bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Enhancing children's literacy skills: designing the Q‐Tales ecosystem for children's e‐book design and publication
Authors: Thompson Long Bonnie , Hall Tony , Hogan Michael , Papastamatiou Nikos
Published: July 2017

This article describes the conceptualisation and development of a pedagogical framework to support the design of e‐books for children to enhance literacy development. It emerged from research undertaken within the Q‐Tales international consortium project of the EU's Horizon 2020 Programme for Research and Innovation, where the aim was to facilitate key stakeholders to collaborate and participate in the online production and publication of high‐quality, educational e‐books for children. The pedagogical framework described here sought to answer the question “What concepts and principles undergird the effective design of pedagogically impactful e‐books for children?” It is grounded by the theoretical underpinnings of socio‐constructivism, constructionism and skill theory, and how they relate to children's literacy development. A framework describing different narrative forms and component features, key pedagogical activities appropriate for different stages of reading development and design recommendations regarding the integration of multimedia into e‐books are also central to the pedagogical framework. As well as informing the design of the Q‐Tales infrastructure for children's e‐book design and publication, we hope the guidelines and pedagogical activities enumerated here will be widely useful for those designing and developing digital, interactive narratives, particularly e‐books to enhance children's emerging literacy.
Forbidden fruit: The neglected political economy of Lexit
Authors: Guinan Joe , Hanna Thomas M.
Published: July 2017

The EU was an engine of neoliberalism. Our departure opens up new political‐economic horizons based on precisely those policy instruments and strategies the EU disallows, with ownership and control, democracy, and participation central to post‐Brexit Left economic strategies.
Stuart Hall and our current conjuncture
Authors: Featherstone David
Published: July 2017

In the wake of the general election and the sense of expanding political horizons, Stuart Hall has never been more relevant. Revisiting his ideas and approaches as we enter a new and turbulent conjuncture.
Was it really ‘the young wot won it’?
Authors: Snelling Charlotte
Published: July 2017

Did the 2017 election really reflect a surge in the youth vote? The challenges that remain if progressives are to engage all young people in electoral politics.
All's fair in love and war
Authors: Scheidel Walter
Published: July 2017

Walter Scheidel's monumental new study traces the global history of inequality from the Stone Age to today, and shows that inequality never dies peacefully. His claim – that inequality declines when carnage and disaster strike and increases when peace and stability return – is of critical importance to debates about the future of equality.

In this interview, IPPR Progressive Review discuss the crucial role of violent shocks in reducing inequality over the full sweep of human history around the world and what lessons progressives can draw in trying to promote inequality in the future.
How to become a killer, or is it all accidental? Virulence strategies in oral streptococci
Authors: Sitkiewicz I.
Published: July 2017

Streptococci are a diverse group of Gram‐positive microorganisms sharing common virulence traits and similar strategies to escape the oral niche and establish an infection in other parts of the host organism. Invasive infection with oral streptococci is “a perfect storm” that requires the concerted action of multiple biotic and abiotic factors. Our understanding of streptococcal pathogenicity and infectivity should probably be less mechanistic and driven not only by the identification of novel virulence factors. The observed diversity of the genus, including the range of virulence and pathogenicity mechanisms, is most likely the result of interspecies interactions, a massive horizontal gene transfer between streptococci within a shared oral niche, recombination events, selection of specialized clones, and modification of regulatory circuits. Selective pressure by the host and bacterial communities is a driving force for the selection of virulence traits and shaping the streptococcal genome. Global regulatory events driving niche adaptation and interactions with bacterial communities and the host steer research interests towards attempts to define the oral interactome on the transcriptional level and define signal cross‐feeding and co‐expression and co‐regulation of virulence genes.
Recommendations for analysis of repeated‐measures designs: testing and correcting for sphericity and use of manova and mixed model analysis
Authors: Armstrong Richard A.
Published: July 2017

Purpose

A common experimental design in ophthalmic research is the repeated‐measures design in which at least one variable is a within‐subject factor. This design is vulnerable to lack of ‘sphericity’ which assumes that the variances of the differences among all possible pairs of within‐subject means are equal. Traditionally, this design has been analysed using a repeated‐measures analysis of variance (RM‐anova) but increasingly more complex methods such as multivariate anova (manova) and mixed model analysis (MMA) are being used. This article surveys current practice in the analysis of designs incorporating different factors in research articles published in three optometric journals, namely Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics (OPO), Optometry and Vision Science (OVS), and Clinical and Experimental Optometry (CXO), and provides advice to authors regarding the analysis of repeated‐measures designs.

Recent findings

Of the total sample of articles, 66% used a repeated‐measures design. Of those articles using a repeated‐measures design, 59% and 8% analysed the data using RM‐anova or manova respectively and 33% used MMA. The use of MMA relative to RM‐anova has increased significantly since 2009/10. A further search using terms to select those papers testing and correcting for sphericity (‘Mauchly's test’, ‘Greenhouse‐Geisser’, ‘Huynh and Feld’) identified 66 articles, 62% of which were published from 2012 to the present.

