bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Real-Time Scheduling of Cyber-Physical Energy Systems
Authors: Martini Daniele De , Benetti Guido , Vedova Marco L. Della , Facchinetti Tullio
Published: September 2017

This article addresses the application of real-time scheduling to the reduction of the peak load of power consumption generated by electric loads in Cyber-Physical Energy Systems (CPES). The goal is to reduce the peak load while achieving a desired Quality of Service of the physical system under control. The considered physical processes are characterized by integrator dynamics and modelled as sporadic real-time activities. Timing constraints are obtained from physical parameters and are used to manage the activation of electric loads by a real-time scheduling algorithm. As a main contribution, an algorithm derived from the multi-processor real-time scheduling domain is proposed to efficiently deal with a high number of physical processes (i.e., electric loads), making its scalability suitable for large CPES, such as smart energy grids. The cyber-physical nature of the proposed method arises from the tight interaction between the physical processes operated by the electric loads, and the applied scheduling.

To allow the use of the proposed approach in practical applications, modelling approximations and uncertainties on physical parameters are explicitly included in the model. An adaptive control strategy is proposed to guarantee the requirements on physical values under control in presence of modelling and measurement uncertainties. The compensation for such uncertainties is done by dynamically adapting the values of timing parameters used by the scheduler. Formal results have been derived to put into relationship the values of quantities describing the physical process with real-time parameters used to model and to schedule the activation of loads. The performance of the method is evaluated by means of physically accurate simulations of thermal systems, showing a remarkable reduction of the peak load and a robust enforcement of the desired physical requirements.
An Experimental Evaluation of Fast Approximation Algorithms for the Maximum Satisfiability Problem
Authors: Poloczek Matthias , Williamson David P.
Published: September 2017

We evaluate the performance of fast approximation algorithms for MAX SAT on the comprehensive benchmark sets from the SAT and MAX SAT contests. Our examination of a broad range of algorithmic techniques reveals that greedy algorithms offer particularly striking performance, delivering very good solutions at low computational cost. Interestingly, their relative ranking does not follow their worst-case behavior. Johnson’s deterministic algorithm is consistently better than the randomized greedy algorithm of Poloczek et al. [2017], but in turn is outperformed by the derandomization of the latter: this two-pass algorithm satisfies more than 99% of the clauses for instances stemming from industrial applications. In general, it performs considerably better than nonoblivious local search, Tabu Search, WalkSat, and several state-of-the-art complete and incomplete solvers, while being much faster. But the two-pass algorithm does not achieve the excellent performance of Spears’s computationally intense simulated annealing. Therefore, we propose a new hybrid algorithm that combines the strengths of greedy algorithms and stochastic local search to provide outstanding solutions at high speed: in our experiments, its performance is as good as simulated annealing, achieving an average loss with respect to the best-known assignment of less that 0.5%, while its speed is comparable to the greedy algorithms.
Finding Consensus Strings with Small Length Difference between Input and Solution Strings
Authors: Schmid Markus L.
Published: September 2017

The C
losest
S
ubstring
P
roblem
is to decide, for given strings s
1
, … , s
k
of length at most ℓ and numbers
m
and
d
, whether there is a length-
m
string
s
and length-
m
substrings
s
′
i
of
s
i
, such that
s
has a Hamming distance of at most
d
from each
s
′
i
. If we instead require the sum of all the Hamming distances between
s
and each
s
′
i
to be bounded by
d
, then it is called the C
onsensus
P
atterns
P
roblem
. We contribute to the parameterised complexity analysis of these classical NP-hard string problems by investigating the parameter (ℓ −
m
), i.e., the length difference between input and solution strings. For most combinations of (ℓ −
m
) and one of the classical parameters (
m
, ℓ,
k
, or
d
), we obtain fixed-parameter tractability. However, even for constant (ℓ −
m
) and constant alphabet size, both problems remain NP-hard. While this follows from known results with respect to the C
losest
S
ubstring
, we need a new reduction in the case of the C
onsensus
P
atterns
. As a by-product of this reduction, we obtain an exact exponential-time algorithm for both problems, which is based on an alphabet reduction.
Behavioral Model of IEEE 802.15.4 Beacon-Enabled Mode Based on Colored Petri Net
Authors: Alves Renan C. A. , Margi Cíntia B.
Published: September 2017

The IEEE 802.15.4 standard is widely employed in power-constrained scenarios, such as Wireless Sensor Networks deployments. Therefore, modeling this standard is useful to predict network performance and fine-tune parameter settings. Previous work rely on determining all reachable network states, usually by a Markov chain, which is often complex and error prone. In contrast, we provide a novel behavioral approach to the IEEE 802.15.4 modeling, which covers the literature gap in assessing all metrics of interest, modeling asymmetric traffic condition and fully comprising the beacon-enabled mode. In addition, it is possible to test different values for the parameters of the standard, such as aMaxFrameRetries, macMaxCSMABackoffs, initialCW, and aUnitBackoffPeriod. The model was validated by NS2 simulations and by a testbed composed of telosB motes.
Improving Human-Machine Cooperative Visual Search With Soft Highlighting
Authors: Kneusel Ronald T. , Mozer Michael C.
Published: September 2017

