bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Microfabricated sol-gel relative humidity sensors for soil suction measurement during laboratory tests
Authors: Cardoso Rafaela , Sarapajevaite Gabriele , Korsun Oleksandr , Cardoso Susana , Ilharco Laura
Published: March 2017

Currently there are no small sensors that can be incorporated inside soil samples for laboratory testing, to monitor water transport during loading. This is an important limitation to a better understanding of the hydromechanical coupled behaviour of soils. A sol-gel relative humidity sensor (11 mm × 11 mm), microfabricated in a clean room environment, was conceived to be incorporated in soil specimens during standard laboratory tests. The sensor operates based on changes in electrical resistivity detected by a cerium-doped silica–titania film deposited using a sol-gel technique over interdigitated aluminium electrodes spaced at 300 μm. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, sol-gel sensors for relative humidity measurement have never been used in soils; therefore, this is a novel application. The water retention curve of compacted kaolin was measured with the sensors and compared with the curve found using water dewpoint potentiometer WP4-C. The sensors were also tested incorporated in an oedometer cell, in which load was applied under vapour equilibrium. It was possible to detect the increment of the degree of saturation during compression. The use of the developed sensors incorporated in soils is considered acceptable for suction ranges between 1 and 10 MPa, which extends the suction interval covered by tensiometers, normally operating up to 2 MPa. Although the sensors require improvements in terms of sol-gel deposition and calibration protocol, the results confirm their scientific potential for being used in testing and characterization of unsaturated soils.
Comparative fishing to evaluate the viability of an aligned footgear designed to reduce seabed contact in northern shrimp bottom trawl fisheries
Authors: Winger Paul D. , Munden Jenna G. , Nguyen Truong X. , Grant Scott M. , Legge George
Published: March 2017

We developed and evaluated an innovative trawl technology that reduces seabed contact while targeting northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) off the east coast of Canada. The innovative footgear, referred to as the “aligned footgear”, was evaluated in a flume tank to estimate contact area with the seabed and then tested at sea for engineering performance and catchability. Results demonstrated that the aligned footgear trawl produced a substantial reduction (i.e., 61%) in the predicted contact area with the seabed compared with the identical trawl equipped with traditional rockhopper footgear. A total of 20 paired tows (n = 40 tows) were subsequently conducted at sea to evaluate fishing performance. The aligned footgear trawl caught significantly more northern shrimp (+23%), capelin (Mallotus villosus) (+71%), and Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) (+99%) compared with the traditional rockhopper bottom trawl.
Integrated analysis of sexual maturation through successive growth instars in the spider crab Leurocyclus tuberculosus (Decapoda: Majoidea)
Authors: González-Pisani Ximena , Barón Pedro J. , López Greco Laura S.
Published: March 2017

An integrative analysis of sexual maturity associated with growth was developed for the spider crab Leurocyclus tuberculosus (H. Milne Edwards and Lucas, 1842). Sexual maturity was characterized based on gonadal, morphological, morphometric, and functional sexual maturity. Progress in sexual maturation was described through 13 growth stages (instars) detected by the examination of size (carapace width) frequency distributions. Mature females displayed mature ovaries, developed vaginae, open gonopores, allometric changes in the abdomen, and ovigerous stage in the transition from instar IX to instar X. Sexually mature males presented spermatophores in the distal vasa deferentia and allometric changes in several measurements of the right chela in the transition from instar X to instar XI. However, two prepubertal phases were recognized in both sexes separated from each other by a prepubertal critical molt. Preceding the second critical molt, gonopores were sealed and vasa deferentia showed no spermatophores, and therefore neither sex was able to mate. The integrated analysis of size at maturity and size frequency distributions showed that in both sexes molt to gonadal, morphological, morphometric, and functional sexual maturity occurred in advance of the terminal molt, in contrast with patterns observed in other Majoidea.
Synthesis and characterization of antimony-doped n-type silicon quantum dots
Authors: Chen Xiaobo , Yang Peizhi
Published: March 2017

Growth of Sb/SiN[Formula: see text] multilayers, followed by high-temperature annealing, was shown to be an effective strategy for synthesizing Sb-doped Si quantum dots (Si-QDs). The doping concentration of Sb (from 0.32 at.% to 1.82 at.%) was controlled by varying the thickness of Sb sublayer. Moderate Sb concentrations were found to enhance the formation of Si-QDs. Photoluminescence (PL) results show that the nonradiative recombination defects caused by Sb impurities increased with the increase of Sb content, which leads to the decrease of the emission intensity. Hall measurements demonstrate that as the carrier concentration increases, the mobility of Hall decreases, and the conductivity increases at first and then decreases with the increase of Sb content. It is indicated that the excessive high Sb doping will deteriorate the conductive properties. The observed [Formula: see text]-type electrical behavior and great enhancement increase in conductivity of the Sb-doped Si-QDs film suggest an effective Sb doping. A [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] junction was formed between Sb-doped Si-QDs and a [Formula: see text]-type c-Si substrate, exhibiting good rectifying properties.
Analysis of electrical and magnetic properties of zinc oxide: A quantum mechanical study
Authors: Marcillo Freddy , Villamagua Luis , Stashans Arvids
Published: March 2017

