bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Structural, spectroscopic and first-principles studies of new aminocoumarin derivatives
Authors: Brahmia Ameni , Marzouki Riadh , Rohlicek Jan , Irfan Ahmad , Al-Sehemi Abdullah G. , Ben Hassen Rached
Published: November 2019

The new aminocoumarin derivatives 3-[1-(3-hydroxyanilino)ethylidene]-3H-chromene-2,4-dione, (1), 3-[1-(4-hydroxyanilino)ethylidene]-3H-chromene-2,4-dione, (2), and 3-[1-(2-hydroxyanilino)ethylidene]-3H-chromene-2,4-dione, (3), all C17H13NO4, were synthesized by reacting an equimolar amount of 3-acetyl-4-hydroxycoumarin and the corresponding aminophenol in absolute ethanol. Structural and spectroscopic analysis of these phases revealed that derivatives (1) and (2) are isomers of previously reported (3) [Brahmia et al. (2013). Acta Cryst. E69, o1296]. The crystal structures of meta derivative (1) and para derivative (2) were ab initio determined from powder X-ray diffraction data using the direct-space approach. Both (1) and (2) adopt the orthorhombic space group P212121. These isomers show hydrogen bonds and rich π–π stacking, together with π...H interactions, which are built by conjugated systems of coumarin and phenol rings. In the crystalline lattice, the packing of (1) and (3) are mainly stabilized through O—H...O hydrogen bonding between neighbouring coumarin molecules, while hydrogen bonds between coumarin and water molecules build the stable crystal structure of derivative (2). A big similarity in the skeletons of the IR spectra of these isomers was noticed. Derivative (2) exhibits two weak bands which were not present in the spectra of the other two derivatives, at 2370 and 2948 cm−1, which can be assigned to the O—H vibrations of the solvent (H2O) trapped in the structure of (2). These aminocoumarin derivatives display absorption maxima in the visible region, attributed to π–π delocalization involving the whole electronic system of the compounds with a considerable charge-transfer character originating from the aminophenyl ring and pointing towards the coumarin system which is characterized by a high electron-accepting character. Additionally, the isolated molecular ground-state geometries were optimized at the PBE0/TZP level and the electronic properties, molecular electrostatic potential and Hirshfeld charges were determined.
Bis(tetraphenylarsonium) hexafluoridotechnetate(IV) dihydrate: preparation, structure and spectroscopic analysis
Authors: Balasekaran Samundeeswari Mariappan , Poineau Frederic
Published: November 2019

Reports of quadrivalent transition-metal fluoride salts containing bulky organic cations are limited. In this context, we prepared the bis(tetraphenylarsonium) hexafluoridotechnetate(IV) dihydrate salt, (C24H20As)2[TcF6]·2H2O, by a cation metathesis reaction of (NH4)2[TcF6] in water. This is the first report of an arsonium salt of the hexafluoridotechnetate(IV) dianion. (AsPh4)2[TcF6]·2H2O crystallizes in the triclinic space group P\overline{1}. The [TcF6]2− anion adopts a slightly distorted octahedral geometry with an average Tc—F bond length of 1.933 Å. The cyclic voltammogram of (AsPh4)2[TcF6]·2H2O in CH3CN shows a one-electron reversible oxidation wave at 1.496 V.
Making the case for the UK’s drone capability: public relations as a carrier of strategic culture
Authors: Thompson Gareth
Published: November 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer critical analysis of how public relations (PR) were used to justify the use of drones by the UK Government, through the promotion of a distinct strategic culture. The paper locates governmental PR discourse on drones in the UK since 2013 within the strategic culture associated with the global war on terror.

Design/methodology/approach

The project was based upon critical discourse analysis of the UK governmental PR on drones since 2013, examining press releases, opinion articles by ministers, media relations content, parliamentary statements, news content and other related materials.

Findings

The analysis led to five discursive themes of persuasive intent in relation to drones being identified, most of which were notably similar to the US governmental discourse on drone policy and deployment.

Originality/value

The project contributes a novel interdisciplinary synthesis of the communicative aspects of international relations as theorised in the field of strategic culture with the cultural aspects of the state-level PR in order to explain how PR was used to promote and diffuse a strategic culture in which drones are assumed to be the counter-terrorism measure of choice. The conclusion is that governmental PR discourse combines aspects of colonialism with focus on superior technology, remote control and precision of weapons, generating a military and communicative logic that overwhelms the voices of victims and impedes meaningful discussion on the reality of suffering caused by drone deployments.
Are international small business owners really that different?
Authors: Gundlach Sarah , Sammartino Andre
Published: November 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of individual traits and attributes on the entrepreneurial and internationalization actions of Australian businesswomen, many of whom run small businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is exploratory and quantitative, based on a questionnaire survey of 323 Australian businesswomen. Drawing upon the extant literature on internationalization, gender and entrepreneurship, the study explores two micro-foundational relationships of interest – personality and capability assessment differences between female business owners and their employed counterparts, and the impact of such traits and assessments on their internationalization. A further question is explored in terms of any differentials in perceptions of barriers in internationalization.

