bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Trends in Retention and Decay of Basic Surgical Skills: Evidence from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia: A Prospective Case–Control Cohort Study
Authors: Bekele Abebe , Wondimu Sahlu , Firdu Naod , Taye Mulat , Tadesse Amezene
Published: August 2018

Introduction

While prior studies have evaluated surgical skills simulation and retention in highly resourced environments, there is paucity of data on the retention of surgical skills taught in simulation laboratory to undergraduate students, and virtually none from low‐resource settings. We aimed to evaluate the trends in retention/decay of surgical skills among medical students in Ethiopia and determine whether regular intervention in the form of intermittent skills testing can aid retention.

Methods

Forty‐four final year medical students were randomly divided into two cohorts of 22 students each. All 44 were trained in surgical instrument identification, simple interrupted suturing and one‐handed knot tying. A previously validated, standardized assessment was performed before training, immediately after training, and then at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year for cohort 1, and before training, immediately after training, and at 6 months and 1 year for cohort 2. All areas learned were tested for general decay.

Results

The baseline mean scores of surgical skills were 3.8/30 for instrument identification, 3.3/15 for one‐handed knot tying, and 1.35/15 for suturing. At the end of the training, mean scores improved to 26.6/30, 11.2/15 and 11.1/15 (instrument identification +599% and +772%, knot tying +447% and +417%, suturing +237% and +260%, respectively, for Cohort I and II). At 6 months and 1 year, there was a significant drop in all the three areas tested, especially in knot tying and suturing. There was no statistically significant difference between the two cohorts.

Conclusions

While our surgical skills course is an effective means to teach surgical skills to medical students, there is significant decay in abilities after 6 months. Conducting regular assessments does not appear to have any effect in helping students retain these skills. We recommend such surgical skills training be conducted at appropriate intervals, such as just before internship, to prepare student for active surgical practice.
PRDX6 Inhibits Neurogenesis through Downregulation of WDFY1-Mediated TLR4 Signal
Authors: Yeo In Jun , Park Mi Hee , Son Dong Ju , Kim Ji Young , Nam Kyoung Tak , Hyun Byung Kook , Kim So Young , Jung Myung Hee , Song Min Ji , Chun Hyung Ok , Lee Tae Hyung , Han Sang-Bae , Hong Jin Tae
Published: August 2018

Impaired neurogenesis has been associated with several brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). The role of peroxiredoxin 6 (PRDX6) in neurodegenerative diseases is very controversial. To demonstrate the role of PRDX6 in neurogenesis, we compared the neurogenesis ability of PRDX6-overexpressing transgenic (Tg) mice and wild-type mice and studied the involved molecular mechanisms. We showed that the neurogenesis of neural stem cells (NSCs) and the expression of the marker protein were lower in PRDX6 Tg-mice than in wild-type mice. To determine the factors involved in PRDX6-related neural stem cell impairment, we performed a microarray experiment. We showed that the expression of WDFY1 was dramatically decreased in PRDX6-Tg mice. Moreover, WDFY1 siRNA decreases the differentiation ability of primary neural stem cells. Interestingly, WDFY1 reportedly recruits the signaling adaptor TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon-β (TRIF) to toll-like receptors (TLRs); thus, we showed the relationship among TLRs, PRDX6, and WDFY1. We showed that TLR4 was dramatically reduced in PRDX6 Tg mice, and reduced TLR4 expression and neurogenesis was reversed by the introduction of WDFY1 plasmid in the neural stem cells from PRDX6 Tg mice. This study indicated that PRDX6 inhibits the neurogenesis of neural precursor cells through TLR4-dependent downregulation of WDFY1 and suggested that the inhibitory effect of PRDX6 on neurogenesis play a role in the development of neurodegenerative diseases in the PRDX6 overexpressing transgenic mice.
Characterizing heterogeneity in the progression of Alzheimer's disease using longitudinal clinical and neuroimaging biomarkers
Authors: Goyal Devendra , Tjandra Donna , Migrino Raymond Q. , Giordani Bruno , Syed Zeeshan , Wiens Jenna ,   Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: August 2018

Introduction

Models characterizing intermediate disease stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are needed to inform clinical care and prognosis. Current models, however, use only a small subset of available biomarkers, capturing only coarse changes along the complete spectrum of disease progression. We propose the use of machine learning techniques and clinical, biochemical, and neuroimaging biomarkers to characterize progression to AD.

Methods

We used a large multimodal longitudinal data set of biomarkers and demographic and genotype information from 1624 participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Using hidden Markov models, we characterized intermediate disease stages. We validated inferred disease trajectories by comparing time to first clinical AD diagnosis. We trained an L2‐regularized logistic regression model to predict disease trajectory and evaluated its discriminative performance on a test set.

Results

We identified 12 distinct disease states. Progression to AD occurred most often through one of two possible paths through these states. Paths differed in terms of rate of disease progression (by 5.44 years on average), amyloid and total‐tau (t‐tau) burden (by 10% and 69%, respectively), and hippocampal neurodegeneration (P < .001). On the test set, the predictive model achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.85.

