bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pedunculated Malignant Melanoma
Authors: BEN‐HUR N. , GOLAN J. , ROSENBERG L. , BARUCHIN A.
Published: July 2013

A malignant melanoma in the form of a pedunculated lesion is so rare that it may not be thought of in differential diagnosis and thus may be overlooked and under‐treated.
Unusual Appearances of Cancers in the Skin
Authors: JACKSON ROBERT
Published: July 2013

Markedly unusual appearances of cutaneous cancers are uncommon, but they deserve comment upon for reasons other than their appearances. Ten unusual cases are illustrated and briefly commented upon.
Tax Sharing in Insurance Markets: A Useful Parameterization
Authors: Viauroux Christelle
Published: July 2013

We use a principal–agent framework to evaluate the economic impacts of imposing a tax on insurance payment in presence of moral hazard using a Gamma conditional distribution of losses. Our results show that any tax paid by the insured would lower his effort to prevent loss, hence increasing insurance payments and decreasing profits. This result is reinforced as the insured becomes more risk averse unless the distribution of losses is uniform. We find that any decrease in the insurer's tax share would generate an overall decrease in welfare unless the insured characteristics prevent him from reacting to the policy.
Movements and activities of male black‐tailed gulls in breeding and sabbatical years
Authors: Kazama Kentaro , Hirata Kazuhiko , Yamamoto Takashi , Hashimoto Hiroshi , Takahashi Akinori , Niizuma Yasuaki , Trathan Philip N. , Watanuki Yutaka
Published: July 2013

Long‐lived animals sometimes skip one or more breeding seasons; however, little is known about their movements and activities during such ‘sabbatical’ periods. Here we present novel data on year‐round movements and activities of two male black‐tailed gulls Larus crassirostris during a sabbatical year. We compare the data with those in a year when they bred and with those of two other breeding males. The year‐round migration routes of two sabbatical males were consistent with those of the breeding males: they returned to the breeding area but did not visit the colony in the sabbatical year. They landed more frequently on water (a potential index of foraging effort) during the non‐breeding autumn and winter prior to the sabbatical year than before breeding. Sabbatical gulls may forage more intensively to recover body condition immediately after breeding.
Comparative morphology of the egg cases ofAsymbolus analis,Asymbolus rubiginosusandFigaro boardmani(Carcharhiniformes: Scyliorhinidae) from southern Queensland, Australia
Authors: Bustamante C. , Kyne P. M. , Bennett M. B.
Published: July 2013

Descriptions of the egg cases of three catsharks,Asymbolus analis,Asymbolus rubiginosusandFigaro boardmani, are provided from 65 egg cases obtained from fishing surveys carried out on the continental shelf of southern Queensland, Australia. Egg cases ofA. analis,A. rubiginosusandF. boardmanihave the same basic morphology; they are typically vase‐shaped, dorso‐ventrally flattened and yellow and brown‐tan in colour. The shape of the posterior border in terms of horn length and tendril thickness is the specific characteristic discriminating these three catsharks: enclosed horns inF. boardmani, short horns and tendrils inA.rubiginosusand long, coiled tendrils inA.analis. A non‐parametric statistical approach was used as an exploratory tool for egg case identification in which six proportional measurements were sufficient to discriminate between species. Three egg cases ofF.boardmaniwere recovered from the stomachs of threeA. rubiginosus, which provided the first evidence of catshark–catshark predator–prey interaction.
Behavioural cues of reproductive status in seahorses Hippocampus abdominalis
Authors: Whittington C. M. , Musolf K. , Sommer S. , Wilson A. B.
Published: July 2013

A method is described to assess the reproductive status of male Hippocampus abdominalis on the basis of behavioural traits. The non‐invasive nature of this technique minimizes handling stress and reduces sampling requirements for experimental work. It represents a useful tool to assist researchers in sample collection for studies of reproduction and development in viviparous syngnathids, which are emerging as important model species.
Survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 during the Manufacture and Storage of Fruit Yogurt
Authors: Osaili Tareq M. , Taani Mahmoud , Al‐Nabulsi Anas A. , Attlee Amita , Odeh Ra'ed Abu , Holley Richard A. , Obaid Reyad Shaker
Published: July 2013

The objectives of the study were to assess the behavior of Escherichia coli O157:H7 during the manufacture of fruit yogurt at different fermentation and storage temperatures. Reconstituted milk was fermented at 37, 40 or 45C; the resultant product was stored at 4, 10 or 15C for 7 days. Samples of milk and yogurt were analyzed. E. coli O157:H7 and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) counts; pH of samples was recorded. During fermentation, E. coli O157:H7 grew in the presence or absence of LAB regardless of temperature. E. coli O157:H7 increased in presence of thermophilic LAB more than 2.75 log cfu/mL. The growth of LAB in all samples showed the same trend. The pH values of milk containing E. coli O157:H7 and LAB decreased gradually to reach 4.6 ± 0.1 at the end of fermentation period. During cooling, there was neither growth nor death of E. coli O157:H7 at 4 and 10C, while a slight increase at 15C. All the experiments showed significant differences in the population of E. coli O157:H7 in the presence or absence of LAB. During storage, E. coli O157:H7 number declined for all experiments and approached undetectable levels at the end of storage. The sensitivity of E. coli O157:H7 to acidity and lowered temperature was noticed during storage.

