bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Philosophy of religion and the scientific turn
Authors: Visala Aku , Vainio Olli-Pekka
Published: November 2018

Traditionally, analytic philosophy of religion has focused almost solely on specifically philosophical questions about religion. These include the existence of God and divine attributes, religious language, and the justification of religious beliefs, just to mention a few. Recently, many scholars in the field have begun to engage more directly with scientific results. We suggest that this is a promising direction for philosophy of religion to take. Nevertheless, we want to warn philosophy of religion against the excessive focus on methodology that has preoccupied the “science and religion dialogue” in theology. Instead of attempting to formulate a general methodology for all possible engagements between philosophy of religion and the sciences, philosophers of religion would do well to focus on local and particular themes. Since there is no single method in philosophy and since scientific disciplines that have religious relevance vary in their methods as well, progress can be made only if philosophical tools are employed to analyse particular and clearly demarcated questions.
EU policies concerning Lebanon and the bilateral cooperation on migration and security – new challenges calling for new institutional practices?
Authors: Seeberg Peter
Published: November 2018

Arguing that a security–stability nexus is a dominant theme in shaping the EU’s foreign policy approach towards recent challenges in the Mediterranean, the article applies a historical institutionalist theoretical framework when analysing EU policies concerning Lebanon. The article discusses how the EU–Lebanese cooperation in the light of the unstable political environment in Lebanon is being impacted by the Syrian crisis and how this has been dealt with by EU institutions. It is argued that significant changes in the EU’s policies and practices over recent years have taken place. Related to the EU–Lebanon Association Council decision of November 2016 launching the EU–Lebanon Compact, new institutional systems and practices are established regarding cooperation within areas where the EU and Lebanon share common interests. Finally, it is shown that the EU’s institutional setup in connection with the Compact represents a pragmatic approach, which, dealing with a crisis situation, aims at making concrete and tangible practices possible.
Implantation of defined activities of phosphorus 32 with reduced target damage
Authors: Heesch Daniel , Rogalla Detlef , Lenders Thomas , Meijer Jan , Happel Patrick
Published: November 2018

Materials doped with the unstable isotope phosphorus 32 are promising candidates for use in brachytherapeutic applications. One way to dope a material with 32P is by ion implantation. However, the bombardment of the target with ions other than 32P due to impurities of the ion beam leads to unnecessary damages of the target, which might reduce its potential for medical applications. Furthermore, implanting a pre-selected activity of an unstable isotope into a target requires the repeated determination of the target’s activity, which requires removing the target from the implantation chamber. This prolongs the total implantation time and requires handling the radioactive target multiple times, which in turn increases the risk of accidental exposure. We have incorporated an online-detector system into the implantation chamber of a 60 kV ion implanter that allowed us to determine the activity of the target without removing the target from the implantation chamber. We then used this system to investigate the implantation of ions with m = 38 u—instead of ions with m = 32 u—to reduce the fraction of other ions than 32P implanted into the target to reduce the induced damages.
Modeling and simulation of arc and contact wire molten pool behavior during pantograph lowering process
Authors: Xu Pan , Yang Zefeng , Wei Wenfu , Gao Guoqiang , Wu Guangning
Published: November 2018

Contact wire is an essential part of traction power supply system in the electrified railway, which on the one hand transmits the electrical energy, and on the other hand plays as a smooth track for the current collection strip. In the daily operation of the electrified train maintenance, the contact wire suffers from the arcing ablation during the pantograph lowering process. Potential contact wire breakdown might take place. In this paper, the surface erosion of the contact wire by the pantograph arcing was studied numerically. A multi-physical model dedicated to the contact wire erosion issues was established, with the process of heat transfer, phase transition, and liquid metal flow taken into account. Characteristics of the surface erosion, the temperature field as well as the flow field under different current conditions were studied respectively. Particularly, the Marangoni effects on molten pool evolutions were examined, which could have a significant influence on the final erosion characteristics. This work might be helpful for the further understanding of the basic physical process of the contact wire erosion by the pantograph arcing, and as well as providing a meaningful reference for the performance improvement of the current collection system.
Role of electron quantization on plasma shielding potentials
Authors: Hussain M. S. , Hussain A. , Iqbal Z. , Murtaza G.
Published: November 2018

Using a moving test charge approach in the magnetized electron ion plasma, the shielding potential in the presence of an ion acoustic mode around a test charge has been studied using a kinetic model incorporating electron quantization effects. Electron quantization effects not only modify the dielectric response function of the ion-acoustic waves but also affect the Debye shielding potential and wake field potential significantly. It is observed that the quantization factor enhances the Debye shielding potential but reduces the wake field potential. For practical applications, the results have been studied for astrophysical plasmas.
Multistep and multiscale electron transfer and localization dynamics at a model electrolyte/metal interface
Authors: King Sarah B. , Broch Katharina , Demling Angelika , Stähler Julia
Published: November 2018

