bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Computed tomographic findings in three dogs naturally infected withCrenosoma vulpis
Authors: Mortier Jeremy R. , Fina Caroline J. , Edery Elsa , White Crystal L. , Dhumeaux Marc P.
Published: September 2017

Crenosoma vulpisis a nematode lungworm found in wild and domestic canids in some parts of North America and Europe. Reported radiographic findings are nonspecific and consist of a combination of bronchial and interstitial changes of variable severity. This retrospective, case series study aimed to describe thoracic computed tomographic (CT) findings for a group of dogs with confirmed crenosomosis. Selection criteria were presentation with a chronic cough during the period of January 2016 to February 2017, evaluation by thoracic CT, and final diagnosis ofC. vulpisinfection based on bronchoscopic findings, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid analysis, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Medical records and CT images were retrieved and reviewed by a board‐certified veterinary internist, a veterinary internal medicine resident, two board‐certified veterinary radiologists, and a veterinary radiology intern, and findings were recorded. Three dogs met inclusion criteria. Thoracic CT findings for all dogs included the following: diffuse bronchial wall thickening, multifocal peribronchial ground glass attenuation, consolidation of the pulmonary parenchyma, and cylindrical bronchiectasis. In two dogs, the bronchial wall thickening was irregular to nodular, which was consistent with the bronchoscopic findings. Two dogs showed pulmonary parenchymal bands. Thoracic computed tomographic changes in dogs withC. vulpisare consistent with those seen on thoracic radiographs and crenosomosis should be considered in dogs with these findings.
What Determines the Health Care Expenditure of High Income Countries? A Dynamic Estimation
Authors: Feng Yan , Charlesworth Anita , Marsden Grace , Roberts Adam , Sussex Jon
Published: September 2017

Constraining the rise in costs continues to be a major focus of health care policy in high income countries. It is important for governments to understand what is driving the rise in health care expenditure and what the impact will be over the coming years. This paper aims to provide an alternative econometric model to ascertain the determinants of health expenditure. Data from the OECD and IMS data bases for 18 OECD countries between 1988 and 2012 is collected. The analysis is at the year and country level. This study applies three methods: (1) panel data models with country fixed effects; (2) a first difference model; (3) a Vector Error Correction Model to account for the long run and short run effects as well as the endogeneity of the explanatory variables. The empirical results suggest that the use of different econometric specifications has a significant impact on both establishing the determinants of health expenditure and their magnitudes. Based on results from the Vector Error Correction Model, the GDP is considered as the only driver for country level health care expenditure growth. A 1% increase in the GDP is associated with a 1.1% increase in the health care expenditure.
Nutritional interventions to reduce symptoms in children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a scoping review protocol
Authors: Pedersen Preben , Bjerrum Merete , Larsen Palle , Bjerrum Stefan , Pedersen Jette , Peters Micah
Published: September 2017

Review question/objective:

: The objective of this scoping review is to examine and map reported nutritional interventions and their outcomes in relieving symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the daily lives of children and adults. A further objective is to determine if experiences of people diagnosed with ADHD, their relatives or staff in being on a diet or having to eat or avoid eating specific food items have been reported in the existing literature.

Specifically the scoping review questions are:

1. What nutritional interventions have been tested in children or adults with ADHD in order to reduce ADHD symptoms?

2. Have any experiences of people with ADHD, their relatives and/or staff in changing or sticking to a strict diet been reported?
Impact of conditional cash transfers on child nutritional outcomes among sub-Saharan African countries: a systematic review protocol
Authors: Garoma Desalegn Ararso , Abraha Yosef Gebreyohannes , Gebrie Serebe Abay , Deribe Fasil Mengistu , Tefera Mamuye Hadis , Morankar Sudhakar
Published: September 2017

Review question/objective:

: The objective of this review is to assess the impact of conditional cash transfers on child nutritional outcomes among sub-Saharan African countries. More specifically, the objectives are to assess the impact of conditional cash transfers on child anthropometry, micro-nutrient, and improvement in dietary diversity of households.
Evaluation of Emissions Characteristics of Marine Diesel Engine Intake of Exhaust Gas of Lean Burn Gas Engine
Authors: Nitta Yoshifuru , Yoo Dong-Hoon , Nishio Sumito , Ichikawa Yasuhisa , Hirata Koichi , Yamasaki Yudai
Published: September 2017

