bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fast detection method of quick response code based on run‐length coding
Authors: Li Shiren , Shang Jiayu , Duan Zhikui , Huang Junwei
Published: November 2017

Quick response (QR) code, one of the two‐dimensional barcodes, is now being widely used in all fields. The effectiveness of decoding, however, needs to be improved in real‐time application. In most cases, the decoding procedure is time consuming, in which the detection of QR code plays an essential part. Therefore, this study proposes a fast detection method of QR code based on run‐length coding: firstly, a novel approach is proposed to detect the minimum region containing position detection pattern (PDP) in QR code. Second, coordinates of central PDP in QR code are calculated by using run‐length coding. The highlight in this step is the calculation, which utilises modified Knuth–Morris–Pratt algorithm. By this means, the computational complexity can be reduced tremendously. Finally, QR code can be detected successfully with the coordinates. The experimental results show that the proposed method is time saving and suitable for real‐time application.
Hybrid fitting energy‐based fast level set model for image segmentation solving by algebraic multigrid and sparse field method
Authors: Wang Dengwei
Published: November 2017

A novel hybrid fitting energy‐based active contours model in the level set framework is proposed. The method fuses the local image fitting term and the global image fitting term to drive the contour evolution, and a special extra term that penalises the deviation of the level set function from a signed distance function is also included in the authors’ method, so the complex and costly reinitialisation procedure is completely eliminated. Their model can efficiently segment the images with intensity inhomogeneity no matter where the initial curve is located in the image. In its numerical implementation, two efficient numerical schemes are used to ensure the sufficient efficiency of the evolution process, one is the algebraic multigrid, which is used for breaking the restrictions on time step; the other is the sparse field method, which is introduced for fast local computation, compared with the traditional schemes, these two strategies can further shorten the time consumption of the evolution process, this allows the level set to quickly reach the true target location. The extensive and promising experimental results on synthetic and real images demonstrate subjectively and objectively the performance of the proposed method.
Information fusion for unsupervised image segmentation using stochastic watershed and Hessian matrix
Authors: Chahine Chaza , Vachier‐Lagorre Corinne , Chenoune Yasmina , El Berbari Racha , El Fawal Ziad , Petit Eric
Published: November 2017

This study deals with information fusion for image segmentation. The evidence theory (or the Dempster–Shafer theory) allows the modellisation of uncertainty and imprecision in the information as well as the combination of different sources. Here, this approach is used in an unsupervised framework to combine the stochastic watershed segmentation which provides several segmentation results, with a Hessian operator in order to obtain a unique and efficient segmentation. The method is tested on natural images from the Berkeley dataset and evaluated using several evaluation metrics. The fusion results surpass those obtained with stochastic watershed alone.
Fast and Automatically Adjustable GRBF Kernel Based Fuzzy C‐Means for Cluster‐wise Coloured Feature Extraction and Segmentation of MR Images
Authors: Nongmeikapam Kishorjit , Kumar Wahengbam Kanan , Singh Aheibam Dinamani
Published: November 2017

Fuzzy C‐means algorithm is a popular image segmentation algorithm and many researchers in the past have introduced several improved versions of it. However, they still lacked robustness for segmenting key regions of magnetic resonance (MR) human brain transversal images such as white matter, grey matter, and cerebro spinal fluid with an almost similar contouring of the edges. This study highlights a robust algorithm that is effective in four ways: (i) a distinct contrast between different regions of the human brain, (ii) reduce noise as a result of the contrast stretching procedure, (iii) efficient analysis using both grey scale segmented image and its colour segmented version, and (iv) striking a balance between time consumption and image segmentation results. These objectives have been achieved in two phases: first, MR image segmentation using fast and automatically adjustable Gaussian radial basis function kernel based fuzzy C‐means (FAAGKFCM) algorithm which utilises a new objective function that incorporates a similarity measure having both spatial and grey level measure factor (Sij), an adaptive factor (wi) to remove discrepancy of grey scale image, and using a Gaussian radial basis function (GRBF) kernel‐based distance metric in place of the traditional Euclidean distance metric. Second, converting FAAGKFCM segmented image into CIE L*a*b* colour space and successively performing cluster‐wise feature extraction using hard k‐means clustering.
Wide tuning range low phase noise VCO for V‐band application
Authors: Ambulker Sunanda , Nakhate Sangeeta
Published: November 2017

In this study, millimetre wave (MMW) voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) is designed using 130 nm complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor single poly eight metals (1P8M) technology. Under 0.8 V supply, VCO can be tuned from 46 to 61.2 GHz, i.e. 28% frequency tuning range (FTR) is achieved. For the highest oscillation frequency, phase noise at 10 MHz offset frequency is −117.3 dBc/Hz, while the power dissipation is 9.39 mW. The FTR is improved by adopting multiband scheme using transformer tuned technique. Improvement in phase noise is done with a P‐type metal–oxide–semiconductor as a variable capacitor for fine tuning of each band. Single N‐type metal–oxide–semiconductor switch is placed on secondary side of transformer which makes the transformer tunable. Figure of merit of the proposed circuit is −183.3 dBc/Hz. Proposed VCO provides wide FTR and acceptable low phase noise for V‐band application.
Dielectric resonator‐based two‐element MIMO antenna system with dual band characteristics
Authors: Das Gourab , Sharma Anand , Gangwar Ravi Kumar
Published: November 2017

