bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Flapping dynamics of an inverted flag
Authors: Kim Daegyoum , Cossé Julia , Huertas Cerdeira Cecilia , Gharib Morteza 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThe dynamics of an inverted flag are investigated experimentally in order to find the conditions under which self-excited flapping can occur. In contrast to a typical flag with a fixed leading edge and a free trailing edge, the inverted flag of our study has a free leading edge and a fixed trailing edge. The behaviour of the inverted flag can be classified into three regimes based on its non-dimensional bending stiffness scaled by flow velocity and flag length. Two quasi-steady regimes, straight mode and fully deflected mode, are observed, and a limit-cycle flapping mode with large amplitude appears between the two quasi-steady regimes. Bistable states are found in both straight to flapping mode transition and flapping to deflected mode transition. The effect of mass ratio, relative magnitude of flag inertia and fluid inertia, on the non-dimensional bending stiffness range for flapping is negligible, unlike the instability of the typical flag. Because of the unsteady fluid force, a flapping sheet can produce elastic strain energy several times larger than a sheet of the deformed mode, improving the conversion of fluid kinetic energy to elastic strain energy. According to the analysis of the leading-edge vortex formation process, the time scale of optimal vortex formation correlates with efficient conversion to elastic strain energy during bending.
Optimal interval for hot water immersion tail-flick test in rats
Authors: Zhou Quanhong , Bao Yuhua , Zhang Xin , Zeng Lulu , Wang Li , Wang Jing , Jiang Wei 
Published: November 2013

BackgroundThe hot water tail-flick test is widely used to measure the degree of nociception experienced by laboratory animals. This study was carried out to optimise interval times for the hot water immersion tail-flick tests in rats.MethodTen different intervals from 10 s to 1 h were tested in 60 Sprague–Dawley male rats. At least eight rats were tested for each interval in three consecutive hot water tail-flick tests. Dixon's up-and-down method was also used to find the optimal intervals. The same rats were then divided into two groups. In Group N, naloxone was injected to reverse the prolonged latency times, whereas saline was used in the control Group S.ResultsIntervals of 10 s, 20 s, 30 min and 1 h did not significantly impact latencies, yielding similar results in three consecutive tests (p> 0.05). However, interval times of between 30 s and 20 min, inclusively, caused significantly prolonged latencies in the second and third tests (p< 0.001). Dixon's up-and-down method showed that 95% of the rats had prolonged latencies in hot water tail-flick tests at intervals longer than 32 s. Naloxone reversed prolonged latencies in Group N, whereas the latencies in Group S were further prolonged in 5 min interval tests.ConclusionThe optimal intervals for hot water tail-flick tests are either shorter than 20 s or longer than 20 min. The prolonged latencies after repetitive tests were attributable to an endocrine opioid.
Effect of voice therapy after phonomicrosurgery for vocal polyps: a prospective, historically controlled, clinical study
Authors: Ju Y H , Jung K-Y , Kwon S-Y , Woo J-S , Cho J-G , Park M W , Park E-H , Baek S-K 
Published: November 2013

AbstractObjective:This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of post-operative voice therapy after phonomicrosurgery for vocal polyp removal.Methods:The study retrospectively enrolled 55 consecutive patients who had undergone voice therapy after phonomicrosurgery for vocal polyp removal occurring between June 2010 and June 2011. A historical group of 63 similar patients not receiving voice therapy was used as an external control. We compared voice analysis parameters and Voice Handicap Index scores for the two groups.Results:Most objective and subjective voice outcome parameters were significantly improved after surgical treatment. Although the study and control groups showed no significant difference regarding objective parameters (using acoustic and aerodynamic analysis) or the subjective parameters assessed using the grade-roughness-breathiness-asthenia-strain scale, the study group had significantly better final Voice Handicap Index scores.Conclusion:Following surgery for vocal polyps, post-operative voice therapy can improve patients' vocal discomfort, emotional responses and everyday self-perception.
An exact solution in a gravitating fluid with a density-dependent viscosity
Authors: CHAKRABARTI NIKHIL , SCHAMEL HANS 
Published: November 2013

