bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mirizzi Syndrome: Diagnosis and Management of a Challenging Biliary Disease
Authors: Clemente Gennaro , Tringali Andrea , De Rose Agostino M. , Panettieri Elena , Murazio Marino , Nuzzo Gennaro , Giuliante Felice
Published: August 2018

Background. Mirizzi syndrome is a condition difficult to diagnose and treat, representing a particular “challenge” for the biliary surgeon. The disease can mimic cancer of the gallbladder, causing considerable diagnostic difficulties. Furthermore, it increases the risk of intraoperative biliary injury during cholecystectomy. The aim of this study is to point out some particular aspects of diagnosis and treatment of this condition. Methods. The clinical records of patients with Mirizzi syndrome, treated in the last five years, were reviewed. Clinical data, cholangiograms, preoperative diagnosis, operative procedures, and early and late results were examined. Results. Eighteen consecutive patients were treated in the last five years. Presenting symptoms were jaundice, pain, and cholangitis. Preoperative diagnosis of Mirizzi syndrome was achieved in 11 patients, while 6 had a diagnosis of gallbladder cancer and 1 of Klatskin tumor. Seventeen patients underwent surgery, including cholecystectomy in 8 cases, bile duct repair over T-tube in 3 cases, and hepaticojejunostomy in 4 cases. Two cases (11.1%) of gallbladder cancer associated with the Mirizzi syndrome were incidentally found: a patient underwent right hepatectomy and another patient was unresectable. The overall morbidity rate was 16.6%. There was no postoperative mortality. An ERCP with stent insertion was required in three cases after surgery. Sixteen patients were asymptomatic at a mean distance of 24 months (range: 6-48) after surgery. Conclusions. Mirizzi syndrome requires being treated by an experienced biliary surgeon after a careful assessment of the local situation and anatomy. The preoperative placement of a stent via ERCP can simplify the surgical procedure.
Levistilide A Ameliorates NLRP3 Expression Involving the Syk-p38/JNK Pathway and Peripheral Obliterans in Rats
Authors: Guo Huining , Sun Li , Ling Shuang , Xu Jin-Wen
Published: August 2018

Background. Inflammation is one of the most important pathogeneses of thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO). The NLRP3 inflammasome plays a vital role in the body’s immune response and disease development. It can be activated by numerous types of pathogens or danger signals. As the core of the inflammatory response, the NLRP3 inflammasome may provide a new target for the treatment of various inflammatory diseases. Levistilide A (LA) is a phthalide dimer isolated from umbelliferous plants. Its pharmacological effect is largely unknown. This study revealed the effects of LA on endothelial cell activation, NLRP3, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-32, and CCL-2, VCAM-1, MCP-1, and the spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk)--p38/JNK signaling axis and its effect on vasculitis in rats. Results. LA inhibited endothelial activation and the expression of IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-32, CCL-2, VCAM-1, and MCP-1. LA directly obstructed Syk phosphorylation and activity in a dose-dependent manner, inhibited the activity of p38 and JNK, and reduced the expression of NLRP3 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells and vascular tissue of rats with vasculitis. Conclusion. LA suppressed NLRP3 gene expression by blocking the Syk--p38/JNK pathway and reduced damage to the rats’ limbs in the thromboangiitis obliterans model.
Clinical Outcomes of Telemonitoring for Patients on Warfarin after Discharge from Hospital
Authors: Sudas Na Ayutthaya Natthaporn , Sakunrak Itsarawan , Dhippayom Teerapon
Published: August 2018

Objective. To evaluate the impact of telephone follow-up service on clinical outcomes in patients on warfarin when discharged from hospital. Methods. This randomized controlled trial was conducted at a general hospital in Thailand. Patients aged ≥20 years who were prescribed warfarin when discharged were eligible to participate in this study. They were randomly allocated, using a computer generated random number, to receive either telephone follow-up intervention or usual care. Participants in the intervention group received telephone follow-up by hospital pharmacists for three months. During each telephone call, pharmacists performed medicine use reviews and addressed any problems identified. Key Findings. A total of 50 patients participated in this study. The proportion of international normalized ratio (INR) values in the target range for the telephone follow-up group (36/79, 45.6%) was higher than that in the usual care group (19/79, 24.1%), p=0.005. The mean time in the therapeutic range (TTR) in the telephone follow-up group was also higher than that in the usual care group (49.8±34.3 versus 28.0±27.5, p=0.017). All patients in the usual care group experienced one or more out-of-range INR values (25/25, 100%) compared to 21 out of 25 (84%) in the telephone follow-up group, p=0.037. There was no difference between the two groups in the incidence of complications or adverse events associated with warfarin. Conclusions. The telephone follow-up service in recently discharged patients helps them achieve and maintain their INR target. This anticoagulant supportive service should be promoted to patients receiving warfarin therapy after discharge. This trial is registered with TCTR20180614006 (Thai Clinical Trials Registry).
Mechanical Testing of a Novel Fastening Device to Improve Scoliosis Bracing Biomechanics for Treating Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis
Authors: Chung Chloe L. , Kelly Derek M. , Sawyer Jeffery R. , Steele Jack R. , Tate Terry S. , Bateman Cody K. , DiAngelo Denis J.
Published: August 2018

