bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A missing geographic link in the distribution of the genus Echinotriton (Caudata: Salamandridae) with description of a new species from southern China
Authors: HOU MIAN , WU YUNKE , YANG KELIN , ZHENG SHENG , YUAN ZHIYONG , LI PIPENG
Published: December 2014

Disjunct geographic distribution of a species or a group of species is the product of long-term interaction between organisms and the environment. Filling the distributional gap by discovery of a new population or a species has significant biogeographic implications, because it suggests a much wider past distribution and provides evidence for the route of range expansion/contraction. The salamandrid genus Echinotriton (commonly known as spiny salamanders, spiny newts, or crocodile newts) has two species that are restricted to two widely separated areas, one in eastern Zhejiang province, China and the other in the Ryukyu Archipelago of Japan. It has been hypothesized that Echinotriton was once continuously distributed between the two areas through a historical land bridge that connected mainland China, Taiwan, and the archipelago. Finding fossils or relic populations along the postulated distribution are strong evidence for the hypothesis. Hundred-twenty-two years after the description of E. andersoni and eight-one years after that of E. chinhaiensis, we discover a third species of Echinotriton in southern China, which fills the distributional gap of the former two species. Species status of the new species is confirmed through molecular phylogenetic analysis and morphological comparison. Mitochondrial DNA indicates that the new species is sister to E. chinhaiensis, while nuclear DNA does not support this relationship. The new species has a very large quadrate projection, a single line of lateral warts pierced by distal rib extremities, normally developed 5th toes, and conical skin tubercles. Our discovery supports the hypothesis that there was a continuous distribution of Echinotriton from eastern coastal China to the Ryukyu Archipelago. We suggest that other species of this genus may also be found in Taiwan. Due to the rarity of this new species, we urge all hobbyists to refrain themselves from collecting this salamander or leaking locality information if encountered, and boycott any trading.
New species of small scaly crickets of genus Micrornebius (Orthoptera: Mogoplistidae; Mogoplistinae) from Singapore
Authors: TAN MING KAI
Published: December 2014

The small and cryptic scaly crickets of the genus Micrornebius from Singapore are reviewed. The Henningian species concept was applied and morphology was used to estimate species boundaries. Three new species are described: Micrornebius distinctus sp. n., Micrornebius eclipsus sp. n. and Micrornebius mandai sp. n. This increases the number of species Micrornebius from Singapore to five. A tentative key to the species of Micrornebius from Singapore is provided.
Space–Time Structure of Diabatic Heating in Monsoon Intraseasonal Oscillation
Authors: Hazra Abheera , Krishnamurthy V.
Published: December 2014

The space–time structure of the leading monsoon intraseasonal oscillation (MISO) in three-dimensional diabatic heating is studied. Using the ERA-Interim data of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, the diabatic heating data were constructed by the residual method of the thermodynamic equation. The MISO was extracted by applying multichannel singular spectrum analysis on the daily anomalies of three-dimensional diabatic heating over the South Asian monsoon region for the period 1979–2011.The diabatic heating MISO has a period of 45 days, and exhibits eastward propagation in the equatorial Indian and Pacific Oceans and northward propagation over the entire monsoon region. The horizontal structure shows a long tilted band of heating anomalies propagating northeastward. The period, horizontal pattern, and propagation properties of the diabatic heating MISO are similar to those found in precipitation, outgoing longwave radiation, and circulation in earlier studies. The vertical structure of the diabatic heating MISO indicates deep columns, with maximum values at about 450 hPa, propagating northeastward. The vertical structure of the heating anomalies has good correspondence with that of the moisture anomalies but with a phase difference. The moisture anomalies lead the heating anomalies and may provide a preconditioning process for the propagation mechanism. The temperature anomalies also show oscillatory behavior corresponding to the diabatic heating MISO but the phase difference between the two varies from region to region.
A Marine Autonomous Surface Craft for Long-Duration, Spatially Explicit, Multidisciplinary Water Column Sampling in Coastal and Estuarine Systems
Authors: Codiga Daniel L.
Published: December 2014