If the design is balanced without missing data then manova should be used rather than RM‐anova as it gives better protection against lack of sphericity. If the design is unbalanced or with missing data then MMA is the method of choice. However, MMA is a more complex analysis and can be difficult to set up and run, and care should be taken first, to define appropriate models to be tested and second, to ensure that sample sizes are adequate.
The auditory oddball paradigm revised to improve bedside detection of consciousness in behaviorally unresponsive patients
Authors: Morlet Dominique , Ruby Perrine , André‐Obadia Nathalie , Fischer Catherine
Published: July 2017

Active paradigms requiring subjects to engage in a mental task on request have been developed to detect consciousness in behaviorally unresponsive patients. Using auditory ERPs, the active condition consists in orienting patient's attention toward oddball stimuli. In comparison with passive listening, larger P300 in the active condition identifies voluntary processes. However, contrast between these two conditions is usually too weak to be detected at the individual level. To improve test sensitivity, we propose as a control condition to actively divert the subject's attention from the auditory stimuli with a mental imagery task that has been demonstrated to be within the grasp of the targeted patients: navigate in one's home. Twenty healthy subjects were presented with a two‐tone oddball paradigm in the three following condition: (a) passive listening, (b) mental imagery, (c) silent counting of deviant stimuli. Mental imagery proved to be more efficient than passive listening to lessen P300 response to deviant tones as compared with the active counting condition. An effect of attention manipulation (oriented vs. diverted) was observed in 19/20 subjects, of whom 18 showed the expected P300 effect and 1 showed an effect restricted to the N2 component. The only subject showing no effect also proved insufficient engagement in the tasks. Our study demonstrated the efficiency of diverting attention using mental imagery to improve the sensitivity of the active oddball paradigm. Using recorded instructions and requiring a small number of electrodes, the test was designed to be conveniently and economically used at the patient's bedside.
Where to start when treating COPD?
Authors: Calverley Peter M.A.
Published: July 2017

See related Article
The effect of young children's faeces disposal practices on child growth: evidence from 34 countries
Authors: Bauza Valerie , Guest Jeremy S.
Published: July 2017

Objective

To characterize the relationship between child faeces disposal and child growth in low‐ and middle‐income countries.

Methods

We analysed caregiver responses and anthropometric data from Demographic and Health Surveys (2005–2014) for 202 614 children under five and 82 949 children under two to examine the association between child faeces disposal and child growth.

Results

Child faeces disposal in an improved toilet was associated with reduced stunting for children under five [adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) = 0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.89–0.92] and a 0.12 increase in height‐for‐age z‐score (HAZ; 95% CI: 0.10–0.15) among all households. Among households with improved sanitation access, practicing improved child faeces disposal was still associated with a decrease in stunting (aPR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.91–0.96) and a 0.09 increase in HAZ (95% CI: 0.06–0.13). Improved child faeces disposal was also associated with reductions in underweight and wasting, and an increase in weight‐for‐age z‐score (WAZ), but not an increase in weight‐for‐height z‐score (WHZ). Community coverage level of improved child faeces disposal was also associated with stunting, with 75–100% coverage associated with the greatest reduction in stunting. Child faeces disposal in an unimproved toilet was associated with reductions in underweight and wasting, but not stunting.

Conclusions

Improved child faeces disposal practices could achieve greater reductions in child undernutrition than improving toilet access alone. Additionally, the common classification of child faeces disposal as ‘safe’ regardless of the type of toilet used for disposal may underestimate the benefits of disposal in an improved toilet and overestimate the benefits of disposal in an unimproved toilet.
On the Hermite-Hadamard-Fejer-type inequalities for co-ordinated convex functions via fractional integrals
Authors: Yaldız Hatice , Sarıkaya Mehmet Zeki , Dahmani Zoubir
Published: July 2017

In this paper, using Riemann-Liouville integral operators, we establish new fractional in- tegral inequalities of Hermite-Hadamard-Fejer type for co-ordinated convex functions on a rectangle of R^2. The results presented here would provide extensions of those given in earlier works.
Collective Stories of Exercise: Making Sense of Gym Experiences With Disabled Peers
Authors: Richardson Emma V. , Smith Brett , Papathomas Anthony
Published: July 2017

Using a dialogical narrative approach, we explored how disabled people made sense of their gym experiences as part of a peer group. Interviews were conducted with 18 disabled people (10 men and 8 women, aged 23–60) who had experience exercising in the gym as part of a group. Data were rigorously analyzed using a dialogical narrative analysis. Within their peer group, participants crafted a collective story that they used to resist disablism in the gym. The dialogical components of the collective story functioned to (a) validate participants’ experiences of oppression in the gym, (b) forge an unspoken understanding with peers, (c) craft a more affirmative identity, and (d) instill a sense of empowerment in participants so that they can tell their own story. This study extends knowledge in the field of exercise and disability by showing that despite the oppression disabled people experienced in the gym, they can create a collective story, which is useful for helping to promote and sustain exercise in this space.
Genome-wide signatures of complex introgression and adaptive evolution in the big cats
Authors: Figueiró Henrique V. , Li Gang , Trindade Fernanda J. , Assis Juliana , Pais Fabiano , Fernandes Gabriel , Santos Sarah H. D. , Hughes Graham M. , Komissarov Aleksey , Antunes Agostinho , Trinca Cristine S. , Rodrigues Maíra R. , Linderoth Tyler , Bi Ke , Silveira Leandro , Azevedo Fernando C. C. , Kantek Daniel , Ramalho Emiliano , Brassaloti Ricardo A. , Villela Priscilla M. S. , Nunes Adauto L. V. , Teixeira Rodrigo H. F. , Morato Ronaldo G. , Loska Damian , Saragüeta Patricia , Gabaldón Toni , Teeling Emma C. , O’Brien Stephen J. , Nielsen Rasmus , Coutinho Luiz L. , Oliveira Guilherme , Murphy William J. , Eizirik Eduardo
Published: July 2017

