bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Investigation of Pristine Graphite Oxide as Room-Temperature Chemiresistive Ammonia Gas Sensing Material
Authors: Bannov Alexander , Prášek Jan , Jašek Ondřej , Zajíčková Lenka
Published: February 2017

Graphite oxide has been investigated as a possible room-temperature chemiresistive sensor of ammonia in a gas phase. Graphite oxide was synthesized from high purity graphite using the modified Hummers method. The graphite oxide sample was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry. Sensing properties were tested in a wide range of ammonia concentrations in air (10–1000 ppm) and under different relative humidity levels (3%–65%). It was concluded that the graphite oxide–based sensor possessed a good response to NH3 in dry synthetic air (ΔR/R0 ranged from 2.5% to 7.4% for concentrations of 100–500 ppm and 3% relative humidity) with negligible cross-sensitivity towards H2 and CH4. It was determined that the sensor recovery rate was improved with ammonia concentration growth. Increasing the ambient relative humidity led to an increase of the sensor response. The highest response of 22.2% for 100 ppm of ammonia was achieved at a 65% relative humidity level.
Improved Omnidirectional Odometry for a View-Based Mapping Approach
Authors: Valiente David , Gil Arturo , Reinoso Óscar , Juliá Miguel , Holloway Mathew
Published: February 2017

This work presents an improved visual odometry using omnidirectional images. The main purpose is to generate a reliable prior input which enhances the SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) estimation tasks within the framework of navigation in mobile robotics, in detriment of the internal odometry data. Generally, standard SLAM approaches extensively use data such as the main prior input to localize the robot. They also tend to consider sensory data acquired with GPSs, lasers or digital cameras, as the more commonly acknowledged to re-estimate the solution. Nonetheless, the modeling of the main prior is crucial, and sometimes especially challenging when it comes to non-systematic terms, such as those associated with the internal odometer, which ultimately turn to be considerably injurious and compromise the convergence of the system. This omnidirectional odometry relies on an adaptive feature point matching through the propagation of the current uncertainty of the system. Ultimately, it is fused as the main prior input in an EKF (Extended Kalman Filter) view-based SLAM system, together with the adaption of the epipolar constraint to the omnidirectional geometry. Several improvements have been added to the initial visual odometry proposal so as to produce better performance. We present real data experiments to test the validity of the proposal and to demonstrate its benefits, in contrast to the internal odometry. Furthermore, SLAM results are included to assess its robustness and accuracy when using the proposed prior omnidirectional odometry.
Development and Experimental Validation of a Dry Non-Invasive Multi-Channel Mouse Scalp EEG Sensor through Visual Evoked Potential Recordings
Authors: Kim Donghyeon , Yeon Chanmi , Kim Kiseon
Published: February 2017

In this paper, we introduce a dry non-invasive multi-channel sensor for measuring brainwaves on the scalps of mice. The research on laboratory animals provide insights to various practical applications involving human beings and other animals such as working animals, pets, and livestock. An experimental framework targeting the laboratory animals has the potential to lead to successful translational research when it closely resembles the environment of real applications. To serve scalp electroencephalography (EEG) research environments for the laboratory mice, the dry non-invasive scalp EEG sensor with sixteen electrodes is proposed to measure brainwaves over the entire brain area without any surgical procedures. We validated the proposed sensor system with visual evoked potential (VEP) experiments elicited by flash stimulations. The VEP responses obtained from experiments are compared with the existing literature, and analyzed in temporal and spatial perspectives. We further interpret the experimental results using time-frequency distribution (TFD) and distance measurements. The developed sensor guarantees stable operations for in vivo experiments in a non-invasive manner without surgical procedures, therefore exhibiting a high potential to strengthen longitudinal experimental studies and reliable translational research exploiting non-invasive paradigms.
Hybrid Visible Light and Ultrasound-Based Sensor for Distance Estimation
Authors: Rabadan Jose , Guerra Victor , Rodríguez Rafael , Rufo Julio , Luna-Rivera Martin , Perez-Jimenez Rafael
Published: February 2017

Distance estimation plays an important role in location-based services, which has become very popular in recent years. In this paper, a new short range cricket sensor-based approach is proposed for indoor location applications. This solution uses Time Difference of Arrival (TDoA) between an optical and an ultrasound signal which are transmitted simultaneously, to estimate the distance from the base station to the mobile receiver. The measurement of the TDoA at the mobile receiver endpoint is proportional to the distance. The use of optical and ultrasound signals instead of the conventional radio wave signal makes the proposed approach suitable for environments with high levels of electromagnetic interference or where the propagation of radio frequencies is entirely restricted. Furthermore, unlike classical cricket systems, a double-way measurement procedure is introduced, allowing both the base station and mobile node to perform distance estimation simultaneously.
Vehicle Detection in Aerial Images Based on Region Convolutional Neural Networks and Hard Negative Example Mining
Authors: Tang Tianyu , Zhou Shilin , Deng Zhipeng , Zou Huanxin , Lei Lin
Published: February 2017

