bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MULTIFRACTAL STRUCTURE IN SAND DRAWINGS
Authors: MOCTEZUMA R. E. , GONZÁLEZ-GUTIÉRREZ JORGE
Published: October 2019

The construction of an abstract expressionist artwork is driven by chaotic mechanisms that sculpt multifractal characteristics. Jackson Pollock’s paintings, for example, arise due to the random process of depositing drops and jets of paint on a canvas. However, most of the paintings and drawings try to recreate with fidelity common forms, natural landscapes, and the human figure. Accordingly, in the context of the formation of statistically self-similar objects, a question persists: will it be possible to find some vestige of multifractal structure in drawings or paintings whose elaboration process tries to avoid chaos? In this work, we scrutinize into several artistic drawings in sand to answer this intriguing question. These pieces of art are elaborated using craters, furrows, and sand piles; and some of them are inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. We prove that the sand drawings analyzed here are multifractal objects. This finding suggests that a piece of visual art, which may initially appear ordered, contains many components distributed at different degrees of self-similarity that substantially increase the structural complexity.
SOME REMARKS ON FRACTIONAL INTEGRAL OF ONE-DIMENSIONAL CONTINUOUS FUNCTIONS
Authors: YAO JIA , CHEN YING , LI JUNQIAO , WANG BIN
Published: October 2019

In this paper, we make research on Katugampola and Hadamard fractional integral of one-dimensional continuous functions on [Formula: see text]. We proved that Katugampola fractional integral of bounded and continuous function still is bounded and continuous. Box dimension of any positive order Hadamard fractional integral of one-dimensional continuous functions is one.
FRACTAL TEXTURE AND STRUCTURE OF CENTRAL PLACE SYSTEMS
Authors: CHEN YAN-GUANG
Published: October 2019

The boundaries of central place models proved to be fractal lines, which compose fractal texture of central place networks. However, the fractal texture cannot be verified by empirical analyses based on observed data. On the other hand, fractal structure of central place systems in the real world can be empirically confirmed by positive studies, but there are no corresponding models. The spatial structure of classic central place models bears Euclidean dimension [Formula: see text] rather than fractal dimensions [Formula: see text]. This paper is devoted to deriving structural fractals of central place models from the textural fractals. The method is theoretical deduction based on the dimension rules of fractal sets. The main results and findings are as follows. First, the central place fractals were formulated by the [Formula: see text] numbers and [Formula: see text] numbers. Second, three structural fractal models were constructed for central place systems according to the corresponding fractal dimensions. Third, the classic central place models proved to comprise Koch snowflake curve, Sierpinski space filling curve, and Gosper snowflake curve. Moreover, the traffic principle plays a leading role in urban and rural settlements evolution. A conclusion was reached that the textural fractal dimensions of central place models can be converted into the structural fractal dimensions and vice versa, and the structural dimensions can be directly used to appraise human settlement distributions in reality. Thus, the textural fractals can be indirectly employed to characterize the systems of human settlements.
Stein’s method of normal approximation for dynamical systems
Authors: Hella Olli , Leppänen Juho , Stenlund Mikko
Published: October 2019

We present an adaptation of Stein’s method of normal approximation to the study of both discrete- and continuous-time dynamical systems. We obtain new correlation-decay conditions on dynamical systems for a multivariate central limit theorem augmented by a rate of convergence. We then present a scheme for checking these conditions in actual examples. The principal contribution of our paper is the method, which yields a convergence rate essentially with the same amount of work as the central limit theorem, together with a multiplicative constant that can be computed directly from the assumptions.
Rings characterized by dual-Utumi-modules
Authors: Das Soumitra , Buhphang Ardeline M.
Published: October 2019

A right [Formula: see text]-module [Formula: see text] is called a dual-Utumi-module[Formula: see text]DU-module[Formula: see text] if for any two proper submodules [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], there exist summands [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] small submodules of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] a direct summand of [Formula: see text]. In this work, we characterize rings [Formula: see text] for which every (finitely generated, cyclic, free) [Formula: see text]-module is DU-module.
ChronicleDB
Authors: Seidemann Marc , Glombiewski Nikolaus , Körber Michael , Seeger Bernhard
Published: October 2019

Reactive security monitoring, self-driving cars, the Internet of Things (IoT), and many other novel applications require systems for both writing events arriving at very high and fluctuating rates to persistent storage as well as supporting analytical ad hoc queries. As standard database systems are not capable of delivering the required write performance, log-based systems, key-value stores, and other write-optimized data stores have emerged recently. However, the drawbacks of these systems are a fair query performance and the lack of suitable instant recovery mechanisms in case of system failures.

