bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multiplicity results by shooting reproducing kernel Hilbert space method for the catalytic reaction in a flat particle
Authors: Azarnavid Babak , Shivanian Elyas , Parand Kourosh , Nikmanesh Soudabeh
Published: March 2018

In this paper, a model of simultaneous mass and heat transfer within a porous catalyst in a flat particle is considered. A new modification of the shooting reproducing kernel Hilbert space (SRKHS) method is proposed, which is also capable of handling the system of nonlinear boundary value problems by employing Newtons method. The proposed method is a well-performance technique in both predicting and calculating multiple solutions of the nonlinear boundary value problems. Applying the SRKHS method shows that the mentioned model might admit multiple stationary solutions (unique, dual or triple solutions) depending on the values of the parameters of the model. Furthermore, the convergence of the method is proved and some numerical tests reveal the high efficiency of this new version of SRKHS method.
Filter banks on discrete abelian groups
Authors: García A. G. , Hernández-Medina M. A. , Pérez-Villalón G.
Published: March 2018

In this work, we provide polyphase, modulation, and frame theoretical analyses of a filter bank on a discrete abelian group. Thus, multi-dimensional or cyclic filter banks as well as filter banks for signals in [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text] spaces are studied in a unified way. We obtain perfect reconstruction conditions and the corresponding frame bounds in this particular context.
Uncertainty product of the spherical Gauss–Weierstrass wavelet
Authors: Iglewska-Nowak Ilona
Published: March 2018

In this paper, asymptotic behavior of the uncertainty product of the Gauss–Weierstrass wavelet is investigated. It is shown that the uncertainty product is bounded from above, a feature that distinguishes the Gauss–Weierstrass wavelet from other wavelet families.
Generalized Fuzzy Relations
Authors: Mordeson John N. , Mathew Sunil , Malik Davender S.
Published: March 2018

Fuzzy relations are fundamental in applications of fuzzy set theory and fuzzy logic. The entire literature on fuzzy relations as applied to fuzzy graph theory are based on Rosenfeld’s relations. Rosenfeld used minimum and maximum as the norm and conorm in his study of compositions of fuzzy relations. In this paper, we generalize fuzzy relations using arbitrary [Formula: see text]-norms and [Formula: see text]-conorms. Many of the results do not hold when minimum and maximum are replaced by an arbitrary norm and an arbitrary conorm. Reflexive, symmetric and transitive generalized fuzzy relations are also discussed and an application to human trafficking and illegal immigration is presented.
Vulnerability and Government Response to Human Trafficking: Vague Fuzzy Incidence Graphs
Authors: Mordeson John N. , Mathew Sunil , Borzooei R. A.
Published: March 2018

We introduce the notion of a vague incidence graph and its eccentricity. We apply the results to problems involving human trafficking and illegal immigration. We are particularly interested in the roll played by countries’ vulnerability and their government’s response to human trafficking. We show of the leading illegal immigration routes through Mexico to the United States that Somalia has the highest eccentricity. We also provide measures on how much a region needs to reduce flow or increase government response to be modelled by a fuzzy incidence graph. It turns out that the Commonwealth of Independent States has the largest measure for both vulnerability and government response than any other region.
Study on the detection behavior of defect-rich single-walled carbon nanotubes toward perchlorate
Authors: Chen Yi , Nguyen Thuy Hang , Zhang Shao Lin , Zhang Z. , Yue Hongyan , Jian Jiawen , Yang Woo-Chul
Published: March 2018

Defect-rich single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were prepared by a water vapor flow-assisted chemical vapor deposition process. The correlation between defect density and water flow was quantitively studied using Raman spectrum. The detection capabilities of defective SWCNTs films toward perchlorate anions were investigated. It was found the defect-rich SWCNTs could adsorb more perchlorate anions owing to the strong chemical bonding between anions and defective sites. However, the detective response of defective SWCNTs toward perchlorate was not in compliance with anion adsorption. A tradeoff phenomenon between response and adsorption was found as the defect density of SWCNTs increased. This work is expected to provide a guidance to the future design of SWCNTs based ion detector.
Data I/O management approach for the post-hoc visualization of big simulation data results
Authors: Nonaka Jorji , Inacio Eduardo C. , Ono Kenji , Dantas Mario A. R. , Kawashima Yasuhiro , Kawanabe Tomohiro , Shoji Fumiyoshi
Published: March 2018

Leading-edge supercomputers, such as the K computer, have generated a vast amount of simulation results, and most of these datasets were stored on the file system for the post-hoc analysis such as visualization. In this work, we first investigated the data generation trends of the K computer by analyzing some operational log data files. We verified a tendency of generating large amounts of distributed files as simulation outputs, and in most cases, the number of files has been proportional to the number of utilized computational nodes, that is, each computational node producing one or more files. Considering that the computational cost of visualization tasks is usually much smaller than that required for large-scale numerical simulations, a flexible data input/output (I/O) management mechanism becomes highly useful for the post-hoc visualization and analysis. In this work, we focused on the xDMlib data management library, and its flexible data I/O mechanism in order to enable flexible data loading of big computational climate simulation results. In the proposed approach, a pre-processing is executed on the target distributed files for generating a light-weight metadata necessary for the elaboration of the data assignment mapping used in the subsequent data loading process. We evaluated the proposed approach by using a 32-node visualization cluster, and the K computer. Besides the inevitable performance penalty associated with longer data loading time, when using smaller number of processes, there is a benefit for avoiding any data replication via copy, conversion, or extraction. In addition, users will be able to freely select any number of nodes, without caring about the number of distributed files, for the post-hoc visualization and analysis purposes.
Visual Homing for Micro Aerial Vehicles Using Scene Familiarity
Authors: van Dalen Gerald J. J. , McGuire Kimberly N. , de Croon Guido C. H. E.
Published: March 2018

