bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A cross-sectional survey of essential surgical capacity in Somalia
Authors: Elkheir Natalie , Sharma Akshay , Cherian Meena , Saleh Omar Abdelrahman , Everard Marthe , Popal Ghulam Rabani , Ibrahim Abdi Awad
Published: May 2014

Objective

To assess life-saving and disability-preventing surgical services (including emergency, trauma, obstetrics, anaesthesia) of health facilities in Somalia and to assist in the planning of strategies for strengthening surgical care systems.

Design

Cross-sectional survey.

Setting

Health facilities in all 3 administrative zones of Somalia; northwest Somalia (NWS), known as Somaliland; northeast Somalia (NES), known as Puntland; and south/central Somalia (SCS).

Participants

14 health facilities.

Measures

The WHO Tool for Situational Analysis to Assess Emergency and Essential Surgical Care was employed to capture a health facility's capacity to deliver surgical and anaesthesia services by investigating four categories of data: infrastructure, human resources, interventions available and equipment.

Results

The 14 facilities surveyed in Somalia represent 10 of the 18 districts throughout the country. The facilities serve an average patient population of 331 250 people, and 12 of the 14 identify as hospitals. While major surgical procedures were provided at many facilities (caesarean section, laparotomy, appendicectomy, etc), only 22% had fully available oxygen access, 50% fully available electricity and less than 30% had any management guidelines for emergency and surgical care. Furthermore, only 36% were able to provide general anaesthesia inhalation due to lack of skills, supplies and equipment. Basic supplies for airway management and the prevention of infection transmission were severely lacking in most facilities.

Conclusions

According to the results of the WHO Tool for Situational Analysis to Assess Emergency and Essential Surgical Care survey, there exist significant gaps in the capacity of emergency and essential surgical services in Somalia including inadequacies in essential equipment, service provision and infrastructure. The information provided by the WHO tool can serve as a basis for evidence-based decisions on country-level policy regarding the allocation of resources and provision of emergency and essential surgical services.
Comparing responsible and non-responsible drivers to assess determinants of road traffic collisions: time to standardise and revisit
Authors: Salmi L Rachid , Orriols Ludivine , Lagarde Emmanuel
Published: May 2014

Objectives

In 1994, Robertson and Drummer formalised the responsibility analysis as an alternative to case-control studies in the study of road traffic crashes. Our objective was to assess whether published responsibility studies respected standards defining adequate case-control studies.

Setting

Using Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar, we identified responsibility studies indexed until October 2013, which cited Robertson and Drummer's paper. After reviewing titles, abstracts and reference lists, we selected original studies comparing responsible and non-responsible drivers, published in peer-reviewed journals or proceedings.

Data and analysis

We applied a grid to judge the conformity of the responsibility assessment to the original definition, and whether methods addressing representativeness of selection, accuracy of measures of exposures, confounding variables, and power met standards defining adequate case-control studies.

Results

Of 205 titles, we identified 20 papers. Methods of responsibility assessment were the original in three papers. Variations across studies concerned the number of mitigating factors included, or the use of questionnaires rather than police data (n=3). The ratio responsible/non-responsible drivers varied from 0.90 to 5.31, due to major variations in sampling methods, threshold selection, and data completeness. Selection or measurement issues were discussed in 13 papers, but seldom addressed in the design. A comparison of confounding factors in responsible and non-responsible drivers was presented in five papers.

Conclusions

Basic requirements of case-control studies are often not or not clearly met in responsibility studies. There is a need to revisit the method and to adapt existing publication standards to the way responsibility studies are reported.
Epigenetic inactivation ofDAPK1,p14ARF,mir-34aand-34b/cin acute promyelocytic leukaemia
Authors: Ng Ho Yin , Wan Thomas S , So Chi Chiu , Chim Chor Sang
Published: May 2014

Aim

TP53mutation frequently occurs in solid cancers but not haematological cancers including acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) characterised by t(15;17). BothDAPK1andp14ARFpositively regulate p53 whereasmiR-34aand-34b/care direct transcriptional targets of p53. We studied if DNA methylation might contribute to inactivation of gene/microRNA (miRNA) in the TP53 tumour suppressor network.

Methods

Promoter methylation ofDAPK1,p14ARF,miR-34aand -34b/cwere studied in 10 normal bone marrow samples, NB4 cell line and 60 APL primary samples at diagnosis by methylation-specific PCR (MSP).

Results

DAPK1, p14ARF,miR-34aand-34b/cwere completely unmethylated in normal bone marrow samples.DAPK1,miR-34aand-34b/cwere completely methylated in NB4. Treatment of NB4 by 5′-Aza-2′-deoxyctidine resulted in promoter demethylation together with re-expression ofDAPK1and both miRNAs. In primary APL samples, methylation ofmiR-34b/cwas detected in 43% in contrast to absence of methylation ofDAPK1,p14ARFormiR-34a. Overexpression ofmiR-34bin NB4 resulted in inhibition of proliferation.

