bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Protective Role of
Bacteroides fragilis
in a Murine Model of Colitis-Associated Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Lee Yun Kyung , Mehrabian Parpi , Boyajian Silva , Wu Wei-Li , Selicha Jane , Vonderfecht Steven , Mazmanian Sarkis K.
Published: November 2018

The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is rapidly growing worldwide, and there is therefore a greater emphasis on studies of the treatment or prevention of CRC pathogenesis. Recent studies suggested that consideration of the microbiota is unavoidable to understand inflammation and tumorigenesis in the gastrointestinal tract. We demonstrate, using a mouse model of colitis-associated CRC, that human commensal
B. fragilis
protects against colon tumorigenesis. The protective role against tumor formation provided by
B. fragilis
is associated with inhibition of expression of the chemokine receptor CCR5 in the colon. The molecular mechanism for protection against CRC provided by
B. fragilis
is dependent on polysaccharide A production and is mediated by TLR2 signaling. Our results suggest that the commensal microorganism
B. fragilis
can be used to prevent inflammation-associated CRC development and may provide an effective therapeutic strategy for CRC.
Hospice patients’ participation in choice experiments to value supportive care outcomes
Authors: Bailey Cara , Kinghorn Philip , Hewison Alistair , Radcliffe Christina , Flynn Terry Nicholas , Huynh Elizabeth , Coast Joanna
Published: November 2018

Background

Values used in economic evaluation are typically obtained from the general public, which is problematic when measures are to be used with people experiencing a life-course stage such as the end of life.

Objective

To assess the feasibility of obtaining values for the ICECAP-Supportive Care Measure (SCM) from patients receiving advanced supportive care through a hospice.

Methods

Participants completed eight best-worst scaling questions in a think-aloud interview to explain choices in different hypothetical end-of-life scenarios. Three independent raters identified errors in completion of the best-worst scaling task, and thematic analysis of associated qualitative data was undertaken to explore task difficulty and choices.

Results

Twelve hospice patients were recruited. Most were able to complete the task and prioritise aspects of supportive care with either no difficulty (n=50%) or difficulty in just one of the eight scenarios (n=25%). Two patients (n=17%) were unable to comprehend the hypothetical nature of the task. The qualitative data confirmed there was good engagement with the task and identified the importance the respondents attached to maintaining dignity.

Conclusion

The findings suggest that people at the end of life will be able to complete a short, interviewer-administered, best-worst scaling task. To maximise engagement, it is recommended that the task is short and initiated with an example. Scenarios are best presented on show-cards in large print. A full evaluation of the ICECAP-SCM with those at the end of life is feasible.
Assessing aeromedical risk: a three-dimensional risk matrix approach
Authors: Gray Gary , Bron Dennis , Davenport Eddie D , d’Arcy Joanna , Guettler Norbert , Manen Olivier , Syburra Thomas , Rienks Rienk , Nicol Edward D
Published: November 2018

Early aeromedical risk
i
was based on aeromedical standards designed to eliminate individuals
ii
from air operations with any identifiable medical risk, and led to frequent medical disqualification. The concept of considering aeromedical risk as part of the spectrum of risks that could lead to aircraft accidents (including mechanical risks and human factors) was first proposed in the 1980s and led to the development of the 1% rule which defines the maximum acceptable risk for an incapacitating medical event as 1% per year (or 1 in 100 person-years) to align with acceptable overall risk in aviation operations. Risk management has subsequently evolved as a formal discipline, incorporating risk assessment as an integral part of the process. Risk assessment is often visualised as a risk matrix, with the level of risk, urgency or action required defined for each cell, and colour-coded as red, amber or green depending on the overall combination of risk and consequence. This manuscript describes an approach to aeromedical risk management which incorporates risk matrices and how they can be used in aeromedical decision-making, while highlighting some of their shortcomings.
Management of established coronary artery disease in aircrew without myocardial infarction or revascularisation
Authors: Davenport Eddie D , Gray Gary , Rienks Rienk , Bron Dennis , Syburra Thomas , d’Arcy Joanna L , Guettler Norbert J , Manen Olivier , Nicol Edward D
Published: November 2018

This paper is part of a series of expert consensus documents covering all aspects of aviation cardiology. In this manuscript, we focus on the broad aviation medicine considerations that are required to optimally manage aircrew with established coronary artery disease in those without myocardial infarction or revascularisation (both pilots and non-pilot aviation professionals). We present expert consensus opinion and associated recommendations. It is recommended that in aircrew with non-obstructive coronary artery disease or obstructive coronary artery disease not deemed haemodynamically significant, nor meeting the criteria for excessive burden (based on plaque morphology and aggregate stenosis), a return to flying duties may be possible, although with restrictions. It is recommended that aircrew with haemodynamically significant coronary artery disease (defined by a decrease in fractional flow reserve) or a total burden of disease that exceeds an aggregated stenosis of 120% are grounded. With aggressive cardiac risk factor modification and, at a minimum, annual follow-up with routine non-invasive cardiac evaluation, the majority of aircrew with coronary artery disease can safely return to flight duties.
Contemporaneous management of valvular heart disease and aortopathy in aircrew
Authors: D’Arcy Joanna L , Syburra Thomas , Guettler Norbert , Davenport Eddie D , Manen Olivier , Gray Gary , Rienks Rienk , Bron Dennis , Nicol Edward D
Published: November 2018

