bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optimized structural and optical behavior of Dy3+ ions doped SrS nano-powders for thin film fabrication
Authors: Mishra Shubhra , Kshatri D. S.
Published: May 2019

Undoped and Dy[Formula: see text]-doped SrS nano-powders were synthesized by a solid-state diffusion method (SSDM). The nano-powders are then examined by the use of characterization tools as X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) including selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The emission spectra of SrS: Dy[Formula: see text] powders are composed of a broadband and the characteristic emission of Dy[Formula: see text] peaking at 482[Formula: see text]nm (blue region), 581[Formula: see text]nm (yellow region), 676[Formula: see text]nm (light red region) and 750[Formula: see text]nm (dark red region) bands corresponding to the transitions of 4F[Formula: see text]-6H[Formula: see text], 4F[Formula: see text]-6H[Formula: see text], 4F[Formula: see text]-6H[Formula: see text] and 4F[Formula: see text]-6H[Formula: see text], respectively. The resultant nano-powders can be used to fabricate thin films for the applications of efficient optoelectronic devices.
A New Projection-based Exhibition System for a Museum
Authors: Lee Yong Yi , Lee Jong Hun , Ahmed Bilal , Son Moon Gu , Lee Kwan H.
Published: May 2019

In this article, we propose a new projection-based system to exhibit a realistic virtual cultural object in a museum. We introduce a new design by combining the multi-projection mapping technology with an optical see-through display that overcomes the limitations of the conventional projection-based exhibition by resolving the problems of ambient light and the occlusion by obstacles. We also introduce a mechanically moving projection surface that increases the degree of freedom of the projection content. Both geometric and radiometric calibration methods are used to correctly project a high-quality texture onto the moving 3D projection surface without perspective distortion. To evaluate the strength of the system and a potential for deployment in a general museum context, we conduct a user study that includes both the visitors and museum staff. The result shows that the proposed system can enrich the museum exhibition by creating a virtual cultural object with substantial 3D effect and high-fidelity appearance. We also demonstrate various applications of the system that provide dynamic content of a virtual cultural object by changing its appearance as well as the viewpoint.
Digital Methods in Intangible Cultural Heritage Research
Authors: Stepputat Kendra , Kienreich Wolfgang , Dick Christopher S.
Published: May 2019

With this article, we present the ongoing research project “Tango Danceability of Music in European Perspective” and the transdisciplinary research design it is built upon. Three main aspects of
tango argentino
are in focus—the music, the dance, and the people—in order to understand what is considered
danceable
in tango music. The study of all three parts involves computer-aided analysis approaches, and the results are examined within ethnochoreological and ethnomusicological frameworks. Two approaches are illustrated in detail to show initial results of the research model. Network analysis based on the collection of online tango event data and quantitative evaluation of data gathered by an online survey showed significant results, corroborating the hypothesis of gatekeeping effects in the shaping of musical preferences. The experiment design includes incorporation of motion capture technology into dance research. We demonstrate certain advantages of transdisciplinary approaches in the study of Intangible Cultural Heritage, in contrast to conventional studies based on methods from just one academic discipline.
Of Dolls and Men
Authors: Su Norman Makoto , Lazar Amanda , Bardzell Jeffrey , Bardzell Shaowen
Published: May 2019

Sex and intimate technologies are important in people’s everyday lives. A class of technologies that is becoming increasingly more prominent in discussions of the future are sex robots. In this article, we present a qualitative analysis of posts from a forum where people describe their interactions with sex dolls and their motivations for using them through text and photographs. Forum users use dolls as a content authoring interface, imbue them with agency, and construct meaningful sexual relationships with them. Implications for the design of future robots and autonomous agents in humans’ everyday lives are discussed. We highlight that sex dolls are used for more than just sex; they provide fertile ground for embodied fictions and care of the self. Future, customizable technologies for sexual intimacy and wellness should account for this use.
A Supplementary Feature Set for Sentiment Analysis in Japanese Dialogues
Authors: Ihasz Peter Lajos , Kovacs Mate , Piumarta Ian , Kryssanov Victor V.
Published: May 2019

Recently, real-time affect-awareness has been applied in several commercial systems, such as dialogue systems and computer games. Real-time recognition of affective states, however, requires the application of costly feature extraction methods and/or labor-intensive annotation of large datasets, especially in the case of Asian languages where large annotated datasets are seldom available. To improve recognition accuracy, we propose the use of cognitive context in the form of “emotion-sensitive” intentions. Intentions are often represented through dialogue acts and, as an emotion-sensitive model of dialogue acts, a tagset of interpersonal-relations-directing
interpersonal acts
(the IA model) is proposed. The model's adequacy is assessed using a sentiment classification task in comparison with two well-known dialogue act models, the SWBD-DAMSL and the DIT++. For the assessment, five Japanese in-game dialogues were annotated with labels of sentiments and the tags of all three dialogue act models which were used to enhance a baseline sentiment classifier system. The adequacy of the IA tagset is demonstrated by a 9% improvement to the baseline sentiment classifier's recognition accuracy, outperforming the other two models by more than 5%.
Infrastructuring Public Service Transformation
Authors: Crivellaro Clara , Anderson Rob , Lambton-Howard Daniel , Nappey Tom , Olivier Patrick , Vlachokyriakos Vasilis , Wilson Alexander , Wright Pete
Published: May 2019

