bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Early evolution of Cupedidae revealed by a mid‐Cretaceous reticulated beetle from Myanmar (Coleoptera: Archostemata)
Authors: Li Yan‐Da , Liu Zhen‐Hua , Jarzembowski Edmund A. , Yin Zi‐Wei , Huang Di‐Ying , Cai Chen‐Yang
Published: September 2019

Cupedidae, the most species‐rich family of the archaic suborder Archostemata, were abundant, diverse and widespread in the Mesozoic, yet little is known about the early evolution and biogeography. This stems, in part, from a lack of exceptionally preserved fossils from the Mesozoic and of formal phylogenetic study of both extant and extinct taxa. Here we describe and illustrate a new fossil from mid‐Cretaceous Burmese amber, and provide a phylogeny combining both fossils and all known extant genera of Archostemata. A dataset of 43 ingroup taxa and four outgroup taxa based on 110 morphological characters was analysed under parsimony. The results indicate that Priacma LeConte and Paracupes Kolbe, as well as the Cretaceous genera Barbaticupes Jarzembowski et al. and Mallecupes Jarzembowski et al., together form a sister clade to the rest of Cupedidae. Priacma megapuncta sp.n. is attributed to the relict North American Priacma by the presence of distinct subtruncate elytral apices, lateral elytral margins with two rows of sharp teeth, and peculiar fixing epipleural folds near the elytral apices. Our discovery of the first fossil species of Priacma in Burmese amber reveals the antiquity and wider distribution of the genus in the late Mesozoic.

This published work has been registered in ZooBank,
http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:313565C2‐4F42‐48BD‐8720‐F379DE202868.
Reclustering the cluster flies (Diptera: Oestroidea, Polleniidae)
Authors: Cerretti Pierfilippo , Stireman John O. , Badano Davide , Gisondi Silvia , Rognes Knut , Giudice Giuseppe Lo , Pape Thomas
Published: September 2019

A phylogenetic analysis of selected oestroid taxa based on 66 morphological traits and sequences from three nuclear protein‐coding genes (CAD, MAC, MCS) resolved the composition and phylogenetic position of the former subfamily Polleniinae of the Calliphoridae – here resurrected at family rank as Polleniidae Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1889 stat. rev. Six species are transferred from the family Rhinophoridae to the Polleniidae: the Palaearctic genus Alvamaja Rognes, along with its single species Alvamaja chlorometallica Rognes, and five Afrotropical species comprising the carinata‐group formerly in the genus Phyto Robineau‐Desvoidy but here assigned to genus Morinia Robineau‐Desvoidy, i.e. M. carinata (Pape, 1987) comb.n., M. lactineala (Pape, 1997) comb.n., M. longirostris (Crosskey, 1977) comb.n., M. royi (Pape, 1997) comb.n. and M. stuckenbergi (Crosskey, 1977) comb.n. The Polleniidae are monophyletic and, in agreement with most recent phylogenetic reconstructions, sister to the Tachinidae. The female of A. chlorometallica and a new species of Morinia of the carinata‐group (Morinia tsitsikamma sp.n. from South Africa) are described.

This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:25B0C220‐DEE4‐4B0C‐88EA‐35FDE298EBC5.
Assessment of immunoglobulin heavy chain, immunoglobulin light chain, and T‐cell receptor clonality testing in the diagnosis of feline lymphoid neoplasia
Authors: Rout Emily D. , Burnett Robert C. , Yoshimoto Janna A. , Avery Paul R. , Avery Anne C.
Published: September 2019

Background

Differentiation between neoplastic and reactive lymphocytic proliferations can be challenging in cats. PCR for antigen receptor rearrangements (PARR) testing is a useful diagnostic tool to assess clonality of a lymphoid population. Previous feline PARR studies evaluated clonality of complete immunoglobulin heavy chain V‐D‐J (IGH‐VDJ) and T‐cell receptor gamma (TRG) gene rearrangements.

Objectives

We aimed to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of feline PARR primers targeting complete IGH‐VDJ and TRG rearrangements, as well as incomplete IGH‐DJ, kappa deleting element (Kde), and immunoglobulin lambda light chain (IGL) gene rearrangements in defined feline neoplasms and nonneoplastic controls.

Methods

Fluorescently labeled PCR primers were designed to amplify complete IGH‐VDJ, incomplete IGH‐DJ, Kde, IGL, and TRG gene rearrangements in two multiplexed PCR reactions, and PCR products were analyzed by fragment analysis. Fresh tissue samples from 12 flow cytometrically confirmed B‐cell lymphomas, 26 cytologically confirmed gastric and renal lymphomas of presumed B‐cell origin, 30 flow cytometrically confirmed T‐cell leukemias, and 11 negative control cats were tested.

Results

Using four immunoglobulin primer sets (IGH‐VDJ, IGH‐DJ, Kde, and IGL), clonal immunoglobulin rearrangements were detected in 87% (33/38) of the presumed B‐cell neoplasms. The IGH‐VDJ reaction alone only detected clonality in 50% (19/38) of these cases. TRG rearrangements were clonal in 97% (29/30) of the T‐cell leukemia cases. All negative control samples had polyclonal immunoglobulin and TRG rearrangements.

