bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stroke survivors and their families receive information and support on an individual basis from an online forum: descriptive analysis of a population of 2348 patients and qualitative study of a sample of participants
Authors: De Simoni Anna , Shanks Andrew , Balasooriya-Smeekens Chantal , Mant Jonathan
Published: April 2016

Objective

To describe the characteristics of participants of an online stroke forum, their reasons for posting in the forum and whether responses addressed users' needs.

Methods

Descriptive analysis of the population of 2004–2011 archives of Talkstroke, the online forum of the Stroke Association, and comparison with patients admitted to hospital with stroke (Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme, SSNAP). Thematic analysis of posts from a sample of 59 participants representative of age at stroke and sex.

Settings

UK.

Main outcome measures

Characteristics of participants: age, sex, survivor versus patient by third party, side of stroke (R, L), social class; (from the sample of 59 participants): level of disability, stroke type, classification of users' intents for writing a post in the forum, quantification of needs addressed by the forum, topics of discussion.

Participants

2348 participants (957 stroke survivors, 1391 patients with stroke talked about by third party).

Results

Patients of both sexes and from a wide range of ages at stroke (0 to 95 years) and degrees of disability were represented in the forum, although younger than the UK stroke population (mean age 52 years vs 77 years in SSNAP). Analysis of 841 posts showed that the main users' intents for writing in the forum were requests/offers of information and support (58%) and sharing own experiences of stroke (35%). Most information needs were around stroke-related physical impairments, understanding the cause of stroke and the potential for recovery. Up to 95% of the users' intents were met by the replies received.

Conclusions

Patients' needs expressed in the online forum confirm and widen the evidence from traditional research studies, showing that such forums are a potential resource for studying needs in this population. The forum provided an opportunity for patients and families to give and receive advice and social support.
Development of patient decision support tools for motor neuron disease using stakeholder consultation: a study protocol
Authors: Hogden Anne , Greenfield David , Caga Jashelle , Cai Xiongcai
Published: April 2016

Introduction

Motor neuron disease (MND) is a terminal, progressive, multisystem disorder. Well-timed decisions are key to effective symptom management. To date, there are few published decision support tools, also known as decision aids, to guide patients in making ongoing choices for symptom management and quality of life. This protocol is to develop and validate decision support tools for patients and families to use in conjunction with health professionals in MND multidisciplinary care. The tools will inform patients and families of the benefits and risks of each option, as well as the consequences of accepting or declining treatment.

Methods and analysis

The study is being conducted from June 2015 to May 2016, using a modified Delphi process. A 2-stage, 7-step process will be used to develop the tools, based on existing literature and stakeholder feedback. The first stage will be to develop the decision support tools, while the second stage will be to validate both the tools and the process used to develop them. Participants will form expert panels, to provide feedback on which the development and validation of the tools will be based. Participants will be drawn from patients with MND, family carers and health professionals, support association workers, peak body representatives, and MND and patient decision-making researchers.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval for the study has been granted by Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), approval number 5201500658. Knowledge translation will be conducted via publications, seminar and conference presentations to patients and families, health professionals and researchers.
Effect of resistance exercise intensity on the expression of PGC-1α isoforms and the anabolic and catabolic signaling mediators, IGF-1 and myostatin, in human skeletal muscle
Authors: Schwarz Neil A. , McKinley-Barnard Sarah K. , Spillane Mike B. , Andre Thomas L. , Gann Joshua J. , Willoughby Darryn S.
Published: April 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate the acute messenger (mRNA) expression of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) isoforms, insulin-like growth factor-1Ea (IGF-1Ea), and myostatin in response to 2 resistance exercise intensities. In a uniform-balanced, crossover design, 10 participants performed 2 separate testing sessions involving a lower body resistance exercise component consisting of a lower intensity (50% of 1-repetition maximum; 1RM) protocol and a higher intensity (80% of 1RM) protocol of equal volumes. Muscle samples were obtained at before exercise, 45 min, 3 h, 24 h, and 48 h postexercise. Resistance exercise did not alter total PGC-1α mRNA expression; however, distinct responses of each PGC-1α isoform were observed. The response of each isoform was consistent between sessions, suggesting no effect of resistance exercise intensity on the complex transcriptional expression of the PGC-1α gene. IGF-1Ea mRNA expression significantly increased following the higher intensity session compared with pre-exercise and the lower intensity session. Myostatin mRNA expression was significantly reduced compared with pre-exercise values at all time points with no difference between exercise intensity. Further research is needed to determine the effects of the various isoforms of PGC-1α in human skeletal muscle on the translational level as well as their relation to the expression of IGF-1 and myostatin.
Relaxation phenomena of nicotinamide and benzamide with 1-propanol and 1-butanol in C6H6 under static and 9.385 GHz electric field
Authors: Sahoo Swagatadeb , Sit Swapan K.
Published: April 2016

