bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Parvalbumin fast‐spiking interneurons are selectively altered by paediatric traumatic brain injury
Authors: Nichols Joshua , Bjorklund George Reed , Newbern Jason , Anderson Trent
Published: January 2018

Key points

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children remains a leading cause of death and disability and it remains poorly understood why children have worse outcomes and longer recover times.

TBI has shown to alter cortical excitability and inhibitory drive onto excitatory neurons, yet few studies have directly examined changes to cortical interneurons.

This is addressed in the present study using a clinically relevant model of severe TBI (controlled cortical impact) in interneuron cell type specific Cre‐dependent mice.

Mice subjected to controlled cortical impact exhibit specific loss of parvalbumin (PV) but not somatostatin immunoreactivity and cell density in the peri‐injury zone.

PV interneurons are primarily of a fast‐spiking (FS) phenotype that persisted in the peri‐injury zone but received less frequent inhibitory and stronger excitatory post‐synaptic currents.

The targeted loss of PV‐FS interneurons appears to be distinct from previous reports in adult mice suggesting that TBI‐induced pathophysiology is dependent on the age at time of impact.

Paediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability in children. Traditionally, ongoing neurodevelopment and neuroplasticity have been considered to confer children with an advantage following TBI. However, recent findings indicate that the paediatric brain may be more sensitive to brain injury. Inhibitory interneurons are essential for proper cortical function and are implicated in the pathophysiology of TBI, yet few studies have directly investigated TBI‐induced changes to interneurons themselves. Accordingly, in the present study, we examine how inhibitory neurons are altered following controlled cortical impact (CCI) in juvenile mice with targeted Cre‐dependent fluorescence labelling of interneurons (Vgat:Cre/Ai9 and PV:Cre/Ai6). Although CCI failed to alter the number of excitatory neurons or somatostatin‐expressing interneurons in the peri‐injury zone, it significantly decreased the density of parvalbumin (PV) immunoreactive cells by 71%. However, PV:Cre/Ai6 mice subjected to CCI showed a lower extent of fluorescence labelled cell loss. PV interneurons are predominantly of a fast‐spiking (FS) phenotype and, when recorded electrophysiologically from the peri‐injury zone, exhibited intrinsic properties similar to those of control neurons. Synaptically, CCI induced a decrease in inhibitory drive onto FS interneurons combined with an increase in the strength of excitatory events. The results of the present study indicate that CCI induced both a loss of PV interneurons and an even greater loss of PV expression. This suggests caution is required when interpreting changes in PV immunoreactivity alone as direct evidence of interneuronal loss. Furthermore, in contrast to reports in adults, TBI in the paediatric brain selectively alters PV‐FS interneurons, primarily resulting in a loss of interneuronal inhibition.
A mitochondrial‐targeted antioxidant improves myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity during prolonged low frequency force depression at low
Authors: Gandra Paulo G. , Shiah Amy A. , Nogueira Leonardo , Hogan Michael C.
Published: January 2018

Key points

Skeletal muscle contractile activity is associated with an enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation.

At very low , ROS generation by mitochondria can be elevated in intact cells.

An elevated intracellular oxidant activity may affect muscle force development and recovery from fatigue.

We treated intact single muscle fibres with a mitochondrial antioxidant and stimulated the fibres to contract at a low extracellular that is similar to the intracellular that is observed during moderate to intense exercise in vivo.

The mitochondrial antioxidant prevented a sustained decrease in the myofibrillar Ca2+ sensitivity and improved muscle submaximal force development after fatigue at low extracellular .

Skeletal muscle can develop a prolonged low frequency‐stimulation force depression (PLFFD) following fatigue‐inducing contractions. Increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in the development of PLFFD. During exercise the skeletal muscle intracellular decreases to relatively low levels, and can be further decreased when there is an impairment in O2 diffusion or availability, such as in certain chronic diseases and during exercise at high altitude. Since ROS generation by mitochondria is elevated at very low in cells, we tested the hypothesis that treatment of muscle fibres with a mitochondrial‐targeted antioxidant at a very low, near hypoxic, can attenuate PLFFD. We treated intact single fibres from mice with the mitochondrial‐specific antioxidant SS31, and measured force development and intracellular [Ca2+] 30 min after fatigue at an extracellular of ∼5 Torr. After 30 min following the end of the fatiguing contractions, fibres treated with SS31 showed significantly less impairment in force development compared to untreated fibres at submaximal frequencies of stimulation. The cytosolic peak [Ca2+] transients (peak [Ca2+]c) were equally decreased in both groups compared to pre‐fatigue values. The combined force and peak [Ca2+]c data demonstrated that myofibrillar Ca2+ sensitivity was diminished in the untreated fibres 30 min after fatigue compared to pre‐fatigue values, but Ca2+ sensitivity was unaltered in the SS31 treated fibres. These results demonstrate that at a very low , treatment of skeletal muscle fibres with a mitochondrial antioxidant prevents a decrease in the myofibrillar Ca2+ sensitivity, which alleviates the fatigue induced PLFFD.
New and interesting oribatid mites (Acari, Oribatida) from Hanoi (Northern Vietnam)
Authors: Ermilov Sergey G. , Stary Josef
Published: January 2018