Conclusions

Methylation ofDAPK1,miR-34aand-34b/cis tumour-specific, and associated with gene/miRNAs silencing.miR-34b/cis a tumour suppressor miRNA in APL. Methylation ofmiR-34b/cmay contribute to APL leukaemogenesis.
Gene of the month:BECN1
Authors: Sahni Sumit , Merlot Angelica M , Krishan Sukriti , Jansson Patric J , Richardson Des R
Published: May 2014

TheBECN1gene encodes the Beclin-1 protein, which is a well-established regulator of the autophagic pathway. It is a mammalian orthologue of theATG6gene in yeast and was one of the first identified mammalian autophagy-associated genes. Beclin-1 interacts with a number of binding partners in the cell which can lead to either activation (eg, via PI3KC3/Vps34, Ambra 1, UV radiation resistance-associated gene) or inhibition (eg, via Bcl-2, Rubicon) of the autophagic pathway. Apart from its role as a regulator of autophagy, it is also shown to effect important biological processes in the cell such as apoptosis and embryogenesis. Beclin-1 has also been implicated to play a critical role in the pathology of a variety of disease states including cancer, neurological disorders (eg, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease) and viral infections. Thus, understanding the functions of Beclin-1 and its interactions with other cellular components will aid in its development as an important therapeutic target for future drug development.
Mortality on match days of the German national soccer team: a time series analysis from 1995 to 2009
Authors: Medenwald D , Kuss O
Published: May 2014

Background

There is inconsistent evidence on population mortality, especially cardiovascular disease mortality, on match days of national soccer teams during particular international tournaments. This study examines the number of deaths in Germany on match days of the national soccer team during a long-term period including several tournaments.

Methods

We analysed all registered daily deaths in Germany from 1995 to 2009 (11 225 966 cases) using time series analysis methods. Following the Box/Jenkins approach, we applied a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model. To assess the effect of match days, we performed an intervention analysis by including a transfer function model representing match days of the national team in the statistical analyses. We conducted separate analyses for all matches and for matches during international tournaments (European and World Championships) only. Time series and results were stratified in terms of sex, age (<50 years, 50–70 years, >70 years) and cause of death (cardiovascular deaths, injuries, others). We performed a further independent analysis focusing only on the effect of match results (victory, loss, draw) and kind of tournament (international championships, qualifications, friendly matches).

Results

Most of the results did not indicate a distinct effect of matches of the national team on general mortality. Moreover, all null value deviations were small when compared with the average number of daily deaths (n=2270).

Conclusions

There is no relevant increase or decrease in mortality on match days of the German national soccer team.
Stressful social relations and mortality: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Lund Rikke , Christensen Ulla , Nilsson Charlotte Juul , Kriegbaum Margit , Hulvej Rod Naja
Published: May 2014

Background

Few studies have examined the relationship between stressful social relations in private life and all-cause mortality.

Objective

To evaluate the association between stressful social relations (with partner, children, other family, friends and neighbours, respectively) and all-cause mortality in a large population-based study of middle-aged men and women. Further, to investigate the possible modification of this association by labour force participation and gender.

Methods

We used baseline data (2000) from The Danish Longitudinal Study on Work, Unemployment and Health, including 9875 men and women aged 36–52 years, linked to the Danish Cause of Death Registry for information on all-cause mortality until 31 December 2011. Associations between stressful social relations with partner, children, other family, friends and neighbours, respectively, and all-cause mortality were examined using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for age, gender, cohabitation status, occupational social class, hospitalisation with chronic disorder 1980–baseline, depressive symptoms and perceived emotional support. Modification by gender and labour force participation was investigated by an additive hazards model.

Results

Frequent worries/demands from partner or children were associated with 50–100% increased mortality risk. Frequent conflicts with any type of social relation were associated with 2–3 times increased mortality risk. Interaction between labour force participation and worries/demands (462 additional cases per 100 000 person-years, p=0.05) and conflicts with partner (830 additional cases per 100 000 person-years, p<0.01) was suggested. Being male and experiencing frequent worries/demands from partner produced 135 extra cases per 100 000 person-years, p=0.05 due to interaction.

Conclusions

Stressful social relations are associated with increased mortality risk among middle-aged men and women for a variety of different social roles. Those outside the labour force and men seem especially vulnerable to exposure.
Maternal exposure to hurricane destruction and fetal mortality
Authors: Zahran Sammy , Breunig Ian M , Link Bruce G , Snodgrass Jeffrey G , Weiler Stephan , Mielke Howard W
Published: May 2014

Background

The majority of research documenting the public health impacts of natural disasters focuses on the well-being of adults and their living children. Negative effects may also occur in the unborn, exposed to disaster stressors when critical organ systems are developing and when the consequences of exposure are large.

Methods

We exploit spatial and temporal variation in hurricane behaviour as a quasi-experimental design to assess whether fetal death is dose-responsive in the extent of hurricane damage. Data on births and fetal deaths are merged with Parish-level housing wreckage data. Fetal outcomes are regressed on housing wreckage adjusting for the maternal, fetal, placental and other risk factors. The average causal effect of maternal exposure to hurricane destruction is captured by difference-in-differences analyses.

