bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Promoting student publishing success: The progressive co-authorship cycle
Authors: Bradlow Ann
Published: April 2019

I will describe the “progressive co-authorship cycle” as a strategy for promoting student publishing success. Crucial points in this progression are: (1) an initial phase in which the advisor is the lead author on a co-authored publication, (2) a middle phase in which the student and advisor are both in transition, and (3) a final phase in which the role reversal is complete and the student is the lead author on a co-authored publication. Each phase serves a unique purpose in the overall progression: modelling of good practice (phase 1), infusion of new energy and dynamism (phase 2), and finally, consolidation of a new and more equitable partnership (phase 3). I will emphasize that, as the fulcrum of the cycle, the middle phase is the most important yet easiest-to-neglect phase in a student-advisor relationship. During this phase, the student develops other co-authorship opportunities (e.g. with fellow students and/or other mentors). By infusing new ideas and research strategies into the mentor-mentee relationship, these “external” collaborations can be particularly enriching for phase 3. While this progression is rarely realized in clearly demarcated phases, it can provide a guiding framework for mentoring, and specifically for supporting student publishing success.
Perspectives on mentorship in the world of publishing
Authors: Litovsky Ruth
Published: April 2019

Emerging scientists, students and postdoctoral fellows are typically being trained and are developing relationships with their mentors. This presentation will focus on issues that include: (1) timeline and goals related to one’s career path; (2) strategic planning in publishing your work during the training period; (3) continuing to publish after moving on to other positions; (4) selecting journals and ethics in determining authorship; (5) how to get a mentor who is quite busy to respond to your drafts in a timely manner; (6) publishing quality vs. quantity; (7) reading and interpreting reviews; (8) getting involved in writing reviews when you advance in your career path. The presenter, Ruth Litovsky, received her PhD in 1991 and is Professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison, where she mentors students, post-docs and junior scientists.
The musical saw: Musical acoustics of trapped vibrational modes in a curved blade
Authors: Worland Randy
Published: April 2019

The musical saw is a popular folk instrument consisting of a flexible hand saw that is bent into an “S"-shape by the performer. When the smooth edge of the saw is bowed, skilled musicians can produce intricate melodies, as well as vibrato and glissando effects, by varying the curvature along the blade. The acoustically significant vibrational modes are trapped near the inflection point between regions of alternating curvature along the saw, exhibiting very low damping as a result of this confinement. Experimental data, taken using electronic speckle-pattern interferometry, illustrate the relevant mode frequencies, shapes, and positions relative to the blade curvature for various configurations of the saw. These data are presented and interpreted along with results from a finite element model of the tapered and curved saw blade.
Curious nonlinearity of rocks
Authors: Donahue Carly M. , Johnson Paul A.
Published: April 2019

Many geological materials, ranging from “rocks to unconsolidated sand,” exhibit highly nonlinear elastic properties. Rocks fall in to a class of materials know as Nonlinear Mesoscopic Elastic Mesoscopic materials (NMEMs) in which the nonlinearity they possess is not derived from the constituent material, but rather the microscopic structure. Their behavior manifests as characteristic wave distortion, and slow dynamics, a recovery process to equilibrium that takes place over hours, days, weeks and sometimes years after a wave disturbance. A number of acoustic techniques have been developed to quantify a the material’s nonlinear elastic coefficients and image localized damaged areas; and while much has been learned, much is left unknown, particularly identifying and understanding the underlying physical mechanisms that give rise to a rock’s nonlinear elastic response, such as frictional losses, soft regions, and the influence of water content. But rocks also are a platform to understand other localized and distributed nonlinearity. Nondestructive evaluation techniques of metal and concrete are being developed with applications towards crack detection and wellbore integrity. Nonlinear acoustic techniques have recently appeared promising for performance evaluation of pressed powders and additively manufactured materials. In this presentation, we will provide an overview of nonlinear elasticity as illustrated by some examples.
Nonlinearity in high amplitude focused waves in solids for crack detection using time reversal techniques
Authors: Anderson Brian E. , Young Sarah M. , Remillieux Marcel , Le Bas Pierre-Yves , Ulrich Timothy J.
Published: April 2019

Defects in a sample cause localized distortions of a wave. Focused waves at a defect create amplitude-dependent signatures that may be quantified in post processing, thereby offering a means of locating and characterizing the defect. Time reversal (TR) is a technique that allows intentional focusing of wave energy. TR has been developed for crack and defect detection in solid media. Because TR provides a localized focus of elastic energy, it can be used to study the local nonlinear properties at point(s) of interest that are indicative of the presence of cracks and defects. Source transducers may remain in place as a sample is scanned for defects. A laser Doppler vibrometer offers a noncontact means of selecting points at which to focus energy. TR applied to detect cracking in steel rods will be presented. The results demonstrate that cracks may be identified through their nonlinear signatures when TR is used to focus energy at various positions along the rods.
Laboratory study of nonlinear propagation of transient signals in a sandstone bar
Authors: Muir Thomas G. , Cormack John M. , Slack Charles M. , Hamilton Mark F.
Published: April 2019

