bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Increasing vet and sheep flock interactions in dairy practice
Authors: Gascoigne Emily , Lovatt Fiona , Davies Andrew , Reader Jonathan
Published: May 2019

Sheep medicine has traditionally been a low priority for cattle‐dominated practice, as it is commonly thought that there is minimal financial opportunities in this sector. The perception has been that the vet's role regarding sheep is that of an emergency care provider and that farmers would be reluctant to pay for training and preventive advice. As such, this has inhibited investment in sheep services within farm animal practices that predominantly focus on dairy cattle, as these services are deemed less lucrative revenue streams for the business (Bellet and others 2015). In this article, we explore the challenges associated with delivering sheep preventive medicine within private veterinary practice, and look at how, by harnessing positive relationships with commercial flock owners, farm animal practices can develop this service.
Handling and storing medicines on beef and dairy farms
Authors: Cresswell Liz , Richens Imogen , Wapenaar Wendela
Published: May 2019

Veterinary medicines that are stored on the majority of UK farms include antimicrobials, anthelmintics, non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs and vaccines. All prescription veterinary medicines have storage requirements as directed on the datasheet or summary of product characteristics (SPC) and there are also specific instructions for how, when and where medicines should be administered. Vaccines often have storage and handling instructions on the SPC in addition to those applied to other medications; most also require maintenance of the ‘cold chain’ consistently between 2 and 8°C and have short shelf lives (usually hours) once bottles have been broached. This article highlights areas where the on‐farm handling and storage of medicines (particularly vaccines) could be improved and provides suggestions for how veterinary practices can support clients to ensure that medicines are used to their maximum benefit.
Hugh Alan Buck
Authors: Duncanson Graham
Published: May 2019

A remarkable vet and adventurer, he spent much of his working life abroad. His interest in birds and mammals started early and developed into a lifelong obsession.
Wind turbine wake effect visualization and LiDAR measurement techniques
Authors: McKinnon Michael , Johnson David A.
Published: May 2019

The expansion of wind energy development has resulted in larger wind farms and closer placement of turbines to utilize the space available. Each turbine produces a wake that affects downstream turbines, which causes issues such as production loss, blade loading, and fluctuating electrical output. To minimize this impact, the wake produced by turbines must first be understood. Experimental methods were used in the exploration of the wake effects of wind turbines. Smoke visualization inside the University of Waterloo Wind Generation Facility was used to determine the helical vortex wake distribution behind a 3.3 m diameter turbine as well as the tip vortex shedding from the blade. Wind Doppler Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) measurement devices were modified and used to measure wind turbine wake velocities. The University of Waterloo Wind Energy Group has a ZephIR z150 LiDAR to use in this study. The LiDAR was verified under normal operation for accuracy against a cup and vane anemometer. The LiDAR was then verified for accuracy and to determine the position of measurements after modifications necessary for future wake measurement experiments.
Multivariate Regression Polynomial: A Versatile and Efficient Method for DC Modeling of Different Transistors (MOSFET, MESFET, HBT, HEMT and G4FET)
Authors: Hasan Md Sakib , Shamsir Samira , Shawkat Mst Shamim Ara , Garcia Frances , Islam Syed K.
Published: May 2019

This work presents multivariate regression polynomial as a versatile and efficient method for DC modeling of modern transistors with very different underlying physics including MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor), MESFET (metal–semiconductor field-effect transistor), HBT (heterojunction bipolar transistor), HEMT (High-electron-mobility transistor) and a novel silicon-on-insulator four-gate transistors (G4FET). A set of available data from analytic solution, TCAD simulation, and experimental measurements for different operating conditions is used to empirically determine the parameters of this model and a different set of test data is used to verify its predictive accuracy. The developed model expresses the drain current as a single multivariate regression polynomial with its validity spanning across different possible operating regions as long as the chosen independent variables lie within the range of training data set. The continuity of the resulting polynomial and its first and second order derivatives make it particularly suitable for implementation in a circuit simulator. The model also provides a method for further simplification based on prior knowledge of the underlying physical mechanism and shows excellent predictive capability for different kinds of devices. This can be very useful for modeling deep-submicron emerging devices for which any closed-form analytical solution is not yet available.
Perimeter Gated Single Photon Avalanche Diodes in Sub-Micron and Deep-Submicron CMOS Processes
Authors: Shawkat Mst Shamim Ara , Habib Mohammad Habib Ullah , Hasan Md Sakib , Haque Mohammad Aminul , McFarlane Nicole
Published: May 2019