Velcro fastening straps are commonly used to secure a scoliosis brace around the upper body and apply corrective forces to the spine. However, strap loosening and tension loss have been reported that reduce spinal correction and treatment efficacy. A novel fastening device, or controlled tension unit (CTU), was designed to overcome these limitations. A scoliosis analog model (SAM) was used to biomechanically compare the CTU fasteners and posterior Velcro straps on a conventional brace (CB) as well as on a modified brace (MB) that included a dynamic cantilever apical pad section. Brace configurations tested were (1) CB with posterior Velcro straps, (2) CB with posterior CTU fasteners, (3) MB with posterior Velcro straps, and (4) MB with posterior CTU fasteners. MB configurations were tested with 0 N, 35.6 N, and 71.2 N CTU fasteners applied across the apical pad flap. Three-dimensional forces and moments were measured at both ends of the SAM. The CTU fasteners provided the same corrective spinal loads as Velcro straps when tensioned to the same level on the CB configuration and can be used as an alternative fastening system. Dynamically loading the apical flap increased the distractive forces applied to the spine without affecting tension in the fastening straps.
CEPTM: A Cross‐Edge Model for Diverse Personalization Service and Topic Migration in MEC
Authors: Wu Hongchen , Zhang Huaxiang , Cui Lizhen , Wang Xinjun
Published: August 2018

For several reasons, the cloud computing paradigm, e.g., mobile edge computing (MEC), is suffering from the problem of privacy issues. MEC servers provide personalization services to mobile users for better QoE qualities, but the ongoing migrated data from the source edge server to the destination edge server cause users to have privacy concerns and unwillingness of self‐disclosure, which further leads to a sparsity problem. As a result, personalization services ignore valuable user profiles across edges where users have accounts in and tend to predict users’ potential purchases with insufficient sources, thereby limiting further improvement of QoE through personalization of the contents. This paper proposes a novel model, called CEPTM, which (1) collects mobile user data across multiple MEC edge servers, (2) improves the users’ experience in personalization services by loading collected diverse data, and (3) lowers their privacy concern with the improved personalization. This model also reveals that famous topics in one edge server can migrate into several other edge servers with users’ favorite content tags and that the diverse types of items could increase the possibility of users accepting the personalization service. In the experiment section, we use exploratory factor analysis to mathematically evaluate the correlations among those factors that influence users’ information disclosure in the MEC network, and the results indicate that CEPTM (1) achieves a high rate of personalization acceptance due to the availability of more data as input and highly diverse personalization as output and (2) gains the users’ trust because it collects user data while respecting individual privacy concerns and providing better personalization. It outperforms a traditional personalization service that runs on a single‐edge server. This paper provides new insights into MEC diverse personalization services and privacy problems, and researchers and personalization providers can apply this model to merge popular users’ like trends throughout the MEC edge servers and generate better data management strategies.
Physical and Mechanical Properties of Selected Common Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Cultivated in Tanzania
Authors: Palilo Addi Atuswilye Sanga , Majaja BashiraAlli , Kichonge Baraka
Published: August 2018

The physical and mechanical properties of foods are important, if not essential, in the design of suitable systems, machines, and structures for planting, harvesting, handling and processing of agro-products. Phaseolus vulgaris L. is a popular legume species that play an important role in human diet and among easily available sources of plant protein. However, despite its important roles, there is a lack of information on the physical and mechanical properties of common beans cultivated in Tanzania. The objective of this study was therefore focused on experimental determination of physical and mechanical properties for Uyole-96, Kablanketi, and Wanja, common beans cultivars grown in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. Experimental results showed that the average length, width, and thickness were 19.96 mm, 8.97 mm, and 7.6 mm at a moisture content of 17.15% dry basis (db.), 13.92% db., and 14.64% db. for Uyole-96, Kablanketi, and Wanja, respectively. The results further show that the average mean diameters (Da) were 10.93, 9.35, and 9.55 mm for Uyole-96, Kablanketi, and Wanja, respectively. The geometric mean diameters (Dg) were 9.66, 8.35, and 8.80 mm for Uyole-96, Kablanketi, and Wanja, respectively, whereas sphericity was found to be 53, 64, and 58% for the same types of beans. Repose angle measuremnts were experimentally determined as 40, 36, and 35 degrees for Uyole-96, Kablanketi, and Wanja, respectively. Weight for apparent density analysis was 709.27, 686.30, and 766.10 kg/m3 for Uyole-96, Kablanketi, and Wanja, respectively, whereas the apparent densities were determined as 1142, 1158, and 1327 kg/m3, respectively, for the same types of beans. Results from the study showed that physical and mechanical properties for Uyole-96, Kablanketi, and Wanja differ significantly from other common beans cultivars cultivated in other countries. Data on physical and mechanical properties determined in this study establishes a convenient reference table for the mechanization and processing of Tanzanian common beans cultivars .
Fast Image Registration for Spacecraft Autonomous Navigation Using Natural Landmarks
Authors: Wu Yun-Hua , Ge Lin-Lin , Wang Feng , Hua Bing , Chen Zhi-Ming , Yu Feng
Published: August 2018