The need for reductions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions has been acknowledged on the global level. However, it is difficult to meet the strengthened emissions regulations by using the conventional marine diesel engines. Therefore, lean burn gas engines have been recently attracting attention in the maritime industry. Because they use natural gas as fuel and can simultaneously reduce both NOx and CO2 emissions. On the other hand, since methane is the main component of natural gas, the slipped methane, which is the unburned methane emitted from the lean burn gas engines, might have a potential impact on global warming. The authors have proposed a combined exhaust gas recirculation (C-EGR) system to reduce the slipped methane from the gas engines and NOx from marine diesel engines by providing the exhaust gas from lean burn gas engine to the intake manifold of the marine diesel engine using a blower. Since the exhaust gas from the gas engine includes slipped methane, this system could reduce both the NOx from the marine diesel engine and the slipped methane from the lean burn gas engine simultaneously. This paper introduces the details of the proposed C-EGR system and presents the experimental results of emissions characteristics on the C-EGR system. As a result, it was confirmed that the C-EGR system attained more than 75% reduction of the slipped methane in the intake gas. Additionally, the NOx emission from the diesel engine decreased with the effect of the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system.
Field measurements of overlap reductions for two reinforced fabric-encased geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs)
Authors: Rowe R. Kerry , Brachman Richard W.I. , Take W. Andy
Published: September 2017

Two geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) reported to have experienced significant shrinkage at other locations are examined on both a 3H:1V south-facing slope and a relatively flat base on a silty sand. The GCLs were overlapped by 300 mm with 400 g/m of supplemental bentonite and covered by a black 1.5 mm high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane to form a composite liner that was left exposed in a full-scale field test embankment for a period of almost 5 years. It is shown that despite the relatively uniform exposure conditions, shrinkage is highly variable with a maximum shrinkage of GCL A being 165 mm on the slope and 415 mm on the base while GCL B shrunk by up to 75 mm on the side slope and only up to 25 mm on the base. The dominant role played by variable overlap stick and heterogeneity to the locations where the overlaps are re-wetted are discussed. Based on this study of shrinkage and a related study of downslope erosion at the same site, it is concluded that neither GCLs A nor B should be left in exposed composite liners when they can be subjected to thermal cycles that can lead to hydration and dehydration of the GCL.
The distribution of active β-glucosidase-producing microbial communities in composting
Authors: Zang Xiangyun , Liu Meiting , Wang Han , Fan Yihong , Zhang Haichang , Liu Jiawen , Xing Enlu , Xu Xiuhong , Li Hongtao
Published: September 2017

The composting ecosystem is a suitable source for the discovery of novel microorganisms and secondary metabolites. Cellulose degradation is an important part of the global carbon cycle, and β-glucosidases complete the final step of cellulose hydrolysis by converting cellobiose to glucose. This work analyzes the succession of β-glucosidase-producing microbial communities that persist throughout cattle manure – rice straw composting, and evaluates their metabolic activities and community advantage during the various phases of composting. Fungal and bacterial β-glucosidase genes belonging to glycoside hydrolase families 1 and 3 (GH1 and GH3) amplified from DNA were classified and gene abundance levels were analyzed. The major reservoirs of β-glucosidase genes were the fungal phylum Ascomycota and the bacterial phyla Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Deinococcus–Thermus. This indicates that a diverse microbial community utilizes cellobiose. The succession of dominant bacteria was also detected during composting. Firmicutes was the dominant bacteria in the thermophilic phase of composting; there was a shift to Actinomycetes in the maturing stage. Proteobacteria accounted for the highest proportions during the heating and thermophilic phases of composting. By contrast, the fungal phylum Ascomycota was a minor microbial community constituent in thermophilic phase of composting. Combined with the analysis of the temperature, cellulose degradation rate and the carboxymethyl cellulase and β-glucosidase activities showed that the bacterial GH1 family β-glucosidase genes make greater contribution in cellulose degradation at the later thermophilic stage of composting. In summary, even GH1 bacteria families β-glucosidase genes showing low abundance in DNA may be functionally important in the later thermophilic phase of composting. The results indicate that a complex community of bacteria and fungi expresses β-glucosidases in compost. Several β-glucosidase-producing bacteria and fungi identified in this study may represent potential indicators of composting in cellulose degradation.
Comparison of the effects ofIK,ACh,IKr, andINablock in conscious dogs with atrial fibrillation and on action potentials in remodeled atrial trabeculae
Authors: Juhász Viktor , Hornyik Tibor , Benák Attila , Nagy Norbert , Husti Zoltán , Pap Róbert , Sághy László , Virág László , Varró András , Baczkó István
Published: September 2017

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia and a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Traditional antiarrhythmic agents used for restoration of sinus rhythm have limited efficacy in long-term AF and they may possess ventricular proarrhythmic adverse effects, especially in patients with structural heart disease. The acetylcholine receptor-activated potassium channel (IK,ACh) represents an atrial selective target for future AF management. We investigated the effects of the IK,AChblocker tertiapin-Q (TQ), a derivative of the honeybee toxin tertiapin, on chronic atrial tachypacing-induced AF in conscious dogs, without the influence of anesthetics that modulate a number of cardiac ion channels. Action potentials (APs) were recorded from right atrial trabeculae isolated from dogs with AF. TQ significantly and dose-dependently reduced AF incidence and AF episode duration, prolonged atrial effective refractory period, and prolonged AP duration. The reference drugs propafenone and dofetilide, both used in the clinical management of AF, exerted similar effects against AF in vivo. Dofetilide prolonged atrial AP duration, whereas propafenone increased atrial conduction time. TQ and propafenone did not affect the QT interval, whereas dofetilide prolonged the QT interval. Our results show that inhibition of IK,AChmay represent a novel, atrial-specific target for the management of AF in chronic AF.
Social-aware data dissemination in opportunistic mobile social networks
Authors: Yang Yibo , Zhao Honglin , Ma Jinlong , Han Xiaowei
Published: September 2017