Findings

The findings show key personality dimensions do not differ dramatically between Australian businesswomen working in their own businesses (i.e. entrepreneurs) or as employees in organizations, while there are surprisingly few differences between women who are engaged internationally and those yet to do so. When comparing the female entrepreneurs and employees, in particular, the findings around tolerance for ambiguity and management efficacy are notably counterintuitive. This leads to the development of testable propositions to refine the causal claims in this domain.

Practical implications

The study calls into question the distinctiveness of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial endeavors, at least for female businesswomen.

Originality/value

By including entrepreneurs and employees, women who have engaged internationally and those that are yet to do so, the study avoids some of the potential self-selection and confirmation biases inherent in studies of only entrepreneurs or small business owners. The investigation of individual traits, attributes and experiences as micro-foundations for internationalization motivations challenges existing theories of small business expansion.
Peace keeping in a model of conflict with foreign investments
Authors: Lahiri Sajal , Vlad Valerica
Published: November 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the role of outside peacekeepers in a bilateral conflict.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors build upon a trade theoretic framework by incorporating disruptions due to war, which could affect directly the return to investment, both domestic and foreign, and by introducing explicitly peacekeeping forces into the model. Two countries are engaged in a war, with the purpose of capturing capital. A third country plays a dual role: it is the source of investments in the warring countries, and it deploys soldiers on ground for peacekeeping purposes. The authors consider the cases where the levels of foreign investments are exogenous and when they are endogenously determined by free mobility conditions. In the worst case, they find that foreign investment reduces conflict. In the case of endogenous foreign investments, they examine the effect of multilateral agreements where the two warring countries reduce their number of soldiers and the third increases the number of peacekeepers.

Findings

The authors find that the reform benefits all three countries and increases the level of foreign investments. They consider the cases of exogenous and endogenous foreign direct investment (FDI). In the first case, the authors examine the effect of an exogenous increase in FDI on the war equilibrium and find that it reduces the employment of soldiers in the warring countries and increases the size of the peacekeeping force. They also find that the first-best level of peacekeeping is larger than the equilibrium level. When FDI is endogenous, starting from the initial war equilibrium, they also examine the effect of a multilateral agreement in which the size of the peacekeeping force is increased by the third country and the two warring countries agree to reduce their war efforts. The authors find that the reform makes all three countries better off and increases the level of FDI.

Originality/value

The paper uses a theoretical model with third-party interventions in a bilateral war. It intends to shed light on some of the missing economic implications of peacekeeping. The paper introduces explicitly peacekeeping forces into the analysis and introduces a factor that represents a disruption to return on investment in both warring countries. The third country has a dual role; it provides investments in the warring countries and deploys soldiers for peacekeeping. Peacekeeping reduces the disruption mentioned above and affects the employment of soldiers by the warring countries. The authors find that a multilateral agreement in which the two warring countries reduce their war efforts and the third party increases its peacekeeping force can increase welfare in all three countries.
Organizational culture and information systems strategic alignment
Authors: Chtourou Ben Amar Nesrine , Ben Romdhane Randa
Published: November 2019

Purpose

Information systems (IS) strategic alignment is a significant chief information officers (CIO) and top management issue because of its impact on a firm’s performance and profitability. Previous studies have primarily examined informal dimension’s influence on IS strategic alignment. Nevertheless, a few research works have emphasised cultural dimension’s effect. The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate and bring out organisational culture’s influence on IS strategic alignment. Notably, it highlights the most significant culture types, according to the Competing Value Framework (Cameron et al., 2006).

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical setting comprises a quantitative approach using a survey based on a sample of 160 business managers (BMs) of 53 large companies located in Tunisia with international activities and being in the post-implementation operational use phase of their enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The partial least square (PLS) method has been used for data analysis.

Findings

The results provide an empirical evidence supporting a positive and significant organisational culture’s influence on the IS strategic alignment. The findings also show that “Clan Culture” (Internal/Flexibility-oriented culture) positively influences IS alignment along with the strategic priorities. These findings provide guidance and help understand how, through clan culture, the company can contribute significantly to the success of its ERP systems strategic alignment during the most critical phase, namely, post-implementation.

Originality/value

Despite abundant work related to IS alignment topic, little research, to the authors’ knowledge, has been undertaken in considering organisational culture’s influence. Thus, this research aims to fill this gap and to raise new questions about IS alignment. First, this study puts together organisational culture (through the Competing values Framework) and strategic alignment (through the IS use dimension) in a single research model to analyse four culture types’ direct effect on IS alignment. Second, this study is innovative in its use of the ERP post-implementation as an empirical framework. The post-implementation phase is often played down in research work in favour of the upstream pre-implementation phases. Furthermore, the findings bring together theoretical and practical insights on both IS-business strategic alignment and ERP post-implementation. Thus, future research could emphasise the role of clan culture in the efficiency of ERP systems strategic alignment during the usage phase. Building on these findings, BM, CIO and top management are advised to promote this culture type based on communication, information sharing and the spirit of internal partnership – so that their ERP systems are used appropriately and aligned with the company’s strategic priorities.
Financial innovations in Islamic countries: the road to perdition or salvation?
Authors: Iman Nofie
Published: November 2019

Purpose

How do financial innovations form and evolve in Islamic countries? How do nature and the organisation of innovation interact? Focussing on retail payment services, this paper aims to analyse recent developments and displays an overview of the status of financial innovation in Islamic countries.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses six countries as case studies, namely, Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey and the UAE. Comparison within and across those cases helps the author provide explanations of how and why such innovations have worked in particular contexts.