Advances in machine learning have produced systems that attain human-level performance on certain visual tasks, e.g., object identification. Nonetheless, other tasks requiring visual expertise are unlikely to be entrusted to machines for some time, e.g., satellite and medical imagery analysis. We describe a human-machine cooperative approach to visual search, the aim of which is to outperform either human or machine acting alone. The traditional route to augmenting human performance with automatic classifiers is to draw boxes around regions of an image deemed likely to contain a target. Human experts typically reject this type of hard highlighting. We propose instead a soft highlighting technique in which the saliency of regions of the visual field is modulated in a graded fashion based on classifier confidence level. We report on experiments with both synthetic and natural images showing that soft highlighting achieves a performance synergy surpassing that attained by hard highlighting.
Efficient and Available In-Memory KV-Store with Hybrid Erasure Coding and Replication
Authors: Chen Haibo , Zhang Heng , Dong Mingkai , Wang Zhaoguo , Xia Yubin , Guan Haibing , Zang Binyu
Published: September 2017

In-memory key/value store (KV-store) is a key building block for many systems like databases and large websites. Two key requirements for such systems are efficiency and availability, which demand a KV-store to continuously handle millions of requests per second. A common approach to availability is using replication, such as primary-backup (PBR), which, however, requires
M
+1 times memory to tolerate
M
failures. This renders scarce memory unable to handle useful user jobs.

This article makes the first case of building highly available in-memory KV-store by integrating erasure coding to achieve memory efficiency, while not notably degrading performance. A main challenge is that an in-memory KV-store has much scattered metadata. A single KV
put
may cause excessive coding operations and parity updates due to excessive small updates to metadata. Our approach, namely Cocytus, addresses this challenge by using a hybrid scheme that leverages PBR for small-sized and scattered data (e.g., metadata and key), while only applying erasure coding to relatively large data (e.g., value). To mitigate well-known issues like lengthy recovery of erasure coding, Cocytus uses an online recovery scheme by leveraging the replicated metadata information to continuously serve KV requests. To further demonstrate the usefulness of Cocytus, we have built a transaction layer by using Cocytus as a fast and reliable storage layer to store database records and transaction logs. We have integrated the design of Cocytus to Memcached and extend it to support in-memory transactions. Evaluation using YCSB with different KV configurations shows that Cocytus incurs low overhead for latency and throughput, can tolerate node failures with fast online recovery, while saving 33% to 46% memory compared to PBR when tolerating two failures. A further evaluation using the SmallBank OLTP benchmark shows that in-memory transactions can run atop Cocytus with high throughput, low latency, and low abort rate and recover fast from consecutive failures.
Citalopram Ameliorates Impairments in Spatial Memory and Synaptic Plasticity in Female 3xTgAD Mice
Authors: Wei Zhang , Junhong Guo , Xiaoyuan Niu , Jie Wang , Zhaojun Wang , Meina Wu , Wei Yang , Jun Zhang , Jinshun Qi
Published: September 2017

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the primary cause of dementia. There is no effective treatment. Amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) plays an important role in the pathogenesis and thus strategies suppressing Aβ production and accumulation seem promising. Citalopram is an antidepressant drug and can decrease Aβ production and amyloid plaques in transgenic mice of AD and humans. Whether citalopram can ameliorate memory deficit was not known yet. We tested the effects of citalopram on behavioral performance and synaptic plasticity in female 3xTgAD mice, a well-characterized model of AD. Mice were treated with citalopram or water from 5 months of age for 3 months. Citalopram treatment at approximately 10 mg/kg/day significantly improved spatial memory in the Morris water maze (MWM) test, while not affecting anxiety-like and depression-like behavior in 3xTgAD mice. Further, hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) impairment in 3xTgAD mice was reversed by citalopram treatment. Citalopram treatment also significantly decreased the levels of insoluble Aβ40 in hippocampal and cortical tissues in 3xTgAD mice, accompanied with a reduced amyloid precursor protein (APP). Together, citalopram treatment may be a promising strategy for AD and further clinical trials should be conducted to verify the effect of citalopram on cognition in patients with AD or mild cognitive impairment.
Nanoporosity of MCM-41 Materials and Y-Zeolites Created by Deposition of Tournefortia hirsutissima L. Plant Extract
Authors: Hernández Miguel Angel , Hernández Gabriela Itzel , Portillo Roberto , Salgado Martha Alicia , Rojas Fernando , Petranovskii Vitalii
Published: September 2017

Hybrid materials based on MCM-41 silica and Y-zeolites with a variable Si/Al ratio and an appropriate countercationic composition were prepared by impregnating inorganic substrates with an organic extract. The organic phase was previously characterized by GC-MS and IRTF, while XRD, SEM, TEM, N2-physisorption, and TPD of NH3 were used to analyze the selected inorganic supports. The effect of size- and shape-selectivity was manifested in MCM-41 and Y-zeolites. Texture results confirm that the extract containing relatively large branched organic molecules is deposited in the internal voids of MCM-41 material and on the outer area of Y-zeolites. In the case of Y-zeolites, the results demonstrate the effect of the SiO2/Al2O3 molar ratio and countercations on the textural properties of the samples.
A Coordinate Descent Method for Total Variation Minimization
Authors: Deng Hong , Ren Dongwei , Xiao Gang , Zhang David , Zuo Wangmeng
Published: September 2017