Dielectric relaxation behaviors of nicotinamide+1-propanol, benzamide+1-propanol, and nicotinamide+1-butanol dissolved in C6H6 at 0.990, 0.985, 0.980, 0.975, 0.970; 0.990, 0.985, 0.980, and 0.980 mol fraction xj of 1-propanol or 1-butanol at temperature 30 °C and 30, 40, 50, and 60 °C, respectively, are studied using the Debye model of binary polar–non-polar liquid mixture to predict double relaxation times τ2 and τ1 and dipole moments μ2 and μ1 from susceptibility measurement of concentration variation solution data under static and 9.385 GHz electric fields. Nineteen systems exhibit τ2, τ1 and μ2, μ1. τ2 are found to increase with temperature for all the binary polar mixtures, whereas τ1, most probable τ0, and measured τ from slope methods are almost the same. They agree well with the τ reported by Higasi. The plots of τjk–xj and μjk–xj curves reveal solute–solute and solute–solvent molecular association through H-bonding, and variation of μ with t (°C) is noted from the μjk–t curve. The associational aspects are taken into consideration from theoretical μtheo from the standpoint of inductive, mesomeric, and electromeric effects within the polar groups of the molecules. The estimated Debye factor τjkT/η and Kalman factor τjkT/ηγ reveal that the polar mixture obeys the Debye relaxation mechanism.
Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.): renewed interest as a forage legume for western Canada
Authors: Bhattarai S. , Coulman B. , Biligetu B.
Published: April 2016

Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) is a perennial forage legume that has received renewed interest in western Canada because of its desirable forage characteristics. The objective of this review is to summarize previous studies on the agronomy, forage yield, nutritive value, seed characteristics, and diseases and pests of sainfoin. In addition, the review also focuses on the genetic diversity and registered cultivars of sainfoin and their potential use in temperate grasslands. Past studies have reported that sainfoin has a high nutritive value, and high voluntary intake and palatability to grazing animals. In western Canada, dry matter (DM) yield of sainfoin is 80%–95% that of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Unlike other legumes such as alfalfa, sainfoin does not cause bloat in grazing animals due to the presence of condensed tannins. Sainfoin is suitable for monoculture or binary mixtures with either grasses or alfalfa. Genetic diversity studies revealed that sainfoin germplasm generally has high variation within populations. Genetic variation among plants provides an opportunity to develop improved cultivars with desirable characteristics. However, compared with the other forage legumes, sainfoin is still an underdeveloped forage crop with few cultivars being available in western Canada. New sainfoin cultivars with high DM yield and persistence under regional growing conditions are required.
Charge relaxation and recombination in photo-excited Mott insulators
Authors: Prelovšek P. , Lenarčič Z.
Published: April 2016

Recent femtosecond pump-probe experiments on Mott insulators reveal charge recombination, which is in picosecond range, i.e., much faster than in clean bandgap semiconductors although excitation gaps in Mott insulators are even larger. The charge response in photo-excited insulators can be generally divided in femtosecond transient relaxation of charge excitations, which are holons and doublons, and a second slower, but still very fast, holon–doublon (HD) recombination. We present a theory of the recombination rate of the excited HD pairs, based on the two-dimensional (2D) model relevant for cuprates, which shows that such fast processes can be explained even quantitatively with the multi-magnon emission. We show that the condition for the exponential decay as observed in the experiment is the existence of the exciton, i.e., the bound HD pair. Its recombination rate is exponentially dependent on the charge gap and on the magnon energy, while the ultrafast process can be traced back to strong charge-spin coupling. We comment also fast recombination times in the one-dimensional (1D) Mott insulators, as e.g., organic salts. The recombination rate in the latter cases can be explained with the stronger coupling with phonon excitations.
Molecular dynamics study of diffusion of krypton in water at different temperatures
Authors: Bhandari Dipendra , Adhikari N. P.
Published: April 2016

Molecular dynamics study of diffusion of two krypton atoms in 300 SPC/E water molecules at temperatures 293, 303, 313, 323 and 333 K has been carried out. Self-diffusion coefficient of krypton and water along with their mutual diffusion coefficients are estimated. Self-diffusion coefficient for krypton is calculated by using Mean Square Displacement (MSD) method and Velocity Autocorrelation (VACF) method, while that for water is calculated by using MSD method only. The mutual diffusion coefficient is estimated by using the Darken’s relation. The diffusion coefficients are found to follow the Arrhenius behavior. The structural properties of the system have been estimated by the study of solute–solute, solvent–solvent, and solute–solvent Radial Distribution Function (RDF).
Equational definability of (complementary) central elements
Authors: Badano Mariana V. , Vaggione Diego J.
Published: April 2016

For a variety with weak existentially definable factor congruences, we characterize when the properties “[Formula: see text] is a central element” and “[Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are complementary central elements” are definable by [Formula: see text]-formulas and by [Formula: see text]-formulas.
Around General Neron Desingularization
Authors: Popescu Dorin
Published: April 2016

