bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Myocardial calcification secondary to toxic shock syndrome: a comparative review of 17 cases
Authors: Ahmed Talha , Inayat Faisal , Haq Muhammad , Ahmed Taha
Published: January 2019

Myocardial calcification is a rare and life-threatening condition. It has been associated with a myriad of causes, including ischaemic heart disease, cardiac surgery, rheumatic fever, and myocarditis. However, this entity is less well recognised in the setting of toxic shock syndrome. Published medical literature is scarce with regard to the pathogenesis and clinical implications of this potential association. We chronicle here the case of a patient with myocardial calcification secondary to toxic shock syndrome from our clinical experience. Furthermore, a systematic literature search of the medical databases PubMed and Google Scholar was conducted. A total of 17 cases fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The data on patients’ characteristics, epidemiology, clinical features, comorbid conditions, diagnosis, clinical course and outcome were collected and analysed. The present review outlines our current understanding of the epidemiology of and risk factors for sepsis-related myocardial calcification, the pathophysiology of this condition and currently available approaches to diagnosis.
Dobutamine stress echocardiogram-related in-stent thrombosis with acute myocardial infarction
Authors: Gupta Puneet , Chockalingam Anand
Published: January 2019

Dobutamine stress echocardiogram (DSE) is considered a safe and reliable method for screening for underlying myocardial ischaemia. We report a case of a 60-year-old man who developed inferior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction within 30 minutes of a normal DSE. The patient was found to have a 99% in-stent restenosis in the mid-right coronary artery with significant thrombosis for which successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was performed. Acute coronary syndrome after a normal DSE has been rarely reported in the literature. The reported cases were found to have obstructive or non-obstructive coronary plaques with overlying thrombus, which suggests plaque destabilisation and rupture as the possible underlying mechanism behind coronary occlusion.
Scope-of-practice laws and expanded health services: the case of underserved women and advanced cervical cancer diagnoses
Authors: Smith-Gagen Julie , White Larissa L , Santos Amanda , Hasty Shaun M , Tung Wei-Chen , Lu Minggen
Published: January 2019

Background

Underserved women (rural, minority or poor) are disproportionally diagnosed with late-stage cervical cancer, indicative of inadequate access to, and use of, preventative healthcare. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has proposed that nurse practitioners (NP) can address provider shortages among underserved populations, but to reduce shortages, scope-of-practice laws that restrict the delivery of care, must be revised. We examined the IOM recommendation of NP expanded scope-of-practice laws on reducing the disparity of underserved women diagnosed with late-stage cervical cancer.

Methods

We examined the cohort of 10 673 women diagnosed with cervical cancer between 2010 and 2014 and reported to the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results cancer registry. We linked state-level laws regarding NP scope-of-practice to patients with cancer by their state of residence, diagnosis date and law enactment date. Hierarchical regression was used to explore NP full scope-of-practice law’s impact on late-stage cancer diagnoses considering the moderating effect of women living in medically underserved areas. We adjusted for known confounders available in this population-based data set.

Results

Medically underserved women living in states with laws that restrict NP full scope-of-practice are twofold more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer; adjusted OR and 95% CI (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.4 to 3.1). These disparities were not observed among underserved women living in areaswithNP full scope-of-practice laws (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.7 to 1.3).

Conclusions

NP full scope-of-practice laws could provide a pragmatic and cost-effective solution to healthcare provider shortages associated with late stage of cervical cancer diagnoses among underserved women.
New approaches to cope with possible harms of low-dose environmental chemicals
Authors: Lee Duk-Hee , Jacobs Jr David R
Published: January 2019

Low-dose environmental chemicals including endocrine-disrupting chemicals can disturb endocrine, nervous and immune systems. Traditional chemical-focused approaches, strict regulation and avoidance of exposure sources, can help protect humans from individual or several chemicals in the high-dose range, but their value in the low-dose range is questionable. First, exposure sources to problematic environmental chemicals are omnipresent, and many common pollutants present no safe level. In this situation, the value of any effort focusing on individual chemicals is very limited. Second, critical methodological issues, including the huge number of environmental chemicals, biological complexity of mixtures and non-linearity, make it difficult for risk assessment-based regulation to provide reliable permissible levels of individual chemicals. Third, the largest exposure source is already internal; human adipose tissue contains the most complex chemical mixtures. Thus, in the low-dose range, a paradigm shift is required from a chemical-focused to a human-focused approach for health protection. Two key questions are (1) how to control toxicokinetics of chemical mixtures to decrease their burden in critical organs and (2) how to mitigate early harmful effects of chemical mixtures at cellular levels. Many lifestyles can be evaluated for these purposes. Although both the chemical-focused and human-focused approaches are needed to protect humans, the human-focused holistic approach must be the primary measure in the low-dose range of environmental chemicals.
Work-focused interventions that promote the labour market transition of young adults with chronic disabling health conditions: a systematic review
Authors: Jetha Arif , Shaw Robert , Sinden Adrienne R , Mahood Quenby , Gignac Monique AM , McColl Mary Ann , Martin Ginis Kathleen A
Published: January 2019

Objective

Young adulthood is an important transitional life phase where careers are established. Young adults with chronic disabling health conditions are underrepresented in the labour market. Our study aims to examine the effectiveness of work-focused interventions that support the labour market transition of young adults with chronic disabling health conditions; and to examine whether the effectiveness of work-focused interventions differ across work transition phase (eg, preparation, entry and sustaining work, employment advancement) and disability type.

