bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reducing inflow occlusion, occlusion duration and blood loss during hepatic resections
Authors: Huo Ya Ruth , Shiraev Tim , Alzahrani Nayef , Chu Francis
Published: October 2016

Background

To assess the changes in blood loss during hepatic resection with improved haemostatic devices such as a bipolar sealing device and a topical haemostatic agent.

Methods

This retrospective clinical study of prospectively collected data will assess hepatic resections performed by a single surgeon between 2005 and 2013, with the introduction of the two haemostatic techniques in 2009.

Results

A total of 371 hepatic resections (214 from 2005 to 2008 and 157 from 2009 to 2013) were included in this study. Compared with the conventional hepatic resection (2005–2008), the use of haemostatic techniques (2009–2013) significantly reduced the need for inflow occlusion (OR: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.24–0.57, P < 0.001), overall occlusion time (20.8 min versus 25.9 min, P = 0.04) and transfusion requirement (4.6% versus 12%, OR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.14–0.90, P = 0.02). Mean overall blood loss was reduced post‐2009; however, the decrease was not statistically different (401.3 mL versus 470.8 mL, P = 0.27). Subgroup analysis revealed that blood loss was more than halved post‐2009 compared with pre‐2009 for patients who received pre‐operative chemotherapy (324.6 mL versus 738.5 mL, P = 0.005).

Conclusion

The use of a bipolar sealing device and a topical haemostatic agent reduces the need for inflow occlusion, overall occlusion time and transfusions in all patients compared with conventional hepatic resections.
Characterization of epididymal sperm from Spix's yellow‐toothed cavies (Galea spixii Wagler, 1831) recovered by different methods
Authors: da Silva Andréia Maria , Bezerra José Artur Brilhante , Campos Lívia Batista , Praxedes Érica Camila Gurgel , Lima Gabriela Liberalino , Silva Alexandre Rodrigues
Published: October 2016

The aim of the present study was to characterize the epididymal sperm of Spix's yellow‐toothed cavy (Galea spixii) through two different recovery methods. Nine sexually mature males were euthanized and the complexes, testes–epididymis, were dissected. For each animal, one epididymis was processed by flotation method and the other was processed by retrograde flushing method, both using a TES‐based buffered media. After recovery, we evaluated the sperm for motility, vigour, viability, functional membrane integrity and morphology. Morphometric data from the different sperm regions were evaluated by using an appropriate software. After recovery, both methods provide similar values for all the sperm parameters, aiming the recovery of more than 300 × 106 sperm, presenting >50% motile sperm, with normal morphology and functional membrane. The total sperm length in this sperm was 48.87 ± 0.1, and the sperm head presented 9.4%, on average. A notable characteristic was the prominent acrosome found in the G. spixii sperm. In conclusion, we demonstrate that either flotation or retrograde flushing methods are suitable for the recovery of sperm from cauda epididymis of Spix's yellow‐toothed cavies.
The coexistence of natural and supernatural explanations within and across domains and development
Authors: Busch Justin T. A. , Watson‐Jones Rachel E. , Legare Cristine H.
Published: October 2016

People across highly diverse cultural contexts use both natural and supernatural explanations to explain questions of fundamental concern such as death, illness, and human origins. The present study examines the development of explanatory coexistence within and across domains of existential concern in individuals in Tanna, Vanuatu. We examined three age groups: 7‐ to 12‐year‐old children, 13‐ to 18‐year‐old adolescents, and 19‐ to 70‐year‐old adults (N = 72). Within the domain of death, biological and spontaneous explanations were most common across all ages. For illness, children showed the highest rates of explanatory coexistence, while adolescents and adults favoured biological explanations. Within the human origins domain, theistic explanations were most common across the age groups. Overall, these data show that coexistence reasoning in these domains is pervasive across cultures, yet at the same time it is deeply contextually specific, reflecting the nuanced differences in local ecologies and cultural beliefs.

Statement of contribution

What is already known on this subject?

Individuals across highly diverse cultural contexts use both natural and supernatural explanations to understand the events that occur in their lives.

Context and cultural input play a large role in determining when and how individuals incorporate natural and supernatural explanations.

The development of explanatory coexistence has primarily studied explanations for isolated domains.

What does this study add?

We examined explanatory coexistence in a culture with recent conversion to Christianity and formal education.

The current research examines how individuals reason within and across the domains of human origins, illness, and death.