The Surveying Coastal Ocean Autonomous Profiler (SCOAP) is a large catamaran marine autonomous surface craft (MASC) for unattended weeks-long, spatially explicit, multidisciplinary oceanographic water column profile sampling in coastal/estuarine waterbodies. Material transport rates/pathways, crucial to understanding these ecosystems, are typically poorly known. SCOAP addresses demanding spatiotemporal sampling needs and operational challenges (strong currents, open coastal sea states, complex bathymetry, heavy vessel traffic). Its large size (11-m length, 5-m beam) provides seaworthiness/stability. The average speed of 2.5 m s−1 meets the representative goal to traverse an 18-km transect, sampling 10 min at each of 10 stations 2 km apart, nominally 4 times daily. Efficient hulls and a diesel–electric energy system can provide the needed endurance. The U.S. Coast Guard guidelines are followed: lighting, code flags, the Automatic Identification System (AIS), and collision avoidance regulations (COLREGs)-based collision avoidance (CA) by onboard autonomy software. Large energy reserves obviate low-power optimization of sensors, enabling truly multidisciplinary sampling, and provide on-demand propulsion for effective CA. Vessel stability facilitates high-quality current profile observations and will aid engineering/operation of the planned winched profiling system, performance of an anticipated radar system to detect/track non-AIS vessels, and potential research-quality meteorological sensor operation. A Narragansett Bay test deployment, attended by an escort vessel, met design goals; an unattended open coastal deployment is planned for Rhode Island Sound. Scientific and operational strengths of large catamaran MASCs suggest they could be an important cost-effective complement to other sampling platforms (e.g., improved spatiotemporal coverage and resolution, extending farther inshore, with a broader range of sensors, compared to underwater gliders) in coastal/estuarine waters.
Multiscale EnKF Assimilation of Radar and Conventional Observations and Ensemble Forecasting for a Tornadic Mesoscale Convective System
Authors: Snook Nathan , Xue Ming , Jung Youngsun
Published: December 2014

In recent studies, the authors have successfully demonstrated the ability of an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF), assimilating real radar observations, to produce skillful analyses and subsequent ensemble-based probabilistic forecasts for a tornadic mesoscale convective system (MCS) that occurred over Oklahoma and Texas on 9 May 2007. The current study expands upon this prior work, performing experiments for this case on a larger domain using a nested-grid EnKF, which accounts for mesoscale uncertainties through the initial ensemble and lateral boundary condition perturbations. In these new experiments, conventional observations (including surface, wind profiler, and upper-air observations) are assimilated in addition to the WSR-88D and the Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) radar data used in the previous studies, better representing meso- and convective-scale features. The relative impacts of conventional and radar data on analyses and forecasts are examined, and biases within the ensemble are investigated.

The new experiments produce a substantially improved forecast, including better representation of the convective lines of the MCS. Assimilation of radar data substantially improves the ensemble precipitation forecast. Assimilation of conventional data together with radar observations substantially improves the forecast of near-surface mesovortices within the MCS, improves forecasts of surface temperature and dewpoint, and imparts a slight but noticeable improvement to short-term precipitation forecasts. Furthermore, ensemble analyses and forecasts are found to be sensitive to the localization radius applied to conventional data within the EnKF.
Race, Ethnic, and Gender Divides in Juvenile Court Sanctioning and Rehabilitative Intervention
Authors: Cochran Joshua C. , Mears Daniel P.
Published: December 2014

Objectives:

Drawing on focal concerns theory, as well as scholarship on the juvenile court’s mandate to consider youth culpability and amenability to treatment, we develop hypotheses that seek to examine whether the court will (1) punish Whites less severely and (2) be more likely to intervene with Whites through rehabilitative intervention and, simultaneously, be more punitive and less rehabilitative with minorities, and, in particular, Black males.

Method:

Florida juvenile court referral data and multinomial logistic regression analyses are used to examine multicategory disposition and “subdisposition” measures.

Results:

Findings suggest that minority youth, especially Black males, are not only more likely to receive punitive sanctions, they also are less likely than White youth to receive rehabilitative interventions and instead experience significantly higher rates of dismissals. The analyses indicate that similar racial and ethnic disparities emerge when “subdispositions”—specifically, placement options within diversion and probation—are examined.

Conclusions:

The results underscore the salience of race, ethnicity, and gender in juvenile court decisions about punitive sanctioning and rehabilitative intervention, as well as the importance of employing multicategory disposition measures that better reflect the range of sanctioning and intervention options available to the court.
An Exploratory Study of Residents’ Perception of Place Image
Authors: Stylidis Dimitrios , Sit Jason , Biran Avital
Published: December 2014

Studies on place image have predominantly focused on the tourists’ destination image and have given limited attention to other stakeholders’ perspectives. This study aims to address this gap by focusing on the notion of residents’ place image, whereby it reviews existing literature on residents’ place image in terms of whether common attributes can be identified, and examines the role of community-focused attributes in its measurement. Data collected from a sample of 481 Kavala residents (Greece) were subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The study reveals that the existing measurement tools have typically emphasized destination-focused attributes and neglected community-focused attributes. This study contributes to the residents’ place image research by proposing a more holistic measurement, which consisted of four dimensions: physical appearance, community services, social environment, and entertainment opportunities. The study also offers practical insights for developing and promoting a tourist place while simultaneously enhancing its residents’ quality of life.
Word-of-Mouth Segments
Authors: Ring Amata , Tkaczynski Aaron , Dolnicar Sara
Published: December 2014

