bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Square Pegs; Round Holes: Our Healthcare System Is Failing Seriously Ill Older Americans in Their Last Years
Authors: Periyakoil VJ
Published: November 2017

This editorial comments on the article by Thomas M. Gill et al.
Shared pathological pathways of Alzheimer's disease with specific comorbidities: current perspectives and interventions
Authors: Nday Christiane M. , Eleftheriadou Despoina , Jackson Graham
Published: November 2017

Alzheimer's disease (AD) belongs to one of the most multifactorial, complex and heterogeneous morbidity‐leading disorders. Despite the extensive research in the field, AD pathogenesis is still at some extend obscure. Mechanisms linking AD with certain comorbidities, namely diabetes mellitus, obesity and dyslipidemia, are increasingly gaining importance, mainly because of their potential role in promoting AD development and exacerbation. Their exact cognitive impairment trajectories, however, remain to be fully elucidated. The current review aims to offer a clear and comprehensive description of the state‐of‐the‐art approaches focused on generating in‐depth knowledge regarding the overlapping pathology of AD and its concomitant ailments. Thorough understanding of associated alterations on a number of molecular, metabolic and hormonal pathways, will contribute to the further development of novel and integrated theranostics, as well as targeted interventions that may be beneficial for individuals with age‐related cognitive decline.

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Comparative study of buffered 50% glycolic acid (pH 3.0) + 0.5% salicylic acid solution vs Jessner's solution in patients with acne vulgaris
Authors: In Jae Jeong , Dong Ju Hyun , Dong Hyun Kim , Yoon Moon Soo , Lee Hee Jung
Published: November 2017

Background

Superficial chemical peels are frequently used in acne vulgaris treatment. Although glycolic acid (GA) has been widely used in clinical practice, its pH ranges from 0.08‐2.75 and thus should be neutralized after application to avoid burns.

Objective

To evaluate treatment efficacy and safety of chemical peeling using buffered 50% GA (pH 3.0) + 0.5% salicylic acid (SA) solution that does not need to be neutralized in the treatment of acne vulgaris compared to the conventional peeling using Jessner's solution.

Methods

We performed a prospective, randomized, evaluator‐blind, split‐face clinical trial. Twenty patients were randomized by assigning one side of each patient's face to receive a 50% GA (pH 3.0) + 0.5% SA peel (GA side) and the other side to receive the Jessner's solution (Jessner's solution side). All patients underwent 2 sessions of treatment spaced 2 weeks apart. Lesion count, acne severity, subjective efficacy assessment, and side effects were evaluated.

Results

The total lesion count was significantly reduced for the GA and Jessner's solution sides (P < .001). However, there was no significant difference in the total lesion count, acne severity, or subjective efficacy assessment between the 2 sides (P > .05). The GA side had fewer side effects than the Jessner's solution side.

Conclusion

The results of this study suggest that chemical peeling using the 50% GA (pH 3.0) + 0.5% SA solution can be as effective and convenient as the conventional peeling using Jessner's solution in the treatment of acne vulgaris and may show fewer adverse events than the conventional peeling.
Taste‐active peptides and amino acids of pork meat as components of dry‐cured meat products: An in‐silico study
Authors: Kęska Paulina , Stadnik Joanna
Published: November 2017

Information on taste‐active components of porcine meat was provided based on an in‐silico analysis using tools available in the BIOPEP database. The role of proteins as crucial nonvolatile components of muscle tissue was defined to develop the sensory profile of meat products. Among them, myofibrillar proteins, particularly myosin‐2, proved to be a good precursor for taste‐active peptides and amino acids; bitter, umami, and sour compounds were the most numerous among them. The role of peptides in suppressing (sourness and sweetness) and enhancing (salty and umami) the taste was also highlighted, which was not observed for amino acids. Troponin T, fast skeletal muscle, was the only source of components suppressing the sour taste.

Practical applications

The properties of dry‐cured meats may result from the presence of bioactive peptides released by protein hydrolysis during fermentation and aging. However, protein hydrolysates sometimes have a bitter taste, which is unwanted by consumers, thus it is necessary to look for a way to combine functionality with consumer acceptability of food products undergoing proteolytic changes, such as dry‐cured meat products. So far, there is insufficient knowledge regarding the protein factors directly related to porcine raw meat influencing the taste that affects consumer acceptability, commercialization, and validation of functional peptide‐rich products. This analysis is a thorough and useful data source on taste‐active protein compounds in porcine meat that can be used to show what taste can be expected if this particular material is applied to produce some specific meat‐derived product (e.g., dry‐cured meat).
An exploratory study into therapeutic alliance, defeat, entrapment and suicidality on mental health wards
Authors: Dunster‐Page C. A. , Berry K. , Wainwright L. , Haddock G.
Published: November 2017

Accessible summary

What is known on the subject?

The strength of a relationship between people with mental health difficulties and professionals has been linked to patients feeling suicidal.

A relationship has been found between how defeated and trapped people with mental health difficulties feel and how suicidal they feel.

