bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Contamination during production of heater-cooler units by Mycobacterium chimaera potential cause for invasive cardiovascular infections: results of an outbreak investigation in Germany, April 2015 to February 2016
Authors: Haller Sebastian , Höller Christiane , Jacobshagen Anja , Hamouda Osamah , Abu Sin Muna , Monnet Dominique L. , Plachouras Diamantis , Eckmanns Tim
Published: May 2016

Invasive infections with Mycobacterium chimaera were reported in patients with previous open chest surgery and exposure to contaminated heater-cooler units (HCUs). We present results of the surveillance of clinical cases and of contaminated HCUs as well as environmental investigations in Germany up until February 2016. Clinical infections occurred in five male German cases over 50 years of age (range 53–80). Cases had been exposed to HCUs from one single manufacturer during open chest surgery up to five years prior to onset of symptoms. During environmental investigations, M. chimaera was detected in samples from used HCUs from three different countries and samples from new HCUs as well as in the environment at the manufacturing site of one manufacturer in Germany. Our investigation suggests that at least some of the M. chimaera infections may have been caused by contamination of HCUs at manufacturing site. We recommend that until sustainable measures for safe use of HCUs in operation theatres are implemented, users continue to adhere to instructions for use of HCUs and Field Safety Notices issued by the manufacturer, implement local monitoring for bacterial contamination and continuously check the websites of national and European authorities for current recommendations for the safe operation of HCUs.
Exploring the Determinants of Fuel wood Use in Western Hill Nepal: An Econometric Analysis
Authors: Bhattarai Lekh Nath
Published: May 2016

Forest resources use at the household level may be determined by socio-economic as well as physical factors adjacent to the users. This paper is based on the study conducted by the author to explore the determinants of fuelwood use at household level with field survey data from the samples of households along the stretch of middle hills in Arghakhanchi District, west Nepal. The findings of multiple regression analysis clearly suggest that the physical quantity of fuelwood used per capita is significantly influenced by the households’ socio-economic indicators such as income, household size, landholding, and domestic animal holding and to some extent caste and ethnicity. Similarly, the distance to nearest forest is also an important predictor, exhibiting negative and significant effect. But the net effects of per capita landholding on per capita fuel wood collected from public forest appeared to be negative. It is not only an indication of higher dependency of poor on public forests but also an evidence of manifestation of their deprivation. It leads to imply a fact that the use of forest resource such as fuelwood can be reduced increasing the socio-economic status of the users.

Economic Literature, Vol. XI (26-34), June 2013 
Out of Place: Abandoned Children in Predicaments amid Alterations
Authors: Upadhyay Prakash
Published: May 2016

The major argument of this article is that amid the rhetoric of inclusion of caste/ethnic/regional groups in the national mainstream, street children known as vagrant kids are the victims of exclusion. In a new situation on the streets, Vagrant kids are the vagabond. However, abandoning the home and adjusting to the streets is a multifarious process. The forming of the vagrant kids is a complex itinerary actions embedded with the age, sex, and ethnicities/caste, place of origin, family economy, family roles and responsibilities. Among the multiple factors, family dysfunctions and company with street boys are the raison d'être for the emergence of street children culture. In a transformed situation on street, kids’ lives have a momentous relationship to the street as a space and a new sub-culture in a new situation. In a rupture from works, which considers vagrant kids a hindrance to progressive social change, this study squabble that forming of vagrant kids is society ingrained and hence endorses role of community in bringing transference, meaningful development in the status of vagrant kids through an affirmative change in the behavior of the people and the government.

Economic Literature Vol.12 2014: 26-38
Prospects of Creating Memorable Experience in Nepalese Tourism and Hospitality Industry
Authors: Rijal Chanakya P , Ghimire Sudip
Published: May 2016

This paper contributes to explore the concept of experience economy theory of Pine and Gilmore (1998) as a basis for measuring the prospects of creating memorable experience in Nepalese tourism and hospitality industry identifying the key elements of Nepalese tourism and hospitality industry and its dimension based on the four realms of experience as proposed by the author of experience economy theory. For assessing this result, an ethnographic study based on semi-structured interview were conducted with leading professional of Nepalese tourism and hospitality field and also with a visitor. The result of the study has clearly depicted and further elaborated the Nepalese key elements of tourism and hospitality experience, present status, major attributes, underlying anticipation of the industry, illustrating the implication while focused on the various core elements and the indigenous attributes of Nepalese tourism and hospitality industry. However, the results are confined only with the prospects based on the confirmation of the scope in experience economy for this industry with very little focus on the prospects for designing further experience or staging the experience. It has also served as a basis for understanding the emergent theory in experiential consumption of tourism and hospitality services in Nepalese sector that can be applied to the varying stage of development in the promotion and marketing of tourism and hospitality service offering. Consequently, it has also offered a new theoretical direction for tourism and hospitality policy makers, planners as well as a practical insight for the contemporary application of the findings for marketers and decision makers.Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Education (Vol. 6) Page: 40-66
Bilateral Three Headed Biceps Brachii Muscle: A Case Report
Authors: Singh Poonam
Published: May 2016

