bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Geographical indications in India: Issues and challenges—An overview
Authors: Vinayan Soumya
Published: June 2017

Intellectual Property Regime in India has been a much‐debated topic ever since India became a signatory to the World Trade Organization in 1995. This has led to both the enactment of new laws such as the Geographical Indications Act of 1999 (GI Act) and Plant Varieties Protection Act 2001 as well as the amendment of old laws relating to intellectual property in India, such as amendments to Patents Act 1970. Geographical Indications (GIs) are used to identify goods as originating from a particular region as a signifier of quality. Thus, the geography, quality, and reputation of the good are inextricably interlinked. This enables the producer to convey the credentials of their products to the consumers in the context of information asymmetry. This paper throws light on the legal framework for the protection of origin labeled products in India as Geographical Indications and highlights the policy challenges and debates in the use and registration of GIs under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act 1999.
High‐power Magnetotherapy: A New Weapon in Urinary Incontinence?
Authors: VADALÀ Maria , PALMIERI Beniamino , MALAGOLI Andrea , LAURINO Carmen
Published: June 2017

Objective

Urinary incontinence (UI) is one of the most common urinary system diseases that mostly affects women but also men. We evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of functional magnetic stimulation (FMS) as potential UI treatment with improvements in the pelvic floor musculature, urodynamic tests and quality of life.

Methods

A total of 20 UI patients (10 females and 10 men, mean age 64, 14 years), including 10 with stress UI, four with urgency UI and six with mixed UI, were treated with FMS (20 min/session) twice a week for 3 weeks. The patients' impressions, records in urinary diaries, and scores of three life stress questionnaires (overactive bladder symptom questionnaire [OAB‐q], urogenital distress inventory questionnaire‐short form [UDI‐6], incontinence impact questionnaire‐short form [IIQ‐7]) were performed pre‐ and post‐treatment.

Results

Significant reductions (P < 0.01) of micturition number and nocturia after magnetic treatment were evidenced. The urodynamic tests recorded a significant increase in cystometric capacity (147 ± 51.3%), in maximum urethral closure pressure (110 ± 34%), in urethral functional length (99.8 ± 51.8%), and in pressure transmission ratio (147 ± 51.3%) values compared with the baseline values.

Conclusions

These preliminary findings suggest that FMS with Magneto STYM (twice weekly for 3 weeks) improves the UI and may be an effective treatment for this urogenital disease.
Should women be advised to use calcium supplements during pregnancy? A decision analysis
Authors: Meertens Linda J. E. , Scheepers Hubertina C. J. , Willemse Jessica P. M. M. , Spaanderman Marc E. A. , Smits Luc J. M.
Published: June 2017

Adequate calcium intake during pregnancy is important in the prevention of pre‐eclampsia. A substantial proportion of pregnant women do not meet the recommended daily calcium intake, even in developed countries. Nonetheless, calcium supplementation is not routinely advised to pregnant women in most countries. We aimed to predict the impact of advising pregnant women to use calcium supplements (1,000 mg/day) on the number of cases of pre‐eclampsia prevented and related health care costs. By use of a decision‐analytic model, we assessed the expected impact of advising calcium supplementation to either (1) all pregnant women, (2) women at high risk of developing pre‐eclampsia, or (3) women with a low dietary calcium intake compared with current care. Calculations were performed for a hypothetical cohort of 100,000 pregnant women living in a high‐income country, although input parameters of the model can be adjusted so as to fit other settings. The incidence of pre‐eclampsia could be reduced by 25%, 8%, or 13% when advising calcium supplementation to all pregnant women, women at high risk of pre‐eclampsia, or women with a low dietary calcium intake, respectively. Expected net financial benefits of the three scenarios were of €4,621,465, €2,059,165, or €2,822,115 per 100,000 pregnant women, respectively. Advising pregnant women to use calcium supplements can be expected to cause substantial reductions in the incidence of pre‐eclampsia as well as related health care costs. It appears most efficient to advise calcium supplementation to all pregnant women, not subgroups only.
Guidelines and quantitative standards to improve consistency in cetacean subspecies and species delimitation relying on molecular genetic data
Authors: Taylor Barbara L. , Archer Frederick I. , Martien Karen K. , Rosel Patricia E. , Hancock‐Hanser Brittany L. , Lang Aimee R. , Leslie Matthew S. , Mesnick Sarah L. , Morin Phillip A. , Pease Victoria L. , Perrin William F. , Robertson Kelly M. , Parsons Kim M. , Viricel Amélia , Vollmer Nicole L. , Cipriano Frank , Reeves Randall R. , Krützen Michael , Baker C. Scott
Published: June 2017

