bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A blockchain‐based computation offloading method for edge computing in 5G networks
Authors: Xu Xiaolong , Chen Yi , Zhang Xuyun , Liu Qingxiang , Liu Xihua , Qi Lianyong
Published: September 2019

Edge computing (EC) emerges as a novel computing paradigm to offload computing tasks from user equipments (UEs) to edge notes (ENs) in fifth‐generation networks, which definitely breaks the resource limitation of UEs to a certain degree. However, it is troublesome to guarantee the overall operating performance of ENs due to the uneven distributed resource demands of UEs, the resulting transmission delay and the data loss for computation offloading between the covered EN and the deployed destination EN. In view of this challenge, a blockchain‐based computation offloading method, named BCO, is proposed in this paper. Technically, since blockchain is a promising technique for the decentralized system, a blockchain‐based EC framework is designed to degrade the data loss possibility by integrating blockchain and EC. Then, the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm, the third version (NSGA‐III), is leveraged to acquire the balanced offloading strategies. Furthermore, by taking advantage of Simple Additive Weighting and Multiple Criteria Decision Making, the optimal offloading strategy is identified. Finally, systematic experiments and analyses on the comparative experiment are conducted to verify the efficiency of our proposed method BCO.
IDEAL study: magnetic resonance imaging for suspected deep endometriosis assessment prior to laparoscopy is as reliable as radiological imaging as a complement to transvaginal ultrasonography
Authors: Bielen D. , Tomassetti C. , Van Schoubroeck D. , Vanbeckevoort D. , De Wever L. , Van den Bosch T. , D'Hooghe T. , Bourne T. , D'Hoore A. , Wolthuis A. , Van Cleynenbreughel B. , Meuleman C. , Timmerman D.
Published: September 2019

Objective

To compare the value of using one‐stop magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) vs standard radiological imaging as a supplement to transvaginal ultrasonography (TVS) for the preoperative assessment of patients with endometriosis referred for surgery in a tertiary care academic center.

Methods

This prospective observational study compared the diagnostic value of the standard preoperative imaging practice of our center, which involves expert TVS complemented by intravenous urography (IVU) for the evaluation of the ureters and double‐contrast barium enema (DCBE) for the evaluation of the rectum, sigmoid and cecum, with that of expert TVS complemented by a ‘one‐stop’ MRI examination evaluating the upper abdomen, pelvis, kidneys and ureters as well as rectum and sigmoid on the same day, for the preoperative triaging of 74 women with clinically suspected deep endometriosis. The findings at laparoscopy were considered the reference standard. Patients were stratified according to their need for monodisciplinary surgical approach, carried out by gynecologists only, or multidisciplinary surgical approach, involving abdominal surgeons and/or urologists, based on the extent to which endometriosis affected the reproductive organs, bowel, ureters, bladder or other abdominal organs.

Results

Our standard preoperative imaging approach and the combined findings of TVS and MRI had similar diagnostic performance, resulting in correct stratification for a monodisciplinary or a multidisciplinary surgical approach of 67/74 (90.5%) patients. However, there were differences between the estimation of the severity of disease by DCBE and MRI. The severity of rectal involvement was underestimated in 2.7% of the patients by both TVS and DCBE, whereas it was overestimated in 6.8% of the patients by TVS and/or DCBE.

Conclusions

Complementary to expert TVS, ‘one‐stop’ MRI can predict intraoperative findings equally well as standard radiological imaging (IVU and DCBE) in patients referred for endometriosis surgery in a tertiary care academic center. Copyright © 2019 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Elective delivery at 34 weeks vs routine obstetric care in fetal gastroschisis: randomized controlled trial
Authors: Shamshirsaz A. A. , Lee T. C. , Hair A. B. , Erfani H. , Espinoza J. , Shamshirsaz A. A. , Fox K. A. , Gandhi M. , Nassr A. A. , Abrams S. A. , Mccullough L. B. , Chervenak F. A. , Olutoye O. O. , Belfort M. A.
Published: September 2019

Objective

To evaluate whether elective preterm delivery (ED) at 34 weeks is of postnatal benefit to infants with isolated gastroschisis compared with routine obstetric care (RC).

Methods

Between May 2013 and September 2015, all women with a sonographic diagnosis of fetal gastroschisis referred to a single tertiary center, before 34 weeks' gestation, were invited to participate in this study. Eligible patients were randomized to ED (induction of labor at 34 weeks) or RC (spontaneous labor or delivery by 37–38 weeks, based on standard obstetric indications). The primary outcome measure was length of time on total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Secondary outcomes were time to closure of gastroschisis and length of stay in hospital. Outcome variables were compared using appropriate statistical methods. Analysis was based on intention‐to‐treat.

