bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anti-inflammatory flavonol acylglycosides from the aerial part of Lindera akoensis Hayata
Authors: Huang Hui-Chi , Yang Chung-Ping , Wang Sheng-Yang , Chang Chi-I , Sung Ping-Jyun , Huang Guan-Jhong , Chien Shih-Chang , Kuo Yueh-Hsiung
Published: November 2017

Flavonol acylglycosides, linderakosides A–E (1–5) were characterized from L. akoensis. Compounds 1, 2, and 5 exhibited showed in vitro anti-inflammatory activity decrease the LPS-stimulated production of nitrite in RAW 264.7 cell.
Metadynamics supports molecular dynamics simulation-based binding affinities of eucalyptol and beta-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes
Authors: Nutho Bodee , Nunthaboot Nadtanet , Wolschann Peter , Kungwan Nawee , Rungrotmongkol Thanyada
Published: November 2017

The development of various molecular dynamics methods enables the detailed investigation of association processes, like host–guest complexes, including their dynamics and, additionally, the release of the guest compound.
Controlled growth of aligned GaN nanostructures: from nanowires and needles to micro-rods on a single substrate
Authors: Zhao Danna , Huang Hui , Lv Rui , Chen Shunji , Guang Qiyilan , Zong Yang , Liu Zhe , Li Xiqing
Published: November 2017

Growth of aligned GaN nanostructures by tuning the substrate distance and the growth pressure.
Multifunctional Prussian blue analogous@polyaniline core–shell nanocubes for lithium storage and overall water splitting
Authors: Zhang Lu , Meng Tao , Mao Baoguang , Guo Donglei , Qin Jinwen , Cao Minhua
Published: November 2017

PBAs@PANI was prepared and it can be used as multifunctional electrode materials for lithium ion batteries and overall water splitting.
Electrochromism and electrochemical properties of complexes of transition metal ions with benzimidazole-based ligand
Authors: Wałęsa-Chorab Monika , Banasz Radosław , Marcinkowski Damian , Kubicki Maciej , Patroniak Violetta
Published: November 2017

Six complexes of transition metal ions have been synthesized and characterized. Complexes showed optical properties dependent on redox state of both metal ions and ligand molecule and can be used for the construction of multielectrochromic devices.
Asymmetric synthesis of δ-amino acid derivatives via diastereoselective vinylogous Mannich reactions between N-tert-butanesulfinyl imines and dioxinone-derived lithium dienolate
Authors: Li Guijun , Xu Xiaoliang , Tian Hongchang , Liu Xiaotong , Chen Wen , Yang Xiaodong , Zhang Hongbin
Published: November 2017

A diastereoselective vinylogous Mannich reaction between theN-tert-butanesulfinyl imines and dioxinone-derived lithium dienolate was developed.
Exploring different types of assessment items to measure linguistically diverse students’ understanding of energy and matter in chemistry
Authors: Ryoo Kihyun , Toutkoushian Emily , Bedell Kristin
Published: November 2017

Energy and matter are fundamental, yet challenging concepts in middle school chemistry due to their abstract, unobservable nature. Although it is important for science teachers to elicit a range of students’ ideas to design and revise their instruction, capturing such varied ideas using traditional assessments consisting of multiple-choice items can be difficult. In particular, the linguistic complexity of these items may hinder English learners (ELs) who speak English as a second language from understanding and representing their ideas. This study explores how multi-modal assessments using different types of open-ended items can document ELs’ and English-dominant students’ (EDSs) understanding of energy and matter in chemistry. 38 eighth-grade, linguistically diverse students taught by one teacher at a low-income middle school completed an assessment designed to elicit their ideas about properties of matter and chemical reactions through arguing from evidence, writing explanations, and developing models of chemical phenomena. The results show that the three types of assessment items captured different correct and alternative ideas that ELs and EDSs held. In particular, modeling appears promising as a tool to assess what ELs know about properties of matter and chemical reactions in middle school chemistry, compared to other written items. The findings of this study provide insights into how different types of assessment items can be used to better understand the range of ideas held by linguistically diverse students.
Solvent selection and design for CO2capture – how we might have been missing the point
Authors: Mota-Martinez Maria T. , Hallett Jason P. , Mac Dowell Niall
Published: November 2017

Efforts to reduce the cost of CO2captureviathe development of new sorbents have primarily focused on increasing CO2working capacity. Here we show that improved transport properties should be the primary focus.
Structure and rheology of dual-associative protein hydrogels under nonlinear shear flow
Authors: Sing Michelle K. , Glassman Matthew J. , Vronay-Ruggles Xenanthia T. , Burghardt Wesley R. , Olsen Bradley D.
Published: November 2017

Rheology and in situ scattering measurements under shear on are employed in order to understand how block architecture controls microscopic structural rearrangement in dual associative gels.
Self-assembly in densely grafted macromolecules with amphiphilic monomer units: diagram of states
Authors: Lazutin A. A. , Vasilevskaya V. V. , Khokhlov A. R.
Published: November 2017

The state diagram of dense brushes contains regions of lamellae with different domain spacings and regions of intermediate, parking garage structures combining them at different distances from the grafting surface.
3D-TEM study on the novel bicontinuous microdomain structure
Authors: Wang Yi-Chin , Wakabayashi Midori , Hasegawa Hirokazu , Takenaka Mikihito
Published: November 2017