Total variation (TV) is a well‐known image model with extensive applications in various images and vision tasks, for example, denoising, deblurring, superresolution, inpainting, and compressed sensing. In this paper, we systematically study the coordinate descent (CoD) method for solving general total variation (TV) minimization problems. Based on multidirectional gradients representation, the proposed CoD method provides a unified solution for both anisotropic and isotropic TV‐based denoising (CoDenoise). With sequential sweeping and small random perturbations, CoDenoise is efficient in denoising and empirically converges to optimal solution. Moreover, CoDenoise also delivers new perspective on understanding recursive weighted median filtering. By incorporating with the Augmented Lagrangian Method (ALM), CoD was further extended to TV‐based image deblurring (ALMCD). The results on denoising and deblurring validate the efficiency and effectiveness of the CoD‐based methods.
Performance Evaluation of Azimuth Offset Method for Mitigating the Ionospheric Effect on SAR Interferometry
Authors: Zhu Wu , Zhang Wen-Ting , He Yu-Fang , Qu Wei
Published: September 2017

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) signals interact with the ionosphere layer when they propagate through the atmosphere, leading to the phase delay error for SAR interferometry (InSAR). To mitigate this error for SAR interferometry, azimuth offset method is proposed. However, the performance of it has not been fully investigated. In this situation, this study makes a comprehensive performance analysis of azimuth offset method through processing the simulated and real SAR data. The experimental result indicates that this method can effectively mitigate the ionospheric phase delay error, where the standard deviation of phase difference after correction (2.6 rad.) decreased by almost 2 times, compared to those before correction (5.3 rad.) for the real SAR data. However, it is also found that the method is affected by the random noise, which may induce the improper estimation of integral constants and consequently affect the ionospheric correction. Moreover, the severe deformation signals in the interferogram may lead to the estimation error of integral constants and scaling factor. Therefore, it should mask out the deformation signals when using the azimuth offsets method to correct the ionospheric error. This study may provide useful information when using azimuth offset method to mitigate the ionospheric phase delay error on InSAR.
Continental Shelf Sediments of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo
Authors: Morni Wan Zabidii Wan , Ab Rahim Siti Akmar Khadijah , Masron Tarmiji , Rumpet Richard , Musel Jamil , Hassan Ruhana
Published: September 2017

Sediment distributions in deep sea influence the benthic community structure and thus play an important role in shaping the marine ecosystem. Several studies on sediment characteristics had been conducted in South China Sea (SCS), but only limited to coastal areas of regions within SCS territories. Therefore, this study was carried out to analyze the benthic sediment profile in an area beyond 12 nautical miles off the coast of Sarawak, southern SCS. Sediment samples were collected from 31 stations, comprising three depth ranges: (I) 20–50 m, (II) 50–100 m, and (III) 100–200 m. The total organic matter (TOM) contents were determined and subjected to dry and wet sieving methods for particle size analysis. TOM contents in the deep area (>50 m) were significantly higher (p=0.05) and positively correlated (r=0.73) with silt-clay fraction. About 55% and 82% of stations in strata II and III, respectively, were dominated by silt-clay fractions (<63 μm mean diameter), coherent with TOM data. In addition, sediments in the deep area (>50 m) tend to be poorly sorted, very fine skewed, and platykurtic. Unlike data obtained 20 years ago which reported high content of silt-clay (58%), this study recorded a lower content (35%); therefore, changes in sediment load had been observed in southern SCS.
Adherence to Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses Guideline in Treating South Sudanese Children with Cough or Difficulty in Breathing
Authors: Izudi Jonathan , Anyigu Stanley , Ndungutse David
Published: September 2017

Background. Pneumonia substantially kills children aged 2–59 months in South Sudan. However, information on health workers adherence to Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) guideline in treating children with cough/difficulty in breathing remains scarce. This study assessed factors associated with adherence to IMCI guideline in Aweil East County, South Sudan. Methods. This cross-sectional study involved 232 health workers from 36 health facilities. Data collected using structured questionnaire and checklist was double-entered in EpiData and analyzed with STATA at 5% significance level using logistic regression. Results. Respondents mean age was 32.41±7.0 years, 154 (66.4%) were males, 104 (44.8%) reached secondary education, and 190 (81.9%) had certificate. 23 (9.9%, 95% CI: 6.4–14.5) adhered to IMCI guideline. Holding diploma (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 6.97; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.82–26.67; P=0.005), shorter time to follow guideline steps (AOR = 12.0; 95% CI: 2.73–61.66; P<0.001), and nondifficult use (AOR = 27.7; 95% CI: 5.40–142.25; P<0.001) were associated with adherence. Conclusion. Adherence was low. Academic qualifications, guideline complexity, and availability of IMCI drugs were associated factors.
Viscosity and Morphology Modification of Length Sorted Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in PIB Matrices
Authors: Huang Hanxiao , Li Bohao , Simien Clayton E. , Simien Daneesh O.
Published: September 2017

