bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nonlinear Panel Data Methods for Dynamic Heterogeneous Agent Models
Authors: Arellano Manuel , Bonhomme Stéphane
Published: May 2017

Recent developments in nonlinear panel data analysis allow the identification and estimation of general dynamic systems. We review some results and techniques for nonparametric identification and flexible estimation in the presence of time-invariant and time-varying latent variables. This opens up the possibility of estimating nonlinear reduced forms in a large class of structural dynamic models with heterogeneous agents. We show how such reduced forms may be used to document policy-relevant derivative effects and to improve the understanding and implementation of structural models.
Field Experiments Across the Social Sciences
Authors: Baldassarri Delia , Abascal Maria
Published: May 2017

Using field experiments, scholars can identify causal effects via randomization while studying people and groups in their naturally occurring contexts. In light of renewed interest in field experimental methods, this review covers a wide range of field experiments from across the social sciences, with an eye to those that adopt virtuous practices, including unobtrusive measurement, naturalistic interventions, attention to realistic outcomes and consequential behaviors, and application to diverse samples and settings. The review covers four broad research areas of substantive and policy interest: first, randomized controlled trials, with a focus on policy interventions in economic development, poverty reduction, and education; second, experiments on the role that norms, motivations, and incentives play in shaping behavior; third, experiments on political mobilization, social influence, and institutional effects; and fourth, experiments on prejudice and discrimination. We discuss methodological issues concerning generalizability and scalability as well as ethical issues related to field experimental methods. We conclude by arguing that field experiments are well equipped to advance the kind of middle-range theorizing that sociologists value.
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery enhances contraction-mediated glucose metabolism in primary human myotubes
Authors: Hinkley J. Matthew , Zou Kai , Park Sanghee , Turner Kristen , Zheng Donghai , Houmard Joseph A.
Published: May 2017

Contractile activity (e.g., exercise) evokes numerous metabolic adaptations in human skeletal muscle, including enhanced insulin action and substrate oxidation. However, there is intersubject variation in the physiological responses to exercise, which may be linked with factors such as the degree of obesity. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery reduces body mass in severely obese (body mass index ≥ 40 kg/m2) individuals; however, it is uncertain whether RYGB can potentiate responses to contractile activity in this potentially exercise-resistant population. To examine possible interactions between RYGB and contractile activity, muscle biopsies were obtained from severely obese patients before and after RYGB, differentiated into myotubes, and electrically stimulated, after which changes in insulin action and glucose oxidation were determined. Before RYGB, myotubes were unresponsive to electrical stimulation, as indicated by no changes in insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis and basal glucose oxidation. However, myotubes from the same patients at 1 mo after RYGB increased insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis and basal glucose oxidation when subjected to contraction. While unresponsive before surgery, contraction improved insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of AS160 (Thr642, Ser704) after RYGB. These data suggest that RYGB surgery may enhance the ability of skeletal muscle from severely obese individuals to respond to contractile activity.
Cholestyramine treatment of healthy humans rapidly induces transient hypertriglyceridemia when treatment is initiated
Authors: Sjöberg Beatrice G. , Straniero Sara , Angelin Bo , Rudling Mats
Published: May 2017

Bile acid (BA) production in mice is regulated by hepatic farnesoid X receptors and by intestinal fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-15 (in humans, FGF-19), a suppressor of BA synthesis that also reduces serum triglycerides and glucose. Cholestyramine treatment reduces FGF-19 and induces BA synthesis, whereas plasma triglycerides may increase from unclear reasons. We explored whether FGF-19 may suppress BA synthesis and plasma triglycerides in humans by modulation of FGF-19 levels through long-term cholestyramine treatment at increasing doses. In a second acute experiment, metabolic responses from 1 day of cholestyramine treatment were monitored. Long-term treatment reduced serum FGF-19 by >90%; BA synthesis increased up to 17-fold, whereas serum BAs, triglycerides, glucose, and insulin were stable. After long-term treatment, serum BAs and FGF-19 displayed rebound increases above baseline levels, and BA and cholesterol syntheses normalized after 1 wk without rebound reductions. Acute cholestyramine treatment decreased FGF-19 by 95% overnight and serum BAs by 60%, while BA synthesis increased fourfold and triglycerides doubled. The results support that FGF-19 represses BA synthesis but not serum triglycerides. However, after cessation of both long-term and 1-day cholestyramine treatment, circulating FGF-19 levels were normalized within 2 days, whereas BA synthesis remained significantly induced in both situations, indicating that also other mechanisms than the FGF-19 pathway are responsible for stimulation of BA synthesis elicited by cholestyramine. Several of the responses during cholestyramine treatment persisted at least 6 days after treatment, highlighting the importance of removing such treatment well before evaluating dynamics of the enterohepatic circulation in humans.
Reconstructed Error and Linear Representation Coefficients Restricted by l1‐Minimization for Face Recognition under Different Illumination and Occlusion
Authors: Wu Xuegang , Fang Bin , Tang Yuan Yan , Zeng Xiaoping , Xing Changyuan
Published: May 2017

