bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Acute appendicitis diagnosis using artificial neural networks
Authors: Park Sung Yun , Kim Sung Min 
Published: June 2015

BACKGROUND: Artificial neural networks is one of pattern analyzer method which are rapidly applied on a bio-medical field. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research was to propose an appendicitis diagnosis system using artificial neural networks (ANNs). METHODS: Data from 801 patients of the university hospital in Dongguk were used to construct artificial neural networks for diagnosing appendicitis and acute appendicitis. A radial basis function neural network structure (RBF), a multilayer neural network structure (MLNN), and a probabilistic neural network structure (PNN) were used for artificial neural network models. The Alvarado clinical scoring system was used for comparison with the ANNs. RESULTS: The accuracy of the RBF, PNN, MLNN, and Alvarado was 99.80%, 99.41%, 97.84%, and 72.19%, respectively. The area under ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve of RBF, PNN, MLNN, and Alvarado was 0.998, 0.993, 0.985, and 0.633, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed models using ANNs for diagnosing appendicitis showed good performances, and were significantly better than the Alvarado clinical scoring system (p < 0.001). With cooperation among facilities, the accuracy for diagnosing this serious health condition can be improved.
Recruitment of the ventral and dorsal streams in statistical graph comprehension: An fMRI study
Authors: Li Mi , Lu Shengfu , Zhong Ning 
Published: June 2015

BACKGROUND: Although many previous studies have focused on statistical graph comprehension in cognitive psychology, there is no consensus among them. OBJECTIVE: Brain neuroimaging studies on the statistical graph comprehension are useful to account for the cognitive mechanism of interpreting statistical graphic information. METHODS: The present study used two experimental conditions, a statistical graph (SG) and a statistical graph with text (SGT), and one control condition, a text (ST), where the ST task was a verbal description of the information from the SG, and when the SGT is a mixed graph + textual description. We used fMRI to investigate the brain activity of 36 normal subjects while they passively viewed the statistical information presented in visual forms as SG, ST or SGT. RESULTS: The results showed that compared with the control tasks, both SG and SGT consistently activated ventral and dorsal streams and that compared with SGT, SG significantly activated the ventral stream but not the dorsal stream. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the portions of the ventral and dorsal streams related to object recognition are commonly involved in statistical graph comprehension. These findings provide neuroimaging evidence for the cognitive processing of statistical graphs.
Symbolic representation based on trend features for biomedical data classification
Authors: Yin Hong , Yang Shuqiang , Zhu Xiaoqian , Ma Shaodong , Chen Liqian 
Published: June 2015

BACKGROUND: The widespread access to portable medical devices or new personal devices is boosting the amount of biomedical data. These devices provide a growing massive data that far exceeds the analytical ability of a professional doctor. The computer-assisted analysis of biomedical data has become an essential tool in medicine diagnosis. OBJECTIVE: Due to the advantages of discrete, noise elimination and dimensionality reduction, symbolic representation of biomedical data has attracted great interest. The symbolization results provide efficiently performing at data mining, such as pattern discovery, anomaly detection and association rules mining, so we want to use the method to improving the biomedical data classification. METHODS: In this paper, we introduce a novel symbolic representation method, called Trend Feature Symbolic Approximation (TFSA). RESULTS: The TFSA focuses on retaining most of the original series' trend features, and it also very suitable for subsequent mining work, such as association rules mining. CONCLUSION: The TFSA provides the lower bounding guarantee and the experimental results show that comparing with some existing methods, its classification accuracy is improved.
Stratégies de combat contre la dégradation de l'environnement dans les écosystèmes secs ; les réponses des Nations-Unies, de la C.E.I. ; de la Chine et du Sahel (Strategies to combat environmental degradation in dry ecosystems : answers of the United Nations, the Sahelians countries of Africa, the C.E.I., China and the Sahel)
Authors: Mainguet Monique 
Published: June 2015

