bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does a brief, behavioural intervention, delivered by paediatricians or psychologists improve sleep problems for children with ADHD? Protocol for a cluster-randomised, translational trial
Authors: Sciberras E , Mulraney M , Heussler H , Rinehart N , Schuster T , Gold L , Hayes N , Hiscock H
Published: April 2017

Introduction

Up to 70% of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience sleep problems. We have demonstrated the efficacy of a brief behavioural intervention for children with ADHD in a large randomised controlled trial (RCT) and now aim to examine whether this intervention is effective in real-life clinical settings when delivered by paediatricians or psychologists. We will also assess the cost-effectiveness of the intervention.

Methods and analysis

Children aged 5–12 years with ADHD (n=320) are being recruited for this translational cluster RCT through paediatrician practices in Victoria and Queensland, Australia. Children are eligible if they meet criteria for ADHD, have a moderate/severe sleep problem and meet American Academy of Sleep Medicine criteria for either chronic insomnia disorder or delayed sleep–wake phase disorder; or are experiencing sleep-related anxiety. Clinicians are randomly allocated at the level of the paediatrician to either receive the sleep training or not. The behavioural intervention comprises 2 consultations covering sleep hygiene and standardised behavioural strategies. The primary outcome is change in the proportion of children with moderate/severe sleep problems from moderate/severe to no/mild by parent report at 3 months postintervention. Secondary outcomes include a range of child (eg, sleep severity, ADHD symptoms, quality of life, behaviour, working memory, executive functioning, learning, academic achievement) and primary caregiver (mental health, parenting, work attendance) measures. Analyses will address clustering at the level of the paediatrician using linear mixed effect models adjusting for potential a priori confounding variables.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval has been granted. Findings will determine whether the benefits of an efficacy trial can be realised more broadly at the population level and will inform the development of clinical guidelines for managing sleep problems in this population. We will seek to publish in leading international paediatric journals, present at major conferences and through established clinician networks.

Trial registration number

ISRCTN50834814, Pre-results.
Efficacy and safety of suanzaoren decoction for chronic insomnia disorder in adults: study protocol for randomised, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled trial
Authors: Zhou Qi-Hui , Wang Hui-Lin , Zhou Xiao-Li , Xu Meng-Bei , Zhang Hong-feng , Huang Li-bo , Zheng Guo-qing , Lin Yan
Published: April 2017

Background

Insomnia disorder is defined as a combination of dissatisfaction with sleep quantity or quality and a significant negative impact on daytime functioning. Chronic insomnia disorder refers to clinical symptoms of persistent insomnia at least three nights a week for at least 3 months. Prevalence estimates of insomnia disorder range from 12% to 20% in the adult population, with approximately 50% having a chronic course. The potential side effects of hypnotic medications hinder their clinical application. Thus, traditional Chinese medicine is considered as an alternative option for treating insomnia.

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of suanzaoren decoction (SZRD), a classic Chinese herbal prescription, for adult chronic insomnia disorder.

Methods/analysis

This is a randomised, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled clinical trial. A total of 150 patients with chronic insomnia disorder are randomised, allocated in a ratio of 1:1:1 to three groups: intervention group, control group and placebo group. The intervention group receives SZRD granule plus zolpidem tartrate (ZT) placebo; the control group receives ZT tablet plus SZRD granule placebo; and the placebo group receives ZT placebo and SZRD granule placebo. The patients receive medicine or placebo for 5 weeks and are followed up at 20 weeks. The primary outcome measures are polysomnography and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Secondary outcome measures are the Insomnia Severity Index, sleep diary and safety assessment. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and after treatment.

Trial registration number

ChiCTR-IOR-16009198. pre-results.
Predisposing factors for recanalization of cerebral aneurysms after endovascular embolization: a multivariate study
Authors: Zhang Qianqian , Jing Linkai , Liu Jian , Wang Kun , Zhang Ying , Paliwal Nikhil , Meng Hui , Wang Yang , Wang Shengzhang , Yang Xinjian
Published: April 2017

Background

The recanalization of cerebral aneurysms after endovascular embolization (coiling or stent-assisted coiling) has been a matter of concern.

Objective

To systematically evaluate the predisposing factors for cerebral aneurysm recanalization using multidimensional analysis in a large patient cohort.

Methods

In 238 patients with 283 aneurysms, patient baseline characteristics, aneurysm morphological characteristics, treatment-related factors, and changes in flow hemodynamics after endovascular treatment (coiling or stent-assisted coiling) were compared between the recanalization and non-recanalization groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine independent risk factors correlated with recanalization.

Results

16 aneurysms treated by coiling recanalized, with a recurrence rate of 18.6%, and 24 recanalized in the lesions treated by stent-assisted coiling, with a recanalization rate of 12.2%. Large aneurysms (>10 mm, p=0.002) and a follow-up interval >1 year (p=0.027) were shown to be statistically significant between the recanalization and non-recanalization groups. For flow hemodynamic changes, three parameters (velocity on the neck plane, wall shear stress on the neck wall, and wall shear stress on the whole aneurysm) showed a relatively lower amplitude of decrease after endovascular treatment in the recanalization group. Interestingly, the velocity on the neck plane and wall shear stress on the neck wall may be elevated after treatment. Specifically, the reduction ratio (RR) of velocity on the neck plane showed significant difference between the groups in the multivariate analysis (p=0.013), and was considered an independent risk factor for recanalization.

