bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Small intestine barrier function failure induces systemic inflammation in monosodium glutamate-induced chronically obese mice
Authors: Nakadate Kazuhiko , Hirakawa Tomoya , Tanaka-Nakadate Sawako
Published: October 2018

Chronic obesity has increased worldwide, in conjunction with type 2 diabetes. Chronic obesity causes systemic inflammation that may result in functional deterioration of the gastrointestinal barrier. However, gastrointestinal conditions associated with chronic obesity have not been comprehensively investigated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate morphological changes in small intestine barrier structures during chronic obesity. A mouse model of chronic obesity induced by monosodium glutamate treatment was established. At postnatal week 15, pathological changes including in small intestinal epithelial cells were analyzed in chronically obese mice compared with controls. Numerous gaps were identified between small intestinal epithelial cells in chronically obese mice, and levels of both desmosomal and tight junction proteins were significantly lower in their small intestinal epithelial cells. Moreover, in chronically obese mice, a significant increase in the number of intestinal inflammatory cells, particularly macrophages, was observed; in addition, blood samples from the mouse model show an increase in markers of inflammation, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1-beta. These findings suggest that functional deterioration of adhesion structures between small intestinal epithelial cells causes gastrointestinal barrier function failure, leading to a rise in intestinal permeability to blood vessels and consequent systemic inflammation, characterized by macrophage infiltration.
Peierls’ substitution via minimal coupling and magnetic pseudo-differential calculus
Authors: Cornean Horia D. , Iftimie Viorel , Purice Radu
Published: October 2018

We revisit the celebrated Peierls–Onsager substitution for weak magnetic fields with no spatial decay conditions. We assume that the non-magnetic [Formula: see text]-periodic Hamiltonian has an isolated spectral band whose Riesz projection has a range which admits a basis generated by [Formula: see text] exponentially localized composite Wannier functions. Then we show that the effective magnetic band Hamiltonian is unitarily equivalent to a Hofstadter-like magnetic matrix living in [Formula: see text]. In addition, if the magnetic field perturbation is slowly variable in space, then the perturbed spectral island is close (in the Hausdorff distance) to the spectrum of a Weyl quantized minimally coupled symbol. This symbol only depends on [Formula: see text] and is [Formula: see text]-periodic; if [Formula: see text], the symbol equals the Bloch eigenvalue itself. In particular, this rigorously formulates a result from 1951 by J. M. Luttinger.
Cross-component garbage collection
Authors: Degenbaev Ulan , Eisinger Jochen , Hara Kentaro , Hlopko Marcel , Lippautz Michael , Payer Hannes
Published: October 2018

Embedding a modern language runtime as a component in a larger software system is popular these days. Communication between these systems often requires keeping references to each others' objects. In this paper we present and discuss the problem of cross-component memory management where reference cycles across component boundaries may lead to memory leaks and premature reclamation of objects may lead to dangling cross-component references. We provide a generic algorithm for effective, efficient, and safe garbage collection over component boundaries, which we call cross-component tracing. We designed and implemented cross-component tracing in the Chrome web browser where the JavaScript virtual machine V8 is embedded into the rendering engine Blink. Cross-component tracing from V8's JavaScript heap to Blink's C++ heap improves garbage collection latency and eliminates long-standing memory leaks for real websites in Chrome. We show how cross-component tracing can help web developers to reason about reachability and retainment of objects spanning both V8 and Blink components based on Chrome's heap snapshot memory tool. Cross-component tracing was enabled by default for all websites in Chrome version 57 and is also deployed in other widely used software systems such as Opera, Cobalt, and Electron.
Experimental Study of the Characteristic Changes of Coal Resistivity during the Gas Adsorption/Desorption Process
Authors: Feng Zengchao , Wang Chen , Dong Dong , Zhao Dong , Zhou Dong
Published: October 2018

To study the influence of gas adsorption‐desorption on the resistivity of coal, the resistivity changes in conditions of continuous adsorption/desorption and isovolumetric adsorption/desorption were tested by high‐precision resistance measurement, and the relationship between coal resistivity and gas content was investigated. The results show that gas adsorption/desorption has obvious effects on the resistivity of coal. Similar behavior was observed both in continuous adsorption/desorption and in isovolumetric adsorption/desorption experiments. The coal resistivity decreased gradually at the very beginning and then tended to stabilize as the gas adsorption capacity increased; in the process of gas desorption, the resistivity demonstrated a linear relationship with gas content. When comparing resistivities for the different adsorption modes, it was found that, for the same gas content in each mode, the resistivity change in the isovolumetric adsorption experiment was more obvious than in the continuous adsorption experiment. Also, the coal resistivity in the isovolumetric experiment differed further from the original figure when the desorption ended. The results are significant for predicting gas content in the coal mining process.
Real-Time Smart Parking Systems Integration in Distributed ITS for Smart Cities
Authors: Alam Muhammad , Moroni Davide , Pieri Gabriele , Tampucci Marco , Gomes Miguel , Fonseca José , Ferreira Joaquim , Leone Giuseppe Riccardo
Published: October 2018

