bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pharmacophore modeling, 3D-QSAR and molecular docking studies of quinazolines and aminopyridines as selective inhibitors of inducible nitric oxide synthase
Authors: Mittal Anshika , Arora Ritu , Kakkar Rita
Published: December 2018

Pharmacophore modeling and 3D-Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship (3D-QSAR) studies have been performed on a dataset of thirty-two quinazoline and aminopyridine derivatives to get an insight into the important structural features required for binding to inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). A four-point CPH (Common Pharmacophore Hypothesis), AHPR.29, with a hydrogen bond acceptor, hydrophobic group, positively charged ionizable group and an aromatic ring, has been obtained as the best pharmacophore model. Satisfactory statistical parameters of correlation ([Formula: see text]) and cross-validated ([Formula: see text]) correlation coefficients, 0.9288 and 0.6353, respectively, show high robustness and good predictive ability of our selected model. The contour maps have been developed from this model and the analysis has provided an interpretable explanation of the effect that various features and substituents have on the potency and selectivity of inhibitors towards iNOS. Docking studies have also been performed in order to analyze the interactions between the enzyme and the inhibitors. Our proposed model can thus be further used for screening a large database of compounds and design new iNOS inhibitors.
A study of the approximate singular Lagrangian-conditional Noether symmetries and first integrals
Authors: Jamal Sameerah
Published: December 2018

The investigation of approximate symmetries of reparametrization invariant Lagrangians of [Formula: see text] degrees of freedom and quadratic velocities is presented. We show that extra conditions emerge which give rise to approximate and conditional Noether symmetries of such constrained actions. The Noether symmetries are the simultaneous conformal Killing vectors of both the kinetic metric and the potential. In order to recover these conditional symmetry generators which would otherwise be lost in gauge fixing the lapse function entering the perturbative Lagrangian, one must consider the lapse among the degrees of freedom. We establish a geometric framework in full generality to determine the admitted Noether symmetries. Additionally, we obtain the corresponding first integrals (modulo a constraint equation). For completeness, we present a pedagogical application of our method.
WHAT’S THE RECIPE TO INNOVATE? AN ANALYSIS OF THE DETERMINANTS OF THE DEGREE OF INNOVATION IN THE GASTRONOMY SEGMENT
Authors: DE VASCONCELOS RENATA BRAGA BERENGUER , VIEIRA RICARDO SÉRGIO GOMES , DA SILVEIRA DENIS SILVA
Published: December 2018

Innovation represents the search for the new that allows organisations to increase their competitiveness and face market competition. Although they have fewer resources and smaller capacities, small businesses have a number of advantages that enable the innovation process. Therefore, it is necessary to gain a greater understanding on the stage of innovation in small firms and on how the aspects of management influence their development and are useful for such organisations. In this sense, the present paper analyses the determinants of organisational management that influence the degree of innovation of small firms in the gastronomic segment. The sample of the study counted on data compilation of 67 small gastronomic firms of a northeastern state capital in Brazil collected during almost two years. The determinants of innovation were identified through the theoretical framework composed of leadership; strategies; customers; society; information and knowledge; people; processes and results. The degree of innovation was measured from the degree of sectorial innovation achieved by the innovation radar. The proposed relationships were analysed by means of multiple regression with panel data, in which the degree of innovation was the dependent variable of the model and the determinants of innovation were the independent variables. The results demonstrate that the degree of innovation is influenced mainly by the internal processes that the company develops and by the results that it achieves. On the contrary, it was verified that the regulatory aspects that the firms attend can inhibit the development of innovation. The results reinforce the importance of organisational management for the development of innovation in small business, presenting the facilities and the obstacles.
Restricted bi-byte correcting non-binary optimal codes
Authors: Tyagi Vinod , Lata Tarun
Published: December 2018

In this paper, we have introduced the idea of restricted burst, which is the modification of the classical definition of burst. We show the existence of [Formula: see text]-restricted burst correcting non-binary optimal codes for byte-oriented memories with different possibilities of size of the bytes [Formula: see text] and length of burst [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text].
Fractional-order difference curvature-driven fractional anisotropic diffusion equation for image super-resolution
Authors: Yin Xuehui , Chen Shunli , Wang Liping , Zhou Shangbo
Published: December 2018

Image super-resolution methods-based existing edge indicating operators — namely Gauss curvature, mean curvature and gradient — cannot effectively identify the edges, ramps and flat regions and suffer from the loss of fine textures. To address these issues, this paper presents a fractional anisotropic diffusion equation based on a new edge indicator, named fractional-order difference curvature, which can characterize the intensity variations in images. We introduce the frequency-domain definition for fractional-order derivative by the Fourier transform, which is easy to implement numerically. The new edge indicator is better than the existing edge indicating operators in distinguishing between ramps and edges and can better handle the fine textures. Comparative results for natural images validate that the proposed method can yield a visually pleasing result and better values of MSSIM and PSNR.
Energy, Resilience, and Responsibility in Post-Hurricane Maria Dominica: Ethical and Historical Perspectives on ‘Building Back Better’
Authors: Popke Jeff , Harrison Conor
Published: December 2018

