bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of laser irradiation and microwave plasma treatment on the thermal properties of graphene platelets
Authors: Zheng H. , Jagannadham K.
Published: June 2013

Graphene platelets synthesized by chemical exfoliation were deposited to form a film on Cu substrate. Samples of the film of graphene platelets were subjected to laser irradiation with wavelength 266 nm, pulse duration 6 ns from Nd-YAG laser at repetition of 10 Hz. Microwave hydrogen plasma treatment was also used for 300 s and 600 s to modify the film of graphene platelets on another set of samples. Raman spectroscopy on the film before and after these different treatments indicated that the crystallite size is reduced and defect density is increased. The samples coated with Au film and pressed with In film on the surface were used to determine the transient thermo reflectance from the surface upon incidence of Nd-YAG laser beam with wavelength 532 nm. Numerical analysis of the variation of thermo reflectance signal with time was used to evaluate the laser or plasma induced changes in the thermal conductivity of graphene film and the interface thermal conductance between Au and graphene. The results showed that the thermal conductivity of graphene platelet film is reduced although the interface thermal conductance is improved. The reduction in thermal conductivity of graphene platelets is explained by the decrease in the crystallite size and increase in defect density. The increase in the interface thermal conductance is also explained to arise from smoothening of the graphene platelet film surface and improvement in the contact between Au and graphene and graphene and Cu induced by laser or microwave plasma irradiation.
Automated generation of IMRT treatment plans for prostate cancer patients with metal hip prostheses: Comparison of different planning strategies
Authors: Voet Peter W. J. , Dirkx Maarten L. P. , Breedveld Sebastiaan , Heijmen Ben J. M.
Published: June 2013

Purpose

: To compare IMRT planning strategies for prostate cancer patients with metal hip prostheses.

Methods

: All plans were generated fully automatically (i.e., no human trial‐and‐error interactions) using iCycle, the authors’ in‐house developed algorithm for multicriterial selection of beam angles and optimization of fluence profiles, allowing objective comparison of planning strategies. For 18 prostate cancer patients (eight with bilateral hip prostheses, ten with a right‐sided unilateral prosthesis), two planning strategies were evaluated: (i) full exclusion of beams containing beamlets that would deliver dose to the target after passing a prosthesis (IMRTremove) and (ii) exclusion of those beamlets only (IMRTcut). Plans with optimized coplanar and noncoplanar beam arrangements were generated. Differences in PTV coverage and sparing of organs at risk (OARs) were quantified. The impact of beam number on plan quality was evaluated.

Results:

Especially for patients with bilateral hip prostheses, IMRTcut significantly improved rectum and bladder sparing compared to IMRTremove. For 9‐beam coplanar plans, rectum V60Gy reduced by 17.5% ± 15.0% (maximum 37.4%, p = 0.036) and rectum Dmean by 9.4% ± 7.8% (maximum 19.8%, p = 0.036). Further improvements in OAR sparing were achievable by using noncoplanar beam setups, reducing rectum V60Gy by another 4.6% ± 4.9% (p = 0.012) for noncoplanar 9‐beam IMRTcut plans. Large reductions in rectum dose delivery were also observed when increasing the number of beam directions in the plans. For bilateral implants, the rectum V60Gy was 37.3% ± 12.1% for coplanar 7‐beam plans and reduced on average by 13.5% (maximum 30.1%, p = 0.012) for 15 directions.

Conclusions:

iCycle was able to automatically generate high quality plans for prostate cancer patients with prostheses. Excluding only beamlets that passed through the prostheses (IMRTcut strategy) significantly improved OAR sparing. Noncoplanar beam arrangements and, to a larger extent, increasing the number of treatment beams further improved plan quality.
Synchrony capture filterbank: Auditory-inspired signal processing for tracking individual frequency components in speech
Authors: Kumaresan Ramdas , Peddinti Vijay Kumar , Cariani Peter
Published: June 2013

A processing scheme for speech signals is proposed that emulates synchrony capture in the auditory nerve. The role of stimulus-locked spike timing is important for representation of stimulus periodicity, low frequency spectrum, and spatial location. In synchrony capture, dominant single frequency components in each frequency region impress their time structures on temporal firing patterns of auditory nerve fibers with nearby characteristic frequencies (CFs). At low frequencies, for voiced sounds, synchrony capture divides the nerve into discrete CF territories associated with individual harmonics. An adaptive, synchrony capture filterbank (SCFB) consisting of a fixed array of traditional, passive linear (gammatone) filters cascaded with a bank of adaptively tunable, bandpass filter triplets is proposed. Differences in triplet output envelopes steer triplet center frequencies via voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs). The SCFB exhibits some cochlea-like responses, such as two-tone suppression and distortion products, and possesses many desirable properties for processing speech, music, and natural sounds. Strong signal components dominate relatively greater numbers of filter channels, thereby yielding robust encodings of relative component intensities. The VCOs precisely lock onto harmonics most important for formant tracking, pitch perception, and sound separation.
A general derivation of the subharmonic threshold for non-linear bubble oscillations
Authors: Prosperetti Andrea
Published: June 2013

