bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Refractory shock secondary to treatment with levofloxacin in an extremely low birth weight infant affected by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia pneumonia
Authors: Leante-Castellanos José Luis , Zamora-Gimeno María Jesús , Gonzálvez-Candela María José , Chica-Marchal Amelia , Fuentes-Gutiérrez Carmen , Lloreda-García José María 
Published: July 2014

Abstract

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an important but rare cause of late onset neonatal sepsis in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. These infections are difficult to treat due to the multiple drug resistance profile of the organism. One class of antibiotics available for use is the quinolones, such as ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin. However, the limited experience and known toxicity of levofloxacin raises further concerns regarding its use in this patient population. We present a case of refractory shock in an ELBW infant following the use of levofloxacin to treat S. maltophilia infection. The use of levofloxacin in ELBW infants may be associated with major hemodynamic compromise and, accordingly, we recommend caution for its use in this patient population.
The Semiotics of Karl Marx
Authors: Ponzio Augusto 
Published: July 2014

Abstract
This paper claims that, as a “cryptosemiotician” and a philosopher, Marx practiced semiotics. Thus the paper examines Marx’s semiotics and its historical and theoretical developments in Europe. The relation between semiotics and Marxism is understood in the sense that the study of signs is not secondary with respect to historical-dialectical materialism. Marxism is an “open system” in that the elements that constitute it are related in such a way that modification of one element provokes modification of the others. It is an open system because it is a scientific system; it is subject to the laws of science and thus continuously susceptible to verification and exposed to confutation. I propose a critical reading of so-called Marxist interpretations of Marxian semiotics.
‘Subject-Object Contrast’ and ‘Subject- Object Merger’ in ‘Thinking for Speaking’
Authors: Ikegami Yoshihiko 
Published: July 2014

Abstract
Language users are known to have the ability to construe a given situation in several alternate ways. It is also known that being faced with one and the same situation, a speaker of one language may prefer to construe it in one way, while a speaker of another language may chose to construe it in another way. The present paper addresses this variability specifically with regard to speaker preference for either the ‘subject-object contrast’ type of construal or the ‘subject-object merger’ type of construal. It further suggests that there can be a parallelism (or ‘homology’) between a speaker’s stance in linguistic encoding and a painter’s stance in pictorial encoding, as can be observed in Japanese cultural artifacts.
Subtitling Humour in Transcultural Context
Authors: Wang Dingkun 
Published: July 2014

Abstract
In China, subtitling is replacing dubbing as the preferred mode of audiovisual translation. Fans of particular shows form groups to circulate their video resources and translations online. Although remaining controversial, ‘fansubs’ shed light on and raise questions in both theoretical and practical aspects of subtitling. Herein I define what the product of subtitling should be and investigate strategies of translation in use. The analysis focuses specifically on translators’ strategies in complying with the constraints of a multimodal medium in order to explain, transform, or neutralize the subtitle for transcultural purposes. This goal is achieved by comparing different versions of Chinese subtitles for the same episodes selected from two American TV sitcoms - The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men.
Symmetry Expands the Potential of Peircean Semiotics
Authors: Fernández Eliseo 
Published: July 2014

Abstract
I focus on the history of energy, symmetry, and symmetry breaking as unifying conceptions connecting previously isolated fields of inquiry. This narrative proceeds through three stages. The first concerns the establishment of the principle of conservation of energy in the second half of the 19th century. The second depicts the emergence of the concept of symmetry and its central role in relativity and quantum physics. The third stage follows the rise of the notion of symmetry breaking from a seminal paper by Pierre Curie to its present pervasive role in explanation and concept unification, and in bridging previously separated disciplines, such as quantum chromodynamics, condensed matter physics, and cosmology. Applications of these ideas to biology and semiotics are noted.
Von der Kritik der Urteilskraft zum Prinzip der offenen Frage
Authors: Lindemann Gesa 
Published: July 2014

Abstract
The relevance of Kant to Plessner’s work was long all but ignored and there is hardly any mention of Plessner in the Kant literature. The Plessner renaissance beginning in the 1990s, however, has brought with it a stronger focus on the methodological construction of his theory, so that the Kant connection has at least been acknowledged, but the particular relevance of Kant’s Critique of Judgement has not been systematically explicated. In this essay, I investigate the connection between Kant’s notion of reflective - specifically teleological - judgment and Plessner’s theory. I begin by setting out the characteristics of teleological judgment, with two points being of particular importance: the temporal structure of the final cause and Kant’s reference to an understanding other than the human, that is, to an ordering power other than the human. In a second step, I work out Plessner’s conceptualization of the spatiotemporal appearance of organisms and the way he understands the other of human understanding as nature’s - or history’s - historically evolved and mutable capacity for self-order. He arrives at these conclusions by way of a methodologically controlled process of questioning derived from Kant, which he calls the “principle of the open question.”
Effectiveness of a Chinese positive youth development program: the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong
Authors: Shek Daniel T.L. , Ma Cecilia M.S. 
Published: July 2014

