bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Influence of the phase effect on gradient‐based and statistics‐based focus measures in bright field microscopy
Authors: SCHOELL S. , MUALLA F. , SOMMERFELDT B. , STEIDL S. , MAIER A. , BUCHHOLZ R. , HORNEGGER J. 
Published: March 2014

SummaryAutofocusing is essential to high throughput microscopy and live cell imaging and requires reliable focus measures. Phase objects such as separated single Chinese hamster ovary cells are almost invisible at the optical focus position in bright field microscopy images. Because of the phase effect, defocused images of phase objects have more contrast. In this paper, we show that widely used focus measures exhibit an untypical behaviour for such images. In the case of homogeneous cells, that is, when most cells tend to lie in the same focal plane, both gradient‐based and statistics‐based focus measures tend to have a local minimum instead of a global maximum at the optical focus position. On the other hand, if images show inhomogeneous cells, gradient‐based focus measures tend to yield typical focus curves, whereas statistics‐based focus measures deliver curves similar to the case of homogeneous cells. These results were interpreted using the equation describing the phase effect and patch‐wise analysis of the focus curves.Bioprocess engineering experts are also influenced by the phase effect. Forty‐four focus positions selected by them led to the conclusion that they prefer to look at defocused images instead of those at the optical focus.
Daily Patterns and Adaptation of the Ghrelin, Growth Hormone and Insulin‐Like Growth Factor‐1 System Under Daytime Food Synchronisation in Rats
Authors: Arellanes‐Licea E. del C. , Báez‐Ruiz A. , Carranza M. E. , Arámburo C. , Luna M. , Díaz‐Muñoz M. 
Published: March 2014

Daytime restricted feeding promotes the re‐alignment of the food entrained oscillator (FEO). Endocrine cues which secretion is regulated by the transition of fasting and feeding cycles converge in the FEO. The present study aimed to investigate the ghrelin, growth hormone (GH) and insulin‐like growth factor (IGF)‐1 system because their release depends on rhythmic and nutritional factors, and the output from the system influences feeding and biochemical status. In a daily sampling approach, rats that were fed ad lib. were compared with rats on a reversed (daytime) and restricted feeding schedule by 3 weeks (dRF; food access for 2 h), also assessing the effect of acute fasting and refeeding. We undertook measurements of clock protein BMAL1 and performed somatometry of peripheral organs and determined the concentration of total, acylated and unacylated ghrelin, GH and IGF‐1 in both serum and in its main synthesising organs. During dRF, BMAL1 expression was synchronised to mealtime in hypophysis and liver; rats exhibited acute hyperphagia, stomach distension with a slow emptying, a phase shift in liver mass towards the dark period and decrease in mass perigonadal white adipose tissue. Total ghrelin secretion during the 24‐h period increased in the dRF group as a result of elevation of the unacylated form. By contrast, GH and IGF‐1 serum concentration fell, with a modification of GH daily pattern after mealtime. In the dRF group, ghrelin content in the stomach and pituitary GH content decreased, whereas hepatic IGF‐1 remained equal. The daily patterns and synthesis of these hormones had a rheostatic adaptation. The endocrine adaptive response elicited suggests that it may be associated with the regulation of metabolic, behavioural and physiological processes during the paradigm of daytime restricted feeding and associated FEO activity.
Three‐dimensional (3‐D) fluorescence spectroscopy analysis of the fluorescent dissolved organic matter released by the marine toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella exposed to metal stress by zinc or lead
Authors: Herzi Faouzi , Jean Natacha , Sakka Hlaili Asma , Mounier Stéphane 
Published: March 2014