In order to satisfy the real-time requirement of spacecraft autonomous navigation using natural landmarks, a novel algorithm called CSA-SURF (chessboard segmentation algorithm and speeded up robust features) is proposed to improve the speed without loss of repeatability performance of image registration progress. It is a combination of chessboard segmentation algorithm and SURF. Here, SURF is used to extract the features from satellite images because of its scale- and rotation-invariant properties and low computational cost. CSA is based on image segmentation technology, aiming to find representative blocks, which will be allocated to different tasks to speed up the image registration progress. To illustrate the advantages of the proposed algorithm, PCA-SURF, which is the combination of principle component analysis and SURF, is also analyzed in this paper for comparison. Furthermore, random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm is applied to eliminate the false matches for further accuracy improvement. The simulation results show that the proposed strategy obtains good results, especially in scaling and rotation variation. Besides, CSA-SURF decreased 50% of the time in extraction and 90% of the time in matching without losing the repeatability performance by comparing with SURF algorithm. The proposed method has been demonstrated as an alternative way for image registration of spacecraft autonomous navigation using natural landmarks.
Research on a Conflict Early Warning System Based on the Active Safety Concept
Authors: Shen Bozhao , Zhang Zhiqing , Liu Hao , Li Shiyun , Zhao Lei
Published: August 2018

In order to reduce traffic conflicts on cross-intensive roads, this paper proposes a new early warning system based on the active safety concept. The system collects real-time vehicle data using roadside sensors and transmits the results to drivers on the major road in a timely manner via roadside warning lights. In this research, the principles of the warning system are discussed in detail, including how the vehicle dynamics data are collected and how potential collisions are identified and avoided. Through a driving simulation experiment, the speed prediction model after implementation of the warning system was examined. Results indicated that it can accurately identify the vehicle operating status, accurately guide driving behavior, and effectively reduce traffic conflict. To verify the reliability of the proposed warning logic and algorithm, numerical simulations were carried out via CarSim/Simulink cosimulation. The simulation results indicate that the proposed system enables drivers to perceive conflicting vehicles in advance, avoid the sudden braking phenomenon, and ensure safe driving.
An Overview of the Potential Therapeutic Applications of CO-Releasing Molecules
Authors: Ismailova Aiten , Kuter David , Bohle D. Scott , Butler Ian S.
Published: August 2018

Carbon monoxide (CO) has long been known as the “silent killer” owing to its ability to form carboxyhemoglobin—the main cause of CO poisoning in humans. Its role as an endogenous neurotransmitter, however, was suggested in the early 1990s. Since then, the biological activity of CO has been widely examined via both the direct administration of CO and in the form of so-called “carbon monoxide releasing molecules (CORMs).” This overview will explore the general physiological effects and potential therapeutic applications of CO when delivered in the form of CORMs.
Nonunion Humerous Fracture Infection Caused byRhizobium radiobacterin a 24-Year-Old Healthy Patient: A Rare Case Report
Authors: Stamou Aikaterini , Pavlopoulos Charalampos , Roumeliotis Stefanos , Samoladas Efthymios , Xatzokos Ippokratis , Kontopoulou Konstantina
Published: August 2018

AlthoughRhizobium radiobacteris a pathogen commonly found in soil and plants, human disease caused by theRhizobiumgenus is rare and cited in immunocompromised patients and in those who carry foreign plastic bodies such as catheters. We present a case of a 24-year-old woman with an adequate immune system who underwent surgery for an open fracture of the right tibia and humerus due to a car accident. One year later, she was readmitted to the hospital, due to a nonunion of the humeral fracture for surgical debridement and revision of the internal fixation with iliac crest autograft.Rhizobium radiobacterwas isolated from the nonunion site, and the patient was treated with intramuscular administration of amikacin for 3 weeks followed by doxycycline per os for 8 weeks. After 3 months, the patient showed complete remission of the infection, substantial improvement, and union on the X-ray images. This is the first case ofRhizobium radiobacterinfection in a patient with an adequate immune system that did not carry any foreign body and probably was initially infected due to open wound exposure to soil. Treatment ofR. radiobacterinfections should be individualised according to the antimicrobial susceptibility test for a successful infection management.
Achieving Incentive, Security, and Scalable Privacy Protection in Mobile Crowdsensing Services
Authors: Xiong Jinbo , Ma Rong , Chen Lei , Tian Youliang , Lin Li , Jin Biao
Published: August 2018

