bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clinical, histological and prognostic features of a novel nail-bed lesion of cats: 41 cases
Authors: Dobromylskyj Melanie J , Fernandes Rebecca A , French Adrienne , Pocknell Ann M , Smith Ken C
Published: July 2016

Objectives

There is a distinct subset of lesions arising on the digits of cats, located at or close to the nail-bed epithelium, which are typically composed of proliferative fibroblast-like cells, multinucleate giant cells and areas of osseous metaplasia, but currently there is no published literature detailing the clinical or histological features of these lesions.

Methods

This study identified 41 such cases from two large commercial diagnostic laboratories and assessed various histological and clinical features; 22 cases had additional follow-up data available.

Results

All masses in this study were exophytic, variably inflamed, contained large numbers of spindle cells and had areas of capillary formation. The majority also had areas of ulceration, multinucleate giant cells and osseous metaplasia. The mitotic count was variable, but mitoses were confined to the fibroblast-like cells. Male cats appeared predisposed and the second digit was the most commonly affected.

Conclusions and relevance

These distinctive lesions arising on the digits of cats had potential for local recurrence but metastasis was not reported. Based on these clinical and histological features, the masses in this study appear most similar to giant cell reparative granulomas, and trauma, injury to the nail or nail-bed and nail-bed infections may potentially contribute to their development.
Listeria rhombencephalitis mimicking a demyelinating event in an immunocompetent young patient
Authors: Décard Bernhard F , Thöne Jan , Haghikia Aiden , Börnke Christian , Anders Agnes , Lukas Carsten , Gold Ralf
Published: July 2016

Background:

Listeriosis caused by listeria monocytogenes (LM) is a potentially lethal foodborne infection of the central nervous system (CNS) and the third most common cause of bacterial meningitis. Foods most commonly implicated are soft cheeses, raw or ready-to-eat meat and pre-processed foods. The incubation time is between 11 and 70 days. Rarely LM rhombencephalitis (RE) can occur, which typically has a biphasic course with non- specific prodromal symptoms like fever, malaise, fatigue, headache, nausea and vomiting followed by cranial nerve palsies, ataxia and hemi- or tetraparesis.

Objective:

To report a 31-year old immunocompetent female developing a severe abscessing RE caused by LM, which was initially assessed as a relapse after a clinically isolated syndrome (CIS).

Methods:

Case report.

Results:

Patients with CIS or multiple sclerosis, who present with brainstem symptoms should be evaluated carefully. The presence of clinical and paraclinical red flags in the diagnostic evaluation of a suspected CNS white matter disease should raise the awareness of clinicians for potential differential diagnoses.
Adolescent girls’ physical activity, fitness and psychological well-being during a health club physical education approach
Authors: McNamee Jeff , Timken Gay L , Coste Sarah C , Tompkins Tanya L , Peterson Janet
Published: July 2016

This pilot project aimed to demonstrate the efficacy and feasibility of an innovative physical education programme, referred to as a health club (HC) approach, in a high school setting. We measured adolescent girls’ moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), components of health-related physical fitness, and perceptions about themselves and physical activity (PA) during a 14-week programme. The HC approach produced high levels of MVPA. Pre/post physical fitness testing variables included height, weight, body mass index, waist measurement, sit and reach, grip strength, push-ups, sit-ups and a 10-minute walk test. Significant differences were found in participants’ flexibility and cardiovascular fitness at the conclusion of the 14-week programme. Participants reported greater perceived control over their PA, improvements in their physical self-concept across several domains, more positive feelings about appearance and strength and more positive global statements about their physical selves at post-test. The results of this study suggest that the HC approach is a promising approach that deserves further study.
Exhortations of happiness: Liberalism and nationalism in the discourses on LGBTI asylum rights in the UK
Authors: Raboin Thibaut
Published: July 2016

The concept of homonationalism has proven useful to analyse the political problematization of LGBTI human rights in the UK. This article analyses discourses on LGBTI asylum in the UK, and focuses in particular on the relationship between liberalism, nationhood and hospitality. Using the methods of discourse analysis it demonstrates that, with asylum, queerness becomes a porous frontier in and out of the nation. Looking firstly at narratives of asylum cases, the article shows how they create a specific temporality, where queer futures are deemed impossible outside of the UK. Then, it looks at how the tropes of the domestic homophobic past and the homophobic elsewhere interact in discourses to produce a unique type of politicization of asylum, whereby British liberal queers can be invested in defending the rights of LGBTI asylum seekers. Finally, the article unpacks what constitutes the promise of ‘happy queer futures’ in the UK. Doing so, it shows that homonationalism is more than a collusion between certain gay and lesbian subjectivations and the liberal state, but rather that it provides complex ways of understanding and articulating sexuality, nationhood and homonormative practices. The article will thus argue that happiness works as an exhortation as much as a promise in asylum, and that the queer futurism offered by homonationalist discourses on asylum perpetuate a dream of the good life – albeit a homonormative conception of it, where happiness, individual freedom and autonomy on the market are closely intertwined.
Complexity reduction and policy consensus: Asylum seekers, the right to work, and the ‘pull factor’ thesis in the UK context
Authors: Mayblin Lucy
Published: July 2016

