bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Regionally Enhanced Multiphase Segmentation Technique for Damaged Surfaces
Authors: O'Byrne Michael , Ghosh Bidisha , Schoefs Franck , Pakrashi Vikram 
Published: September 2014

AbstractImaging‐based damage detection techniques are increasingly being utilized alongside traditional visual inspection methods to provide owners/operators of infrastructure with an efficient source of quantitative information for ensuring their continued safe and economic operation. However, there exists scope for significant development of improved damage detection algorithms that can characterize features of interest in challenging scenes with credibility. This article presents a new regionally enhanced multiphase segmentation (REMPS) technique that is designed to detect a broad range of damage forms on the surface of civil infrastructure. The technique is successfully applied to a corroding infrastructure component in a harbour facility. REMPS integrates spatial and pixel relationships to identify, classify, and quantify the area of damaged regions to a high degree of accuracy. The image of interest is preprocessed through a contrast enhancement and color reduction scheme. Features in the image are then identified using a Sobel edge detector, followed by subsequent classification using a clustering‐based filtering technique. Finally, support vector machines are used to classify pixels which are locally supplemented onto damaged regions to improve their size and shape characteristics. The performance of REMPS in different color spaces is investigated for best detection on the basis of receiver operating characteristics curves. The superiority of REMPS over existing segmentation approaches is demonstrated, in particular when considering high dynamic range imagery. It is shown that REMPS easily extends beyond the application presented and may be considered an effective and versatile standalone segmentation technique.
Light intensity and temperature affect systemic spread of silencing signal in transient agroinfiltration studies
Authors: Patil Basavaprabhu L. , Fauquet Claude M. 
Published: September 2014

SummaryRNA silencing is a sequence‐specific post‐transcriptional gene inactivation mechanism that operates in diverse organisms and that can extend beyond its site of initiation, owing to the movement of the silencing signal, called non‐autonomous gene silencing. Previous studies have shown that several factors manifest the movement of the silencing signal, such as the size (21 or 24 nucleotides) of the secondary small interfering RNA (siRNA) produced, the steady‐state concentration of siRNAs and their cognate messenger RNA (mRNA) or a change in the sink–source status of plant parts affecting phloem translocation. Our study shows that both light intensity and temperature have a significant impact on the systemic movement of the silencing signal in transient agroinfiltration studies in Nicotiana benthamiana. At higher light intensities (≥450 μE/m2/s) and higher temperatures (≥30 °C), gene silencing was localized to leaf tissue that was infiltrated, without any systemic spread. Interestingly, in these light and temperature conditions (≥450 μE/m2/s and ≥30 °C), the N. benthamiana plants showed recovery from the viral symptoms. However, the reduced systemic silencing and reduced viral symptom severity at higher light intensities were caused by a change in the sink–source status of the plant, ultimately affecting the phloem translocation of small RNAs or the viral genome. In contrast, at lower light intensities (<300 μE/m2/s) with a constant temperature of 25 °C, there was strong systemic movement of the silencing signal in the N. benthamiana plants and reduced recovery from virus infections. The accumulation of gene‐specific siRNAs was reduced at higher temperature as a result of a reduction in the accumulation of transcript on transient agroinfiltration of RNA interference (RNAi) constructs, mostly because of poor T‐DNA transfer activity of Agrobacterium, possibly also accompanied by reduced phloem translocation.
Evidence‐based Medicine in Animal Reproduction
Authors: Arlt SP , Heuwieser W 
Published: September 2014

ContentsWith new knowledge being generated and published daily, the importance of evidence‐based approaches in veterinary medicine is obvious. Clinicians must stay current or risk making poor decisions that clients may challenge. Especially in animal reproduction, several new substances and procedures to diagnose or treat reproductive disorders have been introduced in the last years. On the other hand, a closer look at the quality of published literature on animal reproduction reveals major deficits in methodology and reporting of many clinical trials. We strongly recommend systematically assessing the quality of scientific information when reading journal papers before using the given information in practice. The aim of evidence‐based medicine (EBM) is to base the decisions in the practice of medicine on valid, clinically relevant research data. Therefore, we suggest that students should become familiar with the concepts of evidence‐based veterinary medicine (EBVM) at the beginning of their veterinary education. Concepts and supporting tools such as checklists for literature assessment have been developed and validated. The purpose of this article is to review and discuss the importance of incorporating EBVM in animal reproduction. The need for further research that produces strong evidence in different fields of animal reproduction and better reporting of relevant study information is obvious.
Seminal Fluid and Immune Adaptation for Pregnancy – Comparative Biology in Mammalian Species
Authors: Schjenken JE , Robertson SA 
Published: September 2014

