bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Image thresholding based on gray level‐fuzzy local entropy histogram
Authors: Zheng Xiulian , Tang Yinggan , Hu Wenzhao
Published: December 2017

The thresholding method utilizes only the gray level information of image but ignores the spatial information between pixels. Thus, it sometimes produces incorrect segmentation results. In this paper, a novel histogram, called gray level‐local fuzzy entropy (GLLFE) histogram, is proposed to incorporate spatial information into the thresholding process. First, the proposed method transfers the pixel's gray level to a fuzzy set through a fuzzy membership function. Second, the local fuzzy entropy of each pixel is calculated and the GLLFE histogram is constructed by combining the local fuzzy entropy and gray level. Finally, a two‐dimensional threshold vector is determined according to the maximum entropy principle. The local fuzzy entropy can not only characterize the spatial correlation but also suppress the noise and enhance the weak edge. Experimental results show that the performance of the proposed method is good. © 2017 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Genotoxicity, biochemical, and biodistribution studies of magnesium oxide nano and microparticles in albino wistar rats after 28‐day repeated oral exposure
Authors: Mangalampalli Bhanuramya , Dumala Naresh , Perumalla Venkata Rekhadevi , Grover Paramjit
Published: December 2017

Increased utilization and exposure levels of Magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles (NPs) to humans and environment may raise unexpected consequences. The goal of this study was to evaluate the toxicological implications of MgO NPs and MPs after 28 day repeated oral administration in Wistar rats with three different doses (250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg). The MgO particles were characterised systematically in order to get more insights of the toxicological behaviour. MgO NPs induced significant DNA damage and aberrations in chromosomes. Moreover, hepatic enzymes released into the systemic circulation caused significant elevated levels of physiological enzymes in blood. NPs could interfere with proteins and enzymes and alter the redox balance in cell environment. Significant accumulation of Mg in all tissues and clearance via urine and faeces was noted in size dependent kinetics. Oral administration of MgO NPs altered the biochemical and genotoxic parameters in dose dependent and gender independent manner.
Learning From Exemplary Teachers of Literacy
Authors: Duke Nell K. , Cervetti Gina N. , Wise Crystal N.
Published: December 2017

Recent articles in The Reading Teacher have communicated contributions of reading research over the last three decades. In this article, the authors focus on a type of research that has contributed to our understanding of practice: studies of exemplary teachers of literacy. The authors discuss three studies and their findings: a study of a teacher who was exemplary in fostering the literacy achievement of African American students; a study of two teachers who were, in comparison with five other teachers studied, exemplary in fostering literacy engagement; and a study of 36 teachers who were more and less effective at fostering literacy growth. These and other studies of exemplary teachers reveal a wide range of instructional practices and their orchestration.
Digital Play as Purposeful Productive Literacies in African American Boys
Authors: Lewis Ellison Tisha , Solomon Marva
Published: December 2017

Digital literacies abound in playing a foundational role in the rhythm and pattern of our lives, yet debates continue about how to harness them to teach and learn literacy. In an effort to humanize digital literacies, this department column offers a vast array of topics, from participatory work that pushes educators and researchers to communicate in local and global spaces to ways of redefining core reading and literacy skills through a screen‐based, multimodal logic. This column also provides a venue for research and practical applications that depict technology use as a part of the fabric of being human. The column helps educators reconceptualize the ways that children learn with technology, media, and new communication systems; honors educator success stories and burning questions and issues; and reimagines literacy futures.
Produced water, money water, living water: Anthropological perspectives on water and fracking
Authors: de Rijke Kim
Published: December 2017

Advances in hydraulic fracturing (aka “fracking”) technologies and horizontal drilling have enabled the extraction of previously unviable unconventional oil and gas resources. However, as global environmental concerns have become more prominent and unconventional oil and gas developments have moved ever closer to residential centers, public scrutiny of the industry and its methods and impacts of extraction have increased. Water impacts feature prominently among the contemporary societal concerns about fracking. These concerns include the large water requirements of the process itself, as well as concerns about the potential pollution of groundwater and the (underground) environment more broadly. Anthropologists have undertaken qualitative field research on unconventional gas developments in a variety of settings, largely among local communities in regions of extraction. The perspectives employed by anthropologists are commonly drawn from the broader social science literature, including the anthropology of water and natural resources, science and technology studies, studies of social movements, and studies which examine the energy‐society nexus. Based on the shortcomings of the published anthropological accounts, interdisciplinary research collaboration with hydrologists, engineers and economists, as well as a more fulsome engagement with the variety of hopes, fears and dreams of fracking and unconventional gas, is recommended.WIREs Water2018, 5:e1272. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1272

This article is categorized under:

Engineering Water > Sustainable Engineering of Water

Science of Water > Water Quality

Human Water > Methods
Functional Compromise Cohort Study (FCCS): Sarcopenia is a Strong Predictor of Mortality in the Intensive Care Unit
Authors: de Hoogt P. A. , Reisinger K. W. , Tegels J. J. W. , Bosmans J. W. A. M. , Tijssen F. , Stoot J. H. M. B.
Published: December 2017