Results

The adjusted odds of fetal death are 1.40 (1.07–1.83) and 2.37 (1.684–3.327) times higher in parishes suffering 10–50% and >50% wreckage to housing stock, respectively. For every 1% increase in the destruction of housing stock, we observe a 1.7% (1.1–2.4%) increase in fetal death. Of the 410 officially recorded fetal deaths in these parishes, between 117 and 205 may be attributable to hurricane destruction and postdisaster disorder. The estimated fetal death toll is 17.4–30.6% of the human death toll.

Conclusions

The destruction caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita imposed significant measurable losses in terms of fetal death. Postdisaster migratory dynamics suggest that the reported effects of maternal exposure to hurricane destruction on fetal death may be conservative.
Rupture Resemblance Score (RRS): toward risk stratification of unruptured intracranial aneurysms using hemodynamic–morphological discriminants
Authors: Xiang Jianping , Yu Jihnhee , Choi Hoon , Dolan Fox Jennifer M , Snyder Kenneth V , Levy Elad I , Siddiqui Adnan H , Meng Hui
Published: May 2014

Objective

We have previously developed three logistic regression models for discriminating intracranial aneurysm rupture status from 119 aneurysms based on hemodynamic–morphological parameters. In this study we exploit their use as a tool for predicting the risk of rupture of aneurysms with a defined Rupture Resemblance Score (RRS).

Methods

We collected three-dimensional images of 85 consecutive aneurysms, applied the three regression models and compared model performance at predicting rupture status against anecdotal metrics (aneurysm size and aspect ratio). We then reinterpreted the model-predicted probability as RRS, where the higher the score the closer the resemblance to previously known rupture components, and applied the RRS prospectively to four unruptured aneurysms with borderline treatment decisions.

Results

All three models yielded excellent sensitivity (0.78–0.83) and specificity (0.78–0.84) at a cutoff score of 50%, whereas aneurysm size and aspect ratio showed poor sensitivities (0.28 and 0.33, respectively). Lowering the cutoff score to 30% improved sensitivity to 0.90. The RRS identified most of the ruptured aneurysms and also some unruptured ones that closely resembled ruptured aneurysms hemodynamically and/or morphologically. The prospective application of the RRS to unruptured aneurysms shows that it could provide additional insights for treatment decisions.

Conclusions

Previous regression models based on hemodynamic–morphological parameters are able to discriminate rupture in a new cohort in the same population. A higher probability of rupture is associated with larger size ratio, lower normalized wall shear stress and higher oscillatory shear index. The RRS could potentially stratify rupture risk and assist in treatment decision-making for unruptured aneurysms.
Results of a national cerebrovascular neurosurgery survey on the management of cerebral vasospasm/delayed cerebral ischemia
Authors: Bulsara Ketan R , Günel Murat , Amin-Hanjani Sepideh , Chen Peng Roc , Connolly E Sander , Friedlander Robert M
Published: May 2014

Objective

Following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, cerebral vasospasm/delayed cerebral ischemia accounts for significant morbidity and mortality. In this paper we provide the first glimpse of actual practice in the management of cerebral vasospasm in the USA.

Methods

All active members of the Joint American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)/Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) Cerebrovascular Section were emailed the survey. The responses were collected anonymously.

Results

The response rate for this survey was 44% (177 responses/400 total members). Non-responders were characterized by the fact that multiple responders were not obtained from practices that had multiple providers with uniform practice. Both high-volume and low-volume centers were equally represented. Optimizing medical management is first-line treatment in practice. Although there is some variability regarding screening methods, the greatest variability occurs with regard to the choice of intra-arterial treatment drug and dose. There is also considerable variability in the perceived effectiveness of endovascular treatment for vasospasm.

Conclusions

In this preliminary glimpse of actual cerebral vasospasm management practice in the USA, two salient points emerge: (1) there is considerable variability in intra-arterial therapies for vasospasm; and (2) there are major differences in the perceived effectiveness of these therapies. Standardization of intra-arterial therapies may contribute to improved outcomes. A prospective randomized trial evaluating endovascular treatment for cerebral vasospasm is needed.
Taxonomic diversity in the biology of migration
Authors: McGuire Liam P. , Fraser Erin E.
Published: May 2014

Migration is widespread across taxa and highly variable both within and among groups. There have been multiple efforts to synthesize migratory theory across groups and these frameworks benefit from the inclusion of diverse taxa. The objective of this partial series of the Canadian Journal of Zoology was to highlight taxonomic diversity in migration by featuring reviews of the current state of migration research in a range of taxa (freshwater fishes, mammals, and amphibians). This series provides an opportunity to compare and contrast the biology of migration among multiple taxa. The reviews include discussions of migration at both the individual and population levels, focusing on a range of topics including the evolution of migration, behavioural and physiological adaptations for migration, consequences of migration, and methods for modelling animal movement.
STABILITY ANALYSIS AND SIMULATION OF N-CLASS RETRIAL SYSTEM WITH CONSTANT RETRIAL RATES AND POISSON INPUTS
Authors: AVRACHENKOV K. , MOROZOV E. , NEKRASOVA R. , STEYAERT B.
Published: May 2014

