bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Экология сизой чайки (Larus canus heinei Homeyer, 1853) на европейском северо-востоке России
Authors: Кочанов Сергей Калистратович , Минеев Олег Юрьевич , Минеев Юрий Николаевич , Накул Глеб Леонидович
Published: April 2018

Изучены современное распространение, биотопическое распределение, биология размножения и сезонные миграции сизой чайки на европейском северо-востоке России. Установлено, что северная граница распространения вида в Малоземельской тундре проходит по приморским тундрам п-ова

Канин, среднего течения р. Индиги и через низовья р. Вельт, побережья Сенгейского пролива идет к нижнему течению р. Неруты и устью р. Печоры. В Большеземельской тундре отмечены гнездования вида в среднем течении рек Черной и Море-Ю в окрестностях г. Воркуты. В предгорьях Урала гнездовой ареал сизой чайки доходит до среднего течения р. Усы. Показана приуроченность вида к речным и озерным местообитаниям. Учеты численности и плотности населения вида показывают, что его наибольшая численность отмечена в таежной зоне, на северном пределе распространения характер распространения сизой чайки имеет очаговый характер.
Enterovirus D68 in a community hospital: A test-negative case-control study
Authors: Schwartz Kevin L , Wormsbecker Anne E , Xiong Jianhui , Banerji Anna , Booth Timothy F , Gubbay Jonathan B , Johnstone Jennie
Published: April 2018

Background: In August 2014, a large North American outbreak of enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) was observed in association with severe respiratory illnesses in children as well as a possible association with acute flaccid paralysis. The full spectrum of clinical illness associated with EV-D68 is not well known. Objective: To compare children positive and negative for EV-D68 presenting to a community hospital during the North American outbreak in the fall of 2014. Methods: Consecutive nasopharyngeal swabs obtained from children (<18 years old) presenting to a large community hospital with respiratory symptoms in the fall of 2014 were tested for EV-D68. We conducted a test-negative case-control study between EV-D68 positive and EV-D68 negative children to describe the clinical and outcome characteristics. Controls were limited to children who had a nasopharyngeal swab obtained. EV-D68 indeterminate cases were excluded from the primary analysis. All nasopharyngeal swabs were referred to a reference laboratory for polymerase chain reaction testing and identification of EV-D68 through targeting the 5'NTR region and confirmed by amplifying the VP1 gene for serotype determination. Results: Of the 48 children tested there were 9 positive, 36 negative, and 3 indeterminate for EV-D68. Six of the 9 identified cases of EV-D68 were identified in the first week of testing (September 11–18, 2014). There were 35 children (78%) admitted to hospital for ≥1 day. EV-D68 infected children were significantly older (5.2 versus 2.5 years, p = 0.03). They were more likely to be concurrently taking asthma medications (44% versus 11%, p = 0.04) and receiving treatment with salbutamol (100% versus 58%, p = 0.02). There were no cases of severe respiratory distress or acute flaccid paralysis. Three EV-D68 infected children (33%) had viral co-infections identified. Conclusion: This study of a community hospital experience during the fall of 2014 demonstrates a series of mild illnesses from both EV-D68 positive and negative children. EV-D68 isolation was associated with age and asthmatic treatment in children.
Mechanism of Tau Hyperphosphorylation Involving Lysosomal Enzyme Asparagine Endopeptidase in a Mouse Model of Brain Ischemia
Authors: Basurto-Islas Gustavo , Gu Jin-hua , Tung Yunn Chyn , Liu Fei , Iqbal Khalid
Published: April 2018

Dementias including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are multifactorial disorders that involve several different etiopathogenic mechanisms. Cerebral ischemia has been suspected in the altered regulation of protein kinases and phosphatases that leads to hyperphosphorylation of tau and further neurofibrillary pathology, a key hallmark of AD and related neurodegenerative diseases. However, the deregulation of these enzymes and their relationship with ischemia and AD remain unclear. Previously, we reported a mechanism by which the lysosomal enzyme asparagine endopeptidase (AEP) is associated with brain acidosis and AD. In this study, we subjected mice to middle cerebral artery occlusion and found that compared with wild type mice, the ischemia-induced brain injury and motor deficit in AEP-knockout mice are reduced, probably because ischemia activates AEP. AEP cleaves inhibitor 2 of protein phosphatase 2A (I2PP2A), which translocates from the neuronal nucleus to the cytoplasm and produces hyperphosphorylation of tau through inhibition of PP2A. These findings suggest a possible mechanism of tau pathology associated with ischemia.
A Systematic Review and Aggregated Analysis on the Impact of Amyloid PET Brain Imaging on the Diagnosis, Diagnostic Confidence, and Management of Patients being Evaluated for Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Fantoni Enrico R. , Chalkidou Anastasia , O’ Brien John T. , Farrar Gill , Hammers Alexander
Published: April 2018

Background:

Amyloid PET (aPET) imaging could improve patient outcomes in clinical practice, but the extent of impact needs quantification.

Objective:

To provide an aggregated quantitative analysis of the value added by aPET in cognitively impaired subjects.

