bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multi-objective optimisation on end milling of hybrid fibre-reinforced polymer composites using GRA
Authors: Jenarthanan M.P. , S Raahul Kumar , S Vinoth
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This study aimed to develop a mathematical model for delamination and surface roughness during end milling by using grey relational analysis (GRA) and to determine how the input parameters (cutting speed, depth of cut, helix angle and feed rate) influence the output response (delamination and surface roughness) in machining of hybrid glass fibre-reinforced plastic (GFRP) (abaca and glass) composite using solid carbide end mill cutter.

Design/methodology/approach

The Four factors, three levels Taguchi orthogonal array design in GRA is used to conduct the experimental investigation. The Shop Vision inspection system is used to measure the width of maximum damage of the machined hybrid GFRP composite. The Shop Handysurf E-35A surface roughness tester is used to measure the surface roughness of the machined hybrid GFRP composite. “Minitab 14” is used to analyse the data collected graphically. Analysis of variance is conducted to validate the model in determining the most significant parameter.

Findings

The GRA is used to predict the input factors influencing the delamination and surface roughness on the machined surfaces of the hybrid GFRP composite at different cutting conditions with the chosen range of 95 per cent confidence intervals. Analysis on the influences of the entire individual input machining parameters on the delamination and surface roughness has been conducted using GRA.

Originality/value

Effect of milling of the hybrid GFRP composite on delamination and surface roughness with various helix angle solid carbide end mill has not been analysed yet using the GRA technique.
Significance of formed adherent complex by use of phosphorylated polyphenol coating
Authors: Jain Rachna , Bhadu Manish Kumar , Swarnkar Keshave , Das Sumitesh
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on the use of phosphorylated polyphenol (PP)-coated galvanised iron (GI) surface to study the degradation of coating with different time intervals and long-term exposure in different salty media.

Design/methodology/approach

The as-obtained PP complex on GI was evident by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The coated coupons were exposed to different salty media such as 3.5 per cent NaCl, 1.5 per cent Na2SO4 and tap water at set time intervals. Electrochemical polarisation was performed to study the anodic and cathodic polarisation behaviour at each time interval.

Findings

The adherent foliolate nanopattern of iron zinc phosphate and zinc dihydrogen phosphate on GI surface was evident by SEM, FT-IR, EDS and XRD. The coated coupons exhibited good corrosion resistance. This coating performs as an alternative to time-consuming multistep operations of phosphating treatment.

Originality/value

The mode of the experiment treatment using modified PP coating especially on GI in different corrosive exposures at set time intervals is a novel approach in this research.
A multi-analytical model for mobile banking adoption: a developing country perspective
Authors: Sharma Sujeet Kumar , Govindaluri Srikrishna Madhumohan , Al-Muharrami Saeed , Tarhini Ali
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Mobile banking (Mbanking) is one of the most widely used mobile technology applications in recent times. This research aims to develop and test a research model by integrating social influence, trust and compatibility along with demographic variables into the original technology acceptance model (TAM) for Mbanking adoption which can be useful for understanding individual behaviours from an international business perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through a structured survey from 208 Omani Mbanking users and analysed using a two-staged regression and neural network (NN) model.

Findings

The results showed that perceived ease of use and demographic variables were not statistically significant in the multiple linear regression model, whereas the importance of the aforementioned variables was relatively high in the results obtained from the NN model. Furthermore, other predictors, namely, trust, perceived usefulness, compatibility and social influence included in the proposed research model that were established as significant by the regression model were assigned high relative importance by the NN model as well.

Practical implications

The study reflects the customer’s opinion from a developing country perspective. In addition, the research makes a significant theoretical contribution by using predictive modelling instead of causal or explanatory modelling for the development of a new and extended TAM model. The findings can be gainfully used by international business to understand Omani customer- and design-appropriate strategies for market penetration.

Originality/value

This study offers deeper understanding about Mbanking adoption from a developing country perspective and identifies and integrates important variables that influence the adoption in the aforementioned context.
Power and smart meters: A political perspective on the social acceptance of energy projects
Authors: Jegen Maya , Philion Xavier D.
Published: March 2017

Social acceptance has become a key consideration for promoters, government officials and citizens when instituting new energy infrastructures and technologies. Often theorized in normative terms, it is not clear whether and when social acceptance matters. This article explores the rollout of smart meters in Quebec, which proceeded despite significant opposition from municipalities, community groups and unions. Drawing on core concepts from punctuated equilibrium theory—policy monopoly, policy venue, policy image—we argue that this opposition had no policy venue to express its grievances. Quebec's electricity sector, with a stable policy environment controlled by a policy monopoly and buttressed by a strong policy image, provided few opportunities to expand the conflict. We conclude from this analysis that public administrators should consider power when measuring social acceptance in political processes.
Numerical Investigation of Focused Waves and Their Interaction With a Vertical Cylinder Using REEF3D
Authors: Bihs Hans , Chella Mayilvahanan Alagan , Kamath Arun , Arntsen Øivind Asgeir
Published: March 2017

