bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Permissive or Trophic Enteral Nutrition and Full Enteral Nutrition Had Similar Effects on Clinical Outcomes in Intensive Care: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials
Authors: Silva Camila F. A. , de Vasconcelos Simone G. , da Silva Thales A. , Silva Flávia M.
Published: January 2018

The aim of this study was to systematically review the effect of permissive underfeeding/trophic feeding on the clinical outcomes of critically ill patients. A systematic review of randomized clinical trials to evaluate the mortality, length of stay, and mechanical ventilation duration in patients randomized to either hypocaloric or full‐energy enteral nutrition was performed. Data sources included PubMed and Scopus and the reference lists of the articles retrieved. Two independent reviewers participated in all phases of this systematic review as proposed by the Cochrane Handbook, and the review was reported according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses guidelines. A total of 7 randomized clinical trials that included a total of 1,717 patients were reviewed. Intensive care unit length of stay and mechanical ventilation duration were not statistically different between the intervention and control groups in all randomized clinical trials, and mortality rate was also not different between the groups. In conclusion, hypocaloric enteral nutrition had no significantly different effects on morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients when compared with full‐energy nutrition. It is still necessary to determine the safety of this intervention in this group of patients, the optimal amount of energy provided, and the duration of this therapy.
High‐performance geometric nonlinear analysis with the unsymmetric 4‐node, 8‐DOF plane element US‐ATFQ4
Authors: Li Zhi , Cen Song , Wu Cheng‐Jin , Shang Yan , Li Chen‐Feng
Published: January 2018

A recent unsymmetric 4‐node, 8‐DOF plane element US‐ATFQ4, which exhibits excellent precision and distortion‐resistance for linear elastic problems, is extended to geometric nonlinear analysis. Since the original linear element US‐ATFQ4 contains the analytical solutions for plane pure bending, how to modify such formulae into incremental forms for nonlinear applications and design an appropriate updated algorithm become the key of the whole job. First, the analytical trial functions should be updated at each iterative step in the framework of updated Lagrangian formulation that takes the configuration at the beginning of an incremental step as the reference configuration during that step. Second, an appropriate stress update algorithm in which the Cauchy stresses are updated by the Hughes‐Winget method is adopted to estimate current stress fields. Numerical examples show that the new nonlinear element US‐ATFQ4 also possesses amazing performance for geometric nonlinear analysis, no matter whether regular or distorted meshes are used. It again demonstrates the advantages of the unsymmetric finite element method with analytical trial functions.
Targeted therapy for infants with diencephalic syndrome: A case report and review of management strategies
Authors: Wagner Lars M. , Myseros John S. , Lukins Douglas E. , Willen Christi M. , Packer Roger J.
Published: January 2018

Young children with emaciation caused by a hypothalamic glioma are considered to have diencephalic syndrome (DS), which is often poorly controlled with conventional treatment. We describe an infant with DS whose tumor progressed following chemotherapy. Biopsy was performed for molecular testing and demonstrated a BRAF fusion. Treatment with the MEK inhibitor trametinib for 18 months resulted in reduction of tumor size, normalization of his weight curve, and marked neurodevelopmental improvement. Our results build on earlier reports of using targeted agents for low‐grade glioma, and we review the evolving management strategy for such patients in the era of precision medicine.
High‐voltage p‐type PERC solar cells with anchored plating and hydrogenation
Authors: Ciesla Alison , Chen Ran , Wang Sisi , Ji Jingjia , Shi Zhengrong , Mai Ly , Chan Catherine , Hallam Brett , Chong CheeMun , Wenham Stuart , Green Martin
Published: January 2018

A common concern regarding plated contacts to solar cells is the adhesion strength. In this work, laser‐formed anchor points have been applied to Suntech Power's PLUTO passivated emitter and rear cells. Voltages as high as 696 mV have been achieved, showing the ability of a laser‐doped selective emitter at the front surface and localized contacts at the rear when combined with the hydrogenation of defects to reduce the device dark saturation current to well below current norms for commercial passivated emitter and rear cells. The simple hydrogen passivation process applied during sintering appears to facilitate the high voltages by significantly reducing recombination associated with the p‐type Cz wafer and laser‐induced defects formed during laser doping. The same hydrogenation process almost entirely eliminates the damage caused by laser ablation in forming the anchor points. With 50% anchor point coverage (more than necessary for adhesion equivalent to or stronger than screen‐printed contacts), an average VOC of 693 mV was achieved, with an average current of 40.5 mA/cm2, average device efficiency of 20.2%, and a single best cell of 20.5% efficiency. These cells also exhibit excellent contact adhesion and pass all thermal cycling and damp‐heat testing according to IEC 61215.
Cytotoxicity of Tanshinone IIA combined with Taxol on drug‐resist breast cancer cells MCF‐7 through inhibition of Tau
Authors: Lin Hui , Zheng Luya , Li Shixiao , Xie Bojian , Cui Binbin , Xia Aixiao , Lin Zhong , Zhou Peng
Published: January 2018