In this research article, a dielectric resonator‐based multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna system is presented with dual band characteristics. The proposed MIMO antenna includes two symmetrical hybrid radiators. Each hybrid radiator consists of a modified annular ring printed line along with a cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna (CDRA). A modified annular ring printed line acts as a magnetic dipole and creates two different radiating modes (HEM11δ and TE01δ) in the dielectric resonator. The approach of the hybrid antenna (combination of the modified annular ring printed line and CDRA) is taken into account for achieving dual band characteristics. Orthogonally placed antenna elements and a narrow slit in the ground plane are used to improve isolation (|S12| < −20 dB) in the entire operating frequency range. The antenna prototype is fabricated and measured for validating the simulated results. The proposed MIMO radiator is operating over two frequency bands, i.e. 1.75–2.4 and 3.5–5.5 GHz. Different MIMO diversity performance parameters (envelope correlation coefficient, diversity gain, mean effective gain, total active reflection coefficient, and channel capacity loss) are also inspected and found within acceptable limits.
Coordinated voltage control scheme for VSC‐HVDC connected wind power plants
Authors: Guo Yifei , Gao Houlei , Wu Qiuwei , Zhao Haoran , Østergaard Jacob
Published: November 2017

This study proposes a coordinated voltage control scheme based on model predictive control for voltage source converter (VSC)‐based high voltage direct current connected wind power plants. In the proposed scheme, voltage regulation capabilities of VSC and wind turbine generators (WTGs) are fully utilised and optimally coordinated. Two control modes, namely the operation optimisation mode and corrective mode, are designed to coordinate voltage control and economic operation of the system. In the first mode, the control objective includes the bus voltages, power losses and dynamic Var reserves of WTGs. Only the terminal voltages of WTGs are considered in the second mode. The predictive model of the system including VSC and WTGs is developed firstly. The calculation of sensitivity coefficients is done by an analytical method to improve the computational efficiency. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller and the control performance is compared with conventional optimal control and loss minimisation control. Besides, the robustness of the proposed controller to communication time delay and measurement errors is investigated in the last.
Application of MMC‐UPFC in the 500 kV power grid of Suzhou
Authors: Li Peng , Wang Yiyu , Feng Changyou , Lin Jinjiao
Published: November 2017

To solve the problem regarding the power supply capacity improving and ultra‐high‐voltage direct current (UHVDC) power assumption of 500 kV Suzhou power network in China, research on the feasibility for application of a unified power flow controller (UPFC) in 500 kV southern power grid of Suzhou is carried out. Furthermore, the scheme of the UPFC integrated and its topology structure is given, and the capacity of the UPFC is determined by system calculation. The principle for the selection of key parameters for the main equipment in the UPFC project is discussed. The effect on the power flow and voltage regulation of 500 kV Suzhou power grid is verified by simulation, which indicates that the regulating by UPFC can eliminate the overload of key transmission section as line tripped, under the heavy load condition in winter. During summer under heavy load conditions, it is beneficial to decrease the capacity of load shedding as the UHVDC bipolar is blocked. In addition, the reactive power control of the UPFC can provide the dynamic voltage support for the power grid, which reduces the probability and the time duration of the commutation failure of the UHVDC.
Copper-Catalyzed Production of Diaryl Sulfides Using Aryl Iodides and a Disilathiane
Authors: Sakai Norio , Ogiwara Yohei , Maeda Hiromu
Published: November 2017

A disilathiane was found to be a novel S1 source for the copper-catalyzed synthesis of diaryl sulfides using aryl iodides. The reaction of iodoarenes and hexamethyldisilathiane, (Me3Si)2S, in the presence of a catalytic amount of CuI/1,10-phenanthroline provided various types of diaryl sulfides in good yields.
Biologically Active Orbitides from the Euphorbiaceae Family
Authors: Ramalho Suelem , Pinto Meri , Ferreira Douglas , Bolzani Vanderlan
Published: November 2017