Practical Applications

Escherichia coli O157:H7 has emerged as a major foodborne pathogen and has been implicated in several outbreaks involving milk and dairy products. The results of the present study indicate that E. coli cannot tolerate the acidity and storage temperature. Applying quality control systems in the processing line will ensure that the E.coli will not survive in the commercially prepared fruit yogurt.
Living With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Subasic Kim
Published: July 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to provide an insider's account of what it is like to live with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a genetic cardiovascular illness that carries the risk for sudden cardiac death. This study aims to reveal how HCM impacts the family and guides the decision whether or not to pursue genetic testing, how the physical limitations associated with HCM alter being‐in‐the‐world, and how HCM alters social relationships.

Design

Fifteen adults with HCM were recruited for a longitudinal, phenomenological, qualitative study through purposive sampling and word of mouth. A total of 45 interviews were conducted by the researcher at a time and place designated by the participant between August 2011 and January 2012. The first interview with each participant was conducted in person. While efforts were made to conduct all interviews in person, a total of three interviews were conducted by telephone as requested by three participants due to scheduling conflicts.

Methods

Through methods of interpretive phenomenology, three audio‐recorded, semistructured interviews occurred over the course of 3 months. Detailed narratives were solicited and transcribed verbatim. Methodological and analytical documentation was supported with the identification of key phrases, similar experiences, themes, and documentation of the rationale for decisions throughout the research process.

Conclusions

Participation in genetic testing carries a multitude of personal, familial, financial, and emotional implications. The results of a genetic test elicited an emotional response regardless of whether the results were negative, positive, or inconclusive. Living with a potentially life‐threatening illness altered identity, disrupted social relationships, and generated chronic fear and uncertainty. A new normal was re‐ordered or transformed by the demands and limitations posed by HCM, and by the person's concerns, priorities, and the meaning of the illness.

Clinical Relevance

Results from this study underscore the need for healthcare professionals to learn more about HCM and to conduct screenings that will facilitate a prompt and accurate diagnosis. In doing so, the risk for sudden cardiac death may be averted. There is a need to educate and to advocate for genetic testing of HCM. It is necessary for healthcare providers to move beyond their biomedical understanding of genetic illness and to address the lived experience of the illness, how the illness impacts the family, and the multifaceted concerns of people who have a genetic illness as well as the concerns of their family members.
Paediatric health‐care professionals: Relationships between psychological distress, resilience and coping skills
Authors: McGarry Sarah , Girdler Sonya , McDonald Ann , Valentine Jane , Lee Shew‐Lee , Blair Eve , Wood Fiona , Elliott Catherine
Published: July 2013

Aim

To investigate the impact of regular exposure to paediatric medical trauma on multidisciplinary teams in a paediatric hospital and the relationships between psychological distress, resilience and coping skills.

Method

Symptoms of post‐traumatic stress disorder, secondary traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, stress, burnout, compassion satisfaction, resilience and coping skills were measured in 54 health professionals and compared with published norms.

Results

Participants experienced more symptoms of secondary traumatic stress (P < 0.01), showed less resilience (P = 0.05) and compassion satisfaction (≥0.01), more use of optimism and sharing as coping strategies, and less use of dealing with the problem and non‐productive coping strategies than comparative groups. Non‐productive coping was associated with more secondary traumatic stress (r = 0.50, P = 0.05), burnout (r = 0.45, P = 0.01), post‐traumatic stress disorder (r = 0.41, P = 0.05), anxiety (r = 0.42, P = 0.05), depression (r = 0.54, P = 0.01), and stress (r = 0.52, P = 0.01) and resilience was positively associated with optimism (r = 0.48, P = 0.01). Health professionals <25 years old used more non‐productive coping strategies (P = 0.05), less ‘sharing as a coping strategy’ (P = 0.05) and tended to have more symptoms of depression (P = 0.06).

Conclusion

Paediatric medical trauma can adversely affect a health professional's well‐being, particularly those <25 years of age who make less use of positive coping strategies and more use of non‐productive coping. These findings will assist the development of effective and meaningful interventions for health professionals working in paediatric hospitals.
Thromboelastographic Evaluation of Dogs with Congenital Portosystemic Shunts
Authors: Kelley D. , Lester C. , DeLaforcade A. , Webster C.R.L.
Published: July 2013

Background

On plasma‐based assays, dogs with congenital portosystemic shunts (CPSS) have changes in serum concentrations of both pro‐ and anticoagulant proteins, but how these abnormalities affect whole blood coagulation assays (eg, thromboelastography) are unknown.

Objectives

To conduct kaolin‐activated thromboelastography (TEG) analysis in dogs with CPSS and to compare TEG coagulation status with clinical presentation, routine serum biochemistry, and plasma‐based coagulation tests.

Animals

Twenty‐one client‐owned dogs with CPSS confirmed by ultrasound examination or nuclear scintigraphy.

