bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Synthesis and Characterization of Doxorubicin Loaded pH-Sensitive Magnetic Core–Shell Nanocomposites for Targeted Drug Delivery Applications
Authors: Jiang Wei , Wu Juan , Shen Yewen , Tian Renbing , Zhou Shuai , Jiang Wei
Published: August 2016

In order to improve the effects of medical therapy for cancer, we prepared magnetic nanocomposites (Fe3O4@SiO2–NH–NH[Formula: see text] as doxorubicin (DOX) carriers via two different schemes. Scheme (I): the carriers were synthesized from magnetic silica nanoparticles (Fe3O4@SiO[Formula: see text] via layer by layer modification, scheme (II): the carriers were obtained from amino-modified magnetic silica nanoparticles (Fe3O4@SiO2–NH[Formula: see text] synthesized by one-step, and followed by surface modification. In order to load DOX effectively, the surface of the carriers were further modified to make the surface with a large number of hydrazine bonds which can form a pH-sensitive bond (hydrazone bond) with DOX. The two kinds of carriers both exhibited a size around 80[Formula: see text]nm, high stability and superparamagnetic behavior. However, DOX-loaded carriers (Fe3O4@SiO2–DOX(2)) performed relatively poorer performance in terms of drug loading and releasing (the loading efficiency of DOX decreased from 67.33% to 42.15%, while the releasing efficiency of DOX decreased from 66.16% to 62.23% within 72[Formula: see text]h at pH 4.0). Water-soluble tetrazolium salts (WST-1) assays in cancer cells (Hela) demonstrated that the Fe3O4@SiO2–DOX presented high anti-tumor activity, while the carriers were nearly nontoxic. Thus, the results suggested that the magnetic nanocomposites synthesized by the two different methods both can be employed to deliver DOX, while the carriers obtained via the first method may perform better and would be applied in the field of cancer therapy in the future.
A Novel Electrochemical Biosensor Based on Graphene and Cu Nanowires Hybrid Nanocomposites
Authors: Chen Mei , Hou Changjun , Huo Danqun , Dong Liang , Yang Mei , Fa Huanbao
Published: August 2016

In this research, a new electrochemical sensor based on hybrid nanocomposite consisting of copper nanowires (CuNWs) and graphene (GR) were developed for the detection of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs). The surface morphology of the hybrid nanocomposite were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The electrochemical behavior of the hybrid nanocomposites based sensor and its application for pesticides determination were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV). Under optimized operational conditions, SWV was further employed for methyl parathion detection, which shows a wide dynamic range from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text], a high sensitivity ([Formula: see text]) and the detection limit as low as 50[Formula: see text]nM. It also had specific detection to the methyl parathion residues and had good reproducibility and stability. These results implicated the potential applicability of CuNWs/GNs-Chit hybrid nanocomposites in sensitive and selective detection of organophosphorus pesticides.
Mining for spatio-temporal distribution rules of illegal dumping from large dataset
Authors: Fan Bo , Chen Long , Chong Yih Tng , He Zhou
Published: August 2016

Illegal dumping has been an issue to be dealt with by the authorities. The incidents distribute across spatial and temporal domains, possibly with recurring patterns. To assist in addressing the issue, these patterns in the form of classification rules can potentially be mined from large datasets collected by the authorities. This research represents a novel work in discovering rules described by spatio-temporal features of the illegal dumping activities. A feature selection methodology that considers a range of techniques employing differing optimality criteria is proposed. A hybrid algorithm is developed by combining the proposed method to the C4.5 algorithm. A series of experiments demonstrated the advantages of the proposed algorithm. The feature selection approach is shown to balance the different optimality criteria, overcoming the dominance of any individual criteria. This work further shows that the generated spatio-temporal rules, when generated and implemented in information systems, are potentially applicable in preventive and enforcement work by the authorities.
Efficient asynchronous interrupt handling in a full-system instruction set simulator
Authors: Spink Tom , Wagstaff Harry , Franke Björn
Published: August 2016

Instruction set simulators (ISS) have many uses in embedded software and hardware development and are typically based on dynamic binary translation (DBT), where frequently executed regions of guest instructions are compiled into host instructions using a just-in-time (JIT) compiler. Full-system simulation, which necessitates handling of asynchronous interrupts from e.g. timers and I/O devices, complicates matters as control flow is interrupted unpredictably and diverted from the current region of code. In this paper we present a novel scheme for handling of asynchronous interrupts, which integrates seamlessly into a region-based dynamic binary translator. We first show that our scheme is correct, i.e. interrupt handling is not deferred indefinitely, even in the presence of code regions comprising control flow loops. We demonstrate that our new interrupt handling scheme is efficient as we minimise the number of inserted checks. Interrupt handlers are also presented to the JIT compiler and compiled to native code, further enhancing the performance of our system. We have evaluated our scheme in an ARM simulator using a region-based JIT compilation strategy. We demonstrate that our solution reduces the number of dynamic interrupt checks by 73%, reduces interrupt service latency by 26% and improves throughput of an I/O bound workload by 7%, over traditional per-block schemes.
Translation validation of loop and arithmetic transformations in the presence of recurrences
Authors: Banerjee Kunal , Mandal Chittaranjan , Sarkar Dipankar
Published: August 2016

