bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influences of point defects on electrical and optical properties of InGaN light-emitting diodes at cryogenic temperature
Authors: Tu Yi , Ruan Yujiao , Zhu Lihong , Tu Qingzhen , Wang Hongwei , Chen Jie , Lu Yijun , Gao Yulin , Shih Tien-Mo , Chen Zhong , Lin Yue
Published: December 2017

We investigate the cryogenic external quantum efficiency (EQE) for some InGaN light-emitting diodes with different indium contents. We observe a monotonic decrease in EQE with the increasing forward current before the “U-turn” point, beyond which the thermal effect increases the EQE. We discover positive dependences among the droop rate (χ), differential electrical resistance (Rd), and indium content. Also, χ and Rd of individual green samples shift correspondingly during the aging test, when the Mg ions are activated at high injection density and diffuse into the active region. Considering the fact that both In and Mg ions would introduce point defects (PDs), we proposed a model that reveals the mechanism of interplay between PDs and carriers. PDs serve as both energy traps and non-radiative recombination centers. They attract and confine carriers, leading to an increase in Rd and a decrease in EQE.
Investigations on a vortex induced vibration based energy harvester
Authors: Kumar S. Krishna , Bose Chandan , Ali Shaikh Faruque , Sarkar Sunetra , Gupta Sayan
Published: December 2017

This study investigates energy harvesting from vortex induced vibrations of a flexible cantilevered flapper placed in the wake of a rigid circular cylinder. The effect of the gap between the cylinder and the flapper on the energy harvested is investigated through wind tunnel experiments and numerical simulations. As the flow speed is varied, a transition in the flapper dynamics is observed, which in turn affects the power extracted by the harvester. Numerical investigations reveal that the flapper dynamics is different depending on whether the vortices are shed ahead or behind the flapper. This study concludes that the choice of the gap influences the energy harvesting potential of such harvesters.
Modulation of the electrical properties in amorphous indium-gallium zinc-oxide semiconductor films using hydrogen incorporation
Authors: Song Aeran , Park Hyun-Woo , Chung Kwun-Bum , Rim You Seung , Son Kyoung Seok , Lim Jun Hyung , Chu Hye Yong
Published: December 2017

The electrical properties of amorphous-indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (a-IGZO) thin films were investigated after thermal annealing and plasma treatment under different gas conditions. The electrical resistivity of a-IGZO thin films post-treated in a hydrogen ambient were lower than those without treatment and those annealed in air, regardless of the methods used for both thermal annealing and plasma treatment. The electrical properties can be explained by the quantity of hydrogen incorporated into the samples and the changes in the electronic structure in terms of the chemical bonding states, the distribution of the near-conduction-band unoccupied states, and the band alignment. As a result, the carrier concentrations of the hydrogen treated a-IGZO thin films increased, while the mobility decreased, due to the increase in the oxygen vacancies from the occurrence of unoccupied states in both shallow and deep levels.
Experimental study on imbibition displacement mechanisms of two-phase fluid using micromodel: Fracture network, distribution of pore size, and matrix construction
Authors: Jafari Iman , Masihi Mohsen , Nasiri Zarandi Masoud
Published: December 2017

In this study, the effect of different parameters on the fluid transport in a fractured micromodel has been investigated. All experiments in this study have been conducted in a glass micromodel. Since the state of wetting is important in the micromodel, the wetting experiments have been conducted to determine the state of wetting in the micromodel. The used micromodel was wet by water and non-wet regarding normal decane. The fracture network, distribution of pore size, matrix construction, and injection rate are the most important parameters affecting the process. Therefore, the influence of these parameters was studied using five different patterns (A to E). The obtained results from pattern A showed that increasing water injection the flow rate results in both higher rate of imbibition and higher ultimate recovery. Pattern B, which was characterized with higher porosity and permeability, was employed to study the effect of matrix pore size distribution on the imbibition process. Compared to pattern A, a higher normal decane production was observed in this pattern. Patterns C and D were designed to understand the impact of lateral fractures on the displacement process. Higher ultimate recoveries were obtained in these patterns. A system of matrix-fracture was designed (pattern E) to evaluate water injection performance in a multi-block system. Injection of water with the flow rate of 0.01 cc/min could produce 15% of the oil available in the system. While in the test with the flow rate of 0.1 cc/min, a normal decane recovery of 0.28 was achieved.
Herbal additives influence in vitro fermentative attributes and methanogenesis differently in cattle and buffalo
Authors: Pattanaik Ashok Kumar , Ingale Santosh Laxmanrao , Baliyan Shalini , Dutta Narayan , Kamra Devki Nandan , Sharma Kusumakar
Published: December 2017

