bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Australian Football League concussion guidelines: what do community players think?
Authors: White Peta E , Donaldson Alex , Sullivan S John , Newton Joshua , Finch Caroline F
Published: November 2016

Background

Preventing concussion in sport is a global challenge. To assess community-level adult male Australian Football players’ views on following the Australian Football League's (AFL) concussion guidelines.

Methods

3 focus groups, each comprising 6 players from 1 regional league, were conducted until saturation of issues raised. Discussions followed a semistructured script and were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was conducted by 2 coders independently.

Results

Identified advantages of the guidelines included highlighting the seriousness of concussion; changing the culture around playing with concussion and shifting return-to-play decision responsibility from players to others. Disadvantages included players being removed from play unnecessarily; removal of players’ rights to decide if they are fit to play and players changing their behaviours to avoid being removed from play. Identified facilitators to guideline use included local league enforcement; broad information dissemination and impartial medically trained staff to assess concussion. Identified barriers to guideline use included players’ desire to play at all costs; external pressure that encouraged players to return to play prematurely; and inconvenience and cost.

Conclusions

Players generally understand that the AFL concussion guidelines protect their long-term welfare. However, their desire to play at all costs and help their team win is a common barrier to reporting concussion and adhering to guidelines. Leagues should take a lead role by mandating and enforcing the use of the guidelines and educating coaches, game day medical providers and players. The return-to-play component of the guidelines is complex and needs further consideration in the context of community sport.
Spuriously high thyroid hormone concentrations measured by chemiluminescent immunoassay attributable to anti‐iodothyronine antibodies in a dog
Authors: Zeugswetter Florian K , Hittmair Katharina M , Patzl Martina
Published: November 2016

A 2.5‐year‐old female English setter was presented with clinicopathological findings suggestive of hypothyroidism. Thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH: 4.3 ng/ml, normal <0.5), but also free thyroxine (FT4: 77 pmol/l, normal 7.7–48), total thyroxine (67 nmol/l, normal 17–58) and total triiodothyronine (8.7 nmol/l, normal 0.3–3.2) measured with a chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) were elevated. Further investigations revealed oval‐shaped hypoechoic thyroid glands characteristic of thyroiditis and very high titres for thyroglobulin autoantibodies, T4 autoantibodies and T3 autoantibodies. As expected the FT4 concentration determined by equilibrium dialysis (ED) to exclude analyte‐dependent interferences was low. With levothyroxine therapy clinical signs disappeared and the concentrations of TSH and FT4 (ED) were within the respective reference intervals again. This case demonstrates that anti‐thyroid hormone antibodies can cause erroneous CLIA readings, and that their presence should be clarified if thyroid hormone results do not match the clinical presentation or are discordant with TSH results.
Comparison of phenotypic and genotypic profiles among caprine and ovineMycoplasma ovipneumoniaestrains
Authors: Maksimović Z. , De la Fe C. , Amores J. , Gómez‐Martín Á. , Rifatbegović M.
Published: November 2016

Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae(Movp) is considered to be one of the most important mycoplasmas causing respiratory disease in small ruminants. Most epidemiologic and characterisation studies have been conducted on strains collected from sheep. Information on the presence and characteristics ofMovpin healthy and pneumonic goats is limited. Phenotypic or genotypic differences between sheep and goat isolates have never been studied. The objective of our study was to characterise and compare the similarities and differences between caprine and ovineMovpstrains isolated from affected and asymptomatic animals in order to elucidate phenotypic and genotypic variability. Four different techniques were used on a set of 23Movpisolates. These included SDS‐PAGE, Western blotting, random amplified polymorphic DNA and the heat shock protein 70 gene sequence‐based method. A high degree of phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity amongMovpstrains was demonstrated in this study. Our results demonstrated differences between goat and sheep strains, revealing not only a link between strains and host ruminant species, but by geographical origin as well. However, the finding of immunodominant antigens of molecular masses 36, 38, 40 and 70 kDa (±3 kDa) inMovpisolates from sheep and goats foretells their potential use in the development of serological diagnostic tests and vaccines.
Antibacterial and cell penetrating effects of LFcin17–30, LFampin265–284, and LF chimera on enteroaggregative Escherichia coli
Authors: Reyes-Cortes Ruth , Acosta-Smith Erika , Mondragón-Flores Ricardo , Nazmi Kamran , Bolscher Jan G.M. , Canizalez-Roman Adrian , Leon-Sicairos Nidia
Published: November 2016

