bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Search-Based Approaches for Software Module Clustering Based on Multiple Relationship Factors
Authors: Hwa Jimin , Yoo Shin , Seo Yeong-Seok , Bae Doo-Hwan
Published: September 2017

Software remodularization seeks to cluster software modules with high cohesion and low coupling: such a structure can help the comprehension and maintenance of complex systems. The modularization quality is usually captured using either structural, semantic, or history-based factors. All existing techniques apply a single factor to the entire system, which raises the following issues. First, a single factor may fail to capture the quality across the entire project: some modules may form semantic bondings, while others may form more structural ones. Second, the user of the technique has to choose a factor without knowing which one would perform the best. To resolve these issues, we propose a multi-factor module clustering, in which module clusters can be formed based on different factors. Our technique not only allows module clusters of different natures, but also relieve users from having to select a single factor. The paper introduces two different search-based formulations of multi-factor remodularization, and compares these against single-factor remodularization using four heterogeneous factors and six open source projects. The evaluation results show that the multi-factor remodularization can produce solutions that are 10.69% closer to the actual modularization adopted by the developers as compared with those produced by single-factor remodularization on average.
Electrostatic self-assembly of exfoliated niobate nanosheets (Nb3O8−) and cobalt porphyrins (CoIIITMPyP) utilized for rapid construction of intercalated nanocomposite and exploration of electrocatalysis towards oxygen reduction
Authors: Xu Jiasheng , Wang Mengjun , Pan Binbin , Li Jinpeng , Xia Bin , Zhang Xiaobo , Tong Zhiwei
Published: September 2017

To prepare the novel plate-like nanocomposite CoIIITMPyP/Nb3O8, the cationic cobalt (III) tetrakis–5, 10, 15, 20–(N–methyl–4–pyridyl) porphyrin (CoIIITMPyP) was intercalated into the interlayer of the perovskite structural material KNb3O8via the electrostatic self-assembly of the positively charged CoIIITMPyP molecules and the electronegative Nb3O[Formula: see text] nanosheets. The Nb3O[Formula: see text] nanosheets was obtained by exfoliating the protonated product of niobate KNb3O8in the tetrabutyl ammonium hydroxide (TBA[Formula: see text]OH[Formula: see text]) aqueous solution. The zeta potential was measured to indicate the stability and uniformity of the Nb3O[Formula: see text] nanosheet colloidal dispersion, and the structure and component of the parent material KNb3O8, the acidified product HNb3O8, and the interlayered nanocomposite CoIIITMPyP/Nb3O8were characterized using XRD, FT-IR, SEM and AFM. Furthermore, the electrocatalytic activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of CoIIITMPyP/Nb3O8hybrids modified GCE was investigated by the cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements. The modified GCE exhibited good electrocatalytic activity toward ORR in consideration of the peak shift from [Formula: see text]0.723[Formula: see text]V to [Formula: see text]0.300[Formula: see text]V. The linear correlation of the reduction peak current and the square root of the scan rate suggested a diffusion controlled process.
Harvest Energy from the Water
Authors: Chen Qi , Liu Ye , Liu Guangchi , Yang Qing , Shi Xianming , Gao Hongwei , Su Lu , Li Quanlong
Published: September 2017

Water quality data is incredibly important and valuable, but its acquisition is not always trivial. A promising solution is to distribute a wireless sensor network in water to measure and collect the data; however, a drawback exists in that the batteries of the system must be replaced or recharged after being exhausted. To mitigate this issue, we designed a self-sustained water quality sensing system that is powered by renewable bioenergy generated from microbial fuel cells (MFCs). MFCs collect the energy released from native magnesium oxidizing microorganisms (MOMs) that are abundant in natural waters. The proposed energy-harvesting technology is environmentally friendly and can provide maintenance-free power to sensors for several years. Despite these benefits, an MFC can only provide microwatt-level power that is not sufficient to continuously power a sensor. To address this issue, we designed a power management module to accumulate energy when the input voltage is as low as 0.33V. We also proposed a radio-frequency (RF) activation technique to remotely activate sensors that otherwise are switched off in default. With this innovative technique, a sensor’s energy consumption in sleep mode can be completely avoided. Additionally, this design can enable on-demand data acquisitions from sensors. We implement the proposed system and evaluate its performance in a stream. In 3-month field experiments, we find the system is able to reliably collect water quality data and is robust to environment changes.
R
3
Authors: Wu Die , Lu Li , Hussain Muhammad Jawad , Li Songfan , Li Mo , Zhang Fengli
Published: September 2017

Computational Radio Frequency Identification (CRFID) tags operate solely on harvested energy and have emerged as viable platforms for a variety of ubiquitous sensing and computation applications. Due to their battery-less nature, these tags can be permanently deployed in hard-to-reach places where the possibility of tag access is eliminated. In such scenarios, maintaining and upgrading the tag’s firmware becomes infeasible because programming tools, including wired interface and PC-based software, are required to erase, modify, or reprogram the microcontroller unit’s memory. Such limitations necessitate the demand for an over-the-air (OTA) scheme, which can wirelessly reprogram or upgrade the firmware in CRFID tags.