The present study is based on oribatid mite material (Acari, Oribatida) collected from the city of Hanoi in Northern Vietnam. A list of identified taxa, including 68 species from 49 genera and 32 families, is presented; of these, ten species (Trhypochthonius japonicus, Nothrus oblongus, Hermanniella aliverdievae, Arthrodamaeus decemsetiger, Arcoppia fenestralis orientalis, Ramusella puertomonttensis, Allosuctobelba grandis, Scheloribates elegans, Neoribates gracilis, Pergalumna corniculata) and one genus (Trhypochthonius) are recorded in the Vietnamese fauna for the first time; seven species (Xenillus selgae, Arcoppia curtipila, Cycloppia granulata, Hammerella gracilis, Allosuctobelba tricuspidata, Ceratozetoides maximus, Protoribates hakonensis) and one genus (Ceratozetoides) are recorded in the Oriental region for the first time. Two new species belonging to the genera Allosuctobelba and Oribatella are described: Allosuctobelba alexanderkhaustovi sp. nov. differs from Allosuctobelba tricuspidata tricuspidata Aoki, 1984 in the rostrum having three to four lateral teeth and very long notogastral setae positioned in two parallel rows; Oribatella pavelklimovi sp. nov. differs from Oribatella kunsti Bernini, 1972 by the granulate body surface, setiform  aggenital setae and the dorsolateral position of notogastral setae lm and lp.
In VitroAntibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Non-diphtheriae Corynebacterium Isolates in Ontario, Canada, from 2011 to 2016
Authors: Neemuchwala Alefiya , Soares Deidre , Ravirajan Vithusha , Marchand-Austin Alex , Kus Julianne V. , Patel Samir N.
Published: January 2018

Non-diphtheriae Corynebacterium-associated disease has been increasingly observed and often presents a conundrum to the treating physician. Analysis of antibiotic susceptibility testing data for 1,970 clinicalCorynebacteriumisolates received between 2011 and 2016 revealed that empirical drug treatment options are limited to vancomycin and linezolid.Corynebacterium striatumwas the most frequently observed species during this study period, along withC. amycolatumandC. pseudodiphtheriticum/C. propinquum. Low levels of susceptibility to penicillin (14.5%), erythromycin (15.1%), and clindamycin (8.7%) were observed for non-diphtheriae Corynebacteriumspecies, while 3.0% of isolates were not susceptible to daptomycin. Similarly, 26.9% and 38.1% ofCorynebacteriumisolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, respectively. Our data show much lower susceptibility to penicillin than previously reported in the literature and an increasing number of isolates resistant to daptomycin, highlighting the need for continued antibiotic surveillance studies for appropriate patient management and treatment success.
Immune Monitoring of Infectious Complications in Transplant Patients: an Important Step towards Improved Clinical Management
Authors: Khanna Rajiv
Published: January 2018

Immune reconstitution following organ transplantation is absolutely critical in preventing infectious complications. However, understanding the kinetics of immune reconstitution and its potential impact on the clinical management of transplant patients remains a significant challenge. Over the last decade, various platform technologies have emerged which have provided important insights into the immune reconstitution kinetics in transplant patients. However, many of these technologies are too complicated and cumbersome to implement in a clinical setting. In this issue of the
Journal of Clinical Microbiology
, Chiereghin et al. (J. Clin. Microbiol. 56:e01040-17, 2018,
https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01040-17
) report the results of their evaluation of the QuantiFERON-CMV (QFN-CMV) assay to assess human cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific CD8
+
T-cell immunity in heart transplant recipients as a prognostic tool. These studies showed that patients with absence of global immune reactivity in the QFN-CMV assay were at a higher risk of developing CMV after discontinuing antiviral prophylaxis. Furthermore, failure to reconstitute CMV-specific immunity after resolution of the first episode of viremia was associated with viral relapse. These observations, along with other recent clinical studies utilizing the QFN-CMV assay, demonstrate that systematic monitoring of antiviral immunity can be successfully used as a prognostic tool and also to guide changes to the clinical management of transplant patients.
Casein Kinase 1α Mediates the Degradation of Receptors for Type I and Type II Interferons Caused by Hemagglutinin of Influenza A Virus
Authors: Xia Chuan , Wolf Jennifer J. , Vijayan Madhuvanthi , Studstill Caleb J. , Ma Wenjun , Hahm Bumsuk
Published: January 2018

Although influenza A virus (IAV) evades cellular defense systems to effectively propagate in the host, the viral immune-evasive mechanisms are incompletely understood. Our recent data showed that hemagglutinin (HA) of IAV induces degradation of type I IFN receptor 1 (IFNAR1). Here, we demonstrate that IAV HA induces degradation of type II IFN (IFN-γ) receptor 1 (IFNGR1), as well as IFNAR1, via casein kinase 1α (CK1α), resulting in the impairment of cellular responsiveness to both type I and II IFNs. IAV infection or transient HA expression induced degradation of both IFNGR1 and IFNAR1, whereas HA gene-deficient IAV failed to downregulate the receptors. IAV HA caused the phosphorylation and ubiquitination of IFNGR1, leading to the lysosome-dependent degradation of IFNGR1. Influenza viral HA strongly decreased cellular sensitivity to type II IFNs, as it suppressed the activation of STAT1 and the induction of IFN-γ-stimulated genes in response to exogenously supplied recombinant IFN-γ. Importantly, CK1α, but not p38 MAP kinase or protein kinase D2, was proven to be critical for HA-induced degradation of both IFNGR1 and IFNAR1. Pharmacologic inhibition of CK1α or small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based knockdown of CK1α repressed the degradation processes of both IFNGR1 and IFNAR1 triggered by IAV infection. Further, CK1α was shown to be pivotal for proficient replication of IAV. Collectively, the results suggest that IAV HA induces degradation of IFN receptors via CK1α, creating conditions favorable for viral propagation. Therefore, the study uncovers a new immune-evasive pathway of influenza virus.