Abstract. - Created by Aubreville in 1949 to describe the deterioration of the vegetation cover and the soil in the dry sub-humid ecosystem (Saharo-Sudanian), the word desertification was used for the first time on a worldwide scale by UNCOD (United Nations Conference on Desertification, Nairobi, 1977) and then defined as "The diminution or destruction of the biological potential of soils until the ultimate step of desert-like conditions".
The conference "Environment and Development" programmed in Rio de Janeiro in August 1992 has asked UNEP to reassess the content of the word desertification. In 1990 the following definition was proposed : "Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from adverse human impact. LAND : in this concept includes soil and local resources, land surface and vegetation or crops. DEGRADATION : implies reduction of resource potential by one or a combination of processes acting on the land. "
Desertification can be defined as "Irreversible degradation of the environment in the dry ecosystems : arid, semi-arid, dry sub-humid". Resulting from the combination of human overuse, in vulnerable ecosystems and adverse climatic conditions, desertification became a complex problem simultaneously socio-economical and environmental.
How Africa in its Sahelian and Sahelo-Sudanian ecosystems, the C.E. I. in the Aral Sea basin and China in its dry ecosystems have adopted different strategies for the desertification control will be analysed.
Economic analysis of forest insect pests in Canada
Authors: Niquidet Kurt , Tang Jingwen , Peter Brian 
Published: June 2015

AbstractCanada is host to a number of native and introduced forest insects that negatively affect the goods and services provided by forests. Some insects affect forests on a fairly predictable, ongoing basis, while others have impacts that are intermittent, difficult to predict, and sometimes catastrophic. Economic analysis has provided important insights that have informed our understanding of the impact of forest pests and pest management. At the same time, interactions between forests, forest insects, forest management, and economic welfare are complex, and credible assessments may be time consuming and may not always provide results with the certainty sought by policy-makers. This paper reviews the contribution of economics to forest pest management in Canada and suggests future directions for this important field of research.
Contractuele afspraken met goederenrechtelijke werking: het onoverdraagbaarheidsbeding, eigendomsvoorbehoud en overwaardearrangement
Authors: Mellenbergh R. 
Published: June 2015

Contractuele afspraken met goederenrechtelijke werking: het onoverdraagbaarheidsbeding, eigendomsvoorbehoud en overwaardearrangement
Sommige contractuele afspraken hebben vergaande goederenrechtelijke gevolgen. De precieze formulering van contractuele afspraken met goederenrechtelijke gevolgen is noodzakelijk, aangezien kleine aanpassingen in de tekst van het contractuele beding belangrijke goederenrechtelijke gevolgen kunnen hebben. In dit artikel wordt aan de hand van drie in de praktijk belangrijke situaties ingegaan op de goederenrechtelijke werking van contractuele afspraken: (1) het onoverdraagbaarheidsbeding, (2) het eigendomsvoorbehoud, en (3) het overwaardearrangement. Deze drie situaties zijn van belang binnen de commerciële contractspraktijk en voor de financiering van bedrijven.
Effects of cavitation-enhanced heating in high-intensity focused ultrasound treatment on shear wave imaging
Authors: Iwasaki Ryosuke , Nagaoka Ryo , Takagi Ryo , Goto Kota , Yoshizawa Shin , Saijo Yoshifumi , Umemura Shin-ichiro 
Published: June 2015

