bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Finite groups with weakly ℋC-embedded subgroups
Authors: Ramadan M.
Published: April 2019

Let [Formula: see text] be a finite group and [Formula: see text] a subgroup of [Formula: see text]. We say that [Formula: see text] is an [Formula: see text]-subgroup of [Formula: see text] if [Formula: see text] for all [Formula: see text]. We say that [Formula: see text] is weakly [Formula: see text]-embedded in [Formula: see text] if [Formula: see text] has a normal subgroup [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] for all [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text] is the normal closure of [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text]. For each prime [Formula: see text] dividing the order of [Formula: see text] let [Formula: see text] be a Sylow [Formula: see text]-subgroup of [Formula: see text]. We fix a subgroup of [Formula: see text] of order [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] and study the structure of [Formula: see text] under the assumption that every subgroup of [Formula: see text] of order [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] is weakly [Formula: see text]-embedded in [Formula: see text]. Our results improve and generalize several recent results in the literature.
A Generalization of Semidetached Subalgebras in BCK∕BCI-algebras
Authors: Bordbar Hashem , Rahim Bordbar Mohammad , Jun Young Bae
Published: April 2019

Generalization of the paper [Y. B. Jun and S. Z. Song, Semidetached subalgebras in [Formula: see text]-algebras, to appear in Bulletin of the Korean Mathematical Society] is discussed. Several conditions for a semidetached structure in [Formula: see text]-algebras to be a semidetached subalgebra are provided. The concepts of ([Formula: see text])-fuzzy subalgebra, [Formula: see text]-left ([Formula: see text]-right) [Formula: see text]-fuzzy subalgebra, ([Formula: see text])-fuzzy subalgebra and ([Formula: see text])-fuzzy subalgebra are introduced, and relative relations and properties are discussed.
Quantale-Valued Uniformizations of Quantale-Valued Generalizations of Approach Groups
Authors: Ahsanullah T. M. G. , Jäger Gunther
Published: April 2019

We introduce the categories of quantale-valued approach uniform spaces and quantale-valued uniform gauge spaces, and prove that they are topological categories. We first show that the category of quantale-valued uniform gauge spaces is a full bireflective subcategory of the category of quantale-valued approach uniform spaces and; second, we prove that only under strong restrictions on the quantale these two categories are isomorphic. Besides presenting embeddings of the category of quantale-valued metric spaces into the categories of quantale-valued approach uniform spaces as well as quantale-valued uniform gauge spaces, we show that every quantale-valued approach system group and quantale-valued gauge group has a natural underlying quantale-valued approach uniform space, respectively, a quantale-valued uniform gauge space.
A Residuated Lattice of L-Fuzzy Subalgebras of a Mono-Unary Algebra
Authors: Foka S. V. Tchoffo , Tonga Marcel
Published: April 2019

Given a complete residuated lattice [Formula: see text] and a mono-unary algebra [Formula: see text], it is well known that [Formula: see text] and the residuated lattice [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text]-fuzzy subsets of [Formula: see text] satisfy the same residuated lattice identities. In this paper, we show that [Formula: see text] and the residuated lattice [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text]-fuzzy subalgebras of [Formula: see text] satisfy the same residuated lattice identities if and only if the Heyting algebra [Formula: see text] of subuniverses of [Formula: see text] is a Boolean algebra. We also show that [Formula: see text] is a Boolean algebra (respectively, an [Formula: see text]-algebra) if and only if [Formula: see text] is a Boolean algebra (respectively, an [Formula: see text]-algebra) and [Formula: see text] is a Boolean algebra.
Systolically extremal nonpositively curved surfaces are flat with finitely many singularities
Authors: Katz Mikhail G. , Sabourau Stéphane
Published: April 2019

The regularity of systolically extremal surfaces is a notoriously difficult problem already discussed by Gromov in 1983, who proposed an argument toward the existence of [Formula: see text]-extremizers exploiting the theory of [Formula: see text]-regularity developed by White and others by the 1950s. We propose to study the problem of systolically extremal metrics in the context of generalized metrics of nonpositive curvature. A natural approach would be to work in the class of Alexandrov surfaces of finite total curvature, where one can exploit the tools of the completion provided in the context of Radon measures as studied by Reshetnyak and others. However the generalized metrics in this sense still don’t have enough regularity. Instead, we develop a more hands-on approach and show that, for each genus, every systolically extremal nonpositively curved surface is piecewise flat with finitely many conical singularities. This result exploits a decomposition of the surface into flat systolic bands and nonsystolic polygonal regions, as well as the combinatorial/topological estimates of Malestein–Rivin–Theran, Przytycki, Aougab–Biringer–Gaster and Greene on the number of curves meeting at most once, combined with a kite excision move. The move merges pairs of conical singularities on a surface of genus [Formula: see text] and leads to an asymptotic upper bound [Formula: see text] on the number of singularities.
GOVERNANCE EFFICIENCY, ECONOMIC SECURITY AND FEDERALISATION. THE EUROPEAN UNION AT CROSSROADS — IS IT TIME FOR CONSOLIDATION?
Authors: IGNATOV AUGUSTIN
Published: April 2019

