bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Skin Wound Healing: An Update on the Current Knowledge and Concepts
Authors: Sorg Heiko , Tilkorn Daniel J. , Hager Stephan , Hauser Jörg , Mirastschijski Ursula
Published: December 2016

Background: The integrity of healthy skin plays a crucial role in maintaining physiological homeostasis of the human body. The skin is the largest organ system of the body. As such, it plays pivotal roles in the protection against mechanical forces and infections, fluid imbalance, and thermal dysregulation. At the same time, it allows for flexibility to enable joint function in some areas of the body and more rigid fixation to hinder shifting of the palm or foot sole. Many instances lead to inadequate wound healing which necessitates medical intervention. Chronic conditions such as diabetes mellitus or peripheral vascular disease can lead to impaired wound healing. Acute trauma such as degloving or large-scale thermal injuries are followed by a loss of skin organ function rendering the organism vulnerable to infections, thermal dysregulation, and fluid loss. Methods: For this update article, we have reviewed the actual literature on skin wound healing purposes focusing on the main phases of wound healing, i.e., inflammation, proliferation, epithelialization, angiogenesis, remodeling, and scarring. Results: The reader will get briefed on new insights and up-to-date concepts in skin wound healing. The macrophage as a key player in the inflammatory phase will be highlighted. During the epithelialization process, we will present the different concepts of how the wound will get closed, e.g., leapfrogging, lamellipodial crawling, shuffling, and the stem cell niche. The neovascularization represents an essential component in wound healing due to its fundamental impact from the very beginning after skin injury until the end of the wound remodeling. Here, the distinct pattern of the neovascularization process and the special new functions of the pericyte will be underscored. At the end, this update will present 3 topics of high interest in skin wound healing issues, dealing with scarring, tissue engineering, and plasma application. Conclusion: Although wound healing mechanisms and specific cell functions in wound repair have been delineated in part, many underlying pathophysiological processes are still unknown. The purpose of the following update on skin wound healing is to focus on the different phases and to brief the reader on the current knowledge and new insights. Skin wound healing is a complex process, which is dependent on many cell types and mediators interacting in a highly sophisticated temporal sequence. Although some interactions during the healing process are crucial, redundancy is high and other cells or mediators can adopt functions or signaling without major complications.
A vida dos maracás: reflexões em torno de um instrumento ritual entre os Pumé da Venezuela
Authors: Orobitg Canal Gemma
Published: December 2016

A partir da apresentação de alguns episódios da biografia de um maracá e dos laços que se estabelecem, no momento da passagem para a idade adulta, entre cada homem pumé e seu maracá, este texto apresenta diferentes ideias para se pensar as relações entre os seres humanos e alguns objetos. Neste caso, podemos falar de uma identidade entre um ser humano e um maracá. Esta equivalência está apoiada na ideia de que o corpo é um recipiente oco que deve ser fabricado e sustentado para poder acolher as essências vitais que permitem viver, quer os homens, os animais, os deuses e espíritos, as plantas e mesmo os objetos.
Corpos sonoros: instrumentos e donos na prática musical dos Kuikuro do alto Xingu
Authors: Montagnani Tommaso
Published: December 2016

Procuro descrever neste artigo o modo pelo qual uma prática musical instrumental kuikuro repousa sobre a atribuição aos artefatos de uma forma de vitalidade. Os instrumentos musicais (flauta Kagutu, flauta dupla Atanga, clarinete Takwara), ao longo de seu ciclo vital, recobram uma função de mediação no estabelecimento da conexão entre humanos e espíritos.  Os humanos fazem oferendas de alimentos e de água aos instrumentos, ao passo que os instrumentos, manipulados pelos músicos rituais, fazem-se portadores da voz dos espíritos. A complexidade de ações rituais em torno dos artefatos musicais é particularmente visível quando observamos o sistema de atribuição de diferentes papéis de “donos” (-oto). Vários tipos de atores rituais intervêm de maneira diferente ao longo das etapas de existência do instrumento, estando eles mesmos submetidos à influência direta do artefato em suas vidas.
Revolvendo as raízes da antropologia: algumas reflexões sobre “relações"
Authors: Strathern Marilyn
Published: December 2016

Há cerca de sessenta anos, Raymond Firth pensava ser necessário afirmar que as relações sociais não podem ser observadas pelo etnógrafo; elas podem ser inferidas apenas a partir das interações entre as pessoas. Era preciso abstração. Outros pensavam que o problema era de concretização,  e recorriam, por sua vez, à personificação. Ao mesmo tempo, Firth referia-se, sem qualquer problematização, a relações em abstrato ao comparar, por exemplo, padrões econômicos e morais. Essas questões não teriam sido estranhas a Hume e outros expoentes do Iluminismo escocês, que se debruçaram sobre o poder das relações no entendimento (humano) e na narrativa (acadêmica), assim como na empatia interpessoal. Neste artigo, evoca-se um período anterior no Iluminismo europeu em geral, entre outras coisas, por conta de seu interesse em narrativas sobre o “desconhecido”. Nessa época, encontramos também algumas peculiaridades da língua inglesa, que estava sendo apropriada por muitos escoceses. No que diz respeito às “relações” no século XVIII, esses usos adensam o enredo, com implicações ainda provocadoras.
O empresário, a ong, os marisqueiros, a criança: um estudo de caso sobre a variação de sentidos de um manguezal em disputa
Authors: Mello Cecília Campello do Amaral
Published: December 2016

