bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cohort profile: the Right to Care Clinical HIV Cohort, South Africa
Authors: Fox Matthew P , Maskew Mhairi , Brennan Alana T , Evans Denise , Onoya Dorina , Malete Given , MacPhail Patrick , Bassett Jean , Ebrahim Osman , Mabotja Dikeledi , Mashamaite Sello , Long Lawrence , Sanne Ian
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The research objectives of the Right to Care Clinical HIV Cohort analyses are to: (1) monitor treatment outcomes (including death, loss to follow-up, viral suppression and CD4 count gain among others) for patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART); (2) evaluate the impact of changes in the national treatment guidelines around when to initiate ART on HIV treatment outcomes; (3) evaluate the impact of changes in the national treatment guidelines around what ART regimens to initiate on drug switches; (4) evaluate the cost and cost-effectiveness of HIV treatment delivery models; (5) evaluate the need for and outcomes on second-line and third-line ART; (6) evaluate the impact of comorbidity with non-communicable diseases on HIV treatment outcomes and (7) evaluate the impact of the switch to initiating all patients onto ART regardless of CD4 count.

Participants

The Right to Care Clinical HIV Cohort is an open cohort of data from 10 clinics in two provinces within South Africa. All clinics include data from 2004 onwards. The cohort currently has data on over 115 000 patients initiated on HIV treatment and patients are followed up every 3–6 months for clinical and laboratory monitoring.

Findings to date

Cohort data includes information on demographics, clinical visit, laboratory data, medication history and clinical diagnoses. The data have been used to identify rates and predictors of first-line failure, to identify predictors of mortality for patients on second-line (eg, low CD4 counts) and to show that adolescents and young adults are at increased risk of unsuppressed viral loads compared with adults.

Future plans

Future analyses will inform national models of HIV care and treatment to improve HIV care policy in South Africa.
Are dietary vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids and folate associated with treatment results in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis? Data from a Swedish population-based prospective study
Authors: Lourdudoss Cecilia , Wolk Alicja , Nise Lena , Alfredsson Lars , Vollenhoven Ronald van
Published: June 2017

Background

Dietary intake of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids (FA) may be associated with superior response to antirheumatic treatments. In addition, dietary folate intake may be associated with worse response to methotrexate (MTX). The aim of this study was to investigate the association between dietary vitamin D, omega-3 FA, folate and treatment results of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods

This prospective study was based on data from the Epidemiological Investigation of Rheumatoid Arthritis (EIRA) study, and included 727 patients with early RA from 10 hospitals in Sweden. Data on dietary vitamin D, omega-3 FA and folate intake based on food frequency questionnaires were linked with data on European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response after 3 months of DMARD treatment. Associations between vitamin D, omega-3 FA, folate and EULAR response were analysed with logistic regression adjusted for potential confounders.

Results

The majority of patients (89.9%) were initially treated with MTX monotherapy and more than half (56.9%) with glucocorticoids. Vitamin D and omega-3 FA were associated with good EULAR response (OR 1.80 (95% CI 1.14 to 2.83) and OR 1.60 (95% CI 1.02 to 2.53), respectively). Folate was not significantly associated with EULAR response (OR 1.20 (95% CI 0.75 to 1.91)). Similar results were seen in a subgroup of patients who were initially treated with MTX monotherapy at baseline.

Conclusions

Higher intake of dietary vitamin D and omega-3 FA during the year preceding DMARD initiation may be associated with better treatment results in patients with early RA. Dietary folate intake was not associated with worse or better response to treatment, especially to MTX. Our results suggest that some nutrients may be associated with enhanced treatment results of DMARDs.
The quality of reports of medical and public health research from Palestinian institutions: a systematic review
Authors: Albarqouni Loai , Abu-Rmeileh Niveen ME , Elessi Khamis , Obeidallah Mohammad , Bjertness Espen , Chalmers Iain
Published: June 2017

Objective

Over the past decade, there has been an increase in reports of health research from Palestine, but no assessment of their quality. We have assessed the quality of reports of Palestinian health research and factors associated with it.

Design

This is a systematic review.

Inclusion criteria

We searched Medline and Scopus for reports of original research relevant to human health or healthcare authored by researchers affiliated with Palestinian institutions and published between January 2000 and August 2015 inclusive.

Outcomes

We used international guidelines to assess report quality, classifying as adequate those with ≥50% of items completely addressed.

Results

Of 2383 reports identified, 497 met our inclusion criteria. Just over half (264; 55%) of these were published after 2010. 354 (71%) of first authors were affiliated with Palestinian institutions; 261 (53%) reports had coauthors from outside Palestine. The majority of the reports in our study were inadequately reported (342; 69%), and none had adequately reported all items. Of 439 observational studies, 11 (2.5%) reports provided adequate descriptions of eligibility criteria and selection procedures; 35 (8%) reported efforts to address potential sources of bias; 50 (11.4%) reported the basis for the study sample size; and funding sources were mentioned in 74 reports (17%). Higher reporting quality was associated with international affiliation of the first author (prevalence ratio (PR) 1.6 (95% CI 1.2 to 2.1)), international collaboration (PR 2.9 (95% CI 1.7 to 5.0)), international funding (PR 1.9 (95% CI1.5 to 2.5)), publication after 2005 (PR 3.9 (95% CI 1.8 to 8.5)) and four or more coauthors (PR 1.5 (95% CI 1.1 to 2.1)).

