bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Compact EBG ground plane microstrip antenna for broad bandwidth applications
Authors: Aravind V. S. , Gupta Shilpi , Shukla Satya Bhushan , Mukundan K. K. , Aswathi C. K.
Published: January 2016

In this article, a novel microstrip antenna with EBG ground plane is proposed for broad bandwidth applications. A 27 mm × 27 mm patch is designed and a slot of 20 mm × 20 mm is made on it. Slots improve the bandwidth at the cost of introduction of side lobes in the radiation pattern. To absorb these side lobes and to enhance the gain, EBG mushroom structures were introduced. The whole structure when simulated provides a gain of 4.1 dBi and an impedance bandwidth of 721 MHz around 4.8 GHz and 1,200 MHz around 7.6 GHz. Measured results shows good agreement with the simulated results and thus validates this design. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:555–557, 2016
Compact tri‐band bandpass filter with controllable frequencies
Authors: Xu Jin‐Xu , Gao Li , Xiang Jun , Xue Quan
Published: January 2016

In this paper, we present a compact tri‐band bandpass filter (BPF). The resonator, which consists of a main transmission line, a center‐loaded open stub and a side‐loaded open stub, is utilized to obtain the three resonance frequencies. After selecting the impedance of each stub at this resonator, the passband frequencies can be controlled individually. Four transmission zeros are generated to enhance the selectivity. For demonstration, a compact tri‐band BPF is implemented. Good agreement between the measured and simulated results is presented to verify the theoretical predication. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:573–577, 2016
A 60 GHz CMOS up‐conversion double‐balanced mixer with wide if bandwidth
Authors: Chou Min‐Li , Chiu Hsien‐Chin , Kao Hsuan‐Ling , Huang Fan‐Hsiu
Published: January 2016

A 60 GHz fully integrated double‐balanced up‐conversion mixer with wide IF bandwidth performance has been designed and fabricated using 90‐nm CMOS technology. In order to feed the single‐ended IF signal and to reduce the total power consumption, the active balun with an RC‐feedback architecture was designed in the Gilbert‐cell mixer. From dc to 10 GHz, a phase difference of 5° and a magnitude difference of 1 dB were obtained simultaneously in the proposed RC‐feedback active balun. Series inductive‐peaking techniques were also adopted to improve the IF bandwidth from DC to 3.8 GHz. The chip area of the mixer is 0.75 mm2. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:546–549, 2016
Compact integrated bluetooth UWB bandnotch antenna for personal wireless communication
Authors: Labade Rekha , Deosarkar Shankar , Pisharoty Narayan , Malhotra Akshay
Published: January 2016

In this paper, a compact microstrip fed octagonal ring dual band antenna for integrated Bluetooth (2.4∼2.484 GHz) and ultra‐wideband (UWB; 3.1∼10.6 GHz) applications withband notch characteristics for wireless local area network (WLAN; 5.15∼5.825 GHz) is proposed and investigated. The entire UWB frequency band is achieved by using an octagonal ring patch and a modified ground plane. The dual band operation is achieved by integrating Bluetooth characteristicsby embedding a quarter wavelength resonating strip at the center of the octagonal ring radiating patch. Further, to avoid the potential interferences of the UWB system with the existing narrow band system such as WLAN in the proposed antenna,an inverted U‐shaped slot in the feed line has been etched to obtain the desired band notch characteristics. The proposed antenna is designed, fabricated on a FR4 glass epoxy substrate and tested. The proposed antenna yields a measured impedance bandwidth over the frequency range of 2.40 ∼ 2.5 GHz and 3.1 ∼ 13 GHz to exhibit the integrated Bluetooth and UWB characteristics respectively for VSWR < 2 with an excellent rejection band of 5.15 ∼ 5.90 GHz to prevent interferences of WLAN signals. The proposed antenna exhibits directional and omnidirectional radiation pattern in E and H‐plane with stable gain and good time domain characteristics at all desired frequency bands. The compact dimension of 38 × 30 mm2 of the proposed antenna makes it a suitable candidate for personal wireless communication application. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:540–546, 2016
A circularly polarized square microstrip parasitic antenna with an improved bandwidth
Authors: Nour Amro A. , Fezai Faycel , Thevenot Marc , Arnaud Eric , Monediere Thierry
Published: January 2016

This paper presents a novel design for an optimized circularly polarized microstrip antenna. Circular polarized microstrip antennas have many uses due to its low profile design. However, one of the microstrip antenna's main limitations arises from its narrow frequency bandwidth. Therefore, it is necessary to use special design techniques in order to increase the operating frequency bandwidth while maintaining all of the other respectable optimum radiation characteristics. The proposed design involves using a dual‐feed square patch, which is gap coupled with two parasitic patches in a mirrored L‐shaped configuration. This design resulted in an axial ratio bandwidth of 11%, S11 bandwidth of 14% and a gain of 9 dB at the 2.15 GHz center frequency. The proposed design was built, and the measured results were in agreement with the simulation results. Additionally, this antenna design was used in an array structure in order to increase the gain, while maintaining a good axial ratio. These enhanced radiation results allow the use of the proposed antenna design in many domains such as wireless and military applications without facing the limitations of the narrow frequency bandwidth. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:597–603, 2016
Modeling stepped U‐slot DGS microstrip line
Authors: Woo Duk‐Jae , Lee Taek‐Kyung , Nam Sangwook
Published: January 2016