HCI has a tradition of engaging in democratic practices and contributing to public service innovation. Working with complex socio-political realities presents significant challenges for HCI researchers, which are amplified by the current democratic and economic crisis. In this article, we present insights from a longitudinal study where we worked with multiple stakeholders in the context of an austerity-driven transformation of public parks service in a city in the North East of England. Over the course of 20 months, we developed a participatory socio-technical process designed to create collaborative spaces between communities and institutions to re-envision and re-shape the city's public parks service. The study contributes to HCI research concerned with developing tools and processes that aim at connecting across the boundaries between communities and institutions. Our process and the resulting analysis expose the practical complexities of transformation and co-creation processes and the troubles that come with opening spaces for wider participation within highly contested and political settings. We provide an orientation for HCI design research aspiring to contribute to social innovation and democratic practices in troubled times.
Converting Dependency Structure Into Persian Phrase Structure
Authors: Dehghan Mohammad Hossein , Faili Heshaam
Published: May 2019

Treebank is one of the important and useful resources in natural language processing represented in two different annotated schemas: phrase and dependency structures. There are many works that convert a phrase structure into a dependency structure and vice versa. Most of them are based that exploit the handcrafted head percolation table and argument table in predefined deterministic ways. In this article, we propose a method to convert a dependency structure into a phrase structure by enriching a trainable model of former hybrid strategy approach. By adding a classifier to the algorithm and using postprocessing modification, the quality of conversion is increased. We evaluate our method in two different languages, English and Persian, and then analyze the errors. The results of our experiments show a 46.01% reduction of error rate in English and 76.50% for Persian compared to our baseline. We build a new phrase structure treebank by converting 10,000 sentences of Persian dependency treebank into corresponding phrase structures and correcting them manually.
TxFS
Authors: Hu Yige , Zhu Zhiting , Neal Ian , Kwon Youngjin , Cheng Tianyu , Chidambaram Vijay , Witchel Emmett
Published: May 2019

We introduce TxFS, a transactional file system that builds upon a file system’s atomic-update mechanism such as journaling. Though prior work has explored a number of transactional file systems, TxFS has a unique set of properties: a simple API, portability across different hardware, high performance, low complexity (by building on the file-system journal), and full ACID transactions. We port SQLite, OpenLDAP, and Git to use TxFS and experimentally show that TxFS provides strong crash consistency while providing equal or better performance.
Integrating Multi-level Tag Recommendation with External Knowledge Bases for Automatic Question Answering
Authors: Lima Eduardo , Shi Weishi , Liu Xumin , Yu Qi
Published: May 2019

We focus on using natural language unstructured textual Knowledge Bases (KBs) to answer questions from community-based Question-and-Answer (Q8A) websites. We propose a novel framework that integrates multi-level tag recommendation with external KBs to retrieve the most relevant KB articles to answer user posted questions. Different from many existing efforts that primarily rely on the Q8A sites’ own historical data (e.g., user answers), retrieving answers from authoritative external KBs (e.g., online programming documentation repositories) has the potential to provide rich information to help users better understand the problem, acquire the knowledge, and hence avoid asking similar questions in future. The proposed multi-level tag recommendation best leverages the rich tag information by first categorizing them into different semantic levels based on their usage frequencies. A post-tag co-clustering model, augmented by a two-step tag recommender, is used to predict tags at different levels for a given user posted question. A KB article retrieval component leverages the recommended multi-level tags to select the appropriate KBs and search/rank the matching articles thereof. We conduct extensive experiments using real-world data from a Q8A site and multiple external KBs to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed question-answering framework.
Multigrid for Matrix-Free High-Order Finite Element Computations on Graphics Processors
Authors: Kronbichler Martin , Ljungkvist Karl
Published: May 2019

This article presents matrix-free finite-element techniques for efficiently solving partial differential equations on modern many-core processors, such as graphics cards. We develop a GPU parallelization of a matrix-free geometric multigrid iterative solver targeting moderate and high polynomial degrees, with support for general curved and adaptively refined hexahedral meshes with hanging nodes. The central algorithmic component is the matrix-free operator evaluation with sum factorization. We compare the node-level performance of our implementation running on an Nvidia Pascal P100 GPU to a highly optimized multicore implementation running on comparable Intel Broadwell CPUs and an Intel Xeon Phi. Our experiments show that the GPU implementation is approximately 1.5 to 2 times faster across four different scenarios of the Poisson equation and a variety of element degrees in 2D and 3D. The lowest time to solution per degree of freedom is recorded for moderate polynomial degrees between 3 and 5. A detailed performance analysis highlights the capabilities of the GPU architecture and the chosen execution model with threading within the element, particularly with respect to the evaluation of the matrix-vector product. Atomic intrinsics are shown to provide a fast way for avoiding the possible race conditions in summing the elemental residuals into the global vector associated to shared vertices, edges, and surfaces. In addition, the solver infrastructure allows for using mixed-precision arithmetic that performs the multigrid V-cycle in single precision with an outer correction in double precision, increasing throughput by up to 83%.
On Minrank and Forbidden Subgraphs
Authors: Haviv Ishay
Published: May 2019

