bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Packaging for the Citrus Industry
Authors: Lucas A. H.
Published: January 2018

When I was approached by Tom Kimball to make this talk to your group I was very much pleased. First, because I considered it a compliment to appear before you at this annual meeting, and secondly, because the subject of Packaging has earned a spot on this program.

Paper published with permission.
Sargeant Electronic Evaporator
Authors: Erickson William R.
Published: January 2018

The Sargeant Radio-Frequency Evaporator is a radically new approach to the concentration of citrus juices above the level of 54° Brix. With your indulgence, I would like to explain this principle by using various flow diagrams.

Paper published with permission.
Modern Fresh Fruit Handling, Adams Packing Association, Inc.
Authors: Grierson W.
Published: January 2018

Things are not always what they seem to be. The assigned title of this paper would seem to limit the subject to the new Adams packinghouse. Nevertheless, it is necessary to first consider the harvesting methods selected. The main reason for improving packing methods is to reduce costs, and in the fresh fruit business today opportunities for cost reduction are principally between the tree and the packinghouse. Moreover the packer has some reasonable control over his choice of field handling methods, but inside the packinghouse his choice of methods is severely limited by the policies of buyers and the lack of any combined policy on container standardization by the fresh fruit industry in general. This is particularly true in Florida as contrasted, for example, with the California citrus industry.

Paper published with permission.
Engineering Design and Economics of Air Conditioning in Florida’s Newest Sectionizing Plant
Authors: Ostrander William S.
Published: January 2018

Most of you have probably noticed the new addition to the Kraft Citrus Products Division Plant here in Lakeland. This is their new sectionizing plant for the preparation of fruit salad, which has only been in operation for a few weeks.

Paper published with permission.
Fundamentals of Glass Handling
Authors: Whittier C. P.
Published: January 2018

Since you have been kind enough to include me in your conference program, I feel it in order to make clear what my activities on behalf of Owens-Illinois have to do with your areas of responsibility in the citrus industry. For better than 30 years, I have been a part of a department in the Glass Container Division of Owens-Illinois whose responsibility is to concern itself with problems that relate to the use or performance of what we make. This operation handles customer problems relating to product preservation and container handling. In addition, we design, build, lease and occasionally sell specialized glass packing equipment.

Paper published with permission.
Pressure Control on Carton and Pallet Accumulation Conveyors: Bulk Container Conveyor Systems
Authors: Dawson George J.
Published: January 2018

In the past fifteen years, following the post war days of World War II, the packaging and package handling industries have unquestionably made as much progress as was made up to the beginning of that period.

Paper published with permission.
Composite Cans for Frozen Citrus Concentrate Products
Authors: Hughes Wm. E.
Published: January 2018

It is not my purpose to introduce you to the composite can. This was accomplished a little more than four years ago. Rather, I would like to describe briefly the background and achievements of this container and perhaps shed some light on its future with the Florida frozen concentrated citrus juice industry.

Paper published with permission.
Citrus Processing Outside of the United States
Authors: Penn F. E.
Published: January 2018

A dreary recitation of long lists of statistics, however important they may be, does not appear to be the proper method to follow in describing the situation in today’s citrus world as it relates to processed citrus products. Reference is made primarily, of course, to frozen orange concentrate but also to preserved and hot packed concentrates and single strength juices as well. In keeping with this approach all but the most general facts have been relegated to tables and charts accompanying this report.

Paper published with permission.
Solid State Controls for Industrial Trucks
Authors: Towne Richard
Published: January 2018

I meet with you today as a representative of one of the oldest of all industries … one that dates back some 10,000 years. Within the industry, progress during the 20th century has far outstripped the earlier achievements of thousands of years of technological advancement.

Paper published with permission.
Relationships and Legal Aspects of Florida State Board of Health and Florida Air and Water Pollution Control Commission
Authors: Mastro Nick
Published: January 2018

The five members of the Florida State Board of Health are appointed by the Governor in staggered terms and they set the policy for this organization.

Paper published with permission.
The Use of Nitrogen in Freezing Citrus Concentrates
Authors: Smith Paul L.
Published: January 2018

The use of the refrigerant potential of cryogenic fluids is now in its infancy. The high driving force — the low temperature boiling point — has over the years many times intrigued scientists and engineers to consider its utilization for many situations. On the lab bench, it was successful; but in most commercial applications its cost far over-shadowed its ease of handling, its speed of freezing, its flexibility, its seemingly limitless capacity, and its 100% reliability.

Paper published with permission.
Air Pollution Abatement Equipment and Processes
Authors: Hendrickson E. R. , Hedenhag Jorgen G.
Published: January 2018

The control of airborn emissions from industrial sources has become a fact of life for management all over the United States. Every state, the federal government, and several hundred municipalities and counties have enabling legislation backed up by ever-increasing volumes of regulations aimed at reducing pollution of the atmosphere. Recognizing the inevitability of even more restrictive regulations, many individual companies and industry organizations are directing efforts toward identifying the air pollution potential of their operations and investigating the means available to them to meet the standards imposed upon them.

