bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Performance of colorectal cancer screening in the European Union Member States: data from the second European screening report
Authors: Senore Carlo , Basu Partha , Anttila Ahti , Ponti Antonio , Tomatis Mariano , Vale Diama Bhadra , Ronco Gugliemo , Soerjomataram Isabelle , Primic-Žakelj Maja , Riggi Emilia , Dillner Joakim , Elfström Miriam Klara , Lönnberg Stefan , Sankaranarayanan Rengaswamy , Segnan Nereo
Published: December 2018

Objective

To present comparative data about the performance of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programmes in the European Union Member States (EU MSs).

Design

Cross-sectional study. We analysed key performance indicators—participation rate, positivity rate (PR), detection rate (DR) and positive predictive value for adenomas and CRC—based on the aggregated quantitative data collected for the second EU screening report. We derived crude and pooled (through a random effects model) estimates to describe and compare trends across different MSs/regions and screening protocols.

Results

Participation rate was higher in countries adopting faecal immunochemical test (FIT) (range: 22.8%–71.3%) than in those using guaiac faecal occult blood test (gFOBT) (range 4.5%–66.6%), and it showed a positive correlation (ρ=0.842, p<0.001) with participation in breast cancer screening in the same areas. Screening performance showed a large variability. Compliance with referral for colonoscopy (total colonoscopy (TC)) assessment ranged between 64% and 92%; TC completion rate ranged between 92% and 99%. PR and DR of advanced adenomas and CRC were higher in FIT, as compared with gFOBT programmes, and independent of the protocol among men, older subjects and those performing their first screening.

Conclusions

The variability in the results of quality indicators across population-based screening programmes highlights the importance of continuous monitoring, as well as the need to promote quality improvement efforts, as recommended in the EU guidelines. The implementation of monitoring systems, ensuring availability of data for the entire process, together with initiatives aimed to enhance reproducibility of histology and quality of endoscopy, represent a priority in screening programmes management.
Health needs of ex-military personnel in the UK: a systematic review and qualitative synthesis
Authors: Senior Steven L
Published: December 2018

Background

Despite all local authorities in England signing up to the Armed Forces Covenant, only a small proportion of Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs) include detailed consideration of the health of the local ex-military population. This article supports improvements to JSNAs by systematically reviewing published research for evidence of differences in health between the ex-military population and the general public.

Methods

Systematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses methodology for qualitative synthesis of mixed study designs. SCOPUS, PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for published research on health outcomes among UK ex-military populations. All study designs were included.

Results

43 studies met the inclusion criteria. Rates of mental illness and hearing loss are higher among ex-military populations compared with the general public, while rates of cancer among ex-military personnel born after 1960 are lower. Despite high rates of hazardous drinking among serving personnel, rates of alcohol-related harm among ex-military populations are no higher than the general public. There is a subpopulation at increased risk of a range of adverse outcomes. This group is variously identified as younger, male, less educated, more likely to have served in a combat role and/or left service early.

Conclusions

This review found evidence of areas of increased and reduced disease burden among ex-military populations. More detailed information on the make-up of the local ex-service population would support more meaningful needs assessments. The Ministry of Defence and local authorities and service providers should work together to support early identification and targeted support for those at the highest risk of adverse outcomes.
New score for assessing bleeding risk in patients with atrial fibrillation treated with NOACs
Authors: Rutherford Ole-Christian Walter , Jonasson Christian , Ghanima Waleed , Holst René , Halvorsen Sigrun
Published: December 2018

Background

Information is needed on bleeding risk factors specific for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) treated with non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs). We aimed to identify risk factors in a large real-world cohort and to derive a bleeding risk score for patients with AF treated with NOACs.

Methods

From nationwide registries (the Norwegian Patient Registry and the Norwegian Prescription Database), we identified patients with AF with a first prescription of a NOAC between January 2013 and June 2015. Cox proportional-hazards analysis was used to identify the strongest risk factors for major or clinically relevant non-major (CRNM) bleeding. Based on these, a risk prediction score was derived. Discrimination was assessed with Harrel’s C-index. C-indexes for the modified Hypertension, Age, Stroke, Bleeding tendency/predisposition, Labile international normalised ratios, Elderly age, Drugs or alcohol excess (HAS-BLED), the Anticoagulation and Risk Factors in Atrial Fibrillation (ATRIA) and the Outcomes Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (ORBIT) scores were also calculated from the same cohort.

Results

Among 21 248 NOAC-treated patients with a median follow-up time of 183 days, 1257 (5.9%) patients experienced a major or CRNM bleeding. Ten independent risk factors for bleeding were identified, which when included in a risk prediction model achieved a C-index of 0.68 (95% CI 0.66 to 0.70). A simplified score comprising three variables; age, history of bleeding and non-bleeding related hospitalisation within the last 12 months, yielded a c-index of 0.66 (95% CI 0.65 to 0.68). In the same cohort, the modified HAS-BLED, ATRIA and ORBIT scores achieved c-indexes of 0.62 (95% CI 0.60 to 0.63), 0.66 (95% CI 0.64 to 0.67) and 0.66 (95% CI 0.64 to 0.67), respectively.