The
minrank
over a field F of a graph
G
on the vertex set { 1,2,… ,
n
} is the minimum possible rank of a matrix
M
∈ F

n
×
n

such that
M

i, i

≠ 0 for every
i
, and
M

i, j

=0 for every distinct non-adjacent vertices
i
and
j
in
G
. For an integer
n
, a graph
H
, and a field F, let
g
(
n
,
H
, F) denote the maximum possible minrank over F of an
n
-vertex graph whose complement contains no copy of
H
. In this article, we study this quantity for various graphs
H
and fields F. For finite fields, we prove by a probabilistic argument a general lower bound on
g
(
n
,
H
,F), which yields a nearly tight bound of Ω (√
n
/ log
n
) for the triangle
H
=
K
3
. For the real field, we prove by an explicit construction that for every non-bipartite graph
H
,
g
(
n
,
H
, R) ≥
n
δ
for some δ = δ (
H
)> 0. As a by-product of this construction, we disprove a conjecture of Codenotti et al. [11]. The results are motivated by questions in information theory, circuit complexity, and geometry.
Editor's introduction
Authors: Fu Hu
Published: May 2019

This issue of SIGEcom Exchanges has two articles coming from the First Workshop on Mechanism Design for Social Good, which took place at EC in 2017. A survey by Scott Kominers is based on the keynote he gave there, which overviews recent examples of market design in the realm of social good improvement. The workshop's organizers, Rediet Abebe and Kira Goldner, contributed a report that summarizes each keynote and contributed talk at the workshop.
Combinatorial cost sharing
Authors: Dobzinski Shahar , Ovadia Shahar
Published: May 2019

We introduce a combinatorial variant of the cost sharing problem: several services can be provided to each player and each player values every combination of services differently. A publicly known cost function specifies the cost of providing every possible combination of services. A combinatorial cost sharing mechanism is a protocol that decides which services each player gets and at what price. We look for dominant strategy mechanisms that are (economically) efficient and cover the cost, ideally without overcharging (i.e., budget balanced). Note that unlike the standard cost sharing setting, combinatorial cost sharing is a multi-parameter domain. This makes designing dominant strategy mechanisms with good guarantees a challenging task.
An Active Inference Approach to Interoceptive Psychopathology
Authors: Paulus Martin P. , Feinstein Justin S. , Khalsa Sahib S.
Published: May 2019

Interoception refers to the process by which the nervous system senses and integrates signals originating from within the body, providing a momentary mapping of the body's internal landscape and its relationship to the outside world. Active inference is based on the premise that afferent sensory input to the brain is constantly shaped and modified by prior expectations. In this review we propose that interoceptive psychopathology results from two primary interoceptive dysfunctions: First, individuals have abnormally strong expectations of the situations that elicit bodily change (i.e., hyperprecise priors), and second, they have great difficulty adjusting these expectations when the environment changes (i.e., context rigidity). Here we discuss how these dysfunctions potentially manifest in mental illness and how interventions aimed at altering interoceptive processing can help the brain create a more realistic model of its internal state.
Differential posttranslational modification of mitochondrial enzymes corresponds with metabolic suppression during hibernation
Authors: Mathers Katherine E. , Staples James F.
Published: May 2019

During hibernation, small mammals, including the 13-lined ground squirrel ( Ictidomys tridecemlineatus), cycle between two distinct metabolic states: torpor, where metabolic rate is suppressed by >95% and body temperature falls to ~5°C, and interbout euthermia (IBE), where both metabolic rate and body temperature rapidly increase to euthermic levels. Suppression of whole animal metabolism during torpor is paralleled by rapid, reversible suppression of mitochondrial respiration. We hypothesized that these changes in mitochondrial metabolism are regulated by posttranslational modifications to mitochondrial proteins. Differential two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and two-dimensional blue-native PAGE revealed differences in the isoelectric point of several liver mitochondrial proteins between torpor and IBE. Quadrupole time-of-flight LC/MS and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization MS identified these as proteins involved in β-oxidation, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, reactive oxygen species detoxification, and the electron transport system (ETS). Immunoblots revealed that subunit 1 of ETS complex IV was acetylated during torpor but not IBE. Phosphoprotein staining revealed significantly greater phosphorylation of succinyl-CoA ligase and the flavoprotein subunit of ETS complex II in IBE than torpor. In addition, the 75-kDa subunit of ETS complex I was 1.5-fold more phosphorylated in torpor. In vitro treatment with alkaline phosphatase increased the maximal activity of complex I from liver mitochondria isolated from torpid, but not IBE, animals. By contrast, phosphatase treatment decreased complex II activity in IBE but not torpor. These findings suggest that the rapid changes in mitochondrial metabolism in hibernators are mediated by posttranslational modifications of key metabolic enzymes, perhaps by intramitochondrial kinases and deacetylases.
Neuromodulation of central pattern generators and its role in the functional recovery of central pattern generator activity
Authors: Golowasch Jorge
Published: May 2019

Neuromodulators play an important role in how the nervous system organizes activity that results in behavior. Disruption of the normal patterns of neuromodulatory release or production is known to be related to the onset of severe pathologies such as Parkinson’s disease, Rett syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, and affective disorders. Some of these pathologies involve neuronal structures that are called central pattern generators (CPGs), which are involved in the production of rhythmic activities throughout the nervous system. Here I discuss the interplay between CPGs and neuromodulatory activity, with particular emphasis on the potential role of neuromodulators in the recovery of disrupted neuronal activity. I refer to invertebrate and vertebrate model systems and some of the lessons we have learned from research on these systems and propose a few avenues for future research. I make one suggestion that may guide future research in the field: neuromodulators restrict the parameter landscape in which CPG components operate, and the removal of neuromodulators may enable a perturbed CPG in finding a new set of parameter values that can allow it to regain normal function.
A Two‐Step Composite Time Integration Scheme for Vehicle‐Track Interaction Analysis considering Contact Separation
Authors: Gao Ya , Shi Jin , Lu Chenxu
Published: May 2019

