bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of group intervention involving physical activity on subjective well‐being of elderly returnees after evacuation following the Great East Japan Earthquake
Authors: Moriyama Nobuaki , Iwasa Hajime , Orui Masatsugu , Kuroda Yujiro , Ono Michiko , Okazaki Kanako , Takamura Motoaki , Sato Noriko , Yasumura Seiji
Published: December 2018

Aim

In general, physically activity contributes to better subjective well‐being (SWB) in the elderly. However, the physical activity level of older people who experienced relocation after the Great East Japan Earthquake has been reported to be low, possibly leading to low SWB. This study aimed to examine the efficacy of group intervention involving physical activity on SWB among older returnees after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Methods

The participants were randomly allocated to an intervention group (4 men, 10 women) or a control group (7 women). Participants in the intervention group attended a series of weekly classes over eight weeks to encourage daily physical activity, whereas participants in the control group received no intervention. SWB, the primary outcome, was assessed by the World Health Organization Five Well‐Being Index.

Results

Median variation in the World Health Organization Five Well‐Being Index scores at 3 months from the baseline in the intervention and control groups was −1.0 and −2.0 points, respectively; the difference was borderline significant (P = 0.06). There was no significant difference between the groups in the median of variation in muscle strength (P = 0.79) or mobility (P = 0.77) at 3 months.

Conclusion

The intervention might prevent deterioration in participants’ SWB. Further studies involving older returnees with poor physical activity and/or sedentary lifestyle may be beneficial for health promotion in the area.
Pulmonary fibrosis: Genetic analysis of telomere‐related genes, telomere length measurement‐or both?
Authors: Kannengiesser Caroline , Borie Raphael , Renzoni Elisabetta A.
Published: December 2018

See related Article
Estuarine clay mineral distribution: Modern analogue for ancient sandstone reservoir quality prediction
Authors: Griffiths Joshua , Worden Richard H. , Wooldridge Luke J. , Utley James E. P. , Duller Robert A. , Edge Rhiannon L.
Published: December 2018

The spatial distribution of clay minerals in sandstones, which may both enhance or degrade reservoir quality, is poorly understood. To address this, clay mineral distribution patterns and host‐sediment properties (grain size, sorting, clay fraction abundance and bioturbation intensity) have, for the first time, been determined and mapped at an unprecedentedly high‐resolution in a modern estuarine setting (Ravenglass Estuary, UK). Results show that the estuary sediment is dominated by illite with subordinate chlorite and kaolinite, although the rivers supply sediment with less illite and significantly more chlorite than found in the estuary. Fluvial‐supplied sediment has been locally diluted by sediment derived from glaciogenic drift deposits on the margins of the estuary. Detailed clay mineral maps and statistical analyses reveal that the estuary has a heterogeneous distribution of illite, chlorite and kaolinite. Chlorite is relatively most abundant on the northern foreshore and backshore and is concentrated in coarse‐grained inner estuary dunes and tidal bars. Illite is relatively most abundant (as well as being most crystalline and most Fe–Mg‐rich) in fine‐grained inner estuary and central basin mud and mixed flats. Kaolinite has the highest abundance in fluvial sediment and is relatively homogenous in tidally‐influenced environments. Clay mineral distribution patterns in the Ravenglass Estuary have been strongly influenced by sediment supply (residence time) and subsequently modified by hydrodynamic processes. There is no relationship between macro‐faunal bioturbation intensity and the abundance of chlorite, illite or kaolinite. Based on this modern‐analogue study, outer estuarine sediments are likely to be heavily quartz cemented in deeply‐buried (burial temperatures exceeding 80 to 100°C) sandstone reservoirs due to a paucity of clay grade material (<0·5%) to form complete grain coats. In contrast, chlorite‐enriched tidal bars and dunes in the inner estuary, with their well‐developed detrital clay coats, are likely to have quartz cement inhibiting authigenic clay coats in deeply‐buried sandstones.
Dichotomy of Notch signalling in regulating tumour immune surveillance
Authors: Khosla Ritu , Vyas Ashish Kumar , Trehanpati Nirupma
Published: December 2018

Notch signalling is an evolutionarily conserved multifaceted pathway that controls diverse cellular processes. Its role in regulating development and tissue homeostasis is well established. Aberrant activation of the Notch pathway has been implicated in the initiation and progression of many types of cancers. However, although in some cancers Notch signalling acts as a tumour‐promoter, in others it is reported to suppress tumour growth and progression. Accumulating evidence suggests the involvement of both the innate and adaptive immune system in the development of various tumours. Currently, extensive studies on investigating the effects of Notch signalling in tumour immune surveillance are being carried out. Interestingly, recent literature shows how the changing expression of Notch genes in different T cell subsets like CD4 and CD8 helps in controlling anti‐tumour immune responses. In this review, we discuss in depth the roles of Notch signalling molecules and different immune cells in the context of the tumour microenvironment. We also outline how current knowledge can be exploited to develop novel therapies in order to control the propagation of cancer stem cells.
Validation of new HLA‐F alleles assigned by next‐generation sequencing
Authors: Paganini Julien , Ramdane Anissa , Gouret Philippe , Chiaroni Jacques , Di Cristofaro Julie
Published: December 2018

