bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Estimating the consuming resources of IEEE 802.16e cell in case of video conference application
Authors: Alsharbaty F S , Ali O M , Sheet Y S
Published: June 2019

IEEE 802.16e is a WiMAX standard which mixes between broadband and wireless. It is based on OFDMA and provides large capacity as compared with other standards that support previous technologies. One of IEEE 802.16e features is to provide quality of service (QoS) as service classes. However, real time applications are a real challenge for systems capacity due to consume heavy data rate such as video conference application. The service classes of 802.16e standard are depended on minimum reserved traffic rate to submit the service. This paper estimates the consuming resources of 802.16e cell during providing video conference service taking into account the minimum reserved traffic rate of service classes related to real time applications and other factors.
Design and Simulation of the Fourier Transform Beam Propagation Method in Different Optical Waveguides
Authors: Lateef Zina Abdul
Published: June 2019

Fundamentals of optical waveguides is a needed resource for any researcher, concerned in optics and communications engineering. Interested by designing or actively running with optical gadgets have to have a company hold close of the standards of light wave propagation. This paper presents an FFT Beam Propagation Method Models for optical waveguides. The technique is based on the use of the Propagation of a Gaussian pulse by a waveguide with a rectangular, triangular optical waveguides and free space the cases of straight and bent optical waveguides are successively considered.
Effect of nanoparticles on thermal conductivity of epoxy resin system
Authors: Majeed Noor Sabeeh , Salih Shaymaa Mahdi , Abdulmajeed Basma Abbas
Published: June 2019

In this paper the effect of mixing TiO2 nanoparticles with epoxy resin is studied. The TiO2 nanoparticles would be synthesis and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), XRD FTIR, for two particle sizes of 50 and 25 nm. The thermal conductivity is measured with and without composite epoxy resin; the results showed that the thermal conductivity was increased as nanoparticle concentration increased too. The thermal conductivity was increased as particle size decreased.
Optimization of Continuous Electro-Fenton and Photo electro-Fenton Processes to Treat Iraqi Oilfield Produced Water Using Surface Response Methodology
Authors: Al-Khafaji Rand Q. , Mohammed Abdul Halim A-K
Published: June 2019

Considerable amounts of produced water (PW) is usually accompanied with the production of oil. Most countries with oilfields are generally water stressed countries. This study proposed electro-Fenton (EF) as alternative for the degradation of organic pollutants in PW. Continuous electro-Fenton processes was investigated using dimensionally stable anode Ti-RuO2/IrO2 and activated carbon fiber felt (ACFF) cathode. The effect of crucial process variables, namely, initial ferrous ions concentration (0.1-0.5 mM), current intensity (100-500 mA), and residence time (22-81 minutes) on the removal efficiency of COD was studied using contour and response surface plots. The experimental results were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). Multiple response optimization for continuous EF experiments reveals that at optimum conditions (initial ferrous ion concentration of 0.306 mM, current intensity of 156.6 mA, and residence time of 81.0 min) the COD removal efficiency was 73.33% and electrical energy consumption was 0.901 kWh/kg COD. Improvement of continuous EF process was investigated using UVA irradiation (Photoelectron-Fenton). It was found that COD removal efficiency for continuous EF was increased to 81.1% and 86.0% when using one and two UVA lamps (3 Watt each) respectively. It is concluded that EF is an effective process for treating produced water and further improvement can be achieved by photo assisting the process.
Perspectives of the unmanned cargo transport with electric traction development under the conditions of the Russian Federation
Authors: Saikin A M
Published: June 2019

The development of road transport in the world is highly connected with increased requirements for safety and cost-effectiveness of carrying out passenger and cargo transportation, reducing the negative impact of road transport on people and the environment, as well as the desire of countries that do not have direct access to energy sources, “get off the oil needle”. To ensure the fulfillment of these requirements, the key development areas in the automotive industry of developed countries are unmanned vehicles and electric vehicles. Taking into account foreign experience, the article looks at the prospects and features of developing unmanned cargo vehicles with electric traction, at operation conditions of the Russian Federation, which differ markedly from the conditions of vehicle operation in Central Europe, North America and the countries of the Asian region.
Creation concept and architecture principle for vehicle motion control competitive systems under road and climatic conditions of the Russian Federation
Authors: Saikin A M , Buznikov S E , Barashkov A A , Elkin D S , Strukov V O , Shabanov N S , Lucenko E V
Published: June 2019