In this article, we present
R
3
—a reliable OTA reprogramming scheme that is compliant with EPC protocol and requires no hardware upgrade to RFID reader or CRFID tag. We demonstrate our scheme on three platforms, which include both software-defined as well as chip-based CRFID tags, that is, WISP5.1 and Optimized WISP (Opt-WISP), and Spider tag, respectively. The selection also includes both the FLASH- and FRAM-based microcontrollers. We extensively evaluate our scheme in terms of several metrics, including overall system delay, time and energy overhead, and success rate in line with interrogation range. We foresee our endeavor to offer the viability of OTA reprogramming and firmware upgrade for CRFID tokens under practical situations.
Self-Adaptation to Device Distribution in the Internet of Things
Authors: Beal Jacob , Viroli Mirko , Pianini Danilo , Damiani Ferruccio
Published: September 2017

A key problem when coordinating the behaviour of spatially situated networks, like those typically found in the Internet of Things (IoT), is adaptation to changes impacting network topology, density, and heterogeneity. Computational goals for such systems, however, are often dependent on geometric properties of the continuous environment in which the devices are situated rather than the particulars of how devices happen to be distributed through it. In this article, we identify a new property of distributed algorithms,
eventual consistency
, which guarantees that computation converges to a final state that approximates a predictable limit, based on the continuous environment, as the density and speed of devices increases. We then identify a large class of programs that are eventually consistent, building on prior results on the field calculus computational model (Beal et al. 2015; Viroli et al. 2015a) that identify a class of self-stabilizing programs. Finally, we confirm through simulation of IoT application scenarios that eventually consistent programs from this class can provide resilient behavior where programs that are only converging fail badly.
A Distributed Streaming Framework for Connection Discovery Using Shared Videos
Authors: Li Xiaopeng , Cheung Ming , She James
Published: September 2017

With the advances in mobile devices and the popularity of social networks, users can share multimedia content anytime, anywhere. One of the most important types of emerging content is video, which is commonly shared on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. User connections, which indicate whether two users are follower/followee or have the same interests, are essential to improve services and information relevant to users for many social media applications. But they are normally hidden due to users’ privacy concerns or are kept confidential by social media sites. Using user-shared content is an alternative way to discover user connections. This article proposes to use user-shared videos for connection discovery with the Bag of Feature Tagging method and proposes a distributed streaming computation framework to facilitate the analytics. Exploiting the uniqueness of shared videos, the proposed framework is divided into Streaming processing and Online and Offline Computation. With experiments using a dataset from Twitter, it has been proved that the proposed method using user-shared videos for connection discovery is feasible. And the proposed computation framework significantly accelerates the analytics, reducing the processing time to only 32% for follower/followee recommendation. It has also been proved that comparable performance can be achieved with only partial data for each video and leads to more efficient computation.
Counting Thin Subgraphs via Packings Faster than Meet-in-the-Middle Time
Authors: Björklund Andreas , Kaski Petteri , Kowalik Łukasz
Published: September 2017

Vassilevska and Williams (STOC’09) showed how to count simple paths on
k
vertices and matchings on
k
/2 edges in an
n
-vertex graph in time
n

k
/2+
O
(1)

. In the same year, two different algorithms with the same runtime were given by Koutis and Williams (ICALP’09), and Björklund et al. (ESA’09), via
n

st
/2+
O
(1)

-time algorithms for counting
t
-tuples of pairwise disjoint sets drawn from a given family of
s
-sized subsets of an
n
-element universe. Shortly afterwards, Alon and Gutner (TALG’10) showed that these problems have Ω(
n

⌊
st
/2⌋

) and Ω(
n

⌊
k
/2⌋

) lower bounds when counting by color coding.

Here, we show that one can do better—we show that the “meet-in-the-middle” exponent
st
/2 can be beaten and give an algorithm that counts in time
n

0.45470382
st
+
O
(1)

for
t
a multiple of three. This implies algorithms for counting occurrences of a fixed subgraph on
k
vertices and pathwidth
p
≪
k
in an
n
-vertex graph in
n

0.45470382
k
+2
p
+
O
(1)

time, improving on the three mentioned algorithms for paths and matchings, and circumventing the color-coding lower bound. We also give improved bounds for counting
t
-tuples of disjoint
s
-sets for
s
= 2,3,4.

Our algorithms use fast matrix multiplication. We show an argument that this is necessary to go below the meet-in-the-middle barrier.
Characterizing and Modeling Patching Practices of Industrial Control Systems
Authors: Wang Brandon , Li Xiaoye , de Aguiar Leandro P. , Menasche Daniel S. , Shafiq Zubair
Published: September 2017

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are widely deployed in mission critical infrastructures such as manufacturing, energy, and transportation. The mission critical nature of ICS devices poses important security challenges for ICS vendors and asset owners. In particular, the patching of ICS devices is usually deferred to scheduled production outages so as to prevent potential operational disruption of critical systems. In this paper, we present the results from our longitudinal measurement and characterization study of ICS patching behavior. Our analysis of more than 100 thousand Internet-exposed ICS devices reveals that fewer than 30% upgrade to newer patched versions within 60 days of a vulnerability disclosure. Based on our measurement and analysis, we further propose a model to forecast the patching behavior of ICS devices.
Dandelion
Authors: Bojja Venkatakrishnan Shaileshh , Fanti Giulia , Viswanath Pramod
Published: September 2017

Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that provide cryptographic verification of transactions. In recent years, they have transitioned from an academic research topic to a multi-billion dollar industry. Bitcoin is the best-known example of a cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrencies exhibit two key properties: egalitarianism and transparency. In this context,
egalitarianism
means that no single party wields disproportionate power over the network's operation. This diffusion of power is achieved by asking other network nodes (e.g., other Bitcoin users) to validate transactions, instead of the traditional method of using a centralized authority for this purpose. Moreover, all transactions and communications are managed over a fully-distributed, peer-to-peer (P2P) network. Cryptocurrencies are
transparent
in the sense that all transactions are verified and recorded with cryptographic integrity guarantees; this prevents fraudulent activity like double-spending of money. Transparency is achieved through a combination of clever cryptographic protocols and the publication of transactions in a ledger known as a
blockchain
. This blockchain serves as a public record of every financial transaction in the network.

A property that Bitcoin does
not
provide is anonymity. Each user is identified in the network by a public, cryptographic key. If one were to link such a key to its owner's human identity, the owner's financial history could be partially learned from the public blockchain. In practice, it is possible to link public keys to identities through a number of channels, including the networking protocols on which Bitcoin is built. This is a massive privacy violation, and can be dangerous for deanonymized users.
HFTraC
Authors: Wu Ning , Bi Yingjie , Michael Nithin , Tang Ao , Doyle John , Matni Nikolai
Published: September 2017

We propose high-frequency traffic control (HFTraC), a rate control scheme that coordinates the transmission rates and buffer utilizations in routers network-wide at fast timescale. HFTraC can effectively deal with traffic demand fluctuation by utilizing available buffer space in routers network-wide, and therefore lead to significant performance improvement in terms of tradeoff between bandwidth utilization and queueing delay. We further note that the performance limit of HFTraC is determined by the network architecture used to implement it. We provide trace-driven evaluation of the performance of HFTraC implemented in the proposed architectures that vary from fully centralized to completely decentralized.
Understanding Reduced-Voltage Operation in Modern DRAM Devices
Authors: Chang Kevin K. , Yağlıkçı Abdullah Giray , Ghose Saugata , Agrawal Aditya , Chatterjee Niladrish , Kashyap Abhijith , Lee Donghyuk , O'Connor Mike , Hassan Hasan , Mutlu Onur
Published: September 2017

The energy consumption of DRAM is a critical concern in modern computing systems. Improvements in manufacturing process technology have allowed DRAM vendors to lower the DRAM supply voltage conservatively, which reduces some of the DRAM energy consumption. We would like to reduce the DRAM supply voltage more aggressively, to further reduce energy. Aggressive supply voltage reduction requires a thorough understanding of the effect voltage scaling has on DRAM access latency and DRAM reliability. In this paper, we take a comprehensive approach to understanding and exploiting the latency and reliability characteristics of modern DRAM when the supply voltage is lowered below the nominal voltage level specified by manufacturers.
Persistent Spread Measurement for Big Network Data Based on Register Intersection
Authors: Zhou You , Zhou Yian , Chen Min , Chen Shigang
Published: September 2017

Persistent spread measurement is to count the number of distinct elements that persist in each network flow for predefined time periods. It has many practical applications, including detecting long-term stealthy network activities in the background of normal-user activities, such as stealthy DDoS attack, stealthy network scan, or faked network trend, which cannot be detected by traditional flow cardinality measurement. With big network data, one challenge is to measure the persistent spreads of a massive number of flows without incurring too much memory overhead as such measurement may be performed at the line speed by network processors with fast but small on-chip memory. We propose a highly compact Virtual Intersection HyperLogLog (VI-HLL) architecture for this purpose. It achieves far better memory efficiency than the best prior work of V-Bitmap, and in the meantime drastically extends the measurement range. Theoretical analysis and extensive experiments demonstrate that VI-HLL provides good measurement accuracy even in very tight memory space of less than 1 bit per flow.
Quality and Cost of Deterministic Network Calculus
Authors: Bondorf Steffen , Nikolaus Paul , Schmitt Jens B.
Published: September 2017

Networks are integral parts of modern safety-critical systems and certification demands the provision of guarantees for data transmissions. Deterministic Network Calculus (DNC) can compute a worst-case bound on a data flow's end-to-end delay. Accuracy of DNC results has been improved steadily, resulting in two DNC branches: the classical algebraic analysis (algDNC) and the more recent optimization-based analysis (optDNC). The optimization-based branch provides a theoretical solution for tight bounds. Its computational cost grows, however, (possibly super-)exponentially with the network size. Consequently, a heuristic optimization formulation trading accuracy against computational costs was proposed. In this paper, we challenge optimization-based DNC with a novel algebraic DNC algorithm. We show that: (1) no current optimization formulation scales well with the network size and (2) algebraic DNC can be considerably improved in both aspects, accuracy and computational cost. To that end, we contribute a novel DNC algorithm that transfers the optimization's search for best attainable delay bounds to algebraic DNC. It achieves a high degree of accuracy and our novel efficiency improvements reduce the cost of the analysis dramatically. In extensive numerical experiments, we observe that our delay bounds deviate from the optimization-based ones by only 1.142% on average while computation times simultaneously decrease by several orders of magnitude.
Damage Identification of a Derrick Steel Structure Based on the HHT Marginal Spectrum Amplitude Curvature Difference
Authors: Han Dongying , Wei Shimin , Shi Peiming , Zhang Ying , Gao Kai , Tian Nengyuan
Published: September 2017

