bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Characterizing the winter meteorological drivers of the European electricity system using targeted circulation types
Authors: Bloomfield Hannah C. , Brayshaw David J. , Charlton‐Perez Andrew J.
Published: December 2019

Renewable electricity is a key enabling step in the decarbonization of energy. Europe is at the forefront of renewable deployment and this has dramatically increased the weather sensitivity of the continent's power systems. Despite the importance of weather to energy systems, and widespread interest from both academia and industry, the meteorological drivers of European power systems remain difficult to identify and are poorly understood. The present study presents a new and generally applicable approach, targeted circulation types (TCTs). In contrast to standard meteorological weather‐regime or circulation‐typing schemes, TCTs convolve the weather sensitivity of an impacted system of interest (in this case, the electricity system) with the intrinsic structures of the atmospheric circulation to identify its meteorological drivers. A new 38 year reconstruction of daily electricity demand and renewable supply across Europe is used to identify the winter large‐scale circulation patterns of most interest to the European electricity grid. TCTs provide greater explanatory power for power system variability and extremes compared with standard meteorological typing. Two new pairs of atmospheric patterns are highlighted, both of which have marked and extensive impacts on the European power system. The first pair resembles the meridional surface pressure dipole of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), but shifted eastward into Europe and noticeably strengthened, while the second pair is weaker and corresponds to surface pressure anomalies over Central Southern and Eastern Europe. While these gross qualitative patterns are robust features of the present European power systems, the detailed circulation structures are strongly affected by the amount and location of renewables installed.
Oklahoma association becomes catalyst for expanded housing opportunities
Authors: Enos Gary
Published: December 2019

Most of the state and local affiliate groups of Mental Health America take on an advocacy role for the development of housing for persons with mental illness but have not become the primary drivers of housing expansion. Mental Health Association Oklahoma stands as the most prominent and successful exception, now serving as a certified nonprofit developer of housing and overseeing more than 1,500 housing units in Tulsa and another 150 in Oklahoma City.
A quantitative comparison between a navigated Cartesian and a self‐navigated radial protocol from clinical studies for free‐breathing 3D whole‐heart bSSFP coronary MRA
Authors: Heerfordt John , Stuber Matthias , Maillot Aurélien , Bianchi Veronica , Piccini Davide
Published: December 2019

Purpose

Navigator‐gated 3D bSSFP whole‐heart coronary MRA has been evaluated in several large studies including a multi‐center trial. Patient studies have also been performed with more recent self‐navigated techniques. In this study, these two approaches are compared side‐by‐side using a Cartesian navigator‐gated and corrected (CNG) and a 3D radial self‐navigated (RSN) protocol from published patient studies.

Methods

Sixteen healthy subjects were examined with both sequences on a 1.5T scanner. Assessment of the visibility of coronary ostia and quantitative comparisons of acquisition times, blood pool homogeneity, and visible length and sharpness of the right coronary artery (RCA) and the combined left main (LM)+left anterior descending (LAD) coronary arteries were performed. Paired sample t‐tests with P < .05 considered statistically significant were used for all comparisons.

Results

The acquisition time was 5:40 ± 0:28 min (mean ± SD) for RSN, being significantly shorter than the 16:59 ± 5:05 min of CNG (P < .001). RSN images showed higher blood pool homogeneity (P < .001). All coronary ostia were visible with both techniques. CNG provided significantly higher vessel sharpness in the RCA (CNG: 50.0 ± 8.6%, RSN: 34.2 ± 6.9%, P < .001) and the LM+LAD (CNG: 48.7 ± 6.7%, RSN: 32.3 ± 7.1%, P < .001). The visible vessel length was significantly longer in the LM+LAD using CNG (CNG: 9.8 ± 2.7 cm, RSN: 8.5 ± 2.6 cm, P < .05) but not in the RCA (CNG: 9.7 ± 2.3 cm, RSN: 9.3 ± 2.9 cm, P = .29).

Conclusion

CNG provided superior vessel sharpness and might hence be the better option for examining coronary lumina. However, its blood pool inhomogeneity and prolonged and unpredictable acquisition times compared to RSN may make clinical adoption more challenging.
Imaging the distribution of iron oxide nanoparticles in hypothermic perfused tissues
Authors: Ring Hattie L. , Gao Zhe , Sharma Anirudh , Han Zonghu , Lee Charles , Brockbank Kelvin G. M. , Greene Elizabeth D. , Helke Kristi L. , Chen Zhen , Campbell Lia H. , Weegman Bradley , Davis Monica , Taylor Michael , Giwa Sebastian , Fahy Gregory M. , Wowk Brian , Pagotan Roberto , Bischof John C. , Garwood Michael
Published: December 2019

Purpose

Herein, we evaluate the use of MRI as a tool for assessing iron oxide nanoparticle (IONP) distribution within IONP perfused organs and vascularized composite allografts (VCAs) (i.e., hindlimbs) prepared for cryopreservation.

Methods

Magnetic resonance imaging was performed on room‐temperature organs and VCAs perfused with IONPs and were assessed at 9.4 T. Quantitative T1 mapping and ‐weighted images were acquired using sweep imaging with Fourier transformation and gradient‐echo sequences, respectively. Verification of IONP localization was performed through histological assessment and microcomputer tomography.