Conclusions

Our proposed simplified bleeding score could be a useful clinical tool for quick estimation of risk of bleeding in patients with AF treated with NOACs.
A bounded and monotone finite-difference solution of a hyperbolic Burgers–Fisher equation
Authors: Flores-Oropeza L. A. , Román-Loera A. , Hendy Ahmed S.
Published: December 2018

In this work, a nonlinear finite-difference scheme is provided to approximate the solutions of a hyperbolic generalization of the Burgers–Fisher equation from population dynamics. The model under study is a partial differential equation with nonlinear advection, reaction and damping terms. The existence of some traveling-wave solutions for this model has been established in the literature. In the present manuscript, we investigate the capability of our technique to preserve some of the most important features of those solutions, namely, the positivity, the boundedness and the monotonicity. The finite-difference approach followed in this work employs the exact solutions to prescribe the initial-boundary data. In addition to providing good approximations to the analytical solutions, our simulations suggest that the method is also capable of preserving the mathematical features of interest.
Evaluation method for node importance based on attraction between nodes
Authors: Zeng Jin , Shao Chenxi , Wang Xingfu , Miao Fuyou
Published: December 2018

Vital node, which has some special functions, plays an important role compared to other nodes in complex networks. Recently, the discovery of vital nodes in complex networks has captured increasing attention due to their important theoretical significance and great practicability. By defining the confidence of the node and the inter-node attraction, the significance of the node is measured by the product of the confidence of the node and the aggregation of attractions of the node on other nodes in the network. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed method has higher precision and performs well on various networks with different structures.
About electrodynamics, standard model and the quantization of the electrical charge
Authors: Jora Renata
Published: December 2018

The quantization of the electrical charge in the electrodynamics and of the hypercharge in the standard model are imposed in the theory based not on theoretical arguments but on the experimental observations. In this paper we propose a quantum consistency condition in a theory where Ward identities are respected that requires the quantization of the charge within the framework of the theory without external impositions. This refers to the renormalization conditions in the background gauge field method such that to ensure a correct mathematical correspondence between the bare partition function and the renormalized one. Applied to the standard model of elementary particles our criterion together with the anomaly cancellation condition leads to the correct hypercharge assignment of all standard model fermions.
A fresh look into monoid rings and formal power series rings
Authors: Tarizadeh Abolfazl
Published: December 2018

In this paper, the ring of polynomials is studied in a systematic way through the theory of monoid rings. As a consequence, this study provides canonical approaches in order to find easy and rigorous proofs and methods for many facts on polynomials and formal power series; some of them as sample are treated in this paper. Besides the universal properties of the monoid rings and polynomial rings, a universal property for the formal power series rings is also established.
Conjugacy classes of centralizers in the group of upper triangular matrices
Authors: Bhunia Sushil
Published: December 2018

Let [Formula: see text] be a group. Two elements [Formula: see text] are said to be in the same [Formula: see text]-class if their centralizers in [Formula: see text] are conjugate within [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we prove that the number of [Formula: see text]-classes in the group of upper triangular matrices is infinite provided that the field is infinite and size of the matrices is at least [Formula: see text], and finite otherwise.
Mining Newsworthy Events in the Traffic Accident Domain from Chinese Microblog
Authors: Fu Xiangling , Lee Jintae , Yan Chenwei , Gao Li
Published: December 2018

Microblog can provide a valuable resource for journalists as it captures potential newsworthy events as they occur, including ones occurring remotely. Given the large volume and the fast pace of typical microblog, it is impractical to monitor all microblog postings for potential news events. Therefore, it would be useful if a method exists that uses text mining to help identify such events. For this endeavor, we need a good model of newsworthiness that furthermore can be operationalized with text-mining techniques. This study examines the feasibility and usefulness of such a model by first adopting the Shoemaker model of newsworthiness, one of the most comprehensive and accepted among such models; refining it based on a set of extensive interviews with domain experts and users in the context of news media in China; operationalizing it with a set of text-analytic measures in the domain of traffic accident; and testing its feasibility and validity using data from Weibo, the largest microblog site in China. As such, we believe that this study makes important theoretical and methodological contributions by developing and testing the most comprehensive and computable model of newsworthiness to date. We also point out its limitations and the areas that need further research.
Rotation Gates with Controlled Adiabatic Evolutions in Open Systems
Authors: Benmachiche Abderrahim , Bahloul Derradji , Mahmoud Gharib Subhi , Messikh Azeddine
Published: December 2018

Single quantum rotation gates can be perfectly implemented in a closed system using the controlled adiabatic evolutions process proposed by Itay Hen that may lead to build some quantum circuit blocks [Phys. Rev. A, 022309 (2015)]. These adiabatic evolutions yield to vanishing geometric phases. In this work, we extended Itay’s work by considering a more realistic model where the qubits are subjected to decoherence effects during the adiabatic evolution process. We demonstrate that, in the case of an open system, the decoherence leads to nonvanishing geometric phases and drastically reduces the performance of the quantum rotation gates bellow the fidelity target (0.999).
A study of stability and bifurcation analysis in discrete-time predator–prey system involving the Allee effect
Authors: Işık Seval
Published: December 2018