The European Union (EU) has certainly reduced its influence in the global economic affairs. Despite the fact that it unites 28 nations, including the former great powers such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy, the political and economic power of the community has considerably decreased starting with the second half of 2000s. The present research is undertaken with the aim of increasing the readers’ awareness regarding the necessity of enforcing the EU economic security through consolidating the authority of the supranational bodies in relation with national representatives. The objectives to be reached in this regard include assessing how much the governance efficiency alternations among the EU member countries influence the efficiency of the single market in a globalised society. It was found that several processes determined the decline of Europe’s strength including raising globalisation and increasing competition, economic weaknesses of the EU which worsened during the crisis, stagnation of the integration process, feeble leadership and lack of resoluteness, especially in the most developed EU nations, declining adherence to “core” values, migration crisis, little political commitment to protecting EU’s citizens’ interests, and countries’ individualism in promoting key initiatives.
DISCLOSURE DECISION IN AN ENTRY GAME WITH COSTLY INFORMATION INTERPRETATION
Authors: ORHUN EDA
Published: April 2019

This paper analyzes a firm’s incentives to disclose private information related to its market situation when there is a potential competitor. However, I adopt a more realistic definition of transparency that has been mostly overlooked by the earlier literature. In a realistic situation, financial transparency does not imply that all the relevant information are automatically transmitted to the receiver of the signal but instead the available information needs to be understood. When the model is adjusted to incorporate this realistic definition of transparency, fully revealing equilibrium associated with the “Revelation Principle” does not exist anymore. It is observed that the model with interpretation costs of transparency yields both pooling and partially pooling equilibria.
MODEL FOR PROGNOSIS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH: ACCOUNTING OF INFLUENCE OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Authors: PANKRATOV E. L.
Published: April 2019

In this paper, we introduce a model for forecasting economic growth. The introduced model describes the dynamics of developing economies that are under conditions of a strong impact of effects related to the state of the environment.
Approximate Counting, the Lovász Local Lemma, and Inference in Graphical Models
Authors: Moitra Ankur
Published: April 2019

In this article, we introduce a new approach to approximate counting in bounded degree systems with higher-order constraints. Our main result is an algorithm to approximately count the number of solutions to a CNF formula Φ when the width is logarithmic in the maximum degree. This closes an exponential gap between the known upper and lower bounds.

Moreover, our algorithm extends straightforwardly to approximate sampling, which shows that under Lovász Local Lemma-like conditions it is not only possible to find a satisfying assignment, it is also possible to generate one approximately uniformly at random from the set of all satisfying assignments. Our approach is a significant departure from earlier techniques in approximate counting, and is based on a framework to bootstrap an oracle for computing marginal probabilities on individual variables. Finally, we give an application of our results to show that it is algorithmically possible to sample from the posterior distribution in an interesting class of graphical models.
Parallel Bayesian Search with No Coordination
Authors: Fraigniaud Pierre , Korman Amos , Rodeh Yoav
Published: April 2019

Coordinating the actions of agents (e.g., volunteers analyzing radio signals in SETI@home) yields efficient
search
algorithms. However, such an efficiency is often at the cost of implementing complex coordination mechanisms which may be expensive in terms of communication and/or computation overheads. Instead,
non-coordinating
algorithms, in which each agent operates independently from the others, are typically very simple, and easy to implement. They are also inherently robust to slight misbehaviors, or even crashes of agents. In this article, we investigate the “price of non-coordinating,” in terms of search performance, and we show that this price is actually quite small. Specifically, we consider a parallel version of a classical
Bayesian
search problem, where set of
k
≥1 searchers are looking for a treasure placed in one of the boxes indexed by positive integers, according to some distribution 
p
. Each searcher can open a random box at each step, and the objective is to find the treasure in a minimum number of steps. We show that there is a very simple non-coordinating algorithm which has expected running time at most 4(1−1/
k
+1)
2
OPT+10, where OPT is the expected running time of the best fully coordinated algorithm. Our algorithm does not even use the precise description of the distribution
p
, but only the relative likelihood of the boxes. We prove that, under this restriction, our algorithm has the best possible competitive ratio with respect to OPT. For the case where a complete description of the distribution
p
is given to the search algorithm, we describe an optimal non-coordinating algorithm for Bayesian search. This latter algorithm can be twice as fast as our former algorithm in practical scenarios such as uniform distributions. All these results provide a complete characterization of non-coordinating Bayesian search. The take-away message is that, for their simplicity and robustness, non-coordinating algorithms are viable alternatives to complex coordinating mechanisms subject to significant overheads. Most of these results apply as well to
linear
search, in which the indices of the boxes reflect their relative importance, and where important boxes must be visited first.
Thermal-aware 3D Symmetrical Buffered Clock Tree Synthesis
Authors: Oh Deok Keun , Choi Mu Jun , Kim Ju Ho
Published: April 2019

