bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On the potential of on-line free-surface constructed wetlands for attenuating pesticide losses from agricultural land to surface waters
Authors: Ramos Andre , Whelan Michael J. , Guymer Ian , Villa Raffaella , Jefferson Bruce
Published: May 2019

Environmental contextPesticide losses from land to surface waters have the potential to cause ecological damage. Furthermore, pesticides in surface waters present a major challenge for water companies accessing these waters for the domestic supply, in terms of complying with water quality regulations. Here, we evaluate the potential of field- and ditch-scale free-surface constructed wetland systems for reducing pesticide transfers from land to surface waters. AbstractPesticides make important contributions to agriculture but losses from land to water can present problems for environmental management, particularly in catchments where surface waters are abstracted for drinking water. ‘On-line’ constructed wetlands have been proposed as a potential means of reducing pesticide fluxes in drainage ditches and headwater streams. Here, we evaluate the potential of two free-surface constructed wetland systems to reduce pesticide concentrations in surface waters using a combination of field monitoring and dynamic fugacity modelling. We specifically focus on metaldehyde, a commonly used molluscicide that is moderately mobile and has been regularly detected at high concentrations in drinking water supply catchments in the UK over the past few years. We also present data for the herbicide metazachlor. Metaldehyde losses from the upstream catchment were significant, with peak concentrations occurring in the first storm events in early autumn, soon after application. Concentrations and loads appeared to be minimally affected by transit through the monitored wetlands over a range of flow conditions. This was probably due to short solute residence times (quantified via several tracing experiments employing rhodamine WT – a fluorescent dye) exacerbated by solute exclusion phenomena resulting from patchy vegetation. Model analyses of different scenarios suggested that, even for pesticides with short aquatic half-lives, wetland systems would need to exhibit much longer residence times (RTs) than those studied here in order to deliver any appreciable attenuation. If the ratio of wetland surface area to the area of the contributing catchment is assumed to be a surrogate for RT (i.e. not accounting for solute exclusion), then model predictions suggest that this needs to be greater than 1% to yield load reductions of 3 and 7% for metaldehyde and metazachlor respectively.
Distribution of Palinuridae and Scyllaridae phyllosoma larvae within the East Australian Current: a climate change hot spot
Authors: Woodings Laura N. , Murphy Nicholas P. , Jeffs Andrew , Suthers Iain M. , Liggins Geoffrey W. , Strugnell Jan M.
Published: May 2019

Many marine species are predicted to shift their ranges poleward due to rising ocean temperatures driven by climate change. For benthic marine species with pelagic larval stages, poleward range shifts are often facilitated through pelagic larval transport via western boundary currents (WBC). By surveying pelagic larval distributions within WBCs, species advected poleward of their known distributions can be identified and monitored. Palinurid and scyllarid lobster larvae (phyllosoma) have long pelagic larval durations, providing high potential for poleward advection. We surveyed spatial distribution of phyllosoma within the western-boundary East Australian Current. Due to difficulties morphologically identifying phyllosoma, we tested the utility of molecular identification using cytochrome c oxidase I (COI). From COI sequences of 56 phyllosoma and one postlarva, 65% of sequences consisted of good-quality mitochondrial DNA. Across water types sampled, scyllarid phyllosoma exhibited relatively homogeneous distribution, whereas palinurid phyllosoma exhibited heterogeneous distribution with greatest abundance inside a warm core eddy on the south coast of eastern Australia. Two tropical and one subtropical palinurid species were detected ~75–1800km to the south or south-west of their known species distribution. Our results indicate tropical lobster species are reaching temperate regions, providing these species the opportunity to establish in temperate regions if or when environmental conditions become amenable to settlement.
A snapshot of changes in graziers’ management and attitudes towards dingoes over 60 years
Authors: van Eeden Lily M. , Dickman Chris R. , Crowther Mathew S. , Newsome Thomas M.
Published: May 2019

Livestock producers and governments have managed predators to protect livestock for millennia. But in recent decades attitudes towards predators and their management have shifted from solely killing towards coexistence and even conservation. In Australia, a continent-wide survey of graziers conducted in the 1950s provides an opportunity to consider how attitudes and practices surrounding dingo management have changed over the last 60 years. We created a survey that repeated questions and themes from the 1950s study and sent this to 75 of the properties where the original survey had been completed. We received 23 complete or semicomplete responses. Ground-baiting and shooting continue to form a major focus of management on the focal properties, while fewer respondents used trapping and fencing in the current survey than in the 1950s. Ten properties had adopted either or both of two lethal methods (aerial baiting and hiring professional doggers) since the 1950s survey. Unlike the 1950s survey, three respondents used non-lethal methods only (animal husbandry or livestock guardian animals) and indicated that they support maintaining dingoes in the landscape. This change, albeit small, may suggest that attitudes towards dingoes by graziers have diversified from solely lethal control. We discuss these trends and consider the future of dingo management in Australia. In accordance with changing attitudes among some producers, we suggest that governments must now consider the diversity of approaches to managing livestock in the presence of dingoes and offer more training and support for those methods that are proven effective.
Removal of DHT can relieve polycystic ovarian but not metabolic abnormalities in DHT-induced hyperandrogenism in mice
Authors: Sun Li-Feng , Yang Ya-Li , Xiao Tian-Xia , Li Meng-Xia , Zhang Jian V.
Published: May 2019