Autonomous navigation is a major challenge in the development of Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs). Especially, when an algorithm has to be efficient, insect intelligence can be a source of inspiration. One of the elementary navigation tasks of insects and robots is “homing”, which is the task of returning to an initial starting position. A promising approach uses learned visual familiarity of a route to determine reference headings during homing. In this paper, an existing biological proof-of-concept is transferred to an algorithm for micro drones, using vision-in-the-loop experiments in indoor environments. An artificial neural network determines which control actions to take place.
RIPL
Authors: Stewart Robert , Duncan Kirsty , Michaelson Greg , Garcia Paulo , Bhowmik Deepayan , Wallace Andrew
Published: March 2018

Specialized FPGA implementations can deliver higher performance and greater power efficiency than embedded CPU or GPU implementations for real-time image processing. Programming challenges limit their wider use, because the implementation of FPGA architectures at the register transfer level is time consuming and error prone. Existing software languages supported by high-level synthesis (HLS), although providing a productivity improvement, are too general purpose to generate efficient hardware without the use of hardware-specific code optimizations. Such optimizations leak hardware details into the abstractions that software languages are there to provide, and they require knowledge of FPGAs to generate efficient hardware, such as by using language pragmas to partition data structures across memory blocks.

This article presents a thorough account of the Rathlin image processing language (RIPL), a high-level image processing domain-specific language for FPGAs. We motivate its design, based on higher-order algorithmic skeletons, with requirements from the image processing domain. RIPL’s skeletons suffice to elegantly describe image processing stencils, as well as recursive algorithms with nonlocal random access patterns. At its core, RIPL employs a dataflow intermediate representation. We give a formal account of the compilation scheme from RIPL skeletons to static and cyclostatic dataflow models to describe their data rates and static scheduling on FPGAs.

RIPL compares favorably to the Vivado HLS OpenCV library and C++ compiled with Vivado HLS. RIPL achieves between 54 and 191 frames per second (FPS) at 100MHz for four synthetic benchmarks, faster than HLS OpenCV in three cases. Two real-world algorithms are implemented in RIPL: visual saliency and mean shift segmentation. For the visual saliency algorithm, RIPL achieves 71 FPS compared to optimized C++ at 28 FPS. RIPL is also concise, being 5x shorter than C++ and 111x shorter than an equivalent direct dataflow implementation. For mean shift segmentation, RIPL achieves 7 FPS compared to optimized C++ on 64 CPU cores at 1.1, and RIPL is 10x shorter than the direct dataflow FPGA implementation.
Unsupervised Learning of Parsimonious General-Purpose Embeddings for User and Location Modeling
Authors: Yang Jing , Eickhoff Carsten
Published: March 2018

Many social network applications depend on robust representations of spatio-temporal data. In this work, we present an embedding model based on feed-forward neural networks which transforms social media check-ins into dense feature vectors encoding geographic, temporal, and functional aspects for modeling places, neighborhoods, and users. We employ the embedding model in a variety of applications including
location recommendation
,
urban functional zone study
, and
crime prediction
. For
location recommendation
, we propose a Spatio-Temporal Embedding Similarity algorithm (STES) based on the embedding model.

In a range of experiments on real life data collected from Foursquare, we demonstrate our model’s effectiveness at characterizing places and people and its applicability in aforementioned problem domains. Finally, we select eight major cities around the globe and verify the robustness and generality of our model by porting pre-trained models from one city to another, thereby alleviating the need for costly local training.
An Evaluation on the Accuracy of the Minimum-Width Transistor Area Models in Ranking the Layout Area of FPGA Architectures
Authors: Khan Farheen Fatima , Ye Andy
Published: March 2018

This work provides an evaluation on the accuracy of the minimum-width transistor area models in ranking the actual layout area of FPGA architectures. Both the original VPR area model and the new COFFE area model are compared against the actual layouts with up to three metal layers for the various FPGA building blocks. We found that both models have significant variations with respect to the accuracy of their predictions across the building blocks. In particular, the original VPR model overestimates the layout area of larger buffers, full adders, and multiplexers by as much as 38%, while they underestimate the layout area of smaller buffers and multiplexers by as much as 58%, for an overall prediction error variation of 96%. The newer COFFE model also significantly overestimates the layout area of full adders by 13% and underestimates the layout area of multiplexers by a maximum of 60% for a prediction error variation of 73%. Such variations are particularly significant considering sensitivity analyses are not routinely performed in FPGA architectural studies. Our results suggest that such analyses are extremely important in studies that employ the minimum-width area models so the tolerance of the architectural conclusions against the prediction error variations can be quantified. Furthermore, an open-source version of the layouts of the actual FPGA building blocks should be created so their actual layout area can be used to achieve a highly accurate ranking of the implementation area of FPGA architectures built upon these layouts.
Autophagy: The Master of Bulk and Selective Recycling
Authors: Marshall Richard S. , Vierstra Richard D.
Published: March 2018