This work evaluates the effectiveness of nanoscale particulates in producing non-Einstein-like responses in polymer matrices, to reduce their negative effects in low shear rate processing. This is of value to material processing applications which encompass extrusion, flow into cold mold, and generalized processing of nanocomposites. Through control and understanding of the structure processing relationships entailed through nanoscale additive materials, we begin to manage dispersion characteristics for more reliable and defect-free product development. In pursuit of identifying system characteristics that produce non-Einstein-like responses we isolate and characterize homogenous fractions of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with singular lengths. This enables the definition of a well-defined nanoscale particulate phase, within the polymer matrices. The effect of nanotube length and weight fraction on the polyisobutylene (PIB) matrices was evaluated with thermal and rheological testing. Our findings show that the viscosity of the produced nanocomposite systems has a length dependence and does not demonstrate the expected monotonous increases in the viscosity with an increase in weight fraction of nanotube additive within the matrix, demonstrating a non-Einstein-like viscosity response. Furthermore, we demonstrate length dependent crystallization in the studied systems, as an intermediate length nanotube initiates crystallization of polyisobutylene (PIB) affecting viscosity and mechanical properties.
Can a Smartphone Diagnose Parkinson Disease? A Deep Neural Network Method and Telediagnosis System Implementation
Authors: Zhang Y. N.
Published: September 2017

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is primarily diagnosed by clinical examinations, such as walking test, handwriting test, and MRI diagnostic. In this paper, we propose a machine learning based PD telediagnosis method for smartphone. Classification of PD using speech records is a challenging task owing to the fact that the classification accuracy is still lower than doctor-level. Here we demonstrate automatic classification of PD using time frequency features, stacked autoencoders (SAE), and K nearest neighbor (KNN) classifier. KNN classifier can produce promising classification results from useful representations which were learned by SAE. Empirical results show that the proposed method achieves better performance with all tested cases across classification tasks, demonstrating machine learning capable of classifying PD with a level of competence comparable to doctor. It concludes that a smartphone can therefore potentially provide low-cost PD diagnostic care. This paper also gives an implementation on browser/server system and reports the running time cost. Both advantages and disadvantages of the proposed telediagnosis system are discussed.
Systematic Standardized and Individualized Assessment of Masticatory Cycles Using Electromagnetic 3D Articulography and Computer Scripts
Authors: Fuentes Ramón , Arias Alain , Lezcano María Florencia , Saravia Diego , Kuramochi Gisaku , Dias Fernando José
Published: September 2017

Masticatory movements are studied for decades in odontology; a better understanding of them could improve dental treatments. The aim of this study was to describe an innovative, accurate, and systematic method of analyzing masticatory cycles, generating comparable quantitative data. The masticatory cycles of 5 volunteers (Class I, 19 ± 1.7 years) without articular or dental occlusion problems were evaluated using 3D electromagnetic articulography supported by MATLAB software. The method allows the trajectory morphology of the set of chewing cycles to be analyzed from different views and angles. It was also possible to individualize the trajectory of each cycle providing accurate quantitative data, such as number of cycles, cycle areas in frontal view, and the ratio between each cycle area and the frontal mandibular border movement area. There was a moderate negative correlation (−0.61) between the area and the number of cycles: the greater the cycle area, the smaller the number of repetitions. Finally it was possible to evaluate the area of the cycles through time, which did not reveal a standardized behavior. The proposed method provided reproducible, intelligible, and accurate quantitative and graphical data, suggesting that it is promising and may be applied in different clinical situations and treatments.
Efficient and Fast Differentiation of Human Neural Stem Cells from Human Embryonic Stem Cells for Cell Therapy
Authors: Han Xinxin , Yu Liming , Ren Jie , Wang Min , Liu Zhongliang , Hu Xinyu , Hu Daiyu , Chen Yihong , Chen Li , Zhang Ying , Liu Yuehua , Zhang Xiaoqing , He Hua , Gao Zhengliang
Published: September 2017

Stem cell-based therapies have been used for repairing damaged brain tissue and helping functional recovery after brain injury. Aberrance neurogenesis is related with brain injury, and multipotential neural stem cells from human embryonic stem (hES) cells provide a great promise for cell replacement therapies. Optimized protocols for neural differentiation are necessary to produce functional human neural stem cells (hNSCs) for cell therapy. However, the qualified procedure is scarce and detailed features of hNSCs originated from hES cells are still unclear. In this study, we developed a method to obtain hNSCs from hES cells, by which we could harvest abundant hNSCs in a relatively short time. Then, we examined the expression of pluripotent and multipotent marker genes through immunostaining and confirmed differentiation potential of the differentiated hNSCs. Furthermore, we analyzed the mitotic activity of these hNSCs. In this report, we provided comprehensive features of hNSCs and delivered the knowledge about how to obtain more high-quality hNSCs from hES cells which may help to accelerate the NSC-based therapies in brain injury treatment.
Bioactivity‐Guided Fractionation of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Resina Draconis Reveals Loureirin B as a PAI‐1 Inhibitor
Authors: Jiang Yu , Zhang Guangping , Yan Dong , Yang Hong , Ye Zuguang , Ma Tonghui
Published: September 2017

