{"ID": 1, "domain": "CS", "area": "Symbolic computation", "abstract": "(2 + 1)-dimensional non-linear optical waves through the coherently excited resonant medium doped with the erbium atoms can be described by a (2 + 1)-dimensional non-linear Schrodinger equation coupled with the self-induced transparency equations. For such a system, via the Hirota method and symbolic computation, linear forms, one-, two-and N-soliton solutions are obtained. Asymptotic analysis is conducted and suggests that the interaction between the two solitons is elastic. Bright solitons are obtained for the fields E and P, while the dark ones for the field N, with E as the electric field, P as the polarization in the resonant medium induced by the electric field, and N as the population inversion profile of the dopant atoms. Head-on interaction between the bidirectional two solitons and overtaking interaction between the unidirectional two solitons are seen. Influence of the averaged natural frequency. on the solitons are studied: (1). can affect the velocities of all the solitons; (2) Amplitudes of the solitons for the fields P and N increase with. decreasing, and decrease with. increasing; (3) With. decreasing, for the fields P and N, one-peak one soliton turns into the two-peak one, as well as interaction type changes from the interaction between two one-peak ones to that between a one-peak one and a two-peak one; (4) For the field E, influence of. on the solitons cannot be found. The results of this paper might be of potential applications in the design of optical communication systems which can produce the bright and dark solitons simultaneously."}
{"ID": 2, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Alzheimer's Disease", "abstract": "(beta-amyloid (A beta) and tau pathology become increasingly prevalent with age, however, the spatial relationship between the two pathologies remains unknown. We examined local (same region) and non-local (different region) associations between these 2 aggregated proteins in 46 normal older adults using [F-18]AV-1451 (for tau) and [C-11]PiB (for A beta) positron emission tomography (PET) and 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images. While local voxelwise analyses showed associations between PiB and AV-1451 tracer largely in the temporal lobes, k-means clustering revealed that some of these associations were driven by regions with low tracer retention. We followed this up with a whole-brain region-by-region (local and non-local) partial correlational analysis. We calculated each participant's mean AV-1451 and PiB uptake values within 87 regions of interest (ROI). Pairwise ROI analysis demonstrated many positive PiB AV-1451 associations. Importantly, strong positive partial correlations (controlling for age, sex, and global gray matter fraction, p <.01) were identified between PiB in multiple regions of association cortex and AV-1451 in temporal cortical ROIs. There were also less frequent and weaker positive associations of regional PiB with frontoparietal AV-1451 uptake. Particularly in temporal lobe ROIs, AV-1451 uptake was strongly predicted by NB across multiple ROI locations. These data indicate that A beta and tau pathology show significant local and non-local regional associations among cognitively normal elderly, with increased PiB uptake throughout the cortex correlating with increased temporal lobe AV-1451 uptake. The spatial relationship between A beta and tau accumulation does not appear to be specific to A beta location, suggesting a regional vulnerability of temporal brain regions to tau accumulation regardless of where AP accumulates."}
{"ID": 3, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Green Building", "abstract": "(D)ecreasing of energy consumption and environmentally friendly energy resources are the issues in the foreground nowadays. As the electric energy consumed for the illumination is high, long-lasting and low-consumption LED (light-emitting diode) technology gets prominent. There have been made much reseacrh regarding the use of photovoltaic sytems in meeting the energy demand in housing and industry. However, there is need for more research with regards to photovoltaic sytems' integration with energy efficiency sytems. In this study, for the environments which have different lighting levels due to daylight factor, there has been proposed a low-cost PV (photovoltaics) based and distributed sensor smart LED illuminating system and there has been acquired 72.075% more energy saving in comparison with conventional LED illuminating system. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 4, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "(Hybrid) electric vehicles are assumed to play a major role in future mobility concepts. Although sales numbers are increasing, little emphasis has been laid on the recycling of some key components such as power electronics or electric motors. Permanent magnet synchronous motors contain considerable amounts of rare earth elements that cannot be recovered in conventional recycling routes. Although their recycling could have large economic, environmental, and strategic advantages, no industrial recycling for permanent magnets is available in western countries at the moment. Regarding the essential steps, dismantling of electric vehicles as well as the extraction of magnets from the rotors, little has been published before. This paper therefore presents and discusses different recycling approaches for the recycling of NdFeB magnets from (hybrid) electric vehicles. Many results stem from the German research project \"Recycling of components and strategic metals of electric drive motors.\"."}
{"ID": 5, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Parkinson's Disease", "abstract": "(L)-3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine ((L)-DOPA) remains the primary pharmacological agent for the symptomatic treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the development of (L)-DOPA-induced dyskinesia (LID) limits the long-term use of (L)-DOPA for PD patients. Some data have reported that adenosine A(2A) receptor (A(2A)R) antagonists prevented LID in animal model of PD. However, the mechanism in which adenosine A(2A)R blockade alleviates the symptoms of LID has not been fully clarified. Here, we determined to knock out (KO) the gene of A(2A)R and explored the possible underlying mechanisms implicated in development of LID in a mouse model of PD. A(2A)R gene KO mice were unilaterally injected into the striatum with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in order to damage dopamine neurons on one side of the brain. 6-OHDA-lesioned mice were then injected once daily for 21 days with (L)-DOPA. Abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs) were evaluated on days 3, 8, 13, and 18 after (L)-DOPA administration, and real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry for glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) 65 and GAD67 were performed. We found that A(2A)R gene KO was effective in reducing AIM scores and accompanied with decrease of striatal GAD67, rather than GAD65. These results demonstrated that the possible mechanism involved in alleviation of AIM symptoms by A(2A)R gene KO might be through reducing the expression of striatal GAD67."}
{"ID": 6, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer vision", "abstract": "(Objective) In order to increase classification accuracy of tea-category identification (TCI) system, this paper proposed a novel approach. (Method) The proposed methods first extracted 64 color histogram to obtain color information, and 16 wavelet packet entropy to obtain the texture information. With the aim of reducing the 80 features, principal component analysis was harnessed. The reduced features were used as input to generalized eigenvalue proximal support vector machine (GEPSVM). Winner-takes-all (WTA) was used to handle the multiclass problem. Two kernels were tested, linear kernel and Radial basis function (RBF) kernel. Ten repetitions of 10-fold stratified cross validation technique were used to estimate the out-of-sample errors. We named our method as GEPSVM + RBF + WTA and GEPSVM + WTA. (Result) The results showed that PCA reduced the 80 features to merely five with explaining 99.90% of total variance. The recall rate of GEPSVM + RBF + WTA achieved the highest overall recall rate of 97.9%. (Conclusion) This was higher than the result of GEPSVM + WTA and other five state-of-the-art algorithms: back propagation neural network, RBF support vector machine, genetic neural-network, linear discriminant analysis, and fitness-scaling chaotic artificial bee colony artificial neural network."}
{"ID": 7, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Molecular biology", "abstract": "(R)ecent advances in deep brain stimulators and brain -machine interfaces have greatly expanded the possibilities of neuroprosthetics and neuromodulation. Together with advances in neuroengineering, nanotechnology, molecular biology and material sciences, it is now possible to address fundamental questions in neuroscience in new, more powerful ways. It is now possible to apply these new technologies in ways that range from augmenting and restoring function to neuromodulation modalities that treat neuropsychiatric disorders. Recent developments in neuromodulation methods offer significant advantages and potential clinical benefits for a variety of disorders. Here we describe the current state of the art in neuromodulation methods, and some advances in brain -machine interfaces, describing the advantages and limitations of the clinical applications of each method. The future applications of these new methods and how they will shape the future of psychiatry and medicine, along with safety and ethical implications, are also discussed. (c) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 8, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Satellite radio", "abstract": "(T)his paper presents the concept of a software-defined radio with a flexible RF front end. The design and architecture of this system, as well as possible application examples will be explained. One specific scenario is the operation in maritime frequency bands. A well-known service is the Automatic Identification System (AIS), which has been captured by the DLR mission AISat, and will be chosen as a maritime application example. The results of an embedded solution for AIS on the SDR platform are presented in this paper. Since there is an increasing request for more performance on maritime radio bands, services like AIS will be enhanced by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). The new VHF Data Exchange Service (VDES) shall implement a dedicated satellite link. This paper describes that the SDR with a flexible RF front end can be used as a technology demonstration platform for this upcoming data exchange service."}
{"ID": 9, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "(We develop a generalised unsteady plume theory and compare it with a new direct numerical simulation (DNS) dataset for an ensemble of statistically unsteady turbulent plumes. The theoretical framework described in this paper generalises previous models and exposes several fundamental aspects of the physics of unsteady plumes. The framework allows one to understand how the structure of the governing integral equations depends on the assumptions one makes about the radial dependence of the longitudinal velocity, turbulence and pressure. Consequently, the ill-posed models identified by Scase & Hewitt (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 697, 2012, pp. 455-480) are shown to be the result of a non-physical assumption regarding the velocity profile. The framework reveals that these ill-posed unsteady plume models are degenerate cases amongst a comparatively large set of well-posed models that can be derived from the generalised unsteady plume equations that we obtain. Drawing on the results of DNS of a plume subjected to an instantaneous step change in its source buoyancy flux, we use the framework in a diagnostic capacity to investigate the properties of the resulting travelling wave. In general, the governing integral equations are hyperbolic, becoming parabolic in the limiting case of a 'top-hat' model, and the travelling wave can be classified as lazy, pure or forced according to the particular assumptions that are invoked to close the integral equations. Guided by observations from the DNS data, we use the framework in a prognostic capacity to develop a relatively simple, accurate and well-posed model of unsteady plumes that is based on the assumption of a Gaussian velocity profile. An analytical solution is presented for a pure straight-sided plume that is consistent with the key features observed from the DNS."}
{"ID": 10, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Prenatal development", "abstract": ", while ghrelin cells were the most numerous during the se Since reports on endocrine cells and their kinetics in the corpus of the human stomach are limited, the aim of this study was to examine the appearance, localization, density, and the relationship among the endocrine cell types in the corpus of the human stomach during prenatal and early postnatal development. We examined chromogranin A, somatostatin, ghrelin, glucagon, and serotonin expression by immunohistochemistry in 2 embryos, 38 fetuses, and 3 infants in the corpus of human stomach. Chromogranin A secreting endocrine cells were identified in the corpus at week 10 of gestation. Somatostatin cells were present from the 10th week, ghrelin and serotonin cells from the 11th week, and glucagon cells from the 12th week of gestation. Endocrine cells were present individually or clustered within the glandular base and body during the first trimester, and were present separately within the basal and central parts of glands during the second and third trimesters. Somatostatin cells were the most common type of cells (similar to 46 %) during the first trimestercond trimester (similar to 34 %), and in infants (similar to 28 %). The percentage of glucagon cells was significant only during the first trimester of pregnancy (5.5 %), and the percentage of serotonin cells was only significant just before birth (4.8 %). These results show, for the first time, that the largest number of endocrine cells are present in the corpus during the first trimester of prenatal development. Also, these results suggest that secretory products of endocrine cells play a role in the regulation of homeostasis, growth, and differentiation, and in human stomach function."}
{"ID": 11, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Sprains and Strains", "abstract": ",Background: The objective was to describe the patterns and mechanisms of water tubing related injuries treated in U.S. emergency departments. Methods: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System was used to examine cases of water tubing related injuries. Sample weights were used to calculate national estimates of water tubing related injuries. Analyses were conducted in 2010. Results: From 1991-2009 an estimated 69,471 injuries were treated in US emergency departments for water tubing related injuries. The annual number of cases increased 250% over the 19-year study period (P<.001). Sprains and strains accounted for the largest portion of injuries (27.2%). The head was the most frequently injured body part (27.5%). Children and adolescents= 20 years, were more likely than individuals 19 years to sustain sprains and strains (OR: 2.11; 95% CI = 1.64-2.71) and were most commonly injured by impact with the water (54.6%). Conclusions: Patterns of water tubing related injuries differ for children and adults. Research is needed to determine how best to reduce these injuries."}
{"ID": 12, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": ". Background: A key feature of factorIXa is its allosteric transformation from an enzymatically latent form into a potent procoagulant. Although several small molecules have been found to be capable of partially affecting FIXa function (i.e. ethylene glycol, Ca2+, and low molecular weight heparin [LMWH]), the resulting modest changes in peptidolytic activity have made the study of their mechanisms of action challenging. As these effects provide hints about potential regulatory forces that may be operational in the full expression of FIXa coagulant activity, their description remains of great interest. Studies of crystal structures have yielded insights into the structural changes induced by these effectors, but there remains a paucity of information to correlate any given structural change with specific consequences for FIXa function.Objectives: To correlate structural changes induced by these modulators with defined consequences for FIXa substrate discrimination and function.Methods: A peptidomics-based mass spectrometry (MS) approach was used to examine the patterns of hydrolysis of four combinatorial chemistry-derived pentapeptide libraries by FIXa under various conditions in a soluble, active enzyme system.Results: Ethylene glycol specifically altered the S3 subsite of FIXa to render it more tolerant to side chains at the P3 substrate position, whereas Ca2+ enhanced tolerance at the S2 subsite. In contrast, LMWH altered both the S2 and S1' subsites.Conclusions: These results demonstrate the role of plasticity in regulating FIXa function with respect to discrimination of extended substrate sequences, as well as providing crucial insights into active site modulations that may be capitalized on by various physiologic cofactors of FIXa and in future drug design."}
{"ID": 13, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Southern blotting", "abstract": ". Haemophilia A (HA) is caused by widespread mutations in the factor VIII gene. The high spontaneous mutation rate of this gene means that roughly 40% of HA mutations are private. This study aimed to describe the approaches used to confirm private disease-causing mutations in a cohort of Belgian HA patients. We studied 148 unrelated HA families for the presence of intron 22 and intron 1 inversion by Southern blotting and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) assay was used to detect large genomic rearrangements. Detection of point mutations was performed by DNA sequencing. Predicting the causal impact of new non-synonymous changes was studied by two general strategies: (i) molecular approaches such as family cosegregation, evaluation of the implicated codon based on phylogenic separated species and absence of the mutation in the general Belgian population, and (ii) bioinformatics approaches to analyse the potential functional consequences of missense mutations. Among the 148 HA patients, in addition to common intron 22 and intron 1 inversions as well as large deletions or duplications, 67 different point mutations were identified, of which 42 had been reported in the HAMSTeRS database, and 25 were novel including 10 null variants for which RNA analyses confirmed the causal effect of mutations located in a splice site consensus and 15 missense mutations whose causality was demonstrated by molecular approaches and bioinformatics. This article reports several strategies to evaluate the deleterious consequences of unreported F8 substitutions in a large cohort of HA patients."}
{"ID": 14, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Southern blotting", "abstract": ". Purpose: To evaluate the association between telomere length and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: Circulating leucocyte telomere length and the proportion of telomeres <5kb were analysed in blood DNA samples taken from 121 patients with exudative AMD (83%), large drusen (14%) or central geographic atrophy (3%). Controls consisted of 77 age-matched subjects without AMD. The AMD status was assessed by a masked analysis of fundus photographs or angiographs. Telomere length was measured by Southern blotting. Results: Mean (SD) telomere length was 7.76kb (0.68) in AMD patients and 7.83 (0.69) in controls (p=0.485). The corresponding proportions of telomeres <5kb were 10.60 (2.76) and 10.05 (2.64) (p=0.197). In this material, there was no correlation between telomere length and age, gender or smoking status. There were no differences between the major AMD risk single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the CFH, HTRA1 or C3 genes, expect for somewhat longer telomeres in controls with the C3 risk SNP. There were no differences in telomere length between patients with drusen or exudative AMD. Conclusions: Telomere length is not associated with exudative AMD or high-risk drusen."}
{"ID": 15, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Satellite radio", "abstract": "[1] First results are reported on statistical tomography of kilometer-scale irregularities in the F layer high-latitude ionosphere from amplitude data of satellite radio probing. Basic formulae for statistical tomography of three-dimensionally (3-D) anisotropic small-scale irregularities are presented. It is shown that 3-D anisotropy disguises spatial distribution of irregularities but is not an insuperable difficulty for tomographic reconstruction. An example is shown of imaging the spatial distribution of the variance of electron density fluctuations over the Kola peninsula in February 1996. Iterative procedure of tomographic inversion was used in the reconstruction. Further steps of applying statistical tomographic approach are outlined."}
{"ID": 16, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Cancer", "abstract": "[F-18]fluorocholine PET/CT can detect hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) based on imaging the initial steps of phosphatidylcholine synthesis. To relate the diagnostic performance of [F-18]fluorocholine positron emission tomography (PET)/x-ray computed tomography (CT) to the phospholipid composition of liver tumors, radiopathologic correspondence was performed in patients with early-stage liver cancer who had undergone [F-18]fluorocholine PET/CT before tumor resection. Tumor and adjacent liver were profiled by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, quantifying phosphatidylcholine species by mass-to-charge ratio. For clinical-radiopathologic correlation, HCC profiles were reduced to two orthogonal principal component factors (PCF1 and PCF2) accounting for 80 % of total profile variation. Tissues from 31 HCC patients and 4 intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) patients were analyzed, revealing significantly higher levels of phosphocholine, CDP-choline, and highly saturated phosphatidylcholine species in HCC tumors relative to adjacent liver and ICC tumors. Significant loading values for PCF1 corresponded to phosphatidylcholines containing poly-unsaturated fatty acids while PCF2 corresponded only to highly saturated phosphatidylcholines. Only PCF2 correlated significantly with HCC tumor-to-liver [F-18]fluorocholine uptake ratio (rho = 0.59, p < 0.0005). Sensitivity for all tumors based on an abnormal [F-18]fluorocholine uptake ratio was 93 % while sensitivity for HCC based on increased tumor [F-18]fluorocholine uptake was 84 %, with lower levels of highly saturated phosphatidylcholines in tumors showing low [F-18]fluorocholine uptake. Most HCC tumors contain high levels of saturated phosphatidylcholines, supporting their dependence on de novo fatty acid metabolism for phospholipid membrane synthesis. While [F-18]fluorocholine PET/CT can serve to identify these lipogenic tumors, its imperfect diagnostic sensitivity implies metabolic heterogeneity across HCC and a weaker lipogenic phenotype in some tumors."}
{"ID": 17, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "[FeFd]-hydrogenases catalyze the reversible production of hydrogen gas from protons and electrons, but the mechanism of catalysis is still the subject of debate. In this report, we describe a pre-steady-state photoreduction methodology for correlating putative intermediates to the reactivity of an [FeFe]-hydrogenase from Thermotoga maritima. In this method, MV+ is rapidly formed photochemically by pulsed laser excitation and the intermolecular ET and active site dynamics are followed by nanosecond time-resolved visible and infrared spectroscopy, respectively. The results kinetically validate the H-ox H-red and H-sred intermediates, strongly supporting a vast body of literature on their involvement in proton reduction."}
{"ID": 18, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "[Objective] To investigate the effect of cordyceps sinensis (CS) on expression of uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2) and so to elucidate the role of UCP2 in development of nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD). [Methods] Rats were administrated with high-fat diet to produce NAFLD animal model and intervened by cordyceps sinensis. Triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC) in liver were measured by biochemistry, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by luciferin-luciferinase, and UCP2 expression by Northern blotting and immunohistochemistry. Liver histopathology was evaluated. [Results] High-fat diet fed rats developed obesity and showed a gradual increase in body weight, liver index, and a decrease in ATP level. More advanced liver disease was found histopathologically for longer high-fat diet. Up-regulation of liver UCP2 by high-fat diet stopped after week 12. However codyceps sinensis induced UCP2 up-regulation continuously, and kept liver ATP a relatively high level. [Conclusion] NAFLD rat models were produced successfully. Liver UCP2 up-regulation in NAFLD rats may be a definite beneficial adaptation to lipid exposure. Cordyceps sinensis may serve a protective role to prevent NAFLD from progression. One of the possible mechanisms involves in modulating UCP2 expression and thereby, regulating fat metabolism, energy homeostasis."}
{"ID": 19, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Sports Injuries", "abstract": "[Purpose] Elastic therapeutic tape has been widely used for rehabilitation and treatment of sports injuries. Tapes with different elastic properties serve different treatment purposes with inappropriate tension reducing tape effectiveness. Many tapes are available in the market, but studies on tape properties are limited. The aim of this study was to examine the material properties of elastic therapeutic tape. [Subjects and Methods] Brands of elastic therapeutic tape included KinesioTex (R), ATex, Mueller, 3M, and ThaiTape. The Material Testing System Insight (R) 1 Electromechanical Testing Systems was used to apply a tensile force on elastic therapeutic tape. Ten specimens of each brand were tested. Stress, load, and Young's modulus at 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, and maximum point were collected. One-way analysis of variance with post hoc testing was used to analyze tape parameters. [Results] Maximum elongation and Young's modulus at all percentages were significantly different between brands. There were no differences in maximum load and maximum stress. [Conclusion] Mechanical properties are different for commercial elastic therapeutic tapes. Physiotherapists and other clinicians should be aware of mechanical tape properties to correctly apply kinesio tape."}
{"ID": 20, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Sports Injuries", "abstract": "[Purpose] The aim of this study was to analyze stabilometry in athletes during an indoor season in order to determine whether injured athletes show different stabilometric values before injury than non-injured athletes in two different training periods (volume and pre-competition periods). [Subjects] The subjects were 51 athletes from Unicaja athletic club who trained regularly. [Methods] At the end of the preseason and volume periods, athletes were subjected to bipodal and monopodal stabilometry. In addition, all injuries happening in the periods after performing stabilometry (volume and pre-competition periods) were tracked. [Results] Variance analysis of bipodal stabilometric measurements taken at the end of the preseason period showed that athletes with higher values for the center-of-pressure spread variables suffered injuries during the volume period. The right-leg monopodal stabilometric measurements taken at the end of the volume period showed that athletes with higher values in the center-of-pressure position variables suffered injuries during the pre-competition period. [Conclusion] Athletes showing the worst values for center-of-pressure spread variables are more prone to sports injuries in the subsequent training period. In monopodal measurements, athletes with poorer mediolateral stability were more prone to injuries in the subsequent training period."}
{"ID": 21, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Senior Health", "abstract": "[Purpose] This study examined the influence of range of motion of the ankle joints on elderly people's balance ability. [Methods] We conducted a four-week experiment using 60 out of the 89 elderly people who used B senior health facility, as subjects. TETRAX stability, synchronization were conducted to measure balance ability. We examined correlations between TETRAX balance and ankle joint ROM. Student's t-test and Pearson correlation coefficients were used for the statistical analyses. [Results] There were significant correlations between measurement items of TETRAX stability and synchronization and movement of the ankle joint. [Conclusion] It was found that as had plate was stable in measurement using ankle joint ROM and TETRAX after closing eyes, balance was maintained with Dorsi Flexion."}
{"ID": 22, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer graphics", "abstract": "[Purpose] This study verified that the smoothness of reaching movements is able to quantitatively evaluate the effects of two-and three-dimensional images on movement in healthy people. In addition, clinical data of cerebrovascular accident patients were also analyzed by the same method. [Subjects] Ten healthy adult volunteers and two male patients with previous cerebrovascular accidents participated. [Methods] The subjects were tasked with reaching for objects shown on a display. The target and virtual limb, rendered with computer graphics, were shown on the display. Movements of the virtual limb were synchronized with those of the subject. Healthy subjects reached for targets with their dominant arm, and cerebrovascular accident patients used their paretic arm. A polarized display and polarized glasses were used when the subjects were shown three-dimensional images. In the present study, jerk cost was used to quantify the smoothness of movement. [Results] Six of the 10 healthy subjects had significantly smoother reaching movements when viewing the three-dimensional images. The two cerebrovascular accident patients tended to have smoother movements in response to the three-dimensional images. [Conclusion] Analysis of the smoothness of movement was able to detect the influence of the depth cue in vision on movement quantitatively for the healthy subjects and cerebrovascular accident patients."}
{"ID": 23, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "\\There are many factors that affect the performance of active power filter, which is a key factor for command current tracking control. Aiming at the deficiency of traditional PR controller, this paper puts forward an improved PR controller-vector resonant controller. The controller has the advantages of stronger anti-interference ability and greater gain at the resonance point, and it can improve the accuracy of harmonic compensation in the current compensation control. In this paper, the digital controller in the digital control system has been given a detailed design. Finally, the experimental results show that the control strategy can further reduce the harmonic content and improve the compensation accuracy."}
{"ID": 24, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "1 Al-26 and Ga-67 were given as citrates to a healthy male volunteer by intravenous injection. The retention of both tracers was studied by body radioactivity measurement. Levels in blood and excreta were determined by gamma-ray spectrometry and/or accelerator mass spectrometry. 2 More than half of the Al-26 had left the blood after 15 min and the decline continued, leaving <1% in blood after 2 d; the losses occurred both to renal excretion and through uptake by other compartments. Estimated excretion up to 13 d was 83% (urine) and 1.8% (faeces). Whole-body retention of 15% at 13 d declined to similar to 4% at 1178 d, when the daily reduction corresponded to a biological half-life of 7 y, suggesting that sustained intake of dietary aluminium may lead to a progressively increasing internal deposit. 3 The metabolism of Ga-67 differed markedly from that of Al-26 in all aspects studied."}
{"ID": 25, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Polymerase chain reaction", "abstract": "1,2-Dichloropropane (1,2-DCP) and dichloromethane (DCM) are possible causative agents associated with the development of cholangiocarcinoma in employees working in printing plant in Osaka, Japan. However, few reports have demonstrated an association between these agents and cholangiocarcinoma in rodent carcinogenicity studies. Moreover, the combined effects of these compounds have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we evaluated the in vivo mutagenicity of 1,2-DCP and DCM, alone or combined, in the livers of gpt delta rats. Six-week-old male F344 gpt delta rats were treated with 1,2-DCP, DCM or 1,2-DCP+DCM by oral administration for 4weeks at the dose (200mgkg(-1) body weight 1,2-DCP and 500mgkg(-1) body weight DCM) used in the carcinogenesis study performed by the National Toxicology Program. In vivo mutagenicity was analyzed by gpt mutation/Spi(-) assays in the livers of rats. In addition, gene and protein expression of CYP2E1 and GSTT1, the major enzymes responsible for the genotoxic effects of 1,2-DCP and DCM, were analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Gpt and Spi(-) mutation frequencies were not increased by 1,2-DCP and/or DCM in any group. Additionally, there were no significant changes in the gene and protein expression of CYP2E1 and GSTT1 in any group. These results indicated that 1,2-DCP, DCM and 1,2-DCP+DCM had no significant impact on mutagenicity in the livers of gpt delta rats under our experimental conditions. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 26, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Multiple Sclerosis", "abstract": "1,2-Dihydro-4-hydroxy-2-oxo-1,8-naphthyridine-3-carboxamide derivative VL15 has been recently developed as a selective cannabinoid CB2 receptor compound. Given the high selectivity of this compound at the cannabinoid CB2 receptor and the well-known protective function of this receptor in neurological disorders with autoimmune component like multiple sclerosis, we assessed the immunomodulatory properties of VL15. We assessed on activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells), proliferation and viability, cell cycle progression and measured activation markers and the expression of phosphorylated proteins. We found that VL15 reduces PBMC proliferation slightly affecting cell vitality, blocks the cell cycle progression and down-regulates the levels of T cell activation markers as well as the expression of phosphorylated proteins, NF-kB, IKK alpha beta, IKB alpha, ERK and Akt. VL15 was also used in drug permeability assays on Caco-2 cell line to evaluate its oral bioavailability and on MDCKII-hMDR1 cell lines to estimate its propensity to cross the blood-brain barrier by passive diffusion, in order to potentially maintain its efficiency on the infiltrating auto-reactive lymphocytes in the central nervous system. In these models, VL15 showed high intestinal absorption and good blood-brain barrier penetration. Our findings suggest that VL15, by controlling the immune response, might find potential application as orally administered drug in pathologies like multiple sclerosis. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. and Societe Francaise de Biochimie et Biologie Moleculaire (SFBBM). All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 27, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "1. A model that predicts human metabolism and disposition of drug candidates would be of value in early drug development. 2. In this study, a chimeric (uPA+/+)/SCID mouse model was evaluated with three structurally distinct compounds (GW695634, a benzophenone, SB-406725, a tetrahydroisoquinoline and GW823093, a fluoropyrrolidine) for which human metabolism and disposition was characterized. Human metabolite profiles in plasma and/or urine were compared to those of chimeric (uPA+/+)/SCID and control CD-1 or (uPA+/+)/SCID) mice. GW695634 and SB-406725 exhibited primarily hepatic metabolism and were chosen as probes to assess which human metabolites would likely circulate systemically. GW823093 exhibited a combination of hepatic and extrahepatic metabolism such that renal excretion of drug-related material was similar to 2-fold greater in humans than in mice, and thus chosen as a probe to assess if the chimeric (uPA+/+)/SCID mouse would predict the urinary excretion of human metabolites. 3. We observed that human metabolism and disposition was well represented for GW695634, somewhat represented for GW823093 and minimally represented for SB-406725. Collectively, the results of this and other studies suggest that while limitations for prediction of human metabolism and disposition exist, humanized chimeric mouse models can potentially represent informative new tools in drug discovery and development."}
{"ID": 28, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "1. A novel oral chymase inhibitor, SUN13834, is under clinical development for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD). In this study, in vitro and in vivo metabolic profiles of SUN13834 were compared between severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice, chimeric mice with humanized liver and humans. 2. In in vitro experiments using liver microsomes, predominant metabolites of SUN13834 were glucuronide (MG-1) in SCID mice and hydroxylated metabolite (M-3) in chimeric mice and humans. 3. After a single oral dose of [C-14]SUN13834 to SCID and chimeric mice, glucuronidation was the major metabolic pathway in SCID mice, while the parent compound, ring opening form (M-5), O-demethylated form of M-5 (M-6) and glucuronidation of M-6 (M-6G) were detected at higher levels in chimeric mice compared to SCID mice. 4. When AD patients were orally treated using SUN13834 for 28 days, the parent compound had the highest concentration in plasma, and M-6, M-6G, M-5 and MG-1 were identified as major metabolites. 5. This is the first report of SUN13834 metabolic information in human. In addition, based on similarities in metabolic profiles between chimeric mice and humans, it was concluded that chimeric mice are useful for predicting SUN13834 metabolism in humans during early stages of drug development."}
{"ID": 29, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Prenatal development", "abstract": "1. Alternative morphotypes have been reported less frequently in females than in males. An exception to this rule is the gradient of phenotypical masculinization reported in some female mammals, in which feminized and masculinized females represent two opposite ends along this gradient. These phenotypical differences originate during prenatal development as the consequence of maternal effects. Feminized and masculinized females differ in several traits, including morphological, physiological, behavioural and reproductive traits. 2. Differences previously reported in reproductive traits between feminized and masculinized females come mostly from mechanistic studies performed in the laboratory, and not necessarily on social species. As a result, it is unclear to what extent these reported differences between female alternative morphotypes materialize in wild, natural populations. 3. We quantified the effect of female alternative morphotype on female reproductive traits in a natural population of Octodon degus, a highly social rodent. We assessed female alternative morphotype through a continuous gradient of anogenital distance. Thus, feminized females were close to the short end of anogenital distance, while masculinized females were close to the long end of this gradient. We also tested the hypothesis that the social environment interacts with female morphotype to influence female reproductive traits. 4. In female degus, only body weight affected litter size, where heavier females weaned more offspring. Masculinized females delivered male-biased litters and weaned heavier offspring. Lastly, masculinized females gave birth later in the breeding season compared to feminized females. 5. Contrary to previous claims, our findings do not support that masculinized females are less fertile than feminized females. Moreover, masculinized females produced heavier, potentially higher quality offspring compared with feminized females."}
{"ID": 30, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "1. Angiotensin (Ang) II plays a major role in vascular remodelling. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) are involved in the tissue remodelling processes. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether AngII modulates TIMP-2 expression in rat aortic smooth muscle cells in vivo. 2. Angiotensin II (200 ng/kg per min, s.c.) or AngII + losartan (10 mg/kg per day, s.c.) or normal saline was administered continuously by osmotic minipumps to Sprague-Dawley rats for 1 week. In addition, the effect of endogenous AngII on TIMP-2 expression was evaluated in renovascular hypertensive rats (two kidney, one clip (2K1C) and one kidney, one clip (1K1C) models). Control rats (sham 2K1C and sham 1K1C rats) underwent sham-clipping of the left renal artery. At the end of the treatment, plasma renin activity was measured by radioimmunoassay, aortic TIMP-2 mRNA expression was evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction and/or northern blotting and protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured twice a week by the tail-cuff method. 3. Exogenous AngII administration produced the expected increase in SBP (P = 0.02) compared with the control saline-treated group. The increase in SBP was abolished in AngII + losartan-treated rats. Administration of AngII caused a significant increase in TIMP-2 expression (P = 0.01) in rat aortic smooth muscle cells that was abolished in AngII + losartan-treated rats. In renovascular hypertensive rats, SBP was higher (P < 0.0001) in 2K1C and 1K1C rats compared with the corresponding sham-operated rats. Plasma renin activity was higher (P < 0.01) in 2K1C rats compared with the other groups. The expression of TIMP-2 was significantly (P < 0.05) increased only in 2K1C rats. 4. Our in vivo data demonstrate that exogenous and endogenous AngII increases TIMP-2 expression in rat aortic smooth muscle cells. This effect is not dependent on the AngII-induced increase in blood pressure and is mediated by angiotensin AT(1) receptors."}
{"ID": 31, "domain": "CS", "area": "Operating systems", "abstract": "1. Camera trapping is a widely applied method to study mammalian biodiversity and is still gaining popularity. It can quickly generate large amounts of data which need to be managed in an efficient and transparent way that links data acquisition with analytical tools. 2. We describe the free and open-source R package camtrapR, a new toolbox for flexible and efficient management of data generated in camera trap-based wildlife studies. The package implements a complete workflow for processing camera trapping data. It assists in image organization, species and individual identification, data extraction from images, tabulation and visualization of results and export of data for subsequent analyses. There is no limitation to the number of images stored in this data management system; the system is portable and compatible across operating systems. 3. The functions provide extensive automation to minimize data entry mistakes and, apart from species and individual identification, require minimal manual user input. Species and individual identification are performed outside the R environment, either via tags assigned in dedicated image management software or by moving images into species directories. 4. Input for occupancy and (spatial) capture-recapture analyses for density and abundance estimation, for example in the R packages unmarked or secr, is computed in a flexible and reproducible manner. In addition, survey summary reports can be generated, spatial distributions of records can be plotted and exported to GIS software, and single-and two-species activity patterns can be visualized. 5. camtrapR allows for streamlined and flexible camera trap data management and should be most useful to researchers and practitioners who regularly handle large amounts of camera trapping data."}