An ordered bicontinuous double-diamond (OBDD) morphology was found in polystyrene-block-(poly-4-vinylphenyldimethylvinylsilane-graft-polyisoprene), PS-b-(PVS-g-PI), block–graft copolymer.
Design principles for platinum nanoparticles catalysing electrochemical hydrogen evolution and oxidation reactions: edges are much more active than facets
Authors: Zalitis C. M. , Kucernak A. R. , Sharman J. , Wright E.
Published: November 2017

Improving the performance of hydrogen evolution and oxidation reactions using precious metal catalysts is key in reducing the cost of electrolysers and fuel cells.
A Si-doped flexible self-supporting comb-like polyethylene glycol copolymer (Si-PEG) film as a polymer electrolyte for an all solid-state lithium-ion battery
Authors: Ji Xiaoxiao , Zeng Huihui , Gong Xianjing , Tsai Fangchang , Jiang Tao , Li Robert K. Y. , Shi Hengchong , Luan Shifang , Shi Dean
Published: November 2017

A Si-doped PEG-based crosslinked comb-like copolymer is an excellent polymer electrolyte for Li-ion batteries at low temperatures.
Sulfur-doped carbon employing biomass-activated carbon as a carrier with enhanced sodium storage behavior
Authors: Zhao Ganggang , Zou Guoqiang , Hou Hongshuai , Ge Peng , Cao Xiaoyu , Ji Xiaobo
Published: November 2017

In this work, a novel strategy to design S-doped carbon employing durian shell-based AC (DSAC) as the template is proposed and the effect of the amount of DSAC additive was investigated in detail.
Mapping a stable solvent structure landscape for aprotic Li–air battery organic electrolytes
Authors: Feng Shuting , Chen Mao , Giordano Livia , Huang Mingjun , Zhang Wenxu , Amanchukwu Chibueze V. , Anandakathir Robinson , Shao-Horn Yang , Johnson Jeremiah A.
Published: November 2017

Electrolyte instability is one of the greatest impediments that must be overcome for the practical development of rechargeable aprotic Li–air batteries.
Covalent organic frameworks: efficient, metal-free, heterogeneous organocatalysts for chemical fixation of CO2 under mild conditions
Authors: Zhi Yongfeng , Shao Pengpeng , Feng Xiao , Xia Hong , Zhang Yumin , Shi Zhan , Mu Ying , Liu Xiaoming
Published: November 2017

Covalent organic frameworks with hydroxy groups in the pore wall, which exhibit efficient, metal-free, heterogeneous catalytic performances for chemical fixation of CO2 under mild conditions, are reported.
Colloidal engineering for monolayer CH3NH3PbI3 films toward high performance perovskite solar cells
Authors: Li Bo , Li Mengjie , Fei Chengbin , Cao Guozhong , Tian Jianjun
Published: November 2017

Colloidal engineering by controlling the size of colloidal clusters in the perovskite precursor was developed to induce monolayer CH3NH3PbI3 films.
Shear-mediated orientational mineralization of bone apatite on collagen fibrils
Authors: Niu Xufeng , Fan Rui , Guo Xiaolin , Du Tianming , Yang Zuo , Feng Qingling , Fan Yubo
Published: November 2017

Intrafibrillar mineralization of collagen under a 1.5 Pa FSS environmentversusthe serious extrafibrillar mineralization of collagen under no FSS.
Fast fabrication of stable cartilage-like tissue using collagen hydrogel microsphere culture
Authors: Liu Jun , Yu Cheng , Chen Yafang , Cai Hanxu , Lin Hai , Sun Yong , Liang Jie , Wang Qiguang , Fan Yujiang , Zhang Xingdong
Published: November 2017

Fabrication of cartilage-like tissue by mimicking chondrogenesis of MSCs in collagen hydrogel microsphere (CHM) culture.
A carrier-free dual-drug nanodelivery system functionalized with aptamer specific targeting HER2-overexpressing cancer cells
Authors: Jiang Kai , Han Longyu , Guo Yan , Zheng Guirong , Fan Lulu , Shen Zhichun , Zhao Ruirui , Shao Jingwei
Published: November 2017

Ursolic acid and doxorubicin co-assembled into nanoparticles were modified with an aptamer for enhanced anti-tumor effects.
Insights into excellent persistent luminescence and detecting trap distribution in BaHfSi3O9:Eu2+,Pr3+
Authors: Guo Haijie , Wang Yuhua , Li Gen , Liu Jie , Feng Peng , Liu Dongwei
Published: November 2017

A continuous distribution of traps with a rather broad trap depth exists in BHS:Eu2+,Pr3+ phosphor.
Boosting phonon-induced luminescence in red fluoride phosphorsviacomposition-driven structural transformations
Authors: Tang Fei , Su Zhicheng , Ye Honggang , Xu Shijie , Guo Wang , Cao Yongge , Gao Wenpei , Pan Xiaoqing
Published: November 2017

In this study, a series of (KxNa1−x)2SiF6:Mn4+red phosphors with systematic composition variations of alkali metals was synthesizedviaa low-temperature full-solution approach.
Preclinical and clinical advances in transposon-based gene therapy
Authors: Tipanee Jaitip , Chai Yoke Chin , VandenDriessche Thierry , Chuah Marinee K.
Published: November 2017