For the stability of offshore structures, such as offshore wind foundations, extreme wave conditions need to be taken into account. Waves from extreme events are critical from the design perspective. In a numerical wave tank, extreme waves can be modeled using focused waves. Here, linear waves are generated from a wave spectrum. The wave crests of the generated waves coincide at a preselected location and time. Focused wave generation is implemented in the numerical wave tank module of REEF3D, which has been extensively and successfully tested for various wave hydrodynamics and wave–structure interaction problems in particular and for free surface flows in general. The open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code REEF3D solves the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations on a staggered Cartesian grid. Higher order numerical schemes are used for time and spatial discretization. For the interface capturing, the level set method is selected. In order to test the generated waves, the time series of the free surface elevation are compared with experimental benchmark cases. The numerically simulated free surface elevation shows good agreement with experimental data. In further computations, the impact of the focused waves on a vertical circular cylinder is investigated. A breaking focused wave is simulated and the associated kinematics is investigated. Free surface flow features during the interaction of nonbreaking focused waves with a cylinder and during the breaking process of a focused wave are also investigated along with the numerically captured free surface.
Numerical Study of Seabed Boundary Layer Flow Around Monopile and Gravity-Based Wind Turbine Foundations
Authors: Chen Ong Muk , Trygsland Eirik , Myrhaug Dag
Published: March 2017

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been used to study the seabed boundary layer flow around monopile and gravity-based offshore wind turbine foundations. The gravity-based foundation has a hexagonal bottom slab (bottom part). The objective of the present study is to investigate the formation of horseshoe vortex and flow structures around two different bottom-fixed offshore wind turbine foundations in order to provide an assessment of potential scour for engineering design. Three-dimensional CFD simulations have been performed using Spalart–Allmaras delayed detached eddy simulation (SADDES) at a Reynolds number 4 × 106 based on the freestream velocity and the diameter of the monopile foundation, D. A seabed boundary layer flow with a boundary layer thickness D is assumed for all the simulations. Vortical structures, time-averaged results of velocity distributions and bed shear stresses are computed. The numerical results are discussed by studying the difference in flows around the monopile and the gravity-based foundations. A distinct horseshoe vortex is found in front of the monopile foundation. Two small horseshoe vortices are found in front of the hexagonal gravity-based foundation, i.e., one is on the top of the bottom slab and one is near the seabed in front of the bottom slab. The horseshoe vortex size for the hexagonal gravity-based foundation is found to be smaller than that for the monopile foundation. The effects of different foundation geometries on destroying the formation of horseshoe vortices (which is the main cause of scour problems) are discussed.
Vibration Control of Horizontally Excited Structures Utilizing Internal Resonance of Liquid Sloshing in Nearly Square Tanks
Authors: Ikeda Takashi , Harata Yuji
Published: March 2017

Passive control of vibrations in an elastic structure subjected to horizontal, harmonic excitation by utilizing a nearly square liquid tank is investigated. When the natural frequency ratio 1:1:1 is satisfied among the natural frequencies of the structure and the two predominant sloshing modes (1,0) and (0,1), the performance of a nearly square tank as a tuned liquid damper (TLD) is expected to be superior to rectangular TLDs due to internal resonance. In the theoretical analysis, Galerkin's method is used to determine the modal equations of motion for liquid sloshing considering the nonlinearity of sloshing. Then, van der Pol's method is used to obtain the expressions for the frequency response curves for the structure and sloshing modes. Frequency response curves and bifurcation set diagrams are shown to investigate the influences of the aspect ratio of the tank cross section and the tank installation angle on the system response. From the theoretical results, the optimal values of the system parameters can be determined in order to achieve maximum efficiency of vibration suppression for the structure. Hopf bifurcations occur and amplitude modulated motions (AMMs) may appear depending on the values of the system parameters. Experiments were also conducted, and the theoretical results agreed well with the experimental data.
Relations among subglottal pressure, breathing, and acoustic parameters of sentence-level prominence in German
Authors: Petrone Caterina , Fuchs Susanne , Koenig Laura L.
Published: March 2017

This study investigates whether acoustic correlates of prominence are related to actions of the respiratory system resulting in local changes of subglottal pressure (Psub). Simultaneous recordings were made of acoustics; intraoral pressure (Pio), as an estimate of Psub; and thoracic and abdominal volume changes. Ten German speakers read sentences containing a verb ending with /t/ followed by a noun starting with /t/. These /t#t/ sequences were typically realized as one /t:/ with a long intraoral pressure plateau. Sentence-level prominence was manipulated by shifting the position of contrastive focus within the sentences. The slope and peak values of Pio within the /t#t/ sequence were used to estimate differences in Psub across focus positions. Results show that prominence production is related to changes in the slope and maximum value of the pressure plateau. While pressure increases led to higher intensity, the increases did not relate to f0, hence, suggesting that local f0 changes primarily reflect laryngeal activity. Finally, strong individual differences were observed in the respiratory data. These findings confirm past reports of local Psub increases corresponding to sentence-level prominence. Speaker-specific activations of the respiratory system are interpreted in terms of motor equivalence, with laryngeal mechanisms also appearing to contribute to Psub changes.
Exactness of alternative force estimation methods and applications to power flow and transfer path analysis
Authors: Inoue Akira
Published: March 2017