Valvular heart disease (VHD) is highly relevant in the aircrew population as it may limit appropriate augmentation of cardiac output in high-performance flying and predispose to arrhythmia. Aircrew with VHD require careful long-term follow-up to ensure that they can fly if it is safe and appropriate for them to do so. Anything greater than mild stenotic valve disease and/or moderate or greater regurgitation is usually associated with flight restrictions. Associated features of arrhythmia, systolic dysfunction, thromboembolism and chamber dilatation indicate additional risk and will usually require more stringent restrictions. The use of appropriate cardiac imaging, along with routine ambulatory cardiac monitoring, is mandatory in aircrew with VHD.

Aortopathy in aircrew may be found in isolation or, more commonly, associated with bicuspid aortic valve disease. Progression rates are unpredictable, but as the diameter of the vessel increases, the associated risk of dissection also increases. Restrictions on aircrew duties, particularly in the context of high-performance or solo flying, are usually required in those with progressive dilation of the aorta.
Management of cardiac conduction abnormalities and arrhythmia in aircrew
Authors: Guettler Norbert , Bron Dennis , Manen Olivier , Gray Gary , Syburra Thomas , Rienks Rienk , d’Arcy Joanna , Davenport Eddie D , Nicol Edward D
Published: November 2018

Cardiovascular diseasesiare the most common cause of loss of flying licence globally, and cardiac arrhythmia is the main disqualifier in a substantial proportion of aircrew. Aircrewiioften operate within a demanding physiological environment, that potentially includes exposure to sustained acceleration (usually resulting in a positive gravitational force, from head to feet (+Gz)) in high performance aircraft. Aeromedical assessment is complicated further when trying to discriminate between benign and potentially significant rhythm abnormalities in aircrew, many of whom are young and fit, have a resultant high vagal tone, and among whom underlying cardiac disease has a low prevalence. In cases where a significant underlying aetiology is plausible, extensive investigation is often required and where appropriate should include review by an electrophysiologist. The decision regarding restriction of flying activity will be dependent on several factors including the underlying arrhythmia, associated pathology, risk of incapacitation and/or distraction, the type of aircraft operated, and the specific flight or mission criticality of the role performed by the individual aircrew.
Heart muscle disease management in aircrew
Authors: D’Arcy Joanna L , Manen Olivier , Davenport Eddie D , Syburra Thomas , Rienks Rienk , Guettler Norbert , Bron Dennis , Gray Gary , Nicol Edward D
Published: November 2018

This manuscript focuses on the broad aviation medicine considerations that are required to optimally manage aircrew with suspected or confirmed heart muscle disease (both pilots and non-pilot aviation professionals). ECG abnormalities on aircrew periodic medical examination or presentation of a family member with a confirmed cardiomyopathy are the most common reason for investigation of heart muscle disease in aircrew. Holter monitoring and imaging, including cardiac MRI is recommended to confirm or exclude the presence of heart muscle disease and, if confirmed, management should be led by a subspecialist. Confirmed heart muscle disease often requires restriction toflying duties due to concerns regarding arrhythmia. Pericarditis and myocarditis usually require temporary restriction and return to flying duties is usually dependent on a lack of recurrent symptoms and acceptable imaging and electrophysiological investigations.
Non-coronary cardiac surgery and percutaneous cardiology procedures in aircrew
Authors: Guettler Norbert , Nicol Edward D , d’Arcy Joanna , Rienks Rienk , Bron Dennis , Davenport Eddie D , Manen Olivier , Gray Gary , Syburra Thomas
Published: November 2018

This manuscript focuses on the broad aviation medicine considerations that are required to optimally manage aircrew following non-coronary surgery or percutaneous cardiology interventions (both pilots and non-pilot aviation professionals). Aircrew may have pathology identified earlier than non-aircrew due to occupational cardiovascular screening and while aircrew should be treated using international guidelines, if several interventional approaches exist, surgeons/interventional cardiologists should consider which alternative is most appropriate for the aircrew role being undertaken; liaison with the aircrew medical examiner is strongly recommended prior to intervention to fully understand this. This is especially important in aircrew of high-performance aircraft or in aircrew who undertake aerobatics. Many postoperative aircrew can return to restricted flying duties, although aircrew should normally not return to flying for a minimum period of 6 months to allow for appropriate postoperative recuperation and assessment of cardiac function and electrophysiology.
Apocrine lesions of the breast: part 2 of a two-part review. Invasive apocrine carcinoma, the molecular apocrine signature and utility of immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis of apocrine lesions of the breast
Authors: D'Arcy Clare , Quinn Cecily M
Published: November 2018

