bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Malignant Lymphoma in the Parasellar Region
Authors: Koiso Takao , Akutsu Hiroyoshi , Takano Shingo , Yamamoto Tetsuya , Ishikawa Eiichi , Okoshi Yasushi , Matsumura Akira
Published: February 2014

The entity of pituitary (sellar or parasellar) lymphoma includes primary pituitary lymphoma (PPL) and secondary pituitary lymphoma (SPL). The latter has an involvement of systemic lymphoma. Both of these lymphomas are extremely rare. We describe a patient with SPL showing a good prognosis. A 78-year-old woman presented with diplopia, left ptosis, and back pain. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging revealed a parasellar mass lesion extending to the upper clivus and another mass lesion with compression fracture of the Th3 vertebral body. Transsphenoidal exploration was performed, and it showed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Based on the positive tumor cells in the following bone marrow aspiration and hepatosplenomegaly in computed tomography (CT) findings, this patient was diagnosed as having a pituitary involvement of systemic lymphoma. After chemotherapy, she achieved complete remission for 4 years. The entity of pituitary lymphoma is extremely rare. Nineteen cases of PPL and 16 cases of SPL have been reported. Generally, clinical and radiological diagnosis was difficult because there are no specific findings. Therefore, biopsy was necessary in all of the cases. T2 hypointensity of a lesion in MR imaging in addition to an elevated serum level of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) in a patient with a sellar lesion can be useful clues for the differential diagnosis of this rare disease.
Evaluation of the Effect of Concurrent Chronic Total Occlusion and Successful Staged Revascularization on Long-Term Mortality in Patients with ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Shi Guoxiang , He Pengcheng , Liu Yuanhui , Lin Yaowang , Yang Xing , Chen Jiyuan , Zhou Yingling , Tan Ning
Published: February 2014

Aims. To investigate the impact of chronic total occlusion (CTO) in non-infarct-related artery (IRA) on the long-term prognosis and evaluate the clinical significance of staged revascularization in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).Methods. 1266 STEMI patients with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were categorized as single-vessel disease (SVD), multivessel disease (MVD) without and with CTO. We study the clinical outcomes of patients after primary PCI in the following 3 years. Additionally, patients with CTO received staged revascularization, and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) during 3-year follow-up were recorded.Results. Presence of CTO was a predictor of both early mortality [hazard ratio (HR) 3.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.4–4.5,P<0.01] and late mortality (HR 1.9, 95% CI 1.4–3.6,P<0.01), whereas MVD without CTO was only a predictor of early mortality (HR 1.7, 95% CI 1.3–2.3,P<0.05). In CTO group, 100 patients had successful CTO recanalization, and 48 patients failed. During 3-year follow-up, patients with failed procedure had higher cardiac mortality (22.9% versus 9.0%,P=0.020) and lower MACE-free survival (50.0% versus 72.0%,P=0.009) compared to patients with successful procedure.Conclusion. The presence of CTO and not MVD alone is associated with long-term mortality. Successful revascularization of CTO in the non-IRA is associated with improved clinical outcomes in patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI.
Wastes to Reduce Emissions from Automotive Diesel Engines
Authors: Jiménez Aguilar Manuel
Published: February 2014

The objective of the study was actually the investigation of the effect of various treatments on the ability of urine in absorbing greenhouse gases. Urine alone or mixed with olive-oil-mill waste waters (O), poultry litter (P), or sewage sludge (S) was used on the absorption of CO2 and NOx from diesel exhaust. The absorption coefficient (0.98–0.29 g CO2/grNH4) was similar to other solvents such as ammonia and amines. The ranges of CO2 absorption(1.7–5.6) g/l and NO reduction (0.9–3.7) g/l in six hours indicate that on average 20 litres of urine could be needed to capture CO2 and NOx vehicle emissions from each covered kilometre. The best results of CO2 absorption and NOx reduction were for urine mixed with O, P and urine alone. These wastes could be used to capture CO2 and NOx from automotive diesel engines to reduce gas emissions. The proposed strategy requires further research to increase CO2 absorption and reduce the risks associated with waste-water reuse.
Effect of Wireless Channels on Detection and Classification of Asthma Attacks in Wireless Remote Health Monitoring Systems
Authors: Al-Momani Orobah , Gharaibeh Khaled M.
Published: February 2014

This paper aims to study the performance of support vector machine (SVM) classification in detecting asthma attacks in a wireless remote monitoring scenario. The effect of wireless channels on decision making of the SVM classifier is studied in order to determine the channel conditions under which transmission is not recommended from a clinical point of view. The simulation results show that the performance of the SVM classification algorithm in detecting asthma attacks is highly influenced by the mobility of the user where Doppler effects are manifested. The results also show that SVM classifiers outperform other methods used for classification of cough signals such as the hidden markov model (HMM) based classifier specially when wireless channel impairments are considered.
TelePresence in Rural Medical Education: A Mixed Methods Evaluation
Authors: Gray Katherine , Krogh Kristian , Newsome David , Smith Victoria , Lancaster Donald , Nestel Debra
Published: February 2014