Paper published with permission.
A Comparison of Iodophor and Sodium Hypochlorite Sanitizers
Authors: Barrett R. B.
Published: January 2018

Hypochlorite and iodophor germicides are compared with regard to physical, chemical and sanitizing properties. The influence of pH on the germicidal characteristics are evaluated and the theory of mechanism of germicidal action reviewed. Hypochlorite and iodophor are compared under a variety of use conditions of temperature concentration, presence of organic matter, and different materials of construction. The economics of sanitizing with hypochlorite and iodophor is reviewed with various dispensing equipment.

Paper published with permission.
Manufacturing Plastic Containers for Citrus
Authors: Jones Elwyn
Published: January 2018

The thermoforming process (up until most recently) has not made any significant penetration into the metal and foil fiber can area. We have found the same to be true with the thermoform-spin weld process in the glass bottle area. Now, however, with the technical breakthroughs that have been made in both processes, coupled with the availability of a much greater variety of plastic materials; plastic cans and bottles will command a very respectable share of the total market within the next five years.

Paper published with permission.
Imitation Flavors Produced From Citrus Oils
Authors: Desch Clifford E.
Published: January 2018

From the Flavor Chemist’s standpoint, the Citrus Oil family of products provides important ingredients for the creation of a wide range of imitation flavors. This paper will describe some sources and types of citrus oils used by the Flavor Chemist, the types of imitation flavors in which citrus oils are used, and the flavor characteristics or functions which citrus oils provide in the various imitation flavor formulations.

Paper published with permission.
Factors Affecting Motor Replacement
Authors: Smith Edward F.
Published: January 2018

Prior to about 1940 there was little concentrated effort made to standardize motors as to their physical dimensions. This meant that mountings for a motor made by one manufacturer would not fit another motor of the same type, size and speed made by another manufacturer, or, for that matter, by the same manufacturer. Realizing these conditions caused much confusion and inconvenience when it was necessary to replace a motor or even in their use in production line assembly, the NEMA ultimately evolved a standardized list of specifications for motor dimensions. The majority of the American motor manufacturers eventually conformed to these specifications.

Paper published with permission.
The Process Control Computer and the Citrus Industry
Authors: Putnam Richard E. J. , McMahon Murray D.
Published: January 2018

Although computers have been commercially available for only a comparatively short period of time, they seem to have come to dominate our corporate and even our private lives. Punched cards and computer printouts descend upon us from many quarters; our telephone connections are completed by land links or satellite; the stock markets, bank accounts, credit card systems, student’s courses and it seems almost every aspect of life is at least touched by them. Various forms of them have even got into our plants to regulate processes, control assembly lines, protect men and equipment and improve the quality of products.

Paper published with permission.
Potentials for Photoelectric Grading Equipment
Authors: Gaffney J. J.
Published: January 2018

During the 1971–72 season, certified citrus shipments from Florida totaled 30 million boxes 1/ of fresh fruit and 162 million boxes of fruit in processed form (2)*. Grading of citrus in Florida packinghouses and processing plants requires a large amount of hand labor, at a cost estimated to be in excess of 4. 6 million dollars annually.

Paper published with permission.
High Efficiency Can Packaging Lines
Authors: Van Keuren G. E.
Published: January 2018

A common goal of management, production, and engineering is to obtain and maintain a high efficiency can packaging line.

This paper presents the philosophies of one method of obtaining and maintaining production at a high efficiency rating from a high speed can packaging line. This philosophy is being presented as it would be developed for a new can packaging line installation.

Paper published with permission.
The importance of particle motion to fishes and invertebrates
Authors: Popper Arthur N. , Hawkins Anthony D.
Published: January 2018

This paper considers the importance of particle motion to fishes and invertebrates and the steps that need to be taken to improve knowledge of its effects. It is aimed at scientists investigating the impacts of sounds on fishes and invertebrates but it is also relevant to regulators, those preparing environmental impact assessments, and to industries creating underwater sounds. The overall aim of this paper is to ensure that proper attention is paid to particle motion as a stimulus when evaluating the effects of sound upon aquatic life. Directions are suggested for future research and planning that, if implemented, will provide a better scientific basis for dealing with the impact of underwater sounds on marine ecosystems and for regulating those human activities that generate such sounds. The paper includes background material on underwater acoustics, focusing on particle motion; the importance of particle motion to fishes and invertebrates; and sound propagation through both water and the substrate. Consideration is then given to the data gaps that must be filled in order to better understand the interactions between particle motion and aquatic animals. Finally, suggestions are provided on how to increase the understanding of particle motion and its relevance to aquatic animals.
Nutritional Regulation of the Sae Two-Component System by CodY in Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Mlynek Kevin D. , Sause William E. , Moormeier Derek E. , Sadykov Marat R. , Hill Kurt R. , Torres Victor J. , Bayles Kenneth W. , Brinsmade Shaun R.
Published: January 2018