Results

Quantitative imaging was achieved for organs and VCAs perfused with up to 642 mMFe (36 mgFe/mL), which is above previous demonstrations of upper limit detection in agarose (35.7mMFe [2 mgFe/mL]). The stability of IONPs in the perfusate had an effect on the quality of distribution and imaging within organs or VCA. Finally, MRI provided more accurate IONP localization than Prussian blue histological staining in this system, wherein IONPs remain primarily in the vasculature.

Conclusion

Using MRI, we were able to assess the distribution of IONPs throughout organs and VCAs varying in complexity. Additional studies are necessary to better understand this system and validate the calibration between T1 measurements and IONP concentration.
Prediction of Probabilistic Detonation Threshold via Millimeter‐Scale Microstructure‐Explicit and Void‐Explicit Simulations
Authors: Miller Christopher , Kittell David , Yarrington Cole , Zhou Min
Published: December 2019

We present an approach and relevant models for predicting the probabilistic shock‐to‐detonation transition (SDT) behavior and Pop plot (PP) of heterogeneous energetic materials (HEM) via mesoscopic microstructure‐explicit (ME) and void explicit (VE) simulations at the millimeter (mm) sample size scale. Although the framework here is general, the particular material considered in this paper is pressed Octahydro‐1,3,5,7‐tetranitro‐1,2,3,5‐tetrazocine (HMX). To systematically delineate the effects of material heterogeneities, four material cases are considered. These cases are homogeneous material, material with granular microstructure but no voids, homogeneous material with voids, and material with both granular microstructure and voids. Statistically equivalent microstructure sample sets (SEMSS) are generated and used. Eulerian hydrocode simulations explicitly resolve the material heterogeneities, voids, and the coupled mechanical‐thermal‐chemical processes. In particular, it is found that both microstructure and voids strongly influence the SDT behavior and PP. The effects of different combinations of microstructure heterogeneity and voids on the SDT process and PP are quantified and rank‐ordered. The overall framework uses the Mie–Grüneisen equation of state and a history variable reactive burn model (HVRB). A novel probabilistic representation for quantifying the PP is developed, allowing the calculation of (1) the probability of observing SDT at a given combination of shock pressure and run distance, (2) the run‐distance to detonation under a given combination of shock pressure and prescribed probability, and (3) the shock pressure required for achieving SDT at a given run distance with a prescribed probability. The results are in agreement with general trends in experimental data in the literature.
A sliding mode controller for a model of flow separation in boundary layers
Authors: Sanchez Tonametl , Polyakov Andrey , Richard Jean‐Pierre
Published: December 2019

In this paper, we propose a sliding mode controller for a MIMO model of flow separation in boundary layers. The model consists in a bilinear system with constant delays in both the state and the input. The main motivation to consider such a class of systems is that it has shown to be suitable for input‐output modeling and control design of some turbulent flow control systems. Stability and robustness properties of the control scheme are studied by means of Volterra equations theory, which provides easily verifiable stability conditions.
Performance implications of incremental transition and discontinuous jump between exploration and exploitation
Authors: Kang Jingoo , Kim Sang‐Joon
Published: December 2019

Research Summary

Literature suggests that firms may approximate ambidexterity over time by alternating between periods of exploration and exploitation. We theorize and empirically test performance implications of two types of temporal transition between exploration and exploitation and their boundary conditions. We find that a discontinuous jump has a negative effect on firm performance while an incremental transition has a positive effect. We also find that the role of firm resources and particularly that of non‐scale‐free resources is critical in shaping the performance effects of the two types of temporal transition. Our findings indicate that the two types of temporal transition have distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Managerial Summary

Firms need to make use of old ideas and search for new ideas to remain competitive. We argue that firms take different approaches to achieve this goal. We find that firms that alternate between old and new ideas in an incremental and continuous manner perform better than firms that switch abruptly between old and new ideas. We also find that the performance effects of the two approaches are more pronounced for firms with limited resources. This finding warns managers of the danger of an abrupt and discontinuous jump between old and new ideas, especially for firms with limited resources.
Topological strings on genus one fibered Calabi-Yau 3-folds and string dualities
Authors: Cota Cesar Fierro , Klemm Albrecht , Schimannek Thorsten
Published: December 2019

Abstract

We calculate the generating functions of BPS indices using their modular properties in Type II and M-theory compactifications on compact genus one fibered CY 3-folds with singular fibers and additional rational sections or just N -sections, in order to study string dualities in four and five dimensions as well as rigid limits in which gravity decouples. The generating functions are Jacobi-forms of Γ1(N) with the complexified fiber volume as modular parameter. The string coupling λ, or the ϵ± parameters in the rigid limit, as well as the masses of charged hypermultiplets and non-Abelian gauge bosons are elliptic parameters. To understand this structure, we show that specific auto-equivalences act on the category of topological B-branes on these geometries and generate an action of Γ1(N) on the stringy Kähler moduli space. We argue that these actions can always be expressed in terms of the generic Seidel-Thomas twist with respect to the 6-brane together with shifts of the B-field and are thus monodromies. This implies the elliptic transformation law that is satisfied by the generating functions. We use Higgs transitions in F-theory to extend the ansatz for the modular bootstrap to genus one fibrations with N -sections and boundary conditions fix the all genus generating functions for small base degrees completely. This allows us to study in depth a wide range of new, non-perturbative theories, which are Type II theory duals to the CHL ℤN orbifolds of the heterotic string on K3 × T2. In particular, we compare the BPS degeneracies in the large base limit to the perturbative heterotic one-loop amplitude with $$ {R}_{+}^2{F}_{+}^{2g-2} $$

