bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Freehand Pedicle Screw Placement Using a Universal Entry Point and Sagittal and Axial Trajectory for All Subaxial Cervical, Thoracic and Lumbosacral Spines
Authors: Zhang Zheng‐feng
Published: December 2019

Objective

Existing techniques of freehand pedicle screw placement primarily focus on various entry points with or without axial trajectory. The objective of this paper is to propose a universal entry point and sagittal and axial trajectory for all subaxial cervical, thoracic and lumbosacral spines freehand pedicle screw placements, and to report the results from a single‐surgeon clinical experience with freehand pedicle screw placement.

Methods

Two spine vertebrae specimens and 20 cases of three‐dimensional (3D) reconstructions of spine CT images were used for observation of the entry point and sagittal and axial trajectory. The author retrospectively reviewed a total of 610 consecutive patients who underwent open, freehand pedicle screw fixation using a universal entry point and sagittal and axial trajectory for all subaxial cervical, thoracic and lumbosacral spine placements, during an 8‐year period from January 2010 to December 2017. The junction of the lateral margin of the superior articulating process and the transverse process for the thoracic and lumbosacral spines, or lateral mass for the subaxial cervical spine, was determined. The entry point was chosen at 1 mm, 2 mm, and 3 mm (2 mm on average) caudally and medially to this junction for subaxial cervical, thoracic and lumbosacral spines placements, respectively. Both sagittal and axial trajectories were perpendicular to the sagittal and axial planes of the laminae of the isthmus. Among them, 68 patients underwent postoperative computed tomography (CT) scans, including 26 cervical cases, 19 scoliosis thoracic cases, 10 non‐scoliosis thoracic cases, 8 lumbar cases, and 5 sacral cases. Placements of pedicle screws were assessed using CT data and outcome‐based classifications systems.

Results

After placing the iron scurf at the junction of the lateral margin of the superior articulating process and the transverse process, the present universal entry point was located at 1 o'clock or 11 o'clock of the pedicle's axial view. After inserting the 2.5 mm Gram needle or the pedicle virtual pin tracts according to the entry point and sagittal and axial trajectory described above, the presented trajectory was located in the pedicle's axial trajectory as in the described technique. A total of 766 pedicle screws were placed in 68 CT scan patients with a 99% accuracy rate in the non‐kyphoscoliosis group and 92% in the kyphoscoliosis group.

Conclusions

Freehand pedicle screw placement based on the universal entry point and sagittal and axial trajectory for all subaxial cervical, thoracic and lumbosacral spines can be performed with acceptable safety and accuracy.
Early exposure to cats, dogs and farm animals and the risk of childhood asthma and allergy
Authors: Ojwang Vincent , Nwaru Bright I. , Takkinen Hanna‐Mari , Kaila Minna , Niemelä Onni , Haapala Anna‐Maija , Ilonen Jorma , Toppari Jorma , Hyöty Heikki , Veijola Riitta , Knip Mikael , Virtanen Suvi M.
Published: December 2019

Background

Synergistic role of exposure to cats, dogs, and farm animals during infancy on the risk of childhood asthma and allergy remains unknown.

Objectives

To investigate independent and synergistic associations between exposure to indoor pets and farm animals during infancy and the risk of asthma and allergy by age 5.

Methods

We studied 3781 children participating in the Finnish Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention (DIPP) Nutrition Study. At age 5, a validated version of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire was administered to collect information on asthma and allergic disease, and exposure to indoor pets and farm animals during the first year of life. Allergen‐specific IgE antibodies were analyzed from serum samples. Statistical analyses employed Cox proportional hazards and logistic regression.

Results

Having a dog in the house was inversely associated with the risk of asthma (HR 0.60; 95% CI, 0.38‐0.96), allergic rhinitis (OR 0.72; 95% CI, 0.53‐0.97), and atopic sensitization (OR 0.77; 95% CI, 0.63‐0.96). Having a cat was associated with a decreased risk of atopic eczema (OR 0.68; 95% CI, 0.51‐0.92). Farm animals were neither independently nor in synergy with indoor pets associated with the outcomes.

Conclusion

Having a dog or cat in the house during the first year of life may protect against childhood asthma and allergy. We did not find a synergistic association between cat, dog, and farm animal exposure on the risk of childhood asthma and allergy. Future research should identify specific causative exposures conferred by indoor pets and whether they could be recommended for allergy prevention.
Risk factors for fungal infection in extremely low birthweight infants registered in the Korean neonatal network from 2013 to 2015: Male sex and hypotension
Authors: Jung Yu Jin
Published: December 2019

Background

In Korea, improvement in the survival rates of extremely low birthweight (<1,000 g) infants has led to neonatal infection, especially fungal infection (FI), in the neonatal intensive care unit. The purpose of this study was to determine the risk factors for FI by analyzing the incidence of FI in extremely low birthweight infants in Korea.

Methods

Data from 5,320 very low birthweight (<1,500 g) infants registered from 2013 to 2015 in the Korean Neonatal Network were analyzed. The infants were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of FI.

