bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Basking African striped mice choose warmer locations to heat up: evidence from a field study
Authors: Zduniak M. , Pillay N. , Schradin C.
Published: June 2019

Basking in the sun is an important energy‐saving tactic in ectotherm animals. It has also been recognized to be important in several mammal species, especially in arid environments. In particular, small mammals that have a greater surface‐to‐volume ratio can use basking to reduce metabolic energy expenditure by using external heat to maintain a high body temperature. If basking mainly functions to passively gain heat, animals should choose basking spots that offer a more favorable micro‐climate for warming up. We tested this hypothesis in African striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio), a diurnal species that is known to bask. Over 19 months, we displaced 138 individuals from their basking spots and immediately thereafter measured the temperature of the surface (Ts) at these spots. We expected that striped mice choose spots for basking that are warmer than random spots, especially in (1) the morning, when Ts is lower compared to afternoon, and (2) the dry season characterized by low food availability in which energy gain due to basking is more beneficial than in the moist season with high food availability. Moreover, we tested whether there are differences in relative safety (measured as available plant cover) at basking spots compared to random spots. Temperature of the surface (Ts) was significantly higher at basking spots than at random spots. However, we did not find any differences in ΔT in relation to season, time of the day or in the safety between basking and random spots. In conclusion, our study indicates that striped mice choose basking spots with a favourable microclimate characterized by higher surface temperature.
Moving Children through Private International Law: Institutions and the Enactment of Ethics
Authors: van Wichelen Sonja
Published: June 2019

This article examines how the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) plays a central role in justifying the institution of legal adoption. The Hague Adoption Convention has often been regarded as a response to the challenges that the “global situation” brings to adoption practice. Based on private international law, the agreement contains protocols and norms to ensure the protection of the child in intercountry adoption. In the article, I propose that the Hague Convention can be understood as a “transparency device”; a complex assemblage working in pursuit of global “good governance.” The device, however, also operates as justification within the institutional domain, allowing adoption agencies to make distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate adoptions. Idemonstrate how the logic of transparency disguises as much as it promises to reveal. While the doctrine's aim is to validate adoptability and combat trafficking, it also helps to mainstream Euro-American adoption knowledge to other parts of the world.
Weighing the risks of high intakes of selected micronutrients compared with the risks of deficiencies
Authors: Engle‐Stone Reina , Vosti Stephen A. , Luo Hanqi , Kagin Justin , Tarini Ann , Adams Katherine P. , French Caitlin , Brown Kenneth H.
Published: June 2019

Several intervention strategies are available to reduce micronutrient deficiencies, but uncoordinated implementation of multiple interventions may result in excessive intakes. We reviewed relevant data collection instruments and available information on excessive intakes for selected micronutrients and considered possible approaches for weighing competing risks of intake above tolerable upper intake levels (ULs) versus insufficient intakes at the population level. In general, population‐based surveys in low‐ and middle‐income countries suggest that dietary intakes greater than the UL are uncommon, but simulations indicate that fortification and supplementation programs could lead to high intakes under certain scenarios. The risk of excessive intakes can be reduced by considering baseline information on dietary intakes and voluntary supplement use and continuously monitoring program coverage. We describe a framework for comparing risks of micronutrient deficiency and excess, recognizing that critical information for judging these risks is often unavailable. We recommend (1) assessing total dietary intakes and nutritional status; (2) incorporating rapid screening tools for routine monitoring and surveillance; (3) addressing critical research needs, including evaluations of the current ULs, improving biomarkers of excess, and developing methods for predicting and comparing risks and benefits; and (4) ensuring that relevant information is used in decision‐making processes.
Urinary tract infection after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation
Authors: Cluckey Andrew , Perino Alexander C. , Fan Jun , Askari Mariam , Nasir Javed , Marcus Gregory M. , Baykaner Tina , Narayan Sanjiv M. , Wang Paul J. , Turakhia Mintu P.
Published: June 2019

Background

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is common after surgical procedures and a quality improvement target. For non‐surgical procedures such as catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF), UTI risk has not been characterized. We sought to determine incidence and risk factors of UTI after AF ablation and risk variation across sites.

Methods

Using Marketscan commercial claims databases, we performed a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent AF ablation from 2007 to 2011. The primary outcome was UTI diagnosis within 30 days after ablation. We performed multivariate analyses to determine risk factors for UTI and risk of sepsis within 30 days after ablation with UTI as the predictor variable. Median odds ratio was used to quantify UTI site variation.

Results

Among 21 091 patients (age 59.2 ± 10.9; 29.1% female; CHA2DS2‐VASc 2.0 ± 1.6), 622 (2.9%) were diagnosed with UTI within 30 days. In multivariate analyses, UTI was independently associated with age, female sex, prior UTI, and general anesthesia (all P < .01). UTI diagnosis was associated with a substantial increased risk of sepsis within 30 days (5.0% vs. 0.3%; odds ratio 17.5; 95% confidence interval [CI] 10.8‐28.2; P < .0001). Among 416 sites, 211 had at least one UTI. Among these 211 sites, the incidence of postablation UTI ranged from 0.7 to 26.7% (median: 5.4%; Interquartile Range (IQR): 3.0‐7.1%; 95th percentile: 14.3%; median odds ratio: 1.45; 95% CI 1.41‐1.50).