R
+
2

F
+

2
g
−
2

insertions for many new Type II geometries. In the rigid limit we can refine the ansatz and obtain the elliptic genus of superconformal theories in 5d.
HAS3-induced extracellular vesicles from melanoma cells stimulate IHH mediated c-Myc upregulation via the hedgehog signaling pathway in target cells
Authors: Arasu Uma Thanigai , Deen Ashik Jawahar , Pasonen-Seppänen Sanna , Heikkinen Sami , Lalowski Maciej , Kärnä Riikka , Härkönen Kai , Mäkinen Petri , Lázaro-Ibáñez Elisa , Siljander Pia R-M , Oikari Sanna , Levonen Anna-Liisa , Rilla Kirsi
Published: December 2019

Intercellular communication is fundamental to the survival and maintenance of all multicellular systems, whereas dysregulation of communication pathways can drive cancer progression. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are mediators of cell-to-cell communication that regulate a variety of cellular processes involved in tumor progression. Overexpression of a specific plasma membrane enzyme, hyaluronan synthase 3 (HAS3), is one of the factors that can induce EV shedding. HAS3, and particularly its product hyaluronan (HA), are carried by EVs and are known to be associated with the tumorigenic properties of cancer cells. To elucidate the specific effects of cancerous, HAS3-induced EVs on target cells, normal human keratinocytes and melanoma cells were treated with EVs derived from GFP-HAS3 expressing metastatic melanoma cells. We found that the HA receptor CD44 participated in the regulation of EV binding to target cells. Furthermore, GFP-HAS3-positive EVs induced HA secretion, proliferation and invasion of target cells. Our results suggest that HAS3-EVs contains increased quantities of IHH, which activates the target cell hedgehog signaling cascade and leads to the activation of c-Myc and regulation of claspin expression. This signaling of IHH in HAS3-EVs resulted in increased cell proliferation. Claspin immunostaining correlated with HA content in human cutaneous melanocytic lesions, supporting our in vitro findings and suggesting a reciprocal regulation between claspin expression and HA synthesis. This study shows for the first time that EVs originating from HAS3 overexpressing cells carry mitogenic signals that induce proliferation and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in target cells. The study also identifies a novel feedback regulation between the hedgehog signaling pathway and HA metabolism in melanoma, mediated by EVs carrying HA and IHH.
Type 2 diabetes does not account for ethnic differences in exercise capacity or skeletal muscle function in older adults
Authors: Jones Siana , Tillin Therese , Williams Suzanne , Eastwood Sophie V. , Hughes Alun D. , Chaturvedi Nishi
Published: December 2019

Aims/hypothesis

The aim of this study was to compare exercise capacity, strength and skeletal muscle perfusion during exercise, and oxidative capacity between South Asians, African Caribbeans and Europeans, and determine what effect ethnic differences in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes has on these functional outcomes.

Methods

In total, 708 participants (aged [mean±SD] 73 ± 7 years, 56% male) were recruited from the Southall and Brent Revisited (SABRE) study, a UK population-based cohort comprised of Europeans (n = 311) and South Asian (n = 232) and African Caribbean (n = 165) migrants. Measurements of exercise capacity using a 6 min stepper test (6MST), including measurement of oxygen consumption ($$ \dot{V}{\mathrm{O}}_2 $$V̇O2) and grip strength, were performed. Skeletal muscle was assessed using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS); measures included changes in tissue saturation index (∆TSI%) with exercise and oxidative capacity (muscle oxygen consumption recovery, represented by a time constant [τ]). Analysis was by multiple linear regression.

Results

When adjusted for age and sex, in South Asians and African Caribbeans, exercise capacity was reduced compared with Europeans ($$ \dot{V}{\mathrm{O}}_2 $$V̇O2 [ml min−1 kg−1]: β = −1.2 [95% CI –1.9, −0.4], p = 0.002, and β −1.7 [95% CI –2.5, −0.8], p < 0.001, respectively). South Asians had lower and African Caribbeans had higher strength compared with Europeans (strength [kPa]: β = −9 [95% CI –12, −6), p < 0.001, and β = 6 [95% CI 3, 9], p < 0.001, respectively). South Asians had greater decreases in TSI% and longer τ compared with Europeans (∆TSI% [%]: β = −0.9 [95% CI –1.7, −0.1), p = 0.024; τ [s]: β = 11 [95% CI 3, 18], p = 0.006). Ethnic differences in $$ \dot{V}{\mathrm{O}}_2 $$V̇O2 and grip strength remained despite adjustment for type 2 diabetes or HbA1c (and fat-free mass for grip strength). However, the differences between Europeans and South Asians were no longer statistically significant after adjustment for other possible mediators or confounders (including physical activity, waist-to-hip ratio, cardiovascular disease or hypertension, smoking, haemoglobin levels or β-blocker use). The difference in ∆TSI% between Europeans and South Asians was marginally attenuated after adjustment for type 2 diabetes or HbA1c and was also no longer statistically significant after adjusting for other confounders; however, τ remained significantly longer in South Asians vs Europeans despite adjustment for all confounders.