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder with a high prevalence in women of childbearing age. To date, there is no method of efficiently diagnosing PCOS and curing it completely because its pathomechanism remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether metabolic abnormalities maintain the hyperandrogenism and PCOS-like ovaries and whether the symptoms induced by excess androgen are treatable. We ceased the abnormal dihydrotestosterone (DHT) stimulation to determine changes in PCOS-like mice. After ceasing DHT stimulation, the ovarian morphology and gene expression recovered from the DHT-stimulated status. However, after cessation of DHT stimulation, the hypertrophy of adipose tissues and hepatic steatosis were not significantly restored, and fat accumulation-related gene expression and serum metabolic markers in the mice were altered. These findings showed that the reproductive dysfunction was obviously relieved, but because the metabolic abnormalities were not relieved after the cessation of excess androgen for 30 days, it appears that the latter may not maintain the former.
Steps on Pt stereodynamically filter sticking of O
2
Authors: Cao Kun , van Lent Richard , Kleyn Aart W. , Kurahashi Mitsunori , Juurlink Ludo B. F.
Published: May 2019

Significance

Platinum is widely applied as an oxidation catalyst. The surfaces of metallic catalyst particles are generally composed of atomically flat planes connected by edges. In this paper, we unveil how Pt edges affect O
2
sticking. Opposing types of behaviors are observed for high and low incident energies. The dependencies identify the mechanisms by which O
2
molecules stick, which is the first step in the oxidation reactions.
Human cGAS catalytic domain has an additional DNA-binding interface that enhances enzymatic activity and liquid-phase condensation
Authors: Xie Wei , Lama Lodoe , Adura Carolina , Tomita Daisuke , Glickman J. Fraser , Tuschl Thomas , Patel Dinshaw J.
Published: May 2019

The cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)–cGAMP–STING pathway plays a key role in innate immunity, with cGAS sensing both pathogenic and mislocalized DNA in the cytoplasm. Human cGAS (h-cGAS) constitutes an important drug target for control of antiinflammatory responses that can contribute to the onset of autoimmune diseases. Recent studies have established that the positively charged N-terminal segment of cGAS contributes to enhancement of cGAS enzymatic activity as a result of DNA-induced liquid-phase condensation. We have identified an additional cGAS
CD
–DNA interface (labeled site-C; CD, catalytic domain) in the crystal structure of a human SRY.cGAS
CD
–DNA complex, with mutations along this basic site-C cGAS interface disrupting liquid-phase condensation, as monitored by cGAMP formation, gel shift, spin-down, and turbidity assays, as well as time-lapse imaging of liquid droplet formation. We expand on an earlier ladder model of cGAS dimers bound to a pair of parallel-aligned DNAs to propose a multivalent interaction-mediated cluster model to account for DNA-mediated condensation involving both the N-terminal domain of cGAS and the site-C cGAS–DNA interface. We also report the crystal structure of the h-cGAS
CD
–DNA complex containing a triple mutant that disrupts the site-C interface, with this complex serving as a future platform for guiding cGAS inhibitor development at the DNA-bound h-cGAS level. Finally, we solved the structure of RU.521 bound in two alternate alignments to apo h-cGAS
CD
, thereby occupying more of the catalytic pocket and providing insights into further optimization of active-site–binding inhibitors.
Seasonal dynamics of microzooplankton communities in the Sea of Oman (Arabian Sea)
Authors: Aberle N. , Piontkovski S.A.
Published: May 2019

Seasonal dynamics of microzooplankton and changes in environmental condition were analysed during a one-year field sampling campaign in the Sea of Oman at two different stations. Monsoon winds in this region cause distinct seasonality patterns with high primary productivity during the south-west monsoon in summer (June to October) and north-east monsoon periods in winter (November to March). Microzooplankton in the Sea of Oman showed several biomass peaks throughout the year. In general, higher biomass occurred during the south-west monsoon when compared to the north-east monsoon period with maxima of 190 µg C l−1at the inshore station Bandar Al-Khyran at 1m and 308 µg C l−1 at 10m water depth. At the offshore-station, peaks of 372 µg C l−1 (1m) and 256 µg C l−1 (20m) occurred during the south-west monsoon. A strong coupling between phytoplankton and microzooplankton was observed during monsoon periods but some microzooplankton peaked during inter-monsoon periods when chlorophyll concentration was low (Bandar Al-Khyran: 372 µg C l−1 at 1m and 196 µg C l−1, 10m; Offshore-station: 419 µg C l−1, 20 m). The initiation of phytoplankton blooms in the Sea of Oman was bottom-up controlled due to strong seasonal nutrient influx during south-west and north-east monsoon periods. Highest microzooplankton biomass occurred during monsoon periods with a dominance of Noctiluciphyceae and peaks of 7596 µg C l−1 at Bandar Al-Khyran (1m) and 5942 µg C l−1 (10m). Copepod nauplii, Amoebozoa and Larvacea contributed substantially to microzooplankton biomass throughout the year. Ciliophora contributed low proportion to the total microzooplankton biomass peaking both during monsoon and inter-monsoon periods. During the spring inter-monsoon, choreotrich ciliates (tintinnids) showed distinct peaks of 15.9 µg C l−1 at Bandar Al-Khyran (1m) and 17.7 µg C l−1 (10m) as well as 18.2 µg C l−1 at Offshore-station (20m). The interplay between bottom-up controlled primary production and top-down control mechanisms regulates the phenology patterns of specific microzooplankton groups in the Sea of Oman thus pointing at complex trophodynamic interactions at the lowermost foodweb level in this low-latitude ecosystem.
Effects of a vertical electric barrier on the behaviour of Rainbow Trout
Authors: Kim Jaewoo , Mandrak Nicholas E.
Published: May 2019