Discussion

Progression to AD, in terms of biomarker trajectories, can be predicted based on participant‐specific factors. Such disease staging tools could help in targeting high‐risk patients for therapeutic intervention trials. As longitudinal data with richer features are collected, such models will help increase our understanding of the factors that drive the different trajectories of AD.
Decreasing height along continued fractions
Authors: PANTI GIOVANNI
Published: August 2018

The fact that the euclidean algorithm eventually terminates is pervasive in mathematics. In the language of continued fractions, it can be stated by saying that the orbits of rational points under the Gauss map$x\mapsto x^{-1}-\lfloor x^{-1}\rfloor$eventually reach zero. Analogues of this fact for Gauss maps defined over quadratic number fields have relevance in the theory of flows on translation surfaces, and have been established via powerful machinery, ultimately relying on the Veech dichotomy. In this paper, for each commensurability class of non-cocompact triangle groups of quadratic invariant trace field, we construct a Gauss map whose defining matrices generate a group in the class; we then provide a direct and self-contained proof of termination. As a byproduct, we provide a new proof of the fact that non-cocompact triangle groups of quadratic invariant trace field have the projective line over that field as the set of cross-ratios of cusps. Our proof is based on an analysis of the action of non-negative matrices with quadratic integer entries on the Weil height of points. As a consequence of the analysis, we show that long symbolic sequences in the alphabet of our maps can be effectively split into blocks of predetermined shape having the property that the height of points which obey the sequence and belong to the base field decreases strictly at each block end. Since the height cannot decrease infinitely, the termination property follows.
Protein and bone health across the lifespan
Authors: Dolan Eimear , Sale Craig
Published: August 2018

Bone health is determined by the rate of accrual in early life, followed by the rate of age-associated bone loss. Dietary protein intake might have a role in bone health across both of these phases via pleiotropic mechanistic pathways. Herein we summarise the pathways through which protein may exert either a positive or negative influence on bone. In the introduction, we describe the acid-ash hypothesis, which states that a high-protein intake may lead to an acidic residue that must be neutralised through the leaching of calcium and other minerals from the bone, subsequently leading to demineralisation and bone weakening. Conversely, and as described in the ‘Against: mechanisms through which protein may negatively impact bone’ section, protein intake may act to strengthen the bone by stimulating the activity of various anabolic hormones and growth factors, or by optimising muscle mass and functionality, which itself has an osteogenic influence. The net effect of these contrasting pathways is described in the ‘For: mechanisms through which protein may positively impact bone’ section, where a number of meta-analyses have demonstrated that higher protein intakes have a small positive impact on bone mass and fracture risk. Sometimes higher than recommended protein intakes are advised, e.g. during the earlier and later phases of the lifespan or during reduced energy availability. We conclude that protein is an essential nutrient for bone health, although further research is required to clarify the mechanistic pathways through which it exerts its influence, along with the clarification of the quantities, food sources and timing to allow for the optimisation of this protective influence and ultimately a reduction in fracture risk.
THE SIMPLICITY OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE AFTER AVICENNA
Authors: Adamson Peter
Published: August 2018

Alongside his much-discussed theory that humans are permanently, if only tacitly, self-aware, Avicenna proposed that in actively conscious self-knowers the subject and object of thought are identical. He applies to both humans and God the slogan that the self-knower is “intellect, intellecting, and object of intellection (‘aql, ‘āqil, ma‘qūl)”. This paper examines reactions to this idea in the Islamic East from the 12th-13th centuries. A wide range of philosophers such as Abū l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī, Faḫr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, al-Šahrastānī, Šaraf al-Dīn al-Mas‘ūdī, al-Abharī, al-Āmidī, and Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī raised and countered objections to Avicenna's position. One central problem was that on widely accepted definitions of knowledge – according to which knowledge is representational or consists in a relation – it seems impossible for the subject and object of knowledge to be the same. Responses to this difficulty included the idea that a self-knower is “present” to itself, or that here subject and object are different only in “aspect (i‘tibār)”.
Three Dimensional Imaging of Biological Samples and Nano-materials Using Soft X-ray Microscopy
Authors: Liu Gang , Chen Liang , Guan Yong
Published: August 2018

The soft X-ray Microscopy beamline BL07W at National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory is devoted to cryo nano-tomography for biological applications in the water window (284 - 530 eV) and for imaging of nanomaterials from 200 to 2500 eV. An ellipsoidal capillary used as condense to focus monochromatic light onto the sample. Two Ni zone plate (ZP) lenses made by Zeiss with 40 nm and 25 nm outer most zone widths, respectively, are available, giving spatial resolution in 2D of down to 40 nm and 30 nm, respectively. Hydrated biological specimens had been imaged in the water window photon energy range without chemical fixation, dehydration, chemical staining and physical sectioning. In addition, other applications such as nanomaterials imaging had been demonstrated.
Approximation Fixpoint Theory and the Well-Founded Semantics of Higher-Order Logic Programs
Authors: CHARALAMBIDIS ANGELOS , RONDOGIANNIS PANOS , SYMEONIDOU IOANNA
Published: August 2018

