bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bacteriological findings in the canine uterus during Caesarean section performed due to dystocia and their correlation to puppy mortality at the time of parturition
Authors: Goericke‐Pesch S , Fux V , Prenger‐Berninghoff E , Wehrend A
Published: April 2018

Contents

Canine intrauterine bacteriological flora during dystocia is unknown. Thus, frequency (bacterial growth (not) detected), quality (species and number of different bacterial isolates) and quantity (colony‐forming units) of intrauterine bacteria in relation to in utero foetal death in 50 bitches undergoing emergency Caesarean section were investigated. Bacterial growth was quantified from single colonies, (+) (0.5), to strong growth, +++ (3) and was observed in 34 bitches (68%), with Staph. epidermidis (n = 12), Staph. intermedius‐group (n = 7), β‐haemolytic streptococci (n = 6), Staph. aureus, α‐ and γ‐haemolytic streptococci (n = 4 each) being most common and one to four bacteria per sample. Regarding the quantity, most often (n = 46) low growth was identified. In bitches with living pups only (group I), mean number of isolates was 0.78 ± 0.83 compared to 1.60 ± 1.10 (living + stillborn pups, group II) and 1.0 ± 1.15 (stillborn pups only, group III) and mean bacterial growth in groups I/II/III was + (1.0, quantity), + (1.4) and ++ (1.6). Taking just positive samples into consideration, mean number of bacterial isolates was significantly higher in group II compared to I (p = .0088). We concluded that the canine uterus cannot be considered free of bacteria during dystocia. Mean numbers of different bacterial isolates and quantity of bacterial growth are higher in bitches with in utero foetal death.
Drug‐resistant tuberculosis: An update on disease burden, diagnosis and treatment
Authors: Lange Christoph , Chesov Dumitru , Heyckendorf Jan , Leung Chi C. , Udwadia Zarir , Dheda Keertan
Published: April 2018

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the leading cause of mortality due to a single microbial pathogen worldwide, represents a growing threat to public health and economic growth. The global burden of multidrug‐resistant tuberculosis (MDR‐TB) has recently increased by an annual rate of more than 20%. According to the World Health Organization approximately only half of all patients treated for MDR‐TB achieved a successful outcome. For many years, patients with drug‐resistant tuberculosis (TB) have received standardized treatment regimens, thereby accelerating the development of MDR‐TB through drug‐specific resistance amplification. Comprehensive drug susceptibility testing (phenotypic and/or genotypic) is necessary to inform physicians about the best drugs to treat individual patients with tailor‐made treatment regimens. Phenotypic drug resistance can now often, but with variable sensitivity, be predicted by molecular drug susceptibility testing based on whole genome sequencing, which in the future could become an affordable method for the guidance of treatment decisions, especially in high‐burden/resource‐limited settings. More recently, MDR‐TB treatment outcomes have dramatically improved with the use of bedaquiline‐based regimens. Ongoing clinical trials with novel and repurposed drugs will potentially further improve cure‐rates, and may substantially decrease the duration of MDR‐TB treatment necessary to achieve relapse‐free cure.
The Franciscans Order: Global history from the margins
Authors: McClure Julia
Published: April 2018

The Franciscan Rule dedicated its followers to wandering in the world as pilgrims and strangers, and they rapidly developed a precocious global network, yet the Franciscans’ contribution to global history is more complex than the story of their early global presence. Following a Rule of poverty, Franciscans voluntarily aligned themselves with the margins, refocusing concepts of distance and inverting landscapes of the strange and the familiar. Committed to becoming strangers wherever they found themselves, they developed a unique perspective on the world that enabled an ‘in oculis eorum’ (seeing as others). This article contends that the Franciscans’ socio‐religious commitment to their Rule of poverty which made them strangers in this world helps explain their particular perspective on the world and its people. Using the frameworks of Renaissance history and of the Franciscan institution it connects the Franciscans’ contributions to descriptions of the people of the world and their languages between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries and demonstrates that Renaissance projects not only focused upon the margins of classical texts in Europe, but a range of physical and metaphysical margins.
Market integration and tariff cooperation between asymmetric countries
Authors: Tsubuku Masafumi
Published: April 2018

This study explores the relationship between market integration—specifically a reduction in trade costs—and the sustainability of tariff cooperation, using a repeated game approach. We explore the property of noncooperative and cooperative tariffs about trade costs and the size of the domestic industry. We find that market integration does not induce the tariff rates to be lowered bilaterally in the noncooperative policy regime. By contrast, the cooperative regime brings about a bilateral tariff reduction when the market becomes integrated. Furthermore, by using the repeated game approach, we demonstrate that market integration facilitates cooperation between asymmetric countries.
Solutions of Nonlocal Equations Reduced from the AKNS Hierarchy
Authors: Chen Kui , Deng Xiao , Lou Senyue , Zhang Da‐jun
Published: April 2018

