bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assembling Lettuce Export Markets in East Asia: Agrarian Warriors, Climate Change and Kinship
Authors: Wang Chi‐Mao
Published: July 2018

Over the past two decades export‐oriented agro‐food production and contract farming have been regarded as new panaceas for rural development in Taiwan. With East Asian consumers hungry for fresh lettuce, since the early 2000s some Taiwanese farmers have ventured into lettuce production. The commodity/value chain literature has been widely employed by agrarian scholars to understand the reconfiguration of the global agri‐food economy. However, these approaches tend to treat the markets as unquestioned artefacts. Taking inspiration from a performative approach and assemblage thinking, this article attempts to unveil the processes from which markets emerge. Following Deleuze and Guattari’s propositions, I argue that agri‐food export markets are ongoing processes through which heterogeneous actants are held stable or disintegrate. With reference to ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the Maixing community, I show that the lettuce export market is a heterogeneous assemblage in which all enlisted actants can act to territorialise/de‐territorialise the market assemblage. This article furthers our understanding of the geographies of market‐making and opens up the black box of markets.
The action and inaction of care: Care and the personal preserve
Authors: Rapport Nigel
Published: July 2018

While ‘later life sees care emerge in ways that are new’ (Dawson and Goodwin‐Hawkins), this article argues that there is a general form to ethical care that pertains to all individual citizens in a liberal or democratic society. The form is one of balance: between engagement and inclusion on the one hand, and a preservation of autonomy and personal sovereignty on the other; between action and inaction. ‘Cosmopolitan politesse’ is introduced as a term to describe a social ethics whereby Anyone is given the recognition—the right and the space—to fulfil an innate capacity for creating their own world‐views and pursuing their own life‐projects. Under this rubric ‘care’ is imagined as a particular kind of social framework or environment that endeavours to give an appropriate proportionality to autonomy and inclusion. A ‘caring sociality’ includes ensuring individual members of a ‘personal preserve’ of embodied consciousness over which each has sovereignty. The article considers the elements ‘inclusion’ and ‘autonomy’ in turn, and then the nature of their ethical balance such that Anyone may remain ‘at home’ in the world.
Tall paper walls: The political economy of visas and cross‐border travel
Authors: McKay Andy , Tekleselassie Tsegay G.
Published: July 2018

Cross‐border travel for business, personal and tourism purposes is an important component of trade in services. In 2013, travel accounted for 25% of services export in the world. Trade in services accounted for 12% of GDP in the world. Hence, the role of travel in many economies is substantial. The current paper studies the determinants of cross‐border flows of people with a particular emphasis on the role of visa policies. We adopt the UN General Assembly Affinity Index, a measure of the quality of bilateral relations between nations, to instrument for bilateral visa policy. We find that, ceteris paribus, imposing visa restrictions on a country reduces travel from that country by about 73% in 2010 implying restrictive visa policies discourage cross‐border travel significantly. This implies an adverse impact of restrictive visa policies on trade‐in‐services.
Pricing Decisions in International Industrial Markets – The Link between Standardization at Market Entry, Pricing Capability, and Price Reactions
Authors: Kreiter Susanne , Helm Roland
Published: July 2018

International pricing decisions are one of the most paramount decisions managers face. By linking international marketing and competitive dynamics this paper reveals a relationship between product and price standardization at international market entry and defensive price reactions after market entry based on the concept of path dependencies. The empirical evaluation of a structural model shows that standardization positively influences slack resources after adaptation decision and in addition price formation capabilities. In line with the awareness-motivation-capability framework our results show a negative impact of price adaptive capabilities on price reaction.
Prevalence of on-host ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in small mammals collected from forest near to human vicinity in Selangor, Malaysia
Authors: Ishak Siti Nabilah , Yusof Muhammad Afif , Md-Nor Shukor , Mohd Sah Shahrul Anuar , Lim Fang Shiang , Khoo Jing Jing , Mohd-Taib Farah Shafawati
Published: July 2018

Ticks are important vectors that transmit a variety of pathogenic microorganisms known to be medically important worldwide. Many vertebrate groups have become host to this organism, and their presence and abundance are an indicator of the condition of both host and its habitat. This study was conducted to determine tick’s infestation and its prevalence on small mammal’s residing in the recreational forests (RF) and semi-urban (SU) residential areas which have encountered Leptospirosis outbreak and cases in Hulu Langat, Selangor Malaysia. Trapping of the small mammals involved deploying two hundred cage traps in a systematic one-hectare plot (100 m x 100 m), as well as along the stream and forest trails at random. Ticks were extracted from the captured individual hosts. Identification of the tick species was performed based on morphological features and molecular approach using 16S rDNA and COI (cytochrome oxidase subunit I) genes. A total of 278 individuals of small mammals belonging to 15 species (13 Rodentia, 1 Scandentia and 1 Insectivora) were captured in the study areas. From these, 34 individuals from eight small mammal species were infested with ticks. The most infested host species was Muller’s giant Sunda rat (Sundamys muelleri) with 5.80% (n=16). Ticks prevalence was slightly higher in RF with 6.40% (n=18) compared to SU with 5.80% (n=16). A total of 107 adult ticks (103 female and 4 male) were collected from the infested host. Ixodes granulatus was the most dominant tick species encountered (70.40%, n=85), followed by Dermacentor sp. (18.60%, n=20), while Amblyomma sp. was the least abundant (2%, n=2). This study provides information on tick species present and tick burden on small mammal hosts within the study areas. Our findings suggest that the visitors to the recreational forests and the residents of the semi-urban area were not only exposed to Leptospirosis bacteria but also tick bites and potentially tick-borne disease, therefore, precaution should be taken to avoid contact with small mammal hosts.
Electron-ion collider wins key endorsement
Authors: Cho Adrian
Published: July 2018

