bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
In-Circuit Debugging with Dynamic Reconfiguration of FPGA Interconnects
Authors: Kourfali Alexandra , Stroobandt Dirk
Published: April 2020

In this work, a novel method for in-circuit debugging on FPGAs is introduced that allows the insertion of low-overhead debugging infrastructure by exploiting the technique of parameterized configurations. This allows the parameterization of the LUTs and the routing infrastructure to create a virtual network of debugging multiplexers. It aims to facilitate debugging, to increase the internal signal observability, and to reduce the debugging (area and reconfiguration) overhead. Signal ranking techniques are also introduced that classify signals that can be traced during debug. Finally, the results of the method are presented and compared with a commercial tool. The area and time results and the tradeoffs between internal signal observability and area and reconfiguration overhead are also explored.
CrowdPrivacy
Authors: Wu Fang-Jing , Luo Tie
Published: April 2020

Location-based services (LBSs) typically crowdsource geo-tagged data from mobile users. Collecting more data will generally improve the utility for LBS providers; however, it also leads to more privacy exposure of users’ mobility patterns. Although the tension between data utility and user privacy has been recognized, there lacks a solution that determines how much data to collect—in both spatial and temporal domains—is the “best” for both mobile users and the service provider. This article proposes a strategy toward making an optimal tradeoff such that a user submits data only if her mobility privacy will not be compromised and the data utility of the LBS provider will be sufficiently improved. To this end, we first define and formulate a concept called
privacy exposure
, which incorporates both the spatial distribution and the temporal transition of a user’s
activity points
. Second, we define and quantify
data utility
in terms of spatial repetitions and temporal closeness among data based on an economic principle. Then, we propose a PRivacy-preserving and UTility-Enhancing Crowdsourcing (PRUTEC) algorithm to determine, on behalf of each mobile user, whether a newly sensed piece of data should be submitted to the LBS provider. Our simulation demonstrates that PRUTEC improves the data utility of the service provider with a much less amount of data to collect and reduces privacy exposure for mobile users while collecting useful data continuously.
Discriminative Power of Typing Features on Desktops, Tablets, and Phones for User Identification
Authors: Belman Amith K. , Phoha Vir V.
Published: April 2020

Research in Keystroke-Dynamics (KD) has customarily focused on temporal features without considering context to generate user templates that are used in authentication. Additionally, work on KD in hand-held devices such as smart-phones and tablets have shown that these features alone do not perform satisfactorily for authentication. In this work, we analyze the discriminatory power of the most-used conventional features found in the literature, propose a set of context-sensitive or word-specific features, and analyze the discriminatory power of proposed features using their classification results. To perform these tasks, we use the keystroke data consisting of over 650K keystrokes, collected from 20 unique users during different activities on desktops, tablets, and phones, over a span of two months. On an average, each user made 12.5K, 9K, and 10K keystrokes on desktop, tablet, and phone, respectively.

We find that the conventional features are not highly discriminatory on desktops and are only marginally better on hand-held devices for user identification. By using information of the context, a subset (derived after analysis) of our proposed word-specific features offers superior discrimination among users on all devices. We find that a majority of the classifiers, built using these features, perform user identification well with accuracies in the range of 90% to 97%, average precision and recall values of 0.914 and 0.901, respectively, on balanced test samples in 10-fold cross validation. We also find that proposed features work best on hand-held devices. This work calls for a shift from using conventional KD features to a set of context-sensitive or word-specific KD features that take advantage of known information such as context.
Enhanced Language Modeling with Proximity and Sentence Relatedness Information for Extractive Broadcast News Summarization
Authors: Liu Shih-Hung , Chen Kuan-Yu , Chen Berlin
Published: April 2020

The primary task of extractive summarization is to automatically select a set of representative sentences from a text or spoken document that can concisely express the most important theme of the original document. Recently, language modeling (LM) has been proven to be a promising modeling framework for performing this task in an unsupervised manner. However, there still remain three fundamental challenges facing the existing LM-based methods, which we set out to tackle in this article. The first one is how to construct a more accurate sentence model in this framework without resorting to external sources of information. The second is how to take into account sentence-level structural relationships, in addition to word-level information within a document, for important sentence selection. The last one is how to exploit the proximity cues inherent in sentences to obtain a more accurate estimation of respective sentence models. Specifically, for the first and second challenges, we explore a novel, principled approach that generates overlapped clusters to extract sentence relatedness information from the document to be summarized, which can be used not only to enhance the estimation of various sentence models but also to render sentence-level structural relationships within the document, leading to better summarization effectiveness. For the third challenge, we investigate several formulations of proximity cues for use in sentence modeling involved in the LM-based summarization framework, free of the strict bag-of-words assumption. Furthermore, we also present various ensemble methods that seamlessly integrate proximity and sentence relatedness information into sentence modeling. Extensive experiments conducted on a Mandarin broadcast news summarization task show that such integration of proximity and sentence relatedness information is indeed beneficial for speech summarization. Our proposed summarization methods can significantly boost the performance of an LM-based strong baseline (e.g., with a maximum ROUGE-2 improvement of 26.7% relative) and also outperform several state-of-the-art unsupervised methods compared in the article.
An Experimental Study of Automatic Detection and Measurement of Counterfeit in Brand Search Results
Authors: Carpineto Claudio , Romano Giovanni
Published: April 2020

