bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A PmrB-Regulated Deacetylase Required for Lipid A Modification and Polymyxin Resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii
Authors: Chin Chui-Yoke , Gregg Kelsey A. , Napier Brooke A. , Ernst Robert K. , Weiss David S.
Published: October 2015

Emerging resistance to “last-resort” polymyxin antibiotics in Gram-negative bacteria is a significant threat to public health. We identified the
Acinetobacter baumannii
NaxD deacetylase as a critical mediator of lipid A modification resulting in polymyxin resistance and demonstrated that
naxD
is regulated by the sensor kinase PmrB. This represents the first description of a specific PmrB-regulated gene contributing to polymyxin resistance in
A. baumannii
and highlights NaxD as a putative drug target to reverse polymyxin resistance.
The Clinically Tested Gardos Channel Inhibitor Senicapoc Exhibits Antimalarial Activity
Authors: Tubman Venée N. , Mejia Pedro , Shmukler Boris E. , Bei Amy K. , Alper Seth L. , Mitchell James R. , Brugnara Carlo , Duraisingh Manoj T.
Published: October 2015

Senicapoc, a Gardos channel inhibitor, prevented erythrocyte dehydration in clinical trials of patients with sickle cell disease. We tested the hypothesis that senicapoc-induced blockade of the Gardos channel inhibits
Plasmodium
growth. Senicapoc inhibited
in vitro
growth of human and primate plasmodia during the clinical blood stage. Senicapoc treatment suppressed
P. yoelii
parasitemia
in vivo
in C57BL/6 mice. The reassuring safety and biochemical profile of senicapoc encourage its use in antimalarial development.
Drug Interactions with the Direct-Acting Antiviral Combination of Ombitasvir and Paritaprevir-Ritonavir
Authors: Badri Prajakta S. , Dutta Sandeep , Wang Haoyu , Podsadecki Thomas J. , Polepally Akshanth R. , Khatri Amit , Zha Jiuhong , Chiu Yi-Lin , Awni Walid M. , Menon Rajeev M.
Published: October 2015

The two direct-acting antiviral (2D) regimen of ombitasvir and paritaprevir (administered with low-dose ritonavir) is being developed for treatment of genotype subtype 1b and genotypes 2 and 4 chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Drug-drug interactions were evaluated in healthy volunteers to develop dosing recommendations for HCV-infected subjects. Mechanism-based interactions were evaluated for ketoconazole, pravastatin, rosuvastatin, digoxin, warfarin, and omeprazole. Interactions were also evaluated for duloxetine, escitalopram, methadone, and buprenorphine-naloxone. Ratios of geometric means with 90% confidence intervals for the maximum plasma concentration and the area under the plasma concentration-time curve were estimated to assess the magnitude of the interactions. For most medications, coadministration with the 2D regimen resulted in a <50% change in exposures. Ketoconazole, digoxin, pravastatin, and rosuvastatin exposures increased by up to 105%, 58%, 76%, and 161%, respectively, and omeprazole exposures decreased by approximately 50%. Clinically meaningful changes in ombitasvir, paritaprevir, or ritonavir exposures were not observed. In summary, all 11 medications evaluated can be coadministered with the 2D regimen, with most medications requiring no dose adjustment. Ketoconazole, digoxin, pravastatin, and rosuvastatin require lower doses, and omeprazole may require a higher dose. No dose adjustment is required for the 2D regimen.
Tigecycline Lock Therapy for Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infection Caused by KPC-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in Two Pediatric Hematological Patients
Authors: Foresti Sergio , Di Bella Stefano , Rovelli Attilio , Sala Alessandra , Verna Marta , Bisi Luca , Nisii Carla , Gori Andrea
Published: October 2015

Catheter-related bacteremias carry high mortality rates in hematological patients. When a multidrug-resistant microorganism is involved, the catheter should ideally be removed; however, this approach is not always possible. Tigecycline lock therapy was used in two pediatric oncohematological patients with intravascular catheter-related infection due to KPC-producing
Klebsiella pneumoniae
. The catheter was salvaged in both cases, and the patients were later discharged. Our experience suggests the usefulness of this approach in treating this type of infection.
Easy to swallow: detection of an extramural jejunal GIST by video capsule endoscopy
Authors: Kauser Ricky , Kazemi Ali , Farah Katie , Morrissey Suzanne
Published: October 2015

We report a case of a 57-year-old woman with an obscure gastrointestinal bleed who was found to have an extramural gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST), detected by capsule endoscopy, and confirmed by laparoscopically-assisted enteroscopy and resection. Currently, major modalities used for detection of GISTs include double-balloon enteroscopy, capsule endoscopy and CT. Endoscopic measures, including capsule endoscopy, are limited in their ability to detect GISTs with extramural growth, as these typically do not demonstrate obvious luminal abnormalities. This case report illustrates a case in which an extraluminal GIST causing recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding presented as an ulcer, as seen on capsule endoscopy.
Fermion mass matrices, textures and beyond
Authors: Gupta Manmohan , Fakay Priyanka , Sharma Samandeep , Ahuja Gulsheen
Published: October 2015