A perimeter gated SPAD (PGSPAD), a SPAD with an additional gate terminal, prevents premature perimeter breakdown in standard CMOS SPADs. At the same time, a PGSPAD takes advantage of the benefits of standard CMOS. This includes low cost and high electronics integration capability. In this work, we simulate the effect of the applied voltage at the perimeter gate to develop a consistent electric field distribution at the junction through physical device simulation. Additionally, the effect of the shape of the device on the electric field distribution has been examined using device simulation. Simulations show circular shape devices provide a more uniform electric field distribution at the junction compared to that of rectangular and octagonal devices. We fabricated PGSPAD devices in a sub-micron process (0.5 μm CMOS process and 0.5 μm high voltage CMOS process) and a deep-submicron process (180 nm CMOS process). Experimental results show that the breakdown voltage increases with gate voltage. The breakdown voltage increases by approximately 1.5 V and 2.5 V with increasing applied gate voltage magnitude from 0 V to 6 V for devices fabricated in 0.5 μm and 180 nm standard CMOS process respectively.
GAN Dissection and Datacenter RPCs
Authors: Colyer Adrian
Published: May 2019

Image generation using GANs (generative adversarial networks) has made astonishing progress over the past few years. While staring in wonder at some of the incredible images, it’s natural to ask how such feats are possible. "GAN Dissection: Visualizing and Understanding Generative Adversarial Networks" gives us a look under the hood to see what kinds of things are being learned by GAN units, and how manipulating those units can affect the generated images. February saw the 16th edition of the Usenix Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation. Kalia et al. blew me away with their work on fast RPCs (remote procedure calls) in the datacenter. Through a carefully considered design, they show that RPC performance with commodity CPUs and standard lossy Ethernet can be competitive with specialized systems based on FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays), programmable switches, and RDMA (remote direct memory access). It’s a fabulous reminder to ensure we’re making the most of what we already have before leaping to more expensive solutions.
Evaluation of the Diagnostic Potential of uPAR as a Biomarker in Renal Biopsies of Patients with FSGS
Authors: da Silva Crislaine Aparecida , Araújo Liliane Silvano , dos Reis Monteiro Maria Luíza Gonçalves , de Morais Pereira Lívia Helena , da Silva Marcos Vinícius , Castellano Lúcio Roberto Cançado , Corrêa Rosana Rosa Miranda , dos Reis Marlene Antônia , Machado Juliana Reis
Published: May 2019

Minimal change disease (MCD) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) are primary glomerulopathies leading to proteinuria, known as podocytopathies, which share syndromic and morphological similarities. Morphological similarity occurs in cases of FSGS in which the sclerotic lesion was not sampled in renal biopsy, due to the focal nature of the disease. Differentiating these entities is very important, especially in cases of suspected FSGS but with sclerotic lesion not sampled, as they are diseases that apparently have different pathogenic mechanisms and prognosis. The difference in uPAR expression in situ among these two entities may be related to a distinct molecular mechanism involved in pathogenesis. Thus, finding biomarkers involved in the pathogenesis and that can also help in differential diagnosis is very relevant. The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) as a biomarker in renal biopsies of patients with podocytopathies (n=38). Immunohistochemistry showed that FSGS (n=22) had increased uPAR expression in podocytes compared with both the MCD group (n=16; p=0.0368) and control group (n=21; p=0.0076). ROC curve (p=0.008) showed that this biomarker has 80.95% of specificity in biopsies of patients with FSGS. Therefore, uPAR presented a high specificity in cases of podocytopathies associated with sclerosis and it can be considered a potential biomarker for FSGS.
On the Generalized Reflective Function of the Three-Degree Polynomial Differential System
Authors: Zhou Jian , Zhao Shiyin
Published: May 2019

The structure of the generalized reflective function of three-degree polynomial differential systems is considered in this paper. The generated results are used for discussing the existence of periodic solutions of these systems.
Endoscopic Resection of Gastric Submucosal Masses by a Dental Floss Traction Method
Authors: Zeng Chunyan , Zhu Yin , Shu Xu , Lv Nonghua , Cai Qiang , Chen Youxiang
Published: May 2019

Background and Aims. ESE (endoscopic submucosal excavation) is widely used for the treatment of digestive diseases. The dental floss traction (DFT) method has been successfully used to facilitate ESE to resect mucosal lesions such as early gastric cancer. DFT has not been used in ESE to remove submucosal masses. This study aimed to examine the efficacy of DFT-assisted ESE (DFT- ESE) for the removal of submucous masses.Methods. From March 2017 to May 2017, a total of 12 patients with gastric submucosal masses at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Jiangxi, China, were enrolled. The tumor characteristics, en bloc resection rates, complications, and outcomes on follow-up were evaluated for all patients.Results. The 12 submucosal tumors were completely removed by DFT- ESE. Nine were gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Two were Schwannoma, located in the greater curvature of the gastric corpus. One was gastric ectopic pancreas. All the resected tumors were removed completely with intact tumor capsules. There was no more bleeding or perforation after the endoscopic closure of the perforation or the wound after the DFT-ESE, and no recurrences were identified at the time of follow-up.Conclusions. The DFT method efficiently and safely facilitated the ESE procedure during the resection of gastric submucosal tumors. This study was registered with Chinese Clinical Trial Registry under Registration numberChiCTR-OOC-15005833).
Evaluation of Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 Serum Concentration as a Biomarker in Malignant Mesothelioma
Authors: Štrbac Danijela , Goričar Katja , Dolžan Vita , Kovač Viljem
Published: May 2019