So as to ascertain the fermentation behaviour and methane-inhibitory efficiency of herbal additives, an in vitro gas-production study was conducted in two different sources of rumen liquor, using six herbal additives, viz. Boerhovia diffusa, Holarrhena antidysentericum, Solanum nigrum, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Withania somnifera and Woodfordia fruticosa. Each of the six herbal additives was subjected to in vitro evaluation at 2.5%, 5.0% and 7.5% levels of supplementation. Further, the runs were replicated using rumen-liquor inoculum sourced from cattle and buffalo, so as to explore the variation, if any, between the two species. The results indicated that there was a significant (P < 0.05) effect of both the source of inoculum and the level of supplementation on various parameters related to substrate degradation and methane production. The degree of inhibition of methane production was significantly (P < 0.05) higher with buffalo than with cattle rumen inoculum accompanying improved substrate degradation and microbial biomass production. The methanogenesis was increased when H. antidysentericum and S. nigrum were used in buffalo rumen liquor; however, these two herbal additives elicited maximum inhibition of methane production when used in cattle inoculum. When compared irrespective of inoculum, W. somnifera, W. fruticosa and B. diffusa were significantly (P < 0.001) more effective in reducing methanogenesis; however, supplementation of the B. diffusa significantly (P < 0.001) reduced the substrate-degradation attributes. Further, the degree of methane inhibition increased linearly with an increasing dose level of the additives. Overall, it is concluded that of the six herbal additives, W. somnifera and W. fruticosa were most effective in terms of optimisation of substrate degradation and inhibition of methanogenesis in vitro.
Compression garments and cerebral blood flow: Influence on cognitive and exercise performance
Authors: Smale Brittany A. , Northey Joseph M. , Smee Disa J. , Versey Nathan G. , Rattray Ben
Published: December 2017

This study aimed to describe the effect of compression garments on middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (MCAv) in relation to cognitive and exercise performance whilst cycling. In a randomised‐controlled‐cross‐over design, 15 well‐trained male cyclists were recruited to participate in three identical trials wearing loose fitting shorts (control), low‐grade, or medium‐grade compression garments. The protocol involved four 8 min increments of cycling at 30%, 50%, 70%, and 85% maximal power output and a 4 km time‐trial. Participants undertook a cognitive Stroop task at baseline and at the midpoint of each increment. MCAv was monitored with Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and partial pressure of end‐tidal CO2 (PetCO2) were measured throughout. MCAv, MAP, PetCO2, and reaction time of the complex Stroop task were influenced by exercise intensity, but not compression garments. Compression garments significantly affected cognitive accuracy in the complex Stroop task such that low‐grade compression appeared to enhance cognitive accuracy in comparison to the control condition at the highest intensity (p = .010). Time‐trial performance did not differ between the control (338.0 ± 17.3 s), low‐grade (338.7 ± 18.7 s), or medium‐grade (342.2 ± 19.3 s) conditions (p = .114). Compression garments did not affect MCAv during exercise or time‐trial performance, but compression may be beneficial for improved cognitive accuracy during high‐intensity exercise. Further research is required to elucidate the potential impact on cognitive performance.
Three Arguments for Absolute Outcome Measures
Authors: Sprenger Jan , Stegenga Jacob
Published: December 2017

Data from medical research are typically summarized with various types of outcome measures. We present three arguments in favor of absolute over relative outcome measures. The first argument is from cognitive bias: relative measures promote the reference class fallacy and the overestimation of treatment effectiveness. The second argument is decision-theoretic: absolute measures are superior to relative measures for making a decision between interventions. The third argument is causal: interpreted as measures of causal strength, absolute measures satisfy a set of desirable properties, but relative measures do not. Absolute outcome measures outperform relative measures on all counts.
Potential Controversies: Causation and the Hodgkin and Huxley Equations
Authors: Pence David Evan
Published: December 2017

The import of Hodgkin and Huxley’s classic model of the action potential has been hotly debated in recent years, with particular controversy surrounding claims by prominent proponents of mechanistic explanation. For these authors, the Hodgkin-Huxley model is an excellent predictive tool but ultimately lacks causal/explanatory import. What is more, they claim that this is how Hodgkin and Huxley themselves saw the model. I argue that these claims rest on a problematic reading of the work. Hodgkin and Huxley’s model is both causal and, in an important sense, explanatory.
Interventionist Causation in Thermodynamics
Authors: Zwier Karen R.
Published: December 2017

The interventionist account of causation has been largely dismissed as a serious candidate for application in physics. This dismissal is related to the problematic assumption that physical causation is entirely a matter of dynamical evolution. In this article, I offer a fresh look at the interventionist account of causation and its applicability to thermodynamics. I argue that the interventionist account of causation is the account of causation that most appropriately characterizes the theoretical structure and phenomenal behavior of thermodynamics.
Literal versus Careful Interpretations of Scientific Theories: The Vacuum Approach to the Problem of Motion in General Relativity
Authors: Lehmkuhl Dennis
Published: December 2017

The problem of motion in general relativity is about how exactly the gravitational field equations, the Einstein equations, are related to the equations of motion of material bodies subject to gravitational fields. This article compares two approaches to derive the geodesic motion of (test) matter from the field equations: the ‘T approach’ and the ‘vacuum approach’. The latter approach has been dismissed by philosophers of physics because it apparently represents material bodies by singularities. I argue that a careful interpretation of the approach shows that it does not depend on introducing singularities at all and that it holds at least as much promise as the T approach.
Universities and Colleges: A Very Short Introduction
Authors: Palfreyman David , Temple Paul
Published: December 2017