In this article, we present ChronicleDB, a novel database system with a storage layout tailored for high write performance under fluctuating data rates and powerful indexing capabilities to support a variety of queries. In addition, ChronicleDB offers low-cost fault tolerance and instant recovery within milliseconds. Unlike previous work, ChronicleDB is designed either as a serverless library to be tightly integrated in an application or as a standalone database server. Our results of an experimental evaluation with real and synthetic data reveal that ChronicleDB clearly outperforms competing systems with respect to both write and query performance.
Detecting Cyberbullying and Cyberaggression in Social Media
Authors: Chatzakou Despoina , Leontiadis Ilias , Blackburn Jeremy , Cristofaro Emiliano De , Stringhini Gianluca , Vakali Athena , Kourtellis Nicolas
Published: October 2019

Cyberbullying and cyberaggression are increasingly worrisome phenomena affecting people across all demographics. More than half of young social media users worldwide have been exposed to such prolonged and/or coordinated digital harassment. Victims can experience a wide range of emotions, with negative consequences such as embarrassment, depression, isolation from other community members, which embed the risk to lead to even more critical consequences, such as suicide attempts.

In this work, we take the first concrete steps to understand the characteristics of abusive behavior in Twitter, one of today’s largest social media platforms. We analyze 1.2 million users and 2.1 million tweets, comparing users participating in discussions around seemingly normal topics like the NBA, to those more likely to be hate-related, such as the Gamergate controversy, or the gender pay inequality at the BBC station. We also explore specific manifestations of abusive behavior, i.e., cyberbullying and cyberaggression, in one of the hate-related communities (Gamergate). We present a robust methodology to distinguish bullies and aggressors from normal Twitter users by considering text, user, and network-based attributes. Using various state-of-the-art machine-learning algorithms, we classify these accounts with over 90% accuracy and AUC. Finally, we discuss the current status of Twitter user accounts marked as abusive by our methodology and study the performance of potential mechanisms that can be used by Twitter to suspend users in the future.
Real-Time Scheduling of DAG Tasks with Arbitrary Deadlines
Authors: Wang Kankan , Jiang Xu , Guan Nan , Liu Di , Liu Weichen , Deng Qingxu
Published: October 2019

Real-time and embedded systems are shifting from single-core to multi-core processors, on which the software must be parallelized to fully utilize the computation capacity of the hardware. Recently, much work has been done on real-time scheduling of
parallel
tasks modeled as directed acyclic graphs (DAG). However, most of these studies assume tasks to have implicit or constrained deadlines. Much less work considered the general case of arbitrary deadlines (i.e., the relative deadline is allowed to be larger than the period), which is more difficult to analyze due to intra-task interference among jobs. In this article, we study the analysis of Global Earliest Deadline First (GEDF) scheduling for DAG parallel tasks with arbitrary deadlines. We develop new analysis techniques for GEDF scheduling of a single DAG task and this new analysis techniques can guarantee a better capacity augmentation bound 2.41 (the best known result is 2.5) in the case of a single task. Furthermore, the proposed analysis techniques are also extended to the case of multiple DAG tasks under GEDF and federated scheduling. Finally, through empirical evaluation, we justify the out-performance of our schedulability tests compared to the state-of-the-art in general.
The Mobile Server Problem
Authors: Feldkord Björn , Der Heide Friedhelm Meyer Auf
Published: October 2019

We introduce the Mobile Server problem, inspired by current trends to move computational tasks from cloud structures to multiple devices close to the end user. An example of this is embedded systems in autonomous cars that communicate to coordinate their actions.

Our model is a variant of the classical Page Migration problem. More formally, we consider a mobile server holding a data page. The server can move in the Euclidean space (of arbitrary dimension). In every round, requests for data items from the page pop up at arbitrary points in the space. The requests are served, each at a cost of the distance from the requesting point and the server, and the mobile server may move, at a cost
D
times the distance traveled for some constant
D
. We assume a maximum distance
m
that the server is allowed to move per round.

We show that no online algorithm can achieve a competitive ratio independent of the length of the input sequence in this setting. Hence, we augment the maximum movement distance of the online algorithms to (1+&delta) times the maximum distance of the offline solution. We provide a deterministic algorithm that is simple to describe and works for multiple variants of our problem. The algorithm achieves almost tight competitive ratios independent of the length of the input sequence.

Our algorithm also achieves a constant competitive ratio without resource augmentation in a variant where the movement of clients is also restricted.
Severe Human Intestinal Spirochetosis: An Unusual Cause of Diffuse Colonic Ulcerations in a Patient Living with HIV
Authors: Ajose T. A. , Aniekwena J. , Effoe V. S. , Simien M.
Published: October 2019

We describe a case of a homosexual male with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and CD4 count of 246 presenting with acute severe bloody diarrhea. Infectious work up was negative, and colonoscopy revealed severe diffuse colonic ulcerations. Histopathologic analysis and Treponemal pallidum immunostaining confirmed the diagnosis of intestinal spirochetosis. There was no evidence of co-infection with other pathogens. His symptoms completely resolved after a 14-day course of metronidazole. This case is notable as colonic ulceration of any severity in patients living with HIV is rarely identified with intestinal spirochetosis. Hence, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of colonic ulcerations.
Design, Synthesis, Antihyperglycemic Studies, and Docking Simulations of Benzimidazole-Thiazolidinedione Hybrids
Authors: Gutierréz-Hernández Abraham , Galván-Ciprés Yelzyn , Domínguez-Mendoza Elix Alberto , Aguirre-Vidal Yoshajandith , Estrada-Soto Samuel , Almanza-Pérez Julio César , Navarrete-Vázquez Gabriel
Published: October 2019

