bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does the agency problem exist in Korean banking industry?
Authors: Lee Seok Weon
Published: January 2017

In this paper, we empirically examine whether the agency problem exists in Korean banking industry. Banking industry may be a very special type of industry where government regulations are prevailing and market discipline may function less effectively than in other industries. Investors and even bankers themselves may believe that regulators will not let them fail because it can cause much bigger damage to the economy especially when banking regulations are very loose. Therefore investors would not have great incentives to monitor the behavior of banks, and bank managers could pursue riskier strategies than the firms in other industries do without worrying about the possible loss of their jobs due to the bad performance and reputation of their management. But when regulations are very tight bank managers would realize that closing down and bankruptcy of the bank is not hard to occur, and therefore, they would act in a more conservative and risk aversive manner, which is the case where the agency problem arises. From the analysis of the panel data, we find consistent evidences that the agency problem does not appear to exist in Korean banking industry before 1998 period, when regulations are very loose, which is consistent with our presumption. We find positive associations between the level of outside share ownership and risk-taking for the period of pre-1998. But this association becomes weaker for the post-regulation period 1998-2005. As the regulations become tighter, agency problem becomes bigger which will be the loss, anyway, of firm‟s cash flow, while the regulations may have some effectiveness in bringing more safety of the industry. Thus, regulators and the firms in financial industry need to develop better systems to minimize the costs associated with agency problem when making regulatory reforms.
Searching for histogram patterns in USD/ZAR foreign exchange financial time series
Authors: Van Rooyen JH
Published: January 2017

This study aims to investigate whether the phenomena found by Shnoll et al. when applying histogram pattern analysis techniques to stochastic processes from chemistry and physics are also present in financial time series, particularly exchange rate data. The phenomena are related to fine structure of non-smoothed frequency distributions drawn from tick high frequency currency exchange rates over a period of one week. Shnoll et al. use the notion of macroscopic fluctuations (MF) to explain the behaviour of sequences of histograms. Histogram patterns in time adhere to several laws that could not be detected when using time series analysis methods. In this study, which is a follow up of research by Van ZylBulitta, VH, Otte, R and Van Rooyen, JH, special emphasis is placed on the histogram pattern analysis of high frequency exchange rate data set. Following previous studies of the Shnoll phenomena from other fields, different steps of the histogram sequence analysis are carried out to determine whether the findings of Shnoll et al. could also be applied to financial market data. The findings presented here widen the understanding of time varying volatility and can aid in financial risk measurement and management. Outcomes of the study include an investigation of time series characteristics, more specifically the formation of discrete states and the repetition of histogram patterns
Corporate governance and volatility in the capital markets: Brazil case study
Authors: Rogers Pablo , Securato José Roberto
Published: January 2017

n 2001, with the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa) creation of the “New Market and Governance Levels I and II”, Brazil became a unique country for corporate governance studies. From this date on it became possible to distinguish, in the same macroeconomic and institutional environment, companies that formally adopt good practices of corporate governance from those that don’t. This article objective, considering Brazil as a case study, was to assess the impact of higher levels of governance on the volatility term structure of the stocks. In methodological terms, it were developed two indexes of daily returns in the Brazilian stock market called IEPG-I and IEPG-S, and it was analyzed the volatility term structure with adjustments on the GARCH family models. The results were statistically surprisingly, highlighting: 1) higher levels of governance had positive effect in the reduction of the short and long term volatility; 2) the volatility of the companies with the worst practices of corporate governance seems to be more reactive to the market; 3) the persistence of the volatility of the companies with good practices is higher than that of the companies with worse practices; 4) the convergence speed of the volatility of the companies with good practices is lower than that of the companies with worse practices; and 5) the presence of information asymmetry or leverage effect in companies with worse practices of corporate governance and absence in companies with better practices of governance.
Medical Reasons for Loss of License in Norwegian Professional Pilots
Authors: Høva Jesper Kristiansen , Thorheim Lars , Wagstaff Anthony S.
Published: January 2017

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to quantify causes of medical disqualification (groundings) of Norwegian commercial pilots for the period 2006–2010, and to compare our findings with former Norwegian studies on the subject to reveal possible changes in the disease
spectrum over the last decades. We compared our data with previous studies for the periods 1982–1997 and 1997–2001, respectively.METHODS: The material was collected from the aeromedical section's archive. Files on all grounded pilots have been reviewed and classified
by age group and diagnosis and grounding rates have been calculated.RESULTS: From the study population comprising 12,552 pilot-years for the years 2006–2010 inclusive, 85 pilots were permanently grounded, i.e., an average grounding rate of 6.8 per 1000 pilot-years.DISCUSSION:
Compared with previous data there is a significant decrease in the disqualification rate due to cardiovascular conditions, while the disqualification rates due to ear, nose, and throat conditions and neurological conditions have both increased significantly.Høva JK, Thorheim L,
Wagstaff AS. Medical reasons for loss of license in Norwegian professional pilots. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(2):146–149.
CT Coronary Angiography vs. Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring for the Occupational Assessment of Military Aircrew
Authors: Parsons Iain , Pavitt Chris , Chamley Rebecca , d’Arcy Jo , Nicol Ed
Published: January 2017