In the wake of the 2017 hurricane season, discussions across the Caribbean have turned to the need to develop more resilient energy systems, particularly through the deployment of renewable energy sources. In this paper, we examine the post-Hurricane Maria rebuilding of Dominica’s electricity system in light of recent scholarship around the Anthropocene and the Caribbean, work that has heightened awareness of the entanglements between the earth’s geophysical forces and its socio-economic and geo-political relations. Drawing on archival research and key informants in Dominica, we describe the history of Dominica’s energy system, and then provide an overview of some of the energy rebuilding efforts in the country’s ongoing recovery from Hurricane Maria, particularly around the question of resilience. While we acknowledge critiques of resilience as a framework for disaster management, we also argue that resilience initiatives foster the potential for an Anthropocene reimagining of geosocial formations within the Caribbean. In the conclusion, we argue that the domain of energy, and in particular electricity, opens up important questions at the interface of social-ecological relations and the organization of collective life.
Is More Always Better?
Authors: Alshurafa Nabil , Jain Jayalakshmi , Alharbi Rawan , Iakovlev Gleb , Spring Bonnie , Pfammatter Angela
Published: December 2018

Behavioral medicine is devoting increasing attention to the topic of participant engagement and its role in effective mobile health (mHealth) behavioral interventions. Several definitions of the term "engagement" have been proposed and discussed, especially in the context of digital health behavioral interventions. We consider that engagement refers to specific interaction and use patterns with the mHealth tools such as smartphone applications for intervention, whereas adherence refers to compliance with the directives of the health intervention, independent of the mHealth tools. Through our analysis of participant interaction and self-reported behavioral data in a college student health study with incentives, we demonstrate an example of measuring "effective engagement" as engagement behaviors that can be linked to the goals of the desired intervention. We demonstrate how clustering of one year of weekly health behavior self-reports generate four interpretable clusters related to participants' adherence to the desired health behaviors: healthy and steady, unhealthy and steady, decliners, and improvers. Based on the intervention goals of this study (health promotion and behavioral change), we show that not all app usage metrics are indicative of the desired outcomes that create effective engagement. As such, mHealth intervention design might consider eliciting not just more engagement or use overall, but rather, effective engagement defined by use patterns related to the desired behavioral outcome.
Revisitation in Urban Space vs. Online
Authors: Cao Hancheng , Chen Zhilong , Xu Fengli , Li Yong , Kostakos Vassilis
Published: December 2018

We present the first large-scale analysis of POI revisitation patterns, which aims to model the periodic behavior in human mobility. We apply the revisitation analysis technique, which has previously been used to understand website revisitation, and smartphone app revisitations. We analyze a 1.5-year-long Foursquare check-in dataset with 266,909 users in 415 cities around the globe, as well as a Chinese social networking dataset on continuous localization of 15,000 users in Beijing. Our analysis identifies four major POI revisitation patterns and four user revisitation patterns of distinct characteristics, and demonstrates the role of POI functions and geographic constraints in shaping these patterns. We compare our results to previous analysis on website and app revisitation, and highlight the similarities and differences between physical and cyber revisitation activities. These point to fundamental characteristics of human behavior.
CrowdX
Authors: Chen Huijie , Li Fan , Hei Xiaojun , Wang Yu
Published: December 2018

The lack of floorplan limits the spread of pervasive indoor location-based services. Existing crowdsourcing based approaches mostly rely on identifying, locating landmarks in the environment and utilizing the spatial relationship between the landmarks and traces for efficiently constructing fine-grained floorplan. However, these methods are always restricted by the sparse landmark distribution or may cause privacy leakage. In this paper, we propose CrowdX, a crowdsourcing system for accurate, low-cost indoor floorplan construction enhanced with opportunistic encounters among mobile users. The key insight is that the spatial relation (i.e., the displacement of each user and the distance between each other during the encounter) will be extracted from the audio and inertia data, which are aligned by the proposed vibration event-based method. Such information can be used to calibrate the drift of encounter position. The calibrated encounter position is beneficial to most of the floorplan generation steps, such as trace drift elimination, landmark positioning, hallway assembling, and room area estimation. Our experiments in three shopping malls show that CrowdX achieves an average F-measure around 89.4%. In addition, the average estimated room area error within about 20%. The evaluation results demonstrate a significant improvement of accuracy enhanced with opportunistic encounters.
Crowd-enabled Processing of Trustworthy, Privacy-Enhanced and Personalised Location Based Services with Quality Guarantee
Authors: Hashem Tanzima , Hasan Rubaba , Salim Flora , Mahin Mehnaz Tabassum
Published: December 2018

We propose a novel approach for enabling trustworthy, privacy-enhanced and personalised location based services (LBSs) that find nearby points of interests (POIs) such as restaurants, ATM booths, and hospitals in a crowdsourced manner. In our crowdsourced approach, a user forms a group from the crowd and processes the LBS using the POI knowledge of the group members without involving an external service provider. We use personalised rating in addition to the distance of a POI for finding the answers of the location based queries. The personalised rating of a POI is computed using individual POI ratings given by the group members and the query requestor's trust and similarity scores for the group members. The major challenges for the crowdsourced data are incompleteness and inaccuracy, which may result in lower quality answer for the LBS. In this paper, we first present techniques to select knowledgeable group members for processing LBSs and thereby increase the accuracy and the confidence level of the query answers. We then develop efficient algorithms to process LBSs in real time and enhance privacy by reducing the number of the group members' POIs shared with the query requestor. Finally, we run extensive experiments using real datasets to show the efficiency and effectiveness of our approach.
FarmChat
Authors: Jain Mohit , Kumar Pratyush , Bhansali Ishita , Liao Q. Vera , Truong Khai , Patel Shwetak
Published: December 2018

