bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Estimates for eigenvalues of ℒr operator on self-shrinkers
Authors: Huang Guangyue , Qi Xuerong , Li Hongjuan 
Published: November 2017

Let [Formula: see text] be an [Formula: see text]-dimensional compact self-shrinker in [Formula: see text] with smooth boundary [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we study eigenvalues of the operator [Formula: see text] on [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is defined by [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] denoting a positive definite (0,2)-tensor field on [Formula: see text]. We obtain “universal” inequalities for eigenvalues of the operator [Formula: see text]. These inequalities generalize the result of Cheng and Peng in [Estimates for eigenvalues of [Formula: see text] operator on self-shrinkers, Commun. Contemp. Math. 15(6) (2013), Article ID:1350011, 23 pp.]. Furthermore, we also consider the case that equalities occur.
Paradox of integration — mean field approach
Authors: Kułakowski Krzysztof , Gronek Piotr , Borzì Alfio 
Published: November 2017

Recently, a computational model has been proposed of the social integration, as described in sociological terms by Blau. In this model, actors praise or critique each other, and these actions influence their social status and raise negative or positive emotions. The role of a self-deprecating strategy of actors with high social status has also been discussed there. Here, we develop a mean field approach, where the active and passive roles (praising and being praised, etc.) are decoupled. The phase transition from friendly to hostile emotions has been reproduced, similarly to the previously applied purely computational approach. For both phases, we investigate the time dependence of the distribution of social status. There we observe a diffusive spread, which — after some transient time — appears to be limited from below or from above, depending on the phase. As a consequence, the mean status flows.
INNOVATIONS IN FINANCIAL INCLUSION OF THE URBAN POOR: A MODEL OF RAHAT CREDIT COOPERATIVE SOCIETY, INDIA
Authors: KULKARNI ANJALI 
Published: November 2017

Most of the Asian countries face challenge of poverty which is linked with unemployment. Lack of assets and income make poor unable to invest for self employment or for knowledge /skill development leading to employment. Access to financial services may help people to come out of poverty through variety of ways like availing credit, insurance and saving facilities. In India, in spite of several initiatives for financial inclusion, field level data shows that by merely opening bank account the access to credit may not be there and financial inclusion in true sense may not happen. The microfinance movement had regional success in India. There are almost 35% urban poor in India indicating the need of innovations in financial services for them. “Rahat Urban Credit Cooperative Society” was a initiative in 2008 of few persons belonging to Islam religion and believing on the teachings of Quran that the interest should not be taken. Though inspired by a particular religion the services are extended to all community groups. In today’s context when different religions are discussed for using the religious values/teachings negatively, Rahat will be a unique example how religious teachings can be utilized positively for society’s benefits. Since 2011, besides usual financial products, it gives interest free and collateral free loans for urban poor for self employment and for consumption purposes. The case study focuses on understanding the community based business model and its impact on urban poor in terms of their financial needs by analyzing the financial performance. The study explores how 98% recovery rate for loans is there and how depositors are attracted for interest free product. It also tries to understand the use of social capital in provision of financial services for urban poor having inability to give collateral. “Rahat” means relief. The present paper l brings out a Rahat model of financial services and inclusion of urban poor and try to understand how it has brought the relief in urban poor lives.
Seer
Authors: Diegues Nuno , Romano Paolo , Garbatov Stoyan 
Published: November 2017

The ubiquity of multicore processors has led programmers to write parallel and concurrent applications to take advantage of the underlying hardware and speed up their executions. In this context, Transactional Memory (TM) has emerged as a simple and effective synchronization paradigm, via the familiar abstraction of atomic transactions.
After many years of intense research, major processor manufacturers (including Intel) have recently released mainstream processors with hardware support for TM (HTM).
In this work, we study a relevant issue with great impact on the performance of HTM. Due to the optimistic and inherently limited nature of HTM, transactions may have to be aborted and restarted numerous times, without any progress guarantee. As a result, it is up to the software library that regulates the HTM usage to ensure progress and optimize performance. Transaction scheduling is probably one of the most well-studied and effective techniques to achieve these goals.
However, these recent mainstream HTMs have some technical limitations that prevent the adoption of known scheduling techniques: unlike software implementations of TM used in the past, existing HTMs provide limited or no information on which memory regions or contending transactions caused the abort.