Conclusion

Although the quality of reports of Palestinian research has improved in recent years, it remains well below an acceptable standard. International reporting guidelines should be used to guide research design and improve the quality of reports of research.

Trial registration number

The systematic review protocol was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) registery (registration number: CRD42015027553).
International comparison of emergency hospital use for infants: data linkage cohort study in Canada and England
Authors: Harron Katie , Gilbert Ruth , Cromwell David , Oddie Sam , Guttmann Astrid , van der Meulen Jan
Published: June 2017

Objectives

To compare emergency hospital use for infants in Ontario (Canada) and England.

Methods

We conducted a population-based data linkage study in infants born ≥34 weeks’ gestation between 2010 and 2013 in Ontario (n=253 930) and England (n=1 361 128). Outcomes within 12 months of postnatal discharge were captured in hospital records. The primary outcome was all-cause unplanned admissions. Secondary outcomes included emergency department (ED) visits, any unplanned hospital contact (either ED or admission) and mortality. Multivariable regression was used to evaluate risk factors for infant admission.

Results

The percentage of infants with ≥1 unplanned admission was substantially lower in Ontario (7.9% vs 19.6% in England) while the percentage attending ED but not admitted was higher (39.8% vs 29.9% in England). The percentage of infants with any unplanned hospital contact was similar between countries (42.9% in Ontario, 41.6% in England) as was mortality (0.05% in Ontario, 0.06% in England). Infants attending ED were less likely to be admitted in Ontario (7.3% vs 26.2%), but those who were admitted were more likely to stay for ≥1 night (94.0% vs 55.2%). The strongest risk factors for admission were completed weeks of gestation (adjusted OR for 34–36 weeks vs 39+ weeks: 2.44; 95% CI 2.29 to 2.61 in Ontario and 1.66; 95% CI 1.62 to 1.70 in England) and young maternal age.

Conclusions

Children attending ED in England were much more likely to be admitted than those in Ontario. The tendency towards more frequent, shorter admissions in England could be due to more pressure to admit within waiting time targets, or less availability of paediatric expertise in ED. Further evaluations should consider where best to focus resources, including in-hospital, primary care and paediatric care in the community.
Osteopontin predicts clinical outcome in patients after treatment of severe aortic stenosis with transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)
Authors: Lutz Matthias , von Ingersleben Nora , Lambers Moritz , Rosenberg Mark , Freitag-Wolf Sandra , Dempfle Astrid , Lutter Georg , Frank Johanne , Bramlage Peter , Frey Norbert , Frank Derk
Published: June 2017

Objective

Osteopontin (OPN) is an extracellular matrix protein that plays an integral role in myocardial remodelling and has previously been shown to be a valuable biomarker in cardiovascular disease. Because of the concentric myocardial hypertrophy associated with severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS), we hypothesised that OPN expression may have a prognostic value in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Methods

We prospectively included 217 patients undergoing TAVI between February 2011 and December 2013 with a median follow-up of 349 days. Twenty healthy individuals from the same age range free from structural heart disease served as controls. The primary endpoint for the analysis was survival time.

Results

Median preprocedural OPN levels (675 ng/mL; IQR 488.5–990.5 ng/mL) were significantly higher in patients with severe aortic valve stenosis compared with healthy controls (386 ng/mL; IQR 324.5–458, p<0.001). Patients with increased OPN values showed at baseline a decreased 6 min walk test performance, increased rates of atrial arrhythmia, and an increased risk of death during follow-up (HR 2.2; 95% CI 1.3 to 3.5 for the comparison of the highest vs lowest OPN quartile). Multiple Cox regression analysis demonstrated that OPN improves the prediction of an adverse prognosis further than N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide.

Conclusions

OPN levels at baseline are associated with adverse outcomes in patients with severe, symptomatic AS undergoing TAVI.
Salivary gland ultrasound abnormalities in primary Sjögren’s syndrome: consensual US-SG core items definition and reliability
Authors: Jousse-Joulin Sandrine , Nowak Emmanuel , Cornec Divi , Brown Jackie , Carr Andrew , Carotti Marina , Fisher Benjamin , Fradin Joel , Hocevar Alojzija , Jonsson Malin V , Luciano Nicoletta , Milic Vera , Rout John , Theander Elke , Stel Aaltje , Bootsma Hendrika , Vissink Arjan , Baldini Chiara , Baer Alan , Ng Wan Fai , Bowman Simon , Alavi Zarrin , Saraux Alain , Devauchelle-Pensec Valérie
Published: June 2017

Objectives

Ultrasonography (US) is sensitive for detecting echostructural abnormalities of the major salivary glands (SGs) in primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS). Our objectives were to define selected US-SG echostructural abnormalities in pSS, set up a preliminary atlas of these definitions and evaluate the consensual definitions reliability in both static and acquisition US-SG images.

