bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Automated performance‐based design technique for an efficient LTE PDSCH implementation using SDSoC tool
Authors: Eladawy Mohamed , Mostafa Mahmoud , Sameh Said M. , Mostafa Hassan
Published: December 2019

System on a chip (SoC) creates massive design challenges for SoC‐based designers. The design challenges start from functional, architectural verification complexity and finally meeting performance constraints. In addition, heterogeneity of components and tools introduces long design cycles. The Software‐Defined System‐on‐Chip (SDSoC) developed by Xilinx is used to create custom SoC on a heterogeneous FPGA‐CPU platform. The SDSoC tool provides fast, flexible, and short design cycle to develop heterogeneous FPGA‐CPU platform. The objective of this paper is to introduce a new automated design technique to build a SoC on a heterogeneous FPGA‐CPU platform that meets design requirements using SDSoC tool. In this paper, the typical SDSoC design flow is introduced. In addition, a new automated SDSoC design technique is developed to design SoC on a heterogeneous FPGA‐CPU platform on the basis of performance metrics such as area, power, and latency. Design of physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in long‐term evolution (LTE) is presented as a case study. This paper provides the implementation of the transmitter and the receiver of the PDSCH in LTE using SDSoC tool and selects a platform that meets performance metrics constraints.
Intraoperative cytology of pituicytomas
Authors: Viaene Angela N. , Lee Edward B. , Nasrallah MacLean P.
Published: December 2019

Background

Pituicytoma is a rare tumor of the sella and suprasellar region. It is common for these tumors to be misdiagnosed radiographically as pituitary adenomas, meningiomas, and craniopharyngiomas. Histologically, pituicytomas are also known to show variable morphology. These factors often complicate intraoperative consultation, especially when tissue is limited.

Methods

A database search (January 1990‐June 2019) identified 13 surgically resected pituicytomas that were sent for intraoperative consultation. The intraoperative cytology was reviewed by two pathologists, and both squash preparations/smears and touch preparations were included.

Results

The cytological features of pituicytomas were variable. The cytoplasm ranged from fibrillary to fine and wispy. The nuclei were round to ovoid with occasional tumors showing spindled morphology. Small nucleoli were seen in all tumors, and chromatin was fine to vesicular. While squash preparations were cellular and revealed cohesive groups of tumor cells, touch preparations were often paucicellular with the exception of one tumor. The cytological features of pituicytomas are compared to those of other tumors with similar radiographic appearances.

Conclusions

Our findings illustrate the range of cytological features of these rare tumors and highlight the difficulty in making a definitive intraoperative diagnosis. Pituicytomas should be considered in the differential of a sellar/suprasellar lesion with glial and meningioma‐like cytological features.
Payments for ecosystem services and conditional cash transfers in a policy mix: Microlevel interactions in Selva Lacandona, Mexico
Authors: Izquierdo‐Tort Santiago
Published: December 2019

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs have been increasingly studied with a policy mix perspective. So far, the focus has been on PES' interplay with other conservation instruments and resulting environmental outcomes at meso‐ and macrolevels. Though PES often operate among “poor” forest‐dwelling communities in the Global South, our knowledge on PES' interactions with poverty alleviation policies is scarce, especially at the microlevel. This article examines PES' interactions—in terms of joint coverage, management, and spending of revenues, and socioeconomic effects of participation—with a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program in a case study of six communities in Selva Lacandona, Chiapas, Mexico. The article builds a dual framework combining policy mix analysis with an actor‐oriented approach focused on participants' microagency, and is based on in‐depth, qualitative research. Results reveal widespread joint PES and CCT coverage, and patterns of specialization between different household members regarding the management and spending of program revenues. Results also show positive, multilevel policy interactions as participants combine resources to pursue individual and collective socioeconomic strategies. The article highlights the creative ways in which local stakeholders integrate individual policies within their broader livelihoods, and how coordination failures among policy‐implementing institutions and deficient public services limit participants' ability to achieve sustained livelihood improvements. The article also highlights how a focus on microlevel policy interactions complements meso‐ and macrolevel analyses for a better understanding of PES' role in a policy mix and concludes by providing some recommendations for building implementation synergies and improving program design.
Compliance with European Union environmental law: An analysis of digitalization effects on institutional capacities
Authors: Bürgin Alexander
Published: December 2019

This article presents evidence for the positive effects of digitalization on the institutional capacity of key stakeholders, which is a necessary precondition for narrowing the existing implementation gap in European Union environmental law. Based on document analysis and semistructured interviews with actors involved in the implementation process, four main factors are considered. First, the Commission's institutional capacity benefits from a change of focus of the reporting system from textual information to data and indicators and by the development of new data harvesting methods. Second, subnational actors have improved their institutional capacity through knowledge transfers and strategic planning, facilitated by better information and communication technology and statistical data. Third, inspection networks benefitted from technical advances, such as the access to satellite images, presenting new opportunities for the detection of environmental crimes, and new software programs facilitating risk‐based inspections. Finally, citizens' and nongovernmental organizations' improved access to data and to justice in environmental matters strengthened their monitoring capacities.
Structural Differences and Redox Properties of Unsymmetric Diiron PDIxCy Complexes
Authors: Hofmann Andreas J. , Jandl Christian , Hess Corinna R.
Published: December 2019

