bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Characterization of horn antenna loaded with CLL unit cell
Authors: Lashab Mohamed , Zebiri Chess‐Eddine , Djouablia Linda , Belattar Mounir , Saleh Adham , Benabdelaziz Fatiha , Abd‐Alhameed Read
Published: June 2018

In this paper, a pyramidal horn antenna loaded with unit cell of metamaterial is proposed, designed and realized for L‐band that including terrestrial digital audio broadcasting T‐DAB, GPS, and GSM. The proposed antenna operates in the frequency range from 1.722 to 1.931 GHz. The metamaterial is fabricated on a printed circuit board as Capacitive Loaded Loop (CLL). The work aims to exhibit the advantage of metamaterial loaded inside the horn antenna in terms of the gain enhancement of the radiation pattern and the resonant frequency shift toward lower frequency. The retrieval technique used show that the constitutive parameters of the unit cell as CLL have a zero index metamaterial (ZIM) from 1.34 to 1.49 GHz and a near zero index of refraction from 1.495 GHz to 2 GHz, which is within the operating frequency of the horn antenna. The achieved results show that the total gain is improved over the frequency range. The simulation and the measurement are in good agreement.
Waveform comparison and PA nonlinearity effects on CP‐OFDM and 5G FBMC wireless systems
Authors: Bozic M. , Barjamovic D. , Cabarkapa M. , Budimir D.
Published: June 2018

In this article, a waveform comparison and power amplifier nonlinearity effects on cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency‐division multiplexing (CP‐OFDM) and 5G filter bank multicarrier (FBMC) wireless systems are presented. The 5 MHz CP‐OFDM and 5G FBMC signals are used in Matlab simulations, while 1.4 and 3 MHz of both signals are used in experiment. It is noted that 1.4 and 3 MHz CP‐OFDM signals have larger side‐lobes in comparison with 5G FBMC signals. The 5G FBMC signals have stepper slope at the edges and very low out‐of‐band leakage.
Design of a wideband bowtie antenna using a modified T‐shaped slot
Authors: Park Jae Sung , Choi Hak Keun
Published: June 2018

This article proposes a bowtie antenna with a modified T‐slot and compares it with a normal slot antenna and a T‐slot antenna in terms of wideband characteristics. The proposed antenna is a simplified version of the bowtie dipole antenna with a reflector. The proposed antenna obtains wideband characteristics by adding a T‐shaped slot, whose width is gradually increased toward the ends of the antenna, to the slot dipole antenna. The proposed antenna also has the radiating element of a bowtie form that decreases return loss at the frequencies above 2 GHz. As the proposed antenna has a simple structure, it can achieve the desired wideband characteristics with a small number of parameters. Its height is λ/5 of the center frequency, so it is a low‐profile antenna. The return loss of the proposed antenna is below −15 dB at 1.6–2.7 GHz. Despite a low‐profile antenna often having a small gain, the gain of the proposed antenna reaches up to 7.5‐9 dBi. The proposed antenna shows little variation over the operating frequency range, which makes it suitable for wideband applications.
Realization of a dual mode filter in ridge gap waveguide technology
Authors: Hassani Najme , Ostovarzadeh Mohamad Hossein , Razavi Seyed Ali
Published: June 2018

A proof of concept of a dual mode filter based on ridge gap waveguide cavity is presented by introducing perturbation to one of the first two degenerate modes. Rectangular, circular, and elliptical shaped perturbations are investigated. The one with elliptical perturbation was fabricated and tested. Good agreement between measured and simulation results was observed.
Directive planar antenna array fed by dielectric waveguide for WiFi applications
Authors: Kong Linghui , Yan Sen , Vandenbosch Guy A. E.
Published: June 2018

A 1‐D nonuniform antenna array fed by a dielectric waveguide operating at 5.7 GHz is proposed. Based on the electromagnetic coupling between the inside travelling wave and the antenna elements, a broadside directive radiation pattern is obtained. The presence of a ground plane allows wall mounting, which is advantageous in many wireless fidelity applications. A prototype was built and measured to prove the concept. The measured −6 dB bandwidth is ca. 150 MHz and the measured realized gain is 9.58 dBi in the broadside direction. This is a very reasonable performance for an extremely simple structure, without feeding network, which is easily manufactured with cheap mass‐production Printed Circuit Board technology.
A broadband dual‐polarized multi‐dipole antenna fed by coplanar stripline
Authors: Chen Yanzheng , Lin Wenbin , Liao Cheng , Kan Guojin , Raza Ali
Published: June 2018

A simple wideband dual‐polarized multi‐dipole antenna fed by coplanar stripline is proposed in this article. An enhanced impedance bandwidth of about 43.5% is achieved with this antenna for VSWR < 1.5 and gain > 8 dBi at 2 ports, covering the operating frequency region from 1.69 to 2.63 GHz. The radiation pattern is measured and 3‐dB beamwidths of 64 ± 3 degree at E‐plane and 54 ± 6 degree at H‐plane for port 1 and 65 ± 4 degree at E‐plane and 54 ± 5 degree at H‐plane for port 2 are acquired. The port‐to‐port isolation is above 25 dB. This model has been manufactured and measured. The experimental results show good amount of similarity with simulated ones.
A miniaturized slotted ground structure UWB antenna for multiband applications
Authors: Ali Tanweer , AW Mohammad Saadh , Biradar Rajashekhar C. , Andújar Aurora , Anguera Jaume
Published: June 2018

