bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Voice outcome measures after flexible endoscopic injection laryngoplasty
Authors: Hamdan Abdul‐Latif , Rizk Marwan , Khalifee Elie , Ziade Georges , Kasti Maher 
Published: July 2018

ObjectiveTo report voice outcome measures after injection laryngoplasty using the transnasal or transoral flexible endoscopic technique.MethodsA retrospective review of all patients who underwent flexible endoscopic injection laryngoplasty between June 2010 and August 2016 was carried out. Only those patients who had pre‐ and post‐injection voice outcome measures recorded were included. Voice outcome measures recorded included perceptual voice evaluation using GRBAS, Voice Handicap Index‐10 (VHI‐10), maximum phonation time (MPT) and closed quotient (CQ) before and after treatment.ResultsForty‐six patients were identified, of which 32 had pre‐ and post‐injection voice outcome measures recorded. There were 19 males and 13 females. The mean age was 56.97 years (range 20–86 years) and the most common indication was unilateral vocal fold paralysis. Thirteen patients had a transnasal flexible endoscopic injection), while 19 patients were injected transorally. Following injection laryngoplasty, there was significant improvement in the mean grade of dysphonia (2.81 vs. 1.22, P < 0.01, roughness (2.44 vs. 1.34, P < 0.01), breathiness (2.72 vs. 1.13, P < 0.01), asthenia (2.78 vs. 1.06, P < 0.01), and strain (2.44 vs. 1.19, P < 0.01), MPT (3.85 s vs. 9.85 s, P < 0.01) and mean CQ (0.19 vs. 0.46, P < 0.01). There was also a decrease in the mean VHI‐10 score (33.31 vs. 7.94, P < 0.01).Conclusions: Patients achieved significant improvement in both subjective and objective voice measures after flexible endoscopic injection laryngoplasty via the nasal or transoral route. Voice outcomes were comparable to those reported for other approaches. This technique provides an alternative approach for the management of patients with vocal fold paralysis or glottal insufficiency.
Analytical structural behaviour of elastic flapping wings under the actuator effect
Authors: Zare H. , Pourtakdoust Seid H. , Bighashdel A. 
Published: July 2018

ABSTRACTThe effect of inertial forces on the Structural Dynamics (SD) behaviour of Elastic Flapping Wings (EFWs) is investigated. In this regard, an analytical modal-based SD solution of EFW undergoing a prescribed rigid body motion is initially derived. The formulated initial-value problem is solved analytically to study the EFW structural responses, and sensitivity with respect to EFWs’ key parameters. As a case study, a rectangular wing undergoing a prescribed sinusoidal motion is simulated. The analytical solution is derived for the first time and helps towards a conceptual understanding of the overall EFW's SD behaviour and its analysis required in their designs. Specifically, the EFW transient and steady response in on-off servo condition is also attended.
Independent caudal fin actuation enables high energy extraction and control in two-dimensional fish-like group swimming
Authors: Gao Amy , Triantafyllou Michael S. 
Published: July 2018

We study through numerical simulation the optimal hydrodynamic interactions and basic vorticity control mechanisms for two fish-like bodies swimming in tandem. We show that for a fish swimming in the wake of an upstream fish, using independent pitch control of its caudal fin, in addition to optimized body motion, results in reduction of the energy needed for self-propulsion by more than 50 %, providing a quasi-propulsive efficiency of 90 %, up from 60 % without independent caudal fin control. Such high efficiency is found over a narrow parametric range and is possible only when the caudal fin is allowed to pitch independently from the motion of the main body. We identify the vorticity control mechanisms employed by the body and tail to achieve this remarkable performance through thrust augmentation and destructive interference with the upstream fish-generated vortices. A high sensitivity of the propulsive performance to small variations in caudal fin parameters is found, underlying the importance of accurate flow sensing and feedback control. We further demonstrate that using lateral line-like flow measurements to drive an unscented Kalman filter, the near-field vortices can be localized within 1 % of the body length, and be used with a phase-lock controller to drive the body and tail undulation of a self-propelled fish, moving within the wake of an upstream fish, to stably reach the optimal gait and fully achieve maximum energy extraction.
Annual Variations of 14C Concentration in the Tree Rings in the Vicinity of Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant
Authors: Ežerinskis Žilvinas , Šapolaitė Justina , Pabedinskas Algirdas , Juodis Laurynas , Garbaras Andrius , Maceika Evaldas , Druteikienė Rūta , Lukauskas Darius , Remeikis Vidmantas 
Published: July 2018

