bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Premedication to reduce anxiety in patients undergoing coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention
Authors: Vlastra Wieneke , Delewi Ronak , Rohling Wim J , Wagenaar Tineke C , Hirsch Alexander , Meesterman Martin G , Vis Marije M , Wykrzykowska Joanna J , Koch Karel T , de Winter Robbert J , Baan Jr Jan , Piek Jan J , Sprangers Mirjam A G , Henriques José P S
Published: September 2018

Aims

In this study, we examined the effects of the routinely administration of benzodiazepines on reducing periprocedural anxiety versus no premedication.

Methods

In this open label study, we enrolled 1683 patients undergoing diagnostic coronary angiograms (CAG) or percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). Randomisation was simulated by systematically allocating patients in monthly rotational periods to lorazepam 1  mg/sl, oxazepam 10  mg/po, diazepam 5  mg/po, midazolam 7.5  mg/po orno premedication. Anxiety was measured at four different time points using the one-item Visual Analogue Scale for Anxiety (VAS score) ranging from 0 to 10. The primary outcome was the difference in anxiety reduction (ΔVAS, preprocedure to postprocedure), between the different premedication strategies versusno premedication.

Results

Anxiety reduction was larger in patients premedicated with lorazepam (ΔVAS=−2.0, SE=1.6, P=0.007) or diazepam (ΔVAS=−2.0, SE=1.5, p=0.003) compared with patients without any premedication (ΔVAS=−1.4, SE=1.2). The use of midazolam or oxazepam did not lead to a significant reduction in anxiety compared with patients who did not receive premedication. Additionally, a high number of patients treated with midazolam (N=39, 19.8%) developed side effects.

Conclusions

In this study, the use of lorazepam or diazepam was associated with a significant, but modest anxiety reduction in patients undergoing CAG or PCI. This study does not support the standard use of oxazepam or midazolam as premedication to reduce anxiety.
Stenting for symptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis in China: 1-year outcome of a multicentre registry study
Authors: Ma Ning , Zhang Yong , Shuai Jie , Jiang Changchun , Zhu Qiyi , Chen Kangning , Liu Li , Li Baomin , Shi Xiangqun , Gao Lianbo , Liu Yajie , Wang Feng , Li Yongli , Liu Tieyan , Zheng Hongbo , Mo Dapeng , Gao Feng , Wang Yilong , Wang Yongjun , Feng Lei , Miao Zhongrong
Published: September 2018

Background and purpose

A multicentre prospective registry study of individually tailored stenting for a patient with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) combined with poor collaterals in China showed that the short-term safety and efficacy of stenting was acceptable. However, it remained uncertain whether the low event rate could be of a long term. We reported the 1-year outcome of this registry study to evaluate the long-term efficacy of individually tailored stenting for patients with severe symptomatic ICAS combined with poor collaterals.

Methods

Patients with symptomatic ICAS caused by 70%–99% stenosis located at the intracranial internal carotid, middle cerebral, intracranial vertebral or basilar arteries combined with poor collaterals were enrolled. Balloon-mounted stent or balloon plus self-expanding stent were selected based on the ease of vascular access and lesion morphology determined by the operators. The primary outcome was the rate of 30-day stroke, transient ischaemic attack and death, and 12-month ischaemic stroke within the same vascular territory, haemorrhagic stroke and vascular death after stenting.

Results

From September 2013 to January 2015, 300 patients (ages 58.3±9.78 years) were recruited. Among them, 159 patients were treated with balloon-mounted stent and 141 with balloon plus self-expanding stent. During the 1-year follow-up, 25 patients had a primary end point event. The probability of primary outcome at 1 year was 8.1% (95% CI 5.3% to 11.7%). In 76 patients with digital subtraction angiography follow-up, 27.6% (21/76) had re-stenosis ≥50% and 18.4% (14/76) had re-stenosis ≥70%. No baseline characteristic was associated with the primary outcome.

Conclusion

The event rate remains low over 1 year of individually tailored stenting for patients with severe symptomatic ICAS combined with poor collaterals. Further randomised trial of comparing individually tailored stenting with best medical therapy is needed.

Trial registration number

NCT01968122; Results.
Do moderate- to vigorous-intensity accelerometer count thresholds correspond to relative moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity?
Authors: Raiber Lilian , Christensen Rebecca A.G. , Randhawa Arshdeep K. , Jamnik Veronica K. , Kuk Jennifer L.
Published: September 2018

