bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Funding for cerebral palsy research in Australia, 2000–2015: an observational study
Authors: Herbert D L , Barnett A G , White R , Novak I , Badawi N
Published: October 2016

Objectives

To examine the funding for cerebral palsy (CP) research in Australia, as compared with the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Design

Observational study.

Setting

For Australia, philanthropic funding from Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation (CPARF) (2005–2015) was compared with National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC, 2000–2015) and Australian Research Council (ARC, 2004–2015) and CPARF and NHMRC funding were compared with NIH funding (USA).

Participants

Cerebral Palsy researchers funded by CPARF, NHMRC or NIH.

Results

Over 10 years, total CPARF philanthropic funding was $21.9 million, including people, infrastructure, strategic and project support. As competitive grants, CPARF funded $11.1 million, NHMRC funded $53.5 million and Australian Research Council funded $1.5 million. CPARF, NHMRC and NIH funding has increased in real terms, but only the NIH statistically significantly increased in real terms (mean annual increase US$4.9 million per year, 95% CI 3.6 to 6.2, p<0.001). The NHMRC budget allocated to CP research remained steady over time at 0.5%. A network analysis indicated the relatively small number of CP researchers in Australia is mostly connected through CPARF or NHMRC funding.

Conclusions

Funding for CP research from the Australian government schemes has stabilised and CP researchers rely on philanthropic funding to fill this gap. In comparison, the NIH is funding a larger number of CP researchers and their funding pattern is consistently increasing.
Front-end genomics: using an alternative approach for the recovery of high-quality DNA from core needle biopsies
Authors: Mojica Wilfrido D , Hou Tieying , Sykes Don , Dey-Rao Rama
Published: October 2016

Aims

Determine whether a simple prewash step will provide adequate amounts of high-quality DNA from core needle biopsies for molecular sequencing studies.

Methods

The quantitative and qualitative metrics of DNA recovered from core needle biopsies processed either by 1) formalin fixation and paraffin embedding (FFPE), 2) cells recovered after the core needle biopsy was washed, and 3) frozen sections of the core needle biopsy tissue were evaluated and compared to one another.

Results

Fairly equivalent amounts of DNA can be obtained from cells recovered from a prewash step relative to the FFPE and frozen section samples. The number of amplifiable DNA in the wash sample was greater than that from the FFPE samples. The average molecular size of DNA in the wash sample was greater than that of both the FFPE and frozen samples.

Conclusions

Although more starting material in terms of the number of cells was present in both the FFPE and frozen section samples than the wash samples, equivalent to better results were obtained from the latter with regard to quality. This approach may be a means to better aliquot the diminutive amounts of tissue associated with core needle biopsies, allowing dissociated cells to be dedicated for molecular studies while keeping the tissue intact for morphological studies.
Randomised placebo-controlled trials of surgery: ethical analysis and guidelines
Authors: Savulescu Julian , Wartolowska Karolina , Carr Andy
Published: October 2016

Use of a placebo control in surgical trials is a divisive issue. We argue that, in principle, placebo controls for surgery are necessary in the same way as for medicine. However, there are important differences between these types of trial, which both increase justification and limit application of surgical studies. We propose that surgical randomised placebo-controlled trials are ethical if certain conditions are fulfilled: (1) the presence of equipoise, defined as a lack of unbiased evidence for efficacy of an intervention; (2) clinically important research question; (3) the risk to patients is minimised and reasonable; (4) there is uncertainty about treatment allocation rather than deception; (5) there is preliminary evidence for efficacy, which justifies a placebo-controlled design; and (6) ideally, the placebo procedure should have some direct benefit to the patient, for example, as a diagnostic tool. Placebo-controlled trials in surgery will most often be justified when surgery is performed to improve function or relieve symptoms and when objective outcomes are not available, while the risk of mortality or significant morbidity is low. In line with medical placebo-controlled trials, the surgical trial (1) should be sufficiently powered and (2) standardised so that its results are valid, (3) consent should be valid, (4) the standard treatment or rescue medication should be provided if possible, and (5) after the trial, the patients should be told which treatment they received and there should be provision for post-trial care if the study may result in long-term negative effects. We comment and contrast our guidelines with those of the American Medical Association.
Teaching residents: critical appraisal of the literature using a journal club format
Authors: Hohmann Erik , Tetsworth Kevin
Published: October 2016

Objectives

Critical appraisal of the literature is an integral and important part of surgical practice, but can this skill be taught to young doctors? The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of formal instruction regarding critical review and appraisal of journal articles, using junior surgical residents followed over the course of a 10-week long programme.

Methods

First-year surgical residents who participated in the department of orthopaedic surgery's compulsory journal club evaluated one article per week for 10 weeks, using the reviewer guidelines and a scoring system currently used by Arthroscopy. The article was selected by a senior consultant orthopaedic surgeon and was provided for assessment to each resident the week prior. The scores and evaluation recommendation (accept, revise and reject) of the residents were then compared against the senior surgeon's assessment. A contingency table and Fisher's exact test was used to compare the frequency of agreement between the decisions of the senior surgeon and the residents.