The paper describes an approximate but rather general derivation of the acoustic threshold for a subharmonic component to be possible in the sound scattered by an insonified gas bubble. The general result is illustrated with several specific models for the mechanical behavior of the surface coating of bubbles used as acoustic contrast agents. The approximate results are found to be in satisfactory agreement with fully non-linear numerical results in the literature. The amplitude of the first harmonic is also found by the same method. A fundamental feature identified by the analysis is that the subharmonic threshold can be considerably lowered with respect to that of an uncoated free bubble if the mechanical response of the coating varies rapidly in the neighborhood of certain specific values of the bubble radius, e.g., because of buckling.
An investigation of acoustic beam patterns for the sonar localization problem using a beam based method
Authors: Guarato Francesco , Windmill James , Gachagan Anthony , Harvey Gerald
Published: June 2013

Target localization can be accomplished through an ultrasonic sonar system equipped with an emitter and two receivers. Time of flight of the sonar echoes allows the calculation of the distance of the target. The orientation can be estimated from knowledge of the beam pattern of the receivers and the ratio, in the frequency domain, between the emitted and the received signals after compensation for distance effects and air absorption. The localization method is described and, as its performance strongly depends on the beam pattern, the search of the most appropriate sonar receiver in order to ensure the highest accuracy of target orientation estimations is developed in this paper. The structure designs considered are inspired by the ear shapes of some bat species. Parameters like flare rate, truncation angle, and tragus are considered in the design of the receiver structures. Simulations of the localization method allow us to state which combination of those parameters could provide the best real world implementation. Simulation results show the estimates of target orientations are, in the worst case, 2° with SNR = 50 dB using the receiver structure chosen for a potential practical implementation of a sonar system.
The developmental trajectory of children's perception and production of English /r/-/l/
Authors: Idemaru Kaori , Holt Lori L.
Published: June 2013

The English /l-r/ distinction is difficult to learn for some second language learners as well as for native-speaking children. This study examines the use of the second (F2) and third (F3) formants in the production and perception of /l/ and /r/ sounds in 4-, 4.5-, 5.5-, and 8.5-yr-old English-speaking children. The children were tested with elicitation and repetition tasks as well as word recognition tasks. The results indicate that whereas young children's /l/ and /r/ in both production and perception show fairly high accuracy and were well defined along the primary acoustic parameter that differentiates them, F3 frequency, these children were still developing in regard to the integration of the secondary cue, F2 frequency. The pattern of development is consistent with the distribution of these features in the ambient input relative to the /l/ and /r/ category distinction: F3 is robust and reliable, whereas F2 is less reliable in distinguishing /l/ and /r/. With delayed development of F2, cue weighting of F3 and F2 for the English /l-r/ categorization seems to continue to develop beyond 8 or 9 yr of age. These data are consistent with a rather long trajectory of phonetic development whereby native categories are refined and tuned well into childhood.
Bubble cluster dynamics in an acoustic field
Authors: Nasibullaeva E. S. , Akhatov I. S.
Published: June 2013

A mathematical model describing dynamics of the cluster of gas bubbles in an acoustic field is presented. According to this model a cluster is considered as a large drop with microbubbles inside. The proposed model is used as a basis (1) for an analytical study of small bubble oscillations in mono- and polydisperse clusters and (2) for numerical investigations of nonlinear bubble oscillations and of the diffusion stability of gas bubbles in the cluster. A synchronization of the collapse phases of bubbles with different radii and collapse intensification for bubbles of one size in the presence of bubbles of other size is found. These effects are explained by the interaction between the bubbles of different radii in the cluster. For the cluster with one radius bubbles the numerical values are obtained for the initial gas concentrations in the liquid at which the bubbles tend to one of two equilibrium states because of rectified diffusion. It is found that the cluster with the bubbles of two different radii tends to become a cluster with the bubbles of one radius due to rectified diffusion.
Spatial release from masking as a function of the spectral overlap of competing talkers
Authors: Best Virginia , Thompson Eric R. , Mason Christine R. , Kidd Gerald
Published: June 2013

This study tested the hypothesis that the reduced spatial release from speech-on-speech masking typically observed in listeners with sensorineural hearing loss results from increased energetic masking. Target sentences were presented simultaneously with a speech masker, and the spectral overlap between the pair (and hence the energetic masking) was systematically varied. The results are consistent with increased energetic masking in listeners with hearing loss that limits performance when listening in speech mixtures. However, listeners with hearing loss did not exhibit reduced spatial release from masking when stimuli were filtered into narrow bands.
Acoustic imaging of a duct spinning mode by the use of an in-duct circular microphone array
Authors: Wei Qingkai , Huang Xun , Peers Edward
Published: June 2013