AbstractAn exact nonlinear solution for a cold fluid in presence of a gravitational field and viscous dissipation is obtained using Lagrange variable. It is shown that with a density-dependent viscosity the nonlinear equation can be exactly solved. The solution indicates that in absence of viscosity and initial fluid velocity shear, density collapse occurs at time of the order of inverse Jeans frequency. The effect of viscosity is to delay the collapse but it can not halt the collapse. The initial fluid velocity shear can act in both directions: a positive one leads to delay, a negative one to a speeding up of the density collapse. This nonlinear solution may have some bearing with the structure formations in the universe.
Augustine, the origin of evil, and the mystery of free will
Authors: WILLOWS ADAM M. 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThe question of why humanity first chose to sin is an extension to the problem of evil to which the free-will defence does not easily apply. In De libero arbitrio and elsewhere Augustine argues that as an instance of evil, the fall is necessarily inexplicable. In this article, I identify the problems with this response and attempt to construct an alternative based on Peter van Inwagen's free will ‘mysterianism’. I will argue that the origin of evil is inexplicable not because it is an instance of evil, but because it is an instance of free will.
Planar kinematics analysis of a snake-like robot
Authors: Douadi Lounis , Spinello Davide , Gueaieb Wail , Sarfraz Hassan 
Published: November 2013

SUMMARYThis paper presents the kinematics of a planar multibody vehicle which is aimed at the exploration, data collection, non-destructive testing and general autonomous navigation and operations in confined environments such as pipelines. The robot is made of several identical modules hinged by passive revolute joints. Every module is actuated with four active revolute joints and can be regarded as a parallel mechanism on a mobile platform. The proposed kinematics allows to overcome the nonholonomic kinematic constraint, which characterizes typical wheeled robots, resulting into a higher number of degrees of freedom and therefore augmented actuation inputs. Singularities in the kinematics of the modules are analytically identified. We present the dimensional synthesis of the length of the arms obtained as the solution of an optimization problem with respect to a suitable dexterity index. Simulation results illustrate a kinematic control path following inside pipes. Critical scenarios such as 135° elbows and concentric restriction are explored. Path following shows the kinematic capability of deployment of the robot for autonomous operations in pipelines, with feedback implemented by on-board sensors.
Component Games on Regular Graphs
Authors: HOD RANI , NAOR ALON 
Published: November 2013

We study the (1:b) Maker–Breaker component game, played on the edge set of ad-regular graph. Maker's aim in this game is to build a large connected component, while Breaker's aim is to prevent him from doing so. For all values of Breaker's biasb, we determine whether Breaker wins (on anyd-regular graph) or Maker wins (on almost everyd-regular graph) and provide explicit winning strategies for both players.To this end, we prove an extension of a theorem of Gallai, Hasse, Roy and Vitaver about graph orientations without long directed simple paths.
Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Murine Peyer's Patches from Immunostained Cryosections
Authors: Ahlawat Sarita , De Jesus Magdia , Khare Kedar , Cole Richard A. , Mantis Nicholas J. 
Published: November 2013

AbstractPeyer's patches, macroscopic aggregates of lymphoid follicles present throughout the small intestines of humans and other mammals, are considered the gateway through which luminal dietary antigens and microbes are sampled by the mucosal immune system. The cellular make-up of Peyer's patch lymphoid follicles is not only complex, but highly dynamic, as there are at least four major cell types that are known to migrate in response to antigenic stimulation. In an effort to capture the complexity and dynamic nature of this specialized tissue, here we report the three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of immunofluorescent-labeled mouse Peyer's patch cryosections. The technology that enabled the stacking and linear blending of serial cryosections was a novel macro for Fiji, the open source image-processing package based on ImageJ. By simultaneously labeling cryosections for surface markers CD45R, CD3, and CD11c, we provide a 3D image as well as quantitative measures of B-cell, T-cell, and dendritic cell populations at steady state and following exposure to the mucosal adjuvant cholera toxin.
Living through the end: The phenomenon of dying at home
Authors: Solomon Diane N. , Hansen Lissi 
Published: November 2013

