bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Concomitant use of low‐dose methotrexate and NSAIDs and the risk of serious adverse events among patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Svanström Henrik , Lund Marie , Melbye Mads , Pasternak Björn
Published: May 2018

Purpose

Case reports and pharmacokinetic studies have suggested that concomitant use of low‐dose methotrexate and nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may be associated with increased risk of methotrexate toxicity. This study aimed to investigate the risk of serious adverse events associated with concomitant use of low‐dose methotrexate and NSAIDs, compared with use of methotrexate alone, among patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods

The study was conducted as a register‐based cohort study in Denmark, 2004 to 2015, including episodes of concomitant use of methotrexate and NSAIDs (n = 21 536) and control episodes of use of methotrexate alone (n = 21 725). The primary outcome was the composite end point any serious adverse event, including liver toxicity, acute renal failure, and cytopenia. Secondary outcomes were the individual outcome components. Analyses were conducted using proportional‐hazards regression, with adjustment using inverse‐probability‐of‐treatment weighting based on propensity scores.

Results

During follow‐up, 110 cases of the primary outcome occurred during concomitant use of methotrexate and NSAIDs (unadjusted incidence rate 12.1 per 1000 person‐years) and 129 during control episodes (11.0 per 1000 person‐years). Concomitant use of methotrexate and NSAIDs was associated with a significantly increased risk of any serious adverse event (weighted hazard ratio 1.40; 95% CI, 1.07‐1.82). In secondary analyses, concomitant use of methotrexate and NSAIDs was associated with a significantly increased risk of acute renal failure and cytopenia.

Conclusions

Concomitant use of low‐dose methotrexate and NSAIDs was associated with a significantly increased risk of serious adverse events, expanding on the evidence base for current regulatory recommendations that advocate caution when low‐dose methotrexate and NSAID are coprescribed.
Projecting the current and future potential global distribution ofHyphantria cunea(Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) using CLIMEX
Authors: Ge Xuezhen , He Shanyong , Zhu Chenyi , Wang Tao , Xu Zhichun , Zong Shixiang
Published: May 2018

BACKGROUND

The international invasive and quarantined defoliating insectHyphantria cuneaDrury (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) causes huge ecological and economic losses in the world. Furthermore, future climate change may alter the distribution ofH. cuneaand aggravate the damage. In the present study, we used CLIMEX to project the potential global distribution ofH. cuneaaccording to both historical climate data (1961–1990) and future climate warming estimates (2011–2100) to define the impact of climate change.

RESULTS

Under the historical climate scenario, we found thatH. cuneacan survive on every continent, and temperature is the main factor that limits its establishment. With climate change, suitability will increase in middle and high latitude regions, while decrease in the low latitude regions. Moreover, tropic regions will be the most sensitive to climate change impacts for the pest to survive. The impacts of climate change will also increase over time, whether they be positive impacts or negative impacts.

CONCLUSION

The projected potential distributions provide a theoretical basis for quarantine and control strategies for the management of this pest in each country. Furthermore, these results provide substantial guidance for studies of the effects of climate change on other major forest pests. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry
On superposition of Hammerstein systems: Application to simultaneous hysteresis‐dynamics compensation
Authors: Liu Jiangbo , Zou Qingze
Published: May 2018

Superposition principle (SP)—the response (output) of a linear system to a weighted combination of inputs equals to the combination of the outputs with the same weights and each corresponding to the individual input, respectively—is one of the most fundamental properties of linear systems, and has been exploited for controls, for example, in the development of model predictive control. Extension of the superposition principle beyond linear systems, however, is largely limited. In this paper, the almost superposition of Hammerstein systems (ASHS) and its application to precision control of hysteresis‐Hammerstein systems is studied. We first show, under some minor conditions, the existence of a nonstrict form ASHS, and under one further condition, the strict‐form ASHS. We then present one application of the ASHS—simultaneous hysteresis and dynamics compensation in output tracking of hysteresis‐Hammerstein systems, where offline iterative learning control to track the output elements is integrated with online synthesis of the control input via an inverse Preisach modeling. The proposed ASHS‐based technique is further enhanced through two online optimization schemes, and then illustrated through a simulation example on piezoelectric actuators model.
Two‐stage stability control for strict‐feedback systems with input delays and input nonlinear uncertainties
Authors: Yan Shuai , Sun Weichao , Fei Zhongyang
Published: May 2018

In this paper, a two‐stage control procedure is proposed for stabilization of a class of strict‐feedback systems with unknown constant time delays and nonlinear uncertainties in the input. A nominal controller is first designed to compensate input time delays without considering input nonlinear uncertainties. Extended from backstepping algorithm, input delay compensation is realized by means of predicted states that are computed through integration of cascaded system dynamics, making the nominal closed‐loop system asymptotically stable. Based on the nominal controller presented for the input delay system, a multi‐timescale system is subsequently developed to estimate the unknown input nonlinearity and make the estimate approach the nominal control input as fast as possible. It is proved that the proposed control scheme can make states of the strict‐feedback systems converge to zero and all the signals of the closed‐loop systems are guaranteed to be bounded in the presence of input time delays and nonlinear uncertainties. Simulation verification is carried out to illuminate the effectiveness of the proposed control approach.
Li–Ion‐Conducting Pillar‐Like Graphitic Carbon Nitrides as Novel Anodes for Li–Ion Batteries
Authors: Gope Subhra , Malunavar Sneha , Bhattacharyya Aninda J.
Published: May 2018

