bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Altered Stool Microbiota of Infants with Cystic Fibrosis Shows a Reduction in Genera Associated with Immune Programming from Birth
Authors: Antosca Katherine M. , Chernikova Diana A. , Price Courtney E. , Ruoff Kathryn L. , Li Kewei , Guill Margaret F. , Sontag Natalie R. , Morrison Hilary G. , Hao Shuyu , Drumm Mitchell L. , MacKenzie Todd A. , Dorman Dana B. , Feenan Lynn M. , Williams Molly A. , Dessaint John , Yuan Irene H. , Aldrich Brian J. , Moulton Lisa A. , Ting Lily , Martinez-del Campo Ana , Stewart Edward J. , Karagas Margaret R. , O’Toole George A. , Madan Juliette C.
Published: June 2019

There is growing evidence for a link between gastrointestinal bacterial communities and airway disease progression in CF. We demonstrate that infants with CF ≤1 year of age show a distinct stool microbiota versus that of control infants of a comparable age. We detected associations between the gut microbiome and airway exacerbation events in the cohort of infants with CF, andin vitrostudies provided one possible mechanism for this observation. These data clarify that current therapeutics do not establish in infants with CF a gastrointestinal microbiota like that in healthy infants, and we suggest that interventions that direct the gastrointestinal microbiota closer to a healthy state may provide systemic benefits to these patients during a critical window of immune programming that might have implications for lifelong health.
Replication-Defective West Nile Virus with NS1 Deletion as a New Vaccine Platform for Flavivirus
Authors: Li Na , Zhang Ya-Nan , Deng Cheng-Lin , Shi Pei-Yong , Yuan Zhi-Ming , Zhang Bo
Published: June 2019

Many flaviviruses are significant human pathogens that frequently cause outbreaks and epidemics around the world. Development of novel vaccine platforms against these pathogens is a public health priority. Using WNV as a model, we developed a new vaccine platform for flaviviruses. WNV containing a NS1 deletion (WNV-ΔNS1) could be efficiently
trans
complemented in Vero cells that constitutively expressed WT NS1 protein. A single-dose immunization with WNV-ΔNS1 elicited robust immune responses in mice. The immunized animals were fully protected against pathogenic WNV infection. No adverse effects related to the WNV-ΔNS1 vaccination were observed. The results have demonstrated the potential of the NS1 complementation system as an alternative platform for flavivirus vaccine development, especially for highly pathogenic flaviviruses.
CO2-induced climate forcing on the fire record during the initiation of Cretaceous oceanic anoxic event 2
Authors: Baker Sarah J. , Belcher Claire M. , Barclay Richard S. , Hesselbo Stephen P. , Laurin Jiří , Sageman Bradley B.
Published: June 2019

Cretaceous oceanic anoxic event 2 (OAE2) is thought to have been contemporary with extensive volcanism and the release of large quantities of volcanic CO2 capable of triggering marine anoxia through a series of biogeochemical feedbacks. High-resolution reconstructions of atmospheric CO2 concentrations across the initiation of OAE2 suggest that there were also two distinct pulses of CO2 drawdown coeval with increased organic carbon burial. These fluctuations in CO2 likely led to significant climatic changes, including fluctuations in temperatures and the hydrological cycle. Paleofire proxy records suggest that wildfire was a common occurrence throughout the Cretaceous Period, likely fueled by the estimated high atmospheric O2 concentrations at this time. However, over geological time scales, the likelihood and behavior of fire are also controlled by other factors such as climate, implying that CO2-driven climate changes should also be observable in the fossil charcoal record.

We tested this hypothesis and present a high-resolution study of fire history through the use of fossil charcoal abundances across the OAE2 onset, and we compared our records to the estimated CO2 fluctuations published from the same study sites. Our study illustrates that inferred wildfire activity appears to relate to changes in CO2 occurring across the onset of OAE2, where periods of CO2 drawdown may have enabled an increase in fire activity through suppression of the hydrological cycle. Our study provides further insight into the relationships between rapid changes in the carbon cycle, climate, and wildfire activity, illustrating that CO2 and climate changes related to inferred wildfire activity can be detected despite the estimated high Cretaceous atmospheric O2 concentrations.
Deformation conditions during syn-convergent extension along the Cordillera Blanca shear zone, Peru
Authors: Hughes Cameron A. , Jessup Micah J. , Shaw Colin A. , Newell Dennis L.
Published: June 2019

Strain localization across the brittle-ductile transition is a fundamental process in accommodating tectonic movement in the mid-crust. The tectonically active Cordillera Blanca shear zone (CBSZ), a ∼200-km-long normal-sense shear zone situated within the footwall of a discrete syn-convergent extensional fault in the Peruvian Andes, is an excellent field laboratory to explore this transition. Field and microscopic observations indicate consistent top-down-to-the-southwest sense of shear and a sequence of tectonites ranging from undeformed granodiorite through mylonite and ultimately fault breccia along the detachment.

