bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Secondary consolidation of clay as an anomalous diffusion process
Authors: Cosenza Philippe , Korošak Dean 
Published: February 2014

SUMMARYSecondary consolidation of clay soil is considered as a result of anomalous diffusion of pore water pressure from the micropores to the macropores. By using simplified pore geometry, a heuristic approach allows us to infer the expression of the associated rate of vertical secondary deformation written as a fractional derivative of the pore pressure. The insertion of this expression into the 1D Terzaghi's theory leads to a particular type of time‐fractional diffusion equation of the pore pressure that is solved semi‐analytically. The advantage of such theoretical approach stems from the concise and compact way of treating the secondary consolidation. Only two additional parameters are needed: the fractional order, ν, and the fractional viscosity factor, θ, both accounting for the physicochemical interactions between pore fluid and clay particles.This theoretical approach is tested on experimental data obtained from the Cubzac‐les‐Ponts clay soil intensively studied for secondary consolidation. This application shows a good agreement between the data and the predicted values confirming the interest of the initial assumption and the use of the fractional derivatives formalism. Moreover, good correlations between the inverted fractional parameters and the empirical secondary consolidation index Cα measured independently are obtained: the fractional order ν, if experimentally calibrated, can be used as a reasonable estimator of the slope of the secondary consolidation portion of consolidation curve. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Brachytherapy in children with rhabdomyosarcomas of the nasolabial fold
Authors: Mazeron Renaud , Oberlin Odile , Dumas Isabelle , Kolb Frédéric , Goulart Jennifer , Rivin Eleonor , Haie‐Méder Christine 
Published: February 2014

BackgroundRhabdomyosarcomas (RMS) of the nasolabial fold can be difficult to manage surgically due to functional and cosmetic limitations. Therefore, brachytherapy (BT) has been proposed to improve local control while limiting the volume of irradiation as well as the extent of the surgical excision.Materials and methodsSixteen pediatric cases with RMS of the nasolabial fold treated from 1971 to 2005 were retrospectively reviewed.ResultsMedian follow‐up was 4.4 years (1.7–33). Half of the patients were male and their age at diagnosis ranged from 4 months to 13.5 years. Histological subtypes included 10 embryonal and 6 alveolar RMS. Initial treatment consisted of induction multi‐agent chemotherapy in all cases. In 12 patients, BT was combined with local excision (4 complete resections, 1 with macroscopic residual disease, and 7 with microscopic disease). Low dose‐rate brachytherapy was performed in all cases according to the Paris system, using plastic catheters implanted per‐operatively. The doses delivered ranged from 50 to 70 Gy, depending on chemotherapy response, and surgical margin status. 10 patients relapsed: 4 local, 6 regional, and 2 metastatic failures were reported. The median time to relapse was 6.5 months. At the time of analysis eight patients were alive and four had died. Four cases, under palliative care at last check‐up, were lost to follow‐up.ConclusionBT provided an acceptable local control rate, but the poor regional control of these cases may suggest a need for more aggressive management of cervical regional lymph node regions in RMS of the nasolabial fold. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2014;61:1162–1167. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Bilateral Wilms tumors treated according to the Japan Wilms Tumor Study Group protocol
Authors: Oue Takaharu , Koshinaga Tsugumichi , Okita Hajime , Kaneko Yasuhiko , Hinotsu Shiro , Fukuzawa Masahiro 
Published: February 2014

