bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evidence of Australian bat lyssavirus infection in diverse Australian bat taxa
Authors: Field Hume Ernest
Published: May 2018

Historically, Australia was considered free of rabies and rabieslike viruses. Thus, the identification of Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) in 1996 in a debilitated bat found by a member of the public precipitated both public health consternation and a revision of lyssavirus taxonomy. Subsequent observational studies sought to elaborate the occurrence and frequency of ABLV infection in Australian bats. This paper describes the taxonomic diversity of bat species showing evidence of ABLV infection to better inform public health considerations. Blood and/or brain samples were collected from two cohorts of bats (wild‐caught and diagnostic submissions) from four Australian states or territories between April 1996 and October 2002. Fresh brain impression smears were tested for ABLV antigen using fluorescein‐labelled anti‐rabies monoclonal globulin (CENTOCOR) in a direct fluorescent antibody test; sera were tested for the presence of neutralising antibodies using a rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test. A total of 3,217 samples from 2,633 bats were collected and screened: brain samples from 1,461 wild‐caught bats and 1,086 submitted bats from at least 16 genera and seven families, and blood samples from 656 wild‐caught bats and 14 submitted bats from 14 genera and seven families. Evidence of ABLV infection was found in five of the six families of bats occurring in Australia, and in three of the four Australian states/territories surveyed, supporting the historic presence of the virus in Australia. While the infection prevalence in the wild‐caught cohort is evidently low, the significantly higher infection prevalence in rescued bats in urban settings represents a clear and present public health significance because of the higher risk of human exposure.
Understanding Positive Asymmetric Pricing with a Log-Concave Demand Function and Constant Marginal Costs
Authors: Quineche Ricardo
Published: May 2018

The stylized fact of prices increasing more strongly than they decrease in response to identically-sized cost changes, have been confirmed in many empirical studies. However, most of them claim that standard pricing theory cannot account for this phenomenon. Using constant marginal costs and allowing the demand function to be log-concave, this paper shows that the positive asymmetric pricing phenomenon in terms of magnitude can be explained by two of the classic standard economic competition models, Stackelberg with homogenous goods and Bertrand with non-homogenous goods. Furthermore, based on simulations, this paper compares the magnitudes of asymmetry generated in the standard economic competition models. Results show that with a log-concave demand function and constant marginal costs, the magnitude of the positive asymmetric pricing is positively related to the market power. Therefore, the monopoly model is the most asymmetric one, followed by Cournot, Stackelberg and Bertrand.
Ticks on Didelphis albiventris from a Cerrado area in the Midwestern Brazil
Authors: Gomes de Sá Erica Fernanda G. , Rodrigues Vinicius Da Silva , Garcia Marcos Valério , Zimmermann Namor Pinheiro , Ramos Vanessa Do Nascimento , Blecha Isabella Maiumi Zaidan , Duarte Pamella De Oliveira , Martins Thiago Fernandes , Bordignon Marcelo Oscar , Andreotti Renato
Published: May 2018

This experiment studied tick fauna associated to Didelphis albiventris Lund 1840 from a Cerrado area (Mato Grosso do Sul State, non-adjoining to Pantanal) inserted in a pasture and agricultural activities matrix, with few natural preserved forest patches. Authors also summarized data on ticks parasitizing Didelphis spp. in Brazil, and discussed infestation patterns in different biomes and locations. Study took place in Cervinho Farm, Bandeirantes Municipality. For captures, Tomahawk-like traps were distributed along two forest patches (30 each) during five nights. Captures occurred monthly (July/2013 to September/2014), sampling both fragments on alternate months. Animals were sedated and ticks were collected and stored in vials containing ethanol (70%) for identification. 51 D. albiventris were captured in 15 campaigns. Tick prevalence was 100%, and 49.5% of the animals were co-infested by two or more tick species. Four parasitizing species were found: Amblyomma sculptum Berlese, 1888 (78 nymphs), Ixodes loricatus Neumann, 1899 (56 adults), Amblyomma dubitatum Neumann, 1899 (45 nymphs), Amblyomma coelebs Neumann, 1899 (32 nymphs) and Amblyomma sp. (123 larvae). A. sculptum was the most abundant tick, but most frequent species were A. coelebs and A. dubitatum, followed by I. loricatus. Co-occurrences of more than two species were observed among all tick pairs. D. albiventris usually presents high prevalence of tick infestation. However, this study presented 100% prevalence. Knowledge of host-parasite relation and interactions between different ticks that coexist on a same host are essential, since such interaction may favor pathogen dissemination. This is of special relevance regarding D. albiventris, known for participating in maintenance of ecological cycles of Spotted Fever Group rickettsiae.
Morphological ontogeny of Heptacarus hirsutus (Acari, Oribatida, Lohmanniidae), with comments on Heptacarus Piffl
Authors: Seniczak Stanisław , Seniczak Anna , Kaczmarek Sławomir , Haq Mohammed A. , Marquardt Tomasz
Published: May 2018