Findings

While cash remains dominant, the author found rapid growth in retail payments, but no consensus on standardisation. Several digital innovations have been introduced and begun to converge. Finally, there seems to be a disconnection between innovations and inclusions.

Originality/value

This research paper is, among the few, related to innovation in financial services in Islamic countries, and can be used to develop appropriate marketing strategies for capturing value in the market.
A target-centric intelligence approach to WannaCry 2.0
Authors: Turner Adam B. , McCombie Stephen , Uhlmann Allon J.
Published: November 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to demonstrate the utility of a target-centric approach to intelligence collection and analysis in the prevention and investigation of ransomware attacks that involve cryptocurrencies. The paper uses the May 2017 WannaCry ransomware usage of the Bitcoin ecosystem as a case study. The approach proves particularly beneficial in facilitating information sharing and an integrated analysis across intelligence domains.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted data collection and analysis of the component Bitcoin elements of the WannaCry ransomware attack. A note of both technicalities of Bitcoin operations and current models for sharing cyber intelligence was made. Our analysis builds on and further develops current definitions and strategies for sharing cyber threat intelligence. It uses the problem definition model (PDM) and generic target network model (TNM) to create an analytic framework for the WannaCry ransomware attack scenario, allowing analysts the ability to test their hypotheses and integrate and share data for collaborative investigation.

Findings

Using a target-centric intelligence approach to WannaCry 2.0 shows that it is possible to model the intelligence problem of collecting and analysing data related to inflows and outflows of Bitcoin-related ransomware transactions. Bitcoin transactions form graph networks and allow to build a target network model for collecting, analysing and sharing intelligence with multiple stakeholders. Although attribution and anonymity prevail under cryptocurrency usage, there is a means for developing transaction walks using this method to target nefarious cryptocurrency exchanges where criminals are inclined to cash out their proceeds of crime.

Originality/value

The application of a target-centric intelligence approach to the cryptocurrency components of a ransomware attack provides a framework for intelligence units to break down the problem in the financial domain and model the network behaviour of illicit Bitcoin transactions relating to ransomware.
Crime script for mandate fraud
Authors: Donegan Michael
Published: November 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse research surrounding mandate fraud and to devise a crime script identifying the crime commission process. It is hoped this will assist in standardising investigation of mandate fraud by law enforcement.

Design/methodology/approach

The design of this paper follows on from the approach taken by van Hardeveld et al. (2017) in identifying a cybercrime script for carding activity. The current environment surrounding the investigation of digital fraud in the UK is examined through a review of the existing literature. Analysis of the crime commission process for mandate fraud is then outlined in a potential crime script identifying possible intervention points for law enforcement.

Findings

UK law enforcement’s current response to digital fraud is struggling to provide positive outcomes for victims. There is inconsistency in the investigative approach and practical issues surrounding how the digital fraud problem is tackled. Changing the emphasis of digital fraud investigation to focus on the money laundering networks based in the UK also needs to be considered. Standardising investigation into digital fraud by mapping out digital criminality using crime scripts and routine activity theory could be beneficial for law enforcement. The results of this process could also assist in effectively identifying where law enforcement resources may be best deployed to solve some of the practical issues highlighted.

Originality/value

There is little literature directly focused on a crime script for mandate fraud. This is despite it being a significant contributor to fraud losses in the UK. For law enforcement, both digital and financial investigation skill sets are required to investigate such offences. Therefore, mapping the crime commission process has significant value for clearly identifying investigative intervention points.
Network analysis: emergence, criticism and recent trends
Authors: Kirschbaum Charles
Published: November 2019

Purpose

Network analysis is a well consolidated research area in several disciplines. Within management and organizational studies, network scholars consolidated a set of research practices that allowed ease of data collection, high inter case comparability, establishment of nomological laws and commitment to social capital motivation. This paper aims to elicit the criticism it has received and highlight the unsettled lacunae.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper sheds light on Network Analysis’s breakthroughs, while showing how its scholars innovated by responding to critics, and identifying outstanding debates.

Findings

The paper identifies and discusses three streams of criticism that are still outstanding: the role of human agency, the meaning of social ties and the treatment of temporality.