{"ID": 32, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "1. Commercially available fluctuating-temperature chambers are large and costly. This poses a challenge to experimental ecologists endeavouring to recreate natural temperature cycles in the laboratory because the large number of commercial chambers required for replicated study designs is prohibitively expensive to purchase, requires a large amount of space and consumes a great deal of energy. 2. We developed and validated a design for economical, programmable fluctuating-temperature chambers based on a relatively small (23 L) commercially manufactured constant temperature chamber ($140US) modified with a customized, user-friendly microcontroller ($15US). 3. Over a 1-week trial, these chambers reliably reproduced a real-world fluctuating (13.1-35.5 degrees C) body temperature regime of an individual frog, with a near-perfect 1 : 1 fit between target and actual temperatures (y = 1.0036x + 0.1366, R-2 = 0.9977, 95% confidence interval for slope = 1.0026, 1.0046). Over 30-day trials, they also reliably produced a simpler daily fluctuating-temperature scheme (sine wave fluctuating between 10 and 25 degrees C each 24 h) and a range of constant temperature regimes. 4. The design is inexpensive and simple to assemble in large numbers, enabling genuine replication of even highly complex, many treatment study designs. For example, it is possible to simultaneously examine in replicate chambers the responses of organisms to constant regimes, regimes that fluctuate following the means experienced by populations and regimes that exactly mimic fluctuations measured over any length of time for particular individuals that differ in behaviour or microhabitat use. These chambers thus vastly expand the pool of resources available for manipulative experiments in thermal biology and ecology."}
{"ID": 33, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "1. Cyadox is a novel quinoxaline-1,4-dioxide with the potential for development as a substitute for the banned veterinary drugs carbadox and olaquindox. In this paper, using pigs as the test subjects, the metabolic mechanism of cyadox N-oxide reduction in liver is demonstrated. 2. There exist two metabolic mechanisms for the N-oxide reduction of cyadox, the enzymatic and non-enzymatic routes. It is found that cyadox can be enzymatically reduced to 4-cyadox monoxide and 1-cyadox monoxide; this process is catalyzed by aldehyde oxidase and xanthine oxidase in the cytosol and by cytochrome b5 reductase in the microsomes. On the other hand, cyadox is only reduced to 4-cyadox monoxide in the non-enzymatic reduction mediated by heme groups of catalase and cytochrome P450s. 3. We supposed that, owing to the position of the side chain in cyadox, the 1-N-oxide and 4-N-oxide bonds in the quinoxaline ring had different biochemical activities, which caused cyadox to be shunted to the distinct metabolic mechanisms. Additionally, this research gives the first evidence of FAD- and NAD(P)H-dependent non-enzymatic catalase reduction of a heterocyclic N-oxide. The research provides a basic foundation for the formulation of safety controls for animal products and the properties and metabolism of heterocyclic N-oxides."}
{"ID": 34, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Attention", "abstract": "1. Finding and developing inhibitors of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) from natural products is highly recommended. Daphnetin, a naturally occurring catechol from the family thymelaeaceae, has a chemical structure similar to several potent COMT inhibitors reported previously. Here the potential of daphnetin and its Phase II metabolites as inhibitors of COMT was investigated with human liver cytosol (HLC). 2. Daphnetin and its methylated metabolite (8-O-methyldaphnetin) were found to inhibit COMT-mediated dopamine O-methylation in a dose-dependent manner. The IC50 values for daphnetin (0.51 similar to 0.53 mu M) and 8-O-methyldaphnetin (22.5 similar to 24.3 mu M) were little affected by changes in HLC concentrations. Further kinetic analysis showed the differences in inhibition type and parameters (K-i) between daphnetin (competitive, 0.37 mu M) and 8-O-methyldaphnetin (noncompetitive, 25.7 mu M). Other metabolites, including glucuronidated and sulfated species, showed negligible inhibition against COMT. By using in vitro-in vivo extrapolation (IV-IVE), a 24.3-fold increase in the exposure of the COMT substrates was predicted when they are co-administrated with daphnetin. 3. With high COMT-inhibiting activity, daphnetin could serve as a lead compound for the design and development of new COMT inhibitors. Also, much attention should be paid to the clinical impact of combination of daphnetin and herbal preparations containing daphnetin with the drugs primarily cleared by COMT."}
{"ID": 35, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Immunology", "abstract": "1. Host-parasitoid systems are characterized by a continuous development of new defence strategies in hosts and counter-defence mechanisms in parasitoids. This co-evolutionary arms race makes host-parasitoid systems excellent for understanding trade-offs in host use caused by evolutionary changes in host immune responses and parasitoid virulence. However, knowledge obtained from natural host-parasitoid systems on such trade-offs is still limited. 2. In this study, the aim was to examine trade-offs in parasitoid virulence in Asecodes parviclava (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) when attacking three closely related beetles: Galerucella pusilla, Galerucella calmariensis and Galerucella tenella (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). A second aim was to examine whether geographic variation in parasitoid infectivity or host immune response could explain differences in parasitism rate between northern and southern sites. 3. More specifically, we wanted to examine whether the capacity to infect host larvae differed depending on the previous host species of the parasitoids and if such differences were connected to differences in the induction of host immune systems. This was achieved by combining controlled parasitism experiments with cytological studies of infected larvae. 4. Our results reveal that parasitism success in A. parviclava differs both depending on previous and current host species, with a higher virulence when attacking larvae of the same species as the previous host. Virulence was in general high for parasitoids from G. pusilla and low for parasitoids from G. calmariensis. At the same time, G. pusilla larvae had the strongest immune response and G. calmariensis the weakest. These observations were linked to changes in the larval hemocyte composition, showing changes in cell types important for the encapsulation process in individuals infected by more or less virulent parasitoids. 5. These findings suggest ongoing evolution in parasitoid virulence and host immune response, making the system a strong candidate for further studies on host race formation and speciation."}
{"ID": 36, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Satellite radio", "abstract": "1. How and at what spatial scale(s) animals change their movements in relation to their environment is central to several topics in ecology and conservation, including foraging ecology, habitat selection and dispersal. A method (first-passage time analysis, FPT) has recently been proposed to measure changes in movements through the landscape, as an index of search effort at the pertinent spatial scales. This method seems largely applicable to an increasing number of studies using satellite, radio-tracking or global positioning system (GPS), but its limits have not yet been assessed. 2. Here I used several movement simulations to examine the ability of FPT analysis to detect area-restricted search (ARS) according to different changes in movements, different patch structures and tracking accuracy. 3. FPT analysis was able to detect changes in movements when both speed and sinuosity changed, or when the animal reacted to patch boundaries. It was also able to detect ARS within the same path at several spatial scales in patches (nested or not) of different sizes. 4. Tracking accuracy affected the detection of ARS by FPT analysis. With the widely used Argos system, a minimum of 13 locations in effective ARS was necessary to detect this behaviour; seven when velocity filtering was applied. Similarly, spatial error in location affected the estimation of the ARS scale value, but the application of velocity filtering reduced this effect. 5. Comparisons between a real GPS track and pathways simulating the Argos error showed that the time-sampling rate of locations (due to satellite-pass frequency) decreased the probability of detecting ARS at small scales (50% across the whole range of scales. A velocity filter enabled significant reductions in this effect. 6. Synthesis and application. Within limits, FPT analysis is highly suitable for animal movement analysis, either to quantify habitat use, or to determine the scale most relevant for describing an ecological system or factors affecting movement decisions. In anticipation of increasing applications of FPT analysis in applied ecology, I provide recommendations for the use of the technique with several tracking methods."}
{"ID": 37, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "1. Human ABCA8, a new member of the ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter family, transports certain lipophilic drugs, such as digoxin. To investigate the roles of this transporter, we cloned a mouse homologue of ABCA8, from a mouse heart cDNA library, named ABCA8a. 2. The deduced mouse ABCA8a protein is 66% identical with that of human ABCA8 and possesses features common to the ABC superfamily. It was found that ABCA8a was mainly expressed in the liver and heart, similar to human ABCA8. 3. We further evaluated the effect of acute digoxin (a substrate for ABCA8) intoxication on the mRNA expression of ABCA8 using northern blotting with a 3' non-coding region as a probe to avoid cross-hybridization with other ABCA genes. 4. Following acute digoxin infusion, the mRNA expression of ABCA8 was significantly reduced in the liver 12-24 h after injection (14.7% of vehicle treatment), but not in the heart and kidney. 5. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis confirmed the reduction in ABCA8a mRNA. Similar reductions in ABCA5, ABCA7, ABCA8b and ABCA9 mRNA were also observed. A comparable amount of digitoxin did not affect ABCA8a mRNA expression in the liver. 6. The results suggest that ABCA8 may play a role in digoxin metabolism in the liver."}
{"ID": 38, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "1. Human chimeric mice (h-PXB mice) having humanized liver, constructed by transplantation of human hepatocytes, were evaluated as an experimental model for predicting human drug metabolism. Metabolism of zaleplon in h-PXB mice was compared with that in rat chimeric mice (r-PXB mice) constructed by transplantation of rat hepatocytes. 2. Zaleplon is metabolized to 5-oxo-zaleplon by aldehyde oxidase and to desethyl-zaleplon by cytochrome P450 (CYP3A4) in rat and human liver preparations. 3. Liver S9 fraction of h-PXB mice metabolized zaleplon to 5-oxo-zaleplon and desethylzaleplon in similar amounts. However, liver S9 fractions of r-PXB and control (urokinase-type plasminogen activator-transgenic severe combined immunodeficient) mice predominantly metabolized zaleplon to desethyl-zaleplon. 5-Oxo-zaleplon was detected as a minor metabolite. 4. Oxidase activity of h-PXB mouse liver cytosol toward zaleplon was about 10-fold higher than that of r-PXB or control mice. In contrast, activities for desethyl-zaleplon formation were similar in liver microsomes from these mice, as well as rat and human liver microsomes. 5. In vivo, the level of 5-oxo-zaleplon in plasma of h-PXB mice was about 7-fold higher than that in r-PXB or control mice, in agreement with the in vitro data. Thus, aldehyde oxidase in h-PXB mice functions as human aldehyde oxidase, both in vivo and in vitro. 6. In contrast, the plasma level of desethyl-zaleplon in r-PXB and control mice was higher than that in h-PXB mice. 7. These results suggest h-PXB mice with humanized liver could be a useful experimental model to predict aldehyde oxidase-and CYP3A4-mediated drug metabolism in humans."}
{"ID": 39, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "1. Human-chimeric mice with humanized liver have been constructed by transplantation of human hepatocytes into several types of mice having genetic modifications that injure endogenous liver cells. Here, we focus on liver urokinase-type plasminogen activator-transgenic severe combined immunodeficiency (uPA/SCID) mice, which are the most widely used human-chimeric mice. Studies so far indicate that drug metabolism, drug transport, pharmacological effects and toxicological action in these mice are broadly similar to those in humans. 2. Expression of various drug-metabolizing enzymes is known to be different between humans and rodents. However, the expression pattern of cytochrome P450, aldehyde oxidase and phase II enzymes in the liver of human-chimeric mice resembles that in humans, not that in the host mice. 3. Metabolism of various drugs, including S-warfarin, zaleplon, ibuprofen, naproxen, coumarin, troglitazone and midazolam, in human-chimeric mice is mediated by human drug-metabolizing enzymes, not by host mouse enzymes, and thus resembles that in humans. 4. Pharmacological and toxicological effects of various drugs in human-chimeric mice are also similar to those in humans. 5. The current consensus is that chimeric mice with humanized liver are useful to predict drug metabolism catalyzed by cytochrome P450, aldehyde oxidase and phase II enzymes in humans in vivo and in vitro. Some remaining issues are discussed in this review."}
{"ID": 40, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Genetics", "abstract": "1. Individual plant genotypes as well as genotypic diversity can shape the structure and function of ecosystems; however, the abiotic environment may modify these genotypic influences on ecosystem-level responses. 2. To explore how the interactions between plant genotype, genotypic diversity and soil nutrient availability affect the structure and function of a temperate grassland ecosystem, we manipulated the genotypic diversity of a common perennial herbaceous plant, Solidago altissima (single genotype monoculture and diversity plots) and soil nutrient availability (+nitrogen, +phosphorus, +nitrogen and +phosphorus, unmanipulated control) in a common garden setting. We tracked temporal changes in ecosystem structure (e.g. leaf area index and net primary productivity) as well as a variety of ecosystem functions (e.g. net ecosystem carbon and water exchange and soil carbon efflux) over a growing season. 3. We found that variation in plant genotype identity consistently shaped ecosystem structure (above-ground net primary productivity) while it inconsistently altered several ecosystem functions across time. For instance, variation in plant genotype identity influenced net ecosystem carbon dynamics early in the growing season while it influenced water dynamics later in the growing season. The strength of the relationship between genotypic diversity and ecosystem function declined over the season and the relationship between ecosystem structure (above-ground net primary productivity) and function (net ecosystem carbon and water exchange) varied across treatments. Overall, there was a strong correlation between ecosystem structure and function across monoculture genotype plots but a weak relationship between ecosystem structure and function across mixed genotype plots. Surprisingly, soil nutrients did not influence ecosystem structure and had minimal impacts on carbon and water flux. 4. Our data suggest that plant genetic variation, and to some extent plant genotypic diversity, strongly influence ecosystem structure and function in an old-field ecosystem, but nutrient availability did not directly or interactively influence ecosystem structure or function."}
{"ID": 41, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Green Building", "abstract": "1. INTRODUCTION Sustainability has been defined as the need to preserve existing natural resources so that the earth is able to continue to provide these resources for future generations. Put more simply, a sustainable system is one that survives or persists (Costanza and Patten, 1995). In order to ensure the sustainability of architectural and building activity, it is essential that work in this field is conducted in accordance with the canons of basic ecology and, in addition, that its members seek to address certain cultural and relational characteristics that typify the way we live today. Architecture as a discipline combines technology and art; however, with the advent of \"sustainable architecture\" additional concepts from the fields of ecology, sociology, and philosophy have been incorporated. Yet, the fundamental problem is that the meanings of both the classical and the new concepts remain ambiguous, their significance shifting with our cultural evolution. Hence, the traditional Vitruvian values of architecture (beauty, structure and utility) are no longer so obvious, especially when we are required to think in terms of sustainability. Although the question as to why architecture matters has been answered in a variety of ways (Glaeser, 2011), it is our contention that in the 21st century architecture will matter more than ever, because by 2050 most of the world's population will be concentrated in cities. As a result, the sustainability of dwellings and cities has acquired undeniable importance. Two interacting forces influence all populations. One is the Malthusian dynamic of exponential growth until environmental limits are reached (Figure 1). The second is the Darwinian dynamics of innovation and adaptation that circumvent these limits through biological or cultural evolution. Nekola et al., in 2013 reported that the specific manifestation of these two forces in our current society provide the context that establishes how humans may develop sustainable relationships within our finite planet (Figure 2). Consequently, a permanent and indefinite growth is impossible due to the physical and biological imperatives of our finite world. Biologists and architects and constructors usually inhabit different worlds. The latter innovate, deploy, and apply their techno-science based designs; the first, study the finite nature, propose hypotheses, and gather their evidence. And, to date, there is little to suggest that copying nature purports any advantages to architects, primarily because fully autonomous buildings or towns have yet to be built. According to the described Malthusian-Darwinian dynamic, the two critical questions that we seek to address in this paper are: i) What is the essence of a sustainable dwelling? and ii) What principles should be adhered to in making a dwelling sustainable? In other words, this study aims to elucidate the essence of sustainability in green building design implementation."}
{"ID": 42, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Green Building", "abstract": "1. INTRODUCTION The emergence of environmental problems as major social issues throughout the world has prompted sustainable development efforts in a wide range of areas, including industry, construction, and transportation, followed by the execution of numerous studies and policies. The concept of sustainable development has been dealt with in earnest in the construction field since the Declaration of Interdependence for a Sustainable Future at the 18th Chicago Convention of UIA in 1993. This Declaration included tasks to be implemented with respect to green buildings, such as the recycling of resources, application of energy-efficient designs, and utilization of natural energy in addition to the application of sustainable designs. As part of green building practices, countries around the world have been implementing various green building certification standards, such as LEED, GBCC, CASBEE, and BREEAM. These certification standards prescribe the criteria relating to the external environment, energy conservation, materials and resources, and the indoor environment, with energy conservation being the top priority for each of these issues. This is due to energy consumption in building operation accounting for more than half of the building life cycle cost. Accordingly, although many studies are undertaken for the purpose of developing the means for conserving energy in relation to green buildings, the majority of these studies are concentrated on the development of technologies for environmental facilities through the application of active designs. study the finite nature, propose hypotheses, and gather their evidence. And, to date, there is little to suggest that copying nature purports any advantages to architects, primarily because fully autonomous buildings or towns have yet to be built. According to the described Malthusian-Darwinian dynamic, the two critical questions that we seek to address in this paper are: i) What is the essence of a sustainable dwelling? and ii) What principles should be adhered to in making a dwelling sustainable? In other words, this study aims to elucidate the essence of sustainability in green building design implementation."}
{"ID": 43, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Water Pollution", "abstract": "1. Invertebrates inhabiting marine and freshwater ecosystems make important contributions to global biodiversity and provide significant services that have cascading effects across ecosystems. However, this group is grossly under-represented in assessments of conservation status and often neglected in targeted aquatic conservation efforts. 2. In global assessments of 7857 freshwater invertebrates and 2864 marine invertebrates, 30-34% were considered Data Deficient highlighting the paucity of information for making such assessments. Of the invertebrate groups that could be assessed, those with poor dispersal abilities and high local endemism, such as many gastropods, crayfish and mussels, are the most threatened. 3. Springs and subterranean hydrological systems support the highest proportions of threatened freshwater species, while in marine environments coral reefs, lagoons and anchialine systems are particularly vulnerable. 4. Key agents of biodiversity decline in aquatic ecosystems are water pollution, overexploitation and harvesting, habitat degradation and destruction, alien invasive species, and climate change. Effects of dams and water management along with pollution from urban, agricultural and forestry sources are the main threats in freshwater ecosystems, whereas a broad range of factors have impacts on marine invertebrates, including biological resource use. 5. Significant impediments facing conservation of aquatic invertebrates are limited knowledge of their diversity, the need for broadscale actions to account for connectivity within and across ecosystems, lack of political will and investment, and the prospect that conditions may get worse before they improve, possibly not in time to save some already highly imperilled invertebrate species from extinction. Copyright (C) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 44, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "1. Leaf economics and hydraulic traits strongly influence photosynthesis. While the level of coordination among these traits can differ between sets of species, leaf functional trait coordination within species remains poorly understood. Furthermore, elevated concentrations of atmospheric CO2 commonly influence the expression of leaf photosynthetic, economics and hydraulic traits in contrasting ways, yet the effect of variable concentrations of atmospheric CO2 on patterns of trait coordination within species remains largely untested. 2. We examined the relationships among key leaf photosynthetic (e. g. net photosynthesis and photosynthetic biochemistry), economics and water-use (e. g. leaf mass per unit area and stomatal conductance) and hydraulic traits (e. g. vein density) in 14 genotypes of Eucalyptus camaldulensis grown in ambient (aCO(2)) and elevated (eCO(2)) [CO2]. We examined the level of coordination among leaf traits in aCO(2) and then assessed whether growth in eCO(2) altered that coordination. 3. We found that leaf traits related to photosynthetic capacity, economics and water-use, and hydraulics were decoupled among genotypes grown in aCO(2), yet strong relationships were generally observed among suites of traits within each 'functional group'. 4. Significant responses to growth in eCO(2) were observed for most leaf photosynthetic and economics and water-use traits, with the magnitude and direction of the response varying among traits. In contrast, leaf hydraulics traits were unaffected by variable growth CO2. Despite this, growth in eCO(2) did not substantially alter patterns of leaf trait coordination observed in aCO(2). 5. These results suggest suites of leaf traits associated with photosynthetic capacity, economics and water-use and hydraulics, respectively, can form independent axes of variation among genotypes of a single species, regardless of growth CO2. Although growth in eCO(2) did not substantially alter patterns of trait coordination, decoupling of leaf functional traits among genotypes may allow genetically distinct populations to produce novel combinations of traits that may be adaptive in response to changes in their local environment."}
{"ID": 45, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Hepatitis C", "abstract": "1. Magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate (MgIg) has been extensively used in treating liver injury which is the common adverse reaction of docetaxel (DOC). Due to the narrow therapeutic window, small changes in pharmacokinetic profiles can alter the toxicity and therapeutic efficacy of DOC significantly. The study aimed to explore the effects of MgIg on the disposition of DOC and the potential mechanism in DOC-induced liver injury. 2. Pharmacokinetics and tissues distribution behaviors showed that there was no significant difference between DOC group (DOCG) and MgIg+DOC group (MDOCG). The mRNA and protein levels of cytochrome P450 3A1 (CYP3A1) in liver, intestine, and kidney were significantly upregulated, and the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) was obviously downregulated in MDOCG when compared with DOCG. 3. Immunoglobulin M (IgM), CD8+ were upregulated in DOCG; while in MDOCG, IgM, CD8+ recovered to normal levels and complement C-3; CD4+ were upregulated. 4. MgIg had no significant effects on the disposition of DOC in docetaxel-induced liver injury. Additional, potential drug-drug interaction may happen if MgIg co-administered with antitumor drugs which are the substrates of CYP3A4 or P-gp. Hepatoprotective mechanism of MgIg perhaps was through upregulation of C-3, CD4+ and downregulation of IgM, CD8+."}
{"ID": 46, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "1. Metabolism of ABT-107 was investigated in in vitro hepatic systems, in rat and monkey receiving [C-14] ABT-107, and in vivo plasma in rat, dog, monkey and human. 2. In in vitro hepatic systems, ABT-107 was primarily cleared via oxidative metabolism, and proceeded via two parallel pathways. Pathway 1, ABT-107 was oxidized at the nitrogen of quinuclidine moiety to form M1. Pathway 2, oxidation occurred at indole-containing moiety to form M2. Metabolism via N-oxidation was predominant in dog and rat, while in monkey and human, metabolism proceeded primarily via oxidation of indole-containing moiety. 3. ABT-107 was extensively metabolized in vivo in rat and monkey. M1 was primarily found in rat urine and bile; whereas, M2 was the major metabolite in monkey urine and feces. M1 was the predominant circulating metabolite in dog and rat. M2 was the primary circulating metabolite in monkey and human. 4. Enzymatic studies suggested M1 formation was primarily mediated by renal FMO1. CYP3A4, 1A2, 2J2 and 2D6 were primary enzymes catalyzing M2 formation. 5. Biotransformation of ABT-107 in human and monkey is markedly different from that in dog and rat, suggesting that monkey is an appropriate model for predicting human biotransformation and toxicology of ABT-107."}
{"ID": 47, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Molecular biology", "abstract": "1. Omacetaxine mepesuccinate (hereafter referred to as omacetaxine) is a protein translation inhibitor approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for adult patients with chronic myeloid leukemia with resistance and/or intolerance to two or more tyrosine kinase inhibitors. 2. The objective was to investigate the metabolite profile of omacetaxine in plasma, urine and faeces samples collected up to 72h after a single 1.25-mg/m(2) subcutaneous dose of C-14-omacetaxine in cancer patients. 3. High-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (MS) (high resolution) in combination with off-line radioactivity detection was used for metabolite identification. 4. In total, six metabolites of omacetaxine were detected. The reactions represented were mepesuccinate ester hydrolysis, methyl ester hydrolysis, pyrocatechol conversion from the 1,3-dioxole ring. Unchanged omacetaxine was the most prominent omacetaxine-related compound in plasma. In urine, unchanged omacetaxine was also dominant, together with 4'-DMHHT. In feces very little unchanged omacetaxine was found and the pyrocatechol metabolite of omacetaxine, M534 and 4'-desmethyl homoharringtonine (4'-DMHHT) was the most abundant metabolites. 5. Omacetaxine was extensively metabolized, with subsequent renal and hepatic elimination of the metabolites. The low levels of the metabolites found in plasma indicate that the metabolites are unlikely to contribute materially to the efficacy and/or toxicity of omacetaxine."}
{"ID": 48, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Weight Loss", "abstract": "1. Seasonal adaptations enabling the bridging of periodic challenging abiotic conditions are taxonomically widespread. However, sensitivity to other environmental stresses can be heightened during these periods. 2. Several temperate insects with over-wintering strategies play key ecosystem and economic roles, including wild bee pollinators. For example, hibernation survival in temperate bumblebees is crucial, as only new queens of future social colonies over-winter. These bees are also faced with other abiotic and biotic stressors, some of which have been linked to recent pollinator declines, such as exposure to pesticides and parasites. 3. Using a fully crossed experiment, the influence of dietary exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides (thiamethoxam and clothianidin) and/or the prevalent bumblebee parasite Crithidia bombi on hibernation survival and hibernation weight change of Bombus terrestris bumblebee queens was investigated. 4. Both neonicotinoid and C. bombi exposures reduced hibernation success individually, but no additive or synergistic effects between the stressors were found. Further, effects were asynchronous, with early neonicotinoid effects on hibernation mortality overriding later parasite effects under combined exposures. Neonicotinoid exposure also increased hibernation weight loss of surviving queens. 5. Diapause periods, employed by numerous temperate organisms, are likely to be especially vulnerable to environmental stresses, besides the seasonal challenge for which these periods are an adaptation. Thus, diapause requires inclusion during the consideration of the impacts of such stresses. Accordingly, it is demonstrated here that naturally relevant exposures of pesticides and parasites have important detrimental effects on bumblebees during a critical hibernation period, with potential consequences for populations of these key wild pollinators."}
{"ID": 49, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Polymerase chain reaction", "abstract": "1. Several eel species have undergone extensive declines at both local and global level. The aim of this study was to identify the reasons for the collapse of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) stock in an important area for biodiversity conservation (Comacchio Lagoon, Italy), in order to support the development of eel conservation plans. 2. The records of silver eel catches from Comacchio describe the total migratory population and cover the period 1781- 2013. The data are accompanied by information related to habitat loss and other local factors. The role of local factors on the decline of the local stock was investigated, while additional information from the literature was also used to discuss the effects of global factors (including glass eel harvest for aquaculture, climateoceanographic changes, habitat loss, pollution and parasitism) on the three eel species A. anguilla, Anguilla japonica and Anguilla rostrata. 3. The records from Comacchio provided significant information about the effects of local factors on the local eel populations in the past. However, the current population collapse, which started in the 1970s, could not be explained by local factors. 4. The literature on global factors suggests that the three eel species are under combined threat from various factors. The correlations between European aquaculture production data compared with the Comacchio yields and published data from other European eel and glass eel fisheries were found to be highly significant. Aquaculture, which depends entirely on wild- caught glass eels, seems to play a key role in the decline of natural stocks. 5. Conservative estimates using FAO data showed that the current numbers of glass eels needed to support aquaculture production in Europe and Asia exceeds 2 x 109 specimens. This requirement, largely supplied by A. anguilla glass eels, can explain the decline of eel populations since the glass eel trade has been expanded at an international level. Copyright # 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 50, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Genetics", "abstract": "1. Species coexistence requires differential response to inter-and intraspecific competition, typically conceptualized as niche differentiation. Coexistence of close relatives therefore poses an interesting scenario with regards to niche differentiation since these species generally have many traits in common due to shared ancestry. Native Californian Trifolium assemblages are locally diverse and represent a unique system for understanding competitive interactions among close relatives. 2. We conducted two similar greenhouse studies in which Trifolium fucatum was grown alone, with a con-specific competitor, and with a congeneric competitor (Trifolium macraei). In the first study, we assessed biomass production in T. fucatum, and in the second study we conducted an RNAseq analysis of T. fucatum roots to test for differentially expressed genes that may mediate competitive interactions and potentially coexistence. 3. Compared to plants grown alone, competition (i.e. growth in the same pot) with a conspecific resulted in a greater reduction in biomass than competition with a congener, as predicted by theory. However, competition with a congener resulted in twice as many differentially expressed genes as competition with a conspecific. 4. Annotations of identified genes differentiating congeneric from conspecific competition suggest several functions attributed to interactions with third-party organisms, including nodulation with rhizobial mutualists, and defence responses against pathogens and herbivores. In addition, salt-responsive genes and an iron transporter were differentially expressed in congeneric competition, and comparisons of sodium and iron concentrations in field soils where these species are found showed that T. fucatum occurs in higher sodium and iron microsites than T. macraei. Thus, the transcriptome highlighted abiotic niche axes worth pursuing in future ecological experiments as potential mediators of coexistence. 5. We also found a subset of genes that responded similarly to both congeneric and conspecific competition in both direction and magnitude, indicating some conserved responses to competition, regardless of neighbour identity. 6. Synthesis. Transcriptomic analyses represent novel tools for identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying interactions among species. Working iteratively with ecological experimentation and observation, transcriptomes may allow us to identify novel dimensions of the n-dimensional niche that determine species' distributions and their ability to coexist."}
{"ID": 51, "domain": "CS", "area": "Machine learning", "abstract": "1. Species distribution modelling can be useful for the conservation of rare and endangered species. Freshwater mussel declines have thinned species ranges producing spatially fragmented distributions across large areas. Spatial fragmentation in combination with a complex life history and heterogeneous environment makes predictive modelling difficult. 2. A machine learning approach (maximum entropy) was used to model occurrences and suitable habitat for the federally endangered dwarf wedgemussel, Alasmidonta heterodon, in Maryland's Coastal Plain catchments. Landscape- scale predictors (e. g. land cover, land use, soil characteristics, geology, flow characteristics, and climate) were used to predict the suitability of individual stream segments for A. heterodon. 3. The best model contained variables at three scales: minimum elevation (segment scale), percentage Tertiary deposits, low intensity development, and woody wetlands (sub- catchment), and percentage low intensity development, pasture/ hay agriculture, and average depth to the water table (catchment). Despite a very small sample size owing to the rarity of A. heterodon, cross- validated prediction accuracy was 91%. 4. Most predicted suitable segments occur in catchments not known to contain A. heterodon, which provides opportunities for new discoveries or population restoration. These model predictions can guide surveys toward the streams with the best chance of containing the species or, alternatively, away from those streams with little chance of containing A. heterodon. 5. Developed reaches had low predicted suitability for A. heterodon in the Coastal Plain. Urban and exurban sprawl continues to modify stream ecosystems in the region, underscoring the need to preserve existing populations and to discover and protect new populations. Copyright # 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 52, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Genetics", "abstract": "1. Species diversity is declining more rapidly in freshwater ecosystems than in any other, but the consequences for genetic diversity, and hence evolutionary potential, are poorly understood. In part this reflects limited use and development of modern molecular tools and genetic approaches to address conservation questions in rivers, lakes and wetlands. As widespread, diverse and functionally important organisms, freshwater macroinvertebrates are ideal candidates for genetic approaches to reveal, for example, the conservation consequences of demographic histories and past disturbances. However, the availability of microsatellite markers for this group is very limited. 2. Using next generation sequencing, microsatellite markers were developed for Isoperla grammatica (Poda, 1761), Amphinemura sulcicollis (Stephens, 1836) and Baetis rhodani (Pictet, 1843) to enable conservation genetic investigations of these widespread invertebrate species. Fifty-two robust microsatellite loci were developed (18, 21 and 13 per species), all with high levels of allelic diversity (7-27, 3-16, 5-13 alleles per loci, respectively). 3. These tools will allow assessment of genetic structure, dispersal and demographic resilience in these model species as a function of environmental change and variation, thereby aiding freshwater monitoring and conservation. The authors urge further capacity building to support genetic applications to the conservation biology of other aquatic organisms. Copyright # 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 53, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Low Testosterone", "abstract": "1. Testosterone mediates several key aspects of male reproduction, but maintaining high testosterone levels can reduce long-term survival. One of the proposed pathways by which testosterone can influence survival is through increased risk of parasite infection. The hormone has the potential to affect the transmission of sexually transmitted infections by promoting behaviours that increase sexual contact rates and/or by decreasing immune function. 2. We hypothesized that males with high concentrations of testosterone would increase their chances of being infected with sexually transmitted bacteria, which would manifest as increased diversity of cloacal bacteria. To test this hypothesis, we measured circulating testosterone concentrations in breeding male rufous-collared sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis) and collected cloacal swabs to quantify bacterial diversity using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. 3. There was a positive correlation between testosterone concentrations and the phylogenetic diversity of cloacal bacteria. In addition, individuals with high and medium testosterone concentrations had cloacal bacterial communities that were more similar to each other than to those of low testosterone individuals. Finally, when considering bacterial taxa that are potential avian pathogens, we found that the relative abundance of Chlamydiae, a class of obligate intracellular parasites, was positively correlated with testosterone concentrations. 4. Two non-exclusive explanations for these results are that testosterone affects behaviours that lead to increased sexual contacts and thus the exposure and acquisition of additional phylogenetically diverse bacteria, and/or that testosterone is altering the immune system or the cloacal environment, thus making it easier for bacteria to colonize. Either way, these data suggest that increased exposure to sexually transmitted pathogens in the form of cloacal bacteria could be a cost of maintaining high testosterone levels."}
{"ID": 54, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Fungal Infection", "abstract": "1. The attraction of natural enemies towards herbivore-induced plant volatiles is a well-documented phenomenon. However, the majority of published studies are carried under optimal water and nutrient regimes and with just one herbivore. But what happens when additional levels of ecological complexity are added? Does the presence of a second herbivore, microorganisms, and abiotic stress interfere with plant-natural enemy communication? or is communication stable enough to withstand disruption by additional biotic and abiotic factors? 2. Investigating the effects of these additional levels of ecological complexity is key to understanding the stability of tritrophic interactions in natural ecosystems and may aid to forecast the impact of environmental disturbances on these, especially in climate change scenarios, which are often associated with modifications in plant and arthropod species distribution and increased levels of abiotic stress. 3. This review explores the literature on natural enemy attraction to herbivore-induced volatiles when, besides herbivory, plants are challenged by additional biotic and abiotic factors. 4. The aim of this review was to establish the impact of different biotic and abiotic factors on plant-natural enemy communication and to highlight critical aspects to guide future research efforts."}
{"ID": 55, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Diabetes", "abstract": "1. The prevalence of diabetes and the other metabolic disorders has noticeably increased worldwide. A causal link between increasing risk of type 2 diabetes and exposure to environmental pollutants has been reported. 2. We hypothesized that exposure to methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), an oxygenate additive to gasoline would hinder zinc and glucose homeostasis in rats. 3. Male Sprague-Dawley rats received MTBE in drinking water for 90 days. At the end of the treatment, pancreas and blood samples were collected for biochemical and molecular examinations. Expression of four candidate genes, including Insulin1, Insulin2, MT1A, SLC30A8 by Real-Time Quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) as well as biochemical parameters, including fasting blood glucose (FBS), triglycerides (TG), cholesterol (CHO), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), copper (Cu2+) and calcium (Ca2+) levels as well as High-sensitive C-reactive protein were assessed as endpoints. 4. This study suggested that MTBE exposure can be associated with disruption in zinc homeostasis and glucose tolerance."}