Density functional theory (DFT) and generalized gradient approximation (GGA) have been employed to study origins of the intrinsic [Formula: see text]-type electrical conductivity in the zinc oxide. Hubbard-like term has been introduced to provide a better description for the Zn 3[Formula: see text] electrons. Two intrinsic point defects, namely oxygen vacancy and hydrogen impurity, were taken into consideration. Results on conductivity are analyzed using density of states patterns for different configurations of defects. Microstructure and local magnetic moments are studied as well. The obtained results clearly indicate that oxygen vacancy does not and cannot be responsible for the intrinsic [Formula: see text]-type electrical conductivity whereas inserted hydrogen atoms tend to lose its only valence electron, which in turn becomes a free electron contributing towards the [Formula: see text]-type conductivity.
An algorithm Walktrap-SPM for detecting overlapping community structure
Authors: Hu Fang , Zhu Youze , Shi Yuan , Cai Jianchao , Chen Luogeng , Shen Shaowu
Published: March 2017

In this paper, based on Walktrap algorithm with the idea of random walk, and by selecting the neighbor communities, introducing improved signed probabilistic mixture (SPM) model and considering the edges within the community as positive links and the edges between the communities as negative links, a novel algorithm Walktrap-SPM for detecting overlapping community is proposed. This algorithm not only can identify the overlapping communities, but also can greatly increase the objectivity and accuracy of the results. In order to verify the accuracy, the performance of this algorithm is tested on several representative real-world networks and a set of computer-generated networks based on LFR benchmark. The experimental results indicate that this algorithm can identify the communities accurately, and it is more suitable for overlapping community detection. Compared with Walktrap, SPM and LMF algorithms, the presented algorithm can acquire higher values of modularity and NMI. Moreover, this new algorithm has faster running time than SPM and LMF algorithms.
Deep learning
Authors: Hao Xing , Zhang Guigang
Published: March 2017

Artificial intelligence is one of the most beautiful dreams of mankind. Although computer technology has made considerable progress, so far, there is no computer showing intelligence like human beings. The emergence of deep learning gives people a glimmer of hope. So, what is learning deep? Why is it so important? How does it work? And what are the existing achievements and difficulties? This paper provides an overview of deep learning which will answer these questions.
The First 25 Years of the FPL Conference
Authors: Leong Philip H. W. , Amano Hideharu , Anderson Jason , Bertels Koen , Cardoso João M. P. , Diessel Oliver , Gogniat Guy , Hutton Mike , Lee Junkyu , Luk Wayne , Lysaght Patrick , Platzner Marco , Prasanna Viktor K. , Rissa Tero , Silvano Cristina , So Hayden Kwok-Hay , Wang Yu
Published: March 2017

A summary of contributions made by significant papers from the first 25 years of the Field-Programmable Logic and Applications conference (FPL) is presented. The 27 papers chosen represent those which have most strongly influenced theory and practice in the field.
Report from the 6th International Workshop on Requirements Patterns (RePa'16)
Authors: Leite Julio C.S.P. , Zhao Liping , Kopczńska Sylwia , Supakkul Sam , Chung Lawrence
Published: March 2017

RePa 2016 was part of the 24th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference (RE'16) held in Beijing. The all day program consisted in an Introduction, a Keynote, Paper Presentations and Discussion Sessions. All papers were presented and the attendance was around 15 people.
LD
Authors: Li Pengcheng , Hu Xiaoyu , Chen Dong , Brock Jacob , Luo Hao , Zhang Eddy Z. , Ding Chen
Published: March 2017

Data race detection has become an important problem in GPU programming. Previous designs of CPU race-checking tools are mainly task parallel and incur high overhead on GPUs due to access instrumentation, especially when monitoring many thousands of threads routinely used by GPU programs.

This article presents a novel data-parallel solution designed and optimized for the GPU architecture. It includes compiler support and a set of runtime techniques. It uses value-based checking, which detects the races reported in previous work, finds new races, and supports race-free deterministic GPU execution. More important, race checking is massively data parallel and does not introduce divergent branching or atomic synchronization. Its slowdown is less than 5 × for over half of the tests and 10 × on average, which is orders of magnitude more efficient than the cuda-memcheck tool by Nvidia and the methods that use fine-grained access instrumentation.
Multi-Class Latent Concept Pooling for Computer-Aided Endoscopy Diagnosis
Authors: Wang Shuai , Cong Yang , Fan Huijie , Fan Baojie , Liu Lianqing , Yang Yunsheng , Tang Yandong , Zhao Huaici , Yu Haibin
Published: March 2017

