bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A nonuniform DPLL architecture for optimized performance
Authors: Al‐Ali Omar Al‐Kharji , Anani Nader , Al‐Araji Saleh , Al‐Qutayri Mahmoud 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThis paper presents the design, analysis, simulation, and implementation of the architecture of a new nonuniform‐type digital phase‐locked loop (DPLL). The proposed loop uses a composite phase detector (CPD), which consists of a sample‐and‐hold unit and an arctan block. The CPD improves the system linearity and results in a wider lock range. In addition, the loop has an adaptive controller block, which can be used to minimize the overall system sensitivity to variations in the power of the input signal. Furthermore, the controller has a tuning mechanism that gives the designer the flexibility to customize the loop parameters to suit a particular application. These performance parameters include lock range, acquisition time, phase noise or jitter, and signal‐to‐noise ratio enhancement. The simulation results show that the proposed loop provides flexibility to optimize the major conflicting system parameters. A prototype of the proposed system was implemented using a field‐programmable gate array (FPGA), and the practical results concur with those obtained by simulation using MATLAB/Simulink. © 2013 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Visual category learning
Authors: Richler Jennifer J. , Palmeri Thomas J. 
Published: November 2013

Visual categories group together different objects as the same kinds of thing. We review a selection of research on how visual categories are learned. We begin with a guide to visual category learning experiments, describing a space of common manipulations of objects, categories, and methods used in the category learning literature. We open with a guide to these details in part because throughout our review we highlight how methodological details can sometimes loom large in theoretical discussions of visual category learning, how variations in methodological details can significantly affect our understanding of visual category learning, and how manipulations of methodological details can affect how visual categories are learned. We review a number of core theories of visual category learning, specifically those theories instantiated as computational models, highlighting just some of the experimental results that help distinguish between competing models. We examine behavioral and neural evidence for single versus multiple representational systems for visual category learning. We briefly discuss how visual category learning influences visual perception, describing empirical and brain imaging results that show how learning to categorize objects can influence how those objects are represented and perceived. We close with work that can potentially impact translation, describing recent experiments that explicitly manipulate key methodological details of category learning procedures with the goal of optimizing visual category learning.WIREs Cogn Sci2014, 5:75–94. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1268This article is categorized under:Psychology > Theory and MethodsPsychology > LearningNeuroscience > Cognition
A review of China's approaches toward a sustainable energy future: the period since 1990
Authors: Zhu Xianli , Zhuang Guiyang , Xiong Na 
Published: November 2013

AbstractChina's rapid economic growth in the past few decades has been accompanied by huge increases in energy demand. The Chinese energy sector faces the multiple challenges of mobilizing huge investment to keep energy supplies in line with increases in demand, securing international oil and gas supplies to meet the widening gap between domestic demand and supply, and reducing environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Identifying China's approaches toward ensuring a sustainable energy future in the last two decades and assessing their effectiveness can be of great value to the future of energy policy‐making in China, as well as to other developing countries facing similar challenges. This article gives a brief overview and assessment of the Chinese approaches toward ensuring a sustainable future. It starts with a description of the challenges facing China in securing universal, clean, affordable and reliable energy supplies, and the evolution of China's strategies for energy development since 1990. On the basis of an empirical review of the different policies and measures taken by the government over time, it explains China's approach to achieving the different aspects of a sustainable energy future. It then uses eight indicators to assess China's progress in improving the sustainability of its energy system. This article finally discusses some aspects that could be improved and the new directions and initiatives China is taking to tackle new issues in its energy development. WIREs Energy Environ 2014, 3:409–423. doi: 10.1002/wene.101This article is categorized under:

Energy and Climate > Economics and Policy
Energy and Development > Economics and Policy
Role of trichomes and pericarp in the seed biology of the desert annual Lachnoloma lehmannii (Brassicaceae)
Authors: Mamut Jannathan , Tan Dun‐Yan , Baskin Carol C. , Baskin Jerry M. 
Published: November 2013