The issue of texture specific fermion mass matrices have been examined briefly from the “bottom-up” perspective. In case no conditions are imposed, the texture ansatze leads to a large number of viable possibilities. However, besides textures, if in case one incorporates the ideas of “natural mass matrices” and uses the facility of Weak Basis Transformations, then one is able to arrive at a minimal finite set of viable mass matrices in the case of quarks.
Impedance and dielectric properties of mercury cuprate at nonsuperconducting state
Authors: Özdemir Z. Güven , Çataltepe Ö. Aslan , Onbaşlı Ü.
Published: October 2015

In this paper, impedance and dielectric properties of nonsuperconducting state of the mercury-based cuprate have been investigated by impedance measurements within the frequency interval of 10 Hz–10 MHz for the first time. The dielectric loss factor [Formula: see text] and ac conductivity [Formula: see text] parameters have also been calculated for non-superconducting state. According to impedance spectroscopy analysis, the equivalent circuit of the mercury cuprate system manifests itself as a semicircle in the Nyquist plot that corresponds to parallel connected resistance–capacitance circuit. The oscillation frequency of the circuit has been determined as approximately 45 kHz which coincides with the low frequency radio waves. Moreover, it has been revealed that the mercury-based cuprate investigated has high dielectric constants and hence it may be utilized in microelectronic industry such as capacitors, memory devices etc., at room temperature. In addition, negative capacitance (NC) effect has been observed for the mercury cuprate regardless of the operating temperatures at nonsuperconducting state. Referring to dispersions in dielectric properties, the main contribution to dielectric response of the system has been suggested as dipolar and interfacial polarization mechanisms.
Digital Embedded Test Instrument for On-Chip Phase Noise Testing of Analog/RF Integrated Circuits
Authors: Azaïs Florence , David-Grignot Stéphane , Latorre Laurent , Lefevre François
Published: October 2015

This paper presents a digital embedded test instrument (ETI) for on-chip phase noise (PN) testing of analog/RF integrated circuits. The technique relies on 1–bit signal acquisition and dedicated processing to compute a digital signature related to the PN level. An appropriate algorithm based on on-the-fly processing of the 1-bit signal is defined in order to implement the BIST module with minimal hardware resources. Its implementation in CMOS 140[Formula: see text]nm technology occupies only 7,885[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m2, which represents an extremely small silicon area. Hardware measurements are performed on an FPGA prototype that validates the proposed instrument.
General relativity and cosmology
Authors: Bucher Martin , Ni Wei-Tou
Published: October 2015

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s 1915 landmark paper “Die Feldgleichungen der Gravitation” in which the field equations of general relativity were correctly formulated for the first time, thus rendering general relativity a complete theory. Over the subsequent hundred years, physicists and astronomers have struggled with uncovering the consequences and applications of these equations. This paper, which was written as an introduction to six chapters dealing with the connection between general relativity and cosmology that will appear in the two-volume book One Hundred Years of General Relativity: From Genesis and Empirical Foundations to Gravitational Waves, Cosmology and Quantum Gravity, endeavors to provide a historical overview of the connection between general relativity and cosmology, two areas whose development has been closely intertwined.
Entropy and rotation sets: A toy model approach
Authors: Kucherenko Tamara , Wolf Christian
Published: October 2015

Given a continuous dynamical system [Formula: see text] on a compact metric space [Formula: see text] and a continuous potential [Formula: see text], the generalized rotation set is the subset of [Formula: see text] consisting of all integrals of [Formula: see text] with respect to all invariant probability measures. The localized entropy at a point in the rotation set is defined as the supremum of the measure-theoretic entropies over all invariant measures whose integrals produce that point. In this paper, we provide an introduction to the theory of rotation sets and localized entropies. Moreover, we consider a shift map and construct a Lipschitz continuous potential, for which we are able to explicitly compute the geometric shape of the rotation set and its boundary measures. We show that at a particular exposed point on the boundary there are exactly two ergodic localized measures of maximal entropy.
Optimizing the Adaptive Stochastic Resonance and Its Application in Fault Diagnosis
Authors: Liu Xiaole , Yang Jianhua , Liu Houguang , Cheng Gang , Chen Xihui , Xu Dan
Published: October 2015

This paper presents an adaptive stochastic resonance method based on the improved artificial fish swarm algorithm. By this method, we can enhance the weak characteristic signal which is submerged in a heavy noise. We can also adaptively lead the stochastic resonance to be optimized to the greatest extent. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by both numerical simulation and lab experimental vibration signals including normal, a chipped tooth and a missing tooth of planetary gearboxes under the loaded condition. Both theoretical and experimental results show that this method can effectively extract weak characteristics in a heavy noise. In the experiment, each weak fault feature is extracted successfully from the fault planetary gear. When compared with the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) method, the method proposed in this paper has been found to give remarkable performance.
Parrondo Games with Spatial Dependence, III
Authors: Ethier S. N. , Lee Jiyeon
Published: October 2015