A simple and cheap three-step procedure for the synthesis of three (5Z)-5-[3(4)-(1H-benzimidazol-2-ylmethoxy)benzylidene]-1,3-thiazolidine-2,4-diones has been described via a SN2 reaction of generally recognized as safe hydroxybenzaldehydes and 2-(chloromethyl)-1H-benzimidazole, followed by a Knoevenagel condensation with thiazolidine-2,4-dione in moderated yields. All the newly synthesized compounds were characterized using analytical and spectral studies. In vitro treatment on adipocytes with compounds increased the mRNA expression of two proteins recognized as strategic targets in diabetes: PPARγ and GLUT-4. In silico studies were conducted in order to explain the interaction binding mode of the synthesized compounds on PPARγ. In vivo studies confirmed that compounds 1–3 have robust antihyperglycemic action linked to insulin sensitization mechanisms. The present study provides three compounds with a promising antidiabetic action.
A Histologically Complete Response to Immunotherapy Using Pembrolizumab in a Patient with Giant Cell Carcinoma of the Lung: An Additional Report and Literature Review
Authors: Kakimoto Tomoo , Sasaki Mamoru , Yamamoto Tatsuya , Iwamaru Arifumi , Ogata Kentaro , Lee Ko , Nakayama Shingo , Minematsu Naoto
Published: October 2019

We previously reported a case of giant cell carcinoma in the lung, in which the use of antiprogrammed death 1 (PD-1) immunotherapy resulted in substantial tumor reduction. In the present study, we describe an additional clinical course. A 69-year-old woman was diagnosed with giant cell carcinoma of the lung in clinical stage IVB (T2bN0M1c, BRA). The tumor expressed programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in a high proportion. The patient received stereotactic radiotherapy for two sites of small brain metastases, followed by immunotherapy using anti-PD-1 antibodies (pembrolizumab). The treatment exerted a substantial tumor reduction through four cycles. However, treatment was withdrawn due to renal dysfunction. The primary lung tumor continued to regress for an additional four months without any further therapy, resulting in a clinical stage of T1aN0M0. Salvage thoracic surgery was then performed to remove the tumor residue in the lung. Microscopic examination of the sample revealed no residual cancer. The patient was free from recurrence at 16 months post surgery. We then comprehensively reviewed lung sarcomatoid carcinoma cases in the literature, in which anti-PD-1 antibodies were implemented. The current literature and our own findings suggest sarcomatoid carcinomas express high levels of tumoral PD-L1 and can be effectively treated with anti-PD-1 antibodies.
The Emerging Role of lncRNAs in Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Wang Fei , Liu Junzhi , Wang Xiunan , Chen Jigang , Kong Qingjie , Ye Baoguo , Li Zhenxing
Published: October 2019

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a highly debilitating disease and is increasingly being recognized as an important global health priority. However, the mechanisms underlying SCI have not yet been fully elucidated, and effective therapies for SCI are lacking. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), which form a major class of noncoding RNAs, have emerged as novel targets for regulating several physiological functions and mediating numerous neurological diseases. Notably, gene expression profile analyses have demonstrated aberrant changes in lncRNA expression in rats or mice after traumatic or nontraumatic SCI. LncRNAs have been shown to be associated with multiple pathophysiological processes following SCI including inflammation, neural apoptosis, and oxidative stress. They also play a crucial role in the complications associated with SCI, such as neuropathic pain. At the same time, some lncRNAs have been found to be therapeutic targets for neural stem cell transplantation and hydrogen sulfide treatment aimed at alleviating SCI. Therefore, lncRNAs could be promising biomarkers for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of SCI. However, further researches are required to clarify the therapeutic effects of lncRNAs on SCI and the mechanisms underlying these effects. In this study, we reviewed the current progress of the studies on the involvement of lncRNAs in SCI, with the aim of drawing attention towards their roles in this debilitating condition.
Impacts of Recent Climate Trends and Human Activity on the Land Cover Change of the Abbay River Basin in Ethiopia
Authors: Cherinet Asaminew Abiyu , Yan Denghua , Wang Hao , Song Xinshan , Qin Tianlin , Kassa Mulualem T. , Girma Abel , Dorjsuren Batsuren , Gedefaw Mohammed , Wang Hejia , Yadamjav Otgonbayar
Published: October 2019