Methods

A systematic review of articles published between January 1990 and July 2018 was conducted. Medline, EMBASE and PsycInfo were searched, and titles/abstracts and full texts of articles were reviewed for eligibility. Relevant articles were appraised for methodological quality. A best evidence synthesis was applied to medium-quality/high-quality studies to develop recommendations.

Results

5816 articles were identified; 10 articles were relevant and of moderate–high methodological quality. Six intervention categories were identified which focused on young adults with mental health or intellectual/learning disabilities (n=3) and addressed employment preparation (n=10) and/or work entry (n=9). No interventions addressed at-work issues or career advancement. Strong evidence existed for tailored supported employment (SE) interventions having a positive impact on preparation and entry into competitive employment. Also, moderate evidence existed for the positive impact of SE on preparation and entry into competitive employment for young adults with mental health conditions.

Conclusions

Tailored SE is recommended to foster preparation and entry into the labour market. Evidence-based interventions are needed to facilitate sustained work and career advancement of young adults living with different disabling health conditions.
Acute caffeine supplementation promotes small to moderate improvements in performance tests indicative of in-game success in professional female basketball players
Authors: Stojanović Emilija , Stojiljković Nenad , Scanlan Aaron T. , Dalbo Vincent J. , Stanković Ratko , Antić Vladimir , Milanović Zoran
Published: January 2019

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of acute caffeine supplementation on anaerobic performance in professional female basketball players. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, experimental design was used in a randomized counterbalanced manner. In separate sessions, 10 professional basketball players ingested caffeine (3 mg/kg body mass) or a placebo (dextrose: 3 mg/kg body mass) 60 min before completing countermovement jumps (CMJ) with and without arm swing, a squat jump (SJ), the Lane Agility Drill, 20-m sprints (with 5-m and 10-m split times recorded) with and without dribbling a ball, and a suicide run. Participants provided ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and ratings of perceived performance 30 min following testing. Data analyses included the use of effect size (ES) and significance. Caffeine supplementation produced small nonsignificant (p > 0.05) increases in CMJ without arm swing (ES = 0.30), CMJ with arm swing (ES = 0.29), SJ (ES = 0.33), and the lane agility drill (ES = –0.27). Caffeine supplementation produced small to moderate significant improvements in 10-m (ES = –0.63; p = 0.05) and 20-m (ES = –0.41; p = 0.04) sprint times without dribbling. Caffeine supplementation promoted a moderate significant reduction in RPE during the test battery (ES = –1.18; p = 0.04) and a small nonsignificant improvement in perceived performance (ES = 0.23; p = 0.53). Acute caffeine supplementation may produce small to moderate improvements in key performance attributes required for basketball while reducing RPE.
Vitamin D status is associated with 1,5-anhydro-d-glucitol status in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Liu Qiaorui , Zheng Xulei , Liu Zhiwen , Qiu Ling
Published: January 2019

Serum 1,5-anhydro-d-glucitol (1,5-AG) concentrations are short-term hyperglycemia indicators and were used to estimate the effects of serum vitamin D concentrations on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Serum concentrations of 1,5-AG, 25-hydroxyvitamin D2(25-OH-D2), and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3(25-OH-D3) from 11 026 patients with T2DM, hospitalized in the Department of Endocrinology, Shanghai Central Hospital of Xuhui District, from January 2012 to June 2015, were retrospectively analyzed. Correlation analyses revealed correlations between 1,5-AG and 25-OH-D3(r = 0.05, P < 0.001), age (r = 0.05, P < 0.001), and 25-OH-D2+ 25-OH-D3(25-OH-D2/D3) (r = 0.05, P < 0.001). Linear regression analyses revealed associations between 1,5-AG and 25-OH-D2/D3(adjusted R2= 0.003) as well as 25-OH-D3(adjusted R2= 0.002). In males with 1,5-AG levels ≤11.55 mg/L, serum concentrations of 25-OH-D2(P < 0.001) and 25-OH-D3(P = 0.001) were significantly lower than those in diabetic males with 1,5-AG levels >11.55 mg/L. Serum concentrations of 25-OH-D2/D3in patients with T2DM were associated with 1,5-AG retention, suggesting involvement in glycemic control.
Applications of Laplacian spectrum for the weighted scale-free network with a weight factor
Authors: Dai Meifeng , Ju Tingting , Liu Jingyi , Sun Yu , Song Xiangmei , Su Weiyi
Published: January 2019