Plants have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to recycle intracellular constituents, which are essential for developmental and metabolic transitions; for efficient nutrient reuse; and for the proper disposal of proteins, protein complexes, and even entire organelles that become obsolete or dysfunctional. One major route is autophagy, which employs specialized vesicles to encapsulate and deliver cytoplasmic material to the vacuole for breakdown. In the past decade, the mechanics of autophagy and the scores of components involved in autophagic vesicle assembly have been documented. Now emerging is the importance of dedicated receptors that help recruit appropriate cargo, which in many cases exploit ubiquitylation as a signal. Although operating at a low constitutive level in all plant cells, autophagy is upregulated during senescence and various environmental challenges and is essential for proper nutrient allocation. Its importance to plant metabolism and energy balance in particular places autophagy at the nexus of robust crop performance, especially under suboptimal conditions.
Superrotation on Venus, on Titan, and Elsewhere
Authors: Read Peter L. , Lebonnois Sebastien
Published: March 2018

The superrotation of the atmospheres of Venus and Titan has puzzled dynamicists for many years and seems to put these planets in a very different dynamical regime from most other planets. In this review, we consider how to define superrotation objectively and explore the constraints that determine its occurrence. Atmospheric superrotation also occurs elsewhere in the Solar System and beyond, and we compare Venus and Titan with Earth and other planets for which wind estimates are available. The extreme superrotation on Venus and Titan poses some difficult challenges for numerical models of atmospheric circulation, much more difficult than for more rapidly rotating planets such as Earth or Mars. We consider mechanisms for generating and maintaining a superrotating state, all of which involve a global meridional overturning circulation. The role of nonaxisymmetric eddies is crucial, however, but the detailed mechanisms may differ between Venus, Titan, and other planets.
Generation, clearance, toxicity, and monitoring possibilities of unaccounted uremic toxins for improved dialysis prescriptions
Authors: Atherton James G. , Hains David S. , Bissler John , Pendley Bradford D. , Lindner Ernő
Published: March 2018

Current dialysis-dosing calculations provide an incomplete assessment of blood purification. They exclude clearances of protein-bound uremic toxins (PB-UTs), such as polyamines, p-cresol sulfate, and indoxyl sulfate, relying solely on the clearance of urea as a surrogate for all molecules accumulating in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). PB-UTs clear differently in dialysis but also during normal renal function. The kidney clears PB toxins via the process of secretion, whereas it clears urea through filtration. Herein, we review the clearance, accumulation, and toxicity of various UTs. We also suggest possible methods for their monitoring toward the ultimate goal of a more comprehensive dialysis prescription. A more inclusive dialysis prescription would retain the kidney-filtration surrogate, urea, and consider at least one PB toxin as a surrogate for UTs cleared through cellular secretion. A more comprehensive assessment of UTs that includes both secretion and filtration is expected to result in a better understanding of ESRD toxicity and consequently, to reduce ESRD mortality.
Visual feedback during pedaling allows individuals poststroke to alter inappropriately prolonged paretic vastus medialis activity
Authors: Mullens Christopher H. , Brown David A.
Published: March 2018

Individuals who have experienced a stroke often demonstrate inappropriate muscle activity phasing in the paretic leg during locomotion. Past research has demonstrated that inappropriate paretic phasing varies between behavioral contexts and is reduced during unilateral pedaling with the nonparetic leg inactive. We investigated whether individuals could voluntarily alter activity in a target muscle of the paretic limb in a consistent behavioral context and whether this voluntary change differed between bilateral and unilateral pedaling. During a fixed-speed motorized pedaling task, participants were asked to use visual feedback to deactivate the vastus medialis (VM) before a 90° target region of the pedaling cycle, as measured by surface electromyography and by change in fraction of total cycle amplitude in the target region. We based the start of this target region on the earliest observed deactivation for this muscle (found in fast pedaling), which allowed us to challenge both the paretic and nonparetic VM. During visual feedback, participants significantly reduced the fraction of activity found in the target region, with no significant difference in degree of reduction between paretic and nonparetic legs or between bilateral and unilateral pedaling. Surprisingly, in bilateral pedaling, individuals with greater clinical impairment demonstrated greater paretic limb response to feedback. Our results demonstrated that during this tightly constrained task, the paretic VM showed a surprisingly similar flexibility of muscle activity to the nonparetic VM. Our findings show that participants were able to use provided visual feedback to modulate the degree of an observed poststroke muscle-phasing impairment.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study demonstrates that by using visual feedback during a constrained task with minimized kinematic control requirements, participants with poststroke hemiplegia can voluntarily change muscle activity phase in the vastus medialis. Surprisingly, we did not observe a significant difference in ability to alter phasing between paretic and nonparetic legs or between bilateral and unilateral pedaling. In this visual feedback task, participants appear to modify muscle activity well in both the paretic and nonparetic legs.
Neural adaptation accounts for the dynamic resizing of peripersonal space: evidence from a psychophysical-computational approach
Authors: Noel Jean-Paul , Blanke Olaf , Magosso Elisa , Serino Andrea
Published: March 2018