We present two bimetallic iron complexes, [Fe2(PDIeCy)(OTf)4] (1) and [Fe2(PDIpCy)(THF)(OTf)4] (2) coordinated by an unsymmetric ligand. The new ligand, PDIeCy (PDI = pyridyldiimine; e = ethyl; Cy = cyclam), is a variant of the previously reported PDIpCy (p = propyl) ligand, featuring a shorter linker between the two metal coordination sites. The structural and electronic properties of 1 and 2, both in the solid and solution state, were analyzed by means of X‐ray crystallography, and spectroscopic methods, including 19F‐NMR. The two ligand platforms yield markedly different diiron structures: the PDIeCy ligand permits formation of a bridged, µ‐OTf complex, while the two iron centers of the PDIpCy‐based 2 remain unconnected, directly, under all conditions examined. Both compounds contain electronically non‐coupled high‐spin (S = 2) ferrous centers, as established by Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibility studies. Cyclic voltammetry demonstrates the rich redox chemistry of the compounds, involving both ligand and metal‐centered redox processes. Moreover, we synthesized the two‐electron reduced [Fe2(PDIeCy)]2+ form of 1, which contains the dianionic PDI2– ligand, and represents a two‐electron charge localized complex.
Tetrazine‐Based Metal‐Organic Frameworks as Scaffolds for Post‐Synthetic Modification by the Click Reaction
Authors: Vinu Madhan , Sivasankar Kulandaivel , Prabu Samikannu , Han Jeng‐Liang , Lin Chia‐Her , Yang Chun‐Chuen , Demel Jan
Published: December 2019

Metal‐organic frameworks are one of the most active research fields today. Despite the progress in recent years, synthesis of highly porous structures bearing functional groups for specific applications remains a challenge. Here, we describe synthesis of Zr(IV) and Hf(IV)‐based tetrazine containing metal‐organic frameworks, ZrTz‐68 and HfTz‐68 with pore size of 2.1 nm, specific surface area up to 4217 m2 g–1, and a UiO‐68 topology. The synthesis can be done on a multi‐gram scale from inexpensive linker 4,4'‐(1,2,4,5‐tetrazine‐3,6‐diyl)dibenzoic acid (H2TzDB). Moreover, because of the π‐conjugated tetrazine groups these MOFs can be easily post‐synthetically modified by a “click” reaction maintaining the crystallinity of the framework. Due to the diversity of “clickable” substituents, this strategy represents highly versatile tool for a wide range of applications.
Metal‐Free Synthesis of Polysubstituted Imidazolinone Through Cyclization of Amidines with 2‐Substituted Acrylates
Authors: Liu Zhen , Zhang Yan‐Shun , Wei Yin , Shi Min
Published: December 2019

Polysubstituted imidazolinones were synthesized in a facile metal‐free cascade nucleophilic cyclization of easily available amidines and 2‐substituted acrylates. This protocol is distinguished by simple, mild, and catalyst‐free reaction conditions with a broad substrate scope, affording the desired products in moderate to good yields and providing an efficient strategy for synthesis of polysubstituted imidazolinone.
Spillover of authenticity from work to home: The mediating role of affect
Authors: Zhang Hong , Chen Changkai , Schlegel Rebecca , Chen Kaiyuan
Published: December 2019

A growing area of research is beginning to examine the state‐like nature of authenticity. The current study builds on this research by examining the (dis)continuity in state authenticity across two different social contexts: work and home. We surveyed 154 full‐time employees twice a day for five consecutive workdays. Results showed that state authenticity at work and at home shared a relatively strong positive relationship that appeared to be mediated by the spillover of affect from one context to the next. This is consistent with prior work showing that affect tends to “spillover” from one context to the next and work that suggests a causal impact of affect on authenticity judgments. Implications for the study of state authenticity as well as work–home interaction are discussed.
Bringing together humanistic and intergroup perspectives to build a model of internalisation of normative social harmdoing
Authors: Amiot Catherine E. , Lizzio‐Wilson Morgana , Thomas Emma F. , Louis Winnifred R.
Published: December 2019

This article introduces a model of the internalisation of normative social harmdoing: the MINSOH. This model seeks to explain how group members internalise harmful social norms such that they personally endorse their groups' normative actions. To this aim, the MINSOH integrates two divergent yet complementary theoretical perspectives: self‐determination theory and the social identity approach. These perspectives differ in their basic assumptions about the possibility for harm to become internalised, yet when integrated, they provide a powerful account of how harmdoing can become internalised. The MINSOH proposes specific conditions under which harmful normative actions become accepted by group members. This article outlines multiple self‐determined motivations for harmdoing and discrete group processes that enable harmdoing to be internalised and autonomously enacted, and reviews factors that facilitate (i.e., strong/unique/comparative social identification; endorsement of ideological justifications) and block the internalisation process (presence of multiple identities/diverging norms; inclusive superordinate identity). Directions for future research are then discussed.
Impact of high mobility III‐V compound material of a short channel thin‐film SiGe double gate junctionless MOSFET as a source
Authors: Rout Soumendra P. , Dutta Pradipta
Published: December 2019

