bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tourette’s syndrome and its borderland
Authors: Stern Jeremy S
Published: April 2018

The Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (or Tourette’s syndrome) has a prevalence of 1% of children with a wide range of severity and associated comorbidities. The last 20 years have seen advances in the understanding of the syndrome’s complex genetics and underlying neurobiology. Investigation with imaging and neurophysiology techniques indicate it is a neurodevelopmental condition with dysfunction of basal ganglia–cortical interactions, which are now also being studied in animal models. There is also increasing evidence for treatments although it often remains difficult to manage. First-line options include neuroleptics, other drugs and specialised behavioural treatments. Deep brain stimulation is an evolving field, not yet fully established. This review focuses on the phenomenology of tics, how to assess and manage the syndrome, and uses examples of atypical cases to explore the characteristics and limits of its clinical spectrum.
Estimating stand-level economic impacts of black bear damage to intensively managed forests
Authors: Kline Kristina N. , Taylor Jimmy D. , Morzillo Anita T.
Published: April 2018

Black bears (Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780) peel conifers in early spring to forage on energy-rich vascular tissues, resulting in damage to timber stands. The objective of our study was to develop and demonstrate a conceptual framework and methods for estimating stand-level volume and economic losses from black bear damage. We created tree lists from surveys of healthy and bear-damaged trees in timber stands of western Washington and Oregon. The forest growth model Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) was used to project stand volume under two damage scenarios and an undamaged scenario. One damage scenario (salvage) accounted for mortality and volume losses of fully and partially girdled trees; a second scenario (total loss) assumed complete loss of all trees peeled by black bears, regardless of peeling severity. The Fuel Reduction Cost Simulator (FRCS) was applied to estimate the value of logs delivered to the mill after accounting for logging and hauling costs associated with harvest. Present value of stands was calculated to translate volume losses into economic losses associated with bear damage. Economic losses ranged from 4% to 16% (salvage) and from 17% to 46% (total loss) of net present value. Our approach can be adapted for other forest settings and for forest management plans that assess wildlife damage.
Morphological instability at the solid–liquid interface by the maximum entropy production rate principle
Authors: Bensah Yaw Delali
Published: April 2018

We examine the morphological instability from planar to non-planar cellular morphology with the maximum entropy production rate (MEPR) principle. An expression that quantifies the MEPR density at the solid–liquid interface (SLI) during direction solidification is presented, which leads to an instability criterion for dilute binary alloys. The instability criterion also affords to theoretically calculate the instability solidification growth velocity. The model considers steady state solidification at close-to and far-from equilibrium conditions.
State Complexity of Neighbourhoods and Approximate Pattern Matching
Authors: Ng Timothy , Rappaport David , Salomaa Kai
Published: April 2018

The neighbourhood of a language [Formula: see text] with respect to an additive distance consists of all strings that have distance at most the given radius from some string of [Formula: see text]. We show that the worst case deterministic state complexity of a radius [Formula: see text] neighbourhood of a language recognized by an [Formula: see text] state nondeterministic finite automaton [Formula: see text] is [Formula: see text]. In the case where [Formula: see text] is deterministic we get the same lower bound for the state complexity of the neighbourhood if we use an additive quasi-distance. The lower bound constructions use an alphabet of size linear in [Formula: see text]. We show that the worst case state complexity of the set of strings that contain a substring within distance [Formula: see text] from a string recognized by [Formula: see text] is [Formula: see text].
A variable turbulent Schmidt number formulation by numerical simulation of atmospheric plume dispersion
Authors: Pourabdian Majid , Ebrahimi Mehdi , Qate Mehran
Published: April 2018

Turbulent Schmidt number as an important parameter in computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations is strongly dependent on height, whereas it is mostly considered to be constant in the literature. This paper presents a new variable turbulent Schmidt number formulation which can calculate the relative concentrations (RCs) in neutral atmospheric conditions more accurately. To achieve this aim, RCs from continuous releases are calculated in different distances by the analytical Gaussian plume mode. CFD simulations are carried out for single stack dispersion on a flat terrain surface and an inverse procedure is then applied so that different turbulent Schmidt numbers are used as inputs to determine the RCs to select the “best-fit” turbulent Schmidt number value. This process is continued for different heights to fit a curve to obtain the new formulation for turbulent Schmidt number varying with height. The values are compared with experimental results. The comparison indicates that the new formulation for turbulent Schmidt number is more accurate and reliable than previous research works.
Dimension of noncommutative plane curves
Authors: Jøndrup Søren
Published: April 2018

In this paper, we prove that an algebra of the form [Formula: see text] is never right (or left) artinian in case [Formula: see text] is a proper ideal and [Formula: see text] is an uncountable, algebraically closed field of characteristic [Formula: see text].
New iterative methods for equilibrium and constrained convex minimization problems
Authors: Yazdi Maryam
Published: April 2018

The gradient-projection algorithm (GPA) plays an important role in solving constrained convex minimization problems. In this paper, we combine the GPA and averaged mapping approach to propose implicit and explicit composite iterative schemes for finding a common solution of an equilibrium problem and a constrained convex minimization problem. Then, we prove some strong convergence theorems which improve and extend some recent results.
Ink
Authors: Salehi Niloufar , Bernstein Michael S.
Published: April 2018