National Academies report calls for accelerator to look inside protons and neutrons.
Public engagement helps scientists tackle global challenges
Authors: Hoy Anne Q.
Published: July 2018

Leshner Leadership Institute fellows use public interactions for mutual learning
AAAS S&T Policy Forum explores U.S. competitiveness, now and in the future
Authors: Hoy Anne Q.
Published: July 2018

The R&D ecosystem needs change to reap benefits from emerging innovation
Social regulation of insulin signaling and the evolution of eusociality in ants
Authors: Chandra Vikram , Fetter-Pruneda Ingrid , Oxley Peter R. , Ritger Amelia L. , McKenzie Sean K. , Libbrecht Romain , Kronauer Daniel J. C.
Published: July 2018

The benefits of being well fed

In eusocial insects, the vast majority of individuals sacrifice their reproductive potential to support the reproductive queen. Although this system has evolved repeatedly, there is still much debate surrounding its origin. Working with seven different species of ants, Chandra
et al.
used a transcriptomic approach to show that a single gene is consistently up-regulated in queens. This gene seems to confer reproductive status through integration with increased nutrition. In a clonal ant, larval signals disrupt this gene up-regulation, destabilizing the division of reproductive labor. Increasing levels of the associated peptide override these larval signals and establish eusociality.

Science
, this issue p.
398
Toward a predictive theory of correlated materials
Authors: Kent Paul R. C. , Kotliar Gabriel
Published: July 2018

Correlated electron materials display a rich variety of notable properties ranging from unconventional superconductivity to metal-insulator transitions. These properties are of interest from the point of view of applications but are hard to treat theoretically, as they result from multiple competing energy scales. Although possible in more weakly correlated materials, theoretical design and spectroscopy of strongly correlated electron materials have been a difficult challenge for many years. By treating all the relevant energy scales with sufficient accuracy, complementary advances in Green’s functions and quantum Monte Carlo methods open a path to first-principles computational property predictions in this class of materials.
All-optical machine learning using diffractive deep neural networks
Authors: Lin Xing , Rivenson Yair , Yardimci Nezih T. , Veli Muhammed , Luo Yi , Jarrahi Mona , Ozcan Aydogan
Published: July 2018

All-optical deep learning

Deep learning uses multilayered artificial neural networks to learn digitally from large datasets. It then performs advanced identification and classification tasks. To date, these multilayered neural networks have been implemented on a computer. Lin
et al.
demonstrate all-optical machine learning that uses passive optical components that can be patterned and fabricated with 3D-printing. Their hardware approach comprises stacked layers of diffractive optical elements analogous to an artificial neural network that can be trained to execute complex functions at the speed of light.

Science
, this issue p.
1004
Structural basis for the modulation of voltage-gated sodium channels by animal toxins
Authors: Shen Huaizong , Li Zhangqiang , Jiang Yan , Pan Xiaojing , Wu Jianping , Cristofori-Armstrong Ben , Smith Jennifer J. , Chin Yanni K. Y. , Lei Jianlin , Zhou Qiang , King Glenn F. , Yan Nieng
Published: July 2018

Structures of voltage-gated sodium channels

In “excitable” cells, like neurons and muscle cells, a difference in electrical potential is used to transmit signals across the cell membrane. This difference is regulated by opening or closing ion channels in the cell membrane. For example, mutations in human voltage-gated sodium (Na
v
) channels are associated with disorders such as chronic pain, epilepsy, and cardiac arrhythmia. Pan
et al.
report the high-resolution structure of a human Na
v
channel, and Shen
et al.
report the structures of an insect Na
v
channel bound to the toxins that cause pufferfish and shellfish poisoning in humans. Together, the structures give insight into the molecular basis of sodium ion permeation and provide a path toward structure-based drug discovery.

