bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Performance of M‐EGC receiver over TWDP fading channels
Authors: Das Pampee , Subadar Rupaban
Published: May 2017

This study gives a general bit‐error rate expression, using Gil‐Palaez lemma‐based approach, of a M branch equal gain combining (EGC) receiver over two‐wave diffused power (TWDP) fading channels. The expressions obtained are evaluated numerically and the results are verified using Monte Carlo simulation. Also the impact of the fading parameters δ and K on the performance of M branch‐EGC has been analysed.
Saliency detection using suitable variant of local and global consistency
Authors: Chen Jiazhong , Chen Jie , Cao Hua , Li Rong , Xia Tao , Ling Hefei , Chen Yang
Published: May 2017

In existing local and global consistency (LGC) framework, the cost functions related to classifying functions adopt the sum of each row of weight matrix as an important factor. Some of these classifying functions are successfully applied to saliency detection. From the point of saliency detection, this factor is inversely proportional to the colour contrast between image regions and their surroundings. However, an image region that holds a big colour contrast against it surroundings does not denote it must be a salient region. Therefore a suitable variant of LGC is introduced by removing this factor in cost function, and a suitable classifying function (SCF) is decided. Then a saliency detection method that utilises the SCF, content‐based initial label assignment scheme, and appearance‐based label assignment scheme is presented. Via updating the content‐based initial labels and appearance‐based labels by the SCF, a coarse saliency map and several intermediate saliency maps are obtained. Furthermore, to enhance the detection accuracy, a novel optimisation function is presented to fuse the intermediate saliency maps that have a high detection performance for final saliency generation. Numerous experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves competitive performance against some recent state‐of‐the‐art algorithms for saliency detection.
Current limiting soft starter for three phase induction motor drive system using PWM AC chopper
Authors: Deraz Said A. , Azazi Haitham Z.
Published: May 2017

This study presents a new current‐limiting soft‐starter for a three‐phase induction motor drive system using pulse width modulation (PWM) AC chopper. A novel configuration of three‐phase PWM AC chopper using only four insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) is also proposed. The proposed control strategy does not require zero crossing detection circuits, which employed in thyristorised soft starters. It requires only one current sensor. The duty ratio of the chopper IGBTs is obtained from the closed‐loop current control in order to limit the motor starting current at a preset value. Only two complementary gate pulses are obtained from the control circuit to control the four IGBT switches. The proposed control strategy is characterised by a simple control loop; thus, a low‐cost processor can be used due to the low‐computation burden. The superiority of the proposed strategy is proved theoretically and confirmed experimentally. The experimental work is developed using a laboratory prototype system composed of DSP‐DS1104 digital control board and 1.5 HP induction motor. The proposed starter offers a smooth start‐up for the motor speed, torque ripple minimisation, less number of semiconductor switches, less switching and conduction losses, less harmonics and improved input power factor.
Wearable line‐of‐sight detection system for inverting glasses
Authors: Ogasawara Tomohito , Horiuchi Ryogo , Tanaka Yasuto , Miki Norihisa
Published: May 2017

Inverting glasses invert the wearer's visual field in the vertical or horizontal direction using total internal reflection by triangular prisms. Inverting glasses are powerful tools for investigating neural adaptation and are widely used in the fields of psychology and brain science. However, conventional inverting glasses are not equipped with a detection system for eye movement or the line‐of‐sight of the wearer during experiments. Inverting glasses were developed that can be mounted with a see‐through eye detection system, which consists of micropatterned dye‐sensitised photovoltaic cells that determine the position of the pupil by detecting light reflected from the black and white parts of the eye. The detector does not require an external camera and is thus lightweight and has low‐power consumption, which is advantageous for mounting on the inverting glasses. Using the developed inverting glasses, which swap the left and right visual fields, they conducted tracking and pointing tasks while measuring eye movement. Gaze learning curves were obtained from the experiments for the first time, which they believe will provide new and useful information to the study of neural adaptation.
Complex Skull Base Reconstructions in Kadish D Esthesioneuroblastoma: Case Report
Authors: Palejwala Sheri , Sharma Saurabh , Le Christopher , Chang Eugene , Erman Audrey , Lemole G.
Published: May 2017

Introduction Advanced Kadish stage esthesioneuroblastoma requires more extensive resections and aggressive adjuvant therapy to obtain adequate disease-free control, which can lead to higher complication rates. We describe the case of a patient with Kadish D esthesioneuroblastoma who underwent multiple surgeries for infectious, neurologic, and wound complications, highlighting potential preventative and salvage techniques.

Case Presentation A 61-year-old man who presented with a large left-sided esthesioneuroblastoma, extending into the orbit, frontal lobe, and parapharyngeal nodes. He underwent margin-free endoscopic-assisted craniofacial resection with adjuvant craniofacial and cervical radiotherapy and concomitant chemotherapy. He then returned with breakdown of his skull base reconstruction and subsequent frontal infections and ultimately received 10 surgical procedures with surgeries for infection-related issues including craniectomy and abscess evacuation. He also had surgeries for skull base reconstruction and CSF leak, repaired with vascularized and free autologous grafts and flaps, synthetic tissues, and CSF diversion.