INTRODUCTION: To ensure flight safety military aircrew undergo regular clinical and occupational assessment. Coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) has been established as an imaging modality to noninvasively assess coronary artery disease (CAD). CT coronary angiography (CTCA)
potentially offers a more accurate assessment of CAD, but has not been formally assessed in military aircrew. This retrospective cohort study is designed to compare the theoretical differences in downstream investigations and occupational outcomes in aircrew with suspected CAD comparing CTCA
with existing CACS pathways.METHOD: A 2-yr retrospective cohort study of consecutive UK military patients who underwent a CTCA and CACS was undertaken. Patient demographics, CTCA and CACS results, and initial and final occupational restrictions were analyzed comparing current UK,
Canadian, and U.S. pathways.RESULTS: There were 44 patients who underwent CACS and CTCA. The commonest indication for a CTCA was a positive exercise ECG. Increasing CACS, stenosis severity, and stenosis burden were associated with significantly greater likelihood of occupational
restriction (P = < 0.01). Following CTCA, 26/44 (59%) patients were found to have evidence of CAD, with 13/44 (30%) having at least a single vessel stenosis ≥50%. All of these patients had subsequent occupational restrictions. Two patients with a calcium score ≤10 had at least
1 single vessel stenosis ≥50%.DISCUSSION: A CTCA pathway is potentially a better discriminator of CAD burden in aircrew when compared with CACS and may reduce downstream testing, allowing a more efficacious approach to CAD assessment in military aircrew.Parsons I, Pavitt
C, Chamley R, d’Arcy J, Nicol E. CT coronary angiography vs. coronary artery calcium scoring for the occupational assessment of military aircrew. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(2):76–81.
Preconditioning to Reduce Decompression Stress in Scuba Divers
Authors: Germonpré Peter , Balestra Costantino
Published: January 2017

BACKGROUND: Using ultrasound imaging, vascular gas emboli (VGE) are observed after asymptomatic scuba dives and are considered a key element in the potential development of decompression sickness (DCS). Diving is also accompanied with vascular dysfunction, as measured by flow-mediated
dilation (FMD). Previous studies showed significant intersubject variability to VGE for the same diving exposure and demonstrated that VGE can be reduced with even a single pre-dive intervention. Several preconditioning methods have been reported recently, seemingly acting either on VGE quantity
or on endothelial inflammatory markers.METHODS: Nine male divers who consistently showed VGE postdive performed a standardized deep pool dive (33 m/108 ft, 20 min in 33°C water temperature) to investigate the effect of three different preconditioning interventions: heat exposure
(a 30-min session of dry infrared sauna), whole-body vibration (a 30-min session on a vibration mattress), and dark chocolate ingestion (30 g of chocolate containing 86% cocoa). Dives were made one day per week and interventions were administered in a randomized order.RESULTS: These
interventions were shown to selectively reduce VGE, FMD, or both compared to control dives. Vibration had an effect on VGE (39.54%, SEM 16.3%) but not on FMD postdive. Sauna had effects on both parameters (VGE: 26.64%, SEM 10.4%; FMD: 102.7%, SEM 2.1%), whereas chocolate only improved FMD
(102.5%, SEM 1.7%).DISCUSSION: This experiment, which had the same subjects perform all control and preconditioning dives in wet but completely standardized diving conditions, demonstrates that endothelial dysfunction appears to not be solely related to VGE.Germonpré
P, Balestra C. Preconditioning to reduce decompression stress in scuba divers. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(2):114–120.
Erasmus as a guide to the Life of the Spirit
Authors: Marc’hadour Germain
Published: January 2017

The volume examined here is exceptionally bulky because it contains ten different works; it is exceptional, too, by the fact that their composition spread over 33 years, and that seven of the ten are prayers. The larger half of the book, however, is taken up by an elaborate treatise on all aspects of Christian matrimony. The editors have enlisted the cooperation of several translators and annotators, thus adding to the variety of the result. The reviewer, being an older priest brought up on the Vulgate and the Latin liturgy, suggests additions to the rich array of scriptural references. Being steeped in More, he also points out parallels between Erasmus’ prose and the life or writings of his London amicissimus and of Margaret More Roper, who Englished his paraphrase on the Lord’s Prayer.
University of Warwick, 21st July 1985
Authors: Scarisbrick John
Published: January 2017

Drawing from the details contained in paintings and accounts, the author draws our attention to the considerable knowledge about Thomas More that is available. He then goes on to question why More entered politics and developed his public career? By placing More’s writings firmly in their context, the consistency of More’s political and religious presence is argued. An appeal for scholars to try to comprehend More’s perception of his time leads the writer to define the motive for More’s death as being the unity of the Christian Church.
University of Otago, New Zealand, 10th July 1988
Authors: Fox Alistair
Published: January 2017

In this paper, Prof. Fox investigates the inspiration that More, the man for all seasons, may have for our epoch. Observing the early post-war development of postmodernism, the author draws a comparison between the intellectual challenges that were experienced in the second half of the 20th century and those known to More in this writings, his spiritual development and his concerns as a lawyer. The contradictions revealed in More’s life are fully explored in this essay, culminating in More’ existential certainty expressed in the paradox of this trial and death: More’s experience was therefore archetypal for the concerns of a post-modern age.
University of Oxford, 1st July 1990
Authors: Hinchliff Peter
Published: January 2017