Brand search results are poisoned by fake ecommerce websites that infringe on the trademark rights of legitimate holders. In this article, we study how to tackle and measure this problem automatically. We present a pipeline with two machine learning stages that can detect the ecommerce websites present in the list of brand search results and distinguish between legitimate and fake ecommerce websites. For each classification task, we identify and extract suitable learning features and study their relative importance. Through a prototype system termed RI.SI.CO., we show that this approach is feasible, fast, and more accurate than both existing systems for trustworthiness assessment and non-expert humans. We next introduce two complementary metrics for evaluating the counterfeit incidence in brand search results: namely, a chart-based and a single-value measure. They allow us to analyze and compare counterfeit at various levels, including single brands within a specific sector as well as whole sectors. Experimenting with two luxury goods sectors, we report a number of interesting findings about how the main search parameters (e.g., search engine, query type, number of search results seen) affect counterfeiting and how this activity changes with time. On the whole, our research offers new insights and some very practical and useful means of analyzing and measuring counterfeit in brand search results, thus increasing awareness of and knowledge about this phenomenon and enabling targeted anti-counterfeiting actions.
Lactobacillus acidophilus-Induced Endocarditis and Associated Splenic Abscess
Authors: Ozer Muhammet , Goksu Suleyman Yasin , Shahverdiani Ali , Mustafa Muhammad
Published: April 2020

Lactobacillus acidophilus is a rod-shaped, Gram-positive bacterium generally found in the normal flora of the oropharynx, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary tracts. It is commonly known as nonpathogen in the human body. Endocarditis due to Lactobacillus is rarely encountered and associated with impaired immunity. Splenic abscess is also an uncommon infection that classically results from endocarditis or another source of hematogenous seeding. Here, we present the case of bioprosthetic aortic valve endocarditis and associated splenic abscess caused by Lactobacillus acidophilus. The source of the Lactobacillus bacteremia should be investigated because of the risk of life-threatening conditions. Most of the time, identifying Lactobacillus species is challenging and can cause a delay in diagnosis and timely treatment. Especially in patients who have significant underlying clinical conditions, physicians should consider Lactobacillus species as a causative microorganism.
Forecasting the Covolatility of Coffee Arabica and Crude Oil Prices: A Multivariate GARCH Approach with High-Frequency Data
Authors: Yeshiwas Dawit , Berelie Yebelay
Published: April 2020

Forecasting the covolatility of asset return series is becoming the subject of extensive research among academics, practitioners, and portfolio managers. This paper estimates a variety of multivariate GARCH models using weekly closing price (in USD/barrel) of Brent crude oil and weekly closing prices (in USD/pound) of Coffee Arabica and compares the forecasting performance of these models based on high-frequency intraday data which allows for a more precise realized volatility measurement. The study used weekly price data to explicitly model covolatility and employed high-frequency intraday data to assess model forecasting performance. The analysis points to the conclusion that the varying conditional correlation (VCC) model with Student’s t distributed innovation terms is the most accurate volatility forecasting model in the context of our empirical setting. We recommend and encourage future researchers studying the forecasting performance of MGARCH models to pay particular attention to the measurement of realized volatility and employ high-frequency data whenever feasible.
Optimized Scheme to Secure IoT Systems Based on Sharing Secret in Multipath Protocol
Authors: El Mahdi Fatna , Habbani Ahmed , Kartit Zaid , Bouamoud Bachir
Published: April 2020

Internet of Things (IoT) is a hot and emerging topic nowadays. In the world of today, all kinds of devices are supposed to be connected and all types of information are exchanged. This makes human daily life easier and much more intelligent than before. However, this life mode is vulnerable to several security threats. In fact, the mobile networks, by nature, are more exposed to malicious attacks that may read confidential information and modify or even drop important data. This risk should be taken in consideration prior to any construction of mobile networks especially in the coming 5G technology. The present paper aims to provide a contribution in securing such kinds of environment by proposing a new protocol that can be implemented in ad hoc networks.
Preparation, Optimization, and Evaluation of Epichlorohydrin Cross‐Linked Enset (Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheeseman) Starch as Drug Release Sustaining Excipient in Microsphere Formulation
Authors: Tesfay Desta , Abrha Solomon , Yilma Zewdu , Woldu Gebremariam , Molla Fantahun
Published: April 2020

Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) cheeseman which belongs to the family of Musaceae is one of the main sources of starch in Ethiopia. This study aimed at evaluating epichlorohydrin cross‐linked enset starch as a drug release sustaining excipient in microsphere formulations of theophylline. Extracted enset starch was cross‐linked using epichlorohydrin as a cross‐linking agent. The effect of cross‐linker concentration, cross‐linking duration, and cross‐linking temperature on the degree of cross‐linking and release rate of microspheres prepared by emulsion solvent evaporation method was investigated using the two‐level full factorial design. Accordingly, the concentration of epichlorohydrin and duration of cross‐linking were the most significant factors affecting both the degree of cross‐linking and drug release rate. Thus, the effects of these two factors were further studied and optimized using the central composite design. As per the numerical method of central composite design, the optimal points were obtained at epichlorohydrin concentration of 13.70% and cross‐linking time of 3.82 h. Under these optimal conditions, the model predicts the degree of cross‐linking of 74.70% and drug release rate of 28.00 h1/2. The validity of these optimal points was confirmed experimentally. The microspheres of the optimum formulation also exhibited minimum burst release with sustained release for 12 h. Besides, the optimized formulation followed the Higuchi square root kinetic model with non‐Fickian diffusion release mechanism. The finding of this study suggested that cross‐linked enset starch can be used as an alternative drug‐release‐sustaining pharmaceutical excipient in microsphere formulation.
A Grasshopper Optimization-Based Approach for Task Assignment in Cloud Logistics
Authors: Xu Lan , Tu Yiliu , Zhang Yuting
Published: April 2020

A framework for the algorithm-based CL platform is established, based on which, the operational mode of it is described in detail. An integrated logistics task assignment model is built to optimally match logistics service resources and task of large scale in the algorithm-based CL. Particularly, an improved grasshopper optimization-based bitarget optimization algorithm (GROBO) is proposed to solve the biobjective programming model for service matching in CL. The case of Linyi small commodity logistics is taken as an application. Simulation results show that the proposed GROBO provides better solutions regarding to searching efficiency and stability in solving the model.
Contrast-Induced Encephalopathy following Cerebral Angiography in a Hemodialysis Patient
Authors: Bender Marija , Bogdan Gojko , Radančević Dorijan , Pejanović-Škobić Nataša
Published: April 2020

Contrast-induced encephalopathy (CIE) is a rare complication of contrast media use during angiographic procedures. With the growing use of endovascular interventions, this complication is likely to become more common. We present a case of a 46-year-old woman with hypertension, hypothyroidism, and chronic renal failure. She developed CIE following cerebral angiography for diagnosis of intracranial aneurysm. We had a high index of suspicion for CIE, excluded the most common differential such as stroke, and immediately started hemodialysis with a short course of corticosteroids. The disease runs a benign course, and neurological symptoms resolved completely after five days. We emphasize the need for increased awareness of CIE to make a valid diagnosis and to start supportive therapy as soon as possible.
Brunner’s Gland Hyperplasia in a Patient after Roux-Y Gastric Bypass: An Important Pitfall in GLP-1 Receptor Imaging
Authors: Hepprich Matthias , Antwi Kwadwo , Waser Beatrice , Reubi Jean Claude , Wild Damian , Christ Emanuel R.
Published: April 2020

Severe cases of postprandial hypoglycaemia after bariatric surgery can be a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. The diagnostic role of 68Ga-DOTA-Exendin-4 PET/CT in postbariatric hypoglycaemia for further treatment decisions is unclear. We present a case of a 50-year-old woman with frequent and severe postprandial hypoglycaemic (≤2.5 mmol/L) episodes starting three years after Roux-Y gastric bypass. Despite strict dietary adherence and several medical therapies, the patient remained severely affected, and 68Ga-DOTA-Exendin-4 PET/CT was performed to exclude atypical presentation of an insulinoma or nesidioblastosis. No pancreatic abnormalities were found, but intensive tracer accumulation in the first and second part of the duodenum was detected, which proved to be hyperplastic Brunner’s glands on histology and were strongly positive for the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor. This case provides histopathological verification that duodenal 68Ga-DOTA-Exendin-4 uptake is caused by uptake in Brunner’s glands and points to a potential relationship between bariatric surgery and Brunner’s glands.
Recognition of Point Sets Objects in Realistic Scenes
Authors: Gao Ruizhen , Li Xiaohui , Zhang Jingjun
Published: April 2020

With the emergence of new intelligent sensing technologies such as 3D scanners and stereo vision, high-quality point clouds have become very convenient and lower cost. The research of 3D object recognition based on point clouds has also received widespread attention. Point clouds are an important type of geometric data structure. Because of its irregular format, many researchers convert this data into regular three-dimensional voxel grids or image collections. However, this can lead to unnecessary bulk of data and cause problems. In this paper, we consider the problem of recognizing objects in realistic senses. We first use Euclidean distance clustering method to segment objects in realistic scenes. Then we use a deep learning network structure to directly extract features of the point cloud data to recognize the objects. Theoretically, this network structure shows strong performance. In experiment, there is an accuracy rate of 98.8% on the training set, and the accuracy rate in the experimental test set can reach 89.7%. The experimental results show that the network structure in this paper can accurately identify and classify point cloud objects in realistic scenes and maintain a certain accuracy when the number of point clouds is small, which is very robust.
β-Phenethyl Isothiocyanate Induces Cell Death in Human Osteosarcoma through Altering Iron Metabolism, Disturbing the Redox Balance, and Activating the MAPK Signaling Pathway
Authors: Lv Huanhuan , Zhen Chenxiao , Liu Junyu , Shang Peng
Published: April 2020

