bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Selective Laser Melting of Mechanically Alloyed Metastable Al5Fe2 Powders
Authors: Montiel Hugo , Xu Ben , Li Jianzhi
Published: May 2019

Aluminum alloys, which are high-strength lightweight materials, were processed by selective laser melting (SLM) with high-energy consumption and poor finish due to quick heat dissipation. Previous investigations reported that SLM with 300 W laser power and 500 mm/s scanning speed can process the aluminum alloys, such as Al-Si12 and AlSi10Mg. This work aims to process the powders to alter their properties and to reduce the laser intensity required in the process, and it also reports that the SLM-processed Al–Fe alloys utilize the metastable alloy by mechanical alloying (MA). The elemental Al and Fe powders were first alloyed in a ball mill in a relative short time period (∼15 h) employing high milling intensities, high ball-to-powder ratio (≥20:1), and high milling velocities (≥400 rpm), which produced fine metastable Al–Fe powders, and these powders were processed later by the SLM. The optimum laser power, the scanning speed, hatch distance, and substrate temperature were investigated by a series of experiments. Experimental results indicated that decreasing the laser energy density while increasing the laser scanning speed can benefit for smoother laser hatch lines, and the metastable Al5Fe2 alloy powders can be processed and stabilized under a 200-W laser energy density and a scanning speed of 1000 mm/s. It is expected that the combination of pre-excited materials in a metastable phase will open a new window to optimize the SLM process for aluminum alloys and other metallic alloys.
Manufacturing Process Monitoring With Nonparametric Change-Point Detection in Automotive Industry
Authors: Guo Shenghan , Guo Weihong (Grace) , Abolhassani Amir , Kalamdani Rajeev , Puchala Saumuy , Januszczak Annette , Jalluri Chandra
Published: May 2019

Automatic sensing devices and computer systems have been widely adopted by the automotive manufacturing industry, which are capable to record machine status and process parameters nonstop. While a manufacturing process always has natural variations, it is crucial to detect significant changes to the process for quality control, as such changes may be the early signs of machine faults. This motivates our study on change-point detection methods for automotive manufacturing. We aim at developing a systematic approach for detecting process changes retrospectively in complex, nonstationary data. The proposed approach consists of nonparametric change-point detection, alarm generation based on change-point estimations, and performance evaluation against historical maintenance records. For change-point detection, three nonparametric methods are suggested—least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), thresholded LASSO, and wild binary segmentation (WBS). Multiple decision rules are proposed to determine how to generate alarms from change-point estimations. Numerical studies are conducted to demonstrate the performance of the proposed systematic approach. The different change-point detection methods and different decision rules are evaluated and compared, with scenarios for choosing one set of change-point detection method and decision rule over another combination identified. It is shown that LASSO and thresholded-LASSO outperform WBS when the shift size is small, but WBS produces a smaller false alarm rate and handles the clustering of changes better than LASSO or thresholded LASSO. Data from an automotive manufacturing plant are used in the case study to demonstrate the proposed approach. Guidelines for implementation are also provided.
Time-Dependent Concurrent Reliability-Based Design Optimization Integrating the Time-Variant B-Distance Index
Authors: Wang Zhonglai , Wang Zhihua , Yu Shui , Cheng Xiaowen
Published: May 2019

This paper presents a time-dependent concurrent reliability-based design optimization (TDC-RBDO) method integrating the time-variant B-distance index to improve the confidence level of design results with a small amount of experimental data. The time-variant B-distance index is first constructed using the extreme values of responses. The Hist Loop CDF (HLCDF) algorithm is then presented to calculate the time-variant B-distance index with high computational efficiency. The TDC-RBDO framework is provided by integrating the time-variant B-distance index and time-dependent reliability. The extreme value moment method (EVMM) is implemented to speed up the procedure of the TDC-RBDO. The case of a harmonic reducer is employed to elaborate on the proposed method.
Independent Host Factors and Bacterial Genetic Determinants of the Emergence and Dominance of Escherichia coli Sequence Type 131 CTX-M-27 in a Community Pediatric Cohort Study
Authors: Birgy André , Levy Corinne , Nicolas-Chanoine Marie-Hélène , Cointe Aurélie , Hobson Claire A. , Magnan Mélanie , Bechet Stéphane , Bidet Philippe , Cohen Robert , Bonacorsi Stéphane
Published: May 2019

The recent emergence and diffusion in the community of
Escherichia coli
isolates belonging to the multidrug-resistant and CTX-M-27-producing sequence type 131 (ST131) C1-M27 cluster makes this cluster potentially as epidemic as the worldwide
E. coli
ST131 subclade C2 composed of multidrug-resistant isolates producing CTX-M-15. Thirty-five extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing ST131 isolates were identified in a cohort of 1,885 French children over a 5-year period.
Bacillus subtilis
Strain DSM 29784 Modulates the Cecal Microbiome, Concentration of Short-Chain Fatty Acids, and Apparent Retention of Dietary Components in Shaver White Chickens during Grower, Developer, and Laying Phases
Authors: Neijat Mohamed , Habtewold Jemaneh , Shirley Rob B. , Welsher Alissa , Barton James , Thiery Pascal , Kiarie Elijah
Published: May 2019