ContentsSeminal fluid delivered to the female reproductive tract at coitus not only promotes the survival and fertilizing capacity of spermatozoa, but also contains potent signalling agents that influence female reproductive physiology to improve the chances of conception and reproductive success. Male to female seminal fluid signalling occurs in rodents, domestic and livestock animals, and all other mammals examined to date. Seminal plasma is instrumental in eliciting the female response, by provision of cytokines and prostaglandins synthesized in the male accessory glands. These agents bind to receptors on target cells in the cervix and uterus, activating changes in gene expression leading to functional adaptations in the female tissues. Sperm also interact with female tract cells, although the molecular basis of this interaction is not yet defined. The consequences are increased sperm survival and fertilization rates, conditioning of the female immune response to tolerate semen and the conceptus, and molecular and cellular changes in the endometrium that facilitate embryo development and implantation. Studies in porcine, equine, bovine, ovine and canine species all show evidence of male–female signalling function for seminal fluid. There are variations between species that relate to their different reproductive strategies and behaviours, particularly the site of seminal fluid deposition and female reproductive tract anatomy. Although the details of the molecular mechanisms require more study, the available data are consistent with both the sperm and plasma fractions of seminal fluid acting in a synergistic fashion to activate inflammation‐like responses and downstream female tract changes in each of these species. Insight into the biological function and molecular basis of seminal fluid signalling in the female will inform new interventions and management practices to support optimal reproductive outcomes in domestic, livestock and endangered animal species.
Effect of Breeding Activity on the Microflora of the External Genitalia and in the Semen of Stallions, and the Relationship Between Micro‐organisms on the Skin and on the External Genitalia
Authors: Guimarães T , Miranda C , Pinto M , Silva E , Damásio L , Costa AL , Correia MJ , Duarte JC , Cosinha C , Lopes G , Thompson G , Rocha A 
Published: September 2014

ContentsA possible role of breeding activities in the composition of the microbial population in stallions' external genitalia (EG) and the relationship between micro‐organisms colonizing the skin of the abdomen and the ones colonizing the EG have not been studied. In experiment 1, EG microbiological samples were collected from 41 stallions used for both natural cover and semen collection (BST) and from 18 non‐breeding stallions (NBST). A higher (p < 0.05) frequency of isolation of potentially pathogenic species was found for BST. Age did not influence number of micro‐organism species isolated both in BST and NBST. In experiment 2, the microbial content of the EG and semen was compared in 23 BST. Most micro‐organisms isolated from the EG were present in semen, albeit with a numerically lower prevalence. In 7 stallions, six microbial species isolated from semen were absent from the EG cultures, suggesting contamination by the operator. In experiment 3, a numerically higher number of micro‐organism species was isolated from the EG of 31 stallions, than from their skin of the ventral abdomen in contact with the penis or from the skin of the thorax. With the sole exception of Escherichia coli, potentially pathogenic bacteria were only isolated from the EG but not from the skin. Results suggest that breeding activity increased the number of species colonizing the EG; most species isolated from the EG were also found in semen even if with a lower frequency, and additional semen contamination seemed to occur during its manipulation. Many micro‐organism species of the skin were also isolated from the penis, but independently of being or not in contact with the penis, skin did not seem to provide an adequate environment for the growth of potentially pathogenic bacteria that were isolated from EG, with the sole exception for E. coli.
Putting lung function and physiology into perspective: cystic fibrosis in adults
Authors: Horsley Alex , Siddiqui Salman 
Published: September 2014