Staphylococcus aureus
subverts innate defenses during infection in part by killing host immune cells to exacerbate disease. This human pathogen intercepts host cues and activates a transcriptional response via the
S. aureus
exoprotein expression (SaeR/SaeS [SaeR/S]) two-component system to secrete virulence factors critical for pathogenesis. We recently showed that the transcriptional repressor CodY adjusts nuclease (
nuc
) gene expression via SaeR/S, but the mechanism remained unknown. Here, we identified two CodY binding motifs upstream of the
sae
P1 promoter, which suggested direct regulation by this global regulator. We show that CodY shares a binding site with the positive activator SaeR and that alleviating direct CodY repression at this site is sufficient to abrogate stochastic expression, suggesting that CodY represses
sae
expression by blocking SaeR binding. Epistasis experiments support a model that CodY also controls
sae
indirectly through Agr and Rot-mediated repression of the
sae
P1 promoter. We also demonstrate that CodY repression of
sae
restrains production of secreted cytotoxins that kill human neutrophils. We conclude that CodY plays a previously unrecognized role in controlling virulence gene expression via SaeR/S and suggest a mechanism by which CodY acts as a master regulator of pathogenesis by tying nutrient availability to virulence gene expression.

IMPORTANCE
Bacterial mechanisms that mediate the switch from a commensal to pathogenic lifestyle are among the biggest unanswered questions in infectious disease research. Since the expression of most virulence genes is often correlated with nutrient depletion, this implies that virulence is a response to the lack of nourishment in host tissues and that pathogens like
S. aureus
produce virulence factors in order to gain access to nutrients in the host. Here, we show that specific nutrient depletion signals appear to be funneled to the SaeR/S system through the global regulator CodY. Our findings reveal a strategy by which
S. aureus
delays the production of immune evasion and immune-cell-killing proteins until key nutrients are depleted.
The Conserved DNA Binding Protein WhiA Influences Chromosome Segregation in Bacillus subtilis
Authors: Bohorquez Laura C. , Surdova Katarina , Jonker Martijs J. , Hamoen Leendert W.
Published: January 2018

The DNA binding protein WhiA is conserved in Gram-positive bacteria and is present in the genetically simple cell wall-lacking mycoplasmas. The protein shows homology to eukaryotic homing endonucleases but lacks nuclease activity. WhiA was first characterized in streptomycetes, where it regulates the expression of key differentiation genes, including the cell division gene
ftsZ
, which is essential for sporulation. For
Bacillus subtilis
, it was shown that WhiA is essential when certain cell division genes are deleted. However, in
B. subtilis
, WhiA is not required for sporulation, and it does not seem to function as a transcription factor, despite its DNA binding activity. The exact function of
B. subtilis
WhiA remains elusive. We noticed that
whiA
mutants show an increased space between their nucleoids, and here, we describe the results of fluorescence microscopy, genetic, and transcriptional experiments to further investigate this phenomenon. It appeared that the deletion of
whiA
is synthetic lethal when either the DNA replication and segregation regulator ParB or the DNA replication inhibitor YabA is absent. However, WhiA does not seem to affect replication initiation. We found that a Δ
whiA
mutant is highly sensitive for DNA-damaging agents. Further tests revealed that the deletion of
parAB
induces the SOS response, including the cell division inhibitor YneA. When
yneA
was inactivated, the viability of the synthetic lethal Δ
whiA
Δ
parAB
mutant was restored. However, the nucleoid segregation phenotype remained. These findings underline the importance of WhiA for cell division and indicate that the protein also plays a role in DNA segregation.

IMPORTANCE
The conserved WhiA protein family can be found in most Gram-positive bacteria, including the genetically simple cell wall-lacking mycoplasmas, and these proteins play a role in cell division. WhiA has some homology with eukaryotic homing endonucleases but lacks nuclease activity. Because of its DNA binding activity, it is assumed that the protein functions as a transcription factor, but this is not the case in the model system
B. subtilis
. The function of this protein in
B. subtilis
remains unclear. We noticed that a
whiA
mutant has a mild chromosome segregation defect. Further studies of this phenomenon provided new support for a functional role of WhiA in cell division and indicated that the protein is required for normal chromosome segregation.
Evaluation of the Accelerate Pheno System: Results from Two Academic Medical Centers
Authors: Lutgring Joseph D. , Bittencourt Cassiana , McElvania TeKippe Erin , Cavuoti Dominick , Hollaway Rita , Burd Eileen M.
Published: January 2018

Rapid diagnostic tests are needed to improve patient care and to combat the problem of antimicrobial resistance. The Accelerate Pheno system (Accelerate Diagnostics, Tucson, AZ) is a new diagnostic device that can provide rapid bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) results directly from a positive blood culture. The device was compared to the standard of care at two academic medical centers. There were 298 blood cultures included in the study, and the Accelerate Pheno system provided a definitive identification result in 218 instances (73.2%). The Accelerate Pheno system provided a definitive and correct result for 173 runs (58.1%). The Accelerate Pheno system demonstrated an overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 94.7%, 98.9%, 83.7%, and 99.7%, respectively. An AST result was available for analysis in 146 instances. The overall category agreement was 94.1% with 12 very major errors, 5 major errors, and 55 minor errors. After a discrepancy analysis, there were 5 very major errors and 4 major errors. The Accelerate Pheno system provided an identification result in 1.4 h and an AST result in 6.6 h; the identification and AST results were 41.5 h and 48.4 h faster than those with the standard of care, respectively. This study demonstrated that the Accelerate Pheno system is able to provide fast and accurate organism identification and AST data. A limitation is the frequency with which cultures required the use of alternative identification and AST methods.
Asymptomatic lymphogranuloma venereum among Nigerian men who have sex with men
Authors: Crowell Trevor A , Hardick Justin , Lombardi Kara , Parker Zahra , Kokogho Afoke , Amusu Senate , Odeyemi Sunday , Ivo Andrew , Baral Stefan D , Nowak Rebecca G , Adebajo Sylvia , Charurat Manhattan E , Ake Julie , Gaydos Charlotte A
Published: January 2018