The lifetime, coupling, and localization dynamics of electronic states in molecular films near metal electrodes fundamentally determine their propensity to act as precursors or reactants in chemical reactions, crucial for a detailed understanding of charge transport and degradation mechanisms in batteries. In the current study, we investigate the formation dynamics of small polarons and their role as intermediate electronic states in thin films of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on Cu(111) using time- and angle-resolved two-photon photoemission spectroscopy. Upon photoexcitation, a delocalized DMSO electronic state is initially populated two monolayers from the Cu surface, becoming a small polaron on a 200 fs time scale, consistent with localization due to vibrational dynamics of the DMSO film. The small polaron is a precursor state for an extremely long-lived and weakly coupled multilayer electronic state, with a lifetime of several seconds, thirteen orders of magnitude longer than the small polaron. Although the small polaron in DMSO has a lifetime of 140 fs, its role as a precursor state for long-lived electronic states could make it an important intermediate in multistep battery reactivity.
Glycerol electrooxidation on Pd modified Au surfaces in alkaline media: Effect of the deposition method
Authors: Mello Gisele A. B. , Busó-Rogero Carlos , Herrero Enrique , Feliu J. M.
Published: November 2018

The catalytic effect of Pd on gold electrodes for glycerol oxidation is evaluated for Pd-Au surfaces prepared using three different methods: irreversible adsorption of palladium by a simple immersion of a gold electrode in palladium solution, the deposition of palladium on the gold substrate by a step potential from 1 to 0.75 V, and the forced deposition of palladium on the gold electrode with the help of a reducing hydrogen atmosphere. Voltammetry has been used for the electrochemical characterization of the Pd-Au deposits and to determine its reactivity towards glycerol oxidation, whereas FTIR experiments have allowed detecting adsorbed species and products formed during the oxidation reaction. Pd-Au surfaces prepared by irreversible adsorption are the electrodes that show the highest activity for the glycerol complete oxidation to carbonate, whereas Pd-Au surfaces made by the step potential are the catalyst that exhibits the highest rate for the formation and adsorption CO before carbonate production, poisoning the surface and diminishing their electrocatalytic properties. In addition to carbonate, glycerate, glycolate, and formate are detected as oxidation products. The integrated bands of the spectra are used to give quantitative information for comparing the product distribution of the different Pd-Au deposits prepared.
The design of a wide bandwidth time marker generator
Authors: Huang Lei , Tian Shulin , Liu Ke , Guo Guangkun , Xiao Yindong , Zhao Wenhao , Yang Xing
Published: November 2018

The Time Marker Generator (TMG) is an important instrument that is used to calibrate the time base of an oscilloscope. If a direct digital frequency synthesizer is used to generate the necessary waveforms, there is serious distortion in the generated square wave when the ratio of the sampling frequency to the output frequency is non-integer. In addition, the look-up table (LUT) in the direct digital waveform synthesizer needs a large storage capacity to generate a narrow triangular wave at a low output frequency. This paper proposes a design that will generate the time marker whose samples are synthesized by real-time calculation instead of storing them in a LUT. We also propose an M waveform data synthesizer with a parallel structure (M-WDSPS) to reduce the operating clock frequency of the field programmable gate array (FPGA). We built a 4-WDSPS TMG based on this design and reduced the required clock frequency from 1 GHz to 250 MHz, thus making the implementation possible in an FPGA. Our proposed TMG design can provide square wave, pulse wave, narrow triangular wave, and linear triangular wave with different amplitudes in two operating modes: normal mode and highlight mode. The TMG we constructed can provide the time marker with an output frequency range from 10 mHz to 111 MHz, a rising/falling edge time lower than 1 ns, regardless of whether the output frequency is low or high, and a frequency stability lower than 0.1 ppm.
Field-theoretic simulations of bottlebrush copolymers
Authors: Spencer Russell K. W. , Matsen Mark W.
Published: November 2018

Traditional particle-based simulations struggle with large bottlebrush copolymers, consisting of many side chains grafted to a backbone. Field-theoretical simulations (FTS) allow us to overcome the computational demands in order to calculate their equilibrium behavior. We consider bottlebrushes where all grafts are symmetric diblock copolymers, focusing on the order-disorder transition (ODT) and the size of ordered domains. Increasing the number of grafts and decreasing the spacing between them both raise the transition temperature. The ODT and lamellar period asymptotically approach constants as the number of grafts increases. As the spacing between grafts becomes large, the bottlebrushes behave like diblock copolymers, and as it becomes small, they behave like starblock copolymers. In between, the period increases, reaching a maximum when the spacing is approximately 0.35 times the length of the grafts. A comparison of FTS with mean-field calculations allows us to assess the effect of compositional fluctuations. Fluctuations suppress ordering, while having little effect on the period, as is the case for diblock copolymers.
A hybrid probe system for quantifying plasma parameters in a 13.56 MHz capacitive coupled magnetized plasma
Authors: Joshi J. K. , Binwal S. , Karkari S. K. , Kumar Sunil
Published: November 2018