Using microstructural analysis, two-feldspar and Ti-in-quartz (TitaniQ) thermometry, recrystallized quartz paleopiezometry, and analysis of quartz crystallographic preferred orientations, we evaluate the deformation conditions and mechanisms in quartz and feldspar across the CBSZ. Deformation temperatures derived from asymmetric strain-induced myrmekite in a subset of tectonite samples are 410 ± 30 to 470 ± 36 °C, consistent with TitaniQ temperatures of 450 ± 60 to 490 ± 33 °C and temperatures >400 °C estimated from microstructural criteria. Brittle fabrics overprint ductile fabrics within ∼150 m of the detachment that indicate that deformation continued to lower-temperature (∼280–400 °C) and/or higher-strain-rate conditions prior to the onset of pervasive brittle deformation. Initial deformation occurred via high-temperature fracturing and dissolution-precipitation in feldspar. Continued subsolidus deformation resulted in either layering of mylonites into monophase quartz and fine-grained polyphase domains oriented subparallel to macroscopic foliation or the interconnection of recrystallized quartz networks oriented obliquely to macroscopic foliation. The transition to quartz-controlled rheology occurred at temperatures near ∼500 °C and at a differential stress of ∼16.5 MPa. Deformation within the CBSZ occurred predominantly above ∼400 °C and at stresses up to ∼71.4 MPa prior to the onset of brittle deformation.
Birth weight centiles and small for gestational age by sex and ethnicity for England and Wales
Authors: Freni-Sterrantino Anna , Afoakwah Priscilla , Smith Rachel B , Ghosh Rebecca E , Hansell Anna
Published: June 2019

Objectives

To construct UK ethnicity birth weight centiles (UK-EBWC) for gestational age and cut-offs for small for gestational age (SGA) for England and Wales and to evaluate the SGA misclassification using the UK centiles.

Design

Analysis of national birth data.

Participants

All live singleton births in England and Wales in 2006–2012, as recorded by the Office for National Statistics and birth registrations, linked with National Health Service into numbers for babies.

Main outcome measures

Both sex-specific and ethnicity-sex-specific birth weight centiles for gestational age, and ethnicity-sex-specific SGA cut-offs. Centiles were computed using the generalised additive model for location, scale and shape.

Results

Our sex-specific centiles performed well and showed an agreement between the expected and observed number of births below the centiles. The ethnicity-sex-specific centiles for Black and Asian presented lower values compared with the White centiles. Comparisons of sex-specific and ethnicity-sex-specific centiles shows that use of sex-specific centiles increases the SGA diagnosed cases by 50% for Asian, 30% for South Asian (Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi) and 20% for Black ethnicity.

Conclusions

The centiles show important differences between ethnic groups, in particular the 10th centile used to define SGA. To account for these differences and to minimise misclassification of SGA, we recommend the use of customised birth weight centiles.
Pneumothorax after acupuncture
Authors: Corado Sofia Costa , Graça Santos Margarida , Quaresma Luísa , Baltazar José Rodrigues
Published: June 2019

Acupuncture is a well-known form of complementary medicine that is increasingly being used worldwide. Despite being rare, pneumothorax is the most common serious complication described in acupuncture. A 79-year-old woman was admitted to the emergency department with a pneumothorax. Two days before, she had undergone an acupuncture treatment for chronic back pain. She felt a sharp right shoulder pain as needles were inserted in the interscapular area. As the pain did not resolve, she consulted her general practitioner and had a chest radiography done, revealing a right-sided pneumothorax. At the hospital, a right chest tube was inserted with relief of the symptoms and lung expansion. The chest tube was removed on the second day of admission, and she was discharged on the third day. Both acupuncturists and clinicians need to be aware of the possibility of adverse events following acupuncture, especially in those who develop symptoms.
Facing the crossroads: acute stroke with bilateral carotid occlusion
Authors: Agnoletto Guilherme Jose , Granja Manuel F , Hanel Ricardo , Aghaebrahim Amin
Published: June 2019

We present a previously unreported case of endovascular therapy in the acute setting of ischaemic stroke in a patient with bilateral carotid occlusion (BCO). A 54-year-old man presents with sudden onset of right-sided weakness, difficulty speaking and left-sided gaze, with National Institute of Health Stroke Scale of 22 and no abnormalities on plain CT head. CT angiography showed BCO and CT perfusion demonstrated extensive area of penumbra in both hemispheres. The patient was sent for cerebral angiography that confirmed BCO. Since symptomatology was a left middle cerebral arteries syndrome, decision was made to angioplasty and stent the left internal carotid artery emergently, which was performed successfully and the patient had complete resolution of symptoms. Acute stroke with BCO represents a challenge in decision making regarding acute management and individual assessment must be made.
Carcinosarcoma prostate with osteosarcomatous differentiation: a rare de novo presentation
Authors: Aggarwal Sumeet , Mitra Swarupa , Dewan Abhinav , Durga Garima
Published: June 2019

Carcinosarcoma is a rare histological event in the history of prostatic malignancies. Historically aggressive tumours with dismal outcomes reported in scarce literature available so far. Very few recent studies suggest good outcomes with modern era surgery and radiotherapy techniques in localised disease. The case presented here had no history of known risk factors like prior adenocarcinoma or prior radiation therapy. This case presented with obstructive urinary symptoms with no prostate-specific antigen elevation, diagnosed with imaging, managed aggressively with robotic surgery. Detailed immunohistochemistry and pathological review suggested diagnosis as carcinosarcoma with osteosarcomatous differentiation. Very rare such cases were reported in the past with complete clinical, radiological, pathological details and managed aggressively with good outcomes. The patient is disease free after 6 months of follow-up.
Associations between gabapentinoids and suicidal behaviour, unintentional overdoses, injuries, road traffic incidents, and violent crime: population based cohort study in Sweden
Authors: Molero Yasmina , Larsson Henrik , D’Onofrio Brian M , Sharp David J , Fazel Seena
Published: June 2019

Objective

To examine associations between gabapentinoids and adverse outcomes related to coordination disturbances (head or body injuries, or both and road traffic incidents or offences), mental health (suicidal behaviour, unintentional overdoses), and criminality.