BackgroundThe introduction of multimodal therapy has improved the survival rate of bilateral Wilms tumors (BWT); however, the results are still not satisfactory in terms of the renal preservation. To establish a new treatment strategy for BWT, we reviewed the results of the cases registered in the Japan Wilms Tumor Study Group (JWiTS).ProcedureThis analysis concerned patients with synchronous BWT registered in the JWiTS between 1996 and 2011. In these patients, the management of BWT included initial tumor resection or biopsy followed by chemotherapy. The details of the treatments and outcomes were analyzed.ResultsAmong the 355 cases registered in the JWiTS database, 31 (8.7%) had BWT. They were 16 males and 15 females with a mean age of 15.5 months. Preoperative chemotherapy was performed in 24 cases. Bilateral nephron‐sparing surgery (NSS) was achieved in 10 of 28 cases (36%). All of the cases were of favorable nephroblastoma without anaplasia, and a WT1 mutation was detected in 21 of the 27 cases (78%) examined. The 5‐year overall survival was 92.6%; however, 10 children (40%) developed impaired renal function and three of them developed renal failure.ConclusionsThe long‐term survival rates for patients with synchronous BWT have improved. However, more than half of patients receive nephrectomy. The protocol should be changed to improve the rate of preservation of the renal parenchyma. Preoperative chemotherapy should be performed to shrink the tumors in every case, and subsequent NSS should be carried out after a central imaging evaluation. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2014;61:1184–1189. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
AERS spider: an online interactive tool to mine statistical associations in Adverse Event Reporting System
Authors: Grigoriev Igor , zu Castell Wolfgang , Tsvetkov Philipp , Antonov Alexey V. 
Published: February 2014

ABSTRACTBackgroundExploration of the Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) data by a wide scientific community is limited due to several factors. First, AERS data must be intensively preprocessed to be converted into analyzable format. Second, application of the currently accepted disproportional reporting measures results in false positive signals.MethodsWe proposed a data mining strategy to improve hypothesis generation with respect to potential associations.ResultsBy numerous examples, we illustrate that our strategy controls the false positive signals. We implemented a free online tool, AERS spider (www.chemoprofiling.org/AERS).ConclusionsWe believe that AERS spider would be a valuable tool for drug safety experts. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
In‐plane coupling effect on absorption coefficients of InAs/GaAs quantum dots arrays for intermediate band solar cell
Authors: Tomić Stanko , Sogabe Tomah , Okada Yoshitaka 
Published: February 2014

AbstractCoupled semiconductor quantum dot (QD) arrays emerged recently as promising structures for the next generation of high efficiency intermediate band solar cell (IBSC), because of their ability to facilitate the formation of minibands. The quantum coupling effect that exists between states in QDs in an array influences the electronic and optical properties of such structures. So far, great experimental and theoretical efforts have been devoted to study the vertically coupled QD arrays. We present here a method based on multi‐band k ⋅ p Hamiltonian combined with periodic boundary conditions, applied to predict the electronic and optical properties of InAs/GaAs QDs‐based lateral QD arrays. Formation of the intermediate band (IB) in all cases was achieved via delocalisation of the electron ground state (e0). We show that the IB in a laterally coupled QD‐IBSC is more robust against external electric field from the solar cell's pn junction than that in a vertically coupled arrangement. Because of symmetry of the QD array lattice and QD states itself, which are C2v for the zinc blend QDs, the electronic and absorption structures were obtained via sampling throughout the reciprocal space in the first Brillouin zone of QD arrays. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cryostratigraphy and Permafrost Evolution in the Lacustrine Lowlands of West‐Central Alaska
Authors: Kanevskiy Mikhail , Jorgenson Torre , Shur Yuri , O'Donnell Jonathan A. , Harden Jennifer W. , Zhuang Qianlai , Fortier Daniel 
Published: February 2014