Laplacian spectrum gives a lot of useful information about complex structural properties and relevant dynamical aspects, which has attracted the attention of mathematicians. We introduced the weighted scale-free network inspired by the binary scale-free network. First, the weighted scale-free network with a weight factor is constructed by an iterative way. In the next step, we use the definition of eigenvalue and eigenvector to obtain the recursive relationship of its eigenvalues and multiplicities at two successive generations. Through analysis of eigenvalues of transition weight matrix we find that multiplicities of eigenvalues 0 of transition matrix are different for the binary scale-free network and the weighted scale-free network. Then, we obtain the eigenvalues for the normalized Laplacian matrix of the weighted scale-free network by using the obtained eigenvalues of transition weight matrix. Finally, we show some applications of the Laplacian spectrum in calculating eigentime identity and Kirchhoff index. The leading term of these indexes are completely different for the binary and the weighted scale-free network.
Time-dependent effect on wetting and tribological properties of plasma-modified acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber (NBR) surface
Authors: Zhang Zhao-Xiang , Shen Ming-Xue , Xiong Guang-Yao
Published: January 2019

Different time air plasma treatment was conducted on acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber (NBR) surface, the wettability and friction behavior of the samples surface were measured after two months of storage. The changes in surface composition and microstructure during storage process were observed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscope (AFM), respectively. The results show that the wettability of modified surface has obvious “hydrophobic recovery” phenomenon in the storage process, and the range of contact angle increase is closely related to the plasma treatment time, mainly because the change in surface composition at various time treatment are different during storage; the frictional behavior of plasma-modified NBR surface has not exhibited a “recovery” phenomenon after two months of storage, and the friction coefficient of the surface treated for 4 min and 8 min were even smaller than those before storage, which is due to the smoother and lower roughness of the surface morphology after storage. This study demonstrates that air plasma treatment is a promising technique for improving the wettability and tribological properties of NBR rubber, but the proper treatment time is needed to make the surface have the best wetting and frictional behavior.
Study on corrosion effect of high-performance concrete under the action of sulfate and chlorine
Authors: Yin Rongrong , Hu Jie , Liu Yu , Wu Qing , Zhang Chenchen , Wang Yuxin
Published: January 2019

The thickness of corroded concrete layer and the compressive strength of prisms under the action of sulfate and chloride salt were investigated by ultrasonic test and compression test, respectively. The results show that under the single action of sulfate, the strength of concrete experienced two stages: a slow growth stage and a rapid descent stage. Correspondingly, under the combined action of sulfate and chloride, the concrete strength experienced another two stages: a slow growth stage and a slow degradation stage. The existence of chloride inhibited the corrosion damage of concrete in a certain extent. It was found that higher concentration of chlorine salt would lead to a stronger inhibition effect. A good consistency was observed among corrosion layer thickness, compressive strength and X-ray diffraction results. The inhabitation of chloride to the sulfate corrosion of concrete was proved.
Preparation of graphene/Fe3O4/Ni electromagnetic microwave absorbing nano-composite materials
Authors: Huang Yu-Wei , Wang Yu-Jiang , Wei Shi-Cheng , Liang Yi , Huang Wei , Wang Bo , Xu Bin-Shi
Published: January 2019

Graphene/Fe3O4/Ni nano-composite materials were prepared by one-step hydrothermal method from RGO, FeCl3 ⋅ 6H2O and purity Ni. The structure and electromagnetic microwave absorbing properties were investigated systematically by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and vector network analyzer (VNA). The reflectance was simulated based on the electromagnetic parameters to evaluate the absorption properties of the sample. The results show that Fe3O4 and Ni are on the surface of graphene evenly, the composites exhibit excellent microwave absorption properties, reflection loss and broad effective absorption bandwidth are −16.38 dB and 3.60 GHz, as the paraffin wax is 40% and the matching thickness is 2.00–3.50 mm.
Variational Bayesian Exploration-Based Active Sarsa Algorithm
Authors: Fu Qiming , Yang Zhengxia , Lu You , Wu Hongjie , Hu Fuyuan , Chen Jianping
Published: January 2019

We proposed an improved variational Bayesian exploration-based active Sarsa (VBE-ASAR) algorithm, which tries to balance the exploration and exploitation dilemma, and speeds up the convergence rate. First, in the learning process, variational Bayesian method is adopted to measure the information gain, which is used as an exploration factor to construct an internal reward function for heuristic exploration. In addition, before the learning process, in order to improve the exploration performance, transfer learning is used to initialize the value function, where Bisimulation metric is introduced to measure the distance between two states from the source MDP and the target MDP, respectively. Finally, we apply the proposed algorithm to the cliff walking problem, and compare with the Sarsa algorithm, the Q-Learning algorithm, the VFT-Sarsa algorithm and the Bayesian Sarsa (BS) algorithm. Experimental results show that the VBE-ASAR algorithm has a faster learning rate.
Face Recognition Through Symbolic Modeling of Face Graphs and Texture
Authors: Angadi Shanmukhappa A. , Hatture Sanjeevakumar M.
Published: January 2019