Methods

In a prospective study, signalment, clinical presentation, TEG analysis, CBC, serum biochemistry, and hemostatic tests (platelet count, prothrombin time [PT], activated partial thromboplastin time [aPTT], quantitative fibrinogen, antithrombin [AT] activity, protein C [PC] activity, d‐dimers, and factor VIII activity) were analyzed in dogs with CPSS.

Results

Dogs with CPSS had significantly shorter K values and increased angle, maximum amplitude (MA), and G values compared with the reference population. On plasma‐based coagulation testing, dogs with CPSS had significantly prolonged PT, lower platelet counts, lower AT and PC activities, and increased d‐dimers and factor VIII activity. Evaluation of G value defined 9/21 dogs with CPSS as hypercoagulable. These dogs were more likely to have hepatic encephalopathy (HE) than CPSS dogs that had normal coagulation.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

TEG analysis detected hemostatic abnormalities consistent with a hypercoagulable state in some dogs with CPSS. The presence of a hypercoagulable state was 40 times more likely in dogs with symptomatic HE.
A systematic review of variables associated with the relationship between obesity and depression
Authors: Preiss K. , Brennan L. , Clarke D.
Published: July 2013

Obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable diseases and disability worldwide, and depression is among the leading causes of burden of disease. Both disorders are increasingly prevalent and comorbid. This comorbidity compounds associated health. While there is consistent evidence of a bidirectional obesity depression relationship, little is known about the biopsychosocial variables associated with this relationship. A systematic review was undertaken to identify variables associated with the relationship between obesity (Body mass index > 30 kg m−2) and depression. Forty‐six studies were identified. Obesity, educational attainment, body image, binge eating, physical health, psychological characteristics and interpersonal effectiveness were consistently associated with the relationship between obesity and depression. The current review identified potential biopsychosocial variables associated with the relationship between obesity and depression. This knowledge can inform future research examining moderators, mediators and mechanisms of the relationship between obesity and depression. Improved understanding of this relationship will inform identification, prevention and intervention efforts.
Prevalence of Diagnosed Opioid Abuse and its Economic Burden in the Veterans Health Administration
Authors: Baser Onur , Xie Lin , Mardekian Jack , Schaaf David , Wang Li , Joshi Ashish V.
Published: July 2013

Objective

Evaluate prevalence and risk‐adjusted healthcare costs of diagnosed opioid abuse in the national Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Costs were compared between patients with and without diagnosed opioid abuse.

Design

Medical and pharmacy claims analysis of VHA data (10/01/2006 to 09/30/2010) were retrospectively analyzed. Prevalence was calculated as the percent of patients with diagnosed opioid abuse for the entire VHA membership and those with noncancer pain diagnoses, compared between patients prescribed opioids prior to abuse diagnosis and those not prescribed opioids through the VHA system. Healthcare utilization and costs were estimated using matching techniques and generalized linear models to control for clinical and demographic differences between patients with and without diagnosed opioid abuse. Separate comparisons were made (with diagnosed abuse vs. without) for each cohort: patients with/without opioid prescriptions.

Results

Five‐year diagnosed opioid abuse was 1.11%. Among patients prescribed opioids, 5‐year abuse prevalence was 3.04%. Pain patients prescribed opioids had the highest abuse rate at 3.26%. Adjusted annual healthcare costs for diagnosed opioid abuse patients were higher than for those without diagnosed abuse, (prescribed opioids overall healthcare costs: $28,882, with diagnosed abuse vs. $13,605 for those without; not prescribed opioids: $25,197 vs. $6350, P‐value< 0.0001; opioid‐specific healthcare costs for patients prescribed opioids: $8956 vs. $218; patients not prescribed opioids: $8733 vs. $20).

Conclusions

Diagnosed opioid abuse prevalence is almost 7‐fold higher in the veteran's administration population than in commercial health plans and translates to a significant economic burden. Appropriate interventions should be considered to prevent and reduce opioid abuse.
Atypical Location of Lymphocytoma Cutis in a Child
Authors: Amschler Katharina , Schön Michael P. , Mempel Martin , Zutt Markus
Published: July 2013

Lyme borreliosis is a common infectious disease that can affect myocardial muscle or the central nervous system if not treated at an early stage. Here we report a unique case of an atypical location of lymphocytoma cutis in a 3‐year‐old boy. Histologic and immunohistochemical analysis revealed the correct diagnosis.
Red blood cell transfusion practice in children: current status and areas for improvement? A study of the use of red blood cell transfusions in children and infants
Authors: New Helen V. , Grant‐Casey John , Lowe Derek , Kelleher Andrea , Hennem Sylvia , Stanworth Simon J.
Published: July 2013

Background

Patterns of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion are less well understood for children than adults. This study was undertaken to document current pediatric practice, to identify specific areas for improving patient care and safety.

Study Design and Methods

All UK hospitals were invited to participate. All children less than 18 years old admitted and receiving a RBC transfusion during a 3‐month period in 2009 were eligible for inclusion.