We aimed to predict % maximal oxygen consumption at absolute accelerometer thresholds and to estimate and compare durations of objective physical activity (PA) among body mass index (BMI) categories using thresholds that account for cardiorespiratory fitness. Eight hundred twenty-eight adults (53.5% male; age, 33.9 ± 0.3 years) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003–2004 were analyzed. Metabolic equivalent values at absolute thresholds were converted to percentage of maximal oxygen consumption, and accelerometer counts corresponding to 40% or 60% maximal oxygen consumption were determined using 4 energy expenditure prediction equations. Absolute thresholds underestimated PA intensity for all adults; however, because of lower fitness, individuals with overweight and obesity work at significantly higher percentage of maximal oxygen consumption at the absolute thresholds and require significantly lower accelerometer counts to reach relative moderate and vigorous PA intensities compared with those with normal weight (P < 0.05). However, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) durations were shorter when using relative thresholds compared with absolute thresholds (in all BMI groups, P < 0.05), and they were shorter among individuals with obesity compared with those with normal weight when using relative thresholds (P < 0.05). Regardless of the thresholds used, a greater proportion of individuals with normal weight met the PA guideline of 150 min·week–1 of MVPA compared with individuals with obesity (absolute: 21.3% vs 6.7%; Yngve: 4.0% vs 0.2%; Swartz: 10.7% vs 3.9%; Hendelman: 4.7% vs 0.2%; Freedson: 6.4% vs 0.5%; P < 0.05). Current absolute thresholds of accelerometry-derived PA may overestimate MVPA for all BMI categories when compared with relative thresholds that account for cardiorespiratory fitness. Given the large variability in our results, more work is needed to better understand how to use accelerometers for evaluating PA at the population level.
Provenance analysis of the Dezadeash Formation (Jurassic–Cretaceous), Yukon, Canada: implications regarding a linkage between the Wrangellia composite terrane and the western margin of Laurasia
Authors: Lowey Grant W.
Published: September 2018

The Mesozoic convergence of the allochthonous Wrangellia composite terrane (WCT) with the western margin of Laurasia coincided with the construction of the Chitina magmatic arc on the WCT, and the dispersal of volcanic flows and sediment gravity flows into an adjacent flysch basin. The basin, preserved as the Gravina–Nutzotin belt, includes the Dezadeash Formation in southwest Yukon, the Nutzotin Mountains sequence in southern Alaska, and the Gravina belt in southeastern Alaska. The Dezadeash Formation is a submarine fan system comprising stacked channel-lobe transition and lobe deposits interposed with overbank deposits. Conglomerate pebble-counts, sandstone point-counts, detrital zircon ages, and major element, trace element, rare earth element, and Sm–Nd isotopic geochemistry of sandstone, mudstone, and hemipelagite beds suggests that the deposits consist mainly of first-cycle volcanogenic detritus shed from the undissected Chitina arc, in addition to material eroded from the WCT. The arc was constructed of undifferentiated magma sourced from the depleted mantel, as well as older crustal material attributed to the WCT proxying for continental crust. The compositional provenance results, together with published paleocurrent data for the Dezadeash Formation and compositional and directional provenance indicators from the Nutzotin Mountains sequence and Gravina belt, does not require a sediment source from Laurasia. The provenance record is compatible with deposition of the Gravina–Nutzotin belt in a convergent plate margin setting.
Drivers of diet patterns in a globally distributed freshwater fish species
Authors: Sánchez-Hernández Javier , Finstad Anders G. , Arnekleiv Jo Vegar , Kjærstad Gaute , Amundsen Per-Arne
Published: September 2018

We analysed data of a globally distributed model organism (brown trout, Salmo trutta) in an attempt to understand relationships among biogeography, prey communities, and climate on diet composition at regional spatial scales (Scandinavia) and thereafter explored whether diet patterns remained the same at global scales. At regional scales, we uncovered comprehensive patterns in diet composition among neighbouring freshwater ecoregions, with site-specific prey communities as the best predictor of the observed prey utilization patterns. Thus, we posit that environmental gradients altering site-specific prey communities and consequently the trophic niche of the predator through bottom-up mechanisms are key in understanding spatial dietary patterns. Proximity was also important for the revealed biogeographic patterns at global scales. We suggest that geographic location (latitude and elevation) as a proxy of environmental heterogeneity is key at small spatial scales, and climate at global extents, to understand spatial dietary patterns. Our findings support the hypothesis that future shifts in prey communities due to climate change will strengthen biographical patterns in feeding of freshwater fishes, with consequences for invasiveness assessment and nature management and conservation.
Torus Breakdown in a Uni Junction Memristor
Authors: Ginoux Jean-Marc , Meucci Riccardo , Euzzor Stefano , di Garbo Angelo
Published: September 2018

Experimental study of a uni junction transistor (UJT) has enabled to show that this electronic component has the same features as the so-called “memristor”. So, we have used the memristor’s direct current (DC) [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] characteristic for modeling the UJT’s DC current–voltage characteristic. This has led us to confirm on the one hand, that the UJT is a memristor and, on the other hand, to propose a new four-dimensional autonomous dynamical system allowing to describe experimentally observed phenomena such as the transition from a limit cycle to torus breakdown.
Control of Divergence in an Extended Invertible Logistic Map
Authors: Lu Guangqing , Landauskas Mantas , Ragulskis Minvydas
Published: September 2018

The extended invertible Logistic map and its properties are investigated in this paper. It is demonstrated that initial conditions of the extended invertible Logistic map can yield trajectories of three different types. Dedicated algorithms are used to prove the existence of transient Wada-type boundaries in the phase plane of initial conditions. An adaptive control technique for the temporary control of the divergence of the extended invertible Logistic map is proposed. This control technique is based on short impulses and exploits the properties of the Wada-type boundaries. Computational experiments are used to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed technique.
ANALYSIS OF THE CORRELATION BETWEEN FRACTAL STRUCTURE OF CUTTING FORCE SIGNAL AND SURFACE ROUGHNESS OF MACHINED WORKPIECE IN END MILLING OPERATION
Authors: THASTHAKEER AHMAD THUFFAIL , FARID ALI AKHAVAN , SENG CHANG TECK , NAMAZI HAMIDREZA
Published: September 2018