O presente artigo propõe-se a apresentar algumas inflexões teórico-metodológicas nascidas da etnografia de um processo de conflito ambiental em uma área de manguezal ocupada por grupos extrativistas no Nordeste brasileiro. Pretende-se apresentar como os diferentes actantes em disputa – quais sejam, os empresários, os pesquisadores associados às ongs ambientalistas, os marisqueiros e as crianças de um movimento cultural afroindígena – nomeiam, definem e se apropriam daquilo que designam, cada um a seu modo, fazenda de camarão, ecossistema manguezal ou, simplesmente, mangue. A partir de uma pesquisa de campo de longa duração, este artigo propõe o exercício analítico de se aproximar dos percursos e deslocamentos nativos nas situações em que acontecem, tornando possível o vislumbre de múltiplos modos de ser extrativista e indicando, em consequência, a necessidade de uma complexificação da noção de grupo ou população extrativista.
Emergência de juntores contrastivos na história do português: contextos, polissemia e subjetivização
Authors: Longhin Sanderleia Roberta
Published: December 2016

Este trabalho trata da mudança de significado no domínio dos juntores. Inserindo-me em um quadro teórico que concede à pragmática o estatuto de força motriz da mudança, focalizo o peso dos contextos para a emergência de polissemias e busco critérios para avaliar a tendência à subjetivização dos significados. Para tanto, conduzo uma investigação empírica, em perspectiva longitudinal, acerca do processo de reanálise semântica que levou enquanto, originalmente temporal, a expressar contraste.
Effectiveness of Chlorthalidone Plus Amiloride for the Prevention of Hypertension: The PREVER‐Prevention Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors: Fuchs Sandra Costa , Poli‐de‐Figueiredo Carlos E. , Figueiredo Neto José A. , Scala Luiz César N. , Whelton Paul K. , Mosele Francisca , de Mello Renato Bandeira , Vilela‐Martin José F. , Moreira Leila B. , Chaves Hilton , Mota Gomes Marco , de Sousa Marcos R. , Silva Ricardo Pereira e , Castro Iran , Cesarino Evandro José , Jardim Paulo Cesar , Alves João Guilherme , Steffens André Avelino , Brandão Andréa Araujo , Consolim‐Colombo Fernanda M. , de Alencastro Paulo Ricardo , Neto Abrahão Afiune , Nóbrega Antônio C. , Franco Roberto Silva , Sobral Filho Dario C. , Bordignon Alexandro , Nobre Fernando , Schlatter Rosane , Gus Miguel , Fuchs Felipe C. , Berwanger Otávio , Fuchs Flávio D.
Published: December 2016

Background

Prehypertension is associated with higher cardiovascular risk, target organ damage, and incidence of hypertension. The Prevention of Hypertension in Patients with PreHypertension (PREVER‐Prevention) trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a low‐dose diuretic for the prevention of hypertension and end‐organ damage.

Methods and Results

This randomized, parallel, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial was conducted in 21 Brazilian academic medical centers. Participants with prehypertension who were aged 30 to 70 years and who did not reach optimal blood pressure after 3 months of lifestyle intervention were randomized to a chlorthalidone/amiloride combination pill or placebo and were evaluated every 3 months during 18 months of treatment. The primary outcome was incidence of hypertension. Development or worsening of microalbuminuria, new‐onset diabetes mellitus, and reduction of left ventricular mass were secondary outcomes. Participant characteristics were evenly distributed by trial arms. The incidence of hypertension was significantly lower in 372 study participants allocated to diuretics compared with 358 allocated to placebo (hazard ratio 0.56, 95%
CI
0.38–0.82), resulting in a cumulative incidence of 11.7% in the diuretic arm versus 19.5% in the placebo arm (
P
=0.004). Adverse events; levels of blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, creatinine, and microalbuminuria; and incidence of diabetes mellitus were no different between the 2 arms. Left ventricular mass assessed through Sokolow‐Lyon voltage and voltage‐duration product decreased to a greater extent in participants allocated to diuretic therapy compared with placebo (
P
=0.02).

Conclusions

A combination of low‐dose chlorthalidone and amiloride effectively reduces the risk of incident hypertension and beneficially affects left ventricular mass in patients with prehypertension.

Clinical Trial Registration

URL
:
http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov
,
www.ensaiosclinicos.gov
. Unique identifiers:
NCT
00970931,
RBR
‐74rr6s.
Age–Period–Cohort Analysis of Stroke Mortality in China
Authors: Wang Zhenkun , Hu Songbo , Sang Shuping , Luo Lisha , Yu Chuanhua
Published: December 2016

Background and Purpose—

Stroke has been the leading cause of death in China. The aim of this study is to assess the long-term trends of stroke mortality in China between 1994 and 2013.