Compiler optimization of array-intensive programs involves extensive application of loop transformations and arithmetic transformations. Hence, translation validation of array-intensive programs requires manipulation of intervals of integers (representing domains of array indices) and relations over such intervals to account for loop transformations and simplification of arithmetic expressions to handle arithmetic transformations. A major obstacle for verification of such programs is posed by the presence of recurrences, whereby an element of an array gets defined in a statement S inside a loop in terms of some other element(s) of the same array which have been previously defined through the same statement S. Recurrences lead to cycles in the data-dependence graph of a program which make dependence analyses and simplifications (through closed-form representations) of the data transformations difficult. Another technique which works better for recurrences does not handle arithmetic transformations. In this work, array data-dependence graphs (ADDGs) are used to represent both the original and the optimized versions of the program and a validation scheme is proposed where the cycles due to recurrences in the ADDGs are suitably abstracted as acyclic subgraphs. Thus, this work provides a unified equivalence checking framework to handle loop and arithmetic transformations along with most of the recurrences -- this combination of features had not been achieved by a single verification technique earlier.
Code cache management in managed language VMs to reduce memory consumption for embedded systems
Authors: Robinson Forrest J. , Jantz Michael R. , Kulkarni Prasad A.
Published: August 2016

The compiled native code generated by a just-in-time (JIT) compiler in managed language virtual machines (VM) is placed in a region of memory called the code cache. Code cache management (CCM) in a VM is responsible to find and evict methods from the code cache to maintain execution correctness and manage program performance for a given code cache size or memory budget. Effective CCM can also boost program speed by enabling more aggressive JIT compilation, powerful optimizations, and improved hardware instruction cache and I-TLB performance. Though important, CCM is an overlooked component in VMs. We find that the default CCM policies in Oracle’s production-grade HotSpot VM perform poorly even at modest memory pressure. We develop a detailed simulation-based framework to model and evaluate the potential efficiency of many different CCM policies in a controlled and realistic, but VM-independent environment. We make the encouraging discovery that effective CCM policies can sustain high program performance even for very small cache sizes. Our simulation study provides the rationale and motivation to improve CCM strategies in existing VMs. We implement and study the properties of several CCM policies in HotSpot. We find that in spite of working within the bounds of the HotSpot VM’s current CCM sub-system, our best CCM policy implementation in HotSpot improves program performance over the default CCM algorithm by 39%, 41%, 55%, and 50% with code cache sizes that are 90%, 75%, 50%, and 25% of the desired cache size, on average.
TIC: a scalable model checking based approach to WCET estimation
Authors: Metta Ravindra , Becker Martin , Bokil Prasad , Chakraborty Samarjit , Venkatesh R
Published: August 2016

The application of Model Checking to compute WCET has not been explored as much as Integer Linear Programming (ILP), primarily because model checkers fail to scale for complex programs. These programs have loops with large or unknown bounds, leading to a state space explosion that model checkers cannot handle. To overcome this, we have developed a technique, TIC, that employs slicing, loop acceleration and over-approximation on time-annotated source code, enabling Model Checking to scale better for WCET computation. Further, our approach is parametric, so that the user can make a trade-off between the tightness of WCET estimate and the analysis time. We conducted experiments on the Mälardalen benchmarks to evaluate the effect of various abstractions on the WCET estimate and analysis time. Additionally, we compared our estimates to those made by an ILP-based analyzer and found that our estimates were tighter for more than 30% of the examples and were equal for the rest.
Rehearsal: a configuration verification tool for puppet
Authors: Shambaugh Rian , Weiss Aaron , Guha Arjun
Published: August 2016

Large-scale data centers and cloud computing have turned system configuration into a challenging problem. Several widely-publicized outages have been blamed not on software bugs, but on configuration bugs. To cope, thousands of organizations use system configuration languages to manage their computing infrastructure. Of these, Puppet is the most widely used with thousands of paying customers and many more open-source users. The heart of Puppet is a domain-specific language that describes the state of a system. Puppet already performs some basic static checks, but they only prevent a narrow range of errors. Furthermore, testing is ineffective because many errors are only triggered under specific machine states that are difficult to predict and reproduce. With several examples, we show that a key problem with Puppet is that configurations can be non-deterministic. This paper presents Rehearsal, a verification tool for Puppet configurations. Rehearsal implements a sound, complete, and scalable determinacy analysis for Puppet. To develop it, we (1) present a formal semantics for Puppet, (2) use several analyses to shrink our models to a tractable size, and (3) frame determinism-checking as decidable formulas for an SMT solver. Rehearsal then leverages the determinacy analysis to check other important properties, such as idempotency. Finally, we apply Rehearsal to several real-world Puppet configurations.
Accepting blame for safe tunneled exceptions
Authors: Zhang Yizhou , Salvaneschi Guido , Beightol Quinn , Liskov Barbara , Myers Andrew C.
Published: August 2016