Conclusions

UTI after AF ablation is not uncommon and varies substantially across sites. Consideration of UTI as a quality measure and interventions targeted at high‐risk patients or sites warrant consideration.
Molecular and subcellular cryoinjury of fish spermatozoa and approaches to improve cryopreservation
Authors: Xin Miaomiao , Niksirat Hamid , Shaliutina‐Kolešová Anna , Siddique Mohammad Abdul Momin , Sterba Jan , Boryshpolets Sergii , Linhart Otomar
Published: June 2019

The quality of frozen/thawed fish sperm is generally lower than that of fresh sperm. Extremely low temperatures are associated with damage to fish spermatozoon subcellular compartments and associated molecules such as DNA and proteins. Cryodamage can negatively affect DNA integrity, spermatozoon metabolism and motility, consequently impairing fertilization and embryo development. To preserve sperm efficiently, the addition of proteins including seminal plasma proteins, antioxidants, antifreeze proteins and antifreeze glycoproteins, and bovine serum albumin before and/or after freezing is suggested to minimize cryoinjury. An appropriate quantity of seminal plasma components in cryopreservation medium can prevent spermatozoon membrane damage by maintaining antioxidant enzymes and their proper distribution on the spermatozoon surface. Under storage conditions, the semen antioxidant system is ineffective in protecting spermatozoa from reactive oxygen species. The addition of antioxidants can provide protection for spermatozoa and reduce cryoinjuries during storage, but the effect of a given antioxidant is species‐specific. Antifreeze proteins and antifreeze glycoproteins can stabilize the cell membrane via interaction with phospholipid components and inhibit ice‐crystal growth to reduce damage related to osmotic stress and ice crystallization. However, they may exhibit a cytotoxic effect. This review summarizes the sources and characteristics of subcellular spermatozoon cryoinjury and discusses approaches to improve outcome of fish sperm cryopreservation.
Sartre's Theory of Motivation
Authors: Vanello Daniel
Published: June 2019

The aim of this article is to offer a novel reconstruction of Sartre's theory of motivation. I argue for four related claims: (a) Sartre's theory of motivation revolves around the Schelerian‐inspired notion of affectivity and the peculiar way affectivity provides us access to evaluative properties of the objects in our environment; (b) according to Sartre, the structure of intentional action, and in particular the act of choice and commitment to projects, is inextricably linked with “affectivity”; (c) the inextricable link between intentional action and affectivity is to be analyzed in terms of the fundamental structure of consciousness as being self‐present, thus making the agent nonpositionally aware of her choices and commitments; (d) an agent is motivated to act when her affective disclosure of value is in part constituted by the awareness of her commitments to relevant projects.
SIN3 LIKE genes mediate long‐day induction of flowering but inhibit the floral transition in short days through histone deacetylation in Arabidopsis
Authors: Huang Fei , Yuan Wenya , Tian Shu , Zheng Qijie , He Yuehui
Published: June 2019

Day length or photoperiod changes are crucial for plants to align the timing of the floral transition with seasonal changes. Through the photoperiod pathway, day length changes induce the expression of the florigenic FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) to promote flowering. In the facultative long days (LDs) plant Arabidopsis thaliana, LD signals induce flowering, whereas short days (SDs) inhibit flowering. Here, we show that in Arabidopsis SIN3 LIKE (SNL) family genes, encoding a scaffold protein for assembly of histone deacetylase complexes, directly repress the expression of an FT activator and three FT repressors to regulate the transition to flowering in SDs and LDs, respectively. Under inductive LDs, SNLs including SIN3 LIKE 1 (SNL1) to SNL5, function in partial redundancy to repress the expression of three AP2 family transcription factors that repress FT expression, and therefore mediate LD induction of FT expression and promote the transition to flowering. In contrast, under non‐inductive SDs SNLs act to inhibit the floral transition, partly through direct repression of a MADS box transcriptional factor that promotes FT expression. Therefore, our results reveal that SNLs, through histone deacetylation, play a dual role for the control of flowering in the LD plant Arabidopsis: inhibiting flowering when the day length is shorter and promoting the floral transition when days become longer than a threshold length.
An allele of ZmPORB2 encoding a protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase promotes tocopherol accumulation in both leaves and kernels of maize
Authors: Zhan Wei , Liu Jie , Pan Qingchun , Wang Hong , Yan Shijuan , Li Kun , Deng Min , Li Wenqiang , Liu Nannan , Kong Qian , Fernie Alisdair R. , Yan Jianbing
Published: June 2019

