bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dielectric properties of composite materials based on P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer and deuterated triglicyne sulfate crystal
Authors: Solnyshkin A. V. , Kislova I. L. , Morsakov I. M. , Golishnikov A. A. , Belov A. N. , Shevyakov V. I. , Kiselev D. A.
Published: February 2019

The film structures on the base of soft and crystalline ferroelectrics (poly(vinylidene fluoride - trifluoroethylene) copolymer and deuterated triglycine sulfate) were produced. The volume content of the DTGS microcrystal particles embedded in the polymer matrix of the composite films was up to 10%. It was found crystalline phase changes in the polymer matrix at the DTGS inclusions presence. The DTGS crystal particles increased dielectric permittivity and electrical conductivity of the composite films. The temperature dependences of the dielectric permittivity indicated increasing the phase transition temperature of polymer matrix at the DTGS inclusions growth.
INVESTMENT IMPLICATIONS OF THE FRACTAL MARKET HYPOTHESIS
Authors: KARP ADAM , VAN VUUREN GARY
Published: February 2019

The Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) has been repeatedly demonstrated to be an inferior — or at best incomplete — model of financial market behavior. The Fractal Market Hypothesis (FMH) has been installed as a viable alternative to the EMH. The FMH asserts that markets are stabilized by matching demand and supply of investors’ investment horizons while the EMH assumes that the market is at equilibrium. A quantity known as the Hurst exponent determines whether a fractal time series evolves by random walk, a persistent trend or mean reverts. The time dependence of this quantity is explored for two developed market indices and one emerging market index. Another quantity, the fractal dimension of a time series, provides an indicator for the onset of chaos when market participants behave in the same way and breach a given threshold. A relationship is found between these quantities: the larger the change in the fractal dimension before breaching, the larger the rally in the price index after the breach. In addition, breaches are found to occur principally during times when the market is trending.
Flap Related Complications Requiring Secondary Surgery in a Series of 851 Local Flaps Used for Fingertip Reconstruction
Authors: Karjalainen T. , Sebastin S.J. , Chee K.G. , Peng Y.P. , Chong A.K.S.
Published: February 2019

Background: Local flaps are widely used to cover fingertip defects. Errors in design or technical execution of the flap may lead to morbidity and additional surgical procedure. The purpose of this study was to review flap related complications requiring unplanned secondary surgery to characterize preventable issues.

Methods: 851 local flaps were used to reconstruct fingertip defects during a 9-year period. Patients requiring unplanned secondary surgery to address flap related complications were subjected to analysis.

Results: 31 of 851 flaps (3.6%) required unplanned secondary surgery because of flap related complications. The most reliable flap was VY advancement flap with only one (0.3%) re-operation. The reverse vascular island flap, cross finger flap, and neurovascular island flap were associated with the comparable number of complications (8.0%; 6.3%; and 3.8% respectively). Total or partial necrosis was the cause for re-operation in 6 patients (0.7%). The typical reason for secondary surgery was inadequate soft tissue cover of the tip with homodigital neurovascular island flap and flexion contracture with reverse vascular island flap. Cross finger flaps were revised because of poor graft take at the donor site, bulky flap or flap necrosis.

Conclusions: Local flaps are reliable operations to cover fingertip defects. Each flap has potential pitfalls, which may be avoided if the surgeon is aware of them.
Comparison of Five Years Clinical and Radiological Outcomes between Progressive and Non-Progressive Wrist Osteoarthritis after Volar Locking Plate Fixation of Distal Radius Fractures
Authors: Katayama Takeshi , Ono Hiroshi , Omokawa Shohei
Published: February 2019

Background: This study aimed to identify the effect of the progression of postoperative wrist osteoarthritis on 5 years clinical and radiological outcomes after volar locking plate fixation of distal radius fractures.

Methods: Altogether, 56 patients with distal radius fractures were followed up 5 years after surgery. Clinical assessment was performed using the Mayo modified wrist score, a visual analogue scale of pain, the Japanese version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand score, and Patient-related wrist evaluation. Standardized wrist radiographs were used to assess wrist morphology and the Knirk and Jupiter’s degree of osteoarthritis. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze postoperative morphological changes in the wrist and carpal alignment regarding their correlation with progression of wrist osteoarthritis.

Results: Progression of postoperative wrist osteoarthritis was recognized in 37 of the 56 cases (66.1%). Compared with the clinical outcomes at the time of the fracture union completion, almost clinical outcomes improved up to 5 years follow-up time as well as at 1 year after surgery. The range of wrist flexion at 5 years follow-up was significantly less in the progressive osteoarthritis group than in those with non-progressive osteoarthritis. The persistent step-off immediately after surgery significantly affected the postoperative progression of wrist osteoarthritis. Changes in the radial inclination, volar tilt, and radioscaphoid angle correlated with progression of wrist osteoarthritis. The highest correlation was with the change of radioscaphoid angle.

