bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is an increased PaO2 in a normobaric state safe in acute CO poisoning?
Authors: Moon Jeong Mi , Chun Byeong Jo , Cho Yong Soo
Published: November 2019

Our objective was to determine how much PaO2 levels increase after normobaric oxygen (NBO) therapy and whether NBO therapy exerts therapeutic effects regardless of the PaO2 level. We suggest the optimal PaO2 level to use during NBO therapy for the acute treatment of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. This retrospective study included 311 patients who received oxygen administration after CO poisoning and had a measurable PaO2 level upon arrival. Baseline characteristics, clinical courses and long‐term neurological outcome were collected and compared. The PaO2 level upon arrival was 192 (161‐225) mm Hg, and 272 (87.5%) of the patients presented with hyperoxia. The incidence of poor long‐term neurological outcome was 11.3% at a median follow‐up period of 35 months. PaO2 levels upon arrival were higher in patients with good long‐term neurological outcome than in those with poor outcome. The incidence of poor long‐term neurological outcome was significantly dependent on the PaO2 level when patients were stratified at 100‐mm Hg increments. A multivariate regression analysis showed that PaO2 levels, when considered a continuous, interval or ordinal variable, were associated with long‐term neurological outcome in separate models. According to the three models, a PaO2 level of 200‐300 mm Hg has the lowest risk of poor long‐term neurological outcome. The results of the analysis of the predicted probability of poor long‐term outcome according to the PaO2 level exhibited a U‐shaped curve. Further large‐scale studies are needed to confirm the association between 200‐300 mm Hg of PaO2 and long‐term neurological outcome and evaluate the impact of PaO2 levels above 300 mm Hg on acute CO poisoning outcome.
Feminist cartography and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality: Emotional responses to three thematic maps
Authors: Pirani N. , Ricker B. A. , Kraak M. J.
Published: November 2019

Thematic maps facilitate spatial understanding of patterns and exceptions. Cognitive ability, spatial cognition, and emotional state are related, yet there is little research about map readers’ emotions. Feminist critiques of cartography recognize emotion and affect as legitimate experiences on par with quantitative ways of knowing. We conducted an online survey to measure users’ affective states before and after engaging with three thematic map types. The maps showed data from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to achieve gender equality, on the proportion of girls and women aged 15 to 49 who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting. Participants viewed a choropleth, a cartogram, and a repeating icon tile map; completed map‐related tasks; rated certain map qualities; rated their affective states before and after engaging with the maps; and answered open‐ended questions. The maps piqued curiosity and evoked emotions for most users, while some users perceived the thematic maps as clinical or neutral despite the sensitive topic. After viewing the maps, female participants who were affected expressed deeper engagement in their open‐ended comments than males. Traditionally, cartography construes the human experience as male experience and denies or trivializes women's experiences. Our findings corroborate feminist critiques of this disembodiment and entrenched rational rhetoric of maps.
An Analysis of Region Clustered BVH Volume Rendering on GPU
Authors: Ganter D. , Manzke M.
Published: November 2019

We present a Direct Volume Rendering method that makes use of newly available Nvidia graphics hardware for Bounding Volume Hierarchies. Using BVHs for DVR has been overlooked in recent research due to build times potentially impeding interactive rates. We indicate that this is not necessarily the case, especially when a clustering algorithm is applied before the BVH build to reduce leaf‐node complexity. Our results show substantial render time improvements for full‐resolution DVR on GPU in comparison to a recent state‐of‐the‐art approach for empty‐space‐skipping. Furthermore, the use of a BVH for DVR allows seamless integration into popular surface‐based path‐tracing technologies like Nvidia's OptiX.
Generic interactive pixel‐level image editing
Authors: Liang Y. , Gan Y. , Chen M. , Gutierrez D. , Muñoz A.
Published: November 2019

Several image editing methods have been proposed in the past decades, achieving brilliant results. The most sophisticated of them, however, require additional information per‐pixel. For instance, dehazing requires a specific transmittance value per pixel, or depth of field blurring requires depth or disparity values per pixel. This additional per‐pixel value is obtained either through elaborated heuristics or through additional control over the capture hardware, which is very often tailored for the specific editing application. In contrast, however, we propose a generic editing paradigm that can become the base of several different applications. This paradigm generates both the needed per‐pixel values and the resulting edit at interactive rates, with minimal user input that can be iteratively refined. Our key insight for getting per‐pixel values at such speed is to cluster them into superpixels, but, instead of a constant value per superpixel (which yields accuracy problems), we have a mathematical expression for pixel values at each superpixel: in our case, an order two multinomial per superpixel. This leads to a linear least‐squares system, effectively enabling specific per‐pixel values at fast speeds. We illustrate this approach in three applications: depth of field blurring (from depth values), dehazing (from transmittance values) and tone mapping (from brightness and contrast local values), and our approach proves both favorably interactive and accurate in all three. Our technique is also evaluated with a common dataset and compared favorably.
Scale‐adaptive Structure‐preserving Texture Filtering
Authors: Song Chengfang , Xiao Chunxia , Lei Ling , Sui Haigang
Published: November 2019