In this paper, we study a new retrial queueing system with N classes of customers, where a class-i blocked customer joins orbit i. Orbit i works like a single-server queueing system with (exponential) constant retrial time (with rate [Formula: see text]) regardless of the orbit size. Such a system is motivated by multiple telecommunication applications, for instance wireless multi-access systems, and transmission control protocols. First, we present a review of some corresponding recent results related to a single-orbit retrial system. Then, using a regenerative approach, we deduce a set of necessary stability conditions for such a system. We will show that these conditions have a very clear probabilistic interpretation. We also performed a number of simulations to show that the obtained conditions delimit the stability domain with a remarkable accuracy, being in fact the (necessary and sufficient) stability criteria, at the very least for the 2-orbit M/M/1/1-type and M/Pareto/1/1-type retrial systems that we focus on.
TAIL PROBABILITIES IN QUEUEING PROCESSES
Authors: LI QUAN-LIN
Published: May 2014

In the study of large scale stochastic networks with resource management, differential equations and mean-field limits are two key techniques. Recent research shows that the expected fraction vector (that is, the tail probability vector) plays a key role in setting up mean-field differential equations. To further apply the technique of tail probability vector to deal with resource management of large scale stochastic networks, this paper discusses tail probabilities in some basic queueing processes including QBD processes, Markov chains of GI/M/1 type and of M/G/1 type, and also provides some effective and efficient algorithms for computing the tail probabilities by means of the matrix-geometric solution, the matrix-iterative solution, the matrix-product solution and the two types of RG-factorizations. Furthermore, we consider four queueing examples: The M/M/1 retrial queue, the M(n)/M(n)/1 queue, the M/M/1 queue with server multiple vacations and the M/M/1 queue with repairable server, where the M/M/1 retrial queue is given a detailed discussion, while the other three examples are analyzed in less detail. Note that the results given in this paper will be very useful in the study of large scale stochastic networks with resource management, including the supermarket models and the work stealing models.
AN EFFICIENT METHOD FOR PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF BLENDED CALL CENTERS WITH REDIAL
Authors: PHUNG-DUC TUAN , KAWANISHI KEN'ICHI
Published: May 2014

This paper considers a multiserver retrial queue with two-way communication for blended call centers. Primary incoming calls arrive at the servers according to a Poisson process and request an exponentially distributed service time. Incoming calls that find all the servers fully occupied join the orbit and retry to occupy a server again after some random time. A retrial incoming call behaves the same as a primary incoming call. A server not only serves as an incoming call but also makes an outgoing call after some random idle time. We assume that the distribution of the duration of outgoing calls is different from that of incoming calls. Artalejo and Phung-Duc (2012) have extensively studied the single server case and have obtained some preliminary results for the multiserver model. In this paper, we present an extensive analysis for the multiserver model in which, we propose a new formulation by a level-dependent quasi birth-and-death (QBD) process, whose block matrices have some special block structure. Based on a matrix continued fraction approach and a censoring technique, we develop an efficient algorithm utilizing the special structure for computing the stationary distribution. Furthermore, we derive explicit formulae for the mean number of incoming calls and that of outgoing calls in the servers. Through various numerical results, we study the characteristics of the queueing system and find some insights into the optimal outgoing call rate.
APPROXIMATION OF PH/PH/c RETRIAL QUEUE WITH PH-RETRIAL TIME
Authors: SHIN YANG WOO , MOON DUG HEE
Published: May 2014

We consider the PH/PH/c retrial queues with PH-retrial time. Approximation formulae for the distribution of the number of customers in service facility, sojourn time distribution and the mean number of customers in orbit are presented. We provide an approximation for GI/G/c retrial queue with general retrial time by approximating the general distribution with phase type distribution. Some numerical results are presented.
DYNAMIC FACILITY LAYOUT WITH MULTI-OBJECTIVES
Authors: CHEN GARY YU-HSIN , LO JU-CHIEH
Published: May 2014

A problem in multi-objective dynamic facility layout is achieving distance- and adjacency-based objectives for arranging facility layouts across multiple time periods. As a non-deterministic polynomial time-hard problem, it resembles the quadratic assignment problem (QAP), which can be solved through meta-heuristics such as ant colony optimization (ACO). This study investigates three multi-objective approaches coupled with ACO to solve this problem. As the experimental design, we apply the proposed methods to solve the dynamic facility layout problem (DFLP), multi-objective facility layout problem, and multi-objective DFLP based on data sets from the literature to test the quality of the solution. The results show that the proposed methods are effective for solving the problem.
Reactor neutrino experiments: θ13 and beyond
Authors: Qian Xin , Wang Wei
Published: May 2014