The Abbay River Basin, which originates in Ethiopia, is a major tributary and main source of the Nile River Basin. Land cover and vegetation in the Abbay River Basin is highly susceptible to climate change. This study was conducted to investigate the trends of climate change for a period of thirty-six years (1980–2016) within selected stations of the basin by using the innovative trend analysis method, Mann–Kendall test, and Sen’s slope estimator test to investigate the mean annual precipitation and temperature variables. Changes in land cover and vegetation in the Abbay River Basin were studied for a period of thirteen years (2001–2013) by using remote sensing, GIS analysis, land cover classification, and vegetation detection methods to assess the land cover and vegetation in the basin. In addition, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), and Transformation Matrix were employed to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns of land cover and vegetation impacted by changes in climate. The result reflects that the trend of average annual temperature was remarkably increased (Φ = 0.12, Z = 0.75) in the 36-year period, and the temperature was increased by 0.5°C, although precipitation had slightly decreased during the same period. In the thirteen years’ period, forest land and water resource decreased by 3429.62 km2 and 81.45 km2, respectively. In contrast, an increment was observed in grassland (2779.33 km2), cultivated land (535.34 km2), bare land (43.08 km2), urban land (0.65 km2), and wetland (152.66 km2) in the same period. In the study, it was also observed a decrease of an NDVI value by 0.1 was observed in 2013 in the southern part of the basin. The findings of the present study illustrate a significant change in eco-hydrological conditions in the ARB with an adverse impact on the environment. Hydroclimatic changes caused the increase in temperature and decreasing trend in precipitation which significantly impacted the land cover and vegetation in the basin. The changes in land cover were mostly caused by global and local climate influence which mainly affects the hydroclimate and eco-hydrology systems of the basin. The result is consistent with that of the previous studies conducted elsewhere. The findings of this paper could help researchers to understand the eco-hydrological condition of the study basin and become a foundation for further studies.
Springback Study on Profile Flexible 3D Stretch-Bending Process Using the Neural Network
Authors: Li Yi , Liang Ce , Lin Xiangfeng , Liang Jicai , Cai Zhongyi , Teng Fei
Published: October 2019

The springback is one of the main defects in the flexible 3D stretch-bending process. In this paper, according to the orthogonal design of experiments, the numerical simulation analysis of the springback for the 3D stretch-bending aluminum profile is carried out by the ABAQUS finite element software. And to investigate the effect of material properties on the springback, the range analysis of the orthogonal experiment is performed. The results show that these material properties of the aluminum profile (elastic modulus E, yield strength σy, and tangent modulus E1) might have the biggest influence on the springback of the aluminum profile, and the optimized forming parameters are founded as follows: the horizontal bending degree is 14°, the vertical bending degree is 14°, the number of multipoint stretch-bending dies is 10, the friction coefficient is 0.15, and aluminum alloy grade is 6063. Moreover, the model of the BP neural network for the prediction of the springback is established and trained based on the orthogonal experiment, and the results with the BP neural network model are in good agreement with experimental results. So it is obvious that the BP neural network could predict effectively the springback of 3D multipoint stretch-bending parts.
Newly Detected Atrial Fibrillation after Acute Stroke: A Narrative Review of Causes and Implications
Authors: Wang Youcheng , Qian Yongsheng , Smerin Daniel , Zhang Shujuan , Zhao Qingyan , Xiong Xiaoxing
Published: October 2019

Cardiac arrhythmias occur frequently in patients with acute stroke, with atrial fibrillation (AF) being the most common. Newly detected AF may lead to increased risk of ischemic stroke, which in turn generates stroke recurrence and adverse outcomes. Currently, most studies are focusing on the role of AF in ischemic stroke and attributing cryptogenic ischemic stroke to previously undetected AF. However, in these studies, subjects used to have neither symptoms of palpitation nor evidence of AF. A better understanding of this association will contribute to the management and therapy for patients after clinical decisions regarding stroke patients. Currently, the definition of newly detected AF has not come to an agreement, and the pathophysiology remains incompletely understood, possibly involving complex alterations in both the autonomic network and humoral regulation. Therefore, this review aims to introduce the definition and epidemiology of newly detected AF after stroke with updated information and elucidate the potential pathophysi­ology, such as autonomic imbalance, catecholamine surge, poststroke systematic inflammation, and microvesicles and microRNAs.
Effect of General Anaesthesia versus Conscious Sedation on Clinical and Procedural Outcome in Patients Undergoing Endovascular Stroke Treatment: A Matched-Pair Analysis
Authors: Rohde Stefan , Schwarz Stephan , Alexandrou Maria , Reimann Gernot , Ellerkmann Richard Klaus , Politi Maria , Kastrup Andreas , Papanagiotou Panagiotis
Published: October 2019

Introduction: General anaesthesia (GA) during mechanical thrombectomy (MT) might lead to an inferior clinical outcome compared to conscious sedation (CS). It was hypothesised that using CS might avoid a critical drop in cerebral perfusion, shorten the time of the intervention and therefore might result in better clinical outcome. In this study, we compared the procedural and clinical results of patients who underwent MT under GA or CS at two tertiary neuro-vascular centres on the basis of a matched-pair analysis. Methods: Using a matched-pair approach, we compared the data of 56 patients that were treated under CS at centre A (n = 28) with selected patients who were treated under GA at the centre B (n = 28). Patients were matched for age, sex, site of vessel occlusion, NIHSS at admission (±3 points), time from symptom onset to initial stroke imaging, intravenous-lysis and co-morbidities. All patients had an ASPECT-score of ≥8. To exclude the effect of technical failures, only patients with successful recanalization of the occluded vessel (TICI 2b and 3) were included into the study. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with early good clinical outcome after MT, defined by a modified Ranking Scale (mRS)-score ≤2 at discharge. Secondary endpoints were the time from symptom onset to the start of the procedure, the duration of the procedure and the rate of procedural complications. Results: There were no differences concerning gender, age, the site of vessel occlusion and the degree of stroke severity at baseline. The proportion of patients with an early good clinical outcome (mRS ≤2 at discharge) was 60.4% (17/28) in both groups. The time from symptom onset to the start of the procedure was shorter at centre B, while the duration of the procedure was significantly faster at A, resulting in an overall time from symptom onset to complete recanalization of 152.2 ± 68.0 min for patients treated at centre A and 171.1 ± 43.5 min for patients at centre B (ns). Conclusion: Our study revealed no differences in the investigated clinical outcome for patients undergoing endovascular stroke treatment under GA versus CS.
O circuito espacial de produção do petróleo e o círculo de cooperação: uma leitura da dimensão política da urbanização
Authors: Silva Silvana Cristina da
Published: October 2019