In response to rural health workforce shortages, universities and training providers offer rural and remote clinical placements. This has led to development of educational methods to counter the barriers of distance. In this emerging field, recent improvements in technology have provided solutions including the use of sophisticated videoconferencing systems such as the Cisco TelePresence model CTS-500. This paper evaluates the use of TelePresence in diverse medical education activities using a mixed methods design—questionnaires n=60, individual interviews n=33, and observed practice of activities n=22. TelePresence was found to be beneficial to learning and teaching and superior to other systems participants had used. In particular, the audiovisual quality, resulting intimacy, convenience, and ease of use facilitated teaching and learning, while the fixed camera and poorly arranged physical environment were found to be limitations. The system is best suited for small group activities. Clinical skills-based activities are viable. It is recommended that technical support be available during setup and use and a picture-in-picture mode be included and improved integration of office suite software to provide a joint workspace for display of presentations, images, editing or annotation of documents, and file sharing.
Nonlinear Analysis of Cable Vibration of a Multispan Cable‐Stayed Bridge under Transverse Excitation
Authors: Lin Kun , Zou Dujian , Wei Minghai
Published: February 2014

The nonlinear vibrations of cable in a multispan cable‐stayed bridge subjected to transverse excitation are investigated. The MECS (multielements cable system) model, where multielements per cable stay are used, is built up and used to analyze the model properties of the multispan cable‐stayed bridges. Then, a simplified two‐degrees‐of‐freedom (2‐DOFs) model, where the tower or the deck is reduced to a beam, is proposed to analyze the nonlinear dynamic behaviors of the beam and cable. The results of MECS model analysis show that the main tower in the multispan cable‐stayed bridge is prone to the transverse vibration, and the local vibration of cables only has a little impact on the frequency values of the global modes. The results of simplified model analysis show that the energy can be transformed between the modes of the beam and cable when the nature frequencies of them are very close. On the other hand, with the transverse excitation changing, the cable can exhibit richer quasi‐periodic or chaotic motions due to the nonlinear terms caused by the coupled mode between the beam and cable.
Synthesis of Some New Pyrimidine-Azitidinone Analogues and Their Antioxidant,In VitroAntimicrobial, and Antitubercular Activities
Authors: Chandrashekaraiah Mallikarjunaswamy , Lingappa Mallesha , Deepu Channe Gowda Vathsala , Bhadregowda Doddamedur Giddegowda
Published: February 2014

A series of 1-(3-(4-(pyridin-3-yl)pyrimidin-2-ylamino)-4-methylphenyl)-3-chloro-4-(2-mercaptoquinolin-3-yl)azetidin-2-one (7a-j) have been synthesized from the condensation of aromatic amines withN-phenylacetamide. The thione nucleus formed from 2-chloroquionoline-3-carbadehyde using sodium sulphide in dimethyl formamide (DMF) was followed by the reaction with pyrimidine amine to form the Schiff base intermediates. Attempt has been made to derive final azetidinone analogues from Schiff bases by using chloroacetyl chloride. The newly synthesized analogues were examined for the antimicrobial activity against some bacterial and fungal strains andin vitroantituberculosis activity against mycobacterium tuberculosis. These observations provide some predictions to design further antibacterial and antituberculosis active compounds prior to their synthesis according to molecular studies.
Adaptive Sliding Mode Control of Chaos in Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor via Fuzzy Neural Networks
Authors: Nguyen Tat-Bao-Thien , Liao Teh-Lu , Yan Jun-Juh
Published: February 2014

In this paper, based on fuzzy neural networks, we develop an adaptive sliding mode controller for chaos suppression and tracking control in a chaotic permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive system. The proposed controller consists of two parts. The first is an adaptive sliding mode controller which employs a fuzzy neural network to estimate the unknown nonlinear models for constructing the sliding mode controller. The second is a compensational controller which adaptively compensates estimation errors. For stability analysis, the Lyapunov synthesis approach is used to ensure the stability of controlled systems. Finally, simulation results are provided to verify the validity and superiority of the proposed method.
Silk-Cocoon Matrix Immobilized Lipase Catalyzed Transesterification of Sunflower Oil for Production of Biodiesel
Authors: Chatterjee Sushovan , Yadav Dipti , Barbora Lepakshi , Mahanta Pinakeswar , Goswami Pranab
Published: February 2014

Biodiesel from sunflower oil using lipase chemically immobilized on silk-cocoon matrix in a packed-bed bioreactor was investigated. The immobilization was demonstrated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy and activity study. The lipase loading was 738.74 U (~0.01 g lipase powder)/g-lipase-immobilized matrix. TheKm(Michaelis-Menten constant) of the free and the immobilized lipase was 451.26 μM and 257.26 μM, respectively. LowKmvalue of the immobilized lipase is attributed to the hydrophobic nature of the matrix that facilitated the substrate diffusion to the enzyme surface. The biodiesel yield of 81.62% was obtained at 48 hours reaction time, 6 : 1 methanol : oil ratio (v/v), and 30°C. The immobilized lipase showed high operational stability at 30°C. The substrate conversion was only marginally decreased till third cycle (each of 48 hours duration) of the reaction since less than even 5% of the original activity was decreased in each of the second and third cycle. The findings demonstrated the potential of the silk-cocoon as lipase immobilization matrix for industrial production of biodiesel.
GTrust: Group Extension for Trust Models in Distributed Systems
Authors: de Oliveira Albuquerque Robson , Villalba Luis Javier García , Kim Tai-Hoon
Published: February 2014