The two‐step composite time integration scheme is combined with the linear contact relation between the wheel and rail (termed the two‐step method) to solve coupled vehicle‐track dynamic problems. First, two coupled vehicle‐track models with different degrees‐of‐freedom are constructed, in which a vehicle‐track system is modeled as two subsystems and the interaction between the two subsystems is implemented via kinematic constraints. Then, the two‐step method is applied in the models to simulate several cases, and the accuracy and efficiency of this method are discussed in comparison with additional methods of the Newmark family. Contact separation can also be simulated using the same scheme without causing spurious oscillations for large integration steps. The results indicate that track irregularities can cause wheels to momentarily lose contact with the track, causing large impacts between the wheels and rail. Additionally, with the increase of the running velocity, contact separation will occur more frequently. The adoption of the two‐step integration method can ensure the accuracy of solutions and significantly increase the computational efficiency; moreover, the matrixes representing the model information will not change during the calculation process, so the substructure data exported from commercial finite element software can be directly adopted.
Modulated Autophagy by MicroRNAs in Osteoarthritis Chondrocytes
Authors: Yu Yinghao , Zhao Jijun
Published: May 2019

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease characterized by articular cartilage regression. The etiology of OA is diverse, the exact pathogenesis of which remains unclear. Autophagy is a conserved maintenance mechanism in eukaryotic cells. Dysfunction of chondrocyte autophagy is regarded as a crucial pathogenesis of cartilage degradation in OA. MircoRNAs (miRNAs) are a category of small noncoding RNAs, acting as posttranscriptional modulators that regulate biological processes and cell signaling pathways via target genes. A series of miRNAs are involved in the progression of chondrocyte autophagy and are connected with numerous factors and pathways. This article focuses on the mechanisms of chondrocyte autophagy in OA and reviews the role of miRNA in their modulation. Potentially relevant miRNAs are also discussed in order to provide new directions for future research and improve our understanding of the autophagic network of miRNAs.
Effects of Polymorphisms in Myc-Related Genes on Bleeding Complications in Patients with Stable Warfarin Responses
Authors: Yee Jeong , Kim Woorim , Chang Byung Chul , Chung Jee Eun , Lee Kyung Eun , Gwak Hye Sun
Published: May 2019

Objectives. This study aimed to identify the possible effects ofMycand 8q24 polymorphisms on bleeding complications in patients who maintained international normalized ratio (INR) of 2.0-3.0 with warfarin therapy after cardiac valve replacement.Methods. Twenty-five single nucleotide polymorphisms were analyzed, includingVKORC1,CYP2C9,Myc, and 8q24. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to evaluate the associations between genetic polymorphisms and bleeding complications. Attributable risk and the number needed to genotype (NNG) were also calculated to evaluate the potential clinical value of genotyping.Results.We included 142 patients, among whom 21 experienced bleeding complications. Multivariate models showed that patients carrying the CC genotype of rs6983561 and the A allele of rs13281615 at 8q24 had 27.6- and 10.0-fold higher bleeding complications, compared with patients with the A allele and the GG genotype, respectively. For rs6983561, the attributable risk and NNG were 96.4% and 36.8, respectively, whereas, for rs13281615, the attributable risk and NNG were 90.0% and 8.3, respectively. Atrial fibrillation was associated with a 5.5-fold increased risk of bleeding complications. The AUROC value was 0.761 (95% CI 0.659-0.863, p<0.001), and the Hosmer–Lemeshow test showed that the fitness of the multivariate analysis model was satisfactory (χ2=0.846; 3 degrees of freedom; p=0.838).Conclusions. Bleeding complications during warfarin therapy were associated with 8q24 polymorphisms and atrial fibrillation in patients with mechanical heart valves.
Mitochondrial Division Inhibitor 1 Attenuates Mitophagy in a Rat Model of Acute Lung Injury
Authors: Luo Xu , Liu Ruimeng , Zhang Zhihao , Chen Zhugui , He Jian , Liu Youtan
Published: May 2019

The regulation of intracellular mitochondria degradation is mediated by mitophagy. While studies have shown that mitophagy can lead to mitochondrial dysfunction and cell damage, the role of Mdivi-1 and mitophagy remains unclear in acute lung injury (ALI) pathogenesis. In this study, we demonstrated that Mdivi-1, which is widely used as an inhibitor of mitophagy, ameliorated acute lung injury assessed by HE staining, pulmonary microvascular permeability assay, measurement of wet/dry weight (W/D) ratio, and oxygenation index (PaO2/FiO2) analysis. Then, the mitophagy related proteins were evaluated by western blot. The results indicated that LPS-induced activation of mitophagy was inhibited by Mdivi-1 treatment. In addition, we found that Mdivi-1 protected A549 cells against LPS-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. We also found that Mdivi-1 reduced pulmonary cell apoptosis in the LPS-challenged rats and protected pulmonary tissues from oxidative stress (represented by the content of superoxide dismutase, malondialdehyde and lipid peroxides in lung). Moreover, Mdivi-1 treatment ameliorated LPS-induced lung inflammatory response and cells recruitment. These findings indicate that Mdivi-1 mitigates LPS-induced apoptosis, oxidative stress, and inflammation in ALI, which may be associated with mitophagy inhibition. Thus, the inhibition of mitophagy may represent a potential therapy for treating ALI.
WBSN in IoT Health-Based Application: Toward Delay and Energy Consumption Minimization
Authors: Alkhayyat Ahmed , Thabit Ahmed A. , Al-Mayali Fahad A. , Abbasi Qammer H.
Published: May 2019