The problem of recognizing human faces from frontal views with varying illumination, occlusion, and disguise is a great challenge to pattern recognition. A general knowledge is that face patterns from an objective set sit on a linear subspace. On the proof of the knowledge, some methods use the linear combination to represent a sample in face recognition. In this paper, in order to get the more discriminant information of reconstruction error, we constrain both the linear combination coefficients and the reconstruction error by ‐minimization which is not apt to be disturbed by outliners. Then, through an equivalent transformation of the model, it is convenient to compute the parameters in a new underdetermined linear system. Next, we use an optimization method to get the approximate solution. As a result, the minimum reconstruction error has contained much valuable discriminating information. The gradient of this variable is measured to decide the final recognition. The experiments show that the recognition protocol based on the reconstruction error achieves high performance on available databases (Extended Yale B and AR Face database).
Indoor/Outdoor Air Quality Assessment at School near the Steel Plant in Taranto (Italy)
Authors: Di Gilio A. , Farella G. , Marzocca A. , Giua R. , Assennato G. , Tutino M. , de Gennaro G.
Published: May 2017

This study aims to investigate the air quality in primary school placed in district of Taranto (south of Italy), an area of high environmental risk because of closeness between large industrial complex and urban settlement. The chemical characterization of PM2.5 was performed to identify origin of pollutants detected inside school and the comparison between indoor and outdoor levels of PAHs and metals allowed evaluating intrusion of outdoor pollutants or the existence of specific indoor sources. The results showed that the indoor and outdoor levels of PM2.5, BaP, Cd, Ni, As, and Pb never exceeded the target values issued by World Health Organization (WHO). Nevertheless, high metals and PAHs concentrations were detected especially when school were downwind to the steel plant. TheI/Oratio showed the impact of outdoor pollutants, especially of industrial markers as Fe, Mn, Zn, and Pb, on indoor air quality. This result was confirmed by values of diagnostic ratio as B(a)P/B(g)P, IP/(IP + BgP), BaP/Chry, and BaP/(BaP + Chry), which showed range characteristics of coke and coal combustion. However, Ni and As showedI/Oratio of 2.5 and 1.4, respectively, suggesting the presence of indoor sources.
Inhalation Dose and Source Term Studies in a Tribal Area of Wayanad, Kerala, India
Authors: Bhaskaran Reshma , Damodaran Ravikumar C. , Kumar Visnuprasad Ashok , Panakal John Jojo , Bangaru Danalakshmi , Natarajan Chitra , Sathiamurthy Bala Sundar , Mundiyanikal Thomas Jose , Mishra Rosaline
Published: May 2017

Among radiation exposure pathways to human beings, inhalation dose is the most prominent one. Radon, thoron, and their progeny contribute more than 50 per cent to the annual effective dose due to natural radioactivity. South west coast of India is classified as a High Natural Background Radioactivity Area and large scale data on natural radioactivity and dosimetry are available from these coastal regions including the Neendakara-Chavara belt in the south of Kerala. However, similar studies and reports from the northern part of Kerala are scarce. The present study involves the data collection and analysis of radon, thoron, and progeny concentration in the Wayanad district of Kerala. The radon concentration was found to be within a range of 12–378 Bq/m3. The thoron concentration varied from 15 to 621 Bq/m3. Progeny concentration of radon and thoron and the diurnal variation of radon were also studied. In order to assess source term, wall and floor exhalation studies have been done for the houses showing elevated concentration of radon and thoron. The average values of radon, thoron, and their progeny are found to be above the Indian average as well as the average values reported from the High Natural Background Radioactivity Areas of Kerala. Exhalation studies of the soil samples collected from the vicinity of the houses show that radon mass exhalation rate varied from below detectable limit (BDL) to a maximum of 80 mBq/kg/h. The thoron surface exhalation rate ranged from BDL to 17470 Bq/m2/h.
Brain MR Image Classification for Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis Based on Multifeature Fusion
Authors: Xiao Zhe , Ding Yi , Lan Tian , Zhang Cong , Luo Chuanji , Qin Zhiguang
Published: May 2017

We propose a novel classification framework to precisely identify individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from normal controls (NC). The proposed method combines three different features from structural MR images: gray-matter volume, gray-level cooccurrence matrix, and Gabor feature. These features can obtain both the 2D and 3D information of brains, and the experimental results show that a better performance can be achieved through the multifeature fusion. We also analyze the multifeatures combination correlation technologies and improve the SVM-RFE algorithm through the covariance method. The results of comparison experiments on public Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Besides, it also indicates that multifeatures combination is better than the single-feature method. The proposed features selection algorithm could effectively extract the optimal features subset in order to improve the classification performance.
Design and Performance of Anticracking Asphalt-Treated Base
Authors: Tian Xiaoge , Han Haifeng , Zhang Qisen , Li Xinwei , Li Ye
Published: May 2017

To enhance the crack resistance of asphalt-treated base (ATB), a type of gapped and semiopened gradation ATB mixture, GSOG, was designed. Its design method was proposed based on the volume design method and performance tests. Firstly, several gradations were designed preliminarily in which middle particle sizes of coarse aggregates were partially or completely gapped according to the gradation specification. Secondly, their voids in coarse aggregates (VCA) were determined through dry rod compaction test on coarse aggregates, and then their theoretical voids were calculated. Gradations whose theoretical voids met the requirements were selected to fabricate specimens with Superpave Gyratory Compactor, and their voids were determined using vacuum sealing method and submerged weight in water method. Finally, gradations whose voids meet requirements were selected to fabricate different types of specimens for various performance tests, and the optimal gradation can be selected comprehensively considering their performances, especially focusing on their crack resistance. According to this gradation design method, the gradation of GSOG-25 was designed, and its performances, including high-temperature stability, water stability, fatigue, and antireflection crack resistance, were measured and compared to ordinary ATB-25. The results demonstrate that the performance of GSOG-25 is much better than that of ordinary ATB-25, especially in anticracking capacity.
Experimental Analysis on Shrinkage and Swelling in Ordinary Concrete
Authors: Kucharczyková Barbara , Daněk Petr , Kocáb Dalibor , Misák Petr
Published: May 2017