The morphological ontogeny of Heptacarus hirsutus Wallwork, 1964 is described and illustrated. All instars of this species have two pairs of exobothridial setae, which is characteristic for the lower Oribatida. They have strong chelicerae, anal opening in a posteroventral position, and thick legs I and II, features which are typical for xylophagous mites. The larva has 34 gastronotal setae, including inguinal h4, a striking feature of the lower Oribatida, this stage has also a long, cudgel-shaped Claparède’s organ. In the next instars of H. hirsutus, a strong hypertrichy occurs on the posterior part of the hysterosoma, and the number of setae increases in the protonymph, deutonymph, tritonymph and adult to about 60, 75, 95 and 115 setae, respectively. In the deutonymph, tritonymph and adult of H. hirsutus, the ano-adanal plate is incompletely fussed.
Biomineralization of osteoblasts on DLC coated surfaces for bone implants
Authors: B Subramanian , S Thanka Rajan , Martin P. J. , Vaithilingam Vijay , Bean Penelope A. , Evans Margaret D. M. , Bendavid A.
Published: May 2018

Diamond like carbon (DLC) films were deposited onto Ti6Al4V and Si wafer substrates by RF plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The influence of dopants such as fluorine (F), silicon (Si), and nitrogen (N) on composition, structure, and biocompatibility was investigated. Ion scattering spectroscopy analysis revealed the presence of dopant atoms in the outer-most layers of the films. Raman studies showed that the position of the G-band shifts to higher frequencies with the fluorine and nitrogen content in the DLC film, whereas the incorporation of Si into DLC induces a decrease of the position of the G peak. The corrosion behavior was studied in simulated body fluid. A higher charge transfer resistance (Rct) was observed for the doped DLC films. The indirect cytotoxicity was performed using L929 fibroblast cells. The coated surfaces were hemocompatible when tested with red blood cells. DLC films were noncytotoxic to L929 cells over a 24 h exposure. Saos-2 osteoblast cell response to the doped and undoped DLC coated surfaces was studied in adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization assays. The production of calcium and phosphate by cells on doped DLC, particularly, nitrogen doped DLC, was higher than that on undoped DLC.
A dynamic depth estimation method for towed optical fiber hydrophone array
Authors: Peng Chengyan , Zhang Xueliang
Published: May 2018

A method for estimating the dynamic depth variation along a maneuverable towed array using optical fiber hydrophones is proposed. The method utilizes the low-frequency components of the hydrophone signal which are typically high-pass filtered to suppress the adverse impact of hydrostatic pressure. Experimental depth data using a 32-element towed array in a lake agree well with measurements from commercial depth sensors. The temporal evolutions of the array shape in the vertical plane at towing speeds of 4 and 8 knots are also obtained.
Tuning ITAM multiplicity on T cell receptors can control potency and selectivity to ligand density
Authors: James John R.
Published: May 2018

Modeling the responses of synthetic receptors in T cells identifies new ways to optimize CAR–T cell activity.
The Beauveria bassiana Gas3 β-Glucanosyltransferase Contributes to Fungal Adaptation to Extreme Alkaline Conditions
Authors: Luo Zhibing , Zhang Tongbing , Liu Pengfei , Bai Yuting , Chen Qiyan , Zhang Yongjun , Keyhani Nemat O.
Published: May 2018

Little is known about adaptations required for growth at high (>9) pH. Here, we show that a specific fungal membrane-remodeling β-1,3-glucanosyltransferase gene (
Bbgas3
) regulated by the pH-responsive PacC transcription factor forms a critical aspect of the ability of the insect-pathogenic fungus
Beauveria bassiana
to grow at extreme pH. The loss of
Bbgas3
resulted in a unique decreased ability to grow at high pH, with little to no effects seen with respect to other stress conditions, i.e., cell wall integrity and osmotic and oxidative stress. However, pH-dependent alternations in cell wall properties and virulence were noted for the Δ
Bbg
as3 mutant. These data provide a mechanistic insight into the importance of the specific cell wall structure required to stabilize the cell at high pH and link it to the PacC/Pal/Rim pH-sensing and regulatory system.
Genetic Variation of the SusC/SusD Homologs from a Polysaccharide Utilization Locus Underlies Divergent Fructan Specificities and Functional Adaptation in
Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron
Strains
Authors: Joglekar Payal , Sonnenburg Erica D. , Higginbottom Steven K. , Earle Kristen A. , Morland Carl , Shapiro-Ward Sarah , Bolam David N. , Sonnenburg Justin L.
Published: May 2018

Dietary polysaccharides play a dominant role in shaping the composition and functionality of our gut microbiota. Dietary interventions using these
m
icrobiota-
a
ccessible
c
arbohydrates (MACs) serve as a promising tool for manipulating the gut microbial community. However, our current gap in knowledge regarding microbial metabolic pathways that are involved in the degradation of these MACs has made the design of rational interventions difficult. The issue is further complicated by the diversity of pathways observed for the utilization of similar MACs, even in closely related microbial strains. Our current work focuses on divergent fructan utilization pathways in two closely related
B. thetaiotaomicron
strains and provides an integrated approach to characterize the molecular basis for strain-level functional differences.
Maternal polycystic ovarian syndrome and offspring growth: the Upstate KIDS Study
Authors: Bell Griffith A , Sundaram Rajeshwari , Mumford Sunni L , Park Hyojun , Broadney Miranda , Mills James L , Bell Erin M , Yeung Edwina H
Published: May 2018

Background

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of female infertility and is associated with higher levels of circulating androgens. Exposure to higher levels of androgens in utero may be a risk factor for obesity among children of women with PCOS.