Most tourists love to share their holiday experiences with family, friends, and, increasingly, strangers, using the Internet. Such word-of-mouth represents a highly influential information source for potential tourists and is therefore of great interest to tourism marketing managers. This study aims to understand patterns among tourists when sharing holiday experiences, both in terms of the communication channel they use and the kind of content they share. The findings contribute to a theoretical understanding of word-of-mouth behavior by empirically showing that word-of-mouth is not a homogeneous activity. Rather, results show that distinct segments of word-of-mouth behavior exist. Segments differ with regard to content shared (visual/verbal) and channel used (offline/online). Two out of the five segments use only offline channels to share their experiences, and the extent of visual content shared varies across segments. The article illustrates how these findings could be translated into proactive marketing action aimed at instigating word-of-mouth behavior.
Handling postpartum haemorrhage- obstetrics between tradition and modernity in post-war Sierra Leone
Authors: Bräuer Miriam Dorothea , Antón Jorge , George Peter Matthew , Kuntner Liselotte , Wacker Jürgen
Published: December 2014

Objectives

How traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in post-war Sierra Leone explain, handle and prevent postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) and their potential role in a better management of PPH to reduce maternal mortality in this low resource setting.

Methods

Semi-quantitative interviews about knowledge and measures in PPH and participant observation with 140 Sierra Leonean birth attendants, divided in three groups: (A) TBAs who never attended any official training course ( n = 82); (B) TBAs who attended at least one official training course ( n = 48); and (C) officially trained birth attendants ( n = 10).

Results

There are several observable gaps in the knowledge of TBAs about PPH compared to modern obstetrics, however similar procedures exist. Herbal medicine is applied; metaphysical convictions about PPH remain present. Training courses show an impact. Officially trained birth attendants demonstrate knowledge deficiencies and lack resources and infrastructure to manage PPH adequately.

Conclusions

Morbidity and mortality of PPH in Sierra Leone is related to several factors and not solely to the ignorance of TBAs. TBAs still play an important role for many women there. Hence improvement of the formal health sector should be combined with life-saving programmes integrating TBAs in the care for the pregnant, delivering and breastfeeding mothers.
“Fools for the sake of Christ”: Missional hermeneutics and praxis in the Corinthian correspondence
Authors: Barram Michael
Published: December 2014

Paul’s rhetoric in the Corinthian correspondence suggests that at least some of the Corinthians understood wisdom, power, freedom, and knowledge as being at the heart of Christian identity and practice in the world. Paul counters each of those terms hermeneutically, missionally—underscoring the import of foolishness, weakness, slavery, and love—with respect to his mission in the world and their own. Love, as explicated by Paul, helps to clarify why foolishness, weakness, and slavery trump wisdom, power, freedom, and knowledge. Apart from love, focusing on wisdom, power, freedom, or knowledge can become self-referential. Only in love can those characteristics move beyond themselves for the good—the building up—of others. Paul’s corrective metaphors for missional hermeneutics and praxis—foolishness, weakness, slavery, and love—represent concrete and counter-intuitive ways in which the mission Dei has been and must be manifested. In the process of exploring these issues, the article offers extended reflections on the implications of Paul’s hermeneutical reasoning for contemporary mission today.
Considering a gendered approach to church planting in Muslim-background contexts
Authors: Hibbert Evelyn
Published: December 2014

Women in many Islamic contexts inhabit a private and therefore often hidden space. Within this space they are able to exert their agency and facilitate the development of extensive spiritual movements. Women lead, preach, teach, engage in spiritual and social activities, and develop disciples to extend their influence among other women. Christians working in Islamic contexts, in contrast, often assume that, in churches, men and women should meet together. This may inhibit the development of a Christian female space and women’s spiritual leadership. This article describes Muslim women’s spiritual activities and explores the possibility of a more gendered structure for churches in Muslim-background believer (MBB) contexts.
How Item Residual Heterogeneity Affects Tests for Differential Item Functioning
Authors: Woods Carol M. , Harpole Jared
Published: December 2014

Differential item functioning (DIF) occurs when people with the same proficiency have different probabilities of giving a certain response to an item. The present study focused on an assumption implicit in popular methods for DIF testing that has received little attention in published literature (item residual homogeneity). The assumption is explained, a strategy for detecting violations of it (i.e., item residual heterogeneity) is illustrated with empirical data, and simulations are carried out to evaluate the performance of binary logistic regression, two-group item response theory (IRT), and the Mantel–Haenszel (MH) test in the presence of item residual heterogeneity. Results indicated that heterogeneity inflated Type I error and attenuated power for logistic regression, and attenuated power and produced biased estimates of the latent focal group mean and standard deviation for two-group IRT. The MH test was robust to item residual heterogeneity, probably because it does not use the logistic function.
Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery atrial clipping for atrial fibrillation
Authors: Mithiran Harish , Sule Jai , Sazzad Faizus , Ong Yilin , Kah Ti Lian , Kofidis Theo
Published: December 2014

The majority of thrombi that arise due to atrial fibrillation occur in the left atrial appendage. Eliminating this cul-de-sac within the left atrium reduces the risk of stroke in these patients. We present a unique case of left atrial appendage occlusion performed via video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, using an Atriclip to occlude the left atrial appendage in a patient with atrial fibrillation in whom anticoagulation was contraindicated due to a history of recurrent upper gastrointestinal bleeding.
Working with Gypsy and Traveller offenders
Authors: Cottrell-Boyce Joe
Published: December 2014

