bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Computational Study of Pulmonary Flow Patterns After Repair of Transposition of Great Arteries
Authors: Capuano Francesco , Loke Yue-Hin , Cronin Ileen , Olivieri Laura J. , Balaras Elias
Published: March 2019

Patients that undergo the arterial switch operation (ASO) to repair transposition of great arteries (TGA) can develop abnormal pulmonary trunk morphology with significant long-term complications. In this study, cardiovascular magnetic resonance was combined with computational fluid dynamics to investigate the impact of the postoperative layout on the pulmonary flow patterns. Three ASO patients were analyzed and compared to a volunteer control. Results showed the presence of anomalous shear layer instabilities, vortical and helical structures, and turbulent-like states in all patients, particularly as a consequence of the unnatural curvature of the pulmonary bifurcation. Streamlined, mostly laminar flow was instead found in the healthy subject. These findings shed light on the correlation between the post-ASO anatomy and the presence of altered flow features, and may be useful to improve surgical planning as well as the long-term care of TGA patients.
Spatial Dependency of Glenohumeral Joint Stability During Dynamic Unimanual and Bimanual Pushing and Pulling
Authors: McFarland Daniel C. , McCain Emily M. , Poppo Michael N. , Saul Katherine R.
Published: March 2019

Degenerative wear to the glenoid from repetitive loading can reduce effective concavity depth and lead to future instability. Workspace design should consider glenohumeral stability to prevent initial wear. While glenohumeral stability has been previously explored for activities of daily living including push–pull tasks, whether stability is spatially dependent is unexplored. We simulated bimanual and unimanual push–pull tasks to four horizontal targets (planes of elevation: 0 deg, 45 deg, 90 deg, and 135 deg) at 90 deg thoracohumeral elevation and three elevation targets (thoracohumeral elevations: 20 deg, 90 deg, 170 deg) at 90 deg plane of elevation. The 45 deg horizontal target was most stable regardless of exertion type and would be the ideal target placement when considering stability. This target is likely more stable because the applied load acts perpendicular to the glenoid, limiting shear force production. The 135 deg horizontal target was particularly unstable for unimanual pushing (143% less stable than the 45 deg target), and the applied force for this task acts parallel to the glenoid, likely creating shear forces or limiting compressive forces. Pushing was less stable than pulling (all targets except sagittal 170 deg for both task types and horizontal 45 deg for bimanual) (p < 0.01), which is consistent with prior reports. For example, unimanual pushing at the 90 deg horizontal target was 197% less stable than unimanual pulling. There were limited stability benefits to task placement for pushing, and larger stability benefits may be seen from converting tasks from push to pull rather than optimizing task layout. There was no difference in stability between bimanual and unimanual tasks, suggesting no stability benefit to bimanual operation.
The Effects of Dynamic Loading on Bone Fracture Healing Under Ilizarov Circular Fixators
Authors: Ganadhiepan Ganesharajah , Zhang Lihai , Miramini Saeed , Mendis Priyan , Patel Minoo , Ebeling Peter , Wang Yulong
Published: March 2019

Early weight bearing appears to enhance bone fracture healing under Ilizarov circular fixators (ICFs). However, the role of early weight bearing in the healing process remains unclear. This study aims to provide insights into the effects of early weight bearing on healing of bone fractures stabilized with ICFs, with the aid of mathematical modeling. A computational model of fracture site was developed using poro-elastic formulation to simulate the transport of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), fibroblasts, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, osteogenic growth factor (OGF), and chondrogenic growth factor (CGF) and MSC differentiation during the early stage of healing, under various combinations of fracture gap sizes (GS), ICF wire pretension forces, and axial loads. 1 h of physiologically relevant cyclic axial loading followed by 23 h of rest in the post-inflammation phase (i.e., callus with granulation tissue) was simulated. The results show that physiologically relevant dynamic loading could significantly enhance cell and growth factor concentrations in the fracture site in a time and spatially dependent manner. 1 h cyclic loading (axial load with amplitude, PA, of 200 N at 1 Hz) increased the content of chondrocytes up to 37% (in all zones of callus), CGF up to 28% (in endosteal and periosteal callus) and OGF up to 50% (in endosteal and cortical callus) by the end of the 24 h period simulated. This suggests that the synergistic effect of dynamic loading-induced advective transport and mechanical stimuli due to early weight bearing is likely to enhance secondary healing. Furthermore, the study suggests that relatively higher PA values or lower ICF wire pretension forces or smaller GS could result in increased chondrocyte and GF content within the callus.
Robust Kalman-Type Filter for Non-Gaussian Noise: Performance Analysis With Unknown Noise Covariances
Authors: Fakoorian Seyed , Mohammadi Alireza , Azimi Vahid , Simon Dan
Published: March 2019