Phytol is one of the key precursors for tocopherol synthesis in plants, however, the underlying mechanisms concerning the accumulation of tocopherol remain poorly understood. In this study, qVE5, a major QTL affecting tocopherol accumulation in maize kernels was identified via a positional cloning approach. qVE5 encodes a protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (ZmPORB2), which localizes to the chloroplast. Overexpression of ZmPORB2 increased tocopherol content in both leaves and kernels. Candidate gene association analysis identified a 5/8‐bp insertion/deletion (InDel058) in the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) as the causal polymorphism in affecting ZmPORB2 expression and being highly associated with tocopherol content. We showed that higher expression of ZmPORB2 correlated with more chlorophyll metabolites in the leaf following pollination. RNA‐sequencing and metabolic analysis in near isogenic lines (NILs) support that ZmPORB2 participates in chlorophyll metabolism enabling the production of phytol, an important precursor of tocopherol. We also found that the tocopherol content in the kernel is mainly determined by the maternal genotype, a fact that was further confirmed by in vitro culture experiments. Finally, a PCR‐based marker based on Indel058 was developed in order to facilitate the high tocopherol (vitamin E) maize breeding.
Impact of postoperative antibiotics on rates of infection and implant removal after tibial tuberosity advancement in 1,768 canine stifles
Authors: Ferrell Christopher L. , Barnhart Matthew D. , Herman Eric
Published: June 2019

Objective

To report infection rate, implant removal rate, and postoperative antibiotic therapy after tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA) in dogs.

Study design

Retrospective study.

Animals

One thousand seven hundred sixty‐eight stifles in 1,732 dogs.

Methods

Medical records (January 2007‐December 2011) of dogs treated with a TTA were reviewed. Cases were included if at least 1 year of postoperative follow‐up was available and no additional procedures were performed on the stifle. Date of surgery, date of culture, culture and susceptibility results, postoperative antimicrobials used, and any implant removals were recorded. Use of postoperative antibiotics and implant removal were evaluated statistically for effect on infection occurrence and resolution.

Results

Postoperative infections were diagnosed in 82 of 1,768 (4.6%) stifles. Implants were removed from 32 (39%) stifles, with plate and screw removal only in 23 (71.9%) stifles. The rate of infection did not differ between dogs with or without postoperative antibiotic therapy. However, dogs receiving postoperative antibiotic therapy were at risk for developing an oxacillin‐resistant infection (P = .001). Oxacillin‐resistant infections were associated with a requirement for implant removal to achieve resolution compared with other types of bacterial infections (P < .05).

Conclusion

No benefit was detected with the use of postoperative antibiotics after TTA in this population. Implant removal was infrequent, and the requirement for cage removal was not commonly required for infection resolution.

Clinical significance

This study does not provide evidence to support postoperative antibiotic therapy after TTA. Postoperative infection can be treated in most dogs without removal of the TTA cage.
Success Factors and Benefits of Six Sigma Implementation in Hospitals: A Systematic Review
Authors: Alhamali Rashid M.
Published: June 2019

This review explores critical success factors of Six Sigma implementation in hospitals and identifies the benefits. Data sources and Methodology: Prior studies on Six Sigma (SS) totaling 100 were selected from more than 100 journals. These studies came from numerous databases and are classified based on the year of publication. Journal names with corresponding number of papers selected are reported. The review reveals 25 critical success factors (CSF) necessary in the implementation of Six Sigma, encompassing numerous aspects of an organization such as managerial, statistical, and technical aspects. Twenty benefits derived from SS’s implementation are identified, including various improvements in terms of the organizations’ processes, financial performance, and quality of service. The success of Six Sigma implementation depends on several critical factors, some of which are best considered before its introduction, while others must be addressed during the process itself. Other factors are external and should be considered during and after its implementation. Not all Six Sigma initiatives are successful nor result in great benefits. Therefore, organizations must analyze their need for Six Sigma projects and base their decisions on the availability/presence of the CSF. Organizations, including hospitals, can gain numerous benefits from Six Sigma implementation but must first evaluate Six Sigma’s introduction and implementation against their abilities to achieve desired outcomes.
Secreted Flavin Cofactors for Anaerobic Respiration of Fumarate and Urocanate by Shewanella oneidensis: Cost and Role
Authors: Kees Eric D. , Pendleton Augustus R. , Paquete Catarina M. , Arriola Matthew B. , Kane Aunica L. , Kotloski Nicholas J. , Intile Peter J. , Gralnick Jeffrey A.
Published: June 2019

Shewanella
species are prevalent in marine and aquatic environments, throughout stratified water columns, in mineral-rich sediments, and in association with multicellular marine and aquatic organisms. The diversity of niches shewanellae can occupy are due largely to their respiratory versatility.
Shewanella oneidensis
is a model organism for dissimilatory metal reduction and can respire a diverse array of organic and inorganic compounds, including dissolved and solid metal oxides. The fumarate reductase FccA is a highly abundant multifunctional periplasmic protein that acts to bridge the periplasm and temporarily store electrons in a variety of respiratory nodes, including metal, nitrate, and dimethyl sulfoxide respiration. However, maturation of this central protein, particularly flavin cofactor acquisition, is poorly understood. Here, we quantify the fitness cost of flavin secretion and describe how free flavins are acquired by FccA and a homologous periplasmic flavoprotein, UrdA.
Comprehensive Characterization of the Human Endogenous Retrovirus HERV-K(HML-6) Group: Overview of Structure, Phylogeny, and Contribution to the Human Genome
Authors: Pisano Maria Paola , Grandi Nicole , Cadeddu Marta , Blomberg Jonas , Tramontano Enzo
Published: June 2019