Pure apocrine carcinoma of the breast is rare and has been defined by using a combination of morphologic (apocrine morphology in >90% of tumour cells) and immunohistochemical criteria (oestrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) negative and androgen receptor (AR) positive). Recent advances in the molecular classification of breast tumours have uncovered a subset of breast tumours associated with high expression of androgen receptor mRNA including the so-called ‘luminal androgen receptor (LAR) tumours’ and ‘molecular apocrine tumours’ (MATs). Recognition of these tumour subsets has opened potential avenues for therapies exploiting the AR pathway in triple negative breast carcinoma (TNBC). In this second part of our two-part review, we focus on the definition of pure apocrine carcinoma, recent advances in understanding the molecular apocrine signature in breast carcinoma, its relationship to pure apocrine carcinoma defined at the level of light microscopy and immunohistochemistry (IHC) and the therapeutic implications of androgen expression in TNBC. We complete the article with a summary of the utility of IHC in stratifying apocrine lesions of the breast.
Impact of infarct location on functional outcome following endovascular therapy for stroke
Authors: Rosso Charlotte , Blanc Raphael , Ly Julien , Samson Yves , Lehéricy Stéphane , Gory Benjamin , Marnat Gautier , Mazighi Mikael , Consoli Arturo , Labreuche Julien , Saleme Suzana , Costalat Vincent , Bracard Serge , Desal Hubert , Piotin Michel , Lapergue Bertrand
Published: November 2018

Objectives

The relationship between stroke topography (ie, the regions damaged by the infarct) and functional outcome can aid clinicians in their decision-making at the acute and later stages. However, the side (left or right) of the stroke may also influence the identification of clinically relevant regions. We sought to determine which brain regions are associated with good functional outcome at 3 months in patients with left-sided and right-sided stroke treated by endovascular treatment using the diffusion-weighted imaging-Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (DWI-ASPECTS).

Methods

Patients with ischaemic stroke (n = 405) were included from the ASTER trial and Pitié-Salpêtrière registry. Blinded readers rated ASPECTS on day 1 DWI. Stepwise logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the regions related to 3-month outcome in left (n = 190) and right (n = 215) sided strokes with the modified Rankin scale (0–2) as a binary independent variable and with the 10 regions-of-interest of the DWI-ASPECTS as independent variables.

Results

Median National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at baseline was 17 (IQR: 12–20), median age was 70 years (IQR: 58–80) and median day-one NIHSS 9 (IQR: 4–18). Not all brain regions have the same weight in predicting good outcome at 3 months; moreover, these regions depend on the affected hemisphere. In left-sided strokes, the multivariate analysis revealed that preservation of the caudate nucleus, the internal capsule and the cortical M5 region were independent predictors of good outcome. In right-sided strokes, the cortical M3 and M6 regions were found to be clinically relevant.

Conclusion

Cortical non-motors areas related to outcome differed between left-sided and right-sided strokes. This difference might reflect the specialisation of the dominant and non-dominant hemispheres for language and attention, respectively. These results may influence decision-making at the acute and later stages.

Trial registration number

NCT02523261.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors in the management of malignancies in transplant recipients
Authors: Regalla Dileep Kumar Reddy , Williams Grant R , Paluri Ravi kumar
Published: November 2018

Cancer immunotherapy, an area of active research, has thus far yielded several exciting breakthroughs in cancer treatment strategies. So far, immune checkpoint inhibitors have been the most promising method of cancer immunotherapy. CTLA-4, PD-1 and PD-L1 are the immune checkpoint molecules against which monoclonal antibodies act against and revolutionised the treatment of several malignancies. However, it is still unclear whether using these monoclonal antibodies in patients with malignancy and a history of transplant is as beneficial as in patients without a history of transplantation. The reason being, with the therapeutic benefit, also comes the inherent disadvantage of transplant rejection because of the activation of T-cells against donor antigens. So, transplant-related complications limit the usage of the checkpoint blockade therapy to treat malignancies. Here, we review the data published in this context and suggest optimal approaches to using the currently available repertoire of immunotherapies.
Strength, stiffness, and microstructure characteristics of biocemented calcareous sand
Authors: Liu Lu , Liu Hanlong , Stuedlein Armin W. , Evans T. Matthew , Xiao Yang
Published: November 2018

Calcareous sands are known as problematic soils in nature and challenge geotechnical engineers in many practical projects. Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) is an innovative soil improvement technique that uses biomineralisation processes to induce cementation in-situ. The work described in this paper investigates the strength, deformation, and microstructure characteristics of biocemented calcareous sand under different cementation solution to sample volume ratios. A series of laboratory experiments was conducted, including unconfined compressive strength tests, splitting, tensile (i.e., Brazilian) strength tests, and consolidated drained triaxial tests. The results indicate that an exponential function reasonably describes the unconfined compressive strength and splitting tensile strength with increasing cementation solution to sample volume ratios. The tangent modulus at 50% peak strength increases exponentially with an increase in cementation solution to sample volume ratio, whereas it increases linearly with an increase in strength. The strength parameters for this MICP-improved soil, including the peak cohesion and friction angle, are derived to facilitate engineering design. Microstructure analyses are used to illustrate the physical basis for the increase in strength and stiffness with increases in the calcite content, as demonstrated using the cementation solution to sample volume ratio.
A New Year’s Day icebreaker: icequakes on lakes in Alberta, Canada
Authors: Kavanaugh Jeffrey , Schultz Ryan , Andriashek Laurence D. , van der Baan Mirko , Ghofrani Hadi , Atkinson Gail , Utting Daniel J.
Published: November 2018