ABSTRACTThe influence of permafrost growth and thaw on the evolution of ice‐rich lowland terrain in the Koyukuk‐Innoko region of interior Alaska is fundamental but poorly understood. To elucidate this influence, the cryostratigraphy and properties of perennially frozen sediments from three areas in this region are described and interpreted in terms of permafrost history. The upper part of the late Quaternary sediments at the Koyukuk and Innoko Flats comprise frozen organic soils up to 4.5 m thick underlain by ice‐rich silt characterised by layered and reticulate cryostructures. The volume of visible segregated ice in silt locally reaches 50 per cent, with ice lenses up to 10 cm thick.A conceptual model of terrain evolution from the Late Pleistocene to the present day identifies four stages of yedoma degradation and five stages of subsequent permafrost aggradation‐degradation: (1) partial thawing of the upper ice wedges and the formation of small shallow ponds in the troughs above the wedges; (2) formation of shallow thermokarst lakes above the polygons; (3) deepening of thermokarst lakes and yedoma degradation beneath the lakes; (4) complete thawing of yedoma beneath the lakes; (5) lake drainage; (6) peat accumulation; (7) permafrost aggradation in drained lake basins; (8) formation of permafrost plateaus; and (9) formation and expansion of a new generation of thermokarst features. These stages can occur in differing places and times, creating a highly complex mosaic of terrain conditions, complicating predictions of landscape response to future climatic changes or human impact. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mapping the sevoflurane‐binding sites of calmodulin
Authors: Brath Ulrika , Lau Kelvin , Van Petegem Filip , Erdélyi Máté 
Published: February 2014

AbstractGeneral anesthetics, with sevoflurane (SF) being the first choice inhalational anesthetic agent, provide reversible, broad depressor effects on the nervous system yet have a narrow margin of safety. As characterization of low‐affinity binding interactions of volatile substances is exceptionally challenging with the existing methods, none of the numerous cellular targets proposed as chief protagonists in anesthesia could yet be confirmed. The recognition that most critical functions modulated by volatile anesthetics are under the control of intracellular Ca2+ concentration, which in turn is primarily regulated by calmodulin (CaM), motivated us for characterization of the SF–CaM interaction. Solution NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectroscopy was used to identify SF‐binding sites using chemical shift displacement, NOESY and heteronuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy (HOESY) experiments. Binding affinities were measured using ITC (isothermal titration calorimetry). SF binds to both lobes of (Ca2+)4‐CaM with low mmol/L affinity whereas no interaction was observed in the absence of Ca2+. SF does not affect the calcium binding of CaM. The structurally closely related SF and isoflurane are shown to bind to the same clefts. The SF‐binding clefts overlap with the binding sites of physiologically relevant ion channels and bioactive small molecules, but the binding affinity suggests it could only interfere with very weak CaM targets.
Civic Stratification and Social Positioning: CEE Labour Migrants without a Work Permit
Authors: Snel Erik , Faber Marije , Engbersen Godfried 
Published: February 2014

AbstractCivic stratification is a relatively new dimension of social inequality in contemporary Western societies. States grant, or deny, different legal statuses and related social and economic rights. European Union (EU) nationals, for instance, have full rights to settle and work in other EU countries. Most EU countries have made an exception for nationals of new member states such as Romania and Bulgaria, who joined the EU in 2007. As in the past, Romanian and Bulgarian nationals need a work permit to work in other EU countries. However, many Romanians and Bulgarians came to countries such as the Netherlands without a work permit. This study examines what this ambivalent legal position of many Romanian and Bulgarian nationals means for their social position. Using data from a survey among 654 Central and Eastern European labour migrants, we distinguish four migrant categories: (1) Romanians and Bulgarians with a work permit; (2) Romanians and Bulgarians without a work permit; (3) Romanians and Bulgarians who do not need a work permit; and (4) Polish labour migrants who hold a different legal position. We use three measures of the social position of migrants: occupational status, earned monthly incomes, and housing conditions. We find that Romanians and Bulgarians with a work permit (‘compliant migrants’) score better on all three indicators than Romanians and Bulgarians without a work permit (‘semi‐compliant migrants’). Polish labour migrants have a comparable marginal position in the Netherlands with that of many Romanians and Bulgarians without a work permit. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Long‐term optical stability of fluorescent solar concentrator plates
Authors: Slooff Lenneke H. , Bakker Nicolaas J. , Sommeling Paul M. , Büchtemann Andreas , Wedel Armin , van Sark Wilfried G. J. H. M. 
Published: February 2014

