bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Handwritten Farsi Word Recognition Using NN-Based Fusion of HMM Classifiers with Different Types of Features
Authors: Arani Seyed Ali Asghar Abbaszadeh , Kabir Ehsanollah , Ebrahimpour Reza
Published: February 2019

In this paper, an off-line method, based on hidden Markov model, HMM, is used for holistic recognition of handwritten words of a limited vocabulary. Three feature sets based on image gradient, black–white transition and contour chain code are used. For each feature set an HMM is trained for each word. In the recognition step, the outputs of these classifiers are combined through a multilayer perceptron, MLP. High number of connections in this network causes a computational complexity in the training. To avoid this problem, a new method is proposed. In the experiments on 16000 images of 200 names of Iranian cities, from “Iranshahr 3” dataset, the results of the proposed method are presented and compared with some similar methods. An error analysis on these results is also provided.
Dynamic balance control of two-wheeled self-balancing pendulum robot based on adaptive machine learning
Authors: Qian Qingwen , Wu Junfeng , Wang Zhe
Published: February 2019

To solve the problem of balance control in dynamic movement of two-wheeled self-balancing pendulum robot, a dynamic balance control method based on adaptive machine learning is proposed based on theoretical analysis of the cause of balance. Firstly, a kinematics model of two-wheeled self-balancing pendulum robot is established. Through numerical calculation and analysis, the root cause for dynamic balance of two-wheeled self-balancing pendulum robot is obtained. On this base, adaptive machine learnings are proposed to control the dynamic balance of two-wheeled self-balancing pendulum robot. The possible lateral movement of robot caused by dynamic balance control is analyzed. Finally, balance simulation test is conducted, which shows that the robot can easily lose balance and overturn without adaptive machine learning. The comparison of simulation test has verified that the proposed dynamic balance control method can effectively control the dynamic balance of two-wheeled self-balancing pendulum robot.
Conservation of the numbers of characteristic values of polynomial and entire matrix pencils inside and outside a circle under perturbations
Authors: Gil’ Michael
Published: February 2019

Let [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] be entire matrix-valued functions of a complex argument [Formula: see text] (entire matrix pencils) and [Formula: see text]. Let [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] denote the numbers of the characteristic values of [Formula: see text] taken with their multiplicities located inside and outside [Formula: see text], respectively. Besides [Formula: see text] can be infinite. We consider the following problem: how “close” should be [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] in order to provide the equalities [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]? We restrict ourselves by the entire pencils of order not more than two. Our results are new even for polynomial pencils.
SIMPLIFIED OPTION PRICING TECHNIQUES
Authors: ALGHALITH MOAWIA , FLOROS CHRISTOS , POUFINAS THOMAS
Published: February 2019

In this paper we provide alternative methods for pricing European and American call and put options. Our contribution lies in the simplification attempted in the models developed. Such simplification is feasible due to our observation that the value of the option can be derived as a function of the underlying stock price, strike price and time to maturity. This route is supported by the fact that both the risk-free rate and the volatility of the stock are captured by the move of the underlying stock price. Moreover, looking at the properties of the Brownian motion, widely used to map the move of the stock price, we realize that volatility is well depicted by time. Last but not the least, the value of an option is an increasing function of both time and volatility. We find simplified option pricing formulas depending on the underlying asset (price and strike price) and the time to maturity only. We test our formulas against the S&P 500 index options; the advantage of the approach is that less simplifying assumptions are needed and much simpler methods are produced. We provide alternative formulas for pricing European- and American-type options.
Structural and lithological controls on the architecture of igneous intrusions: examples from the NW Australian Shelf
Authors: Mark N. J. , Holford S. P. , Schofield N. , Eide C. H. , Pugliese S. , Watson D. A. , Muirhead D.
Published: February 2019

Rift-related magmatism resulting in widespread igneous intrusions has been documented in various basins, including the Faroe Shetland Basin (UK), the Voring and Møre basins (Norway), and along the NW Shelf of Australia. Seismic mapping, combined with fieldwork, has resulted in greater understanding of subsurface intrusive plumbing systems but knowledge of emplacement style and the mechanisms by which intrusions propagate is limited. The interpretation of a 3D seismic dataset from the Exmouth Sub-basin, NW Shelf of Australia, has identified numerous igneous intrusions where a close relationship between intrusions and normal faults is observed. These faults influence intrusion morphology but also form pathways by which intrusions have propagated up through the basin stratigraphy. The steep nature of the faults has resulted in the intrusions exploiting them and thus manifesting as fault-concordant, inclined dykes; whereas in the deeper parts of the basin, intrusions that have not propagated up faults typically have saucer-shaped sill morphologies. This transition in the morphology of intrusions related to fault interaction also highlights how dykes observed in outcrop may link with sills in the subsurface. Our interpretation of the seismic data also reveals subsurface examples of bifurcating intrusions with numerous splays, which have previously only been studied in outcrop.