Transposons derived from Sleeping Beauty (SB), piggyBac (PB), or Tol2 typically require cotransfection of transposon DNA with a transposase either as an expression plasmid or mRNA. Consequently, this results in genomic integration of the potentially therapeutic gene into chromosomes of the desired target cells, and thus conferring stable expression. Non-viral transfection methods are typically preferred to deliver the transposon components into the target cells. However, these methods do not match the efficacy typically attained with viral vectors and are sometimes associated with cellular toxicity evoked by the DNA itself. In recent years, the overall transposition efficacy has gradually increased by codon optimization of the transposase, generation of hyperactive transposases, and/or introduction of specific mutations in the transposon terminal repeats. Their versatility enabled the stable genetic engineering in many different primary cell types, including stem/progenitor cells and differentiated cell types. This prompted numerous preclinical proof-of-concept studies in disease models that demonstrated the potential of DNA transposons for ex vivo and in vivo gene therapy. One of the merits of transposon systems relates to their ability to deliver relatively large therapeutic transgenes that cannot readily be accommodated in viral vectors such as full-length dystrophin cDNA. These emerging insights paved the way toward the first transposon-based phase I/II clinical trials to treat hematologic cancer and other diseases. Though encouraging results were obtained, controlled pivotal clinical trials are needed to corroborate the efficacy and safety of transposon-based therapies.
QoS‐aware cell association based on traffic prediction in heterogeneous cellular networks
Authors: Qi Yanjia , Wang Hongyu
Published: November 2017

The mobile communication system has become increasingly complicated with the dramatic growth of user's requirement in quality of service (QoS). The high fluctuation of traffic data makes conventional cell association schemes difficult to guarantee satisfactory service in accord with traffic demand. In this study, the authors propose a novel QoS‐aware cell association scheme in a heterogeneous network. Utilising traffic prediction achieved by support vector regression, the user can decide the best cell according to the future traffic demand. The authors aim at maximising the total throughput with consideration of channel gains and blocking probability in different cells and formulate the cell association as a binary combinatorial optimisation problem. Since users are selfish for their own benefits without the global information, the authors turn this problem into a game theoretical framework. To obtain the Nash equilibrium with low computation complexity, a heuristic dynamic selection algorithm is proposed by updating selection probability which enables each user to associate with the best cell independently. Numerical simulation results show that the proposed algorithm achieves a remarkable throughput gain. The number of satisfied users increases substantially under the different density of users compared with conventional cell association schemes.
Efficient WMMSE beamforming for 5G mmWave cellular networks exploiting the effect of antenna array geometries
Authors: Abdelhakam Mostafa M. , Elmesalawy Mahmoud M. , Mahmoud Korany R. , Ibrahim Ibrahim I.
Published: November 2017

Millimetre wave (mmWave) transmission is considered as one of the potential technologies in fifth generation (5G) cellular networks that could allocate more bandwidth to support the rapid growth of mobile data services. However, mmWave signals experience large path loss which can overcome by employing directional beamforming with high‐dimensional antenna arrays. In this study, a downlink multiuser multiple‐input multiple‐output beamforming optimisation problem is considered for maximising the system utility subject to per‐user quality‐of‐service constraint as well as per‐antenna and base station transmit power constraints. The difficulty of this problem lies in its non‐convex nature. To address this challenge, a weighted minimum mean square error (WMMSE)‐based solution is proposed to reformulate the non‐convex problem into equivalent convex one. Then, the block coordinate descent method is used to determine beamforming vectors. Moreover, the different antenna array geometries either two‐dimensional (2D) such as planar array and circular array (CiA), or 3D such as conformal array and conical array (CoA) are designed at the base station and their effect on the system performance is exploited. Extensive simulations show that the performance of the proposed WMMSE‐based solution with CiA and CoA geometries outperforms the comparable algorithms in terms of system throughput, system power consumption and access rate.
Robust and efficient beam training scheme for millimetre wave indoor communications
Authors: Kutty Shajahan , Sen Debarati
Published: November 2017

Antenna beamforming is a key enabler for the deployment of reliable millimetre wave communication systems. Indoor millimetre wave network standards have adopted a multi‐stage codebook‐based beam training protocol with an objective to reduce the number of preamble transmissions required to identify the optimum transmit–receive beam pair. Multi‐stage beam training schemes entail moderate search complexity; however certain implementation level challenges have an adverse impact on the search success efficiency. Moreover, it is desirable to reduce the complexity further in a dynamic environment with limited mobility where beam training needs to be repeated often. In this tudy, he authors develop a low‐complexity algorithm for millimetre wave beam training within a heuristic numerical optimisation framework. Based on the classical Rosenbrock direct search method, he authors propose a threshold acceptance feature augmented with a divide‐and‐conquer strategy and direction of arrival aided initialisation, specifically to provide resilience to link blockage and enhance the search success performance, respectively. The method facilitates ease of implementation, and is applicable to generic phased array architectures irrespective of array geometry. he authors further evaluate the system bit error rate to benchmark the performance of the proposed scheme vis‐a‐vis optimal beamforming schemes.
Analysis of security performance of relay selection in underlay cognitive networks
Authors: Ho‐Van Khuong , Do‐Dac Thiem
Published: November 2017