Opportunistic Mobile Social Networks (OMSNs), formed by mobile users with social relationships and characteristics, enhance spontaneous communication among users that opportunistically encounter each other. Such networks can be exploited to improve the performance of data forwarding. Discovering optimal relay nodes is one of the important issues for efficient data propagation in OMSNs. Although traditional centrality definitions to identify the nodes features in network, they cannot identify effectively the influential nodes for data dissemination in OMSNs. Existing protocols take advantage of spatial contact frequency and social characteristics to enhance transmission performance. However, existing protocols have not fully exploited the benefits of the relations and the effects between geographical information, social features and user interests. In this paper, we first evaluate these three characteristics of users and design a routing protocol called Geo-Social-Interest (GSI) protocol to select optimal relay nodes. We compare the performance of GSI using real INFOCOM06 data sets. The experiment results demonstrate that GSI overperforms the other protocols with highest data delivery ratio and low communication overhead.
Experimental investigation on the thermal performance of Si micro-heat pipe with different cross-sections
Authors: Hamidnia Mohammad , Luo Yi , Wang Xiaodong , Li Congming
Published: September 2017

Increasing component densities of the integrated circuit (IC) and packaging levels has led to thermal management problems. Si substrates with embedded micro-heat pipes (MHPs) couple good thermal characteristics and cost savings associated with IC batch processing. The thermal performance of MHP is intimately related to the cross-sectional geometry. Different cross-sections are designed in order to enhance the backflow of working fluid. In this experimental study, three different Si MHPs with same hydraulic diameter and various cross-sections are fabricated by micro-fabrication methods and tested under different conditions of fluid charge ratios. The results show that the trapezoidal MHP associated with rectangular artery which is charged with 40% of vapor chamber’s volume has the best thermal performance. This silicon-based MHP is a passive approach for thermal management, which could widen applications in the commercial electronics industry and LED lightings.
Instabilities of Elastic and Spinning Systems: Concepts and Phenomena
Authors: Thompson J. Michael T.
Published: September 2017

Bifurcational instabilities of increasing complexity are described, with instructive and intriguing applications. Multiple folds in the gravitational collapse of a star triggers a discussion about possible sequencing of folds. Columns, rings and a quirky floating log illustrate safe and dangerous pitchforks, with self-weight models as lecture demonstrations. Localized buckling is employed by biologists using magnetic tweezers to twist a DNA molecule and evaluate a cutting and de-knotting enzyme. Unfolding of complex bifurcations into “structurally-stable” forms by a number (codimension) of perturbations illuminates the imperfection-sensitivity of shells, and the interactive buckling of a guyed mast at a hyperbolic-umbilic catastrophe. Spinning of primitive planets introduces secondary bifurcations, while Kirchhoff’s analogy is displayed for rods and spinning tops. Examples of gyroscopic stabilization and levitation mimic the “traps” that are used in modern experimental physics to hold in place individual electrons and neutrons.
LOW-TEMPERATURE GROWTH AND ELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF K0.5Na0.5Nbo3 THIN FILMS BY MICROWAVE IRRADIATION
Authors: LI N.
Published: September 2017

K0.5Na0.5Nbo3 wet films were spin-coated on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by chemical solution deposition method. The microwave irradiation was introduced as the annealing method. The microstructure and electric properties of KNN thin films were tested and analyzed. It was found that the KNN thin film can be well crystallized by microwave irradiation at the temperature as low as 425∘C. The KNN thin film annealed at 425∘C gains the uniform microstructure, grain refinement, better electric properties and low leakage current density.
Appell series 𝔽1 over finite fields
Authors: Li Long , Li Xin , Mao Rui
Published: September 2017

In 1987, Greene introduced the notion of the finite field analogue of hypergeometric series. In this paper, we give a finite field analogue of Appell series and obtain some transformation and reduction formulas. We also establish the generating functions for Appell series over finite fields.
Rapid
Authors: Chen Yuanying , Dong Wei , Gao Yi , Liu Xue , Gu Tao
Published: September 2017