Results

A total of 160 of 247 (65%) sites treating children or neonates responded; 119 provided data on 1302 pediatric patients transfused in nonneonatal wards. A total of 74% of patients received a single RBC transfusion during their admission. More than half (53%) of recipients had a hematologic or oncologic underlying diagnosis, and 33% were on general pediatric wards. The median pretransfusion hemoglobin (Hb) level was 7.9 g/dL (interquartile range [IQR], 6.9‐9.4 g/dL), varying by location and diagnosis. The median volume prescribed was 15 mL/kg (IQR, 11.8‐19.2 mL/kg). Prescribing by units instead of milliliters was recorded for 493 of 1264 (39%) of transfusions. For 734 of 1302 (56%) where Hb levels were available within 2 days between pre‐ and posttransfusion Hb, the median transfusion increment was 2.8 g/dL (IQR, 1.4‐3.9 g/dL).

Conclusion

This study of UK pediatric RBC transfusion practice has demonstrated significant variation in pretransfusion Hb, frequent prescribing in units rather than milliliters, and a high proportion of single transfusions during admissions. Future education and research should target transfusion triggers and prescription volumes for children in all clinical areas.
Effects of cryopreservation on microbial‐contaminated cord blood
Authors: Clark Pamela , Trickett Annette , Saffo Sandra , Stark Damien
Published: July 2013

Background

Cord blood units (CBUs) are associated with significant risk of exposure to microbial contamination during collection and processing; however, the survival of bacteria within aCBUis poorly understood. This study aimed to determine whether contaminating organisms inCBUsurvive the cryopreservation, frozen storage, and subsequent thawing conditions before infusion.

Study Design and Methods

A total of 134CBUsrejected from banking due to known contamination were thawed and rescreened using blood culture bottles (BacT/ALERT, bioMérieux). An additional 61 freshCBUswere deliberately spiked with a range of microbial organisms and evaluated both before freeze and after thaw.

Results

Microbial contaminants were detected after thaw in 63% of stored contaminatedCBUsand 85% of spikedCBUs. Postthaw organism detection in spiked cord blood (CB) was higher in adult culture bottles (80%) than pediatric culture bottles (61%). Twenty percent of spiked organisms, particularlyBacillus subtilis,Escherichia coli,Clostridium sporogenes, andPropionibacterium acnes, were not detected in prefreeze samples but were detectable after thaw.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that the majority of contaminating organisms isolated in a prefreeze sample ofCBhave the ability to survive cryopreservation, frozen storage, and thawing. Further,CBUsreported as microbial free may contain microbial contamination, which could result in transplantation of contaminatedCBand be potentially deleterious to a patient.
Vibration Analysis of Clamped, Complete Conical Shells of Revolution From a Three-Dimensional Theory
Authors: Kang Jae-Hoon
Published: July 2013

A three-dimensional (3D) method of analysis is presented for determining the free vibration frequencies of clamped, complete (not truncated) conical shells of revolution in which the bottom edges are normal to the midsurface of the shells based upon the circular cylindrical coordinate system using the Ritz method. A convergence study is presented. The frequencies from the present 3D analysis are compared with those from other 3D methods and 2D thin shell theory.
Magnetoelastic Field of a Multilayered and Functionally Graded Cylinder With a Dynamic Polynomial Eigenstrain
Authors: Akbarzadeh A. H. , Chen Z. T.
Published: July 2013

In this paper, an analytical solution is obtained for the magnetoelastic response of a multilayered and functionally graded cylinder with an embedded dynamic polynomial eigenstrain. The internal core of the cylinder endures a harmonic eigenstrain of cubic polynomial distribution along the radial direction. Both plane strain and plane stress conditions are assumed for the axisymmetric cylinder. The composite cylinder is placed in a constant magnetic field parallel to its axis. The magnetoelastic governing equations are solved exactly and the displacement and stress components are obtained in terms of Bessel, Struve, and Lommel functions. Using the analytical solution for the multilayered, composite cylinder, the magnetoelastic response of a functionally graded cylinder with exponential and power law distribution of material properties is investigated. Finally, the numerical results reveal the effects of external magnetic field, eigenstrain, and nonhomogeneity indices on the magnetoelastic response of the heterogeneous cylinders.
A Generalized Reissner Theory for Large Axisymmetric Deflections of Circular Plates
Authors: Plaut Raymond H.
Published: July 2013

A generalized Reissner theory for axisymmetric problems of circular plates is presented. The plate is assumed to be linearly elastic, and large rotations and strains are allowed. Shear deformation and changes in the plate thickness are neglected. Equilibrium equations are formulated, and a shooting method is applied to obtain numerical results for plates subjected to a uniform pressure. The edge of the plate is assumed to be either simply supported or clamped, and is free to move radially. The resulting deflections are compared to those based on the von Kármán theory.
Scaling of the Elastic Behavior of Two-Dimensional Topologically Interlocked Materials Under Transverse Loading
Authors: Khandelwal S. , Siegmund T. , Cipra R. J. , Bolton J. S.
Published: July 2013