This paper proposes a scale‐adaptive filtering method to improve the performance of structure‐preserving texture filtering for image smoothing. With classical texture filters, it usually is challenging to smooth texture at multiple scales while preserving salient structures in an image. We address this issue in the concept of adaptive bilateral filtering, where the scales of Gaussian range kernels are allowed to vary from pixel to pixel. Based on direction‐wise statistics, our method distinguishes texture from structure effectively, identifies appropriate scope around a pixel to be smoothed and thus infers an optimal smoothing scale for it. Filtering an image with varying‐scale kernels, the image is smoothed according to the distribution of texture adaptively. With commendable experimental results, we show that, needing less iterations, our proposed scheme boosts texture filtering performance in terms of preserving the geometric structures of multiple scales even after aggressive smoothing of the original image.
Towards Robust Direction Invariance in Character Animation
Authors: Ma Li‐Ke , Yang Zeshi , Guo Baining , Yin KangKang
Published: November 2019

In character animation, direction invariance is a desirable property. That is, a pose facing north and the same pose facing south are considered the same; a character that can walk to the north is expected to be able to walk to the south in a similar style. To achieve such direction invariance, the current practice is to remove the facing direction's rotation around the vertical axis before further processing. Such a scheme, however, is not robust for rotational behaviors in the sagittal plane. In search of a smooth scheme to achieve direction invariance, we prove that in general a singularity free scheme does not exist. We further connect the problem with the hairy ball theorem, which is better‐known to the graphics community. Due to the nonexistence of a singularity free scheme, a general solution does not exist and we propose a remedy by using a properly‐chosen motion direction that can avoid singularities for specific motions at hand. We perform comparative studies using two deep‐learning based methods, one builds kinematic motion representations and the other learns physics‐based controls. The results show that with our robust direction invariant features, both methods can achieve better results in terms of learning speed and/or final quality. We hope this paper can not only boost performance for character animation methods, but also help related communities currently not fully aware of the direction invariance problem to achieve more robust results.
Naturalness‐Preserving Image Tone Enhancement Using Generative Adversarial Networks
Authors: Son Hyeongseok , Lee Gunhee , Cho Sunghyun , Lee Seungyong
Published: November 2019

This paper proposes a deep learning‐based image tone enhancement approach that can maximally enhance the tone of an image while preserving the naturalness. Our approach does not require carefully generated ground‐truth images by human experts for training. Instead, we train a deep neural network to mimic the behavior of a previous classical filtering method that produces drastic but possibly unnatural‐looking tone enhancement results. To preserve the naturalness, we adopt the generative adversarial network (GAN) framework as a regularizer for the naturalness. To suppress artifacts caused by the generative nature of the GAN framework, we also propose an imbalanced cycle‐consistency loss. Experimental results show that our approach can effectively enhance the tone and contrast of an image while preserving the naturalness compared to previous state‐of‐the‐art approaches.
Compacting Voxelized Polyhedra via Tree Stacking
Authors: Hao Yue , Lien Jyh‐Ming
Published: November 2019

Volume compaction is a geometric problem that aims to reduce the volume of a polyhedron via shape transform. Compactable structures are easier to transport and in some cases easier to manufacture, therefore, they are commonly found in our daily life (e.g. collapsible containers) and advanced technology industries (e.g., the recent launch of 60 Starlink satellites compacted in a single rocket by SpaceX). It is known in the literature that finding a universal solution to compact an arbitrary 3D shape is computationally challenging. Previous approaches showed that stripifying mesh surface can lead to optimal compaction, but the resulting structures were often impractical. In this paper, we propose an algorithm that cuts the 3D orthogonal polyhedron, tessellated by thick square panels, into a tree structure that can be transformed into compact piles by folding and stacking. We call this process tree stacking. Our research found that it is possible to decompose the problem into a pipeline of several solvable local optimizations. We also provide an efficient algorithm to check if the solution exists by avoiding the computational bottleneck of the pipeline. Our results show that tree stacking can efficiently generate stackable structures that have better folding accuracy and similar compactness comparing to the most compact stacking using strips.
Pyramid Multi‐View Stereo with Local Consistency
Authors: Liao Jie , Fu Yanping , Yan Qingan , Xiao Chunxia
Published: November 2019

In this paper, we propose a PatchMatch‐based Multi‐View Stereo (MVS) algorithm which can efficiently estimate geometry for the textureless area. Conventional PatchMatch‐based MVS algorithms estimate depth and normal hypotheses mainly by optimizing photometric consistency metrics between patch in the reference image and its projection on other images. The photometric consistency works well in textured regions but can not discriminate textureless regions, which makes geometry estimation for textureless regions hard work. To address this issue, we introduce the local consistency. Based on the assumption that neighboring pixels with similar colors likely belong to the same surface and share approximate depth‐normal values, local consistency guides the depth and normal estimation with geometry from neighboring pixels with similar colors. To fasten the convergence of pixelwise local consistency across the image, we further introduce a pyramid architecture similar to previous work which can also provide coarse estimation at upper levels. We validate the effectiveness of our method on the ETH3D benchmark and Tanks and Temples benchmark. Results show that our method outperforms the state‐of‐the‐art.
Interactive Curation of Datasets for Training and Refining Generative Models
Authors: Ye Wenjie , Dong Yue , Peers Pieter
Published: November 2019