The writer of this paper examines the theme of obedience and the dimensions of this principle in the Bible and in More’s life and times. Government and a Christian’s responsibility to the ruling powers are also considered. As in More’s case, the principle of conscience remains the individual’s main instrument of discernment when loyalty to conflicting demands for obedience are manifested.
University of Cambridge. 29th June 1980
Authors: Rupp Gordon
Published: January 2017

In this paper, Gordon Rupp seeks to interpret the character of Thomas More, particularly in relation to his lay vocation and his Chelsea household. He continues to draw comparisons between More’s death and the witness of later martyrs: particularly Helmut von Moltke, Admiral Canaris and Dietrich Bonhöffer.
Quantum melting of a two-dimensional Wigner crystal
Authors: Dolgopolov V T
Published: January 2017

The paper reviews theoretical predictions about the behavior of two-dimensional low-density electron systems at nearly absolute zero temperatures, including the formation of an electron (Wigner) crystal, crystal melting at a critical electron density, and transitions between crystal modifications in more complex (for example, two-layer) systems. The paper presents experimental results obtained from real two-dimensional systems in which the nonconducting (solid) state of the electronic system with indications of collective localization is actually realized. Experimental methods for detecting a quantum liquid–solid phase interface are discussed.
Quantum oscillations in three-dimensional topological insulators
Authors: Vedeneev S I
Published: January 2017

The basic concepts behind topological insulators are briefly reviewed. After discussing what makes some insulators topological and giving a brief history of this rapidly growing field, recent successes in experiments with these exotic materials are discussed.
Length-Bounded Hybrid CPU/GPU Pattern Matching Algorithm for Deep Packet Inspection
Authors: Lin Yi-Shan , Lee Chun-Liang , Chen Yaw-Chung
Published: January 2017

Since frequent communication between applications takes place in high speed networks, deep packet inspection (DPI) plays an important role in the network application awareness. The signature-based network intrusion detection system (NIDS) contains a DPI technique that examines the incoming packet payloads by employing a pattern matching algorithm that dominates the overall inspection performance. Existing studies focused on implementing efficient pattern matching algorithms by parallel programming on software platforms because of the advantages of lower cost and higher scalability. Either the central processing unit (CPU) or the graphic processing unit (GPU) were involved. Our studies focused on designing a pattern matching algorithm based on the cooperation between both CPU and GPU. In this paper, we present an enhanced design for our previous work, a length-bounded hybrid CPU/GPU pattern matching algorithm (LHPMA). In the preliminary experiment, the performance and comparison with the previous work are displayed, and the experimental results show that the LHPMA can achieve not only effective CPU/GPU cooperation but also higher throughput than the previous method.
Applying Improved Multiscale Fuzzy Entropy for Feature Extraction of MI-EEG
Authors: Li Ming-ai , Liu Hai-na , Zhu Wei , Yang Jin-fu
Published: January 2017

Electroencephalography (EEG) is considered the output of a brain and it is a bioelectrical signal with multiscale and nonlinear properties. Motor Imagery EEG (MI-EEG) not only has a close correlation with the human imagination and movement intention but also contains a large amount of physiological or disease information. As a result, it has been fully studied in the field of rehabilitation. To correctly interpret and accurately extract the features of MI-EEG signals, many nonlinear dynamic methods based on entropy, such as Approximate Entropy (ApEn), Sample Entropy (SampEn), Fuzzy Entropy (FE), and Permutation Entropy (PE), have been proposed and exploited continuously in recent years. However, these entropy-based methods can only measure the complexity of MI-EEG based on a single scale and therefore fail to account for the multiscale property inherent in MI-EEG. To solve this problem, Multiscale Sample Entropy (MSE), Multiscale Permutation Entropy (MPE), and Multiscale Fuzzy Entropy (MFE) are developed by introducing scale factor. However, MFE has not been widely used in analysis of MI-EEG, and the same parameter values are employed when the MFE method is used to calculate the fuzzy entropy values on multiple scales. Actually, each coarse-grained MI-EEG carries the characteristic information of the original signal on different scale factors. It is necessary to optimize MFE parameters to discover more feature information. In this paper, the parameters of MFE are optimized independently for each scale factor, and the improved MFE (IMFE) is applied to the feature extraction of MI-EEG. Based on the event-related desynchronization (ERD)/event-related synchronization (ERS) phenomenon, IMFE features from multi channels are fused organically to construct the feature vector. Experiments are conducted on a public dataset by using Support Vector Machine (SVM) as a classifier. The experiment results of 10-fold cross-validation show that the proposed method yields relatively high classification accuracy compared with other entropy-based and classical time–frequency–space feature extraction methods. The t-test is used to prove the correctness of the improved MFE.
Evaluation of Surface Clutter for Future Geostationary Spaceborne Weather Radar
Authors: Li Xuehua , He Jianxin , Wang Chuanzhi , Tang Shunxian , Hou Xiaoyu
Published: January 2017