Conclusions

The PARR assay developed in this study is useful for assessing clonality in feline lymphoid neoplasms. Clonality assessment of incomplete IGH‐DJ, Kde, and IGL rearrangements helped identify clonal B‐cell neoplasms not detected with complete IGH‐VDJ PARR alone.
Comparative Study of the Gasification of Coal and Its Macerals and Prediction of the Synergistic Effects Under Typical Entrained-Bed Pulverized Coal Gasification Conditions
Authors: Jiang Peng , Guo Dengting , Luo Xiang , Xu Mengxia , Wu Tao
Published: September 2019

This research is focused on the gasification performance of coal and its corresponding macerals as well as on the interactions among macerals under typical gasification conditions by Aspen Plus modeling. The synergistic coefficient was employed to show the degree of interactions, while the performance indicators including specific oxygen consumption (SOC), specific coal consumption (SCC), cold gas efficiency (CGE), and effective syngas (CO + H2) content were used to evaluate the gasification process. Sensitivity analyses showed that the parent coal and its macerals exhibited different gasification behaviors at the same operating conditions, such as the SOC and SCC decreased in the order of inertinite > vitrinite > liptinite, whereas CGE changed in the order of liptinite > vitrinite > inertinite. The synergistic coefficients of SOC and SCC for the simulated coals were in the range of 0.94–0.97, whereas the synergistic coefficient of CGE was 1.05–1.13. Moreover, it was found that synergistic coefficients of gasification indicators correlated well with maceral contents. In addition, the increase in temperature was found to promote the synergistic coefficients slightly, whilst at an oxygen to coal mass ratio of 0.8 and a steam to coal mass ratio of 0.8, the highest synergistic coefficient was obtained.
Molecular Dynamic Study of a Pyrolysis Process of a Coal Particle in Different Environments
Authors: Li Hanqing , Xu Bonan , Jin Hanhui , Luo Kun , Fan Jianren
Published: September 2019

The pyrolysis processes of a coal particle containing 19,638 atoms in different atmospheres are studied with a reactive force field molecular dynamics (ReaxFF MD) method. The detailed chemical reactions with the corresponding occurrence frequencies are obtained. The generation paths of the main products are disclosed, including CO, H2, H2O, and CH4. The nonuniform effect of temperature on the pyrolysis production is analyzed, among which the productions of CH4 and CO nonmonotonically vary with temperature, while the H2 production increases linearly with temperature. The kinds of atmospheres can significantly influence the coal pyrolysis. Hydrogen atmosphere can apparently improve the CH4 production, which results from the enhancement of the C–H bond generation.
Elastic wave propagation in hierarchical lattices with convex and concave hexagons stacked vertexes
Authors: Zhu ZhiWei , Deng ZiChen , Tong ShuZhan , Ding BenJie , Du JianKe
Published: September 2019

The paper investigates the in-plane elastic wave propagation in hierarchical lattices. The hierarchical organization is obtained by removing a certain amount of cells successively from a general hexagonal lattice that involves the re-entrant configuration with negative Poisson's ratio. The symmetry reduction caused by the alteration of the internal angle and the formed vertexes with stacking hexagons gives rise to a significant effect on the dispersion properties of the structure materials. Results show that the lattices with different hierarchy levels possess a stable behavior of the band gap in the position near the resonant frequency of the cell walls, and the gap width has an evident increase in the re-entrant hierarchical structures. In addition, band structure in the low frequency range has an unchanged performance for the varying parameters of cell walls, and the reason is owing to the steady of the structure vibration pattern for the Bloch modes. The authors' findings of the dispersion behaviors in the hierarchical lattices provide a broad design space for the lightweight materials in the wave manipulation and vibration control.
Measurement and characterization of infrasound from a tornado producing storm
Authors: Elbing Brian R. , Petrin Christopher E. , Van Den Broeke Matthew S.
Published: September 2019

A hail-producing supercell on 11 May 2017 produced a small tornado near Perkins, Oklahoma (35.97, −97.04) at 2013 UTC. Two infrasound microphones with a 59-m separation and a regional Doppler radar station were located 18.7 and 70 km from the tornado, respectively. Elevated infrasound levels were observed starting 7 min before the verified tornado. Infrasound data below ∼5 Hz was contaminated with wind noise, but in the 5–50 Hz band the infrasound was independent of wind speed with a bearing angle that was consistent with the movement of the storm core that produced the tornado. During the tornado, a 75 dB peak formed at ∼8.3 Hz, which was 18 dB above pre-tornado levels. This fundamental frequency had overtones (18, 29, 36, and 44 Hz) that were linearly related to mode number. Analysis of a larger period of time associated with two infrasound bursts (the tornado occurred during the first event) shows that the spectral peaks from the tornado were present from 4 min before to 40 min after tornadogenesis. This suggests that the same geophysical process(es) was active during this entire window.
Structure and conformational plasticity of the intact
Thermus thermophilus
V/A-type ATPase
Authors: Zhou Long , Sazanov Leonid A.
Published: September 2019

Innovations in an ATPase/ATP synthase

Enzymes that couple the chemical energy of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to movement of ions across a membrane are present in all domains of life. Like their F-type cousins in mitochondria, chloroplasts, and most bacteria, vacuolar/archaeal (V/A-type) ATPases couple synthesis or hydrolysis of ATP to movement of protons across the membrane. To uncover mechanistic differences in energy coupling between F- and V/A-type enzymes, Zhou and Sazanov determined structures of a V/A-type ATP synthase from the bacterium
Thermus thermophilus.
With structures of multiple substates visible, the domain interfaces are made clear and a role for the elastic peripheral stalks is apparent in coupling rotational energy from V
o
into the ATP-synthesizing V
1
domain.

