bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Simultaneous and forward masking of vowels and stop consonants: Effects of age, hearing loss, and spectral shaping
Authors: Fogerty Daniel , Bologna William J. , Ahlstrom Jayne B. , Dubno Judy R.
Published: February 2017

Fluctuating noise, common in everyday environments, has the potential to mask acoustic cues important for speech recognition. This study examined the extent to which acoustic cues for perception of vowels and stop consonants differ in their susceptibility to simultaneous and forward masking. Younger normal-hearing, older normal-hearing, and older hearing-impaired adults identified initial and final consonants or vowels in noise-masked syllables that had been spectrally shaped. The amount of shaping was determined by subjects' audiometric thresholds. A second group of younger adults with normal hearing was tested with spectral shaping determined by the mean audiogram of the hearing-impaired group. Stimulus timing ensured that the final 10, 40, or 100 ms of the syllable occurred after the masker offset. Results demonstrated that participants benefited from short temporal delays between the noise and speech for vowel identification, but required longer delays for stop consonant identification. Older adults with normal and impaired hearing, with sufficient audibility, required longer delays to obtain performance equivalent to that of the younger adults. Overall, these results demonstrate that in forward masking conditions, younger listeners can successfully identify vowels during short temporal intervals (i.e., one unmasked pitch period), with longer durations required for consonants and for older adults.
Rupture of the extensor hood of the fifth toe: a rare injury
Authors: Venturini Sara , Gaba Suchi , Mangwani Jitendra
Published: February 2017

Closed injuries of the extensor hood of the lesser toes are rare and seldom reported in the literature. We present the case of a woman aged 25 years who presented to the orthopaedic fracture clinic with a 2-week history of pain in the left fifth toe and inability to extend following a ballet dancing session. Investigations showed no fracture on plain radiographs, but an ultrasound scan demonstrated rupture to the extensor hood of the little toe. Successful surgical repair of the extensor hood was performed, and the patient made a good recovery with return to dancing activities.
Collapsing glomerulopathy in systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Abadeer Kerolos , Alsaad Ali A , Geiger Xochiquetzal J , Porter Ivan E
Published: February 2017

Collapsing glomerulopathy (CG) is a rare disease that can be associated with multiple other disorders. It usually leads to poor prognosis with a high percentage of patients progressing to end-stage renal disease. In this article, we illustrate a clinical case of CG associated with systemic lupus erythematosus that had a prompt response to mycophenolate and prednisone. The condition started after sudden cessation of the already established mycophenolate treatment regimen. The patient then presented with acute kidney injury due to kidney biopsy-proven CG. In that circumstance, we hypothesised that mycophenolate may play a role in prevention and development of CG.
Size and shape of eggs of Neognathae: effects of developmental mode and phylogeny
Authors: Mytiai I.S. , Shatkovska O.V. , Ghazali M.
Published: February 2017

We evaluated the variation in absolute size and shape of birds’ eggs and the effects of developmental mode and phylogenetic relatedness on these traits. Eggs were characterized by length, diameter, and three indices of egg shape. Indices of egg shape were calculated as the ratio of radii that described the curvature of pointed end (cloacal zone), blunt end (infundibular zone), and lateral zone to egg diameter. We found that eggs shape was less variable than the absolute size of eggs. Index of the cloacal zone was the most changeable and index of the infundibular zone was very conservative. Size and shape of eggs could be better explained with phylogenetic relatedness than developmental mode.
Solar PV Based Shunt Active Filter with p-q Theory Control for Improvement of Power Quality
Authors: Balamurugan R. , Nithya R.
Published: February 2017

In this paper, fuzzy logic controller (FLC)-based three-phase shunt active power filter with photovoltaic (PV) system is proposed. This filter comprises voltage source converter (VSC) with DC link capacitor at the input side and is supplied by PV system. The salient feature of the filter is that it provides reactive power compensation with line current harmonic reduction and also neutral compensation at point of common coupling (PCC). The PV system and a battery are connected with VSC through DC–DC converter. This paper also proposes a control algorithm using instantaneous [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] theory that generates a reference current to counteract the harmonics. The FLC controls the DC link voltage in reference to the above reference current. The performance of the proposed filter for compensation is confirmed by using the MATLAB/Simulink environment and results are validated.
A SPICE-Compatible Nonlinear CCII Macromodel
Authors: Sánchez-López C. , Carrasco-Aguilar M. A. , Morales-López F. E.
Published: February 2017

Experimental results of a SPICE-compatible macromodel to model the nonlinear behavior of second generation current conveyors (CCIIs) at low frequency are presented. The derived macromodel includes not only those real physical performance parameters more important for CCII like the dynamic range, slew rate, DC gain and gain–bandwidth product, but parasitic resistors and capacitors associated to the input and output terminals are also included. To validate the derived macromodel, a saturated nonlinear function series (SNFS) was built by using AD844AN commercially available active device configured as CCII and embedded in a chaotic system. After that, an experimentally generated chaotic signal was applied as excitation signal to SNFS built with AD844AN foundry-provided macromodel and the proposed herein. Our results indicate that the derived macromodel can be used in the time-domain for forecasting the behavior of nonlinear circuits without worsening the accuracy and at less time compared with the foundry-provided macromodel.
Big bounce with finite-time singularity: The F(R) gravity description
Authors: Odintsov S. D. , Oikonomou V. K.
Published: February 2017