Surface clutter interference will be one of the important problems for the future of geostationary spaceborne weather radar (GSWR). The aim of this work is to provide some numerical analyses on surface clutter interference and part of the performance evaluation for the future implementation of GSWR. The received powers of rain echoes, land and sea surfaces from a radar scattering volume are calculated numerically based on the derived radar equations, assuming a uniform rain layer and appropriate land and sea surface scattering models. An antenna pattern function based on a Bessel curve and Taylor weighting is considered to approximate the realistic spherical antenna of a GSWR. The power ratio of the rain echo signal to clutter (SCR) is then used to evaluate the extension of surface clutter interference. The study demonstrates that the entire region of surface clutter interference in GSWR will be wider than those in tropical rainfall measuring mission precipitation radar (TRMM PR). Most strong surface clutter comes from the antenna mainlobe, and the decrease of clutter contamination through reducing the level of the antenna sidelobe and range sidelobe are not obvious. In addition, the clutter interference is easily affected by rain attenuation in the Ka-band. When rain intensity is greater than 10 mm/h, most of rain echoes at off-nadir scanning angles will not be interfered by surface clutter.
Projected Changes in Temperature Extremes in China Using PRECIS
Authors: Zhang Yujing , Fu Liang , Pan Jie , Xu Yinlong
Published: January 2017

Temperature extremes can cause disastrous impacts on ecological and social economic systems. China is very sensitive to climate change, as its warming rate exceeds that of the global mean level. This paper focused on the spatial and temporal changes of the temperature extremes characterized by the 95th percentile of maximum temperature (TX95), the 5th percentile of the minimum temperature (TN5), high-temperature days (HTD) and low-temperature days (LTD). The daily maximum and minimum temperatures generated by PRECIS under different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) are used in the research. The results show that: (1) Model simulation data can reproduce the spatial distribution features of the maximum temperature (Tmax) and minimum temperature (Tmin) as well as that of the extreme temperature indices; (2) By the end of the 21st century (2070–2099), both the Tmax and Tmin are warmer than the baseline level (1961–1990) in China and the eight sub-regions. However, there are regional differences in the asymmetrical warming features, as the Tmin warms more than the Tmax in the northern part of China and the Tibetan Plateau, while the Tmax warms more than the Tmin in the southern part of China; (3) The frequency of the warm extremes would become more usual, as the HTD characterized by the present-day threshold would increase by 106%, 196% and 346%, under RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively, while the cold extremes characterized by the LTD would become less frequent by the end of the 21st century, decreasing by 75%, 90% and 98% under RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively. The southern and eastern parts of the Tibetan Plateau respond sensitively to changes in both the hot and cold extremes, suggesting its higher likelihood to suffer from climate warming; (4) The intensity of the warm (cold) extremes would increase (decrease) significantly, characterized by the changes in the TX95 (TN5) by the end of the 21st century, and the magnitude of the increase in the TN5 is larger than that of the TX95 in the national mean value. The changes in both the TX95 and TN5 are larger under the higher versus weaker emission scenario, indicating that it is essential to reduce the GHG emissions and take adaptation measures in the future.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Cosmetics in 2016
Authors:   Cosmetics Editorial Office
Published: January 2017

The editors of Cosmetics would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2016. [...]
Spacetime Topology and the Laws of Black Hole-Soliton Mechanics
Authors: Kunduri Hari
Published: January 2017

The domain of outer communication of an asymptotically flat spactime must be simply connected. In five dimensions, this still allows for the possibility of an arbitrary number of 2-cycles supported by magnetic flux carried by Maxwell fields. As a result, stationary, asymptotically flat, horizonless solutions—“gravitational solitons”—may exist with non-vanishing mass, charge, and angular momenta. These gravitational solutions satisfy a Smarr-like relation, as well as a first law of mechanics. Furthermore, the presence of solitons leads to new terms in the well-known first law of black hole mechanics for spacetimes containing black hole horizons and non-trivial topology in the exterior region. I outline the derivation of these results and consider an explicit example in five-dimensional supergravity.
Leaning against the Wind Policies on Vietnam’s Economy with DSGE Model
Authors: Huynh Phuc , Nguyen Trang , Duong Thanh , Pham Duc
Published: January 2017

The global financial crisis of 2007–2008 had a negative impact on many countries, including Vietnam. Many policies have been applied to stabilize the macro-economic indicators. However, most of them are based on old qualitative models, which do not help policy makers understand deeply how each one affects the economy. In this paper, we investigate a quantitative macro-economic approach and use leaning against the wind policies with the Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium model (DSGE) to find a better way to understand how policies stabilize the Vietnamese economy. Based on the framework of Gerali et al., we calibrate the hyper-parameter for Vietnam financial data and do the comparison between the standard Taylor rule and the cases in which we add asset price and credit elements. The results show that the credit-augmented Taylor rule is better than the asset-price-augmented one under the technology shock and contrary to the cost-push shock. Moreover, the extended simulation result shows that combining both asset-price and credit rules on the model is not useful for Vietnam’s economy in both types of shock.
Large-Scale Electrochemical Energy Storage in High Voltage Grids: Overview of the Italian Experience
Authors: Benato Roberto , Bruno Gianluca , Palone Francesco , Polito Rosario , Rebolini Massimo
Published: January 2017