Farmers constitute 54.6% of the Indian population, but earn only 13.9% of the national GDP. This gross mismatch can be alleviated by improving farmers' access to information and expert advice (e.g., knowing which seeds to sow and how to treat pests can significantly impact yield). In this paper, we report our experience of designing a conversational agent, called FarmChat, to meet the information needs of farmers in rural India. We conducted an evaluative study with 34 farmers near Ranchi in India, focusing on assessing the usability of the system, acceptability of the information provided, and understanding the user population's unique preferences, needs, and challenges in using the technology. We performed a comparative study with two different modalities: audio-only and audio+text. Our results provide a detailed understanding on how literacy level, digital literacy, and other factors impact users' preferences for the interaction modality. We found that a conversational agent has the potential to effectively meet the information needs of farmers at scale. More broadly, our results could inform future work on designing conversational agents for user populations with limited literacy and technology experience.
The Connected Shower
Authors: Kwon Hyosun , Fischer Joel E. , Flintham Martin , Colley James
Published: December 2018

This paper presents the design and field study of the Connected Shower, a bespoke IoT device that captures water flow, temperature, shower-head movement, and shower product weight. We deployed the device in six UK homes for a week to understand the use of 'intimate data' as captured by IoT systems. Findings from our contextual interviews unpack a) how such intimate data is collaboratively made sense of by accounting for the social order of showering practices as part and parcel of everyday routines; b) how the data makes details of showering accountable to their partners; c) how people reason about sharing intimate data both with third parties and their partners. Our study shows that intimate data is not intimate per se, nor is intimacy a property of the data, but is an interactional outcome arising from the articulation of shower practices to their co-present partners. Thus, judgments as to whether the data is too sensitive, private, or intimate to share are contingent on situated sense-making and therefore subject to change; however, there was a general consensus that sharing intimate data with service providers was acceptable if the data was sufficiently abstract and anonymised. We discuss challenges in the design of trustworthy data-driven IoT systems, and how they need to be warranted to be both acceptable and adopted into our intimate practices.
ObstacleWatch
Authors: Wang Zi , Tan Sheng , Zhang Linghan , Yang Jie
Published: December 2018

Walking while using a smartphone is becoming a major pedestrian safety concern as people may unknowingly bump into various obstacles that could lead to severe injuries. In this paper, we propose ObstacleWatch, an acoustic-based obstacle collision detection system to improve the safety of pedestrians who are engaged in smartphone usage while walking. ObstacleWatch leverages the advanced audio hardware of the smartphone to sense the surrounding obstacles and infers fine-grained information about the frontal obstacle for collision detection. In particular, our system emits well-designed inaudible beep signals from the smartphone built-in speaker and listens to the reflections with the stereo recording of the smartphone. By analyzing the reflected signals received at two microphones, ObstacleWatch is able to extract fine-grained information of the frontal obstacle including the distance, angle and size for detecting the possible collisions and to alert users. Our experimental evaluation under two real-world environments with different types of phones and obstacles shows that ObstacleWatch achieves over 92% accuracy in predicting obstacle collisions with distance estimation errors at about 2 cm. Results also show that ObstacleWatch is robust to different sizes of objects and is compatible to different phone models with low energy consumption.
Tap-to-Pair
Authors: Zhang Tengxiang , Yi Xin , Wang Ruolin , Wang Yuntao , Yu Chun , Lu Yiqin , Shi Yuanchun
Published: December 2018

Ad-hoc wireless device pairing enables impromptu interactions in smart spaces, such as resource sharing and remote control. The pairing experience is mainly determined by the device association process, during which users express their pairing intentions between the advertising device and the scanning device. Currently, most wireless devices are associated by selecting the advertiser's name from a list displayed on the scanner's screen, which becomes less efficient and often misplaced as the number of wireless devices increases. In this paper, we propose Tap-to-Pair, a spontaneous device association mechanism that initiates pairing from advertising devices without hardware or firmware modifications. Tapping an area near the advertising device's antenna can change its signal strength. Users can then associate two devices by synchronizing taps on the advertising device with the blinking pattern displayed by the scanning device. By leveraging the wireless transceiver for sensing, Tap-to-Pair does not require additional resources from advertising devices and needs only a binary display (e.g. LED) on scanning devices. We conducted a user study to test users' synchronous tapping ability and demonstrated that Tap-to-Pair can reliably detect users' taps. We ran simulations to optimize parameters for the synchronization recognition algorithm and provide pattern design guidelines. We used a second user study to evaluate the on-chip performance of Tap-to-Pair. The results show that Tap-to-Pair can achieve an overall successful pairing rate of 93.7% with three scanning devices at different distances.
EIS
Authors: Zhu Zijie , Wang Xuewei , Kapoor Aakaash , Zhang Zhichao , Pan Tingrui , Yu Zhou
Published: December 2018

