bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Writer Identification Using Hand-Printed and Non-Hand-Printed Questioned Documents
Authors: Kam M , Lin E
Published: August 2015

Several federal district court judges have recently referred to the purported lack of information on the proficiency of forensic document examiners (FDEs) in identifying writers of hand-printed documents. In order to provide the necessary information, we have re-analyzed data on writer identification that were collected in 1996 from 90 forensic document examiners and 34 laypersons. These data were used previously to assess the proficiency of FDEs using handwritten documents in several different types of writing. In the new analysis we separated data on handprinted (HP) documents from data on non-hand-printed (NHP) documents and compiled error rates and statistics in each category. The main findings are: (1) whether or not the documents were hand-printed, the performance of FDEs was much better than that of laypersons; (2) statistical tests found no difference between the data provided by the FDEs in the HP and NHP categories; (3) statistical tests found no difference between the data provided by laypersons in the HP and NHP categories; and (4) statistical tests found differences between the data provided by the FDEs and the laypersons in both the HP and NHP categories. Similar results were obtained when hand-printed documents were compared to cursive documents and when cursive documents were compared to non-cursive documents. All the evidence indicates that in our proficiency test the performance of FDEs in writer identification was much better than the performance of laypersons in each one of the following document categories: (1) handprinted; (2) non-hand-printed; (3) cursive; and (4) non-cursive.
Homemade Battery-Operated Multi-barreled Muzzle-Loading Gun
Authors: Ramiah R , Thirunavukkarasu G
Published: August 2015

In a recent shootout by a terrorist group against a law enforcement agency, some unusual firearms were seized. On examination, these firearms were found to be homemade, battery-operated, multi-barreled muzzle-loading guns, analogous to a repeater. Reference to batteryoperated firearms is rather scanty in the literature. Hence, the unique design features, electrical circuit, and the operation system of these unusual guns are described.
Chemical Profiling of 3,4 Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) Tablets Seized in Hong Kong
Authors: Cheng W-C , Poon N-L , Chan M-F
Published: August 2015

During 2000-2001, the Government Laboratory of Hong Kong received over 600,000 ecstasy tablets in more than 2,600 cases. Using GC-MS or FTIR, the major amphetamine-type stimulants were identified, and the samples were categorized into four groups containing: (1) 3,4methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), (2) methamphetamine (MA), (3) 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), or (4) amphetamine. Our study revealed that in Hong Kong MDMA tablets have made up 98 and 71% of the total ecstasy tablets examined in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Among the MDMA cases, 613 cases involving a total of 123,776 tablets in 2001 were randomly selected, and their active ingredients, minor ingredients, and/or impurities were studied using GC-MS and HPLC. Based on the chemical profiles, and irrespective of their different physical characteristics, tablets obtained in different seizures could be determined as to whether or not they could have come from a common origin. The impurities detected in the MDMA tablets also served as excellent chemical markers from which plausible synthetic route(s) of the MDMA were inferred. Our study revealed that 3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl-2-propanone (MDP2P), 3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl-2-propanol (MDP), 3,4-methylenedioxy-Nmethylbenzylamine (MDB), piperonal and N-formyl-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (N-formyl-MDMA) were the most common impurities detected in MDMA tablets seized in Hong Kong. The finding of the phosphate salt of MDMA is intriguing. Based on a presumptive color test, spectroscopic data (FTIR/ESI-MS) and the percentage of MDMA content in a purified phosphate salt of MDMA, the ratio of the phosphate to MDMA was determined to be 1:1, suggesting that the compound is a dihydrogen phosphate salt [i.e. (HMDMA)H2PO4].
Virtopsy—Postmortem Multislice Computed Tomography (MSCT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in a Fatal Scuba Diving Incident
Authors: Plattner T , Thali MJ , Yen K , Sonnenschein M , Stoupis C , Vock P , Zwygart-Brugger K , Kilchor T , Dirnhofer R
Published: August 2015

The body of a 44-year-old scuba diver was examined using postmortem multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and findings were verified by subsequent autopsy. The goal was to find out whether the important pathomorphological findings for the reconstruction of events and the identification of cause and manner of death could be identified using modern digital cross-sectioning techniques. The findings of a massive vital decompression with pulmonary barotrauma and lethal gas embolism were identified in the radiological images. MSCT and MRI were superior to autopsy in the demonstration of the extent and distribution of gas accumulation in intraparenchymal blood vessels of internal organs as well as in areas of the body inaccessible by standard autopsy.
Distribution of HUMACTBP2 (SE33) Alleles in Three North American Populations
Authors: Reid TM , Ingala DA , Kraemer CM , Dage WM , Dieckhoner C , Fortman J , Hodge DM , Johnson KL , Oatman C , Schlotman H , Schuh C , Baird ML
Published: August 2015