This paper offers a wide overview on the large-scale electrochemical energy projects installed in the high voltage Italian grid. Detailed descriptions of energy (charge/discharge times of about 8 h) and power intensive (charge/discharge times ranging from 0.5 h to 4 h) installations are presented with some insights into the authorization procedures, safety features, and ancillary services. These different charge/discharge times reflect the different operation uses inside the electric grid. Energy intensive storage aims at decoupling generation and utilization since, in the southern part of Italy, there has been a great growth of wind farms: these areas are characterized by a surplus of generation with respect to load absorption and to the net transport capacity of the 150 kV high voltage backbones. Power intensive storage aims at providing ancillary services inside the electric grid as primary and secondary frequency regulation, synthetic rotational inertia, and further functionalities. The return on experience of Italian installations will be able to play a key role also for other countries and other transmission system operators.
Where Diffusion of Clean Technologies and Barriers to Innovation Clash: Application to the Global Diffusion of the Electrical Arc Furnace
Authors: Moya José
Published: January 2017

This paper analyses the role of barriers preventing the worldwide take-up of a clean technology: the electrical arc furnace. It also identifies which barriers affect a parameter that summarises the combined effect of all of them. The first step, determination of the combined effect of the barriers, is carried out using a novel approach to model the diffusion of innovations. This new approach is composed only by terms that account for the driver of innovations and the parameter that summarises the effect of barriers. The objective quantification of the effect of barriers in the diffusion of innovations opens up new opportunities for designing policies to overcome the barriers identified as the most relevant, for identifying the effect of existing policies, for relating innovation indicators with those barriers or for better incorporating the effect of barriers in bottom-up models that forecast the technological evolution of the economy.
Decision Support System for a Low Voltage Renewable Energy System
Authors: Stamatescu Iulia , Arghira Nicoleta , Făgărăşan Ioana , Stamatescu Grigore , Iliescu Sergiu , Calofir Vasile
Published: January 2017

This paper presents the development of a decision support system (DSS) for a low-voltage grid with renewable energy sources (photovoltaic panels and wind turbine) which aims at achieving energy balance in a pilot microgrid with less energy consumed from the network. The DSS is based on a procedural decision algorithm that is applied on a pilot microgrid, with energy produced from renewable energy sources, but it can be easily generalized for any microgrid. To underline the benefits of the developed DSS two case scenarios (a household and an office building with different energy consumptions) were analyzed. The results and throw added value of the paper is the description of an implemented microgrid, the development and testing of the decision support system on real measured data. Experimental results have demonstrated the validity of the approach in rule-based decision switching.
Centromere Stability: The Replication Connection
Authors: Forsburg Susan , Shen Kuo-Fang
Published: January 2017

The fission yeast centromere, which is similar to metazoan centromeres, contains highly repetitive pericentromere sequences that are assembled into heterochromatin. This is required for the recruitment of cohesin and proper chromosome segregation. Surprisingly, the pericentromere replicates early in the S phase. Loss of heterochromatin causes this domain to become very sensitive to replication fork defects, leading to gross chromosome rearrangements. This review examines the interplay between components of DNA replication, heterochromatin assembly, and cohesin dynamics that ensures maintenance of genome stability and proper chromosome segregation.
Sulfolobus acidocaldarius UDG Can Remove dU from the RNA Backbone: Insight into the Specific Recognition of Uracil Linked with Deoxyribose
Authors: Yi Gang-Shun , Wang Wei-Wei , Cao Wei-Guo , Wang Feng-Ping , Liu Xi-Peng
Published: January 2017

Sulfolobus acidocaldarius encodes family 4 and 5 uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG). Two recombinant S. acidocaldarius UDGs (SacUDG) were prepared and biochemically characterized using oligonucleotides carrying a deaminated base. Both SacUDGs can remove deoxyuracil (dU) base from both double-stranded DNA and single-stranded DNA. Interestingly, they can remove U linked with deoxyribose from single-stranded RNA backbone, suggesting that the riboses on the backbone have less effect on the recognition of dU and hydrolysis of the C-N glycosidic bond. However, the removal of rU from DNA backbone is inefficient, suggesting strong steric hindrance comes from the 2′ hydroxyl of ribose linked to uracil. Both SacUDGs cannot remove 2,2′-anhydro uridine, hypoxanthine, and 7-deazaxanthine from single-stranded DNA and single-stranded DNA. Compared with the family 2 MUG, other family UDGs have an extra N-terminal structure consisting of about 50 residues. Removal of the 46 N-terminal residues of family 5 SacUDG resulted in only a 40% decrease in activity, indicating that the [4Fe-4S] cluster and truncated secondary structure are not the key elements in hydrolyzing the glycosidic bond. Combining our biochemical and structural results with those of other groups, we discussed the UDGs’ catalytic mechanism and the possible repair reactions of deaminated bases in prokaryotes.
Genome Analysis of a Novel Broad Host Range Proteobacteria Phage Isolated from a Bioreactor Treating Industrial Wastewater
Authors: De Leeuw Marina , Baron Maayan , Brenner Asher , Kushmaro Ariel
Published: January 2017