We define a novel, extensional, three-valued semantics for higher-order logic programs with negation. The new semantics is based on interpreting the types of the source language as three-valued Fitting-monotonic functions at all levels of the type hierarchy. We prove that there exists a bijection between such Fitting-monotonic functions and pairs of two-valued-result functions where the first member of the pair is monotone-antimonotone and the second member is antimonotone-monotone. By deriving an extension ofconsistent approximation fixpoint theory(Deneckeret al.2004) and utilizing the above bijection, we define an iterative procedure that produces for any given higher-order logic program a distinguished extensional model. We demonstrate that this model is actually aminimalone. Moreover, we prove that our construction generalizes the familiar well-founded semantics for classical logic programs, making in this way our proposal an appealing formulation for capturing thewell-founded semantics for higher-order logic programs.
Routing Driverless Transport Vehicles in Car Assembly with Answer Set Programming
Authors: GEBSER MARTIN , OBERMEIER PHILIPP , SCHAUB TORSTEN , RATSCH-HEITMANN MICHEL , RUNGE MARIO
Published: August 2018

Automated storage and retrieval systems are principal components of modern production and warehouse facilities. In particular, automated guided vehicles nowadays substitute human-operated pallet trucks in transporting production materials between storage locations and assembly stations. While low-level control systems take care of navigating such driverless vehicles along programmed routes and avoid collisions even under unforeseen circumstances, in the common case of multiple vehicles sharing the same operation area, the problem remains how to set up routes such that a collection of transport tasks is accomplished most effectively. We address this prevalent problem in the context of car assembly at Mercedes-Benz Ludwigsfelde GmbH, a large-scale producer of commercial vehicles, where routes for automated guided vehicles used in the production process have traditionally been hand-coded by human engineers. Such ad-hoc methods may suffice as long as a running production process remains in place, while any change in the factory layout or production targets necessitates tedious manual reconfiguration, not to mention the missing portability between different production plants. Unlike this, we propose a declarative approach based on Answer Set Programming to optimize the routes taken by automated guided vehicles for accomplishing transport tasks. The advantages include a transparent and executable problem formalization, provable optimality of routes relative to objective criteria, as well as elaboration tolerance towards particular factory layouts and production targets. Moreover, we demonstrate that our approach is efficient enough to deal with the transport tasks evolving in realistic production processes at the car factory of Mercedes-Benz Ludwigsfelde GmbH.
Phylotastic: An Experiment in Creating, Manipulating, and Evolving Phylogenetic Biology Workflows Using Logic Programming
Authors: HAI NGUYEN THANH , PONTELLI ENRICO , CAO SON TRAN
Published: August 2018

Evolutionary Biologists have long struggled with the challenge of developing analysis workflows in a flexible manner, thus facilitating the reuse of phylogenetic knowledge. An evolutionary biology workflow can be viewed as a plan which composes web services that can retrieve, manipulate, and produce phylogenetic trees. The Phylotastic project was launched two years ago as a collaboration between evolutionary biologists and computer scientists, with the goal of developing an open architecture to facilitate the creation of such analysis workflows. While composition of web services is a problem that has been extensively explored in the literature, including within the logic programming domain, the incarnation of the problem in Phylotastic provides a number of additional challenges. Along with the need to integrate preferences and formal ontologies in the description of the desired workflow, evolutionary biologists tend to construct workflows in an incremental manner, by successively refining the workflow, by indicating desired changes (e.g., exclusion of certain services, modifications of the desired output). This leads to the need of successive iterations of incremental replanning, to develop a new workflow that integrates the requested changes while minimizing the changes to the original workflow. This paper illustrates how Phylotastic has addressed the challenges of creating and refining phylogenetic analysis workflows using logic programming technology and how such solutions have been used within the general framework of the Phylotastic project.
Incremental and Iterative Learning of Answer Set Programs from Mutually Distinct Examples
Authors: MITRA ARINDAM , BARAL CHITTA
Published: August 2018

Over the years the Artificial Intelligence (AI) community has produced several datasets which have given the machine learning algorithms the opportunity to learn various skills across various domains. However, a subclass of these machine learning algorithms that aimed at learning logic programs, namely the Inductive Logic Programming algorithms, have often failed at the task due to the vastness of these datasets. This has impacted the usability of knowledge representation and reasoning techniques in the development of AI systems. In this research, we try to address this scalability issue for the algorithms that learn answer set programs. We present a sound and complete algorithm which takes the input in a slightly different manner and performs an efficient and more user controlled search for a solution. We show via experiments that our algorithm can learn from two popular datasets from machine learning community, namely bAbl (a question answering dataset) and MNIST (a dataset for handwritten digit recognition), which to the best of our knowledge was not previously possible. The system is publicly available athttps://goo.gl/KdWAcV.
Exploiting Answer Set Programming with External Sources for Meta-Interpretive Learning
Authors: KAMINSKI TOBIAS , EITER THOMAS , INOUE KATSUMI
Published: August 2018

Meta-Interpretive Learning (MIL) learns logic programs from examples by instantiating meta-rules, which is implemented by the Metagol system based on Prolog. Viewing MIL-problems as combinatorial search problems, they can alternatively be solved by employing Answer Set Programming (ASP), which may result in performance gains as a result of efficient conflict propagation. However, a straightforward ASP-encoding of MIL results in a huge search space due to a lack of procedural bias and the need for grounding. To address these challenging issues, we encode MIL in the HEX-formalism, which is an extension of ASP that allows us to outsource the background knowledge, and we restrict the search space to compensate for a procedural bias in ASP. This way, the import of constants from the background knowledge can for a given type of meta-rules be limited to relevant ones. Moreover, by abstracting from term manipulations in the encoding and by exploiting the HEX interface mechanism, the import of such constants can be entirely avoided in order to mitigate the grounding bottleneck. An experimental evaluation shows promising results.
Specifying and Verbalising Answer Set Programs in Controlled Natural Language
Authors: SCHWITTER ROLF
Published: August 2018