ABSTRACTIn this paper we analyze the radiocarbon (14C) concentration changes over the whole operational period of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) including the post-shutdown decommissioning. Environmental samples from the vicinity of the INPP and a rural area as background of pine tree rings were analyzed with the single stage accelerator mass spectrometer (SSAMS). The analysis shows the local influence of the INPP from 3 to 7 pMC. The whole time span from 1983 to 2015 is divided into three periods representing the early and late operational and post-shutdown stages of the INPP with different 14C profiles in analyzed samples. The influence of the maintenance of the INPP and radioactive waste management activities are indicated and discussed.
New AMS Dates for Verteba Cave and Stable Isotope Evidence of Human Diet in The Holocene Forest-Steppe, Ukraine
Authors: Ledogar Sarah H , Karsten Jordan K , Madden Gwyn D , Schmidt Ryan , Sokohatskyi Mykhailo P , Feranec Robert S 
Published: July 2018

ABSTRACTExcavations at several locations in Verteba Cave have uncovered a large amount of human skeletal remains in association with faunal bones and Tripolye material culture. We aim to establish radiocarbon (14C) dates for eight sites and to evaluate whether these deposits are singular events, or slow accumulations over time.14C measurements, along with stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data from human and faunal remains, were collected from 18 specimens. Stable isotope values were used to evaluate human and animal diet, and whether freshwater reservoir effects offset measured dates. We found diets of the sampled species had limited to no influence from freshwater resources. Human diet appears to be dominated by terrestrial plants and herbivores. Four new sites were identified as Eneolithic. Comparisons of dates from top and bottom strata for two sites (7 and 20) reveal coeval dates, and we suggest that these deposits represent discrete events rather than slow continuous use. Lastly, we identified dates from the Mesolithic (8490±45 BP, 8765±30 BP), Iron Age (2505±20 BP), Slavic state era (1315±25 BP), and Medieval Period (585±15 BP), demonstrating periodic use of the cave by humans prior to and after the Eneolithic.
Estimation of additive and dominance genetic variance components for female fertility traits in Iranian Holstein cows
Authors: Ghiasi H. , Abdollahi-Arpanahi R. , Razmkabir M. , Khaldari M. , Taherkhani R. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractThe aim of the current study was to estimate additive and dominance genetic variance components for days from calving to first service (DFS), a number of services to conception (NSC) and days open (DO). Data consisted of 25 518 fertility records from first parity dairy cows collected from 15 large Holstein herds of Iran. To estimate the variance components, two models, one including only additive genetic effects and another fitting both additive and dominance genetic effects together, were used. The additive and dominance relationship matrices were constructed using pedigree data. The estimated heritability for DFS, NSC and DO were 0.068, 0.035 and 0.067, respectively. The differences between estimated heritability using the additive genetic and additive-dominance genetic models were negligible regardless of the trait under study. The estimated dominance variance was larger than the estimated additive genetic variance. The ratio of dominance variance to phenotypic variance was 0.260, 0.231 and 0.196 for DFS, NSC and DO, respectively. Akaike's information criteria indicated that the model fitting both additive and dominance genetic effects is the best model for analysing DFS, NSC and DO. Spearman's rank correlations between the predicted breeding values (BV) from additive and additive-dominance models were high (0.99). Therefore, ranking of the animals based on predicted BVs was the same in both models. The results of the current study confirmed the importance of taking dominance variance into account in the genetic evaluation of dairy cows.
Projection-operator methods for classical transport in magnetized plasmas. Part 1. Linear response, the Braginskii equations and fluctuating hydrodynamics
Authors: Krommes John A. 
Published: July 2018