Exploring the origins, concept, and the idea and ideal of the university and college, Universities and Colleges: A Very Short Introduction discusses one of the world’s oldest, most resilient and adaptable institutions. Considering links between universities and colleges and the economy, and the role of the former within society, it asks how the university and college can be politically accountable for their taxpayer funding, if they need autonomy to be effective, and what the impact will be of digital and distance learning. With rising tuition fees, what is the relationship between the teaching professors and the increasing expectations of student customers? And what does ‘academic freedom’ for their faculties really entail?
SEGreg: a database for human specifically expressed genes and their regulations in cancer and normal tissue
Authors: Tang Qin , Zhang Qiong , Lv Yao , Miao Ya-Ru , Guo An-Yuan
Published: December 2017

Human specifically expressed genes (SEGs) usually serve as potential biomarkers for disease diagnosis and treatment. However, the regulation underlying their specific expression remains to be revealed. In this study, we constructed SEG regulation database (SEGreg; available at http://bioinfo.life.hust.edu.cn/SEGreg) for showing SEGs and their transcription factors (TFs) and microRNA (miRNA) regulations under different physiological conditions, which include normal tissue, cancer tissue and cell line. In total, SEGreg collected 6387, 1451, 4506 and 5320 SEGs from expression profiles of 34 cancer types and 55 tissues of The Cancer Genome Atlas, Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia, Human Body Map and Genotype-Tissue Expression databases/projects, respectively. The cancer or tissue corresponding expressed miRNAs and TFs were identified from miRNA and gene expression profiles, and their targets were collected from several public resources. Then the regulatory networks of all SEGs were constructed and integrated into SEGreg. Through a user-friendly interface, users can browse and search SEGreg by gene name, data source, tissue, cancer type and regulators. In summary, SEGreg is a specialized resource to explore SEGs and their regulations, which provides clues to reveal the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and biological processes.
Modeling the rate of HIV testing from repeated binary data amidst potential never-testers
Authors: Rice John D , Johnson Brent A , Strawderman Robert L
Published: December 2017

Many longitudinal studies with a binary outcome measure involve a fraction of subjects with a homogeneous response profile. In our motivating data set, a study on the rate of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) self-testing in a population of men who have sex with men (MSM), a substantial proportion of the subjects did not self-test during the follow-up study. The observed data in this context consist of a binary sequence for each subject indicating whether or not that subject experienced any events between consecutive observation time points, so subjects who never self-tested were observed to have a response vector consisting entirely of zeros. Conventional longitudinal analysis is not equipped to handle questions regarding the rate of events (as opposed to the odds, as in the classical logistic regression model). With the exception of discrete mixture models, such methods are also not equipped to handle settings in which there may exist a group of subjects for whom no events will ever occur, i.e. a so-called “never-responder” group. In this article, we model the observed data assuming that events occur according to some unobserved continuous-time stochastic process. In particular, we consider the underlying subject-specific processes to be Poisson conditional on some unobserved frailty, leading to a natural focus on modeling event rates. Specifically, we propose to use the power variance function (PVF) family of frailty distributions, which contains both the gamma and inverse Gaussian distributions as special cases and allows for the existence of a class of subjects having zero frailty. We generalize a computational algorithm developed for a log-gamma random intercept model (Conaway, 1990. A random effects model for binary data. Biometrics46, 317–328) to compute the exact marginal likelihood, which is then maximized to obtain estimates of model parameters. We conduct simulation studies, exploring the performance of the proposed method in comparison with competitors. Applying the PVF as well as a Gaussian random intercept model and a corresponding discrete mixture model to our motivating data set, we conclude that the group assigned to receive follow-up messages via SMS was self-testing at a significantly lower rate than the control group, but that there is no evidence to support the existence of a group of never-testers.
Preparation of large, ultra-flexible and free-standing nanomembranes of metal oxide–polymer composite and their gas permeation properties
Authors: Mersha Anteneh , Selyanchyn Roman , Fujikawa Shigenori
Published: December 2017

In this work, fabrication of free-standing nanomembranes of metal oxide (MOx) and polymers by simple spin-coating method is discussed. First, double-layer nanomembranes containing MOx and epoxy resin of polyethyleneimine and poly[(o-cresyl glycidyl ether)-co-formaldehyde] were prepared. Free-standing nanomembranes were successfully prepared, but defects formed in the metal oxide nanolayer during sharp bending of the nanomembrane. To overcome fragility of MOx nanolayer, poly(vinyl alcohol) nanolayers were introduced between MOx nanolayers by layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly process. The LbL nanomembrane was also free-standing and was highly flexible during macroscopic membrane manipulations. Even after transfer of the LbL nanomembrane onto a porous support, it did not have apparent cracks, confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The LbL nanomembrane sustained low gas permeance, confirming the absence of significant defects, although it shows excellent flexibility. We believe that the presented LbL nanomembrane could be a platform useful for the design of molecular nanochannels, which is the next challenge for efficient gas separation.
Other People’s Money: Money’s Perceived Purchasing Power Is Smaller for Others Than for the Self
Authors: Polman Evan , Effron Daniel A , Thomas Meredith R
Published: December 2017