Background. Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a rare, but fatal disease with few treatment options. The diagnosis and treatment response are challenging in MM. Therefore, the search for novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers is ongoing. The aim of our study was to investigate matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) as a potential serum biomarker of treatment response and survival in MM. We also investigated the influence of genetic polymorphisms on MMP9 serum levels. Methods. We included 110 patients with MM that have been previously genotyped for common MMP9 polymorphisms. Serum samples were collected before treatment, at the end of chemotherapy, and at the time of progression. MMP9 serum levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. The role of serum MMP9 and MMP9 polymorphisms in treatment response was determined using the nonparametric tests and logistic or Cox regression. Results. Median serum MMP9 was 706.7 (499.6-1224.9) ng/ml before treatment, 440.5 (255.9-685.2) ng/ml after chemotherapy, and 502.8 (307.2-851.4) ng/ml at disease progression. After chemotherapy, 87 (79.8%) patients had lower serum MMP9, with the median change of -286.3 (-607.3 to -70.2) ng/ml (P<0.001). At disease progression, 47 (65.3%) patients had lower serum MMP9 compared to pretreatment values, with the median change of -163.7 (-466.6 to 108.6) ng/ml (P=0.001). Patients with higher performance status had higher serum MMP9 before treatment (P=0.010). Among investigated polymorphisms, only rs17576 was associated with serum MMP9 levels before treatment (P=0.041). Conclusion. Median serum MMP9 levels differed significantly before and after treatment of MM, but failed to reach significance as a standalone biomarker. The contribution of MMP9 serum levels and MMP9 polymorphisms to a composite diagnostic and prognostic biomarker should be further tested.
Trophy Hunting and Possible Source-Sink Dynamics in Protected Areas: Insights from Trophy Size and Offtake Patterns in Southeast Zimbabwe
Authors: Jeke Augustine , Chanyandura Admire , Muposhi Victor K. , Madhlamoto Daphine , Gandiwa Edson
Published: May 2019

Developing harvest management strategies in designated hunting areas requires systematic and robust monitoring. We assessed the trophy size, quota utilization, and distribution of kill sites of African elephant, Cape buffalo, greater kudu, and leopard for the period 2007-2014 in Malapati Safari Area, southeast Zimbabwe. Trophy sizes for African elephant significantly increased over time albeit being below the expected minimum Safari Club International (SCI) score. Cape buffalo trophy sizes declined significantly over time but were not different from the SCI minimum score. However, greater kudu trophy sizes were higher than the SCI minimum score despite being constant over time. Leopard trophy sizes were higher than the SCI minimum score and increased with time. Quota utilization for African elephant and Cape buffalo increased while that of greater kudu and leopard did not change between 2007 and 2014. Some kill sites, in particular, for the African elephant and Cape buffalo, were within the buffer area with the state protected area, i.e., Gonarezhou National Park. Increased hunting pressure likely leads to poor trophy quality and hunting within the protected buffer areas. In contrast, effective adherence to hunting ethics and scientifically and conservatively set quotas largely does not compromise the trophy quality of harvested species. The observed trophy size patterns and kill sites distribution suggest the possible existence of source and sink dynamics of trophy species occurring in a protected area complex within the Zimbabwe’s component of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park. To ensure sustainable trophy hunting in the study area and similar ecosystems the following are recommended: (i) scientifically robust, adaptable, and participatory quota setting process, (ii) enhanced adherence to good practice in terms of ethical hunting conduct, and (iii) development of a robust hunting monitoring system covering all elements of hunting for adaptive wildlife management.
Optimization Method of Locomotive Working Diagram Layout
Authors: Zheng Yajing , Jin Wenzhou
Published: May 2019

Rational scheduling of locomotive paths (the locus of the locomotive point in the train working diagram) is an important step in drawing a locomotive working diagram by a computer. But there are some problems in this process, such as the computer usually drawing a locomotive path that overlaps with another locomotive path (in the circumstances, the actual users of the locomotive working diagrams often misread the locomotive planning). At present, there are many studies about assigning sets of locomotives to each train in a preplanned train schedule; in contrast, the studies of visualizing the locomotive planning are relatively rare. Through investigating the locomotive working diagram users, this paper points out that the layout of locomotive paths should put the distance between lines being as large as possible and should put the number of the intersection between lines being as few as possible as the optimization aim which is based to solve the problem of the lines overlap or the problem of the lines beyond the margins for drawing the locomotive paths. This paper also builds the optimization model of locomotive working diagram layout. Based on determining the position of locomotive paths which can be delineated, a genetic algorithm is used to solve the optimizing model of locomotive working diagram layout in this paper. An example of a train working diagram with 36 trains is given at the end of the paper, which indicates that the optimization model of locomotive working diagram layout can better solve the problem of locomotive planning visualization.
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Utility of Circular RNAs as Biomarkers of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Hao Qingqin , Han Yadi , Xia Wei , Wang Qinghui , Qian Huizhong
Published: May 2019