We show how a bi-directional grammar can be used to specify and verbalise answer set programs in controlled natural language. We start from a program specification in controlled natural language and translate this specification automatically into an executable answer set program. The resulting answer set program can be modified following certain naming conventions and the revised version of the program can then be verbalised in the same subset of natural language that was used as specification language. The bi-directional grammar is parametrised for processing and generation, deals with referring expressions, and exploits symmetries in the data structure of the grammar rules whenever these grammar rules need to be duplicated. We demonstrate that verbalisation requires sentence planning in order to aggregate similar structures with the aim to improve the readability of the generated specification. Without modifications, the generated specification is always semantically equivalent to the original one; our bi-directional grammar is the first one that allows for semantic round-tripping in the context of controlled natural language processing.
Introduction to the 34-th international conference on logic programming special issue
Authors: DAL PALÙ ALESSANDRO , TARAU PAUL
Published: August 2018

This special issue of Theory and Practice of Logic Programming (TPLP) contains the regular papers accepted for presentation at the 34-th International Conference on Logic Programming (ICLP 2018), held in Oxford, United Kingdom, from July 14th to July 17th, 2018.
Disciplinary nature of astrobiology and astrobioethic’s epistemic foundations
Authors: Chon-Torres Octavio A.
Published: August 2018

Astrobioethics is an emerging discipline that studies, evaluates and analyses the moral, legal and social issues of the search for life in the Universe. As a new field of study, it requires an epistemological foundation to be able to be recognized as an academic discipline. In order to achieve this, it is important to understand the disciplinary nature of astrobiology as a transdisciplinary form of research, above the multi and interdisciplinary levels, although this does not necessarily mean discarding them. In addition, the questions and topics of each subdivision of astrobioethics studies are specified and explained in this paper.
Beauty: ALingua Francafor Environmental Law?
Authors: Richardson Benjamin J. , Barritt Emily , Bowman Megan
Published: August 2018

This article investigates whether beauty in nature can provide a global language to inform environmental governance, such as by providing shared values and collaborative approaches across and within different cultures. Because art mediates how many people experience environmental aesthetics, such as through photography and music, this enquiry extends to the arts. As is the case for other aesthetic values, beauty is ultimately about relationships and ways of knowing our environment, and the law can best engage with such values through interpretive guidance and processes for participatory decision making. Prescriptive codification of beauty ‘standards’ is generally not a realistic goal for lawmakers. The article enriches our understanding of how aesthetics can contribute to human beings’ emotional empathy and ethical commitment to environmental stewardship, and identifies some conceptual and methodological difficulties that militate against beauty being alingua francafor environmental law.
Mehrsprachiges Aufwachsen und Sprachentwicklungsstörungen. Eine Übersichtsarbeit
Authors: Eisenwort Brigitte , Felnhofer Anna , Klier Claudia
Published: August 2018

Zusammenfassung. Für viele Kinder mit Migrationshintergrund ist das Erlernen der Zweitsprache im Aufnahmeland eine bedeutende Hürde für den Bildungserfolg. Durch die Vielzahl der Sprachen, die noch nicht detailliert linguistisch beschrieben sind, ist die Entwicklung von entsprechenden validen und reliablen Diagnoseinstrumenten und Screeningverfahren äußerst erschwert. Daraus entsteht ein diagnostisches Dilemma, da Kinder mit Erwerbsproblemen der Zweitsprache mit sprachentwicklungsgestörten Kindern (engl. Specific language impairment [SLI]) verwechselt werden können. Kinder mit Migrationshintergrund können linguistische Profile aufweisen, die oberflächlich an Kinder mit Sprachentwicklungsstörung erinnern. Der vorliegende Übersichtsartikel stellt ein selektives Review der relevanten Literatur dar und bietet Vorschläge für den Umgang mit den entsprechenden Herausforderungen. Es wird davon ausgegangen, dass die Prävalenz für die Sprachentwicklungsstörung bei mehrsprachig aufwachsenden Kindern nicht höher ist als bei einsprachig aufwachsenden Kindern und mehrsprachig aufwachsende Kinder ebenfalls subtile kognitive Schwächen zeigen können. Die Bedeutung von Sprachentwicklungsstörungen bei psychiatrisch erkrankten einsprachig und mehrsprachig aufwachsenden Kindern ist hinreichend belegt und muss bei der umfassenden Diagnostik mitbedacht werden. Eine essenzielle Maßnahme für jene Kinder mit Migrationshintergrund, die größere Probleme beim Erwerb der Zweitsprache haben, ist eine Sprachdiagnostik in der jeweiligen Muttersprache.
Comment la technologie peut-elle modifier la vieillesse et la gérontologie ?
Authors: Schmidt Laura , Wahl Hans-Werner
Published: August 2018

