bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Intravascular Stem Cell Bioreactor for Prevention of Adverse Remodeling After Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Johnston Peter V. , Hwang Chao‐Wei , Bogdan Virginia , Mills Kevin J. , Eggan Elliott R. , Leszczynska Aleksandra , Wu Katherine C. , Herzka Daniel A. , Brinker Jeffrey A. , Schulman Steven P. , Banerjee Monisha , Florea Victoria , Natsumeda Makoto , Tompkins Bryon , Balkan Wayne , Hare Joshua M. , Tomaselli Gordon F. , Weiss Robert G. , Gerstenblith Gary
Published: July 2019

Background

Prevention of adverse remodeling after myocardial infarction (
MI)
is an important goal of stem cell therapy. Clinical trial results vary, however, and poor cell retention and survival after delivery likely limit the opportunity to exert beneficial effects. To overcome these limitations, we built an implantable intravascular bioreactor (
IBR
) designed to protect contained cells from washout, dilution, and immune attack while allowing sustained release of beneficial paracrine factors.

Methods and Results

IBR
s were constructed using semipermeable membrane adhered to a clinical‐grade catheter shaft. Mesenchymal stem cell (
MSC
) viability in and paracrine factor release from
IBR
s were assessed in vitro and
IBR
biocompatibility and immune protection confirmed in vivo. In a porcine anterior
MI
model,
IBR
s containing 25 million allogeneic
MSC
s (
IBR
‐
MSCs
) were compared with
IBR
s containing media alone (
IBR
‐Placebo; n=8 per group) with adverse remodeling assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. Four weeks after
MI
,
IBR
‐
MSCs
had no significant change in end‐diastolic volume (+0.33±4.32 mL;
P
=0.89), end‐systolic volume (+2.14±4.13 mL;
P
=0.21), and left ventricular ejection fraction (−2.27±2.94;
P
=0.33) while
IBR
‐Placebo had significant increases in end‐diastolic volume (+10.37±3.84 mL;
P
=0.01) and
ESV
(+11.35±2.88 mL;
P
=0.01), and a significant decrease in
left ventricular ejection fraction
(−5.78±1.70;
P
=0.025). Eight weeks after
MI
, adherent pericarditis was present in 0 of 8
IBR
‐
MSCs
versus 4 of 8
IBR
‐Placebo (
P
=0.02), suggesting an anti‐inflammatory effect. In a separate study, 25 million allogeneic pig
MSC
s directly injected in the peri‐infarct zone 3 days after
MI
(n=6) showed no significant benefit in adverse remodeling at 4 weeks compared with
IBR
‐
MSCs
.

Conclusions

MSC
s deployed inside an implantable, removable, and potentially rechargeable bioreactor in a large animal model remain viable, are immunoprotected, and attenuate adverse remodeling 4 weeks after
MI
.
Radical Scepticism and the Epistemology of Confusion
Authors: Carter J. Adam
Published: July 2019

The lack of knowledge—as Timothy Williamson famously maintains—is ignorance. Radical sceptical arguments, at least in the tradition of Descartes, threaten universal ignorance. They do so by attempting to establish that we lack any knowledge, even if we can retain other kinds of epistemic standings, like epistemically justified belief. If understanding is a species of knowledge, then radical sceptical arguments threaten to rob us categorically of knowledge and understanding in one fell swoop by implying universal ignorance. If, however, understanding is not a species of knowledge, then three questions arise: (i) is ignorance the lack of understanding, even if understanding is not a species of knowledge? (ii) If not, what kind of state of intellectual impoverishment best describes a lack of understanding? (iii) What would a radical sceptical argument look like that threatened that kind of intellectual impoverishment, even if not threatening ignorance? This paper answers each of these questions in turn. I conclude by showing how the answers developed to (i–iii) interface in an interesting way with Virtue Perspectivism as an anti-sceptical strategy.
How Do Ocean Warm Anomalies Favor the Aggregation of Deep Convective Clouds?
Authors: Shamekh Sara , Muller Caroline , Duvel Jean-Philippe , D’Andrea Fabio
Published: July 2019

We investigate the role of a warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly (hot spot of typically 3 to 5 K) on the aggregation of convection using cloud-resolving simulations in a nonrotating framework. It is well known that SST gradients can spatially organize convection. Even with uniform SST, the spontaneous self-aggregation of convection is possible above a critical SST (here 295 K), arising mainly from radiative feedbacks. We investigate how a circular hot spot helps organize convection, and how self-aggregation feedbacks modulate this organization. The hot spot significantly accelerates aggregation, particularly for warmer/larger hot spots, and extends the range of SSTs for which aggregation occurs; however, at cold SST (290 K) the aggregated cluster disaggregates if we remove the hot spot. A large convective instability over the hot spot leads to stronger convection and generates a large-scale circulation which forces the subsidence drying outside the hot spot. Indeed, convection over the hot spot brings the atmosphere toward a warmer temperature. The warmer temperatures are imprinted over the whole domain by gravity waves and subsidence warming. The initial transient warming and concomitant subsidence drying suppress convection outside the hot spot, thus driving the aggregation. The hot-spot-induced large-scale circulation can enforce the aggregation even without radiative feedbacks for hot spots sufficiently large/warm. The strength of the large-scale circulation, which defines the speed of aggregation, is a function of the hot spot fractional area. At equilibrium, once the aggregation is well established, the moist convective region with upward midtropospheric motion, centered over the hot spot, has an area surprisingly independent of the hot spot size.
Three-Dimensional Baroclinic Eddies in the Ocean: Evolution, Propagation, Overall Structures, and Angular Models
Authors: Liao Guanghong , Xu Xiaohua , Dong Changming , Cao Haijin , Wang Tao
Published: July 2019

