bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Round goby movement patterns in a non-navigable river
Authors: Šlapanský Luděk , Janáč Michal , Roche Kevin , Jurajda Pavel
Published: August 2019

Understanding non-native species dispersal is vital for their future management. The round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) has greatly extended its range since the 1990s, with commercial shipping being the main vector. However, our knowledge regarding their secondary dispersal from points of introduction is surprisingly limited. In this study, a series of field experiments were undertaken on a mid-sized river to assess goby dispersal patterns within an established population, following a simulated release of a large number of propagules, or at a simulated invasion front. Most of the established population remained stationary and just a few individuals undertook long-distance dispersal (principally upstream). Mean distance travelled was 1.1 m·day−1 (max. 29.6 m·day−1). While site fidelity appeared to last for most of the year (including winter), it was surprisingly relaxed during the spawning season. Concentrated release of a large number of propagules resulted in appreciably greater movement rates than in the established population, with upstream movement again dominating. In general, smaller, mostly male fish tended to move further and appeared as first colonizers in uninvaded areas.
Efficacy of a newN-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide formulation in reducing ammonia volatilization from urea-based fertilizers
Authors: Lasisi Ahmed A. , Akinremi Olalekan O. , Kumaragamage Darshani
Published: August 2019

N-(n-Butyl)thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) has been reported to reduce ammonia volatilization from surface-applied urea and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN). A new NBPT formulation (ARM U™, 18% NBPT) that contains a polymer allowing for lower application rate of NBPT was evaluated for its efficacy relative to Agrotain®(30% NBPT) and Arborite®(24% NBPT). Trials consisted of (i) a greenhouse study that compared two rates of ARM U-treated urea (360 and 540 mg NBPT kg−1urea) with Arborite- or Agrotain-treated urea (480 and 600 mg NBPT kg−1urea, respectively) and (ii) a field study that compared urea and UAN treated with either ARM U (360 mg NBPT kg−1urea) or Agrotain (600 mg NBPT kg−1urea) at two sites. Static chambers fitted with acid-charged discs were used to measure ammonia volatilization at six or seven dates over 28 d. In the greenhouse study, ammonia volatilization was reduced by 96% with either ARM U or Agrotain and 95% with Arborite. In the field study, ARM U and Agrotain reduced ammonia volatilization from urea by 80% and 66%, respectively, across sites. Similarly, ammonia volatilization from UAN was reduced by 46% and 60% with ARM U and Agrotain, respectively. Despite the lower NBPT application rates with ARM U, ammonia reduction by ARM U, Agrotain, and Arborite was not significantly different. The addition of ARM U to urea and UAN enabled lower application rate of NBPT without compromising its efficacy.
Accuracy assessment using different UAV image overlaps
Authors: Sadeq Haval A.
Published: August 2019

Unmanned aerial vehicle images are considered an important tool in close-range photogrammetry for topographic map production and 3D modelling using structure-from-motion approaches. The effect of overlap percentage in vertical and integrated vertical and oblique images on accuracy is evaluated. Analysis showed that the accuracy of the photogrammetric products (e.g., digital surface model and orthoimagery) is increased with the increased overlap percentage in vertical images. The accuracy is better when oblique images are integrated into vertical images than when only vertical images are used even with the same number of images. Furthermore, the building façade is constructed, but the building suffers from noise. Increasing the number of integrated vertical and oblique images improves the accuracy of the products and provides considerable precision to 3D modelling. This study showed that the improved result is due to the increased redundancy in image matching and optimised parameters of interior orientation through self-calibration. The images are processed using Pix4D software.
Algorithms for numerical solution of the equal width wave equation using multi-quadric quasi-interpolation method
Authors: Dhawan Sharanjeet , Ak Turgut , Apaydin Gokhan
Published: August 2019

In this paper, we analyze equal width wave equation using multi-quadric quasi-interpolation (MQQI) scheme. The traveling wave solutions called solitary waves: Single solitary wave motion, interaction of two and three solitary waves and evolution of solitons have been investigated computationally. Several comparisons are made to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Error norms are used to observe the accuracy and efficiency of this scheme.
Lattice dynamical and elastic properties of BaFX(X= Cl, Br and I): Matlockite structure compounds
Authors: Kushwaha A. K. , Akbudak S. , Yadav A. C. , Uğur Ş. , Uğur G.
Published: August 2019

In this study, an eleven-parameter rigid-ion model (RIM) is proposed for BaFX (X = Cl, Br and I) matlockite structure compounds. The interatomic interactions up to fourth nearest neighbors for the studied compounds are calculated. The zone-center raman and infrared phonon mode frequencies, elastic constants, bulk modulus B, shear modulus G, Young’s modulus E, Poisson’s coefficient, Debye temperature and sound velocity along [100], [110] and [001] directions have been calculated. It is observed that the studied BaFCl, BaFBr and BaFI compounds are stiffer in [100] direction than [001] crystallographic direction and the bulk modulus, shear modulus and Young’s modulus of the studied compounds decrease in the order of BaFCl [Formula: see text] BaFBr [Formula: see text] BaFI. The obtained results are compared with the theoretical and experimental results. It is observed that the obtained results agree very well with the experimental and theoretical results available in the literature.
An explicit symmetric DGLA model of a bi-gon
Authors: Gadish Nir , Griniasty Itay , Lawrence Ruth
Published: August 2019