Big cat genomes reveal a history of interspecies admixture and adaptive evolution of genes underlying development and sensory perception.
Urbanization-induced population migration has reduced ambient PM
2.5
concentrations in China
Authors: Shen Huizhong , Tao Shu , Chen Yilin , Ciais Philippe , Güneralp Burak , Ru Muye , Zhong Qirui , Yun Xiao , Zhu Xi , Huang Tianbo , Tao Wei , Chen Yuanchen , Li Bengang , Wang Xilong , Liu Wenxin , Liu Junfeng , Zhao Shuqing
Published: July 2017

Population migration has upgraded the direct energy consumption with remarkable benefits on air quality and health in China.
Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made
Authors: Geyer Roland , Jambeck Jenna R. , Law Kara Lavender
Published: July 2017

We present the first ever global account of the production, use, and end-of-life fate of all plastics ever made by humankind.
RETRACTED: Chiral Majorana fermion modes in a quantum anomalous Hall insulator–superconductor structure
Authors: He Qing Lin , Pan Lei , Stern Alexander L. , Burks Edward C. , Che Xiaoyu , Yin Gen , Wang Jing , Lian Biao , Zhou Quan , Choi Eun Sang , Murata Koichi , Kou Xufeng , Chen Zhijie , Nie Tianxiao , Shao Qiming , Fan Yabin , Zhang Shou-Cheng , Liu Kai , Xia Jing , Wang Kang L.
Published: July 2017

A propagating Majorana mode

Although Majorana fermions remain elusive as elementary particles, their solid-state analogs have been observed in hybrid semiconductor-superconductor nanowires. In a nanowire setting, the Majorana states are localized at the ends of the wire. He
et al.
built a two-dimensional heterostructure in which a one-dimensional Majorana mode is predicted to run along the sample edge (see the Perspective by Pribiag). The heterostructure consisted of a quantum anomalous Hall insulator (QAHI) bar contacted by a superconductor. The authors used an external magnetic field as a “knob” to tune into a regime where a Majorana mode was propagating along the edge of the QAHI bar covered by the superconductor. A signature of this propagation—half-quantized conductance—was then observed in transport experiments.

Science
, this issue p.
294
; see also p.
252
How to govern geoengineering?
Authors: Pasztor Janos , Scharf Cynthia , Schmidt Kai-Uwe
Published: July 2017

The Paris Agreement aims to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5° to 2°C above preindustrial temperature, but achieving this goal requires much higher levels of mitigation than currently planned. This challenge has focused greater attention on climate geoengineering approaches, which intentionally alter Earth's climate system, as part of an overall response starting with radical mitigation. Yet it remains unclear how to govern research on, and potential deployment of, geoengineering technologies.
Molecular Diagnostics Update for the Emerging (If Not Already Widespread) Sexually Transmitted Infection Agent Mycoplasma genitalium: Just About Ready for Prime Time
Authors: Munson Erik
Published: July 2017

Mycoplasma genitalium
is an important and emerging agent of sexually transmitted infection in females and males, carrying the potential for postinfection genital tract sequelae. Past efforts to identify this organism on a routine basis, which were problematic due to the fastidious nature of the bacterium and its antigenic intricacies, have recently become supplemented by molecular diagnostics. A number of these assays are available commercially. This minireview describes the format and performance indices of a number of
M. genitalium
DNA- and RNA-based amplification assays; many of these assays have contributed to an improved clinical and epidemiologic understanding of this organism.
Susceptibility Testing for the Polymyxins: Two Steps Back, Three Steps Forward?
Authors: Vasoo Shawn
Published: July 2017

Optimizing and standardizing susceptibility testing for the polymyxins have become pressing issues, given the rise in multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli. Recently, both the CLSI and EUCAST have recommended broth microdilution (BMD) (without polysorbate) as the reference method for polymyxin susceptibility testing. In this issue, K. L. Chew et al. (J Clin Microbiol 55:2609–2616, 2017,
https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.00268-17
) compare the performances of three commercial BMD panels and the Etest to the reference, BMD, for polymyxin B and colistin, using 76
Enterobacteriaceae
isolates (21 of which were
mcr-1
positive). Although none of the commercial BMD panels strictly met FDA performance standards in this evaluation, possibly because of the small number isolates tested, the Sensititre panel achieved >90% categorical agreement for both polymyxin compounds. These results also reaffirm CLSI and EUCAST guidance that gradient diffusion testing, which had unacceptable error rates, should be abandoned. In a simulated analysis with lowered breakpoints (susceptible, ≤1 mg/liter; intermediate, 2 mg/liter; resistant, ≥4 mg/liter), error rates and agreement were improved across the various methods and the rate of detection of
mcr-1
-positive isolates improved. These observations, taken together with recent pharmacokinetic data on optimizing target attainment for the polymyxins, suggest that more-stringent (lower) breakpoints may be reasonable, although such an approach may be limited by the inherent reliability of current testing methodologies and a lack of robust clinical correlative data, which are sorely needed.
Synthetic Toll-Like Receptor 4 (TLR4) and TLR7 Ligands Work Additively via MyD88 To Induce Protective Antiviral Immunity in Mice
Authors: Goff Peter H. , Hayashi Tomoko , He Wenqian , Yao Shiyin , Cottam Howard B. , Tan Gene S. , Crain Brian , Krammer Florian , Messer Karen , Pu Minya , Carson Dennis A. , Palese Peter , Corr Maripat
Published: July 2017

