bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Differences in the accommodation stimulus response curves of adult myopes and emmetropes: a summary and update
Authors: Schmid Katrina L , Strang Niall C
Published: October 2015

Purpose

To provide a summary of the classic paper “Differences in the accommodation stimulus response curves of adult myopes and emmetropes” published in Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics in 1998 and to provide an update on the topic of accommodation errors in myopia.

The accommodation responses of 33 participants (10 emmetropes, 11 early onset myopes and 12 late onset myopes) aged 18–31 years were measured using the Canon Autoref R‐1 free space autorefractor using three methods to vary the accommodation demand: decreasing distance (4 m to 0.25 cm), negative lenses (0 to −4 D at 4 m) and positive lenses (+4 to 0 D at 0.25 m). We observed that the greatest accommodation errors occurred for the negative lens method whereas minimal errors were observed using positive lenses. Adult progressing myopes had greater lags of accommodation than stable myopes at higher demands induced by negative lenses. Progressing myopes had shallower response gradients than the emmetropes and stable myopes; however the reduced gradient was much less than that observed in children using similar methods.

Recent Findings

This paper has been often cited as evidence that accommodation responses at near may be primarily reduced in adults with progressing myopia and not in stable myopes and/or that challenging accommodation stimuli (negative lenses with monocular viewing) are required to generate larger accommodation errors. As an analogy, animals reared with hyperopic errors develop axial elongation and myopia. Retinal defocus signals are presumably passed to the retinal pigment epithelium and choroid and then ultimately the sclera to modify eye length. A number of lens treatments that act to slow myopia progression may partially work through reducing accommodation errors.
Anxiety, depression and autonomy–connectedness: The mediating role of alexithymia and assertiveness
Authors: Rutten Elisabeth A. P. , Bachrach Nathan , van Balkom Anton J. L. M. , Braeken Johan , Ouwens Machteld A. , Bekker Marrie H. J.
Published: October 2015

Objective

Autonomy–connectedness (self‐awareness, sensitivity to others, and capacity for managing new situations) reflects the capacity for self‐governance, including in social relationships. Evidence showed that autonomy–connectedness is related to anxiety and depression. Little is known about the underlying mechanisms. We hypothesized that alexithymia and assertiveness would mediate the relationships between autonomy–connectedness and anxiety and depression.

Method

Relationships among the variables were investigated in 100 patients with a mean age of 42.2 suffering from anxiety and/or depression using a cross‐sectional design.

Results

The relationship between self‐awareness and both anxiety and depression was mediated by alexithymia. For anxiety, there was also a direct effect of sensitivity to others that was not explained by either alexithymia or assertiveness. Assertiveness did not have any mediational effect.

Conclusions

The results indicate that particularly alexithymia explains the association of autonomy–connectedness with anxiety and depression.

Practitioner points

The study confirmed the relevance of autonomy–connectedness in anxiety and depression.

In treating symptoms of anxiety, it is advisable to give attention to normalizing the patient's sensitivity to others.

Treatment of patients with symptoms of anxiety and depression should include assessment of emotional awareness and, in the case of impaired emotional awareness, should be tailored as to promote increased awareness.
Lower leaf gas‐exchange and higher photorespiration of treated wastewater irrigated Citrus trees is modulated by soil type and climate
Authors: Paudel Indira , Shaviv Avi , Bernstein Nirit , Heuer Bruria , Shapira Or , Lukyanov Victor , Bar‐Tal Asher , Rotbart Nativ , Ephrath Jhonathan , Cohen Shabtai
Published: October 2015

Water quality, soil and climate can interact to limit photosynthesis and to increase photooxidative damage in sensitive plants. This research compared diffusive and non‐diffusive limitations to photosynthesis as well as photorespiration of leaves of grapefruit trees in heavy clay and sandy soils having a previous history of treated wastewater (TWW) irrigation for >10 years, with different water qualities [fresh water (FW) vs TWW and sodium amended treated wastewater (TWW + Na)] in two arid climates (summer vs winter) and in orchard and lysimeter experiments. TWW irrigation increased salts (Na+ and Cl−), membrane leakage, proline and soluble sugar content, and decreased osmotic potentials in leaves of all experiments. Reduced leaf growth and higher stomatal and non‐stomatal (i.e. mesophyll) limitations were found in summer and on clay soil for TWW and TWW + Na treatments in comparison to winter, sandy soil and FW irrigation, respectively. Stomatal closure, lower chlorophyll content and altered Rubisco activity are probable causes of higher limitations. On the other hand, non‐photochemical quenching, an alternative energy dissipation pathway, was only influenced by water quality, independent of soil type and season. Furthermore, light and CO2 response curves were investigated for other possible causes of higher non‐stomatal limitation. A higher proportion of non‐cyclic electrons were directed to the O2 dependent pathway, and a higher proportion of electrons were diverted to photorespiration in summer than in winter. In conclusion, both diffusive and non‐diffusive limitations contribute to the lower photosynthetic performance of leaves following TWW irrigation, and the response depends on soil type and environmental factors.
Stress‐related exhaustion disorder – clinical manifestation of burnout? A review of assessment methods, sleep impairments, cognitive disturbances, and neuro‐biological and physiological changes in clinical burnout
Authors: Grossi Giorgio , Perski Aleksander , Osika Walter , Savic Ivanka
Published: October 2015