We give explicit formulae for a DGLA model of the bi-gon which is symmetric under the geometric symmetries of the cell. This follows the work of Lawrence–Sullivan on the (unique) DGLA model of the interval and its construction uses deeper knowledge of the structure of such models and their localizations for nonsimply connected spaces.
Weak measurement effect on optimal estimation with lower and upper bound on relativistic metrology
Authors: Rangani Jahromi H.
Published: August 2019

We address the quantum estimation of parameters encoded into the initial state of two modes of a Dirac field described by relatively accelerated parties. By using the quantum Fisher information (QFI), we investigate how the weak measurements performed before and after the accelerating observer, affect the optimal estimation of information encoded into the weight and phase parameters of the initial state shared between the parties. Studying the QFI, associated with weight parameter [Formula: see text], we find that the acceleration at which the optimal estimation occurs may be controlled by weak measurements. Moreover, it is shown that the post-measurement plays the role of a quantum key for manifestation of the Unruh effect. On the other hand, investigating the phase estimation optimization and assuming that there is no control over the initial state, we show that the weak measurements may be utilized to match the optimal [Formula: see text] to its predetermined value. Moreover, in addition to determination of a lower bound on the QFI with the local quantum uncertainty (LQU), we unveil an important upper bound on the precision of phase estimation in our relativistic scenario, given by the maximal steered coherence (MSC). We also obtain a compact expression of the MSC for general X states.
An Analysis of Hierarchical Software-Defined Network Control Plane: A Reliability Approach
Authors: Gaur Puru , Tandon Amish , Goyal Nupur , Chandwani Gitanjali , Ram Mangey
Published: August 2019

Present-day computer systems have drastically transformed from the ones in days of basic file sharing, peripheral sharing or the hosting of companywide applications on a server to much more sophisticated, small and faster systems. These systems have further expanded to include cloud-based networks, virtualized desktops, servers, etc. The capabilities of evolving heterogeneous computer systems require advanced control plane. Software-defined networking (SDN) proposes to control the network from a centralized controller instead of a distributed configuration. SDN makes it easier for network operators to evolve network capabilities. Even though SDN proposes a logically centralized system, the controllers may not represent a single, centralized device, instead the control plane may consist of logically centralized but physically distributed controllers wherein each controller manages different administrative domains of the network or different parts of the flow space. There are mainly two types of control plane architecture: flat control plane and hierarchical control plane. In this paper, we have analyzed the reliability and availability of the hierarchical SDN control plane. We take into consideration work-load capacities of the controllers, link failures, node failures and controller-end failures to determine the reliability of the system.
INVESTIGATION OF THE WEAR CHARACTERISTICS OF THERMAL BARRIER COATING IN A BIODIESEL ENGINE
Authors: URTEKIN LEVENT , BAYAŞOĞLU SERKAN
Published: August 2019

This study applied piston-valve coating for an engine that worked 100% on biodiesel fuel and investigated the wear characteristics after the experiment. The plasma spraying method was used as the coating method. Al2O3 and ZrO2 ceramics, which are the most frequently used ones in the literature, were selected as coating material. The deformations on the coated and uncoated surfaces were determined after running the engine at different time intervals. The deformations on the piston surfaces were interpreted by conducting SEM and EDX analyses. In particular, the deformation on the coating material, thermal fatigue cracks, abrasive wear and elements that clang to the piston surface after combustion were determined. Additionally, post-combustion engine oil analysis was carried out to determine the elements that were released as a result of the thermal wear in connection to combustion. The relationship of the coating with thermal efficiency was investigated for all types of coatings by determining temperatures from a certain point on the engine by using a thermal camera and a surface temperature measurement device. As a result of the SEM, EDX and engine oil (ICP) analyses, it was seen that the elements that are released as a result of wear such as Al, Fe and Cr had lower quantities with the aluminum oxide (Al2O3) coating with the Nickel–Chromium (Ni–Cr) bonding agent in comparison to the other coating materials. Additionally, as a result of oil analyses, the coated engine was observed to have more positive outcomes in comparison to the uncoated engine.
POST WELD HEAT TREATMENT OF NiTinol SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY USING LASER POWER SOURCE
Authors: KANNAN T. DEEPAN BHARATHI , TUTTA GOVINDU , SATHIYA P. , RAMESH T.
Published: August 2019

In this work, attempt is made to carry out post weld heat treatment (PWHT) on NiTinol samples using laser power source. Initially, 1[Formula: see text]mm thick NiTinol sheets were welded in butt joint position using Ytterbium: Yttrium aluminum garnet (Yb: YAG) laser power source. Laser welding was carried out in continuous mode, and the quality of the weld was assessed with respect to phase transformation temperatures, microhardness, tensile strength, and corrosion resistance. To improve the quality of the welded samples, PWHT was done by passing a laser beam over the welded samples. It was found that PWHT had a significant effect on the phase transformation temperatures, microhardness, tensile strength and corrosion behavior of the welded NiTinol joints.
The relative monoidal center and tensor products of monoidal categories
Authors: Laugwitz Robert
Published: August 2019