The alternative indirect methods to estimate interfacial force and moment are first given as theoretically exact methods which are derived from the equation of motion. How to directly acquire the F/Q (dynamic stiffness)-type frequency response functions and the blocked boundaries to apply are described in detail. As applications of interfacial force and moment, dissipated power exactly estimated by the total power or energy flows into a system and exactness of the transfer path analysis for structure-borne sound are described. Using a finite element model of a plate-beam structure, computational verifications are given for the equalities.
Dictionary learning of sound speed profiles
Authors: Bianco Michael , Gerstoft Peter
Published: March 2017

To provide constraints on the inversion of ocean sound speed profiles (SSPs), SSPs are often modeled using empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs). However, this regularization, which uses the leading order EOFs with a minimum-energy constraint on the coefficients, often yields low resolution SSP estimates. In this paper, it is shown that dictionary learning, a form of unsupervised machine learning, can improve SSP resolution by generating a dictionary of shape functions for sparse processing (e.g., compressive sensing) that optimally compress SSPs; both minimizing the reconstruction error and the number of coefficients. These learned dictionaries (LDs) are not constrained to be orthogonal and thus, fit the given signals such that each signal example is approximated using few LD entries. Here, LDs describing SSP observations from the HF-97 experiment and the South China Sea are generated using the K-SVD algorithm. These LDs better explain SSP variability and require fewer coefficients than EOFs, describing much of the variability with one coefficient. Thus, LDs improve the resolution of SSP estimates with negligible computational burden.
Carotid artery dissection: a rare complication of Eagle syndrome
Authors: Subedi Rogin , Dean Ryan , Baronos Stamatis , Dhamoon Amit
Published: March 2017

Carotid artery dissection is a significant cause of ischaemic stroke in all age groups and accounts for a large percentage of strokes in young patients. Carotid dissection can be caused by trauma, underlying connective tissue disease, hypertension, mechanical injury or can be spontaneous. We present an exceedingly rare case of carotid dissection caused by an elongated styloid process, causing direct mechanical damage to the carotid artery.
Whole-body active warm-up and inspiratory muscle warm-up do not improve running performance when carrying thoracic loads
Authors: Faghy Mark A. , Brown Peter I.
Published: March 2017

Whole-body active warm-ups (AWU) and inspiratory muscle warm-up (IMW) prior to exercise improves performance on some endurance exercise tasks. This study investigated the effects of AWU with and without IMW upon 2.4-km running time-trial performance while carrying a 25-kg backpack, a common task and backpack load in physically demanding occupations. Participants (n = 9) performed five 2.4-km running time-trials with a 25-kg thoracic load preceded in random order by (i) IMW comprising 2 × 30 inspiratory efforts against a pressure-threshold load of 40% maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax), (ii) 10-min unloaded running (AWU) at lactate turnpoint (10.33 ± 1.58 km·h−1), (iii) placebo IMW (PLA) comprising 5-min breathing using a sham device, (iv) AWU+IMW, and (v) AWU+PLA. Pooled baseline PImax was similar between trials and increased by 7% and 6% following IMW and AWU+IMW (P < 0.05). Relative to baseline, pooled PImax was reduced by 9% after the time-trial, which was not different between trials (P > 0.05). Time-trial performance was not different between any trials. Whole-body AWU and IMW performed alone or combination have no ergogenic effect upon high-intensity, short-duration performance when carrying a 25-kg load in a backpack.
Disjunct jack pine (Pinus banksiana) populations of the boreal forest in eastern Canada: expanding, declining, or stable?
Authors: Payette Serge , Delwaide Ann , Couillard Pierre-Luc , Pilon Vanessa
Published: March 2017

Plant species are unique in their biological traits and biogeographical history, resulting in distinctive species distributions. Continuous and fragmented ranges of varying size and shape have captured the interest of biogeographers. Fragmented distribution into isolated populations is a common pattern of temperate and boreal species caused by contraction and expansion processes. Jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), a North American tree species, is among a multitude of species showing range distributions fragmented to isolated populations. Whether disjunct jack pine forests are remnants of larger Holocene populations or newly established populations due to long-distance transport remains unanswered. We used a retrospective approach based on soil macrocharcoal analysis to address the question of residency of a disjunct population in the boreal forest. The studied forest forms a disjunct population of a former regional population that has contracted since the mid-Holocene. Short to moderately long fire intervals occurred over the last 6000 years to maintain the species in a fire-prone, sandy environment assuring its regeneration and survival. Disjunct distributions similar to the studied pine population are often caused by regional extirpation of populations in which environmental contraction produces small ecological refugia where local conditions remain suitable through time for a species to complete its life cycle.
Atomic physics and solar polarimetry
Authors: Judge P.G.
Published: March 2017

