bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of mild exercise on glycemic and bodyweight control in Japanese type 2 diabetes patients: A retrospective analysis
Authors: Nakanishi Shuhei , Iwamoto Masahiro , Hirukawa Hidenori , Shimoda Masashi , Tatsumi Fuminori , Kohara Kenji , Obata Atsushi , Okauchi Seizo , Kinoshita Tomoe , Sanada Junpei , Fushimi Yoshiro , Nishioka Momoyo , Mizoguchi Akiko , Kameyama Miyuki , Mune Tomoatsu , Kaku Kohei , Kaneto Hideaki
Published: March 2018

We retrospectively evaluated the effects of mild physical exercise (P) in a routine clinical setting on glycemic and bodyweight control in Japanese type 2 diabetes patients with and without individualized nutritional therapy (D). We analyzed 49 patients who participated in P that measured 2.5 metabolic equivalents and was held once every 2 weeks, compared with 83 non‐participant controls, followed over a period of approximately 1.6 years. With a Cox model, the adjusted hazard ratio for improved glycated hemoglobin by numerical count of P was 1.03 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00–1.07; P = 0.025). Among four categories – with neither P nor D, only P, only D, and both P and D – the hazard ratios for reduced body mass index were 1.0, 0.87 (95% CI 0.46–1.67), 0.58 (95% CI 0.25–1.30) and 2.17 (95% CI 1.03–4.59), respectively. Even mild physical exercise contributed to glycemic control. The combination of P and D exerted beneficial effects on bodyweight control.
Nursing students' understanding of the Fundamentals of Care: A cross‐sectional study in five countries
Authors: Jangland Eva , Mirza Noeman , Conroy Tiffany , Merriman Clair , Suzui Emiko , Nishimura Akiko , Ewens Ann
Published: March 2018

Aim and objective

To explore the accuracy with which nursing students can identify the fundamentals of care.

Background

A challenge facing nursing is ensuring the fundamentals of care are provided with compassion and in a timely manner. How students perceive the importance of the fundamentals of care may be influenced by the content and delivery of their nursing curriculum. As the fundamentals of care play a vital role in ensuring patient safety and quality care, it is important to examine how nursing students identify these care needs.

Design

Cross‐sectional descriptive design.

Methods

A total of 398 nursing students (pre‐ and postregistration) from universities in Sweden, England, Japan, Canada and Australia participated. The Fundamentals of Care Framework guided this study. A questionnaire containing three care scenarios was developed and validated. Study participants identified the fundamentals of care for each of the scenarios. All responses were rated and analysed using ANOVA.

Results

The data illustrate certain fundamentals of care were identified more frequently, including communication and education; comfort and elimination, whilst respecting choice, privacy and dignity were less frequently identified. The ability to identify all the correct care needs was low overall across the pre‐ and postregistration nursing programmes in the five universities. Significant differences in the number of correctly identified care needs between some of the groups were identified.

Conclusions

Nursing students are not correctly identifying all a patient's fundamental care needs when presented with different care scenarios. Students more frequently identifying physical care needs and less frequently psychosocial and relational needs. The findings suggest educators may need to emphasise and integrate all three dimensions.

Relevance to clinical practice

To promote students' ability to identify the integrated nature of the fundamentals of care, practising clinicians and nurse educators need to role model and incorporate all the fundamental care needs for their patients.
Spinal Cord Stimulation: Clinical Efficacy and Potential Mechanisms
Authors: Sdrulla Andrei D. , Guan Yun , Raja Srinivasa N.
Published: March 2018

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a minimally invasive therapy used for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain. SCS is a safe and effective alternative to medications such as opioids, and multiple randomized controlled studies have demonstrated efficacy for difficult‐to‐treat neuropathic conditions such as failed back surgery syndrome. Conventional SCS is believed mediate pain relief via activation of dorsal column Aβ fibers, resulting in variable effects on sensory and pain thresholds, and measurable alterations in higher order cortical processing. Although potentiation of inhibition, as suggested by Wall and Melzack's gate control theory, continues to be the leading explanatory model, other segmental and supraspinal mechanisms have been described. Novel, non‐standard, stimulation waveforms such as high‐frequency and burst have been shown in some studies to be clinically superior to conventional SCS, however their mechanisms of action remain to be determined. Additional studies are needed, both mechanistic and clinical, to better understand optimal stimulation strategies for different neuropathic conditions, improve patient selection and optimize efficacy.
On the Mechanism of Photodehydrogenation of Aryl(hetaryl)pyrazolines in the Presence of Perchloroalkanes
Authors: Traven Valery F. , Cheptsov Dmitriy A. , Bulanova Maria V. , Solovjova Natalya P. , Chibisova Tatyana A. , Dolotov Sergei M. , Ivanov Ivan V.
Published: March 2018