Results

Among infants, 1,524 with gestational ages of <27 weeks and birthweights of <1,000 g were included. The incidence of FI was 7.3% (111/1,524) and mortality of the infants with FI was 40% (44/111). The mean gestational age of infants with FI was 24.8 ± 1.0 weeks, which was significantly lower than those without FI. After logistic regression, being male, and having hypotension within 7 days of birth were independent risk factors for FI. Moreover, hypotension was strongly associated with mortality in FI. Adverse outcomes such as severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia, bacteremia, and abnormal hearing test occurred more frequently in infants with FI than non‐FI.

Conclusions

As male sex and hypotension within 7 days of birth increased the risk of developing FI in infants with gestational ages of <27 weeks and birthweights of <1,000 g, preventive strategies to reduce the incidence of FI are required for infants with risk factors for the development of FI.
Demographic costs and benefits of herbicide‐based restoration to enhance habitat for an endangered butterfly and a threatened plant
Authors: Schultz Cheryl B. , Ferguson Jannette A.
Published: December 2019

Restoring habitat degraded by invasive species is often a primary focus of conservation strategies, yet few studies investigate the effects of invasive species control on multiple at‐risk taxa. Selective herbicides are increasingly used because they can selectively reduce aggressive invasive plant species with the aim of minimizing effects on other taxa within the habitat. We conducted a four‐year experiment to test how annual application of grass‐specific herbicide affected the demography on Fender's blue butterfly (Icaricia icarioides fenderi) and Kincaid's lupine (Lupinus oreganus), two federally protected species which persist in highly degraded prairie remnants in western Oregon, USA. Effects of herbicide application were transitory for the butterfly; reduction of invasive grasses increased fecundity and led to higher annual population growth (λ) at one of two conservation areas in the first season. There were no detectable differences in λ in subsequent seasons—suggesting that treatments caused neither extensive harm nor extensive benefit to the butterfly population. For the lupine, there were no detectable differences in leaf and flower abundance between control and herbicide treatments. However, greater seed production in herbicide plots in the first and third seasons suggests that lupines in herbicide‐treated plots have greater potential reproductive success. While treatments do not have a long‐term benefit to annual population growth for the butterfly, increasing reproductive success of the threatened plant may justify integrating this strategy into restoration plans. Considering the impact of restoration practices on the demography of multiple at‐risk taxa within a community is critical to effective recovery strategies.
Black Judaism(s) and the Hebrew Israelites
Authors: Miller Michael T.
Published: December 2019

This article looks at the field of Black Judaism, with a view to understanding how scholars articulate the distinction between Black Judaism and the Hebrew Israelite movement. The Hebrew Israelites are an autonomous African American movement who identify themselves as descendants of the Israelites and some of whom self‐identify as Jews, probably originating in the late 19th‐century American South. Although scholars have been working on this area for three generations, there is still little agreement and yet the implications of whether and where lines are drawn are important to understand; they go to the heart of personal identities and investments.
Caring ethics as the foundation for cultural competence: views of health professionals working in student healthcare context
Authors: Hemberg Jessica
Published: December 2019

Background

Cultural competence is recognised as a leading component in the delivery of high‐quality health care. However, a lack of concept clarity has led to lower quality and less effective healthcare provision for culturally diverse groups. Understanding of cultural competence in a healthcare context will be improved through the exploration of health professionals’ perceptions of the matter.

Aim

The aim of this study was to explore health professionals’ perceptions of cultural competence in a student healthcare context.

Methodology

The material consists of texts from interviews with ten health professionals in a student healthcare context. A hermeneutical approach was used, and the method was inspired by content analysis.

Findings

One main theme and four subthemes were seen. The main theme was ‘Caring ethics as the foundation for enabling cultural competence’, and the subthemes were ‘Cultural competence as knowledge and acting accordingly with open‐mindedness and respect’, ‘Cultural competence as being willing to understand and learn through a process’, ‘cultural competence as responsiveness and adaptability’ and ‘Cultural competence as humility and discretion’.

Conclusion

Ethics can be considered a core component of cultural competence in student healthcare. In further research, a focus should be placed on cultural competence as perceived from other (e.g. students’) perspectives.
Environment and Economic Assessment of Hydrogen Production from Methane and Ethanol
Authors: Othman Mohamad Rizza , Amran Umarul Imran , Ahmad Arshad
Published: December 2019

Hydrogen is an interesting energy source alternative to fossil fuel which commonly produced from a non-renewable resource such as methane. Alternatively, ethanol is an attractive resource option for producing hydrogen because of its renewability. Assessing both alternatives is important for selection of better and sustainable option. In this work, we perform an environmental and economic assessment of both hydrogen production pathways and compare its performance. In doing that, both processes were modelled and simulated in Aspen Plus V8.6. Sensitivity analysis were performed as well. Life cycle assessment (LCA) ReciPe method was performed to evaluate the environmental performance using GaBi sotware. Overall, 16 categories impact assessment were evaluated. Economic assessment was based on capital expenditure (CAPEX) of all main equipment and operating expenditure (OPEX) of utilities. From LCA results, three categories were identified as highly significant namely climate change, fossil depletion and water depletion. Methane shows a higher impact on climate change. In contrary, ethanol shows a higher impact on fossil fuel resource depletion and water resources. Economic assessment shows that in term of capital expenditure (CAPEX) methane is 5.2% less compared to ethanol. Whereas, for operating expenditure (OPEX) methane is 12.8% less compared to ethanol. Overall, our findings show that methane outwit ethanol despite the latter uses a renewable source for hydrogen production.
Investigating Awareness of Emergency Evacuation Among Construction Workers
Authors: Norazahar Norafneeza , Murad Hamidi
Published: December 2019