Methods:

Systematic literature searches were performed in Embase and Medline until January 2017. 1,531 cases over 12 studies were included (1,142 cases over seven studies in the primary analysis where aPET was the key biomarker; the remaining cases included as defined groups in the secondary analysis). Data was abstracted by consensus among two observers and assessed for bias. Clinical utility was measured by diagnostic change, diagnostic confidence, and patient management before and after aPET. Three groups were further analyzed: control patients for whom feedback of aPET scan results was delayed; aPET Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC+) cases; and patients undergoing additional FDG/CSF testing.

Results:

For 1,142 cases with only aPET, 31.3% of diagnoses were revised, whereas 3.2% of diagnoses changed in the delayed aPET control group ( p < 0.0001). Increased diagnostic confidence following aPET was found for 62.1% of 870 patients. Management changes with aPET were found in 72.2% of 740 cases and in 55.5% of 299 cases in the control group ( p < 0.0001). The diagnostic value of aPET in AUC+ patients or when FDG/CSF were additionally available did not substantially differ from the value of aPET alone in the wider population.

Conclusions:

Amyloid PET contributed to diagnostic revision in almost a third of cases and demonstrated value in increasing diagnostic confidence and refining management plans.
Joint regression and classification via relational regularization for Parkinson’s disease diagnosis
Authors: Lei Haijun , Huang Zhongwei , Han Tao , Luo Qiuming , Cai Ye , Liu Gang , Lei Baiying
Published: April 2018

It is known that the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) progress successively, early and accurate diagnosis of the disease is of great importance, which slows the disease deterioration further and alleviates mental and physical suffering. In this paper, we propose a joint regression and classification scheme for PD diagnosis using baseline multi-modal neuroimaging data. Specifically, we devise a new feature selection method via relational learning in a unified multi-task feature selection model. Three kinds of relationships (e.g., relationships among features, responses, and subjects) are integrated to represent the similarities among features, responses, and subjects. Our proposed method exploits five regression variables (depression, sleep, olfaction, cognition scores and a clinical label) to jointly select the most discriminative features for clinical scores prediction and class label identification. Extensive experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method on the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) dataset. Our experimental results demonstrate that multi-modal data can effectively enhance the performance in class label identification compared with single modal data. Our proposed method can greatly improve the performance in clinical scores prediction and outperforms the state-of-art methods as well. The identified brain regions can be recognized for further medical analysis and diagnosis.
Diabetic macular edema grading in retinal images using vector quantization and semi-supervised learning
Authors: Ren Fulong , Cao Peng , Zhao Dazhe , Wan Chao
Published: April 2018

BACKGROUND:

Diabetic macular edema (DME) is one of the severe complication of diabetic retinopathy causing severe vision loss and leads to blindness in severe cases if left untreated.

OBJECTIVE:

To grade the severity of DME in retinal images.

METHODS:

Firstly, the macular is localized using its anatomical features and the information of the macula location with respect to the optic disc. Secondly, a novel method for the exudates detection is proposed. The possible exudate regions are segmented using vector quantization technique and formulated using a set of feature vectors. A semi-supervised learning with graph based classifier is employed to identify the true exudates. Thirdly, the disease severity is graded into different stages based on the location of exudates and the macula coordinates.

RESULTS:

The results are obtained with the mean value of 0.975 and 0.942 for accuracy and F1-scrore, respectively.

CONCLUSION:

The present work contributes to macula localization, exudate candidate identification with vector quantization and exudate candidate classification with semi-supervised learning. The proposed method and the state-of-the-art approaches are compared in terms of performance, and experimental results show the proposed system overcomes the challenge of the DME grading and demonstrate a promising effectiveness.
Experimental Results on Masonry Infilled RC Frames for Monotonic Increasing and Cyclic Lateral Load
Authors: Haris István , Farkas György
Published: April 2018

The main goal of this paper is to present an executed research experiment, planned to include a group of 15, one-third scale, one-bay, two-storey reinforced concrete (RC) frame specimens infilled with masonries with different stiffness. The aim of the complete research experiment was to analyse, in accordance with the international scientific research trend, the behaviour of masonry infilled concrete frames for earthquake action, particularly for cyclic lateral loading under and over the appearance of the main continuous diagonal, corner-to-corner cracks. In the first step the infilled frames were loaded in one direction with monotonic increasing lateral loads. In the second step of the research the infilled frames were investigated in two lateral directions in cases of cyclic top loading with different load histories. This paper shows the conclusions of the experimental programme.
Shear Buckling of Plate Girders with Corrugated Web Restrained by End Stiffeners
Authors: Basiński Witold
Published: April 2018

The study reports the investigations into the effect produced by flexural stiffness of end stiffeners on the design buckling resistance of the sine wave webs of girders. Experimental investigations were concerned with load displacement paths in sinusoidally corrugated web girders, composed of structural items and made to the full scale . The phenomena occurring in experimental investigations were represented using the Finite Element Method. In numerical models based on FEM analysis, the same failure modes of webs that were found in experimental investigations into corrugated web girders were accounted for. FEM numerical analysis was performed for girder models with webs 500, 1000, 1250 and 1500 mm in height, made of corrugated sheet metal 2, 2.5 and 3 mm in thickness. On the basis of laboratory tests and FEM analysis, a new method for estimating design shear buckling resistance for girders with semirigid and rigid end stiffeners was proposed. The method relies on the determination of interactive buckling resistance. The solution presented in this study was compared with formulas currently used for buckling resistance estimation. It was shown that the use of girder rigid end stiffeners produces in increase in shear buckling resistance up to 11%. Conclusions were drawn and recommendations were made with respect to the sizing of sine wave corrugated web girders with semirigid and rigid end stiffeners.
Forecasting Daily Water Consumption: a Case Study in Torun, Poland
Authors: Piasecki Adam , Jurasz Jakub , Kaźmierczak Bartosz
Published: April 2018