New (1,5‐diaryl‐3‐pyrazolinyl)coumarins have been synthesized. The compounds do not undergo keto‐enol tautomeric transformations with changes in the solvent. (1,5‐Diaryl‐3‐pyrazolinyl)coumarins provide dehydrogenation reaction under irradiation in the presence of perchloroalkanes and manifest themselves as effective photogenerators of acidity. Several aspects of photodehydrogenation mechanism have been studied. Oxygen is shown not be involved in the reaction. Polar solvents increase rate of the reaction. The measured rate constants of the photodehydrogenation reactions vary in a significant range according to the structure of pyrazoline. The data correlate with ionization potentials of pyrazolines available from DFT quantum chemical calculations. These results are discussed in terms of proposed scheme of mechanism of pyrazolines photodehydrogenation assuming formation of ion‐radical and ion intermediates.
Production Chain Disruptions: Inventory, Preparedness, and Insurance
Authors: Dong Lingxiu , Tang Sammi Yu , Tomlin Brian
Published: March 2018

Disruptions that temporarily interrupt production pose a significant risk for manufacturing firms. To manage this risk, firms can purchase interruption insurance and/or deploy operational measures such as storing inventory or taking preparedness actions that reduce the expected interruption length. In this study, we explore inventory, preparedness, and insurance in a two‐stage production chain that can experience disruptions at either the upstream or downstream stage. We analytically characterize an inventory‐only model and a preparedness‐only model in which the firm uses either inventory or preparedness effort to manage disruption risk, and a joint model in which the firm deploys both operational measures. We identify the relationships between the two operational measures within a stage and across the two stages. We also examine how insurance affects a firm's optimal deployment of and preference between the two operational measures. In addition to providing insights into the interaction of these three risk management measures, our results provide insights into the production chain design. For example, the firm can reduce its disruption risk management cost by allocating more production activity downstream (when possible) and this risk management benefit can, at times, outweigh the possible production cost increase associated with allocating more production downstream.
Do US Government Tax Revenues and Expenditures Respond to Debt Levels and Economic Conditions Asymmetrically over the Business Cycle?
Authors: Cassou Steven P , Shadmani Hedieh
Published: March 2018

This paper empirically investigates whether there are asymmetries in the responses of US government tax revenue and expenditure to debt levels and economic conditions over the business cycle. State of the art regime switching regression models, including Threshold Regression and Markov Switching, are investigated. Both sides of the government budget show asymmetries, but the asymmetries for tax revenue show greater statistical significance. The results show that both tax revenue and expenditure respond to high debt levels, with the asymmetry in this response showing that fiscal authorities take weaker action in response to debt during poor economic times. In addition, the asymmetric response to economic conditions for both sides of the budget shows that stronger countercyclical policy is taken during poor economic times.
The Relationship of Digit Ratio (2D:4D) With Cerebral Lateralization and Grip Strength in Elite Swimmers
Authors: Acar Hakan , Eler Nebahat
Published: March 2018

The index finger and the 4th finger ratio (2D:4D) is the indicator of the prenatal testosterone. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between 2D:4D, hand preference and hand grip strength in swimmers. A total of 80 elite swimmers, participated in the study. Height, body weight, body mass index (BMI), hand 2D:4D finger measurements and hand grip strength tests were performed for athletes. The hand preference was determined by the Oldfield questionnaire and it was evaluated according to the Geschwind score. The data were recorded in the SPSS 20 program and p<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. It was found that in both men and women, a negative correlation was found between right and left hand 2D:4D and both dominant (DHGS) and non-dominant hand grip strength (NDHGS) values. It was found that men had lower 2D:4D ratio than women. For both right and left handed, there was a statistically significant difference between the right and left hand 2D:4D ratios in both men and women (p<0.05) and the dominant hand (DH) 2D:4D ratios were found to be lower than non-dominant hand (NDH) 2D:4D ratios in both men and women (p<0.05)  It can be said that the 2D:4D ratios may be the effect of determining the hand preference, the grip strength and therefore the strength.
Existence of valuations with smallest normalized volume
Authors: Blum Harold
Published: March 2018

Li introduced the normalized volume of a valuation due to its relation to K-semistability. He conjectured that over a Kawamata log terminal (klt) singularity there exists a valuation with smallest normalized volume. We prove this conjecture and give an explicit example to show that such a valuation need not be divisorial.
Paenibacillus lautus, an opportunistic bacterial pathogen, isolated from Ixodes granulatus Supino (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from a Müller’s giant Sunda rat (Sundamys muelleri)
Authors: Loong Shih-Keng , Ishak Siti-Nabilah , Lim Fang-Shiang , Khoo Jing-Jing , Tan Sing-Ngoh , Freddy-Jalin Eunice-Jalin , Mohd-Taib Farah-Shafawati , AbuBakar Sazaly
Published: March 2018

