bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Characterization of accessions and species of Macadamia to stem infection by Phytophthora cinnamomi
Authors: Akinsanmi O. A. , Neal J. , Drenth A. , Topp B. 
Published: June 2016

Phytophthora cinnamomi is a major pathogen in most macadamia plantations worldwide. Due to stem lesions, stem cankers and leaf defoliation, it results in loss of productivity and tree death. This study examined accessions of the four Macadamia species and their hybrids, produced via rooted stem cuttings or germinated seeds, for susceptibility to stem canker and necrotic lesions caused by P. cinnamomi. Plants were wound‐inoculated with agar containing P. cinnamomi. The symptoms produced in inoculated plants were used to characterize host susceptibility variation within and among the population. Lesion length and severity of stem canker were recorded. The four species and hybrids differed significantly in stem canker severity (P < 0.001) and lesion length (P = 0.04). Macadamia integrifolia and M. tetraphylla hybrids were the most susceptible. Macadamia integrifolia had the greatest stem canker severity and the most extensive lesions above and below the site of inoculation. Restricted lesion sizes were observed in M. ternifolia and M. jansenii. The effects of basal stem diameter and the method of propagation either from cuttings or from seed were not significant. The genetic variation in the reaction of macadamia accessions to stem infection by P. cinnamomi is discussed.
Optical coherence tomography of basal cell carcinoma: density and signal attenuation
Authors: Yücel D. , Themstrup L. , Manfredi M. , Jemec G. B. E. 
Published: June 2016

BackgroundBasal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most prevalent malignancy in Caucasians. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non‐invasive optical imaging technology using the principle of interferometry. OCT has shown a great potential in diagnosing, monitoring, and follow‐up of BCC. So far most OCT studies on the subject of BCC have had a qualitative focus, i.e. on morphological analysis of the OCT images. The aim of this study was to explore the use of quantitative OCT measurements, density, and attenuation coefficient in BCC lesions as a way to improve the OCT evaluation of BCC.MethodsThe study was based on OCT images of 58 histologically verified BCC lesions and the corresponding normal adjacent skin. The study population was divided into two groups based on the OCT morphology of the BCC lesions: the “Disrupt BCC group” and the “Nodular BCC group”. Density and attenuation coefficients were measured in the OCT images by specially designed software and the regions of interests (ROI) were placed directly on (ROI1) and under the visible BCC lesions (ROI2). The results were compared to the OCT images of normal adjacent skin.ResultsDisrupt BCC group: The densities of BCC lesions were significant lower (P = 0.002), than the normal skin in ROI1. Attenuation measurements were found to be significantly greater (P = 0.012) in BCC lesions compared to normal skin in ROI1.Nodular BCC group: Attenuation measurements were found to be significantly lower (P = 0.017) in BCC lesions compared to normal skin in ROI1.ConclusionsOur study suggests a quantitative potential of OCT in the context of BCC. This study is exploratory and requires independent verification.
Evaluation of the Techniques to Mitigate Early Shrinkage Cracking through an Image Analysis Methodology
Authors: Ruiz‐Ripoll L. , Barragán B. E. , Moro S. , Turmo J. 
Published: June 2016

AbstractNowadays, new products are introduced in concrete mixes to reduce the effects of shrinkage, which are the main reason of most of early age cracking phenomena, especially when curing is not performed in accordance to best practices. The lack of a standardized methodology to quantify concrete cracking complicates the determination of the effectiveness of different solutions and comparison between them.This research presents an evaluation through images of the suitability of fibres and shrinkage‐reducing admixtures to control early shrinkage cracking in slab‐type concrete elements. The use of this technique has permitted quantifying the typical cracking parameters objectively and analyse probabilistically the average crack width.Results show a delay and reduction of cracking after adding shrinkage‐reducing admixtures and fibres in concrete, especially 1 kg m−3of polymeric microfibres. The incorporation of these components directly into the mix modified the behaviour of concrete, reducing shrinkage cracking from the beginning of moisture losses.
Attitudes towards abortion in graduate and non-graduate entrants to medical school in Ireland
Authors: O'Grady Kevin , Doran Kieran , O'Tuathaigh Colm M P 
Published: June 2016