We present a novel interactive learning‐based method for curating datasets using user‐defined criteria for training and refining Generative Adversarial Networks. We employ a novel batch‐mode active learning strategy to progressively select small batches of candidate exemplars for which the user is asked to indicate whether they match the, possibly subjective, selection criteria. After each batch, a classifier that models the user's intent is refined and subsequently used to select the next batch of candidates. After the selection process ends, the final classifier, trained with limited but adaptively selected training data, is used to sift through the large collection of input exemplars to extract a sufficiently large subset for training or refining the generative model that matches the user's selection criteria. A key distinguishing feature of our system is that we do not assume that the user can always make a firm binary decision (i.e., “meets” or “does not meet” the selection criteria) for each candidate exemplar, and we allow the user to label an exemplar as “undecided”. We rely on a non‐binary query‐by‐committee strategy to distinguish between the user's uncertainty and the trained classifier's uncertainty, and develop a novel disagreement distance metric to encourage a diverse candidate set. In addition, a number of optimization strategies are employed to achieve an interactive experience. We demonstrate our interactive curation system on several applications related to training or refining generative models: training a Generative Adversarial Network that meets a user‐defined criteria, adjusting the output distribution of an existing generative model, and removing unwanted samples from a generative model.
A Stationary SVBRDF Material Modeling Method Based on Discrete Microsurface
Authors: Zhu Junqiu , Xu Yanning , Wang Lu
Published: November 2019

Microfacet theory is commonly used to build reflectance models for surfaces. While traditional microfacet‐based models assume that the distribution of a surface's microstructure is continuous, recent studies indicate that some surfaces with tiny, discrete and stochastic facets exhibit glittering visual effects, while some surfaces with structured features exhibit anisotropic specular reflection. Accordingly, this paper proposes an efficient and stationary method of surface material modeling to process both glittery and non‐glittery surfaces in a consistent way. Our method comprises two steps: in the preprocessing step, we take a fixed‐size sample normal map as input, then organize 4D microfacet trees in position and normal space for arbitrary‐sized surfaces; we also cluster microfacets into 4D K‐lobes via the adaptive k‐means method. In the rendering step, moreover, surface normals can be efficiently evaluated using pre‐clustered microfacets. Our method is able to efficiently render any structured, discrete and continuous micro‐surfaces using a precisely reconstructed surface NDF. Our method is both faster and uses less memory compared to the state‐of‐the‐art glittery surface modeling works.
RodSteward: A Design‐to‐Assembly System for Fabrication using 3D‐Printed Joints and Precision‐Cut Rods
Authors: Jacobson Alec
Published: November 2019

We present RodSteward, a design‐to‐assembly system for creating furniture‐scale structures composed of 3D‐printed joints and precision‐cut rods. The RodSteward systems consists of: RSDesigner, a fabrication‐aware design interface that visualizes accurate geometries during edits and identifies infeasible designs; physical fabrication of parts automatically generated 3D‐printable joint geometries and cutting plans for rods; and RSAssembler, a guided‐assembly interface that prompts the user to place parts in order while showing a focus+context visualization of the assembly in progress. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our tools with a number of example constructions of varying complexity, style and parameter choices.
Prioritising African perspectives in psychiatric genomics research: Issues of translation and informed consent
Authors: Kamaara Eunice , Kong Camillia , Campbell Megan
Published: November 2019

Psychiatric genomics research with African populations comes with a range of practical challenges around translation of psychiatric genomics research concepts, procedures, and nosology. These challenges raise deep ethical issues particularly around legitimacy of informed consent, a core foundation of research ethics. Through a consideration of the constitutive function of language, the paper problematises like‐for‐like, designative translations which often involve the ‘indigenization’ of English terms or use of metaphors which misrepresent the risks and benefits of research. This paper argues that effective translation of psychiatric genomics research terminology in African contexts demands substantive engagement with African conceptual schemas and values. In developing attenuated forms of translational thinking, researchers may recognise the deeper motivational reasons behind participation in research, highlighting the possibility that such reasons may depart from the original meaning implied within informed consent forms. These translational issues might be ameliorated with a critical re‐examination of how researchers develop and present protocols to institutional ethics review boards.
UV reflectance photography of skin: what are you imaging?
Authors: Crowther J. M.
Published: November 2019

Objective

Photography can be a powerful tool for researching the skin. Moving outside the visible spectrum and into the ultra violet (UV) presents a unique set of challenges to the skin photographer because of the restrictions imposed by the equipment being used. This article discusses these challenges in relation to camera sensitivity, lens and filter transmission and lighting spectrum, with the aim of demystifying what is actually being captured when imaging skin.

Methods

In addition to a discussion of existing data on the subject of camera sensor sensitivity, filter transmission and flash spectral analysis, transmission in the UV of a variety of camera lenses using a new method has been carried out.

Results

Using the described approach, lens transmission between 280 and 420 nm of a range of lenses has been measured. Combining this with camera sensor sensitivity data and filter and light source characteristics, it has been possible to determine an overall, harmonized, spectral sensitivity curve for what is being imaged with a given setup.