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria, and consequently they have a major impact on the development of a microbial population. In this study, the genome of a novel broad host range bacteriophage, Aquamicrobium phage P14, isolated from a wastewater treatment plant, was analyzed. The Aquamicrobium phage P14 was found to infect members of different Proteobacteria classes (Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria). This phage contains a 40,551 bp long genome and 60% of its genes had blastx hits. Furthermore, the bacteriophage was found to share more than 50% of its genes with several podoviruses and has the same gene order as other polyvalent bacteriophages. The results obtained in this study led to the conclusion that indeed general features of the genome of the Aquamicrobium phage P14 are shared with other broad host range bacteriophages, however further analysis of the genome is needed in order to identify the specific mechanisms which enable the bacteriophage to infect both Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria.
RNA Editing, ADAR1, and the Innate Immune Response
Authors: Wang Qingde , Li Xiaoni , Qi Ruofan , Billiar Timothy
Published: January 2017

RNA editing, particularly A-to-I RNA editing, has been shown to play an essential role in mammalian embryonic development and tissue homeostasis, and is implicated in the pathogenesis of many diseases including skin pigmentation disorder, autoimmune and inflammatory tissue injury, neuron degeneration, and various malignancies. A-to-I RNA editing is carried out by a small group of enzymes, the adenosine deaminase acting on RNAs (ADARs). Only three members of this protein family, ADAR1–3, exist in mammalian cells. ADAR3 is a catalytically null enzyme and the most significant function of ADAR2 was found to be in editing on the neuron receptor GluR-B mRNA. ADAR1, however, has been shown to play more significant roles in biological and pathological conditions. Although there remains much that is not known about how ADAR1 regulates cellular function, recent findings point to regulation of the innate immune response as an important function of ADAR1. Without appropriate RNA editing by ADAR1, endogenous RNA transcripts stimulate cytosolic RNA sensing receptors and therefore activate the IFN-inducing signaling pathways. Overactivation of innate immune pathways can lead to tissue injury and dysfunction. However, obvious gaps in our knowledge persist as to how ADAR1 regulates innate immune responses through RNA editing. Here, we review critical findings from ADAR1 mechanistic studies focusing on its regulatory function in innate immune responses and identify some of the important unanswered questions in the field.
Distribution Characteristics and Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Momoge Wetland, China
Authors: Xu Jianling , Wang Hanxi , Sheng Lianxi , Liu Xuejun , Zheng Xiaoxue
Published: January 2017

The Momoge Nature Reserve is the research object of this study. Through field sampling, laboratory experiments and analysis, the contents, distribution characteristics, source identification, pollution levels and risk levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in wetland soils were studied. The results show that the sum content of 16 types of PAHs (Σ16 PAH) in the wetland soil was within the range (0.029–0.4152) mg/kg. PAHs in wetland soil are primarily 2–3-rings PAHs. PAHs in the Momoge wetland soil have multiple sources: petroleum, combustion of petroleum and coal, and others, of which petroleum and the sum of combustion of petroleum and coal account for 38.0% and 59.3%, respectively. Research, using the standard index and pollution range methods, shows that the content of the PAH labelled Nap, found in the Momoge wetland soil, is excessive; some sampling sites exhibit a low level of pollution. The result of a biotoxicity assessment shows that there are two sampling sites that occasionally present an ecological toxicity hazard. The result of the organic carbon normalization process shows that an ecological risk exists only at sampling site No. 10.
Prevalence and Social Risk Factors for Hearing Impairment in Chinese Children—A National Survey
Authors: Yun Chunfeng , Wang Zhenjie , Gao Jiamin , He Ping , Guo Chao , Chen Gong , Zheng Xiaoying
Published: January 2017

Hearing impairment may affect children’s communication skills, social development, and educational achievement. Little is known about the prevalence of hearing impairment among Chinese children. Data were taken from the 2006 second China National Survey on Disability (CNSD). Hearing impairment was defined as moderate (41–60 dB HL), severe (61–80 dB HL), profound (81–90 dB HL), or complete (>91 dB HL). Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). A weighted number of 567,915 hearing impairment children were identified, yielding a prevalence of 17.49 per 10,000 people (95% CI: 16.90–18.08), with prevention or treatment options possible for 64.6% of hearing impairment children. The main causes of hearing impairment were hereditary, tympanitis, and drug intoxication. Illiteracy in one or both parents (mother: OR = 1.388, 95% CI: 1.125–1.714, p < 0.0001; father: OR = 1.537, 95% CI: 1.152–2.049, p < 0.0001 relative to no school or primary school), annual family income lower than national average (OR = 1.323, 95% CI: 1.044–1.675, p = 0.0203, relative to higher than national average), household size larger than three people (OR = 1.432, 95% CI: 1.164–1.762, p = 0.0007, relative to smaller than three people) and single-mother family (OR = 2.056, 95% CI: 1.390–3.042, p = 0.0176, relative to intact family) were the independence risk factors for hearing impairment among Chinese children. Lower annual family income, male children, larger household size, single-mother family, and lower levels of maternal and paternal education were independent risk factors for hearing impairment for Chinese children. Further studies on hearing impairment prevention and the relationship between parental social factors and the risk of hearing impairment are needed.
Design, Synthesis and Antifungal Activity Evaluation of New Thiazolin-4-ones as Potential Lanosterol 14α-Demethylase Inhibitors
Authors: Stana Anca , Vodnar Dan , Tamaian Radu , Pîrnău Adrian , Vlase Laurian , Ionuț Ioana , Oniga Ovidiu , Tiperciuc Brînduşa
Published: January 2017