Methods

International experts in SG US in pSS participated in consensus meetings to select and define echostructural abnormalities in pSS. The US reliability of detecting these abnormalities was assessed using a two-step method. First 12 experts used a web-based standardised form to evaluate 60 static US-SG images. Intra observer and interobserver reliabilities were expressed in κ values. Second, five experts, who participated all throughout the study, evaluated US-SG acquisition interobserver reliability in pSS patients.

Results

Parotid glands (PGs) and submandibular glands (SMGs) intra observer US reliability on static images was substantial (κ > 0.60) for the two main reliable items (echogenicity and homogeneity) and for the advised pSS diagnosis. PG inter observer reliability was substantial for homogeneity. SMGs interobserver reliability was moderate for homogeneity (κ = 0.46) and fair for echogenicity (κ = 0.38). On acquisition images, PGs interobserver reliability was substantial (κ = 0.62) for echogenicity and moderate (κ = 0.52) for homogeneity. The advised pSS diagnosis reliability was substantial (κ = 0.66). SMGs interobserver reliability was fair (0.20< κ ≤ 0.40) for echogenicity and homogeneity and either slight or poor for all other US core items.

Conclusion

This work identified two most reliable US-SG items (echogenicity and homogeneity) to be used by US-SG trained experts. US-PG interobserver reliability result for echogenicity is in line with diagnosis of pSS.
Mycoplasma hyopneumoniaevaccination at or shortly before weaning under field conditions: a randomised efficacy trial
Authors: Arsenakis I. , Michiels A. , Del Pozo Sacristán R. , Boyen F. , Haesebrouck F. , Maes D.
Published: June 2017

This study assessed the efficacy of two differentMycoplasma hyopneumoniaevaccination programmes in relation to the time of weaning. Eight hundred and twenty‐eight piglets were randomly divided into three groups: group V1 was vaccinated three days before weaning, group V2 at weaning (21 days of age) and group NV was left non‐vaccinated. Vaccinations were performed using Ingelvac MycoFLEX. After the nursery period, 306 pigs were allocated to fattening unit (F1) and 501 pigs to a second unit (F2). Efficacy was evaluated using performance parameters and pneumonia lesions at slaughter. Statistically significant differences were obtained in F2 where group V1 had a higher average daily weight gain compared to groups V2 and NV for the entire study period (17 and 18 g/day, respectively) and the fattening period (26 and 36 g/day, respectively) (P<0.05). Considering respiratory disease scores for both fattening units, group V1 was the only group where coughing severity did not increase significantly between placement and the end of the fattening period (P>0.05). Between groups, there were no statistically significant differences for the average lung lesion scores (V1=3.44; V2=4.61; NV=4.55, P>0.05) and the prevalence of pneumonia (V1=35.0 per cent; V2=38.0 per cent; NV=41.4 per cent, P>0.05). Overall, vaccination againstM hyopneumoniaebefore weaning provided numerically better performance than vaccination at weaning, but did not reach statistical significance. An influenza outbreak in F1 and the presence of coexisting mixed respiratory infections in both F1 and F2 could have possibly influenced the performance of both vaccinated groups across all measured parameters.
Estrogens: Properties, behaviors, and fate in dairy manure-amended soils
Authors: Pollard Anne T. , Morra Matthew J.
Published: June 2017

In 2012 there were 63% fewer dairies in the United States than there were in 1997 as a result of conglomeration of the dairy industry into concentrated animal feeding operations at the expense of smaller farms. Today, 60% of all milk produced in the United States comes from 5% of the nation’s dairies (operations with ≥ 500 cows). Concentrated animal feeding operations are touted as economically efficient agricultural business models, hailed for their increased milk yields. Yet, with an average daily manure production of over 27 000 kg for a 500-head dairy farm, manure storage and disposal are serious management and environmental concerns. A common economical mode of manure disposal is application to nearby agricultural fields. However, a major concern with land application of dairy manure is the fate of manure-borne hormones, compounds considered chemicals of emerging concern, and the potential threat these hormones pose to humans and the environment. The fate of these chemicals in the soil environment is complicated by multiple edaphic variables including pH, mineralogy, organic matter, microbial activity, and redox status. Estrogens are sorbed by soil organic matter and transformed to nonbioactive, highly soluble conjugated forms or to metabolites that exhibit yet additional properties distinct from their parent compounds. However, deconjugation frequently occurs, regenerating endocrine-disrupting free estrogen compounds. It is challenging to fully understand the behavior and predict the fate of estrogenic compounds from dairy manure in soils because of variable and complex interactions with soil factors, as well as possible interactions among the different chemicals of emerging concern. This review focuses on the behavior of naturally occurring estrogen hormones present in dairy manure in the soil environment. Heightened understanding of the fate of these compounds in soil will enhance our ability to reduce their potential risks.
Quantum theory in real Hilbert space: How the complex Hilbert space structure emerges from Poincaré symmetry
Authors: Moretti Valter , Oppio Marco
Published: June 2017