In this paper, nonlocal reductions of the Ablowitz–Kaup–Newell–Suger (AKNS) hierarchy are collected, including the nonlocal nonlinear Schrödinger hierarchy, nonlocal modified Korteweg‐de Vries hierarchy, and nonlocal versions of the sine‐Gordon equation in nonpotential form. A reduction technique for solutions is employed, by which exact solutions in double Wronskian form are obtained for these reduced equations from those double Wronskian solutions of the AKNS hierarchy. As examples of dynamics, we illustrate new interaction of two‐soliton solutions of the reverse‐t nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Although as a single soliton, it is stationary that two solitons travel along completely symmetric trajectories in plane and their amplitudes are affected by phase parameters. Asymptotic analysis is given as demonstration. The approach and relation described in this paper are systematic and general and can be used to other nonlocal equations.
Survival in northern microrefugia in an endemic Carpathian gammarid (Crustacea: Amphipoda)
Authors: Copilaş‐Ciocianu Denis , Zimţa Alina‐Andreea , Grabowski Michał , Petrusek Adam
Published: April 2018

Gammarus leopoliensis (Crustacea: Amphipoda) is considered a north‐eastern Carpathian endemic species and therefore can be regarded as an appropriate model for testing the hypothesis of Quaternary glacial survival in northern microrefugia. However, 250 km south, the south‐western Carpathians harbour populations that resemble phenotypically both G. leopoliensis and Gammarus kischineffensis, a similar species distributed east of the Carpathians. We used maximum‐likelihood and Bayesian methods to evaluate the phylogenetic relationships of these three taxa based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers, and quantitatively compared diversity patterns, phylogeography and divergence times among north‐eastern and south‐western Carpathian taxa. Results indicate that G. leopoliensis and the south‐western populations form together a strongly supported group (G. leopoliensis s.l.) which, along with G. kischineffensis, belongs to the Gammarus balcanicus clade. This group contains 12 lineages mainly of Pliocene age. G. leopoliensis consists of two widely distributed and recently expanded allopatric sister lineages that diverged from the southern ones ca. 4 Ma, indicating long‐term survival in northern microrefugia. The southern lineages are micro‐endemic and display a scattered distribution, suggesting a more ancient, relict pattern. We conclude that the contrasting diversity patterns between the disjunct distributional areas of G. leopoliensis s.l. reflect differential survival of lineages across the latitudinal gradient, offering a promising system for comparing the evolutionary ecology of lineages persisting in latitudinally disconnected microrefugia. These results fill an important gap in the knowledge of European gammarid biogeography and reveal that all Carpathian Gammarus taxa are ancient and diverse species complexes.
Effect of centrally acting angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor on the exercise‐induced increases in muscle sympathetic nerve activity
Authors: Moralez Gilbert , Jouett Noah P. , Tian Jun , Zimmerman Matthew C. , Bhella Paul , Raven Peter B.
Published: April 2018

Key points

The arterial baroreflex's operating point pressure is reset upwards and rightwards from rest in direct relation to the increases in dynamic exercise intensity.

The intraneural pathways and signalling mechanisms that lead to upwards and rightwards resetting of the operating point pressure, and hence the increases in central sympathetic outflow during exercise, remain to be identified.

We tested the hypothesis that the central production of angiotensin II during dynamic exercise mediates the increases in sympathetic outflow and, therefore, the arterial baroreflex operating point pressure resetting during acute and prolonged dynamic exercise.

The results identify that perindopril, a centrally acting angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, markedly attenuates the central sympathetic outflow during acute and prolonged dynamic exercise.

We tested the hypothesis that the signalling mechanisms associated with the dynamic exercise intensity related increases in muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and arterial baroreflex resetting during exercise are located within the central nervous system. Participants performed three randomly ordered trials of 70° upright back‐supported dynamic leg cycling after ingestion of placebo and two different lipid soluble angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi): perindopril (high lipid solubility), captopril (low lipid solubility). Repeated measurements of whole venous blood (n = 8), MSNA (n = 7) and arterial blood pressures (n = 14) were obtained at rest and during an acute (SS1) and prolonged (SS2) bout of steady state dynamic exercise. Arterial baroreflex function curves were modelled at rest and during exercise. Peripheral venous superoxide concentrations measured by electron spin resonance spectroscopy were elevated during exercise and were not altered by ACEi at rest (P ≥ 0.4) or during exercise (P ≥ 0.3). Baseline MSNA and mean arterial pressure were unchanged at rest (P ≥ 0.1; P ≥ 0.8, respectively). However, during both SS1 and SS2, the centrally acting ACEi perindopril attenuated MSNA compared to captopril and the placebo (P < 0.05). Arterial pressures at the operating point and threshold pressures were decreased with perindopril from baseline to SS1 with no further changes in the operating point pressure during SS2 under all three conditions. These data suggest that centrally acting ACEi is significantly more effective at attenuating the increase in the acute and prolonged exercise‐induced increases in MSNA.
Crystalline defect formation on aluminum bond pads during CMOS wafer storage and process strategies for defect elimination
Authors: Pani Santosh Kumar , Hogan Royston Hugh , Pandurangan Madhavan , Nistala Ramesh Rao
Published: April 2018