Science
, this issue p.
eaau2486
, p.
eaau2596
In vivo we trust
Randomistas: How Radical Researchers Are Changing Our World
Andrew Leigh
Yale University Press, 2018. 283 pp.
Authors: List John A.
Published: July 2018

An engaging synthesis highlights the value of field experiments in the social sciences
Paul D. Boyer (1918–2018)
Authors: Eisenberg David S.
Published: July 2018

Pioneer of molecular machines and inspirational leader
The Human Cytomegalovirus Endoplasmic Reticulum-Resident Glycoprotein UL148 Activates the Unfolded Protein Response
Authors: Siddiquey Mohammed N. A. , Zhang Hongbo , Nguyen Christopher C. , Domma Anthony J. , Kamil Jeremy P.
Published: July 2018

The unfolded protein response (UPR) is an ancient cellular response to ER stress that is of broad importance to viruses. Certain consequences of the UPR, including mRNA degradation and translational shutoff, would presumably be disadvantageous to viruses, while other attributes of the UPR, such as ER expansion and upregulation of protein folding chaperones, might enhance viral replication. Although HCMV is estimated to express well over 150 different viral proteins, we show that the HCMV ER-resident glycoprotein UL148 contributes substantially to the UPR during infection and, moreover, is sufficient to activate the UPR in noninfected cells. Experimental activation of the UPR in mammalian cells is difficult to achieve without the use of toxins. Therefore, UL148 may provide a new tool to investigate fundamental aspects of the UPR. Furthermore, our findings may have implications for understanding the mechanisms underlying the effects of UL148 on HCMV cell tropism and evasion of cell-mediated immunity.
Differential Mechanisms for the Involvement of Polyamines and Hypusinated eIF5A in Ebola Virus Gene Expression
Authors: Olsen Michelle E. , Cressey Tessa N. , Mühlberger Elke , Connor John H.
Published: July 2018

Ebola virus is a genetically simple virus that has a small number of proteins. Because of this, it requires host molecules and proteins to produce new infectious virus particles. Though attention is often focused on cellular proteins required for this process, it has recently been shown that cellular metabolites such as polyamines are also necessary for EBOV replication. Here we show that polyamines such as spermine and spermidine are required for the accumulation of EBOV mRNA and that eIF5A, a molecule modified by spermidine, is required for the translation, but not the production, of EBOV mRNAs. These findings suggest that effectively targeting this pathway could provide a biphasic block of EBOV replication.
Effect of Productive Human Papillomavirus 16 Infection on Global Gene Expression in Cervical Epithelium
Authors: Kang Sa Do , Chatterjee Sreejata , Alam Samina , Salzberg Anna C. , Milici Janice , van der Burg Sjoerd H. , Meyers Craig
Published: July 2018

Persistent HPV infection is responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. The transition from precancerous to cancerous stages of HPV infection is marked by a significant reduction in virus production. Most global gene expression studies of HPV infection have focused on the cancerous stages. Therefore, little is known about global gene expression changes at precancerous stages. For the first time, we measured global gene expression changes at the precancerous stages of HPV16 infection in human cervical tissue producing high levels of virus. We identified a group of genes that are typically overexpressed in cancerous stages to be significantly downregulated at the precancerous stage. Moreover, we identified significantly modulated genes that have not yet been studied in the context of HPV infection. Studying the role of these genes in HPV infection will help us understand what drives the transition from precancerous to cancerous stages and may lead to the development of new therapeutic targets.
Blood pressure intervention levels in preterm infants: pilot randomised trial
Authors: Pereira Sujith Stanley , Sinha Ajay Kumar , Morris Joan Katherine , Wertheim David F , Shah Divyen K , Kempley Stephen Terence
Published: July 2018

Objective

To examine the feasibility of a trial allocating different blood pressure (BP) intervention levels for treatment in extremely preterm infants.

Design

Three-arm open randomised controlled trial performed between February 2013 and April 2015.

Setting

Single tertiary level neonatal intensive care unit.

Patients

Infants born <29 weeks’ gestation were eligible to participate, if parents consented and they did not have a major congenital malformation.

Interventions

Infants were randomised to different levels of mean arterial BP at which they received cardiovascular support: active (<30 mm Hg), moderate (<gestational age mm Hg) or permissive (signs of poor perfusion or <19 mm Hg). Once this threshold was breached, all were managed using the same treatment guideline. BP profiles were downloaded continuously; cardiac output and carotid blood flow were measured at 1 day and 3 days, and amplitude integrated EEG was recorded during the first week. Cranial ultrasound scans were reviewed blind to study allocation.

Main outcome measure

Inotrope usage and achieved BP.

Results

Of 134 cases screened, 60 were enrolled, with mean gestation 25.8 weeks (SD 1.5) and birth weight 817 g (SD 190). Invasively measured BP on the first day and inotrope usage were highest in the active and lowest in the permissive arms. There were no differences in haemodynamic or EEG variables or in clinical complications. Predefined cranial ultrasound findings did not differ significantly; no infants in the active arm had parenchymal brain lesions.

Conclusion

The BP threshold used to trigger treatment affects the achieved BP and inotrope usage, and it was possible to explore these effects using this study design.

Trial registration number

ISRCTN83507686.
Conservative treatment of diffuse infiltrating retinoblastoma: optical coherence tomography-assisted diagnosis and follow-up in three consecutive cases
Authors: Stathopoulos Christina , Moulin Alexandre , Gaillard Marie-Claire , Beck-Popovic Maja , Puccinelli Francesco , Munier Francis L
Published: July 2018

Background/aims

To report conservative therapy in diffuse infiltrating retinoblastoma (DIR) and describe specific optic coherence tomography (OCT) features of the tumour.

Methods

Retrospective review of all DIR cases treated conservatively between 1998 and 2012.