We investigated the effects of zinc or lead on growth and on exudation of fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) by the marine toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella (Whedon & Kofoid) Balech. The species was exposed to increasing free zinc (1.34 × 10−7 M–3.98 × 10−6 M) or lead (5.13 × 10−9 M–1.82 × 10−7 M) concentra‐tions. Low metal levels ([Zn2+] = 1.34 × 10−7 M; [Pb2+] = 5.13 × 10−9 M) had no effect on cell growth. Toxic effects were observed from higher metal contamination ([Zn2+] = 3.98 × 10−6 M; [Pb2+] = 6.54 × 10−8 M), as a conversion of vegetative cells into cysts. Analysis of the released FDOM by three‐dimensional (3‐D) fluorescence spectroscopy was achieved, using the parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). The PARAFAC modeling revealed four components associated with two contributions: one related to the biological activity; the other linked to the organic matter decomposition in the culture medium. The C1 component combined a tryptophan peak and characteristics of humic substances, whereas the C2 component was considered as a tryptophan protein fluorophore. The two others C3 and C4 components were associated with marine organic matter production. Relea‐sed fluorescent substances were induced by low ([Zn2+]= 1.34 × 10−7 M; [Pb2+] = 5.13 × 10−9 M) and moderate ([Zn2+] = 6.21 × 10−7 M; [Pb2+] = 2.64× 10−9 M) metal concentrations, suggesting the activation of cellular mechanisms in response to metal stress, to exudate FDOM that could complex metal cations and reduce their toxicity toward A. catenella cells.
Evaluating the feasibility of a parent‐briefing intervention in a pediatric acute care setting
Authors: LeGrow Karen , Hodnett Ellen , Stremler Robyn , Cohen Eyal 
Published: March 2014

AbstractPurposeThe purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of a parent‐briefing intervention for parents of hospitalized children with complex healthcare needs.Design and MethodsA phase I, single‐group, posttest study. There were 18 physicians, 25 nurses, and 31 parents who participated in the study. Participants were asked to sit while carrying out the briefings with parents. Parents and clinicians completed a feasibility questionnaire post briefings.ResultsSixty‐eight briefings were carried out. Parents and nurses evaluated the briefings in a favorable manner, whereas physicians' ratings were mixed.Practice ImplicationsFurther inquiry is recommended to understand the effects of a structured communication intervention on parent–professional decision‐making practices.
Dignity and the capabilities approach in long‐term care for older people
Authors: Pirhonen Jari 
Published: March 2014

AbstractThe ageing populations of the Western world present a wide range of economic, social, and cultural implications, and given the challenges posed by deteriorating maintenance ratios, the scenario is somewhat worrying. In this paper, I investigate whether Martha C. Nussbaum's capabilities approach could secure dignity for older people in long‐term care, despite the per capita decreases in resources. My key research question asks, ‘What implications does Nussbaum's list of central human capabilities have for practical social care?’ My methodology combines Nussbaum's list with ethnographic data gathered from a Finnish sheltered home for older people. On the basis of this study, it seems that the capabilities approach is a plausible framework for the ethics of care because it highlights differences in the ability to function and thus differences in opportunities to pursue a good life. The ideas presented in this article could assist social policy planners and executives in creating policies and practices that help old people to maintain their dignity until the end of their days.
New instrument for measuring multiple domains of social cognition: Construct validity of the Social Cognition Screening Questionnaire (Japanese version)
Authors: Kanie Ayako , Hagiya Kumiko , Ashida Sayaka , Pu Shenghong , Kaneko Koichi , Mogami Tamiko , Oshima Sachie , Motoya Maki , Niwa Shin‐ichi , Inagaki Akiko , Ikebuchi Emi , Kikuchi Akiko , Yamasaki Syudo , Iwata Kazuhiko , Roberts David L , Nakagome Kazuyuki 
Published: March 2014

AimThe present study aimed to test the construct validity and internal consistency of the Social Cognition Screening Questionnaire (SCSQ) (Japanese version).MethodsWe first tested whether the subscale scores and the total score of the SCSQ could discriminate patients with schizophrenia from normal controls. Next, we tested the internal consistency. Finally, we investigated the relation between the subscale scores and other measures of social cognition and social functioning that were presumed to correspond to the subscale's scores, including the Hinting Task, the Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire (AIHQ), the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale and the Social Functioning Scale.ResultsThe subscale scores and the total score appeared to show more robust between‐group differences than other measures of social cognition, such as the AIHQ and the Hinting Task. The total score distinguished the patients from normal controls with an area under the receiver–operator curve of 0.84, which indicated a high level of discrimination. The Cronbach's alpha for the four subscales was 0.72, which was considered acceptable. In terms of criterion‐related validity, theory of mind, metacognition and hostility bias subscale scores showed significant correlations with the Hinting Task, Beck Cognitive Insight Scale and AIHQ, respectively. Moreover, the theory of mind subscale score showed a significant correlation with four domain scores of the Social Functioning Scale. The present results indicated good construct validity and internal consistency of the SCSQ.ConclusionsAlthough this is an interim report with a small sample size, the SCSQ holds promise as an efficient measure for social cognition.
Levels of Selection Are Artefacts of Different Fitness Temporal Measures
Authors: Bourrat Pierrick 
Published: March 2014