Underlay cognitive networks allow unlicenced/secondary users (SUs) to opportunistically access licenced frequency bands, and hence information transmission is undoubtedly wire‐tapped by eavesdroppers. This study analyses security performance of a relay selection scheme, which selects a secondary relay to minimise information wire‐tapping of eavesdroppers, in underlay cognitive networks. Toward this end, the authors propose approximate and asymptotic intercept outage probability expressions which account for interference power constraint for licenced/primary users, maximum transmit power constraint for SUs, independent non‐identical fading channels, and direct channel between secondary source and eavesdropper. Moreover, they determine diversity order and coding gain of this relay selection based on the proposed asymptotic expression. Monte Carlo simulations validate these expressions and numerous results demonstrate that the investigated relay selection prevents the eavesdropper from obtaining full diversity order offered by all relays and source, induces the intercept outage probability saturated at either large maximum transmit power or large maximum interference power, and improves information security performance with respect to the increase in the number of relays.
Energy efficient optimisation for large‐scale multiple‐antenna system with WPT
Authors: Chang Zheng , Zhang Shan , Wang Zhongyu , Guo Xijuan , Han Zhu , Ristaniemi Tapani
Published: November 2017

In this study, an energy‐efficient optimisation scheme for a large‐scale multiple‐antenna system with wireless power transfer (WPT) is presented. In the considered system, the user is charged by a base station with a large number of antennas via downlink WPT and then utilises the received power to carry out uplink data transmission. Novel antenna selection, time allocation and power allocation schemes are presented to optimise the energy efficiency of the overall system. In addition, the authors also consider channel state information cannot be perfectly obtained when designing the resource allocation schemes. The non‐linear fractional programming‐based algorithm is utilised to address the formulated problem. Their proposed schemes are validated by extensive simulations and it shows superior performance over the existing schemes.
Hierarchical power allocation algorithm for D2D‐based cellular networks with heterogeneous statistical quality‐of‐service constraints
Authors: Liu Yuanfei , Wang Ying , Sun Ruijin , Miao Zhongyu
Published: November 2017

Device‐to‐device (D2D) communication can increase network coverage, spectrum efficiency and energy efficiency (EE) within the existing cellular infrastructure, which makes it a promising architecture for the future networks. Due to the diversification of services, heterogeneous statistics quality‐of‐service constraints are considered in this study, where cellular users are concerned about the delay constraint and D2D user groups pay more attention to the outage probability of data transmission. The power allocation problem of cellular users can be solved by optimising the capacity‐payoff power‐loss game model. Upon exploiting Lagrange dual decomposition and the Newton iteration method, the power optimisation problem of cellular users is transformed into a parameter optimisation problem. Due to the limited energy resource of D2D users, EE is the focus of D2D user groups. Using fractional programming and convex optimisation techniques, energy‐efficient optimal power allocation algorithms of D2D users are proposed subject to the outage probability constraint. As a result, a power allocation algorithm based on hierarchical game is conceived for efficiently solving the power optimisation problem. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can obtain a performance improvement compared with other algorithm and converge within a certain number of iterations.
Peak load forecasting based on multi‐source data and day‐to‐day topological network
Authors: Zeng Pan , Jin Min
Published: November 2017

Electric load variation results from a variety of factors. This study discusses the inner mechanism of load variation and presents a load forecasting method based on multi‐source data and day‐to‐day topological network. Multi‐source data including weather data, seasonal attributes, calendar attributes, holiday attributes and load growth rate are considered to be the dominant factors that cause the load variation. Initially, a day‐to‐day topological network is generated that reflects the similarity between any 2 days. Additionally, the random walk with restart (RWR) algorithm is applied to the topological network to construct the training set. The support vector regression model is then adopted. With case studies using the data of Guangzhou, the authors obtain a decrease of the mean absolute percentage errors of 19.5 and 25.7% over the SV machine method and a neural network ensemble model. Their research reveals three points: (i) weather elements, especially temperature, air pressure and water vapour pressure, have a dominant influence on load variation besides historical load; (ii) multi‐source data improves the accuracy, meanwhile the applying of RWR algorithm maximises its effect; and (iii) since some of the factors that cause a constant error remains unknown, they can use the feedforward correction to decrease the affects.
Mesh‐free approach for enhancement of mammograms
Authors: Kashyap Kanchan Lata , Bajpai Manish Kumar , Khanna Pritee , Giakos George
Published: November 2017

Mammogram enhancement is a key step to detect breast cancer using digital mammogram. The present study investigates mesh‐free radial basis function (RBF) collocation method to solve linear diffusion equation for image enhancement of mammograms. The proposed algorithm is compared with the mesh‐based finite difference method as well as other existing enhancement methods such as unsharp masking, histogram equalisation, and contrast limited adaptive histogram equalisation. Specifically, figure‐of‐merits with emphasis on image contrast and computational time are assessed and compared with different image processing techniques. The proposed algorithm has been applied towards the enhancement of all 322 sample mammogram images of Mini‐Mammographic Image Analysis Society and randomly selected 300 sample images from Digital Database for Screening Mammography databases. Finally, mean and standard deviation of contrast improvement index and peak signal‐to‐noise ratio have been estimated and presented. The outcome of this study indicates that the mesh‐free‐based RBF collocation method proves to be a computationally efficient and valuable contrast enhancement technique in an area of mammography.
CMFD: a detailed review of block based and key feature based techniques in image copy‐move forgery detection
Authors: Soni Badal , Das Pradip K. , Thounaojam Dalton Meitei
Published: November 2017