An imaging method of acoustic spinning modes propagating within a circular duct simply with surface pressure information is introduced in this paper. The proposed method is developed in a theoretical way and is demonstrated by a numerical simulation case. Nowadays, the measurements within a duct have to be conducted using in-duct microphone array, which is unable to provide information of complete acoustic solutions across the test section. The proposed method can estimate immeasurable information by forming a so-called observer. The fundamental idea behind the testing method was originally developed in control theory for ordinary differential equations. Spinning mode propagation, however, is formulated in partial differential equations. A finite difference technique is used to reduce the associated partial differential equations to a classical form in control. The observer method can thereafter be applied straightforwardly. The algorithm is recursive and, thus, could be operated in real-time. A numerical simulation for a straight circular duct is conducted. The acoustic solutions on the test section can be reconstructed with good agreement to analytical solutions. The results suggest the potential and applications of the proposed method.
Bayesian approach of nearfield acoustic reconstruction with particle filters
Authors: Bai Mingsian R. , Agarwal Amal , Chen Ching-Cheng , Wang Yen-Chih
Published: June 2013

This paper demonstrates that inverse source reconstruction can be performed using a methodology of particle filters that relies primarily on the Bayesian approach of parameter estimation. In particular, the proposed approach is applied in the context of nearfield acoustic holography based on the equivalent source method (ESM). A state-space model is formulated in light of the ESM. The parameters to estimate are amplitudes and locations of the equivalent sources. The parameters constitute the state vector which follows a first-order Markov process with the transition matrix being the identity for every frequency-domain data frame. Filtered estimates of the state vector obtained are assigned weights adaptively. The implementation of recursive Bayesian filters involves a sequential Monte Carlo sampling procedure that treats the estimates as point masses with a discrete probability mass function (PMF) which evolves with iteration. The weight update equation governs the evolution of this PMF and depends primarily on the likelihood function and the prior distribution. It is evident from the simulation results that the inclusion of the appropriate prior distribution is crucial in the parameter estimation.
Place specificity of monopolar and tripolar stimuli in cochlear implants: The influence of residual masking
Authors: Fielden Claire A. , Kluk Karolina , McKay Colette M.
Published: June 2013

This experiment investigated whether place specificity of neural activity evoked by cochlear implant stimulation is improved in tripolar compared to monopolar mode using a forward masking protocol addressing some limitations of previous methods of measurement and analysis. The amount of residual masking (masking remaining at long masker-probe delays) was also measured, and its potential influence on the specificity measures was evaluated. The masker stimulus comprised equally loud interleaved mono- or tripolar stimulation on two electrodes equidistant from a central probe electrode in an apical and basal direction, reducing the influence of off-site listening. The effect of masker-probe distance on the threshold shift of the tripolar probe was analyzed to derive a measure of place specificity. On average, tripolar maskers were more place specific than monopolar maskers, although the mean effect was small. There was no significant effect of masker level on specificity or on the differences observed between modes. The mean influence of residual masking on normalized masking functions was similar for the two modes and, therefore, did not influence the comparison of specificity between the modes. However, variability in amount of residual masking was observed between subjects, and therefore should be considered in forward masking studies that compare place specificity across subjects.
Baird's beaked whale echolocation signals
Authors: Baumann-Pickering Simone , Yack Tina M. , Barlow Jay , Wiggins Sean M. , Hildebrand John A.
Published: June 2013

Echolocation signals from Baird's beaked whales were recorded during visual and acoustic shipboard surveys of cetaceans in the California Current ecosystem and with autonomous, long-term recorders in the Southern California Bight. The preliminary measurement of the visually validated Baird's beaked whale echolocation signals from towed array data were used as a basis for identifying Baird's signals in the autonomous recorder data. Two distinct signal types were found, one being a beaked whale-like frequency modulated (FM) pulse, the other being a dolphin-like broadband click. The median FM inter-pulse interval was 230 ms. Both signal types showed a consistent multi-peak structure in their spectra with peaks at ∼9, 16, 25, and 40 kHz. Depending on signal type, as well as recording aspect and distance to the hydrophone, these peaks varied in relative amplitude. The description of Baird's echolocation signals will allow for studies of their distribution and abundance using towed array data without associated visual sightings and from autonomous seafloor hydrophones.
Growth temperature affects inflorescence architecture inArabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Antoun Marlène , Ouellet François
Published: June 2013

Plants adjust their growth and development to ensure survival under adverse environmental conditions. Nonoptimal growth temperatures can have a major impact on biomass and crop yield. A detailed phenotypic analysis (number and length of rosette and cauline branches, flowers, and buds) in Arabidopsis thaliana revealed that growth temperatures below (12 and 17 °C) and above (27 and 32 °C) the control 22 °C affect branching and flowering. The elongation of internodes on the main stem and of primary branches at cauline leaves is reduced at lower temperatures and increased at higher temperatures. Similar results are observed in plants treated before or after bolting. Our data therefore indicate that plants that have transitioned to the reproductive stage before treatment are slightly less affected by temperature variations than plants that are in their vegetative stage. Our results also suggest that plants need to reach a maximum height (internodes length) before they begin forming floral meristems and that this “maximum height” is dependent on the growth temperature. Plants grown at 17 °C show a slightly reduced branching, while those at 27 °C show increased branching. This suggests that apical dominance is a temperature-dependent phenomenon. This is, to our knowledge, the first extensive analysis of the effect of temperature on Arabidopsis inflorescence development.
Aliskiren, exendin-4, and insulin: their impact on endothelin receptor subtype(s) regulation/binding in type 1 diabetic rat hearts
Authors: Al Lafi Sawsan M. , Artinian Shushan B. , Boutary Suzan S. , Zwainy Nadine S. , Bitar Khalil M. , Bikhazi Anwar B.
Published: June 2013