The aim of this paper was to provide an overview of the literature on clinically significant burnout, focusing on its assessment, associations with sleep disturbances, cognitive impairments, as well as neurobiological and physiological correlates. Fifty‐nine English language articles and six book chapters were included. The results indicate that exhaustion disorder (ED), as described in the Swedish version of the International Classification of Diseases, seems to be the most valid clinical equivalent of burnout. The data supports the notion that sleep impairments are causative and maintaining factors for this condition. Patients with clinical burnout/ED suffer from cognitive impairments in the areas of memory and executive functioning. The studies on neuro‐biological mechanisms have reported functional uncoupling of networks relating the limbic system to the pre‐frontal cortex, and decreased volumes of structures within the basal ganglia. Although there is a growing body of literature on the physiological correlates of clinical burnout/ED, there is to date no biomarker for this condition. More studies on the role of sleep disturbances, cognitive impairments, and neurobiological and physiological correlates in clinical burnout/ED are warranted.
Dielectric capacitors with three-dimensional nanoscale interdigital electrodes for energy storage
Authors: Han Fangming , Meng Guowen , Zhou Fei , Song Li , Li Xinhua , Hu Xiaoye , Zhu Xiaoguang , Wu Bing , Wei Bingqing
Published: October 2015

Three-dimensional nanoarchitectural design of electrodes to simultaneously boost capacitance and breakdown voltage of dielectric capacitors.
Kinetics of small molecule interactions with membrane proteins in single cells measured with mechanical amplification
Authors: Guan Yan , Shan Xiaonan , Zhang Fenni , Wang Shaopeng , Chen Hong-Yuan , Tao Nongjian
Published: October 2015

Small-molecule interactions with membrane proteins in single cells are measured with a mechanical amplification method.
Nearly free electrons in a 5
d
delafossite oxide metal
Authors: Kushwaha Pallavi , Sunko Veronika , Moll Philip J. W. , Bawden Lewis , Riley Jonathon M. , Nandi Nabhanila , Rosner Helge , Schmidt Marcus P. , Arnold Frank , Hassinger Elena , Kim Timur K. , Hoesch Moritz , Mackenzie Andrew P. , King Phil D. C.
Published: October 2015

Transport and ARPES reveal extremely good metallicity arising from almost free-electron behavior in single-crystal PtCoO
2
.
A quantum annealing architecture with all-to-all connectivity from local interactions
Authors: Lechner Wolfgang , Hauke Philipp , Zoller Peter
Published: October 2015

An architecture for adiabatic quantum computing devices, which is programmed by local fields and features all-to-all connectivity.
Pharmacologic inhibition of JAK-STAT signaling promotes hair growth
Authors: Harel Sivan , Higgins Claire A. , Cerise Jane E. , Dai Zhenpeng , Chen James C. , Clynes Raphael , Christiano Angela M.
Published: October 2015

Topical treatment of mouse and human skin with small-molecule inhibitors of the JAK-STAT pathway results in hair growth.
Biocontrol of the Potato Blackleg and Soft Rot Diseases Caused by Dickeya dianthicola
Authors: Raoul des Essarts Yannick , Cigna Jérémy , Quêtu-Laurent Angélique , Caron Aline , Munier Euphrasie , Beury-Cirou Amélie , Hélias Valérie , Faure Denis
Published: October 2015

Development of protection tools targeting
Dickeya
species is an important issue in the potato production. Here, we present the identification and the characterization of novel biocontrol agents. Successive screenings of 10,000 bacterial isolates led us to retain 58 strains that exhibited growth inhibition properties against several
Dickeya
sp. and/or
Pectobacterium
sp. pathogens. Most of them belonged to the
Pseudomonas
and
Bacillus
genera.
In vitro
assays revealed a fitness decrease of the tested
Dickeya
sp. and
Pectobacterium
sp. pathogens in the presence of the biocontrol agents. In addition, four independent greenhouse assays performed to evaluate the biocontrol bacteria effect on potato plants artificially contaminated with
Dickeya dianthicola
revealed that a mix of three biocontrol agents, namely,
Pseudomonas putida
PA14H7 and
Pseudomonas fluorescens
PA3G8 and PA4C2, repeatedly decreased the severity of blackleg symptoms as well as the transmission of
D. dianthicola
to the tuber progeny. This work highlights the use of a combination of biocontrol strains as a potential strategy to limit the soft rot and blackleg diseases caused by
D. dianthicola
on potato plants and tubers.
Spatial Distribution of Lactococcus lactis Colonies Modulates the Production of Major Metabolites during the Ripening of a Model Cheese
Authors: Le Boucher Clémentine , Gagnaire Valérie , Briard-Bion Valérie , Jardin Julien , Maillard Marie-Bernadette , Dervilly-Pinel Gaud , Le Bizec Bruno , Lortal Sylvie , Jeanson Sophie , Thierry Anne
Published: October 2015

