bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fatigue Behavior of Friction Stir Welded Lap Joints for Dissimilar AA7150-AA2524 Aluminum Alloy
Authors: Chen A , Zang W F , Dong D K , Gong Y Z
Published: February 2020

The detail fatigue rating (DFR) value of friction stir welded (FSW) lap joints for dissimilar AA7150-AA2524 aluminum alloy was experimentally investigated. The metallographic analysis was carried out on by optical microscope (OM). Fatigue fractography was observed under scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results indicate that DFR value of AA7150-AA2524 FSW lap joints is 191.54MPa. There is no distinct different boundary between HAZ and BM of the upper AA7150 sheet. The grains in the upper NZ of AA7150 are coarser than those in the bottom NZ of AA2524. Fracture morphologies shows that lots of hook defects in the FSW lap joint. Fractography indicates that fatigue crack is initiated from the AA2524 bottom surface around the weld center, where weak-bonding defects can be seen. The hook defects and weak-bonding defects have obvious influence on the fatigue property of friction stir welding lap joints, which seriously reduce the fatigue strength.
Experimental studies of the possible piping installation for ship systems
Authors: Do T M
Published: February 2020

Improvement in the pipelines processability of ship systems at the stage of design and technical preparation with the possibility of making pipes without local dimensioning is considered in the current research work. In the course of the experimental calculation, the objective, the tasks and the plan of the experiment were developed; the necessary initial data were prepared. According to the experimental calculation result, the theoretical predictions were confirmed for the possibilities of assembling the pipeline routes at the design stage and the conceptual basis for eliminating total deviations by the routes transition. An algorithm has been developed for eliminating deviations of pipeline routes using mutually straight sections with pipe junctions and additional allowances. According to the research results, the prerequisites for the method development to improve the technological effectiveness of pipelines at the stage of design and technological preparation were created. With regard to a greater number of pipelines, it is possible to replace the inserting pipes with fitting pipes, which will be flexible according to the design dimensions without specifying the place, helping to reduce the time required for the construction of objects saturated with pipelines.
Modification of the surface of steel 3Kh2V8F by application B-Al-coatings by methods of thermal-chemical treatment and electron-beam processing
Authors: Mishigdorzhiyn U L , Ulakhanov N S , Milonov A S , Semenov A P
Published: February 2020

The development of new protective coatings is of great fundamental and applied importance for increasing operational properties of surface layers in machine parts, increasing their durability and expanding their functionality. The study is devoted to the creation of coatings based on boron and aluminum on the surface of alloyed steel using a method, combining diffusion saturation (DS) and subsequent electron beam processing (EBP). DS was carried out in saturating pastes based on boron carbide and aluminum at temperature of 1050 °C for 2 hours. As a result of processing, a diffusion layer with thickness of up to (5.6-5.8) × 102μm and complex structure with depth-heterogeneous composition was formed on the steel surface. The subsequent EBP led to a complete transformation of the primary diffusion layer and an increase in its thickness to 103μm. XRD analysis showed significant differences in composition before and after EBP: after EBP tungsten borides (WB, W2B9) and iron (Fe2B) were detected. In addition, it was determined that the distribution of microhardness and elemental composition (B, Al, W) over the depth of the layer after EBP have a more favorable profile without significant fluctuations compared to the sample after DS.
Heat treatment mode optimization of dissimilar weld joints of EP517 steel to 36NKhTYu alloy
Authors: Terentyev E V , Yu Marchenkov A , Goncharov A L , Sliva A P , Borodavkina K T
Published: February 2020

The paper presents the results of a heat treatment impact on the weld metal hardness of EP517 steel to 36NKhTYu alloy dissimilar welded joints. Aging curves for the weld metal in the temperature range from 600°C to 750°C and with an aging time of up to 64 hours are performed. Metallographic researches of weld metal and heat-affected zone (HAZ) are carried out. It was established that the greatest increase of hardness is reached after the exposure for 32 hours at 650°C and after the exposure for 16 hours at 700°C. It was found that after the aging with the specified conditions, weld metal hardness increases by 36% (60 HV) in comparison with its hardness after welding. The microstructure research showed that the decomposition fraction of supersaturated solution in HAZ of 36NKhTYu alloy significantly depends on the temperature and reaches its ultimate value after the aging at a temperature of 700°C.
Current trends in the development of logistics professional discourse terminology
Authors: Bylina E E , Skopintseva T A , Sludneva L V , Yurkovskaya E A
Published: February 2020

The article focuses on the study of logistics professional discourse terminology. The study revealed the tendency towards simplification of the morphological and syntactic structure of logistics terms, discovered new productive patterns for abbreviating logistics terms, found out that the existing problem of terminological homonymy of abbreviations could be solved through applying new patterns for creating abbreviations.
About control of a neuron as an elementary unit of multilayer artificial neural networks with variable signal conductivity
Authors: Dovgerd I A , Dovgerd G A , Ignatenkov A V , Olshansky A M , Lysikov M G , Rozenberg E N
Published: February 2020