Emergency evacuation at construction site is challenging to be conducted due to its dynamic conditions and changing layout. This paper presents a survey work on awareness of emergency evacuation among construction workers. One construction site, P32-2 in Forest City, Johor Bahru is selected for the survey work. 300 workers participated in the survey work. The survey consists of seven questions related to demographic, education levels, and emergency evacuation training. Based on the feedbacks, many workers are male and are in the age group between 20 to 30 years old. The construction site has more general workers than others position. The principal employers or contractors prefer to hire individuals who have no proper education as general workers. There are three challenges for instilling safety awareness of emergency evacuation effectively, which are i) a large number of workers, ii) low level of education, and iii) no training and experience in the emergency evacuation at construction site. This paper did not study worker’s competency to perform the emergency evacuation. More research work on emergency evacuation at construction site should be conducted to improve safety of construction workers.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF HYDRAULIC PARAMETERS OF A DEVELOPED DRIP IRRIGATION SYSTEM
Authors: Eric Omofunmi Olorunwa , Ayodele Ilesanmi Oluwaseun , Orisabinone Toluwalase
Published: December 2019

Experiment was carried out in the department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, during the period of August to October, 2017. The hydraulic performance of a developed drip irrigation system was assessed. The experimental work was conducted on field with irrigated field area of 7 m x 3 m and lateral spacing was 0.35 m. Sixty (60) hospital drip sets (given sets) were used for the experiment as improved emitters. Volumetric method was used to determine application rate (PR) and emitters discharge. The emission uniformity, emitter flow variation, co-efficient of uniformity and co-efficient of variation were determined accordance with the equations described by the American Society of Agricultural Engineering (ASAE). Soil chemical properties were determined accordance with the American Public Health Association (APHA). The findings revealed that the soil in the area is classified as sand clay loam and normal soil. Results indicated that the mean and standard deviation of the emitters were 9.639 L/hr and 0.07 L/hr respectively. There were no emitters clogging. The emitter flow variation was 2.5 % and less than 10 % which was desirable range, while coefficient of variation was 0.07 and less than 0.11 which was marginal. The application rate was 17 mm hr-1 which was within the recommended range of 15 – 25 mm hr-1. The emission uniformity and coefficient of uniformity were 99.4% and 99.2% respectively, which shows that the system was well-designed. This finding indicated that hospital drip sets proved to the high quality. Therefore, it can be used as standard emitter.
ASSESSMENT OF SURFACE WATER QUALITY OF ERO DAM FOR IRRIGATION PURPOSE
Authors: Omofunmi Olorunwa Eric , Fasiku Folasade Atinuade , Ogunleye Kayode Samuel
Published: December 2019

The physicochemical parameters of surface water surface of Ero Dam for irrigation were assessed. Water samples were selected from three locations (upstream, downstream and control). Tested parameters for water samples are pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), chloride (Cl-), carbonate (C03-), bicarbonate (HC03-), boron (B), sulphate (S042-), nitrate (NO3-N) and phosphate (PO4-P). The samples were determined in accordance with the American Public Health Association standards. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Evaluation of surface water quality of Ero Dam was carried out using different irrigation indices methods such as sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), sodium percentage (Na %), potential salinity (PS), The Soluble sodium percentage  (SSP), Kelly ratio (KR), magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR) and permeability index (PI) and compared with standard limits. The findings indicated that the concentrations of the Ca2+,  Mg2+, Na+, K+, Cl-, C03-, HC03-, B, S042-, NO3-N and PO4-P were within the acceptance limits for irrigation purposes except K+ that above the limits specified. Results indicated that majority, 87.5% of irrigation indices fall under excellent or suitable and classified as salinity (C1) and SAR (S1) which was known as (CISI). Hence, there are none degree of restriction in the application Ero Dam water quality for irrigation. Therefore, the results were concluded, that the study area surface water quality was suitable for irrigation.
Stability and Hopf Bifurcation of a Fractional-Order Food Chain Model With Disease and Two Delays
Authors: Wang Xinhe , Wang Zhen , Shen Xiao
Published: December 2019

In this study, a fractional-order food chain model with disease and two delays is proposed. The existence conditions for a positive equilibrium point are given, and the stability conditions without the effects of delays are established. The effects of a single time delay and two time delays are discussed, the bifurcation and stability criteria are obtained, and the bifurcation points are calculated. To support the theoretical analysis, numerical simulations are presented.
A Transformational Coaching Workshop for Changing Youth Sport Coaches’ Behaviors: A Pilot Intervention Study
Authors: Lawrason Sarah , Turnnidge Jennifer , Martin Luc J. , Côté Jean
Published: December 2019