The Kalman filter (KF) is optimal with respect to minimum mean square error (MMSE) if the process noise and measurement noise are Gaussian. However, the KF is suboptimal in the presence of non-Gaussian noise. The maximum correntropy criterion Kalman filter (MCC-KF) is a Kalman-type filter that uses the correntropy measure as its optimality criterion instead of MMSE. In this paper, we modify the correntropy gain in the MCC-KF to obtain a new filter that we call the measurement-specific correntropy filter (MSCF). The MSCF uses a matrix gain rather than a scalar gain to provide better selectivity in the way that it handles the innovation vector. We analytically compare the performance of the KF with that of the MSCF when either the measurement or process noise covariance is unknown. For each of these situations, we analyze two mean square errors (MSEs): the filter-calculated MSE (FMSE) and the true MSE (TMSE). We show that the FMSE of the KF is less than that of the MSCF. However, the TMSE of the KF is greater than that of the MSCF under certain conditions. Illustrative examples are provided to verify the analytical results.
Early Time Evolution of Circumferential Perturbation of Initial Particle Volume Fraction in Explosive Cylindrical Multiphase Dispersion
Authors: Fernández-Godino M. Giselle , Ouellet Frederick , Haftka Raphael T. , Balachandar S.
Published: March 2019

When an annular bed of solid particles that surrounds a cylindrical high-energy explosive core gets radially dispersed after detonation, the expanding front of particles undergoes instabilities. One of the possible causes of the instabilities is an inhomogeneous initial distribution of particles. This study explores this possibility by introducing two-dimensional perturbations to the initial distribution of particles within the annular bed and quantifying the growth of these perturbations over time using two-dimensional simulations. The initial perturbations are in the form of superposition of up to three sinusoidal azimuthal modal variations in the initial particle volume fraction (PVF, ratio of particle to cell volume). These are observed to impact the particle distribution at later times through a channeling instability whose effects are: (i) to decrease the velocity in regions of larger particle volume (PV) and (ii) to facilitate circumferential particle migration into the slow moving high PV sectors. These departures from axisymmetry are quantified by introducing two metrics. The effect of varying the number of azimuthal modes contained in the initial PVF perturbation, along with their amplitudes, wavelengths, and relative phases is investigated. The proposed metrics do not vary substantially with the relative phases; however, there is a strong variation in the metrics due to changes in the wavenumber. Unimodal perturbations were found to amplify both metrics the most.
Fully
Coupled Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics-Finite Element Method Approach for Fluid–Structure
Interaction Problems With Large Deflections
Authors: Dinçer A. Ersin , Demir Abdullah , Bozkuş Zafer , Tijsseling Arris S.
Published: March 2019

In this study, a combination of the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and finite element method (FEM) solving the complex problem of interaction between fluid with free surface and an elastic structure is studied. A brief description of SPH and FEM is presented. Contact mechanics is used for the coupling between fluid and structure, which are simulated with SPH and FEM, respectively. In the proposed method, to couple mesh-free and mesh-based methods, fluid and structure are solved together by a complete stiffness matrix instead of iterative predictive–corrective or master–slave methods. In addition, fully dynamic large-deformation analysis is carried out in FEM by taking into account mass and damping of the elastic structure. Accordingly, a two-dimensional fluid–structure interaction (FSI) code is developed and validated with two different experiments available in the literature. The results of the numerical method are in good agreement with the experiments. In addition, a novel laboratory experiment on a dam break problem with elastic gate in which the length of the initial water column is larger than its height is conducted. The main difference between the previous experiments and the one conducted in this study is that an upward water motion parallel to the elastic gate is observed at the upstream side of the gate. This motion is captured with the numerical method.
Large acoustoelastic effect for Lamb waves propagating in an incompressible elastic plate
Authors: Mohabuth Munawwar , Kotousov Andrei , Ng Ching-Tai
Published: March 2019

In this paper, the effect of a large pre-stress on the propagation of small amplitude Lamb waves in an incompressible elastic plate is investigated. Using the theory of incremental elasticity, the dispersion equations, which give the phase velocity of the symmetric and anti-symmetric wave modes as a function of the wavenumber, plate thickness, and pre-stress state, are derived for a general strain energy function. By considering the fourth-order strain energy function of incompressible isotropic elasticity, the correction to the phase velocity due to the pre-stress is obtained implicitly to the second order in the pre-strain/stress, and depends on the second, third, and fourth-order elastic constants. Numerical results are presented to show the dependence of the phase velocity of the Lamb wave modes upon the applied stress. These are compared to the first-order correction, and agree well with the limiting and asymptotic values obtained previously. It is envisaged that the present results may well find important practical applications in various guided wave based ultrasonic techniques utilising gels and rubber-like materials.
Pep5, a Fragment of Cyclin D2, Shows Antiparasitic Effects in Different Stages of the
Trypanosoma cruzi
Life Cycle and Blocks Parasite Infectivity
Authors: de Araujo Christiane Bezerra , de Lima Loyze Paola , Calderano Simone Guedes , Silva Damasceno Flávia , Silber Ariel M. , Elias Maria Carolina
Published: March 2019

Pep5 (WELVVLGKL) is a fragment of cyclin D2 that exhibits a 2-fold increase in the S phase of the HeLa cell cycle. When covalently bound to a cell-penetrating peptide (Pep5-cpp), the nonapeptide induces cell death in several tumor cells, including breast cancer and melanoma cells.
The PlyB Endolysin of Bacteriophage vB_BanS_Bcp1 Exhibits Broad-Spectrum Bactericidal Activity against
Bacillus cereus Sensu Lato
Isolates
Authors: Schuch Raymond , Pelzek Adam J. , Nelson Daniel C. , Fischetti Vincent A.
Published: March 2019