We reported the distribution and genetic composition of 66 HML-6 elements. We analyzed the phylogeny of the HML-6 sequences and identified two main clusters. We provided the first description of a Rec domain within the
env
sequence of 23 HML-6 elements. A Rec domain was also predicted within the ERVK3-1 transcript sequence, revealing its expression in various healthy tissues. Evidence about the context of insertion and colocalization of 19 HML-6 elements with functional human genes are also reported, including the sequence 16p11.2, whose 5′ long terminal repeat overlapped the exon of one transcript variant of a cellular zinc finger upregulated and involved in hepatocellular carcinoma. The present work provides the first complete overview of the HML-6 elements in GRCh37(hg19), describing the structure, phylogeny, and genomic context of insertion of each locus. This information allows a better understanding of the genetics of one of the most expressed HERV groups in the human genome.
Variation in Intra-individual Lentiviral Evolution Rates: a Systematic Review of Human, Nonhuman Primate, and Felid Species
Authors: Krakoff Emma , Gagne Roderick B. , VandeWoude Sue , Carver Scott
Published: June 2019

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that compares intra-individual evolution rates for FIV, SIV, and HIV following systematic review of the literature. Our findings have important implications for informing research strategies in the field of intra-individual virus dynamics for lentiviruses. We observed that FIV evolves more slowly than HIV and SIV at the intra-individual level and found that mutation rates may differ by gene sequence length but not by host, gene, strain, an experimental setting relative to a natural setting, or spillover host infection relative to primary host infection.
Complete Genome Sequence of Halomonas sulfidaeris Strain Esulfide1 Isolated from a Metal Sulfide Rock at a Depth of 2,200 Meters, Obtained Using Nanopore Sequencing
Authors: Saito Motofumi , Nishigata Akane , Galipon Josephine , Arakawa Kazuharu
Published: June 2019

We report the complete genome sequence of
Halomonas sulfidaeris
ATCC BAA-803, isolated from a metal sulfide rock at a depth of 2,200 m in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. The assembled genome comprised one circular chromosome of 4.20 Mb and one large plasmid of 273 kb.
Draft Genome Sequence of Streptomyces thermocarboxydus BPSAC147, a Potentially Plant Growth-Promoting Endophytic Bacterium
Authors: Passari Ajit Kumar , Rajput Vinay , Zothanpuia  , Priya Lakshmi P. M. , Dharne Mahesh , Dastager Syed , Mathew Oommen K. , Hashem Abeer , Abd_Allah Elsayed Fathi , Singh Bhim Pratap
Published: June 2019

Streptomyces thermocarboxydus
strain BPSAC147 is an endophytic actinobacterium isolated from root tissues of
Rhynchotechum ellipticum
in Mizoram, Northeast India. The strain showed potentially plant growth-promoting and biocontrol activities.
Draft Genome Sequence of Butyricimonas faecihominis 30A1, Isolated from Feces of a Japanese Alzheimer’s Disease Patient
Authors: Nguyen Tien Thi Thuy , Oshima Kenshiro , Toh Hidehiro , Khasnobish Anushka , Fujii Yusuke , Arakawa Kensuke , Morita Hidetoshi
Published: June 2019

Butyricimonas faecihominis
30A1, a butyrate-producing bacterium, was isolated from feces of a Japanese Alzheimer’s disease patient. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of this organism.
Draft Genome Sequences of Two Streptococcus pneumoniae Strains Causing Invasive Infections in Children in Qatar
Authors: Tsui Clement K. M. , Sundararaju Sathyavathi , Al Mana Hassan , Thomas Eva , Tang Patrick , Hasan Mohammad Rubayet , Perez-Lopez Andres
Published: June 2019

Invasive pneumococcal infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the pediatric population. We report the draft genomes of two clinical
Streptococcus pneumoniae
isolates associated with severe infections in children in Qatar.
Complete Genome Sequence of Escherichia coli Myophage Minorna
Authors: Rogers Katherine , Min Lorna , Newkirk Heather , Liu Mei , Ramsey Jolene
Published: June 2019

The Gram-negative bacterium
Escherichia coli
causes many diseases, and antibiotic resistance has become a problem for their treatment. Bacteriophages may present a viable treatment alternative.
Evidence for a late Cambrian juvenile arc and a buried suture within the Laurentian Caledonides of Scotland: Comparisons with hyperextended Iapetan margins in the Appalachian Mountains (North America) and Norway
Authors: Dunk M. , Strachan R.A. , Cutts K.A. , Lasalle S. , Storey C.D. , Burns I.M. , Whitehouse M.J. , Fowler M. , Moreira H. , Dunlop J. , Pereira I.
Published: June 2019