This paper develops a theory of monoidal categories relative to a braided monoidal category, called augmented monoidal categories. For such categories, balanced bimodules are defined using the formalism of balanced functors. It is shown that there exists a monoidal structure on the relative tensor product of two augmented monoidal categories which is Morita dual to a relative version of the monoidal center. In examples, a category of locally finite weight modules over a quantized enveloping algebra is equivalent to the relative monoidal center of modules over its Borel part. A similar result holds for small quantum groups, without restricting to locally finite weight modules. More generally, for modules over bialgebras inside a braided monoidal category, the relative center is shown to be equivalent to the category of Yetter–Drinfeld modules inside the braided category. If the braided category is given by modules over a quasitriangular Hopf algebra, then the relative center corresponds to modules over a braided version of the Drinfeld double (i.e. the double bosonization in the sense of Majid) which are locally finite for the action of the dual.
A New Characterization of PSL(2, q) by Group Order and the Set of Vanishing Element Orders
Authors: Shao Changguo , Jiang Qinhui
Published: August 2019

An element g in a finite group G is called a vanishing element if there exists some irreducible complex character χ of G such that [Formula: see text]. Denote by Vo(G) the set of orders of vanishing elements of G, and we prove that [Formula: see text] if and only if [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is a prime power.
Double Constructions of Compatible Associative Algebras
Authors: Wu Mingzhong
Published: August 2019

A compatible associative algebra is a pair of associative algebras satisfying that any linear combination of the two associative products is still an associative product. We construct a compatible associative algebra with a decomposition into the direct sum of the underlying vector space of another compatible associative algebra and its dual space such that both of them are subalgebras and the natural symmetric bilinear form is invariant. This compatible associative algebra is equivalent to a certain bialgebra structure of compatible associative algebras, which is an analogue of a Lie bialgebra. Many properties of the bialgebra are presented. In particular, the coboundary bialgebra theory leads to the system of associative Yang–Baxter equations in compatible associative algebras, which is an analogue of the classical Yang–Baxter equation in a Lie algebra. Furthermore, the bialgebra can also be regarded as a “compatible version” of antisymmetric infinitesimal bialgebras, that is, a pair of antisymmetric infinitesimal bialgebras satisfying any linear combination of them is still an antisymmetric infinitesimal bialgebra.
On Endomorphism Monoids of Finite Kleene Algebras
Authors: Fang Jie , Sun Zhongju
Published: August 2019

An endomorphism monoid of an algebra [Formula: see text] is said to be a band if every endomorphism on [Formula: see text] is an idempotent, and it is said to be a demi-band if every non-injective endomorphism on [Formula: see text] is an idempotent. We precisely determine finite Kleene algebras whose endomorphism monoids are demi-bands and bands via Priestley duality.
Open packing bondage number of a graph
Authors: Saravanakumar S. , Anitha A. , Sahul Hamid I.
Published: August 2019

In a graph [Formula: see text], a set [Formula: see text] is said to be an open packing set if no two vertices of [Formula: see text] have a common neighbor in [Formula: see text] The maximum cardinality of an open packing set is called the open packing number and is denoted by [Formula: see text]. The open packing bondage number of a graph [Formula: see text], denoted by [Formula: see text], is the cardinality of the smallest set of edges [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we initiate a study on this parameter.
Crowd Replication
Authors: Hemminki Samuli , Kuribayashi Keisuke , Konomi Shin'ichi , Nurmi Petteri , Tarkoma Sasu
Published: August 2019

A central challenge for public space design is to evaluate whether a given space promotes different types of activities. In this article, as our first contribution, we develop crowd replication as a novel sensor-assisted method for quantifying human behavior within public spaces. In crowd replication, a researcher is tasked with recording the behavior of people using a space while being instrumented with a mobile device that captures a sensor trace of the replicated movements and activities. Through mathematical modeling, behavioral indicators extracted from the replicated trajectories can be extrapolated to represent a larger target population. As our second contribution, we develop a novel highly accurate pedestrian sensing solution for reconstructing movement trajectories from sensor traces captured during the replication process. Our key insight is to tailor sensing to characteristics of the researcher performing replication, which allows reconstruction to operate robustly against variations in pace and other walking characteristics. We validate crowd replication through a case study carried out within a representative example of a metropolitan-scale public space. Our results show that crowd-replicated data closely mirrors human dynamics in public spaces and reduces overall data collection effort while producing high-quality indicators about behaviors and activities of people within the space. We also validate our pedestrian modeling approach through extensive benchmarks, demonstrating that our approach can reconstruct movement trajectories with high accuracy and robustness (median error below 1%). Finally, we demonstrate that our contributions enable capturing detailed indicators of liveliness, extent of social interaction, and other factors indicative of public space quality.
Fast Computation of Clustered Many-to-many Shortest Paths and Its Application to Map Matching
Authors: Jagadeesh George R. , Srikanthan Thambipillai
Published: August 2019