Organisms of the
Bacillus cereus
sensu lato
lineage are ubiquitous in the environment and are responsible for toxin-mediated infections ranging from severe food poisoning (
B. cereus
sensu stricto
) to anthrax (
Bacillus anthracis
). The increasing incidence of many of these infections, combined with the specter of antibiotic resistance, has created a need for novel antimicrobials with potent activity, including bacteriophages (or phages) and phage-encoded products (i.e., endolysins). In this study, we describe a broadly infective phage, Bcp1, and its encoded endolysin, PlyB, which exhibited a rapidly bacteriolytic effect against all
B. cereus
sensu lato
isolates tested with no evidence of evolving resistance. Importantly, PlyB was highly efficacious in a mouse model of lethal bacteremia with
B. anthracis
. Both the Bcp1 phage and the PlyB endolysin represent novel mechanisms of action compared to antibiotics, with potential applications to address the evolving problem of antimicrobial resistance.
Pleiotropic Effects of c-di-GMP Content in
Pseudomonas syringae
Authors: Wang Tingting , Cai Zhao , Shao Xiaolong , Zhang Weitong , Xie Yingpeng , Zhang Yingchao , Hua Canfeng , Schuster Stephan C. , Yang Liang , Deng Xin
Published: March 2019

The present work comprehensively analyzed the transcriptome and phenotypes that were regulated by c-di-GMP in
P. syringae
. Given that the majority of diguanylate cyclases and phosphodiesterases have not been characterized in
P. syringae
, this work provided a very useful database for the future study on regulatory mechanism (especially its relationship with T3SS) of c-di-GMP in
P. syringae
. In particular, we identified three promoters that were sensitive to elevated c-di-GMP levels and inserted them into luciferase-based reporters that effectively respond to intracellular levels of c-di-GMP in
P. syringae
, which could be used as an economic and efficient way to measure relative c-di-GMP levels
in vivo
in the future.
Analysis of Invasive Nontypeable
Haemophilus influenzae
Isolates Reveals Selection for the Expression State of Particular Phase-Variable Lipooligosaccharide Biosynthetic Genes
Authors: Phillips Zachary N. , Brizuela Charles , Jennison Amy V. , Staples Megan , Grimwood Keith , Seib Kate L. , Jennings Michael P. , Atack John M.
Published: March 2019

Nontypeable
Haemophilus influenzae
(NTHi) is a major human pathogen, responsible for several acute and chronic infections of the respiratory tract. The incidence of invasive infections caused by NTHi is increasing worldwide.
The Lipoprotein NlpE Is a Cpx Sensor That Serves as a Sentinel for Protein Sorting and Folding Defects in the
Escherichia coli
Envelope
Authors: Delhaye Antoine , Laloux Géraldine , Collet Jean-François
Published: March 2019

Bacteria rely on a sophisticated envelope to shield them against challenging environmental conditions and therefore need to ensure correct envelope assembly and integrity. A major signaling pathway that performs this role in Gram-negative species is the Cpx system. An outer membrane lipoprotein of unclear function, NlpE, has long been exploited as a research tool to study Cpx in
E. coli
, since it triggers this system when overproduced or mislocalized; however, the mechanism and physiological relevance of the NlpE-Cpx connection have awaited further investigation. We elucidate a new function for NlpE by showing that it physically interacts with the Cpx sensor CpxA and acts as a sentinel that specifically monitors two essential envelope biogenesis processes, namely, lipoprotein sorting and oxidative folding.
A New ESX-1 Substrate in Mycobacterium marinum That Is Required for Hemolysis but Not Host Cell Lysis
Authors: Bosserman Rachel E. , Nicholson Kathleen R. , Champion Matthew M. , Champion Patricia A.
Published: March 2019

Both
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
, the cause of human tuberculosis (TB), and
Mycobacterium marinum
, a pathogen of ectotherms, use the ESX-1 secretion system to cause disease. There are many established similarities between the ESX-1 systems in
M. tuberculosis
and in
M. marinum
. Yet the two bacteria infect different hosts, hinting at species-specific functions of the ESX-1 system. Our findings demonstrate that MMAR_2894 is a PE protein secreted by the ESX-1 system of
M. marinum
. We show that MMAR_2894 is required for the optimal secretion of mycobacterial proteins required for disease. Because the
MMAR_2894
gene is not conserved in
M. tuberculosis
, our findings demonstrate that MMAR_2894 may contribute to a species-specific function of the ESX-1 system in
M. marinum
, providing new insight into how the
M. marinum
and
M. tuberculosis
systems differ.
Autonomously Replicating Linear Plasmids That Facilitate the Analysis of Replication Origin Function in
Candida albicans
Authors: Bijlani Swati , Thevandavakkam Mathuravani A. , Tsai Hung-Ji , Berman Judith
Published: March 2019