The semiconductor industry has accepted three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs) as a possible solution to address speed and power management problems. In addition, 3D ICs have recently demonstrated a huge potential in reducing wire length and increasing the density of a chip. However, the growing density in chips such as TSV-based 3D ICs has brought the increased temperature on chip and temperature gradients depending on location. Thus, through silicon via (TSV)-based 3D clock tree synthesis (CTS) causes thermal problems leading to large clock skew. We propose a novel 3D symmetrical buffered clock tree synthesis considering thermal variation. First, 3D abstract tree topology based on nearest-neighbor selection with median cost (3D-NNM) is constructed by pairing sinks that have similar power consumption. Second, the layer assignment of internal nodes is determined for uniform TSV distribution. Third, in thermal-aware 3D deferred merging embedding (DME), the exact location of TSV is determined and wire routing/buffer insertion are performed after the thermal profile based on grid is obtained. The proposed method is verified using a 45nm process technology and utilized a predictive technology model (PTM) with HSPICE. It is also evaluated for the IBM benchmarks and ISPD’09 benchmarks with no blockages. In experimental result, we achieve on average 19% of clock skew reduction compared to existing thermal-aware 3D CTS. Therefore, thermal-aware 3D symmetrical buffered clock tree synthesis presented in this work is very efficient for circuit reliability.
Enabling IC Traceability via Blockchain Pegged to Embedded PUF
Authors: Islam Md Nazmul , Kundu Sandip
Published: April 2019

Globalization of IC supply chain has increased the risk of counterfeit, tampered, and re-packaged chips in the market. Counterfeit electronics poses a security risk in safety critical applications like avionics, SCADA systems, and defense. It also affects the reputation of legitimate suppliers and causes financial losses. Hence, it becomes necessary to develop traceability solutions to ensure the integrity of supply chain, from the time of fabrication to the end of product-life, which allows a customer to verify the provenance of a device or a system. In this article, we present an IC traceability solution based on blockchain. A blockchain is a public immutable database that maintains a continuously growing list of data records secured from tampering and revision. Over the lifetime of an IC, all ownership transfer information is recorded and archived in a blockchain. This safe, verifiable method prevents any party from altering or challenging the legitimacy of the information being exchanged. However, a chain of sales record is not enough to ensure provenance of an IC. There is a need for clone-proof method for securely binding the identity of an IC to the blockchain information. In this article, we propose a method of IC supply chain traceability via blockchain pegged to embedded physically unclonable function (PUF). The blockchain provides ownership transfer record, while the PUF provides unique identification for an IC allowing it to be linked uniquely to a blockchain. Our proposed solution automates hardware and software protocols using blockchain-powered Smart Contract that allows supply chain participants to authenticate, track, trace, analyze, and provision chips throughout their entire life cycle.
Mechanical Properties of High‐Strength High‐Performance Reinforced Concrete Shaft Lining Structures in Deep Freezing Wells
Authors: Peng Shilong , Rong Chuanxin , Cheng Hua , Wang Xiaojian , Li Mingjing , Tang Bin , Li Xuemei
Published: April 2019

As coal resources must be mined from ever deeper seams, high‐strength, high‐performance concrete shaft linings are required to resist the load of the soil surrounding the deep freezing well. In order to determine the optimal concrete mix for the unique conditions experienced by such high‐strength high‐performance reinforced concrete shaft lining (HSHPRCSL) structures in deep freezing wells, an experimental evaluation of scaled HSHPRCSL models was conducted using hydraulic pressure load tests. It was observed that as the specimens ruptured, plastic bending of the circumferential reinforcement occurred along the failure surface, generated by compression‐shear failure. These tests determined that HSHPRCSL capacity was most affected by the ultimate concrete uniaxial compressive strength and the thickness‐diameter ratio and least affected by the reinforcement ratio. The experimental results were then used to derive fitting equations, which were compared with the results of theoretical expressions derived using the three‐parameter strength criterion for the ultimate bearing capacity, stress, radius, and load in the elastic and plastic zones. The proposed theoretical equations yielded results within 8% of the experimentally fitted results. Finally, the finite element analysis method is used to verify the abovementioned results, and all errors are less than 12%, demonstrating reliability for use as a theoretical design basis for deep HSHPRCSL structures.
First Report of Echinococcus ortleppi in Human Cases of Cystic Echinococcosis in Poland
Authors: Dybicz Monika , Borkowski Piotr K. , Jonas Maurycy , Wasiak Dariusz , Małkowski Piotr
Published: April 2019

Cystic echinococcosis is considered as an emerging zoonosis that can develop asymptomatically for years, clinically nonpathognomic. The disease is of public health importance due to often late, difficult diagnostics, uncertain results of treatment, the need to remove hydatid cysts surgically in advanced cases, and poor prognosis in untreated patients. Six Polish female patients with diagnosed cystic echinococcosis (CE) were examined. DNA extracted from the liver and lung samples served for amplification of mitochondrial nad1 gene fragment. Sequence alignments of 5 isolates showed identity with the pig strain, Echinococcus canadensis G7. One case was in 100% identical with Echinococcus ortleppi G5, the cattle strain. These data demonstrate first report of E. ortleppi, regarded as extinct species, causing human cystic echinococcosis in Poland, where the most frequent causative agent of human CE is E. canadensis.
Divergent Response of Leaf Coloring Seasons to Temperature Change in Northern China over the Past 50 Years
Authors: Tao Zexing , Xu Yunjia , Dai Junhu , Wang Huanjiong
Published: April 2019