Lactoferrin (LF) is a protein with antimicrobial activity, which is conferred in part by 2 regions contained in its N-terminal lobe. These regions have been used to develop the following synthetic peptides: lactoferricin17–30, lactoferrampin265–284, and LF chimera (a fusion of lactoferricin17–30 and lactoferrampin265–284). We have reported that these LF peptides have antibacterial activity against several pathogenic bacteria; however, the exact mechanism of action has not been established. Here, we report the effects of LF peptides on the viability of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) and the ability of these peptides to penetrate into the bacteria cytoplasm. The viability of EAEC treated with LF peptides was determined via enumeration of colony-forming units, and the binding and internalization of the LF peptides was followed via immunogold labeling and electron microscopy. Treatment of EAEC with 20 and 40 μmol/L LF peptides reduced bacterial growth compared with untreated bacteria. Initially the peptides associated with the plasma membrane, but after 5 to 30 min of incubation, the peptides were found in the cytoplasm. Remarkably, bacteria treated with LF chimera developed cytosolic electron-dense structures that contained the antimicrobial peptide. Our results suggest that the antibacterial mechanism of LF peptides on EAEC involves their interaction with and penetration into the bacteria.
Genetic structure of the American ginseng (Panax quinquefoliusL.) in Eastern Canada using reduced-representation high-throughput sequencing
Authors: Joly Simon , Archambault Annie , Pellerin Stéphanie , Nault Andrée
Published: November 2016

The American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) has been used for a wide range of medicinal purposes for more than 300 years, and is at risk in most of its range because of harvesting in natural populations, herbivory, and habitat loss. Its genetic structure is largely unknown in the previously glaciated areas of Eastern Canada, although such information could provide useful information for restoration strategies. We generated and analysed data from a reduced-representation high-throughput sequencing approach with a BAMOVA population model to partition the genetic variation within and among six natural populations of American ginseng in Eastern Canada. We found that an important and significant fraction of the genetic variation was structured among populations ([Formula: see text] = 42%; FST= 34%) at the geographical scale of the study (<250 km). No clear evidence of isolation-by-distance was observed. This important genetic structure observed among American ginseng populations from a region that was covered by ice during the last glaciations is similar to what had been found in previous studies on southern populations or throughout the species range.
Foliar habit in mistletoe–host associations
Authors: Glatzel Gerhard , Richter Hanno , Devkota Mohan Prasad , Amico Guillermo , Lee Sugwang , Lin Ruozhu , Grabner Michael , Barlow Bryan A.
Published: November 2016

Foliar habit in parasite–host associations of mistletoes and trees is a neglected aspect in the discussion of foliar habit of woody plants. Almost all of the world’s mistletoe species are evergreen, regardless of the foliar habit of their hosts. Deciduous mistletoes are rare and confined to the northern fringes of Loranthaceae in Eurasia, and to Misodendraceae and the monotypic genus Desmaria (Loranthaceae) in southern South America. There are no deciduous mistletoes in the tropics and subtropics. Based on existing information and hypotheses on foliar habit, we asked why the majority of mistletoe species is evergreen, even on deciduous hosts, and why seasonality is apparently no driver for the evolution of deciduousness in parasite–host systems. We postulate that nutrient conservation is the main driver for evergreenness in mistletoes. Based on our own observations of wood anatomy in the host–haustorium–mistletoe continuum we hypothesize that the phenomenon of deciduousness in northerly Loranthus species is a consequence of interrupted water supply in large vessels after frost. In South America we could not find a consistent correlation between wood anatomy and deciduousness. We assume that deciduousness in these mistletoes evolved long ago in Antarctic forests under climatic and ecological conditions quite different from today.
An investigation into the contrasting growth response of lodgepole pine and white spruce to harvest-related soil disturbance
Authors: Kranabetter J.M. , Dube S. , Lilles E.B.
Published: November 2016

Losses in forest productivity through poor soil management are typically evaluated by changes in crop production, but conflicting growth responses among co-occurring species can challenge criteria for sustainability. In this study, we evaluate species response to compaction and organic matter removal by contrasting the growth and foliar attributes at age 20 of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud.) and hybrid white spruce (Picea glauca × engelmannii (Moench) Voss) in sub-boreal forests of central British Columbia. Bole volume increment was stable for lodgepole pine, averaging a 6 % difference across treatments. White spruce, in contrast, often had large growth increases on forest floor retained – compacted plots (average of 63 % gain) but reductions in productivity on the forest floor removed – compacted plots (40 % decline). Foliar nitrogen concentrations converged across treatments for both species, despite the removal of over 50 % of the site N capital. Some key differences in species traits were suggested by foliar δ15N, attributed to deeper rooting of pine, and foliar δ13C, indicating possibly higher CO2assimilation potential for spruce. The implication is that standard metrics of sustainable forestry are contingent upon tree autecology and that comprehensive assessments of land management require a measure of collective species response.
Efficient Variational Approach to Multimodal Registration of Anatomical and Functional Intra-Patient Tumorous Brain Data
Authors: Legaz-Aparicio Alvar-Ginés , Verdú-Monedero Rafael , Larrey-Ruiz Jorge , Morales-Sánchez Juan , López-Mir Fernando , Naranjo Valery , Bernabéu Ángela
Published: November 2016