We review the current-generation short-baseline reactor neutrino experiments that have firmly established the third neutrino mixing angle θ13 to be nonzero. The relative large value of θ13 (around 9°) has opened many new and exciting opportunities for future neutrino experiments. Daya Bay experiment with the first measurement of [Formula: see text] is aiming for a precision measurement of this atmospheric mass-squared splitting with a comparable precision as [Formula: see text] from accelerator muon neutrino experiments. JUNO, a next-generation reactor neutrino experiment, is targeting to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy (MH) with medium baselines (~ 50 km). Beside these opportunities enabled by the large θ13, the current-generation (Daya Bay, Double Chooz, and RENO) and the next-generation (JUNO, RENO-50, and PROSPECT) reactor experiments, with their unprecedented statistics, are also leading the precision era of the three-flavor neutrino oscillation physics as well as constraining new physics beyond the neutrino Standard Model.
Two-photon absorption-based optical limiting in 2-(2-methoxybenzyllideneamino)-5-methylphenylmercuric chloride-doped PMMA film
Authors: Hassan Qusay Mohammed Ali
Published: May 2014

The synthesis and the linear and optical limiting properties of a 2-(2-methoxybenzyllideneamino)-5-methylphenylmercuric chloride-doped poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) film are described. The sample exhibits strong optical power limiting under continuous wave (cw) laser at the experimental wavelength. The mechanisms for the optical limiting were discussed on the basis of the two-photon absorption involved in the process. The nonlinear absorption coefficient β of the sample is estimated and its value is found to be 67 × 10-2 cm/W. Our study indicated that the investigated compound-doped PMMA film is a potential candidate for optical limiting applications in low power cw regime.
Recent developments in the study of deconfinement in nucleus–nucleus collisions
Authors: Gazdzicki M. , Gorenstein M. I. , Seyboth P.
Published: May 2014

Deconfinement refers to the creation of a state of quasi-free quarks and gluons in strongly interacting matter. Model predictions and experimental evidence for the onset of deconfinement in nucleus–nucleus collisions were discussed in our first review on this subject. These results motivated further experimental and theoretical studies. This review addresses two subjects. First, a summary of the past, present and future experimental programmes related to discovery and study of properties of the onset of deconfinement are presented. Second, recent progress is reviewed on analysis methods and preliminary experimental results for new strongly intensive fluctuation measures are discussed, which are relevant for current and future studies of the onset of deconfinement and searches for the critical point of strongly interacting matter.
Interest Aware Consistency for Cooperative Editing in Heterogeneous Environments
Authors: Negrão André Pessoa , Costa João , Ferreira Paulo , Veiga Luís
Published: May 2014

Cooperative editing applications enable geographically distributed users to concurrently edit a shared document space over a computer network. These applications present several technical challenges related to the scalability of the system and the promptness with which relevant updates are disseminated to the concerned users. This paper presents Cooperative Semantic Locality Awareness (CoopSLA), a consistency model for cooperative editing applications that is scalable and efficient with regards to user needs. In CoopSLA, updates to different parts of the document have different priorities, depending on the relative interest of the user in the region in which the update is performed; updates that are considered relevant are sent to the user promptly, while less important updates are postponed. As a result, the system makes a more intelligent usage of the network resources, since (1) it saves bandwidth by merging postponed updates and (2) it issues fewer accesses to the network resources as a result of both update merging and message aggregation. We have implemented a collaborative version of the open source Tex editor TexMaker using the CoopSLA approach. We present evaluation results that support our claim that CoopSLA is very effective regarding network usage while fulfilling user needs (e.g. ensuring that relevant updates are disseminated in time).
Decision-Making Support for the Correctness of Input Data at Runtime in Business Processes
Authors: Gómez-López María Teresa , Gasca Rafael M. , Pérez-Álvarez José Miguel
Published: May 2014

In a business process, the information that flows between the activities can be introduced by those users who interact with the process. This introduced information could be incorrect due to a lack of knowledge or a mistake. For this reason and to make the business process execution consistent, we propose a Decision Support System (DSS) to inform the user about the possible and correct values that the input data can take. The DSS takes into account the business process model and the policy of the company. The policy concerning the input data and dataflow that the company manages can be represented by constraints (called Business Data Constraints (BDCs)). In order to ascertain all the possible values of the input data that permit the execution of the process following the defined goals, the DSS analyzes the business process model and the BDC, using the constraint programming paradigm.
MID-FREQUENCY ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS USING EDGE-BASED SMOOTHED TETRAHEDRON RADIALPOINT INTERPOLATION METHODS
Authors: HE Z. C. , LI G. Y. , LI ERIC , ZHONG Z. H. , LIU G. R.
Published: May 2014

An edge-based smoothed tetrahedron radial point interpolation method (ES-T-RPIM) is formulated for the 3D acoustic problems, using the simplest tetrahedron mesh which is adaptive for any complicated geometry. In present ES-T-RPIM, the gradient smoothing operation is performed with respect to each edge-based smoothing domain, which is also serving as building blocks in the assembly of the stiffness matrix. The smoothed Galerkin weak form is then used to create the discretized system equations. The acoustic pressure is constructed using radial point interpolation method, and two typical schemes of selecting nodes for interpolation using RPIM have been introduced in detail. It turns out that the ES-T-RPIM provides an ideal amount of softening effect, and significantly reduces the numerical dispersion error in low- to mid-frequency range. Numerical examples demonstrate the superiority of the ES-T-RPIM for 3D acoustic analysis, especially at mid-frequency.
An Efficient Genetic Algorithm for Optimization Problems with Time-Consuming Fitness Evaluation
Authors: Han Xiaosong , Liang Yanchun , Li Zhengguang , Li Gaoyang , Wu Xiaozhou , Wang Binghong , Zhao Guozhong , Wu Chunguo
Published: May 2014