The report is devoted to a possibility of a control of each Hopfield’s neuron as an elementary unit of the neural network with variable signal conductivity used for transport scheduling tasks. It is set that direct control of the neuron is impossible in terms of initial data available for initializing the neural network. Also the result of some control algorithms based on statistical computations and signals dynamic is described below.
A functional approach to the analysis of technological processes of using thermal radiation in the process of repairing insulation of electric locomotive equipment
Authors: Dulsky E Y , Ivanov P Y , Khudonogov A M , Khudonogov I A
Published: February 2020

The article provides an analysis of the interaction of the system “Emitter – Environment – Material” in the drying and hardening of the insulation of electrical equipment of electric locomotives, taking into account the intended purpose of the process. The structural-logical diagram of technological processes of using thermal radiation during repair of insulation materials of windings of power equipment of electric locomotives is presented. This structural and logical diagram indicates the need for an individual approach to the analysis of the system elements’ interaction in the process of using heat radiation for the polymerization of impregnating materials for hardening. It is necessary to comply with the parameters of the maximum permissible temperature and heating rate not only for isolation of this class of heat resistance but also for an impregnating material, depending on which losses in the medium depend. A simplified approach to the analysis of the interaction process of the “System” elements in the mathematical model is proposed. The basis of this model is the relationship between the dose of irradiation of polymer insulation with thermal radiation and the expected results on the characteristics and properties of electrical insulating materials.
Diagnostics of high-voltage insulation of the railway transport overhead system by the method of spaced antennas
Authors: Kutsenko S M , Klimov N N
Published: February 2020

The growth in freight traffic transported throughout the entire network of Russian Railways, and in the Eastern Polygon in particular, is constantly growing, so an increase in train traffic reduces the time for technological work at railway infrastructure facilities. Consequently, it is necessary to develop methods for assessing the state of infrastructure facilities virtually without using “track possession”. In this regard, the article proposes to improve the existing remote method for diagnosing high-voltage insulation of the overhead system (registration of ultraviolet and thermal radiation with a special device), enhancing it with additional measurement. The proposed solution is to assess the state of high-voltage insulation by measuring electromagnetic radiation, which will increase the accuracy of diagnostics. As for a technological solution – to record a signal (partial discharges and surface partial discharges) with three antennas (induction electrometric converters), it is aimed at improving the accuracy of localization of a faulty string of insulators.
Reconfiguration of intelligent electrical distribution networks of railways
Authors: Tretyakov E A , Cheremisin V T , Golovnev G E
Published: February 2020

The Digitalization of the power supply system and the introduction of sources of distributed generation based on renewable energy create new conditions for improving the efficiency of transport and distribution of electric energy. In normal operation, the 35/10 (6) kV distribution electric networks of railways have an open-ended structure and are partitioned in such a way as to be able to connect a group of substations to another power source in emergency or repair modes. Existing technologies for managing modes in these electrical networks do not imply the possibility of changing their topology to ensure the tasks of reducing overload and electricity losses in the pace of processes of change in demand for electricity in normal modes. As a rule, at present, the task of reconfiguring the electrical network arises when normal conditions are restored after accidents, when lines are overloaded, and if necessary, electrical equipment needs to be repaired according to the n-1 criterion, while optimizing the modes. The most important task of increasing the transmission capacity of distribution grids can be solved by reconfiguring them at the pace of changing the demand for electricity in normal conditions, without resorting to expensive reconstruction and increasing the installed capacity of electrical installations and lines. An algorithm for reconfiguring the electrical network has been developed to increase its capacity based on solving problems of optimizing normal modes (static reconfiguration) and minimizing power consumption without calculating steady-state modes in the pace of electricity demand changes (dynamic reconfiguration).To ensure the admissibility of the modes of distribution electric networks, approaches to managing the supply of active (based on renewable sources) and reactive capacities and the demand of active consumers have been proposed. There are the results of the implementation of dynamic reconfiguration for the test circuitry without taking into account the power supply and demand management of active consumers, indicating the validity of the proposed approaches to improving the capacity of the electrical network
Development of methods and models of computer-aided design of security system against information threats for aviation-instrument-making
Authors: Trushnikov V E , Baranova N N , Grishin M V
Published: February 2020

The article discusses the problems of existing methods of computer-aided design for protecting confidential information of design enterprises of the tool manufacturing industry. The method is described on the basis of a modular, unified approach to security systems. A simulation model of information security threats was developed for the instrument design engineering bureau.
Preparation of wide optical spectrum and high antireflection MgF2 thin film with SF6 as reactive gas
Authors: Zhao Changjiang , Ma Chao , Liu Juncheng , Liu Zhigang , Chen Yan
Published: February 2020