American Sign Language (ASL) is widely used among hearing impaired individuals in English-speaking countries. Various technologies have been developed to perform ASL recognition, including optical signal sensing, electrical signal sensing, and mechanical signal sensing. However, wearable devices using those methods have bulky and complex sensing modules that lead to long-term discomfort as well as poor accuracy. In this paper, we present an epidermal-iontronic sensing (EIS)-based wearable device that wears on finger joints for 35 fingerspelling ASL recognitions (i.e., 26 alphabets from A to Z and 9 digits from one to nine). Compared to current on-market devices, such design is lighter, comfortable to wear and has better appearance according to user comments. When bending the finger, a physical contact forms between the ionic material and the epidermis of skin, leading to an electric double layer (EDL) established at the interface. Therefore, a significant capacitive change can be achieved with various finger gestures. By using Nafion as the ionic sensing material, we developed a sensing device to provide excellent flexibility and optical transparency. We used machine learning methods, such as neural networks to track and perform ASL recognition using the signals obtained from the designed device. The algorithm achieved a within-user accuracy of 99.6% and a cross-user accuracy of 76.1% when adapted the model to different users. This wearable device is low-cost and has broad potential to be integrated in future application of human-machine interactions (HMI), smart home controls, and nonverbal communications.
A Linear-Correction Algorithm for Quasi-Synchronous DFT
Authors: Fu Zhongjun , Wang Jianyu , Ou Yun , Zhou Genyuan , Zhao Xiaorong
Published: December 2018

Spectral leakage in the harmonic measured by quasi-synchronous DFT (QSDFT) is mainly due to short-range leakage caused by deviation in the signal frequency. By analysing the short-range-leakage characteristic of QSDFT, a linear-correction algorithm (LCQS) for QSDFT’s harmonic-analysis results is proposed. LCQS contains two linear-correction equations: an amplitude-correction equation and an initial-phase-angle-correction equation. The former is constructed by the least-squares method, whereas the latter is generated based on the linear error characteristic of the QSDFT harmonic phase. Simulation and experimental results indicate that this proposed algorithm can efficiently increase the accuracy of the harmonic parameters over a wide frequency range by minimizing the short-range spectral leakage.
Mesoscopic Finite Element Method of the Effective Thermal Conductivity of Concrete with Arbitrary Gradation
Authors: Huang Pingming , Zhao Yu , Niu Yanwei , Ren Xiang , Chang Mingfeng , Sun Yamin
Published: December 2018

The effective thermal conductivity (ETC) of concrete is the most important parameter in determining the temperature field and thermal stresses. A 2D random polygonal aggregate model and its modified model considering porosity were established in this paper in order to partially replace the experiment for parametric analysis on the ETC of concrete and to save the experiment cost. A mesoscopic finite element method for the ETC of concrete with arbitrary gradation was also proposed. In addition, the influence factors (thermal conductivity of coarse aggregate, cement mortar, and volume fraction of coarse aggregate) of the effective thermal conductivity of concrete were analyzed. The results show that the 2D gradation curve of coarse aggregates is proved to exist, and there is a corresponding relationship between the 2D and 3D gradation curves of coarse aggregates. The effective thermal conductivity of concrete has a positive exponential relationship with the volume fraction of coarse aggregates, a positive logarithm relationship with the thermal conductivity of coarse aggregates, and a positive linear correlation with the thermal conductivity of cement mortar. The most practical way to improve the effective thermal conductivity of concrete is to increase the ETC of the cement mortar, but the most effective way is to replace the aggregate with a material with a high thermal conductivity.
Anticancer Effects of Cyclocarya paliurus Polysaccharide (CPP) on Thyroid Carcinoma In Vitro and In Vivo
Authors: He Zhiwei , Lv Fangfang , Gan Yueli , Gu Jing , Que Ting
Published: December 2018

In this study, we explored the role and mechanisms of Cyclocarya paliurus polysaccharide on cell apoptosis in thyroid cancer (TC) cells. The apoptosis of thyroid cancer cells in vitro and tumor tissues in vivo induced by Cyclocarya paliurus polysaccharide was determined by MTT assay and flow cytometric assay. The downstream molecules including phosphop-protein kinase B (p-Akt), Akt, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), and Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) in tumor tissue were evaluated by western blotting. MTT and flow cytometry assay in vitro revealed Cyclocarya paliurus polysaccharide-induced apoptosis of thyroid cancer cell line in a manner of time-dependent and dose-dependent. In vivo assay showed 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg Cyclocarya paliurus polysaccharide significantly suppressed the proliferation of thyroid cancer in mice. Western blotting showed downregulation of p-Akt, Akt, and Bcl-2 and upregulation of Bax. These results suggest that Cyclocarya paliurus polysaccharide may enhance thyroid cancer cell apoptosis by suppressing the activation of p-Akt, Akt, and Bcl-2 and activating Bax, which provide a novel use of CPP as a thyroid cancer treatment.
Research on Inpit Dumping Height during Tracing Mining Period between Two Adjacent Surface Coal Mines
Authors: Peng Hongge , Zhang Ding
Published: December 2018

