bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fast and Precise Touch-Based Text Entry for Head-Mounted Augmented Reality with Variable Occlusion
Authors: Dudley John J. , Vertanen Keith , Kristensson Per Ola
Published: December 2018

We present the VISAR keyboard: An augmented reality (AR) head-mounted display (HMD) system that supports text entry via a virtualised input surface. Users select keys on the virtual keyboard by imitating the process of single-hand typing on a physical touchscreen display. Our system uses a statistical decoder to infer users’ intended text and to provide error-tolerant predictions. There is also a high-precision fall-back mechanism to support users in indicating which keys should be unmodified by the auto-correction process. A unique advantage of leveraging the well-established touch input paradigm is that our system enables text entry with minimal visual clutter on the see-through display, thus preserving the user’s field-of-view. We iteratively designed and evaluated our system and show that the final iteration of the system supports a mean entry rate of 17.75wpm with a mean character error rate less than 1%. This performance represents a 19.6% improvement relative to the state-of-the-art baseline investigated: A gaze-then-gesture text entry technique derived from the system keyboard on the Microsoft HoloLens. Finally, we validate that the system is effective in supporting text entry in a fully mobile usage scenario likely to be encountered in industrial applications of AR HMDs.
Interconnectability of Session-Based Logical Processes
Authors: Toninho Bernardo , Yoshida Nobuko
Published: December 2018

In multiparty session types, interconnection networks identify which roles in a session engage in communication (i.e., two roles are connected if they exchange a message). In session-based interpretations of linear logic the analogue notion corresponds to determining which processes are composed, or cut, using compatible channels typed by linear propositions. In this work, we show that well-formed interactions represented in a session-based interpretation of classical linear logic (CLL) form strictly less-expressive interconnection networks than those of a multiparty session calculus. To achieve this result, we introduce a new compositional synthesis property dubbed partial multiparty compatibility (PMC), enabling us to build a global type denoting the interactions obtained by iterated composition of well-typed CLL threads. We then show that CLL composition induces PMC global types without circular interconnections between three (or more) participants. PMC is then used to define a new CLL composition rule that can form circular interconnections but preserves the deadlock-freedom of CLL.
Empirical Measurement of Perceived Privacy Risk
Authors: Bhatia Jaspreet , Breaux Travis D.
Published: December 2018

Personal data is increasingly collected and used by companies to tailor services to users, and to make financial, employment, and health-related decisions about individuals. When personal data is inappropriately collected or misused, however, individuals may experience violations of their privacy. Historically, government regulators have relied on the concept of risk in energy, aviation and medicine, among other domains, to determine the extent to which products and services may harm the public. To address privacy concerns in government-controlled information technology, government agencies are advocating to adapt similar risk management frameworks to privacy. Despite the recent shift toward a risk-managed approach for privacy, to our knowledge, there are no empirical methods to determine which personal data are most at-risk and which contextual factors increase or decrease that risk. To this end, we introduce an empirical framework in this article that consists of factorial vignette surveys that can be used to measure the effect of different factors and their levels on privacy risk. We report a series of experiments to measure perceived privacy risk using the proposed framework, which are based on expressed preferences, and which we define as an individual's willingness to share their personal data with others given the likelihood of a potential privacy harm. These experiments control for one or more of the six factors affecting an individual's willingness to share their information: data type, computer type, data purpose, privacy harm, harm likelihood, and individual demographic factors, such as age range, gender, education level, ethnicity, and household income. To measure likelihood, we introduce and evaluate a new likelihood scale based on construal level theory in psychology. The scale frames individual attitudes about risk likelihood based on social and physical distance to the privacy harm. The findings include predictions about the extent to which the above factors correspond to risk acceptance, including that perceived risk is lower for induced disclosure harms when compared to surveillance and insecurity harms as defined in Solove's Taxonomy of Privacy. We also found that participants are more willing to share their information when they perceive the benefits of sharing. In addition, we found that likelihood was not a multiplicative factor in computing privacy risk perception, which challenges conventional theories of privacy risk in the privacy and security community.
SHAIP
Authors: Hussain Siam Umar , Riazi M. Sadegh , Koushanfar Farinaz
Published: December 2018

In this article, we present SHAIP, a secure Hamming distance–based mutual authentication protocol. It allows an unlimited number of authentications by employing an intrinsic Physical Unclonable Function (PUF). PUFs are being increasingly employed for remote authentication of devices. Most of these devices have limited resources. Therefore, the intrinsic PUFs are most suitable for this task as they can be built with little or no modification to the underlying hardware platform. One major drawback of the current authentication schemes is that they expose the PUF response. This makes the intrinsic PUFs, which have a limited number of challenge-response pairs, unusable after a certain number of authentication sessions. Moreover, these schemes are one way in the sense that they only allow one party, the prover, to authenticate herself to the verifier. We propose a symmetric mutual authentication scheme based on secure (privacy-preserving) computation of the Hamming distance between the PUF response from the remote device and reference response stored at the verifier end. This allows both parties to authenticate each other without revealing their respective sets of inputs. We show that our scheme is effective with all state-of-the-art intrinsic PUFs. The proposed scheme is lightweight and does not require any modification to the underlying hardware.
Adversarial Distillation for Efficient Recommendation with External Knowledge
Authors: Chen Xu , Zhang Yongfeng , Xu Hongteng , Qin Zheng , Zha Hongyuan
Published: December 2018

Integrating external knowledge into the recommendation system has attracted increasing attention in both industry and academic communities. Recent methods mostly take the power of neural network for effective knowledge representation to improve the recommendation performance. However, the heavy deep architectures in existing models are usually incorporated in an embedded manner, which may greatly increase the model complexity and lower the runtime efficiency.

