bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Minimally invasive percutaneous medial plate rod osteosynthesis for treatment of bicondylar humeral fractures in dogs: Surgical technique and case report
Authors: Guiot Laurent P. , Guillou Reunan P. , Déjardin Loïc M.
Published: March 2019

Objective

To describe a minimally invasive surgical technique for the treatment of comminuted humeral bicondylar (also known as T‐Y) fractures in dogs and report outcome in 3 cases.

Study design

Surgical technique description and case report.

Animals

Three consecutive dogs with traumatic comminuted humeral T‐Y fractures.

Methods

Dogs that presented with a traumatic humeral T‐Y fracture were prospectively included. The condylar component of the fractures was reduced first by using a combination of percutaneous forceps and K‐wires. A transcondylar screw was applied, and epicondylar pins were preplaced medially and laterally. The metaphyseal component of the fracture was then reduced and stabilized with the pins. Finally, a bone plate was applied percutaneously along the medial humeral surface. Intraoperative fluoroscopy was used throughout surgery in all cases. Postoperative alignment in the frontal and sagittal planes was compared to the contralateral limbs. Time to clinical union, clinical outcome, and complications were recorded.

Results

Three dogs were included. Body weight ranged from 5.9 to 40 kg. Incomplete ossification of the humeral condyle was identified as the primary pathology leading to the fracture in 2 cases. All cases experienced uncomplicated healing with good to excellent functional recovery.

Conclusion

The reported technique was associated with good outcomes without complications in 3 cases.

Clinical significance

This study provides evidence that minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis represents an alternative to open reduction and internal fixation in the treatment of comminuted humeral T‐Y fractures.
NAVARO II, a Novel Scissor-Based Planar Parallel Robot1
Authors: Chablat Damien , Rolland Luc
Published: March 2019

This article presents a new variable actuation mechanism based on the 3-RPR parallel robot. This mechanism is an evolution of the NaVARo robot, a 3-RRR parallel robot, for which the second revolute joint of the three legs is replaced by a scissor to obtain a larger working space and avoid the use of parallelograms to operate the second revolute joint. To obtain better spatial rigidity, the leg mechanism is constructed by placing the scissors in an orthogonal plane to the plane of the manipulator displacement (3-RRR or even the 3-RPR). This geometric property brings the significant consequence of allowing the scissors to directly substitute the prismatic chains in the 3-RPR and enjoy the same kinematics advantages for the overall robots as only one solution to the inverse kinematic model. From the Jacobian expression, surfaces of singularity can be calculated and presented in a compact form. The singularity equations are presented for a robot with a similar base and mobile platform. The properties of the scissors are then determined to have a prescribed regular workspace.
Swept-frequency ultrasonic phase evaluation of adhesive bonding in tri-layer structures
Authors: Haldren Harold A. , Perey Daniel F. , Yost William T. , Cramer K. Elliott , Gupta Mool C.
Published: March 2019

As modern aerospace and automotive designs continually strive for higher performance, and thus rely on advanced composite structures where adhesive bonding is a preferred method of joining, the need for a robust quantitative nondestructive bond strength measurement method has increased. As such, advanced nondestructive evaluation methods have been researched for increased sensitivity to weak interfacial bonding and ultimately to detect “kissing” bonds. In this work, a phase-based method for interrogating bonded joints and detecting weak adhesion is developed by using swept-frequency phase measurements of ultrasonic waves reflected from an adhesive joint and modeling adhesive interfaces as a distributed spring system. The method's sensitivity to bond strength is explored by ultrasonic phase evaluation of tri-layer joints with bond quality varied by controlling ultraviolet light exposure and extracting interfacial stiffness constants of the bonds. Mechanical tensile tests found each joint failed adhesively, allowing a linear correlation to be drawn between interfacial stiffness and tensile strength, consistent with previous theoretical research. The ultrasonic phase measurement method identifies intermediate bond strengths, rather than simply detecting good or bad bonds. This technique has the potential for the verification of bond quality in lightweight aerospace and automotive designs utilizing advanced composite structures with adhesive attachments.
Taste for danger
Authors: Leslie Mitch
Published: March 2019

A mystery for almost a century, tuft cells turn out to use chemical sensors to detect pathogens and sound the alarm.
The construction of supramolecular systems
Authors: Vantomme Ghislaine , Meijer E. W.
Published: March 2019

Self-assembly must be transformed into multistep synthesis to create complex structures
Packing of apolar side chains enables accurate design of highly stable membrane proteins
Authors: Mravic Marco , Thomaston Jessica L. , Tucker Maxwell , Solomon Paige E. , Liu Lijun , DeGrado William F.
Published: March 2019

Precise packing for membrane proteins

Although nonpolar amino acid side chains pack efficiently in membrane proteins, it has been difficult to determine how much this contributes to membrane protein stability. Designed membrane proteins have largely relied on other stabilizing interactions such as metal-ligand interactions and hydrogen bonds. Mravic
et al.
uncovered a steric packing code underlying the folding of the natural protein phospholamban, which they used to design stable membrane proteins with nonpolar interfaces. They suggest that packing of nonpolar residues plays a role in the folding and stability of many membrane proteins.