DNA samples were isolated from unrelated individuals from References three North American populations: Black, Caucasian, and Hispanic, using a modified alkaline lysis method (1). The SE33 locus was amplified using the PowerPlex® ES Monoplex System, SE33 (Promega Corp., Madison, WI) according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Amplified DNA was analyzed with an ABI Prism 3100 Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA). Population data were analyzed for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (2) and other population parameters with DNA-View software, version 25.05 (3). The complete dataset is available upon request via e-mail from tmr@dnacenter.com.
Testing and Evaluation of a Slot and Tab Construction Technique for Light-Weight Wood-Fiber-Based Structural Panels Under Bending
Authors: Li Jinghao , Hunt John F. , Gong Shaoqin , Cai Zhiyong
Published: August 2015

This paper presented construction and strain distributions for light-weight wood-fiber-based structural panels with tri-grid core made from phenolic impregnated laminated paper composites under bending. A new fastening configuration of slots in the faces and tabs on the core was applied to the face/core interfaces of the sandwich panel in addition to epoxy resin. Both normal strain gages and shear strain gages were attached on these panels to analyze inside strain distributions by third point load bending test. The purpose of the bending test was to investigate the various strain distributions of panels with different face/core configurations that identified the critical failure modes for future design. In this research, four panels with different configurations were constructed to analyze the influence of strain distributions for bending behavior. Either maximum localized normal strain or shear strain were used to judge failures and associated failure modes through observation. Test results of strain distribution showed normal strain was primarily carried by both top and bottom faces. As bending load increased, compression buckling occurred on the top surface of some panels with thinner faces. Face thickness and stiffness significantly affected the strength of the panel as evident by nonlinear strain behavior. Meanwhile, the shear strain was primarily taken by the ribs in the structural core, and shear failure always occurred in the longitudinal linear ribs of core with thicker faces. The shear strain in the cross ribs was approximately half that of the longitudinal linear ribs in the same section of shear zone, which was consistent with the geometric formula. The problem of panel imperfections resulting in either face compression buckling or rib shear buckling could be overcome by further design optimization, and the analytical modeling for bending design and evaluation was presented.
Development of a New Device for Bending Fatigue Testing
Authors: Mokhtarnia B. , Layeghi M. , Rasouli S. H. , Soltangheis B.
Published: August 2015

This paper presented an original bending fatigue-testing setup for fatigue characterization of composite materials. A three point quasi-static setup was introduced that was capable of applying stress control load in different loading waveforms, frequencies, and stress ratios. This setup was equipped with computerized measuring instruments to evaluate fatigue damage mechanisms. A detailed description of its different parts and working features was given and dynamic analysis was done to verify functional accuracy of the device. Feasibility was validated successfully by conducting experimental fatigue tests.
Key Criteria for Evaluating the Green Performance of Ports
Authors: Liao Mao-Sheng , Ding Ji-Feng , Liang Gin-Shuh , Lee Kuo-Liang
Published: August 2015

The main purpose of this paper was to apply the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method to evaluate the key criteria of green performance of ports in Taiwan. After first constructing a hierarchical framework with 3 dimensions and 12 evaluation criteria based on the literature and views of scholars and industry experts, the AHP method was used to evaluate the key criteria based on the results of the AHP questionnaire. The results show that: (1) “hardware equipment” is the most important dimension when evaluating green performance of ports in Taiwan; (2) in order of importance, the top 6 key criteria for determining the green performance of ports were “low-pollution equipment,” “environmental quality monitoring facilities,” “port operating efficiency,” “environmental pollution emergency treatment capacity,” “efficiency of infrastructure linking to port” and “degree of carrier cooperation with the green port.” Furthermore, the study's results could provide a reference for evaluating green port competence for port operators in the future, as well as guidance to implementing a green port policy for port authority.
An Evaluation of Methodologies for Determining Delay Times in the Cone Calorimeter Fire Test
Authors: DiDomizio Matthew J. , Weckman Elizabeth J.
Published: August 2015

An important step in calibrating a cone calorimeter apparatus is the determination of gas delay times. Gas concentration measurements must be made simultaneously in time with the main combustion events and processes (i.e., ignition, changes in mass loss rate, smoke production, and observed phenomena) to produce accurate results from the test. The calibration methodology prescribed in ASTM E1354-14e1 does not specify direct measurement of the transit time of gases through the apparatus or the response time of the individual analyzers, instead estimating total delay time by relating the thermal lag in the stack thermocouple to the transient response of the gas analyzers. Other methods to account for gas delay times are used in practice, leading to varying opinions on the method that is most suitable for oxygen consumption calorimetry. Furthermore, studies have shown that analyzer delay times are not consistent test-to-test, but depend on both the characteristics of the gas analyzer and sampling system (gas transit time) and the rates of production or consumption of gaseous species during a particular test (analyzer response time). In the present work, a methodology was proposed for measuring analyzer delay times by injecting a gas mixture of known concentration into the cone calorimeter exhaust stream. Delay times were computed using various methods, including ASTM E1354 and gas injection, and were evaluated with a series of cone calorimeter tests on various materials. Gas delay times determined by the ASTM E1354 method were found to produce inconsistent results for the cone calorimeter used in this study; results were significantly improved when alternative criteria were applied to the method. The square wave method was found to produce very good results for specimens with heat release rates greater than 3 kW; however, delay times in carbon monoxide production were not well represented. The gas injection method was found to produce excellent results, closely tracking oxygen consumption, carbon monoxide production, and carbon dioxide production in time, and as a result, the derived heat release rate coincided with observed events.
Applied Variable Neighborhood Search-Based Approach to Solve Two-Stage Supply Chain Scheduling Problems
Authors: Chang Yung-Chia , Chang Kuei-Hu , Kang Tien-Chi
Published: August 2015