Analysis of the machined surface is one of the major issues in machining operations. On the other hand, investigating about the variations of cutting forces in machining operation has great importance. Since variations of cutting forces affect the surface quality of machined workpiece, therefore, analysis of the correlation between cutting forces and surface roughness of machined workpiece is very important. In this paper, we employ fractal analysis in order to investigate about the complex structure of cutting forces and relate them to the surface quality of machined workpiece. The experiments have been conducted in different conditions that were selected based on cutting depths, type of cutting tool (serrated versus. square end mills) and machining conditions (wet and dry machining). The result of analysis showed that among all comparisons, we could only see the correlation between complex structure of cutting force and the surface roughness of machined workpiece in case of using serrated end mill in wet machining condition. The employed methodology in this research can be widely applied to other types of machining operations to analyze the effect of variations of different parameters on variability of cutting forces and surface roughness of machined workpiece and then investigate about their correlation.
FRACTAL DERIVATIVE MODEL FOR TSUNAMI TRAVELING
Authors: WANG YAN , DENG QIGEN
Published: September 2018

Tsunami traveling in an unsmooth boundary is studied, where the boundary is considered as a fractal surface, and mass conservation and moment conservation in a fractal space are established, and a fractal derivative-based tsunami model is established. Other discontinuous boundaries can be treated in a similar way.
USING WBE CONJUNCTION WITH ELECTROCHEMICAL NOISE TO EVALUATE THE CORROSION REGULARITY OF ENAMEL COATING MODIFIED ON MILD STEEL IMMERSED IN CORROSIVE SOLUTION
Authors: LI YULIN , CHEN CHUAN , ZHONG QINGDONG , LI QIAN , CHENG YUFENG
Published: September 2018

In this paper, the development and the formation of the mild steel immersed in seawater that covered with enamel coating are investigated. The wire beam electrode (WBE) was applied to evaluate pitting corrosion and local inhomogeneous corrosion that happened on the coated surface of metal substrate. This method can obtain Maps that can show corrosion potential and galvanic current distributions and the specific values can be calculated from the WBE surface that was covered by enamel coating. Corrosion potential–current and electrochemical noise were successfully measured by using a WBE scanner and electrochemical workstation. This new linkage-test method means that the combined WBE-[Formula: see text] has ability to characterize and analysis the process of enamel coating failing more accurately [Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 3; Ref. 4]. To some extent, the method can also predict the tendency and location of corrosion occurring. It was found that the coating has a good protective effect on the surface of the metal substrate because the corrosion potential is very positive and the corrosion current is very small. At the same time, in the course of the test, the distribution of the anode current is heterogeneous, as time increases, the original single anode current region gradually expands and is connected with the other anode regions in the final. In addition, corrosion often occurs at the boundary of the electrode (WBE) and then to the central area.
Corporate governance, earnings management and the value-relevance of accounting information: Evidence from Pakistan
Authors: Bin Khidmat Waqas , Wang Man , Awan Sadia
Published: September 2018

This paper examines the effect of corporate governance and earnings management on the value relevance of accounting information. Using data collected from the annual reports of non-financial companies listed in Pakistan Stock Exchange, it is concluded that earnings and book value are value relevant. The value relevance of earnings decreases while the value relevance of book value increases for the firms engaged in the earnings management. On the contrary, good corporate governance practices have a positive impact on the value relevance of earnings as well as the book value. Firm-specific characteristics enhance the predictive power of the model by more than 14%. A robustness test was carried out for alternative measures of earnings management. For this purpose, first performance-matched discretionary accruals were calculated following Kothari et al. (2005). Second, short-term accruals (DeChow, 1994), long-term accruals (Teoh et al., 1998b) and total accruals (Whelan, 2004), are calculated to analyze the effect on the value relevance of earnings and book value. The results support our null hypothesis.
An exact and explicit implied volatility inversion formula
Authors: Xia Yuxuan , Cui Zhenyu
Published: September 2018

In this paper, we develop an exact and explicit (model-independent) Taylor series representation of the implied volatility based on the novel applications of an extended Faà di Bruno formula under the operator calculus setting, and the Lagrange inversion theorem. We rigorously establish that our formula converges to the true implied volatility as the truncation order increases. Numerical examples illustrate the remarkable accuracy and efficiency of the formula. The formula distinguishes from previous literature as it converges to the true exact implied volatility, is a closed-form formula whose coefficients are explicitly determined and do not involve numerical iterations.
The Carnian Pluvial Episode: from discovery, through obscurity, to acceptance
Authors: Simms Michael J. , Ruffell Alastair H.
Published: September 2018

The discovery of the Carnian Pluvial Episode arose through a chance conversation bringing together two seemingly unrelated strands of research: the extinction of some Triassic crinoids and the stratigraphy of the non-marine Mercia Mudstone Group. Investigations revealed a hitherto unrecognized period of climate change seemingly linked to a largely overlooked episode of biotic turnover. Ignored for more than a decade, an upsurge of interest in recent years has validated our original findings and answered some of the key questions concerning its extent and ultimate cause.
Brachiopods from the Upper Ordovician of Erfoud (eastern Anti-Atlas, Morocco) and the stratigraphic correlation of the bryozoan-rich Khabt-el Hajar Formation
Authors: Villas Enrique , Colmenar Jorge
Published: September 2018