IMPORTANCE
Influenza A virus (IAV) remains a grave threat to humans, causing seasonal and pandemic influenza. Upon infection, innate and adaptive immunity, such as the interferon (IFN) response, is induced to protect hosts against IAV infection. However, IAV seems to be equipped with tactics to evade the IFN-mediated antiviral responses, although the detailed mechanisms need to be elucidated. In the present study, we show that IAV HA induces the degradation of the type II IFN receptor IFNGR1 and thereby substantially attenuates cellular responses to IFN-γ. Of note, a cellular kinase, casein kinase 1α (CK1α), is crucial for IAV HA-induced degradation of both IFNGR1 and IFNAR1. Accordingly, CK1α is proven to positively regulate IAV propagation. Thus, this study unveils a novel strategy employed by IAV to evade IFN-mediated antiviral activities. These findings may provide new insights into the interplay between IAV and host immunity to impact influenza virus pathogenicity.
Spatiotemporally Heterogeneous Population Dynamics of Gut Bacteria Inferred from Fecal Time Series Data
Authors: Inamine Hidetoshi , Ellner Stephen P. , Newell Peter D. , Luo Yuan , Buchon Nicolas , Douglas Angela E.
Published: January 2018

A priority in gut microbiome research is to develop methods to investigate ecological processes shaping microbial populations in the host from readily accessible data, such as fecal samples. Here, we demonstrate that these processes can be inferred from the proportion of ingested microorganisms that is egested and their egestion time distribution, by using general mathematical models that link within-host processes to statistics from fecal time series. We apply this framework to
Drosophila melanogaster
and its gut bacterium
Acetobacter tropicalis
. Specifically, we investigate changes in their interactions following ingestion of a food bolus containing bacteria in a set of treatments varying the following key parameters: the density of exogenous bacteria ingested by the flies (low/high) and the association status of the host (axenic or monoassociated with
A. tropicalis
). At 5 h post-ingestion, ~35% of the intact bacterial cells have transited through the gut with the food bolus and ~10% are retained in a viable and culturable state, leaving ~55% that have likely been lysed in the gut. Our models imply that lysis and retention occur over a short spatial range within the gut when the bacteria are ingested from a low density, but more broadly in the host gut when ingested from a high density, by both gnotobiotic and axenic hosts. Our study illustrates how time series data complement the analysis of static abundance patterns to infer ecological processes as bacteria traverse the host. Our approach can be extended to investigate how different bacterial species interact within the host to understand the processes shaping microbial community assembly.

IMPORTANCE
A major challenge to our understanding of the gut microbiome in animals is that it is profoundly difficult to investigate the fate of ingested microbial cells as they travel through the gut. Here, we created mathematical tools to analyze microbial dynamics in the gut from the temporal pattern of their abundance in fecal samples, i.e., without direct observation of the dynamics, and validated them with
Drosophila
fruit flies. Our analyses revealed that over 5 h after ingestion, most bacteria have likely died in the host or have been egested as intact cells, while some living cells have been retained in the host. Bacterial lysis or retention occurred across a larger area of the gut when flies ingest bacteria from high densities than when flies ingest bacteria from low densities. Our mathematical tools can be applied to other systems, including the dynamics of gut microbial populations and communities in humans.
Secondary Metabolism and Interspecific Competition Affect Accumulation of Spontaneous Mutants in the GacS-GacA Regulatory System in
Pseudomonas protegens
Authors: Yan Qing , Lopes Lucas D. , Shaffer Brenda T. , Kidarsa Teresa A. , Vining Oliver , Philmus Benjamin , Song Chunxu , Stockwell Virginia O. , Raaijmakers Jos M. , McPhail Kerry L. , Andreote Fernando D. , Chang Jeff H. , Loper Joyce E.
Published: January 2018

Secondary metabolites are synthesized by many microorganisms and provide a fitness benefit in the presence of competitors and predators. Secondary metabolism also can be costly, as it shunts energy and intermediates from primary metabolism. In
Pseudomonas
spp., secondary metabolism is controlled by the GacS-GacA global regulatory system. Intriguingly, spontaneous mutations in
gacS
or
gacA
(Gac
−
mutants) are commonly observed in laboratory cultures. Here we investigated the role of secondary metabolism in the accumulation of Gac
−
mutants in
Pseudomonas protegens
strain Pf-5. Our results showed that secondary metabolism, specifically biosynthesis of the antimicrobial compound pyoluteorin, contributes significantly to the accumulation of Gac
−
mutants. Pyoluteorin biosynthesis, which poses a metabolic burden on the producer cells, but not pyoluteorin itself, leads to the accumulation of the spontaneous mutants. Interspecific competition also influenced the accumulation of the Gac
−
mutants: a reduced proportion of Gac
−
mutants accumulated when
P. protegens
Pf-5 was cocultured with
Bacillus subtilis
than in pure cultures of strain Pf-5. Overall, our study associated a fitness trade-off with secondary metabolism, with metabolic costs versus competitive benefits of production influencing the evolution of
P. protegens
, assessed by the accumulation of Gac
−
mutants.