Gypsy and Traveller communities have a marginalized status in the UK, facing specific problems such as low levels of literacy, poor health outcomes and high levels of homelessness. There has been very little research into Traveller offenders’ experiences of probation, or, for that matter, of their experiences in the criminal justice system generally. In light of this, Thames Valley probation commissioned the ‘Working with Gypsies and Travellers’ study to explore the needs of Gypsy and Traveller offenders subject to probation supervision. This article highlights some of the core findings from this research, drawing on the suggestions and insights of officers and of Travellers themselves to make constructive recommendations for best-practice. Addressing the needs of Gypsy and Traveller offenders does not require large scale expenditure by the probation service. However, improved socio-cultural awareness combined with a number of modest adaptations in provision could lead to improved outcomes for this group.
Nineteen-year-old female with idiopathic thrombosis of the internal jugular vein
Authors: Efe SC , Poci N , Unkun T , Cap M , Acar RD , Gecmen C , Ozdemir N
Published: December 2014

Internal jugular vein thrombosis is a rarely seen condition which may be due to infection or neoplastic, thrombophilic, traumatic or iatrogenic causes. If the thrombosis in the jugular vein leads to pulmonary embolism, septic emboli or atrial or dural sinus thrombosis, it may be life-threatening. We report a successfully treated case of a 19-year-old female patient presenting with swelling and neck pain who was diagnosed with a stepwise approach of this rare condition.
Relationship between obesity and sex, and prevalence of asthma-like disease and current wheeze in Han children in Nanjing, China
Authors: Yao Jin , Zhou Yao , Wang Juan , Wu Hongmei , Liu Hongxia , Shi Yu , Lei Qihong , Xia Wen , Ji Chunzhen , Ye Xinmin , Han Qing , Liang Hui , Liu Feng , Zhao Deyu
Published: December 2014

Objective

To investigate the relationships between body mass index (BMI) and sex, and asthma-like disease and current wheeze in Han children in Nanjing, China.

Methods

Han children aged 3–14 years were recruited. Height and weight were measured; individuals were classified into obesity, thinness and normal-weight groups on the basis of the calculated BMI. Questionnaires were used to measure prevalence of asthma-like disease and current wheeze. Results were evaluated using the χ2-test, odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals and multivariate logistic regression analyses.

Results

In total 12 092 children (6 331 boys and 5 761 girls) were included. Rates of normal weight, obesity and thinness were 8915/12 092 (73.73%), 1479/12 092 (12.23%) and 1698/12 092 (14.04%), respectively. Asthma-like disease and current wheeze were reported in 2051/12 092 (16.96%) and 400/12 092 (3.31%), respectively. An increased BMI was associated with a greater risk of asthma-like disease; this relationship was strongest in girls. Current wheeze was associated positively with obesity and negatively with thinness, but only among boys. Boys had a greater risk of asthma-like disease and current wheeze than girls.

Conclusions

BMI and sex were associated independently with the prevalence of asthma-like disease and current wheeze in Han Chinese children.
Spatial media/tion
Authors: Leszczynski Agnieszka
Published: December 2014

This paper builds on the designation of networked spatial information technologies (both hardware/software objects and information artifacts) as ‘spatial media’ to advance media as an epistemology for engaging these presences as both channels for content and as cultural apparatuses. Doing so directly asserts their materiality as coincident with (new) media techno-cultural productions. This allows for a theory of mediation that belies narratives of ‘virtual’–‘real’ spatial hybrids by instead understanding spatiality (as the nexus of material socio-spatio-technical relations) as always-already mediated – i.e. as the ontogenetic effects of the contingent, necessarily incomplete comings-together of technical presences, persons, and space/place.
Providing Medication Therapy Management for Smoking Cessation Patients
Authors: Smalls Tiffany D. , Broughton Amelia D. , Hylick Ericka V. , Woodard Todd J.
Published: December 2014

Nearly 50 years ago, the Surgeon General of the US Public Health Service released the first report of the Surgeon General’s Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health. The report concluded that cigarette smoking caused lung and laryngeal cancer as well as bronchitis. Today, smoking is one of the leading preventable causes of deaths in the United States. Research has shown that it potentially causes more deaths than human immunodeficiency virus, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, and firearm-related incidents. Health care providers play a critical role in guiding and directing patients to quit smoking by introducing them to smoking-cessation options. This is due to the fact that if these patients quit, they can reduce their cardiovascular risk. Pharmacists, being one of the easily accessible health care providers, have an advantage over other clinicians when it comes to influencing patients to quit smoking and to modify their lifestyles. Pharmacists through medication therapy management directly interact with these patients to manage medications as well as behavioral factors.
Aging, Place, and Technology
Authors: Satariano William A. , Scharlach Andrew E. , Lindeman David
Published: December 2014