BackgroundRecent legislation has sought to clarify abortion law in Ireland, allowing abortion where pregnancy endangers a woman's life, including through risk of suicide. Previous studies have shown that medical students’ attitudes towards abortion can predict their likelihood to provide abortion care services in the future.AimTo survey graduate-entry (GEM) and undergraduate-entry (i.e. school-leaver; DEM) medical students in Ireland on their attitudes to abortion, in light of recent changes in legislation.MethodsIrish medical students completed an 18-item anonymous questionnaire, measuring knowledge and attitudes regarding abortion, and current Irish abortion law.ResultsOf 525 respondents (response rate 52.9%), 92% indicated that abortion was justified in specific circumstances. Over 80% stated that abortion was justified in cases of risk to the life of the mother (including risk of suicide) or where the fetus would not survive until term. 58.2% believed abortion was justified in the case of certain fetal developmental and genetic defects. 56.6% expressed a willingness to perform a legal abortion in their future practice. GEM students were more likely than DEM students to support availability of abortion services across each of the clinical scenarios. This effect was largely mediated by differences in religious adherence and continent-of-origin across both cohorts.ConclusionsThe majority of students, regardless of mode of entry, believed abortion was justified where there was a real risk to the life of the mother (including risk of suicide) or in cases of fetal non-viability. The most significant determinant of students’ beliefs was religious adherence.
Inducible T-cell co-stimulator ligand (ICOSL) blockade leads to selective inhibition of anti-KLH IgG responses in subjects with systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Sullivan B A , Tsuji W , Kivitz A , Peng J , Arnold G E , Boedigheimer M J , Chiu K , Green C L , Kaliyaperumal A , Wang C , Ferbas J , Chung J B 
Published: June 2016

ObjectivesTo evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of single-dose and multiple-dose administration of AMG 557, a human anti-inducible T cell co-stimulator ligand (ICOSL) monoclonal antibody, in subjects with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).MethodsPatients with mild, stable SLE (n=112) were enrolled in two clinical trials to evaluate the effects of single (1.8–210 mg subcutaneous or 18 mg intravenous) and multiple (6 –210 mg subcutaneous every other week (Q2W)×7) doses of AMG 557. Subjects received two 1 mg intradermal injections 28 days apart of keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH), a neoantigen, to assess PD effects of AMG 557. Safety, PK, target occupancy, anti-KLH antibody responses, lymphocyte subset analyses and SLE-associated biomarkers and clinical outcomes were assessed.ResultsAMG 557 demonstrated an acceptable safety profile. The PK properties were consistent with an antibody directed against a cell surface target, with non-linear PK observed at lower concentrations and linear PK at higher concentrations. Target occupancy by AMG 557 was dose dependent and reversible, and maximal occupancy was achieved in the setting of this trial. Anti-AMG 557 antibodies were observed, but none were neutralising and without impact on drug levels. A significant reduction in the anti-KLH IgG response was observed with AMG 557 administration without discernible changes in the anti-KLH IgM response or on the overall IgG levels. No discernible changes were seen in lymphocyte subsets or in SLE-related biomarkers and clinical measures.ConclusionsThe selective reduction in anti-KLH IgG demonstrates a PD effect of AMG 557 in subjects with SLE consistent with the biology of the ICOS pathway and supports further studies of AMG 557 as a potential therapeutic for autoimmune diseases.Trial registration numbersNCT02391259 andNCT00774943.
Photoluminescence, ellipsometric, optical and morphological studies of sprayed Co-doped ZnO films
Authors: Gençyılmaz O. , Atay F. , Akyüz İ. 
Published: June 2016

In this study, undoped and cobalt (Co)-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) films were successfully produced by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) technique at low temperature (350[Formula: see text]C). The optical and surface properties were investigated as a function of Co content. The optical parameters (thickness, refractive index and extinction coefficient) were determined using spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and it was seen that the refractive index and extinction coefficient values of Co-doped ZnO films decreased slightly depending on the increasing of Co doping. For investigation, the transmittance and photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the films, UV–Vis spectrophotometer and PL spectroscopy were used at room temperature. The transmittance spectra show that transmittance values decreased and Co[Formula: see text] ions substitute Zn[Formula: see text] ions of ZnO lattice. The optical band gap values decreased from 3.26 eV to 2.85 eV with the changing of Co content. The results of PL spectra exhibit the position of the different emission peaks unchanged but the intensity of peaks increased with increasing Co doping. Also, the surface properties of the films were obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and these results indicated that the surface morphology and roughness values were prominently changed with Co doping.
Daily Constant PV Output Power Supplying AC pumps using Batteries
Authors: Mahmoud Ismail Mohamed 
Published: June 2016

This paper presents 200 KW three phase standalone photovoltaic systems supplying pumping station consist of four pumps 40 KW rating. The system utilizes a two stage energy conversion power conditioning unit topology composed of a DC-DC boost converter and three level-three phase voltage source inverter (VSI). The Boost converter in this paper is designed to operate in continuous mode and controlled for maximum power point tracking (MPPT). The fluctuating output power of the PV array system during the day is the commonly problem in the power system. In this paper a nickel-Cadmium battery will be used to maintain the output power generated from the PV array supplying the pumps to be constant all the day under different operating conditions. The system is modeled and studied using MATLAB/Simulink
Failure Analysis and Reliability Study of NAND Flash-Based Solid State Drives
Authors: Sayyad R. , Redkar Sangram 
Published: June 2016