This paper addresses the functional localization of intra-patient images of the brain. Functional images of the brain (fMRI and PET) provide information about brain function and metabolism whereas anatomical images (MRI and CT) supply the localization of structures with high spatial resolution. The goal is to find the geometric correspondence between functional and anatomical images in order to complement and fuse the information provided by each imaging modality. The proposed approach is based on a variational formulation of the image registration problem in the frequency domain. It has been implemented as a C/C[Formula: see text] library which is invoked from a GUI. This interface is routinely used in the clinical setting by physicians for research purposes (Inscanner, Alicante, Spain), and may be used as well for diagnosis and surgical planning. The registration of anatomic and functional intra-patient images of the brain makes it possible to obtain a geometric correspondence which allows for the localization of the functional processes that occur in the brain. Through 18 clinical experiments, it has been demonstrated how the proposed approach outperforms popular state-of-the-art registration methods in terms of efficiency, information theory-based measures (such as mutual information) and actual registration error (distance in space of corresponding landmarks).
A Systematic Overview of Operations Research/Management Science Research in Mainland China: Bibliometric Analysis of the Period 2001–2013
Authors: Wu Dengsheng , Xie Yongjia , Dai Qianzhi , Li Jianping
Published: November 2016

Scholars from Mainland China have published 8541 papers in 79 Operations Research and Management Science (OR/MS) journals available on the ISI Web of Science (WOS). Data from 2001 to 2013 constitute the basis of the bibliometric method used in this paper for statistical analysis of status of OR/MS research in Mainland China, from the perspectives of number of papers, quality of papers, most productive institutions, co-author analysis, citations analysis and research topic analysis, etc. The results show that although the number of OR/MS papers by Mainland China scholars grew exponentially during this period, the quality of papers needs to be further improved. Besides, the competition among the institutions in Mainland China is very fierce. Furthermore, the co-author analysis shows that the depth of cooperation has increased steadily and yet the breadth of cooperation has much room for development. Moreover, from the perspective of citations, only a small number of papers by Mainland China scholars have influenced the international OR/MS field. In addition, analysis of research topics shows that Mainland China scholars have been studying the OR/MS problems from a variety of perspectives. Additionally, we also visualize the relationship of the keywords to describe the status of development of the OR/MS discipline in Mainland China, and conclude that the connection nodes will have greater potential in the future.
A Multi-Period Multiple Objective Uncertain Programming Model to Allocate Order for Supplier Selection Problem
Authors: Eydi Alireza , Fazli Leyla
Published: November 2016

As a basic part of organizations’ logistics management, purchasing function has supplier selection as one of its main responsibilities. One of the main objectives a buyer follows in supplier selection is to determine optimal quota to be allocated to each supplier. How to allocate orders to different suppliers is as important task as it may affect efficiency of the whole chain. Also, due to variations in real-world business environment, order allocation process is always associated with uncertainties that make it complicated. Therefore, a three-stage integrated framework with environmental uncertainties considered is proposed to allocate orders; this framework can determine qualified suppliers to whom it assigns optimal quota. Considering multi-period purchases and uncertainties, this framework presents a multi-objective nonlinear programming model to determine optimal quota to be allocated to each qualified supplier within each specified period. In order to have the order allocation process closer to real-world cases while increasing the reliability of the obtained solutions, time value of money, inflation, transportation modes, supplier’s profit, and pricing strategy are considered in this model. According to uncertain structure of the proposed model, a solution strategy is proposed to convert this model into a single-objective deterministic model. Then, the resulted single-objective deterministic model is solved by proposing three evolutionary metaheuristic algorithms based on cuckoo optimization algorithm and imperialist competitive algorithm. Finally, a sample problem is presented together with some statistical tests and sensitivity analyses to assess and examine the proposed framework.
Soft Quadratic Surface Support Vector Machine for Binary Classification
Authors: Luo Jian , Fang Shu-Cherng , Deng Zhibin , Guo Xiaoling
Published: November 2016

In this paper, a kernel-free soft quadratic surface support vector machine model is proposed for binary classification directly using a quadratic function for separation. Properties (including the solvability, uniqueness and support vector representation of the optimal solution) of the proposed model are derived. Results of computational experiments on some artificial and real-world classifying data sets indicate that the proposed soft quadratic surface support vector machine model may outperform Dagher’s quadratic model and other soft support vector machine models with a Quadratic or Gaussian kernel in terms of the classification accuracy and robustness.
Hierarchical Saliency Detection via Probabilistic Object Boundaries
Authors: Lei Haijun , Xie Hai , Zou Wenbin , Sun Xiaoli , Kpalma Kidiyo , Komodakis Nikos
Published: November 2016