When dealing with invasive fishes, permanent barriers may inhibit spread, but may not be feasible due to costs and logistical constraints. Alternatively, non-permanent barriers using electricity, light, sound, pressure, bubbles, and CO2 are being developed and deployed in efforts to limit and prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species or to achieve fish guidance and conservation. However, the effectiveness of these barriers is quite variable and testing is often lacking for both invasive and native species. We conducted a laboratory experiment to investigate the impact of vertical electric barrier on behaviour of Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. In response to electric current, Rainbow Trout responded by significantly decreasing passage through the electric barrier zone and spending more time away from the electric barrier when it was turned on during the stimulus period compared to pre-stimulus period. Moreover, when interacting with electric barrier, Rainbow Trout exhibited certain behaviours (e.g. stunned and remained on the same side of the barrier, stunned and crossed the barrier) more than others (e.g. approach and retreat, deflected, and paralyzed). Moreover, it appears that Rainbow Trout remained distant from the electric barrier even after the electric barrier was turned off. Our results indicate that relatively weak electric gradient (i.e. voltage gradient: 0.2 – 0.4 v·cm−1, power density: 3 – 42 µW·cm−3) can inhibit the movement of Rainbow Trout. Our results also highlight the importance of detailed investigation of behavioural responses of target species when evaluating and considering fish-deterrent or guidance technologies.
Repair of nuclear ruptures requires barrier-to-autointegration factor
Authors: Halfmann Charles T. , Sears Rhiannon M. , Katiyar Aditya , Busselman Brook W. , Aman London K. , Zhang Qiao , O’Bryan Christopher S. , Angelini Thomas E. , Lele Tanmay P. , Roux Kyle J.
Published: May 2019

Cell nuclei rupture following exposure to mechanical force and/or upon weakening of nuclear integrity, but nuclear ruptures are repairable. Barrier-to-autointegration factor (BAF), a small DNA-binding protein, rapidly localizes to nuclear ruptures; however, its role at these rupture sites is unknown. Here, we show that it is predominantly a nonphosphorylated cytoplasmic population of BAF that binds nuclear DNA to rapidly and transiently localize to the sites of nuclear rupture, resulting in BAF accumulation in the nucleus. BAF subsequently recruits transmembrane LEM-domain proteins, causing their accumulation at rupture sites. Loss of BAF impairs recruitment of LEM-domain proteins and nuclear envelope membranes to nuclear rupture sites and prevents nuclear envelope barrier function restoration. Simultaneous depletion of multiple LEM-domain proteins similarly inhibits rupture repair. LEMD2 is required for recruitment of the ESCRT-III membrane repair machinery to ruptures; however, neither LEMD2 nor ESCRT-III is required to repair ruptures. These results reveal a new role for BAF in the response to and repair of nuclear ruptures.
It takes two to tango: The dance of the permease
Authors: Kaback H. Ronald , Guan Lan
Published: May 2019

The lactose permease (LacY) of Escherichia coli is the prototype of the major facilitator superfamily, one of the largest families of membrane transport proteins. Structurally, two pseudo-symmetrical six-helix bundles surround a large internal aqueous cavity. Single binding sites for galactoside and H+ are positioned at the approximate center of LacY halfway through the membrane at the apex of the internal cavity. These features enable LacY to function by an alternating-access mechanism that can catalyze galactoside/H+ symport in either direction across the cytoplasmic membrane. The H+-binding site is fully protonated under physiological conditions, and subsequent sugar binding causes transition of the ternary complex to an occluded intermediate that can open to either side of the membrane. We review the structural and functional evidence that has provided new insight into the mechanism by which LacY achieves active transport against a concentration gradient.
Impedance matched electrical capacitance tomography system: front-end design and system analysis
Authors: Flatscher M , Neumayer M , Bretterklieber T
Published: May 2019

Electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) is a well-established technique for process monitoring, which enables the visualization of spatial material distributions within a region of interest, e.g. a pipeline. Switched capacitor (SC) circuits or continuous displacement current measurements are used to measure the coupling capacitances within the ECT sensor. In order to measure the coupling capacitances with high accuracy, the circuit concepts make use of fast excitation signals, e.g. fast transients in SC circuits or high excitation frequency signals in continuous displacement current measurements. For industrial process tomography in harsh environments a spatial separation between the sensor and the front-end circuitry is favorable. Consequently, the measurement circuitry and the sensor are connected by means of coaxial cables. For high excitation frequencies, transmission line effects like standing waves, reflections, or impedance transformation effects appear, leading to undefined signal conditions in the measurement system. It can be shown that the undefined signal propagation can lead to significant measurement errors. In this paper we present an impedance matched front-end circuitry, i.e. the source impedance of the excitation source and the input impedance of the measurement circuitry are matched to the wave impedance of the transmission lines. Due to the matching the signal propagation becomes defined, allowing the use of arbitrary cable lengths and excitation signals. We present the design of an impedance matched front-end for ECT and study the behavior of the excitation system and the measurement system. Comparative measurements from a demonstrator are presented. Finally we study the measurement error of the system and show the validity of the impedance matched system approach.
Constant vorticity water flows with full Coriolis term
Authors: Iulian Martin Calin
Published: May 2019

We consider here three-dimensional water flows governed by the geophysical water wave equations exhibiting full Coriolis term. More precisely, under mild assumptions we determine all possible flow solutions to the governing equations that exhibit constant vorticity vector. That is, we show that the vertical component of the velocity vanishes, the horizontal components are constant and the free surface is necessarily flat. Our investigation features three-dimensionality, nonlinearity, Coriolis effects and vorticity, the last aspect being one of relevance in relation to the issue of turbulence.
Focus on Shortcuts to Adiabaticity
Authors: del Campo Adolfo , Kim Kihwan
Published: May 2019

Shortcuts to Adiabaticity (STA) constitute driving schemes that provide an alternative to adiabatic protocols to control and guide the dynamics of classical and quantum systems without the requirement of slow driving. Research on STA advances swiftly with theoretical progress being accompanied by experiments on a wide variety of platforms. We summarize recent developments emphasizing advances reported in this focus issue while providing an outlook with open problems and prospects for future research.
Ladder climbing and autoresonant acceleration of the spherical plasma density wave
Authors: Geng Pan-Fei , Tang Rong-An , Zhang Ai-Xia , Xue Ju-Kui
Published: May 2019

Ladder climbing (LC) and autoresonance (AR) of the spherical plasma density wave are studied for the first time. The governing equation of the perturbed spherical density wave in the energy level space based on a hydrodynamic model of the electron plasma is presented, and it is demonstrated that the quantum LC and classical AR transition can be achieved in the spherical plasma. The asymptotic thresholds of the LC and AR transition of the spherical plasma wave are obtained analytically and confirmed numerically. We find that the spherical wave energy is concentrated to the sphere center as the density wave climbs to the higher level, the spherical plasma behaves obvious compression character, and the perturbed density of the sphere center even can be amplified to 100 times larger of the initial perturbed density. Compared to the one-dimensional case, the energy spectrum of the spherical plasma wave shifts upward, and the energy level spacing of the spherical plasma wave is broadened. These result in the facts that the spherical plasma needs the larger driving strength to achieve the LC and AR, while the total perturbed density of the spherical plasma always is larger than that of the one-dimensional case.
Geometric universality and anomalous diffusion in frictional fingers
Authors: Olsen Kristian Stølevik , Flekkøy Eirik Grude , Angheluta Luiza , Campbell James Matthew , Måløy Knut Jørgen , Sandnes Bjørnar
Published: May 2019

Frictional finger trees are patterns emerging from non-equilibrium processes in particle-fluid systems. Their formation share several properties with growth algorithms for minimum spanning trees (MSTs) in random energy landscapes. We propose that the frictional finger trees are indeed in the same geometric universality class as the MSTs, which is checked using updated numerical simulation algorithms for frictional fingers. We also propose a theoretical model for anomalous diffusion in these patterns, and discuss the role of diffusion as a tool to classify geometry.
A first-order dynamical transition in the displacement distribution of a driven run-and-tumble particle
Authors: Gradenigo Giacomo , Majumdar Satya N
Published: May 2019

We study the probability distribution P(X

N
  =  X,N) of the total displacement X

N
of an N-step run and tumble particle on a line, in the presence of a constant nonzero drive E. While the central limit theorem predicts a standard Gaussian form for near its peak, we show that for large positive and negative X, the distribution exhibits anomalous large deviation forms. For large positive X, the associated rate function is nonanalytic at a critical value of the scaled distance from the peak where its first derivative is discontinuous. This signals a first-order dynamical phase transition from a homogeneous ‘fluid’ phase to a ‘condensed’ phase that is dominated by a single large run. A similar first-order transition occurs for negative large fluctuations as well. Numerical simulations are in excellent agreement with our analytical predictions.
Afforestation reduces cyclone intensity and precipitation extremes over Europe
Authors: Belušić Danijel , Fuentes-Franco Ramón , Strandberg Gustav , Jukimenko Alex
Published: May 2019