AbstractAdult cystic fibrosis (CF) is notable for the wide heterogeneity in severity of disease expression, both between patients and within the lungs of individuals. Although CF airways disease appears to start in the small airways, in adults there is typically widespread bronchiectasis, increased airway secretions, and extensive obstruction and inflammation of the small airways. The complexity and heterogeneity of airways disease in CF means that although there are many different methods of assessing and describing lung ‘function’, none of these single‐dimensional tests is able to provide a comprehensive assessment of lung physiology across the spectrum seen in adult CF. The most widely described measure, the forced expiratory volume in 1 s, remains a useful and simple clinical tool, but is insensitive to early changes and may be dissociated from other more detailed assessments of disease severity such as computed tomography. In this review, we also discuss the use of more sensitive novel assessments such as multiple breath washout tests and impulse oscillometry, as well as the role of cardiopulmonary exercise testing. In the future, hyperpolarized gas magnetic resonance imaging techniques that combine regional structural and functional information may help us to better understand these measures, their applications and limitations.
The Market for Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance
Authors: Fier Stephen G. , Liebenberg Andre P. 
Published: September 2014

AbstractDirectors’ and officers’ (D&O) liability insurance is a commonly used risk management tool for corporations both in the United States and abroad. While prior research has focused on the demand for D&O insurance and its role in corporate governance, there is an absence of literature on the supply side of the D&O market. Using the newly available D&O Insurance Coverage Supplement to insurers’ statutory filings, we develop a more comprehensive understanding of the D&O insurance market and of those firms that write D&O coverage. We develop and estimate a model of the decision to write D&O insurance and the extent of market participation. Our results suggest that there are significant operational and financial differences between firms that supply D&O insurance and those that do not. Several of these differences (specifically, size, diversification, and organizational form) are consistent with the predictions of the managerial discretion hypothesis.
Deep sequencing of the ancestral tobacco species Nicotiana tomentosiformis reveals multiple T‐DNA inserts and a complex evolutionary history of natural transformation in the genus Nicotiana
Authors: Chen Ke , Dorlhac de Borne François , Szegedi Ernö , Otten Léon 
Published: September 2014

SummaryNicotiana species carry cellular T‐DNA sequences (cT‐DNAs), acquired by Agrobacterium‐mediated transformation. We characterized the cT‐DNA sequences of the ancestral Nicotiana tabacum species Nicotiana tomentosiformis by deep sequencing. N. tomentosiformis contains four cT‐DNA inserts derived from different Agrobacterium strains. Each has an incomplete inverted‐repeat structure. TA is similar to part of the Agrobacterium rhizogenes 1724 mikimopine‐type T‐DNA, but has unusual orf14 and mis genes. TB carries a 1724 mikimopine‐type orf14‐mis fragment and a mannopine‐agropine synthesis region (mas2‐mas1‐ags). The mas2′ gene codes for an active enzyme. TC is similar to the left part of the A. rhizogenes A4 T‐DNA, but also carries octopine synthase‐like (ocl) and c‐like genes normally found in A. tumefaciens. TD shows a complex rearrangement of T‐DNA fragments similar to the right end of the A4 TL‐DNA, and including an orf14‐like gene and a gene with unknown function, orf511. The TA, TB, TC and TD insertion sites were identified by alignment with N. tabacum and Nicotiana sylvestris sequences. The divergence values for the TA, TB, TC and TD repeats provide an estimate for their relative introduction times. A large deletion has occurred in the central part of the N. tabacum cv. Basma/Xanthi TA region, and another deletion removed the complete TC region in N. tabacum. Nicotiana otophora lacks TA, TB and TD, but contains TC and another cT‐DNA, TE. This analysis, together with that of Nicotiana glauca and other Nicotiana species, indicates multiple sequential insertions of cT‐DNAs during the evolution of the genus Nicotiana.
Relative IgA‐deficient recipients have an increased risk of severe allergic transfusion reactions
Authors: Anani W. , Triulzi D. , Yazer M. H. , Qu L. 
Published: September 2014

