bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cadaveric anatomical study of anterior and posterior ankle arthroscopic portals in ankle plantarflexion and dorsiflexion positions
Authors: Tonogai Ichiro
Published: September 2018

Category:

Arthroscopy

Introduction/Purpose:

Arthroscopy of the foot and ankle, which is minimally invasive technique, is able to be used in the treatment of various foot and ankle pathologies. However, complications after anterior or posterior ankle arthroscopies have been described, such as neurovascular structures injury around portals. On the other hand, plantarflexion and dorsiflexion of the ankle joint leads movement of the neurovascular structures. However, there were a few reports about the change of the distance between each portal and nerves or vessels during motion of the ankle. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the distance between each anterior or posterior portal and neurovascular structures, to elucidate the change of the distance between each portal and neurovascular structures in ankle plantarflexion and dorsiflexion positions.

Methods:

Six feet of 6 fresh cadavers (3 males and 3 females) were enrolled in this study. The mean age was 81.5 years. Standard antero-lateral (AL), antero-medial (AM), postero-lateral (PL) and postero-medial (PM) portals were identified using needles. Skin was dissected from the underlying soft tissue to visualize neurovascular structures clearly as little as possible. The distances were assessed in ankle plantarflexion position and dorsiflexion position, from AL portal to superficial peroneal nerve (SPN), from AM portal to saphenous nerve (SpN), great saphenous vein (SpV), from PL portal to sural nerve (SN) and lesser SpV, and from PM portal to flexor hallux longus, posterior tibial artery PTA and tibial nerve (TN).

Results:

SPN was the closest structure to any of the anterior portals (3.2 /8.3 mm in ankle plantarflexion position and 5.2 /10.8 mm in ankle dorsiflexion position from AL portal as Fig.1 was showing), followed by SpN in anterior ankle arthroscopy. Distances from SPN to AL portal, and from SpN and great SpV to AM portal increased with ankle dorsiflexion and decreased with plantarflexion. SN was the closest structure to any of the posterior portals (10.4 mm in ankle plantarflexion position and 8.5 mm in ankle dorsiflexion position from PL portal), followed by lesser SpV in posterior ankle arthroscopy. Distances from SN, SpN and lesser SpV to PL portal, and from FHL, PTA and TN to PM portal increased with ankle plantarflexion and decreased with dorsiflexion.

Conclusion:

Results of this study showed the distances from each anterior or posterior arthroscopic portal to neurovascular structures, and elucidated the change of the distances between each portal and neurovascular structures in ankle plantarflexion and dorsiflexion positons in ankle plantarflexion and dorsiflexion positions. The ankle dorsiflexion position for the standard AL and AM portals placement and the ankle plantarflexion position for PL and PM portals placement might be recommended. Results of this study might be useful to prevent injury to the neurovascular structures during anterior or posterior ankle arthroscopy.
The Use of Modern Intramedullary Nailing in Distal Fibula Fracture Fixation
Authors: Tracey Joseph , Vovos Tyler , Adams Samuel , Parekh Selene
Published: September 2018

Category:

Trauma

Introduction/Purpose:

Lateral malleolus (LM) fixation is necessary for unstable ankle fractures. Traditional fixation relies on the use of plates through a lateral incision, wound healing can be an issue for such incisions. A novel intramedullary (IM) fixation device has been developed that can be placed through a minimal incision. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the clinical efficacy of this device.

Methods:

A retrospective analysis was performed on patients who received IM fixation for isolated fibula, bimalleolar (BM), and trimalleolar (TM) fractures. Pertinent demographic information, operative factors, complications, and clinical outcomes were recorded.

Results:

Sixteen patients were included in the study with an average age of 59 (Range of 35 to 86). Six patients presented with isolated LM fractures, four patients had a BM fracture with a syndesmotic injury, two patients sustained a LM fracture with an associated syndesmotic injury, two patients had a BM fracture, and two patients had a TM fracture with a syndesmotic injury. There was a 100% healing rate of the lateral malleolus without any cases of malunion or shortening. There were no cases of sural nerve or peroneal tendon injuries, nor any wound complications found.

Conclusion:

These findings demonstrate the safe and efficacious use of a novel intramedullary fixation device for fibula fractures with a lower wound complication and infection rates compared to published outcomes found with lateral fibular plating. The features of this device allow for reliable fixation of the fibula, maintaining length and minimizing wound issues.
Childhood maltreatment and adult medical morbidity in mood disorders: comparison of unipolar depression with bipolar disorder
Authors: Hosang Georgina M. , Fisher Helen L. , Hodgson Karen , Maughan Barbara , Farmer Anne E.
Published: September 2018

Background

The medical burden in mood disorders is high; various factors are thought to drive this pattern. Little research has examined the role of childhood maltreatment and its effects on medical morbidity in adulthood among people with unipolar depression and bipolar disorder.

Aims

This is the first study to explore the association between childhood maltreatment and medical morbidity in bipolar disorder and in unipolar depression, and examine whether the impact of abuse and neglect are distinct or combined.

Method

The participants consisted of 354 psychiatrically healthy controls, 248 participants with recurrent unipolar depression and 72 with bipolar disorder. Participants completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and received a validated medical history interview.