In cheese, lactic acid bacteria are immobilized at the coagulation step and grow as colonies. The spatial distribution of bacterial colonies is characterized by the size and number of colonies for a given bacterial population within cheese. Our objective was to demonstrate that different spatial distributions, which lead to differences in the exchange surface between the colonies and the cheese matrix, can influence the ripening process. The strategy was to generate cheeses with the same growth and acidification of a
Lactococcus lactis
strain with two different spatial distributions, big and small colonies, to monitor the production of the major ripening metabolites, including sugars, organic acids, peptides, free amino acids, and volatile metabolites, over 1 month of ripening. The monitored metabolites were qualitatively the same for both cheeses, but many of them were more abundant in the small-colony cheeses than in the big-colony cheeses over 1 month of ripening. Therefore, the results obtained showed that two different spatial distributions of
L. lactis
modulated the ripening time course by generating moderate but significant differences in the rates of production or consumption for many of the metabolites commonly monitored throughout ripening. The present work further explores the immobilization of bacteria as colonies within cheese and highlights the consequences of this immobilization on cheese ripening.
Maturation of Fibrinolytic Bacillopeptidase F Involves both Hetero- and Autocatalytic Processes
Authors: Meng Dongheng , Dai Meihong , Xu Bi-Lin , Zhao Zhong-Shu , Liang Xiaoliang , Wang Mingqiu , Tang Xiao-Feng , Tang Bing
Published: October 2015

Bacillopeptidase F (Bpr) is a fibrinolytic serine protease produced by
Bacillus subtilis
. Its precursor is composed of a signal peptide, an N-terminal propeptide, a catalytic domain, and a long C-terminal extension (CTE). Several active forms of Bpr have been previously reported, but little is known about the maturation of this enzyme. Here, a gene encoding a Bpr (BprL) was cloned from
B. subtilis
LZW and expressed in
B. subtilis
WB700, and three fibrinolytic mature forms with apparent molecular masses of 45, 75, and 85 kDa were identified in the culture supernatant. After treatment with urea, the 75-kDa mature form had the same molecular mass as the 85-kDa mature form, from which we infer that they adopt different conformations. Mutational analysis revealed that while the 85-kDa mature form is generated via heterocatalytic processing of a BprL proform by an unidentified protease of
B. subtilis
, the production of the 75- and 45-kDa mature forms involves both hetero- and autocatalytic events. From
in vitro
analysis of BprL and its sequential C-terminal truncation variants, it appears that partial removal of the CTE is required for the initiation of autoprocessing of the N-terminal propeptide, which is composed of a core domain (N*) and a 15-residue linker peptide, thereby yielding the 45-kDa mature form. These data suggest that the differential processing of BprL, either heterocatalytically or autocatalytically, leads to the formation of multiple mature forms with different molecular masses or conformations.
Silver Nanoparticles Decrease the Viability of Cryptosporidium parvum Oocysts
Authors: Cameron Pamela , Gaiser Birgit K. , Bhandari Bidha , Bartley Paul M. , Katzer Frank , Bridle Helen
Published: October 2015

Oocysts of the waterborne protozoan parasite
Cryptosporidium parvum
are highly resistant to chlorine disinfection. We show here that both silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and silver ions significantly decrease oocyst viability, in a dose-dependent manner, between concentrations of 0.005 and 500 μg/ml, as assessed by an excystation assay and the shell/sporozoite ratio. For percent excystation, the results are statistically significant for 500 μg/ml of AgNPs, with reductions from 83% for the control to 33% with AgNPs. For Ag ions, the results were statistically significant at 500 and 5,000 μg/ml, but the percent excystation values were reduced only to 66 and 62%, respectively, from 86% for the control. The sporozoite/shell ratio was affected to a greater extent following AgNP exposure, presumably because sporozoites are destroyed by interaction with NPs. We also demonstrated via hyperspectral imaging that there is a dual mode of interaction, with Ag ions entering the oocyst and destroying the sporozoites while AgNPs interact with the cell wall and, at high concentrations, are able to fully break the oocyst wall.
Immunophenotyping of ampullary carcinomata allows for stratification of treatment specific subgroups
Authors: Leo Joyce M , Kalloger Steve E , Peixoto Renata D , Gale Nadia S , Webber Douglas L , Owen David A , Renouf Daniel , Schaeffer David F
Published: October 2015

Background

Ampullary carcinomata (AC) can be separated into intestinal (IT) or pancreatobiliary (PB) subtypes. Although morphological, immunohistochemical and molecular differentiation of IT and PB have been well documented; the prognostic significance of histological subtype and whether patients with either subtype benefit from differential chemotherapeutic regimens remains unclear.

Methods

As part of a larger cohort study, patients who underwent resection for AC or pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) were retrospectively identified. Clinicopathological covariates and outcome were obtained and MUC1, MUC2, CDX2 and CK20 were assessed with immunohistochemistry.

Results

Of 99 ACs, the resultant immunophenotypes indicated 48% and 22% were IT and PB, respectively. Thirty (30%) cases were quadruple negative (QN). Within the PDAC cohort (N=257), the most prevalent immunophenotype was QN (53%). Subsequently, all QN ACs were classified as PB immunohistochemically yielding 47.5% and 52.5% classified as IT and PB, respectively. Involved regional lymph nodes and elevated T-stage were significantly associated with PB compared with IT AC (p=0.0032 and 0.0396, respectively). Progression-free survival revealed inferior survival for PB versus IT AC (p=0.0156).