Results

Twenty‐five women were assessed for eligibility, of whom 21 (84%; 95% CI, 63.9–95.5%) agreed to participate in the study; of these, 10 were randomized to ED and 11 to RC. The trial was stopped at the first planned interim analysis due to patient safety concerns and for futility; thus, only 21 of the expected 86 patients (24.4%; 95% CI, 15.8–34.9%) were enrolled. Median gestational age at delivery was 34.3 (range, 34–36) weeks in the ED group and 36.7 (range, 27–38) weeks in the RC group. One patient in the ED group delivered at 36 weeks following unsuccessful induction at 34 weeks. Neonates of women who underwent ED, compared to those in the RC group, showed no difference in the median number of days on TPN (54 (range, 17–248) vs 21 (range, 9–465) days; P = 0.08), number of days to closure of gastroschisis (7 (range, 0–15) vs 5 (range, 0–8) days; P = 0.28) and length of stay in hospital (70.5 (range, 22–137) vs 31 (range, 19–186) days; P = 0.15). However, neonates in the ED group were significantly more likely to experience late‐onset sepsis compared with those in the RC group (40% (95% CI, 12.2–73.8%) vs 0%; P = 0.03).

Conclusion

This study demonstrates no benefit of ED of fetuses with gastroschisis when postnatal gastroschisis management is similar to that used in routine care. Rather, the data suggest that ED is detrimental to infants with gastroschisis. Copyright © 2019 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Coevolution of language and symbolic meaning: Co‐opting meaning underlying the initial arts in early human culture
Authors: Zaidel Dahlia W.
Published: September 2019

Many of language's components, including communicating symbolic meaning, have neurobiological roots that go back millions of years in evolutionary time. The intersection with the human social survival strategy spawned additional adaptive meaning systems. Under conditions threatening survival in socially oriented human groups, extra‐language meaning systems co‐opted and adapted to facilitate unity, including the early formats of the arts. They would have percolated into cultural practice for this social purpose and ultimately survival. With evolutionary pressures tapping into biologically inherited, physiologically functioning sensory‐motor pathways, anchored specifically in rhythm cognition and motor synchrony output, initial art practice conveyed symbolic group cohesion through communal, all‐inclusive synchronously moving dance formations and rhythmically produced vocal or percussion sounds. As with the sounds of language in the deep past, and numerous other cultural behaviors, such nonmaterial early art formats would not have left marks in the archeological record but their evolutionary driven practice would have contributed to adaptive genetic factors woven into brain‐behavior evolution. Their practice is likely to have well predated unearthed art‐related objects. Consolidation of evidence and notions from language evolution, genetics, human physiology, comparative animal communication, archeology, and climate history in the distant past of early humans in Africa supports the evolutionary driven practice of initial nonmaterial art formats conveying symbolic expressions optimizing group survival.

This article is categorized under:

Cognitive Biology > Evolutionary Roots of Cognition

Linguistics > Evolution of Language

Psychology > Comparative Psychology
Fate of environmental pollutants
Authors: Ng Archie , Weerakoon Dilieka , Lim Erin , Padhye Lokesh P.
Published: September 2019

This annual review covers the literature published in 2018 on topics related to the occurrence and fate of environmental pollutants in wastewater. Due to the vast amount of literature published on this topic, we have discussed only a portion of the quality research publications, due to the limitation of space. The abstract search was carried out using Web of Science, and the abstracts were selected based on their relevance. In a few cases, full‐text articles were referred to understand new findings better. This review is divided into the following sections: antibiotic‐resistant bacteria (ARBs) and antibiotic‐resistant genes (ARGs), disinfection by‐products (DBPs), drugs of abuse (DoAs), estrogens, heavy metals, microplastics, per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS), pesticides, and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), with the addition of two new classes of pollutants to previous years (DoAs and PFAS).
Influence of lure choice and survey duration on scent stations for carnivore surveys
Authors: Webster Sarah C. , Beasley James C.
Published: September 2019

Noninvasive, camera‐based, scent station surveys have become a common approach to estimate population parameters for mammalian carnivores. Many carnivores are particularly sensitive to olfactory cues; and, as such, the quality and quantity of odor attractant used during surveys can significantly affect the accuracy and precision of the survey. Additionally, survey length is also an important consideration because many mammalian predators are highly mobile and elusive in nature. Using scent station surveys in autumn 2013 and 2014 on the Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina, USA, we tested the effects of 5 lures: fatty acid, fish oil, synthetic fermented egg, beaver castor, and skunk essence on visitation rates, visitation probability, and latency to visitation of multiple predator species. We also estimated occupancy probability for 2 carnivore species using different survey lengths to determine the effect of survey period on the precision of occupancy estimates. We found that skunk essence had greater visitation probability and visits than other lures evaluated. Species‐specific bait‐preference models revealed that raccoons (Procyon lotor) were more likely to visit skunk essence, and coyotes (Canis latrans) were less likely to visit fish oil as compared with fatty acid. Latency to visitation ranged from 104.7 to 112.1 hours and did not vary among scents. Longer survey durations resulted in more precise estimates of occupancy and detection probability. Our results suggest a wide range of scents commonly used for carnivore capture may perform as well as, or better than, fatty acid for noninvasive carnivore surveys. Further, study designs should carefully consider the duration of scent‐station surveys depending on the level of precision desired in estimates of occupancy and detection probability. © 2019 The Wildlife Society.
National Evaluation Systems
Authors: Segerholm Christina , Lindgren Joakim
Published: September 2019