We describe nine novel HLA‐F alleles.
A pepper RING‐type E3 ligase, CaASRF1, plays a positive role in drought tolerance via modulation of CaAIBZ1 stability
Authors: Joo Hyunhee , Lim Chae Woo , Lee Sung Chul
Published: December 2018

Plants have evolved complex defense mechanisms to adapt and survive under adverse growth conditions. Abscisic acid (ABA) is a phytohormone that plays a pivotal role in the stress response, especially regulation of the stomatal aperture in response to drought. Here, we identified the pepper CaASRF1 (Capsicum annuum ABA Sensitive RING Finger E3 ligase 1) gene, which modulates drought stress tolerance via ABA‐mediated signaling. CaASRF1 contains a C3H2C3‐type RING finger domain, which functions as an E3 ligase by attaching ubiquitins to the target proteins. CaASRF1 expression was enhanced after exposure to ABA, drought and NaCl. Loss‐of‐function in pepper plants and gain‐of‐function in Arabidopsis plants revealed that CaASRF1 positively modulates ABA signaling and the drought stress response. Moreover, CaASRF1 interacted with and was associated with degradation of the bZIP transcription factor CaAIBZ1 (Capsicum annuum ASRF1‐Interacting bZIP transcription factor 1). Contrary to CaASRF1 phenotypes, CaAIBZ1‐silenced pepper and CaAIBZ1‐overexpressing Arabidopsis exhibited drought‐tolerant and drought‐sensitive phenotypes, respectively. Taken together, our data indicate that CaASRF1 positively modulates ABA signaling and the drought stress response via modulation of CaAIBZ1 stability.
Kernel size‐related genes revealed by an integrated eQTL analysis during early maize kernel development
Authors: Pang Junling , Fu Junjie , Zong Na , Wang Jing , Song Dandan , Zhang Xia , He Cheng , Fang Ting , Zhang Hongwei , Fan Yunliu , Wang Guoying , Zhao Jun
Published: December 2018

In maize, kernel traits strongly impact overall grain yields, and it is known that sophisticated spatiotemporal programs of gene expression coordinate kernel development, so advancing our knowledge of kernel development can help efforts to improve grain yields. Here, using phenotype, genotype and transcriptomics data of maize kernels at 5 and 15 days after pollination (DAP) for a large association mapping panel, we employed multiple quantitative genetics approaches—genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) as well as expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) and quantitative trait transcript (QTT) analyses—to gain insights about molecular genetic basis of kernel development in maize. This resulted in the identification of 137 putative kernel length‐related genes at 5 DAP, of which 43 are located in previously reported QTL regions. Strikingly, we identified an eQTL that overlaps the locus encoding a maize homolog of the recently described m6A methylation reader protein ECT2 from Arabidopsis; this putative epieQTL is associated with 53 genes and may represent a master epi‐transcriptomic regulator of kernel development. Notably, among the genes associated with this epieQTL, 10 are for the main storage proteins in the maize endosperm (zeins) and two are known regulators of zein expression or endosperm development (Opaque2 and ZmICE1). Collectively, beyond cataloging and characterizing genomic attributes of a large number of eQTL associated with kernel development in maize, our study highlights how an eQTL approach can bolster the impact of both GWAS and QTT studies and can drive insights about the basic biology of plants.
Description and characterization of a hair coat disorder in schipperkes
Authors: May Elizabeth R. , Frank Linda A. , Sula Mee‐Ja M.
Published: December 2018

Background

Schipperkes develop bilaterally symmetrical alopecia preceded by lightening of the hair coat not associated with systemic clinical signs. The alopecia is presumptively diagnosed as Alopecia X but has never been investigated.

Hypothesis/Objectives

The purpose of this study was to describe clinical features, histopathological and laboratory abnormalities associated with symmetrical, noninflammatory alopecia in schipperkes.

Animals

Three healthy and eight affected schipperkes.

Methods and materials

Complete blood count (CBC), serum chemistry panel, urinalysis (UA), urine cortisol: creatinine ratio (UCCR), total thyroxine (T4), free thyroxine by equilibrium dialysis (fT4ed), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and pre‐ and post‐stimulation cortisol with sex hormone analyses were performed for all dogs. A minimum of two skin biopsy sites were sampled for histopathological evaluation.

Results

The CBC, serum chemistry panel, UA, T4, fT4ed, TSH and post‐ACTH cortisol concentrations were normal for all dogs. Androstenedione concentrations were increased for all dogs; two of three healthy and five of eight affected dogs had increased post‐ACTH androstenedione concentrations. Estradiol concentrations were increased for all healthy and four of eight affected dogs, with post‐ACTH estradiol concentrations increased for all healthy and five of eight affected dogs. Progesterone concentrations were increased for two of three healthy and four of eight affected dogs. Post‐ACTH progesterone concentrations were increased for one of three healthy and four of eight affected dogs. For one of three healthy and two of eight affected dogs, 17‐hydroxyprogesterone concentrations were increased; post‐ACTH 17‐hydroxyprogesterone concentrations were increased in three of eight affected dogs only. Histopathology results from affected dogs were consistent with hair cycle arrest.