Conclusions

The aneurysm size, follow-up interval, and flow hemodynamic changes, especially the RR of velocity on the neck plane, have important roles in aneurysm recanalization.
Effects of three-body interactions on the instabilities and self-oscillations of the four-wave mixing in Bose–Einstein condensates
Authors: Ngounga Makoundit G. J. , Ekogo T. B. , Moubissi A. B. , Ben-Bolie G. H. , Kofane T. C.
Published: April 2017

In this paper, we analyze and discuss instabilities and self-oscillations of four-wave mixing in two-component Bose–Einstein condensates with two- and three-body interatomic interactions. The model is very accurately described in the mean-field approximation by the cubic–quintic Gross–Pitaevskii equation. The relation between the input and output field intensities is multivalued and the effects of the quintic nonlinearity on the self-oscillations of the system are studied. We have also found that the magnitude of the signal beam increases with the increase of the intensity of the probe beam, up to a saturated value, then it decreases with the increase of the intensity of the probe beam. We have shown that the three-body interatomic interactions enhance this saturated value.
Computational Modeling for Fluid–Structure Interaction of Bioprosthetic Heart Valve with Different Suture Density: Comparison with Dynamic Structure Simulation
Authors: Wang Z. C. , Yuan Q. , Zhu H. W. , Shen B. S. , Tang D.
Published: April 2017

In this paper, a parametric geometry model based on elliptic and conic surfaces was developed for bioprosthetic heart valve (BHV) simulation. The valve material was modeled by a hyperelastic nonlinear anisotropic solid model. Different suture densities could be substituted by various bonded points between artery vessel and the leaflets as boundary conditions in the computational modeling. Besides these two assumptions that dynamic structure (DS) and fluid–structure interaction (FSI) both shared, the latter need incompressible viscous Newton fluid model to depict bloodstream passing through the BHV. Immersed boundary (IB) method was introduced to solve the FSI simulation. In addition, the DS analysis applied transvalvular pressure on the valve while FSI had left ventricular pressure on fluid inlet as initials. There was inconsistency between the moments of the maximum deformation and the maximum loading in both simulations. Although a similar trend of deformation lagging the load was viewed, the extent of delay in FSI was much smaller compared with that in DS simulation. The deformed profiles in cross-sectional views were shown in one picture to illustrate different dynamic responses caused by distinct assumptions. Percent of open area at the moments when the maximum deformation occurred was defined to show which calculation achieved better approximation for precise hemodynamics. Fixed point was given as boundaries between BHV and artery in the modeling part. Calculations showed that the more the fixed points in this bonded contact, the lower the principal stress was. The maximum shear stress showed a different trend. It had a different trend. Stress concentration in the conjunction area made it high-risk to be teared. Different suture densities had significant impaction in FSI simulations. With that analysis our work achieved a more comprehensive simulation to describe true hemodynamics of a BHV implanted in artery. The artery vessel had particular dynamic response under such assumptions, gradient existed in the maximum principal stress distribution diagram, from inner wall through which blood passing to the outer wall. Results showed a large suture density was suggested in BHV implantation.
The Hybrid Filter Feature Selection Methods for Improving High-Dimensional Text Categorization
Authors: Nam Le Nguyen Hoai , Quoc Ho Bao
Published: April 2017

The bag-of-words technique is often used to present a document in text categorization. However, for a large set of documents where the dimension of the bag-of-words vector is very high, text categorization becomes a serious challenge as a result of sparse data, over-fitting, and irrelevant features. A filter feature selection method reduces the number of features by eliminating irrelevant features from the bag-of-words vector. In this paper, we analyze the weak points and strong points of two filter feature selection approaches which are the frequency-based approach and the cluster-based approach. Thanks to the analysis, we propose hybrid filter feature selection methods, named the Frequency-Cluster Feature Selection (FCFS) and the Detailed Frequency-Cluster Feature Selection (DtFCFS), to further improve the performance of the filter feature selection process in text categorization. The FCFS is a combination of the Frequency-based approach and the Cluster-based approach, while the DtFCFS, a detailed version of the FCFS, is a comprehensively hybrid clusterbased method. We do experiments with four benchmark datasets (the Reuters-21578 and Newsgroup dataset for news classification, the Ohsumed dataset for medical document classification, and the LingSpam dataset for email classification) to compare the proposed methods with six related wellknown methods such as the Comprehensive Measurement Feature Selection (CMFS), the Optimal Orthogonal Centroid Feature Selection (OCFS), the Crossed Centroid Feature Selection (CIIC), the Information Gain (IG), the Chi-square (CHI), and the Deviation from Poisson Feature Selection (DFPFS). In terms of the Micro-F1, the Macro-F1, and the dimension reduction rate, the DtFCFS is superior to the other methods, while the FCFS shows competitive and even superior performance to the good methods, especially for the Macro-F1.
BSFS: Design and Development of Exponential Brain Storm Fuzzy System for Data Classification
Authors: Chandrasekar R. , Khare Neelu
Published: April 2017