Mobile crowdsensing as a novel service schema of the Internet of Things (IoT) provides an innovative way to implement ubiquitous social sensing. How to establish an effective mechanism to improve the participation of sensing users and the authenticity of sensing data, protect the users’ data privacy, and prevent malicious users from providing false data are among the urgent problems in mobile crowdsensing services in IoT. These issues raise a gargantuan challenge hindering the further development of mobile crowdsensing. In order to tackle the above issues, in this paper, we propose a reliable hybrid incentive mechanism for enhancing crowdsensing participations by encouraging and stimulating sensing users with both reputation and service returns in mobile crowdsensing tasks. Moreover, we propose a privacy preserving data aggregation scheme, where the mediator and/or sensing users may not be fully trusted. In this scheme, differential privacy mechanism is utilized through allowing different sensing users to add noise data, then employing homomorphic encryption for protecting the sensing data, and finally uploading ciphertext to the mediator, who is able to obtain the collection of ciphertext of the sensing data without actual decryption. Even in the case of partial sensing data leakage, differential privacy mechanism can still ensure the security of the sensing user’s privacy. Finally, we introduce a novel secure multiparty auction mechanism based on the auction game theory and secure multiparty computation, which effectively solves the problem of prisoners’ dilemma incurred in the sensing data transaction between the service provider and mediator. Security analysis and performance evaluation demonstrate that the proposed scheme is secure and efficient.
The Toxic Effects of Aflatoxin B1 and Aflatoxin M1 on Kidney through Regulating L-Proline and Downstream Apoptosis
Authors: Li Huiying , Xing Lei , Zhang Muchen , Wang Jiaqi , Zheng Nan
Published: August 2018

The toxic effects and potential mechanisms of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), and AFB1+AFM1 in the kidney were studied and compared in HEK 293 cells model and CD-1 mice model. The 35-day subacute toxicity mice model was constructed, biochemical indicators and kidney pathological staining were detected, kidney metabonomics detection was performed, and the metabolites were analyzed, and then the related toxicity mechanism was validated. Results showed that AFB1 (0.5 mg/kg), AFM1 (3.5 mg/kg), and AFB1 (0.5 mg/kg)+AFM1 (3.5 mg/kg) activated oxidative stress and caused renal damage. The relative concentration of the metabolite L-proline was found to be lower in aflatoxins treatment groups when compared with the control (P<0.05). Moreover, with the treatment of aflatoxins, proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) and proapoptotic factors (Bax, Caspase-3) were upregulated, while the inhibitor of apoptosis Bcl-2 was downregulated, at both the mRNA and the protein levels, comparing with the control (P<0.05). In addition, the combined effect of AFB1 and AFM1 was validated, for the toxicity of the combination was stronger than the other two groups. In conclusion, AFB1 and AFM1 caused kidney toxicity by activating oxidative stress through altering expression of PRODH and L-proline levels, which then induced downstream apoptosis.
Reproducing Field Measurements Using Scaled‐Down Hydraulic Model Studies in a Laboratory
Authors: Lee Seung Oh , Hong Seung Ho
Published: August 2018

Little efforts have been made to the value of laboratory model study in closing the gap between results from idealized laboratory experiments and those from field data. Thus, at first, three bridge sites were selected and equipped with fathometers to find the bed elevation change in the vicinity of bridge pier over time. After and during the flooding, the stream flow variables and their bathymetry were measured using current viable technologies at the field. Then, to develop and suggest a laboratory modeling techniques, full three‐dimensional physical models including measured river bathymetry and bridge geometry were designed and fabricated in a laboratory based on the scale ratio except for the sediment size, and the laboratory results were compared with the field measurements. Size of uniform sediment was carefully selected and used in the laboratory to explore the scale effect caused by sediment size scaling. The comparisons between laboratory results and field measurements show that the physical models successfully reproduced the flow characteristics and the scour depth around bridge foundations. With respect to the location of the maximum scour depth, they are not consistent with the results as in the previous research. Instead of occurring at the nose of each pier, the maximum scour depths are located further downstream of each pier column in several experimental runs because of the combination of complex pier bent geometry and river bathymetry, and the resulting unique flow motions around the pier bent.
Neural Network Prediction of Corn Stover Saccharification Based on Its Structural Features
Authors: Gao Le , Chen Shulin , Zhang Dongyuan
Published: August 2018

The classic assay for a large population biomass is time-consuming, labor intensive, and chemically expensive. This paper would find out a rapid assay for predicting biomass digestibility from biomass structural features without hydrolysis. We examined the 62 representative corn stover accessions that displayed a diverse cell-wall composition and varied biomass digestibility. Correlation analysis was firstly to detect effects of cell-wall compositions and wall polymer features on corn stover digestibility. Based on the dependable relationship of structural features and digestibility, a neural networks model has been developed and successfully predicted the corn stover saccharification based on the features without enzymatic hydrolysis. The actual measured and net-simulated predicted corn stover saccharification had good results as mean square error of 1.80E-05, coefficient of determination of 0.942 and average relative deviation of 3.95. The trained networks satisfactorily predicted the saccharification results based on the features of corn stover. Predicting the corn stover saccharification without hydrolysis will reduce capital and operational costs for corn stover purchasing and storage.
Comparing REM- and NREM-Related Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Al Oweidat K. , AlRyalat S. A. , Al-Essa M. , Obeidat N.
Published: August 2018