Originality/value

This paper brings to fore current debates within the Network Analysis community, highlighting areas where future studies might contribute.
Democracy's Pin Factory: Issue Specialization, the Division of Cognitive Labor, and Epistemic Performance
Authors: Elliott Kevin J.
Published: November 2019

This article describes how issue specialization through deliberative institutions called “issue publics” can improve the quality of democratic decision making. Issue specialization improves decisions by instantiating a cognitive division of labor among the mass public, which creates efficiencies in decision making and grants large groups of average citizens a scalable advantage over small groups of even the smartest and most capable individuals. Issue specialization further improves decisions by capturing issue‐specific information, concentrating it within the specialized deliberative enclaves of issue publics, and refining citizens’ issue preferences. These advantages are brought to bear in wider democratic politics and policy through information shortcuts and through the specialized electoral incentives of representatives. The article responds to concerns about political ignorance, polarization/partisanship, rent seeking, and socioeconomic bias and argues that issue specialization can provide a valuable brake to polarization yet needs institutional supplementation to engage marginalized citizens and combat bias.
Reproduction and sexual dimorphism in the viviparous lizard Sceloporus palaciosi (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae) from the Trans‐Mexican Volcanic Belt, Mexico
Authors: Ramírez‐Bautista Aurelio , Sites Jack W. , Marshall Jonathon C. , Cruz‐Elizalde Raciel , Díaz‐Marín César A. , Hernández‐Salinas Uriel , Berriozabal‐Islas Christian , García‐Rosales Aaron
Published: November 2019

In this study, sexual dimorphism, reproductive cycles, litter size and offspring size of a population of the little‐known species Sceloporus palaciosi in central Mexico were analysed. Significant male‐biased sexual size dimorphism was recorded in snout–vent length (SVL), head length, head width, forearm length and tibia length. Both sexes showed asynchronous reproductive cycles, and males reached sexual maturity at a smaller SVL (33 mm) than females (37 mm). Testes volumes were small from January to February, testicular recrudescence began from March to June, and decreased in July, but increased again in August and September, followed by a second decrease from October to December. In females, vitellogenesis began from May until ovulation in December. Embryonic development extended from November to March, and a small number of females carried embryos through July. Mean litter size was 4.0 and was positively correlated with female SVL. The length of the reproductive period in S. palaciosi recorded in this study is longer than that recorded for other populations in other parts of this species range. Further studies are needed to clarify reproductive cycles in the other isolated populations of S. palaciosi, and then extended to other species and chromosome races in the Sceloporus grammicus complex.
Design and analysis of bridging studies with prior probabilities on the null and alternative hypotheses
Authors: Zeng Donglin , Pan Zhiying , Lin D. Y.
Published: November 2019

The pharmaceutical industry and regulatory agencies are increasingly interested in conducting bridging studies in order to bring an approved drug product from the original region (eg, United States or European Union) to a new region (eg, Asian‐Pacific countries). In this article, we provide a new methodology for the design and analysis of bridging studies by assuming prior knowledge on how the null and alternative hypotheses in the original, foreign study are related to the null and alternative hypotheses in the bridging study and setting the type I error for the bridging study according to the strength of the foreign‐study evidence. The new methodology accounts for randomness in the foreign‐study evidence and controls the average type I error of the bridging study over all possibilities of the foreign‐study evidence. In addition, the new methodology increases statistical power, when compared to approaches that do not use foreign‐study evidence, and it allows for the possibility of not conducting the bridging study when the foreign‐study evidence is unfavorable. Finally, we conducted extensive simulation studies to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed methodology.
De la carte au territoire: Portée et usages des outils cartographiques au sein de la Première Nation des Pekuakamiulnuatsh Entrevue avec Michel Nepton, membre de la Première Nation des Pekuakamiulnuatsh et conseiller en aménagement du territoire
Authors: Gagnon Justine
Published: November 2019

Messages clés

La cartographie figure aujourd’hui à la tête des outils mobilisés par les communautés autochtones à des fins de revendication, de négociation, d’affirmation et de transmission des savoirs.

La portée et les défis que pose l’utilisation de ces outils gagnent à être observés de l’intérieur, à travers l’usage qu’en font les communautés elles‐mêmes.

Ces enjeux sont abordés à travers l’expérience d’un conseiller en aménagement du territoire à Pekuakamiulnuatsh Takuhikan (Conseil de la communauté de Mastheuiatsh).
Significant association between high serum CCL5 levels and better disease‐free survival of patients with early breast cancer
Authors: Fujimoto Yukie , Inoue Natsuko , Morimoto Koji , Watanabe Takahiro , Hirota Seiichi , Imamura Michiko , Matsushita Yosuke , Katagiri Toyomasa , Okamura Haruki , Miyoshi Yasuo
Published: November 2019