Fluorescent solar concentrators offer an alternative approach for low‐cost photovoltaic energy conversion. For successful application, not only the power conversion efficiency and cost are important, but also lifetime or stability of the devices. As today's concentrator is made of polymer sheets containing organic dyes, which are known to be sensitive to degradation in the presence of light and oxygen, the lifetime under outdoor conditions has been under discussion. This paper shows that depending on the dye and the polymer sheet material, rather stable sheets can be made with < 1% loss in absorption after 6.5 years outdoor exposure. Outdoor roof setup for lifetime testing of fluorescent flat plate concentrators.
Localization and characterization of annealing‐induced shunts in Ni‐plated monocrystalline silicon solar cells
Authors: Büchler Andreas , Kluska Sven , Kasemann Martin , Breitwieser Matthias , Kwapil Wolfram , Hähnel Angelika , Blumtritt Horst , Hopman Sybille , Glatthaar Markus 
Published: February 2014

AbstractThe adhesion of Ni–Cu‐plated contacts requires annealing, which can lead to an electrical degradation of the solar cell. A combination of optical imaging methods and electron microscopical cross‐section analysis was used to investigate the annealing‐induced shunts on monocrystalline solar cells. The results show that Ni spikes cause the lowering of the pseudo fill factor and reveal that these nonlinear shunts show the same behavior as recombination active breakdown sites on multicrystalline silicon solar cells, including radiation of visible light while breakdown. Using reverse biased electroluminescence set‐up the shunts could be localized in top view with µm size lateral resolution. Subsequently, a cross‐section was prepared on a radiative breakdown spot. Advanced electron microscopic investigations reveal defect structures featuring nickel precipitates on the position of the light source. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Application of backscattered electrons in detecting and profiling voids covered by self‐supporting metallic thin film
Authors: Rajput Nitul S. , Verma H.C. 
Published: February 2014

SummaryLocating and profiling porosity or cavities in materials science has been of great interest and importance. However, it has been a great challenge to detect and analyze these hidden cracks because of lack of efficient measurement technique. Artificial voids are created and covered by self‐supporting thin films in order to replicate a hidden crack situation. Subsequently, these hidden voids are located in the scanning electron microscope images and the backscattered electrons, which emerge from a deeper part of a material and depend on the material property (such as atomic number, atomic density, etc.), are shown to play the key role in locating these hidden voids. Detection has been done by collecting the backscattered electrons as well as the secondary electrons (produced by the backscattered electrons). The efficacy of the detection technique is presented in terms of variation in the grayscale intensity values of the scanning electron microscope images. The role of the primary beam energy and the beam dwell time in the detection efficiency is discussed. The successful demonstration of the imaging technique in profiling hidden voids shows a promising and efficient analytical technique in detecting and analyzing invisible cracks in materials. SCANNING 36:430–436, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Classification and comparison of architecture evolution reuse knowledge—a systematic review
Authors: Ahmad Aakash , Jamshidi Pooyan , Pahl Claus 
Published: February 2014

ABSTRACTContextArchitecture‐centric software evolution (ACSE) enables changes in system's structure and behaviour while maintaining a global view of the software to address evolution‐centric trade‐offs. The existing research and practices for ACSE primarily focus on design‐time evolution and runtime adaptations to accommodate changing requirements in existing architectures.ObjectivesWe aim to identify, taxonomically classify and systematically compare the existing research focused on enabling or enhancing change reuse to support ACSE.MethodWe conducted a systematic literature review of 32 qualitatively selected studies and taxonomically classified these studies based on solutions that enable (i) empirical acquisition and (ii) systematic application of architecture evolution reuse knowledge (AERK) to guide ACSE.ResultsWe identified six distinct research themes that support acquisition and application of AERK. We investigated (i) how evolution reuse knowledge is defined, classified and represented in the existing research to support ACSE and (ii) what are the existing methods, techniques and solutions to support empirical acquisition and systematic application of AERK.ConclusionsChange patterns (34% of selected studies) represent a predominant solution, followed by evolution styles (25%) and adaptation strategies and policies (22%) to enable application of reuse knowledge. Empirical methods for acquisition of reuse knowledge represent 19% including pattern discovery, configuration analysis, evolution and maintenance prediction techniques (approximately 6% each). A lack of focus on empirical acquisition of reuse knowledge suggests the need of solutions with architecture change mining as a complementary and integrated phase for architecture change execution. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Twin–twin transfusion syndrome: a frequently missed diagnosis with important consequences
Authors: Baud D. , Windrim R. , Van Mieghem T. , Keunen J. , Seaward G. , Ryan G. 
Published: February 2014