Discussion Extensive, high Kadish stage tumors necessitate radical surgical resection, radiation, and chemotherapy, which can lead to complications. Ultimately, there are several options available to surgeons, and although precautions should be taken whenever possible, risk of wound breakdown, leak, or infection should not preclude radical surgical resection and aggressive adjuvant therapies in the treatment of esthesioneuroblastoma.
Relook endoscopy predicts the development of esophageal and antropyloric stenosis better than immediate endoscopy in patients with caustic ingestion
Authors: Kochhar Rakesh , Ashat Munish , Reddy Yalaka , Dhaka Narender , Manrai Manish , Sinha Saroj , Dutta Usha , Yadav Thakur , Gupta Vikas
Published: May 2017

Background and aims Early ( < 24 hours) esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is used to prognosticate mucosal injury after caustic ingestion. We aimed to compare differences in endoscopic grading on EGDs performed on day 5 and day 1 and to assess the impact of relook endoscopy findings on the development of esophageal and/or antropyloric cicatrization.

Patients and methods Consecutive patients admitted within 24 hours of caustic ingestion between 2009 and 2014 underwent EGD and had their mucosal changes graded. Injuries of grade ≤ 2a were classified as mild and ≥ 2b were classified as severe. Patients were followed up for the development of cicatrization and managed per protocol. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and likelihood ratios (LRs) were calculated to compare day 1 and day 5 EGD findings.

Results A total of 62 patients (35 men; mean age 33 ± 15) underwent both day 1 and day 5 EGDs. Antropyloric stenosis developed in 16 patients, esophageal strictures in nine, and four had both esophageal and antropyloric strictures. Compared with day 1 EGD, endoscopic grading of severe injury on day 5 had higher specificity (83 % vs. 65 %), higher PPV (60 % vs. 41 %), and higher positive LR (5.65 vs. 2.66) for predicting the development of esophageal stricture. Similarly, day 5 endoscopic grading had higher specificity (95 % vs. 61 %), higher PPV (88 % vs. 54 %), and higher positive LR (16 vs. 2.5) for predicting the development of antropyloric stenosis.

Conclusion Endoscopic assessment on day 5 is a better predictor of esophageal and gastric cicatrization than day 1 EGD, which significantly overestimates the grade of injury.
T372R Mutation Status in Yin Yang 1 Gene in Insulinoma Patients
Authors: Irshad Khushboo , Jyotsna Viveka , Agarwal Shipra , Chosdol Kunzang , Pal Sujoy , Deepak Rakesh
Published: May 2017

Insulinomas are rare pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. The genetic causes underlying insulinoma are still being investigated. Recently, 3 independent studies reported a recurrent somatic mutation in YY1 gene (C>G; Thr372Arg) among insulinoma patients belonging to Chinese and Western Caucasian populations, which was found to increase insulin secretion by β-cells. However, the status of this key gene variation remains unknown in patients of other ethnicities. We, therefore, screened Indian sporadic insulinoma patients for YY1 T372R mutation in the present study. Seventeen patients diagnosed with insulinoma were recruited retrospectively and their records of family history and clinical parameters were collected. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissues were used to extract genomic DNA, which was subjected to PCR amplification of YY1 exon 5, followed by Sanger sequencing. Nucleotide sequences thus obtained were aligned against the documented sequence of YY1 exon 5. We found absence of C to G mutation at YY1 codon 372 in all 17 (100%) insulinoma tissues analyzed. On comparison with the mutation frequency observed in the Chinese patients, our results point to genetic heterogeneity in the pathogenesis of insulinoma. This is the first report on the status of YY1 T372R in insulinoma cases of Indian origin. This also warrants analysis of other documented as well as novel mutations in genes in insulinoma tumorigenesis.
Interactions of a co-rotating vortex pair at multiple offsets
Authors: Forster Kyle J. , Barber Tracie J. , Diasinos Sammy , Doig Graham
Published: May 2017

Two NACA0012 vanes at various lateral offsets were investigated by wind tunnel testing to observe the interactions between the streamwise vortices. The vanes were separated by nine chord lengths in the streamwise direction to allow the upstream vortex to impact on the downstream geometry. These vanes were evaluated at an angle of incidence of 8° and a Reynolds number of 7×104 using particle image velocimetry. A helical motion of the vortices was observed, with rotational rate increasing as the offset was reduced to the point of vortex merging. Downstream meandering of the weaker vortex was found to increase in magnitude near the point of vortex merging. The merging process occurred more rapidly when the upstream vortex was passed on the pressure side of the vane, with the downstream vortex being produced with less circulation and consequently merging into the upstream vortex. The merging distance was found to be statistical rather than deterministic quantity, indicating that the meandering of the vortices affected their separations and energies. This resulted in a fluctuation of the merging location. A loss of circulation associated with the merging process was identified, with the process of achieving vortex circularity causing vorticity diffusion, however all merged cases maintained higher circulation than a single vortex condition. The presence of the upstream vortex was found to reduce the strength of the downstream vortex in all offsets evaluated.
A study of diffusion, atom migration and segregation in Cu and Ag alloy bulk- and nanocrystals
Authors: van der Walt C. , Terblans J. J. , Swart H. C.
Published: May 2017

