bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Critique of Wierzbicka's Theory of Cultural Scripts: The Case of IfalukFago
Authors: Quinn Naomi
Published: May 2015

The linguist Anna Wierzbicka casts linguistic meaning in terms ofcultural scripts, which she constructs from a short list of 60 or so conceptual primes, each with a grammar, deemed basic to human language, in the sense that these occur in all languages. I focus on the Ifaluk Islander lexemefago, for which she has published such a script, and which I have also analyzed in another context. I argue that her script forfagodoes not adequately capture its meaning. Instead, I show, a culturally adequate definition of this emotion term cannot be founded on metalinguistics but must incorporate relevant nonlinguistic experience pertaining to the domain in question—in the case offago, early attachment and the cultural defenses that emerge in response to it. My analysis offagois compatible with a theory of cultural meaning as susceptible to considerable cross‐cultural variability while constrained by shared features of human neurobiology in combination with common features of the world in which humans all live.
In vivo study for the discrimination of cancerous and normal skin using fibre probe‐based Raman spectroscopy
Authors: Schleusener Johannes , Gluszczynska Patrycja , Reble Carina , Gersonde Ingo , Helfmann Jürgen , Fluhr Joachim W. , Lademann Jürgen , Röwert‐Huber Joachim , Patzelt Alexa , Meinke Martina C.
Published: May 2015

Raman spectroscopy has proved its capability as an objective, non‐invasive tool for the detection of various melanoma and non‐melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) in a number of studies. Most publications are based on a Raman microspectroscopic ex vivo approach. In this in vivo clinical evaluation, we apply Raman spectroscopy using a fibre‐coupled probe that allows access to a multitude of affected body sites. The probe design is optimized for epithelial sensitivity, whereby a large part of the detected signal originates from within the epidermal layer's depth down to the basal membrane where early stages of skin cancer develop. Data analysis was performed on measurements of 104 subjects scheduled for excision of lesions suspected of being malignant melanoma (MM) (n = 36), basal cell carcinoma (BCC) (n = 39) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (n = 29). NMSC were discriminated from normal skin with a balanced accuracy of 73% (BCC) and 85% (SCC) using partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS‐DA). Discriminating MM and pigmented nevi (PN) resulted in a balanced accuracy of 91%. These results lie within the range of comparable in vivo studies and the accuracies achieved by trained dermatologists using dermoscopy. Discrimination proved to be unsuccessful between cancerous lesions and suspicious lesions that had been histopathologically verified as benign by dermoscopy.
Low mortality from intracranial haemorrhage in paediatric patients with haemophilia
Authors: Witmer C. M.
Published: May 2015

Introduction

Intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) in patients with haemophilia has an estimated mortality rate of 20%. Advances in haemophilia care have significantly reduced many bleeding complications but it is unclear if these advances have impacted mortality from ICH.

Aim

To determine the in‐hospital mortality from intracranial ICH in paediatric patients with haemophilia.

Methods

This retrospective multicentre cohort study utilized the Pediatric Health Information System administrative database with data from 43 paediatric tertiary care hospitals in the United States from January 1, 2002–December 31, 2011. Subjects included were male < 21 years of age with an ICD‐9‐CM code for haemophilia A or B. ICH events were identified using ICD‐9‐CM codes.

Results

There were 8325 admissions for 3133 male subjects with haemophilia. About 271 (3.3%) admissions had an ICH event in 236 (7.5%) individual subjects. The proportion of ICH events was stable over time (P = 0.13). The median age of ICH was 2 years (interquartile range 0.6–7.3). In 28.4% (77/271) of the ICH events the subject had an inhibitor. Twenty‐one deaths occurred in the entire cohort (0.7%). Six (28.6%) of these deaths were in patients with an ICH for an ICH mortality rate of 2.5% (6/236).

Conclusions

Mortality from ICH in paediatric patients has significantly improved from prior estimates of 20% to the current estimate of 2.5%. Unfortunately the rate of ICH events remains constant and further efforts are needed to identify alternative strategies of prevention.
Usefulness of sonourethrography for penile abscess as a result of xanthogranulomatous granuloma in the corpus cavernosum of an adult: A case report
Authors: Minagawa Tomonori , Kato Haruaki , Ogawa Teruyuki , Uehara Takeshi , Ishizuka Osamu
Published: May 2015

A 75‐year‐old man presented with a 4‐month history of a swollen and painful penis. Computed tomography showed a round‐shaped mass measuring 3 × 2 cm in the corpus cavernosum. Percutaneous drainage of the penile mass was carried out and a course of antibiotics was prescribed. Viral, fungal and selective bacterial cultures were negative. Total penectomy and urethroperineal fistula formation were carried out because of penile pain. Histopathological diagnosis was xanthogranulomatous granuloma of the corpus cavernosum. Before surgery, sonourethrography was carried out under general anesthesia. Sonourethrography is an infrequently used modality to observe the male urethra under urinary micturition or injection of saline. We previously reported modified sonourethrography with retrograde jelly injection. In the present case, sonourethrography successfully showed the damaged and deformed urethra including the abscess cavity and fistula. Although xanthogranulomatous granuloma is rare, the findings reported here showed the usefulness of sonourethrography for morphological evaluation of the male urethra.
Prospective outcomes in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease presenting to hospital: a generalisable clinical audit
Authors: Soltani A. , Reid D. , Wills K. , Walters E. H.
Published: May 2015

Background and aim

To determine predictors of short‐ and long‐term outcomes in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (AECOPD) presenting to hospital.