Objectives

Recent outbreaks of anorectal lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) among men who have sex with men (MSM) have been characterised by proctocolitis requiring extended antibiotic treatment compared with infections caused by other serovars of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT). We describe the prevalence and clinical features of LGV among Nigerian MSM diagnosed with anorectal CT.

Methods

MSM were recruited for this observational cohort in Lagos, Nigeria, using respondent-driven sampling and screened for HIV and bacterial STIs every three months for up to 18 months. Nucleic acid amplification tests for CT were performed on rectal swab specimens. Prevalent and incident cases of anorectal CT underwent additional testing to identify LGV using novel real-time PCR assays specific for the L-serovars of CT.

Results

From April 2014 to July 2016, 420 MSM underwent testing for rectal STIs, of whom 66 (15.7%) had prevalent anorectal CT. Among those without prevalent disease, 68 developed incident infections during 208 person-years of follow-up. Of 134 prevalent and incident cases of anorectal CT, 7 (5.2%) were identified as LGV. None of the seven participants with LGV reported any symptoms. Two of the participants with LGV were simultaneously coinfected with rectal gonorrhoea. HIV coinfection was common among participants with both LGV (n=5, 71%) and non-LGV (n=98, 77%) serovars of CT (P=0.66).

Conclusions

Anorectal LGV was uncommon but present among Nigerian MSM in this study. Consistent screening for L-serovars of CT, or presumptive treatment for LGV in cases with a high suspicion for this diagnosis, could potentially improve patient outcomes and decrease transmission.
High prevalence of latent tuberculosis and bloodborne virus infection in a homeless population
Authors: Aldridge Robert W , Hayward Andrew C , Hemming Sara , Yates Susan K , Ferenando Gloria , Possas Lucia , Garber Elizabeth , Watson John M , Geretti Anna Maria , McHugh Timothy Daniel , Lipman Marc , Story Alistair
Published: January 2018

Introduction

Urban homeless populations in the UK have been shown to have high rates of active tuberculosis, but less is known about the prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of LTBI among individuals using homeless hostels in London.

Methods

We performed a cross-sectional survey with outcome follow-up in homeless hostels in London. Our primary outcome was prevalence of LTBI. Recruitment for the study took place between May 2011 and June 2013. To estimate an LTBI prevalence of 10% with 95% CIs between 8% and 13%, we required 500 participants.

Results

491/804 (61.1%) individuals agreed to be screened. The prevalence of LTBI was 16.5% (81/491; 95% CI 13.2 to 19.8). In UK-born individuals, a history of incarceration was associated with increased risk of LTBI (OR 3.49; 95% CI 1.10 to 11.04; P=0.018) after adjusting for age, length of time spent homeless and illicit drug use. Of the three subjects who met English treatment guidelines for LTBI at the time of the study, none engaged with services after referral for treatment. Prevalence of past hepatitis B infection was 10.4% (51/489; 95% CI 7.7 to 13.1), and 59.5% (291/489; 95% CI 55.1 to 63.9) of individuals were non-immune. Prevalence of current hepatitis C infection was 10.4% (51/489; 95% CI 7.8 to 13.1).

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the high prevalence of LTBI in homeless people in London and the associated poor engagement with care. There is a large unmet need for LTBI and hepatitis C infection treatment, and hepatitis B vaccination, in this group.
Development of a prototype for modelling soil–pipe interaction and its application for predicting uplift resistance to buried pipe movements in sand
Authors: Ansari Yousef , Kouretzis George , Sloan Scott W.
Published: January 2018

This paper presents a testing rig for measuring the reactions on rigid pipes buried in sand during episodes of relative displacement. Following a detailed presentation of the 1g prototype, the test preparation procedure, and the characterization of the test sand’s shear strength and dilation potential under the low confining stresses pertinent to the problem, the paper focuses on the workflow devised to obtain accurate measurements of friction and arching effects, and accordingly normalize them to account for scale (stress level) effects. Emphasis is put on demonstrating the effectiveness of the sand deposition method for accurately controlling the density of the sample, and on quantitatively assessing its uniformity. Measurements obtained during a series of uplift tests, including reaction force – pipe displacement curves and images of the developing failure surface, facilitated by particle image velocimetry and close-range photogrammetry techniques, are compared against published data and analytical methods. The results lead to the development of a new simplified formula for calculating the uplift resistance to buried pipe movements in sand: capable of accounting for scale effects, yet simple enough to be used for the analysis of pipes in practice.
Beneficial effects ofN-acetylcysteine on hepatic oxidative stress in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats
Authors: Rosa Lucas Rodolfo de Oliveira , Kaga Anderson Kiyoshi , Barbanera Pedro Octavio , Queiroz Priscila Manfio , do Carmo Nágilla Orleanne Lima , Fernandes Ana Angélica Henrique
Published: January 2018