When two adjacent surface mines are simultaneously mined in the same direction with a certain relationship of the time and space, the mining arrangement of the former mine will greatly affect the mining plan and economic benefit of subsequent surface mine. In this paper, the optimized mathematical model is established with the mining conditions and economic benefits taken into account. The minimum cost of objective function is analyzed in the condition of considering the different transportation distance with different dumping amount and secondary stripping amount. At the end of this paper a conclusion is drawn that the reasonable dumping level is determined as 1130 based on the annual planning project location and stripping amount, which will reduce the cost of production and smooth the coal mining. Moreover, it is verified by an example to be correct that the mathematical model can be used to solve similar problems of tracing mining or adjacent districts mined in surface mines.
Five Decadal Trends in Averages and Extremes of Rainfall and Temperature in Sri Lanka
Authors: Naveendrakumar G. , Vithanage Meththika , Kwon Hyun-Han , Iqbal M. C. M. , Pathmarajah S. , Obeysekera Jayantha
Published: December 2018

In this study, we used a comprehensive set of statistical metrics to investigate the historical trends in averages and extremes of rainfall and temperature in Sri Lanka. The data consist of 55 years (1961–2015) of daily rainfall, maximum temperature (Tmax), and minimum temperature (Tmin) records from 20 stations scattered throughout Sri Lanka. The linear trends were analyzed using the nonparametric Mann–Kendall test and Sen–Theil regression. The prewhitening method was first used to remove autocorrelation from the time series, and the modified seasonal Mann–Kendall test was then applied for the seasonal data. The results show that, during May, 15% of the stations showed a significant decrease in wet days, which may be due to the delayed southwest monsoon (SWM) to Sri Lanka. A remarkable increase in the annual average temperature of Tmin and Tmax was observed as 70% and 55% of the stations, respectively. For the entire period, 80% of the stations demonstrated statistically significant increases of Tmin during June and July. The daily temperature range (DTR) exhibited a widespread increase at the stations located within the southwestern coast region of Sri Lanka. Although changes in global climate, teleconnections, and local deforestation in recent decades at least partially influence the trends observed in Sri Lanka, a formal trend attribution study should be conducted.
From Antenna Design to High Fidelity, Full Physics Automotive Radar Sensor Corner Case Simulation
Authors: Chipengo Ushemadzoro , Krenz Peter M. , Carpenter Shawn
Published: December 2018

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) have recently been thrust into the spotlight in the automotive industry as carmakers and technology companies pursue effective active safety systems and fully autonomous vehicles. Various sensors such as lidar (light detection and ranging), radar (radio detection and ranging), ultrasonic, and optical cameras are employed to provide situational awareness to vehicles in a highly dynamic environment. Radar has emerged as a primary sensor technology for both active/passive safety and comfort-advanced driver-assistance systems. Physically building and testing radar systems to demonstrate reliability is an expensive and time-consuming process. Simulation emerges as the most practical solution to designing and testing radar systems. This paper provides a complete, full physics simulation workflow for automotive radar using finite element method and asymptotic ray tracing electromagnetic solvers. The design and optimization of both transmitter and receiver antennas is presented. Antenna interaction with vehicle bumper and fascia is also investigated. A full physics-based radar scene corner case is modelled to obtain high-fidelity range-Doppler maps. Finally, this paper investigates the effects of inclined roads on late pedestrian detection and the effects of construction metal plate radar returns on false target identification. Possible solutions are suggested and validated. Results from this study show how pedestrian radar returns can be increased by over 16 dB for early detection along with a 27 dB reduction in road construction plate radar returns to suppress false target identification. Both solutions to the above corner cases can potentially save pedestrian lives and prevent future accidents.
Insight into the Hydrolytic Selectivity of β-Glucosidase to Enhance the Contents of Desired Active Phytochemicals in Medicinal Plants
Authors: Kim Young Soo , Ma Jin Yeul
Published: December 2018

Most glycosides in herbal medicines become pharmacologically active after hydrolysis or subsequent metabolism to respective aglycones. Hence, the hydrolytic efficiency of glycosidase is a crucial determinant of the pharmacological efficacy of herbal glycosides. In this study, we investigated the enzymatic conversion of the four herbal extracts and their glycosides using the glycoside hydrolase family 3 β-glucosidase from Lactobacillus antri (rBGLa). We show that β-glucosidase substrate specificity depends on the arrangements and linkage types of sugar residues in glycosides. The enzyme rBGLa showed higher hydrolytic selectivity for glucopyranoside than for glucuronide and rhamnopyranoside, and specificity for 1→6 rather than 1→2 linkages. In addition, in silico 3D structural models suggested that D243 and E426 of rBGLa act as catalytic nucleophile and acid/base residues, respectively. These experiments also suggested that substrate specificity is determined by interactions between the C6 residue of the sugar moiety of the substrate glycoside and the oxygen OD1 of D56 in rBGLa. Therefore, despite the broad substrate spectrum of β-glucosidase, differences in hydrolytic selectivity of β-glucosidases for glycoside structures could be exploited to enhance the hydrolysis of the desired medicinal glycosides in herbs using tailored β-glucosidases, allowing for improvement of specific potencies of herbal medicines.
Pseudosatellite Dynamic Positioning of UAV Pod Based on an Improved SR-UKF Algorithm
Authors: Zhang Qinghua , Rong Fengjuan , Sun Yangyang , Gao Lei , Zhu Naishu
Published: December 2018

