bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ophthalmic lesions in a population of cold‐stunned sea turtles (Chelonia mydas, Lepidochelys kempii, Caretta caretta)
Authors: Lively Melissa J. , Westermeyer Hans D. , Harms Craig A. , Christiansen Emily F.
Published: April 2019

Objective

To document ocular lesions present in cold‐stunned sea turtles and determine the impact of these lesions on their release.

Animals

All sea turtles (Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas, and Lepidochelys kempii) presenting to rehabilitation centers in North Carolina over two cold stun seasons.

Procedures

Complete ophthalmic examination using slit‐lamp biomicroscopy, fluorescein stain, rebound tonometry, and occasionally binocular indirect funduscopy was performed within 1 week of presenting to the rehabilitation centers. A second examination was performed 2 weeks after the first examination in animals with ocular lesions and still present at the center.

Results

One hundred and sixty‐four turtles (121 Chelonia mydas, 26 Lepidochelys kempii, 17 Caretta caretta) were evaluated over two cold stun seasons (2016‐2017 and 2017‐2018). Ocular or periocular lesions were identified in 78 of 164 (47.5%) turtles examined with 37 of 164 (22.5%) having bilateral disease. The most common ocular lesion was superficial corneal ulceration, accounting for 21.3% of all lesions. Adnexal lesions were also common, while intraocular abnormalities were overall rare. Most resolved uneventfully. Though some blinding lesions were noted, these were not present bilaterally in any one turtle, and thus, ocular findings did not affect release.

Conclusion

Ocular lesions in cold‐stunned sea turtles are common. Some of these lesions are potentially blinding or require appropriate care, so evaluation of cold‐stunned turtles should include a complete ophthalmic examination.
Soil–Structure Interaction Effects in Offshore Wind Support Structures Under Seismic Loading
Authors: Gelagoti Fani M. , Kourkoulis Rallis S. , Georgiou Irene A. , Karamanos Spyros A.
Published: April 2019

This paper explores the performance of a 10 MW offshore wind turbine (OWT) supported either on a large diameter monopile or a 4-legged jacket emphasizing on the nonlinear response of its belowseabed foundation. The seabed foundation alternatives, a monopile and a multipod foundation, are compared under monotonic, cyclic, and seismic loading. For all nonseismic scenarios considered, the monopile is more flexible than the jacket and transmits higher rotations at the OWT base. The differences between the two alternatives are amplified in the case of nonsymmetric cyclic loading; the monopile not only deforms more than the jacket but tends to accumulate irrecoverable rotation with increasing loading cycles. The seismic performance of the alternative support structures is assessed for a comprehensive set of earthquake motions. It is concluded that both systems are seismically robust especially when subjected to pure earthquake loading, neglecting the simultaneous action of wind and waves. Alarming issues for OWT performance may arise when a nonzero steady wind force is superimposed to the kinematically induced stressing of the seabed foundation due to the seismic wave action. Jacket legs settle unevenly, while monopiles are building up rotations at increasing rates. Assuming a design-level earthquake and a wind thrust of the order 60% of the NC wind loading amplitude, this seismically induced residual rotation for the monopile may often exceed the deformation tolerance criterion. For the same loading combination, the corresponding rotation of the Jacket installation remains safely within the prescribed limits.
Separating Multiple Moving Sources by Microphone Array Signals for Wayside Acoustic Fault Diagnosis
Authors: Xiong Wei , He Qingbo , Peng Zhike
Published: April 2019

Wayside acoustic defective bearing detector (ADBD) system is a potential technique in ensuring the safety of traveling vehicles. However, Doppler distortion and multiple moving sources aliasing in the acquired acoustic signals decrease the accuracy of defective bearing fault diagnosis. Currently, the method of constructing time-frequency (TF) masks for source separation was limited by an empirical threshold setting. To overcome this limitation, this study proposed a dynamic Doppler multisource separation model and constructed a time domain-separating matrix (TDSM) to realize multiple moving sources separation in the time domain. The TDSM was designed with two steps of (1) constructing separating curves and time domain remapping matrix (TDRM) and (2) remapping each element of separating curves to its corresponding time according to the TDRM. Both TDSM and TDRM were driven by geometrical and motion parameters, which would be estimated by Doppler feature matching pursuit (DFMP) algorithm. After gaining the source components from the observed signals, correlation operation was carried out to estimate source signals. Moreover, fault diagnosis could be carried out by envelope spectrum analysis. Compared with the method of constructing TF masks, the proposed strategy could avoid setting thresholds empirically. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed technique was validated by simulation and experimental cases. Results indicated the potential of this method for improving the performance of the ADBD system.
Model and Control System Development for a Distributed Actuation Magnetic Bearing and Thin-Walled Rotor Subject to Noncircularity
Authors: Chamroon Chakkapong , Cole Matthew O. T. , Fakkaew Wichaphon
Published: April 2019