The Khabt-el-Hajar Formation, very rich in bryozoans and echinoderms but relatively poor in other fossil groups, has provided a brachiopod association that allows an improvement in the stratigraphic correlation of this Moroccan eastern Anti-Atlas unit with those from the Upper Ordovician of SW Europe and the rest of the Anti-Atlas. The intermediate marly beds, with bryozoan and echinoderm patches, of the Khabt-el-Hajar Formation have yielded
Streptis
? sp.,
Paucicrura catalanica
and
Drabovia
sp. Of these,
P. catalanica
, the richest in the association and known up to now exclusively from the Catalonian Coastal Ranges in NE Spain, is dated as mid to late Katian (Ka2–Ka4), since it occurs in the La Mora Slates, correlatable with horizons of that age from Iberia, Sardinia or the Montagne Noire. The analysis of the stratigraphic and palaeobiogeographical ranges of the bryozoans from the same formation agrees with the correlation above. The quartzitic sandstones that underlie the Khabt-el-Hajar Formation in the surroundings of Erfoud have yielded a different brachiopod association, including
Kiaeromena
?
chouberti
and
Rostricellula termieri
among other forms more poorly represented.
K.
?
chouberti
allows its yielding horizon to be dated as mid Katian (Ka2) and supports the identification of the sandstone-dominated unit where it occurs as the Tiouririne Formation.
Late Ordovician crinoids from the Anti-Atlas region of Morocco
Authors: Botting Joseph P.
Published: September 2018

The crinoid fauna of the Late Ordovician (Sandbian and Katian) of Morocco is sparse, but diverse. The one previously described species,
Rosfacrinus robustus
Le Menn & Spjeldnaes, 1996
, is now known to be part of an assemblage of at least 10 species, including the new taxa
Iocrinus ouzammoui
sp. nov. (Disparida),
Superlininicrinus advorsa
gen. et sp. nov.,
Isthloucrinus praecursor
gen. et a sp. nov. (Cladida) and
Euptychocrinus
?
atelis
sp. nov. (Camerata). The fauna also includes an additional species of
Iocrinus
, and several camerates including
Trichinocrinus
sp. and a monobathrid with probable affinities to the Tanaocrinidae. Undeterminable specimens of demonstrably different taxa are described as far as possible. The fauna includes genera previously known from Laurentia and Avalonia, implying unexpected latitudinal dispersal, together with evidence for substantial endemic diversification among cladids and camerates. Several of the taxa have unusual plate arrangements, including a mosaic of primitive and derived characters; this implies that early crinoid diversification was not limited to tropical carbonate facies. The fauna remains poorly known, with low numbers of specimens, and future collecting is likely to increase the diversity significantly.
Dependable Deep Computation Model for Feature Learning on Big Data in Cyber-Physical Systems
Authors: Zhang Qingchen , Yang Laurence T. , Chen Zhikui , Li Peng
Published: September 2018

With the ongoing development of sensor devices and network techniques, big data are being generated from the cyber-physical systems. Because of sensor equipment occasional failure and network transmission unreliability, a large number of low-quality data, such as noisy data and incomplete data, is collected from the cyber-physical systems. Low-quality data pose a remarkable challenge on deep learning models for big data feature learning. As a novel deep learning model, the deep computation model achieves superior performance for big data feature learning. However, it is difficult for the deep computation model to learn dependable features for low-quality data, since it uses the nonlinear function as the encoder. In this article, a dependable deep computation model is proposed for feature learning on low-quality big data in cyber-physical systems. Specially, a regularity is added into the objective function of the deep computation model to obtain reliable features in the intermediate-level representation space. Furthermore, a learning algorithm based on the back-propagation strategy is devised to train the parameters of the proposed model. Finally, experiments are conducted on three representative datasets and a real dataset to evaluate the effectiveness of the dependable deep computation model for low-quality big data feature learning. Results show that the proposed model achieves a remarkable result for the tasks of classification, restoration, and prediction, proving the potential of this work for practical applications in cyber-physical systems.
Stream Sampling Framework and Application for Frequency Cap Statistics
Authors: Cohen Edith
Published: September 2018

Unaggregated data, in a streamed or distributed form, are prevalent and come from diverse sources such as interactions of users with web services and IP traffic. Data elements have
keys
(cookies, users, queries), and elements with different keys interleave. Analytics on such data typically utilizes statistics expressed as a sum over keys in a specified segment of a function
f
applied to the frequency (the total number of occurrences) of the key. In particular,
Distinct
is the number of active keys in the segment,
Sum
is the sum of their frequencies, and both are special cases of
frequency cap
statistics, which cap the frequency by a parameter
T
.

Random samples can be very effective for quick and efficient estimation of statistics at query time. Ideally, to estimate statistics for a given function
f
, our sample would include a key with frequency
w
with probability roughly proportional to
f
(
w
). The challenge is that while such “gold-standard” samples can be easily computed after aggregating the data (computing the set of key-frequency pairs), this aggregation is costly: It requires structure of size that is proportional to the number of active keys, which can be very large.