To simultaneously take the power of deep learning for external knowledge modeling as well as maintaining the model efficiency at test time, we reformulate the problem of recommendation with external knowledge into a
generalized distillation framework
. The general idea is to free the complex deep architecture into a separate model, which is only used in the training phrase, while abandoned at test time. In particular, in the training phrase, the external knowledge is processed by a comprehensive teacher model to produce valuable information to teach a simple and efficient student model. Once the framework is learned, the teacher model is abandoned, and only the succinct yet enhanced student model is used to make fast predictions at test time. In this article, we specify the external knowledge as user review, and to leverage it in an effective manner, we further extend the traditional
generalized distillation framework
by designing a Selective Distillation Network (SDNet) with
adversarial adaption
and
orthogonality constraint
strategies to make it more robust to noise information.

Extensive experiments verify that our model can not only improve the performance of rating prediction, but also can significantly reduce time consumption when making predictions as compared with several state-of-the-art methods.
SIGMM records
Authors: Cesar Pablo , Montagud Mario , Griwodz Carsten
Published: December 2018

A new editorial team has committed to lead the ACM SIGMM Records since the issue of January 2017. The goal is to consolidate the Records as a primary source of information and a communication vehicle for the multimedia community. With these objectives in mind, the Records were re-organized around three main categories (Open Science, Information, and Opinion), for which specific sections and columns were created (more details in http://records.mlab.no/2017/05/08/sigmm-records-serving-the-community/).
Towards data driven conferences within SIGMM
Authors: Shamma David A.
Published: December 2018

There is no doubt that research in our field has become more data driven. And while the term data science might suggest there is some science without data, it is data the feeds our systems, trains our networks, and tests our results. Recently we have seen examples of a few conferences experimenting with their review process to gain new insights. For those of us in the Multimedia (MM) community, it is not an entirely new thing. In 2013, I led an effort along with my TPC Co-Chairs to look at the past several years of conferences and examine the reviewing system, the process, the scores, and the reviewer load. Additionally, we ran surveys to the authors (accepted and rejected) and the reviewers and ACs to gauge how we did. This was presented at the business meeting in Barcelona along with the suggestion that this practice continues. While this was met with great praise, it was never repeated.
Provocative testing in patients with jackhammer esophagus: evidence for altered neural control
Authors: Mauro Aurelio , Quader Farhan , Tolone Salvatore , Savarino Edoardo , De Bortoli Nicola , Franchina Marianna , Gyawali C. Prakash , Penagini Roberto
Published: December 2018

Jackhammer esophagus (JE) is a hypercontractile disorder, the pathogenesis of which is incompletely understood. Multiple rapid swallows (MRS) and rapid drink challenge (RDC) are complementary tests used during high-resolution manometry (HRM) that evaluate inhibitory and excitatory neuromuscular function and latent obstruction, respectively. Our aim was to evaluate esophageal pathophysiology using MRS and RDC in 83 JE patients (28 men; median age: 63 yr; IQR: 54–70 yr). Twenty-one healthy subjects (11 men; median age: 28 yr; range: 26–30 yr) were used as a control group. All patients underwent solid-state HRM with ten 5-ml single swallows (SS) and one to three 10-ml MRS; 34 patients also underwent RDC. Data are shown as median (interquartile range). Abnormal motor inhibition was noted during at least one MRS test in 48% of JE patients compared with 29% of controls ( P = 0.29). Mean distal contractile integral (DCI) after MRS was significantly lower than after SS [6,028 (3,678–9,267) mmHg·cm·s vs. 7,514 (6,238–9,197) mmHg·cm·s, P = 0.02], as was highest DCI ( P < 0.0001). Consequently, 66% of JE patients had no contraction reserve. At least one variable of obstruction during RDC (performed in 34 patients) was outside the normal range in 25 (74%) of JE patients. Both highest DCI after SS and pressure gradient across the esophagogastric junction (EGJ) during RDC were higher in patients with dysphagia versus those without ( P = 0.04 and 0.01, respectively). Our data suggest altered neural control in JE patients with heterogeneity in inhibitory function. Furthermore, some patients had latent EGJ obstruction during RDC, which correlated with the presence of dysphagia.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Presence of abnormal inhibition was observed during multiple rapid swallows (MRS) in some but not all patients with jackhammer esophagus (JE). Unlike healthy subjects, JE patients were more strongly stimulated after single swallows than after MRS. An obstructive pattern was frequently observed during rapid drink challenge (RDC) and was related to presence of dysphagia. MRS and RDC during high-resolution manometry are useful to show individual pathophysiological patterns in JE and may guide optimal therapeutic strategies.
Release of fascial compartment boundaries reduces muscle force output
Authors: Ruttiman Roy J. , Sleboda David A. , Roberts Thomas J.
Published: December 2018