Results

Twenty residents were included. Agreement in overall total assessment scores increased significantly (p=0.0001) from 49.5% at session 1 to 82.5% at session 10. When comparing the mean percentage of agreement of the first five sessions (61%) with the second five sessions (95%), a significant (p=0.03) increase was observed. The percentage of agreement with the senior surgeon (whether the article should be accepted, revised or rejected) improved from 0% for the first session to 60% at the last session (χ2=7.2–11.2, p=0.02–0.04).

Conclusions

The results strongly suggest that a structured approach to the review and appraisal of journal articles using the format of a journal club significantly improves critical reading skills for first-year surgical residents.
Analgesia in the surgical intensive care unit
Authors: Ehieli Eric , Yalamuri Suraj , Brudney Charles S , Pyati Srinivas
Published: October 2016

Critically ill patients are a heterogeneous group with diverse comorbidities and physiological derangements. The management of pain in the critically ill population is emerging as a standard of care in the intensive care unit (ICU). Pain control of critically ill patients in the ICU presents numerous challenges to intensivists. Inconsistencies in pain assessment, analgesic prescription and variation in monitoring sedation and analgesia result in suboptimal pain management. Inadequate pain control can have deleterious effects on several organ systems in critically ill patients. Therefore, it becomes incumbent on physicians and nurses caring for these patients to carefully evaluate their practice on pain management and adopt an optimal pain management strategy that includes a reduction in noxious stimuli, adequate analgesia and promoting education regarding sedation and analgesia to the ICU staff. Mechanistic approaches and multimodal analgesic techniques have been clearly demonstrated to be the most effective pain management strategy to improve outcomes. For example, recent evidence suggests that the use of short acting analgesics and analgesic adjuncts for sedation is superior to hypnotic based sedation in intubated patients. This review will address analgesia in the ICU, including opioid therapy, adjuncts, regional anaesthesia and non-pharmacological options that can provide a multimodal approach to treating pain.
Separation of carbon dioxide and nitrogen gases using novel composite membranes
Authors: Maheswari A. Uma , Palanivelu K.
Published: October 2016

Global warming is the major environmental issue caused by greenhouse gases, especially CO2. This demands urgent action to reduce or offset CO2 emission from power plants, which could be done using facilitated transport membranes (FTMs). In this context, CO2 selective carriers were prepared by blending polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with three amines: ethylenediamine (EDA), diethylenetriamine (DETA), and triethylenetetramine (TETA). Then, the composite membranes were prepared using PVA–amine blend as the separation layer and ceramic candle filters as the support layer. The fabricated membrane was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the effect of amine species, effect of TETA concentration, cross-linking agent content, pressure difference, and the thickness of the membrane on the permeance and selectivity of CO2 over N2 were investigated. The permeance and selectivity of CO2 through the membranes were in the following order: TETA > DETA > EDA. This order is related to the number of nitrogen atoms per amine molecule, which can be correlated to loading capacity and, consequently, to amine reactivity with CO2. Under optimized conditions, for a pure gas experiment, the maximum permeance of 6.9 GPU for CO2 gas and selectivity of 50 over N2 was obtained, whereas in the CO2/N2 gas mixture, the maximum permeance of 8.6 GPU and selectivity of 98 was obtained. The membrane was found to be stable for 264 h.
Baicalein Promotes Angiogenesis and Odontoblastic Differentiation via the BMP and Wnt Pathways in Human Dental Pulp Cells
Authors: Lee Sang-Im , Kim Sun-Young , Park Kyung-Ran , Kim Eun-Cheol
Published: October 2016

Baicalein is an active flavonoid extracted from the root of Scutellaria baicalensis that has anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties; its effects on osteoblastic and angiogenic potential are controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of baicalein on odontoblastic differentiation and angiogenesis and the underlying mechanism in human dental pulp cells (HDPCs). Baicalein (1–10[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]M) had no cytotoxic effects and promoted alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, mineralization assayed by Alizarin Red-S staining, and the mRNA expression of marker genes, in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, baicalein upregulated angiogenic factors and increased in vitro capillary-like tube formation. Moreover, baicalein upregulated bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 mRNA and phosphorylation of Smad 1/5/8 and Wnt ligand mRNA, glycogen synthase kinase-3, and nuclear [Formula: see text]-catenin. The odontogenic and angiogenic effects of baicalein were abolished by the BMP antagonist noggin and the Wnt/[Formula: see text]-catenin receptor antagonist DKK-1. These results demonstrate that baicalein promoted odontoblastic differentiation and angiogenesis of HDPCs by activating the BMP and Wnt/[Formula: see text]-catenin signal pathways. Our findings suggest that baicalein may contribute to dental pulp repair and regenerative endodontics.
Phyllanthus urinaria’s Inhibition of Human Osteosarcoma Xenografts Growth in Mice is Associated with Modulation of Mitochondrial Fission/Fusion Machinery
Authors: Huang Sheng-Teng , Huang Chao-Chun , Sheen Jer-Ming , Lin Tsu-Kung , Liao Pei-Lin , Huang Wen-Liang , Wang Pei-Wen , Liou Chia-Wei , Chuang Jiin-Haur
Published: October 2016