Results

Three patients (three eyes) were included, cases 1 and 3 with previous enucleation of the contralateral eye and case 2 with unilateral retinoblastoma referred after prior pars plana vitrectomy with silicone oil. Mean age at diagnosis was 7 years (range 14 months–14 years). Globe and vision preservation (Snellen visual acuity of 12.5/10) was achieved in case 3 with a recurrence-free follow-up of 33 months after first-line thermotherapy followed by salvage intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) plus focal treatments. Cases 1 and 2 were enucleated for progressive disease, case 1 after first-line intravenous chemotherapy (IVC) consolidated by focal therapies and salvage treatments given over 8 years of partial remission and case 2 after IAC, brachytherapy and intracameral chemotherapy. Neither showed any high-risk histopathological features, and no adjuvant chemotherapy was necessary. Both patients are alive without metastasis (mean follow-up of >10 years). Pathognomonic features of the tumour were revealed by OCT in all cases, showing infiltration of the ganglion cell layer and horizontal growth over the inner plexiform layer. Complete restoration of the retinal microanatomy was documented after retraction of the tumour following IVC in case 2 and IAC in case 3.

Conclusion

This is the first report of successful conservative management in DIR. OCT enabled diagnosis, delimitation of the tumour margins and monitoring of the treatment response in this context.
Concussion management in combat sports: consensus statement from the Association of Ringside Physicians
Authors: Neidecker John , Sethi Nitin K , Taylor Randolph , Monsell Raymond , Muzzi Don , Spizler Bruce , Lovelace Larry , Ayoub Edmund , Weinstein Rick , Estwanik Joseph , Reyes Patricio , Cantu Robert C , Jordan Barry , Goodman Margaret , Stiller John W , Gelber Jonathan , Boltuch Robert , Coletta Domenic , Gagliardi Angela , Gelfman Stephen , Golden Patrick , Rizzo Nicholas , Wallace Paul , Fields Allan , Inalsingh Calvin
Published: July 2018

Various organisations and experts have published numerous statements and recommendations regarding different aspects of sports-related concussion including definition, presentation, treatment, management and return to play guidelines.1–7

To date, there have been no written consensus statements specific for combat sports regarding management of combatants who have suffered a concussion or for return to competition after a concussion. In combat sports, head contact is an objective of the sport itself. Accordingly, management and treatment of concussion in combat sports should, and must, be more stringent than for non-combat sports counterparts.

The Association of Ringside Physicians (an international, non-profit organisation dedicated to the health and safety of the combat sports athlete) sets forth this consensus statement to establish management guidelines that ringside physicians, fighters, referees, trainers, promoters, sanctioning bodies and other healthcare professionals can use in the ringside setting. We also provide guidelines for the return of a combat sports athlete to competition after sustaining a concussion. This consensus statement does not address the management of moderate to severe forms of traumatic brain injury, such as intracranial bleeds, nor does it address the return to competition for combat sports athletes who have suffered such an injury. These more severe forms of brain injuries are beyond the scope of this statement. This consensus statement does not address neuroimaging guidelines in combat sports.
What is the cost of delayed diagnosis of bile acid malabsorption and bile acid diarrhoea?
Authors: Fernandes Darren C R , Poon Dennis , White Laura L , Andreyev H Jervoise N
Published: July 2018

Introduction

75Selenium taurocholic acid (SeHCAT) scanning diagnoses bile acid malabsorption/bile acid diarrhoea (BAM/BAD) and defines optimal treatment. Approximately 2% of the population have BAM/BAD.

Aim

To evaluate the cost of delayed diagnosis of BAM/BAD.

Methods

Patients’ notes who underwent SeHCAT scanning in three hospitals over a 1-year period were reviewed retrospectively. Scan results and treatment response were recorded. Package-of-care costs were calculated using costing tools from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and from United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust business unit.

Results

Between June 2016 and May 2017, 19 men and 37 women (median age 58 (range 19–83)) of 3860 new patients seen in gastroenterology clinics were referred for SeHCAT scanning. Sixty-four per cent of scans were abnormal: 13 demonstrated severe (<5% 7-day SeHCAT retention), 13 moderate (5%–10%), 5 mild (10%–15%) and 5 borderline (15%–20%) BAD/BAM. Likely causes included primary BAD (n=16), cholecystectomy (n=13), inflammatory bowel disease (n=4) and other (n=3). If SeHCAT scanning was ordered at first consultation (n=11), patients reported 24 months (median) of symptoms (range 6–360) and the median diagnostic package-of-care cost was £811.40 (95% CI £625.59 to £1508.20). If SeHCAT scanning was booked later (n=25), patients reported symptoms for 30 months (median, range 0.5–360) and the cost was £1568.31 (95% CI £1200.55 to £1713.18). Following diagnosis, treatment led to symptom improvement (n=24), no change/deterioration (n=3) and not reported (n=9).