An introduction to the use of projection-operator methods for the derivation of classical fluid transport equations for weakly coupled, magnetised, multispecies plasmas is given. In the present work, linear response (small perturbations from an absolute Maxwellian) is addressed. In the Schrödinger representation, projection onto the hydrodynamic subspace leads to the conventional linearized Braginskii fluid equations when one restricts attention to fluxes of first order in the gradients, while the orthogonal projection leads to an alternative derivation of the Braginskii correction equations for the non-hydrodynamic part of the one-particle distribution function. The projection-operator approach provides an appealingly intuitive way of discussing the derivation of transport equations and interpreting the significance of the various parts of the perturbed distribution function; it is also technically more concise. A special case of the Weinhold metric is used to provide a covariant representation of the formalism; this allows a succinct demonstration of the Onsager symmetries for classical transport. The Heisenberg representation is used to derive a generalized Langevin system whose mean recovers the linearized Braginskii equations but that also includes fluctuating forces. Transport coefficients are simply related to the two-time correlation functions of those forces, and physical pictures of the various transport processes are naturally couched in terms of them. A number of appendices review the traditional Chapman–Enskog procedure; record some properties of the linearized Landau collision operator; discuss the covariant representation of the hydrodynamic projection; provide an example of the calculation of some transport effects; describe the decomposition of the stress tensor for magnetised plasma; introduce the linear eigenmodes of the Braginskii equations; and, with the aid of several examples, mention some caveats for the use of projection operators.
Soil characteristics influencing the spatial distribution of melioidosis in Far North Queensland, Australia
Authors: Goodrick I. , Todd G. , Stewart J. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractThe environmental bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei, is responsible for the potentially fatal disease melioidosis. Factors responsible for the temporospatial distribution of cases are incompletely understood, although a combination of rainfall, groundwater levels and the physicochemical properties of soil are important. The distribution of culture-positive cases of melioidosis from 1996 to 2016 in Far North Queensland, Australia, was investigated to determine the association with different soil types and landforms in Cairns, the region's largest city. Cases were clustered on alluvial fan landforms of strongly bleached gradational textured and yellow massive gradational textured soils indicating these soils are more suitable for B. pseudomallei and risk of melioidosis infection is higher in these areas, cases were less frequent on other soil types on alluvial fan landforms (despite comparable population density) and beach ridges. This indicates that the combination of these soils might be more suitable for B. pseudomallei, increasing the risk of disease in these locations. Sociodemographic characterisics of the population in cluster locations were considered. Knowledge of local soil characteristics may help predict cases of melioidosis and inform public health strategies to prevent the disease. Because melioidosis case clusters were identified, testing for the presence of B. pseudomallei across the study area is a useful target of future research.
Utility of serial 12-lead electrocardiograms in children with Marfan syndrome
Authors: Arunamata Alisa A. , Nguyen Charles T. , Ceresnak Scott R. , Dubin Anne M. , Olson Inger L. , Murphy Daniel J. , Selamet Tierney Elif S. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractObjectivesThe goal of this study was to assess the utility of serial electrocardiograms in routine follow-up of paediatric Marfan patients.MethodsChildren ⩽18 years who met the revised Ghent criteria for Marfan syndrome and received a 12-lead electrocardiogram and echocardiogram within a 3-month period were included. Controls were matched by age, body surface area, gender, race, and ethnicity, and consisted of patients assessed in clinic with a normal cardiac evaluation. Demographic, clinical, echocardiographic, and electrocardiographic data were collected.ResultsA total of 45 Marfan patients (10.8 [2.4–17.1] years) and 37 controls (12.8 [1.3–17.1] years) were included. Left atrial enlargement and left ventricular hypertrophy were more frequently present on 12-lead electrocardiogram of Marfan patients compared with controls (12 (27%) versus 0 (0%), p<0.001; and 8 (18%) versus 0 (0%), p=0.008, respectively); however, only two patients with left atrial enlargement on 12-lead electrocardiogram were confirmed to have left atrial enlargement by echocardiogram, and one patient had mild left ventricular hypertrophy by echocardiogram, not appreciated on 12-lead electrocardiogram. QTc interval was longer in Marfan patients compared with controls (427±16 versus 417±22 ms, p=0.03), with four Marfan patients demonstrating borderline prolonged QTc intervals for gender.ConclusionsWhile Marfan patients exhibited a higher frequency of left atrial enlargement and left ventricular hypertrophy on 12-lead electrocardiograms compared with controls, these findings were not supported by echocardiography. Serial 12-lead electrocardiograms in routine follow-up of asymptomatic paediatric Marfan patients may be more appropriate for a subgroup of Marfan patients only, specifically those with prolonged QTc interval at their baseline visit.
A label survey to identify ingredients potentially containing GM organisms to estimate intake exposure in Brazil
Authors: Cortese Rayza Dal Molin , Martinelli Suellen Secchi , Fabri Rafaela Karen , Proença Rossana Pacheco da Costa , Cavalli Suzi Barletto 
Published: July 2018