During routine human cadaveric dissection for the purpose of teaching learning of medical undergraduates in our department, third head of the biceps brachii muscle was found bilaterally in a 67 years old male cadaver. Bilaterally symmetrical third head was found with fleshy proximal attachment on humerus between the insertion of the coracobrachialis and the upper part of the origin of the brachialis. This supernumerary head was deep to the other two heads of biceps and was inserted into the bicipital aponeurosis. A branch of musculocutaneous nerve could be traced upto the third head. Long and short heads of biceps were of usual anatomy.
In Vitro Study of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Artifacts of Anesthetic Devices
Authors: Bajracharya Uday , Rawal Prabhat
Published: May 2016

Introduction: Deep sedation or general anesthesia is usually required for Magnetic Resonance Imaging when patients cannot remain motionless in the suite. Various anesthetic devices have been used to maintain the airway and ventilate the lungs during this period but some of them produce artifacts that pose difficulties in the interpretation of images. The aim of this study was to identify the devices that produced artifacts during Magnetic Resonance Imaging.Methods: Twelve anesthetic devices were considered: oro-pharyngeal airway, naso-pharygeal airway, face mask with reservoir bag, nasal cannula, endotracheal tube, disposable Ambu Laryngeal Mask Airway, Laryngeal Mask Airway Unique, Disposable Laryngeal Tube Sonda, i-gel, Ambubag, Bain Circuit, Jackson Rees Circuit.Magnetic Resonance Imaging was performed with each device placed on the top of a phantom simulator respectively to resemble the position in vivo.Results: The artifacts with Disposable Laryngeal Tube Sonda, Laryngeal Mask Airway Unique and endotracheal tube were related to ferromagnetic material in the pilot valve were similar. No artifacts were found with oro-pharyngeal airway, naso-pharygeal airway, nasal cannula, endo-tracheal tube with pilot valve detached, face masks with reservoir bag (metal removed), Ambu bag (without  Adjustable Pressure Limiting valve), i-gel , disposable  Ambu Laryngeal Mask Airway, Bain Circuit and  Jackson Rees Circuit.Conclusions: Anesthetic devices not containing any ferromagnetic material are recommended for use during MRI scanning to reduce artifacts.
Ewing’s Sarcoma of Kidney- a Rare Case
Authors: Thapa Bikash Bukram , Thapa Narayan , Bhandari Bharat Bahadur , Hamal Bhairab Kumar
Published: May 2016

Ewing’s sarcoma of kidney is rare and aggressive tumor of young adult with diagnostic challenges. Clinical presentations and imaging are non specific. The diagnosis depends on histopathology and immunohistochemistry and  treatment encompass multimodality approach. We present here a case of Ewing’s sarcoma kidney of a young adult managed in our institution.
Aberrant Origin of Radial Artery in Arm
Authors: Sathe Vivek , Pokhrel Rishi
Published: May 2016

During dissection in middle-aged male cadaver, an aberrant radial artery was noticed in the left arm. The artery was taking origin from the upper part of the brachial artery i.e. at a point when axillary artery leaves the axilla and becomes brachial artery.Course of the aberrant vessel was studied in the arm and the forearm. In the upper part of arm the vessel took origin on the lateral side of brachial plexus trunks and traveled to the lateral region of the cubital fossa travelling lateral to the biceps brachii and deep to skin, superficial and deep fascia. In the lower part of the arm i.e. just above the cubital fossa, aberrant vessel was lateral and entered the forearm deep to the pronator teres. Throughout its course the vessel laid superficial to forearm muscles, it was covered by the skin superficial and deep fascia. At the wrist its position was normal i.e. against anterior border of the radius.
Synthesis and Characterization of Biodegradable Cationic Esterquat Surfactants and the Evaluation of its Physico-Chemical Properties
Authors: Umapathy Manickam Janarthana , Narayanan Venu Lakshimi , Magesan P. , Chiranjeevi P. , Jemima Susan W.
Published: May 2016

Three biodegradable cationic esterquat surfactants such as 2-(dodecanoyloxy)-N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-N-(oxiran-2-ylmethyl)ethane-1-ammonium chloride (II-a), 2-hydroxy-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-N-(oxiran-2-ylmethyl)-N-(2-(tetradecanoyloxy) ethyl) ethane-1-ammonium chloride (II-b) and 2-hydroxy-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-N-(oxiran-2-ylmethyl)-N-palmitoyloxy) ethyl) ethane-1-ammonium chloride (II-c) have been synthesized. The synthesis involves the esterification of three different fatty acids (lauric, myristic and palmitic) with triethanolamine followed by the quaternization with epichlorohydrin. The synthesized surfactants have been characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and elementary analysis. Physico-chemical properties such as surface tension and interfacial tension, Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC), wetting time, foam stability, and emulsion stability have been evaluated. Based on the results of the physico-chemical properties, the efficacy of the surfactants is in the following order II-c > II-b > II-a.
Characteristics of Block Copolymers of Methyl Oxirane and Oxirane Derivatives of 2-Ethylhexanol as Obtained with KOH and Dimetalcyanide Type Catalyst
Authors: Hreczuch Wiesław , Chruściel Arkadiusz , Dąbrowska Karolina , Di Serio Martino , Yongqiang Sun
Published: May 2016