Design

Population based cohort study.

Setting

High quality prescription, patient, death, and crime registers, Sweden.

Participants

191 973 people from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register who collected prescriptions for gabapentinoids (pregabalin or gabapentin) during 2006 to 2013.

Main outcome measures

Primary outcomes were suicidal behaviour, unintentional overdoses, head/body injuries, road traffic incidents and offences, and arrests for violent crime. Stratified Cox proportional hazards regression was conducted comparing treatment periods with non-treatment periods within an individual. Participants served as their own control, thus accounting for time invariant factors (eg, genetic and historical factors), and reducing confounding by indication. Additional adjustments were made by age, sex, comorbidities, substance use, and use of other antiepileptics.

Results

During the study period, 10 026 (5.2%) participants were treated for suicidal behaviour or died from suicide, 17 144 (8.9%) experienced an unintentional overdose, 12 070 (6.3%) had a road traffic incident or offence, 70 522 (36.7%) presented with head/body injuries, and 7984 (4.1%) were arrested for a violent crime. In within-individual analyses, gabapentinoid treatment was associated with increased hazards of suicidal behaviour and deaths from suicide (age adjusted hazard ratio 1.26, 95% confidence interval 1.20 to 1.32), unintentional overdoses (1.24, 1.19 to 1.28), head/body injuries (1.22, 1.19 to 1.25), and road traffic incidents and offences (1.13, 1.06 to 1.20). Associations with arrests for violent crime were less clear (1.04, 0.98 to 1.11). When the drugs were examined separately, pregabalin was associated with increased hazards of all outcomes, whereas gabapentin was associated with decreased or no statistically significant hazards. When stratifying on age, increased hazards of all outcomes were associated with participants aged 15 to 24 years.

Conclusions

This study suggests that gabapentinoids are associated with an increased risk of suicidal behaviour, unintentional overdoses, head/body injuries, and road traffic incidents and offences. Pregabalin was associated with higher hazards of these outcomes than gabapentin.
Differences in scapular upward rotation, pectoralis minor and levator scapulae muscle length between the symptomatic, the contralateral asymptomatic shoulder and control subjects: a cross-sectional study in a Spanish primary care setting
Authors: Navarro-Ledesma Santiago , Fernandez-Sanchez Manuel , Struyf Filip , Martinez-Calderon Javier , Miguel Morales-Asencio Jose , Luque-Suarez Alejandro
Published: June 2019

Objective

To determine the potential differences in both scapular positioning and scapular movement between the symptomatic and asymptomatic contralateral shoulder, in patients with unilateral subacromial pain syndrome (SAPS), and when compared with participants free of shoulder pain.

Setting

Three different primary care centres.

Participants

A sample of 73 patients with SAPS in their dominant arm was recruited, with a final sample size of 54 participants.

Primary outcome measures

The scapular upward rotation (SUR), the pectoralis minor and the levator scapulae muscles length tests were carried out.

Results

When symptomatic shoulders and controls were compared, an increased SUR at all positions (45°, 90° and 135°) was obtained in symptomatic shoulders (2/3,98/8,96°, respectively). These differences in SUR surpassed the minimal detectable change (MDC95) (0,91/1,55/2,83° at 45/90/135° of shoulder elevation). No differences were found in SUR between symptomatic and contralateral shoulders. No differences were found in either pectoralis minor or levator scapulae muscle length in all groups.

Conclusions

SUR was greater in patients with chronic SAPS compared with controls at different angles of shoulder elevation.
Barriers to the psychological well-being of Australian junior doctors: a qualitative analysis
Authors: Forbes Malcolm Peter , Iyengar Sweatha , Kay Margaret
Published: June 2019

Objective

To explore factors associated with the psychological well-being of junior doctors in Australia.

Design

Qualitative study using semistructured interviews.

Setting

Three teaching hospitals in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Participants

Fifteen junior medical officers (postgraduate year 2 doctors) employed across three hospitals in Queensland participated in the study.

Main outcome measures

Fifteen de-identified interviews were analysed. Four key themes emerged—workplace issues impacting on health and well-being; experiences of bullying and harassment; strategies to improve health and well-being; and barriers to seeking healthcare.