With the advancement of image editing tools in today's world, the manipulation of images like cropping, cloning, resizing, etc., becomes an easy proposition and on the other end, checking or determining whether an image has been manipulated or not, becomes a great challenge. Copy‐move forgery in images is the most popular tampering method in which a portion of an image is copied and pasted in some other location of the same image. The detection of copy‐move forgery has become a prominent research area. This study presents a detailed review and critical discussions with pros and cons of each of copy‐move forgery detection techniques from 2007 to 2017. This study also addresses the variation in databases, issues, challenges, future directions and references in this domain.
3D MRI image super‐resolution for brain combining rigid and large diffeomorphic registration
Authors: Liang Zifei , He Xiaohai , Teng Qizhi , Wu Dan , Qing Lingbo
Published: November 2017

Most of the recent leading multiple magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) super‐resolution techniques for brain are limited to rigid motion. In this study, the authors aim to develop a super‐resolution technique with diffeomorphism mainly for longitudinal brain MRI data. For the images from different time slots, unpredicted deformation may occur. In previous studies, sole rigid registration or traditional non‐rigid registration has been frequently used to achieve multi‐plane super‐resolution. However, non‐rigid motion of two brains from different time slots is difficult to model, since brain contains a wealth of complex structure such as the cerebral cortex. In order to address such problem, rigid and large diffeomorphic registration has been embedded into their super‐resolution framework. In addition, many previous researchers use norm to achieve super‐resolution framework. In this work, norm minimisation and regularisation based on a bilateral prior are adopted. These operations ensure its robustness to the assumed model of data and noise. Their approach is evaluated using Alzheimer datasets from seven different resolutions. Results show that their reconstructions have advantages over rigid and conventional non‐rigid registration‐based super‐resolution, in terms of the root‐mean‐square error and structure similarity. Furthermore, their reconstruction results improve the precision of brain automatic segmentation.
Stabilization of damped waves on spheres and Zoll surfaces of revolution
Authors: Zhu Hui
Published: November 2017

We study the strong stabilization of wave equations on some sphere-like manifolds, with rough damping terms which do not satisfy the geometric control condition posed by Rauch−Taylor [J. Rauch and M. Taylor,Commun. Pure Appl. Math.28(1975) 501–523] and Bardos−Lebeau−Rauch [C. Bardos, G. Lebeau and J. Rauch,SIAM J. Control Optimiz.30(1992) 1024–1065]. We begin with an unpublished result of G. Lebeau, which states that on 𝕊d, the indicator function of the upper hemisphere strongly stabilizes the damped wave equation, even though the equators, which are geodesics contained in the boundary of the upper hemisphere, do not enter the damping region. Then we extend this result on dimension 2, to Zoll surfaces of revolution, whose geometry is similar to that of 𝕊2. In particular, geometric objects such as the equator, and the hemi-surfaces are well defined. Our result states that the indicator function of the upper hemi-surface strongly stabilizes the damped wave equation, even though the equator, as a geodesic, does not enter the upper hemi-surface either.
Energy management in crop production using a novel fuzzy data envelopment analysis model
Authors: Izadikhah Mohammad , Khoshroo Alireza
Published: November 2017

Data envelopment analysis is a relatively “data oriented” approach to measure the efficiency of a set of decision making units which transform multiple inputs into multiple outputs. However, some production processes may generate undesirable outputs like smoke pollution or waste. On the other hand, in many situations, such as a manufacturing system, a production process or a service system, inputs and outputs can be considered as a fuzzy variable. Thus, this paper has presented a new non-radial DEA model based on a modification of Enhanced Russell Model (ERM model) in the presence of an undesirable output in a fuzzy environment. Hereafter, a method for solving the proposed fuzzy DEA model based on the concept of alpha cut and possibility approach is presented. A useful stochastic closeness coefficient is also proposed to present a complete ranking. The proposed methodology is applied to evaluate the efficiencies of barley production farms in 22 provinces in Iran.
Combinatorial approximation of maximum k-vertex cover in bipartite graphs within ratio 0.7
Authors: Paschos Vangelis Th.
Published: November 2017

We propose and analyze a simple purely combinatorial algorithm for max k-vertex cover in bipartite graphs, achieving approximation ratio 0.7. The only combinatorial algorithm currently known until now for this problem is the natural greedy algorithm, that achieves ratio (e − 1)/e = 0.632.
Modified One-Piece Extended Transbasal Approach for Endoscopic-Assisted Microsurgical Resection of Tuberculum Sellae Meningioma: Operative Video and Technical Nuances
Authors: Liu James , Watanabe Kentaro
Published: November 2017

The optimal approach for surgical resection of tuberculum sellae meningiomas remains controversial. Approach selection is largely based on a variety of factors, such as tumor size, extent and location relative to the optic canal and internal carotid artery, the presence of vascular encasement, and surgeon's preference. In this operative video manuscript, the authors demonstrate the importance of an open transcranial approach when the tumor extends lateral to the optic nerve over the internal carotid artery into the opticocarotid triangle, which is a difficult region to safely access with a purely endoscopic endonasal approach. We present a case of an endoscopic-assisted microsurgical resection of a tuberculum sellae meningioma using a modified one-piece extended transbasal approach in a patient with unilateral visual loss. The approach allows both interhemispheric and subfrontal routes to the suprasellar region. Early optic nerve decompression and division of the falciform ligament is critical to optimize visual outcomes. This video atlas demonstrates the operative technique and surgical nuances of the skull base approach, optic nerve decompression, tumor-arachnoid dissection, and safe handling of the neurovascular structures. A gross total resection was achieved and the patient had restoration of normal vision with normal pituitary function. In summary, the modified one-piece extended transbasal approach with endoscopic assistance is an important strategy in the armamentarium for surgical management of tuberculum sellae meningiomas.