Detecting vehicles in aerial imagery plays an important role in a wide range of applications. The current vehicle detection methods are mostly based on sliding-window search and handcrafted or shallow-learning-based features, having limited description capability and heavy computational costs. Recently, due to the powerful feature representations, region convolutional neural networks (CNN) based detection methods have achieved state-of-the-art performance in computer vision, especially Faster R-CNN. However, directly using it for vehicle detection in aerial images has many limitations: (1) region proposal network (RPN) in Faster R-CNN has poor performance for accurately locating small-sized vehicles, due to the relatively coarse feature maps; and (2) the classifier after RPN cannot distinguish vehicles and complex backgrounds well. In this study, an improved detection method based on Faster R-CNN is proposed in order to accomplish the two challenges mentioned above. Firstly, to improve the recall, we employ a hyper region proposal network (HRPN) to extract vehicle-like targets with a combination of hierarchical feature maps. Then, we replace the classifier after RPN by a cascade of boosted classifiers to verify the candidate regions, aiming at reducing false detection by negative example mining. We evaluate our method on the Munich vehicle dataset and the collected vehicle dataset, with improvements in accuracy and robustness compared to existing methods.
Context Sensing System Analysis for Privacy Preservation Based on Game Theory
Authors: Wang Shengling , Li Luyun , Sun Weiman , Guo Junqi , Bie Rongfang , Lin Kai
Published: February 2017

In a context sensing system in which a sensor-equipped mobile phone runs an unreliable context-aware application, the application can infer the user’s contexts, based on which it provides personalized services. However, the application may sell the user’s contexts to some malicious adversaries to earn extra profits, which will hinder its widespread use. In the real world, the actions of the user, the application and the adversary in the context sensing system affect each other, so that their payoffs are constrained mutually. To figure out under which conditions they behave well (the user releases, the application does not leak and the adversary does not retrieve the context), we take advantage of game theory to analyze the context sensing system. We use the extensive form game and the repeated game, respectively, to analyze two typical scenarios, single interaction and multiple interaction among three players, from which Nash equilibriums and cooperation conditions are obtained. Our results show that the reputation mechanism for the context-sensing system in the former scenario is crucial to privacy preservation, so is the extent to which the participants are concerned about future payoffs in the latter one.
Injury/Fatality-Causing Incidents Involving the Rearward Movement of Agricultural Machinery: Types, Causes, and Preventive Measures
Authors: Ehlers Shawn , Field William
Published: February 2017

The research reported here sought to more fully understand the types and causative factors of injury/fatality incidents resulting from the rearward-movement of tractors and other self-propelled agricultural machinery, with the view that such findings might lead to the development, improvement, and/or better utilization of safety procedures, design principles, and technologies that would prevent—or at least markedly reduce—their occurrence. Thus, the scope of this study focused only on rearward-travel (not mechanical malfunction) incidents, and principally on agricultural equipment (although cases involving similar equipment in industrial or construction settings were also drawn upon). Applying these two criteria, a search of published and online sources uncovered more than 100 documented cases, 35 of which could clearly be identified as rearward-movement incidents, of which 28 (80%) were fatal. Each of these 35 cases were then assessed, based on the type of machine, type of worksite, and type/description of incident (i.e., ‘scenario’), which fell into one of three distinct categories or classifications—(1) co-worker run over/crushed/otherwise injured because operator loses visual contact with co-worker; (2) bystander run over/crushed/otherwise injured because operator is unaware of bystander’s presence; and (3) operator run over/crushed/otherwise injured because operator loses visual contact with, or is unaware of, a stationary object or a hazard. Then, from each scenario, a representative incident (i.e., case study) was selected for a more in-depth analysis. The collective findings, from these three case studies and all 35 machinery rearward-movement incidents, were as follows: (1) The ‘victim’ could be the machine operator as well as a co-worker or a bystander; (2) The specific site of the co-worker or bystander injury/fatality was at the base of the machine’s rear tires or tracks, at the hitching point, or behind a towed implement; (3) The specific cause was loss of visual contact between the operator and co-worker/bystander due to visual obstruction, the operator’s physical limitations, or the operator’s and/or bystander’s lack of alertness. To reduce the likelihood of future occurrences of agricultural machinery rearward travel-related incidents, preventive measures aimed at addressing the key causative factors for each scenario are offered.
Monitoring Environmental Quality by Sniffing Social Media
Authors: Wang Zhibo , Ke Lei , Cui Xiaohui , Yin Qi , Liao Longfei , Gao Lu , Wang Zhenyu
Published: February 2017

Nowadays, the environmental pollution and degradation in China has become a serious problem with the rapid development of Chinese heavy industry and increased energy generation. With sustainable development being the key to solving these problems, it is necessary to develop proper techniques for monitoring environmental quality. Compared to traditional environment monitoring methods utilizing expensive and complex instruments, we recognized that social media analysis is an efficient and feasible alternative to achieve this goal with the phenomenon that a growing number of people post their comments and feelings about their living environment on social media, such as blogs and personal websites. In this paper, we self-defined a term called the Environmental Quality Index (EQI) to measure and represent people’s overall attitude and sentiment towards an area’s environmental quality at a specific time; it includes not only metrics for water and food quality but also people’s feelings about air pollution. In the experiment, a high sentiment analysis and classification precision of 85.67% was obtained utilizing the support vector machine algorithm, and we calculated and analyzed the EQI for 27 provinces in China using the text data related to the environment from the Chinese Sina micro-blog and Baidu Tieba collected from January 2015 to June 2016. By comparing our results to with the data from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), we showed that the environment evaluation model we constructed and the method we proposed are feasible and effective.
The Influence of Household Heterogeneity Factors on the Green Travel Behavior of Urban Residents in the East China Region
Authors: Yang Ranran , Long Ruyin , Bai Yu , Li Lanlan
Published: February 2017