Face recognition helps in authentication of the user using remotely acquired facial information. The dynamic nature of face images like pose, illumination, expression, occlusion, aging, etc. degrades the performance of the face recognition system. In this paper, a new face recognition system using facial images with illumination variation, pose variation and partial occlusion is presented. The facial image is described as a collection of three complete connected graphs and these graphs are represented as symbolic objects. The structural characteristics, i.e. graph spectral properties, energy of graph, are extracted and embedded in a symbolic object. The texture features from the cheeks portions are extracted using center symmetric local binary pattern (CS-LBP) descriptor. The global features of the face image, i.e. length and width, are also extracted. Further symbolic data structure is constructed using the above features, namely, the graph spectral properties, energy of graph, global features and texture features. User authentication is performed using a new symbolic similarity metric. The performance is investigated by conducting the experiments with AR face database and VTU-BEC-DB multimodal database. The experimental results demonstrate an identification rate of 95.97% and 97.20% for the two databases.
An Investigation of Imbalanced Ensemble Learning Methods for Cross-Project Defect Prediction
Authors: Qiu Shaojian , Lu Lu , Jiang Siyu , Guo Yang
Published: January 2019

Machine-learning-based software defect prediction (SDP) methods are receiving great attention from the researchers of intelligent software engineering. Most existing SDP methods are performed under a within-project setting. However, there usually is little to no within-project training data to learn an available supervised prediction model for a new SDP task. Therefore, cross-project defect prediction (CPDP), which uses labeled data of source projects to learn a defect predictor for a target project, was proposed as a practical SDP solution. In real CPDP tasks, the class imbalance problem is ubiquitous and has a great impact on performance of the CPDP models. Unlike previous studies that focus on subsampling and individual methods, this study investigated 15 imbalanced learning methods for CPDP tasks, especially for assessing the effectiveness of imbalanced ensemble learning (IEL) methods. We evaluated the 15 methods by extensive experiments on 31 open-source projects derived from five datasets. Through analyzing a total of 37504 results, we found that in most cases, the IEL method that combined under-sampling and bagging approaches will be more effective than the other investigated methods.
A Novel LMMSE-EM Channel Estimator for High Mobility STBC-OFDM System
Authors: Patra Jyoti Prasanna , Singh Poonam
Published: January 2019

In time-selective fading channel, the Alamouti orthogonality principle is lost due to the variation of channel from symbol-to-symbol in space–time block-coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (STBC-OFDM) system and causes co-channel interference (CCI) effects. To combat the CCI effects, various signal detection schemes have been proposed earlier by assuming that a priori channel state information (CSI) is known to the receiver. However, in practice, the CSI is unknown and therefore accurate estimation of channel is required for efficient signal detection. In this paper, by exploiting circulant properties of the channel frequency response (CFR) autocorrelation matrix [Formula: see text], we propose an efficient low complexity linear-minimum-mean-square-error (LMMSE) estimator. This estimator applies an expectation–maximization (EM) iterative process to reduce the computational complexity significantly. Finally, we compare the proposed LMMSE-EM estimator with conventional least square (LS) and LMMSE estimator in terms of performance and computational complexity. The simulation results show that the proposed LMMSE-EM estimator achieves exactly the same performance as the optimal LMMSE estimator with much lower computational complexity.
Memristor Based Planar Tunable RF Circuits
Authors: Palson C. L. , Krishna D. D. , Jose B. R. , Mathew J. , Ottavi M.
Published: January 2019

Memristors have been recently proposed as an alternative to incorporate switching along with traditional CMOS circuits. Adaptive impedance and frequency tuning are an essential and challenging aspect in communication system design. To enable both, a matching network based on switchable capacitors with fixed inductors is proposed in this paper where the switching is done by memristive switches. This paper analyzes the operation of memristors as a switch and a matching network based on memristors which adaptively tunes with impedance and frequency. With three capacitor banks of each 0.5 pF resolution and two fixed inductors, matching for antenna impedance ranging from 20 to 200[Formula: see text]Ohms and for frequencies ranging from 0.9 to 3.2[Formula: see text]GHz is reported. Thereafter, an adaptive planar band-pass filter is implemented on CMOS technology with two metal layers. This adaptive frequency tunable band-pass filter uses a [Formula: see text] network with resonator tanks in both arms that operates at 2.45 GHz. It is tunable from 2.8[Formula: see text]GHz to 7.625[Formula: see text]GHz range. This tunability is achieved using tunable spiral inductor based on memristive switches. The proposed filter layout is implemented and simulated in ANSYS Designer. The initialization and the programming circuitry to enable adaptive switching of the memristive devices has to be addressed. Since RF memristive devices are not commercially available, circuit level simulations are done as a proof of concept to validate the expected results.
Time Efficient Segmented Technique for Dynamic Programming Based Algorithms with FPGA Implementation
Authors: Bonny Talal , Debsi Ridhwan Al , Almourad Mohamed Basel
Published: January 2019