Two series of block copolymers of methyloxirane and oxirane, derivatives of 2-ethylhexanol, were obtained with the use of KOH as a conventional homogeneous alkaline catalyst and a coordinative dimetalcyanide catalyst (DMC), respectively. The DMC type catalyst showed much higher kinetic activities and its reaction exhibited a narrower distribution of homologues, as compared with those obtained in the presence of KOH. The thermogravimetric technique was proposed for the characterization of the fractional content of products. The pluming phenomenon and VOCs content were discussed as a practical aspect of the differences in fractional compositions of the products examined.
Green Synthesis and Surface Properties of Acyl Glycine Surfactants Derived from Vegetable Oils
Authors: Zhang Gui-ju , Chai Chen-xing , Tan Ting-ting , Xu Bao-cai , Zhou Ya-wen , Liu Hong-qin , Zhao Li , Wang Nan
Published: May 2016

Oils from coconut, peanut, and soybean were reacted as acyl donors with sodium glycinate to synthesize acyl glycine surfactants. From these three oils a series of acyl glycines with different acyl chain lengths was obtained. The proportion of each component was consistent with the composition of fatty acids derived from the three vegetable oils. The surface properties of the corresponding sodium salts were determined. Sodium cocoyl glycinate, the sodium salt of acyl glycine from peanut oil, and the sodium salt of acyl glycine from soybean oil reduced the surface tension of water to 33.1, 31.6, and 33.4 mN · m−1, respectively, at corresponding critical micelle concentrations of 0.21, 0.057, and 0.05 mmol · L−1. The three acyl glycine surfactants exhibited favorable foam properties, good detergency, and good emulsifying properties.
Phase equilibria in the Au–Bi–Sn ternary system at temperatures of 80, 125, and 150 °C
Authors: Hsiao Hsien-Ming , Chang Yen-Wei , Chen Chih-Ming , Chen Pei-Yu , Wu Yi-Pin , Yen Yee-Wen
Published: May 2016

Sn–Bi alloys form some of the common types of Pb-free solders. Au is used as one of the under bump metallization layers due to advantages such as corrosion resistance and anti-oxidation properties. Phase equilibria information plays a vital role in the development of materials technology and serves as an important tool to understand interfacial reactions at heterointerfaces. In this study, the phase equilibria in the Au–Bi–Sn ternary system were experimentally investigated at temperatures of 80, 125, and 150 °C. The results indicated that a ternary phase with a composition of Au45 – 48-Bi36 – 38-Sn14–19 (at.%) was found in the Au–Bi–Sn ternary system at these three temperatures.
Dynamical Systems for Audio Synthesis: Embracing Nonlinearities and Delay-Free Loops
Authors: Medine David
Published: May 2016

Many systems featuring nonlinearities and delay-free loops are of interest in digital audio, particularly in virtual analog and physical modeling applications. Many of these systems can be posed as systems of implicitly related ordinary differential equations. Provided each equation in the network is itself an explicit one, straightforward numerical solvers may be employed to compute the output of such systems without resorting to linearization or matrix inversions for every parameter change. This is a cheap and effective means for synthesizing delay-free, nonlinear systems without resorting to large lookup tables, iterative methods, or the insertion of fictitious delay and is therefor suitable for real-time applications. Several examples are shown to illustrate the efficacy of this approach.
A Novel Delafossite Structured Visible-Light Sensitive AgFeO2 Photocatalyst: Preparation, Photocatalytic Properties, and Reaction Mechanism
Authors: Yin Lu , Shi Yubin , Lu Lian , Fang Rongye , Wan Xiankai , Shi Huixiang
Published: May 2016

This work presents a systematic study of a novel efficient visible-light sensitive AgFeO2 photocatalyst. The photocatalysts were prepared via simple hydrothermal procedure at 160 °C with different reaction time. The structures, morphologies, specific surface areas, and optical properties of the photocatalysts were explored by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) model, and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). Photoluminescence and photocurrent analysis were conducted for the understanding of photogenerated electron-hole pair separation. AgFeO2 with a six-hour hydrothermal procedure demonstrated the most efficient photocatalytic performance which resulted in 97% degradation of methyl orange (MO) within 180 min. The enhanced photocatalytic activity was attributed to the combined effect of its relatively large surface area and high separation electron-hole pair efficiency. Holes and ·O2− were the dominant reactive species responsible for MO degradation and holes played the leading role according to the quenching effects analysis and detection of active species. The conduction and valence band position of AgFeO2 were calculated to be −0.5 V and 1.32 V, respectively. Based on active species detection, along with the band structure, the photocatalytic mechanism was proposed.
Comparison of Single-Layer and Double-Layer Anti-Reﬂection Coatings Using Laser-Induced Damage Threshold and Photothermal Common-Path Interferometry
Authors: Clark Caspar , Bassiri Riccardo , Martin Iain , Markosyan Ashot , Murray Peter , Gibson Des , Rowan Sheila , Fejer Martin
Published: May 2016