Interactions between the body and the environment occur within the peripersonal space (PPS), the space immediately surrounding the body. The PPS is encoded by multisensory (audio-tactile, visual-tactile) neurons that possess receptive fields (RFs) anchored on the body and restricted in depth. The extension in depth of PPS neurons’ RFs has been documented to change dynamically as a function of the velocity of incoming stimuli, but the underlying neural mechanisms are still unknown. Here, by integrating a psychophysical approach with neural network modeling, we propose a mechanistic explanation behind this inherent dynamic property of PPS. We psychophysically mapped the size of participant’s peri-face and peri-trunk space as a function of the velocity of task-irrelevant approaching auditory stimuli. Findings indicated that the peri-trunk space was larger than the peri-face space, and, importantly, as for the neurophysiological delineation of RFs, both of these representations enlarged as the velocity of incoming sound increased. We propose a neural network model to mechanistically interpret these findings: the network includes reciprocal connections between unisensory areas and higher order multisensory neurons, and it implements neural adaptation to persistent stimulation as a mechanism sensitive to stimulus velocity. The network was capable of replicating the behavioral observations of PPS size remapping and relates behavioral proxies of PPS size to neurophysiological measures of multisensory neurons’ RF size. We propose that a biologically plausible neural adaptation mechanism embedded within the network encoding for PPS can be responsible for the dynamic alterations in PPS size as a function of the velocity of incoming stimuli.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Interactions between body and environment occur within the peripersonal space (PPS). PPS neurons are highly dynamic, adapting online as a function of body-object interactions. The mechanistic underpinning PPS dynamic properties are unexplained. We demonstrate with a psychophysical approach that PPS enlarges as incoming stimulus velocity increases, efficiently preventing contacts with faster approaching objects. We present a neurocomputational model of multisensory PPS implementing neural adaptation to persistent stimulation to propose a neurophysiological mechanism underlying this effect.
Vigor of reaching movements: reward discounts the cost of effort
Authors: Summerside Erik M. , Shadmehr Reza , Ahmed Alaa A.
Published: March 2018

Making a movement may be thought of as an economic decision in which one spends effort to acquire reward. Time discounts reward, which predicts that the magnitude of reward should affect movement vigor: we should move faster, spending greater effort, when there is greater reward at stake. Indeed, saccade peak velocities are greater and reaction-times shorter when a target is paired with reward. In this study, we focused on human reaching and asked whether movement kinematics were affected by expectation of reward. Participants made out-and-back reaching movements to one of four quadrants of a 14-cm circle. During various periods of the experiment only one of the four quadrants was paired with reward, and the transition from reward to nonreward status of a quadrant occurred randomly. Our experiment design minimized dependence of reward on accuracy, granting the subjects wide latitude in self-selecting their movement speed, amplitude, and variability. When a quadrant was paired with reward, reaching movements had a shorter reaction time, higher peak velocity, and greater amplitude. Despite this greater vigor, movements toward the rewarded quadrant suffered from less variability: both reaction times and reach kinematics were less variable when there was expectation of reward. Importantly, the effect of reward on vigor was specific to the movement component that preceded the time of reward (outward reach), not the movement component that followed it (return reach). Our results suggest that expectation of reward not only increases vigor of human reaching but also decreases its variability.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Movements may be thought of as an economic transaction where the vigor of the movement represents the effort that the brain is willing to expend to acquire a rewarding state. We show that in reaching, reward discounts the cost of effort, producing movements with shorter reaction time, higher velocity, greater amplitude, and reduced reaction-time variability. These results complement earlier observations in saccades, suggesting a common principle of economics across modalities of motor control.
Accelerating locomotor savings in learning: compressing four training days to one
Authors: Day Kevin A. , Leech Kristan A. , Roemmich Ryan T. , Bastian Amy J.
Published: March 2018