In recent years, technology has embraced the use of Junctionless Double Gate Metal‐Oxide‐Semiconductor Field‐Effect Transistors (JL DGMOSFET) to reduce Short Channel Effects (SCEs). This research presents a novel JL DGMOSFET based on a highly doped N‐type SiGe in which an III‐V compound material is used at source regime. The III‐V compound material GaSb with higher mobility and higher injection velocity is used as source material, whereas SiGe is considered for both channel and drain materials to produce a higher output current and low leakage current for the N channel JL DGMOSFET. In addition, high‐k dielectric material HfO2 is employed to improve the controllability of the gate at 20 nm channel length. Different parameters, such as Id, SS, gm, TGF, Ion/Ioff ratio, Cgs, and fT of a Symmetric JL DGMOSFET are studied and compared to existing works. The comparison shows that the proposed JL DGMOSFET outperforms the existing state of knowledge. The analysis is also being extended by including the trap charge for the symmetric JL DGMOSFET. Parametrically, the asymmetrical structure is finally studied. The proposed structure yields a higher Id of 40 mA, SS of 60.25 mV/decade, gm of 0.148 A/V, TGF of 3.69 V‐1, Ion/Ioff ratio of 3.41 × 1013, Cgs of 3.78 × 10−16 F and fT of 1.19 × 1013 Hz, hence indicating an improved RF and DC analysis.
Sustainable refined products supply chain: A reliability assessment for demand‐side management in primary distribution processes
Authors: Wang Bohong , Zhang Haoran , Yuan Meng , Guo Zhiling , Liang Yongtu
Published: December 2019

The reliable operation of the primary distribution of refined products supply chains is crucial in guaranteeing the demand for retail markets. The uncertainties such as demand, production, and inventory will affect the supply chain operation. However, there lacks literature that studies the reliability of demand‐side management of refined products supply chains. This reliability assessment can help define the weak points and boost the performance of the supply chain. And it can help decision‐makers to improve the satisfaction of retail markets. In this paper, a systematic method for comprehensively assessing the reliability of refined products supply chains is proposed. At first, a mathematical programming model is developed to get the distribution plan of refined products. Then, several scenarios such as increasing demand, decreasing production, refineries disruption, and pipeline interruption relevant to the real situations of refined products supply chains are defined. Besides, indices including satisfaction rate, number of dissatisfied retail markets, refined products shortage, shortage of a single retail market, and average shortage duration are proposed to evaluate the reliability of the demand‐side management in primary distribution processes. At last, the Monte Carlo simulation is adopted for a comprehensive analysis combining all the scenarios. This analysis shows a clear picture of the influence of uncertainties. This method is applied to assess the reliability of demand‐side management of a real refined products supply chain. After analyzing different scenarios, the average probability of dissatisfaction under the reference scenario came as 1.93 × 10−4/day that means one day in around 14.2 years could have refined products shortage. This method can also help decision‐makers to assess other primary distribution of refined products supply chains.
Computational fluid dynamics analysis and design optimization of a porous annular powder‐liquid mixer
Authors: Feng Long , Li Zengliang , Du Mingchao , Sun Zhaocheng , Fan Chunyong
Published: December 2019

An annular powder‐liquid mixer is a new type of jet pump used to mix powder. This mixer is mainly used to mix fracturing fluids in oil and natural gas exploitation processes. Free from powder pellets, the mixer has characteristics, such as high mixing efficiency and great suction. The structural parameters, such as hose diameter, exit section diameter, falloff angle, divergence angle, hose length‐diameter ratio, and annular nozzle diameter, may influence this new type of mixer. By using an orthogonal experiment to optimize the structure of an annular ring‐type powder mixer and performing a comparative analysis of the results of numerical simulations, this paper finally determines the mixer's structure. According to experiments, the mixer's negative suction can reach 0.09 MPa, there are no powder pellets during the mixing process, and the mixing effect is very good.
Thresholds for post‐wildfire debris flows: Insights from the Pinal Fire, Arizona, USA
Authors: Raymond Carissa A. , McGuire Luke A. , Youberg Ann M. , Staley Dennis M. , Kean Jason W.
Published: December 2019

Wildfire significantly alters the hydrologic properties of a burned area, leading to increases in overland flow, erosion, and the potential for runoff‐generated debris flows. The initiation of debris flows in recently burned areas is well characterized by rainfall intensity‐duration (ID) thresholds. However, there is currently a paucity of data quantifying the rainfall intensities required to trigger post‐wildfire debris flows, which limits our understanding of how and why rainfall ID thresholds vary in different climatic and geologic settings. In this study, we monitored debris‐flow activity following the Pinal Fire in central Arizona, which differs from both a climatic and hydrogeomorphic perspective from other regions in the western United States where ID thresholds for post‐wildfire debris flows are well established, namely the Transverse Ranges of southern California. Since the peak rainfall intensity within a rainstorm may exceed the rainfall intensity required to trigger a debris flow, the development of robust rainfall ID thresholds requires knowledge of the timing of debris flows within rainstorms. Existing post‐wildfire debris‐flow studies in Arizona only constrain the peak rainfall intensity within debris‐flow‐producing storms, which may far exceed the intensity that actually triggered the observed debris flow. In this study, we used pressure transducers within five burned drainage basins to constrain the timing of debris flows within rainstorms. Rainfall ID thresholds derived here from triggering rainfall intensities are, on average, 22 mm h−1 lower than ID thresholds derived under the assumption that the triggering intensity is equal to the maximum rainfall intensity recorded during a rainstorm. We then use a hydrologic model to demonstrate that the magnitude of the 15‐min rainfall ID threshold at the Pinal Fire site is associated with the rainfall intensity required to exceed a recently proposed dimensionless discharge threshold for debris‐flow initiation. Model results further suggest that previously observed differences in regional ID thresholds between Arizona and the San Gabriel Mountains of southern California may be attributed, in large part, to differences in the hydraulic properties of burned soils. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Edge computing and power control in NOMA‐enabled cognitive radio networks
Authors: Cheng Yuxia , Liu Zhanjun , Chen Qianbin , Liang Chengchao
Published: December 2019