This paper deals with a discrete-time predator–prey system which is subject to an Allee effect on prey. We investigate the existence and uniqueness and find parametric conditions for local asymptotic stability of fixed points of the discrete dynamic system. Moreover, using bifurcation theory, it is shown that the system undergoes Neimark–Sacker bifurcation in a small neighborhood of the unique positive fixed point and an invariant circle will appear. Then the direction of bifurcation is given. Furthermore, numerical analysis is provided to illustrate the theoretical discussions with the help of Matlab packages. Thus, the main theoretical results are supported with numerical simulations.
Faber polynomial coefficient estimates for a certain subclass of meromorphic bi-univalent functions
Authors: Motamednezhad Ahmad , Salehian Safa
Published: December 2018

In this paper, by using the Faber polynomial expansions we can find the coefficient bounds for [Formula: see text] subclass of meromorphic bi-univalent functions. The results presented in this paper would generalize and improve some recent works.
A Modular Type Reconstruction Algorithm
Authors: Rabe Florian
Published: December 2018

M
mt
is a framework for designing and implementing formal systems in a way that systematically abstracts from theoretical and practical aspects of their type of theoretical and logical foundations. Thus, definitions, theorems, and algorithms can be stated independently of the foundation, and language designers can focus on the essentials of a particular foundation and inherit a large-scale implementation from M
mt
at low cost. Going beyond the similarly motivated approach of meta-logical frameworks, M
mt
does not even commit to a particular meta-logic—that makes M
mt
level results harder to obtain but also more general.

We present one such result: a type reconstruction algorithm that realizes the foundation-independent aspects generically relative to a set of rules that supply the foundation-specific knowledge. Maybe surprisingly, we see that the former covers most of the algorithm, including the most difficult details. Thus, we can easily instantiate our algorithm with rule sets for several important language features including, e.g., dependent function types. Moreover, our design is modular such that we obtain a type reconstruction algorithm for any combination of these features.
Optimal Bloom Filters and Adaptive Merging for LSM-Trees
Authors: Dayan Niv , Athanassoulis Manos , Idreos Stratos
Published: December 2018

In this article, we show that key-value stores backed by a log-structured merge-tree (LSM-tree) exhibit an intrinsic tradeoff between lookup cost, update cost, and main memory footprint, yet all existing designs expose a suboptimal and difficult to tune tradeoff among these metrics. We pinpoint the problem to the fact that modern key-value stores suboptimally co-tune the merge policy, the buffer size, and the Bloom filters’ false-positive rates across the LSM-tree’s different levels.

We present Monkey, an LSM-tree based key-value store that strikes the optimal balance between the costs of updates and lookups with any given main memory budget. The core insight is that worst-case lookup cost is proportional to the sum of the false-positive rates of the Bloom filters across all levels of the LSM-tree. Contrary to state-of-the-art key-value stores that assign a fixed number of bits-per-element to all Bloom filters, Monkey allocates memory to filters across different levels so as to minimize the sum of their false-positive rates. We show analytically that Monkey reduces the asymptotic complexity of the worst-case lookup I/O cost, and we verify empirically using an implementation on top of RocksDB that Monkey reduces lookup latency by an increasing margin as the data volume grows (50--80% for the data sizes we experimented with). Furthermore, we map the design space onto a closed-form model that enables adapting the merging frequency and memory allocation to strike the best tradeoff among lookup cost, update cost and main memory, depending on the workload (proportion of lookups and updates), the dataset (number and size of entries), and the underlying hardware (main memory available, disk vs. flash). We show how to use this model to answer what-if design questions about how changes in environmental parameters impact performance and how to adapt the design of the key-value store for optimal performance.
Model-Based Quantitative Evaluation of Repair Procedures in Gas Distribution Networks
Authors: Biagi Marco , Carnevali Laura , Tarani Fabio , Vicario Enrico
Published: December 2018

We propose an approach for assessing the impact of multi-phased repair procedures on gas distribution networks, capturing load profiles that can depend on time for different classes of users, suspension of activities during non-working hours, and random execution times depending on topological, physical, and geographical characteristics of the network. The problem is characterized through a semi-formal specification based on artifacts of the Systems Modeling Language (SysML), which is then translated into a formal model based on stochastic time Petri nets. The solution method interleaves fluid-dynamic analysis of the gas behavior and stochastic analysis of the time spent in the repair process, decoupling complexities and making stochastic analysis almost insensitive to the network size and topology. Hence, our approach turns out to be applicable to real scale cases, notably computing the optimal time of day to start the repair procedure. Moreover, by encompassing general (non-Markovian) distributions, the approach enables effective fitting of durations.
A High-Quality and Fast Maximal Independent Set Implementation for GPUs
Authors: Burtscher Martin , Devale Sindhu , Azimi Sahar , Jaiganesh Jayadharini , Powers Evan
Published: December 2018