Topologically interlocked materials (TIMs) are a class of 2D mechanical crystals made by a structured assembly of an array of polyhedral elements. The monolayer assembly can resist transverse forces in the absence of adhesive interaction between the unit elements. The mechanical properties of the system emerge as a combination of deformation of the individual unit elements and their contact interaction. The present study presents scaling laws relating the mechanical stiffness of monolayered TIMs to the system characteristic dimensions. The concept of thrust line analysis is employed to obtain the scaling laws, and model predictions are validated using finite element simulations as virtual experiments. Scaling law powers were found to closely resemble those of classical plate theory despite the distinctly different underlying mechanics and theory of TIM deformation.
Effective Yield Criterion Accounting for Microvoid Coalescence
Authors: Benzerga A. Amine , Leblond Jean-Baptiste
Published: July 2013

An effective yield function is derived for a porous ductile solid near a state of failure by microvoid coalescence. Homogenization theory combined with limit analysis are used to that end. A cylindrical cell is taken to contain a coaxial cylindrical void of finite height. Plastic flow in the intervoid matrix is described by J2 theory while regions above and below the void remain rigid. Velocity boundary conditions are employed which are compatible with an overall uniaxial straining for the cell, a postlocalization kinematics that is ubiquitous during the coalescence of neighboring microvoids in rate-independent solids. Such boundary conditions are not of the uniform strain rate kind, as is the case for Gursonlike models. A similar limit analysis problem for a square-prismatic cell containing a square-prismatic void was posed long ago (Thomason, P. F., 1985, “Three-Dimensional Models for the Plastic Limit–Loads at Incipient Failure of the Intervoid Matrix in Ductile Porous Solids,” Acta Metallurgica, 33, pp. 1079–1085). However, to date a closed-form solution to this problem has been lacking. Instead, an empirical expression of the yield function proposed therein has been widely used in the literature. The fully analytical expression derived here is intended to be used concurrently with a Gursonlike yield function in numerical simulations of ductile fracture.
BAGGED ONE-CLASS CLASSIFIERS IN THE PRESENCE OF OUTLIERS
Authors: SEGUÍ SANTI , IGUAL LAURA , VITRIÀ JORDI
Published: July 2013

The problem of training classifiers only with target data arises in many applications where nontarget data are too costly, difficult to obtain, or not available at all. Several one-class classification methods have been presented to solve this problem, but most of the methods are highly sensitive to the presence of outliers in the target class. Ensemble methods have therefore been proposed as a powerful way to improve the classification performance of binary/multi-class learning algorithms by introducing diversity into classifiers. However, their application to one-class classification has been rather limited. In this paper, we present a new ensemble method based on a nonparametric weighted bagging strategy for one-class classification, to improve accuracy in the presence of outliers. While the standard bagging strategy assumes a uniform data distribution, the method we propose here estimates a probability density based on a forest structure of the data. This assumption allows the estimation of data distribution from the computation of simple univariate and bivariate kernel densities. Experiments using original and noisy versions of 20 different datasets show that bagging ensemble methods applied to different one-class classifiers outperform base one-class classification methods. Moreover, we show that, in noisy versions of the datasets, the nonparametric weighted bagging strategy we propose outperforms the classical bagging strategy in a statistically significant way.
NONCONFORMING TETRAHEDRAL MIXED FINITE ELEMENTS FOR ELASTICITY
Authors: ARNOLD DOUGLAS N. , AWANOU GERARD , WINTHER RAGNAR
Published: July 2013

This paper presents a nonconforming finite element approximation of the space of symmetric tensors with square integrable divergence, on tetrahedral meshes. Used for stress approximation together with the full space of piecewise linear vector fields for displacement, this gives a stable mixed finite element method which is shown to be linearly convergent for both the stress and displacement, and which is significantly simpler than any stable conforming mixed finite element method. The method may be viewed as the three-dimensional analogue of a previously developed element in two dimensions. As in that case, a variant of the method is proposed as well, in which the displacement approximation is reduced to piecewise rigid motions and the stress space is reduced accordingly, but the linear convergence is retained.
A TOPOLOGICAL EXTENSION OF GENERAL RELATIVITY TO EXPLORE THE NATURE OF QUANTUM SPACETIME, DARK ENERGY AND INFLATION
Authors: SPAANS M.
Published: July 2013

General Relativity is extended into the quantum domain. A thought experiment is explored to derive a specific topological build-up for Planckian spacetime. The presented arguments are inspired by Feynman's path integral for superposition and Wheeler's quantum foam of Planck mass mini black holes (BHs)/wormholes. Paths are fundamental and prime three-manifolds like T3, S1 × S2 and S3 are used to construct quantum spacetime. A physical principle is formulated that causes observed paths to multiply: It takes one to know one. So topological fluctuations on the Planck scale take the form of multiple copies of any homeomorphically distinct path through quantum spacetime. The discrete time equation of motion for this topological quantum gravity is derived by counting distinct paths globally. The equation of motion is solved to derive some properties of dark energy and inflation. The dark energy density depends linearly on the number of macroscopic BHs in the universe and is time-dependent in a manner consistent with current astrophysical observations, having an effective equation of state w ≈ -1.1 for redshifts smaller than unity. Inflation driven by mini BHs proceeds over n ≈ 55 e-foldings, without strong inhomogeneity. A discrete time effect visible in the cosmic microwave background is suggested.
ON TOTALLY WEIGHTED INTERCONNECTION NETWORKS
Authors: MATHEW SUNIL , SUNITHA M. S.
Published: July 2013