Conclusion

Underlying system and cultural factors affect the health of junior doctors. Self-stigma particularly affects junior doctors and impacts on their healthcare seeking behaviours.
Role of autobiographical memory in patient response to cognitive behavioural therapies for depression: protocol of an individual patient data meta-analysis
Authors: Hitchcock Caitlin , Rudokaite Judita , Patel Shivam , Smith Alicia , Kuhn Isla , Watkins Edward , Dalgleish Tim
Published: June 2019

Introduction

Cognitive behavioural therapies (CBTs) are one of the most effective treatments for major depression. However, ~50% of individuals do not adequately respond to intervention and of those who do remit from a depressive episode, over 50% will experience later relapse. Identification of patient-level factors which moderate treatment response may ultimately help to identify cognitive barriers that could be targeted to improve treatment efficacy. This individual patient data meta-analysis explores one such potential moderator—the ability to retrieve specific, detailed memories of the autobiographical past—as cognitive-based therapeutic techniques draw heavily on the ability to use specific autobiographical information to challenge the dysfunctional beliefs which drive depression.

Methods and analysis

We have formed a collaborative network which will contribute known datasets. This will be supplemented by datasets identified through literature searches in Medline, PsycInfo, Web of Science, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and WHO trials database between December 2018 and February 2019. Inclusion criteria are delivery of a cognitive or cognitive behavioural therapy for major depression, and measurement of autobiographical memory retrieval at preintervention. Primary outcomes are depressive symptoms and clinician-rated diagnostic status at postintervention, along with autobiographical memory specificity at postintervention. Secondary outcomes will consider each of these variables at follow-up. All analyses will be completed using random-effects models employing restricted maximum likelihood estimation. Risk of bias in included studies will be measured using the Revised Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool.

Ethics and dissemination

The findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Study results will contribute to better understanding of the role of autobiographical memory in patient response to CBTs, and may help to inform personalised medicine approaches to treatment of depression.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42018109673.
Cost conscious care: preoperative evaluation by a cardiologist prior to low-risk procedures
Authors: Coffman Joseph , Tran Thanh , Quast Troy , Berlowitz Michael S , Chae Sanders H
Published: June 2019

Background

Preoperative testing before low-risk procedures remains overutilised. Few studies have looked at factors leading to increased testing. We hypothesised that consultation to a cardiologist prior to a low-risk procedure leads to increased cardiac testing.

Methods and results

907 consecutive patients who underwent inpatient endoscopy/colonoscopy at a single academic centre were identified. Of those patients, 79 patients (8.7%) received preoperative consultation from a board certified cardiologist. 158 control patients who did not receive consultation from a cardiologist were matched by age and gender. Clinical and financial data were obtained from chart review and hospital billing. Logistic and linear regression models were constructed to compare the groups. Patients evaluated by a cardiologist were more likely to receive preoperative testing than patients who did not undergo evaluation with a cardiologist (OR 47.5, (95% CI 6.49 to 347.65). Specifically, patients seen by a cardiologist received more echocardiograms (60.8% vs 22.2%, p<0.0001) and 12-lead electrocardiograms (98.7% vs 54.4%, p<0.0001). There was a higher rate of ischaemic evaluations in the group evaluated by a cardiologist, but those differences did not achieve statistical significance. Testing led to longer length of stay (4.35 vs 3.46 days, p=0.0032) in the cohort evaluated by a cardiologist driven primarily by delay to procedure of 0.76 days (3.14 vs 2.38 days, p=0.001). Estimated costs resulting from the longer length of stay and increased testing was $10 624 per patient. There were zero major adverse cardiac events in either group.

Conclusion

Preoperative consultation to a cardiologist before a low-risk procedure is associated with more preoperative testing. This preoperative testing increases length of stay and cost without affecting outcomes.
Cardiovascular outcomes of early versus delayed coronary intervention in low to intermediate-risk patients with STEMI in Thailand: a randomised trial
Authors: Chotechuang Yotsawee , Phrommintikul Arintaya , Kuanprasert Srun , Muenpa Roungtiva , Patumanond Jayanton , Chaichuen Tuanchai , Sukonthasarn Apichard
Published: June 2019

Background

The benefit of an early coronary intervention after streptokinase (SK) therapy in low to intermediate-risk patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) still remains uncertain. The current study aimed to evaluate the cardiovascular outcomes of early versus delayed coronary intervention in low to intermediate-risk patients with STEMI after successful therapy with SK.

Methods

We randomly assigned low to intermediate Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events risk score to patients with STEMI who had successful treatment with full-dose SK at Lampang Hospital and Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital into early and delayed coronary intervention groups. The primary endpoints were 30-day and 6-month composite cardiovascular outcomes (death, rehospitalised with acute coronary syndrome, rehospitalised with heart failure and stroke).

Results

One hundred and sixty-two patients were included in our study. At the 30 days, composite cardiovascular outcomes were 4.9% in the early coronary intervention group and 2.5% in the delayed group (p=0.682). At the 6 months, the composite cardiovascular outcomes were 16.1% in the early group and 6.2% in the delayed group (p=0.054).

Conclusions

The delayed coronary intervention (>24 hours) in low to intermediate STEMI after successful therapy with SK did not increase in short and long-term cardiovascular events compared with an early coronary intervention.

Trial registration number

NCT02131103.
Redistributing medical resources for a bypass strategy for large vessel occlusion: a community-based study
Authors: Liu Ting-Yu , Wang Chun-Han , Chiang Wen-Chu , Tang Sung-Chun , Tsai Li-Kai , Lee Chung-Wei , Jeng Jiann-Shing , Ma Matthew Huei-Ming , Hsieh Ming-Ju , Lee Yu-Ching
Published: June 2019

Background

A bypass strategy for large vessel occlusion (LVO) benefits patients receiving endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), but may delay some patients from receiving IV thrombolysis. However, patient centralization has been shown to improve outcomes.