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder that includes an intermittent mechanical obstruction of the upper airway during sleep, which can occur either during rapid eye movement (REM) phase or non-REM (NREM) phase. In this study, we aim to evaluate the differences in demographic and polysomnographic features between REM- and NREM-related OSA in a Jordanian sample, using both the broad and the restricted definitions of REM-related OSA. All patients who were referred due to clinical suspicion of OSA and underwent sleep study were screened. We included patients with a diagnosis of OSA who had Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) greater than or equal to five. We classified patients into REM-related OSA according to either the broad definition (AHIREM/AHINREM ≥ 2) or the strict definition (AHIREM > 5 and AHINREM < 5 with a total REM sleep duration of at least 30 minutes), and patients with AHIREM/AHINREM less than two were classified as NREM-related OSA. A total of 478 patients were included in this study with a mean age of 55.3 years (±12.6). According to the broad definition of REM-related OSA, 86 (18%) of OSA patients were classified as having REM-related OSA compared to only 13 (2.7%) patients according to the strict definition. Significant differences were found between both NREM-related OSA and REM-related OSA according to the broad and to the strict definitions for arousal index (p<0.001 and p<0.032), respectively, duration of saturation below 90% (p<0.001 for both), and saturation nadir (p<0.036 and p<0.013), respectively. No significant differences were found between this group and other OSA patients regarding age, BMI, ESS, and snoring. Our study showed that the stricter the definition for REM-related OSA, the milder the associated clinical changes.
Addressing the Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma Microenvironment with Intratumoral Immunotherapy
Authors: Raj Shailaja , Miller Lance D. , Triozzi Pierre L.
Published: August 2018

Sarcoma is comprised of a heterogeneous group of tumors originating from the mesenchyme. Sarcoma is also the first tumor that responded to immunotherapeutic agents often termed as “Coley’s toxins.” However, immunotherapy is yet to establish its presence in sarcomas. Complex interactions between tumor and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment play a crucial role in response to immunotherapy. There is a dynamic equilibrium created by the immune cells infiltrating the tumor, and this forms the basis of tumor evasion. Manipulating the intratumoral microenvironment will help overcome tumor evasion.
Correlation between Soluble α-Klotho and Renal Function in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Wang Qinglian , Su Wenyan , Shen Zhenwei , Wang Rong
Published: August 2018

Objective. Over decades, numerous inconsistent studies are reported on the relationship between soluble α-Klotho and renal function in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study aims to perform a meta-analysis to figure out the correlations between soluble α-Klotho and renal function in patients with CKD. Materials and Methods. We searched medical and scientific literature databases, PubMed and EMBASE (from the inception to October 2017), for publications that reported studies on associations between soluble α-Klotho and renal function in patients with CKD. Only publications in English were extracted. Summary correlation coefficient (r) values were extracted from each study, and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Publication bias was tested, and sensitivity and subgroup analyses were performed to investigate potential heterogeneity. Results. Of 611 studies, 9 publications with 1457 patients were included into the analysis. The following data were extracted from the literature: first author, year of publication, research region, research index, sample size, average age and Pearson or Spearman correlation coefficient, study design, the αKlotho/FGF23 assays utilized, full length, or the C-terminal fragment of FGF23. The pooled r between α-Klotho and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), FGF-23 were 0.35 (95%CI, 0.23~0.46, and P<0.05), -0.10 (95%CI, -0.19~-0.01, and P<0.05) with remarkable significance, indicating moderate heterogeneity. There was no significant heterogeneity between subgroups in analyses of α-Klotho and eGFR stratified by research region, mean age, and eGFR, but heterogeneity exists in analyses of α-Klotho and FGF-23 stratified by research region. There was no significant correlation between a-klotho and Ca and PTH and PHOS. There was no evidence of publication bias with Egger’s test (p=0.360) or with Begg’s test (p=0.902) and the distribution of funnel plots was symmetrical in all of our analysis. Conclusions. There exists a significant positive correlation between soluble α-Klotho and eGFR in patients with CKD. Also, a significant negative correlation between α-Klotho and FGF23 levels is proven. This raises hope to employ αKlotho and FGF23 as early biomarkers of CKD. However, further large prospective follow-up researches are needed to validate this hypothesis and to explore whether maintaining or elevating the Klotho level could improve renal function and complications in CKD patients.
Patch Based Grid Artifact Suppressing in Digital Mammography
Authors: Ling Qingqing , Wu Shuyu , Duan Xiaoman , Qin Genggeng , Ma Jianhui , Chen Chaomin , Qi Hongliang , Zhou Linghong , Xu Yuan
Published: August 2018