In view of the practical engineering problem of dynamic positioning of rotor UAV pod and the strong nonlinear problem in dynamic operation of UAV, a real-time estimation of the dynamic position of the rotor UAV pod is proposed by using the SR-UKF algorithm. This algorithm uses the nonlinear propagation of UT transform to generate the point set to maintain the mean and covariance information and thus achieves higher precision. Moreover, it uses the square root of covariance instead of covariance to participate in the recursive operation, thus improving the numerical stability of the filter and reducing the amount of computation. In this work, a pseudosatellite positioning platform was constructed in a field site in Nanjing. Based on evaluation of the space geometry of pseudosatellite base station, the accuracy of several nonlinear filtering algorithms was analyzed and evaluated using GPS RTK positioning results. It was found that the SR-UKF algorithm was the most accurate and efficient algorithm. It can meet the requirements of dynamic positioning of the rotor-wing UAV pod. The experiment results of this algorithm provide a more efficient positioning algorithm and implementation means for the actual engineering of UAV pod positioning using pseudosatellite system, which has high application value.
Comparison of Color Light-Emitting Diode Corneal Topographer and Dual Rotating Scheimpflug–Placido Topographer
Authors: Lee Jae Hyuck , Lee Yong Woo , Lee Jong Soo , Knorz Michael C. , Auffarth Gerd U. , Choi Chul Young
Published: December 2018

Purpose. To compare measurements of anterior and posterior keratometric values, using a color light-emitting diode corneal topographer and a dual rotating Scheimpflug–Placido topographer. Methods. Anterior and posterior corneal index measurements were performed using a color light-emitting diode corneal topographer (Cassini) and a dual rotating Scheimpflug–Placido topographer (Galilei G4) and then compared. The paired t-test, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and Bland–Altman plots were used to evaluate the agreement between measurements. Results. Sixty postrefractive surgery eyes and 60 normal eyes were evaluated. Both the color light-emitting diode corneal topographer and the dual rotating Scheimpflug–Placido topographer provided highly repeatable corneal measurements (ICC > 0.969). The agreement levels between the 2 devices for anterior corneal power, astigmatism magnitude, and J0 and J45 values were ICC > 0.906 for the total group. However, the ICC values for posterior corneal power, astigmatism magnitude, and J0 and J45 values were lower than 0.681 for the total group. Conclusions. The anterior keratometric values obtained by the color light-emitting diode corneal topographer and the dual rotating Scheimpflug–Placido topographer showed high agreement levels, but the posterior keratometric values showed lower agreement levels.
Characterization of CD4+ T Cell Subsets in Patients with Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms
Authors: Téo Fábio Haach , de Oliveira Rômulo Tadeu Dias , Villarejos Liana , Mamoni Ronei Luciano , Altemani Albina , Menezes Fabio Husemann , Blotta Maria Heloisa Souza Lima
Published: December 2018

Background. The mediators produced by CD4+ T lymphocytes are involved in the pathogenesis of aneurysmal lesions in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) patients. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize the CD4+ T cell subsets involved in human AAA. Methods. The CD4+ T cell subsets in 30 human aneurysmal lesions were determined using flow cytometry (FC) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with AAA were also analyzed by FC and compared with control subjects. Results. Human aneurysmal lesions contained IFN-γ, IL-12p35, IL-4, IL-23p19, IL-17R, and IL-22 positive cells. PBMCs from AAA patients had higher expression levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-4, and IL-22 when compared to controls. Conclusions. Our results show the presence of TH1, TH2, TH17, and TH22 subsets in aneurysmal lesions of AAA patients and suggest that these cells may be mainly activated in situ, where they can induce tissue degradation and contribute to the pathogenesis of AAA.
Compression of Aggregates of Acid‐Leached Coal Gangues: Implications for Coal Mine Backfill
Authors: Qi Wenyue , Zhang Jixiong , Zhang Qiang
Published: December 2018

The compression mechanical properties of coal gangues subjected to acidic immersion were examined using a cylinder and a YAS‐500 electrohydraulic servotesting system in order to investigate the effects of pH and particle size on its compaction stress‐strain and stress‐compaction relationships. The evolutionary trends of the leaching solution’s pH at various immersion times during the coal gangue corrosion process were analyzed. Then, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP‐OES) was performed on the leaching solutions to determine their chemical compositions and concentrations. An X‐ray diffractometer (XRD) and X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy also performed qualitative and quantitative analyses of the coal gangues samples. The mechanisms of hydrochemical corrosion in coal gangues were ultimately elucidated by analyzing these results, taking into consideration the chemical reactions of the acidic solutions and coal gangues. The results indicate that hydrochemical damage in coal gangues is more sensitive to small particle size and stronger acidity. The compressive mechanical properties of coal gangues that had been immersed demonstrated that their bearing capacity decreased as the particle sizes decreased and acidity increased. It was also established that acid leaching changes the mineral composition, particles, and pores of coal gangues, thus degrading their compressive mechanical properties.
Compact and Multiband MIMO Dielectric Resonator Antenna for Automotive LTE Communications
Authors: Chiu Tzu-Ling , Huitema Laure , Pajona Olivier , Monediere Thierry
Published: December 2018