Objective

To understand the current coverage of medical services for patients with stroke, and to identify the best coverage under different medical resource redistribution to help balance medical equality and patient centralization.

Methods

This 6-year geographic study of 7679 on-scene patients with suspected stroke with a positive Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale (CPSS) score identified 4037 patients with all three CPSS items who were suspected as having an LVO. Geographic, population, and patient coverage rates for hospitals providing IV thrombolysis and those providing EVT were identified according to hospital service areas, defined as geographic districts with access to a hospital within a ≤15 min off-peak driving time estimated using Google Maps. Moreover, we estimated the effects on resource redistribution when implementing a bypass strategy.

Results

Geographic coverage rates for hospitals providing IV thrombolysis and those providing EVT were 64.75% and 56.62%, respectively, and population coverage rates were 97.30% and 92.72%, respectively. The service areas of hospitals providing IV thrombolysis covered 93.77% of patients with suspected stroke, and those of hospitals providing EVT covered 87.89% of patients with suspected LVO. The number of hospitals providing IV thrombolysis and those providing EVT could be reduced to six and two hospitals, respectively, without affecting hospital arrival time when implementing a bypass strategy.

Conclusion

Hospitals providing IV thrombolysis and EVT could be reduced without reducing medical equality.
Associations between vaginal bacteria implicated in HIV acquisition risk and proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines
Authors: Sabo Michelle C , Lehman Dara A , Wang Bingjie , Richardson Barbra A , Srinivasan Sujatha , Osborn Lusi , Matemo Daniel , Kinuthia John , Fiedler Tina L , Munch Matthew M , Drake Alison L , Fredricks David N , Overbaugh Julie , John-Stewart Grace , McClelland R. Scott , Graham Susan M
Published: June 2019

Objectives

Recent studies have identified vaginal bacterial taxa associated with increased HIV risk. A possible mechanism to explain these results is that individual taxa differentially promote cervicovaginal inflammation. This study aimed to explore relationships between concentrations of bacteria previously linked to HIV acquisition and vaginal concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines.

Methods

In this cross-sectional analysis, concentrations of 17 bacterial taxa and four proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-10 and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα)) and two proinflammatory chemokines (IL-8 and interferon gamma-induced protein 10) were measured in vaginal swabs collected from 80 HIV-uninfected women. Cytokine and chemokine concentrations were compared between women with bacterial concentrations above or below the lower limit of detection as determined by quantitative PCR for each taxon. Principal component analysis was used to create a summary score for closely correlated bacteria, and linear regression analysis was used to evaluate associations between this score and increasing concentrations of TNFα and IL-1β.

Results

Detection ofDialister micraerophilus(p=0.01),Eggerthellasp type 1 (p=0.05) orMycoplasma hominis(p=0.03) was associated with higher TNFα concentrations, and detection ofD. micraerophilus(p<0.01), Eggerthellasp type 1 (p=0.04), M. hominis(p=0.02) orParvimonassp type 2 (p=0.05) was associated with significantly higher IL-1β concentrations. Seven bacterial taxa (D. micraerophilus,Eggerthellasp type 1,Gemella asaccharolytica, Sneathiasp,Megasphaerasp,M. hominisandParvimonassp type 2) were found to be highly correlated by principal component analysis (eigenvalue 5.24, explaining 74.92% of variability). Linear regression analysis demonstrated associations between this principal component and concentrations of TNFα (β=0.55, 95% CI 0.01 to 1.08; p=0.048) and IL-1β (β=0.96, 95% CI 0.19 to 1.74; p=0.016).

Conclusions

This study provides evidence that several highly correlated vaginal bacterial taxa may influence vaginal cytokine and chemokine concentrations. These results suggest a mechanism where the presence of specific bacterial taxa could influence HIV susceptibility by increasing vaginal inflammation.
The second Exton potential for the Schrödinger equation
Authors: Ishkhanyan Artur M. , Karwowski Jacek
Published: June 2019

Analytical solutions of the Schrödinger equation with a singular, fractional-power potential, referred to as the second Exton potential, are derived and analyzed. The potential is defined on the positive half-axis and supports an infinite number of bound states. It is conditionally integrable and belongs to a biconfluent Heun family. The fundamental solutions are expressed as irreducible linear combinations of two Hermite functions of a scaled and shifted argument. The energy quantization condition results from the boundary condition imposed at the origin. For the exact eigenvalues, which are solutions of a transcendental equation involving two Hermite functions, highly accurate approximation by simple closed-form expressions is derived. The potential is a good candidate for the description of quark–antiquark interaction.
Periodic orbits analysis for the Zhou system via variational approach
Authors: Dong Chengwei , Jia Lian
Published: June 2019

We proposed a general method for the systematic calculation of unstable cycles in the Zhou system. The variational approach is employed for the cycle search, and we establish interesting symbolic dynamics successfully based on the orbits circuiting property with respect to different fixed points. Upon the defined symbolic rule, cycles with topological length up to five are sought and ordered. Further, upon parameter changes, the homotopy evolution of certain selected cycles are investigated. The topological classification methodology could be widely utilized in other low-dimensional dissipative systems.
Suppressing the information losses of accelerated qubit–qutrit system
Authors: Abd-Rabbou M. Y. , Metwally N. , Ahmed M. M. A. , Obada A.-S. F.
Published: June 2019