Wild rodents are carriers of ectoparasites such as ticks that are vectors of infectious diseases with human and veterinary significances. Due to their close association with human dwellings, synanthropic wild rodents may aid the spread and transmission of tick-borne pathogens. In light of this, an effort was initiated to study the cultivable bacteria within ticks collected from wild rodents trapped in Sungai Congkak Recreational Forest, Selangor. Ticks collected from four different rodent species; Sundamys muelleri, Maxomys whiteheadi, Maxomys rajah and Rattus rattus, were sterilely homogenized and cultured. One unique bacterial isolate originating from an engorged adult female Ixodes granulatus Supino collected off a Sundamys muelleri rat was identified as Paenibacilus lautus via 16S rDNA, ctpA sequencing and biochemical tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that the P. lautus isolate was resistant to ampicillin, penicillin, clindamycin, chloramphenicol, rifampicin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, mirroring the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of clinical strains. Recovery of this opportunistic bacterial pathogen from the tick suggests that it may be transmitted to humans or other hosts through tick bites and cause disease once it enters the bloodstream. Therefore, it is important to remain vigilant due to its pathogenic potential and improve our waste disposal practices to avoid attracting rodents.
Early metabolic response to acute myocardial ischaemia in patients undergoing elective coronary angioplasty
Authors: Di Marino Sara , Viceconte Nicola , Lembo Angelo , Summa Vincenzo , Tanzilli Gaetano , Raparelli Valeria , Truscelli Giovanni , Mangieri Enrico , Gaudio Carlo , Cicero Daniel Oscar
Published: March 2018

Objective

Balloon-induced transient coronary ischaemia represents a model of myocardial ischaemia and reperfusion. We are interested in the very early systemic metabolic response to this event.

Methods

Blood samples of patients with stable angina (SA) were collected before and after coronary angioplasty. Serum metabolic profiles were obtained using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to investigate changes in metabolite concentrations.

Results

Thirty-four consecutive patients with SA, undergoing elective coronary angioplasty at Policlinico Umberto I of Rome, were included in this study. Changes in metabolites concentration induced by balloon occlusion in venous and arterial sera were detected. In both serum types, a significant increase in ketone bodies, 2-hydroxybutyrate, glutamine and O-acetylcarnitine concentration is observed, while alanine, lactate, phenylalanine and tyrosine decreased after intervention. Most significant metabolic changes were detected in arterial serum.

Conclusions

Our study points out two main global metabolic changes in peripheral blood after balloon-induced coronary ischaemia: ketone bodies increase and lactate decrease. Both could be related to compensation mechanisms finalised to fulfil heart’s needs after short period of myocardial ischaemia and probably after reperfusion.
Normative ultrasound references for the paediatric wrist; dorsal soft tissues
Authors: Rosendahl Karen , Bruserud Ingvild Sævold , Oehme Ninnie , Júlíusson Pétur Benedikt , Horatio Laura Tanturri de , Müller Lil-Sofie Ording , Magni-Manzoni Silvia
Published: March 2018

Objective

To report novel ultrasound (US) references for the healthy paediatric wrist.

Methods

Healthy children and adolescents had an US examination including Doppler, of the right wrist, using a mid-sagittal image through the radiocarpal (RC)/midcarpal (MC) joints. These features were noted: appearances and depth of the recess, with an additional measurement in the flexed position and number of Doppler signals within the recess in close proximity to the joint. In a second, blinded session, all images were reassessed by the same observer.

Results

In total, 116 subjects (59 girls) aged 6–16 years (mean 10 years and 11 months) were included. The RC recess was visible in 71, of which 60 were non-bulging and 11 were bulging. In flexion, the thickness decreased in 60 (84.5%), suggestive of joint fluid. Of the 54 visible MC recesses, 45 (83.3%) thinned in flexion. The mean depths of the RC and MC recesses were 0.4 mm (SD 0.5, range 0–2.9) and 0.5 mm (SD 0.6, range 0–2.4), respectively, with no differences according to sex, but with increasing depths by age.

For the RC joints, at least one Doppler signal was seen in the recess in 9/116 joints (7.8%), whereas this was true for 3.5% of the MC recesses. There were no statistically significant association between the depth of the RC or MC recesses and number of hand active sport activities (P=0.733 and P=0.091, respectively).

Conclusion

The appearances of the dorsal RC and MC recesses in healthy children may mimic pathology. Hence, findings should be interpreted carefully.
Cardioembolic stroke: everything has changed
Authors: Spence J David
Published: March 2018

Historically, because of the difficulty of using warfarin safely and effectively, many patients with cardioembolic stroke who should have been anticoagulated were instead given ineffective antiplatelet therapy (or no antithrombotic therapy). With the arrival of new oral anticoagulants that are not significantly more likely than aspirin to cause severe haemorrhage, everything has changed. Because antiplatelet agents are much less effective in preventing cardioembolic stroke, it is now more prudent to anticoagulate patients in whom cardioembolic stroke is strongly suspected. Recent advances include the recognition that intermittent atrial fibrillation is better detected with more prolonged monitoring of the cardiac rhythm, and that percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) may reduce the risk of stroke. However, because in most patients with stroke and PFO the PFO is incidental, this should be reserved for patients in whom paradoxical embolism is likely. A high shunt grade on transcranial Doppler saline studies, and clinical clues to paradoxical embolism, can help in appropriate selection of patients for percutaneous closure. For patients with atrial fibrillation who cannot be anticoagulated, ablation of the left atrial appendage is an emerging option. It is also increasingly recognised that high levels of homocysteine, often due to undiagnosed metabolic deficiency of vitamin B12, markedly increase the risk of stroke in atrial fibrillation, and that B vitamins (folic acid and B12) do prevent stroke by lowering homocysteine. However, with regard to B12, methylcobalamin should probably be used instead of cyanocobalamin. Many important considerations for judicious application of therapies to prevent cardioembolic stroke are discussed.
Maximizing sustainability of existing buildings within limited upgrade budgets
Authors: Abdallah Moatassem , Akyeampong Boateng , El-Rayes Khaled
Published: March 2018