This paper presents an equivalent circuit model for a stepped U‐slot defected ground structure (DGS). For a stepped U‐slot DGS, the defected structure is simply modeled using a short‐circuited stepped impedance coplanar waveguide (CPW) combined with a gap capacitor. The proposed circuit model is advantageous in its ability to accurately control the ratio (η = fs1/fr) of the fundamental resonance frequency (fr) to first spurious resonance frequency (fs1) by changing the impedance and the electrical length of the CPW in each step. By using this property, two types of resonators with normalized first spurious resonance frequencies (η = fs1/fr) of 4 and 2 were designed and fabricated. Good agreement between the EM simulations and the experimental results were achieved. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:583–587, 2016
Compact quad‐band cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna with complementary C‐shaped defected ground structure
Authors: Sharma Anand , Gangwar Ravi Kumar
Published: January 2016

In this article, compact quad‐band cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna (CDRA) with complementary C‐shaped defected ground structure (DGS) is examined. The proposed antenna design is excited by annular shape microstrip line. Annular shape microstrip line, at center position and shifted from center position, are used to generate HE12δ and HE11δ mode in CDRA at 12.1 GHz and 11.6 GHz, respectively. Complementary C‐shaped DGS is used to make proposed antenna design compact (approximately half the resonant frequency of CDRA mode). Archetype of antenna structure has been fabricated and experimentally tested. The proposed antenna operates in four frequency bands 3.21–3.63 GHz; 4.83–6.78 GHz; 7.25–7.77 GHz, and 11.76–12.45 GHz with a fractional bandwidth of 14.36%, 23.14%, 3.68%, and 1.88%, respectively. The proposed antenna design is applicable for WLAN (5.2/5.8 GHz) and WiMAX (3.5/5.5 GHz) bands. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:611–615, 2016
An improved NRW method to extract electromagnetic parameters of metamaterials
Authors: Shi Yan , Hao Tong , Li Long , Liang Chang‐Hong
Published: January 2016

In this article, an improved Nicolson–Ross–Weir (NRW) method has been developed to accurately retrieve electromagnetic parameters of metamaterials. By solving roots of higher degree for transmission term and applying first‐order approximation of Taylor's series to the resultant term, the accuracy of the proposed NRW method can be greatly improved. Combined with Kramers–Kronig (K‐K) relationship, the developed method can correctly solve the branch of the refractive index caused by complex exponential function and thus the proposed method is free from the limitation of the electric thickness of the measured materials. Numerical results including a single slab of fishnet structure and three slabs of wires and split‐ring resonators are given to show accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:647–652, 2016
An ultracompact CRLH‐TL bandpass filter for VHF applications
Authors: Sim Dong‐Uk , Ju Jeong Ho , Kwon Jong‐Hwa , Park Seong‐Ook
Published: January 2016

This article proposes a new design approach to an ultracompact composite right‐/left‐handed transmission line (CRLH‐TL) bandpass filter with good passband and very broad stopband performances. In order to reduce the size, a series connection of the interdigital capacitor and shorted spiral inductor for realizing CRLH‐TL is adopted and optimized to create the target Terrestrial‐Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (T‐DMB, 174–216 MHz) bandpass filtering. T‐DMB was developed in South Korea. The results of a Bloch impedance analysis suggest that the proposed approach generates good impedance matching. The proposed filter has overall dimensions of λg/19 by λg/34 in terms of a center frequency of 180 MHz, a 3 dB fractional bandwidth of over 28%, an insertion loss of much lower than 2 dB, and a good return loss performance in the predicted and measured results. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:694–697, 2016
The effect of void on characteristics of LDMOS power amplifier
Authors: Son Mi‐Hyun , Bae Sooho , Park Hyuncheol , Kwon Hyuck M.
Published: January 2016

The effect of void on characteristics of the laterally diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) power amplifier (PA) is analyzed using the thermal and circuit analysis together. Thermal analysis is performed for finding the junction temperature of LDMOS PA as void area changes. Circuit analysis is performed from these results and LDMOS PA libraries. The analysis results show the linearity, gain, and efficiency degradation in the LDMOS PA as a result of the increase in void area. And this simulation methodology can be used for the design of the PA. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:691–694, 2016
Compact quad‐band bandpass filter using internally coupled multimode stepped impedance resonator
Authors: Kumar Prahlad , Kumar Amarjit , Pathak N. P.
Published: January 2016