Taxonomy is an imprecise science that delimits the evolutionary continuum into discrete categories. For marine mammals, this science is complicated by the relative lack of morphological data for taxa that inhabit remote and often vast ranges. We provide guidelines to promote consistency in studies relying primarily on molecular genetic data to delimit cetacean subspecies from both populations and species. These guidelines identify informational needs: basis for the taxonomic hypothesis being tested, description of current taxonomy, description of relevant life history, sample distribution, sample size, number and sequence length of genetic markers, description of measures taken to ensure data quality, summary statistics for the genetic markers, and analytical methods used to evaluate the genetic data. We propose an initial set of quantitative and qualitative standards based on the types of data and analytical methods most readily available at present. These standards are not expected to be rigidly applied. Rather, they are meant to encourage taxonomic arguments that are consistent and transparent. We hope professional societies, such as the Society for Marine Mammalogy, will adopt quantitative standards that evolve as new data types and analytical methods become widely available.
Astrogliosis and impaired aquaporin‐4 and dystrophin systems in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus
Authors: Eide P. K. , Hansson H.‐A.
Published: June 2017

Aims

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is one subtype of dementia that may improve following drainage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This prospective observational study explored whether expression of the water channel aquaporin‐4 (AQP4) and the anchoring molecule dystrophin 71 (Dp71) are altered at astrocytic perivascular endfeet and in adjacent neuropil of iNPH patient. Observations were related to measurements of pulsatile and static intracranial pressure (ICP).

Methods

The study included iNPH patients undergoing overnight monitoring of the pulsatile/static ICP in whom a biopsy was taken from the frontal cerebral cortex during placement of the ICP sensor. Reference (Ref) biopsies were sampled from 13 patients who underwent brain surgery for epilepsy, tumours or cerebral aneurysms. The brain tissue specimens were examined by light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, densitometry and morphometry.

Results

iNPH patients responding to surgery (n = 44) had elevated pulsatile ICP, indicative of impaired intracranial compliance. As compared to the Ref patients, the cortical biopsies of iNPH patients revealed prominent astrogliosis and reduced expression of AQP4 and Dp71 immunoreactivities in the astrocytic perivascular endfeet and in parts of the adjacent neuropil. There was a significant correlation between degree of astrogliosis and reduction of AQP4 and Dp71 at astrocytic perivascular endfeet.

Conclusions

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus patients responding to CSF diversion present with abnormal pulsatile ICP, indicative of impaired intracranial compliance. A main histopathological finding was astrogliosis and reduction of AQP4 and of Dp71 in astrocytic perivascular endfeet. We propose that the altered AQP4 and Dp71 complex contributes to the subischaemia prevalent in the brain tissue of iNPH.
Heterogeneity of tight junctions in the thick ascending limb
Authors: Bleich Markus , Wulfmeyer Vera C. , Himmerkus Nina , Milatz Susanne
Published: June 2017

Renal tubular transport mechanisms are optimized to be energy efficient and tailored to local gradients and transport rates. The combined transcellular action of ion channels, transporters, and pumps, together with the paracellular pathway, enables kidney function. Monogenetic diseases and mouse models indicate that both trans‐ and paracellular proteins can become disease‐causing candidates and may be targets for future therapeutic approaches. Recent advances in tight junction research have provided new insights into their structure, function, and regulation. The thick ascending limb (TAL) is a nephron segment with specific requirements for the paracellular pathway. It has to fuel the generation of the corticomedullary concentration gradient, to be watertight, and to provide a highly selective permeability for Na+ and divalent cations. Tight junction composition and function in the TAL is organized along the corticomedullary axis. Even on the level of a seemingly homogeneous tubular epithelium like the TAL, there is a separation of tight junction protein expression in the strands between the respective tricellular nexus of the junctional network. Here, we highlight some new insights from our recent work and that of others in this context. In addition, we provide some perspectives for the further study of paracellular transport mechanisms.
Skill Management in Large‐Scale Service Marketplaces
Authors: Allon Gad , Bassamboo Achal , Çil Eren B.
Published: June 2017

Large‐scale, web‐based service marketplaces have recently emerged as a new resource for customers who need quick resolutions for their short‐term problems. Due to the temporary nature of the relations between customers and service providers (agents) in these marketplaces, customers may not have an opportunity to assess the ability of an agent before their service completion. On the other hand, the moderating firm has a more sustained relationship with agents, and thus it can provide customers with more information about the abilities of agents through skill screening mechanisms. In this study, we consider a marketplace where the moderating firm can run two skills tests on agents to assess if their skills are above certain thresholds. Our main objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of skill screening as a revenue maximization tool. We, specifically, analyze how much benefit the firm obtains after each additional skill test. We find that skill screening leads to negligible revenue improvements in marketplaces where agent skills are highly compatible and the average service times are similar for all customers. As the compatibility of agent skills weakens or the customers start to vary in their processing time needs, we show that the firm starts to experience sizable improvements in revenue from skill screening. Apparently, the firm can reap the most of these substantial benefits when it runs only one test. For instance, in marketplaces where agents posses uncorrelated skills, the second skill test only brings an additional 2% improvement in revenue. Accounting for possible skill screening costs, we then show the optimality of offering only one test when the compatibility between agent skills is sufficiently low. The results of this study also have important implications in terms of the right level of intervention in the marketplaces we study.
A Geometric Approach to Confidence Regions and Bands for Functional Parameters
Authors: Choi Hyunphil , Reimherr Matthew
Published: June 2017