{"ID": 56, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Molecular biology", "abstract": "1. The quail is a potentially important avian model for molecular studies; a major drawback is the inability to sex visually before 3 weeks of age. Molecular sexing is therefore an absolute requirement when animals are sampled before that age.2. A low-cost method using common laboratory equipment based on Allele-Specific Multiplex-Polymerase Chain Reaction was developed to undertake reliable molecular identification of the sex of Coturnix japonica directly at hatching.3. This simple method works with down feathers collected from behind the neck of the newly hatched quail and includes internal controls during the PCR to limit risks of error. Males and females can be discriminated on the basis of the presence of one or two amplicons, respectively."}
{"ID": 57, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "1. Vulnerability segmentation hypothesis proposes that plant branches are more resistant to cavitation than their terminal leaves, namely, the difference in vulnerability to cavitation between branches and their terminal leaves is positive (P50leaf-branch>0). This allows leaves to act as safety valves to protect hydraulic pathway from dysfunction. 2. Recent studies showed that several species from humid regions have negative values of P50leaf-branch, indicating a lack of vulnerability segmentation in these species (LVS species). 3. We hypothesize that compared with species from humid regions, vulnerability segmentation is critical and necessary for arid species to survive droughts, but LVS species may take compensatory hydraulic strategies to maintain safety margins during drought periods. 4. We compile branch and leaf hydraulic trait data of 69 broadleaved woody species belonging to different biomes with contrasting climatic conditions as indicated by variable aridity index (AI), and we find that P50leaf-branch becomes small and even negative with the increase of AI. Although leaves of LVS species may lose their function as safety valves, their deep rooting, great hydraulic conductivity, and/or high stem capacitance features are critical for them to maintain hydraulic safety. 5. The results indicate that vulnerability segmentation is evidently common for species from arid regions, but not necessarily the case for some species from humid regions. With robust cavitation-resistant leaves and effective hydraulic compensatory strategies, LVS species can maintain water supply and the functionality of leaves, thus giving them a hydraulic advantage over counterparts in the face of potential drought stress. A is available for this article."}
{"ID": 58, "domain": "CS", "area": "Data structures", "abstract": "1. While phylogenies have been getting easier to build, it has been difficult to reuse, combine and synthesize the information they provide because published trees are often only available as image files, and taxonomic information is not standardized across studies. 2. The Open Tree of Life (OTL) project addresses these issues by providing a digital tree that encompasses all organisms, built by combining taxonomic information and published phylogenies. The project also provides tools and services to query and download parts of this synthetic tree, as well as the source data used to build it. Here, we present rot1, an R package to search and download data fromthe Open Tree of Life directly in R. 3. rot1 uses common data structures allowing researchers to take advantage of the rich set of tools and methods that are available in R to manipulate, analyse and visualize phylogenies. Here, and in the vignettes accompanying the package, we demonstrate how rot1 can be used with other R packages to analyse biodiversity data. 4. As phylogenies are being used in a growing number of applications, rot1 facilitates access to phylogenetic data and allows their integration with statistical methods and data sources available inR."}
{"ID": 59, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Cell biology", "abstract": "100 years after Smoluchowski introduced his approach to stochastic processes, they are now at the basis of mathematical and physical modeling in cellular biology: they are used for example to analyse and to extract features from a large number (tens of thousands) of single molecular trajectories or to study the diffusive motion of molecules, proteins or receptors. Stochastic modeling is a new step in large data analysis that serves extracting cell biology concepts. We review here Smoluchowski's approach to stochastic processes and provide several applications for coarse-graining diffusion, studying polymer models for understanding nuclear organization and finally, we discuss the stochastic jump dynamics of telomeres across cell division and stochastic gene regulation."}
{"ID": 60, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11 beta-HSD1) mediates glucocorticoid activation and is currently considered as therapeutic target to treat metabolic diseases; however, biomarkers to assess its activity in vivo are still lacking. Recent in vitro experiments suggested that human 11 beta-HSD1 metabolizes the secondary bile acid 7-oxolithocholic acid (7-oxoLCA) to chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) and minor amounts of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). Here, we provide evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies for a major role of 11 beta-HSD1 in the oxidoreduction of 7-oxoLCA and compare its level and metabolism in several species. Hepatic microsomes from liver-specific 11 beta-HSD1-deficient mice were devoid of 7-oxoLCA oxidoreductase activity. Importantly, circulating and intrahepatic levels of 7-oxoLCA and its taurine conjugate were significantly elevated in mouse models of 11 beta-HSD1 deficiency. Moreover, comparative enzymology of 11 beta-HSD1-dependent oxidoreduction of 7-oxoLCA revealed that the guinea-pig enzyme is devoid of 7-oxoLCA oxidoreductase activity. Unlike in other species, 7-oxoLCA and its glycine conjugate are major bile acids in guinea-pigs.(jlr) In conclusion, the oxidoreduction of 7-oxoLCA and its conjugated metabolites are catalyzed by 11 beta-HSD1, and the lack of this activity leads to the accumulation of these bile acids in guinea-pigs and 11 beta-HSD1-deficient mice. Thus, 7-oxoLCA and its conjugates may serve as biomarkers of impaired 11 beta-HSD1 activity."}
{"ID": 61, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Parenting", "abstract": "113 parents of children aged 5-13 with ASD completed online surveys assessing co-parenting quality, parenting stress, and child feeding challenges. Results indicated that food selectivity was both the most frequently reported type of challenging feeding behavior and the most often reported as problematic but was also the only type of challenging feeding behavior that was not associated with parenting stress. Greater parenting stress was reported when co-parenting agreement and support were lower. Child disruptive behavior at mealtime was the only feeding challenge associated with quality of co-parenting. This paper points to the importance of addressing feeding challenges in addition to selectivity, such as disruptive mealtime behaviors, and doing so within the context of the family and home environment."}
{"ID": 62, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "12/15-Lipoxygenases (12/15-LOXs) have been implicated in inflammatory and hyperproliferative diseases but the structural biology of these enzymes is not well developed. Most LOXs constitute single polypeptide chain proteins that fold into a two-domain structure. In the crystal structure the two domains are tightly associated, but small angle X-ray scattering data and dynamic fluorescence studies suggested a high degree of structural flexibility involving movement of the N-terminal domain relative to catalytic subunit. When we inspected the interdomain interface we have found a limited number of side-chain contacts which are involved in interactions of these two structural subunits. One of such contact points involves tyrosine 98 of N-terminal domain. This aromatic amino acid is invariant in vertebrate LOXs regardless of overall sequence identity. To explore in more detail the role of aromatic interactions in interdomain association we have mutated Y98 to various residues and quantified the structural and functional consequences of these alterations. We have found that loss of an aromatic moiety at position 98 impaired the catalytic activity and membrane binding capacity of the mutant enzymes. Although CD and fluorescence emission spectra of wild-type and mutant enzyme species were indistinguishable, the mutation led to enlargement of the molecular shape of the enzyme as detected by analytic gel filtration and this structural alteration was shown to be associated with a loss of protein thermal stability. The possible role of tight interdomain association for the enzyme's structural performance is discussed. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 63, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Parkinson's Disease", "abstract": "123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine cardiac scintigraphy (MIBG) is a useful imaging technique for the diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). However, MIBG has a serious disadvantage in that it demands a long examination time. The objective of this study was to evaluate statistically the usefulness of the heart/ mediastinum ratio (H/M) from the early phase of MIBG for the differential diagnosis of DLB. In total, 113 patients were examined, including 32 non-DLB (19 with Alzheimer's dementia) and 79 DLB patients. The mean early-H/M ratio was 2.83 in the non-DLB group and 1.95 in the DLB group. The mean delayed-H/M ratio was 3.0 in the non-DLB group and 1.76 in the DLB group. With a cutoff point of 2.27 on early images, the sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy were 65%, 94%, and 73%, respectively, and the area under the curve was 0.82, indicating moderate accuracy. This analysis indicates that images from the early phase of MIBG alone are sufficient for the differential diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and DLB."}
{"ID": 64, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Birth Control", "abstract": "17 alpha-Ethinylestradiol (EE2) is a potent estrogen used in birth-control pills. Previous laboratory and field studies have shown negative impacts in a variety of fish species after exposure to low levels of EE2, most notably a nearly complete shutdown of egg production. The present study demonstrates that mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus), a small-bodied estuarine species, is able to continue to produce eggs after exposure for 28 d to 100 ng of EE2/L. No effect of EE2 on egg production was observed, whereas a >35-fold increase in vitellogenin (vtg 1) gene expression in males was found. The lack of response in egg production in fish exposed to high levels of EE2 warrants further investigations on species-specific responses to estrogens and endocrine disruptors in general. (C) 2015 SETAC"}
{"ID": 65, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Low Testosterone", "abstract": "17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 3 deficiency consists of a defect in the last phase of steroidogenesis, in which androstenedione is converted into testosterone and estrone into estradiol. External genitalia range from female-like to atypical genitalia and most affected males are raised as females. Virilization in subjects with 17 beta-HSD3 deficiency occurs at the time of puberty and several of them change to male social sex. In male social sex patients, testes can be safely maintained, as long as they are positioned inside the scrotum The phenotype of 46,XY DSD due to 17 beta-HSD3 deficiency is extremely variable and clinically indistinguishable from other causes of 46,XY DSD such as partial androgen insensitivity syndrome and 5 alpha-reductase 2 deficiency. Laboratory diagnosis is based on a low testosterone/androstenedione ratio due to high serum levels of androstenedione and low levels of testosterone. The disorder is caused by a homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in the HSD17B3 gene that encodes the 17 beta-HSD3 isoenzyme leading to an impairment of the conversion of 17-keto into 17-hydroxysteroids. Molecular genetic testing confirms the diagnosis and provides the orientation for genetic counseling. Our proposal in this article is to review-the previously reported cases of 17 beta-HSD3 deficiency adding our own cases. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd."}
{"ID": 66, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Low Testosterone", "abstract": "17 beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 3 (17 beta-HSD3) is expressed almost exclusively in the testis and converts Delta 4-androstene-3,17-dione to testosterone. Mutations in. the HSD17B3 gene causing 17 beta-HSD3 deficiency are responsible for a rare recessive form of 46, XY Disorders of Sex Development (46, XY DSD). We report novel cases of Tunisian patients with 17 beta-HSD3 deficiency due to previously reported mutations, i.e. p.C206X and p.G133R, as well as a case with the novel compound heterozygous mutations p.C206X and p.Q176P. Moreover, the previously reported polymorphism p.G289S was identified in a heterozygous state in combination with a novel non-coding variant c.54G >T, also in a heterozygous state, in a male patient presenting with micropenis and low testosterone levels. The identification of four different mutations in a cohort of eight patients confirms the generally observed genetic heterogeneity of 17 beta-HSD3 deficiency. Nevertheless, analysis of DNA from 272 randomly selected healthy controls from the same geographic area (region of Sfax) revealed a high carrier frequency for the p.C206X mutation of approximately 1 in 40. Genotype reconstruction of the affected pedigree members revealed that all p. C206X mutation carriers harbored the same haplotype, indicating inheritance of the mutation from a common ancestor. Thus, the identification of a founder effect and the elevated carrier frequency of the p. C206X mutation emphasize the importance to consider this mutation in the diagnosis and genetic counseling of affected 17 beta-HSD3 deficiency pedigrees in Tunisia. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 67, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Birth Control", "abstract": "17Alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2), used for birth control in humans, is a potent estrogen that is found in wastewater at low concentrations (ng/l). EE2 has the ability to interfere with the endocrine system of fish, affecting reproduction which can result in population level effects. The objective of this study was to determine if dietary exposure to EE2 would alter gene expression patterns and key pathways in the liver and ovary and whether these could be associated with reproductive endpoints in female large-mouth bass during egg development. Female LMB received 70 ng EE2/g feed (administered at 1% of body weight) for 60 days. EE2 dietary exposure significantly reduced plasma vitellogenin concentrations by 70%. Hepatosomatic and gonadosomatic indices were also decreased with EE2 feeding by 38.5% and 40%, respectively. Transcriptomic profiling revealed that there were more changes in steady state mRNA levels in the liver compared to the ovary. Genes associated with reproduction were differentially expressed, such as vitellogenin in the liver and aromatase in the gonad. In addition, a set of genes related with oxidative stress (e.g. glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase) were identified as altered in the liver and genes associated with the immune system (e.g. complement component 1, and macrophage-inducible C-type lectin) were altered in the gonad. In a follow-up study with 0.2 ng EE2/g feed for 60 days, similar phenotypic and gene expression changes were observed that support these findings with the higher concentrations. This study provides new insights into how dietary exposure to EE2 interferes with endocrine signaling pathways in female LMB during a critical period of reproductive oogenesis. (C) 2014 Elsevier BM. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 68, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Low Testosterone", "abstract": "17-beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 3 deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive cause of 46, XY disorder of sex development. Worldwide, about 30 mutations in the hydroxysteroid (17-beta) dehydrogenase 3 (HSD17B3) gene have been reported, involving all exons except exon 1. Herein, we investigated an Egyptian female with 46, XY karyotype and low testosterone/Delta 4-androstenedione ratio. Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples, and then, direct DNA sequencing of HSD17B3 gene was performed. The patient had a homozygous mutation c. 198G>A in exon 1 resulting in a stop codon (p.W50X). The study presents the first mutation to be reported in exon 1 of the HSD17B3 gene. Copyright (C) 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel"}
{"ID": 69, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Low Testosterone", "abstract": "17-beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 3(17 beta HSD-3) is present almost exclusively in the testes, and converts androstenedione (A) to testosterone (T). 17 beta HSD-3 deficiency is rare. The diagnosis can be missed in early childhood as the clinical presentation may be subtle. The most frequent presentation of 17 HSD-3 deficiency is a 46,XY individual with female external genitalia, labial fusion and a blind ending vagina, with or without clitoromegaly. A low testosterone/androstenedion (T/A) ratio is suggestive of 17 beta HSD-3 deficiency, and such diagnosis can be confirmed with molecular genetic studies. A 12-day newborn was referred to our hospital because of palpable gonads in the labia majora. On physical examination, the baby had female external genitalia and palpable gonads in the labia majora. T/A ratio was 0.26 and the diagnosis was 17 beta HSD-3 deficiency, which was confirmed by the evidence of compound heterozygousity novel frameshift mutations in exon 9 and 10 of HSD17B3 gene."}
{"ID": 70, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "1A6/DRIM is a nucleolar protein with a nucleolar targeting sequence in its 3'-terminus. Bioinformatic analysis indicated that human 1A6/ DRIM shares 23% identity and 43% similarity with yeast Utp20, which has been reported as a component of U3 snoRNA protein complex and has been implicated in 18S rRNA processing. In the present study, we found, by utilizing RT-PCR with RNA extracted from anti-1A6/DRIM inummoprecipitates and Northern blotting, that 1A6/DRIM is associated with U3 snoRNA. Pulse-chase labeling assays showed that silencing of 1A6/DRIM expression in HeLa cells resulted in a delayed 18S rRNA processing. Furthermore, immunoprecipitations revealed that 1A6/DRIM was also associated with fibrillarin, another U3 RNP component in HeLa cells. These results indicate that 1A6/DRIM is involved in 18S rRNA processing and is the bona fide mammalian Utp20. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 71, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "1-Deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate (DXP) synthase catalyzes the formation of DXP from pyruvate and D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (GraP) in a thiamin diphosphate-dependent manner, and is the first step in the essential pathway to isoprenoids in human pathogens. Understanding the mechanism of this unique enzyme is critical for developing new anti-infective agents that selectively target isoprenoid biosynthesis. The present study used mutagenesis and a combination of protein fluorescence, CD and kinetics experiments to investigate the roles of Arg420, Arg478 and Tyr392 in substrate binding and catalysis. The results support a random sequential, preferred order mechanism, and predict that Arg420 and Arg478 are involved in binding of the acceptor substrate, GraP. D-Glyceraldehyde, an alternative acceptor substrate lacking the phosphoryl group predicted to interact with Arg420 and Arg478, also accelerates decarboxylation of the predecarboxylation intermediate C2 alpha-lactylthiamin diphosphate (LThDP) on DXP synthase, indicating that this binding interaction is not absolutely required, and that the hydroxyaldehyde sufficiently triggers decarboxylation. Unexpectedly, Tyr392 contributes to GraP affinity, and is not required for LThDP formation or its GraP-promoted decarboxylation. Time-resolved CD spectroscopy and NMR experiments indicate that LThDP is significantly stabilized on R420A and Y392F variants as compared with wild-type DXP synthase in the absence of acceptor substrate, but these substitutions do not appear to affect the rate of GraP-promoted LThDP decarboxylation in the presence of high levels of GraP, and LThDP formation remains the rate-limiting step. These results suggest a role of these residues in promoting GraP binding, which in turn facilitates decarboxylation, and also highlight interesting differences between DXP synthase and other thiamin diphosphate-dependent enzymes."}
{"ID": 72, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "1-Phenyl-2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)octan-1-one (PV9) and 16 metabolites, including diastereomers and conjugates, were identified or tentatively detected in human urine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. These urinary metabolites indicated that the metabolic pathways of PV9 include: (1) the reduction of ketone groups to their corresponding alcohols; (2) oxidation of the pyrrolidine ring to the corresponding pyrrolidone; (3) aliphatic oxidation of the terminal carbon atom to the corresponding carboxylate form, possibly through an alcohol intermediate (not detected); and (4) hydroxylation at the penultimate carbon atom to the corresponding alcohols followed by further oxidation to ketones, and combinations of these steps. In addition, results from the quantitative analyses of five phase-I metabolites using newly synthesized authentic standards suggested that the main metabolic pathway includes the aliphatic oxidation of terminal and/or penultimate carbons. Human metabolism of PV9 differed significantly from those of alpha-pyrrolidinovalerophenone and alpha-pyrrolidinobutiophenone, suggesting that the main metabolic pathways of alpha-pyrrolidinophenones significantly change depending on the alkyl chain length of the parent molecule."}
{"ID": 73, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) is a high-energy nitramine explosive with high mechanical sensitivity. 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is insensitive but by no means a high performance explosive. To reveal the significant importance and smart-material functionality of the energetic-energetic co-crystals, the stability, mechanical and explosive properties TNT/CL-20 co-crystal, TNT crystal and CL-20 crystal were studied. Non-hydrogen bonded non-covalent interactions govern the structures of energetic-energetic co-crystals. However, it is very difficult to accurately calculate the non-covalent intermolecular interaction energies. In this paper, the local conformation and the intricate non-covalent interactions were effectively mapped and analyzed from the electron density (rho) and its derivatives. The results show that the two components TNT and CL-20 are connected mainly by nitro-aromatic interactions, and nitro-nitro interactions. The steric interactions in TNT/CL-20 could not be confronted with the attractive interactions. Moreover, the scatter graph of TNT crystal reveals the reason why TNT is brittle. The detailed electrostatic potential analysis predicted that the detonation velocities (D) and impact sensitivity for the compounds both increase in the sequence of CL-20 >TNT/CL-20 co-crystal >TNT. Additionally, TNT/CL-20 co-crystal has better malleability than its pure components. This demonstrates the capacity and the feasibility of realizing explosive smart materials by co-crystallization, even if strong hydrogen bonding schemes are generally lacking in energetic materials."}
{"ID": 74, "domain": "CS", "area": "network security", "abstract": "2008 is the year of creation of the Bitcoin network consisting of a decentralized database, which is storing all transactions of bitcoin tokens, whose quantity is predetermined by a protocol and independent of any authority. The aim of this article is to describe the limits in the use of Bitcoin as medium of exchange. Bitcoin network operation is carried out at high costs of electrical energy consumption, which, will over time be reflected in the price of transactions. Low transaction prices, which is one of the main arguments of Bitcoin promoters, are only possible with continuous issuance of new bitcoins to circulation. Bitcoin's - \"prove of work\" - is the most energetically demanding method from all currently existing methods securing cryptoplatforms. Halving mechanism which reduces the rewards of miners create pressure to decrease hash rate, which is a reflection of the rate of network security. The pressure to decrease hash rate is for now overrun by the increasing efficiency of mining devices. The future will therefore probably bring us fundamental questions: What will it mean for Bitcoin network, if the real costs of running the network will be reflected in costs of transaction? How will Bitcoin network be able to compete with other cryptocurrencies, whose operation is carried out at a much lower cost? Will halving mechanism ultimately cause a declined hash rate, and thereby also a reduction in network security?"}
{"ID": 75, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Heart Disease", "abstract": "22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) has a wide range of clinical features including endocrine abnormalities. We aimed to characterize growth patterns, hypoparathyroidism, and thyroid dysfunction of individuals with 22q11.2DS. Anthropometric and laboratory measurements were obtained from the charts of 48 individuals (males=28, 8.0 +/- 6.8 visits/participant) followed at a national 22q11.2DS clinic between 2009 and 2016. Age at diagnosis was 4.3 +/- 4.9 years and age at last evaluation 11.2 +/- 7.2 years. Median height-SDS was negative at all ages. Height-SDS at last visit was correlated to the midparental height-SDS (r=0.52 P=0.002). Yet, participants did not reach their target height, with a difference of 1.06 +/- 1.07 SD (P<0.0001). Height-SDS at last visit of participants with a heart defect was lower compared to participants with a normal heart (-1.5 +/- 1.4 vs. -0.6 +/- 0.8, P=0.036), with lower height-SDS in the subgroup of participants with severe heart defects (-2.1 +/- 1.6, P=0.009). Mean IGF1-SDS was low (-0.99 +/- 1.68) but was not correlated with height-SDS. Thirteen patients (27%) had hypoparathyroidism: 10 presented during infancy and 3 during adolescence. Five patients (10.4%, female=4) had thyroid abnormalities. In conclusions, individuals with 22q11.2 DS have a distinct growth pattern consisting of growth restriction at all ages, resulting in final adult height in the low-normal range. Hypoparathyroidism is common and may present during the neonatal period as well as later in life. Thyroid abnormalities may present during childhood, adolescence, or adulthood."}
{"ID": 76, "domain": "MAE", "area": "computer-aided design", "abstract": "2D cell culture and preclinical animal models have traditionally been implemented for investigating the underlying cellular mechanisms of human disease progression. However, the increasing significance of 3D vs. 2D cell culture has initiated a new era in cell culture research in which 3D in vitro models are emerging as a bridge between traditional 2D cell culture and in vivo animal models. Additive manufacturing (AM, also known as 3D printing), defined as the layer-by-layer fabrication of parts directed by digital information from a 3D computer-aided design file, offers the advantages of simultaneous rapid prototyping and biofunctionalization as well as the precise placement of cells and extracellular matrix with high resolution. In this review, we highlight recent advances in 3D printing of tissue engineered constructs that recapitulate the physical and cellular properties of the tissue microenvironment for investigating mechanisms of disease progression and for screening drugs."}
{"ID": 77, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "2-dimensional (2D) nanosheets such as graphene, graphene oxide, boron nitride or transition metal dichalcogenides can be produced on a large scale by exfoliation techniques. The lateral shape of these 2D materials is typically considered random and irregular, and their average size is often estimated using techniques characterized by strong approximations or poor statistical significance. Here we measure in a quantitative, objective way the size and shape of 2D monoatomic nanosheets using a combination of optical, electronic and scanning probe techniques. We measure, one by one, the size and shape of thousands of sheets of graphene oxide as they undergo a standard ultrasonication treatment. Using automatic image processing and statistical modelling we identify two different fragmentation processes in 2D at the nanoscale, related to two populations of nanosheets described by gamma and exponential size distributions respectively. The two populations of sheets coexist during the fragmentation process, each one retaining its average size and shape. Our results explain the size reduction commonly observed in nanosheets upon sonication as an effect of changes in the respective weights of the two populations of nanosheets present in the material."}
{"ID": 78, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Cell biology", "abstract": "2-Hydroxyglutarate (2-HG) is an important epigenetic regulator, with potential roles in cancer and stem cell biology. The d-(R)-enantiomer (d-2-HG) is an oncometabolite generated from -ketoglutarate (-KG) by mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase, whereas l-(S)-2-HG is generated by lactate dehydrogenase and malate dehydrogenase in response to hypoxia. Because acidic pH is a common feature of hypoxia, as well as tumor and stem cell microenvironments, we hypothesized that pH may regulate cellular 2-HG levels. Herein we report that cytosolic acidification under normoxia moderately elevated 2-HG in cells, and boosting endogenous substrate -KG levels further stimulated this elevation. Studies with isolated lactate dehydrogenase-1 and malate dehydrogenase-2 revealed that generation of 2-HG by both enzymes was stimulated severalfold at acidic pH, relative to normal physiologic pH. In addition, acidic pH was found to inhibit the activity of the mitochondrial l-2-HG removal enzyme l-2-HG dehydrogenase and to stimulate the reverse reaction of isocitrate dehydrogenase (carboxylation of -KG to isocitrate). Furthermore, because acidic pH is known to stabilize hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) and 2-HG is a known inhibitor of HIF prolyl hydroxylases, we hypothesized that 2-HG may be required for acid-induced HIF stabilization. Accordingly, cells stably overexpressing l-2-HG dehydrogenase exhibited a blunted HIF response to acid. Together, these results suggest that acidosis is an important and previously overlooked regulator of 2-HG accumulation and other oncometabolic events, with implications for HIF signaling."}
{"ID": 79, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Molecular biology", "abstract": "3 beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type II deficiency (3 beta HSD2) congenital adrenal hyperplasia is a rare cause of ambiguous genitalia, resulting in abnormal virilisation in both 46XY and 46XX. We describe a case of 46XY ambiguous genitalia that was misdiagnosed as androgen insensitivity syndrome. The correct diagnosis was made after adrenarche. Genotyping demonstrated compound heterozygosity in two alleles, the previously described c.244G >A (p.Ala82Thr), and a novel 931C >.T(p. Gln311*) variant. We suggest that adrenarche unmasked the condition by driving cortisol production to rates that caused the mutant 3bHSD2 enzyme to become rate limiting for cortisol production. This case illustrates how markedly different the effects of this condition may be on androgen production compared with glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid production. It also demonstrates how current guidelines based on urinary steroids and cortisol sufficiency may not arrive at the correct diagnosis, and underlines the importance of gene testing in the work-up of disorders of sexual differentiation."}
{"ID": 80, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer graphics", "abstract": "3D digital visualization technology is a new research field along with the rapid development of computer technology. It is a multi-scale technology which consists of computer graphics, image information processing, computer aided design. This paper is about the research and development of products innovation design method, thereby realize the innovation of product design rapidly. At the same time to verify the feasibility and practicality and broad application prospect of applying 3D scan technology to the rapid development, design and manufacture of products."}
{"ID": 81, "domain": "CS", "area": "Parallel computing", "abstract": "3D finite-element (FE) mesh generation is a major hurdle for marine controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) modeling. In this paper, we present a FE discretization operator (FEDO) that automatically converts a 3D finite difference (FD) model into reliable and efficient tetrahedral FE meshes for CSEM modeling. FEDO sets up wireframes of a background seabed model that precisely honors the seafloor topography. The wireframes are then partitioned into multiple regions. Outer regions of the wireframes are discretized with coarse tetrahedral elements whose maximum size is as large as a skin depth of the regions. We demonstrate that such coarse meshes can produce accurate FE solutions because numerical dispersion errors of tetrahedral meshes do not accumulate but oscillates. In contrast, central regions of the wireframes are discretized with fine tetrahedral elements to describe complex geology in detail. The conductivity distribution is mapped from FD to FE meshes in a volume-averaged sense. To avoid excessive mesh refinement around receivers, we introduce an effective receiver size. Major advantages of FEDO are summarized as follow. First, FEDO automatically generates reliable and economic tetrahedral FE meshes without adaptive meshing or interactive CAD workflows. Second, FEDO produces FE meshes that precisely honor the boundaries of the seafloor topography. Third, FEDO derives multiple sets of FE meshes from a given FD model. Each FE mesh is optimized for a different set of sources and receivers and is fed to a subgroup of processors on a parallel computer. This divide and conquer approach improves the parallel scalability of the FE solution. Both accuracy and effectiveness of FEDO are demonstrated with various CSEM examples."}
{"ID": 82, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer vision", "abstract": "3D human pose estimation from a single image is an important problem in computer vision with a number of applications, including action recognition and scene understanding. However, it is still challenging due to its ill-posedness and complex non-rigid shape variations of a human body. In this paper, we use the Procrustean normal distribution mixture model as a 3D shape prior and propose a model transformation method for adjusting limb lengths of the 3D shape prior model, by which the proposed method can be applied to a novel test image. Inaccuracies of 2D part detections are handled by selecting from a diverse set of 2D pose candidates considering both the 2D part model and 3D shape model. Experimental results show that the proposed method performs favorably compared with existing methods, despite inaccuracies of 2D part detections and 3D shape ambiguities. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 83, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer graphics", "abstract": "3D mesh segmentation is considered an important process in the field of computer graphics. It is a fundamental process in different applications such as shape reconstruction in reverse engineering, 3D models retrieval, and CAD/CAM applications, etc. It consists of subdividing a polygonal surface into patches of uniform properties either from a geometrical point of view or from a perceptual/semantic point of view. In this paper, unsupervised clustering techniques for the 3D mesh segmentation problem are introduced. The K-means and the Fuzzy C-means (FCM) clustering techniques are selected for the development of the proposed clustering-based 3D mesh segmentation techniques. Since the mesh faces are considered the main element, the clustering technique is applied to the dual mesh. The 3D Euclidean distance is used as the distance measure to compute matching between mesh elements. Based on empirical results on a benchmark dataset of 3D mesh models, the FCM-based mesh segmentation technique outperforms the K-means-based one in terms of accuracy and consistency with human segmentations."}
{"ID": 84, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer graphics", "abstract": "3D meshes are deployed in a wide range of application processes (e.g., transmission, compression, simplification, watermarking and so on) which inevitably introduce geometric distortions that may alter the visual quality of the rendered data. Hence, efficient model-based perceptual metrics, operating on the geometry of the meshes being compared, have been recently introduced to control and predict these visual artifacts. However, since the 3D models are ultimately visualized on 2D screens, it seems legitimate to use images of the models (i.e., snapshots from different viewpoints) to evaluate their visual fidelity. In this work we investigate the use of image metrics to assess the visual quality of 3D models. For this goal, we conduct a wide-ranging study involving several 2D metrics, rendering algorithms, lighting conditions and pooling algorithms, as well as several mean opinion score databases. The collected data allow (1) to determine the best set of parameters to use for this image-based quality assessment approach and (2) to compare this approach to the best performing model-based metrics and determine for which use-case they are respectively adapted. We conclude by exploring several applications that illustrate the benefits of image-based quality assessment."}
{"ID": 85, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer graphics", "abstract": "3D Model Reconstruction is of the most important part in the field of Reverse Engineering. It has now become feasible to use this method to create a 3D model of existing product, component for CAD/CAM applications. Various phases of reverse engineering and 3D reconstruction are reviewed in details along the methodology involved within these stages. Data acquisition is the most crucial stage of 3d model reconstruction. Non touch and touch techniques of data acquisition are studied giving comparative advantages and disadvantages over each other. Face based and Edge based techniques are reviewed for segmentation of acquired data. The collected point data is obtained in Stereo Lithography (STL) format which is most popular in field of modern computer science. This collected data can be used to construct surfaces using modern CAD systems like CATIA, Pro/E etc. This paper also reviews some of the researches in the field of Reverse Engineering, The methods they implemented and their outcome and various technologies used with their limitations. It reviews latest advancement in the field of 3d Model Reconstruction."}
{"ID": 86, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer graphics", "abstract": "3D modeling is used in Computer Graphics in various fields. Since the growth of gestures, virtual reality and embodied cognition, there have been various new technologies developed to either improve the modeling efficiency, or to provide more nature intuitive experience to the users. In this paper, from the user experience perspective, we try to compare these methods for navigation of 3D objects in the virtual modeling environment including: simple bare hand gestures, tangible user interfaces (TUI) with object in hand, as well as mouse/keyboard as the primary input. Based on embodied cognition theory, we hypothesis that the object-in-hand method might bring better user experience since the interaction between the object and hand can enhance the user's cognition while navigating a model. We present a conceptual design, with two approaches and three design models which demonstrate differences in user interaction with 3D modeling software."}
{"ID": 87, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer graphics", "abstract": "3D models of humans are commonly used within computer graphics and vision, and so the ability to distinguish between body shapes is an important shape retrieval problem. We extend our recent paper which provided a benchmark for testing non-rigid 3D shape retrieval algorithms on 3D human models. This benchmark provided a far stricter challenge than previous shape benchmarks. We have added 145 new models for use as a separate training set, in order to standardise the training data used and provide a fairer comparison. We have also included experiments with the FAUST dataset of human scans. All participants of the previous benchmark study have taken part in the new tests reported here, many providing updated results using the new data. In addition, further participants have also taken part, and we provide extra analysis of the retrieval results. A total of 25 different shape retrieval methods are compared."}
{"ID": 88, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Polymerase chain reaction", "abstract": "3D printing has shown promise for neural regeneration by providing customized nerve scaffolds to structurally support and bridge the defect gap as well as deliver cells or various bioactive substances. Low-level light therapy (LLLT) exhibits positive effects on rehabiliation of degenerative nerves and neural disorders. With this in mind, we postulate that 3D printed neural scaffold coupling with LLLT will generate a new strategy to repair neural degeneration. To achieve this goal, we applied red laser light to stimualte neural stem cells on 3D printed scaffolds and investigated the subsequent cell response with respect to cell proliferation and differentiation. Here we show that cell prolifeartion rate and intracellular reactive oxgen species synthesis were significantly increased after 15 s laser stimulation follwed by 1 d culture. Over culturing time of 14 d in vitro, the laser stimulation promoted neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells, while the glial differentiation was suppressed based on results of both immunocytochemistry studies and real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing. These findings suggest that integration of 3D printing and LLLT might provide a powerful methodology for neural tissue engineering."}
{"ID": 89, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer graphics", "abstract": "3D segmentation methods and their evaluation are important problems in computer graphics. Many 3D segmentation techniques are available in the literature, how to efficiently evaluate these methods is an important issue. In this paper we propose a new objective evaluation metric suitable for the evaluation of 3D segmentation methods, based on the Dice Coefficient (DC). Dice Coefficient is a similarity coefficient, designed to compute the degree of similarity between sample data sets. We extend this approach to mesh segmentation evaluation, since the regions of a segmented mesh can be seen as sample data sets. Many of the existing metrics does not take into consideration the irregularity of the 3D meshes, our proposal integrate the surface of faces in the adaptation of the Dice Coefficient to evaluate the segmentation of both regular and irregular meshes. Experimental results confirm the potential of the proposed metric."}
{"ID": 90, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "3D-PTV is a quantitative flow measurement technique that aims to track the Lagrangian paths of a set of particles in three dimensions using stereoscopic recording of image sequences. The basic components, features, constraints and optimization tips of a 3D-PTV topology consisting of a high-speed camera with a four-view splitter are described and discussed in this article. The technique is applied to the intermediate flow field (5 <x/d <25) of a circular jet at Re approximate to 7,000. Lagrangian flow features and turbulence quantities in an Eulerian frame are estimated around ten diameters downstream of the jet origin and at various radial distances from the jet core. Lagrangian properties include trajectory, velocity and acceleration of selected particles as well as curvature of the flow path, which are obtained from the Frenet-Serret equation. Estimation of the 3D velocity and turbulence fields around the jet core axis at a cross-plane located at ten diameters downstream of the jet is compared with literature, and the power spectrum of the large-scale streamwise velocity motions is obtained at various radial distances from the jet core."}