A concept of using slots both in the radiator and in the ground to miniaturize an ultrawideband (UWB) antenna in order to operate at multiband is demonstrated. Initially, a miniaturized circular UWB antenna is designed which results in about 53.5% reduction in total volume and about 46.6% in the active patch area, in comparison to the conventional UWB antenna. To reconfigure the proposed UWB antenna to operate in multiband applications, slotted ground approach is used. The slots in the ground plane of the proposed design affects the surface current distribution due to which the designed antenna operates at 3.7 (middle WiMAX), 5.7 (upper WiMAX), and 7.5 GHz (X‐band) with −10 dB reflection coefficient bandwidth of about 5.3% (3.64–3.84 GHz), 5.5% (5.64–5.96 GHz), and 3.7% (7.44–7.72 GHz), respectively. The proposed configuration is compact in size with a total area of only 0.26λ0 × 0.21λ0 = 30 × 24.8 = 283.3
at lower resonating band of 2.6 GHz. The designed multiband structure yields good impedance matching, acceptable gain and stable radiation characteristics both in xz and yz plane, across their operational bandwidths.
Treatment planning algorithm for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy considering multiple tumor lesions and organs at risk
Authors: Jiménez‐Franco Luis David , Kletting Peter , Beer Ambros J. , Glatting Gerhard
Published: June 2018

Purpose

Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) has shown promising results in the treatment of tumors with high expression of somatostatin receptors such as neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and meningioma. However, PRRT potentially produces high renal and red marrow (RM) toxicity, the kidneys usually being the dose‐limiting organ. Previously, it was shown that an improved therapeutic index can be achieved by choosing an optimal combination of injected activity and peptide molar amount. The aim of this work was to develop a clinically applicable algorithm for treatment planning in PRRT. To demonstrate the applicability and possible advantages of the algorithm thus developed, an in silico clinical trial applying the algorithm to 177Lu‐DOTATATE therapy in nine virtual patients was conducted.

Methods

An algorithm for treatment planning in PRRT was developed, which simultaneously considers multiple tumor lesions, maximum tolerated biologically effective doses (BEDs) for multiple organs at risk (OARs) and a maximum achievable molar activity. The algorithm, subject to the abovementioned constraints, aims at maximizing the total number of killed tumor cells in the considered lesions/metastases.

An in silico clinical trial was conducted with nine virtual patients. For each virtual patient, simulations increasing the molar dose of 177Lu‐DOTATATE from 2 to 2048 nmol by factors of were performed. Maximum tolerated BEDs per cycle for the kidneys (10 Gy2.5) and for the RM (0.5 Gy15) were defined based on a planned total treatment of four cycles. A maximum achievable molar activity of 420 MBq/nmol was assumed. Optimal combinations of molar dose and activity were determined by applying the developed algorithm. For comparison, simulations for a typical plan with 177Lu‐DOTATATE (7.4 GBq, 265 nmol) were performed and BEDs for the OARs and for individual tumor lesions were calculated. Furthermore, to determine treatment efficacy, overall tumor control probability (oTCP) values after a four‐cycle treatment were estimated for the optimal and typical plans.

Results

The conducted in silico clinical trial yielded optimal molar doses and activities ranging from 24 to 512 nmol and from 6 to 30 GBq, respectively. Tumor BEDs ranged from 2 to 107 Gy10 and from 1 to 65 Gy10 for the optimal and typical plans, respectively. The estimated oTCP values showed that the optimal plans may produce adequate tumor control in six of the nine virtual patients after four cycles of 177Lu‐DOTATATE while the typical plan may be sufficient in only two virtual patients.

Conclusions

The algorithm presented can derive plans with higher tumor control than the typically delivered plan. Therefore, we propose this algorithm for clinical validation and possibly future implementation in treatment planning in molecular radiotherapy.
Comparison of fixed versus traditional weight‐based dosing of rasburicase in a pediatric population
Authors: Savva Dimitrios A. , Herrera Nicole , Rohatgi Radha
Published: June 2018

Background

The American Society of Clinical Oncology guidelines recommend rasburicase for the treatment of pediatric patients with hyperuricemia at risk of tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) using a weight‐based dose of 0.1–0.2 mg/kg once daily for 1–7 days. However, there has been a trend in practice due to recent data showing benefit using a fixed‐dose approach. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety between fixed and weight‐based dosing of rasburicase in a pediatric population.

Procedure

This was a retrospective chart review of 48 patients from January 1, 2007 to August 31, 2016 at Children's National Health System. Patients less than 18 years old with a documented diagnosis of a malignancy and baseline uric acid level were included; patients less than 30 kg at the time of rasburicase administration were excluded.

Results

The primary endpoint of this study was the treatment success of normalization of uric acid level (<5 mg/dl) within 24 hr of rasburicase administration. Eighty‐three percent of patients had success with normalization of uric acid post rasburicase dose. Eighty‐five percent of patients had success in the weight‐based group compared to eighty‐one percent in the fixed‐dose group (P = 0.715). Mean percent reduction of uric acid at 24 hr was relatively similar between both groups (94% vs. 89%).