Conclusions

SeHCAT is underused. Late diagnosis leads to unnecessary demands for other services and treatment delay. Early diagnosis achieves health benefits while reducing costs.
Causal Coupling Between Electrophysiological Signals, Cerebral Hemodynamics and Systemic Blood Supply Oscillations in Mayer Wave Frequency Range
Authors: Lachert P. , Zygierewicz J. , Janusek D. , Pulawski P. , Sawosz P. , Kacprzak M. , Liebert A. , Blinowska K. J.
Published: July 2018

The aim of the study was to assess causal coupling between neuronal activity, microvascular hemodynamics and blood supply oscillations in the Mayer wave frequency range. An electroencephalogram, cerebral blood oxygenation changes, an electrocardiogram and blood pressure were recorded during rest and during a movement task. Causal coupling between them was evaluated using directed transfer function, a measure based on the Granger causality principle. The multivariate autoregressive model was fitted to all the signals simultaneously, which made it possible to construct a complete scheme of interactions between the considered signals. The obtained pattern of interactions in the resting state estimated in the 0.05–0.15 Hz band revealed a predominant influence of blood pressure oscillations on all the other variables. Reciprocal connections between blood pressure and heart rate variability time series indicated the presence of feedback loops between these signals. During movement, the pattern of connections did not change dramatically. The number of connections decreased, but the couplings between blood pressure and heart rate variability signal were not significantly changed, and the strong influence of the decreased blood hemoglobin concentration on the oxygenated hemoglobin concentration persisted. For the first time our results provided a comprehensive scheme of interactions between electrical and hemodynamic brain signals, heart rate and blood pressure oscillations. Persistent reciprocal connections between blood pressure and heart rate variability time series suggest possible feedforward and feedback coupling of cardiovascular variables which may lead to the observed oscillations in Mayer wave range.
TWO APPROACHES TO MODELING UNCERTAINTY: HOW DID UNCERTAINTY AFFECT THE ECONOMY DURING AND AFTER THE GREAT RECESSION?
Authors: BROCK WILLIAM A. , HASLAG JOSEPH H.
Published: July 2018

Recent research in macroeconomics has sought to develop a tractable form of heterogeneity in attempting to model sluggish responses in the price level. In addition, economists have struggled to explain why the demand for safe assets has increased as evidenced by the decline in real interest rates and even nominal interest rates in the last three decades [King, M (2017). Uncertainty and large swings in activity. In National Bureau of Economic Research Martin Feldstein Lecture, Cambridge, MA: NBER Summer Institute; King, M and D Low (2014). Measuring the ‘World’ Interest Rate. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 19887, Cambridge, MA]. We build a simple two-period lived overlapping generations model that displays both heterogeneity of expectations and robustness. Our goal is to derive the economic impacts associated with greater uncertainty; more specifically, to answer the question can these two versions of uncertainty account for an increase in the demand for money and the low return on safe assets? Since analysis of even such a simple model requires a lot of technical work, we put most of this technical work into a rather lengthy technical Appendix for the benefit of readers who wish to follow such details. The main text in the paper will just focus on the basic economics.
A New Dominance Method Based on Expanding Dominated Area for Many-Objective Optimization
Authors: Liu Junhua , Wang Yuping , Wang Xingyin , Guo Si , Sui Xin
Published: July 2018

The performance of the traditional Pareto-based evolutionary algorithms sharply reduces for many-objective optimization problems, one of the main reasons is that Pareto dominance could not provide sufficient selection pressure to make progress in a given population. To increase the selection pressure toward the global optimal solutions and better maintain the quality of selected solutions, in this paper, a new dominance method based on expanding dominated area is proposed. This dominance method skillfully combines the advantages of two existing popular dominance methods to further expand the dominated area and better maintain the quality of selected solutions. Besides, through dynamically adjusting its parameter with the iteration, our proposed dominance method can timely adjust the selection pressure in the process of evolution. To demonstrate the quality of selected solutions by our proposed dominance method, the experiments on a number of well-known benchmark problems with 5–25 objectives are conducted and compared with that of the four state-of-the-art dominance methods based on expanding dominated area. Experimental results show that the new dominance method not only enhances the selection pressure but also better maintains the quality of selected solutions.
Conceptual Integrity Without Concepts
Authors: Plebe Alice , Grasso Giorgio
Published: July 2018

This paper attempts to analyze the theoretical consequences for conceptual integrity in software engineering, if concepts do not exist altogether. As weird as it might sound, doubts on the existence of concepts have been recently cast by several distinguished philosophers of mind, with compelling arguments. It is commonly asserted that one of the most crucial factors in software design is the adoption of consistent and appropriate concepts. This widespread assumption, underlying several researches in software engineering, tacitly postulates the very existence of concepts. How the integrity of a software design may survive without concepts, at least in its traditional account, is the matter explored in this paper. We identified several practical cases of software that uses design ideas referred by terms subsuming a heterogeneity of cognitive assets. These design ideas are therefore better qualified — in technical terms — as unicepts. This notwithstanding, in the cases analyzed, all software maintained a design integrity that made them highly successful, once users become acquainted with the unusual semantic sphere of the unicept at play.
Image-Based Approach to Determining Regression Test Results of Dynamic Web Applications
Authors: Hori Akihiro , Takada Shingo , Kurabayashi Toshiyuki , Tanno Haruto
Published: July 2018