Conclusions and clinical importance

This disorder resembles Alopecia X clinically and histologically.
Risk and Return: The Case of Securities Listed on the West African Economic and Monetary Union Regional Exchange of Securities (BRVM)
Authors: Essingone Hervé Ndoume , Diallo Mouhamadou Saliou
Published: December 2018

The purpose of this research is to study the relationship between risk and return on the BRVM. The empirical results, obtained using the Asymmetric Response Model (ARM) model, show the asymmetric nature of the return of the securities that are rated on them. This does not reflect the level of risk taken by investors, which is much higher than the return obtained. While this result is consistent with the distancing characteristics of risk and return observed in emerging markets, it highlights above all the need to rebalance the relationship between risk and return at the RSE in order to make it more attractive for investors.
Evolution Process of Diffuser Stall in a Centrifugal Compressor With Vaned Diffuser
Authors: Fujisawa Nobumichi , Inui Tetsuya , Ohta Yutaka
Published: December 2018

This paper describes in detailed flow field in a centrifugal compressor with a vaned diffuser at off design point. Especially, we conducted both the experimental and numerical analysis in order to investigate the evolution process of a diffuser stall. At the stall point, the diffuser stall was initiated and rotated near the shroud side in the vaneless space. Furthermore, the diffuser stall was developed to a stage stall cell, as the mass flow was decreased. The developed stall cell was rotated within both the impeller and diffuser passages. The evolution process of the diffuser stall had three stall forms. First, the diffuser stall was rotating near the shroud side. Then, the diffuser stall shifted to the hub side and moved into the impeller passages. Finally, a stage stall was generated. From computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, a tornado-type vortex was generated first, near the hub side of the diffuser leading edge, when the diffuser stall was shifted to the hub side. Next, a throat area blockage was formed near the hub side because of the boundary layer separation in the vaneless space. Finally, the blockage within the diffuser passages expanded to the impeller passages and developed into a stage stall. From the pressure measurements along the impeller and diffuser passages, the magnitude of pressure fluctuation on the casing wall of the diffuser throat area also suddenly increased when the diffuser stall shifted to the hub side. Therefore, the evolution area of the diffuser stall was caused by the evolution of the blockage near the throat area of the diffuser passage.
The Role of Tip Leakage Flow in Spike-Type Rotating Stall Inception
Authors: Hewkin-Smith M. , Pullan G. , Grimshaw S. D. , Greitzer E. M. , Spakovszky Z. S.
Published: December 2018

This paper describes the role of tip leakage flow in creating the leading edge separation necessary for the onset of spike-type compressor rotating stall. A series of unsteady multipassage simulations, supported by experimental data, are used to define and illustrate the two competing mechanisms that cause the high incidence responsible for this separation: blockage from a casing-suction-surface corner separation and forward spillage of the tip leakage jet. The axial momentum flux in the tip leakage flow determines which mechanism dominates. At zero tip clearance, corner separation blockage dominates. As clearance is increased, the leakage flow reduces blockage, moving the stall flow coefficient to lower flow, i.e., giving a larger unstalled flow range. Increased clearance, however, means increased leakage jet momentum and contribution to leakage jet spillage. There is thus a clearance above which jet spillage dominates in creating incidence, so the stall flow coefficient increases and flow range decreases with clearance. As a consequence, there is a clearance for maximum flow range; for the two rotors in this study, the value was approximately 0.5% chord. The chordwise distribution of the leakage axial momentum is also important in determining stall onset. Shifting the distribution toward the trailing edge increases flow range for a leakage jet dominated geometry and reduces flow range for a corner separation dominated geometry. Guidelines are developed for flow range enhancement through control of tip leakage flow axial momentum magnitude and distribution. An example is given of how this might be achieved.
The Ductility Number Nd Provides a Rigorous Measure for the Ductility of Material Failure
Authors: Christensen Richard M.
Published: December 2018

The recently developed theory for isotropic material failure is briefly outlined. Many steps and stages of the verification process for the theory are fully documented so that it can be used with assurance in a wide variety of directions. Then, the failure theory is used to develop a new measure or index for the degree of ductility of material failure in any state of stress. This new failure property is named the ductility number, Nd. It is rigorously derived, intuitively compatible, and very easy to use. Applications and interpretations of Nd are given.
Multiple Limit Cycles Shimmy of the Dual-Front Axle Steering Heavy Truck Based on Bisectional Road
Authors: Wei Daogao , Zhu Yingjie , Jiang Tong , Yin Andong , Zhai Wenhao
Published: December 2018

The shimmy problem causes considerable harm to vehicles and is difficult to solve, especially multiple limit cycle shimmy. Moreover, the dynamic behavior of the multiple limit cycle shimmy of vehicles based on a bisectional road is more complex. Shimmy is practically observed in trucks of cooperative factories during utilization. Thus, we take a heavy truck of a cooperative factory as the prototype and establish a dynamic model of the vehicle-road coupling shimmy system, considering the road adhesion coefficient and dry friction between the suspension and steering system. Based on the dynamic model, the Hopf bifurcation theory is used to qualitatively analyze the existence of the limit cycle for the vehicle shimmy system, and the multiple limit cycle shimmy phenomenon is successfully reproduced using a numerical method. Moreover, the effect of the road adhesion coefficient on the multiple limit cycle shimmy characteristic is studied. Results show that the speed interval and amplitude of the multiple limit cycle shimmy decrease with the road adhesion coefficient; when the coefficient is reduced to a certain extent, the multiple limit cycle shimmy phenomenon is not observed. In addition, the adhesion coefficient of the second axle has a stronger effect on the shimmy characteristic than that of the first axle.
Formant priority channel selection for an “n-of-m” sound processing strategy for cochlear implants
Authors: Saba Juliana N. , Ali Hussnain , Hansen John H. L.
Published: December 2018