Objective: To review the range of promising technologies (e.g., smart phones, remote monitoring devices) designed to enhance aging in place; identify challenges for implementation of those technologies; and recommend ways to improve access to technologies in older populations. Method: A narrative review of research, practice, and policies from multiple fields, including information science, gerontology, engineering, housing and social services, health care and public health. Results: Despite a wide range of emerging and current technologies, there are significant challenges for implementation, including an uneven evidence base, economic barriers, and educational and ergonomic issues that adversely affect many older adults. Discussion: Recommendations for future development and adoption include improving the evidence base through field-testing of “packages” of devices in diverse populations of older adults; development of innovative funding mechanisms involving multidisciplinary teams, older adults, and caregivers; and promotion of safety and security in the use of these technologies in older populations.
From shared learning to shared action in building resilience in the city of Bandar Lampung, Indonesia
Authors: Lassa Jonatan A , Nugraha Erwin
Published: December 2014

This paper describes how the city of Bandar Lampung began to incorporate climate change adaptation goals into its budget and some of its plans. A series of Shared Learning Dialogues supported by the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) involved staff from city government, NGOs and universities. This led to the formation of a multi-stakeholder City Team that was charged by the mayor with assessing climate risks and vulnerability, prioritizing problems and programmes, supporting small-scale adaptation projects and functioning as climate change adaptation advocates within the city. The paper describes some of these projects and how a range of factors underpinned better solid waste management and flood risk reduction, including fiscal reform that brought a large increase in the city’s budget, strong leadership and better planning. Challenges and barriers are also discussed, including what is needed to ensure that local government continues to incorporate climate change adaptation into its work and investments.
Development of key indicators of hospital resilience: a modified Delphi study
Authors: Zhong Shuang , Clark Michele , Hou Xiang-Yu , Zang Yuli , FitzGerald Gerard
Published: December 2014

Objectives

Hospital resilience is an emerging concept, which can be defined as ‘a hospital’s ability to resist, absorb, and respond to the shock of disasters while maintaining its critical health care functions, and then recover to its original state or adapt to a new one’. Our aim was to develop a comprehensive framework of key indicators of hospital resilience.

Methods

A panel of 33 Chinese experts was invited to participate in a three-round, modified Delphi study to develop a set of potential measures previously derived from a literature review. In the first round, these potential measures were modified to cover the comprehensive domains of hospital resilience. The importance of proposed measures was scored by experts on a five-point Likert scale. Subsequently, the experts reconsidered their voting in light of the previous aggregated results. Agreement on measures was defined as at least 70% of the responders agreeing or strongly agreeing to the inclusion of a measure.

Results

A large proportion of preliminary measures (89.5%) were identified as having good potential for assessing hospital resilience. These measures were categorized into eight domains, 17 subdomains, and 43 indicators. The highest rated indicators (mean score) were: equipment for on-site rescue (4.7), plan initiation (4.6), equipment for referral of patients with complex care needs (4.5), the plan execution (4.4), medication management strategies (4.4), emergency medical treatment conditions (4.4), disaster committee (4.4), stock types and quantities for essential medications (4.4), surge capacity of emergency beds (4.4), and mass-casualty triage protocols (4.4).

Conclusions

This framework identifies a comprehensive set of indicators of hospital resilience. It can be used for hospital assessment, as well as informing priority practices to address future disasters better.
Down syndrome screening information in midwifery practices in the Netherlands: Strategies to integrate biomedical information
Authors: Rosman Sophia
Published: December 2014

The aim of this qualitative study was to analyse counselling with regard to prenatal screening in midwifery consultations in the Netherlands where a national prenatal screening programme has only existed since 2007, after years of social and political debates. The methodology is based on in situ observations of 25 counselling consultations in four midwifery practices in two main cities in the Netherlands. The results of this study show that, since midwives are obliged to offer information on Down syndrome screening to all pregnant women (2007), they have to deal with the communication of medical screening information using biostatistical concepts to explain risks, calculations, probabilities and chromosomal anomalies. In order to avoid the risk of medicalization of their consultation, midwives develop strategies that allow them to integrate this new biomedical discourse while maintaining their low medicalized approach of midwife-led care. One of their main strategies is to switch from ‘alarming’ biomedical messages to ‘reassuring words’ in order to manage the anxiety induced by the information and to keep the control over their low medicalized consultation. They also tend to distance themselves from the obligation to talk about screening. The way midwives handle these counselling consultations allows them to respect their obligation to propose information, and to remain faithful to their struggle to protect the natural process of pregnancy as well as their professional autonomy.
Diversity, tolerance, and the social contract
Authors: Bruner Justin P
Published: December 2014

