bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pancarpal and partial carpal arthrodesis with 3 locking compression plates in 6 horses
Authors: Curtiss Alexandra L. , Goodrich Laurie R. , Rossignol Fabrice , Richardson Dean W.
Published: July 2018

Objective

To report the outcome of horses after pancarpal or partial carpal arthrodesis with 3 locking compression plates (LCP).

Study design

Case series.

Animals

Six horses ranging in age from 8 months to 16 years and weighing 227‐580 kg with severe carpal pathology including acute fractures, chronic osteoarthritis, and chronic angular limb deformity.

Methods

Pancarpal or partial carpal arthrodesis was performed with 3 LCP. Autologous cancellous bone grafts were used in 5 of 6 cases to facilitate joint arthrodesis.

Results

External coaptation was maintained for 4 to 6 weeks after surgery. Radiographic follow‐up was available in all 6 cases, all of which reached arthrodesis and pasture soundness by 4‐5 months postoperatively. One case required implant removal at 6 months because of implant exposure through the skin but returned to pasture soundness after removal.

Conclusion

Carpal instability due to acute fractures or chronic disease was successfully stabilized with 3 short LCP, leading to pasture soundness in all 6 horses.

Clinical significance

The use of 3 short LCP should be considered as a strategy to facilitate pancarpal or partial carpal arthrodesis by providing superior stability without placement of implants in the diaphysis of the radius and third metacarpus.
Towards understanding speaker discrimination abilities in humans and machines for text-independent short utterances of different speech styles
Authors: Park Soo Jin , Yeung Gary , Vesselinova Neda , Kreiman Jody , Keating Patricia A. , Alwan Abeer
Published: July 2018

Little is known about human and machine speaker discrimination ability when utterances are very short and the speaking style is variable. This study compares text-independent speaker discrimination ability of humans and machines based on utterances shorter than 2 s in two different speaking styles (read sentences and speech directed towards pets, characterized by exaggerated prosody). Recordings of 50 female speakers drawn from the UCLA Speaker Variability Database were used as stimuli. Performance of 65 human listeners was compared to i-vector-based automatic speaker verification systems using mel-frequency cepstral coefficients, voice quality features, which were inspired by a psychoacoustic model of voice perception, or their combination by score-level fusion. Humans always outperformed machines, except in the case of style-mismatched pairs from perceptually-marked speakers. Speaker representations by humans and machines were compared using multi-dimensional scaling (MDS). Canonical correlation analysis showed a weak correlation between machine and human MDS spaces. Multiple regression showed that means of voice quality features could represent the most important human MDS dimension well, but not the dimensions from machines. These results suggest that speaker representations by humans and machines are different, and machine performance might be improved by better understanding how different acoustic features relate to perceived speaker identity.
Species-level classification of beaked whale echolocation signals detected in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Authors: LeBien Jack G. , Ioup Juliette W.
Published: July 2018

This study presents and evaluates several methods for automated species-level classification of echolocation clicks from three beaked whale species recorded in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The species included are Cuvier's and Gervais' beaked whales, as well as an unknown species denoted Beaked Whale Gulf. An optimal feature set for discriminating the three click types while also separating detected clicks from unidentified delphinids was determined using supervised step-wise discriminant analysis. Linear and quadratic discriminant analyses both achieved error rates below 1% with three features, determined by tenfold cross validation. The waveform fractal dimension was found to be a highly ranked feature among standard spectral and temporal parameters. The top-ranking features were Higuchi's fractal dimension, spectral centroid, Katz's fractal dimension, and −10 dB duration. Six clustering routines, including four popular network-based algorithms, were also evaluated as unsupervised classification methods using the selected feature set. False positive rates of 0.001 and 0.024 were achieved by Chinese Whispers and spectral clustering, respectively, across 200 randomized trials. However, Chinese Whispers clustering yielded larger false negative rates. Spectral clustering was further tested on clicks from encounters of beaked, sperm, and pilot whales in the Tongue of the Ocean, Bahamas.
Variability of the inter-pulse interval in sperm whale clicks with implications for size estimation and individual identification
Authors: Bøttcher Anne , Gero Shane , Beedholm Kristian , Whitehead Hal , Madsen Peter T.
Published: July 2018

Sperm whales generate multi-pulsed clicks for echolocation and communication with an inter-pulse interval (IPI) determined by the size of their hypertrophied sound producing nose. The IPI has therefore been used to estimate body size and distinguish between individuals, and it has been hypothesized that conspecifics may use IPIs to recognize each other. However, the degree to which IPIs vary within individuals has not explicitly been tested, and therefore the inherent precision of this measure and its applicability for size estimation for researchers and sperm whales alike remain unknown. Here, the variability in IPI from both animal-borne Dtags and far-field recordings from echolocating and communicating sperm whales is quantified. Three different automatic methods (envelope, cepstrum, and cross-correlation) are tested and it is found that the envelope approach results in the least dispersion. Furthermore, it is shown that neither growth, depth, nor recording aspect fully explains the observed variability among clicks recorded from the same individual. It is proposed that dynamics in the soft structures of the nose are affecting IPIs, resulting in a variation of approximately 0.2 ms. Therefore, it is recommended that this variation be considered in IPI studies and that IPIs may have limited functionality as an identity cue among large groups of conspecifics.
The Earth Machine
Authors: Voosen Paul
Published: July 2018