IMPORTANCE
Many microorganisms produce antibiotics, which contribute to ecologic fitness in natural environments where microbes constantly compete for resources with other organisms. However, biosynthesis of antibiotics is costly due to the metabolic burdens of the antibiotic-producing microorganism. Our results provide an example of the fitness trade-off associated with antibiotic production. Under noncompetitive conditions, antibiotic biosynthesis led to accumulation of spontaneous mutants lacking a master regulator of antibiotic production. However, relatively few of these spontaneous mutants accumulated when a competitor was present. Results from this work provide information on the evolution of antibiotic biosynthesis and provide a framework for their discovery and regulation.
Simultaneous Binding of Multiple EF-Tu Copies to Translating Ribosomes in Live
Escherichia coli
Authors: Mustafi Mainak , Weisshaar James C.
Published: January 2018

In bacteria, elongation factor Tu is a translational cofactor that forms ternary complexes with aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA) and GTP. Binding of a ternary complex to one of four flexible L7/L12 units on the ribosome tethers a charged tRNA in close proximity to the ribosomal A site. Two sequential tests for a match between the aa-tRNA anticodon and the current mRNA codon then follow. Because one elongation cycle can occur in as little as 50 ms and the vast majority of aa-tRNA copies are not cognate with the current mRNA codon, this testing must occur rapidly. We present a single-molecule localization and tracking study of fluorescently labeled EF-Tu in live
Escherichia coli
. Imaging at 2 ms/frame distinguishes 60% slowly diffusing EF-Tu copies (assigned as transiently bound to translating ribosome) from 40% rapidly diffusing copies (assigned as a mixture of free ternary complexes and free EF-Tu). Combining these percentages with copy number estimates, we infer that the four L7/L12 sites are essentially saturated with ternary complexes in vivo. The results corroborate an earlier inference that all four sites can simultaneously tether ternary complexes near the A site, creating a high local concentration that may greatly enhance the rate of testing of aa-tRNAs. Our data and a combinatorial argument both suggest that the initial recognition test for a codon-anticodon match occurs in less than 1 to 2 ms per aa-tRNA copy. The results refute a recent study (A. Plochowietz, I. Farrell, Z. Smilansky, B. S. Cooperman, and A. N. Kapanidis, Nucleic Acids Res 45:926–937, 2016,
https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkw787
) of tRNA diffusion in
E. coli
that inferred that aa-tRNAs arrive at the ribosomal A site as bare monomers, not as ternary complexes.

IMPORTANCE
Ribosomes catalyze translation of the mRNA codon sequence into the corresponding sequence of amino acids within the nascent polypeptide chain. Polypeptide elongation can be as fast as 50 ms per added amino acid. Each amino acid arrives at the ribosome as a ternary complex comprising an aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA), an elongation factor called EF-Tu, and GTP. There are 43 different aa-tRNAs in use, only one of which typically matches the current mRNA codon. Thus, ternary complexes must be tested very rapidly. Here we use fluorescence-based single-molecule methods that locate and track single EF-Tu copies in
E. coli
. Fast and slow diffusive behavior determines the fraction of EF-Tu copies that are ribosome bound. We infer simultaneous tethering of ~4 ternary complexes to the ribosome, which may facilitate rapid initial testing for codon matching on a time scale of less than 1 to 2 ms per aa-tRNA.
Molecular Insights into Function and Competitive Inhibition of
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Multiple Virulence Factor Regulator
Authors: Kitao Tomoe , Lepine Francois , Babloudi Seda , Walte Frederick , Steinbacher Stefan , Maskos Klaus , Blaesse Michael , Negri Michele , Pucci Michael , Zahler Bob , Felici Antonio , Rahme Laurence G.
Published: January 2018

New approaches to antimicrobial drug discovery are urgently needed to combat intractable infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria.
M
ultiple
v
irulence
f
actor
r
egulator (MvfR or PqsR), a
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
quorum sensing transcription factor, regulates functions important in both acute and persistent infections. Recently identified non-ligand-based benzamine-benzimidazole (BB) inhibitors of MvfR suppress both acute and persistent
P. aeruginosa
infections in mice without perturbing bacterial growth. Here, we elucidate the crystal structure of the MvfR ligand binding domain (LBD) in complex with one potent BB inhibitor, M64. Structural analysis indicated that M64 binds, like native ligands, to the MvfR hydrophobic cavity. A hydrogen bond and pi interaction were found to be important for MvfR-M64 affinity. Surface plasmon resonance analysis demonstrated that M64 is a competitive inhibitor of MvfR. Moreover, a protein engineering approach revealed that Gln194 and Tyr258 are critical for the interaction between MvfR and M64. Random mutagenesis of the full-length MvfR protein identified a single-amino-acid substitution, I68F, at a DNA binding linker domain that confers M64 insensitivity. In the presence of M64, I68F but not the wild-type (WT) MvfR protein retained DNA binding ability. Our findings strongly suggest that M64 promotes conformational change at the DNA binding domain of MvfR and that the I68F mutation may compensate for this change, indicating allosteric inhibition. This work provides critical new insights into the molecular mechanism of MvfR function and inhibition that could aid in the optimization of anti-MvfR compounds and improve our understanding of MvfR regulation.