Protecting the accelerated information coherence and suppressing of its decay due to the acceleration is achieved by using different noisy channels. The behavior of three different types of information; Fisher, nonlocal and local information of qubit–qutrit system is discussed. It is shown that, the estimation rate of the acceleration parameter is maximized if both subsystems are accelerated and interacted locally with their noise channels. However, if the largest subsystem is accelerated, then the estimation rate is minimized. The rate of change of the nonlocal information depends on which subsystem is accelerated. The results display that the local information is almost unaltered during the acceleration process, that is, the information is frozen. We show that the phase-flip channel represents the weak channel, where its suppressing of the decay due to the acceleration is smaller than the dephasing and depolarize of channels.
Synthesis of nonplanar meso-trifluoromethyl-substituted tetrabenzoporphyrins via oxidation of tetrabutanoporphyrins
Authors: Okinaga Koji , Suzuki Masaaki
Published: June 2019

Simultaneous synthesis of meso-trifluoromethyl-substituted tetrabutanoporphyrins having one or two trifluoromethyl groups at their 5-, 5,10-, and 5,15-positions has been achieved. The products can be converted into the corresponding meso-trifluoromethyl-substituted tetrabenzoporphyrins by oxidative treatment with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone under reflux. Their crystal structures reveal nonplanar distortion arising from the steric repulsion of the peripheral substituents, which can enhance the solubility of the tetrabenzoporphyrin framework in common solvents without loss of the extended [Formula: see text] conjugation.
Top–Down Saliency Detection Based on Deep-Learned Features
Authors: Zhang Duzhen , Zakir Ali
Published: June 2019

How to localize objects in images accurately and efficiently is a challenging problem in computer vision. In this paper, a novel top–down fine-grained salient object detection method based on deep-learned features is proposed, which can detect the same object in input image as the query image. The query image and its three subsample images are used as top–down cues to guide saliency detection. We ameliorate convolutional neural network (CNN) using the fast VGG network (VGG-f) pre-trained on ImageNet and re-trained on the Pascal VOC 2012 dataset. Experiment on the FiFA dataset demonstrates that proposed method can localize the saliency region and find the specific object (e.g., human face) as the query. Experiments on the David1 and Face1 sequences conclusively prove that the proposed algorithm is able to effectively deal with many challenging factors including illumination change, shape deformation, scale change and partial occlusion.
A Semi-Supervised Learning Approach for Tackling Twitter Spam Drift
Authors: Imam Niddal , Issac Biju , Jacob Seibu Mary
Published: June 2019

Twitter has changed the way people get information by allowing them to express their opinion and comments on the daily tweets. Unfortunately, due to the high popularity of Twitter, it has become very attractive to spammers. Unlike other types of spam, Twitter spam has become a serious issue in the last few years. The large number of users and the high amount of information being shared on Twitter play an important role in accelerating the spread of spam. In order to protect the users, Twitter and the research community have been developing different spam detection systems by applying different machine-learning techniques. However, a recent study showed that the current machine learning-based detection systems are not able to detect spam accurately because spam tweet characteristics vary over time. This issue is called “Twitter Spam Drift”. In this paper, a semi-supervised learning approach (SSLA) has been proposed to tackle this. The new approach uses the unlabeled data to learn the structure of the domain. Different experiments were performed on English and Arabic datasets to test and evaluate the proposed approach and the results show that the proposed SSLA can reduce the effect of Twitter spam drift and outperform the existing techniques.
Neural Network-Based Diagnostic Tool for Identifying the Factors Responsible for Depression
Authors: Ashish Kumar , Chattopadhyay Subhagata , Gao Xiao-Zhi , Hui Nirmal Baran
Published: June 2019

The paper aims at establishing the output-to-input relationship of the real-life adult depression data using a neural network (NN) model. The said model has been developed to diagnose and detect the associated severity (grade) of the illness. An intelligent NN-based reverse model has been trained through batch mode and put to test on another set of real-life data. Reverse mapping of this model has been developed to isolate significantly contributing input components (factors) for any given case to expedite the preventive procedure for further deterioration as well as the start of treatment.
The Weyl product on quasi-Banach modulation spaces
Authors: Chen Yuanyuan , Toft Joachim , Wahlberg Patrik
Published: June 2019

We study the bilinear Weyl product acting on quasi-Banach modulation spaces. We find sufficient conditions for continuity of the Weyl product and we derive necessary conditions. The results extend known results for Banach modulation spaces.
Composite Impulse Waves Triggered by a Combined Earthquake and Landslide
Authors: Wang Baoliang , Yao Lingkan , Zhao Haixin , Zhang Cong
Published: June 2019