Background

Functional compromise in elderly patients is considered to be a significant contributing factor in increased postoperative morbidity and mortality. It is described as a state of reduced physiologic reserves including, e.g., sarcopenia, cachexia, malnutrition and frailty with increased susceptibility to adverse health outcomes. Aim of this study was to investigate the association of sarcopenia with mortality in ICU patients.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of a total of 687 patients admitted to the ICU from January 2013 until December 2014 was performed. Indirect measurements of functional compromise in these patients were conducted. Sarcopenia was assessed using the L3 muscle index by using Osirix© on computed tomography scans. Groningen Frailty Indicator (GFI) and Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire (SNAQ) scores were extracted from the digital patient filing system and were used to assess frailty and nutritional status. These factors were analyzed using logistic regression analysis as predictor for in‐hospital mortality and 6‐month mortality, which was the primary endpoint along with other secondary outcome measures.

Results

Age was an independent predictor of in‐hospital mortality, OR 1.043 (95% CI 1.030–1.057, p < 0.001). Analysis of sarcopenia showed OR 2.361 (95% CI 1.138–4.895, p = 0.021), for GFI OR 1.012 (95% CI 0.919–1.113, p = 0.811) and for SNAQ OR 1.262 (95% CI 1.091–1.460, p = 0.002).

Conclusion

This study shows a promising role for the sarcopenia score as a predictor of mortality on the ICU, based upon CT imaging at L3 level and SNAQ score. Further research is necessary to test this in larger cohorts and to develop a possible instrument to predict mortality in the intensive care unit.
Statistical recipe for quantifying microbial functional diversity from EcoPlate metabolic profiling
Authors: Miki Takeshi , Yokokawa Taichi , Ke Po‐Ju , Hsieh I‐Fang , Hsieh Chih‐hao , Kume Tomonori , Yoneya Kinuyo , Matsui Kazuaki
Published: December 2017

EcoPlate quantifies the ability of a microbial community to utilize 31 distinct carbon substrates, by monitoring color development of microplate wells during incubation. Well color patterns represent metabolic profiles. Previous studies typically used color patterns representing average values of three technical replicates on the final day of the incubation and did not consider substrate chemical diversity. However, color fluctuates during incubation and color varies between replicates, undermining statistical power to distinguish differences among samples in microbial functional composition and diversity. Therefore, we developed a protocol to improve statistical power with two approaches. First, we optimized data treatment for color development during incubation and technical replicates. Second, we incorporated chemical structural information for the 31 carbon substrates into the computation. Our framework implemented as the protocol in the R environment is able to compare the statistical power among different calculation methods. When we applied it to data from aquatic microcosm and forest soil systems, we observed substantial improvement in statistical power when we incorporated temporal patterns during incubation instead of using only endpoint data. Using maximum or minimum values of technical replicates also sometimes gave better results than averages. Incorporating chemical structural information based on fuzzy set theory could improve statistical power but only when relative color density information was considered; it was not seen when the pattern was first binarized into the presence or absence of metabolic activity. Finally, we discuss research directions to improve these approaches and offer some practical considerations for applying our methods to other datasets.
Recent challenges and advances in genetically-engineered cell therapy
Authors: Yong Seok-Beom , Chung Jee Young , Song Yoonsung , Kim Yong-Hee
Published: December 2017

Cells naturally sense and actively response to their environment. Cell-therapy has long been studied and shown therapeutic effects in various diseases. However, several hurdles should be overcome to improve cell-based therapy. Gene delivery-mediated cellular modification has shown improvement of cell function by obstacle gene silencing and therapeutic gene expression. Especially, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing is a very promising method for gene modification. In this review, we describe the recent advances in genetic modification for cell therapy. Stem cells are still promising source of cell therapy due to their self-renewal character and differentiation potential. Immune cells regulate the inflammatory response and immunization, which inspired various cell therapy using immune-regulatory cells. Conclusively, we emphasize the need to develop gene-modification-based cell therapy as potent future treatment.
Study on frictional behavior of carbon nanotube thin films with respect to surface condition
Authors: Hwang Youn-Hoo , Myung Byung-Soo , Kim Hyun-Joon
Published: December 2017

In this work, tribological characteristics of thin films composed of entangled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were investigated. The surface roughness of CNT thin films fabricated via a dip-coating process was controlled by squeezing during the process with an applied normal force ranging from 0 to 5 kgf. Raman spectra and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the thin films were obtained to estimate the influence of the squeezing process on the crystallinity of the CNTs. The analysis revealed that squeezing could reduce surface roughness, while preserving the crystallinity of the CNTs. Moreover, the surface energy of the cover glass used to press the CNT thin film was found to be the critical factor controlling surface roughness. A micro-tribometer and macro-tribometer were used to assess the tribological characteristics of the CNT thin film. The results of the tribotest exhibited a correlation between the friction coefficient and surface roughness. Dramatic changes in friction coefficient could be observed in the micro-tribotest, while changes in friction coefficient in the macro-tribotest were not significant.
A multiscale subpixel mixture analysis applied for melt detection using passive microwave and radar scatterometer image time series of the Antarctic Peninsula (1999–2009)
Authors: De Freitas Marcos W. D. , Mendes Júnior Cláudio W. , Arigony-Neto Jorge , Costi Juliana , Simões Jefferson C.
Published: December 2017