For the damage identification of derrick steel structures, traditional methods often require high-order vibration information of structures to identify damage accurately. However, the high-order vibration information of structures is difficult to acquire. Based on the technology of signal feature extraction, only using the low-order vibration information, taking the right front leg as an example, we analyzed the selection of HHT marginal spectrum amplitude and the calculation process of its curvature in practical application, designed the damage conditions of a derrick steel structure, used the index and intrinsic mode function (IMF) instantaneous energy curvature method to perform the damage simulation calculation and comparison, and verified the effect of identifying the damage location in a noisy environment. The results show that the index can accurately determine the location of the damage element and weak damage element and can be used to qualitatively analyze the damage degree of the element; under the impact load, the noise hardly affects the identification of the damage location. Finally, this method was applied to the ZJ70 derrick steel structure laboratory model and compared with the IMF instantaneous energy curvature method. We verified the feasibility of this method in the damage location simulation experiment.
Rancidity Estimation of Perilla Seed Oil by Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Multivariate Analysis Techniques
Authors: Hong Suk-Ju , Rho Shin-Joung , Lee Ah-Yeong , Park Heesoo , Cui Jinshi , Park Jongmin , Hong Soon-Jung , Kim Yong-Ro , Kim Ghiseok
Published: September 2017

Near-infrared spectroscopy and multivariate analysis techniques were employed to nondestructively evaluate the rancidity of perilla seed oil by developing prediction models for the acid and peroxide values. The acid, peroxide value, and transmittance spectra of perilla seed oil stored in two different environments for 96 and 144 h were obtained and used to develop prediction models for different storage conditions and time periods. Preprocessing methods were applied to the transmittance spectra of perilla seed oil, and multivariate analysis techniques, such as principal component regression (PCR), partial least squares regression (PLSR), and artificial neural network (ANN) modeling, were employed to develop the models. Titration analysis shows that the free fatty acids in an oil oxidation process were more affected by relative humidity than temperature, whereas peroxides in an oil oxidation process were more significantly affected by temperature than relative humidity for the two different environments in this study. Also, the prediction results of ANN models for both acid and peroxide values were the highest among the developed models. These results suggest that the proposed near-infrared spectroscopy technique with multivariate analysis can be used for the nondestructive evaluation of the rancidity of perilla seed oil, especially the acid and peroxide values.
Biatractylolide Modulates PI3K‐Akt‐GSK3β‐Dependent Pathways to Protect against Glutamate‐Induced Cell Damage in PC12 and SH‐SY5Y Cells
Authors: Zhu Li , Ning Ning , Li Yu , Zhang Qiu-Fang , Xie Yong-Chao , Irshad Maida , Feng Xing , Tao Xiao-Jun
Published: September 2017

Biatractylolide, isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of Atractylodes macrocephala, has shown various pharmacological activities such as antitumor and antioxidant activities. In this work, we aim to study the protective effect of biatractylolide on glutamate‐induced rat adrenal pheochromocytoma cell (PC12) and human bone marrow neuroblastoma cell line (SH‐SY5Y) injury and preliminarily explore its mechanism. The results showed that glutamate was cytotoxic with an inhibitory concentration 50% (IC50) of 8.5 mM in PC12 and 10 mM in SH‐SY5Y cells. In this work, the preincubation with biatractylolide (10, 15, and 20 μM) observably improved cell viability, inhibited the apoptosis of cells induced by glutamate, and reduced the activity of LDH. AO staining revealed that apoptosis of cells was decreased. Additionally, the results of western blotting manifested that pretreatment with biatractylolide could downregulate GSK3β protein expression and upregulate p‐Akt protein expression, thereby protecting PC12 and SH‐SY5Y cells from injury. All these findings indicate that biatractylolide has a neuroprotective effect on glutamate‐induced injury in PC12 and SH‐SY5Y cells through a mechanism of the PI3K‐Akt‐GSK3β‐dependent pathways.
NT-proBNP, Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, and Nutritional Status in Hemodialysis Patients
Authors: Ducros Jacques , Larifla Laurent , Merault Henri , Foucan Lydia
Published: September 2017