Computing a maximal independent set is an important step in many parallel graph algorithms. This article introduces ECL-MIS, a maximal independent set implementation that works well on GPUs. It includes key optimizations to speed up computation, reduce the memory footprint, and increase the set size. Its CUDA implementation requires fewer than 30 kernel statements, runs asynchronously, and produces a deterministic result. It outperforms the maximal independent set implementations of Pannotia, CUSP, and IrGL on each of the 16 tested graphs of various types and sizes. On a Titan X GPU, ECL-MIS is between 3.9 and 100 times faster (11.5 times, on average). ECL-MIS running on the GPU is also faster than the parallel CPU codes Ligra, Ligra+, and PBBS running on 20 Xeon cores, which it outperforms by 4.1 times, on average. At the same time, ECL-MIS produces maximal independent sets that are up to 52% larger (over 10%, on average) compared to these preexisting CPU and GPU implementations. Whereas these codes produce maximal independent sets that are, on average, about 15% smaller than the largest possible such sets, ECL-MIS sets are less than 6% smaller than the maximum independent sets.
FRC: a high-performance concurrent parallel deferred reference counter for C++
Authors: Tripp Charles , Hyde David , Grossman-Ponemon Benjamin
Published: December 2018

We present FRC, a high-performance concurrent parallel reference counter for unmanaged languages. It is well known that high-performance garbage collectors help developers write memory-safe, highly concurrent systems and data structures. While C++, C, and other unmanaged languages are used in high-performance applications, adding concurrent memory management to these languages has proven to be difficult. Unmanaged languages like C++ use pointers instead of references, and have uncooperative mutators which do not pause easily at a safe point. Thus, scanning mutator stack root references is challenging.

FRC only defers decrements and does not require mutator threads to pause during collection. By deferring only decrements, FRC avoids much of the synchronization overhead of a fully-deferred implementation. Root references are scanned without interrupting the mutator by publishing these references to a thread-local array. FRC's performance can exceed that of the C++ standard library's shared pointer by orders of magnitude. FRC's thread-safety guarantees and low synchronization overhead enable significant throughput gains for concurrently-readable shared data structures.

We describe the components of FRC, including our static tree router data structure: a novel barrier which improves the scalability of parallel collection workers. FRC's performance is evaluated on several concurrent data structures. We release FRC and our tests as open-source code and expect FRC will be useful for many concurrent C++ software systems.
Optimizing RAID/SSD controllers with lifetime extension for flash-based SSD array
Authors: Han Lei , Shen Zhaoyan , Shao Zili , Li Tao
Published: December 2018

Flash-based SSD RAID arrays are increasingly being deployed in data centers. Compared with HDD arrays, SSD arrays drastically enhance storage density and I/O performance, and reduce power and rack space. Nevertheless, SSDs suffer aging issues. Though prior studies have been conducted to address this disadvantage, effective techniques of RAID/SSD controllers are urgently needed to extend the lifetime of SSD arrays.

In this paper, we for the first time apply approximate storage via the interplay of RAID and SSD controllers to optimize the lifespan of SSD arrays. Our basic idea is to reuse faulty blocks (those contain pages with uncorrectable errors) to store approximate data (which can tolerate more errors). By relaxing the integrity of flash blocks, we observed that the endurance of NAND flash memory can be significantly boosted, thereby providing huge potentials to significantly extend the lifetime of SSDs. Based on this observation, we propose the use of an efficient space management scheme for data allocation and FTL strategies by coordinating the interplay of RAID and SSD controllers to optimize the lifetime of SSD arrays. We implemented a prototype, called FreeRAID, based on an SSD array simulator. Our experiments show that we can significantly increase the lifetime by up to 2.17× compared with conventional SSD-based RAID arrays.
Deriving via: or, how to turn hand-written instances into an anti-pattern
Authors: Blöndal Baldur , Löh Andres , Scott Ryan
Published: December 2018

Haskell's deriving construct is a cheap and cheerful way to quickly generate instances of type classes that follow common patterns. But at present, there is only a subset of such type class patterns that deriving supports, and if a particular class lies outside of this subset, then one cannot derive it at all, with no alternative except for laboriously declaring the instances by hand.

To overcome this deficit, we introduce Deriving Via, an extension to deriving that enables programmers to compose instances from named programming patterns, thereby turning deriving into a high-level domain-specific language for defining instances. Deriving Via leverages newtypes---an already familiar tool of the Haskell trade---to declare recurring patterns in a way that both feels natural and allows a high degree of abstraction.
A promise checked is a promise kept: inspection testing
Authors: Breitner Joachim
Published: December 2018

Occasionally, developers need to ensure that the compiler treats their code in a specific way that is only visible by
inspecting
intermediate or final compilation artifacts. This is particularly common with carefully crafted compositional libraries, where certain usage patterns are expected to trigger an intricate sequence of compiler optimizations – stream fusion is a well-known example.

The developer of such a library has to manually inspect build artifacts and check for the expected properties. Because this is too tedious to do often, it will likely go unnoticed if the property is broken by a change to the library code, its dependencies or the compiler. The lack of automation has led to released versions of such libraries breaking their documented promises.

This indicates that there is an unrecognized need for a new testing paradigm,
inspection testing
, where the programmer declaratively describes non-functional properties of an compilation artifact and the compiler checks these properties. We define inspection testing abstractly, implement it in the context of the Haskell Compiler GHC and show that it increases the quality of such libraries.
The Thoralf plugin: for your fancy type needs
Authors: Otwani Divesh , Eisenberg Richard A.
Published: December 2018

Many fancy types (e.g., generalized algebraic data types, type families) require a type checker plugin. These fancy types have a type index (e.g., type level natural numbers) with an equality relation that is difficult or impossible to represent using GHC's built-in type equality. The most practical way to represent these equality relations is through a plugin that asserts equality constraints. However, such plugins are difficult to write and reason about.