This gives a new form of General Neron Desingularization and new applications.
FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF TOTAL KNEE REPLACEMENT WITH VARIOUS MISALIGNMENT ANGLES IN THE SAGITTAL PLANE
Authors: PANG XIAOQIANG , WANG LING , WANG ZHEN , GENG LEI , LI DICHEN , JIN ZHONGMIN , LIU CHAOZONG , ZHANG CHEN
Published: April 2016

Custom-made prosthetic replacement is a common method of limb reconstruction after surgery of bone tumors. A custom-made tumor knee prosthesis was retrieved after fracture of the tibial stem. The fracture of stem was considered to be associated with some misalignment between the axis of femur and that of the femoral stem, which might cause stress concentration within the tibial component and eventually lead to fracture. To verify this hypothesis, finite element analysis was carried out to study the effect of various tilting degree (6[Formula: see text] forward, 0[Formula: see text] and 6[Formula: see text] backward) of the stem in the sagittal plane on the stress distribution within the tibial component. The calculated maximum Von Mises stress in the tibial component was 225.8, 362.8 and 511.3[Formula: see text]MPa when the femoral component was tilted for 6[Formula: see text] forward, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] backward, respectively. The results demonstrated that the misalignment of femoral components in the sagittal plane has marked effect on the stress distribution of the tibial component.
Classical emulation of a quantum computer
Authors: La Cour Brian R. , Ostrove Corey I. , Ott Granville E. , Starkey Michael J. , Wilson Gary R.
Published: April 2016

This paper describes a novel approach to emulate a universal quantum computer with a wholly classical system, one that uses a signal of bounded duration and amplitude to represent an arbitrary quantum state. The signal may be of any modality (e.g. acoustic, electromagnetic, etc.) but this paper will focus on electronic signals. Individual qubits are represented by in-phase and quadrature sinusoidal signals, while unitary gate operations are performed using simple analog electronic circuit devices. In this manner, the Hilbert space structure of a multi-qubit quantum state, as well as a universal set of gate operations, may be fully emulated classically. Results from a programmable prototype system are presented and discussed.
On general (α,β)-metrics of Landsberg type
Authors: Zohrehvand M. , Maleki H.
Published: April 2016

In this paper, we study a class of Finsler metrics, which are defined by a Riemannian metric [Formula: see text] and a one-form [Formula: see text]. They are called general [Formula: see text]-metrics. We have proven that, every Landsberg general [Formula: see text]-metric is a Berwald metric, under a certain condition. This shows that the hunting for an unicorn, one of the longest standing open problem in Finsler geometry, cannot be successful in the class of general [Formula: see text]-metrics.
DO SMES CLUSTER AROUND INNOVATION ACTIVITIES? DISCOVERING ACTIVE, INCREMENTAL AND OPPORTUNISTIC INNOVATORS
Authors: CASALI GIAN LUCA , ZOLIN ROXANNE , SAWANG SUKANLAYA
Published: April 2016

Do SMEs cluster around different types of innovation activities? Are there patterns of SME innovation activities? To investigate we develop a taxonomy of innovation activities in SMEs using a qualitative study, followed by a survey. First, based upon our qualitative research and literature review we develop a comprehensive list of innovation activities SMEs typically engage in. We then conduct a factor analysis to determine if these activities can be combined into factors. We identify three innovation activity factors: R&D activities, incremental innovation activities and cost innovation activities. We use these factors to identify three clusters of firms engaging in similar innovation activities: active innovators, incremental innovators and opportunistic innovators. The clusters are enriched by validating that they also exhibit significant internal similarities and external differences in their innovation skills, demographics, industry segments and family business ownership. This research contributes to innovation and SME theory and practice by identifying SME clusters based upon their innovation activities.
Some geometric properties of sets defined by digit restrictions
Authors: Dai Yuxia , Wei Chun , Wen Shengyou
Published: April 2016

Let [Formula: see text] be a set defined by digit restrictions. In this paper, we determine the Assouad dimension of [Formula: see text]. As an application, we construct a set of different Hausdorff, lower box, upper box, and Assouad dimensions. Also, we prove that the set [Formula: see text] is either quasisymmetrically thick or thin. In addition, we show that [Formula: see text] is quasisymmetrically minimal provided that [Formula: see text].
A family of super congruences involving multiple harmonic sums
Authors: McCoy Megan , Thielen Kevin , Wang Liuquan , Zhao Jianqiang
Published: April 2016

In recent years, the congruence [Formula: see text] first discovered by the last author has been generalized by either increasing the number of indices and considering the corresponding super congruences, or by considering the alternating version of multiple harmonic sums. In this paper, we prove a family of similar super congruences modulo prime powers [Formula: see text] with the indices summing up to [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text] is coprime to [Formula: see text], and where all the indices are also coprime to [Formula: see text].
Finding elliptic curves with a subgroup of prescribed size
Authors: Shparlinski Igor E. , Sutherland Andrew V.
Published: April 2016

