bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
General Anesthesia may have Similar Outcomes with Conscious Sedation in Thrombectomy Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Real-World Registry in China
Authors: Shan Wanying , Yang Dong , Wang Huaiming , Xu Liang , Zhang Meng , Liu Wenhua , Zi Wenjie , Hao Yonggang , Xiong Yunyun , Xu Gelin , Liu Xinfeng
Published: July 2018

Background and Purpose: Clinical trials showed that anesthesia may not influence the functional outcome in stroke patients with endovascular therapy; however, data are lacking in China. Using real-world registry data, our study aims to compare the effects of general anesthesia or conscious sedation on functional outcomes in stroke patients treated with thrombectomy in China. Methods: Consecutive patients with acute anterior circulation stroke receiving thrombectomy in 21 stroke centers between January 2014 and June 2016 were included in this study. The propensity score analysis with 1: 1 ratio was used to match the baseline variables between patients with general anesthesia and the conscious sedation. The 90-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS), symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), and death were compared between groups. Results: Of the 698 patients undergoing endovascular treatment, 138 were treated with general anesthesia and 560 with conscious sedation. After propensity score matching, 114 general anesthesia and 114 conscious sedation patients were matched. The proportions of patients with 90-day mRS 0–2 were not significantly different between general anesthesia and conscious sedation groups (41.2% [47/114] vs. 46.5% [53/114], p = 0.470), nor were the rates of sICH (21.9% [25/114] vs. 12.3% [14/114], p = 0.072) and 90-day mortality (31.6% [36/114] vs. 21.9% [25/114], p = 0.145). Conclusion: Anesthesia patterns may have no significant impacts on clinical outcomes in patients with acute anterior circulation occlusion stroke undergoing endovascular treatment in the real-world practice in China.
Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone Agonist Final Oocyte Maturation and Human Chorionic Gonadotropin as Exclusive Luteal Support in Normal Responders
Authors: Beck-Fruchter Ronit , Baram Shira , Geslevich Yoel , Weiss Amir
Published: July 2018

Background/Aims: Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist triggering results in an endogenous gonadotropin flare. Although it effectively stimulates ovulation, GnRH agonist triggers results in an early luteolysis and requires modification of the luteal support. The current study aims to evaluate GnRH agonist triggering with exclusive human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) luteal support. Methods: In this prospective observational study, 56 normogonadotropic-assisted reproductive technology patients, stimulated using a GnRH-antagonist protocol, were studied. Final oocyte maturation was achieved with 0.2 mg triptorelin acetate followed by progesterone free luteal support with human choriogonadotropin (1,500 IU * 2). A control group was selected from a pool of 1,023 normogonadotropic patients who received Choriogonadotropin alfa for final oocyte maturation and progesterone suppositories for luteal support. Results: No significant difference was found for the number of oocytes, oocyte maturation rate, fertilization and implantation rate, clinical pregnancy rate (25 vs. 26.7%) and live birth rate (25 vs. 21.4%). Progesterone levels in conception cycles were significantly higher in the study group than corresponding levels in the control group. Conclusion: GnRH agonist triggering with exclusive hCG support may be a valid alternative to hCG triggering with progesterone support. This protocol combines the potential advantages of a physiological trigger with a simple, patient-friendly, luteal support.
Depressive Symptoms in Dialysis: Prevalence and Relationship with Uremia-Related Biochemical Parameters
Authors: Cirillo Luigi , Cutruzzulà Roberta , Somma Chiara , Gregori Marco , Cestone Giuseppe , Pizzarelli Chiara , Toccafondi Alessandro , Pizzarelli Francesco , Dattolo Pietro Claudio
Published: July 2018

Background: Depression is the most common psychiatric disorder in long-term dialysis patients and a risk factor for morbidity and mortality. Although there is a relevance of the issue in the dialysis setting, we still know little about possible relationships between depression and uraemia-related biochemical abnormalities. Our aims were to evaluate (1) the prevalence of depression in our haemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) population using a validated and easy-to-implement screening tool and (2) the association between depression and the main uraemia-related clinical and biochemical parameter changes. Methods: In this monocentric cross-sectional study, all patients of our centre with at least 3 months of dialysis were screened by Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), a self-administered depression-screening questionnaire validated in dialysis setting. The impact of depressive symptoms on daily life was also assessed. We then analysed relationships between the PHQ-9-derived depressive score, functional impairment score, demographic, clinical and laboratory variables. Results: In our cohort of 145 patients, depressive symptoms were found in 69 patients (46%). Stratifying for severity, mild, moderate and severe grade accounted for 31, 13 and 2% respectively. Depressive symptoms affected 36% of patients on PD versus 52% of patients on HD. Moreover, the PD patients had significantly less functional impairment derived from depressive symptoms than the HD patients. Simple and multiple regression analysis identified serum phosphorus as the only uraemia-related laboratory parameter that was high statistically associated with depressive score. Conclusions: Using a reliable, simple and fast tool, we found that depressive symptoms affect almost half of dialysis patients, particularly so the HD cohort. Severity of depressive symptoms seems related to serum levels of phosphorus possibly because depression affects compliance to therapy.
The Effect of Metformin on the Endometrium of Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Authors: Dragamestianos Christos , Messini Christina I. , Antonakis Pantelis T. , Zacharouli Konstantina , Kostopoulou Evanthia , Makrigiannakis Antonis , Georgoulias Panagiotis , Anifandis George , Dafopoulos Konstantinos , Garas Antonios , Daponte Alexandros , Messinis Ioannis E.
Published: July 2018