Methods

A prospective clinical audit of AECOPD attendances to the only public acute general hospital in Southern Tasmania, Australia. Out of 416 attendances with AECOPD to the emergency department (ED) between November 2006 and July 2008, 150 patients with 218 attendances were followed to March 2009. Predictors of hospital admission from ED, in‐hospital death, length of hospital stay, post‐discharge mortality and re‐attendance rate for AECOPD were the main outcomes.

Results

There were no clear differences between patients admitted to hospital and those sent home from ED. Predictors of in‐hospital death were initial physiologic parameters, that is, arterial pH, PaCO2, oxygen saturation and blood pressure. Longer hospital stay was associated with older age, current smoking, hyperglycaemia, lower blood pressure and lower oxygen saturation. Risk of mortality after discharge was associated with a history of myocardial infarction, nursing home residence and severity of COPD. Re‐attendance rate was associated with osteoporosis, younger age and severity of COPD.

Conclusions

Further investigation into the process of decision making about which AECOPD patients are admitted from the ED is required. Short‐term outcomes, in‐hospital death and length of hospital stay are mainly predicted by severity of the acute exacerbation and patient demographics. Although severity of COPD was a predictor of long‐term outcomes, the main predictors of these were presence of co‐morbidities.
Ipilimumab‐induced hypophysitis in melanoma patients: an Australian case series
Authors: Lam T. , Chan M. M. K. , Sweeting A. N. , De Sousa S. M. C. , Clements A. , Carlino M. S. , Long G. V. , Tonks K. , Chua E. , Kefford R. F. , Chipps D. R
Published: May 2015

Background

Ipilimumab (Yervoy; Bristol‐Myers Squibb) is a novel fully humanised monoclonal antibody that blocks cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte antigen 4, an immune checkpoint molecule, to augment anti‐tumour T‐cell responses. It is associated with significant immune‐related side‐effects including hypophysitis.

Aim

We reviewed the clinical and biochemical characteristics of 10 patients with ipilimumab‐induced hypophysitis (IH), and developed guidelines for the early detection and management of IH based on our experiences at three major teaching hospitals in Sydney.

Methods

All patients were evaluated at the Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre and Department of Endocrinology, Westmead Hospital, Department of Endocrinology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, the Melanoma Institute Australia and Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centre, Campbelltown Hospital from 2010 to 2014. Relevant data were extracted by review of medical records. Main outcome measures included clinical features, hormone profile and radiological findings associated with IH, and presence of pituitary recovery.

Results

Ten patients were identified with IH. In four patients who underwent monitoring of plasma cortisol, there was a fall in levels in the weeks prior to presentation. The pituitary–adrenal and pituitary–thyroid axes were affected in the majority of patients, with the need for physiological hormone replacement. Imaging abnormalities were identified in five of 10 patients, and resolved without high‐dose glucocorticoid therapy. To date, all patients remain on levothyroxine and hydrocortisone replacement, where appropriate.

Conclusions

There is significant morbidity associated with development of IH. We suggest guidelines to assist with early recognition and therapeutic intervention.
Reconciling global and local needs: a canonical action research project to deal with workarounds
Authors: Malaurent Julien , Avison David
Published: May 2015

This paper discusses how research with practitioners can help reconcile the top‐down requirements of headquarters with the bottom‐up local needs in the context of global information systems. Based on a 12‐month canonical action research project that took place at the Chinese branches of a French multinational corporation, our research revealed and addressed workarounds that the Chinese users of a company‐wide global enterprise resource planning system had put in place that were not expected nor desired by company headquarters. From the local users' point of view, they were necessary to deal with Chinese legislation and cultural practices, but from the French headquarters' point of view, they meant that many of the potential gains of global standards were lost. Activity theory was used as a focal theory to analyse each of these workarounds and business process management as an instrumental theory to design solutions to the workarounds. We describe in detail how we used canonical action research to successfully deal with exemplars of each of the three types of workaround identified (data adjustments, process adjustments and parallel‐system adjustments). Unusually, the research relates to post‐implementation change rather than to that looking at change occurring before and during implementation. We argue that canonical action research and the particular combination of activity theory and business process management are appropriate for dealing with workarounds and this has not been demonstrated previously. Further, our research – deemed successful by managers, users and researchers alike – took place in China where previous literature suggests only limited success with such global systems.
Winner's regret in online C2C Auctions: an automatic thinking perspective
Authors: Park Sang Cheol , Keil Mark , Bock Gee‐Woo , Kim Jong Uk
Published: May 2015

