bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
What Do We Know about Opioids and the Kidney?
Authors: Mallappallil Mary , Sabu Jacob , Friedman Eli , Salifu Moro
Published: January 2017

Evidence suggests a link between opioid use and kidney disease. This review summarizes the known renal manifestations of opioid use including its role in acute and chronic kidney injury. Both the direct and indirect effects of the drug, and the context which leads to the development of renal failure, are explored. While commonly used safely for pain control and anesthesia in those with kidney disease, the concerns with respect to side effects and toxicity of opioids are addressed. This is especially relevant with the worldwide increase in the use of opioids for medical and recreational use.
The Long Non-Coding RNA RHPN1-AS1 Promotes Uveal Melanoma Progression
Authors: Lu Linna , Yu Xiaoyu , Zhang Leilei , Ding Xia , Pan Hui , Wen Xuyang , Xu Shiqiong , Xing Yue , Fan Jiayan , Ge Shengfang , Zhang He , Jia Renbing , Fan Xianqun
Published: January 2017

Increasing evidence suggests that aberrant long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are significantly correlated with the pathogenesis, development and metastasis of cancers. RHPN1 antisense RNA 1 (RHPN1-AS1) is a 2030-bp transcript originating from human chromosome 8q24. However, the role of RHPN1-AS1 in uveal melanoma (UM) remains to be clarified. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the molecular function of RHPN1-AS1 in UM. The RNA levels of RHPN1-AS1 in UM cell lines were examined using the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) were designed to quench RHPN1-AS1 expression, and UM cells stably expressing short hairpin (sh) RHPN1-AS1 were established. Next, the cell proliferation and migration abilities were determined using a colony formation assay and a transwell migration/invasion assay. A tumor xenograft model in nude mice was established to confirm the function of RHPN1-AS1 in vivo. RHPN1-AS1 was significantly upregulated in a number of UM cell lines compared with the normal human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell line. RHPN1-AS1 knockdown significantly inhibited UM cell proliferation and migration in vitro and in vivo. Our data suggest that RHPN1-AS1 could be an oncoRNA in UM, which may serve as a candidate prognostic biomarker and target for new therapies in malignant UM.
Evolutionary Conservation of pou5f3 Genomic Organization and Its Dynamic Distribution during Embryogenesis and in Adult Gonads in Japanese Flounder Paralichthys olivaceus
Authors: Gao Jinning , Wang Xubo , Zhang Quanqi
Published: January 2017

Octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4) is a member of POU (Pit-Oct-Unc) transcription factor family Class V that plays a crucial role in maintaining the pluripotency and self-renewal of stem cells. Though it has been deeply investigated in mammals, its lower vertebrate homologue, especially in the marine fish, is poorly studied. In this study, we isolated the full-length sequence of Paralichthys olivaceus pou5f3 (Popou5f3), and we found that it is homologous to mammalian Oct4. We identified two transcript variants with different lengths of 3′-untranslated regions (UTRs) generated by alternative polyadenylation (APA). Quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were implemented to characterize the spatial and temporal expression pattern of Popou5f3 during early development and in adult tissues. Our results show that Popou5f3 is maternally inherited, abundantly expressed at the blastula and early gastrula stages, then greatly diminishes at the end of gastrulation. It is hardly detectable from the heart-beating stage onward. We found that Popou5f3 expression is restricted to the adult gonads, and continuously expresses during oogenesis while its dynamics are downregulated during spermatogenesis. Additionally, numerous cis-regulatory elements (CRE) on both sides of the flanking regions show potential roles in regulating the expression of Popou5f3. Taken together, these findings could further our understanding of the functions and evolution of pou5f3 in lower vertebrates, and also provides fundamental information for stem cell tracing and genetic manipulation in Paralichthys olivaceus.
Consideration of ERP Effectiveness: From the Perspective of ERP Implementation Policy and Operational Effectiveness
Authors: Jinno Haruna , Abe Hiromichi , Iizuka Kayo
Published: January 2017

The aim of this paper is to present the results of an analysis of implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) effectiveness from the perspective of implementation policy and operational effectiveness. Re-engineering has become increasingly important recently due to the rapid changes in the business environment. By implementing ERP systems, companies can standardize their business processes and thereby manage them more effectively and efficiently. However, it is difficult to achieve that kind of effectiveness and efficiency by just implementing ERP. Companies want to know the suitable way to achieve effectiveness. In Japan, ERP systems started to be implemented in the 1990s, and the installation rate to the whole enterprise system is increasing yearly in Japan. However, there are some companies that cannot achieve effectiveness, though some companies have succeeded. The authors developed a model focusing on implementation policy and customization policy, and analyzed the survey results. Data used for the analysis (182 samples) was from the ERP Users’ Survey (2013). For the analysis method, covariance structure analysis using IBM® SPSS® Amos provided by International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation was conducted. This research aimed to contribute to the successful implementation of ERP in Japan.
Motivation and User Engagement in Fitness Tracking: Heuristics for Mobile Healthcare Wearables
Authors: Asimakopoulos Stavros , Asimakopoulos Grigorios , Spillers Frank
Published: January 2017