This study focuses on the impact of aliskiren and (or) glucagon-like peptide-1 analogue on the binding affinity/regulation of endothelin-1 (ET-1) to its receptor subtypes A (ETAR) and B (ETBR) at the level of the coronary endothelium and the cardiomyocytes in a type-1 diabetic rat model. Seven groups were used: (i) normal rats, (ii) rats with induced diabetes, (iii) rats with induced diabetes that were treated with insulin, (iv) rats with induced diabetes that were treated with exendin-4, (v) rats with induced diabetes that were treated with aliskiren, (vi) rats with induced diabetes that were co-treated with insulin plus aliskiren, and (vii) rats with induced diabetes that were co-treated with exendin-4 plus aliskiren. Heart perfusion with [125I]-ET-1 was employed to estimate ET-1 binding affinity (τ = 1/K–n) to ETAR and ETBR at the level of the coronary endothelium and the cardiomyocytes. Plasma ET-1 levels were measured using enzyme immunoassay, whereas densities of ETAR and ETBR were detected using Western blot. No significance differences were detected in the τ of ETAR and ETBR between normal and diabetic in cardiomyocytes and the coronary endothelium. Exendin-4 normalized the τ value for ETAR and ETBR on coronary endothelium, while aliskiren normalized it on cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, ETAR and ETBR densities were normalized with monotreatments of aliskiren and exendin-4, compared with up-regulated ETAR and down-regulated ETBR band densities in the diabetic animals. Our data indicate that aliskiren alleviates diabetes-associated hypertrophy in type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Larger Daphnia at lower temperature: a role for cell size and genome configuration?
Authors: Jalal Marwa , Wojewodzic Marcin W. , Laane Carl Morten M. , Hessen Dag O.
Published: June 2013

Experiments with Daphnia magna and Daphnia pulex raised at 10 and 20 °C yielded larger adult size at the lower temperature. This must reflect increased cell size, increased cell numbers, or a combination of both. As it is difficult to achieve good estimates on cell size in crustaceans, we, therefore, measured nucleus and genome size using flow cytometry at 10 and 20 °C. DNA was stained with propidium iodide, ethidium bromide, and DAPI. Both nucleus and genome size estimates were elevated at 10 °C compared with 20 °C, suggesting that larger body size at low temperature could partly be accredited to an enlarged nucleus and thus cell size. Confocal microscopy observations confirmed the staining properties of fluorochromes. As differences in nucleotide numbers in response of growth temperature within a life span is unlikely, these results seem accredited to changed DNA–fluorochrome binding properties, presumably reflecting increased DNA condensation at low temperature. This implies that genome size comparisons may be impacted by ambient temperature in ectotherms. It also suggests that temperature-induced structural changes in the genome could affect cell size and for some species even body size.
ENDOMORPHISMS AND AUTOMORPHISMS OF LOCALLY COVARIANT QUANTUM FIELD THEORIES
Authors: FEWSTER CHRISTOPHER J.
Published: June 2013

In the framework of locally covariant quantum field theory, a theory is described as a functor from a category of spacetimes to a category of *-algebras. It is proposed that the global gauge group of such a theory can be identified as the group of automorphisms of the defining functor. Consequently, multiplets of fields may be identified at the functorial level. It is shown that locally covariant theories that obey standard assumptions in Minkowski space, including energy compactness, have no proper endomorphisms (i.e. all endomorphisms are automorphisms) and have a compact automorphism group. Further, it is shown how the endomorphisms and automorphisms of a locally covariant theory may, in principle, be classified in any single spacetime. As an example, the endomorphisms and automorphisms of a system of finitely many free scalar fields are completely classified.
MODELING THE FLYBY ANOMALIES WITH DARK MATTER SCATTERING: UPDATE WITH ADDITIONAL DATA AND FURTHER PREDICTIONS
Authors: ADLER STEPHEN L.
Published: June 2013

We continue our exploration of whether the flyby anomalies can be explained by scattering of spacecraft nucleons from dark matter gravitationally bound to the Earth, with the addition of data from five new flybys to that from the original six. We continue to use our model in which inelastic and elastic scatterers populate shells generated by the precession of circular orbits with normals tilted with respect to the Earth's axis. With 11 data points and eight parameters in the model, a statistically meaningful fit is obtained with a chi-squared of 2.7. We give plots of the anomalous acceleration along the spacecraft trajectory, and the cumulative velocity change, for the five flybys which exhibit a significant nonzero anomaly. We also discuss implications of the fit for dark matter–nucleon cross-sections, give the prediction of our fit for the anomaly to be expected from the future Juno flyby, and give predictions of our fit for flyby orbit orientation changes. In addition, we give formulas for estimating the flyby temperature increase caused by dark matter inelastic scattering, and for the fraction of flyby nucleons undergoing such scatters. Finally, for circular satellite orbits, we give a table of predicted secular changes in orbit radius. These are much too large to be reasonable — comparing with data for COBE and GP-B supplied to us by Edward Wright (after the first version of this paper was posted), we find that our model predicts changes in orbit radius that are too large by many orders of magnitude. So the model studied here is ruled out. We conclude that further modeling of the flyby anomalies must simultaneously attempt to fit constraints coming from satellite orbits.
COMPONENTS OF RANDOM LINKS
Authors: MA JIMING
Published: June 2013

