bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Visible light-induced C3-sulfonamidation of imidazopyridines with sulfamides
Authors: Gao Yongyuan , Chen Shu , Lu Weiye , Gu Weijin , Liu Ping , Sun Peipei
Published: September 2017

A visible light-induced regioselective sulfonamidation of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines was developed using sulfamides as the nitrogen sources and aqueous NaClO solution as the oxidant under mild conditions.
Synthesis of functionalized indolizines via gold(i)-catalyzed intramolecular hydroarylation/aromatization of pyrrole-ynes
Authors: Li Xiangdong , Zhao Jidong , Xie Xin , Liu Yuanhong
Published: September 2017

Gold-catalyzed intramolecular hydroarylation/aromatization of pyrrole-ynes to functionalized indolizines through the construction of the pyridine ring of indolizines has been developed.
Modeling the formation and thermomechanical properties of polybenzoxazine thermosets
Authors: Saiev Shamil , Bonnaud Leïla , Dubois Philippe , Beljonne David , Lazzaroni Roberto
Published: September 2017

The nanostructural topology of polymer networks composed of elastic chains along with additional defects such as dangling chains and loops.
Mechanical and responsive properties of temperature-responsive gels prepared via atom transfer radical polymerization
Authors: Norioka Chisa , Kawamura Akifumi , Miyata Takashi
Published: September 2017

Temperature-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) gels were prepared via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), and their mechanical and responsive properties were investigated from the viewpoint of their network homogeneity.
Long non-coding RNA NEAT1 contributes to docetaxel resistance of prostate cancer through inducing RET expression by sponging miR-34a
Authors: Tian Xin , Zhang Guangwei , Zhao Hui , Li Yang , Zhu Chaoyang
Published: September 2017

Nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1 (NEAT1) was demonstrated to serve as a carcinogenic long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in multiple tumors including prostate cancer (PC).
Enhanced photocatalytic CO2 reduction over Co-doped NH2-MIL-125(Ti) under visible light
Authors: Fu Yanghe , Yang Huan , Du Rongfei , Tu Gaomei , Xu Chunhui , Zhang Fumin , Fan Maohong , Zhu Weidong
Published: September 2017

Photocatalytic CO2 reduction coupled with the selective oxidation of benzylic alcohols can be achieved over Co/NH2-MIL-125(Ti) upon visible-light irradiation.
The interface degradation of planar organic–inorganic perovskite solar cell traced by light beam induced current (LBIC)
Authors: Yao Yanqing , Wang Gang , Wu Fei , Liu Debei , Lin Chunyan , Rao Xi , Wu Rong , Zhou Guangdong , Song Qunliang
Published: September 2017

The light beam induced current (LBIC) method was adopted to nondestructively map the photoresponse of real planar organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs).
Ethyl acetate extract of crabapple fruit is the cholesterol-lowering fraction
Authors: Wang Dongshan , Wu Yingchun , Liu Chuhe , Wang Yahui , Li Yin , Luo Lingling , Zhao Yuanyuan , Ke Zunli , Huang Cheng , Fan Shengjie
Published: September 2017

Hypercholesterolemia is highly associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) such as atherosclerosis.
Calcium hydroxide doped by KNO3as a promising candidate for thermochemical storage of solar heat
Authors: Shkatulov Alexandr , Aristov Yuri
Published: September 2017

The addition of KNO3reduces the dehydration temperature of Ca(OH)2which is of interest for thermochemical heat storage.
Formation and mechanism of a super-hydrophobic surface with wear and salt spray resistance
Authors: Wang Zhi , Zhu Huibin , He Jing , Liu Yaqing , Zhao Guizhe
Published: September 2017

A super-hydrophobic surface with excellent wear and salt spray resistance was prepared and corresponding special structures are discussed.
Molecular fractionation of a soil fulvic acid (FA) and competitive sorption of trace metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb) in hematite–solution systems: effect of the FA-to-mineral ratio
Authors: Fleury Guillaume , Del Nero Mirella , Barillon Remi
Published: September 2017

Understanding of the interactions occurring between fulvic acids (FAs) and trace metals in mineral–solution systems is a major issue for cycles of organic matter and micro-pollutants in surface media.
Aligned hydroxyapatite nano-crystal formation on a polyamide surface
Authors: Huang Di , Yin Meng , Lin Qiaoxia , Qin Yi , Wei Yan , Hu Yinchun , Lian Xiaojie , Guo Meiqing , Du Jingjing , Chen Weiyi
Published: September 2017

Highly aligned n-HA arrays were fabricated on polyamide matrix. The oriented nHA crystals show excellent cell response and the mechanism of how these structures form was explored.
Synthesis, characterization and catalytic activity of rare-earth metal amides incorporating cyclohexyl bridged bis(β-diketiminato) ligands
Authors: Miao Hui , Wang Shaowu , Zhu Xiancui , Zhou Shuangliu , Wei Yun , Yuan Qingbing , Mu Xiaolong
Published: September 2017

The bridged bis(β-diketiminato) ligands supported rare-earth amides exhibited high catalytic activity towards the hydrophosphination of β-nitroalkene and α,β-unsaturated carbonyl derivatives with an excellent regioselectivity.
Photo-induced tandem cyclization of 3-iodoflavones with electron rich five-membered heteroarenes
Authors: Yang Qian , Wang Rui , Han Jie , Li Chenchen , Wang Tao , Liang Yong , Zhang Zunting
Published: September 2017