Any process that causes a sudden brittle failure of material has the potential to cause earthquake-like seismic events. Cryoseisms represent an underreported class of seismic event due to their (often) small magnitudes. In this paper, we document the phenomenon of some of the largest magnitude lake-associated icequakes (ML2.0) yet reported. These events occurred nearly simultaneously (within ∼2 h) on geographically separate lakes in Alberta, Canada, starting 1 January 2018. We conjecture that these events were caused by the sudden brittle failure of lake ice due to thermal expansion; the effects of the thermal expansion were compounded by the lack of insulating snow cover, high lake water levels, and a rapid onset of atmospheric warming. These factors also contributed to ice-jacking — a repeating process in which thermal contraction produces tensile cracks (leads) in lake ice that are then filled with water that is frozen during the cooling cycle. Thus, any subsequent thermal expansion must be accommodated by new deformation or brittle failure. This ice-jacking process caused creeping ground deformation after the initial brittle failure and again two weeks later following a second warming period. In many cases, the resulting ground deformation was significant enough to cause property damage.
Restoration of skeletal muscle homeostasis by hydrogen sulfide during hyperhomocysteinemia-mediated oxidative/ER stress condition
Authors: Majumder Avisek , Singh Mahavir , George Akash K. , Tyagi Suresh C.
Published: November 2018

Elevated homocysteine (Hcy), i.e., hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy), causes skeletal muscle myopathy. Among many cellular and metabolic alterations caused by HHcy, oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress are considered the major ones; however, the precise molecular mechanism(s) in this process is unclear. Nevertheless, there is no treatment option available to treat HHcy-mediated muscle injury. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is increasingly recognized as a potent anti-oxidant, anti-apoptotic/necrotic/pyroptotic, and anti-inflammatory compound and also has been shown to improve angiogenesis during ischemic injury. Patients with CBS mutation produce less H2S, making them vulnerable to Hcy-mediated cellular damage. Many studies have reported bidirectional regulation of ER stress in apoptosis through JNK activation and concomitant attenuation of cell proliferation and protein synthesis via PI3K/AKT axis. Whether H2S mitigates these detrimental effects of HHcy on muscle remains unexplored. In this review, we discuss molecular mechanisms of HHcy-mediated oxidative/ER stress responses, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and atrophic changes in skeletal muscle and how H2S can restore skeletal muscle homeostasis during HHcy condition. This review also highlights the molecular mechanisms on how H2S could be developed as a clinically relevant therapeutic option for chronic conditions that are aggravated by HHcy.
Developments in topological gravity
Authors: Dijkgraaf Robbert , Witten Edward
Published: November 2018

This note aims to provide an entrée to two developments in two-dimensional topological gravity — that is, intersection theory on the moduli space of Riemann surfaces — that have not yet become well known among physicists. A little over a decade ago, Mirzakhani discovered[Formula: see text] an elegant new proof of the formulas that result from the relationship between topological gravity and matrix models of two-dimensional gravity. Here we will give a very partial introduction to that work, which hopefully will also serve as a modest tribute to the memory of a brilliant mathematical pioneer. More recently, Pandharipande, Solomon, and Tessler3 (with further developments in Refs. 4–6) generalized intersection theory on moduli space to the case of Riemann surfaces with boundary, leading to generalizations of the familiar KdV and Virasoro formulas. Though the existence of such a generalization appears natural from the matrix model viewpoint — it corresponds to adding vector degrees of freedom to the matrix model — constructing this generalization is not straightforward. We will give some idea of the unexpected way that the difficulties were resolved.
Teleparallel energy–momentum distribution of various black hole and wormhole metrics
Authors: Aygün S. , Baysal H. , Aktaş C. , Yılmaz İ. , Sahoo P. K. , Tarhan İ.
Published: November 2018

Using the Einstein, Bergmann–Thomson (BT) and Landau–Lifshitz (LL) energy and momentum formulations in teleparallel gravity (TG), we obtain the total energy and momentum distributions for phantom black hole metric. We get different energy distributions similar to the earlier study and the momentum distributions vanish for phantom black hole metric in TG. These momentum solutions agree with the study of Sahoo et al. in general relativity. However, using Einstein, Bergmann–Thomson and Landau–Lifshitz energy and momentum complexes, we investigate regular black hole, asymptotically flat wormhole, anti-de Sitter wormhole and Ellis wormhole solutions in TG. We obtain (i) same BT and LL energy density solutions for regular black hole metric, (ii) same and zero energy distribution for asymptotically flat wormhole, (iii) proportion with Einstein and BT energy density solutions for anti-de Sitter wormhole, (iv) same and negative Einstein and BT energy density solutions for Ellis wormhole in TG.
Fuzzy Parameter Based Mathematical Model on Forest Biomass
Authors: Panja Prabir
Published: November 2018