The inductive learning of fuzzy rule classifier suffers in the rule generation and rule optimization when the search space or variables becomes high. This creates the new idea of making the fuzzy system with precise rules leading to less scalability and improved accuracy. Accordingly, different approaches have been presented in the literature for optimal finding of fuzzy rules using optimization algorithms. Here, we make use of the brain storm optimization algorithm for rule optimization. In this paper, a new fuzzy system called, exponential brain storm fuzzy system is developed by modifying the traditional fuzzy system in rule definition process. In rule derivation, we have presented an algorithm called, EBSO by modifying the BSO algorithm with exponential model. Also, the membership function is designed using simple uniform distribution-based approach. Finally, data classification is performed with a new BSFS system using three medical databases such as, PID, Cleveland and DRD. The experimentation proved that the proposed BSFS clearly outperformed in all the three datasets by reaching the maximum accuracy.
MICROSTRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF AMORPHOUS Al–Cu–Ti METAL FOAMS SYNTHESIZED BY SPARK PLASMA SINTERING
Authors: LI MAOYUAN , LU LIN , DAI ZHEN , HONG YIQIANG , CHEN WEIWEI , ZHANG YUPING , QIAO YINGJIE
Published: April 2017

Amorphous Al–Cu–Ti metal foams were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) process with the diameter of 10[Formula: see text]mm. The SPS process was conducted at the pressure of 200 and 300[Formula: see text]MPa with the temperature of 653–723[Formula: see text]K, respectively. NaCl was used as the space-holder, forming almost separated pores with the porosity of 65 vol%. The microstructure and mechanical behavior of the amorphous Al–Cu–Ti metal foams were systematically investigated. The results show that the crystallinity increased at elevated temperatures. The effect of pressure and holding time on the crystallization was almost negligible. The intermetallic compounds, i.e. Al–Ti, Al–Cu and Al–Cu–Ti were identified from X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. It was found that weak adhesion and brittle intermetallic compounds reduced the mechanical properties, while lower volume fraction and smaller size of NaCl powders improved the mechanical properties.
THE ROLE OF COMPETITION EFFECT IN THE SELF-ASSEMBLY STRUCTURE OF 3,5-DIPHENYLBENZOIC ACID AND 2,2′:6′,2″-TERPYRIDINE-4′-CARBOXYLIC ACID ON Ag(110)
Authors: HU YUFEN , LI WEI , LU YAN , WANG ZHONGPING , LENG XINLI , LIAO QINGHUA , LIU XIAOQING , WANG LI
Published: April 2017

The self-assembly structures of 2,2[Formula: see text]:6[Formula: see text],2[Formula: see text]-terpyridine-4[Formula: see text]-carboxylic acid (C[Formula: see text]H[Formula: see text]N3O2; [Formula: see text]) molecules and 3,5-diphenylbenzoic acid (C[Formula: see text]H[Formula: see text]O2; [Formula: see text]) molecules on Ag(110) surface have been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculation. The [Formula: see text] molecules form two different well-organized structures due to the [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] stacking and dipole–dipole interactions. When three C atoms of [Formula: see text] molecules are replaced by three N atoms to form [Formula: see text] molecules, the main driving force to form ordered assembly structures of [Formula: see text] molecule is changed to metal–organic coordination bond and hydrogen bond. The dramatic changes of main driving force between [Formula: see text]/Ag(110) and [Formula: see text]/Ag(110) system demonstrate that the N atoms are apt to form metal–organic coordination bond and hydrogen bond but dipole–dipole interactions and [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] stacking are relative to C atoms. These findings further reveal that the optimization design of organic molecules could vary the main driving force and then lead to the change of the molecular self-assembly structures.
Pseudo B-symmetric manifolds
Authors: Suh Young Jin , Mantica Carlo Alberto , De Uday Chand , Pal Prajjwal
Published: April 2017

In this paper, we introduce a new tensor named [Formula: see text]-tensor which generalizes the [Formula: see text]-tensor introduced by Mantica and Suh [Pseudo [Formula: see text] symmetric Riemannian manifolds with harmonic curvature tensors, Int. J. Geom. Methods Mod. Phys. 9(1) (2012) 1250004]. Then, we study pseudo-[Formula: see text]-symmetric manifolds [Formula: see text] which generalize some known structures on pseudo-Riemannian manifolds. We provide several interesting results which generalize the results of Mantica and Suh [Pseudo [Formula: see text] symmetric Riemannian manifolds with harmonic curvature tensors, Int. J. Geom. Methods Mod. Phys. 9(1) (2012) 1250004]. At first, we prove the existence of a [Formula: see text]. Next, we prove that a pseudo-Riemannian manifold is [Formula: see text]-semisymmetric if and only if it is Ricci-semisymmetric. After this, we obtain a sufficient condition for a [Formula: see text] to be pseudo-Ricci symmetric in the sense of Deszcz. Also, we obtain the explicit form of the Ricci tensor in a [Formula: see text] if the [Formula: see text]-tensor is of Codazzi type. Finally, we consider conformally flat pseudo-[Formula: see text]-symmetric manifolds and prove that a [Formula: see text] spacetime is a [Formula: see text]-wave under certain conditions.
On the ranks of elliptic curves with isogenies
Authors: Daniels Harris B. , Goodwillie Hannah
Published: April 2017