Results

Any type of childhood maltreatment, child abuse and child neglect were significantly associated with the medical burden in bipolar disorder, but not unipolar depression or for controls. These associations worked in a dose–response fashion where participants with bipolar disorder with a history of two or more types of childhood maltreatment had the highest odds of having a medical illness relative to those without such history or those who reported one form. No such significant dose–response patterns were detected for participants with unipolar depression or controls.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that childhood maltreatment may play a stronger role in the development of medical illnesses in individuals with bipolar disorder relative to those with unipolar depression. Individuals who had been maltreated with a mood disorder, especially bipolar disorder may benefit most from prevention and intervention efforts surrounding physical health.

Declaration of interest

None.
Role of water flow regime in the swimming behaviour and escape performance of a schooling fish
Authors: Nadler Lauren E. , Killen Shaun S. , Domenici Paolo , McCormick Mark I.
Published: September 2018

Animals are exposed to variable and rapidly changing environmental flow conditions, such as wind in terrestrial habitats and currents in aquatic systems. For fishes, previous work suggests that individuals exhibit flow-induced changes in aerobic swimming performance. Yet, no one has examined whether similar plasticity is found in fast-start escape responses, which are modulated by anaerobic swimming performance, sensory stimuli and neural control. In this study, we used fish from wild schools of the tropical damselfish Chromis viridis from shallow reefs surrounding Lizard Island in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The flow regime at each site was measured to ascertain differences in mean water flow speed and its temporal variability. Swimming and escape behaviour in fish schools were video-recorded in a laminar-flow swim tunnel. Though each school's swimming behaviour (i.e., alignment and cohesion) was not associated with local flow conditions, traits linked with fast-start performance (particularly turning rate and the distance traveled with the response) were significantly greater in individuals from high-flow habitats. This stronger performance may occur due to a number of mechanisms, such as an in-situ training effect or greater selection pressure for faster performance phenotypes in areas with high flow speed.
DARPins recognizing mTFP1 as novel reagents for in vitro and in vivo protein manipulations
Authors: Vigano M. Alessandra , Bieli Dimitri , Schaefer Jonas V. , Jakob Roman Peter , Matsuda Shinya , Maier Timm , Plückthun Andreas , Affolter Markus
Published: September 2018

Over the last few years, protein-based affinity reagents have proven very helpful in cell and developmental biology. While many of these versatile small proteins can be expressed both in the intracellular and extracellular milieu in cultured cells and in living organisms, they can also be functionalized by fusing them to different protein domains in order to regulate or modulate their target proteins in diverse manners. For example, protein binders have been employed to degrade, trap, localize or enzymatically modify specific target proteins. Whereas binders to many endogenous proteins or small protein tags have been generated, also several affinity reagents against fluorescent proteins have been created and used to manipulate target proteins tagged with the corresponding fluorescent protein. Both of these approaches have resulted in improved methods for cell biological and developmental studies. While binders against GFP and mCherry have been previously isolated and validated, we now report the generation and utilization of designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) against the monomeric teal fluorescent protein 1 (mTFP1). Here we use the generated DARPins to delocalize Rab proteins to the nuclear compartment, in which they cannot fulfill their regular functions anymore. In the future, such manipulations might enable the production of acute loss-of-function phenotypes in different cell types or living organisms based on direct protein manipulation rather than on genetic loss-of-function analyses.
Bicuspid aortic valve formation: Nos3 mutation leads to abnormal lineage patterning of neural crest cells and the second heart field
Authors: Peterson Joshua C. , Chughtai Mary , Wisse Lambertus J. , Gittenberger-de Groot Adriana C. , Feng Qingping , Goumans Marie-José T. H. , VanMunsteren J. Conny , Jongbloed Monique R. M. , DeRuiter Marco C.
Published: September 2018

The bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), a valve with two instead of three aortic leaflets, belongs to the most prevalent congenital heart diseases in the world, occurring in 0.5-2% of the general population. We aimed to understand how changes in early cellular contributions result in BAV formation and impact cardiovascular outflow tract development. Detailed 3D reconstructions, immunohistochemistry and morphometrics determined that, during valvulogenesis, the non-coronary leaflet separates from the parietal outflow tract cushion instead of originating from an intercalated cushion. Nos3−/− mice develop a BAV without a raphe as a result of incomplete separation of the parietal outflow tract cushion into the right and non-coronary leaflet. Genetic lineage tracing of endothelial, second heart field and neural crest cells revealed altered deposition of neural crest cells and second heart field cells within the parietal outflow tract cushion of Nos3−/− embryos. The abnormal cell lineage distributions also affected the positioning of the aortic and pulmonary valves at the orifice level. The results demonstrate that the development of the right and non-coronary leaflets are closely related. A small deviation in the distribution of neural crest and second heart field populations affects normal valve formation and results in the predominant right-non-type BAV in Nos3−/− mice.
Taurine activates glycine and GABAA receptor currents in anoxia-tolerant painted turtle pyramidal neurons
Authors: Miles Ashley Rebecca , Hawrysh Peter John , Hossein-Javaheri Nariman , Buck Leslie Thomas
Published: September 2018