Conclusions

UV reflectance photography, while a powerful tool, is often misunderstood and misreported as to what is actually being imaged. By combining measurements on camera sensitivity, lens and filter transmission and light source spectra the researcher can more fully understand what is they are actually measuring, thereby enabling better communication with the consumer on what they are seeing and a more complete description for any claims support.
Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy in skin wound healing: A systematic review of animal studies
Authors: Sun Yan , Ogawa Rei , Xiao Bi‐Huan , Feng Yu‐Xin , Wu Yan , Chen Liang‐Hong , Gao Xing‐Hua , Chen Hong‐Duo
Published: November 2019

Bacterial infection is a common wound complication that can significantly delay healing. Classical local therapies for infected wounds are expensive and are frequently ineffective. One alternative therapy is photodynamic therapy (PDT). We conducted a systematic review to clarify whether PDT is useful for bacteria‐infected wounds in animal models. PubMed and Medline were searched for articles on PDT in infected skin wounds in animals. The language was limited to English. Nineteen articles met the inclusion criteria. The overall study methodological quality was moderate, with a low‐moderate risk of bias. The animal models were mice and rats. The wounds were excisional, burn, and abrasion wounds. Wound size ranged from 6 mm in diameter to 1.5 × 1.5 cm2. Most studies inoculated the wounds with Pseudomonas aeruginosa or methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Eleven and 17 studies showed that the PDT of infected wounds significantly decreased wound size and bacterial counts, respectively. Six, four, and two studies examined the effect of PDT on infected wound‐cytokine levels, wound‐healing time, and body weight, respectively. Most indicated that PDT had beneficial effects on these variables. PDT accelerated bacteria‐infected wound healing in animals by promoting wound closure and killing bacteria.
Pancreatic cancer cell–derived exosomal microRNA‐27a promotes angiogenesis of human microvascular endothelial cells in pancreatic cancer via BTG2
Authors: Shang Dan , Xie Chao , Hu Jin , Tan Jinru , Yuan Yufeng , Liu Zhisu , Yang Zhiyong
Published: November 2019

Pancreatic cancer (PC) remains a primary cause of cancer‐related deaths worldwide. Existing literature has highlighted the oncogenic role of microRNA‐27a (miR‐27a) in multiple cancers. Hence, the current study aimed to clarify the potential therapeutic role of PC cell–derived exosomal miR‐27a in human microvascular endothelial cell (HMVEC) angiogenesis in PC. Initially, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and miRs related to PC were identified by microarray analysis. Microarray analysis provided data predicting the interaction between miR‐27a and BTG2 in PC, which was further verified by the elevation or depletion of miR‐27a. Next, the expression of miR‐27a and BTG2 in the PC tissues was quantified. HMVECs were exposed to exosomes derived from PC cell line PANC‐1 to investigate the effects associated with PC cell–derived exosomes carrying miR‐27a on HMVEC proliferation, invasion and angiogenesis. Finally, the effect of miR‐27a on tumorigenesis and microvessel density (MVD) was analysed after xenograft tumour inoculation in nude mice. Our results revealed that miR‐27a was highly expressed, while BTG2 was poorly expressed in both PC tissues and cell lines. miR‐27a targeted BTG2. Moreover, miR‐27a silencing inhibited PC cell proliferation and invasion, and promoted apoptosis through the elevation of BTG2. The in vitro assays revealed that PC cell–derived exosomes carrying miR‐27a stimulated HMVEC proliferation, invasion and angiogenesis, while this effect was reversed in the HMVECs cultured with medium containing GW4869‐treated PANC‐1 cells. Furthermore, in vivo experiment revealed that miR‐27a knockdown suppressed tumorigenesis and MVD. Taken together, cell‐derived exosomes carrying miR‐27a promotes HMVEC angiogenesis via BTG2 in PC.
CBX4 promotes the proliferation and metastasis via regulating BMI‐1 in lung cancer
Authors: Hu Changpeng , Zhang Qian , Tang Qin , Zhou Huyue , Liu Wuyi , Huang Jingbin , Liu Yali , Wang Qin , Zhang Jing , Zhou Min , Sheng Fangfang , Lai Wenjing , Tian Jing , Li Guobing , Zhang Rong
Published: November 2019

Proliferation and metastasis are significantly malignant characteristics of human lung cancer, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Chromobox 4 (CBX4), a member of the Polycomb group (PcG) family of epigenetic regulatory factors, enhances cellular proliferation and promotes cancer cell migration. However, the effect of CBX4 in the progression of lung cancer is not fully understood. We found that CBX4 is highly expressed in lung tumours compared with adjacent normal tissues. Overexpression of CBX4 significantly promotes cell proliferation and migration in human lung cancer cell lines. The knockdown of CBX4 obviously suppresses the cell growth and migration of human lung cancer cells in vitro. Also, the proliferation and metastasis in vivo are blocked by CBX4 knockdown. Furthermore, CBX4 knockdown effectively arrests cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase through suppressing the expression of CDK2 and Cyclin E and decreases the formation of filopodia through suppressing MMP2, MMP9 and CXCR4. Additionally, CBX4 promotes proliferation and metastasis via regulating the expression of BMI‐1 which is a significant regulator of proliferation and migration in lung cancer cells. Taken together, these data suggest that CBX4 is not only a novel prognostic marker but also may be a potential therapeutic target in lung cancer.
Down‐regulation of the mitochondrial i‐AAA protease Yme1L induces muscle atrophy via FoxO3a and myostatin activation
Authors: Lee Yoo Jeong , Kim Gyu Hee , Park Sang Ick , Lim Joo Hyun
Published: November 2019