Drug resistance represents a major obstacle to improving the overall response and survival of cancer patients. Taxol is one of the most commonly used chemotherapy agents in breast cancer. As with many cancer therapeutic agents, resistance remains a significant problem when using Taxol to treat malignancies. In this study, estrogen receptor positive breast cancer cells MCF‐7 were induced Taxol resistance. And Tanshinone IIA combined with Taxol was chosen to treat it. The drugs combination showed additive effect in most drug concentrations. Drug resistance cancer cells showed a higher microtubule associated protein (Tau) expression, which was considered as one of the reasons for Taxol resistance. Tanshinone IIA inhibited the expression of Tau in MCF‐7 cells and resulted in higher sensibility of Taxol. Moreover, Tanshinone IIA also showed cytotoxicity to MCF‐7, which might be related to its estrogenicity effect. In conclusion, the combination of Tanshinone IIA and Taxol showed higher cytotoxicity to Taxol resistant MCF‐7 cells, which might be related to the inhibition of Tau.
Phlorotannin supplement decreases wake after sleep onset in adults with self‐reported sleep disturbance: A randomized, controlled, double‐blind clinical and polysomnographic study
Authors: Um Min Young , Kim Jin Young , Han Jin Kyu , Kim Jinkyung , Yang Hyejin , Yoon Minseok , Kim Jiyoung , Kang Seung Wan , Cho Suengmok
Published: January 2018

Our previous study demonstrated that phlorotannin supplement had a sleep‐promoting effect in rodents. In the present study, we investigated whether the phlorotannin supplement could improve sleep in subjects with self‐reported sleep disturbances. In a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial, 24 subjects consumed either a placebo or phlorotannin supplement (500 mg/day) for 1 week, 30–60 min prior to bedtime. Sleep parameters were assessed at baseline and at 1 week with sleep questionnaires and polysomnography. At the end of the treatment period, the complete sets of sleep parameters from 20 subjects. Phlorotannin resulted in a significant increase in “Sleep duration” scores compared to the placebo (p = .044), although there were no significant differences on the total PSQI scores. Polysomnography revealed that wakefulness after sleep onset was significantly lower in the phlorotannin group compared to the placebo group (phlorotannin vs. placebo, −25.5 ± 30.5 vs. −1.7 ± 14.9; p = .045) as well as total wake time (phlorotannin vs. placebo, −0.9 ± 3.0 vs. −6.1 ± 6.8; p = .048). Additionally, the respiratory disturbance index during supine rapid eye movement sleep was significantly lower in the phlorotannin group (p = .035). There were no serious adverse effects in either group. Our data suggest that the phlorotannin supplement improved sleep maintenance (WHO ICTRP: KCT0001892).
Barbigerone reverses multidrug resistance in breast MCF‐7/ADR cells
Authors: Li Xiuxia , Wan Li , Wang Fang , Pei Heying , Zheng Li , Wu Wenshuang , Ye Haoyu , Wang Yanping , Chen Lijuan
Published: January 2018

Development of agents to overcome multidrug resistance (MDR) is one of the important strategies in cancer chemotherapy, and P‐glycoprotein (P‐gp) correlates with the degree of resistance. As a naturally occurring isoflavone, whether barbigerone (BA) could reverse MDR, is unknown. In this paper, we evaluated effects of BA on reversing P‐gp mediated MDR of adriamycin (ADR)‐resistant human breast carcinoma (MCF‐7/ADR) cells. BA (0.5 μM) treatment showed strong potency to increase ADR cytotoxicity toward MCF‐7/ADR cells. It was also demonstrated that BA time‐ and dose‐dependently increased accumulations of ADR and reduced the efflux in MCF‐7/ADR cells, pretreatment of these cells with BA might relocalized ADR to the nuclei. Furthermore, the results also revealed that BA did not affect P‐gp, but alter P‐gp ATPase activity. Intravenous administration of BA significantly increased anticancer efficacy of ADR to MCF‐7/ADR xenograft model in nude mice. These results revealed that BA might reverse P‐gp mediated MDR through inhibition of ATPase activity, which indicated a novel use of BA as a potent candidate for cancer chemotherapy.
Negative nucleotide ions as sensitive probes for energy specificity in collision‐induced fragmentation in mass spectrometry
Authors: Ickert Stefanie , Riedel Jens , Beck Sebastian , Linscheid Michael W.
Published: January 2018

Rationale

The most commonly used fragmentation methods in tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) are collision‐induced dissociation (CID) and higher energy collisional dissociation (HCD). While in CID the preselected ions in the trap are resonantly (and m/z exclusively) excited, in HCD the entire m/z range experiences the dissociative acceleration. The different excitation is reflected in different fragment distributions.

Methods

As a test‐bed for particularly pronounced fragmentation specificity, here MS/MS experiments on several 4‐mer oligonucleotides were conducted employing both collision methods and the results were thoroughly compared. Oligonucleotides are shown to be sensitive probes to subtle changes, especially in the negative ion mode. A detailed analysis of these differences reveals insight into the dissociation mechanics.

Results

The differences are represented in heat‐maps, which allow for a direct visual inspection of large amounts of data. In these false colour representations the, sometimes subtle, changes in the individual dissociation product distributions become distinct. Another advantage of these graphic plots can be found in the formation of systematic patterns. These patterns reflect trends in dissociation specificity which allow for the formulation of general rules in fragmentation behavior.