There is still a sustained effort to explore and develop new electrode materials for Li‐ion rechargeable batteries. Presently, materials exploration not only focuses on the enhancement of Li‐ion battery performance, but also targets to make them cheaper and safer. This expectedly will make them market competitive against established battery chemistries. Graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4), which has emerged as an important photon harvesting material, is demonstrated here as a potential efficient and cost effective alternative anode for Li‐ion cells. The g‐C3N4, synthesized here from pyrolysis of thiourea, possesses both graphitic and amorphous phases (T‐gCN). The intercalation of Li+ ions in the densely packed layered structure of T‐gCN (lithiated T‐gCN) results in an ionic conductivity ≈ 10−7 S/cm compared to the non‐lithiated T‐gCN which shows no ionic conductivity. The ionic transport takes place via both the amorphous and graphitic phases in T‐gCN. The T‐gCN when treated with an acidified dichromate solution disintegrates in to filaments, which on prolonged stirring self‐assemble into pillar‐like g‐C3N4 structures (T‐gCNP). The T‐gCNP exhibited higher crystallinity and an even higher ionic conductivity compared to the T‐gCN. The T‐gCN and T‐gCNP deliver modest specific capacities compared to battery grade graphite and other reported carbonaceous/non‐carbonaceous materials in the half‐cell operation. However, when coupled with cathodes such as LiFePO4 and LiMn2O4 in a full Li‐ion cell, the specific capacity obtained in the 1st discharge cycle for both LiFePO4 and LiMn2O4 are very close to their theoretical capacities. The cells display stable cycling and good current rate capability over widely varying current values. This is remarkable in spite of the fact that the samples are not completely crystalline with an average carbon content of approximately 31%. It is envisaged that a continuous network persists for electron transport for their participation in the reversible redox process.
Click Chemistry Inspired Design, Synthesis and Molecular Docking Studies of Coumarin, Quinolinone Linked 1,2,3‐Triazoles as Promising Anti‐Microbial Agents
Authors: Savanur Hemantkumar M. , Naik Krishna N. , Ganapathi Shailaja M. , Kim Kang Min , Kalkhambkar Rajesh G.
Published: May 2018

A series of new coumarin, quinolinone and benzyl linked 1,2,3‐triazole derivatives have been synthesized and screened for their anti‐bacterial and anti‐fungal activities. Results of bioassay indicate that, compounds containing chloro and methoxy substituents in coumarin (6 j), chloro substitution in quinolinone (7 g) and 3‐chloro benzyl analogue (8 f) exhibit excellent anti‐bacterial activities. The results of anti‐fungal activities also reveal that methoxy and chloro substituted coumarins (6 e and 6 j) were highly active against yeast strains. In addition, chloro and methyl substituted coumarins (6 h and 6 i) were also exhibited excellent activity. Further, methyl substituted quinolinone with chloro substituted coumarin (7 f) was found to highly active against yeast fungi and filamentous strain A.niger. It is evident from the results obtained and SAR studies that electron withdrawing or donating character of the substituents do not seem to be a major factor in increasing or decreasing anti‐microbial activity.
Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of 1H‐1,2,3‐Triazol‐4‐yl‐methyl Tethered 3‐Pyrrolylisatins as Potent Anti‐Breast Cancer Agents
Authors: Jain Ruchi , Gahlyan Parveen , Dwivedi Sonam , Konwar Rituraj , Kumar Sudhir , Bhandari Mamta , Arora Ritu , Kakkar Rita , Kumar Rakesh , Prasad Ashok K.
Published: May 2018

Cancer is a class of diseases that is characterized by the uncontrollable or unstoppable growth of abnormal cells with the potential to invade or spread to other normal body parts. According to WHO estimates, globally 10 million new cancer cases are diagnosed each year. Its 100% prevention becomes a major challenge for the scientific fraternity. Therefore, there is an urgent need to discover new drugs that could overcome the present issue. In order to meet the challenges, a library of 22 novel 1H‐1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐yl‐methyl tethered 3‐pyrrolyl isatin derivatives have been synthesized and well characterized by using different spectral techniques. The newly synthesized conjugates were screened for their anti‐proliferative activity against breast cancer MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐231, as well as human embryonic HEK 293 cell lines by 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cytotoxicity studies revealed that six of the compounds among entire series are three‐fold more potent than the commercially available reference drug tamoxifen against MDA‐MB‐231 and relatively safe towards HEK‐293 cells. In order to validate experimental results, the possible binding interaction of the most potent conjugate and tamoxifen with Topoisomerase II has been scrutinized by molecular docking studies.
Magnetic Isinglass a Nano‐Bio Support for Copper Immobilization: Cu–IG@Fe3O4 a Heterogeneous Catalyst for Triazoles Synthesis
Authors: Dolatkhah Zahra , Javanshir Shahrzad , Bazgir Ayoob , Mohammadkhani Abolfazl
Published: May 2018