Major outstanding problems in solar physics relate to solar magnetism. Spectropolarimetry offers the best, and sometimes only, method of obtaining accurate measurements of the Sun’s magnetic field. New 1.5–2 m class telescopes with adaptive optics have come on line, and the Daniel K. Inouye 4 m Solar Telescope (DKIST) will begin observing in 2019. The calibration of polarized light entering such a large and polarizing ground-based telescope represents difficult challenges. This paper explores how special polarization properties of particular atomic transitions may provide calibration data, augmenting or even avoiding time-consuming calibration observations, as well as science data. This initial study concludes that solar spectral lines exist with special polarization properties, allowing the telescope calibration to be determined. The Sun’s visible and infrared spectrum is dominated by lines of neutral atoms and singly charged ions of iron and other complex atoms. Both solar and atomic physics should jointly benefit from telescopic advances, as observers explore regimes of broader wavelength ranges, and higher spatial resolutions and polarimetric sensitivities, than they have reached in the past. Further work is in progress to identify particular transitions of practical use to aid in calibrations.
Comparison of errors between a differential and a classical abundance analysis
Authors: Reggiani Henrique , Meléndez Jorge
Published: March 2017

The differential abundance analysis method can improve the precision of stellar chemical abundances. The method compares the equivalent widths of a certain line in a star with the same line in a star considered to be a standard representative of its class, using high resolution and high signal to noise ratio spectra. The method has achieved great results by reducing the measurement errors to unprecedentedly low levels. However, to date, there has not been a consistent analysis on the actual improvements of this method when compared to a classical analysis in metal-poor stars. Here we present a comparison between the errors of a classical stellar analysis and a differential analysis among low-metallicity stars.
IS SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE ACTION CONDITIONAL ON PERCEPTIONS OF RECIPROCITY? EVIDENCE FROM SURVEY EXPERIMENTS IN CANADA, THE US, NORWAY, AND SWEDEN
Authors: TVINNEREIM ENDRE , LACHAPELLE ERICK , BORICK CHRISTOPHER
Published: March 2017

The challenges of collective action are presented by leaders in many industrialized countries as a major obstacle to effective action on climate change. Notably, the argument goes, a fair international solution must appropriately constrain large greenhouse gas emitters like China. This paper asks whether citizen support for multilateral climate policies also depends on whether other countries are seen to reciprocate. We analyze results from population-based survey experiments in the US, Canada, Norway, and Sweden, asking subjects whether they think their country should commit internationally to emission reductions. Randomly assigned sub-samples were presented with statements suggesting that China may or may not choose to cooperate, or alternatively making no mention of China. We find that reciprocity is important to respondents in the smaller Scandinavian countries but not in North America. These findings suggest that country size is more important than national traditions of multilateral cooperation in predicting support for unilateral climate action.
Micromechanics and theory of point defects in anisotropic elasticity: Eshelby factor meets Eshelby tensor
Authors: Lazar Markus
Published: March 2017

The interaction of anisotropic point defects in anisotropic media is studied in the framework of anisotropic elasticity with eigendistortion. For this purpose, key-equations and their solutions for anisotropic point defects in an anisotropic medium based on the anisotropic Green tensor are derived. The material force, interaction energy and torque between two point defects as well as between a point defect and a dislocation loop are given. We discuss the so-called contact terms and point out similarities between elastic, electric, and magnetic dipoles. The plastic, the elastic and the total volume changes caused by an anisotropic point defect in an anisotropic material and the related Eshelby factor are determined. Thereby, the Eshelby factor is given in terms of the Eshelby tensor.
Recommendations Based on Comprehensively Exploiting the Latent Factors Hidden in Items’ Ratings and Content
Authors: Feng Shanshan , Cao Jian , Wang Jie , Qian Shiyou
Published: March 2017

To improve the performance of recommender systems in a practical manner, several hybrid approaches have been developed by considering item ratings and content information simultaneously. However, most of these hybrid approaches make recommendations based on aggregating different recommendation techniques using various strategies, rather than considering joint modeling of the item’s ratings and content, and thus fail to detect many latent factors that could potentially improve the performance of the recommender systems. For this reason, these approaches continue to suffer from data sparsity and do not work well for recommending items to individual users. A few studies try to describe a user’s preference by detecting items’ latent features from content-description texts as compensation for the sparse ratings. Unfortunately, most of these methods are still generally unable to accomplish recommendation tasks well for two reasons: (1) they learn latent factors from text descriptions or user--item ratings independently, rather than combining them together; and (2) influences of latent factors hidden in texts and ratings are not fully explored. In this study, we propose a probabilistic approach that we denote as latent random walk (LRW) based on the combination of an integrated latent topic model and random walk (RW) with the restart method, which can be used to rank items according to expected user preferences by detecting both their explicit and implicit correlative information, in order to recommend top-ranked items to potentially interested users. As presented in this article, the goal of this work is to comprehensively discover latent factors hidden in items’ ratings and content in order to alleviate the data sparsity problem and to improve the performance of recommender systems. The proposed topic model provides a generative probabilistic framework that discovers users’ implicit preferences and items’ latent features simultaneously by exploiting both ratings and item content information. On the basis of this probabilistic framework, RW can predict a user’s preference for unrated items by discovering global latent relations. In order to show the efficiency of the proposed approach, we test LRW and other state-of-the-art methods on three real-world datasets, namely, CAMRa2011, Yahoo!, and APP. The experiments indicate that our approach outperforms all comparative methods and, in addition, that it is less sensitive to the data sparsity problem, thus demonstrating the robustness of LRW for recommendation tasks.
Programs from Proofs
Authors: Jakobs Marie-Christine , Wehrheim Heike
Published: March 2017