Nine studies find that people believe their money has greater purchasing power than the same quantity of others’ money. Using a variety of products from socks to clocks to chocolates, we found that participants thought the same amount of money could buy more when it belonged to themselves versus others—a pattern that extended to undesirable products. Participants also believed their money—in the form of donations, taxes, fines, and fees—would help charities and governments more than others’ money. We tested six mechanisms based on psychological distance, the endowment effect, wishful thinking, better-than-average biases, pain of payment, and beliefs about product preferences. Only a psychological distance mechanism received support. Specifically, we found that the perceived purchasing power of other people’s money decreased logarithmically as others’ psychological distance from the self increased, consistent with psychological distance’s subadditive property. Further supporting a psychological distance mechanism, we found that framing one’s own money as distant (vs. near) reduced the self-other difference in perceived purchasing power. Our results suggest that beliefs about the value of money depend on who owns it, and we discuss implications for marketing, management, psychology, and economics.
Physiologic Specialization of Puccinia triticina on Wheat in the United States in 2016
Authors: Kolmer J. A. , Hughes M. E.
Published: December 2017

Leaves of wheat infected with the leaf rust fungus Puccinia triticina were obtained from farm fields and breeding plots at experimental stations in the Great Plains, Ohio River Valley, and southeastern states in 2016 in order to identify virulence phenotypes prevalent in the United States in different wheat-growing regions. In total, 496 single uredinial isolates derived from the leaf rust collections were tested for virulence to 20 lines of Thatcher wheat that differ for single leaf rust resistance genes. In total, 71 virulence phenotypes were described in the United States in 2016. The three most common virulence phenotypes across the United States were MBTNB, MBDSD, and TNBJJ. Phenotype MBTNB is virulent to Lr11, and was most common in the soft red winter wheat region of the southeastern states and Ohio Valley. Phenotype MBDSD is virulent to Lr17 and Lr39, and was most common in the hard red winter wheat area of the southern Great Plains. Phenotype TNBJJ is virulent to Lr24 and Lr39, which are present in the hard red winter wheat cultivars. The P. triticina population in the United States was characterized by two major regional groups of virulence phenotypes in the Great Plains region where hard red winter and spring wheat cultivars are grown, and in the southeastern states and Ohio Valley region where soft red winter wheat cultivars are grown. Isolates from New York State differed the most for virulence compared with the other two major regions.
30th Annual APRN Legislative Update
Authors: Phillips Susanne J.
Published: December 2017

The Annual Legislative Update describes recent legislative changes to practice, reimbursement, and prescriptive authority that have the most impact on NPs and other advanced practice nurses across the country.
Epidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus: an update
Authors: Stojan George , Petri Michelle
Published: December 2017

Purpose of review

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the prototypical systemic autoimmune disease with a significant disease burden across the world among different ethnic, racial, and age groups. The pathophysiological understanding of SLE is constantly evolving and with it, the need for a better definition of the disease itself, for understanding the risk among the different affected populations, and for identifying the factors responsible for the damage accrual through the years.

Recent findings

More accurate estimates of incidence and prevalence of SLE among different ethnicities and minority groups not only in the USA, but also in Europe, Middle East, and Asia have provided new insights into the disease burden around the world. Despite advances in treatment, mortality among SLE patients remains high with significant ethnic and geographic variations.

Sex, race, and ethnicity significantly affect SLE incidence, prevalence, and mortality.
Molecular pathology of lung cancer: current status and perspectives
Authors: Oberndorfer Felicitas , Müllauer Leonhard
Published: December 2017

Purpose of review

In this article, we summarize the current knowledge on molecular alterations in lung cancer that are targets for therapy, and provide an outlook on the future development of molecular pathology in precision oncology.

Recent findings

Lung cancer has become a paradigm for the success of molecular targeted therapies in solid tumors. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors are effective treatment options in adenocarcinoma patients with an EGFR, ALK, ROS1 or B-Raf Proto-Oncogene, Serine/Threonine kinase mutation. Additional molecular targets that are addressed in clinical trials include ERBB2, MET, RET, NTRK1 and FGFR. Therapies with antibodies that block the interaction of PD-L1 with PD-1 and thereby liberate an antitumor immune response have introduced a new era in cancer therapy with impressive therapeutic benefits. The high financial burden, treatment failures and therapeutic side effects of immunotherapies have prompted a search for biomarkers beyond PD-L1 expression, for example, tumor mutation load or immune cell profiling, that might more reliably identify patients that are likely to respond.