To address this crucial issue for HTMs, we propose S
eer
, a software scheduler that addresses precisely this restriction of HTM by leveraging on an online probabilistic inference technique that identifies the most likely conflict relations and establishes a dynamic locking scheme to serialize transactions in a fine-grained manner. The key idea of our solution is to constrain the portions of parallelism that are affecting negatively the whole system. As a result, this not only prevents performance reduction but also in fact unveils further scalability and performance for HTM. Via an extensive evaluation study, we show that S
eer
improves the performance of the Intel’s HTM by up to 3.6×, and by 65% on average across all concurrency degrees and benchmarks on a large processor with 28 cores.
Therapeutic Impact of Nanoparticle Therapy Targeting Tumor-Associated Macrophages
Authors: Penn Courtney A. , Yang Kun , Zong Hong , Lim Jae-Young , Cole Alex , Yang Dongli , Baker James , Goonewardena Sascha N. , Buckanovich Ronald J. 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Antiangiogenic therapies, despite initial encouragement, have demonstrated a limited benefit in ovarian cancer. Laboratory studies suggest antiangiogenic therapy–induced hypoxia can induce tumor “stemness” as resistance to antiangiogenic therapy develops and limits the therapeutic benefit. Resistance to antiangiogenic therapy and an induction of tumor stemness may be mediated by proangiogenic tumor-associated macrophages (TAM). As such, TAMs have been proposed as a therapeutic target. We demonstrate here that ovarian TAMs express high levels of the folate receptor-2 (FOLR2) and can be selectively targeted using G5-dendrimer nanoparticles using methotrexate as both a ligand and a toxin. G5-methotrexate (G5-MTX) nanoparticles deplete TAMs in both solid tumor and ascites models of ovarian cancer. As a therapeutic agent, these nanoparticles are more effective than cisplatin. Importantly, these nanoparticles could (i) overcome resistance to antiangiogenic therapy, (ii) prevent antiangiogenic therapy–induced increases in cancer stem–like cells in both murine and human tumor cell models, (iii) prevent antiangiogenic therapy–induced increases in VEGF-C, and (iv) prevent antiangiogenic therapy–induced BRCA1 gene expression. Combined, this work strongly supports the development of TAM-targeted nanoparticle therapy. Mol Cancer Ther; 17(1); 96–106. ©2017 AACR.
The Anti-inflammatory Effect of Personalized Omega-3 Fatty Acid Dosing for Reducing Prostaglandin E2 in the Colonic Mucosa Is Attenuated in Obesity
Authors: Djuric Zora , Turgeon D. Kim , Sen Ananda , Ren Jianwei , Herman Kirk , Ramaswamy Devon , Zhao Lili , Ruffin Mack T. , Normolle Daniel P. , Smith William L. , Brenner Dean E. 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
This clinical trial developed a personalized dosing model for reducing prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in colonic mucosa using ω-3 fatty acid supplementation. The model utilized serum eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, ω-3):arachidonic acid (AA, ω-6) ratios as biomarkers of colonic mucosal PGE2 concentration. Normal human volunteers were given low and high ω-3 fatty acid test doses for 2 weeks. This established a slope and intercept of the line for dose versus serum EPA:AA ratio in each individual. The slope and intercept was utilized to calculate a personalized target dose that was given for 12 weeks. This target dose was calculated on the basis of a model, initially derived from lean rodents, showing a log-linear relationship between serum EPA:AA ratios and colonic mucosal PGE2 reduction. Bayesian methods allowed addition of human data to the rodent model as the trial progressed. The dosing model aimed to achieve a serum EPA:AA ratio that is associated with a 50% reduction in colonic PGE2. Mean colonic mucosal PGE2 concentrations were 6.55 ng/mg protein (SD, 5.78) before any supplementation and 3.59 ng/mg protein (SD, 3.29) after 12 weeks of target dosing. In secondary analyses, the decreases in PGE2 were significantly attenuated in overweight and obese participants. This occurred despite a higher target dose for the obese versus normal weight participants, as generated by the pharmacodynamic predictive model. Large decreases also were observed in 12-hydroxyicosatetraenoic acids, and PGE3 increased substantially. Future biomarker-driven dosing models for cancer prevention therefore should consider energy balance as well as overall eicosanoid homeostasis in normal tissue. Cancer Prev Res; 10(12); 729–37. ©2017 AACR.
Stroke among Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: Does Age Matter? A Real-Life Study
Authors: Tiosano Shmuel , Yavne Yarden , Gendelman Omer , Watad Abdulla , Comaneshter Doron , Shoenfeld Yehuda , Cohen Arnon D. , Amital Daniela 
Published: November 2017