Osteosarcoma is an aggressive bone cancer arising from primitive transformed cells of mesenchymal origin to form malignant osteoid. Phyllanthus urinaria [Formula: see text]P. urinaria[Formula: see text] is a widely used folk medicine in cancer treatment, however the mechanism of P. urinaria inhibited human osteosarcoma is unclear. The present study was aimed at investigating the antitumoral effects of an aqueous P. urinaria on human osteosarcoma in vivo and the related underlying mechanisms, mainly focusing on mitochondrial dynamic dysfunction. Our results showed that oral administration of P. urinaria to mice led to significant inhibition of tumor development without substantial changes to body weight or major organs. Histological examinations with H&E, Giemsa, and Masson trichrome stains confirmed inhibition of tumor growth by the P. urinaria treatment. Immunohistochemical staining of proliferation markers antigen KI-67 (Ki67) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), as well as a terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay demonstrated a decrease of tumor proliferation and an increase of apoptosis, which was associated with the modulation of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family activating the caspase cascade in the P. urinaria-treated mice. The neovascularization marker cluster of differentiation 31 (CD31) was inhibited in P. urinaria-treated xenografts, implicating the potential anti-angiogenic effect of P. urinaria. P. urinaria treatment resulted in a significant decrease in the mitochondrial fusion proteins, including mitofusin 1/2 (Mfn1/2) and optic atrophy type 1 (Opa1), as well as an increase in the fission protein dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1). The results of this study suggest mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with dynamic change that is involved in the apoptosis and anti-angiogenesis elicited by P. urinaria.
Flow field behavior with Reynolds number variance around a spiked body
Authors: Khurana Shashank , Suzuki Kojiro , Rathakrishnan Ethirajan
Published: October 2016

An experimental visualization study was performed to investigate the dependence of the pressure hill height and the influence zone expanse, for flow past a spiked body with different nose configurations, over a Reynolds number range from 2278 to 4405 to establish the vortex shedding process, and applicability in low speed flow regime for effective pressure reduction. It is found that the spike reduces the radius of curvature of the approaching streamline, leading to the deflection of the streamlines towards the shoulder of the basic body, resulting in a narrow zone of the positive pressure hill at the body nose. It is also observed that the pressure hill length and the influence zone expanse decrease with the introduction of spike over the present range of Reynolds numbers. For Reynolds numbers less than 2700, spike with conical nose is found to be more efficient than the spikes with other nose shapes of the present study in reducing the positive pressure at the nose of the blunt body. For higher Reynolds numbers, greater than 2700, the size of the vortex at the junction of the spike and basic body is the largest for the spike with hemispherical nose, and emerges as a potential candidate for application in possible wind-design resistant structures.
Riley's conjecture on SL(2,R) representations of 2-bridge knots
Authors: Gordon C. McA.
Published: October 2016

We prove a conjecture of Riley on [Formula: see text] representations of 2-bridge knot groups. As a consequence we show that if [Formula: see text] is a 2-bridge knot with non-zero signature, then the fundamental group of the [Formula: see text]-fold cyclic branched cover of [Formula: see text] is left-orderable for [Formula: see text] sufficiently large.
Dijkgraaf–Witten Z2-invariants for Seifert manifolds
Authors: King Simon , Matveev Sergei , Tarkaev Vladimir , Turaev Vladimir
Published: October 2016

In this short paper, we compute the values of Dijkgraaf–Witten invariants over [Formula: see text] for all orientable Seifert manifolds with orientable bases.
An Effort Feedback Perspective on Persuasive Decision Aids for Multi-Attribute Decision-Making
Authors: Frysak Josef , Bernroider Edward W. N. , Maier Konradin
Published: October 2016

Decision strategies and the level of cognitive effort humans devote to decision-making are highly sensitive. This study investigates the role of feedback interventions in decision aids (DAs) to direct the user’s attention and consequently increase the level of effort spent on the thinking in multi-attribute selection problems. Guided by four research hypotheses, we conducted an experiment with two groups, one with feedback enabled, the other one with it disabled, and provide post hoc click data analysis. The self-developed persuasive DA used in the experiment featured a continuous feedback mechanism based on the users investment of time. This DA led the users through a smartphone decision scenario with altering levels of complexity. Results show that normative effort feedback increases the decision maker’s willingness to spend more effort. We provide new evidence supporting the view that DAs should pay more attention to soft persuasion by guiding the decision maker towards working harder rather than only confronting the user with final recommendations.
A simple correlation for prediction of thermal conductivity of liquid hydrocarbons and aromatics
Authors: Lashkarbolooki Mostafa , Hezave Ali Zeinolabedini , Bayat Mahdi , Khademi Mohammad Hasan , Vaferi Behzad
Published: October 2016