The evolution and dynamics of an initially Gaussian baroclinic vortex embedded in a resting stratification environment are investigated with a three-dimensional primitive equation model. The vortex evolution process strongly depends on multiple parameters. Particularly, the effects of the gradient of planetary vorticity, nonlinearity, and friction have been studied to evaluate their roles. Comparisons with previous results from a simplified model are made. We particularly focus on interactions between vortices at different levels to understand their evolution. Additionally, a set of numerical simulations has been performed to examine the role of parameter space (Froude–Rossby number) on the evolution of eddies. The evolution and propagation of the vortex is affected by the planetary vorticity gradient; nonlinearity accelerates the transfer of energy from low to high angular mode and speeds up the propagation of eddies. A new finding is that a “double dipole” structure is observed with the development of a vortex, which is located in the core and edge regions, respectively. Only eddies in a finite depth range can maintain synchronous motion, and the dispersive translation paths in all levels imply that initially aligned eddies finally develop into misaligned structures and lead the tilted axis. In contrast to the results in a previous study, eddies have a southward drift irrespective of the vortex polarity. The eddies in the upper level maintain strong stability; in the middle depths, eddies decay rapidly where they form mixed barotropic and baroclinic instabilities. The energy budget analysis demonstrates the complex energy conversion between eddy and angular modes. The Burger number is the most important factor affecting the pattern of eddy evolution.
Quasi-Operational Testing of Real-Time Storm-Longevity Prediction via Machine Learning
Authors: McGovern Amy , Karstens Christopher D. , Smith Travis , Lagerquist Ryan
Published: July 2019

Real-time prediction of storm longevity is a critical challenge for National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters. These predictions can guide forecasters when they issue warnings and implicitly inform them about the potential severity of a storm. This paper presents a machine-learning (ML) system that was used for real-time prediction of storm longevity in the Probabilistic Hazard Information (PHI) tool, making it a Research-to-Operations (R2O) project. Currently, PHI provides forecasters with real-time storm variables and severity predictions from the ProbSevere system, but these predictions do not include storm longevity. We specifically designed our system to be tested in PHI during the 2016 and 2017 Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) experiments, which are a quasi-operational naturalistic environment. We considered three ML methods that have proven in prior work to be strong predictors for many weather prediction tasks: elastic nets, random forests, and gradient-boosted regression trees. We present experiments comparing the three ML methods with different types of input data, discuss trade-offs between forecast quality and requirements for real-time deployment, and present both subjective (human-based) and objective evaluation of real-time deployment in the HWT. Results demonstrate that the ML system has lower error than human forecasters, which suggests that it could be used to guide future storm-based warnings, enabling forecasters to focus on other aspects of the warning system.
A Semi-Autonomous Method to Detect Cosmic Rays in Raman Hyperspectral Data Sets
Authors: Uckert Kyle , Bhartia Rohit , Michel John
Published: July 2019

Cosmic rays can degrade Raman hyperspectral images by introducing high-intensity noise to spectra, obfuscating the results of downstream analyses. We describe a novel method to detect cosmic rays in deep ultraviolet Raman hyperspectral data sets adapted from existing cosmic ray removal methods applied to astronomical images. This method identifies cosmic rays as outliers in the distribution of intensity values in each wavelength channel. In some cases, this algorithm fails to identify cosmic rays in data sets with high inter-spectral variance, uncorrected baseline drift, or few spectra. However, this method effectively identifies cosmic rays in spatially uncorrelated hyperspectral data sets more effectively than other cosmic ray rejection methods and can potentially be employed in commercial and robotic Raman systems to identify cosmic rays semi-autonomously.
Viscoelastic epoxy foams by an aqueous emulsion foaming process
Authors: Uy Lan Du Ngoc , Fauzi Muhammad Syazwan , Viet Cao Xuan , Raps Daniel , Altstädt Volker
Published: July 2019

The research proposed an aqueous emulsion foaming process to produce a viscoelastic epoxy foam having a density of 0.33–0.36 g/cm3 from the polyamide–epoxy adduct, which uses a reverse ratio of epoxy and polyamide hardener. The process is simple, economical and uses no surfactant, thanks to the emulsifying ability of polyamide hardener. Firstly, the mixture of excess polyamide, epoxy and sodium bicarbonate was emulsified with distilled water using high-speed stirring to form dispersed epoxy droplets in water. Secondly, a solution of ammonium chloride was added, which reacted with sodium bicarbonate to produce carbon dioxide and ammonia gases dispersed in the epoxy emulsion. The expanding gases induced flocculation and partial coalescence of the epoxy droplets; sequentially water molecules were entrapped within them. Finally, a curing process was carried out to stabilise the foam morphology and structure. Two types of pore morphologies were observed: a large foam-pore generated from blowing-agent gases and a cell-wall pore formed from the vapourisation of entrapped water (as the void template). Porosity and pore morphologies depended on blowing-agent content, and the viscoelasticity was affected by the epoxy/polyamide ratio. The obtained viscoelastic foams showed a large number of interconnected cells and exhibited high compression set values.
At Home and Abroad: The Use of Denial-of-service Attacks during Elections in Nondemocratic Regimes
Authors: Lutscher Philipp M. , Weidmann Nils B. , Roberts Margaret E. , Jonker Mattijs , King Alistair , Dainotti Alberto
Published: July 2019