This article reports the design and analysis of a quint‐band resonator using an internally coupled multimode stepped‐impedance resonator along with meandered λ/2 resonators. Resonance frequency of the fundamental even‐ and odd‐mode along with the first higher order mode of the proposed resonator has been selected to obtain resonances at first, second, fourth, and fifth pass band while other λ/2 resonator controls the occurrence of third pass band. This resonator has been used in the design of a miniaturized quad‐band bandpass filter where transmission zeros have been used to obtain quad‐band filter response for better selectivity. Full wave simulation results along with the measured characteristics of the resonator and filter are also presented. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:708–712, 2016
Influence of structure parameters on FWHM and wavelength separation based on intensity‐tunable guided mode resonance filter
Authors: Wang Qi , Li Ye , Huang Tian , Wang Jianyu , Zhang Dawei
Published: January 2016

With the proposed intensity‐tunable reflectance filter based on the effect of the guided mode resonance, the influence of the structure parameters on full width at half maximum (FWHM) and wavelength separation (Δλ) are studied. The experimental data indicates that the intensity of the spectral reflectance can be tuned by adjusting the azimuthal angle at the wavelength of 752.9 nm and 782.5 nm. With numerically calculated, the influence of the structural parameters on the value of wavelength separation between the dual resonance channels are analyzed. We investigated Δλ and bandwidth by changing the parameters of the structure with the azimuthal angle of 45°. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:705–708, 2016
Complexity reduced behavioural modeling of dynamic nonlinear power amplifiers using two‐box structures
Authors: Hammi Oualid , Khan Mohammed H. , Abdelhafiz Abubaker , Ghannouchi Fadhel M. , Sharawi Mohammad S.
Published: January 2016

This paper addresses the problem of model size estimation in power amplifiers behavioural modeling and predistortion applications using multi‐basis functions memory polynomials. A low complexity sequential approach is proposed along with a suitable model. The proposed model and size estimation approach are experimentally assessed for the modeling and predistortion of an LTE envelope‐tracking power amplifier. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:726–732, 2016
Macroglossia in advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Authors: Matsuda Chiharu , Shimizu Toshio , Nakayama Yuki , Haraguchi Michiko , Hakuta Chiyoko , Itagaki Yumi , Ogura Akiko , Murata Kanako , Taira Masato , Numayama Takaya , Kinoshita Masanobu
Published: January 2016

Introduction: An enlarged tongue (macroglossia) has been reported in advanced‐stage patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: In this study we examined the prevalence of macroglossia and analyzed clinical correlations in 65 ALS patients on tracheostomy‐invasive ventilation (TIV). Results: Macroglossia was found in 22 patients (33.8%). Compared with those without macroglossia, patients with macroglossia had a younger age of onset, longer duration of disease and TIV use, lower ALS Functional Rating Scale score, higher body mass index, lower energy intake, more severe communication impairment, and lower oral function. Logistic multivariate analysis showed that body mass index (BMI; P = 0.007) and communication impairment (P = 0.029) were significantly correlated with macroglossia. The duration of TIV use was at the cut‐off level of significance (P = 0.05). Conclusions: Macroglossia may be the result of overfeeding and replacement by fat during long‐term TIV use in patients with advanced ALS. Muscle Nerve, 2016 Muscle Nerve 54: 386–390, 2016
Tuned preconditioners for the eigensolution of large SPD matrices arising in engineering problems
Authors: Martínez Ángeles
Published: January 2016

In this paper, we study a class of tuned preconditioners that will be designed to accelerate both the DACG–Newton method and the implicitly restarted Lanczos method for the computation of the leftmost eigenpairs of large and sparse symmetric positive definite matrices arising in large‐scale scientific computations. These tuning strategies are based on low‐rank modifications of a given initial preconditioner. We present some theoretical properties of the preconditioned matrix. We experimentally show how the aforementioned methods benefit from the acceleration provided by these tuned/deflated preconditioners. Comparisons are carried out with the Jacobi–Davidson method onto matrices arising from various large realistic problems arising from finite element discretization of PDEs modeling either groundwater flow in porous media or geomechanical processes in reservoirs. The numerical results show that the Newton‐based methods (which includes also the Jacobi–Davidson method) are to be preferred to the – yet efficiently implemented – implicitly restarted Lanczos method whenever a small to moderate number of eigenpairs is required. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effect of rate of weight loss on long‐term weight regain in adults with overweight and obesity
Authors: Vink Roel G. , Roumans Nadia J. T. , Arkenbosch Laura A. J. , Mariman Edwin C. M. , van Baak Marleen A.
Published: January 2016

Objective

To investigate the effect of rate of weight loss, with similar total weight loss, on weight regain in individuals with overweight and obesity.

Methods

Fifty‐seven participants (BMI: 28‐35 kg/m2) underwent a dietary intervention (DI). They were randomized to a low‐calorie diet (LCD; 1250 kcal/day) for 12 weeks (slow weight loss) or a very‐low‐calorie diet (VLCD; 500 kcal/day) for 5 weeks (rapid weight loss) (weight loss (WL) period) followed by a 4‐week weight‐stable (WS) period and 9 months follow‐up. Body weight and body composition (BodPod) were determined at study start and after each period.