Methods

We examined whether maternal PCOS was associated with differences in offspring growth and obesity in the Upstate KIDS study, a prospective cohort study of infants born in New York State (excluding New York City) oversampled for fertility treatments and multiple births. Measurements of offspring length/height and weight were recorded at doctor’s visits through 3 years of age. PCOS diagnosis was self-reported by mothers at baseline. We used linear mixed models with robust SEs to estimate differences in growth by maternal PCOS exposure. We used logistic regression to examine whether infants experienced rapid weight gain at 4, 9 and 12 months. Growth measures were reported by 4098 mothers for 4949 children (1745 twins). Of these, 435 mothers (10.6%) had a diagnosis of PCOS.

Results

Compared with children born to mothers without PCOS, children of mothers with PCOS did not have significant differences in weight (4.81 g, 95% CI −95.1 to 104.7), length/height (0.18 cm, 95% CI −0.16 to 0.52) and body mass index (−0.14 kg/m2, 95% CI −0.30 to 0.01) through 3 years of age. We also observed no association between maternal PCOS and offspring rapid weight gain.

Conclusions

Overall, we found little evidence to suggest that maternal PCOS influences early childhood growth in this large, prospective cohort study.
Spatiotemporal analysis of compositional data: increased precision and improved workflow using model-based inputs to stock assessment
Authors: Thorson James T. , Haltuch Melissa A.
Published: May 2018

Stock assessment models are fitted to abundance-index, fishery catch, and age–length–sex composition data that are estimated from survey and fishery records. Research has developed spatiotemporal methods to estimate abundance indices, but there is little research regarding model-based methods to generate age–length–sex composition data. We demonstrate a spatiotemporal approach to generate composition data and a multinomial sample size that approximates the estimated imprecision. A simulation experiment comparing spatiotemporal and design-based methods demonstrates a 32% increase in input sample size for the spatiotemporal estimator. A Stock Synthesis assessment used to manage lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus) in the California Current also shows a 17% increase in sample size and better model fit using the spatiotemporal estimator, resulting in smaller standard errors when estimating spawning biomass. We conclude that spatiotemporal approaches are feasible for estimating both abundance-index and compositional data, thereby providing a unified approach for generating inputs for stock assessments. We hypothesize that spatiotemporal methods will improve statistical efficiency for composition data in many stock assessments and recommend that future research explore the impact of including additional habitat or sampling covariates.
Angling selects against active and stress-resilient phenotypes in rainbow trout
Authors: Koeck Barbara , Závorka Libor , Aldvén David , Näslund Joacim , Arlinghaus Robert , Thörnqvist Per-Ove , Winberg Svante , Björnsson Björn Thrandur , Johnsson Jörgen I.
Published: May 2018

Selection induced by human harvest can lead to different patterns of phenotypic change than selection induced by natural predation and could be a major driving force of evolution of wild populations. The vulnerability of individuals to angling depends on the individual decision to ingest the bait, possibly mediated by their neuroendocrine response towards the associated stimulus. To investigate the mechanisms behind individual vulnerability to angling, we conducted angling experiments in replicated ponds and quantified individual behavioral traits and neuroendocrine stress responsiveness in two salmonid species, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brown trout (Salmo trutta). We discovered a phenotypic syndrome in rainbow trout, but not in brown trout, where lower serotonergic and dopaminergic brain activity and cortisol levels (i.e., lower stress responsiveness) in response to a standardized experimental stressor were associated with higher activity, forming a proactive phenotype that showed increased vulnerability to angling. Our results show that angling targets the most stress-resilient and active phenotypes of rainbow trout, supporting the suggestion that fishing-induced phenotypic selection may lead to an increased representation of stress-responsive and low-activity phenotypes in harvested populations.
Lepton flavor violating decays ofBandKmesons in models with extended gauge group
Authors: Fayyazuddin  , Aslam Muhammad Jamil , Lu Cai-Dian
Published: May 2018

Lepton flavor violating (LFV) decays are forbidden in the Standard Model (SM) and to explore them one has to go beyond it. The flavor changing neutral current induced lepton flavor conserving and LFV decays of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] mesons is discussed in the gauge group [Formula: see text]. The lepto-quark [Formula: see text] corresponding to gauge group [Formula: see text] allows the quark–lepton transitions and hence giving a framework to construct the effective Lagrangian for the LFV decays. The mass of lepto-quark [Formula: see text] provides a scale at which the gauge group [Formula: see text] is broken to the SM gauge group. Using the most stringent experimental limit [Formula: see text], the upper bound on the effective coupling constant [Formula: see text] is obtained for certain pairing of lepton and quark generations in the representation [Formula: see text] of the group [Formula: see text]. Later, the effective Lagrangian for the LFV meson decays for the gauge group [Formula: see text] is constructed. Using [Formula: see text], the bound on the ratio of effective couplings is obtained to be [Formula: see text]. A number of decay modes are discussed which provide a promising area to test this model in the current and future particle physics experiments.
Modeling questions for quantum permutations
Authors: Banica Teodor , Freslon Amaury
Published: May 2018

Given a quantum permutation group [Formula: see text], with orbits having the same size [Formula: see text], we construct a universal matrix model [Formula: see text], having the property that the images of the standard coordinates [Formula: see text] are projections of rank [Formula: see text]. Our conjecture is that this model is inner faithful under suitable algebraic assumptions, and is in addition stationary under suitable analytic assumptions. We prove this conjecture for the classical groups, and for several key families of group duals.
Dynamics of a Pedestrian’s Walking Motion Based on the Inverted Pendulum Model
Authors: Ouyang Lijun , Li TingTing , Zhen Bin , Wei Lei
Published: May 2018