With cash from tech philanthropists, science insurgents plot climate models driven by artificial intelligence.
Lectins modulate the microbiota of social amoebae
Authors: Dinh Christopher , Farinholt Timothy , Hirose Shigenori , Zhuchenko Olga , Kuspa Adam
Published: July 2018

Sticky bacteria tolerated as future food

Dictyostelium discoideum
amoebae consume bacteria until the supply is exhausted. Then the amoeba cells clump together into a “slug” and initiate a complex multicellular reproductive phase. Specialized cells within aggregates rid the slug of any extracellular bacteria. However, some strains of amoeba tolerate live, intracellular bacteria. Dinh
et al.
discovered that these carrier strains bear surface lectins that bind
Klebsiella
bacteria, promote cell entry, and prevent the bacteria from being immediately digested. These bacteria then provide a future food source. Moreover, the internalized bacteria transfer DNA into the amoeba nucleus, resulting in transient genetic transformation.

Science
, this issue p.
402
Inverse molecular design using machine learning: Generative models for matter engineering
Authors: Sanchez-Lengeling Benjamin , Aspuru-Guzik Alán
Published: July 2018

The discovery of new materials can bring enormous societal and technological progress. In this context, exploring completely the large space of potential materials is computationally intractable. Here, we review methods for achieving inverse design, which aims to discover tailored materials from the starting point of a particular desired functionality. Recent advances from the rapidly growing field of artificial intelligence, mostly from the subfield of machine learning, have resulted in a fertile exchange of ideas, where approaches to inverse molecular design are being proposed and employed at a rapid pace. Among these, deep generative models have been applied to numerous classes of materials: rational design of prospective drugs, synthetic routes to organic compounds, and optimization of photovoltaics and redox flow batteries, as well as a variety of other solid-state materials.
Fundamentals of numerical relativity for gravitational wave sources
Authors: Brügmann Bernd
Published: July 2018

Einstein’s theory of general relativity affords an enormously successful description of gravity. The theory encodes the gravitational interaction in the metric, a tensor field on spacetime that satisfies partial differential equations known as the Einstein equations. This review introduces some of the fundamental concepts of numerical relativity—solving the Einstein equations on the computer—in simple terms. As a primary example, we consider the solution of the general relativistic two-body problem, which features prominently in the new field of gravitational wave astronomy.
Nature's riverkeepers
Eager
Ben Goldfarb
Chelsea Green, 2018. 302 pp.
Authors: Boon Sarah
Published: July 2018

Recognizing their role in maintaining healthy watersheds, “beaver believers” work to rehab the rodent's reputation
Inflamed T cells and stroma drive gut tumors
Authors: Hollstein Pablo E. , Shaw Reuben J.
Published: July 2018

Loss of a tumor suppressor in T cells and stromal cells drives gastrointestinal polyp growth
Assessment of Rumen Microbiota from a Large Dairy Cattle Cohort Reveals the Pan and Core Bacteriomes Contributing to Varied Phenotypes
Authors: Xue Mingyuan , Sun Huizeng , Wu Xuehui , Guan Le Luo , Liu Jianxin
Published: July 2018

This study revealed the rumen bacteriome from a large dairy cattle cohort (
n
= 334) raised under the same management and showed the linkages among the rumen core and pan bacteriomes, rumen short-chain fatty acids, and milk production phenotypes. The findings from this study suggest that the pan rumen bacteriome, together with the core bacteriome, potentially contributes to variations in host milk production traits. Fundamental knowledge on the rumen core and pan microbiomes and their roles in contributing to lactation performance provides novel insights into future strategies for manipulating rumen microbiota to enhance milk production in dairy cattle.
A Novel Shewanella Isolate Enhances Corrosion by Using Metallic Iron as the Electron Donor with Fumarate as the Electron Acceptor
Authors: Philips Jo , Van den Driessche Niels , De Paepe Kim , Prévoteau Antonin , Gralnick Jeffrey A. , Arends Jan B. A. , Rabaey Korneel
Published: July 2018

Shewanella
spp. are frequently found on corroded metal structures. Their role in microbial influenced corrosion has been attributed mainly to their Fe(III)-reducing properties and, therefore, has been studied with the addition of an electron donor (lactate).
Shewanella
spp., however, can also use solid electron donors, such as cathodes and potentially Fe(0). In this work, we show that the electron acceptor fumarate supported the use of Fe(0) as the electron donor by
Shewanella
strain 4t3-1-2LB, which caused a (7.0 ± 0.6)-fold increase of the corrosion rate. The corrosion-enhancing mechanism likely involved cell surface-associated components in direct contact with the Fe(0) surface or maintenance of low hydrogen levels by attached cells, thereby favoring chemical hydrogen formation by Fe(0). This work sheds new light on the role of
Shewanella
spp. in biocorrosion, while the insights into the corrosion-enhancing mechanism contribute to the understanding of extracellular electron uptake processes.
Herpes Simplex Virus 1 γ
1
34.5 Protein Inhibits STING Activation That Restricts Viral Replication
Authors: Pan Shuang , Liu Xing , Ma Yijie , Cao Youjia , He Bin
Published: July 2018