A questionnaire survey was conducted with 1475 urban residents in the east region of China to explore the impact of household heterogeneity factors on the green travel behavior of urban residents. The green travel behavior was divided into practice-based and promotion-based green travel behavior, and the results showed that variables including gender, age, educational background, household monthly income, amount of cars, professional status, positional tiers and housing ownership were correlated with both of the two types of green travel behavior significantly. Variables that included having elderly family members or not, having children or not, and position level were only correlated with practice-based green travel behavior significantly. Moreover, the study found that the variables female, elderly and young, highly educated, low-income, low professional status, low positional tiers, low positional status, house-renting, not having elderly family members or children and having fewer cars had a significantly positive impact on green travel behavior.
Examining the Interaction of Taxi and Subway Ridership for Sustainable Urbanization
Authors: Li Miaoyi , Dong Lei , Shen Zhenjiang , Lang Wei , Ye Xinyue
Published: February 2017

A transit ridership study is an essential part of sustainability, and can provide a deep understanding of people’s travel patterns for efficient transportation development and urbanization. However, there is a lack of empirical studies comparing subway and taxi services, and their interactions within a city, that is to say, the interdependent transportation networks. Incorporating new data, this study aims to examine the spatial variation of urban taxi ridership due to the impacts of a new subway line operation opened in 2014 in Wuxi, China. We examine the spatial patterns and interactions of ridership in Wuxi by integrating taxi trajectory from GPS data and subway data from continuously collected fare transactions. The results indicated that the demand for taxi and subway usage is quite elastic with respect to both location and time, and the new subway’s opening had more influence on areas adjacent to subway stations and urban center-suburban travel. Furthermore, increases in travel time and distance would increase the demand for subway, while taxi trips largely represented movements for those locations that the subway could not reach. This paper betters the understanding of travel patterns through large volumes of transportation data for sustainable urbanization policy design.
Characterization of the Microbial Communities in Rumen Fluid Inoculated Reactors for the Biogas Digestion of Wheat Straw
Authors: Li Ke , Zhu Haoran , Zhang Yajie , Zhang Hongxun
Published: February 2017

The present study investigated the effect of rumen fluid (RF) concentration on the methane production through anaerobic digestion of wheat straw in batch mode, and compared the microbial communities in RF and RF inoculated reactors by 16S rRNA genes sequencing. Six levels of RF concentration including 1%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% (v/v) were used in reactors R1, R5, R10, R15, R20 and R25 respectively. The results revealed that lower than or equal to 5% RF concentrations resulted in reactor acidification and low methane production. The highest methane yield of 106 mL CH4 g VS−1 was achieved in R10, whereas higher RF concentrations than 10% could not improve the methane production significantly. Methanosarcina barkeri was abundant in the well-working reactors, and Methanobacterium was dominant in the poor-working reactors, implying the archaeal communities in reactors had changed greatly from the Methanobrevibacter-dominated RF. Although the relative abundance of Clostridium and Ruminococcus were greatly different between RF and reactors, the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes communities were dominant in all the tested samples. The results indicated that the in vitro anaerobic conditions had altered the rumen methanogenic communities significantly and the facultative acetoclastic Methanosarcina was important for the methane production in the RF seeded reactors.
Reaction Networks as a Language for Systemic Modeling: Fundamentals and Examples
Authors: Veloz Tomas , Razeto-Barry Pablo
Published: February 2017

The basic processes that bring about living systems are conventionally represented in the framework of chemical reaction networks. Recently, it has been proposed that this framework can be exploited for studying various other phenomena. Reaction networks are specially suited for representing situations where different types of entities interact in contextual ways leading to the emergence of meta-structures. At an abstract level, a reaction network represents a universe whose evolution corresponds to the transformation of collections of entities into other collections of entities. Hence, we propose that systems correspond to the sub-networks that are stable enough to be observed. In this article, we discuss how to use reaction networks for representing systems. Namely, we introduce the different representational levels available (relational, stoichiometric, and kinetic), we show how to identify observable systems in the reaction network, discuss some relevant systemic notions such as context, emergence, and meta-system, and present some examples.
Emergence of Home Manufacturing in the Developed World: Return on Investment for Open-Source 3-D Printers
Authors: Petersen Emily , Pearce Joshua
Published: February 2017