Successful computer-aided diagnosis systems typically rely on training datasets containing sufficient and richly annotated images. However, detailed image annotation is often time consuming and subjective, especially for medical images, which becomes the bottleneck for the collection of large datasets and then building computer-aided diagnosis systems. In this article, we design a novel computer-aided endoscopy diagnosis system to deal with the multi-classification problem of electronic endoscopy medical records (EEMRs) containing sets of frames, while labels of EEMRs can be mined from the corresponding text records using an automatic text-matching strategy without human special labeling. With unambiguous EEMR labels and ambiguous frame labels, we propose a simple but effective pooling scheme called Multi-class Latent Concept Pooling, which learns a codebook from EEMRs with different classes step by step and encodes EEMRs based on a soft weighting strategy. In our method, a computer-aided diagnosis system can be extended to new unseen classes with ease and applied to the standard single-instance classification problem even though detailed annotated images are unavailable. In order to validate our system, we collect 1,889 EEMRs with more than 59K frames and successfully mine labels for 348 of them. The experimental results show that our proposed system significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art methods. Moreover, we apply the learned latent concept codebook to detect the abnormalities in endoscopy images and compare it with a supervised learning classifier, and the evaluation shows that our codebook learning method can effectively extract the true prototypes related to different classes from the ambiguous data.
Forum design and the changing landscape of crowd-sourced help information
Authors: Frith Jordan
Published: March 2017

The help documentation landscape has changed with the growth of various forms of social media. People now post how-to videos to YouTube, they write crowdsourced documentation for open-source software, and they participate in and draw from a wide range of help forums. These forums are a form of crowdsourced help information in which experts and amateurs come together to address questions and explain materials. While these online forums can be thought of as a threat to the roles of technical communicators, they also present opportunities for professionals to adapt their skills to new roles as "community managers" of professionally sponsored forums. This article examines that point by showing how communication design is important for developing online help forum communities. Through the analysis of ethnographic and interview data, the article covers different areas of design important for understanding help forums as networked forms of technical communication.
Supervised Learning Techniques in Mobile Device Apps for Androids
Authors: Basavaraju Priyanka , Varde Aparna S.
Published: March 2017

Mobile devices have become an integral part of our daily lives. Most people carry smartphones today almost everywhere; and have other mobile devices such as tablets, often more convenient than full-fledged laptops for work transit, short trips etc. This had led to development of apps for mobile devices, easy to download and access anywhere anytime. An important field improving human experiences on mobile devices is machine learning. This constitutes technqiues involving acquisition of knowledge, skills and understanding by machines from examples, guidance, experience or reflection to learn analogous to humans. Among learning paradigms herein, supervised learning comprises situations where labeled training samples are provided to administer the process, making it more regulated, similar to human instructors providing such examples with notions of correctness to guide human learners. Supervised learning techniques are useful in designing mobile apps as they entail guided examples capturing specific human needs and their reasoning in activities, e.g., classification. This paper gives a comprehensive review of a few useful supervised learning approaches along with their implementation in mobile apps, focusing on Androids as they constitute over 50% of the global smartphone market. It includes description of the approaches and portrays interesting Android apps deploying them, addressing classification and regression problems. We discuss the contributions and critiques of the apps and also present open issues with the potential for further research in related areas. This paper is expected to be useful to students, researchers and developers in mobile computing, human computer interaction, data mining and machine learning.
Transport across the choroid plexus epithelium
Authors: Praetorius Jeppe , Damkier Helle Hasager
Published: March 2017

The choroid plexus epithelium is a secretory epithelium par excellence. However, this is perhaps not the most prominent reason for the massive interest in this modest-sized tissue residing inside the brain ventricles. Most likely, the dominant reason for extensive studies of the choroid plexus is the identification of this epithelium as the source of the majority of intraventricular cerebrospinal fluid. This finding has direct relevance for studies of diseases and conditions with deranged central fluid volume or ionic balance. While the concept is supported by the vast majority of the literature, the implication of the choroid plexus in secretion of the cerebrospinal fluid was recently challenged once again. Three newer and promising areas of current choroid plexus-related investigations are as follows: 1) the choroid plexus epithelium as the source of mediators necessary for central nervous system development, 2) the choroid plexus as a route for microorganisms and immune cells into the central nervous system, and 3) the choroid plexus as a potential route for drug delivery into the central nervous system, bypassing the blood-brain barrier. Thus, the purpose of this review is to highlight current active areas of research in the choroid plexus physiology and a few matters of continuous controversy.
TGF-β1 stimulates HDAC4 nucleus-to-cytoplasm translocation and NADPH oxidase 4-derived reactive oxygen species in normal human lung fibroblasts
Authors: Guo Weichao , Saito Shigeki , Sanchez Cecilia G. , Zhuang Yan , Gongora Rosero Rafael E. , Shan Bin , Luo Fayong , Lasky Joseph A.
Published: March 2017