Science
, this issue p.
eaaw9144
A tale of two trenches
Authors: Houston Heidi
Published: September 2019

An offshore seismic network shows that slow slip complemented rupture in the 2011 Tohoku earthquake
Structure-function guided modeling of chemokine-GPCR specificity for the chemokine XCL1 and its receptor XCR1
Authors: Fox Jamie C. , Thomas Monica A. , Dishman Acacia F. , Larsen Olav , Nakayama Takashi , Yoshie Osamu , Rosenkilde Mette Marie , Volkman Brian F.
Published: September 2019

Key amino acids in the chemokine XCL1 mediate its specificity for and activation of its receptor XCR1.
Cross Talk between SigB and PrfA in Listeria monocytogenes Facilitates Transitions between Extra- and Intracellular Environments
Authors: Gaballa Ahmed , Guariglia-Oropeza Veronica , Wiedmann Martin , Boor Kathryn J.
Published: September 2019

The foodborne pathogen
Listeria monocytogenes
can modulate its transcriptome and proteome to ensure its survival during transmission through vastly differing environmental conditions.
Potential Role of Extracellular ATP Released by Bacteria in Bladder Infection and Contractility
Authors: Abbasian Behnam , Shair Aidan , O’Gorman David B. , Pena-Diaz Ana M. , Brennan Liam , Engelbrecht Kathleen , Koenig David W. , Reid Gregor , Burton Jeremy P.
Published: September 2019

The ability of uropathogenic bacteria to release excitatory compounds, such as ATP, may act as a virulence factor to stimulate signaling pathways that could have profound effects on the urothelium, perhaps extending to the vagina. This may be countered by the ability of certain commensal urinary microbiota constituents, such as lactobacilli. Further understanding of these interactions is important for the treatment and prevention of UUI and OAB. The clinical implications may require a more targeted approach to enhance the commensal bacteria and reduce ATP release by pathogens.
Transcriptomic and Proteomic Approaches to Finding Novel Diagnostic and Immunogenic Candidates in
Pneumocystis
Authors: Eddens Taylor , Elsegeiny Waleed , Ricks David , Goodwin Meagan , Horne William T. , Zheng Mingquan , Kolls Jay K.
Published: September 2019

The current report enhances our understanding of
Pneumocystis
biology in a number of ways. First, the current study provided a preliminary annotation of the
Pneumocystis murina
genome, addressing a long-standing issue in the field. Second, this study validated two novel transcripts enriched in the two predominant life forms of
Pneumocystis
. These findings allow better characterization of the
Pneumocystis
life cycle
in vivo
and could be valuable diagnostic tools. Furthermore, this study outlined a novel pipeline of -omics techniques capable of revealing novel antigens (e.g., GSC-1) for the development of vaccines against
Pneumocystis
.
Nonstationary effects of ocean temperature on Pacific salmon productivity
Authors: Litzow Michael A. , Ciannelli Lorenzo , Cunningham Curry J. , Johnson Bethany , Puerta Patricia
Published: September 2019

We tested the hypothesis that ocean temperature effects on productivity for northeast Pacific pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka), and chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) changed after 1988–1989, coincident with a decline in Aleutian Low variance. Nonstationary temperature effects were tested with three different analytical methods (correlation, mixed-effects models, and variable coefficient generalized additive models) applied to spawner–recruit time series from 86 wild runs between Puget Sound and the northern Bering Sea. All three methods supported the hypothesis, with evidence for change in temperature effects that was strongest in the Gulf of Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington and weakest in the Bering Sea. Productivity for all three species showed generally positive responses to ocean temperature in Alaska before 1988–1989, but generally neutral responses after 1988–1989. British Columbia and Washington salmon showed either neutral responses to temperature (pink), negative responses that weakened after 1988–1989 (sockeye), or a switch from neutral to negative responses (chum). We conclude that the inverse response of Alaskan and more southern salmon populations to temperature variability is a time-dependent phenomenon.
Effects of Lysobacter antibioticus HS124, an effective biocontrol agent against Fusarium graminearum, on crown rot disease and growth promotion of wheat
Authors: Kim Yun-Tae , Monkhung Sararat , Lee Yong Seong , Kim Kil Yong
Published: September 2019