This paper presents Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) methods for predicting future daily water consumption values based on three antecedent records of water consumption and humidity forecast for a given day, which are considered as independent variables. Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) is obtained for different configurations of the input sets and of the ANN model structure. Additionally, sets of explanatory variables are enhanced with dummy variables indicating typical days: working day, Saturday, Sunday/public holidays. The results indicated the superiority of the ANN approach over MLR, although the observed difference in performance was very limited.
Analytical and Reliability Study of the Tunnel with Rockbolts in Rock Masses
Authors: Meng Qiang , Zhao Hongbo , Zhu Changxing , Ru Zhongliang
Published: April 2018

Rockbolts are a critical reinforcement ways which widely used in tunnel engineering. In this paper, an analytical solution of circular tunnel with rockbolts was proposed based on homogenization method, and then the stability of a circular tunnel was investigated by considering the uncertainty based on the proposed analytical solution. Elastoplastic analytical solution for unsupported circular tunnel was presented briefly in hydrostatic stress field with a linear Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion and a non-associated flow rule. An analytical solution of circular tunnel with rockbolts was proposed through considering rock mass and rockbolts as a new homogeneous, isotropic, parameters strengthened equivalent composite material. A numerical example is used to verify the proposed analytical solution. The results show that the proposed solution can effectively characterize the mechanical behavior of rock mass and rockbolts in tunnel. Then, the proposed solution is adopted to calculate reliability index and failure probability of tunnel. The results show that the proposed method can also be effectively used to perform the stability and reliability analysis of tunnel and rockbolts have an important effect on plastic zone size and displacement of tunnel.
Evaluation of a systematic career coaching program for medical students in Korea using the Career Readiness Inventory
Authors: Hur Yera , Cho A Ra , Song Eun Ji , Kim Sun
Published: April 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to implement a systematic career coaching program for medical students and to evaluate its effectiveness. Methods: First-year medical students of Konyang University College of Medicine took part in the FLEX Mentoring II: Career Coaching Program from September to December in 2016 and 2017. This program included 16 weekly sessions, comprising a total of 32 hours. The students took the Career Readiness Inventory before and after the program, as a pre- and post-test of the program. Data from 100 students were used (46 students in 2016, 54 students in 2017) for the evaluation. Results: Medical students’ career readiness pre-test was rated as medium. In particular, many students were at a low level in terms of ‘support from colleagues and peers’ (53.0%), ‘career decision’ (48.0%), and ‘efforts for job preparation’ (60.0%). After 16 sessions of a systematic career coaching program, their career readiness level showed a significant increase except for ‘career decision’ (t= 4.242, P= 0.001) and ‘independence’ (t= 0.731, P= 0.466), a sub-factor of ‘career maturity.’ Conclusion: The career readiness level of medical students was not sufficiently high. However, a semester of educational training in a systematic career coaching program helped the students to be better prepared for their career. In particular, the significant reduction in the ‘career decision’ variable after the program can be interpreted as indicating that the students changed their behavior to explore and approach their career more seriously and carefully, which also underscores the need for the implementation of career coaching programs in medical schools.
Deconstruction and Translation Research
Authors: Sun Yifeng
Published: April 2018

Deconstruction is decidedly unsettling in that it destabilizes the otherwise comfortably assumed understanding of the nature of translation. What is also controversial is that it may make translation impossible, considering that it explicitly acknowledges the impossibility of translation. Yet Derrida emphasizes the necessity of translation as well, thus foregrounding the need to negotiate with the non-negotiable, and for this reason, to translate the untranslatable. Deconstruction captures and elucidates the complexity of translation in relation to the variability and complexity of its nature and practice. Despite the disconcerting observation of his devastatingly relativist overtone and open-endedness, Derrida does not uphold complete free play, as is repeatedly pointed out by himself and other scholars. This paper argues that the context of translation plays a regulating role and intends to unravel what he calls translation as both possible and impossible, both respectful and abusive. Inspired by Derrida's profound contention that translation is in a way more about ‘what is not there’ than ‘what is there’, this paper will map some of the multiple implications of meaning and various modes of representation in translation, in which different meanings can be played with so as to give rise to spaces for exploring and expanding the range of translation strategies and methods.
InvisibleDao, VisibleDe, andDifféranceat Work inDao De Jing
Authors: Wang Jinghui
Published: April 2018

This paper, a cross-cultural exploration of the Chinese text Dao De Jing, retools Derrida's différance and his questions around the ‘relevant’ translation as a way to deepen an understanding of the heterogeneous and ambiguous aspects of ‘Dao ([Formula: see text])’, ‘De ([Formula: see text])’, ‘Qian ([Formula: see text])’ and Kun ([Formula: see text]). While tracing the etymological roots and evolutions of these Chinese characters that are key to the spirit of Dao De Jing, this paper highlights its polysemic ambiguity and moral productivity, in particular, and shows, with Derrida, how one can benefit from paying deconstructive attention to the “body” of the text that endures the test of time such as acts of translation.
Hospitality and Sovereign Violence: Derrida on Lot
Authors: Mansfield Nick
Published: April 2018