Philosophers and social scientists have recently turned to game theory and agent-based models to better understand social contract formation. The stag hunt game is an idealization of social contract formation. Using the stag hunt game, we attempt to determine what, if any, barrier diversity is to the formation of an efficient social contract. We uncover a deep connection between tolerance, diversity, and the social contract. We investigate a simple model in which individuals possess salient traits and behave cooperatively when the difference between their trait and the trait of their counterpart is less than their ‘tolerance level’. If traits are fixed and correspond to permanent or semipermanent features of the individual, such as religion or race, social contract formation is a remote possibility. If traits are malleable, social contract formation is possible but comes at the steep cost of diversity and tolerance, that is, individuals are unwilling to cooperate with those much different from themselves. Yet homogeneity and intolerance are not a long-term feature of the population. Over time mutations allow for increasingly tolerant agents to prosper, thereby ushering in trait diversity. In the end, all reap the benefits of cooperation.
Analyzing bivariate ordinal data with CUB margins
Authors: Corduas Marcella
Published: December 2014

Statistical modelling for ordinal data has received a considerable attention in the literature, and a consolidated theory relying on Generalized Linear Model approach has been developed. In this article, we present an innovative technique for modelling bivariate ordinal data. In particular, we consider the method introduced by Plackett for constructing a one-parameter bivariate distribution from given margins, and we apply it in order to represent correlated ordinal variables which individually follows a CUB model. This is a univariate mixture distribution defined by the convex Combination of a Uniform and a shifted Binomial distribution whose parameters may be related to rater's covariates. The article shows how the bivariate distribution can be defined and how its characterizing parameter, which describes the association between the component random variables, can be related to the subject's covariates. The proposed approach is applied to the study of two key drivers of extra virgin olive oil consumption in Italy. The technique allows a representation of the data whose meaning can be easily interpreted providing useful information for management support.
Embolic Stroke Diagnosed by Elevated D-Dimer in a Patient With Negative TEE for Cardioembolic Source
Authors: Sazonova Irina Y. , Pondicherry-Harish Roja , Kadle Nikhil , Sharma Gyanendra K. , Figueroa Ramon E. , Robinson Vincent J. B.
Published: December 2014

We report a case of cerebrovascular accident with thromboembolic stroke etiology in a patient who had atrial flutter and negative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) results. The increased D-dimer levels (1877 ng/mL) initiated referral for magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance angiography of the brain that showed classic recanalization of an embolic thrombus in the angular branch of the left middle cerebral distribution. The D-dimer level of this patient was normalized after 3 months of anticoagulation therapy. Although TEE is considered the gold standard for evaluation of cardiac source of embolism, exclusion of intracardiac thrombus with TEE alone does not eliminate the risk of thromboembolic events. This case highlights the utility of D-dimer as a potential adjunct in the decision-making process to guide investigation of thromboembolism, determine subsequent therapy, and hence reduce the risk of embolic stroke recurrence.
How I treat classical Hodgkin lymphoma in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus
Authors: Uldrick Thomas S. , Little Richard F.
Published: December 2014

HIV-associated classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HIV-cHL) is an important complication of HIV disease in the era of effective combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Generally, newly diagnosed HIV-cHL should be managed with curative intent. With modern HIV therapeutics, HIV-cHL treatment outcomes are largely comparable to those of the background population with cHL (non–HIV-cHL). To achieve these outcomes, particular attention must be given to managing HIV. This management includes understanding HIV as a comorbid condition with a spectrum of impact that is unique to each patient. Meticulous attention to drug-drug interactions is required to avoid toxicity and pharmacokinetic effects that can undermine cure. Relapsed and refractory HIV-cHL poses additional therapeutic challenges. The standard management in this setting should also be based on that for non–HIV-cHL, and includes the use of salvage chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplant in chemosensitive disease. The role of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant is less clear but may be useful in select cases. Newer agents with activity in cHL are being tested as part of primary and salvage therapy and are also highly relevant for HIV-cHL.
Properties for certain subclasses of analytic functions with nonzero coefficients
Authors: Lee Hyo Jeong , Cho Nak Eun , Owa Shigeyoshi
Published: December 2014

In the present paper, we obtain some mapping and inclusion properties for subclasses of analytic functions by using a linear operator defined by the Gaussian hypergeometric function.

MSC:30C45.
Shared data for intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) optimization research: the CORT dataset
Authors: Craft David , Bangert Mark , Long Troy , Papp Dávid , Unkelbach Jan
Published: December 2014

Background:

We provide common datasets (which we call the CORT dataset: common optimization for radiation therapy) that researchers can use when developing and contrasting radiation treatment planning optimization algorithms. The datasets allow researchers to make one-to-one comparisons of algorithms in order to solve various instances of the radiation therapy treatment planning problem in intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), including beam angle optimization, volumetric modulated arc therapy and direct aperture optimization.

Results:

We provide datasets for a prostate case, a liver case, a head and neck case, and a standard IMRT phantom. We provide the dose-influence matrix from a variety of beam/couch angle pairs for each dataset. The dose-influence matrix is the main entity needed to perform optimizations: it contains the dose to each patient voxel from each pencil beam. In addition, the original Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) computed tomography (CT) scan, as well as the DICOM structure file, are provided for each case.