This paper considers the problem of controlling the vibration of a lightweight thin-walled rotor with a distributed actuation magnetic bearing (DAMB). A theoretical flexible rotor model is developed that shows how multiharmonic vibration arises due to small noncircularity of the rotor cross section. This model predicts a series of resonance conditions that occur when the rotational frequency matches a subharmonic of a system natural frequency. Rotor noncircularity can be measured offline, and the measurement data used to cancel its effect on the position sensor signals used for feedback control. A drawback of this approach is that noncircularity is difficult to measure exactly and may vary over time due to changing thermal or elastic state of the rotor. Moreover, any additional multiharmonic excitation effects will not be compensated. To overcome these issues, a harmonic vibration control algorithm is applied that adaptively modifies the harmonic components of the actuator control currents to match a target vibration control performance, but without affecting the stabilizing feedback control loops. Experimental results for a short thin-walled rotor with a single DAMB are presented, which show the effectiveness of the techniques in preventing resonance during operation. By combining sensor-based noncircularity compensation with harmonic vibration control, a reduction in vibration levels can be achieved without precise knowledge of the rotor shape and with minimal bearing forces.
Copper-Induced Expression of a Transmissible Lipoprotein Intramolecular Transacylase Alters Lipoprotein Acylation and the Toll-Like Receptor 2 Response to Listeria monocytogenes
Authors: Armbruster Krista M. , Komazin Gloria , Meredith Timothy C.
Published: April 2019

The induction of lipoprotein N-terminal remodeling in response to environmental copper in Gram-positive bacteria suggests a more general role in bacterial cell envelope physiology. N-terminal modification by lyso formation, in particular, simultaneously modulates the TLR2 response in direct comparison to their diacylglycerol-modified precursors. Thus, use of copper as a frontline antimicrobial control agent and ensuing selection raises the potential of diminished innate immune sensing and enhanced bacterial virulence.
A Double-Strand Break Does Not Promote Neisseria gonorrhoeae Pilin Antigenic Variation
Authors: Prister Lauren L. , Xu Jing , Seifert H Steven
Published: April 2019

Neisseria gonorrhoeae
, the causative agent of gonorrhea, possesses a DNA recombination system to change one of its surface-exposed antigens. This recombination system, known as antigenic variation, uses an alternate DNA structure to initiate variation. The guanine quadruplex DNA structure is known to cause nicks or breaks in DNA; however, much remains unknown about how this structure functions in cells. We show that inducing a break by different means does not allow antigenic variation, indicating that the DNA structure may have a more complicated role.
Phosphorylation of Human Papillomavirus Type 16 L2 Contributes to Efficient Virus Infectious Entry
Authors: Broniarczyk Justyna , Massimi Paola , Pim David , Bergant Marušič Martina , Myers Michael P. , Garcea Robert L. , Banks Lawrence
Published: April 2019

The papillomavirus L2 capsid protein plays an essential role in infectious entry, where it directs the successful trafficking of incoming viral genomes to the nucleus. However, nothing is known about how potential posttranslational modifications may affect different aspects of capsid assembly or infectious entry. In this study, we report the first phospho-specific modification of the BPV-1 and HPV-16 L2 capsid proteins. The phospho-acceptor site is very highly conserved across multiple papillomavirus types, indicating a highly conserved function within the L2 protein and the viral capsid. We show that this modification plays an essential role in infectious entry, where it modulates susceptibility of the incoming virus to capsid disassembly. These studies therefore define a completely new means of regulating the papillomavirus L2 proteins, a regulation that optimizes endocytic processing and subsequent completion of the infectious entry pathway.
Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Shows Conserved Metabolic Regulation during Production of Secondary Metabolites in Filamentous Fungi
Authors: Nielsen Jens Christian , Prigent Sylvain , Grijseels Sietske , Workman Mhairi , Ji Boyang , Nielsen Jens
Published: April 2019

Secondary metabolites are a major source of pharmaceuticals, especially antibiotics. However, the development of efficient processes of production of secondary metabolites has proved troublesome due to a limited understanding of the metabolic regulations governing secondary metabolism. By analyzing the conservation in gene expression across secondary metabolite-producing fungal species, we identified a metabolic signature that links primary and secondary metabolism and that demonstrates that fungal metabolism is tailored for the efficient production of secondary metabolites. The insight that we provide can be used to develop high-yielding fungal cell factories that are optimized for the production of specific secondary metabolites of pharmaceutical interest.
Does exercise impact gut microbiota composition in men receiving androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer? A single-blinded, two-armed, randomised controlled trial
Authors: Newton Robert U , Christophersen Claus T , Fairman Ciaran M , Hart Nicolas H , Taaffe Dennis R , Broadhurst David , Devine Amanda , Chee Raphael , Tang Colin I , Spry Nigel , Galvão Daniel A
Published: April 2019

Introduction

A potential link exists between prostate cancer (PCa) disease and treatment and increased inflammatory levels from gut dysbiosis. This study aims to examine if exercise favourably alters gut microbiota in men receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for PCa. Specifically, this study will explore whether: (1) exercise improves the composition of gut microbiota and increases the abundance of bacteria associated with health promotion and (2) whether gut health correlates with favourable inflammatory status, bowel function, continence and nausea among patients participating in the exercise intervention.