Myofibroblasts are important mediators of fibrogenesis; thus blocking fibroblast-to-myofibroblast differentiation (FMD) may be an effective strategy to treat pulmonary fibrosis (PF). Previously, we reported that histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) activity is necessary for transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)-induced human lung FMD. Here, we show that TGF-β1 increases NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) mRNA and protein expression in normal human lung fibroblasts (NHLFs) and causes nuclear export of HDAC4. Application of the NOX family inhibitor diphenyleneiodonium chloride reduces TGF-β1-induced HDAC4 nuclear export, expression of the myofibroblast marker α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and α-SMA fiber formation. Inhibition of HDAC4 nucleus-to-cytoplasm translocation using leptomycin B (LMB) had little effect on α-SMA expression but blocked α-SMA fiber formation. A coimmunoprecipitation assay showed that HDAC4 associates with α-SMA. Moreover, LMB abolishes TGF-β1-induced α-SMA fiber formation and cell contraction. Relevant to human pulmonary fibrosis, idiopathic PF specimens showed significantly higher NOX4 RNA expression and scant HDAC4 staining within nuclei of fibroblast foci myofibroblasts. Taken together, these results indicate that reactive oxygen species promote TGF-β1-mediated myofibroblast differentiation and HDAC4 nuclear export. The physical association of HDAC4 with α-SMA suggests that HDAC4 has a role in regulating the α-SMA cytoskeleton arrangement.
The innate immune response in fetal lung mesenchymal cells targets VEGFR2 expression and activity
Authors: Medal Rachel M. , Im Amanda M. , Yamamoto Yasutoshi , Lakhdari Omar , Blackwell Timothy S. , Hoffman Hal M. , Sahoo Debashis , Prince Lawrence S.
Published: March 2017

In preterm infants, soluble inflammatory mediators target lung mesenchymal cells, disrupting airway and alveolar morphogenesis. However, how mesenchymal cells respond directly to microbial stimuli remains poorly characterized. Our objective was to measure the genome-wide innate immune response in fetal lung mesenchymal cells exposed to the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). With the use of Affymetrix MoGene 1.0st arrays, we showed that LPS induced expression of unique innate immune transcripts heavily weighted toward CC and CXC family chemokines. The transcriptional response was different between cells from E11, E15, and E18 mouse lungs. In all cells tested, LPS inhibited expression of a small core group of genes including the VEGF receptor Vegfr2. Although best characterized in vascular endothelial populations, we demonstrated here that fetal mouse lung mesenchymal cells express Vegfr2 and respond to VEGF-A stimulation. In mesenchymal cells, VEGF-A increased cell migration, activated the ERK/AKT pathway, and promoted FOXO3A nuclear exclusion. With the use of an experimental coculture model of epithelial-mesenchymal interactions, we also showed that VEGFR2 inhibition prevented formation of three-dimensional structures. Both LPS and tyrosine kinase inhibition reduced three-dimensional structure formation. Our data suggest a novel mechanism for inflammation-mediated defects in lung development involving reduced VEGF signaling in lung mesenchyme.
Muscle-specific and age-related changes in protein synthesis and protein degradation in response to hindlimb unloading in rats
Authors: Baehr Leslie M. , West Daniel W. D. , Marshall Andrea G. , Marcotte George R. , Baar Keith , Bodine Sue C.
Published: March 2017

Disuse is a potent inducer of muscle atrophy, but the molecular mechanisms driving this loss of muscle mass are highly debated. In particular, the extent to which disuse triggers decreases in protein synthesis or increases in protein degradation, and whether these changes are uniform across muscles or influenced by age, is unclear. We aimed to determine the impact of disuse on protein synthesis and protein degradation in lower limb muscles of varied function and fiber type in adult and old rats. Alterations in protein synthesis and degradation were measured in the soleus, medial gastrocnemius, and tibialis anterior (TA) muscles of adult and old rats subjected to hindlimb unloading (HU) for 3, 7, or 14 days. Loss of muscle mass was progressive during the unloading period, but highly variable (−9 to −38%) across muscle types and between ages. Protein synthesis decreased significantly in all muscles, except for the old TA. Atrophy-associated gene expression was only loosely associated with protein degradation as muscle RING finger-1, muscle atrophy F-box (MAFbx), and Forkhead box O1 expression significantly increased in all muscles, but an increase in proteasome activity was only observed in the adult soleus. MAFbx protein levels were significantly higher in the old muscles compared with adult muscles, despite the old having higher expression of microRNA-23a. These results indicate that adult and old muscles respond similarly to HU, and the greatest loss in muscle mass occurs in predominantly slow-twitch extensor muscles due to a concomitant decrease in protein synthesis and increase in protein degradation.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY In this study, we showed that age did not intensify the atrophy response to unloading in rats, but rather that the degree of atrophy was highly variable across muscles, indicating that changes in protein synthesis and protein degradation occur in a muscle-specific manner. Our data emphasize the importance of studying muscles of varying fiber-type and physiological function at multiple time points to fully understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for disuse atrophy.
Unilateral nasal obstruction affects motor representation development within the face primary motor cortex in growing rats
Authors: Abe Yasunori , Kato Chiho , Uchima Koecklin Karin Harumi , Okihara Hidemasa , Ishida Takayoshi , Fujita Koichi , Yabushita Tadachika , Kokai Satoshi , Ono Takashi
Published: March 2017