Emerging studies have reported circRNAs were dysregulated in HCC. However, the clinical value of these circRNAs remains to be clarified. Herein, we aimed to comprehensively explore their association with the diagnosis, prognosis, and clinicopathological characteristics of HCC. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were comprehensively searched for eligible studies up to October 30, 2018. The diagnostic effect was evaluated by the pooled sensitivity, specificity, and other indexes. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) for overall survival (OS) and recurrence free survival (RFS) was calculated to assess the prognostic value. Ten studies on diagnosis, 12 on prognosis, and 23 on clinicopathology were identified from the databases. A total of 11 upregulated and 11 downregulated circRNAs showed an association with clinicopathological features of HCC. For the diagnosis analyses, the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of circRNAs for HCC were 0.74 (95%CI: 0.65-0.82) and 0.76 (95%CI: 0.70-0.81), 3.1 (95%CI: 2.5-3.8), 0.34 (95%CI: 0.25-0.47), and 9 (95%CI: 6-14), respectively. The area under SROC curve (AUC) was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.78–0.84), indicating moderate diagnostic accuracy. In stratified analyses, the diagnostic performance of circRNAs varied based on the source of control and specimen type. For the prognosis analyses, increased expression of upregulated circRNAs was associated with worse OS (HR: 3.67, 95%: 2.07-6.48), while high expression of downregulated circRNAs was associated with better OS (HR: 0.38, 95%: 0.30-0.48). In conclusion, this study reveals that circRNAs may serve as promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for HCC. However, further investigations are still required to explore the clinical value of circRNAs.
Globality‐Locality Preserving Maximum Variance Extreme Learning Machine
Authors: Chu Yonghe , Lin Hongfei , Yang Liang , Diao Yufeng , Zhang Dongyu , Zhang Shaowu , Fan Xiaochao , Shen Chen , Yan Deqin
Published: May 2019

An extreme learning machine (ELM) is a useful technique for machine learning; however, the existing extreme learning machine methods cannot exploit the geometric structure information or discriminate information of the data space well. Therefore, we propose a globality‐locality preserving maximum variance extreme learning machine (GLELM) based on manifold learning. Based on the characteristics of the traditional ELM method, GLELM introduces the basic principles of linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and local preservation projection (LPP) into ELM, fully taking account of the discriminant information contained in the sample. This method can preserve the global and local manifold structures of data to optimize the projection direction of the classifier. Experiments on several widely used image databases and UCI datasets validate the performance of GLELM. The experimental results show that the proposed model achieves promising results compared to several state‐of‐the‐art ELM algorithms.
Laser Welding of Dissimilar Metal Joint of 6061 Al Alloy and Al Matrix Composite
Authors: Dai Jun , Yu Banglong , Jiang Wei , Htun Hla Min , Liu Zheng
Published: May 2019

In this paper, dissimilar metal joints of 6061 aluminum alloy and aluminum matrix composite material are investigated by laser welding. TiB2 particles were added into the lap joint. The welding process, microstructure, and the corrosion properties of welding joints are examined. The results demonstrate that the selected optimization process parameters are laser power 6 kW, welding speed 0.6 mm/s, pulse width 11.5 ms, and laser frequency 4.5 Hz. There are a few obvious pores in the molten pool. Al2Ti, Fe2Si, and Al0.5Fe3Si0.5 are present in the microstructure. During the welding process, some TiB2 particles are decomposed and reacted with molten Al. Other TiB2 particles are nucleated and solidified, and the excess TiB2 particles are pushed to the grain boundaries by molten Al. TiB2 particles are wetted well by molten matrix metal. The corrosion resistance of alloys in different conditions decreased in the following order: the weld beam >6061 Al > AMC.
A Novel Compact CP Antenna with Wide Axial Ratio Bandwidth for Worldwide UHF RFID Handheld Reader
Authors: Ahmed Waleed Abdelrahim , Quanyuan Feng
Published: May 2019

This study presents a novel compact circularly polarized antenna for universal ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) radio-frequency identification (RFID) handheld reader applications. The antenna is composed of a coplanar waveguide (CPW) L-shaped feedline mounted at the right edge of the square slot at the bottom of the ground plane to realize a circular polarization; a horizontal stub protruded from the right side of the square slot towards the slot centre, and a vertical stub is mounted at the lower left of the square slot. The designed antenna printed on one ground plane layer of a low-cost FR4 substrate with an overall size of 120×120×1.6 mm3. The measurement results show indicate that the fabricated antenna achieves a wide axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of 460 MHz (818–1278 MHz), wide impedance bandwidth of 54.6% (630–1103 MHz), and a measured peak gain of 4.0 dBi. The proposed antenna is a good candidate for compact universal UHF RFID handheld reader applications (840–960 MHz).
Implementation of Static Line Voltage Stability Indices for Improved Static Voltage Stability Margin
Authors: Thasnas Natakorn , Siritaratiwat Apirat
Published: May 2019