Using the Sutton-Chen potential, Molecular Dynamics simulations were done of Ag and Cu bulk and nanocrystals and the vacancy formation energy, migration energy, and diffusion activation energy were calculated. Values for Cu compared very well with literature, and Ag less so. The migration energy along a diffusion path was studied for different low index surface orientations. Using the mixed form of the potential for bimetallic interactions with a slight adjustment, the interactions between Ag and Cu were also simulated. Migration energy depth profiles along with segregation energies at different depths were studied. Surface segregation of Ag in Cu was successfully simulated and the calculated segregation values of a Ag atom in Cu compared well to literature values.
A quantum simulation approach for a three-dimensional Ising spin model—Comparison to mean field theory
Authors: Liu Zhaosen , Ciftja Orion
Published: May 2017

We use a recently developed quantum simulation approach to study the properties of a three-dimensional Ising model consisting of S = 1/2 quantum spins localized at the sites of a simple cubic lattice. We assume nearest-neighbor interaction between spins with an exchange interaction that can be either ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic. It is found that the computational method quickly converges towards the expected equilibrium spin configurations. The resulting spontaneous magnetization curves corresponding to the two types of magnetic interactions under consideration were found to be almost identical to the ones obtained via quantum mean field theory at all temperatures. The derived total energies, total free energies, magnetic entropies and specific heats per mole of spins show no sizeable differences from known theoretical values. Furthermore, the results of the simulations for two different 3D Ising systems containing 4×4×4 and 20×20×20 spins localized at the sites of a simple cubic lattice were found to be almost identical to each other. This finding suggests that the self-consistent algorithm approach of the current simulation method allows one to obtain the physical bulk properties of a large magnetic system by relying on simulations of a much smaller spin system sample. Therefore, the method presently considered appears to be not only very accurate as gauged by comparison to mean field theory, but also able to greatly increase the speed of simulations.
Cautions to predicate multiferroic by atomic force microscopy
Authors: Liu Chen , Ma Jing , Ma Ji , Zhang Yujun , Chen Jiahui , Nan Ce-Wen
Published: May 2017

With the ever-increasing research activities in multiferroic driven by its profound physics and enormous potential for application, magnetic force microscopy (MFM), as a variety of atomic force microscope (AFM), has been brought to investigate the magnetic properties and the voltage controlled magnetism, especially in thin films and heterostructures. Here by taking a representative multiferroic system BiFeO3/La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 heterostructure and a ferroelectric PMN-PT single crystal for examples, we demonstrated that the MFM image is prone to be seriously interfered by the electrostatic interaction between the tip and sample surface, and misleads the predication of multiferroic. Assisted by the scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM), the origin and mechanism were discussed and an effective solution was proposed.
CAEPs in non-habilitated congenitally deaf adults
Authors: Abraham Aju , Palaniswamy Hari Prakash , Yerraguntla Krishna , Rajashekhar Bellur
Published: May 2017

Objective:

Most evidences from animal models and human subjects with auditory deprivation report that the children rehabilitated later than 5–6 years of age show abnormal CAEPs (absence of N1) even after a long period of cochlear implant usage and attributed to cortical decoupling. The current study aims to explore the auditory cortical activation in congenitally deaf adults who never received any rehabilitation.

Design:

Aided CAEPs were elicited using 1000 Hz pure tone at 30 dB SL from 11 congenitally deaf adults and age/gender matched controls aged between 17 and 45 years. The latencies and amplitudes of the P1–N1–P2 obligatory responses were measured and compared using topographic ANOVA (TANOVA).

Results:

The morphology of CAEP responses from the deaf group was similar to that of the normal hearing group except the presence of a broader P2. The amplitude measures between the groups did not reveal statistical significance; however, P2 latency revealed a significant difference between the groups. TANOVA revealed that the topographic maps between the groups did not significantly differ.

Conclusions:

The matured cortical response for acoustic stimulus, especially the presence of N1, clearly signifies the activation of auditory cortex. The presence of matured CAEPs might be due to the abnormal synaptogenesis of auditory neurons transforming into multisensory neurons and continues the normal course of maturation. These matured CAEP responses will be an indication of closure of critical period and limited benefit with rehabilitation.
Foldit Standalone: a video game-derived protein structure manipulation interface using Rosetta
Authors: Kleffner Robert , Flatten Jeff , Leaver-Fay Andrew , Baker David , Siegel Justin B , Khatib Firas , Cooper Seth
Published: May 2017

Foldit Standalone is an interactive graphical interface to the Rosetta molecular modeling package. In contrast to most command-line or batch interactions with Rosetta, Foldit Standalone is designed to allow easy, real-time, direct manipulation of protein structures, while also giving access to the extensive power of Rosetta computations. Derived from the user interface of the scientific discovery game Foldit (itself based on Rosetta), Foldit Standalone has added more advanced features and removed the competitive game elements. Foldit Standalone was built from the ground up with a custom rendering and event engine, configurable visualizations and interactions driven by Rosetta. Foldit Standalone contains, among other features: electron density and contact map visualizations, multiple sequence alignment tools for template-based modeling, rigid body transformation controls, RosettaScripts support and an embedded Lua interpreter.