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignancy of the skeleton in children and adults. The outcomes of people with osteosarcomas are unsatisfied. β-Phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) exhibits chemoprevention and chemotherapeutic activities against many human cancers. The molecular mechanism underlying its action on osteosarcoma is still unknown. This study was aimed at investigating the effect of PEITC on human osteosarcoma both in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that PEITC reduced cell viability, inhibited proliferation, and caused G2/M cell cycle arrest in four human osteosarcoma cell lines (MNNG/HOS, U-2 OS, MG-63, and 143B). Then, we found that PEITC altered iron metabolism related to the processes of iron import, storage, and export, which resulted in increased labile iron. Expectedly, PEITC caused oxidative stress as a consequence of GSH depletion-inducing ROS generation and lipid peroxidation. Multiple cell death modalities, including ferroptosis, apoptosis, and autophagy, were triggered in human osteosarcoma cells. Three MAPKs (ERK, p38, and JNK) were all activated after PEITC treatment; however, they presented different responses among the four human osteosarcoma cell lines. ROS generation was proved to be the major cause of PEITC-induced decreased proliferative potential, altered iron metabolism, cell death, and activated MAPKs in human osteosarcoma cells. In addition, PEITC also significantly delayed tumor growth in a xenograft osteosarcoma mouse model with a 30 mg/kg administration dose. In conclusion, this study reveals that PEITC simultaneously triggers ferroptosis, apoptosis, and autophagy in human osteosarcoma cells by inducing oxidative stress.
Nutritional Status and Associated Factors among Adult Psychiatric Patients in Dessie Referral Hospital, Northeast Ethiopia
Authors: Assefa Tesfaye , Seid Omer , Tadese Fentaw , Gebremedhin Tsegaye
Published: April 2020

Background. Psychiatric illnesses involve alterations in the brain or nervous system function and result in altered perception, responses to the environment, and daily functioning, which ultimately diminish the capacity to cope with the regular demands of life, including nutritional intake. Little is known about nutritional status in psychiatric patients in our setup, particularly in northeast Ethiopia. Thus, this study is aimed at assessing the nutritional status and associated factors among adult psychiatric patients in Dessie referral hospital, northeast Ethiopia. Methods. A facility-based cross-sectional study was employed among 530 psychiatric patients using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire, and anthropometric measurements were taken from April 10 to June 20, 2018. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to identify the associated factors with the nutritional status of adult psychiatric patients. Results. The study revealed that the proportion of undernutrition and overnutrition was 20.0% (95% CI: 16.80-23.60) and 23.4% (95% CI: 19.80-27.00), respectively. Being male (AOR: 2.39, 95% CI: 1.28-4.47), private employed (AOR: 0.08, 95% CI: 0.02-0.31), and not consuming alcohol (AOR: 0.20, 95% CI: 0.56-0.74) were factors associated with undernutrition. Whereas not involved in physical activity (AOR: 2.98, 95% CI: 1.37-6.49), being newly diagnosed patient (AOR: 1.86, 95% CI: 1.01-3.42), and not chewing Khat (AOR: 3.92, 95% CI: 1.63-9.42) were factors associated with overnutrition of adult psychiatric patients. Conclusion. The proportion of both undernutrition and overnutrition was above the national average. Notably, nutrition significantly affects the production and use of neurotransmitters, and this may result in significant effects on physical, mental, or emotional processes. This undoubtedly affects the stabilization processes of neuropsychiatric patients. Therefore, healthcare managers, supervisors, and policymakers identify those vulnerable groups early and thereby design effective nutritional strategies to intervene in malnutrition among adult patients with a psychiatric disorder.
Cold Recycled Asphalt Mixture using 100% RAP with Emulsified Asphalt‐Recycling Agent as a New Pavement Base Course
Authors: Filho Wilson Unger , Gutiérrez Klinsky Luis Miguel , Motta Rosângela , Bariani Bernucci Liedi Légi
Published: April 2020

The rehabilitation process of asphalt pavements using the technique of milling and filling can cause several environmental problems due to either the disposal of the milled asphalt mix or the exploration of natural resources. One alternative to mitigate these impacts is to reuse this milled material, known as reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), in the construction of new pavement layers. Within the several available techniques to reuse the RAP, cold recycling using an emulsified asphalt‐recycling agent has shown great potential. The aim of this study is to evaluate the application of a cold recycled asphalt mix using 100% RAP with an emulsified asphalt‐recycling agent as a new pavement base course. A trial section was built employing this material as a pavement base course in a heavy traffic highway in Brazil, and its structural behavior was monitored for 12 months using a Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) to assess its performance over time. Furthermore, a laboratory‐testing program was performed to evaluate the recycled mixture stiffness and strength through resilient modulus and indirect tensile strength tests. These tests were used to investigate the influence of the storage interval (7, 14, and 28 days) considering the time between mixing and compaction of the mixture. The effect of the curing time after compaction (1, 3, 7, 26, and 56 days) was also assessed. It was verified in laboratory and in the trial section that the stiffness increases with curing time. Furthermore, the backcalculated elastic resilient moduli indicated values in the same order of magnitude to those obtained in the laboratory tests. In addition to the laboratory test findings, it was also observed that the longer the period of storage, the higher the values of stiffness and tensile strength for short periods of curing. This behavior was not verified when longer curing periods were used. In general, the use of cold recycled asphalt mixtures as base course of new pavements proved to be a promising alternative to reuse RAP.
A Toxicological Evaluation of Germanium Sesquioxide (Organic Germanium)
Authors: Reddeman Robin A. , Glávits Róbert , Endres John R. , Murbach Timothy S. , Hirka Gábor , Vértesi Adél , Béres Erzsébet , Szakonyiné Ilona Pasics
Published: April 2020