Unlike anoxia-intolerant mammals, painted turtles can survive extended periods without oxygen. This is partly accomplished by an anoxia-mediated increase in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) release, which activates GABA receptors and mediates spike arrest in turtle neurons via shunting inhibition. Extracellular taurine levels also increase during anoxia; however, its function is unknown but speculated to involve glycine and/or GABAA/B receptors. Given the general importance of inhibitory neurotransmission in the anoxia-tolerant painted turtle brain, we investigated the function of taurine as an inhibitory neuromodulator in turtle pyramidal neurons. Using whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiological methods to record from neurons within a cortical brain sheet, we found that taurine depolarized membrane potential by approximately 8 mV, increased whole cell conductance by approximately 2-fold, and induced an inward current that possessed characteristics similar to GABA- and glycine-evoked currents. These effects were mitigated following glycine receptor antagonism with strychnine and GABAA receptor antagonism with gabazine, bicuculine, or picrotoxin, but were unchanged following GABAB or glutamatergic receptor inhibition. These data indicate that high concentrations of taurine in vitro mediates its effects through both glycine and GABAA receptors, and suggest that taurine, in addition to GABA, inhibits neuronal activity during anoxia in the turtle cortex.
Interaction between step-to-step variability and metabolic cost of transport during human walking
Authors: Rock Chase G. , Marmelat Vivien , Yentes Jennifer M. , Siu Ka-Chun , Takahashi Kota Z.
Published: September 2018

Minimizing metabolic cost of transport is a strong determinant of the preferred walking speed. While many factors can affect metabolic cost of transport during human walking, its interaction with step-to-step variability is unclear. Here, we aimed to determine the interaction between metabolic cost of transport and step length variability during human walking at different speeds. In particular, two aspects of step length variability were analyzed: the amount of variations (Variations) and the organization of the step-to-step fluctuations (Fluctuations). Ten healthy, young participants walked on a treadmill at five speeds, ranging from 0.75 to 1.75 m s−1. Metabolic cost of transport, step length Variations (coefficient of variation), and step length Fluctuations (quantified via Detrended Fluctuation Analysis) were calculated. A mixed-model ANOVA revealed that Variations and walking speed were strong predictors of metabolic cost of transport (R2=0.917, p<0.001), whereas Fluctuations were not. Preferred walking speed (1.05±0.20 m s−1) was not significantly different from the speed at which metabolic cost of transport was minimized (1.04±0.05 m s−1; p=0.792), nor from the speed at which Fluctuations were most persistent (1.00±0.41 m s−1; p=0.698). The minimization of Variations occurred at a faster speed than preferred (1.56±0.17 m s−1; p<0.001). Step length Variations likely affect metabolic cost of transport because greater Variations are indicative of suboptimal, mechanically inefficient steps. Fluctuations have little or no effect on metabolic cost of transport, but still may relate to preferred walking speed.
Computational genome-wide identification of heat shock protein genes in the bovine genome
Authors: Ajayi Oyeyemi O. , Peters Sunday O. , De Donato Marcos , Sowande Sunday O. , Mujibi Fidalis D.N. , Morenikeji Olanrewaju B. , Thomas Bolaji N. , Adeleke Matthew A. , Imumorin Ikhide G.
Published: September 2018

Background: Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are molecular chaperones known to bind and sequester client proteins under stress.

Methods: To identify and better understand some of these proteins, we carried out a computational genome-wide survey of the bovine genome. For this, HSP sequences from each subfamily (sHSP, HSP40, HSP70 and HSP90) were used to search the Pfam (Protein family) database, for identifying exact HSP domain sequences based on the hidden Markov model. ProtParam tool was used to compute potential physico-chemical parameters detectable from a protein sequence. Evolutionary trace (ET) method was used to extract evolutionarily functional residues of a homologous protein family.

Results: We computationally identified 67 genes made up of 10, 43, 10 and 4 genes belonging to small HSP, HSP40, HSP70 and HSP90 families respectively. These genes were widely dispersed across the bovine genome, except in chromosomes 24, 26 and 27, which lack bovine HSP genes. We found an uncharacterized outer dense fiber (ODF1) gene in cattle with an intact alpha crystallin domain, like other small HSPs. Physico-chemical characteristic of aliphatic index was higher in HSP70 and HSP90 gene families, compared to small HSP and HSP40. Grand average hydropathy showed that small HSP (sHSP), HSP40, HSP70 and HSP90 genes had negative values except for DNAJC22, a member of HSP40 gene family. The uniqueness of DNAJA3 and DNAJB13 among HSP40 members, based on multiple sequence alignment, evolutionary trace analysis and sequence identity dendrograms, suggests evolutionary distinct structural and functional features, with unique roles in substrate recognition and chaperone functions. The monophyletic pattern of the sequence identity dendrograms of cattle, human and mouse HSP sequences suggests functional similarities.