<b><i>Background/Aims:</i></b> Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, debilitating autoimmune disease that affects the joints and it is known to be associated with cardiovascular morbidity. However, the association between RA and stroke among different age groups has not been explored. The objective of our study was to evaluate the association between RA and stroke in different age strata. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Cross-sectional study, utilizing the database of Israel’s largest healthcare provider. The proportion of stroke was compared between patients diagnosed with RA and age- and gender-matched controls. The study sample was divided into 2 age groups: young (≤65 years) and elderly (&#x3e;65 years). Multivariable analysis was performed using logistic regression. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The study included 11,782 RA patients and 57,973 age- and gender-matched controls. RA patients, primarily young, had more cardiovascular risk factors than controls. Stroke rates were significantly elevated among young RA patients in comparison with controls (3.74 vs. 2.20%, respectively, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). In multivariate analysis, RA was found to be independently associated with stroke (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.09–1.28). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> RA is independently associated with stroke, especially among RA patients under 65 years, for whom cardiovascular risk factors were more prominent. Physicians should advise RA patients to manage their risk factors strictly.
Saturated Fat Intake Is Related to Heart Rate Variability in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Authors: Graff Scheila K. , Mario Fernanda M. , Magalhães Jose A. , Moraes Ruy S. , Spritzer Poli Mara 
Published: November 2017

<b><i>Background/Aims:</i></b> There is a heightened risk for cardiovascular diseases in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Alterations in heart rate variability (HRV) may reflect subclinical cardiovascular disease, with a putative association between HRV and dietary fat. This study evaluated HRV in PCOS and control women based on the dietary intake of saturated fatty acid (SFA). <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Biochemical/hormonal profile, resting metabolic rate, physical activity, HRV in response to the Stroop test, and dietary intake were assessed in 84 PCOS and 54 control women stratified by median SFA intake in the PCOS group (8.5% of daily energy intake). <b><i>Results:</i></b> Body mass index (<i>p</i> = 0.041), blood pressure (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.01), and HOMA-IR (<i>p</i> = 0.003) were higher in PCOS vs. controls. PCOS women had higher testosterone (<i>p</i> = 0.001), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (<i>p</i> = 0.012), and free androgen index (<i>p</i> = 0.001), and lower sex hormone-binding globulin levels than controls (<i>p</i> = 0.001). In both groups, the clinical profile and calorie intake were similar between SFA categories. In PCOS, testosterone was lower when SFA intake &#x3c;8.5%. PCOS women with SFA &#x3c;8.5% consumed more beans, fruits, and vegetables and had better frequency and time domain HRV indices. No differences in HRV were detected between SFA categories in controls. In PCOS, age and SFA intake were independent predictors of HRV. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Lower SFA intake is related to improved cardiovascular autonomic function in PCOS.
Serum Transaminase Concentrations and the Presence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Are Associated with Serum 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D Concentrations in Adolescent Girls Who Are Overweight and Obese
Authors: Khayyatzadeh Sayyed Saeid  , Vatanparast Hassanali , Avan Amir , Bagherniya Mohammad  , Bahrami Afsane  , Kiani Mohammad Ali  , Bahrami-Taghanaki Hamidreza  , Ferns Gordon A. , Ghayour-Mobarhan Majid 
Published: November 2017