While human beings embody a unique ability for planned behaviour, they also often act automatically. In this study, we draw on the automatic thinking perspective as a meta‐theoretic lens to explain why online auction bidders succumb to both trait impulsiveness and sunk cost, ultimately leading them to experience winner's regret. Based on a survey of 301 online auction participants, we demonstrate that both trait impulsiveness as an emotional trigger and sunk cost as a cognitive trigger promote winner's regret. By grounding our research model in the automatic thinking view, we provide an alternative meta‐theoretical lens from which to view online bidder behaviour, thus bolstering our current understanding of winner's regret. We also investigate the moderating effects of competition intensity on the relationships between the triggers of automatic thinking and winner's regret. Our results show that both trait impulsiveness and sunk cost have significant impacts on winner's regret. We also found that the relationship between these two triggers and winner's regret is moderated by competition intensity.
Impact of a Swiss adverse drug event prevention collaborative
Authors: Staines Anthony , Mattia Costanza , Schaad Nicolas , Lécureux Estelle , Bonnabry Pascal
Published: May 2015

Rationale, aims and objectives

The Hospital Federation of Vaud (Switzerland) used a Breakthrough Collaborative with the aim of reducing adverse drug events (ADEs) by 20% in 10 participating hospitals.

Methods

A set of interventions (covering patient identification, high‐alert medication and medication preparation in the ward) was deployed over 18 months starting in October 2010. All hospitals monitored discrepancies between drugs prescribed and those prepared for administration, as well as the occurrence of ADEs using the ADE Trigger Tool for 18 months (cohort 1). A subset of five hospitals continued this monitoring for 12 additional months (cohort 2).

Results

In cohort 1, pill box discrepancies were present in 5.9% of doses (n = 9772) in 2011 and in 5.8% (n = 2251) in the first 3 months of 2012 (no statistical significance). There were no significant differences in the rate of ADEs/1000 doses across time (1.2 in 2010, 1.0 in 2011 and 1.0 in 2012). In cohort 2, pill box discrepancies were reduced from 6.5% (n = 4846 doses) in 2011 to 4.4% (n = 7355) in 2012 (P < 0.001) to 3.0% for the first 3 months of 2013 (n = 2251; P = 0.004). The rate of ADEs/1000 doses decreased (1.8 in 2010, 1.1 in 2011 and 0.6 in 2012/13 (P = 0.008 for 2010–2011, and P < 0.001 for 2011–2012/2013).

Conclusions

Reductions in drug discrepancies and ADEs occurred in the cohort with the longer monitoring duration. Factors contributing to success may include the strategic status of the project, executive support, perseverance in post‐intervention measurement, and institution‐wide rather than partial deployment.
Shaping Identities: The Cypriot Left and the Communist Party of Greece in the 1940s
Authors: Alecou Alexios
Published: May 2015

This paper seeks to reveal the many ways in which the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) influenced the Cypriot Left (AKEL) during the 1940s. The analysis centres on the main political events of the decade and details the reaction of AKEL, especially as it was reporting to the KKE. Attention then switches to AKEL's ideology and tactics and how these were developed during and because of the Greek civil war. What this paper brings to the discussion is that the advice and control given by the KKE to AKEL – and at the same time the Cold War, which was a playing field on which a political party had to choose a side – were the main factors that formed the identity and ideological framework practiced for decades by AKEL.
Microbiome structure of the fungid coral Ctenactis echinata aligns with environmental differences
Authors: Roder Cornelia , Bayer Till , Aranda Manuel , Kruse Maren , Voolstra Christian R.
Published: May 2015

The significance of bacteria for eukaryotic functioning is increasingly recognized. Coral reef ecosystems critically rely on the relationship between coral hosts and their intracellular photosynthetic dinoflagellates, but the role of the associated bacteria remains largely theoretical. Here, we set out to relate coral‐associated bacterial communities of the fungid host species Ctenactis echinata to environmental settings (geographic location, substrate cover, summer/winter, nutrient and suspended matter concentrations) and coral host abundance. We show that bacterial diversity of C. echinata aligns with ecological differences between sites and that coral colonies sampled at the species’ preferred habitats are primarily structured by one bacterial taxon (genus Endozoicomonas) representing more than 60% of all bacteria. In contrast, host microbiomes from lower populated coral habitats are less structured and more diverse. Our study demonstrates that the content and structure of the coral microbiome aligns with environmental differences and denotes habitat adequacy. Availability of a range of coral host habitats might be important for the conservation of distinct microbiome structures and diversity.
Advantages of Propositionalism
Authors: Sinhababu Neil
Published: May 2015

Propositionalism is the view that the contents of intentional attitudes have a propositional structure. Objectualism opposes propositionalism in allowing the contents of these attitudes to be ordinary objects or properties. Philosophers including Talbot Brewer, Paul Thagard, Michelle Montague, and Alex Grzankowski attack propositionalism about such attitudes as desire, liking, and fearing. This article defends propositionalism, mainly on grounds that it better supports psychological explanations.
A Comparison of Survey Measures and Biomarkers of Secondhand Tobacco Smoke Exposure among Nonsmokers
Authors: Okoli Chizimuzo
Published: May 2015

Objectives

Secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) exposure causes several adverse physical health outcomes. Conceptual differences in survey measures of ‘psychosocial’ (SHSexposure from smokers in an individual's life) and ‘physical’ (environments where an individual is exposed toSHS)SHSexposure exist. Few studies have examined the association between psychosocial and physicalSHSexposures measures in comparison to biomarkers ofSHSexposure.