A hybrid probe comprising of a combination of dual cylindrical and an emissive probe is developed to characterize magnetized plasma parameters in a 13.56 MHz capacitive coupled radio-frequency (RF) discharge, operated in push-pull configuration. The obtained plasma density has been verified against a standard resonance hairpin probe. It is found that under weak magnetic field, the plasma densities are in good agreement with the hairpin probe but deviate as the magnetic field increases. A brief discussion has been presented to explain this feature. The advantage of a hybrid probe circuit over the conventional triple Langmuir probe operated in RF plasma is also discussed.
Tearing modes stabilized by sawtooth activity
Authors: Yang Xiaoqing , Zhou Deng
Published: November 2018

Control of the tearing mode by sawtooth activity has been achieved in the Joint European Torus tokamak experiments. It has been shown that the tearing mode can be stabilized by short-period sawtooth oscillation. Based on the experimental results, a model for the tearing mode stabilized by sawtooth activity has been proposed, which mainly focuses on the periodic variation of the current during sawtooth activity. Both the current oscillation and the induced electric field which is due to the rapid variation of the current play important roles in the tearing mode stabilization.
Quantifying conformations of ester vibrational probes with hydrogen-bond-induced Fermi resonances
Authors: Ghosh Anup , Cohn Bar , Prasad Amit K. , Chuntonov Lev
Published: November 2018

Solvatochromic shifts of local vibrational probes report on the strength of the surrounding electric fields and the probe’s hydrogen bonding status. Stretching vibrational mode of the ester carbonyl group is a popular solvatochromic reporter used in the studies of peptides and proteins. Small molecules, used to calibrate the response of the vibrational probes, sometimes involve Fermi resonances (FRs) induced by inter-molecular interactions. In the present work, we focus on the scenario where FR does not appear in the infrared spectrum of the ester carbonyl stretching mode in aprotic solvents; however, it is intensified when a hydrogen bond with the reporter is established. When two molecules form hydrogen bonds to the same carbonyl oxygen atom, FR leads to strong hybridization of the involved modes and splitting of the absorption peak. Spectral overlap between the Fermi doublets associated with singly and doubly hydrogen-bonded carbonyl groups significantly complicates quantifying different hydrogen-bonded conformations. We employed a combination of linear and third-order (2DIR) infrared spectroscopy with chemometrics analysis to reveal the individual line shapes and to estimate the occupations of the hydrogen-bonded conformations in methyl acetate, a model small molecule. We identified a hydrogen-bond-induced FR in complexes of methyl acetate with alcohols and water and found that FR is lifted in larger molecules used for control experiments—cholesteryl stearate and methyl cyanoacetate. Applying this methodology to analyze acetonitrile-water solutions revealed that when dissolved in neat water, methyl acetate occupies a single hydrogen-bonding conformation, which is in contrast to the conclusions of previous studies. Our approach can be generally used when FRs prevent direct quantification of the hydrogen bonding status of the vibrational probe.
Biosorption of residual cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin antineoplastic drugs in urine after chemotherapy treatment
Authors: Folens Karel , Abebe Alebel , Tang Jingyue , Ronsse Frederik , Du Laing Gijs
Published: November 2018

Environmental contextPlatinum complexes are widely used to treat cancer; however, these compounds are also rapidly excreted in the urine of patients and can therefore enter waterways, presenting a toxic hazard to the environment. The biopolymer chitosan was found to be an effective and fast adsorbent for capturing multiple platinum complexes currently applied in medicine. This new approach using biomaterials is proposed to treat such drug residues while at the same time recovering the valuable metal from urine.
AbstractThe majority of platinum used in antineoplastic drugs is rapidly excreted through the urine. These residual platinum compounds are highly toxic, and may eventually reach the aquatic environment if not remediated. Furthermore, platinum is a precious metal that is also relatively scarce, and it is therefore also economically worthwhile to capture and recycle it. We propose that biomass-derived adsorbents would be effective for recovering platinum from diluted streams, including synthetic human urine. Compared with ultrapure water, the salts and small biomolecules present in urine pose additional competition for active binding on the biosorbents’ surface. Chitosan, biochar, wood ash and granular activated carbon were found to effectively adsorb between 0.23 and 0.97mgg−1 inorganic PtIV when a minimal adsorbent dose of 10gL−1 was applied. The fastest adsorption rate was observed using chitosan (k2=728gmg−1min−1), followed by wood ash (k2=49.4gmg−1min−1) and biochar (k2=6.18gmg−1min−1). Substantial differences in platinum recovery were observed among inorganic PtIV, cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin, which indicates that the adsorbate speciation is highly important for establishing a hydrometallurgical purification technique.
Understanding and measuring uptake and coverage of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis delivery among adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Dunbar Megan S. , Kripke Katharine , Haberer Jessica , Castor Delivette , Dalal Shona , Mukoma Wanjiru , Mullick Saiqa , Patel Pragna , Reed Jason , Subedar Hasina , Were Daniel , Warren Mitchell , Torjesen Kristine
Published: November 2018