{"ID": 91, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Molecular biology", "abstract": "3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (3-MST) was a novel hydrogen sulfide (H2S)-synthesizing enzyme that may be involved in cyanide degradation and in thiosulfate biosynthesis. Over recent years, considerable attention has been focused on the biochemistry and molecular biology of H2S-synthesizing enzyme. In contrast, there have been few concerted attempts to investigate the changes in the expression of the H2S-synthesizing enzymes with disease states. To investigate the changes of 3-MST after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its possible role, mice TBI model was established by controlled cortical impact system, and the expression and cellular localization of 3-MST after TBI was investigated in the present study. Western blot analysis revealed that 3-MST was present in normal mice brain cortex. It gradually increased, reached a peak on the first day after TBI, and then reached a valley on the third day. Importantly, 3-MST was colocalized with neuron. In addition, Western blot detection showed that the first day post injury was also the autophagic peak indicated by the elevated expression of LC3. Importantly, immunohistochemistry analysis revealed that injury-induced expression of 3-MST was partly colabeled by LC3. However, there was no colocalization of 3-MST with propidium iodide (cell death marker) and LC3 positive cells were partly colocalized with propidium iodide. These data suggested that 3-MST was mainly located in living neurons and may be implicated in the autophagy of neuron and involved in the pathophysiology of brain after TBI."}
{"ID": 92, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "4-Coumarate: coenzyme A ligase (4CL) is one of the key enzymes in phenylpropanoid metabolism leading to series of phenolics, including water-soluble phenolic acids, which are important compounds determining the medicinal quality of Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge), a traditional Chinese medicinal herb. To investigate the function of 4CL in the biosynthesis of water-soluble phenolic acid in Danshen, we have cloned two cDNAs (Sm4CL1 and Sm4CL2) encoding divergent 4CL members by applying nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with degenerate primers followed by 5'/3' rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) (Note, these sequence data have been submitted to the GenBank database under accession numbers AY237163 and AY237164). Either of the coding regions was inserted into a pRSET vector and a kinetic assay was performed with purified recombinant proteins. The substrate utilization profile of Sm4CL1 was distinct from that of Sm4CL2. The K(m) values of Sm4CL1 and Sm4CL2 to 4-coumaric acid were (72.20 +/- 4.10) and (6.50 +/- 1.45) mu mol/L, respectively. These results, in conjunction with Northern blotting and other information, imply that Sm4CL2 may play an important role in the biosynthesis of water-soluble phenolic compounds, whereas Sm4CL1 may play a minor role in the pathway. Southern blotting analysis suggested that both Sm4CL1 and Sm4CL2 genes are present as a single copy and are located at different sites in the genome."}
{"ID": 93, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "4D printing, which is the combination of 3D printing technology and printable smart materials, provides the potential of automating actuation devices. In this paper, we have used a modifiedfused deposition modelling 3D printing technology to fabricate a double-layer laminate smart material, which can be activated by temperature directly or by an electric circuit indirectly. A double-layer laminate mathematical model has been developed to describe the bending behaviour caused by the mismatch strain between the surface layer and the basal layer. The electrocaloric deformation testings were performed to find the different bending rules of this low-cost printed active composite in different physical states. The considerable maximal deformation values and deformation force (7 mm and 100 mN for these carbon fibre (CF)/polylactic acid specimens, and 10 mm and 200 mN for these CF/polyether-ether-ketone specimens in the paper) provide this double-layer smart material and 4D printing method the prospective to be applied in biomimetic sensors, actuators, transducers, and artificial muscles."}
{"ID": 94, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Ambient Intelligence", "abstract": "4G WiMax offers a new parading regards to the way that the traditional wireless network systems have been designed all this happens due to the impact generating by technology in society and its impact in environmental ambient intelligence such smart cities (Sidi Bouzid area). the fundamental technological advantages of 4G WiMax superior radio technological advantages of 4G WiMax superior radio technology built in QOS and security, and an open IP-based access network infrastructure. This technology can be used for a number of applications, including \"last mile\" broadband connections, hotsposts and high speed connectivity for business customers. The objective of this article is to propose an approach to design a network on the latest standard of WiMax namely (802.16m), and to use it dimensioning and planning such network in Sidi-Bouzid area in order to optimize interferences, noise and to avoide cutout. In this article review of WiMax technology was given, followed by its standard with focusing on 802.16m standard. A design approach was developed to help network planner in their work to achieve the smart city in Sidi Bouzid of communications, this approach was summarized in a simple flow chart. As a case study, a network based on this technology was designed for Sidi Bouzid area. The number of subscriber was calculated for each district area and plotted in a clutter map. The Building Penetration Losses for each type of area were modeled using several measurements conducted as a part of this work, in fact we tried to minimize the noise and evry kind of interference. The design outcome (number of base station and there distribution) where found less than the existing ones in the operating network."}
{"ID": 95, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "4-Hydroxyphenylacetate decarboxylase (4Hpad) is an Fe/S cluster containing glycyl radical enzyme (GRE), which catalyses the last step of tyrosine fermentation in clostridia, generating the bacteriostatic p-cresol. The respective activating enzyme (4Hpad-AE) displays two cysteine-rich motifs in addition to the classical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) binding cluster (RS cluster) motif. These additional motifs are also present in other glycyl radical activating enzymes (GR-AE) and it has been postulated that these orthologues may use an alternative SAM homolytic cleavage mechanism, generating a putative 3-amino-3-carboxypropyl radical and 5'-deoxy-5'-(methylthio)adenosine but not a 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical and methionine. 4Hpad-AE produced from a codon-optimized synthetic gene binds a maximum of two [4Fe-4S](2+/+) clusters as revealed by EPR and Mossbauer spectroscopy. The enzyme only catalyses the turnover of SAM under reducing conditions, and the reaction products were identified as 5'-deoxyadenosine (quenched form of 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical) and methionine. We demonstrate that the 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical is the activating agent for 4Hpad through p-cresol formation and correlation between the production of 5'-deoxyadenosine and the generation of glycyl radical in 4Hpad. Therefore, we conclude that 4Hpad-AE catalyses a classical SAM-dependent glycyl radical formation as reported for GR-AE without auxiliary clusters. Our observation casts doubt on the suggestion that GR-AE containing auxiliary clusters catalyse the alternative cleavage reaction detected for glycerol dehydratase activating enzyme."}
{"ID": 96, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Allergies", "abstract": "4P-X (beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(1 ->4)-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(1 ->6)-[beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(1 ->4)]-beta-D-glucopyranose) is included in galacto-oligosaccharides (GOSs) produced by beta-galactosidase derived from Bacillus circulans. 4P-X has been known to induce particularly strong allergies. High purity 4P-X is essential for use as a standard to quantify the amount of 4P-X in GOSs; however, the isolation of high purity 4P-X has never been reported. In this study, we achieved the synthesis of 4P-X by a combination of organic and enzymatic chemical syntheses in a short time. This is the first report of isolated, high purity 4P-X. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 97, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Menopause", "abstract": "4-vinilcyclohexene diepoxide (4-VCD) causes premature ovarian failure and may result in estrogen deficiency, characterizing the transition to estropause in rodents (equivalent to menopause in women). Estropause/menopause is associated with metabolic derangements such as glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. Glucocorticoids (GCs) are known to exert diabetogenic effects. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether rats with premature ovarian failure are more prone to the diabetogenic effects of GC. For this, immature female rats received daily injections of 4-VCD [160 mg/kg body weight (b.w.), intraperitoneally (i.p.)] for 15 consecutive days, whereas control rats received vehicle. After 168 days of the completion of 4-VCD administration, rats were divided into 4 groups: CTL-received daily injections of saline (1 mL/kg, b.w., i.p.) for 5 days; DEX-received daily injections of dexamethasone (1 mg/kg, b.w., i.p.) for 5 days; VCD-treated as CTL group; VCD + DEX-treated as DEX group. Experiments and euthanasia occurred one day after the last dexamethasone injection. 4-VCD-treated rats exhibited ovary hypotrophy and reduced number of preantral follicles (p < 0.05). Premature ovarian failure had no impact on the body weight gain or food intake, but both were reduced by the effects of dexamethasone. The increase in blood glucose, plasma insulin and triacylglycerol levels as well as the reduction in insulin sensitivity caused by dexamethasone treatment was not exacerbated in the VCD + DEX group of rats. Premature ovarian failure did change neither the hepatic content of glycogen and triacylglycerol nor the glycerol release from perigonadal adipose tissue. Glucose intolerance was observed in the VCD group after an ipGIT (p < 0.05), but not after an oral glucose challenge. Glucose intolerance and compensatory pancreatic beta-cell mass caused by GC were not modified by ovarian failure in the VCD + DEX group. We conclude that reduced ovarian function has no major implications on the diabetogenic effects promoted by GC treatment, indicating that other factors related to aging may make rats more vulnerable to GC side effects on glucose metabolism. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 98, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Molecular biology", "abstract": "5-Bromouracil is a nucleobase analogue that can replace thymine in DNA strands and acts as a strong radiosensitizer, with potential applications in molecular biology and cancer therapy. Here, the deactivation of 5-bromouracil after ultraviolet irradiation is investigated in the singlet and triplet manifold by accurate quantum chemistry calculations and non-adiabatic dynamics simulations. It is found that, after irradiation to the bright pp* state, three main relaxation pathways are, in principle, possible: relaxation back to the ground state, intersystem crossing (ISC) and C-Br photodissociation. Based on accurate MS-CASPT2 optimizations, we propose that ground-state relaxation should be the predominant deactivation pathway in the gas phase. We then employ different electronic structure methods to assess their suitability to carry out excited-state dynamics simulations. MRCIS (multi-reference configuration interaction including single excitations) was used in surface hopping simulations to compute the ultrafast ISC dynamics, which mostly involves the (1)n(O)pi* and (3)pi pi* states. This article is part of the themed issue 'Theoretical and computational studies of non-equilibrium and non-statistical dynamics in the gas phase, in the condensed phase and at interfaces'."}
{"ID": 99, "domain": "CS", "area": "network security", "abstract": "5G mobile networks are promising to offer mobile users unrivaled experiences with infinite networking capability at any period and from anywhere. However, it appears unnecessary and impractical for the customers and servers to be connected permanently in wireless networks because battery life is a bottleneck in such kind of networks. Therefore, the authorized entity needs to delegate its right to others in order to ensure the services available. This paper aims to address the issue of delegating authentication in 5G networks by proposing a new proxy signature scheme with efficient proxy signing operations. Concretely, we present a new and efficient proxy signature algorithm whose unforgeability can be reduced to the well-known discrete logarithm assumption. In the proposal, the original signer delegates his signing right by signing an exposure-free chameleon hash value on the warrant, and the proxy signer can generate a proxy signature on a message only by calculating a chameleon hash collision between the warrant and the message. This approach is computationally cost-effective for the proxy signer. Further analysis of the new scheme demonstrates that it offers the desirable properties of delegation of signing sights. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 100, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "5-Lipoxygenase (ALOX5) is a key enzyme in biosynthesis of pro-inflammatory leukotrienes whereas 15-lipoxygenases (ALOX15) have been implicated in the formation of pro-resolving eicosanoids (lipoxins, resolvins). Although mammalian LOX-isoforms share a high degree of structural similarity X-ray coordinates indicated that the substrate-binding pocket of ALOX5 is some 20% bigger than that of ALOX15 suggesting the possibility of interconverting the two isoenzymes. To test this \"space-based\" hypothesis we reduced the volume of the substrate-binding pocket of mouse Alox5 by introducing space-filling amino acids at critical positions and found that multiple mutations at Phe359, Ala424, Asn425 and Ala603 of Alox5 led to gradual increase in 15-HETE formation. The Phe359Trp + Ala424IIe + Asn425Met Alox5 triple mutant was a major (67 +/- 2%) 15-lipoxygenating enzyme and similar data were confirmed for human ALOX5. Structural modeling on the basis of the X-ray coordinates of ALOX5 indicated that the volume of the substrate-binding pocket inversely correlates with the share of 15-HETE biosynthesis for the human (r(2) = 0.79, p < 0.05) and the mouse (r(2) = 0.59, p < 0.01) enzyme. This data proves the principle possibility of converting pro-inflammatory 5-lipoxygenases to anti-inflammatory 15-lipoxygenases by reducing the volume of the substrate-binding pocket. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 101, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Southern blotting", "abstract": "6-Hydroxy-5-isopropyl-3,8-dimethyl-4a,5,6,7,8,8a-hexahydronaphthalen-2(1H)-one (HHO) is an allelopathic substance that is related to allelochemical metabolism in Eupatorium adenophorum. In this study, the full-length complementary DNA of two phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) genes and a fragment of the cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (CA4H) gene from E.?adenophorum (Ea) were cloned. The expression of all three genes was increased by the HHO treatment, with varying sensitivity: EaPAL2 >EaPAL1 >EaCA4H. Southern blotting suggested that there is a third member of the PAL gene family in this species."}
{"ID": 102, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Emergency Contraception", "abstract": "7% of US teen women became pregnant in 2008, totaling 750,000 pregnancies nationwide. For women ages 15 to 19, 82% of pregnancies are unintended. Adolescents have a disproportionate risk of medical complications in pregnancy. Furthermore, adolescent parents and their infants both tend to suffer poor psychosocial outcomes. Preventing unintended and adolescent pregnancies are key public health objectives for Healthy People 2020. Screening for sexual activity and pregnancy risk should be a routine part of all adolescent visits. Proven reductions in unintended pregnancy in teens are attained by providing access to contraception at no cost and promoting the most-effective methods."}
{"ID": 103, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical network", "abstract": "72-pulse gate turn-off thyristor based voltage source converter (GTO-VSC) topology having a number of 12-pulse VSCs as elementary unit together with fundamental frequency mode of GTO gate control are widely used in STATCOM for dynamic reactive power compensation in electrical network. A 72-pulse topology generally produces an AC output voltage waveforms which contain 35th, 37th, etc. harmonics and hardly find its application due to higher total harmonic distortion (THD) level. In this paper, a new model of 3-level, 72-pulse, 500kV, +100MVAr STATCOM employing 6x12-pulse GTO-VSCs, fundamental frequency gate switching, PI-control methodology, DC capacitor as an energy storage and two stages of magnetics is designed and simulated to attenuate harmonics of the order of 35th, 37th, 73th, 75th etc. by Sim Power Systems toolbox in MATLAB environment. The operating performance of the compensator is studied for regulating voltage and power factor correction in electrical network and results show the model acceptable for power system applications."}
{"ID": 104, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Construction Management", "abstract": "85% of a construction worker's work-day is spent on the construction site. This means that a large part of a worker's health and wellbeing could depend on the construction site and its environs. Construction work, which is inherently stressful due to the ever present threat of fatalities and injuries, compromises the ergonomic reality and human sustenance on construction sites. This necessitates the need to create a beneficial and comfortable environment that is motivational, inspirational, and healing. The biophilic construction site model (BCSM) which involves methodology of 'greening construction sites', is proposed as a healthy means of tapping into the natural resources of the construction site environment. It is intended to create a comfort zone on the construction site that would generate a symbiotic benefit to enhance its humanistic value and engender the health and wellbeing and creative performance of workers. The paper reports on a case study in the form of a focus group study and a comparative analysis of two similar construction sites in the Northern Cape region of South Africa. The findings present the healthy inter-nurture existing between a living construction site and its human occupants as a cost effective psychotherapeutic intervention in sustainable sites initiative and ergonomics, which according to research findings is as of yet missing in the construction management body of knowledge (CMBOK). The paper conclusively recommends the 'greening of construction sites'; specifically the inclusion of plants within site offices, welfare facilities and worksite premises; as a relevant means of harnessing nature's healing and rejuvenating essence towards a more productive goal in construction. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers."}
{"ID": 105, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Weight Loss", "abstract": "9Cr-1Mo steel has been proposed as the container material for the electrorefining process of pyrochemical reprocessing of spent metallic fuels from the future sodium cooled fast breeder reactors. The electrorefining process was carried out using LiCl-KCl-UCl3 molten salt as the electrolyte at 500 A degrees C under argon atmosphere. To protect the electrorefining vessel, made of 9Cr-1Mo steel from the attack by the electrolyte, yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) ceramic coating was deposited on 9Cr-1Mo steel by thermal spray process. The corrosion behavior of 9Cr-1Mo steel with and without YSZ coating was evaluated in LiCl-KCl-UCl3 molten salt at 600 A degrees C under argon atmosphere for various durations (100, 250, 500 and 1000 h). The results revealed that with increase in exposure time, the weight loss of uncoated 9Cr-1Mo steel samples increased, while YSZ coated 9Cr-1Mo steel samples exhibited insignificant weight loss. SEM examination of exposed uncoated 9Cr-1Mo steel samples showed Cr depletion on the surface and formation of chromium based oxides as corrosion products. After the corrosion experiment, SEM/EDS and XRD analyses of both coated and uncoated samples showed the presence of Fe-Cr and UO2."}
{"ID": 106, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "A $600 million nutritional supplements market growing at 30% every year attests to consumer awareness of, and interests in, health benefits attributed to these supplements. For over 80years the importance of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) consumption for human health has been established. The FDA recently approved the use of -3 PUFAs in supplements. Additionally, the market for -3 PUFA ingredients grew by 24.3% last year, which affirms their popularity and public awareness of their benefits. PUFAs are essential for normal human growth; however, only minor quantities of the beneficial -3 PUFAs eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are synthesized by human metabolism. Rather PUFAs are obtained via dietary or nutritional supplementation and modified into other beneficial metabolites. A vast literature base is available on the health benefits and biological roles of -3 PUFAs and their metabolism; however, information on their dietary sources and palatability of foods incorporated with -3 PUFAs is limited. DHA and EPA are added to many foods that are commercially available, such as infant and pet formulae, and they are also supplemented in animal feed to incorporate them in consumer dairy, meat, and poultry products. The chief sources of EPA and DHA are fish oils or purified preparations from microalgae, which when added to foods, impart a fishy flavor that is considered unacceptable. This fishy flavor is completely eliminated by extensively purifying preparations of n-3 PUFA sources. While n-3 PUFA lipid autoxidation is considered the main cause of fishy flavor, the individual oxidation products identified thus far, such as unsaturated carbonyls, do not appear to contribute to fishy flavor or odor. Alternatively, various compound classes such as free fatty acids and volatile sulfur compounds are known to impart fishy flavor to foods. Identification of the causative compounds to reduce and eventually eliminate fishy flavor is important for consumer acceptance of PUFA-fortified foods."}
{"ID": 107, "domain": "CS", "area": "Symbolic computation", "abstract": "A (3 + 1)-dimensional coupled nonlinear Schrodinger system is investigated, which describes the pulses in an optical fiber and transverse effects in a nonlinear optical system. With the aid of symbolic computation and Hirota method, bright one- and two-soliton solutions of the system are derived. On the basis of the soliton solutions, we will graphically discuss the head-on collisions which include the elastic and inelastic collisions between the two bright solitons. After an elastic collision, two colliding solitons keep their shapes, amplitudes and velocities unchanged except for some phase shifts, while inelastically, the intensity of one soliton is enhanced, while the other gets suppressed. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 108, "domain": "CS", "area": "Symbolic computation", "abstract": "A (3+1)-dimensional B-type Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation, which can be applied to describe the propagation of non-linear waves in fluid dynamics, is under investigation in this paper. Based on the binary Bell polynomials, Hirota method, and symbolic computation, the bilinear form is obtained. Backlund transformations are derived in the Bell-polynomial and bilinear forms. Besides, one-and two-soliton solutions are presented. The only coefficient in the equation can affect the soliton structure. Soliton shapes keep unchanged after the elastic interaction and they maintain their original directions and amplitudes except for some phase shifts."}
{"ID": 109, "domain": "CS", "area": "Distributed computing", "abstract": "A (beta, epsilon)-hopset for a weighted undirected n-vertex graph G = (V, E) is a set of edges, whose addition to the graph guarantees that every pair of vertices has a path between them that contains at most beta edges, whose length is within 1 + epsilon of the shortest path. In her seminal paper, Cohen [8, JACM 2000] introduced the notion of hopsets in the context of parallel computation of approximate shortest paths, and since then it has found numerous applications in various other settings, such as dynamic graph algorithms, distributed computing, and the streaming model. Cohen [8] devised efficient algorithms for constructing hopsets with polylogarithmic in n number of hops. Her constructions remain the state-of-the-art since the publication of her paper in STOC'94, i.e., for more than two decades. In this paper we exhibit the first construction of sparse hopsets with a constant number of hops. We also find efficient algorithms for hopsets in various computational settings, improving the best known constructions. Generally, our hopsets strictly outperform the hopsets of [8], both in terms of their parameters, and in terms of the resources required to construct them. We demonstrate the applicability of our results for the fundamental problem of computing approximate shortest paths from s sources. Our results improve the running time for this problem in the parallel, distributed and streaming models, for a vast range of s."}
{"ID": 110, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Satellite radio", "abstract": "A 0.2 mu m SiGe BiCMOS tuner for digital satellite audio radio applications was realized using a second-zero-IF dual conversion architecture with autonomous RF AGC and channel decoder controlled IF AGC. A single PLL drives both RF and IF mixers, resulting in a smaller die area and lower power dissipation. Providing a baseband I/Q output further reduces receiver's power due to a lower ADC and digital core operating frequency. SDARS tuner performance includes: 5dB noise figure. 55dB image rejection, -96dBm input sensitivity. 100mA current from a 3.3V supply and 12min(2) die area."}
{"ID": 111, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical generator", "abstract": "A 1 kW scale kite-powered system that uses kites to convert wind energy into electrical energy has been studied to determine its performance characteristics and establish feasibility of steady-state operation. In this kite-powered system, a kite is connected to a tether that transmits the generated aerodynamic forces on the kite to a power conversion system on the ground. The ground-based power conversion system consists of a rocking arm coupled to a Sprag clutch, flywheel, and electrical generator. Governing equations describing the dynamical motion of the kite, tether, and power conversion mechanism were developed assuming an inflexible, straight-line tether. A steady-state analysis of the kite aerodynamics was incorporated into the dynamical equations of the kite-powered system. The governing equations were solved numerically using a Runge-Kutta scheme to assess how performance parameters of the system such as output power, cycle time, and tether tension varied with wind speed, kite area, and aerodynamic characteristics of the kite. The results showed that a 1 kW scale system is feasible using the proposed design concept with a kite area of 25 m(2) and wind speeds of 6 m/s. Preliminary efforts to build and test a working 1 kW scale kite-powered demonstrator are also reported. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4002082]"}
{"ID": 112, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electricity", "abstract": "A 1 kW-class electrochemical reactor for hydrogen production was developed using bipolar plates. To fabricate thick, large-area electrodes, a particle electrode fabrication method was also introduced. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and galvanostatic performance measurements were performed to evaluate the particle electrodes. The results show that the particle electrodes exhibit an excellent charge performance despite the electrode material layer being relatively thick and highly porous. The electrochemical reactor contained 20 single cells stacked together with 30 A h of nickel hydroxide and 15 A h of metal hydride as the positive and negative electrodes, respectively. The electrochemical tests showed that the stack exhibited a high hydrogen production efficiency with a maximum current efficiency of 95.3% for hydrogen production and a hydrogen evolution amount per unit input electrical energy of 259.1 mL/W h at 0.2 C. At high current densities (2.0 C), a rapid temperature increase was also observed during the charging process, which led to a reduction of the hydrogen production efficiency. Therefore, further design modifications are needed to control heat generation during operation of the device. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd."}
{"ID": 113, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A 1.8V, 932 nA, rail-to-rail CMOS operational amplifier operating in the weak inversion regime in order to amplify the output signal of an air pressure sensor is presented. The two main parts of the ASIC are the beta-multiplier current source and the two stage amplifier. The layout has been drawn considering the matching techniques and the chip was fabricated and further characterized and measured."}
{"ID": 114, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Manufacturing engineering", "abstract": "A 10-week course was designed with funding from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and input from industry representatives, to offer upper division engineering students a course on advanced automation. The objective was to provide engineering students theoretical and hands-on practical experience with automation technologies that will be of prime importance over the next decade: data acquisition and instrumentation, machine vision and motion control. This paper describes the machine vision portion of that class. It describes important concepts, hands-on equipment, and labs developed for this course, as well as examples of student projects from Spring Quarter, 2004. The course and laboratory materials were evaluated for learning effectiveness and technical content, which are included in this paper."}
{"ID": 115, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A 12-bit low power successive approximation ADC has been designed and fabricated in 0.35 A mu m, poly-poly capacitor AMS technology. The SAR ADC is targeted for bridge type pressure sensor in wireless sensor node applications. An improved cascaded inverter based comparator is used for its lower power consumption at reduced supply voltage of 1.3 V. A modified SAR digital circuit has been incorporated to accommodate a higher input range of 1.8 V for the ADC . For a given noise floor, the higher input range of ADC ensures enhanced SNR performance relaxing the constraint on sensor interface circuit preceding to the ADC. Also a novel switching scheme is used in the feedback of comparator to reduce the charge injection induced offset without sacrificing the useful bandwidth of ADC. The inverter based comparator consumes 2 A mu W of power while operating at a speed of 1.6 MHz. The comparator does not make use of any offset cancellation techniques. By suitably choosing the capacitor array of inherent DAC, the calibration techniques have been avoided for the ADC. The ADC achieves an effective number of bits of 10.01 while consuming 6.69 A mu W at a conversion speed of 100 KHz. The FOM of the whole ADC is found to be 64.8 fJ/conversion-step. The active area occupied by the ADC is 0.170625 mm(2) (375 A mu m x 455 A mu m)."}
{"ID": 116, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Skin Care", "abstract": "A 12-kDa protein with redox-active dithiol in the active site -Cys-Gly-Pro-Cys-, human thioredoxin 1 (TRX) has demonstrated an excellent anti-inflammatory effect in various animal models. TRX is induced by various oxidative stress factors, including ultraviolet rays, radiation, oxidation, viral infections, ischemia reperfusion and anticancer agents, and are involved in the pathogenesis and progression of various diseases. We have demonstrated that systemic administration and transgenic overexpression of TRX is effective in a wide variety of in vivo inflammatory disease models, such as viral pneumonia, acute lung injury, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, indomethacin-induced gastric injury, and dermatitis. Our recent studies indicate that topically applied TRX prevents skin inflammation via the inhibition of local formation of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. These indicate that the activation of inflammasome in skin and mucosa may be regulated by TRX. These suggest that application of TRX may be useful for the treatment of various skin and mucosal inflammatory disorders. Based on these results, we are conducting clinical studies to develop human recombinant thioredoxin 1 (rhTRX) pharmaceuticals. We have also developed substances that increase the expression of TRX in the body (TRX-inducing substances) in vegetables and other plant ingredients, and we are also developing skin-care products and functional foods that take advantage of the anti-inflammation and anti-allergic action of TRX. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 117, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A 130 nm mixed (analog and digital) CMOS chip intended to read silicon strip detectors for future linear collider experiments was developed. Currently under testing, this chip has been optimized for a silicon micro-strip tracking device. It includes 88 channels of a full analog signal processing chain with the corresponding digital control and readout. Every analog channel includes (i) a low noise charge amplifier and integration with long pulse shaping, (ii) an eight by eight positions analog sampler for both storing successive events and reconstructing the full pulse shape, and (iii) a sparsifier performing analog sum of three adjacent inputs to decide whether there is signal or not. The whole system is controlled by the digital part, which allows configuring all the reference currents and voltages, drives the control signals to the analog memories, records the timing and channel information and subsequently performs the conversion to digital values of samples. The total surface of the circuit is 10 x 5 mm(2), with each analog channel occupying an area of 105 x 3500 mu m(2), and the remaining space of about 9000 x 700 mu m(2) being filled by the analog channels on the silicon. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 118, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A 14-bit 50-MS/s pipelined analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is presented. Operational amplifier (op-amp) sharing technique, 1.5 bit redundant stages based on switched capacitor circuits with inverter-based comparators and digital gain error calibration are used to reduce power consumption of the ADC and relax op-amp requirements. Simulation results in MATLAB/Simulink (structure level) and Cadence Virtuoso (schematic level, 180 nm 1.8 V CMOS) are provided. The pipelined ADC achieves 70 dB SINAD/80 dB SFDR and consumes 135 mW at 1.8 V supply, FoM is 1.04 pJ/conv."}
{"ID": 119, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Eating disorders", "abstract": "A 17-year-old adolescent boy presented with atypical major depressive episode (MDE) without specific focal neurological signs for 6 months. He had a diagnosis of intracranial germinoma, and the atypical MDE symptoms subsided after the operation. However, he had a relapse of atypical MDE 7 months after the first surgery. His mood and binge eating symptoms subsided, but intractable body weight gain only partially improved after treatment. When encountering manifestations of depression with atypical features, especially with binge eating symptoms in male children and adolescents, with early onset age, no family history, and prolonged depressive episodes, clinicians should consider not only mood disorders including bipolar spectrum disorders but also organic brain lesions such as intracranial germinoma."}
{"ID": 120, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Myelofibrosis", "abstract": "A 2.5-year-old spayed female American Pit Bull Terrier dog presented with a primary complaint of chronic refractory ascites. The dog's CBC displayed a moderate to severe macrocytic, hypochromic, nonregenerative anemia, and a moderate leukopenia as result of a moderate neutropenia and monocytopenia. Microscopic examination of the blood smear showed marked anisocytosis, mild polychromasia, mild acanthocytosis and ovalocytosis, moderate schistocytosis and poikilocytosis, and 4 metarubricytes/100 WBC. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed a homogenous, mild to moderately hyperechoic appearing liver as well as marked amounts of speckled anechoic to slightly hypoechoic peritoneal fluid. Cytology of the ascitic fluid demonstrated a sterile transudate, with evidence of a chronic inflammatory reaction as well as erythroid and myeloid precursor cells, and a few megakaryocytes with occasional micromegakaryocytes. Histologic sections of bone marrow, spleen, and liver were examined, using routine H&E stains, as well as a variety of immunohistochemistry and other special stains. Histopathology of the bone marrow and spleen revealed varying degrees of fibrosis, erythroid, and myeloid hyperplasia, as well as multiple small hyperplastic clusters of megakaryocytes. The megakaryocytes displayed many features of atypia such as increased cytoplasmic basophilia and occasional abnormal chromatin clumping with mitoses. Histopathologic examination of the liver disclosed evidence of mild extramedullary hematopoiesis. This case represents the first report of canine idiopathic myelofibrosis associated with peritoneal extramedullary hematopoiesis, resulting in refractory ascites. Although idiopathic myelofibrosis is a relatively rare condition in dogs, this case demonstrates that ascites caused by peritoneal implants of hematopoietic tissue may be the initial manifestation of myelofibrosis."}
{"ID": 121, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "A 2010 Nature editorial entitled \"Time for the Epigenome\" trumpets the appearance of the International Human Epigenome Consortium and likens it to Biology's equivalent of the Large Hadron Collider. It strongly endorses the viewpoint that selective modifications of \"marks\" on DNA and histones constitute the crucial codes of life, a proposition which is hotly contested (Ptashne et al., in 2010). This proposition reflects the current mindset that DNA and histone modifications are the prime movers in gene regulation during evolution. This claim is perplexing, since the well characterized organisms., Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans, lack methylated DNA \"marks\" and the DNA methytransferase enzymology. Despite their complete absence, D. melanogaster nevertheless has extensive gene regulatory networks which drive sophisticated development, gastrulation, migration of germ cells and yield a nervous system with significant neural attributes. In stark contrast, the honey bee Apis mellifera deploys its human-type DNA methyltransferase enzymology to \"mark\" its DNA and it too has sophisticated development. What roles therefore is DNA methylation playing in different animals? The honey bee brings a fresh perspective to this question. Its combinatorial chemistry of pheromones, tergal and cuticular exudates provide an exquisite communication system between thousands of individuals. The development of queen and worker is strictly controlled by differential feeding of royal jelly and their adult behaviors are accompanied by epigenomic changes. Their interfaces with different \"environments\" are extensive, allowing an evaluation of the roles of epigenomes in behavior in a natural environment, in the space of a few weeks, and at requisite levels of experimental rigor. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 122, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Southern blotting", "abstract": "A 22-year-old male was admitted for a sustained fever of 2 months, lymphadenopathy, and liver dysfunction. Anti-VCA-IgM antibody was positive, with elevated Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-DNA load in the peripheral blood. Liver biopsy revealed infiltration of CD8-positive and EBV-positive cells. Most peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were also positive for CD8, and showed detectable levels of EBV-DNA. Monoclonal proliferation of EBV-infected cells was detected in the PBMCs by Southern blotting for EBV-terminal repeat (EBV-TR). Although EBV-positive T-cell lymphoproliferative disease (EBV-T-LPD) was suspected, the symptoms spontaneously resolved within 12 months. Anti-VCA-IgM antibody and the clonal band of EBV-TR were negative 1 year after the onset, while anti-EBNA antibody was positive. The final diagnosis was thus confirmed as infectious mononucleosis (IM). Our results indicate that EBV-infected CD8-positive cells and clonal proliferation of EBV-infected cells may be temporally detected in IM. EBV-T-LPDs should be carefully excluded in such cases."}
{"ID": 123, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Immunology", "abstract": "A 24 kDa protein is one of the important components in Haemonchus contortus (barber pole worm) excretory/secretory products (HcESPs), which was shown to have important antigenic function. However, little is known about the immunomodulatory effects of this protein on host cell. In the present study gene encoding 24kDa excretory/secretory protein (HcES-24) was cloned. The recombinant protein of HcES-24 (rHcES-24) was expressed in a histidine-tagged fusion protein soluble form in Escherichia coli. Binding activity of rHcES-24 to goat PBMCs was confirmed by immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and its immunomudulatory effect on cytokine secretion, cell proliferation, cell migration and nitric oxide production were observed by co-incubation of rHcES-24. IFA results revealed that rHcES-24 could bind to the PBMCs. The interaction of rHcES-24 increased the production of IL4, IL10, IL17 and cell migration in dose dependent manner. However, rHcES-24 treatment significantly suppressed the production of IFN gamma, proliferation of the PBMC and Nitric oxide (NO) production. Our findings showed that the rHcES-24 played important regulatory effects on the goat PBMCs."}
{"ID": 124, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A 269 tonne trailer travelled across the Tamar Suspension Bridge in October 2010, and the authors monitored the response of the structure to the load. The following investigation documents the deflection of towers and the deck during the vehicle's passage, as well as the change in cable tensions. This was achieved by studying monitored data from the bridge collected by accelerometers and strain gauges attached to the stay cables, as well as two robotic total stations that measured the deflection of the mid-span and the sway of the tower saddle. These results were subsequently compared to the response predicted by a finite element (FE) model of the bridge, indicating an accurate match. The FE model was also used to simulate the variation of the dynamic response of the structure, which suggests that the natural frequencies vary depending on the vehicle's location to each mode shape's anti-nodes."}
{"ID": 125, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A 27-to-3-phase thyristor matrix converter using a model predictive control (MPC) is considered. Compared to the standard method the MPC considers the coupled overall system. Due to this, all 273 19683 switching states are to be considered. The result of the MPC strategy is, compared to classical control, a drastic reduction of the commutation frequency and respectively the converter losses. However, besides the advantages there are still some problems with the use of MPC for thyristor matrix converter. Therefor this contribution presents extensions of the standard direct model predictive control strategy to overcome these problems. The result is a predictive control structure with a fallback level for problematic working areas. By this, a low total harmonic distortion (THD) as well as a high efficiency can be achieved."}