Existing buildings, especially aging ones, are currently in urgent need of upgrading to improve their performance and potentially achieve green certification. Building owners often need to identify and implement building upgrades that maximize the sustainability of their buildings as well as achieve green certification programs such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). This paper presents the development of an optimization model that maximizes the number of earned LEED points for existing buildings within a specified upgrade budget. A case study of an existing building is used to demonstrate the use of the optimization model and illustrate its capabilities. This research presents new methodology for optimizing the selection of building upgrades to maximize the sustainability of existing buildings and achieve green certification within limited budgets. The present model is expected to support decision-makers, building owners and operators, building managers, and contractors to optimize the use of their upgrade budgets and maximize sustainability of their buildings.
Fine-scale movement of juvenile Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) during aggregations in the lower Saint John River Basin, New Brunswick, Canada
Authors: Whitmore Margaret M. , Litvak Matthew K.
Published: March 2018

Juvenile Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) form seasonal aggregations near the salt wedge in their natal river systems. We used an array of Vemco positioning system acoustic receivers to track fine-scale movement within aggregation sites in two rivers in the Saint John River Basin. We used the t-LoCoH convex hull construction algorithm to map space use and aggregation behavior and nonmetric multidimensional scaling to test for differences among rivers, seasons, and photoperiods. Aggregation sites consisted of small core areas, where juvenile Atlantic sturgeon remained for long periods, that are adjacent to foraging grounds. This structure was largely consistent between rivers and seasons. Directional movement within aggregation sites differed between rivers. In areas of high flow velocity, directional movement was parallel to flow and largely restricted to littoral areas, whereas areas of low flow exhibited no distinct patterns in directional movement. This indicates flow may be an important driver of fine-scale distribution within aggregation sites. Studies of fine-scale space use can inform future investigations of rearing capacity, aid in the identification of critical habitat, and inform management decisions.
Focal adhesions are involved in simulated-microgravity-induced basilar and femoral arterial remodelling in rats
Authors: Jiang Min , Lyu Qiang , Bai Yun-Gang , Liu Huan , Yang Jing , Cheng Jiu-Hua , Zheng Ming , Ma Jin
Published: March 2018

Recent studies have suggested that microgravity-induced arterial remodelling contributes to post-flight orthostatic intolerance and that multiple mechanisms are involved in arterial remodelling. However, the initial mechanism by which haemodynamic changes induce arterial remodelling is unknown. Focal adhesions (FAs) are dynamic protein complexes that have mechanotransduction properties. This study aimed to investigate the role of FAs in simulated-microgravity-induced basilar and femoral arterial remodelling. A 4-week hindlimb-unweighted (HU) rat model was used to simulate the effects of microgravity, and daily 1-hour intermittent artificial gravity (IAG) was used to prevent arterial remodelling. After 4-week HU, wall thickness, volume of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and collagen content were increased in basilar artery but decreased in femoral artery (P < 0.05). Additionally, the expression of p-FAK Y397 and p-Src Y418 was increased and reduced in SMCs of basilar and femoral arteries, respectively, by HU (P < 0.05). The number of FAs was increased in basilar artery and reduced in femoral artery by HU (P < 0.05). Furthermore, daily 1-hour IAG prevented HU-induced differential structural adaptations and changes in FAs of basilar and femoral arteries. These results suggest that FAs may act as mechanosensors in arterial remodelling by initiating intracellular signal transduction in response to altered mechanical stress induced by microgravity.
Hitchin pairs on reducible curves
Authors: Bhosle Usha N.
Published: March 2018

We define semistable generalized parabolic Hitchin pairs (GPH) on a disjoint union [Formula: see text] of integral smooth curves and construct their moduli spaces. We define a Hitchin map on the moduli space of GPH and show that it is a proper map. We construct moduli spaces of semistable Hitchin pairs on a reducible projective curve [Formula: see text]. When [Formula: see text] is the normalization of [Formula: see text], we give a birational morphism [Formula: see text] from the moduli space [Formula: see text] of good GPH on [Formula: see text] to the moduli space [Formula: see text] of Hitchin pairs on [Formula: see text] and show that the Hitchin map on [Formula: see text] induces a proper Hitchin map on [Formula: see text]. We determine the fibers of the Hitchin maps. We study the relationship between representations of the (topological) fundamental group of [Formula: see text] and Higgs bundles on [Formula: see text]. We show that if all the irreducible components of [Formula: see text] are smooth, then the Hitchin map is defined on the entire moduli space [Formula: see text].
Detection of Lane-Change Events in Naturalistic Driving Videos
Authors: Wang Shuhang , Ott Brian R. , Luo Gang
Published: March 2018

