associated with dyke injection. A variety of igneous morphologies was produced, including dykes and plugs. Results suggest that, in the absence of pre-existing faults, vertical dykes do not produce significant deformation in the surrounding rock. Deformation associated with other magmatic intrusions produced primarily contractional features rather than extensional features, similar to previous numerical studies and terrestrial field investigations.
Fusing and disaggregating models, data and analysis tools for a dynamic science–society interface
Authors: Rowe E. C. , Wright D. G. , Bertrand N. , Reis S.
Published: June 2014

Society requires rapid, most-probable predictions for specific and/or multifaceted questions related to environmental and geological science. In principle, models that encapsulate disciplinary knowledge are useful tools for making predictions and testing theory, but academic rewards favour disciplinary specialism and a proliferation of often insufficiently tested models. Decision makers have to assess the quality and robustness of predictions for complex environmental issues, and may prefer a model that performs accurately in a case study to a more parsimonious and generalizable model. Predictive ecosystem models tend to grow, as more processes are considered, even when a simpler model may be more appropriate and give results that are easier to interpret within a policy-relevant timeframe. Model fusion provides a practical way to combine knowledge from different disciplines, but can accelerate model growth. How then can we facilitate the evolution of useful predictive models? Coherent design is essential. When combining models it is often necessary to resolve overlapping scope, so tools need to allow for the disaggregation of model implementations as well as their fusion. Modelling software and integration frameworks can help resolve technical constraints, but to make models useful and used it is essential to involve stakeholders in their design and interpretation.
Towards Kurdish Information Retrieval
Authors: Esmaili Kyumars Sheykh , Salavati Shahin , Datta Anwitaman
Published: June 2014

The Kurdish language is an Indo-European language spoken in Kurdistan, a large geographical region in the Middle East. Despite having a large number of speakers, Kurdish is among the less-resourced languages and has not seen much attention from the IR and NLP research communities. This article reports on the outcomes of a project aimed at providing essential resources for processing Kurdish texts.

A principal output of this project is Pewan, the first standard Test Collection to evaluate Kurdish Information Retrieval systems. The other language resources that we have built include a lightweight stemmer and a list of stopwords.

Our second principal contribution is using these newly-built resources to conduct a thorough experimental study on Kurdish documents. Our experimental results show that normalization, and to a lesser extent, stemming, can greatly improve the performance of Kurdish IR systems.
Word Prediction System for Text Entry in Hindi
Authors: Sharma Manoj Kumar , Samanta Debasis
Published: June 2014

Word prediction is treated as an efficient technique to enhance text entry rate. Existing word prediction systems predict a word when a user correctly enters the initial few characters of the word. In fact, a word prediction system fails if the user makes errors in the initial input. Therefore, there is a need to develop a word prediction system that predicts desired words while coping with errors in initial entries. This requirement is more relevant in the case of text entry in Indian languages, which are involved with a large set of alphabets, words with complex characters and inflections, phonetically similar sets of characters, etc. In fact, text composition in Indian languages involves frequent spelling errors, which presents a challenge to develop an efficient word prediction system. In this article, we address this problem and propose a novel word prediction system. Our proposed approach has been tried with Hindi, the national language of India. Experiments with users substantiate 43.77% keystroke savings, 92.49% hit rate, and 95.82% of prediction utilization with the proposed word prediction system. Our system also reduces the spelling error by 89.75%.
Managing mobile text in head mounted displays
Authors: Orlosky Jason , Kiyokawa Kiyoshi , Takemura Haruo
Published: June 2014

In recent years, the development of wearable displays has seen a drastic increase. However, there is still a strong resistance to using wearable technology for fear of decreased visibility and attention to one's surroundings. To address this concern, this paper describes a series of experiments that study user tendencies related to viewing and placing text in head mounted displays (HMDs). From the results of two pilot experiments, we show that awareness is to some extent better for HMDs compared to smartphones, and find that users would prefer to place text in the background rather than the HMD screen. We then consequently build an intelligent system to manage placement of text such as e-mail and messaging using computer vision algorithms.?? Finally, through two experiments comparing automatic and manual text placement, we show that our system can mimic human tendencies with approximately 70% accuracy.
Computational geometry column 59
Authors: Dumitrescu Adrian , Tóth Csaba D.
Published: June 2014