Analysis of anticancer immunity aids in assessing the prognosis of patients with breast cancer. From 250 operated breast cancers, we focused on serum levels of C‐C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5), which is involved in cancer immune reactions. Serum levels of CCL5 were measured using a cytometric bead‐based immunoassay kit and CCL5 expression in cancer cells was determined using immunohistochemical staining. In addition, mRNA in cancer and stromal cells was analyzed by microdissection and comparison with the public dataset. Disease‐free survival (DFS) of patients with high CCL5 levels (cut‐off, 13.87 ng/mL; n = 192) was significantly better than those with low CCL5 levels (n = 58; hazard ratio, 0.20; 95% confidence interval, 0.10‐0.39; P < .0001). An improved overall survival was observed in patients with high CCL5 levels compared to those with low CCL5 levels (P = .024). On the contrary, high immunohistochemical expression of CCL5 in cancer cells was significantly associated with decreased DFS. As serum CCL5 levels did not correlate with CCL5 expression in cancer cells and the relative expression of mRNA CCL5 was elevated in stromal cells in relation to cancer cells, serum CCL5 might be derived not from cancer cells, but from stromal cells. Expression of CCL5 in serum, but not in cancer cells, might contribute to improved patient prognosis mediating through not only immune reaction, but through other mechanisms. Determination of circulating CCL5 levels could be useful for predicting patient prognosis.
Suppression of autoreactive T and B lymphocytes by anti-annexin A1 antibody in a humanized NSG murine model of systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Mihaylova N , Chipinski P , Bradyanova S , Velikova T , Ivanova-Todorova E , Chausheva S , Herbáth M , Kalinova D , Prechl J , Kyurkchiev D , Tchorbanov A I
Published: November 2019

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic inflammatory disease which involves multiple organs. Self-specific B and T cells play a main role in the pathogenesis of lupus and have been defined as a logical target for selective therapy. The protein annexin A1 (ANX A1) is a modulator of the immune system involving many cell types. An abnormal expression of ANX A1 was found on activated B and T cells during autoimmunity, suggesting its importance as a potential therapeutic target. We hypothesize that it may be possible to down-regulate the activity of autoreactive T and B cells from lupus patients in a humanized immunodeficient mouse model by treating them with an antibody against ANX A1. When cultured in the presence of anti-ANX A1, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from lupus patients showed a decreased number of immunoglobulin (Ig)G anti-dsDNA antibody-secreting plasma cells, decreased T cell proliferation and expression of activation markers and increased B and T cell apoptosis. We employed a humanized model of SLE by transferring PBMCs from lupus patients to immunodeficient non-obese diabetic-severe combined immunodeficient (NOD-SCID) mice. The humanized animals presented autoantibodies, proteinuria and immunoglobulin deposition in the renal glomeruli. Treatment of these NOD-SCID mice with an anti-ANX A1 antibody prevented appearance of anti-DNA antibodies and proteinuria, while the phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)-injected animals had high levels after the transfer. The treatment reduced the levels of autoantibodies to several autoantigens, lupus-associated cytokines and disease symptoms.
An Improved Geometric Approach for Palette‐based Image Decomposition and Recoloring
Authors: Wang Yili , Liu Yifan , Xu Kun
Published: November 2019

Palette‐based image decomposition has attracted increasing attention in recent years. A specific class of approaches have been proposed basing on the RGB‐space geometry, which manage to construct convex hulls whose vertices act as palette colors. However, such palettes do not guarantee to have the representative colors which actually appear in the image, thus making it less intuitive and less predictable when editing palette colors to perform recoloring. Hence, we proposed an improved geometric approach to address this issue. We use a polyhedron, but not necessarily a convex hull, in the RGB space to represent the color palette. We then formulate the task of palette extraction as an optimization problem which could be solved in a few seconds. Our palette has a higher degree of representativeness and maintains a relatively similar level of accuracy compared with previous methods. For layer decomposition, we compute layer opacities via simple mean value coordinates, which could achieve instant feedbacks without precomputations. We have demonstrated our method for image recoloring on a variety of examples. In comparison with state‐of‐the‐art works, our approach is generally more intuitive and efficient with fewer artifacts.
Subdivision Schemes for Quadrilateral Meshes with the Least Polar Artifact in Extraordinary Regions
Authors: Ma Yue , Ma Weiyin
Published: November 2019

This paper presents subdivision schemes with subdivision stencils near an extraordinary vertex that are free from or with substantially reduced polar artifact in extraordinary regions while maintaining the best possible bounded curvature at extraordinary positions. The subdivision stencils are firstly constructed to meet tangent plane continuity with bounded curvature at extraordinary positions. They are further optimized towards curvature continuity at an extraordinary position with additional measures for removing or for minimizing the polar artifact in extraordinary regions. The polar artifact for subdivision stencils of lower valences is removed by applying an additional constraint to the subdominant eigenvalue to be the same as that of subdivision at regular vertices, while the polar artifact for subdivision stencils of higher valances is substantially reduced by introducing an additional thin‐plate energy function and a penalty function for maintaining the uniformity and regularity of the characteristic map. A new tuned subdivision scheme is introduced by replacing subdivision stencils of Catmull‐Clark subdivision with that from this paper for extraordinary vertices of valences up to nine. We also compare the refined meshes and limit surface quality of the resulting subdivision scheme with that of Catmull‐Clark subdivision and other tuned subdivision schemes. The results show that subdivision stencils from our method produce well behaved subdivision meshes with the least polar artifact while maintaining satisfactory limit surface quality.
Light Field Video Compression and Real Time Rendering
Authors: Hajisharif Saghi , Miandji Ehsan , Larsson Per , Tran Kiet , Unger Jonas
Published: November 2019