Results

Weight change was similar in both groups after WL (LCD: −8.2 kg and VLCD: −9.0 kg, P = 0.24). Weight regain after follow‐up was not significantly different between groups (LCD: 4.2 kg and VLCD: 4.5 kg, P = 0.73). Percentage fat‐free mass loss (%FFML) was higher in the VLCD‐group compared to the LCD‐group after DI (8.8% and 1.3%, respectively, P = 0.034) and was associated with weight regain during follow‐up in the whole group (r = 0.325, P = 0.018).

Conclusions

The present study showed that, with similar total weight loss, rate of weight loss did not affect weight regain. However, %FFML after DI was associated with weight regain.
Mid‐adulthood cardiometabolic risk factor profiles of sarcopenic obesity
Authors: Ma Jiantao , Hwang Shih‐Jen , McMahon Gearoid M. , Curhan Gary C. , Mclean Robert R. , Murabito Joanne M. , Fox Caroline S.
Published: January 2016

Objective

Midlife and contemporaneous cardiometabolic risk factors associated with sarcopenic obesity were examined.

Methods

Utilizing BMI and sex‐specific 24‐h urinary creatinine excretion, 1,019 participants from the Framingham cohorts were categorized as non‐sarcopenia non‐obese (NSNO), non‐obese sarcopenia, non‐sarcopenic obesity, and sarcopenic obesity. Cardiometabolic risk factors were quantified by standard laboratory assessment cross‐sectionally and 10, 20, and 30 years before sarcopenic obesity assessment.

Results

NSNO, sarcopenia, obesity, and sarcopenic obesity accounted for 30.0%, 39.6%, 20.0%, and 10.4% of study participants, respectively. Cross‐sectionally, participants with sarcopenic obesity had a higher proportion of hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes than those with NSNO or sarcopenia (all P < 0.03). Similar patterns were observed retrospectively at 10, 20, and 30 years. Compared with NSNO or sarcopenia, sarcopenic obesity was associated with a higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes at 10 years and hypertension and metabolic syndrome at all three time points before baseline (all P < 0.03). Individuals with sarcopenic obesity had more type 2 diabetes than those with obesity alone at baseline and 10 years prior (all P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Older adults with sarcopenic obesity had more adverse midlife cardiometabolic risks, particularly diabetes 10 years earlier, which suggests the importance of early identification of risk factors associated with sarcopenic obesity.
A polar ring endows improved specificity to an antibody fragment
Authors: Schaefer Zachary P. , Bailey Lucas J. , Kossiakoff Anthony A.
Published: January 2016

Engineering monovalent Fab fragments into bivalent formats like IgGs or F(ab’)2 can lead to aggregation presumably because of nonspecific off‐target interactions that induce aggregation. In an effort to further understand the molecular determinants of nonspecific interactions for engineered antibodies and natively folded proteins in general, we focused on a synthetic Fab with low nanomolar affinity to histone chaperone Anti‐silencing factor 1 (Asf1) that demonstrates off‐target binding through low solubility (∼5 mg/mL) in the multivalent F(ab') 2 state. Here, we generated phage display‐based shotgun scanning libraries to introduce aspartate as a negative design element into the antibody paratope. The antibody‐combining site was amenable to aspartate substitution at numerous positions within the antigen binding loops and one variant, TyrL93Asp/HisL94Asp/ThrH100bAsp, possessed high solubility (>100 mg/ml). Furthermore, the mutations decreased nonspecific interactions measured by column interaction chromatography and ELISA in the multivalent antibody format while maintaining high affinity to the antigen. Structural determination of the antibody‐antigen complex revealed that the aspartate‐permissive residues formed a polar ring around the structural and functional paratope, recapitulating the canonical feature of naturally occurring protein‐protein interactions. This observation may inform future strategies for the design and engineering of molecular recognition.
One ring to rule them all: Current trends in combating bacterial resistance to the β‐lactams
Authors: King Dustin T. , Sobhanifar Solmaz , Strynadka Natalie C. J.
Published: January 2016

From humble beginnings of a contaminated petri dish, β‐lactam antibiotics have distinguished themselves among some of the most powerful drugs in human history. The devastating effects of antibiotic resistance have nevertheless led to an “arms race” with disquieting prospects. The emergence of multidrug resistant bacteria threatens an ever‐dwindling antibiotic arsenal, calling for new discovery, rediscovery, and innovation in β‐lactam research. Here the current state of β‐lactam antibiotics from a structural perspective was reviewed.
G‐LoSA: An efficient computational tool for local structure‐centric biological studies and drug design
Authors: Lee Hui Sun , Im Wonpil
Published: January 2016

Molecular recognition by protein mostly occurs in a local region on the protein surface. Thus, an efficient computational method for accurate characterization of protein local structural conservation is necessary to better understand biology and drug design. We present a novel local structure alignment tool, G‐LoSA. G‐LoSA aligns protein local structures in a sequence order independent way and provides a GA‐score, a chemical feature‐based and size‐independent structure similarity score. Our benchmark validation shows the robust performance of G‐LoSA to the local structures of diverse sizes and characteristics, demonstrating its universal applicability to local structure‐centric comparative biology studies. In particular, G‐LoSA is highly effective in detecting conserved local regions on the entire surface of a given protein. In addition, the applications of G‐LoSA to identifying template ligands and predicting ligand and protein binding sites illustrate its strong potential for computer‐aided drug design. We hope that G‐LoSA can be a useful computational method for exploring interesting biological problems through large‐scale comparison of protein local structures and facilitating drug discovery research and development. G‐LoSA is freely available to academic users at http://im.compbio.ku.edu/GLoSA/.
Dependence of tropical cyclone intensification rate on sea‐surface temperature
Authors: Črnivec Nina , Smith Roger K. , Kilroy Gerard
Published: January 2016