Vinyl radicals were generated from 3-iodoflavones and occurred tandem cyclizations to synthesis a broad variety of novel polycyclic xanthone frameworks in good yields under mild and environmentally reaction conditions.
Low temperature annealing effects on martensitic transformation and exchange bias behavior of Ni–Mn–Sn free-standing alloy thin films
Authors: Wang Zhenhua , Guo Erjun , Tan Changlong , Tian Xiaohua , Cai Wei , Zhu Jiachen
Published: September 2017

Low temperature annealing (<500 °C) is the key to realizing the novel functionalities of Ni–Mn–Sn alloy thin film for applications in a micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) drive.
Effects of polyethylene oxide and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) nanofibrous substrate on omental adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell neuronal differentiation and peripheral nerve regeneration
Authors: Hu Feihu , Chen Ting , Wang Wei
Published: September 2017

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) display biodegradable and biocompatible properties for applications in the biomedical fields. PEO incorporated with PHBV fabricates superior electrospun nanofibres.
Phenol and Cr(vi) degradation with Mn ion doped ZnO under visible light photocatalysis
Authors: Kumar K. V. Ashok , Amanchi Srinivasa Rao , Sreedhar B. , Ghosal P. , Subrahmanyam Ch.
Published: September 2017

Mn ion doped ZnO with different percentages of Mn content (Zn0.9Mn0.1O (1), Zn0.8Mn0.2O (2), Zn0.7Mn0.3O (3), and Zn0.6Mn0.4O (4)) was synthesizedviaa solution combustion method, with urea used as the fuel.
Thermal management investigation for lithium-ion battery module with different phase change materials
Authors: Wang Ziyuan , Li Xinxi , Zhang Guoqing , Lv Youfu , Wang Cong , He Fengqi , Yang Chengzhao , Yang Chuxiong
Published: September 2017

In battery thermal cycle tests PCM 3 prolonged the service life of PCM because the epoxy can effectively prevent leakage of paraffin during phasing change.
Construction of full-spectrum-driven Ag–g-C3N4/W18O49 heterojunction catalyst with outstanding N2 photofixation ability
Authors: Liang Hongyu , Li Jianzhong , Tian Yanwen
Published: September 2017

Ag–g-C3N4/W18O49 heterojunction catalysts display much higher N2 photofixation performance than that of individual W18O49 or Ag–g-C3N4, which is due to the better separation rate of electron–hole pairs and more efficient light utilization.
Studies on effect of Ginkgo biloba L. leaves in acute gout with hyperuricemia model rats by using UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF/MS metabolomic approach
Authors: Chen WeiJia , Liu Yuanyuan , Wei Mengying , Shi Liqiang , Wu Yi , Liu ZhongYing , Liu Shu , Song FengRui , Liu ZhiQiang
Published: September 2017

The therapeutic effects of GBE on acute gout with hyperuricemia rats were investigated by using a metabolomic approach.
Protective effects of canolol against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in AGS cells
Authors: Han Ling , Xia Xiaoyang , Xiang Xia , Huang Fenghong , Zhang Zhen
Published: September 2017

Canolol, a phenolic compound recently isolated from crude canola oil, effectively protected AGS cells against H2O2-induced oxidative stress.
Violations of Löwenstein's rule in zeolites
Authors: Fletcher Rachel E. , Ling Sanliang , Slater Ben
Published: September 2017

We predict that in aluminosilicate zeolites, non-Löwenstein Al–O–Al sequences are favoured in the presence of protons and disfavoured when Na+ions are the charge compensating species.
Theoretical predictions suggest carbon dioxide phases III and VII are identical
Authors: Sontising Watit , Heit Yonaton N. , McKinley Jessica L. , Beran Gregory J. O.
Published: September 2017

Accurate electronic structure calculations for the structures and simulated Raman spectra of high-pressure carbon dioxide suggest phases III and VII are identical, and the phase diagram should be revised.
Formation of an external char layer during subcritical water hydrolysis of biomass
Authors: Ma Zijian , Guerra Patricia , Tyufekchiev Maksim , Zaker Azadeh , Tompsett Geoffrey A. , Mayanga P. C. Torres , Forster-Carneiro Tânia , Wang Peng , Timko Michael T.
Published: September 2017

Flow-through subcritical water hydrolysis (FT-SWH) consists of flowing hot liquid water over a fixed bed packed with biomass particles to produce fermentable carbohydrates and other valuable small molecules.
Intermediate scattering function of an anisotropic Brownian circle swimmer
Authors: Kurzthaler Christina , Franosch Thomas
Published: September 2017

Exact solution for the intermediate scattering function predicts spatiotemporal dynamics of Brownian circle swimmers.
Understanding the effect of corticosteroid pretreatment in brain-dead organ donors: new mechanistic insights for improvement of organ quality in liver transplantation
Authors: Dahrenmöller Carola , Reding Raymond
Published: September 2017