Objectives: To investigate the effect of metformin on endometrial receptivity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods: Twenty volunteer women with polycystic ovaries and oligomenorrhea were prospectively investigated. All women were treated with exogenous estradiol and progesterone to simulate a normal menstrual cycle (28-day duration) after GnRH-induced pituitary desensitization. Ten of the women received no other medication (group A, control), while the remaining 10 received metformin (group B, metformin). Endometrial biopsy was performed in all women on day 21 of the 2 simulated cycles. Results: The expression of corticotropin – releasing hormone and urocortin in the endometrium was investigated. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups. A 3-day delay in the secretory maturation of the glandular epithelium relatively to the stroma was observed in 7 out of 10 women of group B (70%) as compared to only 1 out of 10 women of group A (10%, p = 0.02). Conclusions: It is shown for the first time that metformin administration to women with PCOS did not affect the expression of endometrial receptivity markers but delayed histological glandular maturation. It is suggested that metformin may have an impact on the function of the endometrium in PCOS.
MCP-1 and MIP-3α Secreted from Necrotic Cell-Treated Glioblastoma Cells Promote Migration/Infiltration of Microglia
Authors: Jung Yieun , Ahn So-Hee , Park Hyunju , Park Sang Hui , Choi Kyungsun , Choi Chulhee , Kang Jihee Lee , Choi Youn-Hee
Published: July 2018

Background/Aims: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumor in adults. The defining characteristics of GBM are diffuse infiltration of tumor cells into normal brain parenchyma, rapid growth, a high degree of infiltration of microglia and macrophages, and the presence of necrosis. Microglia/macrophages are frequently found in gliomas and they extensively infiltrate GBM tissue, up to 30% of total tumor mass. However, little is known about the effect of necrotic cells (NCs) on microglia infiltration in GBM and the tumor-infiltrating microglia-induced factors in GBMs. Methods: In this study, to address whether necrosis or necrosis-exposed GBM cells affect the degree of microglia/macrophage infiltration, migration and invasion/infiltration assays were performed. Culture supernatants and nuclear extracts of CRT-MG cells treated or untreated with necrotic cells were analyzed using a chemokine array and electrophoretic mobility shift assay, respectively. Results: The presence of NCs promoted the migration/infiltration of microglia, and GBM cell line CRT-MG cells exposed to NCs further enhanced the migration and infiltration of HMO6 microglial cells. Treatment with NCs induced mRNA and protein expression of chemokines such as Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 (CCL2/MCP-1) and Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-3α (CCL20/MIP-3α) in CRT-MG cells. In particular, CCL2/MCP-1 and CCL20/MIP-3α were significantly increased in NC-treated CRT-MG cells. NCs induced DNA binding of the transcription factors Nuclear Factor (NF)-κB and Activator Protein 1 (AP-1) to the CCL2/MCP-1 and CCL20/MIP-3α promoters, leading to increased CCL2/MCP-1 and CCL20/MIP-3α mRNA and protein expression in CRT-MG cells. Conclusion: These results provide evidence that NCs induce the expression of CCL2/MCP-1 and CCL20/MIP-3α in glioblastoma cells through activation of NF-κB and AP-1 and facilitate the infiltration of microglia into tumor tissues.
Prognostic Signature of Alternative Splicing Events in Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma Based on Spliceseq Data from 317 Cases
Authors: He Rong-quan , Zhou Xian-guo , Yi Qiao-yong , Deng Cai-wang , Gao Jia-min , Chen Gang , Wang Qiu-yan
Published: July 2018