In this paper, we (1) present a formal theory of reasoning about the correctness of type checker plugins for type indices, and, (2) apply this theory in creating Thoralf, a generic and extensible plugin for type indices that translates GHC constraint problems to queries to an external SMT solver. By "generic and extensible", we mean the restrictions on extending Thoralf are slight, and, if some type index could be encoded as an SMT sort, then a programmer could extend Thoralf by providing this encoding function.
Improved Electrochemical Performance of Li1.25Ni0.2Co0.333Fe0.133Mn0.333O2 Cathode Material Synthesized by the Polyvinyl Alcohol Auxiliary Sol-Gel Process for Lithium-Ion Batteries
Authors: Wang He , Chang Mingning , Zheng Yonglei , Li Ningning , Chen Siheng , Wan Yong , Yuan Feng , Shao Weiquan , Xu Sheng
Published: December 2018

A lithium-rich manganese-based cathode material, Li1.25Ni0.2Co0.333Fe0.133Mn0.333O2, was prepared using a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-auxiliary sol-gel process using MnO2 as a template. The effect of the PVA content (0.0–15.0 wt%) on the electrochemical properties and morphology of Li1.25Ni0.2Co0.333Fe0.133Mn0.333O2 was investigated. Analysis of Li1.25Ni0.2Co0.333Fe0.133Mn0.333O2 X-ray diffraction patterns by RIETAN-FP program confirmed the layered α-NaFeO2 structure. The discharge capacity and coulombic efficiency of Li1.25Ni0.2Co0.333Fe0.133Mn0.333O2 in the first cycle were improved with increasing PVA content. In particular, the best material reached a first discharge capacity of 206.0 mAhg−1 and best rate capability (74.8 mAhg−1 at 5 C). Meanwhile, the highest capacity retention was 87.7% for 50 cycles. Finally, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy shows that as the PVA content increases, the charge-transfer resistance decreases.
Two Case Reports of Varicocele Rupture during Sexual Intercourse and Review of the Literature
Authors: Arif Chalil , Kotoulas Konstantinos , Georgellis Chrysostomos , Frigkas Konstantinos , Bantis Athanasios , Patris Emmanouil
Published: December 2018

Varicocele is characterized by the dilatation of the veins of the spermatic cord. Its prevalence in general male population is 15% while in the infertile population the prevalence rises up to 25%. The varicocele is considered an etiological factor for male infertility. Although different pathophysiological patterns have been proposed, there is no consensus in the urological society to date. In most of the cases varicocele is asymptomatic but sometimes gives mild symptoms as dull pain at the scrotal region. A rare complication of this condition is the spontaneous or traumatic rupture and hematoma formation, either as spermatic cord hematoma or as scrotal hematoma. We are presenting two cases of varicocele rupture, presented with acute painful swelling of the left inguinal and scrotal region during sexual intercourse. Imaging studies revealed a scrotal hematoma in the first case and a spermatic cord hematoma in the second case, without signs of active bleeding. Both patients were treated conservatively and recovered uneventfully. Subsequently, we reviewed the literature in an effort to find the key points for the diagnosis and treatment of this condition.
Advanced Iterative Procedures for Solving the Implicit Colebrook Equation for Fluid Flow Friction
Authors: Praks Pavel , Brkić Dejan
Published: December 2018

The empirical Colebrook equation from 1939 is still accepted as an informal standard way to calculate the friction factor of turbulent flows (4000 < Re < 108) through pipes with roughness between negligible relative roughness (ε/D ⟶ 0) to very rough (up to ε/D = 0.05). The Colebrook equation includes the flow friction factor λ in an implicit logarithmic form, λ being a function of the Reynolds number Re and the relative roughness of inner pipe surface ε/D: λ = f(λ, Re, ε/D). To evaluate the error introduced by the many available explicit approximations to the Colebrook equation, λ ≈ f(Re, ε/D), it is necessary to determinate the value of the friction factor λ from the Colebrook equation as accurately as possible. The most accurate way to achieve that is by using some kind of the iterative method. The most used iterative approach is the simple fixed‐point method, which requires up to 10 iterations to achieve a good level of accuracy. The simple fixed‐point method does not require derivatives of the Colebrook function, while the most of the other presented methods in this paper do require. The methods based on the accelerated Householder’s approach (3rd order, 2nd order: Halley’s and Schröder’s method, and 1st order: Newton–Raphson) require few iterations less, while the three‐point iterative methods require only 1 to 3 iterations to achieve the same level of accuracy. The paper also discusses strategies for finding the derivatives of the Colebrook function in symbolic form, for avoiding the use of the derivatives (secant method), and for choosing an optimal starting point for the iterative procedure. The Householder approach to the Colebrook’ equations expressed through the Lambert W‐function is also analyzed. Finally, it is presented one approximation to the Colebrook equation with an error of no more than 0.0617%.
Using Carbon Isotope Equilibrium to Screen Pedogenic Carbonate Oxygen Isotopes: Implications for Paleoaltimetry and Paleotectonic Studies
Authors: Sheldon Nathan D.
Published: December 2018