This paper reports a comparative analysis performed on a fraction-image time series of the Antarctic Peninsula from the period 1999–2009 generated by multiresolution remote-sensing images (SSM/I and SSMI/S with 25 km and QuikSCAT with 2.225 km spatial resolutions) for snow-melt detection. Our method is based on the (a) preprocessing of multitemporal remote-sensing data, (b) subpixel mixture analysis of SSMI and QuikSCAT image time series, and (c) evaluation of subpixel analysis, including an assessment of fraction images of wet snow using an independent ASAR dataset and sensitivity analysis on the melt metrics measured by these images. The temporal dynamics of the melt indices derived from the wet-snow fraction images presented a more realistic pattern than the traditional melt metrics measured by Boolean snow-melt detection approaches. Because the snow melt actually occurs at the pixel fractions, the multiscale analysis that was performed suggests an overestimation of the melt metrics calculated using Boolean approaches (which assume that the entire area of the detected pixel shows snow melt). The melt metrics measurements show an overestimation according to the decrease in spatial resolution related to the multiplicative effect of a larger pixel area.
Towards a practical model for community engagement: Advancing the art and science in academic health centers
Authors: Ahmed Syed M. , Neu Young Sharon , DeFino Mia C. , Franco Zeno , Nelson David A.
Published: December 2017

Introduction

Community engagement (CE) has become more prevalent among academic health centers (AHCs), with significant diversity in practices and language. The array of approaches to CE contributes to confusion among practitioners.

Methods

We have reviewed multiple models of CE utilized by AHCs, Clinical and Translational Science Awards, and higher education institutions overall. Taking these models into consideration, we propose a comprehensive model of CE that encompasses a broader spectrum of activities and programs.

Results

The CE Components Practical Model includes 5 components: Community Outreach and Service, Education, Clinical Care, Research, and Policy and Advocacy. The components are supported by the foundational elements within administrative functions and infrastructure.

Conclusions

This model will accomplish the following: (1) reduce confusion about CE; (2) provide a broader understanding of CE; and (3) increase the ability of CE practitioners to interact with each other through this common reference and engage in advancing CE scholarship.
The evolving collaborative relationship between Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNs) and Clinical and Translational Science Awardees (CTSAs)
Authors: Riley-Behringer Maureen , Davis Melinda M. , Werner James J. , Fagnan L. J. , Stange Kurt C.
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs) and Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNs) have complementary missions. We replicated a 2008 survey of CTSA-PBRN leaders to understand how organizational relationships have evolved.

Methods

We surveyed 60 CTSA community engagement (CE) Directors and 135 PBRN Directors and analyzed data using between and within-group comparisons.

Results

In total, 43% of CTSA CE Directors (26/60) and 42% of PBRN Directors (57/135) responded. Quantitative responses revealed growing alignment between CTSA/PBRN perceptions, with a few areas of discordance. CE Directors noted declining financial support for PBRNs. PBRN Directors identified greater CTSA effectiveness in PBRN engagement, consultation, and collaborative grant submissions. Qualitative data revealed divergent experiences across CTSA/PBRN programs.

Conclusions

Relationships between CTSAs and PBRNs are maturing; for some that means strengthening and for others a growing vulnerability. Findings suggest a mutual opportunity for PBRNs and CTSAs around applied research. Studies to characterize exemplar CTSA-PBRN collaborations are needed.
Thermal transfer in Rayleigh–Bénard cell with smooth or rough boundaries
Authors: Rusaouën E. , Liot O. , Castaing B. , Salort J. , Chillà F.
Published: December 2017

Several Rayleigh–Bénard experiments in water are performed with smooth or rough boundaries. We present new thermal transfer measurements obtained with large roughness elements arranged in a square lattice. The data are compared to previous data obtained with smaller elements in the same cell (Tisserand et al., Phys. Fluids, vol. 23, 2011). Experiments in the same apparatus without roughness are presented, as reference results, to allow for comparison. In the rough case, several regimes of heat transfer are identified: one similar to the smooth case, an enhanced heat transfer regime characterized by a modification of the Nusselt versus Rayleigh number relation and a third part where the relation can be similar to a smooth one with a corrected prefactor.
Direct numerical simulation of turbulent channel flow over a surrogate for Nikuradse-type roughness
Authors: Thakkar M. , Busse A. , Sandham N. D.
Published: December 2017

A tiled approach to rough surface simulation is used to explore the full range of roughness Reynolds numbers, from the limiting case of hydrodynamic smoothness up to fully rough conditions. The surface is based on a scan of a standard grit-blasted comparator, subsequently low-pass filtered and made spatially periodic. High roughness Reynolds numbers are obtained by increasing the friction Reynolds number of the direct numerical simulations, whereas low roughness Reynolds numbers are obtained by scaling the surface down and tiling to maintain a constant domain size. In both cases, computational requirements on box size, resolution in wall units and resolution per minimum wavelength of the rough surface are maintained. The resulting roughness function behaviour replicates to good accuracy the experiments of Nikuradse (1933 VDI-Forschungsheft, vol. 361), suggesting that the processed grit-blasted surface can serve as a surrogate for his sand-grain roughness, the precise structure of which is undocumented. The present simulations also document a monotonic departure from hydrodynamic smooth-wall results, which is fitted with a geometric relation, the exponent of which is found to be inconsistent with both the Colebrook formula and an earlier theoretical argument based on low-Reynolds-number drag relations.
Coupling performance of tandem flexible inverted flags in a uniform flow
Authors: Huang Haibo , Wei Heng , Lu Xi-Yun
Published: December 2017