The urgency of traffic safety improvement is determined by the global significance level of this problem. Current research provides the scientific substantiation of the creation concept and building principles for competitive motion control systems (MCSs) under road and climatic conditions of the Russian Federation. The study was carried out using system analysis methods and modern control theory. The safe vehicle control task is formulated as prevention of collisions with moving and stationary obstacles on the route taking into account the road and climatic conditions of the Russian Federation. To estimate the quality of the dynamic stabilization solution modified quadratic functional is introduced. The results of the study are presented as an analysis of properties of the modified quadratic control quality functional and associated consumer indicators. Based on the analysis of results of the minimization problem for control quality quadratic functional and the multicriteria problem could be solved by software and hardware modification of intelligent systems realized in the minimal configuration of hardware. The novelty of the work is the scientific substantiation of the concept for the competitive vehicle MCSs creation based on virtual information sensors, the use of new mathematical models and control algorithms to solve the problem of collision avoidance.
Implementation of the interaction of the steering wheel loader control system of the remote-controlled wheeled vehicle operator interface with a real-time simulation model
Authors: Buzunov N V , Kotiev G O , Gorelov V A
Published: June 2019

A wheeled vehicle remote control workstation should include systems and devices that would provide steering feedback for the operator. The electric loader of the steering wheel with digital control can act as a system of this kind. Development and adjustment of the steering wheel loader can be performed with real-time simulation models sufficiently reflecting the behavior of the remote-controlled vehicle. The paper describes interaction of the real-time simulation model of an 8x8 wheeled chassis with the prototype of a steering wheel loader control system. The authors demonstrate compatibility of the software and hardware components in question, show adequacy of the model during interaction with the steering wheel loader control system, and propose using such models during the development of the remote control operator workstations.
Logic-based artificial intelligence in systems for monitoring the enforcing traffic regulations
Authors: Aladin D V , Varlamov O O , Chuvikov D A , Chernenkiy V M , Smelkova E A , Baldin A V
Published: June 2019

The paper touches upon the issues of monitoring and assessment of driver’s actions during driving. Its key idea is to prove that currently there are all necessary conditions to develop control systems of traffic regulations based on artificial intelligence with logical reasoning. The article gives a detailed analysis of advanced driver-assistance systems from the world’s leading companies and pays attention to the advantages and disadvantages of such solutions. As an engineering approach to solving the identified problems, it is proposed to use Mivar expert system. The purpose of this decision is to monitor the enforcing traffic regulations and inform the driver about violations. The article proposes the concept of practical implementation of Mivar system included in the driver assistance system. We conclude that Mivar approach provides excellent opportunities for creating the control system for monitoring the enforcing traffic regulations. The proposed solution can be used for reducing the number of accidents caused by drivers.
Planning of driverless vehicle motion trajectory taking into account its dimensional characteristics and under conditions of dynamically changing environment
Authors: Zabolotny A
Published: June 2019

This paper presents the solution for the task of the planning of the driverless vehicle (DV) driving trajectory for the modern road conditions. The rapidly-exploring random trees (RRT) algorithm consisting in the generation of the treetops under the equiprobability law and search for an optimum trajectory was used as a base. The minimum length acts as a criterion of optimality. The condition for the trajectory generation using the road map model is added to the new algorithm. Thereby, the problem of low processing (response) speed of the optimum trajectory search algorithm was solved.
Measurements of dust concentration at workplaces in a hard coal mine processing plants after installation of the NEPTUN spraying system
Authors: Bałaga D , Kalita M , Siegmund M , Klimek Z
Published: June 2019

The article presents the place and scope of testing the NEPTUN prototype spraying system intended for neutralization of total and respirable dust at workplaces in the processing plant of Bolesław Śmiały mine. The testing procedure and the results of dust concentration measurements at each workplace, covered by the operational range of the NEPTUN spraying system are presented. In the final part, the results of tests were analyzed and the reduction efficiency of total and respirable dust at the tested workplaces is given.
Bench tests of BWC pressure free heat exchanger - part 1
Authors: Suffner H , Lesiak K
Published: June 2019

A requirement to limit the temperature of diesel engine components results from the recommendations of the drive manufacturers as well as from the mining regulations. In order to meet these requirements it is necessary to reduce the temperature of the exhaust gases below 150 °C and in order to achieve this objective, in the exhaust system of the diesel engine various types of heat exchangers are used. The article presents the procedures and results of testing the pressure free heat exchanger for cooling the exhaust systems in underground mining machinery drives applied in hard coal mines.
The Influence of the Methodology for Slopes Forming in Open Pit Mines on their Stability
Authors: Mzyk T , Jendruś R
Published: June 2019

Open pit mines are frequently accumulating significant amounts of material in the form of dumping grounds, landfills or forming land for reclamation. Often the form of emerging dumping grounds is determined by stability analysis of their slopes at the design stage. During the operation of the mining site and the collection of material on the pile, only the geometry of the slope is a subject of control. In many cases, after making slopes of a dozen or so meters height or even up to several tens of meters, and after a certain time has elapsed since their formation, deformation of the escarpments can be observed. At this stage, the only option is to change the geometry, i.e. inclination of a slope or, in the worst case, rebuilding of the dump. In the paper the analysis of the impact of the method of forming slopes and material quality on stability of formed slopes and their safe exploitation has been presented. It also presents a proposal to normalize the methodology of design and construction of slopes in a manner ensuring stability and taking into account the variability of the material parameters from which the slope is to be formed.
Conformal embedding and twisted theta functions at level one
Authors: Mukhopadhyay Swarnava , Zelaci Hacen
Published: June 2019