Methods and analysis

A single-blinded, two-armed, randomised controlled trial will explore the influence of a 3-month exercise programme (3 days/week) for men with high-risk localised PCa receiving ADT. Sixty patients will be randomly assigned to either exercise intervention or usual care. The primary endpoint (gut health and function assessed via feacal samples) and secondary endpoints (self-reported quality of life via standardised questionnaires, blood biomarkers, body composition and physical fitness) will be measured at baseline and following the intervention. A variety of statistical methods will be used to understand the covariance between microbial diversity and metabolomics profile across time and intervention. An intention-to-treat approach will be utilised for the analyses with multiple imputations followed by a secondary sensitivity analysis to ensure data robustness using a complete cases approach.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee of Edith Cowan University (ID: 19827 NEWTON). Findings will be reported in peer-reviewed publications and scientific conferences in addition to working with national support groups to translate findings for the broader community. If exercise is shown to result in favourable changes in gut microbial diversity, composition and metabolic profile, and reduce gastrointestinal complications in PCa patients receiving ADT, this study will form the basis of a future phase III trial.

Trial registration number

ANZCTR12618000280202.
Online prescribing - the need for greater regulation
Authors: Sims Jeremy
Published: April 2019

Unless controls are introduced, online prescribing will continue to be big business
Communication: not just doctors talking to patients
Authors: Rosenthal Joe , Singh Surinder
Published: April 2019

Joe Rosenthal
and
Surinder Singh,
highlight the need for two way communication between general practitioners and hospital doctors
You should know you're a medic: Does a cup of tea really do you the world of good?
Authors: Basu Carmen
Published: April 2019

Carmen Basu
investigates the medical substance behind your granny's cure for all ills
Planning your elective—Punjab
Authors: Basu Carmen
Published: April 2019

Carmen Basu
gives the lowdown on how to minimise risks when travelling to this fascinating province, which is part of two countries
Emergency!
Authors: Ghandhi Sandeep , Howell David , Marshall Richard , Goldsack Neil , Montgomery Hugh
Published: April 2019

In the ninth part of our emergency series,
Sandeep Ghandi, Richard Marshall, Hugh Montgomery, David Howell,
and
Neil Goldsack
tell you how to assess and treat patients who present with chest pain
Career focus - Choosing a house job
Authors: Westall Jessica
Published: April 2019

You don't need to know where you want to be in 10 years' time to choose your first post, but planning will give you a head start, says Jessica Westall
Head first from the pistes
Authors: Briant-Evans Toby
Published: April 2019

Toby Briant-Evans
goes skiing, improves his language skills, and stitches scalps back together
A community forgotten: Deaf people in health care
Authors: Mottram Vicki
Published: April 2019

Problems affecting Deaf people when they use health services designed for hearing people
Better communication is the key
Authors: Mangan Marie
Published: April 2019

Attending hospital can be a nightmare for deaf people.
Marie Mangan
explains what doctors should be doing to help deaf patients
Effect of caveolin-1 on Stat3-ptyr705 levels in breast and lung carcinoma cells
Authors: Geletu Mulu , Taha Zaid , Arulanandam Rozanne , Mohan Reva , Assi Hikmat H. , Castro Maria G. , Nabi Ivan Robert , Gunning Patrick T. , Raptis Leda
Published: April 2019

We recently demonstrated that Cav1 (caveolin-1) is a negative regulator of Stat3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription-3) activity in mouse fibroblasts and human lung carcinoma SHP77 cells. We now examined whether the cellular context may affect their levels as well as the relationship between them, by assessing Cav1 and Stat3-ptyr705 amounts in different cell lines. In MDA-MB-231, A549, and HaCat cells, Cav1 levels were high and Stat3-ptyr705 levels were low, consistent with the notion of a negative effect of endogenous Cav1 on Stat3-ptyr705 levels in these lines. In addition, manipulation of Cav1 levels revealed a negative effect in MCF7 and mouse fibroblast cells, while Cav1 upregulation induced apoptosis in MCF7 cells. In contrast, however, line MRC9 had high Cav1 and high Stat3-ptyr705 levels, indicating that high Cav1 is insufficient to reduce Stat3-ptyr705 levels in this line. MCF7 and LuCi6 cells had very low Cav1 and Stat3-ptyr705 levels, indicating that the low Stat3-ptyr705 can be independent from Cav1 levels altogether. Our results reveal a further level of complexity in the relationship between Cav1 and Stat3-ptyr705 than previously thought. In addition, we demonstrate that in a feedback loop, Stat3 inhibition upregulates Cav1 in HeLa cells but not in other lines tested.
THE EX-DIVIDEND-DAY BEHAVIOR OF STOCK PRICES AND VOLUME: THE CASE OF PHARMACEUTICAL DIVIDEND ARISTOCRATS
Authors: TAMARA TEPLOVA , MUNIR QAISER , MARIA KAPICHNIKOVA
Published: April 2019