A green magnetically heterogeneous catalyst was prepared by the copper immobilization onto magnetic isinglass as a nano bio‐support. The prepared catalyst was used as an effective and reusable catalyst for click synthesis of triazoles by the three‐component reaction of benzyl halide or phenacyl bromides, aryl acetylenes and sodium azide in water as the best green solvent.
Synthesis of Benzo[b]furan Derivatives via S8‐Nano particles/β‐cyclodextrin: An Environmentally Friendly Approach
Authors: Ansari Mohd Danish , Sagir Hozeyfa , Yadav Vijay B. , Yadav Neetu , Siddiqui I R
Published: May 2018

The synergistic effect of S8‐nanoparticles and β‐cyclodextrin as heterogeneous catalyst system for the synthesis of different benzo[b]furan derivatives from resorcinol and arylglyoxal has been described. This protocol provides a new, environment‐sustainable and simple strategy to construct benzo[b]furans via formation of three new bonds (C−C and C−O) under transition metal‐free conditions. A high catalytic activity and easy recyclability for several times with consistent activity are the additional eco‐friendly aspects of this catalytic system.
Sterically Shielded Stable Carbenes and Biscarbenes of the 1,2,4‐Triazole Series: A New Method for the Preparation of 1,3,4‐Triaryl‐1,2,4‐triazol‐5‐ylidenes
Authors: Glinyanaya Nataliya V. , Korotkikh Nikolai I. , Cowley Alan H. , Williams Owen , Jones Richard A. , Lynch Vincent M. , Kiselyov Artyom V. , Rayenko Gennady F. , Derevenets Maria A. , Ryabitsky Alexey B. , Palomero Orhi Esarte , Shvaika Oles P.
Published: May 2018

The 1‐adamantyl substituted stable carbene 5 and the biscarbene 9 of the 1,2,4‐triazole series with sterically shielding groups at the position 4 of the heterocyclic ring (dbmp, dipp) have been synthesized in three steps starting from the derivatives of 1,3,4‐oxadiazole 1,6. A new method for the preparation of 1,3,4‐triaryl‐1,2,4‐triazol‐5‐ylidenes (14 a‐c) has also been proposed and includes the Vilsmeier reaction of 2‐benzoyl‐1‐formylphenylhydrazine with phosphorus chloroxide and aromatic amines, followed by deprotonation of the obtained 1,3,4‐triaryl‐1,2,4‐triazolium salts. The method allows introduction of steric shielding substituents to the 4‐position of the heterocycle. The resulting carbenes show promise as nucleophilic catalysts and ligands for carbene complex catalysts of organic reactions.
C‐N and N‐N bond formation via Reductive Cyclization: Progress in Cadogan /Cadogan‐Sundberg Reactionǂ
Authors: Kaur Manpreet , Kumar Raj
Published: May 2018

Cadogan/Cadogan‐Sundberg cyclization reaction has been reported as one of the most efficient routes for the synthesis of a wide variety of N‐heterocycles from the easily accessible starting materials such as o‐nitrobiaryls or o‐nitroarenes, o‐nitrostyrenes by treating with tetravalent phosphorus compounds (trialkyl or triaryl phosphines or trialkyl phosphites). The reaction has been successfully employed in Carbon‐Carbon as well as Carbon‐Nitrogen bond formation for the scaffolds like carbazole, indoles, coumarins, and indazoles. To the best of authors’ knowledge, the present review is the first compilation of the literature from almost two decades (2000 to present) on Cadogan/Cadogan‐Sundberg cyclization reaction, its scope, mechanistic aspects, and limitations.
Strong Coupling of MoS2 Nanosheets and Nitrogen‐Doped Graphene for High‐Performance Pseudocapacitance Lithium Storage
Authors: Lei Zhendong , Xu Laiqiang , Jiao Yalong , Du Aijun , Zhang Yong , Zhang Haijiao
Published: May 2018

Layered material MoS2 is widely applied as a promising anode for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, a scalable and facile dopamine‐assisted hydrothermal technique for the preparation of strongly coupled MoS2 nanosheets and nitrogen‐doped graphene (MoS2/N‐G) composite is developed. In this composite, the interconnected MoS2 nanosheets are well wrapped onto the surface of graphene, forming a unique veil‐like architecture. Experimental results indicate that dopamine plays multiple roles in the synthesis: a binding agent to anchor and uniformly disperse MoS2 nanosheets, a morphology promoter, and the precursor for in situ nitrogen doping during the self‐polymerization process. Density functional theory calculations further reveal that a strong interaction exists at the interface of MoS2 nanosheets and nitrogen‐doped graphene, which facilitates the charge transfer in the hybrid system. When used as the anode for LIBs, the resulting MoS2/N‐G composite electrode exhibits much higher and more stable Li‐ion storage capacity (e.g., 1102 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1) than that of MoS2/G electrode without employing the dopamine linker. Significantly, it is also identified that the thin MoS2 nanosheets display outstanding high‐rate capability due to surface‐dominated pseudocapacitance contribution.
Efficient, Scalable, and High‐Temperature Selective Solar Absorbers Based on Hybrid‐Strategy Plasmonic Metamaterials
Authors: Li Yang , Li Dezhao , Zhou Dan , Chi Cheng , Yang Shihe , Huang Baoling
Published: May 2018

