bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the dosimetric effect of treatment‐induced changes in virally mediated head and neck cancer patients
Authors: Brown Elizabeth , Owen Rebecca , Mengersen Kerrie , Harden Fiona , Porceddu Sandro
Published: November 2013

Introduction

Patients with virally mediated head and neck cancer (VMHNC) often present with advanced nodal disease that is highly radioresponsive as demonstrated by tumour and nodal regression during treatment. The resultant changes may impact on the planned dose distribution and so adversely affect the therapeutic ratio. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dosimetric effect of treatment‐induced anatomical changes in VMHNC patients who had undergone a replan.

Methods

Thirteen patients with virally mediated oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal cancer who presented for definitive radiotherapy between 2005 and 2010 and who had a replan generated were investigated. The dosimetric effect of anatomical changes was quantified by comparing dose–volume histograms (DVH) of primary and nodal gross target volumes and organs at risk (OAR), including spinal cord and parotid glands, from the original plan and a comparison plan.

Results

Eleven three‐dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) and two intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans were evaluated. Dose to the spinal cord and brainstem increased by 4.1% and 2.6%, respectively. Mean dose to the parotid glands also increased by 3.5%. In contrast, the dose received by 98% of the primary and nodal gross tumour volumes decreased by 0.15% and 0.3%, respectively, when comparing the initial treatment plan to the comparison plan.

Conclusion

In this study, treatment‐induced anatomical changes had the greatest impact on OAR dose with negligible effect on the dose to nodal gross tumour volumes.

In the era of IMRT, accounting for treatment‐induced anatomical changes is important as focus is placed on minimizing the acute and long‐term side effects of treatment.
Endoscopic endonasal approach to the maxillary strut: Anatomical review and case series
Authors: Grewal Sanjeet S. , Kurbanov Almaz , Anaizi Amjad , Keller Jeffrey T. , Theodosopoulos Philip V. , Zimmer Lee A.
Published: November 2013

Objectives/Hypothesis

The maxillary strut is the bone that separates the foramen rotundum and superior orbital fissure. Tumors involving the lateral wall of the sphenoid sinus, posterior ethmoid, or posterior maxillary sinus may invade this region. The authors detail the anatomy of the strut and present a case series that emphasizes the importance and utility of this useful landmark during an endoscopic endonasal approach to lesions in this region.

Study Design

Cadaveric dissections and retrospective case series.

Methods

Endoscopic endonasal dissections were performed on six formalin‐fixed cadaver heads. Morphometric analyses of 100 skulls were conducted using CT scans and BrainLab. Four patients underwent procedures that exposed the maxillary strut.

Results

The maxillary strut was trapezoidal shaped with an average cross‐sectional area of 15.25 ± 0.48 mm2 and average thickness of 4.43 ± 0.10 mm. The maxillary strut was present bilaterally in all skulls examined. Anteroposterior length averaged 4.18 ± 0.15 mm on the right and 3.90 ± 0.14 mm on the left. Our patient series illustrated the clinical utility of the maxillary strut as a landmark during endoscopic approaches to the skull base.

Conclusions

An endoscopic endonasal approach can be used to expose the maxillary strut. Improved understanding of this anatomy is important to achieving success when using this approach for the biopsy or resection of lesions in the lateral sellar compartment, pterygopalatine fossa, and aspects of the middle cranial fossa.

Level of Evidence

N/A. Laryngoscope, 124:1739–1743,2014
A continuously variable beam‐diameter, high‐fluence, Q‐switched Nd:YAG laser for tattoo removal: Comparison of the maximum beam diameter to a standard 4‐mm‐diameter treatment beam
Authors: Bernstein Eric F. , Civiok Jennifer M.
Published: November 2013

Background

Laser beam diameter affects the depth of laser penetration. Q‐switched lasers tend to have smaller maximum spot sizes than other dermatologic lasers, making beam diameter a potentially more significant factor in treatment outcomes.

Objective

To compare the clinical effect of using the maximum‐size treatment beam available for each delivered fluence during laser tattoo removal to a standard 4‐mm‐diameter treatment beam.

Method

Thirteen tattoos were treated in 12 subjects using a Q‐switched Nd:YAG laser equipped with a treatment beam diameter that was adjustable in 1 mm increments and a setting that would enable the maximally achievable diameter (“MAX‐ON” setting) with any fluence. Tattoos were randomly bisected and treated on one side with the MAX‐ON setting and on the contralateral side with a standard 4‐mm‐diameter spot (“MAX‐OFF” setting). Photographs were taken 8 weeks following each treatment and each half‐tattoo was evaluated for clearance on a 10‐point scale by physicians blinded to the treatment conditions.

Results

Tattoo clearance was greater on the side treated with the MAX‐ON setting in a statistically significant manner following the 1st through 4th treatments, with the MAX‐OFF treatment site approaching the clearance of the MAX‐ON treatment site after the 5th and 6th treatments.