What this paper adds to existing knowledge?

This study explored the relationship between alliance, suicidality, defeat and entrapment in people admitted to mental health wards as previous research has focused on people in the community.

Patient‐rated defeat, entrapment and suicidality are related in this sample of people admitted to mental health wards.

A relationship was found between how well nurses said they bonded with their named patient and how trapped the patients felt by their environment.

What are the implications for practice?

Nurses should consider if patients are feeling defeated or trapped when helping people with mental health difficulties to feel less suicidal.

Introduction

Suicidality is prevalent worldwide, particularly in people who access mental health services. The quality of therapeutic alliance between people with mental health difficulties and staff has been associated with suicidality but only in community settings. Defeat and entrapment are correlated with suicidality and may mediate any relationship between alliance and suicidality. Therefore, this exploratory study explored these relationships in people admitted to mental health wards.

Aim

To explore defeat, entrapment, suicidality and alliance between nurses and people admitted to mental health wards.

Method

Fifty inpatient nurse–patient dyads completed questionnaires regarding demographics, defeat, entrapment, suicidality and alliance with their named nurse. Nurses completed questionnaires on demographics, alliance with their patient and the patients’ suicidality.

Results

Defeat, entrapment and suicidality were correlated. A correlation between nurse‐rated bond and external entrapment was found, but no other correlations between alliance, defeat, entrapment and suicidality were statistically significant.

Discussion and clinical implications

Ward‐based nurses should consider the relationship between defeat, entrapment and suicidality when developing interventions to improve suicidality. Although there was no evidence of a relationship between total alliance and suicidality, developing closer bonds with patients may reduce patients’ feelings of being trapped by their environment.
Antibiotics reduce genetic diversity of core species in the honeybee gut microbiome
Authors: Raymann Kasie , Bobay Louis‐Marie , Moran Nancy A.
Published: November 2017

The gut microbiome plays a key role in animal health, and perturbing it can have detrimental effects. One major source of perturbation to microbiomes, in humans and human‐associated animals, is exposure to antibiotics. Most studies of how antibiotics affect the microbiome have used amplicon sequencing of highly conserved 16S rRNA sequences, as in a recent study showing that antibiotic treatment severely alters the species‐level composition of the honeybee gut microbiome. But because the standard 16S rRNA‐based methods cannot resolve closely related strains, strain‐level changes could not be evaluated. To address this gap, we used amplicon sequencing of protein‐coding genes to assess effects of antibiotics on fine‐scale genetic diversity of the honeybee gut microbiota. We followed the population dynamics of alleles within two dominant core species of the bee gut community, Gilliamella apicola and Snodgrassella alvi, following antibiotic perturbation. Whereas we observed a large reduction in genetic diversity in G. apicola, S. alvi diversity was mostly unaffected. The reduction in G. apicola diversity accompanied an increase in the frequency of several alleles, suggesting resistance to antibiotic treatment. We find that antibiotic perturbation can cause major shifts in diversity and that the extent of these shifts can vary substantially across species. Thus, antibiotics impact not only species composition, but also allelic diversity within species, potentially affecting hosts if variants with particular functions are reduced or eliminated. Overall, we show that amplicon sequencing of protein‐coding genes, without clustering into operational taxonomic units, provides an accurate picture of the fine‐scale dynamics of microbial communities over time.
Spatial population genomics of the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) in New York City
Authors: Combs Matthew , Puckett Emily E. , Richardson Jonathan , Mims Destiny , Munshi‐South Jason
Published: November 2017

Human commensal species such as rodent pests are often widely distributed across cities and threaten both infrastructure and public health. Spatially explicit population genomic methods provide insights into movements for cryptic pests that drive evolutionary connectivity across multiple spatial scales. We examined spatial patterns of neutral genomewide variation in brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) across Manhattan, New York City (NYC), using 262 samples and 61,401 SNPs to understand (i) relatedness among nearby individuals and the extent of spatial genetic structure in a discrete urban landscape; (ii) the geographic origin of NYC rats, using a large, previously published data set of global rat genotypes; and (iii) heterogeneity in gene flow across the city, particularly deviations from isolation by distance. We found that rats separated by ≤200 m exhibit strong spatial autocorrelation (r = .3, p = .001) and the effects of localized genetic drift extend to a range of 1,400 m. Across Manhattan, rats exhibited a homogeneous population origin from rats that likely invaded from Great Britain. While traditional approaches identified a single evolutionary cluster with clinal structure across Manhattan, recently developed methods (e.g., fineSTRUCTURE, sPCA, EEMS) provided evidence of reduced dispersal across the island's less residential Midtown region resulting in fine‐scale genetic structuring (FST = 0.01) and two evolutionary clusters (Uptown and Downtown Manhattan). Thus, while some urban populations of human commensals may appear to be continuously distributed, landscape heterogeneity within cities can drive differences in habitat quality and dispersal, with implications for the spatial distribution of genomic variation, population management and the study of widely distributed pests.
Speckled acral hypopigmentation in an adolescent
Authors: Rutt Veronica L. , Quinn Kelly B. , Zaenglein Andrea
Published: November 2017

