bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is UNESCO’s Undergraduate Bioethics Integrated Curriculum (Medical) fit for purpose?
Authors: Finlay Ilora G , Choong Kartina A , Nimmagadda Seshagiri R
Published: June 2019

In 2017, UNESCO introduced an Undergraduate Bioethics Integrated Curriculum to be taught in Indian medical schools, with an implied suggestion that it could subsequently be rolled out to medical schools in UNESCO’s other member states. Its stated aim is to create ethical awareness from an early stage of a doctor’s training by infusing ethics instructions throughout the entire undergraduate medical syllabus. There are advantages to a standardised integrated curriculum where none existed. However, the curriculum as presently drafted risks failing to achieve its laudable aims. There are important lessons to be drawn from UNESCO’s First Syllabus for Youth Bioethics Education (2018), which is aimed at schoolchildren and teenagers, and represents a creative, effective and culturally sensitive way to teach bioethics.
A NICE game of Minecraft: philosophical flaws underpinning UK depression guideline nosology
Authors: McPherson Susan
Published: July 2019

Categorising mental disorders for purposes of diagnosis, research and practice has historically been justified on philosophical terms as a pragmatic activity; categories which have been subject to wide-ranging philosophical critique have been defended on the grounds that they serve as heuristic devices providing loose representations of shared experiences, not labels for real structures. In acknowledgement of this, there has been increasing recognition that subclassifying multiple discrete forms of persistent depression moves too far away from the notion of a heuristic and that attempts to create more precise categories become less clinically useful. Hence the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (V.5) and International Classification of Diseases (V.11) both group persistent forms of depression together. However, the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has delineated certain subclassifications of persistent depression in its new guideline, which grossly distorts the phenomenology of depression. This approach commits a fundamental philosophical error in conflating absence of knowledge with knowledge of absence. In this sense, the new guideline appears to be engaging in an activity akin to the digital game Minecraft, in which the craft of building structures from units of construction is largely divorced from the laws of physics. The risk of ignoring these philosophical errors and making false claims about scientific plausibility is that the guideline recommendations inevitably represent a highly distorted phenomenology of depression and will be of very little value to patients or practitioners looking for guidance on best possible treatment options.
Engineering lessons from the 28 September 2018 Indonesian tsunami: debris loading
Authors: Stolle J. , Krautwald C. , Robertson I. , Achiari H. , Mikami T. , Nakamura R. , Takabatake T. , Nishida Y. , Shibayama T. , Esteban M. , Nistor I. , Goseberg N.
Published: June 2019

A field survey team went to Palu City, Indonesia in the aftermath of the September 28th, 2018 earthquake and tsunami to investigate its effects on local infrastructure and buildings. The study focused on the coast of Palu Bay, where a tsunami wave between approximately 2 and 7 m high impacted the local community as a result of several complex tsunami source mechanisms. The following study outlines the results, focused on loading caused by debris entrained within the inundating flow. Damage to timber buildings along the coast was widespread, though reinforced concrete structures for the most part survived, providing valuable insights into the type of debris loads and their effects on structures. The results of this survey are placed within the context of Canadian tsunami engineering challenges and are compared to the recently-released ASCE 7 Chapter 6 – Tsunami Loads and Effects, detailing potential research gaps and needs.
Drinking hydrogen water enhances endurance and relieves psychometric fatigue: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study
Authors: Mikami Toshio , Tano Kohei , Lee Hosung , Lee Hyowon , Park Jonghyuk , Ohta Fumiaki , LeBaron Tyler W. , Ohta Shigeo
Published: June 2019

Acute physical exercise increases reactive oxygen species in skeletal muscle, leading to tissue damage and fatigue. Molecular hydrogen (H2) acts as a therapeutic antioxidant directly or indirectly by inducing antioxidative enzymes. Here, we examined the effects of drinking H2 water (H2-infused water) on psychometric fatigue and endurance capacity in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled fashion. In Experiment 1, all participants drank only placebo water in the first cycle ergometer exercise session, and for comparison they drank either H2 water or placebo water 30 min before exercise in the second examination. In these healthy non-trained participants (n = 99), psychometric fatigue judged by visual analogue scales was significantly decreased in the H2 group after mild exercise. When each group was divided into 2 subgroups, the subgroup with higher visual analogue scale values was more sensitive to the effect of H2. In Experiment 2, trained participants (n = 60) were subjected to moderate exercise by cycle ergometer in a similar way as in Experiment 1, but exercise was performed 10 min after drinking H2 water. Endurance and fatigue were significantly improved in the H2 group as judged by maximal oxygen consumption and Borg’s scale, respectively. Taken together, drinking H2 water just before exercise exhibited anti-fatigue and endurance effects.
Micro-Slip as a Loss of Determinacy in Dry-Friction Oscillators
Authors: Webber S. , Jeffrey M. R.
Published: July 2019

Dry-friction contacts in mechanical oscillators can be modeled using nonsmooth differential equations, and recent advances in dynamical theory are providing new insights into the stability and uniqueness of such oscillators. A classic model is that of spring-coupled masses undergoing stick-slip motion on a rough surface. Here, we present a phenomenon in which multiple masses transition from stick to slip almost simultaneously, but suffer a brief loss of determinacy in the process. The system evolution becomes many-valued, but quickly collapses back down to an infinitesimal set of outcomes, a sort of “micro-indeterminacy”. Though fleeting, the loss of determinacy means masses may each undergo different microscopic sequences of slipping events, before all masses ultimately slip. The microscopic loss of determinacy is visible in local changes in friction forces, and in creating a bistability of global stick-slip oscillations. If friction forces are coupled between the oscillators then the effect is more severe, as solutions are compressed instead onto two (or more) macroscopically different outcomes.
Medical image fusion based on modified pulse coupled neural network model and kirsch operator
Authors: Wang Guofen , Huang Yongdong
Published: July 2019