Conclusions: Good clinical results were maintained at 5 years after surgery, but progression of postoperative wrist osteoarthritis interfered with improvement of wrist flexion. Change in the radioscaphoid angle was the factor that was most highly correlated with progression of postoperative wrist osteoarthritis.
Sliding Position of the Flexor Tendons Relative to the Hook of Hamate in CT Scans
Authors: Goto Kenji , Naito Kiyohito , Sugiyama Yoichi , Nagura Nana , Kaneko Ayaka , Iwase Yoshiyuki , Kaneko Kazuo
Published: February 2019

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the height of nonunion formation injuring the ulnar-side finger flexor tendon, the positional relationship between the hook of the hamate and little finger flexor tendon was evaluated on CT scans.

Methods: The subjects were 20 healthy patients (40 hands) (14 males and 6 females, mean age: 28 years old). Their hands were imaged in extension and flexion of the fingers on CT. The position of the little finger flexor tendon was determined regarding the height of the hook of the hamate as 100%.

Results: The heights of the flexor digitorum profundus tendons were 46 ± 6% in extension and 44 ± 9% in flexion, and those of the flexor digitorum superficialis tendons were 87 ± 8% in extension and 91 ± 9% in flexion.

Conclusions: Our study suggested that 40% of the base of the hook of the hamate does not contact with the flexor tendon, suggesting that flexor tendon injury is unlikely to occur in that region.
Hand Ischemia due to Steal Syndrome Associated with Multiple Arteriovenous Malformations in a Patient with Parkes-Weber Syndrome
Authors: Sánchez-Morales Germán E. , Anaya-Ayala Javier E. , Serrano-Cueva María A. , Salas-Torrez Eladio , Hinojosa Carlos A.
Published: February 2019

Parkes Weber Syndrome (PWS) is a congenital disorder characterized by the presence of arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) in upper or lower extremities. We herein present a 35 year-old male with PWS with complex AVMs in the right upper extremity; he had been previously treated with multiple sessions of vessel embolization, sclerotherapy and AVM resections. The patient presented to our clinic with two month history of progressive hand ischemia, digit necrosis and infection. Angiography was performed demonstrating numerous AVMs and filiform flow through the ulnar artery with poor opacification of arterial structures in the hand. Because of advanced ischemia, soft tissue infection and osteomyelitis, a distal forearm amputation was indicated. Hand threatening ischemia secondary to steal phenomenon associated to AVMs in PWS is rarely encountered and reported. This case illustrates a complex clinical presentation with advanced disease that required limb amputation.
Acute Compartment Syndrome of the Forearm Secondary to Hematoma after Playing Golf
Authors: Nakamura Gen , Abe Muneaki , Kumano Hozumi
Published: February 2019

Acute compartment syndrome of the forearm secondary to hematoma without direct trauma has been reported rarely. We report a case of acute compartment syndrome of the forearm following a hematoma after playing golf. A 55-year-old man felt pain in his left forearm while playing golf that gradually worsened. He could not continue to play and visited the emergency department of our hospital. The radial side of his left forearm was markedly swollen on presentation, and he suffered severe pain that worsened with ulnar flexion of the wrist; no paralysis or hypesthesia was observed. A hematoma in the brachioradialis was seen on magnetic resonance imaging, and radial compartment pressure was 120 mmHg. A diagnosis of acute compartment syndrome was made, and urgent fasciotomy was performed. The patient recovered with no dysfunction of the arm.
Dermoid Inclusion Cyst Following Percutaneous Needle Fasciotomy: A Novel Complication
Authors: Reid Jenny , Baker Jill , Davidson Dominique
Published: February 2019

We present the case of a fit and well 62-year-old male with Dupuytren's disease in the right hand who underwent percutaneous needle fasciotomy (PNF) for a moderate flexion contracture of the right little finger. 18 months later he developed a pain-free soft tissue swelling at the distal previous needling site. A fasciectomy procedure identified a cyst within the pre-tendinous cord, which was confirmed as a dermoid inclusion cyst on histological analysis. Dermoid inclusion cysts may occur in the hands at the site of penetrating trauma but we are unaware of any report of an inclusion cyst at the site of PNF surgery. We present this unique case of a dermoid inclusion cyst following percutaneous needle fasciotomy as a novel complication.
Design and Multi-Abstraction-Level Evaluation of a NoC Router for Mixed-Criticality Real-Time Systems
Authors: Dridi Mourad , Rubini Stéphane , Lallali Mounir , Flórez Martha Johanna Sepúlveda , Singhoff Frank , Diguet Jean-Philippe
Published: February 2019

A Mixed Criticality System (MCS) combines real-time software tasks with different criticality levels. In a MCS, the criticality level specifies the level of assurance against system failure. For high-critical flows of messages, it is imperative to meet deadlines; otherwise, the whole system might fail, leading to catastrophic results, like loss of life or serious damage to the environment. In contrast, low-critical flows may tolerate some delays.

Furthermore, in MCS, flow performances such as the Worst Case Communication Time (WCCT) may vary depending on the criticality level of the applications. Then execution platforms must provide different operating modes for applications with different levels of criticality. To conclude, in Network-On-Chip (NoC), sharing resources between communication flows can lead to unpredictable latencies and subsequently turns the implementation of MCS in many-core architectures challenging.