Thermal conductivity is one of the most important properties of materials especially liquids. Thermal conductivity is highly interesting since it is the main parameter required for most heat-transfer calculations or design of industrial equipments such as heat exchangers. Unfortunately, thermal conductivity is extremely hard to be experimentally measured due to some operational issues which shifted the researchers’ interest toward proposing a correlation to predict this property. In the light of this limitation, in the current study, a four-parameter correlation based on critical temperature ([Formula: see text], critical pressure ([Formula: see text] and acentric factor ([Formula: see text] of substances is proposed to predict thermal conductivity of liquids. In this way, 956 experimental data points collected from previously published literatures were divided into two different subsets, namely training and testing subsets, in the first stage and then used to find the optimum values of fitting parameters of the proposed correlation. Based on the obtained results of error analysis, it can be concluded that the proposed correlation has capability of both extrapolating and correlating the thermal conductivity of liquids.
Surface Interaction Between Carbon Patches and Catalyst Nanoparticle as the Key Factor in Aligned Carbon Nanotube Growth Using Alcohol Catalytic CVD
Authors: Bistamam Mohd Shahril Amin , Azam Mohd Asyadi , Zulkapli Nor Najihah
Published: October 2016

Aligned carbon nanotubes (ACNTs) have very unique properties that made them applicable as electrode material for energy storage devices. ACNTs were grown directly on substrates by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Cobalt, thermally-oxidized aluminum and ethanol were used as catalyst, catalyst-support and carbon feedstock, respectively. Optimum catalytic and reaction conditions were investigated by varying the CVD processing temperature and time. CVD processing temperature of 725[Formula: see text]C and processing time at 10[Formula: see text]min showed the optimum CNT alignment with thickness of above 2[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m. Other than the effect of catalyst particle diameter, formation of amorphous carbon at the top of CNTs observed by SEM is suggested as another factor that influences the growth mechanism of ACNTs. The CVD processing parameter and the interaction between small carbon patches are supposed to be built after dehydrogenation of the first carbonaceous molecules and the catalyst nanoparticle surface considered as the hidden factors behind the growth results.
Relatively hyperbolic Coxeter groups with maximal flats of codimension one
Authors: Le Giang
Published: October 2016

We study relatively hyperbolic Coxeter groups of type [Formula: see text] with maximal affine Coxeter subgroups of codimension one. Our main result in this paper is that the dimension of these groups is bounded above.
A novel Lithium/Sodium hybrid aqueous electrolyte for hybrid supercapacitors based on LiFePO4 and activated carbon
Authors: An Yongling , Fei Huifang , Feng Jinkui , Ci Lijie , Xiong Shenglin
Published: October 2016

A novel low cost Na[Formula: see text]/Li[Formula: see text] hybrid electrolyte was proposed for hybrid supercapacitor. By partly substituting Lithium salt with Sodium salt, the Li[Formula: see text]/Na[Formula: see text] hybrid electrolyte exhibits synergic advantages of both Li[Formula: see text] and Na[Formula: see text] electrolytes. Our findings could also be applied to other hybrid power sources.
Interface effects on the magnetic properties of layered Ni2MnGa/Ni2MnSn alloys: A first-principles investigation
Authors: Dutta Biswanath , Opahle Ingo , Hickel Tilmann
Published: October 2016

The effect of interfaces on the magnetic properties of multilayers is analyzed for Ni2MnGa/Ni2MnSn system using density functional theory. The Ni spin moments at the interface change by about 30% compared to the bulk value, whereas the effect on the Mn spin moments is much less pronounced. A similar strong effect is also observed for the Ni orbital moments at the interface. The magneto-crystalline anisotropy of the multilayer systems can be understood by the additive contribution of the respective values of strained bulk materials.
Identification of breast cancer by classification of proteome patterns
Authors: Ohn Syng-Yup , Chi Sung-Do , Heo Chan
Published: October 2016

Proteome patterns reflect the underlying pathological state of a human organ and it is believed that the anomalies or diseases of human organs are identified by the analysis of the patterns. This paper compares the three classification methods for the identification of breast cancer based on the proteome patterns generated from two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D PAGE). The purpose of the classification is two folds: setting up a decision model for the identification of the proteome pattern associated with breast cancer and obtaining the marker spots that play important roles in the identification. Three classification methods are applied to the classification of proteome patterns into the cancer and the normal groups: (i) genetic algorithm and SVM, (ii) stepwise forward feature selection and [Formula: see text]-NN classification technique, (iii) random forest classification technique. The results from the classification of the proteome patterns from actual clinical samples are presented.
Analysis of the flight trajectory characteristics of North Korea SLBM due to launching mode
Authors: Lee Kyoung Haing , Seo Hyeong Pil
Published: October 2016