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) have evolved as a key research topic in recent years, revolutionizing the overall traffic and travel experience by providing a set of advanced services and applications. These data-driven services contribute to mitigate major problems arising from the ever growing need of transport in our daily lives. Despite the progress, there is still need for an enhanced and distributed solution that can exploit the data from the available systems and provide an appropriate and real-time reaction on transportation systems. Therefore, in this paper, we present a new architecture where the intelligence is distributed and the decisions are decentralized. The proposed architecture is scalable since the incremental addition of new peripheral subsystems is supported by the introduction of gateways which requires no reengineering of the communication infrastructure. The proposed architecture is deployed to tackle the problem of traffic management inefficiency in urban areas, where traffic load is substantially increased, by vehicles moving around unnecessarily, to find a free parking space. This can be significantly reduced through the availability and diffusion of local information regarding vacant parking slots to drivers in a given area. Two types of parking systems, magnetic and vision sensor based, have been introduced, deployed, and tested in different scenarios. The effectiveness of the proposed architecture, together with the proposed algorithms, is assessed in field trials.
Signaling Mechanisms of Selective PPARγ Modulators in Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Govindarajulu Manoj , Pinky Priyanka D. , Bloemer Jenna , Ghanei Nila , Suppiramaniam Vishnu , Amin Rajesh
Published: October 2018

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease characterized by abnormal protein accumulation, synaptic dysfunction, and cognitive impairment. The continuous increase in the incidence of AD with the aged population and mortality rate indicates the urgent need for establishing novel molecular targets for therapeutic potential. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) agonists such as rosiglitazone and pioglitazone reduce amyloid and tau pathologies, inhibit neuroinflammation, and improve memory impairments in several rodent models and in humans with mild-to-moderate AD. However, these agonists display poor blood brain barrier permeability resulting in inadequate bioavailability in the brain and thus requiring high dosing with chronic time frames. Furthermore, these dosing levels are associated with several adverse effects including increased incidence of weight gain, liver abnormalities, and heart failure. Therefore, there is a need for identifying novel compounds which target PPARγ more selectively in the brain and could provide therapeutic benefits without a high incidence of adverse effects. This review focuses on how PPARγ agonists influence various pathologies in AD with emphasis on development of novel selective PPARγ modulators.
Antioxidant Activity Mediates Pirfenidone Antifibrotic Effects in Human Pulmonary Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Exposed to Sera of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Patients
Authors: Fois Alessandro Giuseppe , Posadino Anna Maria , Giordo Roberta , Cossu Annalisa , Agouni Abdelali , Rizk Nasser Moustafa , Pirina Pietro , Carru Ciriaco , Zinellu Angelo , Pintus Gianfranco
Published: October 2018

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic lung disease characterized by an exacerbated fibrotic response. Although molecular and cellular determinants involved in the onset and progression of this devastating disease are largely unknown, an aberrant remodeling of the pulmonary vasculature appears to have implications in IPF pathogenesis. Here, we demonstrated for the first time that an increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation induced by sera from IPF patients drives both collagen type I deposition and proliferation of primary human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (HPASMCs). IPF sera‐induced cellular effects were significantly blunted in cells exposed to the NADPH oxidase inhibitor diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) proving the causative role of ROS and suggesting their potential cellular source. Contrary to IPF naive patients, sera from Pirfenidone‐treated IPF patients failed to significantly induce both ROS generation and collagen synthesis in HPASMCs, mechanistically implicating antioxidant properties as the basis for the in vivo effect of this drug.
H∞ Control for Nonlinear Infinite Markov Jump Systems
Authors: Liu Yueying , Hou Ting
Published: October 2018

In this paper, we discuss the infinite horizon H∞ control problem for a class of nonlinear stochastic systems with state, control, and disturbance dependent noise. The jumping parameters are modelled as an infinite-state Markov chain. Based on the solvability of a set of coupled Hamilton-Jacobi inequalities (HJIs), the exponential mean square H∞ controller for the considered nonlinear stochastic systems is obtained. A numerical example is given to show the effectiveness of the proposed design method.
Falcarinol Is a Potent Inducer of Heme Oxygenase‐1 and Was More Effective than Sulforaphane in Attenuating Intestinal Inflammation at Diet‐Achievable Doses
Authors: Stefanson Amanda L. , Bakovic Marica
Published: October 2018