Experiments are reported on finite-amplitude, impact propagation in a thin bar of Texas moss sandstone. Wideband, unipolar pulses were generated by excitation with a pendulum hammer at one end of the bar, in contrast to prior work with either tone-burst excitation or resonance methods. The bar was rectangular, 8 cm on each side and 175 cm in length, with a density of 2.0 g/cc. Impacts had a center frequency around 3 kHz, amplitude of 10 to 130 microstrain, and propagated repetitively between reflections at each end. Measurements were made with a laser Doppler vibrometer at multiple locations along the bar, while ultrasonic tone-burst probes were used at a central location, transverse to the axis. The sound speed and effective modulus were reduced in proportion to the impact amplitude as the finite-amplitude impact pulse propagated through the transverse and other measurement sites. The attenuation of the impact signal was also found to follow a power law in the frequency range of 1–6 kHz, in proportion to impact intensity. Although amplitude-dependent attenuation and softening of the elastic modulus are both found in micro-inhomogeneous materials, the present results were enhanced, up to an order of magnitude, compared to those in previously reported experiments.
Evolution equation for nonlinear Lucassen waves
Authors: Simon Blake E. , Cormack John M. , Hamilton Mark F.
Published: April 2019

A nonlinear, fractional, surface-wave equation was developed recently by Kappler et al. [Phys. Rev. Fluids 2, 114804 (2017)] for propagation along an elastic interface coupled to a viscous incompressible medium. Linear theory for attenuation and dispersion of such a wave was developed originally by Lucassen [Trans. Faraday Soc. 64, 2221 (1968)]. Kappler et al. employ a fractional derivative to account for the Lucassen attenuation and dispersion, and they include quadratic and cubic nonlinearity of the elastic interface. Presented here is a simplified form of their model equation for plane progressive waves. The resulting nonlinear evolution equation has the form of a Burgers equation but with a fractional derivative in place of the second derivative for viscosity, and with cubic as well as quadratic nonlinearity. In addition to facilitating analytical and numerical calculations, the evolution equation enables interpretation of a threshold phenomenon, revealed in numerical simulations presented by Kappler et al., as competition between quadratic and cubic nonlinearity. It is also suitable for determining critical source amplitudes above which Lucassen attenuation and dispersion alone cannot preclude formation of unphysical multivalued waveforms [Cormack and Hamilton, Wave Motion 85, 18 (2019)]. [BES and JMC were supported by the ARL:UT McKinney Fellowship in Acoustics.]
Circling back on theories of sound localization
Authors: Ihlefeld Antje , Alamatsaz Nima , Shapley Robert M.
Published: April 2019

An important question of human perception is how we localize target objects in space. Through our eyes and skin, activation patterns on the sensory epithelium suffice to cue us about a target’s location. However, for our ears, the brain has to compute where a sound source is located. One important cue for computing sound direction is the time difference in arrival of acoustic energy reaching each ear, the interaural time difference (ITD). With behavioral experiments on sound lateralization as a function of sound intensity, we tested how the computation of sound location with ITDs is done. We tested twelve naïve normal-hearing listeners (ages 18–27, five females). Stimuli consisted of low-frequency noise tokens that were bandlimited from 300 to 122 Hz, from 5 to 25 dB sensation level. Without response feedback, listeners were initially trained to reliably judge the direction of a sound source and then tested on where they heard the sound. We found that softer sounds tend to be localized closer to midline as compared to louder sound. This finding raises doubt on one major theory of sound localization, the labeled-line theory, and supports another main contender, population rate based coding.
An acoustic power divider with uniform phase and compressibility-near-zero effective material properties
Authors: Byrne Matthew S. , Esfahlani Hussein , Alu Andrea
Published: April 2019

Materials with properties which can be described by a near-zero index have received much attention in the fields of microwave electromagnetics, optics, and acoustics, due to their extraordinary capabilities in wave manipulation. It was recently demonstrated, theoretically and experimentally, that acoustic media can support near-zero-index propagation, in which the effective compressibility of a waveguide channel approaches zero. In principle, this allows the complete tunneling of acoustic waves with nearly infinite wavelength (or equivalently, uniform phase). In this work, we show that these concepts can be extended to realize a novel acoustic power divider, which permits the tunneling of acoustic power to an arbitrary number of output ports, where the phase shift with respect to the input signal can be selected to be either 0 or 180 degrees. Analytical and numerical models which describe the behavior of the power divider, are presented. We conclude with an analysis that describes the limitations and trade-offs that occur due to losses as the device size is scaled.
Diffuse ultrasonic transmission between two half spaces coupled through a single glass bead
Authors: Weaver Richard , Yoritomo John Y.
Published: April 2019

We consider ultrasonics in glass blocks in contact through a single 3 mm glass bead held in place by contact forces of up to five Newtons. Hertzian contact theory predicts resonant transmission at a few isolated frequencies between 65 and 120 kHz. Resonances, based on calculations of radiative losses to the blocks, are predicted to be narrow, with widths of order 50Hz. Wide-band diffuse ultrasound from 50 to 800 kHz launched by an impulse in the upper block leads to a diffuse signal in the upper block that slowly diminishes due to absorption. It leads to a diffuse signal in the lower block that slowly increases in amplitude due to transmission—through the air and through the bead—before dissipating due to absorption. The spectrum in the lower block includes a broadband part demonstratable as due to transmission through the airgap. It also includes a part due to transmission through the bead and confined to a few isolated frequency bands. These transmission bands have widths of several kHz. We also investigate slow dynamics at the contact points by studying the change and recovery of the diffuse transmission after large amplitude conditionings.
Infant-directed speech register in children with and without hearing loss
Authors: Kondaurova Maria V. , Kinney Kaelin , Betts Abigail , Nolan Lindsay , VanDam Mark
Published: April 2019