Design and Sample

A secondary analysis of cross‐sectional data was examined among a convenience sample of 20 adults.

Measures

Data included survey items onSHSexposure and hair nicotine and saliva cotinine levels. Spearman analysis was used to assess correlations among variables.

Results

Medium and strong correlations were found amongSHSexposure measures with the exception of saliva cotinine levels. Strong correlations were found among and between psychosocial and physicalSHSexposure measures. Hair nicotine levels had medium strength associations with only perceived frequency ofSHSexposure.

Discussion

As psychosocial measures of exposure were associated with biomarkers, such measures (particularly perceived frequency ofSHSexposure) should be added to surveys in addition to physicalSHSexposure measures to enhance accuracy ofSHSmeasurement. Future explorations with robust sample sizes should further examine the strength of relationship between psychosocial and physicalSHSexposure measures.
South African Exporters and the Global Crisis: Intensive Margin Shock, Extensive Margin Hangover
Authors: Matthee Marianne , Farole Thomas , Naughtin Tasha , Rankin Neil
Published: May 2015

This paper examines how changes at the intensive (established exporters exporting existing products to established markets) and the extensive (new exporters, products or markets) margins contribute to South African export growth and how this was affected by the global financial crisis. We find that the intensive margin is the more important contributor to export growth, contributing more than three quarters of observed growth. The intensive margin contracted significantly during the global financial crisis of 2009 but bounced back to pre‐crisis levels quickly. However, the impacts on the extensive margin persisted after the crisis with lower levels of entry of firms, new products and new destinations. The short‐term impact of the crisis was mitigated by the concentration of South African exports among larger, more productive super‐exporters. However, the fall in entry of new firms, products and destinations as a result of the crisis may mean that this concentration persists, and, at least over the next few years, South Africa does not diversify and broaden its exports.
The Effect of Fatigue-Induced Changes in Eggbeater-Kick Kinematics on Performance and Risk of Injury
Authors: Oliveira Nuno , Saunders David H. , Sanders Ross H.
Published: May 2015

Purpose:

To investigate the effects of fatigue on the vertical force and kinematics of the lower limbs during maximal water polo eggbeater kicking.

Methods:

Twelve male water polo players maintained as high a position as possible while performing the eggbeater kick with the upper limbs raised out of the water until they were unable to keep the top of the sternum (manubrium) above water. Data comprising 27 complete eggbeater-kick cycles were extracted corresponding to 9 cycles of the initial nonfatigued (0%), 50% time point (50%), and final fatigued (100%) periods of the trial. Vertical force, foot speed, and hip-, knee-, and ankle-joint angles were calculated.

Results:

Mean vertical force (0%, 212.2 N; 50%, 184.5 N; 100%, 164.3 N) progressively decreased with time. Speed of the feet (0.4 m/s), hip abduction (2.9°), and flexion (3.6°) decreased with fatigue, while hip internal rotation (3.6°) and ankle inversion (4°) increased with fatigue. Average angular velocity decreased for all joint motions.

Conclusions:

Eggbeater-kick performance decreases with fatigue. Inability to maintain foot speeds and hip and ankle actions with progressing fatigue diminishes the ability of the player to produce vertical force during the cycle. Increased internal rotation of the hip when fatigued and the large eversion/abduction of the ankle during the cycle may be predisposing factors for the prevalence of patellofemoral pain syndrome observed among eggbeater-kick performers. Appropriate training interventions that can limit the effects of fatigue on performance and injury risk should be considered.
Switching off arthritis
Authors: Colmone Angela
Published: May 2015

Targeting joint-lining fibroblast-like synoviocytes reduces the severity of arthritis.
Vaccination of Cattle againstEscherichia coliO157:H7
Authors: Smith David R.
Published: May 2015

Human infection with Shiga toxin-producingEscherichia coliO157:H7 (STEC O157) is relatively rare, but the consequences can be serious, especially in the very young and the elderly. Efforts to control the flow of STEC O157 during beef processing have meaningfully reduced the incidence of human STEC O157 infection, particularly prior to 2005. Unfortunately, despite early progress, the incidence of STEC O157 infection has not changed meaningfully or statistically in recent years, suggesting that additional actions, for example, targeting the cattle reservoir, are necessary to further reduce STEC O157 illness. Ideally, preharvest interventions against STEC O157 should reduce the likelihood that cattle carry the organism, have practical application within the beef production system, and add sufficient value to the cattle to offset the cost of the intervention. A number of STEC O157 antigens are being investigated as potential vaccine targets. Some vaccine products have demonstrated efficacy to reduce the prevalence of cattle carrying STEC O157 by making the gut unfavorable to colonization. However, in conditions of natural exposure, efficacy afforded by vaccination depends on how the products are used to control environmental transmission within groups of cattle and throughout the production system. Although cattle vaccines against STEC O157 have gained either full or preliminary regulatory approval in Canada and the United States, widespread use by cattle feeders is unlikely until there is an economic signal to indicate that cattle vaccinated against STEC O157 are valued over other cattle.
Biofilm Matrix Proteins
Authors: Fong Jiunn N. C. , Yildiz Fitnat H.
Published: May 2015