We report a case of speckled acral hypopigmentation in a 12‐year‐old girl. She presented with asymptomatic hypopigmented macules on the hands and feet. This rare entity is a proposed variant of reticulate acropigmentation and of unknown etiology.
The Syntax of Principles: Genericity as a Logical Distinction between Rules and Principles
Authors: Lopes Pedro Moniz
Published: November 2017

Much has been said about the logical difference between rules and principles, yet few authors have focused on the distinct logical connectives linking the normative conditions of both norms. I intend to demonstrate that principles, unlike rules, are norms whose antecedents are linguistically formulated in a generic fashion, and thus logically described as inclusive disjunctions. This core feature incorporates the relevance criteria of normative antecedents into the world of principles and also explains their aptitude to conflict with opposing norms, namely that their consequents are fulfilled to varying extents more frequently than those of rules. I conclude that the property of genericity should be predicated to the norm antecedent of principles, more precisely to the hypothetical action. This is of paramount importance to explain, in terms of logical implication and exclusion, the expansibility of competing principles, in contrast with the exclusive character of conflicting rules.
In vitro studies of Norwegian Red bovine semen immobilized and cryopreserved in alginate solid gel network
Authors: Alm‐Kristiansen AH , Gaustad ER , Bai G , Standerholen FB , Klinkenberg G , Kommisrud E , Waterhouse KE
Published: November 2017

Contents

Development of new semen cryopreservation techniques improving sperm survival and ensuring availability of viable spermatozoa for a prolonged time‐period after AI is promising tools to reduce sensitivity of timing of AI and enhance overall fertility. The SpermVital® technology utilizes immobilization of bull spermatozoa in a solid network of alginate gel prior to freezing, which will provide a gradual release of spermatozoa after AI. The objective of this study was to compare post‐thaw sperm quality and in vitro sperm survival over time of Norwegian Red bull semen processed by the SpermVital® (SV) technology, the first commercialized production line of SpermVital® (C) and by conventional procedure applying Biladyl® extender (B). Post‐thaw sperm motility was not significantly different between SV, C and B semen (p > .05). However, sperm viability and acrosome intactness were higher for SV than C and B semen (p < .05). Small differences in DNA quality were observed (p < .05). Sperm viability after storage in uterus ex vivo was higher for SV than for C semen (p < .05). Furthermore, sperm survival in vitro over time at physiological temperature was significantly higher for SV semen than C semen as well as B semen during the incubation period of 48 hr (p < .05). In conclusion, the SpermVital® technology is improved and is more efficient in conserving post‐thaw sperm quality and results in higher sperm viability over time in vitro for SV than for C and B semen.
Interventions to significantly improve service uptake and retention of HIV‐positive pregnant women and HIV‐exposed infants along the prevention of mother‐to‐child transmission continuum of care: systematic review
Authors: Vrazo Alexandra C. , Firth Jacqueline , Amzel Anouk , Sedillo Rebecca , Ryan Julia , Phelps B. Ryan
Published: November 2017

Objectives

Despite the success of Prevention of Mother‐to‐Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programmes, low uptake of services and poor retention pose a formidable challenge to achieving the elimination of vertical HIV transmission in low‐ and middle‐income countries. This systematic review summarises interventions that demonstrate statistically significant improvements in service uptake and retention of HIV‐positive pregnant and breastfeeding women and their infants along the PMTCT cascade.

Methods

Databases were systematically searched for peer‐reviewed studies. Outcomes of interest included uptake of services, such as antiretroviral therapy (ART) such as initiation, early infant diagnostic testing, and retention of HIV‐positive pregnant and breastfeeding women and their infants. Interventions that led to statistically significant outcomes were included and mapped to the PMTCT cascade. An eight‐item assessment tool assessed study rigour. PROSPERO ID: CRD42017063816.

Results

Of 686 citations reviewed, 11 articles met inclusion criteria. Ten studies detailed maternal outcomes and seven studies detailed infant outcomes in PMTCT programmes. Interventions to increase access to antenatal care (ANC) and ART services (n = 4) and those using lay cadres (n = 3) were most common. Other interventions included quality improvement (n = 2), mHealth (n = 1), and counselling (n = 1). One study described interventions in an Option B+ programme. Limitations included lack of HIV testing and counselling and viral load monitoring outcomes, small sample size, geographical location, and non‐randomized assignment and selection of participants.