Conclusions

Instruments equipped with two different excitation schemes for MS/MS are today widely available. Nonetheless, direct comparisons between the individual results are scarcely made. Such comparative studies bear a powerful analytical potential to elucidate fragmentation reaction mechanism.
Comparing the fragmentation reactions of protonated cyclic indolyl α‐amino esters in quadrupole/orbitrap and quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometers
Authors: Cao Xiaoji , Cai Xue , Mo Weimin
Published: January 2018

Rationale

The comparative study of higher‐energy collisional dissociation (HCD) and collision‐induced dissociation (CID) mechanisms for protonated cyclic indolyl α‐amino esters in quadrupole/orbitrap (Q/Orbitrap) and quadrupole time‐of‐flight (QTOF) mass spectrometers, respectively, is helpful to study the structures and properties of biologically active indole derivatives using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) technology.

Methods

HCD and CID experiments were carried out using electrospray ionization Q/Orbitrap MS and QTOFMS in positive ion mode, respectively. Only the labile hydrogens were exchanged with deuterium in hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) experiments and only the aromatic indole C‐H hydrogens were substituted with deuterium in regiospecific hydrogen‐deuterium labeling experiments. Theoretical calculations were carried out using the density functional theory (DFT) method at the B3LYP level with the 6‐311G(d,p) basis set in the Gaussian 03 package of programs.

Results

In Q/Orbitrap MS/MS, when the added proton on the N8 position of protonated cyclic indolyl α‐amino esters migrated in a stepwise fashion to the C3 position via two sequential 1,4‐H shifts, an ion‐neutral complex INC1 of [protonated cyclic N‐sulfonyl ketimino esters/indoles] was formed by a charge‐directed heterolytic cleavage of the C3–C10 bond, while an ion‐neutral complex INC3 of [cyclic N‐sulfonyl ketimino esters/protonated indoles] was formed when another labile hydrogen on the N8 position successively migrated to the C4 position. Direct decomposition of INC1 and INC3 resulted in protonated cyclic N‐sulfonyl ketimino esters and protonated indoles, respectively, while proton transfer led to protonated indoles and protonated cyclic N‐sulfonyl ketimino esters. The HDX reaction with residual water in the HCD cell was also observed. In QTOF‐MS/MS, protonated cyclic N‐sulfonyl ketimino esters and protonated indoles resulted from direct decomposition of INC1 and INC3, respectively, rather than proton transfer.

Conclusions

Due to the specific construction of the Q/Orbitrap and QTOF mass spectrometers, different fragmentation mechanisms medicated by ion‐neutral complexes of protonated cyclic indolyl α‐amino esters were proposed. This study is desirable for qualitative and quantitive investigation of indole derivatives using MS/MS technology.
Decreased carbonyl reductase 1 expression promotes tumor growth via epithelial mesenchymal transition in uterine cervical squamous cell carcinomas
Authors: Nishimoto Yuki , Murakami Akihiro , Sato Shun , Kajimura Takuya , Nakashima Kengo , Yakabe Kazuyuki , Sueoka Kotaro , Sugino Norihiro
Published: January 2018

Purpose

Carbonyl reductase 1 (CBR1) is involved in cancer progression. Recently, the authors reported that the loss of CBR1 expression is associated with a poor prognosis in uterine cervical cancer. Here, we investigated whether the decreased CBR1 expression promotes cancer progression by inducing the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT).

Methods

Antisense constructs of CBR1 complementary DNA (antisense clones) and the empty vectors (control clones) were transfected into human uterine cervical squamous cell carcinoma cell lines (SKG II and SiHa) and the proliferation and EMT marker expression of these clones were analyzed in vitro. In an in vivo study, 107 cells of the antisense and control clones were subcutaneously injected into nude mice and the tumorigenesis was observed for 8 weeks.

Results

With the decreased CBR1 expression, the proliferation of the antisense clones increased, accompanied by a decrease in epithelial markers (E‐cadherin and cytokeratin) and an increase in mesenchymal markers (fibronectin, alpha‐smooth muscle actin, and N‐cadherin), which suggests EMT induction. In the in vivo study, the tumor volume in the antisense group was significantly larger than that in the control group.

Conclusion

Decreased CBR1 expression promotes tumor growth by inducing EMT in uterine cervical squamous cell carcinomas.
Distributed stochastic MPC for systems with parameter uncertainty and disturbances
Authors: Dai Li , Xia Yuanqing , Gao Yulong , Cannon Mark
Published: January 2018

A distributed stochastic model predictive control algorithm is proposed for multiple linear subsystems with both parameter uncertainty and stochastic disturbances, which are coupled via probabilistic constraints. To handle the probabilistic constraints, the system dynamics is first decomposed into a nominal part and an uncertain part. The uncertain part is further divided into 2 parts: the first one is constrained to lie in probabilistic tubes that are calculated offline through the use of the probabilistic information on disturbances, whereas the second one is constrained to lie in polytopic tubes whose volumes are optimized online and whose facets' orientations are determined offline. By permitting a single subsystem to optimize at each time step, the probabilistic constraints are then reduced into a set of linear deterministic constraints, and the online optimization problem is transformed into a convex optimization problem that can be performed efficiently. Furthermore, compared to a centralized control scheme, the distributed stochastic model predictive control algorithm only requires message transmissions when a subsystem is optimized, thereby offering greater flexibility in communication. By designing a tailored invariant terminal set for each subsystem, the proposed algorithm can achieve recursive feasibility, which, in turn, ensures closed‐loop stability of the entire system. A numerical example is given to illustrate the efficacy of the algorithm.
Insights into the Effect of Structural Heterogeneity in Carbonized Electrospun Fibrous Mats for Flow Battery Electrodes by X‐Ray Tomography
Authors: Kok Matt D. R. , Jervis Rhodri , Brett Dan , Shearing Paul R. , Gostick Jeff T.
Published: January 2018