This paper proposes and describes a trust model for distributed systems based on groups of peers. A group is defined as a collection of entities with particular affinities and capabilities. All entities may have a trust and a reputation value of each other in the system. In many cases it may be necessary to trust the whole system instead of one particular entity. In such cases group trust represents the trust of their particular members. To achieve this, this paper presents a group trust calculation model. We implemented the proposed model in a P2P simulation tool and presented main results for group trust calculation.
A Paternally InheritedBRCA1Mutation Associated with an Unusual Aggressive Clinical Phenotype
Authors: Fostira Florentia , Tsoukalas Nikolaos , Konstantopoulou Irene , Georgoulias Vassilios , Christophyllakis Charalambos , Yannoukakos Drakoulis
Published: February 2014

This report highlights the necessity of genetic testing, at least forBRCA1mutations, of young females diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, even in the absence of or limited family history. A 34-year-old female with a locally advanced, triple negative tumour, which perforated the skin, is described. At the time of diagnosis, the patient had already multiple lung metastases and although chemotherapy was started immediately, she died with rapid systemic disease progression. The patient was found to carry theBRCA1p.E1060X mutation, which is located on exon 11 of the gene. The high penetrance ofBRCA1gene is not represented in the patient’s family, since the mutation was paternally inherited. It is evident that females belonging to small families, along with paternal inheritance of pathogenicBRCAmutations that predispose for breast cancer, in most cases will probably be genetically tested only after being diagnosed with cancer.
Boarding Injuries: The Long and the Short of It
Authors: Fabian Leslie A. , Thygerson Steven M. , Merrill Ray M.
Published: February 2014

As the popularity of longboarding increases, trauma centers are treating an increased number of high severity injuries. Current literature lacks descriptions of the types of injuries experienced by longboarders, a distinct subset of the skateboarding culture. A retrospective review of longboarding and skateboarding injury cases was conducted at a level II trauma center from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2011. Specific injuries in addition to high injury severity factors (hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), patient treatment options, disposition, and outcome) were calculated to compare longboarder to skateboarder injuries. A total of 824 patients met the inclusion criteria. Skull fractures, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) were significantly more common among longboard patients than skateboarders (P<0.0001). All patients with an ISS above 15 were longboarders. Hospital and ICU LOS in days was also significantly greater for longboarders compared with skateboarders (P<0.0001). Of the three patients that died, each was a longboarder and each experienced a head injury. Longboard injuries account for a higher incidence rate of severe head injuries compared to skateboard injuries. Our data show that further, prospective investigation into the longboarding population demographics and injury patterns is necessary to contribute to effective injury prevention in this population.
Eosinophilic Ascites and Duodenal Obstruction in a Patient with Liver Cirrhosis
Authors: Maleki Nasrollah , Kalantar Hormozi Mohammadreza , Bahtouee Mehrzad , Tavosi Zahra , Mosallai Pour Hamidreza , Taghiyan Jamaleddin Kolaii Seiiedeh Samaneh
Published: February 2014

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EG) is a rare disease characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of portions of the gastrointestinal tract. Eosinophilic ascites is probably the most unusual and rare presentation of EG and is generally associated with the serosal form of EG. Hereby, we report a case of eosinophilic ascites with duodenal obstruction in a patient with liver cirrhosis. A 50-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of abdominal pain, nausea, bloating, and constipation. She had a history of laparotomy because of duodenal obstruction 2 years ago. Based on clinical, radiological, endoscopic, and pathological findings, and given the excluding the other causes of peripheral eosinophilia, the diagnosis of eosinophilic gastroenteritis along with liver cirrhosis and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis was established. Based on the findings of the present case, it is highly recommended that, in the patients presented with liver cirrhosis associated with peripheral blood or ascitic fluid eosinophilia, performing gastrointestinal endoscopy and biopsy can probably reveal this rare disorder of EG.
Hydrodynamics of a Novel Design Circulating Fluidized Bed Steam Reformer Operating in the Dense Suspension Upflow Regime
Authors: Mousa Moataz Bellah M. , Fateen Seif-Eddeen K. , Ibrahim Essam A.
Published: February 2014

Circulating fluidized bed steam reformers (CFBSR) represent an important alternative for hydrogen production, a promising energy carrier. Although the reactor hydrodynamics play crucial role, modeling efforts to date are limited to one-dimensional models, thus ignoring many of the flow characteristics of fluidized beds that have strong effects on the reactor efficiency. The flow inside the riser is inherently complex and requires at least two-dimensional modeling to capture its details.
In the present work, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of the hydrodynamics of the riser part of a novel CFBSR were carried out using two-phase Eulerian-Eulerian approach coupled with kinetic theory of granular flow and K-ε model. Cold flow simulations were carried under different fluidization regimes. It was found that catalyst of Geldart's type “A” particle is more efficient for flow inside the catalytic reactor and dense suspension upflow (DSU) fluidization regime yields the best homogeneous catalyst distribution in the riser and thus best reactor performance. The optimum range for catalyst flux was found to be higher than 1150 kg/m2·s for a gas flux of 6.78 kg/m2·s. It was also noted that the value of 500 Kg/m2·s for catalyst flux represents the critical value below which the riser will operate under pneumatic transport regime.
A State‐of‐the‐Art Review on Fatigue Life Assessment of Steel Bridges
Authors: Ye X. W. , Su Y. H. , Han J. P.
Published: February 2014