The national reform context for evaluation and quality assurance (EQA) in Swedish higher education along with the designs of the different national EQA systems during 1995–2014 is described and analysed in this chapter. This historical account establishes the background for the coming chapters in the book. Our aim is to scrutinise the relationship between the EQA systems and governing. We used government bills, official reports, research reports, articles, and books to describe and analyse the different policy contexts and EQA systems. In the analysis, we observe shifts and continuities as institutional reproduction and change. In this chapter, we also discuss governing in terms of the different expectations raised by the national EQA systems and liken the historical expansion of the systems to an evaluation machinery.
Hayek and the Red Tape: The Politics of Evaluation and Quality Assurance Reform – From Shortcut Governing to Policy Rerouting
Authors: Lindgren Joakim , Rönnberg Linda
Published: September 2019

In this chapter, we draw attention to the important political dimension of the governing-evaluation-knowledge nexus. The aim is to describe and analyse the processes leading up to the two most recent national evaluation and quality assurance (EQA) systems in operation from 2011 to 2014 and from 2016 onwards by analysing the formation of the respective EQA systems and the actors involved in these processes. The chapter outlines political justifications and ideological beliefs and highlights central shifts and continuities in these processes. We explore how formation of EQA systems can be understood within a wider context of the work of governing by contrasting the fast, competitive “shortcut governing” from the 2011–2014 EQA system with the more dialogue- and consensus-oriented process implying a “policy rerouting” later, as manifested in the process leading up to the 2016 EQA system. We also discuss quality assurance expansion in the context of higher education policymaking.
Deep Neural Network Architecture for Drug-Target Interaction Prediction
Authors: Monteiro Nelson R. C. , Ribeiro Bernardete , Arrais Joel P.
Published: September 2019

The discovery of potential Drug-Target Interactions (DTIs) is a determining step in the drug discovery and repositioning process, as the effectiveness of the currently available antibiotic treatment is declining. Successful approaches have been presented to solve this problem but seldom protein sequences and structured data are used together. We present a deep learning architecture model, which exploits the particular ability of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to obtain 1D representations from protein amino acid sequences and SMILES (Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry System) strings. The results achieved demonstrate that using CNNs to obtain representations of the data, instead of the traditional descriptors, lead to improved performance.
Mol-CycleGAN - A Generative Model for Molecular Optimization
Authors: Maziarka Łukasz , Pocha Agnieszka , Kaczmarczyk Jan , Rataj Krzysztof , Warchoł Michał
Published: September 2019

During the drug design process, one must develop a molecule, which structure satisfies a number of physicochemical properties. To improve this process, we introduce Mol-CycleGAN – a CycleGAN-based model that generates compounds optimized for a selected property, while aiming to retain the already optimized ones. In the task of constrained optimization of penalized logP of drug-like molecules our model significantly outperforms previous results.
A Transformer Model for Retrosynthesis
Authors: Karpov Pavel , Godin Guillaume , Tetko Igor V.
Published: September 2019

We describe a Transformer model for a retrosynthetic reaction prediction task. The model is trained on 45 033 experimental reaction examples extracted from USA patents. It can successfully predict the reactants set for 42.7% of cases on the external test set. During the training procedure, we applied different learning rate schedules and snapshot learning. These techniques can prevent overfitting and thus can be a reason to get rid of internal validation dataset that is advantageous for deep models with millions of parameters. We thoroughly investigated different approaches to train Transformer models and found that snapshot learning with averaging weights on learning rates minima works best. While decoding the model output probabilities there is a strong influence of the temperature that improves at $$\text {T}=1.3$$ the accuracy of models up to 1–2%.
EFTs meet Higgs nonlinearity, compositeness and (neutral) naturalness
Authors: Li Hao-Lin , Xu Ling-Xiao , Yu Jiang-Hao , Zhu Shou-hua
Published: September 2019

Abstract

Composite Higgs and neutral-naturalness models are popular scenarios in which the Higgs boson is a pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson (PNGB), and naturalness problem is addressed by composite top partners. Since the standard model effective field theory (SMEFT) with dimension-six operators cannot fully retain the information of Higgs nonlinearity due to its PNGB nature, we systematically construct low energy Lagrangian in which the information of compositeness and Higgs nonlinearity are encoded in the form factors, the two-point functions in the top sector. We classify naturalness conditions in various scenarios, and first present these form factors in composite neutral naturalness models. After extracting out Higgs effective couplings from these form factors and performing the global fit, we find the value of Higgs top coupling could still be larger than the standard model one if the top quark is embedded in the higher dimensional representations. Also we find the impact of Higgs nonlinearity is enhanced by the large mass splitting between composite states. In this case, pattern of the correlation between the t

$$ \overline{t} $$

t
¯

h and t

$$ \overline{t} $$

t
¯

hh couplings is quite different for the linear and nonlinear Higgs descriptions.
Double local quenches in 2D CFTs and gravitational force
Authors: Caputa Pawel , Numasawa Tokiro , Shimaji Teppei , Takayanagi Tadashi , Wei Zixia
Published: September 2019