Methods—

The mortality data were obtained from the GBD 2013 (Global Burden of Disease Study 2013) and were analyzed with the age–period–cohort framework.

Results—

We found that the net drift was −2.665% (95% confidence interval, −2.854% to −2.474%) per year for men and −4.064% (95% confidence interval, −4.279% to −3.849%) per year for women, and the local drift values were below 0 in all age groups (
P
<0.05 for all) in both sexes during the period of 1994 to 2013. In the same birth cohort, the risk of death from stroke rose exponentially with age for both sexes after controlling for period deviations. The estimated period and cohort relative risks were found in similar monotonic downward patterns (significantly with
P
<0.05 for all) for both sexes, with more quickly decreasing for women than for men during the whole period (significantly with
P
<0.05 for both).

Conclusions—

The decreased mortality rates of stroke in China are likely to be related to improvements in medical care and techniques, spectacular economic growth and fast urbanization, and better early life nutrition conditions of Chinese people. Besides, better education and better awareness of stroke-related knowledge in successive generations could also probably play a role.
Multilingual Metaphor Processing: Experiments with Semi-Supervised and Unsupervised Learning
Authors: Shutova Ekaterina , Sun Lin , Gutiérrez Elkin Darío , Lichtenstein Patricia , Narayanan Srini
Published: December 2016

Highly frequent in language and communication, metaphor represents a significant challenge for Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications. Computational work on metaphor has traditionally evolved around the use of hand-coded knowledge, making the systems hard to scale. Recent years have witnessed a rise in statistical approaches to metaphor processing. However, these approaches often require extensive human annotation effort and are predominantly evaluated within a limited domain. In contrast, we experiment with weakly supervised and unsupervised techniques—with little or no annotation—to generalize higher-level mechanisms of metaphor from distributional properties of concepts. We investigate different levels and types of supervision (learning from linguistic examples vs. learning from a given set of metaphorical mappings vs. learning without annotation) in flat and hierarchical, unconstrained and constrained clustering settings. Our aim is to identify the optimal type of supervision for a learning algorithm that discovers patterns of metaphorical association from text. In order to investigate the scalability and adaptability of our models, we applied them to data in three languages from different language groups—English, Spanish, and Russian—achieving state-of-the-art results with little supervision. Finally, we demonstrate that statistical methods can facilitate and scale up cross-linguistic research on metaphor.
Argumentation Mining in User-Generated Web Discourse
Authors: Habernal Ivan , Gurevych Iryna
Published: December 2016

The goal of argumentation mining, an evolving research field in computational linguistics, is to design methods capable of analyzing people's argumentation. In this article, we go beyond the state of the art in several ways. (i) We deal with actual Web data and take up the challenges given by the variety of registers, multiple domains, and unrestricted noisy user-generated Web discourse. (ii) We bridge the gap between normative argumentation theories and argumentation phenomena encountered in actual data by adapting an argumentation model tested in an extensive annotation study. (iii) We create a new gold standard corpus (90k tokens in 340 documents) and experiment with several machine learning methods to identify argument components. We offer the data, source codes, and annotation guidelines to the community under free licenses. Our findings show that argumentation mining in user-generated Web discourse is a feasible but challenging task.
Assessing the Relationships among Religiousness, Loneliness, and Health
Authors: Krause Neal
Published: December 2016

The purpose of this study is to see whether involvement in religion is associated with loneliness and health. A theoretical model is developed to explain how the potentially beneficial effects of religiousness arise. The following core hypotheses are embedded in this conceptual scheme: (a) people who attend worship services more often are more likely to receive informal spiritual support from fellow church members (spiritual support is assistance which is provided in order to bolster the religious beliefs and behaviors of the recipient); (b) spiritual support from coreligionists encourages people to adopt the virtue of humility; (c) people who are more humble are more likely to receive emotional support from significant others; (d) individuals who receive more emotional support will feel less lonely; and (e) people who feel less lonely tend to enjoy better health. Data from a recent nationwide survey provide support for each of these hypotheses.
A new species of nanoplanktonic diatom: Thalassiosira catharinensis (Bacillariophyceae) from Southern of Brazil
Authors: GARCIA MARINÊS , DUTRA DÉBORA BÄRWALDT
Published: December 2016

Thalassiosira catharinensis is a new nanoplanktonic diatom 4.4–6.6 µm diameter. The diagnostic characteristics are the presence of fultoportulae and rimoportulae with short external tubes of the same diameter, rimoportula located at same level as fultoportulae, the presence of three satellite pores around marginal and central fultoportulae, and rimportula with small, shallow internal aperture. The new species is compared to similar taxa such as Thalassiosira laevis, T. mala, T. minima, T. profunda and T. pseudonana.
Typifications and nomenclatural notes in Passiflora section Dysosmia (Passifloraceae)
Authors: SVOBODA HARLAN T. , MACDOUGAL JOHN M. , BALLARD, JR. HARVEY E.
Published: December 2016