A battery of OECD- and GLP-compliant toxicological studies was performed to assess the safety of a highly purified germanium sesquioxide, an organic form of the naturally occurring, nonessential trace element germanium. Germanium dioxide and germanium lactate citrate (inorganic germaniums) have been shown to induce renal toxicity, whereas germanium sesquioxide (an organic germanium) has been shown to have a more favorable safety profile. However, past toxicity studies on germanium sesquioxide compounds have not clearly stated the purity of the tested compounds. In the studies reported herein, there was no evidence of mutagenicity in a bacterial reverse mutation test or an in vitro mammalian chromosomal aberration test. There was no genotoxic activity observed in an in vivo mammalian micronucleus test at concentrations up to the limit dose of 2000 mg/kg bw/day. In a 90-day repeated-dose oral toxicity study in Han:WIST rats conducted at doses of 0, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg bw/day by gavage, there were no mortalities, treatment-related adverse effects, or target organs identified. The no-observed-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL) was determined to be 2000 mg/kg bw/day.
Formulation and Physicochemical Evaluation of Lab-Based Aloe adigratana Reynolds Shampoos
Authors: Sbhatu Desta Berhe , Berhe Goitom Gebreyohannes , Hndeya Abadi Gebreyesus , Abraha Haftom Baraki , Abdu Asmael , Gebru Haftay Abadi , Taye Molla Gereme , Mulugeta Afework , Weldemichael Micheale Yifter , Tekle Hailekiros Tadesse , Kidanemariam Haileselassie Gebremeskel
Published: April 2020

Aloe L. species (Aloaceae) are ethnobotanically very valuable plants in many communities and civilizations. Nonetheless, very few species are extensively studied to explore their applications in the pharmaceutical and medical, cosmetic and personal care, food and beverage, and detergent industries. This study evaluated the characteristics and quality of lab-based shampoos formulated from the gel of Aloe adigratana Reynolds. Five shampoo formulations, 20 mL each, were prepared from A. adigratana gel in combination with one to two drops of coconut oil, jojoba oil, olive oil, pure glycerin oil, lemon juice, and vitamin E. Gel mass is prepared from mature, healthy leaves collected from the natural stand. The phytochemistry of the gel of the plant was also studied using phytochemical screening, proximate composition, and GC-MS analysis studies. Shampoo formulations with higher proportion (40 to 50% v/v) of A. adigratana gel were found to have comparable characteristics and qualities with a marketed shampoo. They fall within the range of acceptable quality parameters of commercial shampoos. The phytochemical studies of A. adigratana gel showed that the plant is the source of highly valued compounds for the preparation of shampoos. The gel was found to be rich in saponins as well as dodecanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid, and phytol. Future works should focus in the development of refined protocol towards formulating A. adigratana-based shampoos.
Numerical Method to Simulate Self-Propulsion of Aframax Tanker in Irregular Waves
Authors: Peng Gui-sheng , Gao Yang , Wen-hua Wang , Lin Lin , Huang Yi
Published: April 2020

With the implement of ship energy efficiency design index (EEDI), computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique has become an effective method to predict the ship performance and further guide the designers to optimize hull lines. However, due to the complexity of the propeller-hull interactions and the ship’s complex motions in waves, accurately predicting the speed-power performance of a self-propelled ship in actual seaway remains a challenge. In the present work, firstly, the resistance and self-propulsion experiments of Aframax model in waves are carried out at FORCE towing tank. Then, the CFD model and method are adopted to investigate the resistance and thrust under the conditions of regular and irregular waves in a three-dimensional numerical wave tank created by commercial software Star-CCM+. Therein, Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations and k-ε turbulent models were used for modeling the turbulent flow, and volume of fluid (VOF) method was applied to track the location and shape of transit-free surface. Based on the numerical method, the added resistance caused by regular waves was firstly investigated, and the self-propulsion of propeller in irregular waves was further performed. Furthermore, in order to simulate the rotation of the propeller, both the sliding mesh technique and overset mesh technique were discussed. Finally, compared with the experimental data, the numerical solutions have been validated, which shows potential to provide theoretical guidance and technical support for the self-propulsion performance of Aframax tanker in waves.
Massive Pulmonary Hemorrhage from Bronchial Varix
Authors: Agustin Michael , Shay Scott , Gonzalez Jose , Liu Pei , Lentz Nancy , Shapiro Anna , Dumrongmongcolgul Nat , Torres Michael , Jungtrakoolchai Vasin
Published: April 2020