Background.We aimed to evaluate the association between NT-proBNP and malnutrition in HD patients while taking into account the four established categories of parameters for diagnosis of protein energy wasting (PEW).Methods. A cross-sectional study was performed in Afro-Caribbean dialysis patients. One component in each of the 4 categories for the wasting syndrome was retained: serum albumin ≤ 38 g/L, BMI ≤ 23 Kg/m2, serum creatinine ≤ 818 µmol/L, and normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR) ≤ 0.8 g/kg/day. NT-proBNP was assessed using a chemiluminescence immunoassay. Two multivariate logistic regression models were performed to determine the parameters associated with high NT-proBNP concentrations.Results.In 207 HD patients, 16.9% had PEW (at least three components). LVEF lower than 60% was found in 13.8% of patients. NT-proBNP levels ranged from 125 to 33144 pg/mL. In model 1, high levels of NT-proBNP (≥6243 pg/mL) were independently associated with PEW OR 14.2 (3.25–62.4), male gender 2.80 (1.22–6.57), hsCRP > 5 mg/L 3.90 (1.77–8.57), and dialysis vintage > 3 years 3.84 (1.35–10.8). In model 2, LVEF OR was 0.93 (0.88–0.98). NT-proBNP concentrations were significantly higher when the PEW component number was higher.Conclusion.In dialysis patients, high NT-proBNP levels must draw attention to cardiac function but also to nutritional status.
Frame-Based CT Image Reconstruction via the Balanced Approach
Authors: Zhou Weifeng , Xiang Hua
Published: September 2017

Frame-based regularization method as one kind of sparsity representation method has been developed in recent years and has been proved to be an efficient method for CT image reconstruction. However, most of the developed CT image reconstruction methods are analysis-based frame methods. This paper proposes a novel frame-based balanced hybrid model with two sparse regularization terms for CT image reconstruction. We generalize the fast alternating direction method to solve the proposed model so that every subproblem can be easily solved. The numerical experiments suggest that the proposed hybrid balanced-based wavelet regularization scheme is efficient in terms of reducing the defined reconstruction root mean squared error and improving the signal to noise ratio in CT image reconstruction.
Optimal Computing Resource Management Based on Utility Maximization in Mobile Crowdsourcing
Authors: Meng Haoyu , Zhu Ying , Deng Ruilong
Published: September 2017

Mobile crowdsourcing, as an emerging service paradigm, enables the computing resource requestor (CRR) to outsource computation tasks to each computing resource provider (CRP). Considering the importance of pricing as an essential incentive to coordinate the real-time interaction among the CRR and CRPs, in this paper, we propose an optimal real-time pricing strategy for computing resource management in mobile crowdsourcing. Firstly, we analytically model the CRR and CRPs behaviors in form of carefully selected utility and cost functions, based on concepts from microeconomics. Secondly, we propose a distributed algorithm through the exchange of control messages, which contain the information of computing resource demand/supply and real-time prices. We show that there exist real-time prices that can align individual optimality with systematic optimality. Finally, we also take account of the interaction among CRPs and formulate the computing resource management as a game with Nash equilibrium achievable via best response. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed distributed algorithm can potentially benefit both the CRR and CRPs. The coordinator in mobile crowdsourcing can thus use the optimal real-time pricing strategy to manage computing resources towards the benefit of the overall system.
Profile of Geohelminth Eggs, Cysts, and Oocysts of Protozoans Contaminating the Soils of Ten Primary Schools in Dschang, West Cameroon
Authors: Nkouayep Vanessa Rosine , Ngatou Tchakounté Blandine , Wabo Poné Josué
Published: September 2017

Helminthiasis and protozoans infections have been recognized as an important public health problem. The aim of the present study was to screen soil samples collected from 10 primary schools in the city of Dschang for the presence of soil-transmitted helminth eggs, cysts, and oocysts of protozoans. A total of 400 soil samples were collected around latrines, at playgrounds, and behind classrooms in each school. These samples were examined using the sucrose flotation method. From the result obtained, an overall contamination rate of 7.75% was observed. Five genera of nematodes (Ascaris, Trichuris, Capillaria, Cooperia, and hookworms) were identified, while neither cysts nor oocysts of protozoans were detected. The contamination rate and the number of species found were significantly different in wet season as compared to the dry season. During the rainy season, this rate was 12.5% with all the parasitic stages identified, while, in the dry season, the soil contamination rate was 3% with the presence of only two genera (Ascaris and Trichuris). This suggests that parasite infection may occur mainly in rainy season rather than in the dry season. The most common eggs were those of Ascaris with 2% and 5% contamination rates in the dry and rainy seasons, respectively. Also, the soils around latrines were more contaminated (11.9%) as compared to those collected behind classrooms (7.5%) and those at playground (2.5%). It was concluded that the pupils of these schools may have played a major role in the contamination of their environment. Thus, sanitary education, enforcement of basic rules of hygiene, and deworming remain a necessity in the entire population of the study area in general and in the schools in particular in order to prevent helminth infections and to ensure effective environmental health.
Does HbA1c Level Have Clinical Implications in Diabetic Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Zheng Jia , Cheng Jing , Wang Tong , Zhang Qian , Xiao Xinhua
Published: September 2017