Through reduced 3-D printer cost, increased usability, and greater material selection, additive manufacturing has transitioned from business manufacturing to the average prosumer. This study serves as a representative model for the potential future of 3-D printing in the average American household by employing a printer operator who was relatively unfamiliar with 3-D printing and the 3-D design files of common items normally purchased by the average consumer. Twenty-six items were printed in thermoplastic and a cost analysis was performed through comparison to comparable, commercially available products at a low and high price range. When compared to the low-cost items, investment in a 3-D printer represented a return of investment of over 100% in five years. The simple payback time for the high-cost comparison was less than 6 months, and produced a 986% return. Thus, fully-assembled commercial open source 3-D printers can be highly profitable investments for American consumers. Finally, as a preliminary gauge of the effect that widespread prosumer use of 3-D printing might have on the economy, savings were calculated based on the items’ download rates from open repositories. Results indicate that printing these selected items have already saved prosumers over $4 million by substituting for purchases.
Biodegradation Mechanisms of Patulin in Candida guilliermondii: An iTRAQ-Based Proteomic Analysis
Authors: Chen Yong , Peng Huai-Min , Wang Xiao , Li Bo-Qiang , Long Man-Yuan , Tian Shi-Ping
Published: February 2017

Patulin, a potent mycotoxin, contaminates fruits and derived products worldwide, and is a serious health concern. Several yeast strains have shown the ability to effectively degrade patulin. However, the mechanisms of its biodegradation still remain unclear at this time. In the present study, biodegradation and involved mechanisms of patulin by an antagonistic yeast Candida guilliermondii were investigated. The results indicated that C. guilliermondii was capable of not only multiplying to a high population in medium containing patulin, but also effectively reducing patulin content in culture medium. Degradation of patulin by C. guilliermondii was dependent on the yeast cell viability, and mainly occurred inside cells. E-ascladiol was the main degradation product of patulin. An iTRAQ-based proteomic analysis revealed that the responses of C. guilliermondii to patulin were complex. A total of 30 differential proteins involved in 10 biological processes were identified, and more than two-thirds of the differential proteins were down-accumulated. Notably, a short-chain dehydrogenase (gi|190348612) was markedly induced by patulin at both the protein and mRNA levels. Our findings will provide a foundation to help enable the commercial development of an enzyme formulation for the detoxification of patulin in fruit-derived products.
Convexity and the Euclidean Metric of Space-Time
Authors: Kalogeropoulos Nikolaos
Published: February 2017

We address the reasons why the “Wick-rotated”, positive-definite, space-time metric obeys the Pythagorean theorem. An answer is proposed based on the convexity and smoothness properties of the functional spaces purporting to provide the kinematic framework of approaches to quantum gravity. We employ moduli of convexity and smoothness which are eventually extremized by Hilbert spaces. We point out the potential physical significance that functional analytical dualities play in this framework. Following the spirit of the variational principles employed in classical and quantum Physics, such Hilbert spaces dominate in a generalized functional integral approach. The metric of space-time is induced by the inner product of such Hilbert spaces.
A Novel Model of Meibomian Gland Dysfunction Induced with Complete Freund’s Adjuvant in Rabbits
Authors: Miyake Hideki , Oda Tomoko , Katsuta Osamu , Seno Masaharu , Nakamura Masatsugu
Published: February 2017

A novel meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) model induced by the injection of complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) in rabbits was developed to facilitate the understanding of the pathophysiology of MGD with meibomitis. In addition, we sought to evaluate treatment with steroid eye drops in this model. Male Japanese white rabbits were subcutaneously injected with CFA into the upper eyelid margin. The eyelid margins of the rabbits were chronologically observed through slit lamp examination. The development of meibomitis was assessed through histopathology. We evaluated the effects of topically applied tobramycin/dexamethasone (Tob/Dex) eye drops on the plugged orifices and telangiectasia. After the injection of CFA, slit lamp examination revealed markedly plugged orifices, telangiectasia around the orifices and a toothpaste-like meibum, as compared with the normal eyelids. Histopathology revealed granulation tissue with infiltration of inflammatory cells, hyperkeratinization of the ductal epithelium, and cystic dilatation of ducts in the meibomian gland. The orifices were plugged with a proteinaceous substance. Tob/Dex eye drops significantly suppressed the plugging and telangiectasia around the orifices. Through the injection of CFA, we successfully established a novel rabbit MGD that mimics the symptoms observed in humans meibomitis. This model should be useful in the evaluation of the efficacy of drug candidates.
Variability in the Water Footprint of Arable Crop Production across European Regions
Authors: Gobin Anne , Kersebaum Kurt , Eitzinger Josef , Trnka Miroslav , Hlavinka Petr , Takáč Jozef , Kroes Joop , Ventrella Domenico , Marta Anna , Deelstra Johannes , Lalić Branislava , Nejedlik Pavol , Orlandini Simone , Peltonen-Sainio Pirjo , Rajala Ari , Saue Triin , Şaylan Levent , Stričevic Ruzica , Vučetić Višnja , Zoumides Christos
Published: February 2017