An alternative to the Big Bang cosmologies is obtained by the Big Bounce cosmologies. In this paper, we study a bounce cosmology with a Type IV singularity occurring at the bouncing point in the context of [Formula: see text] modified gravity. We investigate the evolution of the Hubble radius and we examine the issue of primordial cosmological perturbations in detail. As we demonstrate, for the singular bounce, the primordial perturbations originating from the cosmological era near the bounce do not produce a scale-invariant spectrum and also the short wavelength modes after these exit the horizon, do not freeze, but grow linearly with time. After presenting the cosmological perturbations study, we discuss the viability of the singular bounce model, and our results indicate that the singular bounce must be combined with another cosmological scenario, or should be modified appropriately, in order that it leads to a viable cosmology. The study of the slow-roll parameters leads to the same result indicating that the singular bounce theory is unstable at the singularity point for certain values of the parameters. We also conformally transform the Jordan frame singular bounce, and as we demonstrate, the Einstein frame metric leads to a Big Rip singularity. Therefore, the Type IV singularity in the Jordan frame becomes a Big Rip singularity in the Einstein frame. Finally, we briefly study a generalized singular cosmological model, which contains two Type IV singularities, with quite appealing features.
Gold-Gilded Zinc Oxide Nanodiamonds: Plasmonic and Morphological Effects
Authors: Khan G. R. , Khan R. A.
Published: February 2017

The novel properties, diverse applications and device performance of nanocomposites can be greatly modulated through astute combination of plasmonic and morphological effects. The biosensing sensitivity, semiconducting capability, photocatalytic efficiency and antibacterial efficacy of ZnO nanostructures can be enhanced by a diamond-like morphology of ZnO via incorporation of plasmonic gold owing to their exceptional specific surface area, outstanding photoluminescence and excellent biocompatibility. Toward the realization of this goal, Au-Zno nanodiamonds have been successfully synthesized by a microwave assisted solution phase route without use of any costly solvents, surfactants, substrates, post-synthesis treatment or hazardous ingredients. It shows the ability to control the concentration of Au nanoparticles in ZnO and the evolution of its growth in diamond shape. The synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by high-resolution measurements such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffractometory (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and the results discussed in detail.
A PRELIMINARY CHARACTERISATION OFSYMBIODINIUMDIVERSITY IN SOME COMMON CORALS FROM SINGAPORE
Authors: ISA TANZIL JANI THUAIBAH , NG ABIGAYLE PEK KAYE , TEY YI QING , TAN BEVERLY HSIN YI , YUN ERIC YAO , HUANG DANWEI
Published: February 2017

The symbiosis between corals and Symbiodinium dinoflagellates is considered a major driver of the distribution and health of reefs worldwide. This study investigated the genetic identities and diversity of Symbiodinium in seven coral species (Porites lutea, Porites lobata, Acropora millepora, Merulina ampliata, Diploastrea heliopora, Pachyseris speciosa, Pocillopora acuta) from three shallow reefs around Singapore (Kusu Island, Pulau Tekukor, Pulau Satumu). Analyses of 31 colonies using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of the nuclear internal transcribed spacer region indicated the dominance of C and D Symbiodinium clades. The latter clade was the predominant symbiont in Pachyseris speciosa collected from Pulau Tekukor but those sampled from Pulau Satumu hosted C27, providing evidence for variable symbiosis in this species. The prevalence of the D clade – noted for their stress tolerance (e.g. to elevated temperatures and sedimentation) – in three of seven coral species examined could underlie the importance of this particular symbiotic relationship for the persistence of Singapore’s impacted reefs. Further characterisation of Symbiodinium communities may provide insights into corals’ response to stress and their bleaching patterns in the future.
Reducing Effects of Cross-Talk in a Radio Telescope Using Walsh Modulation
Authors: Chaudhari Sandeep C. , Gupta Yashwant , Kumar Ajith , Shinde Navnath D. , Gupta Sweta , Vishwakarma Ajay
Published: February 2017

Traditional Walsh technique is used to eliminate cross-talk in a array of radio telescope where achieving synchronization between modulator and demodulator without compromising sensitivity is a real challenge. The paper describes a novel approach named Walsh Delay Hunting (WDH) to synchronize independently running modulator and demodulator with no additional hardware. This approach is unique and can easily be implemented in any existing radio telescope with minimal changes, thus by putting Walsh modulator at telescope and demodulation can be done in digital back-end. The scheme greatly reduces antenna electronics and overhead of sending synchronizing Walsh start pulse back to center station and vice versa. The paper describes WDH method and its feasibility study for Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT) along with test results. The modulator is a low cost CPLD-based module and demodulation is done in a Reconfigurable Open Architecture Computing Hardware (ROACH)-based digitizer and packetizer. The scheme requires noise injection facility before modulator, which GMRT has for antenna calibration.
Computational support for academic peer review
Authors: Price Simon , Flach Peter A.
Published: February 2017