The web affords connections by which end-users can receive paid, expert help—such as programming, design, and writing—to reach their goals. While a number of online marketplaces have emerged to facilitate such connections, most end-users do not approach a market to hire an expert when faced with a challenge. To reduce friction in hiring from peer-to-peer expert crowd work markets, we propose Ink, a system that crowd workers can use to showcase their services by embedding tasks inside web tutorials—a common destination for users with information needs. Workers have agency to define and manage tasks, through which users can request their help to review or execute each step of the tutorial, for example, to give feedback on a paper outline, perform a statistical analysis, or host a practice programming interview. In a public deployment, over 25,000 pageviews led 168 tutorial readers to pay crowd workers for their services, most of whom had not previously hired from crowdsourcing marketplaces. A field experiment showed that users were more likely to hire crowd experts when the task was embedded inside the tutorial rather than when they were redirected to the same worker’s Upwork profile to hire them. Qualitative analysis of interviews showed that Ink framed hiring expert crowd workers within users’ well-established information seeking habits and gave workers more control over their work.
Have We Met Before? Using Consumer-Grade Brain-Computer Interfaces to Detect Unaware Facial Recognition
Authors: Bellman Christopher , Martin Miguel Vargas , MacDonald Shane , Alomari Ruba , Liscano Ramiro
Published: April 2018

Much research has been done on the brain’s reaction to seeing faces, but while much of the work has investigated the brain’s conscious reaction to faces, far less work has been done exploring the brain’s unaware reactions using consumer-grade devices. Built on previous work, we describe an experiment conducted using EEGs and consumer-grade Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) headsets to measure the brain’s unaware reaction to seeing faces of three pre-defined recognition classes: no recognition, unaware recognition, and aware recognition. We pre-select images to be shown in each class and display the images in a two-day experiment where participants implicitly learn images tagged as “unaware recognition” for use in the second day. It was found that, outperforming previous works, unaware facial recognitions could be detected with fairly high accuracies using a method that combines multiple sensors from a BCI device and utilizing out-of-the-box classification methods.
Building Efficient Query Engines in a High-Level Language
Authors: Shaikhha Amir , Klonatos Yannis , Koch Christoph
Published: April 2018

Abstraction without regret refers to the vision of using high-level programming languages for systems development without experiencing a negative impact on performance. A database system designed according to this vision offers both increased productivity and high performance instead of sacrificing the former for the latter as is the case with existing, monolithic implementations that are hard to maintain and extend.

In this article, we realize this vision in the domain of analytical query processing. We present LegoBase, a query engine written in the
high-level
programming language Scala. The key technique to regain efficiency is to apply
generative
programming: LegoBase performs source-to-source compilation and optimizes database systems code by converting the high-level Scala code to specialized, low-level C code. We show how generative programming allows to
easily
implement a wide spectrum of optimizations, such as introducing data partitioning or switching from a row to a column data layout, which are difficult to achieve with existing low-level query compilers that handle
only
queries. We demonstrate that sufficiently powerful abstractions are essential for dealing with the complexity of the optimization effort, shielding developers from compiler internals and decoupling individual optimizations from each other.

We evaluate our approach with the TPC-H benchmark and show that (a) with all optimizations enabled, our architecture significantly outperforms a commercial in-memory database as well as an existing query compiler. (b) Programmers need to provide just a few hundred lines of high-level code for implementing the optimizations, instead of complicated low-level code that is required by existing query compilation approaches. (c) These optimizations may potentially come at the cost of using more system memory for improved performance. (d) The compilation overhead is low compared to the overall execution time, thus making our approach usable in practice for compiling query engines.
Using Full Genomic Information to Predict Disease: Breaking Down the Barriers Between Complex and Mendelian Diseases
Authors: Jordan Daniel M. , Do Ron
Published: April 2018

While sequence-based genetic tests have long been available for specific loci, especially for Mendelian disease, the rapidly falling costs of genome-wide genotyping arrays, whole-exome sequencing, and whole-genome sequencing are moving us toward a future where full genomic information might inform the prognosis and treatment of a variety of diseases, including complex disease. Similarly, the availability of large populations with full genomic information has enabled new insights about the etiology and genetic architecture of complex disease. Insights from the latest generation of genomic studies suggest that our categorization of diseases as complex may conceal a wide spectrum of genetic architectures and causal mechanisms that ranges from Mendelian forms of complex disease to complex regulatory structures underlying Mendelian disease. Here, we review these insights, along with advances in the prediction of disease risk and outcomes from full genomic information.
Sickle Cell Anemia and Its Phenotypes
Authors: Williams Thomas N. , Thein Swee Lay
Published: April 2018

In the 100 years since sickle cell anemia (SCA) was first described in the medical literature, studies of its molecular and pathophysiological basis have been at the vanguard of scientific discovery. By contrast, the translation of such knowledge into treatments that improve the lives of those affected has been much too slow. Recent years, however, have seen major advances on several fronts. A more detailed understanding of the switch from fetal to adult hemoglobin and the identification of regulators such as BCL11A provide hope that these findings will be translated into genomic-based approaches to the therapeutic reactivation of hemoglobin F production in patients with SCA. Meanwhile, an unprecedented number of new drugs aimed at both the treatment and prevention of end-organ damage are now in the pipeline, outcomes from potentially curative treatments such as allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation are improving, and great strides are being made in gene therapy, where methods employing both antisickling β-globin lentiviral vectors and gene editing are now entering clinical trials. Encouragingly, after a century of neglect, the profile of the vast majority of those with SCA in Africa and India is also finally improving.
Styles of Argumentation in Judicial Opinions (Legitimating Judicial Decisions)
Authors: Scurich Nicholas
Published: April 2018