The wireless body sensor network (WBSN) technologies are one of the essential technologies of the Internet of things (IoT) growths of the healthcare paradigm, where every patient is monitored through a group of small-powered and lightweight sensor nodes. Thus, energy consumption is a major issue in WBSN. The major causes of energy wastage in WBSN are collisions and retransmission process. However, the major cause of the collision happened when two sensors are attempting to transmit data at exactly the same time and same frequency, and the major cause of the retransmission process happened when the collision takes place or data does not received properly due to channel fading. In this paper, we proposed a cognitive cooperative communication with two master nodes, namely, as two cognitive master nodes (TCMN), which can eliminate the collision and reduce the retransmission process. First, a complete study of a scheme is investigated in terms of network architecture. Second, a mathematical model of the link and outage probability of the proposed protocol are derived. Third, the end-to-end delay, throughput, and energy consumption are analyzed and investigated. The simulation and numerical results show that the TCMN can do system performance under general conditions with respect to direct transmission mode (DTM) and existing work.
Assessment of the Levels of Level of Biomarkers of Bone Matrix Glycoproteins and Inflammatory Cytokines from Saudi Parkinson Patients
Authors: Alrafiah Aziza , Al-Ofi Ebtisam , Obaid Mona Talib , Alsomali Nimah , Muthuraju Sangu
Published: May 2019

Background. Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most commonly neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease which occurs to nearly 1% of the population > 50 years old. Inflammatory and bone biomarkers have both become valuable tools for PD diagnosis and prognosis. However, no studies have examined these markers in Saudi patients diagnosed with PD. Objectives. To assess the biomarkers and proinflammatory cytokines from blood with PD in serum. Methods. In our study, we included 26 patients with PD and 24 controls. Blood samples were withdrawn from subjects with PD and their matched controls. Biomarkers multiplex assay from Milliplex was used to assess the levels of IL-1B, IL-6, TNF-α, osteoprotegerin (OPG), osteopontin (OPN), and PTH (parathyroid hormone). Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package, GraphPad Prism. Results. We found that IL-1ß cytokine is significantly higher in patients with PD (p value = 0.0014). However, there are no statistically significant variances found among the two studied groups with regard to the IL-6 and TNF-α cytokines levels. We also found that levels of PTH are decreased in the PD subjects than the age-matched controls (p value= 0.003). Also, the bone matrix glycoproteins, including osteoprotegerin (OPG) and osteopontin (OPN), are significantly upregulated (p value= 0.04 for OPG and p value= 0.003 for OPN), as compared to the controls. Conclusions. Our findings are reliable with the possibility that inflammatory and bone markers can be used as biomarkers in PD prognosis. However, to clarify the natural role and consequence of these markers in PD pathology, further larger cohort studies are needed.
Modifying Graft-versus-Host Disease in a Humanized Mouse Model by Targeting Macrophages or B-Cells
Authors: Hogenes Marieke C. H. , van Dorp Suzanne , van Kuik Joyce , Monteiro Filipa R. P. , ter Hoeve Natalie , Guedes Liane , van Dijk Marijke R. , Martens Anton C. , de Weger Roel A.
Published: May 2019

Humanized mouse models can well be modified to study specific aspects of Graft-versus-Host Disease (GvHD). This paper shows the results of both macrophage depletion and (early) B-cell depletion in a humanized mouse model using RAG2-/-γc-/- mice injected with HuPBMCs. Macrophage depletion showed a significant decrease in survival and also lead to a change in the histomorphology of the xenogeneic reaction. Higher levels of infiltrating B-cells were observed in various organs of mice depleted for macrophages. With (early) B-cell depletion using Rituximab, a clear improvement on clinical symptoms was observed, even when probably only inactivated B-cells were deleted. However, the histological examinations only showed a significant morphological effect on liver fibrosis. This may be related to a difference in the mRNA levels of TGF-β. Also, lower mRNA levels of Tregs in some organs were observed after Rituximab treatment, which contradicts that a higher number of Tregs would always be related to less severe GvHD. Our data show that both macrophage depletion and (early) B-cell depletion in a xenogeneic mouse model can influence the clinical, histological, and cytokine production of a GvHD response.
Rainfall Trend Analysis in Uma Oya Basin, Sri Lanka, and Future Water Scarcity Problems in Perspective of Climate Variability
Authors: Khaniya Bhabishya , Jayanayaka Isuru , Jayasanka Pradeep , Rathnayake Upaka
Published: May 2019