Electrospun custom made flow battery electrodes are imaged in 3D using X‐ray computed tomography. A variety of computational methods and simulations are applied to the images to determine properties including the porosity, fiber size, and pore size distributions as well as the material permeability and flow distributions. The simulations are performed on materials before and after carbonization to determine the effect it has in the internal microstructure and material properties. It is found that the deposited fiber size is constantly changing throughout the electrospinning process. The results also show that the surfaces of the fibrous material are the most severely altered during carbonization and that the rest of the material remained intact. Pressure driven flow is modeled using the lattice Boltzmann method and excellent agreement with experimental results is found. The simulations coupled with the material analysis also demonstrate the highly heterogeneous nature of the flow. Most of the flow is concentrated to regions with high porosity while regions with low porosity shield other pores and starve them of flow. The importance of imaging these materials in 3D is highlighted throughout.
Sampling from Single Cells
Authors: Actis Paolo
Published: January 2018

The cell is the fundamental unit of biology. Major methodological advances in engineering and molecular biology have enabled the 'omics analysis of individual cells and supported biologists in understanding the deepest difference between health and disease. These advancements were based on the assumption that a single cell needs to be lysed or fixed before any in‐depth analysis can be performed. Here, a picture is painted of the innovative methods used for extracting the contents of living cells without affecting their viability. These novel methods are now empowering the biological community to repeatedly interrogate a single cell over time, thus giving a dynamic representation of the cell's 'omics rather than a snapshot at a particular time point.
Prediction of quality using ANN based on Teaching‐Learning Optimization in component‐based software systems
Authors: Tomar Pradeep , Mishra Rajesh , Sheoran Kavita
Published: January 2018

The primary objective of our research work is to enhance the prediction of the quality of a component‐based software system and to develop an artificial neural network (ANN) model for the system reliability optimization problem. In this paper, we introduced the ANN‐supported Teaching‐Learning Optimization by transforming constraints to objective functions. Artificial neural network techniques are found to be powerful in the modeling software package quality metrics compared with the ancient statistical techniques. Therefore, by using the neural network, the quality characteristics of software components of the proposed work are predicted. A nonlinear differentiable transfer function of ANN used in the proposed approach is hyperbolic tangent sigmoid. A new efficient optimization methodology referred to as the Teaching‐Learning–based Optimization is proposed in this paper to optimize reliability and different cost functions. The weight values of the network are then adjusted consistent with a proposed optimization rule, therefore minimizing the network error. The proposed work is implemented in MATLAB by using the Neural Network Toolbox. The proposed work provides improved performance in terms of sensitivity, precision, specificity, negative predictive value, fall‐out or false positive rate, false discovery rate, accuracy, Matthews correlation coefficient, and rate of convergence.
Uncovering cell type‐specific complexities of gene expression and RNA metabolism by TU‐tagging and EC‐tagging
Authors: Cleary Michael D.
Published: January 2018

Cell type‐specific transcription is a key determinant of cell fate and function. An ongoing challenge in biology is to develop robust and stringent biochemical methods to explore gene expression with cell type specificity. This challenge has become even greater as researchers attempt to apply high‐throughput RNA analysis methods under in vivo conditions. TU‐tagging and EC‐tagging are in vivo biosynthetic RNA tagging techniques that allow spatial and temporal specificity in RNA purification. Spatial specificity is achieved through targeted expression of pyrimidine salvage enzymes (uracil phosphoribosyltransferase and cytosine deaminase) and temporal specificity is achieved by controlling exposure to bioorthogonal substrates of these enzymes (4‐thiouracil and 5‐ethynylcytosine). Tagged RNAs can be purified from total RNA extracted from an animal or tissue and used in transcriptome profiling analyses. In addition to identifying cell type‐specific mRNA profiles, these techniques are applicable to noncoding RNAs and can be used to measure RNA transcription and decay. Potential applications of TU‐tagging and EC‐tagging also include fluorescent RNA imaging and selective definition of RNA–protein interactions. TU‐tagging and EC‐tagging hold great promise for supporting research at the intersection of RNA biology and developmental biology.

This article is categorized under:

Technologies > Analysis of the Transcriptome
Chromatin modifications in metabolic disease: Potential mediators of long‐term disease risk
Authors: Costello Kevin R. , Schones Dustin E.
Published: January 2018

Metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes are complex diseases resulting from multiple genetic and environmental factors, such as diet and activity levels. These factors are well known contributors to the development of metabolic diseases. One manner by which environmental factors can influence metabolic disease progression is through modifications to chromatin. These modifications can lead to altered gene regulatory programs, which alters disease risk. Furthermore, there is evidence that parents exposed to environmental factors can influence the metabolic health of offspring, especially if exposures are during intrauterine growth periods. In this review, we outline the evidence that chromatin modifications are associated with metabolic diseases, including diabetes and obesity. We also consider evidence that these chromatin modifications can lead to long‐term disease risk and contribute to disease risk for future generations.