Nuclear factor‐ (erythroid‐derived 2) like 2 (Nrf2) is a transcription factor that regulates the expression of a battery of antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, and cytoprotective enzymes including heme oxygenase‐1 (Hmox1, Ho‐1) and NADPH:quinone oxidoreductase‐1 (Nqo1). The isothiocyanate sulforaphane (SF) is widely understood to be the most effective natural activator of the Nrf2 pathway. Falcarinol (FA) is a lesser studied natural compound abundant in medicinal plants as well as dietary plants from the Apiaceae family such as carrot. We evaluated the protective effects of FA and SF (5 mg/kg twice per day in CB57BL/6 mice) pretreatment for one week against acute intestinal and systemic inflammation. The phytochemical pretreatment effectively reduced the magnitude of intestinal proinflammatory gene expression (IL‐6, Tnfα/Tnfαr, Infγ, STAT3, and IL‐10/IL‐10r) with FA showing more potency than SF. FA was also more effective in upregulating Ho‐1 at mRNA and protein levels in both the mouse liver and the intestine. FA but not SF attenuated plasma chemokine eotaxin and white blood cell growth factor GM‐CSF, which are involved in the recruitment and stabilization of first‐responder immune cells. Phytochemicals generally did not attenuate plasma proinflammatory cytokines. Plasma and intestinal lipid peroxidation was also not significantly changed 4 h after LPS injection; however, FA did reduce basal lipid peroxidation in the mesentery. Both phytochemical pretreatments protected against LPS‐induced reduction in intestinal barrier integrity, but FA additionally reduced inflammatory cell infiltration even below negative control.
The Effect of Optical Crosstalk on Accuracy of Reflectance-Type Pulse Oximeter for Mobile Healthcare
Authors: Baek Hyun Jae , Shin JaeWook , Cho Jaegeol
Published: October 2018

According to the theoretical equation of the pulse oximeter expressed by the ratio of amplitude (AC) and baseline (DC) obtained from the photoplethysmographic signal of two wavelengths, the difference of the amount of light absorbed depending on the melanin indicating the skin color is canceled by normalizing the AC value to the DC value of each wavelength. Therefore, theoretically, skin color does not affect the accuracy of oxygen saturation measurement. However, if there is a direct path for the light emitting unit to the light receiving unit instead of passing through the human body, the amount of light reflected by the surface of the skin changes depending on the color of the skin. As a result, the amount of crosstalk that varies depending on the skin color affects the ratio of AC to DC, resulting in errors in the calculation of the oxygen saturation value. We made crosstalk sensors and crosstalk-free sensors and performed desaturation experiments with respiratory gas control on subjects with various skin colors to perform oxygen saturation measurements ranging from 60 to 100%. Experimental results showed that there was no difference in the measurement error of oxygen saturation according to skin color in the case of the sensor which prevented crosstalk (−0.8824 ± 2.2859 for Asian subjects, 0.6741 ± 3.2822 for Caucasian subjects, and 0.9669 ± 2.2268 for African American subjects). However, a sensor that did not prevent crosstalk showed a large error in dark skin subjects (0.8258 ± 2.1603 for Asian subjects, 0.8733 ± 1.9716 for Caucasian subjects, and −3.0591 ± 3.9925 for African Americans). Based on these results, we reiterate the importance of sensor design in the development of pulse oximeters using reflectance-type sensors.
Efficient Method to Evaluate Critical Ricochet Angle of Projectile Penetrating into a Concrete Target
Authors: Choi Min Kuk , Han Jihoon , Park Sangjin , An Woo Jin
Published: October 2018

In this study, we propose an efficient computation method to estimate the critical ricochet angle (CRA) for oblique penetration into concrete targets which is based on the spherical cavity-expansion theory. During penetrating event, the resistance force on the projectile nose is approximated by semi-empirical function from the spherical cavity-expansion theory and projectile motion of oblique penetration is predicted to verify the proposed numerical method with the aid of finite differential approach. In order to enhance the accuracy of projectile motion, the empirical constants of the semi-empirical function are obtained with respect to the oblique angle by conducting finite element analyses of the oblique penetration. CRA is then obtained by predicting the projectile motion at the various oblique angles and verified with results of finite element analysis. Our work presents that the reliable CRA can be estimated efficiently by employing a series of the numerical simulations. We believe that our proposed numerical method will provide a useful analysis platform for designing penetrator warhead which hits the target at an oblique impact angles.
Homogenization Problem in a Domain with Double Oscillating Boundary
Authors: Zhao Jie , Wang Juan
Published: October 2018

In this paper, we study the convergence of solutions for homogenization problems about the Poisson equation in a domain with double oscillating locally periodic boundary. Such a problem arises in the processing of devices with very small features. We utilize second-order Taylor expansion of boundary data in combination with boundary correctors to obtain the convergence rate in H1-norm. This work explores the domain with double oscillating boundary and also shows the influence of the amplitudes and periods of the oscillations to convergence rates of solutions.
A Randomized Double‐Blind Placebo‐Controlled Trial to Evaluate Prophylactic Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine Supplementing Qi and Hemostasis Formula on Gastrointestinal Bleeding after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients at High Risks
Authors: Zhang Chenhao , Huang Chaolian , Kong Xiaolin , Liu Guannan , Li Ning , Liu Jie , Zhang Zongyao , Yang Dawei , Liang Chunling , Wang Jie
Published: October 2018

