bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hypertrophic Lichenoid Eruption in a Child Successfully Treated Using Acitretin and Surgery: A Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Geng Songmei , Liu Yanting , Wang Hao , Yan Huling , Niu Xinwu , Toyohara Jennifer P. , Xiao Shengxiang
Published: July 2015

A 9‐year‐old boy presented with a history of keratotic violaceous plaques on the limbs and face for 8 years that had gradually progressed to erosive nodules on the extremities for 2 years. Several biopsies revealed hyperkeratosis, liquefactive degeneration of the basal layer, and a bandlike predominantly lymphocytic infiltrate. Based on the clinical and histologic findings, the patient was diagnosed with keratosis lichenoides chronica, a rare chronic dermatosis that is particularly uncommon in childhood. There are fewer than 20 reported cases of pediatric‐onset keratosis lichenoides chronica in the current literature, with occurrence of pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia of primary keratosis lichenoides chronica lesions being even rarer. Here we present a unique pediatric‐onset case accompanied by pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia that posed a significant treatment challenge to dermatologists. Significant improvement in the pseudoepitheliomatous skin lesions was achieved after treatment with oral acitretin capsules and surgical excision with skin grafting.
A Sample Selection Model with Skew‐normal Distribution
Authors: Ogundimu Emmanuel O. , Hutton Jane L.
Published: July 2015

Non‐random sampling is a source of bias in empirical research. It is common for the outcomes of interest (e.g. wage distribution) to be skewed in the source population. Sometimes, the outcomes are further subjected to sample selection, which is a type of missing data, resulting in partial observability. Thus, methods based on complete cases for skew data are inadequate for the analysis of such data and a general sample selection model is required. Heckman proposed a full maximum likelihood estimation method under the normality assumption for sample selection problems, and parametric and non‐parametric extensions have been proposed. We generalize Heckman selection model to allow for underlying skew‐normal distributions. Finite‐sample performance of the maximum likelihood estimator of the model is studied via simulation. Applications illustrate the strength of the model in capturing spurious skewness in bounded scores, and in modelling data where logarithm transformation could not mitigate the effect of inherent skewness in the outcome variable.
The Stability and Change of Value Structure and Priorities in Childhood: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Cieciuch Jan , Davidov Eldad , Algesheimer René
Published: July 2015

This longitudinal study explores the stability and change of values in childhood. Children's values were measured in Poland three times (with one‐year intervals) using the Picture Based Values Survey (PBVS‐C; Döring, Blauensteiner, Aryus, Drögekamp, & Bilsky, 2010), developed to measure values differentiated according to the circular model of Schwartz (1992). 801 children (divided into 5 cohorts aged 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 years at the first measurement occasion) completed the PBVS‐C three times on a yearly basis. Separate analyses were performed for each cohort using the data of the three measurement occasions. Multidimensional scaling revealed that, in children, Schwartz's (1992) circular structure of values is stable and does not change over time. Although priorities of values displayed moderate stability over time, the means changed between the ages of 7 and 11 years. Specifically, latent growth curve modeling revealed changes in children's values hierarchy as indicated by the decrease in the mean level of conservation values and the increase in the mean level of openness to change values. Self‐transcendence and self‐enhancement also changed in different directions. As indicated by mean levels over time, self‐transcendence first increased in importance, slightly decreased, and finally increased again. In contrast, self‐enhancement first decreased in importance, then increased, and finally began to decrease again.
Association between maternal dental periapical infections and pregnancy outcomes: results from a cross‐sectional study in Malawi
Authors: Harjunmaa Ulla , Järnstedt Jorma , Alho Lotta , Dewey Kathryn G. , Cheung Yin Bun , Deitchler Megan , Ashorn Ulla , Maleta Kenneth , Klein Nigel J. , Ashorn Per
Published: July 2015

Objectives

Maternal infections are associated with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preterm birth (PTB). Dental infections are common in low‐income settings, but their contribution to adverse pregnancy outcomes is unknown. We studied the epidemiology of dental periapical infections among pregnant women and their association to foetal growth restriction and the duration of pregnancy in a rural sub‐Saharan African population.

Methods

This was a cross‐sectional study on the association between maternal dental periapical infections and birth outcomes, in Malawi, Africa. We assessed oral health clinically and radiologically among recently delivered women with known duration of pregnancy and measured birthweight (BW), length and head circumference of their infants.

Results

Of 1024 analysed participants, 23.5% had periapical infections. Mean duration of pregnancy was 39.4 weeks, BW 2979 g and length 49.7 cm. Women with periapical infection had mean (95% CI) pregnancy duration 0.4 weeks (0.1–0.8) shorter and delivered infants with 79 g (13–145) lower BW and 0.5 cm (0.2–0.9) shorter neonatal length than women without periapical infection. The incidence of PTB was 10.0% among women with periapical infection and 7.3% among those without (adjusted difference 3.5%, 95% CI −1.1–8.1%). Corresponding prevalences for stunting were 20.9% and 14.2% (adjusted difference 9.0%, 95% CI 2.7%–15.2%). The population‐attributable risk fraction attributable to periapical infection was 9.7% for PTB and 12.8% for stunting.

