bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Advances in Concurrent Computing for Digital Stochastic Measurement Simulation
Authors: Pjevalica Nebojsa , Pjevalica Velibor , Petrovic Nenad
Published: April 2019

This paper introduces a concurrent computing technique for the acceleration of digital stochastic measurement simulations. The digital stochastic measurement presents an advanced methodology based on the specific parallel hardware structure, utilized for an orthogonal transformation calculus/decomposition. Methodology is analyzed in detail, starting from the very basic idea, toward recent references, covering main research directions and trends. An oversampling nature of the evaluated digital stochastic measurement, along with demanding arithmetic requirements, implies exhausting simulation complexity. As a test case, several typical power grid signals were harmonically analyzed through a discrete Fourier transformation based on the proposed methodology. A harmonic decomposition was simulated with several levels of computing concurrency. Through all the simulated scenarios main success criterion was model accuracy, while the parameter used for selection of the optimal simulation computing technique was the overall calculus speed. Final results exposed thread pool computing technique as an optimal simulation platform.
Finite groups with a certain number of values of the Chermak–Delgado measure
Authors: Tărnăuceanu Marius
Published: April 2019

In this paper, we study the finite groups whose Chermak–Delgado measure has exactly [Formula: see text] values. We will focus especially on the case [Formula: see text]. These groups determine an interesting class of [Formula: see text]-groups containing cyclic groups of prime order and extraspecial [Formula: see text]-groups.
Evolution of Cavitation Activity During Ultrasonic Nanostructuring of Magnesium
Authors: Brezhneva N. , Dezhkunov N. V. , Mazheika S. O. , Nenashkina A. , Skorb E. V.
Published: April 2019

In this paper we focused on the evolution of transient cavitation activity during the sonochemical treatment of magnesium aqueous suspensions. We have investigated the non-linear behavior of the cavitation activity related to the hydrogen released in the reaction of magnesium with water. Ultrasound modifies magnesium particles leading to the formation of nanostructured Mg(OH)2 phase (brucite) resulting in the chemical and sonochemical impacts on magnesium.
The Changes in Particle Distribution Over the Polymer Surface Under the Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma
Authors: Lapitskaya V. A. , Kuznetsova T. A. , Melnikova G. B. , Chizhik S. A. , Kotov D. A.
Published: April 2019

Surface properties of a two-layer polymer PMF-351 film exposed to the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) low-temperature plasma have been studied by atomic force microscopy. It is established that such treatment leads to an increase of surface adhesion. The largest adhesion forces of about 165[Formula: see text]nN were achieved after 5[Formula: see text]min of treatment at the distance of 2[Formula: see text]sm, power of 30[Formula: see text]W and nitrogen flow of 3.1[Formula: see text]L/min. SiO2 nanoparticles with diameters of 10–20[Formula: see text]nm were distributed over the treated polymer film surface from a suspension by centrifugation and they formed uniform rounded formations with the diameters of 50–100[Formula: see text]nm.
Study of Safety of SiO2(Ag)–Si System by Cytoflourometric Method of Analysis of Reactive Oxygen Species and Cell Death in Culture
Authors: Anisovich M. V. , Shumskaya A. E. , Bundyukova V. D. , Yakimchuk D. V. , Kaniukov E. Yu.
Published: April 2019

The potential ability of SiO2(Ag)–Si nanosystem to induce oxidative stress and death of human peripheral blood cells involving reactive oxygen species was studied using a double-color cytoflourometry method. This SiO2(Ag)–Si system with silver dendrites obtained via the metal deposition into the pores of SiO2 template on a silicon substrate was shown to increase the concentration of ROS but not cause the cell death associated with oxidative stress. Such systems are prospective for the analysis of biological substances with Raman scattering.
Photocurrent Hysteresis of Sol–Gel Derived Strontium Titanate Films on Silicon
Authors: Rudenko M. V. , Kholov P. A. , Gaponenko N. V. , Mukhin N. V. , Ivanov V. A. , Stas’kov N. I.
Published: April 2019

SrTiO3 and SrTiO3:Nd films of 110[Formula: see text]nm and 210[Formula: see text]nm thickness were fabricated using the sol–gel technology on silicon. Their current–voltage characteristics were investigated with and without illumination. The film structures are photosensitive and exhibit the hysteresis on the forward and reverse bias with loop broadening at the reverse part.
Field Emission in Silicon Vacuum Nanostructure
Authors: Trafimenko A. G. , Podryabinkin D. A. , Danilyuk A. L.
Published: April 2019

Transmission coefficient and field emission current in a silicon vacuum nanostructure with a pyramidal cathode were calculated as a function of applied voltage, size of the cathode and distance between the anode and cathode by the phase function method. The field emission current density in the range of 1–10 A/cm2 was found to be achieved by varying the distance between the anode and cathode in the range of 15–25[Formula: see text]nm and the applied voltage in the range of 1.2–2.3[Formula: see text]V.
Two Parameters Confinement Model for Clay Brick Masonry
Authors: Ramaglia Giancarlo , Spena Francesco Russo , Lignola Gian Piero , Prota Andrea
Published: April 2019