Most limb muscles operate within a compartment defined by fascial layers that enclose a muscle or groups of muscles within a defined space. These compartments are important clinically, because fluid accumulation can cause ischemia and tissue necrosis if untreated. Little is known, however, about how fascial enclosures influence healthy muscle function. One previous study showed that removing a fascial covering reduced the force output of a muscle under maximal stimulation. We hypothesized that such reduction in force output was due to a change in the muscle length following fasciotomy and that a reduced force output could be explained by the length-tension relationship of muscle. Thus we predicted that the maximum force across a range of lengths would be unchanged following fasciotomy. We measured maximal tetanic force output in a wing muscle in wild turkeys both before and after removal of fascia that enclosed the muscle in a compartment. Our hypothesis was not supported. The length-tension curve of this muscle showed that removal of fascia reduced maximum force output to 72 ± 10% of the prefascial release condition. Thus a reduction in muscle force following fasciotomy was not explained by a change in muscle length. The mechanism underlying reduction in force is unclear, but it suggests that the assumption underlying most isolated muscle experiments, i.e., removal of a muscle from its situation in vivo does not influence its maximal mechanical output, may need reexamining.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Most limb muscles are enclosed within compartments bound by robust fascial sheets. The mechanical significance of the close packing of muscle and fascia is largely unexplored. We used an animal model to show that removal of a fascial covering reduces the maximal force developed during contraction. These results raise questions about the use of isolated muscles to estimate muscle performance and suggest that a muscle's mechanical surrounding influences performance by mechanisms that are not understood.
Intraluminal Apple as a Rare Cause of Small Bowel Obstruction
Authors: Inukai Koichi , Usui Akihiro , Yamada Motohiko , Amano Koji , Mukai Nobutaka , Tsunetoshi Yusuke , Nakata Yasuki , Yokota Junichiro
Published: December 2018

Small bowel obstruction due to ingested foreign bodies is rare in adults. A 48-year-old male visited our hospital with abdominal pain and vomiting. Computed tomography revealed intestinal obstruction by a 3 × 4 cm apple-shaped foreign body. Emergency surgery was performed to clear the obstruction which, upon inspection, was caused by a sexual toy made of rubber. Flexible rubber products that are ingested should be carefully followed after they pass thorough the pylorus. For obstructions related to sexual behavior, the patient’s sense of shame often delays the process of seeking medical attention, thereby making preoperative diagnosis difficult.
Effects of Low‐Frequency Electromagnetic Field on Oxidative Stress in Selected Structures of the Central Nervous System
Authors: Budziosz Jan , Stanek Agata , Sieroń Aleksander , Witkoś Joanna , Cholewka Armand , Sieroń Karolina
Published: December 2018

Objective.The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of a 28‐day exposure to a 50 Hz electromagnetic field of 10 kV/m on the oxidative stress in selected rat central nervous system (CNS) structures. Material and Methods. Twenty male Wistar rats served as experimental subjects. Ten rats were exposed to an electromagnetic field with a frequency of 50 Hz, intensity of 10 kV/m, and magnetic induction of 4.3 pT for 22 hours a day. The control group of ten rats was subject to sham exposure. Homogenates of the frontal cortex, hippocampus, brainstem, hypothalamus, striatum, and cerebellum were evaluated for selected parameters of oxidative stress. Results. Following the four‐week exposure to a low‐frequency electromagnetic field, the mean malondialdehyde levels and total oxidant status of CNS structures did not differ significantly between the experimental and control groups. However, the activities of antioxidant enzymes in brain structure homogenates were decreased except for frontal cortex catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and hippocampal glutathione reductase. The low‐frequency electromagnetic field had no effect on the nonenzymatic antioxidant system of the examined brain structures except for the frontal cortex. Conclusion. The four‐week exposure of male rats to a low‐frequency electromagnetic field did not affect oxidative stress in the investigated brain structures.
CO2 Adsorption from Biogas Using Amine-Functionalized MgO
Authors: Kasikamphaiboon Preecha , Khunjan Uraiwan
Published: December 2018

Biogas is a renewable fuel source of methane (CH4), and its utilization as a natural gas substitute or transport fuel has received much interest. However, apart from CH4, biogas also contains carbon dioxide (CO2) which is noncombustible, thus reducing the biogas heating value. Therefore, upgrading biogas by removing CO2 is needed for most biogas applications. In this study, an amine-functionalized adsorbent for CO2 capture from biogas was developed. Mesoporous MgO was synthesized and functionalized with different tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) loadings by wet impregnation technique. The prepared adsorbents (MgO-TEPA) were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and N2 adsorption-desorption. The CO2 adsorption performance of the prepared MgO-TEPA was tested using simulated biogas as feed gas stream. The results show that the CO2 adsorption capacities of the adsorbents increase with increasing TEPA loading. The optimum TEPA loading is 40 wt.%, which gives the highest CO2 adsorption capacity of 4.98 mmol/g. A further increase in TEPA loading to 50 wt.% significantly reduces the CO2 adsorption capacity. Furthermore, the stability and regenerability of the adsorbent with 40% TEPA loading (MgO-TEPA-40) were studied by performing ten adsorption-desorption cycles under simulated biogas and real biogas conditions. After ten adsorption-desorption cycles, MgO-TEPA-40 shows slight decreases of only 5.42 and 5.75% of CO2 adsorption capacity for the simulated biogas and biogas, respectively. The results demonstrate that MgO-TEPA-40 possesses good stability and regenerability which are important for the potential application of this amine-based adsorbent.
An Intelligent Maximum Power Point Using a Fuzzy Log Controller under Severe Weather Conditions
Authors: Bataineh Khaled
Published: December 2018