The dielectric thin-ﬁlm coating on high-power optical components is often the weakest region and will fail at elevated optical ﬂuences. A comparison of single-layer coatings of ZrO2, LiF, Ta2O5, SiN, and SiO2 along with anti-reﬂection (AR) coatings optimized at 1064 nm comprised of ZrO2 and Ta2O5 was made, and the results of photothermal common-path interferometry (PCI) and a laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) are presented here. The coatings were grown by radio frequency (RF) sputtering, pulsed direct-current (DC) sputtering, ion-assisted electron beam evaporation (IAD), and thermal evaporation. Test regimes for LIDT used pulse durations of 9.6 ns at 100 Hz for 1000-on-1 and 1-on-1 regimes at 1064 nm for single-layer and AR coatings, and 20 ns at 20 Hz for a 200-on-1 regime to compare the //ZrO2/SiO2 AR coating.
Open Fault Detection and Tolerant Control for a Five Phase Inverter Driving System
Authors: Baek Seung-Koo , Shin Hye-Ung , Kang Seong-Yun , Park Choon-Soo , Lee Kyo-Beum
Published: May 2016

This paper proposes a fault detection and the improved fault-tolerant control for an open fault in the five-phase inverter driving system. The five-phase induction machine has a merit of fault-tolerant control due to its increased number of phases. This paper analyzes an open fault pattern of one switch and proposes an effective fault detection method based upon this analysis. The proposed fault detection method using the analyzed patterns is applied in the power inverter. In addition, when the open fault occurs in the one switch of the induction machine driving system, the proposed fault-tolerant control method is used to operate the induction machine using the remaining healthy phases, after performing the fault detection method. Simulation and experiment results are provided to validate the proposed technique.
Digital Libraries: The Challenge of Integrating Instagram with a Taxonomy for Content Management
Authors: Ibba Simona , Pani Filippo
Published: May 2016

Interoperability and social implication are two current challenges in the digital library (DL) context. To resolve the problem of interoperability, our work aims to find a relationship between the main metadata schemas. In particular, we want to formalize knowledge through the creation of a metadata taxonomy built with the analysis and the integration of existing schemas associated with DLs. We developed a method to integrate and combine Instagram metadata and hashtags. The final result is a taxonomy, which provides innovative metadata with respect to the classification of resources, as images of Instagram and the user-generated content, that play a primary role in the context of modern DLs. The possibility of Instagram to localize the photos inserted by users allows us to interpret the most relevant and interesting informative content for a specific user type and in a specific location and to improve access, visibility and searching of library content.
Supporting Privacy of Computations in Mobile Big Data Systems
Authors: Nandha Premnath Sriram , Haas Zygmunt
Published: May 2016

Cloud computing systems enable clients to rent and share computing resources of third party platforms, and have gained widespread use in recent years. Numerous varieties of mobile, small-scale devices such as smartphones, red e-health devices, etc., across users, are connected to one another through the massive internetwork of vastly powerful servers on the cloud. While mobile devices store “private information” of users such as location, payment, health data, etc., they may also contribute “semi-public information” (which may include crowdsourced data such as transit, traffic, nearby points of interests, etc.) for data analytics. In such a scenario, a mobile device may seek to obtain the result of a computation, which may depend on its private inputs, crowdsourced data from other mobile devices, and/or any “public inputs” from other servers on the Internet. We demonstrate a new method of delegating real-world computations of resource-constrained mobile clients using an encrypted program known as the garbled circuit. Using the garbled version of a mobile client’s inputs, a server in the cloud executes the garbled circuit and returns the resulting garbled outputs. Our system assures privacy of the mobile client’s input data and output of the computation, and also enables the client to verify that the evaluator actually performed the computation. We analyze the complexity of our system. We measure the time taken to construct the garbled circuit as well as evaluate it for varying number of servers. Using real-world data, we evaluate our system for a practical, privacy preserving search application that locates the nearest point of interest for the mobile client to demonstrate feasibility.
Effects of Meteorological Parameters and PM10 on the Incidence of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease in Children in China
Authors: Huang Ruixue , Bian Guolin , He Tianfeng , Chen Lv , Xu Guozhang
Published: May 2016

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a globally-prevalent infectious disease. However, few data are available on prevention measures for HFMD. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the impacts of temperature, humidity, and air pollution, particularly levels of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter 10 micrometers (PM10), on the incidence of HFMD in a city in Eastern China. Daily morbidity, meteorological, and air pollution data for Ningbo City were collected for the period from January 2012 to December 2014. A total of 86,695 HFMD cases were enrolled in this study. We used a distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) with Poisson distribution to analyze the nonlinear lag effects of daily mean temperature, daily humidity, and found significant relationships with the incidence of HFMD; in contrast, PM10 level showed no relationship to the incidence of HFMD. Our findings will facilitate the development of effective preventive measures and early forecasting of HFMD outbreaks.
Effects of Size-Fractionated Particulate Matter on Cellular Oxidant Radical Generation in Human Bronchial Epithelial BEAS-2B Cells
Authors: Guan Longfei , Rui Wei , Bai Ru , Zhang Wei , Zhang Fang , Ding Wenjun
Published: May 2016