In this paper, we consider the conformal embedding of

s
o

(
r
)

\mathfrak {so}(r)

into

s
l

(
r
)

\mathfrak {sl}(r)

and study relations between level one

SO
⁡
(
r
)

\operatorname {SO}(r)

-theta functions and twisted

SL
⁡
(
r
)

\operatorname {SL}(r)

-theta functions coming from parahoric moduli spaces. In particular, we give another proof of a theorem by Pauly-Ramanan [J. London Math. Soc. (2) 63 (2001), pp. 513–532].
On the second variation of the Graham-Witten energy
Authors: Takeuchi Yuya
Published: June 2019

The area renormalization procedure gives an invariant of even-dimensional closed submanifolds in a conformal manifold, which we call the Graham-Witten energy, and it is a generalization of the classical Willmore energy. In this paper, we obtain an explicit formula for the second variation of this energy at minimal submanifolds in an Einstein manifold. As an application, we prove that the even-dimensional totally geodesic spheres in the unit sphere are critical points of the Graham-Witten energy with non-negative second variation.
Weak density of orbit equivalence classes and free products of infinite abelian groups
Authors: Moriyama Takaaki
Published: June 2019

We show that if a countable group

G
G

is the free product of infinite abelian groups, then for every free, probability-measure-preserving (p.m.p.) action of

G
G

, its orbit equivalence class is weakly dense in the space of p.m.p. actions of

G
G

. This extends Lewis Bowen’s result for free groups.
Approximation by special values of Dirichlet series
Authors: Çam Çelik Şermin , Göral Haydar
Published: June 2019

In this note, we will show that real numbers can be strongly approximated by linear combinations of special values of Dirichlet series. We extend the approximation results of Emre Alkan in an effective way to all non-zero Dirichlet series with a better approximation. Using the fundamental works of Szemerédi and Green-Tao on arithmetic progressions, we prove that one can approximate real numbers with special values of Dirichlet series coming from sets of positive upper density or the set of prime numbers.
Unstable polarized del Pezzo surfaces
Authors: Cheltsov Ivan , Martinez-Garcia Jesus
Published: June 2019

We provide new examples of

K
K

-unstable polarized smooth del Pezzo surfaces using a flopped version first used by Cheltsov and Rubinstein of the test configurations introduced by Ross and Thomas. As an application, we provide new obstructions for the existence of constant scalar curvature Kähler metrics on polarized smooth del Pezzo surfaces.
Prym varieties of genus four curves
Authors: Bruin Nils , Sertöz Emre
Published: June 2019

Double covers of a generic genus four curve C are in bijection with Cayley cubics containing the canonical model of C. The Prym variety associated to a double cover is a quadratic twist of the Jacobian of a genus three curve X. The curve X can be obtained by intersecting the dual of the corresponding Cayley cubic with the dual of the quadric containing C. We take this construction to its limit, studying all smooth degenerations and proving that the construction, with appropriate modifications, extends to the complement of a specific divisor in moduli. We work over an arbitrary field of characteristic different from two in order to facilitate arithmetic applications.
Sums with the Möbius function twisted by characters with powerful moduli
Authors: Banks William , Shparlinski Igor
Published: June 2019

In a recent work, the authors (2016) have combined classical ideas of A. G. Postnikov (1956) and N. M. Korobov (1974) to derive improved bounds on short character sums for certain nonprincipal characters with powerful moduli. In the present paper, these results are used to bound sums with the Möbius function twisted by characters of the same type, which complements and improves some earlier work of B. Green (2012). To achieve this, we obtain a series of results about the size and zero-free region of

L
L

-functions with the same class of moduli.
Spatio-temporal effects of climate change on the geographical distribution and flowering phenology of hummingbird-pollinated plants
Authors: Correa-Lima Ana Paula Araujo , Varassin Isabela Galarda , Barve Narayani , Zwiener Victor Pereira
Published: June 2019

Backgrounds and Aims

Tropical plant species are already suffering the effects of climate change and projections warn of even greater changes in the following decades. Of particular concern are alterations in flowering phenology, given that it is considered a fitness trait, part of plant species ecological niche, with potential cascade effects in plant–pollinator interactions. The aim of the study was to assess the potential impacts of climate change on the geographical distribution and flowering phenology of hummingbird-pollinated plants.