Today, software is traded worldwide on global markets, with apps being downloaded to smartphones within minutes or seconds. This poses, more than ever, the challenge of ensuring safety of software in the face of (1) unknown or untrusted software providers together with (2) resource-limited software consumers. The concept of Proof-Carrying Code (PCC), years ago suggested by Necula, provides one framework for securing the execution of untrusted code. PCC techniques attach safety proofs, constructed by software producers, to code. Based on the assumption that
checking
proofs is usually much simpler than
constructing
proofs, software consumers should thus be able to quickly check the safety of software. However, PCC techniques often suffer from the size of
certificates
(i.e., the attached proofs), making PCC techniques inefficient in practice.

In this article, we introduce a new framework for the safe execution of untrusted code called
Programs from Proofs
(PfP). The basic assumption underlying the PfP technique is the fact that the
structure
of programs significantly influences the complexity of checking a specific safety property. Instead of attaching proofs to program code, the PfP technique transforms the program into an efficiently checkable form, thus guaranteeing quick safety checks for software consumers. For this transformation, the technique also uses a producer-side automatic proof of safety. More specifically, safety proving for the software producer proceeds via the construction of an abstract reachability graph (ARG) unfolding the control-flow automaton (CFA) up to the degree necessary for simple checking. To this end, we combine different sorts of software analysis: expensive analyses incrementally determining the degree of unfolding, and cheap analyses responsible for safety checking. Out of the abstract reachability graph we generate the new program. In its CFA structure, it is isomorphic to the graph and hence another, this time consumer-side, cheap analysis can quickly determine its safety.

Like PCC, Programs from Proofs is a general framework instantiable with different sorts of (expensive and cheap) analysis. Here, we present the general framework and exemplify it by some concrete examples. We have implemented different instantiations on top of the configurable program analysis tool CPA
checker
and report on experiments, in particular on comparisons with PCC techniques.
A Survey on Data-Flow Testing
Authors: Su Ting , Wu Ke , Miao Weikai , Pu Geguang , He Jifeng , Chen Yuting , Su Zhendong
Published: March 2017

Data-flow testing (DFT) is a family of testing strategies designed to verify the interactions between each program variable’s definition and its uses. Such a test objective of interest is referred to as a
def-use pair
. DFT selects test data with respect to various test adequacy criteria (i.e.,
data-flow coverage criteria
) to exercise each pair. The original conception of DFT was introduced by Herman in 1976. Since then, a number of studies have been conducted, both theoretically and empirically, to analyze DFT’s complexity and effectiveness. In the past four decades, DFT has been continuously concerned, and various approaches from different aspects are proposed to pursue automatic and efficient data-flow testing. This survey presents a detailed overview of data-flow testing, including challenges and approaches in enforcing and automating it: (1) it introduces the data-flow analysis techniques that are used to identify def-use pairs; (2) it classifies and discusses techniques for data-flow-based test data generation, such as search-based testing, random testing, collateral-coverage-based testing, symbolic-execution-based testing, and model-checking-based testing; (3) it discusses techniques for tracking data-flow coverage; (4) it presents several DFT applications, including software fault localization, web security testing, and specification consistency checking; and (5) it summarizes recent advances and discusses future research directions toward more practical data-flow testing.
Graph Manipulations for Fast Centrality Computation
Authors: Sariyüce Ahmet Erdem , Kaya Kamer , Saule Erik , Çatalyürek Ümit V.
Published: March 2017

The betweenness and closeness metrics are widely used metrics in many network analysis applications. Yet, they are expensive to compute. For that reason, making the betweenness and closeness centrality computations faster is an important and well-studied problem. In this work, we propose the framework
BADIOS
that manipulates the graph by compressing it and splitting into pieces so that the centrality computation can be handled independently for each piece. Experimental results show that the proposed techniques can be a great arsenal to reduce the centrality computation time for various types and sizes of networks. In particular, it reduces the betweenness centrality computation time of a 4.6 million edges graph from more than 5 days to less than 16 hours. For the same graph, the closeness computation time is decreased from more than 3 days to 6 hours (12.7x speedup).
Task-FIFO Co-Scheduling of Streaming Applications on MPSoCs with Predictable Memory Hierarchy
Authors: Tang Qi , Basten Twan , Geilen Marc , Stuijk Sander , Wei Ji-Bo
Published: March 2017