Device-free human sensing is a key technology to support many applications such as indoor navigation and activity recognition. By exploiting WiFi signals reflected by human body, there have been many WiFi-based device-free human sensing applications. Among these applications, person identification is a fundamental technology to enable user-specific services. In this paper, we present Rapid, a system that can perform robust person identification in a device-free and low-cost manner, using fine-grained channel information (i.e., CSI) of WiFi and acoustic information from footstep sound. In order to achieve high accuracy in real-life scenarios with both system and environment noise, we perform noise estimation and include two different confidence values to quantify the impact of noise to both CSI and acoustic measurements. Based on an accurate gait analysis, we then adaptively fuse CSI and acoustic measurements to achieve robust person identification. We implement low-cost Rapid nodes and evaluate our system using experiments at multiple locations with a total of 1800 gait instances from 20 volunteers, and the results show that Rapid identifies a subject with an average accuracy of 92% to 82% from a group of 2 to 6 subjects, respectively.
SugarMate
Authors: Gu Weixi , Zhou Yuxun , Zhou Zimu , Liu Xi , Zou Han , Zhang Pei , Spanos Costas J. , Zhang Lin
Published: September 2017

Inferring abnormal glucose events such as hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia is crucial for the health of both diabetic patients and non-diabetic people. However, regular blood glucose monitoring can be invasive and inconvenient in everyday life. We present SugarMate, a first smartphone-based blood glucose inference system as a temporary alternative to continuous blood glucose monitors (CGM) when they are uncomfortable or inconvenient to wear. In addition to the records of food, drug and insulin intake, it leverages smartphone sensors to measure physical activities and sleep quality automatically. Provided with the imbalanced and often limited measurements, a challenge of SugarMate is the inference of blood glucose levels at a fine-grained time resolution. We propose Md3RNN, an efficient learning paradigm to make full use of the available blood glucose information. Specifically, the newly designed grouped input layers, together with the adoption of a deep RNN model, offer an opportunity to build blood glucose models for the general public based on limited personal measurements from single-user and grouped-users perspectives. Evaluations on 112 users demonstrate that Md3RNN yields an average accuracy of 82.14%, significantly outperforming previous learning methods those are either shallow, generically structured, or oblivious to grouped behaviors. Also, a user study with the 112 participants shows that SugarMate is acceptable for practical usage.
TestAWARE
Authors: Luo Chu , Kuutila Miikka , Klakegg Simon , Ferreira Denzil , Flores Huber , Goncalves Jorge , Mäntylä Mika , Kostakos Vassilis
Published: September 2017

Although mobile context instrumentation frameworks have simplified the development of mobile context-aware applications, it remains challenging to test such applications. In this paper, we present TestAWARE that enables developers to systematically test context-aware applications in laboratory settings. To achieve this, TestAWARE is able to download, replay and emulate contextual data on either physical devices or emulators. To support both white -box and black-box testing, TestAWARE has been implemented as a novel structure with a mobile client and code library. In blackbox testing scenarios, developers can manage data replay through the mobile client, without writing testing scripts or modifying the source code of the targeted application. In white-box testing scenarios, developers can manage data replay and test functional/non-functional properties of the targeted application by writing testing scripts using the code library. We evaluated TestAWARE by quantifying its maximal data replay speed, and by conducting a user study with 13 developers. We show that TestAWARE can overcome data synchronisation challenges, and found that PC-based emulators can replay data significantly faster than physical smartphones and tablets. The user study highlights the usefulness of TestAWARE in the systematic testing of mobile context-aware applications in laboratory settings.
Detecting Emerging Activity-Based Working Traits through Wearable Technology
Authors: Montanari Alessandro , Mascolo Cecilia , Sailer Kerstin , Nawaz Sarfraz
Published: September 2017

A recent trend in corporate real-estate is Activity-Based Working (ABW). The ABW concept removes designated desks but offers different work settings designed to support typical work activities. In this context there is still a need for objective data to understand the implications of these design decisions. We aim to contribute by using automated data collection to study how ABW’s principles impact office usage and dynamics.

To this aim we analyse team dynamics and employees’ tie strength in relation to space usage and organisational hierarchy using data collected with wearable devices in a company adopting ABW principles. Our findings show that the office fosters interactions across team boundaries and among the lower levels of the hierarchy suggesting a strong lateral communication. Employees also tend to have low space exploration on a daily basis which is instead more prevalent during an average week and strong social clusters seem to be resisting the ABW principles of space dynamics. With the availability of two additional data sets about social encounters in traditional offices we highlight traits emerging from the application of ABW’s principles. In particular, we observe how the absence of designated desks might be responsible for more rapid dynamics inside the office.