<b><i>Background/Aims:</i></b> Vitamin D deficiency has become endemic globally and its etiology is complex. Few studies have investigated the determinants of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OH D). The aim of this study was to investigate the association between lifestyle patterns, liver functional tests (LFTs), and the presence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with serum 25-OH D in apparently healthy girls. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This cross-sectional study was undertaken in 965 adolescent girls aged 12–18 years. IBS was diagnosed using the Rome III questionnaire. An electrochemiluminescence method was used to measure serum 25-OH D. LFTs were measured using commercial kits and an auto analyzer. Linear regression and univariate analyses were performed to determine the association between continuous and categorical variables with serum 25-OH D respectively. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Serum 25-OH D was significantly higher in normal weight subjects compared to either overweight or obese subjects (9.5 ± 7.02 vs. 7.9 ± 5.7 ng/mL, <i>p</i> = 0.03). Physical activity level was positively associated with serum 25-OH D in overweight and obese subjects (β = 0.15, <i>p &#x3c;</i> 0.05). An inverse relationship was found between the presence of IBS and 25-OH D in both normal (β = –1.95, <i>p &#x3c;</i> 0.05), overweight and obese subjects (β = –1.83, <i>p &#x3c;</i> 0.05). Serum alanine transaminase (ALT; β = –0.19, <i>p &#x3c;</i> 0.05) and aspartate transaminase (β = –0.17, <i>p &#x3c;</i> 0.05) were inversely associated with serum 25-OH in overweight and obese subjects. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Individuals with IBS had significantly lower serum 25-OH D concentrations. In addition, there was an inverse association between serum ALT and 25-OH D. Prospective studies, and perhaps interventional trials, will be required to clarify these associations.
Ventricular Tachycardia in the Setting of Chagasic Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Soto-Becerra Richard , Bazan Victor , Bautista William , Malavassi Federico , Altamar Jhancarlo , Ramirez Juan David , Everth Arlen , Callans David J. , Marchlinski Francis E. , Rodríguez Diego , García Fermin C. , Sáenz Luis C. 
Published: November 2017

Background
Chagasic cardiomyopathy (CC) is the most frequent nonischemic substrate causing left ventricular (LV) tachycardia in Latin America. Systematic characterization of the LV epicardial/endocardial scar distribution and density in CC has not been performed. Additionally, the usefulness of unipolar endocardial electroanatomic mapping to identify epicardial scar has not been assessed in this setting.

Methods and Results

Nineteen patients with CC undergoing detailed epicardial and endocardial LV tachycardia mapping and ablation were included. A total of 8494 epicardial and 6331 endocardial voltage signals and 314 epicardial/endocardial matched pairs of points were analyzed. Basal lateral LV scar involvement was observed in 18 of 19 patients. Bipolar voltage mapping demonstrated larger epicardial than endocardial scar and core-dense (≤0.5 mV) scar areas (28 [20–36] versus 19 [15–26] and 21 [2–49] versus 4 [0–7] cm
2
;
P
=0.049 and
P
=0.004, respectively). Bipolar epicardial and endocardial voltages within scar were low (0.4 [0.2–0.55] and 0.54 [0.33–0.87] mV, respectively) and confluent, indicating a dense/transmural scarring process in CC. The endocardial unipolar voltage value (with a newly proposed ≤4-mV cutoff) predicted the presence and extent of epicardial bipolar scar (
P
<0.001).

Conclusions
CC causes a unique ventricular tachycardia substrate concentrated to the basal lateral LV, with marked epicardial predominance. The scar pattern is particularly dense and transmural as compared with the more erratic/patchy scar patterns seen in other nonischemic cardiomyopathies. Endocardial unipolar voltage mapping serves to characterize epicardial scar in this setting.
Systolic Blood Pressure Response in SPRINT (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial) and ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes): A Possible Explanation for Discordant Trial Results
Authors: Huang Chenxi , Dhruva Sanket S. , Coppi Andreas C. , Warner Frederick , Li Shu‐Xia , Lin Haiqun , Nasir Khurram , Krumholz Harlan M. 
Published: November 2017

Background

SPRINT (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial) and the ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) blood pressure trial used similar interventions but produced discordant results. We investigated whether differences in systolic blood pressure (
SBP
) response contributed to the discordant trial results.

Methods and Results

We evaluated the distributions of
SBP
response during the first year for the intensive and standard treatment groups of
SPRINT
and
ACCORD
using growth mixture models. We assessed whether significant differences existed between trials in the distributions of
SBP
achieved at 1 year and the treatment‐independent relationships of achieved
SBP
with risks of primary outcomes defined in each trial, heart failure, stroke, and all‐cause death. We examined whether visit‐to‐visit variability was associated with heterogeneous treatment effects. Among the included 9027
SPRINT
and 4575
ACCORD
participants, the difference in mean
SBP
achieved between treatment groups was 15.7 mm Hg in
SPRINT
and 14.2 mm Hg in
ACCORD
, but
SPRINT
had significantly less between‐group overlap in the achieved
SBP
(standard deviations of intensive and standard groups, respectively: 6.7 and 5.9 mm Hg in
SPRINT
versus 8.8 and 8.2 mm Hg in
ACCORD
;
P
<0.001). The relationship between achieved
SBP
and outcomes was consistent across trials except for stroke and all‐cause death. Higher visit‐to‐visit variability was more common in
SPRINT
but without treatment‐effect heterogeneity.