Abstract

In this work we extensively study the dynamics of excited states created by instantaneous local quenches at two different points, i.e. double local quenches. We focus on setups in two dimensional holographic and free Dirac fermion CFTs. We calculate the energy stress tensor and entanglement entropy for double joining and splitting local quenches. In the splitting local quenches we find an interesting oscillating behaviors. Finally, we study the energy stress tensor in double operator local quenches. In all these examples, we find that, in general, there are non-trivial interactions between the two local quenches. Especially, in holographic CFTs, the differences of the above quantities between the double local quench and the simple sum of two local quenches tend to be negative. We interpret this behavior as merely due to gravitational force in their gravity duals.
Annihilation signatures of neutron dark decay models in neutron oscillation and proton decay searches
Authors: Keung Wai-Yee , Marfatia Danny , Tseng Po-Yan
Published: September 2019

Abstract

We point out that two models that reconcile the neutron lifetime anomaly via dark decays of the neutron, also predict dark matter-neutron (

$$ \overline{\chi} $$

χ
¯

− n) annihilation that may be observable in neutron-antineutron oscillation and proton decay searches at Super-Kamiokande, Hyper-Kamiokande and DUNE. We study signatures of

$$ \overline{\chi} $$

χ
¯

n → γπ
0 (or multi-π
0) and

$$ \overline{\chi} $$

χ
¯

n → ϕγπ
0 (or ϕ+multi-π
0), where ϕ is an almost massless boson in one of the two models.
Superstratum symbiosis
Authors: Heidmann Pierre , Warner Nicholas P.
Published: September 2019

Abstract

Superstrata are smooth horizonless microstate geometries for the supersymmetric D1-D5-P black hole in type IIB supergravity. In the CFT, “superstratum states” are defined to be the component of the supergraviton gas that is obtained by breaking the CFT into “|00〉-strands” and acting on each strand with the “small,” anomaly-free superconformal generators. We show that the recently-constructed supercharged superstrata represent a final and crucial component for the construction of the supergravity dual of a generic superstratum state and how the supergravity solution faithfully represents all the coherent superstratum states of the CFT. For the supergravity alone, this shows that generic superstrata do indeed fluctuate as functions of three independent variables. Smoothness of the complete supergravity solution also involves “coiffuring constraints” at second-order in the fluctuations and we describe how these lead to new predictions for three-point functions in the dual CFT. We use a hybrid of the original and supercharged superstrata to construct families of single-mode superstrata that still have free moduli after one has fixed the asymptotic charges of the system. We also study scalar wave perturbations in a particular family of such solutions and show that the mass gap depends on the free moduli. This can have interesting implications for superstrata at non-zero temperature.
Maternal probiotic milk intake during pregnancy and breastfeeding complications in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study
Authors: Karlsson Sofiia , Brantsæter Anne-Lise , Meltzer Helle Margrete , Jacobsson Bo , Barman Malin , Sengpiel Verena
Published: September 2019

Purpose

During the time of breastfeeding, a third of all women contract (or: fall ill in) mastitis—the leading cause of precocious weaning. Recent studies indicate that probiotics intake may prevent mastitis by altering the breast’s bacterial flora. The aim of this study was to examine whether probiotic milk intake during pregnancy is associated with less breastfeeding complications and longer breastfeeding duration.

Methods

This study included 57,134 women, with live singleton term births, participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. Probiotic milk intake during the first half of pregnancy was self-reported in a validated food frequency questionnaire at gestational week 22. At 6 month postpartum, women reported complications, including mastitis, and duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding. The association between probiotic milk intake and breastfeeding complications and duration was studied by adjusted logistic regression models.

Results

Probiotic milk intake was associated with increased risk for mastitis [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.16] and for any breastfeeding problems during the first month (aOR 1.19, 95% CI 1.10–1.21). However, cessation of predominant (aOR 0.95, 95% CI 0.91–0.96) or any (aOR 0.79, 95% CI 0.75–0.84) breastfeeding earlier than at 4 months was less frequent in probiotic milk consumers than in non-consumers.

Conclusions

Even though probiotic milk intake during the first half of pregnancy was statistically associated with increased risk for breastfeeding complications, including mastitis, the association is probably not causal. Probiotics intake was namely associated with longer breastfeeding duration and there was indication of socioeconomic confounding. Further studies, i.e., large randomized-controlled trials, are needed to understand the association between probiotic intake and breastfeeding complications.
Metabolically and immunologically beneficial impact of extra virgin olive and flaxseed oils on composition of gut microbiota in mice
Authors: Millman Jasmine , Okamoto Shiki , Kimura Aoki , Uema Tsugumi , Higa Moeko , Yonamine Masato , Namba Toyotaka , Ogata Emi , Yamazaki Satoru , Shimabukuro Michio , Tsutsui Masato , Matsushita Masayuki , Ikematsu Shinya , Masuzaki Hiroaki
Published: September 2019

Purpose

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and flaxseed oil (FO) contain a variety of constituents beneficial for chronic inflammation and cardio-metabolic derangement. However, little is known about the impact of EVOO and FO on dysbiosis of gut microbiota, intestinal immunity, and barrier. We, therefore, aimed to assess the impact of EVOO and FO on gut microbiota, mucosal immunity, barrier integrity, and metabolic health in mice.