This article is categorized under:

Biological Mechanisms > Metabolism

Developmental Biology > Developmental Processes in Health and Disease

Physiology > Organismal Responses to Environment
Syntheses, Structures, and Photoluminescence of Lanthanide Coordination Polymers Based on 4‐Oxo‐1,4‐dihydro‐2,6‐pyridinedicarboxylic acid
Authors: Qian Jing , Li Lei , Gu Wen , Peng Jing‐Wei , Qiao Wei‐Wei , Sun Mei‐Mei
Published: January 2018

Investigating the coordination chemistry of H2CDA (4‐oxo‐1,4‐dihydro‐2,6‐pyridinedicarboxylic acid) with rare earth salts Ln(NO3)3 under hydrothermal conditions, structure transformation phenomenon was observed. The ligand, H2CDA charged to its position isomer, enol type structure, H3CAM (4‐hydroxypyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylic acid). Six new lanthanide(III) coordination polymers with the formulas [Ln(CAM)(H2O)3]n [Ln = La (1), Pr, (2)] and {[Ln(CAM)(H2O)3]·H2O}n [Ln = Nd, (3), Sm, (4), Eu, (5), Y, (6)] were synthesized and characterized. The X‐ray structure analyses show two kinds of coordination structures. The complexes 1 and 2 and 3–6 are isostructural. Complexes 1 and 2 crystallize in the monoclinic C2/c space group, whereas 3–6 crystallize in the monoclinic system with space group P21/n. In the two kinds of structures, H3CAM displays two different coordination modes. The SmIII and EuIII complexes exhibit the corresponding characteristic luminescence in the visible region at an excitation of 376 nm.
Cysto‐cholecystostomy: A More Physiological Procedure for Hepatic Cysts with Biliary Communications and Cystic Dilatations of Main Intrahepatic Ducts
Authors: Diao Mei , Li Long , Cheng Wei
Published: January 2018

Objective

Hepatic cysts with biliary communications (HC) and cystic dilatations of main intrahepatic ducts (CIHD) can cause biliary obstruction, cholestasis, stone formation, cholangitis, liver damage and carcinoma. Conventionally, Roux‐Y cysto‐jejunostomy is employed to manage these conditions. However, it is technically demanding and may be complicated with major biliary disruption and bacteria migration from intestine to intrahepatic duct. We have carried out laparoscopic cysto‐cholecystostomies for HC with biliary communication and CIHD and evaluated outcomes.

Methods

Twenty patients with HC (n = 10) or CIHD (n = 10) who successfully underwent laparoscopic cysto‐cholecystostomies in our center, between September 2010 and March 2017, were reviewed.

Results

The mean age of the patients at surgery was 2.06 and 2.23 years for HC and CIHD groups, respectively. Eighteen patients were symptomatic, with abdominal pain, fever, vomiting and jaundice. Laboratory results showed abnormal liver functions in 8 patients. Pathological results verified hepatic cellular damages in 8 patients. The mean operative time was 0.97 and 0.92 h for HC and CIHD patients, respectively. The median follow‐up duration was 27 months (1–54 months) and 35 months (1–79 months) for HC and CIHD groups, respectively. No patient developed bile leak, anastomotic stenosis, stone formation or cholangitis. Liver function normalized postoperatively.

Conclusions

Laparoscopic cysto‐cholecystostomy is a simpler and more physiological surgical alternative for managing HC with biliary communication and CIHD.
Inverse formulas of parameterized orthogonal wavelets
Authors: Herrera-Alcántara Oscar , González-Mendoza Miguel
Published: January 2018

We review the parameterization of orthogonal wavelet based filters of length 4, 6, 8, and 10, and present their inverse formulas, which means to determine the parameter values from filter coefficients. Experimental results support the validity of these inverse formulas when parameters are restricted to $$[0, 2\pi )$$

[
0
,
2
π
)

for practical applications, such as image processing where parameters are optimized to maximize the number of negligible wavelet coefficients.
Reproductive Decision Support: Preferences and Needs of Couples at Risk for Hereditary Cancer and Clinical Geneticists
Authors: Reumkens Kelly , van Oudheusden A. J. G. , Gietel‐Habets J. J. G. , Tummers M. H. E. , de Die‐Smulders C. E. M. , van Osch L. A. D. M.
Published: January 2018