In classical genetic algorithm, fitness evaluations are often very expensive or highly time-consuming, especially for some engineering optimization problems. We present an efficient genetic algorithm (GA) by combining clustering methods with an empirical fitness estimating formula. The new individuals are clustered at first, and then only the cluster representatives are really evaluated by its original time-consuming fitness computing processes, and other individuals undergo high efficient fitness evaluating processes by using the empirical fitness estimating formula. To further improve the accuracy of fitness estimations, we present a schema discovery strategy by extracting the common encoding characters from both high-fitness individual group and low-fitness individual group, and then adjust the estimated fitness for each individual based on the matching with the discovered schema. Experiments show that the schema discovery strategy contributes remarkably to the accuracy of fitness estimation. Numerical experiments of some well-known benchmark problems and a practical engineering problem demonstrate that the proposed method could improve the efficiency by over 30% in terms of the times of real fitness evaluations at the similar optimization accuracy of classical genetic algorithm.
ALLIANCE SCOPE AND FIRM PERFORMANCE IN THE BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY
Authors: SMITH PETER , CALLAGHER LISA , HUANG XINLEI
Published: May 2014

We test the relationship between alliance scope and firm performance in the context of the biotechnology industry by means of a meta-analysis. Meta-analysis is a statistical technique that allows a systematic review of the existing research that is more rigorously systematic compared to conventional narrative reviews as it uses statistics to capture the strength of relationships. The analysis confirms that a relationship between alliance scope and firm performance does exist. Furthermore, results suggest that there is a statistically significant difference in firm performance between exploitation alliances and exploration alliances, confirming recent studies in the innovation and R&D management literature. Managerial implications and future research suggestions are provided.
Testing the weak equivalence principle with macroscopic proof masses on ground and in space: A brief review
Authors: Nobili Anna M.
Published: May 2014

General relativity is founded on the experimental fact that in a gravitational field all bodies fall with the same acceleration regardless of their mass and composition. This is the weak equivalence principle, or universality of free fall. Experimental evidence of a violation would require either that general relativity is to be amended or that another force of nature is at play. In 1916 Einstein brought as evidence the torsion balance experiments by Eötvös, to 10-8–10-9. In the 1960s and early 70s, by exploiting the "passive" daily rotation of the Earth, torsion balance tests improved to 10-11 and 10-12. More recently, active rotation of the balance at higher frequencies has reached 10-13. No other experimental tests of general relativity are both so crucial for the theory and so precise and accurate. If a similar differential experiment is performed inside a spacecraft passively stabilized by 1 Hz rotation while orbiting the Earth at ≃ 600 km altitude the test would improve by 4 orders of magnitude, to 10-17, thus probing a totally unexplored field of physics. This is unique to weakly coupled concentric macroscopic test cylinders inside a rapidly rotating spacecraft.
Antimatter in the universe and the PAMELA/FERMI/AMS anomaly
Authors: Skinner G. K.
Published: May 2014

Evidence for the existence of antimatter in the Galaxy and in the cosmos as a whole is reviewed and possible explanations that have been proposed for its origin discussed.
Testing antimatter gravity with muonium
Authors: Kirch Klaus , Khaw Kim Siang
Published: May 2014

The debate about how antimatter or different antimatter systems behave gravitationally will be ultimately decided by experiments measuring directly the acceleration of various antimatter probes in the gravitational field of the Earth or perhaps redshift effects in antimatter atoms caused by the annual variation of the Sun's gravitational potential at the location of the Earth. Muonium atoms may be used to probe the gravitational interaction of leptonic, second generation antimatter. We discuss the progress of our work towards enabling such experiments with muonium.
Past, present and future low energy antiproton facilities at CERN
Authors: Bartmann W. , Belochitskii P. , Breuker H. , Butin F. , Carli C. , Eriksson T. , Maury S. , Oelert W. , Pasinelli S. , Tranquille G.
Published: May 2014

Low energy antiprotons are available for physics experiments at CERN since the 1980s and have been used by a large variety of experiments. The Low Energy Antiproton Ring LEAR has been constructed as a complementary use of antiprotons available at that time for high energy physics and delivered beam to experiments mainly using slow extraction. After completion of LEAR exploitation, the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) was constructed (adaptation of the existing Antiproton Collector, AC) to allow for a simpler low energy antiproton scheme (only one accelerator operated with Antiprotons) with fast extraction well suited for trap experiments. The Extra Low ENergy Antiproton ring ELENA is a small synchrotron presently constructed to further decelerate antiprotons from the AD in a controlled manner, and to reduce emittances with the help of an electron cooler to improve the capture efficiencies of existing experiments and allow for additional ones.
The Dirac-Milne cosmology
Authors: Benoit-Lévy Aurélien , Chardin Gabriel
Published: May 2014