The interaction of tandem inverted flexible flags in a uniform flow is investigated. For the inverted flags, their ends are fixed with their heads freely flapping. A direct numerical simulation is performed for which the Reynolds number is of order 200. Large flapping amplitude as well as large drag force is preferred because more energy may be harvested if more bending energy is generated. For the simple case of two tandem inverted flags, the drag force and flapping amplitude of the rear flag are found to be smaller than those of an isolated inverted flag due to the destructive merging mode of vortices. However, it is still unknown whether more bending energy can be generated when coupled inverted flags are arranged properly. To explore the possibility, inverted flags are proposed to be arranged as two rows, which indicate two lines of inverted flags perpendicular to the direction of the incoming flow, and flags in the front and rear rows are in-line or staggered. First the results for infinite flags with periodic boundary condition are presented. In both the in-line and the staggered arrangements, due to the interactions between the front–rear flags, the flapping amplitude or the maximum bending deformation and bending energy of a flag in the rear row can be enhanced, which may be significantly higher than those of an isolated case. Meanwhile, the bending energy of a flag in the front row is close to that of an isolated case. Second, results for finite inverted flag groups show that antiphase synchronization is preferred. When the group number is large enough, the bending energies of the front and rear flags in the inner groups are close to those in the infinite case. This finding may be helpful for the designing of an efficient energy harvesting device using inverted flags.
Methodological Aspect of Mortars Dating (Poznań, Poland, MODIS)
Authors: Michalska Danuta , Czernik Justyna , Goslar Tomasz
Published: December 2017

An accurate radiocarbon (14C) dating of mortars requires adjusting the sample preparation procedure to each specific mortar composition. In order to follow the influence of mortar components and the preparation procedure on dating results, a mortar intercomparison study (MODIS) was undertaken by 10 organizations (institutes and laboratories) in the analyses of four different types of mortars (see in this issue Hajdas et al. 2017 and Hayen et al. 2017). This paper presents the preparation protocol DoM v.1 applied by the Poznań team, together with dating results on a set of mortar samples used for the of intercomparison. This procedure involved petrographic observations, SEM-EDS analyses, different mechanical-chemical preparation, a test of leaching reaction for available fractions, and finally 14C dating of chosen samples. The applied preparation allows one to obtain dry-sieved grain fractions and different fractions from suspension: grain fractions from suspension collected in different times of leaching, repeated suspension (different portions), as well as suspension collected at different times of sedimentation. The obtained results show the great importance of good sampling and the influence of sample preparation on 14C dating results.
AMS Radiocarbon Dates on Peat Section Related with Tephra and Archaeological Sites in Carlisle Island, the Islands of Four Mountains, Alaska
Authors: Okuno Mitsuru , Izbekov Pavel , Nicolaysen Kirsten P , Sato Eiichi , Nakamura Toshio , Savinetsky Arkady B , Vasyukov Dmitrii , Krylovich Olga A , Khasanov Bulat , Miranda Jonathan , Persico Lyman , Hatfield Virginia , West Dixie L , Bruner Kale M
Published: December 2017

We obtained radiocarbon (14C) dates with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) of vascular plant samples and a charcoal sample collected from peat deposits near the prehistoric village site informally designated CR-03 on Carlisle Island in the Islands of Four Mountains group, Alaska, to determine the eruption age of the CR-02 tephra. A fine vitric ash erupted from Okmok caldera, Umnak Island (ca. 2 ka BP) was also discovered in the bog. The ages of the CR-02 tephra and Okmok II ash are estimated to be 1050 and 2000 cal BP, respectively. Because both tephras are distinctive and widespread, these are important chronostratigraphic markers for archaeological sites in this island group. The 14C dates obtained from this bog are 800 years younger than the dates of the charcoal fragments from cultural layers in the Unit 3 of prehistoric village site CR-02 (AMK-0003).
Nonrepresentative Representatives: An Experimental Study of the Decision Making of Elected Politicians
Authors: SHEFFER LIOR , LOEWEN PETER JOHN , SOROKA STUART , WALGRAVE STEFAAN , SHEAFER TAMIR
Published: December 2017

A considerable body of work in political science is built upon the assumption that politicians are more purposive, strategic decision makers than the citizens who elect them. At the same time, other work suggests that the personality profiles of office seekers and the environment they operate in systematically amplifies certain choice anomalies. These contrasting perspectives persist absent direct evidence on the reasoning characteristics of representatives. We address this gap by administering experimental decision tasks to incumbents in Belgium, Canada, and Israel. We demonstrate that politicians are as or more subject to common choice anomalies when compared to nonpoliticians: they exhibit a stronger tendency to escalate commitment when facing sunk costs, they adhere more to policy choices that are presented as the status-quo, their risk calculus is strongly subject to framing effects, and they exhibit distinct future time discounting preferences. This has obvious implications for our understanding of decision making by elected politicians.
Different phonological mechanisms facilitate vocabulary learning at early and late stages of language acquisition: Evidence from Polish 9-year-olds learning English—CORRIGENDUM
Authors: MARECKA MARTA , SZEWCZYK JAKUB , JELEC ANNA , JANISZEWSKA DONATA , RATAJ KAROLINA , DZIUBALSKA-KOŁACZYK KATARZYNA
Published: December 2017