Uranium-lead (U-Pb) zircon dating establishes a late Cambrian (Drumian) protolith age of 503 ± 2 Ma for a trondhjemitic gneiss of the calc-alkaline Strathy Complex, northern Scottish Caledonides. Positive εHf and εNd values from trondhjemitic gneisses and co-magmatic amphibolites, respectively, and an absence of any inheritance in zircon populations support published geochemistry that indicates a juvenile origin distal from Laurentia. In order to account for its present location within a stack of Laurentia-derived thrust sheets, we interpret the complex as allochthonous and located along a buried suture. We propose that a microcontinental ribbon was detached from Laurentia during late Neoproterozoic to Cambrian rifting; the intervening oceanic tract closed by subduction during the late Cambrian and formed a juvenile arc, the protolith of the Strathy Complex. The microcontinental ribbon was reattached to Laurentia during the Grampian orogeny, which transported the Strathy Complex as a tectonic slice within a nappe stack. Peak metamorphic conditions for the Strathy Complex arc (650–700 °C, 0.6–0.75 GPa) are intermediate in pressure between those published previously for Grampian mineral assemblages in structurally overlying low-pressure migmatites (670–750 °C, <0.4 GPa) that we deduce to have been derived from an adjacent backarc basin, and structurally underlying upper amphibolite rocks (650–700 °C, 1.1–1.2 GPa) that we interpret to represent the partially subducted Laurentian margin. This scenario compares with that of the northern Appalachian Mountains and Norway where microcontinental blocks are interpreted to have their origins in detachment from passive margins of the Iapetus Ocean during Cambrian rifting and to have been re-amalgamated during Caledonian orogenesis.
A 5.8 GHz Low-Power Energy Harvester for RF Wireless Power Transfer Systems
Authors: Kanoun Mariem , Cordeau David , Paillot Jean-Marie , Mnif Hassene , Loulou Mourad
Published: June 2019

This paper presents the design and implementation of an RF energy harvester system at 5.8[Formula: see text]GHz for low-power wireless transmission applications. The potential application of the proposed system is to wirelessly power sensor nodes. First, a design methodology of the rectifier based on a theoretical approach is presented. The simulation results show an excellent correlation with the theoretical ones, proving the accuracy of the proposed design methodology. A prototype is fabricated and the simulation results are validated by the measurements. Then, the rectenna is combined to a commercial power management circuit and a load which emulates the behavior of a sensor. The power management circuit boosts and regulates the output DC voltage as well as stores the collected energy into a capacitor. Finally, the complete system is experimentally tested and excellent performances are demonstrated. The efficiency of the RF energy harvester is 24% at [Formula: see text]10[Formula: see text]dBm input power and 47% at [Formula: see text]5[Formula: see text]dBm input power which are the highest reported measured efficiencies at this frequency and at those power levels. The complete rectenna system is able to harvest 4.62[Formula: see text]mJ in 40 s and 192[Formula: see text]s for [Formula: see text]6[Formula: see text]dBm and [Formula: see text]10[Formula: see text]dBm input power, respectively allowing us to power wirelessly low-power electronic devices.
The 3D transient semiconductor equations with gradient-dependent and interfacial recombination
Authors: Disser K. , Rehberg J.
Published: June 2019

We establish the well-posedness of the transient van Roosbroeck system in three space dimensions under realistic assumptions on the data: non-smooth domains, discontinuous coefficient functions and mixed boundary conditions. Moreover, within this analysis, recombination terms may be concentrated on surfaces and interfaces and may not only depend on charge-carrier densities, but also on the electric field and currents. In particular, this includes Avalanche recombination. The proofs are based on recent abstract results on maximal parabolic and optimal elliptic regularity of divergence-form operators.
Dictionary Compression in Point Cloud Data Management
Authors: Pavlovic Mirjana , Bastian Kai-Niklas , Gildhoff Hinnerk , Ailamaki Anastasia
Published: June 2019

Nowadays, massive amounts of point cloud data can be collected thanks to advances in data acquisition and processing technologies such as dense image matching and airborne LiDAR scanning. With the increase in volume and precision, point cloud data offers a useful source of information for natural-resource management, urban planning, self-driving cars, and more. At the same time, on the scale that point cloud data is produced, management challenges are introduced: it is important to achieve efficiency both in terms of querying performance and space requirements. Traditional file-based solutions to point cloud management offer space efficiency, however, they cannot scale to such massive data and provide the declarative power of a DBMS.

In this article, we propose a time- and space-efficient solution to storing and managing point cloud data in main memory column-store DBMS. Our solution, Space-Filling Curve Dictionary-Based Compression (SFC-DBC), employs dictionary-based compression in the spatial data management domain and enhances it with indexing capabilities by using space-filling curves. SFC-DBC does so by constructing the space-filling curve over a compressed, artificially introduced dictionary space. Consequently, SFC-DBC significantly optimizes query execution and yet does not require additional storage resources, compared to traditional dictionary-based compression. With respect to space-filling-curve-based approaches, it minimizes storage footprint and increases resilience to skew. As a proof of concept, we develop and evaluate our approach as a research prototype in the context of SAP HANA. SFC-DBC outperforms other dictionary-based compression schemes by up to 61% in terms of space and up to 9.4× in terms of query performance.
A Multi-sensor Framework for Personal Presentation Analytics
Authors: Gan Tian , Li Junnan , Wong Yongkang , Kankanhalli Mohan S.
Published: June 2019