This paper presents the wide analysis of the profitability factors of dividend capture strategy on public pharmaceutical companies within a five-year period after the global financial crisis 2008. We investigate the abnormal return and trading volumes with event study, and the effect of price changes around the ex-dividend date under the influence of various factors. Our findings suggest that there are no abnormal trading volumes on both the [Formula: see text] day of the event window and the day of the event on a subsample of companies that do not declare a dividend before the register close date. We confirm the negative stock yield on the ex-dividend day in most markets. We further confirm the tax hypothesis explaining the behavior of the share price and note the specific behavior of stock prices in the ex-dividend date for companies that do not disclose information on future payments (Japan and South Korea) and on emerging markets. The positive average cumulative abnormal return is statistically significant only for companies with a share of R&D/Total revenue [Formula: see text]3%. For companies with a value of more than 3%, the return is negative. An anomaly in the pharmaceutical stock market behavior in the ex-dividend date for 2016 is documented in our paper. A statistically significant price increase is registered both without taking into account the general market behavior, and taking into account market and individual expected return for each share of the sample. The cumulative abnormal returns are greater for pharma companies with a total enterprise value more than $1 billion, except for 2016.
Investigation on the interface modification of PET/PP composites
Authors: Wu Chang-Mou , Murakami Ri-Ichi , Lai Syuan-Guang , Lin Po-Chun , Koinkar Pankaj , Lee Kuei-Chi , Lai Chiu-Chun , Rwei Syang-Peng
Published: April 2019

In this study, surface modifications and manufacturing processes for polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/polypropylene (PP) composites were developed. When non-polar PP resin is combined with polar polyester fiber, its compatibility and wettability are the key technologies. Maleic anhydride-grafted PP (MAPP) was blended with PP to improve the polarity of the PP resin and react with PET fibers. In addition, a primer was applied to the PET fabric to improve the bonding and reactivity of PET fiber and MAPP. PET/PP composites that imitated the texture and appearance of carbon fabric were prepared by thin film stacking method. The effect of MAPP and primer on interfacial bonding was evaluated by single-fiber pullout test. The mechanical properties of the PET/PP composites such as impact, and open-hole tensile strength (OHT), were studied.
Optimization winding design of a composites intermediate shaft
Authors: Yoon Sung-Won , Kim Tae-Yeob , Cho Je-Hyoung , Ha Jong-Rok , Kim Yun-Hae
Published: April 2019

The purpose of this study is to determine the correct estimation of the laminate patterns for composites intermediate shaft. The laminate patterns in the filament winding process are an important factor in determining the strength and life of the final structure. In this study, the structural safety was analyzed for the laminate patterns in four cases. In addition, this work evaluated the range of laminated angles for optimal thickness selection. The laminate patterns and the order of the layers were determined by considering the results of the finite element analysis. The shear stress equation of the hollow shaft for torsional loads showed that the thickness of the structure varied with the diameter ratio. At the maximum diameter ratio (the smallest shaft thickness), the required shear strength for the structure was 36.6 MPa. Also, the most stable stress distribution was selected at [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text]. The shear modulus according to the laminated angle was considered to give the best strength value when stacked at [Formula: see text]. The research results in this study suggest that the design of an optimized intermediate shaft of composite materials can be supplemented.
A DRIVEN IFS REPRESENTATION OF TURING MACHINES
Authors: SAXER-TAULBEE KACIE , FRAME MICHAEL
Published: April 2019

We apply driven iterated function system (IFS) to analyze the dynamics of state sequences generated by Turing machines. A topological classification of driven IFS attractors reveals some properties of these state sequences.
Index, sub-index and sub-factor of groups with interactions to number theory
Authors: Hooshmand M. H.
Published: April 2019

This paper is the first step of a new topic about groups which has close relations and applications to number theory. Considering the factorization of a group into a direct product of two subsets, and since every subgroup is a left and right factor, we observed that the index conception can be generalized for a class of factors. But, thereafter, we found that every subset [Formula: see text] of a group [Formula: see text] has four related sub-indexes: right, left, upper and lower sub-indexes [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] which agree with the conception index of subgroups, and all of them are equal if [Formula: see text] is a subgroup or normal sub-semigroup of [Formula: see text]. As a result of the topic, we introduce some equivalent conditions to a famous conjecture for prime numbers (“every even number is the difference of two primes”) that one of them is: the prime numbers set is index stable (i.e. all of its sub-indexes are equal) in integers and [Formula: see text]. Index stable groups (i.e. those whose subsets are all index stable) are a challenging subject of the topic with several results and ideas. Regarding the extension of the theory, we give some methods for evaluation of sub-indexes, by using the left and right differences of subsets. At last, we pose many open problems, questions, a proposal for additive number theory, and show some future directions of researches and projects for the theory.
Polynomial equations over octonion algebras
Authors: Chapman Adam
Published: April 2019

In this paper, we present a complete method for finding the roots of all polynomials of the form [Formula: see text] over a given octonion division algebra. When [Formula: see text] is monic, we also consider the companion matrix and its left and right eigenvalues and study their relations to the roots of [Formula: see text], showing that the right eigenvalues form the conjugacy classes of the roots of [Formula: see text] and the left eigenvalues form a larger set than the roots of [Formula: see text].
A Systematic Survey on High Utility Itemset Mining
Authors: Rahmati Bahareh , Sohrabi Mohammad Karim
Published: April 2019