The medical image fusion process integrates the information of multiple source images into a single image. This fused image can provide more comprehensive information and is helpful in clinical diagnosis and treatment. In this paper, a new medical image fusion algorithm is proposed. Firstly, the original image is decomposed into a low-frequency sub-band and a series of high-frequency sub-bands by using nonsubsampled shearlet transform (NSST). For the low-frequency sub-band, kirsch operator is used to extract the directional feature maps from eight directions and novel sum-modified-Laplacian (NSML) method is used to calculate the significant information of each directional feature map, and then, combining a sigmod function and the significant information updated by gradient domain guided image filtering (GDGF), calculate the fusion weight coefficients of the directional feature maps. The fused feature map is obtained by summing the convolutions of the weight coefficients and the directional feature maps. The final fused low-frequency sub-band is obtained by the linear combination of the eight fused directional feature maps. The modified pulse coupled neural network (MPCNN) model is used to calculate the firing times of each high-frequency sub-band coefficient, and the fused high-frequency sub-bands are selected according to the firing times. Finally, the inverse NSST acts on the fused low-frequency sub-band and the fused high-frequency sub-bands to obtain the fused image. The experimental results show that the proposed medical image fusion algorithm expresses some advantages over the classical medical image fusion algorithms in objective and subjective evaluation.
Photocatalytic properties of p-n heterojunction Ag2CO3/Ag3PO4/Ni thin films under visible light
Authors: Zhao Di , An Xuezheng , Sun Yaxian , Li Guihua , Liu Hongyan , Li Aichang
Published: June 2019

p-n heterojunction Ag2CO3/Ag3PO4/Ni thin films were prepared by electrochemical co-deposition. The surface morphology and structural properties of the thin films were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS). The photocatalytic (PC) properties of the Ag2CO3/Ag3PO4/Ni composite thin films were investigated by their ability to degrade rhodamine B (RhB) and Congo red (CR) under visible light irradiation. The results showed that the photodegradation efficiency of RhB by an Ag2CO3/Ag3PO4/Ni thin film under visible-light irradiation for 30[Formula: see text]min (98.84%) was 2.64 times higher than that of an Ag3PO4/Ni thin film and 3.44 times higher than of an Ag2CO3/Ni thin film. The presence of a [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] heterojunction greatly increased the charge conductivity of the film and its ability to photocatalytically reduce dissolved oxygen, which are the main reasons for the improved PC performance of the Ag2CO3/Ag3PO4/Ni films.
Maximal labeling of graphs
Authors: Sharma Arti , Gaur Atul
Published: July 2019

The notion of maximal labeling, optimal maximal labeling and the maximal index of a graph using the nonunit elements of a commutative ring with identity are introduced and studied. The maximal index of complete graphs, complete bipartite graphs are given. Maximal index of cycles of order up to [Formula: see text] and Petersen graph are also given.
Role for the mammalian female reproductive tract microbiome in pregnancy outcomes
Authors: Heil Babiche A. , Paccamonti Dale L. , Sones Jenny L.
Published: June 2019

Since the discovery of the microbiome in humans, it has been studied in many mammalian species. Different microbiological communities with variable richness and diversity have been found among these species in distinct areas of the reproductive tract. Human studies have shown that the composition of the microbiome is dependent on body site and several host-related factors. Furthermore, specific phyla have been identified among the different species and within distinct areas of the female reproductive tract, but a “core” microbiome of the female reproductive tract has not been defined in any species. Moreover, the function of the microbiome in the reproductive tract is not yet fully understood. However, it has been suggested that a change in diversity of the microbiome and the presence or absence of specific microbial species might be useful indicators of pregnancy outcomes. Increased comprehensive knowledge of the microbiological communities in the female reproductive tract is needed since adverse outcomes represent a significant problem to many species, including livestock, exotic or endangered species, and humans. To the authors’ knowledge, a review combining current female reproductive tract microbiome data among different mammalian species has not been published yet. Herein is a comprehensive review of what is known in the field of the female reproductive microbiome and how it correlates with reproductive success or failure in mammals. Further studies may lead to optimization of therapies in the treatment of reproductive tract infections and pregnancy failure, and may create opportunities for novel approaches for improving reproductive efficiency in animals and people.
An Alternative Sensitivity Approach for Longitudinal Analysis with Dropout
Authors: Almohisen Amal , Henderson Robin , Alshingiti Arwa M.
Published: July 2019