Conclusion

Our results suggest that a fixed‐dose strategy of rasburicase is both safe and effective in reducing uric acid levels in the pediatric patient population. A fixed dose of rasburicase 6 mg is a cost‐effective treatment option for TLS.
A Randomized Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Evaluation of Every 8‐Hour and 12‐Hour Dosing Strategies of Vancomycin and Cefepime in Neurocritically ill Patients
Authors: Kassel Lynn E. , Van Matre Edward T. , Foster Charles J. , Fish Douglas N. , Mueller Scott W. , Sherman Deb S. , Wempe Michael F. , MacLaren Robert , Neumann Robert T. , Kiser Tyree H.
Published: June 2018

Purpose

Neurocritically ill patients have clinically significant alterations in pharmacokinetic parameters of renally eliminated medications that may result in subtherapeutic plasma and cerebrospinal fluid antibiotic concentrations.

Methods

We conducted a prospective randomized open‐label study of adult neurocritically ill patients treated with vancomycin and cefepime. Vancomycin 15 mg/kg and cefepime 2 g were dosed at every‐8‐ or 12‐hour intervals. The primary outcomes were the achievement of pharmacodynamic (PD) targets related to time of unbound drug above minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for 60% or more of the dosing interval (fT > MIC ≥ 60%) for β‐lactams and ratio of 24‐hour area under the curve (AUC):MIC of 400 or greater for vancomycin.

Results

Twenty patients were included in the study. They were divided equally between the every‐12‐hour and every‐8‐hour dosing groups. Patients (mean age 51.8 ± 11 yrs) were primarily male (60%) and white (95%), and most had an admission diagnosis of intracranial hemorrhage (80%). Compared with the every‐12‐hour group, the every‐8‐hour vancomycin group achieved target trough concentrations (higher than 15 μg/ml) significantly more frequently at initial measurement (0% vs 80%, p<0.01) and at 7–10 days (0% vs 90%, p=0.045) and achieved PD targets more frequently at increasing MICs. Similarly, compared with every‐12‐hour dosing, the every‐8‐hour cefepime dosing strategy significantly increased PD target attainment (fT > MIC ≥ 60%) at an MIC of 8 μg/ml (20% vs 70%, p=0.02).

Conclusions

This study demonstrated that more frequent dosing of vancomycin and cefepime is required to achieve optimal PD targets in adult neurocritically ill patients. The need for increased total daily doses is potentially secondary to the development of augmented renal clearance.
Productive Contestation, Civil Society, and Global Governance: Human Rights as a Boundary Object in ICANN
Authors: ten Oever Niels
Published: June 2018

Human rights have long been discussed in relation to global governance processes, but there has been disagreement about whether (and how) a consideration for human rights should be incorporated into the workings of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), one of the main bodies of Internet governance. Internet governance is generally regarded as a site of innovation in global governance; one in which civil society can, in theory, contribute equally with government and industry. This article uses the lens of boundary object theory to examine how civil society actors succeeded in inscribing human rights as a Core Value in ICANN's bylaws. As a “boundary object” in the negotiations, the concept of human rights provided enough interpretive flexibility to translate to the social realities of the various stakeholder groups, including government and industry. This consensus‐building process was bound by the organizing structure of the boundary object (human rights), and its ability to accommodate the interests of the different parties. The presence of civil society at the negotiating table demanded a shift in strategy from the usual “outsider” tactics of issue framing and agenda setting, to a more complex and iterative process of “productive contestation,” a consensus‐building process fueled by the differences of experience and interests of parties, bound together by the organizing structure of the boundary object. This article describes how this process ultimately resulted in the successful adoption of human rights in ICANN's bylaws.
Phosphodiesterase inhibitors: Potential role in the respiratory distress of neonates
Authors: Mokra Daniela , Mokry Juraj , Matasova Katarina
Published: June 2018

Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are a superfamily of enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of phosphodiester bonds of 3′,5′ cyclic adenosine and guanosine monophosphate (cAMP and cGMP). PDEs control hydrolysis of cyclic nucleotides in many cells and tissues. Inhibition of PDEs by selective or nonselective PDE inhibitors represents an effective targeted strategy for the treatment of various diseases including respiratory disorders. Recent data have demonstrated that PDE inhibitors can also be of benefit in respiratory distress in neonates. This article outlines the pharmacological properties of nonselective and selective PDE inhibitors and provides up‐to‐date information regarding their use in experimental models of neonatal respiratory distress as well as in clinical studies.
Synthesis of In2S3 and In6S7 Microcolumns and Nanowires by a Vapor‐Solid Method
Authors: Bartolomé Javier , Maestre David , Cremades Ana
Published: June 2018