The dependence of tropical cyclone intensification rate on the sea‐surface temperature (SST) is examined in the prototype problem for tropical cyclone intensification on anf‐plane using a three‐dimensional, non‐hydrostatic numerical model. The effects of changing the SST are compared with those of changing the latitude examined in a recent article. It is found that the dependence of intensification rate on latitude is largest when the SST is marginal for tropical cyclone intensification (26 °C) and reduces in significance as the SST is increased. Further, at a given latitude, intensification begins earlier and the rate of intensification increases with increasing SST, on account of a significant increase of surface moisture fluxes from the warmer ocean. These higher fluxes result in higher values of near‐surface moisture and equivalent potential temperature, leading to a larger radial gradient of diabatic heating rate in the low to middle troposphere above the boundary layer. This larger radial gradient leads to a stronger overturning circulation, which in turn leads to a stronger radial import of absolute angular momentum surfaces and therefore more rapid spin‐up. These arguments invoke the classical axisymmetric spin‐up mechanism. Non‐axisymmetric issues are touched upon briefly.
Patterns of twenty‐first century forest loss across a global network of important sites for biodiversity
Authors: Tracewski Łukasz , Butchart Stuart H. M. , Donald Paul F. , Evans Michael , Fishpool Lincoln D. C. , Buchanan Graeme M
Published: January 2016

The contribution that remotely sensed satellite imagery could make to biodiversity monitoring is widely recognized, but remains largely unfulfilled at regional and global scales. Here, we use a publicly accessible global dataset to quantify forest loss during 2000–2012 across the world's 7279 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) that support forest bird species, and examine correlates of forest loss. Forest covered around 2 912 000 km2 in these IBAs in 2000, but had decreased by around 73 000 km2 by 2012, a 2.52% loss across all IBAs. The median loss within IBAs was 0.87% during this period, although high losses on some IBAs skewed the mean to 2.59%. Rates of forest loss in IBAs were highest in South America and South East Asia. The rate of forest loss increased notably between 2003 and 2007. In addition to the effect of year, the best fit model of forest loss contained coverage of IBAs by protected areas, altitude, slope, GDP and human population density. The parameter estimates of a best fit model indicated forest loss decrease with increased protected area coverage, increased IBA altitude, increased IBA steepness and increased IBA human population. Forest loss decreased with per capita national GDP. The model explained only a small amount of variation in forest loss and as such is inappropriate to make predictions about where future loss will occur. We provide open access code to undertake online analysis of future forest cover change data, aiding the remote monitoring of forest cover at any suite of priority sites.
Microfluidic‐based non‐enzymatic glycation enhances cross‐linking of human scleral tissue compared to conventional soaking
Authors: Choi Samjin , Moon Sang Woong , Jin Kyung‐Hyun , Shin Jae‐Ho
Published: January 2016

We evaluated nano‐structural and chemical changes in human scleral collagen caused by non‐enzymatic glycation using AFM, Raman spectroscopy, and microfluidics. Twenty 8 × 2 mm2 scleral strips (n = 5, each) were divided into four groups of pure sclera tissues (control group) and sclera tissues with incubation (1 hr in BSS and ribose) and preservation (23 hr in 90% ethanol) for 7 days (BSS + DR7 group) and 30 days (BSS + DR30 group) at room temperature, and 7 days in a microfluidic chip (BSS + DR + µF7 group). The BSS + DR7 and BSS + DR30 groups were incubated in a mixture of balanced salt solution (BSS) and 0.2 M D‐ribose in PBS, pH 7.4 containing 0.1% sodium azide, while the BSS + DR + µF7 group was incubated in the same solutions supplied by two inlet reservoirs from a microfluidic chip. The scleral tissues incubated in the microfluidic environment showed a clear irregular parallel arrangement of collagen fibrils with tangled fibrils. A Raman shift was observed at 919 cm−1 in the glycation groups. Non‐enzymatic glycation led to an increased in the density of scleral stromal collagen. Our method using non‐enzymatic glycation in a microfluidic environment successfully induced collagen cross‐linking. These in vitro results suggested that glycation can be used to strengthen connective tissues. SCANNING 38:421–426, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Exhaustive test sets for algebraic specifications
Authors: Aiguier Marc , Arnould Agnès , Gall Pascale Le , Longuet Delphine
Published: January 2016