Solar‐thermal energy conversion is a promising technology that enables efficient harvesting of sunlight for a broad range of applications. High‐performance spectrally selective absorbers with excellent thermal stability are the key to developing efficient high‐temperature solar‐thermal systems. Recently, plasmonic metamaterial absorbers (PMAs) made of high‐loss and refractory materials have aroused special interests, because of their unique capability to trap and absorb sunlight through deep‐subwavelength structures with highly tunable spectral selectivity. However, the performance of current PMAs is far from satisfactory owing to both imperfect visible light absorption and ultrahigh infrared emission. Herein, by introducing out‐of‐plane plasmonic coupling between triangular nanodisks and a tantalum reflector in a metal–insulator–metal (MIM) sandwich structure, we developed 240‐nm‐thick hybrid‐strategy (structure‐, material‐, and shape‐based) PMAs, which demonstrate full‐spectrum sunlight absorption and greatly reduced infrared emission, ultimately boosting the record‐high solar‐thermal efficiency (1000 K) of PMAs from 66.4% to 77.3% under 100‐sun illumination. This superior performance is not only stable at temperatures of 1000 K, but also robust to the variations in the constituent materials of top nanodisks and dielectric spacers. Moreover, the performance of such PMAs is independent of the lateral periodicity or orientations of meta‐atoms, paving the way for their large‐scale deployment.
Desulfurization of Iron Ores: Processes and Challenges
Authors: Rezvanipour Hassan , Mostafavi Ali , Ahmadi Ali , Karimimobarakabadi Mohammad , Khezri Mohsen
Published: May 2018

Various studies have been increasingly performed on the reduction of sulfur content of iron ores and concentrates. The presence of sulfur in these materials causes technical problems in steel and alloys and environmental issues in the sintering of iron ore process. The achievement of higher sulfur removal rates has been an important goal since the development of sulfur removal techniques. In this research, an effort is made to separately introduce the various processes, industrial practices, and fundamental research activities to remove sulfur from iron ores, concentrates, or roasted iron ores. In this way, the optimized condition and latest innovations in sulfur removal using flotation are reviewed and the development of leaching and bioleaching techniques for sulfur reduction is introduced; following the development of thermal decomposition, physical separation methods, and magnetic separation technique are discussed. In each section, a brief introduction of fundamentals for the sulfur removal techniques and their potential advantages for sulfur removal are described and challenges for each technique are presented. Finally, the techniques are compared from technical, economic and environmental viewpoints, and future trends in desulfurization of iron ores are presented.
Prediction of nonlinear seismic demands of high‐rise rocking wall structures using a simplified modal pushover analysis procedure
Authors: Najam Fawad Ahmed , Qureshi Muhammad Irshad , Warnitchai Pennung , Mehmood Tahir
Published: May 2018

This study presents a simplified analysis procedure for the convenient estimation of nonlinear seismic demands of high‐rise rocking wall structures. For this purpose, the displacement modification approach used in the nonlinear static procedure of ASCE/SEI 41‐13 is adopted. However, in the current study, this approach is extended to every significant vibration mode of the structure whereas the displacement modifying coefficients for different modes are calculated using the typical flag‐shaped hysteresis behavior of rocking walls. The parameters of this hysteresis behavior are selected to represent rocking walls with a practical range of energy dissipation capacity and postgap‐opening stiffness. The computed peak inelastic‐to‐elastic displacement ratios are presented as mean spectra, which can be used for the convenient estimation of pushover target displacement for every significant vibration mode. The accuracy of proposed procedure is examined using the seismic demands obtained from the nonlinear response history analysis of a 20‐story case study rocking wall structure. Furthermore, a modal decomposition technique is used to determine the individual modal seismic demands. The proposed procedure is found to predict both the combined and the individual modal demands with a reasonable accuracy and can serve as a convenient analysis option for the design and performance evaluation of high‐rise rocking wall systems.
Droplet microfluidics for high‐sensitivity and high‐throughput detection and screening of disease biomarkers
Authors: Kaushik Aniruddha M. , Hsieh Kuangwen , Wang Tza‐Huei
Published: May 2018

Biomarkers are nucleic acids, proteins, single cells, or small molecules in human tissues or biological fluids whose reliable detection can be used to confirm or predict disease and disease states. Sensitive detection of biomarkers is therefore critical in a variety of applications including disease diagnostics, therapeutics, and drug screening. Unfortunately for many diseases, low abundance of biomarkers in human samples and low sample volumes render standard benchtop platforms like 96‐well plates ineffective for reliable detection and screening. Discretization of bulk samples into a large number of small volumes (fL‐nL) via droplet microfluidic technology offers a promising solution for high‐sensitivity and high‐throughput detection and screening of biomarkers. Several microfluidic strategies exist for high‐throughput biomarker digitization into droplets, and these strategies have been utilized by numerous droplet platforms for nucleic acid, protein, and single‐cell detection and screening. While the potential of droplet‐based platforms has led to burgeoning interest in droplets, seamless integration of sample preparation technologies and automation of platforms from biological sample to answer remain critical components that can render these platforms useful in the clinical setting in the near future.