Viral inhibition of innate immunity contributes to herpes simplex virus pathogenesis. Although this complex process involves multiple factors, the underlying events remain unclear. We demonstrate that an HSV virulence factor γ
1
34.5 precludes the activation of STING, a central adaptor in the intracellular DNA sensing pathway. Upon HSV infection, this viral protein engages with and inactivates STING. Consequently, it compromises host immunity and facilitates HSV replication. These observations uncover an HSV mechanism that is likely to mediate viral virulence.
Broadscale Ecological Patterns Are Robust to Use of Exact Sequence Variants versus Operational Taxonomic Units
Authors: Glassman Sydney I. , Martiny Jennifer B. H.
Published: July 2018

Microbial ecologists have made exceptional improvements in our understanding of microbiomes in the last decade due to breakthroughs in sequencing technologies. These advances have wide-ranging implications for fields ranging from agriculture to human health. Due to limitations in databases, the majority of microbial ecology studies use a binning approach to approximate taxonomy based on DNA sequence similarity. There remains extensive debate on the best way to bin and approximate this taxonomy. Here we examine two popular approaches using a large field-based data set examining both bacteria and fungi and conclude that there are not major differences in the ecological outcomes. Thus, it appears that standard microbial community analyses are not overly sensitive to the particulars of binning approaches.
Air-Liquid Interface Method To Study Epstein-Barr Virus Pathogenesis in Nasopharyngeal Epithelial Cells
Authors: Caves Elizabeth A. , Cook Sarah A. , Lee Nara , Stoltz Donna , Watkins Simon , Shair Kathy H. Y.
Published: July 2018

Lifting adherent cells to the air-liquid interface (ALI) is a method conventionally used to culture airway epithelial cells into polarized apical and basolateral surfaces. Reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) from monolayer epithelial cultures is sometimes abortive, which may be attributed to the lack of authentic reactivation triggers that occur in stratified epithelium
in vivo
. In the present work, the ALI culture method was applied to study EBV reactivation in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. The ALI culture of an EBV-infected cell line yielded high titers and can be dissected by a variety of molecular virology assays that measure induction of the EBV lytic cascade and EBV genome replication and assembly. EBV infection of polarized cultures of primary epithelial cells can be challenging and can have variable efficiencies. However, the use of the ALI method with established EBV-infected cell lines offers a readily available and reproducible approach for the study of EBV permissive replication in polarized epithelia.
Clinical characteristics and prognosis of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-seropositive paediatric optic neuritis in China
Authors: Song Honglu , Zhou Huanfen , Yang Mo , Tan Shaoying , Wang Junqing , Xu Quangang , Liu Hongjuan , Wei Shihui
Published: July 2018

Background/Aims

To investigate clinical characteristics and prognosis of paediatric optic neuritis (PON) in patients seropositive for myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody (MOG-Ab) in China.

Methods

Children displaying initial onset of optic neuritis (ON) were recruited from the Neuro-ophthalmology Department in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital from January 2016 to August 2017. They were assigned into three groups based on antibody status: MOG-Ab-seropositive ON (MOG-ON), aquaporin-4 antibody-seropositive ON (AQP4-ON) and double seronegative ON (seronegative-ON).

Results

Totally 48 patients were assessed, including 25 MOG-ON (52.1%), 7 AQP4-ON (14.6%) and 16 seronegative-ON (33.3%). The MOG-ON and seronegative-ON cohorts had equal ratios of female/male, but the AQP4-ON cohort was predominantly females (100%). The patients with MOG-ON were significantly younger at onset compared with the AQP4-ON group. Of the MOG-ON eyes, 97.6% had good recovery of visual acuity (VA) (≥0.5) compared with33.3% of AQP4-ON eyes (p<0.001). However, there was no significant difference compared with the seronegative-ON eyes (82.6%, p=0.052). Two children in the MOG-ON group ended up being diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, while only one patient in the AQP4-ON group developed neuromyelitis optica during follow-up. Patients with MOG-ON had thicker peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layers overall and in the superior and inferior quadrants than in patients with AQP4-ON (p=0.005, p=0.002 and p=0.024, respectively). In addition, the macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform in MOG-ON eyes became significantly thicker than in AQP4-ON eyes (p=0.029). Orbital MRI revealed a larger proportion of patients with MOG-ON had intracranial optic nerve involvement than patients with seronegative-ON (51.2% vs 17.4%, p=0.009).

Conclusion

MOG-ON was the most common PON subtype in China. MOG-ON had different clinical features including earlier age of onset, equal female/male ratio, better recovery of VA and thicker peripapillary retinal nerve fibre and macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layers. MOG-Abs may be a potential biomarker for determining visual prognosis with PON.
Establishment of blood pressure nomograms representative for Egyptian children and adolescents: a cross-sectional study
Authors: El-shafie Ali M , El-Gendy Fady M , Allhony Dalia M , Abo El Fotoh Wafaa Moustafa M , Omar Zein A , Samir Mohamed A , Bahbah Wael A , Abd el naby Sameh Abdallah , El Zayat Rania S , Abd El Hady Nahla M Said , El Gazar Basim A , Zannoun Mohamed A , Kasemy Zeinab A , El-Bazzar Ahmed N , Abd El-Fattah Mohamed Abd El-nour , Abd El-monsef Amir A , Kairallah Amir M , Raafet Hythem M , Baz Ghada M , Salah Amany Gaber , Galab Walaa S
Published: July 2018

Objective

To define nomograms for blood pressure in Egyptian children and adolescents.