Conclusions:

Here we present an open dataset – the first of its kind – to the radiation oncology community, which will allow researchers to compare methods for optimizing radiation dose delivery.
Monte Carlo reservoir analysis combining seismic reflection data and informed priors
Authors: Zunino Andrea , Mosegaard Klaus , Lange Katrine , Melnikova Yulia , Mejer Hansen Thomas
Published: December 2014

Determination of a petroleum reservoir structure and rock bulk properties relies extensively on inference from reflection seismology. However, classic deterministic methods to invert seismic data for reservoir properties suffer from some limitations, among which are the difficulty of handling complex, possibly nonlinear forward models, and the lack of robust uncertainty estimations. To overcome these limitations, we studied a methodology to invert seismic reflection data in the framework of the probabilistic approach to inverse problems, using a Markov chain Monte Carlo (McMC) algorithm with the goal to directly infer the rock facies and porosity of a target reservoir zone. We thus combined a rock-physics model with seismic data in a single inversion algorithm. For large data sets, the McMC method may become computationally impractical, so we relied on multiple-point-based a priori information to quantify geologically plausible models. We tested this methodology on a synthetic reservoir model. The solution of the inverse problem was then represented by a collection of facies and porosity reservoir models, which were samples of the posterior distribution. The final product included probability maps of the reservoir properties in obtained by performing statistical analysis on the collection of solutions.
Nonnormal Small Jump Approximation of Infinitely Divisible Distributions
Authors: Chi Zhiyi
Published: December 2014

We study a type of nonnormal small jump approximation of infinitely divisible distributions. By incorporating compound Poisson, gamma, and normal distributions, the approximation has a higher order of cumulant matching than its normal counterpart, and, hence, in many cases a higher rate of approximation error decay as the cutoff for the jump size tends to 0. The parameters of the approximation are easy to fix, and its random sampling has the same order of computational complexity as the normal approximation. An error bound of the approximation in terms of the total variation distance is derived. Simulations empirically show that the nonnormal approximation can have a significantly smaller error than its normal counterpart.
The Λ-Fleming-Viot Process and a Connection with Wright-Fisher Diffusion
Authors: Griffiths Robert C.
Published: December 2014

Thed-dimensional Λ-Fleming-Viot generator acting on functionsg(x), withxbeing a vector ofdallele frequencies, can be written as a Wright-Fisher generator acting on functionsgwith a modified random linear argument ofxinduced by partitioning occurring in the Λ-Fleming-Viot process. The eigenvalues and right polynomial eigenvectors are easy to see from this representation. The two-dimensional process, which has a one-dimensional generator, is considered in detail. A nonlinear equation is found for the Green's function. In a model with genic selection a proof is given that there is a critical selection value such that if the selection coefficient is greater than or equal to the critical value then fixation, when the boundary 1 is hit, has probability 1 beginning from any nonzero frequency. This is an analytic proof different from the proofs of Der, Epstein and Plotkin (2011) and Foucart (2013). An application in the infinitely-many-alleles Λ-Fleming-Viot process is finding an interesting identity for the frequency spectrum of alleles that is based on size biasing. The moment dual process in the Fleming-Viot process is the usual Λ-coalescent tree back in time. The Wright-Fisher representation using a different set of polynomialsgn(x) as test functions produces a dual death process which has a similarity to the Kingman coalescent and decreases by units of one. The eigenvalues of the process are analogous to the Jacobi polynomials when expressed in terms ofgn(x), playing the role ofxn. Under the stationary distribution when there is mutation,is analogous to thenth moment in a beta distribution. There is ad-dimensional versiongn(X), and even an intriguing Ewens' sampling formula analogy whend→ ∞.
Characterization of the Generalized Pólya Process and its Applications
Authors: Cha Ji Hwan
Published: December 2014

In this paper some important properties of the generalized Pólya process are derived and their applications are discussed. The generalized Pólya process is defined based on the stochastic intensity. By interpreting the defined stochastic intensity of the generalized Pólya process, the restarting property of the process is discussed. Based on the restarting property of the process, the joint distribution of the number of events is derived and the conditional joint distribution of the arrival times is also obtained. In addition, some properties of the compound process defined for the generalized Pólya process are derived. Furthermore, a new type of repair is defined based on the process and its application to the area of reliability is discussed. Several examples illustrating the applications of the obtained properties to various areas are suggested.
Probability Distribution Function for the Euclidean Distance Between Two Telegraph Processes
Authors: Kolesnik Alexander D.
Published: December 2014