Lysobacter antibioticus HS124 inhibited mycelial growth of Fusarium graminearum (74.66%) under the dual culture method. Microscopic investigation clearly showed that amendment with different concentrations (10%, 30%, and 50%) of HS124 bacterial culture filtrate on potato dextrose agar plates caused abnormal hyphal structures, including swelling and distortion. Its inhibition toward mycelial growth of F. graminearum was increased with increasing concentration of n-butanol crude extract of HS124. The highest inhibition (43.14%) was detected at a crude concentration of 10 mg/disc, whereas the lowest inhibition (21.57%) was observed at 2 mg/disc. Although mycelial growth of F. graminearum was promoted by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by HS124 as compared with the control, these VOCs clearly decreased fungal pigmentation resulting in a reduction of fungal sporulation. Microscopic investigation revealed hyphal deformation of F. graminearum due to VOCs. These compounds also had a negative effect on spore germination of F. graminearum. In vivo evaluations demonstrated that HS124 inoculation of wheat plants reduced crown rot disease incidence by 73.70% as compared with the control. HS124 inoculation of wheat plants also promoted most of the growth characteristics compared with the control or fungicide-treated plants. Our results provide strong evidence that HS124 could control F. graminearum infections and promote growth of wheat plants as part of management strategies for crown rot disease.
Quantum skyrmionics
Authors: Ochoa Hector , Tserkovnyak Yaroslav
Published: September 2019

Skyrmions are topological solitons that emerge in many physical contexts. In magnetism, they appear as textures of the spin-density field stabilized by different competing interactions and characterized by a topological charge that counts the number of times the order parameter wraps the sphere. They behave as classical objects when the spin texture varies slowly on the scale of the microscopic lattice of the magnet. However, the fast development of experimental tools to create and stabilize skyrmions in thin magnetic films has led to a rich variety of textures, sometimes of atomistic sizes. In this paper, we discuss, in a pedagogical manner, how to introduce quantum interference in the translational dynamics of skyrmion textures, starting from the micromagnetic equations of motion for a classical soliton. We study how the nontrivial topology of the spin texture manifests in the semiclassical regime, when the microscopic lattice potential is treated quantum-mechanically, but the external driving forces are taken as smooth classical perturbations. We highlight close relations to the fields of noncommutative quantum mechanics, Chern–Simons theories, and the quantum Hall effect.
The electrical current characteristics of thermally annealed Co/anodic oxide layer/n-GaAs sandwich structures
Authors: Yıldırım N. , Turut A. , Biber M. , Saglam M. , Guzeldir B.
Published: September 2019

The Co/anodic oxide layer/n-GaAs MOS structures have been fabricated by us. The MOS structures have shown an excellent rectifying behavior before and after thermal annealing of 500[Formula: see text]C for 2 min. It has been stated in the literature that the thermal annealing at a relatively low-temperature can improve the quality and performance of the anodic MOS structure. The current–voltage (I–V) measurements of the annealed MOS structure have been attempted in the measurement temperature range 60–320 K with the steps of 20 K. The I–V plot at 300 K has given the diode parameter values as barrier height [Formula: see text] = 0.96 eV and ideality factor n = 1.22, diode series resistance R[Formula: see text] = 124 [Formula: see text] for the annealed sample, and [Formula: see text] = 0.87 eV and n = 2.11, R[Formula: see text] = 204 [Formula: see text] for the nonannealed structure. A mean tunneling potential barrier value of 0.59 eV for the anodic oxide layer at the Co/n-GaAs interface has been calculated from the current–voltage–temperature curves. Furthermore, [Formula: see text](T) versus (2kT)[Formula: see text] curve has followed a double Gaussian distribution (GD) of the barrier heights. It has been stated that the double GD may be originated from the presence of the surface patches and phases arisen at the anodic oxide layer/n-GaAs interface.
Unsupervised Approaches for Textual Semantic Annotation, A Survey
Authors: Liao Xiaofeng , Zhao Zhiming
Published: September 2019

Semantic annotation is a crucial part of achieving the vision of the Semantic Web and has long been a research topic among various communities. The most challenging problem in reaching the Semantic Web’s real potential is the gap between a large amount of unlabeled existing/new data and the limited annotation capability available. To resolve this problem, numerous works have been carried out to increase the degree of automation of semantic annotation from manual to semi-automatic to fully automatic. The richness of these works has been well-investigated by numerous surveys focusing on different aspects of the problem. However, a comprehensive survey targeting unsupervised approaches for semantic annotation is still missing and is urgently needed. To better understand the state-of-the-art of semantic annotation in the textual domain adopting unsupervised approaches, this article investigates existing literature and presents a survey to answer three research questions: (1) To what extent can semantic annotation be performed in a fully automatic manner by using an unsupervised way? (2) What kind of unsupervised approaches for semantic annotation already exist in literature? (3) What characteristics and relationships do these approaches have?

In contrast to existing surveys, this article helps the reader get an insight into the state-of-art of semantic annotation using unsupervised approaches. While examining the literature, this article also addresses the inconsistency in the terminology used in the literature to describe the various semantic annotation tools’ degree of automation and provides more consistent terminology. Based on this, a uniform summary of the degree of automation of the many semantic annotation tools that were previously investigated can now be presented.
A Survey on 360° Video Streaming
Authors: Fan Ching-Ling , Lo Wen-Chih , Pai Yu-Tung , Hsu Cheng-Hsin
Published: September 2019