In this paper, a fuzzy mathematical model has been developed by considering forest biomass, human population and technological effort for the conservation of forest biomass as separate compartments. We have assumed that the forest biomass and human population grows logistically. We have considered that forest biomass decreases due to industrialization, food, shelter, etc., for humans. For the conservation of forest biomass, some modern technological efforts have been used in this model. Also, time delay of use of modern technological effort for the conservation of forest biomass has been considered on forest biomass. According to the assumptions, a fuzzy mathematical model on forest biomass is formulated. Next we have determined different possible equilibrium points. Also, the stability of our proposed system around these equilibrium points has been discussed. Finally, some numerical simulation results have been presented for better understanding of our proposed mathematical model.
Numerical studies on mixed-mode crack propagation behavior for functionally graded material based on peridynamic theory
Authors: Wang Fei , Ma Yu’e , Guo Yanning , Huang Wei
Published: November 2018

Peridynamics (PD) is a new nonlocal theory that unifies the mechanics of discrete particles, continuum, and continuum with discontinuities, and it has inherent advantages in calculating the mixed-mode crack propagating. Functionally graded materials (FGMs) are the advanced composite materials, fracture behavior of which is complicated to be simulated by the traditional continuum mechanics. Hence, a PD model for FGMs is given to investigate the mixed-mode fracture behavior under quasi-static loading. Basic PD equations, damage model, and PD [Formula: see text]-integral for FGMs are discussed. A FORTRAN program of PD algorithm is coded to calculate the [Formula: see text]-integral and crack propagation of FGMs. The [Formula: see text]-integral and the crack paths of the PD model are verified by comparing with the published numerical and experimental results. Effects of the material gradient, the material gradient direction, and the stress load magnitude on the fracture behavior are investigated. It is shown that the PD [Formula: see text]-integral and the crack path are strongly affected by the material gradient and the gradient direction under the same stress load. When the gradient of FGMs is linear, the material gradient direction decides whether the mixed-mode crack kinks or not and the magnitude of stress determines the kinking angle.
Transfer-Learning Methods in Programming Course Outcome Prediction
Authors: Lagus Jarkko , Longi Krista , Klami Arto , Hellas Arto
Published: November 2018

The computing education research literature contains a wide variety of methods that can be used to identify students who are either at risk of failing their studies or who could benefit from additional challenges. Many of these are based on machine-learning models that learn to make predictions based on previously observed data. However, in educational contexts, differences between courses set huge challenges for the generalizability of these methods. For example, traditional machine-learning methods assume identical distribution in all data—in our terms, traditional machine-learning methods assume that all teaching contexts are alike. In practice, data collected from different courses can be very different as a variety of factors may change, including grading, materials, teaching approach, and the students.

Transfer-learning methodologies have been created to address this challenge. They relax the strict assumption of identical distribution for training and test data. Some similarity between the contexts is still needed for efficient learning. In this work, we review the concept of transfer learning especially for the purpose of predicting the outcome of an introductory programming course and contrast the results with those from traditional machine-learning methods. The methods are evaluated using data collected in situ from two separate introductory programming courses.

We empirically show that transfer-learning methods are able to improve the predictions, especially in cases with limited amount of training data, for example, when making early predictions for a new context. The difference in predictive power is, however, rather subtle, and traditional machine-learning models can be sufficiently accurate assuming the contexts are closely related and the features describing the student activity are carefully chosen to be insensitive to the fine differences.
Comparing Computing Professionals’ Perceptions of Importance of Skills and Knowledge on the Job and Coverage in Undergraduate Experiences
Authors: Exter Marisa , Caskurlu Secil , Fernandez Todd
Published: November 2018

This article discusses the findings of a survey of nearly 300 computing professionals who are involved in the design and/or development of software across a variety of industries. We report on the surveyed professionals’ perceptions of the importance of a range of topics and skills, and the degree to which 55 recent graduates felt that each topic or skill was emphasized in their undergraduate experience. Our findings highlight the value of breadth and flexibility in technical skills, and the universal importance of critical thinking, problem solving, on-the-job learning, and the ability to work well in cross-disciplinary teams. These findings align roughly with recommendations by the ACM/IEEE task force on computing curricula. However, the recent graduates we surveyed report inconsistent coverage of these most important areas within their degree experiences. We discuss implications for education and for future research.
Optimizing Automatic Evaluation of Machine Translation with the ListMLE Approach
Authors: Li Maoxi , Wang Mingwen
Published: November 2018