This article focuses on how judges present arguments in written opinions and whether the predominant style of argumentation promotes the legitimacy of the judiciary. Judicial opinions are habitually unequivocal, overstated, and lacking of any doubt that the singularly correct decision was reached. Studies examining the effect of argumentation in judicial opinions are limited but generally suggest that furnishing a monolith of reasons does not have persuasive power. In contrast, opinions that acknowledge the complexity and indeterminacy of the decision do have a salutary effect on legitimacy for those who disagree with the outcome of the decision. However, a much larger and more consistent finding is that legitimacy is determined by whether one agrees or disagrees with the outcome of the decision, not the reasons underlying the outcome. The study of public reactions to judicial opinions is important and in its infancy. Avenues for future empirical research are discussed.
Contextual modulation of sensitivity to naturalistic image structure in macaque V2
Authors: Ziemba Corey M. , Freeman Jeremy , Simoncelli Eero P. , Movshon J. Anthony
Published: April 2018

The stimulus selectivity of neurons in V1 is well known, as is the finding that their responses can be affected by visual input to areas outside of the classical receptive field. Less well understood are the ways selectivity is modified as signals propagate to visual areas beyond V1, such as V2. We recently proposed a role for V2 neurons in representing the higher order statistical dependencies found in images of naturally occurring visual texture. V2 neurons, but not V1 neurons, respond more vigorously to “naturalistic” images that contain these dependencies than to “noise” images that lack them. In this work, we examine the dependency of these effects on stimulus size. For most V2 neurons, the preference for naturalistic over noise stimuli was modest when presented in small patches and gradually strengthened with increasing size, suggesting that the mechanisms responsible for this enhanced sensitivity operate over regions of the visual field that are larger than the classical receptive field. Indeed, we found that surround suppression was stronger for noise than for naturalistic stimuli and that the preference for large naturalistic stimuli developed over a delayed time course consistent with lateral or feedback connections. These findings are compatible with a spatially broad facilitatory mechanism that is absent in V1 and suggest that a distinct role for the receptive field surround emerges in V2 along with sensitivity for more complex image structure.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY The responses of neurons in visual cortex are often affected by visual input delivered to regions of the visual field outside of the conventionally defined receptive field, but the significance of such contextual modulations are not well understood outside of area V1. We studied the importance of regions beyond the receptive field in establishing a novel form of selectivity for the statistical dependencies contained in natural visual textures that first emerges in area V2.
Modeling of Dual-Spinning Projectile with Canard and Trajectory Filtering
Authors: Guan Jun , Yi Wenjun
Published: April 2018

The article establishes a seven-degree-of-freedom projectile trajectory model for a new type of spinning projectile. Based on this model, a numerical analysis is performed on the ballistic characteristics of the projectile, and the trajectory of the dual-spinning projectile is filtered with the unscented Kalman filter algorithm, so that the measurement information of projectile onboard equipment is more accurate and more reliable measurement data are provided for the guidance system. The numerical simulation indicates that the dual-spinning projectile is mainly different from the traditional spinning projectile in that a degree of freedom is added in the direction of the axis of the projectile, the forebody of the projectile spins at a low speed or even holds still to improve the control precision of the projectile control system, while the afterbody spins at a high speed maintaining the gyroscopic stability of the projectile. The trajectory filtering performed according to the unscented Kalman filter algorithm can improve the accuracy of measurement data and eliminate the measurement error effectively, so as to obtain more accurate and reliable measurement data.
Renoprotective Effect of Danhong Injection on Streptozotocin‐Induced Diabetic Rats through a Peroxisome Proliferator‐Activated Receptor γ Mediated Pathway
Authors: Yang Xue , Xiao Xiang , Wang Hailian , Li Yi , Wang Li , Li Guisen , Deng Shaoping
Published: April 2018

The aim of the study was to investigate the protective effect of Danhong injection (DHI) on diabetic kidney disease and explore the potential mechanisms. Diabetic kidney disease was induced by unilateral nephrectomy, high‐fat diet, and streptozotocin. After DHI administration, the renal function deterioration, 24‐hour total urine protein excretion, and elevated serum lipid levels were reversed to some extent, and the renal pathological damage was also ameliorated. The KEGG pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated that the PPARγ signal pathway was significantly upregulated in DH group. And the increased expressions of PPARγ and UCP‐1 were confirmed by immunohistochemistry, whereas the p38MAPK was significantly decreased. These data show that DHI could delay the progress of DKD, and the effect might be achieved in part by activating the PPARγ signaling pathway.
Sepsis Induces a Dysregulated Neutrophil Phenotype That Is Associated with Increased Mortality
Authors: Patel Jaimin M. , Sapey Elizabeth , Parekh Dhruv , Scott Aaron , Dosanjh Davinder , Gao Fang , Thickett David R.
Published: April 2018