Transplant surgeons are currently faced with the challenge to accept marginal liver transplants due to steatosis or old age. Improving organ quality by implementing a selective organ protective donor management could be the first step towards a graft of enhanced quality. However, the molecular mechanisms of such treatments are still poorly understood. Glucocorticoid medication in donor medicine has been carried out and discussed for a long time. In a recent study published in Clinical Science, Jiménez-Castro et al. [Clin. Sci. (2017) 131, 733-746] demonstrate how liver histology and transplant liver function can be improved by administration of glucocorticoids to brain-dead donor rats with steatotic livers. This work illustrates the need for further trials in order to selectively improve the quality of steatotic livers with a potential for liver transplantation.
Digital control and sampling period assignment of multiple plants in networked control systems
Authors: Tognetti Eduardo S. , Calliero Taís R.
Published: September 2017

This study investigates the problem of sampling period assignment and design of digital state feedback controllers for systems subject to time‐varying sampling periods and uncertain delays. The system is controlled through a communication network, where the sampling period and the network‐induced delay are bounded in a known interval. The sampled system is described by a linear parameter‐varying discrete‐time model obtained by means of the Cayley–Hamilton theorem. The proposed discretisation procedure improves the current approaches in the literature and allows the design of controllers that are robust to the delay and depending on the sampling period defined by a scheduling policy in a scenario with concurrent access to the communication network by multiple plants. The gain‐scheduled linear quadratic controller is designed by means of linear matrix inequalities. The policy to access the network is dynamic and formulated as an optimisation problem. Numerical experiments illustrate the efficiency and the validity of the proposed approach.
Design and experiments of a dual‐band rectenna for ambient RF energy harvesting in urban environments
Authors: Khemar Adel , Kacha Abdellah , Takhedmit Hakim , Abib Ghalid
Published: September 2017

Energy harvesting technologies are required for autonomous applications, like sensors, for which a long‐time power sourcing from a battery is infeasible. An energy harvester converts different forms of environmental energy into electricity. It can replace, totally or partially, the batteries of certain micro‐systems that have low‐energy requirements. Therefore, the authors exploit the use of electromagnetic waves from broadcasters to power wireless sensors. The authors propose to realize harvesting operation at typical ambient radio frequency power levels found within urban environments. To explore the potential for ambient RF energy harvesting, an RF spectral survey was undertaken from outside in Paris. The average RF power in the frequency range 0.9–3 GHz is about −12 dBm. The harvester includes an antenna, an impedance‐matching network, and a rectifier; it was designed to cover two frequency bands from the largest RF contributors (GSM1800 and UMTS Band 1). A prototype is designed, fabricated, and measured. The RF‐to‐DC rectifier and the choice of the load to optimize the amount of DC power are presented. An efficiency of ∼45% was observed experimentally for the UMTS Band 1 and 33% for the GSM1800, whenever the incident power is −7 dBm. Numerical and experimental data are reported and discussed.
CDGW-Zukunftspreis 2017: Innovationen treffen auf Anwender
Authors: Emmrich Michael
Published: September 2017

Die Bewerbungsfrist für den Deutschen Zukunftspreis des Clubs der Gesundheitswirtschaft (cdgw) endet am 30. September 2017 – noch sind also Einsendungen möglich. Eine Jury wählt aus den Einsendungen maximal acht Teilnehmer für den Wettbewerb aus, der am 21. November 2017 in der Söhnel Werft in Berlin stattfindet.
Gründungskonferenz: Startschuss für bundesweite Pflegekammer
Authors: Doelfs Guntram
Published: September 2017

Der Deutsche Pflegerat (DPR) und die Ladespflegekammer Rheinland-Pfalz treiben die Gründung einer Bundespflegekammer voran. Beide beschlossen im August eine Gründungskonferenz, die nun das Projekt vorbereiten soll. Der Arbeitgeberverband Pflege ist davon gar nicht begeistert.
Berufsbild Technikmanager im Gesundheitswesen: Eine große Vision wird Wirklichkeit
Authors: Thalmayr Maria
Published: September 2017

Die 7. Europäische Konferenz für Krankenhaustechnik vom 29. bis 31. Mai 2017 in Bologna schrieb für die Krankenhaustechniker Europas Geschichte. Die Vertreter der in der IHFE-Europe organisierten Krankenhaustechnikerorganisationen verständigten sich hier auf ein einheitliches Berufsbild für Technikmanager im Gesundheitswesen.
Calcified Epidermoid Cyst at an Unusual Location in a 5-Year-Old Child with Intellectual Disability
Authors: Giri Pramod , Jaiswal Kirti , Bhatkule Milind , Chavan Vaibhav
Published: September 2017

An epidermoid cyst is a rare intracranial neoplasm. It is mostly found in cerebellopontine angle, suprasellar region, interhemispheric fissure, and is rarely found in other locations too. Epidermoid cyst at the parietooccipital area is rare, and calcification among epidermoids is very unusual and dystrophic in nature. The clinical presentation is usually in adults because of slow-growing nature of epidermoid cyst. Here, we present the case of a 5-year-old child with intellectual disability who presented with seizure and frequent crying episodes and was diagnosed with an intradural extra-axial calcified mass of size 8 × 5.5 × 5 cm in the right parietooccipital region which turned out to be a calcified epidermoid cyst and was excised successfully in toto. This is the youngest reported case of the calcified epidermoid cyst at an unusual site of our knowledge.
Increased risk and severity of ERCP-related complications associated with asymptomatic common bile duct stones
Authors: Saito Hirokazu , Kakuma Tatsuyuki , Kadono Yoshihiro , Urata Atsushi , Kamikawa Kentaro , Imamura Haruo , Tada Shuji
Published: September 2017

Background and study aims Endoscopic removal of asymptomatic common bile duct stones (CBDS) is generally recommended. Although many reports have described the risk of complications in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), no studies have addressed this problem in the context of asymptomatic CBDS. This study examines the risk of complications arising in ERCP for asymptomatic CBDS.