Autumn phenology plays a critical role in terrestrial ecosystem circulations. However, the changes in autumn phenology and their correlation with temperature remain uncertain because mean temperature alone was not able to determine the changes in autumn phenology at various sites. Here, the leaf coloring season (LCS) was defined as the period when the leaves of more than half of the species had recognized changes in color. We systematically studied the changes in peak, start, end, and duration of LCS and their correlations with five temperature parameters (mean temperature, accumulated cold temperature, day temperature, night temperature, and temperature difference between day and night) in four periods. Similarly to previous findings, the start date of LCS advanced and the end of LCS delayed over the past 50 years, which consequently led to a lengthened duration of LCS in Xi’an, Harbin, Minqin, and Shenyang. In general, the rise in mean temperature, day temperature, and night temperature would delay the peak, start, and end of LCS and lengthen the duration of LCS in most cases. We also proved that the changes in LCS metrics not only could completely be explained by mean temperature but also were influenced by day temperature, night temperature, temperature difference, and even other climatic factors such as precipitation, at different sites.
Demonstration of Time-Series InSAR Processing in Beijing Using a Small Stack of Gaofen-3 Differential Interferograms
Authors: Wang Jili , Yu Weidong , Deng Yunkai , Wang Robert , Wang Yingjie , Zhang Heng , Zheng Mingjie
Published: April 2019

More and more synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites in orbit provide abundant data for remote sensing applications. In August 2016, China launched a new Earth observation SAR satellite, Gaofen-3 (GF-3). In this paper, we utilize a small stack of GF-3 differential interferograms to map land subsidence in Beijing (China) using the time-series SAR interferometry (InSAR) technique. The small stack of differential interferograms is generated with 5 GF-3 SAR images from March 2017 to January 2018. Orbit errors are carefully addressed and removed during differential InSAR (DInSAR) processing. Truncated singular-value decomposition (TSVD) is applied to strengthen the robustness of deformation rate estimation. To validate the results of GF-3 data, an additional deformation measurement using 26 Sentinel-1B images from March 2017 to February 2018 is carried out using the persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) technique. By implementing a cross-comparison, we find that the retrieved results from GF-3 images and Sentinel-1 images are spatially consistent. The standard deviation of vertical deformation rate differences between two data stacks is 11.24 mm/y in the study area. The results shown in this paper demonstrate the reasonable potential of GF-3 SAR images to monitor land subsidence.
A Study of Continuous Maximum Entropy Deep Inverse Reinforcement Learning
Authors: Chen Xi-liang , Cao Lei , Xu Zhi-xiong , Lai Jun , Li Chen-xi
Published: April 2019

The assumption of IRL is that demonstrations are optimally acting in an environment. In the past, most of the work on IRL needed to calculate optimal policies for different reward functions. However, this requirement is difficult to satisfy in large or continuous state space tasks. Let alone continuous action space. We propose a continuous maximum entropy deep inverse reinforcement learning algorithm for continuous state space and continues action space, which realizes the depth cognition of the environment model by the way of reconstructing the reward function based on the demonstrations, and a hot start mechanism based on demonstrations to make the training process faster and better. We compare this new approach to well‐known IRL algorithms using Maximum Entropy IRL, DDPG, hot start DDPG, etc. Empirical results on classical control environments on OpenAI Gym: MountainCarContinues‐v0 show that our approach is able to learn policies faster and better.
Diabetes Mellitus, Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, and Conjugated Linoleic Acid (Omega 6): What Is the Link?
Authors: Hegazy Mona , Elsayed Naglaa M. , Ali Hala M. , Hassan Hanan G. , Rashed Laila
Published: April 2019

Background and Objective. Type 2 DM and obesity are the coming epidemics and their association with NAFLD is well established; essential fatty acids are vital for body health yet the body cannot make them; 2 essential fatty acids are especially important: linoleic (omega-6) and alpha-linoleic (omega-3) acids; they can be considered as “bioactive lipids” and serve as functional foods.Methods. 50 type 2 Egyptian diabetic patients controlled on oral hypoglycemic drugs together with 20 age- and sex-matched healthy participants were enrolled in the study; all were subjected to complete history taking, BMI, fasting plasma glucose, HOMA-IR, ALT, AST, GGT, urea and creatinine, total lipid profile, hepatitis markers including hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis C virus antibodies, conjugated linoleic fatty acid “CLA,” and abdominal ultrasound for grading of NAFLD.Results. Our study in Egyptian diabetics with NAFLD revealed a low level of serum CLA compared to healthy control; such deficiency was more marked with advanced grades of NAFLD; lowest levels were observed in those with severe steatosis (NASH) with definite association between CLA and obesity.Conclusion. Insulin resistance is the main link between NAFLD, diabetes, and obesity. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) has a role in fat deposition in the liver and in development and improvement of insulin resistance. Fatty food had a documented role in the pathogenesis of obesity and diabetes but it can also be the cure.
Comparison of Three Different Types of Two-Implant-Supported Magnetic Attachments on the Stress Distribution in Edentulous Mandible
Authors: Hu Fengling , Gong Yiming , Bian Zhen , Zhang Xiaoying , Xu Bin , Zhang Jianguo , Shi Xiaojun , Yu Youcheng , Song Liang
Published: April 2019

