bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pharmacists' knowledge and perceptions about pharmacovigilance and barriers towards adverse drug reactions reporting in Yemen
Authors: Zawiah Mohammed , Mukred Ramzi , Al-Jamei Sayida , Kadi Taha , Al-Baidani Abdulrhman , Abu Farha Rana
Published: August 2018

Objective

The current study aims to assess Yemeni pharmacists’ knowledge, attitude and practice of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) reporting systems and to determine barriers hindering them from reporting.

Methods

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between August and October 2017. One hundred sixty-two pharmacists practicing in both community and hospital settings were recruited from five governorates using a convenient sampling technique. A validated self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data and to achieve the study objectives. Descriptive analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Science version 20.

Key findings

Out of 260 questionnaires distributed, 162 pharmacists responded (Response rate of 62.3%). In terms of knowledge, 156 (96.3%) were not aware of the existence of ADRs reporting system in Yemen. The overall average knowledge score among pharmacists was 1.2 (SD = 1.2) out of 7. Concerning practice, about (140, 87.0%) of pharmacists disclosed that patients reported at least one ADRs annually. Insufficient clinical knowledge of pharmacist, unavailability of ADRs reporting form and unawareness of existence of the national ADRs reporting system were noticed to be the main barriers towards ADRs reporting.

Conclusions

Most of pharmacists were unaware of the ADRs reporting system in Yemen. However, advertising, education and intensive training are needed to improve awareness and to ensure an effective ADRs reporting process.
Sensitivity and specificity of microRNA‐122 for liver disease in dogs
Authors: Oosthuyzen W. , Ten Berg P.W.L. , Francis B. , Campbell S. , Macklin V. , Milne E. , Gow A. G. , Fisher C. , Mellanby R.J. , Dear J.W.
Published: August 2018

Background

Current tests for diagnosing liver disease in dogs are sub‐optimal. MicroRNA‐122 (miR‐122) is a sensitive and specific biomarker of liver injury in humans and rodents. Circulating miR‐122 could have utility in identifying dogs with liver disease.

Objective

Establish the reference interval for miR‐122 in healthy dogs and determine performance in a range of dog breeds with liver disease and control animals with non‐liver disease.

Animals

Stored serum from 120 healthy dogs, 100 dogs with non‐liver diseases, and 30 dogs with histologically confirmed liver disease was analyzed.

Methods

Retrospective study. Medical records of dogs with liver disease, non‐liver disease and healthy dogs were reviewed. Serum miR‐122 concentrations were measured by PCR and compared with the characteristics of the dogs and their conventional clinical measurements.

Results

In healthy dogs the 2.5th, 50th, and 97.5th quartiles of miR‐122 were 110 (90% CI 80‐114), 594 (505‐682), and 3312 (2925‐5144) copies/μL, respectively. There was no difference between healthy dogs and dogs with non‐liver disease (median ± IQR: healthy dogs 609 [327‐1014] copies/μL; non‐liver disease 607 [300‐1351] copies/μL). miR‐122 was higher in dogs with liver disease (11 332 [4418‐20 520] copies/μL, P < .001 compared to healthy dogs). miR‐122 identified dogs with liver disease with high accuracy (receiver operating characteristic area under curve for comparison with healthy dogs: 0.93 [95% CI 0.86‐0.99]). The upper limit of normal for healthy dogs (3312 copies/μL) had a sensitivity of 77% and specificity of 97% for identifying liver disease.

Conclusion and Clinical Importance

Liver disease can be sensitively and specifically diagnosed in dogs by measurement of miR‐122.
Systematic review and meta‐analysis: Efficacy of patented probiotic, VSL#3, in irritable bowel syndrome
Authors: Connell M. , Shin A. , James‐Stevenson T. , Xu H. , Imperiale T. F. , Herron J.
Published: August 2018

Background

VSL#3 is a patented probiotic for which several clinical trials suggest benefits on motor function, bloating, and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Objectives

To quantify effects of VSL#3 on abdominal pain, stool consistency, overall response, abdominal bloating, and quality of life (QOL) in IBS through meta‐analysis.

Methods

MEDLINE (OvidSP and PubMed), EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched up to May 2017. Using a fixed effects model, we pooled data from intention‐to‐treat analyses of randomized trials (RCTs) comparing VSL#3 to placebo in IBS. Data were reported as relative risk (RR), overall mean difference (MD), or standardized MD (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Quality of evidence was rated using the GRADE approach.

Key Results

Among 236 citations, 5 RCTs (243 patients) were included. No significant differences were observed for abdominal pain (SMD = −0.03; 95% CI −0.29 to 0.22), bloating (SMD = −0.15; 95% CI −0.40 to 0.11), proportion of bowel movements with normal consistency (overall MD = 0; 95% CI −0.09 to 0.08), or IBS‐QOL (SMD = 0.08; 95% CI −0.22 to 0.39). VSL#3 was associated with a nearly statistically significant increase in overall response (RR = 1.39; 95% CI 0.99‐1.98).