Modeling of masonry confinement has been usually derived from concrete confinement, which was deeply tested in the last decades. However concrete and masonry have some crucial differences, e.g., ordinary concrete performance can be usually fully defined by the cylindrical compressive strength, while masonry does not. In the present work, a failure criterion is considered on a solid mechanics base. Such criteria are useful not only to introduce non-uniform stress states, as those developed in non-axisymmetric confined elements, but also to be implemented in FEM. The validity of the adopted failure criterion has been checked against actively confined clay brick masonry and a database of passive confinement tests available in the scientific literature.
Contact Analysis of Functionally Graded Materials Using Smoothed Finite Element Methods
Authors: Zhang Y. F. , Yue J. H. , Li M. , Niu R. P.
Published: April 2019

In the paper, the smoothed finite element method (S-FEM) based on linear triangular elements is used to solve 2D solid contact problems for functionally graded materials. Both conforming and nonconforming contacts algorithms are developed using modified Coulomb friction contact models including tangential strength and normal adhesion. Based on the smoothed Galerkin weak form, the system stiffness matrices are created using the formulation procedures of node-based S-FEM (NS-FEM) and edge-based S-FEM (ES-FEM), and the contact interface equations are discretized by contact point-pairs. Then these discretized system equations are converted into a form of linear complementarity problems (LCPs), which can be further solved efficiently using the Lemke method. The singular value decomposition method is used to deal with the singularity of the stiffness matrices in the procedure constructing the standard LCP, which can greatly improve the stability and accuracy of the numerical results. Numerical examples are presented to investigate the effects of the various parameters of functionally graded materials and comparisons have been made with reference solutions and the standard FEM. The numerical results demonstrate that the strain energy solutions of ES-FEM have higher convergence rate and accuracy compared with that of NS-FEM and FEM for functionally graded materials through the present contact analysis approach.
Seeing through dynamics scattering media: Suppressing diffused reflection based on decorrelation time difference
Authors: Liu Honglin , Wang Xin , Gao Jingjing , Yu Tingyi , Han Shensheng
Published: April 2019

We observed a phenomenon that different scattering components have different decorrelation time. Based on decorrelation time difference, we proposed a method to image an object hidden behind a turbid medium in a reflection mode. In order to suppress the big disturbance caused by reflection and back scattering, two frames of speckles are recorded in sequence, and their difference is used for image reconstruction. Our method is immune to both medium motions and object movements.
New theropod dinosaur teeth from the Middle Jurassic of the Isle of Skye, Scotland
Authors: Young Chloe M. E. , Hendrickx Christophe , Challands Thomas J. , Foffa Davide , Ross Dugald A. , Butler Ian B. , Brusatte Stephen L.
Published: April 2019

The Middle Jurassic is a largely mysterious interval in dinosaur evolution, as few fossils of this age are known worldwide. In recent years, the Isle of Skye has yielded a substantial record of trackways, and a more limited inventory of body fossils, that indicate a diverse fauna of Middle Jurassic dinosaurs living in and around lagoons and deltas. Comparatively little is known about the predators in these faunas (particularly theropod dinosaurs), as their fossils are among the rarest discoveries. We here report two new isolated theropod teeth, from the Valtos Sandstone Formation and Lealt Shale Formation of Skye, which we visualized and measured using high-resolution x-ray computed microtomographic scanning (µCT) and identified via statistical and phylogenetic analyses of a large comparative dental dataset. We argue that these teeth most likely represent at least two theropod species – one small-bodied and the other large-bodied – which likely belonged to one or several clades of basal avetheropods (ceratosaurs, megalosauroids, or allosauroids). These groups, which were diversifying during the Middle Jurassic and would become dominant in the Late Jurassic, filled various niches in the food chain of Skye, probably both on land and in the lagoons.

Supplementary material
: Character lists, datasets, and measurements are available at
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4452533
Assessing Programming Language Impact on Software Development Productivity Based on Mining OSS Repositories
Authors: Muna Altherwi
Published: April 2019

This study is to investigate the impact of high-level, generalpurpose, programming languages on software development productivity and quality. In particular, a comparison is to be made between scripting languages and traditionally compiled, system programming ones to examine differences, if any. The data obtained for the research is from open source repositories gathered from Github. The results are going to be based on the analysis of possibly the largest open source dataset through examining a population of 15,000 projects and by including a sample of 4349 projects, where a main language can be identified. The investigation, so far, has revealed considerable differences in productivity between the two language groups.
Perils of Zero-Interaction Security in the Internet of Things
Authors: Fomichev Mikhail , Maass Max , Almon Lars , Molina Alejandro , Hollick Matthias
Published: April 2019

The Internet of Things (IoT) demands authentication systems which can provide both security and usability. Recent research utilizes the rich sensing capabilities of smart devices to build security schemes operating without human interaction, such as zero-interaction pairing (ZIP) and zero-interaction authentication (ZIA). Prior work proposed a number of ZIP and ZIA schemes and reported promising results. However, those schemes were often evaluated under conditions which do not reflect realistic IoT scenarios. In addition, drawing any comparison among the existing schemes is impossible due to the lack of a common public dataset and unavailability of scheme implementations.