The paper deals with the experimental determination of shrinkage development during concrete ageing. Three concrete mixtures were made. They differed in the amount of cement in the fresh mixture, 300, 350, and 400 kg/m3. In order to determine the influence of plasticiser on the progress of volume changes, another three concrete mixtures were prepared with plasticiser in the amount of 0.25% by cement mass. Measurements were performed with the goal of observing the influence of cement and plasticiser content on the overall development of volume changes in the concrete. Changes in length and mass losses of the concrete during ageing were measured simultaneously. The continuous measurement of concrete mass losses caused by drying of the specimen’s surface proved useful during the interpretation of results obtained from the concrete shrinkage measurement. During the first 24 hours of ageing, all the concrete mixtures exhibited swelling. Its magnitude and progress were influenced by cement, water, and plasticiser content. However, a loss of mass caused by water evaporation from the surface of the specimens was also recorded in this stage. The measured progress of shrinkage corresponded well to the progress of mass loss.
Safety of Allogeneic Canine Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Intraspinal Transplantation in Dogs with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Escalhão Cláudia Cardoso Maciel , Ramos Isalira Peroba , Hochman-Mendez Camila , Brunswick Tais Hanae Kasai , Souza Sergio Augusto Lopes , Gutfilen Bianca , dos Santos Goldenberg Regina Coeli , Coelho-Sampaio Tatiana
Published: May 2017

This is a pilot clinical study primarily designed to assess the feasibility and safety of X-ray-guided percutaneous intraspinal injection of allogeneic canine adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells in dogs with chronic spinal cord injury. Six dogs with chronic paraplegia (≥six months) were intraparenchymally injected with allogeneic cells in the site of lesion. Cells were obtained from subcutaneous adipose tissue of a healthy dog, cultured to passage 3, labeled with 99mTechnetium, and transplanted into the lesion by percutaneous X-ray-guided injection. Digital X-ray efficiently guided cell injection as 99mTechnetium-labeled cells remained in the injection site for at least 24 hours after transplantation. No adverse effects or complications (infection, neuropathic pain, or worsening of neurological function) were observed during the 16-week follow-up period after transplantation. Three animals improved locomotion as assessed by the Olby scale. One animal walked without support, but no changes in deep pain perception were observed. We conclude that X-ray-guided percutaneous intraspinal transplantation of allogeneic cells in dogs with chronic spinal cord injury is feasible and safe. The efficacy of the treatment will be assessed in a new study involving a larger number of animals.
K‐Line Patterns’ Predictive Power Analysis Using the Methods of Similarity Match and Clustering
Authors: Tao Lv , Hao Yongtao , Yijie Hao , Chunfeng Shen
Published: May 2017

Stock price prediction based on K‐line patterns is the essence of candlestick technical analysis. However, there are some disputes on whether the K‐line patterns have predictive power in academia. To help resolve the debate, this paper uses the data mining methods of pattern recognition, pattern clustering, and pattern knowledge mining to research the predictive power of K‐line patterns. The similarity match model and nearest neighbor‐clustering algorithm are proposed for solving the problem of similarity match and clustering of K‐line series, respectively. The experiment includes testing the predictive power of the Three Inside Up pattern and Three Inside Down pattern with the testing dataset of the K‐line series data of Shanghai 180 index component stocks over the latest 10 years. Experimental results show that (1) the predictive power of a pattern varies a great deal for different shapes and (2) each of the existing K‐line patterns requires further classification based on the shape feature for improving the prediction performance.
Three-Dimensional Vibration Analysis of Rectangular Thick Plates on Pasternak Foundation with Arbitrary Boundary Conditions
Authors: Liu Huimin , Liu Fanming , Jing Xin , Wang Zhenpeng , Xia Linlin
Published: May 2017

This paper presents the first known vibration characteristic of rectangular thick plates on Pasternak foundation with arbitrary boundary conditions on the basis of the three-dimensional elasticity theory. The arbitrary boundary conditions are obtained by laying out three types of linear springs on all edges. The modified Fourier series are chosen as the basis functions of the admissible function of the thick plates to eliminate all the relevant discontinuities of the displacements and their derivatives at the edges. The exact solution is obtained based on the Rayleigh–Ritz procedure by the energy functions of the thick plate. The excellent accuracy and reliability of current solutions are demonstrated by numerical examples and comparisons with the results available in the literature. In addition, the influence of the foundation coefficients as well as the boundary restraint parameters is also analyzed, which can serve as the benchmark data for the future research technique.
Simulation of Pedestrian Behavior in the Collision-Avoidance Process considering Their Moving Preferences
Authors: Yuan Zhilu , Jia Hongfei , Zhang Linfeng , Bian Lei
Published: May 2017