IMPORTANCE
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
is an opportunistic Gram-negative pathogen that causes serious acute, persistent, and relapsing infections. New approaches to antimicrobial drug discovery are urgently needed to combat intractable infections caused by this pathogen. The
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
quorum sensing transcription factor MvfR regulates functions important in both acute and persistent infections. We used recently identified inhibitors of MvfR to perform structural studies and reveal important insights that would benefit the optimization of anti-MvfR compounds. Altogether, the results reported here provide critical detailed mechanistic insights into the function of MvfR domains that may benefit the optimization of the chemical, pharmacological, and safety properties of MvfR antagonist series.
Developing a plastic hinge model for reinforced concrete beams prone to progressive collapse
Authors: Rouhani Farzad , Lin Lan , Galal Khaled
Published: January 2018

It is known that building structures would undergo nonlinearity during progressive collapse. Given this, modelling the nonlinear behaviour of structural members is critical for assessing their resistance. The objective of this study is to develop the nonlinear modelling parameters of reinforced concrete (RC) beams for the progressive collapse analysis. To achieve this, three types of RC moment-resisting buildings located in high, moderate, and low seismic zones in Canada are designed. Nonlinear pushdown analyses are then conducted on 27 three-dimensional finite element models using ABAQUS to examine the case that one column on the ground level is removed. Based on the analysis results, an idealized moment-rotation curve for modelling the plastic hinge in beams with different ductility is proposed. In comparison with the 2013 GSA modelling parameters, smaller chord rotations are observed from the detailed finite element analysis.
Contribution of longitudinal glass fiber-reinforced polymer bars in concrete cylinders under axial compression
Authors: Fillmore Brandon , Sadeghian Pedram
Published: January 2018

Contribution of longitudinal glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars in concrete columns under compression has been ignored by current design guidelines. This paper challenges this convention by testing 21 concrete cylinders (150 mm × 300 mm) reinforced with longitudinal GFRP and steel bars in compression. It was observed that GFRP bars could sustain high level of compressive strains long after the peak load of the specimens without any premature crushing. The results of a new coupon test method showed that the elastic modulus of GFRP bars in compression is slightly higher than that of in tension, however the compressive strength was obtained 67% of tensile strength. An analytical model was successfully implemented to predict the axial capacity of the tests specimens and it was found that the contribution of the bars in the load capacity of the specimens was within 4.5–18.4% proportional to the bars reinforcement ratio normalized to the elastic modulus of steel bars.
Kurtosis-Based Detection of Intracranial High-Frequency Oscillations for the Identification of the Seizure Onset Zone
Authors: Quitadamo Lucia Rita , Mai Roberto , Gozzo Francesca , Pelliccia Veronica , Cardinale Francesco , Seri Stefano
Published: January 2018

Pathological High-Frequency Oscillations (HFOs) have been recently proposed as potential biomarker of the seizure onset zone (SOZ) and have shown superior accuracy to interictal epileptiform discharges in delineating its anatomical boundaries. Characterization of HFOs is still in its infancy and this is reflected in the heterogeneity of analysis and reporting methods across studies and in clinical practice. The clinical approach to HFOs identification and quantification usually still relies on visual inspection of EEG data. In this study, we developed a pipeline for the detection and analysis of HFOs. This includes preliminary selection of the most informative channels exploiting statistical properties of the pre-ictal and ictal intracranial EEG (iEEG) time series based on spectral kurtosis, followed by wavelet-based characterization of the time–frequency properties of the signal. We performed a preliminary validation analyzing EEG data in the ripple frequency band (80–250 Hz) from six patients with drug-resistant epilepsy who underwent pre-surgical evaluation with stereo-EEG (SEEG) followed by surgical resection of pathologic brain areas, who had at least two-year positive post-surgical outcome. In this series, kurtosis-driven selection and wavelet-based detection of HFOs had average sensitivity of 81.94% and average specificity of 96.03% in identifying the HFO area which overlapped with the SOZ as defined by clinical presurgical workup. Furthermore, the kurtosis-based channel selection resulted in an average reduction in computational time of 66.60%.
Vehicle Driving Direction Control Based on Compressed Network
Authors: Yang Shiyu , Hao Kuangrong , Ding Yongsheng , Liu Jian
Published: January 2018

Today, in the construction of smart city, the development of self-driving technology plays the key role. The explosion of convolutional neural network (CNN) technology has made it possible to utilize end-to-end tasks with images. However, today’s CNN has deeper, more accurate characteristics. If we do not improve the calculation method to reduce the number of network parameters, this feature makes it very difficult for us to run neural network computing in small devices. In this paper, we further optimize the network computing methods based on MobileNets to reduce number of network parameters. At the same time, in the network structure, we add BatchNormalization and Swish activation function. We designed our own network in the end-to-end prediction for steering angle in the self-driving car task. From the final simulation results, our neural network’s storage space can be reduced and the execution speed of neural network can be improved while maintaining the accuracy of the neural network.
Studies of intramolecular H-bond interactions and solvent effects in the conformers of glycolic acid — A quantum chemical study
Authors: Ganesan Mahendiraprabu , Vedamanickam Nirmala , Paranthaman Selvarengan
Published: January 2018