Conclusions & Inferences

In this systematic review and meta‐analysis, there was a trend toward improvement in overall response with VSL#3, but no clear evidence effectiveness for IBS. However, the number and sample sizes of the trials are small and the overall quality of evidence for 3 of the 5 outcomes was low. Larger trials evaluating validated endpoints in well‐defined IBS patients are warranted.
Sustained esophageal longitudinal smooth muscle contraction may not be a cause of noncardiac chest pain
Authors: McIntosh K. , Paterson W. G.
Published: August 2018

Background

The etiology of noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) is poorly understood. Some evidence suggests that it may be related to sustained esophageal contractions (SECs) of longitudinal smooth muscle. This study attempts to evaluate whether SECs play a role in symptom production in NCCP patients.

Methods

This was a prospective double‐blind study comparing NCCP patients to healthy controls. Subjects underwent high‐resolution esophageal manometry followed by infusions of normal saline and 0.1N hydrochloric acid into the esophagus. Pain intensity was recorded during each minute of the infusion using a visual analog scale between 0 and 10. Two blinded investigators measured the esophageal length at the end of the saline and acid infusion periods as well as the point at which esophageal shortening began using the computer based manometry software.

Key Results

Seventeen NCCP patients and 16 controls completed the study. 64% of study subjects demonstrated esophageal shortening in response to acid infusion with mean shortening of 0.4 ± 0.54 cm. The mean decrease in esophageal length with acid was similar between the groups (1.9% ± 2.6% for NCCP patients vs 1.7% ± 2.4% for controls, P = .82). There was no correlation between pain onset and esophageal shortening.

Conclusions and Inferences

NCCP patients did not appear to have an exaggerated esophageal shortening response to intraluminal acid. As well, there was poor temporal correlation between esophageal shortening and symptoms. Thus, acid‐induced SECs may not play a significant role in pain production in NCCP patients.
ERP correlates of valence asymmetry during incentive anticipation
Authors: Li Qi , Xu Jing , Chen Weiran , Mu Zhen , An Tong , Zheng Ya
Published: August 2018

The stimulus‐preceding negativity (SPN) is a reliable index of incentive anticipation. However, it remains controversial whether the anticipatory process indexed by the SPN is modulated by incentive valence. The present study investigated the effect of valence on the SPN in a gambling task that required participants to make a binary (gain vs. loss) prediction after their choice on trials with different reward probabilities. Behaviorally, the participants exhibited a positive bias in their prediction. Electrophysiologically, a valence asymmetry was observed for the SPN. Specifically, the SPN was more pronounced when the participants made a gain relative to loss prediction, which was specific over the left hemisphere. Moreover, the SPN showed an uncertainty effect with enhanced amplitudes before uncertain versus certain outcomes, which tended to be pronounced during gain compared to loss anticipation. These findings indicated that the SPN is more sensitive to positive relative to negative valence, which may be mediated by the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic pathway.© 2018 Society for Psychophysiological Research
A vida móvel das mulheres entre os bairros e as cidades: explorações antropológicas em fronteiras urbanas da Região Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais/Brasil)
Authors: Vidal e Souza Candice
Published: August 2018

O artigo apresenta os resultados preliminares de pesquisa antropológica em dois bairros da Região Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte, na qual os deslocamentos são descritos analiticamente como práticas de movimento situadas no espaço social, atentando para os efeitos de gênero e local de moradia nos trajetos dos sujeitos nas cidades. Os bairros do Jardim Canadá e Água Limpa estão localizados ao longo da estrada BR-040, onde existem residências e serviços que atendem às classes médias e a grupos de menor renda. Nesse contexto heterogêneo de expansão urbana, enfoca-se a mobilidade de mulheres e seus familiares que migraram de outros locais e hoje realizam viagens rotineiras para cumprir responsabilidades de trabalho e de cuidado. As práticas de mobilidade serão pensadas em relação ao contexto metropolitano e às modulações valorativas associadas ao movimento em busca da vida melhor e da cidade possível, relacionando as trajetórias dos indivíduos ao espaço-tempo das fronteiras urbanas.
Comparison of Plasma Cytokine Levels before and after Treatment with Rituximab in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus-Associated Polyautoimmunity
Authors: Barahona Correa Julián Esteban , Franco Cortés Manuel Antonio , Ángel Uribe Juana , Rodríguez Camacho Luz Stella
Published: August 2018

Introduction: Coexistence of more than one autoimmune disease (AD) in a single patient is known as polyautoimmunity, and may be seen in up to 35% of patients with ADs. The elimination of B-cells using Rituximab (RTX) improves clinical status in different ADs. The role of cytokine production by B-cells is unclear in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and polyautoimmunity. Methods: As an exploratory study, plasma from 11 patients with either rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or SLE-associated polyautoimmunity was assessed prior and 6 months after therapy with RTX. Eight healthy individuals were used as controls. Cytokine levels were measured using ELISA (IFN-α and TGF-β1) or Cytometric Bead Array (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and IL-12p70). Results: Prior to RTX, IL-6 was only elevated in RA and IL-8 was elevated in both RA and SLE-associated polyautoimmunity, compared with controls. After RTX, significant decreases of IL-6 in RA and IL-8 in SLE-associated polyautoimmunity were observed. Levels of other cytokines measured were either similar (IFN-α, TGF β1) or below the detection limit (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-10, IL-12p70) for both patients and controls. Conclusion:Our data highlight the importance of B-cell cytokine secretion in RA and SLE-associated polyautoimmunity, and suggest a differential role in each pathology. A significant increase of IL-8 prior to RTX in both groups, and a significant decrease after therapy only in SLE-associated polyautoimmunity support the potential of IL-8 as a therapeutic target. The heterogeneity of the polyautoimmunity patient population highlights the importance of the selection of specific subsets in future research.
Manejo de la infección por Helicobacter pylori: apreciación crítica de la literatura
Authors: Laserna Estrada Andres Felipe , Barahona Correa Julián Esteban , Alba Talero Luz Helena
Published: August 2018