In any longitudinal study, a dropout before the final timepoint can rarely be avoided. The chosen dropout model is commonly one of these types: Missing Completely at Random (MCAR), Missing at Random (MAR), Missing Not at Random (MNAR), and Shared Parameter (SP). In this paper we estimate the parameters of the longitudinal model for simulated data and real data using the Linear Mixed Effect (LME) method. We investigate the consequences of misspecifying the missingness mechanism by deriving the so-called least false values. These are the values the parameter estimates converge to, when the assumptions may be wrong. The knowledge of the least false values allows us to conduct a sensitivity analysis, which is illustrated. This method provides an alternative to a local misspecification sensitivity procedure, which has been developed for likelihood-based analysis. We compare the results obtained by the method proposed with the results found by using the local misspecification method. We apply the local misspecification and least false methods to estimate the bias and sensitivity of parameter estimates for a clinical trial example.
Molecular Characterization of Fermenting Yeast Species from Fermented Teff Dough during Preparation of Injera Using ITS DNA Sequence
Authors: Tadesse Belay Tilahun , Abera Andualem Bahiru , Tefera Anteneh Tesfaye , Muleta Diriba , Alemu Zewdu Terefework , Wessel Gary
Published: July 2019

Identification of the yeast responsible for Injera fermentation is important in order to be more consistent and for scale-up of Injera production. In this study, yeast were isolated and identified from fermenting teff dough sample collected from household, hotels, and microenterprises, Addis Ababa. Initially, the yeast obtained from fermenting teff dough of different sources were selected on the basis of their CO2 production potentials. Its DNA sequencing of isolated yeast identified Pichia fermentans, Pichia occidentalis, Candida humilis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Kazachstania bulderi. The association of identified yeast to their sources indicated the presence of Pichia fermentans in fermenting dough samples collected from all sources whereas Kazachstania bulderi, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Candida humilis were shown to be present in samples collected from households, hotels, and microenterprises, respectively. The phenotypes and CO2 production potentials of this yeast were also documented. This study has confirmed the presence of different yeast species in the fermentation of teff dough and hinted the complex nature of Injera dough fermentation.
Hepatic Epithelioid Angiomyolipoma Treated with Laparoscopic Resection: Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Williams Chloe H. , Hickle Kelli , Bakke Katherine , Jamshed Sarah , Bozorgzadeh Adel
Published: July 2019

Hepatic angiomyolipoma is a rare primary liver tumor, with a radiographic appearance very similar to hepatocellular carcinoma. We present the case of a noncirrhotic patient with a liver tumor suspicious for HCC by imaging features. Liver biopsy demonstrated angiomyolipoma, and the patient successfully underwent a laparoscopic liver resection.
The Predictors of Target Lesion Revascularization and Rate of In-Stent Restenosis in the Second-Generation Drug-Eluting Stent Era
Authors: Zheng Chengbin , Kang Jeehoon , Park Kyung Woo , Han Jung-Kyu , Yang Han-Mo , Kang Hyun-Jae , Koo Bon-Kwon , Kim Hyo-Soo
Published: July 2019

Objectives. The aim of our study was to investigate the predictors of target lesion revascularization (TLR) and to compare the in-stent restenosis (ISR) progression rates of different 2nd-generation drug-eluting stents (DES). Background. The predictors of early and late TLR after 2nd-generation DES implantation have not been fully evaluated. Methods. We analyzed 944 stented lesions from 394 patients who had at least two serial follow-up angiograms, using quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) analysis. The study endpoints were TLR and the velocity of diameter stenosis (DS) progression. Results. TLR occurred in 58 lesions (6.1%) during the first angiographic follow-up period and 23 de novo lesions (2.4%) during the following second interval. Independent predictors for early TLR were diabetes mellitus (DM) (HR 2.58, 95% CI 1.29–5.15, p=0.007), previous percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (HR 2.41, 95% CI 1.03–5.65, p=0.043), and postprocedure DS% (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.05–1.11, p<0.001, per 1%), while predictors of late TLR were previous PCI (HR 9.43, 95% CI 2.58-34.52, p=0.001) and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) (HR 1.60, 95% CI 1.28-2.00, p<0.001). The ISR progression velocity (by DS%) was 12.1 ±21.0%/year and 3.7 ±10.1%/year during the first and second follow-up periods, respectively, which had no significant difference (p>0.05) between the four types of DESs. Conclusions. Our data showed that predictors for TLR may be different at different time intervals. DM, pervious PCI, and postprocedure DS could predict early TLR, while previous PCI and CRP level could predict late TLR. Contemporary DESs had similar rates of ISR progression rates. Trial Registration. This study was retrospectively registered and approved by the institutional review board of Seoul National University Hospital (no. 1801–138-918).
Antibacterial Effect of Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized Using Murraya koenigii (L.) against Multidrug-Resistant Pathogens
Authors: Qais Faizan Abul , Shafiq Anam , Khan Haris M. , Husain Fohad M. , Khan Rais A. , Alenazi Bader , Alsalme Ali , Ahmad Iqbal
Published: July 2019