We study Toral’s Parrondo games with [Formula: see text] players and one-dimensional spatial dependence as modified by Xie et al. Specifically, we use computer graphics to sketch the Parrondo and anti-Parrondo regions for [Formula: see text]. Our work was motivated by a recent paper of Li et al., who applied a state space reduction method to this model, reducing the number of states from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text]. We show that their reduced Markov chains are inconsistent with the model of Xie et al.
A NEW OPTIMIZED WAVELET TRANSFORM FOR HEART BEAT CLASSIFICATION
Authors: PAUL BABY , SHANAVAZ K. T. , MYTHILI P.
Published: October 2015

A method for automatic classification of Arrhythmias from Electrocardiogram based on features generated from a new Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) is presented in this paper. The classification performance was studied using the most commonly available database, the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database. The new wavelet for classification was evolved using Genetic Algorithm (GA). The optimum wavelet for classification was obtained after several runs of the GA algorithm. The class labeling was followed according to the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI). The wavelet scales corresponding to the different frequency levels giving maximum classification performance was identified. Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) classifier was used for classification. The proposed classification system offered an overall sensitivity of 97% for Normal beats (N), 75% for Supraventricular beats (Sv) and 93% for Ventricular beats (V) which is better than existing results reported in literature. This technique could exclusively identify some of the isolated abnormalities compared to other results reported.
Changes in Organizational Architecture: Aspiration Levels, Performance Gaps and Organizational Change
Authors: Ceci Federica , Masciarelli Francesca , Prencipe Andrea
Published: October 2015

This paper illustrates how organizations change their architecture in response to environmental feedback, measured in relation to performance gaps. Based on a study of 762 organizations, we explore the modus operandi underpinning architectural change and argue that the interplay between social and historical aspiration levels: (i) constitutes a benchmark against which organizations measure current performance; and (ii) defines the scope of architectural change. While a small performance gap leads organizations to implement minor architectural changes (adaptation strategy), a large performance gap requires major change (reorientation strategy).
Polynomial Extensions of the Weyl C*-Algebra
Authors: Accardi Luigi , Dhahri Ameur
Published: October 2015

We introduce higher order (polynomial) extensions of the unique (up to isomorphisms) nontrivial central extension of the Heisenberg algebra, which can be concretely realized as sub-Lie algebras of the polynomial algebra generated by the creation and annihilation operators in the Schrödinger representation. The simplest nontrivial of these extensions (the quadratic one) is isomorphic to the Galilei algebra, widely studied in quantum physics. By exponentiation of this representation we construct the corresponding polynomial analogue of the Weyl [Formula: see text]-algebra and compute the polynomial Weyl relations. From this we deduce the explicit form of the composition law of the associated nonlinear extensions of the 1-dimensional Heisenberg group. The above results are used to calculate a simple explicit form of the vacuum characteristic functions of the nonlinear field operators of the Galilei algebra, as well as of their moments. The corresponding measures turn out to be an interpolation family between Gaussian and Meixner, in particular Gamma.
The power digraphs associated with generalized dihedral groups
Authors: Ahmad Uzma
Published: October 2015

We study the digraphs based on dihedral group [Formula: see text] by using the power mapping, i.e., the set of vertices of these digraphs is [Formula: see text] and the set of edges is [Formula: see text]. These are called the power digraphs and denoted by [Formula: see text]. The cycle and in-degree structure of these digraphs are completely examined. This investigation leads to the derivation of various formulae regarding the number of cycle vertices, the length of the cycles, the number of cycles of certain lengths and the in-degrees of all vertices. We also establish necessary and sufficient conditions for a vertex to be a cycle vertex. The analysis of distance between vertices culminates at different expressions in terms of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] to determine the heights of vertices, components and the power digraph itself. Moreover, all regular and semi-regular power digraphs [Formula: see text] are completely classified.
Refining Social Graph Connectivity via Shortcut Edge Addition
Authors: Papagelis Manos
Published: October 2015

Small changes on the structure of a graph can have a dramatic effect on its connectivity. While in the traditional graph theory, the focus is on well-defined properties of graph connectivity, such as biconnectivity, in the context of a
social graph
, connectivity is typically manifested by its ability to carry on
social processes
. In this paper, we consider the problem of adding a small set of nonexisting edges (
shortcuts
) in a social graph with the main objective of minimizing its
characteristic path length
. This property determines the average distance between pairs of vertices and essentially controls how broadly information can propagate through a network. We formally define the problem of interest, characterize its hardness and propose a novel method,
path screening
, which quickly identifies important shortcuts to guide the augmentation of the graph. We devise a sampling-based variant of our method that can scale up the computation in larger graphs. The claims of our methods are formally validated. Through experiments on real and synthetic data, we demonstrate that our methods are
a multitude of times
faster than standard approaches, their accuracy outperforms sensible baselines and they can ease the spread of information in a network, for a varying range of conditions.
Trust and Reputation Models for Multiagent Systems
Authors: Granatyr Jones , Botelho Vanderson , Lessing Otto Robert , Scalabrin Edson Emílio , Barthès Jean-Paul , Enembreck Fabrício
Published: October 2015