New tools tackle an age-old practice.
Using Centrality Measures to Predict Helpfulness-Based Reputation in Trust Networks
Authors: Meo Pasquale De , Musial-Gabrys Katarzyna , Rosaci Domenico , Sarnè Giuseppe M. L. , Aroyo Lora
Published: February 2017

In collaborative Web-based platforms, user reputation scores are generally computed according to two orthogonal perspectives:
(a) helpfulness-based reputation (HBR)
scores and
(b) centrality-based reputation (CBR)
scores. In HBR approaches, the most reputable users are those who post the most helpful reviews according to the opinion of the members of their community. In CBR approaches, a “who-trusts-whom” network—known as a
trust network
—is available and the most reputable users occupy the most central position in the trust network, according to some definition of centrality. The identification of users featuring large HBR scores is one of the most important research issue in the field of Social Networks, and it is a critical success factor of many Web-based platforms like e-marketplaces, product review Web sites, and question-and-answering systems. Unfortunately, user reviews/ratings are often sparse, and this makes the calculation of HBR scores inaccurate. In contrast, CBR scores are relatively easy to calculate provided that the topology of the trust network is known. In this article, we investigate if CBR scores are effective to predict HBR ones, and, to perform our study, we used real-life datasets extracted from CIAO and Epinions (two product review Web sites) and Wikipedia and applied five popular centrality measures—Degree Centrality, Closeness Centrality, Betweenness Centrality, PageRank and Eigenvector Centrality—to calculate CBR scores. Our analysis provides a positive answer to our research question: CBR scores allow for predicting HBR ones and Eigenvector Centrality was found to be the most important predictor. Our findings prove that we can leverage trust relationships to spot those users producing the most helpful reviews for the whole community.
Making the field of computing more inclusive
Authors: Lazar Jonathan , Churchill Elizabeth F. , Grossman Tovi , van der Veer Gerrit , Palanque Philippe , Morris John "Scooter" , Mankoff Jennifer
Published: February 2017

More accessible conferences, digital resources, and ACM SIGs will lead to greater participation by more people with disabilities.
Enabling Distributed Energy Storage by Incentivizing Small Load Shifts
Authors: Irwin David , Iyengar Srinivasan , Lee Stephen , Mishra Aditya , Shenoy Prashant , Xu Ye
Published: February 2017

Reducing peak demands and achieving a high penetration of renewable energy sources are important goals in achieving a smarter grid. To reduce peak demand, utilities are introducing variable rate electricity prices to incentivize consumers to manually shift their demand to low-price periods. Consumers may also use energy storage to automatically shift their demand by storing energy during low-price periods for use during high-price periods. Unfortunately, variable rate pricing provides only a weak incentive for distributed energy storage and does not promote its adoption at large scales. In this article, we present the storage adoption dilemma to capture the problems with incentivizing energy storage using variable rate prices.

To address the problem, we propose a simple pricing scheme, called
flat-power pricing
, which incentivizes consumers to shift small amounts of load to flatten their demand rather than shift as much of their power usage as possible to low-price, off-peak periods. We show that compared to variable rate pricing, flat-power pricing (i) reduces consumers’ upfront capital costs, as it requires significantly less storage capacity per consumer; (ii) increases energy storage’s return on investment, as it mitigates free riding and maintains the incentive to use energy storage at large scales; and (iii) uses aggregate storage capacity within 31% of an optimal centralized approach. In addition, unlike variable rate pricing, we also show that flat-power pricing incentivizes the scheduling of elastic background loads, such as air conditioners and heaters, to reduce peak demand. We evaluate our approach using real smart meter data from 14,000 homes in a small town.
Exploiting I/O Reordering and I/O Interleaving to Improve Application Launch Performance
Authors: Joo Yongsoo , Park Sangsoo , Bahn Hyokyung
Published: February 2017

Application prefetchers improve application launch performance through either I/O reordering or I/O interleaving. However, there has been no proposal to combine the two techniques together, missing the opportunity for further optimization. We present a new application prefetching technique to take advantage of both the approaches. We evaluated our method with a set of applications to demonstrate that it reduces cold start application launch time by 50%, which is an improvement of 22% from the I/O reordering technique.
Abstract Program Slicing
Authors: Mastroeni Isabella , Zanardini Damiano
Published: February 2017

In the present article, we formally define the notion of
abstract program slicing
, a general form of program slicing where properties of data are considered instead of their exact value. This approach is applied to a language with numeric and reference values and relies on the notion of
abstract dependencies
between program statements.

The different forms of (backward) abstract slicing are added to an existing formal framework where traditional, nonabstract forms of slicing could be compared. The extended framework allows us to appreciate that abstract slicing is a generalization of traditional slicing, since each form of traditional slicing (dealing with syntactic dependencies) is generalized by a semantic (nonabstract) form of slicing, which is actually equivalent to an abstract form where the
identity
abstraction is performed on data.