Development of multidrug resistance among pathogens has become a global problem for chemotherapy of bacterial infections. Extended-spectrum β-lactamase- (ESβL-) producing enteric bacteria and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are the two major groups of problematic MDR bacteria that have evolved rapidly in the recent past. In this study, the aqueous extract of Murraya koenigii leaves was used for synthesis of silver nanoparticles. The synthesized MK-AgNPs were characterized using UV-vis spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, SEM, and TEM, and their antibacterial potential was evaluated on multiple ESβL-producing enteric bacteria and MRSA. The nanoparticles were predominantly found to be spheroidal with particle size distribution in the range of 5–20 nm. There was 60.86% silver content in MK-AgNPs. Evaluation of antibacterial activity by the disc-diffusion assay revealed that MK-AgNPs effectively inhibited the growth of test pathogens with varying sized zones of inhibition. The MICs of MK-AgNPs against both MRSA and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) strains were 32 μg/ml, while for ESβL-producing E. coli, it ranged from 32 to 64 μg/ml. The control strain of E. coli (ECS) was relatively more sensitive with an MIC of 16 μg/ml. The MBCs were in accordance with the respective MICs. Analysis of growth kinetics revealed that the growth of all tested S. aureus strains was inhibited (∼90%) in presence of 32 μg/ml of MK-AgNPs. The sensitive strain of E. coli (ECS) showed least resistance to MK-AgNPs with >81% inhibition at 16 μg/ml. The present investigation revealed an encouraging result on in vitro efficacy of green synthesized MK-AgNPs and needed further in vivo assessment for its therapeutic efficacy against MDR bacteria.
A Multicenter Observational Prospective Cohort Study of Association of the Prehospital National Early Warning Score 2 and Hospital Triage with Early Mortality
Authors: Martín-Rodríguez Francisco , López-Izquierdo Raúl , del Pozo Vegas Carlos , Delgado-Benito Juan F. , del Pozo Pérez Carmen , Carbajosa Rodríguez Virginia , Mayo Iscar Agustín , Martín-Conty José Luis , Escudero Cuadrillero Carlos , Castro-Villamor Miguel A.
Published: July 2019

Aim of the Study. To evaluate the ability of the prehospital National Early Warning Score 2 scale (NEWS2) to predict early mortality (within 48 hours) after the index event based on the triage priority assigned for any cause in the emergency department.Methods. This is a multicenter longitudinal observational cohort study on patients attending Advanced Life Support units and transferred to the emergency department of their reference hospital. We collected demographic, physiological, and clinical variables, main diagnosis, and hospital triage level as well as mortality. The main outcome variable was mortality from any cause within two days of the index event.Results. Between April 1 and November 30, 2018, a total of 1054 patients were included in our study. Early mortality within the first 48 hours after the index event affected 55 patients (5.2%), of which 23 cases (41.8%) had causes of cardiovascular origin. In the stratification by triage levels, the AUC of the NEWS2 obtained for short-term mortality varied between 0.77 (95% CI: 0.65-0.89) for level I and 0.94 (95% CI: 0.79-1) for level III.Conclusions. The Prehospital Emergency Medical Services should evaluate the implementation of the NEWS2 as a routine evaluation, which, together with the structured hospital triage system, effectively serves to predict early mortality and detect high-risk patients.
Multiobjective Construction Optimization Model Based on Quantum Genetic Algorithm
Authors: He Wei , Shi Yichao
Published: July 2019

It is critical for the construction party to meet the established economic and social demand for the construction project with the shortest construction period and the lowest cost. In this study, the construction characteristics of the project were analyzed. In addition, the multiconstraint and multitarget construction optimization model with minimum period and cost was established based on the quantum genetic algorithm. In order to improve the adaptability of the quantum genetic algorithm for the multiobjective model, the encoding form, quantum revolving door, and genetic flow of the algorithm were reconstructed. MATLAB 2016b was used as the simulation platform, and the implementation of the algorithm was improved according to the characteristics of the variables in the construction project, including period and cost. Finally, the optimization of the algorithm was verified and analyzed by an engineering example. The results showed that using the multiobjective quantum genetic algorithm, the optimal duration/cost can be achieved and the most reasonable and effective control decision scheme for the construction management can be provided through the Pareto solution set.
DpdtbA-Induced Growth Inhibition in Human Esophageal Cancer Cells Involved Inactivation of the p53/EGFR/AKT Pathway
Authors: Wang Zhuo , Li Cuiping , Li Yongli , Guo Xingshuang , Yan Zhaoyu , Gao Fulian , Li Changzheng
Published: July 2019

Esophageal cancer (ESC) is one of the most deadly diseases for human. p53 in most cancers, including ESC cell, is mutated, and the mutated p53 losses its original function and acquires “gain of function” that allows for promoting the hallmarks of cancer, such as antiapoptosis, metastasis, invasion, angiogenesis, and resistance to chemotherapy. Targeting p53 through either introducing wild-type or degrading mutated p53 is an important strategy in cancer therapy. Di-2,2′-pyridine ketone dithiocarbamate s-butyric acid (DpdtbA) has significant growth inhibition against gastric cancer lines in previous study. Similar action in ESC cell lines but a novel molecular mechanism was observed in the present study. The results showed that DpdtbA exhibited an excellent antiproliferative effect for ESC cell lines (IC50≤4.5±0.4 μMfor Kyse 450,3.2±0.6 μMfor Kyse 510 cell, and10.0±0.6 μMfor Kyse 150) and led to cell cycle arrest at the S phase which correlated to CDK2 downregulation. The mechanistic study suggested that growth inhibition was related to ROS-mediated apoptosis, and ROS production was due to SOD inhibition initiated by DpdtbA rather than occurrence of ferritinophagy. In addition, DpdtbA also induced a downregulation of EGFR, p53, and AKT, which hinted that mutant p53 still played a role in the regulation of its downstream targets. Further study revealed that the downregulation of p53 was through stub1- (chip-) mediated autophagic degradation rather than MDM2-mediated ubiquitination. Taken together, the DpdtbA-induced growth inhibition in a mechanism was through inactivating the p53/EGFR/AKT signal pathway.
Control of Flexible Joint Robot Based on Motor State Feedback and Dynamic Surface Approach
Authors: Jia Pengxiao
Published: July 2019