Functional data analysis is now a well-established discipline of statistics, with its core concepts and perspectives in place. Despite this, there are still fundamental statistical questions which have received relatively little attention. One of these is the systematic construction of confidence regions for functional parameters. This work is concerned with developing, understanding and visualizing such regions. We provide a general strategy for constructing confidence regions in a real separable Hilbert space by using hyperellipsoids and hyper-rectangles. We then propose specific implementations which work especially well in practice. They provide powerful hypothesis tests and useful visualization tools without relying on simulation. We also demonstrate the negative result that nearly all regions, including our own, have zero coverage when working with empirical covariances. To overcome this challenge we propose a new paradigm for evaluating confidence regions by showing that the distance between an estimated region and the desired region (with proper coverage) tends to 0 faster than the regions shrink to a point. We call this phenomena ghosting and refer to the empirical regions as ghost regions. We illustrate the proposed methods in a simulation study and an application to fractional anisotropy tract profile data.
Who delivers where? The effect of obstetric risk on facility delivery in East Africa
Authors: Virgo Sandra , Gon Giorgia , Cavallaro Francesca L. , Graham Wendy , Woodd Susannah
Published: June 2017

Objectives

Skilled attendance at birth is key for the survival of pregnant women. This study investigates whether women at increased risk of maternal and newborn complications in four East African countries are more likely to deliver in a health facility than those at lower risk.

Methods

Demographic and Health Survey data for Kenya 2014, Rwanda 2014–15, Tanzania 2015–16 and Uganda 2011 were used to study women with a live birth in the three years preceding the survey. A three‐level obstetric risk index was created using known risk factors. Generalised linear Poisson regression was used to investigate the association between obstetric risk and facility delivery.

Results

We analysed data from 13 119 women across the four countries of whom 42–45% were considered at medium risk and 12–17% at high risk, and the remainder were at low risk. In Rwanda, 93% of all women delivered in facilities but this was lower (59–66%) in the other three countries. There was no association between a woman's obstetric risk level and her place of delivery in any country; greater wealth and more education were, however, independently strongly associated with facility delivery.

Conclusions

In four East African countries, women at higher obstetric risk were not more likely to deliver in a facility than those with lower risk. This calls for a renewed focus on antenatal risk screening and improved communication on birth planning to ensure women with an increased chance of maternal and newborn complications are supported to deliver in facilities with skilled care.
Estimating the number of female sex workers in Côte d'Ivoire: results and lessons learned
Authors: Vuylsteke Bea , Sika Lazare , Semdé Gisèle , Anoma Camille , Kacou Elise , Laga Marie
Published: June 2017

Objective

To report on the results of three size estimations of the populations of female sex workers (FSW) in five cities in Côte d'Ivoire and on operational lessons learned, which may be relevant for key population programmes in other parts of the world.

Methods

We applied three methods: mapping and census, capture–recapture and service multiplier. All were applied between 2008 and 2009 in Abidjan, San Pedro, Bouaké, Yamoussoukro and Abengourou.

Results

Abidjan was the city with the highest number of FSW by far, with estimations between 7880 (census) and 13 714 (service multiplier). The estimations in San Pedro, Bouaké and Yamoussoukro were very similar, with figures ranging from 1160 (Yamoussoukro, census) to 1916 (San Pedro, capture–recapture). Important operational lessons were learned, including strategies for mapping, the importance of involving peer sex workers for implementing the capture–recapture and the identification of the right question for the multiplier method.

Conclusions

Successful application of three methods to estimate the population size of FSW in five cities in Côte d'Ivoire enabled us to make recommendations for size estimations of key population in low‐income countries.
Examining levels, distribution and correlates of health insurance coverage in Kenya
Authors: Kazungu Jacob S. , Barasa Edwine W.
Published: June 2017

Objective

To examine the levels, inequalities and factors associated with health insurance coverage in Kenya.

Methods

We analysed secondary data from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) conducted in 2009 and 2014. We examined the level of health insurance coverage overall, and by type, using an asset index to categorise households into five socio‐economic quintiles with quintile 5 (Q5) being the richest and quintile 1 (Q1) being the poorest. The high–low ratio (Q5/Q1 ratio), concentration curve and concentration index (CIX) were employed to assess inequalities in health insurance coverage, and logistic regression to examine correlates of health insurance coverage.

Results

Overall health insurance coverage increased from 8.17% to 19.59% between 2009 and 2014. There was high inequality in overall health insurance coverage, even though this inequality decreased between 2009 (Q5/Q1 ratio of 31.21, CIX = 0.61, 95% CI 0.52–0.0.71) and 2014 (Q5/Q1 ratio 12.34, CIX = 0.49, 95% CI 0.45–0.52). Individuals that were older, employed in the formal sector; married, exposed to media; and male, belonged to a small household, had a chronic disease and belonged to rich households, had increased odds of health insurance coverage.