Much work has been done on automating regression testing for applications. But most of them focus on test execution. Little work has been done on automatically determining if a test case passes or fails. This decision is often made by comparing the results of executing test cases on a base version of the application and post-modification version of the application. If the two results match, the test case passes, otherwise fails. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no regression testing method for automatically deciding pass/fail of dynamic Web applications which use JavaScript or CSS. We propose a method that automatically decides if a dynamic Web application passes a regression test case. The basic idea is to obtain a screenshot each time the GUI of the Web application (i.e. Web page) changes its state, and then compare each corresponding screenshot to see if they match. The evaluation results showed that the accuracy rate of our approach is high and our approach can be considered as fast enough for practical use.
Kp-series and varieties generated by wreath products of p-groups
Authors: Mikaelian V. H.
Published: July 2018

Let [Formula: see text] be a nilpotent [Formula: see text]-group of finite exponent and [Formula: see text] be an abelian [Formula: see text]-group of finite exponent for a given prime number [Formula: see text]. Then the wreath product [Formula: see text] generates the variety [Formula: see text] if and only if the group [Formula: see text] contains a subgroup isomorphic to the direct product [Formula: see text] of countably many copies of the cycle [Formula: see text] of order [Formula: see text]. The obtained theorem continues our previous study of cases when [Formula: see text] holds for some other classes of groups [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] (abelian groups, finite groups, etc.).
SURFACE ABLATION OF 52100 BEARING STEEL USING FEMTOSECOND LASER IRRADIATION
Authors: MAHARJAN NIROJ , ZHOU WEI , ZHOU YU
Published: July 2018

Laser ablation is a rapid-material removal technique with potential application in remanufacturing of bearings to clean damaged surfaces. This study reports the ablation morphology and change in surface composition of 52100 bearing steel irradiated with a femtosecond laser. A smooth ablated surface was achieved by operating the laser at fluence just above the ablation threshold, but higher fluences resulted in roughened surfaces with recast formation. Such coarse morphology is believed to result from higher energy deposition and surface melting. Minimal oxidation occurred at lower fluences. Periodic ripple patterns formed in the ablated area at low fluence; their morphology and possible formation mechanism is discussed.
Two Differential Games Between Rent-Seeking Politicians and Capitalists: Implications for Economic Growth
Authors: Dai Darong , Gao Wenzheng , Tian Guoqiang
Published: July 2018

We comparatively study two differential games between politicians and capitalists in terms of reducing rent-seeking distortions and stimulating economic growth. These two games imply two relationships — top-down authority and rational cooperation — between politicians and capitalists. In the current context, we prove that cooperation leads to faster growth than does authority, and simultaneously satisfies individual rationality, group rationality, Pareto efficiency and sub-game consistency. We thus show that setting a bargaining table between capitalists and politicians may create desirable incentives for reducing rent-seeking distortions, developing the spirit of capitalism and stimulating economic growth.
Envelopes, covers and semidualizing modules
Authors: Mao Lixin
Published: July 2018

Given an [Formula: see text]-module [Formula: see text] and a class of [Formula: see text]-modules [Formula: see text] over a commutative ring [Formula: see text], we investigate the relationship between the existence of [Formula: see text]-envelopes (respectively, [Formula: see text]-covers) and the existence of [Formula: see text]-envelopes or [Formula: see text]-envelopes (respectively, [Formula: see text]-covers or [Formula: see text]-covers) of modules. As a consequence, we characterize coherent rings, Noetherian rings, perfect rings and Artinian rings in terms of envelopes and covers by [Formula: see text]-projective, [Formula: see text]-flat, [Formula: see text]-injective and [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text]-injective modules, where [Formula: see text] is a semidualizing [Formula: see text]-module.
The derived category analogues of Faltings Local-global Principle and Annihilator Theorems
Authors: Divaani-Aazar Kamran , Zargar Majid Rahro
Published: July 2018

Let [Formula: see text] be a specialization closed subset of Spec R and X a homologically left-bounded complex with finitely generated homologies. We establish Faltings’ Local-global Principle and Annihilator Theorems for the local cohomology modules [Formula: see text] Our versions contain variations of results already known on these theorems.
Matric generators of coalgebras and bialgebras
Authors: Kihara Hiroshi
Published: July 2018

Takeuchi asserted that if a bialgebra [Formula: see text] over a field [Formula: see text] is finitely generated as a [Formula: see text]-algebra, then [Formula: see text] is a matric bialgebra. We introduce the notion of a matric coalgebra over a commutative ring [Formula: see text]. We show that if [Formula: see text] is faithfully projective as a [Formula: see text]-module, then [Formula: see text] is a matric coalgebra. Using this, we also show that if a bialgebra [Formula: see text] over a semihereditary ring [Formula: see text] is projective as a [Formula: see text]-module, then any finite subset of [Formula: see text] is contained in some matric subbialgebra. This result is a generalization of Takeuchi’s assertion and can be regarded as a local finiteness theorem on bialgebras.
Stiffness Control for Soft Surgical Manipulators
Authors: Mustaza Seri M. , Saaj Chakravarthini M. , Comin Francisco J. , Albukhanajer Wissam A. , Mahdi Duale , Lekakou Constantina
Published: July 2018