Conclusions/interpretation

Reduced exercise capacity in South Asians and African Caribbeans is unexplained by higher rates of type 2 diabetes. Poorer exercise tolerance in these populations, and impaired muscle function and perfusion in South Asians, may contribute to the higher morbidity burden of UK ethnic minority groups in older age.
Evolutionary stability in the generalized second-price auction
Authors: Norman Thomas W. L.
Published: December 2019

The “generalized second-price auction” is widely employed to sell internet advertising positions and has many equilibria. Analysis of this auction has assumed that myopic players commonly know each others’ position values, and that the resulting equilibrium play is “locally envy-free”. Here, I argue that the appropriate refinement of Nash equilibrium for this setting is evolutionary stability, and show that it implies that an equilibrium is locally envy-free if the whole population of players bids in each auction and the set of possible bids is not too coarse. However, not all locally envy-free equilibria are evolutionarily stable in this case, as I show by example for the popular Vickrey–Clarke–Groves outcome. The existence of evolutionarily stable equilibrium is established when one position is auctioned, as well as for two positions and a large number of bidders.
Criterion validity of the Ekblom-Bak and the Åstrand submaximal test in an elderly population
Authors: Väisänen Daniel , Ekblom Örjan , Ekblom-Bak Elin , Andersson Eva , Nilsson Jonna , Ekblom Maria
Published: December 2019

Purpose

The aim of this study was to validate the submaximal Ekblom-Bak test (EB-test) and the Åstrand test (Å-test) for an elderly population.

Methods

Participants (n = 104), aged 65–75 years, completed a submaximal aerobic test on a cycle ergometer followed by an individually adjusted indirect calorimetry VO2max test on a treadmill. The HR from the submaximal test was used to estimate VO2max using both the EB-test and Å-test equations.

Results

The correlation between measured and estimated VO2max using the EB method and Å method in women wasr = 0.64 andr = 0.58, respectively and in menr = 0.44 andr = 0.44, respectively. In women, the mean difference between estimated and measured VO2max was − 0.02 L min−1(95% CI − 0.08 to 0.04) for the EB method and − 0.12 L min−1(95% CI − 0.22 to − 0.02) for the Å method. Corresponding values for men were 0.05 L min−1(95% CI − 0.04 to 0.14) and − 0.28 L min−1(95% CI − 0.42 to − 0.14), respectively. However, the EB method was found to overestimate VO2max in men with low fitness and the Å method was found to underestimate VO2max in both women and men. For women, the coefficient of variance was 11.1%, when using the EB method and 19.8% when using the Å method. Corresponding values for men were 11.6% and 18.9%, respectively.

Conclusion

The submaximal EB-test is valid for estimating VO2max in elderly women, but not in all elderly men. The Å-test is not valid for estimating VO2max in the elderly.
Physical activity in patients with cancer: self-report versus accelerometer assessments
Authors: Douma Joeri A.J. , de Beaufort Maaike B. , Kampshoff Caroline S. , Persoon Saskia , Vermaire Jorine A. , Chinapaw Mai J. , van Mechelen Willem , Nollet Frans , Kersten Marie José , Smit Jan H. , Verdonck-de Leeuw Irma M. , Altenburg Teatske M. , Buffart Laurien M.
Published: December 2019

Purpose

The level of daily physical activity in patients with cancer is frequently assessed by questionnaires, such as the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE). Objective assessments, with for example accelerometers, may be a good alternative. The aim of this study was to investigate the agreement between the PASE questionnaire and accelerometer-assessed physical activity in a large group of patients with different types of cancer.

Methods

Baseline accelerometer and PASE questionnaire data of 403 participants from the REACT (Resistance and Endurance Exercise After Chemotherapy, n = 227), the EXIST (Exercise Intervention After Stem-Cell Transplantation, n = 74), and NET-QUBIC (NEtherlands QUality of Life And Biomedical Cohort Studies In Cancer, n = 102) studies were available for the current analyses. Physical activity was assessed by the PASE questionnaire (total score) and accelerometers (total minutes per day > 100 counts). Linear mixed models regression analysis was used to assess the agreement between the PASE questionnaire and accelerometer-assessed physical activity.

Results

The mean (SD) PASE score was 95.9 (75.1) points and mean (SD) time in physical activity measured with the accelerometer was 256.6 (78.8) min per day. The agreement between the PASE score and the accelerometer data was significant, but poor (standardized regression coefficient (B) = 0.36, 95%CI = 0.27; 0.44, p < 0.01).

Conclusion

Agreement between the PASE questionnaire and accelerometer-assessed physical activity was poor. The poor agreement indicates that they measure different physical activity constructs and cannot be used interchangeably to assess the level of daily physical activity in patients with cancer.
Exosomes produced from 3D cultures of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in a hollow-fiber bioreactor show improved osteochondral regeneration activity
Authors: Yan Litao , Wu Xing
Published: December 2019