To maximize the effectiveness of coach development, educational programs should target coaches’ interpersonal behaviors, be informed by behavior-change techniques, and incorporate comprehensive evaluation procedures. Thus, informed by the full-range leadership model (see Bass and Riggio in 2006) and the Behaviour Change Wheel (see Michie et al. in 2011), Turnnidge and Côté in 2017 developed the Transformational Coaching Workshop (TCW). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the TCW’s effectiveness through observation before and after coaches’ workshop participation. Participants included 8 male head coaches of youth soccer teams. Systematic observation and coding using the Coach Leadership Assessment System were employed pre- and postworkshop to examine coaches’ leadership behaviors. Coaches made improvements in the types of leadership behaviors used and how they were conveyed. This study demonstrates that systematic observation can be implemented to explore real-world changes in behaviors. Future research should examine the impact of the TCW on athlete outcomes.
Mid-Holocene Northern Hemisphere warming driven by Arctic amplification
Authors: Park Hyo-Seok , Kim Seong-Joong , Stewart Andrew L. , Son Seok-Woo , Seo Kyong-Hwan
Published: December 2019

Analyses of a mid-Holocene climate model ensemble and paleo-proxies reveal that the mid-Holocene Northern Hemisphere was warm.
LncRNA
PTPRE-AS1
modulates M2 macrophage activation and inflammatory diseases by epigenetic promotion of PTPRE
Authors: Han Xiao , Huang Saihua , Xue Ping , Fu Jinrong , Liu Lijuan , Zhang Caiyan , Yang Lan , Xia Li , Sun Licheng , Huang Shau-Ku , Zhou Yufeng
Published: December 2019

PTPRE-AS1
deficiency aggravates pulmonary inflammation but reduces colitis severity by modulating M2 macrophage activation.
High-resolution cryo-EM structures of respiratory complex I: Mechanism, assembly, and disease
Authors: Parey Kristian , Haapanen Outi , Sharma Vivek , Köfeler Harald , Züllig Thomas , Prinz Simone , Siegmund Karin , Wittig Ilka , Mills Deryck J. , Vonck Janet , Kühlbrandt Werner , Zickermann Volker
Published: December 2019

Cryo-EM, yeast genetics, and simulations offer an integrated approach to assess structure, function, and assembly of complex I.
Impaired hemostatic activity of healthy transfused platelets in inherited and acquired platelet disorders: Mechanisms and implications
Authors: Lee Robert H. , Piatt Raymond , Dhenge Ankita , Lozano María L. , Palma-Barqueros Verónica , Rivera José , Bergmeier Wolfgang
Published: December 2019

In select platelet disorders, dysfunctional endogenous platelets affect the hemostatic activity of transfused platelets by multiple mechanisms.
Association of Lipid Levels with Mefloquine and Carboxy-Mefloquine Concentrations in Patients with Uncomplicated Falciparum Malaria
Authors: Vieira José Luiz Fernandes , Rivera Juan Gonzalo Bardalez , de Sena Luann Wendel Pereira , Ferreira Michelle Valeria Dias
Published: December 2019

Mefloquine shows a high capacity to bind plasma proteins, which influences the amount of drug in erythrocytes. The study investigated the association of lipids levels with plasma concentrations of mefloquine and carboxy-mefloquine in 85 Brazilian patients with uncomplicated falciparum malaria. There were no significant associations between the total cholesterol or triglycerides with plasma concentrations of mefloquine and of carboxy-mefloquine.
Evolution of the Yangtze River network, southeastern Tibet: Insights from thermochronology and sedimentology
Authors: Gourbet Loraine , Yang Rong , Fellin Maria Giuditta , Paquette Jean-Louis , Willett Sean D. , Gong JunFeng , Maden Colin
Published: December 2019

We performed apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He dating on a granitic pluton that has been offset by ∼10 km by motion on the sinistral strike-slip Xiangcheng fault in SW Sichuan, SE Tibetan plateau, where the Shuoqu River incises a deep valley before joining the upper Yangtze River. Mean ZHe cooling ages range from 49.5 ± 2.2 Ma to 68.6 ± 6.0 Ma. Samples located above 3870 m yield mean apatite (U-Th)/He ages ranging from 30.6 ± 1.4 Ma to 40.6 ± 2.7 Ma, whereas samples at lower elevations range from 9.8 ± 1.3 Ma to 14.6 ± 2.7 Ma. In the same region, Cenozoic continental sediments are exposed on the flanks of deep valleys. They consist of unsorted conglomerates and sandstones that partly fill a paleotopography. The sediments were deposited during an episode of rapid sedimentation, followed by incision that varies between 0.5 and 1.2 km. Thermal and exhumational modeling of the granite thermochronometric data indicates rapid cooling during the middle Miocene that was likely related to fluvial incision. Our findings suggest that the upper Yangtze River and its tributary (Shuoqu) were connected by the middle Miocene. Our modeling also supports the idea that the exhumation pattern during the Cenozoic in the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is spatially and temporally heterogeneous.
Treatment-resistant eosinophilic oesophagitis successfully managed with tofacitinib
Authors: Mendoza Alvarez Lybil Briscia , Liu Xiuli , Glover Sarah
Published: December 2019