AbstractAdopting a static group comparison design, this study examined the effectiveness of Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programs) using social survey data. In a longitudinal study, 3328 students were recruited from 28 secondary schools for the wave 1 data, with 16 participating schools (P group) and 12 nonparticipating schools (NP group). The data were collected roughly 4 months after the inception of Project P.A.T.H.S., and the data collection time for the two groups was similar. Results showed that the two groups did not differ in their school characteristics, with the exception of student age, length of stay in Hong Kong and family functioning. Analyses of covariance were conducted with the removal of the effects of age, length of stay in Hong Kong and family functioning. Compared with students in the nonparticipating schools, students participating in the Project P.A.T.H.S. had better positive youth development and displayed less adolescent risk behavior. Acknowledging the limitations of a static group comparison as a pre-experimental design, the present study provides supplementary evidence on the effectiveness of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong.
Service leadership education for university students in Hong Kong: qualitative evaluation
Authors: Shek Daniel T.L. , Lin Li , Liu Ting Ting , Law Moon Y.M. 
Published: July 2014

AbstractThis study examined the perceptions of students taking a subject entitled “Service Leadership” at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University which was developed using the model proposed by the Hong Kong Institute of Service Leadership and Management (HKI-SLAM). After taking this subject, students were invited to participate in a qualitative study where they used three descriptors and a metaphor to describe their experiences about the subject. Based on the reflections of 50 students, results showed that 96.1% of the descriptors and 90% of the metaphors used by the students were positive. In conjunction with the objective outcome evaluation, subjective outcome evaluation and process evaluation findings, the present study suggests that “Service Leadership” is a subject that can promote holistic development in Chinese university students in Hong Kong.
Power Systems Decentralized Optimization
Authors: Ramirez Juan M. , Vargas-Marín Javier , Correa-Gutiérrez Rosa E. 
Published: July 2014

Abstract
The paper’s aim is to explore both active and reactive power losses minimization and voltage stability by a decentralized strategy. The approach assumes that the grid is split into sub-systems; each sub-system is in charge of its own optimal solution using equivalents for the neighbors, so that information exchange is not required. Schedule interchanges among sub-systems have been added as constraints into the optimal formulation. Once the individual solutions are available, the corresponding settings are allocated to the corresponding equipment and a full power flow study is carried out to assure the steady-state preservation. Results are exhibited on two test power systems.
Fault Location for Transmission Lines with Voltage and Current Measurements at One Bus
Authors: Xiu Wanjing , Liao Yuan 
Published: July 2014

Abstract
This paper presents a novel fault location method for transmission lines. The proposed method extends an existing method to locate faults by employing voltage and current measurements at one bus, which can be the bus of the faulted line or be far away from the faulted line. The method is applicable if a loop exists that encloses the faulted line, and the bus, of which the voltage is used, and the branch, of which the current is used. The during-fault positive-sequence bus impedance matrix is derived. Then superimposed voltages and currents due to the fault are expressed as a function of fault location and related transfer and driving point impedances. Consequently, the fault location can be evaluated using the obtained measurements. The distributed parameter line model is adopted to consider the shunt capacitances of the line. The proposed method is independent of fault resistance and fault type. Simulation studies have been carried out based on a 27-bus power system, and promising results have been achieved.
In Vitro Anti-tumor Effects of Chemically Modified Polysaccharides from Cherokee Rose Fruit
Authors: Xiao Kai Jun , Zhang Ling , Liu Xiao Hong , Wang Zhao Mei , Yang Shang Tian 
Published: July 2014

Abstract
Cherokee rose fruit (CRF) is a Chinese traditional herb which has been used in medicine for hundreds of years. The anti-tumor activity of CRF polysaccharides (CRFPs) has not yet been evaluated. To study the in vitro anti-tumor effects of CRFP and its derivatives, native CRFP was isolated from CRF by hot water extraction, and its molecular weight analyzed with gel filtration chromatography was 227,000 Da. Native CRFP was sulfated with ClSO3H-DMF and carboxymethylated with monochloroacetic acid in alkaline aqueous medium. The resulting derivatives were isolated and labeled as SF-CRFP and CM-CRFP, respectively. The in vitro inhibition rates of CRFP and its derivatives for tumor cells SKVO (human ovarian cancer cell), HepG2 (human hepatoma cell), and LoVo (human colon cancer cell) were evaluated, the result showed that native CRFP exhibited no significant inhibition effect on the three tumor cells even at a concentration of 50 μg/ml, but sulfation and carboxymethylation substantially enhanced the anti-tumor activities of CRFP in a dose-dependent way. SF-CRFP at the dose of 50 μg/ml displayed a significant inhibitory effect on SKVO, HepG2, and LoVo, with the viability rates of 33.6%, 44.8%, and 43.2%, respectively. It has a dosage-dependence inhibition on tumor growth in this model, with IC50 for SKVO, HepG 2, and LoVo being 21 μg/ml, 36 μg/ml, and 49 μg/ml, respectively. CM-CRFP showed a specific inhibition on HepG2 with a viability rate of 12.2%, with an IC50 of 17 μg/ml, while it had hardly any anti-tumor effect on SKVO cells. Thus, chemical modifications of CRFPs by sulfation and carboxymethylation effectively improved their anti-tumor properties.
Dorn Creep Model and Finite Element Simulation of SnAgCu-CNT Solder Joints in FCBGA Device
Authors: Zhang Liang , Sun Lei , Han Lei , Guo Yong-huan 
Published: July 2014

