bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Post-Glacial Land Uplift Rate in Fennoscandia and Laurentia Determined by GRACE Data
Authors: Shafiei Joud Mehdi S. , Sjöberg Lars Erik , Bagherbandi Mohammad
Published: February 2019

The mantle mass flow interconnected with the process of Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) and the reformation of the Earth’s crust constantly perturbs the observed gravity field towards a hypothetic isostatic state. We analyse the temporal changes of the gravity field from the GRACE data, using different mathematical and/or statistical methods to detect the GIA amidst other gravity signals. A number of gravimetric post-glacial land uplift rate (LUR) modelling methods are investigated and compared with the data from a total number of 515 GPS stations and preferred GIA forward models in Fennoscandia and North America. We investigate three mathematical methods, namely regression, principal component, and independent component analysis (ICA) to extracting the GIA signal from the GRACE monthly geoid heights. We use some regularization techniques to exploit the GRACE monthly data to their maximum spatial resolution and to increase the Signal to Noise Ratio of their short wavelengths. Near the centres of the study areas the gravimetric LUR model using the fast-ICA algorithm of Hyvärinen and Oja (2000) is shown to be in a complete agreement with the GPS data and the predictions of the GIA forward models, and for the whole areas, subject to epeirogeny movement of the two regions, their discrepancies reach to the extrema at -1.8 and +3.3, and -4.5 and +7.5 mm/a, respectively. We show that the largest discrepancies between the gravimetric model using the ICA method and the GIA forward model, occur for the sub-regions likely collocated with strong ice mass change signals.
A Biopsychosocial Model of Sex Differences in Children’s Eating Behaviors
Authors: Keller Kathleen L. , Kling Samantha M. R. , Fuchs Bari , Pearce Alaina L. , Reigh Nicole A. , Masterson Travis , Hickok Kara
Published: February 2019

The prevalence of obesity and eating disorders varies by sex, but the extent to which sex influences eating behaviors, especially in childhood, has received less attention. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on sex differences in eating behavior in children and present new findings supporting the role of sex in child appetitive traits and neural responses to food cues. In children, the literature shows sex differences in basic taste response, food acceptance, eating self-regulation, and appetitive traits. New analyses demonstrate that sex interacts with child weight status to differentially influence appetitive traits and neural responses to food cues. Further, neuroimaging results suggest that obesity in female children is positively related to brain reactivity to higher-energy-dense food cues in regions involved with learning, memory, and object recognition, while the opposite was found in males. In addition to differences in how the brain processes information about food, other factors that may contribute to sex differences include parental feeding practices, societal emphasis on dieting, and peer influences. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings, as they may have implications for the development of effective intervention programs to improve dietary behaviors and prevent obesity.
Data–Driven Control Techniques for Renewable Energy Conversion Systems: Wind Turbine and Hydroelectric Plants
Authors: Simani Silvio , Alvisi Stefano , Venturini Mauro
Published: February 2019

The interest on the use of renewable energy resources is increasing, especially towards wind and hydro powers, which should be efficiently converted into electric energy via suitable technology tools. To this aim, data--driven control techniques represent viable strategies that can be employed for this purpose, due to the features of these nonlinear dynamic processes working over a wide range of operating conditions, driven by stochastic inputs, excitations and disturbances. Some of the considered methods, such as fuzzy and adaptive self--tuning controllers, were already verified on wind turbine systems, and similar advantages may thus derive from their appropriate implementation and application to hydroelectric plants. These issues represent the key features of the work, which provides some guidelines on the design and the application of these control strategies to these energy conversion systems. The working conditions of these systems will be also taken into account in order to highlight the reliability and robustness characteristics of the developed control strategies, especially interesting for remote and relatively inaccessible location of many installations.
Evaluating the Adsorbed Water Layer on Polar Stationary Phases for Hydrophilic Interaction Chromatography (HILIC)
Authors: Guo Yong , Bhalodia Nidhi , Fattal Bassel , Serris Ioannis
Published: February 2019

The water-rich liquid layer immobilized on the surface of the polar stationary phases is critical to the retention of polar compounds in hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC). Although the presence of the adsorbed water layer has been investigated and confirmed by multiple techniques, there is a lack of quantitative measure that can be easily determined and linked to chromatographic parameters. This study proposes a simple measure termed volume ratio (the ratio of the adsorbed water layer volume and the mobile phase volume) that provides a relative, but quantitative information on the adsorbed water layer and may be linked to the phase ratio. The volume ratio can be easily determined using toluene elution volume. The volume ratio values are measured in 25 polar stationary phases in various mobile phase conditions. In addition to the acetonitrile content in the mobile phase, ammonium acetate concentration in the mobile phase and column temperature also have significant influences on the volume ratio and the adsorbed water layer.
Prevalence and Work-Related Factors Associated with Lower Back Musculoskeletal Disorders in Female Shellfish Gatherers in Saubara, Bahia – Brazil
Authors: Barreto Moreira Couto Maria Carolina , Rocha Falcão Ila , dos Santos Müller Juliana , Batista Alves Ivone , da Silva Viana Wendel , Maria Cadena Lima Verônica , Gilvane Lopes Pena Paulo , Georgette Woods Courtney , Franco Rego Rita
Published: February 2019