Crop growth and yield are affected by water use during the season: the green water footprint (WF) accounts for rain water, the blue WF for irrigation and the grey WF for diluting agri-chemicals. We calibrated crop yield for FAO’s water balance model “Aquacrop” at field level. We collected weather, soil and crop inputs for 45 locations for the period 1992–2012. Calibrated model runs were conducted for wheat, barley, grain maize, oilseed rape, potato and sugar beet. The WF of cereals could be up to 20 times larger than the WF of tuber and root crops; the largest share was attributed to the green WF. The green and blue WF compared favourably with global benchmark values (R2 = 0.64–0.80; d = 0.91–0.95). The variability in the WF of arable crops across different regions in Europe is mainly due to variability in crop yield ( c v ¯ = 45%) and to a lesser extent to variability in crop water use ( c v ¯ = 21%). The WF variability between countries ( c v ¯ = 14%) is lower than the variability between seasons ( c v ¯ = 22%) and between crops ( c v ¯ = 46%). Though modelled yields increased up to 50% under sprinkler irrigation, the water footprint still increased between 1% and 25%. Confronted with drainage and runoff, the grey WF tended to overestimate the contribution of nitrogen to the surface and groundwater. The results showed that the water footprint provides a measurable indicator that may support European water governance.
Experimental and Numerical Analysis of a Water Emptying Pipeline Using Different Air Valves
Authors: Coronado-Hernández Oscar , Fuertes-Miquel Vicente , Besharat Mohsen , Ramos Helena
Published: February 2017

The emptying procedure is a common operation that engineers have to face in pipelines. This generates subatmospheric pressure caused by the expansion of air pockets, which can produce the collapse of the system depending on the conditions of the installation. To avoid this problem, engineers have to install air valves in pipelines. However, if air valves are not adequately designed, then the risk in pipelines continues. In this research, a mathematical model is developed to simulate an emptying process in pipelines that can be used for planning this type of operation. The one-dimensional proposed model analyzes the water phase propagation by a new rigid model and the air pockets effect using thermodynamic formulations. The proposed model is validated through measurements of the air pocket absolute pressure, the water velocity and the length of the emptying columns in an experimental facility. Results show that the proposed model can accurately predict the hydraulic characteristic variables.
Surface Water and Groundwater Interactions in Traditionally Irrigated Fields in Northern New Mexico, U.S.A.
Authors: Gutiérrez-Jurado Karina , Fernald Alexander , Guldan Steven , Ochoa Carlos
Published: February 2017

Better understanding of surface water (SW) and groundwater (GW) interactions and water balances has become indispensable for water management decisions. This study sought to characterize SW-GW interactions in three crop fields located in three different irrigated valleys in northern New Mexico by (1) estimating deep percolation (DP) below the root zone in flood-irrigated crop fields; and (2) characterizing shallow aquifer response to inputs from DP associated with irrigation. Detailed measurements of irrigation water application, soil water content fluctuations, crop field runoff, and weather data were used in the water budget calculations for each field. Shallow wells were used to monitor groundwater level response to DP inputs. The amount of DP was positively and significantly related to the total amount of irrigation water applied for the Rio Hondo and Alcalde sites, but not for the El Rito site. The average irrigation event DP using data for the complete irrigation season at each of the three sites was 77.0 mm at El Rito, 54.5 mm at Alcalde and 53.1 mm at Rio Hondo. Groundwater level rise compared to pre-irrigation event water levels ranged from 3 to 1870 mm, and was influenced by differences in irrigation practices between sites. Crop evapotranspiration estimates averaged across irrigation events were highest in Rio Hondo (22.9 mm), followed by El Rito (14.4 mm) and Alcalde (10.4 mm). Results from this study indicate there are strong surface water-groundwater connections in traditionally irrigated systems of northern New Mexico, connections that may be employed to better manage groundwater recharge and river flow.
Hydrogen Sulfide Reduces Recruitment of CD11b+DG Gr-1+DG Cells in Mice with Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Wu Ting , Li Hua , Wu Bing , Zhang Lei , Wu San-Wu , Wang Jia-Ning , Zhang You-En
Published: February 2017

The present study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms by which hydrogen sulfide (H2S) attenuates left ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI). MI was created in mice by left coronary artery ligation. One group of mice received injections of the H2S donor sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) immediately before and 1 h after ligation, while the control group received saline alone. During both the subacute and chronic stages (1 and 4 weeks postinfarction, respectively), NaHS-treated mice demonstrated attenuation of cardiac dilation in the infarcted myocardium. Furthermore, fewer CD11b+Gr-1+ myeloid cells were detected in the infarct myocardium and peripheral blood from NaHS-treated mice, while more CD11b+ Gr-1+ cells remained in the spleen and bone marrow in these animals. NaHS-treated mice also exhibited reduction in cardiomyocyte apoptosis, interstitial fibrosis, cardiac hypertrophy, and pulmonary edema, as well as overall better survival rates, when compared to controls. Thus, exogenous H2S has favorable effects on cardiac remodeling after MI. These observations further support the emerging concept that H2S treatment might have therapeutic benefits in the setting of ischemia-induced heart failure.
Grass plastomes reveal unexpected paraphyly with endemic species of Micrairoideae from India and new haplotype markers in Arundinoideae
Authors: Duvall Melvin R. , Yadav Shrirang R. , Burke Sean V. , Wysocki William P.
Published: February 2017

PREMISE OF THE STUDY:

We investigated the little‐studied Arundinoideae/Micrairoideae clade of grasses with an innovative plastome phylogenomic approach. This method gives robust results for taxa of uncertain phylogenetic placement. Arundinoideae comprise ∼45 species, although historically was much larger. Arundinoideae is notable for the widely invasive Phragmites australis. Micrairoideae comprise nine genera and ∼200 species. Some are threatened with extinction, including Hubbardia, some Isachne spp., and Limnopoa. Two micrairoid genera, Eriachne and Pheidochloa, exhibit C4 photosynthesis in this otherwise C3 subfamily and represent an independent origin of the C4 pathway among grasses.