Methods and study design

A total of 60 025 Egyptian children from birth to 19 years were enrolled in this cross-sectional randomised study from December 2015 to March 2017. They were selected from diverse geographical districts in Egypt. Healthy children who fulfilled the inclusion criteria, which included good nutritional history, absence of fever or documented underlying disease at the time of examination, no evidence of haemodynamically significant illness, and no antihypertensive drugs or other chronic drug administration, were included in the study. Body weight, recumbent length (for less than 24 months) and height (from 2 years to 19 years), and blood pressure were measured using standard mercury sphygmomanometers.

Results

Blood pressure increases with age in both boys and girls. The 90th percentile of systolic and diastolic blood pressure among Egyptian children was different from other ethnic populations (American and Turkish children) in both sexes. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure showed a positive correlation with weight and height in both sexes (p<0.001).

Conclusion

We assumed that normal blood pressure curves should be used cautiously during childhood, and it is recommended that every population have its own normal standard curve to define measured blood pressure levels in children. These centiles increased our knowledge and awareness of normal blood pressure among Egyptian children and adolescents. The percentiles will distinguish children and young adolescents with increased blood pressure and will be of value to both medical practice and scientific research.
Acceptability and experience of a functional training programme (ReTrain) in community-dwelling stroke survivors in South West England: a qualitative study
Authors: Norris Meriel , Poltawski Leon , Calitri Raff , Shepherd Anthony I , Dean Sarah Gerard
Published: July 2018

Rehabilitation Training (ReTrain) is a group-based approach to functional training post stroke. ReTrain has recently been evaluated through a pilot randomised controlled trial.

Objective

This article reports on the acceptability of the intervention as described by trial participants.

Design

A qualitative approach was undertaken. Of the 45 participants recruited into the trial, 23 were randomised to receive ReTrain. Following a sampling strategy, 10 participants undertook 1:1 semistructured audio-recorded interviews. Transcripts were analysed following a modified Framework Approach.

Results

Six themes were developed including exploration of: the physical and psychological impacts of training,the perceived mechanisms of change, the interaction of the group and approach of the trainer. A further theme considered the reported longer term impact of participation. Overall, the results indicated the acceptability of the intervention, but also key areas for potential modification in the definitive trial. These include a need to consider potential impact on both physical and psychological function, careful consideration of dosing and fatigue and the interpersonal factors that facilitate appropriate level of delivery, the trainer to participant ratio, and enhancing features that support continuation of activity postintervention.

Conclusion

Overall, this study supports the acceptability of ReTrain and the development of a definitive trial evaluation of this intervention to full.

Trial registration number

NCT02429180.
Bibliometric analysis of gaps in research on asbestos-related diseases: declining emphasis on public health over 26 years
Authors: Lin Ro-Ting , Soeberg Matthew John , Chien Lung-Chang , Fisher Scott , Takala Jukka , Lemen Richard , Driscoll Tim , Takahashi Ken
Published: July 2018

Objectives

The global burden of asbestos-related diseases (ARDs) is significant, and most of the world’s population live in countries where asbestos use continues. We examined the gaps between ARD research and suggestions of WHO and the International Labour Organization on prevention.

Methods

From the Web of Science, we collected data on all articles published during 1991–2016 and identified a subset of ARD-related articles. We classified articles into three research areas—laboratory, clinical and public health—and examined their time trends. For all and the top 11 countries publishing ARD-related articles, we calculated the proportions of all ARD-related articles that were in each of the three areas, the average rates of ARD-related articles over all articles, and the average annual per cent changes of rates.

Results

ARD-related articles (n=14 284) accounted for 1.3‰ of all articles in 1991, but this had declined to 0.8‰ by 2016. Among the three research areas, the clinical area accounted for the largest proportion (65.0%), followed by laboratory (26.5%) and public health (24.9%). The public health area declined faster than the other areas, at −5.7% per year. Discrepancies were also observed among the top 11 countries regarding emphasis on public health research, with Finland and Italy having higher, and China and the Netherlands lower, emphases.

Conclusions

There is declining emphasis on the public health area in the ARD-related literature. Under the ongoing global situation of ARD, primary prevention will remain key for some time, warranting efforts to rectify the current trend in ARD-related research.
Murmur clinic: validation of a new model for detecting heart valve disease
Authors: Draper Jane , Subbiah Sheila , Bailey Rikki , Chambers John B
Published: July 2018

Objectives

We aimed to determine if auscultation or a point-of-care scan could reduce the need for standard echocardiography (transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE)) in community patients with asymptomatic murmurs.

Methods

Requests from general practitioners were directed to a new murmur clinic. Auscultation and a point-of-care scan were performed by a cardiologist between 1 October 2013 and 31 December 2014 and by a scientist between 21 July 2015 and 9 May 2017.