In response to World Health Organization (WHO) guidance recommending oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for all individuals at substantial risk for HIV infection, significant investments are being made to expand access to oral PrEP globally, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Some have interpreted early monitoring reports from new programs delivering oral PrEP to adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) as suggestive of low uptake. However, a lack of common definitions complicates interpretation of oral PrEP uptake and coverage measures, because various indicators with different meanings and uses are used interchangeably. Furthermore, operationalising these measures in real-world settings is challenged by the difficulties in defining the denominator for measuring uptake and coverage among AGYW, due to the lack of data and experience required to identify the subset of AGYW at substantial risk of HIV infection. This paper proposes an intervention-centric cascade as a framework for developing a common lexicon of metrics for uptake and coverage of oral PrEP among AGYW. In codifying these indicators, approaches to clearly define metrics for uptake and coverage are outlined, and the discussion on ‘low’ uptake is reframed to focus on achieving the highest possible proportion of AGYW using oral PrEP when they need and want it Recommendations are also provided for making increased investments in implementation research to better quantify the sub-group of AGYW in potential need of oral PrEP.and for improving monitoring systems to more efficiently address bottlenecks in the service delivery of oral PrEP to AGYW so that implementation can be taken to scale.
Cell size control driven by the circadian clock and environment in cyanobacteria
Authors: Martins Bruno M. C. , Tooke Amy K. , Thomas Philipp , Locke James C. W.
Published: November 2018

How cells maintain their size has been extensively studied under constant conditions. In the wild, however, cells rarely experience constant environments. Here, we examine how the 24-h circadian clock and environmental cycles modulate cell size control and division timings in the cyanobacterium
Synechococcus elongatus
using single-cell time-lapse microscopy. Under constant light, wild-type cells follow an apparent sizer-like principle. Closer inspection reveals that the clock generates two subpopulations, with cells born in the subjective day following different division rules from cells born in subjective night. A stochastic model explains how this behavior emerges from the interaction of cell size control with the clock. We demonstrate that the clock continuously modulates the probability of cell division throughout day and night, rather than solely applying an on−off gate to division, as previously proposed. Iterating between modeling and experiments, we go on to identify an effective coupling of the division rate to time of day through the combined effects of the environment and the clock on cell division. Under naturally graded light−dark cycles, this coupling narrows the time window of cell divisions and shifts divisions away from when light levels are low and cell growth is reduced. Our analysis allows us to disentangle, and predict the effects of, the complex interactions between the environment, clock, and cell size control.
Comparative genomics reveals the molecular determinants of rapid growth of the cyanobacteriumSynechococcus elongatusUTEX 2973
Authors: Ungerer Justin , Wendt Kristen E. , Hendry John I. , Maranas Costas D. , Pakrasi Himadri B.
Published: November 2018

Significance

There has been recent interest in fast-growing microbes to accelerate discoveries in medicine, biology, and biotechnology. Additionally, microbes with rapid-growth properties are of significant industrial interest as a chassis for bioproduction. While such microbes have been identified, the determinants of their rapid growth remain poorly understood. In this study, we have elucidated the molecular basis for the rapid growth ofSynechococcus2973, a fast-growing oxygenic photosynthetic organism, and applied these insights to significantly enhance the growth rate of a related model cyanobacterium,Synechococcus7942. Such engineered photosynthetic microbes are expected to open the doors for significantly higher productivity under sustainable conditions.
A preliminary pragmatic model to evaluate poetry translation
Authors: Pallavi Kiran , Mojibur Rahman
Published: November 2018

The article presents a Preliminary Pragmatic Model (PPM) with the practical levels of pragmatic features. Poetry translation pose great difficulty in retaining the ‘extra-linguistic features’ of the source text and target text. When placing more emphasis on linguistic features, ‘extra-linguistics’ are ignored by the evaluators. This lack is largely due to the non authentication of pragmatics of the languages involved and the non-development of ‘extra-linguistic’ parameters for evaluation. Focusing on this fact, the study takes pragmatic as the common denominator between poetry and translation, and develops a pragmatic model. The model adopts the concept and objective from the prominent Translation Quality Assessment (TQA) model of Juliane House, and the two models of Hossein Vahid Dastjerdi and his team: (a) Practical Model for Translation Analysis and Assessment of Poetic Discourse, and (b) Semiotic Model for Poetry Translation. The model is an extended part of Vahid’s model with pragmatic (features) layering. The article is prefaced with a brief description of the pragmatic features and functions to explain how and why it matters to compare poetry translation. Later, the effectiveness of the model is tested with a randomly-selected short poem by Gulzar and its English translation by Nirupama Dutt. Gulzar is an Indian poet writing in Hindustani (a mix of Hindi and Urdu). Versing mostly in free style, he makes his poems pragmatically poignant with unusual imagery. Evaluating his poems through the model verifies its working. The findings (tabulated, compared, and discussed) show literal translation of metaphors that becomes displaced as well as losing the sense in the poem. Thus, the translation misses the pragmatic force of Gulzar’s philosophy and does not achieve dynamic equivalence. The study recommends the application of pragmatic procedure for evaluation of poetry translation and offer new possibilities in translation research.
Epidermal γδ T cells originate from yolk sac hematopoiesis and clonally self-renew in the adult
Authors: Gentek Rebecca , Ghigo Clément , Hoeffel Guillaume , Jorquera Audrey , Msallam Rasha , Wienert Stephan , Klauschen Frederick , Ginhoux Florent , Bajénoff Marc
Published: November 2018