Though there are many computational models proposed for saliency detection, few of them take object boundary information into account. This paper presents a hierarchical saliency detection model incorporating probabilistic object boundaries, which is based on the observation that salient objects are generally surrounded by explicit boundaries and show contrast with their surroundings. We perform adaptive thresholding operation on ultrametric contour map, which leads to hierarchical image segmentations, and compute the saliency map for each layer based on the proposed robust center bias, border bias, color dissimilarity and spatial coherence measures. After a linear weighted combination of multi-layer saliency maps, and Bayesian enhancement procedure, the final saliency map is obtained. Extensive experimental results on three challenging benchmark datasets demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms eight state-of-the-art saliency detection models.
A BIOCONVECTION MODEL FOR MHD FLOW AND HEAT TRANSFER OVER A POROUS WEDGE CONTAINING BOTH NANOPARTICLES AND GYROTATIC MICROORGANISMS
Authors: KHAN UMAR , AHMED NAVEED , MOHYUD-DIN SYED TAUSEEF , BIN-MOHSIN BANDAR
Published: November 2016

This paper is dedicated to analyze the flow of a nanofluid over a porous moving wedge in the presence of gyrotactic microorganisms. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects coupled with the viscous dissipation are taken into consideration. The passive control model is used to formulate the problem. Suitable similarity transforms are employed to transform the equations governing the flow into a set of ordinary differential equations. Solution of the transformed system is obtained numerically using a well-known Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg (RKF) method coupled with shooting technique. Influence of parameters involved on velocity, temperature, concentration and the motile microorganisms density profiles are highlighted using a graphical aid. Expressions for skin friction coefficient, Nusselt number, Sherwood number and the motile microorganisms density number are obtained and presented graphically. For the validity of results obtained, a comparison is also presented with the existing results.
A New Damage Index Using FRF Data, 2D-PCA Method and Pattern Recognition Techniques
Authors: Khoshnoudian F. , Talaei S.
Published: November 2016

A pattern recognition-based damage detection method using a brand-new damage index (DI) obtained from the frequency response function (FRF) data is proposed in this paper. One major issue of using the FRF data is the large size of input variables. The proposed method reduces the dimension of the initial FRF data and transforms it into new damage indices by applying a data reduction technique called the two-dimensional principal component analysis (2D-PCA). The proposed damage indices can be used as the unique patterns. After introducing the damage indices, a dataset of damage scenarios and related patterns is composed. Pattern recognition techniques such as the artificial neural networks and look-up-table (LUT) method are employed to find the most similar known DI to the unknown DI obtained for the damaged structure. As the result of this procedure, the actual damage location and severity can be determined. In this paper, the 2D-PCA and LUT method for damage detection is introduced for the first time. The damage identification of a truss bridge and a two-story frame structure is performed for verification of the proposed method, considering all single damage cases as well as many multiple damage scenarios. In addition, the robustness of the proposed algorithm to measurement noise was investigated by polluting the FRF data with 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% noises.
Dynamic Wind Load Combination for a Tall Building Based on Copula Functions
Authors: Huang M. F. , Tu Zhibin , Li Qiang , Lou Wenjuan , Li Q. S.
Published: November 2016

Dynamic wind loads on tall buildings can be decomposed into three components, i.e. two translational components and one torsional component. When one component reaches its maximum, the other two components have low probability to take their maximum values. It is common to use combination coefficients for estimating the mean extremes of linearly combined wind loads. The traditional design practice for determining wind load combinations relies partly on some approximate combination rules and lacks a systematic and reliable method. Based on the high frequency force balance (HFFB) testing results, wind loads can be acquired in terms of time history data, which provides necessary information for the more rigorous determination of combination coefficients by probabilistic methods. In this paper, a 3D copula-based approach is proposed for determining the combination coefficients for three stochastic wind loads associated with a specific exceedance probability and a set of 3D realizable equivalent static wind loads (ESWLs) on tall buildings. Using the measured base moment and torque data by the HFFB wind tunnel test, a case study is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework to determine the dynamic wind load combinations and associated 3D realizable ESWLs on a full-scale 60-story building.
Elastic Stability of Concrete Beam-Columns
Authors: Sharma Mamta R. , Singh Arbind K. , Benipal Gurmail S.
Published: November 2016

Following the empirical-computational methodology, the contemporary investigations deal with inelastic stability and dynamics of concrete beam-columns. Even under service loads, the concrete structures exhibit physical nonlinearity due to presence of axio-flexural cracks. The objective of the present paper is to analyze the static and dynamic stability of conservative physically nonlinear fully cracked flanged concrete beam–columns. In this paper, using proper reference frames, analytical expressions are developed for the lateral displacement and stiffness of a flanged concrete cantilever under axial compressive and lateral forces. Two critical values of both the axial and lateral loads are identified. For constant lateral force smaller than its first critical value, the concrete beam–columns exhibit brittle buckling mode. Higher lateral forces lesser than the second critical value introduce alternate stable and unstable domains with increase in axial force. The lateral stiffness is predicted to vanish when the axial loads reach the critical values and when the limiting displacement is reached for axial load exceeding its second critical value. The load-space is partitioned into stable and unstable regions. Accessibility of these equilibrium states in the load space has been investigated. Such distinguishing aspects of the predicted behavior of elastic concrete beam–columns are discussed. Their dynamic stability is investigated in second part of the paper.
Instability Analysis of Parametrically Excited Marine Risers by Extended Precise Integration Method
Authors: Lei Song , Zheng Xiang Yuan , Chen Daoyi , Li Yi
Published: November 2016