We examine the problem of computing shortest paths in a transportation network from a set of geographically clustered source nodes to a set of target nodes. Such many-to-many shortest path computations are an essential and computationally expensive part of many emerging applications that involve map matching of imprecise trajectories. Existing solutions to this problem mostly conform to the obvious approach of performing a single-source shortest path computation for each source node. We present an algorithm that exploits the clustered nature of the source nodes. Specifically, we rely on the observation that paths originating from a cluster of nodes typically exit the source region's boundary through a small number of nodes. Evaluations on a real road network show that the proposed algorithm provides a speed-up of several times over the conventional approach when the source nodes are densely clustered in a region. We also demonstrate that the presented technique is capable of substantially accelerating map matching of sparse and noisy trajectories.
A Protection and Pay-per-use Licensing Scheme for On-cloud FPGA Circuit IPs
Authors: Elrabaa Muhammad E. S. , Al-Asli Mohamed A. , Abu-Amara Marwan H.
Published: August 2019

Using security primitives, a novel scheme for licensing hardware intellectual properties (HWIPs) on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) in public clouds is proposed. The proposed scheme enforces a pay-per-use model, allows HWIP's installation only on specific on-cloud FPGAs, and efficiently protects the HWIPs from being cloned, reverse engineered, or used without the owner's authorization by any party, including a cloud insider. It also provides protection for the users’ designs integrated with the HWIP on the same FPGA. This enables cloud tenants to license HWIPs in the cloud from the HWIP vendors at a relatively low price based on usage instead of paying the expensive unlimited HWIP license fee. The scheme includes a protocol for FPGA authentication, HWIP secure decryption, and usage by the clients without the need for the HWIP vendor to be involved or divulge their secret keys. A complete prototype test-bed implementation showed that the proposed scheme is very feasible with relatively low resource utilization. Experiments also showed that a HWIP could be licensed and set up in the on-cloud FPGA in 0.9s. This is 15 times faster than setting up the same HWIP from outside the cloud, which takes about 14s based on the average global Internet speed.
Trajectory Data Classification
Authors: Bian Jiang , Tian Dayong , Tang Yuanyan , Tao Dacheng
Published: August 2019

This article comprehensively surveys the development of trajectory data classification. Considering the critical role of trajectory data classification in modern intelligent systems for surveillance security, abnormal behavior detection, crowd behavior analysis, and traffic control, trajectory data classification has attracted growing attention. According to the availability of manual labels, which is critical to the classification performances, the methods can be classified into three categories, i.e., unsupervised, semi-supervised, and supervised. Furthermore, classification methods are divided into some sub-categories according to what extracted features are used. We provide a holistic understanding and deep insight into three types of trajectory data classification methods and present some promising future directions.
Context in Photo Albums
Authors: Kuzovkin Dmitry , Pouli Tania , Meur Olivier Le , Cozot Rémi , Kervec Jonathan , Bouatouch Kadi
Published: August 2019

Recent progress in digital photography and storage availability has drastically changed our approach to photo creation. While in the era of film cameras, careful forethought would usually precede the capture of a photo; nowadays, a large number of pictures can be taken with little effort. One of the consequences is the creation of numerous photos depicting the same moment in slightly different ways, which makes the process of organizing photos laborious for the photographer. Nevertheless, photo collection organization is important both for exploring photo albums and for simplifying the ultimate task of selecting the best photos. In this work, we conduct a user study to explore how users tend to organize or cluster similar photos in albums, to what extent different users agree in their clustering decisions, and to investigate how the clustering-defined photo context affects the subsequent photo-selection process. We also propose an automatic hierarchical clustering solution for modeling user clustering decisions. To demonstrate the usefulness of our approach, we apply it to the task of automatic photo evaluation within photo albums and propose a clustering-based context adaptation.
Privacy-aware Tag Recommendation for Accurate Image Privacy Prediction
Authors: Tonge Ashwini , Caragea Cornelia
Published: August 2019

Online images’ tags are very important for indexing, sharing, and searching of images, as well as surfacing images with private or sensitive content, which needs to be protected. Social media sites such as Flickr generate these metadata from user-contributed tags. However, as the tags are at the sole discretion of users, these tags tend to be noisy and incomplete. In this article, we present a privacy-aware approach to automatic image tagging, which aims at improving the quality of user annotations, while also preserving the images’ original privacy sharing patterns. Precisely, we recommend potential tags for each target image by mining privacy-aware tags from the most similar images of the target image, which are obtained from a large collection. Experimental results show that, although the user-input tags compose noise, our privacy-aware approach is able to predict accurate tags that can improve the performance of a downstream application on image privacy prediction and outperforms an existing privacy-oblivious approach to image tagging. The results also show that, even for images that do not have any user tags, our proposed approach can recommend accurate tags. Crowd-sourcing the predicted tags exhibits the quality of our privacy-aware recommended tags. Our code, features, and the dataset used in experiments are available at: https://github.com/ashwinitonge/privacy-aware-tag-rec.git.
Novel Congestion-estimation and Routability-prediction Methods based on Machine Learning for Modern FPGAs
Authors: Al-Hyari Abeer , Abuowaimer Ziad , Martin Timothy , Gréwal Gary , Areibi Shawki , Vannelli Anthony
Published: August 2019