Circular plasmids are important tools for molecular manipulation in model fungi such as baker’s yeast, yet, in
Candida albicans
, an important yeast pathogen of humans, prior studies were not able to generate circular plasmids that were autonomous (duplicated without inserting themselves into the chromosome). Here, we found that linearizing circular plasmids with sequences from telomeres, the chromosome ends, allows the plasmids to duplicate and segregate in
C. albicans
. We used this system to identify chromosomal sequences that facilitate the initiation of plasmid replication (origins) and to show that an ∼100-bp fragment of a
C. albicans
origin and an origin sequence from a distantly related yeast can both function as origins in
C. albicans
. Thus, the requirements for plasmid geometry, but not necessarily for origin sequences, differ between
C. albicans
and baker’s yeast.
Muscle spasm-induced exothermia in dystonic cerebral palsy: uncommon and frequently misdiagnosed condition
Authors: So Paolo Nikolai Hao , Castañeda Maria Ruby Rose Quijano , Morante Anne Rolaine Velasco , Oliva Raymond Villacorta
Published: March 2019

A known cerebral palsy young man presented with prolonged bouts of generalised body movements associated with high-grade fever without any localising signs of infection, requiring multiple hospital admissions over several months. All septic work-ups, including a lumbar puncture, were negative. Serum chemistry was consistent with rhabdomyolysis. Repeated electroencephalograms showed no epileptiform discharges. Cranial MRI with gadolinium contrast revealed left cerebral atrophy with hyperintensities at the left basal ganglia. Uncontrolled dystonia with concomitant rhabdomyolysis was considered. Subsequent aggressive hydration and administration of muscle relaxant afforded abrupt resolution of symptoms.
Association between plasma B-type natriuretic peptide and anaemia in heart failure with or without ischaemic heart disease: a retrospective study
Authors: Tominaga Mitsutoshi , Kawai Makoto , Minai Kosuke , Ogawa Kazuo , Inoue Yasunori , Morimoto Satoshi , Tanaka Toshikazu , Nagoshi Tomohisa , Ogawa Takayuki , Yoshimura Michihiro
Published: March 2019

Objectives

Anaemia is a risk of worsening heart failure. However, anaemia sometimes remains undetected because the superficial cardiac function does not precisely reflect the adverse impact of anaemia. Plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) could be helpful in these cases. However, the direct anaemic effects on BNP remain unknown. Herein, we compared the direct effect of anaemia on BNP and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) using an advanced statistical procedure.

Design

A retrospective study.

Setting

Secondary care (cardiology), single-centre study.

Participants

The study consisted of 3756 inpatients, including 684 without ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and 3072 with IHD.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Relationship between plasma BNP levels and LVEF values.

Results

A path model was constructed to simultaneously examine the adverse impact of anaemia on LVEF and plasma BNP, allowing for renal function. The path model revealed that LVEF increased in response to low haemoglobin (Hb), and the phenomenon was prominent in non-IHD (standardised regression coefficients (St.β): −0.264, p<0.001) rather than in IHD (St.β: 0.015, p=0.531). However, the response of BNP was commonly observed in both groups (non-IHD St.β: −0.238, IHD St.β: −0.398, p<0.001, respectively). Additionally, this study showed a direct link between low estimated glomerular filtration rate and high BNP independently of LVEF. Incrementally, Bayesian structural equation modelling in covariance structure analysis clearly supported this result. The scatter plots and simple regression analysis revealed that an adequate blood supply was approximately Hb 110 g/L and over in the non-IHD patients, whereas blood was not supplied in sufficient quantities even by Hb 130 g/L in patients with IHD.

Conclusion

The current study demonstrated that anaemia was a substantial risk for worsening cardiac overload as estimated by plasma BNP. The anaemic response of LVEF likely changed depending on underlying cardiac disorders (IHD or not). However, the response of BNP was robustly observed.
Paraplegia prevention in aortic aneurysm repair by thoracoabdominal staging with ‘minimally invasive staged segmental artery coil embolisation’ (MIS²ACE): trial protocol for a randomised controlled multicentre trial
Authors: Petroff David , Czerny Martin , Kölbel Tilo , Melissano Germano , Lonn Lars , Haunschild Josephina , von Aspern Konstantin , Neuhaus Petra , Pelz Johann , Epstein David Mark , Romo-Avilés Nuria , Piotrowski Katja , Etz Christian D
Published: March 2019

Introduction

Spinal cord injury (SCI) including permanent paraplegia constitutes a common complication after repair of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms. The staged-repair concept promises to provide protection by inducing arteriogenesis so that the collateral network can provide a robust blood supply to the spinal cord after intervention. Minimally invasive staged segmental artery coil embolisation (MIS2ACE) has been proved recently to be a feasible enhanced approach to staged repair.

Methods and analysis

This randomised controlled trial uses a multicentre, multinational, parallel group design, where 500 patients will be randomised in a 1:1 ratio to standard aneurysm repair or to MIS2ACE in 1–3 sessions followed by repair. Before randomisation, physicians document whether open or endovascular repair is planned. The primary endpoint is successful aneurysm repair without substantial SCI 30 days after aneurysm repair. Secondary endpoints include any form of SCI, mortality (up to 1 year), length of stay in the intensive care unit, costs and quality-adjusted life years. A generalised linear mixed model will be used with the logit link function and randomisation arm, mode of repair (open or endovascular repair), the Crawford type and the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (euroSCORE) II as fixed effects and the centre as a random effect. Safety endpoints include kidney failure, respiratory failure and embolic events (also from debris). A qualitative study will explore patient perceptions.