In the context of testing from algebraic specifications, test cases are ground formulas chosen amongst the ground semantic consequences of the specification, according to some possible additional observability conditions. A test set is said to be exhaustive if every programme P passing all the tests is correct and if for every incorrect programme P, there exists a test case on which P fails. Because correctness can be proved by testing on such a test set, it is an appropriate basis for the selection of a test set of practical size. The largest candidate test set is the set of observable consequences of the specification. However, depending on the nature of specifications and programmes, this set is not necessarily exhaustive. In this paper, we study conditions to ensure the exhaustiveness property of this set for several algebraic formalisms (equational, conditional positive, quantifier free and with quantifiers) and several test hypotheses. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Injury to Azygos Venous System: A Co‐Existing Injury in High‐Impact Lethal Trauma
Authors: Papadomanolakis Antonios , Theodoridou Eleni , Vogiatzis Nikistratos , Pentheroudaki Alexandra , Daskalaki Despoina , Lolis Evangelos D.
Published: January 2016

Background

About 50 cases of azygos venous system injuries following civilian trauma have been published in current literature. The purpose of our study was to investigate the incidence of these injuries, the causative mechanism and type of trauma, the co‐existing injuries, and the mortality rate in our institution.

Methods

We performed a retrospective review of all trauma patients who were admitted to the surgical department of the General Hospital of Rethymno during an 11‐year period. Our study included patients arriving at our institution dead or alive with an azygos venous system injury following blunt or penetrating civilian trauma.

Results

Seven patients—five men and two women—were identified with azygos venous system injuries. Five had an azygos vein laceration, one suffered from both azygos and hemiazygos vein lacerations, and the last one had sustained hemiazygos and accessory hemiazygos vein injuries. All of them suffered from a blunt trauma. Three arrived at our hospital in extremis, and all died within 24 h despite our resuscitation attempts. All of our patients were polytrauma patients. All of them had co‐existing torso injuries which were severe in all but one case, three of them suffered also from serious head injuries, and all but one had at least serious extremity’s injuries.

Conclusion

Azygos venous system injuries are rare, although it seems that they are more frequent than current literature would indicate. Blunt trauma mechanism seems to be predominant in civilian trauma setting, and the patients have usually sustained a lot of serious and severe co‐existing injuries with high resultant lethality.
Assessing the impact of extreme adverse weather on the biological traits of a European storm petrel colony
Authors: Zuberogoitia Iñigo , Zabala Jabi , Etxezarreta Jon , Crespo Ariñe , Burgos Gorka , Arizaga Juan
Published: January 2016

Climate change affects the climatic disturbance patterns and regimes and is altering the frequency and intensity of subtropical cyclones. These events can affect population dynamics of seabirds (e.g., survival, reproduction). In this work we tested the effect of adverse weather on a colony of European storm petrels (Hydrobates pelagicus) located in a small islet (Aketx) in northern Spain. Over a long‐term monitoring period (1993–2014) we ringed 3728 petrels. From 2003 onwards we also monitored breeding success, the percentage of immature individuals and moult scores. We used Cormack‐Jolly‐Seber models and Underhill and Zucchini models to analyze the effects of climatic conditions on a number of biological traits (survival, breeding parameters, moulting patterns). Our analyses revealed a constant value of adult survival over the 26‐year monitoring period. Recapture probability, however, tended to be positively influenced by NAO conditions in spring, and negatively influenced by NAO conditions in winter (although this would only affect to a fraction of first‐captured birds). Moreover, the impact of adverse weather, especially in 2011 and 2014, resulted in an increasing proportion of yearlings in the breeding population, a lower breeding success and a delayed onset of moult. These effects were similar to those observed during the Prestige oil spill catastrophe.
Equilibrium and kinetic Si isotope fractionation factors and their implications for Si isotope distributions in the Earth’s surface environments
Authors: He Hong-tao , Zhang Siting , Zhu Chen , Liu Yun
Published: January 2016

Several important equilibrium Si isotope fractionation factors among minerals, organic molecules and the H4SiO4 solution are complemented to facilitate the explanation of the distributions of Si isotopes in Earth’s surface environments. The results reveal that, in comparison to aqueous H4SiO4, heavy Si isotopes will be significantly enriched in secondary silicate minerals. On the contrary, quadra-coordinated organosilicon complexes are enriched in light silicon isotope relative to the solution. The extent of 28Si-enrichment in hyper-coordinated organosilicon complexes was found to be the largest. In addition, the large kinetic isotope effect associated with the polymerization of monosilicic acid and dimer was calculated, and the results support the previous statement that highly 28Si-enrichment in the formation of amorphous quartz precursor contributes to the discrepancy between theoretical calculations and field observations. With the equilibrium Si isotope fractionation factors provided here, Si isotope distributions in many of Earth’s surface systems can be explained. For example, the change of bulk soil δ30Si can be predicted as a concave pattern with respect to the weathering degree, with the minimum value where allophane completely dissolves and the total amount of sesqui-oxides and poorly crystalline minerals reaches their maximum. When, under equilibrium conditions, the well-crystallized clays start to precipitate from the pore solutions, the bulk soil δ30Si will increase again and reach a constant value. Similarly, the precipitation of crystalline smectite and the dissolution of poorly crystalline kaolinite may explain the δ30Si variations in the ground water profile. The equilibrium Si isotope fractionations among the quadra-coordinated organosilicon complexes and the H4SiO4 solution may also shed light on the Si isotope distributions in the Si-accumulating plants.
Foreign body injuries in children
Authors: Jariwala Neha , Kratimenos Panagiotis , Eng David , Gaughan John , Koutroulis Ioannis
Published: January 2016

Background and objectives:

Foreign body injury (FBI) is a considerable public health issue for children. Although the relationships of FBI with age, gender, and objects of injury have been studied, the extent to which other demographic factors influence FBI is unclear. We hypothesized that the risk for FBI increases with the number of children in the house-hold.