In this work, density functional theory is applied to understand the conformational stability and solvent effects on glycolic acid conformers in different solvents. In addition, the role of intramolecular hydrogen bond (H-bond) interactions in the stability of conformers are investigated. The molecular geometries of selected conformers are optimized using B3LYP and PBE0 functionals with 6-311[Formula: see text]G(d,p) basis set. The effects of solvent on the geometrical parameters, relative stability, dipole moment, chemical hardness, chemical potential, etc. are studied for the conformers of glycolic acid. Our calculations show that the order of stability of the SSC and AAT conformers does not change in liquid phase. However, the energy of SSC and AAT conformers is very close to each other in water media. In water media, strong intramolecular H-bond interaction is present in AAT conformer which causes the energy of AAT conformer to be very close to that of SSC conformer. This may be due to the influence of water media.
Preparation and Characterization of Novel Brain Targeting Magnetic Nanoparticles Modified with Ascorbic Acid
Authors: Wang Linhui , Zhao Yi , Lu Runxin , Peng Yao , Guo Li , Hai Li , Guan Mei , Wu Yong
Published: January 2018

Magnetic targeting, which utilizes a magnetic field to specifically deliver therapeutic agents to the targeted regions, can greatly improve the treatment efficiency. Herein, ibuprofen-loaded brain targeting magnetic nanoparticles (AA-Ibu-PEG-DA@MNPs) modified with ascorbic acid (AA) for central nervous system (CNS) drug delivery was designed and synthesized in order to effectively deliver ibuprofen to the brain through Na[Formula: see text]-dependent vitamin C transporter 2 (SVCT2) and glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1). The brain targeting magnetic nanoparticles, AA-Ibu-PEG-DA@MNPs, have a particle size of 82.5[Formula: see text]nm, 2% drug loading capacity and limited cytotoxicity against bEnd.3 cells. What’s more, the nanoparticles maintained the magnetic property with a saturation magnetization level at 52.17[Formula: see text]emu/g and could release ibuprofen when incubated in different mediums, including various buffers, mice plasma and brain homogenate. The results indicate that the magnetic nanoparticles may have the potential to be a promising approach to selectively deliver drugs into the brain. This study may be conducive to the field of CNS drugs delivery.
Facile Hydrothermal-Ion-Exchange Synthesis and Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic Activity of Bi4Ti3O12/Bi2S3 Heterostructure
Authors: Cao Na , Du Huiling , Liu Jun , Wang Lianli
Published: January 2018

Bi4Ti3O[Formula: see text]/Bi2S3 heterostructures with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity are successfully synthesized via a two-step synthesis route based on a sol–gel hydrothermal method and a subsequent hydrothermal-ion exchange reaction technique. The structures, composition, morphologies and light absorption capability of Bi4Ti3O[Formula: see text]/Bi2S3 heterostructures are verified by XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra, respectively. Results indicated that Bi2S3 nanorods are grown on the surface of the spherical structure assembled by criss-cross nanosheets of Bi4Ti3O[Formula: see text] after ion exchange reaction. The photocatalytic tests reveal that the Bi4Ti3O[Formula: see text]/Bi2S3 heterostructures showed much higher photocatalytic activity than pure Bi4Ti3O[Formula: see text] or Bi2S3. The tight interconnection between the two semiconductors will facilitate the photoinduced carriers’ separation. Owing to the easy preparation and excellent property, the obtained Bi4Ti3O[Formula: see text]/Bi2S3 heterostructures may be promising photocatalysts for practical application.
Facile hydrothermal synthesis of BiFeO3 nanoplates for enhanced supercapacitor properties
Authors: Yin Shungao , Wu Yanting , Chen Jiale , Chen Zhaoling , Hou Haoqing , Liu Qingyan , Wang Yuling , Zhang Wenbin
Published: January 2018

Perovskite BiFeO3 nanoplates were prepared via a facile hydrothermal method with NaOH as mineralizer. The obtained BiFeO3 nanoplates are about 30[Formula: see text]nm [Formula: see text] 90[Formula: see text]nm [Formula: see text]90[Formula: see text]nm in an average shape. This hydrothermal novel nanostructure with lots of defects largely enhances the specific capacitance compared with the electrochemically deposited BiFeO3 nanoparticles. The electrode of BiFeO3 nanoplates exhibits the highest specific capacitance of 254.6[Formula: see text]F g[Formula: see text] at a scan rate of 1[Formula: see text]mV s[Formula: see text] as well as good cyclic stability with 84% special capacitance retention after 1000 cycles. The prominent capacitive properties of hydrothermally obtained BiFeO3 suggest its promising application for supercapacitors.
On t-relaxed chromatic number of r-power paths
Authors: Lan Jun , Lin Wensong
Published: January 2018