BackgroundAbsolute IgA deficiency is the most common immunodeficiency in the Western world. These patients are at risk of severe allergic reactions when receiving a transfusion with a plasma‐containing blood product. However, it is unclear whether patients with relative IgA deficiency, that is levels below detection on routine assays, are also at risk of severe reactions. This retrospective study evaluated the number of severe allergic transfusion reactions in relative IgA‐deficient patients who were transfused with unwashed blood products.Study Design and MethodsPatients who had an IgA measurement performed for any reason over a 10‐year period were compared with a list of transfusion recipients over the same period. Those who had both an IgA measurement and a transfusion were then compared with the transfusion reaction database to determine whether an allergic reaction had been reported, and if so, the severity of the reaction. Patients with IgA concentrations of <7 mg/dL were defined as relative IgA deficient.ResultsOf the 22 362 IgA measurements performed on 19 737 patients over 10 years, a total of 168 relative IgA‐deficient patients were identified; 39 of these patients were also transfusion recipients and 4 of 39 (10%) experienced a severe allergic transfusion reaction (SALTR). Eight SALTRs were reported amongst 1545 (0·52%) IgA replete transfusion recipients.ConclusionThe significantly increased risk of SALTRs in relative IgA‐deficient patients warrants consideration of premedications and/or washing of plasma‐containing blood products.
Detection of Invasive Borrelia burgdorferi Strains in North‐Eastern Piedmont, Italy
Authors: Pintore M. D. , Ceballos L. , Iulini B. , Tomassone L. , Pautasso A. , Corbellini D. , Rizzo F. , Mandola M. L. , Bardelli M. , Peletto S. , Acutis P. L. , Mannelli A. , Casalone C. 
Published: September 2014

SummaryFollowing reports of human cases of Lyme borreliosis from the Ossola Valley, a mountainous area of Piemonte, north‐western Italy, the abundance and altitudinal distribution of ticks, and infection of these vectors with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato were evaluated. A total of 1662 host‐seeking Ixodes ricinus were collected by dragging from April to September 2011 at locations between 400 and 1450 m above sea level. Additional 104 I. ricinus were collected from 35 hunted wild animals (4 chamois, 8 roe deer, 23 red deer). Tick density, expressed as the number of ticks per 100 m2, resulted highly variable among different areas, ranging from 0 to 105 larvae and from 0 to 22 nymphs. A sample of 352 ticks (327 from dragging and 25 from wild animals) was screened by a PCR assay targeting a fragment of the 16S rRNA gene of B. burgdorferi s.l. Positive samples were confirmed with a PCR assay specific for the 5S‐23S rRNA intergenic spacer region and sequenced. Four genospecies were found: B. afzelii (prevalence 4.0%), B. lusitaniae (4.0%), B. garinii (1.5%) and B. valaisiana (0.3%). Phylogenetic analysis based on the ospC gene showed that most of the Borrelia strains from pathogenic genospecies had the potential for human infection and for invasion of secondary body sites.
The diminished base locus is not always closed
Authors: Lesieutre John 
Published: September 2014

AbstractWe exhibit a pseudoeffective$\mathbb{R}$-divisor${D}_{\lambda }$on the blow-up of${\mathbb{P}}^{3}$at nine very general points which lies in the closed movable cone and has negative intersections with a set of curves whose union is Zariski dense. It follows that the diminished base locus${\boldsymbol{B}}_{-}({D}_{\lambda })={\bigcup }_{A\,\text{ample}}\boldsymbol{B}({D}_{\lambda }+A)$is not closed and that${D}_{\lambda }$does not admit a Zariski decomposition in even a very weak sense. By a similar method, we construct an$\mathbb{R}$-divisor on the family of blow-ups of${\mathbb{P}}^{2}$at ten distinct points, which is nef on a very general fiber but fails to be nef over countably many prime divisors in the base.
Hermitian forms over quaternion algebras
Authors: Karpenko Nikita A. , Merkurjev Alexander S. 
Published: September 2014