Introducción: la infección por Helicobacter pylori es un problema de salud pública, dada su relación con cáncer gástrico. El incremento de la resistencia bacteriana limita la erradicación efectiva, a pesar del empleo de diferentes esquemas de tratamiento. Métodos: revisión de la literatura en la base de datos Pubmed/Medline entre el 1 de enero de 2015 y el 31 de diciembre de 2016 sobre el manejo del Helicobacter pylori. Resultados: se incluyeron 26 artículos. La terapia secuencial sobresale como opción de tratamiento de primera línea para escenarios como Colombia. La implementación de coadyuvantes puede influir en las tasas de erradicación. Los estudios de epidemiología local y costoefectividad son escasos. Conclusiones: el uso y conocimiento adecuado de los esquemas de manejo puede disminuir los costos para el sistema, la resistencia antimicrobiana y favorecer la erradicación de patógenos. Se requieren estudios para generar recomendaciones locales.
First Clinical Isolation of an Azole-Resistant Aspergillus fumigatus Isolate Harboring a TR46 Y121F T289A Mutation in South America
Authors: Isla Guillermina , Leonardelli Florencia , Tiraboschi Iris N. , Refojo Nicolás , Hevia Alejandra , Vivot Walter , Szusz Wanda , Córdoba Susana B. , García-Effron Guillermo
Published: August 2018

One of the most recently described
Aspergillus fumigatus
CYP51A
-mediated azole resistance mechanisms is TR46 Y121F T289A. Clinical
A. fumigatus
strains harboring these substitutions have been reported worldwide, with the exception of South America.
Mesophilic Sporeformers Identified in Whey Powder by Using Shotgun Metagenomic Sequencing
Authors: McHugh Aoife J. , Feehily Conor , Tobin John T. , Fenelon Mark A. , Hill Colin , Cotter Paul D.
Published: August 2018

The ability of sporeformers to remain dormant in a desiccated state is of concern from a safety and spoilage perspective in dairy powder. Traditional culturing techniques are slow and provide little information without further investigation. We describe the identification of mesophilic sporeformers present in powders produced over 1 year, using novel shotgun metagenomic sequencing. This method allows detection and identification of possible pathogens and spoilage bacteria in parallel. Strain-level analysis and functional gene analysis, such as identification of toxin genes, were also performed. This approach has the potential to be of great value with respect to the detection of spore-forming bacteria and could allow a processor to make an informed decision surrounding process changes to reduce the risk of spore contamination.
Proteus spp. as Putative Gastrointestinal Pathogens
Authors: Hamilton Amy L. , Kamm Michael A. , Ng Siew C. , Morrison Mark
Published: August 2018

Proteusspecies, members of theEnterobacteriaceaefamily, are usually considered commensals in the gut and are most commonly recognized clinically as a cause of urinary tract infections. However, the recent identification ofProteusspp. as potential pathogens in Crohn's disease recurrence after intestinal resection serves as a stimulus to examine their potential role as gut pathogens.Proteusspecies possess many virulence factors potentially relevant to gastrointestinal pathogenicity, including motility; adherence; the production of urease, hemolysins, and IgA proteases; and the ability to acquire antibiotic resistance. Gastrointestinal conditions that have been linked toProteusinclude gastroenteritis (spontaneous and foodborne), nosocomial infections, appendicitis, colonization of devices such as nasogastric tubes, and Crohn's disease. The association ofProteusspecies with Crohn's disease was particularly strong.Proteusspecies are low-abundance commensals of the human gut that harbor significant pathogenic potential; further investigation is needed.
Comparison of the Sensititre YeastOne and CLSI M38-A2 Microdilution Methods in Determining the Activity of Amphotericin B, Itraconazole, Voriconazole, and Posaconazole against Aspergillus Species
Authors: Wang Hsuan-Chen , Hsieh Ming-I , Choi Pui-Ching , Wu Chi-Jung
Published: August 2018

This study compared the YeastOne and reference CLSI M38-A2 broth microdilution methods for antifungal susceptibility testing of
Aspergillus
species. The MICs of antifungal agents were determined for 100
Aspergillus
isolates, including 54
Aspergillus fumigatus
(24 TR
34
/L98H isolates), 23
A. flavus
, 13
A. terreus
, and 10
A. niger
isolates.
Responsiveness of histological disease activity indices in ulcerative colitis: a post hoc analysis using data from the TOUCHSTONE randomised controlled trial
Authors: Jairath Vipul , Peyrin-Biroulet Laurent , Zou Guangyong , Mosli Mahmoud , Vande Casteele Niels , Pai Reetesh K , Valasek Mark A , Marchal-Bressenot Aude , Stitt Larry W , Shackelton Lisa M , Khanna Reena , D’Haens Geert R , Sandborn William J , Olson Allan , Feagan Brian G , Pai Rish K
Published: August 2018

Objective

We evaluated the reliability and responsiveness of available but incompletely validated UC histological disease activity indices using standardised rules for centralised assessment.