Developmental differences associated with explanatory coexistence are examined.
What Stroop tasks can tell us about selective attention from childhood to adulthood
Authors: Wright Barlow C.
Published: October 2016

A rich body of research concerns causes of Stroop effects plus applications of Stroop. However, several questions remain. We included assessment of errors with children and adults (N = 316), who sat either a task wherein each block employed only trials of one type (unmixed task) or where every block comprised of a mix of the congruent, neutral, and incongruent trials. Children responded slower than adults and made more errors on each task. Contrary to some previous studies, interference (the difference between neutral and incongruent condition) showed no reaction time (RT) differences by group or task, although there were differences in errors. By contrast, facilitation (the difference between neutral and congruent condition) was greater in children than adults, and greater on the unmixed task than the mixed task. After considering a number of theoretical accounts, we settle on the inadvertent word‐reading hypothesis, whereby facilitation stems from children and the unmixed task promoting inadvertent reading particularly in the congruent condition. Stability of interference RT is explained by fixed semantic differences between neutral and incongruent conditions, for children versus adults and for unmixed versus mixed task. We conclude that utilizing two tasks together may reveal more about how attention is affected in other groups.
Programmable Animation Texturing using Motion Stamps
Authors: Milliez A. , Guay M. , Cani M.-P. , Gross M. , Sumner R. W.
Published: October 2016

Our work on programmable animation texturing enhances the concept of texture mapping by letting artists stylize arbitrary animations using elementary animations, instantiated at the scale of their choice. The core of our workflow resides in two components: we first impose structure and temporal coherence over the animation data using a novel radius‐based animation‐aware clustering. The computed clusters conform to the user‐specified scale, and follow the underlying animation regardless of its topology. Extreme mesh deformations, complex particle simulations, or simulated mesh animations with ever‐changing topology can therefore be handled in a temporally coherent way. Then, in analogy to fragment shaders that specify an output color based on a texture and a collection of properties defined per vertex (position, texture coordinate, etc.), we provide a programmable interface to the user, letting him or her specify an output animation based on the collection of properties we extract per cluster (position, velocity, etc.). We equip elementary animations with a collection of parameters that are exposed in our programmable system and enables users to script the animated textures depending on properties of the input cluster. We demonstrate the power of our system with complex animated textures created with minimal user input.
Scale‐aware Structure‐Preserving Texture Filtering
Authors: Jeon Junho , Lee Hyunjoon , Kang Henry , Lee Seungyong
Published: October 2016

This paper presents a novel method to enhance the performance of structure‐preserving image and texture filtering. With conventional edge‐aware filters, it is often challenging to handle images of high complexity where features of multiple scales coexist. In particular, it is not always easy to find the right balance between removing unimportant details and protecting important features when they come in multiple sizes, shapes, and contrasts. Unlike previous approaches, we address this issue from the perspective of adaptive kernel scales. Relying on patch‐based statistics, our method identifies texture from structure and also finds an optimal per‐pixel smoothing scale. We show that the proposed mechanism helps achieve enhanced image/texture filtering performance in terms of protecting the prominent geometric structures in the image, such as edges and corners, and keeping them sharp even after significant smoothing of the original signal.
Efficient Volumetric PolyCube‐Map Construction
Authors: Fu Xiao‐Ming , Bai Chong‐Yang , Liu Yang
Published: October 2016

PolyCubes provide compact representations for closed complex shapes and are essential to many computer graphics applications. Existing automatic PolyCube construction methods usually suffer from poor quality or time‐consuming computation. In this paper, we provide a highly efficient method to compute volumetric PolyCube‐maps. Given an input tetrahedral mesh, we utilize two novel normal‐driven volumetric deformation schemes and a polycube‐allowable mesh segmentation to drive the input to a volumetric PolyCube structure. Our method can robustly generate foldover‐free and low‐distortion PolyCube‐maps in practice, and provide a flexible control on the number of corners of Polycubes. Compared with state‐of‐the‐art methods, our method is at least one order of magnitude faster and has better mapping qualities. We demonstrate the efficiency and efficacy of our method in PolyCube construction and all‐hexahedral meshing on various complex models.
Trip Synopsis: 60km in 60sec
Authors: Huang H. , Lischinski D. , Hao Z. , Gong M. , Christie M. , Cohen‐Or D.
Published: October 2016

Computerized route planning tools are widely used today by travelers all around the globe, while 3D terrain and urban models are becoming increasingly elaborate and abundant. This makes it feasible to generate a virtual 3D flyby along a planned route. Such a flyby may be useful, either as a preview of the trip, or as an after‐the‐fact visual summary. However, a naively generated preview is likely to contain many boring portions, while skipping too quickly over areas worthy of attention.

In this paper, we introduce 3D trip synopsis: a continuous visual summary of a trip that attempts to maximize the total amount of visual interest seen by the camera. The main challenge is to generate a synopsis of a prescribed short duration, while ensuring a visually smooth camera motion. Using an application‐specific visual interest metric, we measure the visual interest at a set of viewpoints along an initial camera path, and maximize the amount of visual interest seen in the synopsis by varying the speed along the route. A new camera path is then computed using optimization to simultaneously satisfy requirements, such as smoothness, focus and distance to the route. The process is repeated until convergence.