Do children with hearing loss use infant-directed speech? The study examined speech characteristics of a 6-year-old child with bilateral cochlear implants and an age-matched child with normal-hearing while interacting with their infant siblings (age 29 and 20 months) and with their mothers. Child-sibling and child-mother interactions were recorded in two conditions. In the “toy” condition, the children explained to their siblings and their mothers how to assemble a toy. In the “book” condition, the children narrated a story using a picture book. Sixty-five vocalizations from each child’s speech sample were extracted in each condition. Mean fundamental frequency, fundamental frequency range, utterance duration, number of syllables per utterance, and speech rate were measured. Both children produced higher fundamental frequency, expanded fundamental frequency range, shorter utterance duration, and slower speech rate in the sibling- compared to mother-directed speech in both the “book” and “toy” conditions. For the mother-directed speech only, the children produced lower fundamental frequency, longer utterance duration and more syllables per utterance in the “book” than the “toy” condition. The results suggest that children with and without hearing loss modify prosodic characteristics of their speech when interacting with a younger sibling but the strength of the modification may be task-dependent.
Perception of musical instruments and music genres in cochlear implant recipients
Authors: Hsiao Ying , Shafiro Valeriy , Walker Chad , Oh Jasper , Hebb Megan , Brown Kelly , Sheft Stanley , Vasil Kara , Moberly Aaron C.
Published: April 2019

We examined perception of musical and nonmusical stimuli in 17 experienced postlingually deafened cochlear implant (CI) recipients and 10 normal-hearing (NH) listeners using real-world music excerpts derived from the Appreciation of Music in Cochlear Implantees (AMICI) test. Following stimulus presentation, participants selected one most appropriate option among nine instrument or five genre options. Compared to NH, CI listeners demonstrated reduced instrument (99.1% vs. 68.7%) and genre (96% vs. 55.7%) identification performance. For CI listeners, the least accurately identified instruments were flute (17.6%) and saxophone (37.2%), while the drums were most accurately identified (98%). The flute was most often confused with strings (76.5% error) and the saxophone was most confused with brass instruments (23.5% error). The least accurately identified genres were Latin (41.2%) and Rock "n" Roll (41.2%), while Classical was most accurately identified (82.5%). Latin was most often confused with Rock "n" Roll (26.2% error), and Rock "n" Roll was most often confused with Country (28.7% error). For the CI recipients, instrument and genre identification strongly and significantly correlated with recognition of environmental sounds, sentences in noise, and frequency pattern discrimination. These results indicate considerable deficits in music perception in CI recipients and indicate the need for further rehabilitation. Correlations with speech further suggest a potential for cross-domain improvements.
Tissue Doppler imaging to detect muscle fatigue
Authors: Majdi Joseph , Sikdar Siddartha
Published: April 2019

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is often used for rehabilitation in movement disorders and in assistive devices such as exoskeletons. However, FES can rapidly cause muscle fatigue, which limits the induced force production. At present, there exists no reliable, real time indicator for FES-induced muscle fatigue. We believe that functional muscle physiology associated with muscle fatigue can be inferred from ultrasound imaging. In this study, we utilized tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) to quantify FES-induced twitch responses in the gastrocnemius muscle, at baseline and after inducing fatigue through repeated voluntary isometric contractions. We estimated muscle velocities using M-mode TDI to quantify differences in the twitch response before and after fatigue. Preliminary results indicate that fatigue induces a higher muscle acceleration during twitch, and the muscle contracts for a longer duration. These results could potentially be used as a real-time indicator for muscle fatigue. We are investigating the use of such a system integrated into an external hybrid walking exoskeleton that can switch from FES-induced force generation to external motors for force generation once the muscle fatigues. Furthermore, it may be possible to replace TDI imaging with a wearable single-element continuous wave Doppler instrument for these measurements, reducing computational complexity and power requirements.
Ultrasonography education in the first medical-engineering based college
Authors: Coiado Olivia
Published: April 2019

This work presents an ultrasonography laboratory practice for the first year medical students of Carle Illinois College of Medicine. Carle Illinois is the first college of medicine in the nation designed at the intersection of engineering and medicine. The curriculum, which integrates basic and clinical sciences with engineering and innovation, includes activities for students to navigate through a guided ultrasound practice. In the individual session, students were introduced to an ultrasound machine (Sonosite Edge, FUJIFILM SonoSite, Inc., Bothell, WA) and discussed the ultrasound principles. As preparation for the session, students received a guide where they answered a few questions. The guided practice consisted of describing the parts of a basic ultrasound machine. Students explained ultrasound principles, such as the relationship between frequency and wavelength, different ultrasound imaging modes and types of ultrasound transducers, frequency of ultrasound transducer for diagnosis and therapy, and the continuous Doppler mode. In the end, students had the opportunity to scan the carotid artery and analyze the ultrasound principles discussed. After the guided session, students were allowed to perform scans on their own. The students appreciated the hand-on experiences gained by participation in the ultrasonography-guided session.
Patterns of vowel nasality in Brazilian Portuguese
Authors: Marques Luciana , Scarborough Rebecca
Published: April 2019