In this paper, the inverted pendulum model is proposed to describe a pedestrian’s walking motion by considering that the pivot point vibrates periodically up and down. The stability, periodic solutions and oscillations of the inverted pendulum are theoretically investigated, the correctness of which is illustrated by numerical simulations. According to frequency spectrum analysis, the inverted pendulum can exhibit periodically or quasi-periodically stable oscillations. However, we demonstrate that the inverted pendulum will maintain the ratio between the lateral and vertical vibration frequencies near [Formula: see text] as an optimizing selection of stability. The theoretical result agrees with the measurement result for a normal pedestrian such that the lateral step frequency is always half the vertical step frequency, which means that it is feasible and reasonable to describe a pedestrian’s walking motion using the inverted pendulum with the pivot vibrating harmonically in the vertical direction. The inverted pendulum model suggested in this paper could contribute to the study of pedestrian–footbridge interaction, which overcomes the difficulty of directly determining the expression of the lateral force induced by pedestrians.
Holistic learning-based high-order feature descriptor for smoke recognition
Authors: Yuan Feiniu , Xia Xue , Shi Jinting
Published: May 2018

To improve the performance of smoke recognition, it is important to extract representative and discriminative features for smoke. We propose a learning based method to automatically extract discriminative features from raw pixels. First, patch-based local differences rather than single-pixel-based differences are computed. Then a sampling strategy is learnt to extract dominant local differences. Third, the sampled differences are used to learn a codebook, through which differences are projected into a discriminative feature space. Thus, feature matrices consisting of discriminative differences can be obtained according to the codebook. At last, the feature maps are encoded without quantization, thus final feature is computed. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves better performance than some existing handcrafted and learning based feature extraction methods.
The optimization of parallel convolutional RBM based on Spark
Authors: Jiang Yun , Zhuo Junyu , Zhang Juan , Xiao Xiao
Published: May 2018

With the extensive attention and research of the scholars in deep learning, the convolutional restricted Boltzmann machine (CRBM) model based on restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM) is widely used in image recognition, speech recognition, etc. However, time consuming training still seems to be an unneglectable issue. To solve this problem, this paper mainly uses optimized parallel CRBM based on Spark, and proposes a parallel comparison divergence algorithm based on Spark and uses it to train the CRBM model to improve the training speed. The experiments show that the method is faster than traditional sequential algorithm. We train the CRBM with the method and apply it to breast X-ray image classification. The experiments show that it can improve the precision and the speed of training compared with traditional algorithm.
Crowdfunding: What Do We Know So Far?
Authors: Jovanović Tanja
Published: May 2018

Crowdfunding is an innovative financial instrument that is continuously gaining importance in research and practice. In order to promote the economic and theoretical discussion on this topic, a systematic overview of the literature is essential. The present work represents a literature-based research on crowdfunding to determine which research topics have been addressed so far and whether or not a focus has been developed on a particular topic, research stream, and model. The literature review identified 90 scientific papers, published between 2011 and 2016. The study consequently develops seven research areas: individual, managerial, legal, platform-based, sustainability-based, innovation-related, and conceptual. Through this conceptualization and the presentation of the current state of the research as well as the determination of the future research potential, this work is relevant for the academic debate on the organizational implications on crowdfunding. In addition, the review supports practitioners, or in particular crowdfunding initiators, to understand how crowdfunding mechanisms function and to deduce consequences for successful crowdfunding.
On Coleman Automorphisms of Extensions of Finite Quasinilpotent Groups by Some Groups
Authors: Hai Jinke , Zhu Yixin
Published: May 2018

Let G be an extension of a finite quasinilpotent group by a finite group. It is shown that under some conditions every Coleman automorphism of G is an inner automorphism. The interest in such automorphisms arose from the study of the normalizer problem for integral group rings. Our theorems generalize some well-known results.
S-∗w-Principal Ideal Domains
Authors: Kim Hwankoo , Lim Jung Wook
Published: May 2018

Let D be an integral domain, ∗ a star-operation on D, and S a multiplicative subset of D. We define D to be an S-∗w-principal ideal domain if for each nonzero ideal I of D, there exist an element s ∈ S and a principal ideal (c) of D such that [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we study some properties of S-∗w-principal ideal domains. Among other things, we study the local property, the Nagata type theorem, and the Cohen type theorem for S-∗w-principal ideal domains.
On Graded Betti Numbers of a Class of Graphs
Authors: Yasmeen Saba , Wu Tongsuo
Published: May 2018

In this paper, Betti numbers are evaluated for several classes of graphs whose complements are bipartite graphs. Relations are established for the general case, and counting formulae are given in several particular cases, including the union of several mutually disjoint complete graphs.
Bombieri-type theorems of nonlinear Weyl sums over primes in short intervals
Authors: Yao Yanjun
Published: May 2018

In this paper, we consider the mean-value estimate for nonlinear Weyl sums over primes in short intervals and establish the related Bombieri-type theorems. These results have applications in additive problems with prime variables in short intervals.
On the Zhang–Zagier measure
Authors: Flammang V.
Published: May 2018