Sound algorithms for computing abstract dependencies and a systematic characterization of program slices are provided, which rely on the notion of
agreement
between program states.
A Case Study on Improving Capacity Delivery of Battery Packs via Reconfiguration
Authors: He Liang , Kim Eugene , Shin Kang G.
Published: February 2017

Cell imbalance in large battery packs degrades their capacity delivery, especially for cells connected in series where the weakest cell dominates their overall capacity. In this article, we present a case study of exploiting system reconfigurations to mitigate the cell imbalance in battery packs. Specifically, instead of using all the cells in a battery pack to support the load, selectively skipping cells to be discharged may actually enhance the pack’s capacity delivery. Based on this observation, we propose CSR, a Cell Skipping-assisted Reconfiguration algorithm that identifies the system configuration with (near)-optimal capacity delivery. We evaluate CSR using large-scale emulation based on empirically collected discharge traces of 40 lithium-ion cells. CSR achieves close-to-optimal capacity delivery when the cell imbalance in the battery pack is low and improves the capacity delivery by about 20% and up to 1x in the case of a high imbalance.
The future of semiconductors
Authors: Greengard Samuel
Published: February 2017

Researchers are looking for new ways to advance semiconductors as Moore's Law approaches its limits.
Getting the most out of remote research and testing
Authors: Smith Carol J.
Published: February 2017

This forum addresses conceptual, methodological, and professional issues that arise in the UX field's continuing effort to contribute robust information about users to product planning and design.
--- David Siegel and Susan Dray, Editors
Where review goes wrong
Authors: Varki Elizabeth
Published: February 2017

Examining professional misconduct among academic publication examiners.
Powering the next Billion devices with wi-fi
Authors: Talla Vamsi , Kellogg Bryce , Ransford Benjamin , Naderiparizi Saman , Smith Joshua R. , Gollakota Shyamnath
Published: February 2017

We present the first
power over Wi-Fi
system that delivers power to low-power sensors and devices and works with existing Wi-Fi chipsets. We show that a ubiquitous part of wireless communication infrastructure, the Wi-Fi router, can provide far field wireless power without significantly compromising the network's communication performance. Building on our design, we prototype battery-free temperature and camera sensors that we power with Wi-Fi at ranges of 20 and 17 ft, respectively. We also demonstrate the ability to wirelessly trickle-charge nickel--metal hydride and lithium-ion coin-cell batteries at distances of up to 28 ft. We deploy our system in six homes in a metropolitan area and show that it can successfully deliver power via Wi-Fi under real-world network conditions without significantly degrading network performance.
A design by any other name would be so delightful
Authors: Granfield Monica
Published: February 2017

The
Interactions
website (interactions.acm.org) hosts a stable of bloggers who share insights and observations on HCI, often challenging current practices. Each issue we'll publish selected posts from some of the leading voices in the field.
Constructing symmetric structure-preserving strong linearizations
Authors: Fassbender Heike , Pérez Javier , Shayanfar Nikta
Published: February 2017

Polynomials eigenvalue problems with structured matrix polynomials arise in many applications. The standard way to solve polynomial eigenvalue problems is through the classical Frobenius companion linearizations, which may not retain the structure of the matrix polynomial. Particularly, the structure of the symmetric matrix polynomials can be lost, while from the computational point of view, it is advisable to construct a linearization which preserves the symmetry structure. Recently, new families of block-Kronecker pencils have been introduced in [5]. Applying block-Kronecker pencils, we present structure-preserving strong linearizations for symmetric matrix polynomials. When the matrix polynomial has an odd degree, these linearizations are strong regardless of whether the matrix polynomial is regular or singular. Additionally, we construct structure-preserving strong linearizations for regular symmetric matrix polynomials of even degree under some simple nonsingularity conditions.
Z
2
-equivariant standard bases for submodules associated with
Z
2
-equivariant singularities
Authors: Gazor Majid , Kazemi Mahsa
Published: February 2017

Let
x
= (
x
1
,...,
x

n

) ∈ R

n

and λ ∈ R. A smooth map
f
(
x
,λ) is called
Z
2
-equivariant (
Z
2
-invariant) if
f
(−
x
, λ) = −
f
(
x
,λ) (
f
(−
x
, λ) =
f
(
x
,λ)). Consider the local solutions of a
Z
2
-equivariant map
f
(
x
,λ) = 0 around a solution, say
f
(
x
0
,λ
0
), as the parameters smoothly vary. The solution set may experience a surprising behavior like observing changes in the number of solutions. Each of such problems/changes is called a singularity/bifurcation. Since our analysis is about local solutions, we call any two smooth map
f
(
x
,λ) and
g
(
x
,λ) as germ-equivalent when they are identical on a neighborhood of (
x
0
,λ
0
) = (0,0). Each germ equivalent class is referred to a smooth germ. The space of all smooth
Z
2
-equivariant germs is denoted by [EQUATION] and space of all smooth
Z
2
-invariant germs is denoted by [EQUATION]

x
,λ

(
Z
2
). The space [EQUATION] is a module over the ring of
Z
2
-invariant germs [EQUATION]

x
,λ

(
Z
2
); see [3, 2, 7] for more information and the origins of our notations.
A new idea on the interval-symbol method with correct zero rewriting for reducing exact computations
Authors: Katayama Akiyuki , Shirayanagi Kiyoshi
Published: February 2017