In recent years, the question of whether the ranks of elliptic curves defined over [Formula: see text] are unbounded has garnered much attention. One can create refined versions of this question by restricting one’s attention to elliptic curves over [Formula: see text] with a certain algebraic structure, e.g., with a rational point of a given order. In an attempt to gather data about such questions, we look for examples of elliptic curves over [Formula: see text] with an [Formula: see text]-isogeny and rank as large as possible. To do this, we use existing techniques due to Rogers, Rubin, Silverberg, and Nagao and develop a new technique (based on an observation made by Mazur) that is more computationally feasible when the naive heights of the elliptic curves are large.
Several weighted sum formulas of multiple zeta values
Authors: Eie Minking , Liaw Wen-Chin , Ong Yao Lin
Published: April 2017

For a real number [Formula: see text] and positive integers [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text], we evaluate the sum of multiple zeta values [Formula: see text] explicitly in terms of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. The special case [Formula: see text] gives an evaluation of [Formula: see text]. An explicit evaluation of the multiple zeta-star value [Formula: see text] is also obtained, as well as some applications to evaluation of multiple zeta values with even arguments.
Simultaneous Electrodeposition of Reduced Graphene Oxide/Ag Nanoparticles as a Sensitive Layer for Voltammetric Determination of Tinidazole
Authors: Shahrokhian Saeed , Navabi Mostafa , Mohammadi Rahim
Published: April 2017

A stable composite film of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) decorated on reduced graphene oxide is prepared by a two-step simple procedure. The surface morphology of the modified electrode is characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. The electrochemical behavior of tinidazole (TNZ) on the surface of the modified electrode is investigated by linear sweep voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The prepared composite electrode acts as a highly sensitive platform for the voltammetric determination of TNZ, leading to a significant increase in the reduction peak current of TNZ. The effects of experimental parameters such as the amount of the casted silver ions-GO mixture suspension, the electro-reduction variables, the accumulation time and potential, the scan rate and pH of the buffered solutions on the electrochemical response of TNZ are investigated. Under optimal conditions, the modified electrode showed a wide linear range for the reduction of TNZ in the range of 0.01–10[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]M with a detection limit of 3[Formula: see text]nM. Finally, the prepared electrode is successfully applied for the determination of TNZ in pharmaceutical and clinical samples.
Modeling for assembly simulations: Data description and a data-driven construction framework
Authors: Qiao Lihong , Qie Yifan , Zhu Yixin
Published: April 2017

Assembly simulations such as assembly process simulation and assembly tolerance simulation have become an effective means to evaluate and analyze product assembly design and assembly process planning. Being core aspect of simulation implementation, building an assembly simulation model is rather time-consuming because of its high complexity. Furthermore, modeling has a significant influence on the popularization and application of simulation technology. In this paper, data needed by assembly process and tolerance simulation are addressed to propose a data-driven approach for assembly simulation modeling. The application process and the architecture of modeling framework for assembly simulation are presented as well. An assembly sequence simulation example is given to illustrate the application of the framework. The framework provides a new idea for the realization of automatic modeling for assembly simulation.
EMPIRICALLY CONSTRAINED CLIMATE SENSITIVITY AND THE SOCIAL COST OF CARBON
Authors: DAYARATNA KEVIN , McKITRICK ROSS , KREUTZER DAVID
Published: April 2017

Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) require parameterization of both economic and climatic processes. The latter includes Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity (ECS), or the temperature response to doubling CO2 levels, and Ocean Heat Uptake (OHU) efficiency. ECS distributions in IAMs have been drawn from climate model runs that lack an empirical basis, and in Monte Carlo experiments may not be constrained to consistent OHU values. Empirical ECS estimates are now available, but have not yet been applied in IAMs. We incorporate a new estimate of the ECS distribution conditioned on observed OHU efficiency into two widely used IAMs. The resulting Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) estimates are much lower than those from models based on simulated ECS parameters. In the DICE model, the average SCC falls by approximately 40–50% depending on the discount rate, while in the FUND model the average SCC falls by over 80%. The span of estimates across discount rates also shrinks substantially.
Serious Games for Early Identification of Developmental Dyslexia
Authors: Gaggi Ombretta , Palazzi Claudio Enrico , Ciman Matteo , Galiazzo Giorgia , Franceschini Sandro , Ruffino Milena , Gori Simone , Facoetti Andrea
Published: April 2017