AbstractWe study a Hermitian form$h$over a quaternion division algebra$Q$over a field ($h$is supposed to be alternating if the characteristic of the field is two). For generic$h$and$Q$, for any integer$i\in [1,\;n/2]$, where$n:=\dim _{Q}h$, we show that the variety of$i$-dimensional (over$Q$) totally isotropic right subspaces of$h$is$2$-incompressible. The proof is based on a computation of the Chow ring for the classifying space of a certain parabolic subgroup in a split simple adjoint affine algebraic group of type$C_{n}$. As an application, we determine the smallest value of the$J$-invariant of a non-degenerate quadratic form divisible by a$2$-fold Pfister form; we also determine the biggest values of the canonical dimensions of the orthogonal Grassmannians associated to such quadratic forms.
Global existence and long time behavior of solutions of a quantum Boltzmann equation
Authors: Zhong Mingying 
Published: September 2014

In this paper, we study a quantum Boltzmann equation with a harmonic oscillator for isotropic gases of bosons and fermions, respectively. This model comes from physics literatures (see, e.g., [M. Holland, J. Williams and J. Cooper, Bose–Einstein condensation: Kinetic evolution obtained from simulated trajectories, Phys. Rev. A 55 (1997) 3670–3677]). The distribution function, i.e. the solution, is discrete in the energy variable. We give the classification of equilibria of the equation for bosons and fermions, respectively, and prove the global existence, uniqueness and the strong convergence to equilibrium for solutions of the equation.
Molecular Pathways: Targeting RAC–p21-Activated Serine–Threonine Kinase Signaling in RAS-Driven Cancers
Authors: Baker Nicole M. , Yee Chow Hoi , Chernoff Jonathan , Der Channing J. 
Published: September 2014

Abstract
Cancers driven by oncogenic Ras proteins encompass some of the most deadly human cancer types, and there is a pressing need to develop therapies for these diseases. Although recent studies suggest that mutant Ras proteins may yet be druggable, the most promising and advanced efforts involve inhibitors of Ras effector signaling. Most efforts to target Ras signaling have been aimed at the ERK mitogen-activated protein kinase and the phosphoinositide 3-kinase signaling networks. However, to date, no inhibitors of these Ras effector pathways have been effective against RAS-mutant cancers. This ineffectiveness is due, in part, to the involvement of additional effectors in Ras-dependent cancer growth, such as the Rac small GTPase and the p21-activated serine–threonine kinases (PAK). PAK proteins are involved in many survival, cell motility, and proliferative pathways in the cell and may present a viable new target in Ras-driven cancers. In this review, we address the role and therapeutic potential of Rac and group I PAK proteins in driving mutant Ras cancers. Clin Cancer Res; 20(18); 4740–6. ©2014 AACR.
Acoustic Correlates of English Rhythmic Patterns for American versus Japanese Speakers
Authors: Mori Yoko , Hori Tomoko , Erickson Donna 
Published: September 2014

Abstract
This study investigates acoustic correlates of English rhythmic patterns for 20 American English speakers (AS) and 42 Japanese learners of English (JS). The results indicate that for AS in an English sentence where monosyllabic content and function words alternate, the vowels in content words are over twice as long as those in function words, resulting in alternating long-short vowels. In contrast, the JS show no stress-related duration control and realize a similar rhythmic pattern mostly through recursive high-low fundamental frequency (F0). In a sentence with a sequence of content words in which 4 stressed syllables occur successively, the AS show recursion of strong-weak syllables by means of F0, intensity and first formant, whereas JS show inconsistent stress patterns. These results indicate that the AS apply different strategies for implementing rhythmic alternation depending on sentence stress patterns, and these strategies are different from those of JS. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel
Compositional and Performance Mapping in Computer Chamber Music: A Case
Study
Authors: Lyon Eric , Knapp R. Benjamin , Ouzounian Gascia 
Published: September 2014

Abstract
The mapping problem is inherent to digital musical instruments (DMIs), which require, at the very least, an association between physical gestures and digital synthesis algorithms to transform human bodily performance into sound. This article considers the DMI mapping problem in the context of the creation and performance of a heterogeneous computer chamber music piece, a trio for violin, biosensors, and computer. Our discussion situates the DMI mapping problem within the broader set of interdependent musical interaction issues that surfaced during the composition and rehearsal of the trio. Through descriptions of the development of the piece, development of the hardware and software interfaces, lessons learned through rehearsal, and self-reporting by the participants, the rich musical possibilities and technical challenges of the integration of digital musical instruments into computer chamber music are demonstrated.