Patients and methods This retrospective study included 425 patients with naive papilla who underwent therapeutic ERCP for choledocholithiasis at 2 institutions in Japan for 2 years. The risk of complications was examined in patients who were divided into the asymptomatic and symptomatic CBDS groups. We used propensity score analysis to adjust for confounding effects.

Results Complications were observed in 32 (7.5 %) of the 425 patients. Of the 358 patients with symptomatic CBDS, 14 patients (3.9 %) had complications. In contrast, of the 67 patients with asymptomatic CBDS, 18 patients (26.9 %) had complications. Propensity score analysis revealed that asymptomatic CBDS was a significant risk factor, with a significantly higher incidence of complications compared with symptomatic CBDS (odds ratio, 5.3). Moderate to severe complications were observed in 15 of 18 patients (83.3 %) in the asymptomatic CBDS group, with significantly more moderate to severe complications than those in the symptomatic CBDS (odds ratio, 6.7).

Conclusions Asymptomatic CBDS carried a high risk of ERCP-related complications, and these were often more severe. In asymptomatic CBDS, endoscopic treatment should be carefully performed after considering the patient’s background, and detailed explanation of its possible complications should be given to patients in advance.
SOP Standardisiertes Vorgehen in der Diagnostik und Therapie des periokulären Basalzellkarzinoms
Authors: Kakkassery Vinodh , Heindl Ludwig
Published: September 2017

Das Basalzellkarzinom stellt den häufigsten malignen Tumor am Auge dar. Ziel des Beitrages ist es, ein systematisches und standardisiertes Vorgehen in Diagnose, Therapie und Nachsorge periokulärer Basalzellkarzinome darzustellen. Die Interpretation von klinischen Zeichen sowie die diagnostische Sicherung von Basalzellkarzinomen sind entscheidend vor der definitiven Therapieeinleitung. Die chirurgische Sanierung des Basalzellkarzinoms stellt die wichtigste Therapiemöglichkeit dar, die sich von der mikroskopisch kontrollierten Exzision im Gesunden bis hin zur anschließenden vielfältigen Deckung des Defektbefundes erstreckt. Ebenso werden alternative Therapieverfahren, wie die zielgerichtete Therapie mittels Hedgehog-Inhibitoren oder die Bestrahlung, gerade bei ausgeprägten Befunden angesprochen. Die Nachsorge des Basalzellkarzinoms stellt einen weiteren Baustein in der Patientenversorgung dar. Ein besonderer Fokus der Arbeit liegt gerade in der speziellen Beleuchtung der Sondersituation der Basalzellkarzinombehandlung am Auge sowie die Einbettung der Versorgungsoptionen in die nationalen S2-Leitlinien der Dermatologie.
Composition of the Essential Oil of Coristospermum cuneifolium and Antimicrobial Activity Evaluation
Authors: Venditti Alessandro , Frezza Claudio , Salutari Giulia , di Cecco Mirella , Ciaschetti Giampiero , Oliva Alessandra , De Angelis Massimiliano , Vullo Vincenzo , Sabatino Manuela , Garzoli Stefania , Pepi Federico , Ragno Rino , Serafini Mauro , Bianco Armandodoriano
Published: September 2017

For the first time, the chemical composition and antimicrobial evaluation of Coristospermum cuneifolium (previously named Ligusticum lucidum subsp. cuneifolium) essential oil obtained from the aerial parts are reported in this work. Approximately 85% of the total constituents were identified by GC-MS analysis, evidencing the presence of 12 chemical components which belong to several classes of natural compounds. Most of them are reported for the first time in the Ligusticum genus (s.l.) and in the Apiaceae family. Their presence was able to provide a rationale for essential oil use in the field similar to those obtained from other species of the Ligusticum genus (s.l.). Moreover, the huge presence of aromatizing and flavoring components, accounting for 44.4% of the essential oil composition, might make C. cuneifolium a useful natural source of aromatic components for the food and cosmetic fields. In addition to this, a deep comparison of the essential oil of this species with that of other entities within the Ligusticum genus (s.l.) was performed and discussed on a chemotaxonomic basis.

The essential oil was tested for its antimicrobial activity at both high and low inoculum (~5×105 and ~ 5×103 cfu/mL, respectively) against several bacterial and fungal strains, including methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Candida albicans (ATCC 14053), methicillin-resistant S. aureus (clinical strain), carbapenem-susceptible Klebsiella pneumoniae (clinical strain), carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (clinical strain), and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (clinical strain).