Muscle atrophy is closely associated with many diseases, including diabetes and cardiac failure. Growing evidence has shown that mitochondrial dysfunction is related to muscle atrophy; however, the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. To elucidate how mitochondrial dysfunction causes muscle atrophy, we used hindlimb‐immobilized mice. Mitochondrial function is optimized by balancing mitochondrial dynamics, and we observed that this balance shifted towards mitochondrial fission and that MuRF1 and atrogin‐1 expression levels were elevated in these mice. We also found that the expression of yeast mitochondrial escape 1‐like ATPase (Yme1L), a mitochondrial AAA protease was significantly reduced both in hindlimb‐immobilized mice and carbonyl cyanide m‐chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP)‐treated C2C12 myotubes. When Yme1L was depleted in myotubes, the short form of optic atrophy 1 (Opa1) accumulated, leading to mitochondrial fragmentation. Moreover, a loss of Yme1L, but not of LonP1, activated AMPK and FoxO3a and concomitantly increased MuRF1 in C2C12 myotubes. Intriguingly, the expression of myostatin, a myokine responsible for muscle protein degradation, was significantly increased by the transient knock‐down of Yme1L. Taken together, our results suggest that a deficiency in Yme1L and the consequential imbalance in mitochondrial dynamics result in the activation of FoxO3a and myostatin, which contribute to the pathological state of muscle atrophy.
Long noncoding RNA 91H overexpression contributes to the growth and metastasis of HCC by epigenetically positively regulating IGF2 expression
Authors: Yi Tingzhuang , Wang Tonghua , Shi Ying , Peng Xiaojuan , Tang Shaohui , Zhong Lu , Chen Yanfang , Li Yuting , He Kaiyin , Wang Min , Zhao Hailiang , Li Qing
Published: November 2019

Background & Aims

Long noncoding RNA 91H is transcribed from the H19/IGF2 locus and contributes to the development of breast and oesophagus cancers by regulating the expression of IGF2, but the regulation mechanism remains poorly characterized. Here, we explored the role of 91H in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the mechanism of IGF2 expression regulation by 91H.

Methods

Firstly, the expression of 91H was analysed in HCC by quantitative RT‐PCR, the association of 91H with survival was evaluated by the Kaplan‐Meier method and the effect of 91H on the growth and invasion of HCC was investigated by the in vitro and in vivo studies. Then, the association of 91H with the expression of IGF2 was evaluated in HCC tissues, and the effect of 91H on the expression of IGF2 was investigated by 91H knockdown. Finally, the binding of RBBP5 to 91H and the binding of RBBP5, activating H3K4me3 mark and repressive H3K27me3 mark to the P3 and P4 promoters of IGF2 gene were studied by RIP and ChIP respectively.

Results

The overexpression of 91H was found in HCC and in association with the growth, metastasis and shorter survival time of HCC. The knockdown of 91H down‐regulated the IGF2 expression in HCC, and the mechanism was correlated with the decreased enrichment of RBBP5 and H3K4me3 and increased enrichment of H3K27me3 at the bivalent P3 and P4 promoters.

Conclusions

The overexpression of 91H promotes tumour growth and metastasis, and is associated with a poor prognosis of HCC at least partially by positively regulating the expression of IGF2 through bivalent histone modification changes characterized by H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 at the P3 and P4 promoters.
Negative frequency‐dependent selection maintains coexisting genotypes during fluctuating selection
Authors: Turner Caroline B. , Buskirk Sean W. , Harris Katrina B. , Cooper Vaughn S.
Published: November 2019

Natural environments are rarely static; rather selection can fluctuate on timescales ranging from hours to centuries. However, it is unclear how adaptation to fluctuating environments differs from adaptation to constant environments at the genetic level. For bacteria, one key axis of environmental variation is selection for planktonic or biofilm modes of growth. We conducted an evolution experiment with Burkholderia cenocepacia, comparing the evolutionary dynamics of populations evolving under constant selection for either biofilm formation or planktonic growth with populations in which selection fluctuated between the two environments on a weekly basis. Populations evolved in the fluctuating environment shared many of the same genetic targets of selection as those evolved in constant biofilm selection, but were genetically distinct from the constant planktonic populations. In the fluctuating environment, mutations in the biofilm‐regulating genes wspA and rpfR rose to high frequency in all replicate populations. A mutation in wspA first rose rapidly and nearly fixed during the initial biofilm phase but was subsequently displaced by a collection of rpfR mutants upon the shift to the planktonic phase. The wspA and rpfR genotypes coexisted via negative frequency‐dependent selection around an equilibrium frequency that shifted between the environments. The maintenance of coexisting genotypes in the fluctuating environment was unexpected. Under temporally fluctuating environments, coexistence of two genotypes is only predicted under a narrow range of conditions, but the frequency‐dependent interactions we observed provide a mechanism that can increase the likelihood of coexistence in fluctuating environments.
Cutting‐edge morphological studies of post‐mortem brains of patients with schizophrenia and potential applications of X‐ray nanotomography (nano‐CT)
Authors: Itokawa Masanari , Oshima Kenichi , Arai Makoto , Torii Yota , Kushima Itaru , Iritani Shuji , Ozaki Norio , Saiga Rino , Mizutani Ryuta
Published: November 2019