ABSTRACTObjectiveTo evaluate the incidence and consequences of ‘misdiagnosed’ cases of twin–twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS).MethodsChorionicity and referral diagnoses were reviewed in pregnant women with monochorionic twin pregnancies complicated by TTTS treated with fetoscopic laser ablation. ‘Misdiagnosed’ cases, defined as failure to correctly identify chorionicity and/or to diagnose TTTS prior to referral, were compared with cases in whom chorionicity and TTTS were diagnosed correctly. TTTS stage, gestational age at referral, overall survival, fetal and perinatal mortality, gestational age at delivery, operating time and maternal complications were compared.ResultsFailure to identify monochorionicity and/or TTTS was observed in 33% (107/323) of referrals to our center. Compared with cases in whom chorionicity and TTTS were correctly diagnosed, misdiagnosed patients were referred at a more advanced stage of disease (Stage IV TTTS: 16.8% vs 7.9%, P = 0.014) and later in pregnancy (gestational age at laser: 20.9 weeks vs 20.1 weeks, P = 0.018). They also delivered more prematurely (30.3 weeks' gestation vs 31.5 weeks' gestation, P = 0.04) and fetal and neonatal mortality were higher (neonatal death within 7 days: 19.6% vs 6.0%, P < 0.001). When the diagnosis was incorrect, major maternal complications and intensive care unit admissions were increased.ConclusionsPoor recognition of chorionicity in the first trimester of pregnancy might lead to inadequate ultrasound follow up (failure to assess every 2 weeks) and patient education. Early accurate recognition of both chorionicity and TTTS, with timely referral to a fetal therapy center, are key to ensuring optimal maternal and fetal outcomes. Copyright © 2014 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Developing hydroecological models to inform environmental flow standards: a case study from England
Authors: Klaar Megan J. , Dunbar Michael J. , Warren Mark , Soley Rob 
Published: February 2014

The concept of defining environmental flow regimes to balance the provision of water resources for both human and environmental needs has gained wide recognition. As the authority responsible for water resource management within England, the Environment Agency (EA) uses the Environmental Flow Indicator (EFI), which represents an allowable percentage deviation from the natural flow to determine where water may be available for new abstractions. In a simplified form, the EFI has been used as the hydrological supporting component of Water Framework Directive classification, to flag where hydrological alteration may be contributing to failure to achieve good ecological status, and to guide further ecological investigation. As the primary information source for the EFI was expert opinion, the EA aims to improve the evidence base linking flow alteration and ecological response, and to use this evidence to develop improved environmental flow criteria and implementation tools. Such tools will be required to make predictions at locations with no or limited ecological monitoring data. Hence empirical statistical models are required that provide a means to describe observed variation in ecological sensitivity to flow change. Models must also strike a balance between generic and local relationships. Multilevel (mixed effects) regression models provide a rich set of capabilities suitable for this purpose. Three brief examples of the application of these techniques in defining empirical relationships between flow alteration and ecological response are provided. Establishment of testable hydrological–ecological relationships provides the framework for improving data collection, analysis, and ultimately water resources management models.This article is categorized under:

Water and Life > Conservation, Management, and Awareness