Names within Passiflora section Dysosmia (Passifloraceae) were evaluated for proper typification and nomenclatural clarity. Because several names lacked type material, 13 lectotypes, two neotypes, and four epitypes are here designated to maintain nomenclatural stability. Many more names suffered from other nomenclatural discrepancies and thus four orthographic errors, six author citations, and 12 type designations are here corrected to comply with the International Code of Nomenclature (ICN). Seven names in Dysosmia are treated as ambiguous and 12 names are identified as either invalid or illegitimate.
Lectotypification of two Indian species of Impatiens L. (Balsaminaceae)
Authors: KARTHIGEYAN K. , GOGOI RAJIB
Published: December 2016

Impatiens Linnaeus (1753: 937) is one of the largest genera in angiosperms with more than 1,000 species, distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions as well as in the northern temperate regions (Mabberley 2008). The genus is represented in India by 210+ species (Desai & Janarthanam 2011). During a recent plant exploration and survey tour to Jaldapara National Park, West Bengal, two species of Impatiens were collected. After critical examination and literature study, we found that the two names need to be lectotypified.
Rediscovery of the enigmatic blind snake genus Xenotyphlops in northern Madagascar, with description of a new species (Serpentes: Typhlopidae)
Authors: WALLACH VAN , MERCURIO VINCENZO , ANDREONE FRANCO
Published: December 2016

After more than a century the rare blind snake genus Xenotyphlops Wallach & Ineich (1996) has been rediscovered in Madagascar, with the collection of a specimen from the arid northern part of the country. This represents only the third known Xenotyphlops specimen and establishes the first precise locality for the genus. As it differs from Xenotyphlops grandidieri (Mocquard) in several external and numerous internal features, it is here described as a new species.
Sensitivity of Predictions of the Urban Surface Energy Balance and Heat Island to Variations of Urban Canopy Parameters in Simulations with the WRF Model
Authors: Nemunaitis-Berry Kodi L. , Klein Petra M. , Basara Jeffrey B. , Fedorovich Evgeni
Published: December 2016

As NWP and climate models continue to evolve toward finer grid spacing, efforts have been undertaken to better represent urban effects. For this study, the single-layer urban canopy model (SLUCM) of the High-Resolution Land Data Assimilation System (HRLDAS) and WRF Model was used to investigate the sensitivity of near-surface air temperatures and energy fluxes to SLUCM parameters in uncoupled (land) and coupled (land–atmosphere) predictions. Output from HRLDAS and WRF was compared with observations from the Oklahoma Mesonet and Joint Urban 2003 experiment. Variations in roof albedo (0.04–0.4) produced 40–135 W m−2 changes in net radiation and sensible heat fluxes. Sensible and ground heat fluxes varied by 40–100 W m−2 with changes in roof thermal conductivity (0.05–1.4). The urban fraction was found to be the only SLUCM parameter to significantly impact latent heat fluxes. Near-surface air temperatures, particularly during the daytime, did not show significant variations with SLUCM parameters (remaining within the 0.5-K range). Differences in urban air temperatures due to the change in boundary layer scheme were greater than the temperature changes due to SLUCM parameter variations. The sensitivity of near-surface air temperatures to SLUCM parameters depended on the method used to calculate the skin temperature of the impervious surface. For all simulations, predicted 2-m urban air temperatures were consistently higher than observations, with deviations approaching 8 K during the day and below 3 K at night. These large errors affected the model’s skill in reproducing the diurnal cycle of UHI intensity.
Ice Particle Mass–Dimensional Relationship Retrieval and Uncertainty Evaluation Using the Optimal Estimation Methodology Applied to the MACPEX Data
Authors: Xu Zhuocan , Mace Gerald G.
Published: December 2016

A Bayesian optimal estimation methodology is applied to retrieve the time-varying ice particle mass–dimensional (M–D) relationships (i.e., M = amDbm) and the associated uncertainties using the in situ data that were collected by the NASA WB-57 during the Midlatitude Airborne Cirrus Properties Experiment (MACPEX) in March and April 2011. The authors utilize the coincident measurements of bulk ice water content and projected cross-sectional area to constrain M–D relationships and estimate the uncertainties. It is demonstrated that the additional information provided by the particle area with respect to size could contribute considerable improvements to the algorithm performance. Extreme variability of M–D properties is found among cases as well as within individual cases, indicating the nondiscrete nature of ice crystal habits within cloud volumes and further suggesting the risk of assuming a constant M–D relationship in different conditions. Relative uncertainties of am are approximately from 50% to 80%, and relative uncertainties of bm range from 6% to 9.5%, which would cause approximately 2.5-dB uncertainty in forward-modeled radar reflectivity or a factor-of-2 uncertainty in ice water content.
A Multimodal Wave Spectrum–Based Approach for Statistical Downscaling of Local Wave Climate
Authors: Hegermiller C. A. , Antolinez J. A. A. , Rueda A. , Camus P. , Perez J. , Erikson L. H. , Barnard P. L. , Mendez F. J.
Published: December 2016