The objective of this paper is to investigate the dynamic instability of deepwater top-tensioned risers (TTRs), when subjected to the fluctuating axial tension originated from the heave motion of a surface floating platform as the instability source. Based on a rigorous derivation on the governing equation, a reduced model of the lateral displacement of a TTR is achieved by an ordinary differential equation with periodic coefficients. To identify the instability range of practical amplitudes and frequencies of the excitation, a newly proposed extended precise integration method (EPIM) is employed to generate the Floquet transition matrix (FTM). EPIM possesses high precision and efficiency due to the doubling algorithm and the increment-storing technique. The instability charts of TTRs in several typical depths are numerically obtained using EPIM. The effects of factors such as the top tension ratio, the stiffness of the heave compensators, damping constant, and internal flow velocity on the instability region are analyzed. In addition, because the nonlinear hydrodynamic damping will lead the TTR’s lateral vibration to reach a steady state, the instability response is thereby simulated by EPIM. Three response scenarios are discussed with examples. As the heave amplitude increases, the parametric resonance of the TTR is first triggered, then the transition stage appears, and ultimately the local dynamic buckling occurs. The bending stress analysis shows that the local dynamic buckling is the worst scenario for structural safety.
Absolute continuity of the law for solutions of stochastic differential equations with boundary noise
Authors: Bonaccorsi Stefano , Zanella Margherita
Published: November 2016

We study the existence and regularity of the density for the solution [Formula: see text] (with fixed [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]) of the heat equation in a bounded domain [Formula: see text] driven by a stochastic inhomogeneous Neumann boundary condition with stochastic term. The stochastic perturbation is given by a fractional Brownian motion process. Under suitable regularity assumptions on the coefficients, by means of tools from the Malliavin calculus, we prove that the law of the solution has a smooth density with respect to the Lebesgue measure in [Formula: see text].
On Hermitian endomorphism rings
Authors: Zhang Wanru
Published: November 2016

Let [Formula: see text] be a right [Formula: see text]-module with finite exchange property and let [Formula: see text] be its endomorphism ring. In this paper, some sufficient and necessary conditions for [Formula: see text] to be a Hermitian ring are given. Moreover, we investigate Hermitian endomorphism rings of quasi-projective modules by means of completions of diagrams. The dual problems for quasi-injective modules are also studied.
Study of skew inverse Laurent series rings
Authors: Paykan Kamal , Moussavi Ahmad
Published: November 2016

In the present note, we continue the study of skew inverse Laurent series ring [Formula: see text] and skew inverse power series ring [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is a ring equipped with an automorphism [Formula: see text] and an [Formula: see text]-derivation [Formula: see text]. Necessary and sufficient conditions are obtained for [Formula: see text] to satisfy a certain ring property which is among being local, semilocal, semiperfect, semiregular, left quasi-duo, (uniquely) clean, exchange, projective-free and [Formula: see text]-ring, respectively. It is shown here that [Formula: see text] (respectively [Formula: see text]) is a domain satisfying the ascending chain condition (Acc) on principal left (respectively right) ideals if and only if so does [Formula: see text]. Also, we investigate the problem when a skew inverse Laurent series ring [Formula: see text] has the same Goldie rank as the ring [Formula: see text] and is proved that, if [Formula: see text] is a semiprime right Goldie ring, then [Formula: see text] is semiprimitive. Furthermore, we study on the relationship between the simplicity, semiprimeness, quasi-Baerness and Baerness property of a ring [Formula: see text] and these of the skew inverse Laurent series ring. Finally, we consider the problem of determining when [Formula: see text] is nilpotent.
The method for breast cancer grade prediction and pathway analysis based on improved multiple kernel learning
Authors: Song Tianci , Wang Yan , Du Wei , Cao Sha , Tian Yuan , Liang Yanchun
Published: November 2016

Breast cancer histologic grade represents the morphological assessment of the tumor’s malignancy and aggressiveness, which is vital in clinically planning treatment and estimating prognosis for patients. Therefore, the prediction of breast cancer grade can markedly elevate the detection of early breast cancer and efficiently guide its treatment. With the advent of high-throughput profiling technology, a large number of data of different types are rapidly generated, and each data provides its unique biological insight. Although many researches focused on cancer grade prediction, hardly most of them attempted to integrate multiple data types, by which we cannot only improve and boost results obtained from learning method, but also have a good understanding or explanation of biological issues. In this paper, we take advantage of a sophisticated supervised learning method called multiple kernel learning (MKL) to design a breast cancer grading predictor fusing heterogeneous data for classification of breast cancer histopathology. Furthermore, we modify our model by involving biological pathway information. The new model can evaluate the significance of various pathways in which differential expression genes fall between different breast cancer grades. The merits of the novel model are lucubration in bridging between omics data and various phenotypes of breast cancer grades, and providing an auxiliary method integrating omics data of cancer mechanism research. In experiments, the proposed method outperforms other state-of-the-art methods and has abundant biological interpretation in explaining differences between breast cancer grades.
Chaos and hyperchaos in simple gene network with negative feedback and time delays
Authors: Khlebodarova Tamara M. , Kogai Vladislav V. , Fadeev Stanislav I. , Likhoshvai Vitaly A.
Published: November 2016