The Advanced Combination Encoder (ACE) signal processing strategy is used in the majority of cochlear implant (CI) sound processors manufactured by Cochlear Corporation. This “n-of-m” strategy selects “n” out of “m” available frequency channels with the highest spectral energy in each stimulation cycle. It is hypothesized that at low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions, noise–dominant frequency channels are susceptible for selection, neglecting channels containing target speech cues. In order to improve speech segregation in noise, explicit encoding of formant frequency locations within the standard channel selection framework of ACE is suggested. Two strategies using the direct formant estimation algorithms are developed within this study, FACE (formant-ACE) and VFACE (voiced-activated-formant-ACE). Speech intelligibility from eight CI users is compared across 11 acoustic conditions, including mixtures of noise and reverberation at multiple SNRs. Significant intelligibility gains were observed with VFACE over ACE in 5 dB babble noise; however, results with FACE/VFACE in all other conditions were comparable to standard ACE. An increased selection of channels associated with the second formant frequency is observed for FACE and VFACE. Both proposed methods may serve as potential supplementary channel selection techniques for the ACE sound processing strategy for cochlear implants.
In Vitro
and
In Vivo
Studies of Spironolactone as an Antischistosomal Drug Capable of Clinical Repurposing
Authors: Guerra Rafael A. , Silva Marcos P. , Silva Tais C. , Salvadori Maria C. , Teixeira Fernanda S. , de Oliveira Rosimeire N. , Rocha Jefferson A. , Pinto Pedro L. S. , de Moraes Josué
Published: December 2018

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic flatworm disease that infects over 200 million people worldwide, especially in poor communities. Treatment and control of the disease rely on just one drug, praziquantel.
CitAB Two-Component System-Regulated Citrate Utilization Contributes to
Vibrio cholerae
Competitiveness with the Gut Microbiota
Authors: Liu Ming , Hao Guijuan , Li Zhe , Zhou Yitian , Garcia-Sillas Reyna , Li Jie , Wang Hui , Kan Biao , Zhu Jun
Published: December 2018

Citrate is a ubiquitous compound and can be utilized by many bacterial species, including enteric pathogens, as a carbon and energy source. Genes involved in citrate utilization have been extensively studied in some enteric bacteria, such as
Klebsiella pneumoniae
; however, their role in pathogenesis is still not clear.
Transcriptional Profiling of Patient Isolates Identifies a Novel TOR/Starvation Regulatory Pathway in Cryptococcal Virulence
Authors: Park Yoon-Dong , Jarvis Joseph N. , Hu Guowu , Davis Sarah E. , Qiu Jin , Zhang Nannan , Hollingsworth Christopher , Loyse Angela , Gardina Paul J. , Valyi-Nagy Tibor , Myers Timothy G. , Harrison Thomas S. , Bicanic Tihana , Williamson Peter R.
Published: December 2018

Cryptococcus
is a fungal pathogen that kills an estimated quarter of a million individuals yearly and is the most common cause of nonviral meningitis in the United States. The fungus is carried in about 10% of the adult population and, after reactivation, causes disease in a wide variety of immunosuppressed individuals, including the HIV infected and patients receiving transplant conditioning, cancer therapy, or corticosteroid therapy for autoimmune diseases. The fungus is widely carried in the soil but can also cause infections in plants and mammals. However, the mechanisms for this widespread ability to infect a variety of hosts are poorly understood. The present study identified adaptation to low nutrients as a key property that allows the fungus to inhabit these diverse environments. Further studies identified a nutrient transporter gene,
STL1
, to be upregulated under low nutrients and to be associated with early fungicidal activity, a marker of poor clinical outcome in a cohort of HIV/AIDS patients. Understanding molecular mechanisms involved in adaptation to the human host may help to design better methods of control and treatment of widely dispersed fungal pathogens such as
Cryptococcus
.
Improving antimicrobial stewardship in the outpatient department of a district general hospital in Sierra Leone
Authors: Hamilton David , Bugg Ian
Published: December 2018

There is global concern over increasing antibiotic resistance rates due to poor antimicrobial stewardship, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries where there are limited diagnostic facilities, fewer doctors per capita and inadequate control over the production and sale of antibiotics. This quality improvement project was designed to improve the antimicrobial prescriptions practices of paramedical staff in the outpatient department of a rural district general hospital in Masanga, Sierra Leone, West Africa.

At baseline, 57 of 66 (86%) of patients were prescribed at least one antimicrobial. On further review of 243 prescriptions for 128 patients, only 161 (66%) antimicrobials were deemed appropriate for the named diagnosis when compared with international guidelines or senior medical opinion, and 86 (35%) prescriptions had the correct drug, dose and course-length.

A full, empirical antimicrobial guideline was written and introduced to local staff via a number of different methods, including: one-to-one feedback, announcements in general meetings and printed copies placed in each outpatient room. After the first cycle, the choice of appropriate antimicrobial had improved to 85% and the correct drug, dose and course-length to 53%. Unfortunately, 2 months after the second cycle, coinciding with the departure of the international internal medical physician, the rates had degraded to 65% and 43%, respectively.