Postnatal growth is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Nasal obstruction during growth alters the electromyographic activity of orofacial muscles. The facial primary motor area represents muscles of the tongue and jaw, which are essential in regulating orofacial motor functions, including chewing and jaw opening. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of chronic unilateral nasal obstruction during growth on the motor representations within the face primary motor cortex (M1). Seventy-two 6-day-old male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control ( n = 36) and experimental ( n = 36) groups. Rats in the experimental group underwent unilateral nasal obstruction after cauterization of the external nostril at 8 days of age. Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) mapping was performed when the rats were 5, 7, 9, and 11 wk old in control and experimental groups ( n = 9 per group per time point). Repeated-measures multivariate ANOVA was used for intergroup and intragroup statistical comparisons. In the control and experimental groups, the total number of positive ICMS sites for the genioglossus and anterior digastric muscles was significantly higher at 5, 7, and 9 wk, but there was no significant difference between 9 and 11 wk of age. Moreover, the total number of positive ICMS sites was significantly smaller in the experimental group than in the control at each age. It is possible that nasal obstruction induced the initial changes in orofacial motor behavior in response to the altered respiratory pattern, which eventually contributed to face-M1 neuroplasticity.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Unilateral nasal obstruction in rats during growth periods induced changes in arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) and altered development of the motor representation within the face primary cortex. Unilateral nasal obstruction occurring during growth periods may greatly affect not only respiratory function but also craniofacial function in rats. Nasal obstruction should be treated as soon as possible to avoid adverse effects on normal growth, development, and physiological functions.
The modulation of two motor behaviors by persistent sodium currents inXenopus laevistadpoles
Authors: Svensson Erik , Jeffreys Hugo , Li Wen-Chang
Published: March 2017

Persistent sodium currents ( INaP) are common in neuronal circuitries and have been implicated in several diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and epilepsy. However, the role of INaPin the regulation of specific behaviors is still poorly understood. In this study we have characterized INaPand investigated its role in the swimming and struggling behavior of Xenopus tadpoles. INaPwas identified in three groups of neurons, namely, sensory Rohon-Beard neurons (RB neurons), descending interneurons (dINs), and non-dINs (neurons rhythmically active in swimming). All groups of neurons expressed INaP, but the currents differed in decay time constants, amplitudes, and the membrane potential at which INaPpeaked. Low concentrations (1 µM) of the INaPblocker riluzole blocked INaP~30% and decreased the excitability of the three neuron groups without affecting spike amplitudes or cellular input resistances. Riluzole reduced the number of rebound spikes in dINs and depressed repetitive firing in RB neurons and non-dINs. At the behavior level, riluzole at 1 µM shortened fictive swimming episodes. It also reduced the number of action potentials neurons fired on each struggling cycle. The results show that INaPmay play important modulatory roles in motor behaviors.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY We have characterized persistent sodium currents in three groups of spinal neurons and their role in shaping spiking activity in the Xenopus tadpole. We then attempted to evaluate the role of persistent sodium currents in regulating tadpole swimming and struggling motor outputs by using low concentrations of the persistent sodium current antagonist riluzole.
The Potential Role of Aerobic Exercise-Induced Pentraxin 3 on Obesity-Related Inflammation and Metabolic Dysregulation
Authors: Slusher Aaron L. , Huang Chun-Jung , Acevedo Edmund O.
Published: March 2017

Obesity is defined as the excess accumulation of intra-abdominal body fat, resulting in a state of chronic, low-grade proinflammation that can directly contribute to the development of insulin resistance. Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is an acute-phase protein that is expressed by a variety of tissue and cell sources and provides an anti-inflammatory property to downregulate the production of proinflammatory cytokines, in particular interleukin-1 beta and tumor necrosis factor alpha. Although PTX3 may therapeutically aid in altering the proinflammatory milieu in obese individuals, and despite elevated expression of PTX3 mRNA observed in adipose tissue, the circulating level of PTX3 is reduced with obesity. Interestingly, aerobic activity has been demonstrated to elevate PTX3 levels. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to discuss the therapeutic potential of PTX3 to positively regulate obesity-related inflammation and discuss the proposition for utilizing aerobic exercise as a nonpharmacological anti-inflammatory treatment strategy to enhance circulating PTX3 concentrations in obese individuals.
Combination Therapy with a Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitor and a Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitor Additively Suppresses Macrophage Foam Cell Formation and Atherosclerosis in Diabetic Mice
Authors: Terasaki Michishige , Hiromura Munenori , Mori Yusaku , Kohashi Kyoko , Kushima Hideki , Ohara Makoto , Watanabe Takuya , Andersson Olov , Hirano Tsutomu
Published: March 2017