Conclusions

Interventions including ANC/ART integration, family‐centred approaches, and the use of lay healthcare providers are demonstrably effective in increasing service uptake and retention of HIV‐positive mothers and their infants in PMTCT programmes. Future studies should include control groups and assess whether interventions developed in the context of earlier ‘Options’ are effective in improving outcomes in Option B+ programmes.
Use of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis in integrated vector control of Aedes sp. in Sri Lanka: a prospective controlled effectiveness study
Authors: Tissera H. A. , Samaraweera P. C. , Jayamanne B. D. W. , Janaki M. D. S. , U Chulasiri M. P. P. , Rodrigo C. , Fernando S. D.
Published: November 2017

Objectives

The annual incidence of dengue has been increasing over the last few years in Sri Lanka with seasonal epidemics. Biological control of the vector has not been part of the integrated vector control implemented by the public health authorities of Sri Lanka so far. This pilot study assessed the effectiveness of using Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) spray to control the Aedes mosquito vector population density.

Methods

Prospective controlled effectiveness study in three administrative divisions of Colombo. Study areas were selected from urban, semiurban and rural administrative divisions within the district, and they were compared with two matching controls from the same division. Test areas received three cycles of Bti spraying 1 month apart. Control areas were not sprayed with Bti. Ovitrap and larval indices were calculated at baseline and 2 weeks after each spray cycle.

Results

There was a significant improvement in the adult vector population (ovitrap index) in the test areas after three spray cycles, but this effect had disappeared after 8 weeks (no residual effect). There was no consistent positive impact on larval indices (premise, container and Breteau indices) after each spray cycle.

Conclusion

Bti might have a moderate impact on adult vector populations mediated via transient reductions in larval populations. However, this effect is not sustained probably due to rapid re‐infestation. Bti spray, if implemented, can only play a supplementary role to other vector control methods.
Benefiting from Listening in Vocabulary Development
Authors: Bulut Berker , Karasakaloğlu Nuri
Published: November 2017

In this research, the effect of active listening training given to fourth grade students on their vocabulary was examined. Pre-test – post-test control group trial model, which is one of the semi-experimental trial models, was used. Besides, “Vocabulary Test” developed by the researcher was applied to experimental and control groups before the experimental implementations. The students in the experimental group were given a weekly two-hour-course of active listening training for eight weeks. The students in the control group were provided the materials forming the content of active listening training but they were made to study these materials with a weekly two-hour-course by traditional listening practice for eight weeks. At the end of the experiment, the test introduced as pre-test was also used as post-test in order to assess the differences between the groups. As the findings obtained from the research were analyzed, it was seen that active listening training positively contributed to vocabulary development levels of fourth grade students. Together with this, the other conclusion obtained from the research was that the students’ listening comprehension achievement contributed to learning new words.
Simulating alveolar trills using a two-mass model of the tongue tip
Authors: Elie Benjamin , Laprie Yves
Published: November 2017

This paper investigates the possibility of reproducing the self-sustained oscillation of the tongue tip in alveolar trills. The interest is to study the articulatory and phonatory configurations that are required to produce alveolar trills. Using a realistic geometry of the vocal tract, derived from cineMRI data of a real speaker, the paper studies the mechanical behavior of a lumped two-mass model of the tongue tip. Then, the paper proposes a solution to simulate the incomplete occlusion of the vocal tract during linguopalatal contacts by adding a lateral acoustic waveguide. Finally, the simulation framework is used to study the impact of a set of parameters on the characteristic features of the produced alveolar trills. It shows that the production of trills is favored when the distance between the equilibrium position of the tongue tip and the hard palate in the alveolar zone is less than 1 mm, but without linguopalatal contact, and when the glottis is fully adducted.
Steady-state work fluctuations for an overdamped Brownian particle driven by external stochastic force
Authors: Xu Hong-Yuan , Huang Ming-Chang , Luo Yu-Pin , Wu Jinn-Wen
Published: November 2017

The steady-state work fluctuations for an overdamped Brownian particle driven by an external stochastic force are analyzed by using the Langevin approach. The first two moments of the work distribution are given analytically, both are proportional to the time duration of the work injection. The first two moments determine a unique Gaussian function, and the deviations of the probability density functions (PDFs) of work from the Gaussian functions are measured. The tails of the PDFs are shown to approximate the Gaussian functions. In the limit of weak external force and large time interval, the PDF can be approximated by the Gaussian form and the steady-state fluctuation theorem is held.
Blades Forced Vibration Under Aero-Elastic Excitation Modeled by Van der Pol
Authors: Pust Ladislav , Pesek Ludek
Published: November 2017

This paper employs a new analytical approach to model the influence of aerodynamic excitation on the dynamics of a bladed cascade at the flutter state. The flutter is an aero-elastic phenomenon that is linked to the interaction of the flow and the traveling deformation wave in the cascade when only the damping of the cascade changes. As a case study the dynamic properties of the five-blade-bunch excited by the running harmonic external forces and aerodynamic self-excited forces are investigated. This blade-bunch is linked in the shroud by means of the viscous-elastic damping elements. The external running excitation depends on the ratio of stator and rotor blade numbers and corresponds to the real type of excitation in the steam turbine. The aerodynamic self-excited forces are modeled by two types of Van der Pol nonlinear models. The influence of the interaction of both types of self-excitation with the external running excitation is investigated on the response curves.
Efficient Schedulability Test for Dynamic-Priority Scheduling of Mixed-Criticality Real-Time Systems
Authors: Gu Xiaozhe , Easwaran Arvind
Published: November 2017