Acquiring new movements requires the capacity of the nervous system to remember previously experienced motor patterns. The phenomenon of faster relearning after initial learning is termed “savings.” Here we studied how savings of a novel walking pattern develops over several days of practice and how this process can be accelerated. We introduced participants to a split-belt treadmill adaptation paradigm for 30 min for 5 consecutive days. By training day 5, participants were able to produce near-perfect performance when switching between split and tied-belt environments. We found that this was due to their ability to shift specific elements of their stepping pattern to account for the split treadmill speeds from day to day. We also applied a state-space model to further characterize multiday locomotor savings. We then explored methods of achieving comparable savings with less total training time. We studied people training only on day 1, with either one extended split-belt exposure or alternating four times between split-belt and tied-belt conditions rapidly in succession. Both of these single-day training groups were tested again on day 5. Experiencing four abbreviated exposures on day 1 improved the performance on day 5 compared with one extended exposure on day 1. Moreover, this abbreviated group performed similarly to the group that trained for 4 consecutive days before testing on day 5, despite only having one-quarter of the total training time. These results demonstrate that we can leverage training structure to achieve a high degree of performance while minimizing training sessions.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Learning a new movement requires repetition. Here, we demonstrate how to more efficiently train an adapted walking pattern. By compressing split-belt treadmill training delivered over 4 days to four abbreviated bouts of training delivered on the first day of training, we were able to induce equivalent savings over a 5-day span. These results suggest that we can manipulate the delivery of training to most efficiently drive multiday learning of a novel walking pattern.
HER-2 Protein Overexpression in Patients with Gastric and Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma at a Tertiary Care Facility in Ghana
Authors: Simpong David Larbi , Asmah Richard Harry , Krampah Cecilia , Akakpo Patrick Kafui , Adu Patrick , Asante Du-Bois , Naporo Simon , Adjei Andrew Anthony , Gyasi Richard Kwasi
Published: March 2018

The prognosis of gastric and oesophageal adenocarcinoma remains generally poor. However, mounting evidence suggests a positive role of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) expression in the prognosis of patients with these cancers. In this work, the patterns of HER-2 protein expression were determined in patients with gastric or oesophageal adenocarcinoma. Retrospectively, we reviewed records of gastric and oesophageal biopsies received from 2008 to 2012 and their corresponding archived formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks selected for immunohistochemical analysis. The prevalence of gastric and oesophageal adenocarcinomas and their association with HER-2 protein overexpression were evaluated. Gastric adenocarcinoma made up 18.79% of the gastric biopsies reviewed, and majority of these cancers occurred in males. Regarding the tumour type, HER-2 overexpression was common in the intestinal subtype compared to the diffuse type. Although squamous cell carcinoma was observed to be the commonest (31%) tumour type in the oesophagus compared to adenocarcinoma (8.79%), HER-2 was overexpressed in 42.9% of oesophageal adenocarcinomas, like gastric adenocarcinoma (41.4%). There is a high prevalence of gastric and oesophageal adenocarcinoma, with significant overexpression of HER-2 in these tumours, a window of hope for the management of patients with these cancers.
Romidepsin Promotes Osteogenic and Adipocytic Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells through Inhibition of Histondeacetylase Activity
Authors: Ali Dalia , Chalisserry Elna P. , Manikandan Muthurangan , Hamam Rimi , Alfayez Musaad , Kassem Moustapha , Aldahmash Abdullah , Alajez Nehad M.
Published: March 2018

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are adult multipotent stem cells that can differentiate into mesodermal lineage cells, including adipocytes and osteoblasts. However, the epigenetic mechanisms governing the lineage-specific commitment of BMSCs into adipocytes or osteoblasts are under investigation. Herein, we investigated the epigenetic effect of romidepsin, a small molecule dual inhibitor targeting HDAC1 and HDAC2 identified through an epigenetic library functional screen. BMSCs exposed to romidepsin (5 nM) exhibited enhanced adipocytic and osteoblastic differentiation. Global gene expression and signaling pathway analyses of differentially expressed genes revealed a strong enrichment of genes involved in adipogenesis and osteogenesis in romidepsin-treated BMSCs during induction into adipocytes or osteoblasts, respectively. Pharmacological inhibition of FAK signaling during adipogenesis or inhibition of FAK or TGFβsignaling during osteogenesis diminished the biological effects of romidepsin on BMSCs. The results of chromatin immunoprecipitation combined with quantitative polymerase chain reaction indicated a significant increase in H3K9Ac epigenetic markers in the promoter regions of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) and KLF15 (related to adipogenesis) or SP7 (Osterix) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (related to osteogenesis) in romidepsin-treated BMSCs. Our data indicated that romidepsin is a novel in vitro modulator of adipocytic and osteoblastic differentiation of BMSCs.
A Large PROP1 Gene Deletion in a Turkish Pedigree
Authors: Gorar Suheyla , Turkkahraman Doga , Yararbas Kanay
Published: March 2018

Pituitary-specific paired-like homeodomain transcription factor, PROP1, is associated with multiple pituitary hormone deficiency. Alteration of the gene encoding the PROP1 may affect somatotropes, thyrotropes, and lactotropes, as well as gonadotropes and corticotropes. We performed genetic analysis of PROP1 gene in a Turkish pedigree with three siblings who presented with short stature. Parents were first degree cousins. Index case, a boy, had somatotrope, gonadotrope, thyrotrope, and corticotrope deficiency. However, two elder sisters had somatotroph, gonadotroph, and thyrotroph deficiency and no corticotroph deficiency. On pituitary magnetic resonance, partial empty sella was detected with normal bright spot in all siblings. In genetic analysis, we found a gross deletion involving PROP1 coding region. In conclusion, we report three Turkish siblings with a gross deletion in PROP1 gene. Interestingly, although little boy with combined pituitary hormone deficiency has adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) deficiency, his elder sisters with the same gross PROP1 deletion have no ACTH deficiency. This finding is in line with the fact that patients with PROP1 mutations may have different phenotype/genotype correlation.
Three-Dimensional Bioreactor Technologies for the Cocultivation of Human Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells and Beta Cells
Authors: Petry Florian , Weidner Tobias , Czermak Peter , Salzig Denise
Published: March 2018