Aims/Introduction. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether HbA1c was related to clinical outcomes in diabetic patients undergoing CABG surgery. Materials and Methods. A literature search was carried out satisfying the predefined inclusion criteria from Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane Library. Differences were expressed as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the relationships of preoperative HbA1c levels and clinical prognosis in diabetic patients. Results. 7895 diabetic patients undergoing CABG surgery from eight published studies were finally involved in this meta-analysis. Combined analyses revealed that the higher HbA1c level was significantly associated with increased risks of all-cause mortality (OR 1.56, 95%CI 1.29–1.88), myocardial infarction (OR 2.37, 95%CI 1.21–4.64), and stroke (OR 2.07, 95%CI 1.29–3.32) after CABG surgery. However, there was no significant relationship between HbA1c levels and renal failure (OR 2.08, 95%CI 0.96–4.54) in diabetic patients undergoing CABG surgery. Conclusions. Our meta-analysis demonstrated that the HbA1c level is potentially associated with increased risks of all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, and stroke in diabetic subjects undergoing CABG surgery. However, further clinical studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up period are urgently warranted.
Enhancement of Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Poly(L-lactide) Nanocomposites Filled with Synthetic Layered Compounds
Authors: Nogueira Caio Telma , Gonçalves Núria , Wypych Fernando , Lona Liliane Maria Ferrareso
Published: September 2017

The effects of a layered double hydroxide (LDH) (Zn/Al palmitate) and two layered hydroxide salts (LHS), intercalated with the anion salicylate or palmitate, on the properties of poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) nanocomposites were investigated. PLLA and the nanocomposites were synthesized by ring opening polymerization of the cyclic dimer of lactic acid (lactide), using tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate (stannous octanoate) as catalyst. PLLA nanocomposites containing two different fillers concentrations (1 wt% and 2 wt%) were produced. Compared to PLLA, almost all the nanocomposites exhibited an enhancement on thermal resistance. The sample containing 1 wt% of Zn/Al palmitate exhibited a decomposition temperature 51°C higher than neat polymer. Results of flexural properties demonstrated that the nanocomposites containing Zn/Al palmitate displayed the highest values of maximum flexural stress and elongation at break. The sample with 2 wt% of this filler revealed values of maximum flexural stress and strain at break, 15% and 157%, respectively, higher than PLLA. Contrary to PLLA, which only exhibited break point, this nanocomposite showed a less fragile behavior, as a yield point was observed. In this case, it was possible to promote a higher flexibility without reducing the flexural stress, revealing an advantage of the Zn/Al palmitate under the plasticizers that have been used so far for PLLA.
Women Living with HIV over Age of 65: Cervical Cancer Screening in a Unique and Growing Population
Authors: Aserlind Alexandra , Maguire Karla , Duthely Lunthita , Wennin Stefan , Potter JoNell
Published: September 2017

Objective. Women living with HIV are at increased risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which can lead to cervical cancer. New guidelines recommend indefinite screening. The objective of this study is to describe cervical cancer screening practices and colposcopy results in a cohort of women living with HIV over age of 65 who were followed before the new guidelines. Comorbidities, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and other risk factors were evaluated. Methods. We conducted a retrospective chart review on 75 women aged 65 or older living with HIV with at least one Pap smear. Results. The mean age of the cohort was 66.5 and at HIV diagnosis was 56. The majority of women were immunocompetent. 80% had serial Pap smears. Of these, 86% of 238 were negative or ASCUS. No women progressed to HSIL. 92% of colposcopies had negative or CIN I results. Three women were treated successfully for high-grade dysplasia. More than half of women had other STIs. 72% were screened for HPV; 50% were positive. Conclusion. The majority of women had negative and low-grade Pap smears. Questions remain regarding the utility of continued Pap screening and the added value of HPV testing in this unique population of older women living with HIV.
Stochastic Models of Emerging Infectious Disease Transmission on Adaptive Random Networks
Authors: Pipatsart Navavat , Triampo Wannapong , Modchang Charin
Published: September 2017

We presented adaptive random network models to describe human behavioral change during epidemics and performed stochastic simulations of SIR (susceptible-infectious-recovered) epidemic models on adaptive random networks. The interplay between infectious disease dynamics and network adaptation dynamics was investigated in regard to the disease transmission and the cumulative number of infection cases. We found that the cumulative case was reduced and associated with an increasing network adaptation probability but was increased with an increasing disease transmission probability. It was found that the topological changes of the adaptive random networks were able to reduce the cumulative number of infections and also to delay the epidemic peak. Our results also suggest the existence of a critical value for the ratio of disease transmission and adaptation probabilities below which the epidemic cannot occur.
Relay Selections for Security and Reliability in Mobile Communication Networks over Nakagami-m Fading Channels
Authors: Huang Hongji , Sun Wanyou , Yang Jie , Gui Guan
Published: September 2017

This paper studies the relay selection schemes in mobile communication system over Nakagami-m channel. To make efficient use of licensed spectrum, both single relay selection (SRS) scheme and multirelays selection (MRS) scheme over the Nakagami-m channel are proposed. Also, the intercept probability (IP) and outage probability (OP) of the proposed SRS and MRS for the communication links depending on realistic spectrum sensing are derived. Furthermore, this paper assesses the manifestation of conventional direct transmission scheme to compare with the proposed SRS and MRS ones based on the Nakagami-m channel, and the security-reliability trade-off (SRT) performance of the proposed schemes and the conventional schemes is well investigated. Additionally, the SRT of the proposed SRS and MRS schemes is demonstrated better than that of direct transmission scheme over the Nakagami-m channel, which can protect the communication transmissions against eavesdropping attacks. Additionally, simulation results show that our proposed relay selection schemes achieve better SRT performance than that of conventional direct transmission over the Nakagami-m channel.
Stem and Progenitor Cells in Human Cardiopulmonary Development and Regeneration
Authors: Bardelli Silvana , Moccetti Marco
Published: September 2017