Developmental Dyslexia (DD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting reading acquisition. DD cannot be diagnosed before starting the primary school; thereby, one of the main challenges is to obtain an early DD identification even during preschool years. Achieving this goal could help children at risk for DD to limit the impact of this disorder. To this aim, we have created a digital system composed of various serious games designed for predicting the risk of DD in preschoolers and potentially training specific skills impaired in this learning disability. Our set of serious games are designed to be accessible from any device, a computer with mouse and keyboard, but also a tablet with touch interface for younger children.
Meeting the Expectations from Brain-Computer Interfaces
Authors: Gürkök Hayrettin , Hakvoort Gido , Poel Mannes , Nijholt Anton
Published: April 2017

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are often evaluated in terms of performance and seldom for usability. However in some application domains, such as entertainment computing, user experience evaluation is vital. User experience evaluation in BCI systems, especially in entertainment applications such as games, can be biased due to the novelty of the interface. However, as the novelty will eventually vanish, what matters is the user experience related to the unique features offered by BCI. Therefore it is a viable approach to compare BCI to other novel modalities, such as a speech or motion recognizer, rather than the traditional mouse and keyboard. In the study that we present in this article, our participants played a computer game with a BCI and an automatic speech recognizer (ASR), and they rated their expectations and experiences for both modalities. Our analysis on subjective ratings revealed that both ASR and BCI were successful in satisfying participants' expectations in general. Participants found speech control easier to learn than BCI control. They indicated that BCI control induced more fatigue than they expected.
Posing 3D Models from Drawings
Authors: Gouvatsos Alexandros , Xiao Zhidong , Marsden Neil , Zhang Jian J.
Published: April 2017

Inferring the 3D pose of a character from a drawing is a complex and under-constrained problem. Solving it may help automate various parts of an animation production pipeline such as pre-visualization. In this article, a novel way of inferring the 3D pose from a monocular 2D sketch is proposed. The proposed method does not make any external assumptions about the model, allowing it to be used on different types of characters. The inference of the 3D pose is formulated as an optimization problem and a parallel variation of the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm called PARAC-LOAPSO is utilized for searching the minimum. Testing in isolation as well as part of a larger scene, the presented method is evaluated by posing a lamp, a horse, and a human character. The results show that this method is robust, highly scalable, and able to be extended to various types of models.
Scaling Online Games with NetConnectors
Authors: Mildner Philip , Triebel Tonio , Kopf Stephan , Effelsberg Wolfgang
Published: April 2017

This article presents a peer-to-peer overlay for massively multiplayer online games with a focus on fast-paced action. More than other genres, action games like first-person shooters employ fast and dynamic game mechanics. In multiplayer environments, these properties have to be reflected by the underlying network structure. At the same time, the system should be able to support a huge amount of users in order to deliver a massive experience to the participating players. The capacity of current client/server systems limits the number of players in a game, preventing the desired massive experience.

To provide both a scalable and a responsive system, we use a fully distributed peer-to-peer network with a dynamic connection scheme. By exploiting local interests in the virtual world, our system supports a huge number of users. Therefore, an area-of-interest mechanism is applied to the connection scheme. Users do not connect to all participating users, but they only establish connections to other users they are interested in. These neighbors are determined by the user's perception of the virtual world. Instead of using a purely distance-based approach, our system uses a more flexible neighbor-based approach that supports the use of multiple metrics to determine the set of interesting nodes for each user. A second kind of connection—so-called NetConnectors—utilizes the players' distribution in the virtual world to ensure overlay consistency. For the dissemination of messages, we use a publish/subscribe mechanism. This prevents inconsistencies introduced by unidirectional neighborhood relations that can occur with sender-oriented models. Further, the publish/subscribe mechanism models the users' interests more accurately. In addition to the regular sending mechanism, we implemented a Geocast algorithm that allows information distribution to arbitrary regions of the virtual world. While regular messages are always addressed to specific users, Geocasts cover certain geographical regions. Thus, Geocasts can be used to disseminate messages to all users that are located in the addressed region.

Simulations show that our design performs well in terms of scalability. By keeping the amount of connections per user nearly constant, users do not get overloaded with too many connections. This also applies for crowded regions where the user density is much higher compared to an evenly populated virtual world. Another important aspect of fast-paced multiplayer games is the users' motion behavior. Different movement strategies are evaluated for their impact on network load and connection dynamics.
CDTA
Authors: Yang Kun , Forte Domenic , Tehranipoor Mark M.
Published: April 2017