Conclusions

This high‐energy, Q‐switched Nd:YAG laser with a continuously variable spot‐size safely and effectively removes tattoos, with greater removal when using a larger spot‐size. Lasers Surg. Med. 45:621–627, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Rolling of cast Al‐SiCp particulate metal matrix composites and strip mechanical properties
Authors: Taha M. A. , EL‐Sabbagh A. M. , Soliman M. , Palkowski H.
Published: November 2013

Thermomechanical physical simulation is applied to get the optimum hot rolling parameters of aluminium silicon carbide composites. Wrought Al 6061 and 6082 – Silicon carbide particulate (SiCp) metal matrix composite strips are prepared by stir‐casting followed by sequential rolling assisted with intermediate heat treatment to allow crystallization recovery and further processing. SiCp are used in two microgrit grades; namely F500 and F800. The reinforcing particulates are used after surface oxidation and 0.3% Mg is added during melting and stirring for loss substitution. With the pre‐treatments applied, SiCp are successfully inserted in the Al matrix, better wetting between particles and matrix, better particles distribution, less agglomeration and minimized reactions between SiC particles. Thermo‐mechanical simulation as a tool for physical simulation indicates that rolling at 450°C using a rate of 1 s–1 rate represent suitable rolling conditions. Successive hot rolling resulted in decreasing void percent and SiCp agglomeration. Hence, enhanced mechanical properties are achieved.
A formalism for designing robust multigrid methods for Helmholtz‐like problems
Authors: Huckle Thomas K. , Kravvaritis Christos D.
Published: November 2013

This paper discusses templates for designing efficient and robust multigrid (MG) methods. All MG mechanisms are described by means of matrix functions (block symbols), which capture the properties of the full matrices. We propose a new strategy for deriving the block symbol by means of sparse matrices and of its representation in terms of the usual tensor product. Emphasis is laid on the indefinite Helmholtz equation, which is of great practical interest in real‐life applications. We take advantage of previously known patterns (the subblock smoother as preconditioner and the full projection as grid transfer operator) for designing MG methods that work as direct solvers. The corresponding numerical results are presented and the superiority of the combined use of a subblock smoother and a full projection is demonstrated. The condition number and positive definiteness of the subblock smoother especially for Helmholtz‐like problems are analyzed, and the corresponding requirements and bounds are given. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Dirac particle in generalized Pöschl–Teller field including a Coulomb‐like tensor coupling: super‐symmetric solution
Authors: Eshghi Mahdi , Ikhdair Sameer M.
Published: November 2013

In the presence of pseudo‐spin (p‐spin) and spin symmetries, we use the super‐symmetric formalism to solve the Dirac equation with the generalized Pöschl–Teller potential including the Coulomb‐like tensor interaction with any arbitrary spin‐orbit quantum number κ.. Using the Greene–Aldrich usual approximation scheme to deal with pseudo‐centrifugal or centrifugal rotational kinetic energy l (l + 1) ∕ r2 or , we obtain the Pseudo‐spin and spin‐symmetric energy eigenvalue equation and the normalized upper and lower components of the radial wave functions in closed form. The presence of the tensor coupling interaction removes the degeneracy in the p‐spin and spin doublets. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
In vivo evaluation of multi‐echo hybrid PRF/T1 approach for temperature monitoring during breast MR‐guided focused ultrasound surgery treatments
Authors: Todd Nick , Diakite Mahamadou , Payne Allison , Parker Dennis L.
Published: November 2013

Purpose

To evaluate the precision of in vivo temperature measurements in adipose and glandular breast tissue using a multi‐echo hybrid PRF/T1 pulse sequence.

Methods

A high‐bandwidth, multi‐echo hybrid PRF/T1 sequence was developed for monitoring temperature changes simultaneously in fat‐ and water‐based tissues. The multiple echoes were combined with the optimal weightings for magnitude and phase images, allowing for precise measurement of both T1 and the proton resonance frequency (PRF) shift. The sequence was tested during in vivo imaging of 10 healthy volunteers in a breast‐specific MR‐guided focused ultrasound system and also during focused ultrasound heating of excised breast adipose tissue.

Results

The in vivo results indicated that the sequence can measure PRF temperatures with 1.25 × 1.25 × 3.5 mm resolution, 1.9 s temporal resolution, and 1.0°C temperature precision, and can measure T1 values with 3.75 × 3.75 × 3.5 mm resolution, 3.8 s temporal resolution, and 2.5%–4.8% precision. The excised tissue heating experiments demonstrate the sequence's ability to monitor temperature changes simultaneously in water‐ and fat‐based tissues.

Conclusion

The addition of a high‐bandwidth, multi‐echo readout to the hybrid PRF/T1 sequence improves the precision of each measurement, providing a sequence that will be beneficial to several MR‐guided thermal therapies. Magn Reson Med 72:793–799, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Radial k‐t SPIRiT: Autocalibrated parallel imaging for generalized phase‐contrast MRI
Authors: Santelli Claudio , Schaeffter Tobias , Kozerke Sebastian
Published: November 2013

Purpose

To extend SPIRiT to additionally exploit temporal correlations for highly accelerated generalized phase‐contrast MRI and to compare the performance of the proposed radial k‐t SPIRiT method relative to frame‐by‐frame SPIRiT and radial k‐t GRAPPA reconstruction for velocity and turbulence mapping in the aortic arch.