The main technical contribution of this work is a new camera control method, which iteratively adjusts the camera trajectory and determines all of the camera trajectory parameters, including the camera position, altitude, heading, and tilt. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of our trip synopses, compared to a number of alternatives.
A Study On Designing Effective Introductory Materials for Information Visualization
Authors: Tanahashi Yuzuru , Leaf Nick , Ma Kwan‐Liu
Published: October 2016

Designing introductory materials is extremely important when developing new information visualization techniques. All users, regardless of their domain knowledge, first must learn how to interpret the visually encoded information in order to infer knowledge from visualizations. Yet, despite its significance, there has been little research on how to design effective introductory materials for information visualization. This paper presents a study on the design of online guides that educate new users on how to utilize information visualizations, particularly focusing on the employment of exercise questions in the guides. We use two concepts from educational psychology, learning type (or learning style) and teaching method, to design four unique types of online guides. The effects of the guides are measured by comprehension tests of a large group of crowdsourced participants. The tests covered four visualization types (graph, scatter plot, storyline, and tree map) and a complete range of visual analytics tasks. Our statistical analyses indicate that online guides which employ active learning and the top‐down teaching method are the most effective. Our study provides quantitative insight into the use of exercise questions in online guides for information visualizations and will inspire further research on design considerations for other elements in introductory materials.
Incremental Deformation Subspace Reconstruction
Authors: Mukherjee R. , Wu X. , Wang H.
Published: October 2016

Recalculating the subspace basis of a deformable body is a mandatory procedure for subspace simulation, after the body gets modified by interactive applications. However, using linear modal analysis to calculate the basis from scratch is known to be computationally expensive. In the paper, we show that the subspace of a modified body can be efficiently obtained from the subspace of its original version, if mesh changes are small. Our basic idea is to approximate the stiffness matrix by its low‐frequency component, so we can calculate new linear deformation modes by solving an incremental eigenvalue decomposition problem. To further handle nonlinear deformations in the subspace, we present a hybrid approach to calculate modal derivatives from both new and original linear modes. Finally, we demonstrate that the cubature samples trained for the original mesh can be reused in fast reduced force and stiffness matrix evaluation, and we explore the use of our techniques in various simulation problems. Our experiment shows that the updated subspace basis still allows a simulator to generate visual plausible deformation effects. The whole system is efficient and it is compatible with other subspace construction approaches.
Non‐Local Sparse and Low‐Rank Regularization for Structure‐Preserving Image Smoothing
Authors: Zhu Lei , Fu Chi‐Wing , Jin Yueming , Wei Mingqiang , Qin Jing , Heng Pheng‐Ann
Published: October 2016

This paper presents a new image smoothing method that better preserves prominent structures. Our method is inspired by the recent non‐local image processing techniques on the patch grouping and filtering. Overall, it has three major contributions over previous works. First, we employ the diffusion map as the guidance image to improve the accuracy of patch similarity estimation using the region covariance descriptor. Second, we model structure‐preserving image smoothing as a low‐rank matrix recovery problem, aiming at effectively filtering the texture information in similar patches. Lastly, we devise an objective function, namely the weighted robust principle component analysis (WRPCA), by regularizing the low rank with the weighted nuclear norm and sparsity pursuit with L1 norm, and solve this non‐convex WRPCA optimization problem by adopting the alternative direction method of multipliers (ADMM) technique. We experiment our method with a wide variety of images and compare it against several state‐of‐the‐art methods. The results show that our method achieves better structure preservation and texture suppression as compared to other methods. We also show the applicability of our method on several image processing tasks such as edge detection, texture enhancement and seam carving.
Skeleton‐driven Adaptive Hexahedral Meshing of Tubular Shapes
Authors: Livesu Marco , Muntoni Alessandro , Puppo Enrico , Scateni Riccardo
Published: October 2016

We propose a novel method for the automatic generation of structured hexahedral meshes of articulated 3D shapes. We recast the complex problem of generating the connectivity of a hexahedral mesh of a general shape into the simpler problem of generating the connectivity of a tubular structure derived from its curve‐skeleton. We also provide volumetric subdivision schemes to nicely adapt the topology of the mesh to the local thickness of tubes, while regularizing per‐element size. Our method is fast, one‐click, easy to reproduce, and it generates structured meshes that better align to the branching structure of the input shape if compared to previous methods for hexa mesh generation.
Minimal Sampling for Effective Acquisition of Anisotropic BRDFs
Authors: Vávra R. , Filip J.
Published: October 2016

BRDFs are commonly used for material appearance representation in applications ranging from gaming and the movie industry, to product design and specification. Most applications rely on isotropic BRDFs due to their better availability as a result of their easier acquisition process. On the other hand, anisotropic BRDF due to their structure‐dependent anisotropic highlights, are more challenging to measure and process. This paper thus leverages the measurement process of anisotropic BRDF by representing such BRDF by the collection of isotropic BRDFs. Our method relies on an anisotropic BRDF database decomposition into training isotropic slices forming a linear basis, where appropriate sparse samples are identified using numerical optimization. When an unknown anisotropic BRDF is measured, these samples are repeatably captured in a small set of azimuthal directions. All collected samples are then used for an entire measured BRDF reconstruction from a linear isotropic basis. Typically, below 100 samples are sufficient for the capturing of main visual features of complex anisotropic materials, and we provide a minimal directional samples to be regularly measured at each sample rotation. We conclude, that even simple setups relying on five bidirectional samples (maximum of five stationary sensors/lights) in combination with eight rotations (rotation stage for specimen) can yield a promising reconstruction of anisotropic behavior. Next, we outline extension of the proposed approach to adaptive sampling of anisotropic BRDF to gain even better performance. Finally, we show that our method allows using standard geometries, including industrial multi‐angle reflectometers, for the fast measurement of anisotropic BRDFs.
Progressive compression of arbitrary textured meshes
Authors: Caillaud F. , Vidal V. , Dupont F. , Lavoué G.
Published: October 2016