METHODS:

Five new plastomes were sequenced with next‐generation sequencing‐by‐synthesis methods. Plastomes were assembled by de novo methods and phylogenetically analyzed with eight other recently published arundinoid or micrairoid plastomes and 11 outgroup species. Stable carbon isotope ratios were determined for micrairoid and arundinoid species to investigate ambiguities in the proxy evidence for C4 photosynthesis.

KEY RESULTS:

Phylogenomic analyses showed strong support for ingroup nodes in the Arundinoideae/Micrairoideae subtree, including a paraphyletic clade of Hubbardieae with Isachneae. Anatomical, biochemical, and positively selected sites data are ambiguous with regard to the photosynthetic pathways in Micrairoideae. Species of Hubbardia, Isachne, and Limnopoa were definitively shown by δ13C measurements to be C3 and Eriachne to be C4.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our plastome phylogenomic analyses for Micrairoideae are the first phylogenetic results to indicate paraphyly between Isachneae and Hubbardieae. The definitive δ13C data for four genera of Micrairoideae indicates the breadth of variation possible in the proxy evidence for photosynthetic pathways of both C3 and C4 taxa.
Association of Socio-Economic Position with Technique Failure and Mortality in Australian Non-Indigenous Peritoneal Dialysis Patients
Authors: Chan Samuel , Cho Yeoungjee , Koh Yung H. , Boudville Neil C. , Clayton Philip A. , McDonald Stephen P. , Pascoe Elaine M. , Francis Ross S. , Mudge David W. , Borlace Monique , Badve Sunil V. , Sud Kamal , Hawley Carmel M. , Johnson David W.
Published: February 2017

Background

Few studies have examined the relationship between socio-economic position (SEP) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) outcomes, particularly at a country level. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between SEP, technique failure, and mortality in PD patients undertaking treatment in Australia.

Methods

The study included all Australian non-indigenous incident PD patients between January 1, 1997, and December 31, 2014, using Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant (ANZDATA) Registry data. The SEP was assessed by quartiles of postcode-based Australian Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), including Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD – primary index), Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD), Index of Economic Resources (IER), and Index of Education and Occupation (IEO). Technique and patient survival were evaluated by multivariable Cox proportional hazards survival analyses.

Results

The study included 9,766 patients (mean age 60.6 ± 15 years, 57% male, 38% diabetic). Using multivariable Cox regression, no significant association was observed between quartiles of IRSAD and technique failure (30-day definition p = 0.65, 180-day definition p = 0.68). Similar results were obtained using competing risks regression. However, higher SEP, defined by quartiles of IRSAD, was associated with better patient survival (Quartile 1 reference; Quartile 2 adjusted hazards ratio [HR] 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.86 – 1.06; Quartile 3 HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.77 – 0.99; Quartile 4 HR 0.86, 95% CI 0.76 – 0.97). Similar results were found when IRSD was analyzed, but results were no longer statistically significant for IER and IEO.

Conclusions

In Australia, where there is universal free healthcare, SEP was not associated with PD technique failure in non-indigenous PD patients. Higher SEP was generally associated with improved patient survival.
Comparison of Topical Chlorhexidine and Mupirocin for the Prevention of Exit-Site Infection in Incident Peritoneal Dialysis Patients
Authors: Htay Htay , Johnson David W. , Wu Sin Yan , Oei Elizabeth Ley , Foo Marjorie Wai Yin , Choo Jason Chon Jun
Published: February 2017

Objective

Prevention of exit-site infection (ESI) is of paramount importance to peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of chlorhexidine in the prevention of ESI in incident PD patients compared with mupirocin.

Methods

This retrospective, pre-test/post-test observational study included all incident PD patients at Singapore General Hospital from 2012 to 2015. Patients received daily topical exit-site application of either mupirocin (2012 – 2013) or chlorhexidine (2014 – 2015) in addition to routine exit-site cleaning with 10% povidone-iodine. The primary outcome was ESI rate during the 2 time periods. Secondary outcomes were peritonitis rate, times to first ESI and peritonitis, hospitalization rate, and infection-related catheter removal. Event rates were analyzed using Poisson regression, and infection-free survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression survival analyses.

Results

The study included 162 patients in the mupirocin period (follow-up 141.5 patient-years) and 175 patients in the chlorhexidine period (follow-up 136.9 patient-years). Compared with mupirocin-treated patients, chlorhexidine-treated patients experienced more frequent ESIs (0.22 vs 0.12 episodes/patient-year, p = 0.048), although this was no longer statistically significant following multivariable analysis (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.98 – 3.26, p = 0.06). No significant differences were observed between the 2 groups with respect to time to first ESI ( p = 0.10), peritonitis rate ( p = 0.95), time to first peritonitis ( p = 0.60), hospitalization rate ( p = 0.21) or catheter removal rate (0.03 vs 0.04/patient-year, p = 0.56).