Analisamos o circuito espacial de produção do petróleo, problematizando como no período técnico-científico-informacional houve o aprofundamento da divisão entre os lugares que produzem informação e os lugares que obedecem às ordens do sistema produtivo global. A situação geográfica do Norte Fluminense, com destaque para a cidade de Macaé, evidencia a convergência das forças políticas internas e as ordens externas, que produz uma cidade especializada na etapa da extração do petróleo, mas que não detém o domínio da informação. As cidades que comandam os círculos de cooperação do petróleo continuam localizadas em países centrais. Assim, identificamos no circuito espacial produtivo do petróleo “as cidades do fazer”, onde ocorre a extração, e “as cidades do mandar”, onde as informações técnico-científicas, financeiras e políticas que comandam o circuito são produzidas majoritariamente.
Atrial Fibrillation in Long QT Syndrome by Genotype
Authors: Platonov Pyotr G. , McNitt Scott , Polonsky Bronislava , Rosero Spencer Z. , Zareba Wojciech
Published: October 2019

Background:

Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is caused by the abnormal function of ion channels, which may also affect atrial electrophysiology and be associated with the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, large-scale studies of AF risk among patients with LQTS and its relation to LQTS manifestations are lacking. We aimed to assess the risk of AF and its relationship to the LQTS genotype and the long-term prognosis in patients with LQTS.

Methods:

Genotype-positive patients with LQTS (784 LQT1, 746 LQT2, and 233 LQT3) were compared with 2043 genotype-negative family members. Information on the occurrence of AF was based on physician-reported ECG-verified events. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed for ages 0 to 60 and after 60 years (reflecting an early and late-onset of AF) to assess the risk of incident AF by genotype and the relationship of AF to the risk of cardiac events defined as syncope, documented torsades de pointes, and aborted cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death.

Results:

In patients followed from birth to 60 years of age, patients with LQT3 had an increased risk of AF compared with genotype-negative family members (hazard ratio=6.62; 95% CI, 2.04–21.49;
P
<0.001), while neither LQT1 nor LQT2 demonstrated increased AF risk. After the age of 60 years, patients with LQT2 had significantly lower risk of AF compared with genotype-negative controls (hazard ratio=0.07; 95% CI, 0.01–0.53,
P
=0.011). AF was a significant predictor of cardiac events in patients with LQT3 through the age of 60 (hazard ratio=5.38; 95% CI, 1.17–24.82;
P
=0.031).

Conclusions:

Our data demonstrate an increased risk of early age AF in patients with LQT3 and also indicate a protective effect of the LQT2 genotype in it’s association with a decreased risk of AF after the age of 60.
Impaired Autophagy in CD11b
+
Dendritic Cells Expands CD4
+
Regulatory T Cells and Limits Atherosclerosis in Mice
Authors: Clement Marc , Raffort Juliette , Lareyre Fabien , Tsiantoulas Dimitrios , Newland Stephen , Lu Yuning , Masters Leanne , Harrison James , Saveljeva Svetlana , Ma Marcella K.L. , Ozsvar-Kozma Maria , Lam Brian Y.H. , Yeo Giles S.H. , Binder Christoph J. , Kaser Arthur , Mallat Ziad
Published: October 2019

Rationale:

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease. Recent studies have shown that dysfunctional autophagy in endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and macrophages, plays a detrimental role during atherogenesis, leading to the suggestion that autophagy-stimulating approaches may provide benefit.

Objective:

Dendritic cells (DCs) are at the crossroad of innate and adaptive immune responses and profoundly modulate the development of atherosclerosis. Intriguingly, the role of autophagy in DC function during atherosclerosis and how the autophagy process would impact disease development has not been addressed.

Methods and Results:

Here, we show that the autophagic flux in atherosclerosis-susceptible
Ldlr
−/−
(low-density lipoprotein receptor–deficient) mice is substantially higher in splenic and aortic DCs compared with macrophages and is further activated under hypercholesterolemic conditions. RNA sequencing and functional studies on selective cell populations reveal that disruption of autophagy through deletion of
Atg16l1
differentially affects the biology and functions of DC subsets in
Ldlr
−/−
mice under high-fat diet.
Atg16
l1
deficient CD11b
+
DCs develop a TGF (transforming growth factor)-β–dependent tolerogenic phenotype and promote the expansion of regulatory T cells, whereas no such effects are seen with
Atg16l1
deficient CD8α
+
DCs.
Atg16l1
deletion in DCs (all CD11c-expressing cells) expands aortic regulatory T cells in vivo, limits the accumulation of T helper cells type 1, and reduces the development of atherosclerosis in
Ldlr
−/−
mice. In contrast, no such effects are seen when
Atg16l1
is deleted selectively in conventional CD8α
+
DCs and CD103
+
DCs. Total T-cell or selective regulatory T-cell depletion abrogates the atheroprotective effect of
Atg16l1
deficient DCs.