Today there are examples that prove the existence of chaotic dynamics at all levels of organization of living systems, except intracellular, although such a possibility has been theoretically predicted. The lack of experimental evidence of chaos generation at the intracellular level in vivo may indicate that during evolution the cell got rid of chaos. This work allows the hypothesis that one of the possible mechanisms for avoiding chaos in gene networks can be a negative evolutionary selection, which prevents fixation or realization of regulatory circuits, creating too mild, from the biological point of view, conditions for the emergence of chaos. It has been shown that one of such circuits may be a combination of negative autoregulation of expression of transcription factors at the level of their synthesis and degradation. The presence of such a circuit results in formation of multiple branches of chaotic solutions as well as formation of hyperchaos with equal and sufficiently low values of the delayed argument that can be implemented not only in eukaryotic, but in prokaryotic cells.
A note on quasi-generalized CR-lightlike geometry in indefinite nearly μ-Sasakian manifolds
Authors: Massamba Fortuné , Ssekajja Samuel
Published: November 2016

The concept of quasi-generalized CR-lightlike was first introduced by the authors in [Quasi generalized CR-lightlike submanifolds of indefinite nearly Sasakian manifolds, Arab. J. Math. 5 (2016) 87–101]. In this paper, we focus on ascreen and co-screen quasi-generalized CR-lightlike submanifolds of indefinite nearly [Formula: see text]-Sasakian manifold. We prove an existence theorem for minimal ascreen quasi-generalized CR-lightlike submanifolds admitting a metric connection. Classification theorems on nearly parallel and auto-parallel distributions on a co-screen quasi-generalized CR-lightlike submanifold are also given. Several examples are also constructed, where necessary, to illustrate the main ideas.
Starlike functions associated with a lune
Authors: Gandhi Shweta , Ravichandran V.
Published: November 2016

Several subclasses of starlike functions are associated with regions in the right half plane of the complex plane, like half-plane, disks, sectors, parabolas and lemniscate of Bernoulli. For a normalized analytic function [Formula: see text] defined on the open unit disk [Formula: see text] belonging to certain well-known classes of functions associated with the above regions, we investigate the radius [Formula: see text] such that, for the function [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] lies in the lune defined by [Formula: see text] for all [Formula: see text].
Inhomogeneous crystallinity and its influence on piezoelectricity of Bi12TiO20-BaTiO3 polar composites fabricated by thermal gradient sintering
Authors: Yu Dan , Zhao Minglei , Wang Chunlei , Wang Lihai , Yan Shirui , Wang Yafei , Gai Zhigang
Published: November 2016

We have previously described the enhancement of piezoelectricity in low crystallinity Bi[Formula: see text]TiO[Formula: see text]–BaTiO3 (BTO-BT) nanocomposites. This poses a question regarding the effect of the crystallinity on piezoelectricity. Here, the variation of crystallinity and structure that was developed along the temperature gradient was confirmed. The magnitude of the piezoelectric constant was found to have great relationship with the crystallinity and distortion of BiO5 polyhedra of amorphous Bi[Formula: see text]TiO[Formula: see text]. The highest piezoelectric constant of 13pC/N was obtained together with the lowest crystallinity and highest degree of distortion of BiO5 polyhedra. These results highlight the key role of the amorphous phase and further confirm the importance of distortion of BiO5 polyhedra in influencing the piezoelectricity. In this view, one may also expect that macroscopic polarity could be improved by increasing the amorphous content and the degree distortion of the BiO5 bonding units in the system.
Quasi Two-Dimensional Evaporation and Boiling Under Reduced Pressure
Authors: Ogawa Keita , Yasumoto Yuichi , Matsumoto Mitsuhiro , Wakabayashi Hidenobu
Published: November 2016