We compute the expected value of the number of components of a random link, via the random braid model and the random bridge presentation model.
UNITS IN F2D2p
Authors: KAUR KULDEEP , KHAN MANJU
Published: June 2013

Let p be an odd prime, D2pbe the dihedral group of order 2p, and F2be the finite field with two elements. If * denotes the canonical involution of the group algebra F2D2p, then bicyclic units are unitary units. In this note, we investigate the structure of the group [Formula: see text], generated by the bicyclic units of the group algebra F2D2p. Further, we obtain the structure of the unit group [Formula: see text] and the unitary subgroup [Formula: see text], and we prove that both [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are normal subgroups of [Formula: see text].
REPETITIVE HIGHER CLUSTER CATEGORIES OF TYPE An
Authors: LAMBERTI LISA
Published: June 2013

We show that the repetitive higher cluster category of type An, defined as the orbit category [Formula: see text], is equivalent to a category defined on a subset of diagonals in a regular polygon. This generalizes the construction of Caldero–Chapoton–Schiffler [Quivers with relations arising from clusters (Ancase), Trans. Amer. Math. Soc.358(3) (2006) 1347–1364], which we recover when p = m = 1, and the work of Baur–Marsh, [A geometric description of the m-cluster categories, Trans. Amer. Math. Soc.360(11) (2008) 5789–5803], treating the case p = 1, m > 1. Our approach also leads to a geometric model of the bounded derived category in type A.
CONSTRUCTIVE APPROACHES FOR TRAINING OF WAVELET NEURAL NETWORKS USING ADAPTIVE LEARNING RATE
Authors: EL ABIDINE SKHIRI MOHAMED ZINE , CHTOUROU MOHAMED
Published: June 2013

This paper investigates the applicability of the constructive approach proposed in Ref. 1 to wavelet neural networks (WNN). In fact, two incremental training algorithms will be presented. The first one, known as one pattern at a time (OPAT) approach, is the WNN version of the method applied in Ref. 1. The second approach however proposes a modified version of Ref. 1, known as one epoch at a time (OEAT) approach. In the OPAT approach, the input patterns are trained incrementally one by one until all patterns are presented. If the algorithm gets stuck in a local minimum and could not escape after a fixed number of successive attempts, then a new wavelet called also wavelon, will be recruited. In the OEAT approach however, all the input patterns are presented one epoch at a time. During one epoch, each pattern is trained only once until all patterns are trained. If the resulting overall error is reduced, then all the patterns will be retrained for one more epoch. Otherwise, a new wavelon will be recruited. To guarantee the convergence of the trained networks, an adaptive learning rate has been introduced using the discrete Lyapunov stability theorem.
COHERENT STATES FOR NONLINEAR TWO-BOSON REALIZATION OF THE ISOTROPIC OSCILLATOR ALGEBRA ON A SPHERE
Authors: MAHDIFAR A.
Published: June 2013

In this paper, we generalize Schwinger realization of the 𝔰𝔲(2) algebra to construct a two-mode realization for deformed 𝔰𝔲(2) algebra on a sphere. We obtain a nonlinear (f-deformed) Schwinger realization with a deformation function corresponding to the curvature of sphere that in the flat limit tends to unity. With the use of this nonlinear two-mode algebra, we construct the associated two-mode coherent states (CSs) on the sphere and investigate their quantum entanglement. We also compare the quantum statistical properties of the two modes of the constructed CSs, including anticorrelation and antibunching effects. Particularly, the influence of the curvature of the physical space on the nonclassical properties of two modes is clarified.
SYMMETRY CLASSES OF POLYNOMIALS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DICYCLIC GROUP
Authors: Zamani Yousef , Babaei Esmaeil
Published: June 2013

In this paper, we obtain the dimensions of symmetry classes of polynomials with respect to the irreducible characters of the dicyclic group as a subgroup of the full symmetric group. Then we discuss the existence of o-basis of these classes. In particular, the existence of o-basis of symmetry classes of polynomials with respect to the irreducible characters of the generalized quaternion group are concluded.
PERFORMANCE MONITORING STUDY OF BUILDING-INTEGRATED GEOTHERMAL SYSTEM IN WINTER AND SUMMER
Authors: RYU HYUNG-KYOU
Published: June 2013

The objective of this study is to develop and evaluate ground heat exchanger using the foundation of a building. To this end, we added ground heat exchanger feature to PHC piles and evaluated its heating and cooling performance. First, we investigated the building's foundation system, pipes for heat exchanger and grouting materials. As an outcome, we designed a prototype of building-integrated geothermal system (BIGS). Second, we applied BIGS to apartment houses utility building in Osan S-apartment and G-housing in Song-Do that is 80% energy saving test bed. Third, for the performance of BIGS, we monitored heating performance during winter season in the Osan facility and cooling performance during summer season in the Song-Do facility.
Enhancing the trust-based recommendation process with explicit distrust
Authors: Victor Patricia , Verbiest Nele , Cornelis Chris , Cock Martine De
Published: June 2013