Objective. To evaluate the clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) supplementing Qi and hemostasis formula on gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and thus find out the optimal therapeutic regimen to reduce incidence of GI bleeding without increase of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). Methods. In the randomized, double‐blinded, controlled trial, 117 participants who underwent PCI were enrolled and evenly distributed into treatment arm (59) and control arm (58). Numerous end points were assessed including the primary endpoint of GI bleeding and MACEs and secondary endpoint of thromboelastogram (TEG) (mainly MAadp, inhibition of ADP, and inhibition of AA) and TCM syndrome score during the follow‐up phase of 90 days. Results. Incidence of bleeding including GI bleeding and MACE did not differ significantly between two arms (28.82% in treatment arm versus 24.44% in control). However, on both days 30 and 90, TCM treatment remarkably reduced the TCM syndrome total score with notable alteration (P<0.05) except for some parameters such as pulse manifestation. When it came to TEG, however, MAADP increased significantly on day 30 in control arm, accompanied by a notable descending in inhibition rate of ADP pathway (both P<0.01). Conclusion. (1) Supplementing Qi and hemostasis formula is equal to Pantoprazole Sodium Enteric‐Coated Capsule in hemostasis and gastric mucosal protection; (2) supplementing Qi and hemostasis formula is superior to Pantoprazole Sodium Enteric‐Coated Capsule in improving TCM syndrome manifestation possibly through the multitarget mechanism; (3) interference on clopidogrel of supplementing Qi and hemostasis formula might be much less than Pantoprazole Sodium Enteric‐Coated Capsule due to the potential CYP450‐independent mechanism. This trial is registered with ChiCTR1800014485.
Data‐Driven Superheating Control of Organic Rankine Cycle Processes
Authors: Zhang Jianhua , Tian Xiao , Zhu Zhengmao , Ren Mifeng
Published: October 2018

In this paper, a data‐driven superheating control strategy is developed for organic Rankine cycle (ORC) processes. Due to non‐Gaussian stochastic disturbances imposed on heat sources, the quantized minimum error entropy (QMEE) is adopted to construct the performance index of superheating control systems. Furthermore, particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is applied to obtain optimal control law by minimizing the performance index. The implementation procedures of the presented superheating control system in an ORC‐based waste heat recovery process are presented. The simulation results testify the effectiveness of the presented control algorithm.
Joint Analysis of the Commuting Departure Time and Travel Mode Choice: Role of the Built Environment
Authors: Ma Xiaolei , Yang Jie , Ding Chuan , Liu Jianfeng , Zhu Quan
Published: October 2018

This paper aims to conduct an empirical study to evaluate the influence of built environment features and socioeconomic factors on commuters’ simultaneous choice of departure time and travel mode. Using Kunming, China, as the study region, the 2015 Regional Household Travel Survey and 2016 Point of Interest data are used in the analysis. The results show that, in addition to socioeconomic factors, built environment, such as the density of residential building, employment, and service facility are correlated with joint choice behavior. Moreover, there exist differences regarding the influence of built environment and socioeconomic factors on departure time and travel mode choice. The dissimilarity parameters show that commuters prefer to shift travel mode than departure time generally when travel condition alters. In order to examine the policy measures’ potential performance, the paper conducts simulation tests based on the Monte Carlo method. The simulation results show that congestion pricing of car travel during peak hours can reduce the number of commuting trips, and reducing travel time of public transit would be a better strategy to attract more passengers during peak hours. Moreover, reasonable land use planning, such as building more bus stops around commuters’ home location, would be a long term and fundamental approach to reduce mobile-source emissions and attract more public transit passengers.
Standardised Warfarin Reversal Expedites Time to Theatre for Fractured Neck of Femur Surgery and Improves Mortality Rates: A Matched Cohort Study
Authors: Moores Thomas S. , Chatterton Benjamin D. , Walker Matthew J. , Roberts Phillip J.
Published: October 2018

Background. This study aims to evaluate outcomes for warfarinised hip fracture patients and compare them with a matched nonwarfarinised group, before and after the introduction of national hip fracture guidelines in the United Kingdom. Methods. A retrospective cohort study of 1743 hip fracture patients was undertaken. All patients admitted taking warfarin were identified. These patients were then matched to nonwarfarinised patients using nearest neighbour propensity score matching, accounting for age, sex, hip fracture type, and Nottingham Hip Fracture Score. A pre-guideline group (no standardised warfarin reversal regimen) and a post-guideline group (standardised regimen) were identified. Outcomes assessed included time to INR less than 1.7, time to theatre, length of stay, and 30-day and 1-year mortality. Results. Forty-six warfarinised hip fracture patients were admitted in the pre-guideline group (mean age 80.5, F:M 3:1) and 48 in the post-guideline group (mean age 81.2 years, F:M 3:1). Post-guideline patients were reversed to a safe operative INR level within 18 hours of admission, decreasing the time to first dose vitamin K (p<0.001). 70% of warfarinised patients were operated upon within 36 hours, compared to 19.6% with no regimen (p<0.05). After anticoagulation reversal protocol, thirty-day mortality decreased from 15.2% to 8.3% and 1-year mortality from 43.5% to 33% for warfarinised patients, which is comparable to nonwarfarinised matched patients. There was no significant change in the length of stay pre- and post-guideline for both groups of patients. Conclusions. Proactive anticoagulant management and expedient surgery reduces morbidity and mortality when managing this surgically challenging subset of hip fracture patients.
Gender in Endocrine Diseases: Role of Sex Gonadal Hormones
Authors: Lauretta R. , Sansone M. , Sansone A. , Romanelli F. , Appetecchia M.
Published: October 2018