Extratropical cyclones are the dominant weather pattern in the midlatitudes and cause up to 80% of precipitation extremes in some regions of Europe with a large societal and economical impact. Using a regional climate model and a cyclone-tracking algorithm, we study how idealized deforestation and afforestation of Europe affect long-term changes in the number and intensity of cyclones, and their effects on precipitation. The number of cyclones over Europe is smaller for afforestation compared to deforestation, with differences starting from 10% in regions near the west European coast and increasing towards the east to reach 80%. This decrease is caused by the larger surface roughness in afforestation. The winter precipitation extremes are considerably reduced with afforestation, without a large decrease in mean precipitation because of the balancing effect of increased weak and moderate precipitation. The mean precipitation increases over central and southern Europe as a result of the summer precipitation increase caused by larger evapotranspiration and access to deeper soil moisture in the presence of trees. These different region-specific effects of afforestation are generally positive and could provide an important mitigation tool in a changing climate.
Study on stability evaluation in multi-send hybrid AC/DC transmission system
Authors: Li Rong
Published: May 2019

Our country has shown the significant features of high voltage direct current (HVDC) including multi-infeed and multi-send. Compared to multi-infeed system, there are a lot of weakness in the multi-send system, such as the grid structure is single and weak, which makes the interaction between AC and DC to a greater extent affect the stability of the multi-send hybrid AC/DC transmission system. In order to evaluating the system strength in multi-send hybrid AC/DC transmission system, for the first time, this paper proposed the general formula and simplified formula for multi-send short-circuit ratio (MSSCR), which accounts for the coupling between multi-dc projects. Considering the control characteristics of rectifier in sending-side and combining the maximum power curve method, the criticality of MSSCR is proposed. Multi-send critical short-circuit ratio (MSCSCR) is deduced by the quasi steady-state equation of rectifier, to determine the multi-send system is strength enough or not. The proposal of MSSCR is of considerable significance for effectively evaluating the stability performance of the multi-send AC/DC hybrid transmission system, completing the short-circuit ratio theoretical system, and consolidating the short-circuit ratio index status.
Location and Capacity Planning of Electric Vehicles Charging Piles
Authors: Shimin Yi , Yunlian Sun , Xiaodi Zhang , Ying Wu , Jinlei Hu , Qiwu Zou , Xinlin Xie , Bin Fu
Published: May 2019

As the planning and construction of electric vehicle charging pile plays a decisive role in the promotion of electric vehicles, this article puts forward a planning method considering the cooperation of different types of charging piles and analyzes the Residential and social charging piles. On the basis of determined number of charging piles in residential area, the planning of social charging piles is analyzed from the demand of charging considering the unbalance of electric vehicles’ promotion, the location of charging piles considering the minimum charge distance and the capacity of charging piles considering the situation that EVs don’t charge every day. And then the processes of planning are determined. Finally, the planning method is applied to a Xincheng planning in ZhuoZhou which could illustrate the feasibility of this method. Compared with other method, the method of this article pays more attention to the actual situation from the load forecast to the overall planning in the area, thus the result is more realistic and in line with the planning requirements.
A Camera Tracking System Based on Closed-loop Kernelized Correlation Filters
Authors: Li Muzi , Cheng Bo , Zhao Shuai , Chen Junliang
Published: May 2019

Camera tracking is an important application in the computer vision. With the progress of the tracking-by-detection algorithm, industrial cameras can track targets autonomously. However, during the long-time tracking, it’s prone to miss target owing to heavy object occlusion, environment changing and objects appearance variations. Our camera tracking system is based on the kernelized correlation filter to track object, and we add a self-verification module to judge if the current tracking results are reliable. This can be useful in solving target missing when object meets occlusion or variations, and avoid model drift during long-time detection. Last but not the least, we keep the targets in the corner of the image by controlling our camera, avoiding object’s moving out of view. The kernel correlation filter bounded with self-verification and re-detection modules boost the performance. Extensive experiments on the OTB-2013 benchmark show that it performs better than state-of-the-art methods.
Multilevel Risk Prediction of Cardiovascular Disease based on Adaboost+RF Ensemble Learning
Authors: Li Runchuan , Shen Shengya , Chen Gang , Xie Tiantian , Ji Shasha , Zhou Bing , Wang Zongmin
Published: May 2019

Background: In the field of diagnostic CVD, the predecessors used a large amount of data with no missing two-category data, and obtained good results. However, in the process of electronic input of historical data, a large number of data attribute values are missing, and there are multiple levels of disease risk. Goal: On the data set of imbalance and a large number of missing values, this paper focuses on the five levels of cardiovascular disease. Methods: A new prediction model of Adaboost+RF is constructed by using the information gain ratio to analyze the feature contribution degree of the data set. The performance of this model is evaluated with Precision, Recall, F-measure and ROC Area values. Results: The results show that the four key indicators of the Adaboost+RF model on five-categories unbalanced datasets in Precision, Recall, F1 and AUC values, which are 40.9%, 49.3%, 41.4% and 71.6%. Conclusion: The experiment results demonstrate that the four key indicators of the Adaboost+RF model on five-category unbalanced missing datasets are better than other machine learning algorithms.
Word-to-word Machine Translation: Bilateral Similarity Retrieval for Mitigating Hubness
Authors: Luo Mengting , He Linchao , Guo Mingyue , Han Fei , Tian Long , Pu Haibo , Zhang Dejun
Published: May 2019