Supplementary material:
Figures showing uninterpreted seismic lines are available at
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4395974
PocketWeb
Authors: Lymberopoulos Dimitrios , Riva Oriana , Strauss Karin , Mittal Akshay , Ntoulas Alexandros
Published: February 2019

The high network latencies and limited battery life of mobile phones can make mobile web browsing a frustrating experience. In prior work, we proposed trading memory capacity for lower web access latency and a more convenient data transfer schedule from an energy perspective by prefetching slowly-changing data (search queries and results) nightly, when the phone is charging. However, most web content is intrinsically much more dynamic and may be updated multiple times a day, thus eliminating the effectiveness of periodic updates.

This paper addresses the challenge of prefetching dynamic web content in a timely fashion, giving the user an instant web browsing experience but without aggravating the battery lifetime issue. We start by analyzing the web access traces of 8,000 users, and observe that mobile web browsing exhibits a strong spatiotemporal signature, which is different for every user. We propose to use a machine learning approach based on stochastic gradient boosting techniques to efficiently model this signature on a per user basis. The machine learning model is capable of accurately predicting future web accesses and prefetching the content in a timely manner. Our experimental evaluation with 48,000 models trained on real user datasets shows that we can accurately prefetch 60% of the URLs for about 80-90% of the users within 2 minutes before the request. The system prototype we built not only provides more than 80% lower web access time for more than 80% of the users, but it also achieves the same or lower radio energy dissipation by more than 50% for the majority of mobile users.
Reflex
Authors: Lin Felix Xiaozhu , Wang Zhen , LiKamWa Robert , Zhong Lin
Published: February 2019

To accomplish frequent, simple tasks with high efficiency, it is necessary to leverage low-power, microcontroller-like processors that are increasingly available on mobile systems. However, existing solutions require developers to directly program the low-power processors and carefully manage inter-processor communication. We present Reflex, a suite of compiler and runtime techniques that significantly lower the barrier for developers to leverage such low-power processors. The heart of Reflex is a software Distributed Shared Memory (DSM) that enables shared memory objects with release consistency among code running on loosely coupled processors. In order to achieve high energy efficiency without sacrificing performance much, the Reflex DSM leverages (i) extreme architectural asymmetry between low-power processors and powerful central processors, (ii) aggressive compile-time optimization, and (iii) a minimalist runtime that supports efficient message passing and event-driven execution. We report a complete realization of Reflex that runs on a TI OMAP4430-based development platform as well as on a custom tri-processor mobile platform. Using smartphone sensing applications reported in recent literature, we show that Reflex supports a programming style very close to contemporary smartphone programming. Compared to message passing, the Reflex DSM greatly reduces efforts in programming heterogeneous smartphones, eliminating up to 38% of the source lines of application code. Compared to running the same applications on existing smartphones, Reflex reduces the average system power consumption by up to 81%.
Iterative optimization for the data center
Authors: Chen Yang , Fang Shuangde , Eeckhout Lieven , Temam Olivier , Wu Chengyong
Published: February 2019

Iterative optimization is a simple but powerful approach that searches for the best possible combination of compiler optimizations for a given workload. However, each program, if not each data set, potentially favors a different combination. As a result, iterative optimization is plagued by several practical issues that prevent it from being widely used in practice: a large number of runs are required for finding the best combination; the process can be data set dependent; and the exploration process incurs significant overhead that needs to be compensated for by performance benefits.Therefore, while iterative optimization has been shown to have significant performance potential, it is seldomly used in production compilers.

In this paper, we propose Iterative Optimization for the Data Center (IODC): we show that servers and data centers offer a context in which all of the above hurdles can be overcome. The basic idea is to spawn different combinations across workers and recollect performance statistics at the master, which then evolves to the optimum combination of compiler optimizations. IODC carefully manages costs and benefits, and is transparent to the end user. We evaluate IODC using both MapReduce and throughput compute-intensive server applications. In order to reflect the large number of users interacting with the system, we gather a very large collection of data sets (at least 1000 and up to several million unique data sets per program), for a total storage of 10.7TB, and 568 days of CPU time. We report an average performance improvement of 1.48×, and up to 2.08×, for the MapReduce applications, and 1.14×, and up to 1.39×, for the throughput compute-intensive server applications.
Chameleon
Authors: Panneerselvam Sankaralingam , Swift Michael M.
Published: February 2019

The rise of multi-core processors has shifted performance efforts towards parallel programs. However, single-threaded code, whether from legacy programs or ones difficult to parallelize, remains important. Proposed asymmetric multicore processors statically dedicate hardware to improve sequential performance, but at the cost of reduced parallel performance. However, several proposed mechanisms provide the best-of-both-worlds by combining multiple cores into a single, more powerful processor for sequential code. For example, Core Fusion merges multiple cores to pool caches and functional units, and Intel's Turbo Boost raises the clock speed of a core if the other cores on a chip are powered down.