Gender- and sex- related differences represent a new frontier towards patient-tailored medicine, taking into account that theoretically every medical specialty can be influenced by both of them. Sex hormones define the differences between males and females, and the different endocrine environment promoted by estrogens, progesterone, testosterone, and their precursors might influence both human physiology and pathophysiology. With the term Gender we refer, instead, to behaviors, roles, expectations, and activities carried out by the individual in society. In other words, “gender” refers to a sociocultural sphere of the individual, whereas “sex” only defines the biological sex. In the last decade, increasing attention has been paid to understand the influence that gender can have on both the human physiology and pathogenesis of diseases. Even the clinical response to therapy may be influenced by sex hormones and gender, but further research is needed to investigate and clarify how they can affect the human pathophysiology. The path to a tailored medicine in which every patient is able to receive early diagnosis, risk assessments, and optimal treatments cannot exclude the importance of gender. In this review, we have focused our attention on the involvement of sex hormones and gender on different endocrine diseases.
Constitutive Model of Rock Uniaxial Damage Based on Rock Strength Statistics
Authors: Ji Ming , Chen Kai , Guo Hong Jun
Published: October 2018

Based on the assumption that rock strength follows the log normal distribution statistically, this paper establishes a damage constitutive model of rock under uniaxial stress conditions in combination with the Mohr–Coulomb strength criterion and damage mechanical theory. Experiments were carried out to investigate the damage evolution process of rock material, which can be categorized into nondamaging, accelerated growth, constant‐speed, similar growth, and speed‐reducing growth stages. The evolution process had a good corresponding relationship with the rock stress‐strain curves. Based on the statistical damage constitutive model proposed in this paper, a numerical fitting analysis was conducted on the uniaxial compression testing data of laboratory sand rock and on experimental data from other literature, in order to validate the rationality of the constitutive equation and the determination of its parameters and to analyze the effect of internal friction variables on damage variables and compression strength. The research outcomes presented in this paper can provide useful reference for the theory of rock mechanics and for rock engineering.
A Data‐Driven Parameter Adaptive Clustering Algorithm Based on Density Peak
Authors: Du Tao , Qu Shouning , Wang Qin
Published: October 2018

Clustering is an important unsupervised machine learning method which can efficiently partition points without training data set. However, most of the existing clustering algorithms need to set parameters artificially, and the results of clustering are much influenced by these parameters, so optimizing clustering parameters is a key factor of improving clustering performance. In this paper, we propose a parameter adaptive clustering algorithm DDPA‐DP which is based on density‐peak algorithm. In DDPA‐DP, all parameters can be adaptively adjusted based on the data‐driven thought, and then the accuracy of clustering is highly improved, and the time complexity is not increased obviously. To prove the performance of DDPA‐DP, a series of experiments are designed with some artificial data sets and a real application data set, and the clustering results of DDPA‐DP are compared with some typical algorithms by these experiments. Based on these results, the accuracy of DDPA‐DP has obvious advantage of all, and its time complexity is close to classical DP‐Clust.
Visual and Refractive Outcomes of Small-Incision Lenticule Extraction in High Myopia: 5-Year Results
Authors: Ağca Alper , Çakır İhsan , Tülü Aygün Beril , Yaşa Dilek , Yıldırım Yusuf , Yıldız Burçin Kepez , Demirok Ahmet
Published: October 2018

Purpose. To report long-term visual and refractive results of small-incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) in treatment of high myopia. Materials and Methods. Medical records of patients who underwent SMILE for surgical correction of myopia or myopic astigmatism were retrospectively reviewed. Only patients with a preoperative spherical equivalent of subjective manifest refraction (SE) ≥ 6 D and a postoperative follow-up of 5 years were included in the study. Uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), and SE were analyzed preoperatively and at 1-, 3-, and 5-year postoperative periods. Results. Thirty-seven eyes of 37 patients were included in the study. The mean attempted SE was −7.47 ± 1.10 D (range −6.00 to −10.00 D). At the 5-year visit, the mean difference between achieved and attempted SE was −0.43 ± 0.47 (0.50 to −1.25 D). Mean postoperative UDVA and CDVA were 0.20 ± 0.18 and 0.06 ± 0.08 logMAR, respectively. At the 1-year visit, 70% and 97% of the eyes were within ±0.50 D and ±1.00 D of the intended correction. At the 5-year follow-up, 59% and 92% percent of the eyes were within ±0.50 D and ±1.00 D of the intended SE, respectively. At the 5-year visit, the efficacy index was 0.89 ± 0.26 and the safety index was 1.16 ± 0.20. Fifty-four percent of the eyes gained one or more lines of CDVA. Conclusion. SMILE with an intended correction of up to a spherical equivalent of 10 D is safe and effective. However, there is regression of the refractive effect over extended follow-up.
Parameter Identification and Adaptive Control of Uncertain Goodwin Oscillator Networks with Disturbances
Authors: Zhang Jianbao , Zhang Wenyin , Yang Chengdong , Wang Haifeng , Qiu Jianlong , Alsaadi Fawaz
Published: October 2018