Background/Aims: Increasing evidences indicated the important roles of alternative splicing in the progression and prognosis of bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA). However, most previous research has focused on one or several alternative splicing events, without a comprehensive evaluation of the prognostic value of splicing events in BLCA. In this study, we aimed to determine risk scores for predicting prognosis of BLCA patients based on splicing events. Methods: RNA-sequencing data and clinical information of BLCA patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas, and data of splicing events were obtained from the SpliceSeq database. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were employed to identify survival-associated alternative spicing events (SASEs) and to calculate risk scores. Protein-protein interaction analysis of genes of the SASEs was performed using STRING, a database of known and predicted protein-protein interactions, and pathway enrichment analysis of the genes was implemented using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (version 6.8). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and Kaplan-Meier analysis were used to evaluate the clinical significance of genes from the SASEs for building a risk score in BLCA. Correlation between splicing events of splicing factors and non-splicing factors were analyzed with Pearson correlation coefficient. A potential regulatory network was then built using Cytoscape 3.5. Results: In total, 39,508 alternative splicing events in 317 patients with BLCA were analyzed, including 4,632 SASEs. The area under the curve of the ROC of risk score (all) was 0.748 for predicting survival status of BLCA patients. Low- and high-risk score groups classified using the median “risk score (all)” value displayed remarkably different survival time (Low vs. High = 3304.841±239.758 vs 1198.614±152.460 days). The potential regulatory network with SASEs of splicing factors and other genes was constructed, which might be part of the biological mechanisms associated with prognosis of BLCA patients. Conclusions: In this study, prognostic signatures constructed using splicing events could be used for predicting the prognosis of BLCA patients.
Exercise Training Attenuates Proinflammatory Cytokines, Oxidative Stress and Modulates Neurotransmitters in the Rostral Ventrolateral Medulla of Salt-Induced Hypertensive Rats
Authors: Li Hong-Bao , Huo Chan-Juan , Su Qing , Li Xiang , Bai Juan , Zhu Guo-Qing , Kang Yu-Ming
Published: July 2018

Background/Aims: Exercise training (ExT) was associated with cardiovascular diseases including hypertension. The rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) is a key region for central control of blood pressure and sympathetic nerve activity. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the mechanisms within RVLM that can influence exercise training induced effects in salt-induced hypertension. Methods: Male Wistar rats were fed with a normal salt (0.3%) (NS) or a high salt (8%) (HS) diet for 12 weeks to induce hypertension. Then these rats were given moderate-intensity ExT for a period of 12 weeks. RVLM was used to determine glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (HPLC), phosphorylated IKKβ, Fra-LI, 67-kDa isoform of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD67), proinflammatory cytokines (PIC) and NADPH-oxidase (NOX) subunits expression (Immunohistochemistry and Immunofluorescence, Western blotting). PIC and NF-κB p65 activity in the plasma were evaluated by ELISA studies. Renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) was recorded and analyzed using the PowerLab system. Results: High salt diet resulted in increased mean arterial pressure and cardiac hypertrophy. These high salt diet rats had higher RVLM levels of glutamate, PIC, phosphorylated IKKβ, NF-κB p65 activity, Fra-LI, superoxide, NOX-2 (gp91phox) and 4, and lower RVLM levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid and GAD67, and higher plasma levels of PIC, norepinephrine, and higher RSNA. ExT attenuated these changes in salt-induced hypertensive rats. Conclusions: These findings suggest that high salt diet increases the activity of NF-κB and the levels of PIC and oxidative stress, and induces an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in the RVLM. ExT attenuates hypertension and cardiac hypertrophy partially mediated by attenuating oxidative stress and modulating neurotransmitters in the RVLM.
The Security Challenges of the Rhythmprint Authentication
Authors: Wongnarukane Nakinthorn , Kuacharoen Pramote
Published: July 2018

The Rhythmprint authentication combines an advantage of the traditional keystroke authentication and the multi-touch technology based on a touchable device such as touchpad on a laptop, a smartphone and a tablet. With the Rhythmprint authentication, the user is less likely to suffer from shoulder surfing and eavesdropping attacks. This research provides empirical evidence to verify the security performance of the Rhythmprint authentication comparing to the traditional keystroke authentication for shoulder surfing and eavesdropping attacks, when the user tries to login to a website on a laptop for 10 times in a public place while the attacker stands behind. The experimental results show that the Rhythmprint authentication provides higher security than the traditional keystroke authentication in both shoulder surfing and eavesdropping attacks.
Analysing Mobile Random Early Detection for Congestion Control in Mobile Ad-hoc Network
Authors: Sharma Saurabh , Jindal Dipti , Agarwal Rashi
Published: July 2018

This research paper suggests and analyse a technique for congestion control in mobile ad hoc networks. The technique is based on a new hybrid approach that uses clustering and queuing techniques. In clustering, in general cluster head transfers the data, following a queuing method based on a RED (Random Early Detection), the mobile environment makes it Mobile RED (or MRED), It majorly depends upon mobility of nodes and mobile environments leads to unpredictable queue size. To simulate this technique, the Network Simulator 2 (or NS2) is used for various scenarios. The simulated results are compared with NRED (Neighbourhood Random Early Detection) queuing technique of congestion control. It has been observed that the results are improved using MRED comparatively.
Modeling and Simulation of Fuzzy Logic based Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) for PV Application
Authors: Samosir Ahmad Saudi , Gusmedi Herri , Purwiyanti Sri , Komalasari Endah
Published: July 2018

This paper presents modeling and simulation of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) used in solar PV power systems. The Fuzzy logic algorithm is used to minimize the error between the actual power and the estimated maximum power.  The simulation model was developed and tested to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed MPPT controller. MATLAB Simulink was employed for simulation studies. The proposed system was simulated and tested successfully on a photovoltaic solar panel model. The Fuzzy logic algorithm succesfully tracking the MPPs and performs precise control under rapidly changing atmospheric conditions. Simulation results indicate the feasibility and improved functionality of the system.
The Interaction between Load Circuits and Decision of Frequency for Efficient Wireless Power Transfer
Authors: Yamaguchi Kazuya
Published: July 2018