Science
, this issue p.
1418
Potassium shapes antitumor immunity
Authors: Baixauli Francesc , Villa Matteo , Pearce Erika L.
Published: March 2019

Can potassium provide a tool for better cancer immunotherapy?
How to better control polymer chemistry
Authors: Foster Jeffrey C. , O'Reilly Rachel K.
Published: March 2019

A catalytic method yields a strong, adhesive polymer with controlled stereochemistry
Candida
in the Respiratory Tract Potentially Triggers Galactomannan Positivity in Nonhematological Patients
Authors: Aigner M. , Wanner M. , Kreidl P. , Lass-Flörl C. , Lackner M.
Published: March 2019

BAL fluid samples from critically ill patients shared a rate of 29% false-positive galactomannan results. We aimed to determine whether
Candida
species abundance in BAL fluid causes galactomannan (GM) positivity.
Identification of CP77 as the Third Orthopoxvirus SAMD9 and SAMD9L Inhibitor with Unique Specificity for a Rodent SAMD9L
Authors: Zhang Fushun , Meng Xiangzhi , Townsend Michael B. , Satheshkumar Panayampalli Subbian , Xiang Yan
Published: March 2019

Several OPXV species, including monkeypox virus and cowpox virus, cause zoonotic infection in humans. They are believed to use wild rodents as the reservoir or intermediate hosts, but the host or viral factors that are important for OPXV host range in rodents are unknown. Here, we showed that the abortive replication of several OPXV species in a Chinese hamster cell line was caused by a species-specific difference in the host antiviral factor SAMD9L, suggesting that SAMD9L divergence in different rodent species poses a barrier for cross-species OPXV infection. While the Chinese hamster SAMD9L could not be inhibited by two previously identified OPXV inhibitors of human and mouse SAMD9&L, it can be inhibited by cowpox virus CP77, indicating that OPXVs encode three SAMD9&L inhibitors with different specificities. Our data suggest that OPXV host range in broad rodent species depends on three SAMD9&L inhibitors with different specificities.
Protocol for the prospective observational clinical study: estimation of fetal weight by MRI to PREdict neonatal MACROsomia (PREMACRO study) and small-for-gestational age neonates
Authors: Kadji Caroline , Cannie Mieke M , Carlin Andrew , Jani Jacques C
Published: March 2019

Introduction

Macrosomia refers to growth beyond a specific threshold, regardless of gestational age. These fetuses are also frequently referred to as large for gestational age (LGA). Various cut-offs have been used but for research purposes, a cut-off above the 95th centile for birth weight is often preferred because it defines 90% of the population as normal weight. The use of centiles, rather than estimated weights, also accommodates preterm macrosomic infants, although most of the complications, maternal and fetal, arise during the delivery of large babies at term. This means that accurate identification of LGA fetuses (≥95th centile) may play an important role in guiding obstetric interventions, such as induction of labour or caesarean section. Traditionally, identification of fetuses suspected of macrosomia has been based on biometric measurements using two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound (US), yet this method is rather sub-optimal. We present a protocol (V.2.1, date 19 May 2016) for the estimation of fetal weight (EFW) by MRI to PREdict neonatal MACROsomia (PREMACRO study), which is a prospective observational clinical study designed to determine whether MRI at 36 + 0 to 36 + 6 weeks of gestation, as compared with 2D US, can improve the identification of LGA neonates ≥95th centile.

Methods and analysis

All eligible women attending the 36-week clinic will be invited to participate in the screening study for LGA fetuses ≥95th centile and will undergo US-EFW and MRI-EFW within minutes of each other. From these estimations, a centile will be derived which will be compared with the centile of birth weight used as the gold standard. Besides birth weight, other pregnancy and neonatal outcomes will be collected and analysed. The first enrolment for the study was in May 2016. As of September 2018, 2004 women have been screened and recruited to the study. The study is due to end in April 2019.

Ethics and dissemination

The study will be conducted in accordance with the International Conference on Harmonisation for good clinical practice and the appropriate regulatory requirement(s). A favourable ethical opinion was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the University Hospital Brugmann, reference number CE2016/44. Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated at international conferences.

Trial registration number

NCT02713568.
Effectiveness of universal programmes for the prevention of suicidal ideation, behaviour and mental ill health in medical students: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Witt Katrina , Boland Alexandra , Lamblin Michelle , McGorry Patrick D , Veness Benjamin , Cipriani Andrea , Hawton Keith , Harvey Samuel , Christensen Helen , Robinson Jo
Published: March 2019

Question

A growing body of work suggests that medical students may be particularly at risk of mental ill health, suicidal ideation and behaviour, resulting in recent calls to develop interventions to prevent these outcomes. However, few reviews have synthesised the current evidence base regarding the effectiveness of these interventions and provided guidance to improve future intervention efforts.

Study selection and analysis

The authors conducted a systematic review to identify studies of any design reporting the effectiveness of any universal intervention to address these outcomes in medical students. Embase, MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases were searched from their respective start dates until 1 December 2017.