In this article, we propose and evaluate a new NoC router to support MCS based on an accurate WCCT analysis for high-critical flows. The proposed router, called Double Arbiter and Switching router (DAS), jointly uses
Wormhole
and
Store And Forward
communication techniques for low- and high-critical flows, respectively. It ensures that high-critical flows meet their deadlines while maximizing the bandwidth remaining for the low-critical flows. We also propose a new method for high-critical communication time analysis, applied to
Store And Forward
switching mode with virtual channels. For low-critical flows communication time analysis, we adapt an existing wormhole communication time analysis with share policy to our context.

The second contribution of this article is a multi-abstraction-level evaluation of DAS. We evaluate the communication time of flows, the system mode change, the cost, and four properties of DAS. Simulations with a cycle-accurate SystemC NoC simulator show that, with a 15% network use rate, the communication delay of high-critical flows is reduced by 80% while communication delay of low-critical flow is increased by 18% compared to solutions based on routers with multiple virtual channels. For 10% of network interferences, using system mode change, DAS reduces the high-critical communication delays about 66%. We synthesize our router with a 28nm SOI technology and show that the size overhead is limited of 2.5% compared to the solution based on virtual channel router. Finally, we applied model checking verification techniques to automatically prove several DAS properties required by critical systems designers.
Expression Robust 3D Facial Landmarking via Progressive Coarse-to-Fine Tuning
Authors: Sun Jia , Huang Di , Wang Yunhong , Chen Liming
Published: February 2019

Facial landmarking is a fundamental task in automatic machine-based face analysis. The majority of existing techniques for such a problem are based on 2D images; however, they suffer from illumination and pose variations that may largely degrade landmarking performance. The emergence of 3D data theoretically provides an alternative to overcome these weaknesses in the 2D domain. This article proposes a novel approach to 3D facial landmarking, which combines both the advantages of feature-based methods as well as model-based ones in a progressive three-stage coarse-to-fine manner (initial, intermediate, and fine stages). For the initial stage, a few fiducial landmarks (i.e., the nose tip and two inner eye corners) are robustly detected through curvature analysis, and these points are further exploited to initialize the subsequent stage. For the intermediate stage, a statistical model is learned in the feature space of three normal components of the facial point-cloud rather than the smooth original coordinates, namely Active Normal Model (ANM). For the fine stage, cascaded regression is employed to locally refine the landmarks according to their geometry attributes. The proposed approach can accurately localize dozens of fiducial points on each 3D face scan, greatly surpassing the feature-based ones, and it also improves the state of the art of the model-based ones in two aspects: sensitivity to initialization and deficiency in discrimination. The proposed method is evaluated on the BU-3DFE, Bosphorus, and BU-4DFE databases, and competitive results are achieved in comparison with counterparts in the literature, clearly demonstrating its effectiveness.
Routing-Aware and Malicious Node Detection in a Concealed Data Aggregation for WSNs
Authors: Alghamdi Wael , Rezvani Mohsen , Wu Hui , Kanhere Salil S.
Published: February 2019

Data aggregation in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) can effectively reduce communication overheads and reduce the energy consumption of sensor nodes. A WSN needs to be not only energy efficient but also secure. Various attacks may make data aggregation unsecure. We investigate the reliable and secure end-to-end data aggregation problem considering selective forwarding attacks and modification attacks in homogeneous WSNs, and propose two data aggregation approaches. Our approaches, namely Sign-Share and Sham-Share, use secret sharing and signatures to allow aggregators to aggregate the data without understanding the contents of messages and the base station to verify the aggregated data and retrieve the raw data from the aggregated data. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first lightweight en-routing malicious node detection in concealed data aggregation. We have performed an extensive simulation to compare our approaches and the two state-of-the-art approaches PIP and RCDA-HOMO. The simulation results show that both Sign-Share and Sham-Share consume a reasonable amount of time in processing and aggregating the data. The simulation results show that our first approach achieved an average network lifetime of 102.33% over PIP and average aggregation energy consumption of 74.93%. In addition, it achieved an average aggregation processing time and sensor data processing time of 95.4% and 90.34% over PIP and 98.7% and 92.07% over RCDA-HOMO, respectively, and it achieved an average network delay of 71.95% over PIP. Although RCDA-HOMO is completely a different technique, a comparison was performed to measure the computational overhead.
Reinforcement Learning for UAV Attitude Control
Authors: Koch William , Mancuso Renato , West Richard , Bestavros Azer
Published: February 2019