AbstractIn this paper I argue against the claim, recently put forward by some philosophers of biology and evolutionary biologists, that there can be two or more ontologically distinct levels of selection. I show by comparing the fitness of individuals with that of collectives of individuals in the same environment and over the same period of time – as required to decide if one or more levels of selection is acting in a population – that the selection of collectives is a by‐product of selection at the individual level; thus, talking about two or more levels of selection represents merely a different perspective on one and the same process.
Redox Control of Indoleamine 2,3‐Dioxygenase Expression and Activity in Human Monocyte‐Derived Dendritic Cells is Independent of Changes in Oxygen Tension
Authors: Mattox M. L. , D'Angelo J. A. , Dickinson B. L. 
Published: March 2014

AbstractDendritic cells (DCs) initiate adaptive immune responses to pathogens and tumours and maintain tolerance to self and innocuous antigens. These functions occur in organs and tissues exhibiting wide variations in nutrients, growth factors, redox and oxygen tension. Understanding how these microenvironmental factors influence DCs to affect immunological outcomes is of increasing relevance with the emerging success of DC‐based cellular vaccines. In a previous study, we examined whether redox, an important environmental cue, could influence DC expression of the immunosuppressive enzyme indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase (IDO). IDO‐competent DCs promote long‐term immune homoeostasis by limiting exaggerated inflammatory responses and directing regulatory T‐cell effector function. To alter redox, we manipulated the activity of the cystine/glutamate antiporter, which functions to maintain intracellular and extracellular redox. The results of that study showed that redox perturbation strongly induced IDO expression and activity in DCs. While this study was performed using standard cell culture techniques with DCs cultured under 5% CO2 and 20% O2, it is clear that DCs capture and present antigens in inflamed tissues and secondary lymphoid organs which exhibit low oxygen tension (1–5% O2). Therefore, here we investigated whether oxygen tension influences DC expression of IDO in the context of homoeostatic and altered redox.
Polymorphisms in the Interleukin‐1 Gene Locus and Chronic Periodontitis in Patients with Atherosclerotic and Aortic Aneurysmal Vascular Diseases
Authors: Armingohar Z. , Jørgensen J. J. , Kristoffersen A. K. , Schenck K. , Dembic Z. 
Published: March 2014

AbstractChronic periodontitis (CP) and atherosclerotic and aortic aneurysmal vascular diseases (VD) are inflammatory conditions that share a number of predisposing factors. They have a complex genetic heritability and may share genetic risk factors, but a well‐defined relationship is still not determined. In addition, distinct genetic patterns of predisposition have been associated with these diseases. Here, we investigated the association of polymorphisms in the IL‐1 gene locus with CP in a case–case study analysing VD patients with or without CP. Seventy‐four patients with VD of whom 36 had CP were genotyped for single nucleotide polymorphisms in the IL1A ‐889 (rs1800587), IL1B +3954 (rs1143634) and IL1B at −511 (rs16944) genes and for VNTR polymorphisms in the IL1RN gene. A significantly higher frequency (17%) for allele 1 (four repeats) of the IL1RN VNTR gene was found among the VD patients with CP compared to those without CP. In addition, the frequency of the IL1RN VNTR genotypes 1/1 (4/4 repeats) and 2/2 (2/2 repeats) were significantly higher and lower, respectively, in VD patients with CP. These findings suggest an association of genetic polymorphisms in the IL1‐gene locus with risk for CP in patients with VD. The carriage of the risk genotypes, the development and the subsequent influence of CP on systemic health may constitute an additional burden in the pathogenesis of VD. This emphasizes the importance of effective periodontal treatment in patients with VD.
Complement Activation and its Prognostic role in Post‐cardiac Arrest Patients
Authors: Jenei Z. M. , Zima E. , Csuka D. , Munthe‐Fog L. , Hein E. , Széplaki G. , Becker D. , Karádi I. , Prohászka Z. , Garred P. , Merkely B. 
Published: March 2014