A comprehensive overview of natural orbitides isolated from Euphorbiaceae species and their most relevant biological activities are presented. Euphorbiaceae is a large and diverse family, which comprises about 300 genera, and is known as an important source of medicines and toxins. Several classes of secondary metabolites have been described for this taxon, however, orbitides have been broadly reported in Jatropha and Croton genera. Additionally, the latex is documented as the main source of orbitides in this family. Based on their structural and functional diversity, orbitides present a large variety of biological activities described as cytotoxicity, antimalarial, antibacterial, antifungal, enzymatic inhibition, and immunosuppressive, although the mechanism of action still needs to be further investigated. In recent years, the discovery of bioactive cyclic peptides from different sources has grown exponentially, making them promising molecules in the search for new drug leads. This review also highlights the attempts made by many researchers to organize the orbitides nomenclature and amino acid numbering, as well the important progress recently achieved in the biosynthetic study area.
3.5.13 Silver-Promoted Coupling Reactions
Authors: Weibel J.-M. , Blanc A. , Pale P.
Published: November 2017

Silver salts or complexes promote a variety of useful C—C bond-forming transformations in organic synthesis, usually under very mild conditions. In these reactions, silver can be engaged either as catalyst or cocatalyst, or as an organometallic reagent. Organosilver species act as mild nucleophiles toward alkyl halides or epoxides, but also toward carbonyl and imine derivatives and related heterocycles such as pyridines or quinolines. Silver can promote the homocoupling of a variety of organometallic reagents, of heterocycles, and of electron-deficient alkenes upon addition of the corresponding fluoride salts. Silver also promotes the cross coupling of alkyl or aryl halides, alkenes and alkynes, and even (het)arenes. Furthermore, silver salts often improve the efficiency of palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, or coupling reactions involving C—H activation or decarboxylation.
31.5.1.1.18 Synthesis of Phenols and Phenolates by Substitution (Update 2018)
Authors: González-Bello C.
Published: November 2017

This chapter is an update to the earlier Science of Synthesis review (Section 31.5.1.1) describing the synthesis of monohydric phenols by substitution approaches. It focuses on the literature published in the period 2007–2016, with a particular emphasis on the recent C—H activation methods and hydroxylation by substitution of diverse functional groups, including boronic acids, silanes, and halides.
31.5.1.3.6 Synthesis of Phenols and Phenolates by Rearrangement (Update 2018)
Authors: González-Bello C.
Published: November 2017

This chapter is an update to the earlier Science of Synthesis review (Section 31.5.1.3) describing the synthesis of monohydric phenols by rearrangement. It focuses on the literature published in the period 2007–2016, with a particular emphasis on anionic and Lewis acid mediated Fries-type rearrangements.
31.5.1.4.3 Synthesis of Phenols and Phenolates with Retention of the Functional Group (Update 2018)
Authors: González-Bello C.
Published: November 2017

This chapter is an update to the earlier Science of Synthesis review (Section 31.5.1.4) describing the functionalization of monohydric phenols. It focuses on the literature published in the period 2007–2016, with a particular emphasis on metal-catalyzed alkylation methods as well as trifluoromethylsulfanylation approaches.
32.2.6 Monofunctionalized Allenes (Update 2018)
Authors: Hashmi A. S. K.
Published: November 2017

This chapter is an update to Science of Synthesis Section 32.2, covering the synthesis of allenes bearing one heteroatom substituent on the cumulated diene core. It covers the literature from 2008 to 2016. Many routes to these allenes start from alkynes, enynes, or propargylic systems and the syntheses proceed through substitution/rearrangement, but reactions involving the modification of an existing allene core are also included. In recent years, the synthesis of enantiomerically pure allenes has been of particular interest.
2.1.1 The Diels–Alder Cycloaddition Reaction in the Context of Domino Processes
Authors: West G. J. , Sorensen E. J.
Published: November 2017

The Diels–Alder cycloaddition has been a key component in innumerable, creative domino transformations in organic synthesis. This chapter provides examples of how this [4 + 2] cycloaddition has been incorporated into the said cascades, with particular attention to its interplay with the other reactions in the sequence. We hope that this review will assist the interested reader to approach the design of novel cascades involving the Diels–Alder reaction.
2.1.2 Domino Reactions Including [2 + 2], [3 + 2], or [5 + 2] Cycloadditions
Authors: Coldham I. , Sheikh N. S.
Published: November 2017

This chapter covers examples of domino reactions that include a [2 + 2]-, [3 + 2]-, or [5 + 2]-cycloaddition reaction. The focus is on concerted reactions that occur in a tandem sequence in one pot, rather than overall “formal cycloadditions” or multicomponent couplings. The cycloaddition step typically involves an alkene or alkyne as one of the components in the ring-forming reaction. In addition to the key cycloaddition step, another bond-forming reaction will be involved that can precede or follow the cycloaddition. This other reaction is often an alkylation that generates the substrate for the cycloaddition, or is a ring-opening or rearrangement reaction that occurs after the cycloaddition. As the chemistry involves sequential reactions including at least one ring-forming reaction, unusual molecular structures or compounds that can be difficult to prepare by other means can be obtained. As a result, this strategy has been used for the regio- and stereoselective preparation of a vast array of polycyclic, complex compounds of interest to diverse scientific communities.
2.1.3 Domino Transformations Involving an Electrocyclization Reaction
Authors: Suffert J. , Gulea M. , Blond G. , Donnard M.
Published: November 2017