The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming the way we live and work by increasing the connectedness of people and things on a scale that was once unimaginable. However, the vulnerabilities in the IoT supply chain have raised serious concerns about the security and trustworthiness of IoT devices and components within them. Testing for device provenance, detection of counterfeit integrated circuits (ICs) and systems, and traceability of IoT devices are challenging issues to address. In this article, we develop a novel radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based system suitable for counterfeit detection, traceability, and authentication in the IoT supply chain called
CDTA
. CDTA is composed of different types of on-chip sensors and in-system structures that collect necessary information to detect multiple counterfeit IC types (recycled, cloned, etc.), track and trace IoT devices, and verify the overall system authenticity. Central to CDTA is an RFID tag employed as storage and a channel to read the information from different types of chips on the printed circuit board (PCB) in both power-on and power-off scenarios. CDTA sensor data can also be sent to the remote server for authentication via an encrypted Ethernet channel when the IoT device is deployed in the field. A novel board ID generator is implemented by combining outputs of physical unclonable functions (PUFs) embedded in the RFID tag and different chips on the PCB. A light-weight RFID protocol is proposed to enable mutual authentication between RFID readers and tags. We also implement a secure interchip communication on the PCB. Simulations and experimental results using Spartan 3E FPGAs demonstrate the effectiveness of this system. The efficiency of the radio-frequency (RF) communication has also been verified via a PCB prototype with a printed slot antenna.
Regression Analysis of Demographic and Technology-Experience Factors Influencing Acceptance of Sign Language Animation
Authors: Kacorri Hernisa , Huenerfauth Matt , Ebling Sarah , Patel Kasmira , Menzies Kellie , Willard Mackenzie
Published: April 2017

Software for automating the creation of linguistically accurate and natural-looking animations of American Sign Language (ASL) could increase information accessibility for many people who are deaf. As compared to recording and updating videos of human ASL signers, technology for automatically producing animation from an easy-to-update script would make maintaining ASL content on websites more efficient. Most sign language animation researchers evaluate their systems by collecting subjective judgments and comprehension-question responses from deaf participants. Through a survey (N = 62) and multiple-regression analysis, we identified relationships between (a) demographic and technology-experience characteristics of participants and (b) the subjective and objective scores collected from them during the evaluation of sign language animation systems. These relationships were experimentally verified in a subsequent user study with 57 participants, which demonstrated that specific subpopulations have higher comprehension or subjective scores when viewing sign language animations in an evaluation study. This finding indicates that researchers should collect and report a set of specific characteristics about participants in any publications describing evaluation studies of their technology, a practice that is not yet currently standard among researchers working in this field. In addition to investigating this relationship between participant characteristics and study results, we have also released our survey questions in ASL and English that can be used to measure these participant characteristics, to encourage reporting of such data in future studies. Such reporting would enable researchers in the field to better interpret and compare results between studies with different participant pools.
Online censorship, cyberattacks, and access to information
Authors: Rastogi Nidhi
Published: April 2017

Dan Keyserling, head of communications at Jigsaw, an incubator within Alphabet, shares how technology can help address global challenges, especially on the front lines of press freedom, political repression, and human rights.
Data analytics, accelerators, and supercomputing
Authors: Kalantzis Vasileios
Published: April 2017

The Message Passing Interface faces new challenges as modern concepts and technologies like data analytics and accelerators penetrate high-performance computing. Here, we discuss the future of MPI with HPC expert Prof. Torsten Hoefler of ETH Zürich, Switzerland.
How Dimensional and Semantic Attributes of Visual Sign Influence Relative Value Estimation
Authors: Li Yi-Na , Zhang Kang , Li Dong-Jin
Published: April 2017

High-quality decision making requires accurate estimation of relative values. The perceptual bias when estimating relative values displayed by a visual sign may weaken the accuracy and cause misjudgment. This research explores the heuristic estimation of relative values using visual cues, namely linear, areal, and volumetric information. We conduct experiments to empirically test the influences of dimensional information on perceptual biases. First, we investigate the conspicuity of areal information. Our experiments indicate that the responses of participants instructed to estimate rates defined by either linear or volumetric information are biased by the corresponding rates determined by areal information. Second, visual cues implying three-dimensional information (e.g., depth) can lead to overestimation. Third, we probe the influence of vividness as the boundary condition on relative value estimation. Empirical evidence on perceptual bias sheds light on the pragmatics of visual signs, helps suggest guidelines for visual persuasions, and improves decision-making quality.
The renal and cardiovascular effects of natriuretic peptides
Authors: Wong Philip Ching Yat , Guo Jun , Zhang Aidong
Published: April 2017

The landmark report by de Bold et al. in 1981 signified the heart as one of the endocrine organs involved in fluid and salt balance (de Bold AJ, Borenstein HB, Veress AT, Sonnenberg H. Life Sci 28: 89–94, 1981). Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) are secreted from cardiomyocytes in response to cardiac stretch as in the case of heart failure, whereas C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) is secreted from endothelial and renal cells in response to cytokines and endothelium-dependent agonists, such as acetylcholine. Binding ANP or BNP to natriuretic peptide receptor A induces cyclic guanylyl monophosphate as second messenger in the target cells to mediate the following: natriuresis; water diuresis; increasing glomerular filtration rate; decreasing systemic sympathetic activities; plasma volume; cardiac output and blood pressure; and curbing mitoses of heart fibroblasts and hypertrophy of cardiovascular muscle cells. ANP, BNP, and CNP are cleared from the bloodstream by natriuretic peptide receptor C and degraded by an ectoenzyme called neprilysin (NEP). The plasma levels of BNP are typically >100 pg/ml in patients with congestive heart failure. Sacubitril/valsartan is an angiotensin receptor NEP inhibitor that prevents the clinical progression of surviving patients with heart failure more effectively than enalapril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor. A thorough understanding of the renal and cardiovascular effects of natriuretic peptides is of major importance for first-year medical students to gain insight into the significance of plasma levels of BNP in patients with heart failure.
Muscle mechanoreflex activation via passive calf stretch causes renal vasoconstriction in healthy humans
Authors: Drew Rachel C. , Blaha Cheryl A. , Herr Michael D. , Cui Ruda , Sinoway Lawrence I.
Published: April 2017