In this paper, we address these challenges by conducting the first large-scale comparative study of ZIP and ZIA schemes, carried out under realistic conditions. We collect and release the most comprehensive dataset in the domain to date, containing over 4250 hours of audio recordings and 1 billion sensor readings from three different scenarios, and evaluate five state-of-the-art schemes based on these data. Our study reveals that the effectiveness of the existing proposals is highly dependent on the scenario they are used in. In particular, we show that these schemes are subject to error rates between 0.6% and 52.8%.
Using Unobtrusive Wearable Sensors to Measure the Physiological Synchrony Between Presenters and Audience Members
Authors: Gashi Shkurta , Di Lascio Elena , Santini Silvia
Published: April 2019

The widespread adoption of mobile and wearable devices enables new approaches for the unobtrusive and continuous monitoring of humans' behavior, physiological state, interactions and more. Within this line of research, we focus on the physiological synchrony between a presenter and her audience and investigate whether it can be used to characterize the experience of presenters and audience members during presentations. To this end, we collect data from 17 presenters and six audience members during a two-days conference. For 40, unique presenter-audience pairs we gather electrodermal activity (EDA) signals and self-reports on different aspects of the experience: engagement, immersion and enjoyment/satisfaction. For 28 of these pairs, we also collect inter-beat interval (IBI) traces. We then apply seven approaches for measuring the synchrony of physiological signals and we contextualize these measures using metrics derived from the self-reports. We find that physiological synchrony -- measured using the Dynamic Time Warping algorithm -- can be used as a proxy to quantify participants' agreement on self-reported engagement. Our findings can be used to provide automated presenter-audience feedback in a conference setting and may be applicable in other scenarios, including education (teacher-student), arts (performer-audience), or meetings (presenter-audience).
A Deep Reinforcement Learning-Enabled Dynamic Redeployment System for Mobile Ambulances
Authors: Ji Shenggong , Zheng Yu , Wang Zhaoyuan , Li Tianrui
Published: April 2019

Protecting citizens' lives from emergent accidents (e.g. traffic accidents) and diseases (e.g. heart attack) is of vital importance in urban computing. Every day many people are caught in emergent accidents or diseases and thus need ambulances to transport them to hospitals. In this paper, we propose a dynamic ambulance redeployment system to reduce the time needed for ambulances to pick up patients and to increase the probability of patients being saved in time. For patients in danger, every second counts. Specifically, whenever there is an ambulance becoming available (e.g. finishing transporting a patient to a hospital), our dynamic ambulance redeployment system will redeploy it to a proper ambulance station such that it can better pick up future patients. However, the dynamic ambulance redeployment is challenging, as when we redeploy an available ambulance we need to simultaneously consider each station's multiple dynamic factors. To trade off these multiple factors using handcrafted rules are almost impossible. To deal with this issue, we propose using a deep neural network, called deep score network, to balance each station's dynamic factors into one score, leveraging the excellent representation ability of deep neural networks. And then we propose a deep reinforcement learning framework to learn the deep score network. Finally, based on the learned deep score network, we provide an effective dynamic ambulance redeployment algorithm. Experiment results using data collected in real world show clear advantages of our method over baselines, e.g. comparing with baselines, our method can save ~100 seconds (~20%) of average pickup time of patients and improve the ratio of patients being picked up within 10 minutes from 0.786 to 0.838. With our method, people in danger can be better saved.
Fixing Mislabeling by Human Annotators Leveraging Conflict Resolution and Prior Knowledge
Authors: Zeni Mattia , Zhang Wanyi , Bignotti Enrico , Passerini Andrea , Giunchiglia Fausto
Published: April 2019

According to the "human in the loop" paradigm, machine learning algorithms can improve when leveraging on human intelligence, usually in the form of labels or annotation from domain experts. However, in the case of research areas such as ubiquitous computing or lifelong learning, where the annotator is not an expert and is continuously asked for feedback, humans can provide significant fractions of incorrect labels. We propose to address this issue in a series of experiments where students are asked to provide information about their behavior via a dedicated mobile application. Their trustworthiness is tested by employing an architecture where the machine uses all its available knowledge to check the correctness of its own and the user labeling to build a uniform confidence measure for both of them to be used when a contradiction arises. The overarching system runs through a series of modes with progressively higher confidence and features a conflict resolution component to settle the inconsistencies. The results are very promising and show the pervasiveness of annotation mistakes, the extreme diversity of the users' behaviors which provides evidence of the impracticality of a uniform fits-it-all solution, and the substantially improved performance of a skeptical supervised learning strategy.
Magnetic Strategies for Nervous System Control
Authors: Christiansen Michael G. , Senko Alexander W. , Anikeeva Polina
Published: April 2019

Magnetic fields pass through tissue undiminished and without producing harmful effects, motivating their use as a wireless, minimally invasive means to control neural activity. Here, we review mechanisms and techniques coupling magnetic fields to changes in electrochemical potentials across neuronal membranes. Biological magnetoreception, although incompletely understood, is discussed as a potential source of inspiration. The emergence of magnetic properties in materials is reviewed to clarify the distinction between biomolecules containing transition metals and ferrite nanoparticles that exhibit significant net moments. We describe recent developments in the use of magnetic nanomaterials as transducers converting magnetic stimuli to forms readily perceived by neurons and discuss opportunities for multiplexed and bidirectional control as well as the challenges posed by delivery to the brain. The variety of magnetic field conditions and mechanisms by which they can be coupled to neuronal signaling cascades highlights the desirability of continued interchange between magnetism physics and neurobiology.
Lessons from Worm Dendritic Patterning
Authors: Inberg Sharon , Meledin Anna , Kravtsov Veronika , Iosilevskii Yael , Oren-Suissa Meital , Podbilewicz Benjamin
Published: April 2019