When a company uses a make-to-order or direct-order business model, it needs to keep a low finished goods inventory level to be competitive. However, a low inventory level will cause the company to have little buffer to face the unforeseeable demand surge, which strengthens the close relationship between the stage of production and distribution. This paper probes an integrated production and distribution scheduling problem in which jobs are first produced by a set of unrelated parallel machines and then directly distributed to the corresponding customers by vehicles with limited capacity, with no inventory kept at the production stage. The objective is to find a joint production and distribution schedule such that the total cost, considering both customer service level and total distribution cost, is minimized. This paper integrated the earliest available machine first (EAMF) and variable neighborhood search (VNS) to solve the two-stage scheduling problem and used EAMF, which considers the load of the unrelated parallel machine to generate a set of production schedules to be systematically optimized by VNS, along with optimized routing, and applied a shaking mechanism of VNS to escape from the local optimal solution. The results of the computational experiments showed that the proposed method is better than ant colony optimization (ACO) heuristic methods in the computation time and solution quality.
Evaluation of Austenite Phase in High-Carbon Steels by Ultrasonic Longitudinal Velocity
Authors: Khan S. H. , Khan A. Nusair
Published: August 2015

Retained austenite is a remnant product that may induce significant changes in mechanical properties of the steel. Consequently, accurate and economical measurement of retained austenite is very important. In this regard, specimens of AISI-440C and AISI-A2 steels were austenized at different temperatures ranging from 950°C to 1250°C and then air cooled. This led to major microstructural changes in these specimens. These changes were characterized by using x-ray diffraction techniques, optical and electron microscopy, Rockwell hardness testing, and ultrasonic flaw detectors. This study revealed that there is a good correlation exists between austenite phase and the longitudinal velocity. The magnitude of longitudinal velocity can be used to obtain reliable, quick, and quantitative determination of the volume percentage of the austenite phase present on production floor with relative ease, and less destructive, as compared to other methods.
Digital Implementation of Neuro-Fuzzy System for Image Processing Functions
Authors: Elloumi Manel , Krid Mohamed , Masmoudi Dorra Sellami
Published: August 2015

This paper described a hardware implementation approach of a new neuro-fuzzy system (NFS). The main idea was to exploit the powerful means of the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system with respect to function approximation, making possible the implementation of reconfigurable hardware with on-chip learning. Different image processing tasks could be achieved based on a back-propagation (BP) learning algorithm. The complexity of this kind of implementation made the pulse mode an attractive solution. Such a technique provided higher integration density through its compactness. Details of the proposed design with on-chip learning were given. As application, illustrating the efficiency and scalability of the proposed NFS, we considered the approximation of image edge detection, which is a very important step in image processing. The proposed system provided efficient learning and good generalization results for different image categories (uniform, synthetic with texture, and natural images). Moreover, the efficiency of our proposed system versus other approaches was demonstrated. Design synthesis results on a Virtex-5 field programmable gate array (FPGA) platform were presented, proving that the implemented NFS provided the best compromise between compactness, speed, and accuracy compared to previous work in the literature.
Degradation Behavior of BaTiO3 Dielectrics for MLCCs by an Accelerated Life Test With Voltage and Temperature Stress Factors
Authors: Kim Juyoung , Lee Seung-Hwan , Yoon Jung-Rag , Van Tyne Chester J. , Ohk Ki-Yool , Lee Heesoo
Published: August 2015

An accelerated life test (ALT) was designed under voltage and temperature stresses using 1005 type multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) based Ni-BaTiO3, and failure analysis was also conducted to compare the individual stress. The inverse power and Arrhenius models were applied to the voltage and temperature accelerated tests, respectively, and times to failure (TTF) of MLCCs under individual stress were measured. The stress–life relation was plotted from obtained life data, and characteristic life (B63.5) was calculated at the same condition of 130°C and 3 times rated voltage. B63.5 under the voltage stress was 15.91 min and that of the temperature stress was 17.23 min. It was determined that the voltage stress had more influence on the degradation of insulation resistance for MLCCs. As a result of an analysis of the chemical bonding state from the dielectric ceramic and inner electrodes, according to increase in the stresses, the binding energy of Ti 2p3/2 and Ni 2p3/2 peak changed, which generated oxygen vacancies. These oxygen vacancies accelerated the degradation under the high-voltage stress, caused the reduction of the BaTiO3 ceramic and oxidation of the Ni electrode, and consequently decreased the insulation resistance.
Terbium-Doped SrCoO3 as a New Cathode Material for IT–SOFC
Authors: Ma Pengcheng , Liu Tao , Yu Jingkun
Published: August 2015