Since the early 2000s, asylum policy in Western states has become increasingly dominated by the concept of the ‘pull factor’—the idea that the economic rights afforded to asylum seekers can act as a migratory pull, and will have a bearing on the numbers of asylum applications received. The pull factor thesis has been widely discredited by researchers but remains powerful among policymakers. Through an analysis of the pull factor in the UK context, and drawing on insights from Cultural Political Economy, this article argues that the hegemony of the pull factor thesis is best understood as a ‘policy imaginary’ which has become sedimented through both discursive and extra-discursive practices and processes. The article offers a means of understanding how a common sense assumption—which is challenged by a large body of evidence—has come to dominate policymaking in a key area of concern for politicians and policymakers.
Study on movable light-shelf system with location-awareness technology for lighting energy saving
Authors: Lee Heangwoo , Gim Sang-hoon , Seo Janghoo , Kim Yongseong
Published: July 2016

Various ongoing studies regard light-shelves as one solution to the recent increase in lighting energy consumption. However, in previous light-shelf systems, the direction of incoming light was determined by external conditions, thereby limiting the efficiency of lighting energy saving. The purpose of the present study was to develop a movable light-shelf system with location-awareness technology and verify its performance. In this study, a full-scale testbed was established in order to test the proposed movable light-shelf system with location awareness as well as to verify its energy saving potential. The results were analysed and compared with the performances of previous fixed (Case 1) and movable (Case 2) light-shelf systems without location-awareness technology. The obtained results were as follows. (1) The proposed light-shelf system can respond to external conditions and to the location of the occupant by means of the control axis of the light-shelf module angle through modulation between the control axis of the angle of the previous light-shelf and the reflector of the light-shelf. (2) The proposed light-shelf system provides 90.0% and 86.6%/91.0% energy savings in comparison to Case 1 and Case 2, respectively.
Postoperative Urinary Leakage Following Partial Nephrectomy for Renal Mass: Risk Factors and a Proposed Algorithm for the Diagnosis and Management
Authors: Erlich T. , Abu-Ghanem Y. , Ramon J. , Mor Y. , Rosenzweig B. , Dotan Z.
Published: July 2016

Objectives:

To evaluate the current incidence, risk factors, management, and long-term follow-up of urinary leakage following partial nephrectomy, in order to propose an algorithm for diagnosis and evaluation of postoperative urinary leakage.

Materials and Methods:

The study included 752 patients who underwent elective partial nephrectomies for renal masses between the years 1988 and 2013. Patients’ demographics, clinico-pathologic variables, and operative details were collected retrospectively. The associations between urinary leakage and patients’ variables were assessed by univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results:

Of the 752 patients, 21 (2.8%) experienced urinary leakage; 4 of the 21 patients with urinary leakage had spontaneous resolution, 1 patient underwent nephrectomy, and 16 patients were treated by retrograde ureteral stents insertion. One of them necessitated insertion of an additional percutaneous nephrostomy and another one deserved concomitant percutaneous drainage of a perirenal urinoma. The average period of time that elapsed from the operation until the insertion of stent was 8.5 ± 4.5 days. Stents were removed 68 ± 20.5 days postoperatively. None of the patients had either persistent or repeated leakage. On univariate analysis, hilar renal masses (p < 0.04) and higher preoperative creatinine levels (p < 0.01) were found to be associated with higher rates of urinary leakage. None of these variables was significant on a multivariate analysis. Review of the urinary leakage rate over time revealed it has been constantly decreasing over time, from 4% in early cases to 1.3% among the most recent ones.

Conclusion:

None of the preoperative variables that were examined in this study was significantly associated with increased risk of urinary leakage. However, cumulative surgical experience was associated with lower rates of urinary leakage, suggesting that the decrease in its incidence is related to the improved surgical skills, rather than to differences in tumors’ or patients’ characteristics.
Parents, participation, partnership: Problematising New Zealand early childhood education
Authors: Chan Angel , Ritchie Jenny
Published: July 2016

This article interrogates notions of teacher ‘partnership with parents’ within early childhood care and education settings in the context of Aotearoa (New Zealand). Te Whāriki, the New Zealand early childhood curriculum, clearly positions children’s learning and development as being fostered when their families’ cultures and practices are recognised. Yet findings from both national evaluative reports and recent studies indicate that, in many instances, families that are not members of the dominant cultural group do not experience this synergy. The authors draw on some recent national evaluative reports to paint a broad picture of the implementation of ‘partnership’, and then employ illustrative data from several research projects regarding the inclusion of Māori and Chinese families respectively. The authors apply hybridity theory, along with the related idea of funds of knowledge, to reinforce the need for teachers to proactively move beyond the hegemonic safe zones of traditional teacher-dominated practices towards opening up spaces of dialogic, fluid engagement with families whose backgrounds differ from their own. This aspect of teachers’ professional responsibility is particularly important in the current era of increasing superdiversity.
A conceptual model of entrepreneurial reputation from a venture capitalist’s perspective
Authors: Zerwas Claire , von Korflesch Harald F.O.
Published: July 2016