Due to the limited computation resources of mobile devices in cognitive radio networks, the secondary users in the network can suffer from long executing time, which is not acceptable for latency‐sensitive and computation‐intensive tasks. To tackle this issue, this paper proposes to reduce the task computing latency for secondary networks by offloading the tasks to edge servers through leveraging mobile edge computing (MEC) that is emerging as a promising technology to augment the computation capacity of mobile devices. Specifically, under the conditions that the interference caused by secondary users is tolerable to primary user and within the available computation resources of the MEC server, the primary user and secondary users both can offload tasks to the MEC server through nonorthogonal multiple access. Thus, we jointly formulate the offloading decision and power control as an optimization problem, aiming at minimizing the overall computing latency for secondary networks. To overcome the computational complexity caused by the nonconvexity of the original problem, we transform the original problem to a solvable problem and decouple the transformed problem into the separate offloading decision and power control. An iterative algorithm is proposed based on block coordinate decent method to achieve the near‐optimal solution. Simulation results show that under the same parameters, such as the number of primary users, maximum transmit power, computational capability of the MEC server and the computational capability of the secondary users, the proposed NOMA‐enabled computation offloading scheme can effectively reduce the overall computing latency for the secondary network and improve the percentage of offloading secondary users than those of OMA‐enabled.
Analytic vision on fog computing for effective load balancing in smart grids
Authors: Rani Shalli
Published: December 2019

The Internet of Things generates a massive amount of data through sensors and other physical devices, which cause latency and delay in processing time and response time of smart grid (SG) services. To increase the efficiency of SGs, cloud computing provides a pay‐per model approach to transmit the collected data and enhances the scalability and functionality of end devices. Moreover, in load balancing (LB), resource utilization, and distribution mechanism, milliseconds also make an effect where delays or jitters are not acceptable. Fog computing, an extension of cloud provides computing, networking, storage, communication at the edge of the network, and has overcome the existing challenges of SGs. In this article, a new hybrid model on the highly virtualized platform is proposed. Three algorithms for LB: throttled, round robin, and particle swarm optimization, are analyzed and compared. Moreover, this article also highlights some cost minimization and effective utilization approaches to distribute resources efficiently to provide services in SGs with respect to LB algorithms.
Forecasting with unbalanced panel data
Authors: Baltagi Badi H. , Liu Long
Published: December 2019

This paper derives the best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) for an unbalanced panel data model. Starting with a simple error component regression model with unbalanced panel data and random effects, it generalizes the BLUP derived by Taub (Journal of Econometrics, 1979, 10, 103–108) to unbalanced panels. Next it derives the BLUP for an unequally spaced panel data model with serial correlation of the AR(1) type in the remainder disturbances considered by Baltagi and Wu (Econometric Theory, 1999, 15, 814–823). This in turn extends the BLUP for a panel data model with AR(1) type remainder disturbances derived by Baltagi and Li (Journal of Forecasting, 1992, 11, 561–567) from the balanced to the unequally spaced panel data case. The derivations are easily implemented and reduce to tractable expressions using an extension of the Fuller and Battese (Journal of Econometrics, 1974, 2, 67–78) transformation from the balanced to the unbalanced panel data case.
Extraction, purification, characterization, anticoagulant activity, and anticoagulant mechanism of polysaccharides from the heads of Hypomesus olidus
Authors: Zhang Xuan , Ma Xin‐Tong , Xu Yu , Jiang Guo‐Chuan , Zhang Jia‐Lin , Liu Xue‐Jun , Yan Xiao‐Hui
Published: December 2019