This article studies the scheduling of real-time streaming applications on multiprocessor systems-on-chips with predictable memory hierarchy. An iteration-based task-FIFO co-scheduling framework is proposed for this problem. We obtain FIFO size distributions using Pareto space searching, based on which the task-to-processor mapping is obtained with the potential FIFO allocation being taken into account; then, the FIFO-to-memory allocation is optimized to minimize the total memory access cost; finally, a self-timed throughput analysis method that considers memory and direct memory access controller contention is utilized to analyze the throughput. Our methods are validated by a set of synthesized and practical applications on different platforms.
Property Testing on Product Distributions
Authors: Chakrabarty Deeparnab , Dixit Kashyap , Jha Madhav , Seshadhri C.
Published: March 2017

The primary problem in property testing is to decide whether a given function satisfies a certain property or is far from any function satisfying it. This crucially requires a notion of distance between functions. The most prevalent notion is the Hamming distance over theuniformdistribution on the domain. This restriction to uniformity is rather limiting, and it is important to investigate distances induced by more general distributions.

In this article, we provide simple and optimal testers forbounded derivative propertiesoverarbitrary product distributions. Bounded derivative properties include fundamental properties, such as monotonicity and Lipschitz continuity. Our results subsume almost all known results (upper and lower bounds) on monotonicity and Lipschitz testing over arbitrary ranges.

We prove an intimate connection between bounded derivative property testing and binary search trees (BSTs). We exhibit a tester whose query complexity is the sum of expected depths of optimal BSTs for each marginal. Furthermore, we show that this sum-of-depths is also a lower bound. A technical contribution of our work is anoptimal dimension reduction theoremfor all bounded derivative properties that relates the distance of a function from the property to the distance of restrictions of the function to random lines. Such a theorem has been elusive even for monotonicity, and our theorem is an exponential improvement to the previous best-known result.
Beyond Just Text
Authors: Pohl Henning , Domin Christian , Rohs Michael
Published: March 2017

Emoji, a set of pictographic Unicode characters, have seen strong uptake over the last couple of years. All common mobile platforms and many desktop systems now support emoji entry, and users have embraced their use. Yet, we currently know very little about what makes for good emoji entry. While soft keyboards for text entry are well optimized, based on language and touch models, no such information exists to guide the design of emoji keyboards. In this article, we investigate of the problem of emoji entry, starting with a study of the current state of the emoji keyboard implementation in Android. To enable moving forward to novel emoji keyboard designs, we then explore a model for emoji similarity that is able to inform such designs. This semantic model is based on data from 21 million collected tweets containing emoji. We compare this model against a solely description-based model of emoji in a crowdsourced study. Our model shows good perfor mance in capturing detailed relationships between emoji.
Business Process Variability Modeling
Authors: Rosa Marcello La , Aalst Wil M. P. Van Der , Dumas Marlon , Milani Fredrik P.
Published: March 2017

It is common for organizations to maintain multiple variants of a given business process, such as multiple sales processes for different products or multiple bookkeeping processes for different countries. Conventional business process modeling languages do not explicitly support the representation of such families of process variants. This gap triggered significant research efforts over the past decade, leading to an array of approaches to business process variability modeling. In general, each of these approaches extends a conventional process modeling language with constructs to capture customizable process models. A customizable process model represents a family of process variants in a way that a model of each variant can be derived by adding or deleting fragments according to customization options or according to a domain model. This survey draws up a systematic inventory of approaches to customizable process modeling and provides a comparative evaluation with the aim of identifying common and differentiating modeling features, providing criteria for selecting among multiple approaches, and identifying gaps in the state of the art. The survey puts into evidence an abundance of customizable process-modeling languages, which contrasts with a relative scarcity of available tool support and empirical comparative evaluations.
SIGACT News Online Algorithms Column 30
Authors: van Stee Rob
Published: March 2017

In this column, I will discuss some recent papers in online algorithms that appeared in 2016. Quite a number of papers on online algorithms appeared during the year, and I have had to make a selection; I am sure to have overlooked some papers. If I have unaccountably missed your favorite paper and you would like to write about it or about any other topic in online algorithms, please don't hesitate to contact me!
Guest Column
Authors: Fenner Stephen , Gurjar Rohit , Thierauf Thomas
Published: March 2017

The perfect matching problem has a randomized NC-algorithm based on the Isolation Lemma of Mulmuley, Vazirani and Vazirani. We give an almost complete derandomization of the Isolation Lemma for perfect matchings in bipartite graphs. This gives us a deterministic quasi-NC-algorithm for the bipartite perfect matching problem.