A high potency against C. albicans was shown, with an absence of growth at the concentration of 3.01 mg/mL; similarly, for methicillin-susceptible S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus, a reduction of 1.73 and 2 log10 cfu/mL at the concentration of 3.01 mg/mL was observed. With regard to gram-negative microorganisms, only slight potency against A. baumannii was shown, whereas no activity was found against E. coli and K. pneumoniae.
Self-reflection in illness and health: literal and metaphorical?
Authors: David Anthony
Published: September 2017

Self-reflection describes a series of processes whereby a person appraises, evaluates or judges themselves. This appraisal can be in terms of physical, psychological or moral attributes. A number of self-reflection tasks have been designed and applied in experimental psychology and clinical settings. What is not known is whether self-reflection is a valid construct for study and whether it has any clinical implications for psychiatric patients deemed to have impaired self-reflection or “insight”. One design is to contrast the appraisal of another person with that of the self. Although it would be useful to measure this appraisal against a gold standard, that is not always possible. Similarly there may be doubt about what the person really thinks as opposed to what they may say. Nevertheless, the simple act of self-reflection can be studied using cognitive neuroscience methods. It appears that a certain brain network, the central midline system (CMS), is engaged in this task. People with mental disorders, especially those at the psychotic end of the spectrum, often see themselves differently from how others see them and the term lack of insight may be used to describe this situation. Recent neuroimaging research has shown that those whose self-appraisal accords most with others, especially their doctors’, show greater activation in the CMS and may have a better clinical outcome. One potential therapeutic approach with such patients to encourage self-reflection has been to make use of literal self-reflection through photographs and video.
Hydrodynamic dispersion in a combined magnetohydrodynamic- electroosmotic-driven flow through a microchannel with slowly varying wall zeta potentials
Authors: Vargas C. , Arcos J. , Bautista O. , Méndez F.
Published: September 2017

The effective dispersion coefficient of a neutral solute in the combined electroosmotic (EO) and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)-driven flow of a Newtonian fluid through a parallel flat plate microchannel is studied. The walls of the microchannel are assumed to have modulated and low zeta potentials that vary slowly in the axial direction in a sinusoidal manner. The flow field required to obtain the dispersion coefficient is solved using the lubrication approximation theory. The solution of the electrical potential is based on the Debye-Hückel approximation for a symmetric (Z:Z) electrolyte solution. The EO and MHD effects, together with the variations in the zeta potentials of the walls, are observed to notably modify the axial distribution of the effective dispersion coefficient. The problem is formulated for two cases of the zeta potential function. Note that the dispersion coefficient primarily depends on the Hartmann number, on the ratio of the half height of the microchannel to the Debye length, and on the assumed variation in the zeta potentials of the walls.
Extended Sellmeier equation for the extraordinary refractive index of 5% MgO-doped congruent LiNbO3 at high temperature
Authors: Lin H. B. , Yu S. H. , Shi C. X. , Lv X. J. , Lv P. , Xie Z. D. , Zhao G. , Zhu S. N.
Published: September 2017

MgO-doped congruent Lithium Niobate (MgO:CLN) is widely used in a variety of nonlinear optical processes, while its Sellmeier equation has only been derived from experiments under 200oC. Here we extend the temperature range for the Sellmeier equation study to as wide as 60 oC to 510 oC. This work is important to extend the operation temperature range of MgO:CLN crystal.
Incorporating inductances in tissue-scale models of cardiac electrophysiology
Authors: Rossi Simone , Griffith Boyce E.
Published: September 2017

In standard models of cardiac electrophysiology, including the bidomain and monodomain models, local perturbations can propagate at infinite speed. We address this unrealistic property by developing a hyperbolic bidomain model that is based on a generalization of Ohm’s law with a Cattaneo-type model for the fluxes. Further, we obtain a hyperbolic monodomain model in the case that the intracellular and extracellular conductivity tensors have the same anisotropy ratio. In one spatial dimension, the hyperbolic monodomain model is equivalent to a cable model that includes axial inductances, and the relaxation times of the Cattaneo fluxes are strictly related to these inductances. A purely linear analysis shows that the inductances are negligible, but models of cardiac electrophysiology are highly nonlinear, and linear predictions may not capture the fully nonlinear dynamics. In fact, contrary to the linear analysis, we show that for simple nonlinear ionic models, an increase in conduction velocity is obtained for small and moderate values of the relaxation time. A similar behavior is also demonstrated with biophysically detailed ionic models. Using the Fenton–Karma model along with a low-order finite element spatial discretization, we numerically analyze differences between the standard monodomain model and the hyperbolic monodomain model. In a simple benchmark test, we show that the propagation of the action potential is strongly influenced by the alignment of the fibers with respect to the mesh in both the parabolic and hyperbolic models when using relatively coarse spatial discretizations. Accurate predictions of the conduction velocity require computational mesh spacings on the order of a single cardiac cell. We also compare the two formulations in the case of spiral break up and atrial fibrillation in an anatomically detailed model of the left atrium, and we examine the effect of intracellular and extracellular inductances on the virtual electrode phenomenon.
Quantifying the tangling of trajectories using the topological entropy
Authors: Candelaresi S. , Pontin D. I. , Hornig G.
Published: September 2017