The first and second authors contributed equally to this article and should be considered co–first authors. We regret this omission and any problems it may have caused.
China's Newsmakers: Official Media Coverage and Political Shifts in the Xi Jinping Era
Authors: Jaros Kyle , Pan Jennifer
Published: December 2017

Xi Jinping's rise to power in late 2012 brought immediate political realignments in China, but the extent of these shifts has remained unclear. In this paper, we evaluate whether the perceived changes associated with Xi Jinping's ascent – increased personalization of power, centralization of authority, Party dominance and anti-Western sentiment – were reflected in the content of provincial-level official media. As past research makes clear, media in China have strong signalling functions, and media coverage patterns can reveal which actors are up and down in politics. Applying innovations in automated text analysis to nearly two million newspaper articles published between 2011 and 2014, we identify and tabulate the individuals and organizations appearing in official media coverage in order to help characterize political shifts in the early years of Xi Jinping's leadership. We find substantively mixed and regionally varied trends in the media coverage of political actors, qualifying the prevailing picture of China's “new normal.” Provincial media coverage reflects increases in the personalization and centralization of political authority, but we find a drop in the media profile of Party organizations and see uneven declines in the media profile of foreign actors. More generally, we highlight marked variation across provinces in coverage trends.
Quasilinear systems involving curl
Authors: Chen Jun , Pan Xing-Bin
Published: December 2017

We study a quasilinear degenerately elliptic system involving the operator curl. The leading-order term of the associated energy functional is a q-power of curl of the unknowns. It is interesting to us that the structure of the lower-order terms will play an important role in both the existence and regularity of the solutions. When the lower-order part of the energy functional is convex we obtain weak solutions by minimizing the functional in some suitable spaces of vector fields. When it is concave we obtain critical points of the truncated functional, which are weak solutions of a nonlinear eigenvalue problem. We also examine the interior Hölder regularity of the weak solutions, which indicates that the weak solution is composed of a ‘good’ divergence-free part and a ‘bad’ part in gradient form. The analysis involves local higher integrability and local Hölder gradient estimates for a translated q′-Laplace equation and a translated quasilinear equation with p-growth.
How do autodiffeomorphisms act on embeddings?
Authors: Skopenkov A.
Published: December 2017

We work in the smooth category. The following problem was suggested by E. Rees in 2002: describe the precomposition action of self-diffeomorphisms of Sp × Sq on the set of isotopy classes of embeddings Sp × Sq → ℝm.

Let G: Sp × Sq → ℝm be an embedding such that

is null-homotopic for some pair of different points a, b ∈ Sp. We prove the following statement: if ψ is an autodiffeomorphism of Sp × Sq identical on a neighbourhood of a × Sq for some a ∈ Sp and p ⩽ q and 2m ⩾ 3p +3q + 4, then G◦ ψ is isotopic to G.

Let N be an oriented (p + q)-manifold and let f, g be isotopy classes of embeddings N → ℝm, Sp × Sq → ℝm, respectively. As a corollary we obtain that under certain conditions for orientation-preserving embeddings s: Sp × Dq → N the Sp-parametric embedded connected sum f#sg depends only on f, g and the homology class of s|Sp × 0.
Evolution of non-simple closed curves in the area-preserving curvature flow
Authors: Wang Xiao-Liu , Wo Wei-Feng , Yang Ming
Published: December 2017

The convergence and blow-up results are established for the evolution of non-simple closed curves in an area-preserving curvature flow. It is shown that the global solution starting from a locally convex curve converges to an m-fold circle if the enclosed algebraic area A0 is positive, and evolves into a point if A0 = 0.
A geometric description of the extreme Khovanov cohomology
Authors: González-Meneses J. , Manchón P. M. G. , Silvero M.
Published: December 2017

We prove that the potential extreme Khovanov cohomology of a link is the cohomology of the independence simplicial complex of its Lando graph. We also provide a family of knots having as many non-trivial extreme Khovanov cohomology modules as desired, that is, examples of H-thick knots that are as far from being H-thin as desired.
Species distribution, sequence types and antimicrobial resistance of Acinetobacter spp. from cystic fibrosis patients
Authors: Rocha G. A. , Lima D. F. , Rodrigues E. R. , Leão R. S. , Folescu T. W. , Firmida M. C. , Cohen R. W. F. , Albano R. M. , Marques E. A.
Published: December 2017