AbstractIn many angiosperms, the fruit rather than the seed is the dispersal/germination unit, and this is the case with Lachnoloma lehmannii, a desert annual ephemeral in central southwestern Asia with indehiscent nonmucilaginuous silicles covered with trichomes. The primary aim of this study was to assess the role of trichomes and pericarp in dispersal, anchorage of diaspores, and seed germination of this species. Mature silicles are dispersed by wind and gravity, and trichomes not only significantly increased their dispersal distance, adherence to sandy soil particles, mass of water imbibed and moisture content, but also decreased the rate of water loss and moisture content of seeds. A significantly higher percentage of seeds within silicles than of isolated seeds retained viability after exposure to 60 °C for 24 h. Seed dormancy is due to the pericarp and to nondeep physiological dormancy, as shown by the increase in germination percentage of isolated seeds following dry storage and treatment with GA3. Removal of pericarp increased germination of 6‐month‐old seeds from 0 to 80–90 %, and leachate from both pericarp and trichomes significantly inhibited germination of isolated seeds. Ninety‐five percent of seeds within silicles buried in soil for 2 years were viable, but only 28 % of them germinated in light at 15/2 °C; thus L. lehmannii forms a persistent soil seed bank. The pericarp and its trichomes may maximize plant fitness by determining the settlement location of silicles, thus helping to ensure that seeds germinate during the cool season for seedling survival in the desert environment.
Platelet-Rich Plasma for Zone II Flexor Tendon Repair
Authors: Kollitz K. M. , Parsons E. M. , Weaver M. S. , Huang J. I. 
Published: November 2013

Background Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has shown promise in the treatment of tendinopathy, including rotator cuff and lateral epicondylitis. Here, we evaluate the effect of PRP on healing in a rabbit zone II flexor tendon model. Methods Thirty New Zealand white rabbits underwent transection and repair of the second and fourth flexor digitorum profundus. Half of the rabbits received autologous PRP intra-operatively, while the other half underwent standard four-strand tendon repair. Tendons were examined at 2, 4, and 8 weeks postoperatively. Range of motion and ultimate tensile strength were assessed on the fourth toes, while second toes underwent histologic analysis with hematoxylin and eosin, Masson Trichrome, and Picrosirius Red, for assessment of cell count, collagen content, and collagen maturity. Results There were no significant differences in ultimate tensile strength between treatments at 2, 4, or 8 weeks. There was a trend towards lower tensile strength in the PRP group at 2 weeks. There was no statistically significant difference in excursion or range of motion between PRP and control tendons. Cell counts at 4 weeks were statistically significantly reduced in the PRP tendons as compared to controls. No difference in collagen content or maturity was detected. Conclusions In contrast to previous studies, PRP did not significantly improve ultimate tensile strength. PRP-treated tendons exhibited trends towards reduced healing, including a significant reduction in cell counts as well as a smaller increase in collagen deposition over time as compared to controls. Further study is needed to determine the precise effect of PRP on intrasynovial flexor tendon repairs.
Nonlinear control of unsteady finite-amplitude perturbations in the Blasius boundary-layer flow
Authors: Cherubini S. , Robinet J.-C. , De Palma P. 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThe present work provides an optimal control strategy, based on the nonlinear Navier–Stokes equations, aimed at hampering the rapid growth of unsteady finite-amplitude perturbations in a Blasius boundary-layer flow. A variational procedure is used to find the blowing and suction control law at the wall providing the maximum damping of the energy of a given perturbation at a given target time, with the final aim of leading the flow back to the laminar state. Two optimally growing finite-amplitude initial perturbations capable of leading very rapidly to transition have been used to initialize the flow. The nonlinear control procedure has been found able to drive such perturbations back to the laminar state, provided that the target time of the minimization and the region in which the blowing and suction is applied have been suitably chosen. On the other hand, an equivalent control procedure based on the linearized Navier–Stokes equations has been found much less effective, being not able to lead the flow to the laminar state when finite-amplitude disturbances are considered. Regions of strong sensitivity to blowing and suction have been also identified for the given initial perturbations: when the control is actuated in such regions, laminarization is also observed for a shorter extent of the actuation region. The nonlinear optimal blowing and suction law consists of alternating wall-normal velocity perturbations, which appear to modify the core flow structures by means of two distinct mechanisms: (i) a wall-normal velocity compensation at small times; (ii) a rotation-counterbalancing effect al larger times. Similar control laws have been observed for different target times, values of the cost parameter, and streamwise extents of the blowing and suction zone, meaning that these two mechanisms are robust features of the optimal control strategy, provided that the nonlinear effects are taken into account.
Suitable regions for date palm cultivation in Iran are predicted to increase substantially under future climate change scenarios
Authors: SHABANI F. , KUMAR L. , TAYLOR S. 
Published: November 2013