We first improve the known lower bound for the absolute Zhang–Zagier measure in the general case. Then we restrict our study to totally positive algebraic integers. In this case, we are able to find six points for the related spectrum. At last, we give inequalities involving the Zhang–Zagier measure, the Mahler measure and the length of such integers.
Large-amplitude periodic atomic vibrations in diamond
Authors: Chechin George , Ryabov Denis , Shcherbinin Stepan
Published: May 2018

Symmetry-determined nonlinear normal modes, which describe large-amplitude vibrations of diamond lattice, are studied by specific group-theoretical methods. For two of these modes, corresponding to vibrational state with and without multiplication of the unit cell, we present their atomic patterns and dynamical properties obtained with the aid of the ab initio simulations based on the density functional theory (DFT).
Effective Capacity Modulation as an Explicit Control Knob for Public Cloud Profitability
Authors: Wang Cheng , Urgaonkar Bhuvan , Kesidis George , Gupta Aayush , Chen Lydia Y. , Birke Robert
Published: May 2018

In this article, we explore the efficacy of dynamic effective capacity modulation (i.e., using virtualization techniques to offer lower resource capacity than that advertised by the cloud provider) as a control knob for a cloud provider’s profit maximization complementing the more well-studied approach of dynamic pricing. In particular, our focus is on emerging cloud ecosystems wherein we expect tenants to modify their demands strategically in response to such modulation in effective capacity and prices. Toward this, we consider a simple model of a cloud provider that offers a single type of virtual machine to its tenants and devise a leader/follower game-based cloud control framework to capture the interactions between the provider and its tenants. We assume both parties employ myopic control and short-term predictions to reflect their operation under the high dynamism and poor predictability in such environments. Our evaluation using a combination of real data center traces and real-world benchmarks hosted on a prototype OpenStack-based cloud shows 10% to 30% profit improvement for a cloud provider compared with baselines that use static pricing and/or static effective capacity.
Synthesis, Structural Analysis, and Biological Activities of Some Imidazolium Salts
Authors: Uluçam Gühergül , Turkyilmaz Murat
Published: May 2018

Four newly synthesized imidazolium salts were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance, vibrational spectra, and mass spectra. Then, the density functional theory calculations were performed to obtain the molecular configurations on which the theoretical nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectra were consequently obtained. The comparison of calculated spectra with the experimental spectra for each molecule leads to the conclusion that the theoretical results can be assumed to be a good approach to their molecular configurations. The in vitro biological activities of the salts on the selected bacteria and cancer cell lines were determined by using the broth dilution method according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. The 1,3-bis(2-hydroxyethyl) imidazolidinium bromide and 3-(2-ethoxy-2-oxoethly)-1-(3-aminopropyl)-1H-imidazol-3-ium bromide showed efficiency on Bacillus cereus ATCC 11778. The 3-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-4-methyl-1-H-imidazol-3-ium bromide was effective on HeLa while a similar effect was observed on Hep G2 with 3-(2-carboxyethyl)-1-(3-aminopropyl)-1H-imidazol-3-ium bromide.
Space-Time Adaptive Cancellation in Passive Radar Systems
Authors: Pető Tamás , Seller Rudolf
Published: May 2018

A critical issue in the realization of passive radar systems is the effective suppression of the zero Doppler interference (ZDI). The performance of the clutter cancellation relies much on the used algorithms. Several state-of-the-art approaches consist in the independent use of spatial and temporal algorithms for ZDI suppression. In this paper, a novel interference cancellation algorithm is proposed, which jointly exploits the available information from both space and time domains. We call this novel method Space-Time Adaptive Cancellation (STAC), and it differs from previous schemes included among the tools of Space-Time Adaptive Processing (STAP). The STAC algorithm is able to cancel out the high power direct and multipath signals on all the surveillance antenna channels prior to the beamforming and other space domain processing methods. The proposed preprocessing technique facilitates the detection of targets even in the direction of the illuminator or large static scatterers. Moreover, the interference rejection capability is also enhanced in the space domain. The performance of the presented algorithm is verified through simulations and field measurements. The experiments show improvement over the currently available filtering techniques.
Differential Regulation ofEscherichia coli fimGenes following Binding to Mannose Receptors
Authors: Schwan William R. , Beck Michael T. , Hung Chia S. , Hultgren Scott J.
Published: May 2018

Regulation of the uropathogenicEscherichia coli(UPEC)fimBandfimEgenes was examined following type 1 pili binding to mannose-coated Sepharose beads. Within 25 min after mannose attachment,fimEexpression dropped eightfold, whereasfimBtranscription increased about two- to fourfold. Because bothfimgenes encode site-specific recombinases that affect the position of thefimSelement containing thefimApromoter, the positioning offimSwas also examined. ThefimSelement changed to slightly more Phase-OFF in bacteria mixed with plain beads, whereas UPEC cells interacting with mannose-coated beads had significantly less Phase-OFF orientation offimSunder pH 7 conditions. On the other hand, Phase-OFF orientedfimSincreased fourfold when UPEC cells were mixed with plain beads in a pH 5.5 environment. Positioning offimSwas also affected byfimHmutations, demonstrating that the FimH ligand binding to its receptor facilitates the changes. Moreover, enzyme immunoassays showed that UPEC cells had greater type 1 pili expression when mixed with mannose-coated beads versus plain beads. These results indicate that, after type 1 pilus binding to tethered mannose receptors, the physiology of theE. colicells changes to maintain the expression of type 1 pili even when awash in an acidic environment.
Calibration of Passive UHF RFID Tags Using Neural Networks to Measure Soil Moisture
Authors: Aroca Rafael V. , Hernandes André C. , Magalhães Daniel V. , Becker Marcelo , Vaz Carlos Manoel Pedro , Calbo Adonai G.
Published: May 2018