Cathode materials consisting of Sr1–xTbxCoO3–δ (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) were prepared from a stoichiometric mixture of SrCO3, Co3O4, and Tb4O7 for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT–SOFCs). The crystal structure of Sr0.9Tb0.1CoO3–δ was defined in the cubic Pm–3 m space group (No. 221), and Sr0.8Tb0.2CoO3–δ and Sr0.7Tb0.3CoO3–δ had a tetragonal I4/mmm structure. The electrical conductivity values were all higher than 407 S · cm−1 for T ≥ 500°C. The area specific resistances (ASRs) and its activation energy (Ea) increased with increasing x. The oxygen vacancies and the thermal expansion coefficients (TECs) decreased with increasing x. The TECs were influenced by the concentration of oxygen vacancies and the transition of the Co3+ ions from a low-spin to a high-spin state. The cathodes exhibited porosity microstructure and good adhesion to solid electrolyte. Sr0.9Tb0.1CoO3–δ had the best cathode characteristics and the most stable performance.
The Effective Thermal Conductivity of Water Based Nanofluids at Different Temperatures
Authors: Srinivas T. , Venu Vinod A.
Published: August 2015

Three types of Al2O3/water, CuO/water, and TiO2/water nanofluids were prepared by dispersing nanoparticles in water. A surfactant (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)) was used to improve the dispersion of nanoparticles and suppress the formation of particle clusters to obtain stable suspensions. The effective thermal conductivity was measured using a thermal property analyzer. The addition of a surfactant did not have any effect on the thermal conductivity. The effect of nanoparticle particle concentration (0.3, 0.6, 1, 1.5, and 2 wt. %) at four nanofluid temperatures (40, 45, 50, and 60°C) was investigated. Results indicated that the thermal conductivity increased with increases in particle concentration and temperature. Two models (linear and nonlinear) were developed to predict the thermal conductivity.
Approximation Algorithms of Crack Growth Rate Curve Based on Crack Size Variations
Authors: Savkin A. N. , Andronik A. V. , Koraddi R.
Published: August 2015

Procedures for obtaining da/dN-ΔK curve on the basis of empirical a-N data were shown. Estimating approaches of crack growth rates for constant, block, variable amplitude, and similar loading were given. Computational methods of equivalent load range ΔPeqv, required for ΔK approximation in case of variable amplitude loading and plotting of a da/dN-ΔK chart, were presented. Advantages and disadvantages of suggested methods were also described. The application of approximation methods for da/dN-ΔK curve determination was imposed in case of constant amplitude loading and for modified SAESUS loading.
Using Systematic Innovation Process to Improve the Manufacturing Technology of Platelet Agitators
Authors: Hsia T. C. , Chen S. C. , Tsai R. K. , Huang S. C.
Published: August 2015

This research took part in the research and development (R&D) and manufacturing processes of platelet agitator instruments at the W-ESPR Technology Company. First, two measurement indexes, the hazard probability and hazard severity, were used to evaluate all possible hazardous events drawn from ISO 14971 (the quality management of medical devices regulations) in the R&D and manufacturing processes. All possible hazardous events were then sifted to find potential hazardous events. Second, these two measurement indexes were combined into a complex risk index to identify the key hazardous events from the potential hazardous events. Third, this study then used the contradiction matrix theory of TRIZ to search for problem solutions for the key hazardous events. Finally, the Taguchi quality engineering method was used as a reference for imported platelet agitators to solve the key hazardous events. Using the systematic procedure proposed in this research, W-ESPR Technology Company developed high quality platelet agitators which were adopted by the Taiwan Blood Donation Center.
MANAGEMENT OF ENDOCRINE DISEASE: Outcome of adrenal sparing surgery in heritable pheochromocytoma
Authors: Castinetti F , Taieb D , Henry J F , Walz M , Guerin C , Brue T , Conte-Devolx B , Neumann H P H , Sebag F
Published: August 2015

The management of hereditary pheochromocytoma has drastically evolved in the last 20 years. Bilateral pheochromocytoma does not increase mortality in MEN2 or von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) mutation carriers who are followed regularly, but these mutations induce major morbidities if total bilateral adrenalectomy is performed. Cortical sparing adrenal surgery may be proposed to avoid definitive adrenal insufficiency. The surgical goal is to leave sufficient cortical tissue to avoid glucocorticoid replacement therapy. This approach was achieved by the progressive experience of minimally invasive surgery via the transperitoneal or retroperitoneal route. Cortical sparing adrenal surgery exhibits <5% significant recurrence after 10 years of follow-up and normal glucocorticoid function in more than 50% of the cases. Therefore, cortical sparing adrenal surgery should be systematically considered in the management of all patients with MEN2 or VHL hereditary pheochromocytoma. Hereditary pheochromocytoma is a rare disease, and a randomized trial comparing cortical sparing vs classical adrenalectomy is probably not possible. This lack of data most likely explains why cortical sparing surgery has not been adopted in most expert centers that perform at least 20 procedures per year for the treatment of this disease. This review examined recent data to provide insight into the technique, its indications, and the results and subsequent follow-up in the management of patients with hereditary pheochromocytoma with a special emphasis on MEN2.
Enhanced intestinal epithelial cell proliferation in diabetic rats correlates with β-catenin accumulation
Authors: Dorfman Tatiana , Pollak Yulia , Sohotnik Rima , Coran Arnold G , Bejar Jacob , Sukhotnik Igor
Published: August 2015