Reflex renal vasoconstriction occurs during exercise, and renal vasoconstriction in response to upper-limb muscle mechanoreflex activation has been documented. However, the renal vasoconstrictor response to muscle mechanoreflex activation originating from lower limbs, with and without local metabolite accumulation, has not been assessed. Eleven healthy young subjects (26 ± 1 yr; 5 men) underwent two trials involving 3-min passive calf muscle stretch (mechanoreflex) during 7.5-min lower-limb circulatory occlusion (CO). In one trial, 1.5-min 70% maximal voluntary contraction isometric calf exercise preceded CO to accumulate metabolites during CO and stretch (mechanoreflex and metaboreflex; 70% trial). A control trial involved no exercise before CO (mechanoreflex alone; 0% trial). Beat-to-beat renal blood flow velocity (RBFV; Doppler ultrasound), mean arterial blood pressure (MAP; photoplethysmographic finger cuff), and heart rate (electrocardiogram) were recorded. Renal vascular resistance (RVR), an index of renal vasoconstriction, was calculated as MAP/RBFV. All baseline cardiovascular variables were similar between trials. Stretch increased RVR and decreased RBFV in both trials (change from CO with stretch: RVR – 0% trial = Δ 10 ± 2%, 70% trial = Δ 7 ± 3%; RBFV – 0% trial = Δ −3.8 ± 1.1 cm/s, 70% trial = Δ −2.7 ± 1.5 cm/s; P < 0.05 for RVR and RBFV). These stretch-induced changes were of similar magnitudes in both trials, e.g., with and without local metabolite accumulation, as well as when thromboxane production was inhibited. These findings suggest that muscle mechanoreflex activation via passive calf stretch causes renal vasoconstriction, with and without muscle metaboreflex activation, in healthy humans.
Effect of silhouetting and inversion on view invariance in the monkey inferotemporal cortex
Authors: Ratan Murty N. Apurva , Arun S. P.
Published: April 2017

We effortlessly recognize objects across changes in viewpoint, but we know relatively little about the features that underlie viewpoint invariance in the brain. Here, we set out to characterize how viewpoint invariance in monkey inferior temporal (IT) neurons is influenced by two image manipulations—silhouetting and inversion. Reducing an object into its silhouette removes internal detail, so this would reveal how much viewpoint invariance depends on the external contours. Inverting an object retains but rearranges features, so this would reveal how much viewpoint invariance depends on the arrangement and orientation of features. Our main findings are 1) view invariance is weakened by silhouetting but not by inversion; 2) view invariance was stronger in neurons that generalized across silhouetting and inversion; 3) neuronal responses to natural objects matched early with that of silhouettes and only later to that of inverted objects, indicative of coarse-to-fine processing; and 4) the impact of silhouetting and inversion depended on object structure. Taken together, our results elucidate the underlying features and dynamics of view-invariant object representations in the brain.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY We easily recognize objects across changes in viewpoint, but the underlying features are unknown. Here, we show that view invariance in the monkey inferotemporal cortex is driven mainly by external object contours and is not specialized for object orientation. We also find that the responses to natural objects match with that of their silhouettes early in the response, and with inverted versions later in the response—indicative of a coarse-to-fine processing sequence in the brain.
Parallel processing of internal and external feedback in the spinocerebellar system of primates
Authors: Cohen Oren , Harel Ran , Aumann Tim D. , Israel Zvi , Prut Yifat
Published: April 2017

Cerebellar control of voluntary movements is achieved by the integration of external and internal feedback information to adjust and correct properly ongoing actions. In the forelimb of primates, rostral-spinocerebellar tract (RSCT) neurons are thought to integrate segmental, descending, and afferent sources and relay upstream a compound signal that contains both an efference copy of the spinal-level motor command and the state of the periphery. We tested this hypothesis by implanting stimulating electrodes in the superior cerebellar peduncle and recording the activity of cervical spinal neurons in primates. To dissociate motor commands and proprioceptive signals, we used a voluntary wrist task and applied external perturbations to the movement. We identified a large group of antidromically activated RSCT neurons located in deep dorsal sites and a smaller fraction of postsynaptically activated (PSA) cells located in intermediate and ventral laminae. RSCT cells received sensory input from broad, proximally biased receptive fields (RFs) and were not affected by applied wrist perturbations. PSA cells received sensory information from distal RFs and were more strongly related to active and passive movements. The anatomical and functional properties of RSCT and PSA cells suggest that descending signals converging on PSA cells contribute to both motor preparation and motor control. In parallel, RSCT neurons relay upstream an integrated signal that encodes the state of working muscles and can contribute to distal-to-proximal coordination of action. Thus the rostral spinocerebellar system sends upstream an efference copy of the motor command but does not signal abrupt errors in the performed movement.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Cerebellar coordination of voluntary movements relies on integrating feedback information to update motor output. With the use of a novel protocol, we identified spinal neurons constituting the ascending and descending components of the forelimb spinocerebellar system in behaving primates. The data suggest that descending information contributes to both motor preparation and execution, whereas ascending information conveys the spinal level motor command, such that internal and external feedback is relayed through parallel pathways.
Peeled Guidewire Coating with Debulked Plaque Obtained by Directional Coronary Atherectomy
Authors: Hamaya Rikuta , Yonetsu Taishi , Ichijo Sadamitsu , Araki Makoto , Murai Tadashi , Kanaji Yoshihisa , Usui Eisuke , Matsuda Junji , Hoshino Masahiro , Hada Masahiro , Niida Takayuki , Kanno Yoshinori , Kakuta Tsunekazu
Published: April 2017