We previously demonstrated that the combination of synthetic small-molecule Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and TLR7 ligands is a potent adjuvant for recombinant influenza virus hemagglutinin, inducing rapid and sustained immunity that is protective against influenza viruses in homologous, heterologous, and heterosubtypic murine challenge models. Combining the TLR4 and TLR7 ligands balances Th1 and Th2-type immune responses for long-lived cellular and neutralizing humoral immunity against the viral hemagglutinin. Here, we demonstrate that the protective response induced in mice by this combined adjuvant is dependent upon TLR4 and TLR7 signaling via myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88), indicating that the adjuvants function
in vivo
via their known receptors, with negligible off-target effects, to induce protective immunity. The combined adjuvant acts via MyD88 in both bone marrow-derived and non-bone marrow-derived radioresistant cells to induce hemagglutinin-specific antibodies and protect mice against influenza virus challenge. The protective efficacy generated by immunization with this adjuvant and recombinant hemagglutinin antigen is transferable with serum from immunized mice to recipient mice in a homologous, but not a heterologous, H1N1 viral challenge model. Depletion of CD4
+
cells after an established humoral response in immunized mice does not impair protection from a homologous challenge; however, it does significantly impair recovery from a heterologous challenge virus, highlighting an important role for vaccine-induced CD4
+
cells in cross-protective vaccine efficacy. The combination of the two TLR agonists allows for significant dose reductions of each component to achieve a level of protection equivalent to that afforded by either single agent at its full dose.

IMPORTANCE
Development of novel adjuvants is needed to enhance immunogenicity to provide better protection from seasonal influenza virus infection and improve pandemic preparedness. We show here that several dose combinations of synthetic TLR4 and TLR7 ligands are potent adjuvants for recombinant influenza virus hemagglutinin antigen induction of humoral and cellular immunity against viral challenges. The components of the combined adjuvant work additively to enable both antigen and adjuvant dose sparing while retaining efficacy. Understanding an adjuvant's mechanism of action is a critical component for preclinical safety evaluation, and we demonstrate here that a combined TLR4 and TLR7 adjuvant signals via the appropriate receptors and the MyD88 adaptor protein. This novel adjuvant combination contributes to a more broadly protective vaccine while demonstrating an attractive safety profile.
Abundant dystrophic calcifications mimicking aortic valve abscess in a patient undergoing elective aortic valve replacement
Authors: Booth Adam L , Li Christine Q , Al-Dossari Ghannam Ayed , Stevenson Heather L
Published: July 2017

Dystrophic calcifications of the aortic valve may cause symptomatic aortic stenosis and account for a significant portion of patients who undergo elective valve replacement. Calcifications appearing grossly as a cloudy fluid surrounding the aortic valve leaflets are an uncommon finding. Normally, calcified aortic valves are characterised by large, nodular masses within the aortic cusps. We report a case of dystrophic calcifications on a stenotic aortic valve encountered intraoperatively, which was suggestive of infective endocarditis and abscess formation. Aortic valve leaflets and necrotic-appearing thymic lymph node tissue were submitted for histology and special stains. Cultures were negative and histology did not show evidence of infection. Tissue histology demonstrated extensive dystrophic calcifications, which were polarised to reveal abundant calcium oxalate crystals. The benign nature of this unique pathological finding ruled out any suspicion of infection, avoiding a prolonged course of intravenous antibiotics in this patient.
Very early great saphenous vein graft aneurysm treated by percutaneous coronary intervention under ChromaFlo imaging guidance
Authors: Yamaguchi Tetsuo , Miyamoto Takamichi , Kawahatsu Kandoh , Nozato Toshihiro
Published: July 2017

A 73-year-old man, who had undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) 10 days prior, presented with a great saphenous vein graft aneurysm (SVGA). CT revealed the increasing size of the aneurysm. Since the SVGA occurred immediately after CABG and there were no other complications, the aneurysm was treated percutaneously. While intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography failed to detect the entry point, an IVUS catheter with the addition of ChromaFlo imaging clearly revealed the entry point, size and length of the SVGA. To prevent migration and edge restenosis associated with covered stents, the covered stent (3.0×19 mm) was superimposed on a drug-eluting stent (3.0×28 mm) that covered the entry site. A follow-up study demonstrated the absence of flow into the aneurysm.
Cervical cancer screening in rural Bhutan with thecareHPV test on self-collected samples: an ongoing cross-sectional, population-based study (REACH-Bhutan)
Authors: Baussano Iacopo , Tshering Sangay , Choden Tashi , Lazzarato Fulvio , Tenet Vanessa , Plummer Martyn , Franceschi Silvia , Clifford Gary M , Tshomo Ugyen
Published: July 2017

Objectives

The Bhutanese Screening Programme recommends a Pap smear every 3 years for women aged 25–65 years, and coverage ranges from 20% to 60%, being especially challenging in rural settings. The ‘REACH-Bhutan’ study was conducted to assess the feasibility and outcomes of a novel approach to cervical cancer screening in rural Bhutan.