Indium sulfide (In2S3) is a promising candidate for the replacement of CdS buffer layers in solar cell devices, while hexaindium heptasulfide (In6S7) presents interesting properties for its use as absorber material. In this work the fabrication of In2S3 microcolumns as well as novel In6S7 nanowires with diameters of about 70–120 nm is reported. The structures are grown following a thermal evaporation‐deposition method at temperatures between 900 and 1000 °C. Control of the phase and morphology of the structures is achieved through both the evaporation and deposition temperatures, which can be tuned separately. Energy dispersive spectroscopy shows no traces of residual oxygen, while X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates the presence of small amounts of oxygen incorporated at the surface of the structures. The In6S7 nanowires are found to be degenerated n‐type semiconductors, with the Fermi level above the conduction band minimum. The origin of this n‐type degeneracy is discussed in terms of S vacancies.
High‐Efficiency Pure‐Color Inorganic Halide Perovskite Emitters for Ultrahigh‐Definition Displays: Progress for Backlighting Displays and Electrically Driven Devices
Authors: Zhang Fengjuan , Song Jizhong , Han Boning , Fang Tao , Li Jinhang , Zeng Haibo
Published: June 2018

All‐inorganic halide perovskites (IHPs) are ideal candidates for optoelectronic devices with outstanding emission color saturation, well‐tunable optical bandgap, near‐unity photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY), and excellent solution processability. They appear to be promising materials for next‐generation high‐efficiency, wide‐color‐gamut, and flexible ultrahigh‐definition (UHD) displays through the backlighting in liquid‐crystal displays and electroluminescent devices. Here, the optical superiority of IHP materials for UHD displays is analyzed and summarized. In addition, recent progress regarding displays containing backlighting, and electroluminescent devices based on IHPs with different dimensions is introduced. Furthermore, a brief outlook is also provided, which identifies the current existing main problems, corresponding possible solutions, and a vision for the future.
My Twenty Years in Microwave Chemistry: From Kitchen Ovens to Microwaves that aren't Microwaves
Authors: Kappe C. Oliver
Published: June 2018

This Personal Account describes the author's involvement in the field of microwave‐assisted organic synthesis (MAOS) from the late 1990’s starting out with kitchen microwave ovens right through to the development of a reactor in 2016 that – although not using microwave technology – in many ways mimics the performance of a modern laboratory microwave. The reader is taken along a journey that has spanned two decades of intense research on various aspects of microwave chemistry, and, at the same time, was intimately linked to key innovations regarding equipment design and development. A “behind the scenes” approach is taken in this article to share – from a very personal point of view – how specific projects and research ideas were conceived and developed in my research group, and how in general the field of microwave chemistry has progressed in the last two decades.
Accelerating MCMC algorithms
Authors: Robert Christian P. , Elvira Víctor , Tawn Nick , Wu Changye
Published: June 2018

Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms are used to simulate from complex statistical distributions by way of a local exploration of these distributions. This local feature avoids heavy requests on understanding the nature of the target, but it also potentially induces a lengthy exploration of this target, with a requirement on the number of simulations that grows with the dimension of the problem and with the complexity of the data behind it. Several techniques are available toward accelerating the convergence of these Monte Carlo algorithms, either at the exploration level (as in tempering, Hamiltonian Monte Carlo and partly deterministic methods) or at the exploitation level (with Rao–Blackwellization and scalable methods).

This article is categorized under:

Statistical and Graphical Methods of Data Analysis > Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC)

Algorithms and Computational Methods > Algorithms

Statistical and Graphical Methods of Data Analysis > Monte Carlo Methods
Four-loop cusp anomalous dimension in QED
Authors: Grozin Andrey
Published: June 2018

Abstract

The 4-loop C

F

3
T

F

n

l
and 5-loop C

F

4
T

F

n

l
terms in the HQET field anomalous dimension γ

h
are calculated analytically (the 4-loop one agrees with the recent numerical result [1]). The 4-loop C

F

3
T

F

n

l
and 5-loop C

F

4
T

F

n

l
terms in the cusp anomalous dimension Γ(φ) are calculated analytically, exactly in φ (the φ → ∞ asymptotics of the 4-loop one agrees with the recent numerical result [2]). Combining these results with the recent 4-loop d

F F

n

l
contributions to γ

h
and to the small-φ expansion of Γ(φ) up to φ
4 [3], we now have the complete analytical 4-loop result for the Bloch-Nordsieck field anomalous dimension in QED, and the small-φ expansion of the 4-loop QED cusp anomalous dimension up to φ
4.
Massive and massless spin-2 scattering and asymptotic superluminality
Authors: Bonifacio James , Hinterbichler Kurt , Joyce Austin , Rosen Rachel A.
Published: June 2018

Abstract

We constrain theories of a massive spin-2 particle coupled to a massless spin-2 particle by demanding the absence of a time advance in eikonal scattering. This is anS-matrix consideration that leads to model-independent constraints on the cubic vertices present in the theory. Of the possible cubic vertices for the two spin-2 particles, the requirement of subluminality leaves a particular linear combination of cubic vertices of the Einstein-Hilbert type. Either the cubic vertices must appear in this combination or new physics must enter at a scale parametrically the same as the mass of the massive spin-2 field, modulo some standard caveats. These conclusions imply that there is a one-parameter family of ghost-free bimetric theories of gravity that are consistent with subluminal scattering. When both particles couple to additional matter, subluminality places additional constraints on the matter couplings. We additionally reproduce these constraints by considering classical scattering off of a shockwave background in the ghost-free bimetric theory.
Improvement of Ni phytoextraction by Alyssum murale and its rhizosphere microbial activities by applying nitrogen fertilizer
Authors: Kanso Ali , Azoury Sabine , Benizri Emile , Kobaissi Ahmad , Echevarria Guillaume , Sirguey Catherine
Published: June 2018