This paper derives an expression of efficiency of wireless power transfer on a situation that there are two devices towards one AC power supply. The interaction between a power supply and load is paid attention on a conventional wireless power transfer system, in contrast, the interaction between loads must be taken account of on the situation too. This is attributed to a possibility that a load disturbs the energy transmitted from a power supply to another load. Moreover each load needs different frequency of power supply for the ideal transfer since they have different natural frequencies on many situations. This paper models a circumstance that there are a power supply and two loads with a state space equation, and proposes how to decide a frequency of power supply to realize efficient transfer for each load.
A Study of Thermal Behaviour of HTS Devices at Alternating Current
Authors: Manusov Vadim Z. , Krjukov Dmitrij Olegovich
Published: July 2018

The paper presents a study on thermal behavior of a coil made of a high-temperature supercon-ducting tape representing operation of a superconducting device (for example, a transformer). Based on the results of a physical experiment, a mathematical model of superconducting coil op-eration under short circuit conditions at the load side was developed. Regimes of overheating by variable short circuit currents were investigated. In this case, short circuit current amplitudes ex-ceeded a critical current of a superconductor, and coil parameters (e.g. an average nonlinearity parameter of a current-voltage characteristic, a superconductor length, and others) were varied. Permissible overheating for a coil with the possibility of its return into the superconducting state after emergency conditions in a dead-time period of automatic reclosing was considered. A crite-rion for return of a superconducting device into the superconducting state within a dead-time period of automatic reclosing has been obtained.
Improvement of Fading Channel Modeling Performance for Wireless Channel
Authors: Heider Inaam Abbas
Published: July 2018

Fading channel modeling is generally defined as the variation of the attenuation of a signal with various variables. Time, geographical position, and radio frequency which is included. Fading is often modeled as a random process. Thus, a fading channel is a communication channel that experiences fading. In this paper, the proposed system presents a new design and simulate a wireless channel using Rayleigh channels. Rayleigh channels using two approaches (flat and frequency-selective fading channels) in order to calculate some path space loss efforts and analysis the performance of different wireless fading channel modeling. The results show that the bite error rate (BER) performance is dramatically improved in the value of signal to noise ratio (SNR) is equal to 45dB. Finally, the experimental results show that the proposed method enhances the performance of fading channel modeling by reducing the error of BER when the SNR is reduced also. Moreover, the more accurate model is Rayleigh model which can be considered for developing fading channel model.
IDDQ Testing of Low Voltage CMOS Operational Transconductance Amplifier
Authors: Kaur Maninder , Kaur Jasdeep
Published: July 2018

The paper describes the design for testability (DFT) of low voltage two stage operational transconductance amplifiers based on quiescent power supply current (IDDQ) testing. IDDQ testing refers to the integral circuit testing method based upon measurement of steady state power supply current for testing both digital as well as analog VLSI circuit. A built in current sensor, which introduces insignificant performance degradation of the circuit-under-test, has been proposed to monitor the power supply quiescent current changes in the circuit under test. Moreover, the BICS requires neither an external voltage reference nor a current source and able to detect, identify and localize the circuit faults. Hence the BICS requires less area and is more efficient than the conventional current sensors. The testability has also been enhanced in the testing procedure using a simple fault-injection technique. Both bridging and open faults have been analyzed in proposed work by using n-well 0.18µm CMOS technology.
Classification of Normal and Crackles Respiratory Sounds into Healthy and Lung Cancer Groups
Authors: Malik N. Abdul , Idris W. , Gunawan T. S. , Olanrewaju R. F. , Ibrahim S. Noorjannah
Published: July 2018

Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide and the third most common cancer in Malaysia. Due to its high prevalence worldwide and in Malaysia, it is an utmost importance to have the disease detected at an early stage which would result in a higher chance of cure and possibly better survival. The current methods used for lung cancer screening might not be simple, inexpensive and safe and not readily accessible in outpatient clinics. In this paper, we present the classification of normal and crackles sounds acquired from 20 healthy and 23 lung cancer patients, respectively using Artificial Neural Network. Firstly, the sounds signals were decomposed into seven different frequency bands using Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) based on two different mother wavelets namely Daubechies 7 (db7) and Haar. Secondly, mean, standard deviation and maximum PSD of the detail coefficients for five frequency bands (D3, D4, D5, D6, and D7) were calculated as features. Fifteen features were used as input to the ANN classifier. The results of classification show that db7 based performed better than Haar with perfect 100% sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for testing and validation stages when using 15 nodes at the hidden layer. While for Haar, only testing stage shows the perfect 100% for sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy when using 10 nodes at the hidden layer.
Electronic Toll Collection System based on Radio Frequency Identification System
Authors: Abdulla Raed , Abdillahi Aden , Abbas Maythem K.
Published: July 2018