Head-mounted displays and 360° videos have become increasingly more popular, delivering a more immersive viewing experience to end users. Streaming 360° videos over the best-effort Internet, however, faces tremendous challenges, because of the high resolution and the short response time requirements. This survey presents the current literature related to 360° video streaming. We start with 360° video streaming systems built for real experiments to investigate the practicality and efficiency of 360° video streaming. We then present the video and viewer datasets, which may be used to drive large-scale simulations and experiments. Different optimization tools in various stages of the 360° video streaming pipeline are discussed in detail. We also present various applications enabled by 360° video streaming. In the appendices, we review the off-the-shelf hardware available at the time of writing and the open research problems.
Understanding Deep Learning Techniques for Image Segmentation
Authors: Ghosh Swarnendu , Das Nibaran , Das Ishita , Maulik Ujjwal
Published: September 2019

The machine learning community has been overwhelmed by a plethora of deep learning--based approaches. Many challenging computer vision tasks, such as detection, localization, recognition, and segmentation of objects in an unconstrained environment, are being efficiently addressed by various types of deep neural networks, such as convolutional neural networks, recurrent networks, adversarial networks, and autoencoders. Although there have been plenty of analytical studies regarding the object detection or recognition domain, many new deep learning techniques have surfaced with respect to image segmentation techniques. This article approaches these various deep learning techniques of image segmentation from an analytical perspective. The main goal of this work is to provide an intuitive understanding of the major techniques that have made a significant contribution to the image segmentation domain. Starting from some of the traditional image segmentation approaches, the article progresses by describing the effect that deep learning has had on the image segmentation domain. Thereafter, most of the major segmentation algorithms have been logically categorized with paragraphs dedicated to their unique contribution. With an ample amount of intuitive explanations, the reader is expected to have an improved ability to visualize the internal dynamics of these processes.
Decision Tree Classification with Differential Privacy
Authors: Fletcher Sam , Islam Md. Zahidul
Published: September 2019

Data mining information about people is becoming increasingly important in the data-driven society of the 21st century. Unfortunately, sometimes there are real-world considerations that conflict with the goals of data mining; sometimes the privacy of the people being data mined needs to be considered. This necessitates that the output of data mining algorithms be modified to preserve privacy while simultaneously not ruining the predictive power of the outputted model. Differential privacy is a strong, enforceable definition of privacy that can be used in data mining algorithms, guaranteeing that nothing will be learned about the people in the data that could not already be discovered without their participation. In this survey, we focus on one particular data mining algorithm—decision trees—and how differential privacy interacts with each of the components that constitute decision tree algorithms. We analyze both greedy and random decision trees, and the conflicts that arise when trying to balance privacy requirements with the accuracy of the model.
Runtime Monitoring and Resolution of Probabilistic Obstacles to System Goals
Authors: Cailliau Antoine , Lamsweerde Axel Van
Published: September 2019

Software systems are deployed in environments that keep changing over time. They should therefore adapt to changing conditions to meet their requirements. The satisfaction rate of these requirements depends on the rate at which adverse conditions prevent their satisfaction. Obstacle analysis is a goal-oriented form of risk analysis for requirements engineering (RE), whereby obstacles to system goals are identified, assessed, and resolved through countermeasures. The selection of effective countermeasures relies on environment assumptions and on the assessed likelihood and criticality of the corresponding obstacles. Those various factors estimated at RE time may, however, evolve at system runtime.

To meet the system’s goals under changing conditions, this article proposes to defer obstacle resolution to system runtime. Techniques are presented for monitoring obstacle satisfaction rates; deciding when adaptation should be triggered; and adapting the system on-the-fly to countermeasures that are more effective. The approach relies on a model where goals and obstacles are refined and specified in a probabilistic linear temporal logic. The techniques allow for monitoring the satisfaction rate of probabilistic leaf obstacles; determining the severity of obstacle consequences on goal satisfaction rates computed from the monitored obstacle satisfaction rates; and shifting to countermeasures that better meet the required goal satisfaction rates. Our approach is evaluated on fragments of an ambulance dispatching system.
A Survey on Gait Recognition via Wearable Sensors
Authors: Marsico Maria De , Mecca Alessio
Published: September 2019

Gait is a biometric trait that can allow user authentication, though it is classified as a “soft” one due to a certain lack in permanence and to sensibility to specific conditions. The earliest research relies on computer vision, especially applied in video surveillance. More recently, the spread of wearable sensors, especially those embedded in mobile devices, has spurred a different research line. In fact, they are able to capture the dynamics of the walking pattern through simpler one-dimensional signals. This capture modality can avoid some problems related to computer vision-based techniques but suffers from specific limitations. Related research is still in a less advanced phase with respect to other biometric traits. However, many factors - the promising results achieved so far, the increasing accuracy of sensors, the ubiquitous presence of mobile devices, and the low cost of related techniques - contribute to making this biometrics attractive and suggest continuing investigating. This survey provides interested readers with a reasoned and systematic overview of problems, approaches, and available benchmarks.
Modeling Universal Globally Adaptive Load-Balanced Routing
Authors: Mollah Md Atiqul , Wang Wenqi , Faizian Peyman , Rahman MD Shafayat , Yuan Xin , Pakin Scott , Lang Michael
Published: September 2019