Phytoextraction represents an innovative approach in the management of nickel (Ni) rich soils whether natural (ultramafic) or anthropogenic (contaminated sites). However, its success depends both on the production of a high plant biomass and the ability of plants to accumulate metals. The application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer can improve the biological and chemical soil fertility and thus agricultural yields. Moreover, soil microorganisms play a key role by influencing nutrient flows, which are the main limiting factors of plant growth in degraded soils. In this work, we investigated the effects of two levels of both Ni and mineral N soil applications on the microbial activities and Ni phytoextraction efficiency by Alyssum murale growing in a pot experiment during 5 months. Plant growth, nutrients and Ni uptake, soil microbial populations and their enzymatic activities involved in the biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon and sulfur (urease, alkaline phosphatase, β‐glucosidase and arylsulfatase, respectively) were determined. The results showed that plant dry mass was unsurprisingly not affected when the soil Ni concentration was increased. However, it led to an increase of the amount of Ni extracted per pot. A negative effect of Ni addition was observed on both total bacteria and urease activity, without any effect on other enzymes. On the contrary, N fertilizer played a significant positive role by promoting both plant growth and Ni phytoextraction, partly as a result of the stimulation and flourishing of bacterial populations.
Stable ground states for the HMF Poisson model
Authors: Fontaine Marine , Lemou Mohammed , Méhats Florian
Published: June 2018

In this paper we prove the nonlinear orbital stability of a large class of steady state solutions to the Hamiltonian Mean Field (HMF) system with a Poisson interaction potential. These steady states are obtained as minimizers of an energy functional under
one, two or infinitely many constraints.
The singularity of the Poisson potential prevents from a direct run of the general strategy in [16,19] which was based on generalized rearrangement techniques, and which has been recently extended to the case of the usual (smooth) cosine potential [17]. Our strategy is rather based on variational techniques. However, due to the boundedness of the space domain, our variational problems do not enjoy the usual scaling invariances which are, in general, very important in the analysis of variational problems. To replace these scaling arguments, we introduce new transformations which, although specific to our context, remain somehow in the same spirit of rearrangements tools introduced in the references above. In particular, these transformations allow for the incorporation of an arbitrary number of constraints, and yield a stability result for a large class of steady states.
Rosai-Dorfman disease masquerading as Uveal Melanoma
Authors: Yousef Yacoub A. , Al-Hussaini Maysa , Nazzal Rashed , Abdeen Ghadeer , Alnawaiseh Ibrahim , Alrawashdeh Khaleel
Published: June 2018

Objective/Background:

Intra ocular Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is an extremely rare disease. We are reporting the first case of RDD presenting as ciliary body mass mimicking ciliary body melanoma, and we are reviewing the English literature reporting on cases of RDD presented with intraocular disease.

Methods:

An 18-year-old lady presented with loss of vision in the right eye, and was found to have intraocular mass lesion. She was diagnosed clinically and radiologically as a case of ciliary body melanoma associated with total retinal detachment.

Results:

Histopathological sections and stains proved to be intraocular RDD. Review of the literature revealed three cases of intraocular RDD; two of them had choroid thickening associated with serous retinal detachment, and one presented with intraocular mass mimicking choroid melanoma. Two of the three cases were enucleated. Our case is the first case in English literature of intraocular ciliary body RDD, mimicking ciliary body melanoma.

Conclusion:

RDD can present as an intraocular mass that mimics ciliary body melanoma. This case emphasizes the importance of diagnostic biopsy before considering the final therapy in unclear cases, mainly when associated with unusual systemic features like lymphadenopathy.
Early functional improvement after stroke correlates with cardiovascular fitness
Authors: Chen Chun‐Kai , Huang Mao‐Hsiung , Liang Wen‐Lung , Lin Ruey‐Tay , Juo Suh‐Hang H.
Published: June 2018

Cardiovascular fitness exerts directly beneficial effects on functional and cognitive outcomes in patients of chronic stroke. However, the effect of early rehabilitation on cardiovascular function has not yet been thoroughly examined. We tested whether complementary rehabilitation program could influence cardiovascular fitness in an early stage of stroke patients. The associations for post‐acute stroke functional recovery with cardiovascular fitness were explored. Thirty‐seven patients with mean poststroke interval of 8.6 ± 3.8 days underwent inpatient rehabilitation of 22.8 ± 3.8 days. Functional outcomes of 15.3 points (17.2%) in functional independence measure improved after rehabilitation program. The therapeutic cardiovascular fitness was determined in ramp exercise test on a cycling ergometer. Peak oxygen uptake (O2peak) significantly increased by 24.8% after early stroke rehabilitation. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to assess for associations of functional improvement with respect to change in O2peak and extremities motor impairment. O2peak gain accounted for more functional recovery than extremities motor improvement (R2 = 0.42). In conclusion, these results suggest that cardiovascular fitness appears to increase after complementary program in early stroke rehabilitation, and better cardiovascular fitness may be associated with greater functional improvement.
Extreme prejudice: securing networks by treating all data as a threat
Authors: Mansfield-Devine Steve
Published: June 2018