Proteinaceous components of the biofilm matrix include secreted extracellular proteins, cell surface adhesins, and protein subunits of cell appendages such as flagella and pili. Biofilm matrix proteins play diverse roles in biofilm formation and dissolution. They are involved in attaching cells to surfaces, stabilizing the biofilm matrix via interactions with exopolysaccharide and nucleic acid components, developing three-dimensional biofilm architectures, and dissolving biofilm matrix via enzymatic degradation of polysaccharides, proteins, and nucleic acids. In this article, we will review functions of matrix proteins in a selected set of microorganisms, studies of the matrix proteomes of
Vibrio cholerae
and
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
, and roles of outer membrane vesicles and of nucleoid-binding proteins in biofilm formation.
Integration, Regulation, and Long-Term Stability of R2 Retrotransposons
Authors: Eickbush Thomas H. , Eickbush Danna G.
Published: May 2015

R2 elements are sequence specific non-LTR retrotransposons that exclusively insert in the 28S rRNA genes of animals. R2s encode an endonuclease that cleaves the insertion site and a reverse transcriptase that uses the cleaved DNA to prime reverse transcription of the R2 transcript, a process termed target primed reverse transcription. Additional unusual properties of the reverse transcriptase as well as DNA and RNA binding domains of the R2 encoded protein have been characterized. R2 expression is through co-transcription with the 28S gene and self-cleavage by a ribozyme encoded at the R2 5′ end. Studies in laboratory stocks and natural populations of Drosophila suggest that R2 expression is tied to the distribution of R2-inserted units within the rDNA locus. Most individuals have no R2 expression because only a small fraction of their rRNA genes need to be active, and a contiguous region of the locus free of R2 insertions can be selected for activation. However, if the R2-free region is not large enough to produce sufficient rRNA, flanking units - including those inserted with R2 - must be activated. Finally, R2 copies rapidly turnover within the rDNA locus, yet R2 has been vertically maintained in animal lineages for hundreds of millions of years. The key to this stability is R2's ability to remain dormant in rDNA units outside the transcribed regions for generations until the stochastic nature of the crossovers that drive the concerted evolution of the rDNA locus inevitably reshuffle the inserted and uninserted units, resulting in transcription of the R2-inserted units.
Cre Recombinase
Authors: Van Duyne Gregory D.
Published: May 2015

The use of Cre recombinase to carry out conditional mutagenesis of transgenes and insert DNA cassettes into eukaryotic chromosomes is widespread. In addition to the numerous
in vivo
and
in vitro
applications that have been reported since Cre was first shown to function in yeast and mammalian cells nearly 30 years ago, the Cre–
loxP
system has also played an important role in understanding the mechanism of recombination by the tyrosine recombinase family of site-specific recombinases. The simplicity of this system, requiring only a single recombinase enzyme and short recombination sequences for robust activity in a variety of contexts, has been an important factor in both cases. This review discusses advances in the Cre recombinase field that have occurred over the past 12 years since the publication of
Mobile DNA II
. The focus is on those recent contributions that have provided new mechanistic insights into the reaction. Also discussed are modifications of Cre and/or the
loxP
sequence that have led to improvements in genome engineering applications.
The Integron: Adaptation On Demand
Authors: Escudero* José Antonio , Loot* Céline , Nivina Aleksandra , Mazel Didier
Published: May 2015

The integron is a powerful system which, by capturing, stockpiling, and rearranging new functions carried by gene encoding cassettes, confers upon bacteria a rapid adaptation capability in changing environments. Chromosomally located integrons (CI) have been identified in a large number of environmental Gram-negative bacteria. Integron evolutionary history suggests that these sedentary CIs acquired mobility among bacterial species through their association with transposable elements and conjugative plasmids. As a result of massive antibiotic use, these so-called mobile integrons are now widespread in clinically relevant bacteria and are considered to be the principal agent in the emergence and rise of antibiotic multiresistance in Gram-negative bacteria. Cassette rearrangements are catalyzed by the integron integrase, a site-specific tyrosine recombinase. Central to these reactions is the single-stranded DNA nature of one of the recombination partners, the
attC
site. This makes the integron a unique recombination system. This review describes the current knowledge on this atypical recombination mechanism, its implications in the reactions involving the different types of sites,
attC
and
attI
, and focuses on the tight regulation exerted by the host on integron activity through the control of
attC
site folding. Furthermore, cassette and integrase expression are also highly controlled by host regulatory networks and the bacterial stress (SOS) response. These intimate connections to the host make the integron a genetically stable and efficient system, granting the bacteria a low cost, highly adaptive evolution potential “on demand”.
Protocol for a multicentre randomiSed controlled TRial of IntraVEnous immunoglobulin versus standard therapy for the treatment of transverse myelitis in adults and children (STRIVE)
Authors: Absoud M , Gadian J , Hellier J , Brex P A , Ciccarelli O , Giovannoni G , Kelly J , McCrone P , Murphy C , Palace J , Pickles A , Pike M , Robertson N , Jacob A , Lim M
Published: May 2015