The current research aims to simulate the flight trajectory of the North Korean submarine–launched ballistic missile (SLBM) and analyze its flight characteristics based on its range control method. Recently, North Korea has completed the test flight of SLBM and it has become a significant threat to international security. North Korea obtained SLBM technologies from Russia while disbanding decommissioned Russian submarines, and it is suspected that North Korea will continue to experiment in related fields along with its continued attempts to miniaturize nuclear weapons. If North Korea completes the development of SLBM and deploys the missiles, it means the completion of the three asymmetric warfare elements (nuclear weapon, ballistic missile, and submarine) and they will be the most significant threats to northeast Asia. Therefore, it is imperative to scientifically analyze SLBM to adeptly respond to such threat. One characteristic of SLBM is capability of attacking its target in a variety of ways based on its range control method. Based on this fact, the current research derives the flight equation of North Korean SLBM and simulates its flight trajectory based on various range control methods. The flight trajectories that we derive can be used to establish an effective anti-ballistic missile defense system in northeast Asia.
Green Function Calculations of Properties for the Magnetocaloric Layered Structures Based Upon FeMnAsP
Authors: Schilling Osvaldo F.
Published: October 2016

The alternating Fe–Mn layered structures of the compounds FeMnAsxP[Formula: see text] display properties which have been demonstrated experimentally as very promising as far as commercial applications of the magnetocaloric effect are concerned. However, the theoretical literature on this and other families of magnetocaloric compounds still adopts simple molecular-field models in the description of important statistical mechanical properties like the entropy variation that accompanies applied isothermal magnetic field cycling, as well as the temperature variation following adiabatic magnetic field cycles. In the present paper, a random phase approximation Green function theoretical treatment is applied to such structures. The advantages of such approach are well known since the details of the crystal structure are easily incorporated in the model, as well as a precise description of correlations between neighbor spins can be obtained. We focus on a simple one-exchange parameter Heisenberg model, and the observed first-order phase transitions are reproduced by the introduction of a biquadratic term in the Hamiltonian whose origin is related both to the magnetoelastic coupling with the phonon spectrum in these compounds as well as with the values of spins in the Fe and Mn ions. The calculations are compared with experimental magnetocaloric data for the FeMnAsxP[Formula: see text] compounds. In particular, the magnetic field dependence for the entropy variation at the transition temperature predicted from the Landau theory of continuous phase transitions is reproduced even in the case of discontinuous transitions.
Exact relation between singular value and eigenvalue statistics
Authors: Kieburg Mario , Kösters Holger
Published: October 2016

We use classical results from harmonic analysis on matrix spaces to investigate the relation between the joint densities of the singular values and the eigenvalues for complex random matrices which are bi-unitarily invariant (also known as isotropic or unitary rotation invariant). We prove that each of these joint densities determines the other one. Moreover, we construct an explicit formula relating both joint densities at finite matrix dimension. This relation covers probability densities as well as signed densities. With the help of this relation we derive general analytical relations among the corresponding kernels and biorthogonal functions for a specific class of polynomial ensembles. Furthermore, we show how to generalize the relation between the singular value and eigenvalue statistics to certain situations when the ensemble is deformed by a term which breaks the bi-unitary invariance.
Lazy Lempel-Ziv Factorization Algorithms
Authors: Kärkkäinen Juha , Kempa Dominik , Puglisi Simon J.
Published: October 2016

For decades the Lempel-Ziv (LZ77) factorization has been a cornerstone of data compression and string processing algorithms, and uses for it are still being uncovered. For example, LZ77 is central to several recent text indexing data structures designed to search highly repetitive collections. However, in many applications computation of the factorization remains a bottleneck in practice. In this article, we describe a number of simple and fast LZ77 factorization algorithms, which consistently outperform all previous methods in practice, use less memory, and still offer strong worst-case performance guarantees. A common feature of the new algorithms is that they compute longest common prefix information in a lazy fashion, with the degree of laziness in preprocessing characterizing different algorithms.
Cache-Partitioned Preemption Threshold Scheduling
Authors: Gu Zonghua , Wang Chao , Zeng Haibo
Published: October 2016

For preemptive scheduling with shared cache, different tasks may cause interference in the shared cache, leading to Cache-Related Preemption Overhead (CRPD). Cache partitioning can be used to reduce or eliminate CRPD. We propose integration of cache partitioning and Preemption Threshold Scheduling to optimize schedulability for both Fixed-Priority and Earliest Deadline First scheduling algorithms on a uniprocessor. We let each subset of tasks assigned the same cache partition be a nonpreemptive group by assigning the same preemption threshold to them, which eliminates CRPD both within each cache partition and between different cache partitions.
Towards Music Structural Segmentation across Genres
Authors: Tian Mi , Sandler Mark B.
Published: October 2016

This article faces the problem of how different audio features and segmentation methods work with different music genres. A new annotated corpus of Chinese traditional Jingju music is presented. We incorporate this dataset with two existing music datasets from the literature in an integrated retrieval system to evaluate existing features, structural hypotheses, and segmentation algorithms outside a Western bias. A harmonic-percussive source separation technique is introduced to the feature extraction process and brings significant improvement to the segmentation. Results show that different features capture the structural patterns of different music genres in different ways. Novelty- or homogeneity-based segmentation algorithms and timbre features can surpass the investigated alternatives for the structure analysis of Jingju due to their lack of harmonic repetition patterns. Findings indicate that the design of audio features and segmentation algorithms as well as the consideration of contextual information related to the music corpora should be accounted dependently in an effective segmentation system.
Small Depth Proof Systems
Authors: Krebs Andreas , Limaye Nutan , Mahajan Meena , Sreenivasaiah Karteek
Published: October 2016

A proof system for a language
L
is a function
f
such that Range(
f
) is exactly
L
. In this article, we look at proof systems from a circuit complexity point of view and study proof systems that are computationally very restricted. The restriction we study is proof systems that can be computed by bounded fanin circuits of constant depth (NC
0
) or of
O
(log log 
n
) depth but with
O
(1) alternations (poly log AC
0
). Each output bit depends on very few input bits; thus such proof systems correspond to a kind of local error correction on a theorem-proof pair.