In egg-laying chickens, the trend in the move away from the cage to alternative housing systems and restriction in antimicrobial use requires alternative approaches to maintain health and prevent diseases. There is increased research and commercial interest toward alternative gut health solutions while improving the performance and product safety in poultry production systems. One such approach, in recognition of the importance of the gut microbial community, is the use of microbes as feed supplements (such as probiotics). Unlike meat-type chickens, studies assessing the efficacy of such microbial supplements are limited for egg-laying chickens. Thus, by conducting a comprehensive assessment of the hen microbiota in response to various levels of
B. subtilis
DSM 29784 during the pullet phase (grower and developer) and the layer phase, the present study demonstrates the importance of direct-fed microbes in modulating gut microbiome, which may relate to improved performance efficiency in the pullet and layer phases.
Dynamics of Chromosome Replication and Its Relationship to Predatory Attack Lifestyles in Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus
Authors: Makowski Łukasz , Trojanowski Damian , Till Rob , Lambert Carey , Lowry Rebecca , Sockett R. Elizabeth , Zakrzewska-Czerwińska Jolanta
Published: May 2019

New strategies are needed to combat multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. Application of the predatory bacterium
Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus
, which kills other bacteria, including pathogens, is considered promising for combating bacterial infections. The
B. bacteriovorus
life cycle consists of two phases, a free-living, invasive attack phase and an intracellular reproductive phase, in which this predatory bacterium degrades the host’s macromolecules and reuses them for its own growth. To understand the use of
B. bacteriovorus
as a “living antibiotic,” it is first necessary to dissect its life cycle, including chromosome replication. Here, we present a real-time investigation into subcellular localization of chromosome replication in a single cell of
B. bacteriovorus
. This process initiates at the invasion pole of
B. bacteriovorus
and proceeds until several copies of the chromosome have been completely synthesized. Interestingly, we demonstrate that some cells of
B. bacteriovorus
require two prey cells sequentially to complete their life cycle.
cyAbrB Transcriptional Regulators as Safety Devices To Inhibit Heterocyst Differentiation in
Anabaena
sp. Strain PCC 7120
Authors: Higo Akiyoshi , Nishiyama Eri , Nakamura Kota , Hihara Yukako , Ehira Shigeki
Published: May 2019

Spore formation in
Bacillus subtilis
and
Streptomyces
has been extensively studied as models of prokaryotic nonterminal cell differentiation. In these organisms, many cells/hyphae differentiate simultaneously, which is governed by a network in which one regulator stands at the top. Differentiation of heterocysts in
Anabaena
sp. strain PCC 7120 is unique because it is terminal, and only 5 to 10% of vegetative cells differentiate into heterocysts. In this study, we identified CalA/cyAbrB1 as a repressor of two genes that are essential for heterocyst formation independently of HetR, a master activator for heterocyst differentiation. This finding is reasonable for unique cell differentiation of
Anabaena
because CalA/cyAbrB1 could suppress heterocyst differentiation tightly in vegetative cells, while only cells in which HetR is overexpressed could differentiate into heterocysts.
Human Papillomavirus 16 Capsids Mediate Nuclear Entry during Infection
Authors: Day Patricia M. , Weisberg Andrea S. , Thompson Cynthia D. , Hughes Michelle M. , Pang Yuk Ying , Lowy Douglas R. , Schiller John T.
Published: May 2019

Papillomaviruses (PVs) comprise a large family of nonenveloped DNA viruses that include HPV16, among other oncogenic types, the causative agents of cervical cancer. Delivery of the viral DNA into the host cell nucleus is necessary for establishment of infection. This was thought to occur via a subviral complex following uncoating of the larger viral capsid. In this study, we demonstrate that little disassembly of the PV capsid occurs prior to nuclear delivery. These surprising data reveal a previously unrecognized viral strategy to access the nuclear replication machinery. Understanding viral entry mechanisms not only increases our appreciation of basic cell biological pathways but also may lead to more effective antiviral interventions.
Infectious Chikungunya Virus (CHIKV) with a Complete Capsid Deletion: a New Approach for a CHIKV Vaccine
Authors: Zhang Ya-Nan , Deng Cheng-Lin , Li Jia-Qi , Li Na , Zhang Qiu-Yan , Ye Han-Qing , Yuan Zhi-Ming , Zhang Bo
Published: May 2019

Currently, there is no licensed vaccine against CHIKV infection. An ideal CHIKV vaccine should generate an optimal balance between efficacy and safety. Live attenuated vaccines that can elicit strong immune responses often involve a trade-off of reduced safety. Here, a novel live attenuated vaccine candidate for CHIKV lacking the entire capsid gene, ΔC-CHIKV, was developed. It was demonstrated to be genetically stable, highly attenuated, immunogenic, and able to confer complete protection against lethal CHIKV challenge after a single dose of immunization. Such an infectious vaccine candidate devoid of capsid provides a novel strategy for the development of a live attenuated CHIKV vaccine.
DisseminatedSalmonellainfection
Authors: Johari Muhamad Izzad , Besari Alwi Muhd , Wan Ghazali Wan Syamimee , Yusof Zurkurnai
Published: May 2019

A 47-year-old Malay man who presented with fever, poor oral intake and loss of weight for 1 month duration. Further work-up revealed evidence of disseminatedSalmonellainfection that was further complicated with pericardial and pleural empyema. Cultures from pericardial and pleural fluids grewSalmonellaspecies with negative serial blood cultures. Contrast enhanced CT thorax showed pleural effusion with large pericardial effusion. The patient was treated with antibiotics and drainage of pericardial and pleural empyema was done and he was discharged well.
Corynebacterium diphtheriae-infective endocarditis in a patient with an atrial septal defect closure device
Authors: Ng Jacinta , Downton Teesha , Davidson Natalie , Marangou James
Published: May 2019