In this article, we study the political use of denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, a particular form of cyberattack that disables web services by flooding them with high levels of data traffic. We argue that websites in nondemocratic regimes should be especially prone to this type of attack, particularly around political focal points such as elections. This is due to two mechanisms: governments employ DoS attacks to censor regime-threatening information, while at the same time, activists use DoS attacks as a tool to publicly undermine the government’s authority. We analyze these mechanisms by relying on measurements of DoS attacks based on large-scale Internet traffic data. Our results show that in authoritarian countries, elections indeed increase the number of DoS attacks. However, these attacks do not seem to be directed primarily against the country itself but rather against other states that serve as hosts for news websites from this country.
Climatic Stress, Internal Migration, and Syrian Civil War Onset
Authors: Ash Konstantin , Obradovich Nick
Published: July 2019

Syria recently suffered a once in 500-year meteorological drought followed by one of the worst conflicts of the twenty-first century. We exploit subnational variation in drought impact to examine associations between climatic stress and Syria’s political unrest. Climatic stress may produce instability through both immediate hardship and, indirectly, internal migration. Consistent with the internal migration hypothesis, we find less severely drought-stricken Syrian regions more likely to experience protest. We employ nighttime lights as a proxy for population density to examine the association between climatic stress and internal displacement. We find climatic stress decreased nighttime light intensity during the drought period. Increases in nighttime lights from 2005 to 2010 are associated with added risk of protest in Sunni Arab areas, suggesting an influx of migrants bolstered local grievances. Our findings support the internal migration hypothesis and suggest extreme climate events may impact civil unrest via geographically and temporally indirect paths.
Head and Neck Cancer Immunotherapy beyond the Checkpoint Blockade
Authors: Heath B.R. , Michmerhuizen N.L. , Donnelly C.R. , Sansanaphongpricha K. , Sun D. , Brenner J.C. , Lei Y.L.
Published: July 2019

The success of immune checkpoint receptor blockade has brought exciting promises for the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). While patients who respond to checkpoint inhibitors tend to develop a durable response, <15% of patients with HNSCC respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors, underscoring the critical need to alleviate cancer resistance to immunotherapy. Major advances have been made to elucidate the intrinsic and adaptive resistance mechanisms to immunotherapy. Central genomic events in HNSCC have been found to possess previously unknown roles in suppressing immune sensing. Such inhibitory function affects both the innate and adaptive arms of tumor-specific immunity. While checkpoint blockade effectively reinvigorates adaptive T-cell responses, additional targeting of the oncogenic inhibitors of innate immune sensing likely informs a novel and potent strategy for immune priming. This review discusses the recent advances on the identification of key HNSCC oncogenes that impair antitumor immunity and emerging immune-priming approaches that sensitize poorly immunogenic HNSCCs to checkpoint blockade. These approaches include but are not limited to cancer vaccine systems utilizing novel type I interferon agonists as immune adjuvants, radiation, DNA damage-inducing agents, and metabolic reprogramming. The goal of these multipronged approaches is to expand tumor-specific effector T-cells, break checkpoint receptor-mediated tolerance, and metabolically support sustained T-cell activation. The translation of therapeutics that reverses oncogenic inhibition of immune sensing requires thorough characterization of the HNSCC regulators of innate immune sensors, development of additional immunocompetent HNSCC mouse models, as well as engineering of more robust immune adjuvant delivery systems. Built on the success of checkpoint blockade, validation of novel immune-priming approaches holds key promises to expand the pool of responders to immunotherapy.
MiR-361-3p/Nfat5 Signaling Axis Controls Cementoblast Differentiation
Authors: Liao H.Q. , Liu H. , Sun H.L. , Xiang J.B. , Wang X.X. , Jiang C.X. , Ma L. , Cao Z.G.
Published: July 2019