Lower back musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are an important public health problem and the leading cause of disability worldwide, but with prevalence yet unknown among shellfish gatherers. To investigate the prevalence and work-related factors associated with lower back MSD in a population of female shellfish gatherers, an epidemiological cross-sectional study was carried out in Saubara, Bahia – Brazil, in 2013. The Brazilian version of the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ), in addition to a questionnaire containing the physical demands adapted to the artisanal work, were applied to a random sample of 209 female shellfish gatherers. The prevalence of lower back MSD was 72.7%. Using multivariate logistic regression, the shellfish gatherers who had worked for more than 26 years in the activity showed a prevalence of 1.22 (95% CI: 1.04-1.44) times higher compared to those unexposed. Lower back MSD was 1.24 (95%CI: 1.08-1.42) times higher among those more exposed to work sitting with trunk flexion. Those performed manual handling and muscle force with the arms had a prevalence ratio of 1.18 (95%CI: 1.01-1.39). These results show the need for greater awareness of health and social welfare factors impacting workers in small-scale fisheries and will promote the elaboration of health care policies for this occupational class.
Influence of the Loading Speed on the Ductility Properties of Corroded Reinforcing Bars in Concrete
Authors: Moreno Angela M. , González M. Nieves , Alberti Marcos G. , Gálvez Jaime C.
Published: February 2019

In this work 144 reinforcing bars of high-ductility steel named B500SD were subjected to an accelerated corrosion treatment and then tested under tension at different loading speeds in order to assess the effect of corrosion on the ductility properties of the rebars. Results showed that the bars with a corrosion level as low as the one reducing the steel mass by 1% gave rise to a significant degradation on the ductility properties with strain-stress curves losing the yield plateau and behaving practically as cold deformed steel bars. This effect took place at every tested loading speed. Thus, the research significance relies on the assessment of the influence of the loading speed at which the tensile test is performed given that it affects the ductility properties of the reinforcement bars.
Evaluation of Anticancer Efficacy of Cyclosaplin Using a Silk Based 3D Tumor Model
Authors: Mishra Abheepsa , Mukhopadhyay Sourav K. , Dey Satyahari
Published: February 2019

Development of novel anti-cancer peptides requires a rapid screening process which can be accelerated by using appropriate in vitro tumor models. Breast carcinoma tissue is a three dimensional (3D) microenvironment, which contains a hypoxic center surrounded by dense proliferative tissue. Biochemical clues provided by such 3D cell mass cannot be recapitulated in conventional 2D culture systems. In this experiment, we evaluate the efficacy of the sandalwood peptide, cyclosaplin on established in vitro 3D silk breast cancer model using invasive MDA-MB-231 cell line. The anti-proliferative effect of the peptide on 3D silk tumor model is monitored by alamar blue assay, with conventional 2D culture as control. The proliferation rate, glucose consumed, LDH, and MMP-9 activity of Human breast cancer cells are higher in 3D constructs compared to 2D. A higher concentration of drug is required to achieve 50% cell death in 3D culture than 2D cultures. The cyclosaplin treated MDA-MB-231 cells showed significant decrease in MMP-9 activity in 3D constructs. Microscopic analysis revealed the formation of cell clusters evenly distributed in the scaffolds. The drug treated cells were less in number, smaller and showed unusual morphology. Overall, these findings indicate the role of cyclosaplin as a promising anti-cancer therapeutics.
Improving Yield Mapping Accuracy Using Remote Sensing
Authors: Trevisan Rodrigo Gonçalves , Shiratsuchi Luciano  Shozo , Bullock David S. , Martin Nicolas Federico
Published: February 2019

The objective of this work was to investigate the use of remotely sensed vegetation indices to improve the quality of yield maps. The method was applied to the yield data of twelve cornfields from the Data Intensive Farm Management project. The results revealed the need to time shift the yield values up to three seconds to better match the sensor readings with the geographic coordinates. The residuals of the yield prediction model were used to identify points with unlikely yield values for that location, as an alternative to traditional approaches using local spatial statistics, without any assumption of spatial dependence or stationarity. The temporal and spatial distribution of the standardized coefficients for each experimental unit highlighted the presence of trends in the data. At least five out of the twelve fields presented trends that could have been induced by data collection.
An Econometric Assessment of the Impact of Exchange Rate Depreciation on Inflation in Nigeria (1981-2017)
Authors: Apeh Kenneth , Auwal Abubakar Muhammad , Obinna Nweze Nwaze
Published: February 2019

The present reality of the Nigerian economy is the fact that inflation has remained unabated in spite of all exchange rate measures that have been adopted by the monetary authority. This calls for investigation into the extent to which exchange rate impact on inflation in Nigeria. The research paper examined the impact of exchange rate depreciation on inflation in Nigeria for the period 1981–2017, using Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bounds Test Cointegration Procedure. The research shows that inflation rate in Nigeria is highly susceptible to lagged inflation rate, exchange rate, lagged exchange rate, lagged broad money, and lagged gross domestic product at 5% level of significance. A long run relationship was also found to exist between inflation rate, gross domestic product and general government expenditure, indicating that the model has a self-adjusting mechanism for correcting any deviation of the variables from equilibrium. Therefore, this study concludes that exchange rate is an important tool to manage inflation in the country; thus, this paper recommends that policies that have direct influence on inflation as well as exchange rate policies that would checkmate inflation movement in the country, should be used by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Also, monetary growth and import management policies should be put in place to encourage domestic production of export commodities, which are currently short-supplied. In addition, policy makers should not rely on this instrument totally to control inflation, but should use it as a complement to other macro-economic policies.
Experimental Observation of Temperature-Driven Topological Phase Transition in HgTe/CdHgTe Quantum Wells
Authors: Zholudev Maksim , Kadykov Aleksandr , Fadeev Mikhail , Marcinkiewicz Michal , Ruffenach Sandra , Consejo Christophe , Knap Wojciech , Torres Jeremie , Morozov Sergey , Gavrilenko Vladimir , Mikhailov Nikolay , Dvoretskii Sergey , Teppe Frederic
Published: February 2019