Autopilot systems are typically composed of an “inner loop” providing stability and control, whereas an “outer loop” is responsible for mission-level objectives, such as way-point navigation. Autopilot systems for unmanned aerial vehicles are predominately implemented using Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control systems, which have demonstrated exceptional performance in stable environments. However, more sophisticated control is required to operate in unpredictable and harsh environments. Intelligent flight control systems is an active area of research addressing limitations of PID control most recently through the use of reinforcement learning (RL), which has had success in other applications, such as robotics. Yet previous work has focused primarily on using RL at the mission-level controller. In this work, we investigate the performance and accuracy of the inner control loop providing attitude control when using intelligent flight control systems trained with state-of-the-art RL algorithms—Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient, Trust Region Policy Optimization, and Proximal Policy Optimization. To investigate these unknowns, we first developed an open source high-fidelity simulation environment to train a flight controller attitude control of a quadrotor through RL. We then used our environment to compare their performance to that of a PID controller to identify if using RL is appropriate in high-precision, time-critical flight control.
Non-visual Perception of Lines on a Multimodal Touchscreen Tablet
Authors: Tennison Jennifer L. , Gorlewicz Jenna L.
Published: February 2019

While text-to-speech software has largely made textual information accessible in the digital space, analogous access to graphics still remains an unsolved problem. Because of their portability and ubiquity, several studies have alluded to touchscreens as a potential platform for such access, yet there is still a gap in our understanding of multimodal information transfer in the context of graphics. The current research demonstrates feasibility for following lines, a fundamental graphical concept, via vibrations and sounds on commercial touchscreens. Two studies were run with 21 blind and visually impaired participants (
N
= 12;
N
= 9). The first study examined the presentation of straight, linear lines using a multitude of line representations, such as vibration-only, auditory-only, vibration lines with auditory borders, and auditory lines with vibration borders. The results of this study demonstrated that both auditory and vibratory bordered lines were optimal for precise tracing, although both vibration- and auditory-only lines were also sufficient for following, with minimal deviations. The second study examined the presentation of curving, non-linear lines. Conditions differed on the number of auditory reference points presented at the inflection and deflection points. Participants showed minimal deviation from the lines during tracing, performing nearly equally in both 1- and 3-point conditions. From these studies, we demonstrate that line following via multimodal feedback is possible on touchscreens, and we present guidelines for the presentation of such non-visual graphical concepts.
Exploiting SIMD Asymmetry in ARM-to-x86 Dynamic Binary Translation
Authors: Liu Yu-Ping , Hong Ding-Yong , Wu Jan-Jan , Fu Sheng-Yu , Hsu Wei-Chung
Published: February 2019

Single instruction multiple data (SIMD) has been adopted for decades because of its superior performance and power efficiency. The SIMD capability (i.e., width, number of registers, and advanced instructions) has diverged rapidly on different SIMD instruction-set architectures (ISAs). Therefore, migrating existing applications to another host ISA that has fewer but longer SIMD registers and more advanced instructions raises the issues of asymmetric SIMD capability. To date, this issue has been overlooked and the host SIMD capability is underutilized, resulting in suboptimal performance. In this article, we present a novel binary translation technique called spill-aware superword level parallelism (saSLP), which combines short ARMv8 instructions and registers in the guest binaries to exploit the x86 AVX2 host’s parallelism, register capacity, and gather instructions. Our experiment results show that saSLP improves the performance by 1.6× (2.3×) across a number of benchmarks and reduces spilling by 97% (99%) for ARMv8 to x86 AVX2 (AVX-512) translation. Furthermore, with AVX2 (AVX-512) gather instructions, saSLP speeds up several data-irregular applications that cannot be vectorized on ARMv8 NEON by up to 3.9× (4.2×).
Formal Modeling and Verification of a Victim DRAM Cache
Authors: Sahoo Debiprasanna , Sha Swaraj , Satpathy Manoranjan , Mutyam Madhu , Ramesh S. , Roop Partha
Published: February 2019

The emerging
Die-stacking
technology enables DRAM to be used as a cache to break the “Memory Wall” problem. Recent studies have proposed to use DRAM as a victim cache in both CPU and GPU memory hierarchies to improve performance. DRAM caches are large in size and, hence, when realized as a victim cache, non-inclusive design is preferred. This non-inclusive design adds significant differences to the conventional DRAM cache design in terms of its probe, fill, and writeback policies. Design and verification of a victim DRAM cache can be much more complex than that of a conventional DRAM cache. Hence, without rigorous modeling and formal verification, ensuring the correctness of such a system can be difficult.

The major focus of this work is to show how formal modeling is applied to design and verify a victim DRAM cache. In this approach, we identify the agents in the victim DRAM cache design and model them in terms of interacting state machines. We derive a set of properties from the specifications of a victim cache and encode them using Linear Temporal Logic. The properties are then proven using symbolic and bounded model checking. Finally, we discuss how these properties are related to the dataflow paths in a victim DRAM cache.
One law to rule them all: Stretched exponential master curve of capacity fade for Li-ion batteries
Authors: Cuervo-Reyes Eduardo , Flueckiger Reto
Published: February 2019