Acinetobacter spp. are important healthcare pathogens, being closely linked to antibiotic resistance and outbreaks worldwide. Although such species are rarely observed in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), we describe the characteristics of 53 strains of Acinetobacter spp. isolated from the sputum of 39 Brazilian patients with CF. The species distribution was A. baumannii (n = 29), A. pittii (n = 13), A. nosocomialis (n = 8), A. seifertii (n = 1), A. soli (n = 1) and A. variabilis (n = 1) determined by partial rpoB gene sequencing. Sixteen strains (10 A. baumannii, 3 A. pittii and 3 A. nosocomialis) were multidrug-resistant (MDR) by disk diffusion test (30%) and eight MDR carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii strains harboured the blaOXA-23-like oxacillinase gene. Thirty-three sequence types (STs) were identified by multilocus sequence typing of which eight were novel (A. baumannii: 843, 844, 845, 847, 848; A. pitti: 643; A. nosocomialis: 862 and A. seifertii: 846); six STs (2 A. baumannii, 3 A. pittii and 1 A. nosocomialis) were found in more than one patient. Four strains of A. baumannii were assigned to two common clonal complexes (CCs), namely, CC1 (ST1, ST20 and ST160), and CC79 (ST79). This study underlines the extensive species diversity of Acinetobacter spp. strains in CF lung infections which may present difficulties for therapy due to significant antimicrobial resistance.
Do Anti-dumping Duties Still Matter? The Curious Case of Aluminum Foil
Authors: HAKOBYAN SHUSHANIK
Published: December 2017

In 2009, the EU imposed anti-dumping duties on aluminum foil imported from Armenia, Brazil, and China for five years. The final determination resulted in the imposition of definitive anti-dumping duties of 13.4% (Armenia), 17.6% (Brazil), and 6.4–30% (China). This paper quantifies the direct and indirect effects of the EU anti-dumping duty on EU and US imports from targeted and unaffected countries using detailed data for the years 2006 through 2012, and controlling for exports of all products within the aluminum sheet, plate, and foil manufacturing industry from all countries. The findings point to the trade destruction, trade depression, trade diversion, and trade deflection effects typically found in the existing literature. However, the uniqueness of this case lies in the fact that the Armenian exporter is a subsidiary of a Russian firm. And as Armenia's exports to the EU declined, they expanded rapidly to the US. At the same time, the US imports from Russia, a country not directly touched by the anti-dumping ruling, declined dramatically, and were diverted to the EU. This points to the potential ineffectiveness of anti-dumping duties in the presence of multinational corporations with production facilities located across countries differentially impacted by anti-dumping duties.
Ineffective and Counterproductive? The Impact of Gender Quotas in Open-List Proportional Representation Systems
Authors: Jankowski Michael , Marcinkiewicz Kamil
Published: December 2017

Research on the impact of gender quotas in open-list proportional representation systems has described quotas as ineffective or even paradoxical. While some authors argue that gender quotas without a placement mandate will be essentially ineffective since most women will be nominated to unpromising positions, others suppose that women will be disadvantaged by gender quotas because the increase in the number of female candidates will decrease the average number of preferential votes cast for women. We reexamine the evidence for these claims by analyzing the case of Poland. We demonstrate that the gender quota introduced there in 2011 increased the number of women placed at promising ballot positions and had very little impact on the number of preferential votes cast for women. Additionally, using simulations, we show that the quota had a positive impact on the number of elected women.
Twins as Participants in Randomized Controlled Trials: A Review of Published Literature
Authors: Sumathipala Athula , Yelland Lisa , Green Debra , Shepherd Tom , Jayaweera Kaushalya , Ferreira Paulo , Craig Jeffrey M.
Published: December 2017

Monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins participate in research that partitions variance in health, disease, and behavior into genetic and environmental components. However, there are other innovative roles for twins in medical research. One such way is involving MZ and/or DZ twins in co-twin control-designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs). To our knowledge, no reviews have been conducted that summarizes the involvement of twins in RCTs. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature search using the U.S. Clinical Trials Database, NHS electronic databases, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsychINFO for RCTs on publications involving MZ and/or DZ twins as RCT participants. Out of the 186,027 clinical trials registered in the U.S. clinical trial register ClinicaTrails.gov, only six RCTs used twins as participants. From 1,598 articles identified in our search, 50 peer-reviewed English language publications met our pre-defined inclusion criteria. Sample sizes for RCTs have ranged from a total number of participants from 2 to 1,162; however, 32 (64%) studies had a sample size of 100 or less, and of those, 12 (24%) had fewer than 10. Both MZ and DZ twins have been recruited to the RCTs. In most instances (33/50) each twin from a pair were assigned to different study arms. Most of those studies included MZ twins only. Despite the methodological advantages, the use of MZ and DZ twins as participants in interventional RCTs appeared limited. The continuous development of innovative twin designs, especially RCTs, indicates that twin research can extend beyond the more widely recognized heritability estimates.
KSHV episomes reveal dynamic chromatin loop formation with domain-specific gene regulation
Authors: Campbell Mel , Watanabe Tadashi , Nakano Kazushi , Davis Ryan R. , Lyu Yuanzhi , Tepper Clifford G. , Durbin-Johnson Blythe , Fujimuro Masahiro , Izumiya Yoshihiro
Published: December 2017