Two-implant-retained mandibular overdentures with magnetic attachments can provide an effective treatment modality for edentulous patients. In this study, a three-dimensional finite element analysis was used to compare the biomechanical characteristics of three different types of magnetic attachments in two-implant-retained mandibular overdentures. Flat-type, dome-type, and cushion-type of the magnetic attachments were designed to retain the overdenture. Four types of load were applied to the overdenture in each model: 100 N vertical and oblique loads on the right first molar and a 100 N vertical load on the right canine and the lower incisors. The biomechanical behaviors of peri-implant bone, abutment, and mucosa were recorded. In vertical incisors, vertical right canine, and oblique molar loading condition, the flat-type group exhibited the highest levels of maximum equivalent strain/stress in the peri-implant bone. The total deformation of mucosa and the maximum equivalent strain/stress in the oblique molar loading condition are about two times as the vertical molar loading condition. These results suggested that both cushion-type and dome-type of the magnetic attachments are better choices in two-implant-retained mandibular overdentures, and oblique loading is more harmful than vertical loading.
A Norm Compliance Approach for Open and Goal‐Directed Intelligent Systems
Authors: Ribino Patrizia , Lodato Carmelo
Published: April 2019

The increasing development of autonomous intelligent systems, such as smart vehicles, smart homes, and social robots, poses new challenges to face. Among them, ensuring that such systems behave lawfully is one of the crucial topics to be addressed for improving their employment in real contexts of daily life. In this work, we present an approach for norm compliance in the context of open and goal‐directed intelligent systems working in dynamic normative environments where goals, services, and norms may change. Such an approach complements a goal‐directed system modifying its goals and the way to achieve them for taking norms into accounts, thus influencing the practical reasoning process that goal‐oriented systems implement for figuring out what to do. The conformity to norms is established at the goal level rather than at the action level. The effect of a norm that acts at the goal level spreads out at the lower level of actions, thus also improving system flexibility. Recovery mechanisms are provided to face exceptional situations that could be caused by normative changes. A case study in the field of the business organizations is presented for demonstrating the strengths of the proposed solution.
Particle Transverse Momentum Distributions in p-p Collisions at √sNN=0.9 TeV
Authors: Bashir Inam-ul , Parra Rameez Ahmad , Bhat Riyaz Ahmed , Uddin Saeed
Published: April 2019

The midrapidity transverse momentum spectra of hadrons (p, K+, Ks0, ϕ, Λ, and (Ξ-+Ξ--)) and the available rapidity distributions of the strange hadrons (Ks0, (Λ+Λ-), (Ξ-+Ξ--)) produced in p-p collisions at LHC energy √sNN = 0.9 TeV have been studied using a Unified Statistical Thermal Freeze-out Model (USTFM). The calculated results are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data. The theoretical fits of the transverse momentum spectra using the model calculations provide the thermal freeze-out conditions in terms of the temperature and collective flow parameters for different hadronic species. The study reveals the presence of a significant collective flow and a well-defined temperature in the system thus indicating the formation of a thermally equilibrated hydrodynamic system in p-p collisions at LHC. Moreover, the fits to the available experimental rapidity distributions data of strange hadrons show the effect of almost complete transparency in p-p collisions at LHC. The model incorporates longitudinal as well as a transverse hydrodynamic flow. The contributions from heavier decay resonances have also been taken into account. We have also imposed the criteria of exact strangeness conservation in the system.
Influence of Encryption Algorithms on Power Consumption in Energy Harvesting Systems
Authors: Vračar Ljubomir M. , Stojanović Milan D. , Stanimirović Aleksandar S. , Prijić Zoran D.
Published: April 2019

Autonomous energy harvesting sensors present one of the most attractive areas of microelectronics at the moment. They are a part of Internet of Things (IoT) systems so the data need to be protected across transmission. One way for data protection is encryption and the other way is digital signature. However, energy consumption of those systems is increased using protections algorithms, and it should be considered because these are energy harvesting systems. The paper describes the ways in which data encryption and digital signature algorithms can be implemented in resource limited systems based on an 8-bit microcontroller. Alongside the implementation method, the paper deals with the energy demands of the selected encryption algorithms and digital signatures. The execution time, energy consumption, and memory consumption will be considered.
Effect of the Interaction between Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Lipoprotein(a) on Insulin Resistance: A Large-Scale Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Liu Yupu , Zou Juanjuan , Li Xinyi , Zhao Xiaolong , Zou Jianyin , Liu Suru , Meng Lili , Qian Yingjun , Xu Huajun , Yi Hongliang , Guan Jian , Yin Shankai
Published: April 2019

Both obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and decreased serum lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) concentrations are associated with insulin resistance. However, their interaction effect on insulin resistance has never been investigated. Therefore, we performed a cross-sectional study on OSA-suspected Chinese Han participants. Laboratory-based polysomnographic variables, biochemical indicators, anthropometric measurements, and medical history were collected. Linear regression and binary logistic regression analyses with interaction terms were used to investigate the potential effects of the interaction between the severity of OSA (assessed by the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI)) and Lp(a) concentrations on insulin resistance (assessed by the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)), after adjusting for potential confounders including age, gender, body mass index, waist-to-hip circumference ratio, mean arterial pressure, smoking status, drinking status, and lipid profiles. A total of 4,152 participants were enrolled. In the OSA-suspected population, AHI positively correlated with insulin resistance and serum Lp(a) concentrations independently and inversely correlated with insulin resistance. In addition, the interaction analysis showed that the linear association between lgAHI and lgHOMA-IR was much steeper and more significant in subjects with relatively low Lp(a) concentrations, suggesting a significant positive interaction between lgLp(a) and lgAHI on lgHOMA-IR (P=0.013). Furthermore, the interaction on a multiplicative scale also demonstrated a significant positive interaction (P=0.044). A stronger association between AHI quartiles and the presence of insulin resistance (defined as HOMA-IR > 3) could be observed for participants within lower Lp(a) quartiles. In conclusion, a significant positive interaction was observed between OSA and decreased Lp(a) with respect to insulin resistance. This association might be relevant to the assessment of metabolic or cardiovascular disease risk in OSA patients.
Discovery of A Novel EGFR-Targeting Antibody–Drug Conjugate, SHR-A1307, for the Treatment of Solid Tumors Resistant or Refractory to Anti-EGFR Therapies
Authors: He Kaijie , Xu Jianyan , Liang Jindong , Jiang Jiahua , Tang Mi , Ye Xin , Zhang Zhebin , Zhang Lei , Fu Beibei , Li Yan , Bai Chang , Zhang Lianshan , Tao Weikang
Published: April 2019