A controller based on dynamic surface control and observer is proposed by using motor state feedback for trajectory tracking of flexible joint robot with uncertain link dynamic model. Considering the link state information cannot be obtained, an observer is designed to estimate the link state information, and a dynamic surface controller is proposed based on link state observer. The controller based on the observer compared to backstepping controller avoids the repeated differentiation problem. At the same time, the dynamic surface method avoids the measurement of high order signal. The simulation results show that the designed controller has a good trajectory tracking effect, which effectively suppresses the residual vibration of the flexible joint robot. Moreover, the proposed controller and observer are robust to the uncertainty and external disturbance of the link dynamic model. The proposed controller can be directly applied in the flexible joint robot without installing additional sensors, which is very important for industrial applications.
Simultaneous Determination of Seven Active Components in Rat Plasma by UHPLC-MS/MS and Application to a Quantitative Study after Oral Administration of Huang-Lian Jie-Du Decoction in High Fat-Induced Atherosclerosis Rats
Authors: Jiang Li , Xiong Yanling , Yu Lanbin , Chen Yu , Zhang Qiyun , Ding Xue , Yan Xiaojun , Nie Peng , Xu Guoliang
Published: July 2019

Huang-Lian Jie-Du decoction (HLJDD) has been used to treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease for many years in China. Currently, the determination of effect components in HLJDD is focusing either on the formula or on the extract, while quantification of that in biological samples is scarce, especially simultaneous determination of multicomponent. In this paper, a rapid, specific, and sensitive ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and fully validated for the simultaneous determination of seven main active constituents, i.e., baicalin, baicalein, wogonoside, wogonin, berberine, palmatine, jatrorrhizine in rat plasma. The method was also successfully applied to a quantitative study after oral administration of HLJDD at different doses of 1.5, 3, and 6 g/kg body weight to high fat-induced atherosclerosis rats. The analytes were detected by ESI source and multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) using positive scanning mode. The blood was collected from the abdominal aorta of rats at predetermined time and preprepared with icariin and tetrahydropalmatine as internal standards (IS). Sample preparation was achieved by protein precipitation (PPT). The validation parameters (linearity, sensitivity, intra-/interday precision and accuracy, extraction recovery, and matrix effect) were within acceptable ranges, and biological extracts were stable during the entire storing and preparing process. And the result of determination of HLJDD-containing plasma, baicalin, baicalein, wogonoside, and wogonin could be highly detected in a dose-dependent manner while berberine, jatrorrhizine, and palmatine were determined in a very low level and in a dose-independent mode. Thus, the established method was sensitive enough and successfully applied to the determination of seven effective components in plasma taken from 24 high fat-induced atherosclerosis rats after oral administration of three dosages of HLJDD.
Effect of Chitosan/BSA Addition on the Physical Stability of Sunflower Oil Emulsions
Authors: Zhou Fengyan , Li Guo , Huang Jianying
Published: July 2019

Proteins and polysaccharides are important ingredients and additives in food field. The aim of this study was to study the effect of chitosan and bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution on the physical stability of sunflower oil emulsions at different pH values, temperatures, and BSA/chitosan ratios during 20-day storage in terms of their storage stability, zeta potential, particle size, and microstructure. The results showed that pH, protein/polysaccharide ratio, and temperature significantly influenced the physical stability of emulsions at lower pH. The emulsion stability decreased as the test temperatures increased, and the storage stability of BSA/chitosan coated oil emulsions was obtained when the ratio was from 8 : 1 to 1 : 1 under 4°C for 20-day storage when pH values were 3.0 and 4.0. Droplet flocculation happened with the increase of chitosan addition and pH value.
Fabrication and Uniaxial Tensile Properties of Soldered Porous Copper Fiber-Sintered Sheets
Authors: Liu Ruiliang , Zhou Wei , Li Shuangli , Xu Dongsheng
Published: July 2019

Porous copper fiber-sintered sheets (PCFSSs) with different porosities were fabricated through the solid-phase sintering method using cutting copper fibers. PCFSSs with the same porosity and different porosities were then joined via a fluxless soldering method. By analyzing the uniaxial tensile property of the PCFSSs, the formation mechanism of the soldered PCFSSs was investigated. The difference in the tensile properties between the soldered and original PCFSSs was examined. Experimental results indicated that, for the PCFSSs with homogeneous porosity, reducing the porosity increased the tensile strength and elongation at break significantly. The fluxless soldering method with the lead-free solder resulted in excellent joining of the PCFSSs with the same porosity and different porosities. Moreover, the final tensile strength of the soldered PCFSSs with the same porosity was nearly equal to that of their parent PCFSSs. The tensile strength of the soldered PCFSSs with different porosities depended on the higher-porosity section. After soldering the PCFSSs, Young’s modulus increased and the elongation at break reduced.
Fractional‐Order PID Controller for Active Power Filter Using Active Disturbance Rejection Control
Authors: Liu Nixuan , Cao Siqi , Fei Juntao
Published: July 2019