<p>The research focuses on conducting failure analysis and reliability study to understand and analyze the root cause of Quality, Endurance component Reliability Demonstration Test (RDT) failures and determine SSD performance capability. It addresses essential challenges in developing techniques that utilize solid-state memory technologies (with emphasis on NAND flash memory) from device, circuit, architecture, and system perspectives. These challenges include not only the performance degradation arising from the physical nature of NAND flash memory, e.g., the inability to modify data in-place read/write performance asymmetry, and slow and constrained erase functionality, but also the reliability drawbacks that limits Solid State Drives (SSDs) performance. In order to understand the nature of failures, a Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) was performed that identified the potential causes of component failures. In the course of this research, significant data gathering and analysis effort was carried out that led to a systematic evaluation of the components under consideration. </p>
Ensuring Data Integrity Scheme Based on Digital Signature and Iris Features in Cloud
Authors: H. Abbdal Salah , A. Kadhim Thair , Abduljabbar Zaid Ameen , Hussien Zaid Alaa , A. Yassin Ali , Abdulridha Hussain Mohammed , Waley Salam 
Published: June 2016

Cloud computing is a novel paradigm that allows users to remotely access their data through web- based tools and applications. Later, the users do not have the ability to monitor or arrange their data. In this case, many security challenges have been raised. One of these challenges is data integrity. Contentiously, the user cannot access his data directly and he could not know whether his data is modified or not. Therefore, the cloud service provider should provide efficient ways for the user to ascertain whether the integrity of his data is protected or compromised. In this paper, we focus on the problem of ensuring the integrity of data stored in the cloud. Additionally, we propose a method which combines biometric and cryptography techniques in a cost-effective manner for data owners to gain trust in the cloud. We present efficient and secure integrity based on the iris feature extraction and digital signature. Iris recognition has become a new, emergent approach to individual identification in the last decade. It is one of the most accurate identity verification systems. This technique gives the cloud user more confidence in detecting any block that has been changed. Additionally, our proposed scheme employs user’s iris features to secure and integrate data in a manner difficult for any internal or external unauthorized entity to take or compromise it. Iris recognition is an internal organ that is well protected against damage and wear by a highly transparent and sensitive membrane. Extensive security and performance analysis show that our proposed scheme is highly efficient and provably secure.
Prepregnancy Diabetes and Offspring Risk of Congenital Heart Disease
Authors: Øyen Nina , Diaz Lars J. , Leirgul Elisabeth , Boyd Heather A. , Priest James , Mathiesen Elisabeth R. , Quertermous Thomas , Wohlfahrt Jan , Melbye Mads 
Published: June 2016

Background—
Maternal diabetes mellitus is associated with an increased risk of offspring congenital heart defects (CHD); however, the causal mechanism is poorly understood. We further investigated this association in a Danish nationwide cohort.

Methods and Results—

In a national cohort study, we identified 2 025 727 persons born from 1978 to 2011; among them were 7296 (0.36%) persons exposed to maternal pregestational diabetes mellitus. Pregestational diabetes mellitus was identified by using the National Patient Register and individual-level information on all prescriptions filled in Danish pharmacies. Persons with CHD (n=16 325) were assigned to embryologically related cardiac phenotypes. The CHD prevalence in the offspring of mothers with pregestational diabetes mellitus was 318 per 10 000 live births (n=232) in comparison with a baseline risk of 80 per 10 000; the adjusted relative risk for CHD was 4.00 (95% confidence interval, 3.51–4.53). The association was not modified by year of birth, maternal age at diabetes onset, or diabetes duration, and CHD risks associated with type 1 (insulin-dependent) and type 2 (insulin-independent) diabetes mellitus did not differ significantly. Persons born to women with previous acute diabetes complications had a higher CHD risk than those exposed to maternal diabetes mellitus without complications (relative risk, 7.62; 95% confidence interval, 5.23–10.6, and relative risk, 3.49; 95% confidence interval, 2.91–4.13, respectively;
P
=0.0004). All specific CHD phenotypes were associated with maternal pregestational diabetes mellitus (relative risk range, 2.74–13.8).