We identify exactly how much power we need for proof systems to capture all regular languages. We show that all regular languages have poly log AC
0
proof systems, and from a previous result (Beyersdorff et al. [2011a], where NC
0
proof systems were first introduced), this is tight. Our technique also shows that M
aj
has poly log AC
0
proof system.

We explore the question of whether T
aut
has NC
0
proof systems. Addressing this question about 2TAUT, and since 2TAUT is closely related to reachability in graphs, we ask the same question about Reachability. We show that if Directed reachability has NC
0
proof systems, then so does 2TAUT. We then show that both Undirected Reachability and Directed UnReachability have NC
0
proof systems, but Directed Reachability is still open.

In the context of how much power is needed for proof systems for languages in NP, we observe that proof systems for a good fraction of languages in NP do not need the full power of AC
0
; they have SAC
0
or coSAC
0
proof systems.
Investigating Expressive Tactile Interaction Design in Artistic Graphical Representations
Authors: Azh Maryam , Zhao Shengdong , Subramanian Sriram
Published: October 2016

In this article, a design research approach is taken to investigate expressive design of tactile interactions. Most research efforts to date on designing and exploring the representational aspects of tactile interfaces have focused on usability and task-oriented scenarios. Yet, there is limited knowledge on how to aid the design of tactile interfaces that support the design of expressive or user-experience-oriented tactile interactions. We address this gap by studying tactile designs in a multisensory context, where the tactile interface augments works of visual art. The expressive and artistic context introduces new opportunities to extend on previous work, and identify new design and interaction potentials with tactile interfaces in graphical multisensory scenarios. During one-on-one guided design sessions, visual artists were asked to create tactile design prototypes that augmented one of their existing works. Each element of the overall tactile design, regarded as atactile feature, was analyzed using both the bottom-up and top-down approaches. The results discovered through grounded theory are presented and discussed with respect to semiotic theory. Accordingly,tactile constructsandtactile intentsdefine the “form” and “meaning” components of each tactile feature, respectively. Overall analysis of the findings indicates associations among the identified categories and between the two components, leading to design implications for expressive tactile interfaces. Insights from thetactile intentssuggest a set of affordances for expressive visuotactile interactions, which we introduce under the notion ofexpressive roles. Additionally, implications from thetactile constructsindicate a design space for an expressive tactile augmentation design tool, based on which a user interface architecture is proposed. Findings from this research can assist in developing systems and tools for expressive tactile interface design and inspire research in user experience and behavior in multisensory tactile interaction scenarios.
Modeling Distributed Real-Time Systems in TIOA and UPPAAL
Authors: Kartal Yusuf Bora , Schmidt Ece GÜran , Schmidt Klaus Werner
Published: October 2016

The mission- and life-critical properties of distributed real-time systems require concurrent modeling, analysis, and formal verification in the design stage. The timed input/output automata (TIOA) framework and the UPPAAL software package are two widely used modeling and verification tools for this purpose. To this end, we develop the algorithm
TUConvert
for converting distributed TIOA models to UPPAAL behavioral models and formally prove its correctness. We demonstrate the applicability of our algorithm by the formal verification of a distributed real-time industrial communication protocol that is modeled by TIOA.
Simulating Reconfigurable Multiprocessor Systems-on-Chip with MPSoCSim
Authors: Wehner Philipp , Rettkowski Jens , Kalb Tobias , GÖhringer Diana
Published: October 2016