Design

Disease activity was assessed in biopsies collected in a phase II placebo-controlled ozanimod trial by four blinded pathologists using the Geboes (GS) and modified Riley (MRS) scores, the Robarts Histopathology (RHI) and Nancy Histological (NHI) indices and a Visual Analogue Scale. Reliability was assessed with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Index responsiveness was evaluated by assessing longitudinal validity (Pearson correlations of changes in index scores and other disease measures), and effect size estimates (standardised effect size (SES)) using two criteria for change (treatment assignment and >2 point decrease in total Mayo Clinic score). Area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve estimates evaluated the probability of the indices to discriminate between treatment and placebo.

Results

Inter-rater reliability of the histological indices was substantial to almost perfect (ICC>0.61), and responsiveness was moderate to large (SES estimates>0.5); 0.81 (0.52, 1.10), 0.87 (0.58, 1.17), 0.57 (0.30, 0.84) and 0.81 (0.52, 1.09) when treatment assignment was the criterion for change and 1.05 (0.80, 1.31), 1.13 (0.87, 1.39), 0.88 (0.64, 1.12) and 1.06 (0.80, 1.31) for the change in Mayo score criterion for the GS, MRS, RHI and NHI, respectively. The indices had similar drisciminative ability based on AUROC estimates (range 0.608–0.649).

Conclusion

All four existing histological indices were similarly reliable and responsive based on this dataset.
Early use of donepezil against psychosis and cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease: a randomised controlled trial for 2 years
Authors: Sawada Hideyuki , Oeda Tomoko , Kohsaka Masayuki , Umemura Atsushi , Tomita Satoshi , Park Kwiyoung , Mizoguchi Kouichi , Matsuo Hidenori , Hasegawa Kazuko , Fujimura Harutoshi , Sugiyama Hiroshi , Nakamura Michikazu , Kikuchi Seishi , Yamamoto Kenji , Fukuda Toshiaki , Ito Suminobu , Goto Masashi , Kiyohara Kosuke , Kawamura Takashi
Published: August 2018

Objectives

Brain acetylcholine is decreased even in patients with cognitively preserved Parkinson’s disease (PD). We investigated whether early and long-term use of donepezil prevents psychosis in non-demented PD patients.

Methods

A double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial was conducted. A total of 145 non-demented PD patients were randomly assigned to receive 5 mg/day donepezil (n=72) or placebo (n=73) for 96 weeks. Medications for PD were not restricted, but antipsychotic drugs were not permitted throughout the study. The primary outcome measure was survival time to psychosis that was predefined by Parkinson’s Psychosis Questionnaire (PPQ) B score ≥2 or C score ≥2. Secondary outcome measures included psychosis developing within 48 weeks, total PPQ score, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) and subgroup analysis by apolipoprotein ε4 genotyping.

Results

Kaplan-Meier curves for psychosis development were very similar between the two groups, and the Cox proportional hazard model revealed an adjusted HR of 0.87 (95%CI 0.48 to 1.60). The changes in MMSE and WMS-1 (auditory memory) were significantly better with donepezil than in placebo. In the subgroup analysis, donepezil provided an HR of 0.31 (0.11–0.86) against psychosis in 48 weeks for apolipoprotein ε4 non-carriers.

Conclusions

Although donepezil provided beneficial effects on PPQ, MMSE and auditory WMS score changes in 2 years, it had no prophylactic effect on development of psychosis in PD. Apolipoprotein ε4 may suppress the antipsychotic effect of donepezil.

Trial registration number

UMIN000005403.
Cognitive and behavioural changes in PLS and PMA:challenging the concept of restricted phenotypes
Authors: de Vries Bálint S , Rustemeijer Laura M M , Bakker Leonhard A , Schröder Carin D , Veldink Jan H , van den Berg Leonard H , Nijboer Tanja C W , van Es Michael A
Published: August 2018

Objectives

Cognitive and behavioural changes within the spectrum of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are observed frequently in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Whether these changes also occur in other forms of motor neuron disease (MND) is not well studied. We therefore systemically screened a large cohort of patients with primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) and progressive muscular atrophy (PMA) for cognitive and behavioural changes, and subsequently compared our findings with a cohort of patients with ALS.

Methods

Using a set of screening instruments (Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen, ALS and Frontotemporal Dementia Questionnaire, Frontal Assessment Battery, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), the presence of cognitive and behavioural changes as well as anxiety and depression in 277 patients with ALS, 75 patients with PLS and 143 patients with PMA was evaluated retrospectively.

Results

We found a high frequency of cognitive and behavioural abnormalities with similar profiles in all three groups. Subjects with behavioural variant FTD were identified in all groups.