Wearable fitness trackers have gained a new level of popularity due to their ambient data gathering and analysis. This has signalled a trend toward self-efficacy and increased motivation among users of these devices. For consumers looking to improve their health, fitness trackers offer a way to more readily gain motivation via the personal data-based insights the devices offer. However, the user experience (UX) that accompanies wearables is critical to helping users interpret, understand, gain motivation and act on their data. Despite this, there is little evidence as to specific aspects of fitness tracker user engagement and long-term motivation. We report on a 4-week situated diary study and Healthcare Technology Self-efficacy (HTSE) questionnaire assessment of 34 users of two popular American fitness trackers: JawBone and FitBit. The study results illustrate design implications and requirements for fitness trackers and other self-efficacy mobile healthcare applications.
Mechanisms of Regulatory B cell Function in Autoimmune and Inflammatory Diseases beyond IL-10
Authors: Ray Avijit , Dittel Bonnie
Published: January 2017

In the past two decades it has become clear that in addition to antigen presentation and antibody production B cells play prominent roles in immune regulation. While B cell-derived IL-10 has garnered much attention, B cells also effectively regulate inflammation by a variety of IL-10-independent mechanisms. B cell regulation has been studied in both autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. While collectively called regulatory B cells (Breg), no definitive phenotype has emerged for B cells with regulatory potential. This has made their study challenging and thus unique B cell regulatory mechanisms have emerged in a disease-dependent manner. Thus to harness the therapeutic potential of Breg, further studies are needed to understand how they emerge and are induced to evoke their regulatory activities.
Habitat Loss on Rondon’s Marmoset Potential Distribution
Authors: Ochoa-Quintero Jose , Chang Charlotte , Gardner Toby , Rezende Messias Mariluce , Sutherland William , Delben Fernanda
Published: January 2017

The Amazon basin is one of the most biologically diverse places on earth. However, agricultural expansion and infrastructure development have led to widespread deforestation that threatens the survival of many taxa. Conservation strategies to contest these threats include protected areas and environmental legislation. Nevertheless, the basic biology of many taxa is largely unknown, which poses an immense challenge when devising effective strategies to safeguard such species in the long-term. This is particularly true for primates. Monkeys from the genus Mico are poorly studied with half of the currently known species being described after 1976, and their distribution and threats remain poorly understood. Using the model Maxent, we re-evaluated the distribution range for Rondon’s marmoset, one of the most threatened species in this genus. Our results estimated a distribution that is 15,500 km2 smaller than previously described for this species (68,649 km2). Furthermore, much of its modeled distribution (71%) lies outside of protected areas. Agriculture expansion and infrastructure development have converted/destroyed 20,532 km2 of forest within its range (38%) mainly in areas without protection. Another 10,316 km2 of forest is projected to be cleared by 2040 under current deforestation patterns. The expected cumulative loss of over 50% of its range size in the coming 15 years raise awareness about the threaten category of this species. In the absence of new protected areas, it remains to be seen whether Rondon’s marmoset can be effectively conserved in remaining fragments of forest in farmlands.
Self-Healing Materials for Ecotribology
Authors: Shi Shih-Chen , Huang Teng-Feng
Published: January 2017

Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) is a biopolymer that is biodegradable, environmentally friendly, and bio-friendly. Owing to its unique chemical structure, HPMC can reduce the coefficient of friction (COF) and frictional wear and thus possesses excellent lubrication properties. HPMC has good dissolvability in specific solvents. The present research focuses on the reversible dissolution reaction subsequent to the film formation of HPMC, with a view to the healing and lubrication properties of thin films. Raman spectroscopy was used to test the film-forming properties of HPMC and the dissolution characteristics of various solvents. In this study, the solvents were water, methanol, ethanol, and acetone. The results showed that the HPMC film had the highest dissolvability in water. The ball-on-disk wear test was used to analyze the lubrication properties of HPMC, and the results showed that HPMC had the same COF and lubrication properties as the original film after being subjected to the water healing treatment. The HPMC film can be reused, recycled, and refilled, making it an ideal lubricant for next-generation ecotribology.
Game Analysis of Low Carbonization for Urban Logistics Service Systems
Authors: Guo Jidong , Ma Shugang
Published: January 2017

To improve carbon efficiency for an urban logistics service system composed of a third-party logistics service provider (3PL) and an e-business enterprise, a low-carbon operation game between them was studied. Considering low carbon technology investment cost and sales expansion effect of low carbon level, profit functions for both players were constituted. Based on their different bargaining capabilities, in total, five types of game scenarios were designed. Through analytical solution, Nash Equilibria under different scenarios were obtained. By analyzing these equilibria, four major propositions were given, in which some key variables and the system performance indexes were compared. Results show that the best system yields could only be achieved under the fully cooperative situation. Limited cooperation only for carbon emission reduction does not benefit the system performance improvement. E-business enterprise-leading game’s performance overtook 3PL-leading ones.
Correction: Hasona, N.A. and Elasbali, A. Evaluation of Electrolytes Imbalance and Dyslipidemia in Diabetic Patients. Med. Sci. 2016, 4, 7
Authors: Hasona Nabil , Elasbali Abdulbaset
Published: January 2017