This papaer entitled electronic toll collection system based on Radio Frequncy Identification System explained in detail based on current issue at toll collection system. There are some obstacles faced every day where the users spent their valuable time in queue at tollgate due to traffic congestion as well as using traditional manual method in most existing toll ETC system to collect toll from road users. Besides that, the barrier design where each vehicle stop waiting until barrier lift which consider source of time delay. To tackle stated problems, an electronic toll collection system is proposed which based on RFID technology. The integrated system consists of two main sections, electronic sides where all input data received from while database management office is where all necessary information stored. To compare the current ETC system, in this research elaborated internet of things where all data transmit through cloud and then to the main office in real time. Not only that, there is some enhancement based on barrier design where, gate is remained open for all vehicles with sufficient tags without requiring to stop to eliminate time delay.By check system throughput compare to existing toll systems, various tests have been carried out in different method where proposed system throughput much higher percentage the current system.
Operating Task Redistribution in Hyperconverged Networks
Authors: Alhihi Mohammad , Khosravi Mohammad Reza
Published: July 2018

In this article, a searching method for the rational task distribution through the nodes of a hyperconverged network is presented in which it provides the rational distribution of task sets towards a better performance. With using new subsettings related to distribution of nodes in the network based on distributed processing, we can minimize average packet delay. The distribution quality is provided with using a special objective function considering the penalties in the case of having delays. This process is considered in order to create the balanced delivery systems. The initial redistribution is determined based on the minimum penalty. After performing a cycle (iteration) of redistribution in order to have the appropriate task distribution, a potential system is formed for functional optimization. In each cycle of the redistribution, a rule for optimizing contour search is used. Thus, the obtained task distribution, including the appeared failure and success, will be rational and can decrease the average packet delay in the hyperconverged networks. The effectiveness of our proposed method is evaluated by using the model of hyperconverged support system of the university E-learning provided by V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. The simulation results based on the model clearly confirm the acceptable and better performance of our approach in comparison to the classical approach of task distribution.
New Approaches in Cognitive Radios using Evolutionary Algorithms
Authors: Tuberquia Miguel , Hernandez Cesar
Published: July 2018

Cognitive radio has claimed a promising technology to exploit the spectrum in an ad hoc network. Due many techniques have become a topic of discussion on cognitive radios, the aim of this paper was developed a contemporary survey of evolutionary algorithms in Cognitive Radio. According to the art state, this work had been collected the essential contributions of cognitive radios with the particularity of base they research in evolutionary algorithms. The main idea was classified the evolutionary algorithms and showed their fundamental approaches. Moreover, this research will be exposed some of the current issues in cognitive radios and how the evolutionary algorithms will have been contributed. Therefore, current technologies have matters presented in optimization, learning, and classification over cognitive radios where evolutionary algorithms can be presented big approaches. With a more comprehensive and systematic understanding of evolutionary algorithms in cognitive radios, more research in this direction may be motivated and refined.
Performance Analysis of Differential Beamforming in Decentralized Networks
Authors: Alabed Samer
Published: July 2018

This paper proposes and analyzes a novel differential distributed beamforming strategy for decentralized two-way relay networks. In our strategy, the phases of the received signals at all relays are synchronized without requiring channel feedback or training symbols. Bit error rate (BER) expressions of the proposed strategy are provided for coherent and differential M-PSK modulation. Upper bounds, lower bounds, and simple approximations of the BER are also derived. Based on the theoretical and simulated BER performance, the proposed strategy offers a high system performance and low decoding complexity and delay without requiring channel state information at any transmitting or receiving antenna. Furthermore, the simple approximation of the BER upper bound shows that the proposed strategy enjoys the full diversity gain which is equal to the number of transmitting antennas.
A Novel Approach for Clustering Big Data based on MapReduce
Authors: Bathla Gourav , Aggarwal Himanshu , Rani Rinkle
Published: July 2018

Clustering is one of the most important applications of data mining. It has attracted attention of researchers in statistics and machine learning. It is used in many applications like information retrieval, image processing and social network analytics etc. It helps the user to understand the similarity and dissimilarity between objects. Cluster analysis makes the users understand complex and large data sets more clearly. There are different types of clustering algorithms analyzed by various researchers. Kmeans is the most popular partitioning based algorithm as it provides good results because of accurate calculation on numerical data. But Kmeans give good results for numerical data only. Big data is combination of numerical and categorical data. Kprototype algorithm is used to deal with numerical as well as categorical data. Kprototype combines the distance calculated from numeric and categorical data. With the growth of data due to social networking websites, business transactions, scientific calculation etc., there is vast collection of structured, semi-structured and unstructured data. So, there is need of optimization of Kprototype so that these varieties of data can be analyzed efficiently.In this work, Kprototype algorithm is implemented on MapReduce in this paper. Experiments have proved that Kprototype implemented on Mapreduce gives better performance gain on multiple nodes as compared to single node. CPU execution time and speedup are used as evaluation metrics for comparison.Intellegent splitter is proposed in this paper which splits mixed big data into numerical and categorical data. Comparison with traditional algorithms proves that proposed algorithm works better for large scale of data.
Low Power CMOS Electrocardiogram Amplifier Design for Wearable Cardiac Screening
Authors: Weng Ow Tze , Isaak Suhaila , Yusof Yusmeeraz
Published: July 2018