Assuming the Generalized Riemann Hypothesis, we design a deterministic algorithm that, given a prime [Formula: see text] and positive integer [Formula: see text], outputs an elliptic curve [Formula: see text] over the finite field [Formula: see text] for which the cardinality of [Formula: see text] is divisible by [Formula: see text]. The running time of the algorithm is [Formula: see text], and this leads to more efficient constructions of rational functions over [Formula: see text] whose image is small relative to [Formula: see text]. We also give an unconditional version of the algorithm that works for almost all primes [Formula: see text], and give a probabilistic algorithm with subexponential time complexity.
Progress in development of flexible metal–air batteries
Authors: Sumboja Afriyanti , Ge Xiaoming , Zong Yun , Liu Zhaolin
Published: April 2016

Flexible electronics has gained great interest in emerging wearable or rolling-up gadgets, such as foldable displays, electronic papers, and other personal multimedia devices. Subsequently, there is a need to develop energy storage devices that are pliable, inexpensive, and lightweight. Metal–air batteries have been identified as one of alternative energy storages for cost effective and high energy density applications. They offer cheaper production cost and higher energy density than most of the currently available battery technologies. Thus, they are promising candidates for flexible energy storage devices. Flexible metal–air batteries have to maintain their performances during various mechanical deformations. To date, efforts have been focused on fabricating flexible components for metal–air batteries. This review presents a brief introduction to the field, followed by progress on development of flexible electrolytes, electrodes, and prototype devices. Challenges and outlook towards the practical use of metal–air batteries are given in the last part.
Revealing the nanodomain structure of silicon oxycarbide via preferential etching and pore analysis
Authors: Wu Haolin , Yang Jie , Chen Haibiao , Pan Feng
Published: April 2016

Preferentially etching either carbon or silica from silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) created a porous network as an inverse image of the removed phase. The porous structure was analyzed by gas adsorption, and the experimental results verified the nanodomain structure of SiOC. This work demonstrated a novel approach for analyzing materials containing nanocomposite structures.
Analyzing Future Water Scarcity in Computable General Equilibrium Models
Authors: Liu Jing , Hertel Thomas , Taheripour Farzad
Published: April 2016

Incorporating water into a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model operating at global scale can be extremely demanding due to the absence of standardized data, the sheer dimensions caused by intersecting river basins with countries, and difficulties to model demand for and supply of water. This has led many authors to introduce water in their CGE modeling framework in different ways and at different spatial and sectoral aggregation levels. Of course, simplifying market for water and sacrificing the geographical realism risk introducing errors caused by inappropriate aggregation. In this paper, we use an elaborate global CGE model to investigate the three most commonly practiced simplifications: (1) tackling global questions in a national level model; (2) collapsing irrigated and rainfed crop production into a single sector; and (3) removing river basin boundaries within a country. In each case, we compare their performance in predicting the impacts of future irrigation scarcity on international trade, crop output, land use change and welfare, relative to the full scale model. As might be expected, the single region model does a good job of matching outcomes for that region, although changes in bilateral trade can entail significant errors. When it comes to the elimination of sub-national river basins and irrigation location, we find that, if the research question has to do with changes in national-scale trade, production and welfare changes, it may be sufficient to ignore the sub-national hydrological boundaries in global economic analysis of water scarcity. However, when decision makers have an interest in the distribution of inputs and outputs within a region, preserving the river basin and sectoral detail in the model brings considerable added value to the analysis.
An Analysis of Age, Technology Usage, and Cognitive Characteristics Within Information Retrieval Tasks
Authors: Crabb Michael , Hanson Vicki L.
Published: April 2016

This work presents two studies that aim to discover whether age can be used as a suitable metric for distinguishing performance between individuals or if other factors can provide greater insight. Information retrieval tasks are used to test the performance of these factors. First, a study is introduced that examines the effect that fluid intelligence and Internet usage has on individuals. Second, a larger study is reported on that examines a collection of Internet and cognitive factors in order to determine to what extent each of these metrics can account for disorientation in users.

This work adds to growing evidence showing that age is not a suitable metric to distinguish between individuals within the field of human-computer interaction. It shows that factors such as previous Internet experience and fluid-based cognitive abilities can be used to gain better insight into users’ reported browsing experience during information retrieval tasks.
A New Kind of Tradeoffs in Propositional Proof Complexity
Authors: Razborov Alexander
Published: April 2016

We exhibit an unusually strong tradeoff in propositional proof complexity that significantly deviates from the established pattern of almost all results of this kind. Namely, restrictions on one resource (width, in our case) imply an increase in another resource (tree-like size) that is exponential not only with respect to the complexity of the original problem, but also to the whole class of
all
problems of the same bit size. More specifically, we show that for any parameter
k
=
k
(
n
), there are unsatisfiable
k
-CNFs that possess refutations of width
O
(
k
), but such that any tree-like refutation of width
n
1 − ϵ
/
k
must necessarily have
doubly
exponential size exp (
n

Ω(
k
)

). This means that there exist contradictions that allow narrow refutations, but in order to keep the size of such a refutation even within a single exponent, it must necessarily use a high degree of parallelism.