Animal and clinical studies have shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play an important role in cartilage repair. The therapeutic effect of mesenchymal stem cells based therapies has been increasingly demonstrated to exosome-mediated paracrine secretion. Here, we investigated the cellular processes and mechanism of exosomes produced by conventional 2D culture (2D-Exos) and exosomes produced from 3D culture (3D-Exos) of umbilical MSCs (U-MSCs) in a hollow-fiber bioreactor for the treatment of cartilage repair. We found that the yield of 3D-Exos was 7.5-fold higher than that of 2D-Exos. The in vitro experiments indicated that both 2D-Exos and 3D-Exos can stimulate chondrocyte proliferation, migration, and matrix synthesis, and inhibit apoptosis, with 3D-Exos exerting a stronger effect than 2D-Exos. This effect was partly attributed to the activation of transforming growth factor beta 1 and Smad2/3 signaling. The injection of 2D-Exos and 3D-Exos showed enhanced gross appearance and attenuated cartilage defect; however, 3D-Exos showed a superior therapeutic effect than 2D-Exos. In summary, our study provides novel insights into the chondroprotective effects of exosomes produced from 3D culture of U-MSCs in a hollow-fiber bioreactor. Because of its promising biological function and high yield, 3D-Exos may become a promising therapeutic method for the treatment of cartilage defects.
OPTCON3: An Active Learning Control Algorithm for Nonlinear Quadratic Stochastic Problems
Authors: Blueschke-Nikolaeva V. , Blueschke D. , Neck R.
Published: December 2019

In this paper, we describe the new OPTCON3 algorithm, which serves to determine approximately optimal policies for stochastic control problems with a quadratic objective function and nonlinear dynamic models. It includes active learning and the dual effect of optimizing policies, whereby optimal policies are used to learn about the stochastics of the dynamic system in addition to their immediate effect on the performance of the system. The OPTCON3 algorithm approximates the nonlinear model with a time-varying linear model and applies a procedure similar to that of Kendrick to the series of linearized models to calculate approximately optimal policies. The results for two simple economic models serve to test the OPTCON3 algorithm and compare it to previous solutions of the stochastic control problem. Initial evaluations show that the OPTCON3 approach may be promising to enhance our understanding of the adaptive economic policy problem under uncertainty.
A Life Plan Principle of Voting Rights
Authors: Angell Kim
Published: December 2019

Who should have a right to participate in a polity’s decision-making? Although the answers to this ‘boundary problem’ in democratic theory remain controversial, it is widely believed that the enfranchisement of tourists and children is unacceptable. Yet, the two most prominent inclusion principles in the literature – Robert Goodin’s ‘all (possibly) affected interests’-principle and the ‘all subjected to law’-principle – both enfranchise those groups. Unsurprisingly, democratic theorists have therefore offered several reasons for nonetheless exempting tourists and children from the franchise. In this paper, I argue that their attempts fail. None of the proposed rationales can do the job without having unacceptable implications for the voting rights of other groups. I then develop a new specification of the affected interests-view, one that avoids such problems. According to my life plan-principle, a person is entitled to participate in a polity’s decision-making if and only if its decisions will actually affect her autonomously chosen life plans, or prevent her from developing or revising plans of that kind. I show that this principle straightforwardly avoids enfranchising tourists and children, and thus improves upon its two prominent rivals. The paper ends by considering and rejecting two objections to my new principle.
XOR-ed visual secret sharing scheme with robust and meaningful shadows based on QR codes
Authors: Tan Longdan , Lu Yuliang , Yan Xuehu , Liu Lintao , Zhou Xuan
Published: December 2019

Quick response (QR) codes are becoming increasingly popular in various areas of life due to the advantages of the error correction capacity, the ability to be scanned quickly and the capacity to contain meaningful content. The distribution of dark and light modules of a QR code looks random, but the content of a code can be decoded by a standard QR reader. Thus, a QR code is often used in combination with visual secret sharing (VSS) to generate meaningful shadows. There may be some losses in the process of distribution and preservation of the shadows. To recover secret images with high quality, it is necessary to consider the scheme’s robustness. However, few studies examine robustness of VSS combined with QR codes. In this paper, we propose a robust (k, n)-threshold XOR-ed VSS (XVSS) scheme based on a QR code with the error correction ability. Compared with OR-ed VSS (OVSS), XVSS can recover the secret image losslessly, and the amount of computation needed is low. Since the standard QR encoder does not check if the padding codewords are correct during the encoding phase, we replace padding codewords by initial shadows shared from the secret image using XVSS to generate QR code shadows. As a result, the shadows can be decoded normally, and their error correction abilities are preserved. Once all the shadows have been collected, the secret image can be recovered losslessly. More importantly, if some conventional image attacks, including rotation, JPEG compression, Gaussian noise, salt-and-pepper noise, cropping, resizing, and even the addition of camera and screen noises are performed on the shadows, the secret image can still be recovered. The experimental results and comparisons demonstrate the effectiveness of our scheme.
The results of a randomized controlled trial of police body-worn video in Australia
Authors: Clare Joseph , Henstock Darren , McComb Christine , Newland Roy , Barnes Geoffrey C.
Published: December 2019

Objectives

We report the results of a randomized controlled trial of police body-worn video (BWV) cameras in an Australian context, with a focus on how cameras influence evidence gathering, court processes/outcomes, and police/public behavior.

Methods

The 6-month trial undertaken by the Western Australia Police Force involved a sample of officers (N = 498) acting as their own controls with camera use (“treatment”) randomly allocated across shifts. A range of parametric and non-parametric tests were conducted to explore the influence of BWV on interview efficiency, rate/timing of guilty pleas, conviction rates, sanction rates, police use-of-force, assaults against police, and citizen complaints against police.

Results

The trial generated mixed results in support of this technology within this Australian context. BWV recordings did result in evidence-gathering benefits by producing cost/time efficiencies when taking field interviews. BWV footage had limited impact on court processes/outcomes, with indication that camera evidence encouraged earlier guilty pleas but no corresponding increase in the rate of guilty pleas or convictions. BWV did influence police operational decision-making, with increased sanction rates and use-of-force on treatment days. The extent to which officers engaged with the trial compounded these patterns. There was no evidence that BWV prevents problem behavior, with citizens’ complaints increasing on treatment days and no influence of BWV on rates of assaults against police.