Effectively estimating and managing congestion during placement can save substantial placement and routing runtime. In this article, we present a machine-learning model for accurately and efficiently estimating congestion during FPGA placement. Compared with the state-of-the-art machine-learning congestion-estimation model, our results show a 25% improvement in prediction accuracy. This makes our model competitive with congestion estimates produced using a global router. However, our model runs, on average, 291× faster than the global router. Overall, we are able to reduce placement runtimes by 17% and router runtimes by 19%. An additional machine-learning model is also presented that uses the output of the first congestion-estimation model to determine whether or not a placement is routable. This second model has an accuracy in the range of 93% to 98%, depending on the classification algorithm used to implement the learning model, and runtimes of a few milliseconds, thus making it suitable for inclusion in any placer with no worry of additional computational overhead.
Spatial Auto-regressive Dependency Interpretable Learning Based on Spatial Topological Constraints
Authors: Zhao Liang , Gkountouna Olga , Pfoser Dieter
Published: August 2019

Spatial regression models are widely used in numerous areas, including detecting and predicting traffic volume, air pollution, and housing prices. Unlike conventional regression models, which commonly assume independent and identical distributions among observations, existing spatial regression requires the prior knowledge of spatial dependency among the observations in different spatial locations. Such a spatial dependency is typically predefined by domain experts or heuristics. However, without sufficient consideration on the context of the specific prediction task, it is prohibitively difficult for one to pre-define the numerical values of the spatial dependency without bias. More importantly, in many situations, the existing techniques are insufficient to sense the complete connectivity and topological patterns among spatial locations (e.g., in underground water networks and human brain networks). Until now, these issues have been extremely difficult to address and little attention has been paid to the automatic optimization of spatial dependency in relation to a prediction task, due to three challenges: (1) necessity and complexity of modeling the spatial topological constraints; (2) incomplete prior spatial knowledge; and (3) difficulty in optimizing under spatial topological constraints that are usually discrete or nonconvex. To address these challenges, this article proposes a novel convex framework that automatically jointly learns the prediction mapping and spatial dependency based on spatial topological constraints. There are two different scenarios to be addressed. First, when the prior knowledge on existence of conditional independence among spatial locations is known (e.g., via spatial contiguity), we propose the first model named Spatial-Autoregressive Dependency Learning I (SADL-I) to further quantify such spatial dependency. However, when the knowledge on the conditional independence is unknown or incomplete, our second model named Spatial-Autoregressive Dependency Learning II (SADL-II) is proposed to automatically learn the conditional independence pattern as well as quantify the numerical values of the spatial dependency based on spatial topological constraints. Topological constraints are usually discrete and nonconvex, which makes them extremely difficult to be optimized together with continuous optimization problems of spatial regression. To address this, we propose a convex and continuous equivalence of the original discrete topological constraints with a theoretical guarantee. The proposed models are then transferred to convex problems that can be iteratively optimized by our new efficient algorithms until convergence to a global optimal solution. Extensive experimentation using several real-world datasets demonstrates the outstanding performance of the proposed models. The code of our SADL framework is available at: http://mason.gmu.edu/∼lzhao9/materials/codes/SADL.
Using technology to increase student (and faculty satisfaction with) engagement in medical education
Authors: Kay Denise , Pasarica Magdalena
Published: August 2019

Faculty dissatisfaction with diminishing levels of student engagement in lifestyle medicine sessions prompted this exploratory project that compared differences in students’ substantive engagement in medical preclinical and clinical level lifestyle medicine sessions. The preclinical and clinical level sessions had the same learning objectives and learning tasks, properly aligned with that level of student learning, but were offered in different learning formats, either traditional classroom approaches or technology-enhanced approaches. At the preclinical level, we transferred a nonmandatory, face-to-face session to a nonmandatory, fully online session. At the clinical level, we introduced two novel technology tools. We utilized Zoom technologies, which afforded students the ability to access the session from anywhere, and employed Hickey’s use of “promoting” student submissions as one method for increasing student-student interaction during the synchronous session. We used indicators of behavioral engagement of Henrie et al. (Henrie CR, Halverson LR, Graham CR. Comput Educ 90: 36–53, 2015) as the framework for determining applicable engagement behaviors, including attendance, assignment completion, interactions (responding/feedback/endorsements), and the quality of (and faculty satisfaction with) the face-to-face and/or online interactions. We expected to observe higher levels of engagement behaviors in the technology-enhanced approach and found that to be the case at both the preclinical and clinical levels, in both mandatory/nonmandatory and synchronous/asynchronous formats. However, it was the increase in both the level and substance of the students’ interactions in the technology-enhanced sessions that provided surprising results. A review of the sessions with enhanced engagement highlight the role of student autonomy, a construct with strongly established associations to student motivation and engagement.
The TRPV1 channel regulates glucose metabolism
Authors: Page Amanda J. , Hatzinikolas George , Vincent Andrew D. , Cavuoto Paul , Wittert Gary A.
Published: August 2019