This study shows that implementing an empirical antimicrobial guideline can be effective at improving appropriate antibiotic prescription but that other measures are required for sustainable change. It is suggested that projects designed to change practice in low-resource countries should include national staff from the outset to improve longer term sustainability.
Predictors of β-blocker adherence in cardiac inherited disease
Authors: O’Donovan Claire E , Waddell-Smith Kathryn E , Skinner Jonathan R , Broadbent Elizabeth
Published: December 2018

Objective

The cardiac inherited disease (CID) population has suboptimal adherence to long-term β-blocker therapy, which is known to be a risk for sudden cardiac death. This study aimed to identify the clinical and psychosocial variables associated with non-adherence in this population.

Methods

130 individuals (aged 16–81 years, median: 54) from the New Zealand Cardiac Inherited Disease Registry taking β-blockers participated: 65 (50%) long QT syndrome, 42 (32%) hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and 23 (18%) other. Participants completed one questionnaire recording self-reported adherence, anxiety, depression, confidence in taking medication, illness perceptions and medication beliefs. Demographic and clinical variables were taken from the registry.

Results

21 participants (16%) were classed as non-adherent. Bivariate analysis showed that self-reported adherence was worse in those who were younger (p<0.001), had a channelopathy not cardiomyopathy (p<0.01), reported lower confidence in taking β-blockers (p<0.001), had high concerns (p<0.05) and low necessity beliefs about their β-blocker (p<0.001), a poorer understanding of their CID (p<0.01), and lower treatment control beliefs (p<0.01). These variables accounted for 37% of the variance in adherence in a linear regression model. Stronger beliefs around medication necessity and higher confidence in their ability to take their medication predicted β-blocker adherence.

Conclusions

Factors associated with β-blocker non-adherence in patients with CID include young age, having a channelopathy, negative medication beliefs, low confidence in taking medication and poor illness perceptions. These findings present an opportunity to develop targeted interventions to improve adherence.
Theoretical study on polyglycerine polynitrates for potential high-energy plasticizers of propellants
Authors: Wang Guixiang , Xu Yimin , Zhang Wenjing , Xue Chuang , Gong Xuedong
Published: December 2018

Polyglycerine polynitrates such as nitroglycerine can be used as energetic plasticizers of propellants. In this study, 29 derivatives of nitroglycerine are investigated at the B3LYP/6-31G* level of the density functional theory. The corrected theoretical densities ([Formula: see text]) are predicted and are found to be very close to the experimental values. Detonation properties are calculated using the modified Kamlet–Jacobs equations and the specific impulse (Is) is evaluated according to the maximum exothermic principle. A new parameter K, which is the product of Is and [Formula: see text], is proposed to evaluate the overall energetic characteristics of compounds. Thermal stability is discussed by calculating the bond dissociation energies or bond dissociation energy barriers. The O–NO2 bond has the smallest bond dissociation energy and is the trigger bond for each of the studied compounds. The influence of the –ONO2 and –CH2–O–CH2–CH(ONO2)– groups, which is useful for design of new high energy plasticizers, is also discussed. Comprehensively considering the energetic properties and the stability, DGPN, DGHN, TriGHeptaN, TriGON, TriGNN, TetraGNN, TetraGDeN, TetraGUN, and TetraGDoN are possibly better energetic plasticizers of solid propellants than nitroglycerine.
β-1 adrenoceptors and AT1 receptors may not be involved in catecholamine-induced lethal arrhythmias
Authors: Adameova Adriana , Elimban Vijayan , Ganguly Paul K. , Dhalla Naranjan S.
Published: December 2018

An excessive amount of catecholamines produce arrhythmias, but the exact mechanisms of this action are not fully understood. For this purpose, Sprague–Dawley rats were treated with or without atenolol, a β1-adrenoceptor blocker (20 mg/kg per day), for 15 days followed by injections of epinephrine for cumulative doses of 4 to 128 μg/kg. Another group of animals were pretreated with losartan, an angiotensin receptor (AT1) blocker (20 mg/kg per day), for comparison. Control animals received saline. Varying degrees of ventricular arrhythmias were seen upon increasing the dose of epinephrine, but the incidence and duration of the rhythm abnormalities as well as the number of episodes and severity of arrhythmias were not affected by treating the animals with atenolol or losartan. The levels of both epinephrine and norepinephrine were increased in the atenolol-treated rats but were unchanged in the losartan-treated animals after the last injection of epinephrine; the severity of arrhythmias did not correlate with the circulating catecholamine levels. These results indicate that both β1-adrenoceptors and AT1 receptors may not be involved in the pathogenesis of catecholamine-induced arrhythmias and support the view that other mechanisms, such as the oxidation products of catecholamines, may play a crucial role in the occurrence of lethal arrhythmias.
Short-term legacy effects of feedlot manure amendments on water-extractable organic carbon in a clay loam soil profile
Authors: Miller J.J. , Owen M.L. , Hao X. , Drury C.F. , Chanasyk D.S.
Published: December 2018