Crystalline aluminum fluoride defects were observed on aluminum bond pads of wafers from a complementary metal oxide semiconductor process in a wafer fab after less than a month of storage. These defects were formed by reaction of moisture in the front opening unified pod wafer storage container with residual bond pad sidewall fluorocarbon etch polymer releasing gaseous HF which further reacted with nucleation sites on the bond pad aluminum surface, resulting in crystalline aluminum fluoride defects. Elimination of the residual bond pad fluorocarbon polymer using a polymer free etch process or high-efficiency postetch polymer solvent strip resulted in a significant improvement in crystalline defect-free storage time (6 months). However, 12 month storage of sidewall polymer-free wafers showed reappearance of crystalline aluminum fluoride defects. The fluorine source contributing to the appearance of long-term aluminum fluoride crystalline defects was surface fluorine in the top 50 Ǻ of the aluminum bond pad. Lowering the surface fluorine levels from 3%–4% to 1.5% (by Auger electron spectroscopy) resulted in up to 36 months defect-free wafer storage. Incorporating O2/H2 plasma resist strip and high-temperature polymer solvent strip into postetch processing were found to be effective surface fluorine reducing process strategies.
Acoustic nonlinearity parameter measurements in a pulse-echo setup with the stress-free reflection boundary
Authors: Jeong Hyunjo , Cho Sungjong , Zhang Shuzeng , Li Xiongbing
Published: April 2018

This paper describes the acoustic nonlinearity parameter (β) determination for fluids using a pulse-echo method with the stress-free boundary. A newly derived β formula requires the measurement of the fundamental and second harmonic displacements with appropriate corrections for attenuation, diffraction, and boundary reflection. Measurements are composed of two steps: receiver calibration and harmonic generation. The β values calculated for water at several distances between the planar transducer and the water-air interface are in good agreement with literature, providing a validation for the method.
T cell–induced CSF1 promotes melanoma resistance to PD1 blockade
Authors: Neubert Natalie J. , Schmittnaegel Martina , Bordry Natacha , Nassiri Sina , Wald Noémie , Martignier Christophe , Tillé Laure , Homicsko Krisztian , Damsky William , Maby-El Hajjami Hélène , Klaman Irina , Danenberg Esther , Ioannidou Kalliopi , Kandalaft Lana , Coukos George , Hoves Sabine , Ries Carola H. , Fuertes Marraco Silvia A. , Foukas Periklis G. , De Palma Michele , Speiser Daniel E.
Published: April 2018

T cells promote immunosuppression in melanoma through CSF1 induction and macrophage recruitment.
The systemic response to surgery triggers the outgrowth of distant immune-controlled tumors in mouse models of dormancy
Authors: Krall Jordan A. , Reinhardt Ferenc , Mercury Oblaise A. , Pattabiraman Diwakar R. , Brooks Mary W. , Dougan Michael , Lambert Arthur W. , Bierie Brian , Ploegh Hidde L. , Dougan Stephanie K. , Weinberg Robert A.
Published: April 2018

Anti-inflammatories prevent surgery-induced outgrowth of distant tumors in mouse models and may reduce early metastatic relapse in patients.
Personalized cancer vaccine effectively mobilizes antitumor T cell immunity in ovarian cancer
Authors: Tanyi Janos L. , Bobisse Sara , Ophir Eran , Tuyaerts Sandra , Roberti Annalisa , Genolet Raphael , Baumgartner Petra , Stevenson Brian J. , Iseli Christian , Dangaj Denarda , Czerniecki Brian , Semilietof Aikaterini , Racle Julien , Michel Alexandra , Xenarios Ioannis , Chiang Cheryl , Monos Dimitri S. , Torigian Drew A. , Nisenbaum Harvey L. , Michielin Olivier , June Carl H. , Levine Bruce L. , Powell Daniel J. , Gfeller David , Mick Rosemarie , Dafni Urania , Zoete Vincent , Harari Alexandre , Coukos George , Kandalaft Lana E.
Published: April 2018

Personalized cancer vaccines induce antitumor T cells that correlate with clinical benefit in patients with ovarian cancer.
Biosynthesis of Tropolones in Streptomyces spp.: Interweaving Biosynthesis and Degradation of Phenylacetic Acid and Hydroxylations on the Tropone Ring
Authors: Chen Xuefei , Xu Min , Lü Jin , Xu Jianguo , Wang Yemin , Lin Shuangjun , Deng Zixin , Tao Meifeng
Published: April 2018

Tropolonoids are important natural products that contain a unique seven-membered aromatic tropolone core and exhibit remarkable biological activities. 3,7-Dihydroxytropolone (DHT) isolated from
Streptomyces
species is a multiply hydroxylated tropolone exhibiting antimicrobial, anticancer, and antiviral activities. In this study, we determined the DHT biosynthetic pathway by heterologous expression, gene deletion, and biotransformation. Nine
trl
genes and some of the aerobic phenylacetic acid degradation pathway genes (
paa
) located outside the
trl
biosynthetic gene cluster are required for the heterologous production of DHT. The
trlA
gene encodes a single-domain protein homologous to the C-terminal enoyl coenzyme A (enoyl-CoA) hydratase domain of PaaZ. TrlA truncates the phenylacetic acid catabolic pathway and redirects it toward the formation of heptacyclic intermediates. TrlB is a 3-deoxy-
d
-arabino-heptulosonic acid-7-phosphate (DAHP) synthase homolog. TrlH is an unusual bifunctional protein bearing an N-terminal prephenate dehydratase domain and a C-terminal chorismate mutase domain. TrlB and TrlH enhanced
de novo
biosynthesis of phenylpyruvate, thereby providing abundant precursor for the prolific production of DHT in
Streptomyces
spp. Six seven-membered carbocyclic compounds were identified from the
trlC
,
trlD
,
trlE
, and
trlF
deletion mutants. Four of these chemicals, including 1,4,6-cycloheptatriene-1-carboxylic acid, tropone, tropolone, and 7-hydroxytropolone, were verified as key biosynthetic intermediates. TrlF is required for the conversion of 1,4,6-cycloheptatriene-1-carboxylic acid into tropone. The monooxygenases TrlE and TrlCD catalyze the regioselective hydroxylations of tropone to produce DHT. This study reveals a natural association of anabolism of chorismate and phenylpyruvate, catabolism of phenylacetic acid, and biosynthesis of tropolones in
Streptomyces
spp.