Although dynamic programming (DP) is an optimization approach used to solve a complex problem fast, the time required to solve it is still not efficient and grows polynomially with the size of the input. In this contribution, we improve the computation time of the dynamic programming based algorithms by proposing a novel technique, which is called “SDP: Segmented Dynamic programming”. SDP finds the best way of splitting the compared sequences into segments and then applies the dynamic programming algorithm to each segment individually. This will reduce the computation time dramatically. SDP may be applied to any dynamic programming based algorithm to improve its computation time. As case studies, we apply the SDP technique on two different dynamic programming based algorithms; “Needleman–Wunsch (NW)”, the widely used program for optimal sequence alignment, and the LCS algorithm, which finds the “Longest Common Subsequence” between two input strings. The results show that applying the SDP technique in conjunction with the DP based algorithms improves the computation time by up to 80% in comparison to the sole DP algorithms, but with small or ignorable degradation in comparing results. This degradation is controllable and it is based on the number of split segments as an input parameter. However, we compare our results with the well-known heuristic FASTA sequence alignment algorithm, “GGSEARCH”. We show that our results are much closer to the optimal results than the “GGSEARCH” algorithm. The results are valid independent from the sequences length and their level of similarity. To show the functionality of our technique on the hardware and to verify the results, we implement it on the Xilinx Zynq-7000 FPGA.
Effects of the kinetic coupling of matter to curvature
Authors: Papantonopoulos Eleftherios
Published: January 2019

We discuss the effects on the kinetic properties of the scalar field which is coupled to the Einstein tensor. We first discuss a model of unification of dark matter and dark energy in the context of the Generalized Horndeski Theory. We show that if the scalar field represents dark matter then, because of its coupling to curvature, during the matter-dominated area it has a slow cosmological evolution acting like a pressureless fluid, and at later cosmological times it acts as dark matter. Then, the gravitational collapse of a time-dependent scalar field is studied in a theory with negative cosmological constant. It was found that it takes more time for a black hole to be formed as the coupling is increased. We also discuss a holographic model of building a holographic superconductor in the presence of the derivative coupling. We found that this coupling plays the role of an impurity parameter on the boundary theory. Breaking the translational invariance near the critical temperature two phases in the dual theory were found, a metal phase for positive coupling and an insulating phase if the coupling is negative.
Generalized ghost pilgrim dark energy in f(G,T) gravity
Authors: Sharif M. , Saba Saadia
Published: January 2019

In this paper, we explore the reconstruction paradigm for generalized ghost pilgrim dark energy model with [Formula: see text] gravity ([Formula: see text] is the Gauss–Bonnet invariant and [Formula: see text] is the trace of the energy–momentum tensor) depending upon the speculation of black hole-free universe. To accomplish this, we adopt correspondence scheme for dust fluid configuration with flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) universe. The cosmic behavior of reconstructed models is examined through cosmological diagnostic parameters and phase planes. It is found that the deceleration parameter indicates accelerated phase while equation-of-state parameter represents phantom regime for some specific range of free parameters. The squared speed of sound parameter gives stable models for analyzing evolutionary paradigm of the universe. The trajectories of [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] plane gives thawing region, whereas [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] phase plane corresponds to Chaplygin gas model. We conclude that the resulting model represents self-consistent phantom-like universe for [Formula: see text] cannot be fraction) as well as stable generalized ghost pilgrim dark energy [Formula: see text] model.
Small-scale structure of spacetime and its implications
Authors: Kothawala Dawood
Published: January 2019

If there exists a lower bound [Formula: see text] to spacetime intervals which is Lorentz-invariant, then the effective description of spacetime that incorporates such a lower bound must necessarily be nonlocal. Such a nonlocal description can be derived using standard tools of differential geometry, but using as basic variables certain bi-tensors instead of the conventional metric tensor [Formula: see text]. This allows one to construct a qmetric [Formula: see text], using the Synge’s world function [Formula: see text] and the van Vleck determinant [Formula: see text], that incorporates the lower bound on spacetime intervals. The same nonanalytic structure of the reconstructed spacetime which renders a perturbative expansion in [Formula: see text] meaningless, will then also generically leave a non-trivial “relic” in the limit [Formula: see text]. We present specific results derived from [Formula: see text] where such a relic term manifests, and discuss several implications of the same. Specifically, we will discuss how these results: (i) suggest a description of gravitational dynamics different from the conventional one based on the Einstein–Hilbert Lagrangian, (ii) imply a dimensional reduction to [Formula: see text] at small scales and (iii) can be significant for the idea that the cosmological constant itself might be related to some nonlocal vestige of the small-scale structure of spacetime. We will conclude by discussing the ramifications of these ideas in the context of quantum gravity.
Ghost dark energy in the deformed Hořava–Lifshitz cosmology
Authors: Sheykhi A. , Ghaffari S. , Moradpour H.
Published: January 2019

We study the cosmological consequences of the ghost models of dark energy (DE) in the framework of Hořava–Lifshitz gravity. We calculate the equation-of-state parameter, the deceleration parameter, the classical stability and the dimensionless density parameter of the models in both noninteracting and interacting scenarios. We find that, for some values of the parameter, this model can admit a transition from the deceleration phase to the accelerated phase around [Formula: see text], while at the late time ([Formula: see text]) we have [Formula: see text] meaning that this model mimics a cosmological constant. We find that in the setup of Hořava–Lifshitz gravity, ghost dark energy (GDE) models are classically unstable. We observe that unlike the generalized ghost dark energy (GGDE), the ghost dark energy cannot provide proper behavior for all the cosmological parameters simultaneously, with the same values of the models’ couplings.
Fast motion estimation algorithm based on geometric wavelet transform
Authors: Cheriet Leyla , Chenikher Salah , Boukari Karima
Published: January 2019