Nowadays, the changes of economic, environment, and regulations are forcing the electric utilities to operate systems at maximum capacity. Therefore, the operation and control of power system to improve the system stability has been receiving a great deal of attention. This paper presents an approach for enhancing the static voltage stability margin and reducing the power losses of the system with voltage security-constrained optimal power flow (VSC-OPF) that is based on static line voltage stability indices. The control approaches incorporate the voltage stability criteria into the conventional OPF. The minimization of the summation of fast voltage stability index (FVSI), line stability index (Lmn), and line voltage stability index (LVSI) is used as the objective functions. The performance and effectiveness of the proposed control approaches are evaluated on the standard IEEE 30-bus, 57-bus, and 118-bus test systems under normal and contingency conditions. The comparison analysis is carried out with different cases including minimization of generation cost. The proposed control approaches indicate the promising results and offer efficient countermeasures against the voltage instability of the system.
Breast Cancer Survivors’ Perceptions of Prevention versus Control of Future Cancer Recurrence
Authors: Alwhaibi Monira , Lilly Christa L. , Hazard Hannah , Kelly Kimberly M.
Published: May 2019

Background. The Institute of Medicine has established Survivorship Care Planning as a critical component of cancer care to ensure that cancer survivors receive the appropriate follow-up care in a timely manner and support cancer survivors in dealing with the risk of recurrence, yet little is known about how cancer survivors think about preventing or controlling future cancer recurrence. This study sought to assess breast cancer women’s perceived prevention and perceived control of future cancer recurrence. Methods. Women with a history of breast cancer (n=114) were surveyed, and data were analyzed using concurrent mixed methods. Binary logistic regression models examined predictors of perceived prevention and perceived control of cancer recurrence. Results. Most women perceived that they could control cancer recurrence (89%); few (30%) perceived that they could prevent cancer recurrence. Women reported components of the timeline (e.g., early diagnosis), identity (e.g., cancer in body), causes (e.g., hereditary), consequences (e.g., witness success), and cure/control (e.g., exercise) or lack of cure/control. Women who reported lack of control were less likely to perceive that they could control cancer recurrence. Women who reported causes were less likely to perceive that they could prevent or control cancer recurrence. Conclusions. Women’s perceptions about the prevention and control of cancer recurrence are important and different factors in the minds of women with breast cancer. Most women believed they could control cancer recurrence; however, few believed they could prevent cancer recurrence. Interventions to focus on control of cancer recurrence, focusing on evidence-based clinical and lifestyle interventions, are needed.
Low-Dose Aspirin as Primary Prophylaxis for Cardiovascular Events in Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Italian Multicentre Retrospective Study
Authors: Iacono Daniela , Fasano Serena , Pantano Ilenia , D’Abrosca Virginia , Ruscitti Piero , Margiotta Domenico Paolo Emanuele , Navarini Luca , Maruotti Nicola , Grembiale Rosa Daniela , Cantatore Francesco Paolo , Afeltra Antonella , Giacomelli Roberto , Valentini Gabriele
Published: May 2019

Objective. To investigate the role of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) in reducing the incidence of cardiovascular (CV) events in an Italian multicentre rheumatoid arthritis (RA) inception cohort. Methods. The clinical charts of RA patients consecutively admitted to 4 Italian centres for their 1st visit from November 1, 2000, to December 31, 2015, and followed up till December 2016 were retrospectively investigated for the incidence of CV events. Patients were subdivided into two groups, namely, ASA- and non-ASA-treated groups. The Kaplan–Meier curve and log-rank test were used to investigate differences in event-free survival. Cox regression analysis was carried out to identify factors associated with CV event occurrence. Results. Seven hundred forty-six consecutive RA patients were enrolled and followed up for a median of 5.6 years (range 2.9–8.9 years). The incidence rate (IR) of CV events was 8/1000 person-years (p-ys) in the overall cohort. The IR of CV events was significantly lower in the ASA-treated group with respect to the non-ASA-treated group (IR 1.7 vs. 11.8/1000 p-ys; p=0.0002). The CV event-free rate was longer in ASA-treated patients than in non-ASA-treated patients (log-rank test 12.8; p=0.0003). At multivariable analysis, arterial hypertension (HR 9.3) and hypercholesterolemia (HR 2.8) resulted to be positive predictors and ASA (HR 0.09) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) (HR 0.22) to be negative predictors. Conclusion. The IR of CV events in our Italian multicentre cohort was lower than that reported in other European and non-European cohorts. Low-dose ASA may have a role in the primary prophylaxis of CV events in RA patients.
Monetary Cost of the MyPlate Diet in Young Adults: Higher Expenses Associated with Increased Fruit and Vegetable Consumption
Authors: Clark Rashel L. , Famodu Oluremi A. , Barr Makenzie L. , Hagedorn Rebecca L. , Ruseski Jane , White Jade A. , Warner Caitlin M. , Morrell Alexandra M. , Murray Pamela J. , Olfert I. Mark , McFadden Joseph W. , Downes Marianne T. , Colby Sarah E. , Olfert Melissa D.
Published: May 2019