This column is about patrolling problems in a geometric network. Mobile agents patrol a road network, and have to visit every point in the network as frequently as possible. The goal is finding a schedule that minimizes the idle time, i.e., the maximum time between two consecutive visits of some agent over all points in the network.
Telemonitoring with respect to Mood Disorders and Information and Communication Technologies: Overview and Presentation of the PSYCHE Project
Authors: Javelot Hervé , Spadazzi Anne , Weiner Luisa , Garcia Sonia , Gentili Claudio , Kosel Markus , Bertschy Gilles
Published: June 2014

This paper reviews what we know about prediction in relation to mood disorders from the perspective of clinical, biological, and physiological markers. It then also presents how information and communication technologies have developed in the field of mood disorders, from the first steps, for example, the transition from paper and pencil to more sophisticated methods, to the development of ecological momentary assessment methods and, more recently, wearable systems. These recent developments have paved the way for the use of integrative approaches capable of assessing multiple variables. The PSYCHE project stands for Personalised monitoring SYstems for Care in mental HEalth.
High Frequency Longitudinal Damped Vibrations of a Cylindrical Ultrasonic Transducer
Authors: Predoi Mihai Valentin , Petre Cristian Cătălin , Vasile Ovidiu , Boiangiu Mihail
Published: June 2014

Ultrasonic piezoelectric transducers used in classical nondestructive testing are producing in general longitudinal vibrations in the MHz range. A simple mechanical model of these transducers would be very useful for wave propagation numerical simulations, avoiding the existing complicated models in which the real components of the transducer are modeled by finite elements. The classical model for longitudinal vibrations is not adequate because the generated longitudinal wave is not dispersive, the velocity being the same at any frequency. We have adopted the Rayleigh-Bishop model, which avoids these limitations, even if it is not converging to the first but to the second exact longitudinal mode in an elastic rod, as obtained from the complicated Pochhammer-Chree equations. Since real transducers have significant vibrations damping, we have introduced a damping term in the Rayleigh-Bishop model, increasing the imaginary part and keeping almost identical real part of the wavenumber. Common transducers produce amplitude modulated signals, completely attenuated after several periods. This can be modeled by two close frequencies, producing a “beat” phenomenon, superposed on the high damping. For this reason, we introduce a two-rod Rayleigh-Bishop model with damping. Agreement with measured normal velocity on the transducer free surface is encouraging for continuation of the research.
Kinematics and Workspace of a 4-DOF Hybrid Palletizing Robot
Authors: Tao Yong , Chen Fang , Xiong Hegen
Published: June 2014

We presented the kinematical analysis of a 4-DOF hybrid palletizing robot. The palletizing robot structure was proposed and the arm model of the robot was presented. The kinematical analysis of the end robotic manipulator was given. As a result, the position, velocity, and acceleration curves as well as the maximum workspace were demonstrated by simulation in Matlab. This study would be useful for the kinematical characteristics of the 4-DOF palletizing robot in space.
The Mechanism of Wellbore Weakening in Worn Casing-Cement-Formation System
Authors: Shen Zheng , Beck Frederick E. , Ling Kegang
Published: June 2014

Maintaining casing integrity, in terms of downhole zonal isolations and well stability, is extremely important in oil/gas wells. Casing wear occurs not only in directional drilling, but also in vertical drilling with a slight deviation angle. In most hydrocarbon wells, deteriorated casing was reported from the onset of casing wear by the presence of friction force during the rotation of drillpipe. The friction force against the casing wall causes the reduction of casing strength. Furthermore, the rotation of drillpipe combined with corrosive drilling fluids could dramatically degrade the casing strength. We used a finite element analysis to focus on the stress evolution in worn casings. Comparison study between worn casing and perfect casing was conducted. Our study showed that the thermal load significantly increases the stress concentration of the worn casing in the wellbore. Finite element solutions indicated that the radial stress of the worn casing is not affected as much as the hoop stress. Along with the increased burst pressure or the elevated temperature, the unworn portion of the casing also suffers from severe compression stress. This work is important to broadening the understanding of well engineers through addressing the true stress profile of worn casing in cemented wellbore.
Privacy-Preserving Restricted Boltzmann Machine
Authors: Li Yu , Zhang Yuan , Ji Yue
Published: June 2014