This paper proposed a fractional‐order PID controller and active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) method for the current compensation of active power filter (APF). The control method consists of two closed loops. One is a reference current tracking loop based on the ADRC controller, which can treat the internal and external uncertainties of the system as a whole. The other is the voltage control loop with the fractional‐order PID controller for more flexibility. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed control method has a stronger robustness and higher compensating precision comparing with the double‐loop PID control method.
Using Statistical Analysis to Assess Urban Groundwater in Beni Mellal City (Morocco)
Authors: El Baghdadi Mohamed , Medah Radouane , Jouider Amal
Published: July 2019

The study was carried out in a shallow phreatic aquifer in the piedmont zone between the Atlas Mountains and Tadla plain in Morocco. This study is carried out using physicochemical analyses with statistical analysis (CA and PCA) to show variability of groundwater hydrochemical parameters beneath Beni Mellal city in order to know spatial variability of water quality under urban activities. Total dissolved solid shows large variation from 355 mg/L to 918 mg/L with high values recorded, as electric conductivity, in the city center. High sulfate content is intercepted also in the old city center with values exceeding the threshold in the Moroccan guideline. Sulfate ions are often suspected of having an anthropogenic origin. All water samples show a dominance of Ca against Mg (Ca/Mg: 1.08–6.25) and HCO3 against SO4 (HCO3/SO4: 0.29–6.92). For most of the trace elements, the measured concentrations were far below the standard values except Al and Fe in some samples which exceed all guideline values. PCA of all dataset highlights eight factors with eigenvalues higher than 1 that explained about 80.34% of the total variance. The first two components PC1 and PC2 explained about 41.14% of the total cumulative variance and were responsible for 24.25% and 16.89% of the variance for each one, respectively. The component PC1 is mostly correlated with electric conductivity, TDS, and chloride. The component PC2 was highly correlated with Ca, Cr, and Zn. The dendrogram at a linkage distance of about 10.5 leads to dividing the diagram into three clusters of water samples, C1, C2, and C3. Cluster C1 shows a medium content of EC, HCO3, and NO3 and low content of TDS, Ca, Mg, Na, K, SO4, and Ba compared with C2 and C3. C1 samples show the lowest ion content, resulting probably from the minimal time of residence within the aquifer with low rock interactions. Cluster C2 regroups samples with high content of Ca, Mg, K, SO4, Al, and Cr, medium content of TDS and Na, and low content of EC, HCO3, NO3, and Cl. Samples in cluster C3 have more content of heavy metal (Cd, Fe, Mn, and Ni), CE, TDS, Ca, Mg, Na, HCO3, NO3, and Cl, with low content of Cr and Al and medium values of K and SO4. We recommended the monitoring and follow-up of the water quality under the city and the repair of pipes especially in the downtown area to limit unwanted infiltration. Spatial autocorrelation used with variograms and Moran'I leads to conclude that groundwater parameters varied differently according to the direction, which means that the semivariance depended on direction and distance between samples.
A Retrospective Study on Bovine Fascioliasis in Veterinary Regional Laboratories in Peninsular Malaysia
Authors: Diyana J. Nur Alia , Lokman I. H. , Fazila S. H. Nur , Latiffah H. , Ibitoye E. B. , Hazfalinda H. Noor , Chandrawathani P. , Juriah Kamaludeen , Mahiza M. I. Nur
Published: July 2019

This is a retrospective study on bovine fascioliasis infection on cattle in Peninsular Malaysia, spanning from January 2007 to December 2017. Cattle were diagnosed with Fasciola based on the fecal examination and the results were reported to the Veterinary Regional Laboratories in Peninsular Malaysia. These records were analysed for the occurrence of bovine fascioliasis within that 11-year period. Records of annual diagnostic cases from five major Veterinary Regional Laboratories were examined: Bukit Tengah, Pulau Pinang (north); Kuantan, Pahang (east); Johor Bahru, Johor (south); Sepang, Selangor (west); and Kota Bharu, Kelantan (east). A positive fascioliasis infestation was calculated based on a number of positively infected cattle with Fasciola from a number of cattle examined. A total of 1988 cattle were examined during this period and 35 (1.76%) cattle were reported to be positive for bovine fascioliasis. Parasite infection was the highest at Bukit Tengah region (5.55%) where 19 cases were positive from 342 reported cases while, at Kuantan (4.96%), 15 positive cases were reported, unlike Johor Bahru (0.09%), with only 1 positive case from 1136 cattle examined. Sepang and Kelantan had no positive cases. These results showed that bovine fascioliasis was generally prevalent in the northern and southeast parts of the Peninsular Malaysia; however, there was no significant relationship between the region and the occurrence of fascioliasis.
Reachable Set Bounding for Homogeneous Nonlinear Systems with Delay and Disturbance
Authors: Zhu Xingao , Sun Yuangong
Published: July 2019

Reachable set bounding for homogeneous nonlinear systems with delay and disturbance is studied. By the usage of a new method for stability analysis of positive systems, an explicit necessary and sufficient condition is first derived to guarantee that all the states of positive homogeneous time‐delay systems with degree p > 1 converge asymptotically within a specific ball. Furthermore, the main result is extended to a class of nonlinear time variant systems. A numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the obtained results.
Classic Prescription, Kai-Xin-San, Ameliorates Alzheimer’s Disease as an Effective Multitarget Treatment: From Neurotransmitter to Protein Signaling Pathway
Authors: Guo Sirui , Wang Jiahong , Xu Huarong , Rong Weiwei , Gao Cheng , Yuan Ziyue , Xie Fucheng , Bi Kaishun , Zhang Zhou , Li Qing
Published: July 2019