Systems in many safety-critical application domains are subject to certification requirements. In such a system, there are typically different applications providing functionalities that have varying degrees of criticality. Consequently, the certification requirements for functionalities at these different criticality levels are also varying, with very high levels of assurance required for a highly critical functionality, whereas relatively low levels of assurance are required for a less critical functionality. Considering the timing assurance given to various applications in the form of guaranteed budgets within deadlines, a theory of real-time scheduling for such multi-criticality systems has been recently under development. In particular, an algorithm called Earliest Deadline First with Virtual Deadlines (EDF-VD) has shown a lot of promise for systems with two criticality levels, especially in terms of practical performance demonstrated through experiment results. In this article, we design a new schedulability test for EDF-VD that extends these performance benefits to multi-criticality systems. We propose a new test based on demand bound functions and also present a novel virtual deadline assignment strategy. Through extensive experiments, we show that the proposed technique significantly outperforms existing strategies for a variety of generic real-time systems.
3D printing wireless connected objects
Authors: Iyer Vikram , Chan Justin , Gollakota Shyamnath
Published: November 2017

Our goal is to 3D print wireless sensors, input widgets and objects that can communicate with smartphones and other Wi-Fi devices, without the need for batteries or electronics. To this end, we present a novel toolkit for wireless connectivity that can be integrated with 3D digital models and fabricated using commodity desktop 3D printers and commercially available plastic filament materials. Specifically, we introduce the first computational designs that 1) send data to commercial RF receivers including Wi-Fi, enabling 3D printed wireless sensors and input widgets, and 2) embed data within objects using magnetic fields and decode the data using magnetometers on commodity smartphones. To demonstrate the potential of our techniques, we design the first fully 3D printed wireless sensors including a weight scale, flow sensor and anemometer that can transmit sensor data. Furthermore, we 3D print eyeglass frames, armbands as well as artistic models with embedded magnetic data. Finally, we present various 3D printed application prototypes including buttons, smart sliders and physical knobs that wirelessly control music volume and lights as well as smart bottles that can sense liquid flow and send data to nearby RF devices, without batteries or electronics.
Transferring image-based edits for multi-channel compositing
Authors: Hennessey James W. , Li Wilmot , Russell Bryan , Shechtman Eli , Mitra Niloy J.
Published: November 2017

A common way to generate high-quality product images is to start with a physically-based render of a 3D scene, apply image-based edits on individual render channels, and then composite the edited channels together (in some cases, on top of a background photograph). This workflow requires users to manually select the right render channels, prescribe channel-specific masks, and set appropriate edit parameters. Unfortunately, such edits cannot be easily reused for global variations of the original scene, such as a rigid-body transformation of the 3D objects or a modified viewpoint, which discourages iterative refinement of both global scene changes and image-based edits. We propose a method to automatically transfer such user edits across variations of object geometry, illumination, and viewpoint. This transfer problem is challenging since many edits may be visually plausible but non-physical, with a successful transfer dependent on an unknown set of scene attributes that may include both photometric and non-photometric features. To address this challenge, we present a transfer algorithm that extends the image analogies formulation to include an augmented set of photometric and non-photometric guidance channels and, more importantly, adaptively estimate weights for the various candidate channels in a way that matches the characteristics of each individual edit. We demonstrate our algorithm on a variety of complex edit-transfer scenarios for creating high-quality product images.
Computational design and fabrication of soft pneumatic objects with desired deformations
Authors: Ma Li-Ke , Zhang Yizhonc , Liu Yang , Zhou Kun , Tong Xin
Published: November 2017

We present an end-to-end solution for design and fabrication of soft pneumatic objects with desired deformations. Given a 3D object with its rest and deformed target shapes, our method automatically optimizes the chamber structure and material distribution inside the object volume so that the fabricated object can deform to all the target deformed poses with controlled air injection. To this end, our method models the object volume with a set of chambers separated by material shells. Each chamber has individual channels connected to the object surface and thus can be separately controlled with a pneumatic system, while the shell is comprised of base material with an embedded frame structure. A two-step algorithm is developed to compute the geometric layout of the chambers and frame structure as well as the material properties of the frame structure from the input. The design results can be fabricated with 3D printing and deformed by a controlled pneumatic system. We validate and demonstrate the efficacy of our method with soft pneumatic objects that have different shapes and deformation behaviors.
Visibility-consistent thin surface reconstruction using multi-scale kernels
Authors: Aroudj Samir , Seemann Patrick , Langguth Fabian , Guthe Stefan , Goesele Michael
Published: November 2017