Nearest neighbor search is playing a critical role in machine word translation, due to its ability to obtain the lingual labels of source word embeddings by searching k Nearest Neighbor ( k NN) target embeddings from a shared bilingual semantic space. However, aligning two language distributions into a shared space usually requires amounts of target label, and k NN retrieval causes hubness problem in high-dimensions feature space. Although most the best-k retrievals get rid of hubs in the list of translation candidates to mitigate the hubness problem, it is flawed to eliminate hubs. Because hub also has a correct source word query corresponding to it and should not be crudely excluded. In this paper, we introduce an unsupervised machine word translation model based on Generative Adversarial Nets (GANs) with Bilingual Similarity retrieval, namely, Unsupervised-BSMWT. Our model addresses three main challenges: (1) reduce the dependence of parallel data with GANs in a fully unsupervised way. (2) Significantly decrease the training time of adversarial game. (3) Propose a novel Bilingual Similarity retrieval for mitigating hubness pollution regardless of whether it is a hub. Our model efficiently performs competitive results in 74min exceeding previous GANs-based models.
Target Pedestrian Tracking Algorithm Based on Occlusion Scene
Authors: Du Guocai
Published: May 2019

The traditional incremental learning tracking algorithm tends to drift or lose track when the pedestrian is occluded and the background is similar to the pedestrian target. This paper proposes a pedestrian tracking algorithm based on improved incremental learning. According to the difference between the central position of the current observation model and that of the previous one, the reliability of the observation model can be judged, and then the forgetting factor can be adjusted, so that the observation model can adapt to the changes of pedestrian targets. The experimental results show that the improved algorithm can track the pedestrian target accurately and effectively in the occlusion scene.
Femur segmentation in X-ray image based on improved U-Net
Authors: Lianghui Fan , Gang Han Jun , Yang Jia , Bin Yang
Published: May 2019

Segmentation of Femur bone from X-ray images is an indispensable step in computer aided analysis of medical images and orthopaedic examinations. It is more complex than segmentation from CT and MR images, due to some associated less dense tissues that are hard to distinguish from the femur bone in X-ray images. This paper presents an improved method based on U-Net to automatically extract the femurs from hip X-ray images. This method changes the structure of the U-Net network, which can effectively map the non-linear relationship between hip image and femur image, and accurately segment femur image. The paper also added the absolute deviation loss function to improve the segmentation effect. Experimental results show that this method is accurate, robust, and achieves an average dice similarity coefficient of 0.966. The segmentation results are satisfactory.
Conceptual Art: The Visual and Verbal Semiosis Interplay
Authors: Calfoglou Christine , Polymeris Spiros
Published: May 2019

The relationship between the visual and the verbal in conceptual art is a particularly fruitful instantiation of intersemiosis. In this article, we discuss conceptual artwork interpretation on the basis of this relationship and consider issues of temporal precedence, performativity, and illocutionary force in conjunction with conceptual art immateriality and self-referentiality. Invoking data from a museum-based project, we argue that the viewer-text possesses a key hermeneutic role in an interpretation process encompassing the two sign systems.
“Dynamic Canthopexy” Drill Hole Canthal Repositioning
Authors: Botti Giovanni , Botti Chiara , Rossati Leonardo , Gualdi Alessandro , Nocini Pierfrancesco , Nocini Riccardo , Bertossi Dario
Published: May 2019

Background

Canthopexies can be performed to modify the eye slant, both when the lateral canthus is lower than the medial one (congenital defect) or in case the patient asks for an almond-shaped eye (cosmetic indication).

Objectives

This peculiar type of canthopexy can be defined as “dynamic canthopexy,” meaning that the lateral canthus is released from its original insertion and raised to a higher position. The goal of this study is to demonstrate the differences and the efficacy of the dynamic cantoplasty.

Methods

The authors reviewed 30 patients treated with a “dynamic canthopexy” between January 2005 and March 2015. Eighteen patients were affected by true downslanting palpebral fissure, and 12 patients had a normal eye shape but were wishing for a more “Asian” look. Dynamic canthopexy involves a total modification of the canthal suspension system and its careful reconstruction at a higher level inside the orbital rim. To obtain a permanent result, canthal ligament and tendon had to be anchored to drill holes in the orbital rim bone with nonabsorbable sutures. Symmetry was very carefully assessed. The average surgical time was 1 hour.

Results

This surgery proved extremely effective in all cases. Patients must be warned, though, that an initial hypercorrection is necessary to achieve the desired canthal position. About 6 months after surgery the result of this operation can be considered permanent. Severe complications are rare.