In this paper, we present a progressive compression algorithm for textured surface meshes, which is able to handle polygonal non‐manifold meshes as well as discontinuities in the texture mapping. Our method applies iterative batched simplifications, which create high quality levels of detail by preserving both the geometry and the texture mapping. The main features of our algorithm are (1) generic edge collapse and vertex split operators suited for polygonal non‐manifold meshes with arbitrary texture seam configurations, and (2) novel geometry‐driven prediction schemes and entropy reduction techniques for efficient encoding of connectivity and texture mapping. To our knowledge, our method is the first progressive algorithm to handle polygonal non‐manifold models. For geometry and connectivity encoding of triangular manifolds and non‐manifolds, our method is competitive with state‐of‐the‐art and even better at low/medium bitrates. Moreover, our method allows progressive encoding of texture coordinates with texture seams; it outperforms state‐of‐the‐art approaches for texture coordinate encoding. We also present a bit‐allocation framework which multiplexes mesh and texture refinement data using a perceptually‐based image metric, in order to optimize the quality of levels of detail.
Tracing Field‐Coherent Quad Layouts
Authors: Pietroni Nico , Puppo Enrico , Marcias Giorgio , Scopigno Roberto , Cignoni Paolo
Published: October 2016

Given a cross field over a triangulated surface we present a practical and robust method to compute a field aligned coarse quad layout over the surface. The method works directly on a triangle mesh without requiring any parametrization and it is based on a new technique for tracing field‐coherent geodesic paths directly on a triangle mesh, and on a new relaxed formulation of a binary LP problem, which allows us to extract both conforming quad layouts and coarser layouts containing t‐junctions. Our method is easy to implement, very robust, and, being directly based on the input cross field, it is able to generate better aligned layouts, even with complicated fields containing many singularities. We show results on a number of datasets and comparisons with state‐of‐the‐art methods.
Anti‐contactin‐associated protein‐2 encephalitis: relevance of antibody titres, presentation and outcome
Authors: Bien C. G. , Mirzadjanova Z. , Baumgartner C. , Onugoren M. D. , Grunwald T. , Holtkamp M. , Isenmann S. , Kermer P. , Melzer N. , Naumann M. , Riepe M. , Schäbitz W. R. , von Oertzen T. J. , von Podewils F. , Rauschka H. , May T. W.
Published: October 2016

Background and purpose

To clarify the relevance of titres of IgG antibodies against contactin‐associated protein‐2 (CASPR2) in diagnosing anti‐CASPR2 encephalitis and to describe features and outcomes.

Methods

This was a retrospective analysis of 64 patients with CASPR2 antibodies, categorized independently as ‘autoimmune encephalitis’ or ‘other disease’. Logistic regression methods were performed to identify potential predictors of ‘autoimmune encephalitis’ in addition to CASPR2 antibodies.

Results

An upfront CASPR2 antibody serum titre cut‐off at ≥1:200 had a diagnostic sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 81%. Logistic regression analyses indicated that, in addition to titre, encephalitic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was a significant predictor of ‘autoimmune encephalitis’ (Nagelkerke's R2 = 0.81, P < 0.001) with high sensitivity (84%) and very high specificity (100%). Patients with CASPR2 antibodies and an estimated probability of >70% of having anti‐CASPR2 encephalitis (n = 22) had limbic encephalitis (n = 18, one patient plus ataxia), Morvan syndrome (n = 2) or a hyperkinetic movement disorder (n = 2). Median modified Rankin score (mRS) at diagnosis was 3 (range 1–4). Twenty patients were male; median age was 64 (range 54–75) years; 5/15 patients with cerebrospinal fluid data had intrathecal CASPR2 antibody synthesis, and 12/19 with follow‐ups >3 months (median 12 months, range 4–43 months) improved by ≥1 mRS point resulting in a median mRS of 2 (range 0–6; one death; all but one having received immunotherapy); and 2/15 patients with follow‐up MRI developed hippocampal atrophy.