Finding reliable partners to interact with in open environments is a challenging task for software agents, and trust and reputation mechanisms are used to handle this issue. From this viewpoint, we can observe the growing body of research on this subject, which indicates that these mechanisms can be considered key elements to design multiagent systems (MASs). Based on that, this article presents an extensive but not exhaustive review about the most significant trust and reputation models published over the past two decades, and hundreds of models were analyzed using two perspectives. The first one is a combination of trust dimensions and principles proposed by some relevant authors in the field, and the models are discussed using an MAS perspective. The second one is the discussion of these dimensions taking into account some types of interaction found in MASs, such as coalition, argumentation, negotiation, and recommendation. By these analyses, we aim to find significant relations between trust dimensions and types of interaction so it would be possible to construct MASs using the most relevant dimensions according to the types of interaction, which may help developers in the design of MASs.
A Survey on Lightweight Entity Authentication with Strong PUFs
Authors: Delvaux Jeroen , Peeters Roel , Gu Dawu , Verbauwhede Ingrid
Published: October 2015

Physically unclonable functions
(PUFs) exploit the unavoidable manufacturing variations of an Integrated Circuit (IC). Their input-output behavior serves as a unique IC “fingerprint.” Therefore, they have been envisioned as an IC authentication mechanism, in particular the subclass of so-called strong PUFs. The protocol proposals are typically accompanied with two PUF promises: lightweight and an increased resistance against physical attacks. In this work, we review 19 proposals in chronological order: from the original strong PUF proposal (2001) to the more complicated noise bifurcation and system of PUF proposals (2014). The assessment is aided by a unified notation and a transparent framework of PUF protocol requirements.
Optimal Placement of Irradiation Sources in the Planning of Radiotherapy: Mathematical Models and Methods of Solving
Authors: Blyuss Oleg , Koriashkina Larysa , Kiseleva Elena , Molchanov Robert
Published: October 2015

This paper proposes and analyses a mathematical model for the problem of distribution of a finite number of irradiation sources during radiotherapy in continuous environments to maximize the minimal cumulative effects. A new algorithm based on nondifferentiable optimization techniques has been developed to solve this problem.
Rolling Element Bearing Fault Diagnosis Based on Multiscale General Fractal Features
Authors: Wen Weigang , Fan Zhaoyan , Karg Donald , Cheng Weidong
Published: October 2015

Nonlinear characteristics are ubiquitous in the vibration signals produced by rolling element bearings. Fractal dimensions are effective tools to illustrate nonlinearity. This paper proposes a new approach based on Multiscale General Fractal Dimensions (MGFDs) to realize fault diagnosis of rolling element bearings, which are robust to the effects of variation in operating conditions. The vibration signals of bearing are analyzed to extract the general fractal dimensions in multiscales, which are in turn utilized to construct a feature space to identify fault pattern. Finally, bearing faults are revealed by pattern recognition. Case studies are carried out to evaluate the validity and accuracy of the approach. It is verified that this approach is effective for fault diagnosis of rolling element bearings under various operating conditions via experiment and data analysis.
Perspectives on the Emerging Applications of Multifaceted Biomedical Polymeric Nanomaterials
Authors: Gumel Ahmad Mohammed , Annuar Mohamad Suffian Mohamad , Yusuf Hindatu
Published: October 2015

Biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric nanomaterials, serving as biomedical devices have garnered significant attention as a promising solution to therapeutic management of many chronic diseases. Despite their potentials, majority of the synthetic nanomaterials used in biomedical applications lack crucial properties, for example, ligand binding sites, responsiveness, and switchability to efficiently deliver intended drugs to the target site. Advancements in manipulating nanoscale geometry have incurred the incorporation of triggered release mechanism within the nanomaterials design. This expanded their potential applications beyond nanocarriers to theranostics exhibiting both tandem drug delivery and diagnostic capabilities. Additionally, it highlights possibilities to design nanomaterials that could translate chemical response(s) to photometric display, thus making affordable biosensors and actuators readily available for biomedical exploitation. It is anticipated that, in the near future, these implementations could be made to access some of the most difficult therapy locations, for example, blood brain barrier to provide efficient management of Alzheimer, Huntington, and other neurodegenerative diseases. This review aims to serve as a reference platform by providing the readers with the overview of the recent advancements and cutting‐edge techniques employed in the production and instrumentation of such nanomaterials.
A MRI Denoising Method Based on 3D Nonlocal Means and Multidimensional PCA
Authors: Chang Liu , ChaoBang Gao , Xi Yu
Published: October 2015

Recently nonlocal means (NLM) and its variants have been applied in the various scientific fields extensively due to its simplicity and desirable property to conserve the neighborhood information. The two-stage MRI denoising algorithm proposed in this paper is based on 3D optimized blockwise version of NLM and multidimensional PCA (MPCA). The proposed algorithm takes full use of the block representation advantageous of NLM3D to restore the noisy slice from different neighboring slices and employs MPCA as a postprocessing step to remove noise further while preserving the structural information of 3D MRI. The experiments have demonstrated that the proposed method has achieved better visual results and evaluation criteria than 3D-ADF, NLM3D, and OMNLM_LAPCA.
Contact with Fluoride‐Releasing Restorative Materials Can Arrest Simulated Approximal Caries Lesion
Authors: Guglielmi Camila de Almeida Brandão , Calvo Ana Flávia Bissoto , Tedesco Tamara Kerber , Mendes Fausto Medeiros , Raggio Daniela Prócida
Published: October 2015