Conclusions

Dynamic canthopexy can provide stable correction of anti-Mongolian slant. It can also be effectively employed to obtain permanent slant eyes when required by purely cosmetic patients. If precisely carried out, this technique can yield very rewarding outcomes.

Level of Evidence: 4
Experimental field evidence that out-group threats influence within-group behavior
Authors: Morris-Drake Amy , Christensen Charlotte , Kern Julie M , Radford Andrew N
Published: May 2019

In social species, conspecific outsiders present various threats to groups and their members. These out-group threats are predicted to affect subsequent within-group interactions (e.g., affiliation and aggression) and individual behavior (e.g., foraging and vigilance decisions). However, experimental investigations of such consequences are rare, especially in natural conditions. We used field-based call playbacks and fecal presentations on habituated wild dwarf mongooses (Helogale parvula)—a cooperatively breeding, territorial species—to examine postinteraction responses to the simulated threat of a rival group. Dwarf mongooses invested more in grooming of groupmates, foraged closer together, and more regularly acted as sentinels (a raised guard) after encountering indicators of rival-group presence compared to control conditions. These behavioral changes likely arise from greater anxiety and, in the case of increased vigilance, the need to seek additional information about the threat. The influence of an out-group threat lasted at least 1 h but individuals of different dominance status and sex responded similarly, potentially because all group members suffer costs if a contest with rivals is lost. Our results provide field-based experimental evidence from wild animals that out-group threats can influence within-group behavior and decision making, and suggest the need for greater consideration of the lasting impacts of social conflict.
eFORGE v2.0: updated analysis of cell type-specific signal in epigenomic data
Authors: Breeze Charles E , Reynolds Alex P , van Dongen Jenny , Dunham Ian , Lazar John , Neph Shane , Vierstra Jeff , Bourque Guillaume , Teschendorff Andrew E , Stamatoyannopoulos John A , Beck Stephan
Published: May 2019

The Illumina Infinium EPIC BeadChip is a new high-throughput array for DNA methylation analysis, extending the earlier 450k array by over 400 000 new sites. Previously, a method named eFORGE was developed to provide insights into cell type-specific and cell-composition effects for 450k data. Here, we present a significantly updated and improved version of eFORGE that can analyze both EPIC and 450k array data. New features include analysis of chromatin states, transcription factor motifs and DNase I footprints, providing tools for epigenome-wide association study interpretation and epigenome editing.

Availability and implementation

eFORGE v2.0 is implemented as a web tool available from https://eforge.altiusinstitute.org and https://eforge-tf.altiusinstitute.org/.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
AutoDock CrankPep: combining folding and docking to predict protein–peptide complexes
Authors: Zhang Yuqi , Sanner Michel F
Published: May 2019

Motivation

Protein–peptide interactions mediate a wide variety of cellular and biological functions. Methods for predicting these interactions have garnered a lot of interest over the past few years, as witnessed by the rapidly growing number of peptide-based therapeutic molecules currently in clinical trials. The size and flexibility of peptides has shown to be challenging for existing automated docking software programs.

Results

Here we present AutoDock CrankPep or ADCP in short, a novel approach to dock flexible peptides into rigid receptors. ADCP folds a peptide in the potential field created by the protein to predict the protein–peptide complex. We show that it outperforms leading peptide docking methods on two protein–peptide datasets commonly used for benchmarking docking methods: LEADS-PEP and peptiDB, comprised of peptides with up to 15 amino acids in length. Beyond these datasets, ADCP reliably docked a set of protein–peptide complexes containing peptides ranging in lengths from 16 to 20 amino acids. The robust performance of ADCP on these longer peptides enables accurate modeling of peptide-mediated protein–protein interactions and interactions with disordered proteins.

Availability and implementation

ADCP is distributed under the LGPL 2.0 open source license and is available at http://adcp.scripps.edu. The source code is available at https://github.com/ccsb-scripps/ADCP.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
WDSPdb: an updated resource for WD40 proteins
Authors: Ma Jing , An Ke , Zhou Jing-Bo , Wu Nuo-Si , Wang Yang , Ye Zhi-Qiang , Wu Yun-Dong
Published: May 2019

The WD40-repeat proteins are a large family of scaffold molecules that assemble complexes in various cellular processes. Obtaining their structures is the key to understanding their interaction details. We present WDSPdb 2.0, a significantly updated resource providing accurately predicted secondary and tertiary structures and featured sites annotations. Based on an optimized pipeline, WDSPdb 2.0 contains about 600 thousand entries, an increase of 10-fold, and integrates more than 37 000 variants from sources of ClinVar, Cosmic, 1000 Genomes, ExAC, IntOGen, cBioPortal and IntAct. In addition, the web site is largely improved for visualization, exploring and data downloading.