Abstract
With the addition CNTs, the properties of SnAgCu solders and solder joints can be improved remarkably. In this paper, based on the creep testing, the Dorn creep model was used to represent the creep behavior of SnAgCuCNT solder, and the parameters were determined with the fitting analysis. Moreover, the Dorn creep model of SnAgCu and SnAgCuCNT was incorporated into finite element code for calculating the creep strain response of solder joints in FCBGA (Flip Chip Ball Grid Array) device during thermal cycle loading. The results indicated that the CNTs can enhance the creep resistance of SnAgCu solder, which demonstrates the SnAgCuCNT solders can replace the SnAgCu solder in electronic industry for highreliability requirement.
Analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant activities of Phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus leaves
Authors: Das Biplab Kumar , Al-Amin Md. Mamun , Chowdhury Nusrat Nabila , Majumder Md. Fakhar Uddin , Uddin Mohammad Nasir , Pavel Md. Adit Muktadir 
Published: July 2014

Abstract

Background: Our present study was carried out to explore the potential role of the methanol extract from the leaves of Phlogocanthus thyrsiflorus (PT) Nees. in central and peripheral analgesic activities using hot plate and acetic acid-induced writhing methods. We also tested the anti-inflammatory effects and anti-oxidant activity using carrageenan-induced paw edema and the DPPH method, respectively.

Methods: Methanol extracts of PT leaves were prepared using 500 g powder in 1.8 L methanol by percolation method, followed by evaporation in a rotary evaporator under controlled temperature and pressure. The crude methanol extract was dried by freeze drier and preserved at 4 °C.

Results: Oral administration of PT significantly (p<0.05) increased the reaction time at 55.73% (250 mg/kg) and 72.81% (500 mg/kg) inhibition (p<0.05) in the hot plate test at 3 h. PT significantly (p<0.05) inhibited 42.17% (250 mg/kg) and 56.63% (500 mg/kg) acetic acid-induced writhing. PT leaves (250 and 500 mg/kg) also significantly (p<0.05) inhibited paw edema 6 h after carrageenan injection. Furthermore, this plant showed significant (p<0.05) free radical-scavenging activity at a dose range of 25–800 μg/mL.

Conclusions: Based on the findings, we can conclude that PT leaf possesses analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant activities. Preliminary phytochemical study of PT leaves revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins and triterpens in methanol extract which could be correlated with its observed biological activities.
Rapid adaptation to time-compressed speech in young and older adults
Authors: Simhony Ma’ayan , Grinberg Michal , Lavie Limor , Banai Karen 
Published: July 2014

Abstract

Background: The ability of human listeners to comprehend rapid speech improves quickly with experience, a process known as adaptation. Whether inefficient adaptation to rapid speech partially accounts for the marked difficulties of older listeners with rapid speech is not clear.

Methods: Two conditions of adaptation to time-compressed speech were used. A baseline condition intended to test the hypothesis that adaptation is different in older and younger listeners, and an interference condition in which sentences compressed to two different rates were interleaved. Identification accuracy was compared between two time points (before and after adaptation) and between older and younger listeners.

Results: The effects of adaptation did not differ between younger and older listeners in either adaptation condition.

Conclusions: It seems that once initial performance differences are taken into account, rapid adaptation to time-compressed speech is as effective and as immune to interference by competing speech rates in younger and older adults.
Auditory-evoked cortical activity: contribution of brain noise, phase locking, and spectral power
Authors: Harris Kelly C. , Vaden Kenneth I. , Dubno Judy R. 
Published: July 2014

Abstract

Background: The N1-P2 is an obligatory cortical response that can reflect the representation of spectral and temporal characteristics of an auditory stimulus. Traditionally, mean amplitudes and latencies of the prominent peaks in the averaged response are compared across experimental conditions. Analyses of the peaks in the averaged response only reflect a subset of the data contained within the electroencephalogram (EEG) signal. We used single-trial analyses techniques to identify the contribution of brain noise, neural synchrony, and spectral power to the generation of P2 amplitude and how these variables may change across age group. This information is important for appropriate interpretation of event-related potentials (ERPs) results and in understanding of age-related neural pathologies.