Diabetes is one of the leading diseases worldwide and, thus, finding new therapeutic alternatives is essential. The development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a notable diabetic complication. Therefore, antioxidant therapy became a leading topic in the world of diabetes research. The objective of this present study was to evaluate the effects of antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) administration on serum biochemical parameters and oxidative stress parameters in hepatic tissue of the diabetic rats. Thirty-two animals were divided in 4 groups (n = 8): G1, normal rats; G2, normal rats + NAC; G3, diabetic rats; and G4, diabetic rats + NAC. Diabetes was induced in diabetic groups through streptozotocin. NAC administration was effective in improving hyperglycemia and hypoinsulinemia, as well as reducing serum alanine-aminotransferase and urea, hepatic triglycerides accumulation, and oxidative stress biomarkers in the diabetic liver, as well as improving the activity of hepatic antioxidant enzymes. This effect was likely due to NAC’s ability of restoring intracellular glutathione, an important compound for the antioxidant defense, as well as due to NAC’s direct antioxidant properties. Thus, NAC administration was useful for reducing hepatic oxidative stress and decreased the deposit of triacylglycerols, minimizing diabetic hepatic damage, making it a promising therapeutic adjuvant in the future.
Chebyshev–Taylor Parameterization of Stable/Unstable Manifolds for Periodic Orbits: Implementation and Applications
Authors: Mireles James J. D. , Murray Maxime
Published: January 2018

This paper develops a Chebyshev–Taylor spectral method for studying stable/unstable manifolds attached to periodic solutions of differential equations. The work exploits the parameterization method — a general functional analytic framework for studying invariant manifolds. Useful features of the parameterization method include the fact that it can follow folds in the embedding, recovers the dynamics on the manifold through a simple conjugacy, and admits a natural notion of a posteriori error analysis. Our approach begins by deriving a recursive system of linear differential equations describing the Taylor coefficients of the invariant manifold. We represent periodic solutions of these equations as solutions of coupled systems of boundary value problems. We discuss the implementation and performance of the method for the Lorenz system, and for the planar circular restricted three- and four-body problems. We also illustrate the use of the method as a tool for computing cycle-to-cycle connecting orbits.
Unique Normal Form and the Associated Coefficients for a Class of Three-Dimensional Nilpotent Vector Fields
Authors: Li Jing , Kou Liying , Wang Duo , Zhang Wei
Published: January 2018

In this paper, we mainly focus on the unique normal form for a class of three-dimensional vector fields via the method of transformation with parameters. A general explicit recursive formula is derived to compute the higher order normal form and the associated coefficients, which can be achieved easily by symbolic calculations. To illustrate the efficiency of the approach, a comparison of our result with others is also presented.
A Framework for Developing Cyber-Physical Systems
Authors: He Xudong , Dong Zhijiang , Yin Heng , Fu Yujian
Published: January 2018

Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) are pervasive in our daily life from mobile phones to auto-driving cars. CPSs are inherently complex due to their sophisticated behaviors and thus difficult to build. In this paper, we propose a framework to develop CPSs based on a model-driven approach with quality assurance throughout the development process. An agent-oriented approach is used to model individual physical and computation processes using high-level Petri nets, and an aspect-oriented approach is used to integrate individual models. The Petri net models are systematically mapped to classes and threads in Java, which are enhanced and extended with domain-specific functionalities. Complementary quality assurance techniques are applied throughout system development and deployment, including simulation and model checking of design models, model checking of Java code, and runtime verification of Java executable. We demonstrate our framework using a car parking system.
Enhancing Call-Level Interfaces with Thread-Safe Local Memory Structures
Authors: Pereira Óscar Mortágua , Aguiar Rui L.
Published: January 2018

Database applications are being increasingly under pressure to respond effectively to ever more demanding performance requirements. Software architects can resort to several well-known architectural tactics to minimize the possibility of coming across with any performance bottleneck. The usage of call-level interfaces (CLIs) is a strategy aimed at reducing the overhead of business components. CLIs are low-level APIs that provide a high-performance environment to execute standard SQL statements on relational and also on some NoSQL database (DB) servers. In spite of these valuable features, CLIs are not thread-safe when distinct threads need to share datasets retrieved through Select statements from databases. Thus, even in situations where two or more threads could share a dataset, there is no other possibility than providing each thread with its own dataset, this way leading to an increased need of computational resources. To overcome this drawback, in this paper we propose a new natively thread-safe architecture. The implementation herein presented is based on a thread-safe updatable local memory structure (LMS) where the data retrieved from databases is kept. A proof of concept based on Java Database Connectivity type 4 (JDBC) for SQL Server 2008 is presented and also a performance assessment.
Energy Usage Behavior Modeling in Energy Disaggregation via Hawkes Processes
Authors: Li Liangda , Zha Hongyuan
Published: January 2018