Theory and Methods

Free‐breathing navigator‐gated two‐dimensional radial cine imaging with three‐directional multi‐point velocity encoding was implemented and fully sampled data were obtained in the aortic arch of healthy volunteers. Velocities were encoded with three different first gradient moments per axis to permit quantification of mean velocity and turbulent kinetic energy. Velocity and turbulent kinetic energy maps from up to 14‐fold undersampled data were compared for k‐t SPIRiT, frame‐by‐frame SPIRiT, and k‐t GRAPPA relative to the fully sampled reference.

Results

Using k‐t SPIRiT, improvements in magnitude and velocity reconstruction accuracy were found. Temporally resolved magnitude profiles revealed a reduction in spatial blurring with k‐t SPIRiT compared with frame‐by‐frame SPIRiT and k‐t GRAPPA for all velocity encodings, leading to improved estimates of turbulent kinetic energy.

Conclusion

k‐t SPIRiT offers improved reconstruction accuracy at high radial undersampling factors and hence facilitates the use of generalized phase‐contrast MRI for routine use. Magn Reson Med 72:1233–1245, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A multiscale large time increment/FAS algorithm with time‐space model reduction for frictional contact problems
Authors: Giacoma A. , Dureisseix D. , Gravouil A. , Rochette M.
Published: November 2013

A multiscale strategy using model reduction for frictional contact computation is presented. This new approach aims to improve computation time of finite element simulations involving frictional contact between linear and elastic bodies. This strategy is based on a combination between the LATIN (LArge Time INcrement) method and the FAS multigrid solver. The LATIN method is an iterative solver operating on the whole time‐space domain. Applying an a posteriori analysis on solutions of different frictional contact problems shows a great potential as far as reducibility for frictional contact problems is concerned. Time‐space vectors forming the so‐called reduced basis depict particular scales of the problem. It becomes easy to make analogies with multigrid method to take full advantage of multiscale information. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quantitative proteomic profiling reveals novel region‐specific markers in the adult mouse brain
Authors: Dagley Laura F. , White Carl A. , Liao Yang , Shi Wei , Smyth Gordon K. , Orian Jacqueline M. , Emili Andrew , Purcell Anthony W.
Published: November 2013

Despite major advances in neuroscience, a comprehensive understanding of the structural and functional components of the adult brain compartments remains to be fully elucidated at a quantitative molecular level. Indeed, over half of the soluble‐ and membrane‐annotated proteins are currently unmapped within online digital brain atlases. In this study, two complementary approaches were used to assess the unique repertoire of proteins enriched within select regions of the adult mouse CNS, including the brain stem, cerebellum, and remaining brain hemispheres. Of the 1200 proteins visualized by 2D‐DIGE, approximately 150 (including cytosolic and membrane proteins) were found to exhibit statistically significant changes in relative abundance thus representing putative region‐specific brain markers. In addition to using a high‐precision 18O‐labeling strategy for the quantitative LC‐MS/MS mapping of membrane proteins isolated from myelin‐enriched fractions, we have identified over 1000 proteins that have yet to be described in any other mammalian myelin proteome. A comparison of our myelin proteome was made to an existing transcriptome database containing mRNA abundance profiles during oligodendrocyte differentiation and has confirmed statistically significant abundance changes for ∼500 of these newly mapped proteins, thus revealing new roles in oligodendrocyte and myelin biology. These data offer a resource for the neuroscience community studying the molecular basis for specialized neuronal activities in the CNS and myelin‐related disorders. The MS proteomics data associated with this manuscript have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium with the dataset identifier PXD000327 (http://proteomecentral.proteomexchange.org/dataset/PXD000327).
Proteomic characteristics of human sperm cryopreservation
Authors: Wang Shangqian , Wang Wei , Xu Yang , Tang Min , Fang Jianzheng , Sun Hongyong , Sun Yangyang , Gu Meijuan , Liu Zhili , Zhang Zhaoxia , Lin Faxi , Wu Ting , Song Ninghong , Wang Zengjun , Zhang Wei , Yin Changjun
Published: November 2013

Human sperm cryopreservation in assisted reproductive technology is the only proven method that enables infertile men to father their own children. However, freezing and thawing reduces spermatozoon motility, viability, and fertilizing ability. An association between dysfunctional spermatozoa due to cryoinjury and protein changes has not been established. We investigated through proteomic analysis the differential protein characteristics between freeze‐thawed and fresh sperm samples obtained from nine normozoospermic donors. Twenty‐seven proteins differed in abundance between the two groups, and results were verified for four proteins via Western blot and immunofluorescent staining. These proteins are putatively involved in sperm motility, viability, acrosomal integrity, ATP and isocitrate content, mitochondrial membrane potential, capacitation, acrosome reaction, and intracellular calcium concentration. These marked differences suggest that dysfunctional spermatozoon after cryopreservation may be due to protein degradation and protein phosphorylation.
Psychological distress in women with breast and gynecological cancer treated with radical surgery
Authors: Gómez‐Campelo Paloma , Bragado‐Álvarez Carmen , Hernández‐Lloreda Maria José
Published: November 2013

Objectives

The objective of this study is to compare psychological distress (body image disturbance, self‐esteem, depression, and anxiety) in women with breast or gynecological cancer treated by radical surgery. Additionally, another objective is to analyze the association between psychological distress and sociodemographic characteristics, medical history, and social support to produce a prediction model for the outcome measures.