Endocannabinoids (ECs) mediate effects via cannabinoid receptor types 1 and 2 (CB1 and 2) and transient receptor potential channel-vanilloid subfamily member 1 (TRPV1) channels. In high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice overactivity of the EC system and inhibition of CB1 increase skeletal muscle glucose uptake. We explored the role of TRPV1. Male TRPV1+/+(WT) and TRPV1−/−(KO)-mice were fed (20 wk) a standard laboratory diet (SLD) or HFD. An intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test was performed. RT-PCR was performed to measure mRNA of genes involved in glucose/lipid metabolism and the EC system in soleus (SOL) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles. Cultured L6 cells were used to measure glucose uptake in skeletal muscle. HFD mice weighed more and had higher insulin levels than SLD mice, with no genotype differences. Basal and peak glucose were higher in HFD mice irrespective of genotype, but glucose cleared faster in HFD WT vs. HFD KO-mice. 2-Arachidonoylglycerol augmented insulin-induced glucose uptake in skeletal L6-cells, an effect blocked by the TRPV1 antagonist SB-366791. In EDL, fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) mRNA was increased in KO vs. WT mice, irrespective of diet. Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase isozyme 4 (PDK4) and mitochondrial uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3) were elevated and FA desaturase 2 (FADS2) mRNA lower in HFD mice, irrespective of genotype. CB1 and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) were lower in HFD WT mice only. In SOL, PDK4, UCP3, hormone-sensitive lipase (LIPE), fatty acid translocase (CD36), and carnitine palmitoyl transferase 2 (CPT2) were elevated and SCD1, FAAH, FADS2, and Troponin 1 (TNNC1) mRNA lower in HFD mice, irrespective of genotype. In conclusion, TRPV1 regulates glucose disposal in HFD mice. We propose that TRPV1 plays a role in coordinating glucose metabolism in EDL under conditions of metabolic stress.
CD47 Expression Defines Efficacy of Rituximab with CHOP in Non–Germinal Center B-cell (Non-GCB) Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma Patients (DLBCL), but Not in GCB DLBCL
Authors: Bouwstra Renée , He Yuan , de Boer Janneke , Kooistra Hilde , Cendrowicz Ewa , Fehrmann Rudolf S.N. , Ammatuna Emanuele , zu Eulenburg Christine , Nijland Marcel , Huls Gerwin , Bremer Edwin , van Meerten Tom
Published: August 2019

Addition of rituximab (R) to “CHOP” (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) chemotherapy improved outcome for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients. Approximately 40% of patients who receive R-CHOP still succumb to disease due to intrinsic resistance or relapse. A potential negative regulator of DLBCL treatment outcome is the CD47 “don't eat me” immune checkpoint. To delineate the impact of CD47, we used a clinically and molecularly well-annotated cohort of 939 DLBCL patients, comprising both germinal center B-cell (GCB) and non-GCB DLBCL subtypes, treated with either CHOP or R-CHOP. High (above median) CD47 mRNA expression correlated with a detrimental effect on overall survival (OS) when DLBCL patients received R-CHOP therapy (P = 0.001), but not CHOP therapy (P = 0.645). Accordingly, patients with low CD47 expression benefited most from the addition of rituximab to CHOP [HR, 0.32; confidence interval (CI), 0.21–0.50; P < 0.001]. This negative impact of high CD47 expression on OS after R-CHOP treatment was only evident in cancers of non-GCB origin (HR, 2.09; CI, 1.26–3.47; P = 0.004) and not in the GCB subtype (HR, 1.16; CI, 0.68–1.99; P = 0.58). This differential impact of CD47 in non-GCB and GCB was confirmed in vitro, as macrophage-mediated phagocytosis stimulated by rituximab was augmented by CD47-blocking antibody only in non-GCB cell lines. Thus, high expression of CD47 mRNA limited the benefit of addition of rituximab to CHOP in non-GCB patients, and CD47-blockade only augmented rituximab-mediated phagocytosis in non-GCB cell lines. Patients with non-GCB DLBCL may benefit from CD47-targeted therapy in addition to rituximab.
Irreversible Electroporation Combined with Checkpoint Blockade and TLR7 Stimulation Induces Antitumor Immunity in a Murine Pancreatic Cancer Model
Authors: Narayanan Jayanth S. Shankara , Ray Partha , Hayashi Tomoko , Whisenant Thomas C. , Vicente Diego , Carson Dennis A. , Miller Aaron M. , Schoenberger Stephen P. , White Rebekah R.
Published: August 2019