The ISCZ method (Interval-Symbol method with Correct Zero rewriting) was proposed in [2] based on Shirayanagi-Sweedler stabilization theory ([3]), to reduce the amount of exact computations as much as possible to obtain the exact results. The authors of [2] applied this method to Buchberger's algorithm which computes a Gröbner basis, but the effectiveness was not achieved except for a few examples. This is not only because the complex structure of Buchberger's algorithm causes symbols to significantly grow but also because we naively implemented the ISCZ method without any particular devices. In this poster, we propose a new idea for efficiency of the ISCZ method and show its effect by applying it to calculation of Frobenius canonical form of square matrices. Jordan canonical form is also well-known, but it requires an extension of the field containing the roots of its characteristic polynomial. On the other hand, Frobenius canonical form can be computed by using only basic arithmetic operations, but nevertheless has almost the same information as Jordan canonical form.
Algorithmic information structure design
Authors: Dughmi Shaddin
Published: February 2017

Information structure design
, also sometimes known as
signaling
or
persuasion
, is concerned with understanding the effects of information on the outcomes of strategic interactions (the descriptive question), and in characterizing and computing the information sharing strategies which optimize some design objective (the prescriptive question). Both questions are illuminated through the lens of algorithms and complexity, as evidenced by recent work on the topic in the algorithmic game theory community. This monograph is a biased survey of this work, and paints a picture of the current state of progress and challenges ahead.

We divide information structure design into
single agent
and
multiple agent
models, and further subdivide the multiple agent case into the
public channel
and
private channel
modes of information revelation. In each of these three cases, we describe the most prominent models and applications, survey the associated algorithms and complexity results and their structural implications, and outline directions for future work.
A report on the workshop on the economics of cloud computing
Authors: Devanur Nikhil R.
Published: February 2017

This is a report on the first Workshop on the Economics of Cloud Computing, which was held in conjunction with the ACM conference on Economics and Computation (EC).
Observing algorithmic marketplaces in-the-wild
Authors: Chen Le , Wilson Christo
Published: February 2017

In this letter, we briefly summarize two recent works from our group that use observational data to study the mechanisms used by two large markets. First, we examine Uber's surge price algorithm, and observe that its incentive model may not be effective at changing driver behavior. Second, we study the adoption of dynamic pricing strategies by sellers on Amazon Marketplace, and investigate how these strategies interact with Amazon's "Buy Box" matching algorithm. We make our data available to the research community.
Neural Differentiation in HDAC1-Depleted Cells Is Accompanied by Coilin Downregulation and the Accumulation of Cajal Bodies in Nucleoli
Authors: Krejčí Jana , Legartová Soňa , Bártová Eva
Published: February 2017

Cajal bodies (CBs) are important compartments containing accumulated proteins that preferentially regulate RNA-related nuclear events, including splicing. Here, we studied the nuclear distribution pattern of CBs in neurogenesis. In adult brains, coilin was present at a high density, but CB formation was absent in the nuclei of the choroid plexus of the lateral ventricles. Cells of the adult hippocampus were characterized by a crescent-like morphology of coilin protein. We additionally observed a 70 kDa splice variant of coilin in adult mouse brains, which was different to embryonic brains and mouse pluripotent embryonic stem cells (mESCs), characterized by the 80 kDa standard variant of coilin. Here, we also showed that depletion of coilin is induced during neural differentiation and HDAC1 deficiency in mESCs caused coilin accumulation inside the fibrillarin-positive region of the nucleoli. A similar distribution pattern was observed in adult brain hippocampi, characterized by lower levels of both coilin and HDAC1. In summary, we observed that neural differentiation and HDAC1 deficiency lead to coilin depletion and coilin accumulation in body-like structures inside the nucleoli.
Bufei Huoxue Capsule Attenuates PM2.5‐Induced Pulmonary Inflammation in Mice
Authors: Jing Yue , Zhang Hongchun , Cai Zhe , Zhao Yukun , Wu Ye , Zheng Xuan , Liu Ying , Qin Yuying , Gu Mingjie , Jin Jin
Published: February 2017

Atmospheric fine particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) may carry many toxic substances on its surface and this may pose a public health threat. Epidemiological research indicates that cumulative ambient PM2.5 is correlated to morbidity and mortality due to pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Mitigating the toxic effects of PM2.5 is therefore highly desired. Bufei Huoxue (BFHX) capsules have been used in China to treat pulmonary heart disease (cor pulmonale). Thus, we assessed the effects of BFHX capsules on PM2.5‐induced pulmonary inflammation and the underlying mechanisms of action. Using Polysearch and Cytoscape 3.2.1 software, pharmacological targets of BFHX capsules in atmospheric PM2.5‐related respiratory disorders were predicted and found to be related to biological pathways of inflammation and immune function. In a mouse model of PM2.5‐induced inflammation established with intranasal instillation of PM2.5 suspension, BFHX significantly reduced pathological response and inflammatory mediators including IL‐4, IL‐6, IL‐10, IL‐8, TNF‐α, and IL‐1β. BFHX also reduced keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), and collagen fibers deposition in lung and improved lung function. Thus, BFHX reduced pathological responses induced by PM2.5, possibly via regulation of inflammatory mediators in mouse lungs.
On the Design of Conical Antennas for Broadband Impedance Matching Performance
Authors: Pereira Francisco Estêvão Simão , Dias Maurício Henrique Costa
Published: February 2017