Characterization of wave climate by bulk wave parameters is insufficient for many coastal studies, including those focused on assessing coastal hazards and long-term wave climate influences on coastal evolution. This issue is particularly relevant for studies using statistical downscaling of atmospheric fields to local wave conditions, which are often multimodal in large ocean basins (e.g., Pacific Ocean). Swell may be generated in vastly different wave generation regions, yielding complex wave spectra that are inadequately represented by a single set of bulk wave parameters. Furthermore, the relationship between atmospheric systems and local wave conditions is complicated by variations in arrival time of wave groups from different parts of the basin. Here, this study addresses these two challenges by improving upon the spatiotemporal definition of the atmospheric predictor used in the statistical downscaling of local wave climate. The improved methodology separates the local wave spectrum into “wave families,” defined by spectral peaks and discrete generation regions, and relates atmospheric conditions in distant regions of the ocean basin to local wave conditions by incorporating travel times computed from effective energy flux across the ocean basin. When applied to locations with multimodal wave spectra, including Southern California and Trujillo, Peru, the new methodology improves the ability of the statistical model to project significant wave height, peak period, and direction for each wave family, retaining more information from the full wave spectrum. This work is the base of statistical downscaling by weather types, which has recently been applied to coastal flooding and morphodynamic applications.
An Airborne 2-μm Double-Pulsed Direct-Detection Lidar Instrument for Atmospheric CO2 Column Measurements
Authors: Yu Jirong , Petros Mulugeta , Singh Upendra N. , Refaat Tamer F. , Reithmaier Karl , Remus Ruben G. , Johnson William
Published: December 2016

This study reports airborne measurements of atmospheric CO2 column density using a 2-μm double-pulsed integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) lidar. This new 2-μm IPDA lidar offers an alternative approach to measure CO2 column density with unique features. The online frequencies of this lidar can be tuned to 1–6 GHz from the CO2 R30 absorption line peak. It provides high measurement sensitivity to the lower-tropospheric CO2 near the ground surface. This instrument was flown in the spring of 2014 in a NASA B200 aircraft. The results of these test flights clearly demonstrate the measurement capabilities of this lidar instrument. The CO2 column dry mixing ratio is compared to an in situ CO2 measurement by a collocated NOAA flight. The IPDA lidar measurement is determined to be in good agreement with a 0.36% difference, which corresponds to 1.48 ppm. It is the average difference between the IPDA lidar measurements and the NOAA air samples in the flight altitudes from 3 to 6.1 km.
Development of Verification Methodology for Extreme Weather Forecasts
Authors: Guan Hong , Zhu Yuejian
Published: December 2016

In 2006, the statistical postprocessing of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS) and North American Ensemble Forecast System (NAEFS) was implemented to enhance probabilistic guidance. Anomaly forecasting (ANF) is one of the NAEFS products, generated from bias-corrected ensemble forecasts and reanalysis climatology. The extreme forecast index (EFI), based on a raw ensemble forecast and model-based climatology, is another way to build an extreme weather forecast. In this work, the ANF and EFI algorithms are applied to extreme cold temperature and extreme precipitation forecasts during the winter of 2013/14. A highly correlated relationship between the ANF and EFI allows the determination of two sets of thresholds to identify extreme cold and extreme precipitation events for the two algorithms. An EFI of −0.78 (0.687) is approximately equivalent to a −2σ (0.95) ANF for the extreme cold event (extreme precipitation) forecast. The performances of the two algorithms in forecasting extreme cold events are verified against analysis for different model versions, reference climatology, and forecasts. The verification results during the winter of 2013/14 indicate that ANF forecasts more extreme cold events with a slightly higher skill than EFI. The bias-corrected forecast performs much better than the raw forecast. The current upgrade of the GEFS has a beneficial effect on the extreme cold weather forecast. Using the NCEP Climate Forecast System Reanalysis and Reforecast (CFSRR) as a climate reference gives a slightly better score than the 40-yr reanalysis. The verification methodology is also extended to an extreme precipitation case, showing a broad potential use in the future.
Optimal battery capacity for an electric-vehicle-sharing-model in the People’s Republic of China
Authors: Wang Ning , Yan Runlin , Fu Gangzhan
Published: December 2016

A project on electric vehicle sharing has been previously carried out as a demonstration operation in Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou and Shenzhen in the People’s Republic of China. The high initial investment caused by the high cost of batteries limits commercialization of an electric-vehicle-sharing model. Therefore, a key problem that the operators must solve is to choose the appropriate battery capacity for shared electric vehicles based on different urban driving cycles. Based on three new energy vehicles (i.e. electric vehicles) for demonstration cities of different scales as represented by Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hefei, a whole-life-cycle evaluation model of economic benefits for shared battery electric vehicles was established in this paper. The optimal battery capacity for different substitution rates was calculated using MATLAB software. Then, the influences that the substitution rate, the urban driving cycle, the average daily travel distance, the service price, the charging price, the battery (cycle) life, the battery pack cost and the government subsidy have on the optimal battery capacity in the life-cycle economic benefit model was explained. Suggestions for the optimal battery capacity are provided for operators in different cities. The results indicate that the purchasing cost, the energy consumption cost and the battery depreciation cost are the three main components of the life-cycle cost, which account for more than 80%. The average daily travel distance and the local government subsidy affect the optimal battery capacity only for certain substitution rates. The life-cycle economic benefits of one shared electric vehicle is found to have the most influence on the service price. This paper suggests that shared battery electric vehicles with different battery sizes of 44.5 kW h, 34.9 kW h and 36.96 kW h are suitable for use in metropolitan cities, in large-sized to medium-sized cities and in medium-sized to small-sized cities respectively, as represented correspondingly by Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hefei.
Gearbox fault diagnosis using RMS based probability density function and entropy measures for fluctuating speed conditions
Authors: Sharma Vikas , Parey Anand
Published: December 2016