We present a sampling framework for unaggregated data that uses a single pass (for streams) or two passes (for distributed data) and structure size proportional to the desired sample size. Our design unifies classic solutions for Distinct and Sum. Specifically, our ℓ-capped samples provide nonnegative unbiased estimates of any monotone non-decreasing frequency statistics and statistical guarantees on quality that are close to gold standard for cap statistics with
T
=Θ (ℓ). Furthermore, our
multi-objective
samples provide these statistical guarantees on quality for all
concave sub-linear
statistics (the nonnegative span of cap functions) while incurring only a logarithmic overhead on sample size.
Software-Directed Techniques for Improved GPU Register File Utilization
Authors: Voitsechov Dani , Zulfiqar Arslan , Stephenson Mark , Gebhart Mark , Keckler Stephen W.
Published: September 2018

Throughput architectures such as GPUs require substantial hardware resources to hold the state of a massive number of simultaneously executing threads. While GPU register files are already enormous, reaching capacities of 256KB per streaming multiprocessor (SM), we find that nearly half of real-world applications we examined are register-bound and would benefit from a larger register file to enable more concurrent threads. This article seeks to increase the thread occupancy and improve performance of these register-bound applications by making more efficient use of the existing register file capacity. Our first technique eagerly deallocates register resources during execution. We show that releasing register resources based on value liveness as proposed in prior states of the art leads to unreliable performance and undue design complexity. To address these deficiencies, our article presents a novel compiler-driven approach that identifies and exploits last use of a register name (instead of the value contained within) to eagerly release register resources. Furthermore, while previous works have leveraged “scalar” and “narrow” operand properties of a program for various optimizations, their impact on thread occupancy has been relatively unexplored. Our article evaluates the effectiveness of these techniques in improving thread occupancy and demonstrates that while any one approach may fail to free very many registers, together they synergistically free enough registers to launch additional parallel work. An in-depth evaluation on a large suite of applications shows that just our early register technique outperforms previous work on dynamic register allocation, and together these approaches, on average, provide 12% performance speedup (23% higher thread occupancy) on register bound applications not already saturating other GPU resources.
Distribution-free Junta Testing
Authors: Liu Zhengyang , Chen Xi , Servedio Rocco A. , Sheng Ying , Xie Jinyu
Published: September 2018

We study the problem of testing whether an unknown
n
-variable Boolean function is a
k
-junta in the
distribution-free
property testing model, where the distance between functions is measured with respect to an arbitrary and unknown probability distribution over {0,1}

n

. Our first main result is that distribution-free
k
-junta testing can be performed, with one-sided error, by an adaptive algorithm that uses Õ(
k
2
)/ϵ queries (independent of
n
). Complementing this, our second main result is a lower bound showing that any
non-adaptive
distribution-free
k
-junta testing algorithm must make Ω(2

k
/3

) queries even to test to accuracy ϵ = 1/3. These bounds establish that while the optimal query complexity of non-adaptive
k
-junta testing is 2

Θ(
k
)

, for adaptive testing it is poly(
k
), and thus show that adaptivity provides an exponential improvement in the distribution-free query complexity of testing juntas.
Origin of the Autophagosome Membrane in Mammals
Authors: Wei Yun , Liu Meixia , Li Xianxiao , Liu Jiangang , Li Hao
Published: September 2018

Autophagy begins with the nucleation of phagophores, which then expand to give rise to the double-membrane autophagosomes. Autophagosomes ultimately fuse with lysosomes, where the cytosolic cargoes are degraded. Accumulation of autophagosomes is a hallmark of autophagy and neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease. In recent years, the sources of autophagosome membrane have attracted a great deal of interests, even so, the membrane donors for autophagosomes are still under debate. In this review, we describe the probable sources of autophagosome membrane.
Evaluation of Quality Parameters in Gluten-Free Bread Formulated with Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) Flour
Authors: Clark Elizabeth A. , Aramouni Fadi M.
Published: September 2018

Flour from the fruit of breadfruit trees (Artocarpus altilis) holds the potential to serve as a wheat flour replacement in gluten-free product formulations. This study evaluated the impact of breadfruit flour and leavening agent on gluten-free bread quality. Breadfruit flour was first milled and characterized by the researchers prior to being used in this study. Experimental formulas were mixed with varying breadfruit flour inclusion (0%, 20%, 35%, and 50%) and leavening agent (yeast and baking powder). Quality parameters including density, specific volume, pH, water activity, color, and texture were assessed, and proximate analysis was performed to characterize the nutritional value of the bread. Significant differences (p<0.05) were found in loaf density, specific volume, color (crust L∗ and b∗; crumb L∗, a∗, and b∗), pH, water activity, and crumb firmness. Additionally, a consumer sensory study was performed on the most well-liked formulations. Consumer testing yielded significant differences (p<0.05) between the yeast-leavened control (0% breadfruit flour) and yeast-leavened breadfruit bread (20% breadfruit flour). Nonceliac consumers rated the breadfruit treatment as significantly less acceptable than the control for all sensory characteristics assessed. These results indicate that breadfruit flour can be used at ≤20%, when leavened with yeast, to produce quality gluten-free bread. Future studies should be conducted to assess the impact of breadfruit variety and milling practices on breadfruit flour properties before further attempts are made to investigate how breadfruit flour impacts the gluten-free bread quality.
Recent Advances in the Development of Vaccines for Diabetes, Hypertension, and Atherosclerosis
Authors: Lu Kongye , Su Benli , Meng Xiuxiang
Published: September 2018