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a widespread neurodegenerative disease caused by complicated disease-causing factors. Unsatisfactorily, curative effects of approved anti-AD drugs were not good enough due to their actions on single-target, which led to desperate requirements for more effective drug therapies involved in multiple pathomechanisms of AD. The anti-AD effect with multiple action targets of Kai-Xin-San (KXS), a classic prescription initially recorded in Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang and applied in the treatment of dementia for thousands of years, was deciphered with modern biological methods in our study. Aβ25-35 and D-gal-induced AD rats and Aβ25-35-induced PC12 cells were applied to establish AD models. KXS could significantly improve cognition impairment by decreasing neurotransmitter loss and enhancing the expression of PI3K/Akt. For the first time, KXS was confirmed to improve the expression of PI3K/Akt by neurotransmitter 5-HT. Thereinto, PI3K/Akt could further inhibit Tau hyperphosphorylation as well as the apoptosis induced by oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. Moreover, all above-mentioned effects were verified and blocked by PI3K inhibitor, LY294002, in Aβ25-35-induced PC12 cells, suggesting the precise regulative role of KXS in the PI3K/Akt pathway. The utilization and mechanism elaboration of KXS have been proposed and dissected in the combination of animal, molecular, and protein strategies. Our results demonstrated that KXS could ameliorate AD by regulating neurotransmitter and PI3K/Akt signal pathway as an effective multitarget treatment so that the potential value of this classic prescription could be explored from a novel perspective.
Influence of Government Subsidy on Remanufacturing Decision under Different Market Models
Authors: Li Zhen , Zhang Jiao , Meng Qingfeng , Zheng Wei , Du Jianguo
Published: July 2019

This paper considers a remanufacturing closed‐loop supply chain involving a manufacturer and an independent remanufacturer. First, it analyzes the decision‐making changes under three market leadership (manufacturer leadership, remanufacturer leadership, and no leadership) models before and after government subsidies. Considering the government’s goal of maximizing social welfare, the study establishes a two‐stage game model for the government’s optimal price subsidy. It also considers the effects of consumer environmental preferences on product prices, demand, profits, government subsidies, and social welfare under different market models. The study found that government subsidy effectively stimulates the demand for remanufactured products, reduces the price of both new and remanufactured products, and promotes the remanufacturing industry. Furthermore, improvement in consumer environmental awareness was found to enhance the government’s optimal subsidy.
Comparison of Visual Stimuli for Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential-Based Brain-Computer Interfaces in Virtual Reality Environment in terms of Classification Accuracy and Visual Comfort
Authors: Choi Kang-min , Park Seonghun , Im Chang-Hwan
Published: July 2019

Recent studies on brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) based on the steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) have demonstrated their use to control objects or generate commands in virtual reality (VR) environments. However, most SSVEP-based BCI studies performed in VR environments have adopted visual stimuli that are typically used in conventional LCD environments without considering the differences in the rendering devices (head-mounted displays (HMDs) used in the VR environments). The proximity between the visual stimuli and the eyes in HMDs can readily cause eyestrain, degrading the overall performance of SSVEP-based BCIs. Therefore, in the present study, we have tested two different types of visual stimuli—pattern-reversal checkerboard stimulus (PRCS) and grow/shrink stimulus (GSS)—on young healthy participants wearing HMDs. Preliminary experiments were conducted to investigate the visual comfort of each participant during the presentation of the visual stimuli. In subsequent online avatar control experiments, we observed considerable differences in the classification accuracy of individual participants based on the type of visual stimuli used to elicit SSVEP. Interestingly, there was a close relationship between the subjective visual comfort score and the online performance of the SSVEP-based BCI: most participants showed better classification accuracy under visual stimulus they were more comfortable with. Our experimental results suggest the importance of an appropriate visual stimulus to enhance the overall performance of the SSVEP-based BCIs in VR environments. In addition, it is expected that the appropriate visual stimulus for a certain user might be readily selected by surveying the user’s visual comfort for different visual stimuli, without the need for the actual BCI experiments.
The AURORA of a New Way to Value Myeloid Immunosuppression in Cancer
Authors: Rivoltini Licia , Vernieri Claudio , Huber Veronica
Published: July 2019

Inhibiting myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) might be the ultimate barrier to break down tumor defenses and recover the preexisting T-cell immunity required to respond to immunotherapy. However, selectively intercepting MDSCs to prove their etiologic role in cancer progression is not an easy task. In this issue of Cancer Research, Yin and colleagues demonstrate unequivocally that the Aurora A kinase inhibitor, alisertib, specifically neutralizes MDSCs and triggers the rapid accrual of cytotoxic T cells, with consequent tumor clearance potentiated by PD-L1 blockade. Translating this approach into the clinic might rescue tumor immunity in immune-desert landscapes.