One of the key properties of many surface reconstruction techniques is that they represent the volume in front of and behind the surface, e.g., using a variant of signed distance functions. This creates significant problems when reconstructing thin areas of an object since the backside interferes with the reconstruction of the front. We present a two-step technique that avoids this interference and thus imposes no constraints on object thickness. Our method first extracts an approximate surface crust and then iteratively refines the crust to yield the final surface mesh. To extract the crust, we use a novel observation-dependent kernel density estimation to robustly estimate the approximate surface location from the samples. Free space is similarly estimated from the samples' visibility information. In the following refinement, we determine the remaining error using a surface-based kernel interpolation that limits the samples' influence to nearby surface regions with similar orientation and iteratively move the surface towards its true location. We demonstrate our results on synthetic as well as real datasets reconstructed using multi-view stereo techniques or consumer depth sensors.
A New Definition-Use Net Generator for Ada 2012 Programs
Authors: Wang Bo , Gao Hongbiao , Cheng Jingde
Published: November 2017

Definition-Use Net (DUN) is a graph-theoretical concurrent program representation that is very useful in software development activities such as program dependence analysis, testing, debugging, and complexity measuring. It is an arc-classified digraph having vertices representing information about definitions and/or uses of the values of variables, and inter-process synchronization and communication, and arcs representing deterministic or nondeterministic control ows between vertices. For capturing Definition-Use Nets for Ada 2012 programs, we developed an Asis-based DUN generator for Ada 2012 programs. This article presents an informal explanation for DUNs of Ada 2012 programs and shows some example DUNs of Ada 2012 programs generated by our DUN generator
Neonatal cardiomyocyte hypertrophy induced by endothelin-1 is blocked by estradiol acting on GPER
Authors: Goncalves Gleisy Kelly , Scalzo Sergio , Alves Ana Paula , Agero Ubirajara , Guatimosim Silvia , Reis Adelina M.
Published: November 2017

Estradiol (E2) prevents cardiac hypertrophy, and these protective actions are mediated by estrogen receptor (ER)α and ERβ. The G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) mediates many estrogenic effects, and its activation in the heart has been observed in ischemia and reperfusion injury or hypertension models; however, the underlying mechanisms need to be fully elucidated. Herein, we investigated whether the protective effect of E2 against cardiomyocyte hypertrophy induced by endothelin-1 (ET-1) is mediated by GPER and the signaling pathways involved. Isolated neonatal female rat cardiomyocytes were treated with ET-1 (100 nmol/l) for 48 h in the presence or absence of E2 (10 nmol/l) or GPER agonist G-1 (10 nmol/l) and GPER antagonist G-15 (10 nmol/l). ET-1 increased the surface area of cardiomyocytes, and this was associated with increased expression of atrial and brain natriuretic peptides. Additionally, ET-1 increased the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-related protein kinases-1/2 (ERK1/2). Notably, E2 or G-1 abolished the hypertrophic actions of ET-1, and that was reversed by G-15. Likewise, E2 reversed the ET-1-mediated increase of ERK1/2 phosphorylation as well as the decrease of phosphorylated Akt and its upstream activator 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1). These effects were inhibited by G-15, indicating that they are GPER dependent. Confirming the participation of GPER, siRNA silencing of GPER inhibited the antihypertrophic effect of E2. In conclusion, E2 plays a key role in antagonizing ET-1-induced hypertrophy in cultured neonatal cardiomyocytes through GPER signaling by a mechanism involving activation of the PDK1 pathway, which would prevent the increase of ERK1/2 activity and consequently the development of hypertrophy.
Sequence Classification Using Third-Order Moments
Authors: Troelsgaard Rasmus , Hansen Lars Kai
Published: November 2017

Model-based classification of sequence data using a set of hidden Markov models is a well-known technique. The involved score function, which is often based on the class-conditional likelihood, can, however, be computationally demanding, especially for long data sequences. Inspired by recent theoretical advances in spectral learning of hidden Markov models, we propose a score function based on third-order moments. In particular, we propose to use the Kullback-Leibler divergence between theoretical and empirical third-order moments for classification of sequence data with discrete observations. The proposed method provides lower computational complexity at classification time than the usual likelihood-based methods. In order to demonstrate the properties of the proposed method, we perform classification of both simulated data and empirical data from a human activity recognition study.
The genus Clubiona Latreille, 1904 (Araneae: Clubionidae) in the Maghreb, with notes on the genevensis group and new records from the Mediterranean Region
Authors: BOSMANS ROBERT , HENRARD ARNAUD , BENHALIMA SOUÂD , KHERBOUCHE-ABROUS OURIDA
Published: November 2017