Methods

We implemented ecological niche modelling (ENM) to investigate the potential impacts of different climate change scenarios on the geographical distribution and flowering phenology of 62 hummingbird-pollinated plant species in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

Key Results

Distribution models indicate future changes in the climatic suitability of their current habitats, suggesting a tendency towards discontinuity, reduction and spatial displacement. Flowering models indicate that climate can influence species phenology in different ways: some species may experience increased flowering suitability whereas others may suffer decreased suitability.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that hummingbird-pollinated species are prone to changes in their geographical distribution and flowering under different climate scenarios. Such variation may impact the community structure of ecological networks and reproductive success of tropical plants in the near future.
Building large updatable colored de Bruijn graphs via merging
Authors: Muggli Martin D , Alipanahi Bahar , Boucher Christina
Published: June 2019

Motivation

There exist several large genomic and metagenomic data collection efforts, including GenomeTrakr and MetaSub, which are routinely updated with new data. To analyze such datasets, memory-efficient methods to construct and store the colored de Bruijn graph were developed. Yet, a problem that has not been considered is constructing the colored de Bruijn graph in a scalable manner that allows new data to be added without reconstruction. This problem is important for large public datasets as scalability is needed but also the ability to update the construction is also needed.

Results

We create a method for constructing the colored de Bruijn graph for large datasets that is based on partitioning the data into smaller datasets, building the colored de Bruijn graph using a FM-index based representation, and succinctly merging these representations to build a single graph. The last step, merging succinctly, is the algorithmic challenge which we solve in this article. We refer to the resulting method as VariMerge. This construction method also allows the graph to be updated with new data. We validate our approach and show it produces a three-fold reduction in working space when constructing a colored de Bruijn graph for 8000 strains. Lastly, we compare VariMerge to other competing methods—including Vari, Rainbowfish, Mantis, Bloom Filter Trie, the method of Almodaresi et al. and Multi-BRWT—and illustrate that VariMerge is the only method that is capable of building the colored de Bruijn graph for 16 000 strains in a manner that allows it to be updated. Competing methods either did not scale to this large of a dataset or do not allow for additions without reconstruction.

Availability and implementation

VariMerge is available at https://github.com/cosmo-team/cosmo/tree/VARI-merge under GPLv3 license.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
DNN-Dom: predicting protein domain boundary from sequence alone by deep neural network
Authors: Shi Qiang , Chen Weiya , Huang Siqi , Jin Fanglin , Dong Yinghao , Wang Yan , Xue Zhidong
Published: June 2019

Motivation

Accurate delineation of protein domain boundary plays an important role for protein engineering and structure prediction. Although machine-learning methods are widely used to predict domain boundary, these approaches often ignore long-range interactions among residues, which have been proven to improve the prediction performance. However, how to simultaneously model the local and global interactions to further improve domain boundary prediction is still a challenging problem.

Results

This article employs a hybrid deep learning method that combines convolutional neural network and gate recurrent units’ models for domain boundary prediction. It not only captures the local and non-local interactions, but also fuses these features for prediction. Additionally, we adopt balanced Random Forest for classification to deal with high imbalance of samples and high dimensions of deep features. Experimental results show that our proposed approach (DNN-Dom) outperforms existing machine-learning-based methods for boundary prediction. We expect that DNN-Dom can be useful for assisting protein structure and function prediction.

Availability and implementation

The method is available as DNN-Dom Server at http://isyslab.info/DNN-Dom/.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
An empirical Bayesian ranking method, with applications to high throughput biology
Authors: Ferguson John , Chang Joseph
Published: June 2019

Motivation

In bioinformatics, genome-wide experiments look for important biological differences between two groups at a large number of locations in the genome. Often, the final analysis focuses on a P-value-based ranking of locations which might then be investigated further in follow-up experiments. However, this strategy may result in small effect sizes, with low P-values, being ranked more favorably than larger more scientifically important effects. Bayesian ranking techniques may offer a solution to this problem provided a good prior distribution for the collective distribution of effect sizes is available.

Results

We develop an Empirical Bayes ranking algorithm, using the marginal distribution of the data over all locations to estimate an appropriate prior. In simulations and analysis using real datasets, we demonstrate favorable performance compared to ordering P-values and a number of other competing ranking methods. The algorithm is computationally efficient and can be used to rank the entirety of genomic locations or to rank a subset of locations, pre-selected via traditional FWER/FDR methods in a 2-stage analysis.

Availability and implementation

An R-package, EBrank, implementing the ranking algorithm is available on CRAN.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Sequence alignment using machine learning for accurate template-based protein structure prediction
Authors: Makigaki Shuichiro , Ishida Takashi
Published: June 2019

Motivation

Template-based modeling, the process of predicting the tertiary structure of a protein by using homologous protein structures, is useful if good templates can be found. Although modern homology detection methods can find remote homologs with high sensitivity, the accuracy of template-based models generated from homology-detection-based alignments is often lower than that from ideal alignments.