The development of periodontal tissue is a complex process, including cementoblast proliferation and differentiation. Emerging reports suggest that microRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial roles in gene regulatory networks governing numerous biological processes. However, how miRNAs modulate cementoblast proliferation and differentiation remains largely unknown. In a previous study, we performed miRNA microarray profiling to fully reveal the expression patterns of miRNAs involved in cementoblast differentiation. We focused on miR-361-3p, which decreased during cementoblast differentiation. Overexpression of miR-361-3p resulted in decreased cementoblast differentiation, whereas the functional inhibition of miR-361-3p yielded the opposite effect. The bioinformatics approach identified nuclear factor of activated T-cell 5 ( Nfat5) as a potential target of miR-361-3p, which was further verified by dual luciferase assay. Meanwhile, the expression pattern of Nfat5 was verified both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, knockdown of Nfat5 mimicked the inhibitory effect of overexpressing miR-361-3p in cementoblasts. Moreover, multiple signaling pathways, including the Erk1/2, JNK, p38, PI3K-Akt, and NF-κB pathways, were notably activated, and the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway was blocked by downregulation of Nfat5 or forced expression of miR-361-3p in cementoblast differentiation. Finally, the complementary approach demonstrated that miR-361-3p regulated cementoblast differentiation via or partially via Erk1/2 and PI3K-Akt. Overall, our study elucidated that the JNK, p38, NF-κB, and Wnt/ß-catenin pathways act as balancing players in the miR-361-3p/ Nfat5 signaling axis during cementoblast differentiation.
H2O-Centered Education: Helping Education Excellence Flow More Freely
Authors: Higley Brian P. , Heesacker Martin , Brenneman Kaylee N.
Published: July 2019

U.S. colleges and universities have been demonstrably ineffective at facilitating scholarship among their students. To become effective, psychological science suggests institutions must tap students’ intrinsic motivations and address their core values from Day 1 through graduation. This article describes a science-based, integrated set of solutions, labeled H2O-centered education, which creates and sustains instructional environments in which students develop and implement well-defined goals aligned with their intrinsic motivations and values, and the institution’s goals. The objective of H2O-centered education is to create educational environments that tap students’ genuine interest, resulting in meaningful student self-exploration and development and enduring and transferable learning.
Evaluation of the Satisfaction of Undergraduate Students Through the Structural Equations Modeling
Authors: Pacheco Salles Fagner Luiz , Maciel Ferreira Denise , Torres dos Santos Lopes Danielle , Bull Loose Maria Esthela
Published: July 2019

Access to higher education has increased in private networks due to scholarships and funding. Student satisfaction is a dynamic process and involves several aspects that significantly impact student learning. The objective of this study was to evaluate the determinants of the overall satisfaction of university students in relation to the course, and this study proposes to test whether the constructs indicated by Paswan and Young can be used to measure the overall satisfaction of students of this private university. The results showed that the teacher–student interaction, the demand, and the organization of the course influence the teacher’s involvement and the student’s interest.
Effect of Emotional State of Nurses Working in Intensive Care on Their Attitudes Toward Death
Authors: Peker Şevval , Yıldırım Sinem , Arıkan Hacer Ceren , Kocatepe Vildan , Ünver Vesile
Published: July 2019

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the emotional state of the nurses working in intensive care unit on their attitudes toward death. The study was conducted with the participation of 100 nurses working in intensive care units between July and December 2017. A positive statistically significant correlation was found between the nurses’ status of approaching emotions and subscales of Death Attitude Profile ( p < .05). It was observed that there was a positive significant correlation between the emotional avoidance scores and neutral acceptance and approach acceptance ( r = .281), escape acceptance ( r = .335), and fear of death and death avoidance ( r = .490) scores ( p < .05).
Struggles for moral value and the reproduction of gendered and racialised hierarchies in online discussions of violence
Authors: Venäläinen Satu , Virkki Tuija
Published: July 2019

The article examines online discussions in Finland that focus on violence committed by Finnish women, on one hand, and non-white migrant men, on the other. Drawing on the perspective of sociology of value, the article illustrates how these discussions function as sites of struggles over moral worth in a contemporary context characterised by crises of both male and white hegemony. The authors suggest that, through the discussions, these current crises are projected on migrant men and certain groups of women, who thereby become construed as morally reprehensible. The analysis sheds light on processes of (re-)legitimating the moral virtue historically attached to both masculinity and whiteness, and thereby shows how gendered and racialised hierarchies are reproduced in the context of meaning-making around the issue of violence. Also discussed is how these dynamics and the process of reproduction via discourse draw upon historically recurring meanings and evaluations while simultaneously tailored to contemporary circumstances. The tailoring is performed via explicit reference to the value of gender equality, which serves a dual function: re-inscribing moral value in white masculinity while excluding from the circuits of value both racialised masculinities and Finnish women portrayed as doing gender and whiteness in the ‘wrong’ way. These processes give the discussants room for justifying hate and violent exclusion of such women and migrant men while also muting any dissenting voices attempting to resist circulation of the derogatory meanings.
Synchronization control for robot manipulators driven by induction motors with flux and velocity observers
Authors: Torres Felipe-de-Jesús , Guerrero Gerardo-Vicente , García Carlos-Daniel , Núñez Diego-Alfredo , Mota Juan
Published: July 2019

This paper presents a design of synchronization of robot manipulators driven by induction motors in the case where the flux, velocity and currents are estimated. The synchronization is developed in both the joint space and workspace. The [Formula: see text] field oriented frame model of the induction motor is used to design the synchronization control approach. An observer based on the [Formula: see text] frame model is proposed to estimate the flux, velocity and currents variables, then they are converted to the variables of the [Formula: see text] field-oriented model, and finally the remaining variables are estimated by means of an observer based on the [Formula: see text] frame model. Stability is proved via a Lyapunov analysis. Simulations show the proposed controllers yield synchronization errors asymptotically stables in the closed-loop response.
Symptom Clusters and Health-related Quality of Life in Chinese patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Authors: Wu Maochun , Zan Tao , Zhao Qiheng , Ge Song , Li Kun , Li Junxin
Published: July 2019