As earlier conjectured by several authors and much later established by Solèr (relying on partial results by Piron, Maeda–Maeda and other authors), from the lattice theory point of view, Quantum Mechanics may be formulated in real, complex or quaternionic Hilbert spaces only. Stückelberg provided some physical, but not mathematically rigorous, reasons for ruling out the real Hilbert space formulation, assuming that any formulation should encompass a statement of Heisenberg principle. Focusing on this issue from another — in our opinion, deeper — viewpoint, we argue that there is a general fundamental reason why elementary quantum systems are not described in real Hilbert spaces. It is their basic symmetry group. In the first part of the paper, we consider an elementary relativistic system within Wigner’s approach defined as a locally-faithful irreducible strongly-continuous unitary representation of the Poincaré group in a real Hilbert space. We prove that, if the squared-mass operator is non-negative, the system admits a natural, Poincaré invariant and unique up to sign, complex structure which commutes with the whole algebra of observables generated by the representation itself. This complex structure leads to a physically equivalent reformulation of the theory in a complex Hilbert space. Within this complex formulation, differently from what happens in the real one, all selfadjoint operators represent observables in accordance with Solèr’s thesis, and the standard quantum version of Noether theorem may be formulated. In the second part of this work, we focus on the physical hypotheses adopted to define a quantum elementary relativistic system relaxing them on the one hand, and making our model physically more general on the other hand. We use a physically more accurate notion of irreducibility regarding the algebra of observables only, we describe the symmetries in terms of automorphisms of the restricted lattice of elementary propositions of the quantum system and we adopt a notion of continuity referred to the states viewed as probability measures on the elementary propositions. Also in this case, the final result proves that there exists a unique (up to sign) Poincaré invariant complex structure making the theory complex and completely fitting into Solèr’s picture. This complex structure reveals a nice interplay of Poincaré symmetry and the classification of the commutant of irreducible real von Neumann algebras.
Online EEG Classification of Covert Speech for Brain–Computer Interfacing
Authors: Sereshkeh Alborz Rezazadeh , Trott Robert , Bricout Aurélien , Chau Tom
Published: June 2017

Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) for communication can be nonintuitive, often requiring the performance of hand motor imagery or some other conversation-irrelevant task. In this paper, electroencephalography (EEG) was used to develop two intuitive online BCIs based solely on covert speech. The goal of the first BCI was to differentiate between 10[Formula: see text]s of mental repetitions of the word “no” and an equivalent duration of unconstrained rest. The second BCI was designed to discern between 10[Formula: see text]s each of covert repetition of the words “yes” and “no”. Twelve participants used these two BCIs to answer yes or no questions. Each participant completed four sessions, comprising two offline training sessions and two online sessions, one for testing each of the BCIs. With a support vector machine and a combination of spectral and time-frequency features, an average accuracy of [Formula: see text] was reached across participants in the online classification of no versus rest, with 10 out of 12 participants surpassing the chance level (60.0% for [Formula: see text]). The online classification of yes versus no yielded an average accuracy of [Formula: see text], with eight participants exceeding the chance level. Task-specific changes in EEG beta and gamma power in language-related brain areas tended to provide discriminatory information. To our knowledge, this is the first report of online EEG classification of covert speech. Our findings support further study of covert speech as a BCI activation task, potentially leading to the development of more intuitive BCIs for communication.
Aberrant Thalamocortical Connectivity in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy
Authors: Jiang S. , Luo C. , Gong J. , Peng R. , Ma S. , Tan S. , Ye G. , Dong L. , Yao D.
Published: June 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the functional connectivity (FC) of thalamic subdivisions in patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data were acquired from 22 JME and 25 healthy controls. We first divided the thalamus into eight subdivisions by performing independent component analysis on tracking fibers and clustering thalamus-related FC maps. We then analyzed abnormal FC in each subdivision in JME compared with healthy controls, and we investigated their associations with clinical features. Eight thalamic sub-regions identified in the current study showed unbalanced thalamic FC in JME: decreased FC with the superior frontal gyrus and enhanced FC with the supplementary motor area in the posterior thalamus increased thalamic FC with the salience network (SN) and reduced FC with the default mode network (DMN). Abnormalities in thalamo-prefrontocortical networks might be related to the propagation of generalized spikes with frontocentral predominance in JME, and the network connectivity differences with the SN and DMN might be implicated in emotional and cognitive defects in JME. JME was also associated with enhanced FC among thalamic sub-regions and with the basal ganglia and cerebellum, suggesting the regulatory role of subcortical nuclei and the cerebellum on the thalamo-cortical circuit. Additionally, increased FC with the pallidum was positive related with the duration of disease. The present study provides emerging evidence of FC to understand that specific thalamic subdivisions contribute to the abnormalities of thalamic-cortical networks in JME. Moreover, the posterior thalamus could play a crucial role in generalized epileptic activity in JME.
Localization of information on communication networks of an open-source online community
Authors: Yang Jianmei , Li Hui , Liao Hao , He Zheng , Yang Huijie , Xie Weicong
Published: June 2017