Methods: EEG was measured from 25 younger and 25 older normal hearing adults. Age-related and individual differences in P2 response amplitudes, and variability in brain noise, phase locking value (PLV), and spectral power (4–8 Hz) were assessed from electrode FCz. Model testing and linear regression were used to determine the extent to which brain noise, PLV, and spectral power uniquely predicted P2 amplitudes and varied by age group.

Results: Younger adults had significantly larger P2 amplitudes, PLV, and power compared to older adults. Brain noise did not differ between age groups. The results of regression testing revealed that brain noise and PLV, but not spectral power were unique predictors of P2 amplitudes. Model fit was significantly better in younger than in older adults.

Conclusions: ERP analyses are intended to provide a better understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms that contribute to individual and group differences in behavior. The current results support that age-related declines in neural synchrony contribute to smaller P2 amplitudes in older normal hearing adults. Based on our results, we discuss potential models in which differences in neural synchrony and brain noise can account for associations with P2 amplitudes and behavior and potentially provide a better explanation of the neural mechanisms that underlie declines in auditory processing and training benefits.
The Law and Land Grabbing: Friend or Foe?
Authors: Alden Wily Liz 
Published: July 2014

AbstractThis paper reflects upon the role of law in the contemporary surge in global large-scale land acquisitions. Its point of reference is the land security of several billion rural poor who traditionally own and use untitled lands that are classified as state lands or unowned public lands in national laws. Most of the affected lands are off-farm areas including forests, marshlands, and rangelands. Investors target these lands in belief they are unowned. Governments concur, selling or leasing these lands on grounds of being technically the lawful owner and despite awareness that these lands are occupied and used. Despite the longstanding nature of such conflicts as well known and long debated, the present land rush brings unresolved contradictions between statutory and customary law and associated meanings of property firmly to the fore. Using Sub-Saharan Africa as the example, this paper examines the legal effects. It is shown that while millions of local land rights are threatened, the land rush also vitalises demands for improved national law status for unregistered customary rights, including those such as forest and rangelands purposely held by communities in common. To this extent, the contemporary rush could prove as much legal friend as foe to majority land rights in agrarian economies. This is partly because the current rush, unlike those that have gone before it, occurs in an environment of advanced popular communication, emergent mass empowerment, and has the advantage of a pre-rush era of legal improvement in the handling of indigenous and customary land rights that has established alternative precedents. Opportunities to coerce modification of classical dispossessory paths of economic growth strongly exist. Global advocacy for secure community land rights is rapidly advancing.
Numerical Investigations on the Nanosecond Pulse Discharge Process of Disk-Shape Plasma Igniter
Authors: Yu Jin-Lu , He Li-Ming , Jiang Yong-Jian , Chen Yong-Gang , Xie Min-Qi 
Published: July 2014

AbstractBased on nonequilibrium plasma dynamics of air discharge, the dynamic model of two-dimensional plasma is established by combining the plasma dynamic model, chemical reaction equations and Navier-Stokes equations. The discharge process of disk-shape plasma igniter is simulated. The process of discharge stream formation is obtained, which results from by electrons’ movement and aggregation. At
Progress on Preferential Etching and Phosphorus Doping of Single Crystal Diamond
Authors: Grotjohn Timothy A. , Tran Dzung T. , Yaran M. Kagan , Schuelke Thomas 
Published: July 2014

ABSTRACTPhosphorus is incorporated into single crystal diamond during epitaxial growth at higher concentrations on the (111) crystallographic surface than on the (001) crystallographic surface. To form n+-type regions in diamond for semiconductor devices it is beneficial to deposit on the (111) surface. However, diamond deposition is faster and of higher quality on the (001) surface. A preferential etch method is described that forms inverted pyramids on the (001) surface of a substrate diamond crystal, which opens (111) faces for improved phosphorus incorporation. The preferential etching occurs on the surface in regions where a nickel film is deposited. The etching is performed in a microwave generated hydrogen plasma operating at 160 Torr with the substrate temperature in the range of 800-950 °C. The epitaxial growth of diamond with high phosphorus concentrations exceeding 1020 cm-3 is performed using a microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition process. Successful growth conditions were achieved with a feedgas mixture of 0.25% methane, 500 ppm phosphine and hydrogen at a pressure of 160 Torr and a substrate temperature of 950-1000°C. The room temperature resistivity of the phosphorus-doped diamond is 120-150 Ω-cm and the activation energy is 0.027 eV.