The trend of health care screening devices in the world is increasingly towards the favor of portability and wearability. This is because these wearable screening devices are not restricting the patient’s freedom and daily activities. While the demand of low power and low cost biomedical system on chip is increasing in exponential way, the front-end electrocardiogram (ECG) amplifiers are still suffering from flicker noise for low frequency cardiac signal acquisition, 50Hz power line electromagnetic interference, and the large unstable input offsets due to the electrode-skin interface is not attached properly. In this paper, a CMOS based ECG amplifier that suitable for low power wearable cardiac screening is proposed. The amplifier adopts the highly stable folded cascode topology and later being implemented into RC feedback circuit for low frequency DC offset cancellation. By using  0.13µm CMOS technology from Silterra, the simulation results show that this front-end circuit can achieve a very low input referred noise of  1pV/Hz1/2 and high common mode rejection ratio of 174.05dB. It also gives voltage gain of 75.45dB with good power supply rejection ratio of 92.12dB. The total power consumption is only 3µW and thus suitable to be implemented with further signal processing and classification back end for low power wearable biomedical device.
Conceptual Framework of Modelling for Malaysian Household Electrical Energy Consumption using Artificial Neural Network based on Techno-Socio Economic Approach
Authors: Sena Boni , Zaki Sheikh Ahmad , Yakub Fitri , Yusoff Nelidya Md , Ridwan Mohammad Kholid
Published: July 2018

The residential sector was one of the contributors to the increase in the world energy consumption and CO2 emission due to the increase population, economic development, and improved living standard. Developing a reliable model of electrical energy consumption based on techno-socio economic factors was challenging since many assumptions need to be considered. Over the past decade, bottom-up approaches such as multi-linear regression, artificial neural network (ANN), and conditional demand analysis were used for developing mathematical models to investigate interrelated characteristics among techno-socio economic factors. However, the existing models mostly were focused on countries that had different socio-economic level and cultures from the developing countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Similar studies in that tropical region were very scarce and only limited for linear modelling under the conditions of techno-socio economic factors. In this study, we proposed ANN for developing a model of electrical energy consumption based on techno-socio economic factors for a tropical region, Malaysia. In order to develop the model, quantitative measurement and qualitative assessment were required. The quantitative measurement was based on the monitoring of total electrical energy consumption with a one-minute interval. In contrast, the qualitative assessment utilized a questionnaire survey to assess household characteristics based on techno-socio economic parameters. The objective of this paper was to propose a conceptual framework of the estimation model for household electrical energy consumption with the consideration of techno-socio economic factors using ANN.
Diagnosis of Faulty Elements in Array Antenna using Nature Inspired Cuckoo Search Algorithm
Authors: Khan Shafqat Ullah , Rahim M. K. A. , Aminu-Baba Murtala , Khalil Atif Ellahi Khan , Ali Sardar
Published: July 2018

Detection and correction of faulty elements in a linear array have great importance in radar, sonar, mobile communications and satellite. Due to single element failure, the whole radiation pattern damage in terms of side lobes level and nulls. Once we have detect the position of defective element, then correction method is applied to achieve the desired pattern. In this work, we introduce a nature inspired meta-heuristic cuckoo search algorithm to diagnose the position of defective elements in a linear array. The nature inspired cuckoo search algorithm is new to the optimization family and is used first time for fault detection in an array antenna. Cuckoo search algorithm is a global search optimization technique. The cost function is used as a fitness function which defines an error between the degraded far field power pattern and the estimated one. The proposed technique is used effectively for the diagnosis of complete, as well as, for partial faulty elements position. Different simulation results are evaluated for 40 elements Taylor pattern to validate and check the performance of the proposed technique.
Performance Improvement for Hybrid L-band Remote Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier/Raman using Phase Modulator
Authors: Yusoff Nelidya Md. , Sulaiman A. H. , Ambran Sumiaty , Hamzah Azura , Mahdi M. A.
Published: July 2018

We have demonstrated the performance improvement of L-band hybrid remote Erbium-doped fiber amplifier by introducing a phase modulator to suppress the stimulated Brilloiun scattering (SBS) effect in the transmission. The transmission gain has improved by 12.65dB while the noise figure has reduced by 47.1dB when 0dBm signal power is generated at 1590.05nm wavelength. Furthermore, the optical signal-to-noise ratio has improved from 7.81dB to 29.72dB when the signal power is varied from -30dBm to 0dBm. By implementing a phase modulator to the input signal somehow able to produce better performance regarding gain, noise figure and optical signal-to-noise ratio, especially at the higher signal power as the gain, has been transferred to the Stokes signal and the amplified signal.
A New Argument for the Lexical Underspecification of Causers
Authors: Lavine James E. , Babby Leonard H.
Published: July 2018