Conclusions

Topical exit-site application of chlorhexidine cream was associated with a borderline significant, higher rate of ESI in incident PD patients compared with mupirocin cream.
Nursing Care For Patients Experiencing Clinical Complications During Haemodialysis
Authors: Queiroga Linhares Viviane , Formiga Bezerra Anne Milane , Andrade Duarte de Farias Maria do Carmo , Gadelha Pereira de Carvalho Guilherme , Campos de Medeiros Raquel , Felix de Alencar Lima Maryama Naara , Nunes da Silva Edineide , Fontenele Albuquerque Francisco Geyson
Published: February 2017

Introduction: Patients with chronic renal disease treated by haemodialysis experience various changes in their daily lives, which they and their families need to adapt to and cope with.

Objective: To analyse the nursing care of patients with chronic renal failure on haemodialysis who experience clinical complications.

Method: A descriptive, exploratory study was conducted, using a quantitative approach. Data collection was performed using a sample of 73 patients at the Hemodialysis Center located at city of Patos-PB. The sample comprised 73 patients.

Results: 27 (37.0%) were female, aged between 20 and 88 years old. It was found that employees are 49.3% of respondents, in consonance to farmers with 31.5%. The most common complications were weakness (76.7%), headache (46.6%), cramp (43.8%) and pain (32.9%).

Conclusion: The trusting relationship between professionals and patients is paramount, because helps to improve adherence to treatment and, consequently, the reduction of complications; furthermore, educational and preventive actions are facilitated.
The Re-Acceleration of Galactic Electrons at the Heliospheric Termination Shock
Authors: Prinsloo P. L. , Potgieter M. S. , Strauss R. D.
Published: February 2017

Observations by the Voyager spacecraft in the outer heliosphere presented several challenges for the paradigm of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) at the solar wind termination shock (TS). In this study, the viability of DSA as a re-acceleration mechanism for galactic electrons is investigated using a comprehensive cosmic-ray modulation model. The results demonstrate that the efficiency of DSA depends strongly on the shape of the electron spectra incident at the TS, which in turn depends on the features of the local interstellar spectrum. Modulation processes such as drifts therefore also influence the re-acceleration process. It is found that re-accelerated electrons make appreciable contributions to intensities in the heliosphere and that increases caused by DSA at the TS are comparable to intensity enhancements observed by Voyager 1 ahead of the TS crossing. The modeling results are interpreted as support for DSA as a re-acceleration mechanism for galactic electrons at the TS.
The Color and Stellar Mass Dependence of Small-scale Galaxy Clustering in SDSS-III BOSS
Authors: Law-Smith Jamie , Eisenstein Daniel J.
Published: February 2017

We measure the color and stellar mass dependence of clustering in spectroscopic galaxies at 0.6 < z < 0.65 using data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey component of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We greatly increase the statistical precision of our clustering measurements by using the cross-correlation of 66,657 spectroscopic galaxies to a sample of 6.6 million fainter photometric galaxies. The clustering amplitude w(R) is measured as the ratio of the mean excess number of photometric galaxies found within a specified radius annulus around a spectroscopic galaxy to that from a random photometric galaxy distribution. We recover many of the familiar trends at high signal-to-noise ratio. We find the ratio of the clustering amplitudes of red and blue massive galaxies to be

in our smallest annulus of 75–125 kpc. At our largest radii (2–4 Mpc), we find

. Red galaxies therefore have denser environments than their blue counterparts at z ∼ 0.625, and this effect increases with decreasing radius. Irrespective of color, we find that w(R) does not obey a simple power-law relation with radius, showing a dip around 1 Mpc. Holding stellar mass fixed, we find a clear differentiation between clustering in red and blue galaxies, showing that clustering is not solely determined by stellar mass. Holding color fixed, we find that clustering increases with stellar mass, especially for red galaxies at small scales (more than a factor of 2 effect over 0.75 dex in stellar mass).
Chemical Cartography. I. A Carbonicity Map of the Galactic Halo
Authors: Lee Young Sun , Beers Timothy C. , Kim Young Kwang , Placco Vinicius , Yoon Jinmi , Carollo Daniela , Masseron Thomas , Jung Jaehun
Published: February 2017

We present the first map of carbonicity, [C/Fe], for the halo system of the Milky Way, based on a sample of over 100,000 main-sequence turnoff stars with available spectroscopy from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. This map, which explores distances up to 15 kpc from the Sun, reveals clear evidence for the dual nature of the Galactic halo, based on the spatial distribution of stellar carbonicity. The metallicity distribution functions of stars in the inner- and outer-halo regions of the carbonicity map reproduce those previously argued to arise from contributions of the inner- and outer-halo populations, with peaks at [Fe/H] = −1.5 and −2.2, respectively. From consideration of the absolute carbon abundances for our sample, A(C), we also confirm that the carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars in the outer-halo region exhibit a higher frequency of CEMP-no stars (those with no overabundances of heavy neutron-capture elements) than of CEMP-s stars (those with strong overabundances of elements associated with the s-process), whereas the stars in the inner-halo region exhibit a higher frequency of CEMP-s stars. We argue that the contrast in the behavior of the CEMP-no and CEMP-s fractions in these regions arises from differences in the mass distributions of the mini-halos from which the stars of the inner- and outer-halo populations formed, which gives rise in turn to the observed dichotomy of the Galactic halo.
Masses of the Planetary Nebula Central Stars in the Galactic Globular Cluster System from HST Imaging and Spectroscopy∗
Authors: Jacoby George H. , Marco Orsola De , Davies James , Lotarevich I. , Bond Howard E. , Harrington J. Patrick , Lanz Thierry
Published: February 2017