Although inhibiting EGFR-mediated signaling proved to be effective in treating certain types of cancers, a quickly evolved mechanism that either restores the EGFR signaling or activates an alternative pathway for driving the proliferation and survival of malignant cells limits the efficacy and utility of the approach via suppressing the EGFR functionality. Given the fact that overexpression of EGFR is commonly seen in many cancers, an EGFR-targeting antibody–drug conjugate (ADC) can selectively kill cancer cells independently of blocking EGFR-mediated signaling. Herein, we describe SHR-A1307, a novel anti-EGFR ADC, generated from an anti-EGFR antibody with prolonged half-life, and conjugated with a proprietary toxin payload that has increased index of EGFR targeting–dependent versus EGFR targeting–independent cytotoxicity. SHR-A1307 demonstrated strong and sustained antitumor activities in EGFR-positive tumors harboring different oncogenic mutations on EGFR, KRAS, or PIK3CA. Antitumor efficacy of SHR-A1307 correlated with EGFR expression levels in vitro and in vivo, regardless of the mutation status of EGFR signaling mediators and a resultant resistance to EGFR signaling inhibitors. Cynomolgus monkey toxicology study showed that SHR-A1307 is well tolerated with a wide therapeutic index. SHR-A1307 is a promising therapeutic option for EGFR-expressing cancers, including those resistant or refractory to the EGFR pathway inhibitors.
SPARTAN: Gezielte Analyse der Resistenzen
Authors: Bögemann Martin
Published: April 2019

Beim metastasierten kastrationsresistenten Prostatakarzinom (mCRPC) erfolgt heute eine Sequenztherapie. Daher müssen sich neue Wirkstoffe, die früher - im nicht-metastasierten kastrationsresistenten Stadium (M0CRPC) mit hohem Metastasierungsrisiko - eingesetzt werden, ebenfalls in diese Sequenz einfügen.
Urinary Sodium Excretion, Blood Pressure, and Risk of Future Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality in Subjects Without Prior Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Welsh C.E. , Welsh Paul , Jhund Pardeep , Delles Christian , Celis-Morales C. , Lewsey J.D. , Gray S. , Lyall D. , Iliodromiti S. , Gill J.M.R. , Sattar Naveed , Mark Patrick B.
Published: April 2019

Hypertension is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Increased urinary sodium excretion, representing dietary sodium intake, is associated with hypertension. Low sodium intake has been associated with increased mortality in observational studies. Further studies should assess whether confounding relationships explain associations between sodium intake and outcomes. We studied UK Biobank participants (n=457 484; mean age, 56.3 years; 44.7% men) with urinary electrolytes and blood pressure data. Estimated daily urinary sodium excretion was calculated using Kawasaki formulae. We analyzed associations between sodium excretion and blood pressure in subjects without cardiovascular disease, treated hypertension, or diabetes mellitus at baseline (n=322 624). We tested relationships between sodium excretion, incidence of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular disease, heart failure, and mortality. Subjects in higher quintiles of sodium excretion were younger, with more men and higher body mass index. There was a linear relationship between increasing urinary sodium excretion and blood pressure. During median follow-up of 6.99 years, there were 11 932 deaths (1125 cardiovascular deaths) with 10 717 nonfatal cardiovascular events. There was no relationship between quintile of sodium excretion and outcomes. These relationships were unchanged after adjustment for comorbidity or excluding subjects with events during the first 2 years follow-up. No differing risk of incident heart failure (1174 events) existed across sodium excretion quintiles. Urinary sodium excretion correlates with elevated blood pressure in subjects at low cardiovascular risk. No pattern of increased cardiovascular disease, heart failure, or mortality risk was demonstrated with either high or low sodium intake.
Divergent Temporal Trends in Morbidity and Mortality Related to Heart Failure and Atrial Fibrillation: Age, Sex, Race, and Geographic Differences in the United States, 1991–2015
Authors: Vasan Ramachandran S. , Zuo Yi , Kalesan Bindu
Published: April 2019

Background

Heart failure (
HF
) and atrial fibrillation (
AF
) are rising in prevalence and pose a substantial public health burden.