Results

In the first phase (cardiologist), there were 75 patients, mean age 54 (56 women), and in the second phase there were 100 patients, mean age 60 (76 women). In the total population of 175, abnormalities were shown on TTE in 52 (30%), on point-of-care scan in 52 (30%) and predicted on auscultation in 45 (26%) (p=0.125; 95% CI −0.02 to 0.29). The sensitivity of auscultation was not significantly different for the cardiologist (91%) as for the scientist (83%) (p=0.18; 95% CI −0.22 to 0.175) and the specificity was 100% for both. Accuracy was 97% for the cardiologist and 95% for the scientist. For the point-of-care scan, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and accuracy were 100% for both cardiologist and scientist.

Conclusion

Most patients in a specialist murmur clinic had normal auscultation and point-of-care scans and no additional valve disease was detected by standard echocardiography. This suggests that a murmur clinic is a valid model for reducing demand on hospital echocardiography services.
Injury rate and patterns of Sydney grade cricketers: a prospective study of injuries in 408 cricketers
Authors: Soomro Najeebullah , Redrup Daniel , Evens Chris , Strasiotto Luke Pieter , Singh Shekhar , Lyle David , Singh Himalaya , Ferdinands Rene E D , Sanders Ross
Published: July 2018

Background

The grade cricket competition, also known as premier cricket, supplies players to the state and national teams in Australia. The players involved are generally high-performing amateur (subelite) club cricketers. However, to date, there is no study on the injury epidemiology of Australian grade cricket.

Aim

To conduct injury surveillance across all teams playing Sydney Grade Cricket (SGC) competition during the 2015–2016 season.

Methods

A cohort study was conducted to track injuries in 408 male cricketers in 20 teams playing SGC competition. Players were tracked through the MyCricket website’s scorebook every week. Cricket New South Wales physiotherapists were alerted if there were changes to the playing XI from the last game. If any changes were made due to injury, then an injury incident was registered.

Results

During the course of the season, a total of 86 injuries were registered from 65 players, resulting in a loss of 385 weeks of play. The overall injury incidence rate was 35.54 injuries/10 000 playing hours with an average weekly injury prevalence of 4.06%. Lower back injuries (20%) were the most common injuries followed by foot (14%), hand (13.75%), knee (7.5%) and calf (7.5%). Linear regression analysis showed that the likelihood of injury increased as the mean age of the teams increased (R=0.5, p<0.05).

Conclusion

The injury rate in SGC is lower than that reported at elite level. However, the high rate of lower back injuries (20%) highlights an area of concern in this cohort. High workloads or inadequate physical conditioning may contribute to such injuries. This study sets the foundation for understanding injury epidemiology in grade cricket and examines the links between injury and performance, these results may assist coaches and administrators to develop and implement cricket-specific injury prevention programmes.
Return of cartoon to market e-cigarette-related products
Authors: Allem Jon-Patrick , Cruz Tess Boley , Unger Jennifer B , Toruno Ruth , Herrera Josseline , Kirkpatrick Matthew G
Published: July 2018

Introduction

The tobacco industry’s use of cartoons to market products has been shown to be effective at increasing awareness and appeal of combustible cigarettes among youth. While the Master Settlement Agreement placed restrictions on the use of cartoons for major cigarette and smokeless (chew) tobacco brands in the USA, no such restrictions exist for electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). Research has shown that e-cigarette manufacturers are using cartoons to market products, but limited data exist on the extent of these practices. This study examined the extent of the use of cartoons to market e-liquids on Instagram.

Methods

Instagram posts with the hashtag #ejuice or #eliquid were collected from 3 November 2017 to 17 November 2017. Rules were established to identify Cartoon (the post contained a cartoon), Logo (the post was labelled a cartoon due to the logo) and Promo (the image of the post or accompanying text indicated it was a promotion) in the data (n=3481).

Results

Among all posts, 723 (20.77%) contained a Cartoon, and 479 (13.76%) were coded as a cartoon because of the Logo. In other words, 479/723 or (66.25%) of Cartoon were coded as cartoons due to the vendor’s or manufacture’s logo. Among all posts, 2360 (67.80%) were Promo.

Conclusion

Findings indicate that e-cigarette companies are using cartoons to market their products and many of these companies’ logos are cartoons. Empirical data are needed to determine whether cartoon marketing strategies impact perceived risk and benefits, product appeal, the intention to use and actual use of e-cigarettes.
Using the Original and Symmetrical Face Test Samples to Perform Two-Step Collaborative Representation for Face Recognition
Authors: Liu Zhonghua , Zhang Lin , Pu Jiexin , Liu Gang , Liu Sen
Published: July 2018

Face recognition using sparse representation-based classification (SRC) is a new hot technique in recent years. However, the research indicates that it is the collaborative representation but not the [Formula: see text]-norm sparsity that makes SRC powerful for face classification. Consequently, we propose a simple yet much more efficient face classification scheme, namely two-step collaborative representation-based classification (TSCRC) method. First, we exploit the symmetry of the face to generate new images of each test sample. Then, the original and new generated test samples are, respectively, used to perform TSCRC, which ultimately uses a small number of classes that are near to the test sample to represent and classify it. Finally, the score level fusion is taken to perform classification recognition. The experimental results clearly show that the proposed method has very competitive classification results.
A Low-Voltage Bulk-Driven Differential CMOS Schmitt Trigger with Tunable Hysteresis
Authors: Nejati Ali , Bastan Yasin , Amiri Parviz , Maghami Mohammad Hossein
Published: July 2018