Bronchial varix is a rare pulmonary disorder which may lead to life-threatening hemorrhage. Diagnosis is difficult because of the subtle abnormalities on radiographic and bronchoscopic examination. We present a case of massive hemoptysis from a bleeding bronchial varix. In the absence of immediate complex endobronchial therapy in the island of Guam, this case was initially managed with nebulized and intravenous tranexamic acid. This was followed by endobronchial blockade of the bleeding airway with endobronchial epinephrine instillation. Selective bronchial artery embolization alleviated the acute-phase bleeding. Prone positioning was initiated due to severe hypoxia after blood clots compromised the patency of bilateral bronchial airways. Prone ventilation was employed for 17 hours for 2 consecutive days with intermittent bronchoscopic forceps extraction of airway blood clots while in the prone position. These maneuvers resulted to improved lung ventilation and oxygenation. The patient underwent bronchial sleeve resection surgery for definitive management.
Mechanical and Electroconductivity Properties of Graphite Tailings Concrete
Authors: Liu Hongbo , Li Ben , Xue Jing , Hu Jiayu , Zhang Jing
Published: April 2020

This paper investigated the mechanical and electroconductivity properties of graphite tailings concrete, in which the graphite tailings are replaced as sand. The results showed that the concentration of graphite tailings has an important influence on the mechanical, electroconductivity, and material properties of concrete. Finally, a new model for calculating the relationship between compressive strength and electrical resistivity based on the grey correlation method was obtained for providing a theoretical basis for building green and intelligent building materials.
Mycobiome in the Gut: A Multiperspective Review
Authors: Chin Voon Kin , Yong Voon Chen , Chong Pei Pei , Amin Nordin Syafinaz , Basir Rusliza , Abdullah Maha
Published: April 2020

Human gut is home to a diverse and complex microbial ecosystem encompassing bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, and other microorganisms that have an undisputable role in maintaining good health for the host. Studies on the interplay between microbiota in the gut and various human diseases remain the key focus among many researchers. Nevertheless, advances in sequencing technologies and computational biology have helped us to identify a diversity of fungal community that reside in the gut known as the mycobiome. Although studies on gut mycobiome are still in its infancy, numerous sources have reported its potential role in host homeostasis and disease development. Nonetheless, the actual mechanism of its involvement remains largely unknown and underexplored. Thus, in this review, we attempt to discuss the recent advances in gut mycobiome research from multiple perspectives. This includes understanding the composition of fungal communities in the gut and the involvement of gut mycobiome in host immunity and gut-brain axis. Further, we also discuss on multibiome interactions in the gut with emphasis on fungi-bacteria interaction and the influence of diet in shaping gut mycobiome composition. This review also highlights the relation between fungal metabolites and gut mycobiota in human homeostasis and the role of gut mycobiome in various human diseases. This multiperspective review on gut mycobiome could perhaps shed new light for future studies in the mycobiome research area.
Stress‐Induced Cyclin C Translocation Regulates Cardiac Mitochondrial Dynamics
Authors: Ponce Jessica M. , Coen Grace , Spitler Kathryn M. , Dragisic Nikola , Martins Ines , Hinton Antentor , Mungai Margaret , Tadinada Satya Murthy , Zhang Hao , Oudit Gavin Y. , Song Long‐Sheng , Li Na , Sicinski Peter , Strack Stefan , Abel E. Dale , Mitchell Colleen , Hall Duane D. , Grueter Chad E.
Published: April 2020

Background

Nuclear‐to‐mitochondrial communication regulating gene expression and mitochondrial function is a critical process following cardiac ischemic injury. In this study, we determined that cyclin C, a component of the Mediator complex, regulates cardiac and mitochondrial function in part by modifying mitochondrial fission. We tested the hypothesis that cyclin C functions as a transcriptional cofactor in the nucleus and a signaling molecule stimulating mitochondrial fission in response to stimuli such as cardiac ischemia.

Methods and Results

We utilized gain‐ and loss‐of‐function mouse models in which the
CCNC
(cyclin C) gene was constitutively expressed (transgenic, CycC cTg) or deleted (knockout, CycC cKO) in cardiomyocytes. The knockout and transgenic mice exhibited decreased cardiac function and altered mitochondria morphology. The hearts of knockout mice had enlarged mitochondria with increased length and area, whereas mitochondria from the hearts of transgenic mice were significantly smaller, demonstrating a role for cyclin C in regulating mitochondrial dynamics in vivo. Hearts from knockout mice displayed altered gene transcription and metabolic function, suggesting that cyclin C is essential for maintaining normal cardiac function. In vitro and in vivo studies revealed that cyclin C translocates to the cytoplasm, enhancing mitochondria fission following stress. We demonstrated that cyclin C interacts with Cdk1 (cyclin‐dependent kinase 1) in vivo following ischemia/reperfusion injury and that, consequently, pretreatment with a Cdk1 inhibitor results in reduced mitochondrial fission. This finding suggests a potential therapeutic target to regulate mitochondrial dynamics in response to stress.

Conclusions

Our study revealed that cyclin C acts as a nuclear‐to‐mitochondrial signaling factor that regulates both cardiac hypertrophic gene expression and mitochondrial fission. This finding provides new insights into the regulation of cardiac energy metabolism following acute ischemic injury.
Exploring Associations Between Cardiac Structure and Retinal Vascular Geometry
Authors: Huang Lihua , Aris Izzuddin M. , Teo Louis L. Y. , Wong Tien Yin , Chen Wei‐Qing , Koh Angela S. , Li Ling‐Jun
Published: April 2020

Background

Retinal arteriolar narrowing and venular widening has been widely suggested to be associated with subclinical changes in cardiac structure. The novel retinal vascular geometric indices might reflect more comprehensive information on microvasculature other than vascular caliber alone. However, the association between suboptimal retinal vascular geometry and cardiac structural alteration has not been studied.