An 18-year-old woman presented to our institution with fever, bilateral flank pain, headache and photophobia. She had a previous atrial septal defect (ASD) closure device inserted at the age of 9 years. Blood cultures on admission were positive forCorynebacterium diphtheriae, and transoesophageal echocardiogram (TOE) revealed an echodensity associated with the ASD closure device, most consistent with a vegetation. She was treated for infective endocarditis with 6 weeks of intravenous benzylpenicillin, and follow-up TOE showed resolution of the echodensity. To our knowledge, no cases ofC. diphtheriaeendocarditis of an ASD closure device have previously been reported.
E-cigarettes helped more smokers quit than nicotine replacement therapy
Authors: Cook Rob , Davidson Peter , Martin Rosie
Published: May 2019

The study

Hajek P, Phillips-Waller A, Przulj D, et al. A randomised trial of e-cigarettes versus nicotine-replacement therapy. N Engl J Med 2019;380:629-37.

This trial was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme (12/167/135) and by Cancer Research UK.

To read the full NIHR Signal, go to https://discover.dc.nihr.ac.uk/content/signal-000757/e-cigarettes-helped-more-smokers-quit-than-nicotine-replacement-therapy
Alcohol-related harm to others in England: a cross-sectional analysis of national survey data
Authors: Beynon Caryl , Bayliss David , Mason Jenny , Sweeney Kate , Perkins Clare , Henn Clive
Published: May 2019

Objectives

To estimate the prevalence, the frequency and the perpetrators of alcohol-related harm to others (AHTO) and identify factors associated with experiencing harm and aggressive harm.

Design

Cross-sectional survey.

Setting

England.

Participants

Adults (general population) aged 16 and over.

Outcome measures

Percentage of respondents who experienced harm. Socioeconomic and demographic factors associated with the outcomes. Outcomes were (1) experienced harm/did not experience harm and (2) experienced aggressive harm (physically threatened, physically hurt and forced/pressured into something sexual)/did not experience an aggressive harm (no aggressive harm plus no harm at all).

Results

Data to support a response rate calculation were not collected; 96.3% of people surveyed completed the AHTO questions. The weighted sample was 4874; 20.1% (95% CI 18.9 to 21.4, N=980) reported experiencing harm in the previous 12 months and 4.6% (95% CI 4.0 to 5.4, N=225) reported experiencing an aggressive harm. Friends and strangers were the dominant perpetrators. Most harms (74.8%) occurred less than monthly. Factors associated with experiencing harm were: younger age (p<0.001), drinking harmfully/hazardously (p<0.001), white British (p<0.001 compared to other white groups and Asian groups and p=0.017 compared to black groups), having a disability (p<0.001), being educated (p<0.001 compared to no education) and living in private rented accommodation (p=0.004 compared with owned outright). Being in the family stage of life (defined as having children in the household) had significantly lower odds of harm (p=0.006 compared to being single), as did being retired (p<0.001 compared to being employed). Factors associated with experiencing an aggressive harm were similar.

Conclusions

This exploratory study, using data collected through the Alcohol Toolkit Survey, shows that AHTO affects 20.1% of the population of England. Even apparently minor harms, like being kept awake, can have a negative impact on health, while aggressive harms are clearly of concern. Using a standard methodology to measure harm across studies would be advantageous. Policies that focus on alcohol must take into consideration the impact of drinking on those other than the drinker.
Decomposing inequality in catastrophic health expenditure for self-reported hypertension household in Urban Shaanxi, China from 2008 to 2013: two waves’ cross-sectional study
Authors: Si Yafei , Zhou Zhongliang , Su Min , Wang Xiao , Lan Xin , Wang Dan , Gong Shaoqing , Xiao Xiao , Shen Chi , Ren Yangling , Zhao Dantong , Hong Zihan , Bian Ying , Chen Xi
Published: May 2019

Objective

Despite the latest wave of China’s healthcare reform initiated in 2009 has achieved unprecedented progress in rural areas, little is known for specific vulnerable groups’ catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) in urban China. This study aims to estimate the trend of incidence, intensity and inequality of CHE in hypertension households (households with one or more than one hypertension patient) in urban Shaanxi, China from 2008 to 2013.

Methods

Based on the fourth and the fifth National Health Service Surveys of Shaanxi, we identified 460 and 1289 households with hypertension in 2008 and 2013, respectively for our analysis. We classified hypertension households into two groups: simplex households (with hypertension only) and mixed households (with hypertension plus other non-communicable diseases). CHE would be identified if out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure was equal to or higher than 40% of a household’s capacity to pay. Concentration index and its decomposition based on Probit regressions were employed to measure the income-related inequality of CHE.

Results

We find that CHE occurred in 11.2% of the simplex households and 22.1% of the mixed households in 2008, and the 21.5% of the simplex households and the 46.9% of mixed households incurred CHE in 2013. Furthermore, there were strong pro-poor inequalities in CHE in the simplex households (−0.279 and −0.283) and mixed households (−0.362 and −0.262) both in 2008 and 2013. The majority of observed inequalities in CHE could be associated with household economic status, household head’s health status and having elderly members.