Presentation has been an effective method for delivering information to an audience for many years. Over the past few decades, technological advancements have revolutionized the way humans deliver presentation. Conventionally, the quality of a presentation is usually evaluated through painstaking manual analysis with experts. Although the expert feedback is effective in assisting users to improve their presentation skills, manual evaluation suffers from high cost and is often not available to most individuals. In this work, we propose a novel multi-sensor self-quantification system for presentations, which is designed based on a new proposed assessment rubric. We present our analytics model with conventional ambient sensors (i.e., static cameras and Kinect sensor) and the emerging wearable egocentric sensors (i.e., Google Glass). In addition, we performed a cross-correlation analysis of speaker’s vocal behavior and body language. The proposed framework is evaluated on a new presentation dataset, namely, NUS Multi-Sensor Presentation dataset, which consists of 51 presentations covering a diverse range of topics. To validate the efficacy of the proposed system, we have conducted a series of user studies with the speakers and an interview with an English communication expert, which reveals positive and promising feedback.
How Deep Features Have Improved Event Recognition in Multimedia
Authors: Ahmad Kashif , Conci Nicola
Published: June 2019

Event recognition is one of the areas in multimedia that is attracting great attention of researchers. Being applicable in a wide range of applications, from personal to collective events, a number of interesting solutions for event recognition using multimedia information sources have been proposed. On the other hand, following their immense success in classification, object recognition, and detection, deep learning has been shown to perform well in event recognition tasks also. Thus, a large portion of the literature on event analysis relies nowadays on deep learning architectures. In this article, we provide an extensive overview of the existing literature in this field, analyzing how deep features and deep learning architectures have changed the performance of event recognition frameworks. The literature on event-based analysis of multimedia contents can be categorized into four groups, namely (i) event recognition in single images; (ii) event recognition in personal photo collections; (iii) event recognition in videos; and (iv) event recognition in audio recordings. In this article, we extensively review different deep-learning-based frameworks for event recognition in these four domains. Furthermore, we also review some benchmark datasets made available to the scientific community to validate novel event recognition pipelines. In the final part of the manuscript, we also provide a detailed discussion on basic insights gathered from the literature review, and identify future trends and challenges.
Multi-level Similarity Perception Network for Person Re-identification
Authors: Shen Chen , Jin Zhongming , Chu Wenqing , Jiang Rongxin , Chen Yaowu , Qi Guo-Jun , Hua Xian-Sheng
Published: June 2019

In this article, we propose a novel deep Siamese architecture based on a convolutional neural network (CNN) and multi-level similarity perception for the person re-identification (re-ID) problem. According to the distinct characteristics of diverse feature maps, we effectively apply different similarity constraints to both low-level and high-level feature maps during training stage. Due to the introduction of appropriate similarity comparison mechanisms at different levels, the proposed approach can adaptively learn discriminative local and global feature representations, respectively, while the former is more sensitive in localizing part-level prominent patterns relevant to re-identifying people across cameras. Meanwhile, a novel strong activation pooling strategy is utilized on the last convolutional layer for abstract local-feature aggregation to pursue more representative feature representations. Based on this, we propose final feature embedding by simultaneously encoding original global features and discriminative local features. In addition, our framework has two other benefits: First, classification constraints can be easily incorporated into the framework, forming a unified multi-task network with similarity constraints. Second, as similarity-comparable information has been encoded in the network’s learning parameters via back-propagation, pairwise input is not necessary at test time. That means we can extract features of each gallery image and build an index in an off-line manner, which is essential for large-scale real-world applications. Experimental results on multiple challenging benchmarks demonstrate that our method achieves splendid performance compared with the current state-of-the-art approaches.
A Deep Learning System for Recognizing Facial Expression in Real-Time
Authors: Miao Yu , Dong Haiwei , Jaam Jihad Mohamad Al , Saddik Abdulmotaleb El
Published: June 2019

This article presents an image-based real-time facial expression recognition system that is able to recognize the facial expressions of several subjects on a webcam at the same time. Our proposed methodology combines a supervised transfer learning strategy and a joint supervision method with center loss, which is crucial for facial tasks. A newly proposed Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model, MobileNet, which has both accuracy and speed, is deployed in both offline and in a real-time framework that enables fast and accurate real-time output. Evaluations towards two publicly available datasets, JAFFE and CK+, are carried out respectively. The JAFFE dataset reaches an accuracy of 95.24%, while an accuracy of 96.92% is achieved on the 6-class CK+ dataset, which contains only the last frames of image sequences. At last, the average run-time cost for the recognition of the real-time implementation is around 3.57ms/frame on a NVIDIA Quadro K4200 GPU.
Increasing Image Memorability with Neural Style Transfer
Authors: Siarohin Aliaksandr , Zen Gloria , Majtanovic Cveta , Alameda-Pineda Xavier , Ricci Elisa , Sebe Nicu
Published: June 2019