Ethics and dissemination

This trial has been approved by the lead Ethics Committee from the University of Leipzig (435/17-ek) and will be reviewed by each of the Ethics Committees at the trial sites. A dedicated project is coordinating communication and dissemination of the trial.

Trial registration number

NCT03434314.
Protocol for prospective randomised assessor-blinded pilot study comparing hyperbaric oxygen therapy with PENtoxifylline+TOcopherol± CLOdronate for the management of early osteoradionecrosis of the mandible
Authors: Bulsara Vishal M , Bulsara Max K , Lewis Emma
Published: March 2019

Introduction

Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) of the mandible is a painful and debilitating condition occurring after radiotherapy to the head and neck to treat cancer. For decades, hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) has formed the mainstay of the early management of ORN. Literature about the efficacy of HBO is contentious. Recently, Oral and Maxillofacial surgical units in France and UK have trialled a combination of medications to treat ORN, also known as PENTOCLO (PENtoxifylline+TOcopherol±CLOdronate). This regime has shown promising results to date however randomised controlled trials in the area comparing HBO against PENTOCLO are lacking and there are no current trials registered in Europe, UK, Australia and the USA. The purpose of this pilot study is to generate a hypothesis that can be tested in large multi-centre controlled trials.

Methods and analysis

For this pilot study we will recruit 16 patients who will be randomly allocated to one of either HBO or PENTOCLO. After a 4 week period of uniform ‘pre-treatment’ medication patients will be commenced on their allocated treatment. Standard follow-up examination, imaging and photographs will be taken and de-identified and then presented to two Oral and Maxillofacial surgeons for allocation of a Notani & Lyons classification score. Data for each patient will be tracked over the 18 months of treatment and follow-up. The results will then be analysed using descriptive statistics and all patients included in an intention to treat analysis.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval for this study has been granted by the South Metropolitan Health Service HREC (PRN RGS0000001193). Data generated by conducting this study will be uploaded to an open access repository in a de-identified form. Results from this study will be disseminated at national and international conferences as well as peer reviewed medical publications.

Trial registration number

ACTRN12618001099213; Pre-results.
The Daily Mile: teachers’ perspectives of the barriers and facilitators to the delivery of a school-based physical activity intervention
Authors: Malden Stephen , Doi Lawrence
Published: March 2019

Objectives

Children spend a significant amount of their time in a school environment, often engaged in sedentary activities. The Daily Mile is a physical activity intervention which aims to increase physical activity and fitness in children through the completion of an outdoor teacher-led walk or run during the school day. This study aimed to explore the barriers, facilitators and perceived benefits of the Daily Mile from the perspectives of teachers through the use of qualitative semi-structured interviews. It also aimed to identify important context-specific factors, which might require consideration for those who intend to adopt the Daily Mile.

Setting

Eight Local Authority primary schools in the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian, UK.

Participants

Thirteen teachers (eleven women) who teach children in primaries one to seven in a school which delivered the Daily Mile.

Results

Data were analysed using an interpretative thematic analysis. Teachers were positive and enthusiastic about the Daily Mile and perceived it to be beneficial to children’s health and fitness. A number of barriers to participation were identified including inadequate all-weather running surfaces and time constraints in an already full school curriculum. The perceived impact on learning time was identified as a concern for teachers, while other benefits were also identified including increased teacher–child rapport and perceived enhanced classroom concentration levels.

Conclusion

The Daily Mile appears to be a valuable addition to the school day, however important context-specific barriers to delivery of the Daily Mile exist, which should be considered when implementing the Daily Mile in schools.
Water intake after dehydration makes muscles more susceptible to cramp but electrolytes reverse that effect
Authors: Lau Wing Yin , Kato Haruyasu , Nosaka Kazunori
Published: March 2019

Objective

No previous study has compared water and oral rehydration solution (ORS) intake after dehydration induced by exercise in the heat for the effect on muscle cramps. The present study tested the hypothesis that water ingestion after dehydration would increase muscle cramp susceptibility, but this would be prevented by ORS ingestion.

Methods

Ten men performed two bouts of downhill running (DHR; −5%) in the heat (35°C–36 °C) until their body mass was reduced by 2%. Ten minutes after DHR, either spring water or electrolyte water similar to ORS (OS-1®) was ingested in a counter-balanced order on two different days separated by a week. Muscle cramp susceptibility was assessed by a threshold frequency (TF) of electrical train stimulation to induce cramp before, immediately after (0), and 30 and 60 min after the ingestion. Blood samples were taken before, immediately and 80 min after DHR to measure serum electrolyte concentrations.

Results

Muscle cramp susceptibility assessed by TF did not change from baseline to immediately after DHR for both conditions (water: 24.6 ± 2.1 Hz, OS-1®: 24.7 ± 1.4 Hz). TF decreased after water intake by 4.3 Hz (30 min) and 5.1 Hz (60 min post-ingestion), but increased after OS-1®intake by 3.7 and 5.4 Hz, respectively. Serum sodium and chloride concentrations decreased after water intake but maintained after OS-1®intake.