Conclusions

These findings highlight the need for additional context-specific clarity about why police use BWV cameras. In particular, BWV users should clearly specify the causal mechanisms through which cameras will achieve administrative, evidentiary, operational, and/or problem-prevention goals.
The Associations between Problematic Social Networking Site Use and Sleep Quality, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Depression, Anxiety and Stress
Authors: Hussain Zaheer , Griffiths Mark D.
Published: December 2019

Social networking sites (SNSs) are now used by billions of users worldwide and can help facilitate communication and the sharing of information. However, there is evidence that problematic SNS use (PSNSU) can have negative effects on health. The present study examined the associations between PSNSU, sleep quality, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, anxiety and stress among SNS users. A total of 638 SNS users (mean age = 32.03 years, SD = 10.08) completed an online survey comprising instruments assessing SNS addiction, sleep quality, ADHD, depression, anxiety and stress. Regression analysis indicated that the factors of age (β = − .24, p < .01), relationship status (i.e., being in a relationship) (β = − .09, p < .05), ADHD (β = .43, p < .01) and anxiety (β = .12, p < .01) explained 23.9% of the variance in problematic SNS use. Bivariate correlations identified moderate positive correlations between PSNSU, poor sleep quality (r = .24, p < .01, R2 = .06), ADHD (r = .47, p < .01, R2 = .22), depression (r = .32, p < .01, R2 = .10), anxiety (r = .38, p < .01, R2 = .14) and stress (r = .34, p < .01, R2 = .12). The study demonstrated that PSNSU was associated with psychopathological and psychiatric disorders symptoms, the findings will help inform future interventions for reducing and tackling PSNSU.
Performing ‘blue degrowth’: critiquing seabed mining in Papua New Guinea through creative practice
Authors: Childs John
Published: December 2019

Scripted as a sustainable alternative to terrestrial mining, the licence for the world’s first commercial deep-sea mining (DSM) site was issued in Papua New Guinea in 2011 to extract copper and gold from a deposit situated 1600 m below the surface of the Bismarck Sea. Whilst DSM’s proponents locate it as emergent part of a blue economy narrative, its critics point to the ecological and economic uncertainty that characterises the proposed practice. Yet, due its extreme geography, DSM is also profoundly elusive to direct human experience and thus presents a challenge to forms of resistance against an industry extolled as having ‘no human impact’. Against this background, this paper analyses the ways in which ‘blue degrowth’—as a distinct form of counter-narrative—might be ‘performed’, and which imagined (and alternative) geographies are invoked accordingly. To do this it critically reflects upon 2 years of participatory research in the Duke of York Islands focusing on three, community-developed methods of resisting DSM. Practices of counter mapping, sculpture and participatory drama all sought to ‘perform’ the deep-ocean environment imagined as relational whilst simultaneously questioning the very notion of ‘economy’ central to the discourse of ‘blue growth’.
Structure Modification upon Ultrasonic Processing of an AA4032 Piston Alloy: Comparison of Permanent Mold and Direct-Chill Casting
Authors: Chankitmunkong Suwaree , Eskin Dmitry G. , Limmaneevichitr Chaowalit
Published: December 2019

Piston Al-Si alloys have very complex compositions and multi-phase heterogeneous structure, so it is necessary to control the formation of primary and eutectic compounds. In this study, the ultrasonic melt processing (USP) of a eutectic Al-Si piston alloy (AA4032-type) was performed in a permanent mold and during direct-chill (DC) casting to study its effects on the structure refinement and modification. The principal difference between these two ways of casting is that in the permanent mold the solidification front progressively moves towards the ultrasound source, while in the DC casting the position of the solidification front is fixed in space. The results showed that the USP can successfully refine primary Si, Fe-containing intermetallics and aluminum grains. Refinement of primary Si was accompanied by the increase in its amount, which was attributed to both enhanced heterogeneous nucleation and fragmentation. The refinement of Fe-containing intermetallics and Al grains resulted from the fragmentation mechanism and were more pronounced when USP was applied below the liquidus temperature in the permanent mold. However, the eutectic phases coarsened upon USP, and this effect was most pronounced when USP was applied to the semi-solid material. This was related to the strong attenuation of acoustic waves, which effectively heats the semi-solid material and induces corresponding coarsening of the phases. Acoustic streaming induced by an oscillating sonotrode affected the depth of the sump while simultaneously decreasing the macrosegregation, which reflects the dominant role of the melt flow directed against natural convection. The results demonstrated the importance of the solidification stage at which the USP was applied and the specifics of the USP mechanisms acting at the different stages of solidification.
Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Drought in the Heihe River Basin Based on the Extreme-Point Symmetric Mode Decomposition Method
Authors: Feng Kai , Su Xiaoling
Published: December 2019