In order to study the information communication ability (i.e. information conductivity) of CodePlex C# community, an Open-Source Online Community (OSOC), we first construct the models of weighted communication networks in 11 periods for the community based on large-scale data collections. Then by using two ways of quantum mapping of complex networks, we analyze the localization properties of information on the maximum connected graphs (named as communication networks) of these weighted networks according to the idea of analyzing the localization properties of an electron on a large cluster. We draw the following conclusions. (1) CodePlex C# OSOC usually has information isolativity. (2) The community has some degree of information communication ability and the ability increases as time goes on. (3) The localization of information on the communication networks in any period induced by its structure is weaker than that induced by its structure together with the connection intensities between its nodes. (4) Our idea and methods can be used to analyze the information communication ability of other online communities.
Angular velocity perturbations inducing the Papaloizou–Pringle instability and QPOs in the torus around the black hole
Authors: Donmez Orhan
Published: June 2017

In this paper, a numerical study of the dynamic of the non-self-gravitating, unmagnetized, non-axisymmetric, and rotating the torus around the non-rotating black hole is presented. We investigate the instability of the rotating torus subject to perturbations presented by increasing or decreasing the angular velocity of the stable torus. We have done, for the first time, an extensive analysis of the torus dynamic response to the perturbation of the angular velocity of the stable torus. We show how the high, moderate, and low values of the perturbations affect the torus dynamic and help us to understand the properties of the instability and quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO). Our numerical simulations indicate the presence of Papaloizou–Pringle instability (PPI) with global m = 1 mode and QPOs for the moderate and lower values of the perturbations on the angular velocity of the stable torus. Furthermore, with the lower values of the perturbations, the torus can lead to a wiggling initially and then PPI is produced in it. Finally, the matter of the torus would be dissipated due to the presence of a strong torque.
On the polarization of fermion in an intermediate state
Authors: Kaloshin A. E. , Lomov V. P.
Published: June 2017

We show that calculation of a final fermion polarization (for a pure initial state) is equivalent to the problem of looking for complete polarization axis of bispinor. This gives the method for calculation of polarization applicable both for final and intermediate state fermions. We suggest to use fermion propagator (bare or dressed) in form of spectral representation, which gives the orthogonal off-shell energy projectors. This representation leads to covariant separation of particle and antiparticle contributions and gives a natural definition for polarization of intermediate state fermion. The most evident application is related with consistent description of t-quark polarization.
Assessment of SPOT-6 optical remote sensing data against GF-1 using NNDiffuse image fusion algorithm
Authors: Zhao Jinling , Guo Junjie , Cheng Wenjie , Xu Chao , Huang Linsheng
Published: June 2017

A cross-comparison method was used to assess the SPOT-6 optical satellite imagery against Chinese GF-1 imagery using three types of indicators: spectral and color quality, fusion effect and identification potential. More specifically, spectral response function (SRF) curves were used to compare the two imagery, showing that the SRF curve shape of SPOT-6 is more like a rectangle compared to GF-1 in blue, green, red and near-infrared bands. NNDiffuse image fusion algorithm was used to evaluate the capability of information conservation in comparison with wavelet transform (WT) and principal component (PC) algorithms. The results show that NNDiffuse fused image has extremely similar entropy vales than original image (1.849 versus 1.852) and better color quality. In addition, the object-oriented classification toolset (ENVI EX) was used to identify greenlands for comparing the effect of self-fusion image of SPOT-6 and inter-fusion image between SPOT-6 and GF-1 based on the NNDiffuse algorithm. The overall accuracy is 97.27% and 76.88%, respectively, showing that self-fused image of SPOT-6 has better identification capability.
An algorithm of improving speech emotional perception for hearing aid
Authors: Xi Ji , Liang Ruiyu , Fei Xianju
Published: June 2017

In this paper, a speech emotion recognition (SER) algorithm was proposed to improve the emotional perception of hearing-impaired people. The algorithm utilizes multiple kernel technology to overcome the drawback of SVM: slow training speed. Firstly, in order to improve the adaptive performance of Gaussian Radial Basis Function (RBF), the parameter determining the nonlinear mapping was optimized on the basis of Kernel target alignment. Then, the obtained Kernel Function was used as the basis kernel of Multiple Kernel Learning (MKL) with slack variable that could solve the over-fitting problem. However, the slack variable also brings the error into the result. Therefore, a soft-margin MKL was proposed to balance the margin against the error. Moreover, the relatively iterative algorithm was used to solve the combination coefficients and hyper-plane equations. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can acquire an accuracy of 90% for five kinds of emotions including happiness, sadness, anger, fear and neutral. Compared with KPCA[Formula: see text]+[Formula: see text]CCA and PIM-FSVM, the proposed algorithm has the highest accuracy.
Image Contrast Enhancement Algorithm Based on GM(1,1) and Power Exponential Dynamic Decision
Authors: Li Gang
Published: June 2017

Image enhancement processing is a very important operation during image preprocessing. Compared with to enhancc the overall contrast level of image, enhancing the local contrast of image can improve the level of such contrast directly as well as the quality and effect of image enhancement. In this paper, the gray prediction model is applied to the process of enhancing image local contrast, so as to measure the change range of image local contrast and adaptively adjust the scale of enhancing image local contrast. The simulation results show that, in addition to enhancing the contrast of gray level on the edge of image, the proposed algorithm can inhibit roughened nonedge region and improve the quality of local enhancement processing, which create a more favorable condition for the further image edge detection.
Study of odd mass 115−125Sb isotopes with the projected shell model calculations
Authors: Singh Dhanvir , Bharti Arun , Kumar Amit , Singh Suram , Bhat G. H. , Sheikh J. A.
Published: June 2017