The structural and functional properties of neurons have intrigued scientists since the pioneering work of Santiago Ramón y Cajal. Since then, emerging cutting-edge technologies, including light and electron microscopy, electrophysiology, biochemistry, optogenetics, and molecular biology, have dramatically increased our understanding of dendritic properties. This advancement was also facilitated by the establishment of different animal model organisms, from flies to mammals. Here we describe the emerging model system of a Caenorhabditis elegans polymodal neuron named PVD, whose dendritic tree follows a stereotypical structure characterized by repeating candelabra-like structural units. In the past decade, progress has been made in understanding PVD's functions, morphogenesis, regeneration, and aging, yet many questions still remain.
Anxiolysis in the Surgical Management of a Compound Odontoma in a Pediatric Patient
Authors: Poli Pier Paolo , Creminelli Luca , Grecchi Emma , Pieriboni Silvia , Menozzi Gregorio , Maiorana Carlo
Published: April 2019

Among odontogenic tumors, odontoma is the most frequent. The common treatment contemplates a conservative approach. While this procedure is generally accepted and tolerated, some difficulties may be encountered in the case of pediatric patients. Indeed, negative feelings of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and fear are likely to occur. The present report is aimed at discussing the management of a compound odontoma in a pediatric patient under anxiolysis with diazepam on an outpatient basis. The surgery was carried out without complications, and the discharge was completed safely. Oral premedication with diazepam should be considered to avoid more invasive sedation procedures in anxious pediatric patients.
Subjective Vertical Position Allows Prediction of Postural Deterioration in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Mikami Kyohei , Shiraishi Makoto , Kamo Tsutomu
Published: April 2019

Background. We believe that, in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), a forward-directed increase in the subjective vertical position (SV) leads to prolonged worsening of forward flexion of the trunk (FFT) mainly because the body adjusts to the SV. We conducted a study to clarify the relation between the SV angle, FFT angle, and various other clinical measures by comparing baseline values against values obtained 1 year later. Methods. A total of 39 PD patients (mean age, 71.9 ± 10.1 years; disease duration, 7.2 ± 5.4 years; modified Hoehn & Yahr (mH&Y) score, 2.6 ± 0.7) were enrolled. The Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale score, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score, mH&Y score, FFT angle, SV angle, and levodopa-equivalent dose (LED) were assessed at the time of enrollment (baseline evaluation) and 1 year later. Results. Eighteen patients (46%) complied with the protocol and completed the study. Significant increases were observed in the 1-year SV angle (p=0.02), MMSE score (p=0.008), and LED (p=0.001) compared to baseline values. Correlation was observed between the baseline SV angle and baseline and 1-year FFT angles (r=0.64, p=0.008 and r=0.58, p=0.012, respectively) and between the 1-year SV angle and 1-year FFT angle (r=0.63, p=0.005). Conclusion. Our data suggest that the SV contributes to increased FFT.
Pentraxin 3 Detects Clinically Significant Fibrosis in Patients with Chronic Viral Hepatitis C
Authors: Gorka-Dynysiewicz Joanna , Pazgan-Simon Monika , Zuwala-Jagiello Jolanta
Published: April 2019

Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) plays a pathogenic role in experimental models of chronic liver injury and contributes to the progression of fibrosis. The detection of advanced fibrosis (METAVIR F≥3) is important to identify patients who are in urgent need of antiviral treatments versus those whose treatment could be deferred (F≥2). The aim was to assess the diagnostic value of PTX3 as a potential biomarker for clinically significant and advanced fibrosis. PTX3 associations with biochemical and histological parameters of inflammatory activity and fibrosis were investigated in 138 patients with chronic viral hepatitis C (HCV) before antiviral treatment. METAVIR histological scores of activity and fibrosis were obtained. PTX3 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The diagnostic accuracy of serum PTX3 levels was compared to that of other fibrosis markers, including transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF-β1), hyaluronic acid (HA), aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index (APRI), fibrosis score based on four factors (FIB4), gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase to platelet ratio (GPR), and the liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by transient elastography (FibroScan®). In HCV patients the PTX3 level increased in parallel with the METAVIR histological score of activity, being independently associated with the METAVIR fibrosis score (P < 0.001). Using the receiver operating characteristics analysis, the best marker for detecting F≥2 and F≥3 was PTX3 with AUC = 0.802 and AUC = 0.867, respectively. The area under the curve of PTX3 for predicting significant fibrosis (F≥2) was significantly greater than those for the GPR ratio (AUC = 0.648) and FIB-4 score (AUC = 0.770) and similar to that for APRI index (AUC = 0.831). PTX3 provided clinically relevant diagnostic accuracy as a single marker of significant fibrosis.
Benefits of Hesperidin for Cutaneous Functions
Authors: Man Mao-Qiang , Yang Bin , Elias Peter M.
Published: April 2019