This article shows how a systematic impersonalization alternation in Russian provides additional evidence for underspecification in argument structure. In the case of a large class of lexically causative verbs, the causer is realized either as a volitional Agent in the nominative case or as an oblique-marked, nonvolitional causer, depending on how the event is construed. A causative theory of accusative is advanced, according to which the mere presence of external causation is a sufficient condition for accusative licensing, including those cases that lack an external argument altogether. The analysis is extended to explain accusative preservation in the Icelandic “fate accusative” construction.
Beyond MaxElide: An Investigation of Ā-Movement from Elided Phrases
Authors: Griffiths James
Published: July 2018

Using Takahashi and Fox 2005 as an exemplar, this article argues that analyses of English ellipsis that make recourse to a MaxElide constraint (first introduced in Merchant 2008 ) are untenable, and that one must look beyond MaxElide to explain the distribution of acceptability in the “rebinding” elliptical constructions that MaxElide was originally invoked to explain. A novel analysis is outlined that attributes the unacceptability observed in the rebinding dataset to an inability to satisfy a more restrictive, reflexive version of Takahashi and Fox’s parallelism condition on ellipsis recoverability. More broadly, the success of this analysis supports the notion that clausal and nonclausal ellipsis are governed by distinct recoverability conditions. This article therefore provides support for a nonunitary approach to the semantic licensing of ellipsis.
Predicative Possessives, Relational Nouns, and Floating Quantifiers
Authors: Tsoulas George , Woods Rebecca
Published: July 2018

Green (1971) notes the apparent unacceptability of certain quantificational expressions as possessors of singular head nouns. We provide data from a range of English dialects to show that such constructions are not straightforwardly unacceptable, but there are a number of restrictions on their use. We build on Kayne’s ( 1993 , 1994 ) analysis of English possessives in conjunction with considerations on floating quantifiers to explain both the types of possessive that are permitted in the relevant dialects and their distribution, which is restricted to predicative position.
Redescription of Isotoma grana Lee, Kim & Kim, 1993 and description of a new species of Isotoma Bourlet, 1839 (Collembola: Isotomidae) from Korea
Authors: PARK KYUNG-HWA
Published: July 2018

A new species, Isotoma koreana sp. nov. is described. It is most similar to Isotoma pinnata Börner, 1909, I. riparia (Nicolet, 1842) and I. grana Lee, Kim & Kim, 1993, in possessing a middorsal longitudinal band on body. It can be distinguished in having a thin central stripe on dorsal side of body, the structure of manubrial apical spines and body chaetotaxy. Isotoma grana is redescribed here from type material and compared with related species. An indentification key to the Sino-Japanese species of Isotoma Bourlet is provided.
A new species of the genus Aporcelinus Andrássy, 2009 (Nematoda, Dorylaimida, Aporcelaimidae) from Costa Rica
Authors: VARELA-BENAVIDES INGRID , PEÑA-SANTIAGO REYES
Published: July 2018

A new species of the genus Aporcelinus, A. elongicaudatus sp. n., collected from natural habitats of Costa Rica, is described and illustrated. The new species is characterized by its 0.92–1.05 mm long body, lip region offset by weak constriction and 15 µm broad, odontostyle 15–18 µm or 1.0–1.2 times the lip region diameter, neck 270–300 µm long, pharyngeal expansion 130–150 µm long or 45–55% of total neck length, uterus 33–41 µm long or 0.70–0.85 times the corresponding body diameter (but certainly longer), vulva transverse (V = 49–51), and tail conical elongated (45–71 µm, c = 14–22, c’ = 2.0–3.2) and dorsad bent.
Key to the fossil genus Largusoperla (Plecoptera: Perlidae), with description of two new species from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber
Authors: CHEN ZHI-TENG
Published: July 2018

Two new species of the fossil stonefly genus Largusoperla (Plecoptera: Perlidae), Largusoperla dewalti sp. nov. and Largusoperla borisi sp. nov. are described and illustrated from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The two new species are distinguished from other known congeners by the specifically modified paraprocts. In addition, an identification key to the known species of Largusoperla is provided.
An Evaluation of MÉRA, a High-Resolution Mesoscale Regional Reanalysis
Authors: Whelan Eoin , Gleeson Emily , Hanley John
Published: July 2018

Met Éireann, the Irish Meteorological Service, has generated a very high resolution (2.5-km horizontal grid) regional climate reanalysis for Ireland called the Met Éireann Reanalysis (MÉRA). MÉRA spans the period from 1981 to 2015 and was produced using the shared ALADIN–HIRLAM numerical weather prediction system. This article includes comparisons with the ERA-Interim and Uncertainties in Ensembles of Regional Reanalyses (UERRA) datasets, analysis of data assimilation outputs, precipitation comparisons, and a focus on extremes of wind and rainfall. The comparisons with the reanalysis datasets show that MÉRA provides a high-quality reconstruction of recent Irish climate and benefits from the use of a very high resolution grid, in particular in relation to wind and precipitation extremes.
Characterizing the Spatial Scales of Extreme Daily Precipitation in the United States
Authors: Touma Danielle , Michalak Anna M. , Swain Daniel L. , Diffenbaugh Noah S.
Published: July 2018