Récapitulation. Le domaine encore récent de la recherche en gérontechnologie est fondé sur la superposition des tendances sociales de l’évolution démographique et de la technicité croissante qui le caractérisent. Nous allons présenter des accès théoriques pertinents et quelques découvertes empiriques choisies et discuter de la contribution et de la signification de la technologie en matière de vieillissement et de gérontologie.
Le vieillissement – une maladie chronique à l’issue souvent mortelle ?
Authors: Cerqui Daniela
Published: August 2018

Récapitulation. Dans un communiqué de presse du 6 novembre 2014﻿1﻿, l’Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS) faisait du « bien vieillir » une priorité mondiale. Cette priorité pourrait devenir un défi pour la santé publique. Mais qu’est-ce que se cache derrière le « bien vieillir » ?
Der Alterungsprozess – eine chronische Erkrankung mit oft tödlichem Ausgang?
Authors: Cerqui Daniela
Published: August 2018

Zusammenfassung. In einer Pressemitteilung vom 6. November 2014﻿1﻿ sprach die Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) vom „guten Altern“ als einer weltweiten Priorität. Aus dieser Priorität könnte eine Herausforderung für das öffentliche Gesundheitswesen werden. Doch was steckt hinter „gutem Altern“?
Mit einem iPad länger sicher und unabhängig zu Hause leben
Authors: Mueller Schmid Nadja
Published: August 2018

Zusammenfassung. Damit ältere Menschen sicher im eigenen Haushalt leben können, hat der Verein für Altersbetreuung im Oberen Fricktal eine Sicherheitsapplikation für iPads entwickelt. Die Autorin hat das Projekt begleitet und dessen Erfolgsfaktoren identifiziert. Dazu gehört die Erkenntnis, dass für die Etablierung technischer Lösungen soziale Kompetenzen ebenso wichtig sind wie technische.
Wie Technologie helfen kann, Stürze besser vorherzusagen
Authors: Becker Clemens
Published: August 2018

Zusammenfassung. Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien schliessen Wissenslücken, die mit klinischen Methoden und Interviews alleine nicht geschlossen werden können. Wichtig ist der Dialog zwischen Fachpersonen aus Gerontologie, Geriatrie mit den solchen aus Ingenieurs-, Bewegungswissenschaften und Informatik, um von lösungsgeleiteten zu problemlösenden Ansätzen zu kommen.
La technologie peut aider à mieux prédire les chutes
Authors: Becker Clemens
Published: August 2018

Abstract. Les technologies de l›information et de la communication comblent des lacunes qui ne peuvent pas être uniquement comblées avec les méthodes cliniques et les entretiens. Le dialogue est important entre les personnes spécialisées en gérontologie, en gériatrie avec les spécialistes en siences de l›ingénieur, en sciences du mouvement et en sciences de l›informatique afin de passer des démarches orientées vers les solutions à des démarches résolvant des problèmes.
Enjeux et opportunités de la filière Silver économie : exemple de la France
Authors: Zimmer Benjamin
Published: August 2018

Récapitulation. La Silver économie rassemble l’ensemble des acteurs producteurs de biens et/ou de services qui répondent aux besoins et aux usages des seniors et de leur entourage. C’est une filière transversale qui regroupe de nombreux secteurs d’activité allant de la santé en passant par la construction, les services, le cosmétique, la communication jusqu’au transport ou les loisirs, etc. et qui vise à créer de la valeur économique, sociale et sociétale. Cette approche économique du vieillissement présente de fortes opportunités de croissance, de production et d’emploi et est affichée comme une filière industrielle prioritaire par les pouvoirs publics.
La technologie au service des personnes âgées
Authors: Corrado Luigi
Published: August 2018

Récapitulation. La gérontechnologie a pour but d’adapter des solutions innovantes aux problèmes de santé des personnes âgées. De nombreux produits existent aujourd’hui sur le marché qui peuvent faciliter la vie de nos aînés.
La technologie au service des personnes âgées
Authors: Corrado Luigi
Published: August 2018

Zusammenfassung. Ziel der sog. Gerontechnologie ist es, innovative Lösungen auf die Gesundheitsprobleme älterer Menschen abzustimmen. Auf dem Markt sind gegenwärtig zahlreiche Produkte zu finden, die Senioren das Leben erleichtern können.
Surface Rupture Morphology and Vertical Slip Distribution of the 1959Mw7.2 Hebgen Lake (Montana) Earthquake From Airborne Lidar Topography
Authors: Johnson Kendra L. , Nissen Edwin , Lajoie Lia
Published: August 2018