In the scope of broadband radiators, the biconical antenna, or its monopole conical counterpart, is long known to be a proper choice. One common form of such radiator, the spherically capped conical antenna (SCCA), has closed-form solution to its input impedance, from which the broadband performance potential is easily verified. Nonetheless, from the design perspective, apart from a few clues inferred from existing solutions, little is found to accurately guide the choice of the main geometrical parameters of the antenna that will enable it to comply with a set of imposed bandwidth requirements. This paper proposes a simple 10-step sequence to derive conical or biconical antenna design charts. These charts provide straightforward information on the geometrical limits within which the required antenna impedance matching broadband performance is achieved. The method is assessed for the SCCA and the open conical antenna (OCA) using theoretical and simulated estimates of the input impedance. A discussion on the impact of the cap and the feed gap is included.
Combination of Anti-VEGF and Laser Photocoagulation for Diabetic Macular Edema: A Review
Authors: Distefano Laura N. , Garcia-Arumi Jose , Martinez-Castillo Vicente , Boixadera Anna
Published: February 2017

Diabetic macular edema (DME) is the most common cause of vision loss in diabetic patients. Thirty years ago, the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) demonstrated that focal/grid laser photocoagulation reduces moderate vision loss from DME by 50% or more; thus, macular photocoagulation became the gold standard treatment for DME. However, with the development of anti-VEGF drugs (bevacizumab, ranibizumab, and aflibercept), better outcomes were obtained in terms of visual acuity gain and decrease in macular thickness in some studies when antiangiogenic drugs were administered in monotherapy. Macular laser therapy may still play an important role as an adjuvant treatment because it is able to improve macular thickness outcomes and reduce the number of injections needed. Here, we review some of the clinical trials that have assessed the efficacy of macular laser treatment, either as part of the treatment protocol or as rescue therapy.
Aerobic Training Intensity for Improved Endothelial Function in Heart Failure Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Pearson M. J. , Smart N. A.
Published: February 2017

Objective. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) is widely utilised to assess endothelial function and aerobic exercise improves FMD in heart failure patients. The aim of this meta-analysis is to quantify the effect of aerobic training intensity on FMD in patients with heart failure. Background. A large number of studies now exist that examine endothelial function in patients with heart failure. We sought to add to the current literature by quantifying the effect of the aerobic training intensity on endothelial function. Methods. We conducted database searches (PubMed, Embase, ProQuest, and Cochrane Trials Register to June 30, 2016) for exercise based rehabilitation trials in heart failure, using search terms exercise training, endothelial function, and flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Results. The 13 included studies provided a total of 458 participants, 264 in intervention groups, and 194 in nonexercising control groups. Both vigorous and moderate intensity aerobic training significantly improved FMD. Conclusion. Overall both vigorous and moderate aerobic exercise training improved FMD in patients with heart failure.
On Inverse Problems for Characteristic Sources in Helmholtz Equations
Authors: Alves Carlos J. S. , Mamud Roberto , Martins Nuno F. M. , Roberty Nilson C.
Published: February 2017

We consider the inverse problem that consists in the determination of characteristic sources, in the modified and classical Helmholtz equations, based on external boundary measurements. We identify the location of the barycenter establishing a simple formula for symmetric shapes, which also holds for the determination of a single source point. We use this for the reconstruction of the characteristic source, based on the Method of Fundamental Solutions (MFS). The MFS is also applied as a solver for the direct problem, using an equivalent formulation as a jump or transmission problem. As a solver for the inverse problem, we may apply minimization using an equivalent reciprocity functional formulation. Numerical experiments with the barycenter and the boundary reconstructions are presented.
Experimental Study on Ferromagnetic Shunt Effects on the Critical Current of BSCCO Tape in Stacked Conductors
Authors: Sun J. , Ohara H. , Yamaguchi S.
Published: February 2017

In the 200 m high temperature superconducting (HTS) cable test facility at Chubu University constructed in 2010, a three-layer structure of the tapes in the cable is employed for obtaining the high current capacity up to 2 kA. Previous study shows that the critical current is affected by the layout of the tapes such as gaps and the current feeding mode. In the stacked tape conductors, the critical current of BSCCO tapes shows strong dependence on the current feeding directions between the tapes. The critical current is improved when the opposite-direction current is applied to them and degraded for the same-direction current feeding mode because of strong magnetic field interaction between them from the transport current in each tape. This paper presents the measurements of the critical currents of a BSCCO tape in the stacked conductors with the ferromagnetic materials. By using the ferromagnetic materials surrounding the tapes, self-field of HTS tapes is affected and their critical currents are improved by more than 10%. Ferromagnetic shunt effects on the critical current of HTS tape are reported through the magnetic field analysis.
On Best Corrected Mixture Problems in Metallurgy: A Case Study
Authors: Dubeau F. , Ntigura Habingabwa M. E.
Published: February 2017