Derrida's work on hospitality presents particular local conventions of hospitality as in a necessary but impossible relationship with an absolute hospitality, the obligation to welcome the other without conditions. Although this absolute hospitality is commonly read as the aspiration to which all of our practices of hospitality should tend, Derrida proposes a series of examples that show the dangers implicit in an automatic or limitless welcoming. The most famous of these is that of the Old Testament patriarch, Lot. The aim of this paper is to show, however, that the Genesis story is not primarily a parable about correct and incorrect practices of hospitality. In fact, what is at stake in the visit of the angels to Lot is the covenant between Abraham's line and the divine and the coming into the world of God's absolute sovereign violence. Derrida's account of hospitality is thus part of his discussion of sovereignty, its limitlessness, force and danger.
Rotation of Low-mass Stars in Upper Scorpius and ρ Ophiuchus with K2
Authors: Rebull L. M. , Stauffer J. R. , Cody A. M. , Hillenbrand L. A. , David T. J. , Pinsonneault M.
Published: April 2018

We present an analysis of K2 light curves (LCs) for candidate members of the young Upper Sco (USco) association (∼8 Myr) and the neighboring ρ Oph embedded cluster (∼1 Myr). We establish ∼1300 stars as probable members, ∼80% of which are periodic. The phased LCs have a variety of shapes which can be attributed to physical causes ranging from stellar pulsation and stellar rotation to disk-related phenomena. We identify and discuss a number of observed behaviors. The periods are ∼0.2–30 days with a peak near 2 days and the rapid period end nearing breakup velocity. M stars in the young USco region rotate systematically faster than GK stars, a pattern also present in K2 data for the older Pleiades and Praesepe systems. At higher masses (types FGK), the well-defined period–color relationship for slowly rotating stars seen in the Pleiades and Praesepe systems is not yet present in USco. Circumstellar disks are present predominantly among the more slowly rotating M stars in USco, with few disks in the subday rotators. However, M dwarfs with disks rotate faster on average than FGK systems with disks. For four of these disked M dwarfs, we provide direct evidence for disk locking based on the K2 LC morphologies. Our preliminary analysis shows a relatively mass-independent spin-up by a factor of ∼3.5 between USco and the Pleiades, then mass-dependent spin-down between Pleiades and Praesepe.
The HOSTS Survey—Exozodiacal Dust Measurements for 30 Stars
Authors: Ertel S. , Defrère D. , Hinz P. , Mennesson B. , Kennedy G. M. , Danchi W. C. , Gelino C. , Hill J. M. , Hoffmann W. F. , Rieke G. , Shannon A. , Spalding E. , Stone J. M. , Vaz A. , Weinberger A. J. , Willems P. , Absil O. , Arbo P. , Bailey V. P. , Beichman C. , Bryden G. , Downey E. C. , Durney O. , Esposito S. , Gaspar A. , Grenz P. , Haniff C. A. , Leisenring J. M. , Marion L. , McMahon T. J. , Millan-Gabet R. , Montoya M. , Morzinski K. M. , Pinna E. , Power J. , Puglisi A. , Roberge A. , Serabyn E. , Skemer A. J. , Stapelfeldt K. , Su K. Y. L. , Vaitheeswaran V. , Wyatt M. C.
Published: April 2018

The Hunt for Observable Signatures of Terrestrial Systems survey searches for dust near the habitable zones (HZs) around nearby, bright main-sequence stars. We use nulling interferometry in the N band to suppress the bright stellar light and to probe for low levels of HZ dust around the 30 stars observed so far. Our overall detection rate is 18%, including four new detections, among which are the first three around Sun-like stars and the first two around stars without any previously known circumstellar dust. The inferred occurrence rates are comparable for early-type and Sun-like stars, but decrease from

% for stars with previously detected cold dust to

% for stars without such excess, confirming earlier results at higher sensitivity. For completed observations on individual stars, our sensitivity is five to ten times better than previous results. Assuming a lognormal excess luminosity function, we put upper limits on the median HZ dust level of 13 zodis (95% confidence) for a sample of stars without cold dust and of 26 zodis when focusing on Sun-like stars without cold dust. However, our data suggest that a more complex luminosity function may be more appropriate. For stars without detectable Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI) excess, our upper limits are almost reduced by a factor of two, demonstrating the strength of LBTI target vetting for future exo-Earth imaging missions. Our statistics are limited so far, and extending the survey is critical to informing the design of future exo-Earth imaging surveys.
Far-ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Recent Comets with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope
Authors: Feldman Paul D. , Weaver Harold A. , A’Hearn Michael F. , Combi Michael R. , Russo Neil Dello
Published: April 2018