AbstractObjectiveTo identify ingredients from products and by-products derived from GM crops in packaged food products and to analyse the presence of these ingredients in the foods most commonly consumed by the Brazilian population.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingA search of the scientific literature to identify the use of products and by-products derived from GM crops in foods in Brazil and a study of food labels in a supermarket belonging to one of the ten largest supermarket chains in Brazil.SubjectsTo identify the ingredients present in packaged food products and their nomenclatures, the labels of all packaged food products available for sale in a supermarket were analysed. Subsequently, the presence of potential GM ingredients in the foods most commonly consumed by the Brazilian population was analysed.ResultsA total of twenty-eight GM crops’ by-products with applications in the food industry (from soyabeans, corn, cotton and a yeast) were identified. Such by-products are presented as food ingredients or additives on food labels with 101 distinct nomenclatures. Most of the variety (63·8 %) and the quantity (64·5 %) of the foods most commonly consumed by Brazilians may contain a least one GM ingredient.ConclusionsThe presence of at least one potential GM ingredient was observed in more than half of the variety of foods most commonly consumed by the Brazilian population. Such ingredients were identified with distinct nomenclatures and incomplete descriptions, which may make it difficult to identify potential GM foods and confuse consumers when making food choices.
A new class of nondiffracting pulses based on focusing leaky waves
Authors: Fuscaldo Walter , Comite Davide , Boesso Alessandro , Baccarelli Paolo , Burghignoli Paolo , Galli Alessandro 
Published: July 2018

AbstractIn this work, we propose an azimuthally-invariant periodic leaky-wave (LW) radiator for the generation of Bessel beams and X-waves by means of backward cylindrical LWs at millimeter wavelengths. A rigorous framework is first outlined to understand the theoretical constraints of such a novel design. A specific attention is devoted to the impact of the attenuation constant on the focusing properties of the generated Bessel beams. On this basis, a practical design is then proposed to meet the previous requirements. Numerical results for different frequency spectra confirm the interesting capabilities of the considered structure, paving the way for the first generation of nondiffracting pulses produced by focusing LWs.
CPW-fed concurrent, dual band planar antenna for millimeter wave applications
Authors: Agarwal Smriti , Singh Dharmendra 
Published: July 2018