Our construction and proof methods combine, in a non-trivial way, two previously known techniques: the hardness escalation method based on substitution formulas and expansion. This combination results in a
hardness compression
approach that strives to preserve hardness of a contradiction while significantly decreasing the number of its variables.
Concurrency Debugging with Differential Schedule Projections
Authors: Machado Nuno , Quinta Daniel , Lucia Brandon , Rodrigues Luís
Published: April 2016

We present Symbiosis: a concurrency debugging technique based on novel
differential schedule projections
(DSPs). A DSP shows the small set of memory operations and dataflows responsible for a failure, as well as a reordering of those elements that avoids the failure. To build a DSP, Symbiosis first generates a
full, failing, multithreaded schedule
via thread path profiling and symbolic constraint solving. Symbiosis selectively reorders events in the failing schedule to produce a
nonfailing, alternate schedule
. A DSP reports the ordering and dataflow
differences
between the failing and nonfailing schedules. Our evaluation on buggy real-world software and benchmarks shows that, in practical time, Symbiosis generates DSPs that both isolate the small fraction of event orders and dataflows responsible for the failure and report which event reorderings prevent failing. In our experiments, DSPs contain 90% fewer events and 96% fewer dataflows than the full failure-inducing schedules. We also conducted a user study that shows that, by allowing developers to focus on only a few events, DSPs reduce the amount of time required to understand the bug’s root cause and find a valid fix.
Whole-Page Optimization and Submodular Welfare Maximization with Online Bidders
Authors: Devanur Nikhil R. , Huang Zhiyi , Korula Nitish , Mirrokni Vahab S. , Yan Qiqi
Published: April 2016

In the context of online ad serving, display ads may appear on different types of web
pages
, where each page includes
several
ad slots and therefore multiple ads can be shown on each page. The set of ads that can be assigned to ad slots of the same page needs to satisfy various prespecified constraints including exclusion constraints, diversity constraints, and the like. Upon arrival of a user, the ad serving system needs to allocate a set of ads to the current webpage respecting these per-page allocation constraints. Previous slot-based settings ignore the important concept of a page and may lead to highly suboptimal results in general. In this article, motivated by these applications in display advertising and inspired by the submodular welfare maximization problem with online bidders, we study a general class of page-based ad allocation problems, present the first (tight) constant-factor approximation algorithms for these problems, and confirm the performance of our algorithms experimentally on real-world datasets.

A key technical ingredient of our results is a novel primal-dual analysis for handling free disposal, which updates dual variables using a “level function” instead of a single level and unifies with previous analyses of related problems. This new analysis method allows us to handle arbitrarily complicated allocation constraints for each page. Our main result is an algorithm that achieves a 1 - 1 / e -
o
(1)-competitive ratio. Moreover, our experiments on real-world datasets show significant improvements of our page-based algorithms compared to the slot-based algorithms.

Finally, we observe that our problem is closely related to the submodular welfare maximization (SWM) problem. In particular, we introduce a variant of the SWM problem with online bidders and show how to solve this problem using our algorithm for whole-page optimization.
Creating animated characters for the physical world
Authors: Coros Stelian
Published: April 2016

Making the design and production of animated, mechanical characters accessible to the public.
Soft printing with fabric
Authors: Peng Huaishu , Hudson Scott , Mankoff Jennifer , McCann James
Published: April 2016

3-D printed objects made of fabric could be flexible and deformable, bringing possibilities to new sensors and actuators.
D
ia
P
ro
Authors: Cai Haipeng , Santelices Raul , Thain Douglas
Published: April 2016

Impact analysis not only assists developers with change planning and management, but also facilitates a range of other client analyses, such as testing and debugging. In particular, for developers working in the context of specific program executions,
dynamic
impact analysis is usually more desirable than static approaches, as it produces more manageable and relevant results with respect to those concrete executions. However, existing techniques for this analysis mostly lie on two extremes: either fast, but too imprecise, or more precise, yet overly expensive. In practice, both more cost-effective techniques and variable cost-effectiveness trade-offs are in demand to fit a variety of usage scenarios and budgets of impact analysis.

This article aims to fill the gap between these two extremes with an array of cost-effective analyses and, more broadly, to explore the cost and effectiveness dimensions in the
design space
of impact analysis. We present the development and evaluation of D
ia
P
ro
, a framework that unifies a series of impact analyses, including
three new hybrid techniques
that combine static and dynamic analyses. Harnessing both static dependencies and multiple forms of dynamic data including method-execution events, statement coverage, and dynamic points-to sets, D
ia
P
ro
prunes false-positive impacts with varying strength for variant effectiveness and overheads. The framework also facilitates an in-depth examination of the effects of various program information on the cost-effectiveness of impact analysis.