Lane changes are important behaviors to study in driving research. Automated detection of lane-change events is required to address the need for data reduction of a vast amount of naturalistic driving videos. This paper presents a method to deal with weak lane-marker patterns as small as a couple of pixels wide. The proposed method is novel in its approach to detecting lane-change events by accumulating lane-marker candidates over time. Since the proposed method tracks lane markers in temporal domain, it is robust to low resolution and many different kinds of interferences. The proposed technique was tested using 490 h of naturalistic driving videos collected from 63 drivers. The lane-change events in a 10-h video set were first manually coded and compared with the outcome of the automated method. The method’s sensitivity was 94.8% and the data reduction rate was 93.6%. The automated procedure was further evaluated using the remaining 480-h driving videos. The data reduction rate was 97.4%. All 4971 detected events were manually reviewed and classified as either true or false lane-change events. Bootstrapping showed that the false discovery rate from the larger data set was not significantly different from that of the 10-h manually coded data set. This study demonstrated that the temporal processing of lane markers is an efficient strategy for detecting lane-change events involving weak lane-marker patterns in naturalistic driving.
Infrared Aerial Small Target Detection with NSCT and Two-Dimensional Property Histogram
Authors: Liu Gang , Liu Sen , Wang Fei , Ma Jianwei
Published: March 2018

A novel algorithm is presented based on non-subsampled contourlet transform (NSCT) and two dimension property histogram in order to realize the aerial small target detection of infrared imaging under complex background. First, this method transforms the infrared image from space domain to NSCT domain. In high frequency bandpass domain, this method describes the sub-band coefficients according to Gaussian scale mixture model based on Bayesian estimation and estimates the center coefficient with the local neighbor’s in order to predict the high frequency background. On the other hand, this method predicts the low frequency background with self-adaption median filter in low frequency lowpass domain. Subsequently, the reversing NSCT is done and the complex background is estimated. By means of subtracting the estimated background image from the source image, the complex background is suppressed and the outstanding small target is acquired. Second, constructing the target’s property set according to the priori knowledge, this method defines the corresponding two-dimensional property histogram which is applied into calculating the segmenting threshold on basis of the maximum entropy method. Subsequently, the infrared image whose complex background is suppressed will be segmented into binary image by the threshold. Finally, infrared small target is detected by the pipeline filter algorithm which makes use of the relativity of the target movement between frames. The experimental results prove the presented method’s effectiveness which can detect the small target whose signal noise ratio (SNR) value is above 2 steadily.
Pre-Treatment of Weak Information of Status Feature of Wind Turbine Gearbox Based on Wavelet New Threshold Transform
Authors: Xu Xiaoli , Liu Xiuli
Published: March 2018

The early stage of the running stability degradation of wind turbine drive system is very subtle and always covered up by variable working condition or other nondegradation signals; what is more, the wind turbine vibration signals collected by sensors usually contain a lot of noises, thus they are of low signal-noise ratio and high complexity. Wavelet analysis is superior to Fourier analysis in the processing of complex and nonstationary signal because the former can focus on any detail of the analytic target. To make up the deficiencies of hard and soft threshold functions and integrate their advantages, a new threshold function algorithm has been designed. The failure data and field test of wind turbine gearbox proved the effectiveness of the method.
Infinite degrees of freedom Weyl representation: Characterization and application
Authors: Barhoumi Abdessatar , Ammou Bilel Kacem Ben , Rguigui Hafedh
Published: March 2018

By means of infinite-dimensional nuclear spaces, we generalize important results on the representation of the Weyl commutation relations. For this purpose, we construct a new nuclear Lie group generalizing the groups introduced by Parthasarathy [An Introduction to Quantum Stochastic Calculus (Birkhäuser, 1992)] and Gelfand–Vilenkin [Generalized Functions (Academic Press, 1964)] (see Ref. 15). Then we give an explicit construction of Weyl representations generated from a non-Fock representation. Moreover, we characterize all these Weyl representations in quantum white noise setting.
FSLLE: A Fast K Selection Algorithm for Locally Linear Embedding
Authors: Liu Jin-Hang , Peng Tao , Zhao Xiaogang , Song Kunfang , Jiang Minghua , Hu Ming , Hu XinRong , Qin Xiao
Published: March 2018