Design

Cross-sectional, population-based study of cervical cancer screening based on thecareHPV test on self-collected samples.

Setting

Women were recruited in rural primary healthcare centres, that is, Basic Health Units (BHU), across Bhutan.

Participants

Overall, 3648 women aged 30–60 were invited from 15 BHUs differing in accessibility, size and ethnic composition of the population.

Interventions

Participants provided a self-collected cervicovaginal sample and were interviewed. Samples were tested usingcareHPV in Thimphu (the Bhutanese capital) referral laboratory.

Main outcome measures

Screening participation by geographic area, centre, age and travelling time. Previous screening history andcareHPV positivity by selected characteristics of the participants.

Results

In April/May 2016, 2590 women (median age: 41) were enrolled. Study participation was 71% and significantly heterogeneous by BHU (range: 31%–96%). Participation decreased with increase in age (81% in women aged 30–39 years; 59% in ≥50 years) and travelling time (90% in women living <30 min from the BHU vs 62% among those >6 hours away). 50% of participants reported no previous screening, with the proportion of never-screened women varying significantly by BHU (range: 2%–72%). 265 women (10%; 95% CI 9% to 11%) werecareHPV positive, with a significant variation by BHU (range: 5%–19%) and number of sexual partners (prevalence ratio for ≥3 vs 0–1, 1.55; 95% CI 1.05 to 2.27).

Conclusions

Community-based cervical cancer screening by testing self-collected samples for human papillomavirus (HPV) can achieve high coverage in rural Bhutan. However, solutions to bring self-collection, HPV testing and precancer treatment closer to the remotest villages are needed.
Na+–H+exchanger and proton channel in heart failure associated with Becker and Duchenne muscular dystrophies
Authors: Bkaily Ghassan , Jacques Danielle
Published: July 2017

Cardiomyopathy is found in patients with Duchenne (DMD) and Becker (BMD) muscular dystrophies, which are linked muscle diseases caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene. Dystrophin defects are not limited to DMD but are also present in mild BMD. The hereditary cardiomyopathic hamster of the UM-X7.1 strain is a particular experimental model of heart failure (HF) leading to early death in muscular dystrophy (dystrophin deficiency and sarcoglycan mutation) and heart disease (δ-sarcoglycan deficiency and dystrophin mutation) in human DMD. Using this model, our previous work showed a defect in intracellular sodium homeostasis before the appearance of any apparent biochemical and histological defects. This was attributed to the continual presence of the fetal slow sodium channel, which was also found to be active in human DMD. Due to muscular intracellular acidosis, the intracellular sodium overload in DMD and BMD was also due to sodium influx through the sodium–hydrogen exchanger NHE-1. Lifetime treatment with an NHE-1 inhibitor prevented intracellular Na+overload and early death due to HF. Our previous work also showed that another proton transporter, the voltage-gated proton channel (Hv1), exists in many cell types including heart cells and skeletal muscle fibers. The Hv1 could be indirectly implicated in the beneficial effect of blocking NHE-1.
Difference in the response to angiotensin II between left and right ventricular endocardial endothelial cells
Authors: Jacques Danielle , Abdel-Karim Abdel-Malak Nelly , Abou Abdallah Nadia , Al-Khoury Johny , Bkaily Ghassan
Published: July 2017

Previous studies focused on the right ventricular endocardial endothelial cells (EECRs) and showed that angiotensin II (Ang II) induced increase in cytosolic and nuclear calcium via AT1 receptor activation. In the present study, we verified whether the response of left EECs (EECLs) to Ang II is different than that of EECRs. Our results showed that the EC50 of the Ang II-induced increase of cytosolic and nuclear calcium in EECLs was 10× higher (around 2 × 10−13 mol/L) than in EECRs (around 8 × 10−12 mol/L). The densities of both AT1 and AT2 receptors were also higher in EECLs than those previously reported in EECRs. The effect of Ang II was mediated in both cell types via the activation of AT1 receptors. Treatment with Ang II induced a significant increase of cytosolic and nuclear AT1 receptors in EECRs, whereas the opposite was found in EECLs. In both cell types, there was a transient increase of cytosolic and nuclear AT2 receptors following the Ang II treatment. In conclusion, our results showed that both AT1 and AT2 receptors densities are higher in both EECLs compared to what was reported in EECRs. The higher density of AT1 receptors in EECLs compared to REECs may explain, in part, the higher sensitivity of EECLs to Ang II.
The Yang–Mills measure in the SU(3)-skein module
Authors: Frohman Charles , Zhong Jianyuan K.
Published: July 2017