Hesperidin is a bioflavonoid, with high concentration in citrus fruits. In addition to its well-known benefits for cardiovascular function, type II diabetes, and anti-inflammation, recent studies have demonstrated multiple benefits of hesperidin for cutaneous functions, including wound healing, UV protection, anti-inflammation, antimicrobial, antiskin cancer, and skin lightening. In addition, hesperidin enhances epidermal permeability barrier homeostasis in both normal young and aged skin. The mechanisms by which hesperidin benefits cutaneous functions are attributable to its antioxidant properties, inhibition of MAPK-dependent signaling pathways, and stimulation of epidermal proliferation, differentiation, and lipid production. Because of its low cost, wide availability, and superior safety, hesperidin could prove useful for the management of a variety of cutaneous conditions.
Transformation Method for Generating Periodic Solutions of Abel’s Differential Equation
Authors: Hua Ni
Published: April 2019

This paper deals with Abel’s differential equation. We suppose that r=r(t) is a periodic particular solution of Abel’s differential equation and, then, by means of the transformation method and the fixed point theory, present an alternative method of generating the other periodic solutions of Abel’s differential equation.
Influence of Time of Mission on Correct Diagnosis by the Prehospital Emergency Physician: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Ramadanov Nikolai , Klein Roman , Ramadanova Nevena , Behringer Wilhelm
Published: April 2019

Objectives. The objective of this retrospective study was to examine the diagnostic matching (DM) between the prehospital diagnosis by the prehospital emergency physicians and the hospital discharge diagnosis, adjusted for time of mission. Methods. Over a period of 12 months, all patient care reports of the emergency medical services in Bad Belzig were examined. By systematically comparing the prehospital suspected diagnosis to the discharge diagnosis, the DM was determined after careful examination of the entire course of each patient’s case, blinded to time of mission. The results were tested for statistically significant results using the Chi-square test for nominal data and the Mann-Whitney U test for nonnormally distributed independent samples. Results. The DM occurred in 52%, it occurred partially in 24%, and it did not occur in 24% of 580 included cases. The DM showed clear fluctuation over 24 hours, with the worst results at 4 and 5 a.m. and the best results at 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. Conclusions. The DM appears to depend directly on the time of mission. Decreased performance and concentration at night might be a cause for incorrect diagnoses by prehospital emergency physician in the early morning hours. Future studies need to investigate the effect of different shift planning on performance.
Impact of Intravitreal Dexamethasone Implant on Vessel Diameters in Patients with Retinal Vein Occlusion
Authors: Yilmaz Tugan Busra , Karabas Levent , Ozkan Berna
Published: April 2019

Purpose. To investigate the vasomotor responses and diameter of retinal vessels in patients with macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO) who were treated with intravitreal dexamethasone implant. Methods. We enrolled 17 eyes of 17 patients with macular edema secondary to RVO. All patients were evaluated through optical coherence tomography and dynamic and static retinal vessel analysis, using the Dynamic Vessel Analyzer (Imedos, Jena, Germany) before administration (baseline) and 1 week, 1 month, and 2 months after administration of intravitreal dexamethasone. Measurements of patients were compared to those of 17 eyes of age- and sex-matched control subjects. Results. In static analysis, arteriovenous ratio (AVR) in control subjects was 0.86 (0.80–0.88). In RVO patients, baseline AVR was 0.71 (0.54–0.84) and significantly lower than that in control subjects (p=0.016). Baseline AVR in the RVO group was significantly lower than AVR at month 1 and month 2 (p=0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). CRVE in healthy control subjects was 183.59 ± 21.79 measurement units (MU) which was significantly different from CRVE of RVO eyes at baseline (207.00 ± 26.35 MU) (p=0.008). Static analysis showed a significant decrease of central retinal vein equivalent (CRVE) from baseline to 1 week, 1 month, and 2 months (p<0.001, p<0.001, and p<0.001, respectively). CRAE in the control group was 176.24 ± 22.45 MU. CRAE in the RVO group was significantly lower at baseline, week 1, month 1, and month 2 compared to that in the control group (p=0.008, p=0.003, p=0.013, and p=0.011, respectively). Dynamic analysis showed that maximum venous and arterial dilations did not statistically differ from baseline to 1 week, 1 month, or 2 months. Conclusion. Using the Dynamic Vessel Analyzer, we found that retinal veins in patients with RVO were significantly larger compared to those in the control group, and intravitreal dexamethasone treatment reduced the diameters of these veins.
Direct Genetics Referral Pathway for High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer Patients: The “Opt-Out” Process
Authors: McGee Jacob , Peart Teresa M. , Foley Norine , Bertrand Monique , Prefontaine Michel , Sugimoto Akira , Ettler Helen , Welch Stephen , Panabaker Karen
Published: April 2019

Purpose. In order to meet a clinical need for better pathways to access genetic testing for ovarian cancer patients, we implemented and reviewed an opt-out referral process for genetic consultation whereby a referral is automatically sent to genetics following a pathological diagnosis of HGSC. Methods. Following implementation of the opt-out referral process, each month a list of new cases of HGSC was generated from the synoptic pathology report and forwarded directly to the Cancer Genetics clinic. Using an advanced directive, patients were automatically referred for genetic counselling two months after surgery. If the patient declined genetic counselling (opted-out) after discussion with their surgeon within the two months after surgery, the Genetic Counsellor was informed and the patient was removed from the referral process. Results. Between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2017, 168 women were diagnosed with HGSC, of whom 167 received a referral for genetic consultation. In only one case the referral was cancelled by the surgeon, resulting in a referral rate of 99.4%. By the end of the study period, 133 women attended a genetics consultation appointment and 125 (94%) agreed to proceed with genetic testing. Among those who completed genetic testing, 15% tested positive for a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation. Of the women who tested positive for a BRCA1/2 mutation, 56% had no family history of breast or ovarian cancer. Conclusions. The opt-out referral process described in this study is s a feasible, effective, and patient-centred approach to increase access to BRCA1/2 testing for patients with ovarian cancer.
Optimization of Helium Inflating on Heat Dissipation and Luminescence Properties of the A60 LED Filament Lamps
Authors: Chen Yizhan , Zeng Qingguang , Zhao Lite , Li Yuanxing , Huang Guangyao , Li Bingqian
Published: April 2019