Automatic evaluation of machine translation is critical for the evaluation and development of machine translation systems. In this study, we propose a new model for automatic evaluation of machine translation. The proposed model combines standard n-gram precision features and sentence semantic mapping features with neural features, including neural language model probabilities and the embedding distances between translation outputs and their reference translations. We optimize the model with a representative list-wise learning to rank approach, ListMLE, in terms of human ranking assessments. The experimental results on WMT’2015 Metrics task indicated that the proposed approach yields significantly better correlations with human assessments than several state-of-the-art baseline approaches. In particular, the results confirmed that the proposed list-wise learning to rank approach is useful and powerful for optimizing automatic evaluation metrics in terms of human ranking assessments. Deep analysis also demonstrated that optimizing automatic metrics with the ListMLE approach is a reasonable method and adding the neural features can gain considerable improvements compared with the traditional features.
Response Selection and Automatic Message-Response Expansion in Retrieval-Based QA Systems using Semantic Dependency Pair Model
Authors: Su Ming-Hsiang , Wu Chung-Hsien , Huang Kun-Yi , Lin Wu-Hsuan
Published: November 2018

This article presents an approach to response selection and message-response (MR) database expansion from the unstructured data on the psychological consultation websites for a retrieval-based question answering (QA) system in a constrained domain for emotional support and comforting. First, we manually construct an initial MR database based on the articles collected from the psychological consultation websites. The Chinese Knowledge and Information Processing probabilistic context-free grammar is adopted to obtain the semantic dependency graphs (SDGs) of all the messages and responses in the initial MR database. For each sentence in the MR database, all the semantic dependencies, each composed of two words and their semantic relation, are extracted from the SDG of the sentence to form a semantic dependency set. Finally, a matrix with the element representing the correlation between the semantic dependencies of the messages and their corresponding responses is constructed as a semantic dependency pair model (SDPM) for response selection. Moreover, as the number of MR pairs in the psychological consultation websites is increasing day by day, the MR database in the QA system should be expanded to meet the needs of the users. For MR database expansion, the unstructured data from the message board are automatically collected. For the collected data, the supervised latent Dirichlet allocation is adopted for event detection and then the event-based delta Bayesian Information Criterion is used for message and response article segmentation. Each extracted message segment is then fed to the constructed retrieval-based QA system to find the best matched response segment and the matching score is also estimated to verify if the new MR pair is suitable to be included in the expanded MR database. Fivefold cross validation was employed to evaluate the performance of the proposed retrieval-based QA system over the expanded MR database based on SDPM. Compared to the vector space model-based method, the Okapi BM25 model, and the deep learning-based sequence-to-sequence with attention model, the proposed approach achieved a more favorable performance according to a statistical significance test. The retrieval accuracy based on MR expansion was also evaluated and a satisfactory result was obtained confirming the effectiveness of the expanded MR database. In addition, the user's satisfaction score of the proposed system was evaluated using the Cronbach's alpha value and the satisfaction score of the proposed SDPM was higher than those of the methods for comparison.
Input Method for Human Translators
Authors: Huang Guoping , Zhang Jiajun , Zhou Yu , Zong Chengqing
Published: November 2018

Computer-aided translation (CAT) systems are the most popular tool for helping human translators efficiently perform language translation. To further improve the translation efficiency, there is an increasing interest in applying machine translation (MT) technology to upgrade CAT. To thoroughly integrate MT into CAT systems, in this article, we propose a novel approach: a new input method that makes full use of the knowledge adopted by MT systems, such as translation rules, decoding hypotheses, and n-best translation lists. The proposed input method contains two parts: a phrase generation model, allowing human translators to type target sentences quickly, and an n-gram prediction model, helping users choose perfect MT fragments smoothly. In addition, to tune the underlying MT system to generate the input method preferable results, we design a new evaluation metric for the MT system. The proposed input method integrates MT effectively and imperceptibly, and it is particularly suitable for many target languages with complex characters, such as Chinese and Japanese. The extensive experiments demonstrate that our method saves more than 23% in time and over 42% in keystrokes, and it also improves the translation quality by more than 5 absolute BLEU scores compared with the strong baseline, i.e., post-editing using Google Pinyin.
Using Text-to-Speech to Prototype Game Dialog
Authors: Engström Henrik , Östblad Per Anders
Published: November 2018

Voice acting is common in computer games in many genres. The recording and processing of voice acting is a time-consuming process that involves, for instance, voice actors, directors, audio engineers, and game writers. Changes to the script of a game after the voice acting has been recorded are expensive. At the same time, playtests of games without voice acting may give different results than testing where it is present. This creates a situation where improvements identified from play testing are either ignored or leads to extensive re-recording of voice acting. This article presents a design science research project where text-to-speech (TTS) synthesis is used as a substitute for recorded voice acting in the early stages of game production. We propose a set of design principles that have been evaluated in a sharp game production. Our results indicate several benefits of using TTS as a prototyping tool: It can be a source of inspiration for game writers, it gives good estimations on timing and pacing of the game, and it allows for early tests of how the dialog will be perceived by players. The quality and characteristics of the voices provided by the TTS system play an important role in this process. The rapid development in the speech technology field opens many future possibilities.
Metabolic endotoxemia promotes adipose dysfunction and inflammation in human obesity
Authors: Clemente-Postigo Mercedes , Oliva-Olivera Wilfredo , Coin-Aragüez Leticia , Ramos-Molina Bruno , Giraldez-Perez Rosa María , Lhamyani Said , Alcaide-Torres Juan , Perez-Martinez Pablo , El Bekay Rajaa , Cardona Fernando , Tinahones Francisco J.
Published: November 2018