This study aimed to identify symptom clusters of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to examine the relationship between symptom clusters and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). It included 154 hospitalized patients with COPD. The majority of the participants (88.6%) were aged 60 years and above, and the numbers of men and women were approximately equal (men: 55.2%). The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS), and the Chinese version of the Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ) were used to evaluate comorbidity, participant’s symptoms, and HRQoL, respectively. Five symptom clusters were identified using exploratory factor analysis, and symptom clusters, especially the Psychological, Pain and Fatigue, GI, and Dyspnea-Sweat symptom clusters, had negative effects on HRQoL in patients with COPD. Understanding the patterns and occurrences of symptom clusters could be essential for developing effective interventions to manage COPD symptoms and improve the patients’ HRQoL.
Therapeutic effect of gradual attention training on language function in patients with post-stroke aphasia: a pilot study
Authors: Zhang Hong , Li He , Li Ruojin , Xu Guoxing , Li Zhenlan
Published: July 2019

Objective:

To investigate the effect of gradual attention training on language function with aphasia.

Design:

Randomized controlled trial.

Participants:

A total of 40 patients (mean age: 53.47 years) with post-stroke aphasia came from the stroke rehabilitation unit of rehabilitation department in the First Hospital of Jilin University, of which 13 (32.5%) had intracerebral hemorrhage, 28 inpatients and 12 outpatients, 11 women and 29 men, 34 within three-month stroke and 6 within three months to one year.

Interventions:

All participants were divided into control and experimental groups. Both groups received language treatment 20 minutes a day, six days/week, for five weeks, and the experimental group received gradual attention training 20 minutes a day, six days/week, for five weeks.

Main measures:

Language function was assessed pre- and post-treatment by components of the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) which included spontaneous speech, auditory comprehension, repetition, and naming and then calculated the aphasia quotient (AQ).

Results:

The mean (SD) AQ of the experimental group and control group, respectively, was 25.71 (12.63) and 26.2 (12.31) at baseline. After treatment, the AQ mean (SD) was 43.08 (15.14) in the experimental group, which showed a significant improvement compared to 33.48 (14.04) in the control group ( P = 0.02).All items of WAB were higher in experimental group than those in control group, especially in auditory comprehension and naming ( P = 0.02, 0.01).

Conclusion:

Gradual attention training seemed to improve language function in post-stroke aphasia, specifically function of listening comprehension and naming.
The Anti-Public Administration Presidency: The Damage Trump Has Wrought
Authors: Goodsell Charles T.
Published: July 2019

President Trump and his Administration have gravely damaged the institutions and values of American public administration. Harm has been done to the federal workforce, the policymaking process, the integrity of missions, agencies and programs, and the government’s relation to science.
Do Small Local Governments Fare Well? A Survey of Villages in New York
Authors: Zhang Pengju , Holzer Marc
Published: July 2019

Public administration studies have not adequately discussed governance challenges for small local governments. Given that more than 10% of villages have, unprecedentedly, voted on dissolution in New York over the past 10 years, this article exclusively and comprehensively investigates how well villages are faring in New York. Using a representative survey of village governments, coupled with a rich secondary data set, it finds institutional and political tensions between villages and their underlying town(s). It also suggests intergovernmental fiscal factors have threatened the organizational and fiscal health of some village governments. In addition, villages have extensively established service-sharing mechanisms with town(s) to mitigate fiscal stress. The majority of village officials remain skeptical about dissolution as an effective approach to cost savings.
Cerebellar artery arising from the cavernous segment of the internal carotid artery and persistent trigeminal artery: a spectrum of incomplete longitudinal fusion
Authors: Cho Dong Young , Kim Bum-soo , Jang Jinhee , Choi Hyun Seok , Jung So Lyung , Ahn Kook-jin , Shin Yong Sam
Published: July 2019

Background

The embryological relationship between cerebellar arteries originating directly from the cavernous segment of the internal carotid artery and persistent trigeminal artery is not well understood.

Purpose

To evaluate the incidence and pattern of cerebellar arteries originating from the internal carotid artery and persistent trigeminal artery, and to discuss their probable embryological relationship.

Material and Methods

We reviewed 5113 angiographic studies from 5093 patients at our institution over the last eight years, searching for patients with persistent trigeminal artery and cerebellar arteries originating from a cavernous segment of internal carotid artery (persistent trigeminal artery variant).

Results

Of the 5093 patients, 27 patients had persistent trigeminal artery or persistent trigeminal artery variant (0.53%). Twenty patients (6 men, 14 women; median age = 54 years) had persistent trigeminal artery (0.39%). Seven patients (2 men, 5 women, age range = 37–72 years; median age = 57 years) had a persistent trigeminal artery variant with persistent trigeminal artery terminating in a cerebellar artery without direct connection to the basilar artery (persistent trigeminal artery variant; 0.14%). The terminal branch of the persistent trigeminal artery variant was an anterior inferior carotid artery in five patients and a superior cerebellar artery in two patients. Of the seven patients having persistent trigeminal artery variant, four patients had another artery from the basilar artery to the anterior inferior carotid artery territory. In 6/20 patients with persistent trigeminal artery, there was an anterior inferior carotid artery arising from the persistent trigeminal artery. One of these patients showed another arterial branch from the basilar artery to the anterior inferior carotid artery territory.