With the arrival of the big data era, it is predicted that distributed data mining will lead to an information technology revolution. To motivate different institutes to collaborate with each other, the crucial issue is to eliminate their concerns regarding data privacy. In this paper, we propose a privacy-preserving method for training a restricted boltzmann machine (RBM). The RBM can be got without revealing their private data to each other when using our privacy-preserving method. We provide a correctness and efficiency analysis of our algorithms. The comparative experiment shows that the accuracy is very close to the original RBM model.
Online Learning Discriminative Dictionary with Label Information for Robust Object Tracking
Authors: Fan Baojie , Du Yingkui , Cong Yang
Published: June 2014

A supervised approach to online-learn a structured sparse and discriminative representation for object tracking is presented. Label information from training data is incorporated into the dictionary learning process to construct a robust and discriminative dictionary. This is accomplished by adding an ideal-code regularization term and classification error term to the total objective function. By minimizing the total objective function, we learn the high quality dictionary and optimal linear multiclassifier jointly using iterative reweighed least squares algorithm. Combined with robust sparse coding, the learned classifier is employed directly to separate the object from background. As the tracking continues, the proposed algorithm alternates between robust sparse coding and dictionary updating. Experimental evaluations on the challenging sequences show that the proposed algorithm performs favorably against state-of-the-art methods in terms of effectiveness, accuracy, and robustness.
Anti-GBM of Pregnancy: Acute Renal Failure Resolved after Spontaneous Abortion, Plasma Exchange, Hemodialysis, and Steroids
Authors: Muqeet Adnan Mohammed , Morton Jordan , Hashmi Syed , Abdul Mujeeb Sufyan , Kern William , Cowley Benjamin Jr.
Published: June 2014

Antiglomerular basement membrane disease presenting during pregnancy is very uncommon. We present a case of a pregnant female who presented with acute renal failure needing dialysis from Goodpasture’s disease. She responded very well to just plasma exchange, high dose steroids, and hemodialysis. Cyclophosphamide was never started on this patient. She had a spontaneous abortion in her 8th week of pregnancy and henceforth did very well to regain her renal function. Patient became hemodialysis independent at 2 months and returned to her baseline kidney function at 6 months. We present this remarkable case of recovery from acute renal failure in a patient with anti-GBM disease. We think the flare-up of renal failure was pregnancy related which resolved after spontaneous abortion.
A No-Reference Sharpness Metric Based on Structured Ringing for JPEG2000 Images
Authors: Cao Zhipeng , Wei Zhenzhong , Zhang Guangjun
Published: June 2014

This work presents a no-reference image sharpness metric based on human blur perception for JPEG2000 compressed image. The metric mainly uses a ringing measure. And a blurring measure is used for compensation when the blur is so severe that ringing artifacts are concealed. We used the anisotropic diffusion for the preliminary ringing map and refined it by considering the property of ringing structure. The ringing detection of the proposed metric does not depend on edge detection, which is suitable for high degraded images. The characteristics of the ringing and blurring measures are analyzed and validated theoretically and experimentally. The performance of the proposed metric is tested and compared with that of some existing JPEG2000 sharpness metrics on three widely used databases. The experimental results show that the proposed metric is accurate and reliable in predicting the sharpness of JPEG2000 images.
Unusual T-Lymphoblastic Blast Phase of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
Authors: Xu Jie , Li Shaoying
Published: June 2014