A survey of the members of the genus Clubiona Latreille, 1904 in the Maghreb is presented. The presence of Clubiona comta C. L. Koch, 1839, C. dinienis Simon, 1878, C. leucaspis Simon, 1932, C. phragmitis C. L. Koch 1843 and C. vegeta Simon, 1918 is confirmed. Clubiona pseudosimilis Mikhailov, 1990, from the eastern Mediterranean is new to Africa and Portugal. A specimen of C. neglecta O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1862, cited from Morocco in the past, was misidentified and appears to be C. pseudoneglecta Wunderlich, 1994. The species is new to Algeria and Spain. Two new synonyms are revealed: Clubiona baborensis Denis, 1937 from Algeria = C. diniensis Simon, 1878 N. Syn. and Clubiona venusta Pavesi, 1880 from Tunisia = Selamia reticulata (Simon, 1870) N. Syn. Clubiona mandibularis Lucas, 1846 is considered a Nomen dubium. The comta group is redefined and the “genevensis subgroup” is elevated to species group, including two subgroups. A key and illustrations to the species of the genevensis group are presented and all the species occurring in the Maghreb are illustrated.
Hexapleomera urashima sp. nov. (Crustacea: Tanaidacea), a tanaidid epibiotic on loggerhead sea turtles at Yakushima Island, Japan
Authors: TANABE YUKI , HAYASHI RYOTA , TOMIOKA SHINRI , KAKUI KEIICHI
Published: November 2017

We describe Hexapleomera urashima sp. nov. from the carapaces of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) on Yakushi-ma Island, southwestern Japan, the primary nesting site for the North Pacific population of this turtle. Hexapleomera urashima closely resembles H. edgari Bamber collected from Australian loggerheads (South Pacific population), sharing a uropod with four articles and maxillipedal endites with distal spiniform setae, but differs in having the maxillipedal coxa with two simple setae, the maxillipedal endite with two tiny dorsosubdistal and two distal spiniform setae, the labial palp fused to the outer lobe of the labium, and the basal article of pleopod 3 without inner setae. Several characters (e.g., size or presence/absence of a dorsal triangular process on the male fixed finger; number of inner setae on the pleopodal endopod), assumed to be diagnostic for species in Hexapleomera, actually vary within H. urashima, indicating that reassessment of species diagnoses is warranted. Hexapleomera urashima showed two COI haplotypes differing by one substitution, but separated from representatives of four other genera by 32.2–48.4% K2P distance. Indices of saturation substitution indicated that COI is not useful for phylogeny reconstruction within Tanaididae.
Observations of Right-Moving Supercell Motion Forecast Errors
Authors: Bunkers Matthew J.
Published: November 2017

Two shear-based supercell motion forecast methods are assessed to understand how each method performs under differing environmental conditions for observed right-moving supercells. Accordingly, a 573-case observational dataset is partitioned into small versus large values of environmental and storm-related variables such as bulk wind shear, convective available potential energy, mean wind, storm motion, and storm-relative helicity (SRH). In addition, hodographs are partitioned based on the tornado damage scale, as well as where the storm motion falls among the four quadrants. With respect to the 573-case dataset, the largest supercell motion forecast errors generally occur when the (i) observed midlevel (4–5 km AGL) storm-relative winds are either anomalously weak or strong, (ii) observed 0–3-km AGL SRH is large, (iii) supercell motion is fast, (iv) convective inhibition is strong, or (v) the surface–500-mb (1 mb = 1 hPa) RH is low. Moreover, significantly tornadic supercells are biased 1.2 m s−1 slower and farther right of the hodograph than predicted by the Bunkers forecast method, but show very small bias for the modified Rasmussen–Blanchard method (though errors are slightly larger for this method). Conversely, the smallest errors occur when, relative to the overall sample, the (i) observed upper-level (9–10 km AGL) storm-relative winds are strong, (ii) supercell motion is slow or the mean wind is weak, (iii) surface–500-mb RH is high, or (iv) convective inhibition is weak. Errors also are relatively small when storm motion lies in the bottom-left hodograph quadrant.
Exploring E-governance Service Delivery Dimensions: A Study of Registrar of Companies
Authors: Kaur Amandeep , Kaur Harpreet
Published: November 2017

E-governance is becoming a phenomenon that is catching the attention of government as well as the citizens across the world. Lately, the governments of almost all the countries of the world made huge investments in implementation of e-government projects including India. There have been a number of centre- and state-level projects launched in the recent years. Hence, it becomes all the more important to assess the impact and viability of such projects. A number of studies have been undertaken in this area. It is observed that most of the studies in this field have focused on exploring e-governance service delivery dimensions in government-to-citizen (G2C) context; however, a few studies are carried out in government-to-business (G2B) context. Hence, the present study is an attempt to bridge this gap. The study aims to explore e-governance service delivery dimensions as perceived by the employees of Registrar of Companies (ROC), North Region. Ninety employees of ROCs were surveyed to know about their perception about the pioneer e-government project named Ministry of Corporate Affairs of 21st Century (MCA21) launched in 2006. Results of the study identified four dimensions as perceived important by the employees. To improve the services provided by the employees to the users, it would be useful to be aware of these dimensions in the future.
Nokia on the slope
Authors: Ciesielska Malgorzata
Published: November 2017

This case study explores the origins of Nokia’s decline in the mobile technology market, as an unsuccessful attempt to introduce an open-source strategy into the business. Nokia created a hybrid model, which codified conflicting principles taken from closed and open mode of collaboration. A series of implementation problems resulted in Nokia struggling to attract open-source partners, growing issues with managing in-house staff and ultimately failing to develop a new mobile operating system fast enough to stay competitive.