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is), in addition to their antihyperglycemic roles, have antiatherosclerotic effects. We reported that sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) suppress atherosclerosis in a glucose-dependent manner in diabetic mice. Here, we investigated the effects of combination therapy with SGLT2i and DPP-4i on atherosclerosis in diabetic mice. SGLT2i (ipragliflozin, 1.0 mg/kg/day) and DPP-4i (alogliptin, 8.0 mg/kg/day), either alone or in combination, were administered to db/db mice or streptozotocin-induced diabetic apolipoprotein E-null (Apoe−/−) mice. Ipragliflozin and alogliptin monotherapies improved glucose intolerance; however, combination therapy did not show further improvement. The foam cell formation of peritoneal macrophages was suppressed by both the ipragliflozin and alogliptin monotherapies and was further enhanced by combination therapy. Although foam cell formation was closely associated with HbA1c levels in all groups, DPP-4i alone or the combination group showed further suppression of foam cell formation compared with the control or SGLT2i group at corresponding HbA1c levels. Both ipragliflozin and alogliptin monotherapies decreased scavenger receptors and increased cholesterol efflux regulatory genes in peritoneal macrophages, and combination therapy showed additive changes. In diabetic Apoe−/− mice, combination therapy showed the greatest suppression of plaque volume in the aortic root. In conclusion, combination therapy with SGLT2i and DPP4i synergistically suppresses macrophage foam cell formation and atherosclerosis in diabetic mice.
The Study of Seismic Response on Accelerated Contained Fluid
Authors: Kotrasova Kamila , Kormanikova Eva
Published: March 2017

Ground-supported cylindrical tanks are strategically very important structures used to store a variety of liquids. This paper presents the theoretical background of fluid effect on tank when a fluid container is subjected to horizontal acceleration. Fluid excites the hydrodynamic (impulsive and convective) pressures, impulsive and convective (sloshing) actions. Seismic response of cylindrical fluid filling tanks fixed to rigid foundations was calculated for variation of the tank slenderness parameter. The calculating procedure has been adopted in Eurocode 8.
GC‐MS Based Metabolite Profiling, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties of Different Solvent Extracts of Malaysian Plectranthus amboinicus Leaves
Authors: Swamy Mallappa Kumara , Arumugam Greetha , Kaur Ravinder , Ghasemzadeh Ali , Yusoff Mazina Mohd. , Sinniah Uma Rani
Published: March 2017

This study evaluates the phytochemistry, antioxidant, and antimicrobial effects of Plectranthus amboinicus leaves extracted in different solvents. The methanol extract contained the highest total phenolic (94.37 ± 1.24 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid contents (26.90 ± 1.35 mg RE/g) and exhibited the highest DPPH scavenging activity (90.13 ± 3.32%) followed by the acetone extract (80.23 ± 3.26%) at 500 μg/mL concentration. Similarly, the highest ferric ion reduction potential (849.63 ± 30.95 μM of Fe (II)/g dry weight) was exhibited by the methanol extract followed by the acetone extract (695.92 ± 25.44 μM of Fe (II)/g dry weight). The methanol extract showed greater antimicrobial activity against all the tested pathogens (Bacillus subtilis, Methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans). However, both hexane and acetone extracts failed to inhibit E. coli. S. aureus and C. albicans were more susceptible to all the extracts. Further, GC‐MS analysis confirmed the occurrence of a total 46 phytocompounds in different solvent extracts. Some of the major compounds included carvacrol (37.7%), tetracontane (16.6%), squalene (15.6%), tetrapentacontane (13.7%), and Phytol (12.9%). In conclusion, extraction solvents influenced the recovery of phytocompounds and the highest pharmacological activities of the methanol extract could be correlated to the presence of additional bioactive compounds.
Biophysical Approaches Facilitate Computational Drug Discovery for ATP-Binding Cassette Proteins
Authors: Molinski Steven V. , Bozóky Zoltán , Iram Surtaj H. , Ahmadi Saumel
Published: March 2017

Although membrane proteins represent most therapeutically relevant drug targets, the availability of atomic resolution structures for this class of proteins has been limited. Structural characterization has been hampered by the biophysical nature of these polytopic transporters, receptors, and channels, and recent innovations to in vitro techniques aim to mitigate these challenges. One such class of membrane proteins, the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily, are broadly expressed throughout the human body, required for normal physiology and disease-causing when mutated, yet lacks sufficient structural representation in the Protein Data Bank. However, recent improvements to biophysical techniques (e.g., cryo-electron microscopy) have allowed for previously “hard-to-study” ABC proteins to be characterized at high resolution, providing insight into molecular mechanisms-of-action as well as revealing novel druggable sites for therapy design. These new advances provide ample opportunity for computational methods (e.g., virtual screening, molecular dynamics simulations, and structure-based drug design) to catalyze the discovery of novel small molecule therapeutics that can be easily translated from computer to bench and subsequently to the patient’s bedside. In this review, we explore the utility of recent advances in biophysical methods coupled with well-established in silico techniques towards drug development for diseases caused by dysfunctional ABC proteins.
New Insights into the Epigenetics of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Wahid Braira , Ali Amjad , Rafique Shazia , Idrees Muhammad
Published: March 2017

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most predominant malignancies with high fatality rate. This deadly cancer is rising at an alarming rate because it is quite resistant to radio- and chemotherapy. Different epigenetic mechanisms such as histone modifications, DNA methylation, chromatin remodeling, and expression of noncoding RNAs drive the cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, initiation, progression, and development of HCC. These epigenetic alterations because of potential reversibility open way towards the development of biomarkers and therapeutics. The contribution of these epigenetic changes to HCC development has not been thoroughly explored yet. Further research on HCC epigenetics is necessary to better understand novel molecular-targeted HCC treatment and prevention. This review highlights latest research progress and current updates regarding epigenetics of HCC, biomarker discovery, and future preventive and therapeutic strategies to combat the increasing risk of HCC.
Adaptive Modified Function Projective Lag Synchronization of Memristor-Based Five-Order Chaotic Circuit Systems
Authors: Li Qiaoping , Liu Sanyang
Published: March 2017