Energy disaggregation, the task of taking a whole home electricity signal and decomposing it into its component appliances, has been proved to be essential in energy conservation research. One powerful cue for breaking down the entire household’s energy consumption is user’s daily energy usage behavior, which has so far received little attention: existing works on energy disaggregation mostly ignored the relationship between the energy usages of various appliances by householders across different time slots. The major challenge in modeling such a relationship in that, with ambiguous appliance usage membership of householders, we find it difficult to appropriately model the influence between appliances, since such influence is determined by human behaviors in energy usage. To address this problem, we propose to model the influence between householders’ energy usage behaviors directly through a novel probabilistic model, which combines topic models with the Hawkes processes. The proposed model simultaneously disaggregates the whole home electricity signal into each component appliance and infers the appliance usage membership of household members and enables those two tasks to mutually benefit each other. Experimental results on both synthetic data and four real-world data sets demonstrate the effectiveness of our model, which outperforms state-of-the-art approaches in not only decomposing the entire consumed energy to each appliance in houses but also the inference of household structures. We further analyze the inferred appliance-householder assignment and the corresponding influence within the appliance usage of each householder and across different householders, which provides insight into appealing human behavior patterns in appliance usage.
An interview with access computing
Authors: Ladner Richard , Barnes Tiffany
Published: January 2018

It has been over ten years since the National Science Foundation established the Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) Alliances. In a series of articles, we are checking in with these national organizations that support BPC. Today, we interview AccessComputing, "The Alliance for Access to Computing Careers." This alliance was founded in 2005, and is currently led by Richard Ladner (PI), Sheryl Burgstahler (co-PI), Andy Ko (co-PI), and Jake Wobbrock (co-PI).
Big Data Management for Cloud-Enabled Geological Information Services
Authors: Zhu Yueqin , Tan Yongjie , Luo Xiong , He Zhijie
Published: January 2018

Cloud computing as a powerful technology of performing massive-scale and complex computing plays an important role in implementing geological information services. In the era of big data, data are being collected at an unprecedented scale. Therefore, to ensure successful data processing and analysis in cloud-enabled geological information services (CEGIS), we must address the challenging and time-demanding task of big data processing. This review starts by elaborating the system architecture and the requirements for big data management. This is followed by the analysis of the application requirements and technical challenges of big data management for CEGIS in China. This review also presents the application development opportunities and technical trends of big data management in CEGIS, including collection and preprocessing, storage and management, analysis and mining, parallel computing based cloud platform, and technology applications.
Mechanical Performance and Design Method of Improved Lead Shear Damper with Long Stroke
Authors: Wang Baoshun , Yan Weiming , He Haoxiang
Published: January 2018

The paper presents experimental study on an improved plate lead shear damper with long stroke (ILSD‐LS) which is developed to meet the engineering requirements for high‐rise structures with long periods subjected to the long‐period earthquakes. Finite element analysis is also carried out to investigate the proposed damper. Based on the ideal rigid‐plastic constitutive law of lead, a mechanical model of the ILSD‐LS is established. Compared with ordinary dampers, ILSD‐LS has better damping force, energy dissipation capacity, and stability according to the results of simulation and experiments. The method of calculating damping force is reasonable and accurate. In order to verify the damping effect of ILSD‐LS for the structures with long periods under long‐period ground motions, the nonlinear time history analysis of a typical high‐rise structure with ILSD‐LS is carried out. The numerical results indicate that the seismic responses of the high‐rise structure with ILSD‐LS are significantly reduced when subjected to long‐period ground motion.
The Static and Dynamic Sensitivity of Magnetostrictive Bioinspired Whisker Sensor
Authors: Zhao Ran , Yuan Qingjie , Yan Jianwu , Lu Qanguo
Published: January 2018

Magnetostrictive bioinspired whisker is a new kind of sensor that can realize tactile and flow sensing by utilizing magnetoelastic effect. The sensitivity is a key technical indicator of whisker sensor. The paper presented a new magnetostrictive whisker based on Galfenol cantilever beam, as well as its operation principle. Then, the static and dynamic sensitivity of the whisker sensor was investigated by using a self-made experimental system. The results illustrated that the proposed sensor has a high sensitivity. Its static sensitivity is 2.2 mV/mN. However, its dynamic sensitivity depends on the vibration frequency. When working at the natural frequency of the cantilever beam, the dynamic sensitivity performs an obvious increase—1.3 mV/mN at 3.5 Hz (the first-order natural frequency) and 2.1 mV/mN at 40 Hz (the second-order natural frequency), respectively.
Dynamic Electromechanical Response of a Viscoelastic Dielectric Elastomer under Cycle Electric Loads
Authors: Sheng Junjie , Zhang Yuqing
Published: January 2018