Availability and Implementation

Foldit Standalone is available for download at https://fold.it/standalone, under the Rosetta license, which is free for academic and non-profit users. It is implemented in cross-platform C ++ and binary executables are available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Quantized minimax estimation over Sobolev ellipsoids
Authors: Zhu Yuancheng , Lafferty John
Published: May 2017

We formulate the notion of minimax estimation under storage or communication constraints, and prove an extension to Pinsker's theorem for non-parametric estimation over Sobolev ellipsoids. Placing limits on the number of bits used to encode any estimator, we give tight lower and upper bounds on the excess risk due to quantization in terms of the number of bits, the signal size and the noise level. This establishes the Pareto optimal tradeoff between storage and risk under quantization constraints for Sobolev spaces. Our results and proof techniques combine elements of rate distortion theory and minimax analysis. The proposed quantized estimation scheme, which shows achievability of the lower bounds, is adaptive in the usual statistical sense, achieving the optimal quantized minimax rate without knowledge of the smoothness parameter of the Sobolev space. It is also adaptive in a computational sense, as it constructs the code only after observing the data, to dynamically allocate more codewords to blocks where the estimated signal size is large. Simulations are included that illustrate the effect of quantization on statistical risk.
Integrated Tuberculosis/Human Immunodeficiency Virus Community-Based Case Finding in Rural South Africa: Implications for Tuberculosis Control Efforts
Authors: Shenoi Sheela V , Moll Anthony P. , Brooks Ralph P. , Kyriakides Tassos , Andrews Laurie , Kompala Teja , Upadhya Devesh , Altice Frederick L. , Eksteen Francois J. , Friedland Gerald
Published: May 2017

Background

Intensive case finding is endorsed for tuberculosis (TB) control in high-risk populations. Novel case-finding strategies are needed in hard-to-reach rural populations with high prevalence of TB and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Methods

We performed community-based integrated HIV and TB intensive case finding in a rural South African subdistrict from March 2010 to June 2012. We offered TB symptom screening, sputum collection for microbiologic diagnosis, rapid fingerstick HIV testing, and phlebotomy for CD4 cell count. We recorded number of cases detected and calculated population-level rates and number needed to screen (NNS) for drug-susceptible and -resistant TB.

Results

Among 5615 persons screened for TB at 322 community sites, 91.2% accepted concurrent HIV testing, identifying 510 (9.9%) HIV-positive individuals with median CD4 count of 382 cells/mm3 (interquartile range = 260–552). Tuberculosis symptoms were reported by 2049 (36.4%), and sputum was provided by 1033 (18.4%). Forty-one (4.0%) cases of microbiologically confirmed TB were detected for an overall case notification rate of 730/100000 (NNS = 137); 11 (28.6%) were multidrug-resistant or extensively drug-resistant TB. Only 5 (12.2%) TB cases were HIV positive compared with an HIV coinfection rate of 64% among contemporaneously registered TB cases (P = .001).

Conclusion

Community-based integrated intensive case finding is feasible and is high yield for drug-susceptible and -resistant TB and HIV in rural South Africa. Human immunodeficiency virus–negative tuberculosis predominated in this community sample, suggesting a distinct TB epidemiology compared with cases diagnosed in healthcare facilities. Increasing HIV/TB integrated community-based efforts and other strategies directed at both HIV-positive and HIV-negative tuberculosis may contribute to TB elimination in high TB/HIV burden regions.
Technology-Based Interventions for Substance Use and Comorbid Disorders: An Examination of the Emerging Literature
Authors: Sugarman Dawn E. , Campbell Aimee N.C. , Iles Brittany R. , Greenfield Shelly F.
Published: May 2017

Among individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs), comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders is common and often noted as the rule rather than the exception. Standard care that provides integrated treatment for comorbid diagnoses simultaneously has been shown to be effective. Technology-based interventions (TBIs) have the potential to provide a cost-effective platform for, and greater accessibility to, integrated treatments. For the purposes of this review, we defined TBIs as interventions in which the primary targeted aim was delivered by automated computer, Internet, or mobile system with minimal to no live therapist involvement. A search of the literature identified nine distinct TBIs for SUDs and comorbid disorders. An examination of this limited research showed promise, particularly for TBIs that address problematic alcohol use, depression, or anxiety. Additional randomized, controlled trials of TBIs for comorbid SUDs and for anxiety and depression are needed, as is future research developing TBIs that address SUDs and comorbid eating disorders and psychotic disorders. Ways of leveraging the full capabilities of what technology can offer should also be further explored.
Immunohistochemical Profiling of Corneas With Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy
Authors: De Roo An-Katrien , Janssens Thomas , Foets Beatrijs , van den Oord Joost J.
Published: May 2017

Purpose:

Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) is the leading indication for endothelial keratoplasty. Further insight into its pathophysiology is needed to develop alternative therapies.