This paper presents a system to monitor soil moisture using standard UHF RFID tags buried on the soil. An autonomous mobile robot is also presented, which is capable to navigate on the field and automatically read the sensors, even if they are completely buried on the soil. Thus, passive RFID tags are buried on the soil, allowing wireless moisture measurement without the need of batteries for long periods. The system dispenses external cables and antennas and may be composed of a single RFID tag buried on the soil or by several RFID tags buried at different depths on the soil. An antenna coupled to a RFID reader can be pointed to the place of installation of these tags, and by measuring the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and other parameters, it allows to estimate the amount of water on the soil. The estimation of volumetric water content (VWC) on the soil was successfully obtained and calibrated with R2>0.9 using neural networks trained with experimental data from a reference capacitive soil moisture sensor. In addition to the simplified installation procedure, the system allows manual or automatic reading through irrigation systems or other systems to control irrigation systems. The system has been evaluated in several experiments, and nine tags were buried on the field, being used for at least three years. Experimental results show that it is possible to read tags at 40 cm deep in the soil with the RFID reader antenna 10 cm far from the soil surface.
Solutions of the D-Dimensional Schrödinger Equation with the Hyperbolic Pöschl-Teller Potential plus Modified Ring-Shaped Term
Authors: Assi Ibsal A. , Ikot Akpan N. , Chukwuocha E. O.
Published: May 2018

We solve the D-dimensional Schrödinger equation with hyperbolic Pöschl-Teller potential plus a generalized ring-shaped potential. After the separation of variable in the hyperspherical coordinate, we used Nikiforov-Uvarov (NU) method to solve the resulting radial equation and obtain explicitly the energy level and the corresponding wave function in closed form. The solutions to the energy eigenvalues and the corresponding wave functions are obtained using the NU method as well.
A Novel Inflammation-Based Prognostic Score: The Fibrinogen/Albumin Ratio Predicts Prognoses of Patients after Curative Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Xu Qiaodong , Yan Yongcong , Gu Songgang , Mao Kai , Zhang Jianlong , Huang Pinbo , Zhou Zhenyu , Chen Zheng , Zheng Shaodong , Liang Jiahong , Lin Zhihua , Wang Jie , Yan Jiang , Xiao Zhiyu
Published: May 2018

Background. Inflammation is an important hallmark of cancer. Fibrinogen and albumin are both vital factors in systemic inflammation. This study investigated the prognostic value of the fibrinogen/albumin ratio in HCC patients who underwent curative resection. Methods. HCC patients (n=151) who underwent curative resection were evaluated retrospectively. The optimal cutoff value for the fibrinogen/albumin ratio was selected by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Correlations between preoperative fibrinogen/albumin ratios and clinicopathologic characteristics were analyzed by χ2 test. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated to compare the prognostic value of the fibrinogen/albumin ratio with other prognostic scores (neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score). The overall survival (OS) and time to recurrence (TTR) were assessed by the log-rank test and the Cox proportional hazard regression model. Results. An optimal cutoff value of the preoperative fibrinogen/albumin ratio (0.062) was determined for 151 patients who underwent curative resection for HCC via a ROC curve analysis. Fibrinogen/albumin ratio > 0.062 was significantly associated with microvascular invasion, an advanced BCLC stage, and ALBI grade. Multivariate analyses revealed that fibrinogen/albumin ratio was an independent predictor for OS (P=0.003) and TTR (P=0.035). The prognostic ability of fibrinogen/albumin ratio was comparable to other prognostic scores (NLR, PLR, and ALBI score) by AUC analysis. Patients with a fibrinogen/albumin ratio > 0.062 had lower 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates (66.0%, 41.8%, and 28.2% versus 81.9%, 69.3%, and 56.1%, resp., P<0.001) and higher 1-, 3-, and 5-year recurrence rates (60.9%, 79.2%, and 90.5% versus 49.5%, 69.1%, and 77.1%, resp., P=0.008) compared with patients with fibrinogen/albumin ratio ≤ 0.062. Conclusion. The preoperative fibrinogen/albumin ratio is an effective prognostic factor for HCC patients who underwent curative resection. An elevated fibrinogen/albumin ratio significantly correlates with poorer survival and a higher risk of recurrence in HCC patients.
Newly Generated Cells in the Dentate Gyrus Differentially Respond to Brief Spatial Exploration and Forced Swim in Adult Female Balb/C Mice
Authors: Ramírez-Rodríguez Gerardo Bernabé , Ocaña-Fernández María del Ángel , Ortiz-López Leonardo
Published: May 2018