T-lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (T-ALL) presenting as blast phase of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML-BP) is rare. In patients without history of CML, it is difficult to differentiate between CML-BP or de novo T-ALL. Here we reported 2 unusual cases of T-ALL presenting as CML-BP. Case 1 was a 24-year-old female with leukocytosis. Besides T-lymphoblasts (32%), her marrow exhibited some morphologic features of CML. Multiple remission or relapsing marrow had never demonstrated morphologic features of CML. Despite of imatinib treatment and stem cell transplant, she died 2.5 years later. Case 2, a 66-year-old male with diffuse lymphadenopathy, showed T-ALL in a lymph node and concurrent CML chronic phase (CML-CP) in his marrow. Same BCR-ABL1 fusion transcript with minor breakpoint was present in both the lymph node and marrow specimens. Although both cases did not have a history of CML, both cases represented T-lymphoblastic CML-BP with unusual features: Case 1 is unusual in that it presented as T-ALL with some CML morphologic feature but never showed CML-CP in her subsequent marrows biopsies; Case 2 is the first reported case of T-lymphoblastic CML-BP harboring BCR-ABL1 transcript with a minor breakpoint.
Legendre Wavelet Operational Matrix Method for Solution of Riccati Differential Equation
Authors: Balaji S.
Published: June 2014

A Legendre wavelet operational matrix method (LWM) is presented for the solution of nonlinear fractional-order Riccati differential equations, having variety of applications in quantum chemistry and quantum mechanics. The fractional-order Riccati differential equations converted into a system of algebraic equations using Legendre wavelet operational matrix. Solutions given by the proposed scheme are more accurate and reliable and they are compared with recently developed numerical, analytical, and stochastic approaches. Comparison shows that the proposed LWM approach has a greater performance and less computational effort for getting accurate solutions. Further existence and uniqueness of the proposed problem are given and moreover the condition of convergence is verified.
Bioactivity-Guided Fractionation Identifies Amygdalin as a Potent Neurotrophic Agent from Herbal MedicineSemen PersicaeExtract
Authors: Yang Chuanbin , Zhao Jia , Cheng Yuanyuan , Li Xuechen , Rong Jianhui
Published: June 2014

Herbal medicineSemen Persicaeis widely used to treat blood stasis in Chinese medicine and other oriental folk medicines. Although little is known about the effects ofSemen Persicaeand its active compounds on neuron differentiation, our pilot study showed thatSemen Persicaeextract promoted neurite outgrowth in rat dopaminergic PC12 cells. In the present study, we developed a bioactivity-guided fractionation procedure for the characterization of the neurotrophic activity ofSemen Persicaeextract. The resultant fractions were assayed for neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells based on microscopic assessment. Through liquid-liquid extraction and reverse phase HPLC separation, a botanical glycoside amygdalin was isolated as the active compound responsible for the neurotrophic activity ofSemen Persicaeextract. Moreover, we found that amygdalin rapidly induced the activation of extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2). A specific ERK1/2 inhibitor PD98059 attenuated the stimulatory effect of amygdalin on neurite outgrowth. Taken together, amygdalin was identified as a potent neurotrophic agent fromSemen Persicaeextract through a bioactivity-guided fractional procedure. The neurotrophic activity of amygdalin may be mediated by the activation of ERK1/2 pathway.
Enhanced Service-Oriented Open Sensor Web Architecture with Application Server Based Mashup
Authors: Khan Muhammad Sohail , Kim DoHyeun
Published: June 2014

Connecting the sensing devices present in the physical world to detect and measure various physical phenomenon such as temperature, humidity, and pollution into a network and presenting them as web resources to the end users have become the goal of a variety of research activities. As the physical network of these devices inherently possesses a heterogeneous nature thus most of the sensor web studies are based on providing domain specific solutions. Service-oriented architecture (SOA) has proven successes to resolve the scalability and evolvability of the web. The present solutions for the SOA based sensor web allows the users to access the sensor data as services but to integrate these services the client must put extra effort to implement the logic. We present an improved SOA based sensor web architecture which offers an easy approach to integrate sensor providers’ services with information provider services and enable the users to access it as a single, integrated, and searchable service. This approach offers the functionality present in the existing solutions as well as an integrated data access or service mashup. We discuss in detail an instance architecture for indoor environment monitoring, based on the proposition of this study.
Physical Activity in Different Preschool Settings: An Exploratory Study
Authors: Röttger Katrin , Grimminger Elke , Kreuser Friederike , Assländer Lorenz , Gollhofer Albert , Korsten-Reck Ulrike
Published: June 2014