Methods:

Sixteen genes from a previous microarray expression experiment (FECD vs. normal) were validated using immunohistochemistry on paraffin-embedded corneas (n = 6 FECD, n = 6 normal). The results were quantified manually and semiautomatically.

Results:

A higher percentage of corneal endothelial cells stained for alpha–smooth muscle actin (αSMA), cytokeratin 7, and superoxide dismutase 3 in FECD versus normal [odds ratios (ORs) of 60.90, 41.70, and 15.16, respectively, P < 0.001]. Dot-like staining for major histocompatibility complex, class II, DR alpha was present in FECD, but not in normal. Higher percentages of stromal cells in FECD versus normal stained for αSMA (OR = 864.26, P < 0.001), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF, OR = 6.34, P = 0.005), fibroblast growth factor 7 (FGF-7, OR = 2.76, P = 0.011), FGF-9 (OR = 5.97, P < 0.001), receptor FGFR-3 (OR = 13.90, P = < 0.001), and serum amyloid A1 (OR = 3.45, P = 0.023). Higher percentages of corneal epithelial cells stained for αSMA (OR = 2.20, P = 0.006) and BDNF (OR = 3.94, P < 0.001) in FECD versus normal.

Conclusions:

These results support a role for epithelial–mesenchymal transition (αSMA), oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase 3), and major histocompatibility complex, class II, DR alpha+ cells with dendritic morphology in the pathophysiology of FECD. Furthermore, corneal stromal cells express trophic molecules (BDNF and FGFs) and markers of chronic inflammation (serum amyloid A1) in FECD.
Serious Bacterial Infections in Hospitalized Febrile Infants in the First and Second Months of Life
Authors: Carmon Lior , Goldbart Aviv , Greenberg David , Ben-Shimol Shalom
Published: May 2017

Objective:

Most protocols evaluating serious bacterial infection (SBI) risk in febrile infants classify neonates <30 days of age as high risk (HR), while other protocols do not distinguish between infants <30 and 30–60 days of age. We compared SBI rates in febrile infants at the first and the second months of life.

Methods:

This was a retrospective, population-based, cohort study. All febrile infants ≤60 days of age hospitalized in southern Israel, January 2013 through May 2014, were included. SBI risk assessment included medical history, physical examination, blood count and dipstick urine analysis.

Results:

Overall, 623 infants were identified; 142 HR infants <30 days of age, 95 low-risk (LR) infants <30 days of age, 232 HR infants 30–60 days of age and 154 LR infants 30–60 days of age. Urinary tract infection comprised 84.7% (133/157) of all SBIs. Among HR infants, higher SBI rates were observed in <30 versus 30–60 days (45.0% vs. 29.3%; P = 0.003), while respective rates were similar among LR infants (8.4% vs. 11.0%; P = 0.66). SBI rates in HR infants 0–14 versus 15–60 days of age were 45.3% versus 33.6% (P = 0.12), and 19.2% versus 8.9% (P = 0.15) in LR infants. Among HR infants, SBI rates were 52.8% and 39.5% in infants <30 days of age with temperature ≥39°C and <39°C, respectively, while in infants ≥30 days of age, respective rates were 31.2% and 26.7% (P = 0.005, comparing the 4 groups). Among LR infants, rates were not affected by temperature degree. Thrombocytopenia was associated with higher SBI rates in HR, but not in LR.

Conclusions:

In HR infants, higher SBI rates were associated with younger age, higher body temperature and thrombocytopenia. In contrast, SBI (mostly urinary tract infection) rates among LR infants (approximately 10%) were not associated with these factors.
Interacting influences of gender and chronic pain status on parasympathetically mediated heart rate variability in adolescents and young adults
Authors: Walker Lynn S. , Stone Amanda L. , Smith Craig A. , Bruehl Stephen , Garber Judy , Puzanovova Martina , Diedrich André
Published: May 2017

Considerable research links chronic pain to autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction, specifically low heart rate variability (HRV) mediated by reduced parasympathetic activity. However, little is known about factors that influence ANS function in chronic pain. The ANS is the primary pathway for brain–gut communication, making it of particular interest in gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, characterized by functional abdominal pain (FAP). We evaluated the relation of sex, pain severity, and psychological stress to ANS function in adolescents/young adults from a database of pediatric FAP and control participants enrolled 8 years earlier in a prospective study of pain. At follow-up in adolescence/young adulthood (Mean age = 19.46, SD = 3.48), we classified participants as Pain-Remit (n = 130), Pain-Persist (n = 96), and pain-free controls (n = 123). We recorded electrocardiogram data at rest and during laboratory stressors. Results demonstrated significantly lower HRV in Pain-Persist females compared with Pain-Remit females, female controls, and all males regardless of pain category. Spectral analysis of electrocardiogram showed that Pain-Persist females had reduced power in the high frequency domain of cardiac activity, ie, reduced parasympathetic “braking” of sympathetic activity, both at rest and during stress. Pain-Remit females exhibited levels of autonomic imbalance intermediate between those of females with persistent FAP and all other participants. Parasympathetically mediated low HRV in young women with persistent FAP may reflect a peripheral mechanism (eg, gut dysfunction) or a central nervous system mechanism (eg, pain amplification or poor emotion self-regulation) involving prolonged sympathetic activation.
UPS-indel: a Universal Positioning System for Indels
Authors: Hasan Mohammad Shabbir , Wu Xiaowei , Watson Layne T. , Li Zhiyi , Zhang Liqing
Published: May 2017