IMPORTANCE
Tropolonoids are promising drug lead compounds because of the versatile bioactivities attributed to their highly oxidized seven-membered aromatic ring scaffolds. Our present study provides clear insight into the biosynthesis of 3,7-dihydroxytropolone (DHT) through the identification of key genes responsible for the formation and modification of the seven-membered aromatic core. We also reveal the intrinsic mechanism of elevated production of DHT and related tropolonoids in
Streptomyces
spp. The study on DHT biosynthesis in
Streptomyces
exhibits a good example of antibiotic production in which both anabolic and catabolic pathways of primary metabolism are interwoven into the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Furthermore, our study sets the stage for metabolic engineering of the biosynthetic pathway for natural tropolonoid products and provides alternative synthetic biology tools for engineering novel tropolonoids.
Uniform and Pitting Corrosion of Carbon Steel by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 under Nitrate-Reducing Conditions
Authors: Miller Robert B. , Lawson Kenton , Sadek Anwar , Monty Chelsea N. , Senko John M.
Published: April 2018

Despite observations of steel corrosion in nitrate-reducing environments, processes of nitrate-dependent microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) remain poorly understood and difficult to identify. We evaluated carbon steel corrosion byShewanella oneidensisMR-1 under nitrate-reducing conditions using a split-chamber/zero-resistance ammetry (ZRA) technique. This approach entails the deployment of two metal (carbon steel 1018 in this case) electrodes into separate chambers of an electrochemical split-chamber unit, where the microbiology or chemistry of the chambers can be manipulated. This approach mimics the conditions of heterogeneous metal coverage that can lead to uniform and pitting corrosion. The current between working electrode 1 (WE1) and WE2 can be used to determine rates, mechanisms, and, we now show, extents of corrosion. WhenS. oneidensiswas incubated in the WE1 chamber with lactate under nitrate-reducing conditions, nitrite transiently accumulated, and electron transfer from WE2 to WE1 occurred as long as nitrite was present. Nitrite in the WE1 chamber (withoutS. oneidensis) induced electron transfer in the same direction, indicating that nitrite cathodically protected WE1 and accelerated the corrosion of WE2. WhenS. oneidensiswas incubated in the WE1 chamber without an electron donor, nitrate reduction proceeded, and electron transfer from WE2 to WE1 also occurred, indicating that the microorganism could use the carbon steel electrode as an electron donor for nitrate reduction. Our results indicate that under nitrate-reducing conditions, uniform and pitting carbon steel corrosion can occur due to nitrite accumulation and the use of steel-Fe(0) as an electron donor, but conditions of sustained nitrite accumulation can lead to more-aggressive corrosive conditions.

IMPORTANCEMicrobially influenced corrosion (MIC) causes damage to metals and metal alloys that is estimated to cost over $100 million/year in the United States for prevention, mitigation, and repair. While MIC occurs in a variety of settings and by a variety of organisms, the mechanisms by which microorganisms cause this damage remain unclear. Steel pipe and equipment may be exposed to nitrate, especially in oil and gas production, where this compound is used for corrosion and “souring” control. In this paper, we show uniform and pitting MIC under nitrate-reducing conditions and that a major mechanism by which it occurs is via the heterogeneous cathodic protection of metal surfaces by nitrite as well as by the microbial oxidation of steel-Fe(0).
Cadmium Exposure-Sedum alfredii Planting Interactions Shape the Bacterial Community in the Hyperaccumulator Plant Rhizosphere
Authors: Hou Dandi , Lin Zhi , Wang Runze , Ge Jun , Wei Shuai , Xie Ruohan , Wang Haixin , Wang Kai , Hu Yanfang , Yang Xiaoe , Lu Lingli , Tian Shengke
Published: April 2018

Rhizospheric bacteria play important roles in plant tolerance and activation of heavy metals. Understanding the bacterial rhizobiome of hyperaccumulators may contribute to the development of optimized phytoextraction for metal-polluted soils. We used 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to investigate the rhizospheric bacterial communities of the cadmium (Cd) hyperaccumulating ecotype (HE)
Sedum alfredii
in comparison to its nonhyperaccumulating ecotype (NHE). Both planting of two ecotypes of
S. alfredii
and elevated Cd levels significantly decreased bacterial alpha-diversity and altered bacterial community structure in soils. The HE rhizosphere harbored a unique bacterial community differing from those in its bulk soil and NHE counterparts. Several key taxa from
Actinobacteria
,
Bacteroidetes
, and TM7 were especially abundant in HE rhizospheres under high Cd stress. The actinobacterial genus
Streptomyces
was responsible for the majority of the divergence of bacterial community composition between the HE rhizosphere and other soil samples. In the HE rhizosphere, the abundance of
Streptomyces
was 3.31- to 16.45-fold higher than that in other samples under high Cd stress. These results suggested that both the presence of the hyperaccumulator
S. alfredii
and Cd exposure select for a specialized rhizosphere bacterial community during phytoextraction of Cd-contaminated soils and that key taxa, such as the species affiliated with the genus
Streptomyces
, may play an important role in metal hyperaccumulation.