What data can you trust? These days, pretty much any traffic arriving at your network perimeter could be harbouring a hidden threat. And while many security solutions attempt to tackle this issue by recognising known malicious payloads and blocking them, few are effective against unknown threats. In this interview, Simon Wiseman, CTO of Deep Secure, explains that it may be better to treat all data as though it's potentially dangerous.
Small water channel network for designing wave fields in shallow water
Authors: Iida Takahito , Kashiwagi Masashi
Published: June 2018

A small water channel network is proposed for designing shallow water fields, and the network is applied to attain water wave cloaking. The design formula is derived from an analogy between waves in a water channel and in an electric circuit; an approach of a transmission line metamaterial is extended to water waves and the water channel is used as an alternative of the transmission line. The size of the water channel is sufficiently smaller than the wavelength and a number of the channels are periodically connected as a network. This small water channel network makes artificial wave fields, and it works for a wide band of frequencies. First, we make an isotropic network equivalent to a shallow water space with constant depth in order to validate the proposed design method. It shows no wave reflection at the interface due to impedance matching. After that, the proposed theory is applied to designing an anisotropic small water channel network for demonstrating shallow water cloaking. A cylinder is cloaked from waves by the network surrounding the cylinder. Both cases are confirmed with numerical computations by solving the boundary-value problem based on linear potential theory.
Exact coherent states with hairpin-like vortex structure in channel flow
Authors: Shekar Ashwin , Graham Michael D.
Published: June 2018

Hairpin vortices are widely studied as an important structural aspect of wall turbulence. The present work describes, for the first time, nonlinear travelling wave solutions to the Navier–Stokes equations in the channel flow geometry – exact coherent states (ECS) – that display hairpin-like vortex structure. This solution family comes into existence at a saddle-node bifurcation at Reynolds number $Re=666$. At the bifurcation, the solution has a highly symmetric quasi-streamwise vortex structure similar to that reported for previously studied ECS. With increasing distance from the bifurcation, however, both the upper and lower branch solutions develop a vortical structure characteristic of hairpins: a spanwise-oriented ‘head’ near the channel centreplane where the mean shear vanishes connected to counter-rotating quasi-streamwise ‘legs’ that extend toward the channel wall. At $Re=1800$, the upper branch solution has mean and Reynolds shear-stress profiles that closely resemble those of turbulent mean profiles in the same domain.
Simulation of turbulent flows with the entropic multirelaxation time lattice Boltzmann method on body-fitted meshes
Authors: Di Ilio G. , Dorschner B. , Bella G. , Succi S. , Karlin I. V.
Published: June 2018

We propose a body-fitted mesh approach based on a semi-Lagrangian streaming step combined with an entropy-based collision model. After determining the order of convergence of the method, we analyse the flow past a circular cylinder in the lower subcritical regime, at a Reynolds number$Re=3900$, in order to assess the numerical performances for wall-bounded turbulence. The results are compared to experimental and numerical data available in the literature. Overall, the agreement is satisfactory. By adopting an efficient local refinement strategy together with the enhanced stability features of the entropic model, this method extends the range of applicability of the lattice Boltzmann approach to the solution of realistic fluid dynamics problems, at high Reynolds numbers, involving complex geometries.
Psychometric Properties of the Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind	Wandering Scales
Authors: Marcusson-Clavertz David , Kjell Oscar N. E.
Published: June 2018

Abstract. Thinking about task-unrelated matters (mind wandering) is related to cognition and well-being. However, the relations between mind wandering and other psychological variables may depend on whether the former commence spontaneously or deliberately. The current two studies investigated the psychometric properties of the Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind Wandering Scales (SDMWS; Carriere, Seli, & Smilek, 2013 ). Study 1 evaluated the stability of the scales over 2 weeks ( N = 284 at Time 1), whereas Study 2 ( N = 323) evaluated their relations to Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, Openness, Social desirability, and experience-sampling reports of intentional and unintentional mind wandering during an online cognitive task. The results indicated that the SDMWS were better fitted with a two-factor than a one-factor solution, although the fit was improved with the exclusion of one item. The scales exhibited strong measurement invariance across gender and time, and moderately high test-retest reliability. Spontaneous mind wandering predicted Generalized anxiety disorder and experience-sampling reports of unintentional mind wandering, whereas Deliberate mind wandering predicted Openness and experience-sampling reports of intentional mind wandering. Furthermore, Spontaneous mind wandering showed a negative association with social desirability of weak-to-medium strength. In sum, the scales generally showed favorable psychometric properties.
The Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES) Factorial Structure Evidence Review and New Evidence From Polish-Speaking Samples
Authors: Koniewski Maciej
Published: June 2018