Thrombotic diseases have become a global burden due to morbidity, mortality, and disability. Traditional Chinese medicine has been proven effective in removing blood stasis and promoting blood circulation, but the exact mechanisms remain unclear. Plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1 (PAI‐1) is a natural inhibitor of tissue‐type and urokinase‐type plasminogen activators. In this study, we screened four fractions of Resina Draconis (a traditional Chinese medicine) extract for PAI‐1 inhibitory activity. Bioactivity‐guided purification and chromogenic substrate‐based assay led to the identification of loureirin B as the major PAI‐1 inhibitor, with an IC50 value of 26.10 μM. SDS‐PAGE analysis showed that formation of the PAI‐1/uPA complex was inhibited by loureirin B, and the inhibitory effect of loureirin B on PAI‐1 was also confirmed by clot lysis assay. In vivo studies showed that loureirin B significantly prolonged the tail bleeding time and reduced the weight and size of arterial thrombus, reduced hydroxyproline level, and partly cured liver fibrosis in mice. Taken together, the results revealed loureirin B as a PAI‐1 inhibitor, adding a new pharmacological target for loureirin B and uncovering a novel mechanism underlying the antithrombotic property of Resina Draconis, which might be useful in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases such as thrombosis and fibrosis.
Serum Matrix Metalloproteinase-7 Level is Associated with Fibrosis and Renal Survival in Patients with IgA Nephropathy
Authors: Zhang Jian , Ren Pingping , Wang Yucheng , Feng Shi , Wang Cuili , Shen Xiujin , Weng Chunhua , Lang Xiaobing , Chen Zhiming , Jiang Hong , Chen Jianghua
Published: September 2017

Background/Aims: In view of the latest findings that matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) acted as a vital marker and pathogenic mediator of renal fibrosis in a murine model, we hypothesized that serum MMP-7 level might serve as a noninvasive prognostic biomarker in IgA nephropathy (IgAN) patients. Methods: We conducted a retrospective follow-up study of 244 IgAN patients for a median of 81.9 months. Serum MMP-7 was detected at the time of diagnosis, and renal progression was assessed by Cox proportional hazards method. Results: Compared with healthy populations, the serum levels of MMP-7 were significantly elevated in IgAN patients. Besides, serum MMP-7 levels were well correlated with renal scarring lesions characterized by glomerular sclerosis and interstitial fibrosis. Follow-up analyses revealed that increased serum MMP-7 levels were linked with a greater risk of poor renal outcome with a hazard ratio of 1.898 per doubling MMP-7 concentration. By contrast with the first quartile, the risk of deterioration in renal function elevated such that the hazard ratio for the second quartile was 1.805, 3.383 for the third, and 5.173 for the fourth quartile of the MMP-7 level. Conclusions: This study showed that the higher serum MMP-7 levels were independently associated with renal fibrosis and poor prognosis in IgAN.
Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Altered Renal Metabolism in Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rats
Authors: Wang Zhengjun , Sun Qiong , Sun Na , Liang Mingyu , Tian Zhongmin
Published: September 2017

Background/Aims: The kidney plays a critical role in the control of blood pressure and its elevation in salt-induced hypertension. Mitochondrial dysfunction, especially in energy metabolism, has been associated with hypertension. Here, we aimed to investigate mitochondrial function and metabolic features in renal mitochondria of Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rats to gain further insight into the relationship between mitochondrial metabolism and predisposition to hypertension. Methods: In this study, SS rats fed low-salt (LS) or high-salt (HS) diets were used to investigate mitochondrial function and metabolism including mitochondrial enzyme activities, pyridine nucleotides, metabolites, and oxidative stress by biochemical analysis and gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). Results: Significantly lower activity levels of fumarase, isocitrate dehydrogenase and succinyl-CoA synthetase were observed in renal mitochondria of SS rats compared with SS.13BN control rats fed LS diets. Intra-mitochondrial pyridine nucleotide content and mitochondrial metabolism were adversely affected in SS rats. In accordance with this, reduced ATP production, Δψm, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were also observed in mitochondria of the renal medulla and cortex of SS rats. Moreover, ATP production was further impaired and oxidative stress was increased, confirming that the mitochondria of SS rats fed HS diets were dysfunctional compared to those of rats fed LS diets. Conclusions: Our data demonstrated that the renal mitochondria of SS rats exhibited complicated metabolic alteration and dysfunction in low-salt diets, and high-salt diets aggravated these dysfunctions. Thus, these results may be associated with renal dysfunction, which, in turn, would help in understanding the development of salt-sensitive hypertension.
Impact of Minimally Invasive Surfactant Therapy in Preterm Infants at 29-32 Weeks Gestation
Authors: Dargaville Peter A. , Ali Sanoj K.M. , Jackson Hamish D. , Williams Christopher , De Paoli Antonio G.
Published: September 2017