Assessment of spatiotemporal characteristics of drought under climate change is significant for drought mitigation. In this study, the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) calculated at different timescales was adopted to describe the drought conditions in the Heihe River Basin (HRB) from 1961 to 2014. The period characteristics and spatiotemporal distribution of drought were analyzed by using the extreme-point symmetric mode decomposition (ESMD) and inverse distance weight interpolation methods. Four main results were obtained. (1) The SPEI series of the upper reaches of the HRB at different timescales showed an upward trend (not significant) during 1961–2014. In the middle and lower reaches, the SPEI series exhibited significant downward trends. (2) The annual SPEI series of the lower reaches was decomposed through the ESMD method and exhibited a fluctuating downward trend as a whole. The oscillation showed quasi-3.4-year and quasi-4.5-year periods in the interannual variation, while a quasi-13.5-year period occurred in the interdecadal variation. The interannual period plays a leading role in drought variation across the HRB. (3) The entire research period was divided into three subperiods by the Bernaola–Galvan segmentation algorithm: 1961–1966, 1967–1996, and 1997–2014. The spring drought frequency and autumn drought intensity arrived at their maxima in the lower reaches during 1997–2014, with values of 72.22% and 1.56, respectively. The high frequency and intensity areas of spring, summer, and autumn drought moved from the middle-upper reaches to the middle-lower reaches of the HRB during 1961–2014. (4) Compared to the wavelet transform, the ESMD method has self-adaptability for signal decomposition and is more accurate for drought period analysis. Extreme-point symmetric mode decomposition is a more efficient decomposition method for nonlinear and nonstationary time series and has important significance for revealing the complicated change features of climate systems.
Brain imaging measurements of fibrillar amyloid‐β burden, paired helical filament tau burden, and atrophy in cognitively unimpaired persons with two, one, and no copies of the APOE ε4 allele
Authors: Ghisays Valentina , Goradia Dhruman D. , Protas Hillary , Bauer Robert J. , Devadas Vivek , Tariot Pierre N. , Lowe Val J. , Knopman David S. , Petersen Ronald C. , Jack Clifford R. , Caselli Richard J. , Su Yi , Chen Kewei , Reiman Eric M.
Published: December 2019

Introduction

We previously characterized associations between brain imaging measurements of amyloid‐β (Aβ) plaque burden and apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 gene dose in a small number of cognitively unimpaired late‐middle‐aged APOE ε4 homozygotes (HMs), heterozygotes (HTs), and noncarriers (NCs). We now characterize cross‐sectional Aβ plaque, tau tangle, and cortical atrophy (neurodegeneration) measurements, classifications, and associations with age in a larger number of unimpaired HMs, HTs, and NCs over a wider age range.

Methods

We analyzed 11C Pittsburgh compound B (Aβ) positron emission tomography (PET), flortaucipir (tau) PET, and volumetric magnetic resonance imaging data from 164 study participants of age 47–86 years, including 26 APOE ε4 HMs, 48 HTs, and 90 NCs matched for age and sex.

Results

Aβ PET measurements rose, plateaued at the respective ages of 68 and 76, and then declined with age in unimpaired HM and HT groups. Compared with NCs, these two groups began to have significantly higher Aβ PET measurements at ages 62 and 70, respectively, and no longer had significantly higher measurements by ages 71 and 78, respectively. They began to have significantly higher entorhinal cortex tau PET measurements at ages 66 and 70, respectively, and no longer had significantly higher measurements by ages 74 and 78, respectively. Brain atrophy measurements tended to decline slowly with age in all three genetic groups. Their elevated tau PET measurements were attributable to those with positive Aβ PET scans. 41.0%, 18.0%, and 5.0% of the 47‐ to 70‐year‐old HMs, HTs, and NCs and 25.0%, 79.0%, and 38.0% of the 71‐ to 86‐year‐old HMs, HTs, and NCs had positive Aβ PET scans, and the long‐term recall memory scores are significantly higher in the older HMs than in HT and NC groups, suggesting resistance to Aβ deposition in those HMs who remained unimpaired at older ages.

Conclusions

This study provides information about Aβ plaque burden, tau tangle burden, and neurodegeneration in cognitively unimpaired persons at three levels of genetic risk for AD. Unimpaired APOE ε4 HMs can be studied before their 70s to evaluate the understanding of factors, processes, and interventions involved in the predisposition to and prevention of AD, and after their 70s, to discover factors, processes, and interventions involved in the resilience or resistance to and prevention of AD.
The fluctuation of APC gene in WNT signaling with adenine deletion of adenomatous polyposis coli, is associated in colorectal cancer
Authors: Norollahi Seyedeh Elham , Hamidian Seyed Mohammad Taghi , Kohpar Zeynab Khazaee , Azadi Rezvan , Rostami Pooya , Vahidi Sogand , Ghazanfari Sahar , Shabe Farnaz Azar , Khaksar Roya , Samadani Ali Akbar
Published: December 2019

Colorectal cancer is one of the most important malignancies in the classification of gastrointestinal cancers. One of the predisposing factors at molecular level for this cancer is via WNT signaling which is associated with the vast numbers of different genes. Thus, in this study, we aimed to investigate whether Adenomatous Polyposis Coli gene (APC) mutation of rs41115in two locations such as 132.002 and 131.989 acts as a trigger or cause of colorectal cancer. Relatively, 30 blood samples of colorectal cancer patients and 30 normal blood samples as control group after colonoscopy and also confirmation of pathology report at Rohani Hospital in Babol (Iran) were investigated. The primers were designed in order to be included the rs41115 to identify the particular polymorphisms of gene. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR direct sequencing method) was used. Conclusively, deletion of adenine in two specific locations such as 131.989 and 132.002 has been identified, but there was no relationship between rs41115 polymorphisms located in adenomatous polyposis coli gene and colorectal cancer.
Primary extraperitoneal rectum lymphoma in AIDS patient
Authors: Garcia Ana Maria Stapasolla Vargas , Sangali Marlei , Filho Antoninho Jose Tonatto , Lara Caroline , Silva Cibele Corbellini Rosa da , Saturnino Marcos Paulo Barreto , Carvalho Luciano Pinto de
Published: December 2019

Introduction The gastrointestinal lymphoma can be classified in primary or secondary, and this is important regarding diagnosis and subsequent treatment. Primary gastrointestinal lymphoma of the rectum is rare and therefore lacks data in medical literature. Its incidence has been increasing and that fact may be related to a higher incidence in immunosuppressive therapy and immunosuppressive diseases (such as AIDS).