Data in a high-dimensional data space may reside in a low-dimensional manifold embedded within the high-dimensional space. Manifold learning discovers intrinsic manifold data structures to facilitate dimensionality reductions. We propose a novel manifold learning technique called fast [Formula: see text] selection for locally linear embedding or FSLLE, which judiciously chooses an appropriate number (i.e., parameter [Formula: see text]) of neighboring points where the local geometric properties are maintained by the locally linear embedding (LLE) criterion. To measure the spatial distribution of a group of neighboring points, FSLLE relies on relative variance and mean difference to form a spatial correlation index characterizing the neighbors’ data distribution. The goal of FSLLE is to quickly identify the optimal value of parameter [Formula: see text], which aims at minimizing the spatial correlation index. FSLLE optimizes parameter [Formula: see text] by making use of the spatial correlation index to discover intrinsic structures of a data point’s neighbors. After implementing FSLLE, we conduct extensive experiments to validate the correctness and evaluate the performance of FSLLE. Our experimental results show that FSLLE outperforms the existing solutions (i.e., LLE and ISOMAP) in manifold learning and dimension reduction. We apply FSLLE to face recognition in which FSLLE achieves higher accuracy than the state-of-the-art face recognition algorithms. FSLLE is superior to the face recognition algorithms, because FSLLE makes a good tradeoff between classification precision and performance.
Effect of the post-annealing temperature on the thermal-decomposed NiOx hole contact layer for perovskite solar cells
Authors: Guo Yuxiao , Yin Xingtian , Liu Jie , Chen Wei , Wen Sen , Que Meidan , Tian Yapeng , Yang Yawei , Que Wenxiu
Published: March 2018

A hysteresis-less inverted perovskite solar cell (PSC) with power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13.57% was successfully achieved based on the thermal-decomposed NiOx hole contact layer, possessing better electron blocking and hole extraction properties for its suitable work function and high-conduction band edge position. Herein, the transparent and high-crystalline NiOx film is prepared by thermal-decomposing of the solution-derived Ni(OH)2 film in our study, which is then employed as hole transport layer (HTL) of the organic–inorganic hybrid PSCs. Reasonably, the post-annealing treatment, especially for the annealing temperature, could greatly affect the Ni(OH)2 decomposition process and the quality of decomposed NiOx nanoparticles. The vital NiOx HTLs with discrepant morphology, crystallinity and transmission certainly lead to a wide range of device performance. As a result, an annealing process of 400[Formula: see text]C/2[Formula: see text]h significantly promotes the photovoltaic properties of the NiOx layer and the further device performance.
Optical transparent infrared high absorption metamaterial absorbers
Authors: Yang Jingfan , Xu Cuilian , Qu Shaobo , Ma Hua , Wang Jiafu , Pang Yongqiang
Published: March 2018

In this work, an optical transparent infrared high absorption metamaterial absorber is proposed based on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate. Due to the fact that ITO holds high reflectivity property in infrared region while transparent in optical region, ITO can be used in the application of Surface Plasmon Polaritons. In this design, three kinds of infrared metamaterial absorbers were proposed. All of them can achieve high absorption at 10.6[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m while remaining transparent in visible region. LC equivalent circuit model was served as design foundation. The infrared absorption efficiency was numerically calculated and the mechanism analysis is given in the paper. The simulation results show that all three structures can achieve high absorption efficiency at 10.6[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m under TE/TM polarization. The absorption remains high when the incident angle is less than 70[Formula: see text]. Experimental results exhibit good accordance with simulation.
Evaluating Linkages between Atmospheric Blocking Patterns and Heavy Rainfall Events across the North-Central Mississippi River Valley for Different ENSO Phases
Authors: Rabinowitz Jordan L. , Lupo Anthony R. , Guinan Patrick E.
Published: March 2018

Over the last six to seven decades, there has been a substantial increase in atmospheric research to better understand the dynamics and evolution of atmospheric blocking events. It is well known that atmospheric blocking serves as a catalyst for increasing the frequency of atmospheric flow regime stagnation and forecast unpredictability. This study built upon the results of previous work by expanding upon the findings of various climatologies and case studies. This work analyzes specific trends observed in association with atmospheric blocking predominantly across the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Such trends include the relationship between the size, duration, and onset position of atmospheric blocking events and the frequency, duration, and intensity of heavy rainfall events across the central United States. A strong focus is placed on examining the duration and spatial extent of atmospheric blocking which has been found to influence the intensity of heavy rainfall events. The goal is to further bridge the gap between the location and duration of blocking highs and the intensity, duration, and frequency of heavy rainfall events which occur downstream of such blocking events.
A Novel Self-Calibration Method for Acoustic Vector Sensor
Authors: Zhang Yao , Fu Jin , Li Guannan
Published: March 2018

The acoustic vector sensor (AVS) can measure the acoustic pressure field’s spatial gradient, so it has directionality. But its channels may have nonideal gain/phase responses, which will severely degrade its performance in finding source direction. To solve this problem, in this study, a self-calibration algorithm based on all-phase FFT spectrum analysis is proposed. This method is “self-calibrated” because prior knowledge of the training signal’s arrival angle is not required. By measuring signals from different directions, the initial phase can be achieved by taking the all-phase FFT transform to each channel. We use the amplitude of the main spectrum peak of every channel in different direction to formulate an equation; the amplitude gain estimates can be achieved by solving this equation. In order to get better estimation accuracy, bearing difference of different training signals should be larger than a threshold, which is related to SNR. Finally, the reference signal’s direction of arrival can be estimated. This method is easy to implement and has advantage in accuracy and antinoise. The efficacy of this proposed scheme is verified with simulation results.
An R2 Indicator and Decomposition Based Steady-State Evolutionary Algorithm for Many-Objective Optimization
Authors: Li Fei , Liu Jianchang , Huang Peiqiu , Shi Huaitao
Published: March 2018