In order to suppress F-deficiency, SF6 was added into the working gas Ar2 as the reaction gas to deposit MgF2 thin film on quartz glass substrate with radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering, and the effects of working pressure on the chemical compositions, microstructure and property of MgF2 thin film were investigated. The results show that with the working pressure increase from 1.0 to 2.5 Pa, the atomic ratio of F: Mg decreased continuously, and reached 2.02 at 2.0 Pa, very close to the ideal stoichiometric ratio of 2:1; the crystallinity of MgF2 film improved first then decreased, and finally changed into amorphous state; the particles’ profile of MgF2 film became clearer and their size increased significantly at first, but finally their profile became blurred. The refractive index of MgF2 film decreased first and then increased, and got the lowest value at 2.0 Pa, 1.384, almost equal to that of MgF2 bulk crystal. The transmittance of the coated glass within 300–1100 nm (hereinafter referred to as the transmittance of the thin film) increased first and then decreased. The transmittance of all films was higher than that of the bare glass substrate (93.2%), that is to say, all films had antireflection effect. The film transmittance reached 94.99% at 2.0 Pa, higher than that of the bare glass substrate by 1.79%, and higher than the simulated value calculated with G-Solver software by about 0.5%.
A unified ILP framework for core ancestral genome reconstruction problems
Authors: Avdeyev Pavel , Alexeev Nikita , Rong Yongwu , Alekseyev Max A
Published: February 2020

Motivation

One of the key computational problems in comparative genomics is the reconstruction of genomes of ancestral species based on genomes of extant species. Since most dramatic changes in genomic architectures are caused by genome rearrangements, this problem is often posed as minimization of the number of genome rearrangements between extant and ancestral genomes. The basic case of three given genomes is known as the genome median problem. Whole-genome duplications (WGDs) represent yet another type of dramatic evolutionary events and inspire the reconstruction of preduplicated ancestral genomes, referred to as the genome halving problem. Generalization of WGDs to whole-genome multiplication events leads to the genome aliquoting problem.

Results

In this study, we propose polynomial-size integer linear programming (ILP) formulations for the aforementioned problems. We further obtain such formulations for the restricted and conserved versions of the median and halving problems, which have been recently introduced to improve biological relevance of the solutions. Extensive evaluation of solutions to the different ILP problems demonstrates their good accuracy. Furthermore, since the ILP formulations for the conserved versions have linear size, they provide a novel practical approach to ancestral genome reconstruction, which combines the advantages of homology- and rearrangements-based methods.

Availability and implementation

Code and data are available in https://github.com/AvdeevPavel/ILP-WGD-reconstructor.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Epidemiology, Disposition, and Treatment of Ambulatory Veterans With Skin and Soft Tissue Infections
Authors: Rhoads Jamie L W , Willson Tina M , Sutton Jesse D , Spivak Emily S , Samore Matthew H , Stevens Vanessa W
Published: February 2020

Background

Most skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are managed in the outpatient setting, but data are lacking on treatment patterns outside the emergency department (ED). Available data suggest that there is poor adherence to SSTI treatment guidelines.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of Veterans diagnosed with SSTIs in the ED or outpatient clinics from 1 January 2005 through 30 June 2018. The incidence of SSTIs over time was modeled using Poisson regression using robust standard errors. Antibiotic selection and incision and drainage (I&D) were described and compared between ambulatory settings. Anti–methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) antibiotic use was compared to SSTI treatment guidelines.

Results

There were 1 740 992 incident SSTIs in 1 156 725 patients during the study period. The incidence of SSTIs significantly decreased from 4.58 per 1000 patient-years in 2005 to 3.27 per 1000 patient-years in 2018 (P < .001). There were lower rates of β-lactam prescribing (32.5% vs 51.7%) in the ED compared to primary care (PC), and higher rates of anti-MRSA therapy (51.4% vs 35.1%) in the ED compared to PC. The I&D rate in the ED was 8.1% compared to 2.6% in PC. Antibiotic regimens without MRSA activity were prescribed in 24.9% of purulent SSTIs. Anti-MRSA antibiotics were prescribed in 40.1% of nonpurulent SSTIs.

Conclusions

We found a decrease in the incidence of SSTIs in the outpatient setting over time. Treatment of SSTIs varied depending on the presenting ambulatory location. There is poor adherence to guidelines in regard to use of anti-MRSA therapies. Further study is needed to understand the impact of guideline nonadherence on patient outcomes.
Estimating the Effect of Healthcare-Associated Infections on Excess Length of Hospital Stay Using Inverse Probability–Weighted Survival Curves
Authors: Pouwels Koen B , Vansteelandt Stijn , Batra Rahul , Edgeworth Jonathan , Wordsworth Sarah , Robotham Julie V ,   Improving the uptake and SusTainability of Effective interventions to promote Prudent antibiotic Use and Primary care (STEP-UP) Team, Anyanwu Philip E , Borek Aleksandra , Bright Nicole , Buchanan James , Butler Christopher , Campbell Anne , Costelloe Ceire , Hayhoe Benedict , Holmes Alison , Hopkins Susan , Majeed Azeem , McLeod Monsey , Moore Michael , Morrell Liz , Pouwels Koen B , Robotham Julie V , Roope Laurence S J , Tonkin-Crine Sarah , Walker Ann Sarah , Wordsworth Sarah , Zalevski Anna
Published: February 2020

Background

Studies estimating excess length of stay (LOS) attributable to nosocomial infections have failed to address time-varying confounding, likely leading to overestimation of their impact. We present a methodology based on inverse probability–weighted survival curves to address this limitation.

Methods

A case study focusing on intensive care unit–acquired bacteremia using data from 2 general intensive care units (ICUs) from 2 London teaching hospitals were used to illustrate the methodology. The area under the curve of a conventional Kaplan-Meier curve applied to the observed data was compared with that of an inverse probability–weighted Kaplan-Meier curve applied after treating bacteremia as censoring events. Weights were based on the daily probability of acquiring bacteremia. The difference between the observed average LOS and the average LOS that would be observed if all bacteremia cases could be prevented was multiplied by the number of admitted patients to obtain the total excess LOS.