Vaccines are commonly used in the prevention of infectious diseases. The basic principle of vaccination is to use specific antigens, endogenous or exogenous to stimulate immunity against the specific antigens or cells producing them. Autoantigen or oligo vaccination has been used for disease animal models. More recently humanized monoclonal antibodies have been successfully used for the treatment of neoplastic disorders or familial hypercholesterolemia. Humanized monoclonal antibody therapy needs repeated injection, and the therapy is expensive. Therapeutic vaccination can lead to persistent immunized or immune tolerant against the therapeutic molecule(s) or site. However, immunization against those endogenous substances may also elicit persistent autoimmune reaction or destruction that do harm to health. Therefore, rigorous studies are needed before any clinical application. In this review, we briefly reviewed vaccines used in protection against common metabolic diseases including atherosclerosis, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus.
About v-i Pinched Hysteresis of Some Non-Memristive Systems
Authors: Biolek Dalibor , Biolek Zdenek , Biolkova Viera , Ascoli Alon , Tetzlaff Ronald
Published: September 2018

A special subset of two-terminal elements providing pinched hysteresis loops in the voltage-current plane with the lobe area increasing with the frequency is analysed. These devices are identified as non-memristive systems and the sufficient condition for their hysteresis loop to be pinched at the origin is derived. It turns out that the analysed behaviour can be observed only for just one concrete initial state of the device. This knowledge is conclusive for understanding why such devices cannot be regarded as memristors.
New Genomic Approaches to Enhance Biomass Degradation by the Industrial FungusTrichoderma reesei
Authors: de Paula Renato Graciano , Antoniêto Amanda Cristina Campos , Ribeiro Liliane Fraga Costa , Carraro Cláudia Batista , Nogueira Karoline Maria Vieira , Lopes Douglas Christian Borges , Silva Alinne Costa , Zerbini Mariana Taíse , Pedersoli Wellington Ramos , Costa Mariana do Nascimento , Silva Roberto Nascimento
Published: September 2018

The filamentous fungiTrichoderma reeseiis one of the most well-studied cellulolytic microorganisms. It is the most important fungus for the industrial production of enzymes to biomass deconstruction being widely used in the biotechnology industry, mainly in the production of biofuels. Here, we performed an analytic review of the holocellulolytic system presented byT. reeseias well as the transcriptional and signaling mechanisms involved with holocellulase expression in this fungus. We also discuss new perspectives about control of secretion and cellulase expression based on RNA-seq and functional characterization data ofT. reeseigrowth in different carbon sources, which comprise glucose, cellulose, sophorose, and sugarcane bagasse.
Laboratory Investigation of Energy Propagation and Scattering Characteristics in Cylindrical Rock Specimens
Authors: Chen Lu , Qiao Lan , Yang Jianming , Li Qingwen
Published: September 2018

Deep mining involves complex geological environments. Moreover, along with strong disturbance, rockbursts and other severe dynamic hazards can occur frequently. Energy theory is widely regarded as the most appropriate method for understanding the mechanism of deep dynamic problems. When modeling dynamic disasters, energy theory includes the energy storage, energy accumulation, and energy transfer. To study the energy transfer characteristics in rock, a series of split‐Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) impact tests were conducted with long granite specimens (400 mm in length and 50 mm in diameter) and modified incidence bars (having the same cross‐sectional area but different shapes). The test results indicate that the impact energy decays exponentially with an energy attenuation coefficient of −0.42. For the scattering characteristics of energy in the rock, the scattering distance is found to be approximately three times the specimen diameter, which is very similar to Saint‐Venant’s principle in elastic mechanics.
Dynamic Study of VSA and TSA Processes for VOCs Removal from Air
Authors: Talmoudi Rawnak , AbdelJaoued Amna , Chahbani Mohamed Hachemi
Published: September 2018

Volatile organic compounds are air pollutants that necessitate to be eliminated for health and environment concerns. In the present paper, two VOCs, that is, dichloromethane and acetone are recovered by adsorption on activated carbon from a nitrogen gas stream. Experimental adsorption isotherms of the two VOCs are determined at three different temperatures 298, 313, and 323 K by the dynamic column breakthrough method. The dynamic mathematical model succeeds to predict satisfactorily the experimental breakthrough curves for pure VOCs and different binary mixtures for various conditions. Thus, the validated dynamic mathematical model has been used as a simulation tool for optimization purposes of VSA and TSA processes in order to achieve the highest performances under the given constraints. The effects of the adsorption step duration, the vacuum pressure, and the desorption temperature on the recovery of dichloromethane and acetone have been studied. A recovery of 100% of the two VOCs could be attained. However, the adsorption step duration should be determined precisely so as not to affect the recovery and alter the quality of air being purified due to the breakthrough of VOCs. The vacuum pressure and the desorption temperature should be carefully chosen in order to both reduce the energy consumption and shorten the purge step duration. Regeneration by hot nitrogen stream seems to be more efficient than regeneration by reducing pressure.
Manipulability Inclusive Principle for Assistive Result Evaluation of Assistive Mechanism
Authors: Liang Wenyuan , Yu Yong
Published: September 2018