Fatigue is among the most critical forms of damage potentially occurring in steel bridges, while accurate assessment or prediction of the fatigue damage status as well as the remaining fatigue life of steel bridges is still a challenging and unsolved issue. There have been numerous investigations on the fatigue damage evaluation and life prediction of steel bridges by use of deterministic or probabilistic methods. The purpose of this review is devoted to presenting a summary on the development history and current status of fatigue condition assessment of steel bridges, containing basic aspects of fatigue, classical fatigue analysis methods, data‐driven fatigue life assessment, and reliability‐based fatigue condition assessment.
A Lifelong Learning Hyper-heuristic Method for Bin Packing
Authors: Sim Kevin , Hart Emma , Paechter Ben
Published: February 2014

We describe a novel hyper-heuristic system that continuously learns over time to solve a combinatorial optimisation problem. The system continuously generates new heuristics and samples problems from its environment; and representative problems and heuristics are incorporated into a self-sustaining network of interacting entities inspired by methods in artificial immune systems. The network is plastic in both its structure and content, leading to the following properties: it exploits existing knowledge captured in the network to rapidly produce solutions; it can adapt to new problems with widely differing characteristics; and it is capable of generalising over the problem space. The system is tested on a large corpus of 3,968 new instances of 1D bin-packing problems as well as on 1,370 existing problems from the literature; it shows excellent performance in terms of the quality of solutions obtained across the datasets and in adapting to dynamically changing sets of problem instances compared to previous approaches. As the network self-adapts to sustain a minimal repertoire of both problems and heuristics that form a representative map of the problem space, the system is further shown to be computationally efficient and therefore scalable.
A new species of stonecrop (Sedum section Gormania, Crassulaceae) from northern California
Authors: Zika Peter
Published: February 2014

Sedum citrinum is described as a narrow endemic from three populations on ultramafic bedrock in the Klamath Mountains of southern Del Norte County, California, in the United States. It is distinguished from Sedum obtusatum subsp. boreale by its flattened inflorescence with elongate lower branches, as well as its deep yellow flowers and yellow anthers.
New species of Latreillopsis Henderson, 1888 (Brachyura: Homolidae) and Neopalicus Moosa & Serène, 1981 (Brachyura: Palicidae) from the Hawaiian Islands
Authors: CASTRO PETER , NARUSE TOHRU
Published: February 2014

Two new species of brachyuran crabs belonging to Latreillopsis Henderson, 1888 (Homolidae) and Neopalicus Moosa & Serène, 1981 (Palicidae) respectively are described from Maui, Hawai‘i. The new species of Latreillopsis is distinguished from its nine congeners by a granular carapace and pereopods, a triangular G1, and by the distinctive ornamentation of its carapace and third maxillipeds; the new species of Neopalicus from its three congeners by the presence of three triangular anterolateral teeth, absence of extensions on the outer margins of the P3 and P4 propodi, dentate inner margins of the P3, P4 dactyli, and absence of ridges on the female abdomen. Also listed is Latreillia metanesa Williams, 1982 (Latreilliidae), recorded for the first time from the archipelago since its description from Albatross material collected in 1902.
Morphological and genetic differentiation of heteromorphy in Labidocera rotunda (Copepoda, Calanoida, Pontellidae)
Authors: JEONG HYEON GYEONG , SOH HO YOUNG , SUH HAE-LIP
Published: February 2014

The pontellid calanoid Labidocera rotunda Mori, 1929 is relatively widespread in the inshore surface waters of East Asia. In this study, some heteromorphic specimens have been observed with extreme morphological discrepancies in the female, including the genital double-somite, the second urosomite, the caudal rami, and the fifth leg. To evaluate the validity of species assignment of the morphological variants, we analyzed the DNA sequences of two mitochondrial genes, 16S rRNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (mtCOI). The specimens were collected in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the East Sea (Sea of Japan) around Korea. They differed by <2.9% for mt16S rRNA and by 3.7%–4.7% for mtCOI, suggesting that they are conspecific despite their considerable morphological differences. In contrast, Labidocera japonica Mori, 1935, a morphologically similar species to L. rotunda, displayed interspecific variation of 6.1%–7.2% for mt16S rRNA and 15.1%–16.7% for mtCOI.
A new genus of Phaneropterinae (Orthoptera: Ensifera: Tettigoniidae) from Central Africa
Authors: MASSA BRUNO
Published: February 2014