Background

Indels, though differing in allele sequence and position, are biologically equivalent when they lead to the same altered sequences. Storing biologically equivalent indels as distinct entries in databases causes data redundancy, and may mislead downstream analysis and interpretations. About 10% of the human indels stored in dbSNP are redundant. It is thus desirable to have a unified system for identifying and representing equivalent indels in publically available databases. Moreover, a unified system is also desirable to compare the indel calling results produced by different tools. This paper describes UPS-indel, a utility tool that creates a universal positioning system for indels so that equivalent indels can be uniquely determined by their coordinates in the new system, which also can be used to compare indel calling results produced by different tools.

Results

UPS-indel identifies nearly 15% indels in dbSNP (version 142) as redundant across all human chromosomes, higher than previously reported. When applied to COSMIC coding and noncoding indel datasets, UPS-indel identifies nearly 29% and 13% indels as redundant, respectively. Comparing the performance of UPS-indel with existing variant normalization tools vt normalize, BCFtools, and GATK LeftAlignAndTrimVariants shows that UPS-indel is able to identify 456,352 more redundant indels in dbSNP; 2,118 more in COSMIC coding, and 553 more in COSMIC noncoding indel dataset in addition to the ones reported jointly by these tools. Moreover, comparing UPS-indel to other state-of-the-art approaches for indel call set comparison demonstrates that UPS-indel is clearly superior to other approaches in finding indels in common among call sets.

Conclusions

UPS-indel is theoretically proven to find all equivalent indels, and is thus exhaustive. UPS-indel is written in C++ and the command line version is freely available to download athttp://ups-indel.sourceforge.net. The online version of UPS-indel is available athttp://bench.cs.vt.edu/ups-indel/.
MESSAR: Automated recommendation of metabolite substructures from tandem mass spectra
Authors: Liu Youzhong , Mrzic Aida , Meysman Pieter , Vijlder Thomas De , Romijn Edwin P. , Valkenborg Dirk , Bittremieux Wout , Laukens Kris
Published: May 2017

Despite the increasing importance of non-targeted metabolomics to answer various life science questions, extracting biochemically relevant information from metabolomics spectral data is still an incompletely solved problem. Most computational tools to identify tandem mass spectra focus on a limited set of molecules of interest. However, such tools are typically constrained by the availability of reference spectra or molecular databases, limiting their applicability to identify unknown metabolites. In contrast, recent advances in the field illustrate the possibility to expose the underlying biochemistry without relying on metabolite identification, in particular via substructure prediction. We describe an automated method for substructure recommendation motivated by association rule mining. Our framework captures potential relationships between spectral features and substructures learned from public spectral libraries. These associations are used to recommend substructures for any unknown mass spectrum. Our method does not require any predefined metabolite candidates, and therefore it can be used for the partial identification of unknown unknowns. The method is called MESSAR (MEtabolite SubStructure Auto-Recommender) and is implemented in a free online web service available atmessar.biodatamining.be.

Author Summary

Mass spectrometry is one of most used techniques to detect and identify metabolites. However, learning metabolite structures directly from mass spectrometry data has always been a challenging task. Thousands of mass spectra from various biological systems still remain unanalyzed simply because no current bioinformatic tools are able to generate structural hypotheses. By manually studying mass spectra of standard compounds, chemists discovered that metabolites that share common substructures can also share spectral features. As data scientists, we believe that such relationships can be unraveled from massive structure and spectra data by machine learning. In this study, we adapted “association rule mining”, traditionally used in market basket analysis, to structural and spectral data, allowing us to investigate all spectral features - metabolite substructures relationships. We further collected all statistically sound relationships into a database and used them to assign substructral hypotheses to unexplored spectra. We named our approach MESSAR, MEtabolite SubStructure Auto-Recommender, available to the metabolomics and mass spectrometry community as a free and open web service.
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation increases phase-amplitude coupling
Authors: Nakatani Chie , Mullin Caitlin , Wagemans Johan , Leeuwen Cees van
Published: May 2017

A prominent feature of brain activity with relevance to cognitive processes is Phase-Amplitude Coupling (PAC) between slow and fast oscillatory signals. A newly developed neural mass model of cross-frequency coupling [1] predicts, counter-intuitively, that PAC shows sustained increases after repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS). This is because rTMS leads to simultaneous neuronal firing in distinct regions, thereby enhancing the connectivity that, according to the model, is needed for PAC to be increased. We tested this prediction in healthy human volunteers. Two seconds of 10Hz rTMS were applied to the intraparietal sulcus, temporal-parietal junction, and lateral occipital complex. PAC in the subsequent electro-encephalogram was analyzed for two band pairs, theta-gamma and alpha-gamma, and compared to a sham condition. For all stimulation loci, PAC was higher in both band pairs after rTMS than in the sham condition. These results were found to be conform the model prediction. The perspective for using rTMS to modulate cross-band coupling is discussed.
Extinction rates in tumor public goods games
Authors: Gerlee Philip , Altrock Philipp M.
Published: May 2017