Conclusion

We find a sharp increase of CHE occurrence and the sustained strong pro-poor inequalities for simplex and mixed households in urban Shaanxi Province of China from 2008 to 2013. Our study suggests that more concerns are needed for the vulnerable groups such as hypertension households in urban areas of China.
The impact of self-efficacy and health literacy on outcome after bariatric surgery in Sweden: a protocol for a prospective, longitudinal mixed-methods study
Authors: Jaensson Maria , Dahlberg Karuna , Nilsson Ulrica , Stenberg Erik
Published: May 2019

Introduction

A person-centred approach, to know about a person’s individual weaknesses and strengths, is warranted in today’s healthcare in Sweden. When a person suffers from obesity, there are not only risks for comorbidities but also increased risk for decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL). After bariatric surgery, there are also risks for complications; however, healthcare service expects the person to have sufficient ability to handle recovery after surgery. The need is to investigate how a person’s self-efficacy and health literacy(HL) skills are important to determine their effect on recovery as well as HRQoL after bariatric surgery. It can, involve the person in the care, improve shared decision-making, and perhaps decrease complications and readmissions.

Method and analysis

This is a prospective, longitudinal mixed-methods study with the intent of including 700 patients from three bariatric centres in Sweden (phase 1); 20 patients will be included in a qualitative study (phase 2). Inclusion criteria will be age >17 years, scheduled primary bariatric surgery and ability to read and understand the Swedish language in speech and in writing. Inclusion criteria for the qualitative study will be patients who reported a low self-efficacy, with a selection to ensure maximum variation regarding age and gender. Before bariatric surgery patients will answer a questionnaire including 20 items. Valid and reliable instruments will be used to investigate general self-efficacy (10 items) and functional and communicative and critical HL (10 items). This data collection will then be merged with data from the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry. Analysis will be performed 30 days, 1 year and 2 years after bariatric surgery. One year after bariatric surgery the qualitative study will be performed. The main outcomes are the impact of a person’s self-efficacy and HL on recovery after bariatric surgery.

Ethics and dissemination

The study has received approval from the ethical review board in Uppsala, Sweden (number 2018/256). The study results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations to the scientific community and social media.
Development of resistance to FAK inhibition in pancreatic cancer is linked to stromal depletion
Authors: Jiang Hong , Liu Xiuting , Knolhoff Brett L , Hegde Samarth , Lee Kyung Bae , Jiang Hongmei , Fields Ryan C , Pachter Jonathan A , Lim Kian-Huat , DeNardo David G
Published: May 2019

Objective

We investigated how pancreatic cancer developed resistance to focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibition over time.

Design

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumours from KPC mice (p48-CRE; LSL-KRasG12D/wt; p53flox/wt) treated with FAK inhibitor were analysed for the activation of a compensatory survival pathway in resistant tumours. We identified pathways involved in the regulation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signalling on FAK inhibition by gene set enrichment analysis and verified these outcomes by RNA interference studies. We also tested combinatorial approaches targeting FAK and STAT3 in syngeneic transplantable mouse models of PDAC and KPC mice.

Results

In KPC mice, the expression levels of phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3) were increased in PDAC cells as they progressed on FAK inhibitor therapy. This progression corresponded to decreased collagen density, lowered numbers of SMA+ fibroblasts and downregulation of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β)/SMAD signalling pathway in FAK inhibitor-treated PDAC tumours. Furthermore, TGF-β production by fibroblasts in vitro drives repression of STAT3 signalling and enhanced responsiveness to FAK inhibitor therapy. Knockdown of SMAD3 in pancreatic cancer cells abolished the inhibitory effects of TGF-β on pSTAT3. We further found that tumour-intrinsic STAT3 regulates the durability of the antiproliferative activity of FAK inhibitor, and combinatorial targeting of FAK and Janus kinase/STAT3 act synergistically to suppress pancreatic cancer progression in mouse models.

Conclusion

Stromal depletion by FAK inhibitor therapy leads to eventual treatment resistance through the activation of STAT3 signalling. These data suggest that, similar to tumour-targeted therapies, resistance mechanisms to therapies targeting stromal desmoplasia may be critical to treatment durability.
Yield of diagnostic imaging in atraumatic convexity subarachnoid hemorrhage
Authors: Dakay Katarina , Mahta Ali , Rao Shyam , Reznik Michael E , Wendell Linda C , Thompson Bradford B , Potter N Stevenson , Saad Ali , Gandhi Chirag D , Santarelli Justin , Al-Mufti Fawaz , MacGrory Brian , Burton Tina , Jayaraman Mahesh V , McTaggart Ryan A , Furie Karen , Yaghi Shadi , Cutting Shawna
Published: May 2019

Introduction

Atraumatic convexity subarachnoid hemorrhage is a subtype of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage that often presents a diagnostic challenge. Common etiologies include cerebral amyloid angiopathy, vasculopathies, and coagulopathy; however, aneurysm is rare. Given the broad differential of causes of convexity subarachnoid hemorrhage, we assessed the diagnostic yield of common tests and propose a testing strategy.

Methods

We performed a single-center retrospective study on consecutive patients with atraumatic convexity subarachnoid hemorrhage over a 2-year period. We obtained and reviewed each patient’s imaging and characterized the frequency with which each test ultimately diagnosed the cause. Additionally, we discuss clinical features of patients with convexity subarachnoid hemorrhage with respect to the mechanism of hemorrhage.