{"ID": 126, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Sprains and Strains", "abstract": "A 27-year-old male patient sustained an isolated syndesmotic injury in the right ankle following a fall. His complaints subsided gradually within the first six weeks of conservative treatment. At the end of the third month, he returned to follow-up with posterior ankle pain. Radiological examinations revealed heterotopic ossification adjacent to the posterior inferior tibiofibular ligament and posterior capsule. His complaints disappeared only after local excision of the ossification. Heterotopic ossification may be a cause of persistent pain after ankle ligament injuries."}
{"ID": 127, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Sprains and Strains", "abstract": "A 28-year-old male rugby player presented with severe onset of right hip pain when he fell awkward after a ruck during an international match. A rare case of an acute strain of the obturator internus muscle, a deep muscle of the hip joint, is reported, which resolved completely after a period of rest and intense active physical therapy."}
{"ID": 128, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Machine design", "abstract": "A 2-D magnetizer introduces variation in the flux density (B) across the sample under rotational magnetization. This variation requires additional energy requirements that limits the attainable aspect ratios, flux density levels and stresses the supply. A numerical methodology that accounts for the flux leakage and the eddy currents is proposed to analyze uniformity and variation in B in four 2-D magnetizers. The analysis was done beyond the knee of the magnetization curve. Numerical results will show that round magnetizers can mitigate the variation of the square magnetizer by over 92%, by making the MMF more sinusoidal and equalizing the reluctance along the airgap. In addition, deeper yokes minimized the variation by about 50% in the square and the Halbach testers. The results of this analysis was a design that mitigates the variation in B by a combination of sinusoidally distributed windings, and a deep yoke. The proposed magnetizer achieved very high flux densities over a relatively wide frequency range, which were 2.04 and 1.69 T at 60 Hz and 1 kHz, respectively."}
{"ID": 129, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A 2x2 pixel array for Sub-THz detection in which each pixel can be separately addressed has been integrated in a low-cost 0.18 mu m CMOS technology. Each pixel comprises of an NMOS incoherent power detection circuit and a high gain operational amplifier. Efficiency of self-mixing is analyzed and improved for FET detector and the operational amplifier. Sequential pulse generator is used in the design of row and column signal producing circuit in pixel array. The measured peak responsivity is 3.3 kV/W at 90 GHz, 4.3 kV/W at 155 GHz. For comparison, the pixel without load resistor is also characterized. The measured results show that the pixel with load resistor can efficiently increase the pixel output."}
{"ID": 130, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A 3 - 5 GHz UWB radar chip for surveillance and reconnaissance applications is fabricated in 0.13um CMOS process. The UWB radar chip employs the equivalent time sampling and 4-channel time interleaved sampler architecture. The DC offset calibrator and BJT based circuit greatly reduce the DC offset issues. The analog signal processing part employs the proposed high speed track and hold (T/H) circuit. The direct loop back test shows the feasibility of the distance sensing with 3 cm resolution at the several meter distance. The chip size is 4 mm x 2.5 mm, and 81 mA / 38mA (Rx/Tx) are consumed at 1.5 V supply."}
{"ID": 131, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Hypothyroidism", "abstract": "A 33-year-old female is presented with the first case to our knowledge of new daily persistent headache (NDPH) with a large right benign non-toxic multinodular goiter causing carotid and vertebral compression with complete resolution of the headache immediately after thyroidectomy. Although this may be quite rare, hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism causing NDPH, migraine, or an exacerbation of pre-existing migraine is not. Clinicians should consider routinely obtaining serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and free T4 in patients with new onset frequent headaches or an exacerbation of prior primary headaches."}
{"ID": 132, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A 3-5 GHz UWB radar chip in 0.13. m CMOS process is presented in this paper. The UWB radar transceiver for surveillance and biometric applications adopts the equivalent time sampling architecture and 4-channel time interleaved samplers to relax the impractical sampling frequency and enhance the overall scanning time. The RF front end (RFFE) includes the wideband LNA and 4-way RF power splitter, and the analog signal processing part consists of the high speed track & hold (T& H) / sample & hold (S& H) and integrator. The interleaved timing clocks are generated using a delay locked loop. The UWB transmitter employs the digitally synthesized topology. The measured NF of RFFE is 9.5 dB in 3-5 GHz. And DLL timing resolution is 50 ps. The measured spectrum of UWB transmitter shows the center frequency within 3-5 GHz satisfying the FCC spectrum mask. The power consumption of receiver and transmitter are 106.5 mW and 57 mW at 1.5 V supply, respectively."}
{"ID": 133, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Weight Loss", "abstract": "A 39-year-old man presented with chronic headaches and intermittent blurred vision with previous neuroimaging and blood work that was reportedly normal. He had papilledema and further questioning elicited a history of extensive alcohol use, unexplained weight loss, and night sweats. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain demonstrated communicating hydrocephalus and leptomeningeal enhancement. The patient underwent ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement and leptomeningeal biopsy, which was initially unrevealing. Cerebrospinal fluid eventually yielded positive titers for coccidioides, a diagnosis that was confirmed by biopsy culture results. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 134, "domain": "MAE", "area": "computer-aided design", "abstract": "A 3-D electron-beam-induced current (EBIC) model was implemented in technology computer aided design simulations. The model uses a carefully designed charge carrier generation profile that describes how an electron beam induces charge carriers in a semiconducting device and then drift-diffusion equations are solved to determine the resulting current. The simulation provides a map of the EBIC signal, which can be compared with experimental 2-D profiles. This comparison can be used to fit parameters such as the surface recombination rate which is otherwise difficult to fit in completed devices. Additional experimental data for these fits are obtained by performing the experiments at different electron beam energies and thereby generating carriers at different depths in the sample. The experiments were performed on cross sections of silicon photodiodes with varying surface preparations. A strong influence of the surface preparation method on the charge carrier diffusion was observed."}
{"ID": 135, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A 3D finite element (FE) model for the Sutong cable-stayed bridge (SCB) is established based on ANSYS. The dynamic characteristics of the bridge are analyzed using a subspace iteration method. Based on recorded wind data, the measured spectra expression is presented using the nonlinear least-squares regression method. Turbulent winds at the bridge site are simulated based on the spectral representation method and the FFT technique. The influence of some key structural parameters and measures on the dynamic characteristics of the bridge are investigated. These parameters include dead load intensity, as well as vertical, lateral and torsional stiffness of the steel box girder. In addition, the influence of elastic stiffness of the connection device employed between the towers and the girder on the vibration mode of the steel box girder is investigated. The analysis shows that all of the vertical, lateral and torsional buffeting displacement responses reduce gradually as the dead load intensity increases. The dynamic characteristics and the structural buffeting displacement response of the SCB are only slightly affected by the vertical and torsional stiffness of the steel box girder, and the lateral and torsional buffeting displacement responses reduce gradually as the lateral stiffness increases. These results provide a reference for dynamic analysis and design of super-long-span cable-stayed bridges."}
{"ID": 136, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A 3-D finite element model for Yueyang Dongting Lake bridge was established with a large scale general finite element analysis software, and the subspace iteration method was adopted to analyze the natural vibration characteristics of the bridge, meanwhile, the influences of settings different types of central buckles at the mid-span of the main spans between the main cables and girder on the dynamic behaviors of the long-span suspension bridge with deck-truss composite stiffening girder were studied. The results show that compared with only setting short hanger cable at mid-span, the the whole rigidity of suspension bridge is raised and the natural frequencies increase by the setting central buckle, but various types of vibration modes are affected in different extents; among all of these vibration modes, the antisymmetric vibration and Longitudinal floating of stiffening girder are most obviously affected. The stiffness of central buckle has a great influence on the vibration of main cable, while compared with only setting short hanger cable, the vibration of main cable increases 7.32% while setting the rigid central buckle. The conclusions of this paper provide theoretical basis for the using of central buckle in long-span suspension bridge."}
{"ID": 137, "domain": "CS", "area": "Machine learning", "abstract": "A 3-D network-on-chip (NoC) enables the design of high performance and low power many-core chips. Existing 3-D NoCs are inadequate for meeting the ever-increasing performance requirements of many-core processors since they are simple extensions of regular 2-D architectures and they do not fully exploit the advantages provided by 3-D integration. Moreover, the anticipated performance gain of a 3-D NoC-enabled many-core chip may be compromised due to the potential failures of through-silicon-vias that are predominantly used as vertical interconnects in a 3-D IC. To address these problems, we propose a machine-learning-inspired predictive design methodology for energy-efficient and reliable many-core architectures enabled by 3-D integration. We demonstrate that a small-world network-based 3-D NoC (3-D SWNoC) performs significantly better than its 3-D MESH-based counterparts. On average, the 3-D SWNoC shows 35% energy-delay-product improvement over 3-D MESH for the PARSEC and SPLASH2 benchmarks considered in this paper. To improve the reliability of 3-D NoC, we propose a computationally efficient spare-vertical link (sVL) allocation algorithm based on a state-space search formulation. Our results show that the proposed sVL allocation algorithm can significantly improve the reliability as well as the lifetime of 3-D SWNoC."}
{"ID": 138, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A 400-800 MHz spectrum sensing system is designed and implemented using 0.18-mu m CMOS technology for cognitive radios in the UHF TV band. Based on envelope detection, the system employs a down converter, a digitally controlled oscillator, a low-pass filer (LPF), a rectifier, a comparator, and a digital control unit to realize spectrum sensing with 10-bit frequency representation. With variable-gain function of the LPF, signal strength can be measured and presented with a 5-bit signal strength index."}
{"ID": 139, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A 40-nm microcontroller featuring voltage stacked memory and logic is presented. This involved connecting the power domains of the memory and logic in series, such that the ground of one power domain is connected to the positive supply rail of the other. In this paper, an ARM Cortex-M0+ and its peripherals are powered from 0 V to V-DD, while its 4-kB ROM and the 16-kB SRAM are powered from V-DD to 2 V-DD. Since the memory and logic will, in general, draw different supply currents, the midrail V-DD is provided by an on-chip switched capacitor voltage regulator (SCVR). To allow a direct comparison of voltage stacking with a conventional single supply, it can be turned off by configuring the SCVR to power both the memory and logic from 0 V and V-DD. Turning on voltage stacking results in 96% power conversion efficiency, while the active converter area is reduced by 2.6x. Despite the use of a smaller SCVR, the voltage stacking reduces the supply noise by 3.4 dB and the output voltage drops from 58 to 36 mV."}
{"ID": 140, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Headache", "abstract": "A 40-year-old Somali woman presented features of a right-sided cavernous sinus syndrome which was confirmed with neuroimaging. Although initial investigations were equivocal for an infectious etiology, subsequent investigations led to a diagnosis of tuberculosis as the cause for right-sided cavernous sinus syndrome. This case illustrates that, although the incidence of tuberculosis cavernous sinus syndrome is reportedly low, patients originating from tuberculosis endemic regions warrant scrupulous investigations in order not to miss the diagnosis and effect appropriate treatment. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 141, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Fungal Infection", "abstract": "A 41-year-old male with heterotaxy (left isomerism) and dextrocardia composed by single ventricle, absent inferior vena cava, bilateral superior vena cava (SVC), common atrioventricular valve has received orthotopic heart transplantation (HTx) after long waiting period as Status-1. Reconstructions of bilateral SVC and hepatic vein route were successful without use of prosthetic material, and the donor heart was placed in the left mediastinum. In spite of satisfactory early recovery, the patient expired 4 months after transplantation mainly from fungal infection which developed following humoral rejection. HTx for adult patients with complex congenital heart disease is demanding in technical as well as pre- and post-transplant management, and indication should be critically determined."}
{"ID": 142, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Overactive Bladder", "abstract": "A 4-year-old boy was referred to the nephrologist with daytime urinary incontinence and suspicion of an overactive bladder. At the age of 17 months he had been referred to the pediatric endocrinologist because of polyuria and polydipsia in order to exclude diabetes insipidus. Repeated water deprivation tests and a magnetic resonance imaging scan of the brain were normal. Diabetes insipidus was excluded, and primary polydipsia was thought to be most likely since diabetes mellitus also had been excluded. At the current presentation, he drank up to 3 L a day and quite often had wet diapers. He also seemed to pass stools infrequently and with difficulty. Curiously his grandmother had similar symptoms of polyuria and polydipsia since childhood and had been diagnosed with primary polydipsia. The physical examination of our pediatric patient was normal. In the differential diagnosis we included diabetes insipidus but also contemplated other possibilities, such as nephronophthisis, tubulopathies and hypercalciuria. Laboratory results including urinalysis and an ultrasound of the kidney did not show any abnormalities, making a tubulopathy or hypercalciuria unlikely. A desmopressin test by the intravenous route came back completely normal, pointing to another cause than diabetes insipidus. Genetic testing for the nephronophthisis came back negative but was positive for a missense mutation in the AVPR2 gene (p.Arg104Cys) associated with partial nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. He was started on daily desmopressin. Within 3 days the urinary incontinence resolved as did the polyuria and faecal incontinence. His grandmother was referred to the geneticist and eventually the adult nephrologist. This case highlights the importance of being thorough when confronted with a difficult diagnosis. It also emphasizes that a test result does not necessarily equate to the presence or absence of a condition since the test with 100 % sensitivity and specificity has yet to be discovered."}
{"ID": 143, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Geotextile", "abstract": "A 5.35m high test embankment was constructed on a soft foundation improved by geotextile-encased granular columns (GECs). The embankment construction was performed in four stages over 65days, resulting in a total applied stress of around 150kPa. The soft soil and the encased columns were instrumented to measure surface settlements, excess pore pressure, surface vertical stresses, and radial deformation of the geotextile encasement. Stress concentration and the difference in settlement between the top of the encased columns and the soft soil were studied. Results showed that the differential settlement increased as the embankment height increased and when the excess pore pressure was being dissipated. Due to soil arching, the vertical stress supported by the encased column was over two times greater than the stress transmitted to the soft soil. Also, vertical stress on the encased column increased as consolidation progressed, whereas it did not vary significantly on the soft soil. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers."}
{"ID": 144, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Irritable Bowel Syndrome", "abstract": "A 52-year-old lady presented with a history of occasional, severe abdominal cramps, postprandial diarrhoea and weight loss. After routine gastrointestinal investigations, she was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. Over six months, she developed occasional facial flushing prompting assessment of neuroendocrine tumour markers. Urinary 5HIAA, 5HT, chromogranin A and neurokinin A were significantly elevated. Scans showed extensive hepatic metastases but did not show the location of a primary tumour. Somatostatin analogue therapy was commenced but despite increasing doses, symptoms increased and biomarkers rose dramatically. Interferon alpha was introduced concomitant with somatostatin analogue therapy. Biomarkers were monitored regularly. Within six months, symptoms abated and biomarkers reduced, continuing to fall over the next year, close to reference range. To manage side-effects of interferon alpha, dose was reduced from time to time. During these short periods, neurokinin A showed significant transient increases (75-150ng/L) and carcinoid symptoms returned. For more than seven years, and with the co-operation of the patient, a balance was achieved between interferon alpha side-effects and disease control. Scans showed tumour load to be stable. The patient survived for 10 years post diagnosis. She chose to discontinue interferon alpha and received peptide receptor radiation therapy in her final year. Throughout, neurokinin A remained the most sensitive monitor of her disease progression."}
{"ID": 145, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Overactive Bladder", "abstract": "A 52-year-old man complains of minor urgency and frequency during the day and nocturiax 3-5. His DRE reveals a 30-g benign prostate. He is started on tamsulosin, and his daytime symptoms resolve entirely; however, he still has nocturia x 2-4. He is counseled on lifestyle modifications and to decrease fluid consumption including caffeine but has no improvement in nocturia. Cystoscopy is normal with no evident visual obstruction. A urinalysis is normal. The PVR is 40 ml. He has a normal-sized neck and does not snore. He has no trouble sleeping and awakens because of the urge to void. This is very bothersome."}
{"ID": 146, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Hypothyroidism", "abstract": "A 53-year-old woman was diagnosed with hypopituitarism following an acute presentation with cardiac tamponade and hyponatraemia, having recently been investigated for a pericardial effusion. Secondary hypothyroidism is a rare cause of pericardial effusion and tamponade, but an important differential to consider. Management requires appropriate hormone replacement and, critically, a low threshold for commencing stress dose steroids. Clinical signs classically associated with cardiac tamponade are frequently absent in cases of tamponade due to primary and secondary hypothyroidism, and the relatively volume deplete state of secondary hypoadrenalism in hypopituitarism may further mask an evolving tamponade, as the rise in right atrial pressure is less marked even in the presence of large effusion. Our case demonstrates the importance of a high index of suspicion for cardiac tamponade in this patient cohort, even in the absence of clinical signs, and for measuring both thyroid-stimulating hormone and thyroxine levels when evaluating a pericardial effusion."}
{"ID": 147, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Headache", "abstract": "A 54-year-old man presented with change in behaviour, nocturnal enuresis, abnormal limb movement and headache of one week's duration. The diagnosis of butterfly glioma (glioblastoma multiforme) was made based on imaging characteristics and was further confirmed by biopsy findings. As the corpus callosum is usually resistant to infiltration by tumours, a mass that involves and crosses the corpus callosum is suggestive of an aggressive neoplasm. Other neoplastic and non-neoplastic conditions that may involve the corpus callosum and mimic a butterfly glioma, as well as associated imaging features, are discussed."}
{"ID": 148, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Headache", "abstract": "A 54-year-old man with a 3-week history of orthostatic headache and acute on chronic subdural hematoma presented with imaging findings suggestive of spontaneous intracranial hypotension. Threemyelogramswere negative for leak, and nontargeted epidural blood patches did not result in symptom relief. A cerebrospinal fluid leak study using 111In-DTPA with SPECT/CT demonstrated a focal area of asymmetric activity at the left C2 nerve root. A left C2 root tie-off, targeted epidural blood patch, and Dura seal glue resulted in resolution of patient symptomatology highlighting the importance of fused SPECT/CT images in detection of an occult cerebral spinal fluid leak."}
{"ID": 149, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Polycythemia Vera", "abstract": "A 55-year-old male patient under permanent testosterone therapy for hypogonadism presented with abdominal pain and increased blood pressure values. In the physical examination a plethora was noted and laboratory examinations revealed polyglobulia. In the subsequent diagnostic process polycythemia vera and cancer could be excluded as the cause. A secondary polyglobulia due to testosterone substitution was diagnosed. Unphysiologically high testosterone levels represent a rare cause of secondary polyglobulia and with an appropriate medical history should be taken into account at an early stage."}
{"ID": 150, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Polycythemia Vera", "abstract": "A 59-year-old Italian woman came to our center for revaluation of a previous diagnosis of polycythemia vera. The patient presented with a lifelong history of polycythemia, no increase in white blood cells (WBCs) and platelets, and a negative bone marrow biopsy. Analysis of hemoglobin (Hb) fractions showed an abnormal fast moving Hb component. We aimed to determine if this variant was the cause of polycythemia in this patient. A complete blood count (CBC) was performed by an automated cell counter and Hb fractions were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Standard stability tests and oxygen affinity evaluation were also performed. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes using the phenol chloroform method and the entire -globin gene was analyzed by direct sequencing. At the hematological level, no anemia or hemolysis was observed but an abnormal Hb fraction was detected using cation exchange HPLC. Molecular analysis of the -globin gene showed heterozygosity for an AAG>ACG substitution at codon 144, resulting in a LysThr amino acid replacement. We demonstrated that this is a new Hb variant with increased oxygen affinity. Its altered physiology is caused by the reduction of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) effects, due to an amino acid substitution in the central pocket near the C-terminal of the chain. We called this new variant Hb San Cataldo for the native city of proband."}
{"ID": 151, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Atrial Fibrillation", "abstract": "A 59-year-old male presented to the emergency room with symptoms of chest tightness and palpitations. Following conversion of atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm, he had deep symmetrical T-wave changes on his electrocardiogram. Symptoms resolved almost immediately, and his initial troponin was negative. He underwent cardiac CT angiography utilizing an emergency room triage protocol which resulted in a diagnosis of nonobstructive coronary artery disease and apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Following a hospital stay of less than 24hours, he was discharged to outpatient follow-up on medical management and has remained asymptomatic over 6months. This case presentation illustrates an example of the diversity of pathology that presents in emergency rooms with symptoms consistent with acute coronary syndrome."}
{"ID": 152, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A 5-bit digital controlled switch-type passive phase shifter realised in a 40 nm digital CMOS technology without ultra-thick metals for the 60 GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band is presented. A patterned shielding with electromagnetic bandgap structure and a stacked metals method to increase the on-chip inductor quality factor are proposed. To reduce the insertion loss from the transistors, the transistor switches are implemented with a body-source connection. For all 32 states, the minimum phase error is 1.5 degrees, and the maximum phase error is 6.8 degrees. The measured insertion loss is -20.9 +/- 1 dB including pad loss at 60 GHz and the return loss is >10 dB over 57-64 GHz. The total chip size is 0.24 mm(2) with 0 mW DC power consumption."}
{"ID": 153, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Machine design", "abstract": "A 6/8 E-core flux-switching permanent magnet machine with large air-gap (delta=3 mm) for a medium speed application (n=6000 rpm) is presented. General aspects of machine design arising from the large air-gap length of the machine are discussed using 2D-Finite Element Analysis. It is found that the design rules for conventional or even alternate FSPM machines can no longer be applied when a large air-gap is present. Particularly the choice of rotor poles is investigated to improve the torque capability of the FSPM machine in detail. Within the machine design it is necessary to reduce the number of rotor poles which is also beneficial for the reduction of losses at increased rotor speeds. Moreover, the height of the permanent magnets in the stator also need to be enlarged due to the large air-gap machines to prevent a direct short circuit of the permanent magnet flux in the air-gap. Additionally, the influence of rotor skewing on the torque variation is briefly discussed."}
{"ID": 154, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Machine design", "abstract": "A 6/8 flux-switching machine with large air-gap and toroidal winding design is presented. The fractional-slot winding of C-core flux-switching machine is wound around the stator yoke instead of the stator pole in this machine design. On the basis of the C-core flux-switching machine several modifications of the stator core shape and of PM arrangement are evaluated by means of 2D Finite Element Analysis. A significant enhancement of the torque capability of the toroidal winding design can be achieved by some minor changes of the stator core shape. Additionally, the application of Halbach shaped magnets leads to even more torque and a reduction of the leakage flux at the stator outer diameter."}
{"ID": 155, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Fungal Infection", "abstract": "A 60-day experiment was carried out to delineate the role of dietary pyridoxine (DP) in Labeo rohita fingerlings in modulating immunity and prevention of fungal infection. Two hundred and seventy fingerlings were randomly distributed into three treatments in triplicates. Three iso-caloric and isonitrogenous purified diets were prepared with graded levels of pyridoxine. Three experimental groups were C (0.0% DP), T1 (0.01% DP) and T2 (0.02% DP). The role of dietary pyridoxine in modulating immunity and prevention of fungal infection was assessed by haemato-immunological parameters like erythrocyte counts (EC), leucocyte counts (LC), haemoglobulin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), nitro-blue tetrazolium (NBT), phagocytic activity, albumin, globulin, total plasma protein, albumin/globulin and by challenge study with Saprolegnia parasitica, where relative percentage survival (RPS) were recorded. Hb, PCV, MCV, MCH, NBT, total plasma protein, albumin, globulin contents, lysozyme and phagocytic activity was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in DP fed group. Significantly (P < 0.05) higher RPS was recorded from T2 group fed with 0.02% DP for 45 days. Hence, DP has the capacity to stimulate nonspecific immunity and increase resistance to S. parasitica infection in L. rohita fingerlings. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 156, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A 60frames/s CMOS image sensor with column-parallel inverter-based sigma-delta (Sigma Delta) ADCs is proposed in this paper. In order to improve the robustness of the inverter, instead of constant power supply, two buffers are designed to provide power supply for inverters. Instead of using of an operational amplifier, an inverter-based switch-capacitor (SC) circuit is adopted to low-voltage low-power Sigma Delta modulator. Detailed analysis and design optimization are provided. Due to the use of the inverter-based Sigma Delta ADCs, the conversion speed is improved while reducing the area and power consumption. The proposed CMOS image sensor has been fabricated with 0.18 mu m CMOS process. The measurement results show that the random noise (RN) is 7e(rms)(-), the pixel conversion gain is 100 mu V/e(-). Since the measured full well capacity of the pixel is 25000e(-), the CMOS image sensor achieves a 71 dB dynamic range (DR). The total power consumption at 60frame/s is 58.2 mW. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 157, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Smoking Cessation", "abstract": "A 60-year-old man presented with an 18-month history of gradually worsening cough and a 12-month history of dyspnea on exertion. High-resolution computed tomography showed bilateral uniform ground grass opacity in the lower lung fields, partially resolved by smoking cessation. A tentative diagnosis of desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP) was made. Video-assisted thoracic surgery was performed and pathological analysis showed peribronchiolar fibrosis with intra-alveolar macrophage infiltration. Elemental analysis detected aluminum and iron in the upper lobe and only iron in the lower lobe. Thus, a definitive diagnosis of mixed dust pneumoconiosis with DIP-like reaction was made. DIP-like reaction is known to be a reactive change caused by exposure to tobacco smoke as well as by inhalation of inorganic particles. Obtaining a detailed medical history including occupational and environmental risk factors is important to distinguish cases of DIP-like reaction due to exposure to inorganic particles from the usual cases related to smoking, and thus provide suitable treatment. (C) 2017 Jichi medical university. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license."}
{"ID": 158, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Lymphoma", "abstract": "A 64-year-old man underwent abdominal computed tomography (CT) as periodic follow-up following a distal gastrectomy with lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer and mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma conducted 31 months earlier. Contrast-enhanced CT demonstrated a well-circumscribed mass lesion with heterogeneous density measuring 2.2 cm in diameter located between the second segment of the duodenum and uncinate process of the pancreas. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed no remarkable findings in the remnant stomach; however, the scope could not reach the duodenum due to altered anatomy by Roux-en-Y reconstruction after the distal gastrectomy. The patient underwent surgical resection of the mass lesion under the clinical diagnosis of MALT lymphoma relapse. An orange calculus was apparent in the thinly extended duodenal wall on stretching, and the hall was closed by meticulous primary suture after the duodenal resection. Macroscopically, the extracted calculus was solid and quite hard, measured 2.2 x 2.1 x 2.1 cm, and the cut surface revealed a layered structure in the outer areas with granulated contents in the center. Although duodenal diverticula are relatively common, an enterolith developing within a juxtapapillary duodenal diverticulum is rare, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first such case due to altered anatomy after gastrectomy reported in the English literature."}
{"ID": 159, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Fungal Infection", "abstract": "A 6-year-old boy presented with a 3-month history of high-grade fever and night-sweats but without chills/rigors. On examination, he had moderate hepatosplenomegaly with multiple enlarged cervical and axillary lymph nodes. His hemogram revealed anemia and marked eosinophilia. Initial investigations were negative, except anti-HCV IgG antibodies, that were positive. Bone marrow aspirate showed a single histiocyte containing suspicious intracellular yeast-like forms. Cervical lymph node aspiration revealed a heavy load of intra-and extracellular Histoplasma spp. Disseminated histoplasmosis remains an unusual cause of peripheral eosinophilia and diagnosis can often be rendered fairly easily by cytomorphological evaluation. The case illustrates how Indian pathologists must maintain a high index of suspicion for unexpected infectious disorders in cases with eosinophilia."}
{"ID": 160, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Weight Loss", "abstract": "A 70-year-old man presented with progressive dyspnoea and weight loss. Physical examination revealed only mild pale conjunctiva. The workup showed mild anaemia, mild impaired renal function, and high globulin level. Multiple myeloma was excluded by normal serum protein electrophoresis. The chest radiography and computed tomography (CT) revealed bilateral multifocal patchy infiltration with mediastinal adenopathy. Bronchoscopy was performed. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid examination was negative for infection and malignancy. Tissue pathology revealed diffuse lymphoplasmacytic cell infiltration. Immunohistochemistry revealed positive highlight for CD38, immunoglobulin G (IgG), and IgG4. Serum IgG subclass was requested and showed an IgG4 level of 7230 mg/dL. Examination of bone marrow and submental lymph node pathology were also positive for IgG4. IgG4-related disease with pulmonary involvement was diagnosed. Treatment with prednisolone (30 mg/day) resulted in improvement in his dyspnoea and almost complete resolution of the pulmonary infiltration on repeated CT at 6 month. This case highlighted a rare occurrence of IgG4-related disease which was successfully treated with steroid."}
{"ID": 161, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Thermodynamics", "abstract": "A 72-h high-resolution simulation of Supertyphoon Rammasun (2014) is performed using the Advanced Research Weather Research and Forecasting model. The model covers an initial 18-h spin-up, the 36-h rapid intensification (RI) period in the northern South China Sea, and the 18-h period of weakening after landfall. The results show that the model reproduces the track, intensity, structure of the storm, and environmental circulations reasonably well. Analysis of the surface energetics under the storm indicates that the storm's intensification is closely related to the net energy gain rate (epsilon (g)), defined as the difference between the energy production (P (D)) due to surface entropy flux and the energy dissipation (D (S)) due to surface friction near the radius of maximum wind (RMW). Before and during the RI stage, the epsilon (g) is high, indicating sufficient energy supply for the storm to intensify. However, the epsilon (g) decreases rapidly as the storm quickly intensifies, because the DS increases more rapidly than the P (D) near the RMW. By the time the storm reaches its peak intensity, the D (S) is about 20% larger than the P (D) near the RMW, leading to a local energetics deficit under the eyewall. During the mature stage, the P (D) and D (S) can reach a balance within a radius of 86 km from the storm center (about 2.3 times the RMW). This implies that the local P (D) under the eyewall is not large enough to balance the D (S), and the radially inward energy transport from outside the eyewall must play an important role in maintaining the storm's intensity, as well as its intensification."}
{"ID": 162, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Asthma", "abstract": "A 72-year-old Japanese woman was admitted at Saga University Hospital for fever, malaise, and productive cough. Six years ago, she had been diagnosed with bronchial asthma and was treated with inhaled corticosteroids. Chest radiograph and computed tomography on admission showed infiltrates in the right middle lobe, a mass lesion in the left lower lobe, and bronchiectasis in both lower lobes. Sputum examination showed Grampositive rods with phagocytosis by neutrophils. These bacilli were identified as Nocardia otitidiscaviarum by 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing. Therefore, she was diagnosed with pulmonary nocardiosis and was treated with trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) and minocycline (MINO). However, she had to discontinue these antibiotics because of severe nausea and anorexia and instead was treated with fluoroquinolone for 6 months. There was resolution of the disease thereafter. Pulmonary nocardiosis with bronchial asthma and bronchiectasis can be successfully treated with fluoroquinolone, an alternative to TMP-SMX or MINO."}
{"ID": 163, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Southern blotting", "abstract": "A 79-year-old female diagnosed with T cell/histiocyte-rich large B cell lymphoma in complete remission after six cycles of rituximab-combined chemotherapy developed severe anemia, reticulocytopenia, and bone marrow erythroid hypoplasia. She was diagnosed with pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) accompanied by Coombs-negative autoimmune hemolytic anemia evidenced by a lack of glycophorin-A-positive cells in the bone marrow, haptoglobin under the detection level, and a high titer of RBC-bound IgG. Anti-erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) antibody was detected in the serum, and oligoclonal alpha/beta and gamma/delta T cells were also detected in her peripheral blood by Southern blotting analysis. Parvovirus B19 DNA was not detected by PCR. Although the treatment with rituximab had limited efficacy (specifically, only for hemolysis), subsequent cyclosporine therapy led to prompt recovery of erythropoiesis with the disappearance of anti-EPOR antibody and oligoclonal T cells. This is the first case report of anti-EPOR antibody-associated PRCA in a patient with malignant lymphoma treated successfully with cyclosporine."}
{"ID": 164, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A back-electromotive force-based sensorless technique for surface-mounted permanent magnet synchronous motor drives is considered in this paper. The model of the observer is developed in the Laplace domain and represents an original approach with respect to state-of-art proposals, normally employing a state-space representation. This allows a more intuitive but equivalent design of the observer's gains, based on the standard frequency response, as compared with eigenvalues analysis. Moreover steady-state errors are obtained from a theoretical point-of-view, including the effects of the most common nonidealities affecting the drive system and parameters sensitivity. Full simulation and experimental characterization of the sensorless drive is provided with reference to a general purpose industrial drive, i.e., both in transient and steady-state and in the most meaningful speed/torque operating conditions."}
{"ID": 165, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A backward and forward coupled ring transmission line all-pass phasers are presented, and their general characteristics, operation principles and typical group characteristics are discussed using ideal circuit simulations. The first configuration is based on contra-directional ( backward) coupling, which is perfectly TEM, while the second configuration is based on non-TEM co-directional ( forward) coupling, which is the radiofrequency counterpart of the optical ring resonator coupling. Compared to conventional end-connected coupled-line phasers, the group delay swings of the proposed phasers are inversely proportional to the involved coupling coefficients. They thus represent practically promising devices for high-resolution realtime radio."}
{"ID": 166, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "A baffled reactor with repeated coupling of aerobic and anaerobic conditions (rCAA) was constructed and the mechanism of the on-site sludge reduction was analyzed systematically. During the long-term operation of 3 years, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency reached over 90% on average and the sludge yield in the rCAA system was 0.098 kg suspended sludge (SS) kg(-1) COD, which was approximately 36.3% of that in a conventional activated sludge process at an influent COD of 700-800 mg L-1 and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 15 h. Analysis of soluble components, sludge characteristics, microorganism community and metabolic activities in the rCAA system showed that, when the sludge in the aerobic zone flowed into the anaerobic zone, sludge destruction and degradation occurred. Intracellular organic substances were then released and further hydrolyzed to small molecular compounds. These intermediate substances were degraded in subsequent aerobic compartments. In this way, cryptic growth of the sludge was realized that could contribute to sludge reduction. Microbial ecological analysis by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) further showed that the rCAA process spatially domesticated the different microbial communities along the flow direction of the bioreactor, which enhanced excess sludge lysis and transformation, cryptic growth and bacterial predation. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 167, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Southern blotting", "abstract": "A banana (Musa AAA, Cavendish subgroup cv. Brazil) cDNA encoding a putative rubredoxin-like protein (MaRd1) was obtained from total RNA isolated from cold-treated banana leaves using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) technique. MaRd1 cDNA contained 597 nucleotides encoding 198 amino acids in the open reading frame. MaRd1 protein showed 56% amino acid identity with that of Pyrococcus furiosus rubredoxin (P24297). A chloroplast transit peptide and a transmembrane region were detected at the N-terminus and the C-terminus, respectively, of the deduced amino acid sequence of MaRd1 gene. Southern blotting revealed the occurrence of at least two copies of MaRd1 in the banana genome. Real time quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that the expression of MaRd1 gene was mainly in leaves, pseudo-stems and immature fruits, while it was barely detectable in roots and flowers. Cold and salt stresses induced higher levels of MaRd1 transcript accumulation in leaves. This finding indicated a role of MaRd1 in the response to these abiotic stresses."}