The modified function projective lag synchronization of the memristor-based five-order chaotic circuit system with unknown bounded disturbances is investigated. Based on the LMI approach and Lyapunov stability theorem, an adaptive control law is established to make the states of two different memristor-based five-order chaotic circuit systems asymptotically synchronized up to a desired scaling function matrix, while the parameter controlling strength update law is designed to estimate the parameters well. Finally, the simulation is put forward to demonstrate the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed methods. The control method involved is simple and practical.
Effects of Inhalation Aromatherapy on Symptoms of Sleep Disturbance in the Elderly with Dementia
Authors: Takeda Ai , Watanuki Emiko , Koyama Sachiyo
Published: March 2017

This study investigated the effects of inhalation aromatherapy on sleep disturbance in elderly individuals with dementia. In 19 subjects, normal sleep was observed for a 20‐day control period, inhalation aromatherapy was then applied for a 20‐day intervention period, and the control and intervention periods were compared. During the intervention period, essential oils were placed nightly on towels around the subjects’ pillows. The measured sleep conditions were sleep latency, total sleep time, sleep efficacy, duration of the longest sustained sleep period, wake time after sleep onset, early morning awakening, total daytime sleep, and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Total sleep time was significantly longer in the intervention period than in the control period (p < 0.05). The duration of the longest sustained sleep period was significantly longer in the intervention period than in the control period (p < 0.05). Early morning awakening in the intervention period was significantly less compared to that in the control period (p < 0.05). Total daytime sleep could not be adequately measured and was omitted from the analysis. No significant differences in other sleep conditions were observed. These results indicated positive effects of inhalation aromatherapy on symptoms of sleep disturbance in elderly individuals with dementia.
Effects of Multicomponent Exercise on Functional and Cognitive Parameters of Hypertensive Patients: A Quasi-Experimental Study
Authors: Coelho Junior Hélio José , Rodrigues Bruno , Feriani Daniele Jardim , Gonçalves Ivan de Oliveira , Asano Ricardo Yukio , Aguiar Samuel da Silva , Uchida Marco Carlos
Published: March 2017

Purpose. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of a 6-month multicomponent exercise program (MCEP) on physical function and cognitive parameters of normotensive (NTS) and hypertensive (HTS) older patients and verify if age can influence the adaptations in response to the exercise.Methods. A total of 218 subjects, 101 NTS and 117 HTS, were recruited and underwent functional and cognitive evaluations before and after six months of a MCEP. The program of exercise was performed twice a week, for 26 weeks. The physical exercises were thought to mimic the activities of daily living and, therefore, aggregated functional and walking exercises. Exercise sessions were performed at moderate intensity.Results. Data indicated that HTS and NST patients showed a similar increase in the performance of walking speed test and one-leg stand test after the MCEP. Regarding age, results did not show differences in the magnitude of adaptations between old and young HTS and NTS patients.Conclusions. Data of the present study indicated that a 6-month MCEP was able to increase equally balance and mobility in NTS and HTS patients. Moreover, data demonstrated that aging did not seem to impair the capacity to adapt in response to exercise in both groups.
Phase Segmentation Methods for an Automatic Surgical Workflow Analysis
Authors: Tran Dinh Tuan , Sakurai Ryuhei , Yamazoe Hirotake , Lee Joo-Ho
Published: March 2017

In this paper, we present robust methods for automatically segmenting phases in a specified surgical workflow by using latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) and hidden Markov model (HMM) approaches. More specifically, our goal is to output an appropriate phase label for each given time point of a surgical workflow in an operating room. The fundamental idea behind our work lies in constructing an HMM based on observed values obtained via an LDA topic model covering optical flow motion features of general working contexts, including medical staff, equipment, and materials. We have an awareness of such working contexts by using multiple synchronized cameras to capture the surgical workflow. Further, we validate the robustness of our methods by conducting experiments involving up to 12 phases of surgical workflows with the average length of each surgical workflow being 12.8 minutes. The maximum average accuracy achieved after applying leave-one-out cross-validation was 84.4%, which we found to be a very promising result.
Postembedding Decalcification of Mineralized Tissue Sections Preserves the Integrity of Implanted Biomaterials and Minimizes Number of Experimental Animals
Authors: El Khassawna Thaqif , Daghma Diaa Eldin S. , Stoetzel Sabine , Ray Seemun , Kern Stefanie , Malhan Deeksha , Alt Volker , Thormann Ulrich , Henß Anja , Rohnke Marcus , Stengel Annette , Hassan Fathi , Maenz Stefan , Jandt Klaus D. , Diefenbeck Michael , Schumacher Matthias , Gelinsky Michael , Lips Katrin Susanne , Heiss Christian
Published: March 2017