High utility itemset mining considers unit profits and quantities of items in a transaction database to extract more applicable and more useful association rules. Downward closure property, which causes significant pruning in frequent itemset mining, is not established in the utility of itemsets and so the mining problem will require alternative solutions to reduce its search space and to enhance its efficiency. Using an anti-monotonic upper bound of the utility function and exploiting efficient data structures for storing and compacting the dataset to perform efficient pruning strategies are the main solutions to address high utility itemset mining problem. Different mining methods and techniques have attempted to improve performance of extracting high utility itemsets and their several variants, including high-average utility itemsets, top-k high utility itemsets, and high utility itemsets with negative values, using more efficient data structures, more appropriate anti-monotonic upper bounds, and stronger pruning strategies. This paper aims to represent a comprehensive systematic review for high utility itemset mining techniques and to classify them based on their problem-solving approaches.
Combating Fake News
Authors: Sharma Karishma , Qian Feng , Jiang He , Ruchansky Natali , Zhang Ming , Liu Yan
Published: April 2019

The proliferation of fake news on social media has opened up new directions of research for timely identification and containment of fake news and mitigation of its widespread impact on public opinion. While much of the earlier research was focused on identification of fake news based on its contents or by exploiting users’ engagements with the news on social media, there has been a rising interest in proactive intervention strategies to counter the spread of misinformation and its impact on society. In this survey, we describe the modern-day problem of fake news and, in particular, highlight the technical challenges associated with it. We discuss existing methods and techniques applicable to both identification and mitigation, with a focus on the significant advances in each method and their advantages and limitations. In addition, research has often been limited by the quality of existing datasets and their specific application contexts. To alleviate this problem, we comprehensively compile and summarize characteristic features of available datasets. Furthermore, we outline new directions of research to facilitate future development of effective and interdisciplinary solutions.
Deep Item-based Collaborative Filtering for Top-N Recommendation
Authors: Xue Feng , He Xiangnan , Wang Xiang , Xu Jiandong , Liu Kai , Hong Richang
Published: April 2019

Item-based Collaborative Filtering
(ICF) has been widely adopted in recommender systems in industry, owing to its strength in user interest modeling and ease in online personalization. By constructing a user’s profile with the items that the user has consumed, ICF recommends items that are similar to the user’s profile. With the prevalence of machine learning in recent years, significant processes have been made for ICF by learning item similarity (or representation) from data. Nevertheless, we argue that most existing works have only considered linear and shallow relationships between items, which are insufficient to capture the complicated decision-making process of users.

In this article, we propose a more expressive ICF solution by accounting for the nonlinear and higher-order relationships among items. Going beyond modeling only the second-order interaction (e.g., similarity) between two items, we additionally consider the interaction among all interacted item pairs by using nonlinear neural networks. By doing this, we can effectively model the higher-order relationship among items, capturing more complicated effects in user decision-making. For example, it can differentiate which historical itemsets in a user’s profile are more important in affecting the user to make a purchase decision on an item. We treat this solution as a deep variant of ICF, thus term it as DeepICF. To justify our proposal, we perform empirical studies on two public datasets from MovieLens and Pinterest. Extensive experiments verify the highly positive effect of higher-order item interaction modeling with nonlinear neural networks. Moreover, we demonstrate that by more fine-grained second-order interaction modeling with attention network, the performance of our DeepICF method can be further improved.
On Tri-α-Open Sets in Fuzzifying Tritopological Spaces
Authors: Sulaiman Barah M. , Ismail Tahir H.
Published: April 2019

In this paper, we introduced and studied (1,2,3)-α-open set, (1,2,3)-α-neighborhood system, (1,2,3)-α-derived, (1,2,3)-α-closure, (1,2,3)-α-interior, (1,2,3)-α-exterior, (1,2,3)-α-boundary, (1,2,3)-α-convergence of nets, and (1,2,3)-α-convergence of filters in fuzzifying tritopological spaces.
Extraction and Characterization of Organ Components of the Malaysian Sea CucumberHolothuria leucospilotaYielded Bioactives Exhibiting Diverse Properties
Authors: Ceesay Abdoulie , Nor Shamsudin Mariana , Aliyu-Paiko Mohammed , Ismail Intan Safinar , Nazarudin Muhammad Farhan , Mohamed Alipiah Norfarrah
Published: April 2019