Electrocyclization processes represent a powerful and efficient way to produce carbo- or heterocycles stereoselectively. Moreover, when electrocyclizations are involved in domino processes, the overall transformation becomes highly atom and step economic, enabling access to structurally complex molecules. This chapter is devoted to significant contributions published in the last 15 years, focusing on synthetic methodologies using electrocyclization as a key step in a domino process.
2.1.4 Sigmatropic Shifts and Ene Reactions (Excluding [3,3])
Authors: Novikov A. V. , Zakarian A.
Published: November 2017

This chapter features a review and discussion of the domino transformations initiated by ene reactions and sigmatropic rearrangements, particularly focusing on [2,3]-sigmatropic shifts, such as Mislow–Evans and Wittig rearrangements, and [1,n] hydrogen shifts. A variety of examples of these domino processes are reviewed, featuring such follow-up processes to the initial reaction as additional ene reactions or sigmatropic shifts, Diels–Alder cycloaddition, [3 + 2] cycloaddition, electrocyclization, condensation, and radical cyclization. General practical considerations and specific features in the examples of the reported cascade transformation are highlighted. To complete the discussion, uses of these cascade processes in the synthesis of natural products are discussed, demonstrating the rapid assembly of structural complexity that is characteristic of domino processes. Overall, the domino transformations initiated by ene reactions and sigmatropic shifts represent an important subset of domino processes, the study of which is highly valuable for understanding key aspects of chemical reactivity and development of efficient synthetic methods.
2.3.1 Additions to Nonactivated C=C Bonds
Authors: Yu Z. W. , Yeung Y.-Y.
Published: November 2017

Electrophilic additions to nonactivated C=C bonds are one of the well-known classical reactions utilized by synthetic chemists as a starting point to construct useful complex organic molecules. This chapter covers a collection of electrophile-initiated domino transformations involving alkenes as the first reaction, followed by reaction with suitable nucleophiles in the succession and termination reactions under identical conditions. The discussion focuses on recent advances in catalysis, strategically designed alkenes, and new electrophilic reagents employed to improve reactivity and control of stereochemistry in the sequence of bond-forming steps.
2.3.3 Addition to Monofunctional C=O Bonds
Authors: Song A. , Wang W.
Published: November 2017

Catalytic asymmetric domino addition to monofunctional C=O bonds is a powerful group of methods for the rapid construction of valuable chiral building blocks from readily available substances. Impressive progress has been made on transition-metal-catalyzed and organocatalytic systems that promote such addition processes through reductive aldol, Michael/aldol, or Michael/Henry sequences. In addition, Lewis acid catalysis has also been developed in this area for the synthesis of optically active chiral molecules. This chapter covers the most impressive examples of these recent developments in domino chemistry.
Keeping it ‘inside the fence’: an examination of responses to a farm-animal welfare issue on Twitter
Authors: Buddle E. A. , Bray H. J. , Pitchford W. S.
Published: November 2017

Social media sites have become common sources of information about current affairs, and animal-activist organisations, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), use these networks as campaign tools to raise awareness against animal agriculture. The aim of the present study was to understand how an animal-welfare issue was discussed in Twitter, in Australia. Twitter Application Programing Interface data featuring keywords and hashtags were initially collected between April and May 2014 to examine tweets on animal-welfare issues in the absence of a triggering event. In July 2014, PETA released footage portraying ill-treatment of sheep in Australian shearing sheds, generating 9610 tweets in 7 days, including themes such as disgust, condemnation of the cruelty, and calls to boycott the wool industry. PETA’s social-media campaign began 24 h before comment in conventional news media online, highlighting the role of social media in leading conventional media campaigning. Associated Twitter activity from the wool industry was limited. It is concluded that Twitter is not currently an effective medium for conversations between producers and the community about farm-animal welfare, despite encouragement from industry. While there are positives for producers and industry to be on Twitter, including the promotion of their business and communication within their micro-publics, Twitter as a platform may not be ideal for generating a dialogue between producers and the community. Further research into how people engage with the content, not just through the study of retweets and amount of traffic, is required to understand whether social media has potential to change attitudes towards animal production.
Conditional support for territorial migrations in Serbian national discourse
Authors: Petrovic Jelena
Published: November 2017

After more than a decade of Serbia’s investment in the EU integration, its citizens are still imagining their national identities from the externally assigned position of ‘flawed’ Europeans. To respond to this subject position in the context of ongoing migration trends in Europe, these individuals engage in identity politics that both celebrate elements of otherness, and also locate them in the country’s own internal and Eastern Others. This study uses critical discourse analysis to examine the ideological effects of these negotiations in response to the 2010/2011 asylum-seeking crisis, when a number of Serbian citizens applied for asylum in several EU countries, which defined this as an abuse of Schengen system. The analysis of more than 1,000 online comments shows that newsreaders offer conditional support for asylum seekers to (re)inscribe preferred social hierarchies. Represented simultaneously as suffering citizens and immoral internal other, asylum seekers serve as the strategic means by which ethnic discrimination becomes an invisible element of everyday nationalism.
In transit
Authors: Felberg Tatjana Radanović , Šarić Ljiljana
Published: November 2017