The 1959Mw∼7.2 Hebgen Lake earthquake is among the largest continental normal faulting events recorded, as well as one of the earliest associated with a multifault rupture. Multimeter vertical slip was observed on three main, morphologically distinct strands: the Hebgen fault and southeastern section of the Red Canyon fault, which both follow sharp topographic rangefronts, and the Red Canyon fault Kirkwood Ridge section, which cuts steep topography in the footwall of the Hebgen fault. We augment early field, seismological, and geodetic studies by investigating the modern surface rupture using newly acquired airborne lidar topography. By estimating throw from scarp profiling of the ∼36.5 km primary surface rupture, we show both that peak 1959 slip occurred at a structurally mature part of the fault and that many 1959 slip minima are associated with clear structural complexities. Vertical slip often substantially exceeds throw measured at the fault free face immediately after the earthquake; the scarps do not conclusively express beveled forms characteristic of repeated slip and degredation, yet must in places capture both the 1959 earthquake (for which we estimate an average throw of 2.64 m) and one or two preceding latest Pleistocene–Holocene events known from trenching. This has wider, cautionary implications for interpreting paleo‐earthquake chronologies and deriving magnitudes from morphologically simple scarps. By comparing 1959‐only and multievent vertical displacement populations, and considering preliminary paleoseismic data, we suggest that large surface‐rupturing earthquakes on the Hebgen and Red Canyon faults involve highly variable slip distributions.
Computer‐Aided Exploration of the Martian Geology
Authors: Rongier Guillaume , Pankratius Victor
Published: August 2018

Motivated by growing amounts of data and enhanced resolution from orbiters and rovers, systems for computer‐aided decision support are becoming invaluable in planetary exploration. This article illustrates the value of such systems for a case study on the exploration of the Martian geology, along with improvements in assessing the favorability for landing. Under the current technical status quo for landing and rover's mobility, results show that Eastern Margaritifer Terra and Meridiani Planum stand out due to their high density of scientific targets and flat surfaces. However, our approach allows us to scale the analysis using different scenarios for the entire planet, quantifying the substantial benefits should higher landing elevations and higher rover speeds be realized in the future. This analysis offers new insights into the interplay of technical and scientific constraints.
Simulation and Quasi‐linear Theory of Magnetospheric Bernstein Mode Instability
Authors: Lee Junggi , Yoon Peter H. , Seough Jungjoon , López Rodrigo A. , Hwang Junga , Lee Jaejin , Choe G. S.
Published: August 2018

Multiple‐harmonic electron cyclotron emissions, often known in the literature as the (n + 1/2)fce emissions, are a common occurrence in the magnetosphere. These emissions are often interpreted in terms of the Bernstein mode instability driven by the electron loss cone velocity distribution function. Alternatively, they can be interpreted as quasi‐thermal emission of electrostatic fluctuations in magnetized plasmas. The present paper carries out a one‐dimensional relativistic electromagnetic particle‐in‐cell simulation and also employs a reduced quasi‐linear kinetic theoretical analysis in order to compare against the simulation. It is found that the Bernstein mode instability is indeed excited by the loss cone distribution of electrons, but the saturation level of the electrostatic mode is quite low, and that the effects of instability on the electrons is rather minimal. This supports the interpretation of multiple‐harmonic emission in the context of the spontaneous emission and reabsorption in quasi‐thermal magnetized plasma in the magnetosphere.
Defining the Effect of Stratification in Coastal Aquifers Using a New Parameter
Authors: Rathore Saubhagya Singh , Zhao Yue , Lu Chunhui , Luo Jian
Published: August 2018

This study, building on the comprehensive discharge potential theory presented by Strack and Ausk (2015) https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR016887, discovered that the effects of layer arrangements on steady state seawater intrusion and groundwater discharge in stratified confined coastal aquifers can be approximated via transmissivity centroid elevation (TCE), defined as the summation of the product of the transmissivity and elevation (above the aquifer base) of each layer divided by the total aquifer transmissivity. Specifically, a higher TCE in aquifers with high transmissivity layers at high elevations results in a more landward interface‐toe position in both flux‐ and head‐controlled coastal aquifer systems, as well as a higher freshwater discharge rate in head‐controlled systems. Furthermore, the toe position in head‐controlled stratified systems is only a function of the TCE and independent of the total transmissivity. Therefore, we can estimate the upper limit of seawater intrusion, that is, the furthest inland toe position, in stratified aquifers by letting the TCE equal to the elevation of the aquifer top. Another important implication of our results is that the interface toe position in coastal aquifers containing a preferential flow layer is controlled by the elevation of the preferential flow layer. Additionally, effective parameters and homogenization of the interface flow in stratified aquifers were developed to approximate the toe position and discharge rate. The results developed in this study provide significant advances in understanding the effect of aquifer stratification on groundwater flow and seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers.
Heterogeneous integration of contact-printed semiconductor nanowires for high-performance devices on large areas
Authors: García Núñez Carlos , Liu Fengyuan , Navaraj William Taube , Christou Adamos , Shakthivel Dhayalan , Dahiya Ravinder
Published: August 2018

In this work, we have developed a contact-printing system to efficiently transfer the bottom-up and top-down semiconductor nanowires (NWs), preserving their as-grown features with a good control over their electronic properties. In the close-loop configuration, the printing system is controlled with parameters such as contact pressure and sliding speed/stroke. Combined with the dry pre-treatment of the receiver substrate, the system prints electronic layers with high NW density (7 NWs/μm for bottom-up ZnO and 3 NWs/μm for top-down Si NWs), NW transfer yield and reproducibility. We observed compactly packed (~115 nm average diameters of NWs, with NW-to-NW spacing ~165 nm) and well-aligned NWs (90% with respect to the printing direction). We have theoretically and experimentally analysed the role of contact force on NW print dynamics to investigate the heterogeneous integration of ZnO and Si NWs over pre-selected areas. Moreover, the contact-printing system was used to fabricate ZnO and Si NW-based ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors (PDs) with Wheatstone bridge (WB) configuration on rigid and flexible substrates. The UV PDs based on the printed ensemble of NWs demonstrate high efficiency, a high photocurrent to dark current ratio (>104) and reduced thermal variations as a result of inherent self-compensation of WB arrangement. Due to statistically lesser dimensional variations in the ensemble of NWs, the UV PDs made from them have exhibited uniform response.
Discovery of cationic nonribosomal peptides as Gram-negative antibiotics through global genome mining
Authors: Li Yong-Xin , Zhong Zheng , Zhang Wei-Peng , Qian Pei-Yuan
Published: August 2018