Conclusions

Periapical infection was associated with shorter pregnancy duration and IUGR in the study area; interventions addressing this risk factor may improve birth outcomes in low‐income settings.
Molecular mechanisms of hypoxia‐inducible factor‐induced pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell alterations in pulmonary hypertension
Authors: Veith Christine , Schermuly Ralph T. , Brandes Ralf P. , Weissmann Norbert
Published: July 2015

Oxygen (O2) is essential for the viability and function of most metazoan organisms and thus is closely monitored at both the organismal and the cellular levels. However, alveoli often encounter decreased O2 levels (hypoxia), leading to activation of physiological or pathophysiological responses in the pulmonary arteries. Such changes are achieved by activation of transcription factors. The hypoxia‐inducible factors (HIFs) are the most prominent hypoxia‐regulated transcription factors in this regard. HIFs bind to hypoxia‐response elements (HREs) in the promoter region of target genes, whose expression and translation allows the organism, amongst other factors, to cope with decreased environmental O2 partial pressure (pO2). However, prolonged HIF activation can contribute to major structural alterations, especially in the lung, resulting in the development of pulmonary hypertension (PH). PH is characterized by a rise in pulmonary arterial pressure associated with pulmonary arterial remodelling, concomitant with a reduced intravascular lumen area. Patients with PH develop right heart hypertrophy and eventually die from right heart failure. Thus, understanding the molecular mechanisms of HIF regulation in PH is critical for the identification of novel therapeutic strategies. This review addresses the relationship of hypoxia and the HIF system with pulmonary arterial dysfunction in PH. We particularly focus on the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the HIF‐driven pathophysiological processes.

image
An Evaluation of the Application of Nanofluids in Intercooled Cycle Marine Gas Turbine Intercooler
Authors: Zhao Ningbo , Wen Xueyou , Li Shuying
Published: July 2015

Coolant is one of the important factors affecting the overall performance of the intercooler for the intercooled (IC) cycle marine gas turbine. Conventional coolants, such as water and ethylene glycol, have lower thermal conductivity which can hinder the development of highly effective compact intercooler. Nanofluids that consist of nanoparticles and base fluids have superior properties like extensively higher thermal conductivity and heat transfer performance compared to those of base fluids. This paper focuses on the application of two different water-based nanofluids containing aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and copper (Cu) nanoparticles in IC cycle marine gas turbine intercooler. The effectiveness-number of transfer unit method is used to evaluate the flow and heat transfer performance of intercooler, and the thermophysical properties of nanofluids are obtained from literature. Then, the effects of some important parameters, such as nanoparticle volume concentration, coolant Reynolds number, coolant inlet temperature, and gas side operating parameters on the flow and heat transfer performance of intercooler, are discussed in detail. The results demonstrate that nanofluids have excellent heat transfer performance and need lower pumping power in comparison with base fluids under different gas turbine operating conditions. Under the same heat transfer, Cu–water nanofluids can reduce more pumping power than Al2O3–water nanofluids. It is also concluded that the overall performance of intercooler can be enhanced when increasing the nanoparticle volume concentration and coolant Reynolds number and decreasing the coolant inlet temperature.
Biofabrication of Multimaterial Three-Dimensional Constructs Embedded With Patterned Alginate Strands Encapsulating PC12 Neural Cell Lines
Authors: Dreher Rachel , Starly Binil
Published: July 2015

In this study, we report the bioprinting of a three-dimensional (3D) heterogeneous conduit structure encapsulating PC12 neural cells. A core–shell-based hybrid construct is fabricated by combining electrospinning, polymer extrusion, and cell-based bioprinting processes to create a multiscale and multimaterial conduit structure. PC12 nerve cells were shown to be printed with high cell viability (>95%) and to proliferate within the rolled construct at a rate consistent with traditional two-dimensional (2D) culture. Light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have also shown encapsulation of cells within the printed alginate gel and an even cell distribution throughout the heterogeneous cellular construct.
Closed-Loop Turbulence Control: Progress and Challenges
Authors: Brunton Steven L. , Noack Bernd R.
Published: July 2015

Closed-loop turbulence control is a critical enabler of aerodynamic drag reduction, lift increase, mixing enhancement, and noise reduction. Current and future applications have epic proportion: cars, trucks, trains, airplanes, wind turbines, medical devices, combustion, chemical reactors, just to name a few. Methods to adaptively adjust open-loop parameters are continually improving toward shorter response times. However, control design for in-time response is challenged by strong nonlinearity, high-dimensionality, and time-delays. Recent advances in the field of model identification and system reduction, coupled with advances in control theory (robust, adaptive, and nonlinear) are driving significant progress in adaptive and in-time closed-loop control of fluid turbulence. In this review, we provide an overview of critical theoretical developments, highlighted by compelling experimental success stories. We also point to challenging open problems and propose potentially disruptive technologies of machine learning and compressive sensing.
Comparative study of the native oxide on 316L stainless steel by XPS and ToF-SIMS
Authors: Tardio Sabrina , Abel Marie-Laure , Carr Robert H. , Castle James E. , Watts John F.
Published: July 2015