AbstractObjectives:To explore the unique lived experiences of one patient who died at home and her family members, and to interpret how dying at home influenced patterns of bereavement for this patient's family.Methods:Benner's (1985) interpretive phenomenological approach was employed to get at the embedded nature of the social phenomenon of dying at home, uncovering what may be taken for granted by participants — in this case, during and after the patient's home hospice course. The participants were a 78-year-old female diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis six months prior to death, her husband, and three of her four children. In line with the patient's wish to die at home, she voluntarily forewent food and drink when she no longer wished to watch her body deteriorate and felt that her life had run its course. She informed her family of this plan, and all were supportive. For data collection, separate single in-depth interviews were conducted with the deceased three months prior to death, and after death with three of her four children and her spouse of 60 years. For data analysis, the interview transcripts were coded for paradigm cases, exemplars, and themes.Results:The paradigm case, “The Meaning of Being at Home,” revealed that for study participants, remaining home with hospice provided a richly familiar, quiet, and safe environment for being together over time and focusing on relationships. Exemplars included “Driving Her Own Course” and “Not Being a Burden.” Salient themes encompassed patient and family characteristics, support, emotions, the value of time, and aspects of the healthcare team.Significance of results:End-of-life care providers need to hold a patient-centered, family-focused view to facilitate patient and family wishes to remain home to die. Investigation into family relationships, from the perspectives of both patient and family members, longitudinally, may enrich understanding and ability and help patients to die at home.
On the prediction of claim duration for income protection insurance policyholders
Authors: Liu Qing , Pitt David , Wu Xueyuan 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThis paper explores how we can apply various modern data mining techniques to better understand Australian Income Protection Insurance (IPI). We provide a fast and objective method of scoring claims into different portfolios using available rating factors. Results from fitting several prediction models are compared based on not only the conventional loss prediction error function, but also a modified loss function. We demonstrate that the prediction power of all the data mining methods under consideration is clearly evident using a misclassification plot. We also point out that this predictability can be masked by looking at just the conventional prediction error function. We then suggest using the stepwise regression technique to reduce the number of variables used in the data mining methods. Apart from this variable selection method, we also look at principal components analysis to increase understanding of the rating factors that drive claim durations of insured lives. We also discuss and compare how different variable combining techniques can be used to weight available predicting variables. One interesting outcome we discover is that principal components analysis and the weighted combination prediction model together provide very consistent results on identifying the most significant variables for explaining claim durations.
REVIEW: Beyond the fragmentation debate: a conceptual model to predict when habitat configuration really matters
Authors: Villard Marc‐André , Metzger Jean Paul 
Published: November 2013

Summary

Research addressing the effects of habitat fragmentation on species, assemblages or ecosystems has been fraught with difficulties, from its conceptual foundation to statistical analyses and interpretation. Yet, it is critical to address such challenges as ecosystems are rapidly being altered across the world.

Many studies have concluded that effects of habitat loss exceed those of fragmentation per se, that is, the degree to which a given amount of habitat is broken apart. There is also evidence from different biomes and taxa that habitat configuration, that is, the spatial arrangement of habitat at a given time, may influence several landscape processes such as functional connectivity, edge and matrix effects, and thus population viability.

Instead of focusing attention on the relative influence of either habitat loss or fragmentation, we must identify portions of the gradient in habitat amount where configuration effects are most likely to be observed. Here, we suggest that all species are, to a certain degree, sensitive to landscape change and that, assuming a homogeneous matrix, habitat configuration will have a higher influence on species at intermediate values of habitat amount, where configuration has potentially the greatest variability.