We study an unconventional cosmology, in which we investigate the consequences that antigravity would pose to cosmology. We present the main characteristics of the Dirac-Milne Universe, a cosmological model where antimatter has a negative active gravitational mass. In this non-standard Universe, separate domains of matter and antimatter coexist at our epoch without annihilation, separated by a gravitationally induced depletion zone. We show that this cosmology does not require a priori the Dark Matter and Dark Energy components of the standard model of cosmology. Additionally, inflation becomes an unnecessary ingredient. Investigating this model, we show that the classical cosmological tests such as primordial nucleosynthesis, Type Ia supernovæ and Cosmic Microwave Background are surprisingly concordant.
Experimental observations of mechanical dilation at the onset of gas flow in Callovo-Oxfordian claystone
Authors: Cuss Robert , Harrington Jon , Giot Richard , Auvray Christophe
Published: May 2014

Understanding the mechanisms controlling the advective movement of gas and its potential impact on a geological disposal facility (GDF) for radioactive waste is important to performance assessment. In a clay-based GDF, four primary phenomenological models can be defined to describe gas flow: (i) diffusion and/or solution within interstitial water; (ii) visco-capillary (or two-phase) flow in the original porosity of the fabric; (iii) flow along localized dilatant pathways (micro-fissuring); and (iv) gas fracturing of the rock. To investigate which mechanism(s) control the movement of gas, two independent experimental studies on Callovo-Oxfordian claystone (COx) have been undertaken at the British Geological Survey (BGS) and LAEGO–ENSG Nancy (LAEGO).

The study conducted at BGS used a triaxial apparatus specifically designed to resolve very small volumetric (axial and radial) strains potentially associated with the onset of gas flow. The LAEGO study utilized a triaxial setup with axial and radial strains measured by strain gauges glued to the sample. Both studies were conducted on COx at
in situ
stresses representative of the Bure Underground Research Laboratory (URL), with flux and pressure of gas and water carefully monitored throughout long-duration experiments.

A four-stage model has been postulated to explain the experimental results. Stage 1: gas enters at the gas entry pressure. Gas propagation is along dilatant pathways that exploit the pore network of the material. Around each pathway the fabric compresses, which may lead to localized movement of water away from the pathways. Stage 2: the dendritic flow path network has reached the mid-plane of the sample, resulting in acceleration of the observed radial strain. During this stage, outflow from the sample also develops. Stage 3: gas has reached the backpressure end of the sample with end-to-end movement of gas. Dilation continues, indicating that gas pathway numbers have increased. Stage 4: gas-fracturing occurs with a significant tensile fracture forming, resulting in failure of the sample.

Both studies clearly showed that as gas started to move through the COx, the sample underwent mechanical dilation (i.e. an increase in sample volume). Under
in situ
conditions, the onset of dilation (micro-fissuring) is a necessary precursor for the advective movement of gas.
Numerical modelling of moisture controlled laboratory swelling/shrinkage experiments on argillaceous rocks
Authors: Xu W. J. , Shao H. , Hesser J. , Kolditz O.
Published: May 2014

Moisture-induced swelling and shrinkage deformation is a well-known phenomenon for clayey material. To quantify this deformation a fully coupled thermal-hydro-mechanical (TH2M) model based on the modified effective stress concept has been developed and implemented in the numerical code OGS. Three laboratory tests have been analysed using this concept. All specimens for the tests are argillaceous rocks, from different underground laboratory sites (Tournemire, Bure, France, and Mont Terri, Switzerland). The laboratory tests are performed under different conditions; the first test is free swelling/shrinkage and other two tests are with uniaxial loading. The relative humidity is also controlled. Only one test is carried out under varied temperature conditions. In this study the anisotropic swelling/shrinkage deformation wais simulated and analysed using this modified effective stress concept.
Epiregulin promotes the emergence and proliferation of adult liver progenitor cells
Authors: Tomita Kyoko , Haga Hiroaki , Mizuno Kei , Katsumi Tomohiro , Sato Chikako , Okumoto Kazuo , Nishise Yuko , Watanabe Hisayoshi , Saito Takafumi , Ueno Yoshiyuki
Published: May 2014

We have previously reported that epiregulin is a growth factor that seems to act on liver progenitor cells (LPCs) during liver regeneration. However, the relationship between epiregulin and LPCs has remained unclear. The aim of the present study was to clarify the role of epiregulin during liver regeneration. The serum levels of epiregulin in patients with acute liver failure were examined. A liver injury model was developed using mice fed a diet containing 0.1% 3.5-diethoxycarbonyl-1.4-dihydrocollidine (DDC) to induce LPCs. We then evaluated the expression of epiregulin and LPCs in these mice. The proliferation of epithelial cell adhesion molecule + LPCs cultured with epiregulin was examined in vitro, and finally epiregulin was overexpressed in mouse liver. In patients with acute liver failure, serum epiregulin levels were elevated significantly. In DDC mice, LPCs emerged around the portal area. Epiregulin was also detected around the portal area during the course of DDC-induced liver injury and was partially coexpressed with Thy1. Serum epiregulin levels in DDC mice were also significantly elevated. Recombinant epiregulin augmented the proliferative capacity of the LPCs in a dose-dependent manner. In mice showing overexpression of epiregulin, the expression of PCNA on hepatocytes was increased significantly. Finally, LPCs emerged around the portal area after epiregulin gene delivery. We concluded that epiregulin promotes the proliferation of LPCs and DNA synthesis by hepatocytes and is upregulated in the serum of patients with liver injury. Furthermore, induction of epiregulin leads to the appearance of LPCs. Epiregulin would be a useful biomarker of liver regeneration.
Age-related differences in heat loss capacity occur under both dry and humid heat stress conditions
Authors: Larose Joanie , Boulay Pierre , Wright-Beatty Heather E. , Sigal Ronald J. , Hardcastle Stephen , Kenny Glen P.
Published: May 2014