The aim of the present study was to extract and characterize bioactive components from separate body organs ofHolothuria leucospilota. Preliminary qualitative assessment of the crude extracts was positive for phenols, terpenoids, carbohydrates, flavonoids, saponins, glycosides, cardiac glycosides, steroids, phlobatannins, and tannins in all body organs evaluated. Phenolics were the most abundant group of bioactives accounting for approximately 80%. The extraction solvent mixtures that yielded most compounds evaluated were methanol/acetone (3:1, v:v) and methanol/distilled water (3:1, v:v). In other analyses, GC-MS data revealed diverse metabolic and biologically active compounds, where those in high concentrations included 2-Pentanone, 4-hydroxy-4-methyl- among the ketones; phenol- 2,4-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-, a phenol group; and 2-Chlorooctane, a hydrocarbon. Among FA and their methyl/ethyl esters, n-hexadecanoic acid, 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid ethyl ester (arachidonic acid), and 5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid methyl ester (EPA) were among the most abundant FAMEs accounting for approximately 50% of the subgroups measured. Data from GC-FID analysis revealed methyl laurate (C12:0), methyl myristate (C14:0), methyl palmitate (C16:0), and methyl stearate (18:0) methyl esters as the most abundant saturated FA, whereascis-9-oleic methyl ester (C18:1) and methyl linoleate (C18:2) were found as the major monounsaturated FA and PUFA FAMEs, respectively, in the body wall of the species. Taken together, the extraction and characterization of different categories of metabolically and biologically active compounds in various organ extracts ofH. leucospilotasuggest that the species is potentially a rich source of cholesterol-lowering, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer agents. These substances are known to benefit human health and assist in disease prevention. These findings justify the use of sea cucumbers in traditional folklore medication and the current interest and attention focused on the species to mine for bioactives in new drugs research.
Role of Gut Microbiota in the Pharmacological Effects of Natural Products
Authors: Pan Chuyue , Guo Qinglong , Lu Na
Published: April 2019

Increasing evidence has demonstrated that natural products derived from traditional Chinese medicine, such as ginseng, berberine, and curcumin, possess a wide variety of biological activities on gut microbiota, which may cause changes in the composition of intestinal microbiota, microbial metabolites, intestinal tight junction structure, and mucosal immunology. These changes will eventually result in the exertion of the pharmacological effects by treatment with these natural products. In this review, we will discuss how gut microbiota is influenced by commonly used natural products. Furthermore, our findings are expected to provide novel insight into how these untargeted natural products function via gut microbiota.
Computational Molecular Modeling of Pin1 Inhibition Activity of Quinazoline, Benzophenone, and Pyrimidine Derivatives
Authors: Cabrera Nicolás , Mora Jose R. , Marquez Edgar A.
Published: April 2019

Pin1 (peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase NIMA-interacting 1) is directly involved in cancer cell-cycle regulation because it catalyses the cis-trans isomerization of prolyl amide bonds in proteins. In this sense, a modeling evaluation of the inhibition of Pin1 using quinazoline, benzophenone, and pyrimidine derivatives was performed by using multilinear, random forest, SMOreg, and IBK regression algorithms on a dataset of 51 molecules, which was divided randomly in 78% for the training and 22% for the test set. Topological descriptors were used as independent variables and the biological activity (pIC50) as a dependent variable. The most robust individual model contained 9 features, and its predictive capability was statistically validated by the correlation coefficient for adjusting, 10-fold cross validation, test set, and bootstrapping with values of 0.910, 0.819, 0.841, and 0.803, respectively. In order to improve the prediction of the pIC50 values, the aggregation of the individual models was performed through the construction of an ensemble, and the most robust one was constructed by two individual models (LR3 and RF1) by applying the IBK algorithm, and a substantial improvement in predictive performance is reflected in the values of R2ADJ = 0.982, Q2CV = 0.962, and Q2EXT = 0.918. Mean square errors <0.165 and good fitting between calculated and experimental pIC50 values suggest a robustness on the prediction of pIC50. Regarding the docking simulation, a binding affinity between the molecules and the active site for the Pin1 inhibition into the protein (3jyj) was estimated through the calculation of the binding free energy (BE), with values in the range of −5.55 to −8.00 kcal/mol, implying a stabilizing interaction molecule receptor. The ligand interaction diagrams between the drugs and amino acid in the binding site for the three most active compounds denoted a good wrapper of these organic compounds into the protein mainly by polar amino acids.
Gene Polymorphisms and Susceptibility to Functional Dyspepsia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Du Lijun , Kim John J. , Chen Binrui , Zhang Yawen , Ren Hui
Published: April 2019

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common chronic gastrointestinal disorder with a complex, undefined mechanism. Clustering of patients with FD in families highlights the role of genetic factors in the pathogenesis of FD. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to clarify the associations between specific gene polymorphisms and FD susceptibility. PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and HuGE database were searched. An additive model was adopted to determine whether previous studied genes are associated with FD susceptibility. Carriers of minor allele in GNB3 825C>T (OR=1.15, 95% CI 0.99-1.34, P=0.07), SCL6A4 5HTTLPR (OR=0.92, 95% CI 0.75-1.12, P=0.40), and CCK-1R 779T>C (OR=0.86, 95% CI 0.72-1.03, P=0.09) genes failed to demonstrate susceptibility to FD. In a subgroup analysis, only minor allele (T) in GNB3 825C>T was associated with an increased susceptibility to the epigastric pain syndrome subtype (OR=1.34, 95% CI 1.10-1.63, P=0.003). Our meta-analysis based on available studies using an additive model failed to show that GNB3, SCL6A4, and CCK-1R polymorphisms are associated with FD susceptibility.
One-Pot Synthesis of Novel Dibenzoxanthenes, Diarylbutanes, and Calix[4]resorcinarenes via Consecutive Pyrrolidine Ring-Closure/Ring-Opening Reactions
Authors: Smolobochkin Andrey V. , Gazizov Almir S. , Burilov Alexander R. , Pudovik Michail A.
Published: April 2019