Unhandled exceptions crash programs, so a compile-time check that exceptions are handled should in principle make software more reliable. But designers of some recent languages have argued that the benefits of statically checked exceptions are not worth the costs. We introduce a new statically checked exception mechanism that addresses the problems with existing checked-exception mechanisms. In particular, it interacts well with higher-order functions and other design patterns. The key insight is that whether an exception should be treated as a "checked" exception is not a property of its type but rather of the context in which the exception propagates. Statically checked exceptions can "tunnel" through code that is oblivious to their presence, but the type system nevertheless checks that these exceptions are handled. Further, exceptions can be tunneled without being accidentally caught, by expanding the space of exception identifiers to identify the exception-handling context. The resulting mechanism is expressive and syntactically light, and can be implemented efficiently. We demonstrate the expressiveness of the mechanism using significant codebases and evaluate its performance. We have implemented this new exception mechanism as part of the new Genus programming language, but the mechanism could equally well be applied to other programming languages.
Cartesian hoare logic for verifying k-safety properties
Authors: Sousa Marcelo , Dillig Isil
Published: August 2016

Unlike safety properties which require the absence of a “bad” program trace, k-safety properties stipulate the absence of a “bad” interaction between k traces. Examples of k-safety properties include transitivity, associativity, anti-symmetry, and monotonicity. This paper presents a sound and relatively complete calculus, called Cartesian Hoare Logic (CHL), for verifying k-safety properties. We also present an automated verification algorithm based on CHL and implement it in a tool called DESCARTES. We use DESCARTES to analyze user-defined relational operators in Java and demonstrate that DESCARTES is effective at verifying (or finding violations of) multiple k-safety properties.
Precise, dynamic information flow for database-backed applications
Authors: Yang Jean , Hance Travis , Austin Thomas H. , Solar-Lezama Armando , Flanagan Cormac , Chong Stephen
Published: August 2016

We present an approach for dynamic information flow control across the application and database. Our approach reduces the amount of policy code required, yields formal guarantees across the application and database, works with existing relational database implementations, and scales for realistic applications. In this paper, we present a programming model that factors out information flow policies from application code and database queries, a dynamic semantics for the underlying $^JDB$ core language, and proofs of termination-insensitive non-interference and policy compliance for the semantics. We implement these ideas in Jacqueline, a Python web framework, and demonstrate feasibility through three application case studies: a course manager, a health record system, and a conference management system used to run an academic workshop. We show that in comparison to traditional applications with hand-coded policy checks, Jacqueline applications have 1) a smaller trusted computing base, 2) fewer lines of policy code, and 2) reasonable, often negligible, additional overheads.
Toward compositional verification of interruptible OS kernels and device drivers
Authors: Chen Hao , Wu Xiongnan (Newman) , Shao Zhong , Lockerman Joshua , Gu Ronghui
Published: August 2016

An operating system (OS) kernel forms the lowest level of any system software stack. The correctness of the OS kernel is the basis for the correctness of the entire system. Recent efforts have demonstrated the feasibility of building formally verified general-purpose kernels, but it is unclear how to extend their work to verify the functional correctness of device drivers, due to the non-local effects of interrupts. In this paper, we present a novel compositional framework for building certified interruptible OS kernels with device drivers. We provide a general device model that can be instantiated with various hardware devices, and a realistic formal model of interrupts, which can be used to reason about interruptible code. We have realized this framework in the Coq proof assistant. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our new approach, we have successfully extended an existing verified non-interruptible kernel with our framework and turned it into an interruptible kernel with verified device drivers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first verified interruptible operating system with device drivers.
Verified peephole optimizations for CompCert
Authors: Mullen Eric , Zuniga Daryl , Tatlock Zachary , Grossman Dan
Published: August 2016

Transformations over assembly code are common in many compilers. These transformations are also some of the most bug-dense compiler components. Such bugs could be elim- inated by formally verifying the compiler, but state-of-the- art formally verified compilers like CompCert do not sup- port assembly-level program transformations. This paper presents Peek, a framework for expressing, verifying, and running meaning-preserving assembly-level program trans- formations in CompCert. Peek contributes four new com- ponents: a lower level semantics for CompCert x86 syntax, a liveness analysis, a library for expressing and verifying peephole optimizations, and a verified peephole optimiza- tion pass built into CompCert. Each of these is accompanied by a correctness proof in Coq against realistic assumptions about the calling convention and the system memory alloca- tor. Verifying peephole optimizations in Peek requires prov- ing only a set of local properties, which we have proved are sufficient to ensure global transformation correctness. We have proven these local properties for 28 peephole transfor- mations from the literature. We discuss the development of our new assembly semantics, liveness analysis, representa- tion of program transformations, and execution engine; de- scribe the verification challenges of each component; and detail techniques we applied to mitigate the proof burden.
Stratified synthesis: automatically learning the x86-64 instruction set
Authors: Heule Stefan , Schkufza Eric , Sharma Rahul , Aiken Alex
Published: August 2016