Since its launch in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has served as a platform with unique capabilities for remote observations of comets in the far-ultraviolet region of the spectrum. Successive generations of imagers and spectrographs have seen large advances in sensitivity and spectral resolution enabling observations of the diverse properties of a representative number of comets during the past 25 years. To date, four comets have been observed in the far-ultraviolet by the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS), the last spectrograph to be installed in HST, in 2009: 103P/Hartley 2, C/2009 P1 (Garradd), C/2012 S1 (ISON), and C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy). COS has unprecedented sensitivity, but limited spatial information in its 2.″5 diameter circular aperture, and our objective was to determine the CO production rates from measurements of the CO Fourth Positive system in the spectral range of 1400–1700 Å. In the two brightest comets, 19 bands of this system were clearly identified. The water production rates were derived from nearly concurrent observations of the OH (0,0) band at 3085 Å by the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. The derived CO/

production rate ratio ranged from ∼0.3% for Hartley 2 to ∼22% for Garradd. In addition, strong partially resolved emission features due to multiplets of S i, centered at 1429 Å and 1479 Å, and of C i at 1561 Å and 1657 Å, were observed in all four comets. Weak emission from several lines of the

Lyman band system, excited by solar Lyα and Lyβ pumped fluorescence, were detected in comet Lovejoy.
Ion Traps at the Sun: Implications for Elemental Fractionation
Authors: Fleishman Gregory D. , Musset Sophie , Bommier Véronique , Glesener Lindsay
Published: April 2018

Why the tenuous solar outer atmosphere, or corona, is much hotter than the underlying layers remains one of the greatest challenges for solar modeling. Detailed diagnostics of the coronal thermal structure come from extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission. The EUV emission is produced by heavy ions in various ionization states and depends on the amount of these ions and on plasma temperature and density. Any nonuniformity of the elemental distribution in space or variability in time affects thermal diagnostics of the corona. Here we theoretically predict ionized chemical element concentrations in some areas of the solar atmosphere, where the electric current is directed upward. We then detect these areas observationally, by comparing the electric current density with the EUV brightness in an active region. We found a significant excess in EUV brightness in the areas with positive current density rather than negative. Therefore, we report the observational discovery of substantial concentrations of heavy ions in current-carrying magnetic flux tubes, which might have important implications for the elemental fractionation in the solar corona known as the first ionization potential effect. We call such areas of heavy ion concentration the “ion traps.” These traps hold enhanced ion levels until they are disrupted by a flare, whether large or small.
Suppression of AGN-driven Turbulence by Magnetic Fields in a Magnetohydrodynamic Model of the Intracluster Medium
Authors: Bambic Christopher J. , Morsony Brian J. , Reynolds Christopher S.
Published: April 2018

We investigate the role of active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback in turbulent heating of galaxy clusters. Specifically, we analyze the production of turbulence by g-modes generated by the supersonic expansion and buoyant rise of AGN-driven bubbles. Previous work that neglects magnetic fields has shown that this process is inefficient, with less than 1% of the injected energy ending up in turbulence. This inefficiency primarily arises because the bubbles are shredded apart by hydrodynamic instabilities before they can excite sufficiently strong g-modes. Using a plane-parallel model of the intracluster medium (ICM) and 3D ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations, we examine the role of a large-scale magnetic field that is able to drape around these rising bubbles, preserving them from hydrodynamic instabilities. We find that while magnetic draping appears better able to preserve AGN-driven bubbles, the driving of g-modes and the resulting production of turbulence is still inefficient. The magnetic tension force prevents g-modes from transitioning into the nonlinear regime, suppressing turbulence in our model ICM. Our work highlights the ways in which ideal MHD is an insufficient description for the cluster feedback process, and we discuss future work such as the inclusion of anisotropic viscosity as a means of simulating high β plasma kinetic effects. These results suggest the hypothesis that other mechanisms of heating the ICM plasma such as sound waves or cosmic rays may be responsible for the observed feedback in galaxy clusters.
RATIR Follow-up of LIGO/Virgo Gravitational Wave Events
Authors: Golkhou V. Zach , Butler Nathaniel R. , Strausbaugh Robert , Troja Eleonora , Kutyrev Alexander , Lee William H. , Román-Zúñiga Carlos G. , Watson Alan M.
Published: April 2018

We have recently witnessed the first multi-messenger detection of colliding neutron stars through gravitational waves (GWs) and electromagnetic (EM) waves (GW 170817) thanks to the joint efforts of LIGO/Virgo and Space/Ground-based telescopes. In this paper, we report on the RATIR follow-up observation strategies and show the results for the trigger G194575. This trigger is not of astrophysical interest; however, it is of great interest to the robust design of a follow-up engine to explore large sky-error regions. We discuss the development of an image-subtraction pipeline for the six-color, optical/NIR imaging camera RATIR. Considering a two-band (i and r) campaign in the fall of 2015, we find that the requirement of simultaneous detection in both bands leads to a factor ∼10 reduction in false alarm rate, which can be further reduced using additional bands. We also show that the performance of our proposed algorithm is robust to fluctuating observing conditions, maintaining a low false alarm rate with a modest decrease in system efficiency that can be overcome utilizing repeat visits. Expanding our pipeline to search for either optical or NIR detections (three or more bands), considering separately the optical riZ and NIR YJH bands, should result in a false alarm rate ≈1% and an efficiency ≈90%. RATIR’s simultaneous optical/NIR observations are expected to yield about one candidate transient in the vast 100 deg2 LIGO error region for prioritized follow-up with larger aperture telescopes.
Discovery of a New Classical Nova Shell Around a Nova-like Cataclysmic Variable
Authors: Guerrero Martín A. , Sabin Laurence , Tovmassian Gagik , Santamaría Edgar , Michel Raul , Ramos-Larios Gerardo , Alarie Alexandre , Morisset Christophe , Bustamante Luis C. Bermúdez , González Chantal P. , Wright Nicholas J.
Published: April 2018