Conclusions

AC can be classified into prognostic groups with unique clinicopathological characteristics using immunohistochemistry. Immunophenotypical similarity of PB and PDAC suggests that treatment regimens similar to those used in PDAC should be explored.
Cardioprotective role of β-blockers and angiotensin antagonists in early-onset anthracyclines-induced cardiotoxicity in adult patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Yun Seongseok , Vincelette Nicole D , Abraham Ivo
Published: October 2015

Background

Anthracyclines are commonly used chemotherapeutic agents with proven efficacy in such malignancies as breast cancer, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas. These agents are associated with irreversible accumulative dose-related cardiomyopathy. Many agents have been examined to reduce cardiotoxicity risk.

Aims

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the efficacy of β-blockers and angiotensin antagonists to prevent early-onset anthracyclines-induced left ventricular dysfunction and cardiac events.

Methods

Relevant articles were searched in PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane database of systematic reviews up to July 2015. Eligible studies were limited to randomised controlled trials comparing the efficacy of cardioprotective agents (β-blocker and angiotensin antagonist) with control (either no treatment or placebo) in adult patients (age >18 years) treated with anthracyclines-based regimens.

Results

Pooled analysis showed an association of β-blockers and/or angiotensin antagonists treatment with higher post-chemotherapy left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 64.03% compared with 57.48% for control treatment. The mean difference estimate (95% CI) was 6.06% (0.54 to 11.58), p=0.03, with significant heterogeneity, I2 (95% CI)=96% (82.7 to 109.3). Though the point estimate for the relative rate of cardiac events was lower in the experimental arm, the difference was not statistically significant. In an exploratory subgroup analysis, the benefit of experimental agents on LVEF preservation was prominent in patients treated with higher accumulative dose of anthracyclines, but not in the lower dose group.

Conclusions

β-Blockers and angiotensin antagonists treatments were associated with better LVEF preservation, and the benefit was prominent in patients treated with higher anthracyclines accumulative dose. Unexplained heterogeneity remains, indicating the need for more controlled studies. This analysis provides some support for the routine use of β-blockers or angiotensin antagonists in patients undergoing anthracyclines treatment, especially when higher accumulative dose is expected.
Cerebral venous thrombosis: comparing characteristics of infective and non-infective aetiologies: a 12-year retrospective study
Authors: Korathanakhun Pat , Petpichetchian Wongchan , Sathirapanya Pornchai , Geater Sarayut Lucien
Published: October 2015

Background

Most cases of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) have non-infective causes. Infective CVT, though less common, often results in a catastrophic outcome. The distinctive clinical characteristics of infection-associated CVT (IACVT) and non-infection-associated CVT (NIACVT) would facilitate early detection and proper management.

Objective

To compare the characteristics of IACVT and NIACVT.

Methods

All patients with CVT admitted to Songklanagarind Hospital between January 2002 and December 2013 with the ICD10 codes I636, I676, O225 and G08 were identified and recruited. We compared the clinical presentations, neuroimaging results and hospital outcomes for patients with IACVT and those with NIACVT. We analysed the differences using descriptive statistics. Additionally, for patients with IACVT, we described the primary sites of infection, associated CVT, host immune status and microbiological results.

Results

Twenty of the 83 patients with CVT (24.1%) had IACVT. Male gender (70.0% vs 34.9%) and pre-existing diabetes mellitus (35.0% vs 4.8%) were significantly more prevalent in the IACVT than the NIACVT group. Additionally, cavernous sinus thrombosis predominated in IACVT (80.0% vs 11.1%), whereas focal neurological syndrome was more common among patients with NIACVT (50.8% vs 15.0%). Paracranial infections, mostly sinusitis and orbital cellulitis, were common primary infections (80.0%) among patients with IACVT. Lastly, fungus was a devastating causative pathogen in IACVT—five of six patients with fungal infection had intracranial complications.

Conclusions

Cavernous sinus thrombosis is a distinctive clinical presentation of IACVT, whereas focal neurological syndrome is a hallmark feature of NIACVT. Paracranial fungal infections are highly virulent and frequently associated with intracranial complications.
Foundation investigations and design in a karst terrain for the Antalya Aquarium complex, Turkey
Authors: Özçelik Mehmet
Published: October 2015

This paper reports the site investigations (geological, geophysical and geotechnical), mass and material properties of weak travertines, and their reinforcement for the Antalya Aquarium complex. Weak travertines have poor engineering properties, such as high deformability and insufficient strength. This causes problems in the construction of engineering structures. In this case, detailed investigations were required to determine the potential risk to the foundations for the Aquarium and facilities, and to determine the measures required to mitigate against risk of failure. The mass and material properties of the weak travertines and overall reinforcement of the rock foundation were investigated, and further measures for the aquarium foundations were recommended and implemented.
Assessment of water inrush vulnerability from overlying aquifer using GIS–AHP-based ‘three maps–two predictions’ method: a case study in Hulusu coal mine, China
Authors: Wu Q. , Liu Y. , Zhou W. , Wu X. , Liu S. , Sun W. , Zeng Y.
Published: October 2015