We present a case of a 34-year-old man with long-term diagnosis of eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE) who did not achieve control of disease after multiple therapies including topical and systemic steroids, immune modulators and biologics. Initial endoscopic findings showed signs of active eosinophilic oesophagitis and biopsies were significant for up to 100 eosinophils per high power field during his various treatments. There was a significant improvement in the appearance of the oesophagus as well as the least number of eosinophils found in oesophagus biopsies after 3 months of treatment with tofacitinib. There are no cases of EoE treated with tofacitinib. Tofacitinib should be considered for the treatment of eosinophilic oesophagitis given its evolving role as an immunosuppressive agent.
Developing priorities to achieve health equity through diabetes translation research: a concept mapping study
Authors: Phad Allison , Johnston Shelly , Tabak Rachel G , Mazzucca Stephanie , Haire-Joshu Debra
Published: December 2019

Introduction

The goal of diabetes translation research is to advance research into practice and ensure equitable benefit from scientific evidence. This study uses concept mapping to inform and refine future directions of diabetes translation research with the goal of achieving health equity in diabetes prevention and control.

Research design and methods

This study used concept mapping and input from a national network of diabetes researchers and public health practitioners. Concept mapping is a mixed-method, participant-based process. First, participants generated statements by responding to a focus prompt (“To eliminate disparities and achieve health equity in the prevention and treatment of diabetes, research should…”). Participants then sorted statements by conceptual similarity and rated each statement on importance and feasibility (Likert scale of 1–5). A cluster map was created using multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis; statements were plotted by average importance and feasibility.

Results

Ten clusters were identified containing between 6 and 12 statements from 95 total generated statements. The ranges of average importance and feasibility ratings for clusters were fairly high and narrow (3.62–4.09; 3.10–3.93, respectively). Clusters with the most statements in the “go-zone” quadrant (above average importance/feasibility) werecommunity and partner engagement(n=7),dissemination and implementation principles(n=4), andenrichment and capacity building(n=4). Clusters with the most statements in the “innovative-targets” quadrant (above average importance, below average feasibility) includednext generation interventions(n=6),policy approaches(n=4), andinterventions for specific populations(n=4).

Conclusions

This study created a framework of 10 priority areas to guide current and future efforts in diabetes translation research to achieve health equity. Themes rated as highly important and feasible provide the basis to evaluate current research support. Future efforts should explore how to best support innovative-targets, those rated highly important but less feasible.
Reducing weight and increasing physical activity in people at high risk of cardiovascular disease: a randomised controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of enhanced motivational interviewing intervention with usual care
Authors: Ismail Khalida , Bayley Adam , Twist Katherine , Stewart Kurtis , Ridge Katie , Britneff Emma , Greenough Anne , Ashworth Mark , Rundle Jennifer , Cook Derek G , Whincup Peter , Treasure Janet , McCrone Paul , Winkley Kirsty , Stahl Daniel
Published: December 2019

Objective

The epidemic of obesity is contributing to the increasing prevalence of people at high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), negating the medical advances in reducing CVD mortality. We compared the clinical and cost-effectiveness of an intensive lifestyle intervention consisting of enhanced motivational interviewing in reducing weight and increasing physical activity for patients at high risk of CVD.

Methods

A three-arm, single-blind, parallel-group randomised controlled trial was conducted in consenting primary care centres in south London. We recruited patients aged 40–74 years with a QRisk2 score ≥20.0%, which indicates the probability of having a CVD event in the next 10 years. The intervention was enhanced motivational interviewing which included additional behaviour change techniques and was delivered by health trainers in 10 sessions over 1 year, in either group (n=697) or individual (n=523) format. The third arm received usual care (UC; n=522). The primary outcomes were physical activity (mean steps/day) and weight (kg). Secondary outcomes were changes in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and CVD risk score. We estimated the relative cost-effectiveness of each intervention.

Results

At 24 months, the group and individual interventions were not more effective than UC in increasing physical activity (mean difference=70.05 steps, 95% CI −288.00 to 147.90 and mean difference=7.24 steps, 95% CI −224.01 to 238.50, respectively), reducing weight (mean difference=−0.03 kg, 95% CI −0.49 to 0.44 and mean difference=−0.42 kg, 95% CI −0.93 to 0.09, respectively) or improving any secondary outcomes. The group and individual interventions were not cost-effective at conventional thresholds.