The x86-64 ISA sits at the bottom of the software stack of most desktop and server software. Because of its importance, many software analysis and verification tools depend, either explicitly or implicitly, on correct modeling of the semantics of x86-64 instructions. However, formal semantics for the x86-64 ISA are difficult to obtain and often written manually through great effort. We describe an automatically synthesized formal semantics of the input/output behavior for a large fraction of the x86-64 Haswell ISA’s many thousands of instruction variants. The key to our results is stratified synthesis, where we use a set of instructions whose semantics are known to synthesize the semantics of additional instructions whose semantics are unknown. As the set of formally described instructions increases, the synthesis vocabulary expands, making it possible to synthesize the semantics of increasingly complex instructions. Using this technique we automatically synthesized formal semantics for 1,795 instruction variants of the x86-64 Haswell ISA. We evaluate the learned semantics against manually written semantics (where available) and find that they are formally equivalent with the exception of 50 instructions, where the manually written semantics contain an error. We further find the learned formulas to be largely as precise as manually written ones and of similar size.
Automatically learning shape specifications
Authors: Zhu He , Petri Gustavo , Jagannathan Suresh
Published: August 2016

This paper presents a novel automated procedure for discovering expressive shape specifications for sophisticated functional data structures. Our approach extracts potential shape predicates based on the definition of constructors of arbitrary user-defined inductive data types, and combines these predicates within an expressive first-order specification language using a lightweight data-driven learning procedure. Notably, this technique requires no programmer annotations, and is equipped with a type-based decision procedure to verify the correctness of discovered specifications. Experimental results indicate that our implementation is both efficient and effective, capable of automatically synthesizing sophisticated shape specifications over a range of complex data types, going well beyond the scope of existing solutions.
Affect Theory and the Empirical
Authors: Rutherford Danilyn
Published: August 2016

This review article approaches the turn to affect theory as diagnostic of broader currents in cultural anthropology. This is a time of increased curiosity within the subfield. It is also a time of increased anxiety, as researchers feel mounting pressure to make a case for the empirical value of what they do. Affect theory seems to offer cultural anthropologists a way of getting to the bottom of things: to the forces that compel, attract, and provoke. And yet what affect theory is offering cultural anthropologists may be less an account of how the world works than a new awareness of the premises that guide their research. I base these observations on a discussion of recent ethnographies that deploy affect theory in the study of labor, governance, and animal–human relations. I conclude with an assessment of the risks and opportunities associated with the adoption of theoretical models from other fields.
Archaeologies of Ontology
Authors: Alberti Benjamin
Published: August 2016

Bruno Latour and Eduardo Viveiros de Castro provided the initial impetus for explicitly ontological research in archaeology. Their impact on archaeologists, however, has been quite different. What I call the “metaphysical archaeologists” trace their genealogy from Latour, though they are now equally influenced by “new materialism” and the “new ontological realism” ( Gabriel 2015 ). They have introduced an alternative metaphysical orthodoxy to archaeology. In contrast, Viveiros de Castro and colleagues have authorized the return of the grand ethnographic analogy to archaeology, particularly in the case of animism. A second, quite different tendency inspired by these same anthropologists is to engage with indigenous ideas as theories to reconfigure archaeological concepts and practice. I suggest that a point of convergence between the metaphysical and the latter anthropological approaches exists in their focus on the concept of alterity.
Early Environments, Stress, and the Epigenetics of Human Health
Authors: Mulligan Connie J.
Published: August 2016

The field of social and behavioral epigenetics examines the role of epigenetic modifications to mediate the effect of psychosocial stressors on an individual's health and well-being. Epigenetic modifications influence gene expression, which can lead to changes in an individual's phenotype. DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification that varies throughout the lifespan and appears to respond to a wide range of psychosocial and biological stressors. The effects of early-life adversity impact future health and may be passed on to future generations. The underlying model proposes that stress influences health via an epigenetic mechanism involving altered DNA methylation and gene expression. This review summarizes a range of studies that have identified DNA methylation at specific genes and throughout the genome in association with multiple psychosocial stressors, including psychiatric disorders, sexual and physical abuse, and war trauma. Future studies should test a comprehensive list of epigenetic modifications in association with psychosocial stressors and multiple health outcomes.
Disease and Human/Animal Interactions
Authors: Muehlenbein Michael P.
Published: August 2016