Diabetes is a prominent health problem caused by the failure of pancreatic beta cells. One therapeutic approach is the transplantation of functional beta cells, but it is difficult to generate sufficient beta cellsin vitroand to ensure these cells remain viable at the transplantation site. Beta cells suffer from hypoxia, undergo apoptosis, or are attacked by the host immune system. Human mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hMSCs) can improve the functionality and survival of beta cellsin vivoandin vitrodue to direct cell contact or the secretion of trophic factors. Current cocultivation concepts with beta cells are simple and cannot exploit the favorable properties of hMSCs. Beta cells need a three-dimensional (3D) environment to function correctly, and the cocultivation setup is therefore more complex. This review discusses 3D cultivation forms (aggregates, capsules, and carriers) for hMSCs and beta cells and strategies for large-scale cultivation. We have determined process parameters that must be balanced and considered for the cocultivation of hMSCs and beta cells, and we present several bioreactor setups that are suitable for such an innovative cocultivation approach. Bioprocess engineering of the cocultivation processes is necessary to achieve successful beta cell therapy.
Study of Seismic Behavior of RC Beam‐Column Joints Strengthened by Sprayed FRP
Authors: Yang Zhao , Liu Yong , Li Jiajia
Published: March 2018

To study the seismic behavior of RC beam‐column joints strengthened with sprayed FRP, five 1 : 2 reduced‐scale specimens of joints were tested through quasi‐static experiments. The failure modes, hysteretic curves, skeleton curves, strength, deformation, degradation of strength and stiffness, ductility, and energy dissipation capacity were studied. Furthermore, the effect of three main influencing factors including the sprayed FRP thickness, strengthened area, and axial compression ratio was analyzed in this paper as well. The results show that sprayed FRP strengthening can improve the seismic behavior of RC beam‐column joints effectively. The increase of sprayed FRP thickness can lead to a better seismic performance for the joints. Strengthening area can affect the bearing capacity obviously. Higher axial compression ratio can increase the bearing capacity and initial stiffness, but it can make the deformation capacity and ductility decreased. The study can provide references to further research on the sprayed FRP material for strengthening of RC beam‐column joints.
Controllable Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Three‐Phase Flow Pulsating Mixing Microfluidic Chip
Authors: Liu Guojun , Ma Xiang , Sun Xiaodong , Jia Yanhui , Wang Tengfei
Published: March 2018

On the basis of liquid‐phase reduction mechanism, a novel synthesis method to prepare silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is proposed, which uses piezoelectric‐actuated three‐phase flow pulsating mixing microfluidic chip. In order to study and explore the influence of different factors on the synthesis of AgNPs, a series of related synthesis experiments were carried out. The corresponding experimental conditions include the concentration of sodium hydroxide and reducing agent solution, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) dosage, inlet flow rate, and synthesis temperature. The synthesized AgNPs were characterized by the UV‐Vis absorption spectrophotometer and transmission electron microscopy. The effects of different experimental conditions on the controllable synthesis of AgNPs were analyzed, and the optimum synthesis conditions of AgNPs were obtained. Experimental results show that the spherical AgNPs with an average particle diameter of about 29 nm, high yield, fine morphology, and good monodispersity were synthesized using the microfluidic chip under the conditions of the working frequency (200 Hz), the initial concentration of silver nitrate (1 mM), the synthesis temperature (80°C), the concentration ratio of sodium hydroxide to silver nitrate (2 : 1), the concentration ratio of glucose to silver nitrate (4 : 1), the inlet flow rate (3.5 ml/min), and the quality ratio of PVP to silver (more than 1 : 1). The related research shows that it is an efficient synthesis method to develop the controllable synthesis experiments of AgNPs under multifactors using the three‐phase pulsating mixing microfluidic chip.
Stimulation of Dectin-1 and Dectin-2 during Parenteral Immunization, but Not Mincle, Induces Secretory IgA in Intestinal Mucosa
Authors: Dzharullaeva Alina S. , Tukhvatulin Amir I. , Erokhova Alina S. , Bandelyuk Alina S. , Polyakov Nikita B. , Solovyev Andrey I. , Nikitenko Natalia A. , Shcheblyakov Dmitry V. , Naroditsky Boris S. , Logunov Denis Y. , Gintsburg Alexander L.
Published: March 2018