On the basis of empirical studies and simulations, we expect that species that are relatively tolerant to fragmentation of their habitat will exhibit a wider band where amount and configuration interact compared to species less tolerant to fragmentation.

Synthesis and applications. Reducing habitat loss should be a top priority for conservation planners. However, researchers should also investigate the indirect impacts of habitat loss on biodiversity through fragmentation effects. This research aims to identify windows of opportunity where habitat configuration can mitigate to some extent the effects of habitat loss, particularly through the maintenance of functional connectivity.
Modelling flight heights of marine birds to more accurately assess collision risk with offshore wind turbines
Authors: Johnston Alison , Cook Aonghais S. C. P. , Wright Lucy J. , Humphreys Elizabeth M. , Burton Niall H. K. 
Published: November 2013

Summary

The number of offshore wind farms is rapidly increasing as they are a critical part of many countries' renewable energy strategies. Quantifying the likely impacts of these developments on wildlife is a fundamental part of the impact assessments required in many regions before permission for developments is granted. A key concern related to wind turbines is the risk of birds colliding with turbine blades. We present a novel method to generate species‐specific flight height distributions which can be used to improve the assessment of collision risk by better reflecting the proportion of in‐flight populations at risk of collision.

Data describing the flight heights of birds from surveys of 32 potential offshore wind farm development sites were combined to estimate continuous distributions for 25 marine bird species. Observations of flying birds assigned to discrete height categories were treated as observations from independent multinomial distributions with a shared underlying continuous distribution. This analysis enables calculation of the uncertainty around the estimates of the proportion of the in‐flight population at risk and consideration of different turbine designs.

The mean r2 for model fit across species was 0·85, and for seven of the species, good independent model validation (80% of independent observations within 95% confidence intervals) provides some confidence for use of the results at alternative sites.

All species exhibited positively skewed flight height distributions. These results demonstrate that under the conditions in which the data were collected, raising hub height and using fewer, larger turbines are effective measures for reducing collision risk.

Synthesis and applications. The methods presented here for modelling continuous flight height distributions provide measures of uncertainty and enable comparison of collision risk between different turbine designs. This approach will improve the accuracy of impact assessments and provide estimates of uncertainty, allowing better evidence to inform decision‐making.
A Gateway®‐compatible bacterial adenylate cyclase‐based two‐hybrid system
Authors: Ouellette Scot P. , Gauliard Emilie , Antosová Zuzana , Ladant Daniel 
Published: November 2013

SummaryThe bacterial adenylate cyclase two‐hybrid (BACTH) system has been widely used to characterize protein–protein interactions in the prokaryotic world. This system relies on the interaction‐mediated reconstitution of adenylate cyclase activity in Escherichia coli by bringing together two complementary fragments of the catalytic domain of the adenylate cyclase toxin of Bordetella pertussis. A limiting factor in performing large‐scale two‐hybrid interaction screens with full‐length open reading frames (ORFs) is the need to clone each ORF individually into the plasmids used to express the hybrid proteins. The Gateway® (GW) cloning system (Life Technologies, Grand Island, NY, USA) partially circumvents this limitation, and we describe here modifications to the BACTH system for compatibility with this recombineering technology. We validated and tested the functionality of the BACTH Gateway (BACTHGW) system using several models of protein–protein interactions, focusing particularly on those involved in bacterial cell division. We further modified the BACTH plasmids to incorporate a transmembrane (TM) segment downstream of the cyclase fragments to permit analysis of extracytoplasmic protein interactions. This approach was also useful to identify putative TM segments and to experimentally validate bioinformatically identified TM domains. The BACTHGW system will prove a useful addition to the study of protein–protein interactions.
Capital Controls and International Development: A Theoretical Reconsideration
Authors: Sheng Li 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThis survey article develops a stochastic framework to analyze capital inflows and outflows and to illustrate how a developing economy can determine its level of capital account openness and simultaneously balance concerns regarding economic growth and volatility. We find that rapid economic growth inevitably causes fluctuations in a financially immature economy that has a high level of capital account openness. We identify a conflict of interest between capital‐rich and capital‐importing economies when capital account liberalization is promoted by the former.
The expression of prostaglandin receptors EP3 and EP4 in human cervix in post‐term pregnancy differs between failed and successful labor induction
Authors: Roos Nathalie , Blesson Chellakkan S. , Stephansson Olof , Masironi Britt , Vladic Stjernholm Ylva , Ekman‐Ordeberg Gunvor , Sahlin Lena 
Published: November 2013