When a Web application with a built-in recommender offers a social networking component which enables its users to form a trust network, it can generate more personalized recommendations by combining user ratings with information from the trust network. These are the so-called trust-enhanced recommendation systems. While research on the incorporation of trust for recommendations is thriving, the potential of explicitly stated distrust remains almost unexplored. In this article, we introduce a distrust-enhanced recommendation algorithm which has its roots in Golbeck's trust-based weighted mean. Through experiments on a set of reviews from Epinions.com, we show that our new algorithm outperforms its standard trust-only counterpart with respect to accuracy, thereby demonstrating the positive effect that explicit distrust can have on trust-based recommendations.
Analyzing correspondence between sound objects and body motion
Authors: Nymoen Kristian , Godøy Rolf Inge , Jensenius Alexander Refsum , Torresen Jim
Published: June 2013

Links between music and body motion can be studied through experiments called
sound-tracing
. One of the main challenges in such research is to develop robust analysis techniques that are able to deal with the multidimensional data that musical sound and body motion present. The article evaluates four different analysis methods applied to an experiment in which participants moved their hands following perceptual features of short sound objects. Motion capture data has been analyzed and correlated with a set of quantitative sound features using four different methods: (a) a pattern recognition classifier, (b)
t
-tests, (c) Spearman's ρ correlation, and (d) canonical correlation. This article shows how the analysis methods complement each other, and that applying several analysis techniques to the same data set can broaden the knowledge gained from the experiment.
Synthesizing Parsimonious Inexact Circuits through Probabilistic Design Techniques
Authors: Lingamneni Avinash , Enz Christian , Palem Krishna , Piguet Christian
Published: June 2013

The domain of
inexact
circuit design, in which accuracy of the circuit can be exchanged for substantial cost (energy, delay, and/or area) savings, has been gathering increasing prominence of late owing to a growing desire for reducing energy consumption of the systems, particularly in the domain of embedded and (portable) multimedia applications. Most of the previous approaches to realizing inexact circuits relied on scaling of circuit parameters (such as supply voltage) taking advantage of an application’s error tolerance to achieve the cost and accuracy trade-offs, thus suffering from acute drawbacks of considerable implementation overheads that significantly reduced the gains. In this article, two novel design approaches called
Probabilistic Pruning
and
Probabilistic Logic Minimization
are proposed to realize inexact circuits with zero hardware overhead.Extensive simulations on various architectures of critical datapath elements demonstrate that each of the techniques can independently achieve normalized gains as large as 2x--9.5x in energy-delay-area product for relative error magnitude as low as 10 
− 4%
--8% compared to corresponding conventional correct circuits.
PROARTIS
Authors: Cazorla Francisco J. , Quiñones Eduardo , Vardanega Tullio , Cucu Liliana , Triquet Benoit , Bernat Guillem , Berger Emery , Abella Jaume , Wartel Franck , Houston Michael , Santinelli Luca , Kosmidis Leonidas , Lo Code , Maxim Dorin
Published: June 2013

Static timing analysis is the state-of-the-art practice of ascertaining the timing behavior of current-generation real-time embedded systems. The adoption of more complex hardware to respond to the increasing demand for computing power in next-generation systems exacerbates some of the limitations of static timing analysis. In particular, the effort of acquiring (1) detailed information on the hardware to develop an accurate model of its execution latency as well as (2) knowledge of the timing behavior of the program in the presence of varying hardware conditions, such as those dependent on the history of previously executed instructions. We call these problems the timing analysis walls.

In this vision-statement article, we present
probabilistic timing analysis
, a novel approach to the analysis of the timing behavior of next-generation real-time embedded systems. We show how probabilistic timing analysis attacks the timing analysis walls; we then illustrate the mathematical foundations on which this method is based and the challenges we face in the effort of efficiently implementing it. We also present experimental evidence that shows how probabilistic timing analysis reduces the extent of knowledge about the execution platform required to produce probabilistically accurate WCET estimations.
Towards statistically strong source anonymity for sensor networks
Authors: Yang Yi , Shao Min , Zhu Sencun , Cao Guohong
Published: June 2013

For sensor networks deployed to monitor and report real events, event source anonymity is an attractive and critical security property, which unfortunately is also very difficult and expensive to achieve. This is not only because adversaries may attack against sensor source privacy through traffic analysis, but also because sensor networks are very limited in resources. As such, a practical trade-off between security and performance is desirable. In this article, for the first time we propose the notion of
statistically strong source anonymity
, under a challenging attack model where a global attacker is able to monitor the traffic in the entire network. We propose a scheme called
FitProbRate
, which realizes statistically strong source anonymity for sensor networks. We demonstrate the robustness of our scheme under various statistical tests that might be employed by the attacker to detect real events. Our analysis and simulation results show that our scheme, besides providing source anonymity, can significantly reduce real event reporting latency compared to two baseline schemes.