These reconfiguration mechanisms have two important properties. First the set of available cores and their capabilities can vary over short time scales. Current operating systems are not designed for rapidly changing hardware: the existing hotplug mechanisms for reconfiguring processors require global operations and hundreds of milliseconds to complete. Second, configurations may be mutually exclusive: using power to speed one core means it cannot be used to speed another. Current schedulers cannot manage this requirement.

We present Chameleon, an extension to Linux to support dynamic processors that can reconfigure their cores at runtime. Chameleon provides processor proxies to enable rapid reconfiguration, execution objects to abstract the processing capabilities of physical CPUs, and a cluster scheduler to balance the needs of sequential and parallel programs. In experiments that emulate a dynamic processor, we find that Chameleon can reconfigure processors 100,000 times faster than Linux and allows applications full access to hardware capabilities: sequential code runs at full speed on a powerful execution context, while parallel code runs on as many cores as possible.
Relyzer
Authors: Hari Siva Kumar Sastry , Adve Sarita V. , Naeimi Helia , Ramachandran Pradeep
Published: February 2019

Future microprocessors need low-cost solutions for reliable operation in the presence of failure-prone devices. A promising approach is to detect hardware faults by deploying low-cost monitors of software-level symptoms of such faults. Recently, researchers have shown these mechanisms work well, but there remains a non-negligible risk that several faults may escape the symptom detectors and result in silent data corruptions (SDCs). Most prior evaluations of symptom-based detectors perform fault injection campaigns on application benchmarks, where each run simulates the impact of a fault injected at a hardware site at a certain point in the application's execution (application fault site). Since the total number of application fault sites is very large (trillions for standard benchmark suites), it is not feasible to study all possible faults. Previous work therefore typically studies a randomly selected sample of faults. Such studies do not provide any feedback on the portions of the application where faults were not injected. Some of those instructions may be vulnerable to SDCs, and identifying them could allow protecting them through other means if needed.

This paper presents Relyzer, an approach that systematically analyzes all application fault sites and carefully picks a small subset to perform selective fault injections for transient faults. Relyzer employs novel fault pruning techniques that prune faults that need detailed study by either predicting their outcomes or showing them equivalent to other faults. We find that Relyzer prunes about 99.78% of the total faults across twelve applications studied here, reducing the faults that require detailed simulation by 3 to 5 orders of magnitude for most of the applications. Fault injection simulations on the remaining faults can identify SDC causing faults in the entire application. Some of Relyzer's techniques rely on heuristics to determine fault equivalence. Our validation efforts show that Relyzer determines fault outcomes with 96% accuracy, averaged across all the applications studied here.
Aikido
Authors: Olszewski Marek , Zhao Qin , Koh David , Ansel Jason , Amarasinghe Saman
Published: February 2019

Despite a burgeoning demand for parallel programs, the tools available to developers working on shared-memory multicore processors have lagged behind. One reason for this is the lack of hardware support for inspecting the complex behavior of these parallel programs. Inter-thread communication, which must be instrumented for many types of analyses, may occur with any memory operation. To detect such thread communication in software, many existing tools require the instrumentation of all memory operations, which leads to significant performance overheads. To reduce this overhead, some existing tools resort to random sampling of memory operations, which introduces false negatives. Unfortunately, neither of these approaches provide the speed and accuracy programmers have traditionally expected from their tools. In this work, we present Aikido, a new system and framework that enables the development of efficient and transparent analyses that operate on shared data. Aikido uses a hybrid of existing hardware features and dynamic binary rewriting to detect thread communication with low overhead. Aikido runs a custom hypervisor below the operating system, which exposes per-thread hardware protection mechanisms not available in any widely used operating system. This hybrid approach allows us to benefit from the low cost of detecting memory accesses with hardware, while maintaining the word-level accuracy of a software-only approach. To evaluate our framework, we have implemented an Aikido-enabled vector clock race detector. Our results show that the Aikido enabled race-detector outperforms existing techniques that provide similar accuracy by up to 6.0x, and 76% on average, on the PARSEC benchmark suite.
Bottleneck identification and scheduling in multithreaded applications
Authors: Joao José A. , Suleman M. Aater , Mutlu Onur , Patt Yale N.
Published: February 2019