Cancer evolution and progression are shaped by cellular interactions and Darwinian selection. Evolutionary game theory incorporates both of these principles, and has been proposed as a framework to understand tumor cell population dynamics. A cornerstone of evolutionary dynamics is the replicator equation, which describes changes in the relative abundance of different cell types, and is able to predict evolutionary equilibria. Typically, the replicator equation focuses on differences in relative fitness. We here show that this framework might not be sufficient under all circumstances, as it neglects important aspects of population growth. Standard replicator dynamics might miss critical differences in the time it takes to reach an equilibrium, as this time also depends on cellular turnover in growing but bounded populations. As the system reaches a stable manifold, the time to reach equilibrium depends on cellular death and birth rates. These rates shape the timescales, in particular in co-evolutionary dynamics of growth factor producers and free-riders. Replicator dynamics might be an appropriate framework only when birth and death rates are of similar magnitude. Otherwise, population growth effects cannot be neglected when predicting the time to reach an equilibrium, and cell type specific rates have to be accounted for explicitly.
Role of Membrane-tension Gated Ca Flux in Cell Mechanosensation
Authors: He Lijuan , Tao Jiaxiang , Si Fangwei , Wu Yi , Wu Tiffany , Prasath Vishnu , Wirtz Denis , Sun Sean X.
Published: May 2017

Eukaryotic cells are sensitive to mechanical forces that they experience from the environment. The process of mechanosensation is complex, and involves elements such as the cytoskeleton and active contraction from myosin motors. Ultimately, mechanosensation is connected to changes in gene expression in the cell, or mechanotransduction. While the involvement of the cytoskeleton in mechanosensation is known, processes upstream to cytoskeletal changes is unclear. In this paper, using a microfluidic device that mechanically compresses live cells, we demonstrate that calcium currents and membrane tension-sensitive ion channels directly signals to the Rho GTPase and myosin contraction. In response to membrane tension changes, cell actively regulates cortical myosin contraction to balance external forces. The process is captured by a mechanochemical model where membrane tension, myosin contraction and the osmotic pressure difference between the cytoplasm and extracellular environment are connected by mechanical force-balance. Finally, to complete the picture of mechanotransduction, we find that the tension-sensitive transcription factor YAP translocates from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in response to mechanical compression.
Synthesis and crystal structure of a new magnesium phosphate Na3RbMg7(PO4)6
Authors: Ben Hamed Teycir , Boukhris Amal , Badri Abdessalem , Ben Amara Mongi
Published: May 2017

A new magnesium phosphate, Na3RbMg7(PO4)6 [trisodium rubidium heptamagnesium hexakis(orthophosphate)], has been synthesized as single crystals by the flux method and exhibits a new structure type. Its original structure is built up from MgO
x
(x = 5 and 6) polyhedra linked directly to each other through common corners or edges and reinforced by corner-sharing with PO4 tetrahedra. The resulting anionic three-dimensional framework leads to the formation of channels along the [010] direction, in which the Na+ cations are located, while the Rb+ cations are located in large interstitial cavities.
Evaluation of citations: a proposition to supplement the corresponding rule book in Serbia
Authors: Dimic Surla Bojana , Surla Dusan Ilija , Ivanovic Dragan
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to describe a proposition for the evaluation of citations of scientific papers, which could serve as a supplement to the existing Rule Book of the Ministry of the Republic of Serbia, which is used in the procedure of electing candidates for particular academic and research titles. The evaluation and quantitative presentation of the results and evaluation of citations were carried out on data taken from the database of the Current Research Information System of the University of Novi Sad (CRIS UNS), which is harmonized with the Rule Book of the Ministry with respect to the evaluation of published scientific results of researchers.

Design/methodology/approach

There are different criteria to evaluate the quality of scientific papers based on their citations. The pertinent parameters can be the total number of citations, the number of citations in a defined time period and by assigning the appropriate weighting values to the citations. This work proposes a procedure of assigning the citation weighting values based on the evaluation of the scientific results in which the citation appeared according to the Rule Book in the Republic of Serbia. Based on this, the authors introduced the impact factor of researchers as the ratio of the number of points of the evaluated citations and the number of points of the evaluated papers of the researcher.

Findings

Results showed that the research information system CRIS UNS can be extended to the evaluation of citations for a single researcher, groups of researchers and institutions.

Practical implications

The proposed solution enables the evaluation of citations in the process of election and promotion of academic staff. In this way, there is a means for measuring the scientific influence of a researcher in the relevant scientific area.