Let [Formula: see text] be a nonzero complex number which is not a root of unity. Let [Formula: see text] be a compact oriented surface, the [Formula: see text]-skein space of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], is the vector space over [Formula: see text] generated by framed oriented links (including framed oriented trivalent graphs in [Formula: see text]) quotient by the [Formula: see text]-skein relations due to Kuperberg [Spiders for rank [Formula: see text] Lie algebra, Comm. Math. Phys. 180(1) (1996) 109–151]. For closed [Formula: see text], with genus greater than [Formula: see text], we construct a local diffeomorphism invariant trace on [Formula: see text] when [Formula: see text] is a positive real number not equal to [Formula: see text].
An Approximate Analytical Formulation for the Rise-Time Effect on Dynamic Structural Response Under Column Loss
Authors: Tsai Meng-Hao
Published: July 2017

Dynamic progressive collapse analysis of building structures is usually conducted under sudden column loss conditions. The time length required for disabling the failed column is defined as the rise time. The rise-time effect on the maximum dynamic response of building frames under column loss is investigated in this study. Based on the work-energy principle, an approximate analytical formulation for the maximum dynamic response is derived considering the rise-time effect. The force- and displacement-based dynamic increase factors (DIFs) of a single degree-of-freedom model and a clamped steel beam are used to assess the accuracy and validity of the proposed formulation. Analysis results indicate that the DIFs decrease with increased rise time. Also, the rise-time effect decreases with increased ductility demand. Practical application of the analytical formulation to regular building frames subjected to column loss is illustrated. Primary factors related to the extent of the rise-time effect on the column-loss response are identified for design consideration.
High-Speed Imaging to Study an Auto-Oscillating Vocal Fold Replica for Different Initial Conditions
Authors: Van Hirtum A. , Pelorson X.
Published: July 2017

Experiments on mechanical deformable vocal folds replicas are important in physical studies of human voice production to understand the underlying fluid–structure interaction. At current date, most experiments are performed for constant initial conditions with respect to structural as well as geometrical features. Varying those conditions requires manual intervention, which might affect reproducibility and hence the quality of experimental results. In this work, a setup is described which allows setting elastic and geometrical initial conditions in an automated way for a deformable vocal fold replica. High-speed imaging is integrated in the setup in order to decorrelate elastic and geometrical features. This way, reproducible, accurate and systematic measurements can be performed for prescribed initial conditions of glottal area, mean upstream pressure and vocal fold elasticity. Moreover, quantification of geometrical features during auto-oscillation is shown to contribute to the experimental characterization and understanding.
Throughput-Optimized FPGA Accelerator for Deep Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Liu Zhiqiang , Dou Yong , Jiang Jingfei , Xu Jinwei , Li Shijie , Zhou Yongmei , Xu Yingnan
Published: July 2017

Deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have gained great success in various computer vision applications. State-of-the-art CNN models for large-scale applications are computation intensive and memory expensive and, hence, are mainly processed on high-performance processors like server CPUs and GPUs. However, there is an increasing demand of high-accuracy or real-time object detection tasks in large-scale clusters or embedded systems, which requires energy-efficient accelerators because of the green computation requirement or the limited battery restriction. Due to the advantages of energy efficiency and reconfigurability, Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have been widely explored as CNN accelerators. In this article, we present an in-depth analysis of computation complexity and the memory footprint of each CNN layer type. Then a scalable parallel framework is proposed that exploits four levels of parallelism in hardware acceleration. We further put forward a systematic design space exploration methodology to search for the optimal solution that maximizes accelerator throughput under the FPGA constraints such as on-chip memory, computational resources, external memory bandwidth, and clock frequency. Finally, we demonstrate the methodology by optimizing three representative CNNs (LeNet, AlexNet, and VGG-S) on a Xilinx VC709 board. The average performance of the three accelerators is 424.7, 445.6, and 473.4GOP/s under 100MHz working frequency, which outperforms the CPU and previous work significantly.
Distinct PKA regulatory subunits mediate PGE2 inhibition of TGFβ-1-stimulated collagen I translation and myofibroblast differentiation
Authors: Wettlaufer Scott H. , Penke L. Raghu , Okunishi Katsuhide , Peters-Golden Marc
Published: July 2017

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), via cAMP signaling, inhibits a variety of fibroblast functions relevant to fibrogenesis. Among these are their translation of collagen I protein and their differentiation to myofibroblasts. PKA is central to these actions, with cAMP binding to regulatory (R) subunits leading to the release of catalytic subunits. Here we examined the role of specific PKAR subunit isoforms in these inhibitory actions in transforming growth factor β-1 (TGFβ-1)-stimulated human lung fibroblasts (HLFs). HLFs expressed all four R subunit isoforms. siRNA-mediated knockdown of subunits PKARIα and PKARIIα had no effect on PGE2 inhibition of either process. However, knockdown of PKARIβ selectively attenuated PGE2 inhibition of collagen I protein expression, whereas knockdown of PKARIIβ selectively attenuated PGE2 inhibition of expression of the myofibroblast differentiation marker, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). cAMP analogs that selectively activate either PKARIβ or PKARIIβ exclusively inhibited collagen I synthesis or differentiation, respectively. In parallel, the PKARIβ agonist (but not a PKARIIβ agonist) reduced phosphorylation of two proteins involved in protein translation, protein kinase B (AKT) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). By contrast, the PKARIIβ agonist (but not a PKARIβ agonist) reduced levels of the differentiation-associated phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase (p-FAK) as well as the relative mRNA and protein expression of serum response factor (SRF), a transcription factor necessary for myofibroblast differentiation. Our results demonstrate that cAMP inhibition of collagen I translation and myofibroblast differentiation reflects the actions of distinct PKAR subunits.
Sex and gender differences in hypertensive kidney injury
Authors: Sullivan Jennifer C. , Gillis Ellen E.
Published: July 2017