Walking habits can affect the self-organizing movement in pedestrian flow. In China, pedestrians prefer to walk along the right-hand side in the collision-avoidance process, and the same is true for the left-hand preference that is followed in several countries. Through experiments with pedestrian flow, we find that the relative position between pedestrians can affect their moving preferences. We propose a kind of collision-avoidance force based on the social force model, which considers the predictions of potential conflict and the relative position between pedestrians. In the simulation, we use the improved model to explore the effect of moving preference on the collision-avoidance process and self-organizing pedestrian movement. We conclude that the improved model can bring the simulation closer to reality and that moving preference is conducive to the self-adjustment of counterflow.
Effect of Nano-CaCO3 and Talc on Property and Weathering Performance of PP Composites
Authors: Lee Danbee , Kim Seungkyun , Kim Birm-June , Chun Sang-Jin , Lee Sun-Young , Wu Qinglin
Published: May 2017

Wood plastic composites (WPCs) are increasingly being utilized these days due to their excellent mechanical properties and low maintenance cost. Despite these advantages, poor UV resistance and low impact strength are drawbacks. To overcome these shortcomings, coextrusion technology has recently been applied in the production of WPCs and it has been showing good results. However, further research on the combination of different functional enhancements is still needed. This study, therefore, manufactured polypropylene (PP) composites filled with UV stabilizer and inorganic fillers (i.e., nano-CaCO3 and talc) and then investigated the influence of weathering on the mechanical and morphological properties of the filled composites as a function of filler type and content. UV stabilizer effectively protected the filled composites from UV-induced photodegradation. At 2.5 wt% nano-CaCO3 (NCC), the NCC particles were well dispersed in the PP matrix, thereby improving the mechanical properties of the filled composites. The best results were observed in 2.5 wt% NCC and 10 wt% talc hybrid filled composites. The composites prepared by adding UV stabilizer to the PP matrix together with NCC and talc exhibited high mechanical properties and improved weathering resistance, and, thus, the combination of NCC, talc, and UV stabilizer in the PP matrix is applicable for shell layer to be used in coextruded WPCs.
PMCAP: A Threat Model of Process Memory Data on the Windows Operating System
Authors: Pan Jiaye , Zhuang Yi
Published: May 2017

Research on endpoint security involves both traditional PC platform and prevalent mobile platform, among which the analysis of software vulnerability and malware is one of the important contents. For researchers, it is necessary to carry out nonstop exploration of the insecure factors in order to better protect the endpoints. Driven by this motivation, we propose a new threat model named Process Memory Captor (PMCAP) on the Windows operating system which threatens the live process volatile memory data. Compared with other threats, PMCAP aims at dynamic data in the process memory and uses a noninvasive approach for data extraction. In this paper we describe and analyze the model and then give a detailed implementation taking four popular web browsers IE, Edge, Chrome, and Firefox as examples. Finally, the model is verified through real experiments and case studies. Compared with existing technologies, PMCAP can extract valuable data at a lower cost; some techniques in the model are also suitable for memory forensics and malware analysis.
Betulin-Based Oleogel to Improve Wound Healing in Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa: A Prospective Controlled Proof-of-Concept Study
Authors: Schwieger-Briel Agnes , Kiritsi Dimitra , Schempp Christoph , Has Cristina , Schumann Hauke
Published: May 2017

Introduction. Skin fragility and recurrent wounds are hallmarks of hereditary epidermolysis bullosa (EB). Treatment options to accelerate wound healing are urgently needed. Oleogel-S10 contains a betulin-rich triterpene extract from birch bark. In this study, we tested the wound healing properties of topical Oleogel-S10 in patients with dystrophic EB. Methods. We conducted an open, blindly evaluated, controlled, prospective phase II pilot trial in patients with dystrophic EB (EudraCT number 2010-019945-24). Healing of wounds treated with and without topical Oleogel-S10 was compared. Primary efficacy variable was faster reepithelialization as determined by 2 blinded experts. The main secondary outcome variable of the study was percentage of wound epithelialization. Results. Twelve wound pairs of 10 patients with dystrophic EB were evaluated. In 5 of 12 cases, both blinded reviewers considered epithelialization of the intervention wounds as superior. In 3 cases, only one reviewer considered Oleogel-S10 as superior and the other one as equal to control. Measurements of wound size showed a trend towards accelerated wound healing with the intervention but without reaching statistical significance. Conclusion. Our results indicate a potential for faster reepithelialization of wounds in patients with dystrophic EB when treated with Oleogel-S10 but larger studies are needed to confirm significance.
Effects ofStreptococcus sanguinisBacteriocin on Deformation, Adhesion Ability, and Young’s Modulus ofCandida albicans
Authors: Ma Shengli , Ge Wenyu , Yan Yifan , Huang Xu , Ma Li , Li Chunmei , Yu Shuyang , Chen Chunxiao
Published: May 2017