Abstract. The Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES) is a widely accepted and enthusiastically used measurement instrument. Unfortunately, little firm evidence is available to support its factorial structure. The article reports on the results of the TSES administered to large representative samples of primary (2,083) and lower-secondary school teachers (2,382) in Poland, along with the results of reanalyzed US data, based on which the scale was developed. The results support TSES as a reliable instrument applicable across countries. However, they also highlight the importance of analyzing the factorial structure of the scale with each application, as it may require modifications when administered to different samples. Additionally, moderate evidence was found in Polish data for TSES to be invariant between primary and lower-secondary school teachers.
High‐Frequency Sensor Data Reveal Across‐Scale Nitrate Dynamics in Response to Hydrology and Biogeochemistry in Intensively Managed Agricultural Basins
Authors: Hansen Amy , Singh Arvind
Published: June 2018

Excess nitrate in rivers draining intensively managed agricultural watersheds has caused coastal hypoxic zones, harmful algal blooms, and degraded drinking water. Hydrology and biogeochemical transformations influence nitrate concentrations by changing nitrate supply, removal, and transport. For the Midwest Unites States, where much of the land is used for corn and soybean production, a better understanding of the response of nitrate to hydrology and biogeochemistry is vital in the face of high nitrate concentrations coupled with projected increases of precipitation frequency and magnitude. In this study, we capitalized on the availability of spatially and temporally extensive sensor data in the region to evaluate how nitrate concentration (NO3−) interacts with discharge (Q) and water temperature (T) within eight watersheds in Iowa, United States, by evaluating land use characteristics and multiscale temporal behavior from 5‐year, high‐frequency, time series records. We show that power spectral density of Q, NO3−, and T, all exhibit power law behavior with slopes greater than 2, implying temporal self‐similarity for a range of scales. NO3− was strongly cross correlated with Q for all sites and correlation increased significantly with drainage area across sites. Peak NO3− increased significantly with crop coverage across watersheds. Temporal offsets in peak NO3− and peak Q, seen at all study sites, reduced the impact of extreme events. This study illustrates a relatively new approach to evaluating environmental sensor data and revealed characteristics of watersheds in which extreme discharge events have the greatest consequences.
Influences of Topographic Shadows on the Thermal and Hydrological Processes in a Cold Region Mountainous Watershed in Northwest China
Authors: Zhang Y. L. , Li X. , Cheng G. D. , Jin H. J. , Yang D. W. , Flerchinger G. N. , Chang X. L. , Wang X. , Liang J.
Published: June 2018

The solar radiation incident in a mountainous area with a complex terrain has a strong spatial heterogeneity due to the variations in slope orientation (self‐shading) and shadows cast by surrounding topography agents (topographic shading). Although slope self‐shading has been well studied and considered in most land surface and hydrological models, topographic shading is usually ignored, and its influence on the thermal and hydrological processes in a cold mountainous area remains unclear. In this study, a topographic solar radiation algorithm with consideration for both slope self‐shading and topographic shadows has been implemented and incorporated into a distributed hydrological model with physically based descriptions for the energy balance. A promising model performance was achieved according to a vigorous evaluation. In a control model without considering the topographic shadows, the simulated solar radiation incident in the study area was about 14.3 W/m2 higher on average, which in turn led to a higher simulated annual mean ground temperature at 4 m (by 0.41 °C) and evapotranspiration (by 16.1 mm/a), and a smaller permafrost extent (reduced by about 8%), as well as smaller maximal snow depth and shorter snow duration. Although the simulation was not significantly improved for discharge hydrograph in the base model, higher river runoff peaks and an increased runoff depth were obtained. In areas with a rugged terrain and deep valleys, the influences of topographic shadows would even be stronger in reality than the presented results, which cannot be ignored in the simulation of the thermal and hydrological processes, especially in a refined model.
Nonlinear Long‐Term Large Watershed Hydrologic Response to Wildfire and Climatic Dynamics Locally Increases Water Yields
Authors: Wine Michael L. , Makhnin Oleg , Cadol Daniel
Published: June 2018

On all inhabited continents, wildfires are important ecological disturbances that influence water resources. As an exemplar of this global phenomenon, wildfire activity in the western United states increased in the 1980s and has continued to trend upward in subsequent decades. However, the hydrologic impact of wildfire has been difficult to ascertain at a continental scale due to the complexity of processes that influence critical zone dynamics. We calibrated Fuh's equation to wildfire‐impacted gauged watersheds and used the validated model to retrospectively quantify the proportion of streamflow attributed to wildfire hydrologic impacts from 1986 to 2015 across ungauged watersheds, accounting for interwatershed variability in water retention capacity and climate as well as how these factors interact with burned area and postwildfire vegetation recovery. Here we show that in parts of the western United States with high proportion of area burned by fire, wildfire‐linked streamflow accounts for as much as 20% of streamflow, rivaling or exceeding predicted climate change impacts. This analytic framework demonstrates that over a multidecadal period, the present trajectory of rising temperatures and increases in large wildfires may enhance the regional‐scale importance of wildfires in streamflow generation, thereby partially offsetting projected streamflow reductions due to rising temperatures and evaporative demand.
Infrasound Tornillos Produced by Volcán Cotopaxi's Deep Crater
Authors: Johnson J. B. , Ruiz M. C. , Ortiz H. D. , Watson L. M. , Viracucha G. , Ramon P. , Almeida M.
Published: June 2018