Conclusions: Our computational results demonstrate the first-pass in-silico identification of heat shock proteins and calls for further investigation to better understand their functional roles and mechanisms in Bovidae.
Validation of the Polar RS800CX for assessing heart rate variability during rest, moderate cycling and post-exercise recovery
Authors: Tsitoglou Kyriakos I. , Koutedakis Yiannis , Dinas Petros C.
Published: September 2018

Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) is an autonomic nervous system marker that provides reliable information for both disease prevention and diagnosis; it is also used in sport settings. We examined the validity of the Polar RS800CX heart rate monitor during rest, moderate cycling, and recovery in considering the total of 24 HRV indices.

Method: A total of 32 healthy males (age=24.78±6.87 years, body mass index=24.48±3.13 kg/m2) completed a session comprised by three 20-minute time periods of resting, cycling at 60% of maximal heart rate, and recovery using a Polar RS800CX and an electrocardiogram (ECG) monitors. The HRV indices included time-domain, frequency-domain, Poincaré plot and recurrence plot. Bland–Altman plot analysis was used to estimate agreement between Polar RS800CX and ECG.

Results: We detected significant associations (r>0.75, p<0.05) in all HRV indices, while five out of 24 HRV indices displayed significant mean differences (p<0.05) between Polar RS800CX and ECG during the resting period. However, for the exercise and recovery periods, we found significant mean differences (p<0.05) in 16/24 and 22/24 HRV indices between the two monitors, respectively.

Conclusion: It is concluded that Polar RS800CX is a valid tool for monitoring HRV in individuals at resting conditions, but it displays inconsistency when used during exercise at 60% of maximal heart rate and recovery periods.
Increasing workflow development speed and reproducibility with Vectools
Authors: Weirick Tyler , Müller Raphael , Uchida Shizuka
Published: September 2018

Despite advances in bioinformatics, custom scripts remain a source of difficulty, slowing workflow development and hampering reproducibility. Here, we introduce Vectools, a command-line tool-suite to reduce reliance on custom scripts and improve reproducibility by offering a wide range of common easy-to-use functions for table and vector manipulation. Vectools also offers a number of vector related functions to speed up workflow development, such as simple machine learning and common statistics functions.
Daytime variation in hepatitis C virus replication kinetics following liver transplant
Authors: Zhuang Xiaodong , Lai Alvina G. , McKeating Jane A. , Rowe Ian , Balfe Peter
Published: September 2018

Background: There is a growing interest in the role of circadian regulated pathways in disease pathogenesis.

Methods: In a cohort of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients undergoing liver transplantation, we observed differences in early viral infection kinetics of the allograft that associated with the time of liver transplant.

Results: A higher frequency of subjects transplanted in the morning showed a rebound in viral RNA levels (n=4/6) during the first week post-surgery. In contrast, no viral rebound was observed in seven subjects transplanted in the afternoon. None of the other parameters previously reported to influence viral replication in the post-transplant setting, such as donor age, cold-ischemia time and length of surgery associated with viral rebound.

Conclusions: These observation highlights a role for circadian processes to regulate HCV infection of the liver and warrants further investigation.
Project Technology As a Means of Development of Future Specialist Communitarian Personality
Authors: Филиппова О. , Filippova O.
Published: September 2018

The article reveals the didactic possibilities of the project technology in the university development work of communicative specialization. The author substantiates the importance of communicative competence in acquiring professional skills and proves the effectiveness of project technology in teaching with speech and communicatively oriented disciplines. The role and specificity of each stage are shown in the development of the communicative personality of a philologist on the example of the project activity of the theory of communication.
Terminological Inconsistencies in Foreign And Russian Language Teaching Methodologies And Translation Problems
Authors: Рунова Н. , Runova N.
Published: September 2018

The paper discusses inconsistencies in the terminological systems of Russian and foreign language teaching methodologies and justifies the need to enlarge and update current bilingual dictionaries and manuals of methodological terms. It provides a comparative analysis of the terminological systems in English and Russian by examining the semantic content of basic methodology terms. The paper analyzes new English terms, suggests their translation equivalents and outlines the most productive translation methods.
The Use of Integration Processes in the Cultural Industry of the Saratov Region
Authors: Мальшина Н. , Mal'shina N.
Published: September 2018

Based on the analysis of statistical data of the region, the possibility of using the integration process in the culture industry of the Saratov region was revealed, it is possible to implement through the creation of innovative forms of organizations — integrated service complexes. Within the framework of organizational and economic activities of the mechanism (OEM) of support for the culture industry (IC), organizational activities include several components: the classification of culture services; the classification of the IC market; the formation of a complex of services of the culture industry (CSC); state support, forms of PPP; risk minimization; the formation and implementation of programs services culture within Integrc. Economic activities include the main components: assessment of the potential of IC; formation of information and analytical database of the culture industry (IC IABD); creation of economic and mathematical model of IC services support; cost optimization (creation of IC Integrc); improving the efficiency of IC (economic, social, cultural).
New Pedagogy and E-Learning: History and Modernity
Authors: Кормилицына Татьяна , Kormilicyna Tat'yana
Published: September 2018