Conclusion

These results suggest that water intake after dehydration makes muscles more susceptible to electrical simulation-induced muscle cramp, probably due to dilution of electrolytes, and when OS-1®is consumed, the susceptibility to muscle cramp decreases.
Delirium management by palliative medicine specialists: a survey from the association for palliative medicine of Great Britain and Ireland
Authors: Boland Jason W , Kabir Monisha , Bush Shirley H , Spiller Juliet Anne , Johnson Miriam J , Agar Meera , Lawlor Peter
Published: March 2019

Objectives

Delirium is common in palliative care settings. Management includes detection, treatment of cause(s), non-pharmacological interventions and family support; strategies which are supported with varying levels of evidence. Emerging evidence suggests that antipsychotic use should be minimised in managing mild to moderate severity delirium, but the integration of this evidence into clinical practice is unknown.

Methods

A 21-question online anonymous survey was emailed to Association for Palliative Medicine members in current clinical practice (n=859), asking about delirium assessment, management and research priorities.

Results

Response rate was 39%: 70% of respondents were palliative medicine consultants. Delirium guidelines were used by some: 42% used local guidelines but 38% used none. On inpatient admission, 59% never use a delirium screening tool. Respondents would use non-pharmacological interventions to manage delirium, either alone (39%) or with an antipsychotic (58%). Most respondents (91%) would prescribe an antipsychotic and 6% a benzodiazepine, for distressing hallucinations unresponsive to non-pharmacological measures. Inpatient (57%) and community teams (60%) do not formally support family carers. Research priorities were delirium prevention, management and prediction of reversibility.

Conclusion

This survey of UK and Irish Palliative Medicine specialists shows that delirium screening at inpatient admission is suboptimal. Most specialists continue to use antipsychotics in combination with non-pharmacological interventions to manage delirium. More support for family carers should be routinely provided by clinical teams. Further rigorously designed clinical trials are urgently needed in view of management variability, emerging evidence and perceived priorities for research.
Sociodemographic and behavioural correlates of lifetime number of sexual partners: findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
Authors: Jackson Sarah E , Yang Lin , Veronese Nicola , Koyanagi Ai , López Sánchez Guillermo Felipe , Grabovac Igor , Soysal Pinar , Smith Lee
Published: March 2019

Background

No current data are available on correlates of lifetime sexual partners at older ages. This study aimed to explore correlates of the lifetime number of sexual partners in a sample of older adults.

Method

Data were from 3054 men and 3867 women aged ≥50 years participating in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Participants reported their lifetime number of sexual partners and a range of sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviours. Multivariable multinomial logistic regression was used to examine correlates of lifetime number of sexual partners, with analyses performed separately for men and women and weighted for non-response.

Results

Younger age, being separated/divorced or single/never married, being a current or former smoker, and drinking alcohol regularly or frequently were independently associated with a higher number of sexual partners in both men and women. Homosexuality in men and bisexuality in women were also associated with a higher number of sexual partners. White ethnicity, regular moderate and vigorous physical activity, and the absence of limiting long-standing illness were independently associated with a higher number of sexual partners in women only, and being in the highest and lowest quintiles of wealth was independently associated with a higher number of sexual partners in men only.

Conclusions

A higher lifetime number of sexual partners is associated with a number of sociodemographic and behavioural factors. An understanding of who is more likely to have had more sexual partners may help health practitioners to identify individuals who are at greatest risk of sexually transmitted infection and their associated health complications across the life course.
Road user behaviour, attitudes and crashes: a survey of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia
Authors: Cullen Patricia , Hunter Kate , Clapham Kathleen , Senserrick Teresa , Rogers Kris , Harrison James E , Ivers Rebecca Q
Published: March 2019

Objective

This study aimed to describe road user behaviour, attitudes and crashes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in four urban, regional and remote communities located in New South Wales (NSW) and South Australia (SA).

Methods

Face-to-face surveys were administered to clients (n=625) in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS). All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients attending the ACCHS for any reason were approached to participate over a 2-week period. Surveys included questions on sociodemographic factors, crash involvement, road behaviours and road safety attitudes drawn from tools used in national surveys.

Results

The participation rate was high (69%–75%). Seat belt wearing rates were very high, particularly in the front of a car, although rear seat belt wearing rates in SA (77%) were substantially lower than in NSW (93%). Among drivers, 11% reported always or mostly driving 10 km/hour over the speed limit, and this was higher among drivers in SA (13.4%). Drivers aged 55 years and over and/or women were more likely to report that they do not drink at any time or restricted what they drank when driving. These results enable comparison with the Community Attitude to Road Safety survey conducted Australia-wide in 2013.

Conclusions

This study confirms that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are inclined to report attitudes or road safety behaviours similar to the rest of the population; however, rear restraint use was lower and self-reported speeding was higher. These issues are likely attributable to transport options and geography in remote communities, which can contribute to overcrowding and unsafe driving practices.
A randomised double-blind placebo-controlled feasibility trial of flavonoid-rich cocoa for fatigue in people with relapsing and remitting multiple sclerosis
Authors: Coe Shelly , Cossington Jo , Collett Johnny , Soundy Andrew , Izadi Hooshang , Ovington Martin , Durkin Luke , Kirsten Maja , Clegg Miriam , Cavey Ana , Wade Derick T , Palace Jacqueline , DeLuca Gabriele C , Chapman Kim , Harrison Jane-Marie , Buckingham Elizabeth , Dawes Helen
Published: March 2019

The impact of flavonoids on fatigue has not been investigated in relapsing and remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Objective

To determine the feasibility and estimate the potential effect of flavonoid-rich cocoa on fatigue and fatigability in RRMS.