We characterize and interpret a new type of infrasound signal originating from the summit of Volcán Cotopaxi (Ecuador) that was primarily observed between September 2015 and March 2016, following the 2015 eruptive period. This infrasound waveform is a slowly decaying sinusoid with exceptional low‐frequency (fp = 0.2 Hz) and high quality factor (Q = ~10) and resembles the shape of tornillo seismic waveforms. The repeating events, occurring about once per day in early 2016, are stable in frequency content, and we attribute them to excitation of a vertical‐walled crater, with radius of about 125 m and length of 300 m. Spectral properties of the tornillo permit constraints on crater sound speed (335 m/s ± 6%) and temperature (4–32°C). The initial polarity of the tornillos is predominantly a rarefaction and could reflect repeating crater bottom collapse events (implosions) or explosion sources whose infrasound is heavily modulated by the crater's pipe‐like geometry.
Enhanced Ammonia Oxidation Caused by Lateral Kuroshio Intrusion in the Boundary Zone of the Northern South China Sea
Authors: Xu Min Nina , Zhang Weijie , Zhu Yifan , Liu Li , Zheng Zhenzhen , Wan Xianhui Sean , Qian Wei , Dai Minhan , Gan Jianping , Hutchins David A. , Kao Shuh‐Ji
Published: June 2018

Lateral input of dissolved organics may play a significant role to support productivity in oligotrophic ocean although associated biogeochemical evidences are lacking in the field. Ammonia oxidation (AO), the first step of nitrification that bridges organic remineralization and nitrate, is potentially an immediate responder. By using 15N‐NH4+, the spatial distribution of AO was investigated in the northern South China Sea, where Kuroshio Current intrudes frequently. AO ranged widely (0.001 to 134 nmol · L−1 · day−1) in space and the depth‐integrated (200 m) AO peaked where the Kuroshio influence is moderate suggesting that enhanced AO had occurred due to lateral mixing. Since oligotrophic Kuroshio is characterized by high dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), such lateral mixing not only introduces external DON into the northern South China Sea but also enhances NH4+ regeneration and subsequent oxidation to complicate the conventional new production in the boundary zone with DON gradient.
Effects of the September 2005 Solar Flares and Solar Proton Events on the Middle Atmosphere in WACCM
Authors: Pettit J. , Randall C. E. , Marsh D. R. , Bardeen C. G. , Qian L. , Jackman C. H. , Woods T. N. , Coster A. , Harvey V. L.
Published: June 2018

This work investigates middle atmosphere effects of the September 2005 solar flares and solar proton events (SPEs). X‐17 and X‐6.2 flares occurred on 7 and 9 September, respectively, while two moderate SPEs occurred on 10 and 15 September. Flare ionization and dissociation were calculated in the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM) using the Flare Irradiance Spectral Model. Proton measurements from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system were used to compute solar proton ionization. SPEs are shown to have a larger impact than solar flares on the polar stratosphere and mesosphere; however, flares have a larger influence on the sunlit and equatorial lower thermosphere. The two flares differed significantly with respect to photon spectrum. The larger, X‐17 flare was stronger during the impulsive phase, while the X‐6.2 flare was stronger during the gradual phase. This resulted in the X‐17 flare causing more initial ionization but for a shorter duration. The simulated flare impacts also differed because specific wavelengths of the flares influenced the atmosphere above the model top. Model‐measurement comparisons show that WACCM captures the overall timing and spatial distribution of the observed electron enhancements, indicating a reasonable simulation of flare and SPE‐induced ionization. Both the SPEs and flares caused odd nitrogen increases in the mesosphere. Odd hydrogen produced in the lower mesosphere by the SPEs led to short‐lived ozone decreases of nearly 100%. The flares caused small temperature increases in the lower thermosphere but had no effect on the stratosphere.
Gold-patched graphene nano-stripes for high-responsivity and ultrafast photodetection from the visible to infrared regime
Authors: Cakmakyapan Semih , Lu Ping Keng , Navabi Aryan , Jarrahi Mona
Published: June 2018

Graphene is a very attractive material for broadband photodetection in hyperspectral imaging and sensing systems. However, its potential use has been hindered by tradeoffs between the responsivity, bandwidth, and operation speed of existing graphene photodetectors. Here, we present engineered photoconductive nanostructures based on gold-patched graphene nano-stripes, which enable simultaneous broadband and ultrafast photodetection with high responsivity. These nanostructures merge the advantages of broadband optical absorption, ultrafast photocarrier transport, and carrier multiplication within graphene nano-stripes with the ultrafast transport of photocarriers to gold patches before recombination. Through this approach, high-responsivity operation is realized without the use of bandwidth-limiting and speed-limiting quantum dots, defect states, or tunneling barriers. We demonstrate high-responsivity photodetection from the visible to infrared regime (0.6 A/W at 0.8 μm and 11.5 A/W at 20 μm), with operation speeds exceeding 50 GHz. Our results demonstrate improvement of the response times by more than seven orders of magnitude and an increase in bandwidths of one order of magnitude compared to those of higher-responsivity graphene photodetectors based on quantum dots and tunneling barriers.