However, the degree of source anonymity in the FitProbRate scheme might decrease as real message rate increases. We propose a
dynamic mean
scheme which has better performance under high real message rates. Simulation results show that the dynamic mean scheme is capable of increasing the attacker's false positive rate and decreasing the attacker's Bayesian detection rate significantly even under high-rate continuous real messages.
Guest column
Authors: Aharonov Dorit , Arad Itai , Vidick Thomas
Published: June 2013

The classical PCP theorem is arguably the most important achievement of classical complexity theory in the past quarter century. In recent years, researchers in quantum computational complexity have tried to identify approaches and develop tools that address the question: does a quantum version of the PCP theorem hold? The story of this study starts with classical complexity and takes unexpected turns providing fascinating vistas on the foundations of quantum mechanics and multipartite entanglement, topology and the so-called phenomenon of topological order, quantum error correction, information theory, and much more; it raises questions that touch upon some of the most fundamental issues at the heart of our understanding of quantum mechanics. At this point, the jury is still out as to whether or not such a theorem holds. This survey aims to provide a snapshot of the status in this ongoing story, tailored to a general theory-of-CS audience.
Na+/H+ exchanger 1 inhibition reverses manifestation of peripheral diabetic neuropathy in type 1 diabetic rats
Authors: Lupachyk Sergey , Watcho Pierre , Shevalye Hanna , Vareniuk Igor , Obrosov Alexander , Obrosova Irina G. , Yorek Mark A.
Published: June 2013

Evidence for an important role for Na+/H+ exchangers in diabetic complications is emerging. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether Na+/H+ exchanger 1 inhibition reverses experimental peripheral diabetic neuropathy. Control and streptozotocin-diabetic rats were treated with the specific Na+/H+ exchanger 1 inhibitor cariporide for 4 wk after 12 wk without treatment. Neuropathy end points included sciatic motor and sensory nerve conduction velocities, endoneurial nutritive blood flow, vascular reactivity of epineurial arterioles, thermal nociception, tactile allodynia, and intraepidermal nerve fiber density. Advanced glycation end product and markers of oxidative stress, including nitrated protein levels in sciatic nerve, were evaluated by Western blot. Rats with 12-wk duration of diabetes developed motor and sensory nerve conduction deficits, thermal hypoalgesia, tactile allodynia, and intraepidermal nerve fiber loss. All these changes, including impairment of nerve blood flow and vascular reactivity of epineurial arterioles, were partially reversed by 4 wk of cariporide treatment. Na+/H+ exchanger 1 inhibition was also associated with reduction of diabetes-induced accumulation of advanced glycation endproduct, oxidative stress, and nitrated proteins in sciatic nerve. In conclusion, these findings support an important role for Na+/H+ exchanger 1 in functional, structural, and biochemical manifestations of peripheral diabetic neuropathy and provide the rationale for development of Na+/H+ exchanger 1 inhibitors for treatment of diabetic vascular and neural complications.
Diabetic Myonecrosis: An Atypical Presentation
Authors: Martínez José Hernán , Torres Oberto , Mangual García Michelle M. , Palermo Coromoto , Miranda María de Lourdes , González Eva , Espinoza Ignacio Chinea , Laboy Ivan , Miranda Mirelis , Dávila Kyrmarie , Tirado Rafael , Padilla Mildred
Published: June 2013

Diabetic myonecrosis is a frequently unrecognized complication of longstanding and poorly controlled diabetes mellitus. The clinical presentation is swelling, pain, and tenderness of the involved muscle, most commonly the thigh muscles. Management consists of conservative measures including analgesia and rest. Short-term prognosis is good, but long-term prognosis is poor with most patients dying within 5 years. Failure to properly identify this condition will expose the patient to aggressive measures that could result in increased morbidity. To our knowledge this is the first case reported in which there was involvement of multiple muscle groups including upper and lower limbs.
A Simple Model for Assessment of Anti-Toxin Antibodies
Authors: Skvortsov Alex , Gray Peter
Published: June 2013

The toxins associated with infectious diseases are potential targets for inhibitors which have the potential for prophylactic or therapeutic use. Many antibodies have been generated for this purpose, and the objective of this study was to develop a simple mathematical model that may be used to evaluate the potential protective effect of antibodies. This model was used to evaluate the contributions of antibody affinity and concentration to reducing antibody-receptor complex formation and internalization. The model also enables prediction of the antibody kinetic constants and concentration required to provide a specified degree of protection. We hope that this model, once validated experimentally, will be a useful tool for in vitro selection of potentially protective antibodies for progression to in vivo evaluation.
Preparation, Modification, and Characterization of Alginate Hydrogel with Nano-/Microfibers: A New Perspective for Tissue Engineering
Authors: Palma Santana Bianca , Nedel Fernanda , Piva Evandro , Varella de Carvalho Rodrigo , Fernando Demarco Flávio , Lenin Villarreal Carreño Neftali
Published: June 2013