Social implications

The evaluation of citations may be included in the national strategies of scientific development, funding and evaluation of research projects; for promotions of academic staff at the universities and other academic institutions; and ranking of researchers and research organizations.

Originality/value

The main idea presented in the paper is the definition of a rule book (or several rule books) for the evaluation of citations. Based on the evaluation of citations, the authors proposed the term “the impact factor of researcher”.
Does gender make a difference in business performance?
Authors: Ali Jabir , Shabir Sana
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This paper aims toanalyse the difference in business performance and obstacles across male-owned versus female-owned enterprises in India.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on a comprehensive enterprise survey of 9,281 Indian firms operating in different regions of the country, conducted under the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey, 2014. The survey contains information on a variety of enterprise characteristics such as ownership, type of firms, size of firms, locations and age, performance indicators and information on 16 parameters of business obstacles. Business performance indicators have been derived from data in the form of growth in sales, employment, labour productivity and capability utilization by gender ownership of the firms. Simple statistical tools such as descriptive statistics, chi-square test and the independent-samples t-test have been used to analyse the data. Further, an ordered probit regression model has been estimated to identify the relative importance of parameters affecting female-owned enterprises.

Findings

Of the total 9,281 firms surveyed under the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey, about 8 per cent were being managed by a top female manager and about 15 per cent firms reported to have at least one female owner. Among the female owners, about 36 per cent were reported to own 50 per cent and above share of the firm. Chi-square statistics indicate that there is a significant difference in enterprise characteristics of male- versus female-owned firms in terms of location, size, type and age. Result of the independent-samples t-test indicates a significant difference in business performance across male- and female-owned businesses in terms of annual sales growth, labour productivity growth and capacity utilization of the firms. Similarly, the perception of male- and female-owned firms significantly vary on 10 obstacles out of total 16 business obstacle parameters. Overall, females perceive comparatively less business obstacles as compared to males. An ordered probit regression model has revealed the relative importance of enterprise characteristics, performance indicators and extent of business obstacles among female-owned enterprises.

Practical implications

This study provides an insight on the differences in the firms’ performance across gender ownership based on a large survey data. This study can be helpful in designing policies for promoting gender-based business enterprises in a focused manner.

Originality/value

There are limited empirical evidences on difference in organizational profile, business performance and understanding business obstacles across male- versus female-owned firms in India based on a large survey data.
The power of self-service technologies in creating transcendent service experiences
Authors: Wei Wei , Torres Edwin N. , Hua Nan
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to draw upon the theory of consumption values and the experiential value scale to develop a conceptual model concerning hospitality customer’s use of self-service technologies (SSTs) and their impact on consumers’ service experience.

Design/methodology/approach

Questionnaires were administered to 220 hotel and restaurant customers. The researchers tested the hypotheses by using descriptive analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis.

Findings

Both extrinsic and intrinsic attributes of SSTs influence consumers’ satisfaction with SST usage significantly, while the extrinsic attributes play a stronger role. It is worth noting that while the intrinsic attributes have a significant impact on consumers’ transcendent service experience, the extrinsic attributes negatively influence such experience.

Practical implications

The findings help managers create effective strategies to better match consumers’ needs and to deliver more customized self-service experience. The role of SSTs can be expanded beyond functional attributes to satisfy consumers’ curiosity, foster customer–customer interactions and personalize consumer experience.

Originality/value

Although most SSTs research focus on technology adoption intention, features, functionality and benefits to the service provider, this research is among the first attempts to examine the role of SSTs in creating better consumer experience. The bidimensional conceptualization of SSTs experience developed in this research suggests that SSTs in the hotel and restaurant sector should be utilized for reasons beyond their utilitarian attributes: SSTs should be designed to help create a transcendent service experience.
A new demountable seismic-resistant joint to improve industrial building reparability
Authors: Pongiglione Margherita , Calderini Chiara , Guy George Bradley
Published: May 2017

Purpose

In seismic-prone areas, post-event operability is an important issue for steel warehouses. Even if surviving earthquakes with minimal probability of collapse, these structures might suffer so much damage, that their repair costs would be prohibitive. Strategies for limiting the building's damaged zones to specific parts (or “fuses”) can reduce repair costs. However, the replaceable part is limited to a small portion of the structure, whereas the rest cannot be disassembled. This is an issue for structures whose life span depends more likely on economics rather than on structural performances. Therefore, making them easily disassembled would be an advantage not only in seismic areas but also in any industrialized area. The purpose of this paper is to explore the “Design for Disassembly” (DfD) approach to complement seismic design and find a compromise between them.

Design/methodology/approach

In this work, one single type of structures was analysed (the moment-resisting frame), focusing on the design of a “disassemblable” seismic-resistant steel connection. The design process involved several iterations until an “optimum” compromise between seismic design and DfD was met.

Findings

This study shows that a compromise between seismic design and DfD is possible. In this case, the compromise was achieved at the expenses of more complex design calculations and a greater number of components than standard connections. However, this would be compensated for by a higher residual value for the entire structure.

Originality/value

Eventually, it was proved that a metric for assessing DfD steel connections is possible, but structural analyses are needed to validate it.