The morphology and optical spectrum of IPHASX J210204.7+471015, a nebula classified as a possible planetary nebula are, however, strikingly similar to those of AT Cnc, a classical nova shell around a dwarf nova. To investigate its true nature, we have obtained high-resolution narrowband [O iii] and [N ii] images and deep optical spectra. The nebula shows an arc of [N ii]-bright knots notably enriched in nitrogen, while an [O iii]-bright bow shock is progressing throughout the ISM. Diagnostic line ratios indicate that shocks are associated with the arc and bow shock. The central star of this nebula has been identified by its photometric variability. Time-resolved photometric and spectroscopic data of this source reveal a period of 4.26 hr, which is attributed to a binary system. The optical spectrum is notably similar to that of RW Sex, a cataclysmic variable star (CV) of the UX UMa nova-like (NL) type. Based on these results, we propose that IPHASX J210204.7 + 471015 is a classical nova shell observed around a CV-NL system in quiescence.
Estimating the Mass of the Milky Way Using the Ensemble of Classical Satellite Galaxies
Authors: Patel Ekta , Besla Gurtina , Mandel Kaisey , Sohn Sangmo Tony
Published: April 2018

High precision proper motion (PM) measurements are available for approximately 20% of all known dwarf satellite galaxies of the Milky Way (MW). Here we extend the Bayesian framework of Patel et al. to include all MW satellites with measured 6D phase-space information and apply it with the Illustris-Dark simulation to constrain the MW’s mass. Using the properties of each MW satellite individually, we find that the scatter among mass estimates is reduced when the magnitude of specific orbital angular momentum (j) is adopted, rather than their combined instantaneous positions and velocities. We also find that high j satellites (i.e., Leo II) constrain the upper limits for the MW’s mass and low j satellites, rather than the highest speed satellites (i.e., Leo I and Large Magellanic Cloud), set the lower mass limits. When j of all classical satellites is used to simultaneously estimate the MW’s mass, we conclude the halo mass is 0.85+0.23
−0.26 × 1012

(including Sagittarius dSph) and 0.96+0.29
−0.28 × 1012

(excluding Sagittarius dSph), cautioning that low j satellites on decaying orbits like Sagittarius dSph may bias the distribution. These estimates markedly reduce the current factor of two spread in the mass range of the MW. We also find a well-defined relationship between host halo mass and satellite j distribution, which yields the prediction that upcoming PMs for ultra-faint dwarfs should reveal j within 5 × 103–104 kpc km s−1. This is a promising method to significantly constrain the cosmologically expected mass range for the MW and eventually M31 as more satellite PMs become available.
Impact of Silver Nanoparticles on Gene Expression in Aspergillus Flavus Producer Aflatoxin B1
Authors: Deabes Mohamed Mahmoud , Khalil Wagdy Khalil Bassaly , Attallah Ashraf Gamil , El-Desouky Tarek Ahmed , Naguib Khayria Mahmoud
Published: April 2018

AIM: In this study, we evaluated the effect of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the production of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) through assessment the transcription activity of aflatoxin biosynthesis pathway genes in Aspergillus flavus ATCC28542.MATERIAL AND METHODS: The mRNAs were quantitative by Real Time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) of A. flavus grown in yeast extract sucrose (YES) medium containing AgNPs. Specific primers that are involved in the AFB1 biosynthesis which highly specific to A. flavus, O-methyltransferase gene (omt-A), were designed and used to detect the fungus activity by quantitative PCR assay. The AFB1 production (from A. flavus growth) which effected by AgNPs were measured in YES medium by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC).RESULTS: The AFB1 produced by A. flavus have the highest reduction with 1.5 mg -100 ml of AgNPs were added in media those records 88.2%, 67.7% and 83.5% reduction by using AgNP HA1N, AgNP HA2N and AgNP EH, respectively. While on mycelial growth give significantly inhibitory effect. These results have been confirmed by qRT-PCR which showed that culture of A. flavus with the presence of AgNPs reduced the expression levels of omt-A gene.CONCLUSION: Based on the results of the present study, AgNPs inhibit growth and AFB1 produced by Aspergillus flavus ATCC28542. This was confirmed through RT-PCR approach showing the effect of AgNPs on omt-A gene involved in aflatoxin biosynthesis.
Treatment of a Patient with Merkel Cell Skin Carcinoma Using Radiation Therapy - A Case Report
Authors: Petrov Andrej , Kraleva Slavica , Kubelka-Sabit Katerina , Petrova Deva
Published: April 2018