AbstractIn recent years, millimeter wave (MMW) has received tremendous interest among researchers, which offers systems with high data rate communication, portability, and finer resolution. The design of the antenna at MMWs is challenging as it suffers from fabrication and measurement complexities due to associated smaller dimensions. Current state-of-the-art MMW dual-band antenna techniques demand high precision fabrication, which increases the overall cost of the system. Henceforth, the design of an MMW antenna with fabrication and measurement simplicity is quite challenging. In this paper, a simple coplanar waveguide (CPW) fed single-band MMW antenna operating at 94 GHz (W band) and a dual-band MMW antenna operating concurrently at 60 GHz (V band) and 86 GHz (E band) have been designed, fabricated, and measured. A 50 Ω CPW-to-microstrip transition has also been designed to facilitate probe measurement compatibility and to provide proper feeding to the antenna. The fabricated single frequency 94 GHz antenna shows a fractional bandwidth of 11.2% andE-plane (H-plane) gain 6.17 dBi (6.2 dBi). Furthermore, the designed MMW dual-band antenna shows fractional bandwidth: 2/6.4%, andE-plane (H-plane) gain: 7.29 dBi (7.36 dBi)/8.73 dBi (8.68 dBi) at 60/86 GHz, respectively. The proposed antenna provides a simple and cost-effective solution for different MMW applications.
Protection of migrants from enforced disappearance: A human rights perspective
Authors: Duhaime Bernard , Thibault Andréanne 
Published: July 2018

AbstractThis article looks at the issue of enforced disappearances of migrants during their migratory journey or once they have reached their destination, a subject yet to be addressed in the literature. It examines how the legal and analytical framework provided by international human rights law and migration law applies to enforced disappearances of migrants. It then reviews the factors that contribute to this phenomenon in different contexts, including the disappearance of migrants for political reasons, those that take place in detention and deportation processes and those that take place within the context of migrant smuggling and trafficking.
Partial Castastrophism and Pick & Choose Empiricism: The Science of “Creationist” Geology
Authors: Frazier William J. 
Published: July 2018

“Scientific creationists” have created their own version of geology in order to defend their axiomatic insistance on a young Earth. To “prove” the Earth's youth, they cite (among other things) measured decay-rates of Earth's magnetic field and concentrations of elements in seawater. They also state that all plutons are quick frozen, that plutonic igneous rocks bear no relation to modern volcanism, and that all sedimentary rocks must be interpreted in terms of a “global hydrologic singularity,” i.e. Noah's Flood.Having explicitly denied uniformitarianism and embraced catastrophism, “Creationists” renege by using uniformitarian reasoning over and again. They practice “pick & choose” empiricism by citing only those data which seem to support their case. “Creationists” even choose when and if to apply scientific principles, e.g. their use of thermodynamics to “disprove” organic evolution while ignoring thermodynamics' implications for magma cooling and metamorphism.The methods of “Creationism” are clearly intended not to increase knowledge of the Earth but to delude the scientifically unsophisticated. Thus, “Creationism” can hardly be considered a science. Further, its repeated use of fallacious thinking brands “Creationism” as hopelessly illogical and its disingenuous statements and tactics disqualify it from even the ranks of nonempirical epistemological systems.
Heterochrony and the Problem of Missing Links in Evolutionary Sequences
Authors: Broadhead Thomas W. , Waters Johnny A. 
Published: July 2018

Critics of the concept of organic change through time have demanded proof not only of “transitional forms” but of specific transitions among higher taxonomic groups. Transitional forms among species and between a species of one genus and a species of another genus have been criticized because most demonstrated ancestor-descendant transitions are considered to occur within one “kind” of organism; the “kind” concept is bereft of biological meaning.Natural selection acts upon organisms at all stages of ontogeny, and especially at larval-juvenile stages. Large shifts in the morphology of one or more features are common in groups of organisms that evolve by heterochrony. Because heterochrony involves a change in timing of the appearance or development of a particular feature, recognition of heterochrony requires a confident knowledge of ontogeny. The resulting increase in complexity (e.g. recapitulation) or decrease in complexity (e.g. paedomorphosis), well documented among living organisms, commonly excludes morphologic intermediates. Paedomorphosis is especially important in the evolution of progressively simplifying lineages and has been well documented from living plants and animals and fossil representatives of echinoderms (blastoids, crinoids), conodonts, arthropods, mollusks and vertebrates. Heterochrony characterizes the evolution of most metazoan organisms, occurs at all taxonomic levels and was probably responsible for major innovations by which higher taxonomic groups are recognized.