We report on comparison between temperature-dependent magneto¬absorption and magnetotransport spectroscopy of HgTe/CdHgTe quantum wells in terms of detection of phase transition between topological insulator and band insulator states. Our results demonstrate that temperature-dependent magnetospectroscopy is a powerful tool to discriminate trivial and topological insulator phases, yet magnetotransport method is shown to have advantages for clear manifestation of the phase transition with accurate quantitative values of transition parameter (i.e. critical magnetic field Bc).
Neonatal Deaths in Cambodia: A Case Series
Authors: Bazzano Alessandra N. , Var Chivorn , Wilkosz Dana , Duggal Ryan , Oberhelman Richard A.
Published: February 2019

Introduction: Neonatal mortality has declined in Cambodia but remains a key contributor to under-five deaths. The aim of this study was to further understanding of potential factors contributing to high neonatal mortality rates in Cambodia through assessment of verbal autopsies collected following newborn deaths. The study team analyzed verbal autopsies of perinatal deaths in order to describe timing and causes of neonatal deaths, demographic data, and factors potentially related to mortality. Methods: The case series data derive from 13 verbal autopsy reports collected in rural southern Cambodia. The mortality review was nested within a trial of a behavioral intervention to improve newborn survival, and was conducted after the close of the trial.  The study examined all neonatal deaths occurring to infants born at 16 health centers between in the study site of Takeo province. The World Health Organization standardized definition of neonatal mortality was employed, and two pediatricians independently reviewed data collected from each event to assign a cause of death. Results: Thirteen newborn deaths of infants born at a health facility were reported during the time period February 2015–November 2016. Ten out of the 13 deaths (76.92%) were early neonatal deaths, two (15.38%) were late neonatal deaths, and one was a stillbirth. Five out of 13 deaths (38.46%) occurred within the first day of life, indicating death was likely due to an intrapartum event. The largest single contributor to mortality was neonatal sepsis; six of 13 deaths (46.15%) were attributed to some form of sepsis. Twenty-three percent of the deaths were attributed to asphyxia. Other causes of death included stillbirth and prematurity. Eight deaths (61.54%) occurred within the control group of the larger intervention study. Conclusion: The study highlights the continuing need to improve both intrapartum and postnatal quality of care and infection prevention and control, and to fully address causes of sepsis, in order to effectively reduce mortality in the newborn period.
Google Earth, Google SketchUp and GIS software; An Interoperable Work Flow for Generating Elevation Data
Authors: Santos José Gomes dos , Bento Kevin , Txifunga Joaquim Lourenço
Published: February 2019

Data creation is often the only way for researchers to produce basic geospatial information for the pursuit of more complex tasks and procedures such as those that lead to the production of new data for studies concerning river basins, slope morphodynamics, applied geomorphology and geology, urban and territorial planning, detailed studies, for example, in architecture and civil engineering, among others. This exercise results from a reflection where specific data processing tasks executed in Google Sketchup (Pro version, 2018) can be used in a context of interoperability with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software. The focus is based on the production of contour lines and Digital Elevation Models (DEM) using an innovative sequence of tasks and procedures in both environments (GS and GIS). It starts in Google Sketchup (GS) graphic interface, with the selection of a satellite image referring to the study area—which can be anywhere on Earth's surface; subsequent processing steps lead to the production of elevation data at the selected scale and equidistance. This new data must be exported to GIS software in vector formats such as Autodesk Design Web format—DWG or Autodesk Drawing Exchange format—DXF. In this essay the option for the use of GIS Open Source Software (gvSIG and QGIS) was made. Correcting the original SHP by removing “data noise” that resulted from DXF file conversion permits the author to create new clean vector data in SHP format and, at a later stage, generate DEM data. This means that new elevation data becomes available, using simple but intuitive and interoperable procedures and techniques which confgures a costless work flow.
Performance Assessment Model for Municipal Solid Waste Management systems: Development and Implementation
Authors: Abdulaziz AlHumid Hatem , Haider Husnain , AlSaleem Saleem S. , Alinizzi Majed , Shafiquzamman Md. , Sadiq Rehan
Published: February 2019