The three-dimensional structure of chromatin organized by genomic loops facilitates RNA polymerase II access to distal promoters. The Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) lytic transcriptional program is initiated by a single viral transactivator, K-Rta. Here we report the KSHV genomic structure and its relationship with K-Rta recruitment sites using Capture Hi–C analyses. High-resolution 3D viral genomic maps identify a number of direct physical, long-range, and dynamic genomic interactions. Mutant KSHV chromosomes harboring point mutations in the K-Rta responsive elements (RE) significantly attenuate not only the directly proximate downstream gene, but also distal gene expression in a domain-specific manner. Genomic loops increase in the presence of K-Rta, while abrogation of K-Rta binding impairs the formation of inducible genomic loops, decreases the expression of genes networked through the looping, and diminishes KSHV replication. Our study demonstrates that genomic architectural dynamics plays an essential role in herpesvirus gene expression.
A dual-cell device designed as an oxidase mimic and its use for the study of oxidase-like nanozymes
Authors: Yang Hankun , Xiao Jingyu , Shi Junpeng , Shu Tong , Su Lei , Lu Qingye , Zhang Xueji
Published: December 2017

A dual-cell device has been designed as an oxidase-like mimic with the oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine as a model reaction.
Z-Scheme in a Co3(PO4)2/α-Fe2O3 photocatalysis system for overall water splitting under visible light
Authors: Han Mumei , Hu Lulu , Zhou Yunjie , Zhao Siqi , Bai Liang , Sun Yue , Huang Hui , Liu Yang , Kang Zhenhui
Published: December 2017

A Z-scheme Co3(PO4)2/α-Fe2O3 structure was designed as an efficient photocatalyst for overall water splitting under visible light.
A method for the quantitative extraction of gold nanoparticles from human bronchoalveolar lavage fluids through a glycerol gradient
Authors: Bitounis Dimitrios , Barnier Vincent , Guibert Cyril , Pourchez Jérémie , Forest Valérie , Boudard Delphine , Hochepied Jean-François , Chelle Pierre , Vergnon Jean-Michel , Cottier Michèle
Published: December 2017

We report a simple method for the clinically-oriented extraction of sub-ppm gold nanoparticles from human bronchoalveolar lavage fluids.
Complete amplitude and phase control of light using broadband holographic metasurfaces
Authors: Lee Gun-Yeal , Yoon Gwanho , Lee Seung-Yeol , Yun Hansik , Cho Jaebum , Lee Kyookeun , Kim Hwi , Rho Junsuk , Lee Byoungho
Published: December 2017

An X-shaped metasurface is proposed to achieve full, continuous, and broadband control of both the amplitude and phase of visible light.
Thienylene vinylene dimerization: from solution to self-assembled monolayer on gold
Authors: Bkhach Sihame , Alévêque Olivier , Blanchard Philippe , Gautier Christelle , Levillain Eric
Published: December 2017

Very weak absorbance of a cation radical has been detected at low TV surface coverage by chronoamperometry coupled to absorption spectroscopy.
Generating plasmonic heterostructures by cation exchange and redox reactions of covellite CuS nanocrystals with Au3+ ions
Authors: Hu Chao , Chen Wenhui , Xie Yi , Verma Santosh Kumar , Destro Priscila , Zhan Gang , Chen Xingzhu , Zhao Xiujian , Schuck P. James , Kriegel Ilka , Manna Liberato
Published: December 2017

Generating heterostructures with tunable LSPRs by cation exchange and redox reactions of CuS NCs with Au3+, in the presence or in the absence of oleylamine (OM) and ascorbic acid (AA).
Preparation of a BiVO4 nanoporous photoanode based on peroxovanadate reduction and conversion for efficient photoelectrochemical performance
Authors: Xia Ligang , Li Jinhua , Bai Jing , Li Linsen , Zeng Qingyi , Xu Qunjie , Zhou Baoxue
Published: December 2017

A highly-efficient BiVO4 nanoporous photoanode was prepared based on peroxovanadate reduction and conversion.
Stacking faults in Zr(Fe, Cr)2 Laves structured secondary phase particle in Zircaloy-4 alloy
Authors: Liu Chengze , Li Geping , Yuan Fusen , Han Fuzhou , Zhang Yingdong , Gu Hengfei
Published: December 2017

Understanding the formation mechanism of stacking faults in secondary phase particles.
Synthesis, stereocomplex crystallization and homo-crystallization of enantiomeric poly(lactic acid-co-alanine)s with ester and amide linkages
Authors: Tsuji Hideto , Sato Shotaro , Masaki Noriaki , Arakawa Yuki , Kuzuya Akinori , Ohya Yuichi
Published: December 2017

α-Hydroxy acid and α-amino acid-derived poly(l-lactic acid-co-l-alanine)s and poly(d-lactic acid-co-d-alanine)s with different alanine unit contents were synthesized and their stereocomplex crystallization and homo-crystallization were investigated.
Facile preparation of monodisperse NiCo2O4 porous microcubes as a high capacity anode material for lithium ion batteries
Authors: Wang Yanming , Li Jia , Chen Sheng , Li Bing , Zhu Guangping , Wang Fei , Zhang Yongxing
Published: December 2017

Monodisperse NiCo2O4 porous microcubes were used as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, and they exhibit outstanding rate capability and cycling stability.
Current Practices in the Management of Postoperative Arterial Vasospasm in Microsurgery
Authors: Turin Sergey , Walton Robert , Dumanian Gregory , Hijjawi John , LoGiudice John , Alghoul Mohammed
Published: December 2017

Background Postoperative microvascular arterial vasospasm is a rare clinical entity. There are no published management algorithms and also the pathophysiology of this phenomenon has not been elucidated.