Introduction

Transverse myelitis (TM) is an immune-mediated disorder of the spinal cord which causes motor and sensory disturbance and limited recovery in 50% of patients. Standard treatment is steroids, and patients with more severe disease appear to respond to plasma exchange (PLEX). Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) has also been used as an adjunct to steroids, but evidence is lacking. We propose the first randomised control trial in adults and children, to determine the benefit of additional treatment with IVIG.

Methods and analysis

170 adults and children aged over 1 year with acute first episode TM or neuromyelitis optica (with myelitis) will be recruited over a 2.5-year period and followed up for 12 months. Participants randomised to the control arm will receive standard therapy of intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP). The intervention arm will receive the above standard therapy, plus additional IVIG.

Primary outcome will be a 2-point improvement on the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment scale at 6 months postrandomisation by blinded assessors. Additional secondary and tertiary outcome measures will be collected: ASIA motor and sensory scales, Kurtzke expanded disability status scale, International Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Bladder/Bowel Data Set, Client Services Receipt Index, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, EQ-5D, SCI Pain and SCI Quality of Life Data Sets. Biological samples will be biobanked for future studies. After 6-months' follow-up of the first 52 recruited patients futility analysis will be carried out. Health economics analysis will be performed to calculate cost-effectiveness. After 6 months’ recruitment futility analysis will be performed.

Ethics and dissemination

Research Ethics Committee Approval was obtained: 14/SC/1329. Current protocol: v3.0 (15/01/2015). Study findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals.

Trial registration numbers

This study is registered with EudraCT (REF: 2014-002335-34), Clinicaltrials.gov (REF:NCT02398994) and ISRCTN (REF: 12127581).
A simulation-based optimization approach to integrated inventory management of a sawlog supply chain with demand uncertainty
Authors: Shahi Shashi , Pulkki Reino
Published: May 2015

This paper develops a simulation-based optimization supply chain model for supplying sawlogs to a sawmill from a forest management unit. The simulation model integrates the two-way flow of information and materials under the stochastic demand of the sawmill production unit. The dynamic optimization model finds the optimum inventory policy (s, S) that minimizes the total inventory cost for the three supply chain agents — sawmill storage, merchandizing yard, and forest management unit. The model is used to analyze a real sawmill case study in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It was found that the merchandizing yard absorbs shocks of uncertain demand from the sawmill production unit and reduces idle time, but it increases the total cost of the supply chain by $11 802 (about 42%). The optimized model predicts that only 3.5 days of inventory is required at the sawmill storage. The simulation-based optimization supplier model will help in decision-making at the tactical and operational level in the forest products industry supply chain through a two-way flow of information and materials.
Three-Dimensional Innervation Zone Imaging from Multi-Channel Surface EMG Recordings
Authors: Liu Yang , Ning Yong , Li Sheng , Zhou Ping , Rymer William Z. , Zhang Yingchun
Published: May 2015

There is an unmet need to accurately identify the locations of innervation zones (IZs) of spastic muscles, so as to guide botulinum toxin (BTX) injections for the best clinical outcome. A novel 3D IZ imaging (3DIZI) approach was developed by combining the bioelectrical source imaging and surface electromyogram (EMG) decomposition methods to image the 3D distribution of IZs in the target muscles. Surface IZ locations of motor units (MUs), identified from the bipolar map of their MU action potentials (MUAPs) were employed as a prior knowledge in the 3DIZI approach to improve its imaging accuracy. The performance of the 3DIZI approach was first optimized and evaluated via a series of designed computer simulations, and then validated with the intramuscular EMG data, together with simultaneously recorded 128-channel surface EMG data from the biceps of two subjects. Both simulation and experimental validation results demonstrate the high performance of the 3DIZI approach in accurately reconstructing the distributions of IZs and the dynamic propagation of internal muscle activities in the biceps from high-density surface EMG recordings.
Sterile neutrinos in E6
Authors: Rosner Jonathan L.
Published: May 2015

The opportunity to accommodate three flavors of sterile neutrinos exists within the exceptional group E 6. Implications of this description are discussed.
GEODESIC-PRESERVING POLYGON SIMPLIFICATION
Authors: AICHHOLZER OSWIN , HACKL THOMAS , KORMAN MATIAS , PILZ ALEXANDER , VOGTENHUBER BIRGIT
Published: May 2015