The problems that arose in connection with the transition of society to the digital (electronic) stage of development are considered. The new pedagogy and its area of didactics should be aimed at the formation of a new subject of society, which requires new approaches and methods of teaching. The history of the emergence and formation of didactics-from the pre – scientific stage to the digital one in the form of e-didactics-is discussed. The analysis of the main distinctive features of didactics at different stages of development is given. The main attention is paid to the tools of new information technologies – web technologies, given the characteristics of generations of web technologies. The basic concepts of the new pedagogy are presented: web technology, cloud services, cloud technologies, online technologies. Examples of using cloud technologies for the implementation of various learning objectives are given.
The mentality of generations in the fluid modernity
Authors: Пищик Влада , Pischik Vlada
Published: September 2018

The monograph presents a new perspective on the problem of studying the mentality of generations in situations of uncertainty in modern life. The mentality of generations was considered in science from the classical, traditionalist positions as a special mentality, the worldview of large groups. Changing fluid modernity sets a new methodology for studying complex objects, allowing a different approach to the phenomenon of mentality as a construct created by scientists under the influence of the dominant forms of discourse in society. The construction paradigm gave us the opportunity to present the concept of the mentality of generations from different perspectives, when there is no established framework, and the mentality is not the precise form set by each new generation in society. Generations themselves as symbolic research entities reveal moving boundaries and diverse types and types. The studies analyzed in the monograph reflected the diversity of processes occurring at the generation boundaries in their interaction. The paper presents our studies of the mentality of generations in recent years.
Changes in the composition and structure of forest landscape components in the conditions of technogenesis
Authors: Груздев Владимир , Gruzdev Vladimir , Груздева Людмила , Gruzdeva Ludmila , Суслов Сергей , Suslov Sergey
Published: September 2018

The monograph is devoted to the analysis of changes in the structure of natural and agricultural landscapes in the conditions of anthropogenic, including technogenic, impact on landscapes. The monograph summarizes the own research carried out in the forest zone in the subzones of the middle and southern taiga and broad-leaved coniferous forests. Studies were conducted in forests, meadows and swamps, as well as the formation of natural water quality and overgrowing of reservoirs in the forest zone. The composition and structure of zonal plant communities and dynamic successional stages of secondary, derived communities formed on cuttings, fires, under flooding by reservoirs, under technogenic pollution, as well as under integrated anthropogenic impact are considered. Factors of technogenic transformation of landscapes are analyzed. The analysis of the complex of anthropogenic impacts and identified the main trends in anthropogenic dynamics of soil and vegetation cover, provides recommendations for optimization and rationalization of natural resources under anthropogenic influence. Questions of formation of geotechnical systems, their structure and questions of interaction in systems "man and nature"are considered.
The monograph is of interest to environmentalists, geographers, biologists, it can be used in the work of state bodies for monitoring the state of the environment and in the educational process — teachers and students in ecology, nature management, biology, environmental monitoring, engineering arrangement of the territory, as well as researchers, graduate students and applicants.
A Stochastic Programming Approach for Appointment Scheduling Under Limited Availability of Surgery Turnover Teams
Authors: Gul Serhat
Published: September 2018

The number and availability of turnover teams may significantly affect the performance of a surgery schedule. We propose a two-stage stochastic integer programming formulation for setting the patient appointment times for surgeries under limited availability of turnover teams. We assume that a surgery schedule has already been created, and study how the schedule may be refined. We consider the durations of surgical operation and turnover to be random variables. The objective is to minimize the competing criteria of expected patient waiting time and operating room idle time. We discuss an implementation of a heuristic to generate near-optimal surgery schedules. We conduct numerical experiments using data from a large hospital. We compare the heuristic with a well-known and practical procedure used in earlier studies for setting patient appointment times for surgeries. Finally, we evaluate the impact of the number of turnover teams into the surgery schedules with respect to performance criteria of interest.
Optimal Liver Acceptance for Risk-Sensitive Patients
Authors: Batun Sakine , Schaefer Andrew J. , Bhandari Atul , Roberts Mark S.
Published: September 2018

To be eligible for a cadaveric liver transplant in the United States, a patient must join a waiting list maintained by UNOS, which allocates livers using a complex priority system. When a liver offer is made, each patient must decide whether to accept the offer. Although a vast majority of patients are known to be risk-sensitive when making health-related decisions, earlier work on organ-acceptance decisions assumes that patients are risk-neutral and maximize life expectancy. We extend previous research by including patient risk preferences in modeling patient decision making. They illustrate that for a given health state (or liver quality), the best decision is to accept an offer if liver quality (or health state) is higher (or worse) than a certain threshold level and that these threshold levels depend on the risk preferences of the patient. Numerical studies reveal that assuming risk neutrality may lead to substantial losses in expected utility, particularly when a sicker patient receives a lower-quality liver offer. The insight for decision makers: Because of patient risk preferences, a life expectancy-maximizing liver-acceptance policy is not necessarily the best policy; it may actually cause significant losses in expected utility.
Trial Termination and Drug Misclassification in Sequential Adaptive Clinical Trials
Authors: Rojas-Cordova Alba C. , Hosseinichimeh Niyousha
Published: September 2018