Methods and Results

We evaluated temporal trends specific to age, sex, race, and geographic region in rates of
HF
‐ and
AF
‐related morbidity, mortality, and years of potential life lost at age 75 years between 1991 and 2015 in the United States. For trends in hospitalization with a primary diagnosis of
HF
versus
AF
, we used data for patients aged ≥30 years from 1993 to 2014 from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample. For trends in death due to
HF
versus
AF
, we used data from 1991 to 2015 from the National Center for Health Statistics. Over the past 25 years, the age‐adjusted rates of hospitalization declined for
HF
(−1.72% per year) but increased for
AF
(+1.61% per year).
HF
mortality rates remained unchanged, whereas those for
AF
increased (+11.2% per year). Years of potential life lost increased for both
HF
(+0.4% per year) and
AF
(+9.8% per year). Trends in
HF
and
AF
morbidity rates varied moderately by age group, whereas mortality rates varied by age and race.
HF
and
AF
hospitalization and mortality rates rose for individuals aged <50 years.
HF
hospitalization rates declined in all 4
US
census regions, whereas
AF
rates increased.

Conclusions

We observed divergent trends of decreasing hospitalization and mortality rates for
HF
versus increasing rates for
AF
. Variations in disease burden by race and geography warrant specific targeting of “at risk” groups in selected
US
regions. Additional studies are warranted to evaluate the rising burden of both conditions in younger adults.
Sex Differences in Quality of Life in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review
Authors: Strømnes Linn Arvidsson , Ree Helene , Gjesdal Knut , Ariansen Inger
Published: April 2019

Background

The goal of this literature review was to assess sex differences in the quality of life (QoL) in patients with atrial fibrillation (
AF
) and, if possible, to determine if these are due to
AF
.

Methods and Results

The electronic database PubMed was searched on January 23, 2018, using the search terms “QoL”, gender differences, “
AF
” female, and gender to find potential articles that assessed sex differences in QoL in
AF
patients. In all, 851 articles were identified, from which 25 original studies were eligible for this systematic review. Female
AF
patients were found to have poorer QoL and more symptoms than male
AF
patients. They scored lower, predominantly on the physical component score of the Medical Outcomes Study Short‐Form 36 Health Survey.

Conclusions

The available literature consistently describes poorer QoL in female
AF
patients but does not clearly address whether this is a reflection of sex differences seen in the general population or is related to
AF
per se. It is also questionable whether the relatively poorer QoL in women is large enough to be of clinical importance.
Race, Identity and Superheroes
Authors: Levin Jon , McLaren Peter , Seale Shindale
Published: April 2019

Superheroes have been part of human civilization since its beginnings, as evidenced by prehistoric images of heroic meticulously etched into the walls of caves around the globe (Horsman, 1981). For the better part of three generations, however, they have only grown in their popularity and have significantly impacted the contemporary age. Not surprisingly, comic books and the superheroes celebrated on their hallowed pages have reflected the value and identities of their creators. A majority of these creators, until very recently, were Caucasian and espoused the dominance, virtues, and heroism of the able-bodied, White, Anglo-Saxon, North American male.
From Critical to Partisan: Media Literacy beyond Russiagate
Authors: Ford Derek R.
Published: April 2019

This article calls for a partisan media literacy. It begins by building on Kellner and Share’s typology of critical media literacy, ending with their own, which Ford labels “radical democratic media literacy.” Yet in our particular age we need more than criticality, we need partisanship. To make this case, the author turns to Russiagate and the repression of independent media and radical activists it’s facilitated.
The Power of Discourse: cml and The Tantrum that Saved the World
Authors: Alvermann Donna E.
Published: April 2019

This research project uses both critical theory and Michel Foucault’s concept of power to analyze a read-aloud children’s picture book titled The Tantrum that Saved the World. Published in 2017 by World Saving Books, the e-version’s 64 colorfully illustrated pages tell of a little girl who stares down the climate crisis, channeling tantrum power into positive action. Equally important, the analysis brings media literacy into dialogue with powerful discursive practices that cannot take hold in the absence of critical theorizing.
Redescription of Chusquea perligulata (Poaceae: Bambusoideae: Bambuseae: Chusqueinae) and description of a similar but new species of Chusquea from Ecuador
Authors: CLARK LYNN G. , MASON JESSICA J.
Published: April 2019

The poorly known but distinctive Chusquea perligulata, which was originally described from vegetative material and tentatively placed in Guadua, is completely described and illustrated, and its basionym is neotypified. As its name suggests, C. perligulata has well developed inner ligules (1–) 2–10 cm long on the foliage leaves. This species is endemic to Ecuador, as is a morphologically similar species described here as C. jorgemoranii. This species is distinguished from C. perligulata by a combination of features including abaxially hispid culm leaves lacking differentiation between the sheath and the blade, a dome-shaped central bud, shorter inner ligules, smaller synflorescences and slightly larger spikelets. Chusquea jorgemoranii is illustrated and compared with C. perligulata. Both species are classified within Chusquea sect. Verticillatae.
Passiflora nebulosae (Passifloraceae, subgenus Tryphostemmatoides) a distinctive new critically endangered species discovered in the Colombian Andes
Authors: RESTREPO JORGE JULIÁN , OCAMPO JOHN , GIRALDO WILMER
Published: April 2019