IMPORTANCE
Sedum alfredii
is a well-known Cd hyperaccumulator native to China. Its potential for extracting Cd relies not only on its powerful uptake, translocation, and tolerance for Cd but also on processes underground (especially rhizosphere microbes) that facilitate root uptake and tolerance of the metal. In this study, a high-throughput sequencing approach was applied to gain insight into the soil-plant-microbe interactions that may influence Cd accumulation in the hyperaccumulator
S. alfredii
. Here, we report the investigation of rhizosphere bacterial communities of
S. alfredii
in phytoremediation of different levels of Cd contamination in soils. Moreover, some key taxa in its rhizosphere identified in the study, such as the species affiliated with genus
Streptomyces
, may shed new light on the involvement of bacteria in phytoextraction of contaminated soils and provide new materials for phytoremediation optimization.
First Insight into the Genome Sequence of Clostridium vincentii DSM 10228, Isolated from Sediment of the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Authors: Poehlein Anja , Bolz Simon , Fischer Berenice , Daniel Rolf
Published: April 2018

Clostridium vincentii
is an obligate anaerobic, saccharophilic, psychrophilic, Gram-positive, motile, and rod-shaped bacterium. It was isolated from a pond sediment of the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica.
C. vincentii
produces acetate and formate as main fermentation products. The draft genome consists of one chromosome (3.506 Mb) with 3,379 predicted protein-encoding genes.
Is an enhanced behaviour change intervention cost-effective compared with physiotherapy for patients with chronic low back pain? Results from a multicentre trial in Israel
Authors: Canaway Alastair , Pincus Tamar , Underwood Martin , Shapiro Yair , Chodick Gabriel , Ben-Ami Noa
Published: April 2018

Objective

To assess the cost-effectiveness of an enhanced transtheoretical model of behaviour change in conjunction with physiotherapy compared with standard care (physiotherapy) in patients with chronic lower back pain (CLBP).

Design

Cost-utility and cost-effectiveness analyses alongside a multicentre controlled trial from a healthcare perspective with a 1-year time horizon.

Setting

The trial was conducted in eight centres within the Sharon district in Israel.

Participants

220 participants aged between 25 and 55 years who suffered from CLBP for a minimum of 3 months were recruited.

Interventions

The intervention used a model of behaviour change that sought to increase the adherence and implementation of physical activity in conjunction with physiotherapy. The control arm received standard care in the form of physiotherapy.

Primary and secondary measures

The primary outcome was the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) of the intervention arm compared with standard care. The secondary outcome was the incremental cost per Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire point.

Results

The cost per QALY point estimate was 10 645 New Israeli shekels (NIS) (£1737.11). There was an 88% chance the intervention was cost-effective at NIS50 000 per QALY threshold. Excluding training costs, the intervention dominated the control arm, resulting in fewer physiotherapy and physician visits while improving outcomes.

Conclusions

The enhanced transtheoretical model intervention appears to be a very cost-effective intervention leading to improved outcomes for low cost. Given limitations within this study, there is justification for examining the intervention within a larger, long-term randomised controlled trial.

Trial registration number

NCT01631344; Pre-results.
FAST in the deployed military setting
Authors: Carter Nicholas James , Gay D
Published: April 2018

Introduction

Focused assessment with sonography in trauma (FAST) is historically an effective method of assessing the patient in the trauma bay in order to aid decision-making and optimise patient outcomes. However, in the UK civilian practice, the use of FAST may decline given a recent change in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance as a result of improvement in CT availability and resuscitation techniques.

Method

In the Role 3 Medical Treatment Facility, Camp Bastion, 187 patients with trauma who received FAST in the trauma bay in 2014 were reviewed to determine the accuracy of FAST in the deployed environment.