Light field imaging is rapidly becoming an established method for generating flexible image based description of scene appearances. Compared to classical 2D imaging techniques, the angular information included in light fields enables effects such as post‐capture refocusing and the exploration of the scene from different vantage points. In this paper, we describe a novel GPU pipeline for compression and real‐time rendering of light field videos with full parallax. To achieve this, we employ a dictionary learning approach and train an ensemble of dictionaries capable of efficiently representing light field video data using highly sparse coefficient sets. A novel, key element in our representation is that we simultaneously compress both image data (pixel colors) and the auxiliary information (depth, disparity, or optical flow) required for view interpolation. During playback, the coefficients are streamed to the GPU where the light field and the auxiliary information are reconstructed using the dictionary ensemble and view interpolation is performed. In order to realize the pipeline we present several technical contributions including a denoising scheme enhancing the sparsity in the dataset which enables higher compression ratios, and a novel pruning strategy which reduces the size of the dictionary ensemble and leads to significant reductions in computational complexity during the encoding of a light field. Our approach is independent of the light field parameterization and can be used with data from any light field video capture system. To demonstrate the usefulness of our pipeline, we utilize various publicly available light field video datasets and discuss the medical application of documenting heart surgery.
HidingGAN: High Capacity Information Hiding with Generative Adversarial Network
Authors: Wang Zihan , Gao Neng , Wang Xin , Xiang Ji , Zha Daren , Li Linghui
Published: November 2019

Image steganography is the technique of hiding secret information within images. It is an important research direction in the security field. Benefitting from the rapid development of deep neural networks, many steganographic algorithms based on deep learning have been proposed. However, two problems remain to be solved in which the most existing methods are limited by small image size and information capacity. In this paper, to address these problems, we propose a high capacity image steganographic model named HidingGAN. The proposed model utilizes a new secret information preprocessing method and Inception‐ResNet block to promote better integration of secret information and image features. Meanwhile, we introduce generative adversarial networks and perceptual loss to maintain the same statistical characteristics of cover images and stego images in the high‐dimensional feature space, thereby improving the undetectability. Through these manners, our model reaches higher imperceptibility, security, and capacity. Experiment results show that our HidingGAN achieves the capacity of 4 bits‐per‐pixel (bpp) at 256 × 256 pixels, improving over the previous best result of 0.4 bpp at 32 × 32 pixels.
A Color‐Pair Based Approach for Accurate Color Harmony Estimation
Authors: Yang B. , Wei T. , Fang X. , Deng Z. , Li F. W. B. , Ling Y. , Wang X.
Published: November 2019

Harmonious color combinations can stimulate positive user emotional responses. However, a widely open research question is: how can we establish a robust and accurate color harmony measure for the public and professional designers to identify the harmony level of a color theme or color set. Building upon the key discovery that color pairs play an important role in harmony estimation, in this paper we present a novel color‐pair based estimation model to accurately measure the color harmony. It first takes a two‐layer maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) based method to compute an initial prediction of color harmony by statistically modeling the pair‐wise color preferences from existing datasets. Then, the initial scores are refined through a back‐propagation neural network (BPNN) with a variety of color features extracted in different color spaces, so that an accurate harmony estimation can be obtained at the end. Our extensive experiments, including performance comparisons of harmony estimation applications, show the advantages of our method in comparison with the state of the art methods.
Image Composition of Partially Occluded Objects
Authors: Tan Xuehan , Xu Panpan , Guo Shihui , Wang Wencheng
Published: November 2019

Image composition extracts the content of interest (COI) from a source image and blends it into a target image to generate a new image. In the majority of existing works, the COI is manually extracted and then overlaid on top of the target image. However, in practice, it is often necessary to deal with situations in which the COI is partially occluded by the target image content. In this regard, both tasks of extracting the COI and cropping its occluded part require intensive user interactions, which are laborious and seriously reduce the composition efficiency. This paper addresses the aforementioned challenges by proposing an efficient image composition method. First, we extract the semantic contents of the images by using state‐of‐the‐art deep learning methods. Therefore, the COI can be selected with clicks only, which can greatly reduce the demanded user interactions. Second, according to the user's operations (such as translation or scale) on the COI, we can effectively infer the occlusion relationships between the COI and the contents of the target image. Thus, the COI can be adaptively embedded into the target image without concern about cropping its occluded part. Therefore, the procedures of content extraction and occlusion handling can be significantly simplified, and work efficiency is remarkably improved. Experimental results show that compared to existing works, our method can reduce the number of user interactions to approximately one‐tenth and increase the speed of image composition by more than ten times.
ShutterApp: Spatio‐temporal Exposure Control for Videos
Authors: Salamon Nestor Z. , Billeter Markus , Eisemann Elmar
Published: November 2019