Impaired adipose tissue (AT) lipid handling and inflammation is associated with obesity-related metabolic diseases. Circulating lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) from gut microbiota (metabolic endotoxemia), proposed as a triggering factor for the low-grade inflammation in obesity, might also be responsible for AT dysfunction. Nevertheless, this hypothesis has not been explored in human obesity. To analyze the relationship between metabolic endotoxemia and AT markers for lipogenesis, lipid handling, and inflammation in human obesity, 33 patients with obesity scheduled for surgery were recruited and classified according to their LPS levels. Visceral and subcutaneous AT gene and protein expression were analyzed and adipocyte and AT in vitro assays performed. Subjects with obesity with a high degree of metabolic endotoxemia had lower expression of key genes for AT function and lipogenesis ( SREBP1, FABP4, FASN, and LEP) but higher expression of inflammatory genes in visceral and subcutaneous AT than subjects with low LPS levels. In vitro experiments corroborated that LPS are responsible for adipocyte and AT inflammation and downregulation of PPARG, SCD, FABP4, and LEP expression and LEP secretion. Thus, metabolic endotoxemia influences AT physiology in human obesity by decreasing the expression of factors involved in AT lipid handling and function as well as by increasing inflammation.
Evidence of human milk oligosaccharides in maternal circulation already during pregnancy: a pilot study
Authors: Jantscher-Krenn Evelyn , Aigner Johanna , Reiter Birgit , Köfeler Harald , Csapo Bence , Desoye Gernot , Bode Lars , van Poppel Mireille N. M.
Published: November 2018

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are bioactive glycans linked with health benefits to both the breast-fed infant and lactating mother. We hypothesized that HMOs are present before lactation, already during pregnancy, and are influenced by maternal body composition. In a pilot study, we investigated individual and temporal variations in HMO composition and concentration in maternal serum at gestational weeks 10–14 ( visit 1), 20–24 ( visit 2), and 30–35 (visit 3) (V1, V2, and V3, respectively) and associations with maternal body composition. HMOs were quantified by HPLC and confirmed by enzymatic digest and mass spectrometry. Associations of maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI), subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) thickness, and adipokines with absolute and relative HMO concentrations were analyzed by Spearman correlation. We identified 16 HMOs and 2 oligosaccharides not common to human milk. HMO concentration and composition varied with gestational age and secretor status. HMO concentration increased with gestational age and changed from a predominantly sialylated profile at V1 to a more balanced fucosylated-to-sialylated ratio at V3, mostly due to a profound increase in 2′-fucosyllactose (2′-FL), reflecting secretor phenotype. In secretor-positive women, BMI was negatively correlated with 2′-FL at V2. SAT at V1 and V2 were strongly negatively correlated with 2′-FL concentrations. This pilot study shows that prenatal HMOs are present in maternal serum, suggesting roles for HMOs already during pregnancy. Our result that maternal body composition is associated with prenatal HMOs might indicate that maternal metabolism modulates HMO composition with unknown implications for maternal and fetal health already during pregnancy.
Heteroplasmy Detection of Mitochondrial DNA A3243G Mutation Using Quantitative Real-Time PCR Assay Based on TaqMan-MGB Probes
Authors: Rong Enguang , Wang Hanbo , Hao Shujing , Fu Yuhong , Ma Yanyan , Wang Tianze
Published: November 2018

A point mutation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) at nucleotide position 3243 A to G (mt.3243A>G) is involved in many common diseases, including maternally inherited diabetes and deafness (MIDD) and mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis with stroke-like episodes (MELAS). However, the mutant level of mt.3243A>G varies both among individuals and in different organs, tissues, and even cells of single individuals. For detection of this mutation, current methods have limited universality and sensitivity and may be not adequate for a routine clinical test. Here, we develop and evaluate a rapid TaqMan-MGB quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) method for detecting and quantifying the heteroplasmy level of mt.3243A>G in single-tube analysis. With our method, the sensitivity of detection was as low as 0.1%, but the accuracy of quantification was reliable, down to 4%. All positives could be correctly identified, and the heteroplasmy levels determined by qPCR correlated well with the results from restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and pyrosequencing assays (r = 0.921~0.973 and 0.972~0.984). In addition, we demonstrated that the urinary sediments, leukocytes, or hair follicles might be ideal templates to detect and quantify the heteroplasmy of mt.3243A>G mutation; however, they should be optimized or retreated for further accurate quantification. Our study should allow rapid and high throughput diagnostic testing and can potentially be used to clarify the association between clinical phenotype and pathogenic mitochondrial mutations derived from various tissues.
Significant Neutrophilic Emperipolesis in Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Tetikkurt Seza , Taş Faruk , Emre Funda , Özsoy Şule , Bilece Zeki Tolga
Published: November 2018