Most of the municipalities in the Gulf region are facing performance related issues in their municipal solid waste management (MSWM) systems. They lack to possess a deliberate inter-municipality benchmarking processes. Instead of identifying the performance gaps for their key components (e.g., personnel productivity, operational reliability, etc.) and adopt proactive measures, the municipalities primarily rely on an efficient emergency response. A novel hierarchical modeling framework, based on deductive reasoning, is developed for performance assessment of MSWM systems. Fuzzy rule based modeling using Simulink-MATLAB was used for performance inferencing at different levels, i.e., component, sub-components, etc. The model is capable of handling the inherent uncertainties due to limited data and imprecise knowledge base. The model’s outcomes can exclusively assist the managers working at different levels of organizational hierarchy for effective decision-making. Performance of the key component, assists the senior management to assess the overall compliance level of performance objectives. Subsequently, operation management can hone in the sub-components to acquire useful information for intra-municipality performance management. While, individual indicators are useful for inter-municipality benchmarking. The model has been implemented on two municipalities operating in Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia. The results demonstrate the model’s pragmatism for continuous performance improvement of MSWM systems in the country and elsewhere.
Lightweight Cipher for H.264 Videos in the Internet of Multimedia Things with Encryption Space Ratio Diagnostics
Authors: Shifa Amna , Asghar Mamoona Naveed , Noor Salma , Gohar Neelam , Fleury Martin
Published: February 2019

Within an Internet of Multimedia Things, the risk of disclosing streamed video content, such as arising from video surveillance, is of heightened concern. This leads to the encryption of that content. To reduce the overhead and lack of flexibility arising from full encryption of the content, a good number of selective-encryption algorithms have been proposed in the last decade. Some of them have limitations, in terms of significant delay due to computational cost, or excess memory utilization, or, despite being energy efficient, do not provide a satisfactory level of confidentiality, due to their simplicity. To address such issues, this paper presents a lightweight selective encryption scheme, in which encoder syntax elements are encrypted with the innovative EXPer (EXtended Permutation with exclusive OR).  The selected syntax elements are taken from the final stage of video encoding that is during entropy coding. As a diagnostic tool, the Encryption Space Ratio measures encoding complexity of the video relative to the level of encryption so as to judge the success of the encryption process, according to entropy coder. A detailed comparative analysis of EXPer with state-of-the-art algorithms confirms that the EXPer provides significant confidentiality with a small computational cost and negligible encryption bitrate overhead. Thus, the results demonstrate that the proposed security scheme is a suitable choice for constrained devices in an Internet of Multimedia Things environment.
Effects of Mixing Conditions on Floc Properties in Magnesium Hydroxide Continuous Coagulation Process
Authors: Ding Yanmei , Zhao Jianhai , Wei Lei , Li Wenpu , Chi Yongzhi
Published: February 2019

Magnesium hydroxide continuous coagulation process was used for treating simulated reactive orange wastewater in this study. Effects of mixing conditions and retention time on the coagulation performance and floc properties of magnesium hydroxide were based on the floc size distribution (FSD), zeta potential and floc morphology analysis. Floc formation and growth in different reactors were also discussed.The results showed that increasing rapid mixing speed led to a decrease in the final floc size. Floc formation process was mainly carried out in rapid mixer, rapid mixing speed of 300rpm was chosen according to zeta potential and removal efficiency. Reducing retention time caused relatively small floc size in all reactors. When influent flow is 30 L/h (retention time of 2min in rapid mixer), the average floc size reached 8.06μm in rapid mixer, through breakage and re-growth, the floc size remained stable in flocculation basin. After growth, the final floc size reached to 11.21μm in sedimentation tank. The removal efficiency of reactive orange is 89% in magnesium hydroxide coagulation process.
Machine Learning Techniques to Detecting and Preventing Jamming Attacks in Optical Networks
Authors: Bensalem Mounir , Singh Sandeep Kumar , Jukan Admela
Published: February 2019

We study the effectiveness of various machine learning techniques, including artificial neural networks, support vector machine, logistic regression, K-nearest neighbors, decision tree and Naive Bayesian, for detecting and mitigating power jamming attacks in optical networks. Our study shows that artificial neural network is the most accurate in detecting out-of-band power jamming attacks in optical networks. To further mitigating the power jamming attacks, we apply a new resource reallocation scheme that utilizes the statistical information of attack detection accuracy, and propose a resource reallocation algorithm to lower the probability of successful jamming of lightpaths. Simulation results show that higher the accuracy of detection, lower is the likelihood of jamming a lightpath.
p53 Reaction to Cellular Stress Maximizes Apoptosis in Glioblastoma
Authors: Ho Cheng-Jung , Pao Yu-Hsuan , Chen Hsin-Wen , Zhu Wei-Hua , Lin Ru-Wei , Chu Cheng wei , Loh Joon Khim , Hong Yi-Ren , Wang Chihuei
Published: February 2019