Background. Cost is a commonly reported barrier to healthy eating. This is a secondary research analysis designed to examine the food expenditures of young adults on a university campus following the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) MyPlate guidelines for fruits and vegetables.Methods. Meal receipts and dietary intake were recorded weekly. Anthropometrics and clinical assessments were recorded before intervention. Researchers rated compliance based on the participant’s dietary food log, receipt matching, food pictures, and reports during weekly 1-hour consultations.Results. Fifty-three young adults (18–30 years old) at-risk of, or diagnosed with, metabolic syndrome (MetS) were enrolled in the study, with 10 excluded (n = 43) from analyses due to enrollment in a fixed cost university campus dining meal plan. A two samplet-test assessed differences in food costs and regression analysis determined associations between food cost and diet compliance while controlling for confounding factors of age, sex, and body mass index (BMI). Diet compliant subjects (n = 38) had higher weekly food cost at $95.73 compared to noncompliant subjects (n = 5) who spent $66.24 (p=0.01). A regression analysis controlling for age, sex, BMI, and geographical region also indicated cost differences based on diet compliance (p<0.0001).Conclusion. Results indicate an ∼$29.00 per week increase in food cost when eating the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables. These findings can contribute to research incentive design, program planning cost, and determining effective interventions to improve diet in this population.
Acetazolamide Treatment Prevents Redistribution of Astrocyte Aquaporin 4 after Murine Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Glober Nancy K. , Sprague Shane , Ahmad Sadiya , Mayfield Katherine G. , Fletcher Lauren M. , Digicaylioglu Murat H. , Sayre Naomi L.
Published: May 2019

After traumatic brain injury (TBI), multiple ongoing processes contribute to worsening and spreading of the primary injury to create a secondary injury. One major process involves disrupted fluid regulation to create vascular and cytotoxic edema in the affected area. Although understanding of factors that influence edema is incomplete, the astrocyte water channel Aquaporin 4 (AQP4) has been identified as an important mediator and therefore attractive drug target for edema prevention. The FDA-approved drug acetazolamide has been administered safely to patients for years in the United States. To test whether acetazolamide altered AQP4 function after TBI, we utilized in vitro and in vivo models of TBI. Our results suggest that AQP4 localization is altered after TBI, similar to previously published reports. Treatment with acetazolamide prevented AQP4 reorganization, both in human astrocyte in vitro and in mice in vivo. Moreover, acetazolamide eliminated cytotoxic edema in our in vivo mouse TBI model. Our results suggest a possible clinical role for acetazolamide in the treatment of TBI.
Case Report of an Acute Myocardial Infarction as a Result of Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection in a Patient with Fibromuscular Dysplasia
Authors: Kalinskaya A. , Skrypnik D. , Kostin A. , Vasilieva E. , Shpektor A.
Published: May 2019

Background. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an underdiagnosed and rare cause of myocardial infarction (MI). SCAD is defined as the separation of the coronary artery wall by hemorrhage with or without intimal tear. It causes acute coronary syndrome in 1.7% to 4% of cases. Case Summary. We report a case of a patient with acute MI caused by SCAD with marked progression of dissection within 4 days and spontaneous healing in 2 months. Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) of the arteries is an associated condition of SCAD that was found in our patient. Conclusion. In young women admitted to the clinic with signs of acute myocardial infarction, SCAD should be suspected. FMD as an associated condition that should be ruled out in every SCAD patient. Conservative treatment of SCAD is the most preferable strategy.
Arterial Hypertension and Interleukins: Potential Therapeutic Target or Future Diagnostic Marker?
Authors: Tanase Daniela Maria , Gosav Evelina Maria , Radu Smaranda , Ouatu Anca , Rezus Ciprian , Ciocoiu Manuela , Costea Claudia Florida , Floria Mariana
Published: May 2019

Hypertension as a multifactorial pathology is one of the most important cardiovascular risk factors, affecting up to 30-40% of the general population. Complex immune responses are involved in the inflammatory mechanism of hypertension, with evidence pointing to increased inflammatory mediators even in prehypertensive patients. Increased vascular permeability, thrombogenesis, and fibrosis, effects that are associated with sustained hypertension, could be attributed to chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation triggers endothelial dysfunction via increased production of ROS through proinflammatory cytokines. Increased serum level of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17, IL-23, TGFβ, and TNFα in hypertensive patients has been associated with either increased blood pressure values and/or end-organ damage. Moreover, some cytokines (i.e., IL-6) seem to determine a hypertensive response to angiotensin II, regardless of blood pressure values. Understanding hypertension as an inflammatory-based pathology gives way to new therapeutic targets. As such, conventional cardiovascular drugs (statins, calcium channels blockers, and ACEIs/ARBs) have shown additional anti-inflammatory effects that could be linked to their blood pressure lowering properties. Moreover, anti-inflammatory drugs (mycophenolate mofetil) have been shown to decrease blood pressure in hypertensive patients or prevent its development in normotensive individuals. Further research is needed to evaluate whether drugs targeting hypertensive-linked proinflammatory cytokines, such as monoclonal antibodies, could become a new therapeutic option in treating arterial hypertension.
Multiple Soliton Solutions of the Sawada-Kotera Equation with a Nonvanishing Boundary Condition and the Perturbed Korteweg de Vries Equation by Using the Multiple Exp-Function Scheme
Authors: Adem Abdullahi Rashid , Mirzazadeh Mohammad , Zhou Qin , Hosseini Kamyar
Published: May 2019