Design and settings:

This was a retrospective analysis of 223 patients aged 2—10 years who presented to the emergency department of an inner-city pediatric hospital and who were found to have FBI.

Patients and methods:

The guardians were contacted via phone to examine the associations of FBI with income, parental educational level, number of children in the household, and birth order while controlling with a matched population of 250 patients. Statistical analyses using frequencies and univariate and multivariate analyses were performed.

Results:

For each increase in the number of children, the risk of FBI increased 1.44-fold (OR = 1.442). With each increase in the number of caregivers, the risk of a FBI decreased 33% (OR = 0.673). With each increase in income category, the risk of a FBI decreased 59% (OR = 0.413).

Conclusion:

The results suggest that an increase in the number of children in a household is associated with a greater risk of FBI.
Molecular pathogenesis of long QT syndrome type 1
Authors: Wu Jie , Ding Wei‐Guang , Horie Minoru
Published: January 2016

Long QT syndrome type 1 (LQT1) is a subtype of a congenital cardiac syndrome caused by mutation in the KCNQ1 gene, which encodes the α‐subunit of the slow component of delayed rectifier K+ current (IKs) channel. Arrhythmias in LQT1 are characterized by prolongation of the QT interval on ECG, as well as the occurrence of life‐threatening cardiac events, frequently triggered by adrenergic stimuli (e.g., physical or emotional stress). During the past two decades, much advancement has been made in understanding the molecular pathogenesis underlying LQT1. Uncovering the genotype‐phenotype correlations in LQT1 is of clinical importance to better understand the gene‐specific differences that may influence the propensity for developing life‐threatening arrhythmias under specific conditions. Elucidation of these mechanisms will also help to improve the diagnosis and management of this cardiac disorder based on gene‐specific considerations. This review describes the current medical consensus and recent developments regarding the molecular pathogenesis of LQT1 and provides a novel insight into the adrenergic regulation of this disease.
Seeing is believing. Or is it?: visual literacy in art & design education
Authors: Wright Peter
Published: January 2016

Visual forms of communication are dominant in the digital era. As the visual has increased in influence throughout contemporary culture, art & design slide collections, which would have traditionally helped users make sense of the visual world, have begun to rapidly disappear. How are students of art & design (and beyond) engaging with this visual proliferation now they can no longer rely on the support of the institutional slide collections and their expert staff?
eLexicons – learning from relationships
Authors: Daines Mike
Published: January 2016

Mike Daines, the founder of the eLexicons e-learning resource for the visual arts, tells the story of its development, from the early origins as a printed visual dictionary of typography, to its current iteration as an online database, covering subjects from graphic design to fashion. The editorial challenges, as well as the technical setbacks are described, as well as the resulting opportunities for use in teaching, including new developments in visual mapping.
Artists' estates: keep or get rid of them?
Authors: Haffner Dorothee
Published: January 2016

The fate of the estates (Nachlässe) of visual artists are as varied as the fortunes of the artists themselves.2 It is only the well-known, high value artists with considerable resources who have the means to create their own museum or archive.3 Yet the storage and preservation of the vast remains of artists' estates is an increasingly urgent matter. Artist output has dramatically increased since the middle of the 20th century, as has the awareness of the importance of artists bequests. Artists have often taken matters into their own hands while they are still living. More often though, it is the heirs to an estate who are faced with the task after the artist's death. The immediate family (widow, widower, children) understand the importance of the work and feel a sense of obligation. But the second generation (grandchildren) questions what to do with “all this stuff”? Often the heirs do not have the expertise, understandably, and are overwhelmed by the financial and other costs of appropriate storage for the permanent preservation of the material.4 How to professionally accommodate, develop and make such collections accessible? In the following, several models for the handling and storage of artist estates are presented, with specific reference to the issues of sifting, recording and selection.
CORRELATIONS BETWEEN INSURANCE LINES OF BUSINESS: AN ILLUSION OR A REAL PHENOMENON? SOME METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Authors: Avanzi Benjamin , Taylor Greg , Wong Bernard
Published: January 2016

This paper is concerned with dependency between business segments in the non-life insurance industry. When considering the business of an insurance company at the aggregate level, dependence structures can have a major impact in several areas of Enterprise Risk Management, such as in claims reserving and capital modelling. The accurate estimation of the diversification benefits related to the dependence structures between lines of business (LoBs) is crucial for (i) capital efficiency, as one should avoid holding unnecessarily high levels of capital, and (ii) solvency of the insurance company, as an underestimation, on the other hand, may lead to insufficient capitalisation and safety. There seems to be a great deal of preconception as to how dependent insurance claims should be. Often, presence of dependence is taken as a given and rarely discussed or challenged, perhaps because of the lack of extensive datasets to be publicly analysed. In this paper, we take a different approach, and consider how much correlation some real datasets actually display (the Meyers–Shi dataset from the USA, and the AUSI dataset from Australia). We develop a simple theoretical framework that enables us to explain how and why correlations can be illusory (and what we mean by that). We show with some real examples that, sometimes, most (if not all) of the correlation can be “explained” by an appropriate methodology. Two major conclusions stem from our analysis.