Results

The estimated total number of extra ICU days caused by 666 bacteremia cases was estimated at 2453 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1803–3103) days. The excess number of days was overestimated when ignoring time-varying confounding (2845 [95% CI, 2276–3415]) or when completely ignoring confounding (2838 [95% CI, 2101–3575]).

Conclusions

ICU-acquired bacteremia was associated with a substantial excess LOS. Wider adoption of inverse probability–weighted survival curves or alternative techniques that address time-varying confounding could lead to better informed decision making around nosocomial infections and other time-dependent exposures.
Pericardial adipose tissue, cardiac structures, and cardiovascular risk factors in school-age children
Authors: Toemen Liza , Santos Susana , Roest Arno A W , Vernooij Meike W , Helbing Willem A , Gaillard Romy , Jaddoe Vincent W V
Published: February 2020

Aims 

We examined the associations of pericardial adipose tissue with cardiac structures and cardiovascular risk factors in children.

Methods and results 

We performed a cross-sectional analysis in a population-based cohort study among 2892 children aged 10 years (2404 normal weight and 488 overweight/obese). Pericardial adipose tissue mass was estimated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and indexed on height3. Left ventricular mass (LVM) and left ventricular mass-to-volume ratio (LMVR) were estimated by cardiac MRI. Cardiovascular risk factors included android adipose tissue percentage obtained by Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, blood pressure and glucose, insulin, cholesterol, and triglycerides concentrations. Adverse outcomes were defined as values above the 75 percentile. Median pericardial adipose tissue index was 3.6 (95% range 1.6–7.1) among normal weight and 4.7 (95% range 2.0–8.9) among overweight children. A one standard deviation (1 SD) higher pericardial adipose tissue index was associated with higher LMVR [0.06 standard deviation scores, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.02–0.09], increased odds of high android adipose tissue [odd ratio (OR) 2.08, 95% CI 1.89–2.29], high insulin concentrations (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.06–1.30), an atherogenic lipid profile (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.11–1.33), and clustering of cardiovascular risk factors (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.36–1.79). Pericardial adipose tissue index was not associated with LVM, blood pressure, and glucose concentrations. The associations showed largely the same directions but tended to be weaker among normal weight than among overweight children.

Conclusion 

Pericardial adipose tissue is associated with cardiac adaptations and cardiovascular risk factors already in childhood in both normal weight and overweight children.
Crustal and uppermost mantle shear wave velocity structure beneath the Middle East from surface wave tomography
Authors: Kaviani Ayoub , Paul Anne , Moradi Ali , Mai Paul Martin , Pilia Simone , Boschi Lapo , Rümpker Georg , Lu Yang , Tang Zheng , Sandvol Eric
Published: February 2020

We have constructed a 3-D shear wave velocity (Vs) model for the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the Middle East using Rayleigh wave records obtained from ambient-noise cross-correlations and regional earthquakes. We combined one decade of data collected from 852 permanent and temporary broad-band stations in the region to calculate group-velocity dispersion curves. A compilation of >54 000 ray paths provides reliable group-velocity measurements for periods between 2 and 150 s. Path-averaged group velocities calculated at different periods were inverted for 2-D group-velocity maps. To overcome the problem of heterogeneous ray coverage, we used an adaptive grid parametrization for the group-velocity tomographic inversion. We then sample the period-dependent group-velocity field at each cell of a predefined grid to generate 1-D group-velocity dispersion curves, which are subsequently inverted for 1-D Vs models beneath each cell and combined to approximate the 3-D Vs structure of the area. The Vs model shows low velocities at shallow depths (5–10 km) beneath the Mesopotamian foredeep, South Caspian Basin, eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea, in coincidence with deep sedimentary basins. Shallow high-velocity anomalies are observed in regions such as the Arabian Shield, Anatolian Plateau and Central Iran, which are dominated by widespread magmatic exposures. In the 10–20 km depth range, we find evidence for a band of high velocities (>4.0 km s–1) along the southern Red Sea and Arabian Shield, indicating the presence of upper mantle rocks. Our 3-D velocity model exhibits high velocities in the depth range of 30–50 km beneath western Arabia, eastern Mediterranean, Central Iranian Block, South Caspian Basin and the Black Sea, possibly indicating a relatively thin crust. In contrast, the Zagros mountain range, the Sanandaj-Sirjan metamorphic zone in western central Iran, the easternmost Anatolian plateau and Lesser Caucasus are characterized by low velocities at these depths. Some of these anomalies may be related to thick crustal roots that support the high topography of these regions. In the upper mantle depth range, high-velocity anomalies are obtained beneath the Arabian Platform, southern Zagros, Persian Gulf and the eastern Mediterranean, in contrast to low velocities beneath the Red Sea, Arabian Shield, Afar depression, eastern Turkey and Lut Block in eastern Iran. Our Vs model may be used as a new reference crustal model for the Middle East in a broad range of future studies.
Histologic Healing in Ulcerative Colitis: Benefits. And Risks. Was Voltaire Right?
Authors: Kornbluth Asher
Published: February 2020