Conclusions:

In contrast to its proatherogenic role in macrophages, autophagy disruption in DCs induces a counter-regulatory response that maintains immune homeostasis in
Ldlr
−/−
mice under high-fat diet and limits atherogenesis. Selective modulation of autophagy in DCs could constitute an interesting therapeutic target in atherosclerosis.
Every Local Minimum Value Is the Global Minimum Value of Induced Model in Nonconvex Machine Learning
Authors: Kawaguchi Kenji , Huang Jiaoyang , Kaelbling Leslie Pack
Published: October 2019

For nonconvex optimization in machine learning, this article proves that every local minimum achieves the globally optimal value of the perturbable gradient basis model at any differentiable point. As a result, nonconvex machine learning is theoretically as supported as convex machine learning with a handcrafted basis in terms of the loss at differentiable local minima, except in the case when a preference is given to the handcrafted basis over the perturbable gradient basis. The proofs of these results are derived under mild assumptions. Accordingly, the proven results are directly applicable to many machine learning models, including practical deep neural networks, without any modification of practical methods. Furthermore, as special cases of our general results, this article improves or complements several state-of-the-art theoretical results on deep neural networks, deep residual networks, and overparameterized deep neural networks with a unified proof technique and novel geometric insights. A special case of our results also contributes to the theoretical foundation of representation learning.
Safe Triplet Screening for Distance Metric Learning
Authors: Yoshida Tomoki , Takeuchi Ichiro , Karasuyama Masayuki
Published: October 2019

Distance metric learning has been widely used to obtain the optimal distance function based on the given training data. We focus on a triplet-based loss function, which imposes a penalty such that a pair of instances in the same class is closer than a pair in different classes. However, the number of possible triplets can be quite large even for a small data set, and this considerably increases the computational cost for metric optimization. In this letter, we propose safe triplet screening that identifies triplets that can be safely removed from the optimization problem without losing the optimality. In comparison with existing safe screening studies, triplet screening is particularly significant because of the huge number of possible triplets and the semidefinite constraint in the optimization problem. We demonstrate and verify the effectiveness of our screening rules by using several benchmark data sets.
Descriptions of the first zoeas of ten xanthid crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Xanthoidea) from the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea
Authors: AL-HAJ AHMED E. , KUMAR A.A.J. , EL-SHERBINY MOHSEN M. , AL-SOFYANI ABDULMOHSIN , CROSBY MICHAEL P. , AL-AIDAROOS ALI M.
Published: October 2019

Ovigerous females of 10 species of xanthid crabs (Xanthidae MacLeay, 1838), from five subfamilies, namely, Pseudoliomera speciosa (Dana, 1852) (Actaeinae), Chlorodiella cytherea (Dana, 1852), Chl. laevissima (Dana, 1852), Chl. nigra (Forskål, 1775), Cyclodius granulosus (De Man, 1888) (Chlorodiellinae), Danielea noelensis (Ward, 1942) (Euxanthinae), Liomera rugata (H. Milne Edwards, 1834), Lio. tristis (Dana, 1852) (Liomerinae), Lachnopodus subacutus (Stimpson, 1858) and Leptodius sanguineus (H. Milne Edwards, 1834) (Xanthinae), were collected from the Gulf of Aqaba, and the zoea I obtained from them have been described herein. Six species, viz. Chl. cytherea, Chl. laevissima, Cyc. granulosus, Lio. rugata, Lio. tristis and Lep. sanguineus, are described for the first time, and Lac. subacutus and D. noelensis are re-described. Spinulations of dorsal and rostral spines of cephalothorax, length of rostral spine of cephalothorax to protopod of antenna, setations of antennule, ratio of antennal exopod to protopod and setations of exopod of antenna are important characters that distinguish xanthid larvae from their congeners and other closely related species at subfamilial levels.
Re-description and Proposed Reclassification of Myxilla (Burtonanchora) lacunosa Lambe, 1893
Authors: OTT BRUCE , REISWIG HENRY M.
Published: October 2019

Lambe described Myxilla lacunosa from a specimen from Vancouver Island. Lambe’s sponge was subsequently placed in the subgenus Burtonanchora based on Lambe reporting smooth styles. A number of investigators, including the authors of this paper, report some styles with spines in Lambe’s sponge. We redescribe Myxilla lacunosa based on re-examination of Lambe’s holotype, and propose to place it in subgenus Myxilla based on the presence of spined styles rather than subgenus Burtonanchora which is defined as genus Myxilla with smooth styles.
Review of Lophotettix, the sole member of the subfamily Lophotettiginae Hancock, 1909 (Insecta: Orthoptera: Caelifera: Tetrigidae)
Authors: SILVA DANIELA SANTOS MARTINS , CADENA-CASTAÑEDA OSCAR J. , PEREIRA MARCELO RIBEIRO , DE DOMENICO FERNANDO CAMPOS , SPERBER CARLOS FRANKL
Published: October 2019