Consider two independent Goldstein-Kac telegraph processes X1(t) and X2(t) on the real line ℝ. The processes Xk(t), k = 1, 2, describe stochastic motions at finite constant velocities c1 > 0 and c2 > 0 that start at the initial time instant t = 0 from the origin of ℝ and are controlled by two independent homogeneous Poisson processes of rates λ1 > 0 and λ2 > 0, respectively. We obtain a closed-form expression for the probability distribution function of the Euclidean distance ρ(t) = |X1(t) - X2(t)|, t > 0, between these processes at an arbitrary time instant t > 0. Some numerical results are also presented.
A somatic permeability barrier around the germline is essential forDrosophilaspermatogenesis
Authors: Fairchild Michael J. , Smendziuk Christopher M. , Tanentzapf Guy
Published: December 2014

Interactions between the soma and germline are essential for gametogenesis. In the Drosophila testis, differentiating germ cells are encapsulated by two somatic cells that surround the germline throughout spermatogenesis. chickadee (chic), the fly ortholog of Profilin, mediates soma-germline interactions. Knockdown of Chic in the soma results in sterility and severely disrupted spermatogenesis due to defective encapsulation. To study this defect further, we developed a permeability assay to analyze whether the germline is isolated from the surrounding environment by the soma. We find that germline encapsulation by the soma is, by itself, insufficient for the formation of a permeability barrier, but that such a barrier gradually develops during early spermatogenesis. Thus, germline stem cells, gonialblasts and early spermatogonia are not isolated from the outside environment. By late spermatocyte stages, however, a permeability barrier is formed by the soma. Furthermore, we find that, concomitant with formation of the permeability barrier, septate junction markers are expressed in the soma and localize to junctional sites connecting the two somatic cells that surround the germline. Importantly, knockdown of septate junction components also disrupts the permeability barrier. Finally, we show that germline differentiation is delayed when the permeability barrier is compromised. We propose that the permeability barrier around the germline serves an important regulatory function during spermatogenesis by shaping the signaling events that take place between the soma and the germline.
Small Molecule Bulk-heterojunction Solar Cells Composed of Two Discrete Organic Semiconductors
Authors: Takemoto Keisuke , Kimura Mutsumi
Published: December 2014

Small molecule bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells were fabricated using two disk-shaped organic semiconductors. Perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid diimide (PDI) derivatives were used as a non-fullerene electron-acceptor component for the BHJ solar cells. The attachment of thiophene units with the PDI core enhanced the solar cell performance.
Synthesis of Benzimidazolo[2,3-b]quinazolinone Derivatives via a One-pot Multicomponent Reaction Promoted by a Chitosan-based Composite Magnetic Nanocatalyst
Authors: Maleki Ali , Aghaei Morteza , Ghamari Nakisa
Published: December 2014

A practical and green approach for the one-pot multicomponent synthesis of tetraheterocyclic benzimidazolo[2,3-b]quinazolinones has been described via the condensation of 2-aminobenzimidazole or 2-aminobenzothiazole, dimedone, and various aldehydes using Fe3O4@chitosan as an environmentally benign and reusable nanocomposite catalyst in good to excellent yields.
The Ethics of Efficient Markets and Commons Tragedies: A Review of John Broome's Climate Matters: Ethics in a Warming World
Authors: Nordhaus William
Published: December 2014

What are the ethical implications of our contributions to global warming on an individual level? In his extended essay, John Broome analyzes the moral implications of our imposing damages on future generations through our greenhouse-gas emissions. He argues that we as individuals owe restitution to those who are in the future damaged by these unjust acts. He suggests that restitution can be accomplished by completely offsetting emissions and thereby having a zero carbon footprint. This review examines the force of his arguments and suggests that offsetting emissions on an individual basis is an imperfect substitute for collective action or more encompassing contributions to those hurt by our externalities. (JEL D63, Q21, Q54, Q58)
A common feature pharmacophore for FDA-approved drugs inhibiting the Ebola virus
Authors: Ekins Sean , Freundlich Joel S. , Coffee Megan
Published: December 2014

We are currently faced with a global infectious disease crisis which has been anticipated for decades. While many promising biotherapeutics are being tested, the search for a small molecule has yet to deliver an approved drug or therapeutic for the Ebola or similar filoviruses that cause haemorrhagic fever. Two recent high throughput screens published in 2013 did however identify several hits that progressed to animal studies that are FDA approved drugs used for other indications. The current computational analysis uses these molecules from two different structural classes to construct a common features pharmacophore. This ligand-based pharmacophore implicates a possible common target or mechanism that could be further explored. A recent structure based design project yielded nine co-crystal structures of pyrrolidinone inhibitors bound to the viral protein 35 (VP35). When receptor-ligand pharmacophores based on the analogs of these molecules and the protein structures were constructed, the molecular features partially overlapped with the common features of solely ligand-based pharmacophore models based on FDA approved drugs. These previously identified FDA approved drugs with activity against Ebola were therefore docked into this protein. The antimalarials chloroquine and amodiaquine docked favorably in VP35. We propose that these drugs identified to date as inhibitors of the Ebola virus may be targeting VP35. These computational models may provide preliminary insights into the molecular features that are responsible for their activity against Ebola virus in vitro and in vivo and we propose that this hypothesis could be readily tested.