Results

In this study, we propose a new method that generates pairwise sequence alignments for more accurate template-based modeling. The proposed method trains a machine learning model using the structural alignment of known homologs. It is difficult to directly predict sequence alignments using machine learning. Thus, when calculating sequence alignments, instead of a fixed substitution matrix, this method dynamically predicts a substitution score from the trained model. We evaluate our method by carefully splitting the training and test datasets and comparing the predicted structure’s accuracy with that of state-of-the-art methods. Our method generates more accurate tertiary structure models than those produced from alignments obtained by other methods.

Availability and implementation

https://github.com/shuichiro-makigaki/exmachina.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Selection-adjusted inference: an application to confidence intervals forcis-eQTL effect sizes
Authors: Panigrahi Snigdha , Zhu Junjie , Sabatti Chiara
Published: June 2019

The goal of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) studies is to identify the genetic variants that influence the expression levels of the genes in an organism. High throughput technology has made such studies possible: in a given tissue sample, it enables us to quantify the expression levels of approximately 20 000 genes and to record the alleles present at millions of genetic polymorphisms. While obtaining this data is relatively cheap once a specimen is at hand, obtaining human tissue remains a costly endeavor: eQTL studies continue to be based on relatively small sample sizes, with this limitation particularly serious for tissues as brain, liver, etc.—often the organs of most immediate medical relevance. Given the high-dimensional nature of these datasets and the large number of hypotheses tested, the scientific community has adopted early on multiplicity adjustment procedures. These testing procedures primarily control the false discoveries rate for the identification of genetic variants with influence on the expression levels. In contrast, a problem that has not received much attention to date is that of providing estimates of the effect sizes associated with these variants, in a way that accounts for the considerable amount of selection. Yet, given the difficulty of procuring additional samples, this challenge is of practical importance. We illustrate in this work how the recently developed conditional inference approach can be deployed to obtain confidence intervals for the eQTL effect sizes with reliable coverage. The procedure we propose is based on a randomized hierarchical strategy with a 2-fold contribution: (1) it reflects the selection steps typically adopted in state of the art investigations and (2) it introduces the use of randomness instead of data-splitting to maximize the use of available data. Analysis of the GTEx Liver dataset (v6) suggests that naively obtained confidence intervals would likely not cover the true values of effect sizes and that the number of local genetic polymorphisms influencing the expression level of genes might be underestimated.
SOD1 deficiency: a novel syndrome distinct from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Authors: Park Julien H , Elpers Christiane , Reunert Janine , McCormick Michael L , Mohr Julia , Biskup Saskia , Schwartz Oliver , Rust Stephan , Grüneberg Marianne , Seelhöfer Anja , Schara Ulrike , Boltshauser Eugen , Spitz Douglas R , Marquardt Thorsten
Published: June 2019

Superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) is the principal cytoplasmic superoxide dismutase in humans and plays a major role in redox potential regulation. It catalyses the transformation of the superoxide anion (O2•−) into hydrogen peroxide. Heterozygous variants in SOD1 are a common cause of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In this study we describe the homozygous truncating variant c.335dupG (p.C112Wfs*11) in SOD1 that leads to total absence of enzyme activity. The resulting phenotype is severe and marked by progressive loss of motor abilities, tetraspasticity with predominance in the lower extremities, mild cerebellar atrophy, and hyperekplexia-like symptoms. Heterozygous carriers have a markedly reduced enzyme activity when compared to wild-type controls but show no overt neurologic phenotype. These results are in contrast with the previously proposed theory that a loss of function is the underlying mechanism in SOD1-related motor neuron disease and should be considered before application of previously proposed SOD1 silencing as a treatment option for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Elevated plasma triglycerides and growth rate are early indicators of reproductive status in post-spawning female steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Authors: Jenkins Laura E , Pierce Andrew L , Graham Neil D , Medeiros Lea R , Hatch Douglas R , Nagler James J
Published: June 2019