In more general terms, this work opens the door to new and scalable technology-based methodologies to study dynamic office usage and social interactions.
Beyond Interruptibility
Authors: Pielot Martin , Cardoso Bruno , Katevas Kleomenis , Serrà Joan , Matic Aleksandar , Oliver Nuria
Published: September 2017

Many of today's mobile products and services engage their users proactively via push notifications. However, such notifications are not always delivered at the right moment, therefore not meeting products' and users' expectations. To address this challenge, we aim at developing an intelligent mobile system that automatically infers moments in which users are open to engage with suggested content. To inform the development of such a system, we carried out a field study with 337 mobile phone users. For 4 weeks, participants ran a study application on their primary phones. They were tasked to frequently report their current mood via a notification-administered experience-sampling questionnaire. In this study, however, we analyze whether they voluntarily engaged with content that we offered at the bottom of that questionnaire. In addition, the study app logged a wide range of data related to their phone use. Based on 120 Million phone-use events and 78,930 questionnaire notifications, we build a machine-learning model that before delivering a notification predicts whether a participant will click on the notification and subsequently engage with the offered content. When compared to a naïve baseline, which emulates current non-intelligent engagement strategies, our model achieves 66.6% higher success rate in its predictions. If the model also considers the user's past behavior, predictions improve 5-fold over the baseline. Based on these findings, we discuss the implications for building an intelligent service that identifies opportune moments for proactive user engagement, while, at the same time, reduces the number of undesirable interruptions.
Label Propagation
Authors: Rey Vitor F. , Lukowicz Paul
Published: September 2017

Current activity recognition systems mostly work with static, pre-trained sensor configuration. As a consequence they are not able to leverage new sensors appearing in their environment (e.g. the user buying a new wearable devices). In this work we present a method inspired by semi-supervised graph methods that can add new sensors to an existing system in an unsupervised manner. We have evaluated our method in two well known activity recognition datasets and found that it can take advantage of the information provided by new unknown sensor sources, improving the recognition performance in most cases.
Inferring Mood Instability on Social Media by Leveraging Ecological Momentary Assessments
Authors: Saha Koustuv , Chan Larry , De Barbaro Kaya , Abowd Gregory D. , De Choudhury Munmun
Published: September 2017

Active and passive sensing technologies are providing powerful mechanisms to track, model, and understand a range of health behaviors and well-being states. Despite yielding rich, dense and high fidelity data, current sensing technologies often require highly engineered study designs and persistent participant compliance, making them difficult to scale to large populations and to data acquisition tasks spanning extended time periods. This paper situates social media as a new passive, unobtrusive sensing technology. We propose a semi-supervised machine learning framework to combine small samples of data gathered through active sensing, with large-scale social media data to infer mood instability (MI) in individuals. Starting from a theoretically-grounded measure of MI obtained from mobile ecological momentary assessments (EMAs), we show that our model is able to infer MI in a large population of Twitter users with 96% accuracy and F-1 score. Additionally, we show that, our model predicts self-identifying Twitter users with bipolar and borderline personality disorder to exhibit twice the likelihood of high MI, compared to that in a suitable control. We discuss the implications and the potential for integrating complementary sensing capabilities to address complex research challenges in precision medicine.
Sensing Cold-Induced Situational Impairments in Mobile Interaction Using Battery Temperature
Authors: Sarsenbayeva Zhanna , van Berkel Niels , Visuri Aku , Rissanen Sirkka , Rintamaki Hannu , Kostakos Vassilis , Goncalves Jorge
Published: September 2017

Previous work has highlighted the detrimental effect of cold ambience on fine-motor skills during interaction with mobile devices. In this work, we develop a method to infer changes in finger temperature of smartphone users without the need for specialised hardware. Specifically, we demonstrate that smartphone battery temperature is a reliable gauge for determining changes to finger temperature. In addition, we show that the behaviour of smartphone battery temperature in cold settings is consistent across different smartphone models and battery configurations. Our method can be used to determine cold-induced situational impairments, and trigger interface adaptations during mobile interaction.
VRShop
Authors: Speicher Marco , Cucerca Sebastian , Krüger Antonio
Published: September 2017

In this work, we explored the main characteristics of on- and offline shops with regard to customer shopping behavior and frequency. Thus, we designed and implemented an immersive virtual reality (VR) online shopping environment. We tried to maintain the benefits of online shops, like search functionality and availability, while simultaneously focusing on shopping experience and immersion. By touching the third dimension, VR provides a more advanced form of visualization, which can increase the customer’s satisfaction and thus shopping experience. We further introduced the Virtual Reality Shopping Experience (VRSE) model based on customer satisfaction, task performance and user preference. A case study of a first VR shop prototype was conducted and evaluated with respect to the VRSE model. The results showed that the usability and user experience of our system is above average overall. In summary, searching for a product in a WebVR online shop using speech input in combination with VR output proved to be the best regarding user performance (speed, error rate) and preference (usability, user experience, immersion, motion sickness).
Predicting Symptom Trajectories of Schizophrenia using Mobile Sensing
Authors: Wang Rui , Wang Weichen , Aung Min S. H. , Ben-Zeev Dror , Brian Rachel , Campbell Andrew T. , Choudhury Tanzeem , Hauser Marta , Kane John , Scherer Emily A. , Walsh Megan
Published: September 2017