Universal globally adaptive load-balanced (UGAL) routing has been proposed for various interconnection networks and has been deployed in a number of current-generation supercomputers. Although UGAL-based schemes have been extensively studied, most existing results are based on either simulation or measurement. Without a theoretical understanding of UGAL, multiple questions remain: For which traffic patterns is UGAL most suited? In addition, what determines the performance of the UGAL-based scheme on a particular network configuration? In this work, we develop a set of throughput models for UGALbased on linear programming. We show that the throughput models are valid across the torus, Dragonfly, and Slim Fly network topologies. Finally, we identify a robust model that can accurately and efficiently predict UGAL throughput for a set of representative traffic patterns across different topologies. Our models not only provide a mechanism to predict UGAL performance on large-scale interconnection networks but also reveal the inner working of UGAL and further our understanding of this type of routing.
Changing Tides: The Role of Natural and Anthropogenic Factors
Authors: Talke Stefan A. , Jay David A.
Published: September 2019

Tides are changing worldwide at rates not explained by astronomical forcing. Rather, the observed evolution of tides and other long waves, such as storm surges, is influenced by shelf processes and changes to the roughness, depth, width, and length of embayments, estuaries, and tidal rivers. In this review, we focus on processes in estuaries and tidal rivers, because that is where the largest changes to tidal properties are occurring. Recent literature shows that changes in tidal amplitude have been ubiquitous worldwide over the past century, often in response to wetland reclamation, channel dredging, and other environmental changes. While tidal amplitude changes are sometimes slight (<1%) or even negative, we identify two types of systems that are particularly prone to tidal amplification: ( a) shallow, strongly damped systems, in which a small increase in depth produces a large decrease in effective friction, and ( b) systems in which wave reflection and resonance are strongly influenced by changes to depth, friction, and convergence. The largest changes in amplitude occur inland, some distance from the coast, and can sometimes be measured in meters. Tide changes are a leading indicator that the dynamics of storm surges and river flood waves have also changed and are often associated with shifts in sediment transport, salinity intrusion, and ecosystem properties. Therefore, the dynamics of tidal evolution have major implications for coastal management, particularly for systems that are sensitive to changes in geometry induced by sea-level rise and anthropogenic development.
The Origin and Pathogenesis of Endometriosis
Authors: Wang Yeh , Nicholes Kristen , Shih Ie-Ming
Published: September 2019

Recent molecular genetic findings on endometriosis and normal endometrium suggest a modified model in which circulating epithelial progenitor or stem cells intended to regenerate uterine endometrium after menstruation may become overreactive and trapped outside the uterus. These trapped epithelium-committed progenitor cells form nascent glands through clonal expansion and recruit polyclonal stromal cells, leading to the establishment of deep infiltrating endometriosis. Once formed, the ectopic tissue becomes subject to immune surveillance, resulting in chronic inflammation. The inflammatory response orchestrated by nuclear factor-κB signaling is exacerbated by aberrations in the estrogen receptor-β and progesterone receptor pathways, which are also affected by local inflammation, forming a dysregulated inflammation–hormonal loop. Glandular epithelium within endometriotic tissue harbors cancer-associated mutations that are frequently detected in endometriosis-related ovarian cancers. In this review, we summarize recent advances that have illuminated the origin and pathogenesis of endometriosis and have provided new avenues for research that promise to improve the early diagnosis and management of endometriosis.
Evaluation of Ground Surface Pregrouting in a Mountain Tunnel Based on FAHP
Authors: Zhu Changan , Sun Runfang , Xu Hua , Liu Yiwei , Chen Zhuang
Published: September 2019

The quality of ground surface pregrouting (GSPG) is commonly qualitatively evaluated using single factor; however, the quality evaluation involves numerous facets, and a quantitative evaluation is rare. The aim of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the quality of a GSPG based on three aspects. The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) was adopted to obtain the final score and quality classification of the GSPG. Based on three aspects, namely, integrity, continuity, and sturdiness, a series of field tests was also conducted, qualitatively evaluating the quality of the GSPG preliminary, to obtain the required test data and verify the FAHP results. The results of the FAHP showed that the quality of the GSPG was 86.42, which could be classified as “Good”, whereas the field tests exhibited that the GSPG was effective, thereby verifying that the FAHP was reliable. In addition, the proposed method provided a detailed comprehension of the quality evaluation of GSPG and a frame of reference for analogous engineering.
Porting Mobile Apps from iOS to Android: A Practical Experience
Authors: Lamhaddab Khalid , Lachgar Mohamed , Elbaamrani Khalid
Published: September 2019

The recent rise of smartphones has triggered a revolution in mobile development. As a result of this incremental mobile innovation, new software engineering techniques, software documentation, and tools adapted to the mobile platform remain essential in order to help developers to better understand, analyze, and bootstrap porting mobile applications. In this paper, the authors propose a model-driven reverse-engineering approach based on static analysis, which describes a semantic metamodel of the iOS mobile application and extract design information (such as user interfaces, activity diagram, entities, framework and library dependencies) in order to generate the functional specification documentation and the Android UI skeleton. Thus, aiding the project team, who has in charge porting the app to another mobile platform, to agree upon a consensus on what has to be implemented and safe development cost by auto generating the Android UI skeleton project. To experiment this approach, the authors have implemented a tool called iSpecSnapshot. Moreover, they evaluate the performance of iSpecSnapshot by an experiment involving iOS applications that are ported to Android platform.
Efficacy and Safety of Intravenous Thrombolysis in Patients with Unknown Onset Stroke: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Luan Di , Zhang Yuanxiang , Yang Qian , Zhou Zhiming , Huang Xianjun , Zhao Shoucai , Yuan Lili
Published: September 2019