AbstractCardiac arrest causes generalized ischaemia/hypoxia, and subsequent resuscitation inflicts reperfusion injury, the pathology of which is not fully understood. Moreover, predicting the prognosis of comatose, post‐cardiac arrest patients is a complex clinical challenge. We hypothesized that the extent of complement activation might be a reliable predictor of mortality in this population. Forty‐six comatose cardiac arrest patients were enrolled into our prospective cohort study, conducted in a tertiary care university clinic. All subjects were cooled to 32–34 °C body temperature for 24 h and then allowed to rewarm to normothermia. All patients underwent diagnostic coronary angiography. On admission, at 6 and 24 h, blood samples were taken from the arterial catheter. In these, complement products (C3a, C3, C4d, C4, SC5b9 and Bb) were measured by ELISA in blood samples. Patients were followed up for 30 days; 22 patients (47.8%) died by the end of this period. We observed that complement activation (determined as the C3a to C3 ratio) was higher in non‐survivors than in survivors at each time point. In the multivariate Cox regression analysis, the C3a/C3 ratio determined 24 h after the initiation of therapeutic hypothermia predicted 30‐day mortality regardless of age, sex and the APACHE II score. Complement activation occurs in post‐cardiac arrest patients, and its extent correlates with 30‐day survival. The C3a/C3 ratio might prove useful for estimating the prognosis of comatose post‐cardiac arrest patients.
An Evolutionary Perspective on Information Processing
Authors: Trimmer Peter C. , Houston Alasdair I. 
Published: March 2014

AbstractBehavioral ecologists often assume that natural selection will produce organisms that make optimal decisions. In the context of information processing, this means that the behavior of animals will be consistent with models from fields such as signal detection theory and Bayesian decision theory. We discuss work that applies such models to animal behavior and use the case of Bayesian updating to make the distinction between a description of behavior at the level of optimal decisions and a mechanistic account of how decisions are made. The idea of ecological rationality is that natural selection shapes an animal's decision mechanisms to suit its environment. As a result, decision‐making mechanisms may not perform well outside the context in which they evolved. Although the assumption of ecological rationality is plausible, we argue that the exact nature of the relationship between ecology and cognitive mechanism may not be obvious.
Zakat Distribution and Programme for Sustaining Muallaf Belief and Thought
Authors: Johari Fuadah , Ab. Aziz Muhammad Ridhwan , Ibrahim Mohd Faisol , Mohd Ali Ahmad Fahme 
Published: March 2014

Zakat is one of the pillars of Islam that emphasises the socio-economic development. Any discussion on zakat in the context of worship cannot be disconnected from the socio-economic factor, especially in aiding the underprivileged. The primary purpose of zakat is to redistribute wealth of the society among the poor. Zakat is not purely welfare-oriented that relies on the contribution of the giver but an obligation that must be carried out to qualified recipients. Therefore, it is pertinent that the management of zakat is made efficient to ensure that the rights of the recipients and the society, in general, will not be put in jeopardy. The question is then raised regarding the type of zakat distribution or programmes pertaining to the asnaf Muallaf. The objective of this article is to explore zakat distribution programmes for sustaining muallaf belief (Tauhid) and thoughts (Iman). The methodology of this article is based on qualitative research through document analysis and interview with zakat officer. This article has revealed that a huge amount had been allocated for the development of asnaf Muallaf. It is conclude that, State Islamic Religious Council needs to continuously improve a comprehensive programmes that focus on sustaining the Muallaf belief (Tauhid) and thoughts (Iman).
Stochastic Geometry Based Dynamic Fractional Frequency Reuse for OFDMA Systems
Authors: Ullah Rahat , Fisal Norsheila , Safdar Hashim , Khalid Zubair , Maqbool Wajahat , Ullah Hanif 
Published: March 2014