Upcoming reconfigurable Multiprocessor Systems-on-Chip (MPSoCs) present new challenges for the design and early estimation of technology requirements due to their runtime adaptive hardware architecture. The usage of simulators offers capabilities to overcome these issues. In this article, MPSoCSim, a SystemC simulator for Network-on-Chip (NoC) based MPSoCs is extended to support the simulation of reconfigurable MPSoCs. Processors, such as ARM and MicroBlaze, and peripheral models used within the virtual platform are provided by Imperas/OVP and attached to the NoC. Moreover, traffic generators are available to analyze the system. The virtual platform currently supports mesh topology with wormhole switching and several routing algorithms such as XY-, a minimal West-First algorithm, and an adaptive West-First algorithm. Amongst the impact of routing algorithms regarding performance, reconfiguration processes can be examined using the presented simulator. A mechanism for dynamic partial reconfiguration is implemented that is oriented towards the reconfiguration scheme on real FPGA platforms. It includes the simulation of the undefined behavior of the hardware region during reconfiguration and allows the adjustment of parameters. During runtime, dynamic partial reconfiguration interfaces are used to connect the Network-on-Chip infrastructure with reconfigurable regions. The configuration access ports can be modeled by the controller for the dynamic partial reconfiguration in form of an application programming interface. An additional SystemC component enables the readout of simulation time from within the application. For evaluation of the simulator timing and power consumption of the simulated hardware are estimated and compared with a real hardware implementation on a Xilinx Zynq FPGA. The comparison shows that the simulator improves the development of reconfigurable MPSoCs by early estimation of system requirements. The power estimations show a maximum deviation of 9mW at 1.9W total power consumption.
On the Workflow Satisfiability Problem with Class-Independent Constraints for Hierarchical Organizations
Authors: Crampton Jason , Gagarin Andrei , Gutin Gregory , Jones Mark , Wahlström Magnus
Published: October 2016

A workflow specification defines a set of steps, a set of users, and an access control policy. The policy determines which steps a user is authorized to perform and imposes constraints on which sets of users can perform which sets of steps. The
workflow satisfiability problem
(WSP) is the problem of determining whether there exists an assignment of users to workflow steps that satisfies the policy. Given the computational hardness of WSP and its importance in the context of workflow management systems, it is important to develop algorithms that are as efficient as possible to solve WSP.

In this article, we study the fixed-parameter tractability of WSP in the presence of class-independent constraints, which enable us to (1) model security requirements based on the groups to which users belong and (2) generalize the notion of a user-independent constraint. Class-independent constraints are defined in terms of equivalence relations over the set of users. We consider sets of nested equivalence relations because this enables us to model security requirements in hierarchical organizations. We prove that WSP is fixed-parameter tractable (FPT) for class-independent constraints defined over nested equivalence relations and develop an FPT algorithm to solve WSP instances incorporating such constraints. We perform experiments to evaluate the performance of our algorithm and compare it with that of SAT4J, an off-the-shelf pseudo-Boolean SAT solver. The results of these experiments demonstrate that our algorithm significantly outperforms SAT4J for many instances of WSP.
Seeing, Listening, Drawing
Authors: Perrotin Olivier , D’alessandro Christophe
Published: October 2016

Audio, visual, and proprioceptive actions are involved when manipulating a graphic tablet musical interface. Previous works suggested a possible dominance of the visual over the auditory modality in this situation. The main goal of the present study is to examine the interferences between these modalities in visual, audio, and audio-visual target acquisition tasks. Experiments are based on a movement replication paradigm, where a subject controls a cursor on a screen or the pitch of a synthesized sound by changing the stylus position on a covered graphic tablet. The experiments consisted of the following tasks: (1) a target acquisition task that was aimed at a visual target (reaching a cue with the cursor displayed on a screen), an audio target (reaching a reference note by changing the pitch of the sound played in headsets), or an audio-visual target, and (2) the replication of the target acquisition movement in the opposite direction. In the return phase, visual and audio feedback were suppressed. Different gain factors perturbed the relationships among the stylus movements, visual cursor movements, and audio pitch movements. The deviations between acquisition and return movements were analyzed. The results showed that hand amplitudes varied in accordance with visual, audio, and audio-visual perturbed gains, showing a larger effect for the visual modality. This indicates that visual, audio, and audio-visual actions interfered with the motor modality and confirms the spatial representation of pitch reported in previous studies. In the audio-visual situation, vision dominated over audition, as the latter had no significant influence on motor movement. Consequently, visual feedback is helpful for musical targeting of pitch on a graphic tablet, at least during the learning phase of the instrument. This result is linked to the underlying spatial organization of pitch perception. Finally, this work brings a complementary approach to previous studies showing that audition may dominate over vision for other aspects of musical sound (e.g., timing, rhythm, and timbre).
Self-Similarity in Social Network Dynamics
Authors: Liu Qingyun , Zhao Xiaohan , Willinger Walter , Wang Xiao , Zhao Ben Y. , Zheng Haitao
Published: October 2016

Analyzing and modeling social network dynamics are key to accurately predicting resource needs and system behavior in online social networks. The presence of statistical scaling properties, that is, self-similarity, is critical for determining how to model network dynamics. In this work, we study the role that self-similarity scaling plays in a social network edge creation (that is, links created between users) process, through analysis of two detailed, time-stamped traces, a 199 million edge trace over 2 years in the Renren social network, and 876K interactions in a 4-year trace of Facebook. Using wavelet-based analysis, we find that the edge creation process in both networks is consistent with self-similarity scaling, once we account for periodic user activity that makes edge creation process non-stationary. Using these findings, we build a complete model of social network dynamics that combines temporal and spatial components. Specifically, the temporal behavior of our model reflects self-similar scaling properties, and accounts for certain deterministic non-stationary features. The spatial side accounts for observed long-term graph properties, such as graph distance shrinkage and local declustering. We validate our model against network dynamics in Renren and Facebook datasets, and show that it succeeds in producing desired properties in both temporal patterns and graph structural features.
Subjective and Objective Visual Quality Assessment of Textured 3D Meshes
Authors: Guo Jinjiang , Vidal Vincent , Cheng Irene , Basu Anup , Baskurt Atilla , Lavoue Guillaume
Published: October 2016