Methods

A cross‐sectional study was carried out with 100 women who had undergone radical surgery for breast or gynecological cancer. Both groups were divided into the following: younger than 50 years old and 50 years old or older. Body Image Scale, Rosenberg's Self‐Esteem Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Anxiety Inventory were used.

Results

Age had a significant main effect on psychological distress but the type of cancer did not. Younger women showed significantly greater distress than older women (p‐values < 0.001). A significant interaction between age and type of cancer was found, indicating that older women with breast cancer had worse body image and more depression than those with gynecological cancer (p‐values < 0.001); no significant differences were found between younger groups.

The prediction model for increased body image disturbance and depression included the joint effect of the following variables: being younger, inactive occupational status, and post‐adjuvant therapy side effects. For lower self‐esteem, the variables were: being younger, post‐adjuvant therapy side effects, and dissatisfaction with social support. And for higher anxiety, the sole variable included was post‐adjuvant therapy side effects.

Conclusions

Both mastectomy and hysterectomy/oophorectomy cause similar psychological distress in younger women, but mastectomy causes greater distress in older women than hysterectomy/oophorectomy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effects of annealing and MgO thickness on perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in Pt/Co2FeAl0.5Si0.5/MgO/Pt multilayers
Authors: Wu Yong , Li Xiaoqi , Xiong Qiang , Gao Shan , Xu Xiaoguang , Miao Jun , Jiang Yong
Published: November 2013

Magnetic properties have been studied for Ta/Pt/Co2FeAl0.5Si0.5 (CFAS)/MgO/Pt multilayers to investigate the effects of annealing and MgO thickness on perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). We show that PMA is very sensitive to the annealing conditions and MgO thickness. Strong PMA with high remanence ratio can be achieved after annealing at 300 °C for just 10 min. The thickness of CFAS (tCFAS) with PMA is strongly dependent on the MgO thickness (tMgO). A large tCFAS with PMA is observed to be 4.8 nm for tMgO = 1.6 nm. The saturation magnetization (Ms) decreases on increasing tMgO with an obviously periodic oscillation, and the periods of oscillation are between 0.2 and 0.3 nm. Moreover, the annealed structure shows good thermal stability and a weaker temperature dependence of the squareness ratio (Mr/Ms) for the samples with thicker MgO.
Additive advantage in characteristics of MIMCAPs on flexible silicon (100) fabric with release‐first process
Authors: Ghoneim Mohamed T. , Rojas Jhonathan P. , Hussain Aftab M. , Hussain Muhammad M.
Published: November 2013

We report the inherent increase in capacitance per unit planar area of state‐of‐the art high‐κ integrated metal/insulator/metal capacitors (MIMCAPs) fabricated on flexible silicon fabric with release‐first process. We methodically study and show that our approach to transform bulk silicon (100) into a flexible fabric adds an inherent advantage of enabling higher integration density dynamic random access memory (DRAM) on the same chip area. Our approach is to release an ultra‐thin silicon (100) fabric (25 µm thick) from the bulk silicon wafer, then build MIMCAPs using sputtered aluminium electrodes and successive atomic layer depositions (ALD) without break‐ing the vacuum of a high‐κ aluminium oxide sandwiched between two tantalum nitride layers. This result shows that we can obtain flexible electronics on silicon without sacrificing the high density integration aspects and also utilize the non‐planar geometry associated with fabrication process to obtain a higher integration density compared to bulk silicon integration due to an increased normalized capacitance per unit planar area. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
The Epistemology of Prejudice
Authors: Begby Endre ,   Philosophy Documentation Center
Published: November 2013

According to a common view, prejudice always involves some form of epistemic culpability, i.e., a failure to respond to evidence in the appropriate way. I argue that the common view wrongfully assumes that prejudices always involve universal generalizations. After motivating the more plausible thesis that prejudices typically involve a species of generic judgment, I show that standard examples provide no grounds for positing a strong connection between prejudice and epistemic culpability. More generally, the common view fails to recognize the extent to which prejudices are epistemically insidious: once they are internalized as background beliefs, they quite reasonably come to control the assessment and interpretation of new evidence. This property of insidiousness helps explain why prejudices are so recalcitrant to empirical counterevidence and also why they are frequently invisible to introspective reflection.
“Wanton and Senseless” Revisited: The Study of Warfare in Civil Conflicts and the Historiography of the Algerian Massacres
Authors: Mundy Jacob
Published: November 2013

Over the past two decades, attention in the social sciences increasingly has been drawn to the problem of violent civil conflicts, a problem that has disproportionately affected Africa more than any other region. Two approaches to this problem have come to dominate the field: attempts to understand the root causes of civil conflict and attempts to understand the dynamics of its violence. Critics of the former approach have elaborated the ways in which the etiological agenda itself makes, and then politically mobilizes, the reality it claims to find. The goal of this article is to elaborate a similar critique for the latter agenda by examining the productive and destructive interaction between theoretical assumptions and empirical realities that have informed attempts to understand the Algerian massacres of the late 1990s. The overall intention is not to promote a new understanding of those atrocities. Rather, it is to gain a deeper insight into the processes by which episodes of mass civil violence become objects of scientific analysis—and thus objects for political utilization—despite their having emerged from an empirical milieu of contested, ambiguous, and indeterminate realities.
Effect of a high-fat–high-fructose diet, stress and cinnamon on central expression of genes related to immune system, hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical axis function and cerebral plasticity in rats
Authors: Marissal-Arvy Nathalie , Batandier Cécile , Dallennes Julien , Canini Frédéric , Poulet Laurent , Couturier Karine , Hininger-Favier Isabelle , Moisan Marie-Pierre , Roussel Anne-Marie , Mormède Pierre
Published: November 2013