The very thin native oxide film on stainless steel, of the order of 2 nm, is known to be readily modified by immersion in aqueous media. In this paper, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time of flight secondary ions mass spectrometry are employed to investigate the nature of the air-formed film and modification after water emersion. The film is described in terms of oxide, hydroxide, and water content. The preferential dissolution of iron is shown to occur on immersion. It is shown that a water absorbed layer and a hydroxide layer are present above the oxide-like passive film. The concentrations of water and hydroxide appear to be higher in the case of exposure to water. A secure method for the peak fitting of Fe2p and Cr2p XPS spectra of such films on their metallic substrates is described. The importance of XPS survey spectra is underlined and the feasibility of C60+ SIMS depth profiling of a thin oxide layer is shown.
Comet lander's scientific harvest may be its last
Authors: Hand Eric
Published: July 2015

Philae has fallen silent after fragmentary messages.
Transcriptomics today: Microarrays, RNA-seq, and more
Authors: Tachibana Chris
Published: July 2015

Gene expression analysis has become routine, thanks to microarrays and now RNA sequencing, which is helping researchers
discover novel RNA forms and variants. New technologies promise to reveal even more about RNA and make RNA-based clinical assays common.
A Hadean to Paleoarchean geodynamo recorded by single zircon crystals
Authors: Tarduno John A. , Cottrell Rory D. , Davis William J. , Nimmo Francis , Bono Richard K.
Published: July 2015

Unlocking Earth's ancient magnetic past

The magnetic field protects Earth's surface from deadly cosmic radiation and provides clues about the planet's interior. Tarduno
et al.
found that some of the oldest minerals on Earth, Jack Hills zircons, preserved a record of a magnetic field over 4 billion years ago (see the Perspective by Aubert). Earth's magnetic field appears to have been fully operational a mere few hundred million years after the planet formed. This suggests an early start for plate tectonics and an ancient cosmic radiation shield that was important for habitability

Science
, this issue p.
521
; see also p.
Convergent evolution of strigolactone perception enabled host detection in parasitic plants
Authors: Conn Caitlin E. , Bythell-Douglas Rohan , Neumann Drexel , Yoshida Satoko , Whittington Bryan , Westwood James H. , Shirasu Ken , Bond Charles S. , Dyer Kelly A. , Nelson David C.
Published: July 2015

How plant parasites evolved to find hosts

The seeds of parasitic plants need to be able to sense their host's presence to germinate at the correct time and in the correct place. This is done through the detection of plant hormones, strigolactones. However, the origin of this sensory system is unknown. Conn
et al.
investigated the diversity of strigolactone receptors in multiple lineages of parasitic plants and their close relatives. They found a greater copy number and accelerated evolution in parasitic plants as compared with nonparasitic relatives. Functional analyses of parasitic plant strigolactone receptors in transgenic
Arabidopsis
suggested that convergent evolution has occurred to allow the parasitic plants to detect their hosts.

Science
, this issue p.
540
Pervasive drought legacies in forest ecosystems and their implications for carbon cycle models
Authors: Anderegg W. R. L. , Schwalm C. , Biondi F. , Camarero J. J. , Koch G. , Litvak M. , Ogle K. , Shaw J. D. , Shevliakova E. , Williams A. P. , Wolf A. , Ziaco E. , Pacala S.
Published: July 2015

Drought effects on carbon cycling

The response of forest ecosystems to drought is increasingly important in the context of a warming climate. Anderegg
et al.
studied a tree-ring database of 1338 forest sites from around the globe. They found that forests exhibit a drought “legacy effect” with 3 to 4 years' reduced growth following drought. During this postdrought delay, forests will be less able to act as a sink for carbon. Incorporating forest legacy effects into Earth system models will provide more accurate predictions of the effects of drought on the global carbon cycle.

Science
, this issue p.
528
Epitaxial growth of a monolayer WSe
2
-MoS
2
lateral p-n junction with an atomically sharp interface
Authors: Li Ming-Yang , Shi Yumeng , Cheng Chia-Chin , Lu Li-Syuan , Lin Yung-Chang , Tang Hao-Lin , Tsai Meng-Lin , Chu Chih-Wei , Wei Kung-Hwa , He Jr-Hau , Chang Wen-Hao , Suenaga Kazu , Li Lain-Jong
Published: July 2015

Electronic junctions on edge

Two-dimensional materials such as graphene are attractive materials for making smaller transistors because they are inherently nanoscale and can carry high currents. However, graphene has no band gap and the transistors are “leaky”; that is, they are hard to turn off. Related transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) such as molybdenum sulfide have band gaps. Transistors based on these materials can have high ratios of “on” to “off” currents. However, it is often difficult to make a good voltage-biased (p-n) junction between different TMDC materials. Li
et al.
succeeded in making p-n heterojunctions between two of these materials, molybdenum sulfide and tungsten selenide. They did this not by stacking the layers, which make a weak junction, but by growing molybdenum sulfide on the edge of a triangle of tungsten selenide with an atomically sharp boundary

Science
, this issue p.
524
Attenuated Human Parainfluenza Virus Type 1 (HPIV1) Expressing the Fusion Glycoprotein of Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) as a Bivalent HPIV1/RSV Vaccine
Authors: Mackow Natalie , Amaro-Carambot Emérito , Liang Bo , Surman Sonja , Lingemann Matthias , Yang Lijuan , Collins Peter L. , Munir Shirin
Published: July 2015