To study the washing mechanism of laminated plates with solvent vapor, we have experimentally investigated evaporation dynamics of liquid confined between solid plates under reduced pressure. As the test liquid, we use deionized water and several organic compounds. To visualize the fluid motion in the thin gaps, we adopt glass plates. When a test liquid is sandwiched between a normal (float) glass plate and a ground (sand-blasted) one, vertically incident light passes through the plates without much scattering; once the liquid starts to evaporate, dried rough surface of the ground glass scatters the light and we can monitor the flow pattern. Based on the transmitted light intensity, the whole plate area is categorized into three regions; completely wet, completely dry, and semi-dry one; the last one is supposed to be the state that thin liquid film spreads on the plate. In the case of water, many tiny spots of semi-dry region appear and expand at the initial stage, which is probably cavitation of dissolved gas. In organic liquid cases, evaporation seems to start from the edges of the plates. At a later stage, the semi-dry region expands with complicated branching patterns. In all cases, occasional rapid motions of liquid were observed, which correspond to two-dimensional flash boiling. We also investigated the influence of the control pressure, the surface roughness, and the plate deformation.
Understanding ancient life: how Martin Brasier changed the way we think about the fossil record
Authors: Antcliffe Jonathan B. , Liu Alexander G. , Menon Latha R. , McIlroy Duncan , McLoughlin Nicola , Wacey David
Published: November 2016

Crucial to our understanding of life on Earth is the ability to judge the validity of claims of very ancient ‘fossils’. Martin Brasier's most important contribution to this debate was to establish a framework within which to discuss claims of the ‘oldest’ life. In particular, he made it clear that the burden of proof must fall on those making the claim of ancient life, not those refuting it. This led to his formulation of the concept of the continuum of morphologies produced by life and non-life and the considerable challenges of differentiating biogenesis from abiogenesis. Martin Brasier developed a set of criteria for distinguishing life from non-life and extended the use of many new high-resolution analytical techniques to palaeontological research. He was also renowned for his work on the Cambrian explosion and the origin of animals. Although he had spent much of his early career working on the geological context of these events, it was not until he returned to studying the Ediacaran and Cambrian periods in his later years that he began to apply this null hypothesis way of thinking to these other major transitions in the history of life. This led to him becoming involved in the development of a series of nested null hypotheses, his ‘cone of contention’, to analyse enigmatic fossils more generally. In short, Martin Brasier taught us how to formulate biological hypotheses in deep time, established the rules for how those hypotheses should be tested and championed a host of novel analytical techniques to gather the data required. As a consequence, future discussions of enigmatic specimens and very old fossils will be greatly enriched by his contributions.
Monoallelic Gene Expression in Mammals
Authors: Chess Andrew
Published: November 2016

Monoallelic expression not due to cis-regulatory sequence polymorphism poses an intriguing problem in epigenetics because it requires the unequal treatment of two segments of DNA that are present in the same nucleus and that can indeed have absolutely identical sequences. Here, I focus on a few recent developments in the field of monoallelic expression that are of particular interest and raise interesting questions for future work. One development is regarding analyses of imprinted genes, in which recent work suggests the possibility that intriguing networks of imprinted genes exist and are important for genetic and physiological studies. Another issue that has been raised in recent years by a number of publications is the question of how skewed allelic expression should be for it to be designated as monoallelic expression and, further, what methods are appropriate or inappropriate for analyzing genomic data to examine allele-specific expression. Perhaps the most exciting recent development in mammalian monoallelic expression is a clever and carefully executed analysis of genetic diversity of autosomal genes subject to random monoallelic expression (RMAE), which provides compelling evidence for distinct evolutionary forces acting on random monoallelically expressed genes.
Regulated Proteolysis in Bacteria:Caulobacter
Authors: Joshi Kamal Kishore , Chien Peter
Published: November 2016

Protein degradation is essential for all living things. Bacteria use energy-dependent proteases to control protein destruction in a highly specific manner. Recognition of substrates is determined by the inherent specificity of the proteases and through adaptor proteins that alter the spectrum of substrates. In the α-proteobacterium Caulobacter crescentus, regulated protein degradation is required for stress responses, developmental transitions, and cell cycle progression. In this review, we describe recent progress in our understanding of the regulated and stress-responsive protein degradation pathways in Caulobacter. We discuss how organization of highly specific adaptors into functional hierarchies drives destruction of proteins during the bacterial cell cycle. Because all cells must balance the need for degradation of many true substrates with the toxic consequences of nonspecific protein destruction, principles found in one system likely generalize to others.
Aneuploidy in Cancer and Aging
Authors: Naylor Ryan M. , van Deursen Jan M.
Published: November 2016

Chromosomal instability (CIN), the persistent inability of a cell to faithfully segregate its genome, is a feature of many cancer cells. It stands to reason that CIN enables the acquisition of multiple cancer hallmarks; however, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that CIN impairs cellular fitness and prevents neoplastic transformation. Here, we suggest a new perspective to reconcile this apparent paradox and share an unexpected link between aneuploidy and aging that was discovered through attempts to investigate the CIN-cancer relationship. Additionally, we provide a comprehensive overview of the function and regulation of the anaphase-promoting complex, an E3 ubiquitin ligase that mediates high-fidelity chromosome segregation, and describe the mechanisms that lead to whole-chromosome gain or loss. With this review, we aim to expand our understanding of the role of CIN in cancer and aging with the long-term objective of harnessing this information for the advancement of patient care.
The Effects of the Combination of a Refined Carbohydrate Diet and Exposure to Hyperoxia in Mice
Authors: Soares Nicia Pedreira , Campos Keila Karine Duarte , Pena Karina Braga , Bandeira Ana Carla Balthar , Talvani André , Silva Marcelo Eustáquio , Bezerra Frank Silva
Published: November 2016