Let [Formula: see text] be a graph and [Formula: see text] a non-negative integer. Suppose [Formula: see text] is a mapping from the vertex set of [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text]. If, for any vertex [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text], the number of neighbors [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] is less than or equal to [Formula: see text], then [Formula: see text] is called a [Formula: see text]-relaxed [Formula: see text]-coloring of [Formula: see text]. And [Formula: see text] is said to be [Formula: see text]-colorable. The [Formula: see text]-relaxed chromatic number of [Formula: see text], denote by [Formula: see text], is defined as the minimum integer [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text] is [Formula: see text]-colorable. Let [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] be two positive integers with [Formula: see text]. Denote by [Formula: see text] the path on [Formula: see text] vertices and by [Formula: see text] the [Formula: see text]th power of [Formula: see text]. This paper determines the [Formula: see text]-relaxed chromatic number of [Formula: see text] the [Formula: see text]th power of [Formula: see text].
Gun Markets
Authors: Cook Philip J.
Published: January 2018

The systematic study of how available weapons influence the rates, patterns, and outcomes of criminal violence is new, but it is now a well-established and fast-growing subfield in criminology, legal studies, public health, and economics. This review focuses on the transactions that arm dangerous offenders, noting that if those transactions could be effectively curtailed it would have an immediate and profound effect on gun violence and homicide rates. Guns are legal commodities, but violent offenders typically obtain their guns by illegal means. Our knowledge of these transactions comes primarily from trace data on guns recovered by the police and from occasional surveys of gun-involved offenders. Because most guns used in crime are sourced from the stock of guns in private hands (rather than a purchase from a licensed dealer), the local prevalence of gun ownership appears to influence the transaction costs and the proportions of robberies and assaults committed with guns rather than knives or other weapons. Nonetheless, regulations that govern licensed dealers have been linked to trafficking patterns and in some cases to the use of guns in crime.
The Politics, Promise, and Peril of Criminal Justice Reform in the Context of Mass Incarceration
Authors: Beckett Katherine
Published: January 2018

Mass incarceration is an unprecedented development, one with myriad adverse consequences. Although the expansion of US penal institutions is largely a function of changes in practice and policy rather than rising crime rates, reversing this trend will nonetheless be challenging. The need for comprehensive sentencing reform is clear, but political limits on legislative remedies and the failure of the courts to notably reduce the scale, or improve conditions, of confinement render these approaches highly uncertain. In the short term, unconventional methods that do not require legislative authorization, such as electing, pressuring, and incentivizing prosecutors to reduce penal severity, may be a promising way of addressing mass incarceration. The return and revitalization of parole or other systems of post-sentence review are also crucial and may be legitimated in terms of the need to incentivize rehabilitation and prevent the unnecessary and costly incarceration of the elderly. The recent mobilization of grass-roots movements for penal change that include those directly affected by both violence and mass incarceration is also auspicious, as their work may help to humanize the justice-involved and undermine the erroneous assumption that crime survivors are well-served by mass incarceration.
Forest Structure and the Species Composition of the Parque Estadual Mata Atlântica, Located in Goiás State, Brazil
Authors: Pereira Ismael Martins , Rios Jovan Martins , do Vale Vagner Santiago , Gomes-Klein Vera Lúcia , Coneglian Ademilson , Rocha Ednaldo Cândido
Published: January 2018

The Parque Estadual Mata Atlântica (PEMA), Goiás state, Brazil, is an Atlantic Forest reserve which has not been studied yet. The aims were to investigate plant biodiversity and characterize the flora to support the management plan. We adopt the point-centered quarter method to inventory the tree-shrub and lianas with the diameter at breast height more than or equal to 5 cm. The study was performed through 1.86 km of transect with 187 sampled points. We sampled 748 individuals and identified 109 species, 82 genera, and 51 families. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H′) was 3.97, and Pielou’s evenness (J) was 0.846, both considered high. The Fabaceae family was the most diverse with 20 species. Aspidosperma polyneuron, an endangered tree species, had greater relative dominance and importance value. The floristic similarity analysis indicated that the PEMA vegetation belongs to the seasonal forest, currently very fragmented and degraded. Due to several anthropogenic threats, we suggest the following recommendations: prevent the exploitation of species, avoid hunting, control invasive grasses, prevent forest fires, and promote environmental education. This study demonstrates the importance of PEMA for species conservation. Therefore, this study is essential for the development of management plan and the conservation of PEMA biodiversity.
A Novel Faults Diagnosis Method for Rolling Element Bearings Based on ELCD and Extreme Learning Machine
Authors: Liang Mingliang , Su Dongmin , Hu Daidi , Ge Mingtao
Published: January 2018

A rolling bearing fault diagnosis method based on ensemble local characteristic‐scale decomposition (ELCD) and extreme learning machine (ELM) is proposed. Vibration signals were decomposed using ELCD, and numerous intrinsic scale components (ISCs) were obtained. Next, time‐domain index, energy, and relative entropy of intrinsic scale components were calculated. According to the distance‐based evaluation approach, sensitivity features can be extracted. Finally, sensitivity features were input to extreme learning machine to identify rolling bearing fault types. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieved better performance than support vector machine (SVM) and backpropagation (BP) neural network methods.
Time-Dependent Transportation Network Design considering Construction Impact
Authors: He Yi , Song Ziqi , Zhang Lihui
Published: January 2018