The discoveries of cancer research have been translated into the clinical management of lung cancer patients. So far, the approach of targeted therapy that is directed towards certain molecular alterations in a given tumor has been successful for adenocarcinomas, but not yet for squamous or small cell carcinomas. Further clinical progress will require a better understanding of the molecular interactions within cancer cells that will subsequently enable innovative drug designs. Diagnostic molecular pathology will be a provider of information on a tumor's features and thus, navigate precision cancer therapy.
Orbital Shear Stress Regulates Differentiation and Barrier Function of Primary Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells
Authors: Ferrell Nicholas , Cheng Jin , Miao Simeng , Roy Shuvo , Fissell William H.
Published: December 2017

Primary cells cultured in vitro gradually lose features characteristic of the in vivo phenotype. Culture techniques that help maintain cell-specific phenotype are advantageous for development of tissue engineered and bioartificial organs. Here we evaluated the phenotype of primary human renal tubular epithelial cells subjected to fluid shear stress by culturing the cells on an orbital shaker. Transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), cell density, and gene and protein expression of proximal tubule–specific functional markers were measured in cells subjected to orbital shear stress. Cells cultured on an orbital shaker had increased TEER, higher cell density, and enhanced tubular epithelial specific gene and protein expression. This is likely due at least in part to the mechanical stress applied to the apical surface of the cells although other factors including increased nutrient and oxygen delivery and improved mixing could also play a role. These results suggest that orbital shaker culture may be a simple approach to augmenting the differentiated phenotype of cultured renal epithelial cells.
Clinical and molecular characterization of the first familial report of 1p32 microdeletion
Authors: Schirwani Schaida , Smith Kath , Balasubramanian Meena
Published: December 2017

Structural rearrangements of chromosome band 1p31p32 are rare, and their phenotypic consequences remain poorly delineated. Up to 12 patients with learning difficulties, developmental delay, multiple congenital anomalies and microdeletion of the chromosome band 1p31p32 have been described. Inheritance of this deletion has not been reported previously. We describe the inheritance of the 1p32 deletion and discuss the relevance of this deletion to the described phenotype. The differences in clinical and molecular characteristics between the proband and other published reports are reviewed. Patients were evaluated in Genetics Clinic with history, examination and investigation. The existing literature on interstitial deletions of 1p was reviewed. Here, we report on a three-generation family, where the index patient was an adult female with learning difficulty, dysmorphic features, microcephaly, ambiguous genitalia, congenital hip dislocation and brachydactyly in whom a maternally inherited 1.45 Mbp interstitial deletion was detected at 1p32.3. Both her mother and maternal grandmother have learning difficulties and dysmorphic features. There are 14 OMIM genes in the deleted region including LRP8 and DMRTB1. The NFIA gene is not deleted in this family. The first report of a familial 1p32 microdeletion in three generations of a family carrying the smallest reported a deletion involving this region and brachydactyly as a previously unreported feature.
Severity of button batteries ingestions: data from French Poison Control Centres between 1999 and 2015
Authors: Labadie Magali , O’Mahony Elisabeth , Capaldo Lise , Courtois Arnaud , Lamireau Thierry , Nisse Patrick , Blanc-Brisset Ingrid , Puskarczyk Emmanuel
Published: December 2017

Background

Although the ingestion of button batteries is an infrequent situation, it leads to a significant risk of causing serious damage.

Objective

This study was carried out to describe all the cases of button battery ingestion recorded by the French Poison Control Centers over 16 years.

Patients and methods

All the cases of button battery ingestion were recorded from 1 January 1999 to the end of June 2015, analysed (age, sex, number of ingested button batteries, clinical signs and treatments) and graded for severity according to the poisoning severity score.

Results

The incidence of button batteries ingestions was constant over the 16-year period, with an average of 266±98.5 cases per year and a total of 4030 cases. Nevertheless, 21 cases were severe and two deaths occurred. Interestingly, for the two patients who died, the battery was stuck in the oesophagus and they presented anorexia and/or dysphagia, abdominal pain and fever and in one case, a melena 3 weeks after ingestion. Importantly, these symptoms were observed even if the battery was expelled in one fatal case.

Conclusion

Ingestions of button batteries still occur and may cause serious damage, especially in children, and if the button battery is stuck in the oesophagus as it might cause severe symptoms. Patients who have ingested a button battery must be directed to the emergency department for medical evaluation, even if the button battery has been expelled from the body and even more if gastrointestinal symptoms are present.
Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Sleep Quality and Low Back Pain: A Population-Based Twin Study
Authors: Pinheiro Marina B. , Morosoli Jose J. , Ferreira Manuela L. , Madrid-Valero Juan J. , Refshauge Kathryn , Ferreira Paulo H. , Ordoñana Juan R.
Published: December 2017

Objective

The aim of the study was to estimate the extent to which the co-occurrence of poor sleep quality and low back pain is due to the same genetic and/or environmental risk factors or due to a causal association.

Methods

Cross-sectional data on sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality index) and low back pain were collected in a population-based sample of adult twins (N = 2134) registered with the Murcia Twin Registry. Bivariate analysis and structural equation modeling were used.

Results

The phenotypic correlation between sleep quality and low back pain was 0.23 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.17–0.28). The best-fitting bivariate model included additive genetic and unique environmental factors. Genetic factors accounted for 26% (95% CI = 10–40) and 34% (95% CI = 25–43) of the variability of low back pain and sleep quality, respectively. The correlation between the genetic factors underlying each trait was r
G of 0.33 (95% CI = 0.03–0.66), and this overlap of genetic factors explained 42.5% of the phenotypic correlation. On the other hand, nonshared environmental factors of each variable were only fairly correlated r
E of 0.19 (95% CI = 0.06–0.31), although this overlap explained 57.5% of the phenotypic correlation. In addition, twins in monozygotic pairs with poorer sleep quality presented more often with low back pain than their co-twins (ρˆ = 0.25, p < .0001).