Background. Neutrophil dysfunction in sepsis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of multiorgan failure; however, the role of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) remains uncertain. We aimed to determine the sequential changes in ex vivo NETosis and its relationship with mortality in patients with sepsis and severe sepsis.Methods. This was a prospective observational cohort study enrolling 21 healthy age-matched controls and 39 sepsis and 60 severe sepsis patients from acute admissions to two UK hospitals. Patients had sequential bloods for the ex vivo assessment of NETosis in response to phorbol-myristate acetate (PMA) using a fluorometric technique and chemotaxis using time-lapse video microscopy. Continuous data was tested for normality, with appropriate parametric and nonparametric tests, whilst categorical data was analysed using a chi-squared test. Correlations were performed using Spearman’s rho.Results. Ex vivo NETosis was reduced in patients with severe sepsis, compared to patients with sepsis and controls (p=0.002). PMA NETosis from patients with septic shock was reduced further (p<0.001) compared to controls. The degree of metabolic acidosis correlated with reduced NETosis (p<0.001), and this was replicated when neutrophils from healthy donors were incubated in acidotic media. Reduced NETosis at baseline was associated with an increased 30-day (p=0.002) and 90-day mortality (p=0.014) in sepsis patients. These findings were accompanied by defects in neutrophil migration and delayed apoptosis. Resolution of sepsis was not associated with the return to baseline levels of NETosis or migration.Conclusions. Sepsis induces significant changes in neutrophil function with the degree of dysfunction corresponding to the severity of the septic insult which persists beyond physiological recovery from sepsis. The changes induced lead to the failure to effectively contain and eliminate the invading pathogens and contribute to sepsis-induced immunosuppression. For the first time, we demonstrate that reduced ex vivo NETosis is associated with poorer outcomes from sepsis.
Spinopelvic Dissociation: Comparison of Outcomes of Percutaneous versus Open Fixation Strategies
Authors: Pearson Jeffrey M. , Niemeier Thomas E. , McGwin Gerald , Rajaram Manoharan Sakthivel
Published: April 2018

Introduction. Spinopelvic dissociation injuries are historically treated with open reduction with or without decompressive laminectomy. Recent technological advances have allowed for percutaneous fixation with indirect reduction. Herein, we evaluate outcomes and complications between patients treated with open reduction versus percutaneous spinopelvic fixation. Methods. Retrospective review of patients undergoing spinopelvic fixation from a single, level one trauma center from 2012 to 2017. Patient information regarding demographics, associated injuries, and treatment outcome measures was recorded and analyzed. All fractures were classified via the AO Spine classification system. Results. Thirty-one spinopelvic dissociations were identified: 15 treated with open and 16 with percutaneous techniques. The two treatment groups had similar preoperative characteristics including spinopelvic parameters (pelvic incidence and lumbar lordosis). Compared to open reduction internal fixation, percutaneous fixation of spinopelvic dissociation resulted in statistically significantly lower blood loss (171 cc versus 538 cc; p=0.0013). There were no significant differences in surgical site infections (p=0.48) or operating room time (p=0.66). Conclusion. Percutaneous fixation of spinopelvic dissociation is associated with significantly less blood loss. Treatment outcomes in terms of infection, length of stay, operative cost, and final alignment between the open and percutaneous group were similar.
Single‐Layer, Dual‐Port, Dual‐Band, and Orthogonal‐Circularly Polarized Microstrip Antenna Array with Low Frequency Ratio
Authors: Wang Min , Wang Dao-Yu , Wu Wen , Fang Da-Gang
Published: April 2018

A single‐layer, dual‐port, dual‐band, and dual circularly polarized (CP) microstrip array is designed for satellite communication in this paper. The operating frequencies are 8.2 and 8.6 GHz with a very low ratio of 1.05. First, a rectangular patch element is fed through microstrip lines at two orthogonal edges to excite two orthogonal dominant modes of TM01 and TM10. The very low frequency ratio can be realized with high polarization isolations. Then, a 2‐by‐2 dual‐band dual‐CP subarray is constructed by two independent sets of sequentially rotated (SR) feed structures. An 8‐by‐8 array is designed on the single‐layer thin substrate. Finally, by utilizing one‐to‐four power dividers and semirigid coaxial cables, a 16‐by‐16 array is developed to achieve higher gain. Measured results show that the 16‐by‐16 array has 15 dB return loss (RL) bandwidths of 4.81% and 6.75% and 3 dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidths of 2.84% and 1.57% in the lower and the upper bands, respectively. Isolations of 18.6 dB and 19.4 dB and peak gains of 25.1 dBic and 25.6 dBic are obtained at 8.2 and 8.6 GHz, respectively.
Monitoring and Analysis of Ground Settlement Induced by Tunnelling with Slurry Pressure‐Balanced Tunnel Boring Machine
Authors: Park Hyunku , Oh Ju-Young , Kim Dohyung , Chang Seokbue
Published: April 2018