Recent works in computer vision and multimedia have shown that image memorability can be automatically inferred exploiting powerful deep-learning models. This article advances the state of the art in this area by addressing a novel and more challenging issue: “
Given an arbitrary input image, can we make it more memorable?
” To tackle this problem, we introduce an approach based on an
editing-by-applying-filters
paradigm: given an input image, we propose to automatically retrieve a set of “style seeds,” i.e., a set of style images that, applied to the input image through a neural style transfer algorithm, provide the highest increase in memorability. We show the effectiveness of the proposed approach with experiments on the publicly available LaMem dataset, performing both a quantitative evaluation and a user study. To demonstrate the flexibility of the proposed framework, we also analyze the impact of different implementation choices, such as using different state-of-the-art neural style transfer methods. Finally, we show several qualitative results to provide additional insights on the link between image style and memorability.
Detecting Online Counterfeit-goods Seller using Connection Discovery
Authors: Cheung Ming , She James , Sun Weiwei , Zhou Jiantao
Published: June 2019

With the advancement of social media and mobile technology, any smartphone user can easily become a seller on social media and e-commerce platforms, such as Instagram and Carousell in Hong Kong or Taobao in China. A seller shows images of their products and annotates their images with suitable tags that can be searched easily by others. Those images could be taken by the seller, or the seller could use images shared by other sellers. Among sellers, some sell counterfeit goods, and these sellers may use disguising tags and language, which make detecting them a difficult task. This article proposes a framework to detect counterfeit sellers by using deep learning to discover connections among sellers from their shared images. Based on 473K shared images from Taobao, Instagram, and Carousell, it is proven that the proposed framework can detect counterfeit sellers. The framework is 30% better than approaches using object recognition in detecting counterfeit sellers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to detect online counterfeit sellers from their shared images.
Performance of Redundancy(
d
) with Identical/Independent Replicas
Authors: Hellemans Tim , Houdt Benny Van
Published: June 2019

Queueing systems with redundancy have received considerable attention recently. The idea of redundancy is to reduce latency by replicating each incoming job a number of times and to assign these replicas to a set of randomly selected servers. As soon as one replica completes service the remaining replicas are cancelled. Most prior work on queueing systems with redundancy assumes that the job durations of the different replicas are independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.), which yields insights that can be misleading for computer system design.

In this article, we develop a differential equation, using the cavity method, to assess the workload and response time distribution in a large homogeneous system with redundancy without the need to rely on this independence assumption. More specifically, we assume that the duration of each replica of a single job is identical across the servers and follows a general service time distribution.

Simulation results suggest that the differential equation yields exact results as the system size tends to infinity and can be used to study the stability of the system. We also compare our system to the one with i.i.d. replicas and show the similarity in the analysis used for independent, respectively, identical replicas.
Catching Escapers
Authors: Sha Le-Tian , Xiao Fu , Huang Hai-Ping , Chen Yu , Wang Ru-Chuan
Published: June 2019

As the Industry 4.0 or Internet of Things (IoT) era begins, security plays a key role in the Industry Internet of Things (IIoT) due to various threats, which include escape or Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attackers in the virtualization layer and vulnerability exploiters in the device layer. A successful cross-VM escape attack in the virtualization layer combined with cross-layer penetration in the device layer, which we define as an Advanced Persistent Escaper (APE), poses a great threat. Therefore, the development of detection and rejection methods for APEs across multiple layers in IIoT is an open issue. To the best of our knowledge, less effective methods are established, especially for vulnerability exploitation in the virtualization layer and backdoor leverage in the device layer. On the basis of this, we propose Escaper Cops (EscaperCOP), a detection method for cross-VM escapers in the virtualization layer and cross-layer penetrators in the device layer. In particular, a new detection method for guest-to-host escapers is proposed for the virtualization layer. Finally, a novel encryption method based on Identity-based Broadcast Encryption (IBBE) is proposed to protect the critical components in EscaperCOP, detection library, and control command library. To verify our method, experimental tests are performed for a large number of APEs in an IIoT framework. The test results have demonstrated the proposed method is effective with an acceptable level of detection ratio.
Transform, Combine, and Transfer
Authors: Das Ayan , Sarkar Sudeshna
Published: June 2019

Transfer parsing has been used for developing dependency parsers for languages with no treebank by using transfer from treebanks of other languages (source languages). In delexicalized transfer, parsed words are replaced by their part-of-speech tags. Transfer parsing may not work well if a language does not follow uniform syntactic structure with respect to its different constituent patterns. Earlier work has used information derived from linguistic databases to transform a source language treebank to reduce the syntactic differences between the source and the target languages.

We propose a transformation method where a source language pattern is transformed stochastically to one of the multiple possible patterns followed in the target language. The transformed source language treebank can be used to train a delexicalized parser in the target language. We show that this method significantly improves the average performance of single-source delexicalized transfer parsers.

We also show that, in the multi-source settings, parsers trained using a concatenation of transformed source language treebanks work better when a subset of the source language treebanks is used rather than concatenating all of them or only one.