Live attenuated recombinant human parainfluenza virus type 1 (rHPIV1) was investigated as a vector to express the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) fusion (F) glycoprotein, to provide a bivalent vaccine against RSV and HPIV1. The RSV F gene was engineered to include HPIV1 transcription signals and inserted individually into three gene locations in each of the two attenuated rHPIV1 backbones. Each backbone contained a single previously described attenuating mutation that was stabilized against deattenuation, specifically, a non-temperature-sensitive deletion mutation involving 6 nucleotides in the overlapping P/C open reading frames (ORFs) (C
Δ170
) or a temperature-sensitive missense mutation in the L ORF (L
Y942A
). The insertion sites in the genome were pre-N (F1), N-P (F2), or P-M (F3) and were identical for both backbones.
In vitro
, the presence of the F insert reduced the rate of virus replication, but the final titers were the same as the final titer of wild-type (wt) HPIV1. High levels of RSV F expression in cultured cells were observed with rHPIV1-C
Δ170
-F1, -F2, and -F3 and rHPIV1-L
Y942A
-F1. In hamsters, the rHPIV1-C
Δ170
-F1, -F2, and -F3 vectors were moderately restricted in the nasal turbinates, highly restricted in lungs, and genetically stable
in vivo
. Among the C
Δ170
vectors, the F1 virus was the most immunogenic and protective against wt RSV challenge. The rHPIV1-L
Y942A
vectors were highly restricted
in vivo
and were not detectably immunogenic or protective, indicative of overattenuation. The C
Δ170
-F1 construct appears to be suitably attenuated and immunogenic for further development as a bivalent intranasal pediatric vaccine.

IMPORTANCE
There are no vaccines for the pediatric respiratory pathogens RSV and HPIV. We are developing live attenuated RSV and HPIV vaccines for use in virus-naive infants. Live attenuated RSV strains in particular are difficult to develop due to their poor growth and physical instability, but these obstacles could be avoided by the use of a vaccine vector. We describe the development and preclinical evaluation of live attenuated rHPIV1 vectors expressing the RSV F protein. Two different attenuated rHPIV1 backbones were each engineered to express RSV F from three different gene positions. The rHPIV1-C
Δ170
-F1 vector, bearing an attenuating deletion mutation (C
Δ170
) in the P/C gene and expressing RSV F from the pre-N position, was attenuated, stable, and immunogenic against the RSV F protein and HPIV1 in the hamster model and provided substantial protection against RSV challenge. This study provides a candidate rHPIV1-RSV-F vaccine virus suitable for continued development as a bivalent vaccine against two major childhood pathogens.
The Structure of Immature Virus-Like Rous Sarcoma Virus Gag Particles Reveals a Structural Role for the p10 Domain in Assembly
Authors: Schur Florian K. M. , Dick Robert A. , Hagen Wim J. H. , Vogt Volker M. , Briggs John A. G.
Published: July 2015

The polyprotein Gag is the primary structural component of retroviruses. Gag consists of independently folded domains connected by flexible linkers. Interactions between the conserved capsid (CA) domains of Gag mediate formation of hexameric protein lattices that drive assembly of immature virus particles. Proteolytic cleavage of Gag by the viral protease (PR) is required for maturation of retroviruses from an immature form into an infectious form. Within the assembled Gag lattices of HIV-1 and Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV), the C-terminal domain of CA adopts similar quaternary arrangements, while the N-terminal domain of CA is packed in very different manners. Here, we have used cryo-electron tomography and subtomogram averaging to study
in vitro
-assembled, immature virus-like Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) Gag particles and have determined the structure of CA and the surrounding regions to a resolution of ∼8 Å. We found that the C-terminal domain of RSV CA is arranged similarly to HIV-1 and M-PMV, whereas the N-terminal domain of CA adopts a novel arrangement in which the upstream p10 domain folds back into the CA lattice. In this position the cleavage site between CA and p10 appears to be inaccessible to PR. Below CA, an extended density is consistent with the presence of a six-helix bundle formed by the spacer-peptide region. We have also assessed the affect of lattice assembly on proteolytic processing by exogenous PR. The cleavage between p10 and CA is indeed inhibited in the assembled lattice, a finding consistent with structural regulation of proteolytic maturation.