Tunable stiffness control is critical for undertaking surgical procedures using soft manipulators. However, active stiffness control in soft continuum manipulators is very challenging and has been rarely realized for real-time surgical applications. Low stiffness at the tip is much preferred for safe navigation of the robot in restricted spaces inside the human body. On the other hand, high stiffness at the tip is demanded for efficiently operating surgical instruments. In this paper, the manipulability and characteristics of a class of soft hyper-redundant manipulator, fabricated using Ecoflex-0050[Formula: see text] silicone, is discussed and a new methodology is introduced to actively tune the stiffness matrix, in real-time, for disturbance rejection and stiffness control. Experimental results are used to derive a more accurate description of the characteristics of the soft manipulator, capture the varying stiffness effects of the actuated arm and consequently offer a more accurate response using closed loop feedback control in real-time. The novel results presented in this paper advances the state-of-the-art of tunable stiffness control in soft continuum manipulators for real-time applications.
Influence of Heat and Mass Transfer on Two-Phase Blood Flow with Joule Heating and Variable Viscosity in the Presence of Variable Magnetic Field
Authors: Tripathi Bhavya , Sharma Bhupendra Kumar
Published: July 2018

In this paper, simultaneous effects of viscous dissipation and Joule heating on unsteady two-phase blood flow through a stenosed artery in the presence of variable applied magnetic field have been investigated. The present two-layered model of blood flow consists of a central core of suspended erythrocytes and a cell-depleted plasma layer surrounding the core. It is assumed that the viscosity of the cell-free plasma layer is constant while the viscosity of the core is a function of the hematocrit level. A consistent system of nonlinear partial differential equations is solved numerically using shooting methods to estimate the flow rate, flow resistance and wall shear stress. The quantitative profile analysis of velocity, temperature and concentration as well as the Nusselt number and Sherwood number is carried out over the entire arterial segment. To validate the model, a comparative study has been done between the present results and the experimental results for the cell velocity distribution of 40% RBC containing blood which exhibits that the present results are in fairly good agreement with the experimental results. The velocity contours have been plotted to understand the flow pattern in the diseased narrowed artery, which alters significantly in the downstream of the stenosis under the influence of magnetic field.
Facile Preparation of Novel Hierarchically Porous Carbon at the Molecular Level for Supercapacitor Electrode Application
Authors: Li Kai , Zhang Wei-Bin , Zhao Zhi-Yun , Zhao Yue , Chen Xi-Wen , Kong Ling-Bin
Published: July 2018

Hierarchically porous carbons are obtained by a facile process of carbonizing the precursor of diblock copolymer xPS-[Formula: see text]-polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). In the diblock copolymer, there is a carbon source of cross-linked polystyrene (xPS) and a sacrificial block of PMMA. The atom transfer radical polymerization was used to synthesize the diblock copolymer with controlled molecular weight and narrow polydispersity in dimethylformamide at 120∘C. The obtained hierarchically porous carbons (HPCs) exhibit remarkable electrochemical properties, such as higher specific capacitance of 204[Formula: see text]F[Formula: see text]g[Formula: see text] at the current density of 0.5[Formula: see text]A[Formula: see text]g[Formula: see text] in 6[Formula: see text]mol[Formula: see text]L[Formula: see text] aqueous KOH electrolyte. In addition, it also presents an excellent rate performance of 64% capacitance retention as the current density increases to 10[Formula: see text]A[Formula: see text]g[Formula: see text] and a superior cycling stability of 98% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles at the current density of 1[Formula: see text]A[Formula: see text]g[Formula: see text].
Phase Transition of As-Milled and Annealed CrCuFeMnNi High-Entropy Alloy Powder
Authors: Zhao Rui-Feng , Ren Bo , Zhang Guo-Peng , Liu Zhong-Xia , Zhang Jian-Jian
Published: July 2018

The CrCuFeMnNi high entropy alloy (HEA) powder was synthesized by mechanical alloying. The effects of milling time and subsequent annealing on the structure evolution, thermostability and magnetic property were investigated. After 50[Formula: see text]h of milling, the CrCuFeMnNi HEA powder consisted of a major FCC phase and a small amount of BCC phase. The crystallite size and strain lattice of 50[Formula: see text]h-ball-milled CrCuFeMnNi HEA powder were 12[Formula: see text]nm and 1.02%, respectively. The powder exhibited refined morphology and excellent chemical homogeneity. The supersaturated solid solution structure of the as-milled HEA powder transformed into FCC1, FCC2, a small amount of BCC and [Formula: see text] phase in annealed state. Most of the BCC phase decomposed into FCC (mainly FCC2 phase) and [Formula: see text] phases, and the dynamic phase transition was almost in equilibrium at 900[Formula: see text]C. The saturated magnetization and coercivity force of the 50[Formula: see text]h-ball-milled CrCuFeMnNi HEA powder were respectively 16.1[Formula: see text]emu/g and 56.2[Formula: see text]Oe.
An approach for approximate solution of fractional-order smoking model with relapse class
Authors: Zeb Anwar , Erturk Vedat Suat , Khan Umar , Zaman Gul , Momani Shaher
Published: July 2018