LED filament lamp has the characteristics of nearly 360° lighting angle, high brightness, and low energy consumption, turning it gradually into the best substitute for traditional incandescent lamps. At present, due to the limitations of heat dissipation, the development of high-power LED filament lamp is restricted. Helium is a rare gas with small density and high heat transfer coefficient. It can be used as a cooling and protective gas for LED filament lamp. In this paper, we investigated the effects of helium on the heat dissipation and luminescence performance of the A60 LED filament lamps by detecting the changes of junction temperature, color temperature, and luminous flux of different ratios helium inflating in the different power A60 LED filament lamps. Through the experiment, we found the most cost-effective ratio of helium gas in the A60 LED filament lamps without improving the lamp size and the filament diameter.
Gender Differences in Depression, Coping, Stigma, and Quality of Life in Patients of Vitiligo
Authors: Sawant Neena S. , Vanjari Nakul A. , Khopkar Uday
Published: April 2019

Though vitiligo is one of the psychodermatological disorders which do not cause direct physical impairment, it is cosmetically disfiguring leading to serious psychological problems in daily life. We undertook this research to study patients of vitiligo the prevalence of depression, coping, stigma, and quality of life and comparison of the same in both genders. Patients diagnosed clinically as having vitiligo by consultant dermatologist were enrolled after informed consent and ethics approval. 156 patients were screened, of which 100 satisfying criteria were taken up for the study. A semistructured proforma was designed to collect the necessary information with administration of Beck’s depression inventory, participation scale, dermatology life quality index, and adjustment to chronic skin diseases questionnaire. Depression prevalence was 63.64% in females and 42.86% in males (p<0.0457); the total mean BDI scores were significant with females having higher scores than males (p<0.0083). No significant differences were seen on participation scale though 52% females felt stigmatized as compared to 45% males (p <0.5779). While almost 97% of our patients had impaired quality of life there was no significant difference in both genders on the total score (p<0.3547). Females had significantly higher faulty coping style than males with significant differences on all domains and total scores (p< 0.0094). There was a strong association of depression with faulty coping and stigma (p< 0.0001) in both genders. Also association of stigma with quality of life showed highly significant findings in both genders (p< 0.0001) on all the domains of DLQI. This study helps in early identification of psychological problems in vitiligo patients and planning their future course of management, hence improving the prognosis and quality of life.
Seismic Events Prediction Using Deep Temporal Convolution Networks
Authors: Geng Yue , Su Lingling , Jia Yunhong , Han Ce
Published: April 2019

Seismic events prediction is a crucial task for preventing coal mine rock burst hazards. Currently, this task attracts increasing research enthusiasms from many mining experts. Considering the temporal characteristics of monitoring data, seismic events prediction can be abstracted as a time series prediction task. This paper contributes to address the problem of long-term historical dependence on seismic time series prediction with deep temporal convolution neural networks (CNN). We propose a dilated causal temporal convolution network (DCTCNN) and a CNN long short-term memory hybrid model (CNN-LSTM) to forecast seismic events. In particular, DCTCNN is designed with dilated CNN kernels, causal strategy, and residual connections; CNN-LSTM is established in a hybrid modeling way by utilizing advantage of CNN and LSTM. Based on these manners, both of DCTCNN and CNN-LSTM can extract long-term historical features from the monitoring seismic data. The proposed models are experimentally tested on two real-life coal mine seismic datasets. Furthermore, they are also compared with one traditional time series prediction method, two classic machine learning algorithms, and two standard deep learning networks. Results show that DCTCNN and CNN-LSTM are superior than the other five algorithms, and they successfully complete the seismic prediction task.
Evaluation ofIn VitroAntioxidant and Antidiabetic Activities ofAristolochia longaExtracts
Authors: El Omari Nasreddine , Sayah Karima , Fettach Saad , El Blidi Omar , Bouyahya Abdelhakim , Faouzi My El Abbes , Kamal Rabie , Barkiyou Malika
Published: April 2019

Oxidative stress plays a major role in diabetic physiopathology; hence, the interest of using natural antioxidants as therapeutic tools exists. The aim of this study was the evaluation ofin vitroantioxidant activity and inhibitory potential of organic extracts fromAristolochia longaroots against key enzymes linked to hyperglycemia. Antioxidant activity was performed using 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radicals and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) methods. Theα-Glucosidase andβ-Galactosidase inhibitory activities were investigated using anin vitromodel. Moreover, phytochemical analysis of tested extracts was carried out. The aqueous fraction of this herb exhibited the highest antioxidant activity for both DPPH and ABTS methods, IC50=125.40±2.40 μg/mL and IC50=65.23±2.49 μg/mL, respectively. However, the ethyl acetate fraction possessed the strongest inhibitory effect towardsα-Glucosidase (IC50=1.112±0.026 mg/mL). Furthermore, the result showed high levels of phenolic content. The results showed that this plant could be a significant source of medically important natural compounds.
STEMI after Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography in Hyperthyroid State
Authors: Mubasher Mahmood , Patel Ashfaq , Magdi Mohamed , Hamid Tahir
Published: April 2019