This article investigates the representation of migration and migrants in Croatian and Serbian public broadcasters’ online portals during the “migrant crisis” in 2015/2016. The study shows that there are similarities in representations in the two portals at both the macro- and micro-linguistic levels. The migrants are generally represented in positive terms congruent with the official policies of Croatia and Serbia. However, this positive representation was frequently used for positive self-evaluation in contrast to negative evaluation of others – in this case, neighboring countries.
Xenophobic Trumpeters
Authors: Knoblock Natalia
Published: November 2017

Immigration has been and remains a conspicuous topic in American political debate, and the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe, exasperated by the Syrian conflict, has brought the issue of Muslim immigration into focus. The topic has been exploited, among others, by the presidential candidate Donald J. Trump. His proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. achieved great resonance and stimulated passionate discussion. This discussion, which displayed a high degree of xenophobia and verbal aggression, is the target of this paper’s investigation. Material was collected from Trump’s official Facebook page and was analyzed using Critical Discourse Analysis and Corpus Linguistic methods. The results highlight the strategies employed in discourse that aims to posit Muslims as “Others” and as incompatible with American society, as well as dangerous, aggressive, and inferior, through the choice of semantic, syntactic, and rhetorical discursive structures.
The genre effect
Authors: Gavaler Chris , Johnson Dan
Published: November 2017

Some purport that literary fiction is determined by high inference demands. The subgenre of science fiction is often defined by story-world tropes that may reduce inferential demands. However, science fiction with high inference demands may also constitute literary fiction. Instead of inferential demands, it may be readers’ responses to setting that distinguishes science fiction and narrative realism. In two experiments, a story was manipulated for contemporary and science-fiction settings. Also, a version of each text with and without explanatory statements manipulated inference demand. Readers perceived the science-fiction text as lower in literary quality. For science fiction, readers also exerted less inference effort for theory of mind, but more for understanding the world. Regardless of inference effort, participants who read the story in the science-fiction world performed more poorly on comprehension. Readers’ expectations triggered by setting tropes seem to be particularly potent determinants of literary quality perceptions, inference effort, and comprehension.
Mediated relationships with TV characters
Authors: Cohen Jonathan , Hershman-Shitrit Michal
Published: November 2017

Five TV actors completed the Big Five personality scale for a character they played on a popular Israeli TV comedy. Viewers of each of these series completed the same scales both for themselves and as they thought the characters would have completed them. They then completed parasocial relationship and identification scales with respect to the same character. Perceived and measured similarity scores (i.e., using the actors’ scores) were computed for each viewer-character pair. These similarity scores were then used to predict both parasocial relationship strength and the degree of identification. Results show that perceived and measured similarity are mostly unrelated and that perceived similarity, but not measured similarity, is related to parasocial relationships and identification. Implications of these results for mediated relationships theory and measurement validity are discussed.
Biological roles and potential applications of immune cell‐derived extracellular vesicles
Authors: Wen Chuan , Seeger Robert C. , Fabbri Muller , Wang Larry , Wayne Alan S. , Jong Ambrose Y.
Published: November 2017

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) deliver bioactive macromolecules (i.e. proteins, lipids and nucleic acids) for intercellular communication in multicellular organisms. EVs are secreted by all cell types including immune cells. Immune cell‐derived EVs modulate diverse aspects of the immune system to either enhance or suppress immune activities. The extensive effects of immune cell‐derived EVs have become the focus of great interest for various nano‐biomedical applications, ranging from the medical use of nanoplatform‐based diagnostic agents to the development of therapeutic interventions as well as vaccine applications, and thus may be ideal for ‘immune‐theranostic’. Here, we review the latest advances concerning the biological roles of immune cell‐derived EVs in innate and acquired immunity. The intercellular communication amongst immune cells through their EVs is highlighted, showing that all immune cell‐derived EVs have their unique function(s) in immunity through intricate interaction(s). Natural‐killer (NK) cell‐derived EVs, for example, contain potent cytotoxic proteins and induce apoptosis to targeted cancer cells. On the other hand, cancer cell‐derived EVs bearing NK ligands may evade immune surveillance and responses. Finally, we discuss possible medical uses for the immune cell‐derived EVs as a tool for immune‐theranostic: as diagnostic biomarkers, for use in therapeutic interventions and for vaccination.
Comparison study on flexible pavement design using FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and LCN (Load Classification Number) code in Ahmad Yani international airport’s runway
Authors: Santoso S E , Sulistiono D , Mawardi A F
Published: November 2017

FAA code for airport design has been broadly used by Indonesian Ministry of Aviation since decades ago. However, there is not much comprehensive study about its relevance and efficiency towards current situation in Indonesia. Therefore, a further comparison study on flexible pavement design for airport runway using comparable method has become essential.