Induction of a robust and long-lived mucosal immune response during vaccination is critical to achieve protection against numerous pathogens. However, traditional injected vaccines are generally poor inducers of mucosal immunity. One of the effective strategies to improve vaccine efficacy is incorporation of adjuvant molecules that enhance and polarize adaptive immune reactions. Effects of Syk-coupled lectin receptor agonists as adjuvants to induce mucosal immune reactions during parenteral immunization are not fully studied. We now report that the agonists trehalose-6,6-dibehenate (TDB), curdlan, and furfurman, which stimulate Dectin-1, Dectin-2, and Mincle, respectively, activate transcription factors (NF-κB, NFAT, and AP-1) to various extents in murine RAW 264.7 macrophages, even though similar pathways are activated. The agonists also elicit differential expression of maturation markers in bone marrow-derived dendritic cells, as well as differential cytokine secretion from these cells and from splenic mononuclear cells. In vivo assays also show that agonists of Dectin-1 and Dectin-2, but not Mincle, induce heavy IgA secretion in intestinal mucosa even when delivered parenterally. Strikingly, this effect appears to be formulation-independent. Collectively, the data suggest that adjuvants based on Dectin-1 and Dectin-2 agonists may significantly improve the efficacy of parenteral vaccines by inducing robust local immune reactions in intestinal mucosa.
A Parameter Ascertainment Method for the Skeleton Curve of Corroded Reinforcement Concrete Members with Flexure and Compression
Authors: Chen G. F. , Zhang Y. Z. , Zhu X. J.
Published: March 2018

This paper presents an effective method of parameter ascertainment for the skeleton curve of corroded compression‐bending members to establish its restoring force model. An assumption which considers the skeleton curve of damaged and undamaged members has similar shape is introduced into the fitting process of parameters. Meanwhile, two‐dimensional plane section assumption is used to simplify the mathematical model and reduce the computational cost. Several sets of experimental data were compared with the prediction by the method developed in this paper, for its verification. The case studies show that the experimental trends can be captured very well.
Genome Editing Redefines Precision Medicine in the Cardiovascular Field
Authors: Dzilic Elda , Lahm Harald , Dreßen Martina , Deutsch Marcus-André , Lange Rüdiger , Wu Sean M. , Krane Markus , Doppler Stefanie A.
Published: March 2018

Genome editing is a powerful tool to study the function of specific genes and proteins important for development or disease. Recent technologies, especially CRISPR/Cas9 which is characterized by convenient handling and high precision, revolutionized the field of genome editing. Such tools have enormous potential for basic science as well as for regenerative medicine. Nevertheless, there are still several hurdles that have to be overcome, but patient-tailored therapies, termed precision medicine, seem to be within reach. In this review, we focus on the achievements and limitations of genome editing in the cardiovascular field. We explore different areas of cardiac research and highlight the most important developments: (1) the potential of genome editing in human pluripotent stem cells in basic research for disease modelling, drug screening, or reprogramming approaches and (2) the potential and remaining challenges of genome editing for regenerative therapies. Finally, we discuss social and ethical implications of these new technologies.
Rehabilitation of Upper Limb in Children with Acquired Brain Injury: A Preliminary Comparative Study
Authors: Beretta Elena , Cesareo Ambra , Biffi Emilia , Schafer Carolyn , Galbiati Sara , Strazzer Sandra
Published: March 2018

Acquired brain injuries (ABIs) can lead to a wide range of impairments, including weakness or paralysis on one side of the body known as hemiplegia. In hemiplegic patients, the rehabilitation of the upper limb skills is crucial, because the recovery has an immediate impact on patient quality of life. For this reason, several treatments were developed to flank physical therapy (PT) and improve functional recovery of the upper limbs. Among them, Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) and robot-aided therapy have shown interesting potentialities in the rehabilitation of the hemiplegic upper limb. Nevertheless, there is a lack of quantitative evaluations of effectiveness in a standard clinical setting, especially in children, as well as a lack of direct comparative studies between these therapeutic techniques. In this study, a group of 18 children and adolescents with hemiplegia was enrolled and underwent intensive rehabilitation treatment including PT and CIMT or Armeo®Spring therapy. The effects of the treatments were assessed using clinical functional scales and upper limb kinematic analysis during horizontal and vertical motor tasks. Results showed CIMT to be the most effective in terms of improved functional scales, while PT seemed to be the most significant in terms of kinematic variations. Specifically, PT resulted to have positive influence on distal movements while CIMT conveyed more changes in the proximal kinematics. Armeo treatment delivered improvements mainly in the vertical motor task, showing trends of progresses of the movement efficiency and reduction of compensatory movements of the shoulder with respect to other treatments. Therefore, every treatment gave advantages in a specific and different upper limb district. Therefore, results of this preliminary study may be of help to define the best rehabilitation treatment for each patient, depending on the goal, and may thus support clinical decision.
The Computational Fluid Dynamics Analyses on Hemodynamic Characteristics in Stenosed Arterial Models
Authors: Zhou Yue , Lee Chunhian , Wang Jingying
Published: March 2018