In this paper, from the aspect of kinematics, we reveal the physical significance of assistance for the assistive mechanism. Then, Manipulability Inclusive Principle (MIP) is proposed to evaluate assistive mechanism’s assistive feasibility and assistive effect through the manipulability comparison between the assisted limb and slave-active-assistive mechanism. The optimization based on MIP can make the assistive mechanism realize better kinematical performance and assistance. The design and optimization of the assistive mechanism should keep the assistive mechanism from interfering with human’s movements in the expected workspace. More importantly, it should also keep the assistive mechanism not only have better kinematical performance on symmetry, isotropy, etc. but also be able to provide better assistance for human. The application on the human lower-limb straight-walking power-assisting mechanism shows that the design and optimization based on MIP can find out the assistive mechanism which satisfies assistive feasibility and realizes better assistive effect in the whole expected workspace.
Shear Stress Analysis and Crack Prevention Measures for a Concrete‐Face Rockfill Dam, Advanced Construction of a First‐Stage Face Slab, and a First‐Stage Face Slab in Advanced Reservoir Water Storage
Authors: Hu Kongzhong , Chen Jiankang , Wang Dong
Published: September 2018

Due to the demand in flood season for power generation, the first‐stage face slab of a high concrete‐face rockfill dam often must be constructed ahead of schedule, and advanced water storage is needed for the reservoir. Since the dam‐body filling has not yet been completed at this point, the internal stress of the first‐stage face slab is more complicated than that of normal construction. Taking Buxi Power Station as an example, the first‐stage face slab temporary construction seam showed large areas of shear stress damage during the rise in reservoir water levels during the second segment of the second construction stage. The concrete‐face slab showed large‐piece brittle bulging, and the steel rebar was exposed and developed contortional deformation. Based on the monitoring data for Buxi Power Station along with the first‐stage fracture characteristics of Shuibuya concrete face, this paper applied a numerical analysis to conduct research on the causes of fracture mechanics. The results indicate that the cracks occurred on the face slab during the second segment of second‐stage water storage primarily due to the advanced concrete pouring of the first‐stage face slab; during the first stage of reservoir water storage, the internal stress of the first‐stage face slab was not reduced or eliminated prior to second‐stage face slab pouring. Thus, with the rise in the reservoir water level, the shear stress increased continuously, eventually leading to partial large‐scale shear stress failure of the first‐stage face slab. The research results provide important references for the design and construction of concrete‐face rockfill dams.
Multiple Myeloma Masquerading as Ovarian Carcinosarcoma Metastases: A Case Report and Review of the Approach to Multiple Myeloma Screening and Diagnosis
Authors: Stuver Robert , Petersen Alec , Guerrero-Garcia Thomas A. , Matulonis Ursula , Richardson Paul , Singh Prabhsimranjot
Published: September 2018

Multiple myeloma is the most common plasma cell dyscrasia and causes 2% of all cancer deaths in Western countries. Ovarian carcinosarcomas are very rare gynecological malignancies and account for only 1–2% of all ovarian tumors. In this case, we report a 67-year-old woman with known relapsed ovarian carcinosarcoma who presented with headache and neck pain. She was found to have new lytic lesions in the cranial and thoracic regions. While these lesions were assumed to be metastases, a diligent approach detected an M-spike on serum protein electrophoresis and a monoclonal gammopathy with immunoglobulin G lambda monoclonal immunoglobulin on immunofixation. A bone marrow biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of multiple myeloma. To our knowledge, this is the first ever reported case of concomitant multiple myeloma and ovarian carcinosarcoma. Our case highlights the utmost importance of a systematic approach to lytic lesions and emphasizes the need to consider secondary malignancies in the evaluation of possible metastases. We used the International Myeloma Working Group guidelines for screening and diagnosing multiple myeloma, and we provide a thorough review of this updated approach.
Synergistic Effects of Controlled-Released BMP-2 and VEGF from nHAC/PLGAs Scaffold on Osteogenesis
Authors: Wang Ting , Guo Shu , Zhang Hua
Published: September 2018

Tissue engineering bones take great advantages in massive bone defect repairing; under the induction of growth factors, seed cells differentiate into osteoblasts, and the scaffold materials gradually degrade and are replaced with neogenetic bones, which simulates the actual pathophysiological process of bone regeneration. However, mechanism research is required and further developed to instruct elements selection and optimization. In the present study, we prepared vascular endothelial growth factor/bone morphogenetic protein-2- nanohydroxyapatite/collagen (VEGF/ BMP-2- nHAC/ PLGAs) scaffolds and inoculated mouse MC3T3-E1 preosteoblasts to detect osteogenic indexes and activation of related signaling pathways. The hypothesis is to create a three-dimensional environment that simulates bone defect repairing, and p38 mitogen-activated kinase (p38) inhibitor was applied and osterix shRNA was transferred into mouse MC3T3-E1 preosteoblasts to further investigate the molecular mechanism of crosstalk between BMP-2 and VEGF. Our results demonstrated the following: (1) BMP-2 and VEGF were sustainably released from PLGAs microspheres. (2) nHAC/PLGAs scaffold occupied a three-dimensional porous structure and has excellent physical properties. (3) MC3T3-E1 cells proliferated and differentiated well in the scaffold. (4) Osteogenic differentiation related factors expression of VEGF/BMP-2 loaded scaffold was obviously higher than that of other groups; p38 inhibitor SB203580 decreased the nucleus/cytoplasm ratio of osterix expression. To conclude, the active artificial bone we prepared could provide a favorable growth space for MC3T3-E1 cells, and osteogenesis and maturation reinforced by simultaneous VEGF and BMP-2 treatment may be mainly through the activation of the p38 MAPK pathway to promote nuclear translocation of osterix protein.
Managing Hierarchically Structured DTN-Like Networks
Authors: Luostarinen Riku , Manner Jukka
Published: September 2018