A compact and multiband dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) designed for LTE automotive solutions is presented in this paper. The proposed MIMO system is located on the vehicle rooftop within a limited space of 120 mm × 70 mm × 65 mm. To cover all the LTE standard frequency bands used around the world, the antenna is matched around 790 MHz–860 MHz, 1700 MHz–2200 MHz, and 2500 MHz–2700 MHz frequency bands with a ∣S11∣ lower than −6 dB while presenting a minimum total efficiency of 50% with a maximum realized gain better than 1 dB on all these frequency bands. The DRA is then mounted and measured on a real vehicle rooftop in order to see its performances in real operation conditions. Finally, to improve both the quality and reliability of the wireless link, two DRAs are placed within a small area to reconfigure their radiation patterns on each frequency band. Measured performances, which are in good agreement with the simulated results, are used to validate if the antenna design is suitable for LTE MIMO systems to be integrated on an automotive. The MIMO system is evaluated using the envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), and the obtained value for the proposed antenna is lower than 0.25.
Exploring the Impact of Differentiated Per-Lane Speed Limits on Traffic Safety of Freeways with Considering the Compliance Rate
Authors: Liu Meiyu , Shi Jing
Published: December 2018

This is a subsequent study of a two-lane cellular automata (CA) traffic simulation model proposed by the authors. The current study focused on understanding the impacts of the configuration of the differentiated per-lane speed limit (DPLSL) and its compliance rate on traffic safety indexes, including lane-changing frequency, the coefficient of variation of speed, and incident rate of dangerous situations. The results indicate that freeway sections with DPLSL, especially the ones with complex DPLSL, have potentials to reduce the speed variation, lane changing frequencies, and chances of dangerous situations, resulting in higher traffic safety levels. Furthermore, under DPLSL configurations, the compliance rate of the lane of slow vehicles could positively affect the traffic safety levels. Specifically, as the decrease of the compliance rate, lane changing frequency slightly increases, the coefficient variation of speed especially of the outer lane increases, and the incident rate of the overtaking-on-the-right circumstances increases. In contrast to the simple DPLSL, freeway segments with the complex DPLSL configuration are more sensitive to the influence of the compliance rate.
Assessing the Relationship between Performance on the University of California Performance Skills Assessment (UPSA) and Outcomes in Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review and Evidence Synthesis
Authors: Szabo Shelagh , Merikle Elizabeth , Lozano-Ortega Greta , Powell Lauren , Macek Thomas , Cline Stephanie
Published: December 2018

Objective. To perform a systematic review of the published literature to evaluate how functional capacity, as measured by the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) Performance-based Skills Assessment (UPSA), relates to other functional measures and real-world outcomes among individuals with schizophrenia. Methods. The MEDLINE® and Embase® databases were searched to identify joint evaluations with UPSA and key functional outcomes (functional scale measures; generic or disease-specific, health-related quality of life [HRQoL]; or real-world outcomes [residential status; employment status]) in patients with schizophrenia. Pearson correlations were estimated between UPSA scores, HRQoL, other functional scale measures, and real-world outcomes, for outcomes described in at least six studies. Results. The synthesis included 76 studies that provided 73 unique data sets. Quantitative assessment between the Specific Level of Function (SLOF) (n=18) scores and UPSA scores demonstrated a moderate borderline-significant correlation (0.45, p=0.06). Quantitative analysis of the relationship between the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) (n=11) and the Multidimensional Scale of Independent Functioning (MSIF) (n=6) scales revealed moderate and small nonsignificant Pearson correlations of -0.34 (p=0.31) and 0.12 (p=0.83), respectively. There was a small borderline-significant correlation between UPSA score and residential status (n=36; 0.31; p=0.08), while no correlation was found between UPSA score and employment status (n=19; 0.04; p=0.88). Conclusion. The SLOF was the most often used functional measure and had the strongest observed correlation with the UPSA. Although knowledge gaps remain, evidence from this review indicates that there is a quantitative relationship between functional capacity and real-world outcomes in individuals with schizophrenia.
Increased Expression of TLR10 in B Cell Subsets Correlates with Disease Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Zhang Ying , Cao Rong , Ying Haijian , Du Juping , Chen Shuaishuai , Wang Na , Shen Bo
Published: December 2018