Background: Most preterm infants born at 29-32 weeks gestation now avoid intubation in early life, and thus lack the usual conduit through which exogenous surfactant is given if needed. Objective: The aim of this work was to examine whether a technique of minimally invasive surfactant therapy used selectively at 29-32 weeks gestation would improve outcomes. Methods: We studied the impact of selective administration of surfactant (poractant alfa 100-200 mg/kg) by thin catheter in infants with respiratory distress syndrome on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). The threshold for consideration of treatment was CPAP ≥7 cm H2O and FiO2 ≥0.35 prior to 24 h of life. In-hospital outcomes were compared before and after introducing minimally invasive surfactant therapy (epochs 1 and 2, respectively). Results: During epoch 2, of 266 infants commencing CPAP, 51 (19%) reached the treatment threshold. Thirty-seven infants received surfactant via thin catheter, and CPAP failure was avoided in 34 of these (92%). For the overall cohort of infants at 29-32 weeks gestation, after the introduction of minimally invasive surfactant therapy, there were reductions in CPAP failure (epoch 1: 14%, epoch 2: 7.2%) and average days of intubation, with equivalent surfactant use and days of respiratory support (intubation + CPAP). Pneumothorax was substantially reduced (from 8.0 to 2.4%). These findings were mirrored within the subgroups reaching the severity threshold in each epoch. The incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia was low in both epochs. Conclusions: Selective use of minimally invasive surfactant therapy at 29-32 weeks gestation permits a primary CPAP strategy to be pursued with a high rate of success, and a low risk of pneumothorax.
Zymosan-a Protects the Hematopoietic System from Radiation-Induced Damage by Targeting TLR2 Signaling Pathway
Authors: Du Jicong , Cheng Ying , Dong Suhe , Zhang Pei , Guo Jiaming , Han Jiaqi , Gao Fu , Zhao Hainan , Sun Ding , Cui Jianguo , Cai  Jianming , Liu Cong
Published: September 2017

Background/Aims: The hematopoietic system is vulnerable to ionizing radiation and is often severely damaged by radiation. Molecules affecting radioresistance include Toll-like receptor 2. We investigated whether Zymosan-A, a novel TLR2 agonist, can protect the hematopoietic system from radiation-induced damage after total body irradiation. Methods: Mice were exposed to total body radiation after treatment with Zymosan-A or normal saline, and their survival was recorded. Tissue damage was evaluated by hematoxylin–eosin staining. The number of nucleated cells in bone marrow was determined by flow cytometry. Cell viability and apoptosis assay were determined by CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry assay. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the level of cytokines. Results: Zymosan-A protected mice from radiation-induced death and prevented radiation-induced hematopoietic system damage. Zymosan-A also promoted cell viability and inhibited cell apoptosis caused by radiation, induced radioprotective effects via TLR2, upregulated IL-6, IL-11, IL-12, and TNF-α in vivo. Conclusion: Zymosan-A can provide protection against radiation-induced hematopoietic system damage by targeting the TLR2 signaling pathway. Thus, Zymosan-A can be potentially effective radioprotectant.
Twenty‐Five Year Secular Trends in Lipids and Modifiable Risk Factors in a Population‐Based Biracial Cohort: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study, 1985–2011
Authors: Schreiner Pamela J. , Jacobs David R. , Wong Nathan D. , Kiefe Catarina I.
Published: September 2017

Background

Cross‐sectional analyses suggest that total and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐c) trends that had been declining are now reversing. We examined longitudinal data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (
CARDIA
) study to examine secular trends in total cholesterol,
LDL
‐c, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (
HDL
‐c), and triglycerides over 25 years. We also assessed whether modifiable lifestyle factors (body mass index, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking, and lipid‐lowering medications) are associated with these trends.

Methods and Results

CARDIA
recruited 5115 black and white men and women ages 18 to 30 years from 4
US
communities in 1985–1986, and re‐examined them 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years later. Secular trends, modeled as age‐matched time trends, were estimated using repeated‐measures regression stratified on race and sex. Total cholesterol and
LDL
‐c initially decreased ≈5 to 8 mg/dL between visits before plateauing and moving toward adverse trends in all groups, except black women, by year 25.
HDL
‐c showed an upward secular trend of 1 to 3 mg/dL between visits starting at year 15 in all groups; triglyceride trends were largely flat. Obesity and use of lipid‐lowering medications, which both increased over follow‐up, had strong independent, but opposite, associations with lipid trends over time. In aggregate, associations of modifiable lifestyle factors counterbalanced one another, minimally influencing secular trends.

Conclusions

Over 25 years, initially favorable trends in total cholesterol and
LDL
‐c have leveled off and may be reversing, persisting after control for modifiable risk factors. Factors such as dietary changes over 25 years and poor adherence to medications are candidates for additional investigation.
Prolonged High‐Dose Bivalirudin Infusion Reduces Major Bleeding Without Increasing Stent Thrombosis in Patients Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Novel Insights From an Updated Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Fahrni Gregor , Wolfrum Mathias , De Maria Giovanni Luigi , Banning Adrian P. , Benedetto Umberto , Kharbanda Rajesh K.
Published: September 2017

Background

The optimal antithrombotic therapy in patients with
ST
‐segment‐elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (
PCI
) remains a matter of debate. This updated meta‐analysis investigated the impact of (1) bivalirudin (with and without prolonged infusion) and (2) prolonged
PCI
‐dose (1.75 mg/hg per hour) bivalirudin infusion compared with conventional antithrombotic therapy on clinical outcomes in patients undergoing primary
PCI
.