Kraepelin expected that the neuropathological hallmark of schizophrenia would be identified when he proposed the concept of dementia praecox 120 years ago. Although a variety of neuropathological findings have been reported since then, a consensus regarding the pathology of schizophrenia has not been established. The discrepancies have mainly been ascribed to limitations in the disease definition of schizophrenia that accompanies etiological heterogeneity and to the incompleteness of the visualization methodology and technology for biochemical analyses. However, macroscopic structural changes in the schizophrenia brain, such as volumetric changes of brain regions, must entail structural changes to cells composing the brain. This paper overviews neuropathology of schizophrenia and also summarizes recent application of synchrotron radiation nanotomography (nano‐CT) to schizophrenia brain tissues. Geometric parameters of neurites determined from the 3‐D nano‐CT images of brain tissues indicated that the curvature of neurites in schizophrenia cases is significantly higher than that of controls. The schizophrenia case with the highest curvature carried a frameshift mutation in the glyoxalase 1 gene and exhibited treatment resistance. Controversies in the neuropathology of schizophrenia are mainly due to the difficulty in reproducing histological findings reported for schizophrenia. Nano‐CT visualization using synchrotron radiation and subsequent geometric analysis should shed light on this long‐standing question about the neuropathology of schizophrenia.
A rare case of pulmonary typical carcinoid with prominent acinic cell differentiation, resembling acinic cell carcinoma
Authors: Watanabe Hiroshi , Miyagawa‐Hayashino Aya , Imabayashi Tatsuya , Kishimoto Mitsuo , Shimomura Masanori , Honda Kohei , Omatsu Ikoi , Shimada Eri , Inoue Masayoshi , Takayama Koichi , Konishi Eiichi
Published: November 2019

We herein describe a rare case of low‐grade endobronchial tumor that exhibited two distinct features of typical carcinoid and acinic cell carcinoma (ACC) by immunohistochemical and ultrastructure study. ACC was suspected on transbronchial biopsy. The resected specimen showed that the tumor surface comprised an acinic cell component (40% of the tumor), and the central area comprised typical carcinoid (60% of the tumor). The acinic cell component was positive for chromogranin A, synaptophysin and alpha‐1‐antichymotrypsin. Additionally, this component showed focal apical membranous staining for DOG1 and weak positivity for BCL10 and SOX10. Conversely, the carcinoid component was negative for all proteins except for chromogranin A and synaptophysin. Electron microscopy indicated zymogen‐type granules (600–800 nm in diameter) in the acinic cell component, whereas neuroendocrine‐type granules (200–300 nm in diameter) were observed in the carcinoid component. Nuclear NR4A3 immunostaining, which is highly specific for ACC of the salivary gland, was negative in this case. We conclude that the pulmonary carcinoid tumor with true zymogen‐type granules could be seen but showed superficial similarities to ACC based on negative nuclear staining for NR4A3. Pulmonary carcinoids encompass a wide morphological spectrum and may exhibit prominent acinic cell differentiation.
Molecular mapping of quantitative trait loci for grain moisture at harvest and field grain drying rate in maize (Zea mays L.)
Authors: Zhang Jun , Zhang Fengqi , Tang Baojun , Ding Yong , Xia Laikun , Qi Jianshuang , Mu Xinyuan , Gu Limin , Lu Daowen , Chen Yanhui
Published: November 2019

Maize (Zea mays L.) grain moisture (GM) at harvest is an important trait that affects seed preservation during storage, grain quality and artificial drying costs. To date, most of the work on understanding GM dynamics in maize has focused on the grain filling period, while the period of postmaturity grain drying remains unexplored. The field grain drying rate (FDR) is one of the most important factors in determining GM at harvest. Therefore, understanding the genetic basis of FDR will be useful for obtaining low‐GM varieties. In this study, a single‐cross population (330 F2:3‐generation plants) derived from a cross of two divergent inbred lines was evaluated in two planting environments with a measurement method – Area under the Dry Down Curve (AUDDC). A high‐density genetic linkage map of 2491 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci covering 2415.56 cM was constructed. Using composite interval mapping, four quantitative trait loci (QTL), q45dGM1‐1, qHTGM2‐2, qAUDDC2‐1 and qAUDDC10‐1, which were detected on chromosomes 1, 2 and 10, were stable across environments and could explain more than 10% of phenotypic variance. These may be the major QTLs, with non‐significant environmental interactions for GM at 45 days, GM at harvest and FDR, respectively. Additionally, several predicted candidate genes for FDR were identified, including several transcription factors, hormone responsive genes, energy‐related and DNA replication‐related genes. These results will provide useful information for our understanding of the genetic basis of FDR, as well as providing tools for marker‐assisted selection in maize breeding.
Information provision as agenda setting: A study of bureaucracy's role in higher education policy
Authors: Bark Tracey
Published: November 2019