This paper investigates the dynamic properties of a differential equation model of mammals’ circadian rhythms, including parameter identification, adaptive control, and outer synchronization. The circadian oscillator network is described by a Goodwin oscillator network, the couplings of which are from vasoactive intestinal polypeptides described by modified Van der Pol oscillators. We build up a drive‐response system consisting of two networks with unknown parameters and disturbances. Then, we propose effective parameter updating laws to identify the unknown parameters and design adaptive control strategies to achieve outer synchronization in the drive‐response system. As special cases, two succinct corollaries are presented for different instances. All the theoretical results are proved through strict mathematical deduction based on Lyapunov stability theory, and a numerical example is also carried out to illustrate the effectiveness.
Development of a Robust UPLC Method for Simultaneous Determination of a Novel Combination of Sofosbuvir and Daclatasvir in Human Plasma: Clinical Application to Therapeutic Drug Monitoring
Authors: Al-Tannak Naser F. , Hemdan Ahmed , Eissa Maya S.
Published: October 2018

A rapid and selective UPLC-DAD method was developed and validated for simultaneous analysis of the novel two-drug combination Darvoni® for the treatment of HCV: Sofosbuvir (SF)/Daclatasvir (DC) in human plasma using Ledipasvir as internal standard (IS) where the extraction process was conducted using automated SPE. Although the analysis of the combination after concomitant oral intake of two tablets of SF and DC individually was reported in literature, yet simultaneous analysis of this new combination in human plasma after a single oral dose was not previously reported. The adopted chromatographic separation was achieved on Waters® Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 × 50 mm, 1.7 µm) as a stationary phase using isocratic elution using a mobile phase system of ammonium formate (pH 3.5; 5 mM) and acetonitrile (60:40 v/v) pumped at a flow rate of 0.2 mL.min−1. The UV detection was carried out at 261 nm for SF and 318 nm for DC and IS. SF was eluted at 1.123 min while DC was eluted at 3.179 min. The proposed chromatographic method was validated in accordance with guidelines of FDA for bioanalytical method validation. A linear range was achieved in the range of 25-6400 and 50-12800 ng.mL−1 for SF and DC, respectively. The proposed UPLC-DAD method was found to be accurate with % bias ranging between -10.0-7.2 for SF and -6.9-8.0 for DC. Also it was proved to be precise with % CV for intraday precision ranging between 3.8-9.6 for SF and 2.8-9.2 for DC whereas interday precision ranged between 5.1-9.3 for SF and 3.7-9.1 for DC. Moreover, % extraction recovery ranged between 90.0-107.2 for SF and 93.1-108.0 for DC using the suggested method. The adopted chromatographic method was successfully applied to the therapeutic drug monitoring of SF and DC in healthy volunteers after the oral intake of one Darvoni® tablet.
Noncommutative Effects on the Fluid Dynamics and Modifications of the Friedmann Equation
Authors: Ma Kai
Published: October 2018

We propose a new approach in Lagrangian formalism for studying the fluid dynamics on noncommutative space. Starting with the Poisson bracket for single particle, a map from canonical Lagrangian variables to Eulerian variables is constructed for taking into account the noncommutative effects. The advantage of this approach is that the kinematic and potential energies in the Lagrangian formalism continuously change in the infinite limit to the ones in Eulerian formalism and hence make sure that both the kinematical and potential energies are taken into account correctly. Furthermore, in our approach, the equations of motion of the mass density and current density are naturally expressed into conservative form. Based on this approach, the noncommutative Poisson bracket is introduced, and the noncommutative algebra among Eulerian variables and the noncommutative corrections on the equations of motion are obtained. We find that the noncommutative corrections generally depend on the derivatives of potential under consideration. Furthermore, we find that the noncommutative algebra does modify the usual Friedmann equation, and the noncommutative corrections measure the symmetry properties of the density function ρ(z→) under rotation around the direction θ→. This characterization results in vanishing corrections for spherically symmetric mass density distribution and potential.
Forest Fire Detection Using a Rule-Based Image Processing Algorithm and Temporal Variation
Authors: Mahmoud Mubarak A. I. , Ren Honge
Published: October 2018

Forest fires represent a real threat to human lives, ecological systems, and infrastructure. Many commercial fire detection sensor systems exist, but all of them are difficult to apply at large open spaces like forests because of their response delay, necessary maintenance needed, high cost, and other problems. In this paper a forest fire detection algorithm is proposed, and it consists of the following stages. Firstly, background subtraction is applied to movement containing region detection. Secondly, converting the segmented moving regions from RGB to YCbCr color space and applying five fire detection rules for separating candidate fire pixels were undertaken. Finally, temporal variation is then employed to differentiate between fire and fire-color objects. The proposed method is tested using data set consisting of 6 videos collected from Internet. The final results show that the proposed method achieves up to 96.63% of true detection rates. These results indicate that the proposed method is accurate and can be used in automatic forest fire-alarm systems.
Grammatophyllum speciosum Ethanolic Extract Promotes Wound Healing in Human Primary Fibroblast Cells
Authors: Harikarnpakdee Saraporn , Chowjarean Verisa
Published: October 2018