Twenty-three thiazolin-4-ones were synthesized starting from phenylthioamide or thiourea derivatives by condensation with α-monochloroacetic acid or ethyl α-bromoacetate, followed by substitution in position 5 with various arylidene moieties. All the synthesized compounds were physico-chemically characterized and the IR (infrared spectra), 1H NMR (proton nuclear magnetic resonance), 13C NMR (carbon nuclear magnetic resonance) and MS (mass spectrometry) data were consistent with the assigned structures. The synthesized thiazolin-4-one derivatives were tested for antifungal properties against several strains of Candida and all compounds exhibited efficient anti-Candida activity, two of them (9b and 10) being over 500-fold more active than fluconazole. Furthermore, the compounds’ lipophilicity was assessed and the compounds were subjected to in silico screening for prediction of their ADME-Tox properties (absorbtion, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity). Molecular docking studies were performed to investigate the mode of action towards the fungal lanosterol 14α-demethylase, a cytochrome P450-dependent enzyme. The results of the in vitro antifungal activity screening, docking study and ADME-Tox prediction revealed that the synthesized compounds are potential anti-Candida agents that might act by inhibiting the fungal lanosterol 14α-demethylase and can be further optimized and developed as lead compounds.
The Promoting Effect of the Extracellular Matrix Peptide TNIIIA2 Derived from Tenascin-C in Colon Cancer Cell Infiltration
Authors: Suzuki Hideo , Sasada Manabu , Kamiya Sadahiro , Ito Yuka , Watanabe Hikaru , Okada Yuko , Ishibashi Kazuma , Iyoda Takuya , Yanaka Akinori , Fukai Fumio
Published: January 2017

The extracellular matrix (ECM) molecule tenascin C (TNC) is known to be highly expressed under various pathological conditions such as inflammation and cancer. It has been reported that the expression of TNC is correlated with the malignant potential of cancer. In our laboratory, it was found that the peptide derived from the alternative splicing domain A2 in TNC, termed TNIIIA2, has been shown to influence a variety of cellular processes, such as survival, proliferation, migration, and differentiation. In this study, we investigated the effect of TNC/TNIIIA2 on the invasion and metastasis of colon cancer cells, Colon26-M3.1, or PMF-Ko14, using an in vitro and in vivo experimental system. The degree of cell invasion was increased by the addition of TNC and TNIIIA2 in a dose-dependent manner. The invasion by TNC and TNIIIA2 were suppressed by an MMP inhibitor or TNIIIA2-blocking antibody. In an in vivo experiment, pulmonary metastasis was promoted conspicuously by the addition of TNIIIA2. In this study, we found that colon cancer cell invasion and metastasis was accelerated by TNC/TNIIIA2 via MMP induction. This result suggests the possibility of a new strategy targeting TNC/TNIIIA2 for colon cancer.
Lipid and Glycolipid Isomer Analyses Using Ultra-High Resolution Ion Mobility Spectrometry Separations
Authors: Wojcik Roza , Webb Ian , Deng Liulin , Garimella Sandilya , Prost Spencer , Ibrahim Yehia , Baker Erin , Smith Richard
Published: January 2017

Understanding the biological roles and mechanisms of lipids and glycolipids is challenging due to the vast number of possible isomers that may exist. Mass spectrometry (MS) measurements are currently the dominant approach for studying and providing detailed information on lipid and glycolipid presence and changes. However, difficulties in distinguishing the many structural isomers, due to the distinct lipid acyl chain positions, double bond locations or specific glycan types, inhibit the delineation and assignment of their biological roles. Here we utilized ultra-high resolution ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) separations by applying traveling waves in a serpentine multi-pass Structures for Lossless Ion Manipulations (SLIM) platform to enhance the separation of selected lipid and glycolipid isomers. The multi-pass arrangement allowed the investigation of paths ranging from ~16 m (one pass) to ~60 m (four passes) for the distinction of lipids and glycolipids with extremely small structural differences. These ultra-high resolution SLIM IMS-MS analyses provide a foundation for exploring and better understanding isomer-specific biological activities and disease processes.
Four-Switch Three-Phase PMSM Converter with Output Voltage Balance and DC-Link Voltage Offset Suppression
Authors: Hicham Fadil , Yousfi Driss , Mohamed Larbi Elhafyani , Youness Aite
Published: January 2017