Lophotettiginae is a small, peculiar taxon of the Neotropical region, characterized mainly by median carina compresso-cristated or leaf-like crest, antennae flattened laterally and expanding from the base to the apex (incrassate shape). This subfamily has only one genus known as Lophotettix Hancock, 1909 that comprises five species. Here, we reviewed the types of the five known species, highlighting morphological aspects that distinguish the species from each other and from other tetrigids. Additionally, we also provide a pictorial identification key to Lophotettix species. Our results indicated that Lophotettiginae is a well-defined taxon and there are no synonyms among its species.
Intraluminal Guiding Structure of Nerve Conduits for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration
Authors: Yu Tianhao , Xu Yingxi , Jia Xingya , Ao Qiang
Published: October 2019

Peripheral nerve injury that can lead to disability affects millions of people worldwide annually. As the gold standard treatment of peripheral nerve injury, autologous nerve grafts are the most widely used and effective, but the clinical application of the treatment is greatly limited
by many disadvantages. Tissue engineering nerve conduits gradually become promising autologous nerve grafts alternatives to promote the regeneration of injured nerves. This review places emphasis on tissue engineering designs of physical and topographic guiding structure inside nerve conduits
in order to promote the migration of Schwann cells and directional regrowth of axons towards target organs. Various strategies of intraluminal guiding cues have been described and analyzed, including the incorporation with the tissue with natural basement membrane, collagen, microfilaments,
intraluminal multi-channel and grooves in the inner wall. Recently, much progress has been made in the development of tissue engineering nerve conduits, but poor curative effect and deficiencies such as axon dispersion and malposition healing still remain unsolved, many crucial factors need
to be considered in further research before clinical practices.
Modeling Dynamic Heterogeneity Using Gaussian Processes
Authors: Dew Ryan , Ansari Asim , Li Yang
Published: October 2019

Marketing research relies on individual-level estimates to understand the rich heterogeneity of consumers, firms, and products. While much of the literature focuses on capturing static cross-sectional heterogeneity, little research has been done on modeling dynamic heterogeneity, or the heterogeneous evolution of individual-level model parameters. In this work, the authors propose a novel framework for capturing the dynamics of heterogeneity, using individual-level, latent, Bayesian nonparametric Gaussian processes. Similar to standard heterogeneity specifications, this Gaussian process dynamic heterogeneity (GPDH) specification models individual-level parameters as flexible variations around population-level trends, allowing for sharing of statistical information both across individuals and within individuals over time. This hierarchical structure provides precise individual-level insights regarding parameter dynamics. The authors show that GPDH nests existing heterogeneity specifications and that not flexibly capturing individual-level dynamics may result in biased parameter estimates. Substantively, they apply GPDH to understand preference dynamics and to model the evolution of online reviews. Across both applications, they find robust evidence of dynamic heterogeneity and illustrate GPDH’s rich managerial insights, with implications for targeting, pricing, and market structure analysis.
The long road to becoming a farmer: Thai agricultural students’ plans
Authors: Filloux Titouan , Faysse Nicolas , Pintobtang Prapart
Published: October 2019

In past decades, young people in newly industrialized Asian countries have become progressively less involved in farming. In Thailand, providing support to young people to start farming is one possible way to ensure that some farms will continue to innovate and play an active economic role in the future. This study investigated if and how Thai agriculture students plan to become farmers. We interviewed a total of 187 agriculture students taking vocational courses or working towards a university degree focused on training future farmers. Among these students, 61% planned to become full-time farmers at some point in the future and 32% planned to farm part-time as a secondary income-generating activity. Most of the students aimed to set up farms that were diversified, knowledge-intensive and capital-intensive. Therefore, although many students came from a farming family and would be able to access some of their parents’ land in the future, most considered that they did not have yet the necessary resources, such as capital and farming skills, to become farmers. Consequently, many students planned to spend time, often up to 10 years and sometimes more, acquiring these resources before starting a farm. Public policies could provide support to shorten this period if graduates in agriculture are to be among young people who engage in farming.
Preferences for Referenda: Intrinsic or Instrumental? Evidence from a Survey Experiment
Authors: Landwehr Claudia , Harms Philipp
Published: October 2019

The call for more direct democracy, and referenda in particular, is often heard and met with support from large numbers of citizens in many countries. This article explores the motives for supporting referenda: Do citizens support them for intrinsic reasons, because referenda allow them to exercise their democratic rights more directly? Or are preferences for referenda predominantly based on the expectation that they will produce desired policy outcomes and thus instrumentally motivated? Our survey experiment explores such instrumental preferences by assessing how substantial policy preferences affect individuals’ choice of referenda over alternative decision-making procedures. We show that congruence between a respondent’s own opinion and the expected majority opinion is associated with support for a referendum on a given matter, and thus arrive at the conclusion that calls for referenda should be reassessed in light of the partly instrumental character of procedural preferences.
An inheritance of exclusion: Roma education, genetics and the turn to biosocial solutions
Authors: Myers Martin
Published: October 2019