The mammography is the first choice of breast cancer screening, which has proven to be the most effective screening method. An antiscatter grid is usually employed to enhance the contrast of image by absorbing unexpected scattered signals. However, the grid pattern casts shadows and grid artifacts, which severely degrade the image quality. To solve the problem, we propose the patch based frequency signal filtering for fast grid artifacts suppressing. As opposed to whole image processing synchronously, the proposed method divides image into a number of blocks for tuning filter simultaneously, which reduces the frequency interference among image blocks and saves computation time by multithread processing. Moreover, for mitigating grid artifacts more precisely, characteristic peak detection is employed in each block automatically, which can accurately identify the location of the antiscatter grid and its motion pattern. Qualitative and quantitative studies were performed on simulation and real machine data to validate the proposed method. The results show great potential for fast suppressing grid artifacts and generating high quality of digital mammography.
Automatic Approach of Sentiment Lexicon Generation for Mobile Shopping Reviews
Authors: Feng Jun , Gong Cheng , Li Xiaodong , Lau Raymond Y. K.
Published: August 2018

The dramatic increase in the use of smartphones has allowed people to comment on various products at any time. The analysis of the sentiment of users’ product reviews largely depends on the quality of sentiment lexicons. Thus, the generation of high‐quality sentiment lexicons is a critical topic. In this paper, we propose an automatic approach for constructing a domain‐specific sentiment lexicon by considering the relationship between sentiment words and product features in mobile shopping reviews. The approach first selects sentiment words and product features from original reviews and mines the relationship between them using an improved pointwise mutual information algorithm. Second, sentiment words that are related to mobile shopping are clustered into categories to form sentiment dimensions. At each sentiment dimension, each sentiment word can take the value of 0 or 1, where 1 indicates that the word belongs to a particular category whereas 0 indicates that it does not belong to that category. The generated lexicon is evaluated by constructing a sentiment classification task using several product reviews written in both Chinese and English. Two popular non‐domain‐specific sentiment lexicons as well as state‐of‐the‐art machine‐learning and deep‐learning models are chosen as benchmarks, and the experimental results show that our sentiment lexicons outperform the benchmarks with statistically significant differences, thus proving the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Catalogue of Opiliones (Arachnida) types deposited in the Arachnida and Myriapoda collection of the Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil
Authors: CORONATO-RIBEIRO AMANDA , PINTO-DA-ROCHA RICARDO , RHEIMS CRISTINA ANNE
Published: August 2018

A catalogue of the Opiliones types of the “Instituto Butantan”, São Paulo, Brazil is given, surveying the collection after severe fire damaged in 2010. Of a total of 91 species with type material listed for the collection, 69 could be located, and 22 are considered lost. The species are arranged according to their families and genera. The collection of Salvador de Toledo Piza Jr., housed at the Museu de Zoologia “Luiz de Queiroz”, was donated to the Instituto Butantan in 2009. These types received a new accession number and are listed under this new affiliation for the first time.
New species of Mouse Spiders (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Actinopodidae: Missulena) from the Pilbara region, Western Australia
Authors: HARMS DANILO , FRAMENAU VOLKER W.
Published: August 2018

Two new species of Mouse Spiders, genus Missulena, from the Pilbara region in Western Australia are described based on morphological features of males. Missulena faulderi sp. nov. and Missulena langlandsi sp. nov. are currently known from a small area in the southern Pilbara only. Mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence divergence failed in clearly delimiting species in Missulena, but provided a useful, independent line of evidence for taxonomic work in addition to morphology.
Species of the family Nemouridae (Plecoptera) from Taihang Mountains of Northern China, with description of Nemoura taihangshana sp. n.
Authors: WANG HONGLIANG , LI WEIHAI , YANG DING
Published: August 2018

A distinctive new species of the genus Nemoura is described from the Taihang Mountains of northern China, N. taihang-shana. The new species is compared with similar species. Amphinemura sinensis (Wu, 1926) is redescribed and the first record of N. geei Wu, 1929 from Henan Province is also given.
Larval morphology of Dart-Poison Frogs (Anura: Dendrobatoidea: Aromobatidae and Dendrobatidae)
Authors: SÁNCHEZ DAVID A.
Published: August 2018

Tadpoles in the superfamily Dendrobatoidea (families Aromobatidae and Dendrobatidae), housed in zoological collections or illustrated in publications, were studied. For the most part, tadpoles of species within the family Aromobatidae, the subfamilies Colostethinae and Hyloxalinae (of the family Dendrobatidae), and those of the genus Phyllobates, Dendrobatinae (Dendrobatidae) have slender anterior jaw sheaths with a medial notch and slender lateral processes, triangular fleshy projections on the inner margin of the nostrils and digestive tube with constant diameter and color and its axis sinistrally directed, concealing the liver and other organs. These morphologies are different from the ones observed in tadpoles of species included in the Dendrobatinae (minus Phyllobates). Exceptions to these morphological arrangements are noted, being the digestive system arrangement and the nostril ornamentation more plastic than the shape of the upper jaw sheath. Tadpoles of all species of the Dendrobatoidea have similar disposition of digestive organs in early stages, but differentiate in late stages of development. Classifying the upper jaw sheath into the two recognized states is possible from very early stages of development, but gut disposition and nostril ornamentation cannot be determined until late in development, making classification and taxonomic assignment of tadpoles based on these morphological features challenging.
A new species of the genus Mantisgebia Sakai, 2006 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Gebiidea, Upogebiidae) from the South China Sea
Authors: LIU WENLIANG , LIU RUIYU
Published: August 2018