Conclusions

The data are compatible with a causal effect of sleep quality on low back pain (or the reverse effect), because the correlations between the genetic and unique environmental factors for each trait were significant and there was a significant correlation between the monozygotic twins' difference scores. Apart from environmental factors that affect both characteristics, there are many individual-specific events that influence low back pain but differ from those influencing sleep quality.
Monocyte Function and Clinical Outcomes in Febrile and Afebrile Patients With Severe Sepsis
Authors: Drewry Anne M. , Ablordeppey Enyo A. , Murray Ellen T. , Dalton Catherine M. , Fuller Brian M. , Kollef Marin H. , Hotchkiss Richard S.
Published: December 2017

Introduction:

Absence of fever is associated with higher mortality in septic patients, but the reason for this is unknown. Immune dysfunction may be a potential link between failure to mount a fever and poor outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate monocyte function and clinical surrogates of immunity (i.e., mortality and acquisition of secondary infections) in febrile and afebrile septic patients.

Methods:

Single-center, prospective cohort study of 92 critically ill septic patients. Patients were categorized into febrile (≥38.0°C) and afebrile (<38.0°C) groups based on temperature measurements within 24 hours of sepsis diagnosis. HLA-DR expression and LPS-induced TNF-α production were quantified on days 1–2, days 3–4, and days 6–8 after sepsis diagnosis. A repeated measures mixed models analysis was used to compare these markers between the two groups.

Results:

Forty-four patients (47.8%) developed a fever within 24 h of sepsis diagnosis. There were no significant differences in HLA-DR expression or LPS-induced TNF-α production between febrile and afebrile patients at any individual time point. However, HLA-DR expression significantly increased between days 1–2 and days 6–8 (median difference 8118 [IQR 1,662, 9,878] antibodies/cell, P = 0.002) in febrile patients, but not in afebrile patients (median difference 403 [−3,382, 3,507] antibodies/cell, P = 0.25). Afebrile patients demonstrated higher 28-day mortality (37.5% vs 18.2%) and increased acquisition of secondary infections (35.4% vs. 15.9%).

Conclusions:

Absence of fever is associated with suppressed HLA-DR expression over time, a finding suggestive of monocyte dysfunction in sepsis, as well as worse clinical outcomes.
Body Mass's Impact on Response to Fixed-Dose Vasopressin in Patients With Septic Shock
Authors: Torbic Heather , Sacha Gretchen L. , Bauer Seth R. , Lam Simon W.
Published: December 2017

Introduction:

The effect of patient weight and body mass index (BMI) on hemodynamic response to vasoactive medications is not fully understood. In titratable vasopressors, this effect is less likely a concern due to the ability to titrate dose to response; however, with the use of fixed-dose vasopressin, patient weight and BMI may impact response.

Methods:

This was a single-center, retrospective cohort of patients who received fixed-dose vasopressin for septic shock for at least 6 h with concomitant catecholamines in the medical, surgical, or neurosciences intensive care unit (ICU) at a tertiary care center. The association of weight- and BMI-adjusted vasopressin dose with change in catecholamine dose and change in mean arterial pressure (MAP) were evaluated using Spearman's correlation. Patients were further stratified by World Health Organization BMI categories to evaluate secondary outcomes.

Results:

There were 938 patients included with a median weight of 86.3 (70.6–106.6) kg and BMI of 29.5 (24.9–36.2) kg/m2. There was no correlation between weight-adjusted vasopressin dose and change in catecholamine dose (r = −0.05, P = 0.13) or change in MAP (r = 0.04, P = 0.31) 2 h after initiation of vasopressin. Similarly, no correlation was found when evaluating change in catecholamine dose or MAP at 6 and 12 h after vasopressin initiation (all P values >0.05). Comparable findings were observed when evaluating correlations between BMI-adjusted vasopressin dose with change in MAP and catecholamine dose at all time points (all P values >0.05). BMI groupings were balanced with 238 patients (25.4%) having a BMI less than 25, 254 patients (27.1%) having BMI 25 to 30, 182 patients (19.4%) having BMI 30 to 35, and 264 patients (28.1%) having BMI more than 35. The median duration of mechanical ventilation and ICU free days were 3.99 (1.50–5.07) and 0 (0–1.6) days, respectively, with no differences observed when stratified by BMI (P = 0.59 and P = 0.83, respectively). In-hospital mortality was 64.8% and there was no difference among BMI groups (P = 0.35).