This study examined the progression of impairments in heat dissipation as a function of age and environmental conditions. Sixty men ( n = 12 per group; 20–30, 40–44, 45–49, 50–54, and 55–70 yr) performed four intermittent exercise/recovery cycles for a duration of 2 h in dry (35°C, 20% relative humidity) and humid (35°C, 60% relative humidity) conditions. Evaporative heat loss and metabolic heat production were measured by direct and indirect calorimetry, respectively. Body heat storage was measured as the temporal summation of heat production and heat loss during the sessions. Evaporative heat loss was reduced during exercise in the humid vs. dry condition in age groups 20–30 (−17%), 40–44 (−18%), 45–49 (−21%), 50–54 (−25%), and 55–70 yr (−20%). HE fell short of being significantly different between groups in the dry condition, but was greater in age group 20–30 yr (279 ± 10 W) compared with age groups 45–49 (248 ± 8 W), 50–54 (242 ± 6 W), and 55–70 yr (240 ± 7 W) in the humid condition. As a result of a reduced rate of heat dissipation predominantly during exercise, age groups 40–70 yr stored between 60–85 and 13–38% more heat than age group 20–30 yr in the dry and humid conditions, respectively. These age-related differences in heat dissipation and heat storage were not paralleled by significant differences in local sweating and skin blood flow, or by differences in core temperature between groups. From a whole body perspective, combined heat and humidity impeded heat dissipation to a similar extent across age groups, but, more importantly, intermittent exercise in dry and humid heat stress conditions created a greater thermoregulatory challenge for middle-aged and older adults.
Effects of ballistic stretching training on the properties of human muscle and tendon structures
Authors: Konrad Andreas , Tilp Markus
Published: May 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of a 6-wk ballistic stretching training program on various parameters of the human gastrocnemius medialis muscle and the Achilles tendon. It is known that ballistic stretching is an appropriate means of increasing the range of motion (RoM), but information in the literature about the mechanical adaptation of the muscle-tendon unit (MTU) is scarce. Therefore, in this study, a total of 48 volunteers were randomly assigned into ballistic stretching and control groups. Before and following the stretching intervention, we determined the maximum dorsiflexion RoM with the corresponding fascicle length and pennation angle. Passive resistive torque (PRT) and maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) were measured with a dynamometer. Muscle-tendon junction (MTJ) displacement allowed us to determine the length changes in tendon and muscle, and hence to calculate stiffness. Mean RoM increased significantly from 33.8 ± 6.3° to 37.8 ± 7.2° only in the intervention group, but other functional (PRT, MVC) and structural (fascicle length, pennation angle, muscle stiffness, tendon stiffness) parameters were unaltered. Thus the increased RoM could not be explained by structural changes in the MTU and was likely due to increased stretch tolerance.
Re-engineering Vesicular Stomatitis Virus to Abrogate Neurotoxicity, Circumvent Humoral Immunity, and Enhance Oncolytic Potency
Authors: Muik Alexander , Stubbert Lawton J. , Jahedi Roza Z. , Geiβ Yvonne , Kimpel Janine , Dold Catherine , Tober Reinhard , Volk Andreas , Klein Sabine , Dietrich Ursula , Yadollahi Beta , Falls Theresa , Miletic Hrvoje , Stojdl David , Bell John C. , von Laer Dorothee
Published: May 2014

As cancer treatment tools, oncolytic viruses (OV) have yet to realize what some see as their ultimate clinical potential. In this study, we have engineered a chimeric vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) that is devoid of its natural neurotoxicity while retaining potent oncolytic activity. The envelope glycoprotein (G) of VSV was replaced with a variant glycoprotein of the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV-GP), creating a replicating therapeutic, rVSV(GP), that is benign in normal brain but can effectively eliminate brain cancer in multiple preclinical tumor models in vivo. Furthermore, it can be safely administered systemically to mice and displays greater potency against a spectrum of human cancer cell lines than current OV candidates. Remarkably, rVSV(GP) escapes humoral immunity, thus, for the first time, allowing repeated systemic OV application without loss of therapeutic efficacy. Taken together, rVSV(GP) offers a considerably improved OV platform that lacks several of the major drawbacks that have limited the clinical potential of this technology to date. Cancer Res; 74(13); 3567–78. ©2014 AACR.