The Wnt/β-catenin signaling cascade is implicated in the control of stem cell activity, cell proliferation, and cell survival of the gastrointestinal epithelium. Recent evidence indicates that the Wnt/β-catenin pathway is activated under diabetic conditions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling during diabetes-induced enteropathy in a rat model. Male rats were divided into three groups: control rats received injections of vehicle; diabetic rats received injections of one dose of streptozotocin (STZ); and diabetic–insulin rats received injections of STZ and were treated with insulin given subcutaneously at a dose of 1 U/kg twice daily. Rats were killed on day 7. Wnt/β-catenin-related genes and expression of proteins was determined using real-time PCR, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Among 13 genes identified by real-time PCR, seven genes were upregulated in diabetic rats compared with control animals including the target genes c-Myc and Tcf4. Diabetic rats also showed a significant increase in β-catenin protein compared with control animals. Treatment of diabetic rats attenuated the stimulating effect of diabetes on intestinal cell proliferation and Wnt/β-catenin signaling. In conclusion, enhanced intestinal epithelial cell proliferation in diabetic rats correlates with β-catenin accumulation.
Adrenocortical LDL receptor function negatively influences glucocorticoid output
Authors: van der Sluis Ronald J , Van Eck Miranda , Hoekstra Menno
Published: August 2015

Over 50% of the cholesterol needed by adrenocortical cells for the production of glucocorticoids is derived from lipoproteins. However, the overall contribution of the different lipoproteins and associated uptake pathways to steroidogenesis remains to be determined. Here we aimed to show the importance of LDL receptor (LDLR)-mediated cholesterol acquisition for adrenal steroidogenesisin vivo. Female total body LDLR knockout mice with a human-like lipoprotein profile were bilaterally adrenalectomized and subsequently provided with one adrenal either expressing or genetically lacking the LDLR under their renal capsule to solely modulate adrenocortical LDLR function. Plasma total cholesterol levels and basal plasma corticosterone levels were identical in the two types of adrenal transplanted mice. Strikingly, restoration of adrenal LDLR function significantly reduced the ACTH-mediated stimulation of adrenal steroidogenesis (P<0.001), with plasma corticosterone levels that were respectively 44–59% lower (P<0.01) as compared to adrenal LDLR negative controls. In addition, LDLR positive adrenal transplanted mice exhibited a significant decrease (−39%;P<0.001) in their plasma corticosterone level under fasting stress conditions. Biochemical analysis did not show changes in the expression of genes involved in cholesterol mobilization. However, LDLR expressing adrenal transplants displayed a marked 62% reduction (P<0.05) in the transcript level of the key steroidogenic enzyme HSD3B2. In conclusion, our studies in a mouse model with a human-like lipoprotein profile provide the firstin vivoevidence for a novel inhibitory role of the LDLR in the control of adrenal glucocorticoid production.
Hepatic insulin resistance and increased hepatic glucose production in mice lacking Fgf21
Authors: Camporez João Paulo G , Asrih Mohamed , Zhang Dongyan , Kahn Mario , Samuel Varman T , Jurczak Michael J , Jornayvaz François R
Published: August 2015

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is an important regulator of hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism and represents a potential pharmacological agent for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Mice fed a ketogenic diet (KD) develop hepatic insulin resistance in association with high levels of FGF21, suggesting a state of FGF21 resistance. To address the role of FGF21 in hepatic insulin resistance, we assessed insulin action in FGF21 whole-body knock-out (FGF21 KO) male mice and their littermate WT controls fed a KD. Here, we report that FGF21 KO mice have hepatic insulin resistance and increased hepatic glucose production associated with an increase in plasma glucagon levels. FGF21 KO mice are also hypometabolic and display increased fat mass compared with their WT littermates. Taken together, these findings support a major role of FGF21 in regulating energy expenditure and hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism, and its potential role as a candidate in the treatment of diseases associated with insulin resistance.
IMonitor: A Robust Pipeline for TCR and BCR Repertoire Analysis
Authors: Zhang Wei , Du Yuanping , Su Zheng , Wang Changxi , Zeng Xiaojing , Zhang Ruifang , Hong Xueyu , Nie Chao , Wu Jinghua , Cao Hongzhi , Xu Xun , Liu Xiao
Published: August 2015

The advance of next generation sequencing (NGS) techniques provides an unprecedented opportunity to probe the enormous diversity of the immune repertoire by deep sequencing T-cell receptors (TCRs) and B-cell receptors (BCRs). However, an efficient and accurate analytical tool is still on demand to process the huge amount of data. We have developed a high-resolution analytical pipeline, Immune Monitor (“IMonitor”) to tackle this task. This method utilizes realignment to identify V(D)J genes and alleles after common local alignment. We compare IMonitor with other published tools by simulated and public rearranged sequences, and it demonstrates its superior performance in most aspects. Together with this, a methodology is developed to correct the PCR and sequencing errors and to minimize the PCR bias among various rearranged sequences with different V and J gene families. IMonitor provides general adaptation for sequences from all receptor chains of different species and outputs useful statistics and visualizations. In the final part of this article, we demonstrate its application on minimal residual disease detection in patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In summary, this package would be of widespread usage for immune repertoire analysis.
Privacy in Participatory Research: Advancing Policy to support Human Computation
Authors: Bowser-Livermore Anne , Wiggins Andrea
Published: August 2015