Since the 1990s an increasing body of genetic studies of Roma people has been conducted and used to understand their lives. This includes research on health issues such as genetic predispositions to obesity or high cholesterol levels and the migration of European Roma from the Indian subcontinent. Such work needs to be contextualised within the wide-ranging historical oppression of Roma people including their enslavement, the Holocaust, denial of human rights and a lack of access to education. Aligning genetics research to educational policy has often been problematic in the context of discredited, ‘race’ science; recently more nuanced arguments have promoted ‘post-genomic’ solutions, such as biosocial strategies, that address social justice issues. This article argues that an economy of knowledge emerges in the ‘postgenomic era’ that privileges predominantly White European, majority populations and this is particularly apparent in the context of the Roma. The promotion of educational solutions framed by genetics research underpins how cultural capital, in this case scientific knowledge and its framing within social theory such as Deleuzian assemblage will, in all likelihood, maintain the status quo for the Roma.
Adverse ocular events on miltefosine treatment for post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis in India
Authors: Saurabh Suman , Mahabir Manish
Published: October 2019

A 12-week course of miltefosine (MF) is recommended in India for the treatment of post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL). We report a case series of four patients with PKDL, across three districts of Bihar state, who developed eye complications during treatment. They presented with acute scleritis and corneal infiltration with or without corneal ulceration. One patient solely with corneal infiltration recovered completely. The three others with corneal ulceration healed with corneal opacificity. One patient with bilateral eye involvement underwent corneal transplantation to prevent blindness. All adverse events were graded as certain using the World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre causality assessment scale. There is need to counsel patients regarding possible adverse ocular events during MF treatment, to expand pharmacovigilance to all primary health centres in kala-azar endemic areas, and to update drug safety information considering the emerging evidence.
Postoperative Prescriptions and Corresponding Opioid Consumption After Septoplasty or Rhinoplasty
Authors: Rock Alexander N. , Akakpo Kenneth , Cheresnick Corey , Zmistowksi Benjamin M. , Essig Garth F. , Chio Eugene , Nogan Stephen
Published: October 2019

The objective of our study was to assess the relationship between postoperative opioid prescribing patterns and opioid consumption among patients who underwent septoplasty or rhinoplasty. A chart review of patients who underwent either septoplasty or rhinoplasty by 3 surgeons between July 2016 and June 2017 was performed, and pertinent clinical data were collected including the amount of narcotic pain medications prescribed. A telephone interview was then conducted to assess opioid usage and pain control regimen postoperatively. The number of opioid tablets prescribed and the number consumed were converted to total morphine milligram equivalent (MME) for uniform comparison. A total of 75 patients met the inclusion criteria, and 64 completed the telephone survey. Among these 64 patients, the mean (standard deviation [SD]) prescribed MME was 289.7 (101.3), and the mean (SD) consumed MME was 100.6 (109). Similarly, the mean (SD) number of opioid tablets prescribed was 42.4 (9.7), and the mean number of tablets consumed was 14.7 (16.3). Gender, procedure performed (septoplasty or rhinoplasty), use of Doyle splints, and surgeon were not associated with the amount of opioids prescribed or used. Subjective pain control was the only factor associated with an increase in opioid use ( P = .0288). There was an overabundance of opioid pain medications prescribed compared to the amount consumed for pain control after septoplasty or rhinoplasty. Abuse of prescription opioids represents an important component of the nation’s opioid crisis. Surgeons must be cognizant of the problem and adjust prescribing practices accordingly.
Impact of Neck Disability on Health‐Related Quality of Life among Head and Neck Cancer Survivors
Authors: Nilsen Marci L. , Lyu Lingyun , Belsky Michael A. , Mady Leila J. , Zandberg Dan P. , Clump David A. , Skinner Heath D. , Peddada Shyamal Das , George Susan , Johnson Jonas T.
Published: October 2019

Objective

Although neck impairment has been described following surgical resection, limited studies have investigated its prevalence in nonsurgical treatment. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence and predictors of neck disability following head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment and to explore its association with quality of life (QOL).

Study Design

Cross‐sectional study.

Setting

HNC survivorship clinic.

Subjects and Methods

We identified 214 survivors who completed treatment ≥1 year prior to evaluation in the clinic. Self‐reported neck impairment was measured using the Neck Disability Index. QOL was measured using the University of Washington QOL Questionnaire, with physical and social subscale scores calculated. Regression analysis and trend tests were employed to explore associations.

Results

Over half of survivors (54.2%) reported neck disability. The odds of neck disability in survivors who received nonsurgical treatment and those who received surgery plus adjuvant treatment were 3.46 and 4.98 times higher compared to surgery alone (P =. 008, P =. 004). Survivors who underwent surgery only had higher physical and social QOL than those who received nonsurgical treatment (physical QOL: P <. 001, social QOL: P =. 023) and those who received surgery plus adjuvant treatment (physical QOL: P <. 001, social QOL: P =. 039).

Conclusion

This study revealed a high prevalence of neck disability following nonsurgical treatment. While neck disability is an established sequela of surgical resection, the impact of nonsurgical treatment has gone unrecognized. Early identification and intervention to prevent progression of neck disability are crucial to optimize QOL.