Fault diagnosis of gearbox which operates on low rotating speed with high fluctuations is highly important because its ignorance can led to a catastrophe. The uncertainty within the vibration signal of the gearbox can be identified by the entropy measures, on the basis of probability density function of a signal. But, under fluctuating speeds, entropies may show insignificant results, hence making them non-reliable. The aim of this article is to develop a reliable and stable technique for gear fault detection under such fluctuating speeds. Therefore, a root mean square–based probability density function is proposed to improve the efficiency of entropy measures. The fault detection capabilities of proposed technique were demonstrated experimentally. Various entropy measures, namely, Shannon entropy, Rényi entropy, approximate entropy, and sample entropy, were compared as well as evaluated for both Gaussian and proposed probability density function. The proposed technique was further validated using two condition indicators based on amplitude of probability density function. Results suggest the effective fault diagnosis using proposed method.
Prior knowledge guided eQTL mapping for identifying candidate genes
Authors: Wang Yunli , Richard Rene , Pan Youlian
Published: December 2016

Background

Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) mapping is often used to identify genetic loci and candidate genes correlated with traits. Although usually a group of genes affect complex traits, genes in most eQTL mapping methods are considered as independent. Recently, some eQTL mapping methods have accounted for correlated genes, used biological prior knowledge and applied these in model species such as yeast or mouse. However, biological prior knowledge might be very limited for most species.

Results

We proposed a data-driven prior knowledge guided eQTL mapping for identifying candidate genes. At first, quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis was used to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) markers that are associated with traits. Then co-expressed gene modules were generated and gene modules significantly associated with traits were selected. Prior knowledge from QTL mapping was used for eQTL mapping on the selected modules. We tested and compared prior knowledge guided eQTL mapping to the eQTL mapping with no prior knowledge in a simulation study and two barley stem rust resistance case studies.

The results in simulation study and real barley case studies show that models using prior knowledge outperform models without prior knowledge. In the first case study, three gene modules were selected and one of the gene modules was enriched with defense response Gene Ontology (GO) terms. Also, one probe in the gene module is mapped to Rpg1, previously identified as resistance gene to stem rust. In the second case study, four gene modules are identified, one gene module is significantly enriched with defense response to fungus and bacterium.

Conclusions

Prior knowledge guided eQTL mapping is an effective method for identifying candidate genes. The case studies in stem rust show that this approach is robust, and outperforms methods with no prior knowledge in identifying candidate genes.
Microbial phenomics information extractor (MicroPIE): a natural language processing tool for the automated acquisition of prokaryotic phenotypic characters from text sources
Authors: Mao Jin , Moore Lisa R. , Blank Carrine E. , Wu Elvis Hsin-Hui , Ackerman Marcia , Ranade Sonali , Cui Hong
Published: December 2016

Background

The large-scale analysis of phenomic data (i.e., full phenotypic traits of an organism, such as shape, metabolic substrates, and growth conditions) in microbial bioinformatics has been hampered by the lack of tools to rapidly and accurately extract phenotypic data from existing legacy text in the field of microbiology. To quickly obtain knowledge on the distribution and evolution of microbial traits, an information extraction system needed to be developed to extract phenotypic characters from large numbers of taxonomic descriptions so they can be used as input to existing phylogenetic analysis software packages.

Results

We report the development and evaluation of Microbial Phenomics Information Extractor (MicroPIE, version 0.1.0). MicroPIE is a natural language processing application that uses a robust supervised classification algorithm (Support Vector Machine) to identify characters from sentences in prokaryotic taxonomic descriptions, followed by a combination of algorithms applying linguistic rules with groups of known terms to extract characters as well as character states. The input to MicroPIE is a set of taxonomic descriptions (clean text). The output is a taxon-by-character matrix—with taxa in the rows and a set of 42 pre-defined characters (e.g., optimum growth temperature) in the columns. The performance of MicroPIE was evaluated against a gold standard matrix and another student-made matrix. Results show that, compared to the gold standard, MicroPIE extracted 21 characters (50%) with a Relaxed F1 score > 0.80 and 16 characters (38%) with Relaxed F1 scores ranging between 0.50 and 0.80. Inclusion of a character prediction component (SVM) improved the overall performance of MicroPIE, notably the precision. Evaluated against the same gold standard, MicroPIE performed significantly better than the undergraduate students.