Impulse waves caused by a combination of earthquakes and landslides are a neglected problem in seismic research. In the Tibetan Plateau of China, where earthquakes and landslides are frequent and glacial lakes are widely distributed, even a small lake outburst could be catastrophic. However, minimal attention has been paid to the mechanism of impulse wave formation under the joint action of earthquakes and landslides. In this study, 120 large-scale shaking table experiments were conducted to reveal the formation regularity and characteristics of an impulse wave triggered by a combined earthquake and landslide. Several effective parameters were considered: still water depth, peak ground acceleration, impact velocity, and slide volume. Based on the experimental data, an empirical formula is proposed for the superposed height of an impulse wave triggered by a combined earthquake and landslide.
A Lottery Model for Center-Type Problems With Outliers
Authors: Harris David G. , Pensyl Thomas , Srinivasan Aravind , Trinh Khoa
Published: June 2019

In this article, we give tight approximation algorithms for the
k
-center and matroid center problems with outliers. Unfairness arises naturally in this setting: certain clients could always be considered as outliers. To address this issue, we introduce a lottery model in which each client
j
is allowed to submit a parameter
p

j

∈ [0,1] and we look for a random solution that covers every client
j
with probability at least
p

j

. Our techniques include a randomized rounding procedure to round a point inside a matroid intersection polytope to a basis plus at most one extra item such that all marginal probabilities are preserved and such that a certain linear function of the variables does not decrease in the process with probability one.
Congestion-Aware Ride-Sharing
Authors: Correa Oscar , Khan A. K. M. Mustafizur Rahman , Tanin Egemen , Kulik Lars , Ramamohanarao Kotagiri
Published: June 2019

In its current form, ride-sharing is responsible for a small fraction of traffic load compared to other transportation modes, especially private vehicles. As its benefits became more evident, and obstacles, e.g., lack of liability legislation, that may hinder its larger scale adoption are being overcome, ride-sharing will be a more common mode of transportation. In particular, autonomous vehicles (AVs) are showing their proficiency on the roads, which may also catalyze ride-sharing ubiquity. For example, while an AV owner is at work, he may find it appealing to offer his AV as a service or rent it to Uber so that the vehicle serves others’ transportation requests. Furthermore, this disruptive technology is backed up by companies like Google (Waymo), Tesla, and Uber. Therefore, ride-sharing will soon become a source of traffic congestion itself. In this article, we present an efficient congestion-aware ride-sharing algorithm which, instead of finding optimal travel plans based on traffic load generated by other means of transportation, it computes optimal travel plans for thousands of ride-sharing requests within a time interval. Note that in this problem, an optimal travel plan for a group of requests may affect an already computed travel plan for another concurrent group of requests, therefore plans cannot be isolated from each other.
Faster Pseudopolynomial Time Algorithms for Subset Sum
Authors: Koiliaris Konstantinos , Xu Chao
Published: June 2019

Given a (multi) set
S
of
n
positive integers and a target integer
u
, the subset sum problem is to decide if there is a subset of
S
that sums up to
u
. We present a series of new algorithms that compute and return
all
the realizable subset sums up to the integer
u
in Õ(min { √
n
u
,
u
5/4
,σ }), where σ is the sum of all elements of
S
and Õ hides polylogarithmic factors. We also present a modified algorithm for integers modulo
m
, which computes all the realizable subset sums modulo
m
in Õ(min { √
n
m
,
m
5/4
}) time.

Our contributions improve upon the standard dynamic programming algorithm that runs in
O
(
nu
) time. To the best of our knowledge, the new algorithms are the fastest deterministic algorithms for this problem. The new results can be employed in various algorithmic problems, from graph bipartition to computational social choice. Finally, we also improve a result on covering Z

m

, which might be of independent interest.
Optimization Analysis of Deformation of Underlying Tunnel in Dewatering and Excavation of Phreatic Aquifer
Authors: Wang Jing , Wang Pengcheng , Wang Wenda , Zhou Shouqiang , Fang Xiang
Published: June 2019

This paper theoretically analyzed the deformation law of the underlying tunnel caused by dewatering and excavation of deep foundation pit in the phreatic aquifer area, which is based on the Mindlin solution and the double-sided elastic foundation beam theory, and used the finite difference method and the fluid-solid coupling principle to conduct three-dimensional numerical simulation of dewatering and excavation of deep foundation pit with fluid-solid coupling by using FLAC3D5.00. This research shows that the layered and segmented excavation method from the middle to the end by dewatering the skip layer has a better effect on optimizing the deformation of the underlying tunnel through the simulation of three excavation methods and two dewatering schemes crossing each other, which is about 2.5% less than the layer-by-layer dewatering scheme. In addition, the deformation law of the simulated value is the same as the theoretical value, and the simulated value is slightly larger than the theoretical value. Underlying tunnel only just exists vertical deformation at the direct center of the foundation pit, and the maximum deformation is about 3.054 mm under the dewatering well of the jumping layer and W3. With the dewatering of jumping layer and the third excavation mode (W3), underlying tunnel only just exists lateral displacement at the position where is the retaining structure, and the maximum displacement is 1.606 mm.
A Method for Extracting High‐Quality Core Data from Edge Computing Nodes
Authors: Chen Yanping , Zhao Mingdao , Xia Hong , Jin Xiaodong , Wang Zhongmin , Yu Zhong
Published: June 2019