Conclusion

Health insurance coverage in Kenya remains low and is characterised by significant inequality. In a context where over 80% of the population is in the informal sector, and close to 50% live below the national poverty line, achieving high and equitable coverage levels with contributory and voluntary health insurance mechanism is problematic. Kenya should consider a universal, tax‐funded mechanism that ensures revenues are equitably and efficiently collected, and everyone (including the poor and those in the informal sector) is covered.
Grain subproteome responses to nitrogen and sulfur supply in diploid wheat Triticum monococcum ssp. monococcum
Authors: Bonnot Titouan , Bancel Emmanuelle , Alvarez David , Davanture Marlène , Boudet Julie , Pailloux Marie , Zivy Michel , Ravel Catherine , Martre Pierre
Published: June 2017

Wheat grain storage proteins (GSPs) make up most of the protein content of grain and determine flour end‐use value. The synthesis and accumulation of GSPs depend highly on nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) availability and it is important to understand the underlying control mechanisms. Here we studied how the einkorn (Triticum monococcum ssp. monococcum) grain proteome responds to different amounts of N and S supply during grain development. GSP composition at grain maturity was clearly impacted by nutrition treatments, due to early changes in the rate of GSP accumulation during grain filling. Large‐scale analysis of the nuclear and albumin‐globulin subproteomes during this key developmental phase revealed that the abundance of 203 proteins was significantly modified by the nutrition treatments. Our results showed that the grain proteome was highly affected by perturbation in the N:S balance. S supply strongly increased the rate of accumulation of S‐rich α/β‐gliadin and γ‐gliadin, and the abundance of several other proteins involved in glutathione metabolism. Post‐anthesis N supply resulted in the activation of amino acid metabolism at the expense of carbohydrate metabolism and the activation of transport processes including nucleocytoplasmic transit. Protein accumulation networks were analyzed. Several central actors in the response were identified whose variation in abundance was related to variation in the amounts of many other proteins and are thus potentially important for GSP accumulation. This detailed analysis of grain subproteomes provides information on how wheat GSP composition can possibly be controlled in low‐level fertilization condition.
Tissue blood flow to a pedicled jejunal autograft in the dog: A pilot study
Authors: Nucci Daniel J. , Monnet Eric
Published: June 2017

Objective

To determine the viability of a pedicled jejunal autograft after ligation of up to 3 jejunal arteries.

Study design

Prospective crossover study.

Animals

Three adult dogs.

Methods

Dogs were instrumented for measurement of hemodynamic parameters. Two segments of jejunum with 4 arcadial vessels were isolated from the abdomen in each dog. An individual ligature was secured around the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd jejunal artery. The 1st jejunal artery was maintained to serve as the sole blood supply to the pedicled segment of jejunum. Colored microspheres were used to evaluate the effect of each ligation on tissue blood flow.

Results

Mean arterial blood pressure (P = .709) and heart rate (P = .905) did not differ between ligation groups. Tissue blood flow to a pedicled segment of jejunum was unchanged after ligation of 3 jejunal arteries.

Conclusion

Tissue blood flow of an isolated jejunal segment maintained in normal position remains unaffected, when supplied by a single jejunal artery, after ligation of up to 3 concurrent jejunal arteries.
Preserving spatial perception in rooms using direct-sound driven dynamic range compression
Authors: Hassager Henrik Gert , May Tobias , Wiinberg Alan , Dau Torsten
Published: June 2017

Fast-acting hearing-aid compression systems typically distort the auditory cues involved in the spatial perception of sounds in rooms by enhancing low-level reverberant energy portions of the sound relative to the direct sound. The present study investigated the benefit of a direct-sound driven compression system that adaptively selects appropriate time constants to preserve the listener's spatial impression. Specifically, fast-acting compression was maintained for time-frequency units dominated by the direct sound while the processing of the compressor was linearized for time-frequency units dominated by reverberation. This compression scheme was evaluated with normal-hearing listeners who indicated their perceived location and distribution of sound images in the horizontal plane for virtualized speech. The experimental results confirmed that both independent compression at each ear and linked compression across ears resulted in broader, sometimes internalized, sound images as well as image splits. In contrast, the linked direct-sound driven compression system provided the listeners with a spatial perception similar to that obtained with linear processing that served as the reference condition. The independent direct-sound driven compressor created a sense of movement of the sound between the two ears, suggesting that preserving the interaural level differences via linked compression is advantageous with the proposed direct-sound driven compression scheme.
Curvilinear trajectory estimation of a supersonic bullet using ballistic shock wave arrivals at asynchronous acoustic sensor nodes
Authors: Lo Kam W.
Published: June 2017

The trajectory of a supersonic bullet, which is subjected to drag and gravity, is curvilinear and the supersonic flight of the bullet generates a ballistic shock wave (SW). A model for the differential time of arrival (DTOA) of the SW at a pair of acoustic sensors is derived for a given bullet trajectory, which is fully described by seven parameters including the drag coefficient exponent and ballistic constant of the bullet. Assuming that the drag coefficient exponent is 0.5, the DTOA model is used to develop a nonlinear least-squares (NLS) method to estimate the other six trajectory parameters using DTOA of SW measurements from each node (which comprises a small acoustic sensor array) of an asynchronous sensor network. The position of the shooter and the muzzle speed of the bullet are then determined by tracing the estimated bullet trajectory back to topographic or man-made obstructions on a digital map. The effectiveness of the NLS method is verified using simulated data for different types of real bullets, and the error standard deviations in the parameter estimates are close to the Cramer-Rao lower bounds.
A Rare Case Of Sigmoid Colon Perforation With Subsequent Psoas Abscess Collection With Extensive Involvement Of The Sartorius Muscle
Authors: Wadood Ali , Odeh Abdulrahman , Rana Khizer , Zaman Shafquat
Published: June 2017