The Sawada-Kotera equation with a nonvanishing boundary condition, which models the evolution of steeper waves of shorter wavelength than those depicted by the Korteweg de Vries equation, is analyzed and also the perturbed Korteweg de Vries (pKdV) equation. For this goal, a capable method known as the multiple exp-function scheme (MEFS) is formally utilized to derive the multiple soliton solutions of the models. The MEFS as a generalization of Hirota’s perturbation method actually suggests a systematic technique to handle nonlinear evolution equations (NLEEs).
The Importance of Exercise and General Mental Health on Prediction of Property-Damage-Only Accidents among Taxi Drivers in Tehran: A Study Using ANFIS-PSO and Regression Models
Authors: Abbasi Ehsan , Hadji Hosseinlou Mansour
Published: May 2019

The rate of traffic accidents in Iran is high, and the majority of the causes that must be investigated are human factors. The present study examined the effects of exercise and general health as human factors on the prediction of crash likelihood with the data collected from taxi drivers of Tehran. The data were collected using the general health questionnaire and a form entailing some items regarding the duration of daily exercise and sociodemographic information. The adaptive neurofuzzy inference system and particle swarm optimization (ANFIS-PSO) was used for tuning the parameters of membership function of the fuzzy model applied for this prediction. Thus system was compared with the more conventional methods, such as multiple regression and Poisson regression. To avoid the overfitting issue, the data were divided into 70% for training and 30% for validation. The root-mean-square error (RMSE) was also utilized as a determinant of goodness of fit between ANFIS-PSO and regression methods. The findings indicated that the number of minutes of daily exercise and mental health significantly influence property-damage-only (PDO) accidents of taxi drivers in Tehran, Iran. Furthermore, the results revealed that the hybrid model (ANFIS-PSO) not only had a better fit but also produced different results from those of the traditional regression models, which may be used in policymaking regarding the reduction of PDO accidents. Based on the results, performing daily exercise for more than 10 minutes would substantially reduce the PDO accidents among the taxi drivers in Tehran. The findings showed that ANFIS-PSO could be effectively implemented in the studies addressing accident frequency. Consequently, the policy makers should simply adopt some interventions to encourage the taxi drivers to perform daily exercise that not only improves their wellbeing but also reduces the risk of PDO accidents.
Quantifying the Levels of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Associated with Sickle Cell Disease and Premarital Genetic Counseling in 350 Saudi Adults
Authors: Al-Qattan Heba M. , Amlih Dana F. , Sirajuddin Fatima S. , Alhuzaimi Dalal I. , Alageel Mai S. , Bin Tuwaim Reema M. , Al Qahtani Farjah H.
Published: May 2019

Our study aims to observe the levels of knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) associated with sickle cell disease (SCD) and premarital genetic counseling (PMGC) in 351 Saudi adults. The relationships between KAP levels and sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, marital status, and educational level) were observed. The study was conducted in King Khalid University Hospital between February 21, 2017, and March 7, 2018. A total of 351 Saudi participants attending the primary care clinic were selected using convenience sampling and were given a self-administered questionnaire. Overall, the 351 participants had the best attitude (41% scoring “good”), followed by knowledge (28.8%), and, lastly, practice (19.1%). Out of the sociodemographic characteristics, age group was the most statistically significant in all the three categories (knowledge, attitude, and practice). The > 50-year age group performed the worst in all the three categories. Despite the advancements in public healthcare measures in Saudi Arabia, our study revealed that there are still many gaps to be filled regarding the knowledge, attitude, and practice associated with SCD and PMGC.
Stability of Propofol (2,6-Diisopropylphenol) in Thermal Desorption Tubes during Air Transport
Authors: Maurer Felix , Geiger Martin , Volk Thomas , Sessler Daniel I. , Kreuer Sascha , Hüppe Tobias
Published: May 2019