Abstract
High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy is a less invasive method of cancer treatment, in which ultrasound is generated outside the body and focused at the tumor tissue to be thermally coagulated. To enhance the safety, accuracy, and efficiency of HIFU therapy, “multiple-triggered HIFU” has been proposed as a method of cavitation-enhanced heating to shorten treatment time. In this study, we also propose shear wave elastography (SWE) to noninvasively monitor the cavitation-enhanced heating. Results show that the increase in shear wave velocity was observed in the coagulation area, but it was significantly slower when cavitation occurred. This suggests that the cavitation-enhanced heating requires a significantly longer cooling time before the accurate measurement of shear modulus than heating without generating bubbles.
Flux and budget of BC in the continental shelf seas adjacent to Chinese high BC emission source regions
Authors: Fang Yin , Chen Yingjun , Tian Chongguo , Lin Tian , Hu Limin , Huang Guopei , Tang Jianhui , Li Jun , Zhang Gan 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThis study conducted the first comprehensive investigation of sedimentary black carbon (BC) concentration, flux, and budget in the continental shelves of “Bohai Sea (BS) and Yellow Sea (YS),” based on measurements of BC in 191 surface sediments, 36 riverine water, and 2 seawater samples, as well as the reported data set of the atmospheric samples from seven coastal cities in the Bohai Rim. BC concentrations in these matrices were measured using the method of thermal/optical reflectance. The spatial distribution of the BC concentration in surface sediments was largely influenced by the regional hydrodynamic conditions, with high values mainly occurring in the central mud areas where fine‐grained particles (median diameters > 6 Φ (i.e., <0.0156 mm)) were deposited. The BC burial flux in the BS and YS ranged from 4 to 1100 µg/cm2 yr, and averaged 166 ± 200 µg/cm2 yr, which was within the range of burial fluxes reported in other continental shelf regimes. The area‐integrated sedimentary BC sink flux in the entire BS and YS was ~325 Gg/yr, and the BS alone contributed ~50% (~157 Gg/yr). The BC budget calculated in the BS showed that atmospheric deposition, riverine discharge, and import from the Northern Yellow Sea (NYS) each contributed ~51%, ~47%, and ~2%. Therefore, atmospheric deposition and riverine discharge dominated the total BC influx (~98%). Sequestration to bottom sediments was the major BC output pattern, accounting for ~88% of the input BC. Water exchange between the BS and the NYS was also an important BC transport route, with net BC transport from the BS to the NYS.
Interannual variability of tropospheric trace gases and aerosols: The role of biomass burning emissions
Authors: Voulgarakis Apostolos , Marlier Miriam E. , Faluvegi Greg , Shindell Drew T. , Tsigaridis Kostas , Mangeon Stéphane 
Published: June 2015

AbstractFires are responsible for a range of gaseous and aerosol emissions. However, their influence on the interannual variability of atmospheric trace gases and aerosols has not been systematically investigated from a global perspective. We examine biomass burning emissions as a driver of interannual variability of large‐scale abundances of short‐lived constituents such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydroxyl radicals (OH), ozone, and aerosols using the Goddard Institute for Space Studies ModelE composition‐climate model and a range of observations, with an emphasis on satellite information. Our model captures the observed variability of the constituents examined in most cases, but with substantial underestimates in boreal regions. The strongest interannual variability on a global scale is found for carbon monoxide (~10% for its global annual burden), while the lowest is found for tropospheric ozone (~1% for its global annual burden). Regionally, aerosol optical depth shows the largest variability which exceeds 50%. Areas of strong variability of both aerosols and CO include the tropical land regions (especially Equatorial Asia and South America) and northern high latitudes, while even regions in the northern midlatitudes experience substantial interannual variability of aerosols. Ozone variability peaks over equatorial Asia in boreal autumn, partly due to varying biomass burning emissions, and over the western and central Pacific in the rest of the year, mainly due to meteorological fluctuations. We find that biomass burning emissions are almost entirely responsible for global CO interannual variability, and similarly important for OH variability. The same is true for global and regional aerosol variability, especially when not taking into account dust and sea‐salt particles. We show that important implications can arise from such interannual influences for regional climate and air quality.
Tree ring δ18O's indication of a shift to a wetter climate since the 1880s in the western Tianshan Mountains of northwestern China
Authors: Xu Guobao , Liu Xiaohong , Wu Guoju , Chen Tuo , Wang Wenzhi , Zhang Qiong , Zhang Youfu , Zeng Xiaomin , Qin Dahe , Sun Weizhen , Zhang Xuanwen 
Published: June 2015