Already during embryonic development, the heart and the lung are thoroughly connected organs. Their interdependence allows our survival in the terrestrial environment by coupling cardiac output and gas exchange. The knowledge on developmental processes involving stem and progenitor cells is crucial to understand the onset of human cardiopulmonary diseases. The precise identification of various adult endogenous progenitors is still incomplete. Thus, caution should be exercised on newly available stem cell-based treatments until specific mechanisms of action are disclosed. The objective is to provide in the nearest future feasible and safer cell therapeutics for the complex pathological condition of human cardiopulmonary diseases. In this paper, we highlight the significant knowledge advancement concerning stem and progenitor cells in the cardiopulmonary field: from embryonic development to adult progenitors until early preclinical models for cardiopulmonary regeneration.
Automatic Radiographic Position Recognition from Image Frequency and Intensity
Authors: Ren Ning-ning , Ma An-ran , Han Li-bo , Sun Yong , Shao Yan , Qiu Jian-feng
Published: September 2017

Purpose. With the development of digital X-ray imaging and processing methods, the categorization and analysis of massive digital radiographic images need to be automatically finished. What is crucial in this processing is the automatic retrieval and recognition of radiographic position. To address these concerns, we developed an automatic method to identify a patient’s position and body region using only frequency curve classification and gray matching. Methods. Our new method is combined with frequency analysis and gray image matching. The radiographic position was determined from frequency similarity and amplitude classification. The body region recognition was performed by image matching in the whole-body phantom image with prior knowledge of templates. The whole-body phantom image was stitched by radiological images of different parts. Results. The proposed method can automatically retrieve and recognize the radiographic position and body region using frequency and intensity information. It replaces 2D image retrieval with 1D frequency curve classification, with higher speed and accuracy up to 93.78%. Conclusion. The proposed method is able to outperform the digital X-ray image’s position recognition with a limited time cost and a simple algorithm. The frequency information of radiography can make image classification quicker and more accurate.
Chronic Open Infective Lateral Malleolus Bursitis Management Using Local Rotational Flap
Authors: Lee Yong-Beom , Kim Dae-Hwan , Jung Jong-Ho , Park Jae-Yong
Published: September 2017

Background. Using a sinus tarsi rotational flap is an uncommon approach to treating chronic open infective lateral malleolus bursitis. Methods. We treated eight patients, including six males, using this approach. First, we debrided all the infected tissues and used a negative pressure wound closure system where needed. After acute infection had been controlled, the local rotational flap was used for cases where the wound could not be closed by a simple suture or bone exposure. The rotational flap was detached with a curved skin incision at the sinus tarsi next to the open wound and sutured to the defect, paying careful attention to the superficial peroneal nerve. The donor site was managed with a split-thickness skin graft. Results. The patients’ mean age was 74.1 years. Six patients had a wound after suppurative infection, but two patients had ulcer-type bursitis. Six patients demonstrated full flap healing, but two patients had venous congestion necrosis. Conclusion. A sinus tarsi rotational flap is a useful method to ensure healing and coverage of chronic open lateral malleolus bursitis, especially for small to medium wounds with cavity and bone exposure.
An Improved Adaptive Template Size Pixel-Tracking Method for Monitoring Large-Gradient Mining Subsidence
Authors: Huang Jilei , Deng Kazhong , Fan Hongdong , Lei Shaogang , Yan Shiyong , Wang Lei
Published: September 2017

The monitoring of large-gradient deformation caused by coal mining is of great significance to the prevention and management of disasters in mining areas. The interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) method captures the small-gradient ground deformation on the edge of the subsidence basin accurately but is unreliable for capturing large-gradient deformation. The intensity-based pixel-tracking method (e.g., the normalized cross-correlation (NCC) method) can overcome the limitations of InSAR’s maximum detectable displacement gradient and incoherence. However, the pixel-tracking method is sensitive to template size. It is difficult to estimate ground subsidence accurately by the conventional pixel-tracking method with fixed template size. In this paper, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is redefined and an improved locally adaptive template size method is proposed by identifying optimal template adaptively based on maximization of the redefined SNR. The constraint radius is used to constrain the search area in this improved method. The frequency of misrepresentation is reduced by finding the peak of the correlation coefficient surface within the search area. Both simulation data and real ground subsidence data are used to test this algorithm. The results show that this method can improve monitoring accuracy compared with the traditional pixel-tracking method for fixed template size.
Royal Jelly InhibitsPseudomonas aeruginosaAdherence and Reduces Excessive Inflammatory Responses in Human Epithelial Cells
Authors: Susilowati Heni , Murakami Keiji , Yumoto Hiromichi , Amoh Takashi , Hirao Kouji , Hirota Katsuhiko , Matsuo Takashi , Miyake Yoichiro
Published: September 2017