Bone histology of decalcified or undecalcified samples depends on the investigation. However, in research each method provides different information to answer the scientific question. Decalcification is the first step after sample fixation and governs what analysis is later feasible on the sections. Besides, decalcification is favored for immunostaining and in situ hybridization. Otherwise, sample decalcification can be damaging to bone biomaterials implants that contains calcium or strontium. On the other hand, after decalcification mineralization cannot be assessed using histology or imaging mass spectrometry. The current study provides a solution to the hardship caused by material presence within the bone tissue. The protocol presents a possibility of gaining sequential and alternating decalcified and undecalcified sections from the same bone sample. In this manner, investigations using histology, protein signaling, in situ hybridization, and mass spectrometry on the same sample can better answer the intended research question. Indeed, decalcification of sections and grindings resulted in well-preserved sample and biomaterials integrity. Immunostaining was comparable to that of classically decalcified samples. The study offers a novel approach that incites correlative analysis on the same sample and reduces the number of processed samples whether clinical biopsies or experimental animals.
A Window-Based, Server-Assisted P2P Network for VoD Services with QoE Guarantees
Authors: Torres-Cruz Noé , Rivero-Angeles Mario E. , Rubino Gerardo , Menchaca-Mendez Ricardo , Menchaca-Mendez Rolando
Published: March 2017

We describe a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network that is designed to support Video on Demand (VoD) services. This network is based on a video-file sharing mechanism that classifies peers according to the window (segment of the file) that they are downloading. This classification easily allows identifying peers that are able to share windows among them, so one of our major contributions is the definition of a mechanism that could be implemented to efficiently distribute video content in future 5G networks. Considering that cooperation among peers can be insufficient to guarantee an appropriate system performance, we also propose that this network must be assisted by upload bandwidth from servers; since these resources represent an extra cost to the service provider, especially in mobile networks, we complement our work by defining a scheme that efficiently allocates them only to those peers that are in windows with resources scarcity (we called it prioritized windows distribution scheme). On the basis of a fluid model and a Markov chain, we also developed a methodology that allows us to select the system parameters values (e.g., windows sizes or minimum servers upload bandwidth) that satisfy a set of Quality of Experience (QoE) parameters.
Visualization of Tomato Growth Based on Dry Matter Flow
Authors: Li Hongjun , Zhang Xiaopeng , Meng Weiliang , Ge Lin
Published: March 2017

The visualization of tomato growth can be used in 3D computer games and virtual gardens. Based on the growth theory involving the respiration theory, the photosynthesis, and dry matter partition, a visual system is developed. The tomato growth visual simulation system is light-and-temperature-dependent and shows plausible visual effects in consideration of the continuous growth, texture map, gravity influence, and collision detection. In addition, the virtual tomato plant information, such as the plant height, leaf area index, fruit weight, and dry matter, can be updated and output in real time.
The Great Impostor: Transaminitis Masking the Coinfection of Syphilis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Authors: Tolia Sunit , Kassem Hassan , Capatina-Rata Ana
Published: March 2017

Introduction. The incidence of syphilis continues to rise in the United States over the past 15 years. This disease process is classified into stages and may present with a coinfection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).Case Report. We present a case of a 32-year-old African American male who presented with cutaneous manifestations of secondary syphilis and transaminitis. A workup revealed that the transaminitis was secondary to underlying syphilitic hepatitis in the presence of HIV coinfection. The patient had a reactive rapid plasma reagin (RPR) of 1 : 64 TU and reactiveTreponema pallidumparticle agglutination assay (TPPA). Lab findings showed alkaline phosphate (ALP) of 648 unit/L, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) of 251 unit/L, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) of 409 unit/L.Conclusion. Syphilitic hepatitis is a recognized entity in the medical literature. It is a manifestation of secondary syphilis and it is more commonly seen in coinfected patients with both syphilis and HIV. Therefore, primary care physicians should keep infectious etiologies (e.g., syphilis and HIV) in the differential diagnosis of patients who present with unexplained liver dysfunction in a cholestatic pattern.
Modulation of Optical and Electrical Characteristics by Laterally Stretching DNAs on CVD-Grown Monolayers of MoS2
Authors: Neupane Guru P. , Tran Minh Dao , Kim Hyun , Kim Jeongyong
Published: March 2017

Monolayer MoS2 (1L-MoS2) is an ideal platform to examine and manipulate two dimensionally confined exciton complexes, which provides a large variety of modulating the optical and electrical properties of 1L-MoS2. Extensive studies of external doping and hybridization exhibit the possibilities of engineering the optical and electrical performance of 1L-MoS2. However, biomodifications of 1L-MoS2 and the characterization and applications of such hybrid structures are rarely reported. In this paper, we present a bio-MoS2 hybrid structure fabricated by laterally stretching strands of DNAs on CVD-grown 1L-MoS2. We observed a strong modification of photoluminescence and Raman spectra with reduced PL intensity and red-shift of PL peak and Raman peaks, which were attributed to electron doping by the DNAs and the presence of tensile strain in 1L-MoS2. Moreover, we observed a significant enhancement of electric mobility in the DNA/1L-MoS2 hybrid compared to that in the pristine 1L-MoS2, which may have been caused by the induced strain in 1L-MoS2.