Grammatophyllum speciosum is a plant in Orchidaceae family which contains a variety of phytochemical compounds that might be beneficial for medicinal use. This study aimed to evaluate the activity of pseudobulb of G. speciosum extract (GSE) in wound healing processes in human primary fibroblast cells along with in vitro antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of GSE. Scratch wound healing assay indicated that GSE was capable of increasing migration rate after 6 and 9 hours of treatment. Besides, the extract was able to scavenge DPPH, ABTS, and superoxide anion radicals indicating the antioxidative property of GSE. This study suggested a novel role of the of pseudobulb extract of G. speciosum as a wound healing enhancer. The results from this study might be beneficial for the development of further novel active compounds for skin wound healing.
Biogenic Synthesis of Copper and Silver Nanoparticles Using Green Alga Botryococcus braunii and Its Antimicrobial Activity
Authors: Arya Anju , Gupta Khushbu , Chundawat Tejpal Singh , Vaya Dipti
Published: October 2018

The spread of infectious diseases and the increase in the drug resistance among microbes has forced the researchers to synthesize biologically active nanoparticles. Improvement of the ecofriendly procedure for the synthesis of nanoparticles is growing day-by-day in the field of nanobiotechnology. In the present study, we use the extract of green alga Botryococcus braunii for the synthesis of copper and silver nanoparticles. The characterization of copper and silver nanoparticles was carried out by using UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron spectroscopy (SEM). FTIR measurements showed all functional groups having control over reduction and stabilization of the nanoparticles. The X-ray diffraction pattern revealed that the particles were crystalline in nature with a face-centred cubic (FCC) geometry. SEM micrographs have shown the morphology of biogenically synthesized metal nanoparticles. Furthermore, these biosynthesized nanoparticles were found to be highly toxic against two Gram-negative bacterial strains Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MTCC 441) and Escherichia coli (MTCC 442), two Gram-positive bacterial strains Klebsiella pneumoniae (MTCC 109) and Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC 96), and a fungal strain Fusarium oxysporum (MTCC 2087). The zone of inhibition was measured by the agar well plate method, and furthermore, minimum inhibitory concentration was determined by the broth dilution assay.
Galangin and Pinocembrin from Propolis Ameliorate Insulin Resistance in HepG2 Cells via Regulating Akt/mTOR Signaling
Authors: Liu Yinkang , Liang Xiali , Zhang Gensheng , Kong Lingjie , Peng Wenjun , Zhang Hongcheng
Published: October 2018

Insulin resistance has a critical role in type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pinobanksin, galangin, chrysin, and pinocembrin from propolis on insulin resistance. Our study shows that galangin and pinocembrin can ameliorate insulin resistance; on the contrary, pinobanksin and chrysin are ineffective. Galangin and pinocembrin treatments substantially increase glucose consumption and glycogen content by enhancing the activities of hexokinase and pyruvate kinase. Galangin treatment with 80 μM increased hexokinase and pyruvate kinase activities by 21.94% and 29.12%, respectively. Moreover, we hypothesize that galangin and pinocembrin may have a synergistic effect on the improvement of insulin resistance via Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, through distinctly upregulating the phosphorylation of IR, Akt, and GSK3β and remarkably downregulating the phosphorylation of IRS. Most notably, this is the first study to our knowledge to investigate pinocembrin about the alleviation of insulin resistance. Our results provide compelling evidence for the depth development of propolis products to ameliorate insulin resistance.
An Effective Framework for Chaotic Image Encryption Based on 3D Logistic Map
Authors: Ye Guodong , Jiao Kaixin , Pan Chen , Huang Xiaoling
Published: October 2018

In this paper, an effective framework for chaotic encryption based on a three-dimensional logistic map is presented together with secure hash algorithm-3 (SHA-3) and electrocardiograph (ECG) signal. Following the analysis of the drawbacks, namely, fixed key and low sensitivity, of some current algorithms, this work tries to solve these two problems and includes two contributions: (1) removal of the phenomenon of summation invariance in a plain-image, for which SHA-3 is proposed to calculate the hash value for the plain-image, with the results being employed to influence the initial keys for chaotic map; (2) resolution of the problem of fixed key by using an ECG signal, that can be different for different subjects or different for same subject at different times. The Wolf algorithm is employed to produce all the control parameters and initial keys in the proposed encryption method. It is believed that combining with the classical architecture of permutation-diffusion, the summation invariance in the plain-image and shortcoming of a fixed key will be avoided in our algorithm. Furthermore, the experimental results and security analysis show that the proposed encryption algorithm can achieve confidentiality.
Gankyrin Drives Malignant Transformation of Gastric Cancer and Alleviates Oxidative Stress via mTORC1 Activation
Authors: Huang Bo , Cai Weiyang , Wang Qian , Liu Feng , Xu Ming , Zhang Yanjie
Published: October 2018