This study aims to establish differences in patterns of acoustic nasality between nasal and nasalized vowels in Brazilian Portuguese (BP). The difference in how nasality is implemented in the acoustic signal is hypothesized to reflect the different phonological status of these two vowel categories. Acoustic nasality is the difference between the amplitude of the first formant (A1) and the amplitude of a harmonic in the low region of the vowel spectrum (P0) (Chen, 1997). The smaller the difference between these peaks, the more nasal a vowel is. A1-P0 measurements were taken at different time points from recordings of oral, nasal, and nasalized vowels in BP of five qualities. Results show that nasal and nasalized vowels were similar in all qualities. However, the way nasality is implemented over time between the vowel categories are different, with acoustic nasality in nasal vowels increasing more rapidly than in the nasalized counterparts. Although the patterns of nasality found are not consistent with the expected nasal profile difference (Cohn, 1990), the difference in acoustic nasality between nasal and nasalized vowels is consistent enough to consider it result of how the feature [nasal] is implemented in the language due to its variable phonological status in BP.
The prosody of corrective focus and its domain in Korean
Authors: Oh Miran , Byrd Dani
Published: April 2019

Speakers place focus on specific linguistic elements using systematic modulations to highlight new or important information. Focus effects have primarily been studied for domains larger than a segment, such as syllables or words. By eliciting focus on segment-sized units using a corrective focus task, this study examines at what granularity or scope speakers manifest focus and its acoustic consequences for consonants differing in gestural and tonal compositions. Data were obtained from 16 native Korean speakers producing corrective focus on segments having varying syllable-internal positions (i.e., onset, nucleus, versus coda focus) and varying segmental compositions (i.e., tense and lax consonants). The results indicate that the patterns of focus modulation do not differ depending the on anticipated sub-syllabic focus position but rather are exhibited through the syllable. This suggests that the domain of focus extends beyond segment-sized intervals. Moreover, focus is manifested with systematic variations as a function of the gestural compositions active during its domain. Finally, there is some support for an interaction among multiple prosodic gestures—focus gestures and accentual phrase tone gestures. Overall, evidence suggests that focus has a syllable-sized (or larger) scope of effect that is sensitive to co-active articulatory and prosodic (tonal) gestures. [Work supported by NIH.]
Structured variation in Suzhou Chinese fricative consonants and vowels
Authors: Faytak Matthew
Published: April 2019

Uniform phonetic implementation of phonological primitives has been suggested to be a low-level constraint on speech production. Suzhou Chinese offers an example of how this constraint may shape the development of systems of phonological contrast: a pair of recently innovated “fricative vowels,” rounded and unrounded, have come to be produced with the addition of noticeable fricative noise. This noise is spectrally similar to that of a fricative consonant, most frequently alveolopalatal /ɕ/ but occasionally /s/, suggesting that speakers have begun to refer to shared acoustic targets for these phonotactically dissimilar sounds. In order to assess the degree of acoustic similarity among these segments, we compare the fricative noise in the unrounded and rounded fricative vowels of 43 speakers of Suzhou Chinese with the fricative noise of each speaker’s onset fricative consonants /ɕ/ and /s/. Spectral parameters analyzed are chosen to reflect constriction anteriority in strident fricatives. Correlations in these parameters as implemented across consonantal onsets such as /ɕ/ and /s/, and the unrounded fricative vowel and the rounded fricatie vowel are examined.
The lingual topography of American English laterals in onsets and codas
Authors: de Jong Kenneth , Berkson Kelly , Lulich Steven M. , Myers Samantha , Bohnert Amanda
Published: April 2019

This paper reports on a three-dimensional/four-dimensional ultrasound investigation of American English laterals. Traditional descriptions of English distinguish between pre-vocalic (onset) laterals (‘light-l’), said to involve a coronal gesture creating an alveolar occlusion on the center line with lateral venting, and post-vocalic (coda) laterals (‘dark-l’), said to involve both the coronal gesture and an additional dorsal constriction gesture. Recent work suggests that this view of laterals may be overly simple: e.g., onset laterals in American English may also have a dorsal gesture [Rhodes et al., JASA137(4), 2268–2269 (2015)]. Previous work also noted a persistent tongue configuration involving deep cupping of the midline in the palatal region yielding a raised tongue tip and dorsum around the cupped region. This configuration appears in both onsets and codas, even for a speaker who exhibited no coronal contact [Berkson et al., ICASSP (2017), pp. 5080–5084]. This study presents configurations for 20 college-aged native speakers of English (10 female) who show individual differences in (i) the presence of palatal grooving and (ii) consistency between onset and coda configurations. We contend that the onset versus coda lateral distinction cannot be reduced to a single description in terms of lingual configuration.
The acoustics of feeling: Emotional prosody in the StoryCorps corpus
Authors: Olsen Rachel M.
Published: April 2019