Methods and Results

We recruited 50 participants without cardiovascular disease from the Cardiac Aging Study conducted between 2014 and 2016. We performed transthoracic echocardiography imaging to measure cardiac structure indices such as left ventricular internal diameter end diastole index, left ventricular internal diameter end systole index, left ventricular mass index, and left atrial volume index, and retinal imaging to measure retinal vascular geometric indices including branching angle, curvature tortuosity, and fractal dimension. We applied multiple linear regressions to examine associations between indices of cardiac structure and retinal vascular geometry, adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, mean blood pressure, and comorbidity. The average age of all participants was 62.54 years old and slightly more than half were male (27; 54%). Each unit increase in a set of cardiac structure indices was associated with larger retinal arteriolar branching angle (β and 95%
CI
: for left ventricular internal diameter end systole index, 26.93°; 6.00–47.86; for left ventricular internal diameter end diastole index, 17.86°; 1.61–34.11; for left ventricular mass index, 0.39°; 0.10–0.67; for left atrial volume index, 0.91°; 0.24–1.58).

Conclusions

Adverse retinal arteriolar geometric morphology mirrored suboptimal cardiac structural alteration.
Impact of the Commercial Introduction of Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair on Mitral Surgical Practice
Authors: Niikura Hiroki , Gössl Mario , Bae Richard , Sun Benjamin , Askew Judah , Harris Kevin , Mudy Karol , Strauss Craig , Stanberry Larissa , Sweeney Andrea , Sorajja Paul
Published: April 2020

Background

There has been uncertainty regarding the effect of transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVr) with MitraClip on cardiac surgical practice. Our aim was to examine the impact of the commercial introduction of TMVr to a comprehensive mitral program.

Methods and Results

We evaluated 875 patients (aged 69±14 years; 58% men) who underwent transcatheter or mitral surgical procedures over a 6‐year period at our institution. Main outcomes were changes in surgical procedural volume after TMVr introduction and short‐term mortality for surgical and TMVr procedures. The numbers of patients treated with MitraClip, isolated mitral repair, and any mitral surgery were 249, 292, and 626 patients, respectively. Compared with surgery, patients with MitraClip were older (aged 82±8 versus 64±12 years;
P
<0.001) and had more severe morbidity. Following the introduction of MitraClip, surgical volumes steadily increased to a rate of 10 (95% CI, 3–7) procedures per year for isolated mitral procedures and 17 (95% CI, 13–20) procedures per year for all mitral surgeries. Both MitraClip and surgical volumes increased at the same rate (
P
=0.42). In‐hospital mortality was 3.2% for MitraClip and 2.1% for all mitral surgeries (
P
=0.33). At 30 days, survival free of all mortality (
P
=0.17) and freedom from heart failure rehospitalization (
P
=0.75) were similar for transcatheter and surgical procedures.

Conclusions

The commercial introduction of TMVr may be associated with growth in cardiac surgery, without detracting from other therapies, and favorable clinical outcomes for all treated mitral regurgitation patients. These findings demonstrate the potential benefits of complementary therapies in the treatment of patients with mitral regurgitation.
Metformin Improves Cardiac Metabolism and Function, and Prevents Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats
Authors: Li Jie , Minćzuk Krzysztof , Massey James C. , Howell Nancy L. , Roy R. Jack , Paul Soumen , Patrie James T. , Kramer Christopher M. , Epstein Frederick H. , Carey Robert M. , Taegtmeyer Heinrich , Keller Susanna R. , Kundu Bijoy K.
Published: April 2020

Background

In spontaneously hypertensive rats (
SHR
) we observed profound myocardial metabolic changes during early hypertension before development of cardiac dysfunction and left ventricular hypertrophy. In this study, we evaluated whether metformin improved myocardial metabolic abnormalities and simultaneously prevented contractile dysfunction and left ventricular hypertrophy in
SHR
.

Methods and Results

SHR
and control Wistar–Kyoto rats were treated with metformin from 2 to 5 months of age, when
SHR
hearts exhibit metabolic abnormalities and develop cardiac dysfunction and left ventricular hypertrophy. We evaluated the effect of metformin on myocardial glucose uptake rates with dynamic 2‐[
18
F] fluoro‐2‐deoxy‐D‐glucose positron emission tomography. We used cardiac
MRI
in vivo to assess the effect of metformin on ejection fraction, left ventricular mass, and end‐diastolic wall thickness, and also analyzed metabolites,
AMP
‐activated protein kinase and mammalian target‐of‐rapamycin activities, and mean arterial blood pressure. Metformin‐treated
SHR
had lower mean arterial blood pressure but remained hypertensive. Cardiac glucose uptake rates, left ventricular mass/tibia length, wall thickness, and circulating free fatty acid levels decreased to normal, and ejection fraction improved in treated
SHR
. Hearts of treated
SHR
exhibited increased
AMP
‐activated protein kinase phosphorylation and reduced mammalian target‐of‐rapamycin activity. Cardiac metabolite profiling demonstrated that metformin decreased fatty acyl carnitines and markers of oxidative stress in
SHR
.