Conclusions—
The profoundly increased CHD risk conferred by maternal pregestational diabetes mellitus neither changed over time nor differed by diabetes subtype. The association with acute pregestational diabetes complications was particularly strong, suggesting a role for glucose in the causal pathway.
RING-POROSITY AND EARLYWOOD VESSELS: A REVIEW ON EXTRACTING ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION THROUGH TIME
Authors: García-González Ignacio , Souto-Herrero Manuel , Campelo Filipe 
Published: June 2016

Many anatomical features in trees result from their reaction to fluctuating environmental conditions, and some can be measured and dated. Recently, quantitative wood anatomy has been used to build time series, and consequently to study the responses of trees through time. This involves the application of dendrochronological techniques, although some methodological adaptations are necessary when using anatomical variables. Until now, the study of continuous anatomical series has proven to be very promising when applied to the earlywood vessels of ring-porous trees, due to their great physiological relevance.
In this paper, we review the main aspects that must be considered when building continuous series of earlywood vessel features of ring-porous trees as compared to ‘classical’ dendrochronology. We first discuss the procedures for building individual series and chronologies, starting with the selection of variables, examining their statistical properties, and assessing how crossdating and detrending should be adapted. We also show that time series of earlywood vessels usually exhibit a low common signal, but in contrast are strongly related to climate, and often reveal responses not recorded by the classical dendrochronological variables.
In addition, we deal with the optimization of environmental signals, by first evaluating multiple potential variables to be used, and indicate how to reduce their number according to the relations among them. As earlywood variables are basically determined by vessel number or vessel size, we discuss the search for the most appropriate variable to characterize vessel number, as well as the advantage of progressively selecting earlywood vessels attending to their size and position.
Finally, we extend the application of these methodologies to diffuse-porous species as compared to ring-porous trees, and show that the climatic signal contained in their anatomical features is also relevant, provided that vessels are carefully selected upon their location within the ring.
Warm Cores, Eyewall Slopes, and Intensities of Tropical Cyclones Simulated by a 7-km-Mesh Global Nonhydrostatic Model
Authors: Ohno Tomoki , Satoh Masaki , Yamada Yohei 
Published: June 2016

AbstractBased on the data of a 1-yr simulation by a global nonhydrostatic model with 7-km horizontal grid spacing, the relationships among warm-core structures, eyewall slopes, and the intensities of tropical cyclones (TCs) were investigated. The results showed that stronger TCs generally have warm-core maxima at higher levels as their intensities increase. It was also found that the height of a warm-core maximum ascends (descends) as the TC intensifies (decays). To clarify how the height and amplitude of warm-core maxima are related to TC intensity, the vortex structures of TCs were investigated. By gradually introducing simplifications of the thermal wind balance, it was established that warm-core structures can be reconstructed using only the tangential wind field within the inner-core region and the ambient temperature profile. A relationship between TC intensity and eyewall slope was investigated by introducing a parameter that characterizes the shape of eyewalls and can be evaluated from satellite measurements. The authors found that the eyewall slope becomes steeper (shallower) as the TC intensity increases (decreases). Based on a balanced model, the authors proposed a relationship between TC intensity and eyewall slope. The result of the proposed model is consistent with that of the analysis using the simulation data. Furthermore, for sufficiently strong TCs, the authors found that the height of the warm-core maximum increases as the slope becomes steeper, which is consistent with previous observational studies. These results suggest that eyewall slopes can be used to diagnose the intensities and structures of TCs.
A Spatial–Dynamical Framework for Evaluation of Satellite Rainfall Products for Flood Prediction
Authors: Quintero Felipe , Krajewski Witold F. , Mantilla Ricardo , Small Scott , Seo Bong-Chul 
Published: June 2016

Abstract
Rainfall maps that are derived from satellite observations provide hydrologists with an unprecedented opportunity to forecast floods globally. However, the limitations of using these precipitation estimates with respect to producing reliable flood forecasts at multiple scales are not well understood. To address the scientific and practical question of applicability of space-based rainfall products for global flood forecasting, a data evaluation framework is developed that allows tracking the rainfall effects in space and time across scales in the river network. This provides insights on the effects of rainfall product resolution and uncertainty. Obtaining such insights is not possible when the hydrologic evaluation is based on discharge observations from single gauges. The proposed framework also explores the ability of hydrologic model structure to answer questions pertaining to the utility of space-based rainfall observations for flood forecasting. To illustrate the framework, hydrometeorological data collected during the Iowa Flood Studies (IFloodS) campaign in Iowa are used to perform a hydrologic simulation using two different rainfall–runoff model structures and three rainfall products, two of which are radar based [stage IV and Iowa Flood Center (IFC)] and one satellite based [TMPA–Research Version (RV)]. This allows for exploring the differences in rainfall estimates at several spatial and temporal scales and provides improved understanding of how these differences affect flood predictions at multiple basin scales. The framework allows for exploring the differences in peak flow estimation due to nonlinearities in the hydrologic model structure and determining how these differences behave with an increase in the upstream area through the drainage network. The framework provides an alternative evaluation of precipitation estimates, based on the diagnostics of hydrological model results.