Conclusions

The percentage of patients with PLS and PMA with cognitive dysfunction was similar to patients with ALS, emphasising the importance for cognitive screening as part of routine clinical care in all three patient groups. With a similar cognitive profile, in line with genetic and clinical overlap between the MNDs, the view of PLS as an MND exclusively affecting upper motor neurons and PMA exclusively affecting lower motor neurons cannot be held. Therefore, our findings are in contrast to the recently revised El Escorial criteria of 2015, where PLS and PMA are described as restricted phenotypes. Our study favours a view of PLS and PMA as multidomain diseases similar to ALS.
Optimizing combining green manures and pelletized manure for organic spring wheat production
Authors: Alam Mohammed Z. , Lynch Derek H. , Tremblay Gilles , Gillis-Madden Rosalie , Vanasse Anne
Published: August 2018

Well-planned crop rotations and targeted use of organic amendments are critical to success in organic wheat production. The impact of green manure (GMr) type, GMr termination timing, and “Acti-Sol” [pelletized dehydrated poultry manure (DPM); 5-2-3] on organic wheat productivity and quality was evaluated from 2014 to 2016 in Truro, NS, and Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, QC. Crops prior to wheat were soybean or GMr of hairy vetch/oat (HVO), common vetch/oat (CVO), and red clover (RC) (NS site), and HVO, red clover/oat (RCO), and oat (QC site). Trials were split-split-plot designs with treatments of precrops, GMr termination (fall vs. spring), and DPM at 0, 40, 80, and 120 kg total N ha−1. Wheat yields ranged from 1500 to 1800 kg ha−1 if unfertilized with DPM and following soybean or oat precrops. All legume GMrs (HVO, CVO, and RC/RCO) and DPM applications increased grain yield (2000–4200 kg ha−1) and protein content (13%–16%), wheat total N uptake [49–60 kg N ha−1 (QC); 87–125 kg N ha−1 (NS)] and soil mineral N content mid-season and postharvest, and responses were consistently greatest following HVO. Timing of GMr incorporation largely had no impact. Applying DPM at 80 kg N ha−1 was an effective substitute for a GMr precrop.
Evaluation of the combined temperature and relative humidity preferences of the Colombian terrestrial salamanderBolitoglossa ramosi(Amphibia: Plethodontidae)
Authors: Galindo C.A. , Cruz E.X. , Bernal M.H.
Published: August 2018

Temperature and humidity are critical factors for terrestrial lungless salamanders, as their body temperatures are largely determined by the environmental temperature and require moisture to sustain cutaneous respiration. Herein, we evaluated the preference of Bolitoglossa ramosi Brame and Wake, 1972 between a high temperature and a high relative humidity (RH), the influence of temperature on RH preferences, and the influence of RH on the thermal preferences. This study was performed in a field location in the municipality of Líbano, Tolima, Colombia. There, on different nights, we collected 84 adult B. ramosi and carried out the preference experiments, using aluminum troughs with different thermal and RH gradients. We found that between high temperature and high RH, B. ramosi preferred high RH. However, B. ramosi selected high temperatures when the gradient had a high RH and low temperatures when the gradient had a low RH. These results show that B. ramosi is able to thermoregulate and hydroregulate. Nevertheless, hydroregulation seems to be more important than thermoregulation because B. ramosi always selected the high RH gradients, while their thermal selection relied on the hydric environment.
Clear diel patterns in breeding calls of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) at Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada
Authors: Nikolich Katrina , Frouin-Mouy Héloïse , Acevedo-Gutiérrez Alejandro
Published: August 2018

During the breeding season, male harbor seals (Phoca vitulina Linnaeus, 1758) produce underwater calls for sexual advertisement. The daily and seasonal timing of these calls is influenced by female availability (i.e., tidal haul-out patterns, foraging behavior, and oestrus cycle). Therefore, temporal patterns of male calling can provide clues about patterns of female behavior. We collected underwater recordings during the 2014 breeding season at Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada, and examined the relationships of light level, progression of breeding season, and tide relative to call presence or absence and calling rate. Calls were 15 times more likely to occur at night than during the day. Nocturnal peaks in calling rate have been observed in other harbor seal populations and have been attributed to tidal haul-out patterns and nocturnal foraging of females. In this study, tide level did not have a significant effect on calling rate, and female foraging behavior was not monitored. One acoustic observation of mammal-eating killer whale (Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758)) calls was followed by 48 h of decreased calling rate. We infer that predation risk influences the temporal pattern of male calling at this location and suggest further study to support this hypothesis.
Decoding ice plants: challenges associated with barcoding and phylogenetics in the diverse succulent family Aizoaceae
Authors: Powell Robyn F. , Magee Anthony R. , Boatwright James S.
Published: August 2018

Aizoaceae is the largest succulent plant family in the world, including in excess of 1800 species. Despite its richness, a large proportion of its taxa are listed as data deficient and as such, has been identified as the top priority for taxonomic research in South Africa. Limitations to accurate taxonomic identification of taxa in the family may be partly attributed to the degree of technical knowledge required to identify taxa in the Aizoaceae. DNA barcoding may provide an alternative method of identification; however, the suitability of commonly used gene regions has not been tested in the family. Here, we analyse variable and parsimony informative characters (PIC), as well as the barcoding gap, in commonly used plastid regions (atpB-rbcL, matK, psbA-trnH, psbJ-petA, rpl16, rps16, trnD-trnT, trnL-trnF, trnQ-rps16, and trnS-trnG) and the nuclear region ITS (for Aizooideae only) across two subfamilies and two expanded clades within the Aizoaceae. The relative percentage of PIC was much greater in subfamilies Aizooideae and Mesembryanthemoideae than in Ruschioideae. Although nrITS had the highest percentage of PIC, barcoding gap analyses identified neither ITS nor any chloroplast region as suitable for barcoding of the family. From the results, it is evident that novel barcoding regions need to be explored within the Aizoaceae.
The family of topological Hall effects for electrons in skyrmion crystals
Authors: Göbel Börge , Mook Alexander , Henk Jürgen , Mertig Ingrid
Published: August 2018