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of size-fractionated (i.e., <1; 1–2.5, and 2.5–10 µm in an aerodynamic diameter) ambient particulate matter (PM) on reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity and cell viability in human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B). The PM samples were collected from an urban site (uPM) in Beijing and a steel factory site (sPM) in Anshan, China, from March 2013 to December 2014. Metal elements, organic and elemental carbon, and water-soluble inorganic ions in the uPM and sPM were analyzed. The cell viability and ROS generation in PM-exposed BEAS-2B cells were measured by MTS and DCFH-DA. The results showed that both uPM and sPM caused a decrease in the cell viability and an increase in ROS generation. The level of ROS measured in sPM1.0 was approximately triple that in uPM1.0. The results of correlation analysis showed that the ROS activity and cytotoxicity were related to different PM composition. Moreover, deferoxamine (DFO) significantly prevented the increase of ROS generation and the decrease of cell viability. Taken together, our results suggest that the metals absorbed on PM induced oxidant radical generation in BEAS-2B cells that could lead to impairment of pulmonary function.
Time-Series and Frequency-Spectrum Correlation Analysis of Bridge Performance Based on a Real-Time Strain Monitoring System
Authors: Kaloop Mosbeh , Hu Jong , Elbeltagi Emad
Published: May 2016

Monitoring bridges’ performance is a vital task to ensure their safety and to plan their maintenance operations. Therefore, it is very important to monitor bridges’ behavior and to analyze their measured data. In this study, the time-series and frequency-spectrum correlation analyses are used to study the performance of Fu-Sui Bridge under harsh environmental and traffic loads. It investigates the bridge performance based on a real-time strain monitoring system, and the ambient environmental and traffic loads are studied and discussed. Furthermore, a simplified method based on signal processing is developed and used to estimate the traffic volumes. The results of this study reveal that the traffic loads influence on static strain is obviously lower than that of air temperature and temperature changes of the bridge cross-section; the non-linearity behavior of the bridge during summer time is more than winter time; and the stability of the whole bridge during winter time is more than during summer time. The time-series and vibration analyses also show that the bridge performance in terms of its rigidity and stability is higher during winter time.
A Floating Ocean Energy Conversion Device and Numerical Study on Buoy Shape and Performance
Authors: Song Ruiyin , Zhang Meiqin , Qian Xiaohua , Wang Xiancheng , Dai Yong , Chen Junhua
Published: May 2016

Wave and current energy can be harnessed in the East China Sea and South China Sea; however, both areas are subject to high frequencies of typhoon events. To improve the safety of the ocean energy conversion device, a Floating Ocean Energy Conversion Device (FOECD) with a single mooring system is proposed, which can be towed to avoid severe ocean conditions or for regular maintenance. In this paper, the structure of the FOECD is introduced, and it includes a catamaran platform, an oscillating buoy part, a current turbine blade, hydraulic energy storage and an electrical generation part. The numerical study models the large catamaran platform as a single, large buoy, while the four floating buoys were modeled simply as small buoys. Theoretical models on wave energy power capture and efficiency were established. To improve the suitability of the buoy for use in the FOECD and its power harvesting capability, a numerical simulation of the four buoy geometries was undertaken. The shape profiles examined in this paper are cylindrical, turbinate (V-shaped and U-shaped cone with cylinder), and combined cylinder-hemisphere buoys. Simulation results reveal that the suitability of a turbinate buoy is the best of the four types. Further simulation models were carried out by adjusting the tip radius of the turbinate buoy. Three performance criteria including suitability, power harvesting capability and energy capture efficiency were analyzed. It reveals that the turbinate buoy has almost the same power harvesting capabilities and energy capture efficiency, while its suitability is far better than that of a cylindrical buoy.
Chaos Control in Three Dimensional Cancer Model by State Space Exact Linearization Based on Lie Algebra
Authors: Shahzad Mohammad
Published: May 2016

This study deals with the control of chaotic dynamics of tumor cells, healthy host cells, and effector immune cells in a chaotic Three Dimensional Cancer Model (TDCM) by State Space Exact Linearization (SSEL) technique based on Lie algebra. A non-linear feedback control law is designed which induces a coordinate transformation thereby changing the original chaotic TDCM system into a controlled one linear system. Numerical simulation has been carried using Mathematica that witness the robustness of the technique implemented on the chosen chaotic system.
A Cost-Effective Method for Ultrasound Volumetric Imaging
Authors: Uçar F. , Karaman Mustafa
Published: May 2016

A synthetic receive aperture technique is explored for cost-effective ultrasound scanners with high frame rates and beam density. The technique provides ultrasound volumetric imaging where beam count is very large with 2-D transducer arrays using subaperture processing. For every beam line, transmit beam is performed with a small subaperture whereas the reflected echo signals are received from non-overlapping subapertures. For every transmit-receive subaperture combination, a small number of beams are acquired and then the number of beam lines is increased through beam space interpolation. A 2-D linear filter with a different spatial frequency band for each subaperture is employed as the interpolation filter. Performance of the technique is analyzed through simulations. The technique reduces the number of firings and therefore allows real-time imaging with very low susceptibility to motion artifacts.
Numerical Verification of the Order of the Asymptotic Solutions of a Nonlinear Differential Equation
Authors: Cai Jianping
Published: May 2016