The intake of a high-fat/high-fructose (HF/HFr) diet is described to be deleterious to cognitive performances, possibly via the induction of inflammatory factors. An excess of glucocorticoids is also known to exert negative effects on cerebral plasticity. In the present study, we assessed the effects of an unbalanced diet on circulating and central markers of inflammation and glucocorticoid activity, as well as their reversal by dietary cinnamon (CN) supplementation. A group of male Wistar rats were subjected to an immune challenge with acute lipopolysaccharide under a HF/HFr or a standard diet. Another group of Wistar rats were fed either a HF/HFr or a control diet for 12 weeks, with or without CN supplementation, and with or without restraint stress (Str) application before being killed. We evaluated the effects of such regimens on inflammation parameters in the periphery and brain and on the expression of actors of brain plasticity. To assess hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical axis activity, we measured the plasma concentrations of corticosterone and the expression of central corticotrophin-releasing hormone, mineralocorticoid receptor, glucocorticoid receptor and 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. We found that the HF/HFr diet induced the expression of cytokines in the brain, but only after an immune challenge. Furthermore, we observed the negative effects of Str on the plasma concentrations of corticosterone and neuroplasticity markers in rats fed the control diet but not in those fed the HF/HFr diet. Additionally, we found that CN supplementation exerted beneficial effects under the control diet, but that its effects were blunted or even reversed under the HF/HFr diet. CN supplementation could be beneficial under a standard diet, but deleterious under the unbalanced diet encountered in Western societies.
THE GOD “DILUTION”? RELIGION, DISCRIMINATION AND THE CASE FOR REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
Authors: Gibson Matthew
Published: November 2013

Anti-discrimination complaints by religious employees have constructed seemingly intractable conflicts. The United Kingdom courts have resolved these disputes by diluting individual religious liberty, particularly when determining questions of disadvantage and proportionality under indirect discrimination. This article explores an alternative UK anti-discrimination claim route for religious employees, namely an employer duty of reasonable accommodation. A comparative analysis outlines the corresponding Canadian duty. This model is applied to UK employment cases featuring indirect religious discrimination, specifically those claims which formed the recent applications inEweida and Others v UK. It is suggested that adoption of the Canadian model be considered: its nuanced approach to proportionality is particularly instructive. Whilst such a UK duty could prove controversial, it would cohere with both normative theory in law and religion and conceptual understanding of anti-discrimination law. Moreover, reasonable accommodation's individualised focus should be acclaimed; it need not compromise collective notions of religious liberty.
VARYING THE STANDARD OF CARE IN NEGLIGENCE
Authors: Nolan Donal
Published: November 2013

This article explores the variation of the standard of care in negligence to favour defendants, an issue of considerable practical significance which has not previously been the subject of systematic analysis. By shining a spotlight on this issue I hope to show that varying the standard of care in this way is a useful technique, which is and could be used in a number of types of case to achieve an appropriate balance between liability and non-liability. I also hope to show that if this technique is employed there are some ways of varying the standard of care which are preferable to others. The structure of the analysis is centred around three core questions. First, to what extent has English negligence law already varied the standard of care to favour defendants? Secondly, if the standard of care is to be varied, how should this be done? And thirdly, when and why might the use of a modified standard of care be desirable?
HOLISTIC DETERMINATION FOR ONESELF: A NEW PARADIGM FOR SELF-DETERMINATION AT END OF LIFE
Authors: Samanta Jo , Samanta Ash
Published: November 2013

Autonomous self-determination by competent adults is a cornerstone of medical law. We argue that the application of Kantian autonomy as the paramount model for self-determination at end of life is questionable as it fails to capture subtler nuances of decision-making in this context. We propose an alternative model which we term ‘holistic determination for oneself’ and posit this as a potential contender to the traditional Kantian construct. The paradigm of holistic determination is conceptualised on the basis of sub-determinations which coalesce to form the final determination. This paradigm offers a unique perspective that is multi-axial (based on the levels of decision-making) and multi-dimensional (based on an on-going temporal inter-relational and integrative synthesis of decisions at all levels). Holistic determination for oneself offers a paradigm that is tempered, universal and optimal for self-determination at end of life.
AFRICAN HISTORY AND GLOBAL STUDIES: A VIEW FROM SOUTH AFRICA
Authors: Hofmeyr Isabel
Published: November 2013