Methods

A randomised double-blind placebo-controlled feasibility study in people recently diagnosed with RRMS and fatigue, throughout the Thames Valley, UK (ISRCTN69897291). During a 6-week intervention participants consumed a high or low flavonoid cocoa beverage daily. Fatigue and fatigability were measured at three visits (weeks 0, 3 and 6). Feasibility and fidelity were assessed through recruitment and retention, adherence and a process evaluation.

Results

40 people with multiple sclerosis (10 men, 30 women, age 44±10 years) were randomised and allocated to high (n=19) or low (n=21) flavonoid groups and included in analysis. Missing data were <20% and adherence to intervention of allocated individuals was >75%. There was a small effect on fatigue (Neuro-QoL: effect size (ES) 0.04, 95% CI −0.40 to 0.48) and a moderate effect on fatigability (6 min walk test: ES 0.45, 95% CI −0.18 to 1.07). There were seven adverse events (four control, three intervention), only one of which was possibly related and it was resolved.

Conclusion

A flavonoid beverage demonstrates the potential to improve fatigue and fatigability in RRMS.
Operational State Complexity and Decidability of Jumping Finite Automata
Authors: Beier Simon , Holzer Markus , Kutrib Martin
Published: March 2019

We consider jumping finite automata and their operational state complexity and decidability status. Roughly speaking, a jumping automaton is a finite automaton with a non-continuous input. This device has nice relations to semilinear sets and thus to Parikh images of regular sets, which will be exhaustively used in our proofs. In particular, we prove upper bounds on the intersection and complementation. The latter result on the complementation upper bound answers an open problem from [G. J. Lavado, G. Pighizzini, S. Seki: Operational State Complexity of Parikh Equivalence, 2014]. Moreover, we correct an erroneous result on the inverse homomorphism closure. Finally, we also consider the decidability status of standard problems as regularity, disjointness, universality, inclusion, etc. for jumping finite automata.
The Generalized Rank of Trace Languages
Authors: Kunc Michal , Meitner Jan
Published: March 2019

Given a partially commutative alphabet and a set of words [Formula: see text], the rank of [Formula: see text] expresses the amount of shuffling required to produce a word belonging to [Formula: see text] from two words whose concatenation belongs to the closure of [Formula: see text] with respect to the partial commutation. In this paper, the notion of rank is generalized from concatenations of two words to an arbitrary fixed number of words. In this way, an infinite sequence of non-negative integers and infinity is assigned to every set of words. It is proved that in the case of alphabets defining free commutative monoids, as well as in the more general case of direct products of free monoids, sequences of ranks of regular sets are exactly non-decreasing sequences that are eventually constant. On the other hand, by uncovering a relationship between rank sequences of regular sets and rational series over the min-plus semiring, it is shown that already for alphabets defining free products of free commutative monoids, rank sequences need not be eventually periodic.
Assisted Diagnosis of Parkinsonism Based on the Striatal Morphology
Authors: Segovia Fermín , Górriz Juan M. , Ramírez Javier , Martínez-Murcia Francisco J. , Castillo-Barnes Diego
Published: March 2019

Parkinsonism is a clinical syndrome characterized by the progressive loss of striatal dopamine. Its diagnosis is usually corroborated by neuroimaging data such as DaTSCAN neuroimages that allow visualizing the possible dopamine deficiency. During the last decade, a number of computer systems have been proposed to automatically analyze DaTSCAN neuroimages, eliminating the subjectivity inherent to the visual examination of the data. In this work, we propose a computer system based on machine learning to separate Parkinsonian patients and control subjects using the size and shape of the striatal region, modeled from DaTSCAN data. First, an algorithm based on adaptative thresholding is used to parcel the striatum. This region is then divided into two according to the brain hemisphere division and characterized with 152 measures, extracted from the volume and its three possible 2-dimensional projections. Afterwards, the Bhattacharyya distance is used to discard the least discriminative measures and, finally, the neuroimage category is estimated by means of a Support Vector Machine classifier. This method was evaluated using a dataset with 189 DaTSCAN neuroimages, obtaining an accuracy rate over 94%. This rate outperforms those obtained by previous approaches that use the intensity of each striatal voxel as a feature.
Uniqueness and regularity of flows of non-Newtonian fluids with critical power-law growth
Authors: Bulíček Miroslav , Kaplický Petr , Pražák Dalibor
Published: March 2019

We deal with flows of non-Newtonian fluids in three-dimensional setting subjected to the homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition. Under the natural monotonicity, coercivity and growth condition on the Cauchy stress tensor expressed by a power index [Formula: see text], we establish regularity properties of a solution with respect to time variable. Consequently, we can use this better information for showing the uniqueness of the solution provided that the initial data are good enough for all power–law indices [Formula: see text]. Such a result was available for [Formula: see text] and therefore the paper fills the gap and extends the uniqueness result to the whole range of [Formula: see text]’s for which the energy equality holds.
One-loop diagrams in quantum gravity coupled to scalar electrodynamics
Authors: Go Hyun Ju
Published: March 2019