A perturbation method, the Lindstedt-Poincare method, is used to obtain the asymptotic expansions of the solutions of a nonlinear differential equation arising in general relativity. The asymptotic solutions contain no secular term, which overcomes a defect in Khuri’s paper. A technique of numerical order verification is applied to demonstrate that the asymptotic solutions are uniformly valid for small parameter.
Nonlinear Vibration of a Nanobeam on a Pasternak Elastic Foundation Based on Non-Local Euler-Bernoulli Beam Theory
Authors: Togun Necla , Bağdatlı Süleyman
Published: May 2016

In this study, the non-local Euler-Bernoulli beam theory was employed in the nonlinear free and forced vibration analysis of a nanobeam resting on an elastic foundation of the Pasternak type. The analysis considered the effects of the small-scale of the nanobeam on the frequency. By utilizing Hamilton’s principle, the nonlinear equations of motion, including stretching of the neutral axis, are derived. Forcing and damping effects are considered in the analysis. The linear part of the problem is solved by using the first equation of the perturbation series to obtain the natural frequencies. The multiple scale method, a perturbation technique, is applied in order to obtain the approximate closed solution of the nonlinear governing equation. The effects of the various non-local parameters, Winkler and Pasternak parameters, as well as effects of the simple-simple and clamped-clamped boundary conditions on the vibrations, are determined and presented numerically and graphically. The non-local parameter alters the frequency of the nanobeam. Frequency-response curves are drawn.
The Regularization-Homotopy Method for the Two-Dimensional Fredholm Integral Equations of the First Kind
Authors: Altürk Ahmet
Published: May 2016

In this work, we consider two-dimensional linear and nonlinear Fredholm integral equations of the first kind. The combination of the regularization method and the homotopy perturbation method, or shortly, the regularization-homotopy method is used to find a solution to the equation. The application of this method is based upon converting the first kind of equation to the second kind by applying the regularization method. Then the homotopy perturbation method is employed to the resulting second kind of equation to obtain a solution. A few examples including linear and nonlinear equations are provided to show the validity and applicability of this approach.
Positive Almost Periodic Solutions for a Delayed Predator–Prey Model with Hassell-Varley Type Functional Response
Authors: Zhang Tianwei , Pang Liyan , Liao Yongzhi
Published: May 2016

By means of a fixed point theorem of coincidence degree theory, sufficient conditions are established for the existence of a positive almost periodic solution to a kind of delayed predator–prey model with Hassell-Varley type functional response. The method used in this paper offers a possible means to study the existence of positive almost periodic solutions to the models in biological populations. Finally, an example as well as numerical simulations are given to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of our results.
New Exact Solutions of the System of Equations for the Ion Sound and Langmuir Waves by ETEM
Authors: Tuluce Demiray Seyma , Bulut Hasan
Published: May 2016

This manuscript focuses attention on new exact solutions of the system of equations for the ion sound wave under the action of the ponderomotive force due to high-frequency field and for the Langmuir wave. The extended trial equation method (ETEM), which is one of the analytical methods, has been handled for finding exact solutions of the system of equations for the ion sound wave and the Langmuir wave. By using this method, exact solutions including the rational function solution, traveling wave solution, soliton solution, Jacobi elliptic function solution, hyperbolic function solution and periodic wave solution of this system of equations have been obtained. In addition, by using Mathematica Release 9, some graphical simulations were done to see the behavior of these solutions.
Design of a Parameter-Dependent Optimal Vibration Control of a Non-Linear Vehicle Suspension System
Authors: Yazici Hakan
Published: May 2016

This paper is concerned with the design of a parameter-dependent optimal controller for an active vibration attenuation problem of a non-linear vehicle system. A five degree-of-freedom vertical vibration model having an integrated vehicle seat, a non-linear vehicle suspension system, and a seated human body is presented to analyze ride comfort and safety requirements under different types of road disturbances. In the suspension system, the non-linear parts of spring and damper dynamics are considered as scheduling parameters, which are measurable and available for feedback. Then, a parameter-dependent optimal state-feedback controller design that minimizes L2 gain from disturbance to performance output for a linear parameter-varying (LPV) system is presented with linear matrix inequality (LMI) constraints. Finally, numerical simulations are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.
The Homocoupling Reaction of Aromatic Terminal Alkynes by a Highly Active Palladium(II)/AgNO3 Cocatalyst in Aqueous Media Under Aerobic Conditions
Authors: Guo Mengping , Chen Bo , Lv Meiyun , Zhou Xiuling , Wen Yongju , Shen Xiuli
Published: May 2016

A new and efficient Pd(II)/AgNO3-cocatalyzed homocoupling of aromatic terminal alkynes is described. Various symmetrical 1,4-disubstituted-1,3-diynes are obtained in good to excellent yields. This protocol employs a loading with relatively low palladium(II) in aqueous media under aerobic conditions.
Lignan Glucosides from the Stem Barks of Illicium difengpi
Authors: Pan Zheng-Hong , Ning De-Sheng , Huang Si-Si , Cheng Ling , Xia Meng-Wen , Peng Li-Yan , Li Dian-Peng
Published: May 2016