The effect of climate variability on the rainfall pattern is canvassed on the Uma Oya river basin, Sri Lanka, consisting of 5 rainfall gauging stations. The Uma Oya basin (720 km2) is given utmost precedence due to environmental concerns seen in the ongoing Uma Oya multipurpose development project (529 million USD worth) which is expected to divert water to the southeast dry zone of the country while adding 231 GWh/year electricity to the national grid. The rainfall data for a period of 26 years (1992–2017) were analysed using Mann–Kendall’s test and Sen’s slope estimator test to identify the rainfall trends. Both of these trend analysis test results depict only one negative trend for Hilpankandura Estate for the month of June; however, the seasonal trend analysis and annual trend analysis do not support this observation. Nevertheless, Mann–Kendall’s test showed potential positive trends for the 3 rainfall gauging stations Kirklees Estate, Ledgerwatte Estate, and Welimada Group only in the 1st intermediate period (March-April), and this is well supported by the monthly trend analysis. Other than these trends, the results do not show any significant negative trends in the Uma Oya catchment. Therefore, the results vividly explain that there is no threat of water scarcity to the catchment area being resistant to changing global climate for the past 26 years.
Effect of Feed Rate in FSW on the Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of AA5754 Joints
Authors: El Rayes Magdy M. , Soliman Mahmoud S. , Abbas Adel T. , Pimenov Danil Yu. , Erdakov Ivan N. , Abdel-mawla Mahmoud M.
Published: May 2019

Friction stir welding is a solid-state welding process, which is successfully applied to aluminum alloys to replace fusion welding processes. In the present work, the influence of varying the feed rate at constant rotational speed on the mechanical and microstructural properties of friction stir welded AA5754 was investigated. FSW caused dynamic recrystallization leading to microstructural changes in different zones. Electron backscattered diffraction confirmed such changes via misorientation angle and subgrain size distributions. Energy dispersive spectroscopy determined the elements present in the matrix quantitatively and their distribution through mapping. Tensile and hardness tests showed slight enhancement compared to base metal. The strain hardening exponent was used to investigate the effect of varying the feed rate on the behavior of the welded samples.
Iterative Analytical Solutions for Nonlinear Two-Phase Flow with Gas Solubility in Shale Gas Reservoirs
Authors: Shang Xiaoji , Wang J. G. , Zhang Zhizhen
Published: May 2019

The governing equations of a two-phase flow have a strong nonlinear term due to the interactions between gas and water such as capillary pressure, water saturation, and gas solubility. This nonlinearity is usually ignored or approximated in order to obtain analytical solutions. The impact of such ignorance on the accuracy of solutions has not been clear so far. This study seeks analytical solutions without ignoring this nonlinear term. Firstly, a nonlinear mathematical model is developed for the two-phase flow of gas and water during shale gas production. This model also considers the effects of gas solubility in water. Then, iterative analytical solutions for pore pressures and production rates of gas and water are derived by the combination of travelling wave and variational iteration methods. Thirdly, the convergence and accuracy of the solutions are checked through history matching of two sets of gas production data: a China shale gas reservoir and a horizontal Barnett shale well. Finally, the effects of the nonlinear term, shale gas solubility, and entry capillary pressure on the shale gas production rate are investigated. It is found that these iterative analytical solutions can be convergent within 2-3 iterations. The solutions can well describe the production rates of both gas and water. The nonlinear term can significantly affect the forecast of shale gas production in both the short term and the long term. Entry capillary pressure and shale gas solubility in water can also affect shale gas production rates of shale gas and water. These analytical solutions can be used for the fast calculation of the production rates of both shale gas and water in the two-phase flow stage.
Computational Evolving Technique for Casting Process of Alloys
Authors: Horr Amir M.
Published: May 2019

The challenging task of bringing together the advanced computational models (with high accuracy) with reasonable computational time for the practical simulation of industrial process applications has promoted the introduction of innovative numerical methods in recent decades. The time and efforts associated with the accurate numerical simulations of manufacturing processes and the sophisticated multiphysical and multiscale nature of these processes have historically been challenging for mainstream industrial numerical tools. In particular, the numerical simulations of industrial continuous and semicontinuous casting processes for light metal alloys have broadly been reinvigorated to investigate the optimization of casting processes. The development of advanced numerical techniques (e.g., multiscale/physical, finite zoning, and evolving domain techniques) for industrial process simulations including the transient melt flow, heat transfer, and evolution of stress/strain and damage during continuous casting processes have endeavored many new opportunities. However, smarter and broader improvements are needed to capture the underlying physical/chemical phenomena including multiscale/physical transient fluid‐thermal‐mechanical coupling and dynamic heat‐transfer changes during these processes. Within this framework, the cooling system including its fluid flow and its characteristic heat transfer has to be modelled. In the research work herein, numerical studies of a novel transient evolving technique including the thermal‐mechanical phenomena and Heat Transfer Coefficient (HTC) estimation using empirical and reverse analyses are presented. The phase change modeling during casting process including liquid/solid interface and also the implementation of dynamic HTC curves are also considered. One of the main contributions of this paper is to show the applicability and reliability of the newly developed evolving numerical simulation approach for in‐depth investigations of continuous casting processes.
Bariatric Surgery in Rats Upregulates FSP27 Expression in Fat Tissue to Affect Fat Hydrolysis and Metabolism
Authors: Hu Jingyao , Wang Mofei , Zhou Yong , Zhang Xiaowei , He Bing , Liu Lei , Ma Rui , Zhang Tianyi , Liu Keyi , Wang Yong , Liu Jingang
Published: May 2019