Results

We identified 70 patients over the study period (mean (SD) age 64.70 (16.9) years, 35.7% men), of whom 58 patients (82%) had a brain MRI, 57 (81%) had non-invasive vessel imaging, and 27 (38.5%) underwent catheter-based angiography. Diagnoses were made using only non-invasive imaging modalities in 40 patients (57%), while catheter-based angiography confirmed the diagnosis in nine patients (13%). Further clinical history and laboratory testing yielded a diagnosis in an additional 17 patients (24%), while the cause remained unknown in four patients (6%).

Conclusion

The etiology of convexity subarachnoid hemorrhage may be diagnosed in most cases via non-invasive imaging and a thorough clinical history. However, catheter angiography should be strongly considered when non-invasive imaging fails to reveal the diagnosis or to better characterize a vascular malformation. Larger prospective studies are needed to validate this algorithm.
Kissing may be an important and neglected risk factor for oropharyngeal gonorrhoea: a cross-sectional study in men who have sex with men
Authors: Chow Eric P F , Cornelisse Vincent J , Williamson Deborah A , Priest David , Hocking Jane S , Bradshaw Catriona S , Read Tim R H , Chen Marcus Y , Howden Benjamin P , Fairley Christopher K
Published: May 2019

Objectives

A mathematical model suggested that a significant proportion of oropharyngeal gonorrhoea cases are acquired via oropharynx-to-oropharynx transmission (ie, tongue-kissing), but to date, no empirical study has investigated this. This study aimed to examine the association between kissing and oropharyngeal gonorrhoea among gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (MSM).

Methods

MSM attending a public sexual health centre in Melbourne, Australia, between March 2016 and February 2017 were invited to participate in a brief survey that collected data on their number of male partners in the last 3 months, in three distinct categories: kissing-only (ie, no sex including no oral and/or anal sex), sex-only (ie, any sex without kissing), and kissing-with-sex (ie, kissing with any sex). Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to examine associations between oropharyngeal gonorrhoea positivity by nucleic acid amplification tests and the three distinct partner categories.

Results

A total of 3677 men completed the survey and were tested for oropharyngeal gonorrhoea. Their median age was 30 (IQR 25–37) and 6.2% (n=229) had oropharyngeal gonorrhoea. Men had a mean number of 4.3 kissing-only, 1.4 sex-only, and 5.0 kissing-with-sex partners in the last 3 months. Kissing-only and kissing-with-sex were associated with oropharyngeal gonorrhoea, but sex-only was not. The adjusted odds for having oropharyngeal gonorrhoea were 1.46-fold (95% CI 1.04 to 2.06) for men with ≥4 kissing-only partners and 1.81-fold (95% CI 1.17 to 2.79) for men with ≥4 kissing-with-sex partners.

Conclusions

These data suggest that kissing may be associated with transmission of oropharyngeal gonorrhoea in MSM, irrespective of whether sex also occurs.
Early nasal microbiota and acute respiratory infections during the first years of life
Authors: Toivonen Laura , Hasegawa Kohei , Waris Matti , Ajami Nadim J , Petrosino Joseph F , Camargo Jr Carlos A , Peltola Ville
Published: May 2019

Background

Emerging evidence shows that airway microbiota may modulate local immune responses, thereby contributing to the susceptibility and severity of acute respiratory infections (ARIs). However, there are little data on the longitudinal relationships between airway microbiota and susceptibility to ARIs in children.

Objective

We aimed to investigate the association of early nasal microbiota and the subsequent risk of ARIs during the first years of life.

Methods

In this prospective population-based birth-cohort study in Finland, we followed 839 healthy infants for ARIs from birth to age 24 months. Nasal microbiota was tested using 16S rRNA gene sequencing at age 2 months. We applied an unsupervised clustering approach to identify early nasal microbiota profiles, and examined the association of profiles with the rate of ARIs during age 2–24 months.

Results

We identified five nasal microbiota profiles dominated byMoraxella,Streptococcus,Dolosigranulum,StaphylococcusandCorynebacteriaceae, respectively. Incidence rate of ARIs was highest in children with an earlyMoraxella-dominant profile and lowest in those with aCorynebacteriaceae-dominant profile (738 vs 552/100 children years; unadjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR), 1.34; 95% CI 1.16 to 1.54; p < 0.001). After adjusting for nine potential confounders, theMoraxella-dominant profile-ARI association persisted (adjusted IRR (aIRR), 1.19; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.37; p = 0.01). Similarly, the incidence rate of lower respiratory tract infections (a subset of all ARIs) was significantly higher in children with an earlyMoraxella-dominant profile (aIRR, 2.79; 95% CI 1.04 to 8.09; p = 0.04).

Conclusion

Moraxella-dominant nasal microbiota profile in early infancy was associated with an increased rate of ARIs during the first 2 years of life.
Systemic glucocorticoid usage in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK: prevalence and risk factors
Authors: Elkholly Doaa A , O'Neill Dan , Wright Andrea K , Mwacalimba Kennedy , Nolan Laura S , Pavlock Amy , Pelligand Ludovic , Church David , Brodbelt David C
Published: May 2019