Performance of multithreaded applications is limited by a variety of bottlenecks, e.g. critical sections, barriers and slow pipeline stages. These bottlenecks serialize execution, waste valuable execution cycles, and limit scalability of applications. This paper proposes Bottleneck Identification and Scheduling in Multithreaded Applications (BIS), a cooperative software-hardware mechanism to identify and accelerate the most critical bottlenecks. BIS identifies which bottlenecks are likely to reduce performance by measuring the number of cycles threads have to wait for each bottleneck, and accelerates those bottlenecks using one or more fast cores on an Asymmetric Chip Multi-Processor (ACMP). Unlike previous work that targets specific bottlenecks, BIS can identify and accelerate bottlenecks regardless of their type. We compare BIS to four previous approaches and show that it outperforms the best of them by 15% on average. BIS' performance improvement increases as the number of cores and the number of fast cores in the system increase.
Optimal task assignment in multithreaded processors
Authors: Radojković Petar , Čakarević Vladimir , Moretó Miquel , Verdú Javier , Pajuelo Alex , Cazorla Francisco J. , Nemirovsky Mario , Valero Mateo
Published: February 2019

The introduction of massively multithreaded (MMT) processors, comprised of a large number of cores with many shared resources, has made task scheduling, in particular task to hardware thread assignment, one of the most promising ways to improve system performance. However, finding an optimal task assignment for a workload running on MMT processors is an NP-complete problem. Due to the fact that the performance of the best possible task assignment is unknown, the room for improvement of current task-assignment algorithms cannot be determined. This is a major problem for the industry because it could lead to: (1)~A waste of resources if excessive effort is devoted to improving a task assignment algorithm that already provides a performance that is close to the optimal one, or (2)~significant performance loss if insufficient effort is devoted to improving poorly-performing task assignment algorithms.

In this paper, we present a method based on Extreme Value Theory that allows the prediction of the performance of the optimal task assignment in MMT processors. We further show that executing a sample of several hundred or several thousand
random
task assignments is enough to obtain, with very high confidence, an assignment with a performance that is close to the optimal one. We validate our method with an industrial case study for a set of multithreaded network applications running on an UltraSPARC~T2 processor.
CRUISE
Authors: Jaleel Aamer , Najaf-abadi Hashem H. , Subramaniam Samantika , Steely Simon C. , Emer Joel
Published: February 2019

When several applications are co-scheduled to run on a system with multiple shared LLCs, there is opportunity to improve system performance. This opportunity can be exploited by the hardware, software, or a combination of both hardware and software. The software, i.e., an operating system or hypervisor, can improve system performance by co-scheduling jobs on LLCs to minimize shared cache contention. The hardware can improve system throughput through better replacement policies by allocating more cache resources to applications that benefit from the cache and less to those applications that do not. This study presents a detailed analysis on the interactions between intelligent scheduling and smart cache replacement policies. We find that smart cache replacement reduces the burden on software to provide intelligent scheduling decisions. However, under smart cache replacement, there is still room to improve performance from better application co-scheduling. We find that co-scheduling decisions are a function of the underlying LLC replacement policy. We propose Cache Replacement and Utility-aware Scheduling (CRUISE)-a hardware/software co-designed approach for shared cache management. For 4-core and 8-core CMPs, we find that CRUISE approaches the performance of an ideal job co-scheduling policy under different LLC replacement policies.
HICAMP
Authors: Cheriton David , Firoozshahian Amin , Solomatnikov Alex , Stevenson John P. , Azizi Omid
Published: February 2019

Programming language and operating system support for efficient concurrency-safe access to shared data is a key concern for the effective use of multi-core processors. Most research has focused on the software model of multiple threads accessing this data within a single shared address space. However, many real applications are actually structured as multiple separate processes for fault isolation and simplified synchronization. In this paper, we describe the HICAMP architecture and its innovative memory system, which supports efficient concurrency safe access to structured shared data without incurring the overhead of inter-process communication. The HICAMP architecture also provides support for programming language and OS structures such as threads, iterators, read-only access and atomic update. In addition to demonstrating that HICAMP is beneficial for multi-process structured applications, our evaluation shows that the same mechanisms provide substantial benefits for other areas, including sparse matrix computations and virtualization.
Architecture support for disciplined approximate programming
Authors: Esmaeilzadeh Hadi , Sampson Adrian , Ceze Luis , Burger Doug
Published: February 2019

Disciplined approximate programming lets programmers declare which parts of a program can be computed approximately and consequently at a lower energy cost. The compiler proves statically that all approximate computation is properly isolated from precise computation. The hardware is then free to selectively apply approximate storage and approximate computation with no need to perform dynamic correctness checks.