The new genus Pseudoplangia is described for Plangia laminifera Karsch, 1896. Its general aspect is similar to that of the genus Plangia Stål, 1873, but it differs remarkably in the vertex width, in the shape of eyes, that are oval and elongate, in the length of mid femora, that are shorter than pronotum length, in the shape of fore and mid legs that are very much laterally compressed, and in the presence of broad-based spines on the hind tibiae.
On the Drag and Heat of Washington, D.C., and New York City
Authors: Hicks Bruce B. , Pendergrass William R. , Vogel Christoph A. , Artz Richard S.
Published: February 2014

Data from a network of micrometeorological instruments, mostly mounted 10 m above the roofs of 12 buildings in Washington, D.C., are used to derive average values and spatial differences of the normalized local friction velocity u*/u ≡ ()1/2/u (with u being the wind speed reported at the same height as the covariance is measured, w being the vertical wind component, primes indicating deviations, and the overbar indicating averaging). The analysis is extended through consideration of two additional sites in New York City, New York. The ratio u*/u is found to depend on wind direction for all locations. Averaged values of u*/u appear to be best associated with the standard deviation of local building heights, with little evidence of a dependence on any other of the modern building-morphology indices. Temperature covariance data show a large effect of nearby activities, with the consequences of air-conditioning systems being obvious (especially at night) in some situations. The Washington data show that older buildings, built largely of native limestone, show the greatest effects of air-conditioning systems. The assumption that the nighttime surface boundary layer is stable is likely to be most often incorrect for both Washington and New York City—the sensible heat flux resulting from heating and cooling of building work spaces most often appears to dominate.
A Comparative Study of Precipitation and Evaporation between CMIP3 and CMIP5 Climate Model Ensembles in Semiarid Regions
Authors: Baker Noel C. , Huang Huei-Ping
Published: February 2014

The twentieth-century climatology and twenty-first-century trend in precipitation P, evaporation E, and P − E for selected semiarid U.S. Southwest and Mediterranean regions are compared between ensembles from phases 3 and 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP3 and CMIP5). The twentieth-century simulations are validated with precipitation from observation and evaporation from reanalysis. It is found that the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A1B simulations in CMIP3 and the simulations with representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5 in CMIP5 produce qualitatively similar seasonal cycles of the twenty-first-century trend in P − E for both semiarid regions. For the southwestern United States, it is characterized by a strong drying trend in spring, a weak moistening trend in summer, a weak drying trend in winter, and an overall drying trend for the annual mean. For the Mediterranean region, a drying trend is simulated for all seasons with an October maximum and July minimum. The consistency between CMIP3 and CMIP5 scenarios indicates that the simulated trend is robust; however, while the trend in P − E is negative in spring for the southwestern United States for all CMIP ensembles, CMIP3 predicts a strongly negative trend in P and minor negative trend in E whereas both CMIP5 scenarios predict a nearly zero trend in P and positive trend in E. For the twentieth-century simulations, the P, E, and P − E of the two model ensembles are statistically indistinguishable for most seasons. This “stagnation” of the simulated climatology from CMIP3 to CMIP5 implies that the hydroclimatic variable biases have not decreased in the newer generation of models. Notably, over the southwestern United States the CMIP3 models produce too much precipitation in the cold season. This bias remains almost unchanged in CMIP5.
Future Australian Severe Thunderstorm Environments. Part I: A Novel Evaluation and Climatology of Convective Parameters from Two Climate Models for the Late Twentieth Century
Authors: Allen John T. , Karoly David J. , Walsh Kevin J.
Published: February 2014

The influence of a warming climate on the occurrence of severe thunderstorms over Australia is, as yet, poorly understood. Based on methods used in the development of a climatology of observed severe thunderstorm environments over the continent, two climate models [Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Mark, version 3.6 (CSIRO Mk3.6) and the Cubic-Conformal Atmospheric Model (CCAM)] have been used to produce simulated climatologies of ingredients and environments favorable to severe thunderstorms for the late twentieth century (1980–2000). A novel evaluation of these model climatologies against data from both the ECMWF Interim Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim) and reports of severe thunderstorms from observers is used to analyze the capability of the models to represent convective environments in the current climate. This evaluation examines the representation of thunderstorm-favorable environments in terms of their frequency, seasonal cycle, and spatial distribution, while presenting a framework for future evaluations of climate model convective parameters. Both models showed the capability to explain at least 75% of the spatial variance in both vertical wind shear and convective available potential energy (CAPE). CSIRO Mk3.6 struggled to either represent the diurnal cycle over a large portion of the continent or resolve the annual cycle, while in contrast CCAM showed a tendency to underestimate CAPE and 0–6-km bulk magnitude vertical wind shear (S06). While spatial resolution likely contributes to rendering of features such as coastal moisture and significant topography, the distribution of severe thunderstorm environments is found to have greater sensitivity to model biases. This highlights the need for a consistent approach to evaluating convective parameters and severe thunderstorm environments in present-day climate: an example of which is presented here.
Narratology and translation
Authors: Prince Gerald
Published: February 2014