Previous studies have suggested that the presence of white‐spot lesion is very probable when adjacent surface is affected by cavitated lesions. This study evaluated the potential of different fluoride‐releasing restorative materials in arresting enamel white‐spot lesions in approximal surface in contact with them, in vitro (I) and in situ (II). White‐spot lesions were formed in 240 primary enamel specimens via pH‐cycling. They were put in contact with cylindrical blocks of 6 materials (n = 20): composite resin, 2 high‐viscous glass ionomer cements (HVGIC), resin‐modified GIC, resin‐modified nanoionomer, and polyacid‐modified resin. In both studies I and II, these settings were designed to simulate the contact point between the restoration and simulated approximal lesion. For study I, they were subjected to a new pH‐cycling cariogenic challenge for 7 or 14 days (n = 10). For study II, a randomized double‐blind in situ design was conducted in two phases (7/14 days) to promote cariogenic challenge. At the end of both studies, specimens were collected for mineral analysis by cross‐sectional microhardness. Higher mineral loss was observed for lesions in contact with resin (p < 0.001). HVGICs were the most efficient in preventing mineral loss, whereas other materials presented an intermediate behavior. It is concluded that fluoride‐releasing materials can moderately reduce white‐spot lesions progression, and HVGIC can arrest enamel lesion in approximal surface in contact with them.
Direction-of-Arrival Estimation of Virtual Array Signals Based on Doppler Effect
Authors: Zhao Feng , Hao Xia , Chen Hongbin
Published: October 2015

The estimation accuracy of direction-of-departure (DOD) and direction-of-arrival (DOA) is reduced because of Doppler shifts caused by the high-speed moving sources. In this paper, an improved DOA estimation method which combines the forward-backward spatial smoothing (FBSS) technique with the MUSIC algorithm is proposed for virtual MIMO array signals in high mobility scenarios. Theoretical analysis and experiment results demonstrate that the resolution capability can be significantly improved by using the proposed method compared to the MUSIC algorithm for the moving sources with limited array elements, especially the DOA which can still be accurately estimated when the sources are much closely spaced.
Apical Extrusion of Debris Produced during Continuous Rotating and Reciprocating Motion
Authors: Nevares Giselle , Xavier Felipe , Gominho Luciana , Cavalcanti Flávia , Cassimiro Marcely , Romeiro Kaline , Alvares Pamella , Queiroz Gabriela , Sobral Ana Paula , Gerbi Marleny , Silveira Marcia , Albuquerque Diana
Published: October 2015

This study aimed to analyse and compare apical extrusion of debris in canals instrumented with systems used in reciprocating and continuous motion. Sixty mandibular premolars were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 20): the Reciproc (REC), WaveOne (WO), and HyFlex CM (HYF) groups. One Eppendorf tube per tooth was weighed in advance on an analytical balance. The root canals were instrumented according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and standardised irrigation with 2.5% sodium hypochlorite was performed to a total volume of 9 mL. After instrumentation, the teeth were removed from the Eppendorf tubes and incubated at 37°C for 15 days to evaporate the liquid. The tubes were weighed again, and the difference between the initial and final weight was calculated to determine the weight of the debris. The data were statistically analysed using the Shapiro‐Wilk, Wilcoxon, and Mann‐Whitney tests (α = 5%). All systems resulted in the apical extrusion of debris. Reciproc produced significantly more debris than WaveOne (p < 0.05), and both systems produced a greater apical extrusion of debris than HyFlex CM (p < 0.001). Cross section and motion influenced the results, despite tip standardization.
Decomposition and Decoupling Analysis of Energy-Related Carbon Emissions from China Manufacturing
Authors: Liu Qingchun , Liu Shufang , Kong Lingqun
Published: October 2015

The energy-related carbon emissions of China’s manufacturing increased rapidly, from 36988.97 × 104 tC in 1996 to 74923.45 × 104 tC in 2012. To explore the factors to the change of the energy-related carbon emissions from manufacturing sector and the decoupling relationship between energy-related carbon emissions and economic growth, the empirical research was carried out based on the LMDI method and Tapio decoupling model. We found that the production scale contributed the most to the increase of the total carbon emissions, while the energy intensity was the most inhibiting factor. And the effects of the intrastructure and fuel mix on the change of carbon emissions were relatively weak. At a disaggregative level within manufacturing sector, EI subsector had a greater impact on the change of the total carbon emissions, with much more potentiality of energy conservation and emission reduction. Weak decoupling of manufacturing sector carbon emissions from GDP could be observed in the manufacturing sector and EI subsector, while strong decoupling state appeared in NEI subsector. Several advices were put forward, such as adjusting the fuel structure and optimizing the intrastructure and continuing to improve the energy intensity to realize the manufacturing sustainable development in low carbon pattern.
Temporal Identification of Dysregulated Genes and Pathways in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Based on Systematic Tracking of Disrupted Modules
Authors: Wang Shao-Mei , Sun Ze-Qiang , Li Hong-Yun , Wang Jin , Liu Qing-Yong
Published: October 2015