Purpose. To explore the changes in FSP27 expression and fat metabolism in adipose tissue and their relationship after bariatric surgery in rats. Method. Food intake, body weight, triglyceride content, fat distribution, and fat cell morphology were evaluated in rats grouped into control, sham, sleeve gastrectomy (SG), and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) groups. Immunohistochemistry and western blotting were used to detect protein expression and real-time PCR was used to detect mRNA expression. Mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were used to assess the effects of different energy levels and nutrient factors on FSP27 in adipocytes. Result. Food intake, body weight, and triglyceride levels were reduced in RYGB and SG rats within 28 days after surgery, with a more pronounced effect in the RYGB group. Weight loss was mainly due to loss of fat mass rather than loss of lean mass, with the most pronounced decrease in trunk fat. FSP27 expression increased in lean rat adipocytes accompanied by increased lipid droplets (LDs). In SG and RYGB rats, the FSP27 protein concentration gradually increased in white adipose tissue (WAT) after operation. Hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), p-HSL/HSL, Adipose Triglyceride Lipase (ATGL), and Comparative Gene Identification-58 (CGI-58) gradually decreased in SG and RYGB rats, but they were always higher than in control and sham animals. FSP27 was also decreased in 3T3-L1 adipocytes of animals with a high-energy diet. Conclusion. FSP27 is associated with rat lipid metabolism and its expression varies with energy and nutrient supply. It can inhibit excessive hydrolysis and fat accumulation by regulating HSL and ATGL expression and by mediating LDs formation.
Circulating CD3+HLA-DR+Extracellular Vesicles as a Marker for Th1/Tc1-Type Immune Responses
Authors: Oba Ryutaro , Isomura Motomichi , Igarashi Akira , Nagata Kinya
Published: May 2019

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are known to contain unique proteins that reflect the cells of origins. Activated T cells are reported to secrete various EVs. To establish T cell subset-specific biomarkers, we performed proteomic analysis with Th1- and Th2-derived EVs and identified HLA-DR as a Th1-dominated EV membrane protein. We designed a measurement system for CD3+CD4+, CD3+CD8+, and CD3+HLA-DR+EVs to specifically determine EV subpopulations derived from CD4+, CD8+, and Th1-type T cells, respectively.In vitroanalysis showed that CD3+CD4+EVs and CD3+CD8+EVs were selectively secreted from activated CD4+and CD8+T cells, respectively, and that CD3+HLA-DR+EVs were actively secreted from not only Th1 but also activated CD8+T (probably mostly Tc1) cells. To evaluate the clinical usefulness of these EVs, we measured the serum levels in patients with inflammatory diseases, including Epstein-Barr virus (EBV,n=13) infection, atopic dermatitis (AD,n=10), rheumatoid arthritis (RA,n=20), and osteoarthritis (OA,n=20) and compared the levels with those of healthy adults (n=20). CD3+CD4+EVs were significantly higher in all of EBV infection, AD, RA, and OA while CD3+CD8+EVs were higher in EBV infection, lower in RA, and not different in AD and OA relative to the control. The levels of CD3+HLA-DR+EVs were markedly higher in EBV infection and significantly lower in AD. The results suggest that these EV subpopulations reflectin vivoactivation status of total CD4+, total CD8+, and Th1/Tc1-type T cells, respectively, and may be helpful in T cell-related clinical settings, such as cancer immunotherapy and treatment of chronic infection, autoimmune diseases, and graft-versus-host disease.
Magnetically Guided Capsule Endoscopy in Pediatric Patients with Abdominal Pain
Authors: Xie Mingping , Qian Yuting , Cheng Shidan , Wang Lifu , Shen Ruizhe
Published: May 2019

Background and Aims. Magnetically guided capsule endoscopy (MGCE) offers a noninvasive method of evaluating both the gastric cavity and small intestine; however, few studies have evaluated MGCE in pediatric patients. We investigated the diagnostic efficacy of MGCE in pediatric patients with abdominal pain. Patients and Methods. We enrolled 48 patients with abdominal pain aged 6–18 years. All patients underwent MGCE to evaluate the gastric cavity and small intestine. Results. The cleanliness of the gastric cardia, fundus, body, angle, antrum, and pylorus was assessed satisfactorily in 100%, 85.4%, 89.6%, 100%, 97.9%, and 100% of patients, respectively. The subjective percentage visualization of the gastric cardia, fundus, body, angle, antrum, and pylorus was 84.8%, 83.8%, 88.5%, 87.7%, 95.2%, and 99.6%, respectively. Eighteen (37.5%) patients had 19 gastrointestinal tract lesions: one esophageal, three in the gastric cavity, and 15 in the small intestine. No adverse events occurred during follow-up. Conclusions. MGCE is safe, convenient, and tolerable for evaluating the gastric cavity and small intestine in pediatric patients. MGCE can effectively diagnose pediatric patients with abdominal pain.
Comparative Genome Characterization of a Petroleum-Degrading Bacillus subtilis Strain DM2
Authors: Li Shi-Weng , Liu Meng-Yuan , Yang Rui-Qi
Published: May 2019