In their explorations of narrative, many narratologists distinguish between the narrated (the situations and events presented), the narrating (the way these situations and events are presented), and the concrete manifestation of narrated and narrating in a particular medium (linguistic, say, pictorial, balletic) or a particular form thereof (English or French, film or painting, classical or modern). By and large, narratologists focus on the narrated and the narrating rather than on the medium of manifestation. Still, they are not unaware of, nor insensitive to, the effects that specific means of expression can have on narratives and, more particularly, on their transpositions (from prose to canvas, from stage to screen) or on their translations (from English to French, for instance, and vice versa). Taking as examples a variety of fictional texts by Stendhal, George Eliot, Anne Garréta, Ernest Hemingway, and others, the article discusses some of the effects that translation’s inevitable nonequivalences, variances, or paraphrases have on narrating and narrated features. More specifically, it uses translation to revisit these features, to reconsider their basicness, centrality or indispensability, and to reassess the narratological models they bring about.
The Role of Asset Prices in Forecasting Inflation and Output in South Africa
Authors: Gupta Rangan , Hartley Faaiqa
Published: February 2014

This article assesses the predictive ability of asset prices relative to other variables in forecasting inflation and real GDP growth in South Africa. A total of 42 asset and non-asset predictor variables are considered. Forecasts of inflation and real GDP growth are computed using both individual predictor autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) models, forecast combination approaches, as well as large scale models. The large scale data models considered include Bayesian vector autoregressive models and classical and Bayesian univariate and multivariate factor augmented vector autoregressive models. The models are estimated for an in-sample of 1980:Q2 to 1999:Q4, and then one- to eight-step-ahead forecasts for inflation and real GDP growth are evaluated over the 2000:Q1 to 2010:Q2 out-of-sample period. Principle Component forecast combination models are found to produce the most accurate out-of-sample forecasts of inflation and real GDP growth relative to the other combination and more sophisticated models considered. Asset prices are found to contain particularly useful information for forecasting inflation and real GDP growth at certain horizons. Asset prices are however found to be stronger predictors of inflation, particularly in the long run.

JEL Classification: C11, C32, R53
A Model of Glucose-Insulin-Pramlintide Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics in Type I Diabetes
Authors: Ramkissoon Charrise M. , Aufderheide Brian , Bequette B. Wayne , Palerm Cesar C.
Published: February 2014

Background:

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) complications are significantly reduced when normoglycemic levels are maintained via intensive therapy. The artificial pancreas is designed for intensive glycemic control; however, large postprandial excursions after a meal result in poor glucose regulation. Pramlintide, a synthetic analog of the hormone amylin, reduces the severity of postprandial excursions by reducing appetite, suppressing glucagon release, and slowing the rate of gastric emptying. The goal of this study is to create a glucose-insulin-pramlintide physiological model that can be employed into a controller to improve current control approaches used in the artificial pancreas.

Methods:

A model of subcutaneous (SC) pramlintide pharmacokinetics (PK) was developed by revising an intravenous (IV) pramlintide PK model and adapting SC insulin PK from a glucose-insulin model. Gray-box modeling and least squares optimization were used to obtain parameter estimates. Pharmacodynamics (PD) were obtained by choosing parameters most applicable to pramlintide mechanisms and then testing using a proportional PD effect using least squares optimization.

Results:

The model was fit and validated using 27 data sets, which included placebo, PK, and PD data. SC pramlintide PK root mean square error values range from 1.98 to 10.66 pmol/L. Pramlintide PD RMSE values range from 10.48 to 42.76 mg/dL.

Conclusions:

A new in silico model of the glucose-insulin-pramlintide regulatory system is presented. This model can be used as a platform to optimize dosing of both pramlintide and insulin as a combined therapy for glycemic regulation, and in the development of an artificial pancreas as the kernel for a model-based controller.
Study of methanol electro-oxidation on Ni and Ni–Pt/carbon paper electrodes for direct methanol fuel cell applications
Authors: Abdullah Mirzaie R. , Eshghi A.
Published: February 2014

This study deals with the oxidation of methanol in alkaline media. For this purpose, first nickel and nickel–platinum particles were deposited on carbon paper substrates by using electroplating with galvanic deposition method. Then the morphology of the metal particle coatings on the carbon paper was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The catalytic properties of the electrodes for methanol oxidation were studied using electrochemical methods such as cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed higher catalytic activity of the Ni–Pt/carbon paper electrode compared with the Ni/carbon paper electrode. Therefore, Ni–Pt/carbon paper electrode is a good candidate as an anode for direct methanol fuel cells.
Optimal couples of rearrangement invariant spaces for the Riesz potential on the bounded domain
Authors: Kang Shin Min , Rafiq Arif , Nazir Waqas , Ahmad Irshaad , Ali Faisal , Kwun Young Chel
Published: February 2014

We prove continuity of the Riesz potential operator in optimal couples of rearrangement invariant function spaces defined in

R
n

with the Lebesgue measure.