Many iteroparous fishes spawn after skipping one or more yearly cycles, which impacts recruitment estimates used for fisheries management and conservation. The physiological mechanisms underlying the development of consecutive and skip spawning life histories in fishes are not well understood. In salmonids, lipid energy reserves and/or growth are thought to regulate the initiation of reproductive maturation during a critical period ~1 year prior to spawning. The fasting spawning migration of summer-run steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) results in significant depletion of energy reserves during the proposed critical period for repeat spawning. To determine whether and when lipid energy reserves and growth influence repeat spawning, measures of lipid energy reserves, growth rate and reproductive development were tracked in female steelhead trout from first to second spawning as a consecutive or skip spawner in captivity. Plasma triglyceride (TG) levels and growth rate were elevated by 10 weeks after spawning in reproductive (i.e. consecutive spawning) versus non-reproductive (i.e. skip spawning) individuals. Muscle lipid (ML) levels, condition factor and plasma estradiol levels increased at later time points. The early differences in plasma TG levels and increases in growth rate are attributable to differential rates of feeding and assimilation between the groups following spawning. A year after spawning, plasma TG levels, MLs and growth rate decreased in consecutive spawners, attributable to transfer of lipid reserves into the ovary. During the year prior to second spawning, energy reserves and plasma estradiol levels were higher in reproductive skip spawners versus consecutive spawners, reflecting the energy deficit after first spawning. These results suggest that the decision to initiate ovarian recrudescence occurs by 10 weeks after first spawning and are consistent with the differences in energy reserves acquired following spawning being a consequence of that decision. This information will increase the success of conservation projects reconditioning post-spawning summer-run steelhead trout.
Identification of the Klambothrips myopori (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae) Predator Complex in California
Authors: Shogren C J , Paine T D
Published: June 2019

To identify the predator complex of the invasive thrips, Klambothrips myopori, on its ornamental host plant Myoporum laetum, field surveys were conducted at three sites in southern California over the period of 1 y. Five insect orders and five spider families were represented in the survey. Although the most abundant groups differed among collection sites, syrphid larvae, anthocorids, Chrysoperla spp., Franklinothrips orizabensis Johansen (Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae), and one spider family (Salticidae) were all collected at each site. Based on the field surveys, Orius spp. and Chrysoperla spp. were identified as possible key natural enemies of K. myopori. Laboratory studies were then conducted to determine the consumption rates of Orius insidiosus Say (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) and Chrysoperla rufilabris Burmeister (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) at constant densities of K. myopori and to define the functional responses of the predators. Both predators consumed more second-instar larvae than other prey stages. Orius insidious displayed a type II functional response, while C. rufilabris displayed both type II and type III depending on prey stage. Generally speaking, O. insidiosus and C. rufilabris consumed a higher proportion of prey at lower pest densities, implying that in an augmentative control program using these commercially available natural enemies, predators could be released early in the year when host plants begin to flush and thrips populations are low to suppress population growth.
Sex-related differences in catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Cheng Xiaocheng , Hu Qiongwen , Gao Lei , Liu Jian , Qin Shu , Zhang Dongying
Published: June 2019

Aims

The sex-related differences in the clinical outcomes of rhythm and safety after catheter ablation remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) in women and men.

Methods and results

The Medline and EMBASE databases were searched for published articles up to December 2018. Studies that met our predefined inclusion criteria were included. The primary endpoints were freedom from AF/atrial tachycardia (AT) recurrence, stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA), and all-cause mortality. After literature search and detailed assessment, 19 observational studies (151 370 patients; 34% women) were identified. Our analyses showed that the rate of freedom from AF/AT recurrence was lower in women than men at the 2.4-year follow-up [odds ratio (OR): 0.75, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.69–0.81; P < 0.0001]. Moreover, women had an increased risk of stroke/TIA (OR: 1.42, 95% CI 1.21–1.67; P < 0.0001) and all-cause mortality (OR: 1.53, 95% CI 1.02–2.28; P = 0.04). Nevertheless, for the endpoint of all-cause mortality, there was no significant difference between the two genders in the subgroup of prospective studies (OR: 1.19, 95% CI 0.69–2.05; P = 0.53). Additionally, women were more likely to experience major complications compared with men (pericardial effusion/tamponade, major bleeding requiring transfusion, and pacemaker implantation).

Conclusions

Women who underwent catheter ablation of AF might experience lower efficacy and a higher risk of stroke/TIA and major complications than men. The reasons for these sex-related differences need to be further studied.
Mycobacterium bovis BCG promotes IL-10 expression by establishing a SYK/PKCα/β positive autoregulatory loop that sustains STAT3 activation
Authors: Villaseñor Tomás , Madrid-Paulino Edgardo , Maldonado-Bravo Rafael , Pérez-Martínez Leonor , Pedraza-Alva Gustavo
Published: June 2019

Mycobacterium ensures its survival inside macrophages and long-term infection by subverting the innate and adaptive immune response through the modulation of cytokine gene expression profiles. Different Mycobacterium species promote the expression of TGFβ and IL-10, which, at the early stages of infection, block the formation of the phagolysosome, thereby securing mycobacterial survival upon phagocytosis, and at later stages, antagonize IFNγ production and functions. Despite the key role of IL-10 in mycobacterium infection, the signal transduction pathways leading to IL-10 expression in infected macrophages are poorly understood. Here, we report that Mycobacterium bovis BCG promotes IL-10 expression and cytokine production by establishing a SYK/PKCα/β positive feedback loop that leads to STAT3 activation.
The Population Structure of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Is Characterized by Genetic Isolation of exoU+ and exoS+ Lineages
Authors: Ozer Egon A , Nnah Ekpeno , Didelot Xavier , Whitaker Rachel J , Hauser Alan R
Published: June 2019