Conclusion

MicroPIE is a promising new tool for the rapid and efficient extraction of phenotypic character information from prokaryotic taxonomic descriptions. However, further development, including incorporation of ontologies, will be necessary to improve the performance of the extraction for some character types.
Complete genome sequence of new bacteriophage phiE142, which causes simultaneously lysis of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica
Authors: Amarillas Luis , Chaidez Cristobal , González-Robles Arturo , León-Félix Josefina
Published: December 2016

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant foodborne bacteria is a global health problem that requires immediate attention. Bacteriophages are a promising biotechnological alternative approach against bacterial pathogens. However, a detailed analysis of phage genomes is essential to assess the safety of the phages prior to their use as biocontrol agents. Therefore, here we report the complete genome sequence of bacteriophage phiE142, which is able to lyse Salmonella and multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains. Bacteriophage phiE142 belongs to the Myoviridae family due to the presence of long non-flexible tail and icosahedral head. The genome is composed of 121,442 bp and contains 194 ORFs, and 2 tRNAs. Furthermore, the phiE142 genome does not contain any genes coding for food-borne allergens, antibiotics resistance, virulence factors, or associated with lysogenic conversion. The bacteriophage phiE142 is characterized by broad host range and compelling genetic attributes making them potential candidates as a biocontrol agent.
Exploiting surface consistency for surface-wave characterization and mitigation — Part 2: Application to 3D data
Authors: Krohn Christine E. , Routh Partha S.
Published: December 2016

We present a case history demonstrating the 3D implementation of the surface-wave impulse estimation and removal (SWIPER) method. SWIPER is a tomographic inversion method that is able to predict and remove complex surface waves, which are multimodal and heterogeneous. The inversion generates surface-consistent model parameters, which correlate with near-surface elevation. These parameters include a surface map of the propagation velocity and attenuation values for each surface-wave mode as a function of frequency. The method also determines variations in source coupling as a function of frequency, which also correlate with the near-surface elevation changes. We show that the method works equally well with a fully sampled and decimated 3D dynamite-sourced data set. We start with a linear single-mode inversion and use the results to generate the starting model for a subsequent three-mode nonlinear inversion. The resulting velocity-dispersion grid has greater lateral resolution and extends to higher frequencies than that generated by a conventional array beam forming method. The propagation and source coupling parameters can be used together to predict the surface-wave waveforms, which are then adaptively subtracted from the data on a trace-to-trace basis. We demonstrate with decimated data that low-frequency reflections can be preserved, even when the data are highly aliased and would be removed by traditional multichannel filters.
Loss of relational continuity of care in schizophrenia: associations with patient satisfaction and quality of care
Authors: Sanatinia Rahil , Cowan Violet , Barnicot Kirsten , Zalewska Krysia , Shiers David , Cooper Stephen J. , Crawford Mike J.
Published: December 2016

Background

Users of mental health service are concerned about changes in clinicians providing their care, but little is known about their impact.

Aims

To examine associations between changes in staff, and patient satisfaction and quality of care.

Method

A national cross-sectional survey of 3379 people aged 18 or over treated in secondary care for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

Results

Nearly 41.9% reported at least one change in their key worker during the previous 12 months and 10.5% reported multiple changes. Those reporting multiple changes were less satisfied with their treatment and less likely to report having a care plan, knowing how to obtain help when in a crisis or to have had recommended physical health assessments.

Conclusions

Frequent changes in staff providing care for people with psychosis are associated with poorer quality of care. Greater efforts need to be made to protect relational continuity of care for such patients.
Psychosis seminars: an open forum for service users, carers and professionals
Authors: Kaselionyte Justina , Dirik Aysegul , Tulloch Simon , Priebe Stefan , Giacco Domenico
Published: December 2016

Background

Psychosis seminars enable service users, their carers and mental health professionals to meet outside of a formal care setting, increase understanding of mental illness and help establish a dialogue.

Aims

To explore feasibility of psychosis seminars in the UK and the experiences of participants.

Method

Seven meetings attended by 25 people were held over a 3-month period. An open-ended questionnaire was returned by ten participants. Responses were subjected to content analysis.

Results

Benefits experienced were having an open forum for talking freely about mental health issues in a neutral space, learning from others about psychosis and hearing different views. Suggested adjustments were clarifying expectations of participants at the beginning, strengthening facilitation and increasing attendance.

Conclusions

Psychosis seminars may help to establish a dialogue among users, carers and professionals and seem feasible in the UK, although adjustment to delivery can help their implementation.
Contribution of oxytocin receptor polymorphisms to amygdala activation in schizophrenia spectrum disorders
Authors: Haram Marit , Bettella Francesco , Brandt Christine Lycke , Quintana Daniel S. , Nerhus Mari , Bjella Thomas , Djurovic Srdjan , Westlye Lars T. , Andreassen Ole A. , Melle Ingrid , Tesli Martin
Published: December 2016

Background

Oxytocin has been proposed to mediate amygdala dysfunction associated with altered emotion processing in schizophrenia, but the contribution of oxytocin pathway genes is yet to be investigated.

Aims

To identify potential different contributions of three oxytocin receptor polymorphisms (rs53576, rs237902 and rs2254298) between patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SCZ), affective spectrum disorders (AD) and healthy controls (HC).

Method

In a total of 346 participants (104 with SCZ, 100 with AD, and 142 HC) underwent genotyping and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during an emotional faces matching paradigm. Genetic association analyses were performed to test the possible effects on task-induced BOLD amygdala response to fearful/angry faces.