A new species of the genus Mantisgebia Sakai, 2006, M. multispinosa sp. nov., collected from the South China Sea, is described and illustrated. It is readily distinguished from the other three species of the genus by the numerous spines on the cervical groove, hepatic region, and lower margins of the antennular and antennal peduncles.
A new species of Brasilycus (Coleoptera: Lycidae) from Peru
Authors: BOCAKOVA MILADA , NASCIMENTO ELYNTON ALVES DO
Published: August 2018

Brasilycus peruanus sp. nov. is proposed as new to science. Photographs of the habitus, antenna, pronotum, and aedeagus of the single specimen are presented. This new species represents the first record of the genus Brasilycus from Peru and is the fourth species in the genus recorded from South America.
XUANKUN LI, ZHU LI& DING YANG (2013) Two new species of Amblypsilopus Bigot with a key to species from Vietnam (Diptera: Dolichopodidae). Zootaxa, 3630(3): 549–560.
Authors: LI XUANKUN , LI ZHU , YANG DING
Published: August 2018

Running title on page 550 forward should read as: LI ET AL. and NEW AMBLYPSILOPUS FROM VIETNAM
The Deprofessionalization of Educators: An Intersectional Analysis of Neoliberalism and Education “Reform”
Authors: de Saxe Jennifer Gale , Bucknovitz Sarah , Mahoney-Mosedale Frances
Published: August 2018

Throughout this article, we discuss the neoliberal assault on public education, specifically in the United States, which, through coercive means, is anti-feminist, racist, and classist and demonstrates a deliberate attack on the female-dominated teaching profession. By contextualizing and analyzing education policies through a framework of intersectional critical feminism, we demonstrate how educators are delegitimized and deprofessionalized through privatization, education “reform,” and policies that reduce the profession to one that is both technicist and rote, all under the guise of “equity” and “social justice.” Our analysis reinforces the need to better understand the intricacies that permeate such policies so that the necessity to resist becomes inherently part of teaching, education, and political activism both in the United States and internationally.
Behavioral Investments in the Short Term Fail to Produce a Sunk Cost Effect
Authors: Nash Jeremy S. , Imuta Kana , Nielsen Mark
Published: August 2018

A cognitive bias known as the sunk cost effect has been found across a number of contexts. This bias drives the continued investment of time, effort, or money into an endeavor on the basis of prior investments into it. In Studies 1 and 2, we attempted to observe whether this effect occurs for short-term behavioral investments. In both studies, a reverse, or no sunk cost effect was found. In Study 3, we attempted to find an effect using hypothetical scenarios that were analagous to the behavioral investments presented in Study 1. This also failed to reveal an effect. Finally, Study 4 was an attempt to replicate a previously used hypothetical investment scenario; with results this time revealing the effect. A number of explanations for this pattern of results, such as participation and salient physical exertion, are discussed, with the possibility that some short-term behavioral investments are not subject to the sunk cost effect.
Hemostatic properties of in situ gels composed of hydrophobically modified biopolymers
Authors: Mizuta Ryo , Taguchi Tetsushi
Published: August 2018

Hemorrhaging often occurs during cardiac surgery, and postoperative bleeding is associated with medical complications or even death. Medical complications resulting from hemorrhaging can lead to longer hospital stays, thus increasing costs. Hemostatic agents are the main treatment for bleeding. In the present study, hemostatic agents composed of aldehyde groups and hydrophobically modified with hyaluronic acid (ald-hm-HyA) and hydrophobically modified gelatin (hm-ApGltn) were developed and their hemostatic effects were evaluated. These modified hemostatic agents formed more stable blood clots compared with the nonhydrophobically modified HyA-based hemostatic agent. The bulk strength of the whole blood clot using the aldehyde and stearoyl group-modified hyaluronic acid (ald-C18-HyA)/hm-ApGltn-based hemostatic agent was higher than that of the aldehyde group only modified HyA (ald-HyA)/hm-ApGltn-based hemostatic agent. Rheological experiments using α-cyclodextrin showed that hydrophobic modification of HyA with C18 groups effectively enhanced anchoring to the red blood cell surface. Therefore, the ald-hm-HyA/hm-ApGltn-based hemostatic agent has potential applications in cardiac surgery.
Sex and Labor Trafficking in Paraguay: Risk Factors, Needs Assessment, and the Role of the Health Care System
Authors: Stanford Kimberly , Cappetta Alyssa , Ahn Roy , Macias-Konstantopoulos Wendy
Published: August 2018