Objective. The objective of this work is to identify dysregulated genes and pathways of ccRCC temporally according to systematic tracking of the dysregulated modules of reweighted Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) networks.Methods. Firstly, normal and ccRCC PPI network were inferred and reweighted based on Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC). Then, we identified altered modules using maximum weight bipartite matching and ranked them in nonincreasing order. Finally, gene compositions of altered modules were analyzed, and pathways enrichment analyses of genes in altered modules were carried out based on Expression Analysis Systematic Explored (EASE) test.Results. We obtained 136, 576, 693, and 531 disrupted modules of ccRCC stages I, II, III, and IV, respectively. Gene composition analyses of altered modules revealed that there were 56 common genes (such asMAPK1,CCNA2, andGSTM3) existing in the four stages. Besides pathway enrichment analysis identified 5 common pathways (glutathione metabolism, cell cycle, alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism, and metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450) across stages I, II, III, and IV.Conclusions. We successfully identified dysregulated genes and pathways of ccRCC in different stages, and these might be potential biological markers and processes for treatment and etiology mechanism in ccRCC.
Multifault Diagnosis of Rolling Element Bearings Using a Wavelet Kurtogram and Vector Median-Based Feature Analysis
Authors: Nguyen Phuong H. , Kim Jong-Myon
Published: October 2015

This paper presents a comprehensive multifault diagnosis methodology for incipient rolling element bearing failures. This is done by combining a wavelet packet transform- (WPT-) based kurtogram and a new vector median-based feature analysis technique. The proposed approach first extracts useful features that are characteristic of the bearing health condition from the time domain, frequency domain, and envelope power spectrum of incoming acoustic emission (AE) signals by using a WPT-based kurtogram. Then, an enhanced feature analysis approach based on the linear discriminant analysis (LDA) technique is used to select the most discriminant bearing fault features from the original feature set. These selected fault features are used by a Naïve Bayes (NB) classifier to classify the bearing fault conditions. The performance of the proposed methodology is tested and validated under various bearing fault conditions on an experimental test rig and compared with conventional state-of-the-art approaches. The proposed bearing fault diagnosis methodology yields average classification accuracies of 91.11%, 96.67%, 98.89%, 99.44%, and 98.61% at rotational speeds of 300, 350, 400, 450, and 500 rpm, respectively.
Predicting Drug-Target Interactions via Within-Score and Between-Score
Authors: Shi Jian-Yu , Liu Zun , Yu Hui , Li Yong-Jun
Published: October 2015

Network inference and local classification models have been shown to be useful in predicting newly potential drug-target interactions (DTIs) for assisting in drug discovery or drug repositioning. The idea is to represent drugs, targets, and their interactions as a bipartite network or an adjacent matrix. However, existing methods have not yet addressed appropriately several issues, such as the powerless inference in the case of isolated subnetworks, the biased classifiers derived from insufficient positive samples, the need of training a number of local classifiers, and the unavailable relationship between known DTIs and unapproved drug-target pairs (DTPs). Designing more effective approaches to address those issues is always desirable. In this paper, after presenting better drug similarities and target similarities, we characterize each DTP as a feature vector of within-scores and between-scores so as to hold the following superiorities: (1) a uniform vector of all types of DTPs, (2) only one global classifier with less bias benefiting from adequate positive samples, and (3) more importantly, the visualized relationship between known DTIs and unapproved DTPs. The effectiveness of our approach is finally demonstrated via comparing with other popular methods under cross validation and predicting potential interactions for DTPs under the validation in existing databases.
Contribution of AvianSalmonella entericaIsolates to Human Salmonellosis Cases in Constantine (Algeria)
Authors: Elgroud Rachid , Granier Sophie A. , Marault Muriel , Kerouanton Annaëlle , Lezzar Abdesslem , Bouzitouna-Bentchouala Chafia , Brisabois Anne , Millemann Yves
Published: October 2015

An epidemiological investigation was carried out on one hundredSalmonellaisolates from broiler farms, slaughterhouses, and human patients in the Constantine region of Algeria, in order to explore the contribution of avian strains to human salmonellosis cases in this region over the same period of time. The isolates were characterized by phenotypic as well as genotypic methods. A large variety of antimicrobial resistance profiles was found among human isolates, while only seven profiles were found among avian isolates. Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus-PCR (ERIC-PCR), Insertion Sequence200-PCR (IS200-PCR), and Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) resulted in the allocation of the isolates to 16, 20, and 34 different profiles, respectively. The 3 genotyping methods led to complementary results by underlining the clonality of some serovars with the diffusion and persistence of a single clone in the Constantine area as well as stressing the polymorphism present in isolates belonging to other serovars, indicating the diversity of potential reservoirs of nontyphoidalSalmonella. Altogether, our results seem to indicate that nontyphoidal avianSalmonellamay play an important role in human salmonellosis in the Constantine region.
ROC-Boosting: A Feature Selection Method for Health Identification Using Tongue Image
Authors: Cui Yan , Liao Shizhong , Wang Hongwu
Published: October 2015