Neurogenesis in the hippocampus is influenced by several factors including external stimuli. In addition to their involvement in learning and memory processes, newborn neurons of the dentate gyrus (DG) buffer against the effects of stress. Although the response of these cells to environmental stimuli has been shown, the age of the cells that respond to a brief spatial exploration or a stressful situation produced by forced-swim stress in adult female Balb/C mice is still unknown. Here, we investigated the activation of newborn neurons after three (IdU) or six weeks (CldU) postlabelling with the expression of Arc in the same mice but exposed to different environmental stimuli. Mice housed in standard conditions showed an increase in the activation of CldU-labelled cells after two exposures to a brief spatial exploration but no increase in the activation of IdU-labelled cells compared with the control group. Additionally, we analysed neuronal activation in the DG of mice housed in standard conditions and further exposed to forced-swim stress. We found a decreased activation of IdU-labelled cells in mice exposed to forced-swim stress with increase number of CldU-labelled cells. Our results suggest that based on their time postlabelling, newly generated hippocampal neurons show a different response to several environmental stimuli.
Inflammatory Markers in Older Women with a History of Gestational Diabetes and the Effects of Weight Loss
Authors: Ryan Alice S.
Published: May 2018

The purpose of this study was to compare systemic inflammation in older women with a history of gestational diabetes (GDM) who developed impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or type 2 diabetes (T2DM) to that in those with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and to determine, in these women, the effect of weight loss (WL) induced by diet and exercise training on systemic inflammation and adipokine levels. This was a longitudinal clinical investigation of overweight/obese (BMI: 32 ± 1 kg/m2) women (59 ± 1 years) with a GDM history (n=19) who had normal glucose tolerance (NGT, n=7) or IGT/T2DM (n=12). Women completed 6 months of weight loss induced by diet and exercise and underwent VO2max, body composition, blood draw, glucose tolerance testing, and 2-hour hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps (40 mU·m−2·min−1). Glucose utilization (M) was 42% higher in the NGT group (P<0.05). CRP was two-fold higher in the IGT/T2DM group than that in the NGT group (P<0.01). Adiponectin levels were 59% higher in the NGT group than those in the IGT/T2DM group (P<0.01). IL-6sR was higher in the NGT group (P<0.01). The women lost body weight, body fat, visceral fat, and subcutaneous abdominal fat (P<0.001). Fasting glucose (P<0.05), fasting insulin, glucose, and insulin AUC decreased (all P<0.005) after the intervention. M increased by 21% (P<0.05). CRP (−16%) and TNFR1 (−6%) tended to decrease, whereas TNFα, IL-6, SAA, and adiponectin did not change in the group. In conclusion, older women with a history of GDM who have developed IGT or T2DM have higher CRP and reduced adiponectin levels despite similar BMI and total and abdominal obesity to those with NGT. Six months WL induced by diet and exercise improves body composition and increases insulin sensitivity without a significant modification of inflammatory markers and adiponectin levels.
MU‐MIMO Downlink Capacity Analysis and Optimum Code Weight Vector Design for 5G Big Data Massive Antenna Millimeter Wave Communication
Authors: Abdo Adam Mohamed Ahmed , Zhao Xiongwen , Zhang Rui , Zhou Zhenyu , Zhang Jianhua , Zhang Yu , Memon Imran
Published: May 2018

Multiuser multiple input multiple output (MU‐MIMO) wireless communication system provides substantial downlink throughput in millimeter wave (mmWave) communication by allowing multiple users to communicate at the same frequency and time slots. However, the design of the optimum beam‐vector for each user to minimise interference from other users is challenging. In this paper, based on the concept of signal‐to‐leakage plus noise ratio (SLNR), we analyze the ergodic sum‐rate capacity using statistical Eigen‐mode (SE) and zero‐forcing (ZF) models with Ricean fading channel. In the analysis, the orthogonality of channel vectors between users is assumed to guarantee interference cancelation from other cochannel users. The impact of the number of antenna elements on the achievable sum‐rate capacity obtained by dirty paper coding (DPC) method considered as a nonlinear scheme for approximating average system capacity is studied. A power iterative precoding scheme that iteratively finds the most dominant eigenvector (optimum weight vector) for minimising cochannel interference (CCI), that is, maximising the SLNR for all users simultaneously, is designed resulting in enhancement of average system capacity. The average system capacities achieved by the proposed power iterative technique in this study compared with the singular value decomposition (SVD) method are in the ranges of 5–11 bps/Hz and 1–6 bps/Hz, respectively. Therefore, the proposed power iterative method achieves higher performance than the SVD regarding achievable sum‐rate capacity.
Postload Glycated Albumin as an Alternate Measure for Diabetes Screening in a Chinese Population
Authors: Su Hang , Tang Junling , Ma Xiaojing , He Xingxing , Ying Lingwen , Wang Yufei , Bao Yuqian , Zhou Jian
Published: May 2018

In previous epidemiological screening in China, glycated albumin (GA) was mostly detected during the fasting state. This strict restriction causes some problems with diabetes screening. It is unclear if GA could help improve the efficiency of screening for diabetes for subjects who are not in the fasting state. The present study analyzed the differences between fasting and postload (30, 60, 120, and 180 min) GA levels. A total of 691 participants were enrolled in the present study. The Bland-Altman difference plots revealed that 95.4, 94.8, 93.6, and 93.9% of data points were within the limits of agreement for each time point. The receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the areas under the curve (AUC) for baseline GA and postload GA for every time point were 0.822 (95% CI 0.791–0.849), 0.821 (95% CI 0.790–0.848), 0.833 (95% CI 0.803–0.860), 0.840 (95% CI 0.811–0.867), and 0.840 (95% CI 0.810–0.867), with sensitivities of 67.5, 68.1, 69.3, 71.6, and 69.3%, respectively. There was no difference between the baseline and postload GA levels in either AUC or sensitivity (all p>0.05). In conclusion, postload serum GA levels were in good agreement with those at baseline, and thus, it may be reasonable to employ nonfasting measurements of GA levels for diabetes screening.
Calculation of AVA Responses for Finely Layered Reservoirs
Authors: An Ying , Lu Jun
Published: May 2018