A middle-aged man was admitted with worsening hip pain, fevers and reduced mobility. These symptoms were preceded by a mechanical fall but despite regular analgesia, symptoms did not resolve. His prior medical history included ischaemic heart disease, hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia. A trauma and orthopaedic review revealed a painful left hip with reduced range of motion. In addition, some mild tenderness in the left iliac fossa was noted. Blood tests revealed markedly raised inflammatory markers. Plain radiographs and ultrasound were normal. MRI scan found a massive left iliopsoas collection secondary to perforated diverticular disease of the sigmoid colon. The patient was managed with intravenous antibiotics and the collection was drained percutaneously. Approximately 500 mL of pus was aspirated. The patient made an excellent recovery with interval imaging showing a reduction in the collection size.
Beyond cervical lipomas: myoclonus, gait disorder and multisystem involvement leading to mitochondrial disease
Authors: López-Blanco Roberto , Rojo-Sebastián Ana , Torregrosa-Martínez Maria Henedina , Blazquez Alberto
Published: June 2017

Madelung’s disease (benign symmetric lipomatosis) is a rare syndrome in which there are multiple lipomas around the neck, upper limbs and trunk in the context of chronic alcoholism. We report on a female patient with lipomas and slightly progressive myoclonus, neuropathy, myopathy, ataxia and respiratory systemic involvement (labelled in the past as Madelung’s disease). Multisystem involvement and family history of lipomas led to the development of mitochondrial genetic tests, which can assess two concurrent mitochondrial mutations: the m.8344A>G mutation in MT-TK gene, related MERRF (myoclonic epilepsy with ragged-red fibre) phenotype and m.14484T>C mutation in the MT-ND6 gene responsible for Leber hereditary optic neuropathy phenotype.
Successful conservative treatment of severe frostbite lesions in a Greenlandic Inuit
Authors: Ekdahl Martin , Penninga Luit
Published: June 2017

Frostbite may cause lesions. The severity ranges from superficial wounds to severe cases with loss of limbs and tissue. Hence, proper treatment is of utmost importance. We present a case of an 18-year-old man from Arctic Greenland who was admitted with severe frostbite lesions involving both hands. The patient had fallen asleep outside during extreme temperatures. He was treated conservatively with proper wound care, antibiotics and intensive physical therapy. The patient made a full recovery without sequelae. The current report emphasises that non-operative treatment should be attempted for frostbite lesions, as conservative treatment often results in good outcomes.
A case of recurrent, multifocal anastomosing haemangiomas
Authors: Burton Kirsteen R , Jakate Kiran , Pace Kenneth T , Vlachou Paraskevi A
Published: June 2017

Anastomosing haemangiomas are relatively rare lesions, with a renal predilection, and which, given their imaging and pathologic appearance, mimic aggressive malignancies such as angiosarcoma. The imaging characteristics of this case are informative when evaluating a vascular lesion of the adrenal gland.
Does young age really put the heart at risk?
Authors: Belanger Michael , Tan Luke , Wittnich Carin
Published: June 2017

Despite significant advances in the management and treatment of heart disease in children, there continue to be patients who have worse outcomes than might be expected. A number of risk factors that could be responsible have been identified. Evidence-based findings will be reviewed, including whether young age and (or) reduced body weight exacerbate these responses. For example, newborn children undergoing congenital cardiac surgery are known to have worse outcomes than older children. Evidence exists that newborn hearts do not tolerate ischemia as well as adult hearts, developing irreversible injury sooner and exhibiting at-risk metabolic profiles. As well, in response to the administration of heparin, elevations in free fatty acids occur during congenital heart surgery in children, which can have detrimental effects on the heart. Furthermore, myocardial energetic state has also been suggested to impact outcomes. Unfavourable energetic profiles were correlated to lower body weights in the same age healthy newborn piglet model. Newborn children suffering from congenital heart disease, with lower body weights, also had lower myocardial energetic state and this correlated with longer postoperative ventilatory support as well as a trend to longer intensive care unit stay. These findings imply that unfavourable myocardial metabolic profiles could contribute to postoperative complications.
Self-interacting scalar fields at high-temperature
Authors: Deur Alexandre
Published: June 2017