The projected shell model (PSM) with the deformed single-particle states, generated by the standard Nilsson potential, is applied to study the negative-parity high spin states of [Formula: see text] nuclei. The nuclear structure quantities like band structure and back-bending in moment of inertia have been calculated with PSM method and are compared with the available experimental data. In addition, the reduced transition probabilities, i.e., B[Formula: see text] and B[Formula: see text], are also obtained for the yrast band of these isotopes for the first time by using PSM wave function. A multi-quasiparticle structure has been predicted for [Formula: see text] isotopes by the present PSM calculations.
Some open problems on locally finite or locally nilpotent derivations and ℰ-derivations
Authors: Zhao Wenhua
Published: June 2017

Let [Formula: see text] be a commutative ring and [Formula: see text] an [Formula: see text]-algebra. An [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text]-derivation of [Formula: see text] is an [Formula: see text]-linear map of the form [Formula: see text] for some [Formula: see text]-algebra endomorphism [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] denotes the identity map of [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we discuss some open problems on whether or not the image of a locally finite (LF) [Formula: see text]-derivation or [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text]-derivation of [Formula: see text] is a Mathieu subspace [W. Zhao, Generalizations of the image conjecture and the Mathieu conjecture, J. Pure Appl. Algebra 214 (2010) 1200–1216; Mathieu subspaces of associative algebras, J. Algebra 350(2) (2012) 245–272] of [Formula: see text], and whether or not a locally nilpotent (LN) [Formula: see text]-derivation or [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text]-derivation of [Formula: see text] maps every ideal of [Formula: see text] to a Mathieu subspace of [Formula: see text]. We propose and discuss two conjectures which state that both questions above have positive answers if the base ring [Formula: see text] is a field of characteristic zero. We give some examples to show the necessity of the conditions of the two conjectures, and discuss some positive cases known in the literature. We also show some cases of the two conjectures. In particular, both the conjectures are proved for LF or LN algebraic derivations and [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text]-derivations of integral domains of characteristic zero.
Trapped submanifolds contained into a null hypersurface of de Sitter spacetime
Authors: Alías Luis J. , Cánovas Verónica L. , Rigoli Marco
Published: June 2017

We study codimension two trapped submanifolds contained into one of the two following null hypersurfaces of de Sitter spacetime: (i) the future component of the light cone, and (ii) the past infinite of the steady state space. For codimension two compact spacelike submanifolds in the light cone we show that they are conformally diffeomorphic to the round sphere. This fact enables us to deduce that the problem of characterizing compact marginally trapped submanifolds into the light cone is equivalent to solving the Yamabe problem on the round sphere, allowing us to obtain our main classification result for such submanifolds. We also fully describe the codimension two compact marginally trapped submanifolds contained into the past infinite of the steady state space and characterize those having parallel mean curvature field. Finally, we consider the more general case of codimension two complete, non-compact, weakly trapped spacelike submanifolds contained into the light cone.
Development of homogeneous/heterogeneous reaction in flow based through non-Darcy Forchheimer medium
Authors: Hayat Tasawar , Shah Faisal , Alsaedi Ahmed , Khan Muhammad Ijaz
Published: June 2017

The objective here is to analyze the influence of homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions in flow induced by convectively heated sheet with nonlinear velocity and variable thickness. Porous medium effect is characterized by Darcy–Forchheimer consideration. A simple isothermal model of homogeneous–heterogeneous reactions is used to regulate the temperature of stretched surface. Thermodynamics processes of homogeneous–heterogeneous reactions analyze the effect of temperature phase changes. Resulting problems are computed for the convergent solutions of velocity, temperature and concentration. Analysis for the influential variables on the physical quantities is graphically examined. Our computed results interpret that velocity field decays for larger magnetic parameter while temperature field enhances for higher estimation of Biot number.
Photoacoustic imaging of prostate cancer
Authors: Yang Xuanjin , Xiang Liangzhong
Published: June 2017

Photoacoustic imaging (PAI), also known as optoacoustic imaging, is a rapidly growing imaging modality with potential in medical diagnosis and therapy monitoring. This paper focuses on the techniques of prostate PAI and its potential applications in prostate cancer detection. Transurethral light delivery combined with transrectal ultrasound detection overcomes light scattering in the surrounding tissue and provides optimal photoacoustic signals while minimizing invasiveness. While label-free PAI based on endogenous contrast has promising potential for prostate cancer detection, exogenous contrast agents can further enhance the sensitivity and specificity of prostate cancer PAI. Further in vivo studies are required in order to achieve the translation of prostate PAI to clinical implementation. The minimal invasiveness, relatively low cost, high specificity and sensitivity, and real-time imaging capability are valuable advantages of PAI that may improve the current prostate cancer management in clinic.
Camina Lie algebras
Authors: Sheikh-Mohseni S. , Saeedi F.
Published: June 2017