For couples at high risk of transmitting a cancer predisposition to offspring, reproductive decision‐making can be challenging. As the choice between available reproductive options is preference‐sensitive, the use of a decision aid can support these couples in their decisional process. The present study aims to investigate preferences and needs of involved stakeholders regarding the development and implementation of a patient decision aid. Semi‐structured interviews assessing the needs and preferences regarding the content and functionalities of a decision support program were conducted among seven couples at risk for hereditary cancer and among eight clinical geneticists involved in oncogenetic counseling. Many similarities were found between the expressed preferences and needs of both stakeholder groups concerning the content, barriers and facilitating factors regarding the use of the decision aid, and its implementation. Emphasis was placed on the use of simple non‐medical language, an extensive explanation of the procedures and techniques used in prenatal diagnosis (PND) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), and the role of health care providers to refer couples to the decision aid. Both stakeholder groups were in favor of incorporating narrative stories in the decision aid. Integrating the present findings with knowledge on reproductive decisional motives and considerations is essential in guiding the development of a decision aid that corresponds to the preferences and needs of end‐users. Trial registration: NTR5467
Effect of Temperature on the Fracture Toughness of Hot Isostatically Pressed 304L Stainless Steel
Authors: Cooper A. J. , Brayshaw W. J. , Sherry A. H.
Published: January 2018

Herein, we have performed J-Resistance multi-specimen fracture toughness testing of hot isostatically pressed (HIP’d) and forged 304L austenitic stainless steel, tested at elevated (300 °C) and cryogenic (− 140 °C) temperatures. The work highlights that although both materials fail in a pure ductile fashion, stainless steel manufactured by HIP displays a marked reduction in fracture toughness, defined using J
0.2BL, when compared to equivalently graded forged 304L, which is relatively constant across the tested temperature range.
Synchronization of second-mode instability waves for high-enthalpy hypersonic boundary layers
Authors: Salemi Leonardo C. , Fasel Hermann F.
Published: January 2018

The stability of a hypersonic boundary layer for a $5^{\circ }$ half-angle cone at the Caltech T5 high-enthalpy flow conditions was investigated using direct numerical simulations. For the ‘linear’ stability investigations, the boundary layer was perturbed by small axisymmetric disturbances with very small amplitudes, and for the nonlinear regime, three-dimensional pulse disturbances with larger amplitudes were introduced. The surprising result from these investigations was that the 3D wave packet undergoes strong spatial modulations, which we have not observed for other experimental conditions (e.g. the Purdue BAM6QT). This modulation was found to be directly due to the synchronization between second-mode wave components and vorticity/entropy modes. Furthermore, it was found that a synchronization with slow acoustic waves leads to a sudden and strong emission of acoustic waves deep into the free stream, which was observed for both a linear wave train and a 3D nonlinear wave packet. Therefore, it can be concluded that this is a linear mechanism that is not suppressed by nonlinear effects.
Erosion of a sharp density interface by a turbulent jet at moderate Froude and Reynolds numbers
Authors: Herault J. , Facchini G. , Le Bars M.
Published: January 2018

Using water–salt water laboratory experiments, we investigate the mechanism of erosion by a turbulent jet impinging onto a density interface, for moderate Reynolds and Froude numbers. The Froude number is defined by $Fr_{i}=u_{i}/\sqrt{b_{i}g^{\prime }}$, with $u_{i}$ and $b_{i}$, the typical velocity and width of the jet at the interface, and $g^{\prime }$ the reduced gravitational acceleration. The Froude number $Fr_{i}$ characterizes the competition between inertial forces against the restoring buoyancy force. Contrary to previous observations reporting baroclinic destabilization of the interface, we show that the entrainment, in the range of parameters explored here, is driven by interfacial gravity waves. The waves are generated by the barotropic excitation coming from the turbulent fluctuations of the jet; they are then amplified by a mechanism of wave-induced stress; and they finally break and induce entrainment and mixing. Based on those physical observations, we introduce a scaling model for the entrainment rate, which varies continuously from $Fr_{i}^{3}$ to an $Fr_{i}$ power law from small to large Froude numbers, in agreement with the present and some of the previous laboratory data.
A semi-infinite hydraulic fracture driven by a shear-thinning fluid
Authors: Moukhtari Fatima-Ezzahra , Lecampion Brice
Published: January 2018

We use the Carreau rheological model which properly accounts for the shear-thinning behaviour between the low and high shear rate Newtonian limits to investigate the problem of a semi-infinite hydraulic fracture propagating at a constant velocity in an impermeable linearly elastic material. We show that the solution depends on four dimensionless parameters: a dimensionless toughness (function of the fracture velocity, confining stress, material and fluid parameters), a dimensionless transition shear stress (related to both fluid and material behaviour), the fluid shear-thinning index and the ratio between the high and low shear rate viscosities. We solve the complete problem numerically combining a Gauss–Chebyshev method for the discretization of the elasticity equation, the quasi-static fracture propagation condition and a finite difference scheme for the width-averaged lubrication flow. The solution exhibits a complex structure with up to four distinct asymptotic regions as one moves away from the fracture tip: a region governed by the classical linear elastic fracture mechanics behaviour near the tip, a high shear rate viscosity asymptotic and power-law asymptotic region in the intermediate field and a low shear rate viscosity asymptotic far away from the fracture tip. The occurrence and order of magnitude of the extent of these different viscous asymptotic regions are estimated analytically. Our results also quantify how shear thinning drastically reduces the size of the fluid lag compared to a Newtonian fluid. We also investigate simpler rheological models (power law, Ellis) and establish the small domain where they can properly reproduce the response obtained with the complete rheology.
Mechanisms in the hypersonic laminar near wake of a blunt body
Authors: Hinman W. Schuyler , Johansen Craig T.
Published: January 2018