Objectives. Unknown onset stroke (UOS) is usually excluded from intravenous thrombolysis concerning the unclear symptom onset time. Attempts have been done to use thrombolytic therapy in these patients. The current meta-analysis was done to examine the efficacy and safety of intravenous thrombolysis in UOS. Methods. PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched for studies comparing thrombolysis with conservative therapy among UOSs. Data of good outcome (mRS, 0-2), mortality, and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and symptomatic ICH (sICH) were extracted and analyzed using the Revman 5.2 software. Results. In total, 8 studies with 1271 subjects (542 with thrombolysis and 729 with conservative therapy) were included in this meta-analysis. The data showed that patients receiving thrombolysis had a higher incidence of 90-day good outcome (P=0.0005) than conservative therapy. The comparison of discharge (P=0.89) and 90-day mortality (P=0.10) in both groups did not find any significances. The incidences of ICH (P=0.42) and sICH (P=0.06) were relatively comparable between the two therapies. Conclusions. Intravenous thrombolysis is a better choice for UOS patients for its efficacy and safety. In addition, pretreatment imaging assessment is beneficial for improving the efficacy of thrombolytic therapy. However, it needs more supporting evidences for clinical use in the future.
Bacteriological Monitoring of Inanimate Surfaces and Equipment in Some Referral Hospitals in Assiut City, Egypt
Authors: Ahmed Entsar H. , Hassan Hebat-Allah M. , El-Sherbiny Nahla M. , Soliman Asmaa M. A.
Published: September 2019

Hospital-acquired infections represent a serious public health problem in all countries. It is clear that monitoring of the hospital environment is an essential element in the control and a part of the policy for preventing nosocomial infections. It allows a better understanding of the microbial ecology for the purpose of conducting preventive and corrective actions. The aims of this work were to determine the percentage of bacterial contamination of environmental samples and to identify potential nosocomial pathogens isolated from environments of seven referral hospitals from 2009 to 2015. By using the swab technique, 12863 samples were collected. Qualitative and quantitative cultures were performed. The organisms were primarily identified by colony morphology, microscopy of Gram stain, and standard biochemical tests. 25.6% of total samples showed contamination (93% was monomicrobial and 7.0% was polymicrobial). The predominant species was coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CNS) (32%), followed by methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) (26%) and then K. pneumonia (10.6%). The percentage of contamination varied among the covered hospitals and according to the year of monitoring with highly statistically significant difference (p value<0.001). Direct contact with environmental surfaces or equipment transmits the majority of nosocomial infection. Major nosocomial pathogens have been identified. Hospital managers and healthcare bodies must be aware of the reality of the concept of environmental bacterial tanks and the need for respect of biocleaning procedures and choice of biocleaning tools.
A Bilocular Radicular Cyst in the Mandible with Tooth Structure Components Inside
Authors: Noda Akari , Abe Masanobu , Shinozaki-Ushiku Aya , Ohata Yae , Zong Liang , Abe Takahiro , Hoshi Kazuto
Published: September 2019

Background. A radicular cyst is the most common odontogenic cyst of inflammatory origin. Radiographically, it commonly demonstrates clear unilocular radiolucency; radicular cysts with multilocular radiolucency are quite rare. Case Presentation. A 64-year-old Japanese man who presented with a bilocular radiolucent lesion in his left mandible was referred by a dental clinic to our oral and maxillofacial surgery department. He had no particular subjective symptoms. Orthopantomography and computed tomography (CT) revealed an 18 mm×15 mm lesion with well-defined bilocular radiolucency in the left mandible expanding from the distal side of a canine tooth to the bottom of the 2nd premolar. The lesion included the roots of the 1st and 2nd premolars. The root of the 2nd premolar showed knife-edge resorption. Although the 1st premolar was nonvital, the 2nd premolar was a vital tooth. As differential diagnoses, a radicular cyst, ameloblastoma, odontogenic keratocyst, pseudocyst, and others might be considered. We performed a total resection of the bilocular lesion and diagnosed the lesion as a radicular cyst with tooth structure components inside. The tooth structure components represented lamellar structures of cementum; they were located only in the proximal part (under the 1st premolar) of the lesion. The distal part of the lesion presented distinctive inflammation without tooth structure components. Conclusion. We encountered a rare case of a bilocular radicular cyst with tooth structure components inside.
Effect of Xueniao Capsule on Escherichia coli-Induced Acute Pyelonephritis Rats by 1H NMR-Based Metabolomic Approach
Authors: Hao Xuliang , He Pan , Ni Yan , Yao Jing , Yang Yankun , Liu Cong , Chen Lei
Published: September 2019