Conclusions

Enhancing motivational interviewing with additional behaviour change techniques was not effective in reducing weight or increasing physical activity in those at high CVD risk.
‘We should classify pet obesity as a disease’
Authors: German Alexander , Ramsey Ian , Lhermette Philip
Published: December 2019

Alexander German,Ian RamseyandPhilip Lhermetteaddress some of the concerns raised over calling pet obesity a disease and argue that this classification can bring many management opportunities.
Proper Coloring Distance in Edge-Colored Cartesian Products of Complete Graphs and Cycles
Authors: Arora Ajay , Cheng Eddie , Magnant Colton
Published: December 2019

An path that is edge-colored is called proper if no two consecutive edges receive the same color. A general graph that is edge-colored is called properly connected if, for every pair of vertices in the graph, there exists a properly colored path from one to the other. Given two vertices u and v in a properly connected graph G, the proper distance is the length of the shortest properly colored path from u to v. By considering a specific class of colorings that are properly connected for Cartesian products of complete and cyclic graphs, we present results on the proper distance between all pairs of vertices in the graph.
Application of nature-inspired optimization algorithms and machine learning for heavy-ion synchrotrons
Authors: Appel Sabrina , Geithner Wolfgang , Reimann Stephan , Sapinski Mariusz , Singh Rahul , Vilsmeier Dominik
Published: December 2019

The application of machine learning and nature-inspired optimization methods, like for example genetic algorithms (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) can be found in various scientific/technical areas. In recent years, these approaches are finding application in accelerator physics to a greater extent. In this paper, nature-inspired optimization as well as the machine learning will be shortly introduced and their application to the accelerator facility at GSI/FAIR will be presented. For the heavy-ion synchrotron SIS18 at GSI, the multi-objective GA/PSO optimization resulted in a significant improvement of multi-turn injection performance and subsequent transmission for intense beams. An automated injection optimization with genetic algorithms at the CRYRING@ESR ion storage ring has been performed. The usage of machine learning for a beam diagnostic application, where reconstruction of space-charge distorted beam profiles from ionization profile monitors is performed, will also be shown. First results and the experience gained will be presented.
Novel similarity measure-based random forest for fingerprint recognition using dual-tree complex wavelet transform and ring projection
Authors: Kaur Harinder , Kaur Gaganpreet , Pannu Husanbir Singh
Published: December 2019

Designing an efficient fingerprint recognition technique is an ill-posed problem. Recently, many researchers have utilized machine learning techniques to improve the fingerprint recognition rate. The random forest (RF) is found to be one of the extensively utilized machine learning techniques for fingerprint recognition. Although it provides good recognition results at significant computational speed, still there is room for improvement. RF is not so-effective for high-dimensional features and also when features contain both discrete and continuous values at the same time. Therefore, in this paper, a novel similarity measure-based random forest (NRF) is proposed. The proposed technique, initially, computes both mutual information and conditional entropy. Thereafter, it uses three designed if-then rules to obtain final information measure. Additionally, to obtain feature set for fingerprint dataset, dual-tree complex wavelet transform is used to evaluate complex detail coefficients. Thereafter, ring project is considered to compute significant moments from these complex detail coefficients. Finally, information gain-based feature selection technique is used to select potential features. To prevent over-fitting, 20-fold cross validation is also used. Extensive experiments are considered to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed technique. The comparative analyses reveal that the proposed technique outperforms the existing techniques in terms of accuracy, f-measure, sensitivity, specificity, kappa statistics and computational speed.
Irreversible quantum evolution with quadratic generator: Review
Authors: Teretenkov A. E.
Published: December 2019

We review results on GKSL-type equations with multi-modal generators which are quadratic in bosonic or fermionic creation and annihilation operators. General forms of such equations are presented. The Gaussian solutions are obtained in terms of equations for the first and the second moments. Different approaches for their solutions are discussed.
Conditionally monotone independence and the associated products of graphs
Authors: Lenczewski Romuald
Published: December 2019

We reduce the conditionally monotone (c-monotone) independence of Hasebe to tensor independence on suitably constructed larger algebras. For that purpose, we use the approach developed for a reduction of similar type for boolean, free and monotone independences. We apply the tensor product realization of c-monotone random variables to introduce the c-comb (loop) product of birooted graphs, a generalization of the comb (loop) product of rooted graphs, and we show that it is related to the c-monotone additive (multiplicative) convolution of distributions.
An asymptotic property of large matrices with identically distributed Boolean independent entries
Authors: Popa Mihai , Hao Zhiwei
Published: December 2019

Motivated by the recent work on asymptotic independence relations for random matrices with non-commutative entries, we investigate the limit distribution and independence relations for large matrices with identically distributed and Boolean independent entries. More precisely, we show that, under some moment conditions, such random matrices are asymptotically [Formula: see text]-diagonal and Boolean independent from each other. This paper also gives a combinatorial condition under which such matrices are asymptotically Boolean independent from the matrix obtained by permuting the entries (thus extending a recent result in Boolean probability). In particular, we show that the random matrices considered are asymptotically Boolean independent from some of their partial transposes. The main results of the paper are based on combinatorial techniques.
Re-posing Objects Considering Bipedal Stability Constraints: An Approach for Stability Preservation During Humanoid Manipulation
Authors: Sánchez Daniel , Wan Weiwei , Kanehiro Fumio , Harada Kensuke
Published: December 2019