Results

The data demonstrates the sensitivity and specificity of FAST to be 75% and 99.3%, respectively.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that FAST is accurate on operations. FAST is provided by the integrated radiologist as part of damage control radiology, which gives the team leader rapid diagnostic information to improve decision-making and ultimately patient outcomes. CT is heavily utilised in civilian practice; however, the military operates in a different environment often with multiple casualties and limited access to CT, as a result, portable ultrasound will continue to be a valuable tool on operations if used properly. The next challenge is to develop and maintain this high diagnostic accuracy in future deployments where the memories of our prior success may fade.
Gauge method for a special spinor field transformation
Authors: Xiu-Lin Huang , Yan Xu , Cheng-Zhi Liu
Published: April 2018

In this paper, the gauge method for a special spinor field transformation Ψ(x) → Ψ′(x) = exp[(e/m)f(x)γa∂a]Ψ(x) is studied. We demonstrate that the Dirac equation involving electromagnetic interactions can be defined by the gauge method for the spinor field transformation, within the framework of gauge field theory.
High-frequency magnetic field on crystal field diluted S = 1 Ising system: magnetic relaxation near continuous phase transition points
Authors: Gülpınar Gül , Erdem Rıza
Published: April 2018

Magnetization relaxation and the steady state response of the S = 1 Ising model with random crystal field to a time varying magnetic field with a frequency ω is modelled and studied here by a method that combines the statistical equilibrium theory with the theory of irreversible thermodynamics. The method offers information on the relaxation time (τ) of the system as well as the temperature (θ) and ω dependencies of the complex (AC or dynamical) susceptibility (i.e., χ(ω) = χ′(ω) − iχ″(ω)). The so-called low- and high-frequency regions are separated by τ because τ−1 → 0 as θ approaches the critical temperatures (θc). One can choose to keep the frequency ω fixed and observe the low-frequency behaviors followed by the high-frequency behaviors when θ → θc. It is shown that χ(ω) exhibits different behaviors in low- and high-frequency regimes that are separated by the quantity ωτ: χ′(ω) converges to static susceptibility and χ″(ω) → 0 for ωτ ≪ 1. However, in the high-frequency region where ωτ ≫ 1, χ′(ω) vanishes and χ″(ω) displays a peak at the critical temperature (θc). Besides the above, the logarithm of the susceptibility components versus log(ω) is also plotted. From these plots, one plateau (a step-like) region and a shifted peak with rising temperature is observed for the real and imaginary parts, respectively.
Research on Trade Credit Spreading and Credit Risk within the Supply Chain
Authors: Qian Qian , Yang Yang , Zhou Zong-Fang
Published: April 2018

Capital constraints in the supply chain have linked trade credit to the banks’ credit risk exposure. This paper focuses on how trade credit, which is widespread in the supply chain, affects the banks’ risk exposure by constructing a two-echelon Stackelberg framework in a case involving supplier dominance. A numerical analysis illustrates the following: First, the contagion intensity, which measures trade credit’s impact on the banks’ risk exposure, positively relates to the uncertainty of demand. Second, the retailer’s characteristics have a significant, moderating effect on this positive relationship between the banks’ risk exposure and the uncertainty demand. Finally, suppliers can reduce the contagion intensity by screening different types of retailers, which consequently decreases the banks’ risk exposure.
FUSE: A Fuzzy-Semantic Framework for Personalizing Learning Recommendations
Authors: Cuong Nguyen Dinh Hoa , Arch-Int Ngamnij , Arch-Int Somjit
Published: April 2018

The use of instructional Semantic Web rules to deliver personalized learning recommendations has become an emerging trend in intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) because it enables experts’ domain knowledge to be easily transferred to machine-readable formats. However, many approaches to ITS design using instructional Semantic Web rules have evaluated learners’ performances without considering the uncertainty of the evaluation process or other factors such as learning behavior and speed of response. In this paper, we present an ITS framework named FUSE, which uses a novel recommendation-making mechanism based on a fuzzy-semantic reasoning process and a multiagent system. In this framework, fuzzy reasoning and semantic reasoning are integrated to form a unified reasoning process and provide personalized learning recommendations adaptively and semantically. A field experiment was conducted at a public university. The results indicated that FUSE enabled significant achievements in both enhancing learning performance and increasing learners’ participation in the learning process.
Algorithm 987
Authors: Zottou Dimitra-Nefeli A. , Kavvadias Dimitris J. , Makri Frosso S. , Vrahatis Michael N.
Published: April 2018

MANBIS is a C++ mathematical software package for tackling the problem of computing the roots of a function when the number of roots is very large (of the order of hundreds or thousands). This problem has attracted increasing attention in recent years because of the broad variety of applications in various fields of science and technology. MANBIS applies the bisection method to obtain an approximate root according to a predetermined accuracy. Thus, the only computable information required is the algebraic signs of the considered function, which is the smallest amount of information (one bit of information) necessary for the purpose needed, and not any additional information. MANBIS is able to compute very efficiently a user-given percentage of roots and draws its strength from the fact that the roots are expected to be many. Furthermore, MANBIS is capable of estimating without any additional function computational cost the total number of roots within the user-given interval. Our approach can also be efficiently applied in cases where the distribution of the roots is not known. This article is accompanied by another article where the user manual, some implementation details, and some examples are included.
Algorithm 988
Authors: Johnson Robert W.
Published: April 2018

The algorithm AMGKQ for adaptive multivariate Gauss-Kronrod quadrature over hyperrectangular regions of arbitrary dimensionality is proposed and implemented in Octave/MATLAB. It can approximate numerically any number of integrals over a common domain simultaneously. Improper integrals are addressed through singularity weakening coordinate transformations. Internal singularities are addressed through the use of breakpoints. Its accuracy performance is investigated thoroughly, and its running time is compared to other commonly available routines in two and three dimensions. Its running time can be several orders of magnitude faster than recursively called quadrature routines. Its performance is limited only by the memory structure of its operating environment. Included with the software are numerous examples of its invocation.
Perceptual Evaluation of Synthesized Sound Effects
Authors: Moffat David , Reiss Joshua D.
Published: April 2018