Li-ion batteries gradually lose their capacity with time and use; therefore, ageing forecasts are key to designs of battery powered systems. So far, cell-type-specific studies without standardised testing practices have lead to a variety of ageing models in which generality, simplicity, and accuracy seem exclusive. Previous studies hint to an interplay of multiple mechanisms leading to capacity loss, which depend on cell chemistry and are affected by temperature, state of charge, and cycling rate. Here we show that, despite this complexity, the time dependence of the actual capacity follows a unique master curve, for several cell types aged under various different conditions. We discuss the statistical origin of this common behaviour, and the testing practice required for the characterisation of a model. The master curve is a stretched exponential that describes many other phenomena in nature and is theoretically justified within a diffusion-to-traps depletion model. These findings provide a simple and broadly applicable framework for accurate life-time predictions.
Increased central cholinergic drive contributes to the apneas of serotonin-deficient rat pups during active sleep
Authors: Davis Marina R. , Magnusson Jennifer L. , Cummings Kevin J.
Published: February 2019

Infant rat pups lacking central nervous system (CNS) serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) have unstable breathing during prolonged periods of active sleep. Given that cholinergic neurons are drivers of active sleep and project to respiratory patterning regions in the brainstem, we hypothesized that 5-HT preserves respiratory stability in active sleep by dampening central cholinergic drive. We used whole-body plethysmography coupled with nuchal electromyography to monitor the breathing pattern of 2-wk-old tryptophan hydroxylase 2 ( TPH2)+/+ and TPH2-deficient ( TPH2−/−) pups in active sleep, before and after muscarinic blockade. For the group 1 experiment we injected methylatropine (Ap-M), a CNS-impermeant form of atropine, followed ~30 min later by an injection of atropine sulfate (Ap-S), the CNS-permeant form (both 1 mg/kg, 10 μl bolus iv); both injections occurred within an active sleep episode. We analyzed the effect of each drug on the coefficient of variation of the respiratory period (CV-P) during active sleep. For the group 2 experiment rats were cycled through several episodes of active and quiet sleep before administration of Ap-S (1 mg/kg, 200 μl ip) or vehicle. We assessed the effect of Ap-S on the apnea indices of both genotypes during quiet and active sleep. In group 1 Ap-S significantly reduced the CV-P of TPH2−/− pups ( P = 0.03), an effect not observed in TPH2+/+ pups or following Ap-M. In group 2 the apnea index of TPH2−/− pups was significantly reduced following Ap-S injection ( P = 0.04), whereas the apnea index of TPH2+/+ littermates was unaffected ( P = 0.58). These findings suggest that central 5-HT reduces apnea and stabilizes breathing by reducing cholinergic signaling through muscarinic receptors.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Serotonin in the central nervous system (CNS) is necessary for maintaining the stability of breathing in the early postnatal period, particularly during active sleep. Here we show that the administration of atropine to the CNS selectively stabilizes the respiratory pattern of tryptophan hydroxylase 2-deficient rat pups and reduces their apneas. This suggests that CNS serotonin stabilizes breathing at least in part by reducing central cholinergic drive.
Microparticle-induced vascular injury in mice following decompression is inhibited by hyperbaric oxygen: effects on microparticles and interleukin-1β
Authors: Thom Stephen R. , Bhopale Veena M. , Yang Ming
Published: February 2019

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) became a mainstay for treating decompression sickness (DCS) because bubbles are associated with the disorder. Inflammatory processes including production of circulating microparticles (MPs) have now been shown to occur with DCS, leading to questions regarding pathophysiology and the role for HBO2. We investigated effects of HBO2on mice exposed to 790 kPa air pressure for 2 h, which triggers elevations of MPs ladened with interleukin (IL)-1β that cause diffuse vascular injuries. Exposure to 283 kPa O2(HBO2) inhibited MP elevations at 2 h postdecompression by 50% when applied either prophylactically or as treatment after decompression, and the MP number remained suppressed for 13 h in the prophylactic group. Particle content of IL-1β at 2 h postdecompression was 139.3 ± 16.2 [means ± SE; n = 11, P < 0.05) pg/million MPs vs. 8.2 ± 1.0 ( n = 15) in control mice, whereas it was 31.5 ± 6.1 ( n = 6, not significant vs. control (NS)] in mice exposed to HBO2prophylactically, and 16.6 ± 6.3 ( n = 7, NS) when HBO2was administered postdecompression. IL-1β content in MPs was similar in HBO2-exposed mice at 13 h postdecompression. HBO2also inhibited decompression-associated neutrophil activation and diffuse vascular leak. Immunoprecipitation studies demonstrated that HBO2inhibits high-pressure-mediated neutrophil nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich-containing family, pyrin domain-containing-3 inflammasome oligomerization. Furthermore, MPs isolated from decompressed mice cause vascular injuries when injected into naïve mice, but if decompressed mice were exposed to HBO2before MP harvest, vascular injuries were inhibited. We conclude that HBO2impedes high-pressure/decompression-mediated inflammatory events by inhibiting inflammasome formation and IL-1β production.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY High pressure/decompression causes vascular damage because it stimulates production of microparticles that contain high concentrations of interleukin-1β, and hyperbaric oxygen can prevent injuries.
Clinicopathological Review of 547 Bulbar Enucleations in Hungary (2006–2017)
Authors: Tóth Gábor , Szentmáry Nóra , Sándor Gábor László , Csákány Béla , Maka Erika , Tóth Jeannette , Antus Zsuzsanna , Pluzsik Milán Tamás , Langenbucher Achim , Nagy Zoltán Zsolt , Lukáts Olga
Published: February 2019