This study is aimed at providing a comparison between fuzzy systems and convectional P&O for tracking MPP of a PV system. MATLAB/Simulink is used to investigate the response of both algorithms. Several weather conditions are simulated: (i) uniform irradiation, (ii) sudden changing, and (iii) partial shading. Under partial shading on a PV panel, multipeaks appeared in P-V characteristics of the panel. Simulation results showed that a fuzzy controller effectively finds MPP for all weather condition scenarios. Furthermore, simulation results obtained from the FLC are compared with those obtained from the P&O controller. The comparison shows that the fuzzy logic controller exhibits a much better behavior.
Transglutaminase 2 Induces Deficits in Social Behavior in Mice
Authors: Crider Amanda , Davis Talisha , Ahmed Anthony O. , Mei Lin , Pillai Anilkumar
Published: December 2018

Impairments in social behavior are highly implicated in many neuropsychiatric disorders. Recent studies indicate a role for endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in altering social behavior, but the underlying mechanism is not known. In the present study, we examined the role of transglutaminase 2 (TG2), a calcium-dependent enzyme known to be induced following ER stress, in social behavior in mice. ER stress induced by tunicamycin administration increased TG2 protein levels in the mouse prefrontal cortex (PFC). PFC-specific inhibition of TG2 attenuated ER stress-induced deficits in social behavior. Conversely, overexpression of TG2 in the PFC resulted in social behavior impairments in mice. In addition, systemic administration of cysteamine, a TG2 inhibitor, attenuated social behavior deficits. Our preliminary findings using postmortem human brain samples found increases in TG2 mRNA and protein levels in the middle frontal gyrus of subjects with autism spectrum disorder. These findings in mice and human postmortem brain samples identify changes in TG2 activity in the possible dysregulation of social behavior.
Soft Sensor Model Based on Improved Elman Neural Network with Variable Data Preprocessing and Its Application
Authors: Zhu Hai-bo , Zhang Yong
Published: December 2018

In order to solve the problems of strong coupling, nonlinearity, and complex mechanism in real-world engineering process, building soft sensor with excellent performance and robustness has become the core issue in industrial processes. In this paper, we propose a new soft sensor model based on improved Elman neural network (Elman NN) and introduce variable data preprocessing method to the soft sensor model. The improved Elman NN employs local feedback and feedforward network mechanism through context layer to accurately reflect the dynamic characteristics of the soft sensor model, which has the superiority to approximate delay systems and adaption of time-varying characteristics. The proposed variable data preprocessing method adopts combining Isometric Mapping (ISOMAP) with local linear embedding (LLE), which effectively maintains the neighborhood structure and the global mutual distance of dataset to remove the noises and data redundancy. The soft sensor model based on improved Elman NN with variable data preprocessing method by combining ISOMAP and LLE is applied in practical sintering and pelletizing to estimate the temperature in the rotary kiln calcining process. Comparing several conventional soft sensor model methods, the results indicate that the proposed method has more excellent generalization performance and robustness. Its model prediction accuracy and anti-interference ability have been improved, which provide an effective and promising method for the industrial process application.
Green and Efficient Extraction of Resveratrol from Peanut Roots Using Deep Eutectic Solvents
Authors: Chen Jingnan , Jiang Xingxing , Yang Guolong , Bi Yanlan , Liu Wei
Published: December 2018

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs), a new group of ecofriendly solvent combined with the ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) technique, were first successfully used for extraction of resveratrol from peanut roots. Resveratrol in the extract was analyzed and quantified using a HPLC-UV method. A series of DESs consisting of choline chloride (ChCl) and 1,4-butanediol, citric acid, and ethylene glycol were formulated, finding ChCl/1,4-butanediol was a most proper extraction system. The optimal extraction parameters were obtained using a Box–Behnken design (BBD) test combined with response surface methodology as follows: 40% of water in ChCl/1,4-butanediol (1/3, g/g) at 55°C for 40 min and solid/liquid ratio of 1:30 g/mL. The total extraction content and extraction yield of resveratrol from peanut roots could reach 38.91 mg/kg and 88.19%, respectively, under such optimal conditions. The present study will provide a typical example for using DESs to extract natural bioactive compounds from plants.
Vibration and Dynamic Response of Buffering Devices during the Vertical Feeding of Coal Mine Solid Backfill Materials
Authors: Ju Feng , He Zequan , Xiao Meng , Huang Peng , Guo Shuai
Published: December 2018