Continuously monitoring schizophrenia patients’ psychiatric symptoms is crucial for in-time intervention and treatment adjustment. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) is a survey administered by clinicians to evaluate symptom severity in schizophrenia. The CrossCheck symptom prediction system is capable of tracking schizophrenia symptoms based on BPRS using passive sensing from mobile phones. We present results from an ongoing randomized control trial, where passive sensing data, self-reports, and clinician administered 7-item BPRS surveys are collected from 36 outpatients with schizophrenia recently discharged from hospital over a period ranging from 2-12 months. We show that our system can predict a symptom scale score based on a 7-item BPRS within ±1.45 error on average using automatically tracked behavioral features from phones (e.g., mobility, conversation, activity, smartphone usage, the ambient acoustic environment) and user supplied self-reports. Importantly, we show our system is also capable of predicting an individual BPRS score within ±1.59 error purely based on passive sensing from phones without any self-reported information from outpatients. Finally, we discuss how well our predictive system reflects symptoms experienced by patients by reviewing a number of case studies.
CityFlowFragility
Authors: Yabe Takahiro , Tsubouchi Kota , Sekimoto Yoshihide
Published: September 2017

Economic loss caused by natural disasters is increasing in many cities around the world. There is an increasing demand for a method that effectively measures the fragility of people flow to appropriately plan the future investment into infrastructure. Conventional methods measure the fragility of urban systems using infrastructure data such as the road and railway networks. However, these methods are costly to perform, cannot directly measure the disruption on human activities caused by disasters, nor can they be applied for individual disasters. Here, we propose a novel method that quantifies the fragility of cities through detecting the delay in commuting activities using GPS data collected from smartphones. Because commuting activities are daily routines for many people, commuting flow has little day-to-day fluctuation, which makes it an appropriate metric for detecting anomalies and disruption in urban systems. This method can be utilized in any city in the world regardless of differences in network structures or population distribution, as long as people commute on a daily basis. We validate our method in various cities for snowfall and typhoons using real datasets in Japan, and show that intuitive results can be obtained. Our method's reliability is clarified by comparing the results with conventional metrics. We also present useful analyses and applications of CityFlowFragility for urban planning and disaster management.
Recognizing Eating from Body-Worn Sensors
Authors: Mirtchouk Mark , Lustig Drew , Smith Alexandra , Ching Ivan , Zheng Min , Kleinberg Samantha
Published: September 2017

Automated dietary monitoring solutions that can find when, what, and how much individuals consume are needed for many applications such as providing feedback to individuals with chronic disease. Advances in body-worn sensors have led to systems with high accuracy for finding meals and even which foods are consumed in each bite. However, most tests are done in controlled lab settings with restricted meal choices, little background noise, and subjects focused on eating. For these systems to be adopted by users it is critical that they work well in realistic situations and be able to handle confounding factors such as background noise, shared meals, and multi-tasking. Work in realistic environments usually has lower accuracy, but has challenges in determining ground truth. Most critically, there has been a significant gap between lab and free-living environments. This is compounded by data usually being collected for different individuals in each setting, making it difficult to determine how the accuracy gap can be closed. We present a multi-modality study on eating recognition, using body-worn motion (head, wrists) and audio (earbud microphone) sensors for 12 participants (6 from the lab study, 6 new to test generalizability). In contrast to the lab, where audio alone has the highest accuracy, we find now that a combination of sensing modalities (audio, motion) is needed; yet sensor placement (head vs. wrist) is not critical. We further find that lab data does generalize to other participants, but while personal free-living data improves accuracy, more data from others can actually lead to worse performance.
Detecting State Changes of Indoor Everyday Objects using Wi-Fi Channel State Information
Authors: Ohara Kazuya , Maekawa Takuya , Matsushita Yasuyuki
Published: September 2017

Detecting the events of indoor everyday objects such as door or window open/close events has been actively studied to implement such applications as intrusion detection, adaptive HVAC control, and monitoring an independently living elderly person. This study proposes a method for detecting the events and states of indoor everyday objects such as doors and windows without using distributed sensors attached to the objects. In this study, we achieve practical and unobtrusive event detection using a commodity Wi-Fi access point and a computer equipped with a commodity Wi-Fi module. Specifically, we detect the events using Wi-Fi channel state information (CSI), which describes how a signal propagates from a transmitter to a receiver, and is affected by such events. To handle CSI data that consists of the mixed effects of multiple indoor objects in an environment of interest, we employ independent component analysis to separate the events caused by the objects. The decomposed data are then fed into our event classifier based on convolutional and recurrent neural networks to automatically extract features from CSI data, as it is difficult to intuitively design features to be extracted from the CSI data. Moreover, we correct the neural network estimates by incorporating knowledge about the state transitions of an object using hidden Markov models. For example, because the “open” event of a door occurs only when the door is in a “closed” state. We correct impossible state transitions estimated by the neural network based on this knowledge.
Ecosystem Services from Transborder Migratory Species: Implications for Conservation Governance
Authors: López-Hoffman Laura , Chester Charles C. , Semmens Darius J. , Thogmartin Wayne E. , Rodríguez-McGoffin M. Sofia , Merideth Robert , Diffendorfer Jay E.
Published: September 2017