Dielectric elastomer (DE) is able to produce large electromechanical deformation which is time-dependent due to the viscoelasticity. In the current study, a thermodynamic model is set up to characterize the influence of viscoelasticity on the electromechanical and dynamic response of a viscoelastic DE. The time-dependent dynamic deformation, the hysteresis, and the dynamic stability undergoing viscoelastic dissipative processes are investigated. The results show that the electromechanical stability has strong frequency dependence; the viscoelastic DE can attain a larger stretch in the dynamic response than the quasistatic actuation. Furthermore, with the decreasing frequency of the applied electric load, the viscoelastic DE system will present dynamic stability evolution from an aperiodic motion to the quasiperiodic motion. The DE system may also experience a stability evolution from a single cycle motion to multicycle motion with the increasing relaxation times. The value and variation trend of the amplitude of the stretch are highly dependent on the excitation frequency and the relaxation time.
On Metaheuristics for Solving the Parameter Estimation Problem in Dynamic Systems: A Comparative Study
Authors: Ramadas Gisela C. V. , Fernandes Edite M. G. P. , Ramadas António M. V. , Rocha Ana Maria A. C. , Costa M. Fernanda P.
Published: January 2018

This paper presents an experimental study that aims to compare the practical performance of well-known metaheuristics for solving the parameter estimation problem in a dynamic systems context. The metaheuristics produce good quality approximations to the global solution of a finite small-dimensional nonlinear programming problem that emerges from the application of the sequential numerical direct method to the parameter estimation problem. Using statistical hypotheses testing, significant differences in the performance of the metaheuristics, in terms of the average objective function values and average CPU time, are determined. Furthermore, the best obtained solutions are graphically compared in relative terms by means of the performance profiles. The numerical comparisons with other results in the literature show that the tested metaheuristics are effective in achieving good quality solutions with a reduced computational effort.
Design of Ergonomically Fit Classroom Furniture for Primary Schools of Bangladesh
Authors: Parvez M. S. , Parvin F. , Shahriar M. M. , Kibria G.
Published: January 2018

Students spend a large portion of their time in school. In this broadened time of sitting, poor fitting furniture can cause various types of musculoskeletal disorders and discomforts. Thus, it is crucial to use anthropometric data to coordinate the arrangement of school furniture. To fulfill this perception, a survey has been conducted in 10 primary schools in Khulna, Bangladesh. Anthropometric measurements were accumulated from 300 students of these primary schools. Seven furniture dimensions were measured and fifteen anthropometric measurements were taken and they were compared to identify potential mismatch. A significant degree of mismatch was found between furniture and student anthropometric measurements. The results highlighted that desktop height and seat height were found too high and seat width was too small for all of the students. The paper also proposes furniture dimensions, which reduce mismatch percentage of students ranging from 90% to 10%.
LraI fromLactococcus raffinolactisBGTRK10-1, an Isoschizomer ofEcoRI, Exhibits Ion Concentration-Dependent Specific Star Activity
Authors: Miljkovic Marija , Malesevic Milka , Filipic Brankica , Vukotic Goran , Kojic Milan
Published: January 2018

Restriction enzymes are the main defence system against foreign DNA, in charge of preserving genome integrity.Lactococcus raffinolactisBGTRK10-1 expressesLraI Type II restriction-modification enzyme, whose activity is similar to that shown forEcoRI;LraI methyltransferase protects DNA fromEcoRI cleavage. The gene encodingLraI endonuclease was cloned and overexpressed inE. coli. Purified enzyme showed the highest specific activity at lower temperatures (between 13°C and 37°C) and was stable after storage at −20°C in 50% glycerol. The concentration of monovalent ions in the reaction buffer required for optimal activity ofLraI restriction enzyme was 100 mM or higher. The recognition and cleavage sequence forLraI restriction enzyme was determined as 5′-G/AATTC-3′, indicating thatLraI restriction enzyme is an isoschizomer ofEcoRI. In the reaction buffer with a lower salt concentration,LraI exhibits star activity and specifically recognizes and cuts another alternative sequence 5′-A/AATTC-3′, leaving the same sticky ends on fragments asEcoRI, which makes them clonable into a linearized vector. Phylogenetic analysis based on sequence alignment pointed out the common origin ofLraI restriction-modification system with previously describedEcoRI-like restriction-modification systems.
Content-Aware Compressive Sensing Recovery Using Laplacian Scale Mixture Priors and Side Information
Authors: Xie Zhonghua , Ma Lihong , Liu Lingjun
Published: January 2018

Nonlocal methods have shown great potential in many image restoration tasks including compressive sensing (CS) reconstruction through use of image self-similarity prior. However, they are still limited in recovering fine-scale details and sharp features, when rich repetitive patterns cannot be guaranteed; moreover the CS measurements are corrupted. In this paper, we propose a novel CS recovery algorithm that combines nonlocal sparsity with local and global prior, which soften and complement the self-similarity assumption for irregular structures. First, a Laplacian scale mixture (LSM) prior is utilized to model dependencies among similar patches. For achieving group sparsity, each singular value of similar packed patches is modeled as a Laplacian distribution with a variable scale parameter. Second, a global prior and a compensation-based sparsity prior of local patch are designed in order to maintain differences between packed patches. The former refers to a prediction which integrates the information at the independent processing stage and is used as side information, while the latter enforces a small (i.e., sparse) prediction error and is also modeled with the LSM model so as to obtain local sparsity. Afterward, we derive an efficient algorithm based on the expectation-maximization (EM) and approximate message passing (AMP) frame for the maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation of the sparse coefficients. Numerical experiments show that the proposed method outperforms many CS recovery algorithms.
Roles of NUCKS1 in Diseases: Susceptibility, Potential Biomarker, and Regulatory Mechanisms
Authors: Huang Pengru , Cai Yujie , Zhao Bin , Cui Lili
Published: January 2018