Sound synthesis is the process of generating artificial sounds through some form of simulation or modelling. This article aims to identify which sound synthesis methods achieve the goal of producing a believable audio sample that may replace a recorded sound sample. A perceptual evaluation experiment of five different sound synthesis techniques was undertaken. Additive synthesis, statistical modelling synthesis with two different feature sets, physically inspired synthesis, concatenative synthesis, and sinusoidal modelling synthesis were all compared. Evaluation using eight different sound class stimuli and 66 different samples was undertaken. The additive synthesizer is the only synthesis method not considered significantly different from the reference sample across all sounds classes. The results demonstrate that sound synthesis can be considered as realistic as a recorded sample and makes recommendations for use of synthesis methods, given different sound class contexts.
Mining Event-Oriented Topics in Microblog Stream with Unsupervised Multi-View Hierarchical Embedding
Authors: Peng Min , Zhu Jiahui , Wang Hua , Li Xuhui , Zhang Yanchun , Zhang Xiuzhen , Tian Gang
Published: April 2018

This article presents an
unsupervised multi-view hierarchical embedding
(UMHE) framework to sufficiently reveal the intrinsic topical knowledge in social events. Event-oriented topics are highly related to such events as it can provide explicit descriptions of what have happened in social community. In many real-world cases, however, it is difficult to include all attributes of microblogs, more often, textual aspects only are available. Traditional topic modelling methods have failed to generate event-oriented topics with the textual aspects, since the inherent relations between topics are often overlooked in these methods. Meanwhile, the metrics in original word vocabulary space might not effectively capture semantic distances. Our UMHE framework overcomes the severe information deficiency and poor feature representation. The UMHE first develops a multi-view Bayesian rose tree to preliminarily generate prior knowledge for latent topics and their relations. With such prior knowledge, we design an unsupervised translation-based hierarchical embedding method to make a better representation of these latent topics. By applying self-adaptive spectral clustering on the embedding space and the original space concomitantly, we eventually extract event-oriented topics in word distributions to express social events. Our framework is purely data-driven and unsupervised, without any external knowledge. Experimental results on TREC Tweets2011 dataset and Sina Weibo dataset demonstrate that the UMHE framework can construct hierarchical structure with high fitness, but also yield topic embeddings with salient semantics; therefore, it can derive event-oriented topics with meaningful descriptions.
SimCEC
Authors: Paiva Paulo V. F. , Machado Liliane S. , Valença Ana Maria G. , Batista Thiago V. , Moraes Ronei M.
Published: April 2018

Traditionally, the evaluation of surgical procedures in virtual reality (VR) simulators has been restricted to their individual technical aspects disregarding the procedures carried out by teams. However, some decision models have been proposed to support the collaborative training evaluation process of surgical teams in collaborative virtual environments. The main objective of this article is to present a collaborative simulator based on VR, named
SimCEC
, as a potential solution for education, training, and evaluation in basic surgical routines for teams of undergraduate students. The simulator considers both tasks performed individually and those carried in a collaborative manner. The main contribution of this work is to improve the discussion about VR simulators requirements (design and implementation) to provide team training in relevant topics, such as users’ feedback in real time, collaborative training in networks, interdisciplinary integration of curricula, and continuous evaluation.
Using a Social Educational Network to Facilitate Peer-Feedback for a Virtual Simulation
Authors: Khan Zain , Rojas David , Kapralos Bill , Grierson Lawrence , Dubrowski Adam
Published: April 2018

Virtual simulation offers a viable alternative to traditional educational and training practices, offering trainees the opportunity to train until they reach a specific competency level in a safe and cost-effective manner. One of the benefits of virtual simulation is the ability to provide the trainee with feedback regarding his or her performance in the simulation, thus providing the trainee the opportunity to monitor and adapt progress toward the goal. With respect to learning and development, it has been long known that feedback plays a vital role in learning; we learn faster and more effectively when we know how we are doing and what must be changed to improve our performance. Taking advantage of the benefits afforded by peer-feedback, here we present a preliminary study that examined the application of a customized social educational network—the Observational Practice and Educational Network (OPEN)—to facilitate peer-feedback with respect to recorded performances of a gamified virtual simulation session developed specifically for medical-based cultural competence training. A virtual simulation session was recorded and uploaded to OPEN, which then facilitated peer-feedback by allowing the peers and educators/experts to evaluate, provide comments, and generally discuss the recorded virtual simulation sessions. Questionnaires were employed to gauge the feasibility of a social educational network (OPEN in particular) to facilitate peer-feedback, as well as participant satisfaction with using and interacting with OPEN (i.e., examining the usability of OPEN).
Efficacy and safety of antenatal steroids
Authors: Kemp Matthew W. , Jobe Alan H. , Usuda Haruo , Nathanielsz Peter W. , Li Cun , Kuo Anderson , Huber Hillary F. , Clarke Geoffrey D. , Saito Masatoshi , Newnham John P. , Stock Sarah J.
Published: April 2018