Effective communication depends not only on lexical content but also on how language is produced and perceived. Prosodic elements such as intensity, pitch accent (i.e., the pattern of low and high tones used in a stressed word), and intonation, have been suggested to aid in conveying emotional affect (e.g., happiness) in acted speech. For example, the word “yes” produced with a falling tone, high intensity, and large pitch range may indicate a high-arousal emotion like anger, whereas the same word produced with a flatter intonation, and lower intensity may indicate a low-arousal emotion like gloominess. Understanding the emotion with which words are produced facilitates appropriate communication because it tells the interlocutor how to best respond. Although this is intuitively true, the role of prosody in conveying emotional meaning is understudied, particularly in natural speech. This project thus utilizes StoryCorps, an extensive corpus of naturalistic interviews (publicly available at www.storycorps.org), to acoustically analyze pitch-accent usage in speech conveying different emotional affects. Portions of the StoryCorps interviews that convey overt emotional effect are selected and transcribed, and f0 trajectory, pitch range, duration, and intensity are tracked across stressed vowels to explore whether there are distinctive pitch-accent patterns used to convey different emotions.
Phonetic convergence and divergence in the American Midwest
Authors: Clopper Cynthia G. , Dossey Ellen
Published: April 2019

The magnitude of phonetic convergence in word shadowing is affected by phonetic factors, including the shadowers’ phonetic distance from the model talker, and social factors, including the perceived prestige of the model talker’s variety. The current study explored the effects of these factors on phonetic convergence to the Northern dialect of American English by shadowers from the Midwestern United States. The shadowers read a set of target words to provide their baseline productions and then repeated the same target words after a native speaker of the Northern dialect. The target words contained stressed vowels that are phonetically shifted in the Northern dialect relative to other American English varieties. Phonetic convergence in word duration and vowel formant frequencies was observed for some vowel categories but not others. This phonetic selectivity was not driven by the acoustic distance between the shadowers’ baseline productions and the model talker’s productions. Phonetic convergence in word duration and vowel formant frequencies also varied depending on whether or not the shadowers were told where the model talker was from, leading to divergence for some dialect-specific features in the shadowing task. These findings provide additional evidence for the roles of phonetic and social factors in phonetic convergence.
Respiratory and electroglottographic measures of normal and loud speech across vowels
Authors: Koenig Laura L. , Fuchs Susanne
Published: April 2019

Louder speech is primarily associated with greater respiratory system driving pressures, but several studies have indicated that speakers may also adjust their laryngeal settings in louder speech. In combination, these observations suggest the possibility of a tradeoff between respiratory and laryngeal mechanisms for increasing loudness, but little past work has obtained both respiratory and laryngeal measures in multiple speakers to assess the range of individual strategies. In this study, we assess measures of voice quality obtained from electroglottographic [EGG] signals in multiple female speakers. Respiratory kinematics, obtained by inductance plethysmography, were recorded simultaneously. Louder speech was obtained naturalistically, by changing speaker-interlocutor distance. Previous analyses of the respiratory data indicate that speakers differ considerably in how much they vary their respiratory kinematics when producing loud speech. We hypothesize that speakers who show less variation in their respiratory behavior will show more extreme changes in the EGG signals between normal and loud speech. We will also evaluate whether EGG differences between normal and loud speech vary as a function of vowel quality, in light of past work showing systematic differences in voice quality measures across vowels.
Acoustic differences between normally phonated and whispered speech
Authors: Houle Nichole , Levi Susannah V.
Published: April 2019

Whispered speech is different from normally phonated speech in more than just lack of vocal fold vibration. Previous research suggests that speakers also modify their speaking rate and formant frequencies. The extent of these differences may depend on speaker gender, but this has not been studied in American English. We examined differences in duration and acoustic vowel space between normally phonated and whispered speech. We recorded 17 ciswomen, 11 cismen, and 10 transwomen producing hVd words in both normally phonated and whispered speech. Formant frequencies for /æ/, /ɪ/, /ɑ/, and /u/ were bark-transformed and vowel space area was calculated. The results indicated differences in the formants across the two speaking conditions, both in the absolute shift of formant values and in the size of the vowel space. In addition, differences in speaking rate (measured as the duration of the /hV/ portion) also showed differences between the two speaking conditions across the three speaker groups.
Investigating parameter importance for different ocean environments using Fisher Information
Authors: Allen Makenzie B. , Van Komen David F. , Neilsen Tracianne B. , Transtrum Mark K. , Knobles David P.
Published: April 2019