Sequential adaptive clinical trials allow for early termination of drug testing at interim analysis points if the evidence suggests that the candidate drug or therapy is effective (stopping for benefit) or that the drug will not demonstrate to be better than existing therapies (stopping for futility). Early stopping allows the trial sponsor to mitigate investment risks on ineffective drugs and to shorten the development timeline of effective drugs, thus reducing costs and expediting patients’ access to these new therapies. However, this new flexibility may translate into a higher risk of deriving incorrect conclusions from the trial in the form of false positives or false negatives. The authors examine the causes and implications of wrongly terminating the development of an effective drug, which may lead to unrecoverable expenses and unfulfilled patient needs. The authors find that the risk of deriving incorrect conclusions from the trial increases with the number of interim analyses performed throughout its course. The insight for management: Contrary to the literature’s focus on false positives, false negatives can be more likely; thus, whenever the drug’s characteristics and the targeted disease permit, aggressive trial designs should be chosen over conservative ones to detect small but beneficial treatment differences.
Optimization of Telemedicine Appointments in Rural Areas
Authors: Erdogan S. Ayca , Krupski Tracey L. , Lobo Jennifer Mason
Published: September 2018

What is the optimal number of patients to schedule for a telemedicine clinic, and when should they be scheduled to arrive? Telemedicine services are increasingly being used to provide medical care to patients in rural areas; thus, it is important to determine the best way to schedule patients given factors such as length of the clinic day, time needed to sanitize procedure equipment, and patients missing their appointments. The authors provide scheduling insights for a telemedicine clinic that provides procedures for bladder cancer surveillance in rural Virginia. They find that between five and seven patients should be scheduled for this clinic depending on whether the clinic would rather minimize provider overtime (five patients) or see as many patients as possible without excessive overtime (seven patients). When minimizing provider overtime, it is recommended to schedule patients close together at the beginning of the day and after lunch, because some patients may not come to their appointments. The findings from this work have informed scheduling practices at the telemedicine clinic in rural Virginia. The insight for management is that optimal appointment scheduling has the potential to reduce provider downtime between patients and efficiently allow more patients to benefit from specialty care via telemedicine.
SELECTION OF INDUSTRIAL MAINTENANCE STRATEGY: CLASSICAL AHP AND FUZZY AHP APPLICATIONS
Authors: Ohta Robison
Published: September 2018

The selection of a maintenance strategy is a decision often made with uncertainty or subjectivity. This decision involves the prioritization of critical factors since there are several factors to be considered simultaneously. Decision-making generally depends on subjective assessments from experts. To deal with multiple factors, Analytic Hierarchy Processes (AHP) is a well-established multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method.  This article presents an AHP application for the selection of a maintenance strategy by a real industrial plant. Four maintenance strategies are considered: Corrective Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, Predictive Maintenance, and Proactive Maintenance. Decision criteria are cost, quality, safety, value added and viability. Then, incorporating the concepts of the fuzzy set theory, fuzzy AHP was applied to the same decision problem. In both applications, Corrective Maintenance was the strategy with the highest priority, and value added was the highest priority criterion. With the classical AHP application, some comparison matrices produced Consistency Ratios (CR) greater than 0.10, possibly generated by mistakes or misunderstandings from experts. However, the same result was obtained from fuzzy AHP and validated the result obtained from classical AHP application. The major contribution of the paper is the evidence that Fuzzy AHP may be a useful tool to solve the consistency problems in classical AHP applications.
IJAHP is now indexed in SCOPUS
Authors: Mu Enrique
Published: September 2018

We have good news for our readers and authors. IJAHP has been officially approved for indexing in SCOPUS beginning with all articles published in 2018...
A Brief Literature Review for Fuzzy AHP
Authors: Kahraman Cengiz
Published: September 2018

AHP is an effective tool for dealing with complex hierarchical decision making problems (Saaty, 1980). It divides a large complex problem into small and easily solvable sub-problems and then combines the solutions of these small problems in order to obtain the solution of the large problem. AHP uses a 1 to 9 scale whose linguistic expressions are defined accordingly. However, the representation of a linguistic term by an exact number may not fully reflect a decision maker’s judgments in his/her mind. Fuzzy numbers and scales have been developed to consider this issue in the literature (Zadeh, 1965). In this essay, a brief literature review on fuzzy AHP studies is given.
Mikobiota pada Buah Pisang Kultivar Lampung untuk Pengendalian Hayati Fusarium semitectum
Authors: Dharmaputra Okky Setyawati , Sudirman Lisdar Idwan , Ratnaningsih Evarini Anna
Published: September 2018

Fusarium semitectum is a pathogenic fungus causing fruit rot of banana fruits. Biological control agents have been used as an alternative to control postharvest diseases. The objective of this study was to test antagonistic potential of mycobiota of banana fruits (Musa cuminata cultivar Lampung) against F. semitectum BIO 91055. The tested fungi were isolated from healthy banana cultivar Lampung collected from Gembrong market located in Bogor using serial dilution method, followed by pour plate method. Test of antagonism activity was carried out using dual culture method. Seventeen fungal isolates were isolated, they consisted of 14 filamentous fungal isolates and 3 yeast isolates. Four filamentous fungal isolates inhibited the growth of F. semitectum BIO 91055 more than 70%, they were Aspergillus niger, Cercosporella sp., Plectosphaerella sp., and Trichoderma hamatum. Three isolates (Cercosporella sp., Plectosphaerella sp., and Trichoderma hamatum) did not cause any diseases of banana fruits and they were considered as potential biocontrol agents.
An overdetermined problem for the infinity-Laplacian around a set of positive reach
Authors: Greco Antonio
Published: September 2018