Motion estimation is a means, which consists in studying the displacement of objects in a video sequence, seeking the correlation between two successive frames, to predict the change in the contents position. Motion estimation is becoming a progressively significant requirement in a variety of applications such as medicine, robotics and video compression. In recent years, wavelets are effective tools for motion estimation, but the DWT (Discrete Wavelet Transform) will suffer from problems like translation sensitivity, poor directionality and absence of phase information. These three disadvantages make classical wavelets incapable of calculating motion in complex sequences (contain several directions.). In order to improve these negative aspects, we will choose geometric wavelet. Therefore, our objective is to propose a method capable of estimating the motion in terms of performance (speed and accuracy). This method will be based on the geometric wavelet transform and more precisely on the Contourlet transform. This work consists of two parts: in the first stage, the denoising process is examined by the Contourlet transform to ensure the precision of motion; in the second phase, we applied the iterative method of Horn and Schunck to calculate the motion in order to guarantee good speed. Comparative experimental results of artificial sequences show that the proposed algorithm obtains considerably better performance than several state-of-the-art methods.
A Class of Novel Tetrahedron Elements with Curved Surfaces for Three-Dimensional Solid Mechanics Problems with Curved Boundaries
Authors: Wang C. Q. , Yue J. H. , Li Ming
Published: January 2019

Linear tetrahedral elements with four nodes (Te4) are currently the simplest and most widely used ones in the finite element (FE) developed for solving three-dimensional (3D) mechanics problems. However, the standard Te4 element cannot be used to simulate accurately the 3D problems with curved boundaries because of the flat surfaces. In this paper, we develop a set of new elements having curved surfaces to properly simulate the curved boundaries. At the same time, additional nodes are put on the curved boundaries to improve the accuracy of the approximation. These novel elements are defined as five-noded, six-noded, and seven-noded tetrahedron elements (Te5, Te6, and Te7) according to the number of the nodes in one element. Based on the Te4 FE mesh, a hybrid mesh can be conveniently built for 3D problems with curved boundaries, in which the standard Te4 elements are used for the interior elements, and Te5, Te6, and Te7 elements are used for the curved boundary elements. Compared with the standard FEM using Te4 elements, our hybrid mesh can significantly improve the accuracy of the solutions at the curved boundaries. Several solid mechanics problems are studied using the hybrid meshes to validate the effectiveness of the present new elements.
Yamabe solitons on 3-dimensional contact metric manifolds with Qφ = φQ
Authors: Venkatesha V. , Naik Devaraja Mallesha
Published: January 2019

If [Formula: see text] is a 3-dimensional contact metric manifold such that [Formula: see text] which admits a Yamabe soliton [Formula: see text] with the flow vector field [Formula: see text] pointwise collinear with the Reeb vector field [Formula: see text], then we show that the scalar curvature is constant and the manifold is Sasakian. Moreover, we prove that if [Formula: see text] is endowed with a Yamabe soliton [Formula: see text], then either [Formula: see text] is flat or it has constant scalar curvature and the flow vector field [Formula: see text] is Killing. Furthermore, we show that if [Formula: see text] is non-flat, then either [Formula: see text] is a Sasakian manifold of constant curvature [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text] is an infinitesimal automorphism of the contact metric structure on [Formula: see text].
Energy content of a collapsing sphere with f(R) gravity
Authors: Zaeem-ul-Haq Bhatti M. , Yousaf Z. , Yousaf A.
Published: January 2019

This paper deals with the exploration of collapse rate and Tolman mass function for spherical system under the influence of [Formula: see text] modified gravity theory after using Herrera technique. We have taken the matter configuration to be anisotropic as well as dissipative due to diffusion and streaming out radiations. The modified field equations and dynamical equations are explored for a systematic investigation of Tolman mass. An explicit link among the matter profile, Weyl tensor and mass function is exhibited in this scenario. We found that the anisotropic pressure and density inhomogeneity tends to increase the Tolman mass within the sphere radius, while [Formula: see text] terms stabilize the system.
Optimal harvesting for a single-species population governed by Gompertz law: Influence of environmental fluctuation and limited harvesting capacity
Authors: Srinivasu P. D. N. , Zawka Simon D.
Published: January 2019

This work presents an optimal harvesting problem associated with a single-species population governed by Gompertz law in a seasonally fluctuating environment. The influence of environmental fluctuation is accommodated by choosing the coefficients in the differential equation to be periodic functions with the same period and restriction on the harvesting effort is accommodated by considering binding constraints on the control variable. Hence, a linear optimal control problem has been considered where the state dynamics is governed by Gompertz equation and the control variable is subject to the binding constraints. With the help of maximum principle and the concept of blocked intervals, an optimal periodic solution has been obtained which is followed by the construction of optimal solution using the theory of most rapid approach. Important results of the study are demonstrated through numerical simulations.
A bin packing game with cardinality constraints under the best cost rule
Authors: Nong Qingqin , Wang Jiapeng , Gong Suning , Guo Saijun
Published: January 2019