Nuclear casein kinase and cyclin-dependent kinase substrate 1 (NUCKS1) is a 27 kD chromosomal, highly conserved, and vertebrate-specific protein. NUCKS1 gene encodes a nuclear protein and the conserved regions of NUCKS1 contain several consensus phosphorylation sites for casein kinase II (CK2) and cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdk) and a basic DNA-binding domain. NUCKS1 is similar to the high mobility group (HMG) family which dominates chromatin remodeling and regulates gene transcription. Meanwhile, NUCKS1 is a RAD51 associated protein 1 (RAD51AP1) paralog that is significant for homologous recombination (HR) and genome stability and also a transcriptional regulator of the insulin signaling components. NUCKS1 plays an important role in DNA damage response and metabolism, participates in inflammatory immune response, and correlates with microRNA. Although there is still not enough functional information on NUCKS1, evidences suggest that NUCKS1 can be used as the biomarker of several cancers. This review summarizes the latest research on NUCKS1 about its susceptibility in diseases, expression levels, and regulatory mechanisms as well as the possible functions in reference to diseases.
Adaptive Backstepping Based MTPA Sensorless Control of PM-Assisted SynRM with Fully Uncertain Parameters
Authors: Yu Yang , Chang Da , Zheng Xiaoming , Mi Zengqiang , Li Xiaolong , Sun Chenjun
Published: January 2018

A nonlinear and robust adaptive backstepping based maximum torque per ampere speed sensorless control scheme with fully uncertain parameters is proposed for a permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motor. In the design of the controller, the relation to d-q-axis currents constrained by maximum torque per ampere control is firstly derived. Then, a fully adaptive backstepping control method is employed to design control scenario and the stability of the proposed control scenario is proven through a proper Lyapunov function candidate. The derived controller guarantees tracking the reference signals of change asymptotically and has good robustness against the uncertainties of motor parameters and the perturbation of load torque. Moreover, in allusion to the strong nonlinearity of permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motor, an active flux based improved reduced-order Luenberger speed observer is presented to estimate the speed. Digital simulations testify the feasibility and applicability of the presented control scheme.
Pathological Response in a Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cohort Treated with Neoadjuvant Carboplatin and Docetaxel According to Lehmann's Refined Classification
Authors: Echavarria Isabel , López-Tarruella Sara , Picornell Antoni , García-Saenz Jose Ángel , Jerez Yolanda , Hoadley Katherine , Gómez Henry L. , Moreno Fernando , Monte-Millan María Del , Márquez-Rodas Iván , Alvarez Enrique , Ramos-Medina Rocío , Gayarre Javier , Massarrah Tatiana , Ocaña Inmaculada , Cebollero María , Fuentes Hugo , Barnadas Agusti , Ballesteros Ana Isabel , Bohn Uriel , Perou Charles M. , Martin Miguel
Published: January 2018

Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) requires the iden- tification of reliable predictors of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). For this purpose, we aimed to evaluate the performance of the TNBCtype-4 classifier in a cohort of patients with TNBC treated with neoadjuvant carboplatin and docetaxel (TCb).

Methods: Patients with TNBC were accrued in a nonrandomized trial of neoadjuvant carboplatin AUC 6 and docetaxel 75 mg/m2 for six cycles. Response was evaluated in terms of pathologic complete response (pCR, ypT0/is ypN0) and residual cancer burden by Symmans and colleagues. Lehmann's subtyping was performed using the TNBCtype online tool from RNAseq data, and germline sequencing of a panel of seven DNA damage repair genes was conducted.

Results: Ninety-four out of the 121 patients enrolled in the trial had RNAseq available. The overall pCR rate was 44.7%. Lehmann subtype distribution was 34.0% BL1, 20.2% BL2, 23.4% M, 14.9% LAR, and 7.4% were classified as ER+. Response to NACT with TCb was significantly associated with Lehmann subtype (P = 0.027), even in multivariate analysis including tumor size and nodal involvement, with BL1 patients achieving the highest pCR rate (65.6%), followed by BL2 (47.4%), M (36.4%), and LAR (21.4%). BL1 was associated with a significant younger age at diagnosis and higher ki67 values. Among our 10 germline mutation carriers, 30% were BL1, 40% were BL2, and 30% were M.

Conclusions: TNBCtype-4 is associated with significantly different pCR rates for the different subtypes, with BL1 and LAR displaying the best and worse responses to NACT, respectively. Clin Cancer Res; 24(8); 1845–52. ©2018 AACR.