SUMMARYThe objective of the present paper is to use CLIMEX software to project how climate change might impact the future distribution of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in Iran. Although the outputs of this software are only based on the response of a species to climate, the CLIMEX results were refined in the present study using two non-climatic parameters: (a) the location of soils containing suitable physicochemical properties and (b) the spatial distribution of soil types having suitable soil taxonomy for dates, as unsuitable soil types impose problems in air permeability, hydraulic conductivity and root development. Here, two different Global climate models (GCMs), CSIRO-Mk3.0 (CS) and MIROC-H (MR), were employed with the A2 emission scenario to model the potential date palm distribution under current and future climates in Iran for the years 2030, 2050, 2070 and 2100. The results showed that only c. 0·30 of the area identified as suitable by CLIMEX will actually be suitable for date palm cultivation: the rest of the area comprises soil types that are not favourable for date palm cultivation. Moreover, the refined outputs indicate that the total area suitable for date palm cultivation will increase to 31·3 million ha by 2100, compared with 4·8 million ha for current date palm cultivation. The present results also indicate that only heat stress will have an impact on date palm distribution in Iran by 2100, with the areas currently impacted by cold stress diminishing by 2100.
Olfaction, pheromones and life
Authors: Hoskison E E 
Published: November 2013

AbstractBackground:From an evolutionary standpoint, olfaction is one of the oldest senses, and one that affects all aspects of life. This review discusses the influence of olfaction and pheromones on life.Methods:A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE (1966–2012), Embase (1988–2012), The Cochrane Library (1993–2013) and Ovid (1966–2012).Results:Olfaction plays an important role in life, from infancy through to adulthood and declining health in old age. Culture, memories and emotions, which add to life's complexity and overall enjoyment, are also influenced by olfaction.Conclusion:Olfaction has a chronological influence on life, affecting all aspects from the cradle to the grave; it plays a role in the quality of life as a key ingredient of human evolution, survival and enjoyment.
Social-ecological factors determine spatial variation in human incidence of tick-borne ehrlichiosis
Authors: BAYLES B. R. , ALLAN B. F. 
Published: November 2013

SUMMARYThe spatial distribution of human cases of tick-borne diseases is probably determined by a combination of biological and socioeconomic factors. A zoonotic tick-borne pathogen, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, is increasing in human incidence in the USA. In this study, the spatial patterns of probable and confirmed E. chaffeensis-associated cases of ehrlichiosis from 2000 to 2011 were investigated at the zip-code level in Missouri. We applied spatial statistics, including global and local regression models, to investigate the biological and socioeconomic factors associated with human incidence. Our analysis confirms that the distribution of ehrlichiosis in Missouri is non-random, with numerous clusters of high incidence. Furthermore, we identified significant, but spatially variable, associations between incidence and both biological and socioeconomic factors, including a positive association with reservoir host density and a negative association with human population density. Improved understanding of local variation in these spatial factors may facilitate targeted interventions by public health authorities.
Katabatic winds and polynya dynamics at Coats Land, Antarctica
Authors: Ebner Lars , Heinemann Günther , Haid Verena , Timmermann Ralph 
Published: November 2013

AbstractMesoscale model simulations were conducted for the Weddell Sea region for the autumn and winter periods of 2008 using a high-resolution, limited-area, non-hydrostatic atmospheric model. A sea ice–ocean model was run with enhanced horizontal resolution and high-resolution forcing data of the atmospheric model. Daily passive thermal and microwave satellite data was used to derive the polynya area in the Weddell Sea region. The focus of the study is on the formation of polynyas in the coastal region of Coats Land, which is strongly affected by katabatic flows. The polynya areas deduced from two independent remote sensing methods and data sources show good agreement, while the results of the sea ice simulation show some weaknesses. Linkages between the pressure gradient force composed of a katabatic and a synoptic component, offshore wind regimes and polynya area are identified. It is shown that the downslope surface offshore wind component of Coats Land is the main forcing factor for polynya dynamics, which is mainly steered by the offshore pressure gradient force, where the katabatic force is the dominant term. We find that the synoptic pressure gradient is opposed to the katabatic force during major katabatic wind events.
Is the Antarctic oscillation trend during the recent decades unusual?
Authors: Zhang Ziyin , Gong Daoyi , Kim Seongjoong , Mao Rui , Yang Jing 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThe Antarctic oscillation (AAO) has been characterized by a persistently positive trend in summer (December–January–February, DJF) during the last 50 years. Thus, the question has arisen of whether the trend is unusual. By investigating five reconstructed historical AAO time series for the past 500 years, recurrences of similar and even stronger trends have been found, indicating that the recent DJF AAO trend is not unprecedented in a historical perspective. To estimate the possible roles played by greenhouse gases or/and ozone, an analysis for DJF AAO trends during the 1969–98 period was conducted using three multiple model ensembles derived from the projects of ‘The twentieth-century climate in coupled models’ (20C3M) and ‘Pre-industrial control experiment models’ (PICTL) of the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR4). The results show that the ozone depletion over Antarctica and global warming may play significant roles in the strengthening trend. Combining the simulations and reconstructions we emphasize that the AAO trend related to global warming may get much stronger when enhanced by low-frequency natural variability.
Rapid decline of the largest remaining population of Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis and recommendations for its conservation
Authors: PACKMAN C. E. , SHOWLER D. A. , COLLAR N. J. , VIRAK SON , MAHOOD S. P. , HANDSCHUH M. , EVANS T. D. , CHAMNAN HONG , DOLMAN P. M. 
Published: November 2013