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate expression and localization of prostaglandin receptors EP1‐4 and FP and localization of stromal factors CTGF (connective tissue growth factor), furin, calgranulin B and ALOX15 (arachidonate 15‐lipooxygenase) in human cervical tissue from post‐term women with failed or successful labor induction after prostaglandin priming.DesignExperimental prospective clinical study.SettingTertiary obstetric care center.PopulationTwenty‐six women giving birth post‐term, with failed or successful labor induction, and a control group consisting of 19 women with spontaneous onset of labor and delivery at term.MethodsBiopsies were obtained from post‐term women with successful (responders; R) and failed (non‐responders; NR) labor induction. Women with spontaneous delivery at term were included as controls (C). mRNA expression was determined with real time PCR, protein expression and localization with immunohistochemistry.Main outcome measuresComparisons of mRNA and protein expressions between post‐term pregnancies with failed and successful labor induction as well as term controls.ResultsEP4 mRNA expression was down‐regulated concomitant with an up‐regulation of EP3 mRNA expression in cervix from the NR group as compared with the R group. In stroma, immunoreactivity of the EP4 protein was increased in the NR group as compared with R and C groups.ConclusionsFailure of cervical ripening, after local application of prostaglandins for labor induction, may be caused by the increased expression of EP3 and concomitant decrease in EP4 expression.
Genetic perspectives on northern population cycles: bridging the gap between theory and empirical studies
Authors: Norén Karin , Angerbjörn Anders 
Published: November 2013

ABSTRACTMany key species in northern ecosystems are characterised by high‐amplitude cyclic population demography. In 1924,CharlesElton described the ecology and evolution of cyclic populations in a classic paper and, since then, a major focus has been the underlying causes of population cycles. Elton hypothesised that fluctuations reduced population genetic variation and influenced the direction of selection pressures. In concordance withElton, present theories concern the direct consequences of population cycles for genetic structure due to the processes of genetic drift and selection, but also include feedback models of genetic composition on population dynamics. Most of these theories gained mathematical support during the 1970s and onwards, but due to methodological drawbacks, difficulties in long‐term sampling and a complex interplay between microevolutionary processes, clear empirical data allowing the testing of these predictions are still scarce. Current genetic tools allow for estimates of genetic variation and identification of adaptive genomic regions, making this an ideal time to revisit this subject. Herein, we attempt to contribute towards a consensus regarding the enigma described byElton almost 90 years ago. We present nine predictions covering the direct and genetic feedback consequences of population cycles on genetic variation and population structure, and review the empirical evidence. Generally, empirical support for the predictions was low and scattered, with obvious gaps in the understanding of basic population processes. We conclude that genetic variation in northern cyclic populations generally is high and that the geographic distribution and amount of diversity are usually suggested to be determined by various forms of context‐ and density‐dependent dispersal exceeding the impact of genetic drift. Furthermore, we found few clear signatures of selection determining genetic composition in cyclic populations. Dispersal is assumed to have a strong impact on genetic structuring and we suggest that the signatures of other microevolutionary processes such as genetic drift and selection are weaker and have been over‐shadowed by density‐dependent dispersal. We emphasise that basic biological and demographical questions still need to be answered and stress the importance of extensive sampling, appropriate choice of tools and the value of standardised protocols.