See related article by Yin et al., p. 3431
Frequency of Pathogenic Germline Variants in CDH1, BRCA2, CHEK2, PALB2, BRCA1, and TP53 in Sporadic Lobular Breast Cancer
Authors: Petridis Christos , Arora Iteeka , Shah Vandna , Moss Charlotte L. , Mera Anca , Clifford Angela , Gillett Cheryl , Pinder Sarah E. , Tomlinson Ian , Roylance Rebecca , Simpson Michael A. , Sawyer Elinor J.
Published: July 2019

Background:

Invasive lobular breast cancer (ILC) accounts for approximately 15% of invasive breast carcinomas and is commonly associated with lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). Both have been shown to have higher familial risks than the more common ductal cancers. However, there are little data on the prevalence of the known high and moderate penetrance breast cancer predisposition genes in ILC. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of germline variants in CDH1, BRCA2, BRCA1, CHEK2, PALB2, and TP53 in sporadic ILC and LCIS diagnosed in women ages ≤60 years.

Methods:

Access Array technology (Fluidigm) was used to amplify all exons of CDH1, BRCA2, BRCA1, TP53, CHEK2, and PALB2 using a custom-made targeted sequencing panel in 1,434 cases of ILC and 368 cases of pure LCIS together with 1,611 controls.

Results:

Case–control analysis revealed an excess of pathogenic variants in BRCA2, CHEK2, PALB2, and CDH1 in women with ILC. CHEK2 was the only gene that showed an association with pure LCIS [OR = 9.90; 95% confidence interval (CI), 3.42–28.66, P = 1.4 × 10−5] with a larger effect size seen in LCIS compared with ILC (OR = 4.31; 95% CI, 1.61–11.58, P = 1.7 × 10−3).

Conclusions:

Eleven percent of patients with ILC ages ≤40 years carried germline variants in known breast cancer susceptibility genes.

Impact:

Women with ILC ages ≤40 years should be offered genetic screening using a panel of genes that includes BRCA2, CHEK2, PALB2, and CDH1.
Investigation of Leukocyte Telomere Length and Genetic Variants in Chromosome 5p15.33 as Prognostic Markers in Lung Cancer
Authors: Kachuri Linda , Helby Jens , Bojesen Stig Egil , Christiani David C. , Su Li , Wu Xifeng , Tardón Adonina , Fernández-Tardón Guillermo , Field John K. , Davies Michael P. , Chen Chu , Goodman Gary E. , Shepherd Frances A. , Leighl Natasha B. , Tsao Ming S. , Brhane Yonathan , Brown M. Catherine , Boyd Kevin , Shepshelovich Daniel , Sun Lei , Amos Christopher I. , Liu Geoffrey , Hung Rayjean J.
Published: July 2019

Background:

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer mortality with relatively few prognostic biomarkers. We investigated associations with overall survival for telomere length (TL) and genetic variation in chromosome 5p15.33, an established telomere maintenance locus.

Methods:

Leukocyte TL was measured after diagnosis in 807 patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from the Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto and assessed prospectively in 767 NSCLC cases from the Copenhagen City Heart Study and the Copenhagen General Population Study. Associations with all-cause mortality were tested for 723 variants in 5p15.33, genotyped in 4,672 NSCLC cases.

Results:

Short telomeres (≤10th percentile) were associated with poor prognosis for adenocarcinoma in both populations: TL measured 6 months after diagnosis [HR = 1.65; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 1.04–2.64] and for those diagnosed within 5 years after blood sampling (HR = 2.42; 95% CI, 1.37–4.28). Short TL was associated with mortality in never smokers with NSCLC (HR = 10.29; 95% CI, 1.86–56.86) and adenocarcinoma (HR = 11.31; 95% CI, 1.96–65.24). Analyses in 5p15.33 identified statistically significant prognostic associations for rs56266421-G in LPCAT1 (HR = 1.86; 95% CI, 1.38–2.52; P = 4.5 × 10−5) in stage I–IIIA NSCLC, and for the SLC6A3 gene with OS in females with NSCLC (P = 1.6 × 10−3).

Conclusions:

Our findings support the potential clinical utility of TL, particularly for adenocarcinoma patients, while associations in chromosome 5p15.33 warrant further exploration.

Impact:

This is the largest lung cancer study of leukocyte TL and OS, and the first to examine the impact of the timing of TL measurement. Our findings suggest that extremely short telomeres are indicative of poor prognosis in NSCLC.
Differences in Signaling Patterns on PI3K Inhibition Reveal Context Specificity in KRAS-Mutant Cancers
Authors: Stewart Adam , Coker Elizabeth A. , Pölsterl Sebastian , Georgiou Alexandros , Minchom Anna R. , Carreira Suzanne , Cunningham David , O'Brien Mary ER. , Raynaud Florence I. , de Bono Johann S. , Al-Lazikani Bissan , Banerji Udai
Published: July 2019

It is increasingly appreciated that drug response to different cancers driven by the same oncogene is different and may relate to differences in rewiring of signal transduction. We aimed to study differences in dynamic signaling changes within mutant KRAS (KRASMT), non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), colorectal cancer, and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells. We used an antibody-based phosphoproteomic platform to study changes in 50 phosphoproteins caused by seven targeted anticancer drugs in a panel of 30 KRASMT cell lines and cancer cells isolated from 10 patients with KRASMT cancers. We report for the first time significant differences in dynamic signaling between colorectal cancer and NSCLC cell lines exposed to clinically relevant equimolar concentrations of the pan-PI3K inhibitor pictilisib including a lack of reduction of p-AKTser473 in colorectal cancer cell lines (P = 0.037) and lack of compensatory increase in p-MEK in NSCLC cell lines (P = 0.036). Differences in rewiring of signal transduction between tumor types driven by KRASMT cancers exist and influence response to combination therapy using targeted agents.