Glucocorticoids are widely used in primary care veterinary practices. The study aimed to quantify the usage of systemic glucocorticoids (SGC) in dogs in the UK using primary care treatment records recorded during 2013 in the VetCompass Programme. From a study population of 455 557 dogs, 28 472 dogs (6.2 per cent, 95 per cent CI 6.2 to 6.3) received a total of 50 971 SGC therapy events in 2013. Prednisolone represented the most frequently used oral preparation (27 362 events, 90.0 per cent of oral events). Dexamethasone sodium phosphate was the most commonly used injectable agent (12 796 events, 62.7 per cent of injectable events). The most common breed treated was Staffordshire Bull Terriers (2236/28 472 dogs, 7.9 per cent, 95 per cent CI 7.5 to 8.2) and within‐breed prevalence of SGC usage was 2236/32 635, 6.9 per cent, 95 per cent CI 6.6 to 7.1. The most commonly treated age group was dogs older than eight years (8931/28472, 31.4 per cent) and the most commonly treated bodyweight group was 10.01–20.0 kg (7918/28 472, 27.8 per cent). Dexamethasone and prednisolone were the most commonly prescribed SGC. Short‐acting and intermediate‐acting injectable SGC were more commonly used compared with long‐acting injectable SGC. Older and medium size dogs were most likely to receive SGC and certain breeds appeared predisposed. These data can provide a useful benchmark for glucocorticoid usage and highlight the benefits from ‘Big Data’ analyses.
Lattice Boltzmann simulation of particle-laden flows using an improved curved boundary condition
Authors: Liu Shasha , Zhou Taotao , Tao Shi , Wu Zhibin , Yang Guang
Published: May 2019

In the application of the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for the simulation of the interface-resolved particulate flows, the bounce-back (BB) type rules have been widely adopted to handle the complex boundaries of moving particle. However, the original method cannot preserve the integrity of the particle shape, resulting in a low-resolution for the flow description near the solid boundary. Even though the subsequent modified BB scheme, i.e. the curved boundary condition (CBC), improves the overall accuracy, it generally loses the local-computation property of the simple BB. Therefore, a CBC is proposed in this paper, which maintains the two advantages of the second-order accuracy and local computation in the boundary treatment simultaneously. In the present scheme, information of only a single fluid point is needed. Furthermore, the relative distance between the fluid point and the boundary surface is involved, contributing to the second-order accuracy that is validated in the Poiseuille and cylindrical Couette flows. Particularly, it is found that the precision of the present scheme can be greatly improved with the nonequilibrium distribution functions of two directions included. Three more test cases of particle-laden flow, including particle migration in a channel, the sedimentation of a particle under gravity and the drafting-kissing-tumbling (DKT) dynamics of two settling particles, further demonstrate the feasibility and accuracy of the present scheme.
Massless Rarita–Schwinger field from a divergenceless antisymmetric tensor-spinor of pure spin-3/2
Authors: Edwards J. P. , Kirchbach M.
Published: May 2019

We construct the Rarita–Schwinger basis vectors, [Formula: see text], spanning the direct product space, [Formula: see text], of a massless four-vector, [Formula: see text], with massless Majorana spinors, [Formula: see text], together with the associated field-strength tensor, [Formula: see text]. The [Formula: see text] space is reducible and contains one massless subspace of a pure spin-[Formula: see text]. We show how to single out the latter in a unique way by acting on [Formula: see text] with an earlier derived momentum independent projector, [Formula: see text], properly constructed from one of the Casimir operators of the algebra [Formula: see text] of the homogeneous Lorentz group. In this way, it becomes possible to describe the irreducible massless [Formula: see text] carrier space by means of the antisymmetric tensor of second rank with Majorana spinor components, defined as [Formula: see text]. The conclusion is that the [Formula: see text] bi-vector spinor field can play the same role with respect to a [Formula: see text] gauge field as the bi-vector, [Formula: see text], associated with the electromagnetic field-strength tensor, [Formula: see text], plays for the Maxwell gauge field, [Formula: see text]. Correspondingly, we find the free electromagnetic field equation, [Formula: see text], is paralleled by the free massless Rarita–Schwinger field equation, [Formula: see text], supplemented by the additional condition, [Formula: see text], a constraint that invokes the Majorana sector.
Analysis of wavepacket tunneling with the method of Laplace transformation
Authors: Riahi Natascha
Published: May 2019

We use the method of Laplace transformation to determine the dynamics of a wavepacket that passes a barrier by tunneling. We investigate the transmitted wavepacket and find that it can be resolved into a sequence of subsequent wave packages. This result sheds new light on the Hartman effect for the tunneling time and gives a possible explanation for an experimental result obtained by Spielmann et al.
Entropy squeezing, nonlocal correlation and purification properties of two-trap ion interaction with laser field in the presence of Stark shift effect
Authors: Al-Hadeethi Yas , Raffah Bahaaudin M. , Almalky Nawal , Khalil E. M.
Published: May 2019

In this paper, the interaction between two trap ions with laser beam and electromagnetic field containing the Stark shift terms has been investigated. The analytical solution for the differential equations which describes the system Hamiltonian is obtained. The dynamical behavior for the entanglement, entropy squeezing and purity of system are discussed. Some important physical characteristics such as revivals and collapses for the occupation of the trapped ion, entanglement sudden death (birth) and single trapped ion entropy squeezing are discussed. In addition, the influence of Lamb–Dicke parameter and the initial states on the evolution of the entanglement, linear entropy are studied. Finally, some remarks about the obtained results are given briefly.
A Hybrid Countermeasure-Based Fault-Resistant AES Implementation
Authors: Benhadjyoussef Noura , Karmani Mouna , Machhout Mohsen , Hamdi Belgacem
Published: May 2019