In this study, four new lignan glucosides, named difengpiosides A–D (1–4), were isolated from the stem barks of Illicium difengpi, together with seven known compounds 5–11. Their structures were identified on the basis of spectroscopic analyses (1D and 2D NMR, HRESIMS, CD) and a comparison with literature data. All the compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 cells.
Current Knowledge on the Importance of Selenium in Food for Living Organisms: A Review
Authors: Kieliszek Marek , Błażejak Stanisław
Published: May 2016

Selenium is one of the elements classified within the group of micronutrients which are necessary in trace amounts for the proper functioning of organisms. Selenium participates in the protection of cells against excess H2O2, in heavy metal detoxification, and regulation of the immune and reproductive systems as well. It also ensures the proper functioning of the thyroid gland. Selenium induces the occurrence of the selenoprotein synthesis process involved in the antioxidant defense mechanism of the organism. Recent years have brought much success in the studies on selenium. Anticarcinogenic properties of selenium against some cancers have been reported. Supplementation is increasingly becoming a solution to this problem. A large number of different supplementation methods are promoting studies in this area. Slight differences in the selenium content can result in excess or deficiency, therefore supplementation has to be done carefully and cautiously.
Graphene FETs with Low-Resistance Hybrid Contacts for Improved High Frequency Performance
Authors: Al-Amin Chowdhury , Karabiyik Mustafa , Vabbina Phani , Sinha Raju , Pala Nezih
Published: May 2016

This work proposes a novel geometry field effect transistor with graphene as a channel—graphene field-effect transistor (GFET), having a hybrid contact that consists of an ohmic source/drain and its extended part towards the gate, which is capacitively coupled to the channel. The ohmic contacts are used for direct current (DC) biasing, whereas their capacitive extension reduces access region length and provides the radio frequency (RF) signal a low impedance path. Minimization of the access region length, along with the paralleling of ohmic contact’s resistance and resistive part of capacitively coupled contact’s impedance, lower the overall source/drain resistance, which results in an increase in current gain cut-off frequency, fT. The DC and high-frequency characteristics of the two chosen conventional baseline GFETs, and their modified versions with proposed hybrid contacts, have been extensively studied, compared, and analyzed using numerical and analytical techniques.
Synthesis and Characterization of Polystyrene-Supported Piperazine-Substituted Triazoles by CuAAC and First Evaluation for Metal Ion Extraction
Authors: Slimi Riadh , Ben Othman Raja , Sleimi Noomene , Ouerghui Abid , Girard Christian
Published: May 2016

The goal of this work was to synthesize substituted polystyrene for metal extraction and/or depollution by introduction of substituted piperazines as chelatants starting from Merrifield polymer. After transformation of Merrifield’s resin in azidomethyl polystyrene, click-chemistry using copper (I)-catalyzed Huisgen’s reaction (CuAAC) was performed to prepare different polymers grafted with 1,4-triazoles bearing the piperazines, containing an alkyne as the other counterpart in the CuAAC. The polymers were then first tested for their efficiency to remove various metal ions from neutral aqueous solutions (Fe3+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Zn2+ and Pb2+). The polymers were found to extract Ni2+ and Zn2+ with low efficiencies ≤40%. For Fe3+ and Cu2+, the average extraction was around 80%, and for Pb2+ around 50%. The global selectivity for these polymers was found to be in the order of Fe3+ ≥ Cu2+ > Pb2+ >> Ni2+ > Zn2+.
Multiple Constraints Based Robust Matching of Poor-Texture Close-Range Images for Monitoring a Simulated Landslide
Authors: Qiao Gang , Mi Huan , Feng Tiantian , Lu Ping , Hong Yang
Published: May 2016

Landslides are one of the most destructive geo-hazards that can bring about great threats to both human lives and infrastructures. Landslide monitoring has been always a research hotspot. In particular, landslide simulation experimentation is an effective tool in landslide research to obtain critical parameters that help understand the mechanism and evaluate the triggering and controlling factors of slope failure. Compared with other traditional geotechnical monitoring approaches, the close-range photogrammetry technique shows potential in tracking and recording the 3D surface deformation and failure processes. In such cases, image matching usually plays a critical role in stereo image processing for the 3D geometric reconstruction. However, the complex imaging conditions such as rainfall, mass movement, illumination, and ponding will reduce the texture quality of the stereo images, bringing about difficulties in the image matching process and resulting in very sparse matches. To address this problem, this paper presents a multiple-constraints based robust image matching approach for poor-texture close-range images particularly useful in monitoring a simulated landslide. The Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) algorithm was first applied to the stereo images for generation of scale-invariate feature points, followed by a two-step matching process: feature-based image matching and area-based image matching. In the first feature-based matching step, the triangulation process was performed based on the SIFT matches filtered by the Fundamental Matrix (FM) and a robust checking procedure, to serve as the basic constraints for feature-based iterated matching of all the non-matched SIFT-derived feature points inside each triangle. In the following area-based image-matching step, the corresponding points of the non-matched features in each triangle of the master image were predicted in the homologous triangle of the searching image by using geometric constraints, followed by a refinement course with similarity constraint and robust checking. A series of temporal Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) and High-Speed Camera (HSC) stereo images captured during the simulated landslide experiment performed on the campus of Tongji University, Shanghai, were employed to illustrate the proposed method, and the dense and reliable image matching results were obtained. Finally, a series of temporal Digital Surface Models (DSM) in the landslide process were constructed using the close-range photogrammetry technique, followed by the discussion of the landslide volume changes and surface elevation changes during the simulation experiment.
Optimizing Retransmission Threshold in Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Bi Ran , Li Yingshu , Tan Guozhen , Sun Liang
Published: May 2016