Findings

Data from 39 studies were included. Most investigated the effectiveness of relatively brief interventions designed to reduce stress; most commonly using mindfulness-based or guided meditation approaches. Only one implemented an intervention specifically designed to address suicidal ideation; none investigated the effectiveness of an intervention specifically designed to address suicidal behaviour. Five investigated the effects of curriculum-level changes. Overall, there was limited evidence of an effect for these programmes at both the postintervention and longest follow-up assessment on depression, anxiety and stress.

Conclusions

Relatively brief, individually focused, mindfulness-based interventions may be effective in reducing levels of anxiety, depression and stress in medical students in the short term. Effects on suicidal ideation and behaviour, however, remain to be determined. There has been a significant lack of attention on organisational-level stressors associated with medical education and training.
Expression of LEF1 and TCF1 (TCF7) proteins associates with clinical progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Zhan Yuting , Feng Juan , Lu Junmi , Xu Lina , Wang Weiyuan , Fan Songqing
Published: March 2019

Aims

Our previous study has demonstrated that β-catenin pathway was abnormally activated in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The purposes of the present study are to investigate whether the alterations of LEF1 and TCF1 (TCF7) proteins, the important components of the canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway, are associated with clinicopathological features and prognostic implications.

Methods

We collected 391 cases of NPC, 53 non-cancerous control nasopharyngeal mucosa and 28 pairs of NPC and their matched metastases, detected expression of LEF1 and TCF1 (TCF7) proteins in these tissues by immunohistochemistry. 

Results

Results showed that there were significantly increased expression of both LEF1 and TCF1 (TCF7) proteins and coexpression of LEF1 and TCF1 (TCF7) in NPC than these in non-cancerous nasopharyngeal mucosa (all p<0.001), as well as LEF1 and coexpression of LEF1 and TCF1 (TCF7) in matched metastasis NPCs than these in the primary NPCs (p=0.003 and p=0.014, respectively). In addition, expression of LEF1 and the coexpression of LEF1 and TCF1 (TCF7) proteins were positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (p=0.001 and p=0.020, respectively), advanced clinical stage (p<0.003 and p=0.027, respectively) and poor survival status of patients with NPC (p<0.001 and p=0.004, respectively). Moreover, multivariate Cox regression analysis identified that the positive expression of LEF1 was the independent poor prognostic factor for overall survival of patients with NPC (p<0.001).

Conclusions

The expression of LEF1 associated positively with TCF1 (TCF7) and clinical progression of NPC, and positive expression of LEF1 protein may act as valuable independent biomarker to predict poor prognosis for patients with NPC.
Fentanyl versus remifentanil-based TIVA for pediatric scoliosis repair: does it matter?
Authors: Kars Michelle S , Villacres Mori Benjamin , Ahn Seungjun , Merwin Sara , Wendolowski Stephen , Gecelter Rachel , Rothman Alyssa , Poon Selina
Published: March 2019

Introduction

Opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH) and acute opioid tolerance have been demonstrated extensively in patients undergoing adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) repair. Remifentanil infusion has been strongly linked to both tolerance and OIH in these patients; however, the impact of using an intraoperative fentanyl infusion has not been well studied. This study aims to determine if patients undergoing operative management of AIS have decreased opioid consumption and pain scores when an intraoperative fentanyl infusion is used as compared with a remifentanil infusion.

Methods

This is a retrospective chart review of patients with AIS who underwent posterior spinal fusion. During the period January 2012–June 2013, patients received remifentanil infusion as part of total intravenous anesthesia. From July 2013 to June 2015, remifentanil was replaced by fentanyl as standard protocol. The remifentanil cohort included 37 patients and the fentanyl cohort included 25 patients. The primary outcome was the total opioid consumption (morphine equivalents) in the first 24 hours postsurgery. Secondary outcomes included mean postoperative pain score in the first 24 hours postsurgery, postoperative opioid consumption 24–48 hours after surgery, time to extubation, time to assisted ambulation, length of stay, and incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting.

Results

Compared with the remifentanil group, the fentanyl group had significantly higher postoperative opioid usage during the first 48 hours and significantly higher postoperative mean pain score during the first 24 hours. There was no difference between the two groups in mean pain score for 24–48 hours, extubation time, time to assisted ambulation, length of stay, or postoperative nausea and vomiting.

Discussion

Despite concerns for hyperalgesia and acute tolerance, remifentanil is widely used for intraoperative opioid infusions for surgical correction of AIS. This retrospective study examined a practice change from intraoperative remifentanil to intraoperative fentanyl as a potential approach to avoid OIH. Surprisingly, patients receiving fentanyl intraoperatively showed increased postoperative opioid use and pain scores in the first 24 hours postsurgery compared with the prior cohort receiving remifentanil. Substitution of fentanyl for remifentanil during surgical correction of AIS does not appear to solve the problem of OIH or acute tolerance. Prospective studies are needed to confirm this unexpected result.
Extent and selectivity of sexual orientation disclosure and its association with HIV and other STI testing patterns among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men
Authors: Tan Rayner Kay Jin , Teo Alvin Kuo Jing , Kaur Nashwinder , Harrison-Quintana Jack , Wong Chen Seong , Chen Mark I-Cheng
Published: March 2019

Objectives

Gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in Singapore may fear disclosing their sexual orientation to others due to negative societal attitudes, and the law that criminalises sexual relations between men, which may, in turn, impede access to HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI)-related health services. This study attempts to determine how selective disclosure to varying social groups, and the extent of disclosure, may serve to impact HIV/STI testing patterns among GBMSM.