Obesity is a multifactorial disease with genetic, social, and environmental influences. This study aims at analyzing the effects of the combination of a refined carbohydrate diet and exposure to hyperoxia on the pulmonary oxidative and inflammatory response in mice. Twenty‐four mice were divided into four groups: control group (CG), hyperoxia group (HG), refined carbohydrate diet group (RCDG), and refined carbohydrate diet + hyperoxia group (RCDHG). The experimental diet was composed of 10% sugar, 45% standard diet, and 45% sweet condensed milk. For 24 hours, the HG and RCDHG were exposed to hyperoxia and the CG and RCDG to ambient air. After the exposures were completed, the animals were euthanized, and blood, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and lungs were collected for analyses. The HG showed higher levels of interferon‐γ in adipose tissue as compared to other groups and higher levels of interleukin‐10 and tumor necrosis factor‐α compared to the CG and RCDHG. SOD and CAT activities in the pulmonary parenchyma decreased in the RCDHG as compared to the CG. There was an increase of lipid peroxidation in the HG, RCDG, and RCDHG as compared to the CG. A refined carbohydrate diet combined with hyperoxia promoted inflammation and redox imbalance in adult mice.
Effect of 48 h Fasting on Autonomic Function, Brain Activity, Cognition, and Mood in Amateur Weight Lifters
Authors: Solianik Rima , Sujeta Artūras , Terentjevienė Asta , Skurvydas Albertas
Published: November 2016

Objectives.The acute fasting-induced cardiovascular autonomic response and its effect on cognition and mood remain debatable. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to estimate the effect of a 48 h, zero-calorie diet on autonomic function, brain activity, cognition, and mood in amateur weight lifters.Methods.Nine participants completed a 48 h, zero-calorie diet program. Cardiovascular autonomic function, resting frontal brain activity, cognitive performance, and mood were evaluated before and after fasting.Results.Fasting decreased (p<0.05) weight, heart rate, and systolic blood pressure, whereas no changes were evident regarding any of the measured heart rate variability indices. Fasting decreased (p<0.05) the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin and improved (p<0.05) mental flexibility and shifting set, whereas no changes were observed in working memory, visuospatial discrimination, and spatial orientation ability. Fasting also increased (p<0.05) anger, whereas other mood states were not affected by it.Conclusions.48 h fasting resulted in higher parasympathetic activity and decreased resting frontal brain activity, increased anger, and improved prefrontal-cortex-related cognitive functions, such as mental flexibility and set shifting, in amateur weight lifters. In contrast, hippocampus-related cognitive functions were not affected by it.
Spherical Aberration of Point Spread Function with Asymmetric Pupil Mask
Authors: Andra Naresh Kumar Reddy , Dasari Karuna Sagar
Published: November 2016

Point spread function underneath spherical wave aberration with antiphase apodization has been obtained by one-dimensional pupil mask functions. In the presence of spherical aberration, suppression of optical side-lobes has increased on one side of the point spread function with the width of the periphery strips within the pupil mask. On introducing wave aberration effect, there exists dependence of the lateral resolution of central peak of the asymmetric point spread function on the amount of amplitude masking. However, the magnitude of intensity of central peak is originated be to amplified by the highest degree of amplitude and phase masking. Additionally, for aberrated asymmetric PSF, FWHM increases and it further decreases with the control parameters of amplitude and phase mask. The magnitude of this corollary can quantify the super resolution of diffracted structures under spherical aberration.
Assessment of Deep Partial Thickness Burn Treatment with Keratin Biomaterial Hydrogels in a Swine Model
Authors: Poranki D. , Goodwin C. , Van Dyke M.
Published: November 2016

Partial thickness burns can advance to full thickness after initial injury due to inadequate tissue perfusion and increased production of inflammatory cytokines, which has been referred to as burn wound progression. In previous work, we demonstrated that a keratin biomaterial hydrogel appeared to reduce burn wound progression. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that a modified keratin hydrogel could reduce burn wound progression and speed healing. Standardized burn wounds were created in Yorkshire swine and treated within 30 minutes with keratin hydrogel (modified and unmodified), collagen hydrogel, or silver sulfadiazine (SSD). Digital images of each wound were taken for area measurements immediately prior to cleaning and dressing changes. Wound tissue was collected and assessed histologically at several time points. Wound area showed a significant difference between hydrogels and SSD groups, and rates of reepithelialization at early time points showed an increase when keratin treatment was used compared to both collagen and SSD. A linear regression model predicted a time to wound closure of approximately 25 days for keratin hydrogel while SSD treatment required 35 days. There appeared to be no measurable differences between the modified and unmodified formulations of keratin hydrogels.