{"ID": 168, "domain": "CS", "area": "Data structures", "abstract": "A basic question in computational geometry is how to find the relationship between a set of points and a line in a real plane. In this paper, we present multidimensional data structures for N points that allow answering the following queries for any given input line: (1) estimate in O (log N) time the number of points below the line; (2) return in O (log N + k) time the k <= N points that are below the line; and (3) return in O (log N) time the point that is closest to the line. We illustrate the utility of this computational question with GIS applications in air defense and traffic control."}
{"ID": 169, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "A battery electric vehicle uses the electric energy stored in a battery to supply power to the electric motor. The estimation of an accurate electric range is an important matter because of the consumer's fear of running out of electricity while driving, often referred to as range anxiety'. This article both analyses and quantifies the influence of driving aggressiveness on the battery life. In order to achieve this, a modification of the New European Driving Cycle is performed, simulating progressively more aggressive behaviours. The calculation of the energy consumption and, accordingly, of the vehicle range is performed through a complete vehicle model implemented in MATLAB/Simulink, where an improvement in the battery model is presented, allowing faster processing. The methodology presented can contribute to more efficient management of the power consumed by the vehicle and a decrease in range anxiety."}
{"ID": 170, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A battery-free, wireless neural probe system was developed for reading neural signals in the brain by using a one-port surface acoustic wave (SAW) reflective delay line, neural firing-dependent varicap diode, two antennas, and a network analyzer as measurement unit. The one-port SAW reflective delay line replaces existing complex wireless transceiver system composed of similar to 5000 electronic components and makes battery-free, wireless measurements possible. The varicap diode interconnected with sharp metal shank via operational amplifier (op-amp) was electrically linked to the corresponding split-type reflectors on a one-port SAW reflective delay line. A 4.3 nH inductor was also placed in between the split-type reflector on one-port SAW reflective delay line and varicap diode to obtain a large linearity and high sensitivity through impedance matching effect. As electrical pulses imitating neural signals were applied to the sharp metal shanks, overall impedance perturbations between the split-type reflector and external varicap diode under reverse bias were observed, giving rise to amplitude changes in the reflection peaks in the time domain depending on the magnitude of the electrical pulses. Good linearity and sensitivity were observed at the amplitude variations in terms of electrical pulses. Coupling-of-modes (COM) modeling and impedance matching simulations were also performed to predict device performances and compare experimental results. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 171, "domain": "CS", "area": "Parallel computing", "abstract": "A behavioural theory consists of machine-independent postulates characterizing a particular class of algorithms or systems, an abstract machine model that provably satisfies these postulates, and a rigorous proof that any algorithm or system stipulated by the postulates is captured by the abstract machine model. The class of interest in this article is that of (synchronous) parallel algorithms. For this class a behavioural theory has already been developed by Blass and Gurevich, which unfortunately, though mathematically correct, fails to be convincing, as it is not intuitively clear that the postulates really capture the essence of (synchronous) parallel algorithms. In this article we present a much simpler (and presumably more convincing) set of four postulates for (synchronous) parallel algorithms, which are rather close to those used in Gurevich's celebrated sequential ASM thesis, i.e. the behavioural theory of sequential algorithms. The key difference is made by an extension of the bounded exploration postulate using multiset comprehension terms instead of ground terms formulated over the signature of the states. in addition, all implicit assumptions are made explicit, which amounts to considering states of a parallel algorithm to be represented by meta-finite first order structures. The article first provides the necessary evidence that the axiomatization presented in this article characterizes indeed the whole class of (synchronous) parallel algorithms, then formally proves that parallel algorithms are captured by Abstract State Machines (ASMs). The proof requires some recourse to methods from finite model theory, by means of which it can be shown that if a critical tuple defines an update in some update set, then also every bther tuple that is logically indistinguishable defines an update in that update set. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 172, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A benchmark problem for modal identification of a cable-stayed bridge was proposed by a research team at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. By taking an instrumented cable-stayed bridge as a test bed, nineteen sets of vibration records with known/unknown excitations were provided to invited researchers. In this paper, the vibration responses of the bridge under a series of excitation conditions are examined to estimate the wind and traffic-induced variations of its dynamic characteristics. Firstly, two output-only experimental modal identification methods are selected. Secondly, the bridge and its monitoring system are described and the nineteen sets of vibration records are analyzed in time-domain and frequency-domain. Excitations sources of blind datasets are predicted based on the analysis of excitation conditions of known datasets. Thirdly, modal parameters are extracted by using the two selected output-only modal identification methods. The identified modal parameters are examined with respect to at least two different conditions such as traffic- and typhoon-induced loadings. Finally, the typhoon-induced effects on dynamic characteristics of the bridge are estimated by analyzing the relationship between the wind velocity and the modal parameters."}
{"ID": 173, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Southern blotting", "abstract": "A betA gene encoding choline dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli (E. coli) was transformed into wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. PCR amplification and Southern blotting confirmed the existence of transgene in transformed plants and their progeny. Levels of expression of the betA gene varied among the different transgenic lines based on RT-PCR analysis. Under salt stress conditions, transgenic lines L2 and L3 had higher levels of glycine betaine and chlorophyll, lower Na(+)/K(+) ratios and solute potential, and less cell membrane damage. These lines also retained moderately higher photosynthesis rates and more vigorous growth than the wild-type line at 200 mM NaCl. In a field trial in a high salt field, transgenic lines L2 and L3 had higher germination rates, more tillers and higher grain yields in comparison to the wild-type plants. This suggested that the transgenic plants were more tolerant to salt stress and have potential for breeding salt-tolerant wheat."}
{"ID": 174, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Alzheimer's Disease", "abstract": "A beta peptides, the main protein components of Alzheimer's disease (AD) plaques, derive from a proteolytic cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein. Due to heterogeneous cleavage sites, a series of A beta peptides, including the major and widely studied species A beta 1-40 (A beta 40) and A beta 1-42 (A beta 42), are produced. In addition to the C-terminal heterogeneity of A beta peptides, significant amounts of N-terminal truncated (A beta 3-42) and pyroglutamate-modified amyloid-beta peptides (A beta pE3-42) have been identified in AD affected brains and shown to be more cytotoxic than unmodified A beta peptides. Little is known about the properties of their mixtures with A beta 42. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy is here employed to investigate the interaction of N-truncated peptides with A beta 42 at different molar ratios. We highlight the critical concentration of N-truncated forms influencing the aggregation kinetics of A beta 42. We provide evidence, at residue level, that the C-terminal region of A beta 42 is the locus of transient specific interactions with highly aggregation prone N-truncated alloforms."}
{"ID": 175, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "A better understanding of human metabolism and its relationship with diseases is an important task in human systems biology studies. In this paper, we present a high-quality human metabolic network manually reconstructed by integrating genome annotation information from different databases and metabolic reaction information from literature. The network contains nearly 3000 metabolic reactions, which were reorganized into about 70 human-specific metabolic pathways according to their functional relationships. By analysis of the functional connectivity of the metabolites in the network, the bow-tie structure, which was found previously by structure analysis, is reconfirmed. Furthermore, the distribution of the disease related genes in the network suggests that the IN (substrates) subset of the bow- tie structure has more flexibility than other parts."}
{"ID": 176, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electricity", "abstract": "A bio-electrochemical strategy was developed for constructing a simple and sensitive levofloxacin (LEV) sensor based on a single chamber microbial fuel cell (SC-MFC) using FePO4 nanoparticles (NPs) as the cathode catalyst instead of traditional Pt/C. In this assembled sensor device, FePO4 NPs dramatically promoted the electrooxidation of oxygen on the cathode, which helps to accelerate the voltage output from SC-MFC and can provide a powerful guarantee for LEV detection. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to fully characterize the FePO4 NPs. Under the optimized COD condition (3 mM), the LEV with a concentration range of 0.1-1000 pg/L could be detected successfully, and exhibited the excellent linear interval in the concentration range of 0.1-100 pg/L. During this range of concentrations of LEV, a temporary effect on the anode of exoelectrogenic bacterial in less than 10 min could occur, and then came back to the normal. It exhibited a long-term stability, maintaining the stable electricity production for 14 months of continuous running. Besides, the detection mechanism was investigated by quantum chemical calculation using density functional theory (DFT)."}
{"ID": 177, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Machine design", "abstract": "A bioengineering course is offered to senior students in the Mechanical Engineering major as an elective at Penn State Behrend in the first semester of their senior year. On average around 20 students enroll in this project-based course and 72% of their grade depends on three comprehensive group projects, one of which is to design a bone plate for a fractured femur. 6% of the grade comes from an individual application presentation, discussing different circumstances in which the concepts in mechanical engineering can be applied to solve/analyze biomedical problems. Background of physiology is introduced in the class while the majority of applicable engineering knowledge was learned in prerequisite courses, such as statics, dynamics, strength of materials, system dynamics, etc. Finite Element Analysis (FEA), an elective offered in both semesters of senior year, is not a prerequisite for this bioengineering course. Most of students enrolled in our bioengineering course either do not have FEA course or are taking FEA concurrently. Therefore in spite of its popularity in the areas related to biomechanics, thus far FEA has not been incorporated in this bioengineering course. Previously, the fractured femur project utilized the applicable theoretical analyses including those from statics, strength of materials, materials, and machine design. In Fall 2015, the instructor of bioengineering course made an effort to have an FEA study on femur and ensuing presentation be completed by a willing student. This student was taking FEA simultaneously with bioengineering, and was scheduled to present during the last week of semester. The instructor of FEA wrote an introductory manual of FEA procedures to analyze a healthy femur using a CAD model of the femur. Then the student used the manual to initiate the FEA study of the fractured femur. A major challenge to the student was the complicated loading and assembly feature of the bone plus the addition of bone plate. After a several week struggle and independent learning, while guided by the faculty members of bioengineering and FEA, the student was able to accomplish the FEA analysis and presented the results to the class. The discrepancy between FEA results and theoretical analysis was shown to be less than 5% in most results. The presentation also included FEA results for a diverse realistic loading and boundary conditions. Since all students had finished the fractured femur project, they actively participated in a meaningful discussion after the presentation. The completion of this project demonstrated the feasibility and importance of incorporating FEA in our bioengineering course. In addition, the presenting student was able to complete a working manual for the FEA analysis of the fractured femur, which can be passed to the future students of this course. A plan is to include FEA in the project as a bonus activity, and regarding the formation of project teams, the instructor would appoint a member who is enrolled in the FEA course. An assignment or project, based on the present FEA study of the femur, can also be incorporated in the FEA course offered at our campus."}
{"ID": 178, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A biofilm-forming strain of Pichia fermentans was found to be a very strong antagonist against brown rot and grey mold in artificially wounded apple fruit when co-inoculated with either Monilinia fructicola or Botrytis cinerea, respectively. The same strain of yeast, however, was an aggressive pathogen when inoculated on peach fruit, causing rot of fruit tissues, even in the absence of other pathogens. Optical and scanning electron microscopy showed that P. fermentans produces only yeast-like shaped cells during colonization of apple tissue, while exhibiting pseudohyphal growth on peach tissue. A rapid subtractive hybridization approach (RaSH) was used to identify differentially expressed genes in the pathogenic form of P. fermentans by comparing the cDNA of P. fermentans sampled after 24 hours growth on apple with the cDNA of the same strain grown 24 hours on peach fruit. A total of 450 clones were analysed by a reverse Northern Blotting technique, yielding some fragments which were significantly expressed on peach but less on apple tissue. These sequences were compared to the available genome sequences of another dimorphic yeast, Candida albicans, and homologous genes were identified. The relationship between these genes, dimorphism, and pathogenicity will be discussed."}
{"ID": 179, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Genetics", "abstract": "A black fly species of the Simulium feuerborni species-group of Simulium (Nevermannia) from Cameron Highland, Peninsular Malaysia, previously regarded as S. feuerborni Edwards, originally described from East Java, is described as Simulium pairoti sp. nov. based on complete life stages. High intraspecific variations in the arrangement of the six pupal gill filaments, length of the stalk of the ventral paired filaments, and length of the anterodorsal projection of the cocoon, are noted in this species. This new species is readily distinguished from its congeners by having the characters of male genitalia with simple lamellate ventral plate, short inwardly-twisted styles, several parameral hooks, and a simple narrow median sclerite. Morphological data reported herein plus the chromosomal and molecular data presented elsewhere support S. pairoti as a novel pseudocryptic species. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 180, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Manufacturing engineering", "abstract": "A blanking method which can punch the sheet metal without burr is presented, this method is divided into two stages: preloading deformation and blanking. And the FEM software DEFORM-2D is used to simulate the blanking process of burr-free of stainless steel AISI304. By changing the size of relative clearance, analyzing the quality of cross-section and blanking process. The result shows that the clearance has an effect on blanking force and the length of shear zone. which provides the certain fundamental for predicting the defects of blanking pieces and designing the molds. And this method has an important application value in manufacturing engineering."}
{"ID": 181, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A blind digital image watermarking scheme based on spatial domain is presented and investigated in this paper. The watermark has been embedded in intermediate significant bit planes besides the least significant bit plane at the address locations determined by pseudorandom address vector (PAV). The watermark embedding using PAV makes it difficult for an adversary to locate the watermark and hence adds to security of the system. The scheme has been evaluated to ascertain the spatial locations that are robust to various image processing and geometric attacks JPEG compression, additive white Gaussian noise, salt and pepper noise, filtering and rotation. The experimental results obtained, reveal an interesting fact, that, for all the above mentioned attacks, other than rotation, higher the bit plane in which watermark is embedded more robust the system. Further, the perceptual quality of the watermarked images obtained in the proposed system has been compared with some state-of-art watermarking techniques. The proposed technique outperforms the techniques under comparison, even if compared with the worst case peak signal-to-noise ratio obtained in our scheme."}
{"ID": 182, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Bipolar Disorder", "abstract": "A body of evidence has implicated dietary deficiency in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA), including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), in the pathophysiology and etiology of recurrent mood disorders including major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder. Cross-national and cross-sectional evidence suggests that greater habitual intake of n-3 PUFA is associated with reduced risk for developing mood symptoms. Meta-analyses provide strong evidence that patients with mood disorders exhibit low blood n-3 PUFA levels which are associated with increased risk for the initial development of mood symptoms in response to inflammation. While the etiology of this n-3 PUFA deficit may be multifactorial, n-3 PUFA supplementation is sufficient to correct this deficit and may also have antidepressant effects. Rodent studies suggest that n-3 PUFA deficiency during perinatal development can recapitulate key neuropathological, neurochemical, and behavioral features associated with mood disorders. Clinical neuroimaging studies suggest that low n-3 PUFA biostatus is associated with abnormalities in cortical structure and function also observed in mood disorders. Collectively, these findings implicate dietary n-3 PUFA insufficiency, particularly during development, in the pathophysiology of mood dysregulation, and support implementation of routine screening for and treatment of n-3 PUFA deficiency in patients with mood disorders. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 183, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Eating disorders", "abstract": "A bold step forward in our approach to Severe and Enduring Anorexia Nervosa invites new paradigms for research and practice. It provides an opportunity for us to explore fault lines, both in our communities of practice and the social structures that inform them. This paper serves to question the medical metaphors on which treatment has been based, in favour of alternative perspectives that resonate more clearly with the lived experience of those for whom it has failed. We invite the consideration of alternative metaphors, which can disrupt the notion of heroic patients (and therapists), mediate against acts of self-silencing and sensitising us to more radical acts of listening. Beyond the randomised trials and manuals it is time for us to listen to the realities of suffering, the minutiae of resistance and the life that can still be lived."}
{"ID": 184, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Materials Engineering", "abstract": "A bottom-up, multiscale modeling approach is presented to carry out high-fidelity virtual mechanical tests of composite materials and structures. The strategy begins with the in situ measurement of the matrix and interface mechanical properties at the nanometer-micrometer range to build up a ladder of the numerical simulations, which take into account the relevant deformation and failure mechanisms at different length scales relevant to individual plies, laminates and components. The main features of each simulation step and the information transferred between length scales are described in detail as well as the current limitations and the areas for further development. Finally, the roadmap for the extension of the current strategy to include functional properties and processing into the simulation scheme is delineated."}
{"ID": 185, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A boundary layer analysis is presented for the stagnation point flow towards a nonlinearly stretching/shrinking sheet immersed in a micropolar non-Newtonian nanofluid. As the material parameter, namely, the vortex viscosity parameter K increases, the friction factor and wall couple stresses decrease whereas the heat and mass transfer rates decrease. As the thermophoresis parameter N-T increases, friction factor as well as heat and mass transfer rates increase. As the Brownian motion parameter N-B increases, friction factor and mass transfer rates increase, whereas the heat transfer rates decrease. As the parameter Nc increases, heat transfer rate increases whereas the mass transfer rates decrease. As the Scmidt number, Sc increases, the friction factor, Nusselt and Sherwood numbers increase."}
{"ID": 186, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Bipolar Disorder", "abstract": "A brain network comprising the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and amygdala plays important roles in developmentally regulated cognitive and emotional processes. However, very little is known about the maturation of mPFC-amygdala circuitry. We conducted anatomical tracing of mPFC projections and optogenetic interrogation of their synaptic connections with neurons in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) at neonatal to adult developmental stages in mice. Results indicate that mPFC-BLA projections exhibit delayed emergence relative to other mPFC pathways and establish synaptic transmission with BLA excitatory and inhibitory neurons in late infancy, events that coincide with a massive increase in overall synaptic drive. During subsequent adolescence, mPFC-BLA circuits are further modified by excitatory synaptic strengthening as well as a transient surge in feedforward inhibition. The latter was correlated with increased spontaneous inhibitory currents in excitatory neurons, suggesting that mPFC-BLAcircuit maturation culminates in a period of exuberant GABAergic transmission. These findings establish a time course for the onset and refinement of mPFC-BLA transmission and point to potential sensitive periods in the development of this critical network."}
{"ID": 187, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A brief overview of vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of bridge decks is presented, highlighting special VIV features concerning bridge decks. A popular VIV model (Van der Pol-type model) for bridge decks is examined in detail. Alternatively, a truncated Volterra series-based nonlinear oscillator is introduced to model the VIV system. Typical features of VIV such as the limit cycle oscillation (LCO), frequency shift, hysteresis, and beat phenomenon are parsimoniously and accurately captured in the proposed nonlinear model. As a functional expansion of a nonlinear system, the Volterra series is convenient for estimating the linear and nonlinear contributions to VIV. It is demonstrated that the relative contribution of nonlinear effects in VIV is around 50% of the total response for a range of bridge cross sections. The efficacy of the Volterra series as a reduced-order model (ROM) in capturing aerodynamic nonlinearities eliminates the need for reliance on conventional phenomenological models as it promises to offer a unified framework for nonlinear wind effects on long-span bridgesfor example, VIV, buffeting, and flutter. (C) 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers."}
{"ID": 188, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Immunology", "abstract": "A broad spectrum of autoimmunity is now well described in patients with primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs). Management of autoimmune disease in the background of PID is particularly challenging given the seemingly discordant goals of immune support and immune suppression. Our growing ability to define the molecular underpinnings of immune dysregulation has facilitated novel targeted therapeutics. This review focuses on mechanism-based treatment strategies for the most common autoimmune and inflammatory complications of PID including autoimmune cytopenias, rheumatologic disease, and gastrointestinal disease. We aim to provide guidance regarding the rational use of these agents in the complex PID patient population. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma& Immunology. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license."}
{"ID": 189, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Stealth Technology", "abstract": "A broadband broad-angle radar cross-sectional (RCS) reduction measure applicable to planar surfaces is proposed. This novel structure contains several layers of randomly displaced metal patches and layers are spaced by a quarter wavelength. Specular reflection at normal incidence is suppressed by the phase cancellation technique. The reduction bandwidth is broadened by setting the layer surface area ratio based on binomial coefficients. Because the structure contains no absorbent material, metal surfaces are divided into small patches and displaced randomly to avoid reflection peaks beyond the boresight direction. The RCS reduction effect is validated via measurements in a far-field antenna range. Parametric studies and detailed discussions about this technique are conducted using simulation results computed from full-wave numerical tools, which include not only the specular reflection but also contributions from higher order scattering mechanisms. The proposed structure can be applied on planar target surfaces and has the potential to incorporate lossy dielectric loadings to reduce the structure thickness and suppress scatterings."}
{"ID": 190, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Stealth Technology", "abstract": "A broadband graphene absorber with simple structure is proposed in this paper. The substrate used in this paper is 1.3 mm in thickness and constructed with 0.6 mm depth grooves periodically, which can be treated as substrates with a thickness of 1.3 mm and 0.7 mm arranging periodically. The combination of quartz substrate with different heights can realize the superposition of two adjacent frequency bands which leads to broad band characteristic of the absorber. The absorption rate of the absorber is obtained by software High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) 14.0. The relative bandwidth for the absorption rate above 90% is 27.1%, from 134 GHz to 176 GHz. The graphene absorber proposed has potential in the development of stealth technology."}
{"ID": 191, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Solar Energy", "abstract": "A bubble pump is proposed to replace the traditional mechanical solution pump in lithium bromide absorption chillers, for its advantageous feature that can be driven by industrial waste heat or solar energy or other low-grade energy. In two-stage bubble pump driven lithium bromide absorption refrigeration system, flow patterns in lifting pipe have significant effects on the performance of bubble pump. In this paper, the single bubble motion and the double bubbles coalescence in vertical ascending pipe are simulated by an improved free energy model of lattice Boltzmann method, in which the two-phase liquid to gas density ratio is 2778. The details of bubbles coalescence process are studied. Density and velocity of bubbles have been obtained. The computational results show that the initial radius of each bubble has a great influence on the coalescence time. The larger the initial bubble radius, the shorter the coalescence time. The pipe diameter has a little effect on the two bubbles coalescence time while it has a significant effect on the bubble velocity. As the pipe diameter increases, the bubble velocity increases. The obtained results are helpful for studying the transition mechanisms of two-phase flow patterns and useful for improving the bubble pump performance by controlling the flow patterns in lifting pipe. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 192, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "A buoyancy engine with a swashplate-type axial piston pump was developed. Its oil extrusion and drawing properties under high hydraulic pressure were evaluated. This buoyancy engine is now installed in an underwater glider that will achieve long-term monitoring of ocean environments up to 2100m depth in a designated area with lower operational costs. This bidirectionally functioning pump can control the amount of oil in extrusion and draw operations. When drawing oil under high pressure, the hydraulic pump and the electric motor, respectively, act as a hydraulic motor and an electric generator. The generated electric power is absorbed by a damping resistor. The oil-drawing and extrusion properties were measured using a large hyperbaric chamber that is able to produce an almost identical environment to that of actual operations. Results confirmed stable oil extrusion operations up to 21MPa. Regarding oil-drawing properties, although it was measured only up to 10MPa in the hyperbaric chamber, it can be inferred that the system can draw the oil and can control the buoyancy precisely up to 21MPa by replacing the two-way ball valve with an electromagnetic latching solenoid valve."}
{"ID": 193, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A BWR-based SMR called the Novel Modular Reactor (NMR-50) is being developed at Purdue University. NMR takes the advantages of the two-phase flow driving head, which allows a much smaller and simpler reactor pressure vessel (RPV) compared to the integral PWRs. In this study, through a systematic stepwise optimization approach including a simulated annealing based optimization method, an optimum core design that meets a 10-year cycle length with a minimum fuel cost while satisfying safety related criteria was derived and analyzed. The lattice code CASMO-4, the whole core analysis code PARCS and the thermal-hydraulics code RELAP5 were used to perform calculations from pin cell up to whole core depletion calculations. The NMR-50 optimized core design is able to achieve a 10.2 year cycle length with an average fuel enrichment of 4.61 wt% of U-235 in a 10 x 10 lattice fuel assembly. The minimum critical power ratio (MCPR) and the maximum fuel linear power density (MFLPD) during the cycle are 1.99 and 18.25 kW/m, respectively, providing large margins to thermal design constraints. The NMR-50 control system design is able to provide a sufficient cold shutdown margin of 1.7%. With its small reactor core size, large negative void coefficient, and low operating thermal neutron flux, an enhanced xenon stability characteristic is possible. Peak fast neutron fluence of 8.8 x 10(21) n/cm(2) was below the industry standard limit, which from extensive plant data records, should not be a major concern to channel distortions from a radiation damage point of view. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 194, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A by-inspection analysis and synthesis method for multiphase switched-current (SI) circuits using signal-how graph (SFG) techniques is presented. The SFG is derived on the transistor level and the method is primarily useful for the hand analysis and design of small and medium-size SI circuits (e.g. SI filters, decimators, interpolators). Tables of commonly used SI circuits, in which the corresponding SFGs and circuits are given, make the derivation easy and fast. From the SFGs, not only the overall discrete-time transfer function, but also those in-between individual switching phases, are obtainable. With the proposed method it is straightforward to include non-ideal effects, such as finite output resistance of MOS transistors, clock-feedthrough and settling error. The method is also a useful tool for the synthesis of new SI circuits. It is shown that every low-sensitivity switched-capacitor (SC) circuit can be mapped directly into a low-sensitivity SI circuit with a corresponding topology. Examples of transformed SC circuits are given and two new double sampling integrators are introduced. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 195, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) based detector system has been developed with the goal of combining molecular breast imaging (MBI) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to address shortcomings of each modality. The CZT detector system is comprised of four CZT modules tiled in a 2x2 array. Each module consists of 256 pixels (16 x 16, 2.4 mm pixels) and features a built-in ASIC and FPGA. A custom digital readout circuit board was designed to interface the four modules with a microcontroller to a data acquisition PC. The system was placed within the bore of a 3 T GE Discovery MR750 and imaging performance of each modality evaluated using both sequential and simultaneous imaging protocols. The mean energy resolution of the gamma camera both inside and outside the MRI is 7.3% at 140 keV. The maximum increase in the integral uniformity was 3% when using a gradient echo MRI sequence while the mean differential uniformity when inside the MRI increased by 1%. Spatial resolution varied in a predictable manner from 2.4 mm FWHM at the collimator face to 6.9 mm at 10 cm from the collimator. Performance of the 3 T GE Discovery MR750 using a 16-channel breast RF coil array was measured with and without the gamma camera present using a gradient echo and spoiled gradient echo imaging sequence. A realistic 99mTc-filled breast-like phantom containing two lesions (30: 1 lesion to background ratio) was used to assess the feasibility of both serial and simultaneous hybrid imaging. Sequential imaging resulted in a reduction in MRI SNR of 70-80% and a further decrease of 93-98% was observed when performing simultaneous MR/scintigraphy imaging, likely a result of RF interference originating from the CZT detector modules and associated analog electronics. Co-registered scintigraphic and MRI images display negligible geometric distortion when imaged with both simultaneous and serial imaging modes, thus indicating the feasibility of combining MBI with breast MRI."}
{"ID": 196, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A capacitive charge-division readout method for reading out a 2 x 2 array of 5 mm x 5 mm position-sensitive solid-state photomultipliers (PS-SSPM) was designed and evaluated. Using this analog multiplexing method, the 20 signals (16 position, 4 timing) from the PS-SSPM array are reduced to 5 signals (4 position, 1 timing), allowing the PS-SSPM array to be treated as an individual large-area PS-SSPM module. A global positioning approach can now be used, instead of individual positioning for each PS-SSPM in the array, ensuring that the entire light signal is utilized. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and flood histogram quality at different bias voltages (27.5 V to 32.0 V at 0.5 V intervals) and a fixed temperature of 0 degrees C were evaluated by coupling a 6 x 6 array of 1.3 mm x 1.3 mm x 20 mm polished LSO crystals to the center of the PS-SSPM array. The timing resolution was measured at a fixed bias voltage of 31.0 V and a fixed temperature of 0 degrees C. All the measurements were evaluated and compared using capacitors with different values and tolerances. Capacitor values ranged from 0.051 nf to 10 nf, and the capacitance tolerance ranged from 1% to 20%. The results show that better performance was achieved using capacitors with smaller values and better capacitance tolerance. Using 0.2 nf capacitors, the SNR, energy resolution and timing resolution were 24.3, 18.2% and 8.8 ns at a bias voltage 31.0 V, respectively. The flood histogram quality was also evaluated by using a 10 x 10 array of 1 mm x 1 mm x 10 mm polished LSO crystals and a 10 x 10 array of 0.7 mm x 0.7 mm x 20 mm unpolished LSO crystals to determine the smallest crystal size resolvable. These studies showed that the high spatial resolution of the PS-SSPM was preserved allowing for 0.7 mm crystals to be identified. These results show that the capacitive charge-division analog signal processing method can significantly reduce the number of electronic channels, from 20 to 5, while retaining the excellent performance of the detector."}
{"ID": 197, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Crohn's Disease", "abstract": "A capillary electrophoresis (CE) method hyphenated with tandem mass spectrometry (triple quadrupole, QqQ MS) was developed for the simultaneous determination of six selected drugs used in Crohn's disease treatment, namely, azathioprine, 6-thioguanine, 6-mercaptopurine, mesalazine, prednisone, and allopurinol. A 10 mM ammonium acetate adjusted at pH 9 by 3% ammonium hydroxide and including a 5% methanol addition was used as an optimum background electrolyte (BGE). The optimum BGE provided both the baseline electrophoretic separation of the drugs and highly compatible connection of CE to the electro-spray ionization (ESI) interface. The optimized working conditions were favorable for the selective and sensitive QqQ MS detection of the separated compounds according to their mass-to-charge (m/z) ratios. The proposed method was validated in terms of precision (RSDs for the repeatability of migration times and peak areas of the analyzed drugs were less than 1.66 and 6.06%, respectively), linearity (determination coefficient ranged in the interval of 0.9987-0.9995), limits of quantitation (sub A mu g mL(-1) levels), and accuracy (mean recoveries of all the analytes in pharmaceutical matrix ranged in the interval of 98.23-101.2%). The CE-ESI-QqQ MS method is fast, simple, selective, precise, and accurate, and was successfully applied to a highly reliable determination of the targeted drugs (for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, IBD) in commercial pharmaceuticals (tablet dosage forms)."}
{"ID": 198, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "A capillary gas chromatographic method has been developed and validated for the separation of phenolic metabolites from human urine following the intravenous infusion of racemic bupivacaine, with subsequent formal identification and quantification by on-line mass spectrometry. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 199, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Polycythemia Vera", "abstract": "A case of polycythemia vera (PV) associated with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) in a 19-year-old woman is described. A literature search for PV associated with renal disease was also conducted. It has been reported that myeloproliferative neoplasms may play a role in the development of some glomerular diseases. The JAK2 mutation plays a role in the pathogenesis of myeloproliferative neoplasms and it may therefore also be responsible for this association."}
{"ID": 200, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Materials Engineering", "abstract": "A case study of Siennicki Bridge stray current corrosion hazard is presented. A corrosion risk was caused by incorrectly designed tram line traction which goes over the bridge. No dielectric insulation between running rails and bridge steel construction was used. A variety of protection methods against stray currents are described. Characteristics of the endangered bridge were described. Impressed current cathodic protection system against stray currents was proposed and designed at the Department of Electrochemistry, Corrosion and Materials Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology. Coupon technique measurements and potential measurements were performed to verify the effectiveness of the protection system."}
{"ID": 201, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A cDNA clone encoding an amphioxus fatty acid binding protein-like (AmphiFABPL) protein was isolated from a gut cDNA library of Branchiostoma belcheri. It contained a 423 bp open reading frame corresponding to a deduced protein of 140 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of approximately 15.9 kDa. Phylogenetic analysis showed that AmphiFABPL fell outside the vertebrate clade of fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs), being positioned at the base of the chordate lineage, and was almost equally homologous to various vertebrate FABPs, suggesting that it may be the archetype of vertebrate FABPs. Both northern blotting and in situ hybridization analyses demonstrated that AmphiFABPL was expressed in the hepatic caecum and hind-gut, and although at a much lower level, it was also present in the endostyle, ovary and testis. In addition, whole-mount in situ hybridization revealed that AmphiFABPL was initially expressed in the posterior two thirds of the primitive gut, including the mid-gut where the hepatic caecum will form later, in 2-day larvae. The expression pattern is closely similar to that of the L-FABP and I-FABP genes in vertebrates, supporting the hypothesis that the hepatic caecum in the amphioxus is homologous to the vertebrate liver."}
{"ID": 202, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A cDNA clone of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. encoding auxin binding protein 1 (ABP1), one of the putative receptors of auxin, was isolated, and the seasonal expression of ABP1 in relation to IAA and ABA annual variation was investigated by different technical approaches including RT-PCR, real-time PCR, northern blotting, western blotting, and immunolocalization. In the cambial region, ABP1 expression at both the protein and the mRNA level was found to be high, low, and remarkably scarce in the active, quiescent, and resting stages, respectively, during cambium periodicity. The signal abundance of ABP1 follows the opposite pattern to ABA accumulation and correlates with auxin responsiveness of the cambial tissues, suggesting a role for ABP1 in mediating auxin-dependent regulation of cambial activation in the activity-dormancy cycle. This paper attempts to explain why IAA would 'boost' the reactivation of a quiescent cambium, and not that of a resting cambium. Results also show that ABP1 expression is improved by IAA, while inhibited by ABA."}
{"ID": 203, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A cDNA sequence OsMT3 was initially isolated from the subtractive cDNA library of ammonium-fed rice (Oryza sativa L.) leaves, which was further confirmed by Northern blot to be highly ammonium-up-regulated as compared to nitrate. Its full-length cDNA was cloned by RT-PCR, and in silico analysis reveals that the cDNA includes an open reading frame of 186 bp and encodes a rice metallothionein type 3 peptide. Northern blotting analysis showed that OsMT3 gene predominantly expressed in rice leaves, weakly in stems, and barely in buds and roots. The gene transcripts in leaves were significantly induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG), low temperature, NaCl and Cu2+, but not by Pb2+. Activities of three anti-oxidative enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidases) and two non-enzymic antioxidants (reduced ascorbate and reduced glutathione) little differed in ammonium-and nitrate-fed rice leaves, indicating that the induced OsMT3 expression was not mediated by ammonium-elicited oxidative signals."}