Limited research exists on legacy effects of land application of feedlot manure on accumulation, redistribution, and leaching potential of water-extractable organic carbon (WEOC) in soil profiles. We sampled a clay loam soil at six depths (0–1.50 m) 2 yr after the last application (2014) of 17 continuous annual manure applications (since 1998). The amendment treatments were stockpiled (SM) or composted (CM) feedlot manure containing straw (ST) or wood-chip (WD) bedding at three application rates (13, 39, and 77 Mg ha−1dry basis). There was also an unamended control (CON) and inorganic fertilizer (IN) treatment. The soil samples were analyzed for concentrations of WEOC. The total mass or accumulation of WEOC in the soil profile was greater (P ≤ 0.05) by 1.2–3.3 times for the CM-ST-77 treatment than 12 of 14 other treatments, and it was significantly greater for amended than CON or IN treatments. The total WEOC mass was 14%–20% greater for CM-ST than CM-WD, SM-ST, and SM-WD treatments, and it was 16%–22% greater for CM than SM at the 39 and 77 Mg ha−1rates. The 77 Mg ha−1rate of the four manure type-bedding treatments had the significantly greatest (by 37%–527%) concentrations of WEOC at the six depths compared with other treatments, suggesting greater redistribution and leaching potential. Significant manure effects occurred on soil WEOC 2 yr after the manure was last applied following 17 continuous applications, and it indicated an increased risk of leaching potential at the higher application rate.
Collaborative correlation filters for real-time tracking with spatial constraint
Authors: Zhou Lifang , Li Hongmei , Li Weisheng , Lei Bangjun , Wang Lu
Published: December 2018

Accurate scale estimation of the target plays an important role in object tracking. Most state-of-the-art methods estimate the target size by employing an exhaustive scale search. These methods can achieve high accuracy but suffer significantly from large computational cost. In this paper, we first propose an adaptive scale search strategy with the scale selection factor instead of an exhaustive scale search. This proposed strategy contributes to reducing computational costs by adaptive sampling. Furthermore, the boundary effects of correlation filters are suppressed by investigating background information so that the accuracy of the proposed tracker can be boosted. Experiments’ empirical evaluations of 61 challenging benchmark sequences demonstrate that the overall tracking performance of the proposed tracker is very successfully improved. Moreover, our method obtains the top rank in performance by outperforming 17 state-of-the-art trackers on OTB2013.
What is the least number of moves needed to solve the k-peg Towers of Hanoi problem?
Authors: Demontis Roberto
Published: December 2018

We prove that the solutions to the [Formula: see text]-peg Tower of Hanoi problem given by Frame and Stewart are minimal. The proof relies on first identifying that for any [Formula: see text]-disk, [Formula: see text]-peg problem, there is at least one minimal sequence is symmetric. We show that if we order the number moved required for the disks in the minimal symmetric sequence in an increasing manner and obtain the sequence [Formula: see text], then [Formula: see text]. We also prove that the maximum number of disks that can be moved using [Formula: see text] steps is [Formula: see text]. We use these to lower bound the telescopic sum (2) that is a lower bound on the number of moves required for any minimal symmetric sequence. This gives us the required result.
A Constraint-Based Declarative Programming Framework for Scheduling and Resource Allocation Problems
Authors: Wikarek Jarosław , Sitek Paweł
Published: December 2018

Scheduling and resource allocation problems are widespread in many areas of today’s technology and management. Their different forms and structures appear in production, logistics, software engineering, computer networks, project and human resources management, services, etc. The literature (problem classification, scheduling and resource allocation models, solutions) is vast and exhaustive. In practice, however, classical scheduling problems with fixed structures and standard constraints (precedence, disjoint, etc.) are rare. Practical scheduling problems include also logical and nonlinear constraints, and they use nonstandard criteria of schedule evaluations. Indeed, in many cases, decision makers are interested in the feasibility and/or optimality of a given schedule for specified conditions formulated as general and/or specific questions. Thus, there is a need to develop a programming framework that will facilitate the modeling and solving of a variety of diverse scheduling problems. The framework should be able to (a) model any types of constraints, (b) ask questions/criteria relating to the schedule execution mode and (c) be highly effective in finding solutions (schedule development). This paper proposes such a constraint-based declarative programming framework for modeling and solving scheduling problems which satisfies the assumptions above. It was built with the Constraint Logic Programming (CLP) environment and supported with Mathematical Programming (MP). The functionality and effectiveness of this framework are presented with the use of an illustrative example for the resource-constrained scheduling problem with additional resources.
Joint Review of The Power of Networks
Authors: Louridas Panos
Published: December 2018

These are two books that complement each other; they target different audiences, adopt different pedagogy, they even look very different, yet they treat largely overlapping material. In short, they both present material related to networks; not just computer networks, but any kind of networks that may be subsumed under the newly formed discipline of network science. One of the two books intends to provide a broad sweep and provide a high-level understanding of key concepts, presenting the topics in way accessible to an educated layperson. The other book goes into the nuts and bolts of network science, taking us to the realm of rigorous equations, proofs and algorithms.
Some Open Problems in Fine-Grained Complexity
Authors: Williams Virginia Vassilevska
Published: December 2018

Fine-grained complexity studies problems that are "hard" in the following sense. Consider a computational problem for which existing techniques easily give an algorithm running in a(n) time for inputs of size n, for some a. The algorithm is often brute-force, and despite decades of research, no O(a(n)1-∈) time algorithm for constant " > 0 has been developed.