This article discusses the conservation challenges of volant migratory transborder species and conservation governance primarily in North America. Many migratory species provide ecosystem service benefits to society. For example, insectivorous bats prey on crop pests and reduce the need for pesticides; birds and insects pollinate food plants; and birds afford recreational opportunities to hunters and birdwatchers. Migration is driven by the seasonal availability of resources; as resources in one area become seasonally scarce, individuals move to locations where resources have become seasonally abundant. The separation of the annual lifecycle means that species management and governance is often fractured across international borders. Because migratory species depend on habitat in different locations, their ability to provide ecosystem services in one area depends on the spatial subsidies, or support, provided by habitat and ecological processes in other areas. This creates telecouplings, or interconnections across geographic space, of areas such that impacts to the habitat of a migratory species in one location will affect the benefits enjoyed by people in other locations. Information about telecoupling and spatial subsidies can be used to craft new governance arrangements such as Payment for Ecosystem Services programs that target specific stakeholder groups and locations. We illustrate these challenges and opportunities with three North American case studies: the Duck Stamp Program, Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana), and monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus).
Impact of Modified Transesophageal Echocardiography on Mortality and Stroke after Cardiac Surgery: A Large Cohort Study
Authors: Jansen Klomp Wouter W. , Moons Carl G. M. , Nierich Arno P. , Brandon Bravo Bruinsma George J. , van’t Hof Arnoud W. J. , Grandjean Jan G. , Peelen Linda M.
Published: September 2017

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of perioperative screening with modified transesophageal echocardiography (A-View method). We compared, in consecutive patients who underwent cardiac surgery between 2006 and 2014, 30-day mortality and in-hospital stroke incidence, operated either with perioperative modified TEE screening (intervention group) or only with conventional TEE screening (control group). Of the 8,605 study patients, modified TEE was applied in 1,391 patients (16.2%). Patients in the intervention group were on average older (71 versus 68 years, p<0.001) and more often females (31.0% versus 28.0%, p<0.001) and had a higher predicted mortality (EuroSCORE I: 5.9% versus 4.0%, p<0.001). The observed 30-day mortality was 2.2% and 2.5% in both groups, respectively, with multivariable and propensity-score adjusted relative risks (RRs) of 0.70 (95% CI: 0.50–1.00, p=0.05) and 0.67 (95% CI: 0.45–0.98, p=0.04). In-hospital stroke was 2.9% and 2.1% in both groups, respectively, with adjusted RRs of 1.03 (95% CI: 0.73–1.45) and 1.01 (95% CI: 0.71–1.43). In patients undergoing cardiac surgery, use of perioperative screening for aortic atherosclerosis with modified TEE was associated with lower postoperative mortality, but not stroke, as compared to patients operated on without such screening.
Extraintestinal Salmonellosis in the Immunocompromised: An Unusual Case of Pyomyositis
Authors: Meyyur Aravamudan Veeraraghavan , Kee Fong Phang , Singh Pavel , Sze Chin Jong , Sam Yang Shiyao , Tambyah P. A.
Published: September 2017

Salmonella infection can cause a wide range of presentations, predominantly gastrointestinal but occasionally with cardiovascular or other extraintestinal manifestations. The diagnosis of extraintestinal salmonellosis requires a high degree of clinical suspicion and should be considered in patients with deep-seated abscesses especially if they are immunocompromised. We present a case of salmonella causing gastroenteritis complicated by an intramuscular abscess of the left leg. With prompt recognition and multidisciplinary management, the patient recovered with no serious sequela.
Study on Strength Behavior of Organic Soil Stabilized with Fly Ash
Authors: Nath Bayshakhi Deb , Molla Md. Keramat Ali , Sarkar Grytan
Published: September 2017

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of fly ash on the consistency, compactness, acidic properties, and strength of organic soil. The presence of organic content in the soil has detrimental impacts on the physical and strength behavior of soil. To investigate the effectiveness of fly ash in the stabilization of organic soil, two types of fly ashes (Type I and Type II) at different percentages were used. It is found that fly ash significantly reduces the plasticity index of the organic soil, whereas the liquid and plastic limits increase. The dry density of the fly ash-soil mixture increases significantly, while the water requirement reduces due to the addition of fly ash. The increase of dry density compromises higher strength. The increase of qu with the increase of fly ash content is mainly due to the pozzolanic reaction of fly ash, although the reduction in water content results from the addition of dry fly ash solid. Moreover, Type I fly ash contributes a higher value of qu compared to Type II fly ash. This is attributed to the characteristics of fly ash including CaO and CaO/SiO2 ratio.
Group A Streptococcus Septic Shock after Surgical Abortion: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Tardieu Stephanie C. , Schmidt Elizabeth
Published: September 2017