The main focus of this study is to compare which method between FAA and LCN that offer the most efficient and effective way in runway pavement planning. The comparative methods in this study mainly use the variety of variable approach. FAA code for instance, will use the approach on the aircraft’s maximum take-off weight and annual departure. Whilst LCN code use the variable of equivalent single wheel load and tire pressure. Based on the variables mentioned above, a further classification and rated method will be used to determine which code is best implemented. According to the analysis, it is clear that FAA method is the most effective way to plan runway design in Indonesia with consecutively total pavement thickness of 127cm and LCN method total pavement thickness of 70cm. Although, FAA total pavement is thicker that LCN its relevance towards sustainable and pristine condition in the future has become an essential aspect to consider in design and planning.
Differences among Thai Agricultural Workers’ Health, Working Conditions, and Pesticide Use by Farm Type
Authors: Kongtip Pornpimol , Nankongnab Noppanun , Mahaboonpeeti Redeerat , Bootsikeaw Sasivimol , Batsungnoen Kiattisak , Hanchenlaksh Chalalai , Tipayamongkholgul Mathuros , Woskie Susan
Published: November 2017

More than 11 million Thai people (38%) work in agriculture, but since most are in the informal sector, government enforcement and support are very limited. As a result, working conditions on Thai farms vary greatly, putting the health of many agricultural workers at risk. A cross-sectional study in three Thai provinces collected information on the work activities and conditions of 424 farmers representing five farm types: rice, vegetable, flower, rice/vegetable, and flower/vegetable. The agricultural workers were mainly women (60%); their average age was 53 but ranged from 18 to 87 years. More than 64% worked more than 5 days/week. Seventy-four percent of them had only primary school education. A number of the health and hazardous working conditions surveyed were significantly different by farm type. Rice farmers were found to have the highest prevalence of allergies, nasal congestion, wheezing, and acute symptoms after pesticide use, while flower farmers had the lowest prevalence of these health outcomes. Rice farmers reported the highest prevalence of hazardous working conditions including high noise levels, working on slippery surfaces, sitting or standing on a vibrating machine, spills of chemicals/pesticides, and sharp injuries. The lowest prevalence of these working conditions (except noise) was reported by flower farmers. Vegetable farmers reported the highest prevalence knee problems, while rice farmers had the lowest prevalence. Among these farmers, more than 27 different types of pesticides were reported in use during the past year, with the majority reporting use once a month. The flower/vegetable farming group reported the highest frequency of good exposure prevention practices during pesticide use. They were the most likely to report using cotton or rubber gloves or a disposable paper masks during insecticide spraying. Those farmers who only grew vegetables had the lowest frequency of good exposure prevention practices, including use of personal protective equipment. The economic cost of work-related injuries and illnesses among informal sector agricultural workers in Thailand is unknown and in need of study. Gaps in the regulations covering pesticide sales allow farmers to purchase pesticides without adequate training in their safe use. Training targeted to farm type regarding safe pesticide use and the prevention of accidents and musculoskeletal disorders is needed. Studies of chronic health effects among Thai farmers are needed, with special emphasis on respiratory, metabolic disease and cancer.
Phenotypic stability and plasticity in GMP-derived cells as determined by their underlying regulatory network
Authors: Ramírez Carlos , Mendoza Luis
Published: November 2017

Motivation

Blood cell formation has been recognized as a suitable system to study celular differentiation mainly because of its experimental accessibility, and because it shows characteristics such as hierarchical and gradual bifurcated patterns of commitment, which are present in several developmental processes. Although hematopoiesis has been extensively studied and there is a wealth of molecular and cellular data about it, it is not clear how the underlying molecular regulatory networks define or restrict cellular differentiation processes. Here, we infer the molecular regulatory network that controls the differentiation of a blood cell subpopulation derived from the granulocyte-monocyte precursor (GMP), comprising monocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils and mast cells.

Results

We integrate published qualitative experimental data into a model to describe temporal expression patterns observed in GMP-derived cells. The model is implemented as a Boolean network, and its dynamical behavior is studied. Steady states of the network can be clearly identified with the expression profiles of monocytes, mast cells, neutrophils, basophils, and eosinophils, under wild-type and mutant backgrounds.

Availability and implementation

All scripts are publicly available at https://github.com/caramirezal/RegulatoryNetworkGMPModel

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
GDSCTools for mining pharmacogenomic interactions in cancer
Authors: Cokelaer Thomas , Chen Elisabeth , Iorio Francesco , Menden Michael P , Lightfoot Howard , Saez-Rodriguez Julio , Garnett Mathew J
Published: November 2017

Motivation

Large pharmacogenomic screenings integrate heterogeneous cancer genomic datasets as well as anti-cancer drug responses on thousand human cancer cell lines. Mining this data to identify new therapies for cancer sub-populations would benefit from common data structures, modular computational biology tools and user-friendly interfaces.