The aim of this work was to extract, isolate, and purify polysaccharides from the heads of Hypomesus olidus and to evaluate their anticoagulant activities and anticoagulant mechanisms. Response surface methodology was used to optimize the extraction conditions for ultrasonic‐assisted extraction of polysaccharides from the heads of Hypomesus olidus. The optimal extraction conditions consisted of ultrasonic power of 275 W, ultrasonic time of 50 min, and solid–liquid ratio of 5 ml/g, giving the yield of crude polysaccharides (GYT) of 7.73 ± 0.042%. Three polysaccharide fractions, GYT‐1, GYT‐2, and GYT‐3 were purified from GYT by using DEAE‐cellulose‐52 column and Sephadex G‐100 column for anticoagulant activities. The results showed that two doses (2 and 4 mg/ml) of GYT‐1 and GYT‐3 could significantly prolong (p < .01) in partial thromboplastin time (APTT) (2.19 and 2.37 times, 2.22 and 2.44 times, respectively) and thrombin time (TT) (2.39 and 2.46 times, 2.44 and 2.80 times, respectively) compared with normal control. In particular, GYT‐3 had stronger anticoagulant activity than GYT‐1, and it was composed of arabinose, fructose, glucose, and lactose with molar ratios of 0.595:1: 2.026:0.273. However, GYT‐2 had no anticoagulant activity (p > .05). In addition, anticoagulation mechanism of polysaccharides from the heads of Hypomesus olidus (GYT‐3) was evaluated. The results showed that the anticoagulant activity of GYT‐3 was based on their binding with antithrombin AT‐III. And the inhibitory effects of GYT‐3 on factor IIa and Xa were related to the concentration of AT‐III in plasma. This study may provide a new and promising anticoagulant drug.
Restructuring of contralateral gray matter volume associated with cognition in patients with unilateral temporal lobe glioma before and after surgery
Authors: Hu Guanjie , Hu Xinhua , Yang Kun , Liu Dongming , Xue Chen , Liu Yong , Xiao Chaoyong , Zou Yuanjie , Liu Hongyi , Chen Jiu
Published: December 2019

Glioma can cause variable alterations to the structure and function of the brain. However, there is a paucity of studies on the gray matter (GM) volume alterations in the brain region opposite the temporal glioma before and after surgery. Therefore, the present study was initiated to investigate the alternation in contralateral homotopic GM volume in patients with unilateral temporal lobe glioma and further, assess the relationship between GM volume alternations with cognition. Eight left temporal lobe glioma patients (LTPs), nine right temporal lobe glioma patients (RTPs), and 28 demographically matched healthy controls (HCs) were included. Using voxel‐based morphometry method, alternations in the contralateral homotopic GM volume in patients with unilateral temporal lobe glioma was determined. Furthermore, the correlation analysis was performed to explore the relationship between cognitive function and altered GM volume. In the preoperative analysis, compared to HCs, LTPs exhibited increased GM volume in right inferior temporal gyrus and right temporal pole (superior temporal gyrus), and, RTPs presented increased GM volume in left inferior temporal gyrus. In the postoperative analysis, compared to HCs, RTPs presented increased GM volume in left middle temporal gyrus. Furthermore, the increased GM volume was significantly positively correlated with the memory test but negatively correlated with the visuospatial test. This study preliminarily confirmed that there were compensatory changes in the GM volume in the contralateral temporal lobe in unilateral temporal lobe glioma patients. Furthermore, alterations of GM volume may be a mechanism for cognitive function compensation.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa‐mannose sensitive hemagglutinin injection therapy for the treatment of chyle fistula following neck dissection
Authors: Chen Qiang , Zou Xiuhe , Ma Yu , Liu Feng , Wei Tao , Li Zhihui , Gong Rixiang , Zhu Jingqiang
Published: December 2019

Background

The efficacy of Pseudomonas aeruginosa‐mannose sensitive hemagglutinin (PA‐MSHA) injection therapy in the treatment of chyle fistula following neck dissection is unclear.

Methods

This prospective study enrolled 26 patients who developed chyle fistula after neck dissection. Patients were divided into high‐output (>500 mL) and low‐output groups (≤500 mL) and were initially treated conservatively for 5 days in the high‐output group or 7 days in the low‐output group. When conservative treatment failed, topical PA‐MSHA therapy was applied.

Results

Twelve of 26 patients were cured with conservative treatment, and the remaining 14 patients were all successfully resolved by PA‐MSHA therapy. Chyle fistula got resolved in the low‐output and high‐output groups after the initiation of therapy were at a median 1 days and 6 days, respectively. Among them, 12 (85.7%) patients experienced fever and 11 (78.6%) patients experienced neck pain.

Conclusions

Topical PA‐MSHA injection therapy could effectively manage chyle fistula following neck dissection.
Anhydrous Conditions Enable the Catalyst‐Free Carboxylation of Aromatic Alkynes with CO2 under Mild Conditions
Authors: Toniolo Davide , Bobbink Felix D. , Dyson Paul J. , Mazzanti Marinella
Published: December 2019

The direct carboxylation of aromatic alkynes with CO2, a cheap and widely available C1 source, is the most attractive method for the synthesis of carboxylic acids. Here we show that direct carboxylation of terminal alkynes can be simply performed in near‐quantitative yield in four hours with anhydrous Cs2CO3 under mild conditions without need of a metal catalyst.
Convolutional neural network in the detection of lung carcinoma using transfer learning approach
Authors: Lakshmi D. , Thanaraj K. Palani , Arunmozhi M.
Published: December 2019

Background

Lung carcinoma is the leading cause of 1.76 million deaths worldwide. GLOBOCAN 2018 report says lung cancer occupies the first position in terms of incidence and mortality rate. Reasons include limited access to timely diagnosis and treatment.

Objective

This research work presents the viability of using convolutional neural network (CNN) for lung carcinoma detection. The proposed network automatically detects the lung carcinomas tissues through transfer learning without the difficulty of specifying features for image classification.

Subjects and methods

The study involves lung CT images of 12 male and 4 female subjects, aging between 35 and 77 years. These images are obtained in Bitmap image format with a resolution of 512 × 512. Two cases namely healthy and carcinoma are taken for study. Carcinoma cases include poorly differentiated carcinoma, moderately differentiated carcinoma. The training data consists of 800 lung CT slices, validation set consists of 100 CT images, and test data consist of 100 images, respectively.