The stability of buffering devices is very important for the continuous vertical feeding of solid backfill materials. Based on the characteristics of the vertical feeding system, the functional characteristics of buffering devices were analyzed and a buffering device was designed in this paper. The finite element models for the buffering device were established by using the ANSYS software, and the dynamic response and mode characteristics of these models were studied. The results show that the distribution of the equivalent stress on the buffering device surface is petal shaped, in which the stress reaches the maximum at the center and gradually decrease to all around. The stress of support beams is highest at both ends and lowest at the center. Besides, the resonant frequency of this buffering device is 2.4 Hz, which means this frequency should be avoided during the process of backfill materials feeding. This buffering device was used in Wugou Coal Mine, and the monitoring result shows that the maximum displacement of the buffering device is about 65 mm, which means this device is in a good operating condition.
ATF4 Involvement in TLR4 and LOX-1-Induced Host Inflammatory Response to Aspergillus fumigatus Keratitis
Authors: Zhang Shuchao , Meng Pingping , Liu Guibo , Liu Kuixiang , Che Chengye
Published: December 2018

Purpose. Activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) is induced by various stressors. Here, we investigated the expression of ATF4 in the host inflammatory response to Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) keratitis. Methods. A. fumigatus keratitis mouse models developed by intrastromal injection as well as corneal epithelium scratching were examined daily with a slit lamp microscope for corneal opacification and ulceration. Subsequent in vitro experimentation was carried out in human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) as well as THP-1 macrophages infected with A. fumigatus. Inhibitors, including CLI-095, Poly (I), SCH772984, and SP600125, were used to assess the role of proteins like toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), lectin-type oxidized LDL receptor 1 (LOX-1), extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2), and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in ATF4 expression as a response to A. fumigatus infection. This assessment was made in both mouse models and HCECs using western blot. Results. Compared to the controls, ATF4 was increased in corneas from two kinds of A. fumigatus keratitis models at 3 days after infection. ATF4 expression was upregulated with A. fumigatus conidia both in HCECs and THP-1 macrophages 16 hours after stimulation. Furthermore, ATF4 expression in response to A. fumigatus infection was shown to be dependent on TLR4 and LOX-1 expression, and ERK1/2 and JNK contributed to the expression of ATF4 in response to A. fumigatus. Conclusion. Our results clearly indicate that ATF4 was involved in the host antifungal immune response to A. fumigatus keratitis; expression was found to be dependent on TLR4, LOX-1 expression, and MAPKs pathway.
Development of Empirical Fragility Curves in Earthquake Engineering considering Nonspecific Damage Information
Authors: Kim Jung J.
Published: December 2018

As a function of fragility curves in earthquake engineering, the assessment of the probability of exceeding a specific damage state according to the magnitude of earthquake can be considered. Considering that the damage states for fragility curves are generally nested to each other, the possibility theory, a special form of the evidence theory for nested intervals, is applied to generate fragility information from seismic damage data. While the lognormal distributions are conventionally used to generate fragility curves due to their simplicity and applicability, the methodology to use the possibility theory does not require the assumption of distributions. Seismic damage data classified by four damage levels were used for a case study. The resulted possibility‐based fragility information expressed by two monotone measures, “possibility” and “certainty,” are compared with the conventional fragility curves based on probability. The results showed that the conventional fragility curves provide a conservative estimation at the relatively high earthquake magnitude compared with the possibility‐based fragility information.
Thermal Analysis of Asphalt Concrete Pavements Heated with Amorphous Metal Technology
Authors: Sangiorgi Cesare , Settimi Cecilia , Tataranni Piergiorgio , Lantieri Claudio , Adomako Solomon
Published: December 2018

Undoubtedly, the most commonly used method for road maintenance includes the use of winter service vehicles to clear thoroughfares of snow and the spraying of chemicals to prevent ice formation on the road surface. The application of these traditional methods on road and airport pavements possesses numerous environmental, organizational, and technical challenges. To overcome these critical issues, new nontraditional technologies that act within the pavement, thereby increasing its temperature, have been developed. In relation to the heat source used, these are classified into chemical and physical methods. The purpose of this research is to study the temperature variation under the thermal transient process produced by the action of the physically heating device installed in the road pavement. The heating device is a ribbon, made of amorphous material, which is able to produce heat to warm up the pavement and its surface. Based on its principle of operation, it is classified among the nontraditional physical methods for the treatment of snow and ice. In this work, the performance of the heating ribbons on an experimental site at the G. Marconi International Airport in Bologna (Italy) is presented.
Dysphagia as an Unusual Presentation of Myeloma
Authors: Raissi A. , Chahbi Z. , Zyani M. , Darouassi Y.
Published: December 2018

Multiple myeloma is a plasma cell dyscrasis characterized by mature B cells proliferation in the bone marrow. In rare cases, the disease can present as an extramedullary location, making diagnosis and management more challenging. Here, we describe a rare case of tongue extramedullary myeloma and discuss diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic issues.
Thermal Cracking Analysis of Microbial Cemented Sand under Various Strains Based on the DEM
Authors: Tang Yang , Xu Guobin , Yan Yue , Fu Dengfeng , Qu Chunlai , Li Zilong , Chaima Evance
Published: December 2018