In order to study the thallus changes on microscopic morphology and mechanical properties ofCandida albicansantagonized byStreptococcus sanguinisbacteriocin, the adhesion ability and Young’s modulus of thalli and hypha ofCandida albicanswere measured by the relative measurement method using atomic force microscope’s (AFM) tapping model. The results showed that the average adhesion ability and Young’s modulus of thalli were7.35±0.77 nN and7.33±1.29 Mpa, respectively; the average adhesion ability and Young’s modulus of hypha were9.82±0.39 nN and4.04±0.76 Mpa, respectively. After being antagonized byStreptococcus sanguinisbacteriocin, the adhesion ability was decreased along with the increasing of deformation in reaction region and Young’s modulus followed the same changes. It could be concluded that the adhesion ability of hypha was greater than thalli, Young’s modulus of hypha was less than thalli, and adhesion ability and Young’s modulus ofCandida albicanswere decreased significantly after being antagonized byStreptococcus sanguinisbacteriocin.
Postoperative Compensatory Ammonium Excretion Subsequent to Systemic Acidosis in Cardiac Patients
Authors: Roehrborn Friederike , Dohle Daniel-Sebastian , Waack Indra N. , Tsagakis Konstantinos , Jakob Heinz , Teloh Johanna K.
Published: May 2017

Background. Postoperative acid-base imbalances, usually acidosis, frequently occur after cardiac surgery. In most cases, the human body, not suffering from any severe preexisting illnesses regarding lung, liver, and kidney, is capable of transient compensation and final correction. The aim of this study was to correlate the appearance of postoperatively occurring acidosis with renal ammonium excretion.Materials and Methods. Between 07/2014 and 10/2014, a total of 25 consecutive patients scheduled for elective isolated coronary artery bypass grafting with cardiopulmonary bypass were enrolled in this prospective observational study. During the operative procedure and the first two postoperative days, blood gas analyses were carried out and urine samples collected. Urine samples were analyzed for the absolute amount of ammonium.Results. Of all patients, thirteen patients developed acidosis as an initial disturbance in the postoperative period: five of respiratory and eight of metabolic origin. Four patients with respiratory acidosis but none of those with metabolic acidosis subsequently developed a base excess > +2 mEq/L.Conclusion. Ammonium excretion correlated with the increase in base excess. The acidosis origin seems to have a large influence on renal compensation in terms of ammonium excretion and the possibility of an overcorrection.
Prevalence and Correlates of Intestinal Parasites among Patients Admitted to Mirembe National Mental Health Hospital, Dodoma, Tanzania
Authors: Nyundo Azan A. , Munisi David Z. , Gesase Ainory P.
Published: May 2017

Background. Neglected tropical diseases continue to be one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the developing world. Psychiatric patients are among groups at risk for parasitic infection although control and monitoring programs largely overlook this population. This study aimed at determining prevalence and factors associated with intestinal parasitic infection among patients admitted to a psychiatric facility.Method. The study followed cross-sectional design; all the residing patients that met the inclusion criteria were included in the survey. Stool samples were collected and examined by direct wet preparation and formol-ether concentration. Data were analyzed with STATA version 12.1; Chi-square test was computed to determine the level of significance atpvalue < 0.05.Results.Of all 233 patients who returned the stool samples, 29 (12.45%) screened were positive for an intestinal parasite. There was no significant association between parasite carriage and age, sex, or duration of hospital stay.Conclusion. The study shows that intestinal parasitic infection is common among patients in a psychiatric facility and highlights that parasitic infections that enter through skin penetration may be a more common mode of transmission than the oral route. Furthermore, the study underscores the need for surveillance and intervention programs to control and manage these infections.
Data Selective Rake Reception for Underwater Acoustic Communication in Strong Multipath Interference
Authors: Yoshizawa Shingo , Tanimoto Hiroshi , Saito Takashi
Published: May 2017

In underwater acoustic communication (UAC), very long delay waves are caused by reflection from water surfaces and bottoms and obstacles. Their waves interfere with desired waves and induce strong multipath interference. Use of a guard interval (GI) is effective for channel compensation in OFDM. However, a GI tends to be long in shallow-water environment because a guard time is determined by a delay time of multipath. A long GI produces a very long OFDM frame in several seconds, which is disadvantageous to a response speed of communication. This paper presents a method of keeping good communication performance even for a short GI. We discuss influence of intercarrier interference (ICI) in OFDM demodulation and propose a method of data selective rake reception (DSRake). The effectiveness of the proposed method is discussed by received signal distribution and confirmed by simulation results.
A Case of Granuloma Annulare Associated with Secukinumab Use
Authors: Bonomo Lauren , Ghoneim Sara , Levitt Jacob
Published: May 2017

Granuloma annulare (GA) is a benign inflammatory dermatosis characterized clinically by dermal papules and annular plaques. The pathogenesis of GA is not well understood, although it is thought to result from a delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction in which inflammatory cells elicit connective tissue degradation. This condition has been seen following the use of several drugs, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors, which paradoxically have also been reported to treat GA. We report the case of a patient who developed GA in association with secukinumab, an interleukin-17A antagonist, and discuss its implications for our understanding of the pathogenesis of GA.
The Impacts of Household Financial Stress, Resilience, Social Support, and Other Adversities on the Psychological Distress of Western Sydney Parents
Authors: Taylor Melanie , Stevens Garry , Agho Kingsley , Raphael Beverley
Published: May 2017