Conclusions:

In this large cohort of septic shock patients, adjusting vasopressin dose for weight and BMI did not impact changes in catecholamine doses or MAP. Duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU free days, and mortality after vasopressin initiation were not affected by BMI.
Trait paranoia shapes inter-subject synchrony in brain activity during an ambiguous social narrative
Authors: Finn Emily S. , Corlett Philip R. , Chen Gang , Bandettini Peter A. , Constable R. Todd
Published: December 2017

Individuals often interpret the same event in different ways. How do personality traits modulate brain activity evoked by a complex stimulus? Here we report results from a naturalistic paradigm designed to draw out both neural and behavioral variation along a specific dimension of interest, namely paranoia. Participants listen to a narrative during functional MRI describing an ambiguous social scenario, written such that some individuals would find it highly suspicious, while others less so. Using inter-subject correlation analysis, we identify several brain areas that are differentially synchronized during listening between participants with high- and low trait-level paranoia, including theory-of-mind regions. Follow-up analyses indicate that these regions are more active to mentalizing events in high-paranoia individuals. Analyzing participants’ speech as they freely recall the narrative reveals semantic and syntactic features that also scale with paranoia. Results indicate that a personality trait can act as an intrinsic ‘prime’, yielding different neural and behavioral responses to the same stimulus across individuals.
Tracking the Canonical Computations of Perceptual Processing in a Quasi-Continuous Sensory Flow
Authors: King Jean-Rémi , Wyart Valentin
Published: December 2017

The canonical computations involved in sensory processing, such as neural adaptation and prediction-error signals, have mainly derived from studies investigating the neural responses elicited by a single stimulus. Here, we test whether these computations can be tracked in a quasi-continuous flow of visual stimulation, by correlating scalp electroencephalography (EEG) recordings to simulations of neuronal populations. Fifteen subjects were presented with ~5,000 visual gratings presented in rapid sequences. Our results show that we can simultaneously decode, from the EEG sensors, up to 4 visual stimuli presented sequentially. Temporal generalization and source analyses reveal that the information contained in each stimulus is processed by a “visual pipeline”: a long cascade of transient processing stages, which can overall encode multiple stimuli at once. Importantly, our data suggest that the early feedforward activity but not the late feedback responses are marked by an adaptation phenomenon. Overall, our approach demonstrates how theoretically-derived computations, as isolated in single-stimulus paradigms, can be generalized to conditions of a continuous flow of sensory information.
How biological attention mechanisms improve task performance in a large-scale visual system model
Authors: Lindsay Grace W. , Miller Kenneth D.
Published: December 2017

How does attentional modulation of neural activity enhance performance? Here we use a deep convolutional neural network as a large-scale model of the visual system to address this question. We model the feature similarity gain model of attention, in which attentional modulation is applied according to neural stimulus tuning. Using a variety of visual tasks, we show that neural modulations of the kind and magnitude observed experimentally lead to performance changes of the kind and magnitude observed experimentally. We find that, at earlier layers, attention applied according to tuning does not successfully propagate through the network, and has a weaker impact on performance than attention applied according to values computed for optimally modulating higher areas. This raises the question of whether biological attention might be applied at least in part to optimize function rather than strictly according to tuning. We suggest a simple experiment to distinguish these alternatives.
MAGpy: a reproducible pipeline for the downstream analysis of metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs)
Authors: Stewart Robert , Auffret Marc , Snelling Tim , Roehe Rainer , Watson Mick
Published: December 2017

Recent advances in bioinformatics have enabled the rapid assembly of genomes from metagenomes (MAGs), and there is a need for reproducible pipelines that can annotate and characterise thousands of genomes simultaneously. Here we present MAGpy, a Snakemake pipeline that takes FASTA input and compares MAGs to several public databases, checks quality, assigns a taxonomy and draws a phylogenetic tree.
A frailty index for UK Biobank participants
Authors: Williams Dylan M. , Jylhävä Juulia , Pedersen Nancy L. , Hägg Sara
Published: December 2017

Background

Frailty indices (FIs) measure variation in health between aging individuals. Researching FIs in resources with large-scale genetic and phenotypic data will provide insights into the causes and consequences of frailty. Thus, we aimed to develop an FI using UK Biobank data, a cohort study of 500,000 middle-aged and older adults.

Methods

An FI was calculated using 49 self-reported questionnaire items on traits covering health, presence of diseases and disabilities, and mental wellbeing, according to standard protocol. We used multiple imputation to derive FI values for the entire eligible sample in the presence of missing item data (N =500,336). To validate the measure, we assessed associations of the FI with age, sex, and risk of all-cause mortality (follow-up ≤ 9.7 years) using linear and Cox proportional hazards regression models.

Results

Mean FI in the cohort was 0.125 (standard deviation = 0.075), and there was a curvilinear trend towards higher values in older participants. FI values were also marginally higher on average in women than men. In survival models, 10% higher baseline frailty (i.e. a 0.1 FI increment) was associated with higher risk of death (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.65; 95% confidence interval: 1.62, 1.68). Associations were stronger in younger participants than in old, and in men compared to women (HRs: 1.72 vs. 1.56, respectively).