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) causing puerperal sepsis is a leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide. Although rare, GAS infection is a relatively significant public health concern because of its propensity to evolve rapidly into septic shock, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, and death. We report the case of a 27-year-old patient who presented with GAS septic shock after undergoing a surgical termination of pregnancy and was treated successfully and recovered without sequelae. GAS septic shock should always be included in the differential diagnosis of any patient who develops sepsis after a surgical abortion. Patients with GAS septic shock have a rapid clinical decline and need aggressive fluid management, early initiation of broad-spectrum antibiotics, and rapid surgical intervention.
Persistent Acute Onset Macroglossia Treated with Compression Therapy
Authors: Johnson Sean M. , Brown C. Scott , Puscas Liana
Published: September 2017

Acute macroglossia, while rare and often limited in duration, can present significant management challenges. The anatomic position of the tongue, which can result in airway compromise in cases of enlargement, contributes significantly to difficulty with management. We review several management options for persistent acute onset lingual macroglossia and present a novel noninvasive management technique in a case which was refractory to several strategies.
Phytosynthesis of Silver and Gold Nanoparticles Using the Hot Water Extract of Mixed Woodchip Powder and Their Antibacterial Efficacy
Authors: Joe Min-Ho , Jeong Hyun-Tak , Lee Hyung-Min , Park Hae-Jun , Kim Dong-Ho , Park Don-Hee , Bai Suk
Published: September 2017

This study investigates the phytosynthesis, characterization, and antibacterial efficacy of silver and gold nanoparticles (NPs) produced using the hot water extract of mixed woodchip powder. The woodchip extract (WCE) was successfully used as both a reducing and stabilizing agent for the phytosynthesis of both crystalline metal NPs. The effects of different physicochemical factors affecting the formation of the metal NPs including reaction pH, concentration of the precursor metal salts, amount of WCE, and external energy input were evaluated. The characterization of the metal NPs was performed by transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction (SAED), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern analysis. In addition, the antibacterial efficacy of the phytosynthesized NPs was measured. The AgNPs showed clear antibacterial activity against four representative bacterial strains. However, the AuNPs did not exhibit bactericidal activity, probably due to their surface modifications and relatively large size. These results suggest that the phytosynthesis of the metal NPs using WCE is highly efficient, and its convenience makes it suitable for use in large-scale production.
An Fc Double-Engineered CD20 Antibody with Enhanced Ability to Trigger Complement-Dependent Cytotoxicity and Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity
Authors: Wirt Tim , Rosskopf Sophia , Rösner Thies , Eichholz Klara Marie , Kahrs Anne , Lutz Sebastian , Kretschmer Anna , Valerius Thomas , Klausz Katja , Otte Anna , Gramatzki Martin , Peipp Matthias , Kellner Christian
Published: September 2017

Background: Engineering of the antibody's fragment crystallizable (Fc) by modifying the amino acid sequence (Fc protein engineering) or the glycosylation pattern (Fc glyco-engineering) allows enhancing effector functions of tumor targeting antibodies. Here, we investigated whether complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) of CD20 antibodies could be improved simultaneously by combining Fc protein engineering and glyco-engineering technologies. Methods and Results: Four variants of the CD20 antibody rituximab were generated: a native IgG1, a variant carrying the EFTAE modification (S267E/H268F/S324T/G236A/I332E) for enhanced CDC as well as glyco-engineered, non-fucosylated derivatives of both to boost ADCC. The antibodies bound CD20 specifically with similar affinity. Antibodies with EFTAE modification were more efficacious in mediating CDC, irrespective of fucosylation, than antibodies with wild-type sequences due to enhanced C1q binding. In contrast, non-fucosylated variants had an enhanced affinity to FcγRIIIA and improved ADCC activity. Importantly, the double-engineered antibody lacking fucose and carrying the EFTAE modification mediated both CDC and ADCC with higher efficacy than the native CD20 IgG1 antibody. Conclusion: Combining glyco-engineering and protein engineering technologies offers the opportunity to simultaneously enhance ADCC and CDC activities of therapeutic antibodies. This approach may represent an attractive strategy to further improve antibody therapy of cancer and deserves further evaluation.
Recombinant Antibodies to Arm Cytotoxic Lymphocytes in Cancer Immunotherapy
Authors: Koch Joachim , Tesar Michael
Published: September 2017

Immunotherapy has the potential to support and expand the body's own armamentarium of immune effector functions, which have been circumvented during malignant transformation and establishment of cancer and is presently considered to be the most promising treatment option for cancer patients. Recombinant antibody technologies have led to a multitude of novel antibody formats, which are in clinical development and hold great promise for future therapies. Among these formats, bispecific antibodies are extremely versatile due to their high efficacy to recruit and activate anti-tumoral immune effector cells, their excellent safety profile, and the opportunity for use in combination with cellular therapies. This review article summarizes the latest developments in cancer immunotherapy using immuno-engagers for recruiting T cells and NK cells to the tumor site. In addition to antibody formats, malignant cell targets, and immune cell targets, opportunities for combination therapies, including check point inhibitors, cytokines and adoptive transfer of immune cells, will be summarized and discussed.