Conclusions

Only higher CASPR2 serum antibody titres indicate anti‐CASPR2 encephalitis, and diagnostic accuracy increases if MRI findings are considered. Anti‐CASPR2 encephalitis has characteristic features and a favourable outcome with immunotherapy.
Fermentation quality and nutritive value of fresh and fermented total mixed rations containing Chinese wildrye or corn stover
Authors: Cao Yang , Zang Yanqing , Jiang Zaihui , Han Yahui , Hou JianJun , Liu Huawei , Zhong Rongzhen , Fang Jiachen , Zhang Aizhong , Yoshida Norio
Published: October 2016

Nutritive value of fresh or fermented total mixed ration (TMR) containing Chinese wildrye (Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzval.) or dry corn (Zea mays L.) stover was determined. The experimental treatments included fermentation and dietary roughage. The fermentation treatments included fresh and fermented TMR, while the dietary roughage treatments included Chinese wildrye and corn stover. Compared to the fresh TMR, the fermented TMR had higher (P < 0.05) contents of ether extract, lactic acid, acetic acid and ammonia‐nitrogen (N) but lower (P < 0.05) organic matter, non fibrous carbohydrate and neutral detergent fiber, and inhibited growth of molds in silages; moreover, the fermented TMR increased (P < 0.05) the digestibility of ether extract and neutral detergent fiber, and tended to increase (P < 0.05) the digestibility of acid detergent fiber, but also increased the concentration of ruminal total volatile fatty acid and valeric acid at 2 h of feeding, and ammonia‐N at 2 or 4 h of feeding. The silage with 10 mm corn stover had a higher (P < 0.05) lactic acid content, and reduced (P < 0.05) losses of non fibrous carbohydrate during fermentation compared with 50 mm treatment. Almost all chopped‐corn stover TMR had similar nutrient digestibility to Chinese wildrye. Among the eight TMRs, the fermented TMR with 10 mm corn stover had the highest intake ration of dry matter, while the fermented TMR with Chinese wildrye was the lowest. These results suggest that fermentation inhibit growth of molds in silage, decrease neutral detergent fiber, and then improve the nutrient digestibility. Chopped corn stover TMR had similar nutrient digestibility to Chinese wildrye TMR, and could replace Chinese wildrye in TMRs for ruminants.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA profiles among chronic HIV/HCV‐coinfected individuals in ESPRIT; spontaneous HCV RNA clearance observed in nine individuals
Authors: Grint D , Tedaldi E , Peters L , Mocroft A , Edlin B , Gallien S , Klinker H , Boesecke C , Kokordelis P , Rockstroh JK
Published: October 2016

Objectives

Studies have shown that hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA levels remain stable over time in HIV/HCV‐coinfected individuals taking combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), while spontaneous clearance of HCV RNA during the persistent infection phase has been documented only rarely among those with the CC interleukin (IL)‐28B genotype. This study describes HCV RNA profiles and factors associated with changes over time in HCV RNA levels in the ESPRIT study.

Methods

HIV/HCV‐coinfected individuals positive for HCV RNA were included in the study. Follow‐up was counted from the first HCV RNA positive test and censored at the initiation of interferon‐based treatment. HCV RNA and IL‐28B measurements were performed in the same reference laboratory. Random effects mixed models were used to analyse changes over time in HCV RNA.

Results

A total of 312 ESPRIT patients were included in the study (151 in the arm receiving subcutaneous recombinant IL‐2 and 161 in the control arm). Most of the patients were white (89%) and male (76%), and they had a median of 5 HCV RNA measurements per person [interquartile range (IQR) 3–6; range 1–9]. Median follow‐up was 5 years (IQR: 2−6 years). At baseline, 96% of patients were taking cART and 93% had undetectable HIV RNA. Mean HCV RNA levels decreased by 13% per year over the study period [95% confidence interval (CI) 8–18%; P < 0.0001]. Baseline HCV RNA levels and the change over time in HCV RNA did not differ by randomization arm (P = 0.16 and P = 0.56, respectively). Nine individuals spontaneously cleared HCV RNA during follow‐up [IL‐28B genotypes: CC, five patients (56%); CT, four patients (44%)].

Conclusions

HCV RNA levels decreased over time in this population with well‐controlled HIV infection. Spontaneous clearance of HCV RNA was documented in five individuals with IL‐28B genotype CC and four with the CT genotype.
Antimicrobial effects of six Algerian propolis extracts
Authors: Boufadi Yasmina Mokhtaria , Soubhye Jalal , Nève Jean , Van Antwerpen Pierre , Riazi Ali
Published: October 2016

This study aimed to study the antimicrobial effect of propolis and determine the essential compounds which give it the antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial effect was investigated for six ethyl acetate extracts of propolis (EAPs) collected from different regions of Algeria on four pathogenic strains (Shigella dysenteriae, Shigella sonnei, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli) and two benefit strains (Bifidobacterium animalis and Lactobacillus rhamnosus). The results obtained in this study indicated that the different EAPs showed potential inhibitory effects on tested pathogenic strains with variable minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 0.3 and 9 mg ml−1, while the beneficial bacteria showed resistance against EAPs of propolis. The results demonstrated also that the flavonoid compounds have very low MIC values, while phenolic acid compounds have variables MIC values of 1–10 mg ml−1. These results indicated that propolis contains proven substances with antimicrobial activity and are a prelude to the investigations aimed at empowerment of the bee substance as a potential source of antimicrobial agents with multiple outlets.
Limits of Object Persistence: Young Infants Perceive Continuity of Vertical and Horizontal Trajectories, But Not 45‐Degree Oblique Trajectories
Authors: Bremner J. Gavin , Slater Alan M. , Mason Uschi C. , Spring Jo , Johnson Scott P.
Published: October 2016