Purpose. To analyse current clinicopathological enucleation indications in a large third-referral centre in a developed country (Hungary) over a period of 12 years. Methods. Retrospective review was performed on 547 enucleated eyes of 543 patients (48.6% males, age 52.7 ± 24.5 years) who were operated on between 2006 and 2017 at the Department of Ophthalmology of Semmelweis University, in Budapest, Hungary. For each subject, clinicopathological data, including patient demographics, indications for enucleation, B-scan ultrasound reports, operative details, and histopathological analyses, were reviewed. Primary enucleation indications were classified into trauma, tumours, systemic diseases, surgical diseases, infections or inflammations, miscellaneous diseases, and unclassifiable groups. Clinical immediate enucleation indications were classified as tumours, atrophia or phthisis bulbi, infection or inflammation, painful blind eye due to glaucoma, acute trauma, threatening or spontaneous perforation, cosmetic causes, and expulsive bleeding. Results. The most common primary enucleation indications were tumours (47.3%), trauma (16.8%), surgical diseases (15.7%), infection or inflammation (11.6%), systemic diseases (5.1%), miscellaneous diseases (2.0%), and unclassifiable diseases (1.5%). Clinical immediate enucleation indications were tumours (46.1%), atrophia or phthisis bulbi (18.5%), infection or inflammation (18.5%), painful blind eye due to glaucoma (11.2%), acute trauma (3.7%), threatening or spontaneous perforation (1.3%), cosmetic reasons (0.5%), and expulsive bleeding (0.4%). Conclusions. Intraocular tumours represent the most common clinicopathological indication for ocular enucleation in our study population. Following ocular trauma and systemic diseases, the rate of enucleation decreased in the last decade, compared to those previously reported in other developed countries. However, changes were not observed for surgical diseases, infectious and inflammatory causes, or for miscellaneous and unclassified diseases. Orbital implant financing should be increased to ensure better postoperative aesthetic rehabilitation, following enucleation in Hungary.
A New Group Location Privacy-Preserving Method Based on Distributed Architecture in LBS
Authors: Wang JingJing , Han YiLiang , Yang XiaoYuan , Zhou TanPing , Chen JiaYong
Published: February 2019

Nowadays, the location privacy problem has become an important problem for the users who enjoy the location-based services (LBSs). Researchers have focused on the problem of how to protect the location privacy of user efficiently for a long time. On one hand, many achievements adopt the centralized structure in which there is an additional center server. Additionally, some other researchers adopt the distributed structure to overcome the disadvantages brought by the center server in the centralized anonymous system structure. On the other hand, the existing methods of solving the problem are always to protect the individual user’s location privacy in LBSs, without considering the user group’s location privacy. This kind of methods is not very applicable to the status of a number of users who formed a group to complete a LBS task together by collaborative computing. In order to solve the problem of location privacy protection for a user group in the untrusted mobile social networks, a location privacy protection method based on the distributed structure is discussed in this paper. In the scheme, the special homomorphic features of BGN cryptosystem are cleverly used so that it can solve the group’s three classical location service applications simultaneously, namely, group nearest neighbor query, optimal group collection point determination, and group friend’s distance query, by only one security policy. If there are k users who formed the group, it could achieve k-anonymity without exposing the coordinate of each individual user or using any anonymous areas. Furthermore, theoretical and experimental analysis proves that the proposal can efficiently protect each user’s location privacy in the group through taking full advantage of the collaborative computing and communication capabilities of the mobile terminals. It can resist the existing distance interaction attack and collusion attack and can realize the secure and efficient fine-grained controllable location privacy protection for the user group.
Research on Mesoscopic Response of Asphalt Pavement Structure under Vibration Load
Authors: Yan Zhanyou , Chen Enli , Wang Zhen , Si Chundi
Published: February 2019

The various damages of asphalt pavement are closely related to the mesomechanical gradual behavior of asphalt materials, and it is very important to study the mesoscopic response under vibration loading in order to reveal the failure mechanism of asphalt pavement. The semisinusoidal vertical load is applied to the subgrade‐surface discrete element model in this paper, and we use the model to analyze the evolution behavior of microcrack generation and expansion processes, stress distribution and stress transfer, and displacement field in various structural layers of asphalt pavement. The results show that the number of cracks increases rapidly on both sides of the vibration load, the rut is generated due to repeated load on the wheel, the asphalt mixture has bulging phenomenon on both sides of the rut and formed macroscopic cracks at the ridge, the microcracks extend mainly along the weak joints of the edges of the coarse aggregate and the asphalt cement, the number of microcracks increases slowly at the initial stage of the vibration load, the microcracks increase sharply until macroscopic cracks appear with the vibration load increases, the direction of compressive stress extends parallel to the microcrack, and the direction of tensile stress extends perpendicular to the microcracks inside the asphalt pavement. The results show that the discrete element method can not only obtain the stress and displacement of each structural layer, but also reveal the microcrack gradual behavior between particle flows.
Memantine Differentially Regulates Tau Phosphorylation Induced by Chronic Restraint Stress of Varying Duration in Mice
Authors: Liu Yunsheng , Cao Lan , Zhang Xiaoxu , Liang Yan , Xu Yuxia , Zhu Cuiqing
Published: February 2019