BACKGROUND: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, very aggressive tumour. The pathogenesis remains unclear, but UV radiation, immunosuppression, and the presence of Merkel cell polyomavirus in the tumour genome appear to have a key role. Merkel cell carcinoma is a highly aggressive tumour that often has a lethal end.CAS REPORT: A patient at 93 years of age comes for an examination by a dermatologist due to a rapidly growing nodular tumour growth in the forehead area. A tumour was about 3 cm in size. It had no signs of basal-cell carcinoma, no arborising vascularisation, no pigmentations on dermoscopy. Clinically, an eventual Merkel cell carcinoma was considered for the patient, but other primary skin tumours had to be excluded, as well as the possibility that regarding the patient’s age, it may be a metastatic deposit. A skin biopsy was performed, as well as H-E examination and immunohistochemical analyses (positive CD56, positivity of neuroendocrine markers synaptophysin, chromogranin) which were in favour of Merkel cell carcinoma of the skin. After setting the diagnosis, our patient was treated with therapy which led to a complete withdrawal of a tumour. However, after 3 months the patient had repeated relapse of a tumour at the same site on the forehead and metastases in the retroauricular lymph nodes bilaterally. It shows that the radiotherapy as monotherapy has a great effect on the removal of the tumour formation, but unfortunately, it has no impact on lesion recurrence. It is also compatible with the literature data.CONCLUSION: In many adult patients, as our case suggests, radiotherapy could be a good palliative treatment opportunity that should be considered, as well as a combination of radiation therapy with other oncologic therapeutic options.
Computed Tomography Scan Findings in Children from a Tropical Region
Authors: Inah Grace B. , Kajogbola Gbenga , Ani Nchiewe
Published: April 2018

BACKGROUND: Computed Tomography in the diagnosis of pathologies in children is becoming increasingly popular.AIMS: To document indications and findings of referrals for CT scan in children in a private Radio - diagnostic Center in a developing environment.METHOD: Children aged 6 months to 13 years referred to a private Radio - diagnostic Center, between June 2015 to June 2016 were studied. Patients were examined using GE CT Brivo 385 machine.RESULT: Forty - seven children were referred for CT scan during the period. Of these 45 (95.47%) were referred from the Teaching Hospital located in the same city. A brain scan was most commonly performed (93.6%) while the frequency of abdominal CT was (6.4%). The main indications for the referrals were delayed milestones (61.7%) and seizures (17.0%). The major findings were cerebral atrophy 26 (55.32%), and cerebral infarction 3 (6.38%).CONCLUSION: This study shows a predominance of brain CT scan request in children, delayed milestones and seizures being the most common indications, while cerebral atrophy and cerebral infarction were the common brain findings. In the absence of MRI, CT scan provides a suitable alternative for imaging of the brain and abdominal pathologies in a developing environment like ours.
Innovative One Step Melanoma Surgical Approach (OSMS): Not a Myth-It’s a Reality! Case Related Analysis of a Patient with a Perfect Clinical Outcome Reported from the Bulgarian Society for Dermatologic Surgery (BULSDS)!
Authors: Tchernev Georgi , Chernin Svetoslav , Lozev Ilia , Lotti Torello , Stavrov Konstantin , Temelkova Ivanka , Pidakev Ivan
Published: April 2018

BACKGROUND: With the newly described one step melanoma surgical approach, some patient groups could be successfully treated within one surgical session. Depending on the tumour thickness (measured preoperatively) at a later stage (also depending on the ultrasound findings of the locoregional lymph nodes) the respective surgical intervention is planned with the respective field of surgical safety (one-stage melanoma surgery with or without removal of lymph nodes). The innovations could make to some extent some of the already existing algorithms more difficult (due to the introduction of a high-frequency ultrasound to determine the tumor thickness preoperatively as an absolute prerequisite for dermosurgical centres), but it would also lead with absolute certainty to better or least optimal results regarding the prognosis, the side effects and the financial factor also.CASE REPORT: We present a patient from the Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Dermatologic Surgery at the Medical Institute-Ministry of Interior (MVR-Sofia), treated with the one-step melanoma surgery method with perfect final results. The preoperative tumour thickness determined via ultrasound and the postoperatively measured histological tumour thickness was identical: between 0.98 and 1 mm, which allowed removal of the melanoma lesion with a field of surgical security of 1 cm in all directions and did not require additional removal of a draining lymph node or excisions.CONCLUSION: Thanks to this new approach, some patients could avoid one surgical intervention, which could be interpreted as a significant advantage or probably also survival benefit. This methodology and its successful application were first officialised by the representatives of the Bulgarian Society for Dermatologic Surgery- (BULSDS), and the purpose of this action, in general, is to fully improve clinical management of patients suffering from cutaneous melanoma in terms of compactness by 1) reducing the number of unnecessary surgeries or the number of surgical interventions in general; 2) reducing side effects occurring in surgeries and 3) introducing a serious optimization in terms of financial resources needed or used in the second hospitalization of patients. The question remains open whether the accepted or the current recommendations for surgical treatment of melanoma will be transformed or adapted for the matching patient groups.
Movement ecology of brown bears (Ursus arctos) in the Romanian Eastern Carpathians
Authors: Pop Ioan Mihai , Bereczky Leonardo , Chiriac Silviu , Iosif Ruben , Nita Andreea , Popescu Viorel Dan , Rozylowicz Laurențiu
Published: April 2018