Results

Experimental results demonstrate the VGG16 and VGG 19 network implementation with the area under the receiver operating characteristics of 0.930 and 0.90, respectively. VGG19 compete well with a sensitivity and specificity of 80% and 100% compared to VGG16 with 98% and 88%, respectively.

Conclusion

Hence, the implementation of VGG16 and VGG19 with good accuracy proves that CNN used for lung carcinoma detection leading to timely diagnosis and treatment may decrease the mortality rate.
Decoding visual network‐related dynamic functional connectivity for eyes‐open and eyes‐closed using machine learning
Authors: Wang Xun‐Heng , Jiao Yun , Li Lihua
Published: December 2019

Eyes‐open (EO) and eyes‐closed (EC) are the two experimental conditions during resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan sessions. However, the dynamic neural mechanisms of EO/EC based on intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) remains largely unexplored. This paper aimed to decode the dynamic internetwork neural mechanisms for EO/EC using data mining and to identify EO/EC resting state fMRI scans based on machine learning. To achieve these goals, the two states were analyzed using the discriminative models, resulting in total accuracy of 85.87%, a sensitivity of 91.3%, and a specificity of 80.43%. In addition, the discriminative features discovered using data mining were related to previous findings. In summary, we applied visual network‐related inter‐ICN features to decode the neural mechanisms of EO/EC. The reproducible results suggested that visual network‐related inter‐ICN dynamic features could be beneficial for decoding visual attentions, and had potential as neuroimaging‐markers to identify EO/EC resting state fMRI scans.
MicroRNA‐mediated suppression of P‐glycoprotein by quantum dots in lung cancer cells
Authors: Sun Yimin , Zhang Jie , Yin Huancai , Yin Jian
Published: December 2019

The interactions between adenosine triphosphate‐binding cassette (ABC) transporters and nano‐sized materials are attracting increasing attention, due to their great potential in overcoming the multidrug resistance (MDR) phenomena in cancer treatment. However, the inner mechanisms involved in the interactions are largely unknown. In this study, two commercial quantum dots (QDs), CdSe/ZnS‐MPA and CdSe/ZnS‐GSH, were tested for their interactions with P‐glycoprotein (P‐gp), as well as the relating mechanisms in lung cancer (A549) cells. Both QDs significantly suppressed the gene and protein expressions of P‐gp in A549 cells. To explain this, the gene expressions of nine relating microRNAs (miRNAs) were evaluated. The results indicated a shared up‐regulation of miR‐34b and miR‐185 by both QDs. Furthermore, mimics and inhibitors of miR‐34b and miR‐185 significantly enhanced and suppressed the gene and protein expressions of P‐gp, respectively, confirming the modulatory function of these two miRNAs on P‐gp. Interestingly, expressions of both miRNAs were suppressed during treatment with Cd2+ and doxorubicin, which induced the expression of P‐gp, indicating the universality of these miRNAs‐related mechanisms. Thus, as miR‐34b and miR‐185 participated in the suppression of P‐gp functions in A549 cells they could be interesting targets for the treatment of lung cancer.
Quantitative structure–property relationship models to predict thermodynamic properties of some mono and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using genetic algorithm‐multiple linear regression
Authors: Dialamehpour Fatemeh , Shafiei Fatemeh
Published: December 2019

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of diverse organic compounds. Quantitative structure–property relationship (QSPR) models are used for modeling and predicting the thermodynamic properties of 45 monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (MAHs) and PAHs. Thermodynamic properties of PAHs such as heat capacity (C
v; J mol−1 K−1), thermal energy (Eth; kJ mol−1), and entropy (S; J mol−1 K−1) are calculated at the HF level of theory and 6‐311G *basis sets using the Gaussian 09 program. A set of molecular descriptors is calculated for selected compounds using the software Dragon. The genetic algorithm (GA) and backward stepwise multiple linear regression (MLR) techniques are used to obtain suitable QSPR models. The predictive ability of the models is checked using several criteria for internal and external model validation. The results show that three descriptors (Uindex, nAT, HTe) can be efficiently used for estimating S, one descriptor (HTe) for modeling Eth, and also one descriptor (Uindex) for predicting C
v of the considered compounds. The results and discussion lead to the conclusion that the models established by GA‐MLR have good correlation of the thermodynamic properties, which means QSPR models can be efficiently used for predicting the above‐mentioned properties and designing new molecules of MAHs and PAHs.
Is variation in tail vertebral morphology linked to habitat use in chameleons?
Authors: Luger Allison M. , Ollevier Anouk , De Kegel Barbara , Herrel Anthony , Adriaens Dominique
Published: December 2019