{"ID": 204, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "A cell is a highly organized, dynamic, and intricate biological entity orchestrated by a myriad of proteins and their self-assemblies. Because a protein's actions depend on its coordination in both space and time, our curiosity about protein functions has extended from the test tube into the intracellular space of the cell. Accordingly, modern technological developments and advances in enzymology have been geared towards analyzing protein functions within intact single cells. We discuss here how fluorescence single-cell microscopy has been employed to identify subcellular locations of proteins, detect reversible protein-protein interactions, and measure protein activity and kinetics in living cells. Considering that fluorescence single-cell microscopy has been only recently recognized as a primary technique in enzymology, its potentials and outcomes in studying intracellular protein functions are projected to be immensely useful and enlightening. We anticipate that this review would inspire many investigators to study their proteins of interest beyond the conventional boundary of specific disciplines. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Physiological Enzymology and Protein Functions. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 205, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Borderline personality disorder", "abstract": "A central aspect of many psychiatric disorders is the disturbance of decision-making in social interactions. This disturbance importantly contributes to the severe social consequences of these conditions. The combination of economic game theory and neuroscience opens up the potential to examine dysfunctional social behavior at the computational level, including psychological, social and biological information in the same model. In current studies, we examine social decision-making in patients with depression, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder and autism spectrum disorder using simple social experiments. We found that social decision-making is less consistent in patients with borderline personality disorder than in depressed individuals, patients with autism and controls. Adult patients with autism spectrum disorders showed reduced unconditional altruism in our experiments. Patients with major depressive disorder specifically exhibited competition avoidance. We currently examine the neural substrate of abnormal social decision-making using fMRI."}
{"ID": 206, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Prosocial behavior", "abstract": "A central feature of meaning in life is a consideration of more than oneself. We extend this logic to suggest that altruistically motivated prosociality - acting in ways that benefit others - is a self-transcending action that may provide meaning in life. Study 1 provided evidence of a relationship between self-reported prosocial behavior and meaning in life, even after statistically controlling for personality traits and self-esteem. Study 2 provided evidence that engaging in a prosocial action, via writing notes of gratitude, increased meaning in life. Study 3 provided evidence that individuals bolster perceptions of prosociality following threats to meaning. Study 4 suggested relationship satisfaction partially mediates the link between prosocial actions and meaning in life. These studies provide initial evidence that prosociality enhances meaning in life."}
{"ID": 207, "domain": "CS", "area": "Machine learning", "abstract": "A central idea in distance-based machine learning algorithms such k-nearest neighbors and manifold learning is to choose a set of references, or a neighborhood, based on a distance functions to represent the local structure around a query point and use the local structures as the basis to construct models. Local Partial Least Square (local PLS), which is the result of applying this neighborhood based idea in Partial Least Square (PLS), has been shown to perform very well on the regression of small-sample sized and multicollinearity data, but seldom used in high-dimensionality classification. Furthermore the difference between PLS and local PLS with respect to their optimal intrinsic dimensions is unclear. In this paper we combine local PLS with non-Euclidean distance in order to find out which measures are better suited for high dimensionality classification. Experimental results obtained on 8 UCI and spectroscopy datasets show that the Euclidean distance is not a good distance fiinction for use in local PLS classification, especially in high dimensionality cases; instead Manhattan distance and fractional distance are preferred. Experimental results further show that the optimal intrinsic dimension of local PLS is smaller than that of the standard PLS."}
{"ID": 208, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "False memories", "abstract": "A central topic of discussion in the exploration of semantic disturbance in Alzheimer's disease (AD) concerns the relative contribution of semantic content (e.g., semantic features) and semantic process. Studies have suggested that semantic dysfunction in AD is the result of deficits to either semantic process, semantic content or both. Studies that have supported the loss of semantic content have been criticised for their use of verbal stimuli and cognitively challenging experimental tasks. The current study used a novel version of the yes no recognition memory task to compare the processing of distinctive and non-distinctive features in participants with AD whilst controlling the cognitive demands of the task. The task involved five conditions which denoted the relationship between the items in the test and study phase. A 'non-distinctive' and a 'distinctive' condition were included where non-distinctive and distinctive semantic features were manipulated between study and test, respectively. Task accuracy of participants with AD decreased relative to control participants when distinctive features were manipulated between the study and test phase of the experiment. There was no significant difference between groups when non-distinctive features were manipulated. These findings provide evidence to support the loss of semantic content in AD. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 209, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A challenge for precise positioning in nanopositioning using smart materials is hysteresis, limiting positioning accuracy. The Preisach model, based on the delayed relay operator for hysteresis modelling, is introduced. The model is identified from experimental data with an input function ensuring information for all input levels. This paper presents implementational issues with respect to hysteresis compensation using the Preisach model, showing the procedure to follow, avoiding pitfalls in both identification and inversion. Issues due to the discrete nature of the Preisach model are discussed, and a specific linear interpolation method is tested experimentally, showing effective avoidance of excitation of vibrational dynamics in the smart material. Experimental results of hysteresis compensation are presented, showing an approximate error of 5% between the reference and measured displacement. Consequences of an insufficient discretization level and a high frequency reference signal are illustrated, showing significant deterioration of the hysteresis compensation performance."}
{"ID": 210, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Cell biology", "abstract": "A challenge to protein based therapies is the ability to produce biologically active proteins and their ensured delivery. Various approaches have been utilised including fusion of protein transduction domains with a protein or biomolecule of interest. A compounding issue is lack of specificity, efficiency and indeed whether the protein fusions are actually translocated into the cell and not merely an artefact of the fixation process. Here we present a novel platform, allowing the inducible export and uptake of a protein of interest. The system utilises a combination of the Tetracyline repressor system, combined with a fusion protein containing the N-terminal signal peptide from human chorionic gonadotropin beta-subunit, and a C-terminal poly-arginine domain for efficient uptake by target cells. This novel platform was validated using enhanced green fluorescent protein as the gene of interest. Doxycycline efficiently induced expression of the fusion protein. The human chorionic gonadotropin beta-subunit facilitated the export of the fusion protein into the cell culture media. Finally, the fusion protein was able to efficiently enter into neighbouring cells (target cells), mediated by the poly-arginine cell penetrating peptide. Importantly we have addressed the issue of whether the observed uptake is an artefact of the fixation process or indeed genuine translocation. In addition this platform provides a number of potential applications in diverse areas such as stem cell biology, immune therapy and cancer targeting therapies. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 211, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "A challenging strategy to reuse 3D-printer structures for laboratory training, related to automation and positioning, is presented. The laboratory course is meant to be presented to students within \"Digital Systems and Microcontrollers\" and \"Automatisms and Control\" courses."}
{"ID": 212, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A challenging task in automotive electrical traction drives is to control the speed of synchronous machines due to the existing physical and computational constraints. The goal of this paper is to find a control solution which can answer this problem. To this end, a multirate predictive cascade speed control structure suitable for real-time implementation is proposed. The focus in this paper is only on the design of the outer-loop controller. First, a suitable mathematical model for the outer-loop plant which includes also the dynamics of the inner control loop is obtained. Second, a one-step-ahead state-feedback model predictive controller based on flexible Lyapunov function concept is employed to control the rotor electrical speed. Third, a state and disturbance observer is employed to estimate the load torque and the unmeasured state. This ensures also offset-free operation of the closed-loop system. To illustrate its effectiveness, the proposed control solution is implemented in a real microcontroller and tested in real time on an industrial hardware-in-the-loop test bench and on a real traction test bench."}
{"ID": 213, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis", "abstract": "A characteristic feature of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is accumulation of apoptotic resistant fibroblasts/myofibroblasts in the fibroblastic foci. As caveolin (Cav)-null mice develop pulmonary fibrosis (PF), we hypothesized that the participating fibroblasts display an apoptosis-resistant phenotype. To test this hypothesis and identify the molecular mechanisms involved we isolated lung fibroblasts from Cav-null mice and examined the expression of several inhibitors of apoptosis (IAPs), of c-FLIP, of Bcl-2 proteins and of the death receptor CD95/Fas. We found significant increase in XIAP and c-FLIP constitutive protein expression with no alteration of Bcl-2 and lower levels of CD95/Fas. The isolated fibroblasts were then treated with the CD95/Fas ligand (FasL) to induce apoptosis. While the morphological and biochemical alterations induced by FasL were similar in wild-type (wt) and Cav-null mouse lung fibroblasts, the time course and the extent of the alterations were greater in the Cav-null fibroblasts. Several salient features of Cav-null fibroblasts response such as loss of membrane potential, fragmentation of the mitochondrial continuum concurrent with caspase-8 activation, and subsequent Bid cleavage, prior to caspase-3 activation were detected. Furthermore, M30 antigen formation, phosphatidylserine expression and DNA fragmentation were caspase-3 dependent. SiRNA-mediated silencing of XIAP and c-FLIP, individually or combined, enhanced the sensitivity of lung fibroblasts to FasL-induced apoptosis. Pharmacological inhibition of Bcl-2 had no effect. Together our findings support a mechanism in which CD95/Fas engagement activates caspase-8, inducing mitochondrial apoptosis through Bid cleavage. XIAP and c-FLIP fine tune this process in a cell-type specific manner."}
{"ID": 214, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "A cherished tenet of nucleic acid enzymology holds that synthesis of polynucleotide 3'-5' phosphodiesters proceeds via the attack of a 3'-OH on a high-energy 5' phosphoanhydride: either a nucleoside 5'-triphosphate in the case of RNA/DNA polymerases or an adenylylated intermediate A(5')pp(5')N- in the case of polynucleotide ligases. RtcB exemplifies a family of RNA ligases implicated in tRNA splicing and repair. Unlike classic ligases, RtcB seals broken RNAs with 3'-phosphate and 5'-OH ends. Here we show that RtcB executes a three-step ligation pathway entailing (i) reaction of His337 of the enzyme with GTP to form a covalent RtcB-(histidinyl-N)-GMP intermediate; (ii) transfer of guanylate to a polynucleotide 3'-phosphate to form a polynucleotide-(3')pp(5')G intermediate; and (iii) attack of a 5'-OH on the -N(3')pp(5')G end to form the splice junction. RtcB is structurally sui generis, and its chemical mechanism is unique. The wide distribution of RtcB proteins in bacteria, archaea, and metazoa raises the prospect of an alternative enzymology based on covalently activated 3' ends."}
{"ID": 215, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A chip design of novel chopper stabilized operational amplifier was presented, chopper-wave modulation and demodulation was used in this architecture, and its 1/f noise was decreased largely. To extend input common mode voltage range, a novel rail-to-rail differential amplifier was adapted in the input stage. The range of input common mode voltage was from zero to power supply, and it only consumed about 22 mu A current. When input signal frequency was 1 KHz, and the output signal THD was only 0.01%."}
{"ID": 216, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A chitin-based polyurethane (TRCPU) organogel composed of isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), polyethylene glycol (PEG) and chitin is shown to undergo a temperature-dependent sal-to-gel transition in polar organic solvents. The soft segments of the prepolymer that originated from the PEG imparted elastomeric and hydrophilic characteristics to the TRCPUs. The hard segments of chitin and IPDI that contained highly polar urethane linkages acted as physical alignment sites and provided lipophilic characteristics for the TRCPUs in the polar organic solvent. The average molecular weight and the degree of acetylation of chitin were determined based on the intrinsic viscosity and solid-state C-13-CP/MAS NMR spectrum. Chitin was incorporated into polyurethane via covalent bonding; the resultant copolymer was an injectable organosol at low temperatures that transformed to a semisolid organogel at approximately 105 degrees C. The TRCPUs were characterized by H-1 NMR, FT-IR and DSC, and the theological behavior of the TRCPU solutions in organic solvents was studied. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 217, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Molecular biology", "abstract": "A Citizen Science approach was implemented in the laboratory practices of Genetics at the University of Oviedo, related with the engaging topic of Food Control. Real samples of food products consumed by students at home (students as samplers) were employed as teaching material in three different courses of Genetics during the academic year 2014-2015: Experimental Methods in Food Production (MBTA) (Master level), and Applied Molecular Biology (BMA) and Conservation Genetics and Breeding (COMGE) (Bachelor/Degree level). Molecular genetics based on PCR amplification of DNA markers was employed for species identification of 22 seafood products in COMGE and MBTA, and for detection of genetically modified (GM) maize from nine products in BMA. In total six seafood products incorrectly labeled (27%), and two undeclared GM maize (22%) were found. A postLaboratory survey was applied for assessing the efficacy of the approach for improving motivation in the Laboratory Practices of Genetics. Results confirmed that students that worked on their own samples from local markets were significantly more motivated and better evaluated their Genetic laboratory practices than control students (chi(2) = 12.11 p=0.033). Our results suggest that citizen science approaches could not be only useful for improving teaching of Genetics in universities but also to incorporate students and citizens as active agents in food control. (C) 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology."}
{"ID": 218, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical circuits", "abstract": "A class of real complicated systems, including chemical reactions, biological systems, information processing, laser systems, electrical circuits, information exchange, brain activities modelling, secure communication and other related ones can be presented through nonlinear and non-identical hyper-chaotic systems. The main goal of the present investigation is to synchronize two non-identical hyper-chaotic master/slave systems, which are given as the models of the complicated systems, based on the realization of an efficient automated adaptive sliding mode control scheme. In the research presented here, the mentioned systems need to be dealt with through the proposed control scheme, since two non-identical systems are completely synchronized. In one such case, the whole of the chosen states of the master and slave systems should be coincided after a few time steps, as long as the effect of the external disturbance, uncertainty and unknown parameters could truly be ignored. Due to the fact that the investigated hyper-chaotic systems have taken into consideration as the representation of a number of complicated processes under mentioned external disturbance, uncertainty and unknown parameters, the traditional control approaches cannot actually be realized, in satisfactory manners. With this purpose, the proposed control scheme has been designed to cope with synchronization error, in a reasonable amount of time, in order to drive applicable hyper-chaotic systems. Consequently, the performance of the proposed control scheme is considered and verified through the numerical simulations."}
{"ID": 219, "domain": "CS", "area": "Algorithm design", "abstract": "A clause is not-all-equal satisfied if it has at least one literal assigned by T and one literal assigned by F. Max NAE-SAT is given by a set U of boolean variables and a set C of clauses, and asks to find an assignment of U, such that the not-all-equal satisfied clauses of C are maximized. Max NAE-SAT turns into Max NAE-k-SAT if each clause contains just k literals. Max NAE-k-SAT for k = 2, 3 and 4 can be approximated to 1.139 (1/0.878), 1.10047 (1/0.9087) and 8/7 respectively. When k >= 5, little has been done in terms of algorithm design to approximate Max NAE-k-SAT. In this paper, we propose a local search algorithm which can approximate Max NAE-k-SAT to 2(k-1)/2(k-1) - 1 for k >= 2. Then we show that Max NAE-k-SAT can not be approximated within 2(k-1)/2(k-1) - 1 in polynomial time, if P not equal NP. Moreover, we extend the algorithm for Max NAE-k-SAT to approximate Max NAE-SAT where each clause contains at least k literals."}
{"ID": 220, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A closed loop frequency tracking electronics circuit has been proposed for the measurement of pressure and temperature using a newly developed Langasite (LGS) piezo crystals. The ambient force and heat applied on the LGS crystal produces the shift in its resonant frequency. The proposed closed loop electronics tracks the shift in resonant frequency and measures the pressure and temperature by relating to the difference in frequency shift. The steady state oscillation condition of the resonator circuit is analytically derived and experimentally verified. The experimental setup consists of an operational amplifier based resonator circuit connected to the langasite piezo crystal placed between a double side diametric forces loading device with temperature controller bath. The diametric force applied on the LGS crystal produces the frequency shift in its fundamental mechanical vibration mode (Cmode). Similarly, the change in temperature produces the frequency shift in its second mechanical vibrational mode (Bmode). The frequency shifts are measured using two separate closed loop resonator electronics for two different measurand. Whenever the force on the LGS crystal is changed by the external unknown pressure, an additional intrinsic material property change is added to the piezo and changes the fundamental oscillating resonant frequency. The closed loop resonant circuit tracks the change in resonance frequency and vibrates the LGS with the new resonance frequency depends on the external pressure strength. Similar procedure is followed for temperature induce frequency tracking measurement also. The proposed frequency tracking electronics concept is simple and it is found that it has high sensitivity and linearity."}
{"ID": 221, "domain": "MAE", "area": "computer-aided design", "abstract": "A closed loop geometry based optimization method is developed in this work by integrating subdivision, reanalysis and metaheuristic searching techniques. For that purpose, subdivision surfaces using triangle meshes are simultaneously applied to CAD (computer aided design) modeling and CAE (computer aided engineering) analysis. In this framework, feature objects are defined by the subdivision model, so that the subdivision models can be controlled by geometric parameters. Global optimization with metaheuristic algorithms is then performed, and an independent coefficients (IC) reanalysis method is introduced to enhance the efficiency of optimization. In order to improve the accuracy of triangular meshes, the ES-FEM (edge-based smoothed finite element method) technique is employed for analysis work. The proposed approach is successfully tested in three real engineering geometry optimization problems. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 222, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A closed-form iterative procedure for synthesizing quasi-arbitrary phase responses with cascaded microwave C-section all-pass phasers is presented. The synthesis consists in mapping the transmission poles of the cascaded C-section structure onto the transmission poles of the specified transfer function, where the latter poles are computed using a closed-form polynomial generation method. The real and complex transmission poles of the specified transfer function are realized using C-sections of different lengths and different couplings coefficients. The proposved synthesis is validated by both full-wave analysis and measured multilayer prototypes. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 223, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Strength of materials", "abstract": "A closed-form solution for upper and lower bounds ('dual bounds') to a slow indentation of rigid ball (under increasing normal load) into rigid plastic solids are presented. The solutions enlarge the theoretical background to the familiar Brinell hardness tests used in assessing strength of materials and add few new features. The new features are mainly: (i) constructing a lower-bound solution to ball indentation, (ii) a closed-form estimation of the dual bounds with any prescribed frictional shear along the indenter/solid contact, (iii) providing dual bounds to two different situations of the material response: (a) the removed material is falling off from the bulk (akin to indentation into brittle-like materials) and (b) the removed material is piled up along the indenter face (akin to indentation into ductile-like materials). The dual bound solutions of the indenting mean ball pressure for both material cases seem to capture properly well the material constrain to local plastic indentation and the effect of the interfacial friction. Having both bounds simultaneously, despite their unavoidable deviation, provide much more informative results than a single bound. Comparisons between the suggested bounding analysis and experiments (taken from Tabor [Tabor D. Hardness of Metals. Oxford: Clarendon Press; 1951], Johnson [Johnson KL. Contact mechanics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1985 (new edition, 2001)] and others), numerical FEM solutions (Mesarovic and Fleck [Mesarovic SDj, Fleck N. Spherical indentation of elastic-plastic solids. Proceedings of Royal Society of London 1999; A455: 2707-28] and others) and some self-made measurements are all favorable. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 224, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A CMOS charge amplifier, due to its very low power consumption and good noise performance, has great interest for analog signal processing in the fields of particle physics, nuclear physics and x-or beta-ray detection. The simulation environment of Eldo (TM) using AMI05 (American Microsystems Inc.) technology provided by Mentor Graphics Corporation is used for noise optimization of a low power CMOS charge amplifier. Using simulation tools we have designed and simulated the output of the charge amplifier and have calculated the power consumption, band width, gain and Equivalent Noise Charge (ENC) of the circuit. We have also studied the factors on which noise of amplifier depends. This has resulted in a noise performance of ENC = 116 electrons at 0 pF detector capacitance with a power consumption of 80 mu W per channel. Due to its very low noise and low power consumption, this kind of new charge amplifier can be widely used in research in the fields of Particle Physics, Nuclear Physics and X-ray detection."}
{"ID": 225, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A CMOS current-mode analog multiplier/divider circuit is presented. It is suited to standard CMOS fabrication and can be successfully employed in a wide range of analog signal processing applications. Measurement results for a 0.5 mu m CMOS test chip prototype verify the approach employed. The circuit consumes 120 mu W using a single supply voltage of 1.5 V and requires a silicon area of 150 x 140 mu m."}
{"ID": 226, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A cochlear implant (CI), also called a bionic ear or electronic cochlea, is an implantable electronic device that can partially restore hearing to profoundly deaf patients by directly stimulating the patient's auditory nerve via surgically implanted electrode arrays. Hearing impairment of the severely deaf patients translates into a 70-80 dB hearing loss, reaching a hearing dynamic range as low as 15-25 dB. As such, gain control systems are needed in CIs to map the acoustic input signal into the patient's hearing dynamic range. This paper proposes a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) which can be used to implement a dual-loop automated gain control (AGC). An analog signal processing technique is used, due to its advantages over the digital processing equivalents, such as potentially lower power consumption and higher processing speed. Programming the analog processing parameters, i.e. gain levels and time constants, is done by means of digital control words that set the values of corresponding bias currents. Computation of the control words is done in a digital fashion, allowing a hardware description language implementation of the gain control algorithm. This adds flexibility to the resulting gain control system: ability to choose between a feed-forward and feed-back topology, ability to choose between different compression functions: linear, logarithmic and power-law, and ability to set the desired compression limits Finally, a fully adaptive gain control system is implemented. The programmable aspect of the adaptive AGC implementation also enables the adjustment of the AGC operation to meet the patient's individual needs. Circuit simulation proves the functionality of the proposed PGA for automated gain control in CI applications."}
{"ID": 227, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A code PNCMC (Program for Natural Circulation under Motion Conditions) has been developed for natural circulation simulation of marine reactors. The code is based on one-dimensional two-fluid model in noninertial frame of reference. The body force term in the momentum equation is considered as a time dependent function, which consists of gravity and inertial force induced by three-dimensional ship motion. Staggered mesh, finite volume method, semi-implicit first order upwind scheme and Successive Over Relaxation (SOR) method are used to discretize and solve two-phase mass, momentum and energy equations. Single-phase natural circulation experiments under rolling condition performed in Institute of nuclear and new energy technology of Tsinghua University and two-phase natural circulation experiments under rolling condition performed by Tan and colleagues are used to validate PNCMC. The validation results indicate that PNCMC is capable to investigate the single-phase and two-phase natural circulation under rolling motion."}
{"ID": 228, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Problem-solving", "abstract": "A cohort program to increase retention of under-represented groups in chemistry was developed at the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University. In particular, this program chose to emphasize early career mentoring and early access to research. This goal was chosen because research has been repeatedly shown to increase scientific identity resulting in increased retention of students in the STEM fields. Several elements of this program have been useful in preparing students to access research programs early in their college careers including a summer bridge program, career mentoring, advising, and a second year \"research bootcamp\" course."}
{"ID": 229, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A combination of 3-D vision and X-ray radiography is proposed to enable low-cost, generally applicable online inspection of internal quality of horticultural and potentially other products. The underlying concept assumes that the shape of the product is known beforehand through a deformable shape model. A 3-D vision system is used in combination with the shape model to accurately determine the complete outer surface shape of the sample. This shape is voxelized to generate a reference product from which a X-ray radiograph is simulated to be compared with a measured radiograph, hence revealing the presence of any defects or disorders. Advantages of this method are that small deviations in internal density are detected easily since the cumulative information of the bulk object shape is removed. Furthermore, no specific detection algorithms have to be developed for different types of defects, since the method will directly identify deviations from the ideal. Validation on two datasets and comparison with two reference detections methods (classical image processing and a human operator) shows that the proposed method reliably (accuracy >99%) detect defects larger than 3.5 mm radius with densities differences between sample and defects as small as 10%. Voids are reliably (accuracy >99%) detected down to a radius of 1.5 mm, corresponding to a volume of less than 0.02 cm(3). (C) 2017 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 230, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Internal combustion engine", "abstract": "A combined cooling and power (CCP) system is developed, which comprises a CO2 Brayton cycle (BC), an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and an ejector refrigeration cycle for the cascade utilization of waste heat from an internal combustion engine. By establishing mathematical model to simulate the overall system, thermodynamic analysis and exergoeconomic analysis are conducted to examine the effects of five key parameters including the compressor pressure ratio, the compressor inlet temperature, the BC turbine inlet temperature, the ORC turbine inlet pressure and the ejector primary flow pressure on system performance. What's more, a single-objective optimization by means of genetic algorithm (GA) is carried out to search the optimal system performance from viewpoint of exergoeconomic. Results show that the increases of the BC turbine inlet temperature, the ORC turbine inlet pressure and the ejector primary flow pressure are benefit to both thermodynamic and exergoeconimic performances of the CCP system. However, the rises in compressor pressure ratio and compressor inlet temperature will lead to worse system performances. By the single-objective optimization, the lowest average cost per unit of exergy product for the overall system is obtained. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 231, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A combined experimental and computational study of the transfer of transparent index-matched silica-particle inks between two flat plates is presented for gravure printing applications. The influence of printing speed and initial ink droplet size on the ability to accurately transfer ink during the printing process is explored systematically. Smooth interface volume of fluid simulations show the same trends as the ink transfer observed in experiments over a wide range of printing speeds and for inks having different silica particle loadings. Our calculations indicate that for ink droplets with characteristic dimensions in the vicinity of 10 mu m, which are of particular interest for gravure printing applications, ink transfer improves significantly due to the diminishing effect of gravity, and the increased importance of capillary forces at small length scales. VC 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 1419-1429, 2017"}
{"ID": 232, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A combined theoretical and experimental investigation was carried out with the objective of evaluating theoretical predictions relating to a two-dimensional airfoil subjected to high amplitude harmonic oscillation of the free stream at constant angle of attack. Current theoretical approaches were reviewed and extended for the purposes of quantifying the hound, unsteady vortex sheet strength along the airfoil chord. This resulted in a closed form solution that is valid for arbitrary reduced frequencies and amplitudes. In the experiments, the bound, unsteady vortex strength of a symmetric 18% thick airfoil at low angles of attack was measured in a dedicated unsteady wind tunnel at maximum reduced frequencies of 0.1 and at velocity oscillations less than or equal to 50%. With the boundary layer tripped near the leading edge and mid-chord, the phase and amplitude variations of the lift coefficient corresponded reasonably well with the theory. Near the maximum lift coefficient overshoot, the data exhibited an additional high-frequency oscillation. Comparisons of the measured and predicted vortex sheet indicated the existence of a recirculation bubble upstream of the trailing edge which sheds into the wake and modifies the Kutta condition. Without boundary layer tripping, a mid-chord bubble is present that strengthens during flow deceleration and its shedding produces a dramatically different effect. Instead of a lift coefficient overshoot, as per the theory, the data exhibit a significant undershoot. This undershoot is also accompanied by high-frequency oscillations that are characterized by the bubble shedding. In summary, the location of bubble and its subsequent shedding play decisive roles in the resulting temporal aerodynamic loads."}
{"ID": 233, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical circuits", "abstract": "A combined two-staged analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was proposed with respect to its compatibility in selection of e-textile architecture. Specifically, it was examined in its ability to support decision in determination of appropriate e-textile structures prior to sensor integration. The e-textile structure selection methodology for sensor integration was implemented by interviewing with the experts from the fields of textiles and electronics; hence, it was constructed as two-staged methodology including both experimental study and AHP. In this respect, different e-textile structures including transmission lines containing 15 different conductive yarn types with three different weave types were manufactured via weaving technology in the first stage as experimental part of the methodology, and then, in the second stage, the alternatives based on experimental study were evaluated using AHP. The comparisons were made using priority scales assigned by expert team and synthesized to get aggregated global ratings. In conclusion, appropriate e-textile structures based on weaving manufacturing technology for sensor integration were chosen using AHP technique by ranking alternatives."}
{"ID": 234, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Lorentz force law", "abstract": "A comment on Field's critique of the present author's paper ''Einstein's Relativistic Time-Dilation: A Critical Analysis and a Suggested Experiment'' is given. The comment reasserts that the muon g - 2 experiments do not give convincing direct evidence for relativistic time dilation with high precision as claimed. The comment emphasizes again that convincing tests of predictions of special relativity must not presume the validity of special relativity."}
{"ID": 235, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical circuits", "abstract": "A common approach to model memristive systems is to include empirical window functions to describe edge effects and nonlinearities in the change of the memristance. We demonstrate that under quite general conditions, each window function can be associated with a sigmoidal curve relating the normalised time-dependent memristance to the time integral of the input. Conversely, this explicit relation allows us to derive window functions suitable for the mesoscopic modelling of memristive systems from a variety of well-known sigmoidals. Such sigmoidal curves are defined in terms of measured variables and can thus be extracted from input and output signals of a device and then transformed to its corresponding window. We also introduce a new generalised window function that allows the flexible modelling of asymmetric edge effects in a simple manner. Copyright (C) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 236, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Prejudice", "abstract": "A common assumption about implicit measures is that they reflect early experiences, whereas explicit measures are assumed to reflect recent experiences. This assumption subsumes two distinct hypotheses: (a) Implicit measures are more resistant to situationally induced changes than explicit measures; (b) individual differences on implicit measures are more stable over time than individual differences on explicit measures. Although the first hypothesis has been the subject of numerous studies, the second hypothesis has received relatively little attention. The current research addressed the second hypothesis in two longitudinal studies that compared the temporal stability of individual differences on implicit and explicit measures in three content domains (self-concept, racial attitudes, political attitudes). In both studies, implicit measures showed significantly lower stability over time (weighted average r = .54) than conceptually corresponding explicit measures (weighted average r = .75), despite comparable estimates of internal consistency. Implications for theories of implicit social cognition and interpretations of implicit and explicit measures are discussed."}
{"ID": 237, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Antisocial personality disorder", "abstract": "A common criticism of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) is that its criteria are based more on behavioral descriptions than on underlying biological mechanisms. Increasingly, calls have intensified for a more biologically-based approach to conceptualizing, studying, and treating psychological disorders, as exemplified by the Research Domain Criteria Project (RDoC). Among the most well-studied neurobiological mechanisms is reward processing. Moreover, individual differences in reward sensitivity are related to risk for substance abuse and depression. The current review synthesizes the available preclinical, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging literature on reward processing from a transdiagnostic, multidimensional perspective. Findings are organized with respect to key reward constructs within the Positive Valence Systems domain of the RDoC matrix, including initial responsiveness to reward (physiological 'liking), approach motivation (physiological 'wanting'), and reward learning/habit formation. In the current review, we (a) describe the neural basis of reward, (b) elucidate differences in reward activity in substance abuse and depression, and (c) suggest a framework for integrating these disparate literatures and discuss the utility of shifting focus from diagnosis to process for understanding liability and co-morbidity. Ultimately, we believe that an integrative focus on abnormal reward functioning across the full continuum of clinically heterogeneous samples, rather than within circumscribed diagnostic categories, might actually help to refine the phenotypes and improve the prediction of onset and recovery of these disorders. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 238, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Manufacturing engineering", "abstract": "A common engineering problem in manufacturing is identifying which of many possible factors influences a response of interest, or in other words \"What is causing a performance, reliability, quality or cost issue?\" Evolutionary Operations (commonly called EVOP) harnesses the muscle of manufacturing operations to generate large data sets with minimal disruption in the factory, and that capture the natural variance of the materials and processes and materials used in the manufacture of a product. Supersaturated Experiments methods guide experimental plans and supports statistical analysis of the data upon which sound conclusions and interpretations can be drawn. This paper presents these methods as they can be applied together to the problem of screening of many factors to find those that influence a particular response of interest. A case study from the Virtual Cell Factory is presented."}
{"ID": 239, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Ambient Intelligence", "abstract": "A common feature of ambient intelligence is that many objects are inter-connected and act in unison, which is also a challenge in the Internet of Things. There has been a shift in research towards integrating both concepts, considering the Internet of Things as representing the future of computing and communications. However, the efficient combination and management of heterogeneous things or devices in the ambient intelligence domain is still a tedious task, and it presents crucial challenges. Therefore, to appropriately manage the inter-connection of diverse devices in these systems requires: (1) specifying and efficiently implementing the devices (e.g., as services); (2) handling and verifying their heterogeneity and composition; and (3) standardizing and managing their data, so as to tackle large numbers of systems together, avoiding standalone applications on local servers. To overcome these challenges, this paper proposes a platform to manage the integration and behavior-aware orchestration of heterogeneous devices as services, stored and accessed via the cloud, with the following contributions: (i) we describe a lightweight model to specify the behavior of devices, to determine the order of the sequence of exchanged messages during the composition of devices; (ii) we define a common architecture using a service-oriented standard environment, to integrate heterogeneous devices by means of their interfaces, via a gateway, and to orchestrate them according to their behavior; (iii) we design a framework based on cloud computing technology, connecting the gateway in charge of acquiring the data from the devices with a cloud platform, to remotely access and monitor the data at run-time and react to emergency situations; and (iv) we implement and generate a novel cloud-based IoT platform of behavior-aware devices as services for ambient intelligence systems, validating the whole approach in real scenarios related to a specific ambient assisted living application."}