We consider three simple mixture problems occurring in metallurgy. The first problem considered is the classic minimum cost mixture problem. For the second problem, we consider finding a correction to a given mixture, a premix, without considering the cost of this premix. We only consider the cost and the weight of the quantity used as a correction. We show that the minimum cost correction does not correspond to the minimum weight correction, and we built the Pareto curve that gives all intermediate solutions between these two extreme solutions. Finally, the third problem is the correction problem for a nonfree premix. The correction is done to obtain a minimum cost corrected mixture.
Dynamic Optimization for IPS2 Resource Allocation Based on Improved Fuzzy Multiple Linear Regression
Authors: Zheng Maokuan , Ming Xinguo , Li Guoming
Published: February 2017

The study mainly focuses on resource allocation optimization for industrial product‐service systems (IPS2). The development of IPS2 leads to sustainable economy by introducing cooperative mechanisms apart from commodity transaction. The randomness and fluctuation of service requests from customers lead to the volatility of IPS2 resource utilization ratio. Three basic rules for resource allocation optimization are put forward to improve system operation efficiency and cut unnecessary costs. An approach based on fuzzy multiple linear regression (FMLR) is developed, which integrates the strength and concision of multiple linear regression in data fitting and factor analysis and the merit of fuzzy theory in dealing with uncertain or vague problems, which helps reduce those costs caused by unnecessary resource transfer. The iteration mechanism is introduced in the FMLR algorithm to improve forecasting accuracy. A case study of human resource allocation optimization in construction machinery industry is implemented to test and verify the proposed model.
Semigroup Solution of Path-Dependent Second-Order Parabolic Partial Differential Equations
Authors: Jin Sixian , Schellhorn Henry
Published: February 2017

We apply a new series representation of martingales, developed by Malliavin calculus, to characterize the solution of the second-order path-dependent partial differential equations (PDEs) of parabolic type. For instance, we show that the generator of the semigroup characterizing the solution of the path-dependent heat equation is equal to one-half times the second-order Malliavin derivative evaluated along the frozen path.
Stabilizing a Rotary Inverted Pendulum Based on Logarithmic Lyapunov Function
Authors: Wen Jie , Shi Yuanhao , Lu Xiaonong
Published: February 2017

The stabilization of a Rotary Inverted Pendulum based on Lyapunov stability theorem is investigated in this paper. The key of designing control laws by Lyapunov control method is the construction of Lyapunov function. A logarithmic function is constructed as the Lyapunov function and is compared with the usual quadratic function theoretically. The comparative results show that the constructed logarithmic function has higher numerical accuracy and faster convergence speed than the usual quadratic function. On this basis, the control law of stabilizing Rotary Inverted Pendulum is designed based on the constructed logarithmic function by Lyapunov control method. The effectiveness of the designed control law is verified by experiments and is compared with LQR controller and the control law designed based on the quadratic function. Moreover, the system robustness is analyzed when the system parameters contain uncertainties under the designed control law.
Patterns of Human Respiratory Viruses and Lack of MERS-Coronavirus in Patients with Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Southwestern Province of Saudi Arabia
Authors: Abdulhaq Ahmed A. , Basode Vinod Kumar , Hashem Anwar M. , Alshrari Ahmed S. , Badroon Nassrin A. , Hassan Ahmed M. , Alsubhi Tagreed L. , Solan Yahia , Ejeeli Saleh , Azhar Esam I.
Published: February 2017

We undertook enhanced surveillance of those presenting with respiratory symptoms at five healthcare centers by testing all symptomatic outpatients between November 2013 and January 2014 (winter time). Nasal swabs were collected from 182 patients and screened for MERS-CoV as well as other respiratory viruses using RT-PCR and multiplex microarray. A total of 75 (41.2%) of these patients had positive viral infection. MERS-CoV was not detected in any of the samples. Human rhinovirus (hRV) was the most detected pathogen (40.9%) followed by non-MERS-CoV human coronaviruses (19.3%), influenza (Flu) viruses (15.9%), and human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) (13.6%). Viruses differed markedly depending on age in which hRV, Flu A, and hCoV-OC43 were more prevalent in adults and RSV, hCoV-HKU1, and hCoV-NL63 were mostly restricted to children under the age of 15. Moreover, coinfection was not uncommon in this study, in which 17.3% of the infected patients had dual infections due to several combinations of viruses. Dual infections decreased with age and completely disappeared in people older than 45 years. Our study confirms that MERS-CoV is not common in the southwestern region of Saudi Arabia and shows high diversity and prevalence of other common respiratory viruses. This study also highlights the importance and contribution of enhanced surveillance systems for better infection control.
An Efficient GPU-Based Out-of-Core LU Solver of Parallel Higher-Order Method of Moments for Solving Airborne Array Problems
Authors: Lin Zhongchao , Chen Yan , Zhang Yu , Zhao Xunwang , Zhang Huanhuan
Published: February 2017