Conclusion

Persistent trigeminal artery variant and cerebellar arteries originating from the persistent trigeminal artery are both believed to be a spectrum of incomplete fusion of the longitudinal neural arteries. Understanding the precise anatomy is important in diagnostic and therapeutic settings for related vascular disease.
Effect of maternal weight gain according to the Institute of Medicine recommendations on pregnancy outcomes in a Chinese population
Authors: Guan Ping , Tang Fei , Sun Guoqiang , Ren Wei
Published: July 2019

Objective

This study aimed to analyze the effects of maternal weight on adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Methods

Data were retrospectively collected from a hospital in Wuhan, China. A total of 1593 pregnant women with singletons were included. Adverse outcomes during pregnancy, such as small for gestational age (SGA), large for gestational age (LGA), and hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDP) were analyzed.

Results

The risks of low birth weight, SGA, and preterm birth were significantly higher in the inadequate gestational weight gain (GWG) group compared with the adequate GWG group. GWG over the guidelines was related to a higher risk of macrosomia, LGA, cesarean section, and HDP than GWG within the guidelines. The risks of low birth weight (OR = 5.082), SGA (OR = 3.959), preterm birth (OR = 3.422), and gestational diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.784) were significantly higher in women with a normal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and inadequate GWG compared with women with a normal pre-pregnancy BMI and adequate GWG. The risks of macrosomia (OR = 3.654) and HDP (OR = 1.992) were increased in women with normal pre-pregnancy BMI and excessive GWG.

Conclusion

Women with an abnormal BMI and inappropriate GWG have an increased risk of adverse maternal and infant outcomes. Weight management during the perinatal period is required.
Microstructural damage of normal-appearing white matter in subcortical ischemic vascular dementia is associated with Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores
Authors: Liao Zhangyuan , Dang Chun , Li Meijie , Bu Yali , Han Ranran , Jiang Wei
Published: July 2019

Objectives

This study was performed to determine whether multimodal biomarkers are more strongly associated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores compared with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, and whether they are correlated with the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) in patients with subcortical ischemic vascular dementia (SIVD).

Methods

Patients diagnosed with SIVD were enrolled. Peripheral blood hypersensitive C-reactive protein, white matter lesion volume (WMLV), fractional anisotropy (FA)/mean diffusivity (MD) of whole brain white matter (WBWM), and normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) were measured and correlated with MMSE, MoCA, and CDR scores.

Results

Bivariate analyses of data from 48 included patients revealed that both MoCA and MMSE were significantly associated with age, education, and FA of NAWM. Only MD of NAWM was correlated with MoCA scores. In partial correlation analysis adjusted for demographic and neuroimaging variables, MD/FA of NAWM and the MoCA scores were significantly correlated. FA/MD of NAWM had a modest trend toward a correlation with the CDR, but it was not significant.

Conclusions

In the patients with SIVD, FA/MD of NAWM were more strongly related to MoCA scores compared with MMSE scores.
Hawkinsinuria clinical practice guidelines: a Mexican case report and literature review
Authors: Cruz-Camino Héctor , Vazquez-Cantu Diana Laura , Zea-Rey Alexandra Vanessa , López-Valdez Jaime , Jiménez-Lozano Jorge , Gómez-Gutiérrez René , Cantú-Reyna Consuelo
Published: July 2019

Hawkinsinuria is an autosomal dominant disorder of tyrosine metabolism. Mutations in the 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase gene ( HPD) result in an altered HPD enzyme, causing hawkinsin and tyrosine accumulation. Persistent metabolic acidosis and failure to thrive are common features in patients with hawkinsinuria. We present the first known Latin American patient diagnosed with hawkinsinuria, and the tenth reported patient in the literature. We aim to establish clinical practice guidelines for patients with hawkinsinuria. The patient’s plasma tyrosine level was 21.5 mg/dL, which is several times higher than the reference value. Mutation analysis indicated heterozygosity for V212M and A33T variants in HPD. In the case of altered tyrosine levels found during newborn screening, we propose exclusive breastmilk feeding supplemented with ascorbic acid. Amino acid quantification is useful for monitoring treatment response. If tyrosinemia persists, protein intake must be decreased via a low-tyrosine diet. Molecular studies can be used to confirm a patient’s disease etiology. Further reports are required to elucidate new pathogenic and phenotypic variations to enable the development of an appropriate therapeutic approach.
Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae Tissue Tropism in Worker Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Authors: Higes Mariano , García-Palencia Pilar , Urbieta Almudena , Nanetti Antonio , Martín-Hernández Raquel
Published: July 2019