The authors wish to make the following correction to their paper [1]. In the discussion section, the sentence “Regarding the lipid profile, the present results revealed a significant increase (p < 0.001) in the serum levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol in all diabetics relative to all non-diabetic subjects”. This should be changed to “Regarding the lipid profile, the present results revealed a significant increase (p < 0.001) in the serum levels of cholesterol and triglycerides and a significant decrease in HDL-cholesterol in all diabetics relative to all non-diabetic subjects”.[...]
A Novel Heterostructure of BiOI Nanosheets Anchored onto MWCNTs with Excellent Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity
Authors: Li Shijie , Hu Shiwei , Xu Kaibing , Jiang Wei , Liu Jianshe , Wang Zhaohui
Published: January 2017

Developing efficient visible-light-driven (VLD) photocatalysts for environmental decontamination has drawn significant attention in recent years. Herein, we have reported a novel heterostructure of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) coated with BiOI nanosheets as an efficient VLD photocatalyst, which was prepared via a simple solvothermal method. The morphology and structure were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and specific surface area measurements. The results showed that BiOI nanosheets were well deposited on MWCNTs. The MWCNTs/BiOI composites exhibited remarkably enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO), and para-chlorophenol (4-CP) under visible-light, compared with pure BiOI. When the MWCNTs content is 3 wt %, the MWCNTs/BiOI composite (3%M-Bi) achieves the highest activity, which is even higher than that of a mechanical mixture (3 wt % MWCNTs + 97 wt % BiOI). The superior photocatalytic activity is predominantly due to the strong coupling interface between MWCNTs and BiOI, which significantly promotes the efficient electron-hole separation. The photo-induced holes (h+) and superoxide radicals (O2−) mainly contribute to the photocatalytic degradation of RhB over 3%M-Bi. Therefore, the MWCNTs/BiOI composite is expected to be an efficient VLD photocatalyst for environmental purification.
Change Point Estimation in Panel Data without Boundary Issue
Authors: Peštová Barbora , Pešta Michal
Published: January 2017

Panel data of our interest consist of a moderate number of panels, while the panels contain a small number of observations. An estimator of common breaks in panel means without a boundary issue for this kind of scenario is proposed. In particular, the novel estimator is able to detect a common break point even when the change happens immediately after the first time point or just before the last observation period. Another advantage of the elaborated change point estimator is that it results in the last observation in situations with no structural breaks. The consistency of the change point estimator in panel data is established. The results are illustrated through a simulation study. As a by-product of the developed estimation technique, a theoretical utilization for correlation structure estimation, hypothesis testing and bootstrapping in panel data is demonstrated. A practical application to non-life insurance is presented, as well.
Modeling the Effects of the Urban Built-Up Environment on Plant Phenology Using Fused Satellite Data
Authors: Gervais Norman , Buyantuev Alexander , Gao Feng
Published: January 2017

Understanding the effects that the Urban Heat Island (UHI) has on plant phenology is important in predicting ecological impacts of expanding cities and the impacts of the projected global warming. However, the underlying methods to monitor phenological events often limit this understanding. Generally, one can either have a small sample of in situ measurements or use satellite data to observe large areas of land surface phenology (LSP). In the latter, a tradeoff exists among platforms with some allowing better temporal resolution to pick up discrete events and others possessing the spatial resolution appropriate for observing heterogeneous landscapes, such as urban areas. To overcome these limitations, we applied the Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Model (STARFM) to fuse Landsat surface reflectance and MODIS nadir BRDF-adjusted reflectance (NBAR) data with three separate selection conditions for input data across two versions of the software. From the fused images, we derived a time-series of high temporal and high spatial resolution synthetic Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) imagery to identify the dates of the start of the growing season (SOS), end of the season (EOS), and the length of the season (LOS). The results were compared between the urban and exurban developed areas within the vicinity of Ogden, UT and across all three data scenarios. The results generally show an earlier urban SOS, later urban EOS, and longer urban LOS, with variation across the results suggesting that phenological parameters are sensitive to input changes. Although there was strong evidence that STARFM has the potential to produce images capable of capturing the UHI effect on phenology, we recommend that future work refine the proposed methods and compare the results against ground events.
Efficient Wideband Spectrum Sensing with Maximal Spectral Efficiency for LEO Mobile Satellite Systems
Authors: Li Feilong , Li Zhiqiang , Li Guangxia , Dong Feihong , Zhang Wei
Published: January 2017