Research on reputation has mainly focused on established companies ignoring the relevance of reputation for start-ups. However, start-ups also need to consider factors that influence their reputation with regard to different stakeholders, especially potential investors. In this article, we develop a model of the so-called ‘entrepreneurial reputation’ from a venture capitalist’s perspective. For that purpose, the RepTrak® System – a model of corporate reputation developed by the Reputation Institute – is discussed in the context of entrepreneurship. With the help of a literature review, we work out relevant criteria used by venture capitalists in their decision-making process of whether to invest or not to invest in a new venture and integrate these in the RepTrak® System. The following five dimensions appear to be the key drivers of entrepreneurial reputation from a venture capitalist’s perspective: (1) entrepreneur/team, (2) market/industry, (3) products/services, (4) innovation and (5) finance.
Zeald
Authors: Warren Lorraine , Scahill Shane
Published: July 2016

Zeald is a fast-growing website design, e-commerce and online marketing company in New Zealand, formed by three first-generation student entrepreneurs from the same family. The case tells the story of the start-up of the company, discussing the successes of the company and some of the challenges they met on the way. This case can help students understand the setbacks involved in growing a business from start-up to maturity, when even the best-laid plans can go astray. The study questions can help students consider how culture of this new ‘family business’ influences leadership, planning and marketing strategy.
People of the croft: visualising land, heritage and identity
Authors: Robertson Iain James , Webster David
Published: July 2016

This short photographic essay emerges from the recognition that identity, landscapes and heritage landscapes in particular are rarely configured and conceptualised wholly linguistically. An affective and emotional charge can involve visual and tactile metaphors and mnemonics. This essay therefore attempts to capture aspects of this visuality and material mnemonics while recognising the constraints imposed by the written word and the need to ask our interviewees to articulate the ‘material thing’ which most spoke to them of their ‘croft’. The heritage landscape that is the focus of this article is that of crofting agriculture in the Scottish Highlands. What emerges between the word and the image is a strong sense of inheritance from the past validated by and made meaningful by work practices and deriving from a very particular land, task and seascape. Together, this constitutes a heritage from below and a sense of localised identity.
Deep brain stimulation for prolonged disorders of consciousness
Authors: Leung Gilberto KK
Published: July 2016

Deep brain stimulation has emerged as a “last resort” therapy for patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness. The latter encompasses a range of conditions including minimal conscious state and persistent vegetative state. Functional neuroimaging studies have shown that minimal conscious state and persistent vegetative state have different patterns of residual brain function and may therefore respond differently to deep brain stimulation. The failure to distinguish between the two conditions in this context can give rise to false expectation, misunderstanding and ill-guided treatment. As a halfway technology for prolonged disorders of consciousness, deep brain stimulation could also produce improvement in awareness that is in fact harm, and its impact may involve a wide range of public interests. This paper will discuss related ethical and legal issues with an emphasis on the distinction between minimal conscious state and persistent vegetative state in the application of deep brain stimulation.
Plasma lipid levels predict dysglycemia in a biracial cohort of nondiabetic subjects: Potential mechanisms
Authors: Owei Ibiye , Umekwe Nkiru , Wan Jim , Dagogo-Jack Samuel
Published: July 2016

Dyslipidemia and dysglycemia are etiologically associated, but the direction, chronology, and mechanisms of the association are not fully understood. We, therefore, analyzed data from 335 healthy adults (184 black, 151 white) enrolled in the Pathobiology of Prediabetes in A Biracial Cohort study. Subjects underwent oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and were enrolled if they had normal fasting and 2-h plasma glucose levels. Assessments during year 1 included anthropometry, fasting lipid profile, insulin sensitivity, and insulin secretion. Thereafter, OGTT was assessed annually for 5.5 years. The primary outcome was occurrence of prediabetes (impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance) or diabetes. During a mean follow-up of 2.62 years, 110 participants (32.8%) developed prediabetes ( N = 100) or diabetes ( N = 10). In multivariate logistic regression models, higher baseline low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglyceride levels and lower HDL cholesterol levels significantly increased the risk of incident prediabetes. The combined relative risk (95% confidence interval [CI]) of prediabetes for participants with lower baseline HDL cholesterol (10th vs. 90th percentile), higher LDL cholesterol (90th vs. 10th percentile) and high triglycerides levels (90th vs. 10th percentile) was 4.12 (95% CI 1.61–10.56), P = 0.0032. At baseline, lipid values showed significant associations with measures of adiposity, glycemia, insulin sensitivity, and secretion. In both ethnic groups, waist circumference correlated positively with triglycerides and inversely with HDL cholesterol levels ( P = 0.0004–<0.0001); fasting plasma glucose correlated positively with triglycerides and LDL cholesterol levels and inversely with HDL cholesterol levels ( P = 0.006–<0.0001); insulin sensitivity correlated positively with HDL cholesterol and inversely with triglyceride levels ( P < 0.0001), and insulin secretion correlated positively with triglycerides ( P = 0.01) and inversely with HDL cholesterol ( P < 0.0001). We conclude that a baseline lipidemic signature identifies normoglycemic individuals at high risk for future glycemic progression, via congruent associations with adiposity and glucoregulatory mechanisms. These findings suggest that early lifestyle intervention could ameliorate progressive dyslipidemia and dysglycemia.
Examining the perceptions of curriculum leaders on primary school reform
Authors: Cheung Alan CK , Yuen Timothy WW
Published: July 2016