A 53-year-old man was admitted for tooth mobility. A mass was identified at the tooth base by CT. Histopathology of the excisional biopsy revealed a moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Many intact neutrophils were observed within the malignant cell cytoplasm. The patient underwent partial maxillectomy and bilateral neck dissection. Significant neutrophilic emperipolesis was detected in the resected material. Four tumor recurrences developed in the head and neck region during follow-up. Surgery and chemoradiotherapy was performed. The latest tumor recurrence occurred in the peripharyngeal and the posterior parotideal region. The patient was started on pembrolizumab therapy and nearly complete treatment response occurred. Pembrolizumab was discontinued due to the adrenal insufficiency and pulmonary tuberculosis that developed as a treatment side effect. Pembrolizumab was commenced again when tumor recurrence occurred. The patient is currently alive with ongoing pembrolizumab and antituberculous treatment. We present this case to remark the presence of a significant neutrophilic emperipolesis in the squamous cell carcinoma of the hard palate and maxilla which is rarely encountered. Emperipolesis may predict tumor behavior and the consequences of immune-modulating treatment response in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck in regard to the findings of our case.
Optimization Model and Algorithm of Empty Pallets Dispatching under the Time-Space Network of Express Shipment
Authors: Zhou Kang , He Shiwei , Song Rui , Guo Xiaole , Li Kaiming
Published: November 2018

Relying on the express freight network, the dispatching of empty pallets based on the pallet pool mode is studied to reuse pallets with the minimum transport cost, enhance the pallet utilization rate, reduce the waste of resources, and save the cost of logistics. Considering the influence of transport efficiency for different modes in transportation process, differences of transportation cost, carbon emissions, and transportation timeliness of demand points required, an optimization model is constructed. The objective of the model is to minimize the total cost including transportation cost, inventory cost, lease cost, and loss cost. According to the structural characteristics of the model, genetic algorithm and improved cloud clonal selection operation is used to solve the model. Finally, the validity and rationality of the optimization model are verified by a case study. The result shows that the total dispatching cost of considering time requirement is 1.8 times the cost without considering the time requirement, respectively, both less than the total cost of pallets leasing. Moreover, when there are 3 supply points and 2 demand points and the number of iterations is 100, after the algorithms are run for 30 times, the worst values are 9305 and 8317 for genetic algorithm and the improved cloud clonal selection operation, respectively. Therefore, the efficiency of the improved cloud clonal selection operation is higher than genetic algorithm.
Towards Secure Network Computing Services for Lightweight Clients Using Blockchain
Authors: Xu Yang , Wang Guojun , Yang Jidian , Ren Ju , Zhang Yaoxue , Zhang Cheng
Published: November 2018

The emerging network computing technologies have significantly extended the abilities of the resource‐constrained IoT devices through the network‐based service sharing techniques. However, such a flexible and scalable service provisioning paradigm brings increased security risks to terminals due to the untrustworthy exogenous service codes loading from the open network. Many existing security approaches are unsuitable for IoT environments due to the high difficulty of maintenance or the dependencies upon extra resources like specific hardware. Fortunately, the rise of blockchain technology has facilitated the development of service sharing methods and, at the same time, it appears a viable solution to numerous security problems. In this paper, we propose a novel blockchain‐based secure service provisioning mechanism for protecting lightweight clients from insecure services in network computing scenarios. We introduce the blockchain to maintain all the validity states of the off‐chain services and edge service providers for the IoT terminals to help them get rid of untrusted or discarded services through provider identification and service verification. In addition, we take advantage of smart contracts which can be triggered by the lightweight clients to help them check the validities of service providers and service codes according to the on‐chain transactions, thereby reducing the direct overhead on the IoT devices. Moreover, the adoptions of the consortium blockchain and the proof of authority consensus mechanism also help to achieve a high throughput. The theoretical security analysis and evaluation results show that our approach helps the lightweight clients get rid of untrusted edge service providers and insecure services effectively with acceptable latency and affordable costs.
A Solution-Processed Tetra-Alkoxylated Zinc Phthalocyanine as Hole Transporting Material for Emerging Photovoltaic Technologies
Authors: Zanotti Gloria , Mattioli Giuseppe , Paoletti Anna Maria , Pennesi Giovanna , Caschera Daniela , Maman Nitzan , Visoly-Fisher Iris , Misra Ravi K. , Etgar Lioz , Katz Eugene A.
Published: November 2018

A tetra-n-butoxy zinc phthalocyanine (n-BuO)4ZnPc has been synthesized in a single step, starting from commercial precursors, and easily purified. The molecule can be solution processed to form an effective and inexpensive hole transport layer for organic and perovskite solar cells. These appealing features are suggested by the results of a series of chemical, optical, and voltammetric characterizations of the molecule, supported by the results of ab initio simulations. Preliminary measurements of (n-BuO)4ZnPc-methylammonium lead triiodide perovskite-based devices confirm such suggestion and indicate that the interface between the photoactive layer and the hole transporting layer is characterized by hole-extracting and electron-blocking properties, potentially competitive with those of other standards de facto in the field of organic hole transport materials, like the expensive Spiro-OMeTAD.