The spatial extent of an extreme precipitation event can be important for a basin’s hydrologic response and subsequent flood risk, and may yield insights into underlying atmospheric processes. Using a relaxed moving-neighborhood approach, we develop indicator semivariograms based on precipitation records from the Global Historical Climatology Network–Daily (GHCN-D) station network to directly quantify the climatological length scales of extreme daily precipitation over the United States during 1965–2014. We find that the length scales of extreme (90th percentile) daily precipitation events vary both regionally and seasonally. Over the eastern half of the United States, daily extreme precipitation length scales reach 400 km during the winter months, but are approximately half as large during the summer months. The Northwest region, on the other hand, exhibits little seasonal variation, with extreme precipitation length scales of approximately 150 km throughout the year. By leveraging in situ station measurements, our study avoids some of the uncertainties associated with satellite or interpolated precipitation data, and provides the longest climatological assessment of length scales of extreme daily precipitation over the United States to date. Although the length scales that we calculate can be sensitive to station density, neighborhood size, and neighborhood relaxation, we find that the interregional and interseasonal differences in length scales are relatively robust. Our method could be extended to quantify changes in the spatial extent of extreme daily precipitation in the recent past, and to investigate the underlying causes of any changes that are detected.
Applications of a Spatially Variable Advection Correction Technique for Temporal Correction of Dual-Doppler Analyses of Tornadic Supercells
Authors: Wienhoff Zachary B. , Bluestein Howard B. , Wicker Louis J. , Snyder Jeffrey C. , Shapiro Alan , Potvin Corey K. , Houser Jana B. , Reif Dylan W.
Published: July 2018

In many instances, synchronization of Doppler radar data among multiple platforms for multiple-Doppler analysis is challenging. This study describes the production of dual-Doppler wind analyses from several case studies using data from a rapid-scanning, X-band, polarimetric, Doppler radar—the RaXPol radar—and data from nearby WSR-88Ds. Of particular interest is mitigating difficulties related to the drastic differences in scanning rates of the two radars. To account for differences in temporal resolution, a variational reflectivity tracking scheme [a spatially variable advection correction technique (SVAC)] has been employed to interpolate (in a Lagrangian sense) the coarser temporal resolution data (WSR-88D) to the times of the RaXPol volume scans. The RaXPol data and temporally interpolated WSR-88D data are then used to create quasi–rapid scan dual-Doppler analyses. This study focuses on the application of the SVAC technique to WSR-88D data to create dual-Doppler analyses of three tornadic supercells: the 19 May 2013 Edmond–Carney and Norman–Shawnee, Oklahoma, storms and the 24 May 2016 Dodge City, Kansas, storm. Results of the dual-Doppler analyses are briefly examined, including observations of the ZDR columns as a proxy for updrafts. Potential improvements to this technique are also discussed.
Regulatory Administration: An Evolving and Neglected Area of Public Administration in India
Authors: Sapru Yudhishthira , Sapru R.K.
Published: July 2018

In the current phase of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, and now broadly governance, regulatory administration has acquired growing importance as an instrument of achieving socio-economic objectives. It is through instrumentality of regulatory administration that the government is able to exercise effective political and economic sovereignty and control over the country’s governance process and resources. Governments of nearly all developing countries have initiated policies and procedures to promote and strengthen regulatory bodies and agencies. However, the results of these promotional and regular activities have varied considerably, often reflecting large inadequacies in policies, organisational structures and procedures. Increasing emphasis is now being placed at the national level on a more flexible regulatory administration to enforce compliance with nationally established policies and requirements in various political, economic and social spheres. As a watchdog for the public interest, governments both at central and state levels should engage in activities for the promotion of social and economic justice, so as to ensure the happiness and prosperity of the people.
Designing of an attribute control chart for two-stage process
Authors: Aslam Muhammad , Azam Muhammad , Kim Kyung-Jun , Jun Chi-Hyuck
Published: July 2018

In practice, the products can be manufactured through several stages. In this manuscript, we will propose an attribute control chart plotting the number of defectives for a two-stage process. The in-control average run length is derived and the out-of-control average run lengths are also analyzed according to the process shifts in the first and/or the second stage process. The tables of the average run lengths are given for various specified parameters. An example is given with synthetic data for the illustration of the proposed control chart.
Cybersecurity and its discontents: Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and digital misinformation
Authors: Wilner Alex S
Published: July 2018

The future of cybersecurity is in flux. Artificial intelligence challenges existing notions of security, human rights, and governance. Digital misinformation campaigns leverage fabrications and mistruths for political and geostrategic gain. And the Internet of Things—a digital landscape in which billions of wireless objects from smart fridges to smart cars are tethered together—provides new means to distribute and conduct cyberattacks. As technological developments alter the way we think about cybersecurity, they will likewise broaden the way governments and societies will have to learn to respond. This policy brief discusses the emerging landscape of cybersecurity in Canada and abroad, with the intent of informing public debate and discourse on emerging cyber challenges and opportunities.