The murine epidermis harbors two immune cell lineages, Langerhans cells (LCs) and γδ T cells known as dendritic epidermal T cells (DETCs). LCs develop from both early yolk sac (YS) progenitors and fetal liver monocytes before locally self-renewing in the adult. For DETCs, the mechanisms of homeostatic maintenance and their hematopoietic origin are largely unknown. Here, we exploited multicolor fate mapping systems to reveal that DETCs slowly turn over at steady state. Like for LCs, homeostatic maintenance of DETCs is achieved by clonal expansion of tissue-resident cells assembled in proliferative units. The same mechanism, albeit accelerated, facilitates DETC replenishment upon injury. Hematopoietic lineage tracing uncovered that DETCs are established independently of definitive hematopoietic stem cells and instead originate from YS hematopoiesis, again reminiscent of LCs. DETCs thus resemble LCs concerning their maintenance, replenishment mechanisms, and hematopoietic development, suggesting that the epidermal microenvironment exerts a lineage-independent influence on the initial seeding and homeostatic maintenance of its resident immune cells.
Impact and usage of the shear thickening fluid (STF) material in damping vibration of bolted flange joints
Authors: Guo Yacong , Wei Yanpeng , Zou Jinlong , Huang Chenguang , Wu Xianqian , Liu Zishang , Yang Zhe
Published: November 2018

Bolted flange joints in fuzes undergo high acceleration during penetration, along with nonlinear responses which are forced reaction, structural vibrations, and shock effects. Vibrations of high frequencies aggregate noises and make it harder for the signal processing of fuzes. This study proposed an effective and innovative method of suppressing vibrations of high frequencies caused by impact loading. Shear thickening fluids (STFs) were stuffed into bolted flange joints. A damper of 57 vol/vol% dense silica particle-ethylene glycol suspension was inserted into gaps between the surfaces of the incident bar and the flange. Based on a modified split Hopkinson pressure bar, pulse widths, amplitudes, and structural frequencies of both impact and vibrational response regions were evaluated to examine the effectiveness of the STF damper. The amplitude and pulse width in the vibrational response region were significantly reduced, since this suspension forms jamming clusters subjected to impulses, attenuating the shockwaves. The STF fillers under various lengths of projectiles from 50 mm–400 mm were discussed to validate effectiveness. Further comparisons with epoxy resin fillers with various curing times indicated that the STF inhibited high frequency oscillations as a protector, and damped the dominant frequency of the original structure. However, experimental data showed that the transmission pulse of the incident bar was similar to joints without protection, indicating that the force transmission ratio was not affected by the fillers. These results show the feasibility of STFs as energy absorbers for vibration reduction of bolted flange joints.
Research on Pin-load Distribution for Countersunk Joint Considering Accumulated Damage of Composite Laminates
Authors: Liu X D , Zhang H M , Liu N , Li L J
Published: November 2018

The paper presents a numerical simulation about the damage process of the multiple countersunk bolted double-lap joints based on the cumulative damage theory which is widely used to estimate the mechanical strength of fastener joints, the Hashin’s failure criterion, and the Tan’s stiffness degradation model, and investigates the influence of the composite materials cumulative damage on the pin-load distribution. The numerical model of composite joints has been established in the commercial finite element software ANSYS to research the influence of the composite cumulative damage on the pin-load distribution, to assess the feasibility of integral analysis as well as to evaluate the error and rationality of traditional methods by applying the global analysis technology. The conclusions demonstrate that the results obtained with the method of composite cumulative damage considering properties degradation are close to those of conventional methods. The pin-load distribution is characterized by “Bolts at both ends bearing greater load, the central bolts bearing smaller load” during the whole loading process. Using conventional methods to study the pin-load distribution is easy and efficient to meet the needs of engineering application.
The effect of using natural pozzolan-based cement concretes on zinc phosphated rebars corrosion
Authors: al-Swaidani Aref , al-Hajeh Tamer , Meziab Ayman
Published: November 2018