IMPORTANCE
Retroviruses first assemble into immature virus particles, requiring interactions between Gag proteins that form a protein layer under the viral membrane. Subsequently, Gag is cleaved by the viral protease enzyme into separate domains, leading to rearrangement of the virus into its infectious form. It is important to understand how Gag is arranged within immature retroviruses, in order to understand how virus assembly occurs, and how maturation takes place. We used the techniques cryo-electron tomography and subtomogram averaging to obtain a detailed structural picture of the CA domains in immature assembled Rous sarcoma virus Gag particles. We found that part of Gag next to CA, called p10, folds back and interacts with CA when Gag assembles. This arrangement is different from that seen in HIV-1 and Mason-Pfizer monkey virus, illustrating further structural diversity of retroviral structures. The structure provides new information on how the virus assembles and undergoes maturation.
Arthropod-Borne Diseases: The Camper’s Uninvited Guests
Authors: Juckett Gregory
Published: July 2015

Arthropod-borne diseases are a major problem whenever outdoor activities bring arthropods and people into contact. The arthropods discussed here include arachnids (ticks) and insects. Most arthropod bites and stings are minor, with the notable exception being bee-sting anaphylaxis. Ticks cause the most disease transmission. Key hard tick vectors include black-legged (
Ixodes
), dog (
Dermacentor
), and lone star (
Amblyomma
) ticks, which transmit Lyme and various rickettsial diseases. Insect repellents, permethrin sprays, and proper tick inspection reduce this risk significantly. Lyme disease and the milder southern-tick-associated rash illness (STARI) are characterized by the erythema migrans rash followed, in the case of Lyme disease, by early, disseminated, and late systemic symptoms. Treatment is with doxycycline or ceftriaxone. Indefinite treatment of “chronic Lyme disease” based on subjective symptoms is not beneficial. Rickettsial diseases include ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which are characterized by fever, headache, and possible rash and should be empirically treated with doxycycline while awaiting laboratory confirmation. Tularemia is a bacterial disease (
Francisella
) spread by ticks and rabbits and characterized by fever and adenopathy. Treatment is with gentamicin or streptomycin. Babesiosis is a protozoal disease, mimicking malaria, that causes a self-limited flu-like disease in healthy hosts but can be life threatening with immune compromise. Treatment is with atovaquone and azithromycin. Other tick-related conditions include viral diseases (Powassan, Colorado tick fever, heartland virus), tick-borne relapsing fever (
Borrelia
), and tick paralysis (toxin). Mosquitoes, lice, fleas, and mites are notable for their annoying bites but are increasingly significant disease vectors even in the United States.
An Overview of Genome Organization and How We Got There: from FISH to Hi-C
Authors: Fraser James , Williamson Iain , Bickmore Wendy A. , Dostie Josée
Published: July 2015

In humans, nearly two meters of genomic material must be folded to fit inside each micrometer-scale cell nucleus while remaining accessible for gene transcription, DNA replication, and DNA repair. This fact highlights the need for mechanisms governing genome organization during any activity and to maintain the physical organization of chromosomes at all times. Insight into the functions and three-dimensional structures of genomes comes mostly from the application of visual techniques such as fluorescence
in situ
hybridization (FISH) and molecular approaches including chromosome conformation capture (3C) technologies. Recent developments in both types of approaches now offer the possibility of exploring the folded state of an entire genome and maybe even the identification of how complex molecular machines govern its shape. In this review, we present key methodologies used to study genome organization and discuss what they reveal about chromosome conformation as it relates to transcription regulation across genomic scales in mammals.
Subepicardial delayed gadolinium enhancement in asymptomatic athletes: let sleeping dogs lie?
Authors: Schnell Frédéric , Claessen Guido , La Gerche André , Bogaert Jan , Lentz Pierre-Axel , Claus Piet , Mabo Philippe , Carré François , Heidbuchel Hein
Published: July 2015

Background

Subepicardial delayed gadolinium enhancement (DGE) patches without underlying cardiomyopathy is poorly understood. It is often reported as the result of prior silent myocarditis. Its prognostic relevance in asymptomatic athletes is unknown; therefore, medical clearance for competitive sports participation is debated. This case series aims to relate this pattern of DGE in athletes to outcome.

Methods

We report on seven young asymptomatic athletes with isolated subepicardial DGE detected during workup of abnormalities on their regular screening examination, that is, pathological T-wave inversions on ECG (n=4) or ventricular arrhythmias on exercise test (n=3). All underwent a comprehensive initial investigation in order to assess left ventricular (LV) function at rest and exercise (exercise cardiac MRI and/or exercise echocardiography) and occurrence of arrhythmias (exercise test, 24 h-ECG Holter, electrophysiological study). All underwent a careful follow-up with biannual evaluation.

Results

All athletes had extensive subepicardial DGE (12.0±4.8% of LV mass), predominantly in the lateral wall. Three athletes had non-sustained ventricular arrhythmias, whereas two of them had LV ejection fraction <50% at rest with no contractile reserve at exercise. During a follow-up of 3.0±1.5 years in the four remaining athletes, two had symptomatic ventricular tachycardia and one demonstrated progressive LV dysfunction. Hence, six of seven athletes had to be excluded from competitive sports participation.