Network management in Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTNs) is an active research topic and covers topics such as system architecture, roles of actors, and management protocol. The existing solutions either expect a flat management hierarchy or do not address the hierarchical structure used in management. However, in many real-world DTN use cases, particularly in emergency and military contexts, the actors using the DTN system are a part of an organizational or operational hierarchy, and the network design and topology follow the hierarchical structure. This paper introduces a DTN management scheme that is based on that hierarchy. The paper presents a node categorization that is based on the hierarchy, the characteristics of the hierarchical management, roles and responsibilities of the managed and managing nodes in the hierarchy, and the related concept of management responsibility stack. Further, the paper discusses the characteristics of the messaging and configurability of the nodes in a hierarchical network, and introduces a problem called DTN management trilemma. The paper also presents a use case where the concepts of this paper are applied to network management of a hierarchical organization in a reference scenario, and the performance of the hierarchical management methods is compared to an equivalent nonhierarchical solution.
Stable Cu2O Photoelectrodes by Reactive Ion Beam Sputter Deposition
Authors: Chen Ching-Hsiu , Ejigu Assamen Ayalew , Chao Liang-Chiun
Published: September 2018

Cu2O has been deposited on quartz substrates by reactive ion beam sputter deposition. Experimental results show that by controlling argon/oxygen flow rates, both n‐type and p‐type Cu2O samples can be achieved. The bandgap of n‐type and p‐type Cu2O were found to be 2.3 and 2.5 eV, respectively. The variable temperature photoluminescence study shows that the n‐type conductivity is due to the presence of oxygen vacancy defects. Both samples show stable photocurrent response that photocurrent change of both samples after 1,000 seconds of operation is less than 5%. Carrier densities were found to be 1.90 × 1018 and 2.24 × 1016 cm−3 for n‐type and p‐type Cu2O, respectively. Fermi energies have been calculated, and simplified band structures are constructed. Our results show that Cu2O is a plausible candidate for both photoanodic and photocathodic electrode materials in photoelectrochemical application.
Ant Colony Optimized Routing Strategy for Electric Vehicles
Authors: Joo Hyunjin , Lim Yujin
Published: September 2018

Electric vehicles (EVs) have recently attracted increasing research interest, on account of environmental issues and diminishing fuel reserves. EVs are environmentally friendly but have a short driving range. EVs must utilize energy efficiently, because they travel with limited energy. Conventional vehicle routing methods are not suitable for EVs, as they do not take energy consumption into account. This study introduces an energy efficient routing method using ant colony optimization (ER-ACO) to maximize the energy efficiency. We simulated ER-ACO and compared it with other ACO techniques, including the conventional routing method and other approaches for EVs. As a result, the proposed model improved the energy efficiency in terms of both the average distance per kW and average energy consumption.
Efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Regimen Jian Pi Qu Shi Formula for Refractory Patients with Idiopathic Membranous Nephropathy: A Retrospective Case‐Series Study
Authors: Shi Bin , Zhang Rong-rong , Liang Ying , Wang Xin-hui , Lang Rui , Yu Ren-huan
Published: September 2018

Background. The treatment of adult refractory idiopathic membranous nephropathy with steroid and other immunosuppressant‐resistant nephrotic syndromes can be a significant challenge. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of the traditional Chinese medicine Jian Pi Qu Shi Formula (JPQSF) as a promising regimen. Methods. We analyzed 15 consecutive patients with biopsy‐proven idiopathic membranous nephropathy who failed immunosuppressive therapy from October 2013 to January 2017. JPQSF was administered orally two times per day, respectively, in the morning and at night for 6 months. All patients had at least 1 year of follow‐up. The primary endpoints included complete or partial remission. Secondary endpoints included change of clinical parameters and adverse events after 12 months of treatment. Results. After 12 months, complete remission was achieved in 13.3% of patients and partial remission in 66.7%, yielding a response rate of 80%. Proteinuria, serum albumin, and cholesterol were improved significantly (P<0.001, P<0.001, and P<0.05, respectively). After 1 year of treatment, proteinuria (mean ± SD) decreased from 5.93 ± 2.54 g per 24 h to 1.99 ± 1.17 g per 24 h (P<0.001). No serious adverse events occurred during the observation. Conclusions. JPQSF may be an alternative therapeutic option for steroid and general immunosuppressant‐resistant membranous nephrotic syndrome patients, with a favorable safety profile. Larger and longer follow‐up studies evaluating this regimen are warranted.