We present a simple method to efficiently compute a lower limit of the topological entropy and its spatial distribution for two-dimensional mappings. These mappings could represent either two-dimensional time-periodic fluid flows or three-dimensional magnetic fields, which are periodic in one direction. This method is based on measuring the length of a material line in the flow. Depending on the nature of the flow, the fluid can be mixed very efficiently which causes the line to stretch. Here, we study a method that adaptively increases the resolution at locations along the line where folds lead to a high curvature. This reduces the computational cost greatly which allows us to study unprecedented parameter regimes. We demonstrate how this efficient implementation allows the computation of the variation of the finite-time topological entropy in the mapping. This measure quantifies spatial variations of the braiding efficiency, important in many practical applications.
Investigation of various cavity configurations for metamaterial-enhanced field-localizing wireless power transfer
Authors: Bui Huu Nguyen , Pham Thanh Son , Ngo Viet , Lee Jong-Wook
Published: September 2017

Controlling power to an unintended area is an important issue for enabling wireless power transfer (WPT) systems. The control allows us to enhance efficiency as well as suppress unnecessary flux leakage. The flux leakage from WPT can be reduced effectively via selective field localization. To realize field localization, we propose the use of cavities formed on a single metamaterial slab that acts as a defected metasurface. The cavity is formed by strong field confinement using a hybridization bandgap (HBG), which is created by wave interaction with a two-dimensional array of local resonators on the metasurface. This approach using an HBG demonstrates strong field localization around the cavity regions. Motivated by this result, we further investigate various cavity configurations for different sizes of the transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) resonators. Experiments show that the area of field localization increases with the number of cavities, confirming the successful control of different cavity configurations on the metasurface. Transmission measurements of different cavities show that the number of cavities is an important parameter for efficiency, and excess cavities do not enhance the efficiency but increase unnecessary power leakage. Thus, there exists an optimum number of cavities for a given size ratio between the Tx and Rx resonators. For a 6:1 size ratio, this approach achieves efficiency improvements of 3.69× and 1.59× compared to free space and a uniform metasurface, respectively. For 10:1 and 10:2 size ratios, the efficiency improvements are 3.26× and 1.98× compared to free space and a uniform metasurface, respectively.
3D kinetic plasma simulations reveal the Fermi mechanism for magnetic reconnection
Authors: Blaustein Rich
Published: September 2017

Researchers use 3D particle-in-cell simulations to explain how electrons continuously accelerate during magnetic reconnection.
Annealing effect on laser pulse-induced THz wave emission in Ta/CoFeB/MgO films
Authors: Sasaki Y. , Suzuki K. Z. , Mizukami S.
Published: September 2017

Laser-induced terahertz (THz) emission in Ta/CoFeB/MgO films with various thicknesses of CoFeB and for various annealing temperatures was studied. The THz emission intensity exhibited its maximum value for a CoFeB layer thickness of approximately 1.0 nm, and this maximum value was enhanced by 1.5 times by annealing at 300 °C. A correlation was found in the annealing dependence between saturation magnetization, conductivity, and THz emission intensity. The origin of the enhancement of THz emission intensity due to annealing was discussed in terms of the increase in the mean free path of majority spin hot electrons in the CoFeB layer with crystallization due to the annealing.
Tungsten ion source under double-pulse laser ablation system
Authors: Khalil Ahmed Asaad I , Hafez Ashraf I , Elgohary Mahmoud E , Morsy Mohamed A
Published: September 2017

New tungsten ion source is produced by using single and double-pulse laser ablation system. Combined collinear Nd:YAG laser beams (266+1064 nm) are optimized to focus on the sample in air. Optimization of the experimental parameters is achieved to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of the emission spectra. The velocity distribution of the emitted plasma cloud is carefully measured. The influences of the potential difference between the bias electrodes, laser wavelength and intensity on the current signal are also studied. The results show that the increase in the tungsten ion velocity under the double-pulse lasers causes the output current signal to increase by about three folds. The electron density and temperature are calculated by using the Stark-broadened line profile of tungsten line and Boltzmann plot method of the upper energy levels, respectively. The signal intensity dependence of the tungsten ion angular distribution is also analyzed. The results indicate that the double-pulse laser ablation configuration is more potent technique for producing more metal ion source deposition, thin film formation, and activated plasma-facing component material.
Farmer Preferences for Agricultural Soil Carbon Sequestration Schemes
Authors: Gramig Benjamin M , Widmar Nicole J O
Published: September 2017

The sizable technical potential to sequester atmospheric carbon in soils to mitigate climate change will only be realized where and when there is also economic potential. A choice experiment conducted with a random sample of farmers in the State of Indiana, United States, revealed that farmers who have not previously adopted reduced tillage practices on any of their land require a $40 per acre increase in net revenue to switch from conventional tillage to no‐till. We estimate that farmers have a $10.57/acre option value of not signing a multi‐year sequestration contract, and find that government payments are preferred to carbon markets.
Uncovering exposures responsible for birth season – disease effects: a global study
Authors: Boland Mary Regina , Parhi Pradipta , Li Li , Miotto Riccardo , Carroll Robert , Iqbal Usman , Nguyen Phung-Anh (Alex) , Schuemie Martijn , You Seng Chan , Smith Donahue , Mooney Sean , Ryan Patrick , Li Yu-Chuan (Jack) , Park Rae Woong , Denny Josh , Dudley Joel T , Hripcsak George , Gentine Pierre , Tatonetti Nicholas P
Published: September 2017

Objective

Birth month and climate impact lifetime disease risk, while the underlying exposures remain largely elusive. We seek to uncover distal risk factors underlying these relationships by probing the relationship between global exposure variance and disease risk variance by birth season.