In machine and deep learning, we often seek a simple and effective model. Overly complex models may be difficult to train and make inaccurate predictions. One way to find an effective model is to consider the relative impact of parameters on predictions as seen in the Fisher Information. The applicability of the Fisher Information is shown using numerically modeled transmission loss as a function of frequency for different range-independent ocean environments. The sensitivities to source-receiver range and depth and environmental parameters are quantified by calculating the Fisher Information. First, the Jacobian matrix of partial derivatives of transmission loss with respect to each of the model’s input parameters is obtained, then the Jacobian matrix is used to calculate the Fisher Information matrix. An eigenvalue decomposition of the Fisher Information matrix shows that this system is “sloppy,” because it exhibits an exponential hierarchy of parameter importance. In many cases, only a small number of parameters are relevant for explaining the model output but the impact of individual geoacoustic parameter varies with both environment and frequency. Our results have implications for learning algorithms and data collection methods while elucidating the relevant physics for different conditions. [Work supported by the Office of Naval Research.]
Focal infrared neural stimulation with high-field functional MRI: A rapid way to map mesoscale brain connectomes
Authors: Xu Augix Guohua , Qian Meizhen , Tian Feiyan , Xu Bin , Friedman Robert M. , Wang Jianbao , Song Xuemei , Sun Yi , Chernov Mykyta M. , Cayce Jonathan M. , Jansen E. Duco , Mahadevan-Jansen Anita , Zhang Xiaotong , Chen Gang , Roe Anna Wang
Published: April 2019

We have developed INS-fMRI as a rapid and high-resolution method for mapping functional brain networks in vivo.
RUNX represses
Pmp22
to drive neurofibromagenesis
Authors: Hall Ashley , Choi Kwangmin , Liu Wei , Rose Jonathan , Zhao Chuntao , Yu Yanan , Na Youjin , Cai Yuqi , Coover Robert A. , Lin Yi , Dombi Eva , Kim MiOk , Levanon Ditsa , Groner Yoram , Boscolo Elisa , Pan Dao , Liu P. Paul , Lu Q. Richard , Ratner Nancy , Huang Gang , Wu Jianqiang
Published: April 2019

RUNX 1 and RUNX3 drive
Nf1
neurofibromagenesis by mediating the promoter usage and inducing levels of protein expression of PMP22.
Evolution of metabolic novelty: A trichome-expressed invertase creates specialized metabolic diversity in wild tomato
Authors: Leong Bryan J. , Lybrand Daniel B. , Lou Yann-Ru , Fan Pengxiang , Schilmiller Anthony L. , Last Robert L.
Published: April 2019

Evolution of a cell specific invertase enzyme creates phenotypic diversity in wild tomato insecticidal metabolite production.
Autonomous robotic intracardiac catheter navigation using haptic vision
Authors: Fagogenis G. , Mencattelli M. , Machaidze Z. , Rosa B. , Price K. , Wu F. , Weixler V. , Saeed M. , Mayer J. E. , Dupont P. E.
Published: April 2019

A catheter autonomously navigated a blood-filled heart using enhanced sensing and control with results comparable to expert navigation.
The HIF-1α/LC3-II Axis Impacts Fungal Immunity in Human Macrophages
Authors: Friedrich Dirk , Zapf Dorinja , Lohse Björn , Fecher Roger A. , Deepe George S. , Rupp Jan
Published: April 2019

The fungal pathogen
Histoplasma capsulatum
causes a spectrum of disease, ranging from local pulmonary infection to disseminated disease. The organism seeks residence in macrophages, which are permissive for its survival.
Gene Determinants for Mercury Bioremediation as Revealed by Draft Genome Sequence Analysis of
Stenotrophomonas
sp. Strain MA5
Authors: Pathak Ashish , Agarwal Meenakshi , Rathore Rajesh Singh , Chauhan Ashvini
Published: April 2019

A soilborne
Stenotrophomonas
sp. strain (MA5) that is resistant to mercury was isolated. A draft genome sequence-based analysis revealed a suite of gene determinants to resist mercury and other heavy metals, multidrug efflux, stress response, and membrane transport, and these provide cues to a suite of mechanisms that underpin cellular survival in contaminated soil.
Two Divergent Isolates of Turnip Yellows Virus from Pea and Rapeseed and First Report of Turnip Yellows Virus-Associated RNA in Germany
Authors: Gaafar Yahya Z. A. , Ziebell Heiko
Published: April 2019

Two divergent isolates of turnip yellows virus (TuYV) were identified in pea and rapeseed. The nearly complete genome sequences of the virus isolates share 93.3% nucleotide identity with each other and 89.7% and 92.9% with their closest isolate from South Africa.
Complete Genome Sequence of Salmonella enterica Serovar Heidelberg Myophage Meda
Authors: Neff John K. , Xie Yicheng , Gill Jason J. , Liu Mei
Published: April 2019

Salmonella entericaserovar Heidelberg is a multidrug-resistant foodborne pathogen that originated from poultry and cattle. Bacteriophages isolated for this pathogen may be used as biocontrol agents in food products or animals for preventingSalmonellafoodborne diseases.
Isolation, Whole-Genome Sequencing, and Annotation of
Yimella
sp. RIT 621, a Strain That Produces Antibiotic Compounds against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Bacillus subtilis BGSC 168
Authors: Parthasarathy Anutthaman , Wong Narayan H. , Burns Nicolas D. , Aziz-Dickerson Atlantis H. , Dweh Joyceline , Buchanan D’Asia , Savka Michael A. , Hudson André O.
Published: April 2019

Here, we report the isolation, identification, whole-genome sequencing, and annotation of the bacterium
Yimella
sp. strain RIT 621. Concentrated spent medium extract treated with ethyl acetate was found to produce bactericidal compounds against the Gram-positive bacterium
Bacillus subtilis
BGSC 168 and the Gram-negative bacterium
Escherichia coli
ATCC 25922.
Quality improvement initiative using transcutaneous bilirubin nomogram to decrease serum bilirubin sampling in low-risk babies
Authors: Shah Muhammad Hussain , Ariff Shabina , Ali Syed Rehan , Chaudhry Rayaan Asad , Lakhdir Maryam Pyar Ali , Qaiser Fatima , Demas Simon , Hussain Ali Shabbir
Published: April 2019

Background

Screening for neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia in the postnatal ward has traditionally been performed using serum bilirubin sampling, but this has significant drawbacks such as risk of infection and slower reporting time.