This paper describes a low-voltage bulk-driven differential CMOS Schmitt trigger with tunable hysteresis for use in noise removal applications. The hysteresis of the proposed Schmitt trigger is designed based on a regenerative current feedback and its width is adjustable by two control voltages. The center of the hysteresis can also be adjusted by either the control voltages or input common-mode voltage. The principle operation of the proposed circuit is discussed, its main formulas are derived and its performance is verified by Cadence post-layout simulations. Designed in the TSMC 0.18[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m standard CMOS process, the circuit consumes [Formula: see text]m2 of silicon area. Post-layout simulation results indicate that the hysteresis width of the Schmitt trigger can be adjusted from 170 to 270[Formula: see text]mV and the ratio of the hysteresis width variation to supply voltage is 11.11%. Operated with 0.8[Formula: see text]V supply voltage, the power consumption of the circuit ranges from 0.48 to 1.12[Formula: see text]mW.
Linear Software Models: Bipartite Isomorphism between Laplacian Eigenvectors and Modularity Matrix Eigenvectors
Authors: Exman Iaakov , Sakhnini Rawi
Published: July 2018

We have recently shown that one can obtain the numbers and sizes of modules of a software system from the eigenvectors of its modularity matrix symmetrized and weighted by an affinity matrix. However such a weighting still demands a suitable definition of an affinity. This paper offers an alternative way to obtain the same results by means of the eigenvectors of a Laplacian matrix, directly obtained from the modularity matrix without the need of weighting. These two formalizations stand in a mutual isomorphism. We call it bipartite isomorphism since it is most straightforwardly shown by deriving the Laplacian from the modularity matrix and vice versa through the intermediate bipartite graph between two separate sets: the structors’ and the functionals’ sets. This isomorphism is also demonstrated through the equation defining the Laplacian in terms of the modularity matrix, or by the direct mapping of the respective matrices’ eigenvectors. Both matrices and the bipartite graph reflect one central idea: modules are connected components with high cohesion. The Laplacian matrix technique, of which the Fiedler vector is of central importance, is illustrated by case studies. An important claim of this paper is that, independently of the modularity matrix- and Laplacian matrix-specific properties, behind these two alternative matrices there is just one unified algebraic theory of software composition — the Linear Software Models — here concerning the application of the matrices’ eigenvectors to software modularity.
Controlling Occurrence Frequencies of Parameter Values in Pair-Wise Testing
Authors: Fujimoto Satoshi , Kojima Hideharu , Tsuchiya Tatsuhiro
Published: July 2018

Pair-wise testing is a widely used strategy of software testing. It requires testing every pair of parameter values at least once. This paper focuses weighting of parameter values for this testing strategy. Weighting is an added feature which allows the tester to prioritize different parameter values by specifying their desired frequency of occurrence in a test suite. This feature is desirable as it allows the tester to have more control over the resulting test suite. However, there has been not much research on weighting: to our knowledge, all existing weighting methods treat weights as a second class requirement and cannot generate a test suite that sufficiently respects the given weights. Aiming to overcome this problem, this paper proposes a weighting method which can be used in combination of any one-test-at-a-time greedy test case generation algorithm. By comparing the parameter value distribution in the current test suite and the ideal one specified by the given weights, the method generates each test case so that the resulting test suite can reflect the weights as accurately as possible. The usefulness of the method is demonstrated through empirical results.
A finite presentation of Jordan algebras
Authors: Shestakov Ivan , Zelmanov Efim
Published: July 2018

Let [Formula: see text] be an associative algebra. Let [Formula: see text] be an involution. We study the following question: when are the Jordan algebras [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] finitely presented?
Epicyclic oscillations of charged particles in stationary solutions immersed in a magnetic field with application to the Kerr–Newman black hole
Authors: Azreg-Aïnou Mustapha
Published: July 2018

We consider a stationary metric immersed in a uniform magnetic field and determine the general expressions for the epicyclic frequencies of charged particles. Applications to the Kerr–Newman black hole are reached of physical consequences and reveal some new effects among which are the existence of radially and vertically stable circular orbits in the region enclosed by the event horizon and the so-called “innermost” stable circular orbit (ISCO) in the plane of symmetry.
Risk-Taking Propensity and Entrepreneurship: The Role of Power Distance
Authors: Antoncic Jasna Auer , Antoncic Bostjan , Gantar Matjaz , Hisrich Robert D. , Marks Lawrence J. , Bachkirov Alexandre A. , Li Zhaoyang , Polzin Pierre , Borges Jose L. , Coelho Antonio , Kakkonen Marja-Liisa
Published: July 2018