Conclusions

Isolated large areas of subepicardial DGE in an asymptomatic athlete are not benign and require a careful evaluation at exercise and a strict follow-up. These findings question whether extreme exercise during silent myocarditis may facilitate fibrosis generation and adverse remodelling.
Assessing the performance of the building information modeling (BIM) implementation process within a small specialty contracting enterprise
Authors: Poirier Erik A. , Staub-French Sheryl , Forgues Daniel
Published: July 2015

The current shift to building information modeling (BIM) enabled project delivery in the construction industry is promising important benefits. For small and micro businesses, which represent 99.0% of the employers in the Canadian construction industry, adopting these trends could significantly impact their bottom line. However, this often represents considerable cost and risk. Assessing the performance of BIM implementation therefore becomes an important part of the process, namely in ensuring that it is on track and progressing as required. This article presents the findings from a case study research project conducted over a 2 year period within a small mechanical contracting firm. The objective of this research project was to develop an evolutionary approach, supported by specific measures, to assess the performance of the BIM implementation process within a specialty contracting small enterprise. The findings suggest that BIM has had a positive impact over time on predictability for indicators such as total project cost and labor cost. On the other hand, project scope and quality were not shown to be influenced by BIM in the projects studied. The variability uncovered in the findings reinforces the central tenant of BIM as an enabler for collaboration. Indeed, most of the projects studied were performed in a lonely manner and thus the measured impact of BIM on project delivery was limited, even if it was perceived as very beneficial. Lastly, the article highlights the need for a parallel reconfiguration of practice: performance assessment and BIM implementation need to be developed conjointly to serve one another.
Horizon straddling ISCOs in spherically symmetric string black holes
Authors: Pradhan Parthapratim
Published: July 2015

The causal geodesics in the equatorial plane of a static extremal charged black holes in heterotic string theory is examined with regard to their geodesic stability and compared with similar geodesics in the nonextremal situation. Extremization of the effective potential for timelike and null circular geodesics implies that in the extremal limit, the radius of ISCO (Inner-most Stable Circular Orbit) (r ISCO ), circular photon orbit (CPO) (r ph ) and marginally bound circular orbit (MBCO) (r mb ) are coincident with the event horizon (r hor ) i.e. r ISCO = r ph = r mb = r hor = 2M. Since the proper radial distance on a constant time slice both in Schwarzschild and Painlevé–Gullstrand (PG) coordinates become zero, thus these three orbits indeed coincide with the null geodesic generators of the event horizon. This strange behavior is quite different from the static, spherically symmetric extremal Reissner–Nordstrøm (RN) BH.
Reconstructing the WIMP velocity distribution from direct dark matter detection data with a nonnegligible threshold energy
Authors: Shan Chung-Lin
Published: July 2015

In this paper, we investigate the modification of our expressions developed for the model-independent data analysis procedure of the reconstruction of the (time-averaged) one-dimensional velocity distribution of galactic weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with a nonnegligible experimental threshold energy. Our numerical simulations show that, for a minimal reconstructable velocity of as high as [Formula: see text] km/s, our model-independent modification of the estimator for the normalization constant could provide precise reconstructed velocity distribution points to match the true WIMP velocity distribution with ≲ 10% bias.
ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF ALUMINUM ALLOY WELDED JOINTS BETWEEN METAL INERT GAS WELDING AND TUNGSTEN INERT GAS WELDING
Authors: ZHAO LEI , GUAN YINGCHUN , WANG QIANG , CONG BAOQIANG , QI BOJIN
Published: July 2015

Surface contamination usually occurs during welding processing and it affects the welds quality largely. However, the formation of such contaminants has seldom been studied. Effort was made to study the contaminants caused by metal inert gas (MIG) welding and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding processes of aluminum alloy, respectively. SEM, FTIR and XPS analysis was carried out to investigate the microstructure as well as surface chemistry. These contaminants were found to be mainly consisting of Al2O3, MgO , carbide and chromium complexes. The difference of contaminants between MIG and TIG welds was further examined. In addition, method to minimize these contaminants was proposed.
An Optimal Weighted-Average Voting Algorithm for Software Safety Estimation on Safety-Critical Systems
Authors: Umamaheswrarao B. , Seetharamaiah P. , Phanikumar S.
Published: July 2015

The focus of this work is the analysis and performance evaluation of different weighted-average voting algorithms, such as standard weighted-average, flexible weighted-average and static and dynamic rule-based fuzzy weighted-average voter algorithms. We evaluate the safety performance of six existing voting algorithms and propose a modified dynamic-bandwidth-based fuzzy-voting algorithm with soft-dynamic threshold value. Experimental results show that our novel voting algorithm shows higher safety than the other weighted-average voting algorithms.
A Technique for Selecting Online Advertisements using Mailbox Calendar Invites
Authors: Jain Ajay
Published: July 2015

This work presents a technique that you can use to serve highly relevant and personalized advertisements to users. The technique performs ad selection based on multiple criteria obtained from the data in a user's electronic mailbox (for example, meeting invites) in real time. The mailbox data is analyzed to identify the goals of a meeting, participants, nature of meetings, contents, and timings of meetings, etc. The derived data is then used to select the advertisement content most appropriate to the meeting originator, meeting participants, meeting schedules, etc. Identified advertisements are then delivered to target users on all available channels, such as web browsers, mailboxes, online games, and media players.
A Summary on the 37th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE 2015)
Authors: Rimba Paul
Published: July 2015

This summary reports on three separate events, the main conference and two co-located workshops, which were held at the International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) in 2015 in Florence. The workshops are the third international workshop on RELeng ENGineering (RELENG) and the first international workshop on Complex faUlts and Failures in LargE Software Systems (COUFLESS). This summary reports on discussions held and highlights some observations made during these events.
Getting fast, free, and anonymous answers to questions asked by people with visual impairments
Authors: Brady Erin
Published: July 2015

Much of the information we encounter in daily life is visual. For people with visual impairments, this information is not inherently accessible. Technology can be used to provide access to this visual information, through automated tools like currency identifiers, object recognizers, and optical character recognition, which allow for immediate access to visual information in a users' environment. However, these tools are often are limited to a specific domain, and can fail in non-ideal conditions (e.g., an optical character recognition tool trying to identify handwritten text).