A case study of monitoring and analysis of ground settlement caused by tunnelling of stacked twin tunnels for underground metro line construction through the densely populated area using the slurry pressure‐balanced TBM is presented. Detailed ground settlement monitoring was carried out for the initial stage of down‐track tunnelling in order to estimate trough width factor and volume losses including face, shield, and tail losses. In addition, using the gap model, prediction of volume loss and ground settlement was carried out with consideration of the ground condition, TBM configurations, and actual operation data. The predictions of the gap model were compared with the observed results, and adjustment factors were determined for volume loss estimation. The adjusted factors were applied to predict ground settlement of the up‐track tunnel, and its results were compared with the field measurements.
Analysis of the High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Fingerprints and Quantitative Analysis of Multicomponents by Single Marker of Products of Fermented Cordyceps sinensis
Authors: Chen Li-hua , Wu Yao , Guan Yong-mei , Jin Chen , Zhu Wei-feng , Yang Ming
Published: April 2018

Fermented Cordyceps sinensis, the succedaneum of Cordyceps sinensis which is extracted and separated from Cordyceps sinensis by artificial fermentation, is commonly used in eastern Asia in clinical treatments due to its health benefit. In this paper, a new strategy for differentiating and comprehensively evaluating the quality of products of fermented Cordyceps sinensis has been established, based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint analysis combined with similar analysis (SA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and the quantitative analysis of multicomponents by single marker (QAMS). Ten common peaks were collected and analysed using SA, HCA, and QAMS. These methods indicated that 30 fermented Cordyceps sinensis samples could be categorized into two groups by HCA. Five peaks were identified as uracil, uridine, adenine, guanosine, and adenosine, and according to the results from the diode array detector, which can be used to confirm peak purity, the purities of these compounds were greater than 990. Adenosine was chosen as the internal reference substance. The relative correction factors (RCF) between adenosine and the other four nucleosides were calculated and investigated using the QAMS method. Meanwhile, the accuracy of the QAMS method was confirmed by comparing the results of that method with those of an external standard method with cosines of the angles between the groups. No significant difference between the two methods was observed. In conclusion, the method established herein was efficient, successful in identifying the products of fermented Cordyceps sinensis, and scientifically valid to be applicable in the systematic quality control of fermented Cordyceps sinensis products.
Reliable Sideslip Angle Estimation of Four-Wheel Independent Drive Electric Vehicle by Information Iteration and Fusion
Authors: Chen Te , Chen Long , Xu Xing , Cai Yingfeng , Jiang Haobin , Sun Xiaoqiang
Published: April 2018

Accurate estimation of longitudinal force and sideslip angle is significant to stability control of four-wheel independent driven electric vehicle. The observer design problem for the longitudinal force and sideslip angle estimation is investigated in this work. The electric driving wheel model is introduced into the longitudinal force estimation, considering the longitudinal force is the unknown input of the system, the proportional integral observer is applied to restructure the differential equation of longitudinal force, and the extended Kalman filter is utilized to estimate the unbiased longitudinal force. Using the estimated longitudinal force, considering the unknown disturbances and uncertainties of vehicle model, the robust sideslip angle estimator is proposed based on vehicle dynamics model. Moreover, the recursive least squares algorithm with forgetting factor is applied to vehicle state estimation based on the vehicle kinematics model. In order to integrate the advantages of the dynamics-model-based observer and kinematics-model-based observer and improve adaptability of observer system in complex working conditions, a vehicle sideslip angle fusion estimation strategy is proposed. The simulations and experiments are implemented and the performance of proposed estimation method is validated.
Practical Identifiability Analysis and Optimal Experimental Design for the Parameter Estimation of the ASM2d-Based EBPR Anaerobic Submodel
Authors: Li Zhenliang , Lu Peili , Zhang Daijun , Zhang Tian
Published: April 2018

Identifiability analysis is a precondition for reliable parameter estimation. Building on previous work on structural identifiability, this paper focuses on the practical identifiability and optimal experimental design (OED) of the EBPR anaerobic submodel. The nonnegative determinant of the Fisher information matrix (FIM) found in this study clearly demonstrates that the parametersYPO4,KA,qPHA, andXPAOin the submodel are practically identifiable usingSAandSPO4as the measured variables and fixingKPPas the default value. Furthermore, fixingKPPto study the practical identifiability of the other parameters and to estimate their values is shown to be valid. Subsequently, a modeling-based procedure for the OED for parameter estimation was proposed and applied successfully to anaerobic phosphorus release experiments. According to the FIMD-criterion, the optimal experimental condition was determined to be an initialSAconcentration of 300 mg/L. Under the optimal experimental condition, errors in the values ofYPO4,KA,qPHA, andXPAOare all below 20%, and the estimated values were 0.35 ± 0.02 mg P/mg COD, 3.88 ± 0.41 mg COD/L, 3.35 ± 0.27 mg P/(mgCOD⁎d-1), and 1500 ± 72 mg COD/L, respectively. Compared to the results from the nonoptimal experimental condition, the practical identifiability and the estimation precision of the four parameters were improved.
Nano-HNS Particles: Mechanochemical Preparation and Properties Investigation
Authors: An Chongwei , Xu Shuai , Zhang Yuruo , Ye Baoyun , Geng Xiaoheng , Wang Jingyu
Published: April 2018