We consider the bin packing problem with cardinality constraints in a non-cooperative game setting. In the game, there are a set of items with sizes between 0 and 1, and a number of bins each of which has a capacity of 1. Each bin can pack at most [Formula: see text] items, for a given integer parameter [Formula: see text]. The social cost is the number of bins used in the packing. Each item tries to be packed into one of the bins so as to minimize its cost. The selfish behaviors of the items result in some kind of equilibrium, which greatly depends on the cost rule in the game. We say a cost rule encourages sharing if for an item, compared with sharing a bin with some other items, staying in a bin alone does not decrease its cost. In this paper, we first show that for any bin packing game with cardinality constraints under an encourage-sharing cost rule, the price of anarchy of it is at least [Formula: see text]. We then propose a cost rule and show that the price of anarchy of the bin packing game under the rule is [Formula: see text] when [Formula: see text].
Soluble Methane Monooxygenase
Authors: Banerjee Rahul , Jones Jason C. , Lipscomb John D.
Published: January 2019

Aerobic life is possible because the molecular structure of oxygen (O2) makes direct reaction with most organic materials at ambient temperatures an exceptionally slow process. Of course, these reactions are inherently very favorable, and they occur rapidly with the release of a great deal of energy at high temperature. Nature has been able to tap this sequestered reservoir of energy with great spatial and temporal selectivity at ambient temperatures through the evolution of oxidase and oxygenase enzymes. One mechanism used by these enzymes for O2activation has been studied in detail for the soluble form of the enzyme methane monooxygenase. These studies have revealed the step-by-step process of O2activation and insertion into the ultimately stable C–H bond of methane. Additionally, an elegant regulatory mechanism has been defined that enlists size selection and quantum tunneling to allow methane oxidation to occur specifically in the presence of more easily oxidized substrates.
Bacteriophages in Food Applications: From Foe to Friend
Authors: O'Sullivan Lisa , Bolton Declan , McAuliffe Olivia , Coffey Aidan
Published: January 2019

Bacteriophages (phages) have traditionally been considered troublesome in food fermentations, as they are an important cause of starter-culture failure and trigger significant financial losses. In addition, from an evolutionary perspective, phages have contributed to the pathogenicity of many bacteria through transduction of virulence genes. In contrast, phages have played an important positive role in molecular biology. Moreover, these agents are increasingly being recognized as a potential solution to the detection and biocontrol of various undesirable bacteria, which cause either spoilage of food materials, decreased microbiological safety of foods, or infectious diseases in food animals and crops. The documented successful applications of phages and various phage-derived molecules are discussed in this review, as are many promising new uses that are currently under development.
Owen Fennema: Food Chemist Extraordinaire
Authors: Lund D.B.
Published: January 2019

Periodically someone comes into a field and forces a change in direction, a paradigm shift. Owen Fennema was such a person in food science and technology. When he started his academic career, curricula in food science and technology had courses describing how to process plant produce and animal tissue into safer food with an extended shelf life. The “why” was often overlooked. Owen changed all that. He participated in and greatly contributed to a paradigm shift in teaching food science by editing one of the most important textbook series in food science and technology. In addition, his research on water and ice as they impacted the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of plant and animal tissues extended the bounds of knowledge. He did the same for edible bilayers with research done in his laboratory. Who was this man, and how could he have such impact? Hopefully, this review provides some insights into Owen Fennema, Renaissance man.
Soft-Matter Approaches for Controlling Food Protein Interactions and Assembly
Authors: Boire Adeline , Renard Denis , Bouchoux Antoine , Pezennec Stéphane , Croguennec Thomas , Lechevalier Valérie , Le Floch-Fouéré Cécile , Bouhallab Saïd , Menut Paul
Published: January 2019

Animal- and plant-based proteins are present in a wide variety of raw and processed foods. They play an important role in determining the final structure of food matrices. Food proteins are diverse in terms of their biological origin, molecular structure, and supramolecular assembly. This diversity has led to segmented experimental studies that typically focus on one or two proteins but hinder a more general understanding of food protein structuring as a whole. In this review, we propose a unified view of how soft-matter physics can be used to control food protein assembly. We discuss physical models from polymer and colloidal science that best describe and predict the phase behavior of proteins. We explore the occurrence of phase transitions along two axes: increasing protein concentration and increasing molecular attraction. This review provides new perspectives on the link between the interactions, phase transitions, and assembly of proteins that can help in designing new food products and innovative food processing operations.
Epidemiologic and Clinical Analysis of Cervical Cancer Using Data from the Population-Based Osaka Cancer Registry
Authors: Yagi Asami , Ueda Yutaka , Kakuda Mamoru , Tanaka Yusuke , Ikeda Sayaka , Matsuzaki Shinya , Kobayashi Eiji , Morishima Toshitaka , Miyashiro Isao , Fukui Keisuke , Ito Yuri , Nakayama Tomio , Kimura Tadashi
Published: January 2019