Stable isotope compositions of pedogenic carbonates (δ13Ccarb, δ18Ocarb) are widely used in paleoenvironmental and paleoaltimetry studies. At the same time, both in vertical stratigraphic sections and in horizontal transects of single paleosols, significant variability in δ18Ocarb values is observed well in excess of what could reasonably be attributed to elevation changes. Herein, a new screening tool is proposed to establish which pedogenic carbonate δ18Ocarb compositions reflect formation in isotopic equilibrium with environmental conditions through the use of the co-occurring δ13Corg composition of carbonate-occluded or in profile organic matter, where Δ13C = δ13Ccarb – δ13Corg. Based upon 51 modern soils from monsoonal, continental, and Mediterranean moisture regimes, Δ13C = +15.6 ± 1.1‰ (1σ), which closely matches theoretical predictions for carbonates formed at carbon isotope equilibrium through Fickian diffusion. Examples from both disequilibrium and equilibrium cases in the geologic record are examined, and it is shown that previous δ18Ocarb records used to infer Cenozoic uplift in southwestern Montana do not provide any constraint on paleoelevation because >90% of the pedogenic carbonate isotopic compositions are out of equilibrium. Guidelines for future paleoaltimetry studies include collection of both vertical stratigraphic sections and lateral transects, of at least three nodules per horizon, petrographic screening of nodules for diagenesis, collection of at least one independent proxy for paleoclimate or paleovegetation, and screening δ18Ocarb values using Δ13C measured for each paleosol.
Activation of GABAB Receptor Suppresses Diabetic Neuropathic Pain through Toll-Like Receptor 4 Signaling Pathway in the Spinal Dorsal Horn
Authors: Liu Peng , Yuan Hong-Bin , Zhao Shuang , Liu Fei-Fei , Jiang Yu-Qing , Guo Yue-Xian , Wang Xiu-Li
Published: December 2018

Diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP) is a prevalent complication in diabetes patients. Neuronal inflammation and activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) are involved in the occurrence of DNP. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Downregulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid B (GABAB) receptor contributes to the DNP. GABAB receptor interacts with NF-κB, a downstream signaling factor of TLR4, in a neuropathic pain induced by chemotherapy. In this study, we determined the role of TLR4/Myd88/NF-κB signaling pathways coupled to GABAB receptors in the generation of DNP. Intrathecal injection of baclofen (GABAB receptor agonist), LPS-RS ultrapure (TLR4 antagonist), MIP (MyD88 antagonist), or SN50 (NF-κB inhibitor) significantly increased paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) and paw withdrawal thermal latency (PWTL) in DNP rats, while intrathecal injection of saclofen (GABAB receptor blocker) decreased PWT and PWTL in DNP rats. The expression of TLR4, Myd88, NF-κBp65, and their downstream components IL-1 and TNF-α was significantly higher in the spinal cord tissue in DNP rats compared to control rats. Following inhibition of TLR4, Myd88, and NF-κB, the expression of IL-1 and TNF-α decreased. Activation of GABAB receptors downregulated the expression of TLR4, Myd88, NF-κBp65, IL-1, and TNF-α. Blockade of GABAB receptors significantly upregulated expression of TLR4, Myd88, NF-κBp65, IL-1, and TNF-α. These data suggest that activation of the TLR4/Myd88/NF-κB signaling pathway is involved in the occurrence of DNP in rats. Activation of GABAB receptor in the spinal cord may suppress the TLR4/Myd88/NF-κB signaling pathway and alleviate the DNP.
Triphala Suppresses Growth and Migration of Human Gastric Carcinoma Cells In Vitro and in a Zebrafish Xenograft Model
Authors: Tsering Jokyab , Hu Xianda
Published: December 2018

Objectives. Triphala is an extensively prescribed traditional medicinal formula with potential therapeutic effects on various malignancies such as breast, colon, pancreas, prostate, ovarian, cervical, endometrial, and lymphatic cancer as well as melanoma. This study aimed to investigate Triphala for antitumor activities against gastric cancers. Methods. In vitro tumor growth and migration of human gastric cancer cells were examined using the CCK-8 and Transwell assays, respectively. In vivo tumor progression was studied in a zebrafish xenograft model. The anticancer activity of Triphala was quantified as growth and metastasis inhibition rate. The underlying molecular mechanism was investigated by Western blotting. Results. The CCK-8 and Transwell experiments indicated that Triphala significantly decreased tumor proliferation and suppressed cell migration in vitro. The zebrafish xenograft study revealed that administration of Triphala inhibited the xenograft growth and metastasis of transplanted carcinoma cells in vivo. Western blotting analysis demonstrated an inhibition of phosphorylation of EGFR, Akt, and ERK in the presence of Triphala, indicating that its antineoplastic mechanism is associated with the regulation of the EGFR/Akt/ERK signaling cascade. Conclusion. Triphala is a promising antineoplastic agent for the treatment of gastric carcinomas with significant antiproliferative and antimetastatic activities.
Direct Incorporation of [11C]CO2 into Asymmetric [11C]Carbonates
Authors: Haji Dheere Abdul Karim , Bongarzone Salvatore , Shakir Dinah , Gee Antony
Published: December 2018