In this paper, we develop a fractional-order smoking model by considering relapse class. First, we formulate the model and find the unique positive solution for the proposed model. Then we apply the Grünwald–Letnikov approximation in the place of maintaining a general quadrature formula approach to the Riemann–Liouville integral definition of the fractional derivative. Building on this foundation avoids the need for domain transformations, contour integration or involved theory to compute accurate approximate solutions of fractional-order giving up smoking model. A comparative study between Grünwald–Letnikov method and Runge–Kutta method is presented in the case of integer-order derivative. Finally, we present the obtained results graphically.
Global attractivity of asymptotically almost periodic Nicholson’s blowflies models with a nonlinear density-dependent mortality term
Authors: Tang Yi , Xie Shenglan
Published: July 2018

This paper focuses on the study of a class of asymptotically almost periodic Nicholson’s blowflies models with a nonlinear density-dependent mortality term. By virtue of differential inequality techniques, a set of easily verifiable sufficient conditions are established to show that every solution of the considered model is asymptotically almost periodic, and it also converges to a same almost periodic function as [Formula: see text], which improves and supplements some previously known researches. Moreover, a numerical example is given to test the feasibility and effectiveness of the obtained results.
Hydrogen generation from the decomposition of hydrous hydrazine using amorphous NiB nanocatalysts prepared by chemical etching method
Authors: Wei Lei , Ma Maixia , Li Wenjuan , Wang Dongsheng , Dong Xiaolong , Wei Piye
Published: July 2018

Hydrous hydrazine (N2H[Formula: see text]O) is considered to be one of the most promising chemicals for hydrogen storage, and the development of high-efficient and noble-metal-free catalysts is of key importance for N2H[Formula: see text]O decomposition to generate hydrogen. In this work, NiZnB nanoparticles (NiZnB NPs) synthesized by co-reduction method were further treated to remove the metal zinc by chemical etching with sodium hydroxide, and the resulting amorphous NiB nanocatalysts (NiB NCs) presented higher specific surface area and hydrogen selectivity than that of common NiB nanoparticles. Experimental results also indicate that heat-treatment of the NiZnB NPs can increase turnover frequency (TOF) but decrease hydrogen selectivity of the NiB NCs. NiB NCs derived from NiZnB NPs heated at 200[Formula: see text]C show TOF and selectivity of 0.72[Formula: see text]h[Formula: see text] and 98.1%, respectively. In addition, reusability of the resulting catalyst was also investigated.
Dissipative solitons and crowdions in triangular lattice of active particles
Authors: Chetverikov A. P. , Dmitriev S. V. , Korznikova E. A. , Sergeev K. S.
Published: July 2018

Behavior of dissipative solitons and crowdions in the triangular lattice of interacting particles is studied by means of numerical simulations. Active properties of particles are determined by non-linear friction which slows down the rapid particles and accelerates slower ones. Local interaction between particles is determined by the modified Morse potential with established cut-off radius. It is shown that the excitation of crowdions in active lattice is possible for some definite values of parameters. Borderlines between crowdions and solitons excitation in a space of parameters and initial conditions are determined.
A GPU-Outperforming FPGA Accelerator Architecture for Binary Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Li Yixing , Liu Zichuan , Xu Kai , Yu Hao , Ren Fengbo
Published: July 2018

FPGA-based hardware accelerators for convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have received attention due to their higher energy efficiency than GPUs. However, it is challenging for FPGA-based solutions to achieve a higher throughput than GPU counterparts. In this article, we demonstrate that FPGA acceleration can be a superior solution in terms of both throughput and energy efficiency when a CNN is trained with binary constraints on weights and activations. Specifically, we propose an optimized fully mapped FPGA accelerator architecture tailored for bitwise convolution and normalization that features massive spatial parallelism with deep pipelines stages. A key advantage of the FPGA accelerator is that its performance is insensitive to data batch size, while the performance of GPU acceleration varies largely depending on the batch size of the data. Experiment results show that the proposed accelerator architecture for binary CNNs running on a Virtex-7 FPGA is 8.3× faster and 75× more energy-efficient than a Titan X GPU for processing online individual requests in small batch sizes. For processing static data in large batch sizes, the proposed solution is on a par with a Titan X GPU in terms of throughput while delivering 9.5× higher energy efficiency.
Minimization of Tree Patterns
Authors: CzerwiŃski Wojciech , Martens Wim , Niewerth Matthias , Parys Paweł
Published: July 2018

Many of today’s graph query languages are based on graph pattern matching. We investigate optimization of tree-shaped patterns that have transitive closure operators. Such patterns not only appear in the context of graph databases but also were originally studied for querying tree-structured data, where they can perform child, descendant, node label, and wildcard tests.

The
minimization
problem aims at reducing the number of nodes in patterns and goes back to the early 2000s. We provide an example showing that, in contrast to earlier claims, tree patterns cannot be minimized by deleting nodes only. The example resolves the M =
?
NR problem, which asks if a tree pattern is minimal if and only if it is nonredundant. The example can be adapted to prove that minimization is Σ

P

2
-complete, which resolves another question that was open since the early research on the problem. The latter result shows that, unless NP = Π

P

2
, more general approaches for minimizing tree patterns are also bound to fail in general.