A camera's shutter controls the incoming light that is reaching the camera sensor. Different shutters lead to wildly different results, and are often used as a tool in movies for artistic purpose, e.g., they can indirectly control the effect of motion blur. However, a physical camera is limited to a single shutter setting at any given moment. ShutterApp enables users to define spatio‐temporally‐varying virtual shutters that go beyond the options available in real‐world camera systems. A user provides a sparse set of annotations that define shutter functions at selected locations in key frames. From this input, our solution defines shutter functions for each pixel of the video sequence using a suitable interpolation technique, which are then employed to derive the output video. Our solution performs in real‐time on commodity hardware. Hereby, users can explore different options interactively, leading to a new level of expressiveness without having to rely on specialized hardware or laborious editing.
Childhood diffuse parenchymal lung diseases: We need a new classification
Authors: Cinel Güzin , Kiper Nural , Orhan Diclehan , Emiralioğlu Nagehan , Yalçın Ebru , Doğru Deniz , Özçelik Uğur , Oğuz Berna , Haliloğlu Mithat
Published: November 2019

Introduction

Childhood diffuse parenchymal lung diseases (DPLD) are a heterogeneous group of respiratory disorders of both known and unknown causes that share common histological features. To date, there is not an exact consensus about the terminology, classification, therapy and follow up of this disease because of its rarity and wide clinical spectrum.

Objectives

In this study, we tried to classify our DPLD patients according to the last classification scheme (chILD Network Classification).

Methods

The files of the children diagnosed with DPLD at our university hospital between 1974 and 2012 were retrospectively investigated. Clinical features, laboratory, radiological and histopathological findings, therapy and follow‐up outcomes of these patients were recorded and evaluated according to the actual information and definitions.

Results

We described 130 DPLD patients, the largest childhood DPLD series from a single center, classified in 16 distinct groups according to their diagnosis. Our largest group in this serie is pulmonary hemosiderosis (28.5%); idiopathic interstitial pneumonias, pulmonary hemosiderosis, sarcoidosis and lipid storage diseases with lung involvement represent the 70% of the diagnoses. When we classified our patients according to the chILD Network Classification; patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia older than 2 years, idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis, pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis and diffuse chondroid malformation of the lung stayed out of this classification.

Conclusion

To ensure a consensus about the therapy and follow up, we have to make revisions and reorganisations on the DPLD classification which was proposed in 2007. We need a new childhood DPLD classification that will cover all these disease groups.
Characteristics and outcome of adult patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia and increased body mass index treated with the PETHEMA Protocols
Authors: Sobas Marta , Rodriguez‐Veiga Rebeca , Vellenga Edo , Paluszewska Monika , De la Serna Javier , García‐Álvarez Flor , Gil Cristina , Brunet Salut , Bergua Juan , González‐Campos Jose , Ribera José María , Tormo Mar , González Marcos , Fernández Isolda , Benavente Celina , González‐Sanmiguel Jose D. , Esteve Jordi , Pérez‐Encinas Manuel , Salamero Olga , Manso Felix , Lowenberg Bob , Sanz Miguel A. , Montesinos Pau ,   On behalf of the PETHEMA, HOVON, PALG, GATLA cooperative groups
Published: November 2019

Objective

The obesity/overweight may have an influence on APL outcomes.

Methods

This is the biggest multicentre analysis on 1320 APL patients treated with AIDA‐induction and risk‐adapted consolidation between 1996 and 2012. Patients body mass index (BMI) was classified as underweight (<18.5 kg/m2), normal (18.5‐25 kg/m2), overweight (25‐29.9 kg/m2), and obese (≥30 kg/m2) according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria.

Results and conclusions

Relationship between male gender, older age, and other known laboratory abnormalities in overweight/obese patients was significant. The induction mortality rate was significantly higher in APL with BMI ≥25 vs BMI <25 (10% vs 6%; P = .04). APL patients with BMI ≥25 had a trend to lower OS (74% vs 80%; P = .06). However, in the multivariate analysis, BMI did not retain the independent predictive value (P = .46). There was no higher incidence of differentiation syndrome with BMI ≥25, but there was a trend in obese. There was no difference in relapse rate according to the BMI. In summary, overweight/obesity does not represent an independent risk factor for APL outcomes. The influence of obesity in APL patients treated with chemotherapy‐free regimens remains to be established.
A pathway for assembling [4Fe‐4S]2+ clusters in mitochondrial iron–sulfur protein biogenesis
Authors: Nasta Veronica , Suraci Dafne , Gourdoupis Spyridon , Ciofi‐Baffoni Simone , Banci Lucia
Published: November 2019