However, the problem of selecting the subset of treebanks whose combination gives the best-performing parser from the set of all the available treebanks is hard. We propose a greedy selection heuristic based on the labelled attachment scores of the corresponding single-source parsers trained using the treebanks after transformation.
Changes in cerebral oxygen saturation and cerebral blood flow velocity under mild +Gz hypergravity
Authors: Konishi Toru , Kurazumi Takuya , Kato Tomokazu , Takko Chiharu , Ogawa Yojiro , Iwasaki Ken-ichi
Published: June 2019

We previously reported that cerebral blood flow (CBF) was reduced by even mild +Gz hypergravity. Regional cerebral oxygen saturation as measured by near-infrared spectroscopy (C-rSO2) has been widely used to detect cerebral ischemia in clinical practice. For example, decreases in C-rSO2reflect reduced CBF or arterial oxygen saturation. Thus it was hypothesized that C-rSO2would decrease in association with reduced CBF during mild hypergravity. To test this hypothesis, we measured CBF velocity by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography and C-rSO2during mild +Gz hypergravity while participants were in a sitting position. Among 17 male participants, 15 completed 21 min of exposure to +1.5 Gz generated by short-arm centrifuge. C-rSO2and mean CBF velocity in the middle cerebral artery (MCBFVMCA) during centrifugation were averaged every 5 min and compared with pre-hypergravity (+1.0 Gz). C-rSO2did not change significantly throughout centrifugation, although MCBFVMCAgradually decreased from the beginning (−1.2% at 0–5 min), and significantly decreased at 5–10 min (−4.8%), 10–15 min (−6.7%), and 15–20 min (−7.4%). Contrary to our hypothesis, decreases in C-rSO2were not detected, despite reductions in CBF velocity during hypergravity. Since some assumptions, such as unaltered arteriovenous volume ratio, hemoglobin concentration, extracranial blood flow, and brain activity, need to be satisfied to monitor cerebral ischemia by C-rSO2, the present results suggest that these necessary assumptions for near-infrared spectroscopy are not always applicable, and that cerebral oxygenation may not precisely reflect decreases in CBF under mild +Gz hypergravity.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate simultaneously cerebral oxygenation monitored by near-infrared spectroscopy and cerebral blood flow (CBF) monitored by transcranial Doppler under +1.5 Gz hypergravity. Contrary to our hypothesis, there was no significant correlation between CBF velocity and regional cerebral oxygen saturation (C-rSO2). However, an incomplete case nearly involving syncope suggests the possibility that C-rSO2can detect a remarkable decrease in CBF with development of presyncope during +Gz hypergravity.
Noninvasive quantification of macrophagic lung recruitment during experimental ventilation-induced lung injury
Authors: Bitker Laurent , Costes Nicolas , Le Bars Didier , Lavenne Franck , Orkisz Maciej , Hernandez Hoyos Marcela , Benzerdjeb Nazim , Devouassoux Mojgan , Richard Jean-Christophe
Published: June 2019

Macrophagic lung infiltration is pivotal in the development of lung biotrauma because of ventilation-induced lung injury (VILI). We assessed the performance of [11C](R)-PK11195, a positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer binding the translocator protein, to quantify macrophage lung recruitment during experimental VILI. Pigs ( n = 6) were mechanically ventilated under general anesthesia, using protective ventilation settings (baseline). Experimental VILI was performed by titrating tidal volume to reach a transpulmonary end-inspiratory pressure (∆PL) of 35–40 cmH2O. We acquired PET/computed tomography (CT) lung images at baseline and after 4 h of VILI. Lung macrophages were quantified in vivo by the standardized uptake value (SUV) of [11C](R)-PK11195 measured in PET on the whole lung and in six lung regions and ex vivo on lung pathology at the end of experiment. Lung mechanics were extracted from CT images to assess their association with the PET signal. ∆PL increased from 9 ± 1 cmH2O under protective ventilation, to 36 ± 6 cmH2O during experimental VILI. Compared with baseline, whole-lung [11C](R)-PK11195 SUV significantly increased from 1.8 ± 0.5 to 2.9 ± 0.5 after experimental VILI. Regional [11C](R)-PK11195 SUV was positively associated with the magnitude of macrophage recruitment in pathology ( P = 0.03). Compared with baseline, whole-lung CT-derived dynamic strain and tidal hyperinflation increased significantly after experimental VILI, from 0.6 ± 0 to 2.0 ± 0.4, and 1 ± 1 to 43 ± 19%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, both were significantly associated with regional [11C](R)-PK11195 SUV. [11C](R)-PK11195 lung uptake (a proxy of lung inflammation) was increased by experimental VILI and was associated with the magnitude of dynamic strain and tidal hyperinflation.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY We assessed the performance of [11C](R)-PK11195, a translocator protein-specific positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer, to quantify macrophage lung recruitment during experimental ventilation-induced lung injury (VILI). In this proof-of-concept study, we showed that the in vivo quantification of [11C](R)-PK11195 lung uptake in PET reflected the magnitude of macrophage lung recruitment after VILI. Furthermore, increased [11C](R)-PK11195 lung uptake was associated with harmful levels of dynamic strain and tidal hyperinflation applied to the lungs.