Antenatal steroids (ANS) are among the most important and widely utilized interventions to improve outcomes for preterm infants. A significant body of evidence demonstrates improved outcomes in preterm infants (24–34 wk) delivered between 1 and 7 days after the administration of a single course of ANS. Moreover, ANS have the advantage of being widely available, low cost, and easily administered via maternal intramuscular injection. The use of ANS to mature the fetal lung is, however, not without contention. Their use in pregnancy is not FDA approved, and treatment doses and regimens remain largely unoptimized. Their mode of use varies considerably between countries, and there are lingering concerns regarding the safety of exposing the fetus to high doses of exogenous steroids. A significant proportion of women deliver outside the 1- to 7-day therapeutic window after ANS treatment, and this delay may be associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes for both mother and baby. Today, animal-based studies are one means by which key questions of dosing and safety relating to ANS may be resolved, allowing for further refinement(s) of this important therapy. Complementary approaches using nonhuman primates, sheep, and rodents have provided invaluable advances to our understanding of how exogenous steroid exposure impacts fetal development. Focusing on these three major model groups, this review highlights the role of three key animal models (sheep, nonhuman primates, rodents) in the development of antenatal steroid therapy, and provides an up-to-date synthesis of current efforts to refine this therapy in an era of personalised medicine.
A role for the CXCR4-CXCL12 axis in the little skate,Leucoraja erinacea
Authors: Hersh Taylor A. , Dimond Alexandria L. , Ruth Brittany A. , Lupica Noah V. , Bruce Jacob C. , Kelley John M. , King Benjamin L. , Lutton Bram V.
Published: April 2018

The interaction between C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) and its cognate ligand C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12) plays a critical role in regulating hematopoietic stem cell activation and subsequent cellular mobilization. Extensive studies of these genes have been conducted in mammals, but much less is known about the expression and function of CXCR4 and CXCL12 in non-mammalian vertebrates. In the present study, we identify simultaneous expression of CXCR4 and CXCL12 orthologs in the epigonal organ (the primary hematopoietic tissue) of the little skate, Leucoraja erinacea. Genetic and phylogenetic analyses were functionally supported by significant mobilization of leukocytes following administration of Plerixafor, a CXCR4 antagonist and clinically important drug. Our results provide evidence that, as in humans, Plerixafor disrupts CXCR4/CXCL12 binding in the little skate, facilitating release of leukocytes into the bloodstream. Our study illustrates the value of the little skate as a model organism, particularly in studies of hematopoiesis and potentially for preclinical research on hematological and vascular disorders.
High-definition transcranial direct-current stimulation of the right M1 further facilitates left M1 excitability during crossed facilitation
Authors: Swanson Clayton W. , Proessl Felix
Published: April 2018

Cabibel et al. (J Neurophysiol 119: 1266–1272, 2018) report non-polarity-specific effects of high-definition direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) on crossed facilitation (CF), demonstrated by complex excitatory and inhibitory interhemispheric interactions coupled with HD-tDCS. Choosing a variety of stimulation and muscle contraction parameters and having all participants undergo anodal, cathodal, and sham stimulation may increase the current understanding of HD-tDCS on CF. Furthermore, complementary metrics like the ipsilateral silent period may provide more clarity regarding the polarity-specific enhancement of HD-tDCS on CF.
Effects of a compression garment on sensory feedback transmission in the human upper limb
Authors: Barss Trevor S. , Pearcey Gregory E. P. , Munro Bridget , Bishop Jennifer L. , Zehr E. Paul
Published: April 2018

Compression apparel is popular in both medical and sport performance settings. Perceived benefits are suggested to include changes in sensory feedback transmission caused by activation of mechanoreceptors. However, little is known about effects of compression apparel on sensorimotor control. Our purpose was to mechanistically examine whether compression apparel modulates sensory feedback transmission and reaching accuracy in the upper limb. Two experiments were completed under CONTROL and COMPRESSION (sleeve applied across the elbow joint) conditions. M-waves and H-reflexes were elicited by stimulating the median nerve and were recorded via surface electromyography (EMG). In experiment 1, H-reflexes and M-H recruitment curves were assessed at REST, during wrist flexion (10% EMGmax), and during a cutaneous conditioning of the superficial radial (SR) or distal median (MED) nerve. Cutaneous reflexes were elicited during 10% wrist flexion via stimulation of SR or MED. In experiment 2, unconditioned H-reflex measures were assessed at rest, during arm cycling, and during a discrete reaching task. Results indicate that compression apparel modulates spinal cord excitability across multiple sensory pathways and movement tasks. Interestingly, there was a significant improvement in reaching accuracy while wearing the compression sleeve. Taken together, the compression sleeve appears to increase precision and sensitivity around the joint where the sleeve is applied. Compression apparel may function as a “filter” of irrelevant mechanoreceptor information allowing for optimal task-related sensory information to enhance proprioception.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Wearing a customized compression sleeve was shown to alter the excitability of multiple pathways within the central nervous system regardless of conditioning input or movement task and was accompanied by improved accuracy of reaching movements and determination of movement end point. Compression apparel may assist as a type of “filter function” of tonic and nonspecific mechanoreceptor information leading to increased precision and movement sensitivity around the joint where compression is applied.