This article is categorized under:

Diagnostic Tools > Biosensing

Diagnostic Tools > Diagnostic Nanodevices

Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies

Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Infectious Disease
QoE Management for Future Networks
Authors: Schatz Raimund , Schwarzmann Susanna , Zinner Thomas , Dobrijevic Ognjen , Liotou Eirini , Pocta Peter , Barakovic Sabina , Barakovic Husic Jasmina , Skorin-Kapov Lea
Published: May 2018

This chapter discusses prospects of QoE management for future networks and applications. After motivating QoE management, it first provides an introduction to the concept by discussing its origins, key terms and giving an overview of the most relevant existing theoretical frameworks. Then, recent research on promising technical approaches to QoE-driven management that operate across different layers of the networking stack is discussed. Finally, the chapter provides conclusions and an outlook on the future of QoE management with a focus on those key enablers (including cooperation, business models and key technologies) that are essential for ultimately turning QoE-aware network and application management into reality.
Lag Compensation for First-Person Shooter Games in Cloud Gaming
Authors: Li Zhi , Melvin Hugh , Bruzgiene Rasa , Pocta Peter , Skorin-Kapov Lea , Zgank Andrej
Published: May 2018

Cloud gaming is an emerging technology that combines cloud computing with computer games. Compared to traditional gaming, its core advantages include ease of development/deployment for developers, and lower technology costs for users given the potential to play on thin client devices. In this chapter, we firstly describe the approach, and then focus on the impact of latency, known as lag, on Quality of Experience, for so-called First Person Shooter games. We outline our approach to lag compensation whereby we equalize within reason the up and downlink delays in real-time for all players. We describe the testbed in detail, the open source Gaming Anywhere platform, the use of NTP to synchronise time, the network emulator and the role of the centralized log server. We then present results that firstly validate the mechanism and also use small scale and preliminary subjective tests to assess and prove its performance. We conclude the chapter by outlining ongoing and future work.
QoS-Based Elasticity for Service Chains in Distributed Edge Cloud Environments
Authors: Cardellini Valeria , Galinac Grbac Tihana , Nardelli Matteo , Tanković Nikola , Truong Hong-Linh
Published: May 2018

With the emerging IoT and Cloud-based networked systems that rely heavily on virtualization technologies, elasticity becomes a dominant system engineering attribute for providing QoS-aware services to their users. Although the concept of elasticity can introduce significant QoS and cost benefits, its implementation in real systems is full of challenges. Indeed, nowadays systems are mainly distributed, built upon several layers of abstraction, and with centralized control mechanisms. In such a complex environment, controlling elasticity in a centralized manner might strongly penalize scalability. To overcome this issue, we can conveniently split the system in autonomous subsystems that implement elasticity mechanisms and run control policies in a decentralized manner. To efficiently and effectively cooperate with each other, the subsystems need to communicate among themselves to determine elasticity decisions that collectively improve the overall system performance. This new architecture calls for the development of new mechanisms and efficient policies. In this chapter, we focus on elasticity in IoT and Cloud-based systems, which can be geo-distributed also at the edge of the networks, and discuss its engineering perspectives along with various coordination mechanisms. We focus on the design choices that may affect the elasticity properties and provide an overview of some decentralized design patterns related to the coordination of elasticity decisions.
The Matrix Element Method at next-to-leading order QCD for hadronic collisions: single top-quark production at the LHC as an example application
Authors: Martini Till , Uwer Peter
Published: May 2018

Abstract

Recently, a general algorithm to extend the Matrix Element Method (MEM) by taking into account next-to-leading-order (NLO) corrections in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) has been presented. In this article, the algorithm is applied to the most general case that coloured partons are encountered in the initial as well as the final state. This represents a substantial extension compared to previous work. As a concrete example, the production of single top quarks at the LHC is studied. We present in detail the generation of unweighted events following the NLO predictions. By treating these events as the result of a toy experiment, we show the first proof-of-principle application of the Matrix Element Method at NLO QCD for hadronic jet production. As an illustration, we study the determination of the top-quark mass. We find that — apart from elevating the powerful MEM to a sound theoretical foundation at NLO — the inclusion of the NLO corrections can lead to sizeable effects compared to the Matrix Element Method relying on leading-order predictions only. Furthermore, we find that the incorporation of the NLO corrections is mandatory to obtain reliable estimates of the theoretical uncertainties. In addition, this work shows that measuring the top-quark mass using the MEM in single top-quark production offers an interesting alternative to mass measurements in top-quark pair production.
Lepton-flavour-violating gluonic operators: constraints from the LHC and low energy experiments
Authors: Cai Yi , Schmidt Michael A. , Valencia German
Published: May 2018

Abstract

Effective operators provide a model-independent description of physics beyond the standard model that is particularly useful given the absence of any signs of new physics at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We recast previous LHC analyses to set limits on lepton-flavour-violating gluonic effective operators of dimension 8 and compare our results to existing limits from low-energy precision experiments. Current LHC data constrains the scale Λ of the effective operators to be larger than Λ ≳ 0.5 − 1.6 TeV depending on the flavour and thus provides the most stringent limit for all operators apart from parity-conserving operators of the form

$$ GG\overline{\mu}{P}_{L,R}e $$

G
G

μ
¯

P

L
,
R

e

, where μ-e conversion in nuclei poses the most stringent constraint.
An uplifting discussion of T-duality
Authors: Harvey Jeffrey A. , Moore Gregory W.
Published: May 2018