In nonsupersymmetric-covariant quantum gravity theory, for each system of gravity coupled with single field is one-loop divergent. There were two kinds of methods to reach this result: diagrammatic calculation and heat kernel expansion. On the other hand, more symmetry requirements make the theory finite and it was analyzed how it is possible. In this paper, based on diagrammatic calculation, we consider Einstein–Scalar electrodynamics (Einstein–SQED) system which is the simplest model among the systems of gravity coupled with multiple fields having their own interaction. Although it is known that fermionic loop can cancel the divergent terms as in the case of supersymmetric theory, there might be accidental cancellation by the equation of motion at a low probability. It is worth to study because there is no such attempt for this model yet and it can be checked easily using the existing result. We introduce how to calculate the possible one-loop diagrams in Einstein–SQED system and show how divergent terms are not vanished with the results calculated earlier.
Pseudospectral Meshless Radial Point Hermit Interpolation Versus Pseudospectral Meshless Radial Point Interpolation
Authors: Shivanian Elyas
Published: March 2019

This paper develops pseudospectral meshless radial point Hermit interpolation (PSMRPHI) and pseudospectral meshless radial point interpolation (PSMRPI) in order to apply to the elliptic partial differential equations (PDEs) held on irregular domains subject to impedance (convective) boundary conditions. Elliptic PDEs in simplest form, i.e., Laplace equation or Poisson equation, play key role in almost all kinds of PDEs. On the other hand, impedance boundary conditions, from their application in electromagnetic problems, or convective boundary conditions, from their application in heat transfer problems, are nearly more complicated forms of the boundary conditions in boundary value problems (BVPs). Based on this problem, we aim also to compare PSMRPHI and PSMRPI which belong to more influence type of meshless methods. PSMRPI method is based on a combination of meshless methods and spectral collocation techniques. The point interpolation method with the help of radial basis functions is used to construct shape functions which act as basis functions in the frame of PSMRPI and PSMRPHI methods. While the latter one has been rarely used in applications, we observe that is more accurate and reliable than PSMRPI method.
Optimizing N-dimensional, winograd-based convolution for manycore CPUs
Authors: Jia Zhen , Zlateski Aleksandar , Durand Fredo , Li Kai
Published: March 2019

Recent work on Winograd-based convolution allows for a great reduction of computational complexity, but existing implementations are limited to 2D data and a single kernel size of 3 by 3. They can achieve only slightly better, and often worse performance than better optimized, direct convolution implementations. We propose and implement an algorithm for N-dimensional Winograd-based convolution that allows arbitrary kernel sizes and is optimized for manycore CPUs. Our algorithm achieves high hardware utilization through a series of optimizations. Our experiments show that on modern ConvNets, our optimized implementation, is on average more than 3 x, and sometimes 8 x faster than other state-of-the-art CPU implementations on an Intel Xeon Phi manycore processors. Moreover, our implementation on the Xeon Phi achieves competitive performance for 2D ConvNets and superior performance for 3D ConvNets, compared with the best GPU implementations.
Communication-avoiding parallel minimum cuts and connected components
Authors: Gianinazzi Lukas , Kalvoda Pavel , De Palma Alessandro , Besta Maciej , Hoefler Torsten
Published: March 2019

We present novel scalable parallel algorithms for finding global minimum cuts and connected components, which are important and fundamental problems in graph processing. To take advantage of future massively parallel architectures, our algorithms are
communication-avoiding
: they reduce the costs of communication across the network and the cache hierarchy. The fundamental technique underlying our work is the
randomized sparsification
of a graph: removing a fraction of graph edges, deriving a solution for such a sparsified graph, and using the result to obtain a solution for the original input. We design and implement sparsification with
O
(1) synchronization steps. Our global minimum cut algorithm decreases communication costs and computation compared to the state-of-the-art, while our connected components algorithm incurs few cache misses and synchronization steps. We validate our approach by evaluating MPI implementations of the algorithms on a petascale supercomputer. We also provide an approximate variant of the minimum cut algorithm and show that it approximates the exact solutions well while using a fraction of cores in a fraction of time.
CRISPR/Cas Genome Editing and Precision Plant Breeding in Agriculture
Authors: Chen Kunling , Wang Yanpeng , Zhang Rui , Zhang Huawei , Gao Caixia
Published: March 2019

Enhanced agricultural production through innovative breeding technology is urgently needed to increase access to nutritious foods worldwide. Recent advances in CRISPR/Cas genome editing enable efficient targeted modification in most crops, thus promising to accelerate crop improvement. Here, we review advances in CRISPR/Cas9 and its variants and examine their applications in plant genome editing and related manipulations. We highlight base-editing tools that enable targeted nucleotide substitutions and describe the various delivery systems, particularly DNA-free methods, that have linked genome editing with crop breeding. We summarize the applications of genome editing for trait improvement, development of techniques for fine-tuning gene regulation, strategies for breeding virus resistance, and the use of high-throughput mutant libraries. We outline future perspectives for genome editing in plant synthetic biology and domestication, advances in delivery systems, editing specificity, homology-directed repair, and gene drives. Finally, we discuss the challenges and opportunities for precision plant breeding and its bright future in agriculture.