In a network, each arc is assigned a weight. The weight of a path or a cycle is defined as the minimum weight of its arcs. The maximum of weights of all paths between two nodes is defined as the strength of connectedness between the nodes. In network applications, the reduction in the strength of connectedness is more relevant than the total disconnection of the graph. A graph is totally weighted if both node set and arc set are weighted. A precisely weighted graph is a totally weighted complete graph with weight functions σ : V → ℜ+ and μ : E → ℜ+ such that μ(x,y) = σ(x) ∧ σ(y) for any pair of nodes x,y of G where ∧ represents the minimum. Different types of arcs and the existence of partial bridges in precisely weighted complete graphs are studied. The minimum and maximum strong degrees of such a graph are also obtained. Also the concept of node strength sequence is introduced and relations between node strength sequence and strong degrees are obtained.
ENTANGLEMENT FOR JAYNES CUMMINGS MODEL IN THE PRESENCE MULTI-PHOTON PROCESS UNDER DECOHERENCE EFFECT
Authors: ABDEL-KHALEK S. , ALMALKI M. S.
Published: July 2013

The quantum nonlocal correlation between an atom and coherent field is described quantitatively in terms of multi-photon and phase damping processes. Especially, considering a two-level atom interacts with a single-mode quantized field in a coherent state inside a phase-damped cavity, and taking into account the number of multi-photon transitions and phase damping effect, the entanglement is investigated during the time evolution as a function of involved' parameters in the system. The results show that the enhancement of the transitions are very useful in generating a high amount of entanglement. Due to the significance of how a system is quantum correlated with its environment in the construction of a scalable quantum computer, the entanglement dynamics between the bipartite system with its environment is evaluated and investigated during the dissipative process. Finally, the physical interpretation of the correlation behaviors between the subsystems is explained through the statistical properties of the field.
QUANTUM COMMUNICATION VIA HEISENBERG XYZ SYSTEM
Authors: EL ALLATI A. , HASSOUNI Y. , METWALLY N.
Published: July 2013

The possibility of generating entangled network via Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction is investigated. The entanglement between the different nodes is quantified. This entangled network is employed to send information between different users who are members on this network. The effect of the field strength and the magnetic field parameters on the degree of entanglement of the network and the average fidelity is discussed. We show that by controlling these parameters one can maximize the average fidelity of the teleported state.
Synthesis, spectral properties, cation-induced dimerization and photochemical stability of tetra-(15-crown-5)-phthalocyaninato indium(III)
Authors: Lapkina Lyudmila A. , Gorbunova Yulia G. , Gil Dmitry O. , Ivanov Vladimir K. , Konstantinov Nikita Yu. , Tsivadze Aslan Yu.
Published: July 2013

The novel 2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24-tetra-(15-crown-5)phthalocyaninato indium(III) hydroxide [(15 C 5)4 Pc ] In ( OH )(I) was obtained by direct interaction of tetra-(15-crown-5)-phthalocyanine with indium acetylacetonate with 90% yield. The set of UV-vis, 1 H NMR and MALDI-TOF spectroscopy data allowed the unambiguous interpretation of complex structure. It was shown that the developed synthetic approach can be also used for synthesis of indium(III) 2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24-octabutoxyphthalocyanine [( BuO )8 Pc ] In ( OH )(II). Photophysical characteristics (fluorescence and singlet oxygen quantum yields) of I were established. The photochemical stability of I was compared with tetra-(15-crown-5)-phthalocyanine H 2[(15 C 5)4 Pc ] and aluminum(III) complex [(15 C 5)4 Pc ] Al ( OH ). It was found that cation-induced formation of cofacial dimers [2I × 4MX] ( M = K +, Rb +, X = CO 32-, OPic -, OPiv -, SO 42-, ClO 4-, Br -) resulted in significant enhancement of complex photostability.
Optimization-based influencing of village social networks in a counterinsurgency
Authors: Hung Benjamin W.K. , Kolitz Stephan E. , Ozdaglar Asuman
Published: July 2013

This article considers the nonlethal targeting assignment problem in the counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, the problem of deciding on the people whom U.S. forces should engage through outreach, negotiations, meetings, and other interactions in order to ultimately win the support of the population in their area of operations. We propose two models: (1) the Afghan counterinsurgency (COIN) social influence model, to represent how attitudes of local leaders are affected by repeated interactions with other local leaders, insurgents, and counterinsurgents, and (2) the nonlethal targeting model, a NonLinear Programming (NLP) optimization formulation that identifies a strategy for assigning
k
U.S. agents to produce the greatest arithmetic mean of the expected long-term attitude of the population. We demonstrate in an experiment the merits of the optimization model in nonlethal targeting, which performs significantly better than both doctrine-based and random methods of assignment in a large network.
Teaching programming by emphasizing self-direction
Authors: Isomöttönen Ville , Tirronen Ville
Published: July 2013