The diversification of microbial populations may be driven by many factors including adaptation to distinct ecological niches and barriers to recombination. We examined the population structure of the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa by analyzing whole-genome sequences of 739 isolates from diverse sources. We confirmed that the population structure of P. aeruginosa consists of two major groups (referred to as Groups A and B) and at least two minor groups (Groups C1 and C2). Evidence for frequent intragroup but limited intergroup recombination in the core genome was observed, consistent with sexual isolation of the groups. Likewise, accessory genome analysis demonstrated more gene flow within Groups A and B than between these groups, and a few accessory genomic elements were nearly specific to one or the other group. In particular, the exoS gene was highly overrepresented in Group A compared with Group B isolates (99.4% vs. 1.1%) and the exoU gene was highly overrepresented in Group B compared with Group A isolates (95.2% vs. 1.8%). The exoS and exoU genes encode effector proteins secreted by the P. aeruginosa type III secretion system. Together these results suggest that the major P. aeruginosa groups defined in part by the exoS and exoU genes are divergent from each other, and that these groups are genetically isolated and may be ecologically distinct. Although both groups were globally distributed and caused human infections, certain groups predominated in some clinical contexts.
Structure of the Séchilienne unstable slope from large-scale three-dimensional electrical tomography using a Resistivity Distributed Automated System (R-DAS)
Authors: Lajaunie M , Gance J , Nevers P , Malet J-P , Bertrand C , Garin T , Ferhat G
Published: June 2019

This work presents a 3-D resistivity model of the Séchilienne unstable slope acquired with a network of portable resistivimeters in summer 2017. The instrumentation consisted in distributed measuring systems (IRIS Instruments FullWaver) to measure the spatial variations of electrical potential. 23 V-FullWaver receivers with two 50 m dipoles have been deployed over an area of circa 2 km2; the current was injected between a fixed remote electrode and a mobile electrode grounded successively at 30 locations. The data uncertainty has been evaluated in relation to the accuracy of electrodes positioning. The software package BERT (Boundless Electrical Resistivity Tomography) is used to invert the apparent resistivity and model the complex data set providing the first 3-D resistivity model of the slope. Stability tests and synthetic tests are realized to assess the interpretability of the inverted models. The 3-D resistivity model is interpreted up to a depth of 500 m; it allows identifying resistive and conductive anomalies related to the main geological and hydrogeological structures shaping the slope. The high fracturation of the rock in the most active zone of the landslide appears as a resistive anomaly where the highest resistivity values are located close to the faults. A major drain formed by a fault in the unaltered micaschist is identified through the discharge of a perched aquifer along the conductive zone producing an important conductive anomaly contrasting with the unaltered micaschist.
Combined analysis of keratinocyte cancers identifies novel genome-wide loci
Authors: Liyanage Upekha E , Law Matthew H , Han Xikun , An Jiyuan , Ong Jue-Sheng , Gharahkhani Puya , Gordon Scott , Neale Rachel E , Olsen Catherine M ,   23andMe Research Team, MacGregor Stuart , Whiteman David C
Published: June 2019

The keratinocyte cancers (KC), basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are the most common cancers in fair-skinned people. KC treatment represents the second highest cancer healthcare expenditure in Australia. Increasing our understanding of the genetic architecture of KC may provide new avenues for prevention and treatment. We first conducted a series of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of KC across three European ancestry datasets from Australia, Europe and USA, and used linkage disequilibrium (LD) Score regression (LDSC) to estimate their pairwise genetic correlations. We employed a multiple-trait approach to map genes across the combined set of KC GWAS (total N = 47 742 cases, 634 413 controls). We also performed meta-analyses of BCC and SCC separately to identify trait specific loci. We found substantial genetic correlations (generally 0.5–1) between BCC and SCC suggesting overlapping genetic risk variants. The multiple trait combined KC GWAS identified 63 independent genome-wide significant loci, 29 of which were novel. Individual separate meta-analyses of BCC and SCC identified an additional 13 novel loci not found in the combined KC analysis. Three new loci were implicated using gene-based tests. New loci included common variants in BRCA2 (distinct to known rare high penetrance cancer risk variants), and in CTLA4, a target of immunotherapy in melanoma. We found shared and trait specific genetic contributions to BCC and SCC. Considering both, we identified a total of 79 independent risk loci, 45 of which are novel.
Statutory rights and de facto constitutional supremacy in Hong Kong?
Authors: Yap Po Jen , Chung Francis
Published: June 2019