In an effort to enhance the quality of teachers and teaching, and to lead internal curriculum development in primary schools, the Hong Kong Education Bureau created a new curriculum leader post entitled primary school master/mistress (curriculum development) or PSMCD for short. The main purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of these curriculum leaders on their competence in leading the primary school reform. Using a stratified random sampling technique, 125 curriculum leaders were chosen to participate in the current study. Survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were conducted. The findings of the study suggest that PSMCDs in general supported the goals and the rationale of the reform. In addition, they also agreed that moderate progress had been made in implementing the curriculum reform in their school. Though progress had been made in many areas, our findings have highlighted several key challenges that these PSMCDs faced in performing their roles. These challenges include heavy workload, learner diversity in the classrooms, the use of diversified modes for assessment, and having too many reforms at the same time. Implications and recommendations are discussed.
Networked leadership in Educational Collaborative Networks
Authors: Díaz-Gibson Jordi , Zaragoza Mireia Civís , Daly Alan J , Mayayo Jordi Longás , Romaní Jordi Riera
Published: July 2016

Educational Collaborative Networks (ECNs) aim to achieve educational goals at the community level and base their actions on collaborative partnering between schools and community organizations. These approaches are an emergent and innovative leadership and policy strategy being used increasingly across the globe, given the interconnected and pervasive nature of issues facing education. The enthusiasm and promise of such community-based initiatives are accompanied by concerns related to its leadership. This paper describes the insights of networked leadership as a driver, which facilitates ECN outcome achievement. This article examines the experience of leaders involved in the current leadership of 18 high-performing ECNs in Barcelona (Spain). The results stress that networked leadership may become a key driver of change in educational contexts, capable of building a collaborative culture to optimize the educational performance in every specific community.
Vessel tree extraction using radius-lifted keypoints searching scheme and anisotropic fast marching method
Authors: Chen Da , Mirebeau Jean-Marie , Cohen Laurent D
Published: July 2016

Geodesic methods have been widely applied to image analysis. They are particularly efficient to extract a tubular structure, such as a blood vessel, given its two endpoints in a 2D or 3D medical image. We address here a more difficult problem: the extraction of a full vessel tree structure given a single initial root point, by growing a collection of keypoints or new initial source points, connected by minimal geodesic paths. In this article, those keypoints are iteratively added, using a new detection criteria, which utilize the weighted geodesic distances with respect to a radius-lifted Riemannian metric, the standard Euclidean curve length and a path score. Two main weaknesses of classical keypoints searching approach are that the weighted geodesic distance and the Euclidean path length do not take into account the orientation of the tubular structure or object boundaries, due to the use of an isotropic geodesic Riemannian metric, and suffer from a leakage problem. In contrast, we use an anisotropic geodesic Riemannian metric, and develop new criteria for selecting keypoints based on the path score and automatically stopping the tree growth. Experimental results demonstrate that our method can obtain the expected results, which can extract vessel structures at a finer scale, with increased accuracy.
Primal-dual method to smoothing TV-based model for image denoising
Authors: Zhi Zhanjiang , Shi Baoli , Sun Yi
Published: July 2016

The total variation-based Rudin–Osher–Fatemi model is an effective and popular prior model in the image processing problem. Different to frequently using the splitting scheme to directly solve this model, we propose the primal dual method to solve the smoothing total variation-based Rudin–Osher–Fatemi model and give some convergence analysis of proposed method. Numerical implements show that our proposed model and method can efficiently improve the numerical results compared with the Rudin–Osher–Fatemi model.
Clinical impact and risk stratification of balloon angioplasty for femoropopliteal disease in nitinol stenting era: Retrospective multicenter study using propensity score matching analysis
Authors: Tsuchiya Taketsugu , Takamura Takaaki , Soga Yoshimitsu , Iida Osamu , Hirano Keisuke , Suzuki Kenji , Yamaoka Terutoshi , Miyashita Yusuke , Kitayama Michihiko , Kajinami Koji
Published: July 2016

Objective:

Nitinol stenting could bring the better outcome in endovascular therapy for femoropopliteal disease. However, it might be expected that recent marked advances in both device technology and operator technique had led to improved efficacy of balloon angioplasty even in this segment. The aims of this study were to evaluate the clinical impact of balloon angioplasty for femoropopliteal disease and make risk stratification clear by propensity score matching analysis.

Methods:

Based on the multicenter retrospective data, 2758 patients (balloon angioplasty: 729 patients and nitinol stenting: 2029 patients), those who underwent endovascular therapy for femoropopliteal disease, were analyzed.