Hypertension is a complex, multifaceted disorder, affecting ~1 in 3 adults in the United States. Although hypertension occurs in both men and women, there are distinct sex differences in the way in which they develop hypertension, with women having a lower incidence of hypertension until the sixth decade of life. Despite observed sex differences in hypertension, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of hypertension in females, primarily because of their underrepresentation in both clinical and experimental animal studies. The first goal of this review is to provide a concise overview of the participation of women in clinical trials, including a discussion of the importance of including females in basic science research, as recently mandated by the National Institutes of Health. The remaining portion of the review is dedicated to identifying clinical and experimental animal studies that concentrate on gender and sex differences in hypertensive kidney disease, ending with a proposed role for T cells in mediating sex differences in blood pressure.
Severe energy deficit upregulates leptin receptors, leptin signaling, and PTP1B in human skeletal muscle
Authors: Perez-Suarez Ismael , Ponce-González Jesús Gustavo , de La Calle-Herrero Jaime , Losa-Reyna Jose , Martin-Rincon Marcos , Morales-Alamo David , Santana Alfredo , Holmberg Hans-Christer , Calbet Jose A. L.
Published: July 2017

In obesity, leptin receptors (OBR) and leptin signaling in skeletal muscle are downregulated. To determine whether OBR and leptin signaling are upregulated with a severe energy deficit, 15 overweight men were assessed before the intervention (PRE), after 4 days of caloric restriction (3.2 kcal·kg body wt−1·day−1) in combination with prolonged exercise (CRE; 8 h walking + 45 min single-arm cranking/day) to induce an energy deficit of ~5,500 kcal/day, and following 3 days of control diet (isoenergetic) and reduced exercise (CD). During CRE, the diet consisted solely of whey protein ( n = 8) or sucrose ( n = 7; 0.8 g·kg body wt−1·day−1). Muscle biopsies were obtained from the exercised and the nonexercised deltoid muscles and from the vastus lateralis. From PRE to CRE, serum glucose, insulin, and leptin were reduced. OBR expression was augmented in all examined muscles associated with increased maximal fat oxidation. Compared with PRE, after CD, phospho-Tyr1141OBR, phospho-Tyr985OBR, JAK2, and phospho-Tyr1007/1008JAK2 protein expression were increased in all muscles, whereas STAT3 and phospho-Tyr705STAT3 were increased only in the arms. The expression of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) in skeletal muscle was increased by 18 and 45% after CRE and CD, respectively ( P < 0.05). Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) tended to increase in the legs and decrease in the arm muscles (ANOVA interaction: P < 0.05). Myosin heavy chain I isoform was associated with OBR protein expression ( r = −0.75), phospho-Tyr985OBR ( r = 0.88), and phospho-Tyr705STAT3/STAT3 ( r = 0.74). In summary, despite increased PTP1B expression, skeletal muscle OBR and signaling are upregulated by a severe energy deficit with greater response in the arm than in the legs likely due to SOCS3 upregulation in the leg muscles.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study shows that the skeletal muscle leptin receptors and their corresponding signaling cascade are upregulated in response to a severe energy deficit, contributing to increase maximal fat oxidation. The responses are more prominent in the arm muscles than in the legs but partly blunted by whey protein ingestion and high volume of exercise. This occurs despite an increase of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B protein expression, a known inhibitor of insulin and leptin signaling.
Time-course effects of aerobic physical training in the prevention of cigarette smoke-induced COPD
Authors: Toledo-Arruda Alessandra C. , Vieira Rodolfo P. , Guarnier Flávia A. , Suehiro Camila L. , Caleman-Neto Agostinho , Olivo Clarice R. , Arantes Petra M. M. , Almeida Francine M. , Lopes Fernanda D. T. Q. S. , Ramos Ercy M. C. , Cecchini Rubens , Lin Chin Jia , Martins Milton Arruda
Published: July 2017