Objective

We aimed to assess the impact of introducing transcutaneous bilirubin (TcBR) testing using TcBR nomogram on the number of serum bilirubin samples sent.

Methods

A before-and-after study was performed following the introduction of a protocol integrating the use of the Dragger JM-105 transcutaneous bilirubinometer in the postnatal ward. Only babies born at ≥37 weeks of gestation, weighing ≥2500 g who presented with jaundice after the first 24 hours and within the first 7 days of life were included in the study. The number of total serum bilirubin samples (TSBRs) sent were compared for the 6-month periods before and after (a total of 12 months) implementation of the new protocol.

Results

In the pre-implementation phase, a total of 882 (49%) out of 1815 babies had at least one serum bilirubin sample taken as opposed to a total of 236 (17%) out of 1394 babies in the post-implementation phase. The odds of performing TSBRs at least one time among babies in post-implementation phase were 79% lower than in pre-implementation phase (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.25). We also estimated a significant cost saving of approximately US$1800 over a period of 6 months

Conclusion

TcBR testing used in conjunction with our proposed nomogram significantly reduces the need for serum bilirubin sampling.
The Belle II experiment: Status and physics prospects
Authors: Shiu Jing-Ge
Published: April 2019

The Belle II experiment at SuperKEKB [Formula: see text] collider, Japan, is aiming at exploring flavor physics in high intensity frontier. The target instantaneous luminosity of SuperKEKB is at [Formula: see text], which is 40 times higher than that at KEKB. The renovated Belle II detectors around the interaction point are expected to collect [Formula: see text] data within 7 years. This gives high data statistics for precision measurements and probing new physics in rare decay studies. The Belle II experiment has successfully recorded the first collision events at SuperKEKB in April 2018, and is ready for physics data taking. This paper will cover the current status of Belle II and highlight its prospects on flavor physics.
Single Nanoparticle Electrochemistry
Authors: Patrice Fato Tano , Qiu Kaipei , Ying Yi-Lun , Long Yi-Tao
Published: April 2019

Experimental techniques to monitor and visualize the behaviors of single nanoparticles have not only revealed the significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity of those individuals, which are hidden in ensemble methods, but more importantly, they have also enabled researchers to elucidate the origin of such heterogeneity. In pursuing the intrinsic structure-function relations of single nanoparticles, the recently developed stochastic collision approach demonstrated some early promise. However, it was later realized that the appropriate sizing of a single nanoparticle by an electrochemical method could be far more challenging than initially expected owing to the dynamic motion of nanoparticles in electrolytes and complex charge-transfer characteristics at electrode surfaces. This clearly indicates a strong necessity to integrate single nanoparticle electrochemistry with high-resolution optical microscopy. Hence, this review aims to give a timely update of the latest progress for both electrochemically sensing and seeing single nanoparticles. A major focus is on collision-based measurements, where nanoparticles or single entities in solution impact on a collector electrode and the electrochemical response is recorded. These measurements are further enhanced with optical measurements in parallel. For completeness, advances in other related methods for single nanoparticle electrochemistry are also included.
Small-Molecule-Based Fluorescent Sensors for Selective Detection of Reactive Oxygen Species in Biological Systems
Authors: Bai Xiaoyu , Ng Kenneth King-Hei , Hu Jun Jacob , Ye Sen , Yang Dan
Published: April 2019

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) encompass a collection of intricately linked chemical entities characterized by individually distinct physicochemical properties and biological reactivities. Although excessive ROS generation is well known to underpin disease development, it has become increasingly evident that ROS also play central roles in redox regulation and normal physiology. A major challenge in uncovering the relevant biological mechanisms and deconvoluting the apparently paradoxical roles of distinct ROS in human health and disease lies in the selective and sensitive detection of these transient species in the complex biological milieu. Small-molecule-based fluorescent sensors enable molecular imaging of ROS with great spatial and temporal resolution and have thus been appreciated as excellent tools for aiding discoveries in modern redox biology. We review a selection of state-of-the-art sensors with demonstrated utility in biological systems. By providing a systematic overview based on underlying chemical sensing mechanisms, we wish to highlight the strengths and weaknesses in prior sensor works and propose some guiding principles for the development of future probes.
Genetic Etiologies, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Tuberous Sclerosis Complex
Authors: Salussolia Catherine L. , Klonowska Katarzyna , Kwiatkowski David J. , Sahin Mustafa
Published: April 2019