Results:

The propensity score matching procedure extracted a total of 572 cases per group, and the primary patency rate of balloon angioplasty and nitinol stenting groups after matching was significantly the same (77.2% vs 82.7% at 1 year; 62.2% vs 64.3% at 3 years; 47.8% vs 54.3% at 5 years). In multivariate Cox hazard regression analysis, significant predictors for primary patency were diabetes mellitus, regular dialysis, cilostazol use, chronic total occlusion, and intra-vascular ultra-sonography use. The strategy of balloon angioplasty was not evaluated as a significant predictor for the primary patency. After risk stratification using five items ( diabetes mellitus, regular dialysis, no use of intra-vascular ultra-sonography, chronic total occlusion, and no use of cilostazol: the DDICC score), the estimated primary patency rates of each group (low, DDICC score 0–2; moderate, DDICC score 3; high risk, DDICC score 4–5) were 88.6%, 78.3%, and 63.5% at 1 year; 75.2%, 60.7%, and 39.8% at 3 years; and 66.0%, 47.1%, and 26.3% at 5 years (p < 0.0001). The primary patency rate of balloon angioplasty and nitinol stenting groups was significantly the same in each risk stratification.

Conclusion:

This study suggests that balloon angioplasty does not have inferiority to nitinol stenting but does have favorable efficacy in femoropopliteal segment by careful risk stratification with the recent advance of technique.
Coagulation factors bound to procoagulant platelets concentrate in cap structures to promote clotting
Authors: Podoplelova Nadezhda A. , Sveshnikova Anastasia N. , Kotova Yana N. , Eckly Anita , Receveur Nicolas , Nechipurenko Dmitry Yu. , Obydennyi Sergey I. , Kireev Igor I. , Gachet Christian , Ataullakhanov Fazly I. , Mangin Pierre H. , Panteleev Mikhail A.
Published: July 2016

Key Points

All blood coagulation factors predominantly bind to a small “cap”-like region on procoagulant-activated platelets. Their concentration in this small region promotes acceleration of the membrane-dependent reactions of coagulation.
AGOUTI: improving genome assembly and annotation using transcriptome data
Authors: Zhang Simo V , Zhuo Luting , Hahn Matthew W
Published: July 2016

Background

Genomes sequenced using short-read, next-generation sequencing technologies can have many errors and may be fragmented into thousands of small contigs. These incomplete and fragmented assemblies lead to errors in gene identification, such that single genes spread across multiple contigs are annotated as separate gene models. Such biases can confound inferences about the number and identity of genes within species, as well as gene gain and loss between species.

Results

We present AGOUTI (Annotated Genome Optimization Using Transcriptome Information), a tool that uses RNA sequencing data to simultaneously combine contigs into scaffolds and fragmented gene models into single models. We show that AGOUTI improves both the contiguity of genome assemblies and the accuracy of gene annotation, providing updated versions of each as output. Running AGOUTI on both simulated and real datasets, we show that it is highly accurate and that it achieves greater accuracy and contiguity when compared with other existing methods.

Conclusion

AGOUTI is a powerful and effective scaffolder and, unlike most scaffolders, is expected to be more effective in larger genomes because of the commensurate increase in intron length. AGOUTI is able to scaffold thousands of contigs while simultaneously reducing the number of gene models by hundreds or thousands. The software is available free of charge under the MIT license.
Relief geometric effects on frequency-domain electromagnetic data
Authors: Valera Sifontes Rimary , Sato Hédison Kiuity , Moumoni Zoukaneri Ibrahim
Published: July 2016

A perpendicular transmitter-receiver coils arrangement used in the frequency-domain electromagnetic survey can have deviations in relation to its standard geometric definition due to the relief geometry of the surveyed area when combined with large transmitter-receiver distance and large transmitter loop size. This happens because the local relief characteristics along the transmitter loop wire laid on the ground can deviate the equivalent magnetic moment axis from the vertical, and the global characteristics locate the transmitter and receiver positions at different elevations. A study about that is carried on here substituting the rugged relief by an inclined plane. We have developed a new formulation for the [Formula: see text]-layered model that allowed us to investigate the relief geometry effects on FDEM data but restricting the analysis to the two-layer earth model, considering three cases of transmitter-receiver situations controlled by the relief conditions. The curves representing the Argand diagram and the apparent polarization parameter as a function of the apparent induction number were obtained for each relief model. Such procedures resulted to be very useful to demonstrate their behavior departing from those curves obtained for an inclined and a horizontal ground. These results show that small deviations in the verticality of the transmitter loop axis or in the horizontality of the surficial plane causes significant deviations, even for angles as small as 1°.
Full-traveltime inversion
Authors: Luo Yi , Ma Yue , Wu Yan , Liu Hongwei , Cao Lei
Published: July 2016

Many previously published wave-equation-based methods, which attempt to automatically invert traveltime or kinematic information in seismic data or migrated gathers for smooth velocities, suffer a common and severe problem — the inversions are involuntarily and unconsciously hijacked by amplitude information. To overcome this problem, we have developed a new wave-equation-based traveltime inversion methodology, referred to as full-traveltime (i.e., fully dependent on traveltime) inversion (FTI), to automatically estimate a kinematically accurate velocity model from seismic data. The key idea of FTI is to make the inversion fully dependent on traveltime information, and thus prevent amplitude interference during inversion. Under the assumption that velocity perturbations cause only traveltime changes, we have derived the FTI method in the data and image domains, which are applicable to transmitted arrivals and reflected waves, respectively. FTI does not require an accurate initial velocity model or low-frequency seismic data. Synthetic and field data tests demonstrate that FTI produces satisfactory inversion results, even when using constant velocity models as initials.
2D frequency-domain elastic full-waveform inversion using the block-diagonal pseudo-Hessian approximation
Authors: Wang Yuwei , Dong Liangguo , Liu Yuzhu , Yang Jizhong
Published: July 2016