Availability and implementation

http://www.wdspdb.com/wdsp/ or http://wu.scbb.pkusz.edu.cn/wdsp/.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Limited intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation despite chromosomal rearrangements between closely related sympatric species of small ermine moths (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae)
Authors: Hora Katerina H , Marec František , Roessingh Peter , Menken Steph B J
Published: May 2019

In evolutionarily young species and sympatric host races of phytophagous insects, postzygotic incompatibility is often not yet fully developed, but reduced fitness of hybrids is thought to facilitate further divergence. However, empirical evidence supporting this hypothesis is limited. To assess the role of reduced hybrid fitness, we studied meiosis and fertility in hybrids of two closely related small ermine moths, Yponomeuta padella and Yponomeuta cagnagella, and determined the extent of intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation. We found extensive rearrangements between the karyotypes of the two species and irregularities in meiotic chromosome pairing in their hybrids. The fertility of reciprocal F1 and, surprisingly, also of backcrosses with both parental species was not significantly decreased compared with intraspecific offspring. The results indicate that intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation between these closely related species is limited. We conclude that the observed chromosomal rearrangements are probably not the result of an accumulation of postzygotic incompatibilities preventing hybridization. Alternative explanations, such as adaptation to new host plants, are discussed.
Bone histology of two pareiasaurs from Russia (Deltavjatia rossica and Scutosaurus karpinskii) with implications for pareiasaurian palaeobiology
Authors: Boitsova Elizaveta A , Skutschas Pavel P , Sennikov Andrey G , Golubev Valeriy K , Masuytin Vladimir V , Masuytina Olga A
Published: May 2019

Pareiasaurs were one of the main clades of large herbivorous tetrapods in Middle–Late Permian continental ecosystems. Despite abundant pareiasaur material, many aspects of their biology remain poorly known. This paper provides a description of ontogenetic changes in long-bone and rib microanatomy/histology of two Upper Permian pareiasaurs from Russia, Deltavjatia rossica and Scutosaurus karpinskii. Analysis of a growth series of bones of Deltavjatia and Scutosaurus revealed rapid and cyclical growth early in ontogeny (as indicated by fast-growing fibrolamellar bone with lines of arrested growth). This was followed by a change in the growth pattern (as indicated by an outer avascular layer of lamellar bone in the cortex) and a decrease in the growth rate after 50% of maximum body size was reached in Deltavjatia and 75% in Scutosaurus (larger body sizes in Scutosaurus were attained through an extended initial period of fast skeletal growth). The study confirms that the bones of all pareiasaurs are histologically and microanatomically uniform [spongious (porous) microstructure and a very thin compact cortex] and indicate a similar growth strategy (a short initial period of rapid and cyclical growth followed by a long period of slow growth). The microanatomical characteristics of pareiasaurs do not provide a clear indication of their lifestyle.
Early imaging predictors of long-term outcomes in relapse-onset multiple sclerosis
Authors: Brownlee Wallace J , Altmann Dan R , Prados Ferran , Miszkiel Katherine A , Eshaghi Arman , Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott Claudia A M , Barkhof Frederik , Ciccarelli Olga
Published: May 2019

The clinical course of relapse-onset multiple sclerosis is highly variable. Demographic factors, clinical features and global brain T2 lesion load have limited value in counselling individual patients. We investigated early MRI predictors of key long-term outcomes including secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, physical disability and cognitive performance, 15 years after a clinically isolated syndrome. A cohort of patients with clinically isolated syndrome (n = 178) was prospectively recruited within 3 months of clinical disease onset and studied with MRI scans of the brain and spinal cord at study entry (baseline) and after 1 and 3 years. MRI measures at each time point included: supratentorial, infratentorial, spinal cord and gadolinium-enhancing lesion number, brain and spinal cord volumetric measures. The patients were followed-up clinically after ∼15 years to determine disease course, and disability was assessed using the Expanded Disability Status Scale, Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test and Symbol Digit Modalities Test. Multivariable logistic regression and multivariable linear regression models identified independent MRI predictors of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis and Expanded Disability Status Scale, Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test and Symbol Digit Modalities Test, respectively. After 15 years, 166 (93%) patients were assessed clinically: 119 (72%) had multiple sclerosis [94 (57%) relapsing-remitting, 25 (15%) secondary progressive], 45 (27%) remained clinically isolated syndrome and two (1%) developed other disorders. Physical disability was overall low in the multiple sclerosis patients (median Expanded Disability Status Scale 2, range 0–10); 71% were untreated. Baseline gadolinium-enhancing (odds ratio 3.16, P < 0.01) and spinal cord lesions (odds ratio 4.71, P < 0.01) were independently associated with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis at 15 years. When considering 1- and 3-year MRI variables, baseline gadolinium-enhancing lesions remained significant and new spinal cord lesions over time were associated with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. Baseline gadolinium-enhancing (β = 1.32, P < 0.01) and spinal cord lesions (β = 1.53, P < 0.01) showed a consistent association with Expanded Disability Status Scale at 15 years. Baseline gadolinium-enhancing lesions was also associated with performance on the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (β = − 0.79, P < 0.01) and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (β = −0.70, P = 0.02) at 15 years. Our findings suggest that early focal inflammatory disease activity and spinal cord lesions are predictors of very long-term disease outcomes in relapse-onset multiple sclerosis. Established MRI measures, available in routine clinical practice, may be useful in counselling patients with early multiple sclerosis about long-term prognosis, and personalizing treatment plans.