Methods

C57BL/6 J mice were exposed to a low-fat (LF), lard (HF), high fat-extra virgin olive oil (HF-EVOO), or high fat-flaxseed oil (HF-FO) diet for 10 weeks. Gut microbiota assessment was undertaken using 16S rRNA sequencing. Levels of mRNA for genes involved in intestinal inflammation and barrier maintenance in the intestine and bacterial infiltration in the liver were measured by qPCR.

Results

HF-EVOO or HF-FO mice showed greater diversity in gut microbiota as well as a lower abundance of the Firmicutes phylum in comparison with HF mice (P < 0.05). The qPCR analyses revealed that mRNA level of FoxP3, a transcription factor, and IL-10, an inducer of regulatory T cells, was significantly elevated in the intestines of mice-fed HF-EVOO in comparison with mice-fed HF (P < 0.05). The mRNA level of the antimicrobial peptide, RegӀӀӀγ, was markedly elevated in the intestines of HF-EVOO and HF-FO compared with HF group (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Our data suggest that the consumption of EVOO or FO can beneficially impact gut microbiota, enhance gut immunity, and assist in the preservation of metabolic health in mice.
Altered motor, anxiety-related and attentional task performance at baseline associate with multiple gene copies of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter and related protein overexpression in ChAT::Cre+ rats
Authors: Mantanona Craig P. , Alsiö Johan , Elson Joanna L. , Fisher Beth M. , Dalley Jeffrey W. , Bussey Timothy , Pienaar Ilse S.
Published: September 2019

Transgenic rodents expressing Cre recombinase cell specifically are used for exploring mechanisms regulating behavior, including those mediated by cholinergic signaling. However, it was recently reported that transgenic mice overexpressing a bacterial artificial chromosome containing choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) gene, for synthesizing the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, present with multiple vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) gene copies, resulting in altered cholinergic tone and accompanying behavioral abnormalities. Since ChAT::Cre+ rats, used increasingly for understanding the biological basis of CNS disorders, utilize the mouse ChAT promotor to control Cre recombinase expression, we assessed for similar genotypical and phenotypical differences in such rats compared to wild-type siblings. The rats were assessed for mouse VAChT copy number, VAChT protein expression levels and for sustained attention, response control and anxiety. Rats were also subjected to a contextual fear conditioning paradigm using an unconditional fear-inducing stimulus (electrical foot shocks), with blood samples taken at baseline, the fear acquisition phase and retention testing, for measuring blood plasma markers of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal gland (HPA)-axis activity. ChAT::Cre+ rats expressed multiple mouse VAChT gene copies, resulting in significantly higher VAChT protein expression, revealed anxiolytic behavior, hyperlocomotion and deficits in tasks requiring sustained attention. The HPA-axis was intact, with unaltered circulatory levels of acute stress-induced corticosterone, leptin and glucose. Our findings, therefore, reveal that in ChAT::Cre+ rats, VAChT overexpression associates with significant alterations of certain cognitive, motor and affective functions. Although highly useful as an experimental tool, it is essential to consider the potential effects of altered cholinergic transmission on baseline behavior in ChAT::Cre rats.
Late-onset Niemann–Pick disease type C overlapping with frontotemporal dementia syndromes: a case report
Authors: Balázs Nóra , Milanovich Dániel , Hornyák Csilla , Bereczki Dániel , Kovács Tibor
Published: September 2019

The diagnosis of adult-onset Niemann–Pick disease type C (NPC) could be difficult because its primary symptoms [dementia and vertical supranuclear gaze palsy (VSGP)] are mainly seen in neurodegenerative dementias and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Our patient with dementia and asymmetric parkinsonism resembled corticobasal syndrome and after the appearance of VSGP, the criteria of PSP were fulfilled too. Cerebellar symptoms appeared late during the course of the disease, leading to the diagnosis of NPC at the age of 59 years.
Heterospecific alarm-call recognition in two warbler hosts of common cuckoos
Authors: Yu Jiangping , Lu Hailin , Sun Wei , Liang Wei , Wang Haitao , Møller Anders Pape
Published: September 2019