Abstract

It is well known that string theory has a T-duality symmetry relating circle compactifications of large and small radius. This symmetry plays a foundational role in string theory. We note here that while T-duality is order two acting on the moduli space of compactifications, it is order four in its action on the conformal field theory state space. More generally, involutions in the Weyl group W (G) which act at points of enhanced G symmetry have canonical lifts to order four elements of G, a phenomenon first investigated by J. Tits in the mathematical literature on Lie groups and generalized here to conformal field theory. This simple fact has a number of interesting consequences. One consequence is a reevaluation of a mod two condition appearing in asymmetric orbifold constructions. We also briefly discuss the implications for the idea that T-duality and its generalizations should be thought of as discrete gauge symmetries in spacetime.
Gauge invariant determination of charged hadron masses
Authors: Hansen M. , Lucini B. , Patella A. , Tantalo N. ,   for the RC⋆ collaboration
Published: May 2018

Abstract

In this paper we show, for the first time, that charged-hadron masses can be calculated on the lattice without relying on gauge fixing at any stage of the calculations. In our simulations we follow a recent proposal and formulate full QCD+QED on a finite volume, without spoiling locality, by imposing C-periodic boundary conditions in the spatial directions. Electrically charged states are interpolated with a class of operators, originally suggested by Dirac and built as functionals of the photon field, that are invariant under local gauge transformations. We show that the quality of the numerical signal of charged-hadron masses is the same as in the neutral sector and that charged-neutral mass splittings can be calculated with satisfactory accuracy in this setup. We also discuss how to describe states of charged hadrons with real photons in a fully gauge-invariant way by providing a first evidence that the proposed strategy can be numerically viable.
Casein kinase 2 α and β subunits inversely modulate ABA signal output in Arabidopsis protoplasts
Authors: Nagatoshi Yukari , Fujita Miki , Fujita Yasunari
Published: May 2018

Main conclusion

Our transient gene expression analyses inArabidopsisprotoplasts support the view that CK2αs and CK2βs positively and negatively modulate ABRE-dependent gene expression, respectively.

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) regulates the expression of thousands of genes via ABA-responsive elements (ABREs), and has a crucial role in abiotic stress response. Casein kinase II (CK2), a conserved Ser/Thr protein kinase in eukaryotes, is essential for plant viability. Although the CK2 has been known as a tetrameric holoenzyme comprised of two catalytic α and two regulatory β subunits, each of the two types of subunits has been proposed to have independent functions. TheArabidopsisgenome encodes four α subunits (CK2α1,CK2α2,CK2α3,CK2α4) and four β subunits (CK2β1,CK2β2,CK2β3,CK2β4). There is a growing body of evidence linking CK2 to ABA signaling and abiotic stress responses. However, the roles of each CK2 subunit in ABA signaling remain largely elusive. Using the transient expression system with the core ABA signaling components inArabidopsisleaf mesophyll protoplasts, we show here that CK2α1 and CK2α2 (CK2α1/2) positively modulate ABRE-dependent gene expression as ABA signal output in ABA signaling, whereas all four CK2βs negatively modulate the ABRE-dependent gene expression mediated by subclass III SnRK2–AREB/ABF pathway and by CK2α1/2. These data indicate that CK2α1/2 and CK2βs positively and negatively modulate ABA signal output, respectively, suggesting that the quantitative balance of CK2 subunits determines the ABA signal output in plants. Given that CK2s act as pleiotropic enzymes involved in multiple developmental and stress–responsive processes, our findings suggest that CK2 subunits may be involved in integration and coordination of ABA-dependent and -independent signaling.
Generalized Processing Tree Models: Jointly Modeling Discrete and Continuous Variables
Authors: Heck Daniel W. , Erdfelder Edgar , Kieslich Pascal J.
Published: May 2018

Multinomial processing tree models assume that discrete cognitive states determine observed response frequencies. Generalized processing tree (GPT) models extend this conceptual framework to continuous variables such as response times, process-tracing measures, or neurophysiological variables. GPT models assume finite-mixture distributions, with weights determined by a processing tree structure, and continuous components modeled by parameterized distributions such as Gaussians with separate or shared parameters across states. We discuss identifiability, parameter estimation, model testing, a modeling syntax, and the improved precision of GPT estimates. Finally, a GPT version of the feature comparison model of semantic categorization is applied to computer-mouse trajectories.
Merging the Religious Congregations and Membership Studies: A Data File for Documenting American Religious Change
Authors: Bacon Rachel , Finke Roger , Jones Dale
Published: May 2018

The decennial religious congregations and membership studies are a popular data source for analyzing local religious composition and diversity, but several methodological challenges hinder merging the datasets for longitudinal analyses. In this paper, we introduce strategies for addressing four of the most serious challenges: religious mergers and schisms, changes in membership standards within certain groups, missing data and changes in county boundaries. In doing so we successfully merge the 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010 collections and build new longitudinal datasets of congregational and membership counts at the state and county levels. These changes increase religious group representation from 48 to 76, reduce bias from missing data, allow for the more reliable inclusion of 20–23 million adherents in each year, and improve overall ease of use. We also document instances when corrections were not possible and alert readers to the limitations of the merged files when measuring change among certain groups. The new longitudinal files are accessible from theARDA.com .
“Our lives aren't over”: A strengths‐based perspective on stigma, discrimination, and coping among young parents
Authors: Conn Bridgid Mariko , de Figueiredo Sophie , Sherer Sara , Mankerian Meray , Iverson Ellen
Published: May 2018