Methods An email survey of American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM) and World Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (WSRM) members regarding their experiences with postoperative arterial vasospasm was conducted, returning 116 responses. A comprehensive literature search was conducted regarding the current body of knowledge on this entity.

Results Sixty-five percent of respondents encountered cases where postoperative arterial vasospasm was clearly the cause of flap ischemia. The majority (62%) of surgeons believed a damaged segment of the artery was responsible for the spasm, with technical issues cited as the most likely cause. Sixty-two percent and 50% of surgeons used segmental resection of the recipient and donor vessels, respectively.

Rated for proclivity to vasospasm, superficial inferior epigastric artery (SIEA) was the flap, superior thyroid artery (STA) the recipient vessel, and the lower limb the anatomic region most frequently mentioned.

Most widely used management strategies were: topical vasodilators (91%), adventitial stripping (82%), and dilation of recipient and donor vessels (76%). Over 50% of surgeons used some type of vessel resection technique.

Conclusions When flap ischemia is encountered without mechanical issues or thrombus, vasospasm can be the root cause. Certain vessels (SIEA, STA) and anatomic regions (lower limb) pose a higher risk for this phenomenon. When a vessel is affected, it is common practice to excise the questionable segment and use a graft as needed. Vessel resection as part of a multimodal approach can result in a reasonable salvage rate.
Bilayer Matrix Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation without Bone Graft for Knee Osteochondral Lesion Less than 8 mm Deep
Authors: Isik Cetin , Gursoy Safa , Akkaya Mustafa , Algin Oktay , Dogan Metin , Bozkurt Murat
Published: December 2017

This article investigates the clinical and radiological results of bilayer matrix autologous chondrocyte implantation (MACI) membrane technique in the treatment of shallow osteochondral defects. An analysis was made of eight patients who were operated on using the bilayer MACI (Genzyme Biosurgery, Cambridge, MA) technique (mean age: 20.2 years, mean defect size: 3.8 cm2, mean defect depth: 6.2 ± 0.9 mm, and mean follow-up time: 22.1 ± 5.3 [14–26.1] months). According to the defect, the first membrane was secured to the base of the defect with the cells facing up, and the second membrane was implanted on top of the first membrane with the cells facing down using fibrin glue. Clinical assessment was performed with modified Cincinnati and Tegner Lysholm scores. Patients were evaluated using 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (3T MRI) with a 15-channel transmit knee coil in the 6th, 12th, and 24th months postoperatively. Magnetic observation of cartilage repair tissue (MOCART) scoring was used to evaluate the cartilage tissue. The mean modified Cincinnati score was 36.4 (21–48) preoperatively and 84.2 (81–90) at 6 months postoperatively, 87.2 (82–92) at 12 months, and 89.6 (85–94) at 24 months (p < 0.05). The postoperative results were evaluated as excellent. The mean Tegner Lysholm score was 36.4 (21–48) preoperatively and 88.2 (84–92), 90.2 (84–95), and 90.4 (86–95) at 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively (p < 0.05). According to the 3T MRI findings, the mean modified MOCART scores were 8 in the preimplantation period, 38 in the 6th postoperative month, 70 in the 12th postoperative month, and 79 in the 24th postoperative month (p < 0.05). The 2-year follow-up MRI showed good regeneration, healing, and integration developing in time in cartilage tissue. In the treatment of shallow osteochondral defects, the bilayer MACI technique can be an alternative to filling the defect with bone graft.
Investigating the oxidation mechanism of tantalum nanoparticles at high heating rates
Authors: DeLisio Jeffery B. , Wang Xizheng , Wu Tao , Egan Garth C. , Jacob Rohit J. , Zachariah Michael R.
Published: December 2017

Reduced diffusion length scales and increased specific surface areas of nanosized metal fuels have recently demonstrated increased reaction rates for these systems, increasing their relevance in a wide variety of applications. The most commonly employed metal fuel, aluminum, tends to oxidize rapidly near its melting point (660 °C) in addition to undergoing a phase change of the nascent oxide shell. To further expand on the understanding of nanosized metal fuel oxidation, tantalum nanoparticles were studied due to their high melting point (3017 °C) in comparison to aluminum. Both traditional slow heating rate and in-situ high heating rate techniques were used to probe the oxidation of tantalum nanoparticles in oxygen containing environments in addition to nanothermite mixtures. When oxidized by gas phase oxygen, the oxide shell of the tantalum nanoparticles rapidly crystallized creating cracks that may attribute to enhanced oxygen diffusion into the particle. In the case of tantalum based nanothermites, oxide shell crystallization was shown to induce reactive sintering with the metal oxide resulting in a narrow range of ignition temperatures independent of the metal oxide used. The oxidation mechanism was modeled using the Deal-Grove model to extract rate parameters, and theoretical burn times for tantalum based nanocomposites were calculated.