Chameleons (Chamaeleonidae) are known for their arboreal lifestyle, in which they make use of their prehensile tail. Yet, some species have a more terrestrial lifestyle, such as Brookesia and Rieppeleon species, as well as some chameleons of the genera Chamaeleo and Bradypodion. The main goal of this study was to identify the key anatomical features of the tail vertebral morphology associated with prehensile capacity. Both interspecific and intra‐individual variation in skeletal tail morphology was investigated. For this, a 3D‐shape analysis was performed on vertebral morphology using μCT‐images of different species of prehensile and nonprehensile tailed chameleons. A difference in overall tail size and caudal vertebral morphology does exist between prehensile and nonprehensile taxa. Nonprehensile tailed species have a shorter tail with fewer vertebrae, a generally shorter neural spine and shorter transverse processes that are positioned more anteriorly (with respect to the vertebral center). The longer tails of prehensile species have more vertebrae as well as an increased length of the processes, likely providing a greater area for muscle attachment. At the intra‐individual level, regional variation is observed with more robust proximal tail vertebrae having longer processes. The distal part has relatively longer vertebrae with shorter processes. Although longer, the small size and high number of the distal vertebrae allows the tail to coil around perches.
Recognition of the gluconeogenic enzyme, Pck1, via the Gid4 E3 ligase: An in silico perspective
Authors: Ismail Alaa M. , Elfiky Abdo A. , Elshemey Wael M.
Published: December 2019

Gluconeogenesis, the reverse process of glycolysis, is a favorable mechanism at conditions of glucose deprivation. Pck1 is a rate‐limiting gluconeogenic enzyme, where its deficiency or mutation contributes to serious clinical situations as neonatal hypoglycemia and liver failure. A recent report confirms that Pck1 is a target for proteasomal degradation through its proline residue at the penultimate position, recognized by Gid4 E3 ligase, but with a lack of informative structural details. In this study, we delineate the localized sequence motif, degron, that specifically interact with Gid4 ligase and unravel the binding mode of Pck1 to the Gid4 ligase by using molecular docking and molecular dynamics. The peptide/protein docking HPEPDOCK web server along with molecular dynamic simulations are applied to demonstrate the binding mode and interactions of a Pck1 wild type (SPSK) and mutant (K4V) with the recently solved structure of Gid4 ligase. Results unveil a distinct binding mode of the mutated peptide compared with the wild type despite having comparable binding affinities to Gid4. Moreover, the four‐residue peptide is found insufficient for Gid4 binding, while the seven‐residue peptide suffices for binding to Gid4. The amino acids S134, K135, and N137 in the loop L1 (between β1 and β2) of the Gid4 are essential for the stabilization of the seven‐residue peptide in the binding site of the ligase. The presence of Val4 instead of Lys4 smashes the H‐bonds that are formed between Lys4 and Gid4 in the wild type peptide, making the peptide prone to bind with the other side of the binding pocket (L4 loop of Gid4). The dynamics of Gid4 L3 loop is affected dramatically once K4V mutant Pck1 peptide is introduced. This opens the door to explore the mutation effects on the binding mode and smooth the path to target protein degradation by design competitive and non‐competitive inhibitors.
Climate regionalization in Bolivia: A combination of non‐hierarchical and consensus clustering analyses based on precipitation and temperature
Authors: Abadi Azar M. , Rowe Clinton M. , Andrade Marcos
Published: December 2019

Climate regionalization is an inseparable part of many climate change and environmental studies. Delineating climatologically homogeneous regions enhances the utility of such studies and reduces the biases due to the uncertainties associated with climate model outputs at individual grid points which both lead to better understanding of the atmospheric mechanisms affecting a region's climate. Throughout time, researchers and statisticians have developed different methods to perform regionalization in which the techniques are highly dependent on the nature and accessibility of the data. This research aims to divide Bolivia into smaller, coherent climate subdivisions. To achieve this goal, we first apply the non‐hierarchical k‐means clustering method to climatologies of monthly accumulated precipitation and monthly average temperature separately using a gridded observation dataset for Bolivia spanning from 1979 to 2010. The clustering is performed on the two variables separately to avoid arbitrary attribute scaling and information redundancy as well as to gain a better understanding of these individual variables across Bolivia. Consensus clustering then finds the categorical intersection of the two independent clusters to create homogeneous climate regions. Results from this study show that Bolivia can be divided into 10 climatically distinguishable subdivisions largely explicable by topography and latitude, which are the key climate control factors in the region.
Temporal pacing of outcomes for improving patient flow: Design science research in a National Health Service hospital
Authors: Johnson Mark , Burgess Nicola , Sethi Simon
Published: December 2019

Improving patient flow in hospitals is a contemporary challenge in the UK National Health Service (NHS). When patients remain in a hospital bed for longer than clinically necessary, hospital performance is dramatically impacted, quality of care is reduced, and elective surgeries are cancelled at great cost to both hospital and patient. This research explains how one UK hospital employed design science research to improve patient flow after other process improvement techniques had failed. The work focused on improving patient flow through the creation of a set of interconnected, temporally paced routines that successfully engaged doctors and nurses in new, outcome‐specific ways of working. These routines were both independent and interdependent, were relationally coordinated through time, and systematically and unambiguously engaged all levels of staff at specific temporal junctures. We discover that the successful adoption of these routines was cumulative rather than iterative and was aligned with ongoing efforts supporting the social aspects of change. Through this work, our case hospital saw performance improvements that moved them from being below average to the best in the country, combining improvements in patient care with savings of over £3 million in the first 12 months. The contribution of this research is twofold; first, we explain how the development of outcome‐specific routines can facilitate process improvement, and second, we illustrate how design science research can successfully bridge theory and practice to promote swift and even flow in healthcare.
Predictive validity of radiographic signs of complete discoid lateral meniscus in children using machine learning techniques
Authors: Ha Chul‐Won , Kim Seong Hwan , Lee Dong‐Hoon , Kim Hyojoon , Park Yong‐Beom
Published: December 2019