Microbial‐induced calcite precipitation (MICP) is a novel ground improvement method to increase the strength and stiffness of sand. However, the influences of temperature load on the internal microstructure of microbial cemented sand (MCS) material under the experimented strain have always been a key concern for the extensive application. Three kinds of experiments, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), X‐ray computed tomography (XCT), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), were conducted to explore the composition, shape, and bonding characteristics of physical assemblies in this paper. A precision DEM modelling of MCS, mainly composed of irregular particle modelling and a mesoparameter calibration algorithm, has been proposed for the thermal cracking analysis under various strains (i.e., 1.0‰–3.0‰). Research results indicate that three kinds of bonding (that is sand‐calcite, calcite‐calcite, and sand‐sand) are present in the MCS material. The application of temperature has a superposition effect on the damage of MCS material with increasing strain. Moreover, as the heating duration gradually increases, the effect of thermal rupture produces a distinct quiet period. The length of thermal cracks in the transverse direction increases throughout the heating process.
Transient Dynamics of Stimulated Raman Scattering in Gas‐Filled Hollow‐Core Photonic Crystal Fibers
Authors: Monfared Yashar E.
Published: December 2018

A theoretical and numerical investigation of transient dynamics of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) inside gas‐filled hollow‐core photonic crystal fibers (HCPCFs) is reported here. A clear link between the transient dynamics and the coherent memory of the SRS interaction is demonstrated. In addition, the role of pulse width, pump power, fiber length, and gaseous medium in the transient dynamics of SRS in HCPCFs is discussed. It is shown that the coherent memory can serve as a convenient parameter to control the SRS propagation regime.
Performance of RC Beams with Embedded Steel Trusses Using Nonlinear FEM Analysis
Authors: Arafa Mohammed , Alqedra Mamoun A. , Salim Ragheb
Published: December 2018

The current study investigates the shear performance of reinforced concrete (RC) beams with embedded steel trusses at small shear span to depth ratios a/d using nonlinear finite element (FE) model. Twenty‐one (FE) models have been built using ABAQUS software to investigate the effect of different a/d ratios and web reinforcement on the shear performance and failure load of RC beams with embedded steel trusses. This research focuses on obtaining failure loads, failure modes, crack propagation, and midspan deflection from the developed FE models. The numerical results indicated that, using RC beams with embedded truss with different a/d ratios increased significantly the ultimate shear strength compared with the common RC beams. Furthermore, the numerical results confirmed that embedment of steel trusses in RC beams would significantly improve the structural behavior of RC beams at different a/d ratios. In addition, the results indicated that the shear reinforcement has a small effect on failure and midspan deflection of RC beams with embedded angle trusses at different a/d ratios.
DUSP1 Is a Potential Marker of Chronic Inflammation in Arabs with Cardiovascular Diseases
Authors: Khadir Abdelkrim , Kavalakatt Sina , Dehbi Mohammed , Alarouj Monira , Bennakhi Abdullah , Tiss Ali , Elkum Naser
Published: December 2018

Background. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks persist in patients despite the use of conventional treatments. This might be due to chronic inflammation as reflected in epidemiological studies associating circulating low-grade inflammatory markers with CVD recurrent events. Here, we explored this potential link by assessing plasma dual-specificity phosphatase 1 (DUSP1) levels and comparing them to high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) levels and their associations to conventional CVD risk factors in confirmed CVD patients.Methods. Human adults with reported CVD (n=207) and controls (n=70) living in Kuwait were used in this study. Anthropometric and classical biochemical parameters were determined. Plasma levels of DUSP1, oxLDL, and hsCRP were measured using human enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits.Results. DUSP1 and hsCRP plasma levels and their least square means were higher in CVD cases, while oxLDL plasma levels were lower (p<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that DUSP1 and hsCRP are independently associated with CVD in the studied population, as reflected by 2-fold and 1.5-fold increased risks with increased levels of DUSP1 and hsCRP, respectively. In our study, DUSP1 levels were found to be associated with CVD despite statin treatment and diabetes status (p<0.05), whereas hsCRP mainly correlated with obesity markers.Conclusions. Circulating DUSP1 might be a predictor of chronic subclinical inflammation and residual risk in CVD patients, whereas our data suggest that the association between hsCRP and CVD is largely accounted for adiposity risk factors.
Macrophage-Derived IL1β and TNFα Regulate Arginine Metabolism in Neuroblastoma
Authors: Fultang Livingstone , Gamble Laura D. , Gneo Luciana , Berry Andrea M. , Egan Sharon A. , De Bie Fenna , Yogev Orli , Eden Georgina L. , Booth Sarah , Brownhill Samantha , Vardon Ashley , McConville Carmel M. , Cheng Paul N. , Norris Murray D. , Etchevers Heather C. , Murray Jayne , Ziegler David S. , Chesler Louis , Schmidt Ronny , Burchill Susan A. , Haber Michelle , De Santo Carmela , Mussai Francis
Published: December 2018

Neuroblastoma is the most common childhood solid tumor, yet the prognosis for high-risk disease remains poor. We demonstrate here that arginase 2 (ARG2) drives neuroblastoma cell proliferation via regulation of arginine metabolism. Targeting arginine metabolism, either by blocking cationic amino acid transporter 1 (CAT-1)–dependent arginine uptake in vitro or therapeutic depletion of arginine by pegylated recombinant arginase BCT-100, significantly delayed tumor development and prolonged murine survival. Tumor cells polarized infiltrating monocytes to an M1-macrophage phenotype, which released IL1β and TNFα in a RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase (AKT)–dependent manner. IL1β and TNFα established a feedback loop to upregulate ARG2 expression via p38 and extracellular regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) signaling in neuroblastoma and neural crest–derived cells. Proteomic analysis revealed that enrichment of IL1β and TNFα in stage IV human tumor microenvironments was associated with a worse prognosis. These data thus describe an immune-metabolic regulatory loop between tumor cells and infiltrating myeloid cells regulating ARG2, which can be clinically exploited.