Understanding pathogen exchange among human, wildlife, and livestock populations, and the varying ecological and cultural contexts in which this exchange takes place, is a major challenge. The present review contextualizes the risk factors that result from human interactions with livestock, companion animals, animal exhibits, wildlife through nature-based tourism, and wildlife through consumption. Given their phylogenetic relatedness to humans, primates are emphasized in this discussion; primates serve as reservoirs for several human pathogens, and some human pathogens can decimate wild primate populations. Anthropologists must play a central role in understanding cultural variation in attitudes toward other species as well as perceived risks when interacting with animals. I argue that the remediation of emerging infectious diseases will be accomplished primarily through human behavioral changes rather than through efforts in pathogen discovery. Given the history of human interactions with wildlife, candid discussions on zoonotic diseases will be increasingly important for our combined survival.
Native American Genomics and Population Histories
Authors: Bolnick Deborah A. , Raff Jennifer A. , Springs Lauren C. , Reynolds Austin W. , Miró-Herrans Aida T.
Published: August 2016

Studies of Native American genetic diversity and population history have been transformed over the last decade by important developments in anthropological genetics. During this time, researchers have adopted new DNA technologies and computational approaches for analyzing genomic data, and they have become increasingly sensitive to the views of research participants and communities. As new methods are applied to long-standing questions, and as more research is conducted in collaboration with indigenous communities, we are gaining new insights into the history and diversity of indigenous populations. This review discusses the recent methodological advances and genetic studies that have improved our understanding of Native American genomics and population histories. We synthesize current knowledge about Native American genomic variation and build a model of population history in the Americas. We also discuss the broader implications of this research for anthropology and related disciplines, and we highlight challenges and other considerations for future research.
Where Have All the Peasants Gone?
Authors: Narotzky Susana
Published: August 2016

By revisiting earlier debates around the definition of peasantries and new issues around farming in present-day agricultural regimes, this review underlines the uneven forms of capitalist surplus extraction. After revisiting the classic debate, I explore present-day issues such as market-led agrarian reforms, land grabs, and transnational peasant movements that recenter the peasant debate. The following sections address two expressions of small-scale agricultural production: contract farming and agroecological short-circuit food provisioning. These two varieties of contemporary peasantries express different forms of dependent autonomy and are integrated in value accumulation circuits in different ways. A final section of the article attempts to compare aspects present in agriculture with similar ones present in other sectors of production to show the theoretical value of these discussions.
Interstellar Hydrides
Authors: Gerin Maryvonne , Neufeld David A. , Goicoechea Javier R.
Published: August 2016

Interstellar hydrides—that is, molecules containing a single heavy element atom with one or more hydrogen atoms—were among the first molecules detected outside the solar system. They lie at the root of interstellar chemistry, being among the first species to form in initially atomic gas, along with molecular hydrogen and its associated ions. Because the chemical pathways leading to the formation of interstellar hydrides are relatively simple, the analysis of the observed abundances is relatively straightforward and provides key information about the environments where hydrides are found. Recent years have seen rapid progress in our understanding of interstellar hydrides, thanks largely to FIR and submillimeter observations performed with the Herschel Space Observatory. In this review, we discuss observations of interstellar hydrides, along with the advanced modeling approaches that have been used to interpret them and the unique information that has thereby been obtained.
Vapor Bubbles
Authors: Prosperetti Andrea
Published: August 2016

This article reviews the fundamental physics of vapor bubbles in liquids. Work on bubble growth and condensation for stationary and translating bubbles is summarized and the differences with bubbles containing a permanent gas stressed. In particular, it is shown that the natural frequency of a vapor bubble is proportional not to the inverse radius, as for a gas bubble, but to the inverse radius raised to the power 2/3. Permanent gas dissolved in the liquid diffuses into the bubble with strong effects on its dynamics. The effects of the diffusion of heat and mass on the propagation of pressure waves in a vaporous bubbly liquid are discussed. Other topics briefly touched on include thermocapillary flow, plasmonic nanobubbles, and vapor bubbles in an immiscible liquid.
Takings as a Sociolegal Concept: An Interdisciplinary Examination of Involuntary Property Loss
Authors: Atuahene Bernadette
Published: August 2016

This review seeks to establish takings as a respected field of sociolegal inquiry. In the legal academy, the term takings has become synonymous with constitutional takings. When defined more broadly, however, a taking is when a person, entity, or state confiscates, destroys, or diminishes rights to property without the informed consent of rights holders. Adopting a more expansive conception of takings lays the groundwork for a robust interdisciplinary conversation about the diverse manifestations and impacts of involuntary property loss, where some of the most valuable contributions are made by people who do not consider themselves property scholars. This review starts the conversation by bringing together the empirical literature on takings published between 2000 and 2015 and scattered in the fields of law, economics, political science, sociology, psychology, geography, and anthropology. Most importantly, a robust understanding of property's multiple values is required to fully comprehend the magnitude of the loss associated with takings, and this creates a space in which scholars can rescue property's political, cultural, emotional, and social value from the sizeable shadow cast by the overly dominant focus on its economic value.
Sociolegal Approaches to the Study of Guilty Pleas and Prosecution
Authors: Johnson Brian D. , King Ryan D. , Spohn Cassia
Published: August 2016