Histologic healing is emerging as a goal in ulcerative colitis, and the FDA will now require it for a claim of “mucosal healing.” However, issues identified in this editorial, including definitions, protocols, and clinical relevance, will need to be addressed.
Analyzing Stress as a Multivariate Phenotype
Authors: Telemeco Rory S , Gangloff Eric J
Published: February 2020

The stress phenotype is multivariate. Recent advances have broadened our understanding beyond characterizing the stress response in a single dimension. Simultaneously, the toolbox available to ecophysiologists has expanded greatly in recent years, allowing the measurement of multiple biomarkers from an individual at a single point in time. Yet these advances—in our conceptual understanding and available methodologies—have not yet been combined in a unifying multivariate statistical framework. Here, we offer a brief review of the multivariate stress phenotype and describe a general statistical approach for analysis using nonparametric multivariate analysis of variance with residual randomization in permutation procedures (RRPP) implemented using the “RRPP” package in R. We also provide an example illustrating the novel insights that can be gained from a holistic multivariate approach to stress and provide a tutorial for how we analyzed these data, including annotated R code and a guide to interpretation of outputs (Online Appendix 1). We hope that this statistical methodology will provide a quantitative framework facilitating the unification of our theoretical understanding and empirical observations into a quantitative, multivariate theory of stress.
A Protein Epitope Targeted by the Antibody Response to Kawasaki Disease
Authors: Rowley Anne H , Baker Susan C , Arrollo David , Gruen Leah J , Bodnar Tetyana , Innocentini Nancy , Hackbart Matthew , Cruz-Pulido Yazmin E , Wylie Kristine M , Kim Kwang-Youn A , Shulman Stanford T
Published: February 2020

Background

Kawasaki disease (KD) is the leading cause of childhood acquired heart disease in developed nations and can result in coronary artery aneurysms and death. Clinical and epidemiologic features implicate an infectious cause but specific antigenic targets of the disease are unknown. Peripheral blood plasmablasts are normally highly clonally diverse but the antibodies they encode are approximately 70% antigen-specific 1–2 weeks after infection.

Methods

We isolated single peripheral blood plasmablasts from children with KD 1–3 weeks after onset and prepared 60 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). We used the mAbs to identify their target antigens and assessed serologic response among KD patients and controls to specific antigen.

Results

Thirty-two mAbs from 9 of 11 patients recognize antigen within intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies in ciliated bronchial epithelial cells of fatal cases. Five of these mAbs, from 3 patients with coronary aneurysms, recognize a specific peptide, which blocks binding to inclusion bodies. Sera from 5/8 KD patients day ≥ 8 after illness onset, compared with 0/17 infant controls (P < .01), recognized the KD peptide antigen.

Conclusions

These results identify a protein epitope targeted by the antibody response to KD and provide a means to elucidate the pathogenesis of this important worldwide pediatric problem.
Accounting for data variability in multi-institutional distributed deep learning for medical imaging
Authors: Balachandar Niranjan , Chang Ken , Kalpathy-Cramer Jayashree , Rubin Daniel L
Published: February 2020

Objectives

Sharing patient data across institutions to train generalizable deep learning models is challenging due to regulatory and technical hurdles. Distributed learning, where model weights are shared instead of patient data, presents an attractive alternative. Cyclical weight transfer (CWT) has recently been demonstrated as an effective distributed learning method for medical imaging with homogeneous data across institutions. In this study, we optimize CWT to overcome performance losses from variability in training sample sizes and label distributions across institutions.

Materials and Methods

Optimizations included proportional local training iterations, cyclical learning rate, locally weighted minibatch sampling, and cyclically weighted loss. We evaluated our optimizations on simulated distributed diabetic retinopathy detection and chest radiograph classification.

Results

Proportional local training iteration mitigated performance losses from sample size variability, achieving 98.6% of the accuracy attained by centrally hosting in the diabetic retinopathy dataset split with highest sample size variance across institutions. Locally weighted minibatch sampling and cyclically weighted loss both mitigated performance losses from label distribution variability, achieving 98.6% and 99.1%, respectively, of the accuracy attained by centrally hosting in the diabetic retinopathy dataset split with highest label distribution variability across institutions.

Discussion

Our optimizations to CWT improve its capability of handling data variability across institutions. Compared to CWT without optimizations, CWT with optimizations achieved performance significantly closer to performance from centrally hosting.