The vulnerability of coal seams C2, C3 and C6 to water inrush from their overlying aquifers is evaluated in the first mining area of Hulusu coal mine. Detailed geological and hydrogeological data are collected for a hydrogeological conceptual model of water inrush. An index model of water abundance of the overlying aquifers is constructed using a geographic information system and the analytic hierarchy process, resulting in a zoning map of water abundance. Comparison of the numerically calculated height of the induced fracture zone above mining areas with the thickness of the overlying strata between the coal seam and the overlying aquifer leads to a connectivity map, which indicates whether the fracture zone is connected to the overlying aquifers. Superimposition of the two zoning maps leads to a comprehensive vulnerability zoning map of overlying aquifer water inrush. Visual Modflow is used to predict the mine discharges from the overlying aquifers under both natural and mining conditions. Appropriate prevention and control measures against overlying aquifer water inrush are proposed on the basis of the comprehensive vulnerability map.
Information cartography
Authors: Shahaf Dafna , Guestrin Carlos , Horvitz Eric , Leskovec Jure
Published: October 2015

A metro map can tell a story, as well as provide good directions.
Resource Synchronization and Preemption Thresholds Within Mixed-Criticality Scheduling
Authors: Zhao Qingling , Gu Zonghua , Zeng Haibo
Published: October 2015

In a mixed-criticality system, multiple tasks with different levels of criticality may coexist on the same hardware platform. The scheduling algorithm EDF-VD (Earliest Deadline First with Virtual Deadlines) has been proposed for mixed-criticality systems, which assumes tasks do not share any common resources. We present MC-SRP (Mixed-Criticality Stack Resource Policy), a resource synchronization protocol for EDF-VD, which allows resource sharing among tasks at the same criticality level and guarantees that each task is blocked at most once in each criticality mode. In addition, we present MC-SRPT (MC-SRP with Thresholds) for reducing the application stack size requirement in resource-constrained embedded systems.
A Storage Device Emulator for System Performance Evaluation
Authors: Wu Ming-Ju , Tsai Chun-Jen
Published: October 2015

The performance and characteristics of the storage devices used in embedded systems can have a great influence on the overall end user experience. When building embedded systems or designing new storage device components, it is important for the designers to be able to evaluate how storage devices of different characteristics will affect the overall system performance. Storage device emulation enables a system's performance to be evaluated with simulated storage devices that are not yet available. In storage device emulation, the emulated storage device appears to the operating system (OS) as a real storage device and its service timings are determined by a disk model, which simulates the behavior of the target storage device. In the conventional storage device emulators, because the OS is running continuously in the real-time domain, the amount of time that the emulators can spend on processing each I/O request is limited by the service time of each corresponding I/O request. This timing constraint can make emulating high-speed storage devices a challenge for the conventional storage device emulators. In this article, we propose an OS state pausing approach to storage device emulation that can overcome the timing constraints faced by the conventional storage device emulators. By pausing the state of the OS while the storage device emulator is busy, the proposed emulator can spend as much time as it needs for processing each I/O request without affecting the performance of the emulated storage device as perceived by the OS. This allows the proposed storage device emulator to emulate storage devices that would otherwise be challenging or even impossible for the conventional storage device emulators. In addition, the main task of storage device emulation is offloaded to an external computer to minimize the impact of the emulation workload on the target machine. The proposed storage device emulator is implemented with the Linux OS
1
on an embedded system development board. Experimental results show that the full-system performance benchmarks measured with the proposed storage device emulator are within 2% differences compared to the results of the reference system.
Investigating On-Screen Gamepad Designs for Smartphone-Controlled Video Games
Authors: Baldauf Matthias , Fröhlich Peter , Adegeye Florence , Suette Stefan
Published: October 2015

On-screen gamepads are increasingly used as controllers for video games on distant screens, yet lack the typical tactile feedback known from hardware controllers. We conducted a comparative lab study to investigate four smartphone gamepads inspired by traditional game controllers and mobile game controls (directional buttons, directional pad, floating joystick, tilt control). The study consisted of both completing a formal control test as well as controlling two popular video games of different genres (
Pac-Man
and
Super Mario Bros.
). The results indicate that the directional buttons require the most attention of the user, however, work precisely for direction-restricted navigational tasks. Directional pad and joystick showed a similar performance, yet they encourage drifting and unintended operations when the user is focused on the remote screen. While currently unfamiliar to many users, the floating joystick can reduce the glances at the device. Tilt turned out to be not sufficiently precise and quick for the investigated tasks. The article concludes with derived design guidelines with easily realizable measures for typical contexts such as casual gaming at home or spontaneous gaming on public displays.
Supporting Healthy Grocery Shopping via Mobile Augmented Reality
Authors: Ahn Junho , Williamson James , Gartrell Mike , Han Richard , Lv Qin , Mishra Shivakant
Published: October 2015