Results

In participants with SCZ, the rs237902 G allele was associated with low amygdala activation (left hemisphere: b= −4.99, Bonferroni corrected P=0.04) and interaction analyses showed that this association was disorder specific (left hemisphere: Bonferroni corrected P=0.003; right hemisphere: Bonferroni corrected P=0.03). There were no associations between oxytocin polymorphisms and amygdala activation in the total sample, among AD patients or HC.

Conclusions

Rs237902 was associated with amygdala activation in response to fearful/angry faces only in patients with SCZ. Our findings indicate that the endogenous oxytocin system could serve as a contributing factor in biological underpinnings of emotion processing and that this contribution is disorder specific.
Pharmacotherapy of post-traumatic stress disorder: going beyond the guidelines
Authors: Davidson Jonathan
Published: December 2016

This article discusses the study of Harpaz-Rotem and associates, who examined patterns of medication use in first-diagnosed veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It considers the difference between practice guidelines and actual prescribing; selectively identifies issues with antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines and prazosin; and reviews the possible impact of new medications in the pipeline.
Clozapine in a patient with treatment-resistant schizophrenia and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: a case report
Authors: Sanchez Asiel Yair Adan , Foster Jessica J. , Plymen Carla M. , Shergill Sukhi
Published: December 2016

Background

There is currently limited experience in the initiation and maintenance of clozapine for treatment-resistant psychosis in adults with established structural heart disease. These complex patients require close supervision and liaison between colleagues. Here we present the successful experience of treating one such patient within our service and describe a monitoring plan to ensure that these treatments can be provided both safely and effectively.

Case presentation

A 36-year-old man with treatment-resistant schizophrenia and known hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) was admitted to a specialist unit for a trial of clozapine. His psychiatric illness was characterised by multimodal hallucinations and delusions combined with low mood and poor motivation. The diagnosis of HCM was made 3 years previously following a routine electrocardiogram (ECG), and he had remained asymptomatic throughout this time; there were concerns about the risk of initiating clozapine given his pre-existing cardiac condition. Baseline investigations were performed as per local guidelines prior to commencing clozapine; these were within normal limits other than a mildly raised troponin level of 54 ng/L (normal <16 ng/L), which was attributed to the HCM. In addition, baseline transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was performed which showed no change in the structural heart disease in comparison with previous TTEs.

Clozapine was started at 12.5 mg daily and up-titrated to 150 mg twice daily over 14 days as per our institute's guidelines. The patient was monitored with regular testing of troponins, inflammatory markers and ECG. On day 18, the troponin level increased to 1371 ng/L. Creatine kinase and inflammatory markers remained stable. No changes in ECG or TTE were noted and the patient remained clinically asymptomatic. Cardiology opinion was sought and reported that the finding of an isolated elevated troponin was likely to reflect a ‘troponin leak’ in the context of increased cardiac muscle mass associated with HCM. In the absence of any clinical compromise, it was not felt to be of concern. Clozapine was continued with good effect on mental state. Troponin levels gradually reduced and the patient remained well.

Conclusions

While multiple cases of clozapine-induced cardiotoxicity have been reported in the literature, its implications for pre-existing structural disease are unclear. This case report suggests that clozapine can be safely introduced in pre-existing HCM, explores strategies for monitoring and highlights the importance of liaising with experienced cardiologists.
Development of Pseudo Base-Pairs on d-Threoninol which Exhibit Various Functions
Authors: Kashida Hiromu , Asanuma Hiroyuki
Published: December 2016

The authors have developed various kinds of pseudo base pairs using a d-threoninol scaffold. Although the chemical structures of the pseudo base pairs are much different from natural nucleobases, they can mimic supramolecular properties of natural base pairs. Moreover, modified DNA can possess various functions that cannot be achieved by natural nucleic acids, such as fluorescent switchability, photocrosslinking, insulating and emission color change. These pseudo base pairs can be used to prepare various functional nanomaterials. In the present account, we summarize our recent work on pseudo base pairs, focusing on molecular designs and functions.
Acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas, inovação e competitividade industrial: alguns resultados para a indústria brasileira de celulose e papel
Authors: Figueiredo Paulo N. , Pinheiro Maurício Canêdo , Silva Felipe Queiroz , Wegner Rubia Cristina , Cabral Bernardo Pereira , Perin Fernanda Steiner
Published: December 2016

O desenvolvimento industrial e tecnológico é um dos fatores decisivos para que os países avancem para a categoria de alta renda per capita. Não se trata de uma panaceia, mas a história ensina que nações que se desenvolveram industrialmente, por meio da acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas para inovação, também obtiveram significativo desenvolvimento socioeconômico. Tornaram-se países de alta renda, transformaram-se em líderes no mercado global e em fornecedores de tecnologia para vários tipos de indústria2.Nesse sentido, este documento é parte integrante de um projeto de pesquisa mais amplo sobre o tema da acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas e competitividade industrial no Brasil, projeto este que examinou alguns setores industriais, entre eles o de celulose e papel.