This paper presents a balance-centered planner for object re-posing. It uses Center-of-Mass (CoM) constraints to preserve robot stability and provides stable, IK-feasible, and collision-free upper-body poses, allowing the robot to complete dexterous object manipulation tasks with different objects. The technical contributions of the planner are two-fold. First, it evaluates the robot stability margin for each robot pose during manipulation planning to find a stable manipulation motion. Second, it provides an RRT-inspired task-related stability estimation used to compare different bipedal stances. Simulations and real-world experiments are performed with the HRP-5P humanoid robot, the 5th generation of the HRP robot family, to validate the planner and compare different robot stances and approaches for object re-posing. The experiment results suggest that the proposed planner provides robust behavior for the humanoid robot while performing re-posing tasks.
Case studies of the radical cation reactivity in meso-aryl and octaethyl porphyrins
Authors: Lamare R. , Ruhlmann L. , Ruppert R. , Weiss J.
Published: December 2019

The reactivity of porphyrin radical cationic species derived from octaethyl porphyrin (OEP) or meso-aryl porphyrins with nucleophiles, envisioned as an access route to elaborate porphyrin dimers, has been studied and optimized in the case of OEP. Standardized conditions have been applied to various spacers to show that the success of the reaction is mostly nucleophile dependent and that the method has little chances to yield non-linear bis-porphyrins.
Do Family Firms Choose Conservative Accounting Practices?
Authors: Raithatha Mehul , Shaw Tara Shankar
Published: December 2019

We investigate whether family firms are motivated to adopt conservative accounting practices, given their unique characteristics of high promoter holdings, less diversified equity, and long-term interest in the business. We examine whether heterogeneity within family firms, captured through family members’ involvement in management and the firm’s affiliation to a business group, drives conservative behavior. We test our model on a sample of 2534 listed Indian firms from 2006 to 2015. Our results indicate that family-controlled firms are more conditionally conservative in their accounting practices, especially when family members manage them and when they are affiliated with a business group. These findings are robust to alternative measures of conservatism and also after controlling for omitted variable bias and reverse causality.
Directed Placement for mVLSI Devices
Authors: Crites Brian , Kong Karen , Brisk Philip
Published: December 2019

Continuous-flow microfluidic devices based on integrated channel networks are becoming increasingly prevalent in research in the biological sciences. At present, these devices are physically laid out by hand by domain experts who understand both the underlying technology and the biological functions that will execute on fabricated devices. The lack of a design science that is specific to microfluidic technology creates a substantial barrier to entry. To address this concern, this article introduces Directed Placement, a physical design algorithm that leverages the natural “directedness” in most modern microfluidic designs: fluid enters at designated inputs, flows through a linear or tree-based network of channels and fluidic components, and exits the device at dedicated outputs. Directed placement creates physical layouts that share many principle similarities to those created by domain experts. Directed placement allows components to be placed closer to their neighbors compared to existing layout algorithms based on planar graph embedding or simulated annealing, leading to an average reduction in laid-out fluid channel length of 91% while improving area utilization by 8% on average. Directed placement is compatible with both passive and active microfluidic devices and is compatible with a variety of mainstream manufacturing technologies.
Machine Learning for Phone-Based Relationship Estimation
Authors: Liu Tony , Nicholas Jennifer , Theilig Max M. , Guntuku Sharath C. , Kording Konrad , Mohr David C. , Ungar Lyle
Published: December 2019

Estimating the category and quality of interpersonal relationships from ubiquitous phone sensor data matters for studying mental well-being and social support. Prior work focused on using communication volume to estimate broad relationship categories, often with small samples. Here we contextualize communications by combining phone logs with demographic and location data to predict interpersonal relationship roles on a varied sample population using automated machine learning methods, producing better performance (F1 = 0.68) than using communication features alone (F1 = 0.62). We also explore the effect of age variation in the underlying training sample on interpersonal relationship prediction and find that models trained on younger subgroups, which is popular in the field via student participation and recruitment, generalize poorly to the wider population. Our results not only illustrate the value of using data across demographics, communication patterns and semantic locations for relationship prediction, but also underscore the importance of considering population heterogeneity in phone-based personal sensing studies.
Decentralized Attention-based Personalized Human Mobility Prediction
Authors: Fan Zipei , Song Xuan , Jiang Renhe , Chen Quanjun , Shibasaki Ryosuke
Published: December 2019

Human mobility prediction is essential to a variety of human-centered computing applications achieved through upgrading of location-based services (LBS) to future-location-based services (FLBS). Previous studies on human mobility prediction have mainly focused on centralized human mobility prediction, where user mobility data are collected, trained and predicted at the cloud server side. However, such a centralized approach leads to a high risk of privacy issues, and a real-time centralized system for processing such a large volume of distributed data is extremely difficult to apply. Moreover, a large and dynamic set of users makes the predictive model extremely challenging to personalize. In this paper, we propose a novel decentralized attention-based human mobility predictor in which 1) no additional training procedure is required for personalized prediction, 2) no additional training procedure is required for incremental learning, and 3) the predictor can be trained and predicted in a decentralized way. We tested our method on big data of real-world mobile phone user GPS and on Android devices, and achieved a low-power consumption and a good prediction accuracy without collecting user data in the server or applying additional training on the user side.
AuraRing
Authors: Parizi Farshid Salemi , Whitmire Eric , Patel Shwetak
Published: December 2019