Elastic full-waveform inversion (EFWI) of multicomponent seismic data is a powerful tool for estimating the subsurface elastic parameters with high accuracy. However, the trade-offs between multiple parameters increase the nonlinearity of EFWI. Although the conventional diagonal-approximate Hessian matrix describes the illumination and limited bandwidth effects, it ignores the trade-off effects and decreases the convergence rate of EFWI. We have developed a block-diagonal pseudo-Hessian operator for 2D frequency-domain EFWI to take into account the approximate trade-offs among the P-wave (compressional-wave) velocity, S-wave (shear-wave) velocity, and density without extra computational costs on forward simulations. The Hessian matrix tends toward a block-diagonal matrix as the frequency grows to infinity; thus, the proposed block-diagonal pseudo-Hessian matrix is more accurate at higher frequencies. The inverse of the block-diagonal pseudo-Hessian matrix is used as a preconditioner for the nonlinear conjugate-gradient method to simultaneously reconstruct P- and S-wave velocities and density. This approach effectively mitigates the crosstalk artifacts by correcting the gradients from the trade-off effects and produces more rapid inversion convergence, which becomes more significant at higher frequencies. Synthetic experiments on an inclusion model and the elastic Marmousi2 model demonstrate its feasibility and validity in EFWI.
Hydrocarbon detection for Ordovician carbonate reservoir using amplitude variation with offset and spectral decomposition
Authors: Li Yandong , Zhang Lijuan , Wang Daxing , Shi Songqun , Cui Xiaojie
Published: July 2016

We have developed an example of hydrocarbon detection for an Ordovician cavern carbonate reservoir in western China with a burial depth exceeding 6600 m using amplitude variation with offset (AVO) and spectral decomposition. We selected six production wells, three prolific oil wells, and three brine wells to test the hydrocarbon detection method. The three oil wells have been producing for more than three years, and the three water wells only produce brine. We performed spectral decomposition to the angle gathers and analyzed amplitude variation patterns with incidence angles for different spectral components. Specifically, we compared the time corresponding to the peak spectral amplitude for different spectral components for the oil- and brine-saturated carbonate reservoirs. The main findings are as follows: (1) Oil-saturated cavern carbonate reservoirs show decreasing peak time with increasing frequency; i.e., the high-frequency components travel faster than do the low-frequency components. The maximum time difference between the 10 and 50 Hz spectral components could reach 35 ms. In contrast, the brine-saturated carbonate reservoirs do not exhibit conspicuous variation in the peak time, (2) AVO attributes extracted from the low-frequency spectral gathers are more robust than those extracted from the original seismic gathers, (3) oil-saturated cavern carbonate reservoirs cause strong energies in the low-frequency spectral components and severe attenuation to the high-frequency spectral components at large incidence angles. In contrast, the brine-saturated carbonate reservoirs do not produce such phenomenon. Rock physics analysis for carbonate reservoirs under different saturation conditions was conducted. The synthetic gathers were generated for carbonate reservoirs under oil- and brine-saturated conditions. The spectrally decomposed synthetic gathers are in agreement with the real gathers. The results indicate that AVO analysis of spectrally decomposed prestack gathers could be used as an effective hydrocarbon detection method for carbonate reservoirs.
Near-surface geophysical surveys at the Duport gold deposit, Ontario, Canada: Relating airborne responses to small-scale geologic features
Authors: Ferguson Ian J. , Young Jeffrey B. , Cook Becky J. , Krakowka Ashley B. C. , Tycholiz Cassandra
Published: July 2016

Near-surface geophysical measurements using magnetometer, magnetic susceptibility, terrain conductivity, and time-domain electromagnetic instruments were made at the shear-hosted Duport gold deposit on Cameron Island in Shoal Lake, western Ontario, Canada, to help relate airborne total magnetic intensity (TMI) and helicopter electromagnetic survey data to small-scale geologic features. The magnetic airborne response provides a weak indication of a narrow anomaly within the Duport deformation zone, and the airborne electromagnetic response provides an indication of enhanced conductivity in the northwest of Cameron Island. In contrast, surface magnetic responses are dominated by the narrow 10,000–15,000 nT magnetic anomaly of a talc-chlorite-dolomite schistose basalt unit, a feature barely visible in the airborne TMI data. This geologic unit hosts the veins containing gold mineralization, so the surface TMI data provide a valuable response for delineating the corresponding rocks. Modeling of the TMI data indicates that the unit has a susceptibility of up to 0.7 SI and a corresponding magnetite content of up to 20%. The TMI data also reveal along-strike variations in the magnetic anomaly providing information on the component of ultramafic rocks in the protolith of the unit. The surface geophysical data allow the enhanced conductivity in the northwest part of Cameron Island to be attributed to several narrow sulfidized zones containing up to 10% pyrrhotite. Additional conductive and positively magnetized zones are associated with concentrations of 5%–10% of magnetite. The near-surface geophysics at the Duport deposit provided a rapid and inexpensive method for defining the magnetic and electrical properties of the geologic units at the site and for defining the exact location, width, and internal structure of features observed in the airborne geophysical data. Availability of magnetic susceptibility measurements from a single drill core enhanced the accuracy of the interpretations and the ability to relate the near-surface geophysical responses to geologic features.
Increasing the quality of seismic interpretation
Authors: Macrae Euan J. , Bond Clare E. , Shipton Zoe K. , Lunn Rebecca J.
Published: July 2016