Hall effects of electrons can be produced by an external magnetic field, spin–orbit coupling or a topologically non-trivial spin texture. The topological Hall effect (THE) – caused by the latter – is commonly observed in magnetic skyrmion crystals. Here, we show analogies of the THE to the conventional Hall effect (HE), the anomalous Hall effect (AHE), and the spin Hall effect (SHE). In the limit of strong coupling between conduction electron spins and the local magnetic texture the THE can be described by means of a fictitious, “emergent” magnetic field. In this sense the THE can be mapped onto the HE caused by an external magnetic field. Due to complete alignment of electron spin and magnetic texture, the transverse charge conductivity is linked to a transverse spin conductivity. They are disconnected for weak coupling of electron spin and magnetic texture; the THE is then related to the AHE. The topological equivalent to the SHE can be found in antiferromagnetic skyrmion crystals. We substantiate our claims by calculations of the edge states for a finite sample. These states reveal in which situation the topological analogue to a quantized HE, quantized AHE, and quantized SHE can be found.
Research on the dissipative characteristics of unsteady heat conduction for the one-dimensional sphere
Authors: Su Chuan-Qi , Wang Yong-Yan , Qin Nan , Wang Yan-Chun , Zhang Guo-Dong
Published: August 2018

In this paper, the dissipative characteristics of unsteady heat conduction process for the one-dimensional sphere is studied. The dissipation function can be regarded as a Lyapunov function for the heat conduction system, which determines the evolution direction of the system and the stability of the steady state. By use of the vector formula, the relationship between the thermal potential and dissipation function is derived, and its similarity with the dissipation system of mechanical energy is shown. The expression of dissipation function is obtained when the boundary temperature is fixed. In addition, an example for optimization of heat conduction process is discussed based on the entransy dissipation extremum principle.
A Performance Conserving Approach for Reducing Memory Power Consumption in Multi-Core Systems
Authors: Fang Juan , Lu Jiajia , Wang Mengxuan , Zhao Hui
Published: August 2018

With more cores integrated into a single chip and the fast growth of main memory capacity, the DRAM memory design faces ever increasing challenges. Previous studies have shown that DRAM can consume up to 40% of the system power, which makes DRAM a major factor constraining the whole system’s growth in performance. Moreover, memory accesses from different applications are usually interleaved and interfere with each other, which further exacerbates the situation in memory system management. Therefore, reducing memory power consumption has become an urgent problem to be solved in both academia and industry. In this paper, we first proposed a novel strategy called Dynamic Bank Partitioning (DBP), which allocates banks to different applications based on their memory access characteristics. DBP not only effectively eliminates the interference among applications, but also fully takes advantage of bank level parallelism. Secondly, to further reduce power consumption, we propose an adaptive method to dynamically select an optimal page policy for each bank according to the characteristics of memory accesses that each bank receives. Our experimental results show that our strategy not only improves the system performance but also reduces the memory power consumption at the same time. Our proposed scheme can reduce memory power consumption up to 21.2% (10% on average across all workloads) and improve the performance to some extent. In the case that workloads are built with mixed applications, our scheme reduces the power consumption by 14% on average and improves the performance up to 12.5% (3% on average).
Application of local discontinuous Galerkin method to Einstein equations
Authors: Cao Zhoujian , Fu Pei , Ji Li-Wei , Xia Yinhua
Published: August 2018

Finite difference and pseudo-spectral methods have been widely used in the numerical relativity to solve the Einstein equations. As the third major category method to solve partial differential equations, finite element method is less frequently used in numerical relativity. In this paper, we design a finite element algorithm to solve the evolution part of the Einstein equations. This paper is the second one of a systematic investigation of applying adaptive finite element method to the Einstein equations, especially aiming for binary compact objects simulations. The first paper of this series has been contributed to the constrained part of the Einstein equations for initial data. Since applying finite element method to the Einstein equations is a big project, we mainly propose the theoretical framework of a finite element algorithm together with local discontinuous Galerkin method for the Einstein equations in the current work. In addition, we have tested our algorithm based on the spherical symmetric spacetime evolution. In order to simplify our numerical tests, we have reduced the problem to a one-dimensional space problem by taking the advantage of the spherical symmetry. Our reduced equation system is a new formalism for spherical symmetric spacetime simulation. Based on our test results, we find that our finite element method can capture the shock formation which is introduced by numerical error. In contrast, such shock is smoothed out by numerical dissipation within the finite difference method. We suspect this is partly the reason that the accuracy of finite element method is higher than the finite difference method. At the same time, different kinds of formulation parameters setting are also discussed.
B(E1)- and B(E2)-transition probabilities in alternating–parity spectra of lanthanide and actinide nuclei
Authors: Nadirbekov M. S. , Minkov N.
Published: August 2018