Species facing similar selection pressures should recognize heterospecific alarm signals. However, no study has so far examined heterospecific alarm-call recognition in response to parasitism by cuckoos. In this study, we tested whether two sympatric host species of the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus, Oriental reed warbler Acrocephalus orientalis (ORW, main host), and black-browed reed warbler Acrocephalus bistrigiceps (BRW, rare host), could recognize each other’s alarm calls in response to cuckoos. Dummies of common cuckoo (parasite) and Eurasian sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus (predator) were used to induce and record alarm calls of the two warbler species, respectively. In the conspecific alarm-call playback experiments, ORW responded more strongly to cuckoo alarm calls than to sparrowhawk alarm calls, while BRW responded less strongly to cuckoo alarm calls than to sparrowhawk alarm calls. In the heterospecific alarm-call playback experiments, both ORW and BRW responded less strongly to cuckoo alarm calls than sparrowhawk alarm calls. BRW seemed to learn the association between parasite-related alarm calls of the ORW and the cuckoo by observing the process of ORW attacking cuckoos. In contrast, alarm calls of BRW to cuckoos were rarely recorded in most cases. BRW with low parasite pressure still developed recognition of heterospecific parasite-related alarm call. Unintended receivers in the same community should recognize heterospecific alarm calls precisely to extract valuable information.
Strategies to improve the quality of life in patients with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (hATTR) and autonomic neuropathy
Authors: Gendre Thierry , Planté-Bordeneuve Violaine
Published: September 2019

Purpose

Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (hATTR) is a severe adult-onset progressive disease mainly involving the peripheral nervous system and the heart, with a prominent impact on the autonomic nervous system. This review summarizes the clinical aspects of autonomic dysfunction in hATTR, and their impact on quality of life as well as potential therapeutic options.

Methods

Literature review.

Results

Autonomic dysfunction, causing neurogenic orthostatic hypotension, gastroparesis, constipation, diarrhea, bladder dysfunction, and erectile dysfunction in males, has a major impact on the quality of life of patients with hATTR. Improvement of qualify of life in patients with hATTR implies periodic symptomatic screening and early management, taking into consideration comorbidities and medication side effects. The specific effect of the disease-modifying treatment on this aspect remains to be unraveled.

Conclusions

Management of autonomic dysfunction in patients with hAATR is feasible and can result in improved qualify of life. Novel disease-modifying treatments for hAATR may contribute to improve autonomic dysfunction, although specific studies are required.
Parametrizing Horizontally-Averaged Wind and Temperature Profiles in the Urban Roughness Sublayer
Authors: Theeuwes Natalie E. , Ronda Reinder J. , Harman Ian N. , Christen Andreas , Grimmond C. Sue B.
Published: September 2019

Tower-based measurements from within and above the urban canopy in two cities are used to evaluate several existing approaches that parametrize the vertical profiles of wind speed and temperature within the urban roughness sublayer (RSL). It is shown that current use of Monin–Obukhov similarity theory (MOST) in numerical weather prediction models can be improved upon by using RSL corrections when modelling the vertical profiles of wind speed and friction velocity in the urban RSL using MOST. Using anisotropic building morphological information improves the agreement between observed and parametrized profiles of wind speed and momentum fluxes for selected methods. The largest improvement is found when using dynamically-varying aerodynamic roughness length and displacement height. Adding a RSL correction to MOST, however, does not improve the parametrization of the vertical profiles of temperature and heat fluxes. This is expected since sources and sinks of heat are assumed uniformly distributed through a simple flux boundary condition in all RSL formulations, yet are highly patchy and anisotropic in a real urban context. Our results can be used to inform the choice of surface-layer representations for air quality, dispersion, and numerical weather prediction applications in the urban environment.
Biomass residues as twenty-first century bioenergy feedstock—a comparison of eight integrated assessment models
Authors: Hanssen Steef V. , Daioglou Vassilis , Steinmann Zoran J. N. , Frank Stefan , Popp Alexander , Brunelle Thierry , Lauri Pekka , Hasegawa Tomoko , Huijbregts Mark A. J. , Van Vuuren Detlef P.
Published: September 2019

In the twenty-first century, modern bioenergy could become one of the largest sources of energy, partially replacing fossil fuels and contributing to climate change mitigation. Agricultural and forestry biomass residues form an inexpensive bioenergy feedstock with low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, if harvested sustainably. We analysed quantities of biomass residues supplied for energy and their sensitivities in harmonised bioenergy demand scenarios across eight integrated assessment models (IAMs) and compared them with literature-estimated residue availability. IAM results vary substantially, at both global and regional scales, but suggest that residues could meet 7–50% of bioenergy demand towards 2050, and 2–30% towards 2100, in a scenario with 300 EJ/year of exogenous bioenergy demand towards 2100. When considering mean literature-estimated availability, residues could provide around 55 EJ/year by 2050. Inter-model differences primarily arise from model structure, assumptions, and the representation of agriculture and forestry. Despite these differences, drivers of residues supplied and underlying cost dynamics are largely similar across models. Higher bioenergy demand or biomass prices increase the quantity of residues supplied for energy, though their effects level off as residues become depleted. GHG emission pricing and land protection can increase the costs of using land for lignocellulosic bioenergy crop cultivation, which increases residue use at the expense of lignocellulosic bioenergy crops. In most IAMs and scenarios, supplied residues in 2050 are within literature-estimated residue availability, but outliers and sustainability concerns warrant further exploration. We conclude that residues can cost-competitively play an important role in the twenty-first century bioenergy supply, though uncertainties remain concerning (regional) forestry and agricultural production and resulting residue supply potentials.
Toward the molecular understanding of the action mechanism of Ascophyllum nodosum extracts on plants
Authors: De Saeger Jonas , Van Praet Stan , Vereecke Danny , Park Jihae , Jacques Silke , Han Taejun , Depuydt Stephen
Published: September 2019