We consider an overdetermined problem associated to an inhomogeneous
infinity-Laplace equation. More precisely, the domain of the problem
is required to contain a given compact set K of positive reach, and
the boundary of the domain must lie within the reach of K. We look
for a solution vanishing at the boundary and such that the outer
derivative depends only on the distance from K. We prove that if the
boundary gradient grows fast enough with respect to such distance
(faster than the distance raised to

1
3

{\frac{1}{3}}

), then the problem is
solvable if and only if the domain is a tubular neighborhood of K,
thus extending a previous result valid in the case when K is made up
of a single point.
The ‘Pre–Socratic Section’ Of Philodemus’ On Piety: A New Reconstruction Praesocratica Herculanensia X (Part Ii)
Authors: Vassallo Christian
Published: September 2018

This paper is divided into two parts: the first presents all the papyrological and bibliological observations necessary for a new edition of P.Herc. 1428 (= LDAB 3563; TM 62400) which comes from the large Herculanean roll that contains Philodemus’ treatise On Piety. The second part provides a new critical reconstruction, along with translation and notes, of the ‘pre-Socratic section’ of P.Herc. 1428, in which Philodemus, via his harsh polemics against previous theological thought, critically lays out the Presocratic opinions on the gods, from Thales to the Sophists.
Chaotic Behavior of Duffing Energy Harvester
Authors: Bahrami Amir , Tayarani Majid
Published: September 2018

A wide bandwidth energy harvester is designed with the purpose of operation under multiple excitations, where the excitation frequencies are generally incommensurate and probably spectrally close to each other. Owing this wideness of bandwidth to the nonlinearity of the circuit escalates the jeopardy of chaotic behavior while the circuit is exposed to multiple energy sources. In this study, the recently introduced Duffing based energy harvester is analyzed under multiple excitations and finally, a safe margin is calculated to avoid tumultuous behaviors which may affect adjacent sensitive electrical systems. The mathematical analyses given in this paper can be generalized to other types of nonlinear resonators.
Solidarity and Responsibility in the Euro Area: Foes or Friends?
Authors: Fracasso Andrea
Published: September 2018

The recent debate on the reform of the economic governance in the euro area has been marred by a stark disagreement on the correct sequence between risk-reduction (responsibility) and risk-sharing (solidarity). In fact, the dichotomy between risk-reduction and risk-sharing may be fallacious as they reinforce each other, particularly in a monetary union with no lender of last resort for the public sector and no common macroeconomic stabilization mechanisms. The lack of risk-sharing mechanisms is per se a major source of redenomination and default risks and thus it makes the euro area prone to financial market segmentation along national borders and ultimately weaker. At the same time, greater structural convergence has to be achieved through structural reforms and fiscal prudence in order to reduce the likelihood of future negative idiosyncratic shocks in currently vulnerable countries. Notwithstanding some progress towards a politically viable solution encompassing both responsibility and solidarity, a number of important issues remain controversial. This short article summarizes the debate and introduces some of these controversial issues, ranging from the correct role of market discipline when markets are prone to self-fulfilling prophecies and multiple equilibria, to the (dis)advantages of sovereign debt restructuring mechanisms based on rules rather than discretion, from the pros and cons of new safe assets in the euro area to the primacy of coping with debt legacy problems, and the like.
Dense free subgroups of automorphism groups of homogeneous partially ordered sets
Authors: Głab Szymon , Gordinowicz Przemysław , Strobin Filip
Published: September 2018

A countable poset is ultrahomogeneous if every isomorphism between its finite subposets can be extended to an automorphism. If A is such a poset, then the group

Aut
⁡

(
A
)

{\operatorname{Aut}(A)}

has a natural topology in which

Aut
⁡

(
A
)

{\operatorname{Aut}(A)}

is a Polish topological group. We consider the problem of whether

Aut
⁡

(
A
)

{\operatorname{Aut}(A)}

contains a dense free subgroup of two generators. We show that if A is ultrahomogeneous, then

Aut
⁡

(
A
)

{\operatorname{Aut}(A)}

contains such a subgroup. Moreover, we characterize those countable ultrahomogeneous posets A such that for each natural number m the set of all cyclically dense elements

g
¯

∈
Aut

(
A
)

m

{\overline{g}\in\operatorname{Aut}(A)^{m}}

for the diagonal action is comeager in

Aut

(
A
)

m

{\operatorname{Aut}(A)^{m}}

. In our considerations we strongly use the result of Schmerl which says that there are essentially four types of countably infinite ultrahomogeneous posets.
On the automorphism group of a symplectic half-flat 6-manifold
Authors: Podestà Fabio , Raffero Alberto
Published: September 2018

We prove that the automorphism group of a compact 6-manifold M endowed with a symplectic half-flat

SU
⁢

(
3
)

{\mathrm{SU}(3)}

-structure has Abelian Lie algebra with dimension bounded by

min
⁡

{
5
,

b
1

⁢

(
M
)