Gastric cancer, as a malignant epithelial tumor, is a major health threat leading to poor overall survival and death. It is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage due to asymptomatic or only nonspecific early symptoms. The present study demonstrated that gankyrin contributes to the early malignant transformation of gastric cancer and can be selected to predict the risk of gastric cancer in those patients harboring the precancerous lesions (dysplasia and intestinal metaplasia). In addition, a new insight into gastric cancer was provided, which stated that gankyrin alleviates oxidative stress via mTORC1 pathway activation. It can potentiate the mTORC1 by PGK1‐AKT signaling that promotes the tumor process, and this phenomenon is not completely consistent with the previous report describing colorectal cancer.
Simultaneous Determination of Phenolic Compounds in Leptadenia pyrotechnica (Forssk.) Decne. by Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC-DAD-UV)
Authors: Preet Raman , Chand Gupta Raghbir
Published: October 2018

During the present study, an endeavor has been made to produce a simple, rapid, and simultaneous method for determination of phenolic compounds by using high-performance liquid chromatography in aerial parts of Leptadenia pyrotechnica (Forssk.) Decne. collected from the Indian Thar Desert. The optimized process was used for the quantification of ten phenolic compounds. The chromatographic separation was accomplished on an Atlantis T3 column at 25°C with isocratic elution. A mixture of acetonitrile and water was used as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. The linear regression examination data for the calibration plots displayed a good linear relationship with r2 > 0.999 in the concentration range of 2–20 µL. In the methanolic extracts of the whole plant of L. pyrotechnica, the content of caffeic acid (3.3%) was reported to be the highest concentration.
Effect of population density on relationship between pre- and postcopulatory sexual traits
Authors: Cai Yun Lin , Mai Chun Lan , Yu Xin , Liao Wen Bo
Published: October 2018

Sexual selection theory states that the premating (ornaments and armaments) sexual traits should trade off with the postmating (testes and ejaculates) sexual traits, assuming that growing and maintaining these traits is expensive and that total reproductive investments are limited. Male-male competition and sperm competition are predicted to affect how males allocate their finite resources to these traits. Here, we studied relative expenditure on pre- and postmating sexual traits among 82 species for three mammalian orders with varying population density using comparative phylogenetic analysis. The results showed that population density affected sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in both Artiodactyla and Carnivora, but not in Primates. However, relative testis mass and sperm size were not affected by population density. Moreover, we did not find associations between the SSD and testis mass or sperm size in three taxonomic groups. The interspecific relationships between pre- and postcopulatory sexual traits did not change with increased population density. Our findings suggest that population density did not affect variation in the relationship between pre- and postcopulatory sexual traits for these three mammalian orders.
Successful Treatment of Central Pain and Spasticity in Patient With Multiple Sclerosis With Dorsal Column, Paresthesia-Free Spinal Cord Stimulator: A Case Report
Authors: Lam Christopher M. , Monroe Brian R.
Published: October 2018

Non–paresthesia-free spinal cord stimulation (PF-SCS) has been successfully used in treating central pain syndromes in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. However, the efficacy of PF-SCS in MS is unknown. Here, we present the case of an MS patient (13-year history) with late-stage disease. Her concomitant central pain and spasticity failed multiple attempts of medical management despite escalating multimodal pharmacological regimens. A trial and subsequent permanent placement of dorsal column spinal cord stimulator with paresthesia-free programming was successful in managing her central pain, illustrating a potential role of PF-SCS in treating patients with MS.
Neoliberalism, ‘race’ and child welfare
Authors: Kirton Derek
Published: October 2018

This article explores the significance of ‘race’ and ethnicity in the relationship between neoliberalism and child welfare in the UK, arguing that this has been somewhat marginal in both policy and academic discussion. It is based on a narrative review of key policy documents and research, and covers a range of services, from family support and child protection, to looked-after children and adoption. An overarching finding is that the influence of racial neoliberalism can readily be detected within a progressive downplaying of ‘race’ and ethnicity, an emphasis on securitisation, and a frequent counteroffensive against ‘political correctness’. Importantly, however, to date, there have been limits and resistance to this influence, and the article concludes with a brief discussion of how this resistance can be built upon.
Affect, postmemory and gender in Nina Bouraoui’s Sauvage and Garçon manqué
Authors: Ivey Beatrice
Published: October 2018

This article explores the affective and gendered transmission of ‘postmemory’ in Garçon manqué (2000) and Sauvages (2010) by Nina Bouraoui. These two narratives take place at the end of the 1970s in Algiers, a transitional period in Algerian history, but also a key moment where the generation born after independence in 1962 express and create their own memories of colonialism and the Algerian Revolution. The focus of the article will be to reveal the representation of postmemorial transmission across forms of mediation that are simultaneously affective, embodied and gendered. From this perspective, it analyses generational memory as a ‘mauvais cadeau’, photographs and other affective objects, and gendered multidirectional memory to show how Bouraoui’s novels trouble singular, normative expressions of gendered and national identity. Bouraoui’s protagonists from the post-generation are thus characterized as ‘mnemonic agents’ who cross gendered and national borders.