We applied D
ia
P
ro
to ten Java applications in diverse scales and domains, evaluating it thoroughly on both arbitrary and repository-based queries from those applications. We show that the three new analyses are all significantly more effective than existing alternatives while remaining efficient, and the D
ia
P
ro
framework, as a whole, provides flexible cost-effectiveness choices for impact analysis with the best options for variable needs and budgets. Our study results also suggest that hybrid techniques tend to be much more cost-effective than purely dynamic approaches, in general, and that statement coverage has mostly stronger effects than dynamic points-to sets on the cost-effectiveness of dynamic impact analysis, while static dependencies have even stronger effects than both forms of dynamic data.
Full-Stack Architecting to Achieve a Billion-Requests-Per-Second Throughput on a Single Key-Value Store Server Platform
Authors: Li Sheng , Lim Hyeontaek , Lee Victor W. , Ahn Jung Ho , Kalia Anuj , Kaminsky Michael , Andersen David G. , O Seongil , Lee Sukhan , Dubey Pradeep
Published: April 2016

Distributed in-memory key-value stores (KVSs), such as memcached, have become a critical data serving layer in modern Internet-oriented data center infrastructure. Their performance and efficiency directly affect the QoS of web services and the efficiency of data centers. Traditionally, these systems have had significant overheads from inefficient network processing, OS kernel involvement, and concurrency control. Two recent research thrusts have focused on improving key-value performance. Hardware-centric research has started to explore specialized platforms including FPGAs for KVSs; results demonstrated an order of magnitude increase in throughput and energy efficiency over stock memcached. Software-centric research revisited the KVS application to address fundamental software bottlenecks and to exploit the full potential of modern commodity hardware; these efforts also showed orders of magnitude improvement over stock memcached.

We aim at architecting high-performance and efficient KVS platforms, and start with a rigorous architectural characterization across system stacks over a collection of representative KVS implementations. Our detailed full-system characterization not only identifies the critical hardware/software ingredients for high-performance KVS systems but also leads to guided optimizations atop a recent design to achieve a record-setting throughput of 120 million requests per second (MRPS) (167MRPS with client-side batching) on a single commodity server. Our system delivers the best performance and energy efficiency (RPS/watt) demonstrated to date over existing KVSs including the best-published FPGA-based and GPU-based claims. We craft a set of design principles for future platform architectures, and via detailed simulations demonstrate the capability of achieving a billion RPS with a single server constructed following our principles.
SIP
Authors: Hierons Robert M. , Li Miqing , Liu Xiaohui , Segura Sergio , Zheng Wei
Published: April 2016

A feature model specifies the sets of features that define valid products in a software product line. Recent work has considered the problem of choosing optimal products from a feature model based on a set of user preferences, with this being represented as a many-objective optimization problem. This problem has been found to be difficult for a purely search-based approach, leading to classical many-objective optimization algorithms being enhanced either by adding in a valid product as a seed or by introducing additional mutation and replacement operators that use an SAT solver. In this article, we instead enhance the search in two ways: by providing a novel representation and by optimizing first on the number of constraints that hold and only then on the other objectives. In the evaluation, we also used feature models with realistic attributes, in contrast to previous work that used randomly generated attribute values. The results of experiments were promising, with the proposed (SIP) method returning valid products with six published feature models and a randomly generated feature model with 10,000 features. For the model with 10,000 features, the search took only a few minutes.
Distribution of organic anion transporters NaDC3 and OAT1-3 along the human nephron
Authors: Breljak Davorka , Ljubojević Marija , Hagos Yohannes , Micek Vedran , Balen Eror Daniela , Vrhovac Madunić Ivana , Brzica Hrvoje , Karaica Dean , Radović Nikola , Kraus Ognjen , Anzai Naohiko , Koepsell Hermann , Burckhardt Gerhard , Burckhardt Birgitta C. , Sabolić Ivan
Published: April 2016

The initial step in renal secretion of organic anions (OAs) is mediated by transporters in the basolateral membrane (BLM). Contributors to this process are primary active Na+-K+-ATPase (EC 3.6.3.9), secondary active Na+-dicarboxylate cotransporter 3 (NaDC3/SLC13A3), and tertiary active OA transporters (OATs) OAT1/SLC22A6, OAT2/SLC22A7, and OAT3/SLC22A8. In human kidneys, we analyzed the localization of these transporters by immunochemical methods in tissue cryosections and isolated membranes. The specificity of antibodies was validated with human embryonic kidney-293 cells stably transfected with functional OATs. Na+-K+-ATPase was immunolocalized to the BLM along the entire human nephron. NaDC3-related immunostaining was detected in the BLM of proximal tubules and in the BLM and/or luminal membrane of principal cells in connecting segments and collecting ducts. The thin and thick ascending limbs, macula densa, and distal tubules exhibited no reactivity with the anti-NaDC3 antibody. OAT1–OAT3-related immunostaining in human kidneys was detected only in the BLM of cortical proximal tubules; all three OATs were stained more intensely in S1/S2 segments compared with S3 segment in medullary rays, whereas the S3 segment in the outer stripe remained unstained. Expression of NaDC3, OAT1, OAT2, and OAT3 proteins exhibited considerable interindividual variability in both male and female kidneys, and sex differences in their expression could not be detected. Our experiments provide a side-by-side comparison of basolateral transporters cooperating in renal OA secretion in the human kidney.
Differential effects of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide on myogenic signaling, membrane potential, and contractions of mouse renal afferent arterioles
Authors: Li Lingli , Lai En Yin , Wellstein Anton , Welch William J. , Wilcox Christopher S.
Published: April 2016