Pseudomonas aeruginosais a Gram-negative bacterium and causes respiratory infection especially in elderly patients. Royal jelly has been used worldwide as a traditional remedy and as a nutrient; however, the effect againstP. aeruginosais unclear. The aim of this study was to analyze antibacterial, antiadherent, and anti-inflammatory effects of royal jelly againstP. aeruginosa. Wild-type strain PAO1 and clinical isolates ofP. aeruginosawere used for antibacterial assay and antiadherent assay to abiotic surface and epithelial cells, which are pharynx (Detroit 562) and lung (NCI-H292) epithelial cells. In anti-inflammatory assay, epithelial cells were pretreated with royal jelly before bacterial exposure to investigate its inhibitory effect on interleukin (IL-8) and macrophage inflammatory protein-3α/CCL20 overproduction. Although royal jelly did not have antibacterial activity at concentration of 50% w/v, antiadherent activity was confirmed on the abiotic surface and epithelial cells under concentration of 25%. Pretreatment with royal jelly significantly inhibited overproduction of IL-8 and CCL20 from both cells. These results demonstrated that royal jelly inhibitsP. aeruginosaadherence and protects epithelial cells from excessive inflammatory responses againstP. aeruginosainfection. Our findings suggested that royal jelly may be a useful supplement as complementary and alternative medicine for preventing respiratory infection caused byP. aeruginosa.
Polymorphism in Commercial Sources of Fusidic Acid: A Comparative Study of the In Vitro Release Characteristics of Forms I and III from a Marketed Pharmaceutical Cream
Authors: Byrne Jonathan , Reinhardt Robert , Velasco-Torrijos Trinidad
Published: September 2017

A comparison of the polymorphic forms of 3 commercial sources of fusidic acid using FTIR and XRPD techniques has been performed in this study. It has been demonstrated that polymorphic Forms I and III are currently available on the commercial market. The influence of the observed polymorphism on the stability of the drug substance in bulk form has been investigated through stability and stress testing according to current ICH guidelines. Significant differences were detected between commercial sources with regard to the stability of the bulk substance under photolytic and humidity stress conditions. When properly packaged in an inert atmosphere, fusidic acid from all 3 manufacturers showed a comparable stability. The effects of the observed polymorphic differences on the intrinsic dissolution rate of the drug substance and its in vitro release from the marketed drug product Fusicutan® plus Betamethasone cream have been investigated. Results indicated that the release rate of the drug substance is similar for polymorphic Forms I and III, allowing both forms to be used during manufacture without affecting the safety or efficacy of the drug product.
Molecular Marker Study of Particulate Organic Matter in Southern Ontario Air
Authors: Irei Satoshi , Stupak Jacek , Gong Xueping , Chan Tak-Wai , Cox Michelle , McLaren Robert , Rudolph Jochen
Published: September 2017

To study the origins of airborne particulate organic matter in southern Ontario, molecular marker concentrations were studied at Hamilton, Simcoe, and York Gateway Tunnel, representing industrial, rural, and heavy traffic sites, respectively. Airborne particulate matter smaller than 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter was collected on quartz filters, and the collected samples were analyzed for total carbons, 5-6 ring PAHs, hopanes, n-alkanes (C20 to C34), and oxygenated aromatic compounds. Results showed that PAH concentrations at all three sites were highly correlated, indicating vehicular emissions as the major source. Meanwhile, in the scatter plots of α,β-hopane and trisnorhopane, concentrations displayed different trends for Hamilton and Simcoe. The slopes of the linear regressions for Hamilton and the tunnel were statistically the same, while the slope for Simcoe was significantly different from those. Comparison with literature values revealed that the trend observed at Simcoe was explained by the influence from coal combustion. We also found that the majority of oxygenated aromatic compounds at both sites were in the similar level, possibly implying secondary products contained in the southern Ontario air. Regardless of some discrepancies, absolute principal component analysis applied to the datasets could reproduce those findings.
Home Remodeling and Food Allergy Interact Synergistically to Increase the Risk of Atopic Dermatitis
Authors: Lee Won Seok , Lee Kyung Suk , Lee Shinhae , Sung Myongsoon , Lee Seung-Jin , Jee Hye Mi , Sheen Youn Ho , Han Man Yong , Jung Young-Ho
Published: September 2017

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of home remodeling and food allergy (FA) on the development of atopic dermatitis (AD) in children. Methods. The Modified International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire was used to survey 4,111 children recruited from 3 kindergartens and 6 elementary schools from Seongnam, Korea. Participants’ parents agreed for them to participate in physical examinations, skin prick tests, and blood tests. Results. Home remodeling in the past 12 months (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.40, P=0.006), lifetime diagnosis of FA (aOR 3.95, P<0.001), parental history of AD (aOR 2.67, P=0.001), and FA (aOR 2.35, P=0.004) were independent risk factors for lifetime diagnosis of AD ever. When history of home remodeling and FA were combined, the risk for moderate-to-severe AD by scoring atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) score increased (aOR, 7.19, P=0.011, P for interaction = 0.034). Conclusion. Home remodeling, lifetime diagnosis of FA, parental history of AD, and parental history of FA were independent risk factors for AD. In addition, we observed a synergistic interaction between home remodeling and FA in the risk of moderate-to-severe AD.