The link to the video can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKNtRzMSFVE.
Changing Trends in the Management of Esthesioneuroblastoma: Irish and International Perspectives
Authors: Subramaniam Thavakumar , Leader Mary , McConn-Walsh Rory , O'Neill James , Lacy Peter , Woods Robbie
Published: November 2017

Objectives Evaluation of the changing trends in esthesioneuroblastoma in an Irish context and review of management options nationally to clarify the best current therapeutic approach by comparing with international research on this uncommon malignancy.

Design Retrospective review.

Setting Tertiary referral center.

Participants All patients presenting with esthesioneuroblastoma in Beaumont hospital or on the National Cancer Registry of Ireland between 1994 and 2013.

Main Outcome Measures Recurrence-free and overall survival.

Results During the study period, 32 cases of esthesioneuroblastoma were diagnosed (0.4 per million per year). Average age at diagnosis was 57 years; however, two cases were under 20. The majority (62.5%) were male. Patients predominantly presented with epistaxis or nasal congestion (73%), while two cases were identified incidentally on radiological investigations. Twenty-seven cases underwent primary surgical management (two post neo-adjuvant treatment) with seventeen requiring bifrontal craniotomy. Twenty-four of these received postoperative radiation therapy. Overall, 5-year survival was 65%. Kadish A/B patients exhibited 100% 5-year disease-specific survival versus 54% in Kadish C/D (p = 0.011). Hyams grade I/II patients exhibited 75% 5-year disease-specific survival versus 63% in Hyams grade III/IV (p = 0.005). Patients treated endoscopically exhibited 100% 5-year disease-specific survival versus 51% in those treated via an open approach (p = 0.102).

Conclusions Many controversies exist in the diagnosis and management of this condition. Despite this, results from Irish data are mostly concordant with the international literature. The rising incidence of this disease may represent improved pathological recognition. An increasing number of esthesioneuroblastoma cases are being successfully treated via endoscopic surgery.
Stress concentrations in nanoscale defective graphene
Authors: Wang Congwei , Wang Junzhong , Barber Asa H.
Published: November 2017

Defect-free graphene nanosheets are the strongest material known but manufactured graphene tends to contain flaws of different forms and dimensions, leading to the degradation of mechanical performance. Here we report a quantitative mechanical approach to quantitatively evaluate the influence of defects within exfoliated pristine graphene sheets. Results indicate stress concentrations around defects within graphene sheets that lower strength. The description of stress concentration broadly follows a Griffith strength approach for continuum materials, despite the non-continuum structure of graphene, but has little impact on the Young’s modulus.
1.3 μm single-photon emission from strain-coupled bilayer of InAs/GaAs quantum dots at the temperature up to 120 K
Authors: Xue Yongzhou , Chen Zesheng , Ni Haiqiao , Niu Zhichuan , Jiang Desheng , Dou Xiuming , Sun Baoquan
Published: November 2017

We report on 1.3 μm single-photon emission based on a self-assembled strain-coupled bilayer of InAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded in a micropillar Bragg cavity at temperature of liquid nitrogen or even as high as 120 K. The obtained single-photon flux into the first lens of the collection optics is 4.2 × 106 and 3.3 × 106/s at 82 and 120 K, respectively, corresponding to a second-order correlation function at zero delay times of 0.27(2) and 0.28(3). This work reports on the significant effect of the micropillar cavity-related enhancement of QD emission and demonstrates an opportunity to employ telecom band single-photon emitters at liquid nitrogen or even higher temperature.
The history of Public Health Diagnostic Microbiology in Australia: early days until 1990
Authors: Lightfoot Diane
Published: November 2017

The arrival of the First Fleet in Port Jackson in 1788, and the subsequent establishment of the colony of NSW began the history of the Australian public health system. Prior to Federation each state dealt with their own public health issues and much of the microbiological analysis was performed in the early hospitals and medical school departments of universities. Today, as there is no central Laboratory for the Commonwealth of Australia, each Australian state is responsible for the microbiological testing relevant to public health. However, because of various Commonwealth of Australia Department of Health initiatives, the Australian Government Department of Health is responsible for the overall public health of Australians.
The Australian Gonococcal Surveillance Programme 1979–2017
Authors: Lahra Monica M , George CR Robert , Whiley David M
Published: November 2017

Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) is an important human bacterial pathogen responsible for more than 78million infections per annum globally1. In Australia and elsewhere, NG infection rates are increasing and, critically, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in NG poses a substantial threat to health security2. In response, the Australian Gonococcal Surveillance Programme (AGSP) was established in 1979, and has steadfastly evolved since that time to meet the challenges of continuously emerging AMR (Figure 1).
Changes in Movements of Chinook Salmon between Lakes Huron and Michigan after Alewife Population Collapse
Authors: Clark Richard D. , Bence James R. , Claramunt Randall M. , Clevenger John A. , Kornis Matthew S. , Bronte Charles R. , Madenjian Charles P. , Roseman Edward F.
Published: November 2017