The globular cluster (GC) system of our Galaxy contains four planetary nebulae (PNe): K 648 (or Ps 1) in M15, IRAS 18333-2357 in M22, JaFu 1 in Pal 6, and JaFu 2 in NGC 6441. Because single-star evolution at the low stellar mass of present-epoch GCs was considered incapable of producing visible PNe, their origin presented a puzzle. We imaged the PN JaFu 1 with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to obtain photometry of its central star (CS) and high-resolution morphological information. We imaged IRAS 18333-2357 with better depth and resolution, and we analyzed its archival HST spectra to constrain its CS temperature and luminosity. All PNe in Galactic GCs now have quality HST data, allowing us to improve CS mass estimates. We find reasonably consistent masses between 0.53 and 0.58 M
⊙ for all four objects, though estimates vary when adopting different stellar evolutionary calculations. The CS mass of IRAS 18333-2357, though, depends strongly on its temperature, which remains elusive due to reddening uncertainties. For all four objects, we consider their CS and nebula masses, their morphologies, and other incongruities to assess the likelihood that these objects formed from binary stars. Although generally limited by uncertainties (∼0.02 M
⊙) in post-AGB tracks and core mass versus luminosity relations, the high-mass CS in K 648 indicates a binary origin. The CS of JaFu 1 exhibits compact, bright [O iii] and Hα emission, like EGB 6, suggesting a binary companion or disk. Evidence is weaker for a binary origin of JaFu 2.
Velocity Anisotropy in Self-gravitating Molecular Clouds. I. Simulation
Authors: Otto Frank , Ji Weiguang , Li Hua-bai
Published: February 2017

The complex interplay between turbulence, magnetic fields, and self-gravity leads to the formation of molecular clouds out of the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM). One avenue of studying this interplay is by analyzing statistical features derived from observations, where the interpretation of these features is greatly facilitated by comparisons with numerical simulations. Here we focus on the statistical anisotropy present in synthetic maps of velocity centroid data, which we derive from three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations of a turbulent, magnetized, self-gravitating patch of ISM. We study how the orientation and magnitude of the velocity anisotropy correlate with the magnetic field and with the structures generated by gravitational collapse. Motivated by recent observational constraints, our simulations focus on the supersonic (sonic Mach number


≈
2
–
17

) but sub- to trans-alfvénic (alfvénic Mach number



A

≈
0.2
–
1.2

) turbulence regime, and we consider clouds that are barely to mildly magnetically supercritical (mass-to-flux ratio equal to once or twice the critical value). Additionally we explore the impact of the turbulence driving mechanism (solenoidal or compressive) on the velocity anisotropy. While we confirm previous findings that the velocity anisotropy generally aligns well with the plane-of-sky magnetic field, our inclusion of the effects of self-gravity reveals that in regions of higher column density, the velocity anisotropy may be destroyed or even reoriented to align with the gravitationally formed structures. We provide evidence that this effect is not necessarily due to the increase of



A

inside the high-density regions.
Evidence for a Hard Ionizing Spectrum from a z = 6.11 Stellar Population
Authors: Mainali Ramesh , Kollmeier Juna A. , Stark Daniel P. , Simcoe Robert A. , Walth Gregory , Newman Andrew B. , Miller Daniel R.
Published: February 2017

We present the Magellan/FIRE detection of highly ionized C iv
λ1550 and O iii]λ1666 in a deep infrared spectrum of the z = 6.11 gravitationally lensed low-mass galaxy RXC J2248.7-4431-ID3, which has previously known Lyα. No corresponding emission is detected at the expected location of He ii
λ1640. The upper limit on He ii, paired with detection of O iii] and C iv, constrains possible ionization scenarios. Production of C iv and O iii] requires ionizing photons of 2.5–3.5 Ryd, but once in that state their multiplet emission is powered by collisional excitation at lower energies (∼0.5 Ryd). As a pure recombination line, He ii emission is powered by 4 Ryd ionizing photons. The data therefore require a spectrum with significant power at 3.5 Ryd but a rapid drop toward 4.0 Ryd. This hard spectrum with a steep drop is characteristic of low-metallicity stellar populations, and less consistent with soft AGN excitation, which features more 4 Ryd photons and hence higher He ii flux. The conclusions based on ratios of metal line detections to helium non-detection are strengthened if the gas metallicity is low. RXJ2248-ID3 adds to the growing handful of reionization-era galaxies with UV emission line ratios distinct from the general

population in a way that suggests hard ionizing spectra that do not necessarily originate in AGNs.