Many drivers of agenda setting have been considered in political science, yet the bureaucracy has been largely absent from these discussions. This article challenges that tendency by arguing that bureaucracies provide information and analysis to legislatures early in the policy process, which then affects the bills that are introduced and eventually adopted. I further posit that institutional forms condition the information a bureaucracy can provide, leading to the central hypothesis that highly centralized agencies have more concentrated agendas than decentralized institutions and therefore less congruence with and influence on legislative agendas. Based on a large original dataset of bureaucratic information and proposed legislation concerning higher education policy from two states with archetypal institutional forms, I analyze what kinds of information shift the attention of lawmakers to higher education topics of interest within different institutional arrangements. The findings further our understanding of the impact of institutional factors on information processing by legislatures and the role of the bureaucracy in agenda setting.
BK Polyomavirus‐associated nephropathy managed by screening policy in a real‐life setting
Authors: Raupp Fernanda Vianna Vacilotto , Meinerz Gisele , da Silva Cynthia Keitel , Bianco Patrícia Campos d’Almeida , Goldani João Carlos , Pegas Karla Lais , Stolfo Josiane Borges , Garcia Valter Duro , Keitel Elizete
Published: November 2019

Background

BK polyomavirus‐associated nephropathy (PyVAN) is an important complication after kidney transplantation. Prevalence ranges from 1% to 10%, and graft loss occurs in approximately 50% of the cases. There is no effective treatment, so early viral detection with immunosuppression tapering is the current strategy to prevent PyVAN.

Aims

To verify the frequency of PyVAN in a single center and evaluate the response to immunosuppressive adjustments through graft survival analysis.

Methods

Retrospective evaluation of a cohort of kidney transplant recipients with biopsy‐proven PyVAN, compared with no‐PyVAN patients regarding clinical aspects, immunosuppression, and graft survival over at least 2 years.

Results

There were 1404 kidney transplants analyzed in the study period, 58 with biopsy‐proven PyVAN. Cumulative incidence was 4.1%. Median time from transplantation to PyVAN diagnosis was 6 (1‐41) months. PyVAN was associated with recipient male gender (P = .041) and deceased donation (P = .005). Graft survival was inferior for PyVAN compared to no‐PyVAN patients, 81.8% vs 75.2%, P = .019. Thirteen (22.4%) PyVAN patients lost their grafts, nine (15.5%) losses attributed to BKPyV infection. Three patients with BKPyV‐associated graft losses were submitted to a successful second kidney transplant, with no evidence of viral replication during follow‐up.

Conclusion

PyVAN still is an important cause of kidney graft failure. Even though implementing active vigilance and immunosuppressive adjustment, this real‐life single‐center study demonstrated inferior graft survival in PyVAN patients compared to non‐PyVAN.
Patterns in Cognitive Phenomena and Pluralism of Explanatory Styles
Authors: Potochnik Angela , Sanches de Oliveira Guilherme
Published: November 2019

Debate about cognitive science explanations has been formulated in terms of identifying the proper level(s) of explanation. Views range from reductionist, favoring only neuroscience explanations, to mechanist, favoring the integration of multiple levels, to pluralist, favoring the preservation of even the most general, high‐level explanations, such as those provided by embodied or dynamical approaches. In this paper, we challenge this framing. We suggest that these are not different levels of explanation at all but, rather, different styles of explanation that capture different, cross‐cutting patterns in cognitive phenomena. Which pattern is explanatory depends on both the cognitive phenomenon under investigation and the research interests occasioning the explanation. This reframing changes how we should answer the basic questions of which cognitive science approaches explain and how these explanations relate to one another. On this view, we should expect different approaches to offer independent explanations in terms of their different focal patterns and the value of those explanations to partly derive from the broad patterns they feature.
THE BLURRED LINE BETWEEN THEISTIC EVOLUTION AND INTELLIGENT DESIGN
Authors: Leidenhag Mikael
Published: November 2019

It is often assumed that there is a hard line between theistic evolution (TE) and intelligent design (ID). Many theistic evolutionists subscribe to the idea that God only acts through natural processes, as opposed to the ID assertion that God, at certain points in natural history, has acted in a direct manner; directly causing particular features of the world. In this article, I argue that theistic evolutionists subscribe to what might be called Natural Divine Causation (NDC). NDC does not merely provide a nonsupernaturalist and noninterventionist model of divine action, it provides a line of demarcation between TE and ID. I make the critique that NDC is philosophically untenable and argue, consequently, that the line between TE and ID is blurred.
TEILHARD DE CHARDIN, THE “SIX PROPOSITIONS,” AND THE HOLY OFFICE
Authors: Kemp Kenneth W.
Published: November 2019