The usable satellite spectrum is becoming scarce due to static spectrum allocation policies. Cognitive radio approaches have already demonstrated their potential towards spectral efficiency for providing more spectrum access opportunities to secondary user (SU) with sufficient protection to licensed primary user (PU). Hence, recent scientific literature has been focused on the tradeoff between spectrum reuse and PU protection within narrowband spectrum sensing (SS) in terrestrial wireless sensing networks. However, those narrowband SS techniques investigated in the context of terrestrial CR may not be applicable for detecting wideband satellite signals. In this paper, we mainly investigate the problem of joint designing sensing time and hard fusion scheme to maximize SU spectral efficiency in the scenario of low earth orbit (LEO) mobile satellite services based on wideband spectrum sensing. Compressed detection model is established to prove that there indeed exists one optimal sensing time achieving maximal spectral efficiency. Moreover, we propose novel wideband cooperative spectrum sensing (CSS) framework where each SU reporting duration can be utilized for its following SU sensing. The sensing performance benefits from the novel CSS framework because the equivalent sensing time is extended by making full use of reporting slot. Furthermore, in respect of time-varying channel, the spatiotemporal CSS (ST-CSS) is presented to attain space and time diversity gain simultaneously under hard decision fusion rule. Computer simulations show that the optimal sensing settings algorithm of joint optimization of sensing time, hard fusion rule and scheduling strategy achieves significant improvement in spectral efficiency. Additionally, the novel ST-CSS scheme performs much higher spectral efficiency than that of general CSS framework.
A Lift-Off-Tolerant Magnetic Flux Leakage Testing Method for Drill Pipes at Wellhead
Authors: Wu Jianbo , Fang Hui , Li Long , Wang Jie , Huang Xiaoming , Kang Yihua , Sun Yanhua , Tang Chaoqing
Published: January 2017

To meet the great needs for MFL (magnetic flux leakage) inspection of drill pipes at wellheads, a lift-off-tolerant MFL testing method is proposed and investigated in this paper. Firstly, a Helmholtz coil magnetization method and the whole MFL testing scheme are proposed. Then, based on the magnetic field focusing effect of ferrite cores, a lift-off-tolerant MFL sensor is developed and tested. It shows high sensitivity at a lift-off distance of 5.0 mm. Further, the follow-up high repeatability MFL probing system is designed and manufactured, which was embedded with the developed sensors. It can track the swing movement of drill pipes and allow the pipe ends to pass smoothly. Finally, the developed system is employed in a drilling field for drill pipe inspection. Test results show that the proposed method can fulfill the requirements for drill pipe inspection at wellheads, which is of great importance in drill pipe safety.
Ubiquitous Emergency Medical Service System Based on Wireless Biosensors, Traffic Information, and Wireless Communication Technologies: Development and Evaluation
Authors: Tan Tan-Hsu , Gochoo Munkhjargal , Chen Yung-Fu , Hu Jin-Jia , Chiang John , Chang Ching-Su , Lee Ming-Huei , Hsu Yung-Nian , Hsu Jiin-Chyr
Published: January 2017

This study presents a new ubiquitous emergency medical service system (UEMS) that consists of a ubiquitous tele-diagnosis interface and a traffic guiding subsystem. The UEMS addresses unresolved issues of emergency medical services by managing the sensor wires for eliminating inconvenience for both patients and paramedics in an ambulance, providing ubiquitous accessibility of patients’ biosignals in remote areas where the ambulance cannot arrive directly, and offering availability of real-time traffic information which can make the ambulance reach the destination within the shortest time. In the proposed system, patient’s biosignals and real-time video, acquired by wireless biosensors and a webcam, can be simultaneously transmitted to an emergency room for pre-hospital treatment via WiMax/3.5 G networks. Performances of WiMax and 3.5 G, in terms of initialization time, data rate, and average end-to-end delay are evaluated and compared. A driver can choose the route of the shortest time among the suggested routes by Google Maps after inspecting the current traffic conditions based on real-time CCTV camera streams and traffic information. The destination address can be inputted vocally for easiness and safety in driving. A series of field test results validates the feasibility of the proposed system for application in real-life scenarios.
Evaluation on Radiometric Capability of Chinese Optical Satellite Sensors
Authors: Yang Aixia , Zhong Bo , Wu Shanlong , Liu Qinhuo
Published: January 2017