Alewives Alosa pseudoharengus are the preferred food of Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Alewife populations collapsed in Lake Huron in 2003 but remained comparatively abundant in Lake Michigan. We analyzed capture locations of coded-wire-tagged Chinook Salmon before, during, and after Alewife collapse (1993–2014). We contrasted the pattern of tag recoveries for Chinook Salmon released at the Swan River in northern Lake Huron and Medusa Creek in northern Lake Michigan. We examined patterns during April–July, when Chinook Salmon were primarily occupied by feeding, and August–October, when the salmon were primarily occupied by spawning. We found evidence that Swan River fish shifted their feeding location from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan after the collapse. Over years, proportions of Swan River Chinook Salmon captured in Lake Michigan increased in correspondence with the Alewife decline in Lake Huron. Mean proportions of Swan River fish captured in Lake Michigan were 0.13 (SD = 0.14) before collapse (1993–1997) and 0.82 (SD = 0.22) after collapse (2008–2014) and were significantly different. In contrast, proportions of Medusa Creek fish captured in Lake Michigan did not change; means were 0.98 (SD = 0.05) before collapse and 0.99 (SD = 0.01) after collapse. The mean distance to the center of the coastal distribution of Swan River fish during April–July shifted 357 km (SD = 169) from central Lake Huron before collapse to central Lake Michigan after collapse. The coastal distributions during August–October were centered on the respective sites of origin, suggesting that Chinook Salmon returned to release sites to spawn regardless of their feeding locations. Regarding the impact on Alewife populations, this shift in interlake movement would be equivalent to increasing the Chinook Salmon stocking rate within Lake Michigan by 30%. The primary management implication is that interlake coordination of Chinook Salmon stocking policies would be expected to benefit the recreational fishery.

Received August 26, 2017; accepted September 4, 2017 Published online November 1, 2017
Tripterygium regelii decreases the biosynthesis of triacylglycerol and cholesterol in HepG2 cells
Authors: Kang Myung-Ji , Kwon Eun-Bin , Yuk Heung Joo , Ryu Hyung Won , Kim Soo-Yeon , Lee Mi-Kyeong , Moon Dong-Oh , Lee Su Ui , Oh Sei-Ryang , Lee Hyun-Sun , Kim Mun-Ock
Published: November 2017

In the course of screening to find a plant material decreasing the activity of triacylglycerol and cholesterol, we identified Tripterygium regelii (TR). The methanol extract of TR leaves (TR-LM) was shown to reduce the intracellular lipid contents consisting of triacylglycerol (TG) and cholesterol in HepG2 cells. TR-LM also downregulated the mRNA and protein expression of the lipogenic genes such as SREBP-1 and its target enzymes. Consequently, TR-LM reduced the TG biosynthesis in HepG2 cells. In addition, TR-LM decreased SREBP2 and its target enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which is involved in cholesterol synthesis. In this study, we evaluated that TR-LM attenuated cellular lipid contents through the suppression of de novo TG and cholesterol biosynthesis in HepG2 cells. All these taken together, TR-LM could be beneficial in regulating lipid metabolism and useful preventing the hyperlipidemia and its complications, in that liver is a crucial tissue for the secretion of serum lipids.
Coincidence of algebraic and smooth theta correspondences
Authors: Bao YiXin , Sun BinYong
Published: November 2017

An “automatic continuity” question has naturally occurred since Roger Howe established the local theta correspondence over

R

\mathbb R

: Does the algebraic version of local theta correspondence over

R

\mathbb R

agree with the smooth version? We show that the answer is yes, at least when the concerning dual pair has no quaternionic type I irreducible factor.
Phosphorylation of KLC1 modifies interaction with JIP1 and abolishes the enhanced fast velocity of APP transport by kinesin-1
Authors: Chiba Kyoko , Chien Ko-yi , Sobu Yuriko , Hata Saori , Kato Shun , Nakaya Tadashi , Okada Yasushi , Nairn Angus C. , Kinjo Masataka , Taru Hidenori , Wang Rong , Suzuki Toshiharu
Published: November 2017

In neurons, amyloid β-protein precursor (APP) is transported by binding to kinesin-1, mediated by JNK-interacting protein 1b (JIP1b), which generates the enhanced fast velocity (EFV) and efficient high frequency (EHF) of APP anterograde transport. Previously, we showed that EFV requires conventional interaction between the JIP1b C-terminal region and the kinesin light chain 1 (KLC1) tetratricopeptide repeat, whereas EHF requires a novel interaction between the central region of JIP1b and the coiled-coil domain of KLC1. We found that phosphorylatable Thr466 of KLC1 regulates the conventional interaction with JIP1b. Substitution of Glu for Thr466 abolished this interaction and EFV, but did not impair the novel interaction responsible for EHF. Phosphorylation of KLC1 at Thr466 increased in aged brains, and JIP1 binding to kinesin-1 decreased, suggesting that APP transport is impaired by aging. We conclude that phosphorylation of KLC1 at Thr466 regulates the velocity of transport of APP by kinesin-1 by modulating its interaction with JIP1b.
ViraPipe: scalable parallel pipeline for viral metagenome analysis from next generation sequencing reads
Authors: Maarala Altti Ilari , Bzhalava Zurab , Dillner Joakim , Heljanko Keijo , Bzhalava Davit
Published: November 2017

Motivation

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology enables identification of microbial genomes from massive amount of human microbiomes more rapidly and cheaper than ever before. However, the traditional sequential genome analysis algorithms, tools, and platforms are inefficient for performing large-scale metagenomic studies on ever-growing sample data volumes. Currently, there is an urgent need for scalable analysis pipelines that enable harnessing all the power of parallel computation in computing clusters and in cloud computing environments. We propose ViraPipe, a scalable metagenome analysis pipeline that is able to analyze thousands of human microbiomes in parallel in tolerable time. The pipeline is tuned for analyzing viral metagenomes and the software is applicable for other metagenomic analyses as well. ViraPipe integrates parallel BWA-MEM read aligner, MegaHit De novo assembler, and BLAST and HMMER3 sequence search tools. We show the scalability of ViraPipe by running experiments on mining virus related genomes from NGS datasets in a distributed Spark computing cluster.