Geologic models are based on the interpretation of spatially sparse and limited resolution data sets. Nonunique interpretations often exist, resulting in commercial, safety, and environmental risks. We surveyed 444 experienced geoscientists to assess the validity of their interpretations of a seismic section for which multiple concepts honor the data. The most statistically influential factor in improving interpretation was writing about geologic time. A randomized controlled trial identified for the first time a significant causal link between being explicitly requested to describe the temporal geologic evolution of an interpretation and increased interpretation quality. These results have important implications for interpreting geologic data and communicating uncertainty in models.
Seismic noise monitoring of the water table in a deep-seated, slow-moving landslide
Authors: Voisin Christophe , Garambois Stéphane , Massey Chris , Brossier Romain
Published: July 2016

Daily correlations of ambient seismic noise on a large landslide at Utiku, New Zealand, reveal seismic velocity changes up to [Formula: see text] that follow a summer/winter cycle consistent with the pore-water pressures monitored at the basal slip surface in the landslide. The annual pattern of velocity changes is borne by a limited frequency band (6–8 Hz typically) that suggests a localized change in the medium. The Rayleigh waves that form the seismic signal within this frequency band have a maximum sensitivity at a depth of 2–3 m below the ground surface, consistent with the water table level. Fluid saturation changes in the landslide modeled using the Biot-Gassmann theory explain the limited frequency band and the amplitude of the seismic velocity change. This set of arguments suggests that seismic noise correlations are sensitive to water table oscillations through saturation changes and could be used as a nondestructive hydrologic monitoring tool.
Association Between Results of a Gene Expression Signature Assay and Recurrence-Free Interval in Patients With Stage II Colon Cancer in Cancer and Leukemia Group B 9581 (Alliance)
Authors: Niedzwiecki Donna , Frankel Wendy L. , Venook Alan P. , Ye Xing , Friedman Paula N. , Goldberg Richard M. , Mayer Robert J. , Colacchio Thomas Anthony , Mulligan Jude Marie , Davison Timothy S. , O’Brien Eamonn , Kerr Peter , Johnston Patrick G. , Kennedy Richard D. , Harkin D. Paul , Schilsky Richard L. , Bertagnolli Monica M. , Warren Robert S. , Innocenti Federico
Published: July 2016

Purpose

Conventional staging methods are inadequate to identify patients with stage II colon cancer (CC) who are at high risk of recurrence after surgery with curative intent. ColDx is a gene expression, microarray-based assay shown to be independently prognostic for recurrence-free interval (RFI) and overall survival in CC. The objective of this study was to further validate ColDx using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens collected as part of the Alliance phase III trial, C9581.

Patients and Methods

C9581 evaluated edrecolomab versus observation in patients with stage II CC and reported no survival benefit. Under an initial case-cohort sampling design, a randomly selected subcohort (RS) comprised 514 patients from 901 eligible patients with available tissue. Forty-nine additional patients with recurrence events were included in the analysis. Final analysis comprised 393 patients: 360 RS (58 events) and 33 non-RS events. Risk status was determined for each patient by ColDx. The Self-Prentice method was used to test the association between the resulting ColDx risk score and RFI adjusting for standard prognostic variables.

Results

Fifty-five percent of patients (216 of 393) were classified as high risk. After adjustment for prognostic variables that included mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency, ColDx high-risk patients exhibited significantly worse RFI (multivariable hazard ratio, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.3 to 3.5; P < .01). Age and MMR status were marginally significant. RFI at 5 years for patients classified as high risk was 82% (95% CI, 79% to 85%), compared with 91% (95% CI, 89% to 93%) for patients classified as low risk.

Conclusion

ColDx is associated with RFI in the C9581 subsample in the presence of other prognostic factors, including MMR deficiency. ColDx could be incorporated with the traditional clinical markers of risk to refine patient prognosis.
Effect of Interval (7 or 11 weeks) Between Neoadjuvant Radiochemotherapy and Surgery on Complete Pathologic Response in Rectal Cancer: A Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Trial (GRECCAR-6)
Authors: Lefevre Jérémie H. , Mineur Laurent , Kotti Salma , Rullier Eric , Rouanet Philippe , de Chaisemartin Cécile , Meunier Bernard , Mehrdad Jafari , Cotte Eddy , Desrame Jérome , Karoui Mehdi , Benoist Stéphane , Kirzin Sylvain , Berger Anne , Panis Yves , Piessen Guillaume , Saudemont Alain , Prudhomme Michel , Peschaud Frédérique , Dubois Anne , Loriau Jérome , Tuech Jean-Jacques , Meurette Guillaume , Lupinacci Renato , Goasgen Nicolas , Parc Yann , Simon Tabassome , Tiret Emmanuel
Published: July 2016

Purpose

A pathologic complete response (pCR; ypT0N0) of a rectal tumor after neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy (RCT) is associated with an excellent prognosis. Several retrospective studies have investigated the effect of increasing the delay after RCT. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of increasing the interval between the end of RCT and surgery on the pCR rate.