An R2 indicator based selection method is a major ingredient in the formulation of indicator based evolutionary multiobjective optimization algorithms. The existing classical indicator based selection methodologies have demonstrated an excellent performance to solve low-dimensional optimization problems. However, the R2 indicator based evolutionary multiobjective optimization algorithms encounter enormous challenges in high-dimensional objective space. Our main purpose is to explore how to extend the R2 indicator to handle many-objective optimization problems. After analyzing the R2 indicator, the objective space partition strategy, and the decomposition method, we propose a steady-state evolutionary algorithm based on the R2 indicator and the decomposition method, named, R2-MOEA/D, to obtain well-converged and well-distributed Pareto front. The main contribution of this paper contains two aspects. (1) The convergence and diversity for the R2 indicator based selection are analyzed. Two improper selection situations will be properly solved via applying the decomposition method. (2) According to the position of a new individual in the steady-state evolutionary algorithm, two different objective space partition strategies and the corresponding selection methods are proposed. Extensive experiments are conducted on a variety of benchmark test problems, and the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has competitive performance in comparison with several tailored algorithms for many-objective optimization.
Behaviour and Failure of Steel Columns Subjected to Blast Loads: Numerical Study and Analytical Approach
Authors: Al-Thairy Haitham
Published: March 2018

The main objective of this study is the numerical simulation of the behaviour and failure patterns of steel columns under blast loads using the dynamic finite element package ABAQUS/Explicit. A numerical model is suggested and validated against published experimental tests on full‐scale wide‐flange steel columns subjected to dynamic blast loads under constant axial compressive force. Afterwards, the validated model is used to investigate the effect of important parameters on the behaviour and failure patterns of steel columns under blast pressure through an extensive parametric study. The parameters include the blast impulse, the blast energy, the blast load, the blast duration, the column boundary condition, the column slenderness ratio, and the blast direction. The conclusions extracted from this parametric study may be used to develop a thorough understanding of the behaviour and failure of steel columns subjected to blast load which, in turn, could lead to a more accurate practical design procedure. The study also presents derivations and validations of a proposed analytical approach to calculate the critical blast impulse at which a steel column losses its global stability. Comparison between the critical impulse‐axial force curves obtained from the proposed equation and that extracted from numerical simulations indicates the validity and feasibility of the proposed equation.
Age-Related Differences in Cortical and Subcortical Activities during Observation and Motor Imagery of Dynamic Postural Tasks: An fMRI Study
Authors: Mouthon A. , Ruffieux J. , Mouthon M. , Hoogewoud H.-M. , Annoni J.-M. , Taube W.
Published: March 2018

Age-related changes in brain activation other than in the primary motor cortex are not well known with respect to dynamic balance control. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore age-related differences in the control of static and dynamic postural tasks using fMRI during mental simulation of balance tasks. For this purpose, 16 elderly (72 ± 5 years) and 16 young adults (27 ± 5 years) were asked to mentally simulate a static and a dynamic balance task by motor imagery (MI), action observation (AO), or the combination of AO and MI (AO + MI). Age-related differences were detected in the form of larger brain activations in elderly compared to young participants, especially in the challenging dynamic task when applying AO + MI. Interestingly, when MI (no visual input) was contrasted to AO (visual input), elderly participants revealed deactivation of subcortical areas. The finding that the elderly demonstrated overactivation in mostly cortical areas in challenging postural conditions with visual input (AO + MI and AO) but deactivation in subcortical areas during MI (no vision) may indicate that elderly individuals allocate more cortical resources to the internal representation of dynamic postural tasks. Furthermore, it might be assumed that they depend more strongly on visual input to activate subcortical internal representations.
Identification of Malignancy-Associated Changes in Histologically Normal Tumor-Adjacent Epithelium of Patients with HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer
Authors: Jabalee James , Carraro Anita , Ng Tony , Prisman Eitan , Garnis Cathie , Guillaud Martial
Published: March 2018

The incidence of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer (HPV+ OPC) is increasing, thus presenting new challenges for disease detection and management. Noninvasive methods involving brush biopsies of diseased tissues were recently reported as insufficient for tumor detection in HPV+ OPC patients, likely due to differences between the site of tumor initiation at the base of involuted crypts and the site of brush biopsy at the crypt surface. We hypothesized that histologically normal surface epithelial cells in the oropharynx contain changes in nuclear morphology that arise due to tumor proximity. We analyzed the nuclear phenotype of matched tumor, tumor-adjacent normal, and contralateral normal tissues from biopsies of nine HPV+ OPC patients. Measurements of 89 nuclear features were used to train a random forest-based classifier to discriminate between normal and tumor nuclei. We then extracted voting scores from the trained classifier, which classify nuclei on a continuous scale from zero (“normal-like”) to one (“tumor-like”). In each case, the average score of the adjacent normal nuclei was intermediate between the tumor and contralateral normal nuclei. These results provide evidence for the existence of phenotypic changes in histologically normal, tumor-adjacent surface epithelial cells, which could be used as brush biopsy-based biomarkers for HPV+ OPC detection.
Coupling Solvent Extraction Units to Cyclic Adsorption Units
Authors: Busto Mariana , Tarifa Enrique Eduardo , Vera Carlos Román
Published: March 2018