Polygons are a paramount data structure in computational geometry. While the complexity of many algorithms on simple polygons or polygons with holes depends on the size of the input polygon, the intrinsic complexity of the problems these algorithms solve is often related to the reflex vertices of the polygon. In this paper, we give an easy-to-describe linear-time method to replace an input polygon [Formula: see text] by a polygon [Formula: see text] such that (1) [Formula: see text] contains [Formula: see text], (2) [Formula: see text] has its reflex vertices at the same positions as [Formula: see text], and (3) the number of vertices of [Formula: see text] is linear in the number of reflex vertices. Since the solutions of numerous problems on polygons (including shortest paths, geodesic hulls, separating point sets, and Voronoi diagrams) are equivalent for both [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], our algorithm can be used as a preprocessing step for several algorithms and makes their running time dependent on the number of reflex vertices rather than on the size of [Formula: see text]. We describe several of these applications (including linear-time post-processing steps that might be necessary).
Beat Tracking for Interactive Dancing Robots
Authors: Oliveira João Lobato , Ince Gökhan , Nakamura Keisuke , Nakadai Kazuhiro , Okuno Hiroshi G. , Gouyon Fabien , Reis Luís Paulo
Published: May 2015

Dance movement is intrinsically connected to the rhythm of music and is a fundamental form of nonverbal communication present in daily human interactions. In order to enable robots to interact with humans in natural real-world environments through dance, these robots must be able to listen to music while robustly tracking the beat of continuous musical stimuli and simultaneously responding to human speech. In this paper, we propose the integration of a real-time beat tracking system with state recovery with different preprocessing solutions used in robot audition for its application to interactive dancing robots. The proposed system is assessed under different real-world acoustic conditions of increasing complexity, which consider multiple audio sources of different kinds, multiple noise sources of different natures, continuous musical and speech stimuli, and the effects of beat-synchronous ego-motion noise and of jittering in ego noise (EN). The overall results suggest improved beat tracking accuracy with lower reaction times to music transitions, while still enhancing automatic speech recognition (ASR) run in parallel in the most challenging conditions. These results corroborate the application of the proposed system for interactive dancing robots.
Topological phases: Isomorphism, homotopy and K-theory
Authors: Thiang Guo Chuan
Published: May 2015

Equivalence classes of gapped Hamiltonians compatible with given symmetry constraints, such as those underlying topological insulators, can be defined in many ways. For the non-chiral classes modeled by vector bundles over Brillouin tori, physically relevant equivalences include isomorphism, homotopy, and K-theory, which are inequivalent but closely related. We discuss an important subtlety which arises in the chiral Class AIII systems, where the winding number invariant is shown to be relative rather than absolute as is usually assumed. These issues are then analyzed and reconciled in the language of K-theory.
Automated Classification of Data Races Under Both Strong and Weak Memory Models
Authors: Kasikci Baris , Zamfir Cristian , Candea George
Published: May 2015

Data races are one of the main causes of concurrency problems in multithreaded programs. Whether all data races are bad, or some are harmful and others are harmless, is still the subject of vigorous scientific debate [Narayanasamy et al. 2007; Boehm 2012]. What is clear, however, is that today's code has many data races [Kasikci et al. 2012; Jin et al. 2012; Erickson et al. 2010], and fixing data races without introducing bugs is time consuming [Godefroid and Nagappan 2008]. Therefore, it is important to efficiently identify data races in code and understand their consequences to prioritize their resolution.

We present Portend
+
, a tool that not only detects races but also automatically classifies them based on their potential consequences: Could they lead to crashes or hangs? Could their effects be visible outside the program? Do they appear to be harmless? How do their effects change under weak memory models? Our proposed technique achieves high accuracy by efficiently analyzing multiple paths and multiple thread schedules in combination, and by performing symbolic comparison between program outputs.

We ran Portend
+
on seven real-world applications: it detected 93 true data races and correctly classified 92 of them, with no human effort. Six of them were harmful races. Portend
+
's classification accuracy is up to 89% higher than that of existing tools, and it produces easy-to-understand evidence of the consequences of “harmful” races, thus both proving their harmfulness and making debugging easier. We envision Portend
+
being used for testing and debugging, as well as for automatically triaging bug reports.
The Augmented Web
Authors: Díaz Oscar , Arellano Cristóbal
Published: May 2015

Today’s web personalization technologies use approaches like user categorization, configuration, and customization but do not fully support individualized requirements. As a significant portion of our social and working interactions are migrating to the web, we can expect an increase in these kinds of minority requirements. Browser-side transcoding holds the promise of facilitating this aim by opening personalization to third parties through web augmentation (WA), realized in terms of extensions and userscripts. WA is to the web what augmented reality is to the physical world: to layer relevant content/layout/navigation over the existing web to improve the user experience. From this perspective, WA is not as powerful as web personalization since its scope is limited to the surface of the web. However, it permits this surface to be tuned by developers other than the sites’ webmasters. This opens up the web to third parties who might come up with imaginative ways of adapting the web surface for their own purposes. Its success is backed up by millions of downloads. This work looks at this phenomenon, delving into the “what,” the “why,” and the “what for” of WA, and surveys the challenges ahead for WA to thrive. To this end, we appraise the most downloaded 45 WA extensions for
Mozilla Firefox
and
Google Chrome
as well as conduct a systematic literature review to identify what quality issues received the most attention in the literature. The aim is to raise awareness about WA as a key enabler of the personal web and point out research directions.
Hedonic Clustering Games
Authors: Feldman Moran , Lewin-Eytan Liane , Naor Joseph (Seffi)
Published: May 2015