Methods

GRECCAR6 was a phase III, multicenter, randomized, open-label, parallel-group controlled trial. Patients with cT3/T4 or Tx N+ tumors of the mid or lower rectum who had received RCT (45 to 50 Gy with fluorouracil or capecitabine) were included. Patients were randomly included in the 7-week or the 11-week (11w) group. Primary end point was the pCR rate defined as a ypT0N0 specimen (NCT01648894).

Results

A total of 265 patients from 24 centers were enrolled between October 2012 and February 2015. The majority of the tumors were cT3 (82%). After RCT, surgery was not performed in nine patients (3.4%) because of the occurrence of distant metastasis (n = 5) or other reasons. Two patients underwent local resection of the tumor scar. A total of 47 (18.6%) specimens were classified as ypT0 (four had invaded lymph nodes [8.5%]). The primary end point (ypT0N0) was not different (7 weeks: 20 of 133, 15.0% v 11w: 23 of 132, 17.4%; P = .5983). Morbidity was significantly increased in the 11w group (44.5% v 32%; P = .0404) as a result of increased medical complications (32.8% v 19.2%; P = .0137). The 11w group had a worse quality of mesorectal resection (complete mesorectum [I] 78.7% v 90%; P = .0156).

Conclusion

Waiting 11 weeks after RCT did not increase the rate of pCR after surgical resection. A longer waiting period may be associated with higher morbidity and more difficult surgical resection.
Rupture and the Maintenance of Indigenous Alterity: Crises, Borders, and Race in Ecuador, 1941–2008
Authors: Viatori Maximilian
Published: July 2016

This article examines how narratives of historical rupture and crisis maintain, rather than upset, dominant racial hierarchies. An analysis of elite narrations of Ecuador’s border conflicts with Peru and Colombia between 1941 and 2008 demonstrates how such crisis narratives functioned as ongoing strategies for reinforcing indigenous peoples’ alterity within the Ecuadorian nation. Specifically, white-mestizo elites discursively framed these crises as historical breaks that necessitated new visions of the country’s future. Rather than bring histories of racial inequality to the fore, such crisis narratives obscured them and sought to prevent meaningful considerations of enduring colonial politics in Ecuador.
Two types of dominant male cichlid fish: behavioral and hormonal characteristics
Authors: Alcazar Rosa M. , Becker Lisa , Hilliard Austin T. , Kent Kai R. , Fernald Russell D.
Published: July 2016

Male African cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni, have been classified as dominant or subordinate, each with unique behavioral and endocrine profiles. Here we characterize two distinct subclasses of dominant males based on types of aggressive behavior: (1) males that display escalating levels of aggression and court females while they establish a territory, and (2) males that display a stable level of aggression and delay courting females until they have established a territory. To profile differences in their approach to a challenge, we used an intruder assay. In every case, there was a male-male confrontation between the resident dominant male and the intruder, with the intruder quickly taking a subordinate role. However, we found that dominant males with escalating aggression spent measurably more time attacking subordinates than did dominant males with stable aggression that instead increased their attention toward the females in their tank. There was no difference in the behavior of intruders exposed to either type of dominant male, suggesting that escalating aggression is an intrinsic characteristic of some dominant males and is not elicited by the behavior of their challengers. Male behavior during the first 15 min of establishing a territory predicts their aggressive class. These two types of dominant males also showed distinctive physiological characteristics. After the intruder assay, males with escalating aggression had elevated levels of 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT), testosterone, estradiol, and cortisol, while those with stable aggression did not. These observations show that the same stimulus can elicit different behavioral and endocrine responses among A. burtoni dominant males that characterize them as either escalating or stable aggressive types. Our ability to identify which individuals within a population have escalating levels of aggressive responses versus those which have stable levels of aggressive responses when exposed to the same stimulus, offers a potentially powerful model for investigating the underlying molecular mechanisms that modulate aggressive behavior.
Direct neuronal reprogramming: learning from and for development
Authors: Masserdotti Giacomo , Gascón Sergio , Götz Magdalena
Published: July 2016

The key signalling pathways and transcriptional programmes that instruct neuronal diversity during development have largely been identified. In this Review, we discuss how this knowledge has been used to successfully reprogramme various cell types into an amazing array of distinct types of functional neurons. We further discuss the extent to which direct neuronal reprogramming recapitulates embryonic development, and examine the particular barriers to reprogramming that may exist given a cell's unique developmental history. We conclude with a recently proposed model for cell specification called the ‘Cook Islands’ model, and consider whether it is a fitting model for cell specification based on recent results from the direct reprogramming field.