Results

We have developed GDSCTools: a software aimed at the identification of clinically relevant genomic markers of drug response. The Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) database (www.cancerRxgene.org) integrates heterogeneous cancer genomic datasets as well as anti-cancer drug responses on a thousand cancer cell lines. Including statistical tools (analysis of variance) and predictive methods (Elastic Net), as well as common data structures, GDSCTools allows users to reproduce published results from GDSC and to implement new analytical methods. In addition, non-GDSC data resources can also be analysed since drug responses and genomic features can be encoded as CSV files.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
FUn: a framework for interactive visualizations of large, high-dimensional datasets on the web
Authors: Probst Daniel , Reymond Jean-Louis
Published: November 2017

Motivation

During the past decade, big data have become a major tool in scientific endeavors. Although statistical methods and algorithms are well-suited for analyzing and summarizing enormous amounts of data, the results do not allow for a visual inspection of the entire data. Current scientific software, including R packages and Python libraries such as ggplot2, matplotlib and plot.ly, do not support interactive visualizations of datasets exceeding 100 000 data points on the web. Other solutions enable the web-based visualization of big data only through data reduction or statistical representations. However, recent hardware developments, especially advancements in graphical processing units, allow for the rendering of millions of data points on a wide range of consumer hardware such as laptops, tablets and mobile phones. Similar to the challenges and opportunities brought to virtually every scientific field by big data, both the visualization of and interaction with copious amounts of data are both demanding and hold great promise.

Results

Here we present FUn, a framework consisting of a client (Faerun) and server (Underdark) module, facilitating the creation of web-based, interactive 3D visualizations of large datasets, enabling record level visual inspection. We also introduce a reference implementation providing access to SureChEMBL, a database containing patent information on more than 17 million chemical compounds.

Availability and implementation

The source code and the most recent builds of Faerun and Underdark, Lore.js and the data preprocessing toolchain used in the reference implementation, are available on the project website (http://doc.gdb.tools/fun/).
An attention-based BiLSTM-CRF approach to document-level chemical named entity recognition
Authors: Luo Ling , Yang Zhihao , Yang Pei , Zhang Yin , Wang Lei , Lin Hongfei , Wang Jian
Published: November 2017

Motivation

In biomedical research, chemical is an important class of entities, and chemical named entity recognition (NER) is an important task in the field of biomedical information extraction. However, most popular chemical NER methods are based on traditional machine learning and their performances are heavily dependent on the feature engineering. Moreover, these methods are sentence-level ones which have the tagging inconsistency problem.

Results

In this paper, we propose a neural network approach, i.e. attention-based bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory with a conditional random field layer (Att-BiLSTM-CRF), to document-level chemical NER. The approach leverages document-level global information obtained by attention mechanism to enforce tagging consistency across multiple instances of the same token in a document. It achieves better performances with little feature engineering than other state-of-the-art methods on the BioCreative IV chemical compound and drug name recognition (CHEMDNER) corpus and the BioCreative V chemical-disease relation (CDR) task corpus (the F-scores of 91.14 and 92.57%, respectively).

Availability and implementation

Data and code are available at https://github.com/lingluodlut/Att-ChemdNER.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Local sympathetic denervation attenuates myocardial inflammation and improves cardiac function after myocardial infarction in mice
Authors: Ziegler Karin A , Ahles Andrea , Wille Timo , Kerler Julia , Ramanujam Deepak , Engelhardt Stefan
Published: November 2017

Aims

Cardiac inflammation has been suggested to be regulated by the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). However, due to the lack of methodology to surgically eliminate the myocardial SNS in mice, neuronal control of cardiac inflammation remains ill-defined. Here, we report a procedure for local cardiac sympathetic denervation in mice and tested its effect in a mouse model of heart failure post-myocardial infarction.

Methods and results

Upon preparation of the carotid bifurcation, the right and the left superior cervical ganglia were localized and their pre- and postganglionic branches dissected before removal of the ganglion. Ganglionectomy led to an almost entire loss of myocardial sympathetic innervation in the left ventricular anterior wall. When applied at the time of myocardial infarction (MI), cardiac sympathetic denervation did not affect acute myocardial damage and infarct size. In contrast, cardiac sympathetic denervation significantly attenuated chronic consequences of MI, including myocardial inflammation, myocyte hypertrophy, and overall cardiac dysfunction.