Methods and Results

Eligible randomized trials were searched through
MEDLINE
,
EMBASE
, Cochrane database, and proceedings of major congresses. Prespecified outcomes were major bleeding (thrombolysis in myocardial infarction major and Bleeding Academic Research Consortium 3–5), acute stent thrombosis, as well as all‐cause and cardiac mortality at 30 days. Six randomized trials (n=17 294) were included. Bivalirudin compared with heparin (+/− glycoprotein‐
II
b/
III
a inhibitor) was associated with reduction in major bleeding (odds ratio [
OR
]: 0.65, 95%
CI
: 0.48–0.88,
P
=0.006, derived from all 6 trials), increase in acute stent thrombosis (
OR
: 2.75, 95%
CI
: 1.46–5.18,
P
=0.002, 5 trials), and lower rate of all‐cause mortality (
OR
: 0.81, 95%
CI
: 0.67–0.98,
P
=0.03, 6 trials) as well as cardiac mortality (
OR
: 0.69, 95%
CI
: 0.55–0.87,
P
=0.001, 5 trials). The incidence of acute stent thrombosis did not differ between the prolonged
PCI
‐dose bivalirudin and comparator group (
OR
: 0.81, 95%
CI
: 0.27–2.46,
P
=0.71, 3 trials), whereas the risk of bleeding was reduced despite treatment with high‐dose bivalirudin infusion (
OR
: 0.28, 95%
CI
: 0.13–0.60,
P
=0.001, 3 trials).

Conclusions

Bivalirudin (with and without prolonged infusion) compared with conventional antithrombotic therapy in
ST
‐segment‐elevation myocardial infarction patients undergoing primary
PCI
reduces major bleeding and death, but increases the rate of acute stent thrombosis. However, prolonging the bivalirudin infusion at
PCI
‐dose (1.75 mg/kg per hour) for 3 hours eliminates the excess risk of acute stent thrombosis, while maintaining the bleeding benefits.
Intraseasonal Variations of Winter Wind Chill Temperatures across Canada and the United States
Authors: Howarth Macy E. , Laird Neil F.
Published: September 2017

Wind chill temperature (WCT) is a measure of the human sensation of cold and also is a parameter used to represent the severity of winter weather. This study provides a unique investigation to quantify the spatial patterns of monthly mean, extreme, and severe WCTs across Canada and the United States. WCT was examined across 45 winters (December–February) spanning 1969/70–2013/14 using 156 surface locations reporting hourly meteorological conditions. Intraseasonal analyses of WCT showed that January had 1) the coldest mean WCTs, 2) the most extreme WCTs as statistically represented by the coldest 1% of the monthly WCT frequency distribution at each surface location, and 3) the greatest frequency of severe WCT hours that were ≤ −32°C. The most extreme WCTs were most often located in the Hudson Bay region of Canada, and north-central and northeastern North America experienced the largest monthly changes in WCT during the winter season. Results suggest that intraseasonal changes of air temperature are the primary influence on variations of WCT and that changes of wind speed are a secondary factor.
On the Quantification of Imbalance and Inertia–Gravity Waves Generated in Numerical Simulations of Moist Baroclinic Waves Using the WRF Model
Authors: Mirzaei Mohammad , Mohebalhojeh Ali R. , Zülicke Christoph , Plougonven Riwal
Published: September 2017

Quantification of inertia–gravity waves (IGWs) generated by upper-level jet–surface front systems and their parameterization in global models of the atmosphere relies on suitable methods to estimate the strength of IGWs. A harmonic divergence analysis (HDA) that has been previously employed for quantification of IGWs combines wave properties from linear dynamics with a sophisticated statistical analysis to provide such estimates. A question of fundamental importance that arises is how the measures of IGW activity provided by the HDA are related to the measures coming from the wave–vortex decomposition (WVD) methods. The question is addressed by employing the nonlinear balance relations of the first-order δ–γ, the Bolin–Charney, and the first- to third-order Rossby number expansion to carry out WVD. The global kinetic energy of IGWs given by the HDA and WVD are compared in numerical simulations of moist baroclinic waves by the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model in a channel on the f plane. The estimates of the HDA are found to be 2–3 times smaller than those of the optimal WVD. This is in part due to the absence of a well-defined scale separation between the waves and vortical flows, the IGW estimates by the HDA capturing only the dominant wave packets and with limited scales. It is also shown that the difference between the HDA and WVD estimates is related to the width of the IGW spectrum.
Exact Expression for the Lifting Condensation Level
Authors: Romps David M.
Published: September 2017