By incorporating people into the information access pipeline, human-powered tools can allow for more complex information to be extracted from the user's surroundings. Human-powered access tools connect people who have disabilities to other people who can access information on their behalf. While people may not be as quick as automated tools, the person answering can make inferences based on prior knowledge and experiences, ask for clarification, and reason over the information provided.

In this article, we explore the long-term public deployment and lessons learned from VizWiz Social, a human-powered access tool that connects people with visual impairments to sighted workers or friends and family members who can answer their visual questions. By analyzing the use of this service, and running controlled experiments to determine how users value different answer sources, we have been able to build upon the original VizWiz design to create social microvolunteering, a method for getting fast, free, and anonymous answers to visual questions.
NBCe1 expression is required for normal renal ammonia metabolism
Authors: Handlogten Mary E. , Osis Gunars , Lee Hyun-Wook , Romero Michael F. , Verlander Jill W. , Weiner I. David
Published: July 2015

The mechanisms regulating proximal tubule ammonia metabolism are incompletely understood. The present study addressed the role of the proximal tubule basolateral electrogenic Na+-coupled bicarbonate cotransporter (NBCe1; Slc4a4) in renal ammonia metabolism. We used mice with heterozygous and homozygous NBCe1 gene deletion and compared these mice with their wild-type littermates. Because homozygous NBCe1 gene deletion causes 100% mortality before day 25, we studied mice at day 8 (±1 day). Both heterozygous and homozygous gene deletion caused a gene dose-related decrease in serum bicarbonate. The ability to lower urinary pH was intact, and even accentuated, with NBCe1 deletion. However, in contrast to the well-known effect of metabolic acidosis to increase urinary ammonia excretion, NBCe1 deletion caused a gene dose-related decrease in ammonia excretion. There was no identifiable change in proximal tubule structure by light microscopy. Examination of proteins involved in renal ammonia metabolism showed decreased expression of phosphate-dependent glutaminase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, key enzymes in proximal tubule ammonia generation, and increased expression of glutamine synthetase, which recycles intrarenal ammonia and regenerates glutamine. Expression of key proteins involved in ammonia transport outside of the proximal tubule (rhesus B glycoprotein and rhesus C glycoprotein) was not significantly changed by NBCe1 deletion. We conclude from these findings that NBCe1 expression is necessary for normal proximal tubule ammonia metabolism.
Effects of chronic hypergravity: from adaptive to deleterious responses in growing mouse skeleton
Authors: Gnyubkin Vasily , Guignandon Alain , Laroche Norbert , Vanden-Bossche Arnaud , Normand Myriam , Lafage-Proust Marie-Hélène , Vico Laurence
Published: July 2015

One of the most important but least studied environmental factors playing a major role in bone physiology is gravity. While the knowledge of deleterious effects of microgravity on the skeleton is expanding, little is known about hypergravity and its osteogenic potential. Centrifugation was used to assess effects of 21-day continuous 2- or 3- g acceleration on femur and L2-vertebra of 7-wk-old male C57BL/6 mice. Under 3 g, body mass growth slowed down, and deleterious skeletal effects were found ( P < 0.05 compared with control): cortical thinning, osteoclasts surface increase (+41% in femur, +20% in vertebra), and bone formation rate decrease (−34% in femur, −38% in vertebra). A 2- g centrifugation did not reduce body mass and improved trabecular volume (+18% in femur, +13% in vertebra) and microarchitecture (+32% connectivity density in femur, +9% trabecular thickness in vertebra, P < 0.05 compared with control). Centrifugation at 2 g also decreased osteoclast surfaces (−36% in femur, −16% in vertebra) and increased the extent of mineralized surfaces (+31% in femur, +48% in vertebra, P < 0.05 compare to control). Quantitative immunohistochemistry revealed an increase of dentin matrix acidic phosphoprotein 1 (DMP1) and decrease of sclerostin (+60% and −35% respectively, P < 0.001 compared with control) in the femur cortex of 2- g mice. In the distal femur metaphysis, the number and volume of blood vessels increased by 22 and 44%, respectively ( P < 0.05 compared with control). In conclusion, the effects of continuous hypergravity were bone compartment-specific and depended on the gravity level, with a threshold between beneficial 2- g and deleterious 3- g effects.
Distinct dynamics of ramping activity in the frontal cortex and caudate nucleus in monkeys
Authors: Ding Long
Published: July 2015