Nano-2,2′,4,4′,6,6′-hexanitrostilbene (HNS) particles were successfully prepared by a mechanochemical (i.e., high energy milling) process without an organic solvent, which can be viewed as a green technology. The particle size, morphology, specific area, crystal phase, thermal decomposition properties, impact sensitivity, and short duration shock initiation sensitivity were characterized and tested. The diameter of milling HNS is about 89.2 nm with a narrow size distribution and without agglomeration of particles. The formation mechanism of nano-HNS can be viewed as the transformation from thin HNS sheets with a one-dimensional nanostructure to three-dimensional nanoparticles. The nano-HNS particles present a much higher Ea and lower impact sensitivity than purified HNS, revealing the outstanding safety properties. From the results of the short duration shock initiation sensitivity, 50% and 100% initiation voltages are decreased compared with those of HNS-IV, indicating the higher initiation sensitivity.
Evaluation of Prexasertib, a Checkpoint Kinase 1 Inhibitor, in a Phase Ib Study of Patients with Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Hong David S. , Moore Kathleen , Patel Manish , Grant Stefan C. , Burris Howard A. , William William N. , Jones Suzanne , Meric-Bernstam Funda , Infante Jeffrey , Golden Lisa , Zhang Wei , Martinez Ricardo , Wijayawardana Sameera , Beckmann Richard , Lin Aimee Bence , Eng Cathy , Bendell Johanna
Published: April 2018

Purpose: Prexasertib, a checkpoint kinase 1 inhibitor, demonstrated single-agent activity in patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in the dose-escalation portion of a phase I study (NCT01115790). Monotherapy prexasertib was further evaluated in patients with advanced SCC.

Patients and Methods: Patients were given prexasertib 105 mg/m2 as a 1-hour infusion on day 1 of a 14-day cycle. Expansion cohorts were defined by tumor and treatment line. Safety, tolerability, efficacy, and exploratory biomarkers were analyzed.

Results: Prexasertib was given to 101 patients, including 26 with SCC of the anus, 57 with SCC of the head and neck (SCCHN), and 16 with squamous cell non–small cell lung cancer (sqNSCLC). Patients were heavily pretreated (49% ≥3 prior regimens). The most common treatment-related adverse event was grade 4 neutropenia (71%); 12% of patients had febrile neutropenia. Median progression-free survival was 2.8 months [90% confidence interval (CI), 1.9–4.2] for SCC of the anus, 1.6 months (90% CI, 1.4–2.8) for SCCHN, and 3.0 months (90% CI, 1.4–3.9) for sqNSCLC. The clinical benefit rate at 3 months (complete response + partial response + stable disease) across tumors was 29% (23% SCC of the anus, 28% SCCHN, 44% sqNSCLC). Four patients with SCC of the anus had partial or complete response [overall response rate (ORR) = 15%], and three patients with SCCHN had partial response (ORR = 5%). Biomarker analyses focused on genes that altered DNA damage response or increased replication stress.

Conclusions: Prexasertib demonstrated an acceptable safety profile and single-agent activity in patients with advanced SCC. The prexasertib maximum-tolerated dose of 105 mg/m2 was confirmed as the recommended phase II dose. Clin Cancer Res; 24(14); 3263–72. ©2018 AACR.
ω-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Postconditioning Protects the Isolated Perfused Rat Heart from Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury
Authors: Zhang Fu-wei , Tong Jian , Yan Yu-sheng , Chen Qun-qing , Zhao Xiao-ping
Published: April 2018

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the cardioprotective effects of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) postconditioning against ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Methods: Sixty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 15 for each) and used to generate the Langendorff isolated perfused rat heart model. The sham group received a continuous perfusion of 150 min. The remaining three I/R-treated groups sequentially received a 30-min perfusion, a 30-min cardioplegia, and a 90-min reperfusion. The I/R-ischemic preconditioning (IP) group additionally received three cycles of 20-s reperfusion and 20-s coronary reocclusion preceded the 90 min of reperfusion. The I/R-ω group were perfused with ω-3 PUFAs for 15 min before the 90 min of reperfusion. The myocardial infarct size, the degree of mitochondrial damage, the antioxidant capacity of the myocardium, and the cardiac functions during reperfusion were compared among groups. Results: Compared with the I/R group, the I/R-ω group had significantly reduced myocardial infarct size, reduced levels of lactate dehydrogenase and malondialdehyde, elevated superoxide dismutase level, and elevated rising (+dp/dtmax) and descending (–dp/dtmax) rate of left ventricular pressure. The I/R-ω group had a significantly lower rate of mitochondrial damage in myocardial tissue compared with the I/R and I/R-IP groups. Conclusion: ω-3 PUFA postconditioning possesses good cardioprotective effects and may be developed into a therapeutic strategy for myocardial I/R injury.
Bexarotene-Induced Hypertriglyceridemia: A Case Report
Authors: Maminakis Chris , Whitman Arin C. , Islam Nahida
Published: April 2018