Let [Formula: see text] be a Lie algebra and [Formula: see text] be a proper ideal of [Formula: see text]. Then [Formula: see text] is called a Camina pair if [Formula: see text] for all [Formula: see text]. Also, [Formula: see text] is called a Camina Lie algebra if [Formula: see text] is a Camina pair. In this paper, we give some properties of Camina Lie algebras. Moreover, we show that a nilpotent Camina Lie algebra of finite dimension over an algebraically closed field is nilpotent with nilindex at most [Formula: see text].
Effect of substrate hardness and surface roughness on the film formation of aerosol-deposited ceramic films
Authors: Schubert Michael , Hahn Manuel , Exner Jörg , Kita Jaroslaw , Moos Ralf
Published: June 2017

The aerosol deposition (AD) method is a novel ceramic coating technique that allows manufacturing of dense ceramic films at room temperature directly from ceramic powders without any high temperature sintering steps and without expensive (ultra) high vacuum processes. The deposition mechanism can be separated into two stages: the creation of an anchor layering and the subsequent film formation. Step one involves an initial plastic deformation of the substrate surface by the first impacting particles. Especially in the first stage, substrate properties affect the deposition and determine the dominant bonding mechanism. Ductile substrates can be expected to give strong film anchoring, whereas high hardness substrates might require higher particle velocities to form adhering layers. In this study, the influence of the substrate hardness in combination with the surface roughness on the deposition was investigated. Four ceramic substrates (two types of Al2O3, sapphire, and LTCC) with different hardness and surface roughness were coated with Al2O3 in order to study the formation of an anchoring layer and their effect on the deposition rate. As a result, no anchoring layer was found on the hard ceramic substrates.
The influence of Bi content on dielectric properties of Bi4–xTi3O12–1.5x ceramics
Authors: Gong Hui , Ke Xiying , Yang Shuqin , Li Zhaozhi , Su Huyin , Zhang Cancan , Luo Qian , Chen Qi , Xu Lingfang , Chen Yong , Wang Wei
Published: June 2017

A kind of lead-free dielectric materials, such as the bismuth layered perovskite-type structure of Bi[Formula: see text]Ti3O[Formula: see text], was prepared by the conventional solid-state method at 800[Formula: see text]C and sintered at 1100[Formula: see text]C. The variation of structure and electrical properties with different Bi concentration was studied. All the Bi[Formula: see text]Ti3O[Formula: see text] samples exhibited a single structured phase. SEM could be a better approach to present the microstructure of Bi[Formula: see text]Ti3O[Formula: see text] ceramics. It could be found that the grain size of Bi[Formula: see text]Ti3O[Formula: see text] sintered at 1100[Formula: see text]C was smaller than that of others among the five samples through grain size mechanics. Through impedance spectra analysis, we knew, when the Bi content was fixed, that the dielectric constant and the loss values increased with the decrease of frequency. The Curie temperature of the five samples was about 670[Formula: see text]C. In particular, while at the frequency of 100[Formula: see text]kHz, the lowest loss was 0.001 when Bi content was 3.98. The Bi[Formula: see text]Ti3O[Formula: see text] ceramics with the minimum grain size had highest dielectric constant and the relatively low loss. Due to its high Curie temperature, high permittivity and low loss, the Bi4Ti3O[Formula: see text] (BIT) ceramics have a broad application prospect in high density memory, generator, sensor, ferroelectric tunnel junctions and so on.
Fracture analysis of outcrop analogues to support modelling of the subseismic domain in carbonate reservoirs, south-central Pyrenees
Authors: Gutmanis Jon , Ardèvol i Oró Lluís , Díez-Canseco Davinia , Chebbihi Lynda , Awdal Abdullah , Cook Alexander
Published: June 2017

The productivity of wells in fractured reservoirs depends, in terms of rate and sustainability, on the heterogeneity and variable connectivity of the open fracture network. Outcrop studies in Cretaceous carbonates from the Catalan Pyrenees illuminate this issue and reveal the degree of uncertainty associated with the interpretation of fracture data from wells and seismic. Three examples are chosen to provide verifiable data, parameters and concepts which can be applied to the workflow of fractured reservoir characterization. We discuss fracture properties and distributions in the subseismic volume, the coupled behaviour between litho-mechanical properties,
in situ
stress and fracturing, and the permeability properties of fault damage zones. The outcrops also highlight some of the difficulties involved in constructing static reservoir models and evaluating fracture interpretations derived from software-based techniques such as surface curvature.
A Universal Model for Discourse-Level Argumentation Analysis
Authors: Wachsmuth Henning , Stein Benno
Published: June 2017

The argumentative structure of texts is increasingly exploited for analysis tasks, for example, for stance classification or the assessment of argumentation quality. Most existing approaches, however, model only the local structure of single arguments. This article considers the question of how to capture the global discourse-level structure of a text for argumentation-related analyses. In particular, we propose to model the global structure as a flow of “task-related rhetorical moves,” such as discourse functions or aspect-based sentiment. By comparing the flow of a text to a set of common flow patterns, we map the text into the feature space of global structures, thus capturing its discourse-level argumentation. We show how to identify different types of flow patterns, and we provide evidence that they generalize well across different domains of texts. In our evaluation for two analysis tasks, the classification of review sentiment and the scoring of essay organization, the features derived from flow patterns prove both effective and more robust than strong baselines. We conclude with a discussion of the universality of modeling flow for discourse-level argumentation analysis.
Using Social Sensors for Detecting Emergency Events
Authors: Bauman Konstantin , Tuzhilin Alexander , Zaczynski Ryan
Published: June 2017