In this paper, we propose an efficient mapping of disciplined approximate programming onto hardware. We describe an ISA extension that provides approximate operations and storage, which give the hardware freedom to save energy at the cost of accuracy. We then propose Truffle, a microarchitecture design that efficiently supports the ISA extensions. The basis of our design is dual-voltage operation, with a high voltage for precise operations and a low voltage for approximate operations. The key aspect of the microarchitecture is its dependence on the instruction stream to determine when to use the low voltage. We evaluate the power savings potential of in-order and out-of-order Truffle configurations and explore the resulting quality of service degradation. We evaluate several applications and demonstrate energy savings up to 43%.
DejaVu
Authors: Vasić Nedeljko , Novaković Dejan , Miučin Svetozar , Kostić Dejan , Bianchini Ricardo
Published: February 2019

Effective resource management of virtualized environments is a challenging task. State-of-the-art management systems either rely on analytical models or evaluate resource allocations by running actual experiments. However, both approaches incur a significant overhead once the workload changes. The former needs to re-calibrate and re-validate models, whereas the latter has to run a new set of experiments to select a new resource allocation. During the adaptation period, the system may run with an inefficient configuration. In this paper, we propose DejaVu - a framework that (1) minimizes the resource management overhead by identifying a small set of workload classes for which it needs to evaluate resource allocation decisions, (2) quickly adapts to workload changes by classifying workloads using signatures and caching their preferred resource allocations at runtime, and (3) deals with interference by estimating an "interference index". We evaluate DejaVu by running representative network services on Amazon EC2. DejaVu achieves more than 10x speedup in adaptation time for each workload change relative to the state-of-the-art. By enabling quick adaptation, DejaVu saves up to 60% of the service provisioning cost. Finally, DejaVu is easily deployable as it does not require any extensive instrumentation or human intervention.
Architectural support for hypervisor-secure virtualization
Authors: Szefer Jakub , Lee Ruby B.
Published: February 2019

Virtualization has become a standard part of many computer systems. A key part of virtualization is the all-powerful hypervisor which manages the physical platform and can access all of its resources, including memory assigned to the guest virtual machines (VMs). Continuing releases of bug reports and exploits in the virtualization software show that defending the hypervisor against attacks is very difficult. In this work, we present hypervisor-secure virtualization - a new research direction with the goal of protecting the guest VMs from an untrusted hypervisor. We also present the HyperWall architecture which achieves hypervisor-secure virtualization, using hardware to provide the protections. HyperWall allows a hypervisor to freely manage the memory, processor cores and other resources of a platform. Yet once VMs are created, our new Confidentiality and Integrity Protection (CIP) tables protect the memory of the guest VMs from accesses by the hypervisor or by DMA, depending on the customer's specification. If a hypervisor does become compromised, e.g. by an attack from a malicious VM, it cannot be used in turn to attack other VMs. The protections are enabled through minimal modifications to the microprocessor and memory management units. Whereas much of the previous work concentrates on protecting the hypervisor from attacks by guest VMs, we tackle the problem of protecting the guest VMs from the hypervisor.
50 Years of The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems
Authors: Wetherbe James C.
Published: February 2019

This article offers a historical overview of the middle years of publishing The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems in the context of the evolution of the field of Management Information Systems. The journey of the editor-in-chief during these years is revealed, including the challenges and professional development achieved through journal editorship. The development of DATA BASE is contrasted with the complementary evolution of the MIS Quarterly. Possibilities for advancing DATA BASE into a socialmedia platform are explored.
Blinding Me with Science; or, It's All Digital
Authors: Stafford Thomas F.
Published: February 2019

Tom Stafford has had the unique opportunity to have two different terms as Editor-in-Chief of The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems. From 2007-2011, Tom Stafford and Patrick Chau were responsible for this publication. During this time, they moved the publication into the digital era through the adoption of an online review system and an index factor. In this editorial, Tom Stafford shares his insights as he ushered The DATA BASE into the digital age.
Taking Feyerabend to the Next Level
Authors: Treiblmaier Horst
Published: February 2019

Not at all did I expect the huge amount of positive and constructive feedback that I received on my short paper on Paul Feyerabend's philosophy which was published in issue 49(2) of The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems. More than two decades after his death, his provocative ideas are apparently still capable of triggering an inspiring academic debate. In this paper I will comment on the thoughtful rejoinders from Burton-Jones, Gregor, and Myers. I will also outline why, in spite of their wellfounded criticism, I still believe that Feyerabendian thinking is most appropriate for IS research-much more so than Popperian or Kuhnian. I will illustrate my reasoning by referring to several experiences with the academic double-blind peer review process. I will not only criticize academia's existing deficiencies, but also suggest a potential cure. My universal remedy is based on Feyerabend's philosophy of relativism, tolerance, and pluralism, which he not so cleverly disguised as anarchism. Recently, Chua et al. (2018) suggested changes in the rules of our academic review system. I do not aim at the system, but rather at the underlying mindset. If we allow him, Feyerabend can help us with that.
The Neutrophil’s Role During Health and Disease
Authors: Liew Pei Xiong , Kubes Paul
Published: February 2019