Clustering, the partitioning of objects with respect to a similarity measure, has been extensively studied as a global optimization problem. We investigate clustering from a game-theoretic approach, and consider the class of
hedonic clustering games
. Here, a
self-organized
clustering is obtained via decisions made by independent players, corresponding to the elements clustered. Being a hedonic setting, the utility of each player is determined by the identity of the other members of her cluster. This class of games seems to be quite robust, as it fits with rather different, yet commonly used, clustering criteria. Specifically, we investigate hedonic clustering games in two different models:
fixed clustering
, which subdivides into
k
-median and
k
-center, and
correlation clustering
. We provide a thorough analysis of these games, characterizing Nash equilibria, and proving upper and lower bounds on the price of anarchy and price of stability. For fixed clustering we focus on the existence of a Nash equilibrium, as it is a rather nontrivial issue in this setting. We study it both for general metrics and special cases, such as line and tree metrics. In the correlation clustering model, we study both minimization and maximization variants, and provide almost tight bounds on both the price of anarchy and price of stability.
Emergent innovation
Authors: Denning Peter J.
Published: May 2015

Fernando Flores, president of Chile's National Innovation Council for Competitiveness, discusses a new common sense about innovation.
Designing a time predictable memory hierarchy for single-path code
Authors: Cilku Bekim , Puschner Peter
Published: May 2015

Trustable Worst-Case Execution-Time (WCET) bounds are a necessary component for the construction and verification of hard real-time computer systems. Deriving such bounds for contemporary hardware/software systems is a complex task. The single-path conversion overcomes this difficulty by transforming all unpredictable branch alternatives in the code to a sequential code structure with a single execution trace. However, the simpler code structure and analysis of single-path code comes at the cost of a longer execution time. In this paper we address the problem of the execu- tion performance of single-path code. We propose a new instuction-prefetch scheme and cache organization that uti- lize the \knowledge of the future" properties of single-path code to reduce the main memory access latency and the number of cache misses, thus speeding up the execution of single-path programs.
The 5th ACM SIGSPATIAL International Workshop on GeoStreaming, Dallas, Texas, USA - November 4, 2014
Authors: Zhang Chengyang , Basalamah Anas , Hendawi Abdeltawab
Published: May 2015

The ACM SIGSPATIAL International Workshop on Geostreaming (IWGS) was held for the fifth time in conjunction with the 22nd ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (ACMGIS 2014). The workshop has been a successful event that attracted participants from both academia and industry. The workshop addressed topics that are at the intersection of data streaming and geospatial systems. The workshop fostered an environment where geospatial researchers can benefit from the advances in geosensing technologies and data streaming systems.
Automatic Filling of Hidden Web Forms
Authors: Kantorski Gustavo Zanini , Moreira Viviane Pereira , Heuser Carlos Alberto
Published: May 2015

A significant part of the information available on the Web is stored in online databases which compose what is known as Hidden Web or Deep Web. In order to access information from the Hidden Web, one must fill an HTML form that is submitted as a query to the underlying database. In recent years, many works have focused on how to automate the process of form filling by creating methods for choosing values to fill the fields in the forms. This is a challenging task since forms may contain fields for which there are no predefined values to choose from. This article presents a survey of methods for Web Form Filling, analyzing the existing solutions with respect to the type of forms that they handle and the filling strategy adopted. We provide a comparative analysis of 15 key works in this area and discuss directions for future research.
Analysis of Japanese Patients Treated with or without Long‐Term Epirubicin Plus Ara‐C Intravesical Instillation Therapy for Low‐Grade Superficial Bladder Cancer
Authors: Kato Tomonori , Nomura Kazushi , Kondo Fukuo , Wakisaka Masami , Komiya Akira
Published: May 2015

The high incidence of tumor recurrence following transurethral resection (TUR) represents a major problem encountered in the management of bladder cancer. This study examined the efficacy of intravesical chemotherapy in superficial bladder cancer. We retrospectively analyzed 90 Japanese cases with low‐grade superficial transitional cell carcinoma (stage T1, grades 1 and 2) who were rendered tumor‐free by TURBT (TUR of bladder tumor) and who thereafter were treated with or without intravesical chemotherapy. Among them, instillation was terminated in 2 patients due to adverse effects (severe but reversible chemical cystitis). Remaining 88 patients were divided into 2 groups according to therapy: the TURBT‐only group (n = 46), defined as patients treated with TURBT alone, and the Instillation group (n = 42), defined as patients treated with weekly intravesical instillation therapies using epirubicin plus Ara‐C. Recurrence‐free rate was significantly higher in the Instillation group than in the TURBT‐only group (p = 0.02, HR = 0.457). The 5‐year recurrence‐free rate was 58.5% for the Instillation group and 38.6% for the TURBT‐only group. Our instillation schedule represents the most intensive regimen among previously reported therapies and resulted in a 54.3% decrease in incidence of tumor recurrence. We believe that the results of this study could provide useful information on management of bladder cancer.