High power quality, efficiency, complexity, size, cost effectiveness and switching losses of the direct current to alternating current (DC–AC) conversion system are crucial aspects in industrial applications. Therefore, the four-switch three-phase inverter (4S3P) has been proposed as an innovative inverter design. However, this topology has been known to have many performance limitations in the low-frequency region, because of the generation of an unbalanced voltage leading to an unbalanced current due to the fluctuation and offset of the centre tap voltage of the DC-link capacitors. Those drawbacks are investigated and solved in this paper in order to provide pure sinusoidal output voltages. The generated output voltages are controlled using proportional-integral (PI) controllers to follow the desired voltages. Furthermore, the DC-link capacitor voltage offset is mitigated by subtracting the direct component from the control reference voltage using low pass filters, where this direct voltage component provides the direct current component which leads to DC-link capacitor voltage divergence. A simulation model and experimental setup are used to validate the proposed concept. Many simulation and experimental results are carried out to show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.
TGF-β Signaling in Gastrointestinal Cancers: Progress in Basic and Clinical Research
Authors: Yokobori Takehiko , Nishiyama Masahiko
Published: January 2017

Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily proteins have many important biological functions, including regulation of tissue differentiation, cell proliferation, and migration in both normal and cancer cells. Many studies have reported that TGF-β signaling is associated with disease progression and therapeutic resistance in several cancers. Similarly, TGF-β-induced protein (TGFBI)—a downstream component of the TGF-β signaling pathway—has been shown to promote and/or inhibit cancer. Here, we review the state of basic and clinical research on the roles of TGF-β and TGFBI in gastrointestinal cancers.
LaFiDa—A Laserscanner Multi-Fisheye Camera Dataset
Authors: Urban Steffen , Jutzi Boris
Published: January 2017

In this article, the Laserscanner Multi-Fisheye Camera Dataset (LaFiDa) for applying benchmarks is presented. A head-mounted multi-fisheye camera system combined with a mobile laserscanner was utilized to capture the benchmark datasets. Besides this, accurate six degrees of freedom (6 DoF) ground truth poses were obtained from a motion capture system with a sampling rate of 360 Hz. Multiple sequences were recorded in an indoor and outdoor environment, comprising different motion characteristics, lighting conditions, and scene dynamics. The provided sequences consist of images from three—by hardware trigger—fully synchronized fisheye cameras combined with a mobile laserscanner on the same platform. In total, six trajectories are provided. Each trajectory also comprises intrinsic and extrinsic calibration parameters and related measurements for all sensors. Furthermore, we generalize the most common toolbox for an extrinsic laserscanner to camera calibration to work with arbitrary central cameras, such as omnidirectional or fisheye projections. The benchmark dataset is available online released under the Creative Commons Attributions Licence (CC-BY 4.0), and it contains raw sensor data and specifications like timestamps, calibration, and evaluation scripts. The provided dataset can be used for multi-fisheye camera and/or laserscanner simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM).
Preparation of Advanced CuO Nanowires/Functionalized Graphene Composite Anode Material for Lithium Ion Batteries
Authors: Zhang Jin , Wang Beibei , Zhou Jiachen , Xia Ruoyu , Chu Yingli , Huang Jia
Published: January 2017

The copper oxide (CuO) nanowires/functionalized graphene (f-graphene) composite material was successfully composed by a one-pot synthesis method. The f-graphene synthesized through the Birch reduction chemistry method was modified with functional group “–(CH2)5COOH”, and the CuO nanowires (NWs) were well dispersed in the f-graphene sheets. When used as anode materials in lithium-ion batteries, the composite exhibited good cyclic stability and decent specific capacity of 677 mA·h·g−1 after 50 cycles. CuO NWs can enhance the lithium-ion storage of the composites while the f-graphene effectively resists the volume expansion of the CuO NWs during the galvanostatic charge/discharge cyclic process, and provide a conductive paths for charge transportation. The good electrochemical performance of the synthesized CuO/f-graphene composite suggests great potential of the composite materials for lithium-ion batteries anodes.
Properties of a Laser Shock Wave in Al-Cu Alloy under Elevated Temperatures: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study
Authors: Meng Xiankai , Zhou Jianzhong , Huang Shu , Su Chun , Sheng Jie
Published: January 2017

The laser shock wave (LSW) generated by the interaction between a laser and a material has been widely used in laser manufacturing, such as laser shock peening and laser shock forming. However, due to the high strain rate, the propagation of LSW in materials, especially LSW at elevated temperatures, is difficult to study through experimental methods. A molecular dynamics simulation was used in this study to investigate the propagation of LSW in an Al-Cu alloy. The Hugoniot relations of LSW were obtained at different temperatures and the effects of elevated temperatures on shock velocity and shock pressure were analyzed. Then the elastic and plastic wave of the LSW was researched. Finally, the evolution of dislocations induced by LSW and its mechanism under elevated temperatures was explored. The results indicate that the shock velocity and shock pressure induced by LSW both decrease with the increasing temperatures. Moreover, the velocity of elastic wave and plastic wave both decrease with the increasing treatment temperature, while their difference decreases as the temperature increases. Moreover, the dislocation atoms increases with the increasing temperatures before 2 ps, while it decreases with the increasing temperatures after 2 ps. The reason for the results is related to the formation and evolution of extended dislocations.