Myogenic contraction is the principal component of renal autoregulation that protects the kidney from hypertensive barotrauma. Contractions are initiated by a rise in perfusion pressure that signals a reduction in membrane potential ( Em) of vascular smooth muscle cells to activate voltage-operated Ca2+ channels. Since ROS have variable effects on myogenic tone, we investigated the hypothesis that superoxide (O2·−) and H2O2 differentially impact myogenic contractions. The myogenic contractions of mouse isolated and perfused single afferent arterioles were assessed from changes in luminal diameter with increasing perfusion pressure (40–80 mmHg). O2·−, H2O2, and Em were assessed by fluorescence microscopy during incubation with paraquat to increase O2·− or with H2O2. Paraquat enhanced O2·− generation and myogenic contractions (−42 ± 4% vs. −19 ± 4%, P < 0.005) that were blocked by SOD but not by catalase and signaled via PKC. In contrast, H2O2 inhibited the effects of paraquat and reduced myogenic contractions (−10 ± 1% vs. −19 ± 2%, P < 0.005) and signaled via PKG. O2·− activated Ca2+-activated Cl− channels that reduced Em, whereas H2O2 activated Ca2+-activated and voltage-gated K+ channels that increased Em. Blockade of voltage-operated Ca2+ channels prevented the enhanced myogenic contractions with paraquat without preventing the reduction in Em. Myogenic contractions were independent of the endothelium and largely independent of nitric oxide. We conclude that O2·− and H2O2 activate different signaling pathways in vascular smooth muscle cells linked to discreet membrane channels with opposite effects on Em and voltage-operated Ca2+ channels and therefore have opposite effects on myogenic contractions.
Manipulation Therapy Relieved Pain More Rapidly Than Acupuncture among Lateral Epicondylalgia (Tennis Elbow) Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial with 8‐Week Follow‐Up
Authors: Hsu Chung-Yuan , Lee Ko-Hung , Huang Hsin-Chia , Chang Zi-Yu , Chen Hsing-Yu , Yang Tsung-Hsien
Published: April 2016

Radial bone adjustment manipulation treatment may be effective to reduce pain rapidly in lateral epicondylalgia patients and the pathological tension in the biceps brachii muscle is highly concerned. To prove this hypothesis, we conducted a randomized controlled trial and included 35 patients with lateral epicondylalgia for more than 2 months. Either manipulation treatment (n = 16) or acupuncture (n = 19) was given to these patients for 2 weeks and all patients’ symptoms were followed up for 8 weeks after treatment. Both groups demonstrated changes in pain VAS score, grip strength, and DASH questionnaire. Lateral epicondylalgia patients who received manipulation treatment felt pain relief sooner than those who had acupuncture treatments during the first few treatments. However, both acupuncture and manipulation are effective, while the difference has no significance at the 8‐week follow‐up. The trial was registered with Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN81308551 on 5 February 2016.
Energy Efficient Interest Forwarding in NDN-Based Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Gao Shuai , Zhang Hongke , Zhang Beichuan
Published: April 2016

Recently there has been a new emerging trend in integrating Named Data Networking (NDN) and wireless sensor networks (WSNs) together to implement real data-centric Internet of Things (IoT). However, the main solutions in current literature lack energy efficient design to meet the severely limited energy resources in WSNs. In this paper, we propose a dual mode Interest forwarding scheme (called DMIF in short) for NDN-based WSNs. The DMIF consists of two combined forwarding modes, in which several energy efficient mechanisms including flexible mode shift, flooding scope control, broadcast storm avoidance, packet suppression, and energy weight factors are designed to save and balance the energy consumption. We extend the ndnSIM to support wireless multihop communication to validate the proposed scheme. Simulation experiments show that the DMIF outperforms the baseline schemes in terms of total energy consumption, energy equilibrium rate, and network lifetime.
On the Compatibility of the Diboson Excess with agg-Initiated Composite Sector
Authors: Sanz Verónica
Published: April 2016

We propose that recent results by ATLAS and CMS searching for heavy resonances decaying into bosons could be a first hint of a new sector of pure gauge confining physics, possibly linked to the origin of the Higgs as a Composite Higgs. The lightest resonances (glueballs) of this new sector would be neutral, spin-zero, and spin-two, and their behaviour would resemble that of a radion and a massive graviton of extra dimensions. We outline how 13 TeV LHC data could be used to improve sensitivity on this scenario, as well as future characterization during the 13 TeV LHC run.
Infections due to Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacteriaceae among Saudi Arabian Hospitalized Patients: A Matched Case-Control Study
Authors: Garbati M. A. , Sakkijha H. , Abushaheen A.
Published: April 2016