Uncontrolled hyperthyroidism has been associated with significant changes in cardiovascular hemodynamics. We report a case of a 39-year-old male who has been recently diagnosed with severe hyperthyroidism. He was undergoing dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) for evaluation of symptoms suggestive of stable angina. The exam was complicated by ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction- (STEMI-) required coronary angiography that showed mild coronary artery disease.
Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion (SIADH) and Subsequent Central Diabetes Insipidus: A Rare Presentation of Pituitary Apoplexy
Authors: Smedegaard S. B. , Jørgensen J. O. , Rittig N.
Published: April 2019

Pituitary apoplexy (PA) is a rare endocrine emergency that occasionally presents with sodium disturbances. Here we present a rare case with a previously healthy 41-year-old female who presented with acute onset headache and nausea without visual impairment or overt pituitary dysfunction. Plasma sodium concentrations declined abruptly during the first two days of admission to a nadir of 111 mmol/l. Urine and blood chemistry were consistent with syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH). Magnetic resonance imaging revealed recent bleeding into a pituitary cystic process. Hyponatremia was successfully corrected with fluid restriction and both visual function and anterior pituitary function remained intact. Subsequently, the patient developed central diabetes insipidus (CDI), which responded well to desmopressin substitution. To our knowledge, this is the first case of PA presenting predominantly with posterior pituitary dysfunction that transitioned from SIADH to permanent CDI.
Treatment with Growth Hormone in Noonan Syndrome Observed during 25 Years of KIGS: Near Adult Height and Outcome Prediction
Authors: Ranke Michael B. , Lindberg Anders , Carlsson Martin , Camacho-Hübner Cecilia , Rooman Raoul
Published: April 2019

Background/Aims: There is little information how rhGH treatment affects height in NS. This study aims to analyze data from the NS patients assembled in KIGS over 25 years. Patients/Methods: Of 613 (389 m/224 f) NS patients documented, 476 (302 m/174 f) were treated for 1 year, 237 (160 m/77 f) of which served to develop a 1st year height velocity (HV) prediction algorithm. One-hundred and forty (74 m/66 f) had reached near adult height (NAH). Factors affecting NAH on rhGH were determined. Results: At the start of rhGH, the NAH groups were (median, m, f) 11.0 and 10.3 years, with a height SDS of –3.2 and –3.8 SDS (Prader), respectively. The total gain after 6.3 and 5.6 years on rhGH (0.27 and 0.30 mg/kg/week) was 1.2 and 1.3 SDS. Age at the start of rhGH (negative), height at the start of rhGH, rhGH dose, number of rhGH injections/wk and birth weight (all positive) explained 36% of the variability of 1st year HV. Height at the start of rhGH, 1st year growth on rhGH, birth weight, and gender explained 74% of the variability of NAH. Causes for rhGH treatment discontinuation and adverse events were also analyzed. Conclusion: rhGH treatment increases NAH in NS. Prediction algorithms may optimize treatment in the future.
Novel HIVEP2 Variants in Patients with Intellectual Disability
Authors: Park Joohyun , Colombo Roberto , Schäferhoff Karin , Janiri Luigi , Grimmel Mona , Sturm Marc , Grasshoff Ute , Dufke Andreas , Haack Tobias B. , Kehrer Martin
Published: April 2019

Intellectual disability (ID) occurs in approximately 1% of the population. Over the last years, broad sequencing approaches such as whole exome sequencing (WES) substantially contributed to the definition of the molecular defects underlying nonsyndromic ID. Pathogenic variants in HIVEP2, which encodes the human immunodeficiency virus type I enhancer binding protein 2, have recently been reported as a cause of ID, developmental delay, behavioral disorders, and dysmorphic features. HIVEP2 serves as a transcriptional factor regulating NF-ĸB and diverse genes that are essential in neural development. To date, only 8 patients with pathogenic de novo nonsense or frameshift variants and 1 patient with a pathogenic missense variant in HIVEP2 have been reported. By WES, we identified 2 novel truncating HIVEP2 variants, c.6609_6616delTGAGGGTC (p.Glu2204*) and c.6667C>T (p.Arg2223*), in 2 young adults presenting with developmental delay and mild ID without any dysmorphic features, systemic malformations, or behavioral issues.
Two-Generation Transmission of Trisomy 18p: Prenatal Diagnosis in a Woman with Mild Intellectual Disability
Authors: Yu Yang , Jiang Yuting , Hu Xiaonan , Zhang Hongguo , Liu Ruizhi , Wang Ruixue
Published: April 2019