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant disorder that affects multiple organ systems due to an inactivating variant in either TSC1 or TSC2, resulting in the hyperactivation of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. Dysregulated mTOR signaling results in increased cell growth and proliferation. Clinically, TSC patients exhibit great phenotypic variability, but the neurologic and neuropsychiatric manifestations of the disease have the greatest morbidity and mortality. TSC-associated epilepsy occurs in nearly all patients and is often difficult to treat because it is refractory to multiple antiseizure medications. The advent of mTOR inhibitors offers great promise in the treatment of TSC-associated epilepsy and other neurodevelopmental manifestations of the disease; however, the optimal timing of therapeutic intervention is not yet fully understood.
The Bidirectional Interactions between Resveratrol and Gut Microbiota: An Insight into Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Therapy
Authors: Hu Yaolian , Chen Daiwen , Zheng Ping , Yu Jie , He Jun , Mao Xiangbing , Yu Bing
Published: April 2019

Dysbiosis and oxidative stress in the gut have contributed to the progression of intestinal inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The current study has reported that enteric bacteria mediate redox homeostasis through the regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Resveratrol, one of the most abundant polyphenols, with poor oral bioavailability, is considered as a scavenger of ROS and other free radicals. Recent studies have shown that resveratrol effectively enhances the growth of Lactococcus lactis and inhibits the growth of Enterococcus faecalis. (1) In terms of the two-way relationship between gut microbiota and resveratrol, resveratrol modulates gut microbiota; (2) in terms of resveratrol biotransformation by gut microbiota, we speculate that gut microbiota could be a target of resveratrol to maintain gut homeostasis. Here, we reviewed the current researches about the cellular signaling pathways in intestinal epithelial cells triggered by gut microbiota in response to oxidative stress. These results suggest that the modulation of the gut microbiota through resveratrol supplementation appears as a promising potential approach for the therapy of inflammatory bowel disease.
Deep CNN-Assisted Personalized Recommendation over Big Data for Mobile Wireless Networks
Authors: Zheng Yu , Xu Xiaolong , Qi Lianyong
Published: April 2019

At present, to improve the accuracy and performance for personalized recommendation in mobile wireless networks, deep learning has been widely concerned and employed with social and mobile trajectory big data. However, it is still challenging to implement increasingly complex personalized recommendation applications over big data. In view of this challenge, a hybrid recommendation framework, i.e., deep CNN-assisted personalized recommendation, named DCAPR, is proposed for mobile users. Technically, DCAPR integrates multisource heterogeneous data through convolutional neural network, as well as inputs various features, including image features, text semantic features, and mobile social user trajectories, to construct a deep prediction model. Specifically, we acquire the location information and moving trajectory sequence in the mobile wireless network first. Then, the similarity of users is calculated according to the sequence of moving trajectories to pick the neighboring users. Furthermore, we recommend the potential visiting locations for mobile users through the deep learning CNN network with the social and mobile trajectory big data. Finally, a real-word large-scale dataset, collected from Gowalla, is leveraged to verify the accuracy and effectiveness of our proposed DCAPR model.
The Challenging Diagnosis of Primordial Odontogenic Tumor
Authors: Teixeira Lucas Novaes , Furuse Cristiane , Santos Fabrício Passador , Soares Andresa Borges , de Oliveira Eder Magno Ferreira , de Araújo Ney Soares , de Araújo Vera Cavalcanti
Published: April 2019

Primordial odontogenic tumor (POT) is a benign mixed odontogenic tumor comprised of a loose connective tissue with a similar morphology with dental papilla and exhibiting in its periphery the presence of a columnar epithelium. POT occurs in young patients and typically is associated with an unerupted tooth, with the mandible being the main anatomic site of occurrence. The present manuscript is aimed at describing a new case of POT and reviewing the main biologic findings related to this odontogenic tumor.
Doping Efficiency in Cobalt-Doped ZnO Nanostructured Materials
Authors: Kaphle Amrit , Reed Travis , Apblett Allen , Hari Parameswar
Published: April 2019

Nanostructured ZnO thin films doped with cobalt from 5% to 20% were grown on glass substrates by a low-temperature chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. We compared the doping efficiency of incorporating cobalt in ZnO nanostructured samples doped with cobalt via cobalt nitrate and cobalt chloride. The concentration of cobalt incorporated into the ZnO matrix was precisely determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that only at a 0.1 M ratio of the precursor solutions in CBD using cobalt nitrate as a dopant, the morphology of ZnO yielded hexagonally shaped nanorods. At a 1 M ratio of the precursor solutions, SEM images showed that the morphology of ZnO was nanoplatelets at all doping levels, irrespective of the doping method used. The synthesized nanostructures retained the wurtzite hexagonal structure only at 0.1 M precursor solution using cobalt nitrate doping, which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. In cobalt-doped samples using cobalt chloride as a dopant, XRD analysis confirmed the formation of a Simonkolleite structure. At 300°C, the Simonkolleite structure was converted to a wurtzite structure without changing the morphology. Electrical conductivity measurements at 300 K showed that ZnO nanorods doped with cobalt using cobalt nitrate yielded the lowest resistivity. The molarity of the precursor solution and dopant was found to have a substantial impact on the morphology and doping efficiency of the ZnO nanostructures.