MSC:46E30, 46E35.
Adaptation of leukemia cells to hypoxic condition through switching the energy metabolism or avoiding the oxidative stress
Authors: Goto Mineaki , Miwa Hiroshi , Suganuma Kazuto , Tsunekawa-Imai Norikazu , Shikami Masato , Mizutani Motonori , Mizuno Shohei , Hanamura Ichiro , Nitta Masakazu
Published: February 2014

Background

Like normal hematopoietic stem cells, leukemia cells proliferate in bone marrow, where oxygen supply is limited. However, the growth and energy metabolism of leukemia cells under hypoxia have not been well understood. Although it has been known that reactive oxygen species (ROS) is generated under hypoxic conditions, normal and leukemia stem cells were characterized by relatively low levels of ROS. Roles of ROS on leukemia cells under hypoxia also have not been well understood.

Methods

Four Leukemia cell lines were cultured under normoxia (21% O2) or hypoxia (1% O2), where NB4 and THP-1 were most extensively studied. To evaluate energy metabolism, we estimated whole cell number or apoptotic cells with or without a glycolysis inhibitor or an oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) inhibitor. Glucose consumption and lactate production were also measured. To evaluate oxidative stress in hypoxic condition, the ROS level and GSH (reduced glutathione) / GSSG (oxidized glutathione) ratio was measured. In addition, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 4 (COX4) were examined by western blotting or RT-PCR.

Results

NB4, which grows well under normoxia depending on glycolysis, demonstrated prominent apoptosis and growth suppression after 48 hours culture under hypoxia. NB4 cells cultured under hypoxia showed significantly increased ROS. Culture with a ROS scavenger resulted in decrease of apoptotic cell death of NB4 under hypoxia. NB4 cells cultured for longer period (7 days) under hypoxia did not come to extinction, but grew slowly by upregulating GSH synthesis to protect from ROS generated in hypoxic condition. By contrast, THP-1, which largely depends on OXPHOS in mitochondria under normoxia, demonstrated more growth under hypoxia by changing metabolism from OXPHOS to glycolysis through upregulating PDK1. Moreover, THP-1 avoided ROS generation by substituting COX 4 subunit (from COX 4–1 to COX 4–2) through upregulation of LON, a mitochondrial protease under hypoxia.

Conclusions

We showed that leukemia cells survive and adapt to the hypoxic condition through various pathways. Our results will help understanding energy metabolism of leukemia cells and creating novel therapeutics.
Effects of financial incentives on motivating physical activity among older adults: results from a discrete choice experiment
Authors: Farooqui Muhammad Assad , Tan Yock-Theng , Bilger Marcel , Finkelstein Eric A
Published: February 2014

Background

There is extensive evidence that regular physical activity confers numerous health benefits. Despite this, high rates of physical inactivity prevail among older adults. This study aimed to ascertain if incentives could be effective in motivating physical activity through improving uptake of walking programs, either with or without an enrolment fee to cover corresponding costs.

Methods

A discrete-choice conjoint survey was fielded to a national sample of older adults in Singapore. Each respondent was given ten pairs of hypothetical walking programs and asked to choose the option they preferred. Each option varied along several dimensions, including the level and type (cash, voucher, or health savings credit) of incentive and an enrolment fee. For each option, they were asked how likely they would be to join their preferred program. A random utility model (RUM) was used to analyze the responses.

Results

Results suggest that a free 6-month program with a $500 cash incentive would generate enrolment rates of 58.5%; charging $50 to enroll lowers this to 55.7%. In terms of incentive type, cash payments were the most preferred incentive but not significantly different from supermarket vouchers. Both were preferred to health savings credits and sporting goods vouchers. Concerns of adverse selection were minimal because those who were inactive represented at least 72% of new participants for any offered program(s) and were the majority.

Conclusions

Study results demonstrate the potential for even modest incentives to increase program uptake among inactive older adults. Moreover, although cash was the most preferred option, supermarket vouchers, which could potentially be purchased at a discount, were a close alternative. Results also suggest that an enrolment fee is a viable option to offset the costs of incentives as it has only minimal impact on participation.
Fabrication of cubic PtCu nanocages and their enhanced electrocatalytic activity towards hydrogen peroxide
Authors: Tian Liangliang , Zhong Xiaohui , Hu Wanping , Liu Bitao , Li Yunfeng
Published: February 2014

Cubic PtCu nanocages (NCs) were successfully synthesized through a redox reaction using cuprous oxide (Cu2O) as a sacrificial template and reducing agent. The porous PtCu NCs were composed of amounts of PtCu nanograins with an average particle size of 2.9 nm. The electrocatalytic performance of the PtCu NC electrode towards H2O2 was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry. The prepared PtCu NC electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity towards H2O2, with a wide liner range from 5 μM to 22.25 mM, a relatively high sensitivity of 295.3 μA mM-1 cm-2, and a low detection limit of 5 μM (S/N = 3). The hollow porous nanostructure has potential applications in biosensors.
Performances of some low-cost counter electrode materials in CdS and CdSe quantum dot-sensitized solar cells
Authors: Jun Hieng Kiat , Careem Mohamed Abdul , Arof Abdul Kariem
Published: February 2014