Conclusion

Our work is the first to identify and address challenges of sample size and label distribution variability in simulated distributed deep learning for medical imaging. Future work is needed to address other sources of real-world data variability.
The acetabulum in healed Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease is cranially retroverted and associated with global reduction of femoral head coverage: a matched-cohort study
Authors: Maranho Daniel A , Ferrer Mariana , Kalish Leslie A , Hovater Whitney , Novais Eduardo N
Published: February 2020

To evaluate the acetabular morphology in healed Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease after skeletal maturity using computed tomography (CT) scan and to compare with matched controls. We identified 33 (37 hips) patients with healed Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease and closed triradiate cartilage who underwent pelvic CT scan. Each patient was matched based on sex, age and side to a subject with no history of hip disease who had undergone pelvic CT evaluation because of abdominal pain. Both cohorts had 23 (70%) males and mean age of 16.4–16.5 ± 3.6 years. Two independent readers assessed lateral center-edge angle (LCEA), acetabular inclination angle (IA), acetabular depth-width ratio (ADR), acetabular version 10 mm below the dome (cranial) and at the acetabular center and anterior (AASA) and posterior acetabular sector angles (PASA). All measurements had good to excellent interobserver agreement (intraclass coefficients ≥ 0.87). The hips in the Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease cohort had a smaller mean ± standard deviation (SD) superior, anterior and posterior acetabular coverage as assessed by LCEA (13.2° ± 10.7° versus 28.2° ± 3.4°; P < 0.0001), IA (11.6° ± 6.7° versus 3.5° ± 2.8°; P < 0.0001), AASA (52.4° ± 9.5° versus 59.3° ± 5.0°; P = 0.001) and PASA (79.3° ± 5.9° versus 92.3° ± 5.5°; P < 0.0001) compared with controls. The acetabulum was shallower (ADR 287 ± 45 versus 323 ± 28; P = 0.0002) and the acetabular version was decreased cranially (0.4°±9.2° versus 8.2°±6.8°; P = 0.0002) and at the acetabular center (13.7°±5.1° versus 17.2° ±3.8°; P = 0.004) in Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease hips. After skeletal maturity, hips with healed Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease have shallower and more cranially retroverted acetabula, with globally reduced coverage of the femoral head compared with age-, sex- and side-matched control hips.
Enhancement of image contrast for carbon nanotube and polymer composite film in scanning electron microscope
Authors: Hashimoto Yoichiro , Ito Hiroyuki , Sasajima Masahiro
Published: February 2020

Image contrast between carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in a CNT/PTFE composite film, which is difficult to obtain by conventional backscattered electron (BSE) imaging, was optimized to better elucidate the distribution of CNT in the film. Ultra-low landing energy condition (0.3 keV in this study) was used to prevent specimen damage due to electron beam irradiation. Signal acceptance maps, which represent the distributions of energy and take-off angle, were calculated to evaluate the features of the signal detection system used in this study. SEM images of this composite film were taken under several sets of conditions and analyzed using these acceptance maps. CNT and PTFE in the composite film can be clearly distinguished with material and topographic contrasts using the BSE signal under optimized energy and take-off angle ranges, even at ultra-low landing energy conditions.
Acute appendicitis within a robotic port-site hernia: a case report
Authors: Qu Tong , Li Ruojia , Kothari Anai N , Anstadt Michael J
Published: February 2020

Trocar-site hernias are uncommon complications of minimally invasive surgery. The potential for incarceration or strangulation of intra-abdominal contents within trocar-site hernias can lead to major morbidity. We present a case of acute, strangulated appendicitis within a right lower quadrant 8 mm robotic trocar site following robot-assisted laparoscopic cholecystectomy. We additionally perform a brief review of the literature regarding the optimal approach to trocar-site closure.
The Crisis of Regeneration in Ruth Ozeki’s My Year of Meats and All Over Creation
Authors: Xu Wenying
Published: February 2020

Ruth Ozeki’s first two novels, My Year of Meats (1998) and All Over Creation (2002), bring into focus the crisis of regeneration that humans, animals, and plants face alike. My Year of Meats exposes and indicts the global meat industry for its association with contamination, deformity, disease, and violence, all of which impact life’s fertility. All Over Creation explores the conflicts of biodiversity versus monoculture and fecundity versus biotechnological control by presenting the quandaries regarding genetically modified potatoes in Idaho. In these contexts, Ozeki creates women characters who bear the sorrow and despair of being childless due to their exposure to toxins and other environmental contaminations. Her portrayals of meat and potato farming catalog the devastating assaults of patriarchy and capitalism against Earth and its inhabitants. This essay focuswa on the subject of infertility in these two novels. Moving from the juxtaposition of animal farming with women’s infertility to that of potato farming with women’s infertility, these two novels represent their author’s unswerving endeavor to deconstruct patriarchal dualism and to unite humans and Earth in their common crisis of regeneration. Hence, this essay argues that by drawing trans-species parallels between women and animals, women and plants, Ozeki exposes and condemns patriarchal and capitalist violence that is putting life’s regeneration in peril.
The frequency of gaseous debris discs around white dwarfs
Authors: Manser Christopher J , Gänsicke Boris T , Gentile Fusillo Nicola Pietro , Ashley Richard , Breedt Elmé , Hollands Mark , Izquierdo Paula , Pelisoli Ingrid
Published: February 2020