There are many diverse examples of such problems. Here are two: CNF-SAT on n variables and m clauses can be solved via exhaustive search in O(2nmn) time, and no 2(1-∈)npoly(m; n) time algorithm for constant " > 0 is known. The Longest Common Subsequence (LCS) problem on strings of length n has a classical O(n2) time algorithm, and no O(n-∈) time algorithm for " > 0 is known. Let's call these running times the "textbook running times". (Note that this is not well-defined but for many fundamental problems such as SAT or LCS, it is natural. The textbook runtime is the runtime of the algorithm a bright student in an algorithms class would come up with.)
SIGACT News Online Algorithms Column 34
Authors: van Stee Rob
Published: December 2018

In this column, I will discuss some papers in online algorithms that appeared in 2018. It is very nice to see many good papers on this topic appearing year after year. I make no claim at complete coverage here, and have instead made a selection.

As always, if I have unaccountably missed your favorite paper and you would like to write about it or about any other topic in online algorithms, please don't hesitate to contact me!
DISC 2018 Review
Authors: Biradavolu Aditya , Kumar Saptaparni
Published: December 2018

The 32nd International Symposium on Distributed Computing, DISC 2018 was held in New Orleans, USA, from October 15-19, 2018. The conference took place at the Hampton Inn & Suites New Orleans-Convention Center and was organized by Costas Busch of Louisiana State University. The conference included two workshops and three days of main conference this year.
Some Unresolved Issues of Measuring the Efficiency of Pollinators: Experimentally Testing and Assessing the Predictive Power of Different Methods
Authors: Sihag Ram Chander
Published: December 2018

Knowledge of efficiency of pollinators is valuable in the derivation of (i) the degree of mutualism specialization of a flower visitor in the natural plant communities, (ii) the optimum number of pollinators needed for the maximum pollination in a plant population, and (iii) the pollinator risk assessment in the sustainable agriculture. Earlier researchers used many direct and indirect methods for measuring the pollination efficiency (PE) of flower visitors. However, a great ambiguity exists in the usage of this terminology that necessitated its fresh scrutiny. I tested the available three standard methods afresh to find the efficiency of pollinators. These included comparing the (i) number of pollen grains removed and deposited by the visitors; (ii) seed set resulting from a single and the multiple visits of the visitors; and (iii) “pollen transfer efficiency (PTE)” derived from the foraging behavior and abundances of the visitors. Observations were recorded on the visitors of four plant species in an agroecosystem of Northwest India. These plants represented a wide variety of the floral types across the angiosperms. The first two methods, namely, the “number of pollen grains removed and deposited” and the “seed set resulting from a single and the multiple visits,” were appropriate in finding differences between the efficiency ranks of the pollinators of those flowers where the number of deposited pollen grains was less than the number of ovules in the ovary. However, these two methods completely failed in situations where exactly reverse condition of pollen grains and ovules existed. Thus, these two methods of measuring the PE of visitors had limited approach and lacked a universal application over the entire angiosperm taxa. On the other hand, use of “pollen transfer efficiency”, derived from the foraging behavior and abundance of the visitors, seemed to have an edge over the other two methods as this was helpful in finding differences between the efficiency ranks of the pollinators of plants in all the three situations tested in this study. However, validation of all the three methods through the plant reproductive potential seemed to be an integral confirmatory step for drawing inferences about the efficiency of pollinators.
Denture Induced Submandibular Hematoma in a Patient on Warfarin
Authors: Boon Tat Yeap , Muniandy Rajesh Kumar , Ng Mooi Hang Lily
Published: December 2018

A 79-year-old lady, who was taking warfarin, presented to the Emergency Department with a painless anterior neck swelling, which was associated with hoarseness of voice, odynophagia, and shortness of breath. She first noticed the swelling after she removed her dentures in the evening. On examination, she had an increased respiratory rate. There was a large submandibular swelling at the anterior side of her neck. Upon mouth opening, there was a hematoma at the base of her tongue, which extended to both sides of the tonsillar pillars. The patient was intubated with a video laryngoscope due to her worsening respiratory distress. Intravenous vitamin K and fresh frozen plasma were given immediately. The patient was admitted to the ICU for ventilation and observation. The hematoma subsided after 2 days and she was discharged well.
Variational Approach for Learning Community Structures
Authors: Choong Jun Jin , Liu Xin , Murata Tsuyoshi
Published: December 2018

Discovering and modeling community structure exist to be a fundamentally challenging task. In domains such as biology, chemistry, and physics, researchers often rely on community detection algorithms to uncover community structures from complex systems yet no unified definition of community structure exists. Furthermore, existing models tend to be oversimplified leading to a neglect of richer information such as nodal features. Coupled with the surge of user generated information on social networks, a demand for newer techniques beyond traditional approaches is inevitable. Deep learning techniques such as network representation learning have shown tremendous promise. More specifically, supervised and semisupervised learning tasks such as link prediction and node classification have achieved remarkable results. However, unsupervised learning tasks such as community detection remain widely unexplored. In this paper, a novel deep generative model for community detection is proposed. Extensive experiments show that the proposed model, empowered with Bayesian deep learning, can provide insights in terms of uncertainty and exploit nonlinearities which result in better performance in comparison to state‐of‐the‐art community detection methods. Additionally, unlike traditional methods, the proposed model is community structure definition agnostic. Leveraging on low‐dimensional embeddings of both network topology and feature similarity, it automatically learns the best model configuration for describing similarities in a community.
Energy‐Efficient Transmission Based on Direct Links: Toward Secure Cooperative Internet of Things
Authors: Shang Xiaohui , Liu Aijun , Wang Yida , Xie Qing , Wang Yong
Published: December 2018