A new theoretical framework, based on the analysis of Navier–Stokes solutions for the hypersonic laminar near wake of two-dimensional and axisymmetric blunt bodies, is presented. A semi-empirical relationship is derived between the free-stream Mach and Reynolds numbers and a characteristic wake Reynolds number. A control volume analysis was performed to assess the validity of some common assumptions used in the literature. Analysis of the momentum and vorticity equations is used to assess the dominant mechanisms of momentum transfer along and across the dividing streamline and centreline which enclose the near wake. An observed stagnation pressure gain along the dividing streamline is explained using the entropy transport equation, demonstrating an unbalance between entropy generation due to viscous dissipation and entropy diffusion. The rear-stagnation point flow is analysed using an analogy to a reversed flow jet which allows for the centreline Mach number to be solved. A new viscous–inviscid interaction theory is presented for the reattachment shock formation process for both planar and axisymmetric wakes. Finally, all of the sub-mechanisms are combined into an overall wake mechanism. The resulting equations constitute the first overall theoretical framework of the laminar near-wake mechanism including separation, reattachment, rear-stagnation point flow and dividing streamline stagnation pressure gain for both planar and axisymmetric near wakes. Scaling arguments are presented throughout the work for each of the key sub-mechanisms. Recommendations are made for how experimental and numerical results for the near wake should be presented. The equations and recommendations presented here are then used to perform a detailed disambiguation of laminar capsule studies in the literature.
Nonlinear phase-resolved reconstruction of irregular water waves
Authors: Qi Yusheng , Wu Guangyu , Liu Yuming , Kim Moo-Hyun , Yue Dick K. P.
Published: January 2018

We develop and validate a high-order reconstruction (HOR) method for the phase-resolved reconstruction of a nonlinear wave field given a set of wave measurements. HOR optimizes the amplitude and phase of $L$ free wave components of the wave field, accounting for nonlinear wave interactions up to order $M$ in the evolution, to obtain a wave field that minimizes the reconstruction error between the reconstructed wave field and the given measurements. For a given reconstruction tolerance, $L$ and $M$ are provided in the HOR scheme itself. To demonstrate the validity and efficacy of HOR, we perform extensive tests of general two- and three-dimensional wave fields specified by theoretical Stokes waves, nonlinear simulations and physical wave fields in tank experiments which we conduct. The necessary $L$, for general broad-banded wave fields, is shown to be substantially less than the free and locked modes needed for the nonlinear evolution. We find that, even for relatively small wave steepness, the inclusion of high-order effects in HOR is important for prediction of wave kinematics not in the measurements. For all the cases we consider, HOR converges to the underlying wave field within a nonlinear spatial-temporal predictable zone ${\mathcal{P}}_{NL}$ which depends on the measurements and wave nonlinearity. For infinitesimal waves, ${\mathcal{P}}_{NL}$ matches the linear predictable zone ${\mathcal{P}}_{L}$, verifying the analytic solution presented in Qi et al. (Wave Motion, vol. 77, 2018, pp. 195–213). With increasing wave nonlinearity, we find that ${\mathcal{P}}_{NL}$ contains and is generally greater than ${\mathcal{P}}_{L}$. Thus ${\mathcal{P}}_{L}$ provides a (conservative) estimate of ${\mathcal{P}}_{NL}$ when the underlying wave field is not known.
Propagation of a strong shock over a random bed of spherical particles
Authors: Mehta Y. , Neal C. , Salari K. , Jackson T. L. , Balachandar S. , Thakur S.
Published: January 2018

Propagation of a strong incident shock through a bed of particles results in complex wave dynamics such as a reflected shock, a transmitted shock, and highly unsteady flow inside the particle bed. In this paper we present three-dimensional numerical simulations of shock propagation in air over a random bed of particles. We assume the flow is inviscid and governed by the Euler equations of gas dynamics. Simulations are carried out by varying the volume fraction of the particle bed at a fixed shock Mach number. We compute the unsteady inviscid streamwise and transverse drag coefficients as a function of time for each particle in the random bed for different volume fractions. We show that (i) there are significant variations in the peak drag for the particles in the bed, (ii) the mean peak drag as a function of streamwise distance through the bed decreases with a slope that increases as the volume fraction increases, and (iii) the deviation from the mean peak drag does not correlate with local volume fraction. We also present the local Mach number and pressure contours for the different volume fractions to explain the various observed complex physical mechanisms occurring during the shock–particle interactions. Since the shock interaction with the random bed of particles leads to transmitted and reflected waves, we compute the average flow properties to characterize the strength of the transmitted and reflected shock waves and quantify the energy dissipation inside the particle bed. Finally, to better understand the complex wave dynamics in a random bed, we consider a simpler approximation of a planar shock propagating in a duct with a sudden area change. We obtain Riemann solutions to this problem, which are used to compare with fully resolved numerical simulations.
COVERS OF GENERALIZED QUADRANGLES
Authors: THAS JOSEPH A. , THAS KOEN
Published: January 2018