A Fault-Resistant scheme has been proposed to secure the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) against Differential Fault Analysis (DFA) attack. In this paper, a hybrid countermeasure has been presented in order to protect a 32-bits AES architecture proposed for resource-constrained embedded systems. A comparative study between the most well-known fault detection schemes in terms of fault detection capabilities and implementation cost has been proposed. Based on this study, we propose a hybrid fault resistant scheme to secure the AES using the parity detection for linear operations and the time redundancy for SubBytes operation. The proposed scheme is implemented on the Virtex-5 Xilinx FPGA board in order to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed fault-resistant scheme in terms of area, time costs and fault coverage (FC). Experimental results prove that the countermeasure achieves a FC with about 98,82% of the injected faults detected during the 32-bits AES process. The area overhead of the proposed countermeasure is about 14% and the additional time delay is about 13%.
Adaptive Fuzzy-Based IRFOC of Speed Sensorless Six-Phase Induction Motor Drive System
Authors: Elbarbary Zakaria , Azeem Mohammad Fazle , Azazi Haitham Z.
Published: May 2019

In recent times, instead of three-phase induction motors (IM), multi-phase motors have been used in several applications, due to numerous advantages that they offer. Elimination of mechanical position or speed sensors allures for adjustable speed drives of IM. It leads to cost reduction, lesser maintenance and increased reliability of the motor drive. To eliminate the speed sensor, the rotor speed is estimated from measured stator currents and voltages at motor terminals. This paper proposes a scheme based on speed estimation method using Model Reference Adaptive System (MRAS) in conjunction with Adaptive Fuzzy Knowledge Based Controller (AFKBC) to improve the performance of a sensorless Indirect Rotor Field Oriented Control (IRFOC) of six-phase IM drive. AFKBC allows to operate at various operating conditions. A fitness function is defined for Queen Bee-based Genetic Algorithm (QBGA) to tune the scaling factor of AFKBC which improves the transient and steady state performances. The performance of the proposed scheme is evaluated by simulation on Matlab/Simulink package. The results of the proposed scheme are compared with conventional PI-based speed controller of the drive system. The proposed controller scheme improves the performance of the drive system at various operating conditions. The estimated speed algorithm gives good correlation between estimated and actual motor speed. The simulation results also illustrate that proposed scheme is robust and suitable for high performances six-phase IM drive.
Cross-sections at sub-Coulomb energies: Full optical model versus barrier transmission for 40Ca + α
Authors: Mohr Peter
Published: May 2019

Cross-sections for [Formula: see text]Ca + [Formula: see text] at low energies have been calculated from two different models and three different [Formula: see text]-nucleus potentials. The first model determines the cross-sections from the barrier transmission in a real nuclear potential. Second, cross-sections are derived within the optical model (OM) using a complex nuclear potential. The excitation functions from barrier transmission are smooth, whereas the excitation functions from the OM show a significant sensitivity to the chosen imaginary potential. Cross-sections far below the Coulomb barrier are lower from barrier transmission than from the OM. This difference is explained by additional absorption in the tail of the imaginary part of the potential in the OM. At higher energies, the calculations from the two models and all [Formula: see text]-nucleus potentials converge. Finally, in contradiction to another recent study where a double-folding potential failed in a WKB calculation, the applicability of double-folding potentials for [Formula: see text]Ca + [Formula: see text] at low energies is clearly confirmed in the present analysis for the simple barrier transmission model and for the full OM calculation.
Close Binary Galaxies: Application to Source of Energy and Expansion in Universe
Authors: Sargsyan V. V. , Lenske H. , Adamian G. G. , Antonenko N. V.
Published: May 2019

Applying the microscopic nuclear physics ideas for fusion reactions to macroscopic galactic systems, we study the evolution of the compact binary galaxy in mass asymmetry (transfer) coordinate. The conditions for the formation of stable symmetric binary galaxy are analyzed. The role of symmetrization of asymmetric binary galaxy in the transformation of gravitational energy into internal energy of galaxies accompanied by the release of a large amount of energy during the symmetrization process is revealed.
Retinal Blood Vessel Caliber Estimation for Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Images Based on 3D Superellipsoid Modeling
Authors: Han Myounghee , Kim Yongjoo , Park Jang Ryul , Vakoc Benjamin J. , Oh Wang-Yuhl , Ryu Sukyoung
Published: May 2019

Changes of retinal blood vessel calibers may reflect various retinal diseases and even several non-retinal diseases. We propose a new method to estimate retinal vessel calibers from 3D optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) images based on 3D modeling using superellipsoids. Taking advantage of 3D visualization of the retinal tissue microstructures in vivo provided by OCTA, our method can detect retinal blood vessels precisely, estimate their calibers reliably, and show the relative flow speed visually.
Deep learning with evolutionary and genomic profiles for identifying cancer subtypes
Authors: Lin Chun-Yu , Ruan Peiying , Li Ruiming , Yang Jinn-Moon , See Simon , Song Jiangning , Akutsu Tatsuya
Published: May 2019