Citizen science and participatory sensing are two models of human computation in which participant privacy is a key concern. Technological safeguards are important but partial solutions; a full and accurate description of policies explaining privacy practices must also be present so volunteers can make informed decisions regarding participation. Our study surveyed the policies of 30 participatory research projects to establish how privacy-related policies were presented, and how they aligned with actual practices. This paper contributes a description of the privacy-related elements of policies evident in these projects. We found that while the majority of projects demonstrated some understanding of the need for policies, many hosted incomplete policies or inaccurately described practices. We discuss the implications for project management, design, and research or operational policy, both for projects that self-categorize as citizen science or participatory sensing, and for the larger field of human computation. We conclude by proposing a set of Ethical Practices for Participatory Research Design as guidelines to inform the development of policies and the design of technologies supporting participatory research.
Home is Where the Lab is: A Comparison of Online and Lab Data From a Time-sensitive Study of Interruption
Authors: Gould Sandy J J , Cox Anna L , Brumby Duncan P , Wiseman Sarah
Published: August 2015

While experiments have been run online for some time with positive results, there are still outstanding questions about the kinds of tasks that can be successfully deployed to remotely situated online participants. Some tasks, such as menu selection, have worked well but these do not represent the gamut of tasks that interest HCI researchers. In particular, we wondered whether long-lasting, time-sensitive tasks that require continuous concentration could work successfully online, given the confounding effects that might accompany the online deployment of such a task. We ran an archetypal interruption experiment both online and in the lab to investigate whether studies demonstrating such characteristics might be more vulnerable to a loss of control than the short, time-insensitive studies that are representative of the majority of previous online studies. Statistical comparisons showed no significant differences in performance on a number of dimensions. However, there were issues with data quality that stemmed from participants misunderstanding the task. Our findings suggest that long-lasting experiments using time-sensitive performance measures can be run online but that care must be taken when introducing participants to experimental procedures.
Crowdsourcing the mapping problem for design space exploration of custom reconfigurable architecture designs
Authors: Sistla Anil Kumar , Patel Krunalkumar , Mehta Gayatri
Published: August 2015

One of the grand challenges in the design of portable/wearable electronics is to achieve optimal efficiency and flexibility in a tiny low power package. Coarse grained reconfigurable architectures (CGRAs) hold great promise for low power, high performance, and flexible designs for a domain of applications. CGRAs are very promising due to the ability to highly customize such architectures to an application domain. However, greater customization makes the mapping of applications onto these architectures very challenging. Good tools and fast, effective mapping algorithms are needed to support design space exploration for CGRAs. In particular, the mapping problem has been difficult to solve in a satisfying and general way. In this paper, we present an architectural design flow using crowdsourcing to provide mappings of benchmarks onto new architectures. We show that the crowd can provide high quality, reliable mappings, significantly outperforming our custom Simulated Annealing algorithm in almost all cases. We further show that the crowd can provide other types of feedback that are difficult to obtain from an automatic mapping algorithm. Our proof of concept cross-architectural study supports an 8Way or 4Way1Hop architecture as a top choice, concludes that a custom modification that constrains inputs and outputs consumes less energy but requires more area than its less constrained counterpart, and suggests that Stripe architectures are interesting to consider because they perform nearly as well as our mesh variants and may present a more straightforward mapping problem for the crowd or an automatic mapping algorithm.
Crowds of Crowds: Performance based Modeling and Optimization over Multiple Crowdsourcing Platforms
Authors: Bhattacharya Sakyajit , Celis Laura Elisa , Chander Deepthi , Dasgupta Koustuv , Karanam Saraschandra , Rajan Vaibhav
Published: August 2015

The dynamic nature of crowdsourcing platforms poses interesting problems for users who wish to schedule large batches of tasks on these platforms. Of particular interest is that of scheduling the right number of tasks with the right price at the right time, in order to achieve the best performance with respect to accuracy and completion time. Research results, however, have shown that the performance exhibited by online platforms are both dynamic and largely unpredictable. This is primarily attributed to the fact that, unlike a traditional organizational workforce, a crowd platform is inherently composed of a dynamic set of workers with varying performance characteristics. Thus, any effort to optimize the performance needs to be complemented by a deep understanding and robust techniques to model the behaviour of the underlying platform(s). To this end, the research in this paper studies the above interrelated facets of crowdsourcing in two parts. The first part comprises the aspects of manual and automated statistical modeling of the crowd-workers' performance; the second part deals with optimization via intelligent scheduling over multiple platforms. %based on simulation testbed generated by the statistical models.Detailed experimentation with competing techniques, under varying operating conditions, validate the efficacy of our proposed algorithms while posting tasks either on a single crowd platform or multiple platforms. Our research has led to the development of a platform recommendation tool that is now being used by a large enterprise for performance optimization of voluminous crowd tasks.
Selye János, a kreativitás és eredetiség nagymestere
Authors: Somogyi Árpád
Published: August 2015