Recent debates on global and world history have largely been shaped in the Euro-American academy, an arrangement that appears to deepen the growing divide between metropolitan and African universities. This article takes a more optimistic view arguing that twenty years of post-apartheid life has enabled a freer flow of people and ideas across the continent. These new networks have sparked projects that explore inter-regional exchanges and transnational circuits within the continent. These developments coincide with the ‘rise of the south’ and present an opportunity for new styles of world history that take the global south as their matrix. This article examines a range of such projects and draws out their wider significance.
Development and validation of fourLeishmaniaspecies constitutively expressing GFP protein. A model for drug discovery and disease pathogenesis studies
Authors: PATEL ASHA PARBHU , DEACON ANDREW , GETTI GIULIA
Published: November 2013

Green fluorescent protein (GFP)-parasite transfectants have been widely used as a tool for studying disease pathogenesis in several protozoan models and their application in drug screening assays has increased rapidly. In the past decade, the expression of GFP has been established in severalLeishmaniaspecies, mostly forin vitrostudies. The current work reports generation of four transgenic parasites constitutively expressing GFP (Leishmania mexicana, Leishmania aethiopica, Leishmania tropicaandLeishmania major) and their validation as a representative model of infection. This is the first report where stable expression of GFP has been achieved inL. aethiopicaandL. tropica. Integration of GFP was accomplished through homologous recombination of the expression construct, pRib1.2αNEOαGFP downstream of the 18S rRNA promoter in all species. A homogeneous and high level expression of GFP was detected in both the promastigote and the intracellular amastigote stages. All transgenic species showed the same growth pattern, ability to infect mammalian host cells and sensitivity to reference drugs as their wild type counterparts. All four transgenicLeishmaniaare confirmed as models forin vitroand possiblyin vivoinfections and represent an ideal tool for medium throughput testing of compound libraries.
Reading English with Japanese in mind: Effects of frequency, phonology, and meaning in different-script bilinguals
Authors: MIWA KOJI , DIJKSTRA TON , BOLGER PATRICK , BAAYEN R. HARALD
Published: November 2013

Previous priming studies suggest that, even for bilinguals of languages with different scripts, non-selective lexical activation arises. This lexical decision eye-tracking study examined contributions of frequency, phonology, and meaning of L1 Japanese words on L2 English word lexical decision processes, using mixed-effects regression modeling. The response times and eye fixation durations of late bilinguals were co-determined by L1 Japanese word frequency and cross-language phonological and semantic similarities, but not by a dichotomous factor encoding cognate status. These effects were not observed for native monolingual readers and were confirmed to be genuine bilingual effects. The results are discussed based on the Bilingual Interactive Activation model (BIA+, Dijkstra & Van Heuven, 2002) under the straightforward assumption that English letter units do not project onto Japanese word units.
A NEW FORMULA FOR ADOMIAN POLYNOMIALS AND THE ANALYSIS OF ITS TRUNCATED SERIES SOLUTION FOR FRACTIONAL NON-DIFFERENTIABLE INITIAL VALUE PROBLEMS
Authors: KHADER M. M.
Published: November 2013

A new formula for Adomian polynomials is introduced and applied to obtain truncated series solutions for fractional initial value problems with nondifferentiable functions. These kinds of equations contain a fractional single term which is examined using Jumarie fractional derivatives and fractional Taylor series for nondifferentiable functions. The property of nonlocality of these equations is examined, and the existence and uniqueness of solutions are discussed. Convergence and error analysis for the Adomian series solution are also studied. Numerical examples show the accuracy and efficiency of this formula for solving initial value problems for high-order fractional differential equations.
Two-magnon bound state causes ultrafast thermally induced magnetisation switching
Authors: Barker J. , Atxitia U. , Ostler T. A. , Hovorka O. , Chubykalo-Fesenko O. , Chantrell R. W.
Published: November 2013

There has been much interest recently in the discovery of thermally induced magnetisation switching using femtosecond laser excitation, where a ferrimagnetic system can be switched deterministically without an applied magnetic field. Experimental results suggest that the reversal occurs due to intrinsic material properties, but so far the microscopic mechanism responsible for reversal has not been identified. Using computational and analytic methods we show that the switching is caused by the excitation of two-magnon bound states, the properties of which are dependent on material factors. This discovery allows us to accurately predict the onset of switching and the identification of this mechanism will allow new classes of materials to be identified or designed for memory devices in the THz regime.
Understanding and manipulating antibiotic production in actinomycetes
Authors: Bibb Mervyn J.
Published: November 2013

Actinomycetes are prolific producers of natural products with a wide range of biological activities. Many of the compounds that they make (and derivatives thereof) are used extensively in medicine, most notably as clinically important antibiotics, and in agriculture. Moreover, these organisms remain a source of novel and potentially useful molecules, but maximizing their biosynthetic potential requires a better understanding of natural product biosynthesis. Recent developments in genome sequencing have greatly facilitated the identification of natural product biosynthetic gene clusters. In the present article, I summarize the recent contributions of our laboratory in applying genomic technologies to better understand and manipulate natural product biosynthesis in a range of different actinomycetes.
FLT3/D835Y mutation knock-in mice display less aggressive disease compared with FLT3/internal tandem duplication (ITD) mice
Authors: Bailey Emily , Li Li , Duffield Amy S. , Ma Hayley S. , Huso David L. , Small Don
Published: November 2013