The possibility of regenerating the solvent of extraction units by cyclic adsorption was analyzed. This combination seems convenient when extraction is performed with a high solvent-to-impurity ratio, making other choices of solvent regeneration, typically distillation, unattractive. To our knowledge, the proposed regeneration scheme has not been considered before in the open literature. Basic relations were developed for continuous and discontinuous extraction/adsorption combinations. One example, deacidification of plant oil with alcohol, was studied in detail using separate experiments for measuring process parameters and simulation for predicting performance at different conditions. An activated carbon adsorbent was regenerated by thermal swing, making cyclic operation possible. When extracting the acid with methanol in a spray column, feed = 4 L min−1, solvent = 80 L min−1, feed impurity level 140 mmol L−1, and extract concentration 7.6 mmol L−1, the raffinate reaches a purity of 1.2 mmol L−1, the solvent being regenerated cyclically in the adsorber (364 kg) to an average of 0.7 mmol L−1. Regeneration of the solvent by cyclic adsorption had a low heat duty. Values of 174 kJ per litre of solvent compared well with the high values for vaporization of the whole extract phase (1011 kJ L−1).
Substance Use, Criminal Recidivism, and Mortality in Criminal Justice Clients: A Comparison between Men and Women
Authors: Mannerfelt Caroline , Håkansson Anders
Published: March 2018

Background. This study aimed to map differences between male and female offenders with substance abuse, with respect to descriptive characteristics and risk factors for mortality and criminal recidivism. Methods. Criminal justice clients with substance abuse problems (n=7085) were interviewed with the Addiction Severity Index. Mortality and data on return to criminal justice were retrieved from national registers. Results. Female offenders reported heavier substance use patterns, more psychiatric symptoms, and more often a partner with substance abuse, but had lower mortality (2% versus 4%) and criminal recidivism (62% versus 71%) during follow-up. Having a substance-abusing partner was associated with criminal recidivism among females. Conclusions. Female offenders with substance abuse differ from their male counterparts. Males and females had different risk factors for criminal recidivism.
A Novel Wideband Circularly Polarized Antenna for RF Energy Harvesting in Wireless Sensor Nodes
Authors: Nguyen Nhu Huan , Bui Thi Duyen , Le Anh Dung , Pham Anh Duc , Nguyen Thanh Tung , Nguyen Quoc Cuong , Le Minh Thuy
Published: March 2018

A novel wideband circularly polarized antenna array using sequential rotation feeding network is presented in this paper. The proposed antenna array has a relative bandwidth of 38.7% at frequencies from 5.05 GHz to 7.45 GHz with a highest gain of 12 dBi at 6 GHz. A corresponding left-handed metamaterial is designed in order to increase antenna gain without significantly affecting its polarization characteristics. The wideband circularly polarized antenna with 2.4 GHz of bandwidth is a promising solution for wireless communication system such as tracking or wireless energy harvesting from Wi-Fi signal based on IEEE 802.11ac standard or future 5G cellular. A potential application of this antenna as a receiving antenna for RF-DC device to obtain DC power for a wireless sensor node from Wi-Fi signal is shown.
Copy Number Variation of Immune-Related Genes and Their Association with Iodine in Adults with Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases
Authors: Jin Xing , Guan Yunfeng , Shen Hongmei , Pang Yi , Liu Lixiang , Jia Qingzhen , Meng Fangang , Zhang Xiaoye
Published: March 2018

Background. Autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD) are complex conditions that are caused by an interaction between genetic susceptibility and environmental triggers. Iodine is already known to be an environmental trigger for AITD, but genes associated with susceptibility need to be further assessed. Therefore, the aims of this study were to assess the association between copy number variations (CNVs) and AITD, to identify genes related with susceptibility to AITD, and to investigate the interaction between iodine status and CNVs in the occurrence of AITD. Methods. Blood samples from 15 patients with AITD and 15 controls were assessed by chromosome microarray to identify candidate genes. The copy number of candidate genes and urinary iodine level was determined in adults from areas of different iodine statuses including 158 patients and 181 controls. Results. The immune-related genes, SIRPB1 and TMEM91, were selected as candidate genes. The distribution of SIRPB1 CNV in AITD patients and controls was significantly different and was considered a risk factor for AITD. There was no significant association between urinary iodine level and candidate gene CNVs. Conclusion. SIRPB1 CNV and an excess of iodine were risk factors for AITD, but an association with the occurrence of AITD was not found.