Objective. To select significant Haar-like features extracted from tongue images for health identification.Materials and Methods. 1,322 tongue cases were included in this study. Health information and tongue images of each case were collected. Cases were classified into the following groups: group containing 148 cases diagnosed as health; group containing 332 cases diagnosed as ill based on health information, even though tongue image is normal; and group containing 842 cases diagnosed as ill. Haar-like features were extracted from tongue images. Then, we proposed a new boosting method in the ROC space for selecting significant features from the features extracted from these images.Results. A total of 27 features were obtained from groups A, B, and C. Seven features were selected from groups A and B, while 25 features were selected from groups A and C.Conclusions. The selected features in this study were mainly obtained from the root, top, and side areas of the tongue. This is consistent with the tongue partitions employed in traditional Chinese medicine. These results provide scientific evidence to TCM tongue diagnosis for health identification.
Modular Interacting Multiple Model Based on Extended Viterbi Algorithm for Maneuvering Target Tracking
Authors: Liu Xia , Long Fei , Zhang Wenjie , Guo Lu
Published: October 2015

A new maneuvering target tracking algorithm is investigated, which is modeled as a class of Markov jump linear systems (MJLS). Drawing on the experience of combination idea of the extended Viterbi algorithm (EV) and the interacting multiple model algorithm (IMM), a modular interacting multiple model based on extended Viterbi (MIMMEV) is presented. The MIMMEV algorithm consists ofNindependent interacting multiple model-extended Viterbi (IMM-EV). Furthermore, these IMM-EV filters are independent and working in parallel in the MIMMEV algorithm. According to the derived probability, the estimated state of every moment is the weighted sum of each estimator at the corresponding time. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm improves the tracking precision and reduces the computational burden compared with traditional IMM and IMM-EV.
In Situ Synthesis of Reduced Graphene Oxide‐Reinforced Silicone‐Acrylate Resin Composite Films Applied in Erosion Resistance
Authors: Cao Yang , Tian Xiaoyong , Wang Yan , Sun Youyi , Yu Hailin , Li Dian-sen , Liu Yaqing
Published: October 2015

The reduced graphene oxide reinforced silicone‐acrylate resin composite films (rGO/SAR composite films) were prepared by in situ synthesis method. The structure of rGO/SAR composite films was characterized by Raman spectrum, atomic force microscope, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analyzer. The results showed that the rGO were uniformly dispersed in silicone‐acrylate resin matrix. Furthermore, the effect of rGO loading on mechanical properties of composite films was investigated by bulge test. A significant enhancement (ca. 290% and 320%) in Young’s modulus and yield stress was obtained by adding the rGO to silicone‐acrylate resin. At the same time, the adhesive energy between the composite films and metal substrate was also improved to be about 200%. Moreover, the erosion resistance of the composite films was also investigated as function of rGO loading. The rGO had great effect on the erosion resistance of the composite films, in which the Rcorr (ca. 0.8 mm/year) of composite film was far lower than that (28.7 mm/year) of pure silicone‐acrylate resin film. Thus, this approach provides a novel route to investigate mechanical stability of polymer composite films and improve erosion resistance of polymer coating, which are very important to be used in mechanical‐corrosion coupling environments.
A General Synthesis Strategy for Hierarchical Porous Metal Oxide Hollow Spheres
Authors: Fu Huadong , Ren Feng , Su Weiming , Yang Jinlin , Liu Ruiping
Published: October 2015

The hierarchical porous TiO2 hollow spheres were successfully prepared by using the hydrothermally synthesized colloidal carbon spheres as templates and tetrabutyl titanate as inorganic precursors. The diameter and wall thickness of hollow TiO2 spheres were determined by the hard templates and concentration of tetrabutyl titanate. The particle size, dispersity, homogeneity, and surface state of the carbon spheres can be easily controlled by adjusting the hydrothermal conditions and adding certain amount of the surfactants. The prepared hollow spheres possessed the perfect spherical shape, monodispersity, and hierarchically pore structures, and the further experiment verified that the present approach can be used to prepare other metal oxide hollow spheres, which could be used as catalysis, fuel cells, lithium‐air battery, gas sensor, and so on.
Taxonomy and DNA Sequencing ofCrematogaster coriariaMayr, 1872 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with Redescriptions of the Worker, Queen, and Male Castes
Authors: Hosoishi Shingo , Ogata Kazuo
Published: October 2015

Crematogaster coriariaMayr, 1872, is revised based on the nest series samples. The following new synonymies are proposed:C. coriariaMayr, 1872 =  C. coriaria fraudatrixForel, 1911syn. nov.  =  C. spengeliForel, 1912syn. nov.  =  C. spengeli taipingensisForel, 1913syn. nov.Worker, queen, and male castes ofC. coriariaMayr, 1872, are redescribed. The polymorphism ofC. coriariaMayr, 1872, was also discussed. DNA sequences were generated forC. coriariaMayr, 1872, using an amplification of second half region of the mitochondrial gene COI with a total of 711 bp. The interspecific COI divergence is 17.4% forC. coriariaMayr, 1872, andC. modiglianiiEmery, 1900.
UV Photocatalysis of Bone Marrow‐Derived Macrophages on TiO2 Nanotubes Mediates Intracellular Ca2+ Influx via Voltage‐Gated Ca2+ Channels
Authors: Oh Seunghan , Choi Eun-Joo , Erkhembaatar Munkhsoyol , Kim Min Seuk
Published: October 2015