Defendants charged with crimes in US courts rarely go to trial. Instead, convicted defendants typically waive their right to trial and plead guilty, sometimes after bargaining for a reduced charge or reduced sentence. This article takes stock of the theoretical and empirical research on guilty pleas and organizes the key findings and limitations across this interdisciplinary body of work. Several areas in need of empirical attention are identified, and recommendations are offered for advancing future work on this important but understudied facet of the criminal justice system.
(Per)chlorate in Biology on Earth and Beyond
Authors: Youngblut Matthew D. , Wang Ouwei , Barnum Tyler P. , Coates John D.
Published: August 2016

Respiration of perchlorate and chlorate [collectively, (per)chlorate] was only recognized in the last 20 years, yet substantial advances have been made in our understanding of the underlying metabolisms. Although it was once considered solely anthropogenic, pervasive natural sources, both terrestrial and extraterrestrial, indicate an ancient (per)chlorate presence across our solar system. These discoveries stimulated interest in (per)chlorate microbiology, and the application of advanced approaches highlights exciting new facets. Forward and reverse genetics revealed new information regarding underlying molecular biology and associated regulatory mechanisms. Structural and functional analysis characterized core enzymes and identified novel reaction sequences. Comparative genomics elucidated evolutionary aspects, and stress analysis identified novel response mechanisms to reactive chlorine species. Finally, systems biology identified unique metabolic versatility and novel mechanisms of (per)chlorate respiration, including symbiosis and a hybrid enzymatic-abiotic metabolism. While many published studies focus on (per)chlorate and their basic metabolism, this review highlights seminal advances made over the last decade and identifies new directions and potential novel applications.
Insights into the Coral Microbiome: Underpinning the Health and Resilience of Reef Ecosystems
Authors: Bourne David G. , Morrow Kathleen M. , Webster Nicole S.
Published: August 2016

Corals are fundamental ecosystem engineers, creating large, intricate reefs that support diverse and abundant marine life. At the core of a healthy coral animal is a dynamic relationship with microorganisms, including a mutually beneficial symbiosis with photosynthetic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium spp.) and enduring partnerships with an array of bacterial, archaeal, fungal, protistan, and viral associates, collectively termed the coral holobiont. The combined genomes of this coral holobiont form a coral hologenome, and genomic interactions within the hologenome ultimately define the coral phenotype. Here we integrate contemporary scientific knowledge regarding the ecological, host-specific, and environmental forces shaping the diversity, specificity, and distribution of microbial symbionts within the coral holobiont, explore physiological pathways that contribute to holobiont fitness, and describe potential mechanisms for holobiont homeostasis. Understanding the role of the microbiome in coral resilience, acclimation, and environmental adaptation is a new frontier in reef science that will require large-scale collaborative research efforts.
Early Pioneers in Natural Resource Economics
Authors: Brown Gardner M. , Smith V. Kerry , Munro Gordon R. , Bishop Richard
Published: August 2016

This review focuses on four key scholars who were instrumental in helping to launch the field of natural resource economics: Siegfried von Ciriacy-Wantrup, James Crutchfield, John Krutilla, and Anthony Scott. Their contributions include recognizing natural resources as renewable capital, thereby altering the important dynamic dimensions of an efficient allocation. The introduction of irreversibility was a key element for decisions involving unique natural assets. Introducing uncertainty into these choices required consideration of appropriate public attitudes toward risk that led to the concept of a safe minimum standard. Identifying and emphasizing the salience of nonmarket values, particularly existence and bequest benefits, gave rise to the contingent valuation and the development of stated preference methods as a cottage industry. Setting forth and evaluating alternative management policies for open access resources in a dynamic context were other achievements. The backgrounds of these four scholars shaped their professional orientation; their contributions, in turn, have shaped the evolutionary path of resource economics research.
Tympanometric Findings among Children with Adenoid Hypertrophy in Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Authors: Nwosu Chibuike , Uju Ibekwe Mathilda , Obukowho Onotai Lucky
Published: August 2016

Introduction. Adenoid hypertrophy (AH) is a common childhood disorder. Adenoid plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of otitis media with effusion (OME). The aim of this study is to critically appraise the tympanometric finding among children with adenoid hypertrophy in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.Methodology. A Prospective, controlled study carried out among newly diagnosed cases of adenoid hypertrophy at the ENT clinic of the UPTH, between November 2014 and June 2015. Tympanometry was done on each child and each ear was considerably studied as a single entity. Types B and C tympanograms were used as indicators of OME. Data was collected and analyzed using SPSS version 20.Results. Sixty-eight cases of adenoid hypertrophy were seen within the study period and 136 ears were studied. Forty (29.4%) ears had type B tympanogram, while 36 (26.5%) ears had type C. The incidence of OME was 55.9%; there were 12 (17.6%) unilateral OME, while bilateral OME was 32 (47.1%). Grade 3 AH was prevalent and was statistically significant with the OME.Conclusion. This study had shown adenoidal hypertrophy as a significant risk factor for OME in children. There was more bilateral OME than unilateral. The more severe grade of AH was more prevalent and it was shown to be statistically significant with OME, thus being a significant risk factor for OME in children. This establishes the need for prompt hearing evaluation and management.
Performance Enhancement of Carbon Nanomaterials for Supercapacitors
Authors: Saleem Amin M. , Desmaris Vincent , Enoksson Peter
Published: August 2016