Neutrophils have always been considered as uncomplicated front-line troopers of the innate immune system equipped with limited proinflammatory duties. Yet recently, the role of the neutrophil has been undergoing a rejuvenation of sorts. Neutrophils are now considered complex cells capable of a significant array of specialized functions, and as an effector of the innate immune response, they are able to regulate many processes such as acute injury and repair, cancer, autoimmunity, and chronic inflammatory processes. Furthermore, evidence exists to indicate that neutrophils also contribute to adaptive immunity by aiding the development of specific adaptive immune responses or guiding the subsequent adaptive immune response. With this revived interest in neutrophils and their many novel functions, it is prudent to review what is currently known about neutrophils and, even more importantly, understand what information is lacking. We discuss the essential features of the neutrophil, from its origins, lifespan, subsets, margination and sequestration of the neutrophil to the death of the neutrophil. We highlight neutrophil recruitment to both infected and injured tissues and outline differences in recruitment of neutrophils between different tissues. Finally, we examine how neutrophils use different mechanisms to either bolster protective immune responses or negatively cause pathological outcomes at different locations.
Synthesis and Characterization of 3-(1-((3,4-Dihydroxyphenethyl)amino)ethylidene)-chroman-2,4-dione as a Potential Antitumor Agent
Authors: Dimić Dušan S. , Marković Zoran S. , Saso Luciano , Avdović Edina H. , Đorović Jelena R. , Petrović Isidora P. , Stanisavljević Danijela D. , Stevanović Milena J. , Potočňák Ivan , Samoľová Erika , Trifunović Srećko R. , Dimitrić Marković Jasmina M.
Published: February 2019

The newly synthesized coumarin derivative with dopamine, 3-(1-((3,4-dihydroxyphenethyl)amino)ethylidene)-chroman-2,4-dione, was completely structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. It was shown that several types of hydrogen bonds are present, which additionally stabilize the structure. The compound was testedin vitroagainst different cell lines, healthy human keratinocyte HaCaT, cervical squamous cell carcinoma SiHa, breast carcinoma MCF7, and hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2. Compared to control, the new derivate showed a stronger effect on both healthy and carcinoma cell lines, with the most prominent effect on the breast carcinoma MCF7 cell line. The molecular docking study, obtained for ten different conformations of the new compound, showed its inhibitory nature against CDKSprotein. Lower inhibition constant, relative to one of 4-OH-coumarine, proved stronger and more numerous interactions with CDKSprotein. These interactions were carefully examined for both parent molecule and derivative and explained from a structural point of view.
FEM Analysis and Simplified Approach for a Single Energy Pile Subjected to Thermomechanical Loads
Authors: Wang Zhong-jin , Fang Peng-fei , Zhang Ri-hong , Wang Kui-hua , Xie Xin-yu
Published: February 2019

The distribution of temperature in sand soils was measured through laboratory tests, and the temperature influence on friction resistances at the concrete‐soil interface was analyzed. Based on the results of laboratory tests, the finite element model was established using the sequential thermal coupling method. The influences of temperature on the bearing characteristics of energy pile were analyzed. The analysis results show that the cyclic temperature will cause additional displacement along pile depth. It is pointed out that if applied vertical loads at energy pile head exceed the value from which nonlinear settlements would be initiated, irrecoverable additional settlement will occur at pile head. Based on the analysis results, a simplified approach was proposed to estimate the zero point of additional displacement along pile shaft and the additional axial pile force. The comparison between the calculated results obtained by the proposed method and that of ABAQUS on single energy pile was given to verify the accuracy of the proposed method. It is shown that reasonable predictions can be obtained without expensive and time‐consuming analyses by the proposed method in this paper.
Challenges in the Contemporary Management of Syphilis among Pregnant Women in New Orleans, LA
Authors: Stafford Irene A. , Berra Alexandra , Minard Charles G. , Fontenot Virginia , Kopkin Rachel H. , Rodrigue Eliza , Roitsch Charles M. , Rac Martha W. , Hill James B.
Published: February 2019

Objective. The aim of this retrospective review is to evaluate trends in the management of maternal and congenital syphilis (CS) in a tertiary care center in New Orleans, LA. Study Design. All cases of maternal and neonatal syphilis over a five year period at Touro Infirmary, New Orleans, LA, were identified using ICD-9/10 codes. Charts were reviewed for demographic and obstetrical variables, stage of syphilis at diagnosis, lab values, and treatment regimen. Newborn treatment and other outcomes were recorded. Results. During the study period 106 infected mother-baby pairs were identified. Of these, 73 charts are available for review. 41% (n = 30) of women received inadequate therapy according to their stage of disease. 9% of newborns (n = 6) were found to be symptomatic for CS; however, only 83.3% of these were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Only 20% (n = 6) of infants were adequately treated with an extended penicillin regimen if the mother was not adequately treated. Furthermore, only 63.0% of newborns had a nontreponemal titer performed. Conclusion. With rising rates of CS, strict adherence to the 2015 CDC guidelines for treatment of syphilis must be maintained.
Modeling and Estimation of Production Rate in Ornamental Stones Sawing Based on Brittleness Indexes
Authors: Wang Pan
Published: February 2019