This study investigated the prevalence of psychological distress among parents in Western Sydney households and examined its relationship with household financial, family and life stressors, and potential resilience factors. As part of a longer-term study, parents from Western Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), completed computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) in May 2011 (N=439). Respondents were primary caregivers of at least one child (aged 4–16). Responses were weighted to reflect the Western Sydney population. Multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between parent experiences of stressor and resilience factors and reported psychological distress. Overall, 10.7% (95% CI: 7.8, 14.5) reported experiencing high/very high levels of psychological distress. Multivariate analysis indicated that financial hardship factors formed the strongest associations with psychological distress particularly housing and job security factors and, specifically, inability to meet mortgage/rent payments (OR=5.15, 95% CI: 1.74–15.25, p=0.003), poor self-rated health (OR=4.48, 95% CI: 1.88–10.64, p=0.001), adult job loss (OR=3.77, 95% CI: 1.33–10.66, p=0.013), and other family/life events (OR=2.30, 95% CI: 1.05–5.03, p=0.037). High personal resilience was common within this parent population and was a significant protective factor for high psychological distress (OR=0.14, 95% CI: 0.06–0.34, p<0.001). The findings support the development of targeted interventions to promote parent coping strategies in the context of household financial hardship.
Effective Feature Selection for 5G IM Applications Traffic Classification
Authors: Shafiq Muhammad , Yu Xiangzhan , Laghari Asif Ali , Wang Dawei
Published: May 2017

Recently, machine learning (ML) algorithms have widely been applied in Internet traffic classification. However, due to the inappropriate features selection, ML-based classifiers are prone to misclassify Internet flows as that traffic occupies majority of traffic flows. To address this problem, a novel feature selection metric named weighted mutual information (WMI) is proposed. We develop a hybrid feature selection algorithm named WMI_ACC, which filters most of the features with WMI metric. It further uses a wrapper method to select features for ML classifiers with accuracy (ACC) metric. We evaluate our approach using five ML classifiers on the two different network environment traces captured. Furthermore, we also apply Wilcoxon pairwise statistical test on the results of our proposed algorithm to find out the robust features from the selected set of features. Experimental results show that our algorithm gives promising results in terms of classification accuracy, recall, and precision. Our proposed algorithm can achieve 99% flow accuracy results, which is very promising.
Use of the Kalman Filter for Aortic Pressure Waveform Noise Reduction
Authors: Lam Frank , Lu Hsiang-Wei , Wu Chung-Che , Aliyazicioglu Zekeriya , Kang James S.
Published: May 2017

Clinical applications that require extraction and interpretation of physiological signals or waveforms are susceptible to corruption by noise or artifacts. Real-time hemodynamic monitoring systems are important for clinicians to assess the hemodynamic stability of surgical or intensive care patients by interpreting hemodynamic parameters generated by an analysis of aortic blood pressure (ABP) waveform measurements. Since hemodynamic parameter estimation algorithms often detect events and features from measured ABP waveforms to generate hemodynamic parameters, noise and artifacts integrated into ABP waveforms can severely distort the interpretation of hemodynamic parameters by hemodynamic algorithms. In this article, we propose the use of the Kalman filter and the 4-element Windkessel model with static parameters, arterial compliance C, peripheral resistance R, aortic impedance r, and the inertia of blood L, to represent aortic circulation for generating accurate estimations of ABP waveforms through noise and artifact reduction. Results show the Kalman filter could very effectively eliminate noise and generate a good estimation from the noisy ABP waveform based on the past state history. The power spectrum of the measured ABP waveform and the synthesized ABP waveform shows two similar harmonic frequencies.
Novel Nanotechnology of TiO2Improves Physical-Chemical and Biological Properties of Glass Ionomer Cement
Authors: Cibim Daniela Dellosso , Saito Miki Taketomi , Giovani Priscila Alves , Borges Ana Flávia Sanches , Pecorari Vanessa Gallego Arias , Gomes Orisson Ponce , Lisboa-Filho Paulo Noronha , Nociti-Junior Francisco Humberto , Puppin-Rontani Regina Maria , Kantovitz Kamila Rosamilia
Published: May 2017

The aim of this study was to assess the performance of glass ionomer cement (GIC) added with TiO2nanotubes. TiO2nanotubes [3%, 5%, and 7% (w/w)] were incorporated into GIC’s (Ketac Molar EasyMix™) powder component, whereas unblended powder was used as control. Physical-chemical-biological analysis included energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), surface roughness (SR), Knoop hardness (SH), fluoride-releasing analysis, cytotoxicity, cell morphology, and extracellular matrix (ECM) composition. Parametric or nonparametric ANOVA were used for statistical comparisons (α≤0.05). Data analysis revealed that EDS only detected Ti at the 5% and 7% groups and that GIC’s physical-chemical properties were significantly improved by the addition of 5% TiO2as compared to 3% and GIC alone. Furthermore, regardless of TiO2concentration, no significant effect was found on SR, whereas GIC-containing 7% TiO2presented decreased SH values. Fluoride release lasted longer for the 5% and 7% TiO2groups, and cell morphology/spreading and ECM composition were found to be positively affected by TiO2at 5%. In conclusion, in the current study, nanotechnology incorporated in GIC affected ECM composition and was important for the superior microhardness and fluoride release, suggesting its potential for higher stress-bearing site restorations.
Immediate Loading of Single Implants in the Anterior Maxilla: A 1-Year Prospective Clinical Study on 34 Patients
Authors: Stanley Miguel , Braga Filipa Calheiros , Jordao Beatriz Mota
Published: May 2017