Significance

FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) is mutated in approximately a third of acute myeloid leukemia cases, predominantly in the forms of FLT3/internal tandem duplication mutations in the juxtamembrane domain or point mutations in the kinase domain. Although both mutations activate FLT3, they confer distinctive prognosis. To elucidate the mechanisms behind this prognostic difference, we have generated a knock-in mouse model with a FLT3/D835Y mutation that converts aspartic acid to tyrosine. Further comparisons of the FLT3/D835Y mice with the previously generated, otherwise genetically identical FLT3/ITD knock-in mice should provide an ideal platform for dissecting the molecular mechanisms that underlie the prognostic differences and for drug screening against these two different types of FLT3 mutations.
A multiplicative reinforcement learning model capturing learning dynamics and interindividual variability in mice
Authors: Bathellier Brice , Tee Sui Poh , Hrovat Christina , Rumpel Simon
Published: November 2013

Significance

Learning speed can strongly differ across individuals. This is seen in humans and animals. Here, we measured learning speed in mice performing a discrimination task and developed a theoretical model based on the reinforcement learning framework to account for differences between individual mice. We found that, when using a multiplicative learning rule, the starting connectivity values of the model strongly determine the shape of learning curves. This is in contrast to current learning models based on additive rules, in which the learning speed is typically determined by a single parameter describing the ability of connections to change their strength. Our findings suggest that the particular wiring architecture in the brain strongly conditions our ability to rapidly learn a new task.
Genes involved in centrosome-independent mitotic spindle assembly in
Drosophila
S2 cells
Authors: Moutinho-Pereira Sara , Stuurman Nico , Afonso Olga , Hornsveld Marten , Aguiar Paulo , Goshima Gohta , Vale Ronald D. , Maiato Helder
Published: November 2013

Significance

The mitotic spindle, a structure composed primarily of microtubules, guides the segregation of DNA during cell division. In somatic animal cells, centrosomes (microtubule nucleating structures) reside near the mitotic spindle poles. However, germ cells lack centrosomes, and even somatic cells can execute cell division if centrosome function is compromised. This study on
Drosophila
cells reports a whole-genome RNAi screen for genes involved in spindle assembly in the absence of functional centrosomes. The results show that spindle assembly pathways with and without centrosomes involve an essentially identical set of genes, demonstrating the constitutive nature of centrosome-independent spindle assembly. However, certain gene knockdowns show distinct phenotypes when centrosomes are absent, thus revealing how spindles adapt to the presence or absence of centrosomes.
Children’s ability to use speaker certainty in learning novel words
Authors: Bergstra Myrthe , de Mulder Hannah , Coopmans Peter
Published: November 2013

One of the cues that children might use in learning words is the level of certainty that speakers demonstrate in their naming of a novel object. This study presented 52 4–5 year old Dutch children with a word-learning task in which two puppets each used the same label for a different novel object. In three conditions, puppets expressed their level of speaker certainty lexically (e.g. ‘I know this is a mit’ vs. ‘I think this is a mit’), they used discourse means to convey certainty (e.g.
‘I play with this a lot. Yes, a mit’, vs.
‘I’ve never played with this. Well, a mit’) or they combined the two. In all conditions, children were more likely to pick the object referred to by the more certain puppet as the referent of the new word, demonstrating that speaker certainty is a relevant cue in the word learning process.
A fraction too much friction
Authors: Botma Bert , van 't Veer Marijn
Published: November 2013

Typological work shows that voiced fricatives like /β ð/ occur more often without their voiceless counterparts than with them, contrary to what would be expected on the basis of markedness relations between voicing and obstruents. This paper suggests that many of the offending fricatives are more appropriately viewed as sonorants, whose unmarked status is to be voiced. This view has an important consequence for the interpretation of intervocalic voicing (e.g. afa > ava), which we suspect is the diachronic origin of most of the fricatives in our corpus. We propose that intervocalic voicing is sonorization, formalized in terms of the suppression of melodic material.
Acquiring markedness constraints
Authors: van de Weijer Jeroen , Sloos Marjoleine
Published: November 2013

This paper questions the assumption made in classic Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky 1993 [2004]) that markedness constraints are an innate part of Universal Grammar. Instead, we argue that constraints are acquired on the basis of the language data to which L1 learning children are exposed. This is argued both on general grounds (innateness is an assumption that should not be invoked lightly) and on the basis of empirical evidence. We investigate this issue for six general markedness constraints in French, and show that all constraints could be acquired on the basis of the ambient data. Second, we show that the order of acquisition of the marked structures matches the frequency of violations of the relevant constraints in the input quite well. This argues in favour of a phonological model in which constraints are acquired, not innate, i.e. a model in which grammatical notions such as constraints are derived from language use.
Nazis vs. occupants
Authors: Chojnicka Joanna
Published: November 2013

The present article, based on approximately 50 hours of audio recordings of Latvian parliamentary sessions from 2009, is concerned with the language of ethnic conflict and competing ideologies in the debates of Saeima (the Latvian Parliament). Principles of critical textual analysis are applied to study the aggressive, offensive, and prejudicial ways in which two blocks –of native and non-native members of the Latvian Parliament– addressed, referred to, and talked about each other. The study analyzes the verbal expressions of conflict — their possible triggers, patterns of linguistic behaviour and outcomes and hopes to contribute to a better understanding of the problem of ethnic conflict and polarization in Latvia.
The Conceptual Representation of Number
Authors: Patson Nikole D. , George Gerret , Warren Tessa
Published: November 2013