Methods

In this observational study, we recruited GBMSM in Singapore through an online cross-sectional survey disseminated via the smartphone app Grindr from 14 January to 11 February 2018. Respondents provided information on their sociodemographic characteristics, disclosure of sexual orientation towards other lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) individuals, non-LGBTQ family members, non-LGBTQ friends and non-LGBTQ colleagues, along with their HIV/STI testing patterns. Extent of disclosure was defined as the number of social groups that a participant had disclosed his sexual orientation to. Statistical analyses were conducted through descriptive statistics, multivariable binary, ordinal, and multinomial logistic regression models.

Results

We recruited 1339 respondents, of which 1098 who had provided their response to questions on HIV/STI testing were included in the analytic sample. Multivariable analyses indicated that disclosure towards non-LGBTQ family members (adjusted OR [aOR] 1.85, 95% CI 1.12 to 3.07) and other LGBTQ individuals (aOR 1.63, 95% CI 1.12 to 2.37) were positively associated with recent HIV testing, whereas disclosure towards non-LGBTQ colleagues (aOR 1.56, 95% CI 1.09 to 2.22) was positively associated with regular HIV testing. Extent of disclosure exhibited a positive, dose–response relationship with all testing outcomes.

Conclusions

Results indicate how the fear of being identified as an LGBTQ individual may deter GBMSM from getting tested for HIV and other STIs. Health services should bridge the gaps to accessing healthcare among individuals who fear being stigmatised for attending sexual health-specific clinics or being identified as GBMSM.
Use of gay app and the associated HIV/syphilis risk among non-commercial men who have sex with men in Shenzhen, China: a serial cross-sectional study
Authors: Wei Lan , Chen Lin , Zhang Haibo , Yang Zhengrong , Zou Huachun , Yuan Tanwei , Xiao Yuejiao , Liu Shaochu , Tan Wei , Xie Wei , Liu Liegang , Cheng Jinquan , Zhao Jin
Published: March 2019

Objectives

Geosocial networking application specific to men who have sex with men (MSM) (gay app) has revolutionised the social networking of MSM globally, much concern was raised over its linkage to HIV/syphilis risk. This study sought to examine the association between use of gay app and sexual behaviours and HIV/syphilis risk among Chinese MSM.

Methods

Eligible MSM were recruited through combined offline methods from 2015 to 2017 in Shenzhen, China, with data collected including demographics, sexual behaviours, app use, recreational drug use and HIV testing. All participants are required to sign a written informed consent and take a confidential HIV and syphilis testing.

Results

The prevalence of app use among non-commercial MSM (NcMSM) has rapidly increased from 12.5% in 2015 to 52.6% in 2017. The primary four apps used were Blued (97.2%), Aloha (18.4%), Jack’d (14.1) and Zank (14.1%). After controlling for confounders, HIV prevalence was still significantly lower among app users than non-app users (adjusted odds ratios [AOR]: 0.77, 95% CI 0.61 to 0.97), yet the lower prevalence of syphilis was not significant (AOR: 0.97, 95% CI 0.76 to 1.23). App-using NcMSM were more likely to be younger, unmarried, self-identified as homosexuality and having higher education level and income than non-app-using NcMSM. App-using NcMSM had higher rate of consistent condom use and HIV testing, higher level of knowledge on HIV/AIDS prevention and condom use; however, they were more likely to have multiple sexual partners, practice receptive role in anal sex and use recreational drug.

Conclusions

App-using NcMSM are more likely to have sexual risk behaviours as well as risk-reduction behaviours such as consistent condom use and HIV testing. Scaled-up and innovative venue-based HIV interventions are warranted for these high-risk MSM frequent social venues with less condom use and fewer HIV tests. Meanwhile, gay app should alternatively serve as an intervention and education platform for the MSM hard-to-reach via venue-based approaches.
Nonrandom territory occupancy by nesting Gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus)
Authors: Anderson David L. , Bente Peter J. , Booms Travis L. , Dunn Leah , McClure Christopher J.W.
Published: March 2019