A previous study by our group showed that regular exercise training (ET) attenuated pulmonary injury in an experimental model of chronic exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) in mice, but the time-course effects of the mechanisms involved in this protection remain poorly understood. We evaluated the temporal effects of regular ET in an experimental model of chronic CS exposure. Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into four groups: Control (sedentary + air), Exercise (aerobic training + air), Smoke (sedentary + smoke), and Smoke + Exercise (aerobic training + smoke). Mice were exposed to CS and ET for 4, 8, or 12 wk. Exercise protected mice exposed to CS from emphysema and reductions in tissue damping and tissue elastance after 12 wk ( P < 0.01). The total number of inflammatory cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage increased in the Smoke group, mainly due to the recruitment of macrophages after 4 wk, neutrophils and lymphocytes after 8 wk, and lymphocytes and macrophages after 12 wk ( P < 0.01). Exercise attenuated this increase in mice exposed to CS. The protection conferred by exercise was mainly observed after exercise adaptation. Exercise increased IL-6 and IL-10 in the quadriceps and lungs ( P < 0.05) after 12 wk. Total antioxidant capacity and SOD was increased and TNF-α and oxidants decreased in lungs of mice exposed to CS after 12 wk ( P < 0.05). The protective effects of exercise against lung injury induced by cigarette smoke exposure suggests that anti-inflammatory mediators and antioxidant enzymes play important roles in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease development mainly after the exercise adaptation.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY These experiments investigated for the first time the temporal effects of regular moderate exercise training in cigarette smoke-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We demonstrate that aerobic conditioning had a protective effect in emphysema development induced by cigarette smoke exposure. This effect was most likely secondary to an effect of exercise on oxidant-antioxidant balance and anti-inflammatory mediators.
Inhibitory circuits of the mammalian main olfactory bulb
Authors: Burton Shawn D.
Published: July 2017

Synaptic inhibition critically influences sensory processing throughout the mammalian brain, including the main olfactory bulb (MOB), the first station of sensory processing in the olfactory system. Decades of research across numerous laboratories have established a central role for granule cells (GCs), the most abundant GABAergic interneuron type in the MOB, in the precise regulation of principal mitral and tufted cell (M/TC) firing rates and synchrony through lateral and recurrent inhibitory mechanisms. In addition to GCs, however, the MOB contains a vast diversity of other GABAergic interneuron types, and recent findings suggest that, while fewer in number, these oft-ignored interneurons are just as important as GCs in shaping odor-evoked M/TC activity. Here I challenge the prevailing centrality of GCs. In this review, I first outline the specific properties of each GABAergic interneuron type in the rodent MOB, with particular emphasis placed on direct interneuron recordings and cell type-selective manipulations. On the basis of these properties, I then critically reevaluate the contribution of GCs vs. other interneuron types to the regulation of odor-evoked M/TC firing rates and synchrony via lateral, recurrent, and other inhibitory mechanisms. This analysis yields a novel model in which multiple interneuron types with distinct abundances, connectivity patterns, and physiologies complement one another to regulate M/TC activity and sensory processing.
Hyperstability of Some Functional Equations on Restricted Domain
Authors: Bahyrycz Anna , Olko Jolanta
Published: July 2017

The paper concerns functions which approximately satisfy, not necessarily on the whole linear space, a generalization of linear functional equation. A Hyers-Ulam stability result is proved and next applied to give conditions implying the hyperstability of the equation. The results may be used as tools in stability studies on restricted domains for various functional equations. We use the main theorem to obtain a few hyperstability results of Fréchet equation on restricted domain for different control functions.
The Influence of Spherical Nano-SiO2 Content on the Thermal Protection Performance of Thermal Insulation Ablation Resistant Coated Fabrics
Authors: Liu Guoyi , Liu Yuanjun , Zhao Xiaoming
Published: July 2017

In the high temperatures experienced in fire, radiant heat accounts for 80% of the total heat flow; therefore, improving the radiation protection is the best way to enhance the thermal protective performance of thermal insulation ablation resistant coated fabrics. To achieve this goal, the coating process and the ingredients used were optimized, spherical nano-SiO2 and other particles were added, and thermal insulation ablation resistant coated fabrics with high radiant heat reflectivity were prepared. The influence of the spherical nano-SiO2 content on the thermal protection performance of the prepared coated fabrics was investigated. Research showed that (1) the radiant heat reflectivity of the prepared coated fabrics improves significantly with increasing content of spherical nano-SiO2; when the mass fraction of spherical nano-SiO2 is 15%, the reflectivity of coated fabrics is at its largest, and its average value was 74.30%. At present, the average size of grains in samples increased 1.9 times; (2) after adding the spherical nano-SiO2, the thermal stability of the thermal insulation ablation resistant coated fabrics is significantly improved; the residual mass is as high as 88.49% at 1200°C, which is 18.77% higher than the residual mass of the coated fabrics with no spherical nano-SiO2 added at the same temperature.
A Geochemical Model of Fluids and Mineral Interactions for Deep Hydrocarbon Reservoirs
Authors: Li Jun , Ahmed Raheel , Zhang Qian , Guo Yongfan , Li Xiaochun
Published: July 2017

A mutual solubility model for CO2-CH4-brine systems is constructed in this work as a fundamental research for applications of deep hydrocarbon exploration and production. The model is validated to be accurate for wide ranges of temperature (0–250°C), pressure (1–1500 bar), and salinity (NaCl molality from 0 to more than 6 mole/KgW). Combining this model with PHREEQC functionalities, CO2-CH4-brine-carbonate-sulfate equilibrium is calculated. From the calculations, we conclude that, for CO2-CH4-brine-carbonate systems, at deeper positions, magnesium is more likely to be dissolved in aqueous phase and calcite can be more stable than dolomite and, for CO2-CH4-brine-sulfate systems, with a presence of CH4, sulfate ions are likely to be reduced to S2−and H2S in gas phase could be released after S2−saturated in the solution. The hydrocarbon “souring” process could be reproduced from geochemical calculations in this work.