The parallel higher-order method of moments (HoMoM) with a GPU accelerated out-of-core LU solver is presented for analysis of radiation characteristics of a 1000-element antenna array over a full-size airplane. A parallel framework involving MPI and CUDA is adopted to ensure that the procedures run on a hybrid CPU/GPU cluster. An efficient two-level out-of-core scheme is designed to break the bottleneck of both GPU memory and physical memory when solving electrically large and complex problems. To hide communication time between CPU and GPU, asynchronous communications are chosen to enable overlapping between communication and computation. For large problems that cannot fit in GPU memory or physical memory, the two-level out-of-core LU solver is able to achieve a speedup of about 1.6x over the traditional out-of-core LU solver based on a highly optimized math library.
Trust Mechanisms to Secure Routing in Wireless Sensor Networks: Current State of the Research and Open Research Issues
Authors: Ishmanov Farruh , Bin Zikria Yousaf
Published: February 2017

Routing is one of the most important operations in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) as it deals with data delivery to base stations. Routing attacks can cripple it easily and degrade the operation of WSNs significantly. Traditional security mechanisms such as cryptography and authentication alone cannot cope with some of the routing attacks as they come from compromised nodes mostly. Recently, trust mechanism is introduced to enhance security and improve cooperation among nodes. In routing, trust mechanism avoids/includes nodes in routing operation based on the estimated trust value. Many trust-based routing protocols are proposed to secure routing, in which they consider different routing attacks. In this research work, our goal is to explore the current research state and identify open research issues by surveying proposed schemes. To achieve our goal we extensively analyze and discuss proposed schemes based on the proposed framework. Moreover, we evaluate proposed schemes based on two important factors, which are energy consumption and attack resiliency. We discuss and present open research issues in the proposed schemes and research field.
Nontuberculous Mycobacteria in Saudi Arabia and Gulf Countries: A Review
Authors: Al-Ghafli Hawra , Al-Hajoj Sahal
Published: February 2017

Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) are causing growing health problems worldwide. This is indicated by an increasing amount of scientific reports showing not only well-identified species reemerging but also emergence of new species. The emergence and reemergence of NTM are particularly worrying in developing countries due to scarce published data and improper identification. Here we aimed to examine the main epidemiological aspects and diagnostic challenges associated with NTM in countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and compare these findings to the international arena findings. Data revealed that countries of the GCC are largely dominated by rapidly growing mycobacteria species such asM. fortuitum(29%) andM. abscessus(17%) with high rate of definitive respiratory diseases. On the other hand, most of the developed countries are dominated by slowly growing mycobacteria such as MAC,M. kansasii, andM. gordonae. More efforts are needed, however, to gain insights into NTM issues in countries of the GCC.
Critical Oscillation Constant for Euler Type Half-Linear Differential Equation Having Multi-Different Periodic Coefficients
Authors: Misir Adil , Mermerkaya Banu
Published: February 2017

We compute explicitly the oscillation constant for Euler type half-linear second-order differential equation having multi-different periodic coefficients.
Strength and Stiffness of Stabilized Alluvial Silt under Frost Actions
Authors: Wang Haibo , Deng An , Yang Ping
Published: February 2017

The Yellow River alluvial silt was stabilized into pavement base materials for cold regions. The stabilizing additives were cement, fly ash, and lime, which were included in a range of combinations and dosages when mixed with the silt. Freeze-thaw cyclic impacts were conducted on the treated samples to assess materials performance of withstanding the frost actions. The tests were conducted on samples cured for 7 days to up to 180 days. Test results show that the cement-fly ash-treated samples outperform the other two stabilization categories with respect to material strength and stiffness developed under both normal and frost conditions. Under the normal conditions, the material unconfined compressive (UC) strength rises to 3.0 MPa on day 28 depending on the cement and fly ash dosage used. If subjected to frost actions, the fly ash inclusions warrant a residual UC strength value of 1.3 MPa and above. The antifrost performance of the cement-fly ash-treated samples is related to thermal buffer capacity of the fly ash particles. Water adsorption and material soundness results agree with the strength and stiffness development. An optimal dosage was 3–6% for the cement and 0.3 for cement to fly ash mass ratio.
TFCP2 Genetic Polymorphism Is Associated with Predisposition to and Transplant Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Liu Zhikun , Gao Feng , Shao Zhou , Xie Haiyang , Zhou Lin , Xu Xiao , Zheng Shusen
Published: February 2017

TFCP2 is an oncogene and plays crucial roles in the incidence and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, no reports are available on the impact of TFCP2 genetic polymorphism on the susceptibility to and the transplant prognosis of HCC. Here, we genotyped 7 SNPs of TFCP2 in a case-control study of 119 patients with HCC and 200 patients with chronic liver disease. Of the 7 SNPs in TFCP2, rs7959378 distributed differentially between patients with versus patients without HCC. The patients with the CA (OR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.35–0.96), the CC (OR = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.20–0.76), and the CA/CC (OR = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.32–0.83) genotypes had significantly decreased risk for HCC compared with those carrying the rs7959378 AA genotype. After adjusting for confounding factors, rs7959378 still conferred significant risk for HCC. Furthermore, the patients who carried rs7959378 AC/CC had a higher overall survival and lower relapse-free survival than those with the rs7959378 AA genotype. Similar results were found in the multivariate analysis adjusted by AFP, tumor size and tumor number, and differentiation. These findings indicate that rs7959378 is associated with the risk of HCC in patient with chronic liver disease and prognosis of HCC patients after liver transplantation.