B(E1) and B(E2) reduced probabilities for intra- and inter-band transitions between the collective states of the yrast, first nonyrast and second nonyrast alternating-parity bands in the lanthanide nuclei [Formula: see text]Nd, [Formula: see text]Sm, [Formula: see text]Gd, [Formula: see text]Dy, [Formula: see text]Er and the actinides [Formula: see text]U are studied within a model with collective quadrupole–octupole degrees of freedom. The calculated B(E1)- and B(E2)-values and some ratios between probabilities for transitions with the same multipolarity are compared with available experimental data. In addition, the B(E2)-transition ratios are compared with the Alaga rules providing estimations for the sensitivity of the E2-transitions to the quadrupole deformation mode in the considered nuclei.
DEVELOPMENT AND TESTS OF A NEONATAL PORTABLE FOLDABLE EMERGENCY INCUBATOR
Authors: BALLESTEROS TOMAS , ARANA IGNACIO , LATORRE-BIEL JUAN-IGNACIO , PEREZ-EZCURDIA AMAYA , ALFARO JOSE RAMON
Published: August 2018

It is an incubator for emergency premature delivery situations both in the case of need to help the neonate as well as the neonate and mother. It is inexpensive, portable and foldable to fill a reduced space both during storage and transportation. In folded position, it is reduced to a briefcase that can be carried by one person by any conveyance, including a motorcycle. Once deployed, the incubator can keep the neonate lying in its cabin under controlled environmental conditions and it can be attached to any vehicle, using its restraint systems. The briefcase has two parts: the back, containing all the elements for the control of ambient comfort in the incubator and the front cover, which can be moved away from the rest of the briefcase, deploying the cabin. In this cover, there is a transparent window through which the neonate can be introduced in the cabin. The control unit is capable of controlling the ambient temperature, both, in situations of cold and heat, as well as providing means for modifying the oxygen concentration and renewing the air inside the incubator cabin. The air inlet of the cabin is implemented by means of a specifically designed nozzle, able to prevent the formation of air currents inside.
Geometry optimizations with the incremental molecular fragmentation method
Authors: Meitei Oinam Romesh , Heßelmann Andreas
Published: August 2018

Nuclear energy gradients for the incremental molecular fragmentation (IMF) method presented in our previous work [Meitei OR, Heßelmann A, Molecular energies from an incremental fragmentation method, J Chem Phys 144(8):084109, 2016] have been derived. Using the second-order Møller–Plesset perturbation theory method to describe the bonded and nonbonded energy and gradient contributions and the uncorrelated Hartree–Fock method to describe the correction increment, it is shown that the IMF gradient can be easily computed by a sum of the underlying individual derivatives of the energy contributions. The performance of the method has been compared against the supermolecular method by optimizing the structures of a range of polyglycine molecules with up to 36 glycine residues in the chain. It is shown that with a sensible set of parameters used in the fragmentation the supermolecular structures can be fairly well reproduced. In a few cases the optimization with the IMF method leads to structures that differ from the supermolecular ones. It was found, however, that these are more stable geometries also on the supermolecular potential energy surface.
A Music-Driven Dance System of Humanoid Robots
Authors: Qin Ruilin , Zhou Changle , Zhu He , Shi Minghui , Chao Fei , Li Na
Published: August 2018

Robot dance is an important topic in robotics. Conventional robot dance systems mainly rely on beats or rhythms of music; however, these conventional systems suffer from limited dance styles and less action novelty. In this paper, we instead develop a humanoid robot dance system driven by musical structures and emotions. In the proposed system, a musical phrase and a dance phrase are considered as the basic structural units of music and dance, respectively. A musical phrasing algorithm based on music theories is created to divide a piece of music into a sequence of phrases. When the emotion of each phrase has been recognized, an emotion sequence can be established. Meanwhile, a hidden Markov model (HMM) matches a dance phrase sequence to the emotion sequence. In particular, several concepts of the “chance method” created by choreographer Merce Cunningham are adopted to guide our robot dance system; thus, a dance phrase is choreographed by randomly selecting and combining a number of actions from a predesigned action library. Based on the approach, one music can generate diverse robotic dance motions, showing the novelty and diversity of robot dance. The experiments on our humanoid robot “Alpha1 Pro” show that our robot can do a good job dancing to music according to musical structures and emotions and can be well accepted by various people.
CHALLENGES IN MOVING FROM INCREMENTAL TO RADICAL LOW-COST INNOVATION IN EMERGING AND TRANSITION COUNTRIES: Institutional Perspectives Based on Rechargeable Battery Innovation in China and Point-of-Use Water Purification Innovation in India
Authors: KUNAMANENI SUNEEL
Published: August 2018

Low-cost innovation is increasingly becoming the focus of attention of both firms and policy makers in emerging and transition countries. Previous research has elaborated on the ‘market-based’ view of low-cost innovations captured under various terminologies such as ‘frugal’, ‘good-enough’, ‘resource-constrained’, etc. This study, however, demonstrates that low-cost innovation capabilities are profoundly influenced by the structuring of institutions, particularly the public-science system. The analysis in this paper is structured around innovation in rechargeable batteries in China and point-of-use water purification in India, drawing upon strategies at the Chinese firm BYD and Indian firm Tata, respectively. Both the cases illustrate that diffusion-oriented policies and weak university–industry links played a critical role in firms low-cost ‘incremental’ innovations. However, as regards ‘pre-competitive’ research conducted in the public-science system, with the potential for better performing ‘radical’ technologies at lower costs, the current structure of institutions and firms strategies does not encourage firms to appropriate value from them into innovative output. This has important implications for both firms and policy makers in scaling-up low-cost radical innovations.
There are exotic involutions on M × M
Authors: Hu Hailiang
Published: August 2018