A new species of Passiflora belonging to the subg. Tryphostemmatoides from Colombia in the Andean region is described and illustrated from living material, as well as from herbarium specimens. Passiflora nebulosae Restrepo & Ocampo is similar to P. discophora and P. pacifica, but can be recognized mainly by its petiole length (up to 8 mm), leaf margin glands (6‒10), coriaceous leaves, peduncle bifurcate, operculum margin crenate, and limen margin lacerate. The new species is a narrow endemic discovered in cloud forest margins between 1750‒2352 m. It is regarded as critically endangered (CR) because of its restricted occurrence with a small population size.
A new species of Typhlodromus Scheuten (Acari: Phytoseiidae) from Brazil
Authors: LOFEGO ANTONIO C. , FERES REINALDO J.F.
Published: April 2019

A new species of phytoseiid mites is described from Brazil, Typhlodromus moraesi sp. nov., collected on Tabebuia alba (Cham.) Sandwith and Chamaesyce hirta (L.) Millsp. in the State of São Paulo. This is the second species of the T. arizonicus group.
New data on recently described Chilean trophonines (Gastropoda: Muricidae), description of a new species and notes of their occurrence at a cold seep site
Authors: HOUART ROLAND , SELLANES JAVIER
Published: April 2019

Additional specimens of three newly described Chilean species of Trophon s.l. Monfort, 1810 have been dredged recently off south-central Chile, and we here list the new data and illustrate the radulae. Another species, Trophon wilhelmensis Ramírez-Bohme, 1981, is combined with Coronium Simone, 1996. Pagodula concepcionensis n. sp. is described and another species remains unidentified. A type species is designated for Pagodula Monterosato, 1884. Part of the new material comes from an area of methane seepage located northwest of the Bay of Concepción, from 726 to 930 m depth. Many drilled valves of two species of chemosymbiotic clams (Calyptogena gallardoi Sellanes & Krylova, 2005 and Thyasira methanophila Oliver & Sellanes, 2005) were also obtained at the seep site. We assume that this holes document attacks of this trophonines to the clams.
Six new species of Rhyncaphytoptinae from northwestern China (Acari: Eriophyoidea: Diptilomiopidae)
Authors: XUE XIAO-FENG , SONG ZI-WEI , HONG XIAO-YUE
Published: April 2019

Six new species of diptilomipid eriophyoid mites from northwestern China are described and illustrated: Rhyncaphytoptus fargesis sp. nov. on Abies fargesii Frnach. (Pinaceae); Rhyncaphytoptus cotoneasteri sp. nov. on Cotoneaster sp. (Rosaceae); Rhyncaphytoptus abiesis sp. nov. and Rhyncaphytoptus fabris sp. nov. on Abies fabri (Mast.) Craib (Pinaceae); Rhinophytoptus cunninghamiae sp. nov. on Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook. (Taxodiaceae) and Rhinophytoptus roxburghis sp. nov. on Rosa roxburghii Tratt. (Rosaceae). All species are vagrant on leaf surfaces. No damage to their host plants was observed.
Akrokolioplax, a new genus of Southeast Asian labeonine fishes (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)
Authors: ZHANG E. , KOTTELAT MAURICE
Published: April 2019

Akrokolioplax, new genus, is erected for the reception of Epalzeorhynchos bicornis Wu, 1977. It shares with the remaining species of Epalzeorhynchos what have usually been called “rostral lateral lobes” on the snout, which are non-homologous structures used to distinguish the two genera from all other Labeoninae genera. Akrokolioplax and Epalzeorhynchos differ in the position and structure of these lobes, and also in the morphology of the oromandibular structures. A detailed redescription is also provided for the type species of this monotypic genus, A. bicornis. It is presently known from the upper Salween River (=Nu Jiang in Chinese) basin in Yunnan (South China), Myanmar and Thailand.
A new subgenus and three new species of leafcutter bees, Megachile (Austrosarus) (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) from central Brazil
Authors: RAW ANTHONY
Published: April 2019

A new subgenus, Austrosarus, and three new species of Megachile from central Brazil are described. Austrosarus shares some characteristics with the subgenera Austromegachile, Chrysosarus and Sayapis. M. frankieana occurs in the Federal District of Brasília, in Goias and Minas Gerais states and in eastern and southern Mato Grosso, while M. diasi and M. candanga have been collected only in the Federal District. A key is provided to identify the females.
Integripelta acanthus n. sp. (Bryozoa: Eurystomellidae) — a tropical prey species of Okenia hiroi (Nudibranchia)
Authors: GORDON D. P. , RUDMAN W. B.
Published: April 2019

Integripelta acanthus n. sp., the first known tropical species of Eurystomellidae (Bryozoa, Cheilostomata), is described from Hong Kong. It differs from all other species of the family in that most zooids in the zone of astogenetic repetition bear thorn-like spines. The species is preyed upon by the specialist-feeding nudibranch Okenia hiroi.
Dardanus sanguinocarpus Degener, 1925 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Diogenidae) species complex: a redescription of D. sanguinocarpus and descriptions of three new species
Authors: ASAKURA AKIRA
Published: April 2019

Examination of Dardanus sanguinocarpus Degener, 1925 (type locality Hawaii), and specimens closely allied to D. sanguinocarpus collected from several localities in the western Pacific revealed the existence of three hitherto unknown species superficially resembling D. sanguinocarpus. These three species are described here as D. robustus, sp. nov., D. longior, sp. nov., and D. umbella, sp. nov., and Dardanus sanguinocarpus is redescribed.