During its late steps, the mitochondrial iron–sulfur cluster (ISC) assembly machinery leads to the formation of [4Fe‐4S] clusters. In vivo studies revealed that several proteins are implicated in the biosynthesis and trafficking of [4Fe‐4S] clusters in mitochondria. However, they do not provide a clear picture into how these proteins cooperate. Here, we showed that three late‐acting components of the mitochondrial ISC assembly machinery (GLRX5, BOLA3, and NFU1) are part of a ISC assembly pathway leading to the synthesis of a [4Fe‐4S]2+ cluster on NFU1. We showed that the [2Fe‐2S]2+ GLRX5‐BOLA3 complex transfers its cluster to monomeric apo NFU1 to form, in the presence of a reductant, a [4Fe‐4S]2+ cluster bound to dimeric NFU1. The cluster formation on NFU1 does not occur with [2Fe‐2S]2+ GLRX5, and thus, the [4Fe‐4S] cluster assembly pathway is activated only in the presence of BOLA3. These results define NFU1 as an ‘assembler’ of [4Fe‐4S] clusters, that is, a protein able of converting two [2Fe‐2S]2+ clusters into a [4Fe‐4S]2+ cluster. Finally, we found that the [4Fe‐4S]2+ cluster bound to NFU1 has a coordination site which is easily accessible to sulfur‐containing ligands, as is typically observed in metallochaperones. This finding supports a role for NFU1 in promoting rapid and controlled cluster‐exchange reaction.
Analytical validation of the iSED automated analyzer for erythrocyte sedimentation rate
Authors: Lapić Ivana , Miloš Marija , Tosato Francesca , Piva Elisa , Zadro Renata , Rogić Dunja , Plebani Mario
Published: November 2019

Introduction

iSED is an alternate automated analyzer for erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) based on photometric rheology technology that estimates ESR by measuring rouleaux formation. The aim was to evaluate the analytical performance of the iSED analyzer and compare the results with the Westergren method and another alternate ESR analyzer, TEST1.

Methods

Validation was performed at two study sites according to the recommendations by the International Council for Standardization in Haematology and included determination of intrarun precision and inter‐run precision, bias, carryover, and method comparison, which was further assessed for samples with normal and low hematocrit, as well as per low, middle, and upper third of the analytical range.

Results

Intrarun coefficients of variation (CVs) with commercial controls were 4.0% and 1.8%, while inter‐run CVs 7.5% and 0.7%, for the normal and pathological range, respectively. Intrarun CVs obtained with patient samples were 19.9%, 9.9%, 10.3%, and 9.4%, the highest being for the lowest ESR value. Correlation coefficients for the comparison between iSED and Westergren were 0.862 (Site‐1) and 0.916 (Site‐2). While proportional difference with a positive bias was revealed at Site‐1, comparison at Site‐2 showed both constant and proportional difference and a negligible negative bias. Higher correlation was obtained for samples with low than normal hematocrit. Comparison between iSED and TEST1 yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.986, constant and proportional difference, and positive bias. Carryover was 3.2%.

Conclusion

This study proved the analytical validity of the iSED analyzer, despite minor discrepancies to the Westergren method that can be attributed to methodological differences.
A new species of Cambeva (Siluriformes, Trichomycteridae) from the Rio Ivaí basin, Upper Rio Paraná basin, Paraná State, Brazil
Authors: dos Reis Renan B. , Frota Augusto , Fabrin Thomaz M. C. , da Graça Weferson J.
Published: November 2019

A new species of Cambeva endemic to the Rio Ivaí basin, Upper Paraná basin, is described combining morphological and molecular data. This new species is distinguished from all congeners by characters related to the number of pectoral‐fin rays, to the colour pattern of the dorsal and lateral surface of the body, to the presence of diffuse blotches in the ventral surface of body, to the presence of a pelvic‐fin and pelvic girdle, to the number of odontodes in the inter‐opercular and opercular patches, to the number of dorsal and ventral procurrent rays. In addition, the analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences identified a satisfactory genetic distance between this new species and its congeners. The new species from the Rio Ivaí reinforces its characteristics as an area of endemism for fishes in the Upper Rio Paraná basin.
Appendicular morphology and locomotor performance of two morphotypes of continental anoles: Anolis heterodermus and Anolis tolimensis
Authors: Ríos‐Orjuela Juan Camilo , Camacho‐Bastidas Juan Sebastián , Jerez Adriana
Published: November 2019

Anolis lizards have been a model of study in ecomorphology in the Caribbean islands because species with the same type of microhabitat share similar morphological features. But despite their great diversity, little is known about continental species. We analyzed the relationship between the anatomical characteristics of the appendicular skeleton and the locomotor performance of two Anolis species found in Colombia that have different use of habitat. Anolis heterodermus, a strictly arboreal species, was compared with Anolis tolimensis, which inhabits the lower strata of vegetation. These two species differ in their body plan not only in body shape and external morphological features, but also in the skeleton and appendicular musculature. The results highlight the muscle and bone specializations associated with the use of habitat in this genus, such as the presence of more robust bones to enlarge the surface of muscle insertion, the thickening and loss of carpal parts, thickening of tendons associated with the manus, and greater development of muscle mass in the forelimbs by A. heterodermus with respect to A. tolimensis. These differences are related to the use of the microhabitat and the locomotor style of each species.