Studies on using zinc phosphating in reinforced concrete (RC) field are still in the early stages. Use of natural pozzolan (NP) as cement replacement is growing rapidly in the construction industry due to its economical, ecological and technical benefits. Four phosphating baths were prepared; Zn phosphate (P-Zn), Zn-Ni phosphate (P-Zn-Ni), Zn-Cu phosphate (P-Zn-Cu) and Zn-Mn phosphate (P-Zn-Mn) respectively. Ø14 mm reinforcing steel bars were treated at 55-60 °C for 15 min in the phosphating baths. Concrete specimens were produced with different levels of NP; 0% (control specimen), 10 %, 20% and 30%, respectively. The effectiveness of using both NP and P-Zn coatings in retarding rebar corrosion has been investigated using an accelerated test after 28 and 90 days concrete curing. In addition, the bond strength between the concrete and the rebar was investigated by the pull-out test. Test results revealed that the concretes containing higher replacement levels of NP and rebars treated in bi-cationic baths exhibited corrosion initiation periods several times longer than the control specimens with uncoated steel and a zero NP content. Moreover, the results showed that the bond strength was not affected by adding NP and P-Zn coatings. SEM analysis was employed, as well.
Finite element analysis of rectangular reinforced concrete columns wrapped with FRP composites
Authors: Gora Abdurra’uf M , Jaganathan Jayaprakash , Anwar M P , Alengaram U Johnson
Published: November 2018

Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) wrapping of reinforced concrete (RC) columns has increasingly become the most suitable method used to strengthen and rehabilitate RC columns. It is clear that limited studies have investigated the behaviour of eccentrically loaded RC columns wrapped with FRP composites. In the present study, a three-dimensional finite element (FE) model was developed to simulate the behaviour of rectangular RC columns wrapped with glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) sheets under concentric and eccentric loading. The FE model was developed in the finite element analysis software ANSYS. The variables within the FE model are the number of GFRP layers and the magnitude of load eccentricity. The FE analysis results showed that GFRP wrapping significantly improved the performance of the strengthened columns by delaying concrete rupture. The presence of load eccentricity reduced the load carrying capacity and performance of the strengthened RC columns. The FE model correlated well with the stress distribution trends observed in the literature.
BayMAP: a Bayesian hierarchical model for the analysis of PAR-CLIP data
Authors: Huessler Eva-Maria , Schäfer Martin , Schwender Holger , Landgraf Pablo
Published: November 2018

Motivation

Photoactivatable-Ribonucleoside-Enhanced Crosslinking and Immunoprecipitation (PAR-CLIP) is a biochemical method for detecting interaction sites of proteins with mRNA. This method introduces T-to-C substitutions at sequenced cDNA that help to detect binding sites on mRNA. However, T-to-C substitutions can also occur due to other reasons such as mismatches or SNPs. Only few statistical procedures exist for detecting binding sites in PAR-CLIP data. Most of these methods do not account for other types of substitutions than those induced by PAR-CLIP, and therefore, also report positions with high T-to-C substitution rates, e.g. SNPs, as binding sites. Moreover, none of these procedures allow to include additional information, e.g. the type of mRNA region, relevant for the biology of microRNA-binding sites.

Results

We have developed BayMAP, a procedure based on a fully Bayesian hierarchical model that takes other sources of substitutions into account. Furthermore, this model enables the incorporation of additional information into the analysis of PAR-CLIP data. This incorporation does not only permit a better detection of binding sites, but also a better understanding of the data and the biology of binding sites. In applications to simulated PAR-CLIP data, BayMAP distinguishes binding sites from noise better than existing methods. Additionally, it yields good estimates of the influence of the additional information. We here demonstrate BayMAP’s usability for real datasets even when noisy data is present.

Availability and implementation

BayMAP is freely available as an R package at http://stat.math.uni-duesseldorf.de/baymap.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Hippocampal Wdr1 Deficit Impairs Learning and Memory by Perturbing F-actin Depolymerization in Mice
Authors: Wang Jie , Kou Xiao-Lin , Chen Cheng , Wang Mei , Qi Cui , Wang Jing , You Wei-Yan , Hu Gang , Chen Jiong , Gao Jun
Published: November 2018

WD repeat protein 1 (Wdr1), known as a cofactor of actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF)/cofilin, is conserved among eukaryotes, and it plays a critical role in the dynamic reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. However, the function of Wdr1 in the central nervous system remains elusive. Using Wdr1 conditional knockout mice, we demonstrated that Wdr1 plays a significant role in regulating synaptic plasticity and memory. The knockout mice exhibited altered reversal spatial learning and fear responses. Moreover, the Wdr1 CKO mice showed significant abnormalities in spine morphology and synaptic function, including enhanced hippocampal long-term potentiation and impaired long-term depression. Furthermore, we observed that Wdr1 deficiency perturbed actin rearrangement through regulation of the ADF/cofilin activity. Taken together, these results indicate that Wdr1 in the hippocampal CA1 area plays a critical role in actin dynamics in associative learning and postsynaptic receptor availability.
Measles Immunity at 4.5 Years of Age Following Vaccination at 9 and 15–18 Months of Age Among Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)–infected, HIV-exposed–uninfected, and HIV-unexposed Children
Authors: Mutsaerts Eleonora A M L , Nunes Marta C , van Rijswijk Martijn N , Klipstein-Grobusch Kerstin , Otwombe Kennedy , Cotton Mark F , Violari Avy , Madhi Shabir A
Published: November 2018

Background

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–infected and HIV-exposed–uninfected (HEU) children may be at increased risk of measles infection due to waning of immunity following vaccination. We evaluated persistence of antibodies to measles vaccination at 4.5 years of age in HIV-unexposed, HEU, and HIV-infected children with CD4+ ≥25% previously randomized to immediate antiretroviral therapy (ART) interrupted at 12 months (HIV/Immed-ART-12), 24 months (HIV/Immed-ART-24), or when clinically/immunologically indicated (HIV/Def-ART). The HIV/Def-ART group initiated ART by median 5.8 (interquartile range, 4.4–10.3) months of age.