We know little regarding how specific aspects of habitat influence spatial variation in site occupancy by Arctic wildlife, yet this information is fundamental to effective conservation. To address this information gap, we assessed occupancy of 84 Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus Linnaeus, 1758) breeding territories observed annually between 2004 and 2013 in western Alaska. In line with the theory of population regulation by site dependence, we asked whether Gyrfalcons exhibited a nonrandom pattern of site selection and if heterogeneous landscape attributes correlated with observed occupancy patterns. We characterized high- and low-occupancy breeding territories as those occupied more or less often than expected by chance, and we evaluated land cover at 1 and 15 km circles centered around nesting territories to identify habitat variables associated with observed occupancy patterns. We tested 15 competing models to rank hypotheses reflecting prey and habitat variables important to nesting Gyrfalcons. We confirmed a nonrandom pattern of site selection but found only weak evidence that the distribution of prey habitat was responsible for this pattern. We reason that preferential habitat use by nesting Gyrfalcons may be determined by spatial scales other than those we measured or may be driven by landscape-level attributes at time periods other than during the brood rearing period.
The theory of undercurrent from the Austrian alpine geologist Otto Ampferer (1875–1947): first conceptual ideas on the way to plate tectonics
Authors: Dullo Wolf-Christian , Pfaffl Fritz A.
Published: March 2019

In his paper “Über das Bewegungsbild von Faltengebirgen” [On the movement pattern of folded mountains], published in the almanac of the Austrian Geological Survey in Vienna, Otto Ampferer from Innsbruck (Austria) presented a series of geotectonic considerations and interpretations, which today are summarized under the term “theory of undercurrent”. The interpretation of these processes occurring in the deep crust of the Earth and in the upper mantle was mainly kinematic. For a long time, the tectonic passivity of the magma being anorogenic was dogma until Ampferer’s undercurrent theory changed this in 1906, according to which folds and thrusts on the Earth’s surface portray motions of the deeper magmatic substratum. In these undercurrents, Ampferer recognized the crucial forces that lead to the formation of ocean basins and high mountains on the edges of the drifting continents. In his paper on the history of the formation of the Atlantic region, he presented already, in 1941, a process anticipating what is now known as seafloor spreading.
DNA barcoding detects floral origin of Indian honey samples
Authors: Saravanan Mohanasundaram , Mohanapriya Gunasekaran , Laha Ramachandra , Sathishkumar Ramalingam
Published: March 2019

The unique medicinal and nutritional properties of honey are determined by its chemical composition. To evaluate the quality of honey, it is essential to study the surrounding vegetation where honeybees forage. In this study we used conventional melissopalynological and DNA barcoding techniques to determine the floral source of honey samples collected from different districts of the state of Mizoram, India. Pollen grains were isolated and genomic DNA was extracted from the honey samples. PCR amplification was carried out using universal barcode candidates ITS2 and rbcL to identify the plant species. Furthermore, TA cloning was carried out to screen the PCR amplicon libraries to identify the presence of multiple plant species. Results from both the melissopalynological and DNA barcoding analyses identified almost exactly the same 22 species, suggesting that both methods are suitable for analysis. However, DNA barcoding is easier and widely practiced. Hence, it can be concluded that DNA barcoding is a useful tool in determining the medicinal and commercial value of honey.
Phase structures and thermophysical properties of ZrO2-doped SmTaO4 ceramics
Authors: Zhou Ying , Gan Guoyou , Ge Zhenhua , Yi Jianhong , Feng Jing
Published: March 2019

The [Formula: see text] ceramics have excellent high-temperature phase stability and mechanical properties and show great potential for use as next-generation thermal barrier coating (TBC) materials. However, the thermophysical properties of [Formula: see text], especially [Formula: see text]-doped, were not clearly established. The [Formula: see text] ceramics doped with different contents of [Formula: see text] (0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8%) by high-temperature solid-state reaction were studied in this paper. The phase structures and microstructures of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and EDS. The thermophysical properties of the samples including specific heat, thermal diffusivity, and thermal conductivity were measured systematically. The results show that [Formula: see text]-doped [Formula: see text] ceramics have a single monoclinic phase, and that [Formula: see text] ion doping does not change the crystal structure. The bandgap of 2% [Formula: see text]-doped [Formula: see text] ceramics was narrow (4.48 eV), indicating that heat is conducted by phonons in ceramics. The [Formula: see text] doped with 2% of [Formula: see text] had lower thermal conductivity [Formula: see text] at [Formula: see text] than [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] at [Formula: see text]. This indicates that 2% [Formula: see text]-doped [Formula: see text] ceramics have the potential to be employed as TBCs in next-generation gas turbines.
Lump and interaction solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations
Authors: Sun Yong-Li , Ma Wen-Xiu , Yu Jian-Ping , Ren Bo , Khaliqu Chaudry Masood
Published: March 2019

In this paper, lump solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations, the generalized (2[Formula: see text]+[Formula: see text]1)-dimensional KP equation and the Jimbo–Miwa equation, are studied by using the Hirota bilinear method and carrying out symbolic computations in Maple. Moreover, the interaction solutions, i.e. collisions between lump waves and kink waves, are investigated. A group of graphs are plotted to illustrate the dynamics of the obtained results.
Equations in oligomorphic clones and the constraint satisfaction problem for ω-categorical structures
Authors: Barto Libor , Kompatscher Michael , Olšák Miroslav , Trung Van Pham , Pinsker Michael
Published: March 2019