Carbon nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, and graphene are exploited extensively due to their unique electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties and recently investigated for energy storage application (supercapacitor) due to additional high specific surface area and chemical inertness properties. The supercapacitor is an energy storage device which, in addition to long cycle life (one million), can give energy density higher than parallel plate capacitor and power density higher than battery. In this paper, carbon nanomaterials and their composites are reviewed for prospective use as electrodes for supercapacitor. Moreover, different physical and chemical treatments on these nanomaterials which can potentially enhance the capacitance are also reviewed.
Zynq-Based Reconfigurable System for Real-Time Edge Detection of Noisy Video Sequences
Authors: Yoon Iljung , Joung Heewon , Lee Jooheung
Published: August 2016

We implement Zynq-based self-reconfigurable system to perform real-time edge detection of 1080p video sequences. While object edge detection is a fundamental tool in computer vision, noises in the video frames negatively affect edge detection results significantly. Moreover, due to the high computational complexity of 1080p video filtering operations, hardware implementation on reconfigurable hardware fabric is necessary. Here, the proposed embedded system utilizes dynamic reconfiguration capability of Zynq SoC so that partial reconfiguration of different filter bitstreams is performed during run-time according to the detected noise density level in the incoming video frames. Pratt’s Figure of Merit (PFOM) to evaluate the accuracy of edge detection is analyzed for various noise density levels, and we demonstrate that adaptive run-time reconfiguration of the proposed filter bitstreams significantly increases the accuracy of edge detection results while efficiently providing computing power to support real-time processing of 1080p video frames. Performance results on configuration time, CPU usage, and hardware resource utilization are also compared.
Removal Characteristics of Organic Pollutants from Eutrophic Raw Water by Biological Pretreatment Reactors
Authors: Zhu Guangcan , Yang Zhonglian , Lu Xiwu
Published: August 2016

Two biological contact oxidation reactors, cascade biofilm reactor (CSBR) and one-step biofilm reactor (OSBR), were used in this paper for pretreatment of eutrophic water from Lake Taihu in China. The CSBR was more effective and stable for eutrophic water treatment than OSBR, in terms of extracellular microcystin-LR,chlorophyll-a, DOC, and biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) removal. Removal efficiencies of extracellular microcystin-LR andchlorophyll-a were 75.8% and 59.7% in CSBR and 60.5% and 53.0% after 2 h in OSBR. CSBR had much higher removal efficiency (34.3%) than OSBR (22.7%) for DOC, and CSBR could remove 67% BDOC, accounting for 34% of total DOC in source water. 11.5% of DOC was removed through means other than biological degradation, such as biofilm adsorption and bioflocculation. In CSBR at 5.5~13°C, 57.5% of atrazine was removed at 2 h hydraulic retention time, with background concentration of 136.5 ng/L. Meanwhile, removal efficiencies of three phthalic acid esters (PAEs) (dimethyl phthalate, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, and di-n-butyl phthalate) were 78.7%, 52.4%, and 85.3%, respectively. Only 35.2% of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) could be removed by CSBR with initial concentration of 21.5 μg/L. The results indicated that CSBR is effective in low-molecular-weight organic pollution pretreatment and provides benefits in terms of effluent quality.
Design and Simulation Analysis for Integrated Vehicle Chassis-Network Control System Based on CAN Network
Authors: Yu Wei , Sun Ning
Published: August 2016

Due to the different functions of the system used in the vehicle chassis control, the hierarchical control strategy also leads to many kinds of the network topology structure. According to the hierarchical control principle, this research puts forward the integrated control strategy of the chassis based on supervision mechanism. The purpose is to consider how the integrated control architecture affects the control performance of the system after the intervention of CAN network. Based on the principle of hierarchical control and fuzzy control, a fuzzy controller is designed, which is used to monitor and coordinate the ESP, AFS, and ARS. And the IVC system is constructed with the upper supervisory controller and three subcontrol systems on the Simulink platform. The network topology structure of IVC is proposed, and the IVC communication matrix based on CAN network communication is designed. With the common sensors and the subcontrollers as the CAN network independent nodes, the network induced delay and packet loss rate on the system control performance are studied by simulation. The results show that the simulation method can be used for designing the communication network of the vehicle.
Adaptive Disturbance Rejection Control for Automatic Carrier Landing System
Authors: Wang Xin , Chen Xin , Wen Liyan
Published: August 2016