Material and Methods

This study utilizes electronic health record data from 6 sites representing 10.5 million individuals in 3 countries (United States, South Korea, and Taiwan). We obtained birth month–disease risk curves from each site in a case-control manner. Next, we correlated each birth month–disease risk curve with each exposure. A meta-analysis was then performed of correlations across sites. This allowed us to identify the most significant birth month–exposure relationships supported by all 6 sites while adjusting for multiplicity. We also successfully distinguish relative age effects (a cultural effect) from environmental exposures.

Results

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was the only identified relative age association. Our methods identified several culprit exposures that correspond well with the literature in the field. These include a link between first-trimester exposure to carbon monoxide and increased risk of depressive disorder (R = 0.725, confidence interval [95% CI], 0.529-0.847), first-trimester exposure to fine air particulates and increased risk of atrial fibrillation (R = 0.564, 95% CI, 0.363-0.715), and decreased exposure to sunlight during the third trimester and increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (R = −0.816, 95% CI, −0.5767, −0.929).

Conclusion

A global study of birth month–disease relationships reveals distal risk factors involved in causal biological pathways that underlie them.
Estimate, a New iPad Application for Assessment of Plant Disease Severity Using Photographic Standard Area Diagrams
Authors: Pethybridge Sarah J. , Nelson Scot C.
Published: September 2017

Assessment of disease severity is a foundational component of plant pathology and essential for robust disease management. Researchers often estimate disease severity using standard area diagrams (SADs) that are reference images representing disease severity in percentage increments. SADs provide assessments of disease severity that are more accurate, precise, and reliable than other methods. Although specific SADs have been constructed for many plant diseases, they often depict severity in unrealistic black-and-white or grayscale illustrations. SADs are also usually printed, static references that can burden data collection in the field and require data to be transferred manually to a computer spreadsheet for manipulation. This data entry process and verification are prone to errors and require additional inputs of time and labor. We developed a new iPad application (app) called Estimate for researchers and crop managers for their use on a mobile device at the field-level for assessing plant disease severity in order to collect data or aid in treatment decisions. The app is a repository for digital, photographic SADs and offers savings in time for data collection and processing. Estimate allows users to select a disease from a prepopulated list and specify the reference disease images in either logarithmic or linear intervals. Data may be collected as the midpoint of an interval (ordinal) or as 1% increments (continuous). Users then select among photographic images by touching those that best match the observed disease severity on successive samples. Estimate allows data entry at the plant and leaf hierarchical levels within plots and subplots. Alternatively, data may be collected on single sampling units with an undefined experimental design (i.e., 1 to x leaves). The user may inspect and e-mail the final data in comma-separated values format for analysis using conventional spreadsheet software. Estimate was released with SADs for assessing the severity of Cercospora leaf spot in red and yellow table beet cultivars. A list of collaborators and up-to-date list of SADs included in Estimate is available at http://evade.pppmb.cals.cornell.edu/estimate/ . SADs for other diseases will be added to Estimate as they become available. Estimate is available for free download from iTunes ( https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=1193605571&mt=8 ) and is compatible with an iPad Air 2 or equivalent using iOS 9.0 or greater.
IPSIM-Web, An Online Resource for Promoting Qualitative Aggregative Hierarchical Network Models to Predict Plant Disease Risk: Application to Brown Rust on Wheat
Authors: Robin Marie-Hélène , Bancal Marie-Odile , Cellier Vincent , Délos Marc , Felix Irène , Launay Marie , Magnard Adèle , Olivier Axel , Robert Corinne , Rolland Bernard , Sache Ivan , Aubertot Jean-Noël
Published: September 2017

A qualitative pest modeling platform, named Injury Profile Simulator (IPSIM), provides a tool to design aggregative hierarchical network models to predict the risk of pest injuries, including diseases, on a given crop based on variables related to cropping practices as well as soil and weather environment at the field level. The IPSIM platform enables modelers to combine data from various sources (literature, survey, experiments, and so on), expert knowledge, and simulation to build a network-based model. The overall structure of the platform is fully described at the IPSIM-Web website ( www6.inra.fr/ipsim ). A new module called IPSIM-Wheat-brown rust is reported in this article as an example of how to use the system to build and test the predictive quality of a prediction model. Model performance was evaluated for a dataset comprising 1,788 disease observations at 13 French cereal-growing regions over 15 years. Accuracy of the predictions was 85% and the agreement with actual values was 0.66 based on Cohen’s κ. The new model provides risk information for farmers and agronomists to make scientifically sound tactical (within-season) decisions. In addition, the model may be of use for ex post diagnoses of diseases in commercial fields. The limitations of the model such as low precision and threshold effects as well as the benefits, including the integration of different sources of information, transparency, flexibility, and a user-friendly interface, are discussed.
Industrial hardware and software verification with ACL2
Authors: Hunt Warren A. , Kaufmann Matt , Moore J Strother , Slobodova Anna
Published: September 2017