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a nonthermal ablation technique that is used clinically in selected patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer, but most patients develop recurrent distant metastatic disease. We hypothesize that IRE can induce an in situ vaccination effect by releasing tumor neoantigens in an inflammatory context. Using an immunocompetent mouse model, we demonstrated that IRE alone produced complete regression of subcutaneous tumors in approximately 20% to 30% of mice. IRE was not effective in immunodeficient mice. Mice with complete response to IRE demonstrated prophylactic immunity and remained tumor free when rechallenged with secondary tumors on the contralateral flank. CD8+ T cells from IRE-responsive mice were reactive against peptides representing model-inherent alloantigens and conferred protection against tumor challenge when adoptively transferred into immunocompromised, tumor-naïve mice. Combining IRE with intratumoral Toll-like receptor-7 (TLR7) agonist (1V270) and systemic anti-programmed death-1 receptor (PD)-1 checkpoint blockade resulted in improved treatment responses. This combination also resulted in elimination of untreated concomitant distant tumors (abscopal effects), an effect not seen with IRE alone. These results suggest that the systemic antitumor immune response triggered by IRE can be enhanced by stimulating the innate immune system with a TLR7 agonist and the adaptive immune system with anti–PD-1 checkpoint blockade simultaneously. Combinatorial approaches such as this may help overcome the immunosuppressive pancreatic cancer microenvironment.
Determining Filipino Normative Data for a Battery of Neuropsychological Tests: The Filipino Norming Project (FNP)
Authors: Dominguez Jacqueline Cotoong , Phung Thien Kieu Thi , de Guzman Ma. Fe Payno , Fowler Krizelle Cleo , Reandelar Jr Macario , Natividad Boots , Waldemar Gunhild , Nielsen Thomas Rune , Pamintuan Aquial Mary Rose , Holandez Rachelle Layda , Ligsay Antonio Disederio
Published: August 2019

Background: Filipino normative data for neuropsychological tests are lacking. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the Filipino normative data for the Filipino Norming Project (FNP) Neuropsychological Battery, combining the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale – Cognitive (ADAS-Cog) and the Neuropsychological Test Battery from the Uniform Dataset of Alzheimer’s Disease Center (UDS-ADC). Methods: We recruited participants 60 years and older with normal cognition (MMSE score of 25 and above and did not fulfill criteria for dementia according to DSM-IV criteria). Psychologists administered the tests to the study participants. We conducted multivariate analyses to study the effect of age, gender, and education on test performance. Results: A total of 191 participants underwent the FNP Neuropsychological Test Battery. The mean age was 68.8 years (SD 5.4). The majority were female (84.1%). The mean score of ADAS-Cog was 9.98 (SD 4.74). The effect of education was prominent throughout the cognitive domains tested while the effect of age was limited to a few cognitive domains. The mean ADAS-Cog scores were 11.80 ± 4.40 for primary education, 9.93 ± 5.08 for secondary, and 8.15 ± 3.95 for tertiary. On average, women scored 2.75 points lower than men and performed better on the verbal components. Men performed better on the constructional praxis component. The same effect of education and gender was observed for the UDS-ADC. Conclusion: For the first time, normative data are available for the ADAS-Cog and UDS-ADC for a Filipino older population. This study stresses the importance of establishing population-specific normative data, taking into account the specific sociocultural and linguistic context of that population.
Responding to Varying Levels of Certainty about Pain in People with Dementia after Initial Pain Assessment
Authors: Rababa Mohammad , Aldalaykeh Mohammed
Published: August 2019

Introduction: Pain is still inadequately treated in people with dementia (PWD) due to the complexity of assessing it. Pain assessment in PWD is still challenging because of patient-related or nurse-related factors. The patient-related factors have been studied extensively. However, the nurse-related factors, e.g., nurses’ certainty regarding suspected pain in PWD, have been given little attention by researchers. Purpose: This study aims to investigate how the degree of nurses’ certainty is compromised after pain assessment and how this affects levels of pain and agitation in PWD. Method: A descriptive, correlational design was used, and a convenience sample of 104 nursing home residents with dementia were recruited. Results: This study found that nurses’ certainty after the pain assessment mediates the relationship between the type of pain assessment and patient outcomes when the nurses had a high initial certainty. When nurses had a low initial certainty, their certainty after the assessment and the type of assessment predicted the levels of pain and agitation in PWD. Conclusion: Understanding how nurses’ certainty can be compromising after pain assessment and how this relates to pain management in PWD is crucial.
Changes on Confocal Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy with the Heidelberg Retinal Tomography after a Cardiac Catheterism in a Patient with Progressive Glaucoma
Authors: Valera-Cornejo Diego Alejandro , Loayza-Gamboa Waldo , Herrera-Quiroz Julio , Alvarado-Villacorta Rosa , Córdova-Crisanto Luis , Valderrama-Albino Vanessa , Pantoja-Dávalos Nahuel
Published: August 2019