The microsporidia Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae are major honey bee pathogens that possess different characteristics in terms of the signs they produce, as well as disease development and transmission. Although the ventricular epithelium is generally considered the target tissue, indirect observations led to speculation that N. ceranae may also target other structures, possibly explaining at least some of the differences between these 2 species. To investigate the tropism of Nosema for honey bee tissues, we performed controlled laboratory infections by orally administering doses of 50 000 or 100 000 fresh mature spores of either species. The fat body was isolated from the infected bees, as well as organs from the digestive (esophagus, ventriculus, ileum, rectum), excretory (Malpighian tubules), circulatory (aorta, heart), respiratory (thoracic tracheas), exocrine (hypopharyngeal, mandibular and labial, cephalic, thoracic salivary glands), and sensory/nervous (brain, eyes and associated nerve structures, thoracic nerve ganglia) systems. Tissues were examined by light and electron microscopy at 7, 10, and 15 days postinfection. Both Nosema species were found to infect epithelial cells and clusters of regenerative cells in the ventriculus, and while the ileum and rectum contained spores of the microsporidia in the lumen, these structures did not show overt lesions. No stages of the parasites or cellular lesions were detected in the other organs tested, confirming the high tropism of both species for the ventricular epithelium cells. Thus, these direct histopathological observations indicate that neither of these 2 Nosema species exhibit tropism for honey bee organs other than the ventriculus.
Filling in the gaps: The interpretation of curricula vitae in peer review
Authors: Kaltenbrunner Wolfgang , de Rijcke Sarah
Published: July 2019

In this article, we study the use of curricula vitae (CV) for competitive funding decisions in science. The typically sober administrative style of academic résumés evokes the impression of straightforwardly conveyed, objective evidence on which to base comparisons of past achievements and future potentials. We instead conceptualize the evaluation of biographical evidence as a generative interplay between an historically grown, administrative infrastructure (the CV), and a situated evaluative practice in which the representational function of that infrastructure is itself interpreted and established. The use of CVs in peer review can be seen as a doubly comparative practice, where referees compare not only applicants (among each other or to an imagined ideal of excellence), but also their own experience-based understanding of practice and the conceptual assumptions that underpin CV categories. Empirically, we add to existing literature on peer review by drawing attention to self-correcting mechanisms in the reproduction of the scientific workforce. Conceptually, we distinguish three modalities of how the doubly comparative use of CVs can shape the assessment of applicants: calibration, branching out, and repair. The outcome of this reflexive work should not be seen as predetermined by situational pressures. In fact, bibliographic categories such as authorship of publications or performance metrics may themselves come to be problematized and reshaped in the process.
Proposal for a lower limit control of a generator’s torque based on the nacelle wind speed and demonstration results using a full-scale spar-type floating offshore wind turbine
Authors: Kakuya Hiromu , Yoshida Shigeo , Sato Iku , Utsunomiya Tomoaki
Published: July 2019

Among the issues of floating offshore wind turbines are the platform-pitching vibrations generated by blade pitch angle motions of the variable speed control. Control of blade pitch angle based on the platform-pitching motion (floating platform vibration control) can suppress these vibrations. This study investigates the impact of floating platform vibration control on variable speed control and the generator torque control, which control interferences cause the fluctuation of generator speed and platform-pitching angle at the transition region between below and above rated operating conditions. This study also proposes a new control to reduce the impact; in this method, the lower limit of generator torque is adjusted linearly depending on the nacelle wind speed, and the conventional feedback control for the generator torque mainly adjusts the generator torque. Simulation and demonstration results using a full-scale spar-type FOWT showed that the proposed method can stabalize suppress the fluctuations of generator speed, platform-pitching angle, and power at the transition region.
Prediction of Near-Crashes from Observed Vehicle Kinematics using Machine Learning
Authors: Osman Osama A. , Hajij Mustafa , Bakhit Peter R. , Ishak Sherif
Published: July 2019

This study introduces a machine learning model for near-crash prediction from observed vehicle kinematics data. The main hypothesis is that vehicles tend to experience discernible turbulence in their kinematics shortly before involvement in near-crashes. To test this hypothesis, the SHRP2 NDS vehicle kinematics data (speed, longitudinal acceleration, lateral acceleration, yaw rate, and pedal position) are utilized. Several machine learning algorithms are trained and comparatively analyzed including K nearest neighbor (KNN), random forest, support vector machine (SVM), decision trees, Gaussian naïve Bayes (Gaussian NB), and adaptive boost (AdaBoost). Sensitivity analysis is performed to determine the optimal prediction horizon length (the time period before the occurrence of a near-crash) and the turbulence horizon length (the time period during which near-crash related changes in vehicle kinematics take place). The results indicate that optimal prediction performance can be achieved at a 1 s prediction horizons and a 3 s turbulence horizon. At these values, the AdaBoost model outperforms all other models in relation to its recall (100%), precision (98%), and F1-score (99%). These values imply that the near-crash prediction model is highly efficient in predicting most instances of near-crashes with minimal false near-crash predictions. This promising prediction performance offers a viable tool for supporting crash avoidance systems in the emerging connected/autonomous vehicle technology.
Local administration with silymarin could increase osseointegration of hydroxyapatite-coated titanium implants in ovariectomized rats
Authors: Tao Zhou-Shan , Wu Xing-Jing , Yang Min , Xu Hong-Guang
Published: July 2019