Lecturing is known to be a controversial form of teaching. With massed classrooms, in particular, it tends to constrain the active participation of students. One of the remedies applied to programming education is to use technology that can vitalize interaction in the classroom, while another is to base teaching increasingly on programming activities. In this article, we present the first results of an exploratory study, in which we teach programming without lectures, exams, or grades, by heavily emphasizing programming activity, and, in a pedagogical sense, student self-direction. This article investigates how students reacted to the active role required of them and what issues emerged in this setting where self-direction was required. The results indicate three issues that should be taken into account when designing a student-driven course: the challenge of supporting students' theoretical synthesis of the topics to be learned, the individual's opportunities for self-direction in a group work setting, and mismatch between individual learning processes and academic course scheduling.
Experiences with context management in emergency medicine
Authors: Wouhaybi Rita H. , Yarvis Mark D. , Sharma Sangita , Muse Philip , Wan Chieh-Yih , Prasad Sai , Durham Lenitra , Sahni Ritu , Norton Robert , Curry Merlin , Jimison Holly , Harper Richard , Lowe Robert A.
Published: July 2013

In emergency medicine, patient care is intense and stressful, often requiring paramedics to consult with remote physicians to convey the patient's condition. We present a framework for context-management in telemedicine developed in collaboration between engineers, physicians, and paramedics. We describe a mobile platform and embedded wireless sensors to capture physiological and audio context into a comprehensive patient record, accessible locally and remotely. We describe a first evaluation of this technology by trained paramedics in simulated scenarios and evaluate key aspects of system performance. Early results suggest that wireless sensing can provide reliable and low latency data both locally and to remote physicians. In addition, audio context capture is a promising approach to capturing a comprehensive patient record, with a low rate of medically important errors.
A complete self-testing and self-configuring NoC infrastructure for cost-effective MPSoCs
Authors: Ghiribaldi Alberto , Ludovici Daniele , Triviño Francisco , Strano Alessandro , Flich José , Sánchez José LUIS , Alfaro Francisco , Favalli Michele , Bertozzi Davide
Published: July 2013

Networks-on-chip need to survive to manufacturing faults in order to sustain yield. An effective testing and configuration strategy however implies two opposite requirements. One one hand, a fast and scalable built-in self-testing and self-diagnosis procedure has to be carried out concurrently at NoC switches. On the other hand, programming the NoC routing mechanism to go around faulty links and switches can be optimally performed by a centralized controller with global network visibility. To the best of our knowledge, this article proposes for the first time a global network testing and configuration strategy that meets the opposite requirements by means of a fault-tolerant dual network architecture and a fast configuration algorithm for the most common failure patterns.

Experimental results report an area overhead as low as 12.5% with respect to the baseline switch architecture while achieving a high degree of fault tolerance. In fact, even when multiple stuck-at faults are considered, the capability of fault masking by the dual network is always over 80%, and the support for multiple link failures is more than 90% in presence of two unusable links in the main network with minimum set-up times.
Gana
Authors: Zahavi Eitan , Cidon Israel , Kolodny Avinoam
Published: July 2013

Similar to off-chip networks, current NoC architectures are based on the store and forward of uncoordinated end-to-end packet transmissions through autonomous buffered routers. However, the monolithic nature and the small physical dimensions of on chip networks open up the opportunity for much more tightly controlled architectures. We present GANA, a new Global Arbiter NoC Architecture. In GANA, the transmission of end-to-end data is timed by a global arbiter in a way that avoids any queuing in the network. The arbitration takes into account the complete transfer of the end-to-end packets through the entire network path, avoiding any intermediate queuing and hop-by-hop packet arbitration. Consequently, buffers and arbiters are no longer required in the routers, resulting in smaller area and low power consumption. It is demonstrated through detailed design and synthesis that the additional area of the central arbiter and the control path are negligible in comparison to the provided area saving. For example, an 8× 8 GANA consumes only 16% of the area of an equivalent autonomous NoC while providing a better end-to-end throughput. The end-to-end performance of GANA at high network loads is typically much better than in a distributed-control NOC, because resource contention and queuing in the network are avoided. This comes at the cost of a few percentage increase in latency at light loads due to the additional arbitration phase. GANA architecture combines the inherent benefits of a network (parallelism and spatial reuse of links) with the inherent benefits of high integration (global view of the system state, central control, and synchronization). The scalability of GANA is evaluated analytically, showing that it can be superior to fully-distributed networks in systems up to a size of about 100 modules manufactured in 45nm technology, which can be used today as well as in the foreseeable future.
A network congestion-aware memory subsystem for manycore
Authors: Kim Dongki , Yoo Sungjoo , Lee Sunggu
Published: July 2013

The network-on-chip (NoC) plays a crucial role in memory performance due to the fact that it can handle the majority of traffics from/to the DRAM memory controllers. However, there has been little work on the interplay between the NoC and memory controllers. In this article, we address a problem called network congestion-induced memory blocking and propose a novel memory controller, which performs memory access scheduling and network entry control in a network congestion-aware manner. In case of network congestion, in order to avoid performance degradation due to the blocking caused by data bound for congested regions in the NoC, the proposed memory controller favors requests and data associated with uncongested regions. In addition, in order to avoid the fairness problem of such a policy, we also propose a gradual method, which enables a trade-off between performance (in memory utilization) and fairness (in memory access latency). Experimental results show that the proposed method can offer up to 1.76 ∼ 2.99 times improvement in memory utilization in the latency-tolerant designs.
Older-adult HCI
Authors: Moffatt Karyn
Published: July 2013

In this forum we celebrate research that helps to successfully bring the benefits of computing technologies to children, older adults, people with disabilities, and other populations that are often ignored in the design of mass-marketed products.