Trisomy 18p is a rarely observed chromosomal aberration. Only 31 cases have previously been described in the literature. Trisomy 18p is associated with mild to moderate phenotypic anomalies and intellectual disability. Here, we report on a pregnant woman in whom noninvasive prenatal testing indicated a high risk of fetal trisomy 18. Prenatal diagnosis and karyotyping of the parents were performed and demonstrated that both the mother and the fetus had a derivative chromosome 15 with a segment of unknown origin. Chromosomal microarray analysis and FISH revealed a 14.9-Mb duplication of 18p and detected 3 centromeres of chromosome 18. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting trisomy 18p due to an unbalanced translocation of 18p onto chromosome 15q showing 2-generation transmission. The results suggest that trisomy 18p can be considered a euchromatic variant.
MicroRNA-496 and Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Expression are Associated with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Obesity in Elderly People
Authors: Rubie Claudia , Zimmer Jonas , Lammert Frank , Gross Jürgen Christian , Weber Susanne N. , Kruse Bianca , Halajda Beata , Wagner Mathias , Wagenpfeil Stefan , Glanemann Matthias
Published: April 2019

Background: Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) regulates lipid and glucose metabolism thus playing a key role in metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Recently, we demonstrated a functional interaction of microRNA-496 (miR-496) with mTOR and its impact on the regulation of human ageing. Objectives: As T2DM is most prevalent in older adults, we hypothesized that miR-496 may also have an impact on mTOR regulation in T2DM. Methods: Based on real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, mTOR gene and protein expression as well as miR-496 expression were monitored in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from T2DM patients (median age: 71) and healthy age- and BMI matched controls (median age: 69). ­Results: We demonstrated significant upregulation of phospho-mTOR and P70S6 Kinase (P70S6K) levels and significant downregulation of miR-496 in PBMC from elderly T2DM patients in comparison to a BMI and age-matched control cohort. Moreover, significant upregulation of phospho-mTOR protein and significant downregulation of miR-496 were observed in advanced stages of obesity. Conclusions: BMI-dependent upregulation of mTOR and the inverse expression profile of miR-496 observed in elderly T2DM patients suggest a correlation with T2DM. Hence, our results indicate a potential association of miR-496 with mTOR expression in elderly T2DM patients and obesity. Since phosphorylation of P70S6K was also elevated in T2DM patients, we conclude that mTOR signaling through TORC1 may be affected in the regulation of T2DM.
Reproposta para todas as idades
Authors: Balbão Angela ,   Universidade de São Paulo. Escola de Comunicações e Artes, Borges Cecília ,   Universidade de São Paulo. Escola de Comunicações e Artes, Dórea Egídio Lima Dórea ,   Universidade de São Paulo. Escola de Comunicações e Artes, Martirani Esther ,   idade de São Paulo. Escola de Comunicações e Artes; Esther Martirani, Universidade de São Paulo. Escola de Comunicações e Artes, Veríssimo Etty ,   Universidade de São Paulo. Escola de Comunicações e Artes, Fogaça Katiuscia Lopes ,   Universidade de São Paulo. Escola de Comunicações e Artes, Cabral Márcia ,   Universidade de São Paulo. Escola de Comunicações e Artes, Lucena Mário ,   Universidade de São Paulo. Escola de Comunicações e Artes, Carvalho Neuza ,   Universidade de São Paulo. Escola de Comunicações e Artes, Bueno Renata Bueno ,   Universidade de São Paulo. Escola de Comunicações e Artes, Medina Sinval ,   Universidade de São Paulo. Escola de Comunicações e Artes, Cunha Sonia Regina ,   Universidade de São Paulo. Escola de Comunicações e Artes
Published: April 2019

Esta edição do Reproposta se insere nas bases epistemológicas de um tripé: a valorização solidária da terceira idade, o aprimoramento da racionalidade complexa para acompanhar sua presença ativa nas sociedades contemporâneas e a sensibilidade poética para narrar seus movimentos. A oficina interdisciplinar de "Narrativas da contemporaneidade", ministrada pela profa. dra. Cremilda Medina, encaminha o laboratório de mediação autoral para experimentar uma prática efetiva de comunicação social (e não de simples divulgação informativa). Eis o desafio que este livro submete aos leitores de todas as idades.
High-level Integrative Networks: A Resting-state fMRI Investigation of Reading and Spelling
Authors: Ellenblum Gali , Purcell Jeremy J. , Song Xiaowei , Rapp Brenda
Published: April 2019

Orthographic processing skills (reading and spelling) are evolutionarily recent and mastered late in development, providing an opportunity to investigate how the properties of the neural networks supporting skills of this type compare to those supporting evolutionarily older, well-established “reference” networks. Although there has been extensive research using task-based fMRI to study the neural substrates of reading, there has been very little using resting-state fMRI to examine the properties of orthographic networks. In this investigation using resting-state fMRI, we compare the within-network and across-network coherence properties of reading and spelling networks directly to these properties of reference networks, and we also compare the network properties of the key node of the orthographic networks—the visual word form area—to those of the other nodes of the orthographic and reference networks. Consistent with previous results, we find that orthographic processing networks do not exhibit certain basic network coherence properties displayed by other networks. However, we identify novel distinctive properties of the orthographic processing networks and establish that the visual word form area has unusually high levels of connectivity with a broad range of brain areas. These characteristics form the basis of our proposal that orthographic networks represent a class of “high-level integrative networks” with distinctive properties that allow them to recruit and integrate multiple, lower level processes.