Key learning outcomes:

At the completion of the case study, students will understand the complexity of open innovation implementation when paradigmatic differences between businesses and/or partners are not resolved.
Age and gender differences in medical adherence after myocardial infarction: Women do not receive optimal treatment – The Netherlands claims database
Authors: Eindhoven Daniëlle C , Hilt Alexander D , Zwaan Thomas C , Schalij Martin J , Borleffs C Jan Willem
Published: November 2017

Background

Following myocardial infarction, medication is, besides lifestyle interventions, the cornerstone treatment to improve survival and minimize the occurrence of new cardiovascular events. Still, data on nationwide medication adherence are scarce. This study assesses medical adherence during one year following myocardial infarction, stratifying per type of infarct, age and gender.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Methods

In The Netherlands, all inhabitants are by law obliged to have health insurance and all claims data are centrally registered. In 2012 and 2013, all national diagnosis-codings of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) were acquired. Furthermore, information on retrieved medication was extracted from the Dutch Pharmacy Information System. Twelve months after discharge, the retrieved medication at the pharmacy of each pharmacological therapy (aspirin-species, P2Y12-inhibitor, statin, beta-blocker, angiotensin-converting enzyme-/angiotensin 2-inhibitor, vitamin-K antagonists or novel oral anticoagulant) were analysed.

Results

In total, 59,534 patients (67 ± 13 years, 39,545 (66%) male, 57% NSTEMI) were included, of whom 52,672 (88%) patients were analysed for one-year medical adherence. STEMI patients more often achieved optimal medical adherence than NSTEMI patients (60% vs. 40%, p ≤ 0.001). In both STEMI and NSTEMI, use of all five indicated drugs was higher in male patients compared with female (STEMI male 61% vs. female 57%, p ≤ 0.001; NSTEMI male 43% vs. female 37%, p ≤ 0.001. With increasing age, a gradual decrease was observed in the use of aspirin, P2Y12-inhibitors and statins.

Conclusion

Age and gender differences existed in medical adherence after myocardial infarction. Medical adherence was lower in women, young patients and elderly patients, specifically in NSTEMI patients.
When Terrorists Play Ball
Authors: Bahrainwala Lamiyah
Published: November 2017

Public discourse often forwards Muslim athletes as examples of “exceptional” Muslims who are “moderate.” This signals that engaging in discourse about sports can allow U.S. Muslims to tap into the nationalism and respectability necessary for demonstrating citizenship, and combat increased scrutiny and charges of radicalization. This article examines the discursive ripples that result when this connection between sports, nationalism and respectability, and “moderate Muslims” is disrupted. I take up the case study of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing mastermind, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was also an accomplished boxer. First, I describe how discourse about sports emerges in conversations about “moderate Muslims,” and second, I examine how Tsarnaev’s athletic accomplishments mediate his terrorist persona in the news coverage. I draw on respectability politics and Jasbir Puar’s concept of the hypertrophied heterosexual in my analysis. In doing so, I establish how discourse about sports mediates conversations about U.S. Muslim identity and furthers U.S. exceptionalism.
The impact of prior malignancies on second malignancies and survival in MM patients: a population-based study
Authors: Jonsdottir Gudbjörg , Lund Sigrún H. , Björkholm Magnus , Turesson Ingemar , Hultcrantz Malin , Porwit Anna , Jethava Yogesh S. , Landgren Ola , Kristinsson Sigurdur Y.
Published: November 2017

Key Points

Prior malignancy negatively impacts survival in patients with MM and >1 prior malignancy reduces survival even further. A prior malignancy diagnosis increases the risk of developing a second malignancy in patients with MM.
Damage Reconnaissance of Unreinforced Masonry Bearing Wall Buildings after the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal, Earthquake
Authors: Brando Giuseppe , Rapone Davide , Spacone Enrico , O'Banion Matt S. , Olsen Michael J. , Barbosa Andre R. , Faggella Marco , Gigliotti Rosario , Liberatore Domenico , Russo Salvatore , Sorrentino Luigi , Bose Supratik , Stravidis Andreas
Published: November 2017

This paper documents and analyzes the seismic behavior of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings that were damaged by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal, and reports on the performance of palaces, giving an overview on the failures suffered by significant examples of these monumental buildings. Field reconnaissance was completed through both rapid, in-situ visual assessment and state-of-the-art procedures utilizing light detection and ranging (lidar) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. Both the visual and virtual assessments were compared for 20 structures and were generally consistent; however, the virtual assessment process enabled detection of damage that could not be captured or was difficult to distinguish in the field observations. Further, both in-plane and out-of-plane mechanisms were analyzed and attributed to specific structural deficiencies that usually characterize poorly detailed masonry buildings. Moreover, wall overturning was correlated with the peculiarities of the pseudo-accelerations and rocking response spectra of the earthquake.