Hans Selye, the father of the stress concept, was a giant of science of the twentieth century. Beyond his best-known work on stress, he also made several discoveries on various other fields of experimental medicine. He described and characterized various pluricausal diseases. In addition, he made pivotal contributions to the broad field of endocrinology, especially to the classification of steroids and to our better understanding of their mode of action. He developed surgical technics and experimental animal models suitable for studying the pathogenesis and prevention of human diseases. Selye was an extremely well educated, highly intelligent and disciplined individual, an original and creative scientist, an outstanding teacher, a philosopher, a prolific author, a fabulous communicator and a gifted organizer successfully establishing, developing and managing a major academic research institution, the word-famous Institute of Experimental Medicine and Surgery of the University of Montreal. Orv. Hetil., 2015, 156(35), 1396–1401.
A kinureninrendszer és a stressz
Authors: Majláth Zsófia , Vécsei László
Published: August 2015

The kynurenine pathway is the main route of tryptophan degradation which gives rise to several neuroactive metabolites. Kynurenic acid is an endogenous antagonist of excitatory receptors, which proved to be neuroprotective in the preclinical settings. Kynurenines have been implicated in the neuroendocrine regulatory processes. Stress induces several alterations in the kynurenine metabolism and this process may contribute to the development of stress-related pathological processes. Irritable bowel disease and gastric ulcer are well-known disorders which are related to psychiatric comorbidity and stress. In experimental conditions kynurenic acid proved to be beneficial by reducing inflammatory processes and normalizing microcirculation in the bowel. Further investigations are needed to better understand the relations of stress and the kynurenines, with the aim of developing novel therapeutic tools for stress-related pathologies. Orv. Hetil., 2015, 156(35), 1402–1405.
Egy „furcsa ember” – Selye Jánosról magyar kapcsolatainak tükrében
Authors: Szabó Katalin
Published: August 2015

Hans Selye made a great impact on the Hungarian medical, scientific and public life. His first Hungarian publication about the alarm-reaction appeared 1938 in the Orvosi Hetilap. His Hungarian relationship was quite extensive after the war as he published, gave lectures, and accepted Hungarian students for specialized training in his Canadian institute saw. The rich documents in archives about Selye are currently being processed and those will surely shed light on Selye’s life in further details. Orv. Hetil., 2015, 156(35), 1436–1440.
Szteroidok: A glükokortikoidok élettani és gyógyszertani hatásai
Authors: Zelena Dóra , Makara B. Gábor
Published: August 2015

Glucocorticoids are widely used in medical practice mainly for suppression of the immune system. According to Selye – who named them – the endogenous molecules are very important for the adaptation to challenges, stress. They were synthesized in the 1940s. Since then numerous data have been published about their production (also locally in several organs), transportation (primarily cortisol-binding globulin) and receptors (nuclear and non-genomic effects). Although glucocorticoids are primarily under the control of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, several other molecules (especially catecholamines) may also increase their secretion. Their permissive influences are dominant, thereby they are indispensable for the effect of numerous other molecules. Thus, glucocorticoids have very diverse influence from metabolism through cardiovascular effect to bone-metabolism, affecting even the central nervous system. They are also important in metabolic syndrome. Their extensive therapeutic usage are limited by side-effects, which could be diminished – among others – with concomitant usage of the anabolic dehydroepiandrosterone. Orv. Hetil., 2015, 156(35), 1415–1425.
A fekélybetegség és a stressz
Authors: Herszényi László , Juhász Márk , Mihály Emese , Tulassay Zsolt
Published: August 2015

The discovery that Helicobacter pylori infection is the major cause of peptic ulcer disease revolutionised our views on the etiology and treatment of the disease. This discovery has tempted many experts to conclude that psychological factors and, specifically, stress are unimportant. However, Helicobacter pylori infection alone does not explain fully the incidence and prevalence of peptic ulcer disease. It has been demonstrated that stress can cause peptic ulcer disease even in the absence of Helicobacter pylori infection, supporting a multicausal model of peptic ulcer etiology. Psychological stress among other risk factors can function as a cofactor with Helicobacter pylori infection. Orv. Hetil., 2015, 156(35), 1426–1429.
A stressz és a fertilitás
Authors: Ősapay György , Ősapay Klára
Published: August 2015

In Western countries, sperm quality and fertility of men significantly worsened. Female infertility does not show a better trend either. Subtle defects in the reproductive functions can not be explained by the current methods, and “unexplained infertility” is becoming a more common diagnosis. Every year 1 million couples seek expensive and time consuming fertility treatment in the world. Deeper understanding of an unhealthy lifestyle and the environmental damages may lead to personalized treatments to increase the chance of conception.The effects of various stressors on the male and female reproductive performance were scientifically substantiated by Selye and coworkers in 1976. Cognitive therapy methods can be applied against emotional stressors, supplementation by antioxidants against reactive oxygen compounds, and administration of vitamins and trace elements, especially when deficiency is found, may help before medical intervention on a rational and economical way in the fight against infertility. Orv. Hetil., 2015, 156(35), 1430–1434.
A szteroidok elnevezése, felosztása és az emberi stresszfekélyek. Selye János 70 éve megjelent történelmi jelentőségű cikkei
Authors: Szabó Sándor , Gyires Klára
Published: August 2015