The outline presented here emphasizes a geometric point of view. We think that this will be useful also for the perfect matching problem in general graphs.
Irisin: A Potential Link between Physical Exercise and Metabolism—An Observational Study in Differently Trained Subjects, from Elite Athletes to Sedentary People
Authors: Benedini Stefano , Dozio Elena , Invernizzi Pietro Luigi , Vianello Elena , Banfi Giuseppe , Terruzzi Ileana , Luzi Livio , Corsi Romanelli Massimiliano Marco
Published: March 2017

We compared irisin levels among groups of differently trained healthy individuals to explore the role of irisin as a physiological linker between exercise and metabolic health. Irisin and biochemical parameters of glucose and lipid metabolism were assessed in 70 healthy volunteers stratified for sport performance level into four groups: (1) 20 elite athletes of national level, (2) 20 subelite athletes of local level, (3) 20 recreational athletes, and (4) 10 sedentary subjects. All biochemical parameters were within the ranges of normality. Fasting glucose, HOMA-IR, and total cholesterol levels were inversely related to the degree of physical activity. HbA1c was higher in elite athletes compared to all the other groups (p<0.01). A U-shaped relation between free fatty acids and the degree of physical activity was observed. All groups showed similar plasma irisin levels. After correction for the degree of insulin resistance (irisin/HOMA-IR), elite athletes showed higher levels compared to sedentary and recreational subjects (p<0.01andp<0.05, resp.). In addition, the number of metabolic parameters correlated with irisin increased at increasing the training status. Our study suggests a correlation between sport performance, insulin sensitivity, and irisin levels. Irisin may be one potential mediator of the beneficial effects of exercise on metabolic profile.
Ethyl Acetate Extracts of Semen Impatientis Inhibit Proliferation and Induce Apoptosis of Human Prostate Cancer Cell Lines through AKT/ERK Pathways
Authors: Wang Tao , Cai Yang , Song Wen , Chen Ruibao , Hu Dunmei , Ye Jianhan , Liu Lu , Peng Wei , Zhang Junfeng , Wang Shaogang , Yang Weiming , Liu Jihong , Ding Yufeng
Published: March 2017

Objective. To investigate the inhibitory effect of ethyl acetate extracts of Impatiens balsamina L. on prostate cancer cells. Methods. Impatiens balsamina L. was extracted to get water, ethanol, oil ether, ethyl acetate, and butanol extracts. CCK-8 assay was used to detect the inhibitory effect. Apoptosis rates and cell cycle distribution were detected by flow cytometry. Transwell assay was performed to test the ability of migration. The expressions of Bcl-2, Bax, cleaved-caspase-3, p-ERK, ERK, p-AKT, AKT, cyclin D1, cyclin E, and MMP2 were detected by Western blot. Results. Ethyl acetate extracts had the strongest inhibitory effect. After being treated with different concentrations of ethyl acetate extracts, the percentage of G0/G1 phase increased significantly, cyclin D1 and cyclin E expression decreased, apoptosis rate was significantly higher, and the ability of migration of PC-3 and RV1 was inhibited significantly. Western blot showed that the expressions of Bcl-2, p-ERK, and p-AKT were significantly decreased, but the expressions of Bax and caspase-3 cleavage were increased. Conclusions. Impatiens balsamina L. inhibited the proliferation of human prostate cancer cells; ethyl acetate extracts have the strongest effect. It could inhibit cell proliferation and migration, cause G1 phase arrest, and induce apoptosis probably through inhibition of the AKT and ERK pathways.
Effect of Postsowing Compaction on Cold and Frost Tolerance of North China Plain Winter Wheat
Authors: Lu Caiyun , Zhao Chunjiang , Wang Xiu , Meng Zhijun , Song Jian , McGiffen Milt , Wu Guangwei , Fu Weiqing , Dong Jianjun , Yu Jiayang
Published: March 2017

Improper postsowing compaction negatively affects soil temperature and thereby cold and frost tolerance, particularly in extreme cold weather. In North China Plain, the temperature falls to 5 degrees below zero, even lower in winter, which is period for winter wheat growing. Thus improving temperature to promote wheat growth is important in this area. A field experiment from 2013 to 2016 was conducted to evaluate effects of postsowing compaction on soil temperature and plant population of wheat at different stages during wintering period. The effect of three postsowing compaction methods—(1) compacting wheel (CW), (2) crosskill roller (CR), and (3) V-shaped compacting roller after crosskill roller (VCRCR)—on winter soil temperatures and relation to wheat shoot growth parameters were measured. Results showed that the highest soil midwinter temperature was in the CW treatment. In the 20 cm and 40 cm soil layer, soil temperatures were ranked in the following order of CW > VCRCR > CR. Shoot numbers under CW, CR, and VCRCR treatments were statistically 12.40% and 8.18% higher under CW treatment compared to CR or VCRCR treatments at the end of wintering period. The higher soil temperature under CW treatment resulted in higher shoot number at the end of wintering period, apparently due to reduced shoot death by cold and frost damage.
Seronegative Coeliac Disease in Children: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Kolimarala Vinod , Vasita Ekta , Banoub Hany , Chong Sonny K. F.
Published: March 2017

Serology is frequently used for the diagnosis of coeliac disease in children; however, a small proportion of children are seronegative. We present a case of seronegative coeliac disease along with literature review to include diagnostic and management dilemmas.
Hydrothermal Synthesis of PbO2/RGO Nanocomposite for Electrocatalytic Degradation of Cationic Red X-GRL
Authors: Li Weidong , Yang Huayun , Liu Qi
Published: March 2017