Significance:

These findings illustrate that cross-talk between myeloid cells and tumor cells creates a metabolic regulatory loop that promotes neuroblastoma progression.
Characterization of Patients with Ibuprofen Hypersensitivity
Authors: Lee Erika Yue , Teitelbaum Daniel , Chiam Marcus , Vadas Peter
Published: December 2018

Background: Ibuprofen is the most frequently used over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) in North America. While it has been commonly implicated in drug-induced hypersensitivity reactions, there is limited literature specifically on ibuprofen hypersensitivity. Objectives: To characterize the demographics and clinical course of hypersensitivity reactions in a cohort of patients with ibuprofen allergy. Methods: A retrospective chart review of patients diagnosed with ibuprofen allergy was conducted between 2008 and 2016 in an allergy clinic at a tertiary care academic institution. Demographics and clinical information were obtained, and severity of reactions was assessed by a standardized grading system. Results: A total of 41 patients were included of whom 27 were female. The mean age at first reaction to ibuprofen was 33 ± 13.9 years. The medi an time from the first reaction to the time of diagnosis was 1 year (0–3). The median time from ibuprofen exposure to the onset of symptoms was 30 min (16–101). The median duration of symptoms was 180 min (60–1,440). Urticaria and angioedema were seen in 90% of patients. The reactions were either mild (46%) or moderate (51%) in severity, but 1 patient had severe anaphylaxis. Cross-reactivity to other NSAIDs or acetaminophen was seen and presented with mostly mild reactions. Conclusion: In our cohort of patients, ibuprofen hypersensitivity affected females more commonly than males, and presented with mainly cutaneous manifestations. Onset of symptoms was rapid (< 60 min). Reactions typically ranged in severity from mild to moderate although there was a risk of severe anaphylaxis. There was potential cross-reactivity with other NSAIDs or acetaminophen. The results of our study contribute to the understanding of the demographics and clinical course of ibuprofen hypersensitivity reactions.
Evaluation of Serum Paraoxonase, Arylesterase, Prolidase Activities and Oxidative Stress in Patients with Alopecia Areata
Authors: Dizen-Namdar Nazli , Emel Kocak Fatma , Kidir Mehtap , Sarici Gulben , Tak Hasan , Altuntas Irfan
Published: December 2018

Background: Alopecia areata (AA) is a disease characterized by the hair loss sharply limited in any part of the body, especially on the scalp, in circular or oval areas. The purpose of this study is to search the serum paraoxonase 1 (PON1), arylesterase and oxidative status with serum prolidase activities in people with AA. Methods: The study included 60 AA and 50 healthy control subjects. In both groups, serum PON1, prolidase, arylesterase activities, total oxidative status (TOS) and total antioxidant capacity (TAS) levels and oxidative stress index (OSI) were calculated. Results: TOS, OSI levels and prolidase activity in patients with AA were found to be significantly higher compared to the control group (p = 0.02, p = 0.004, p < 0.001, respectively), whereas PON1 and arylesterase activities were significantly lower (p < 0.001, p = 0.005, respectively). There was no difference in serum TAS levels between the two groups. Conclusion: This comprehensive work shows that the role of oxidative stress is very important in the pathogenesis of AA. In this study, we believe that we clarified the pathogenesis of oxidative stress for AA patients by investigating the TAS, TOS, OSI levels, PON1, arylesterase and prolidase enzyme activity parameters.
CD30-Positive Angioinvasive Lymphomatoid Papulosis (Type E) Developing from Parapsoriasis en Plaque
Authors: Fujimura Taku , Lyu Chunbing , Tsuchiyama Kenichiro , Aiba Setsuya
Published: December 2018

Angioinvasive lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) type E is a rare variant characterized by angiocentric and angiodestructive features with CD30+ CD8+ lymphocyte infiltration. In rare cases, LyP type E is concomitant with mycosis fungoides, but there is no English report that describe LyP type E developing from parapsoriasis en plaque. In this report, we described a case of angioinvasive LyP (type E) developing from parapsoriasis en plaque, in which we employed immunohistochemical staining for the investigation of its pathomechanisms.
Marileptolyngbya sina gen. nov., sp. nov. and Salileptolyngbya diazotrophicum gen. nov., sp. nov. (Synechococcales, Cyanobacteria), species of cyanobacteria isolated from a marine ecosystem
Authors: ZHOU WEI-GUO , DING DE-WEN , YANG QING-SONG , AHMAD MANZOOR , ZHANG YUAN-ZHOU , LIN XIAN-CHENG , ZHANG YAN-YING , LING JUAN , DONG JUN-DE
Published: December 2018