In this paper, the secure uplink transmission scenario in Internet of Things (IoT) applications is investigated, where one of multiple sensors communicates with the controller aided by the cooperative relay. Firstly, by considering the direct link, an energy‐efficient transmission scheme (EET) is proposed, which can be suitable for the resource‐constrained devices and applications in IoT communication. Moreover, the secrecy outage probability (SOP) and secure energy efficiency (SEE) of different transmission strategies are derived, which contributes to the design of energy‐efficient secure transmission. Finally, simulation results demonstrate that EET outperforms other transmission protocols in terms of SEE in most situations. To improve the secrecy performance and energy efficiency of the IoT deployment, EET can be adopted as an effective additional strategy in practical applications.
Cardiorespiratory Responses to Glittre ADL Test in Bronchiectasis: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Hena Ravoori , Alaparthi Gopala Krishna , Shyam Krishnan K. , Anand R. , Acharya Vishak , Acharya Pretham
Published: December 2018

Background. Bronchiectasis is a chronic respiratory condition characterised by chronic sputum production, fatigue, and dyspnoea. These symptoms will lead to reduced exercise capacity and a reduced ability to carry out activities of daily living. Glittre ADL test is a valid and reliable test which evaluates the activities of daily living. Aim. To investigate whether the Glittre ADL test can differentiate the functional capacity and cardiorespiratory responses of patients with bronchiectasis from those healthy individuals using the six-minute test as a functional performance standard. Methods. This study included 30 subjects: 15 bronchiectasis and 15 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects. The patients and healthy subjects were made to perform the Glittre ADL and six-minute test on two consecutive days. Parameters such as time taken, distance walked, HR, RR, SpO2, and dyspnoea were recorded before and after the tests. Results. The performance of bronchiectasis was worse than the healthy group on the Glittre ADL test (4.78 ± 1.33 min, 3.94 ± 0.82 min, p=0.04). Distance walked in the six-minute walk test by the bronchiectasis was 42 meters lesser than the healthy (400.33 ± 77.99, 442 ± 89.21, p=0.18). The Glittre ADL test was correlated with 6MWT when the total sample was analysed (r=−0.41,p=0.05). There was moderate positive correlation between heart rate variation, dyspnoea, respiratory rate, and peripheral saturation (SpO2) between the tests (Glittre heart rate versus six-minute walk test heart rate (r=0.55,p=0.001); Glittre (Borg) versus six-minute walk test (Borg) (r=0.72,p=0.00); Glittre respiratory rate versus six-minute walk test RR (r=0.62,p=0.00); Glittre SpO2 versus six-minute walk test SpO2 (r=0.40,p=0.02)). The bronchiectasis group had a statistically significant higher (p=0.08,p=0.46) increase in dyspnoea and RR than the controls in both the Glittre ADL test and six-minute walk test (p=0.009,p=0.03), with the similar HR variation in both the groups (p>0.05). There was statistical difference in peripheral oxygen saturation in bronchiectasis in the six-minute walk test (p=0.03). Conclusion. The Glittre ADL test induced similar cardiorespiratory responses when compared to the six-minute walk test. So, the Glittre ADL test can be used as an assessment tool besides the six-minute walk test for the more complete evaluation of functional capacity and activities of daily living.
Acute Left Internal Carotid Artery and Right Popliteal Artery Occlusion Related to Cisplatin-Gemcitabine Based Chemotherapy
Authors: Zafar Saman , Potdar Rashmika , Tiu Andrew , Varadi Gabor , Leighton John
Published: December 2018

Objectives. The increased risk of thromboembolic complications with active cancer is well known. We present this case to highlight that chemotherapy may increase the risk of thromboembolic events even further in cancer patients.Methods. We report a case of a 64-year-old male with Diffuse Large B-Cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma who presented with left-sided headache and right calf pain two weeks after starting Rituximab/Gemcitabine/Cisplatin/Dexamethasone chemotherapy. Neurological examination was normal, but there was an absent right dorsalis pedis pulse. He subsequently developed left vision loss. CT angiogram of the head and neck revealed occlusion of his left internal carotid artery and poor opacification of the left ophthalmic artery. An angiogram of the right leg further revealed acute occlusion of the popliteal artery.Results. The patient underwent intra-arterial Tissue Plasminogen Activator injection to his lower limb and was started on Low Molecular Weight Heparin. His vision gradually recovered with time. His chemotherapy regimen was changed to RICE (Rituximab, Ifosfamide, Carboplatin, Etoposide).Conclusion. Based on literature review, there are numerous similar presentations of arterial thromboembolism in patients on Cisplatin-based chemotherapy. A high index of suspicion for such events should be maintained for patients on chemotherapy presenting with unusual symptoms.