There exist two conjectures for constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) of reducts of finitely bounded homogeneous structures: the first one states that tractability of the CSP of such a structure is, when the structure is a model-complete core, equivalent to its polymorphism clone satisfying a certain nontrivial linear identity modulo outer embeddings. The second conjecture, challenging the approach via model-complete cores by reflections, states that tractability is equivalent to the linear identities (without outer embeddings) satisfied by its polymorphisms clone, together with the natural uniformity on it, being nontrivial. We prove that the identities satisfied in the polymorphism clone of a structure allow for conclusions about the orbit growth of its automorphism group, and apply this to show that the two conjectures are equivalent. We contrast this with a counterexample showing that [Formula: see text]-categoricity alone is insufficient to imply the equivalence of the two conditions above in a model-complete core. Taking another approach, we then show how the Ramsey property of a homogeneous structure can be utilized for obtaining a similar equivalence under different conditions. We then prove that any polymorphism of sufficiently large arity which is totally symmetric modulo outer embeddings of a finitely bounded structure can be turned into a nontrivial system of linear identities, and obtain nontrivial linear identities for all tractable cases of reducts of the rational order, the random graph, and the random poset. Finally, we provide a new and short proof, in the language of monoids, of the theorem stating that every [Formula: see text]-categorical structure is homomorphically equivalent to a model-complete core.
A Model of Electron Tunneling to the Surface States in TiO2 with Application to Photocatalysis
Authors: Sidorova T.
Published: March 2019

Tunneling transmission of electrons excited by the sun light in the bulk TiO2 to its surface states is simulated. The model is built for the TiO2/Si nanostructure. The tunneling transmission coefficient was calculated by the phase functions method. The surface states are considered to be formed due to adsorption of impurities and organic compounds on TiO2. Energy dependence of the transmission coefficient is influenced by an interference of transmitted and reflected waves under conditions of the complex potential relief.
Hong Kong in 2018: Relative Calm and Getting Down to Work
Authors: LIM Tai Wei
Published: March 2019

Hong Kong has been relatively calm under the watch of Chief Executive Carrie Lam. Connectivity in terms infrastructure between Hong Kong and China has been strengthened with a US$10 billion railway linking the most dynamic cities in southern China. Media freedom continues to be a flashpoint between foreign journalists and Beijing but in local elections, pro-government candidates like Chan Hoi-yan easily defeated experienced pan-democracy candidates in the Kowloon West by-election.
Japan in 2018: Abe Administration Surviving Scandals, Consolidating Power
Authors: LAM Peng Er
Published: March 2019

Japan’s Prime Minister Abe Shinzo won a third term as Liberal Democratic Party president in September 2018 despite two crony scandals. As Abe is likely to remain as prime minister till 2021, he is set to hike consumption tax in 2019, organise the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, raise defence spending and probably revise the constitution. Abe’s most significant legislative victory in 2018 was the revision of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law.
A Comparison of Techniques for Sign Language Alphabet Recognition Using Armband Wearables
Authors: Paudyal Prajwal , Lee Junghyo , Banerjee Ayan , Gupta Sandeep K. S.
Published: March 2019

Recent research has shown that reliable recognition of sign language words and phrases using user-friendly and noninvasive armbands is feasible and desirable. This work provides an analysis and implementation of including fingerspelling recognition (FR) in such systems, which is a much harder problem due to lack of distinctive hand movements. A novel algorithm called DyFAV (Dynamic Feature Selection and Voting) is proposed for this purpose that exploits the fact that fingerspelling has a finite corpus (26 alphabets for the American Sign Language (ASL)). Detailed analysis of the algorithm used as well as comparisons with other traditional machine-learning algorithms is provided. The system uses an independent multiple-agent voting approach to identify letters with high accuracy. The independent voting of the agents ensures that the algorithm is highly parallelizable and thus recognition times can be kept low to suit real-time mobile applications. A thorough explanation and analysis is presented on results obtained on the ASL alphabet corpus for nine people with limited training. An average recognition accuracy of 95.36% is reported and compared with recognition results from other machine-learning techniques. This result is extended by including six additional validation users with data collected under similar settings as the previous dataset. Furthermore, a feature selection schema using a subset of the sensors is proposed and the results are evaluated. The mobile, noninvasive, and real-time nature of the technology is demonstrated by evaluating performance on various types of Android phones and remote server configurations. A brief discussion of the user interface is provided along with guidelines for best practices.
Fog-based Secure Communications for Low-power IoT Devices
Authors: Ferretti Luca , Marchetti Mirco , Colajanni Michele
Published: March 2019

Designing secure, scalable, and resilient IoT networks is a challenging task because of resource-constrained devices and no guarantees of reliable network connectivity. Fog computing improves the resiliency of IoT, but its security model assumes that fog nodes are fully trusted. We relax this latter constraint by proposing a solution that guarantees confidentiality of messages exchanged through semi-honest fog nodes thanks to a lightweight proxy re-encryption scheme. We demonstrate the feasibility of the solution by applying it to IoT networks of low-power devices through experiments on microcontrollers and ARM-based architectures.
[DL] A Survey of FPGA-based Neural Network Inference Accelerators
Authors: Guo Kaiyuan , Zeng Shulin , Yu Jincheng , Wang Yu , Yang Huazhong
Published: March 2019

Recent research on neural networks has shown a significant advantage in machine learning over traditional algorithms based on handcrafted features and models. Neural networks are now widely adopted in regions like image, speech, and video recognition. But the high computation and storage complexity of neural network inference poses great difficulty on its application. It is difficult for CPU platforms to offer enough computation capacity. GPU platforms are the first choice for neural network processes because of its high computation capacity and easy-to-use development frameworks.