We aimed to develop an alginate hydrogel (AH) modified with nano-/microfibers of titanium dioxide (nfTD) and hydroxyapatite (nfHY) and evaluated its biological and chemical properties. Nano-/microfibers of nfTD and nfHY were combined with AH, and its chemical properties were evaluated by FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-Ray analysis, and the cytocompatibility by the WST-1 assay. The results demonstrate that the association of nfTD and nfHY nano-/microfibers to AH did not modified the chemical characteristics of the scaffold and that the association was not cytotoxic. In the first 3 h of culture with NIH/3T3 cells nfHY AH scaffolds showed a slight increase in cell viability when compared to AH alone or associated with nfTD. However, an increase in cell viability was observed in 24 h when nfTD was associated with AH scaffold. In conclusion our study demonstrates that the combination of nfHY and nfTD nano-/microfibers in AH scaffold maintains the chemical characteristics of alginate and that this association is cytocompatible. Additionally the combination of nfHY with AH favored cell viability in a short term, and the addition of nfTD increased cell viability in a long term.
Adipo-Myokines: Two Sides of the Same Coin—Mediators of Inflammation and Mediators of Exercise
Authors: Raschke Silja , Eckel Jürgen
Published: June 2013

This review summarizes the current literature regarding the most discussed contraction-regulated moykines like IL-6, IL-15, irisin, BDNF, ANGPTL4, FGF21, myonectin and MCP-1. It is suggested that the term myokine is restricted to proteins secreted from skeletal muscle cells, excluding proteins that are secreted by other cell types in skeletal muscle tissue and excluding proteins which are only described on the mRNA level. Interestingly, many of the contraction-regulated myokines described in the literature are additionally known to be secreted by adipocytes. We termed these proteins adipo-myokines. Within this review, we try to elaborate on the question why pro-inflammatory adipokines on the one hand are upregulated in the obese state, and have beneficial effects after exercise on the other hand. Both, adipokines and myokines do have autocrine effects within their corresponding tissues. In addition, they are involved in an endocrine crosstalk with other tissues. Depending on the extent and the kinetics of adipo-myokines in serum, these molecules seem to have a beneficial or an adverse effect on the target tissue.
Bounds of the Spectral Radius and the Nordhaus‐Gaddum Type of the Graphs
Authors: Wang Tianfei , Jia Liping , Sun Feng
Published: June 2013

The Laplacian spectra are the eigenvalues of Laplacian matrix L(G) = D(G) − A(G), where D(G) and A(G) are the diagonal matrix of vertex degrees and the adjacency matrix of a graph G, respectively, and the spectral radius of a graph G is the largest eigenvalue of A(G). The spectra of the graph and corresponding eigenvalues are closely linked to the molecular stability and related chemical properties. In quantum chemistry, spectral radius of a graph is the maximum energy level of molecules. Therefore, good upper bounds for the spectral radius are conducive to evaluate the energy of molecules. In this paper, we first give several sharp upper bounds on the adjacency spectral radius in terms of some invariants of graphs, such as the vertex degree, the average 2‐degree, and the number of the triangles. Then, we give some numerical examples which indicate that the results are better than the mentioned upper bounds in some sense. Finally, an upper bound of the Nordhaus‐Gaddum type is obtained for the sum of Laplacian spectral radius of a connected graph and its complement. Moreover, some examples are applied to illustrate that our result is valuable.
Inference on Reliability of Stress-Strength Models for Poisson Data
Authors: Barbiero Alessandro
Published: June 2013

Researchers in reliability engineering regularly encounter variables that are discrete in nature, such as the number of events (e.g., failures) occurring in a certain spatial or temporal interval. The methods for analyzing and interpreting such data are often based on asymptotic theory, so that when the sample size is not large, their accuracy is suspect. This paper discusses statistical inference for the reliability of stress-strength models when stress and strength are independent Poisson random variables. The maximum likelihood estimator and the uniformly minimum variance unbiased estimator are here presented and empirically compared in terms of their mean square error; recalling the delta method, confidence intervals based on these point estimators are proposed, and their reliance is investigated through a simulation study, which assesses their performance in terms of coverage rate and average length under several scenarios and for various sample sizes. The study indicates that the two estimators possess similar properties, and the accuracy of these estimators is still satisfactory even when the sample size is small. An application to an engineering experiment is also provided to elucidate the use of the proposed methods.
Transient and Steady-State Responses of an Asymmetric Nonlinear Oscillator
Authors: Elías-Zúñiga Alex , Martínez-Romero Oscar
Published: June 2013

We study the dynamical response of an asymmetric forced, damped Helmholtz-Duffing oscillator by using Jacobi elliptic functions, the method of elliptic balance, and Fourier series. By assuming that the modulus of the elliptic functions is slowly varying as a function of time and by considering the primary resonance response of the Helmholtz-Duffing oscillator, we derived an approximate solution that provides the time-dependent amplitude-frequency response curves. The accuracy of the derived approximate solution is evaluated by studying the evolution of the response curves of an asymmetric Duffing oscillator that describes the motion of a damped, forced system supported symmetrically by simple shear springs on a smooth inclined bearing surface. We also use the percentage overshoot value to study the influence of damping and nonlinearity on the transient and steady-state oscillatory amplitudes.