A total of 1–3 per cent of white dwarfs are orbited by planetary dusty debris detectable as infrared emission in excess above the white dwarf flux. In a rare subset of these systems, a gaseous disc component is also detected via emission lines of the Ca ii 8600 Å triplet, broadened by the Keplerian velocity of the disc. We present the first statistical study of the fraction of debris discs containing detectable amounts of gas in emission at white dwarfs within a magnitude and signal-to-noise ratio limited sample. We select 7705 single white dwarfs spectroscopically observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Gaia with magnitudes g ≤ 19. We identify five gaseous disc hosts, all of which have been previously discovered. We calculate the occurrence rate of a white dwarf hosting a debris disc detectable via Ca ii emission lines as $0.067\, \pm \, ^{0.042}_{0.025}$ per cent. This corresponds to an occurrence rate for a dusty debris disc to have an observable gaseous component in emission as 4 ± $_{2}^{4}$ per cent. Given that variability is a common feature of the emission profiles of gaseous debris discs, and the recent detection of a planetesimal orbiting within the disc of SDSS J122859.93+104032.9, we propose that gaseous components are tracers for the presence of planetesimals embedded in the discs and outline a qualitative model. We also present spectroscopy of the Ca ii triplet 8600 Å region for 20 white dwarfs hosting dusty debris discs in an attempt to identify gaseous emission. We do not detect any gaseous components in these 20 systems, consistent with the occurrence rate that we calculated.
barry and the BAO model comparison
Authors: Hinton Samuel R , Howlett Cullan , Davis Tamara M
Published: February 2020

We compare the performance of four state-of-the-art models for extracting isotropic measurements of the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) scale. To do this, we created a new, public, modular code barry, which contains data sets, model fitting tools, and model implementations incorporating different descriptions of non-linear physics and algorithms for isolating the BAO feature. These are then evaluated for bias, correlation, and fitting strength using mock power spectra and correlation functions developed for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12. Our main findings are as follows: (1) all of the models can recover unbiased constraints when fit to the pre- and post-reconstruction simulations. (2) Models that provide physical descriptions of the damping of the BAO feature (using e.g. standard perturbation or effective-field theory arguments) report smaller errors on average, although the distribution of mock χ2 values indicates these are underestimated. (3) Allowing the BAO damping scale to vary can provide tighter constraints for some mocks, but is an artificial improvement that only arises when noise randomly sharpens the BAO peak. (4) Unlike recent claims in the literature when utilizing a BAO Extractor technique, we find no improvement in the accuracy of the recovered BAO scale. (5) We implement a procedure for combining all models into a single consensus result that improves over the standard method without obviously underestimating the uncertainties. Overall, barry provides a framework for performing the cosmological analyses for upcoming surveys, and for rapidly testing and validating new models.
Birth environment of circumbinary planets: are there circumbinary planets on inclined orbits?
Authors: Ma Chuan-Tao , Gong Yan-Xiang , Wu Xiao-Mei , Ji Jianghui
Published: February 2020

The distribution of the orbital inclination angles of circumbinary planets (CBPs) is an important scientific issue, and it is of great significance for estimating the occurrence rate of CBPs and studying their formation and evolution. Although the CBPs currently discovered by the transit method are nearly coplanar, the true distribution of the inclinations of CBPs is still unknown. Previous research on CBPs has mostly regarded them as isolated binary-planet systems, without considering the birth environment of their host binaries. It is generally believed that almost all stars are born in clusters. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the effects of the close encounters of stars on CBP systems. In this paper, we discuss how the close encounters of fly-by stars affect the inclinations of CBPs. Based on extensive numerical simulations, we have found that CBPs in a close binary with a spacing of ∼0.2 au are almost unaffected by fly-by stars. Their orbits remain coplanar. However, when the spacing of the binary stars is greater than 1 au, two to three fly-bys of an intruding star can excite a considerable inclination, even for a CBP near the unstable boundary of the binary. For CBPs in the outer region, the fly-by of a single star can excite an inclination to more than 5°. In particular, CBPs in near polar or retrograde orbits can naturally form through binary–star encounters. If close binaries are born in open clusters, our simulations suggest that there may be high-inclination CBPs in binaries with a spacing >1 au.
Incidence trends in pediatric central nervous system tumors in Canada: a 15 years report from Cancer and Young People in Canada (CYP-C) registry
Authors: Larouche Valérie , Toupin Annie-Kim , Lalonde Benoît , Simonyan David , Jabado Nada , Perreault Sébastien
Published: February 2020

Background

The aim of this study is to present a national surveillance report on pediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumors in Canada during the period between 2001 and 2015.

Methods

All pediatric patients with a diagnosis of primary CNS tumors were collected by the Cancer in Young People in Canada (CYP-C) surveillance system that includes every patient less than 15 years of age with a tumor seen in one of the 17 pediatric oncology centres in Canada. This registry included malignant and benign CNS tumors. We calculated the age-adjusted incidence rates (AAIRs) per 100 000 person-years for CNS tumors overall and by age group, major histology subgroups, and geographical distribution over the country.

Results

Overall, 3306 patients less than 15 years old had been diagnosed with a CNS tumor in Canada in 2001–2015 with a 1.23:1 male to female ratio. The overall AAIR is 3.80. The three most frequent groups of tumors were low-grade gliomas (36.4%), high-grade gliomas (22.3%), and embryonal tumors (18.7%) with incidence rates of 1.41, 0.86, and 0.72 per 100 000 person-years, respectively. The incidence rate of pediatric CNS tumors is stable during the period 2001–2015 in Canada and no significant differences were seen between malignant and benign tumors over the country.