Methods

In this study, HIV-unexposed (n = 95), HEU (n = 84), HIV/Immed-ART-12 (n = 70), HIV/Immed-ART-24 (n = 70), and HIV/Def-ART (n = 62) children were scheduled to receive measles vaccination at age 9 and 15–18 months. Antimeasles serum immunoglobulin G titers were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at 4.5 years.

Results

Compared with HIV-unexposed children (2860 mIU/mL), measles antibody geometric mean titers (GMTs) were significantly lower in both HIV/Immed-ART-12 (571; P < .001) and HIV/Immed-ART-24 (1136; P < .001) but similar in the HIV/Def-ART (2777) and HEU (3242) groups. Furthermore, compared with HIV-unexposed, antibody titers ≥330 mIU/mL (ie, presumed serocorrelate for protection; 99%) were also significantly lower in HIV/Immed-ART-12 (70%; P < .001) and HIV/Immed-ART-24 (83%; P < .001) but similar in the HIV/Def-ART (90%) and HEU (98%) groups.

Conclusions

HIV-infected children in whom ART was interrupted at either 12 or 24 months had lower GMTs and lower proportions with seroprotective titers than HIV-unexposed children, indicating a potential downside of ART treatment interruption.

Clinical Trials Registration

NCT00099658 and NCT00102960.
Testosterone in Men With Chronic Hepatitis C Infection and After Hepatitis C Viral Clearance
Authors: Chaudhury Chloe S , Mee Thomas , Chairez Cheryl , McLaughlin Mary , Silk Rachel , Gross Chloe , Kattakuzhy Sarah , Rosenthal Elana , Kottilil Shyam , Stanley Takara L , Hadigan Colleen
Published: November 2018

Background

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatic dysfunction are associated with low total and free testosterone (TT and FT) and high sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). However, little is known about changes in testosterone following successful HCV treatment.

Methods

We evaluated testosterone levels and the prevalence of low testosterone in a cohort of 327 men with chronic HCV infection (human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] coinfection = 150) and in a subset of 85 men with testosterone levels obtained pre-HCV treatment and after sustained virologic response (SVR). Median follow-up was 36 months.

Results

Participants with active HCV at baseline had higher TT (P < .0001) and SHBG (P < .0001) compared with participants who had achieved SVR, whereas FT did not differ. Low TT (<10.4 nmol/L) was more prevalent in participants with SVR compared with active HCV (P = .002); however, low FT (<0.1735 nmol/L) was common (50% active HCV, 43% SVR) and did not different between groups. For participants with longitudinal determinations, TT and SHBG decreased significantly (P < .0001) while FT remained unchanged post-SVR. Low FT persisted after SVR (pre-treatment 58%, post-SVR 54%, P = .72). HIV status and change in aspartate aminotrasferase-to-platelet ratio were significant independent predictors of change in FT following SVR.

Conclusions

During active HCV infection, testosterone deficiency may be masked due to elevated SHBG. Despite improvements in SHBG following SVR, low FT was common and persisted after HCV clearance, indicating the need for enhanced awareness and screening using estimates of FT following successful treatment of chronic HCV.

Clinical Trials Registration

NCT01350648.
Development and Validation of a Deep Learning–based Automatic Detection Algorithm for Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis on Chest Radiographs
Authors: Hwang Eui Jin , Park Sunggyun , Jin Kwang-Nam , Kim Jung Im , Choi So Young , Lee Jong Hyuk , Goo Jin Mo , Aum Jaehong , Yim Jae-Joon , Park Chang Min ,   Deep Learning-Based Automatic Detection Algorithm Development and Evaluation Group, Kim Dong Hyeon , Woo Woo , Choi Choi , Hwang In Pyung , Song Yong Sub , Lim Lim , Kim Kim , Wi Jae Yeon , Oh Su Suk , Kang Mi-Jin
Published: November 2018

Background

Detection of active pulmonary tuberculosis on chest radiographs (CRs) is critical for the diagnosis and screening of tuberculosis. An automated system may help streamline the tuberculosis screening process and improve diagnostic performance.

Methods

We developed a deep learning–based automatic detection (DLAD) algorithm using 54c221 normal CRs and 6768 CRs with active pulmonary tuberculosis that were labeled and annotated by 13 board-certified radiologists. The performance of DLAD was validated using 6 external multicenter, multinational datasets. To compare the performances of DLAD with physicians, an observer performance test was conducted by 15 physicians including nonradiology physicians, board-certified radiologists, and thoracic radiologists. Image-wise classification and lesion-wise localization performances were measured using area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the alternative free-response ROC curves, respectively. Sensitivities and specificities of DLAD were calculated using 2 cutoffs (high sensitivity [98%] and high specificity [98%]) obtained through in-house validation.