Between 1924 and 1937, the Jesuit Curia in Rome repeatedly placed restrictions on what Jesuit priest‐paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was allowed to write on those aspects of human origins that, in the view of the Curia, had theological as well as scientific aspects. In 2018, David Grumett and Paul Bentley published an account of the first of those restrictions, together with a previously undiscovered document associated with that restriction. This article corrects a relatively important error in their historical narrative, offers an alternative to their comments about the case, and concludes by embedding the events of 1924–1925 in a slightly larger history of Teilhard's relations with the Jesuit Curia and with the Holy Office. That larger narrative shows that, while Grumett and Bentley's account was mistaken about the involvement of the Holy Office in the case they discuss, it was not wrong about the concerns of that Congregation in questions of human origins.
Sub-rf period electrical characterization of a pulsed capacitively coupled argon plasma
Authors: Press Alex F. , Goeckner Matthew J. , Overzet Lawrence J.
Published: November 2019

Transient plasmas (such as pulsed power plasmas) can be of interest to both industry, where they allow for new processing windows, and basic science, where their dynamics are of interest. However, their study requires time resolved diagnostic techniques. One powerful diagnostic is current and voltage (IV) measurements, which along with the power and impedance calculated from them, can be used to characterize a plasma. This is especially true as it is an outside the chamber, noninvasive technique and can be used in systems where a probe or fiber optic bundle/window will affect processing results or fail due to deposition. To obtain accurate IV values, frequency dependent probe calibrations must be performed and frequency dependent parasitic impedances in the system and propagation delay between the forward traveling fundamental frequency and backward traveling harmonic frequencies must be taken into account. To separate the fundamental and harmonic frequencies, a fast Fourier transform (FFT) is traditionally performed in continuous wave plasmas. In transient plasmas, a time resolved FFT is necessary. This article presents a method to perform each of these steps while demonstrating their importance and giving some measurements of a pulsed power, 75 mTorr, capacitively coupled argon plasma.
Heterogeneous angular spectrum method for trans-skull imaging and focusing
Authors: Schoen Scott J. , Arvanitis Costas
Published: November 2019

Ultrasound has emerged as a promising modality for therapy and imaging of brain diseases. Existing methods for the correction of skull-related distortions (aberration) require significant computation, which hampers their use in real-time applications, including adaptive focusing and tracking of bubble dynamics when used with microbubble contrast agents. Unfortunately, the angular spectrum (AS) method, which is the most computationally efficient focusing/beamforming method, does not intrinsically account for heterogeneity in the propagation medium. Here, we present a full solution for the AS in a heterogeneous medium, and an analytical solution for the special case of a stratified medium. Simulations of trans-skull acoustic propagation were performed for passive acoustic mapping (PAM) and focal aberration correction. Results show the general solution provides accurate trans-skull focusing as compared to the homogeneous case (error 0.65 ± 0.27 mm) for clinically relevant frequencies (0.5 to 1.5 MHz). Source localization error was reduced by 70% (from 2.89 ± 1.76 mm to 0.68 ± 52 mm), and computation of the corrections required milliseconds (166 ± 37 ms, compared with 44 ± 4 ms; the analytical stratified solution is at least 54% faster than the full correction). The proposed phase correction method may provide a computationally efficient method for improved trans-skull focusing and imaging for real-time applications.
Auditory brainstem responses to successive sounds: Effects of gap duration and depth
Authors: Cheng Fan-Yin , So Won , Champlin Craig A.
Published: November 2019

Temporal acuity is the ability to differentiate between successive sounds based on temporal fluctuations in the waveform envelope. Psychophysically, human listeners can detect a gap as short as 2.5 ms between consecutive segments to encode the acoustical messages. The background noise diminishes the ability to follow fast variation between segments. In this study, we determined whether a physiological correlate of temporal acuity is also affected by the presence of noise. We recorded the auditory brainstem response (ABR) from human listeners using a harmonic complex followed by tone burst with the latter serving as the evoking stimulus. The duration and the depth of the silent gap between the harmonic complex and tone burst were manipulated. The latency of the ABR increased significantly as gap duration increased and gap depth decreased. No significant changes in amplitude were observed. These findings suggest that changing gap duration and depth affect the auditory system’s ability to encode successive sounds.
Exploiting ambient noise at hydroacoustic stations for passive ocean sensing
Authors: Sabra Karim G.
Published: November 2019

Conventional acoustic remote sensing techniques typically rely on controlled active sources which can be problematic to deploy and operate over the long term-especially if multiple sources are required to fully illuminate the ocean region of interest- or may not even be available at very low frequencies (∼10 Hz). Conversely, receiver arrays are becoming increasingly autonomous, and capable of long term deployment thus enabling passive acoustics for ocean remote sensing applications by taking advantage of the ubiquitous ocean ambient noise. The archived ambient noise recordings made at the hydroacoustic sessions Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBTO) International Monitoring System (IMS), over decades at some locations, provide a unique platform for the scientific community to test this fully passive acoustic approach for ocean remote sensing. This presentation will presents proof of concept of passive ocean remote methods using these hydroacoustic data such as passive acoustic thermometry to estimate deep ocean temperatures variations and internal tides using coherent processing of low-frequency ambient noise. Challenges and opportunities for Ocean basin and global-scale passive ocean sensing will be discussed.