The importance of biostimulants, defined as plant growth-promoting agents that differ notably from fertilizers, is increasing steadily because of their potential contribution to a worldwide strategy for securing food production without burdening the environment. Based on folkloric evidence and ethnographic studies, seaweeds have been useful for diverse human activities through time, including medicine and agriculture. Currently, seaweed extracts, especially those derived from the common brown alga Ascophyllum nodosum, represent an interesting category of biostimulants. Although A. nodosum extracts (abbreviated ANEs) are readily used because of their capacity to improve plant growth and to mitigate abiotic and biotic stresses, fundamental insights into how these positive responses are accomplished are still fragmentary. Generally, the effects of ANEs on plants have been attributed to their hormonal content, their micronutrient value, and/or the presence of alga-specific polysaccharides, betaines, polyamines, and phenolic compounds that would, alone or in concert, bring about the observed phenotypic effects. However, only a few of these hypotheses have been validated at the molecular level. Transcriptomics and metabolomics are now emerging as tools to dissect the action mechanisms exerted by ANEs. Here, we provide an overview of the available in planta molecular data that shed light on the pathways modulated by ANEs that promote plant growth and render plants more resilient to diverse stresses, paving the way toward the elucidation of the modus operandi of these extracts.
Psychological Outcomes of a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Youth with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Results of the HAPPY-IBD Randomized Controlled Trial at 6- and 12-Month Follow-Up
Authors: Stapersma Luuk , van den Brink Gertrude , van der Ende Jan , Szigethy Eva M. , Groeneweg Michael , de Bruijne Frederieke H. , Hillegers Manon H. J. , Escher Johanna C. , Utens Elisabeth M. W. J.
Published: September 2019

Youth with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) often experience psychological difficulties, such as anxiety and depression. This randomized controlled study tested whether a 3-month disease-specific cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in addition to standard medical care versus standard medical care only was effective in improving these youth’s psychological outcomes. As this study was aimed at prevention, we included 70 youth (10–25 years) with IBD and symptoms of subclinical anxiety and/or depression, and measured psychological outcomes at 6- and 12-month follow-up. In general, participants in both groups showed improvements in anxiety, depression, health-related quality of life, social functioning, coping, and illness perceptions, sustained until 12 months follow-up. Overall, we found no differences between those receiving additional CBT and those receiving standard medical care only. We assume that this can be explained by the perceived low burden (both somatically and psychologically) or heightened awareness of psychological difficulties and IBD. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02265588.
Psychometric Properties of a Polish Version of the Parental Stress Index III (PSI III)
Authors: Pisula Ewa , Barańczuk Urszula
Published: September 2019

The Parenting Stress Index (PSI) has been translated into multiple languages. The aim of the present study was to develop a Polish version of the PSI III. A total sample size of 678 parents (308 parents of children with ASD, 59 parents of children with Down syndrome, 65 parents of deaf children, 34 parents of children with other developmental disorders, and 212 parents without developmental disabilities) participated in the study. The Polish version of the PSI III was characterized by: (1) good internal consistency, (2) a three-factor structure, including Parent domain, Child domain, and the children’s and parents’ difficulties in adapting to the external demands resulting from the children’s developmental disorder, and (3) negative correlations between parental stress and parental well-being. Implications for the research and clinical practice are discussed.
An automated methodology to select functional co-simulation configurations
Authors: Rahikainen Jarkko , González Francisco , Naya Miguel Ángel
Published: September 2019

The development of machinery often requires system-level analysis, in which non-mechanical subsystems, such as hydraulics, need to be considered. Co-simulation allows analysts to divide a problem into subsystems and use tailored software solutions to deal individually with their respective dynamics. On the other hand, these subsystems must be coupled at particular instants in time, called communication points, through the exchange of coupling variables. Between communication points, each subsystem solver carries out the integration of its states without interacting with its environment. This may cause the integration to become unstable, especially when non-iterative co-simulation is used. The co-simulation configuration, i.e., the parameters and simulation options selected by the analyst, such as the way to handle the coupling variables or the choice of subsystem solvers, is often a critical factor regarding co-simulation stability. In practice it is difficult to anticipate which selection is the most appropriate for a particular problem, especially if some inputs come from external sources, such as human operators, and cannot be determined beforehand. We put forward a methodology to automatically determine a stable and computationally efficient configuration for Jacobi-scheme co-simulation. The method uses energy residuals to gain insight into co-simulation stability. The relation between energy residual and communication step-size is exploited to monitor co-simulation accuracy during a series of tests in which the external inputs are replaced with predetermined input functions. The method was tested with hydraulically actuated mechanical examples. Results indicate that the proposed method can be used to find stable and accurate configurations for co-simulation applications.
Enhancing capacity of optical links using polarization multiplexing
Authors: Badraoui Nada , Berceli Tibor
Published: September 2019