Many analytic, but approximate, expressions have been proposed for the height of the lifting condensation level (LCL), including the popular expressions by Espy, Bolton, and Lawrence. Here, the exact, explicit, analytic expression is derived for an air parcel’s LCL as a function of its temperature and relative humidity. Unlike previous analytic expressions, some of which can have errors as high as hundreds or thousands of meters, this exact expression is accurate to within the uncertainty of empirical vapor pressure measurements: this translates into an uncertainty of around 5 m for all temperatures and relative humidities. An exact, explicit, analytic expression for the lifting deposition level (LDL) is also derived, and its behavior is compared to the LCL. At sufficiently cold temperatures, aerosols freeze homogeneously below the LCL; an approximate, implicit, analytic expression is given for this lifting freezing level (LFL). By comparing the LCL, LDL, and LFL, it is found that a well-mixed boundary layer can have an ice-supersaturated layer that is no thicker than 400 m.
Responding to Violence, Keeping the Peace: Relations between Black and Latino Youth
Authors: Martinez Cid
Published: September 2017

Drawing on over two years of ethnographic fieldwork, this article demonstrates how violence shapes relations between black and Latino youth in the poorest neighborhoods of South Los Angeles. Most academic work views interracial relations as a cause of conflict and violence. My work reverses the causal arrow and looks at violence as a central force in creating and shaping interracial relations. My findings build on Roger Gould’s theory of group solidarity by demonstrating how violence is a central precondition in shaping group identity. I revisit the concept of interracial avoidance between blacks and Latinos, and its connections to violence, group identity, and interracial relations and explain its role within what I call alternative governance, which consists of avoidance, protection, and negotiation.
The School to Deportation Pipeline: The Perspectives of Immigrant Students and Their Teachers on Profiling and Surveillance within the School System
Authors: Verma Saunjuhi , Maloney Patricia , Austin Duke W.
Published: September 2017

Ample research has identified links between school and the criminal justice system; our work builds on these studies by identifying the pathway to deportation that immigrant students face. Our qualitative study, conducted in seven U.S. cities, focused on recent immigrant students and their teachers in secondary education institutions. We evaluated the intersection of race and immigrant backgrounds to understand their compounded effects on racialization processes. We found that racial identity formation among recent immigrants is shaped by experiences of tracking and profiling within the school system as well as surveillance practices around school spaces. We argue that racialization—the process by which students come to be regarded (by themselves or the broader society) as a part of the U.S. racial paradigm—is a critical mechanism by which immigrant students enter a school to prison to deportation pipeline.
Schooling in France: From Organizational to Informal Inequality
Authors: Chapoulie Jean-Michel
Published: September 2017

This article presents a broad historical perspective on inequality in French primary and secondary public schooling (from age 6 to 18), with emphasis on policy debates and institutional consequences of public policy. During the Third and Fourth Republics (1870–1959), schooling was provided in three gender-segregated tracks for different social classes. Under the Fifth Republic (since 1960), educational tracks after age 16 have been coeducational and ostensibly indifferent to social class origin, focusing instead on previous academic achievement and students’ prospects for higher education or for jobs. Recent changes have seen a massive expansion in schooling, and have sought but failed to produce greater social class equality. I argue that recent attempts to mitigate inequality have failed because success in school depends on the cultural and educational background of students’ parents and also because upper- middle-class parents use various means—economic means and ability to capitalize on social connections—to enable their children to go to the best schools.
Street Culture and Social Control in Different Types of High Schools in Working-Class and Immigrant Neighborhoods in France
Authors: Lepoutre David
Published: September 2017

This article analyzes the causes of the disorder and indiscipline in high schools situated in working-class and immigrant districts in France, taking into account both adolescent street culture and social control in schools. Based on three long-term ethnographic research projects in three locations and social contexts, this article highlights the evolution of order and discipline in high schools, showing differences between France and Brazil. Breaking away from the classic themes of failure, inequalities, and exclusion in schools, I focus on the specific characteristics of adolescent relationships on one hand, and the institutional aspects of social control on the other, focusing particularly on the daily work of supervisory staff in high schools.
Novel Testing for Corrosion of Glass-Ceramics for Dental Applications
Authors: Esquivel-Upshaw J.F. , Ren F. , Hsu S.M. , Dieng F.Y. , Neal D. , Clark A.E.
Published: September 2017

The effects of pH cycling immersion on the corrosion of glass-based ceramic materials were investigated by examining the silicon release level in the immersion solution and the surface morphology of the ceramic after immersion. The hypothesis that pH cycling causes more surface degradation than constant immersion was tested. An inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer was used for Si ion concentration determination and scanning electron microscopy for surface morphology analyses. Two pH cycling sequences (pH 2, 7, 10 and pH 10, 2, 7) were employed in this study. Glass-ceramic disks were immersed in each pH solution for 3 d, then cycled for 27 d. The silicon release levels during the pH cycling were significantly higher than those in the constant pH immersion. The silicon levels for both cycling sequences were around 47 and 2 times higher than that in constant pH conditions for 2 and 10, respectively. The morphology of the ceramic treated with cycling was also significantly degraded as compared with the ceramic immersed in the constant pH solution. Thus, the severity of glass-ceramic degradation depends not only on the pH of the immersed solution but also on the pH of the previous solution. Since the pH of the oral environment can vary depending on the diet and buffering capacity of saliva, materials testing in constant pH immersion might underestimate the in vivo corrosion. New mechanisms were proposed to account for the effect of pH cycling on glass-ceramic corrosion.