As hydroxyapatite has good osteoconductive properties, it is used as coating material for the implants in cementless arthroplasty. However, its effect is not sufficient for osteoporotic bone. Silymarin promotes osteoblast proliferation and inhibits osteoclast proliferation, and positively affects bone regeneration. System administration of silymarin increases bone strength and both cancellous and cortical bone mass. The aim of this study was to confirm the effect of the local incorporation silymarin into hydroxyapatite-coated titanium implants in the osteoporotic and normal condition. Twelve-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were used for this study. Twelve weeks after bilateral ovariectomy, all animals were randomly divided into three groups: group sham, group ovariectomized and group silymarin, and the rats from ovariectomized and sham received hydroxyapatite implants and animals belong to group silymarin received silymarin-hydroxyapatite implants until death at 12 weeks, respectively. The bilateral femurs of rats were harvested for evaluation. All treatments increased new bone formation around the surface of titanium rods and push-out force other than group ovariectomized. Compared with group ovariectomized, group silymarin showed the strongest effects on new bone formation, biomechanical strength and regulation of osteogenesis and bone resorption-related gene expression, respectively. Additionally, these are significant difference in bone formation, gene expression and push-out force was observed among treatment groups. This finding suggests that local incorporation of silymarin is useful to improve the fixation of hydroxyapatite-coated implants in ovariectomized rats.
An improved formulation for optimizing rocker-bogie suspension rover for climbing steps
Authors: Noble Sam , Issac K Kurien
Published: July 2019

We address the problem of improving mobility of rovers with rocker-bogie suspension. Friction and torque requirements for climbing a single step were considered as performance parameters. The main contribution of the paper is an improved formulation for rover optimization using smooth functions, which enables use of powerful gradient based nonlinear programming (NLP) solvers for finding solutions. Our formulation does not have certain shortcomings present in some earlier formulations. We first formulate the problem of determining optimal torques to be applied to the wheels to minimize (a) friction requirement, and (b) torque requirement, and obtain demonstrably optimal solutions. We then formulate the problem of optimal design of the rover itself. Our solution for climbing a step of height two times the wheel radius is 13% better than that of the nominal rover. This solution is verified to be a local minimum by checking Karush–Kuhn–Tucker conditions. Optimal solutions were obtained for both forward and backward climbing. We show that some earlier formulations cannot obtain optimal solutions in certain situations. We also obtained optimal design for climbing steps of three different heights, with a friction requirement which is 15% lower than that of the nominal rover.
Study on crystallization structure and thermal behavior of iPP induced by a new liquid crystal nucleator
Authors: Xu Xiaoxu , Hao Zhengzheng , Fan Chao , Chen Qifan , Lu Yanhua , Wu Yaoqing
Published: July 2019

In this study, a new liquid crystal polymer, named as smectic liquid crystal polymer (LCPs-P), was synthesized by reacting diosgenyl 4-(10-undecen-1-yloyloxy) benzoate with polymethylhydrosiloxane using chloroplatinic acid as a catalyst. The mesomorphic properties of the LCPs-P were characterized with polarizing optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Then, the influence of the LCPs-P as a new nucleator on the crystallization structures, thermal properties, and kinetic properties of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) was investigated by XRD and DSC. The experimental results indicated that the LCPs-P exhibited fan-shaped texture of a smectic A phase between 55°C and 318°C. The content of the β-crystal ( K β) of the iPP blends mainly depended on the LCPs-P content and the crystallization temperature. By optimally combining the LCPs-P content with the crystallization temperature, a high K β could be obtained. When the content of the LCPs-P was 0.9 wt%, the maximum K β could reach 51% after isothermal crystallization for 1 h at 130°C. Moreover, the addition of the LCPs-P could increase the crystallization temperature and shorten the crystallization time of the iPP blends.
Design of new Schiff base polymers containing thiadiazole rings and study of their liquid crystalline behavior
Authors: Thayee Al-Janabi Omer Y , Hussein Ahmed K , Al-Tikrity Emaad T Bakir , Hussein Osamah A , Salih Hana’a K
Published: July 2019

New liquid crystalline thiadiazole dibenzaldehyde monomers labeled as THDB1–THDB3 were successfully synthesized by alkylation of thiadiazole’s potassium salt with 4-(bromomethyl) benzaldehyde. A number of polymers consisting of thiadiazole and azomethine coded PTDAZ1–PTDAZ5 were synthesized via condensation reaction of the presynthesized monomers THDB1–THDB3 with aromatic diamines. The chemical structures of the prepared materials were confirmed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. The liquid crystalline behavior of the studied monomers and polymers was examined by differential scanning calorimetry and hot stage polarized optical microscopy (POM) techniques. All these compounds were found to demonstrate mesomorphic transitions belonging to smectic and nematic liquid crystals. The studied monomers exhibited fan-like texture of smectic mesophase under POM cooling investigation. Fan-like texture of smectic and nematic mesophases was observed under POM for PTDAZ1 and PTDAZ2, while PTDAZ3 and PTDAZ4 revealed clay and schlieren textures of the smectic and nematic mesophases, respectively, and nematic texture has been found for the polymer PTDAZ5.