The anesthetic propofol and other exhaled organic compounds can be sampled in Tenax sorbent tubes and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The aim of this study was to evaluate the stability of propofol in Tenax sorbent tubes during overseas shipping. This is relevant for international pharmacokinetic studies on propofol in exhaled air. Tenax sorbent tube propofol samples with concentrations between 10 and 100 ng were prepared by liquid injection and with a calibration gas generator. For each preparation method, one reference set was analyzed immediately after preparation, a second set was stored at room temperature, and a third one was stored refrigerated. The fourth set was sent from Germany by airmail to USA and back. The shipped set of tubes was analyzed when it returned after 55 days elapsed. Then, the room temperature samples and the refrigerated stored samples were also analyzed. To evaluate the stability of propofol in the stored and shipped tubes, we calculated the recovery rates of each sample set. The mean recovery in the stored samples was 101.2% for the liquid preparation and 134.6% for the gaseous preparation at 4°C. At 22°C, the recovery was 96.1% for liquid preparation and 92.1% for gaseous preparation, whereas the shipped samples had a recovery of 85.3% and 111.3%. Thus, the deviation of the shipped samples is within a range of 15%, which is analytically acceptable. However, the individual values show significantly larger deviations of up to -32.1% (liquid) and 30.9% (gaseous). We conclude that storage of propofol on Tenax tubes at room temperature for 55 days is possible to obtain acceptable results. However, it appears that due to severe temperature and pressure variations air shipment of propofol samples in Tenax tubes without cooling shows severe deviations from the initial concentration. Although it was not tested in this study, we assume that refrigerated transport might be necessary to obtain comparable results as in the stored samples.
High Isolation Millimeter-Wave Wideband MIMO Antenna for 5G Communication
Authors: Wang Fei , Duan Zhaoyun , Wang Xin , Zhou Qing , Gong Yubin
Published: May 2019

A millimeter-wave wideband antenna is presented for the 5th generation applications. The operation band ranges from 24 GHz to 39 GHz which covers most of the Ka band. Furthermore, a 9×9 multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna is developed. The high isolation is achieved without introducing external decoupling structures. The transmission coefficient is under −20 dB within only 0.4 mm space between antenna elements. The radiation pattern also shows the stability within the wide operation band. Both simulated and measured results show that this proposed MIMO antenna is suitable for the future wireless communications.
Synthesis of Benzothiophene-Fused Pyran Derivatives via Piperidine Promoted Domino Reaction
Authors: Li Shihang , Yu Aimin , Li Jianfa , Meng Xiangtai
Published: May 2019

A new domino reaction between thioaurones and malononitrile has been reported. This reaction allows efficient access to benzothiophene-fused pyran derivatives in good yields under mild reaction conditions. The substrate scope is broad; a series of benzothiophene-fused pyran derivatives have been synthesized.
Memory State Feedback Control for Time-Varying Delay Switched Fuzzy Systems
Authors: Zhang Le , Jia Meiyu , Yang Hong , Wu Gang
Published: May 2019

Consider the problem of memoryless state feedback controller for time-delay system, which cannot consider both the memoryless and the memory items in the system. Therefore, the memoryless state feedback controller has certain limitations and is more conservative. This paper addresses the memory state feedback control for the time-varying delay switched fuzzy systems based on T-S fuzzy model to overcome the problem discussed above. The state vector and input of the time-varying delay systems contain unknown time-varying delay with known bounds. The designed controller whose parameters are solvable can introduce past state information and reduce the system conservativeness. The more general Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional is selected and the switching law is designed in order to analyze the open-loop system stability, and the memory state feedback controller is designed for the closed-loop system and the criterion for its asymptotic stability. Discuss the solvability of the above two criteria. Finally, a numerical example is given. The simulation results show that the proposed method is more feasible and effective.
Indocyanine Green Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging-Guided Laparoscopic Heminephrectomy for Left Ureteral Cancer in Patient with Horseshoe Kidney
Authors: Natsuyama Takao , Mitsui Yozo , Uetani Masato , Ohta Shigeyuki , Hisasue Shin-ichi
Published: May 2019

Laparoscopic surgery for patients with a horseshoe kidney is challenging because of the location, aberrant vasculature, and difficulty with division of the isthmus with adequate hemostasis. We herein report performance of a laparoscopic heminephrectomy for left ureteral cancer in a patient with a horseshoe kidney under guidance from near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging using indocyanine green (ICG). A 62-year-old male was referred to our hospital for treatment of left ureteral cancer associated with a horseshoe kidney. We performed a laparoscopic left nephroureterectomy and bladder resection in June 2017. During the operation, the NIRF imaging system was used to evaluate the border of the kidney parenchyma isthmus after ligation of the left kidney vasculature supply. Interestingly, the dominant region of the right kidney showed strong ICG fluorescence as compared to the left kidney region. With the assistance of ICG-based NIRF imaging, isthmus division was performed with monopolar scissors and adequate hemostasis was obtained by electrocautery coagulation. This is the first report of use of an ICG-based NIRF imaging system and this novel approach can help to demarcate the left moiety isthmus from right one with more certainty.
Parabolic Sandwiches for Functions on a Compact Interval and an Application to Projectile Motion
Authors: Kantrowitz Robert , Neumann Michael M.
Published: May 2019

About a century ago, the French artillery commandant Charbonnier envisioned an intriguing result on the trajectory of a projectile that is moving under the forces of gravity and air resistance. In 2000, Groetsch discovered a significant gap in Charbonnier’s work and provided a valid argument for a certain special case. The goal of the present article is to establish a rigorous new approach to the full result. For this, we develop a theory of those functions which can be sandwiched, in a natural way, by a pair of quadratic polynomials. It turns out that the convexity or concavity of the derivative plays a decisive role in this context.