Fundamental rights in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong) are protected in its Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (BORO). The Hong Kong Basic Law enshrines most of the BORO rights, thereby expressly conferring constitutional status on these rights. But there are a number of BORO rights that are not protected in the Basic Law. This article analyzes the cases in which the Hong Kong judiciary has addressed disputes concerning three exclusive BORO rights: (i) the right to participate in public affairs; (ii) the right to a fair hearing in civil cases; and (iii) the prohibition against cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. We will also explain how the courts have conferred de facto constitutional supremacy on all these statutory rights, while simultaneously providing significant leeway and decisional space for the government to craft a considered response in their remedial legislation, thereby promoting a constitutional dialogue between the judiciary and the government on rights-protection in Hong Kong.
Discs large homolog 1 regulates B-cell proliferation and antibody production
Authors: Dong Xuejiao , Li Xinxin , Liu Ce , Xu Kun , Shi Yi , Liu Wanli
Published: June 2019

Antibody production results from B-cell activation and proliferation upon antigen binding. Discs large homolog 1 (Dlg1), a scaffold protein from the membrane-associated guanylate kinase family, has been shown to regulate the antigen receptor signaling and cell polarity in lymphocytes; however, the physiological function of Dlg1 in humoral responses is not completely clear. Here, we addressed this question using a conditional knockout (KO) mouse model with Dlg1 deficiency in different B-cell subsets by crossing dlg1fl/fl mice with either mb1cre/+ or aicdacre/+ mice, respectively. In both mouse models, we observed that Dlg1 deficiency in B cells (Dlg1-KO B cells) led to obvious hyper-antibody responses upon immunization, the effect of which was more obvious in antigen-recall responses. Mechanistically, we found that Dlg1-KO B cells exhibited hyper-proliferation compared with wild-type B cells upon antigen stimulation, suggesting that the hyper-antibody responses are likely induced by the hyper-proliferation of Dlg1-KO B cells. Indeed, further studies demonstrated that Dlg1 deficiency in B cells led to the down-regulation of a tumor suppressor, FoxO1. Thus, all these results reveal an unexpected function of Dlg1 in restraining hyper-antibody responses through the inhibition of FoxO1 and thus antigen-binding-induced proliferation in B cells.
Methyl Benzoate as a Putative Alternative, Environmentally Friendly Fumigant for the Control of Stored Product Insects
Authors: Morrison William R , Larson Nicholas L , Brabec Daniel , Zhang Aijun
Published: June 2019

Historically, stored product insect pest management has been based around the use of methyl bromide and phosphine as fumigants. However, methyl bromide has been phased out for structural fumigations, and there is increasing worldwide insecticide resistance to phosphine. One potential alternative, environmentally friendly option is the use of methyl benzoate (MBe), which is considered a food safe compound. In this study, we evaluated the direct and sublethal effects of MBe exposure on the survivorship and mobility of four stored product species with diverse life histories, including Rhyzopertha dominica, Tribolium castaneum, Sitophilus zeamais, and Trogoderma variabile. Sets of insects were exposed to a control, low, or high MBe concentrations in flasks with or without food for 24 or 72 h in the laboratory. Furthermore, we assessed phosphine exposure under similar conditions. Overall, R. dominica was the most susceptible to MBe exposure, followed by T. castaneum. By contrast, S. zeamais and T. variabile were relatively unaffected by MBe exposure. Exposure to MBe induced multiple-fold decreases in the total distance moved and velocity of adults still considered alive or affected after assays. By comparison, phosphine effectively killed all individuals of all species. Our data suggest that while MBe was effective for R. dominica, it was not competitive in comparison to phosphine for controlling susceptible strains of these species at the specified experimental conditions.
Mechanisms behind strong strata behaviour in high longwall mining face-ends under shallow covers
Authors: Zhu Weibing , Qi Xiangrui , Ju Jinfeng , Xu Jingmin
Published: June 2019

Safe and efficient mining of shallow coal seams relies on the understanding and effective control of strata behaviour. Field measurements, theoretical analysis and numerical simulations are presented in this study to investigate the mechanism behind abnormal strata behaviour, such as roof collapse and severe roadway deformation, that occurs in high longwall face-ends under shallow cover. We observed that coal pillars with two sides being mined out become unstable when the cover depth exceeds a certain value. The instability of the coal pillar can alter the fracture line of the overlying strata, triggering a reversed rotation of the ‘curved triangle blocks’ that form after the breakage of the overlying main roof. The revolving blocks apply stress on the roof strata directly above the longwall face-end, resulting in roof collapse. The collapse of both the coal pillars and the roof also leads to the advancement and increase of the overlying abutment pressure, which further causes severe roadway deformation in front of the working face. The strong strata behaviour that occurs in high longwall face-ends with shallow cover is presented in this study and countermeasures are proposed, such as widening or strengthening the coal pillar, or implementing destress blasting. The countermeasures we proposed and the results of our analyses may facilitate the safe mining of shallow coal seams with similar problems in the future, and may improve the safety and efficient working of coal mines.