The worldwide prevalence of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria poses a serious threat to public health due to the limited therapeutic alternatives. Cationic peptides represent a large family of antibiotics and have attracted interest due to their diverse chemical structures and potential for combating drug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens. Here, we analyze 7395 bacterial genomes to investigate their capacity for biosynthesis of cationic nonribosomal peptides with activity against Gram-negative bacteria. Applying this approach, we identify two novel compounds (brevicidine and laterocidine) showing bactericidal activities against antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and colistin-resistant Escherichia coli, and an apparently low risk of resistance. The two peptides show efficacy against E. coli in a mouse thigh infection model. These findings may contribute to the discovery and development of Gram-negative antibiotics.
Two different STAT1 gain-of-function mutations lead to diverse IFN-γ-mediated gene expression
Authors: Ovadia Adi , Sharfe Nigel , Hawkins Cynthia , Laughlin Suzanne , Roifman Chaim M.
Published: August 2018

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) regulates multiple biological processes downstream of a variety of cytokine receptors in many cell types. Heterozygous gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in STAT1 have been associated with a diverse phenotype encompassing chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis (CMCC) and declining immunity. There is no clear correlation between STAT1 domain-specific mutations and phenotype, and it remains unclear why GOF mutations in STAT1 result in such a wide spectrum of clinical presentations. To begin exploring this dilemma, we have studied the patterns of gene expression mediated by two different GOF mutations. Analysis of IFN-γ response elements using RNA microarrays in cells transfected with the rare H629Y mutant or the common R274G mutant showed distinct patterns of gene expression. We show here that the impact of GOF mutations in STAT1 is variant-specific. This difference in gene expression may explain the diversity in clinical manifestations experienced by these patients.
Differential expression of serum biomarkers in hemodialysis patients with mild cognitive decline: A prospective single-center cohort study
Authors: Zhu Bin , Jin Li-Na , Shen Jian-Qin , Liu Jin-Feng , Jiang Ri-Yue , Yang Ling , Zhang Jie , Luo Ai-Lin , Miao Li-Ying , Yang Chun
Published: August 2018

Studies suggest that hemodialysis patients are at a higher risk for cognitive decline than healthy individuals; however, underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. We aimed to investigate the roles of serum biomarkers, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), inflammatory cytokines, fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-23 and its co-receptor α-klotho and platelet (PLT) count in mild cognitive decline (MCD) of patients undergoing hemodialysis in this prospective cohort study. Serum levels of BDNF, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6 and the number of PLT were significantly altered in the MCD group compared with those in healthy controls (HCs) or those with normal cognitive function (NCF). Although serum α-klotho and FGF-23 levels were significantly altered in the MCD group, there were no statistical differences between the MCD and NCF groups. Serum BDNF levels and PLT counts were significantly correlated with cognitive test scores. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves demonstrated that BDNF and PLT were potential biomarkers for improved MCD diagnosis in patients with hemodialysis. These findings suggest that hemodialysis-related MCD is associated with altered BDNF, TNF-α and IL-6 levels as well as PLT counts and that serum BDNF levels and PLT counts are potential biomarkers for hemodialysis-related MCD diagnosis.
Colicin FY inhibits pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica in mice
Authors: Bosák Juraj , Micenková Lenka , Hrala Matěj , Pomorská Katarína , Kunova Bosakova Michaela , Krejci Pavel , Göpfert Eduard , Faldyna Martin , Šmajs David
Published: August 2018

Yersiniosis belongs to the common foodborne diseases around the world, and frequently manifests as diarrhea that can be treated with probiotics. Colicin FY is an antibacterial agent produced by bacteria and it is capable of specific growth inhibition of Yersinia enterocolitica, the causative agent of gastrointestinal yersiniosis. In this study, recombinant E. coli producing colicin FY were constructed, using both known probiotic strains EcH22 and EcColinfant, and the newly isolated murine strains Ec1127 and Ec1145. All E. coli strains producing colicin FY inhibited growth of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica during co-cultivation in vitro. In dysbiotic mice treated with streptomycin, E. coli strains producing colicin FY inhibited progression of Y. enterocolitica infections. This growth inhibition was not observed in mice with normal gut microflora, likely due to insufficient colonization capacity of E. coli strains and/or due to spatial differences in intestinal niches. Isogenic Y. enterocolitica producing colicin FY was constructed and shown to inhibit pathogenic Y. enterocolitica in mice with normal microflora. Evidence of in vivo antimicrobial activity of colicin FY may have utility in the treatment of Y. enterocolitica infections.
How to Design Novel Photoinitiators for Blue Light
Authors: Lalevée Jacques , Fouassier Jean Pierre , Graff Bernadette , Zhang Jing , Xiao Pu
Published: August 2018