Fractional Frequency Reuse (FFR) has been acknowledged as an efficient Interference Management (IM) technique, which offers significant capacity enhancement and improves cell edge coverage with low complexity of implementation. The performance of cellular system greatly depends on the spatial configuration of base stations (BSs). In literature, FFR has been analyzed mostly with cellular networks described by Hexagon Grid Model (HGM). HGM is neither tractable nor scalable to the dense deployment of next generation wireless networks. Moreover, the perfect geometry based HGM tends to overestimate the system's performance and not able to reflect the reality. In this paper, we use the stochastic geometry approach; FFR is analyzed with cellular network modeled by homogeneous Poisson Point Process (PPP). PPP model provides complete randomness in terms of BS deployment, which captures the real network scenario. A dynamic FFR scheme is proposed in this article, which take into account the randomness of the cell coverage area described by Voronoi tessellation. It is shown that the proposed scheme outperforms the traditional fixed frequency allocation schemes in terms of capacity and capacity density.
Performance Analysis in Object Diameter Estimation based on Single and Multiple Non-Destructive and Discrete Infrared Sensors
Authors: M. Thamrin Norashikin , Mohd. Arshad Norhashim , Adnan Ramli , Sam Rosidah , Abd. Razak Noorfazdli , Misnan Mohammad Farid , Mahmud Siti Fatimah 
Published: March 2014

In Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technique, recognizing and marking the landmarks in the environment is very important. Therefore, in a commercial farm, rows of trees, borderline of rows as well as the trees and other features are mostly used by the researchers in realizing the automation process in this field. In this paper, the detection of the tree based on its diameter is focused. There are few techniques available in determining the size of the tree trunk inclusive of the laser scanning method as well as image-based measurements. However, those techniques require heavy computations and equipments which become constraints in a lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle implementation. Therefore, in this paper, the detection of an object by using a single and multiple infrared sensors on a non-stationary automated vehicle platform is discussed. The experiments were executed on different size of objects in order to investigate the effectiveness of this proposed method. This work is initially tested on the ground, based in the lab environment by using an omni directional vehicle which later will be adapted on a small-scale unmanned aerial vehicle implementation for tree diameter estimation in the agriculture farm. In the current study, comparing multiple sensors with single sensor orientation showed that the average percentage of the pass rate in the pole recognition for the former is relatively more accurate than the latter with 93.2 percent and 74.2 percent, respectively.
Computing global minimizers to a constrained B‐spline image registration problem from optimal l1 perturbations to block match data
Authors: Castillo Edward , Castillo Richard , Fuentes David , Guerrero Thomas 
Published: March 2014

Purpose:Block matching is a well‐known strategy for estimating corresponding voxel locations between a pair of images according to an image similarity metric. Though robust to issues such as image noise and large magnitude voxel displacements, the estimated point matches are not guaranteed to be spatially accurate. However, the underlying optimization problem solved by the block matching procedure is similar in structure to the class of optimization problem associated with B‐spline based registration methods. By exploiting this relationship, the authors derive a numerical method for computing a global minimizer to a constrained B‐spline registration problem that incorporates the robustness of block matching with the global smoothness properties inherent to B‐spline parameterization.Methods:The method reformulates the traditional B‐spline registration problem as a basis pursuit problem describing the minimall1‐perturbation to block match pairs required to produce a B‐spline fitting error within a given tolerance. The sparsity pattern of the optimal perturbation then defines a voxel point cloud subset on which the B‐spline fit is a global minimizer to a constrained variant of the B‐spline registration problem. As opposed to traditional B‐spline algorithms, the optimization step involving the actual image data is addressed by block matching.Results:The performance of the method is measured in terms of spatial accuracy using ten inhale/exhale thoracic CT image pairs (available for download atwww.dir‐lab.com) obtained from the COPDgene dataset and corresponding sets of expert‐determined landmark point pairs. The results of the validation procedure demonstrate that the method can achieve a high spatial accuracy on a significantly complex image set.Conclusions:The proposed methodology is demonstrated to achieve a high spatial accuracy and is generalizable in that in can employ any displacement field parameterization described as a least squares fit to block match generated estimates. Thus, the framework allows for a wide range of image similarity block match metric and physical modeling combinations.