The diagnostic utility of radiographic signs of complete discoid lateral meniscus remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy and determine which sign is most reliably detects the presence of a complete discoid lateral meniscus in children. A total of 141 knees (age 7‐16) with complete discoid lateral meniscus and 141 age‐ and sex‐matched knees with normal meniscus were included. The following radiographic signs were evaluated: lateral joint (LJ) space, fibular head (FH) height, lateral tibial spine (LTS) height, lateral tibial plateau (LTP) obliquity, lateral femoral condyle (LFC) squaring, LTP cupping, LFC notching, and prominence ratio of the femoral condyle. Prediction models were constructed using logistic regressions, decision trees, and random forest analyses. Receiver operating characteristic curves and area under the curve (AUC) were estimated to compare the diagnostic accuracy of the radiographic signs and model fit. The random forest model yielded the best diagnostic accuracy (AUC: 0.909), with 86.5% sensitivity and 82.2% specificity. LJ space height, FH height, and prominence ratio showed statistically large AUC compared with LTS height and LTP obliquity (P < .05 in all). The cut‐off values for diagnosing discoid meniscus to be <12.55 mm for FH height, <0.804 for prominence ratio, and >6.6 mm for LJ space height when using the random forest model. On the basis of the results of this study, in clinical practice, LJ space height, FH height and prominence ratio could be easily used as supplementary tools for complete discoid lateral meniscus in children.
Service Requirements of Liver Transplant Anesthesia Teams: Society for the Advancement of Transplant Anesthesia Recommendations
Authors: Hendrickse Adrian , Crouch Cara , Sakai Tetsuro , Stoll William D. , McNulty Monica , Pivalizza Evan , Sridhar Srikanth , Diaz Geraldine , Sheiner Patricia , Nevah Rubin Moises I. , Al‐Khafaji Ali , Pomposelli James , Mandell M. Susan
Published: December 2019

There are disparities in liver transplant anesthesia team (LTAT) care across the United States. However, no policies address essential resources for liver transplant anesthesia services similar to other specialists. In response, the Society for the Advancement of Transplant Anesthesia appointed a task force to develop national recommendations. The Conditions of Transplant Center Participation were adapted to anesthesia team care and used to develop Delphi statements. A Delphi panel was put together by enlisting 21 experts from the fields of liver transplant anesthesiology and surgery, hepatology, critical care, and transplant nursing. Each panelist rated their agreement with and the importance of 17 statements. Strong support for the necessity and importance of 13 final items were as follows: resources, including preprocedure anesthesia assessment, advanced monitoring, immediate availability of consultants, and the presence of a documented expert in liver transplant anesthesia credentialed at the site of practice; call coverage, including schedules to assure uninterrupted coverage and methods to communicate availability; and characteristics of the team, including membership criteria, credentials at the site of practice, and identification of who supervises patient care. Unstructured comments identified competing time obligations for anesthesia and transplant services as the principle reason that the remaining recommendations to attend integrative patient selection and quality review committees were reduced to a suggestion rather than being a requirement. This has important consequences because deficits in team integration cause higher failure rates in service quality, timeliness, and efficiency. Solutions are needed that remove the time‐related financial constraints of competing service requirements for anesthesiologists. In conclusion, using a modified Delphi technique, 13 recommendations for the structure of LTATs were agreed upon by a multidisciplinary group of experts.
SOX2 upregulates side population cells and enhances their chemoresistant ability by transactivating ABCC1 expression contributing to intrinsic resistance to paclitaxel in melanoma
Authors: Si Xiaoqiang , Gao Zhengjun , Xu Feihua , Zheng Yawen
Published: December 2019

Paclitaxel is the last choice for the treatment of advanced melanoma as a second‐line chemotherapeutic agent, but there are still many cases of intrinsic resistance to paclitaxel in melanoma and the reasons that cause paclitaxel resistance remain unclear. Here, we identified that high expression of SRY‐box transcription factor 2 (SOX2) and high ratio of side population (SP) cells reduced the sensitivity to paclitaxel in melanoma cells. The knockout and the induction of SOX2 completely depleted and significantly upregulated the ratios of melanoma SP cells, respectively. These data suggest that SOX2, a pluripotent transcription factor for inducing cancer stem cells in melanoma, is also sufficient and necessary for the induction of melanoma SP cells. ATP‐binding cassette (ABC) subfamily C member 1 (ABCC1) is one of ABC transporters which causes SP cells to be resistance to chemotherapeutic agents by efficiently pumping drugs out of cells. The knockout and the induction of ABCC1 significantly increased and decreased the sensitivity of melanoma cells to paclitaxel. High expression of ABCC1 was identified in melanoma cell lines with high expression of SOX2 and in their SP cells. SOX2 was identified to induce ABCC1 transcription. Taken together, SOX2 upregulates SP cells and enhances their chemoresistant ability by increasing ABCC1 expression, which contributes to intrinsic resistance to paclitaxel in melanoma. Our findings will lead to new insights into melanoma biology and therapy resistance, and eventually to new therapeutic targets.