The radiometric capability of on-orbit sensors should be updated on time due to changes induced by space environmental factors and instrument aging. Some sensors, such as Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), have onboard calibrators, which enable real-time calibration. However, most Chinese remote sensing satellite sensors lack onboard calibrators. Their radiometric calibrations have been updated once a year based on a vicarious calibration procedure, which has affected the applications of the data. Therefore, a full evaluation of the sensors’ radiometric capabilities is essential before quantitative applications can be made. In this study, a comprehensive procedure for evaluating the radiometric capability of several Chinese optical satellite sensors is proposed. In this procedure, long-term radiometric stability and radiometric accuracy are the two major indicators for radiometric evaluation. The radiometric temporal stability is analyzed by the tendency of long-term top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflectance variation; the radiometric accuracy is determined by comparison with the TOA reflectance from MODIS after spectrally matching. Three Chinese sensors including the Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) camera onboard Huan Jing 1 satellite (HJ-1), as well as the Visible and Infrared Radiometer (VIRR) and Medium-Resolution Spectral Imager (MERSI) onboard the Feng Yun 3 satellite (FY-3) are evaluated in reflective bands based on this procedure. The results are reasonable, and thus can provide reliable reference for the sensors’ application, and as such will promote the development of Chinese satellite data.
Object Detection and Classification by Decision-Level Fusion for Intelligent Vehicle Systems
Authors: Oh Sang-Il , Kang Hang-Bong
Published: January 2017

To understand driving environments effectively, it is important to achieve accurate detection and classification of objects detected by sensor-based intelligent vehicle systems, which are significantly important tasks. Object detection is performed for the localization of objects, whereas object classification recognizes object classes from detected object regions. For accurate object detection and classification, fusing multiple sensor information into a key component of the representation and perception processes is necessary. In this paper, we propose a new object-detection and classification method using decision-level fusion. We fuse the classification outputs from independent unary classifiers, such as 3D point clouds and image data using a convolutional neural network (CNN). The unary classifiers for the two sensors are the CNN with five layers, which use more than two pre-trained convolutional layers to consider local to global features as data representation. To represent data using convolutional layers, we apply region of interest (ROI) pooling to the outputs of each layer on the object candidate regions generated using object proposal generation to realize color flattening and semantic grouping for charge-coupled device and Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) sensors. We evaluate our proposed method on a KITTI benchmark dataset to detect and classify three object classes: cars, pedestrians and cyclists. The evaluation results show that the proposed method achieves better performance than the previous methods. Our proposed method extracted approximately 500 proposals on a 1226 × 370 image, whereas the original selective search method extracted approximately 10 6 × n proposals. We obtained classification performance with 77.72% mean average precision over the entirety of the classes in the moderate detection level of the KITTI benchmark dataset.
Photoacoustic Spectroscopy for the Determination of Lung Cancer Biomarkers—A Preliminary Investigation
Authors: Saalberg Yannick , Bruhns Henry , Wolff Marcus
Published: January 2017

With 1.6 million deaths per year, lung cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. One reason for this high number is the absence of a preventive medical examination method. Many diagnoses occur in a late cancer stage with a low survival rate. An early detection could significantly decrease the mortality. In recent decades, certain substances in human breath have been linked to certain diseases. Different studies show that it is possible to distinguish between lung cancer patients and a healthy control group by analyzing the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in their breath. We developed a sensor based on photoacoustic spectroscopy for six of the most relevant VOCs linked to lung cancer. As a radiation source, the sensor uses an optical-parametric oscillator (OPO) in a wavelength region from 3.2 µm to 3.5 µm. The limits of detection for a single substance range between 5 ppb and 142 ppb. We also measured high resolution absorption spectra of the biomarkers compared to the data currently available from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) database, which is the basis of any selective spectroscopic detection. Future lung cancer screening devices could be based on the further development of this sensor.
Fabrication Technology and Characteristics of a Magnetic Sensitive Transistor with nc-Si:H/c-Si Heterojunction
Authors: Zhao Xiaofeng , Li Baozeng , Wen Dianzhong
Published: January 2017

This paper presents a magnetically sensitive transistor using a nc-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction as an emitter junction. By adopting micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, the nc-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction silicon magnetically sensitive transistor (HSMST) chips were designed and fabricated on a p-type <100> orientation double-side polished silicon wafer with high resistivity. In addition, a collector load resistor ( R L ) was integrated on the chip, and the resistor converted the collector current ( I C ) to a collector output voltage ( V out ). When I B = 8.0 mA, V DD = 10.0 V, and R L = 4.1 kΩ, the magnetic sensitivity ( S V ) at room temperature and temperature coefficient ( α C ) of the collector current for HSMST were 181 mV/T and −0.11%/°C, respectively. The experimental results show that the magnetic sensitivity and temperature characteristics of the proposed transistor can be obviously improved by the use of a nc-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction as an emitter junction.
Three-Dimensional Measurement for Specular Reflection Surface Based on Reflection Component Separation and Priority Region Filling Theory
Authors: Sun Xiaoming , Liu Ye , Yu Xiaoyang , Wu Haibin , Zhang Ning
Published: January 2017