Results

ViraPipe analyses 768 human samples in 210 minutes on a Spark computing cluster comprising 23 nodes and 1288 cores in total. The speedup of ViraPipe executed on 23 nodes was 11x compared to the sequential analysis pipeline executed on a single node. The whole process includes parallel decompression, read interleaving, BWA-MEM read alignment, filtering and normalizing of non-human reads, De novo contigs assembling, and searching of sequences with BLAST and HMMER3 tools.

Availability and implementation

https://github.com/NGSeq/ViraPipe
DFAST: a flexible prokaryotic genome annotation pipeline for faster genome publication
Authors: Tanizawa Yasuhiro , Fujisawa Takatomo , Nakamura Yasukazu
Published: November 2017

We developed a prokaryotic genome annotation pipeline, DFAST, that also supports genome submission to public sequence databases. DFAST was originally started as an on-line annotation server, and to date, over 7000 jobs have been processed since its first launch in 2016. Here, we present a newly implemented background annotation engine for DFAST, which is also available as a standalone command-line program. The new engine can annotate a typical-sized bacterial genome within 10 min, with rich information such as pseudogenes, translation exceptions and orthologous gene assignment between given reference genomes. In addition, the modular framework of DFAST allows users to customize the annotation workflow easily and will also facilitate extensions for new functions and incorporation of new tools in the future.

Availability and implementation

The software is implemented in Python 3 and runs in both Python 2.7 and 3.4—on Macintosh and Linux systems. It is freely available at https://github.com/nigyta/dfast_core/under the GPLv3 license with external binaries bundled in the software distribution. An on-line version is also available at https://dfast.nig.ac.jp/.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Infinitely Many Solutions for Centro-affine Minkowski Problem
Authors: Li Qi-Rui
Published: November 2017

We study the multiplicity result for the centro-affine Minkowski problem. It is well-known that all ellipsoids with constant volume have the same centro-affine curvature. In this article, we construct a positive, Hölder continuous function $f\in C^\alpha (\mathbb S^n)$ such that there are infinitely many $C^{2,\alpha}$ hypersurfaces which are not affine-equivalent, but have the same centro-affine curvature $1/f$.
On the stability and maximum mass of differentially rotating relativistic stars
Authors: Weih Lukas R , Most Elias R , Rezzolla Luciano
Published: November 2017

The stability properties of rotating relativistic stars against prompt gravitational collapse to a black hole are rather well understood for uniformly rotating models. This is not the case for differentially rotating neutron stars, which are expected to be produced in catastrophic events such as the merger of binary system of neutron stars or the collapse of a massive stellar core. We consider sequences of differentially rotating equilibrium models using the j-constant law and by combining them with their dynamical evolution, we show that a sufficient stability criterion for differentially rotating neutron stars exists similar to the one of their uniformly rotating counterparts. Namely: along a sequence of constant angular momentum, a dynamical instability sets in for central rest-mass densities slightly below the one of the equilibrium solution at the turning point. In addition, following Breu & Rezzolla, we show that ‘quasi-universal’ relations can be found when calculating the turning-point mass. In turn, this allows us to compute the maximum mass allowed by differential rotation, Mmax,dr, in terms of the maximum mass of the non-rotating configuration, $M_{_{\rm TOV}}$, finding that $M_{\rm max, dr} \simeq \left(1.54 \pm 0.05\right) M_{_{\rm TOV}}$ for all the equations of state we have considered.
Commentary: Giuseppe Campani (1635-1715, Rome, Italy): the First Use of a Microscope in Medicine and Surgery
Authors: Brogna Christian , Millesi Matthias , Fiengo Leslie , Richardson Mark , Bhangoo Ranjeev , Ashkan Keyoumars , Türe Uğur
Published: November 2017

Giuseppe Campani (1635-1715) was a polymath in Rome, Italy, during the Scientific Revolution in the XVIIth century. In particular, he forged the screw barrel microscope and was manufacturing his own lenses for microscopes and telescopes. He mastered the art of lens grinding. Those lenses have been analyzed with modern methods and turned out to be of extremely good quality, shining light on the fact that Giuseppe Campani mastered the theories of optics. Moreover, in a letter that Giuseppe Campani sent to Pope Innocent XI, he clearly described the use of a microscope for the examination of wounds of legs. This letter dates back to 15 August 1686 and is the first evidence of the use of microscopes to analyze wounds, sores, and anatomic specimens in medical and surgical settings. MG Yasargil previously showed the lithography accompanying this letter and was the first to recognize its great importance. We accessed this original letter in the Vatican Library, and for the first time we have translated it from Latin to English in order to unveil its significance in the context of the Scientific Revolution and the history of medicine and surgery.