We solve a problem posed by Cardinali and Sastry (Elliptic ovoids and their rosettes in a classical generalized quadrangle of even order.Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. Math. Sci.126(2016), 591–612) about factorization of 2-covers of finite classical generalized quadrangles (GQs). To that end, we develop a general theory of cover factorization for GQs, and in particular, we study the isomorphism problem for such covers and associated geometries. As a byproduct, we obtain new results about semi-partial geometries coming from θ-covers, and consider related problems.
A new species-level taxonomy forTrapelia(Trapeliaceae, Ostropomycetidae) with special reference to Great Britain and the Falkland Islands
Authors: ORANGE Alan
Published: January 2018

Trapeliais a small genus of worldwide distribution.Trapelia coarctatahas long been regarded as a morphologically variable species and phylogenetic studies have suggested that it is non-monophyletic, or at least that species are frequently misidentified. The phylogenetic relationships of freshly-collected material ofTrapeliawere studied using ITS, mitochondrial SSU rDNA and to a small extent also beta-tubulin sequence data, together with chemical and morphological characters. Sequence data combined with morphology and chemistry confirm that the diversity of the genus at species-level has been underestimated.Trapelia coarctatais defined in a more restricted way and many specimens previously referable to this taxon are assigned to the reinstated speciesT. elacista, which differs in subtle morphological characters including a crack separating the thallus and apothecium in well-developed thalli.Trapelia involutais reinstated as a separate, though closely related, species toT. glebulosabased on sequence data, morphology and chemistry, and is lectotypified.Trapelia collarisis a distinctive species described as new from Great Britain which has an extensive, cracked thallus with abruptly thickening marginal areoles arising on an inconspicuous prothallus, relatively small apothecia (rarely exceeding 300 µm diameter) and contains 5-O-methylhiascic acid as the major secondary substance.Trapelia obtegensis shown to include frequent non-sorediate morphs which have doubtless been misidentified as other species. The number of species ofTrapeliaconsidered to occur in Europe is thus raised from five to eight. The genus is newly reported for the Falkland Islands where seven species occur:T. coarctata,T. placodioides,T. sitienssp. nov. (with a thin, extensive thallus, sessile apothecia, 5-O-methylhiascic acid as the major secondary substance and the presence of conidiomata),T. tristissp. nov. (with relatively small apothecia up to 460 µm diameter, presence of gyrophoric acid as the major substance and an absence of conidiomata) and three unidentified species represented by very sparse material. All the species studied, with the possible exception of the three unidentified species, can usually be distinguished by morphological features, particularly the method of development of the thallus and the shape and distribution of the areoles, but morphological variation in response to microhabitat variation is likely to make a proportion of specimens difficult to assign to species in the absence of sequence data.
Dismantling cognitive-behaviour therapy for panic disorder: a systematic review and component network meta-analysis
Authors: Pompoli Alessandro , Furukawa Toshi A. , Efthimiou Orestis , Imai Hissei , Tajika Aran , Salanti Georgia
Published: January 2018

Cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) for panic disorder may consist of different combinations of several therapeutic components such as relaxation, breathing retraining, cognitive restructuring, interoceptive exposure and/or in vivo exposure. It is therefore important both theoretically and clinically to examine whether specific components of CBT or their combinations are superior to others in the treatment of panic disorder. Component network meta-analysis (NMA) is an extension of standard NMA that can be used to disentangle the treatment effects of different components included in composite interventions. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Cochrane Central, with supplementary searches of reference lists and clinical trial registries, for all randomized controlled trials comparing different CBT-based psychological therapies for panic disorder with each other or with control interventions. We applied component NMA to disentangle the treatment effects of different components included in these interventions. After reviewing 2526 references, we included 72 studies with 4064 participants. Interoceptive exposure and face-to-face setting were associated with better treatment efficacy and acceptability. Muscle relaxation and virtual-reality exposure were associated with significantly lower efficacy. Components such as breathing retraining and in vivo exposure appeared to improve treatment acceptability while having small effects on efficacy. The comparison of the most v. the least efficacious combination, both of which may be provided as ‘evidence-based CBT,’ yielded an odds ratio for the remission of 7.69 (95% credible interval: 1.75 to 33.33). Effective CBT packages for panic disorder would include face-to-face and interoceptive exposure components, while excluding muscle relaxation and virtual-reality exposure.
Systematic identification and communication of type errors
Authors: CHEN SHENG , ERWIG MARTIN
Published: January 2018

When type inference fails, it is often difficult to pinpoint the cause of the type error among many potential candidates. Generating informative messages to remove the type error is another difficult task due to the limited availability of type information. Over the last three decades many approaches have been developed to help debug type errors. However, most of these methods suffer from one or more of the following problems: (1) Being incomplete, they miss the real cause. (2) They cover many potential causes without distinguishing them. (3) They provide little or no information for how to remove the type error. Any one of this problems can turn the type-error debugging process into a tedious and ineffective endeavor. To address this issue, we have developed a method named counter-factual typing, which (1) finds a comprehensive set of error causes in AST leaves, (2) computes an informative message on how to get rid of the type error for each error cause, and (3) ranks all messages and iteratively presents the message for the most likely error cause. The biggest technical challenge is the efficient generation of all error messages, which seems to be exponential in the size of the expression. We address this challenge by employing the idea of variational typing that systematically reuses computations for shared parts and generates all messages by typing the whole ill-typed expression only once. We have evaluated our approach over a large set of examples collected from previous publications in the literature. The evaluation result shows that our approach outperforms previous approaches and is computationally feasible.