We study two self-interacting scalar field theories in their high-temperature limit using path integrals on a lattice. We first discuss the formalism and recover known potentials to validate the method. We then discuss how these theories can model, in the high-temperature limit, the strong interaction and General Relativity. For the strong interaction, the model recovers the known phenomenology of the nearly static regime of heavy quarkonia. The model also exposes a possible origin for the emergence of the confinement scale from the approximately conformal Lagrangian. Aside from such possible insights, the main purpose of addressing the strong interaction here – given that more sophisticated approaches already exist – is mostly to further verify the pertinence of the model in the more complex case of General Relativity for which non-perturbative methods are not as developed. The results have important implications on the nature of Dark Matter. In particular, non-perturbative effects naturally provide flat rotation curves for disk galaxies, without need for non-baryonic matter, and explain as well other observations involving Dark Matter such as cluster dynamics or the dark mass of elliptical galaxies.
LSTM Deep Neural Networks Postfiltering for Enhancing Synthetic Voices
Authors: Coto-Jiménez Marvin , Goddard-Close John
Published: June 2017

Recent developments in speech synthesis have produced systems capable of producing speech which closely resembles natural speech, and researchers now strive to create models that more accurately mimic human voices. One such development is the incorporation of multiple linguistic styles in various languages and accents. Speech synthesis based on Hidden Markov Models (HMM) is of great interest to researchers, due to its ability to produce sophisticated features with a small footprint. Despite some progress, its quality has not yet reached the level of the current predominant unit-selection approaches, which select and concatenate recordings of real speech, and work has been conducted to try to improve HMM-based systems. In this paper, we present an application of long short-term memory (LSTM) deep neural networks as a postfiltering step in HMM-based speech synthesis. Our motivation stems from a similar desire to obtain characteristics which are closer to those of natural speech. The paper analyzes four types of postfilters obtained using five voices, which range from a single postfilter to enhance all the parameters, to a multi-stream proposal which separately enhances groups of parameters. The different proposals are evaluated using three objective measures and are statistically compared to determine any significance between them. The results described in the paper indicate that HMM-based voices can be enhanced using this approach, specially for the multi-stream postfilters on the considered objective measures.
Double vertex-edge domination
Authors: Krishnakumari Balakrishna , Chellali Mustapha , Venkatakrishnan Yanamandram B.
Published: June 2017

A vertex [Formula: see text] of a graph [Formula: see text] is said to [Formula: see text]-dominate every edge incident to [Formula: see text], as well as every edge adjacent to these incident edges. A set [Formula: see text] is a vertex-edge dominating set (double vertex-edge dominating set, respectively) if every edge of [Formula: see text] is [Formula: see text]-dominated by at least one vertex (at least two vertices) of [Formula: see text] The minimum cardinality of a vertex-edge dominating set (double vertex-edge dominating set, respectively) of [Formula: see text] is the vertex-edge domination number [Formula: see text] (the double vertex-edge domination number [Formula: see text], respectively). In this paper, we initiate the study of double vertex-edge domination. We first show that determining the number [Formula: see text] for bipartite graphs is NP-complete. We also prove that for every nontrivial connected graphs [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] and we characterize the trees [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text] Finally, we provide two lower bounds on the double ve-domination number of trees and unicycle graphs in terms of the order [Formula: see text] the number of leaves and support vertices, and we characterize the trees attaining the lower bound.
A Meta-Analysis of Choroidal Thickness Changes in Unilateral Amblyopia
Authors: Liu Yanli , Dong Yi , Zhao Kanxing
Published: June 2017

Purpose. To date, the topic of amblyopic changes remains controversial. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out to evaluate choroidal changes in unilateral amblyopia. Methods. Major literature databases were searched for amblyopia-relevant studies. Using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT), the primary outcome parameters examined were subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and different choroidal thickness (CT) positions. Efficacy estimates were evaluated by weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for choroidal-associated changes. We performed subgroup analysis and metaregression analysis to examine potential sources of heterogeneity. Results. Eleven cross-sectional studies that included a total of 768 participants were identified. The amblyopic eye SFCT was thicker than that of the fellow and control (normal) eyes (WMDamblyopia versus fellow=49.24, 95% CI of 30.22 to 68.27, p<0.001; WMDamblyopia versus control=54.51, 95% CI of 32.17 to 76.85, p<0.001). There were no differences between the fellow and control eyes (WMD=13.81, 95% CI of 1.16 to 28.77, p=0.071). Subgroup and metaregression analyses indicated that the OCT type was the main source of heterogeneity. Conclusions. The CT in the amblyopic eyes was thicker than that in the fellow and control eyes.
A New Feature Ensemble with a Multistage Classification Scheme for Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Authors: Isikli Esener Idil , Ergin Semih , Yuksel Tolga
Published: June 2017