Previous research indicated that 4‐month‐old infants perceive continuity of objects moving on horizontal trajectories but appear to have difficulty processing occlusion events involving oblique trajectories. However, because perception of continuity of vertical trajectories has not been tested, it is uncertain whether this indicates a specific deficit for oblique trajectories or a specific advantage for horizontal trajectories. We evaluated the contribution of trajectory orientation and the form of occlusion in three experiments with one hundred and forty‐four 4‐month‐olds. Infants perceived continuity of horizontal and vertical trajectories under all conditions presented. However, they did not perceive continuity of an oblique (45°) trajectory under any condition. Thus, 4‐month‐olds appear unable to process continuity of a 45° trajectory. In a fourth experiment with forty‐eight 6‐ and 8‐month‐old infants, we demonstrated that by 6 months, infants' difficulty with oblique trajectories is overcome. We suggest that young infants' difficulty with markedly oblique trajectories likely relates to immature eye movement control.
Epidermal grafting for wound healing: a review on the harvesting systems, the ultrastructure of the graft and the mechanism of wound healing
Authors: Kanapathy Muholan , Hachach‐Haram Nadine , Bystrzonowski Nicola , Connelly John T , O'Toole Edel A , Becker David L , Mosahebi Afshin , Richards Toby
Published: October 2016

Epidermal grafting for wound healing involves the transfer of the epidermis from a healthy location to cover a wound. The structural difference of the epidermal graft in comparison to the split‐thickness skin graft and full‐thickness skin graft contributes to the mechanism of effect. While skin grafting is an epidermal transfer, little is known about the precise mechanism of wound healing by epidermal graft. This paper aims to explore the evolution of the epidermal graft harvesting system over the last five decades, the structural advantages of epidermal graft for wound healing and the current hypotheses on the mechanism of wound healing by epidermal graft. Three mechanisms are proposed: keratinocyte activation, growth factor secretion and reepithelialisation from the wound edge. We evaluate and explain how these processes work and integrate to promote wound healing based on the current in vivo and in vitro evidence. We also review the ongoing clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of epidermal graft for wound healing. The epidermal graft is a promising alternative to the more invasive conventional surgical techniques as it is simple, less expensive and reduces the surgical burden for patients in need of wound coverage.
Cold sintering process: A new era for ceramic packaging and microwave device development
Authors: Guo Jing , Baker Amanda L. , Guo Hanzheng , Lanagan Michael , Randall Clive A.
Published: October 2016

Cold sintering process (CSP) is an extremely low‐temperature sintering process (room temperature to ~200°C) that uses aqueous‐based solutions as transient solvents to aid densification by a nonequilibrium dissolution‐precipitation process. In this work, CSP is introduced to fabricate microwave and packaging dielectric substrates, including ceramics (bulk monolithic substrates and multilayers) and ceramic‐polymer composites. Some dielectric materials, namely Li2MoO4, Na2Mo2O7, K2Mo2O7, and (LiBi)0.5MoO4 ceramics, and also (1−x)Li2MoO4−xPTFE and (1−x)(LiBi)0.5MoO4−xPTFE composites, are selected to demonstrate the feasibility of CSP in microwave and packaging substrate applications. Selected dielectric ceramics and composites with high densities (88%‐95%) and good microwave dielectric properties (permittivity, 5.6‐37.1; Q × f, 1700‐30 500 GHz) were obtained by CSP at 120°C. CSP can be also used to potentially develop a new co‐fired ceramic technology, namely CSCC. Li2MoO4−Ag multilayer co‐fired ceramic structures were successfully fabricated without obvious delamination, warping, or interdiffusion. Numerous materials with different dielectric properties can be densified by CSP, indicating that CSP provides a simple, effective, and energy‐saving strategy for the ceramic packaging and microwave device development.
George Wallis (1811–1891) and Ernest Beinfeld Havell (1861–1934): Juxtaposing Historical Perspectives on Nineteenth‐Century Drawing Books in England and India
Authors: Kantawala Ami , Daichendt G. James
Published: October 2016

Drawing books can be seen as a vital component to teaching and learning art. They serve as an excellent resource for understanding the historical context of teaching drawing. As the industrial revolution geared forward in the nineteenth century, drawing books became a crucial source for sharing and disseminating educational philosophies for the teaching of drawing as well as understanding artistic practices. Serving many informal and traditional educational contexts, drawing books can be seen as evidence of how people learned or were taught. Although many accounts of teaching of drawing are known, little is documented about the many drawing manuals developed by art educators in England and its colonies, specifically India. This article examines nineteenth‐century drawing books by George Wallis (1811–91) and Ernest Beinfeld Havell (1861–1934) and the subsequent influence of these books on art education in England and India. Through comparison between the different approaches of authoring these drawing books, one could argue that both Havell and Wallis pursued nationalistic and personal goals by juxtaposing the authoring styles of their books. It was evident that George Wallis’ authorship of his drawing books was grounded in his philosophy of education, appreciation for design education, and dedication to England. Havell's drawing books, on the other hand, attempted to provide students with the knowledge of Indian sculpture, architecture and painting thereby exposing them to India's artistic heritage as well as raising awareness about utilising Indian art as the basis of instruction at the Indian art schools as part of the larger Indian nationalist movement against British rule. Their histories cumulatively bring to print a specific account of drawing manuals used during the nineteenth century and their influence on the teaching and learning of drawing in England and India.
Correlation between protein expression of FOXP3 and level of FOXP3 promoter methylation in recurrent spontaneous abortion
Authors: Hou Wenhui , Li Zhuyu , Li Yinguang , Fang Liyuan , Li Jie , Huang Jia , Li Xiaoqing , You Zeshan
Published: October 2016