Cancer subtype identification is an unmet need in precision diagnosis. Recently, evolutionary conservation has been indicated to contain informative signatures for functional significance in cancers. However, the importance of evolutionary conservation in distinguishing cancer subtypes remains largely unclear. Here, we identified the evolutionarily conserved genes (i.e. core genes) and observed that they are primarily involved in cellular pathways relevant to cell growth and metabolisms. By using these core genes, we developed two novel strategies, namely a feature-based strategy (FES) and an image-based strategy (IMS) by integrating their evolutionary and genomic profiles with the deep learning algorithm. In comparison with the FES using the random set and the strategy using the PAM50 classifier, the core gene set-based FES achieved a higher accuracy for identifying breast cancer subtypes. The IMS and FES using the core gene set yielded better performances than the other strategies, in terms of classifying both breast cancer subtypes and multiple cancer types. Moreover, the IMS is reproducible even using different gene expression data (i.e. RNA-seq and microarray). Comprehensive analysis of eight cancer types demonstrates that our evolutionary conservation-based models represent a valid and helpful approach for identifying cancer subtypes and the core gene set offers distinguishable clues of cancer subtypes.
Identification of the PCA29 gene signature as a predictor in prostate cancer
Authors: Lee Jung-Yu , Lin Si-Yu , Lin Chun-Yu , Chuang Yi-Huan , Huang Sing-Han , Tseng Yu-Yao , Wang Hung-Jung , Yang Jinn-Moon
Published: May 2019

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer death among men worldwide. About 70% of PCa patients were diagnosed at later stage, and metastasis has been observed. Additionally, the cure rate of PCa closely relies on the early diagnosis with biomarkers. The identification of biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis is an urgent clinical issue for PCa. Here, we developed a novel scoring strategy, including cluster score (CS) and predicting score (PS), to identify 29 PCa genes (called PCa29) for early diagnostic biomarkers from two datasets in Gene Expression Omnibus. The result indicates that PCa29 can discriminate between normal and tumor tissues and are specific for prostate cancer. To validate PCa29, we found that 97% of PCa29 were consistently significant with these gene expressions in The Cancer Genome Atlas; furthermore, [Formula: see text]70% of PCa29 are consensus to the protein expression in The Human Protein Atlas. Finally, we examined 10 genes in PCa29 on three PCa cell lines by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The experimental results show that the trend of the differential PCa29 expression is consistent with the analyzed results from our novel scoring method. We believe that our method is useful and PCa29 are potential biomarkers that provide the clues to develop targeting therapy for PCa.
Convolutional neural network approach to lung cancer classification integrating protein interaction network and gene expression profiles
Authors: Matsubara Teppei , Ochiai Tomoshiro , Hayashida Morihiro , Akutsu Tatsuya , Nacher Jose C.
Published: May 2019

Deep learning technologies are permeating every field from image and speech recognition to computational and systems biology. However, the application of convolutional neural networks (CCNs) to “omics” data poses some difficulties, such as the processing of complex networks structures as well as its integration with transcriptome data. Here, we propose a CNN approach that combines spectral clustering information processing to classify lung cancer. The developed spectral-convolutional neural network based method achieves success in integrating protein interaction network data and gene expression profiles to classify lung cancer. The performed computational experiments suggest that in terms of accuracy the predictive performance of our proposed method was better than those of other machine learning methods such as SVM or Random Forest. Moreover, the computational results also indicate that the underlying protein network structure assists to enhance the predictions. Data and CNN code can be downloaded from the link: https://sites.google.com/site/nacherlab/analysis
Improvement of detection performance of fusion genes from RNA-seq data by clustering short reads
Authors: Sota Yoshiaki , Seno Shigeto , Shigeta Hironori , Osato Naoki , Shimoda Masafumi , Noguchi Shinzaburo , Matsuda Hideo
Published: May 2019

Fusion genes are involved in cancer, and their detection using RNA-Seq is insufficient given the relatively short reading length. Therefore, we proposed a shifted short-read clustering (SSC) method, which focuses on overlapping reads from the same loci and extends them as a representative sequence. To verify their usefulness, we applied the SSC method to RNA-Seq data from four types of cell lines (BT-474, MCF-7, SKBR-3, and T-47D). As the slide width of the SSC method increased to one, two, five, or ten bases, the read length was extended from 201 bases to 217 (108%), 234 (116%), 282 (140%), or 317 (158%) bases, respectively. Furthermore, fusion genes were investigated using STAR-Fusion, a fusion gene detection tool, with and without the SSC method. When one base was shifted by the SSC method, the reads mapped to multiple loci decreased from 9.7% to 4.6%, and the sensitivity of the fusion gene was improved from 47% to 54% on average (BT-474: from 48% to 57%, MCF-7: 49% to 53%, SKBR-3: 50% to 57%, and T-47D: 43% to 50%) compared with original data. When the reads are shifted more, the positive predictive value was also improved. The SSC method could be an effective method for fusion gene detection.
Cryptanalysis of He’s quantum private comparison protocol and a new protocol
Authors: Wu WanQing , Cai QingYu , Wu ShuoMei , Zhang HuanGuo
Published: May 2019

Recently, He proposed a novel quantum private comparison protocol without a third party (G. P. He, Int. J. Quantum Inf. 15(2) (2016) 1750014). This paper points out that two security loopholes in He’s protocol are existent. And a new QPC protocol which can avoid these loopholes is proposed without the help of a third party in this paper.
Torsion points and height jumping in higher-dimensional families of abelian varieties
Authors: Holmes David
Published: May 2019

In 1983, Silverman and Tate showed that the set of points in a 1-dimensional family of abelian varieties where a section of infinite order has “small height” is finite. We conjecture a generalization to higher-dimensional families, where we replace “finite” by “not Zariski dense.” We show that this conjecture would imply the uniform boundedness conjecture for torsion points on abelian varieties. We then prove a few special cases of this new conjecture.