A novel carbon-11 radiolabelling methodology for the synthesis of the dialkylcarbonate functional group has been developed. The method uses cyclotron-produced short-lived [11C]CO2 (half-life 20.4 min) directly from the cyclotron target in a one-pot synthesis. Alcohol in the presence of base trapped [11C]CO2 efficiently forming an [11C]alkylcarbonate intermediate that subsequently reacted with an alkylchloride producing the di-substituted [11C]carbonate (34% radiochemical yield, determined by radio-HPLC) in 5 minutes from the end of [11C]CO2 cyclotron delivery.
Proximal Myopathy due to m.5835G>A Mutation in Mitochondrial MT-TY Gene
Authors: Simoncini C. , Montano V. , Alì G. , Costa R. , Siciliano G. , Mancuso M.
Published: December 2018

Mitochondrial (mt) tRNA (MTT) gene mutations are an important cause of mitochondrial diseases and are associated with a wide range of clinical presentations. Most mutations fall into three mitochondrial tRNAs (tRNAIle, tRNALeu (UUR), and tRNALys) and are responsible for half of the mitochondrial diseasees associated with tRNA mutation, with MERRF, MELAS, mitochondrial myopathy, and Leigh syndrome being the most frequent phenotypes. More than 100 tRNA pathogenetic mutations are described, showing little correlation between the observed clinical phenotype and a specific mitochondrial tRNA mutation. Furthermore different mutation can manifest with similar clinical phenotypes, making the genotype-phenotype correlation difficult. Here we report the case of an Italian 53-year-old woman presenting with a proximal myopathy and the m.5835G>A mutation in MT-TY gene coding for the mitochondrial tRNA Tyrosine gene.
AACR White Paper: Shaping the Future of Cancer Prevention – A Roadmap for Advancing Science and Public Health
Authors: Lippman Scott M. , Abate-Shen Cory , Colbert Maresso Karen L. , Colditz Graham A. , Dannenberg Andrew J. , Davidson Nancy E. , Disis Mary L. , DuBois Raymond N. , Szabo Eva , Giuliano Anna R. , Hait William N. , Lee J. Jack , Kensler Thomas W. , Kramer Barnett S. , Limburg Paul , Maitra Anirban , Martinez Maria Elena , Rebbeck Timothy R. , Schmitz Kathryn H. , Vilar Eduardo , Hawk Ernest T.
Published: December 2018

The recent pace, extent, and impact of paradigm-changing cancer prevention science has been remarkable. The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) convened a 3-day summit, aligned with five research priorities: (i) Precancer Atlas (PCA). (ii) Cancer interception. (iii) Obesity-cancer linkage, a global epidemic of chronic low-grade inflammation. (iv) Implementation science. (v) Cancer disparities. Aligned with these priorities, AACR co-led the Lancet Commission to formally endorse and accelerate the NCI Cancer Moonshot program, facilitating new global collaborative efforts in cancer control. The expanding scope of creative impact is perhaps most startling—from NCI-funded built environments to AACR Team Science Awarded studies of Asian cancer genomes informing global primary prevention policies; cell-free epigenetic marks identifying incipient neoplastic site; practice-changing genomic subclasses in myeloproliferative neoplasia (including germline variant tightly linked to JAK2 V617F haplotype); universal germline genetic testing for pancreatic cancer; and repurposing drugs targeting immune- and stem-cell signals (e.g., IL-1β, PD-1, RANK-L) to cancer interception. Microbiota-driven IL-17 can induce stemness and transformation in pancreatic precursors (identifying another repurposing opportunity). Notable progress also includes hosting an obesity special conference (connecting epidemiologic and molecular perspectives to inform cancer research and prevention strategies), co-leading concerted national implementation efforts in HPV vaccination, and charting the future elimination of cancer disparities by integrating new science tools, discoveries and perspectives into community-engaged research, including targeted counter attacks on e-cigarette ad exploitation of children, Hispanics and Blacks. Following this summit, two unprecedented funding initiatives were catalyzed to drive cancer prevention research: the NCI Cancer Moonshot (e.g., PCA and disparities); and the AACR-Stand Up To Cancer bold “Cancer Interception” initiative.
Paisagens Internas
Authors: Bessler Ilana
Published: December 2018

No contexto das narrativas visuais proponho pensarmos imageticamente as possibilidades das fronteiras contemporâneas. O espaço entre, o tempo entre. As fotografias remetem a espaços e tempos de construção de experiência e memória. Momentos contemplativos onde nossas paisagens internas, já experimentadas, podem atuar ressignificando constantemente o presente. Essas fotos são resíduos de outros projetos (Habitado e Unlived Memories) e foram ressignificadas nessa edição. Mostrando também o lugar e a abrangência de possibilidades das imagens produzidas e como a fotografia se comporta quando é deslocada da sua significação primária. A abertura e o ganho de interpretações e experimentações que se pode ter a partir de uma foto é imenso.  Esse ensaio é sobre tudo isso. Sobre tantas possibilidades que existem em uma foto. É sobre fazer fotografia e olhar fotografia.
Trilhar entre limites e indeterminações
Authors: Saraiva Maria Teresa Kerr
Published: December 2018

Pequena reflexão a respeito do desenho do Painel Estação da Luz de autoria de Teresa Saraiva.
Trevo 2000: Results of a Large Real‐World Registry for Stent Retriever for Acute Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Binning Mandy J. , Bartolini Bruno , Baxter Blaise , Budzik Ronald , English Joey , Gupta Rishi , Hedayat Hirad , Krajina Antonin , Liebeskind David , Nogueira Raul G. , Shields Ryan , Veznedaroglu Erol
Published: December 2018

Background

Recent randomized controlled trials show benefit of thrombectomy for large vessel occlusion in stroke. Real‐world data aid in assessing reproducibility of outcomes outside of clinical trials. The Trevo Retriever Registry is a multicenter, international, prospective study designed to assess outcomes in a large cohort of patients.