Objective visual quality assessment of 3D models is a fundamental issue in computer graphics. Quality assessment metrics may allow a wide range of processes to be guided and evaluated, such as level of detail creation, compression, filtering, and so on. Most computer graphics assets are composed of geometric surfaces on which several texture images can be mapped to make the rendering more realistic. While some quality assessment metrics exist for geometric surfaces, almost no research has been conducted on the evaluation of texture-mapped 3D models. In this context, we present a new subjective study to evaluate the perceptual quality of textured meshes, based on a paired comparison protocol. We introduce both texture and geometry distortions on a set of 5 reference models to produce a database of 136 distorted models, evaluated using two rendering protocols. Based on analysis of the results, we propose two new metrics for visual quality assessment of textured mesh, as optimized linear combinations of accurate geometry and texture quality measurements. These proposed perceptual metrics outperform their counterparts in terms of correlation with human opinion. The database, along with the associated subjective scores, will be made publicly available online.
Synthesis, Characterization, and Biological Studies of a Piperidinyl Appended Dipicolylamine Ligand and Its Rhenium Tricarbonyl Complex as Potential Therapeutic Agents for Human Breast Cancer
Authors: Subasinghe Amali , Perera Inoka C. , Pakhomova Svetlana , Perera Theshini
Published: October 2016

A novel ligand bearing a central piperidinyl sulfonamide group, N(SO2pip)dpa, and its corresponding Re tricarbonyl complex, [Re(CO)3(N(SO2pip)dpa)]+, have been synthesized in good yield. The methylene CH2signal seen as a singlet (4.54 ppm) in a1H NMR spectrum of the ligand in DMSO-d6appears as two doublets (5.39, 5.01 ppm) in a spectrum of the [Re(CO)3(N(SO2pip)dpa)]+complex and confirms the presence of magnetically nonequivalent protons upon coordination to Re. Structural results revealed that the Re–N bond lengths fall within the normal range establishing coordination of ligand to metal. The presence of intraligandπ→π⁎andn→π⁎transitions is indicated by the absorption peaks around 200–250 nm in UV-visible spectra. Absorption peaks in UV-visible spectra around 300 nm for metal complexes were identified as MLCT transitions. The S–N stretch observed as a strong peak at 923 cm−1for N(SO2pip)dpa appeared at a shorter frequency, at 830 cm−1in an FTIR spectrum of the [Re(CO)3(N(SO2pip)dpa)]+. The intense fluorescence displayed by the N(SO2pip)dpa ligand has quenched upon coordination to Re. Relatively low IC50values given by human breast cancer cells, MCF-7, (N(SO2pip)dpa = 139 μM, [Re(CO)3(N(SO2pip)dpa)]+= 360 μM) indicate that N(SO2pip)dpa and [Re(CO)3(N(SO2pip)dpa)]+are promising novel compounds that can be further investigated on their usage as potential anticancer agents.
Hydroalcoholic Extract from Inflorescences of Achyrocline satureioides (Compositae) Ameliorates Dextran Sulphate Sodium‐Induced Colitis in Mice by Attenuation in the Production of Inflammatory Cytokines and Oxidative Mediators
Authors: da Silva Luisa Mota , Farias Jaime Antonio Machado , Boeing Thaise , Somensi Lincon Bordignon , Beber Ana Paula , Cury Benhur Judah , Santin José Roberto , Faloni de Andrade Sérgio
Published: October 2016

Achyrocline satureioides is a South American herb used to treat inflammatory and gastrointestinal diseases. This study evaluated intestinal anti‐inflammatory effects of the hydroalcoholic extract of inflorescences of satureioides (HEAS) in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) induced colitis in mice. Mice were orally treated with vehicle, 5‐aminosalicylic acid (100 mg/kg), or HEAS (1–100 mg/kg). Clinical signs of colitis and colonic histopathological parameters were evaluated, along with the determination of levels of reduced glutathione and lipid hydroperoxide (LOOH), the superoxide dismutase (SOD), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in colon. The colonic content of cytokines (TNF, IL‐4, IL‐6, and IL‐10) was measured. Additionally, the effects of the extract on nitric oxide (NO) release by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated macrophages and diphenylpicrylhydrazyl levels were determined. Mucin levels and SOD activity, as well as the LOOH, MPO, TNF, and IL‐6 accumulation in colon tissues, were normalized by the HEAS administration. In addition, the extract elicited an increase in IL‐4 and IL‐10 levels in colon. NO release by macrophages was inhibited by HEAS and its scavenger activity was confirmed. Together these results suggest that preparations obtained from inflorescences from A. satureioides could be used in treatment for IBD. Besides, this work corroborates the popular use of A. satureioides in inflammatory disorders.