As for estimating the cost and planning the process of the rock sawing plants, it is significant to predict the production rate of ornamental stones sawing. To promote the efficiency in planning these rock sawing projects, scholars have been trying to find a high‐accuracy method of production rate estimation. Moreover, targeting at the 28 granite and carbonates stone in the nature, this study examined the connection between two various brittleness indexes in statistics, including the ratio of compressive strength to tensile strength (B1) and places below the line of compressive strength and the line of tensile strength (B2) in rocks and production rate had been studied. Through the results of cross plots analysis, it was indicated that there existed a strong connection between production rate and the brittleness B1 and B2. Finally, in this thesis, through adding B1 factor, it has improved the estimation model for production rate which Mikaeil et al. (2013) have established. What’s more, by virtue of brittleness about B1 and B2, this production rate estimation model has been established successfully for natural stone sawing. Actually, the way of estimating the production rate of 28 rock samples is to utilize the two kinds of models described before. Through the result, it is showed that the production rate estimated by the improved model corresponds to the value of production rate of rock testing. Meanwhile, the precision has been greatly improved with comparison to the model of estimating the production rate designed by Mikaeil et al. (2013). Thus, on the basis of the new model, a dependable prediction for ornamental stones production is put forward in this paper. And it is required to do a further study involving different rock types since limited rock types were used in this study.
Epidemiology of Pneumococcal Carriage among HIV-Infected Individuals in the Conjugate Vaccine Era: A Study in Southern Ghana
Authors: Dayie Nicholas TKD , Baffuor-Asare Michael , Labi Appiah-Korang , Obeng-Nkrumah Noah , Olayemi Edeghonghon , Lartey Margaret , Slotved Hans-Christian , Donkor Eric S.
Published: February 2019

Carriage of pneumococcus is considered as the precursor for development of pneumococcal disease. In sub-Saharan Africa, very little research has been done on the pneumococcus in relation to people with HIV infection in the era of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. This study investigated pneumococcal carriage among HIV/AIDS patients in southern Ghana to determine the prevalence, risk factors, serotypes and antibiotic resistance of the organism. This was a cross sectional study involving 245 HIV/AIDS patients recruited from Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and Princess Marie Louis Hospital in Accra from November 2016 to March 2017. Epidemiological data on demographic, household and clinical features of the study participants were collected. Nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs were also collected from the study participants and cultured for Streptococcus pneumoniae; the isolates were serotyped by latex agglutination and Quellung reaction. Antimicrobial disc susceptibility was performed on the isolates, and antibiotics tested included tetracycline, erythromycin, cotrimoxazole, levofloxacin, oxacillin and ceftriaxone. Prevalence of pneumococcal carriage among the study participants was 11% (95% CI: 7.4 to 15.6); carriage among children and adults was 25% (95% CI: 14% to 38.9%) and 7.3% (95% CI: 4% to 11.9%) respectively. School attendance (p=0.001) and history of pneumococcal disease in the past year (p=0.001) were significantly associated with pneumococcal carriage. The most prevalent pneumococcal serotypes carried by the study participants were 19A (15.4%) and 23F (15.4%). Serotype coverage of the various pneumococcal vaccines were PCV10 (23.1%), PCV13 (42.3%) and PPV23 (50%). The prevalence of pneumococcal multidrug resistance was 18.5%. In conclusion, pneumococcal carriage among HIV-infected children was three-fold higher compared to carriage among HIV-infected adults. Pneumococcal carriage among both HIV-infected children and adults in the study area tends to be characterized by a predominance of non-vaccine serotypes and a considerable level of multidrug resistance.
A New Multicasting Device-to-Device Communication Control Scheme for Virtualized Cellular Networks
Authors: Kim Sungwook
Published: February 2019

With the explosion in the number of wireless services, the unprecedented growth of mobile date traffic has brought a heavy burden on the traditional cellular networks. To meet the explosive traffic services, the potential of network virtualization and multicasting device-to-device (MD2D) technology have been proposed as a promising solution for next-generation networks. In this paper, we propose a novel MD2D control scheme for virtualized cellular networks, which enables device clustering for local MD2D services to obtain the finest system performance. By taking into consideration dynamic situations and competitive environments, we formulate our control algorithms as a game model with imperfect system information. Inspired by the incentive mechanism and evolutionary decision process, the proposed game approach can guide selfish mobile devices toward honest behaviors, and the MD2D services are provided based on the step-by-step interactive feedback process. Through numerical evaluation and simulation analysis, we not only quantify the outcome of our proposed scheme’s system throughput, bandwidth utilization, and MD2D service efficiency, but also provide the performance comparison with existing schemes. Finally, we provide further challenges and various opportunities in the research area of MD2D-enabled cellular network operations.
Associations of Oxidative Stress and Postoperative Outcome in Liver Surgery with an Outlook to Future Potential Therapeutic Options
Authors: Senoner Thomas , Schindler Sophie , Stättner Stefan , Öfner Dietmar , Troppmair Jakob , Primavesi Florian
Published: February 2019