In prostate cancer, p53 maximizes apoptosis in response to severe DNA damage, not DNA replication stress. Here, we examined the apoptotic response of two glioblastoma cells, p53-wild type U87 and a p53-mutated T98G cell, for the same stresses. We ascertained that p53 intensified apoptosis in response to severe DNA damage, not DNA replication stress in glioblastoma. We further asked if p53-mediated apoptosis can be induced by cellular stress other than severe DNA damage. We analyzed two compounds, bortezomib and vorinostat, respective inhibitors of 26S proteasome and histone deacetylase, to evaluate their capacity to activate p53-mediated apoptosis. The cellular stress incited by bortezomib, not vorinostat, activated p53-mediated apoptosis. Next, we asked if the cellular stress generated by combining the two compounds had a synergistic effect on apoptosis. Our results demonstrated that doxorubicin with bortezomib or CFS-1686, or bortezomib with vorinostat have a significant synergistic effect on apoptosis only in p53-wild type cell. Under high stress, p53 translocates from cytosol into the nucleus to cause apoptosis possibly. Together, p53 maximizes apoptosis for cellular stress caused by severe DNA damage, disruption of protein turnover, and for the stress induced by drug combination including doxorubicin with bortezomib or CFS-1686, and bortezomib with vorinostat.
Triple Langmuir Probe for Diagnosis of Plasma Produced by Dielectric Barrier Discharge of Parallel Plates in Atmospheric Pressure
Authors: Alves de Souza Ivan , Freire de Medeiros Neto João , Karla Paixão Silveira Antônia , Henrique de carvalho Costa Thércio , Pantaleon Matamoros Efrain , Cequeira Feitor Michelle , Ribeiro Magalhães Sousa Rômulo
Published: February 2019

This work aimed to characterize a DBD plasma equipment through optical and electrical measurements, seeking to obtain a greater knowledge of the plasma production process and how it behaves through the adopted parameters, such as frequency and voltage applied between electrodes, at a fixed distance of 1.7 mm. In order to measure them, three different characterization techniques were applied. The first method was the Lissajous figures, a technique quite effective for a complete electrical characterization of DBD equipment. The second technique used was the Optical Emission Spectroscopy, a tool used for the diagnosis of plasma, being it possible to identify the excited species produced in filamentary and diffuse discharge in the plasma. And finally, the triple Langmuir probe technique was used to obtain the electron temperature and electron density. Based on this study, it was possible to identify the equipment efficiency in different regimes. The electron temperature measurement for both systems analyzed were 27.96 eV and 20.69 eV to the filamentary and diffuse regimes, respectively. The density of electrons number to these regimes were 1.09 × 1021 m−3 and 1.56 × 1021 m−3.
Application of Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (CASBEE) at City Level in Johor Bahru
Authors: bin Hishammuddin Muhammad Akmal Hakim , Hoh Teck Gabriel Ling , Chau Loon Wai , Ho Chin Siong
Published: February 2019

CASBEE-City tool determines the city’s Built Environment Efficiency (BEE) by calculating the improvement of Quality of Life (Q) over human activities’ Environmental Load (L) within the city’s hypothetical boundary. A total of 58 variables (57 Q indicators and one variable for L) are used in the worldwide version of CASBEE-City which were grounded using ISO 37120:2014 Sustainable Development of Communities and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations (UN). This paper examines the application of CASBEE-City for Malaysian cities using the case of Johor Bahru City and identifies assessment indicators which are customised based on the data availability, reliability and suitability through focus group discussions (FGDs) which involved 36 respondents (researchers, urban planners and stakeholders). This paper reveals Johor Bahru with moderate score B+ in 2010 and 2025. Consensus were also achieved from the 36 FGD respondents for the practicability and future potential of CASBEE-City and BEE framework in Johor Bahru.
Differential Methylation in APOE Genes (Chr19; exon four; from 44,909,188 to 44,909,373) and Increased Apolipoprotein E Plasmatic Levels in Subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment”
Authors: Mancera Páez Oscar , Estrada Orozco Kelly , Mahecha Maria Fernanda , Cruz Sanabria Francy , Bonilla-Vargas Kely , Sandoval Nicolas , Guerrero Esneyder , Salcedo-Tacuma David , Melgarejo Jesús , Vega Edwin , Ortega Jenny , Roman Gustavo C. , Pardo-Turriago Rodrigo , Arboleda Humberto
Published: February 2019

Background: Biomarkers are essential for identification of individuals at high risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) for potential prevention of dementia. We investigated DNA methylation in the ApoE gene and plasmatic apolipoprotein E (ApoE) levels as MCI biomarkers in Colombian subjects with MCI and controls.
Methods: 100 participants were included (71% women, average age, 70 yrs., range 43-91). MCI was diagnosed by neuropsychological testing, medical and social history, activities of daily living, cognitive symptoms and neuroimaging. Multivariate logistic regression models adjusted by age and gender were performed to examine the risk association of MCI with plasma ApoE and APOE methylation
Results: MCI was diagnosed in 41 subjects (average age, 66.5±9.6 yrs.) and compared with 59 controls. Elevated plasma ApoE and APOE methylation of CpGs 165, 190, and 198 were risk factors for MCI (P<0.05). Higher CpG-227 methylation correlated with lower risk for MCI (P=0.002). Only CpG-227 was significantly correlated with plasmatic ApoE levels (correlation coefficient=-0.665; P=0.008).
Conclusion: Differential APOE methylation and increased plasma ApoE levels were correlated with MCI. These epigenetic patterns can be used as potential biomarkers to identify early stages of MCI.
Heterogeneous Distributed Big Data Clustering on Sparse Grids
Authors: Pfander David , Daiß Gregor , Pflüger Dirk
Published: February 2019