Conclusions

These data represent all the pediatric patients 0–14 years old with a CNS tumor in the Canadian population. Incidence rates by age group, sex, and subgroups of tumors are similar to those seen in the literature.
Predictive Evidence and Unpredictable Freedom
Authors: Pundik Amit
Published: February 2020

When determining in criminal proceedings whether an individual performed a certain culpable action, predictive evidence is often ignored. Most notably, and with few exceptions, base-rates are excluded. The hostility of criminal fact-finding towards predictive evidence is also apparent in the deeply rooted suspicion of bad character and previous convictions. In this paper, I seek to explain this hostility by suggesting that criminal fact-finding implicitly adheres to the view that culpable conduct requires free will that is necessarily unpredictable. While theorists tend to agree that it is possible to predict a free action, at least with some degree of confidence, I contend that criminal fact-finding adheres to the view that free actions cannot have either subjective or objective probabilities. It is not only the lack of sufficient information that prevents an accurate prediction of how an agent will act freely: free actions cannot be predicted because their probability does not exist.
A low-cost and duplicable portable solar adaptive optics system based on LabVIEW hybrid programming
Authors: Ren Deqing , Wang Gang
Published: February 2020

We have developed a portable solar adaptive optics (PSAO) for diffraction-limited imaging based on today’s multi-core personal computer. Our PSAO software is written in LabVIEW code, which features block-diagram function based programming and can dramatically speed up the software development. The PSAO can achieve a ~1000 Hz open-loop correction speed with a Shack–Hartmann Wave-front Sensor (SH-WFS) in 11 × 11 sub-aperture configuration. The image shift measurements for solar wave-front sensing are the most time-consuming computations in a solar adaptive optics (AO) system. Since our current LabVIEW program does not fully support multi-core techniques for the image shift measurements, it cannot fully take advantage of the multi-core computer’s power for parallel computation. In order to accelerate the AO system’s running speed, a dedicated message passing interface/open multi-processing parallel programming technique is developed for our LabVIEW-based AO program, which fully supports multi-core parallel computation in LabVIEW programming. Our experiments demonstrate that the hybrid parallel technique can significantly improve the running speed of the solar AO system, and this work paves the way for the applications of a low-cost and duplicable PSAO system for large solar telescopes.
Discovery of annular X-ray emission centered on MAXI J1421-613: Dust-scattering X-rays?
Authors: Nobukawa Kumiko K , Nobukawa Masayoshi , Yamauchi Shigeo
Published: February 2020

We report the discovery of an annular emission of $\sim\!\! {3^{\prime }}\!-\!{9^{\prime }}$ radius around the center of a transient source, the X-ray burster MAXI J1421-613, in the Suzaku follow-up analysis. The spectrum of the annular emission shows no significant emission-line structure, and is well explained by an absorbed power-law model with a photon index of $\sim\!\! 4.2$. These features exclude the possibility that the annular emission is a shell-like component of a supernova remnant. The spectral shape, the time history, and the X-ray flux of the annular emission agree with the scenario that the emission is due to a dust-scattering echo. The annular emission is made under a rare condition of the dust-scattering echo, where the central X-ray source, MAXI J1421-613, exhibits a short time outburst with three X-ray bursts and immediately re-enters a long quiescent period. The distribution of the hydrogen column density along the annular emission follows that of the CO intensity, which means that MAXI J1421-613 is located behind the CO cloud. We estimate the distance to MAXI J1421-613 to be $\sim\!\! 3\:$kpc assuming that the dust layer responsible for the annular emission is located at the same position as the CO cloud.
Deeply cooled core of the Phoenix galaxy cluster imaged by ALMA with the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich effect
Authors: Kitayama Tetsu , Ueda Shutaro , Akahori Takuya , Komatsu Eiichiro , Kawabe Ryohei , Kohno Kotaro , Takakuwa Shigehisa , Takizawa Motokazu , Tsutsumi Takahiro , Yoshikawa Kohji
Published: February 2020

We present measurements of the thermal Sunyaev–Zel’dovich effect (SZE) toward SPT-CL J2334-4243 (the Phoenix galaxy cluster) at $z=0.597$ by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Band 3. The SZE is imaged at $5^{\prime \prime }$ resolution (corresponding to the physical scale of $23\:h^{-1}\:$kpc) within $200\:h^{-1}\:$kpc from the central galaxy, with the peak signal-to-noise ratio exceeding 11. Combined with the Chandra X-ray image, the ALMA SZE data further allow for non-parametric deprojection of electron temperature, density, and entropy. Our method can minimize contamination by the central active galactic nucleus and the X-ray absorbing gas within the cluster, both of which greatly affect the X-ray spectrum. We find no significant asymmetry or disturbance in the SZE image within the current measurement errors. The detected SZE signal shows much higher central concentration than other distant galaxy clusters and agrees well with the average pressure profile of local cool-core clusters. Unlike in typical clusters at any redshift, the gas temperature drops by at least a factor of 5 toward the center. We identify $\sim\!\! 6 \times 10^{11}\, M_\odot$ cool gas with temperature $\sim\!\! 3\:$keV in the inner $20\:h^{-1}\:$kpc. Taken together, our results imply that the gas is indeed cooling efficiently and nearly isobarically down to this radius in the Phoenix cluster.