The experiments reported here investigated the format of plural conceptual representations using a picture-matching paradigm. In Experiment 1, participants read sentences that ended with a singular noun phrase (NP), a two-quantified plural NP, or a plural definite description [ The parents handed the child the (two) crayon/s] and then saw a picture of one or multiple referents for the NP. Judgement times to confirm that there was overlap between the pictured object(s) and a noun in the sentence showed an interaction between the NP's number and NP–picture match. For singular NPs and two-quantified NPs, participants were reliably faster to respond “yes” to a picture that had the exact number of objects specified by the NP, but for plural definite descriptions, the effect of the number of pictured items was not reliable. Experiment 2 extended this finding to conceptual plurals. Participants read sentences biased toward either a collective ( Together the men carried a box—box is interpreted as singular) or distributed ( Each of the men carried a box—box is likely interpreted as plural) reading. Experiment 2 showed the same interaction between NP conceptual plurality and NP–picture match as that in Experiment 1. These results suggest that: (a) our default conceptual representations for plural definite descriptions are no more similar to images of small sets of multiple items than to images of singular items; and (b) the difference between singular and plural conceptual representations is unlikely to be simply the presence or absence of a plural feature. The results are consistent with theories in which plurality is unmarked, such that some plural NPs can refer to singular referents [e.g., Sauerland, U., Anderssen, J., & Yatsushiro, J. (2005). The plural is semantically unmarked. In S. Kepser & M. Reis (Eds.), Linguistic evidence (pp. 413–434). Berlin: de Gruyter].
Multivariate integration of infinitely many times differentiable functions in weighted Korobov spaces
Authors: Kritzer Peter , Pillichshammer Friedrich , Woźniakowski Henryk
Published: November 2013

We study multivariate integration for a weighted Korobov space of periodic infinitely many times differentiable functions for which the Fourier coefficients decay exponentially fast. The weights are defined in terms of two non-decreasing sequences

a

=
{

a
i

}

\mathbf {a}=\{a_i\}

and

b

=
{

b
i

}

\mathbf {b}=\{b_i\}

of numbers no less than one and a parameter

ω
∈
(
0
,
1
)

\omega \in (0,1)

. Let

e
(
n
,
s
)

e(n,s)

be the minimal worst-case error of all algorithms that use

n
n

function values in the

s
s

-variate case. We would like to check conditions on

a

\mathbf {a}

,

b

\mathbf {b}

and

ω
\omega

such that

e
(
n
,
s
)

e(n,s)

decays exponentially fast, i.e., for some

q
∈
(
0
,
1
)

q\in (0,1)

and

p
>
0

p>0

we have

e
(
n
,
s
)
=

O

(

q

n

p

)

e(n,s)=\mathcal {O}(q^{\,n^{\,p}})

as

n
n

goes to infinity. The factor in the

O

\mathcal {O}

notation may depend on

s
s

in an arbitrary way. We prove that exponential convergence holds iff

B
:=

∑

i
=
1

∞

1

/

b
i

>
∞

B:=\sum _{i=1}^\infty 1/b_i>\infty

independently of

a

\mathbf {a}

and

ω
\omega

. Furthermore, the largest

p
p

of exponential convergence is

1

/

B

1/B

. We also study exponential convergence with weak, polynomial and strong polynomial tractability. This means that

e
(
n
,
s
)
≤
C
(
s
)

q

n

p

e(n,s)\le C(s)\,q^{\,n^{\,p}}

for all

n
n

and

s
s

and with

log

C
(
s
)
=
exp
⁡
(
o
(
s
)
)

\log \,C(s)=\exp (o(s))

for weak tractability, with a polynomial bound on

log

C
(
s
)

\log \,C(s)

for polynomial tractability, and with uniformly bounded

C
(
s
)

C(s)

for strong polynomial tractability. We prove that the notions of weak, polynomial and strong polynomial tractability are equivalent, and hold iff

B
>
∞

B>\infty

and

a
i

a_i

are exponentially growing with

i
i

. We also prove that the largest (or the supremum of)

p
p

for exponential convergence with strong polynomial tractability belongs to

[
1

/

(
2
B
)
,
1

/

B
]

[1/(2B),1/B]

.
Spatial Pattern of Yield Distributions: Implications for Crop Insurance
Authors: Annan Francis , Tack Jesse , Harri Ardian , Coble Keith
Published: November 2013

Crop insurance is similar to flood and hurricane insurance in that spatially correlated weather tends to cause violations of the independence assumption. Ideally, one would seek to pool uncorrelated risk drawn from the same distribution in crop insurance. This article proposes a testing procedure for the cross‐sectional pooling of group units, and empirically analyzes whether the proposed test improves out‐of‐sample rating performance. We utilize a balanced panel of U.S. county‐level corn yields for 510 counties, and the results of an out‐of‐sample crop insurance rating performance exercise provide economic significance to the proposed pooling methodology and results.