The personal characteristics of entrepreneurs can be importantly related to entrepreneurial startup intentions and behaviors. A country-moderated hypothesis including the relationship between an individual’s risk-taking propensity and entrepreneurship (behaviors or intentions of the person) was conceptually developed and empirically tested in this study. The data collection was performed through a structured questionnaire. Multinominal logistic regression was used for analyzing data obtained from 1,414 students in six countries. The crucial contribution of this research is the clarification of the character of risk-taking propensity in entrepreneurship and the indication that the risk-taking propensity-entrepreneurship relationship can be moderated contingent on power distance.
Elementary matrix reduction over Bézout domains
Authors: Chen Huanyin , Abdolyousefi Marjan Sheibani
Published: July 2018

A ring [Formula: see text] is an elementary divisor ring if every matrix over [Formula: see text] admits a diagonal reduction. If [Formula: see text] is an elementary divisor domain, we prove that [Formula: see text] is a Bézout duo-domain if and only if for any [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text]. We explore certain stable-like conditions on a Bézout domain under which it is an elementary divisor ring. Many known results are thereby generalized to much wider class of rings.
Reconstruction of stationary and non-stationary signals by the generalized Prony method
Authors: Plonka Gerlind , Stampfer Kilian , Keller Ingeborg
Published: July 2018

We employ the generalized Prony method in [T. Peter and G. Plonka, A generalized Prony method for reconstruction of sparse sums of eigenfunctions of linear operators, Inverse Problems 29 (2013) 025001] to derive new reconstruction schemes for a variety of sparse signal models using only a small number of signal measurements. By introducing generalized shift operators, we study the recovery of sparse trigonometric and hyperbolic functions as well as sparse expansions into Gaussians chirps and modulated Gaussian windows. Furthermore, we show how to reconstruct sparse polynomial expansions and sparse non-stationary signals with structured phase functions.
Dynamic Output-Feedback Control for Chemical Stirred Tank Reactor System with Multiple Time-Delays: A Lyapunov–Krasovskii Functional Approach
Authors: Zheng Wei , Wang Hongbin , Zhang Zhiming , Wen Shuhuan , Wang Yueling
Published: July 2018

This paper addresses the dynamic output feedback control problem for a class of nonlinear multiple time-delays system. First, the system is decomposed into two subsystems based on the input matrix and output matrix. Second, a dynamic compensator is employed for the first subsystem, and then the output feedback controller is designed based on the second subsystem and compensator. With a new Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional, we show that the closed-loop time-delays system is stable and the designed controller make the solutions of the system convergent to an adjustable bounded region. Compared with the previous works, the proposed dynamic output feedback technique is more flexible and the required conditions on the considered systems are less conservative. Finally, the simulations for a discrete-time chemical stirred tank reactor case are performed to verify the effectiveness of the method.
An integrable geometrical foundation of gravity
Authors: Koivisto Tomi
Published: July 2018

In a talk at the conference Geometrical Foundations of Gravity at Tartu[Formula: see text] 2017, it was suggested that the affine spacetime connection could be associated with purely fictitious forces. This leads to gravitation in a flat and smooth geometry. Fermions are found to nevertheless couple with the metrical connection and a phase gauge field. The theory is reviewed in this proceeding in a Palatini, and in a metric-affine gauge formulation.
Numerical simulation of physiologically relevant pulsatile flow of blood with shear-rate-dependent viscosity in a stenosed blood vessel
Authors: Mukhopadhyay Subrata , Mandal Mani Shankar , Mukhopadhyay Swati
Published: July 2018

Pulsatile flow of blood in a blood vessel having time-dependent shape (diameter) is investigated numerically in order to understand some important physiological phenomena in arteries. A smooth axi-symmetric cosine shaped constriction is considered. To mimic the realistic situation as far as possible, viscosity of blood is taken to be non-uniform, a shear-thinning viscosity model is considered and a physiologically relevant pulsatile flow is introduced. Taking advantage of axi-symmetry in the proposed problem, the stream function–vorticity formulation is used to solve the governing equations for blood flow. Effect of different parameters associated with the problem on the flow pattern has been investigated and disparities from the Newtonian case are discussed in detail.
An extension for identifying search directions for interior-point methods in linear optimization
Authors: Kheirfam Behrouz , Nasrollahi Afsaneh
Published: July 2018

In this paper, based on the transformation [Formula: see text] introduced by Darvay and Takács [New method for determining search directions for interior-point algorithms in linear optimization, Optim. Lett. 12(5) (2018) 1099–1116], we present a full-Newton step interior-point method for linear optimization. They consider the case [Formula: see text]. Here, we extend this to the case [Formula: see text] to obtain our search directions. We show that the iterates lie in the neighborhood of the local quadratic convergence of the proximity measure. Finally, the polynomial complexity of the proposed algorithm is proved.
The existence of a factorized unbounded operator between Fréchet spaces
Authors: Kızgut Ersin , Yurdakul Murat
Published: July 2018

For locally convex spaces [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], the continuous linear map [Formula: see text] is called bounded if there is a zero neighborhood [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text] is bounded in [Formula: see text]. Our main result is that the existence of an unbounded operator [Formula: see text] between Fréchet spaces [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] which factors through a third Fréchet space [Formula: see text] ends up with the fact that the triple [Formula: see text] has an infinite dimensional closed common nuclear Köthe subspace, provided that [Formula: see text] has the property [Formula: see text].
Quantization Bias for Digital Correlators
Authors: Mena-Parra J. , Bandura K. , Dobbs M. A. , Shaw J. R. , Siegel S.
Published: July 2018