The current study conducted interviews and focus groups with twenty‐four diverse 16‐25 year‐old parents to elicit in‐depth narratives about experiences related to parenting status. Parents were recruited from a case management program in the Southwestern United States supporting high school graduation and workforce employment (for mothers and fathers, respectively). Young parents disclosed experiences of shame, stigma, and discrimination associated with perceptions about their “fitness” to be a parent and moral judgment. Themes arose that revealed the positive, adaptive ways that participants coped with potentially deleterious experiences with a focus on their role as a parent and role model for their children. Our findings highlight positive meaning‐making and resiliency of young parents when confronted with discrimination and systemic barriers, with many participants focusing on the benefits of parenthood within a unique developmental context. Further, implications for program development, provider trainings, and public policy and advocacy efforts for young parents are discussed.
Ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract procedure and its modifications
Authors: Gendia Ahmed Mohamed Elsayed Metwalli Ali , Abd-erRazik Mahmmad Ahmad , Hanna Hanna Habib
Published: May 2018

Purpose Treatment of anal fistulae is regarded as a challenge due to the diverse nature of this disease and its countless complications. Ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract procedure and its modifications have been popularized among many surgeons worldwide due to their simplicity and promising outcomes. The main purpose of this article was to conduct a comprehensives review of the published literature on ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract procedure and its modifications.

Method PubMed, the Cochrane database and Ovid were searched from January 2007 to June 2017. Fully published peer-reviewed studies which applied ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract procedure and its modifications for the treatment of anal fistulae of cryptogenic origin with follow-up of median 12 months were eligible. Uncompleted studies, case reports, reviews, abstracts, letters, short communication, comments, and studies which did not fulfill inclusion criteria were excluded. The primary outcome was to measure primary healing, overall healing, failure, and recurrence of ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract procedure and its modifications.

Results Twenty-two studies were identified with only ten studies meeting criteria of inclusion. Original ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract was performed in five studies with a population of 199 patients while the remaining five studies showed four different modifications of the ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract with a total number of 147 patients. Both original LIFT and its modifications have promising as well as potentially similar outcomes; primary healing in the original ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract (73.95%) (95% CI 60.3–85.6) performed less than the modifications (82.3%) (95% CI 64.8–94.7). Overall healing in the original ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract (78.9%) (95% CI 58.5–93.7) performed relatively less than in the modifications (93.6%) (95% CI 81.4–99.6). Failure in the original ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract (17.9%) (95% CI 4.9–36.5) performed almost the same as the modifications (17.7%) (95% CI 5.3–35.2). Recurrence in the original ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract was 9.7% (95% CI 1.7–23.2). However, there was no recurrence in the modifications.

Conclusion Ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract and its modifications are effective and simple procedures in treating simple anal fistulae, especially high transsphincteric ones. However, more trials should be performed to evaluate its effectiveness regarding complex fistulae.
Impacto femoroacetabular – Fatores associados à presença de lesões profundas da junção condrolabral
Authors: Faccioni Samuel , Cachoeira Vinicius Adelchi , Knop Gabriel Pozzobon , Silva Luiz Henrique Penteado , Knop Tercildo
Published: May 2018

Objetivo Avaliar os fatores associados à presença de lesões condrais profundas (graus III e IV de Konan/Haddad) em pacientes submetidos à artroscopia do quadril para tratamento do impacto femoroacetabular (IFA).

Método Estudo transversal, prospectivo, de uma série de 125 artroscopias consecutivas do quadril feitas entre maio de 2016 e maio de 2017. Depois de aplicados os critérios de exclusão, foram analisados 107 quadris de 92 pacientes submetidos a tratamento cirúrgico do IFA dos tipos misto e CAM. Para fins de análise, os grupos foram divididos entre lesões consideradas leves e profundas, e foi feita associação com escore de sintomas, ângulo de cobertura lateral, ângulo alfa, idade, gênero, e classificação radiológica de artrose. Foram considerados como estatisticamente significativos testes com valor de probabilidade < 0,05.

Resultados Pacientes cujos quadris apresentaram lesões consideradas profundas tiveram escores de quadril não artrítico (NAHSs, na sigla em inglês) significativamente maiores do que aqueles cujos quadris apresentavam lesões consideradas leves ou não apresentavam lesão condrolabral (67,9 ± 19,4 versus 57,0 ± 21,9; p = 0,027). A prevalência de lesões profundas foi maior nos quadris Tonnis 1 do que nos que apresentaram Tonnis 0: 15 (55,6%) versus 10 (12,7%), respectivamente; p < 0,001. Homens apresentaram melhores escores funcionais e maior prevalência de lesões graus III e IV do que as mulheres: 65,6 ± 19,6 versus 49,3 ± 21,6; p < 0,001, e 23 (34,3%) versus 2 (5,0%), p = 0,001, respectivamente.

Conclusão Homens apresentaram maior prevalência de lesões profundas. Quadris Tonnis 1 tiveram um risco 4,4 vezes maior de apresentar essas lesões. Pacientes com lesões condrolabrais profundas apresentaram melhor escore funcional pré-operatório.
Established amyloid‐β pathology is unaffected by chronic treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor paroxetine
Authors: Severino Maurizio , Sivasaravanaparan Mithula , Olesen Louise Ø. , von Linstow Christian U. , Metaxas Athanasios , Bouzinova Elena V. , Khan Asif Manzoor , Lambertsen Kate L. , Babcock Alicia A. , Gramsbergen Jan Bert , Wiborg Ove , Finsen Bente
Published: May 2018

Introduction

Treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors has been suggested to mitigate amyloid‐β (Aβ) pathology in Alzheimer's disease, in addition to an antidepressant mechanism of action.