This paper shows some examples of the construction of new photoinitiators for blue light based on different chromophores: naphthalimides, naphthalic anhydrides, benzo-isoquinolinones, benzophenones, indanediones, chalcones, chromones, and perylenes. Theoretical calculations allow the molecular orbitals to be efficiently combined to shift the absorption properties of classical photoinitiators to longer wavelength. Moreover, suitable combinations of these original photoinitiators with various additives ensure excellent initiation of the free-radical polymerization of methacrylate monomers both in laminate and under air. Many additives were also studied in these multi-component photoinitating systems to drastically improve their initiating ability. The stability of photoinitiators in formulations as well as their bleaching properties are also important parameters to characterize for the end user.
ZnO Nanoparticle-based Photoinitiators
Authors: Schmitt Michael
Published: August 2018

In this chapter, especially recent developments with the use ZnO based photo-semiconductors to initiate photoinduced polymerisations with different light sources, such as LED, mid-pressure Hg and xenon light, are presented. This chapter mainly contains detailed results and mechanisms of ZnO nanoparticles as a model for the entire class of novel initiators based on photo-semiconductors. For ZnO, a capable process to photopolymerise acrylic esters in bulk even in the presence of a storage inhibitor and moderate amounts of oxygen is achieved. It was proven that optimized, modified or doped photo-semiconductors can be both “Norrish Type I” fragmenting and “Norrish Type II” non-fragmenting nano-photo initiators, NanoPIs, whereby the mechanism of radical formation is different to well-known molecular initiators. The possibilities for adaptation and variation for “Norrish Type II” particle-based initiators is especially interesting concerning the surface properties of the oxide, the initiating potential of the first radical, the matching with the resin properties, and so on. Finally, the hybrid material can lead to additional properties/applications, such as corrosion and irradiation protection.
Water-soluble Photoinitiators: Present and Future
Authors: Dietliker K.
Published: August 2018

While photopolymerization of water-based formulations is a well-established technology, especially for coating applications, and water-soluble photoinitiators have been known for a long time, they did not find widespread use in industrial applications. Preferentially liquid commercial oil-soluble photoinitiators, possibly in combination with a dispersant aid, can in fact successfully be used in most water-borne UV-curable coatings and inks. Research on new developments aimed at water-soluble photoinitiators was thus mostly restricted to academia. However, in recent years new technologies, such as UV-LED inkjet printing for packaging applications, or the increasingly important additive manufacturing processes in tissue engineering and other biomedical applications, which are based on photolithography of aqueous formulations, created a new need for fully water-soluble photoinitiators that in addition meet requirements such as absorbance in the near-UV–visible, low migration or favorable cytotoxic properties. These requirements, which also created a significant market need, have stimulated significant activity in this field in recent years, not only in academia, but also in industrial, application-focused research. Besides optimization of known concepts aimed at providing water-soluble photoinitiators, several novel approaches have thus been proposed and evaluated, and the introduction of water-soluble photoinitiators as commercial products is close to realization. This chapter gives an overview of recent developments with new water-soluble photoinitiators, but also includes some novel applications of known compounds in aqueous formulations.
A numerical inversion method for improving the spatial resolution of elemental imaging by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry
Authors: Aonishi Toru , Hirata Takafumi , Kuwatani Tatsu , Fujimoto Masuto , Chang Qing , Kimura Jun-Ichi
Published: August 2018

To improve the spatial resolution of the two-dimensional elemental images of solid organic and inorganic materials, a novel numerical correction method was developed for LA-ICP-MS.
Simultaneous detection of hydrogen and methane in breath for the diagnosis of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth by fast gas chromatography
Authors: Gao Fan , Wang Min , Zhang Xusheng , Zhang Junyu , Xue Yingying , Wan Hao , Wang Ping
Published: August 2018

A convenient, small-sized and multi-functional fast gas chromatograph (Fast GC) with a low detection limit and sufficient resolution to simultaneously determine hydrogen and methane concentrations in breath is presented.
Tuning of protease resistance in oligopeptides through N-alkylation
Authors: Kaminker Revital , Anastasaki Athina , Gutekunst Will R. , Luo Yingdong , Lee Sang-Ho , Hawker Craig J.
Published: August 2018

In this work we demonstrate a strategy for tuning proteolysis of oligopeptides by expanding the N-alkylation of peptides beyond the common methyl group.
Inflating face-capped Pd6L8 coordination cages
Authors: Jansze Suzanne M. , Ortiz Daniel , Fadaei Tirani Farzaneh , Scopelliti Rosario , Menin Laure , Severin Kay
Published: August 2018

Using easy-to-access metalloligands, we were able to prepare Pd6L8-type coordination cages of unprecedented size.
Nanosized MCM-22 zeolite using simple non-surfactant organic growth modifiers: synthesis and catalytic applications
Authors: Gallego Eva M. , Paris Cecilia , Martínez Cristina , Moliner Manuel , Corma Avelino
Published: August 2018

Non surfactant cyclic alkylammonium can selectively decrease the rate of crystal growth along the x–y crystal axes during the synthesis of MWW zeolite.