Trafficking of adults and children for both sex and labor is a human rights violation occurring with alarming frequency throughout the world, and resulting in profound harm to close-knit communities and severe health consequences for victims. Certain areas, such as the country of Paraguay, are at a higher risk for trafficking due to unique economic, cultural, and geographic factors. Thousands of people, especially children, are trafficked within Paraguay’s borders, and many eventually are transported to neighboring countries and sometimes to Europe and elsewhere. Using case study methodology and “city” as the unit of study, researchers interviewed 18 key anti-trafficking stakeholders from government and nongovernmental organizations in two major metropolitan centers for trafficking in Paraguay, Asunción, and Encarnación. Through semistructured interviews, this qualitative study examines risk factors for trafficking, health outcomes, interventions needed within the health care sector, and programs needed to combat trafficking. We identified risk factors including poverty, marginalization of indigenous people, gender inequality, domestic servitude of children (criadazgo), and political hesitance to enact protective legislation. Victims of trafficking were reported to suffer from physical injuries, unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and mental health issues such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. These predispose victims to difficulties reintegrating into their communities and ultimately to retrafficking. A major gap was identified in the lack of sufficient lodging and rehabilitation services for rescued victims, affordable access to trauma-sensitive health care for victims, and scarce mental health services. Many of the findings are applicable across the world and may be of use to guide future anti-trafficking efforts in Paraguay and beyond.
Is Health Promotion a Journey or a Destination?
Authors: Terry Paul
Published: August 2018

Recent data on our progress in workplace-based health promotion should keep us grounded as we consider whether we are on track to planned destinations. One recent survey suggests employees view worksite wellness as a valuable employee benefit but another survey suggests employees are dissatisfied with their employers’ wellness offerings. What explains these differences? Is the program driven by a plan? Is the plan relevant to the company’s priorities? Was the plan developed using participatory planning principles?” A participant centered health promotion initiative means deciding a destination and planning how to get there alongside those you aspire to serve. This approach is far more likely to lead to alternative routes and, often, untested sources of data for finding the way. The urgent opportunity for workplace-based program planners is that of strategic planning that is guided by a continuous review of credible metrics such as those offered in best practices scorecards.
Area-level relative deprivation and alcohol use in Denmark: Is there a relationship?
Authors: Bloomfield Kim , Berg-Beckhoff Gabriele , Seid Abdu Kedir , Stock Christiane
Published: August 2018

Aims: Greater area-level relative deprivation has been related to poorer health behaviours, but studies specifically on alcohol use and abuse have been equivocal. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate how area-level relative deprivation in Denmark relates to alcohol use and misuse in the country. Methods: As individual-level data, we used the national alcohol and drug survey of 2011 ( n= 5133). Data were procured from Statistics Denmark to construct an index of relative deprivation at the parish level ( n=2119). The deprivation index has two components, which were divided into quintiles. Multilevel linear and logistic regressions analysed the influence of area deprivation on mean alcohol use and hazardous drinking, as measured by the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. Results: Men who lived in parishes designated as ‘very deprived’ on the socioeconomic component were more likely to consume less alcohol; women who lived in parishes designated as ‘deprived’ on the housing component were less likely to drink hazardously. But at the individual level, education was positively related to mean alcohol consumption, and higher individual income was positively related to mean consumption for women. Higher-educated men were more likely to drink hazardously. Conclusions: Area-level measures of relative deprivation were not strongly related to alcohol use, yet in the same models individual-level socioeconomic variables had a more noticeable influence. This suggests that in a stronger welfare state, the impact of area-level relative deprivation may not be as great. Further work is needed to develop more sensitive measures of relative deprivation.
Object-oriented Bayesian network for complex system risk assessment
Authors: Liu Quan , Tchangani Ayeley , Pérès François , Gonzalez-Prida Vicente
Published: August 2018

In this article, we present a novel approach of modelling risk management process for complex systems. To overcome difficulties of modelling dynamic large-scale systems, the main idea is to split it into various structural homogeneous units. The object-oriented paradigm is used to this end but, unlike previous works, the proposed methodology allows variation in terms of internal parameters throughout the objects. This novel approach based on Bayesian network techniques is referred to as extended object-oriented Bayesian network. The main contribution of this article consists in establishing algorithms and methods on how to build and run such models. This article is an extension of a communication presented at AMEST by mainly developing a more realistic case study along with other improvements.
After-sales services optimisation through dynamic opportunistic maintenance: a wind energy case study
Authors: Erguido Asier , Crespo Adolfo , Castellano Eduardo , Flores Jose Luis
Published: August 2018

After-sales maintenance services can be a very profitable source of income for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) due to the increasing interest of assets’ users on performance-based contracts. However, when it concerns the product value-adding process, OEMs have traditionally been more focused on improving their production processes, rather than on complementing their products by offering after-sales services, consequently leading to difficulties in offering them efficiently. Furthermore, due to both the high uncertainty of the assets’ behaviour and the inherent challenges of managing the maintenance process (e.g. maintenance strategy to be followed or resources to be deployed), it is complex to make business out of the supply of after-sales services. Aiming at helping the business and maintenance decision-makers at this point, this paper proposes a framework for optimising the income of after-sales maintenance services through: (a) implementing advanced multi-objective opportunistic maintenance strategies that systematically consider the assets’ operational context in order to perform preventive maintenance during the most favourable conditions, (b) considering the specific OEMs’ and users’ needs and (c) assessing both endogenous and exogenous uncertainties that might condition the after-sales services’ profitability. The developed case study for the wind energy sector demonstrates the suitability of the presented framework for optimising the after-sales services.