Methods

We investigated whether chronic treatment with paroxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, mitigates Aβ pathology in plaque‐bearing double‐transgenic amyloid precursor protein (APP)swe/presenilin 1 (PS1)ΔE9 mutants. In addition, we addressed whether serotonin depletion affects Aβ pathology. Treatments were assessed by measurement of serotonin transporter occupancy and high‐performance liquid chromatography. The effect of paroxetine on Aβ pathology was evaluated by stereological plaque load estimation and Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

Contrary to our hypothesis, paroxetine therapy did not mitigate Aβ pathology, and depletion of brain serotonin did not exacerbate Aβ pathology. However, chronic paroxetine therapy increased mortality in APPswe/PS1ΔE9 transgenic mice.

Discussion

Our results question the ability of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor therapy to ameliorate established Aβ pathology. The severe adverse effect of paroxetine may discourage its use for disease‐modifying purposes in Alzheimer's disease.
Localisation method for a Mars aircraft using multispectral images
Authors: Tokutake H. , Kido M.
Published: May 2018

In Japan, the working group for the Mars Exploration Aircraft continues to research and develop a Mars aircraft aiming to a future survey mission. To ensure the success of the flight mission, a self-localisation system with low-computational complexity is necessary. In the present research, a new self-localisation method is proposed using multispectral images. The algorithm is based on the simple mapping of image moment invariants and gradients calculated from several images at different wavelengths. The numerical simulations revealed the sufficient robustness of the proposed method to image noise. The estimation accuracy can be improved by increasing the number of the spectral images.
Numerical modeling of the thermally induced core laser leakage in high power co-pumped ytterbium doped fiber amplifier
Authors: Kong Lingchao , Leng Jinyong , Zhou Pu , Jiang Zongfu
Published: May 2018

We propose a novel model to explain the physical process of the thermally induced core laser leakage (TICLL) effect in a high power co-pumped ytterbium doped fiber (YDF) amplifier. This model considers the thermally induced mode bending loss decrease and the thermally induced mode instability (TMI) in the coiled YDF, and is further used to reproduce the TICLL effect in the high power co-pumped step-index $20/400$ fiber amplifier. Besides, the TICLL effect in the co-pumping scheme and counter-pumping scheme is compared. The result proves that the TICLL effect is caused by the combined effect of the thermally induced mode bending loss decrease and the TMI, and could be mitigated by adopting the counter-pumping scheme. To our best knowledge, this is the first theoretical explanation of the TICLL effect in high power fiber amplifier.
Mohammad Malas, The Dream: A Diary of the Film (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2016). Pp. 181. $24.95 paper. ISBN: 9789774167997./Al-Manam/The Dream (Syria), 1987. Color, 45 min. In Arabic with English, French and German subtitles. Director: Mohammad Malas; Distributor: mec film, http://mecfilm.com/index.php?id=1624.
Authors: Yaqub Nadia
Published: May 2018

In 1980 Muhammad Malas began research for a documentary about Palestinians in the refugee camps of Lebanon. Malas, who had received training in filmmaking at the All Soviet Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow, had already worked for a decade directing documentaries for Syrian television. He researched and filmed in Lebanon during long visits in 1980 and 1981, but his work was interrupted by the Israeli attacks on Lebanon in 1981 and 1982 and the Camps War that raged in the refugee camps of the southern suburbs of Beirut in the mid-1980s. Al-Manam (The Dream) was finally completed in 1987. It was highly acclaimed in a few venues in Europe and the Arab world, but was not widely released. Over the years the film has screened at festivals here and there, but otherwise has been difficult to see and impossible to purchase. Now, The Dream has finally been released on DVD by mec film, and an English language translation of the diary Malas kept while filming in 1980–81 and which appeared in Arabic in 1991 has been published by the American University in Cairo Press. The near simultaneous release of these two works, a formally important work of Arab cinema and a detailed accounting of the thoughts of the filmmaker as he conceptualized that work, is an exciting development for Arab film studies—a boon to both scholarship and classroom teaching.
Viewing Backwards: Egyptian Historical Television Dramas in the 1990s
Authors: Gordon Joel
Published: May 2018

The 1990s marked an important moment in Egyptian television, when the country turned its attention increasingly (although never monolithically) toward historical drama as a means of recreating and reinterpreting modern Egyptian history. Mahfouz Abd al-Rahman and Osama Anwar Okasha, in particular, scripted long multi-year series aired during Ramadan, the peak season for television viewing, that covered decades of the late ninteenth century and pre-Nasserist history, in many ways re-writing public history, and making historical drama—and history—fashionable. I focus here on the former and his first mega-hitBawabat al-Halawani (Halawani Gate). Biographical dramas, initially of artists, but later politicians, kings, and religious leaders would follow. As the Egyptian industry atrophied in the following decade these dramatists passed the mantle on to the Syrians, later the Turks, who broke the Egyptian monopoly and brought their own stories to the fore. But a rebirth may be in view.