1.

In any attempt to measure cross-LoB correlations, careful modelling of the data needs to be the order of the day. The exercise will not be well served by rough modelling, such as the use of simple chain ladders, and may indeed result in the prescription of excessive risk margins and/or capital margins.

2.

Such empirical evidence as examined in the paper reveals cross-LoB correlations that vary only in the range zero to very modest. There is little evidence in favour of the high correlation assumed in some jurisdictions. The evidence suggests that these assumptions derived from either poor modelling or a misconception of the cross-LoB dependencies relevant to the purpose to which they are applied.
Reputation as Social Control in Present China: Use, Misuse, Abuse, and Bankruptcy
Authors: ZHAO Bo
Published: January 2016

Although reputation in general plays an effective role in social control in human communal life, this does not seem to work well in present-day China. This article discusses why “reputation as social control” malfunctions in Chinese society in view of the widespread reputation bankruptcy in various professions. Starting with China’s discredited milk industry, it analyses similar regulatory failures in the economic, judicial, academic, and political sectors, explaining the interplay between key institutions. It argues that such regulatory failures can largely be attributed to the use, misuse, and abuse of reputation as a means of social control by the Chinese Party State to maintain monopoly power in a much diversified society resulting from China’s rapid economic development and globalization. Based on the analysis of the Chinese circumstances, this article is also meant to contribute to the study of reputation as social control in general.
Democratic curiosity in times of surveillance
Authors: Huysmans Jef
Published: January 2016

Taking my cue from feminist curiosity and literature on the everyday in surveillance studies, I am proposing ‘democratic curiosity’ as a tool for revisiting the question of democracy in times of extitutional surveillance. Democratic curiosity seeks to bring into analytical play the social and political power of little nothings – the power of subjects, things, practices, and relations that are rendered trivial – and the uncoordinated disputes they enact. Revisiting democracy from this angle is particularly pertinent in extitutional situations in which the organisation and practices of surveillance are spilling beyond their panoptic configurations. Extitutional surveillance is strongly embedded in diffusing arrangements of power and ever more extensively enveloped in everyday life and banal devices. To a considerable degree these modes of surveillance escape democratic institutional repertoires that seek to bring broader societal concerns to bear upon surveillance. Extitutional enactments of democracy then become an important question for both security and surveillance studies.
Simultaneous dense and non-dense orbits for toral diffeomorphisms
Authors: TSENG JIMMY
Published: January 2016

We show that, for pairs of hyperbolic toral automorphisms on the $2$-torus, the points with dense forward orbits under one map and non-dense forward orbits under the other is a dense, uncountable set. The pair of maps can be non-commuting. We also show the same for pairs of $C^{2}$-Anosov diffeomorphisms on the $2$-torus. (The pairs must satisfy slight constraints.) Our main tools are the Baire category theorem and a geometric construction that allows us to give a geometric characterization of the fractal that is the set of points with forward orbits that miss a certain open set.
Statistical properties of the maximal entropy measure for partially hyperbolic attractors
Authors: CASTRO ARMANDO , NASCIMENTO TEÓFILO
Published: January 2016

We show the existence and uniqueness of the maximal entropy probability measure for partially hyperbolic diffeomorphisms which are semiconjugate to non-uniformly expanding maps. Using the theory of projective metrics on cones, we then prove exponential decay of correlations for Hölder continuous observables and the central limit theorem for the maximal entropy probability measure. Moreover, for systems derived from a solenoid, we also prove the statistical stability for the maximal entropy probability measure. Finally, we use such techniques to obtain similar results in a context containing partially hyperbolic systems derived from Anosov.
Punishing local incumbents for the local economy: economic voting in the 2012 Belgian municipal elections
Authors: Dassonneville Ruth , Claes Ellen , Lewis-Beck Michael S.
Published: January 2016

After decennia of research on economic voting, it is now established that the state of the economy affects voting behaviour. Nevertheless, this conclusion is the result of a focus on predominantly national-level economies and national-level elections. In this paper, we show that at a local level as well, mechanisms of accountability linked to the economy are at work. The local economic context affected voting behaviour in the 2012 Belgian municipal elections, with a stronger increase of unemployment rates in their municipality significantly decreasing the probability that voters choose an incumbent party. Additionally, we observe that voters are not opportunistically voting for incumbents who lower tax rates. Instead, voters seem to be holding local incumbents accountable for local economic conditions. We hence conclude that voters care about economic outcomes, not about what specific policies are implemented to reach these outcomes.