The ACL2 theorem prover has seen sustained industrial use since the mid-1990s. Companies that have used ACL2 regularly include AMD, Centaur Technology, IBM, Intel, Kestrel Institute, Motorola/Freescale, Oracle and Rockwell Collins. This paper introduces ACL2 and focuses on how and why ACL2 is used in industry. ACL2 is well-suited to its industrial application to numerous software and hardware systems, because it is an integrated programming/proof environment supporting a subset of the ANSI standard Common Lisp programming language. As a programming language ACL2 permits the coding of efficient and robust programs; as a prover ACL2 can be fully automatic but provides many features permitting domain-specific human-supplied guidance at various levels of abstraction. ACL2 specifications and models often serve as efficient execution engines for the modelled artefacts while permitting formal analysis and proof of properties. Crucially, ACL2 also provides support for the development and verification of other formal analysis tools. However, ACL2 did not find its way into industrial use merely because of its technical features. The core ACL2 user/development community has a shared vision of making mechanized verification routine when appropriate and has been committed to this vision for the quarter century since the Computational Logic, Inc., Verified Stack. The community has focused on demonstrating the viability of the tool by taking on industrial projects (often at the expense of not being able to publish much).

This article is part of the themed issue ‘Verified trustworthy software systems’.
The HACMS program: using formal methods to eliminate exploitable bugs
Authors: Fisher Kathleen , Launchbury John , Richards Raymond
Published: September 2017

For decades, formal methods have offered the promise of verified software that does not have exploitable bugs. Until recently, however, it has not been possible to verify software of sufficient complexity to be useful. Recently, that situation has changed. SeL4 is an open-source operating system microkernel efficient enough to be used in a wide range of practical applications. Its designers proved it to be fully functionally correct, ensuring the absence of buffer overflows, null pointer exceptions, use-after-free errors, etc., and guaranteeing integrity and confidentiality. The CompCert Verifying C Compiler maps source C programs to provably equivalent assembly language, ensuring the absence of exploitable bugs in the compiler. A number of factors have enabled this revolution, including faster processors, increased automation, more extensive infrastructure, specialized logics and the decision to co-develop code and correctness proofs rather than verify existing artefacts. In this paper, we explore the promise and limitations of current formal-methods techniques. We discuss these issues in the context of DARPA’s HACMS program, which had as its goal the creation of high-assurance software for vehicles, including quadcopters, helicopters and automobiles.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘Verified trustworthy software systems’.
Compositional relaxed concurrency
Authors: Batty Mark
Published: September 2017

There is a broad design space for concurrent computer processors: they can be optimized for low power, low latency or high throughput. This freedom to tune each processor design to its niche has led to an increasing diversity of machines, from powerful pocketable devices to those responsible for complex and critical tasks, such as car guidance systems. Given this context, academic concurrency research sounds notes of both caution and optimism. Caution because recent work has uncovered flaws in the way we explain the subtle memory behaviour of concurrent systems: specifications have been shown to be incorrect, leading to bugs throughout the many layers of the system. And optimism because our tools and methods for verifying the correctness of concurrent code—although built above an idealized model of concurrency—are becoming more mature. This paper looks at the way we specify the memory behaviour of concurrent systems and suggests a new direction. Currently, there is a siloed approach, with each processor and programming language specified separately in an incomparable way. But this does not match the structure of our programs, which may use multiple processors and languages together. Instead we propose acompositionalapproach, where program components carry with them a description of the sort of concurrency they rely on, and there is a mechanism for composing these. This will support not only components written for the multiple varied processors found in a modern system but also those that use idealized models of concurrency, providing a sound footing for mature verification techniques.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘Verified trustworthy software systems’.
Low-intensity focused ultrasound alters the latency and spatial patterns of sensory-evoked cortical responsesin vivo
Authors: Fisher Jonathan A. N. , Gumenchuk Iryna
Published: September 2017

The use of transcranial, low intensity focused ultrasound (FUS) is an emerging neuromodulation technology that shows promise for both therapeutic and research applications. Compared with other noninvasive neuromodulation approaches, key technical advantages include high lateral resolution of stimulation and deep penetration depth. However, empirically observed effectsin vivoare diverse; for example, variations in sonication location and waveform can alternatively elicit putatively inhibitory or excitatory effects. At a fundamental level, it is unclear how FUS alters the function of neural circuits at the site of sonication. To address this knowledge gap, we developed an approach to optically interrogate the spatiotemporal patterns of neural activity in the cortex directly at the acoustic focus, thereby offering a glimpse into the local effects of FUS on distributed populations of neuronsin vivo. Our experiments probed electrical activity through the use of voltage sensitive dyes (VSDs) and, in transgenic GCaMP6f mice, monitored associated Ca2+responses. Our results directly demonstrate that low-intensity FUS adjusts both the kinetics and spatial patterns of sensory receptive fields at the acoustic focusin vivo. Although our experimental configuration limits interpretation to population activity, the use of VSDs ensures that the detected alterations reflect activity in cortical neurons, unobscured by signals in subcortical or laterally distant cortical regions. More generally, this optical measurement paradigm can be implemented to observe FUS-induced alterations in cortical representation with higher lateral resolution spatial versatility than is practical through more conventional electrodebased measurements. Our findings suggest that reports of FUS-induced sensory modulation in human studies may partly reflect alterations cortical representation and reactivity.