However, FPGA-based neural network inference accelerator is becoming a research topic. With specifically designed hardware, FPGA is the next possible solution to surpass GPU in speed and energy efficiency. Various FPGA-based accelerator designs have been proposed with software and hardware optimization techniques to achieve high speed and energy efficiency. In this article, we give an overview of previous work on neural network inference accelerators based on FPGA and summarize the main techniques used. An investigation from software to hardware, from circuit level to system level is carried out to complete analysis of FPGA-based neural network inference accelerator design and serves as a guide to future work.
Computational Understanding of Visual Interestingness Beyond Semantics
Authors: Constantin Mihai Gabriel , Redi Miriam , Zen Gloria , Ionescu Bogdan
Published: March 2019

Understanding visual interestingness is a challenging task addressed by researchers in various disciplines ranging from humanities and psychology to, more recently, computer vision and multimedia. The rise of infographics and the visual information overload that we are facing today have given this task a crucial importance. Automatic systems are increasingly needed to help users navigate through the growing amount of visual information available, either on the web or our personal devices, for instance by selecting relevant and interesting content. Previous studies indicate that visual interest is highly related to concepts like arousal, unusualness, or complexity, where these connections are found based on psychological theories, user studies, or computational approaches. However, the link between visual interestingness and other related concepts has been only partially explored so far, for example, by considering only a limited subset of covariates at a time. In this article, we present a comprehensive survey on visual interestingness and related concepts, aiming to bring together works based on different approaches, highlighting controversies, and identifying links that have not been fully investigated yet. Finally, we present some open questions that may be addressed in future works. Our work aims to support researchers interested in visual interestingness and related subjective or abstract concepts, providing an in-depth overlook at state-of-the-art theories in humanities and methods in computational approaches, as well as providing an extended list of datasets.
Exploring and Understanding the Role of Workshop Environments in Personal Fabrication Processes
Authors: Annett Michelle , Grossman Tovi , Wigdor Daniel , Fitzmaurice George
Published: March 2019

Growing interest in personal fabrication has resulted in many ways to ideate, design, and prototype, in addition to studies of who a maker is and the challenges they face. Less attention, however, has focused on the role of the environment in fabrication processes. By understanding how interactions with tools, fixtures, materials, and spaces shape workflows, we can better determine how to design the next generation of workshops, design tools, and fabrication equipment to support personal fabrication activities. To build this understanding, site visits and interviews at local makerspaces, fabrication studios, and workshops were conducted. These visits uncovered the rich practices and roadblocks generated by workshops today. The observations identified the importance of spatial layouts, territoriality and occupant agency, distributed knowledge, and organizational flux, among others, to design and fabrication processes. These observations were further synthesized into one possible direction for such spaces:
hybrid workshops
(i.e., environments that can leverage computation and responsive architecture to enhance a maker's ability to design and fabricate). This work identifies how such spaces could harness the rich practices and eliminate the challenges found with workshops today and discusses the technical innovations and philosophical questions that hybrid workshops will pose to the future of personal fabrication.
FeatherNet
Authors: Morcel Raghid , Hajj Hazem , Saghir Mazen A. R. , Akkary Haitham , Artail Hassan , Khanna Rahul , Keshavamurthy Anil
Published: March 2019

Convolutional Neural Network (ConvNet or CNN) algorithms are characterized by a large number of model parameters and high computational complexity. These two requirements have made it challenging for implementations on resource-limited FPGAs. The challenges are magnified when considering designs for low-end FPGAs. While previous work has demonstrated successful ConvNet implementations with high-end FPGAs, this article presents a ConvNet accelerator design that enables the implementation of complex deep ConvNet architectures on resource-constrained FPGA platforms aimed at the IoT market. We call the design “FeatherNet” for its light resource utilization. The implementations are VHDL-based providing flexibility in design optimizations. As part of the design process, new methods are introduced to address several design challenges. The first method is a novel stride-aware graph-based method targeted at ConvNets that aims at achieving efficient signal processing with reduced resource utilization. The second method addresses the challenge of determining the minimal precision arithmetic needed while preserving high accuracy. For this challenge, we propose variable-width dynamic fixed-point representations combined with a layer-by-layer design-space pruning heuristic across the different layers of the deep ConvNet model. The third method aims at achieving a modular design that can support different types of ConvNet layers while ensuring low resource utilization. For this challenge, we propose the modules to be relatively small and composed of computational filters that can be interconnected to build an entire accelerator design. These model elements can be easily configured through HDL parameters (e.g., layer type, mask size, stride, etc.) to meet the needs of specific ConvNet implementations and thus they can be reused to implement a wide variety of ConvNet architectures. The fourth method addresses the challenge of design portability between two different FPGA vendor platforms, namely, Intel/Altera and Xilinx. For this challenge, we propose to instantiate the device-specific hardware blocks needed in each computational filter, rather than relying on the synthesis tools to infer these blocks, while keeping track of the similarities and differences between the two platforms. We believe that the solutions to these design challenges further advance knowledge as they can benefit designers and other researchers using similar devices or facing similar challenges. Our results demonstrated the success of addressing the design challenges and achieving low (30%) resource utilization for the low-end FPGA platforms: Zedboard and Cyclone V. The design overcame the limitation of designs targeted for high-end platforms and that cannot fit on low-end IoT platforms. Furthermore, our design showed superior performance results (measured in terms of [Frame/s/W] per Dollar) compared to high-end optimized designs.
On Annotation Methodologies for Image Search Evaluation
Authors: Shao Yunqiu , Liu Yiqun , Zhang Fan , Zhang Min , Ma Shaoping
Published: March 2019