Conclusions

SPRINT
and
ACCORD
had different degrees of separation in achieved
SBP
between treatment groups, even as they had similar mean differences. The greater between‐group overlap of achieved
SBP
may have contributed to the discordant trial results.
Effect of Monochamus grandis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) on phoretic stage formation of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae) and the transfer of nematodes to the beetle
Authors: Maehara Noritoshi , Kanzaki Natsumi , Aikawa Takuya , Nakamura Katsunori 
Published: November 2017

To clarify the ability of Monochamus grandis to carry Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, we transferred B. xylophilus to M. grandis and M. alternatus (the vector beetle of B. xylophilus) using a simple nematode-loading method. We examined: i) the effects of M. grandis on the formation of the fourth-stage dispersal juvenile (JIV) of B. xylophilus, the phoretic stage carried by vector beetles; and ii) whether JIV of B. xylophilus transferred to M. grandis, and compared the ability of M. grandis to carry B. xylophilus with that of M. alternatus. Monochamus grandis induced JIV formation and carried similar numbers of JIV as M. alternatus. Moreover, the percentage of JIV transferred to M. grandis to total JIV was higher than for M. alternatus. We concluded that M. grandis had potentially an equal ability to M. alternatus to carry B. xylophilus.
A Consular Code to Supplement the vccr
Authors: Crosbie William 
Published: November 2017

Summary
Consular relations have been recognized as an integral part of people-to-people contact ‘since ancient times’, as stated in the preamble to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the 1967 codification of existing practice in consular relations. This article questions whether the legal and policy framework reflected in the Convention remains relevant in the twenty-first century as the demand for consular services has grown. It describes how international law and practice have evolved since 1967 with respect to consular relations, and argues that the time is now ripe to promote a more comprehensive international framework to support consular relations, which could be incorporated into a Model Consular Code (‘the Code’), which would build on existing successful initiatives to address problems confronting consular clients. The article focuses on the range of services provided by consular officers for their citizens abroad, whether routine or complex.
On the Summertime Planetary Boundary Layer with Different Thermodynamic Stability in China: A Radiosonde Perspective
Authors: Zhang Wanchun , Guo Jianping , Miao Yucong , Liu Huan , Song Yu , Fang Zhang , He Jing , Lou Mengyun , Yan Yan , Li Yuan , Zhai Panmao 
Published: November 2017

AbstractStrongly influenced by thermodynamic stability, the planetary boundary layer (PBL) is key to the exchange of heat, momentum, and moisture between the ground surface and free troposphere. The PBL with different thermodynamic stability across the whole of China, however, is not yet well understood. In this study, the occurrence frequency and spatial distribution of the convective boundary layer (CBL), neutral boundary layer (NBL), and stable boundary layer (SBL) were systematically investigated, based on intensive summertime soundings launched at 1400 Beijing time (BJT) throughout China’s radiosonde network (CRN) for the period 2012 to 2016. Overall, the occurrences of CBL, NBL, and SBL account for 70%, 26%, and 4%, respectively, suggesting that CBL dominates in summer throughout China. In terms of the spatial pattern of PBL height, a prominent north–south gradient can be found with higher PBL height in northwest China. In addition, the PBL heights of CBL and NBL were found to be positively (negatively) associated with near-surface air temperature (humidity), whereas no apparent relationship was found for SBL. Furthermore, clouds tend to reduce the occurrence frequency, irrespective of PBL type. Roughly 70% of SBL cases occur under overcast conditions, much higher than those for NBL and CBL, indicating that clouds govern to some extent the occurrence of SBL. In contrast, except for the discernible changes in PBL height under overcast conditions relative to those under clear-sky conditions, the changes in PBL height under partly cloudy conditions are no more than 170 m for both NBL and CBL types.