Conclusion

These data suggest a critical role for local sympathetic control of cardiac inflammation. Our model of myocardial sympathetic denervation in mice should prove useful to further dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying cardiac neural control.
The effect of descriptive age norms on the motivation to exercise among older adults
Authors: Pelssers Johan , Fransen Katrien , Vanbeselaere Norbert , Boen Filip
Published: November 2017

Based on the principles of the Social Identity Approach (SIA), the present experiment aimed to examine the impact of communicating descriptive age norms on older adults’ autonomous motivation to exercise. Under the cover of a marketing study, older adults (n = 120; age = 65–70 years) participated in a newly created exercise activity, ‘Pattern Stepping’. This activity was framed as an activity that was descriptively normative either for older adults, for younger adults, for both groups, or for none. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that participants felt greater satisfaction of their basic psychological needs and were more autonomously motivated to exercise if Pattern Stepping was framed as an activity popular among the young, rather than among older adults. These findings suggest that framing an exercise as descriptively normative for the elderly can thwart older adults’ autonomous motivation if they do not identify as an older adult.
Current Progress and Future Potential in the Evaluation and Treatment of Age-Related Cognitive Declines
Authors: Wesnes Keith A. , Brooker Helen J.
Published: November 2017

Research data obtained during the past few decades have confirmed the widely acknowledged phenomenon that cognitive function peaks in early adulthood and declines thereafter. Such changes occur in the majority of individuals and precede more dramatic conditions such as dementia. Evidence is emerging that healthier cognitive aging can be achieved via a wide range of treatments, interventions, and lifestyle changes. The field of dementia research is also entering the space of normal cognitive aging with trials aimed at the new condition of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Success in this field depends on having the appropriate cognitive tests to definitively assess the benefits, and automated testing has made excellent inroads here. The opportunity to administer cognitive tasks via the Internet will enable very large, long-term, international trials to be conducted, which will produce the big data necessary to answer many important but unresolved questions in this field.
Neuroprotection for Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Ratcliff Jonathan J. , Wright David W.
Published: November 2017

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common, clinically complex, heterogeneous global public health problem. Neuroprotection strategies focus on preventing secondary injury by creating a physiologic environment devoid of extremes while targeting normal physiologic parameters. Careful attention must be paid to aggressively avoid and treat hypoxia, hypotension, hypoglycemia, intracranial hypertension, and cerebral hypoperfusion (low cerebral perfusion pressure). Aggressive management of intracranial pressure and cerebral perfusion pressure through optimal patient positioning, appropriate use of sedation and analgesia, and administration of hyperosmolar therapy remain the hallmark for the care of the TBI patient. Surgical decompressive craniectomy and hypothermia hold promise but remain controversial and should be used in carefully selected clinical situations. Early identification of injury progression is aided through careful monitoring by clinical examination and cerebral physiological monitoring. Multimodal monitoring provides an early warning system to guide appropriate clinical responses to identified deranged physiology.
Neuroprotection for Acute Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Mayor Diana , Tymianski Michael
Published: November 2017

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is the leading cause of acquired neurological disability worldwide. AIS most commonly occurs when a cerebral artery is occluded, leading to irreversible brain injury and neurologic disability. Acute supportive physiological interventions and close monitoring on a stroke unit are beneficial to optimize overall recovery and functional outcome. Phamacological treatment options are limited though as the only FDA-approved therapy for AIS is the thrombolytic agent intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (Alteplase, rtPA), which improves functional outcome in therapeutic time windows ranging up to 3–4.5 hours. Several clinical trials assessing the efficacy of endovascular therapy have shown a benefit in carefully selected patients with a documented large vessel occlusion (LVO), and subsequently are becoming part of the standard practice in this AIS subset. Clinical trials using various imaging paradigms to enhance patient selection for thrombolytic therapy, endovascular therapy and neuroprotection therapies are all progressing.
Neuroprotection for Vascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery
Authors: Ladner Travis R , Kumar Nishant Ganesh , He Lucy , Mocco J
Published: November 2017

The complexity of neurovascular disease presents a challenge to the surgical and anesthesia teams managing patients with such conditions. With open or endovascular techniques, abrupt changes in hemodynamic status and intracranial pressure are an ever-present concern throughout the perioperative period. Monitoring of neurological status, hemodynamic parameters, and intracranial pressure are important adjuncts. Targeted physiologic and pharmacological interventions are critical to ensuring safe completion of complex procedures and the prevention secondary injury. This chapter reviews common complications of cerebrovascular and endovascular operations and their risk factors and summarize clinical principles, strategies, and considerations for maximizing neuroprotection in the treatment of neurovascular disease.
Value
Authors: Basu Sanjay
Published: November 2017

This chapter seeks to answer the question: how much should we pay for a public health program? We often have to decide how to allocate funds to different public health programs or decide whether a new medical test or treatment is worth the cost. How can we make such decisions fairly? The author first works through some examples of commonly used decision trees to make these judgments in a rigorous and fair way. Some decision trees are used to solve value of information problems, which are used to perform cost-benefit analysis to determine whether we want to pay for a new service, test, or treatment if we are focused on lowering the costs of operations. The reader will then understand how to perform cost-effectiveness analysis to identify under what circumstances a more expensive new service, test, or treatment might be worth the cost because it meaningfully improves health outcomes.