A new and effective feature ensemble with a multistage classification is proposed to be implemented in a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system for breast cancer diagnosis. A publicly available mammogram image dataset collected during the Image Retrieval in Medical Applications (IRMA) project is utilized to verify the suggested feature ensemble and multistage classification. In achieving the CAD system, feature extraction is performed on the mammogram region of interest (ROI) images which are preprocessed by applying a histogram equalization followed by a nonlocal means filtering. The proposed feature ensemble is formed by concatenating the local configuration pattern-based, statistical, and frequency domain features. The classification process of these features is implemented in three cases: a one-stage study, a two-stage study, and a three-stage study. Eight well-known classifiers are used in all cases of this multistage classification scheme. Additionally, the results of the classifiers that provide the top three performances are combined via a majority voting technique to improve the recognition accuracy on both two- and three-stage studies. A maximum of 85.47%, 88.79%, and 93.52% classification accuracies are attained by the one-, two-, and three-stage studies, respectively. The proposed multistage classification scheme is more effective than the single-stage classification for breast cancer diagnosis.
Reliability of an Integrated Ultrasound and Stereophotogrammetric System for Lower Limb Anatomical Characterisation
Authors: Greatrex Frederick , Montefiori Erica , Grupp Thomas , Kozak Josef , Mazzà Claudia
Published: June 2017

Background. Lower extremity analysis for preoperative total knee and hip arthroplasty routines can increase surgery success rate and hence reduce associated costs. Current tools are limited by being invasive, limited to supine analysis, or too expensive. This study aimed to propose and validate a device, OrthoPilot®, based on the combined use of a stereophotogrammetric and ultrasound system which can in vivo and noninvasively measure varus/valgus, flexion/extension, femur and tibia torsion, and femur and tibia lengths.Methods. A phantom was measured by four operators to determine the resolution of the system. Interoperator variability was measured on three operators who measured the above six variables on both legs of three subjects in standing and supine positions. Intraoperator variability was assessed on data from three repeats from 9 subjects (18 legs).Results. All 6 variables were reliably detected on a phantom, with a resolution of 1 mm and 0.5°. Inter- and intraoperator consistency was observed for varus/valgus, flexion/extension, and length measurements on the healthy subjects in standing and supine positions (all ICC > 0.93). For torsion measurements, there was a considerable variation.Conclusion. The proposed system, when used on healthy subjects, allowed reliable measurements of key parameters for preoperative procedures in both supine and standing positions. Accuracy testing and further validation on patient populations will be the next step toward its clinical adoption.
Simulation and Analysis of Small Break LOCA for AP1000 Using RELAP5-MV and Its Comparison with NOTRUMP Code
Authors: Yousif Eltayeb , Zhang Zhijian , Tian Zhaofei , Ju Hao-ran
Published: June 2017

Many reactor safety simulation codes for nuclear power plants (NPPs) have been developed. However, it is very important to evaluate these codes by testing different accident scenarios in actual plant conditions. In reactor analysis, small break loss of coolant accident (SBLOCA) is an important safety issue. RELAP5-MV Visualized Modularization software is recognized as one of the best estimate transient simulation programs of light water reactors (LWR). RELAP5-MV has new options for improved modeling methods and interactive graphics display. Though the same models incorporated in RELAP5/MOD 4.0 are in RELAP5-MV, the significant difference of the latter is the interface for preparing the input deck. In this paper, RELAP5-MV is applied for the transient analysis of the primary system variation of thermal hydraulics parameters in primary loop under SBLOCA in AP1000 NPP. The upper limit of SBLOCA (10 inches) is simulated in the cold leg of the reactor and the calculations performed up to a transient time of 450,000.0 s. The results obtained from RELAP5-MV are in good agreement with those of NOTRUMP code obtained by Westinghouse when compared under the same conditions. It can be easily inferred that RELAP5-MV, in a similar manner to RELAP5/MOD4.0, is suitable for simulating a SBLOCA scenario.
Targeting Endothelial Function to Treat Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction: The Promise of Exercise Training
Authors: Gevaert Andreas B. , Lemmens Katrien , Vrints Christiaan J. , Van Craenenbroeck Emeline M.
Published: June 2017

Although the burden of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is increasing, there is no therapy available that improves prognosis. Clinical trials using beta blockers and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, cardiac‐targeting drugs that reduce mortality in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), have had disappointing results in HFpEF patients. A new “whole‐systems” approach has been proposed for designing future HFpEF therapies, moving focus from the cardiomyocyte to the endothelium. Indeed, dysfunction of endothelial cells throughout the entire cardiovascular system is suggested as a central mechanism in HFpEF pathophysiology. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of current knowledge regarding endothelial dysfunction in HFpEF. We discuss the molecular and cellular mechanisms leading to endothelial dysfunction and the extent, presence, and prognostic importance of clinical endothelial dysfunction in different vascular beds. We also consider implications towards exercise training, a promising therapy targeting system‐wide endothelial dysfunction in HFpEF.
p21-Activated Kinase 4 Promotes Intimal Hyperplasia and Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Proliferation during Superficial Femoral Artery Restenosis after Angioplasty
Authors: Yuan Liangxi , Duan Xianli , Dong Jian , Lu Qingsheng , Zhou Jian , Zhao Zhiqing , Bao Junmin , Jing Zaiping
Published: June 2017