}

{\min\{5,b_{1}(M)\}}

. Moreover, we study the properties of the automorphism group action and we discuss relevant examples. In particular, we provide new complete examples on

T
⁢

𝕊
3

{T\mathbb{S}^{3}}

which are invariant under a cohomogeneity one action of

SO
⁢

(
4
)

{\mathrm{SO}(4)}

.
Synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of isoxazole-substituted 1,3,4-oxadiazoles
Authors: Marri Srinivas , Kakkerla Ramu , Murali Krishna Mudumba Phali Surya , Venkat Rajam Manchikatla
Published: September 2018

Synthesis of N-(5-methylisoxazol-3-yl)-2-(5-aryl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)acetamides 5a–k was achieved from readily available materials. The compounds were screened for their in vitro antimicrobial activity against representative bacterial and fungal strains. Compounds 5b, 5d and 5f exhibit good activity.
Effect of Current on Segregation and Inclusions Characteristics of Dual Alloy Ingot Processed by Electroslag Remelting
Authors: Liu Yu , Zhang Zhao , Li Guangqiang , Wang Qiang , Li Baokuan
Published: September 2018

Three dual alloy ingots were processed by electroslag remelting with 1500 A, 1800 A and 2100 A. The compositions and inclusions of ingots were analyzed by means of various analytical techniques. The results show that the segregation becomes severer with the increase of current. With the current increasing, the proportion of inclusions with large size, the T.[O] and sulfur content in the ingot increase, showing a worse cleanliness due to the severer electrode surface oxidation and shorter interaction time between slag pool and film of molten steel at the electrode tip. The single (Mn,Cr)S inclusion can precipitate in transition zone of each ingot and NiCrMoV zone of ingot with 1800 A and 2100 A due to higher sulfur content and the solute segregation during solidification. The ingot processed by ESR with 1500 A performed a balanced quality.
Microstructural Evolution and Phase Transformation on the X-Y Surface of Inconel 718 Ni-Based Alloys Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting under Different Heat Treatment
Authors: Liu Peng , Sun Siyu , Cao Meiqing , Gong Jianhong , Hu Jiaying
Published: September 2018

Microstructure, hardness, precipitates and phase transformation on the X-Y surface of Inconel 718 Ni-based alloys fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) were studied before and after a suitable heat treatment. The test results show that the obvious weld beads structure was observed on the surface of the as-built alloys, and the microstructure shows seriously inhomogeneous with distributing columnar crystals and fine dendrites. When the 720°C, 3 h/furnace cooling+620°C and 3 h/air cooling was used, the columnar and small dendritic crystals begun to transform into bulk crystals, and the weld beads structure disappeared instantly. The X-Y surface hardness of alloys is about HV490-540, which is higher than the one of other heat treatment processes. With the increase of solid solution temperature, the microstructure on the surface of alloys shows an obvious refining characterization. The hardness value on the surface was also reduced gradually. The typical columnar crystals, dendrites, intermetallic compounds and precipitated hardening phase (Cr-Fe-Mo-Ni, FeNi and Ni8Nb) were also reduced or could not be found. Under the solid solution process of 950°C, the fine homogeneous δ phase and γ′ phase in the grain or near the grain boundary had an important effect on the suitable surface hardness value (HV476-500) of alloys.
The finite unipotent groups consisting of bireflections
Authors: Horan Katherine , Fleischmann Peter
Published: September 2018

Let k be a field of characteristic p and V a finite-dimensional k-vector space.
An element

g
∈

GL
⁢

(
V
)

{g\in{\rm GL}(V)}

is called a bireflection if it centralizes a subspace of
codimension less than or equal to 2. It is known by a result of Kemper that if
for a finite p-group

G
≤

GL
⁢

(
V
)

{G\leq{\rm GL}(V)}

the ring of invariants

Sym
⁢

(

V
*

)

G

{{\rm Sym}(V^{*})^{G}}

is Cohen–Macaulay, G is generated by bireflections. Although the converse is false in general, it holds
in special cases e.g. for particular families of groups consisting of bireflections.
In this paper we give, for

p
>
2

{p>2}

, a classification of all finite unipotent subgroups of

GL
⁢

(
V
)

{{\rm GL}(V)}

consisting of bireflections. Our description of the groups is given explicitly in terms useful
for exploring the corresponding rings of invariants. This further analysis will be the topic
of a forthcoming paper.
Cross-Layer Optimization and Cascadability of Optical Switches in Fiber Optic Data Networks
Authors: Kumar Ravi , Tripathi Anurag
Published: September 2018

In the most recent years, developing web applications such as cloud computing, Big Data and latest cell phone applications have added more workload on the server centers. With the expansion on the network traffic, the consumption of power also increases. In past to reduce power consumption AWG based optical switch designs are proposed, and BER, energy consumption analysis has been carried out in isolated switch. In this paper, cascadability analysis of optical switches in fiber optic and data center networks is presented, and BER is calculated for isolated and cascaded switches. In fixing switch size concepts of graph theory and small world model are used. The packet loss performance is also simulated under different loading and buffering conditions. Finally, cross layer optimization concept is discussed in fixing various switch parameters.