This article presents a novel approach to detecting emergency events, such as power outages, that utilizes social media users as “social sensors” for virtual detection of such events. The proposed new method is based on the analysis of the Twitter data that leads to the detection of Twitter discussions about these emergency events. The method described in the article was implemented and deployed by one of the vendors in the context of detecting power outages as a part of their comprehensive social engagement platform. It was also field tested on Twitter users in an industrial setting and performed well during these tests.
Measurement-Based Worst-Case Execution Time Estimation Using the Coefficient of Variation
Authors: Abella Jaume , Padilla Maria , Castillo Joan Del , Cazorla Francisco J.
Published: June 2017

Extreme Value Theory (EVT) has been historically used in domains such as finance and hydrology to model worst-case events (e.g., major stock market incidences). EVT takes as input a sample of the distribution of the variable to model and fits the tail of that sample to either the Generalised Extreme Value (GEV) or the Generalised Pareto Distribution (GPD). Recently, EVT has become popular in real-time systems to derive worst-case execution time (WCET) estimates of programs. However, the application of EVT is not straightforward and requires a detailed analysis of, and customisation for, the particular problem at hand. In this article, we tailor the application of EVT to timing analysis. To that end, (1) we analyse the response time of different hardware resources (e.g., cache memories) and identify those that may lead to radically different types of execution time distributions. (2) We show that one of these distributions, known as mixture distribution, causes problems in the use of EVT. In particular, mixture distributions challenge not only properly selecting GEV/GPD parameters (i.e., location, scale and shape) but also determining the size of the sample to ensure that enough tail values are passed to EVT and that only tail values are used by EVT to fit GEV/GPD. Failing to select these parameters has a negative impact on the quality of the derived WCET estimates. We tackle these problems, by (3) proposing Measurement-Based Probabilistic Timing Analysis using the Coefficient of Variation (MBPTA-CV), a new mixture-distribution aware, WCET-suited MBPTA method that builds on recent EVT developments in other fields (e.g., finance) to automatically select the distribution parameters that best fit the maxima of the observed execution times. Our results on a simulation environment and a real board show that MBPTA-CV produces high-quality WCET estimates.
Software Engineering for Smart Cyber-Physical Systems
Authors: Bures Tomas , Weyns Danny , Schmer Bradley , Tovar Eduardo , Boden Eric , Gabor Thomas , Gerostathopoulos Ilias , Gupta Pragya , Kang Eunsuk , Knauss Alessia , Patel Pankesh , Rashid Awais , Ruchkin Ivan , Sukkerd Roykrong , Tsigkanos Christos
Published: June 2017

Smart Cyber--Physical Systems (sCPS) are modern CPS systems that are engineered to seamlessly integrate a large number of computation and physical components; they need to control entities in their environment in a smart and collective way to achieve a high degree of effectiveness and efficiency. At the same time, these systems are supposed to be safe and secure, deal with environment dynamicity and uncertainty, cope with external threats, and optimize their behavior to achieve the best possible outcome. This "smartness" typically stems from highly cooperative behavior, self--awareness, self--adaptation, and selfoptimization. Most of the "smartness" is implemented in software, which makes the software one of the most complex and most critical constituents of sCPS. As the specifics of sCPS render traditional software engineering approaches not directly applicable, new and innovative approaches to software engineering of sCPS need to be sought. This paper reports on the results of the Second International Workshop on Software Engineering for Smart Cyber--Physical Systems (SEsCPS 2016), which specifically focuses on challenges and promising solutions in the area of software engineering for sCPS.
Identification of Pharmacologically Tractable Protein Complexes in Cancer Using the R-Based Network Clustering and Visualization Program MCODER
Authors: Kwon Sungjin , Kim Hyosil , Kim Hyun Seok
Published: June 2017

Current multiomics assay platforms facilitate systematic identification of functional entities that are mappable in a biological network, and computational methods that are better able to detect densely connected clusters of signals within a biological network are considered increasingly important. One of the most famous algorithms for detecting network subclusters is Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE). MCODE, however, is limited in simultaneous analyses of multiple, large-scale data sets, since it runs on the Cytoscape platform, which requires extensive computational resources and has limited coding flexibility. In the present study, we implemented the MCODE algorithm in R programming language and developed a related package, which we called MCODER. We found the MCODER package to be particularly useful in analyzing multiple omics data sets simultaneously within the R framework. Thus, we applied MCODER to detect pharmacologically tractable protein-protein interactions selectively elevated in molecular subtypes of ovarian and colorectal tumors. In doing so, we found that a single molecular subtype representing epithelial-mesenchymal transition in both cancer types exhibited enhanced production of the collagen-integrin protein complex. These results suggest that tumors of this molecular subtype could be susceptible to pharmacological inhibition of integrin signaling.