Due to the strong reflection property of materials with smooth surfaces like ceramic and metal, it will cause saturation and the highlight phenomenon in the image when taking pictures of those materials. In order to solve this problem, a new algorithm which is based on reflection component separation (RCS) and priority region filling theory is designed. Firstly, the specular pixels in the image are found by comparing the pixel parameters. Then, the reflection components are separated and processed. However, for ceramic, metal and other objects with strong specular highlight, RCS theory will change color information of highlight pixels due to larger specular reflection component. In this situation, priority region filling theory was used to restore the color information. Finally, we implement 3D experiments on objects with strong reflecting surfaces like ceramic plate, ceramic bottle, marble pot and yellow plate. Experimental results show that, with the proposed method, the highlight caused by the strong reflecting surface can be well suppressed. The highlight pixel number of ceramic plate, ceramic bottle, marble pot and yellow plate, is decreased by 43.8 times, 41.4 times, 33.0 times, and 10.1 times. Three-dimensional reconstruction results show that highlight areas were significantly reduced.
An Adaptive Moving Target Imaging Method for Bistatic Forward-Looking SAR Using Keystone Transform and Optimization NLCS
Authors: Li Zhongyu , Wu Junjie , Huang Yulin , Yang Haiguang , Yang Jianyu
Published: January 2017

Bistatic forward-looking SAR (BFSAR) is a kind of bistatic synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system that can image forward-looking terrain in the flight direction of an aircraft. Until now, BFSAR imaging theories and methods for a stationary scene have been researched thoroughly. However, for moving-target imaging with BFSAR, the non-cooperative movement of the moving target induces some new issues: (I) large and unknown range cell migration (RCM) (including range walk and high-order RCM); (II) the spatial-variances of the Doppler parameters (including the Doppler centroid and high-order Doppler) are not only unknown, but also nonlinear for different point-scatterers. In this paper, we put forward an adaptive moving-target imaging method for BFSAR. First, the large and unknown range walk is corrected by applying keystone transform over the whole received echo, and then, the relationships among the unknown high-order RCM, the nonlinear spatial-variances of the Doppler parameters, and the speed of the mover, are established. After that, using an optimization nonlinear chirp scaling (NLCS) technique, not only can the unknown high-order RCM be accurately corrected, but also the nonlinear spatial-variances of the Doppler parameters can be balanced. At last, a high-order polynomial filter is applied to compress the whole azimuth data of the moving target. Numerical simulations verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Change of Muscle Activity as Well as Kinematic and Kinetic Parameters during Headers after Core Muscle Fatigue
Authors: Becker Stephan , Fröhlich Michael , Kelm Jens , Ludwig Oliver
Published: January 2017

In soccer, headers are a tactical measure and influenced by numerous factors. The goal of this study was to identify whether changes in kinematics and muscular activity, especially of the head-stabilizing muscles, occur during headers when the core musculature is fatigued. In two subgroups, muscular activity (12 amateur players, age 23.6 ± 4.2 years) and kinematics and dynamics (29 amateur players, age 23.7 ± 2.8 years) were examined during straight headers on a pendulum header. Data were collected before and after the core muscles were fatigued by an exercise program. Telemetric surface EMG, 3D acceleration sensor, force plate, and video recordings were used. Under fatigue, the activity of M. erector spinae and M. rectus abdominis was significantly reduced in the preparation phase of the header. The activity of M. sternocleidomastoideus was significantly increased during the jump phase, and the hip extension angle during maximum arched body tension was significantly reduced under fatigue. Jumping height, acceleration force impulse, and linear head acceleration were also significantly reduced. We conclude that fatigue of the core muscles affects the motion technique of the header and the activity of the muscle groups stabilizing the head. Therefore, the necessity of specific training in soccer should be emphasized from a medical-preventive point of view.
Sustainability Evaluation of Railways in China Using a Two-Stage Network DEA Model with Undesirable Outputs and Shared Resources
Authors: Zhou Haibo , Hu Hanhui
Published: January 2017

This paper constructs an additive two-stage network DEA (data envelopment analysis) model with consideration of undesirable outputs and shared inputs. Following the triple bottom line standard of sustainability, we calculate both the overall and sub-stage sustainability performance of railway transportation in China from 2002 to 2013, from the aspects of economy, environment and society. The results show that the overall sustainability of China’s railway presents a character of first declining, then rising and declining again. Moreover, the railway sustainability of China’s eastern areas are much better than that of the western and central areas, and the gap has become much larger since 2009. As for the sub-stage efficiency, neither the production stage nor the service stage of the railway is efficient in sustainability, and the efficiency of the production stage is lower than that of service stage and plays a greater impact on the overall sustainability. Therefore, in order to improve the overall sustainability of China’s railways, it is essential to improve the level of railway engineering construction and develop technological innovations in railway production.
Exploring the Effects of Sampling Locations for Calibrating the Huff Model Using Mobile Phone Location Data
Authors: Lu Shiwei , Shaw Shih-Lung , Fang Zhixiang , Zhang Xirui , Yin Ling
Published: January 2017