Exposure to chronic psychiatric stress has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease-related tau hyperphosphorylation and abnormalities in glutamate neurotransmission. However, the pathological relationship between glutamatergic dysfunction and tau phosphorylation in the cerebral cortex under chronic psychiatric stress is not fully understood. The present study investigated the effects of memantine (MEM, 5 and 10 mg/kg), an uncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, on chronic restraint stress- (CRS-) induced tau phosphorylation in mice. CRS administered for 16 or 28 consecutive days (1 h daily) induced significant tau phosphorylation in the brain. MEM treatment suppressed the elevation of phosphorylated tau (P-tau) levels induced by 16-day CRS in a dose-dependent manner. P-tau reduction was accompanied by the attenuation of the upregulation of GSK3βand CDK5 expression and the downregulation of PP2A activity induced by CRS. Additionally, MEM reduced CRS-induced upregulation of NMDA receptor subunit levels (GluN2A, GluN2B) in the frontal cortex. However, MEM markedly enhanced tau phosphorylation in the frontal cortex and other cerebral cortical regions following 28 days of CRS. The stimulatory effect of MEM on CRS-induced tau phosphorylation was correlated with increased activities of AKT, JNK, and GSK3β, inactivation of PP2A, and downregulation of Pin1 and HSP70. Moreover, MEM did not effectively reverse the NMDA receptor upregulation induced by 28-day CRS and even increased GluN2B subunit levels. In contrast to the duration-dependent effects of MEM on P-tau levels, MEM produced an anxiolytic effect in both regimens as revealed by elevated plus maze testing. However, MEM did not affect the body weight reduction induced by CRS. Thus, MEM exerts distinctive effects on CRS-induced tau phosphorylation, which might be related to the expression of GluN2B. The differential effects of MEM on P-tau levels have crucial implications for its clinical application.
Antenatal Indomethacin Treatment for Congenital Myotonic Dystrophy
Authors: Yamaguchi Kyohei , Tanaka Hiroaki , Furuhashi Fumi H. , Tanaka Kayo , Kondo Eiji , Ikeda Tomoaki
Published: February 2019

Myotonic dystrophy is an autosomal-dominant disorder. Its congenital type is the most severe form, with respiratory failure that can be a life-threatening event after birth. There are no antenatal treatments that can improve neonatal outcomes of myotonic dystrophy. We treated a fetus with congenital myotonic dystrophy by administering indomethacin to the 31-year-old Japanese mother affected by myotonic dystrophy and polyhydramnios. We observed increased fetal breathing movement and a reduction of the amniotic fluid volume. The baby was born at 37 weeks and discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit with a favorable outcome. Indomethacin treatment is likely to improve fetal lung function and to control the amniotic fluid volume. This report emphasizes the importance of further investigations regarding the optimal management of congenital myotonic dystrophy.
Independence and Fairness Analysis of 5G mmWave Operators Utilizing Spectrum Sharing Approach
Authors: Attiah Mothana L. , Isa A. A. M. , Zakaria Zahriladha , Abdulhameed M. K. , Mohsen Mowafak K. , Dinar Ahmed M.
Published: February 2019

The spectrum sharing approach (SSA) has emerged as a cost-efficient solution for the enhancement of spectrum utilization to meet the stringent requirements of 5G systems. However, the realization of SSA in 5G mmWave cellular networks from technical and regulatory perspectives could be challenging. Therefore, in this paper, an analytical framework involving a flexible hybrid mmWave SSA is presented to assess the effectiveness of SSA and investigate its influence on network functionality in terms of independence and fairness among operators. Two mmWave frequencies (28 GHz and 73 GHz) are used with different spectrum bandwidths. Various access models have been presented for adoption by four independent mobile network operators that incorporate three types of spectrum allocation (exclusive, semipooled, and fully pooled access). Furthermore, an adaptive multi-state mmWave cell selection scheme is proposed to associate typical users with the tagged mmWave base stations that provide a great signal-to-interference plus noise ratio, thereby maintaining reliable connections and enriching user experience. Numerical results show that the proposed strategy achieves considerable improvement in terms of fairness and independence among operators, which paves the way for further research activities that would provide better insight and encourage mobile network operators to rely on SSA.
Serum Resolvin E1 Levels and Its Relationship with Disease Activity in Ulcerative Colitis
Authors: Günay Süleyman , Taşova Ferda , Yılmaz Huriye Erbak , Paköz Zehra Betül , Çekiç Cem
Published: February 2019