Conclusions

The FI is a valid measure of frailty in UK Biobank. The cohort’s data are open-access for researchers to use, and we provide script for deriving this tool to facilitate future studies on frailty.
An eye-targeted double-RNAi screen reveals negative roles for the Archipelago ubiquitin ligase and CtBP inDrosophilaDpp-BMP2/4 signaling
Authors: Eusebio Nadia , Pereira Paulo S.
Published: December 2017

To regulate animal development, complex networks of signaling pathways maintain the correct balance between positive and negative growth signals, ensuring that tissues achieve proper sizes and differentiation patterns. InDrosophila, Dpp, a member of the TGFβ family, plays two main roles during larval eye development. In the early eye primordium, Dpp promotes growth and cell survival, but later on, it switches its function to induce a developmentally-regulated cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase and neuronal photoreceptor differentiation. To advance in the identification and characterization of regulators and targets of Dpp signaling required for retinal development, we carried out anin vivoeye-targeted double-RNAi screen to identifypunt(Type II TGFβ receptor) interactors. Using a set of 251 genes associated with eye development, we identified Ago, Brk, CtBP and Dad as negative regulators of the Dpp pathway. Interestingly, both Brk and Ago are negative regulators of tissue growth and Myc activity, and we show that increased tissue growth ability, by overexpression of Myc or CyclinD-Cdk4 is sufficient to partially rescuepunt-dependent growth and photoreceptor differentiation. Furthermore, we identify a novel role of CtBP in inhibiting Dpp-dependent Mad activation by phosphorylation, downstream or in parallel to Dad, the inhibitory Smad.
Geometry of the sample frequency spectrum and the perils of demographic inference
Authors: Rosen Zvi , Bhaskar Anand , Roch Sebastien , Song Yun S.
Published: December 2017

The sample frequency spectrum (SFS), which describes the distribution of mutant alleles in a sample of DNA sequences, is a widely used summary statistic in population genetics. The expected SFS has a strong dependence on the historical population demography and this property is exploited by popular statistical methods to infer complex demographic histories from DNA sequence data. Most, if not all, of these inference methods exhibit pathological behavior, however. Specifically, they often display runaway behavior in optimization, where the inferred population sizes and epoch durations can degenerate to 0 or diverge to infinity, and show undesirable sensitivity of the inferred demography to perturbations in the data. The goal of this paper is to provide theoretical insights into why such problems arise. To this end, we characterize the geometry of the expected SFS for piecewise-constant demographic histories and use our results to show that the aforementioned pathological behavior of popular inference methods is intrinsic to the geometry of the expected SFS. We provide explicit descriptions and visualizations for a toy model with sample size 4, and generalize our intuition to arbitrary sample sizesnusing tools from convex and algebraic geometry. We also develop a universal characterization result which shows that the expected SFS of a sample of size n under anarbitrarypopulation history can be recapitulated by a piecewise-constant demography with onlyκnepochs, whereκnis betweenn/2 and 2n– 1. The set of expected SFS for piecewise-constant demographies with fewer thanκnepochs is open and non-convex, which causes the above phenomena for inference from data.
Growth control through regulation of insulin-signaling by nutrition-activated steroid hormone
Authors: Buhler Kurt , Clements Jason , Winant Mattias , Vulsteke Veerle , Callaerts Patrick
Published: December 2017

Growth and maturation are coordinated processes in all animals. Integration of internal cues, such as signalling pathways, with external cues such as nutritional status is paramount for an orderly progression of development in function of growth. In Drosophila, this coordination involves insulin and steroid signalling, but the mechanisms by which this occurs and how they are coordinated are incompletely understood. We show that production of the bioactive 20-hydroxyecdysone by the enzyme Shade in the fat body is a nutrient-dependent process. We demonstrate that during fed conditions, Shade plays a role in growth regulation, as knockdown of shade in the fat body resulted in growth defects and perturbed expression and release of the Drosophila insulin-like peptides from the insulin-producing cells (IPCs). We identify the trachea and IPCs as direct targets through which 20-hydroxyecdysone regulates insulin-signaling. The identification of the trachea-dependent regulation of insulin-signaling exposes an important variable that may have been overlooked in other studies focusing on insulin-signaling in Drosophila. Finally, we show with IPC-specific manipulations that 20E may both be a growth-promoting and growth-inhibiting signal in the IPCs acting through different nuclear receptors. Our findings provide a potentially conserved, novel mechanism by which nutrition can modulate steroid hormone bioactivation, reveal an important caveat of a commonly used transgenic tool to study IPC function and yield further insights as to how steroid and insulin signalling are coordinated during development to regulate growth and developmental timing.
Blockchains as security-enabler for industrial IoT-applications
Authors: Skwarek Volker
Published: December 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to describe a method for Internet-of-Things-devices to achieve industrial grade reliability for information transfer from wireless sensor systems to production systems using blockchain technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

An increased security and reliability of submitted data within the sensor network could be achieved on an application level. Therefore, a lightweight, high-level communication protocol based on blockchain principles was designed.

Findings

Blockchain mechanisms can secure the wireless communication of Internet-of-Things-devices in a lightweight and scalable manner.

Originality/value

The innovation of this research is the successful application of general blockchain mechanisms to increase security of a wireless sensor system without binding to a dedicated blockchain technology.