We constructed infinitely many involutions on [Formula: see text] with fixed point set homeomorphic to [Formula: see text]. All these involutions are [Formula: see text]-isovariantly homotopy equivalent to interchange and are inequivalent to one another in the TOP category.
Pointed harmonic volume and its relation to the extended Johnson homomorphism
Authors: Tadokoro Yuuki
Published: August 2018

The period for a compact Riemann surface, defined by the integral of differential 1-forms, is a classical complex analytic invariant, strongly related to the complex structure of the surface. In this paper, we treat another complex analytic invariant called the pointed harmonic volume. As a natural extension of the period defined using Chen’s iterated integrals, it captures more detailed information of the complex structure. It is also one of a few explicitly computable examples of complex analytic invariants. We obtain its new value for a certain pointed hyperelliptic curve. An application of the pointed harmonic volume is presented. We explain the relationship between the harmonic volume and first extended Johnson homomorphism on the mapping class group of a pointed oriented closed surface. Moreover, we explicitly compute a certain restriction of this homomorphism.
Rigidity at infinity for lattices in rank-one Lie groups
Authors: Savini Alessio
Published: August 2018

Let [Formula: see text] be a non-uniform lattice in [Formula: see text] without torsion and with [Formula: see text]. By following the approach developed in [S. Francaviglia and B. Klaff, Maximal volume representations are Fuchsian, Geom. Dedicata 117 (2006) 111–124], we introduce the notion of volume for a representation [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text]. We use this notion to generalize the Mostow–Prasad rigidity theorem. More precisely, we show that given a sequence of representations [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text], then there must exist a sequence of elements [Formula: see text] such that the representations [Formula: see text] converge to a reducible representation [Formula: see text] which preserves a totally geodesic copy of [Formula: see text] and whose [Formula: see text]-component is conjugated to the standard lattice embedding [Formula: see text]. Additionally, we show that the same definitions and results can be adapted when [Formula: see text] is a non-uniform lattice in [Formula: see text] without torsion and for representations [Formula: see text], still maintaining the hypothesis [Formula: see text].
Autobiography and documentable fact in the family background and religious affiliation of Archibald Geikie (1835–1924)
Authors: Taylor Michael A.
Published: August 2018

In his autobiography of 1924, Archibald Geikie (1835–1924) suppressed basic information about his family and religious beliefs. Investigation reveals a more complete picture of those aspects of Geikie's life. He was brought up in a strongly religious family, of Congregational affiliation, which he himself followed as a young man. His father was in trade as an Edinburgh perfumer, hairdresser and wig manufacturer. Amongst several apparent family scandals were a near-murder committed by his brother (which led indirectly to Geikie's departure from Edinburgh University), and the probable suicide of his son. Geikie's later shift to middle-of-the-ground Anglicanism could be due to his marrying an Englishwoman, his move to England and/or the example of his patron Roderick Murchison. However, Geikie's suppression of his earlier Congregationalism and of his family background in trade strongly suggests that the shift to Anglicanism was part of the ambitious Geikie's career-building strategy, reinventing himself as one of the Anglicized ruling elite of the British empire. It probably also reflects the problems of establishing science as a profession in the political and religious context of the time. It may also be linked to Geikie's apparently conservative politics. Those findings throw further light on Geikie's approach to autobiography.
Global transcriptional differences in myokine and inflammatory genes in muscle of mature steer progeny are related to maternal lactation diet and muscle composition
Authors: Casey T. M. , Walker J. F. , Bhide K. , Thimmapuram J. , Schoonmaker J. P.
Published: August 2018

Steer progeny suckled by cows fed a dried distillers grains and solubles (DDGS) diet the first 3 mo of lactation were heavier during feedlot finishing and had significantly lower marbling and larger longissimus muscles than steers suckled by cows fed a control diet (CON). These differences were profound in that progeny were managed and fed identically from weaning until finishing, and findings suggest that the suckling period established the developmental program of muscle composition. Here transcriptomes of longissimus muscle were measured by next-generation sequencing to investigate whether there were any developmental clues to the differences in marbling scores and muscle content between steers suckled by DDGS ( n = 5) vs. control (CON; n = 5) diet-fed cows during lactation. There were 809 genes differentially expressed ( P-adj<0.1) between CON and DDGS muscle. Of these 636 were upregulated and 173 downregulated in DDGS relative to CON. Overall the DDGS vs. CON muscle transcriptomic signature was promyogenic and antiadipogenic. In particular, myokines/satellite cell maintenance factors were found among upregulated (LIF, CNTF, FGFB1, EPHB1) genes. The antiadipogenic signature was typified by the upregulation of anti-inflammatory cytokines and receptors (IL1RAP, IL1RL2, IL13RA2, IL1F10), and downregulation of expression of inflammation/inflammatory cytokines and receptor (TNF, IL6R, CXCL9), which suggests a selection of differentiation pathways away from adipogenic line. The upregulation of TGFB, SPP1, and INHBA supports selection of fibroblast lineage of cells. Thus, the lactation phase of production can effect meat quality by affecting transcriptional signatures that favor myogenesis and depress inflammation.