Titanium (Ti) possesses excellent properties for use in dental implants but has low osteogenic surface properties that result in limiting rapid osseointegration. The physiological interaction between the surface of the implant material and bone cells, especially osteoclasts, is a crucial factor in determining successful osseointegration. However, the details of such an interaction remain elusive. Here, we demonstrated that nanotopography on the Ti surface is a crucial factor for modulating intracellular signal transduction in bone marrow‐derived macrophages (BMMs). To define this, intracellular Ca2+ and ROS were simultaneously measured in BMMs that were seeded on polished Ti and TiO2 nanotubes. We found that UV photocatalysis of TiO2 immediately elicits intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) increase and intracellular reactive oxygen species concentration ([ROS]i) reduction in cells on TiO2 nanotubes. UV photocatalysis‐mediated [Ca2+]i increase is dependent on extracellular and intracellular ROS generation. Furthermore, extracellular Ca2+ influx through voltage‐gated calcium channels (VGCCs) is critical for the UV photocatalysis‐mediated [Ca2+]i increase, while phospholipase C (PLC) activation is not required. Considering the physiological roles of Ca2+ signaling in BMMs and osteoclastogenesis, nanotopography on the Ti surface should be considered an important factor that can influence successful dental implantation.
Conductive Composite Biosensor System for Electrochemical Indinavir Drug Detection
Authors: Ross Natasha , Hendricks-Leukes Nicolette , Ajayi Rachel Fanelwa , Baker Priscilla , Iwuoha Emmanuel I.
Published: October 2015

Indinavir is a protease inhibitor antiretroviral (ARV) drug, which forms part of the highly active antiretroviral therapy during the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Indinavir undergoes first-pass metabolism through the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes in the human liver, of which CYP3A4 is the most influential isoenzyme. Multidrug combination therapy and, as such, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) during HIV/AIDS treatment are therefore critical, to prevent adverse interactions. The conventional sensitive and specific assays available for quantifying ARV drugs, however, suffer from distinct disadvantages. In this regard, biosensors can be used to provide real time information on the metabolic profile of the drug. In this study, a biosensor with cobalt(III) sepulchrate trichloride{CoSep3+}as diffusional mediator was constructed. The biosensor platform consisted of CYP3A4 immobilized onto a gold nanoparticle (GNP) overoxidized polypyrrole (OvOxPpy) carrier matrix. The biosensor exhibited reversible electrochemistry, with formal potential determined as −624 ± 5 mV, from voltammetric analysis, with overall electron transfer being diffusion controlled. The biosensor showed typical electrocatalytic response to dioxygen (O2), exemplified by the distinct increase in the cathodic peak current (Ip,c). A concentration-dependent increase inIp,cwas observed in response to consecutive additions of Indinavir.
Acupuncture-Point Stimulation for Postoperative Pain Control: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Liu Xian-Liang , Tan Jing-Yu , Molassiotis Alex , Suen Lorna K. P. , Shi Yan
Published: October 2015

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Acupuncture-point stimulation (APS) in postoperative pain control compared with sham/placebo acupuncture or standard treatments (usual care or no treatment). Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Meta-analysis results indicated that APS interventions improved VAS scores significantly and also reduced total morphine consumption. No serious APS-related adverse effects (AEs) were reported. There is Level I evidence for the effectiveness of body points plaster therapy and Level II evidence for body points electroacupuncture (EA), body points acupressure, body points APS for abdominal surgery patients, auricular points seed embedding, manual auricular acupuncture, and auricular EA. We obtained Level III evidence for body points APS in patients who underwent cardiac surgery and cesarean section and for auricular-point stimulation in patients who underwent abdominal surgery. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that APS is an effective postoperative pain therapy in surgical patients, although the evidence does support the conclusion that APS can reduce analgesic requirements without AEs. The best level of evidence was not adequate in most subgroups. Some limitations of this study may have affected the results, possibly leading to an overestimation of APS effects.
Hybrid Scheduling Model for Independent Grid Tasks
Authors: Shanthini J. , Kalaikumaran T. , Karthik S.
Published: October 2015

Grid computing facilitates the resource sharing through the administrative domains which are geographically distributed. Scheduling in a distributed heterogeneous environment is intrinsically very hard because of the heterogeneous nature of resource collection. Makespan and tardiness are two different measures of scheduling, and many of the previous researches concentrated much on reduction of makespan, which measures the machine utilization. In this paper, we propose a hybrid scheduling algorithm for scheduling independent grid tasks with the objective of reducing total weighted tardiness of grid tasks. Tardiness is to measure the due date performance, which has a direct impact on cost for executing the jobs. In this paper we propose BG_ATC algorithm which is a combination of best gap (BG) search and Apparent Tardiness Cost (ATC) indexing algorithm. Furthermore, we implemented these two algorithms in two different phases of the scheduling process. In addition to that, the comparison was made on results with various benchmark algorithms and the experimental results show that our algorithm outperforms the benchmark algorithms.