In oil and gas seismic exploration, responses of amplitude variation with incidence angle (AVA) of strata with a single thin layer have been extensively studied, thus laying the theoretical foundation for the prediction of finely layered reservoirs. However, studies on AVO responses of common shale-sand finely layered reservoirs are rare because of mathematical modeling problems involved with such complicated reservoirs. To accurately analyze the AVA responses of finely layered reservoirs, we describe such a reservoir as a transversely isotropic medium with a vertical axis of symmetry (VTI medium). We calculate parameters of the VTI medium according to the thickness ratios of gas-saturated sand layers in finely layered reservoirs and investigate the characteristics of AVA curves and gathers. The results show that the anisotropy of finely layered reservoirs will lead to large errors in actual seismic response recognition for large incidence angles or total thicknesses of sand layers close to half of the entire reservoir. The simultaneous use of PP- and PS-waves in AVA response analysis can provide better estimates of the thickness ratios of gas-saturated sand layers to finely layered reservoirs.
A Hybrid Epigraph Directions Method for Nonsmooth and Nonconvex Constrained Optimization via Generalized Augmented Lagrangian Duality and a Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Freire Wilhelm P. , Lemonge Afonso C. C. , Fonseca Tales L. , Franco Hernando J. R.
Published: May 2018

The Interior Epigraph Directions (IED) method for solving constrained nonsmooth and nonconvex optimization problem via Generalized Augmented Lagrangian Duality considers the dual problem induced by a Generalized Augmented Lagrangian Duality scheme and obtains the primal solution by generating a sequence of iterates in the interior of the epigraph of the dual function. In this approach, the value of the dual function at some point in the dual space is given by minimizing the Lagrangian. The first version of the IED method uses the Matlab routine fminsearch for this minimization. The second version uses NFDNA, a tailored algorithm for unconstrained, nonsmooth and nonconvex problems. However, the results obtained with fminsearch and NFDNA were not satisfactory. The current version of the IED method, presented in this work, employs a Genetic Algorithm, which is free of any strategy to handle the constraints, a difficult task when a metaheuristic, such as GA, is applied alone to solve constrained optimization problems. Two sets of constrained optimization problems from mathematics and mechanical engineering were solved and compared with literature. It is shown that the proposed hybrid algorithm is able to solve problems where fminsearch and NFDNA fail.
Detection of Urothelial Bladder Carcinoma via Microfluidic Immunoassay and Single-Cell DNA Copy-Number Alteration Analysis of Captured Urinary-Exfoliated Tumor Cells
Authors: Chen Anqi , Fu Guanghou , Xu Zhijie , Sun Yukun , Chen Xiaoyi , Cheng Kok Suen , Neoh Kuang Hong , Tang Zhewen , Chen Shifu , Liu Ming , Huang Tanxiao , Dai Yun , Wang Qibo , Jin Jing , Jin Baiye , Han Ray P.S.
Published: May 2018

The increasing incidence of bladder cancer and its high rate of recurrence over a 5-year period necessitate the need for diagnosis and surveillance amelioration. Cystoscopy and urinary cytology are the current tools, and molecular techniques such as BTA stat, NMP22, survivin mRNA, and urovysion FISH have attracted attention; however, they suffer from insufficient sensitivity or specificity. We developed a novel microfluidic approach for harvesting intact urinary-exfoliated tumor cells (UETC), either individually or in clusters, in a clean and segregated environment, which is crucial to minimize cross-contamination and misreads. To reliably and accurately identify UETC, our quantitative immunoassay involved concurrent use of two oncoproteins CK20 and CD44v6 antigen. CK20 is an intermediate filament protein overexpressed in urothelial tumors, and CD44v6 is a membrane adhesion molecule closely associated with cell invasion, tumor progression, and metastatic spread. Single-cell whole-genome sequencing on 12 captured UETCs and copy number alteration analysis showed that 11/12 (91.7%) of the immunofluorescence-identified UETCs possessed genomic instability. A total of 79 patients with bladder cancer and 43 age-matched normal controls (NC) were enrolled in the study. We detected considerably higher UETC counts in patients with bladder cancer versus the NC group [53.3 (10.7–1001.9) vs. 0.0 (0–3.0) UETCs/10 mL; P < 0.0001]. For bladder cancer detection, a stratified 10-fold cross-validation of training data reveals an overall predictive accuracy of 0.84 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.76–0.93] with an 89.8% (95% CI, 71.5%–86.4%) for sensitivity and 71.5% (95% CI, 59.7%–83.3%) for specificity. Overall, the microfluidic immunoassay demonstrates increased sensitivity and specificity compared with other techniques for the detection of bladder cancer.

Significance: A unique and promising diagnostic assay for bladder cancer is proposed with potential clinical utility as a complement for cytology. Cancer Res; 78(14); 4073–85. ©2018 AACR.