Results

DLAD demonstrated classification performance of 0.977–1.000 and localization performance of 0.973–1.000. Sensitivities and specificities for classification were 94.3%–100% and 91.1%–100% using the high-sensitivity cutoff and 84.1%–99.0% and 99.1%–100% using the high-specificity cutoff. DLAD showed significantly higher performance in both classification (0.993 vs 0.746–0.971) and localization (0.993 vs 0.664–0.925) compared to all groups of physicians.

Conclusions

Our DLAD demonstrated excellent and consistent performance in the detection of active pulmonary tuberculosis on CR, outperforming physicians, including thoracic radiologists.
Calciphylaxis in a dialysis patient treated by intralesional and systemic sodium thiosulphate on top of multifactorial intervention
Authors: Galassi Andrea , Perna Francesco , De Nicola Enrico , Moneghini Laura , Sganzaroli Adriana B , Cozzolino Mario
Published: November 2018

Calciphylaxis, or calcific uraemic arteriolopathy (CUA), represents a life-threatening disease. Dialysis patients and those receiving warfarin are seen as populations at higher risk for CUA. Treatments for CUA are still uncertain despite the poor survival of the disease. Administration of intravenous sodium thiosulphate (STS) has been purposed to treat CUA in dialysis patients. Due to the poor tolerability of STS, characterized by nausea, hypocalcaemia, metabolic acidosis and QT-interval prolongation, its intralesional administration has been reported. We herein present the improvement of wounds in a haemodialysis patient affected by CUA, treated by multipronged intervention including both intravenous and intralesional STS.
Towards Automatic Data Format Transformations: Data Wrangling at Scale
Authors: Bogatu Alex , Paton Norman W , Fernandes Alvaro A A , Koehler Martin
Published: November 2018

Data wrangling is the process whereby data are cleaned and integrated for analysis. Data wrangling, even with tool support, is typically a labour intensive process. One aspect of data wrangling involves carrying out format transformations on attribute values, for example so that names or phone numbers are represented consistently. Recent research has developed techniques for synthesizing format transformation programs from examples of the source and target representations. This is valuable, but still requires a user to provide suitable examples, something that may be challenging in applications in which there are huge datasets or numerous data sources. In this paper, we investigate the automatic discovery of examples that can be used to synthesize format transformation programs. In particular, we propose two approaches to identifying candidate data examples and validating the transformations that are synthesized from them. The approaches are evaluated empirically using datasets from open government data.
Health concepts among socially disadvantaged children in France, Germany and Switzerland
Authors: Grimminger-Seidensticker Elke , Aceti Monica , Knobé Sandrine , Vieille Marchiset Gilles
Published: November 2018

As health concepts develop through exposure to, and experience with particular contexts, and as health concepts influence health behaviour, it is important for actors in health promotion programmes to understand an individual’s health concepts. This study focussed on health concepts among socially disadvantaged children in France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland—a hitherto less researched population group. We conducted focus groups with a total of 167 children aged 7–11 years (mean=8.76 years, SD=0.68). The aim of this study was to explore if the life situation across four different countries leads to similar health concepts, and how the particular, national health discourses are reflected in the children’s health concepts. The data were analysed through a structured qualitative content analysis and revealed four categories: ‘Symbols/symptoms of health/illness’, ‘Emotionality’, ‘Healthy/unhealthy practices’, and ‘Consequences of health problems’. The children’s health concepts are linked to concrete events and objects, and they are able to think in logical sequences. However, the children’s causal argumentation is uni-dimensional; they do not cover the complexity of the development of health problems. In particular, overweight stands for illness and is exclusively the result of unhealthy practices. In their concepts, the children reflect the national health promotion programme discourses about overweight. They seem to understand the messages of health education as ‘behaving well means being healthy’; however, such a health education message initiates accusations of ‘unhealthy persons’. In consequence, challenges for sensitive health education programmes (at school) are discussed.
Hierarchical B-spline complexes of discrete differential forms
Authors: Evans John A , Scott Michael A , Shepherd Kendrick M , Thomas Derek C , Vázquez Hernández Rafael
Published: November 2018

In this paper we introduce the hierarchical B-spline complex of discrete differential forms for arbitrary spatial dimension. This complex may be applied to the adaptive isogeometric solution of problems arising in electromagnetics and fluid mechanics. We derive a sufficient and necessary condition guaranteeing exactness of the hierarchical B-spline complex for arbitrary spatial dimension, and we derive a set of local, easy-to-compute and sufficient exactness conditions for the two-dimensional setting. We examine the stability properties of the hierarchical B-spline complex, and we find that it yields stable approximations of both the Maxwell eigenproblem and Stokes problem provided that the local exactness conditions are satisfied. We conclude by providing numerical results showing the promise of the hierarchical B-spline complex in an adaptive isogeometric solution framework.