The prefronto-striatal network is involved in many cognitive functions, including perceptual decision making and reward-modulated behaviors. For well-trained subjects, neural responses frequently show similar patterns in the prefrontal cortex and striatum, making it difficult to tease apart distinct regional contributions. Here I show that, despite similar mean firing rate patterns, prefrontal and striatal responses differ in other temporal dynamics for both perceptual and reward-based tasks. Compared with simulation results, the temporal dynamics of prefrontal activity are consistent with an accumulation of sensory evidence used to solve a perceptual task but not with an accumulation of reward context-related information used for the development of a reward bias. In contrast, the dynamics of striatal activity is consistent with an accumulation of reward context-related information and with an accumulation of sensory evidence during early stimulus viewing. These results suggest that prefrontal and striatal neurons may have specialized functions for different tasks even with similar average activity.
Applications of Smartphone-Based Sensors in Agriculture: A Systematic Review of Research
Authors: Pongnumkul Suporn , Chaovalit Pimwadee , Surasvadi Navaporn
Published: July 2015

Smartphones have become a useful tool in agriculture because their mobility matches the nature of farming, the cost of the device is highly accessible, and their computing power allows a variety of practical applications to be created. Moreover, smartphones are nowadays equipped with various types of physical sensors which make them a promising tool to assist diverse farming tasks. This paper systematically reviews smartphone applications mentioned in research literature that utilize smartphone built-in sensors to provide agricultural solutions. The initial 1,500 articles identified through database search were screened based on exclusion criteria and then reviewed thoroughly in full text, resulting in 22 articles included in this review. The applications are categorized according to their agricultural functions. Those articles reviewed describe 12 farming applications, 6 farm management applications, 3 information system applications, and 4 extension service applications. GPS and cameras are the most popular sensors used in the reviewed papers. This shows an opportunity for future applications to utilize other sensors such as accelerometer to provide advanced agricultural solutions.
Robust Object Tracking Based on Simplified Codebook Masked Camshift Algorithm
Authors: Zhang Yuanyuan , Zhao Xiaomei , Li Fengjiao , Sun Jiande , Jiang Shuming , Chen Changying
Published: July 2015

Moving targets detection and tracking is an important and basic issue in the field of intelligent video surveillance. The classical Codebook algorithm is simplified in this paper by introducing the average intensity into the Codebook model instead of the original minimal and maximal intensities. And a hierarchical matching method between the current pixel and codeword is also proposed according to the average intensity in the high and low intensity areas, respectively. Based on the simplified Codebook algorithm, this paper then proposes a robust object tracking algorithm called Simplified Codebook Masked Camshift algorithm (SCMC algorithm), which combines the simplified Codebook algorithm and Camshift algorithm together. It is designed to overcome the sensitiveness of traditional Camshift algorithm to background color interference. It uses simplified Codebook to detect moving objects, whose result is employed to mask color probability distribution image, based on which we then use Camshift to predict the centroid and size of these objects. Experiment results show that the proposed simplified Codebook algorithm simultaneously improves the detection accuracy and computational efficiency. And they also show that the SCMC algorithm can significantly reduce the possibility of false convergence and result in a higher correct tracking rate, as compared with the traditional Camshift algorithm.
Dynamic Bus Travel Time Prediction Models on Road with Multiple Bus Routes
Authors: Bai Cong , Peng Zhong-Ren , Lu Qing-Chang , Sun Jian
Published: July 2015

Accurate and real-time travel time information for buses can help passengers better plan their trips and minimize waiting times. A dynamic travel time prediction model for buses addressing the cases on road with multiple bus routes is proposed in this paper, based on support vector machines (SVMs) and Kalman filtering-based algorithm. In the proposed model, the well-trained SVM model predicts the baseline bus travel times from the historical bus trip data; the Kalman filtering-based dynamic algorithm can adjust bus travel times with the latest bus operation information and the estimated baseline travel times. The performance of the proposed dynamic model is validated with the real-world data on road with multiple bus routes in Shenzhen, China. The results show that the proposed dynamic model is feasible and applicable for bus travel time prediction and has the best prediction performance among all the five models proposed in the study in terms of prediction accuracy on road with multiple bus routes.
Consensus on Severity for Ocular Emergency: The BAsic SEverity Score for Common OculaR Emergencies [BaSe SCOrE]
Authors: Bourges Jean-Louis , Boutron Isabelle , Monnet Dominique , Brézin Antoine P.
Published: July 2015

Purpose. To weigh ocular emergency events according to their severity.Methods. A group of ophthalmologists and researchers rated the severity of 86 common ocular emergencies using a Delphi consensus method. The ratings were attributed on a 7-point scale throughout a first-round survey. Then, the experts were provided with the median and quartiles of the ratings of each item to reevaluate the severity levels being aware of the group’s first-round responses. The final severity rating for each item corresponded to the median rating provided by the last Delphi round.Results. We invited 398 experts, and 80 (20%) of them, from 18 different countries, agreed to participate. A consensus was reached in the second round, completed by 24 experts (43%). The severity ranged from subconjunctival hemorrhages (median = 1, Q1 = 0; Q3 = 1) to penetrating eye injuries collapsing the eyeball with intraocular foreign body or panophthalmitis with infection following surgery (median = 5, Q1 = 5; Q3 = 6). The ratings did not differ according to the practice of the experts.Conclusion. These ratings could be used to assess the severity of ocular emergency events, to serve in composite algorithms for emergency triage and standardizing research in ocular emergencies.