Introduction. Physical activity (PA) in preschoolers is vital to protect against obesity but is influenced by different early-life factors. The present study investigated the impact of different preschool programs and selected family factors on preschoolers’ PA in different countries in an explorative way.Methods. The PA of 114 children (age = 5.3 ± 0.65 years) attending different preschool settings in four cities of the trinational Upper Rhine region (Freiburg, Landau/Germany, Basel/Switzerland, and Strasbourg/France) was measured by direct accelerometry. Anthropometrical and family-related data were obtained. Timetables of preschools were analyzed.Results. Comparing the preschool settings, children from Strasbourg and Landau were significantly more passive than children from Basel and Freiburg (P<.01). With regard to the family context as an important early-life factor, a higher number of children in a family along with the mother’s and child’s anthropometrical status are predictors of engagement in PA.Conclusion. More open preschool systems such as those in Basel, Freiburg, and Landau do not lead to more PA “per se” compared to the highly regimented desk-based system in France. Preliminaries such as special training and the number of caregivers might be necessary elements to enhance PA. In family contexts, targeted PA interventions for special groups should be more focused in the future.
A Theoretic Approach for Prolonging Lifetime of Wireless Sensor Networks Based on the Coalition Game Model
Authors: Yue Kun , Zhang Jixian , Li Jin , Wu Tianying , Liu Weiyi
Published: June 2014

Energy consumption is one of the most important performance measures in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In order to reduce energy consumption, some nodes in the network will work together as a coalition but will not work independently. In this paper, towards forming coalitions, an energy-efficient coalition game model is proposed based on the Markov process and from the theoretic point of view. First, we propose the performance measure of the Markov process states based on the concept of absorbing coefficient and bargaining set. Consequently, we give a simulation algorithm to calculate the absorbing coefficient and simulate the forming process of the coalitions. Moreover, to determine the strategies of coalitions to ensure the WSNs’ reachability, we give the genetic-algorithm based method for calculating the approximate Nash equilibrium. Experimental results show that our model can guarantee longer lifetime and effective reachability for WSNs.
Apical Dimension of Root Canal Clinically Assessed with and without Periapical Lesions
Authors: Gesi Andrea , Mareschi Paolo , Doldo Tiziana , Ferrari Marco
Published: June 2014

To clinically evaluate the dimension of the more apical extent of the root canal after appropriate preflaring in the case of primary treatment and retreatment with and without the presence of periapical radiolucency, 392 single-rooted teeth with only one canal were evaluated during endodontic therapy. The canals were divided in two groups depending on the presence or absence of periapical radiolucency. After preflaring of the root canal the size of the root canal terminus (apical canal dimension) was gauged with hand-held Light Speed LS1 files inserted at the estimated working length and established with the use of an electronic apex locator. The dimension recorded in the computer database was represented by the largest instrument able to reach the electronically established working length. The differences between the treatment groups were assessed using the Mann-WhitneyUtest and the significance level was set atP<0.05. Teeth with lesions had a significantly greater diameter in the apical region than teeth without lesions (P<0.001). The dimension of the apical portion of the root canal is larger in the case of periapical radiolucency. This involves verifying this parameter in order to use the correct sized instruments and to obtain an efficient cutting action at the apical level.
Seismic Response of Base-Isolated High-Rise Buildings under Fully Nonstationary Excitation
Authors: Ma C. F. , Zhang Y. H. , Tan P. , Zhou F. L.
Published: June 2014

Stochastic seismic responses of base-isolated high-rise buildings subjected to fully nonstationary earthquake ground motion are computed by combining the pseudoexcitation and the equivalent linearization methods, and the accuracy of results obtained by the pseudoexcitation method is verified by the Monte Carlo method. The superstructure of a base-isolated high-rise building is represented by a finite element model and a shear-type multi-degree of freedom model, respectively. The influence of the model type and the number of the modes of the superstructure participating in the computation of the dynamic responses of the isolated system has been investigated. The results of a 20-storey, 3D-frame with height to width ratio of 4 show that storey drifts and absolute accelerations of the superstructure for such a high-rise building will be substantially underestimated if the shear-type multi-degree of freedom model is employed or the higher modes of the superstructure are neglected; however, this has nearly no influence on the drift of the base slab.