The retransmission threshold in wireless sensor networks is critical to the latency of data delivery in the networks. However, existing works on data transmission in sensor networks did not consider the optimization of the retransmission threshold, and they simply set the same retransmission threshold for all sensor nodes in advance. The method did not take link quality and delay requirement into account, which decreases the probability of a packet passing its delivery path within a given deadline. This paper investigates the problem of finding optimal retransmission thresholds for relay nodes along a delivery path in a sensor network. The object of optimizing retransmission thresholds is to maximize the summation of the probability of the packet being successfully delivered to the next relay node or destination node in time. A dynamic programming-based distributed algorithm for finding optimal retransmission thresholds for relay nodes along a delivery path in the sensor network is proposed. The time complexity is O n Δ · max 1 ≤ i ≤ n { u i } , where u i is the given upper bound of the retransmission threshold of sensor node i in a given delivery path, n is the length of the delivery path and Δ is the given upper bound of the transmission delay of the delivery path. If Δ is greater than the polynomial, to reduce the time complexity, a linear programming-based ( 1 + p m i n ) -approximation algorithm is proposed. Furthermore, when the ranges of the upper and lower bounds of retransmission thresholds are big enough, a Lagrange multiplier-based distributed O ( 1 ) -approximation algorithm with time complexity O ( 1 ) is proposed. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithms have better performance.
Towards the Development of an Integrated Sustainability and Resilience Benefits Assessment Framework of Urban Green Growth Interventions
Authors: Grafakos Stelios , Gianoli Alberto , Tsatsou Alexandra
Published: May 2016

Considering the current emerging demographic, urbanization and climatic trends, integrating sustainability and resilience principles into urban development becomes a key priority for decision-makers worldwide. Local and national governments, project developers and other urban stakeholders dealing with the complexities of urban development need projects with clear structure and outcomes in order to inform decision-making and ensure sources of financing. The need for developing an integrated assessment methodology that would capture and quantify multiple urban sustainability and resilience benefits of projects in one common framework and eventually lead to verifiable sustainability and resilience outcomes is immense and challenging at the same time. The main objective of this paper is to present the development of a methodological approach that aims to integrate sustainability and resilience benefits, derived from the implementation of green growth urban projects, into a unified framework of criteria addressing environmental, social, economic and institutional perspectives. The proposed sustainability and resilience benefits assessment (SRBA) methodology is a combination of top down and bottom up approaches, including GIS-based scenario building. The different types of sustainability and resilience benefits of urban green growth projects are also identified at different levels (i.e., individual, neighborhood, city and global). Moreover, the proposed methodology creates scenarios that can be illustrated by a map-based approach to enable a better illustration and visualization of benefits. It demonstrates how a map-based approach can assess not only the extent of sustainability and resilience benefits accrued (how much is benefitted), but also their spatial distribution (who is benefitted). The main methodological challenges and issues on developing an integrated sustainability and resilience benefits assessment are identified and discussed.
OGLE-2014-BLG-0257L: A MICROLENSING BROWN DWARF ORBITING A LOW-MASS M DWARF
Authors: Han C. , Jung Y. K. , Udalski A. , Gould A. , Bozza V. , Szymański M. K. , Soszyński I. , Poleski R. , Kozłowski S. , Pietrukowicz P. , Skowron J. , Ulaczyk K. , Wyrzykowski Ł. ,   (The OGLE Collaboration)
Published: May 2016

In this paper, we report the discovery of a binary composed of a brown dwarf (BD) and a low-mass M dwarf from observation of the microlensing event OGLE-2014-BLG-0257. The resolution of the very brief caustic crossing combined with the detection of subtle continuous deviation in the lensing light curve induced by the Earth’s orbital motion enable us to precisely measure both the Einstein radius

and the lens parallax

, which are the two quantities needed to unambiguously determine the mass and distance to the lens. It is found that the companion is a substellar BD with a mass of

(

) and it is orbiting an M dwarf with a mass of

. The binary is located at a distance of 1.25 ± 0.13 kpc toward the Galactic bulge and the projected separation between the binary components is 0.61 ± 0.07 au. The separation scaled by the mass of the host is

. Based on the assumption that separations scale with masses, the discovered BD is located in the BD desert. With the growing sample of BDs in various environments, microlensing will provide a powerful probe of BDs in the Galaxy.