Cervical cancer screening rate is extremely low and the governmental recommendation of HPV vaccine has been suspended for 5 years in Japan. Here, we utilized data from the Osaka Cancer Registry, collected between 1976 and 2012, to evaluate cervical cancer trends in Japan. Age-adjusted incidence, relative survival, and conditional survival rates were calculated using multiple imputation methods and period analyses in 25,826 cervical cancer cases. Association of survival rates and clinical factors, including patients' age, clinical stage, and treatment procedures, were also analyzed. A trend for significantly decreasing age-adjusted incidence of cervical cancer (per 100,000) began in 1976 but reversed after 2000, increasing significantly to date (annual percent change = 3.8, 95% confidence interval, 2.7–4.8; age-adjusted rate: 28.0 in 1976, 9.1 in 2000, 14.1 in 2012). The 10-year relative survival rate improved significantly after 2002, especially in cases of “localized” and “adjacent organs” disease; this was likely due to the introduction of concurrent chemotherapy and radiation. The conditional 5-year relative survival rate improved significantly yearly until the fourth survival year. In the surgery-based group, we observed no age-dependent differences in outcomes. Unexpectedly, however, prognosis for younger age groups was poorer in the radiation-based treatment group. These results indicate that although relative survival rates have recently increased, treatment for more advanced cases with distant metastasis requires further improvement. In addition, this study is the first to suggest that age might be an important predictor of radiotherapy resistance in cervical cancer.

Significance: A large-cohort analysis of cervical cancer cases reveals that age-adjusted incidence in Japan has increased since 2000 and that age may negatively correlate with resistance to radiotherapy.
Combination Paclitaxel and Palbociclib: Results of a Phase I Trial in Advanced Breast Cancer
Authors: Clark Amy S. , McAndrew Nicholas P. , Troxel Andrea , Feldman Michael , Lal Priti , Rosen Mark , Burrell Jessica , Redlinger Colleen , Gallagher Maryann , Bradbury Angela R. , Domchek Susan M. , Fox Kevin R. , O'Dwyer Peter J. , DeMichele Angela M.
Published: January 2019

Purpose:

The CDK 4/6 inhibitor palbociclib rapidly and reversibly inhibits the cell cycle. The goal of this study was to exploit the cell cycle through intermittent, alternating dosing with palbociclib/paclitaxel to enhance efficacy. We determined the combination dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) in patients with Rb protein–expressing, advanced breast cancer.

Patients and Methods:

This open-label, phase I trial (NCT01320592) enrolled patients to sequential cohorts of palbociclib orally dosed intermittently between days 1 and 19 of a 28-day cycle alternating with weekly paclitaxel. Dose escalation proceeded in a standard 3 + 3 design. Ten additional patients received the combination at the recommended phase II dose (RP2D). Those who reached response plateau ≥6 cycles could continue on palbociclib alone on a 3 week on/1 week off schedule at one dose level above their combination dose.

Results:

Twenty-seven patients enrolled. Although there was only 1 DLT (grade 3 alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase at 125 mg), neutropenia (NTP) requiring dose modification in cycle 1 (C1) resulted in an RP2D of 75 mg palbociclib/80 mg/m2 paclitaxel. During C1, the most common adverse event was NTP, occurring in 15 patients (55.6%); grade 1 or 2 nausea and peripheral neuropathy were also observed in 8 patients each (29.6%). The clinical benefit rate was 55% at the RP2D; benefit was observed across all receptor subtypes.

Conclusions:

Alternating sequential palbociclib/paclitaxel in patients with Rb+ advanced breast cancer is feasible and safe, without evidence of additive toxicity. This represents a new application for CDK 4/6 inhibitors in Rb+ breast cancer regardless of subtype; efficacy trials are warranted.
Identification and Characterization of Oncogenic SOS1 Mutations in Lung Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Cai Diana , Choi Peter S. , Gelbard Maya , Meyerson Matthew
Published: January 2019

Lung adenocarcinomas are characterized by mutations in the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK)/Ras/Raf pathway, with up to 75% of cases containing mutations in known driver genes. However, the driver alterations in the remaining cases are yet to be determined. Recent exome sequencing analysis has identified SOS1, encoding a guanine nucleotide exchange factor, as significantly mutated in lung adenocarcinomas lacking canonical oncogenic RTK/Ras/Raf pathway mutations. Here, we demonstrate that ectopic expression of lung adenocarcinoma–derived mutants of SOS1 induces anchorage-independent cell growth in vitro and tumor formation in vivo. Biochemical experiments suggest that these mutations lead to overactivation of the Ras pathway, which can be suppressed by mutations that disrupt either the Ras-GEF or putative Rac-GEF activity of SOS1. Transcriptional profiling reveals that the expression of mutant SOS1 leads to the upregulation of MYC target genes and genes associated with Ras transformation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that an AML cancer cell line harboring a lung adenocarcinoma–associated mutant SOS1 is dependent on SOS1 for survival and is also sensitive to MEK inhibition. Our work provides experimental evidence for the role of SOS1 as an oncogene and suggests a possible therapeutic strategy to target SOS1-mutated cancers.

Implications:

This study demonstrates that SOS1 mutations found in lung adenocarcinoma are oncogenic and that MEK inhibition may be a therapeutic avenue for the treatment of SOS1-mutant cancers.