Xueniao capsule, one of the famous traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulas, has been proved to be effective for treating acute pyelonephritis (APN) in the clinic. However, the probable mechanisms are still unclear. This study was aimed at investigating the therapeutic effect and action mechanism of Xueniao capsule on acute pyelonephritis rats. Chemical analysis of Xueniao capsule and four different extracts was conducted by HPLC and GC-MS. 21 compounds were identified in the Xueniao capsule, and obvious chemical difference was also revealed among the different extracts by chemical analysis. Metabolomics, combined with bacteriological examination, traditional histopathology, and biochemical parameters, was used to evaluate the effects of Xueniao capsule and four different extracts. After treatment with Xueniao capsule, the bacterial count of urine was decreased and the renal lesions of APN rats were ameliorated by histopathology inspection. Levels of Scr and Ucr, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, CXCL-2, and MCP-1 were decreased significantly, and the reserving effect of Xueniao capsule was superior to the different extracts and norfloxacin. 16 endogenous metabolites related to APN model were revealed, and 12 of them could be reversed by the Xueniao capsule. 1H NMR metabolomic results demonstrated that the formula of Xueniao capsule played the best therapeutic role on APN through regulating energy metabolism and alterations of osmotic pressure. The effect of Xueniao capsule on the APN was the synergistic actions of multiple components, which need to be further investigated in future studies.
eHealth Cloud Security Challenges: A Survey
Authors: Al-Issa Yazan , Ottom Mohammad Ashraf , Tamrawi Ahmed
Published: September 2019

Cloud computing is a promising technology that is expected to transform the healthcare industry. Cloud computing has many benefits like flexibility, cost and energy savings, resource sharing, and fast deployment. In this paper, we study the use of cloud computing in the healthcare industry and different cloud security and privacy challenges. The centralization of data on the cloud raises many security and privacy concerns for individuals and healthcare providers. This centralization of data (1) provides attackers with one-stop honey-pot to steal data and intercept data in-motion and (2) moves data ownership to the cloud service providers; therefore, the individuals and healthcare providers lose control over sensitive data. As a result, security, privacy, efficiency, and scalability concerns are hindering the wide adoption of the cloud technology. In this work, we found that the state-of-the art solutions address only a subset of those concerns. Thus, there is an immediate need for a holistic solution that balances all the contradicting requirements.
Portrait of Tissue-Specific Coexpression Networks of Noncoding RNAs (miRNA and lncRNA) and mRNAs in Normal Tissues
Authors: Cava Claudia , Bertoli Gloria , Castiglioni Isabella
Published: September 2019

Genes that encode proteins playing a role in more than one biological process are frequently dependent on their tissue context, and human diseases result from the altered interplay of tissue- and cell-specific processes. In this work, we performed a computational approach that identifies tissue-specific co-expression networks by integrating miRNAs, long-non-coding RNAs, and mRNAs in more than eight thousands of human samples from thirty normal tissue types. Our analysis (1) shows that long-non coding RNAs and miRNAs have a high specificity, (2) confirms several known tissue-specific RNAs, and (3) identifies new tissue-specific co-expressed RNAs that are currently still not described in the literature. Some of these RNAs interact with known tissue-specific RNAs or are crucial in key cancer functions, suggesting that they are implicated in tissue specification or cell differentiation.
Heparanase Accelerates Obesity-Associated Breast Cancer Progression
Authors: Hermano Esther , Goldberg Rachel , Rubinstein Ariel M. , Sonnenblick Amir , Maly Bella , Nahmias Daniela , Li Jin-Ping , Bakker Marinka A.H. , van der Vlag Johan , Vlodavsky Israel , Peretz Tamar , Elkin Michael
Published: September 2019

Obese women have higher risk of bearing breast tumors that are highly aggressive and resistant to therapies. Tumor-promoting effects of obesity occur locally via adipose inflammation and related alterations to the extracellular matrix (ECM) as well as systemically via circulating metabolic mediators (e.g., free fatty acids, FFA) associated with excess adiposity and implicated in toll-like receptor-mediated activation of macrophages—key cellular players in obesity-related cancer progression. Although the contribution of macrophages to proneoplastic effects of obesity is well documented, the role of ECM components and their enzymatic degradation is less appreciated. We show that heparanase, the sole mammalian endoglucuronidase that cleaves heparan sulfate in ECM, is preferentially expressed in clinical/experimental obesity-associated breast tumors. Heparanase deficiency abolished obesity-accelerated tumor progression in vivo. Heparanase orchestrated a complex molecular program that occurred concurrently in adipose and tumor tissue and sustained the cancer-promoting action of obesity. Heparanase was required for adipose tissue macrophages to produce inflammatory mediators responsible for local induction of aromatase, a rate-limiting enzyme in estrogen biosynthesis. Estrogen upregulated heparanase in hormone-responsive breast tumors. In subsequent stages, elevated levels of heparanase induced acquisition of procancerous phenotype by tumor-associated macrophages, resulting in activation of tumor-promoting signaling and acceleration of breast tumor growth under obese conditions. As techniques to screen for heparanase expression in tumors become available, these findings provide rational and a mechanistic basis for designing antiheparanase approaches to uncouple obesity and breast cancer in a rapidly growing population of obese patients.

Significance:

This study reveals the role of heparanase in promoting obesity-associated breast cancer and provides a mechanistically informed approach to uncouple obesity and breast cancer in a rapidly growing population of obese patients.