Purpose. To present the outcomes of immediately loaded single implants placed in the anterior maxilla. Methods. Over a 2-year period, all patients referred to a private clinic were considered for enrolment in this study. Inclusion criteria were single-tooth placement in postextraction sockets or healed sites of the anterior maxilla. All implants were immediately loaded and followed for a period of 1 year after the placement of definitive crowns. The outcome measures were implant stability, survival, and success. Results. 34 patients were selected and 43 tapered implants with a knife-edge thread design and a nanostructured, calcium-incorporated surface (Anyridge®, Megagen, Gyeongsang, Korea) were installed. Two implants were not sufficiently stable at placement (ISQ < 60) and were considered failed for immediate loading; 41 implants had an ISQ ≥ 60 at placement and were immediately loaded. One year after the placement of definitive crowns, no implant failures were reported, for a survival rate of 100%. No biological complications were found, but 2 implants had their prosthetic abutments loosened: the implant success rate was 95.2%. Conclusions. In the present study on the immediate loading of single implants in the anterior maxilla, positive outcomes were reported, with high survival (100%) and success (95.2%) rates (the present study has been registered in the ISRCTN registry, a publicly available trial register recognized by WHO and ICMJE, with number ISRCTN12935478).
Regional Attenuation Correction of Weather Radar Using a Distributed Microwave-Links Network
Authors: Xue Yang , Liu Xi-chuan , Gao Tai-chang , Yang Chang-ye , Song Kun
Published: May 2017

The complex temporal-spatial variation of raindrop size distribution will affect the precision of precipitation quantitative estimates (QPE) produced from radar data, making it difficult to correct echo attenuation. Given the fact that microwave links can obtain the total path attenuation accurately, we introduce the concept of regional attenuation correction using a multiple-microwave-links network based on the tomographic reconstruction of attenuation coefficients. Derived from the radar-based equation, the effect of rainfall distribution on the propagation of radar and microwave link signals was analyzed. This article focuses on modeling of the tomographic reconstruction of attenuation coefficients and regional attenuation correction algorithms. Finally, a numerical simulation of regional attenuation correction was performed to verify the algorithms employed here. The results demonstrate that the correction coefficient (0.9175) falls between the corrected and initial field of radar reflectivity factor (root mean square error, 2.3476 dBz; average deviation, 0.0113 dBz). Compared with uncorrected data, the accuracy of the corrected radar reflectivity factor was improved by 26.12%, and the corrected rainfall intensity distribution was improved by 51.85% validating the region attenuation correction algorithm. This method can correct the regional attenuation of weather radar echo effectively and efficiently; it can be widely used for the radar attenuation correction and the promotion of quantitative precipitation estimation by weather radar.
The Efficacy of Anastrozole and Growth Hormone Therapy on Adult Height in Six Adolescent Males with Growth Hormone Deficiency or Idiopathic Short Stature
Authors: Uysal Serife , Hodax Juanita K. , Topor Lisa Swartz , Quintos Jose Bernardo
Published: May 2017

Background. Data on adult height outcomes of the use of Anastrozole and Growth Hormone (GH) in pubertal males with Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and Idiopathic short stature (ISS) are limited. Objective. We examined the effect of Anastrozole and GH therapy on near adult height (NAH) with pubertal males with GHD or ISS. Methods. Retrospective review of 419 charts from 2008 to 2015. The primary outcomes are NAH compared to mid-parental target height (MPTH) and predicted adult height (PAH). Results. We identified 23 patients (5 SGA/IUGR, 1 Noonan syndrome, 6 GHD, and 11 ISS). Six patients (4 GHD; 2 ISS) achieved NAH. Prior to Anastrozole treatment, the mean chronological age was 13.9±0.2 years (range 13.7–14.4), bone age was 13.6±0.6 years (range 12.5–14), mean height SDS was -1.5±0.5 (range −0.8 to −2.3), and mean PAH was 162.6±5.9 cm (range 153.5–168.6). MPTH was 173.6 cm ± 7 (range 161.8–181.6). Patients received Anastrozole for an average of 30.5 months (range 19–36 months). At NAH, the mean chronological age was 16.7±0.8 years (range 15.9–18.1 years) and height was 170±1.8 cm (range 168.5–173.4 cm). The mean height SDS improved to +0.81±0.6 (range +0.08 to +1.92, p=0.002). Net height gain was 7.3 cm compared to pretreatment PAH (p<0.01) and overall the mean adult height remained 3.5 cm below MPTH. Conclusion. Anastrozole and GH therapy can be effective in augmenting adult height without significant side effects. However, the long-term safety and efficacy of aromatase inhibitor use in pediatrics remain limited.
MicroRNA-29b Contributes to Collagens Imbalance in Human Osteoarthritic and Dedifferentiated Articular Chondrocytes
Authors: Moulin David , Salone Véronique , Koufany Meriem , Clément Thomas , Behm-Ansmant Isabelle , Branlant Christiane , Charpentier Bruno , Jouzeau Jean-Yves
Published: May 2017