The introduction of the Huff model is of critical significance in many fields, including urban transport, optimal location planning, economics and business analysis. Moreover, parameters calibration is a crucial procedure before using the model. Previous studies have paid much attention to calibrating the spatial interaction model for human mobility research. However, are whole sampling locations always the better solution for model calibration? We use active tracking data of over 16 million cell phones in Shenzhen, a metropolitan city in China, to evaluate the calibration accuracy of Huff model. Specifically, we choose five business areas in this city as destinations and then randomly select a fixed number of cell phone towers to calibrate the parameters in this spatial interaction model. We vary the selected number of cell phone towers by multipliers of 30 until we reach the total number of towers with flows to the five destinations. We apply the least square methods for model calibration. The distribution of the final sum of squared error between the observed flows and the estimated flows indicates that whole sampling locations are not always better for the outcomes of this spatial interaction model. Instead, fewer sampling locations with higher volume of trips could improve the calibration results. Finally, we discuss implications of this finding and suggest an approach to address the high-accuracy model calibration solution.
The Climate Change-Road Safety-Economy Nexus: A System Dynamics Approach to Understanding Complex Interdependencies
Authors: Alirezaei Mehdi , Onat Nuri , Tatari Omer , Abdel-Aty Mohamed
Published: January 2017

Road accidents have the highest externality costs to society and to the economy, even when compared to the externality damages associated with air emissions and oil dependency. Road safety is one of the most complicated topics, which involves many interdependencies, and so, a sufficiently thorough analysis of roadway safety will require a novel system-based approach in which the associated feedback relationships and causal effects are given appropriate consideration. The factors affecting accident frequency and severity are highly dependent on economic parameters, environmental factors and weather conditions. In this study, we try to use a system dynamics modeling approach to model the climate change-road safety-economy nexus, thereby investigating the complex interactions among these important areas by tracking how they affect each other over time. For this purpose, five sub-models are developed to model each aspect of the overall nexus and to interact with each other to simulate the overall system. As a result, this comprehensive model can provide a platform for policy makers to test the effectiveness of different policy scenarios to reduce the negative consequences of traffic accidents and improve road safety.
Feline Panleucopenia Virus NS2 Suppresses the Host IFN-β Induction by Disrupting the Interaction between TBK1 and STING
Authors: Kang Hongtao , Liu Dafei , Tian Jin , Hu Xiaoliang , Zhang Xiaozhan , Yin Hang , Wu Hongxia , Liu Chunguo , Guo Dongchun , Li Zhijie , Jiang Qian , Liu Jiasen , Qu Liandong
Published: January 2017

Feline panleucopenia virus (FPV) is a highly infectious pathogen that causes severe diseases in pets, economically important animals and wildlife in China. Although FPV was identified several years ago, little is known about how it overcomes the host innate immunity. In the present study, we demonstrated that infection with the FPV strain Philips-Roxane failed to activate the interferon β (IFN-β) pathway but could antagonize the induction of IFN stimulated by Sendai virus (SeV) in F81 cells. Subsequently, by screening FPV nonstructural and structural proteins, we found that only nonstructural protein 2 (NS2) significantly suppressed IFN expression. We demonstrated that the inhibition of SeV-induced IFN-β production by FPV NS2 depended on the obstruction of the IFN regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) signaling pathway. Further, we verified that NS2 was able to target the serine/threonine-protein kinase TBK1 and prevent it from being recruited by stimulator of interferon genes (STING) protein, which disrupted the phosphorylation of the downstream protein IRF3. Finally, we identified that the C-terminus plus the coiled coil domain are the key domains of NS2 that are required for inhibiting the IFN pathway. Our study has yielded strong evidence for the FPV mechanisms that counteract the host innate immunity.
Virus Escape and Manipulation of Cellular Nonsense-Mediated mRNA Decay
Authors: Balistreri Giuseppe , Bognanni Claudia , Mühlemann Oliver
Published: January 2017

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD), a cellular RNA turnover pathway targeting RNAs with features resulting in aberrant translation termination, has recently been found to restrict the replication of positive-stranded RNA ((+)RNA) viruses. As for every other antiviral immune system, there is also evidence of viruses interfering with and modulating NMD to their own advantage. This review will discuss our current understanding of why and how NMD targets viral RNAs, and elaborate counter-defense strategies viruses utilize to escape NMD.
Influence of Rack Slope and Approaching Conditions in Bottom Intake Systems
Authors: Castillo Luis , García Juan , Carrillo José
Published: January 2017

The study analyzes the flow over bottom racks made of longitudinal T-shaped bars. A clear water flow is considered in a laboratory flume. Free surface profiles, wetted rack lengths, and discharge coefficients are measured, changing parameters such as longitudinal slope, void ratio, and approaching flow. The present work complements existing experimental studies, considering the influence of the approaching flow conditions. The velocity field measured with Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique and the pressure field with Pitot tubes are quantified. Numerical simulations (CFD) are used to complement laboratory data. The energy head along the rack is calculated and compared with the hypothesis of horizontal energy level with minimum energy at the beginning of the rack. A discharge coefficient adjustment that considers the slope, the void ratio, and the position along the rack is proposed and presented with the results of other works. Theoretical proposals to calculate the pressure field along the flow are compared with measurements in the laboratory. The relation between the static pressure head in the space of bars and the discharge coefficient is used as an alternative method to define the discharge.
Assessment on the Effect of Climate Change on Streamflow in the Source Region of the Yangtze River, China
Authors: Bian Huanqing , Lü Haishen , Sadeghi Ali , Zhu Yonghua , Yu Zhongbo , Ouyang Fen , Su Jianbin , Chen Rensheng
Published: January 2017