Herein, we report the approach to the otherwise hardly accessible dibenzoxanthenes, diarylbutanes, and calix[4]resorcinarenes possessing urea moieties based on the reaction of N-(4,4-diethoxybutyl)ureas with electron-rich aromatics in strongly acidic media. Unlike the previously developed methods, the proposed approach benefits from one-pot procedure and allows to obtain the target compounds with much higher yields.
Experimentally Determined Solute Mixing under Laminar and Transitional Flows at Junctions in Water Distribution Systems
Authors: Shao Yu , Zhao Lei , Yang Y. Jeffrey , Zhang Tuqiao , Ye Miaomiao
Published: April 2019

The water quality model in water distribution systems adopted in EPANET and other commercial simulation programs assumed perfect mixing of solute at pipe junctions. However, imperfect solute mixing at pipe junctions at turbulent flow has been reported. Yet, the mixing under laminar and transitional flow is rarely reported and thus is the focus of experimental study reported here. The experimental results show that the average Reynolds number and the outflows Reynolds number ratio controls degrees of the mixing at the pipe junctions. For cross junctions, the mixing degree is a function of the average Reynolds number in three regions; each has different mixing mechanisms and mathematical relationship. For double‐Tee junctions, the dimensionless connecting pipe length plays a more important role than the Reynolds number ratios of outflows and average Reynolds number on mixing because a longer connecting pipe length gives more mixing space and time for the water flow mixing.
The Potential Role of Probiotics in Controlling Overweight/Obesity and Associated Metabolic Parameters in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Wang Zhi-Bin , Xin Shan-Shan , Ding Li-Na , Ding Wen-Yu , Hou Yan-Li , Liu Chang-Qing , Zhang Xian-Dang
Published: April 2019

Background. The prevalence of overweight/obesity in adults is raised to 39%, which is nearly tripled more than 1975. The alteration of the gut microbiome has been widely accepted as one of the main causal factors. To find an effective strategy for the prevention and treatment of overweight/obesity, a systematic review and meta-analysis were designed. Methods. In this study, we systematically reviewed the article published from January 2008 to July 2018 and conducted a meta-analysis to examine the effects of probiotics on body weight control, lipid profile, and glycemic control in healthy adults with overweight or obesity. The primary outcomes were body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, fat mass, fat percentages, plasma lipid profiles, and glucose metabolic parameters. Results. We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and the Web of Science and identified 1248 articles, and 7 articles which were manually searched by the references of included studies and previously systematic reviews. Twelve randomized controlled trials (RCTs), including 821 participants, were included in the meta-analysis via full-text screening. Probiotics supplementation resulted in a statistical reduction in body weight (WMD [95% CI]; -0.55 [-0.91, -0.19] kg), BMI (WMD [95% CI]; -0.30 [-0.43, -0.18] kg m−2), waist circumference (WMD [95% CI]; -1.20 [-2.21, -0.19] cm), fat mass (WMD [95% CI]; -0.91 [-1.19, -0.63] kg), and fat percentage (WMD [95% CI]; -0.92 [-1.27, -0.56] %) compared with control groups. As expected, the metabolic parameters were improved significantly, with a pooled standardized mean difference in TC (SMD [95% CI]; -0.43 [-0.80, -0.07]), LDL-C (SMD [95% CI]; -0.41 [-0.77, -0.04]), FPG (SMD [95% CI]; -0.35 [-0.67, -0.02]), insulin (SMD [95% CI]; -0.44 [-0.84, -0.03]), and HOMA-IR (SMD [95% CI]; -0.51 [-0.96, -0.05]), respectively. The changes in TG (SMD [95% CI]; 0.14 [-0.23, 0.50]), HDL-C (SMD [95% CI]; -0.31 [-0.70, 0.07]), and HbA1c (SMD [95% CI]; -0.23 [-0.46, 0.01]) were not significant. Conclusion. This study suggests that the probiotics supplementation could potentially reduce the weight gain and improve some of the associated metabolic parameters, which may become an effective strategy for the prevention and treatment of obesity in adult individuals.
Short‐Term Traffic Volume Forecasting with Asymmetric Loss Based on Enhanced KNN Method
Authors: Wang Zhiyuan , Ji Shouwen , Yu Bowen
Published: April 2019