Augmented reality (AR) applications have recently become popular on modern smartphones. We explore the effectiveness of this mobile AR technology in the context of grocery shopping, in particular as a means to assist shoppers in making healthier decisions as they decide which grocery products to buy. We construct an AR-assisted mobile grocery-shopping application that makes real-time, customized recommendations of healthy products to users and also highlights products to avoid for various types of health concerns, such as allergies to milk or nut products, low-sodium or low-fat diets, and general caloric intake. We have implemented a prototype of this AR-assisted mobile grocery shopping application and evaluated its effectiveness in grocery store aisles. Our application's evaluation with typical grocery shoppers demonstrates that AR overlay tagging of products reduces the search time to find healthy food items, and that coloring the tags helps to improve the user's ability to quickly and easily identify recommended products, as well as products to avoid. We have evaluated our application's functionality by analyzing the data we collected from 15 in-person actual grocery-shopping subjects and 104 online application survey participants.
iDiary
Authors: Feldman Dan , Sung Cynthia , Sugaya Andrew , Rus Daniela
Published: October 2015

This article describes iDiary, a system that takes as input GPS data streams generated by users’ phones and turns them into textual descriptions of the trajectories. The system features a user interface similar to Google Search that allows users to type text queries on their activities (e.g., “Where did I buy books?”) and receive textual answers based on their GPS signals. iDiary uses novel algorithms for semantic compression and trajectory clustering of massive GPS signals in parallel to compute the critical locations of a user. We encode these problems as follows. The
k-segment mean
is a
k
-piecewise linear function that minimizes the regression distance to the signal. The (
k,m
)-
segment mean
has an additional constraint that the projection of the
k
segments on R

d

consists of only
m
≤
k
segments. A coreset for this problem is a smart compression of the input signal that allows computation of a (1+ε)-approximation to its
k
-segment or (
k,m
)-segment mean in
O
(
n
log
n
) time for arbitrary constants ε,
k
, and
m
. We use coresets to obtain a parallel algorithm that scans the signal in one pass, using space and update time per point that is polynomial in log
n
. Using an external database, we then map these locations to textual descriptions and activities so that we can apply text mining techniques on the resulting data (e.g., LSA or transportation mode recognition). We provide experimental results for both the system and algorithms and compare them to existing commercial and academic state of the art. This is the first GPS system that enables text-searchable activities from GPS data.
Reducing Layered Database Applications to their Essence through Vertical Integration
Authors: Rietveld Kristian F. D. , Wijshoff Harry A. G.
Published: October 2015

In the last decade, improvements on single-core performance of CPUs has stagnated. Consequently, methods for the development and optimization of software for these platforms have to be reconsidered. Software must be optimized such that the available single-core performance is exploited more effectively. This can be achieved by reducing the number of instructions that need to be executed. In this article, we show that layered database applications execute many redundant, nonessential, instructions that can be eliminated without affecting the course of execution and the output of the application. This elimination is performed using a vertical integration process which breaks down the different layers of layered database applications. By doing so, applications are being reduced to their essence, and as a consequence, transformations can be carried out that affect both the application code and the data access code which were not possible before. We show that this vertical integration process can be fully automated and, as such, be integrated in an operational workflow. Experimental evaluation of this approach shows that up to 95% of the instructions can be eliminated. The reduction of instructions leads to a more efficient use of the available hardware resources. This results in greatly improved performance of the application and a significant reduction in energy consumption.
QoE-Driven Rate Adaptation Heuristic for Fair Adaptive Video Streaming
Authors: Petrangeli Stefano , Famaey Jeroen , Claeys Maxim , Latré Steven , De Turck Filip
Published: October 2015

HTTP Adaptive Streaming (HAS) is quickly becoming the de facto standard for video streaming services. In HAS, each video is temporally segmented and stored in different quality levels. Rate adaptation heuristics, deployed at the video player, allow the most appropriate level to be dynamically requested, based on the current network conditions. It has been shown that today’s heuristics underperform when multiple clients consume video at the same time, due to fairness issues among clients. Concretely, this means that different clients negatively influence each other as they compete for shared network resources. In this article, we propose a novel rate adaptation algorithm called FINEAS (Fair In-Network Enhanced Adaptive Streaming), capable of increasing clients’ Quality of Experience (QoE) and achieving fairness in a multiclient setting. A key element of this approach is an in-network system of coordination proxies in charge of facilitating fair resource sharing among clients. The strength of this approach is threefold. First, fairness is achieved without explicit communication among clients and thus no significant overhead is introduced into the network. Second, the system of coordination proxies is transparent to the clients, that is, the clients do not need to be aware of its presence. Third, the HAS principle is maintained, as the in-network components only provide the clients with new information and suggestions, while the rate adaptation decision remains the sole responsibility of the clients themselves. We evaluate this novel approach through simulations, under highly variable bandwidth conditions and in several multiclient scenarios. We show how the proposed approach can improve fairness up to 80% compared to state-of-the-art HAS heuristics in a scenario with three networks, each containing 30 clients streaming video at the same time.
The Effects of Visuomotor Calibration to the Perceived Space and Body, through Embodiment in Immersive Virtual Reality
Authors: Kokkinara Elena , Slater Mel , López-Moliner Joan
Published: October 2015