Objective. Decreased expression of collagen type II in favour of collagen type I or X is one hallmark of chondrocyte phenotype changes in osteoarthritic (OA) cartilage. MicroRNA- (miR-) 29b was previously shown to target collagens in several tissues. We studied whether it could contribute to collagen imbalance in chondrocytes with an impaired phenotype.Methods. After preliminary microarrays screening, miR-29b levels were measured by RT- quantitative PCR inin vitromodels of chondrocyte phenotype changes (IL-1βchallenge or serial subculturing) and in chondrocytes from OA and non-OA patients. Potential miR-29b targets identifiedin silicoin 3′-UTRs of collagens mRNAs were tested with luciferase reporter assays. The impact of premiR-29b overexpression in ATDC5 cells was studied on collagen mRNA levels and synthesis (Sirius red staining) during chondrogenesis.Results. MiR-29b level increased significantly in IL-1β-stimulated and weakly in subcultured chondrocytes. A 5.8-fold increase was observed in chondrocytes from OA versus non-OA patients. Reporter assays showed that miR-29b targeted COL2A1 and COL1A2 3′-UTRs although with a variable recovery upon mutation. In ATDC5 cells overexpressing premiR-29b, collagen production was reduced while mRNA levels increased.Conclusions. By acting probably as a posttranscriptional regulator with a different efficacy on COL2A1 and COL1A2 expression, miR-29b can contribute to the collagens imbalance associated with an abnormal chondrocyte phenotype.
Multiscale Convolutional Neural Networks for Hand Detection
Authors: Yan Shiyang , Xia Yizhang , Smith Jeremy S. , Lu Wenjin , Zhang Bailing
Published: May 2017

Unconstrained hand detection in still images plays an important role in many hand-related vision problems, for example, hand tracking, gesture analysis, human action recognition and human-machine interaction, and sign language recognition. Although hand detection has been extensively studied for decades, it is still a challenging task with many problems to be tackled. The contributing factors for this complexity include heavy occlusion, low resolution, varying illumination conditions, different hand gestures, and the complex interactions between hands and objects or other hands. In this paper, we propose a multiscale deep learning model for unconstrained hand detection in still images. Deep learning models, and deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in particular, have achieved state-of-the-art performances in many vision benchmarks. Developed from the region-based CNN (R-CNN) model, we propose a hand detection scheme based on candidate regions generated by a generic region proposal algorithm, followed by multiscale information fusion from the popular VGG16 model. Two benchmark datasets were applied to validate the proposed method, namely, the Oxford Hand Detection Dataset and the VIVA Hand Detection Challenge. We achieved state-of-the-art results on the Oxford Hand Detection Dataset and had satisfactory performance in the VIVA Hand Detection Challenge.
Association Study of Serotonin 3 Receptor Subunit Gene Variants in Antipsychotic-Induced Weight Gain
Authors: Zai Clement C. , Tiwari Arun K. , Chowdhury Nabilah I. , Brandl Eva J. , Shaikh Sajid A. , Freeman Natalie , Lieberman Jeffrey A. , Meltzer Herbert Y. , Kennedy James L. , Müller Daniel J.
Published: May 2017

Background: Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a chronic severe neuropsychiatric disorder, where pharmacological treatment has been hindered by adverse effects, including antipsychotic-induced weight gain (AIWG) and related complications. Genetic studies have been exploring the appetite regulation and energy homeostasis pathways in AIWG with some promising leads. The serotonin system has been shown to participate in these pathways. Methods: In the current study, we examined single nucleotide polymorphisms across the serotonin receptor genes HTR3A and HTR3B. Prospective weight change was assessed for a total of 149 SCZ patients of European ancestry. Results: We did not find the tested HTR3A or HTR3B gene markers to be associated with AIWG in our sample. Conclusion: Our preliminary findings suggest that these receptors may not play a major role in predicting AIWG.
Infliximab-Induced Aseptic Meningitis during the Treatment of Psoriatic Arthritis
Authors: Matsuura-Otsuki Yuki , Hanafusa Takaaki , Yokozeki Hiroo , Watanabe Kyoko
Published: May 2017

A 42-year-old Japanese man presented with persistent headache during treatment for psoriatic arthritis (PsA) with infliximab. Treatment with infliximab was initiated 3 years before and the psoriatic skin lesions with arthritis were well controlled. However, after 21 doses of infliximab, the skin lesions and joint pain exacerbated and became intractable. Ten days after the dosage of infliximab was increased, the patient experienced headache and nausea with high fever. He had scaly, well-circumscribed erythemas on his trunk, extremities, and deformed nails. He also had swelling and pain in multiple joints. His complete blood and differential leukocyte counts were normal. The level of C-reactive protein was 16.66 mg/dL, whereas anti-infliximab antibodies were absent. Nuchal rigidity was absent and there were no abnormal neurological findings; however, jolt test results were positive. Results from magnetic resonance imaging were normal, whereas those from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination were almost normal. The CSF contained mononuclear cells and was negative for bacteriological cultures, India ink staining, and polymerase chain reaction amplification of herpesvirus group DNA. Headache and nausea improved 2 months after infliximab was discontinued. The patient failed to respond to infliximab treatment for PsA, and we diagnosed infliximab-induced aseptic meningitis. Infliximab was discontinued and treatment with ustekinumab and methotrexate was initiated. Thereafter, the psoriatic skin lesion and joint pain gradually improved. Infliximab-induced aseptic meningitis may be a differential diagnosis when symptoms of meningitis develop during infliximab administration.