Short‐term traffic volume forecasting is one of the most essential elements in Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) by providing prediction of traffic condition for traffic management and control applications. Among previous substantial forecasting approaches, K nearest neighbor (KNN) is a nonparametric and data‐driven method popular for conciseness, interpretability, and real‐time performance. However, in previous related researches, the limitations of Euclidean distance and forecasting with asymmetric loss have rarely been focused on. This research aims to fill up these gaps. This paper reconstructs Euclidean distance to overcome its limitation and proposes a KNN forecasting algorithm with asymmetric loss. Correspondingly, an asymmetric loss index, Imbalanced Mean Squared Error (IMSE), has also been proposed to test the effectiveness of newly designed algorithm. Moreover, the effect of Loess technique and suitable parameter value of dynamic KNN method have also been tested. In contrast to the traditional KNN algorithm, the proposed algorithm reduces the IMSE index by more than 10%, which shows its effectiveness when the cost of forecasting residual direction is notably different. This research expands the applicability of KNN method in short‐term traffic volume forecasting and provides an available approach to forecast with asymmetric loss.
A Network Pharmacology Study on the Active Ingredients and Potential Targets ofTripterygium wilfordiiHook for Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Hu Wei , Fu Wanjin , Wei Xin , Yang Yang , Lu Chao , Liu Zeyuan
Published: April 2019

Traditional Chinese medicine has specific effect on some chronic diseases in clinic, especially in rheumatic diseases.Tripterygium wilfordiiHook (TWH) is a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA); the unique therapeutic effect has been confirmed by a large number of research papers. TWH has many compounds that lead to its active compounds. However, the potential targets and pharmacological and molecular mechanism of its action treatment of rheumatic diseases are not entirely clear. Therefore, the network pharmacology approach is needed to further study and explore its treatment mechanism. We have successfully set up 10 networks, including four major networks and other networks. Four major networks include rheumatoid arthritis disease network, compound-compound target network of TWH, TWH compound target-rheumatoid arthritis disease network, and TWH-rheumatoid arthritis disease-mechanism network. Other networks consist of RA disease and TWH related targets clusters, biological processes, and pathways network. Our study successfully predicted, explained, and confirmed the TWH of RA disease molecular synergy and found the potential of RA related targets, cluster, biological process, and pathways. This study not only provides prompts to the researcher who explores pharmacological and biological molecular mechanism of TWH applying to RA disease, but also proves a feasible method for discovering potential activated compounds from Chinese herbs.
Microbial Contamination and Antimicrobial Resistance in Use of Ophthalmic Solutions at the Department of Ophthalmology, Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia
Authors: Tamrat Lemlem , Gelaw Yeshigeta , Beyene Getenet , Gize Addisu
Published: April 2019

Background. Eye drops are most frequently used medications in ophthalmology. The carriage of pathogenic organisms to eyes through the agency of eye drops has presented a serious problem for several decades. The objective of this study was to determine the magnitude of contamination and pattern of antimicrobial resistance of in-use ophthalmic solutions.Method. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Ophthalmology, Jimma University Specialized Hospital (JUSH), Southwest Ethiopia, from June to December 2015. Samples from all ophthalmic solutions from outpatient department, operation theaters, and wards after an average duration of use of two weeks were taken. Samples were cultured and organisms were identified; antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using standard microbial identification techniques. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. Chi-square test was done and associations were taken as significant ifP<0.05.Result. The rate of contamination of eye drops in the study setup was found to be 51/70 (72.8%). Frequency of contamination of eye drops found was to be statistically associated with the duration of use of eye drops. Contaminations of eye drops were high among patients who self-administer the medications and those individuals who apply the medication less frequently. Tips of the bottles were more often contaminated than the content of the eye drop. Majority of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms were sensitive for most of the broad-spectrum antibiotics; however, there were a significant number of Gram-negative organisms resistant to almost all antibiotics used.Conclusion. There is high rate of contamination of eye drops in the setup (72.8%). Duration of use of eye drops is a significant factor associated with contamination. Knowing duration time of each container and patient education on eye drop administration technique are mandatory.
Parent-Infant Interaction during the First Year of Life in Infants at High Risk for Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Authors: Festante F. , Antonelli C. , Chorna O. , Corsi G. , Guzzetta A.
Published: April 2019

Introduction. Perinatal adverse events put neonates at high risk for short and long-term disabilities, including cerebral palsy (CP). The most recent guidelines about early intervention in infants with brain damage have emphasized the importance of family involvement from the very first phases of development. Early parent-infant interactions are pivotal in promoting infant cognitive and social developmental trajectories. However, little is known about the extent to which severe adverse perinatal events can affect the quality of early parent-infant interactions.Patients and Methods. We systematically searched five databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library) for the publications assessing parent-infant interactions in infants at high neurological risk within 1 year of age. Articles were selected if they involved direct comparison between high-risk populations and healthy controls or low-risk populations, and if quantitative or semiquantitative tools were used to assess the parent-infant interaction. Measures of parent-infant interaction included infant interactive behaviors, parental interactive behaviors, and dyadic interactive patterns.Results. The search yielded 18 publications that met the inclusion criteria. The articles represent a high level of heterogeneity in terms of infant neurological risk, infant age, and tools assessing interactive behaviors. Both infant and maternal behaviors within the investigated interactive exchanges were reported to be compromised, leading to subsequent overall impairment of the dyadic patterns.Conclusion. While the studies reviewed here provide general and important information, the review did not yield a clear picture of early dyadic interactions in high-risk infant populations. Further observational studies are warranted in order to provide a more accurate knowledge of the early dyadic exchanges between infants at high neurological risk and their parents, as they might provide a critical opportunity for early family centered habilitative interventions.