In radio interferometry, the quantization process introduces a bias in the magnitude and phase of the measured correlations which translates into errors in the measurement of source brightness and position in the sky, affecting both the system calibration and image reconstruction. In this paper, we investigate the biasing effect of quantization in the measured correlation between complex-valued inputs with a circularly symmetric Gaussian probability density function (PDF), which is the typical case for radio astronomy applications. We start by calculating the correlation between the input and quantization error and its effect on the quantized variance, first in the case of a real-valued quantizer with a zero mean Gaussian input and then in the case of a complex-valued quantizer with a circularly symmetric Gaussian input. We demonstrate that this input-error correlation is always negative for a quantizer with an odd number of levels, while for an even number of levels, this correlation is positive in the low signal level regime. In both cases, there is an optimal interval for the input signal level for which this input-error correlation is very weak and the model of additive uncorrelated quantization noise provides a very accurate approximation. We determine the conditions under which the magnitude and phase of the measured correlation have negligible bias with respect to the unquantized values: we demonstrate that the magnitude bias is negligible only if both unquantized inputs are optimally quantized (i.e. when the uncorrelated quantization error model is valid), while the phase bias is negligible when (1) at least one of the inputs is optimally quantized, or when (2) the correlation coefficient between the unquantized inputs is small. Finally, we determine the implications of these results for radio interferometry.
Learning Nonlinear Soft-Tissue Dynamics for Interactive Avatars
Authors: Casas Dan , Otaduy Miguel A.
Published: July 2018

We present a novel method to enrich existing vertex-based human body models by adding soft-tissue dynamics. Our model learns to predict per-vertex 3D offsets, referred to as dynamic blendshapes, that reproduce nonlinear mesh deformation effects as a function of pose information. This enables the synthesis of realistic 3D mesh animations, including soft-tissue effects, using just skeletal motion. At the core of our method there is a neural network regressor trained on high-quality 4D scans from which we extract pose, shape and soft-tissue information. Our regressor uses a novel nonlinear subspace, which we build using an autoencoder, to efficiently compact soft-tissue dynamics information. Once trained, our method can be plugged to existing vertex-based skinning methods with little computational overhead (<10ms), enabling real-time nonlinear dynamics. We qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate our method, and show compelling animations with soft-tissue effects, created using publicly available motion capture datasets.
3D Sketching using Multi-View Deep Volumetric Prediction
Authors: Delanoy Johanna , Aubry Mathieu , Isola Phillip , Efros Alexei A. , Bousseau Adrien
Published: July 2018

Sketch-based modeling strives to bring the ease and immediacy of drawing to the 3D world. However, while drawings are easy for humans to create, they are very challenging for computers to interpret due to their sparsity and ambiguity. We propose a data-driven approach that tackles this challenge by learning to reconstruct 3D shapes from one or more drawings. At the core of our approach is a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) that predicts occupancy of a voxel grid from a line drawing. This CNN provides an initial 3D reconstruction as soon as the user completes a single drawing of the desired shape. We complement this single-view network with an updater CNN that refines an existing prediction given a new drawing of the shape created from a novel viewpoint. A key advantage of our approach is that we can apply the updater iteratively to fuse information from an arbitrary number of viewpoints, without requiring explicit stroke correspondences between the drawings. We train both CNNs by rendering synthetic contour drawings from hand-modeled shape collections as well as from procedurally-generated abstract shapes. Finally, we integrate our CNNs in an interactive modeling system that allows users to seamlessly draw an object, rotate it to see its 3D reconstruction, and refine it by re-drawing from another vantage point using the 3D reconstruction as guidance.
Multi-Layer Depth of Field Rendering with Tiled Splatting
Authors: Franke Linus , Hofmann Nikolai , Stamminger Marc , Selgrad Kai
Published: July 2018

In this paper we present a scattering-based method to compute high quality depth of field in real time. Relying on multiple layers of scene data, our method naturally supports settings with partial occlusion, an important effect that is often disregarded by real time approaches. Using well-founded layer-reduction techniques and efficient mapping to the GPU, our approach out-performs established approaches with a similar high-quality feature set.

Our proposed algorithm works by collecting a multi-layer image, which is then directly reduced to only keep hidden fragments close to discontinuities. Fragments are then further reduced by merging and then splatted to screen-space tiles. The per-tile information is then sorted and accumulated in order, yielding an overall approach that supports partial occlusion as well as properly ordered blending of the out-of-focus fragments.
Projective Skinning
Authors: Komaritzan Martin , Botsch Mario
Published: July 2018

We present a novel approach for physics-based character skinning. While maintaining real-time performance it overcomes the well-known artifacts of commonly used geometric skinning approaches, it enables dynamic effects, and it resolves local self-collisions. Our method is based on a two-layer model consisting of rigid bones and an elastic soft tissue layer. This volumetric model is easily and efficiently computed from an input surface mesh of the character and its underlying skeleton. In particular, our method neither requires skinning weights, which are often expensive to compute or tedious to hand-tune, nor a complex volumetric tessellation, which fails for many real-world input meshes due to self-intersections.