We easily adapt to changes in the environment that involve cross-sensory discrepancies (e.g., between vision and proprioception). Adaptation can lead to changes in motor commands so that the experienced sensory consequences are appropriate for the new environment (e.g., we program a movement differently while wearing prisms that shift our visual space). In addition to these motor changes, perceptual judgments of space can also be altered (e.g., how far can I reach with my arm?). However, in previous studies that assessed perceptual judgments of space after visuomotor adaptation, the manipulation was always a planar spatial shift, whereas changes in body perception could not directly be assessed. In this study, we investigated the effects of velocity-dependent (spatiotemporal) and spatial scaling distortions of arm movements on space and body perception, taking advantage of immersive virtual reality. Exploiting the perceptual illusion of embodiment in an entire virtual body, we endowed subjects with new spatiotemporal or spatial 3D mappings between motor commands and their sensory consequences. The results imply that spatiotemporal manipulation of 2 and 4 times faster can significantly change participants’ proprioceptive judgments of a virtual object’s size without affecting the perceived body ownership, although it did affect the agency of the movements. Equivalent spatial manipulations of 11 and 22 degrees of angular offset also had a significant effect on the perceived virtual object’s size; however, the mismatched information did not affect either the sense of body ownership or agency. We conclude that adaptation to spatial and spatiotemporal distortion can similarly change our perception of space, although spatiotemporal distortions can more easily be detected.
Algorithmic authors
Authors: Wright Alex
Published: October 2015

Natural Language Generation software begins delivering on the promise of automated prose.
Geometric tools for exploring manifolds of light transport paths
Authors: Jakob Wenzel , Marschner Steve
Published: October 2015

Photorealistic images created using physical simulations of light have become a ubiquitous element of our everyday lives. The most successful techniques for producing such images replicate the key physical phenomena in a detailed software simulation, including the emission of light by sources, transport through space, and scattering in the atmosphere and at the surfaces of objects. Mathematically, this computation involves the approximation of many high-dimensional integrals, one for each pixel of the image, usually using Monte Carlo methods. Although a great deal of progress has been made on rendering algorithms, so that physically based rendering is now routinely used in many applications, commonly occurring situations can still cause these algorithms to become impractically slow, forcing users to make unrealistic scene modifications to obtain satisfactory results.

Light transport is complex because light can flow along a great variety of different paths through a scene, though only a subset of these makes relevant contributes to the final image. The simulation becomes ineffective when it is difficult to find the important paths. Commonly occurring materials like smooth metal or glass surfaces can easily lead to such situations, where only very few lighting paths participate, leading to spiky integrands and poor convergence. How to efficiently handle such cases in general has been a long-standing problem.

In this paper, we provide a geometric solution to this problem by representing light paths as points in an abstract high-dimensional configuration space that is defined by a system of constraint equations. This configuration space is a differentiable manifold, which can be locally parameterized in the neighborhood of an existing path. Building on this framework, we propose Manifold Exploration, a rendering technique that efficiently explores the integration domain by taking geometrically informed steps on the manifold of light paths.
Determinants of kinetic energy of blood flow in the four-chambered heart in athletes and sedentary controls
Authors: Steding-Ehrenborg K. , Arvidsson P. M. , Töger J. , Rydberg M. , Heiberg E. , Carlsson M. , Arheden H.
Published: October 2015

The kinetic energy (KE) of intracardiac blood may play an important role in cardiac function. The aims of the present study were to 1) quantify and investigate the determinants of KE, 2) compare the KE expenditure of intracardiac blood between athletes and control subjects, and 3) quantify the amount of KE inside and outside the diastolic vortex. Fourteen athletes and fourteen volunteers underwent cardiac MRI, including four-dimensional phase-contrast sequences. KE was quantified in four chambers, and energy expenditure was calculated by determining the mean KE/cardiac index. Left ventricular (LV) mass was an independent predictor of diastolic LVKE ( R2= 0.66, P < 0.001), whereas right ventricular (RV) end-diastolic volume was important for diastolic RVKE ( R2= 0.76, P < 0.001). The mean KE/cardiac index did not differ between groups (control subjects: 0.53 ± 0.14 mJ·l−1·min·m2and athletes: 0.56 ± 0.21 mJ·l−1·min·m2, P = 0.98). Mean LV diastolic vortex KE made up 70 ± 1% and 73 ± 2% of total LV diastolic KE in athletes and control subjects ( P = 0.18). In conclusion, the characteristics of the LV as a pressure pump and the RV as a volume pump are demonstrated as an association between LVKE and LV mass and between RVKE and end-diastolic volume. This also suggests different filling mechanisms where the LV is dependent on diastolic suction, whereas the RV fills with a basal movement of the atrioventricular plane over “stationary” blood. Both groups had similar energy expenditure for intracardiac blood flow, indicating similar pumping efficiency, likely explained by the lower heart rate that cancels the higher KE per heart beat in athletes. The majority of LVKE is found within the LV diastolic vortex, in contrast to earlier findings.
Histone deacetylase inhibitors prevent pulmonary endothelial hyperpermeability and acute lung injury by regulating heat shock protein 90 function
Authors: Joshi Atul D. , Barabutis Nektarios , Birmpas Charalampos , Dimitropoulou Christiana , Thangjam Gagan , Cherian-Shaw Mary , Dennison John , Catravas John D.
Published: October 2015