A traditional discrete network design problem (DNDP) always assumes transportation infrastructure projects to be one-time events and ignores travelers’ delays caused by construction work. In fact, infrastructure construction usually lasts for a long time, and the impact on traffic can be substantial. In this paper, we introduce time dimension into the traditional DNDP to explicitly consider the impact of road construction and adopt an overtime policy to add flexibility to construction duration. We address the problem of selecting road-widening projects in an urban network, determining the optimal link capacity, and designing the schedule of the selected projects simultaneously. A time-dependent DNDP (T-DNDP) model is developed with the objective of minimizing total weighted net user cost during the entire planning horizon. An active-set algorithm is applied to solve the model. A simple example network is first utilized to demonstrate the necessity of considering the construction process in T-DNDP and to illustrate the trade-off between the construction impact and the benefit realized through capacity extension. We also solve the T-DNDP model with data from the Sioux Falls network, which contains 24 nodes, 76 links, and 528 origin-destination (O-D) pairs. Computational results for the problem are also presented.
Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing of a Deafness Gene Panel (MiamiOtoGenes) Analysis in Families Unsuitable for Linkage Analysis
Authors: Shang Haiqiong , Yan Denise , Tayebi Naeimeh , Saeidi Kolsoum , Sahebalzamani Afsaneh , Feng Yong , Blanton Susan , Liu Xuezhong
Published: January 2018

Hearing loss (HL) is a common sensory disorder in humans with high genetic heterogeneity. To date, over 145 loci have been identified to cause nonsyndromic deafness. Furthermore, there are countless families unsuitable for the conventional linkage analysis. In the present study, we used a custom capture panel (MiamiOtoGenes) to target sequence 180 deafness-associated genes in 5 GJB2 negative deaf probands with autosomal recessive nonsyndromic HL from Iran. In these 5 families, we detected one reported and six novel mutations in 5 different deafness autosomal recessive (DFNB) genes (TRIOBP, LHFPL5, CDH23, PCDH15, and MYO7A). The custom capture panel in our study provided an efficient and comprehensive diagnosis for known deafness genes in small families.
Adaptive Gain Scheduled Semiactive Vibration Control Using a Neural Network
Authors: Hiramoto Kazuhiko , Matsuoka Taichi , Sunakoda Katsuaki
Published: January 2018

We propose an adaptive gain scheduled semiactive control method using an artificial neural network for structural systems subject to earthquake disturbance. In order to design a semiactive control system with high control performance against earthquakes with different time and/or frequency properties, multiple semiactive control laws with high performance for each of multiple earthquake disturbances are scheduled with an adaptive manner. Each semiactive control law to be scheduled is designed based on the output emulation approach that has been proposed by the authors. As the adaptive gain scheduling mechanism, we introduce an artificial neural network (ANN). Input signals of the ANN are the measured earthquake disturbance itself, for example, the acceleration, velocity, and displacement. The output of the ANN is the parameter for the scheduling of multiple semiactive control laws each of which has been optimized for a single disturbance. Parameters such as weight and bias in the ANN are optimized by the genetic algorithm (GA). The proposed design method is applied to semiactive control design of a base‐isolated building with a semiactive damper. With simulation study, the proposed adaptive gain scheduling method realizes control performance exceeding single semiactive control optimizing the average of the control performance subject to various earthquake disturbances.
Relation of Food Insecurity and Hemoglobin Level in Preschool Aged Children
Authors: Rocha Élida Mara Braga , de Abreu Luiz Carlos , Lopes Amanda Forster , Leone Claudio , Vieira Patrícia Dore , Bezerra Italla Maria Pinheiro , Szarfarc Sophia Cornbluth
Published: January 2018

Background. The iron deficiency anemia is a worldwide public problem, especially in developing countries, related to increased body needs and inadequate supply of iron from the diet.Objective. To analyze the association of food insecurity with hemoglobin concentration and the prevalence of anemia in preschool aged children in the city of Taubaté, São Paulo, Brazil.Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 306 children of preschool age. The nutritional status was assessed according to hemoglobin level and anthropometric indicators. Socioeconomic data and Brazilian Household Food Insecurity Measurement Scale (EBIA) results were obtained from interview with parents.Results. The prevalence of anemia was around 19% of preschool aged children and 41.2% families presented food insecurity. The anthropometric indicators were not associated with food insecurity and even though the bivariate analysis demonstrated that mild food insecurity affects the hemoglobin level, after adjusting the multivariate model this association lost significance (p>0.05).Conclusion. The prevalence of anemia of 19.2% and the household food insecurity was found among 42.2% of the population.
An Elderly Care System Based on Multiple Information Fusion
Authors: He Zhiwei , Lu Dongwei , Yang Yuxiang , Gao Mingyu
Published: January 2018

With the development of social economy in the 21st century, and the rising of medical level, the aging of population have become a global trend. However lots of elderly people are in “empty nest” state. In order to solve the problem of high risk of daily life in this group, this paper proposed a method to integrate the information of video images, sound, infrared, pulse, and other information into the elderly care system. The whole system consists of four major components, that is, the main control board, the information acquisition boards, the server, and the client. The control board receives, processes and analyzes the data collected by the information acquisition boards, and uploads necessary information to the server, which are to be saved to the database. When something unexpected occurs to the elderly, the system will notify the relatives through the GPRS (general packet radio service) module. The system also provides an interface for the relatives to inquire the living status of the elderly through an app. The system can monitor the living status for the elderly with the characteristics of quick response, high accuracy, and low cost and can be widely applied to the elderly care at home.