Arterial stenosis plays an important role in the progressions of thrombosis and stroke. In the present study, a standard axisymmetric tube model of the stenotic artery is introduced and the degree of stenosis η is evaluated by the area ratio of the blockage to the normal vessel. A normal case (η=0) and four stenotic cases of η=0.25, 0.5, 0.625, and 0.75 with a constant Reynolds number of 300 are simulated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD), respectively, with the Newtonian and Carreau models for comparison. Results show that for both models, the poststenotic separation vortex length increases exponentially with the growth of stenosis degree. However, the vortex length of the Carreau model is shorter than that of the Newtonian model. The artery narrowing accelerates blood flow, which causes high blood pressure and wall shear stress (WSS). The pressure drop of the η=0.75 case is nearly 8 times that of the normal value, while the WSS peak at the stenosis region of η=0.75 case even reaches up to 15 times that of the normal value. The present conclusions are of generality and contribute to the understanding of the dynamic mechanisms of artery stenosis diseases.
Accuracy of Anthropometric Equations for Estimating Body Fat in Professional Male Soccer Players Compared with DXA
Authors: López-Taylor Juan R. , González-Mendoza Roberto G. , Gaytán-González Alejandro , Jiménez-Alvarado Juan Antonio , Villegas-Balcázar Marisol , Jáuregui-Ulloa Edtna E. , Torres-Naranjo Francisco
Published: March 2018

Background. There are several published anthropometric equations to estimate body fat percentage (BF%), and this may prompt uncertainty about their application. Purpose. To analyze the accuracy of several anthropometric equations (developed in athletic [AT] and nonathletic [NAT] populations) that estimate BF% comparing them with DXA. Methods. We evaluated 131 professional male soccer players (body mass: 73.2±8.0 kg; height: 177.5±5.8 cm; DXA BF% [median, 25th–75th percentile]: 14.0, 11.9–16.4%) aged 18 to 37 years. All subjects were evaluated with anthropometric measurements and a whole body DXA scan. BF% was estimated through 14 AT and 17 NAT anthropometric equations and compared with the measured DXA BF%. Mean differences and 95% limits of agreement were calculated for those anthropometric equations without significant differences with DXA. Results. Five AT and seven NAT anthropometric equations did not differ significantly with DXA. From these, Oliver’s and Civar’s (AT) and Ball’s and Wilmore’s (NAT) equations showed the highest agreement with DXA. Their 95% limits of agreement ranged from −3.9 to 2.3%, −4.8 to 1.8%, −3.4 to 3.1%, and −3.9 to 3.0%, respectively. Conclusion. Oliver’s, Ball’s, Civar’s, and Wilmore’s equations were the best to estimate BF% accurately compared with DXA in professional male soccer players.
Role of Inner Speech on Serial Recall in Children with ASD: A Pilot Study Using the Luria Hand Test
Authors: Mitsuhashi Shota , Hirata Shogo , Okuzumi Hideyuki
Published: March 2018

This study was conducted to investigate the relation between the effect of articulatory suppression on the serial recall and severity of social impairments among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The Luria hand test (LHT) was administered to evaluate the capacity for serial recall in 13 children with ASD. The LHT was administered under three conditions: control, under articulatory suppression, and under spatial suppression. Performance on the LHT of children with ASD was significantly lower in terms of both articulatory suppression and the spatial suppression condition. Moreover, the severity of social impairment in children with ASD was related to individual differences of effects of articulatory suppression on the LHT, but not with effects of spatial suppression. These results support the notion that dialogic inner speech which mediates complex cognitive abilities has inherently social origins.
ANN Based Approach for Estimation of Construction Costs of Sports Fields
Authors: Juszczyk Michał , Leśniak Agnieszka , Zima Krzysztof
Published: March 2018

Cost estimates are essential for the success of construction projects. Neural networks, as the tools of artificial intelligence, offer a significant potential in this field. Applying neural networks, however, requires respective studies due to the specifics of different kinds of facilities. This paper presents the proposal of an approach to the estimation of construction costs of sports fields which is based on neural networks. The general applicability of artificial neural networks in the formulated problem with cost estimation is investigated. An applicability of multilayer perceptron networks is confirmed by the results of the initial training of a set of various artificial neural networks. Moreover, one network was tailored for mapping a relationship between the total cost of construction works and the selected cost predictors which are characteristic of sports fields. Its prediction quality and accuracy were assessed positively. The research results legitimatize the proposed approach.
Effect of Tracking Error of Double-Axis Tracking Device on the Optical Performance of Solar Dish Concentrator
Authors: Yan Jian , Cheng Zi-ran , Peng You-duo
Published: March 2018

In this paper, a flux distribution model of the focal plane in dish concentrator system has been established based on ray tracking method. This model was adopted for researching the influence of the mirror slope error, solar direct normal irradiance, and tracking error of elevation-azimuth tracking device (EATD) on the focal spot characteristics (i.e., flux distribution, geometrical shape, centroid position, and intercept factor). The tracking error transmission law of the EATD transferred to dish concentrator was also studied. The results show that the azimuth tracking error of the concentrator decreases with the increase of the concentrator elevation angle and it decreases to 0 mrad when the elevation angle is 90°. The centroid position of focal spot along x-axis and y-axis has linear relationship with azimuth and elevation tracking error of EATD, respectively, which could be used to evaluate and calibrate the tracking error of the dish concentrator. Finally, the transmission law of the EATD azimuth tracking error in solar heliostats is analyzed, and a dish concentrator using a spin-elevation tracking device is proposed, which can reduce the effect of spin tracking error on the dish concentrator. This work could provide fundamental for manufacturing precision allocation of tracking devices and developing a new type of tracking device.