Background. We conducted this case-control study to determine the risk factors and treatment outcome of infections due to carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae in our institution.Methods. This is a matched case-control study of patients with infection due to carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and carbapenem susceptible Enterobacteriaceae (CSE), from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between March 2012 and December 2013.Results. During this period, 29 cases and 58 controls were studied. The mean ages of the cases (55.4 years) and controls (54.7 years) were similar (p=0.065). Cases had higher mean Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) (3.1) than controls (1.9),p=0.026. Several factors contributed to infection among the studied population. Prior uses of piperacillin-tazobactam, a carbapenem, a quinolone, and metronidazole were significantly associated with CRE infections. Nine of the cases died compared with 7 of the controls,p=0.031. Mortality was associated with advanced age, the presence of comorbidities, ICU stay, and receipt of invasive procedures.Conclusions. Infections due to CRE resulted in a significantly increased mortality. Combination antibiotic therapy was associated with reduced mortality. Properly designed randomized controlled studies are required to better characterize these findings.
Analysis of Akure Urban Land Use Change Detection from Remote Imagery Perspective
Authors: Owoeye Julius Oluranti , Ibitoye Oyewole Amos
Published: April 2016

This study presents the analysis of Akure urban land use change detection from remote imagery perspective. Efforts were made to examine the direction that the continuous expansion of the city tends towards since its inception as a state capital in 1976. Using Aerial Imagery Overlay (AIO), the pattern of land use changes in Akure and its environs were determined. This involves imageries interpolation and overlaying to determine the land use changes, direction, and extent of the expansion. Findings revealed unguided expansion in the growth of the city which affects the pattern of land uses within the city and, by extension, into the adjoining settlements. There were incompatible conversions in land uses and undue encroachment into green areas in the adjoining communities. The study suggests effective zoning strategy on unguided nature of urban development whose effects on land use are very prominent in the study area. Adequate monitoring by the Development Control Department and other stakeholders in urban planning is equally suggested to mitigate the incompatible land use changes in the area.
Cancerous Inhibitor of PP2A Silencing Inhibits Proliferation and Promotes Apoptosis in Human Multiple Myeloma Cells
Authors: Yang Xi , Zhang Yaping , Liu Hong , Lin Zenghua
Published: April 2016

Multiple myeloma is the second most prevalent type of blood cancer, representing approximately 1% of all cancers and 2% of all cancer deaths. There is therefore a strong need to identify critical targets in multiple myeloma neoplasia and progression. Cancerous inhibitor of PP2A (CIP2A) is a human oncoprotein that regulates cancer cell viability and anchorage-independent growth and induces apoptosis. The present study investigated CIP2A function in the human multiple myeloma cell lines RPMI-8226 and NCI-H929 to determine whether it can serve as a potential therapeutic target.CIP2Awas silenced in the cells by transfection of short interfering RNA and cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated by a tetrazolium salt-based assay and flow cytometry, respectively.CIP2Aknockdown inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in RPMI-8226 and NCI-H929 cells and decreased the phosphorylation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) p85, AKT1, and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) without affecting total protein levels. Treatment ofCIP2A-depletion cells with insulin-like growth factor 1 decreased the effects ofCIP2Ainhibition on cell viability and apoptosis. These results indicate that CIP2A modulates myeloma cell proliferation and apoptosis via PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling and suggest that it can potentially serve as a drug target for the treatment of multiple myeloma.
Trail-Using Ant Behavior Based Energy-Efficient Routing Protocol in Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Jung Soon-gyo , Kang Byungseok , Yeoum Sanggil , Choo Hyunseung
Published: April 2016

Swarm Intelligence (SI) observes the collective behavior of social insects and other animal societies. Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm is one of the popular algorithms in SI. In the last decade, several routing protocols based on ACO algorithm have been developed for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Such routing protocols are very flexible in distributed system but generate a lot of additional traffic and thus increase communication overhead. This paper proposes a new routing protocol reducing the overhead to provide energy efficiency. The proposed protocol adopts not only the foraging behavior of ant colony but also the trail-using behavior which has never been adopted in routing. By employing the behaviors, the protocol establishes and manages the routing trails energy efficiently in the whole network. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol has low communication overhead and reduces up to 55% energy consumption compared to the existing ACO algorithm.
Modeling of Hydrophysical Properties of the Soil as Capillary-Porous Media and Improvement of Mualem-Van Genuchten Method as a Part of Foundation Arrangement Research
Authors: Terleev Vitaly , Nikonorov Aleksandr , Badenko Vladimir , Guseva Inna , Volkova Yulia , Skvortsova Olga , Pavlov Sergey , Mirschel Wilfried
Published: April 2016

Within the concepts about the capillarity and the lognormal distribution of effective pore radii, a theoretical justification for function of differential water capacity and its antiderivative (function of water-retention capacity in form of a dependence of the soil volumetric water content on capillary pressure of the soil moisture) is presented. Using these functions, the ratio of soil hydraulic conductivity function to the filter coefficient is calculated. Approximations to functions describing the water-retention capacity and relative hydraulic conductivity of the soil have been suggested. Parameters of these functions have been interpreted and estimated with applying the physical and statistical indices of the soil.