Metodology 19 articles have been reviewed, searched online on the Scielo and PubMed databases. The goal was to increase data available regarding this pathology and improve its therapy.

Discussion Primary GI lymphoma of the rectum presents as hematochezia, rectal pain, change in bowel habits. PET/CT is the first choice exam to pursue investigation; however abdominal CT and MRI reveal sufficient information and are much more available in daily practice. Plasmablastyc lymphoma is an aggressive subtype and is usually associated with AIDS patients. There are no available treatment protocols for this specific type of lymphoma and colonic lymphoma's therapy is usually used for this patient (such as ECHOP and CHOP).

Conclusion As rare as this pathology is, this article aims to improve the available data and provide useful information regarding diagnosis and therapy.
International Labor Law and its Others: Governance by Norm Versus Governance by Knowledge
Authors: McHugh-Russell Liam
Published: December 2019

Domestic laws are shaped by myriad global governance projects, which may attract the support of different organizations, promote contrasting socioeconomic visions, and operate at diverse levels and scales. Beyond differences in their whos, whats, and wheres, governance projects are also differentiated by their hows: they may embody different ways of imagining relations between order, authority, and legitimacy; operate through different styles; or deploy different technologies. International legal regimes, which function through a logic of governance that applies norms sanctioned by the political consent of states, have long operated alongside “systems of management and control” drawing their legitimacy from claims of “objective, disinterested scientific knowledge.”
Evan Mawarire’s #ThisFlag as Tactical Lyric: The Role of Digital Speech in Imagining a Networked Zimbabwean Nation
Authors: Sacks Susanna L.
Published: December 2019

Evan Mawarire’s poetic video “This Flag,” first posted on Facebook on April 20, 2016, mobilized an international protest movement against then-president of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe between April and September of 2016. In the video, Mawarire built on the poetics of anti-colonial resistance and nationalization to create a rallying cry. The piece’s remediation through the hashtag channel #ThisFlag created rhetorical links between digital organizing and grounded action. This literary perspective on contemporary discussions of social media and collective identity formation shows how the poetic elements of the video enabled Mawarire’s claim to spread and motivate a grounded movement.
Archives, the Digital Turn, and Governance in Africa
Authors: Chamelot Fabienne , Hiribarren Vincent , Rodet Marie
Published: December 2019

With the rise of information technology, an increasing proportion of public African archives are being digitized and made accessible on the internet. The same is being done to a certain extent with private archives too. As much as the new technologies are raising enthusiasm, they have prompted discussion among researchers and archivists, on subjects ranging from matters of intellectual property to sovereignty and governance. Digital archiving disrupts archival norms and practices, opening up a field of reflection relatively little explored by historians. This article therefore seeks to reflect on the digital turn of African archives as a subject for study in its own right, located at the crossroads of political and economic interests.
New kingenoid (Terebratellidina) brachiopods with larger body sizes from the Early Cretaceous of Zengővárkony (Mecsek Mountains, Hungary)
Authors: Bujtor László , Vörös Attila
Published: December 2019

The small, Lower Cretaceous, iron ore deposit at Zengővárkony (Mecsek Mountains, southern Hungary, Europe) contains new brachiopod taxa of kingenoid relationships.Dictyothyropsis vogli,Zittelina hofmanni, andSmirnovina ferrariaare described as new species from late Valanginian to earliest Hauterivian strata. The new taxa strengthen the presence of Early Cretaceous biogeographical connections with the Western Carpathians and the Pieniny Klippen Belt of southern Poland. The newly described taxa have significantly larger dimensions than their closest relatives from the type localities, which is in line with previous research on brachiopods from this environment. These brachiopods lived in a nutrient-rich, unique environment related to iron-ore deposition linked to former hydrothermal activity on the seafloor that might have contributed to the large size of these brachiopods. Larger than normal rhynchonellide and terebratulidine brachiopods have previously been recorded from this locality.

UUID:http://zoobank.org/353882-2838-4eb7-b21a-8cc665d13408
PREDICATIVE COLLAPSING PRINCIPLES
Authors: FREUND ANTON
Published: December 2019

We show that arithmetical transfinite recursion is equivalent to a suitable formalization of the following: For every ordinal α there exists an ordinal β such that $1 + \beta \cdot \left( {\beta + \alpha } \right)$ (ordinal arithmetic) admits an almost order preserving collapse into β. Arithmetical comprehension is equivalent to a statement of the same form, with $\beta \cdot \alpha$ at the place of $\beta \cdot \left( {\beta + \alpha } \right)$. We will also characterize the principles that any set is contained in a countable coded ω-model of arithmetical transfinite recursion and arithmetical comprehension, respectively.