The aim of this study is to explore the function of p21-activated kinase 4 (PAK4) in intimal hyperplasia (IH) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) proliferation. We choose vascular samples from patients undergoing angioplasty in superficial femoral artery (SFA) as the experimental group and vascular samples from donors without clinical SFA restenosis as the control group, respectively. We draw from the results that both levels of mRNA and protein of PAK4 in the experimental group increased dramatically compared with the control group. IH arose from angioplasty of SFA. Moreover, overexpression of PAK4 dramatically contributed to cell proliferation of VSMCs and promoted cell cycle progression from G0/G1 phase (71.12±0.69% versus 58.77±0.77%, P<0.001) into S phase (23.99±0.21% versus 31.35±0.33%, P<0.001). Besides, PAK4 downregulated the level of p21 and enhanced the activity of Akt as well. And we conclude that PAK4 acts as a regulator of cell cycle progression of VSMC by mediating Akt signaling and controlling p21 levels, which further modulate IH and VSMCs’ proliferation.
Association between the Time of Length since Smoking Cessation and Insulin Resistance in Asymptomatic Korean Male Ex-Smokers
Authors: Kim Ko-Woon , Kang Sung-Goo , Song Sang-Wook , Kim Na-Rae , Rho Jun-Seung , Lee Yun-Ah
Published: June 2017

Aim.Smoking is a major risk factor for diabetes mellitus, mainly due to decreased insulin secretion and increased insulin resistance. However, there has been little research on the effects of smoking cessation period on changes in insulin resistance. In this study, we investigated the relationships between the length of time since smoking cessation period and insulin resistance in asymptomatic Korean male ex-smokers.Methods.A total of 851 male adults were included in this study. We considered several factors that can affect insulin resistance, and through multiple linear regression analysis, we assessed the effect the length of time since smoking cessation on insulin resistance in ex-smokers. Insulin resistance was represented as the insulin resistance index estimated by homeostasis model assessment.Results. HOMA-IR values showed a statistically significant negative correlation with the length of time since smoking cessation (p=0.009) in ex-smokers. After performing multiple linear regression analysis using factors that could potentially influence insulin resistance, we found that waist circumference (p=0.026) and the length of time since smoking cessation (p=0.039) were independent predictors of HOMA-IR in asymptomatic male ex-smokers.Conclusion. The longer the smoking cessation period, the more the insulin resistance tended to decrease in asymptomatic Korean male ex-smokers.
Genetic Variant ofKalirinGene Is Associated with Ischemic Stroke in a Chinese Han Population
Authors: Li Hong , Yu Shasha , Wang Rui , Sun Zhaoqing , Zhou Xinghu , Zheng Liqiang , Yin Zhihua , Zhang Xingang , Sun Yingxian
Published: June 2017

Introduction.Ischemic stroke is a complex disorder resulting from the interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Previous studies showed that kalirin gene variations were associated with cardiovascular disease. However, the association between this gene and ischemic stroke was unknown. We performed this study to confirm if kalirin gene variation was associated with ischemic stroke.Methods.We enrolled 385 ischemic stroke patients and 362 controls from China. Three SNPs of kalirin gene were genotyped by means of ligase detection reaction-PCR method. Data was processed with SPSS and SHEsis platform.Results.SNP rs7620580 (dominant model: OR = 1.590,p= 0.002 and adjusted OR = 1.662,p= 0.014; additive model: OR = 1.490,p= 0.002 and adjusted OR = 1.636,p= 0.005; recessive model: OR = 2.686,p= 0.039) and SNP rs1708303 (dominant model: OR = 1.523,p= 0.007 and adjusted OR = 1.604,p= 0.028; additive model: OR = 1.438,p= 0.01 and adjusted OR = 1.476,p= 0.039) were associated with ischemic stroke. The GG genotype and G allele of SNP rs7620580 were associated with a risk for ischemic stroke with an adjusted OR of 3.195 and an OR of 1.446, respectively. Haplotype analysis revealed that A–T–G,G-T-A, and A-T-A haplotypes were associated with ischemic stroke.Conclusions.Our results provide evidence that kalirin gene variations were associated with ischemic stroke in the Chinese Han population.
Automatic Detection of Epilepsy and Seizure Using Multiclass Sparse Extreme Learning Machine Classification
Authors: Wang Yuanfa , Li Zunchao , Feng Lichen , Zheng Chuang , Zhang Wenhao
Published: June 2017

An automatic detection system for distinguishing normal, ictal, and interictal electroencephalogram (EEG) signals is of great help in clinical practice. This paper presents a three-class classification system based on discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and the nonlinear sparse extreme learning machine (SELM) for epilepsy and epileptic seizure detection. Three-level lifting DWT using Daubechies order 4 wavelet is introduced to decompose EEG signals into delta, theta, alpha, and beta subbands. Considering classification accuracy and computational complexity, the maximum and standard deviation values of each subband are computed to create an eight-dimensional feature vector. After comparing five multiclass SELM strategies, the one-against-one strategy with the highest accuracy is chosen for the three-class classification system. The performance of the designed three-class classification system is tested with publicly available epilepsy dataset. The results show that the system achieves high enough classification accuracy by combining the SELM and DWT and reduces training and testing time by decreasing computational complexity and feature dimension. With excellent classification performance and low computation complexity, this three-class classification system can be utilized for practical epileptic EEG detection, and it offers great potentials for portable automatic epilepsy and seizure detection system in the future hardware implementation.