AbstractCentral Asian droughts have drastically and significantly affected agriculture and water resource management in these arid and semiarid areas. Based on tree ring δ18O from native, dominant Schrenk spruce (Picea schrenkiana Fisch. et Mey.), we developed a 300 year (1710–2010) standard precipitation‐evaporation index (SPEI) reconstruction from January to August for China's western Tianshan Mountains. The regression model explained 37.6% of the variation in the SPEI reconstruction during the calibration period from 1950 to 2010. Comparison with previous drought reconstructions confirmed the robustness of our reconstruction. The 20th century has been a relatively wet period during the past 300 years. The SPEI showed quasi 2, 5, and 10 year cycles. Several pluvials and droughts with covariability over large areas were revealed clearly in the reconstruction. The two longest pluvials (lasting for 12 years), separated by 50 years, appeared in the 1900s and the 1960s. The most severe drought occurred from 1739 to 1761 and from 1886 to 1911 was the wettest period since 1710. Compared to previous investigations of hydroclimatic changes in the western Tianshan Mountains, our reconstruction revealed more low‐frequency variability and indicated that climate in the western Tianshan Mountains shifted from dry to wet in 1886. This regime shift was generally consistent with other moisture reconstructions for the northeastern Tibetan Plateau and northern Pakistan and may have resulted from a strengthened westerly circulation. The opposite hydrological trends in the western Tianshan Mountains and southeastern Tibetan Plateau reveal a substantial influence of strengthened westerlies and weakening of the Indian summer monsoon.
The optical properties of river and floodplain waters in the Amazon River Basin: Implications for satellite‐based measurements of suspended particulate matter
Authors: Martinez Jean‐Michel , Espinoza‐Villar Raul , Armijos Elisa , Silva Moreira Luciane 
Published: June 2015