SummaryA census of the Critically Endangered Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis was conducted between March and May 2012 on and surrounding the Tonle Sap floodplain in Cambodia, which supports the last extant population of the Indochinese subspecies blandini. We found a decline in the number of displaying males of 44–64% since a comparable estimate from the same sites in 2005 to 2007. The estimated population, including five individuals at one previously unsurveyed site, is now 216 (95% CI 156–275) displaying males, plus potential non-displaying males and an unknown number of females. If numbers continue to be lost at a similar rate, it is possible that blandini would become extinct within 10 years. Although the population faces multiple threats, this critical situation has primarily been caused by the recent, rapid conversion of the florican’s grassland habitat to intensive, industrial-scale, irrigated rice cultivation. To protect the Bengal Florican from extinction in South East Asia, existing Bengal Florican Conservation Areas (BFCAs) need expansion and improvements, including strengthened legal status by prime ministerial sub-decree and better demarcation, patrolling and management. As priorities, both irrigated rice and scrub encroachment within the BFCAs needs to be reversed, local communities better supported, and land outside the BFCAs monitored and strategically managed for florican conservation. Where possible, further BFCAs need to be established. Land purchase may also be an effective conservation measure; leasing land earmarked for cultivation would be cheaper, but less secure.
Texture Analyses Show Synergetic Effects of Biomechanical and Biochemical Stimulation on Mesenchymal Stem Cell Differentiation into Early Phase Osteoblasts
Authors: Park So Hee , Shin Ji Won , Kang Yun Gyeong , Hyun Jin-Sook , Oh Min Jae , Shin Jung-Woog 
Published: November 2013

AbstractWe investigated the structural complexity and texture of the cytoskeleton and nucleus in human mesenchymal stem cells during early phase differentiation into osteoblasts according to the differentiation–induction method: mechanical and/or chemical stimuli. For this, fractal dimension and a number of parameters utilizing the gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) were calculated based on single-cell images after confirmation of differentiation by immunofluorescence staining. The F-actin and nuclear fractal dimensions were greater in both stimulus groups compared with the control group. The GLCM values for energy and homogeneity were lower in fibers of the F-actin cytoskeleton, indicating a dispersed F-actin arrangement during differentiation. In the nuclei of both stimulus groups, higher values for energy and homogeneity were calculated, indicating that the chromatin arrangement was chaotic during the early phase of differentiation. It was shown and confirmed that combined stimulation with mechanical and chemical factors accelerated differentiation, even in the early phase. Fractal dimension analysis and GLCM methods have the potential to provide a framework for further investigation of stem cell differentiation.
A yield-only model for the term structure of interest rates
Authors: Şahin Şule , Cairns Andrew J.G. , Kleinow Torsten , Wilkie A. David 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThis paper develops a term structure model for the UK nominal, real and implied inflation spot zero-coupon rates simultaneously. We start with fitting a descriptive yield curve model proposed by Cairns (1998) to fill the missing values for certain given days at certain maturities in the yield curve data provided by the Bank of England. We compare four different fixed ‘exponential rate’ parameter sets and decide the set of parameters which fits the data best. With the chosen set of parameters we fit the Cairns model to the daily values of the term structures. By applying principal component analysis on the hybrid data (Bank of England data and fitted spot rates for the missing values) we find three principal components, which can be described as ‘level’, ‘slope’ and ‘curvature’, for each of these series. We explore the relation between these principal components to construct a ‘yield-only’ model for actuarial applications. Main contribution of this paper is that the models developed in the paper enable the practitioners to forecast three term structures simultaneously and it also provides the forecast for whole term structures rather than just short and long end of the yield curves.
Li-rich Thin Film Cathode Prepared by Pulsed Laser Deposition
Authors: Yan Binggong , Liu Jichang , Song Bohang , Xiao Pengfei , Lu Li 
Published: November 2013

AbstractLi-rich layer-structured cathode thin films are prepared by pulsed laser deposition. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical testing in half battery cells are used to characterize crystal structure, surface morphology, chemical valence states and electrochemical performance of these thin films, respectively. It is observed that partial layer to spinel transformation takes place during post annealing and the layered structure further gradually transforms to spinel during electrochemical cycling based on the analysis of dQ/dV. Electrochemical measurement shows that the thin film electrode deposited at 350 mTorr and post-annealed at 800°C possesses the best performance.