The name of Hans Selye is mostly known worldwide as the discoverer of stress reaction. Yet, he made numerous other seminal and clinically relevant discoveries. Namely, since he had a focused research on steroid hormones originating from the adrenal cortex that play a crucial role in stress response, he was the first who introduced about 70 years ago the first classification of steroids that is still valid nowadays. This is based on three objective facts: (a) the names of steroid groups are identical with their organ of origin (e.g., corticoids from the adrenal cortex, testoids/androgens from the testis); (b) chemical structures of the steroids are identical within a group (e.g., all corticoids have pregnane nucleus with 21 carbon atoms); and (c) the biological effects are homogenous within a group (e.g., all glucocorticoids exert catabolic effect, while androgens are anabolic). It should be emphasized that Selye also discovered in animal models the pro-inflammmatory effect of mineralocorticoids and the anti-inflammatory properties of glucocorticoids, about 8–10 years before Nobel Prize was awarded to a physician for the first clinical use of adrenocorticotrop hormone and cortisone. Last, but not least, Selye was the first who recognized about 70 years ago the occurence of stress ulcers in humans, based on clinical reports on the huge increase in the number of perforated gastric anti-duodenal ulcers during bombings of London in World War II. The subsequent ulcer research by Selye`s former students and their contemporaries resulted in the recognition of anti-duodenal ulcer effect of dopamine, and the central gastroprotective actions of thyreotrop releasing hormone and endogenous opioids. Thus, Hans Selye made much more contributions to medical science and clinical practice than ‘just’ the discoverer of biologic stress response. Orv. Hetil., 2015, 156(35), 1406–1414.
Abdominal macrochaetae of female Hylesia oratex Dyar, 1913 (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Saturniidae): external morphology and medical significance
Authors: BRITO ROSÂNGELA , SPECHT ALEXANDRE , A. FILHO WILSON S. , FRONZA EDEGAR , MIELKE CARLOS G.C.
Published: August 2015

The representatives of the genus Hylesia Hübner, [1820] are significant among the medically important Lepidoptera. Adult females use abdominal setae to wrap and protect the eggs that remain for months in nature. These setae, in contact with human skin, may cause allergic reactions including swelling, itching and local erythema, known as lepidopterism. The morphology of the abdominal scales and setae from the female H. oratex Dyar, 1913 is herein described and aspects related to their medical significance are discussed. Portions of each abdominal segment were examined through a scanning electron microscope. Two types of scales without medical importance, and two types of setae with medical importance, classified as "true setae" and "modified setae" were found. The true setae, which are slightly fusiform and have radially arranged lateral projections, are responsible for the allergic reactions caused by skin penetration. The modified setae, which are larger, curved, with the median enlarged and serrated margins, can be responsible for the release of chemical substances. This information provides a better understanding of the structure of the urticating setae, which are responsible for lepidopterism outbreaks in humans, and contributes towards the identification of the moth species involved.
Zircon ages delimit the provenance of a sand extrudite from the Botucatu Formation in the Paraná volcanic province, Iraí, Brazil
Authors: PINTO VITER M. , HARTMANN LÉO A. , SANTOS JOÃO O.S. , MCNAUGHTON NEAL J.
Published: August 2015

Ion microprobe age determinations of 102 detrital zircon crystals from a sand extrudite, Cretaceous Paraná volcanic province, set limits on the origin of the numerous sand layers present in this major flood basalt province. The zircon U-Pb ages reflect four main orogenic cycles: Mesoproterozoic (1155-962 Ma), latest Proterozoic-early Cambrian (808-500 Ma) and two Palaeozoic (Ordovician- 480 to 450 Ma, and Permian to Lower Triassic- 296 to 250 Ma). Two additional small concentrations are present in the Neoarchean (2.8 to 2.6 Ga) and Paleoproterozoic (2.0 to 1.7 Ga). Zircon age peaks closely match the several pulses of igneous activity in the Precambrian Brazilian Shield and active orogeny in Argentina. A main delimitation of the origin of the sand is the absence of zircon ages from the underlying Cretaceous basalts, thus supporting an injectite origin of the sand as an extrudite that emanated from the paleoerg that constitutes the Botucatu Formation.
A new qualitative proof of a result on the real jacobian conjecture
Authors: BRAUN FRANCISCO , LLIBRE JAUME
Published: August 2015

Let F= (f, g) : R2 → R2be a polynomial map such that det DF(x) is different from zero for all x∈ R2. We assume that the degrees of fand gare equal. We denote by the homogeneous part of higher degree of f and g, respectively. In this note we provide a proof relied on qualitative theory of differential equations of the following result: If do not have real linear factors in common, then F is injective.