Purpose: We present a case of a patient with progressive open angle glaucoma who presented changes suggestive of improvement in the Heidelberg retinal tomography 3 (HRT3) analysis after a cardiac catheterization. Observation: A 69-year-old woman presented with progressive open angle glaucoma despite maximum tolerable antiglaucomatous topical treatment. A filtering surgery (trabeculectomy) was performed and successfully achieved intraocular pressure (IOP) levels of 10 mm Hg on average. Despite this, changes were evidenced in the HRT3 protocols (trend analysis and topographic change analysis) suggesting marked progression. Brimonidine 0.2% twice a day was initiated, and a cardiovascular examination was requested. A cardiac catheterism was performed in the following weeks, and afterward, all structural parameters improved until the last control. Medication was not discontinued, and no signs of apparent progression on the HRT3 parameters have been evidenced up until the time of writing this case report. Conclusions and Importance: There was a marked improvement in the HRT3 parameters (trend and topographic change analysis), suggesting that the progression stopped after a cardiac catheterism in a patient with progressive glaucoma despite having the IOP controlled. To our knowledge, this is the first case of a patient with progressive glaucoma that was medically and surgically managed, and despite achieving low IOP levels, the progression detected by the HRT3 analysis could not be stopped until a cardiac catheterization was performed.
Perforating Peripheral Ulcerative Keratitis in Syphilis
Authors: Ploysangam Pimpiroon , Mattern Ruth Marie
Published: August 2019

Purpose: To present a case of peripheral ulcerative keratitis with perforation in the setting of syphilis. Method: A single observational case report in urban USA. Case Presentation: A patient with multiple sexual partners presented with bilateral peripheral ulcerative keratitis, unilateral corneal perforation, and a pustular rash. Workup was positive for syphilis as well as HSV, HIV, and multiple autoantibody tests. Findings improved after treatment for syphilis. Conclusion: Bilateral peripheral ulcerative keratitis in syphilis has been reported in one prior case. However, corneal perforation in the setting of syphilis infection has not, to our knowledge, been reported previously.
Successful Imatinib Treatment of an Abdominal Compartment Syndrome due to Huge Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour
Authors: Bertucci Alexandre , Guiramand Jérôme , Mescam Lena , Monneur Audrey , Bisbal Magali , Chow-Chine Laurent , Sannini Antoine , Perrot Delphine , De Luca Valéria , Mokart Djamel , Bertucci François
Published: August 2019

Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are the most common digestive mesenchymal tumours, whose prognosis has been revolutionised by targeted therapies such as oral imatinib. Abdomen compartment syndrome (ACS) is associated with mortality superior to 50% in adults. ACS has never been reported to date in patients with GIST. Specific anticancer treatment in critically ill patients in intensive care unit (ICU) remains a matter of debate given the high mortality rate. Here, we report the case of a 58-year-old woman with ACS related to a 40-cm huge GIST and multi-organ failure requiring mechanical ventilation, vasopressive support and haemodialysis. She was treated in emergency with imatinib via the naso-gastric tube (day 1), then at day 3 by decompressive laparotomy and “open abdomen” without any tumour removal. Imaging after 11 days imatinib showed objective tumour response. Because of improvement of multi-organ dysfunctions, the laparotomy was closed at day 14, and the resuscitation procedures were progressively stopped. After discharge from hospital, she survived nearly two years. This is the first case of successful treatment of cancer-associated ACS by targeted therapy and decompressive laparotomy. Imatinib in critically ill patients with GIST may be successful even in presence of multi-organ failure.
Dicionários de James Curtius Hepburn e Wasaburô Ôtake: um pouco mais sobre os adjetivos
Authors: Tashiro Eliza Atsuko
Published: August 2019

Continuing the study on the dictionaries of Wasaburô Ôtake (1872-1994), one of the Japanese who were in Brazil 28 years prior to the official start of Japanese Immigration, in this article, we present the analysis of grammatical issues in the first bilingual dictionaries that have the Japanese as the source language. We emphasized the treatment given by the authors to the class of words that are equivalent to adjectives. As we all know, the adjectives and verbs of Japanese, called respectively keiyôshi/keiyôdôshi and dôshi in the school grammar, have many morphological and syntactic features in common. In the dictionaries of this research – those of James Curtius Hepburn (1815-1911), published in 1867, 1872 and 1886, and the Wa po jiten (Ôtake 1925) – there are various morphological forms of these words, either as entry words, or within the articles. Both authors maintain the prevalence of the adnominal functions of keiyôshi and keiyôdôshi, but also provide the forms in the adverbial function. We conclude that although the dictionaries provide the data of the grammatical forms of partial way – because they presented the adnominal forms (which is the same as the final or predicative form) and adverbial ones –, they do consistently. It helps the user comprehend one of the more basic questions of Japanese morphology.
As pesquisas em crenças no ensino aprendizagem de japonês como LE no Brasil
Authors: Mukai Yûki
Published: August 2019

The aim of this study is to investigate and discuss the state of the art of the research about beliefs on the teaching-learning of Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) in Brazil, especially focusing on its methodological matters. For this purpose, the researches published and/or realized in that field up to the present moment (November 2015) were collected and afterwards a qualitative meta-analysis was made by establishing six categories of analysis: (1) sort of publication, (2) authors/year of publication/institution, (3) focus of the research, (4) participants of the research, (5) method/nature of the research and (6) data collection instruments. The results have shown that most of the mentioned studies deals with students’ beliefs, and uses the qualitative method with an interpretive case study approach. Taking this state of the art into consideration, it can be concluded that research on beliefs of teachers and third agents, an action research or intervention case study approach, as well as research with a quantitative approach will be equally important.