Background. Resolvins originate from ω-3 PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acid) precursors and play a role in the resolution of inflammation. The aim of this study was to determine the serum Resolvin E1 levels in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and to evaluate the relationship between the serum Resolvin E1 levels and ulcerative colitis disease activity. Methods. In this observational study, serum samples were collected from 51 patients with UC and 30 healthy controls for the determination of Resolvin E1 levels. Firstly, we compared the serum Resolvin E1 levels between the UC patients and the control group. Subsequently, Resolvin E1 levels were analyzed in patients with active UC and UC in remission. Finally, the correlation between Resolvin E1 and C-reactive protein (CRP) and partial Mayo score (p-MS) was analyzed to determine the efficacy of Resolvin E1 in predicting disease activity. Results. Serum Resolvin E1 level was determined in the UC group (3126±1413 ng/ml) and in the control group (2758±1065 ng/ml) (p=0.187). Serum Resolvin E1 levels were determined in patients with active UC (3114±1166 ng/ml) and patients in remission (3132±1520 ng/ml) (p=0.749). In the UC group, a low-grade positive significant association was found between Resolvin E1 and CRP (r=0.303, p=0.031). There was no significant association between Resolvin E1 and partial Mayo score (r=−0.207, p=0.146). Conclusions. There was no sufficient evidence that Resolvin E1 was an appropriate inflammatory marker to determine disease activity in UC.
Biosensing Using a Simple Resistor: The Effect of Functionalization on Sensing Devices
Authors: Saab Marie-belle , Al Ahmar Elie , Estephan Elias
Published: February 2019

Biosensors can play an important role in early disease detection, a reason why they are gaining more attention in the world of biomedicine. Functionalization of the material used in the detector is of a great importance since it maintains the molecule’s structure of interest with minimal changes. We report on sensing BSA molecules, solutions, and concentrations using a functionalized commercial resistor in a simple electric circuit. Our results demonstrate the outstanding utility of functionalization in biosensing devices; while sensing is not possible with a naked resistor, a BSA covered resistor can detect a very low solution concentration around 0.1 fM. A smaller molecule like tryptophan was also used in order to functionalize the resistor. After proving that tryptophan is more effective in covering the resistor before sensing, BSA molecules in other solvent conditions were detected, and a threshold of 1 μM was obtained. This can prove that sensing depends on the choice of the functionalizations of the material used for sensing and on the conformation of the molecule of interest in its solutions. This method of detection may be of great interest in triggering and sensing biological molecules using simple-based devices.
Performance and Environmental Evaluation of Stabilized Base Material with Strontium Slag in Low‐Volume Road in China
Authors: Wang Teng , Tao Qiulin , Xie Zhaoxing
Published: February 2019

Strontium slag, a by‐product of the strontium carbonate refining industry, has been produced at million tons per year in China. The use of strontium slag in the roads could reduce the demand of virgin materials and help solve the environmental problems caused by strontium slag. However, it is necessary to evaluate its environmental effect and the performance of the pavement with strontium slag before it could be used in roads. In this study, two test sections with strontium slag base layer were paved in low‐volume roads in China to investigate its performance and environmental impact: (1) cement‐treated base (CTB) section (5 cm asphalt surface over 20 cm CTB containing strontium slag) and (2) lime‐treated base (LTB) section (3 cm asphalt surface over 20 cm LTB with strontium slag). The performance of the test sections was evaluated through laboratory and field experiments. The cost and environmental effect of strontium slag were investigated using production cost analysis and life‐cycle assessment, respectively. Results of this study indicate that the CTB section exhibited a better performance compared to the LTB section, and the strontium slag decreased the material cost and the emissions during production.
Influence of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus on the Ocular Biometry of Chinese Children
Authors: Xiao Ying , Li Tao , Jia Yan , Wang Shanshan , Yang Chenhao , Zou Haidong
Published: February 2019

Purpose. To compare ocular biometry between children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and healthy children in China and to determine the correlation of ocular biometry with the glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level and diabetes duration. Methods. A case-control study was conducted at Children’s Hospital of Fudan University between T1DM children and healthy children. The participants were evaluated for central corneal thickness (CCT), anterior chamber depth (ACD), lens thickness (LT), K1 and K2 keratometry, and axial length (AL); also cycloplegic refraction was performed, and spherical equivalent (SE) was acquired. HbA1c levels of the T1DM cases were obtained. Results. Fifty-four eyes of 54 children with T1DM and 53 eyes of 53 healthy children were included. The mean age of T1DM group and control group was 10.59 ± 3.40 years and 9.55 ± 1.89 years, respectively, and the differences between age and gender were not significant (p=0.052, p=0.700). The mean LT in T1DM group (3.49 ± 0.18 mm) was thicker than that in the control group (3.40 ± 0.16 mm) (p=0.018), the mean ACD in T1DM group (3.52 ± 0.26 mm) was shallower than that in the control group (3.72 ± 0.26 mm) (p<0.001), and there were no significant differences of CCT, K1, K2, AL, and SE (p=0.088, p=0.672, p=0.821, p=0.094, and p=0.306, respectively). There was no significant correlation between HbA1c or diabetes duration and ocular biometry. Conclusions. Thicker LT and shallower ACD occurred in T1DM children rather than age-matched and sex-matched healthy children, but the overall refraction was not affected. HbA1c or diabetes duration was not correlated with ocular biometry in T1DM children.