Percutaneous directional coronary atherectomy (DCA) is a plaque debulking method performed in Japan, and recently a renewed DCA device has been launched. We present a case with a tight left anterior descending lesion undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with application of DCA. After several sessions of DCA, white plaques accompanied by green, stringed materials were obtained from the device; some materials were considerably long (approximately 15 mm in length). A drug-eluting stent was subsequently implanted, and the procedure was completed successfully without any complications. The extracted plaques and artificial materials were pathologically examined, and no inflammatory changes were detected on plaques adjacent to the material. Assessing pathological findings and structure of the DCA catheter, the obtained artificial materials were considered as peeled guidewire, possibly resulting from the friction between the guidewire and metallic bearing in the housing of DCA catheter. Of note, this phenomenon has been recognized even in other DCA cases in which guidewires of the other kind are used. We report this phenomenon for the first time, warning of theoretically possible distal embolization of artificial materials caused by any debulking devices.
Adaptive Fuzzy Integral Terminal Sliding Mode Control of a Nonholonomic Wheeled Mobile Robot
Authors: Peng Shuying , Shi Wuxi
Published: April 2017

In this paper, the trajectory tracking problem is investigated for a nonholonomic wheeled mobile robot with parameter uncertainties and external disturbances. In this strategy, combining the kinematic model with the dynamic model, the actuator voltage is employed as the control input, and the uncertainties are approximated by a fuzzy logic system. An auxiliary velocity controller is integrated with an adaptive fuzzy integral terminal sliding mode controller, and a robust controller is employed to compensate for the lumped errors. It is proved that all the signals in the closed system are bounded and the auxiliary velocity tracking errors can converge to a small neighborhood of the origin in finite time. As a result, the tracking position errors converge asymptotically to zeros with faster response than other existing controllers. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.
Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter as a Bedside Assessment for Elevated Intracranial Pressure
Authors: Williams Peter
Published: April 2017

A previously fit and healthy 26-year-old lady with no significant medical history presented with a two-month history of headaches. The headaches were prolonged, generalised, and unusually severe for the patient. Examination revealed papilloedema. The patient’s optic nerve sheath diameter was measured 3 mm posterior to the globe and found to be 7.5 mm. The patient subsequently had computed tomography scan of her brain that showed an optic nerve sheath diameter of 7.56 mm as measured 3 mm posterior to the globe. After an obstructive lesion was ruled out on the computed tomography scan, a lumbar puncture was then performed and cerebrospinal fluid was drained. An ultrasound of the optic nerve sheath diameter was repeated showing a reduced diameter of 5.6 mm. The patient was admitted to the neurology unit and ultimately diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension. This case report highlights the potential of rapidly identifying elevated intracranial pressure using a noninvasive method.
Liver X Receptor Agonist TO901317 Attenuates Paraquat-Induced Acute Lung Injury through Inhibition of NF-κB and JNK/p38 MAPK Signal Pathways
Authors: Hu Xiao , Shen Haitao , Wang Yu , Zhao Min
Published: April 2017

Paraquat (PQ) is a widely used herbicide with extremely high poisoning mortality mostly from acute lung injury (ALI) or progressive pulmonary fibrosis. Toxicity mechanisms remain unclear, but a redox cycling process that generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) is involved, as are inflammation and cell apoptosis. We established an ALI mouse model by intraperitoneal injection of PQ (28 mg/kg) and then investigated the effects of a potent liver X receptor (LXR) agonist, TO901317 (5 or 20 mg/kg), injected intraperitoneally 30 min after PQ administration. Poisoned mice exhibited severe lung tissue lesions and edema, significant neutrophilic (PMNs) infiltration, and release of the proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). PQ administration also decreased activity of antioxidases, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), and increased lipid peroxidation as evaluated by malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. PQ exposure induced upregulation of the proapoptotic gene Bax and downregulation of the antiapoptotic gene Bcl-2, leading to marked cell apoptosis in the lung tissues. TO901317 treatment reversed all these effects through inhibition of PQ-induced nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and JNK/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation. The LXR agonist TO901317 had potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic effects against PQ-induced ALI.