Aim

The aim of this study was to investigate the level of Forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) promoter methylation and protein expression in recurrent spontaneous abortion and to elucidate the pathogenesis of unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA).

Methods

We assessed a total of 56 URSA patients with a normal embryo, 24 recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) patients with an abnormal embryo (as control group 1), and 39 normal pregnant women (as control group 2). The expression of FOXP3 protein in deciduas was assessed through Western blot, and the level of FOXP3 promoter methylation was detected using bisulfite‐assisted genomic sequencing polymerase chain reaction.

Results

The expressing quantity of FOXP3 protein in the URSA group was significantly lower than that in control groups 1 and 2, both with a P‐value < 0.05. By contrast, no statistical difference was observed in the expressing quantity of FOXP3 protein of the two control groups (P = 0.212). The FOXP3 promoter methylation level in the URSA group was significantly higher than that in the two control groups, both of which exhibited a statistical difference of P‐values < 0.05. Meanwhile, no statistical difference was observed in the FOXP3 promoter methylation level of the two control groups (P = 0.141). A negative correlation was found between the FOXP3 promoter methylation level and the expressing quantity of FOXP3 protein (r = −0.861, P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Increasing FOXP3 promoter methylation levels may cause abnormal immune tolerance through the downregulation expression of the FOXP3 protein, which in turn leads to URSA.
Squamous cell carcinoma arising from a vulval epidermal cyst
Authors: Sze Shirley , Richmond Ian , Bickers Adam , Saha Arabinda
Published: October 2016

Malignant transformation of epidermal cyst is rare, with most cases arising in the head and neck. Here, we report a case of squamous cell carcinoma arising from a longstanding epidermal cyst in the right vulva of a 65‐year‐old woman. The patient presented with a sudden increase in size of the cyst over 6 weeks to the size of a golf ball. Excisional biopsy and histology indicated moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma within an epidermal cyst (FIGO stage IB). Strong p16 immunopositivity was also demonstrated and the potential significance of this is discussed. Limited right hemivulvectomy and right groin node dissection were performed.
Effects of Bacillus subtilis Strains on Growth, Immune Parameters, and Streptococcus iniae Susceptibility in Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus
Authors: Addo Samuel , Carrias Abel A. , Williams Malachi A. , Liles Mark R. , Terhune Jeffery S. , Davis Donald A.
Published: October 2016

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of probiotic‐amended diets fed to juvenile Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, on growth and susceptibility to Streptococcus iniae infection. Fish (average weight 16.5 ± 0.2 g) were fed five diets formulated with Bacillus subtilis strains SB3086, SB3295, SB3615, or AP193 either individually or in combination of strains SB3086 and SB3615 at a targeted concentration of approximately 4 × 107 colony‐forming units (CFU)/g of feed or with a basal control diet with no additives for 21 d. After the 21‐d growth trial, no significant difference in growth performance was observed with any probiotic‐amended diet. Results from serum bactericidal activity showed a significant difference between treatments and the control (P = 0.0002), except for the SB3295‐amended diet (P = 0.9020). Lysozyme activity was also significantly different in fish fed probiotic diets from those fed control diet (P = 0.0001). After 21 d of feeding, fish were challenged with S. iniae by intraperitoneal injection at a dosage of 8 × 106 CFU per fish. Results from the challenge also showed a significant difference between treatments and control (P = 0.0001). Overall, fish fed with strain SB3615 showed the lowest percent mortality (44.0 ± 7.2%) and those fed the control diet showed the highest mortality (77.3 ± 7.0%). The combined feeding with strains SB3086 and SB3615 did not result in any significant difference in reducing mortality because of S. iniae infection in juvenile Nile tilapia when compared with the individual probiotic treatments.
The pleiotropic transcriptional regulator NlpR contributes to the modulation of nitrogen metabolism, lipogenesis and triacylglycerol accumulation in oleaginous rhodococci
Authors: Hernández Martín A. , Lara Julia , Gago Gabriela , Gramajo Hugo , Alvarez Héctor M.
Published: October 2016