Brown bear movement patterns are driven by their opportunistic feeding behaviour, with their complex life history and seasonality playing an important role in habitat selection. Within a large unfragmented forest habitats persisting over decades in the Romanian Carpathians and a prohibitive hunting management during 40 years of communist centralised game management, information about brown bear movements and spatial ecology is lacking. Using data obtained from 13 brown bears fitted with GPS telemetry collars, we estimated home ranges and core activity areas and we investigated the daily, seasonal and altitudinal movements of brown bears in the Eastern Romanian Carpathians and surrounding high hills. The median MCP95% home ranges of brown bears was 629.92 km2 and the median size of core activity areas (estimated as 50% kernel density) was 36.37 km2, with no significant differences between males and females. The mean daily distance travelled, measured as daily displacement length, was 1818 m and an analysis of seasonal movements indicated significant differences between seasons (greatest movements during the Hyperphagia season). The GPS-collared brown bears travelled between a minimum altitude measured at ~234 m and a maximum at ~1634 m. Analysing the spatial overlap between the estimated home range and the game management units (GMU) limits, we obtained a median number of 8 GMUs overlapping totally or partially with estimated home range polygons. Our study, using GPS telemetry, highlights the complex spatial ecology of the brown bear in the Romanian Carpathians, with larger home range size than those estimated in other European brown bear populations and with daily movements that vary by season and within a large altitude range. Our study supports the implementation of brown bear monitoring at a regional scale, rather than focusing on county level GMUs as the monitoring unit.
La territorialisation du cyberespace : la fin de la mondialisation ?
Authors: de Lespinois Jérôme
Published: April 2018

Hervé Coutau-Bégarie n’a pas spécifiquement réfléchi au cyberespace mais le processus actuel de territorialisation du cyberespace s’inscrit parfaitement dans le schéma décrit dans son ouvrage 2030, la fin de la mondialisation ? Cet article examine comment les États investissent le cyberespace pour y affirmer leur souveraineté. Il propose tout d’abord trois modèles théoriques de développement du cyberespace : libertarien, libéral ou westphalien. Puis, il montre comment le modèle westphalien prend l’ascendant sur le modèle libéral compte tenu du processus actuel de territorialisation des données numériques et de l’érection de frontières dans le cyberespace s’appuyant sur la territorialisation de l’infrastructure informationnelle.
Doubles explorations d’« identité (ipséité) » dans le cas de l’ Apologia pro vita sua
Authors: Kanno Kota
Published: April 2018

Comment comprendre l’ Apologia pro vita sua de Newman ? Pour répondre à cette question, nous analysons cette œuvre au moyen de la notion ricœurienne d’ipséité. Cette notion, liée à celle d’identité narrative, permet d’élucider le motif rédactionnel de l’ Apologia en clarifiant sa cohérence, qui n’est pas formelle mais plutôt liée à un certain changement de vie. Par la suite, au moment où il réfléchit à sa conversion, une question s’impose à lui : comment comprendre le changement dans l’expression de la foi au sein de l’Église catholique ? C’est aussi une question d’identité, au sens non de « mêmeté », mais d’« ipséité ». Ainsi, dans l’ Apologia , il y a deux quêtes d’« ipséité » : par la narration, Newman recherche la cohérence substantielle de son parcours, avant de s’interroger sur la cohérence de l’Église catholique par le biais de l’« ipséité » du christianisme.
L’oubli du pluralisme dans la démocratie agonistique. Schmitt lu par Mouffe : une offensive manquée contre le libéralisme post-politique
Authors: Sommerer Erwan
Published: April 2018

Nous démontrerons dans cet article l’échec de l’usage chez Chantal Mouffe de certains concepts de Carl Schmitt à des fins de contestation de la tendance post-politique du libéralisme. Plus précisément, nous constaterons que les carences que Mouffe dénonce dans la pensée libérale se retrouvent dans sa propre théorie de la démocratie agonistique : malgré ses attaques contre Rawls, cette philosophe met en œuvre une même tentative de neutralisation consensualiste du politique au profit d’un modèle de société anti-pluraliste d’où le conflit est évacué. Nous nous demanderons alors pour finir en quoi cet échec nous renseigne sur le prix à payer pour accomplir jusqu’au bout le geste théorique entamé par Mouffe, mais demeuré inachevé, pour réintroduire le politique dans l’espace public.
Comparative Evaluation of Standard ILM Peel With Inverted ILM Flap Technique In Large Macular Holes: A Prospective, Randomized Study
Authors: Manasa S. , Kakkar Prateek , Kumar Atul , Chandra Parijat , Kumar Vinod , Ravani Raghav
Published: April 2018

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:

To compare the outcomes of inverted internal limiting membrane (ILM) flap technique (IFT) with the standard ILM peel (SIP) for large macular holes (MHs).

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

This is a prospective, randomized study in which 100 patients with idiopathic MHs with minimum linear dimension of 600 μm or greater were recruited. Group 1 underwent SIP and group 2 underwent IFT. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), type of MH closure, and multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) were evaluated at presentation, 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months postoperatively.

RESULTS:

Mean postoperative BCVA was 0.86 ± 0.19 in group 1 and 0.67 ± 0.3 in group 2 at 3 months postoperatively (
P
= .001). Type 1 closure was observed in 34.04% of patients in group 1 and in 62.79% of patients in group 2 (
P
= .02). mfERG showed improvement in both groups.

CONCLUSION:

IFT provides superior outcomes compared to SIP and, hence, could be considered as the surgical modality of choice in large MH.

[
Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina
. 2018;49:236–240.]