PbO2 nanoparticles were prepared using a simple hydrothermal method with β-PbO as precursor and ammonium peroxydisulfate as oxidant. During the hydrothermal condition with ammonium peroxydisulfate, the formed hydroxyl radical has played a key role in the oxidation of β-PbO to PbO2. The size of as-prepared PbO2 nanoparticles was in the range of 25–50 nm. Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) was successfully prepared by the simple reduction reaction of graphene oxide by sodium borohydride and the obtained RGO was then incorporated into the PbO2 nanoparticles. The surface of ITO electrode was modified with the as-prepared PbO2/RGO nanocomposite. The constructed PbO2/RGO/ITO electrode was subsequently applied for the catalytic degradation of cationic red X-GRL which was an azo dye in wastewater. The effects of reaction time, applied current density, and initial concentration of dye on the color removal and COD removal were thoroughly investigated. All results demonstrated that the degradation performance of the electrode modified with PbO2/RGO nanocomposite was extremely excellent.
A Preclinical Systematic Review of Ginsenoside‐Rg1 in Experimental Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Song Liang , Xu Meng-Bei , Zhou Xiao-Li , Zhang Dao-pei , Zhang Shu-ling , Zheng Guo-qing
Published: March 2017

To date, no drug has been proven to be neuroprotective or disease‐modifying for Parkinson’s disease (PD) in clinical trials. Here, we aimed to assess preclinical evidence of Ginsenosides‐Rg1 (G‐Rg1), a potential neuroprotectant, for experimental PD and its possible mechanisms. Eligible studies were identified by searching six electronic databases from their inception to August 2016. Twenty‐five eligible studies involving 516 animals were identified. The quality score of these studies ranged from 3 to 7. Compared with the control group, two out of the 12 studies of MPTP‐induced PD showed significant effects of G‐Rg1 for improving the rotarod test (P < 0.01), two studies for improving the swim‐score values (P < 0.01), six studies for improving the level of TH protein expression (P < 0.01), and two studies for increasing the expression of TH mRNA in the substantia nigra of mice (P < 0.01). The studies reported that G‐Rg1 exerted potential neuroprotective effects on PD model through different mechanisms as antineuroinflammatory activities (n = 10), antioxidant stress (n = 3), and antiapoptosis (n = 11). In conclusion, G‐Rg1 exerted potential neuroprotective functions against PD largely by antineuroinflammatory, antioxidative, and antiapoptotic effects. G‐Rg1 as a promising neuroprotectant for PD needs further confirmation by clinical trials.
Coarctation of the Aorta as a Complication of Surgical Ligation of Patent Ductus Arteriosus in a Premature Infant
Authors: Qasim Amna , Dasgupta Soham , Jain Sunil K. , Jiwani Amyn K. , Aly Ashraf M.
Published: March 2017

Surgical ligation of a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a commonly performed procedure. Complications are infrequent and most commonly include recurrent laryngeal nerve injury and rarely ligation of left pulmonary artery. We report a case of accidental ligation of the descending thoracic aorta leading to a clinically significant coarctation.
Bedside Ultrasound Measurement of Rectus Femoris: A Tutorial for the Nutrition Support Clinician
Authors: Galindo Martín Carlos Alfredo , Monares Zepeda Enrique , Lescas Méndez Octavio Augusto
Published: March 2017

Intensive care unit acquired weakness is a long-term consequence after critical illness; it has been related to muscle atrophy and can be considered as one of the main nutritional support challenges at the intensive care unit. Measuring muscle mass by image techniques has become a new area of research for the nutritional support field, extending our knowledge about muscle wasting and the impact of nutritional approaches in the critical care setting, although currently there is no universally accepted technique to perform muscle measurements by ultrasound. Because of this, we present this tutorial for nutrition support clinicians, in order to understand and perform muscle measurements by this reliable, accessible, low-cost, and easy-to-use technique. Reviewing issues such as quadriceps muscle anatomy, correct technique (do’s and don’ts), identification of structures, and measurement of the rectus femoris and vastus intermedius muscles helps to acquire the basic concepts of this technique and encouraging more research in this field.
Diagnostic Bedside Vestibuloocular Reflex Evaluation in the Setting of a False Negative Fistula Test in Cholesteatoma of the Middle Ear
Authors: D’Albora Ricardo , Silveira Ligia , Carmona Sergio , Perez-Fernandez Nicolas
Published: March 2017

Background. False negative fistula testing in patients with chronic suppurative otitis media is a dilemma when proceeding to surgery. It is imperative to rule out a dead labyrinth or a mass effect secondary to the cholesteatoma in an otherwise normally functioning inner ear. We present a case series of three patients in whom a bedside vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) evaluation using a head impulse test was used successfully for further evaluation prior to surgery. Results. In all three cases with a false negative fistula test we were able to further evaluate at the bedside and were not only able to register the abnormal VOR but also localize its deterioration to a particular semicircular canal eroded by the fistula. Conclusion. Vestibuloocular reflex evaluation is mandatory in patients with suspected labyrinthine fistula due to cholesteatoma of the middle ear before proceeding to surgery. We demonstrate successful use of a bedside head impulse test for further evaluation prior to surgery in patients with false negative fistula test.