Wearable computing platforms, such as smartwatches and head-mounted mixed reality displays, demand new input devices for high-fidelity interaction. We present AuraRing, a wearable magnetic tracking system designed for tracking fine-grained finger movement. The hardware consists of a ring with an embedded electromagnetic transmitter coil and a wristband with multiple sensor coils. By measuring the magnetic fields at different points around the wrist, AuraRing estimates the five degree-of-freedom pose of the ring. We develop two different approaches to pose reconstruction---a first-principles iterative approach and a closed-form neural network approach. Notably, AuraRing requires no runtime supervised training, ensuring user and session independence. AuraRing has a resolution of 0.1 mm and a dynamic accuracy of 4.4 mm, as measured through a user evaluation with optical ground truth. The ring is completely self-contained and consumes just 2.3 mW of power.
Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Show Different Frequencies in Diabetics and Subjects with Arterial Hypertension
Authors: Fernández-Ruiz Julio C. , Galindo-De Ávila Julia C. , Martínez-Fierro Margarita L. , Garza-Veloz Idalia , Cervantes-Villagrana Alberto R. , Valtierra-Alvarado Monica A. , Serrano Carmen J. , García-Hernández Mariana H. , Enciso-Moreno José A. , Castañeda-Delgado Julio E.
Published: December 2019

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) is strongly associated with other comorbidities such as obesity, atherosclerosis, and hypertension. Obesity is associated with sustained low-grade inflammatory response due to the production of proinflammatory cytokines. This inflammatory process promotes the differentiation of some myeloid cells, including myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). In this study, two groups of individuals were included: DM2 patients and non-DM2 individuals with similar characteristics. Immunolabeling of CD15+ CD14- and CD33+ HLA-DR-/low was performed from whole peripheral blood, and samples were analyzed by flow cytometry, and frequencies of MDSCs and the relationship of these with clinical variables, cytokine profile (measured by cytometric bead array), and anthropometric variables were analyzed. The frequency of CD33+ HLA-DR-/low MDSCs (that produce IL-10 and TGF-β, according to an intracellular detection) is higher in patients with DM2 (P<0.05), and there is a positive correlation between the frequency of CD15+ CD14- and CD33+ HLA-DR-/low MDSC phenotypes. DM2 patients have an increased concentration of serum IL-5 (P<0.05). Also, a negative correlation between the frequency of CD15+ CD14- MDSCs and LDL cholesterol was found. Our group of DM2 patients have an increased frequency of mononuclear MDSC CD33+ HLA-DR-/low that produce TGF-βand IL-10. These cytokines have been associated with immune modulation and reduced T cell responses. DM2 and non-DM2 subjects show a similar cytokine profile, but the DM2 patients have an increased concentration of IL-5.
Antiapoptosis and Antifibrosis Effects of Qishen Granules on Heart Failure Rats via Hippo Pathway
Authors: Zhang Jian , Liu Junjie , Gao Sheng , Lin Weili , Gao Pengrong , Gao Kuo , Zhang Yili , Du Kangjia , Yang Xiaomin , Wang Wei , Zhu Ruixin , Wang Yong
Published: December 2019

Qishen granules (QSG) are a famous formula with cardioprotective properties to heart failure (HF). The aim of this study was to investigate the underlying mechanism of QSG on apoptosis and fibrosis in the treatment of HF. HF model was induced by left anterior descending artery ligation on Sprague-Dawley rats. Transcriptome analysis was used to investigate the regulatory pathways of QSG on HF. Interestingly, downregulated genes of QSG were significantly enriched in Hippo pathway which plays a crucial role in regulating cell apoptosis and proliferation. We found that QSG inhibited the expressions of proapoptotic key proteins P-53 and fibrosis-related proteins TGF-β1, SMAD3, and CTGF. Further, we conducted research on the key proteins in the Hippo pathway upstream of CTGF and P-53. The results showed that MST1, P-MST1, P-LATS1, and RASSF1A that exert proapoptotic function were downregulated after QSG intervention. Similarly, P-YAP and P-TAZ, mediating self-degradation and apoptosis, were both observably decreased after QSG administration. Taken together, QSG are shown to be likely to exert cardioprotective effects by inhibiting the progression of apoptosis and fibrosis through Hippo pathway.
The Synchronization of N Cascade‐Coupled Chaotic Systems
Authors: Li Pengyu , Du Juan , Li Shouliang , Zheng Yazhao , Jia Bowen
Published: December 2019

In this paper, we investigate a novel synchronization method, which consists of n(n ≥ 2) cascade‐coupled chaotic systems. Furthermore, as the number of chaotic systems decreases from n to 2, the proposed synchronization will transform into bidirectional coupling synchronization. Based on Lyapunov stability theory, a general criterion is proposed for choosing the appropriate coupling parameters to ensure cascading synchronization. Moreover, 4 Lü systems are taken as an example and the corresponding numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of our idea.