Methods and Results

The Trevo Registry is a prospective database of patients with large vessel occlusion treated with the Trevo device as the first device. The primary end point is revascularization based on modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score and secondary end points include 90‐day modified Rankin Scale, 90‐day mortality, neurological deterioration at 24 hours, and device/procedure related adverse events. Year 2008 patients were enrolled at 76 centers in 12 countries. Median admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale was 16 (interquartile range, 11–20). Occlusion sites were internal carotid artery (17.8%), middle cerebral artery (73.5%), posterior circulation (7.1%), and distal vascular locations (1.6%). A modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction 2b or 3 was achieved in 92.8% (95%
CI,
91.6, 93.9) of procedures, with 55.3% (95%
CI,
53.1, 57.5) of patients achieving modified Rankin Scale ≤2 at 3 months. Patients meeting revised 2015 American Heart Association criteria for thrombectomy had a 59.7% (95%
CI
, 56.0; 63.4) modified Rankin Scale 0 to 2 at 3 months, whereas 51.4% treated outside of American Heart Association criteria had modified Rankin Scale 0 to 2. 51.4% (95%
CI
, 49.6, 55.4). Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage rate was 1.7% (95%
CI
, 1.2, 2.4).

Conclusions

The Trevo Retriever Registry represents real‐world data with stent retriever. The registry demonstrates similar reperfusion rates and outcomes in the community compared with rigorous centrally adjudicated clinical trials. Future subgroup analysis of this cohort will assist in identifying areas of future research.

Clinical Trial Registration

URL
:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier:
NCT
02040259.
Distance-dependent consensus thresholds for generating group-representative structural brain networks
Authors: Betzel Richard F. , Griffa Alessandra , Hagmann Patric , Mišić Bratislav
Published: December 2018

Large-scale structural brain networks encode white matter connectivity patterns among distributed brain areas. These connection patterns are believed to support cognitive processes and, when compromised, can lead to neurocognitive deficits and maladaptive behavior. A powerful approach for studying the organizing principles of brain networks is to construct group-representative networks from multisubject cohorts. Doing so amplifies signal to noise ratios and provides a clearer picture of brain network organization. Here, we show that current approaches for generating sparse group-representative networks overestimate the proportion of short-range connections present in a network and, as a result, fail to match subject-level networks along a wide range of network statistics. We present an alternative approach that preserves the connection-length distribution of individual subjects. We have used this method in previous papers to generate group-representative networks, though to date its performance has not been appropriately benchmarked and compared against other methods. As a result of this simple modification, the networks generated using this approach successfully recapitulate subject-level properties, outperforming similar approaches by better preserving features that promote integrative brain function rather than segregative. The method developed here holds promise for future studies investigating basic organizational principles and features of large-scale structural brain networks.
Whodunnit? Crime Drama as a Case for Natural Language Understanding
Authors: Frermann Lea , Cohen Shay B. , Lapata Mirella
Published: December 2018

In this paper we argue that crime drama exemplified in television programs such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an ideal testbed for approximating real-world natural language understanding and the complex inferences associated with it. We propose to treat crime drama as a new inference task, capitalizing on the fact that each episode poses the same basic question (i.e., who committed the crime) and naturally provides the answer when the perpetrator is revealed. We develop a new dataset based on CSI episodes, formalize perpetrator identification as a sequence labeling problem, and develop an LSTM-based model which learns from multi-modal data. Experimental results show that an incremental inference strategy is key to making accurate guesses as well as learning from representations fusing textual, visual, and acoustic input.
Towards Evaluating Narrative Quality In Student Writing
Authors: Somasundaran Swapna , Flor Michael , Chodorow Martin , Molloy Hillary , Gyawali Binod , McCulla Laura
Published: December 2018

This work lays the foundation for automated assessments of narrative quality in student writing. We first manually score essays for narrative-relevant traits and sub-traits, and measure inter-annotator agreement. We then explore linguistic features that are indicative of good narrative writing and use them to build an automated scoring system. Experiments show that our features are more effective in scoring specific aspects of narrative quality than a state-of-the-art feature set.
Conversation Modeling on Reddit Using a Graph-Structured LSTM
Authors: Zayats Victoria , Ostendorf Mari
Published: December 2018

This paper presents a novel approach for modeling threaded discussions on social media using a graph-structured bidirectional LSTM (long-short term memory) which represents both hierarchical and temporal conversation structure. In experiments with a task of predicting popularity of comments in Reddit discussions, the proposed model outperforms a node-independent architecture for different sets of input features. Analyses show a benefit to the model over the full course of the discussion, improving detection in both early and late stages. Further, the use of language cues with the bidirectional tree state updates helps with identifying controversial comments.