5G mobile networks targets wireless connection capacity up to 10 Gb/s. For this purpose, we propose a method to considerably increase capacity. In this paper first, we show how to compensate the effects of polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in systems with double polarizations where PMD in such systems could cause fluctuations in optical transmission due to crosstalk and cross phase modulation. Second, we show how to enhance system capacity benefiting from polarization multiplexing (POL-MUX) technique which can provide double bandwidth efficiency. Based on the simulation results, we have achieved optimum system performance and we were able to reduce the PMD effect using pre- and post-compensation. We also have improved the POL-MUX technique using coherent detection in case of 16/64 QAM modulations. The results were achieved by implementing polarization controllers, polarization beam combiners and splitters, as well as polarization phase shifters.
Personality types and subjective well-being among people living with HIV: a latent profile analysis
Authors: Rzeszutek Marcin , Gruszczyńska Ewa
Published: September 2019

Purpose

We examined whether three types of personality (i.e. resilient, undercontrolled and overcontrolled) based on the Big Five personality taxonomy could be replicated among people living with HIV (PLWH). We also aimed to establish significant sociodemographic and clinical covariates of profile membership and verify whether these profiles are related to the subjective well-being (SWB) of participants.

Methods

770 PLWH participated in this study. The Big Five personality traits were evaluated with the NEO-FFI questionnaire. SWB was operationalised by satisfaction with life (Satisfaction with Life Scale) and positive and negative affects (PANAS-X). Moreover, sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected.

Results

Latent profile analysis was used to identify personality types among participants. Instead of the three profiles most frequently reported in the literature, we identified a four-profile model (the resilient, undercontrolled, overcontrolled and the average profile type) as the best fit to the data. These profiles did not differ with regard to sociodemographic and clinical covariates. However, significant differences in SWB across profiles were noted, i.e. the highest SWB was observed among members of the resilient profile, and overcontrollers and undercontrollers were almost equally regarded as second best in SWB level, whereas the average profile consists of PLWH with the worst SWB.

Conclusion

Identifying personality types in clinical settings enables more comprehensive understanding of interrelations between personality and health. Regarding PLWH, the typological approach may shed new light on ambiguous results devoted to the role of personality in well-being of these patients.
Symmetry exploits for Bayesian cubature methods
Authors: Karvonen Toni , Särkkä Simo , Oates Chris. J.
Published: September 2019

Bayesian cubature provides a flexible framework for numerical integration, in which a priori knowledge on the integrand can be encoded and exploited. This additional flexibility, compared to many classical cubature methods, comes at a computational cost which is cubic in the number of evaluations of the integrand. It has been recently observed that fully symmetric point sets can be exploited in order to reduce—in some cases substantially—the computational cost of the standard Bayesian cubature method. This work identifies several additional symmetry exploits within the Bayesian cubature framework. In particular, we go beyond earlier work in considering non-symmetric measures and, in addition to the standard Bayesian cubature method, present exploits for the Bayes–Sard cubature method and the multi-output Bayesian cubature method.
The Impact of Beta-Catenin and glutathione-S-transferase Gene Polymorphisms on the Treatment Results and Survival of Multiple Myeloma Patients
Authors: Pál Ildikó , Szilágyi Bernadett , Nagy Béla , Pál Tibor , Hodosi Katalin , Illés Árpád , Váróczy László
Published: September 2019

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable disease, however, novel therapeutic agents has significantly improved its prognosis. In this study we analyzed if polymorphisms in the genes of β-catenin and glutathione-S-transferase have affected the clinical course, treatment response and progression-free survival (PFS) of MM patients. Ninety-seven MM patients were involved who were administered immunomodulatory drug (Imid) or alkylating agent-based therapy. β-catenin (CTNNB1, rs4135385 A > G, rs4533622 A > C) and glutathione-S-transferase (GSTP1 105, GSTP1 114) gene polymorphisms were analyzed by Light SNiP assays. The distribution of CTNNB1 (rs4135385) AA, AG and GG genotypes were 48.4%, 47.4% and 4,1%, respectively. Patients with AA genotype were older than those who carried G allele (64.5 vs. 61.0 years of age, p < 0.05). Response to Imid-based therapies (p < 0.05) and PFS (p = 0.032) were significantly more favourable in the AA homozygous group. The other polymorphism (rs4533622) of β-catenin gene did not markedly influence these clinical parameters, although MM was diagnosed at significantly younger age in subjects with CC genotype compared to AG/AA combined genotypes (59.1 vs. 65.7 years, p = 0.015). When GSTP1 polymorphisms were investigated, no such significant associations were observed. Our results demonstrate that the polymorphism of β-catenin gene (rs4135385) may be an independent predictive factor in MM.