AbstractSatellite images can now be used to assess river sediment discharge, and systematic studies over rivers and lakes are required to support such applications and document the variability of inland water optical properties at the watershed scale. The optical properties of the Amazon Basin waters were analyzed from in situ measurements of the remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) at 279 stations and downwelling diffuse attenuation coefficients (Kd) at 133 stations. Measurements of the apparent optical properties, suspended particulate matter (SPM) contents, and characteristics and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption spectra were performed during 16 cruises along the main Amazonian Rivers draining the Andes and for some tributaries. Surface‐suspended sediment granulometry and mineralogy showed a stable distribution at the catchment scale, even over large distances and between tributaries. The particle number‐size distribution was best described using a segmented distribution with a slope of 2.2 for the fine range (1–15 µm), and the CDOM absorption coefficient at 440 nm varied from 1.8 to 7.9 m−1. Overall, both Rrs and Kd were strongly correlated with SPM, although strong CDOM absorption limited the use of the blue spectrum. Reflectance saturation from blue to red was observed at approximately 100 g m−3, whereas the near‐infrared (NIR) wavelength enabled the monitoring of the full SPM range (5–620 g m−3). In contrast, Kd showed no saturation for SPM from green to NIR, and a linear model was calculated. The use of the reflectance ratio was investigated and shown to improve the suspended sediment concentration retrieval performance.
Experimental modeling of CO2‐fluid‐rock interaction: The evolution of the composition and properties of host rocks in the Baltic Region
Authors: Shogenov Kazbulat , Shogenova Alla , Vizika‐Kavvadias Olga , Nauroy Jean‐François 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThe objective of this study was to determine the influence of the possible CO2 geological storage in the Baltic Region on the composition and properties of host rocks to support more reliable petrophysical and geophysical models of CO2 plume. The geochemical, mineralogical, and petrophysical evolution of reservoir sandstones of Cambrian Series 3 Deimena Formation and transitional clayey carbonate caprocks of Lower Ordovician Zebre Formation from two offshore structures in Latvia and Lithuania and two onshore structures in Latvia, induced by laboratory‐simulated CO2 geological storage, was studied for the first time in the Baltic Region. The geochemical, mineralogical, and petrophysical parameters were measured in 15 rock samples, before and after the alteration experiment. The diagenetic alterations of reservoir rocks were represented by carbonate cementation in the top of the onshore South Kandava structure, and quartz cementation and compaction, reducing the reservoir quality, in the deepest offshore E7 structure in Lithuania. The shallowest E6 structure offshore Latvia was least affected by diagenetic processes and had the best reservoir quality that was mainly preserved during the experiment. Carbonate cement was represented by calcite and ankerite in the transitional reservoir sandstones of very low initial permeability in the upper part of the South Kandava structure. Its dissolution caused a significant increase in the effective porosity and permeability of sandstones, a decrease in the weight of samples, bulk and matrix density, and P and S wave velocities, demonstrating short‐term dissolution processes. Only slight geochemical changes occurred during the experiment in offshore reservoir sandstones. Minor dissolution of carbonate and clay cements, feldspar and some accessory minerals, and possible minor precipitation of pore‐filling secondary minerals associated with slight variations in rock properties, demonstrating both short‐term and long‐term processes, were suggested. As a novelty, this research shows the relationship between diagenetic alterations of the Cambrian Series 3 Deimena Formation reservoir sandstones and their changes caused by the CO2 injection‐like experiment.
Miocene climate change on the Chinese Loess Plateau: Possible links to the growth of the northern Tibetan Plateau and global cooling
Authors: Sun Youbin , Ma Long , Bloemendal Jan , Clemens Steven , Qiang Xiaoke , An Zhisheng 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThe evolution of the Asian monsoon‐arid environmental system during the Cenozoic was closely related to the growth of the Himalayan‐Tibetan Plateau and global climate change. However, due to inconsistencies in paleoclimatic reconstructions and to various constraints on the timing of the growth of the Tibetan Plateau, the relative impacts of regional uplift and global cooling on Asian climate change remain controversial. Here we investigate the mineralogical composition of a Miocene Red Clay deposit on the western Chinese Loess Plateau in order to infer changes in chemical weathering and monsoon intensity. Variations of four mineralogical ratios (chlorite/quartz, illite/quartz, calcite/quartz, and protodolomite/quartz) reveal that the summer monsoon intensity was relatively strong during the early Miocene (23.5–18.5 Ma), weakened gradually until ∼9.5 Ma, and strengthened again in the late Miocene. We synthesized previously published thermochronological data from the northeastern Tibetan Plateau and surrounding mountains, and the results suggest that two phases of the rapid growth of northern Tibet occurred around 24–17 and 13–7 Ma. Comparison of paleoclimatic proxies and thermochronological data suggests that the gradual weakening of the summer monsoon intensity from 18.5 to 9.5 Ma paralleled global cooling, whereas two intervals of strengthened monsoon in the early and late Miocene were possibly related to the rapid growth of northern Tibet. Our combination of paleoenvironmental proxies and thermochronological data reveals possible links between Miocene Asian monsoon evolution, phased growth of the Tibetan Plateau, and global climate change, and confirms the interconnection of geodynamic and atmospheric processes in the geological past.
Lithospheric structure of the Texas‐Gulf of Mexico passive margin from surface wave dispersion and migrated Ps receiver functions
Authors: Agrawal Mohit , Pulliam Jay , Sen Mrinal K. , Gurrola Harold 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThe seismic velocity structure beneath Texas Gulf Coastal Plain (GCP) is imaged by migrating Ps receiver functions with a seismic velocity model found by fitting surface wave dispersion. We use seismic data from a linear array of 22 broadband stations, spaced 16–20 km apart. A Common Conversion Point (CCP) stacking technique is applied to earthquake data to improve the S/N ratios of receiver functions. Using an incorrect velocity model for depth migration of a stacked CCP image may produce an inaccurate image of the subsurface. To find sufficiently accurate P and S‐velocity models, we first apply a nonlinear modeling technique to fit Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion via Very Fast Simulated Annealing. Vs ranges from 1.5 km/s in shallow layers of the GCP to 4.5 km/s beneath the Llano uplift and just outboard of the Balcones Fault Zone (BFZ). The BFZ is characterized by slow velocities that persist to nearly 100 km depth. In the stacked image, the largest amplitude positive‐polarity event ranges from the surface, at the Llano uplift, to a maximum depth of ∼16 km beneath Matagorda Island. We attribute this event to the sediment‐basement contact, which is expected to produce a large impedance contrast. Another large‐amplitude and positive‐polarity event at ∼35 km depth, which likely marks the Moho, disappears outboard of the Luling Fault Zone. The disappearance of the Moho beneath the GCP may be due to serpentinization of the upper mantle, which would reduce the impedance contrast between the lower crust and upper mantle dramatically.