Transendothelial hyperpermeability caused by numerous agonists is dependent on heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) and leads to endothelial barrier dysfunction (EBD). Inhibition of Hsp90 protects and restores transendothelial permeability. Hyperacetylation of Hsp90, as by inhibitors of histone deacetylase (HDAC), suppresses its chaperone function and mimics the effects of Hsp90 inhibitors. In this study we assessed the role of HDAC in mediating lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced transendothelial hyperpermeability and acute lung injury (ALI). We demonstrate that HDAC inhibition protects against LPS-mediated EBD. Inhibition of multiple HDAC by the general inhibitors panobinostat or trichostatin provided protection against LPS-induced transendothelial hyperpermeability, acetylated and suppressed Hsp90 chaperone function, and attenuated RhoA activity and signaling crucial to endothelial barrier function. Treatment with the HDAC3-selective inhibitor RGFP-966 or the HDAC6-selective inhibitor tubastatin A provided partial protection against LPS-mediated transendothelial hyperpermeability. Similarly, knock down of HDAC3 and HDAC6 by specific small-interfering RNAs provided significant protection against LPS-induced EBD. Furthermore, combined pharmacological inhibition of both HDAC3 and -6 attenuated the inflammation, capillary permeability, and structural abnormalities associated with LPS-induced ALI in mice. Together these data indicate that HDAC mediate increased transendothelial hyperpermeability caused by LPS and that inhibition of HDAC protects against LPS-mediated EBD and ALI by suppressing Hsp90-dependent RhoA activity and signaling.
Mineral Medicine in Apion of Oasis according to Pliny and Galen
Authors: Keyser Paul T.
Published: October 2015

There are hints in Pliny that the grammarian Apion wrote a work of pharmacy, but the evidence in Pliny is tenuous and somewhat contradictory, and some has even been emended away. Apion is rarely considered a pharmacist, although there are parallels of grammarians—contemporary with Apion—who wrote on pharmacy. Moreover, three overlooked passages provide a much stronger case for pharmaceutical work by Apion. The surviving recipes prescribe mineral-based compounds as remedies, confirming the evidence in Pliny’s index, and they are also consistent both with Greek and Egyptian medical practice.
Differences in White Privilege Attitudes and Religious Beliefs Across Racial Affect Types
Authors: McConnell Elizabeth A. , Todd Nathan R.
Published: October 2015

This study extends research on the psychosocial costs of racism to Whites (PCRW) cluster types. We examined differences in White privilege attitudes across different PCRW cluster types in a sample of White Christian students ( N = 437). We also examined differences in religious beliefs, specifically religious liberalism and sanctification of social justice, across students in different PCRW cluster types. This provides an initial intersection of PCRW cluster types, White privilege attitudes, and religious beliefs. We found that, compared with students in all other types, students in the Antiracist cluster type reported (a) higher levels of White privilege attitudes conducive to working for racial justice (i.e., willingness to confront White privilege, White privilege awareness, and White privilege remorse) and (b) higher levels of religious liberalism. We also found differences for sanctification of social justice. We discuss additional findings and implications for counseling psychologists and diversity educators working with White Christian students.
Time, space, and the authorisation of sex premises in London and Sydney
Authors: Prior Jason , Hubbard Phil
Published: October 2015

While the regulation of commercial sex in the city has traditionally involved formal policing, recent shifts in many jurisdictions have seen sex premises of various kinds granted formal recognition via planning, licensing and environmental control. This means that ‘sexual entertainment venues’, ‘brothels’ and ‘sex shops’ are now not just labels applied to particular types of premises, but formal categories of legal land use. However, these categories are not clear-cut, and it is not simply the case that changes in the law instantiate a change whereby these premises are brought into being at a particular point in time. Countering the privileging of space over time that is apparent within much contemporary research on sex and the city, this paper foregrounds the varied temporalities in play here, and describes how the actions of those policy-makers, municipal bureaucrats and officers allow sex premises to variously ‘fade in’, accelerate, linger, or disappear as legal land uses within the city. We examine the implications of these different temporalities of the law by exploring how sex premises have been subject to regulation in London and Sydney, showing that the volatile, contradictory and fractured nature of legal space-making does not necessarily provide the certainty sought by the law but produces overlapping and contested understandings of what types of premises should be subject to regulation. More broadly the paper highlights how attention to the contingency and complexity of municipal law can help us better understand the ways that commercial sex is differently manifest in different cities.
Changes in Self-Definition Impede Recovery From Rejection
Authors: Howe Lauren C. , Dweck Carol S.
Published: October 2015

Previous research highlights how adept people are at emotional recovery after rejection, but less research has examined factors that can prevent full recovery. In five studies, we investigate how changing one’s self-definition in response to rejection causes more lasting damage. We demonstrate that people who endorse an entity theory of personality (i.e., personality cannot be changed) report alterations in their self-definitions when reflecting on past rejections (Studies 1, 2, and 3) or imagining novel rejection experiences (Studies 4 and 5). Further, these changes in self-definition hinder post-rejection recovery, causing individuals to feel haunted by their past, that is, to fear the recurrence of rejection and to experience lingering negative affect from the rejection. Thus, beliefs that prompt people to tie experiences of rejection to self-definition cause rejection’s impact to linger.