Image search engines differ significantly from general web search engines in the way of presenting search results. The difference leads to different interaction and examination behavior patterns, and therefore requires changes in evaluation methodologies. However, evaluation of image search still utilizes the methods for general web search. In particular, offline metrics are calculated based on coarse-fine topical relevance judgments with the assumption that users examine results in a sequential manner.

In this article, we investigate annotation methods via crowdsourcing for image search evaluation based on a lab-based user study. Using user satisfaction as the golden standard, we make several interesting findings. First, instead of item-based annotation, annotating relevance in a row-based way is more efficient without hurting performance. Second, besides topical relevance, image quality plays a crucial role when evaluating the image search results, and the importance of image quality changes with search intent. Third, compared to traditional four-level scales, the fine-grain annotation method outperforms significantly. To our best knowledge, our work is the first to systematically study how diverse factors in data annotation impact image search evaluation. Our results suggest different strategies for exploiting the crowdsourcing to get data annotated under different conditions.
Multitranscriptome analyses reveal prioritized genes specifically associated with liver fibrosis progression independent of etiology
Authors: Chen Wei , Wu Xiaoning , Yan Xuzhen , Xu Anjian , Yang Aiting , You Hong
Published: March 2019

Elimination or suppression of causative factors can raise the possibility of liver fibrosis regression. However, different injurious stimuli will give fibrosis from somewhat different etiologies, which, in turn, may hamper the discovery of liver fibrosis-specific therapeutic drugs. Therefore, the analogical cellular and molecular events shared by various etiology-evoked liver fibrosis should be clarified. Our present study systematically integrated five publicly available transcriptomic data sets regarding liver fibrosis with different etiologies from the Gene Expression Omnibus database and performed a series of bioinformatics analyses and experimental verifications. A total of 111 significantly upregulated and 16 downregulated genes were identified specific to liver fibrosis independent of any etiology. These genes were predominately enriched in some Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways, including the “PI3K-AKT signaling pathway,” “Focal adhesion,” and “ECM-receptor interaction.” Subsequently, five prioritized liver fibrosis-specific genes, including COL4A2, THBS2, ITGAV, LAMB1, and PDGFRA, were screened. These genes were positively associated with each other and liver fibrosis progression. In addition, they could robustly separate all stages of samples in both training and validation data sets with diverse etiologies when they were regarded as observed variables applied to principal component analysis plots. Expressions of all five genes were confirmed in activated primary mouse hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and transforming growth factor β1-treated LX-2 cells. Moreover, THBS2 protein was enhanced in liver fibrosis rodent models, which could promote HSC activation and proliferation and facilitate NOTCH1/JAG1 expression in HSCs. Overall, our current study may provide potential targets for liver fibrosis therapy and aid to a deeper understanding of the molecular underpinnings of liver fibrosis.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Prioritized liver fibrosis-specific genes THBS2, COL4A2, ITGAV, LAMB1, and PDGFRA were identified and significantly associated with liver fibrosis progression and could be combined to discriminate liver fibrosis stages regardless of any etiology. Among the identified prioritized liver fibrosis-specific targets, THBS2 protein was confirmed to be enhanced in liver fibrosis rodent models, which could promote hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and proliferation and facilitate NOTCH1/JAG1 expression in HSCs.
Quantitative Determination of Kyanite in Kyanite Ores by X-Ray Diffraction
Authors: Faulring G. M. , Carpenter R. D.
Published: March 2019

The amount of kyanite in samples obtained from magnetic and density separations of a kyanite ore was established by a quantitative X-ray diffraction procedure employing an internal standard. The accuracy of the results at low kyanite levels was improved by adding pure kyanite to the samples, analyzing these mixtures and extrapolating back to the lower level. The results were verified by X-ray diffraction analyses of synthetic mixtures containing amounts of kyanite approximately equal to that indicated in the ore samples. The percentage of error is estimated to be ±3per cent of the amount present in the range of 20 to 80 per cent kyanite.