We present a case of a patient with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma started on bexarotene 300 mg/m2 due to progressing disease. The patient experienced good clinical response, but unfortunately, she developed rapid and profound hypertriglyceridemia. Although hypertriglyceridemia occurs in high incidence with bexarotene therapy, management recommendations are scarce. Due to the rise in triglycerides, atorvastatin 10 mg daily was initiated in combination with fenofibrate 120 mg daily. Triglycerides continued to increase, so the patient was instructed to take atorvastatin 40 mg, fenofibrate 120 mg, and to hold bexarotene for 2 weeks. After the 2-week break, bexarotene was restarted at 150 mg/m2.
Transcatheter Versus Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement in Patients With Prior Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
Authors: Gupta Tanush , Khera Sahil , Kolte Dhaval , Goel Kashish , Kalra Ankur , Villablanca Pedro A. , Aronow Herbert D. , Abbott J. Dawn , Fonarow Gregg C. , Taub Cynthia C. , Kleiman Neal S. , Weisz Giora , Inglessis Ignacio , Elmariah Sammy , Rihal Charanjit S. , Garcia Mario J. , Bhatt Deepak L.
Published: April 2018

Background—

A significant proportion of patients requiring aortic valve replacement (AVR) have undergone prior coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Reoperative heart surgery is associated with increased risk. Data on relative utilization and comparative outcomes of transcatheter (TAVR) versus surgical AVR (SAVR) in patients with prior CABG are limited.

Methods and Results—

We queried the 2012 to 2014 National Inpatient Sample databases to identify isolated AVR hospitalizations in adults with prior CABG. In-hospital outcomes of TAVR versus SAVR were compared using propensity-matched analysis. Of 147 395 AVRs, 15 055 (10.2%) were in patients with prior CABG. The number of TAVRs in patients with prior CABG increased from 1615 in 2012 to 4400 in 2014, whereas the number of SAVRs decreased from 2285 to 1895 (
P
trend
<0.001). There were 3880 records in each group in the matched cohort. Compared with SAVR, TAVR was associated with similar in-hospital mortality (2.3% versus 2.4%;
P
=0.71) but lower incidence of myocardial infarction (1.5% versus 3.4%;
P
<0.001), stroke (1.4% versus 2.7%;
P
<0.001), bleeding complications (10.6% versus 24.6%;
P
<0.001), and acute kidney injury (16.2% versus 19.3%;
P
<0.001). Requirement for prior permanent pacemaker was higher in the TAVR cohort, whereas the incidence of vascular complications and acute kidney injury requiring dialysis was similar in the 2 groups. Average length of stay was shorter in patients undergoing TAVR.

Conclusions—

TAVR is being increasingly used as the preferred modality of AVR in patients with prior CABG. Compared with SAVR, TAVR is associated with similar in-hospital mortality but lower rates of in-hospital complications in this important subset of patients.
Defective Base Excision Repair of Oxidative DNA Damage in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Promotes Atherosclerosis
Authors: Shah Aarti , Gray Kelly , Figg Nichola , Finigan Alison , Starks Lakshi , Bennett Martin
Published: April 2018

Background:

Atherosclerotic plaques demonstrate extensive accumulation of oxidative DNA damage, predominantly as 8-oxoguanine (8oxoG) lesions. 8oxoG is repaired by base excision repair enzymes; however, the mechanisms regulating 8oxoG accumulation in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and its effects on their function and in atherosclerosis are unknown.

Methods:

We studied levels of 8oxoG and its regulatory enzymes in human atherosclerosis, the mechanisms regulating 8oxoG repair and the base excision repair enzyme 8oxoG DNA glycosylase I (OGG1) in VSMCs in vitro, and the effects of reducing 8oxoG in VSMCs in atherosclerosis in ApoE
−/−
mice.

Results:

Human plaque VSMCs showed defective nuclear 8oxoG repair, associated with reduced acetylation of OGG1. OGG1 was a key regulatory enzyme of 8oxoG repair in VSMCs, and its acetylation was crucial to its repair function through regulation of protein stability and expression. p300 and sirtuin 1 were identified as the OGG1 acetyltransferase and deacetylase regulators, respectively, and both proteins interacted with OGG1 and regulated OGG1 acetylation at endogenous levels. However, p300 levels were decreased in human plaque VSMCs and in response to oxidative stress, suggesting that reactive oxygen species–induced regulation of OGG1 acetylation could be caused by reactive oxygen species–induced decrease in p300 expression. We generated mice that express VSMC-restricted OGG1 or an acetylation defective version (SM22α-OGG1 and SM22α-OGG1
K-R
mice) and crossed them with ApoE
−/−
mice. We also studied ApoE
−/−
mice deficient in OGG1 (OGG1
−/−
). OGG1
−/−
mice showed increased 8oxoG in vivo and increased atherosclerosis, whereas mice expressing VSMC-specific OGG1 but not the acetylation mutant OGG1
K-R
showed markedly reduced intracellular 8oxoG and reduced atherosclerosis. VSMC OGG1 reduced telomere 8oxoG accumulation, DNA strand breaks, cell death and senescence after oxidant stress, and activation of proinflammatory pathways.

Conclusions:

We identify defective 8oxoG base excision repair in human atherosclerotic plaque VSMCs, OGG1 as a major 8oxoG repair enzyme in VSMCs, and p300/sirtuin 1 as major regulators of OGG1 through acetylation/deacetylation. Reducing oxidative damage by rescuing OGG1 activity reduces plaque development, indicating the detrimental effects of 8oxoG on VSMC function.
Prevalence of Poststroke Neurocognitive Disorders Using National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke-Canadian Stroke Network, VASCOG Criteria (Vascular Behavioral and Cognitive Disorders), and Optimized Criteria of Cognitive Deficit
Authors: Barbay Mélanie , Taillia Hervé , Nédélec-Ciceri Claudine , Bompaire Flavie , Bonnin Camille , Varvat Jérôme , Grangette Françoise , Diouf Momar , Wiener Emmanuel , Mas Jean-Louis , Roussel Martine , Godefroy Olivier
Published: April 2018

Background and Purpose—

The prevalence of poststroke neurocognitive disorder (NCD) has yet to be accurately determined. The primary objective of the present study was to optimize operationalization of the criterion for NCD by using an external validity criterion.