The complete genome sequence of Bacillus subtilis strain DM2 isolated from petroleum-contaminated soil on the Tibetan Plateau was determined. The genome of strain DM2 consists of a circular chromosome of 4,238,631 bp for 4458 protein-coding genes and a plasmid of 84,240 bp coding for 103 genes. Thirty-four genomic islands coding for 330 proteins and 5 prophages are found in the genome. The DDH value shows that strain DM2 belongs to B. subtilis subsp. subtilis subspecies, but significant variations of the genome are also present. Comparative analysis showed that the genome of strain DM2 encodes some strain-specific proteins in comparison with B. subtilis subsp. subtilis str. 168, such as carboxymuconolactone decarboxylase family protein, gfo/Idh/MocA family oxidoreductases, GlsB/YeaQ/YmgE family stress response membrane protein, HlyC/CorC family transporters, LLM class flavin-dependent oxidoreductase, and LPXTG cell wall anchor domain-containing protein. Most of the common strain-specific proteins in DM2 and MJ01 strains, or proteins unique to DM2 strain, are involved in the pathways related to stress response, signaling, and hydrocarbon degradation. Furthermore, the strain DM2 genome contains 122 genes coding for developed two-component systems and 138 genes coding for ABC transporter systems. The prominent features of the strain DM2 genome reflect the evolutionary fitness of this strain to harsh conditions and hydrocarbon utilization.
N-n-Butyl Haloperidol Iodide Ameliorates Oxidative Stress in Mitochondria Induced by Hypoxia/Reoxygenation through the Mitochondrial c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase/Sab/Src/Reactive Oxygen Species Pathway in H9c2 Cells
Authors: Chu Qianwen , Zhang Yanmei , Zhong Shuping , Gao Fenfei , Chen Yicun , Wang Bin , Zhang Zhaojing , Cai Wenfeng , Li Weiqiu , Zheng Fuchun , Shi Ganggang
Published: May 2019

Both c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) play important roles in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Our previous studies suggest that N-n-butyl haloperidol iodide (F2) exerts cardioprotection by reducing ROS production and JNK activation caused by I/R. In this study, we hypothesized that there is a JNK/Sab/Src/ROS pathway in the mitochondria in H9c2 cells following hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) that induces oxidative stress in the mitochondria and that F2 exerts mitochondrial protective effects during H/R injury by modulating this pathway. The results showed that H/R induced higher-level ROS in the cytoplasm on the one hand and JNK activation and translocation to the mitochondria by colocalization with Sab on the other. Moreover, H/R resulted in mitochondrial Src dephosphorylation, and subsequently, oxidative stress evidenced by the increase in ROS generation and oxidized cardiolipin in the mitochondrial membranes and by the decrease in mitochondrial superoxide dismutase activity and membrane potential. Furthermore, treatment with a JNK inhibitor or Sab small interfering RNA inhibited the mitochondrial translocation of p-JNK, decreased colocalization of p-JNK and Sab on the mitochondria, and reduced Src dephosphorylation and mitochondrial oxidative stress during H/R. In addition, Src dephosphorylation by inhibitor PP2 increased mitochondrial ROS production. F2, like inhibitors of the JNK/Sab/Src/ROS pathway, downregulated the H/R-induced mitochondrial translocation of p-JNK and the colocalization of p-JNK and Sab on the mitochondria, increased Src phosphorylation, and alleviated the above-mentioned mitochondrial oxidative stress. In conclusion, F2 could ameliorate H/R-associated oxidative stress in mitochondria in H9c2 cells through the mitochondrial JNK/Sab/Src/ROS pathway.
Some New Dynamic Inequalities Involving Monotonic Functions on Time Scales
Authors: Saker S. H. , Awwad E. , Saied A.
Published: May 2019

In this paper, we prove some new dynamic inequalities involving C- monotonic functions on time scales. The main results will be proved by employing Hölder’s inequality, integration by parts, and a chain rule on time scales. As a special case when T=R, our results contain the continuous inequalities proved by Heinig, Maligranda, Pečarić, Perić, and Persson and when T=N, the results to the best of the authors’ knowledge are essentially new.
Radiologic Outcomes of Intramedullary Nailing in Infraisthmal Femur-Shaft Fracture with or without Poller Screws
Authors: Song Sang-Heon
Published: May 2019

Background. Intramedullary nails have been the treatment of choice for acute femur-shaft fractures in adults. However, the infraisthmal location has a high risk of nonunion and is easy to malalign. This study evaluated radiologic outcomes of initial supportive use of poller screws in combination with antegrade femoral nailing in infraisthmal femur-shaft fracture. Methods. A total of 49 patients who had undergone antegrade nailing with or without supportive poller-screw insertion for infraisthmal femur-shaft fracture were included in this retrospective cohort study (23 patients with poller screws in group 1 versus 26 patients without poller screws in group 2). Patient demographics including sex, age, classification, mechanism of injury, operative time, poller-screw time, and radiologic outcomes, including union rate, time to union, and number of malunions, were evaluated. Results. Union rate in group 1 (95.6%) was significantly higher than that in group 2 (84.6%) (p = 0.04). Time to union was 19.8 weeks in group 1 and 20.3 weeks in group 2 (p = 0.31). Conclusion. Initial supportive insertion of two poller screws after nailing took a mean of 21minutes additionally but could lessen the risk of nonunion significantly in this study. We believe that these findings may have important clinical relevance for the treatment of infraisthmal femur-shaft fracture.