Clustering is an important task in data mining that has become more challenging due to the ever-increasing size of available datasets. To cope with these big data scenarios, a high-performance clustering approach is required. Sparse grid clustering is a density-based clustering method that uses a sparse grid density estimation as its central building block. The underlying density estimation approach enables the detection of clusters with non-convex shapes and without a predetermined number of clusters. In this work, we introduce a new distributed and performance-portable variant of the sparse grid clustering algorithm that is suited for big data settings. Our compute kernels were implemented in OpenCL to enable portability across a wide range of architectures. For distributed environments, we added a manager-worker scheme that was implemented using MPI. In experiments on two supercomputers, Piz Daint and Hazel Hen, with up to 100 million data points in a 10-dimensional dataset, we show the performance and scalability of our approach. The dataset with 100 million data points was clustered in 1198s using 128 nodes of Piz Daint. This translates to an overall performance of 352TFLOPS. On the node-level, we provide results for two GPUs, Nvidia's Tesla P100 and the AMD FirePro W8100, and one processor-based platform that uses Intel Xeon E5-2680v3 processors. In these experiments, we achieved between 43% and 66% of the peak performance across all compute kernels and devices, demonstrating the performance portability of our approach.
Chitosan-Coated Nanoparticles: Effect of Chitosan Molecular Weight on Nasal Transmucosal Delivery
Authors: Bruinsmann Franciele Aline , Pigana Stefania , Aguirre Tanira , Dadalt Souto Gabriele , Garrastazu Pereira Gabriele , Bianchera Annalisa , Tiozzo Fasiolo Laura , Colombo Gaia , Marques Magno , Raffin Pohlmann Adriana , Stanisçuaski Guterres Silvia , Sonvico Fabio
Published: February 2019

Drug delivery to the brain represents a challenge especially in the therapy of central nervous system malignancies. Simvastatin (SVT), as other statins, has shown potential anticancer properties that are difficult to exploit in the CNS. In the present work the physico-chemical, mucoadhesive and permeability enhancing properties of simvastatin-loaded poly-ε-caprolactone nanocapsules coated with chitosan for nose-to-brain administration were investigated. Lipid-core nanocapsules coated with different molecular weight (MW) chitosans (LNCchit) prepared by a novel one-pot technique were characterized for particle size, surface charge, particle number density, morphology, drug encapsulation efficiency, interaction between surface nanocapsules with mucin, drug release and permeability across two nasal mucosa models. Results show that all formulations present adequate particle size (below 220 nm), positive surface charge, narrow droplet size distribution (PDI<0.2) and high encapsulation efficiency. Nanocapsules presented controlled drug release and mucoadhesive properties dependent on the MW of the coating chitosan. The results of permeation across RPMI 2650 human nasal cell line evidenced that LNCchit increased the permeation of SVT. In particular, the amount of SVT permeated after 4h for nanocapsules coated with low MW chitosan, high MW chitosan and control SVT was 13.91 ± 0.78 µg, 9.15 ± 1.23 µg and 1.42 ± 0.21 µg respectively. These results were confirmed by the SVT ex vivo permeation across rabbit nasal mucosa. This study highlighted the suitability of LNCchit as promising strategy for the administration of simvastatin for a nose-to-brain approach for the therapy of brain tumors.
HER2 Directed Antibody-Drug-Conjugates beyond T-DM1 in Breast Cancer
Authors: Rinnerthaler Gabriel , Gampenrieder Simon Peter , Greil Richard
Published: February 2019

Since the discovery of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) as an oncogenic driver in a subset of breast cancers and the development of HER2 directed therapies, the prognosis of HER2 amplified breast cancers has increased meaningfully. Next to monoclonal anti-HER2 antibodies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, the antibody-drug conjugate T-DM1 is a pillar of targeted treatment of advanced HER2-positive breast cancers. Currently, several HER2 directed antibody-drug conjugates are under clinical investigation for HER2 amplified but also HER2 expressing but not amplified breast tumors. In this article, we review the current preclinical and clinical evidence of the investigational drugs A166, ALT-P7, ARX788, DHES0815A, DS-8201a, RC48, SYD985, MEDI4276 and XMT-1522.
Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity in the Distribution of Chikungunya and Zika Virus Case Incidences and Risk Factors During Their Epidemics in Barranquilla, Colombia, between 2014 and 2016: An Ecological Study
Authors: McHale Thomas C. , Romero-Vivas Claudia M. , Fronterre Claudio , Arango-Padilla Pedro , Falconar Andrew K. , Waterlow Naomi R. , Nix Chad , Cano Jorge
Published: February 2019

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) have recently emerged as global infections with consequential disability adjusted life years (DALYs) and economic burden. This study aimed to explore the spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the occurrence of CHIKV and ZIKV outbreaks throughout Barranquilla, Colombia during 2014 and 2016 and explored the potential for clustering. Incidence data were fitted using multiple Bayesian Poisson models based on a suite of explanatory variables as potential risk factors and multiple options for random effects. A best fit model was used to analyse the case incidence risk for both epidemics to identify any risk factors during their epidemics. Neighbourhoods in the northern region of Barranquilla were hotspots for the outbreaks of both CHIKV and ZIKV. Additional hotspots occurred in the south-western and central regions of the CHIKV and ZIKV outbreaks, respectively. Multivariate conditional autoregressive models strongly identified higher socioeconomic strata (SES) and residing in detached houses as risk factors for ZIKV case incidences. These novel findings challenge the belief that these infections are driven by social vulnerability and merits further study both in Barranquilla and throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. 
The Disprove of the Komlos Conjecture
Authors: Brahim Belhaouari Samir , AlQudah Randa
Published: February 2019