Different counter electrode (CE) materials based on carbon and Cu2S were prepared for the application in CdS and CdSe quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). The CEs were prepared using low-cost and facile methods. Platinum was used as the reference CE material to compare the performances of the other materials. While carbon-based materials produced the best solar cell performance in CdS QDSSCs, platinum and Cu2S were superior in CdSe QDSSCs. Different CE materials have different performance in the two types of QDSSCs employed due to the different type of sensitizers and composition of polysulfide electrolytes used. The poor performance of QDSSCs with some CE materials is largely due to the lower photocurrent density and open-circuit voltage. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy performed on the cells showed that the poor-performing QDSSCs had higher charge-transfer resistances and CPE values at their CE/electrolyte interfaces.
Asymptotic behavior of a Nicholson-Bailey model
Authors: Qureshi Muhammad Naeem , Khan Abdul Qadeer , Din Qamar
Published: February 2014

In this paper, we study the qualitative behavior of a Nicholson-Bailey host-parasitoid model given by

x

n
+
1

=
R

x
n

e

−
a

y
n

,

y

n
+
1

=

x
n

(
1
−

e

−
a

y
n

)

,

where R, a and initial conditions

x
0

,

y
0

are positive real numbers. More precisely, we investigate the local asymptotic stability of the unique positive equilibrium point of this system. Some numerical examples are given to verify our theoretical results.

MSC:39A10, 40A05.
Sensitization to airborne allergens among adults and its impact on allergic symptoms: a population survey in northern Vietnam
Authors: Lâm Hoàng Thị , Ekerljung Linda , Bjerg Anders , Văn Tường Nguyễn , Lundbäck Bo , Rönmark Eva
Published: February 2014

Background

The knowledge about allergic sensitization and its relationship with clinical symptoms and diseases among adults in South‐East Asia is poor. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and pattern of allergic sensitization and the association with asthma and allergic rhinitis in adults in urban and rural Vietnam.

Methods

Among 5,782 responders to a questionnaire survey in northern Vietnam, a random sample was invited to a clinical follow‐up and 684 (46%) participated. The methods included a structured interview using a modified GA2LEN study questionnaire on symptoms and possible determinants for diseases. Skin prick test (SPT) with ten common airborne indoor and outdoor allergens, lung function test, and methacholine test was performed among subjects ≤60 years of age.

Results

In total, one third of subjects had a positive SPT reaction to at least one allergen, 36.9% of men and 31.0% of women (n.s.). The most common sensitizer was the storage mite B. tropicalis (men 27.7%; women 18.7%) followed by house dust mite D. pteronyssinus (men 16.5%; women 10.6%), and D. farinae (men 15.3%; women 6.3%), and cockroach (men 16.5%; women 10.2%). Sensitization to all major allergens were significantly more common among men and among subjects ≤45 years compared with women and subjects >45 years, respectively. The prevalence of sensitization to animals, pollen and molds were low. The majority of cockroach‐sensitized subjects were also sensitized to mites. Sensitization to any allergen and all major allergens were significantly associated with rhinitis, but not with asthma. However, bronchial hyper‐reactivity was significantly associated with increasing number of positive SPTs (p = 0.047).

Conclusions

Among adults in northern Vietnam sensitization to mite and cockroach most common in both rural and urban areas. The dominant sensitizer was the storage mite B. tropicalis, which should be included in future studies and also in clinical practice, owing to its association with clinical symptoms. As in the Western world allergic sensitization was associated with rhinitis and bronchial hyper‐reactivity. The lack of association with asthma in South‐East Asia needs to be studied further.
The first research agenda for the chiropractic profession in Europe
Authors: Rubinstein Sidney M , Bolton Jenni , Webb Alexandra L , Hartvigsen Jan
Published: February 2014

Background

Research involving chiropractors is evolving and expanding in Europe while resources are limited. Therefore, we considered it timely to initiate a research agenda for the chiropractic profession in Europe. The aim was to identify and suggest priorities for future research in order to best channel the available resources and facilitate advancement of the profession.

Methods

In total, 60 academics and clinicians working in a chiropractic setting, and who had attended any of the annual European Chiropractors’ Union/European Academy of Chiropractic (ECU/EAC) Researchers’ Day meetings since their inception in 2008, were invited to participate. Data collection consisted of the following phases: phase 1 identification of themes; phase 2 consensus, which employed a Delphi process and allowed us to distill the list of research priorities; and phase 3 presentation of the results during both the Researchers’ Day and a plenary session of the annual ECU Convention in May 2013. In addition, results were distributed to all ECU member countries.

Results

The response rate was 42% from phase 1 and 68% from phase 2. In general, participants were middle-aged, male and had been awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) as well as chiropractic degree. Approximately equal numbers of participants had obtained their chiropractic degree from the UK/Europe and North America. The majority of participants worked primarily in an academic/research environment and approximately half worked in an independent institution. In total, 58% of the participants were from the UK and Denmark, collectively representing 44% of the chiropractors working in Europe. In total, 70 research priorities were identified, of which 19 reached consensus as priorities for future research. The following three items were thought to be most important: 1) cost-effectiveness/economic evaluations, 2) identification of subgroups likely to respond to treatment, and 3) initiation and promotion of collaborative research activities.

Conclusions

This is the first formal and systematic attempt to develop a research agenda for the chiropractic profession in Europe. Future discussion and study is necessary to determine whether the themes identified in this survey should be broadly implemented.