An adaptive disturbance rejection algorithm is proposed for carrier landing system in the final-approach. The carrier-based aircraft dynamics and the linearized longitudinal model under turbulence conditions in the final-approach are analyzed. A stable adaptive control scheme is developed based on LDU decomposition of the high-frequency gain matrix, which ensures closed-loop stability and asymptotic output tracking. Finally, simulation studies of a linearized longitudinal-directional dynamics model are conducted to demonstrate the performance of the adaptive scheme.
Equivalent Modeling of DFIG-Based Wind Power Plant Considering Crowbar Protection
Authors: Zhu Qianlong , Ding Ming , Han Pingping
Published: August 2016

Crowbar conduction has an impact on the transient characteristics of a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) in the short-circuit fault condition. But crowbar protection is seldom considered in the aggregation method for equivalent modeling of DFIG-based wind power plants (WPPs). In this paper, the relationship between the growth of postfault rotor current and the amplitude of the terminal voltage dip is studied by analyzing the rotor current characteristics of a DFIG during the fault process. Then, a terminal voltage dip criterion which can identify crowbar conduction is proposed. Considering the different grid connection structures for single DFIG and WPP, the criterion is revised and the crowbar conduction is judged depending on the revised criterion. Furthermore, an aggregation model of the WPP is established based on the division principle of crowbar conduction. Finally, the proposed equivalent WPP is simulated on a DIgSILENT PowerFactory platform and the results are compared with those of the traditional equivalent WPPs and the detailed WPP. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the method for equivalent modeling of DFIG-based WPP when crowbar protection is also taken into account.
Multiobjective Simulated Annealing for Collision Avoidance in ATM Accounting for Three Admissible Maneuvers
Authors: Mateos A. , Jiménez-Martín A.
Published: August 2016

Technological advances are required to accommodate air traffic control systems for the future growth of air traffic. Particularly, detection and resolution of conflicts between aircrafts is a problem that has attracted much attention in the last decade becoming vital to improve the safety standards in free flight unstructured environments. We propose using the archive simulated annealing-based multiobjective optimization algorithm to deal with such a problem, accounting for three admissible maneuvers (velocity, turn, and altitude changes) in a multiobjective context. The minimization of the maneuver number and magnitude, time delays, or deviations in the leaving points are considered for analysis. The optimal values for the algorithm parameter set are identified in the more complex instance in which all aircrafts have conflicts between each other accounting for 5, 10, and 20 aircrafts. Moreover, the performance of the proposed approach is analyzed by means of a comparison with the Pareto front, computed using brute force for 5 aircrafts and the algorithm is also illustrated with a random instance with 20 aircrafts.
Adipocytes and Neutrophils Give a Helping Hand to Pancreatic Cancers
Authors: Bronte Vincenzo , Tortora Giampaolo
Published: August 2016

Summary: Obesity-induced inflammation can build up a confined microenvironment in pancreatic adenocarcinoma that is associated with increased desmoplasia, neutrophil recruitment, reduced delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs, and immune evasion. Targeting molecular pathways empowering this circuit might represent a necessary measure to reach clinical efficacy for combination therapies in patients with excess body weight. Cancer Discov; 6(8); 821–3. ©2016 AACR.

See related article by Incio et al., p. 852.
A Critical Evaluation of Anti-IL-13 and Anti-IL-4 Strategies in Severe Asthma
Authors: Bagnasco Diego , Ferrando Matteo , Varricchi Gilda , Passalacqua Giovanni , Canonica Giorgio Walter
Published: August 2016

Asthma is a high-prevalence disease, still accounting for mortality and high direct and indirect costs. It is now recognized that, despite the implementation of guidelines, a large proportion of cases remain not controlled. Certainly, adherence to therapy and the education of patients remain the primary objective, but the increasingly detailed knowledge about the pathogenic mechanisms and new biotechnologies offer the opportunity to better address and treat the disease. Interleukin (IL)-13 and IL-4 appear as the most suitable targets to treat the T helper 2 (TH2)-mediated forms (endotypes) of asthma. IL-13 and IL-4 partly share the same receptor and signaling pathways and both are deeply involved in immunoglobulin E (IgE) synthesis, eosinophil activation, mucus secretion and airways remodeling. Several anti-IL-13 strategies have been proposed (anrukinzumab, lebrikizunab and tralokinumab), with relevant clinical results reported with lebrikizumab. Such studies facilitate better definition of the possible predictive markers of response to a specific treatment (e.g. eosinophils, total IgE, fraction of exhaled nitric oxide and periostin). In parallel, anti-IL-4 strategies have been attempted (pascolizumab, pitakinra and dupilumab). So far, dupilumab was reported capable of reducing the severity of asthma and the rate of exacerbations. IL-13 and IL-4 are crucial in TH2-mediated inflammation in asthma, but it remains clear that only specific endotypes respond to these treatments. Although the use of anti-IL-14 and anti-IL-13 strategies is promising, the search for appropriate predictive biomarkers is urgently needed to better apply biological treatments.