Komlos conjecture is about the existing of a universal constant K such that for all dimension n and any collection of vectors (V_1 ) ⃗ ,…,(V_n ) ⃗ ∈R^n with ‖(V_i ) ⃗ ‖_2≤1 , there are weights ε_i∈{-1,1} in such that ‖∑_(i=1)^n▒〖ϵ_i (V_i ) ⃗ 〗‖_∞≤K(n)≤K. In this paper, the constant K(n) is evaluated for n≤5 to be K(2)=√2, K(3)=(√2+√11)/3, K(4)=√3, and K(5)=(4+√142)/9. For higher dimension, the function f(n)=√(n-⌈〖 log〗_2 (2^(n-1)⁄n)⌉ ) is found to be the lower bound for the constant K(n), from where it can be concluded that the Komlos conjecture is false i.e., the universal constant K=max┬(‖(V_i ) ⃗^* ‖_2≤1)⁡min┬(ε_i=±1)⁡〖‖∑_(i=1)^n▒〖ϵ_i (V_i ) ⃗^* 〗‖_∞ 〗 does not exsit because of lim┬(n→∞)⁡〖K(n)≥lim┬(n→∞)⁡√(log⁡(n)-1)=+∞〗.
True Human Being
Authors: ANDREU CELMA José María
Published: February 2019

This article is a tribute to Prof. Jorge Ayala, to his kindness and integrity, in both a personal and intellectual sense. In order to contextualise the meaning of Ayala’s contribution, this article refers to a particular conception of coherence between thought and existence which can be traced in part to the main course of Western intellectual history: a way of experiencing the thought, values and beliefs through which our intellectual choices reflect a way of being –an understanding which is very close to Baltasar Gracián’s notion of «moral truth».
Translatio studiorum and scholastica americana. A Present-Day Issue
Authors: LÉRTORA MENDOZA Celina A.
Published: February 2019

This paper discusses the application of the historiographical category translatio studiorum to the compilation of American philosophical and theological production designated as scholastica americana, and substantiates this expression – by highlighting specific content that puts it in a historiographical category. The article analyses some characteristics of this production in the colonial period (from the mid-sixteenth century to the early nineteenth century), establishing its geographical, chronological, thematic and institutional delimitation. The characterization of the production is justified for the following periods: 1. Scholastic; 2. Eclectic pre-Enlightenment; and 3. Enlightenment.Walter Redmond’s thesis of the double translatio of logic is also discussed – a thesis equally applicable to other philosophical disciplines. The epistemological and methodological justification of the historiographical category scholastica colonialis americana includes the following topics: an unusual process within the general category; its problematic context; the consideration of the American philosophical ‘tradition’ (in the Gadamerian sense) as translatio americana; and its connexion with the scholastica americana as being understood in recent historiography.
The Reverse of the Numinous. Ahistoricism and Time in the Kabbalah of the Sefer Ha-Zohar
Authors: FERNÁNDEZ LÓPEZ José Antonio
Published: February 2019

In this hermeneutical approach to Kabbalah and the Zohar, from the double perspective of the history of ideas and the reading of texts that emerged in a given time and context, this article investigates the historical and temporal components of cabalistic mysticism. The medieval Kabbalah, itself an experience of the numinous marked by the ahistorical, is not completely alien to historical experiences. This is the search for a compression of the bonds that unite the emergence of the mystic and the historical time lived in the heart of Spanish medieval Judaism.
Evaluación de conductos accesorios del maxilar superior
Authors: Soto Terán Natalia Nilda
Published: February 2019

Introducción: En la región anterosuperior, además del conducto nasopalatino, podemos encontrar otros conductos  neurovasculares que pueden ser evaluados por medio de tomografía computarizada de haz cónico. El propósito de este estudio es determinar la presencia, número, diámetro, dirección y emergencia de conductos accesorios en áreas dentadas y desdentadas en la población de Cochabamba. Materiales y métodos: Se evaluaron 300 tomografías computarizadas de haz cónico de pacientes que acudieron al centro radiográfico CERPAX, mayores a 15 años y con un tamaño de voxel mínimode 0,2 mm. Resultados: Se encontró una frecuencia de 47,33% de conductos accesorios con un diámetro igual o mayor a 1 mm. Se halló a un paciente con 4 conductos accesorios. El diámetro medio de los conductos fue de 1,44 mm y el máximo de 2,80 mm. El diámetro fue mayor en zonas desdentadas. La mayor emergencia se encontró en la región de los incisivos centrales y a nivel de la tabla ósea palatina. Hubo asociación significativa entre la emergencia a nivel de las tablas óseas y el estado dental de la zona. La mayor parte de los conductos tiene dirección hacia el canalis sinuosus. Conclusiones: El diámetro mayor encontrado es el valor máximo hasta la fecha. El diámetro es mayor en áreas desdentadas que en dentadas. Es importantetomar en cuenta a los conductos accesorios de esta región antes de cualquier procedimiento quirúrgico en la zona a finde evitar una lesión en el paquete vasculonervioso.
Prevalencia de dientes supernumerarios en niños de 6 a 12 años en la ciudad de Huánuco del 2012 al 2016
Authors: Zevallos Melgar Milagros , Cárdenas Flores Carol Magaly
Published: February 2019