Juan Pablo Hourcade, Editor
A generalized tamper localization approach for reversible watermarking algorithms
Authors: Naskar Ruchira , Chakraborty Rajat Subhra
Published: July 2013

In general reversible watermarking algorithms, the convention is to reject the entire cover image at the receiver end if it fails authentication, since there is no way to detect the exact locations of tampering. This feature may be exploited by an adversary to bring about a form of DoS attack. Here we provide a solution to this problem in form of a tamper localization mechanism for reversible watermarking algorithms, which allows selective rejection of distorted cover image regions in case of authentication failure, thus avoiding rejection of the complete image. Additionally it minimizes the bandwidth requirement of the communication channel.
A self-similarity approach to repairing large dropouts of streamed music
Authors: Doherty Jonathan , Curran Kevin , Mckevitt Paul
Published: July 2013

Enjoyment of audio has now become about flexibility and personal freedom. Digital audio content can be acquired from many sources and wireless networking allows digital media devices and associated peripherals to be unencumbered by wires. However, despite recent improvements in capacity and quality of service, wireless networks are inherently unreliable communications channels for the streaming of audio, being susceptible to the effects of range, interference, and occlusion. This time-varying reliability of wireless audio transfer introduces data corruption and loss, with unpleasant audible effects that can be profound and prolonged in duration. Traditional communications techniques for error mitigation perform poorly and in a bandwidth inefficient manner in the presence of such large-scale defects in a digital audio stream. A novel solution that can complement existing techniques takes account of the semantics and natural repetition of music. Through the use of self-similarity metadata, missing or damaged audio segments can be seamlessly replaced with similar undamaged segments that have already been successfully received. We propose a technology to generate relevant self-similarity metadata for arbitrary audio material and to utilize this metadata within a wireless audio receiver to provide sophisticated and real-time correction of large-scale errors. The primary objectives are to match the current section of a song being received with previous sections while identifying incomplete sections and determining replacements based on previously received portions of the song. This article outlines our approach to Forward Error Correction (FEC) technology that is used to “repair” a bursty dropout when listening to time-dependent media on a wireless network. Using self-similarity analysis on a music file, we can “automatically” repair the dropout with a similar portion of the music already received thereby minimizing a listener's discomfort.
Regularities considered harmful
Authors: Park Heekwon , Baek Seungjae , Choi Jongmoo , Lee Donghee , Noh Sam H.
Published: July 2013

We propose a novel kernel-level memory allocator, called M
3
(M-cube, Multi-core Multi-bank Memory allocator), that has the following two features. First, it introduces and makes use of a notion of a memory container, which is defined as a unit of memory that comprises the minimum number of page frames that can cover all the banks of the memory organization, by exclusively assigning a container to a core so that each core achieves bank parallelism as much as possible. Second, it orchestrates page frame allocation so that pages that threads access are dispersed randomly across multiple banks so that each thread's access pattern is randomized. The development of M
3
is based on a tool that we develop to fully understand the architectural characteristics of the underlying memory organization. Using an extension of this tool, we observe that the same application that accesses pages in a random manner outperforms one that accesses pages in a regular pattern such as sequential or same ordered accesses. This is because such randomized accesses reduces inter-thread access interference on the row-buffer in memory banks. We implement M
3
in the Linux kernel version 2.6.32 on the Intel Xeon system that has 16 cores and 32GB DRAM. Performance evaluation with various workloads show that M
3
improves the overall performance for memory intensive benchmarks by up to 85% with an average of about 40%.
Cyrus
Authors: Honarmand Nima , Dautenhahn Nathan , Torrellas Josep , King Samuel T. , Pokam Gilles , Pereira Cristiano
Published: July 2013

Architectures for deterministic record-replay (R&R) of multithreaded code are attractive for program debugging, intrusion analysis, and fault-tolerance uses. However, very few of the proposed designs have focused on maximizing replay speed -- a key enabling property of these systems. The few efforts that focus on replay speed require intrusive hardware or software modifications, or target whole-system R&R rather than the more useful application-level R&R.

This paper presents the first hardware-based scheme for unintrusive, application-level R&R that explicitly targets high replay speed. Our scheme, called
Cyrus
, requires no modification to commodity snoopy cache coherence. It introduces the concept of an on-the-fly software Backend Pass during recording which, as the log is being generated, transforms it for high replay parallelism. This pass also fixes-up the log, and can flexibly trade-off replay parallelism for log size. We analyze the performance of Cyrus using full system (OS plus hardware) simulation. Our results show that Cyrus has negligible recording overhead. In addition, for 8-processor runs of SPLASH-2, Cyrus attains an average replay parallelism of 5, and a replay speed that is, on average, only about 50% lower than the recording speed.