Toll-like receptor (TLR) 10, mainly expressed on B cells, has emerged as a modulatory receptor in inflammation. Nonetheless, the clinical significance of TLR10 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains unclear. In this study, we explored the expression of TLR10 in B cells and B cell subsets in RA subjects and healthy controls (HCs) and determined its relevance to disease activity and inflammatory biomarkers. TLR10 levels in B cells and B cell subsets (CD19+CD27+, CD19+CD27−, CD27+IgD−, CD27+IgD+, CD27−IgD+, D27−IgD−, CD19+CD5+, and CD19+CD5−) and inflammatory biomarker concentrations in peripheral blood (PB) obtained from RA subjects and HCs were detected by flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The correlations of TLR10 expression with disease activity and inflammatory biomarkers were then analysed. Similar levels of TLR10 in all CD19+ B cells were observed in the RA subjects and HCs. Compared to that in the HCs, TLR10 was elevated significantly in the CD19+CD27−IgD− and CD19+CD5+ subsets in the RA subjects. In addition, almost all subsets expressing TLR10 were increased with disease activity. The present study reveals that enhanced TLR10 in B cell subsets is positively correlated with disease activity in RA subjects.
Physical Fitness and Body Composition in 10–12-Year-Old Danish Children in Relation to Leisure-Time Club-Based Sporting Activities
Authors: Ørntoft Christina , Larsen Malte Nejst , Madsen Mads , Sandager Lene , Lundager Ida , Møller Andreas , Hansen Lone , Madsen Esben E. , Elbe Anne-Marie , Ottesen Laila , Krustrup Peter
Published: December 2018

This study investigated whether the physical fitness and body composition of 10–12-year-old Danish children are related to participation in leisure-time club-based sporting activities. The study involved 544 Danish 10–12-year-old 5th-grade municipal schoolchildren (269 boys and 275 girls, 11.1 ± 0.4 years). After answering a questionnaire about leisure-time sporting activities, the children were divided into four groups: football club participation (FC; n=141), other ball games (OBG; n=42), other sports (OS; n=194), and no sports-club participation (NSC; n=167). The children completed a battery of health and fitness tests, including a 20 m sprint test, a standing long-jump test, the Yo-Yo IR1 children’s test (YYIR1C), and body composition, blood pressure, resting heart rate (HRrest), and the flamingo balance test. The children engaged in club-based ball games (FC and OBG) had higher (p<0.05) lean body mass than NSC (FC: 17.5 ± 2.9; OBG: 18.4 ± 2.6; OS: 16.7 ± 2.9; NSC: 16.4 ± 2.8 kg), performed better (p<0.05) in the YYIR1C test (FC: 1083 ± 527; OBG: 968 ± 448; OS: 776 ± 398; NSC: 687 ± 378 m), and had lower (p<0.05) %HRmax after 1, 2, and 3 min of YYIR1C. Moreover, HRrest was lower (p<0.05) for FC than for OS and NSC (FC: 68 ± 9 vs OS: 72 ± 10 and NSC: 75 ± 10 bpm), and lower (p<0.05) for OBG than for NSC (OBG: 70 ± 10 vs NSC: 75 ± 10 bpm). This study found that 10–12-year-old Danish children engaged in club-based football and other ball games had better exercise capacity, lower resting heart rate, and higher muscle mass than children not engaged in leisure-time sports. Thus, participation in club-based leisure-time ball-game activities seems to be of importance for the fitness and health profile of prepubertal children.
The Clinicopathologic and Prognostic Value of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-2α in Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Luo Deqing , Liu Hui , Lin Dasheng , Lian Kejian , Ren Hongyue
Published: December 2018

Hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF2α) plays an important role in the development of tumors. However, the clinicopathologic and prognostic significance of HIF2α in cancer patients remains controversial. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between the HIF2α status and clinical outcome in human cancer. Studies were screened online using electronic databases. The pooled risk ratios or hazard ratios (HR) with their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated from available publications. Subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, heterogeneity, and publication bias were also conducted. A total of 854 studies with 4,345 patients were obtained in this meta-analysis. The results indicated that the increased expression of HIF2α could predict unfavorable overall survival of cancer patients on both univariate analysis (HR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.41–1.92, P < 0.001) and multivariate analysis (HR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.70–2.87, P < 0.001). Moreover, HIF2α overexpression was associated closely with tumor differentiation, tumor–node–metastasis stage, and lymph metastasis. In addition, there was no obvious evidence for significant publication bias in this meta-analysis. Our study indicated that HIF2α might be an indicator of poor prognosis and clinicopathologic features of tumors and could serve as a novel biomarker in human cancer.
Telejornalismo universitário e acessibilidade
Authors: Piccinin Fabiana , Negrini Michele , Roos Roberta
Published: December 2018

O ensino de telejornalismo é um assunto dotado de complexidades e que carece de constantes ressignificações. Nesta seara, os programas jornalísticos universitários para TV são espaços que dão suporte ao ensino e que possibilitam o desenvolvimento de atividades práticas no contexto das universidades. Esses programas têm passado por reconfigurações para atingir uma audiência diversificada e para levar em consideração questões de inclusão. Diante disso, a proposta deste artigo é fazer uma reflexão sobre o ensino de telejornalismo levando em consideração as práticas inclusivas desenvolvidas em telejornais universitários. Tomamos como objeto de discussão e análise o Pampa News, desenvolvido na Universidade Federal do Pampa, e o Unisc Notícias, desenvolvido na Universidade de Santa Cruz, problematizando os movimentos e adaptações feitas pelos programas com vistas também à inclusão.