Conclusions

Metformin reduced blood pressure, normalized myocardial glucose uptake, prevented left ventricular hypertrophy, and improved cardiac function in
SHR
. Metformin may exert its effects by normalizing myocardial
AMPK
and mammalian target‐of‐rapamycin activities, improving fatty acid oxidation, and reducing oxidative stress. Thus, metformin may be a new treatment to prevent or ameliorate chronic hypertension–induced left ventricular hypertrophy.
“All Necessary and Reasonable Measures” – The Bemba Case and the Threshold for Command Responsibility
Authors: Bradley Martha M. , de Beer Aniel
Published: April 2020

On 21 March 2016 Trial Chamber iii of the International Criminal Court unanimously convicted the former Vice-President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, on the basis of the doctrine of command responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by troops under his command in the Central African Republic from 2002 to 2003. On 8 June 2018 however, the Appeals Chamber reversed the judgment and acquitted Bemba of all charges. The Appeals Chamber held that the Trial Chamber erred in finding that Bemba failed to take all necessary and reasonable measures to prevent and repress crimes committed by his subordinates as contemplated in Article 28(a)(ii) of the Rome Statute. This article evaluates the meaning of “all necessary and reasonable measures” in the context of command responsibility and considers whether Bemba met this threshold in order to avoid incurring criminal responsibility under Article 28(a)(ii).
Rehabilitating Enemies of Mankind: An Exploration of the Concept of Rehabilitation as a Sentencing Aim at the icty and the icc
Authors: Riegler Edith
Published: April 2020

This article explores the concept of rehabilitation as a sentencing aim at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (icty) and the International Criminal Court (icc). All sentencing decisions and early release decisions, as well as the positive law of the icty and the icc were examined alongside relevant scholarly literature to explore the institutions’ conceptualisation of rehabilitation. The comparative qualitative analysis showed that there is considerable incoherence in the conceptualisation of rehabilitation, both within the icty, as well as between the icty and the icc. At the icty, rehabilitation holds a negligible role within the judgments, yet, paradoxically, evidence of successful rehabilitation is a requirement for early release. The comparison between the sentencing decisions and early release decisions of the icty with those of the icc demonstrated that the focus has shifted from rehabilitating individual perpetrators to reconciling communities.
The Missing Link
Authors: Collinge Daniel
Published: April 2020

As the mandate of peace support operations has evolved since the mid-1990s to embrace a protection of civilians mandate, the necessary linkages have not been made with international human rights law and associated jurisprudence in relation to the right to life. Consequently, the extent and scope of the UN’s human rights obligations and the range of duty bearers involved is not properly appreciated and integrated into relevant instruments and administrative frameworks, which has a detrimental impact on the right to life. Given the absence of an oversight human rights mechanism for the UN, this article argues that jurisprudence from regional and international human rights bodies should be applied mutatis mutandis to peace support operations to bring more pressure and accountability to UN staff regarding adherence to international human rights standards. This includes not only front-line personnel using force, but also personnel responsible for: planning and controlling operations; operating command and coordination structures; providing training, information and equipment; establishing legal and administrative frameworks; and formulating operational guidelines and strategies.
Peace Operations from the Perspective of Strategy and Doctrine
Authors: Liégeois Michel , Caliskan Murat
Published: April 2020

Recent peace operations
1
demonstrated that traditional principles of peacekeeping require a significant interpretation to serve the needs of UN peacekeeping. There is a clear mismatch between doctrine and current practices. Furthermore, as many analysts point out, one underlying problem in peace operations lies in the lack of an overall strategy because any action in operations is as worthy as it supports the overall strategic objective. The authors argue that the current UN system is not capable to produce and maintain strategies, hence, strategic theory and doctrine can be useful in closing the gap between what is being asked and what UN peace operations can deliver. In this context, this paper examines the UN structure and peace operations from the perspective of strategy and doctrine. It provides proposals for each level of UN structure through the lens of strategic theory and discusses six main conceptual themes that need to be clarified in a new doctrine.
Religious Pluralism and Its Impacts on the Configuration of Secularism in Brazil
Authors: Montero Paula
Published: April 2020

Using Davis Buckley’s (2013) notion of “Benevolent Secularism” this article examines how the evangelical movement in Brazil, in particular, the neopentecostal movement, challenges the historical stability of relations between state and religion. Until very recently this relationship was based on cooperation between the Catholic Church and the State in the one hand and an inter-religious coalition led by Catholicism in the other. In this text, I will first discuss the concept of “benevolent secularism” and its theoretical-methodological implications. Then, I will present empiric examples to describe how Christian religions relate to politics in Brazil. Those examples will test the applicability of Buckley’s concept to represent Brazilian secularism. And, they will also demonstrate the heuristic virtues of this concept for the understanding of the impact of the evangelical modus operandi in the configuration of the secular in Brazilian society.