Tuotuo River basin, known as the source region of the Yangtze River, is the key area where the impact of climate change has been observed on many of the hydrological processes of this central region of the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, we examined six Global Climate Models (GCMs) under three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) scenarios. First, the already impacted climate change was analyzed, based on the historical data available and then, the simulation results of the GCMs and RCPs were used for future scenario assessments. Results indicated that the annual mean temperature will likely be increased, ranging from −0.66 °C to 6.68 °C during the three future prediction periods (2020s, 2050s and 2080s), while the change in the annual precipitation ranged from −1.18% to 66.14%. Then, a well-known distributed hydrological soil vegetation model (DHSVM) was utilized to evaluate the effects of future climate change on the streamflow dynamics. The seasonal mean streamflows, predicted by the six GCMs and the three RCPs scenarios, were also shown to likely increase, ranging from −0.52% to 22.58%. Watershed managers and regulators can use the findings from this study to better implement their conservation practices in the face of climate change.
GPs’ perceptions of workload in England: a qualitative interview study
Authors: Croxson Caroline HD , Ashdown Helen F , Hobbs FD Richard
Published: January 2017

Background

GPs report the lowest levels of morale among doctors, job satisfaction is low, and the GP workforce is diminishing. Workload is frequently cited as negatively impacting on commitment to a career in general practice, and many GPs report that their workload is unmanageable.

Aim

To gather an in-depth understanding of GPs’ perceptions and attitudes towards workload.

Design and setting

All GPs working within NHS England were eligible. Advertisements were circulated via regional GP e-mail lists and national social media networks in June 2015. Of those GPs who responded, a maximum-variation sample was selected until data saturation was reached.

Method

Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted. Data were analysed thematically.

Results

In total, 171 GPs responded, and 34 were included in this study. GPs described an increase in workload over recent years, with current working days being long and intense, raising concerns over the wellbeing of GPs and patients. Full-time partnership was generally not considered to be possible, and many participants felt workload was unsustainable, particularly given the diminishing workforce. Four major themes emerged to explain increased workload: increased patient needs and expectations; a changing relationship between primary and secondary care; bureaucracy and resources; and the balance of workload within a practice. Continuity of care was perceived as being eroded by changes in contracts and working patterns to deal with workload.

Conclusion

This study highlights the urgent need to address perceived lack of investment and clinical capacity in general practice, and suggests that managing patient expectations around what primary care can deliver, and reducing bureaucracy, have become key issues, at least until capacity issues are resolved.
THE USE OF INDICATORS IN THE EVALUATION OF RETAIL PLANNING: EVIDENCES FROM ENGLAND
Authors: GUIMARÃES Pedro Porfírio Coutinho
Published: January 2017

Retail planning gained importance with the introduction of innovation in that sector, which challenged the vitality and viability of town centres. With this evolution and the arise of Town Centre First in England, the retail planning key documents started to incorporate indicators to help and standardize the monitoring of the health of town centres. This article aims to analyse the process of evaluation and verify the evolution of indicators suggested in the several public documents that constitute retail planning in England since 1993. It was based on the review of the main documents established in England since 1993. The research developed in this paper helps to update some information and is valuable for urban planners, practitioners and academics. In this paper we conclude that indicators are been used but without been framed in an evaluation framework and the variability of suggested indicators may have limited the analysis of the temporal evolution of town centres. In terms of research implications this paper helps to, in part, path the way for future research in this field.
Directly Observing the Galaxies Likely Responsible for Reionization
Authors: Livermore R. C. , Finkelstein S. L. , Lotz J. M.
Published: January 2017

We report a new analysis of the Hubble Frontier Fields clusters Abell 2744 and MACS 0416 using wavelet decomposition to remove the cluster light, enabling the detection of highly magnified (>50×) galaxies a factor of 10× fainter in luminosity than previous studies. We find 167 galaxies at

, and with this sample we are able to characterize the UV luminosity function to

at

, −14 at

, and −15 at

. We find a steep faint-end slope (

), and with our improved statistics at the faint end we reduce the fractional uncertainty on α to

at

and 4% at

. We also investigate the systematic uncertainty due to the lens modeling by using every available lens model individually and comparing the results; this systematic fractional uncertainty on α is

at all redshifts. We now directly observe galaxies in the luminosity regime where some simulations predict a change in the faint-end slope of the luminosity function, yet our results provide statistically very strong evidence against any turnover in the luminosity range probed, more consistent with simulations in which stars form in lower-mass halos. Thus, we find strong support for the extension of the steep luminosity function to

at

, consistent with the number of faint galaxies needed to reionize the universe under standard assumptions.