Intelligent factory has the characteristics of wide data sources, high data dimensions, and strong data relevance. Intelligent factories need to make different decisions for different needs, so they need to efficiently analyze these data and explore the inherent laws contained in them. At the same time, the increasing amount of data brings various burdens to the network infrastructure between users and smart devices. For the above needs, this paper proposes a tension‐based heterogeneous data fusion model in the edge computing layer, which represents the multisource heterogeneous data in the industrial scene as a tensor model, and uses the incremental decomposition algorithm to extract high‐quality core data. The model reduces the data flow between the data center and the central cloud while retaining the core data set. Experiments show that the approximate tensor reconstructed from the tensor with 15% core data can guarantee 90% accuracy.
A Giant Parathyroid Tumor during Pregnancy: Adenoma versus Carcinoma
Authors: Mirza Rusella , Wei Eric X.
Published: June 2019

Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) is one of the most common endocrine diseases. However, it is rare during pregnancy. 85% cases of the PHP are due to parathyroid adenoma (PA) and less than 1% because of parathyroid carcinoma (PC). Here we report a case of giant parathyroid adenoma (GPA) in a patient with first trimester pregnancy. Her calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were very high. The tumor measured 5 cm in greatest dimension, weighed 37 grams, and was adherent to the surrounding tissues. Grossly, the tumor was encapsulated and composed of solid and cystic components. Cut surface was reddish brown and soft. Microscopically, the tumor had a thick irregular capsule with entrapped parathyroid cells and extensive foreign body type reactions. The tumor was composed of multiple cell types with areas of pleomorphism. The mitotic index was nonetheless low. Even though the tumor was large and adherent with the surrounding strap muscles, the gross appearance and the histological morphology favored benign parathyroid adenoma. In this paper, we have discussed some important differential aspects of GPA, PA, and PC.
Primary Outcomes of Patients with Chronic Angle-Closure Glaucoma Treated with Combined Phacoemulsification, Viscogoniosynechialysis, and Endocyclophotocoagulation
Authors: Izquierdo Villavicencio Juan Carlos , Agudelo Arbelaez Natalia , Lastra Bárbara Rubio , Ramirez Imelda , Quezada Fabiola , Ponte Maria Corina , Cañola Laura , Mejias Smith Josefina
Published: June 2019

Purpose/Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of combined phacoemulsification, viscogoniosynechialysis (VGSL), and endocyclophotocoagulation (ECP) in patients with moderate chronic angle-closure glaucoma (CACG) with peripheral anterior synechia (PAS) ≥90 not controlled with glaucoma medications and previous iridotomy yag laser. Materials and Methods. We retrospectively reviewed records from patients with cataract and uncontrolled chronic angle-closure glaucoma despite maximal tolerated medical therapy and iridotomy yag laser who received combined treatment with phacoemulsification with posterior capsular lens implantation, VGSL, and ECP 360°. We evaluated intraocular pressure (IOP), glaucoma medications, and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) preoperatively and during follow-up.Results. A total of 29 eyes from 22 patients received surgical intervention. Mean follow-up was 6 months. Mean preoperative IOP was 18.2 mmHg, and postoperatively, IOP was 13.5, 12.2, and 12.8 mmHg at 1, 3, and 6 months, respectively. Complete success was 37.9%, and relative success was 72.4%. Mean BCVA was 0.4 logMAR preoperative and 0.3 logMAR 6 months after surgery. Glaucoma medication fell significantly from 2.34 ± 1.66 preoperatively to 1.31 ± 2.6 postoperatively p<0.001. Overall, 44.8% of the patients did not require glaucoma medications at 6 months. There were no visual significant complications. Conclusion. Combined treatment with phacoemulsification with posterior capsular lens implantation, VGSL, and ECP is effective and safe in reducing IOP and number of glaucoma medications with stable BCVA at 6 months.
A Simulation Study Comparing Different Statistical Approaches for the Identification of Predictive Biomarkers
Authors: Haller Bernhard , Ulm Kurt , Hapfelmeier Alexander
Published: June 2019

Identification of relevant biomarkers that are associated with a treatment effect is one requirement for adequate treatment stratification and consequently to improve health care by administering the best available treatment to an individual patient. Various statistical approaches were proposed that allow assessing the interaction between a continuous covariate and treatment. Nevertheless, categorization of a continuous covariate, e.g., by splitting the data at the observed median value, appears to be very prevalent in practice. In this article, we present a simulation study considering data as observed in a randomized clinical trial with a time-to-event outcome performed to compare properties of such approaches, namely, Cox regression with linear interaction, Multivariable Fractional Polynomials for Interaction (MFPI), Local Partial-Likelihood Bootstrap (LPLB), and the Subpopulation Treatment Effect Pattern Plot (STEPP) method, and of strategies based on categorization of continuous covariates (splitting the covariate at the median, splitting at quartiles, and using an “optimal” split by maximizing a corresponding test statistic). In different scenarios with no interactions, linear interactions or nonlinear interactions, type I error probability and the power for detection of a true covariate-treatment interaction were estimated. The Cox regression approach was more efficient than the other methods for scenarios with monotonous interactions, especially when the number of observed events was small to moderate. When patterns of the biomarker-treatment interaction effect were more complex, MFPI and LPLB performed well compared to the other approaches. Categorization of data generally led to a loss of power, but for very complex patterns, splitting the data into multiple categories might help to explore the nature of the interaction effect. Consequently, we recommend application of statistical methods developed for assessment of interactions between continuous biomarkers and treatment instead of arbitrary or data-driven categorization of continuous covariates.