We isolated two filamentous, non-heterocystous cyanobacteria, namely SCSIO T-2 from Xincun Bay, Hainan Island and SCSIO 43686 from the northern South China Sea, China. The taxonomic positions of the studied strains were determined by a polyphasic approach that used morphological, molecular, and ecological analyses. The two cyanobacterial strains presented different morphology regarding their cell size and sheaths. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene of SCSIO T-2 showed 95% similarity with Leptolyngbya sp. CENA 134 (HQ730083) and SCSIO 43686 displayed 97% similarity with Leptolyngbya sp. L21-BG-2 (KJ206339). In addition, the nifH gene sequence analysis of SCSIO T-2 showed 91% similarity with Lyngbya lagerheimii UTEX 1930 (L15550), while SCSIO 43686 had an 88% similarity with Leptolyngbya minuta LEGE 07181 (KC256775). Both strains’ secondary structures of D1-D1’, Box-B, and V3 regions within the 16S–23S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region were quite distinct from their closely related cyanobacterial strains. In addition, compared with SCSIO 43686, the SCSIO T-2 strain displayed relatively high light utilization yet low sensitivity to light intensity. Based on these characteristics, the name Marileptolyngbya sina SCSIO T-2 is described, and a new genus named Salileptolyngbya is erected to encompass a monophyletic group. We propose Salileptolyngbya diazotrophicum SCSIO 43686 for the type species of this new genus.
Nomenclatural and taxonomic notes on Acroglochin and its position in Chenopodiaceae s.str.
Authors: IAMONICO DUILIO
Published: December 2018

Betoideae is a monophyletic group currently comprising five genera (Aphanisma, Beta, Hablitzia, Oreoblitum, and Patellifolia) and 11‒16 species. Acroglochin was formerly also included in subfam. Betoideae by various authors, although recently molecular data demonstrated that this genus is probably an ancient lineage basal to the remaining Betoideae. Although Acroglochin is also separated from both chorological and morphological viewpoints and some authors suggested its segregation in a separate subfamily, this proposal is premature, and discussion on that is presented here. A complete nomenclatural treatment of A. persicarioides, the only currently recognized species of Acroglochin, is provided, including all known heterotypic and homotypic synonyms. The names Lecanocarpus, Acroglochia, Blitanthus, Amaranthus acroglochin, Am. cauliflorus, Am. chenopodioides, Am. diandrus, Am. persicarioides, Boehmeria amaranthus, Blitanthus nepalensis, Acroglochia chenopodioides, Acroglochin schraderianum, Chenopodium pakistanicum Aellen were investigated. The name Lecanocarpus is a heterotypic synonym of Acroglochin, Acroglochia is an invalid name, and Blitanthus (initially published as nomen nudum) is illegitimate. Types for Acroglochin chenopodioides, Ac. obtosufolium, Amaranthus acroglochin, Am. cauliflorus, Am. diandrus, Am. persicarioides, and Boehmeria amaranthus were designated based on specimens deposited at B, E, GB, and LE. Blitanthus nepalensis, Acroglochia chenopodioides, Acroglochin schraderianum were not validly published (Arts. 36.1b, 38.1, 38.2), while the name Chenopodium pakistanicum Aellen occurred only on a specimen label (herbarium W). Finally, notes on the morphology and distribution of Acroglochin are provided.
Morphological and molecular characterization of Aphelenchoides fujianensis n. sp. (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae) from Pinus massoniana in China
Authors: ZHUO KAN , CUI RUQIANG , YE WEIMIN , LUO MEI , WANG HONGHONG , HU XUENAN , LIAO JINLING
Published: December 2018

Aphelenchoides fujianensis n. sp. is described and illustrated from a dead Pinus massoniana based on morphology and molecular analyses of the near-full-length small subunit rDNA gene and partial cytochrome oxidase subunit I of mitochondrial DNA. This new species belongs to the Group 3 of Aphelenchoides species sensu Shahina with star-shaped tail terminus and is characterised by a relatively long body (653–843 μ m in the male and 803–941 μ m in the female) and four lateral incisures in the lateral field. The male has relatively large spicules (24–30 μ m). The female has elongate postvulval uterine sac (extending ca 32–44% of vulva-anus distance), usually with sperms. Both male and female have star-shaped mucro. It is distinguished from other species by postvulval uterine sac length, a and c ratios, and spicule size and shape. Molecular analysis reveals that this species has unique 18S and mt-DNA sequences, and is closest to Aphelenchoides besseyi in dendrograms inferred using both markers. The identification codes of OEPP/EPPO for A. fujianensis n. sp. are: A1-B2-C1-D1/3-E1-F1/2.
Records of regalecid fishes in Argentine waters
Authors: RUIZ ANA E. , GOSZTONYI ATILA E.
Published: December 2018

The first two specimens of Regalecus glesne Ascanius, 1788, collected in the Argentine Sea, at Playa Unión beach, 43º 18' S, 65º 02' W are reported. Body measurements, meristic characters and morphological data are given. The most important differences with two other regalecid species, R. russelii Cuvier and R. kinoi Castro-Aguirre et al. 1991, from the Pacific coasts of Mexico, are considered. Also, a specimen caught at 43° 03’ S, 59° 14’ W, at 993 m depth, previously identified as Agrostichthys sp. is rediagnosed as Agrostichthys parkeri Benham, 1904. The distribution of R. glesne is extended to the Argentine Sea, adding a regalecid species to its fish fauna.