Several types of surgical procedures have shown to elicit an inflammatory stress response, leading to substantial cytokine production and formation of oxygen-based or nitrogen-based free radicals. Chronic liver diseases including cancers are almost always characterized by increased oxidative stress, in which hepatic surgery is likely to potentiate at least in the short term and hereby furthermore impair the hepatic redox state. During liver resection, intermittent inflow occlusion is commonly applied to prevent excessive blood loss but resulting ischemia and reperfusion of the liver have been linked to increased oxidative stress, leading to impairment of cell functions and subsequent cell death. In the field of liver transplantation, ischemia/reperfusion injury has extensively been investigated in the last decades and has recently been in the scientific focus again due to increased use of marginal donor organs and new machine perfusion concepts. Therefore, given the intriguing role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases and in the perioperative setting, the interest for a therapeutic antioxidative agent has been present for several years. This review is aimed at giving an introduction to oxidative stress in surgical procedures in general and then examines the role of oxidative stress in liver surgery in particular, discussing both transplantation and resection. Results from studies in the animal and human settings are included. Finally, potential therapeutic agents that might be beneficial in reducing the burden of oxidative stress in hepatic diseases and during surgery are presented. While there is compelling evidence from animal models and a limited number of clinical studies showing that oxidative stress plays a major role in both liver resection and transplantation and several recent studies have suggested a potential for antioxidative treatment in chronic liver disease (e.g., steatosis), the search for effective antioxidants in the field of liver surgery is still ongoing.
Unchain My Heart: Integrins at the Basis of iPSC Cardiomyocyte Differentiation
Authors: Santoro Rosaria , Perrucci Gianluca Lorenzo , Gowran Aoife , Pompilio Giulio
Published: February 2019

The cellular response to the extracellular matrix (ECM) microenvironment mediated by integrin adhesion is of fundamental importance, in both developmental and pathological processes. In particular, mechanotransduction is of growing importance in groundbreaking cellular models such as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), since this process may strongly influence cell fate and, thus, augment the precision of differentiation into specific cell types, e.g., cardiomyocytes. The decryption of the cellular machinery starting from ECM sensing to iPSC differentiation calls for newin vitromethods. Conveniently, engineered biomaterials activating controlled integrin-mediated responses through chemical, physical, and geometrical designs are key to resolving this issue and could foster clinical translation of optimized iPSC-based technology. This review introduces the main integrin-dependent mechanisms and signalling pathways involved in mechanotransduction. Special consideration is given to the integrin-iPSC linkage signalling chain in the cardiovascular field, focusing on biomaterial-basedin vitromodels to evaluate the relevance of this process in iPSC differentiation into cardiomyocytes.
Epidemiology of Maxillofacial Fractures at a Teaching Hospital in Malaysia: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Abosadegh Maher M. , Saddki Norkhafizah , Al-Tayar Badr , Rahman Shaifulizan Ab.
Published: February 2019

Background/Aim. Epidemiology of maxillofacial fractures (MFF) varies between populations. This study investigated the epidemiology of MFF treated at the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) Unit, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).Methods. A retrospective review of 473 medical records of patients with MFF treated from June 2013 to December 2015 was conducted. Information on demographic characteristics of patients, aetiology of injury, types of MFF, and treatment was obtained. Descriptive analysis, Pearson's chi-squared test, and multiple logistic regression analysis were conducted. The level of significance was set at 0.05.Results. Most patients treated for MFF were males (82.2%), aged 30 and below (63.1%), and from Malay ethnic (97.4%). Road traffic accident was the most common cause of MFF (83.1%), with motorcycle accident accounting for most injuries (73.6%). Orbital wall fracture was the most frequent MFF type (51.2%). About half of MFF patients (51.4%) were treated conservatively. Patients aged more than 20 years old were at higher odds of sustaining orbital wall fracture (AOR= 1.76; 95% CI: 1.214-2.558;P= 0.003) but were at lower odds of sustaining mandibular fracture (AOR= 0.47; 95% CI: 0.315-0.695;P= 0.001) than patients who are 20 years old and younger. Helmet use among motorcyclists was significantly associated with the nasal, orbital wall, and maxillary sinus wall fractures (P=0.006, 0.010, and 0.004, respectively).Conclusion. Motorcycle accident was the most common cause of MFF in Kelantan, Malaysia. Ages of patient and helmet use were associated with the type of MFF sustained. This study provides important information to facilitate the planning of MFF prevention strategies among motorcyclists and emphasizes the importance of using a helmet when riding a motorcycle.