Methods—

The GRECOG-VASC cohort (Groupe de Réflexion pour l'Évaluation Cognitive Vasculaire) of 404 stroke patients with cerebral infarct (91.3%) or hemorrhage (18.7%) was assessed 6 months poststroke and 1003 healthy controls, with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke-Canadian Stroke Network standardized battery. Three dimensions of the criterion for cognitive impairment were systematically examined by using the false-positive rate as an external validity criterion. Diagnosis of mild and major NCD was based on the VASCOG criteria (Vascular Behavioral and Cognitive Disorders). The mechanisms of functional decline were systematically assessed.

Results—

The optimal criterion for cognitive impairment was the shortened summary score (ie, averaged performance for action speed, executive functions, and language) because it was associated with the highest (
P
=0.0001) corrected true-positive rate (43.5%) and a false-positive rate ≤5%. Using this criterion, the mean (95% confidence interval) prevalence of poststroke NCD was 49.5% (44.6–54.4), most of which corresponded to mild NCD (39.1%; 95% confidence interval, 34.4–43.9) rather than dementia (10.4%; 95% confidence interval, 7.4–13.4).

Conclusions—

This study is the first to have optimized the operationalization of the criterion for poststroke cognitive impairment. It documented the prevalence of poststroke NCD in the GRECOG-VASC cohort and showed that mild cognitive impairment accounts for 80% of the affected patients. Finally, the method developed in the present study offers a means of harmonizing the diagnosis of NCD.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT01339195.
Sebastian's Space and Forms
Authors: Emmer Michele
Published: April 2018

A strong message that mathematics revealed in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries is that geometry and space can be the realm of freedom and imagination, abstraction and rigor. An example of this message lies in the infinite variety of forms of mathematical inspiration that the Mexican sculptor Sebastian invented, rediscovered and used throughout all his artistic activity.
Lanmaoa rubriceps, a new bolete from tropical China
Authors: CHAI HUI , LIANG ZHI-QUN , JIANG SHUAI , FU XUN-LONG , ZENG NIAN-KAI
Published: April 2018

Lanmaoa rubriceps (Boletaceae, Boletales) is described as a new species from Hainan Province, a tropical region of China. It is morphologically characterized by a red, crimson to orange-red pileus, a hymenophore with stuffed pores when young, pores staining blue and then changing to red-brown when injured, stipe surface staining blue when injured, and a trichodermal pileipellis with uninflated hyphae. Phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences from part of the 28S gene, the nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, and part of the translation elongation factor 1-α gene (tef1-α) also confirmed that L. rubriceps forms an independent lineage within Lanmaoa. Consequently, a detailed description, color photos of fresh basidiomata and line-drawings of microstructures are presented. It’s worth noting that L. rubriceps falls into the genus Lanmaoa phylogenetically but morphological features of the new species match the concept of the genus Cyanoboletus. The reason for the incongruence of molecular and morphological results is that the two most closely related genera share overlapping morphological features and the most important diagnostic feature of Lanmaoa is not constant. In light of these facts, lumping of Lanmaoa and Cyanoboletus into a single genus seems justified.
Lectotypification of two Stegolepis names (Rapateaceae)
Authors: RODRIGUES RODRIGO SCHÜTZ
Published: April 2018

Stegolepis Klotzsch ex Körnicke (1872: 480) is the largest genus of Rapateaceae and comprises 33 species endemic to the Guiana Shield in northern South America (Berry 2004). Most Stegolepis names have no problems concerning their typification. However, as part of ongoing floristic studies on the Rapateaceae of the Brazilian Amazonia and adjacent Guiana Shield areas (Rodrigues & Flores 2010, 2017; Rodrigues 2017), I found that two early names of Stegolepis are in need of lectotypification.
Two New Species of Bibloplectus Reitter (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) from the Orlando Park Collection, Field Museum of Natural History
Authors: OWENS BRITTANY E. , CARLTON CHRISTOPHER E.
Published: April 2018

Two new species of Bibloplectus Reitter, 1881 are described from the Orlando Park Collection of Pselaphinae at the FMNH (Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA): Bibloplectus silvestris Owens and Carlton, new species (type locality, Urbana, IL, USA) and Bibloplectus wingi Owens and Carlton, new species (type locality, Shades State Park, IN, USA). Types of these new species were part of a series of specimens bearing unpublished Park manuscript names in both the pinned and slide collection at the FMNH. They bring the total number of species in the genus in eastern North America to twenty-three. Resolving these manuscript names adds to previous efforts to uncover elements of the hidden diversity of North American Bibloplectus from museum collections (Owens and Carlton 2016, Owens and Carlton 2017) and highlights the importance of close examination of the Orlando Park pselaphine collection as a valuable historic and taxonomic resource.