The regulatory mechanisms involved in lipogenesis and triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation are largely unknown in oleaginous rhodococci. In this study a regulatory protein (here called NlpR: Nitrogen lipid Regulator), which contributes to the modulation of nitrogen metabolism, lipogenesis and triacylglycerol accumulation in oleaginous rhodococci was identified. Under nitrogen deprivation conditions, in which TAG accumulation is stimulated, the nlpR gene was significantly upregulated, whereas a significant decrease of its expression and TAG accumulation occurred when cerulenin was added. The nlpR disruption negatively affected the nitrate/nitrite reduction as well as lipid biosynthesis under nitrogen‐limiting conditions. In contrast, its overexpression increased TAG production during cultivation of cells in nitrogen‐rich media. A putative ‘NlpR‐binding motif’ upstream of several genes related to nitrogen and lipid metabolisms was found. The nlpR disruption in RHA1 strain led to a reduced transcription of genes involved in nitrate/nitrite assimilation, as well as in fatty acid and TAG biosynthesis. Purified NlpR was able to bind to narK, nirD, fasI, plsC and atf3 promoter regions. It was suggested that NlpR acts as a pleiotropic transcriptional regulator by activating of nitrate/nitrite assimilation genes and others genes involved in fatty acid and TAG biosynthesis, in response to nitrogen deprivation.
Repertoires of national boundaries in France and Germany—within‐country cleavages and their political consequences
Authors: Trittler Sabine
Published: October 2016

This article analyses how members of the majority population in France and Germany define membership in the nation and how they relate to the various civic, cultural, or ethnic visions of national belonging available in the cultural repertoires of historical models, institutional arrangements, and elite discourses. To scrutinize within‐country differences in the configurations of the symbolic boundaries of national belonging, this article applies cluster analysis techniques for each country separately using data from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP). Overall, the results suggest that people choose and arrange different criteria from cultural repertoires, resulting in various configurations of national boundaries. Furthermore, the number and types of symbolic boundaries used are decisive for explaining restrictive and hostile attitudes towards immigrants. Contrary to the civic and ethnic historical models, the national boundary configurations display very similar patterns across the two countries, especially attesting to the considerable process of liberalization of citizenship regulations in Germany.
Roles of tumour necrosis factor‐related weak inducer of apoptosis/fibroblast growth factor‐inducible 14 pathway in lupus nephritis
Authors: Chen Jingyun , Wei Linlin , Xia Yumin
Published: October 2016

As one of the manifestations of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, lupus nephritis (LN) has high morbidity and mortality. Although the explicit mechanism of LN remains to be fully elucidated, there is increasing evidence to support the notion that tumour necrosis factor‐related weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK), acting via its sole receptor, fibroblast growth factor‐inducible 14 (Fn14), plays a pivotal role in such pathologic process. TWEAK/Fn14 interactions occur prominently in kidneys of LN, inducing inflammatory responses, angiogenesis, mesangial proliferation, filtration barrier injuries, renal fibrosis, etc. This review will specify the important roles of TWEAK/Fn14 pathway in the pathogenesis of LN with experimental data from cellular and animal models. Additionally, the raised levels of urinary and serum soluble TWEAK correlate with renal disease activity in patients with LN. The neutralizing antibodies targeting TWEAK or other approaches inhibiting TWEAK/Fn14 signals can attenuate renal damage in the murine lupus models. Therefore, to focus on TWEAK/Fn14 signalling may be promising in both clinical evaluation and the treatment of patients with LN.
Iterative management of heat early warning systems in a changing climate
Authors: Hess Jeremy J. , Ebi Kristie L.
Published: October 2016

Extreme heat is a leading weather‐related cause of morbidity and mortality, with heat exposure becoming more widespread, frequent, and intense as climates change. The use of heat early warning and response systems (HEWSs) that integrate weather forecasts with risk assessment, communication, and reduction activities is increasingly widespread. HEWSs are frequently touted as an adaptation to climate change, but little attention has been paid to the question of how best to ensure effectiveness of HEWSs as climates change further. In this paper, we discuss findings showing that HEWSs satisfy the tenets of an intervention that facilitates adaptation, but climate change poses challenges infrequently addressed in heat action plans, particularly changes in the onset, duration, and intensity of dangerously warm temperatures, and changes over time in the relationships between temperature and health outcomes. Iterative management should be central to a HEWS, and iteration cycles should be of 5 years or less. Climate change adaptation and implementation science research frameworks can be used to identify HEWS modifications to improve their effectiveness as temperature continues to rise, incorporating scientific insights and new understanding of effective interventions.

We conclude that, at a minimum, iterative management activities should involve planned reassessment at least every 5 years of hazard distribution, population‐level vulnerability, and HEWS effectiveness.
Polls and Elections: Swift Boating Reconsidered: News Coverage of Negative Presidential Ads
Authors: Major Mark , Andersen David J.
Published: October 2016

Negative political ads are increasingly ubiquitous in presidential campaigns but most of the public do not directly observe these ads. Instead they become aware of these negative attacks through the press. Recent scholarship finds that the news media incentivizes presidential campaigns to go negative as it will generate more free coverage compared to positive advertisements. However, scholarship has yet to examine the framing of this free coverage. Through a content analysis of New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today's coverage of the controversial Swift Boat Veteran's for Truth ads during the 2004 presidential election, this study evaluates whether free media is synonymous with wanted coverage. We find that news coverage provides both benefits and disadvantages for the presidential campaigns associated with the negative ads.