Objetivo: Determinar la prevalencia de dientes supernumerarios identificados mediante radiografías panorámicas enniños de 6 a 12 años de la ciudad de Huánuco, durante el período 2012-2016. Materiales y métodos: La muestra fuede 523 radiografías panorámicas de pacientes entre 6 y 12 años. Se realizó la observación detallada de cada radiografíapanorámica por sextantes verificando cada una de las piezas dentarias y gérmenes dentarios adyacentes. Se usó una ficha para el registro de la información donde se indicó la edad del paciente y el tipo de alteración en el número de piezas dentarias con sus respectivos indicadores: ubicación, anatomía por sextantes y tipo de pieza dentaria afectada. Resultados: La prevalencia dedientes supernumerarios en niños de 6 a 12 años es del 12,81% encontradas en 67 radiografías panorámicas, los cualesse encontraron en la arcada superior un 67,16% y en el inferior, un 32,83%. En cuanto a la ubicación el mesiodens representa el 47,76% y el parapremolar, un 25,37%. De acuerdo con el sexo, tenemos un porcentaje del 52,23% para el sexo masculino y del 47,76% para el sexo femenino. Conclusión: La prevalencia de dientes supernumerarios en niños de 6 a 12 años en la ciudad deHuánuco es del 12,81%. La ubicación más frecuente fue el mesiodens. De acuerdo con la morfología, el tipo más frecuente es el dismórfico.
Asociación entre el índice de higiene oral y prevalencia de caries de infancia temprana en preescolares de 3-5 años de la institución educativa San Gabriel, Villa María del Triunfo, 2017
Authors: Jiménez Guillén Andrea , Cárdenas Flores Carol Magaly
Published: February 2019

Objetivo: El propósito de este estudio esdeterminar la asociación entre el índicede higiene oral y la prevalencia de cariesde infancia temprana en preescolaresde 3-5 años de la Institución EducativaSan Gabriel, de Villa María del Triunfo.Metodología: Se evaluó a 92 niños de3-5 años de ambos sexos, sin presenciade enfermedades sistémicas. Se realizóun examen clínico para el diagnóstico decaries de infancia temprana, mediante elmétodo visual-táctil. Para la evaluaciónde la higiene oral, se empleó el índicede Greene y Vermellion. Se aplicaron laspruebas estadísticas de todos los resultadosobtenidos mediante el paqueteestadístico SPSS versión 23, con laprueba no paramétrica de Xi cuadradopara determinar la asociación de cadafactor de riesgo. Resultados: No seencuentra una asociación estadísticamentesignificativa de IHO-S según edadp = 0,133. Se observó un IHO-S de 54,3%en los preescolares de género femenino,siendo mayor el IHO moderado con un

25%, seguido de un IHO-S de 45,7%en los preescolares de género masculino,siendo mayor el IHO moderado yalto con un 18,5%. No se encuentra unaasociación estadísticamente significativade IHO-S según género p = 0,863. Seobservó un IHO-S de 72,8 % de preescolaresque presentan CIT, siendo mayor elIHO-S moderado con un 34,8%, seguidode un IHO-S severo con un 32,6%, y unIHO-S bajo con un 5,4%. Se encontróuna asociación estadísticamente significativaentre higiene oral y CIT p < 0,001.Conclusión: Se encontró una asociaciónentre el índice de higiene oral y la prevalenciade caries de infancia temprana enpreescolares de 3-5 años.
Un acercamiento a las investigaciones de la representación de género en la literatura infantil
Authors: León-Ciliotta Rosalí
Published: February 2019

El presente artículo forma parte de una tesis doctoral que analiza libros de literatura infantil que se leen como parte de los planes lectores de primaria en el Perú. La matrizde recolección de datos se construyó a partir de un conjunto de estudios previos que abordan la representación de género desde diversas perspectivas, los cuales se introducen en el artículo a continuación.
Transformation of Shangai at the beginning of the New China. Observations from two sino-soviet coproductions
Authors: Xi Yang
Published: February 2019

Since the Second Opium War, Shanghai was designated as a trading port, and because of its coastal location, the city became an isolated island. Its different from the backwardnessof China’s semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. Shanghai’s «capitalization» is more serious, and social culture is very special. It is a difficult point for a new regime to besupported in the early days of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. This article examines the publicity screenings of the two documentaries in 1950, «The Victory of the Chinese People» (中国人民的胜利) and «The Liberated China» (解放了的中 国), and analyzes how the two Sino-Soviet documentaries have attracted widespread attention. How did the new regime deploy the film industry’s work, talks about the direction of the «film maker» and the «imager» identification mechanism, from the expression of the phenomenon-level viewing to explore Shanghai people’s political identity facing the new China.
Esta casa vacía, Marco García Falcón
Authors: Carrillo Mauriz Sonia Luz
Published: February 2019

Esta casa vacía, de Marco García Falcón, narra la historia de un profesor que decide escribir un libro testimonial después de perder a su familia por causa de obsesiones cotidianas, como tener una vivienda y las circunstancias que acarrea un trabajo apremiante. En estas líneas propongo una rápida mirada a los propósitos del escritor y su relación con la estrategianarrativa puesta en acción.