{"ID": 240, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "False memories", "abstract": "A common finding in the source monitoring literature is that greater similarity impairs source discriminability. Experiments traditionally manipulate similarity overtly by describing or showing sources with explicitly differentiable features. However, people may also infer source characteristics themselves, which should also affect discriminability. Two studies examined inferred source characteristics by capitalizing on the out-group homogeneity effect, whereby in-group members are conceptualized as more diverse than out-group members. Participants learned about two sources who were described only as members of an in-group or an out-group and whose actions did not have higher a priori association with either group. Source memory was superior when participants believed the sources to be in-group members. This demonstrates that people spontaneously include inferred features with source representations and can capitalize on these features during source monitoring. Interestingly, information suggesting membership in one's in-group improved performance even for sources who had previously been considered out-group members (Experiment 2)."}
{"ID": 241, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A common issue with many system identification problems is that the true input to the system is unknown. This paper extends a previously presented indirect modelling framework that deals with identification of systems where the input is partially or fully unknown. In this framework, unknown inputs are eliminated by using additional measurements that directly or indirectly contain information about the unknown inputs. The resulting indirect predictor model is only dependent on known and measured signals and can be used to estimate the desired dynamics or properties. Since the input of the indirect model contains both known inputs and measurements that could all be correlated with the same disturbances as the output, estimation of the indirect model has similar challenges as a closed-loop estimation problem. In fact, due to the generality of the indirect modelling framework, it unifies a number of already existing system identification problems that are contained as special cases. For completeness, the paper is concluded with one method that can be used to estimate the indirect model as well as an experimental verification to show the applicability of the framework."}
{"ID": 242, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer programming", "abstract": "A common way to learn is by studying written step-by-step tutorials such as worked examples. However, tutorials for computer programming can be tedious to create since a static text-based format cannot convey what happens as code executes. We created a system called Codepourri that enables people to easily create visual coding tutorials by annotating steps in an automatically-generated program visualization. Using Codepourri, we developed a novel crowdsourcing workflow where learners who are visiting an educational website (www.pythontutor.com) collectively create a tutorial by annotating execution steps in a piece of code and then voting on the best annotations. Since there are far more learners than experts, using learners as a crowd is a potentially more scalable way of creating tutorials. Our experiments with 4 expert judges and 101 learners adding 145 raw annotations to two pieces of textbook Python code show the learner crowd's annotations to be accurate, informative, and containing some insights that even experts missed."}
{"ID": 243, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Nonverbal communication", "abstract": "A communicative act that involves the presence of two or more persons always involves a nonverbal aspect. The focus of the article is on nonverbal situations as a basis for the evolution of belief narratives. This pre-narrative aspect has not received much attention in narrative research as most analyses are based on texts that already exist in verbalised form. However, on many occasions the basis for a belief narrative is a nonverbal act that has triggered its witness or re-narrator(s) to interpret it within the framework of vernacular belief. Hence, texts that contain a nonverbal part consist of two components: 1) description of a nonverbal occurrence; 2) its meaning/interpretation that is verbalised by the narrator within the framework of a topical belief tradition. By bringing examples from Estonian belief narratives, the author points out some models and patterns that leap to the eye in texts narrating about nonverbal occurrences (e.g. the context of described situations, the types and results of activities described, etc.). As a theoretical basis, works on communication theory and vernacular belief research are used."}
{"ID": 244, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A compact 24-GHz Doppler radar module is developed in this paper for non-contact human vital-sign detection. The 24-GHz radar transceiver chip, transmitting and receiving antennas, baseband circuits, microcontroller, and Bluetooth transmission module have been integrated and implemented on a printed circuit board. For a measurement range of 1.5 m, the developed radar module can successfully detect the respiration and heartbeat of a human adult."}
{"ID": 245, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A compact add-on model is proposed to simulate the mechanism of charge trapping and release (detrapping) and its effect on the threshold voltage of MOSFET devices. The model uses implicit algebraic differential equations compatible with transient analysis in SPICE. It also shares the accuracy level of the transient analysis. A micro model approach is used, and each trap is treated by a two-state Markov process. The normalization of trap behavior can be enabled or disabled, so that the designer can compare average trap behavior to the result of repeated Monte-Carlo simulations of a circuit. In this manner, the model can compromise between device-level modeling and circuit-level modeling. Unlike models geared towards digital circuit design, the trapping and release rates need not be constant during electrical stress. The trapping and release rates are a function of time, as they depend on the circuit state-space equations. An operational amplifier is analyzed using the new model, and the proposed approach is compared with the state of the art. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 246, "domain": "MAE", "area": "computer-aided design", "abstract": "A compact model of amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide thin-film transistors, suitable for CAD simulators, is proposed. The model is simple, symmetric, and accurately accounts for the subthreshold, linear, and saturation regimes via a unique formulation. It accounts for both trapped and free charges by means of multiple-trapping-and-release and percolation in the conduction band. Aim of the paper is to work out the analytic expression of the current and of the terminal charges, along with the surface potential and the electric field as a function of position in the channel. The availability of the surface potential and of the electric field is the key to model advanced physical effects as, for example, the carrier injection from the electrodes into the channel."}
{"ID": 247, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A compact multilayer non-commensurate C-section dispersive delay structure (DDS) is proposed for analog signal processing (ASP) applications. In contrast to a previously reported C-section DDS, which was uniplanar and used edge-coupled C-sections, this DDS is based on broadside-coupled C-sections, and hence achieves a much larger ratio of group delay swing to frequency bandwidth, leading to higher ASP resolution. Moreover, it is much more compact, while maintaining acceptable insertion loss. After a parametric characterization of a mono-block commensurate multilayer DDS, with varied strip widths, two multiblock non-commensurate DDSs with linear group delay slopes are demonstrated by full-wave simulation and experimental low-temperature co-fired ceramics results. The proposed DDS exhibits a significant footprint reduction factor of around 7 compared to its uniplanar edge-coupled counterpart."}
{"ID": 248, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A compact reflection-type phaser composed of quarter-wavelength transmission line resonators interconnected by alternating K- and J-inverters is proposed. A design method is also presented. To validate this method, a fourth-order example is designed and fabricated. The proposed phaser is shown to exhibit the benefits of smaller size, easier fabrication and suppressed even-order harmonics compared with previously reported half-wavelength phasers."}
{"ID": 249, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A compact, low-noise and inexpensive preamplifier circuit has been designed and fabricated to optimally readout a common cathode (1 x 16) channel 4H-SiC Schottky photodiode array for use in ultraviolet experiments. The readout uses an operational amplifier with 10 pF capacitor in the feedback loop in parallel with a low leakage switch for each of the channels. This circuit configuration allows for reiterative sample, integrate and reset. A sampling technique is given to remove Johnson noise, enabling a femtoampere level readout noise performance. Commercial-off-the-shelf acquisition electronics are used to digitize the preamplifier analog signals. The data logging acquisition electronics has a different integration circuit, which allows the bandwidth and gain to be independently adjusted. Using this readout, photoresponse measurements across the array between spectral wavelengths 200 nm and 370 nm are made to establish the array pixels external quantum efficiency, current responsivity and noise equivalent power. Published by Elsevier B.V."}
{"ID": 250, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Machine design", "abstract": "A company produces prefabricated stirrup cages for the reinforcement of concrete. The process consists of straightening, cutting and twin bending of coiled steel re-bars, in a custom produced machine. The punch of the cutting system failed repeatedly. Its cutting edges lose their functionality much earlier than expected. Two representative pieces were analyzed. The study included visual inspection, chemical analysis, hardness and micro-hardness measurements. Optical metallographic examination on representative samples was carried out. The fracture areas were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the crack initiation and propagation were discussed. The punches failed by chipping wear mechanism due to low-cycle fatigue. Their repeating failures provoked by faulty machine design. Problem solving suggestions are proposed. In addition, alternatives related to material selection are provided in order to reduce crack susceptibility, in an economical way. Moreover, conclusions and recommendations can be useful, resulting in higher productivity of prefabricated stirrup cages. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 251, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electricity", "abstract": "A comparative analysis of electricity and gas demand in the industrial sector over a long period of time appears to be absent in the literature. In fact, unlike electricity demand, natural gas demand in the industrial sector has not been well researched. Our paper aims to cover this gap. It analyses electricity and gas consumption patterns by the Spanish manufacturing sector, between 1995 and 2010. A novel and innovative quantitative approach based on, both, homogenous and heterogeneous estimators was used for this purpose. The results of the no-spurious estimations (the Augmented Mean Group Estimator) show that the price elasticity of gas demand is significantly negative and within the -0.44 to -0.48 range. In contrast, the price elasticity of electricity demand is not statistically significant. The income elasticities show the opposite pattern: those of natural gas are not statistically significant, whereas the income elasticities for electricity are statistically significant and within the 0.22 to 0.29 range. Compared to previous findings, our preferred estimation shows some variation regarding price elasticities of natural gas demand. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 252, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Birth Control", "abstract": "A comparative effectiveness analysis was performed to examine the risks and benefits of laparoscopic bilateral tubal ligation compared with hysteroscopic sterilization using the Essure Permanent Birth Control System (Bayer HealthCare AG, Whippany, NJ). Existing evidence shows that both LBTL and Essure are safe and effective methods of female sterilization. Both have high rates of efficacy and low rates of complications although when complications do occur, those related to the Essure procedure are more likely to be minor in nature. The analysis was limited by the restricted number of studies involving head-to-head comparisons of the 2 approaches. (C) 2015 AAGL. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 253, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Internal combustion engine", "abstract": "A comparative life cycle assessment of methanol, hydrogen and electric vehicles is conducted to investigate the impacts of alternative vehicles on the environment and human health. For each case, the processes are analyzed from extraction of raw materials for hydrogen, methanol and electricity to disposal of the vehicles. Three different environmental impact categories are selected in order to understand the diverse effects of vehicles, namely: global warming, human toxicity and ozone layer depletion. As an alternative fuel for internal combustion engines, hydrogen and methanol, are directly utilized in internal combustion engine vehicles. The results of this study show that electric vehicles yield higher human toxicity values due to the respective manufacturing and maintenance stages. Since the energy density of hydrogen is quite higher than methanol, hydrogen driven vehicles result in a more environmentally-benign option with respect to global warming and ozone layer depletion potentials. (C) 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 254, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A comparative study of different models and identification techniques applied to the quantification of valve stiction in industrial control loops is presented in this paper, with the objective of taking into account for the presence of external disturbances. A Hammerstein system is used to model the controlled process (linear block) and the sticky valve (nonlinear block): five different candidates for the linear block and two different candidates for the nonlinear block are evaluated and compared. Two of the five linear models include a nonstationary disturbance term that is estimated along with the input-to-output model, and these extended models are meant to cope with situations in which significant nonzero mean disturbances affect the collected data. The comparison of the different models and identification methods is carried out thoroughly in three steps: simulation, application to pilot plant data and application to industrial loops. In the first two cases (simulation and pilot plant) the specific source of fault (stiction with/without external disturbances) is known and hence a validation of each candidate can be carried out more easily. Nonetheless, each fault case considered in the previous two steps has been found in the application to a large number of datasets collected from industrial loops, and hence the merits and limitations of each candidate have been confirmed. As a result of this study, extended models are proved to be effective when large, time varying disturbances affect the system, whereas conventional (stationary) noise models are more effective elsewhere. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 255, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A comparison of the aeroelastic response of four 1:220 aeroelastic models representing three different construction stages and the completion stage of the Izmit Bay suspension bridge in Turkey is presented. Wind tunnel tests were performed in the same laboratory both in smooth and turbulent flow conditions to investigate the aeroelastic stability and the buffeting response. Completion bridge results are used as a reference for considerations on how the variation of the structural characteristics and the different aerodynamics of the various construction stages influence the bridge stability and the buffeting response. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 256, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A comparison of the performance of four full-scale aerated horizontal flow constructed wetlands was conducted to determine the efficacy of the technology on sites receiving high and variable ammonia loading rates not yet reported in the literature. Performance was assessed in terms of ammonia and solids removal, hydraulic conductivity and mixing patterns. The capability of systems to produce ammonium effluent concentrations <3 mgNH(4)(+)-N/L was observed across all sites in systems receiving variable loadings between 0.1 and 13.0 gNH(4)(+)-N/m(2)/d. Potential resilience issues were observed in relation to response to spike loadings posited to be due to an insufficient nitrifying population within the beds. Hydraulic conductivity and flow mixing patterns observed suggested deterioration of the reactor effective volume over time. Overall, the study demonstrates the efficacy of the technology where ammonium removal is required on small sites receiving high and variable flow rates, with adequate removal of organics and solids, but no significant benefit to the long term hydraulics of the system."}
{"ID": 257, "domain": "MAE", "area": "computer-aided design", "abstract": "A compelling, innovative approach to teaching gross anatomy is the use of computer-aided holographic models. They allow for clean, time-saving dissection, manipulation of structures and appreciation of anatomical relationships, and potential elimination of the need for cadavers. The present study tests the hypothesis that using holographic models improves mastery of anatomical information. First-year medical students were taught gross anatomy using the dissection of donor cadavers, manipulation of digitized 3-dimensional holographic renderings, and examination of plastinated specimens. The effectiveness of these approaches was assessed by comparing students' performance on identification questions on cadavers (qC), holographic models (qH), and plastinated specimens (qP). Students in the top quintile of the class performed strongly on qC, qH, and qP. In contrast, performance by students in the bottom quintile was uneven; they scored best on qH. Performance on the qP was relatively non-discriminating. Students in the top quintile scored higher on the biological sciences section of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) than students in the lowest quintile, whereas students in the lowest quintile had higher scores on the verbal section of their MCATs. The availability of different approaches for presenting gross anatomy improves the success of students in mastering the material, particularly for students struggling with the information. The use of holographic models apparently reaches students who may be challenged to learn the material using traditional approaches. This may be linked to potentially predictive information gleaned through performance on the MCAT. Clin. Anat. 29:917-924, 2016. (c) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc."}
{"ID": 258, "domain": "CS", "area": "Data structures", "abstract": "A complementation operation on a vertex of a digraph changes all outgoing arcs into non-arcs, and outgoing non-arcs into arcs. Given a digraph G, a partially complemented digraph (G) over tilde is a digraph obtained from G by performing a sequence of vertex complement operations on G. Dahlhaus et al. showed that, given an adjacency-list representation of (G) over tilde, depth-first search (DFS) on G can be performed in O(n + (m) over tilde) time, where (m) over tilde is the number of vertices and ill is the number of edges in (G) over tilde. This can be used for finding a depth-first spanning forest and the strongly connected components of the complement of G in time that is linear in the size of G, and Dahlhaus et al. give applications to finding the modular decomposition of an undirected graph that require that some adjacency lists be complemented and others not. To achieve this bound, their algorithm makes use of a somewhat complicated stack-like data structure to simulate the recursion stack, instead of implementing it directly as a recursive algorithm. We give a recursive O(n + (m) over tilde) algorithm that requires no such data-structures. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 259, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A complete 3D visualization method for virtual liver lesion model was proposed by taking patients' abdomen CT slices as data source. Firstly, Gradient Vector Flow-Snake algorithm that combines with region force was adopted to fast and accurately extract the contour points in patients' CT slices. Then 3D cloud data of these contour points was simplified uniformly, and a distance-field-based method of distribution field fitting for B-spline surface was presented to fast establish the lesion model roughly. Then, an interactive node fine tuning method Interactive Marching Nodes was proposed, so the model can be optimized according to requirements of users. Finally, realistic lesion model was generated through texture mapping. Experiments suggest that this approach is suitable for various kinds of lesions with the whole process taking only a few minutes, and the generated model has high precision, which is of some significance in the study of virtual surgeries."}
{"ID": 260, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electricity", "abstract": "A complete model of a thermionic generator has been developed in order to optimise the technology for application in the solar thermal generation of electricity. Steady state current densities predicted by the model have been shown to agree with published experimental thermionic data. Two separate genetic algorithm optimisations have been carried out for both power density and efficiency, in which electrode temperatures and work functions, external circuit resistance and electrode separation were varied. The result of these optimisations were two configurations separately exhibiting a maximum power density of 1.66 W/cm(2), and a Maximum efficiency of 7.69% for parameter ranges applicable to concentrating solar thermal power. Examination of the optimum simulation parameters indicated that future developments in lowering collector work functions, increasing emitter service temperature and decreasing attainable electrode separations will all positively impact device performance. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 261, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "A complete numerical dynamic analysis of reciprocating compressor mechanism is presented, coupling the instantaneous pressure in the compression chamber, the electric motor torque and the hydrodynamic reactions, which arise from the piston and crankshaft secondary movements. Additionally, non-constant crankshaft angular velocity and the piston and crankshaft misalignment torques have also been considered. Two sensitivity analyses have been carried out to prove that neither the inertial forces in the directions of the secondary movements, nor the oscillations of the angular velocity produce significant differences in the compressor behaviour. Finally, a set of parametric studies has been developed to evaluate the influence of geometrical parameters in the stability of the secondary movements, the friction power losses and the compressor consumption."}
{"ID": 262, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A complete structural health monitoring system has been implemented on Aizhai Suspension Bridge for monitoring its health status and assessing its safety for long-term services. This system consists of nearly 112 sensors of various types, including four subsystems: automatic data collection subsystem, artificial maintenance management subsystem, early safety warning and comprehensive assessment subsystem, and centralized database management subsystem. The deployments and functions of this structural health monitoring system are first introduced in this paper. Then, a finite-element model updating method, which combines the substructure method with the response surface model updating method, is proposed to reconstruct the actual working state of this suspension bridge in the early safety warning and comprehensive assessment subsystem. In the remaining part, the temperature fields, strain responses, tension forces of the hangers, longitudinal displacements of the stiffening girder, and the meteorological temperature are analyzed. Through the statistical analysis, the relationship between the temperature fields was found; the temperature fields induced strains of the stiffening girder satisfies the linear relationship. The cumulative probability distribution function of the cycle-index of the same daily stress amplitude follows a Weibull distribution. The monitored relative longitudinal displacements of the stiffening girder are linearly related with the meteorological temperatures. The monitored tension forces of the hangers verify the effects of the suspender-free zones of main cables on the normal hangers for this pylongirder detached suspension bridge. (C) 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers."}
{"ID": 263, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Construction Management", "abstract": "A complex construction program usually consists of a group of interrelated projects with different levels of importance and degrees of certainty. Currently, time management of a construction program uses the same techniques as those for a single project, and the most commonly used technique is the critical path method (CPM). However, the CPM method lacks flexibility in handling uncertainties and options, a desirable feature in managing complex programs. This paper proposes a new scheduling method that is drawn from the authors' experiences of managing a large-scale construction program-the Shanghai Expo facility construction. The new method is developed on the basis of the traditional CPM method but is able to incorporate options and importance levels into the program schedule. The theoretical basis and calculation method of this new scheduling technique are discussed in the context of managing the Shanghai Expo facility construction program. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge in construction management by developing a new scheduling technique with proven applications. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers."}
{"ID": 264, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical generator", "abstract": "A complex real cycle zero-dimensional model for simulation of stationary and dynamic load conditions of turbocharged diesel engine driving synchronous electrical generator is presented. The model is generally applicable to all forms of turbocharged diesel engines. Computer program based on the model has been caried out. Results of simulation model application on diesel generating set dynamic working conditions at ohmic and inductive loads acceptance, de-loading and start-up are presented."}
{"ID": 265, "domain": "CS", "area": "Machine learning", "abstract": "A complexity of business dynamics often forces decision-makers to make decisions based on subjective mental models, reflecting their experience. However, research has shown that companies perform better when they apply data-driven decision-making. This creates an incentive to introduce intelligent, data based decision models, which are comprehensive and support the interactive evaluation of decision options necessary for the business environment. Recently, a new general explanation methodology has been proposed, which supports the explanation of state-of-the-art black-box prediction models. Uniform explanations are generated on the level of model/individual instance and support what-if analysis. We present a novel use of this methodology inside an intelligent system in a real-world case of business-to-business (B2B) sales forecasting, a complex task frequently done judgmentally. Users can validate their assumptions with the presented explanations and test their hypotheses using the presented what-if parallel graph representation. The results demonstrate effectiveness and usability of the methodology. A significant advantage of the presented method is the possibility to evaluate seller's actions and to outline general recommendations in sales strategy. This flexibility of the approach and easy-to-follow explanations are suitable for many different applications. Our well-documented real-world case shows how to solve a decision support problem, namely that the best performing black-box models are inaccessible to human interaction and analysis. This could extend the use of the intelligent systems to areas where they were so far neglected due to their insistence on comprehensible models. A separation of the machine learning model selection from model explanation is another significant benefit for expert and intelligent systems. Explanations unconnected to a particular prediction model positively influence acceptance of new and complex models in the business environment through their easy assessment and switching. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 266, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Molecular biology", "abstract": "A complicated, almost conflicting situation exists in contemporary biology, i.e., there are two scientific concepts in existence that solve some phylogenetic problems in a different way. These concepts are evolutionary morphology and molecular biology. Modern biology urgently needs these contradictions to be examined and removed."}
{"ID": 267, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Strength of materials", "abstract": "A component method has been introduced by Steel Construction Institute to predict the moment resistance of partial strength connection. The design philosophy is taken directly from Eurocode 3 with strength checks on bolts, welds, and steel which have been modified to comply with BS 5950-1:2000. The accuracy of the method however needs to be validated with the experimental tests especially for hot-rolled sections other than typical British Section (BS). Six experimental tests on beam-to-column connections have been carried out for Flush End-Plate (FEP) connections consisting of variable parameters such as thickness of end-plate, size and number of bolts, size of columns, and beams. The tests were set-up using local hot-rolled steel sections known as Perwaja Section (PS) for beams and columns instead of typical British Section (BS). The strength of materials for end-plate, column and beam sections were tested for tensile strength and used in predicting the moment resistance for component method. The moment versus rotation of the test results were plotted and compared with the moment resistance derived from component method. The Study concluded that the moment resistance of the tested flush end-plate connections was higher than the predicted moment resistance from component method which showed good agreement between the two moments. The study also concluded that the tested FEP connections met the requirements and criteria of partial strength connections."}
{"ID": 268, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Stealth Technology", "abstract": "A composite frequency-selective surface (FSS) fabricated by using an e-beam evaporator is proposed. This manufacturing process is advantageous in that it can directly achieve an FSS function for real structural surfaces with various skin conformations. A multilayered patch-grid-patch-type FSS consisting of copper layers as capacitive or inductive surfaces and a glass/epoxy prepreg as the substrate is produced. It operates at 9-10 GHz for dual polarisation. This technique can be used to manufacture a stealth technology for communicating in a specific frequency range."}
{"ID": 269, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A composite liquid metal marble made of metal droplet coated with water film was proposed and its impact dynamics phenomenon was disclosed. After encapsulating the liquid metal into water droplets, the fabricated liquid marble successfully avoided being oxygenized by the metal fluid and thus significantly improved its many physical capabilities such as surface tension modification and shape control. The striking behaviors of the composite liquid metal marbles on a substrate at room temperature were experimentally investigated in a high speed imaging way. It was disclosed that such marbles could disintegrate, merge, and even rebound when impacting the substrate, unlike the existing dynamic fluidic behaviors of liquid marble or metal droplet. The mechanisms lying behind these features were preliminarily interpreted. This fundamental finding raised profound multiphase fluid mechanics for understanding the complex liquid composite which was also critical for a variety of practical applications such as liquid metal jet cooling, inkjet printed electronics, 3D printing or metal particle fabrication etc."}
{"ID": 270, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Green Building", "abstract": "A comprehensive analysis framework of the study of green building incremental cost will be given in this paper, from the perspective of the whole life cycle, we will discuss the concept and characteristics of incremental cost, providing it with overall process, whole stage and a full range of recognition and quantitative based on an overall analysis of its factors, then build a framework for its cost of whole life cycle which will provide important theoretical and practical significance to the study of development of green building."}
{"ID": 271, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A comprehensive approach to the real-time simulation of power converters using a state-space representation is covered in this paper. Systematic formulations of state-space equations as well as a new switch model are presented. The proposed switch model exhibits a natural switching behavior, which is a valuable characteristic for the real-time simulation of power converters, thereby allowing individual treatment of switching devices irrespective of the converter topology. Successful implementations of the proposed switch model on a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device are reported, with two alternative approaches: 1) precomputing network equations for all switch state combinations and 2) solving network equations on-chip using the Gauss-Seidel iterative method. A two-level three-phase voltage source converter is implemented using the first approach, with a time step of 80 ns and a switching frequency of 200 kHz. Ideal and nonideal boost converters are also implemented on FPGA using the second approach, with a time step of 75 ns and a switching frequency of 20 kHz. Comparison with SPICE models shows that the proposed switch model offers very satisfactory accuracy and precision."}
{"ID": 272, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Water Pollution", "abstract": "A comprehensive assessment on lake water quality was carried out in Shahu Lake, northwest China, to provide valuable information about present lake water quality for decision making. Major ions, general parameters, bacteriological parameters, organics and trace metals monitored monthly in 2014 were considered. Monitored parameters were compared with quality criteria for surface water of China, and overall water quality assessment was carried out using an entropy weighted water quality index (EWQI) based on 20 selected parameters. Lake water quality was also assessed for irrigation purpose. The results show that the lake water is of Cl center dot SO4-Na facies with high salinity and COD. The geochemistry of the lake water is regulated by intense evaporation and human activities. TP, TN and F- are major inorganic contaminants, with over 50% of the water samples polluted by them. Oil, mainly attributed by leaky motor tourist boats, is the major organic pollutants in the lake water, with 10 samples (37.04%) showing higher oil content than the permissible limit. The concentrations of other inorganic and organic contaminants as well as trace metals are well below the permissible limits. The present study indicates that inorganic contamination in the lake water is more severe than organic pollution. The overall lake water quality, assessed by EWQI, is poor and very poor with SO42-, TDS, TH and Cl-being the dominant contributing factors. The lake water is suitable for irrigation in terms of alkalinity, but is unsuitable for irrigation from the salinity point of view. Accelerating the circulation and replenishment of the lake water is an important way of reducing contaminant concentrations. This study is important in providing comprehensive information on lake water quality for decision makers and valuable reference for international lake water researchers."}
{"ID": 273, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Internal combustion engine", "abstract": "A comprehensive mathematical model is proposed to calculate the optimal leg length and cross-section area of TEG unit to maximize the peak output power. The model shows that for a TEG unit, there exists an optimal ratio of leg length and leg cross-section area corresponding to the maximum peak output power with a convective thermal boundary condition, and the optimal leg length and cross-section area can be further calculated based on the optimal ratio. The mathematical model is also validated in this paper, and the corresponding error is within a reasonable range. Moreover, the effects of the leg length and leg area on the peak output power, the peak output power density and the efficiency of TEG unit with different thermal boundary conditions are also discussed. This study will provide guidance for the structure design optimization of TEG unit. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 274, "domain": "CS", "area": "Relational databases", "abstract": "A comprehensive ontology can ease the discovery, maintenance and popularization of knowledge in many domains. As a means to enhance existing ontologies, attribute extraction has attracted tremendous research attentions. However, most existing attribute extraction techniques focus on exploring a single type of sources, such as structured (e.g., relational databases), semi-structured (e.g., Extensible Markup Language (XML)) or unstructured sources (e.g., Web texts, images), which leads to the poor coverage of knowledge bases (KBs). This paper presents a framework for ontology augmentation by extracting attributes from four types of sources, namely existing knowledge bases (KBs), query stream, Web texts, and Document Object Model (DOM) trees. In particular, we use query stream and two major KBs, DBpedia and Freebase, to seed the attribute extraction from Web texts and DOM trees. We specially focus on exploring the extraction technique from DOM trees, which is rarely studied in previous works. Algorithms and a series of filters are developed. Experiments show the capability of our approach in augmenting existing KB ontology."}
{"ID": 275, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer vision", "abstract": "A comprehensive radiometric characterization of raw-data format imagery acquired with the Raspberry Pi 3 and V2.1 camera module is presented. The Raspberry Pi is a high-performance single-board computer designed to educate and solve real-world problems. This small computer supports a camera module that uses a Sony IMX219 8 megapixel CMOS sensor. This paper shows that scientific and engineering-grade imagery can be produced with the Raspberry Pi 3 and its V2.1 camera module. Raw imagery is shown to be linear with exposure and gain (ISO), which is essential for scientific and engineering applications. Dark frame, noise, and exposure stability assessments along with flat fielding results, spectral response measurements, and absolute radiometric calibration results are described. This low-cost imaging sensor, when calibrated to produce scientific quality data, can be used in computer vision, biophotonics, remote sensing, astronomy, high dynamic range imaging, and security applications, to name a few. (C) The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its"}
{"ID": 276, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Geotextile", "abstract": "A comprehensive treatment system consisting of geotextile bag, zeolite bed and constructed wetland has been devised to remove solids and nutrients from swine house waste. Alkalinity was observed to be reduced by 44% after geotextile bag and 77% after wetlands. In one day (24 h) waste flush cycle, COD was reduced by 72% after geotextile bag and further reduced by 95% after zeolite treatment followed by constructed wetland. When wastewater was passed through geotextile bag, 71% reduction of COD occurred during 96 h flush cycle and further reduction of 87% was observed after zeolite. Reductions of 94% total N, 92% NH4+-N, 88% total P, and 87% o-PO4--P were observed after the wastewater was passed through the geotextile bag, zeolite, and wetland treatment systems during 24 h flush cycle. Approximately 50% NH4+-N was adsorbed by the zeolite bed and 12% was presumed to be lost through NH3 volatilization process during zeolite treatment. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 277, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Cell biology", "abstract": "A comprehensive view of protein phosphorylation remains an unmet challenge in the field of cell biology. Mass spectrometry based proteomics is one of the most promising approaches for identifying thousands of phosphorylation events in a single experiment, yet the full breadth of the phosphoproteome has yet to be elucidated. In this article, we examined the complementarity of two methods for phosphopeptide enrichment based on either titanium dioxide (TiO2) enrichment or phosphorylation motif-specific immunoaffinity precipitation (IAP) with four different antibodies. Each method identified nearly 2000 phosphoproteins. However, distinct populations of phosphopeptides were observed. Despite quantifying over 10 000 unique phosphorylation events using TiO2 and over 3900 with IAP, less than 5% of the sites were in common. Agreeing with published literature, the ratio of pS:pT:pY phosphorylation for the TiO2-enriched data set approximated 90:10:< 1. In contrast, that ratio for the combined IAP data, sets was 51:29:20. These differences not only suggest the complementarity between multiple enrichment methods but also emphasize their collective importance in obtaining a comprehensive view of the phosphoproteome."}
{"ID": 278, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A compressive receiver (CR) is presented utilizing a composite right/left-handed (CRLH) dispersive delay line (DDL) for analog signal processing applications. The CRLH DDL offers advantages such as arbitrary frequency of operation and wide bandwidth, filling a gap with competing DDL technologies. The presented CR system utilizes an impulse-driven CRLH DDL and mixer inversion for chirp generation required for real-time signal processing. At high frequencies, this eliminates frequency ramp generators. The CR is employed as a frequency discriminator and a tunable delay line with dispersion compensation. The simulation and experimental results fully validate the presented systems as proof-of-concept for high-frequency applications such as real-time Fourier transformers and signal analyzers."}
{"ID": 279, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation method based on 3-D Navier-Stokes equation and Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method is presented to analyze the grooved slipper performance of piston pump. The moving domain of grooved slipper is transformed into a fixed reference domain by the ALE method, which makes it convenient to take the effects of rotate speed, body force, temperature, and oil viscosity into account. A geometric model to express the complex structure, which covers the orifice of piston and slipper, vented groove and the oil film, is constructed. Corresponding to different oil film thicknesses calculated in light of hydrostatic equilibrium theory and boundary conditions, a set of simulations is conducted in COMSOL to analyze the pump characteristics and effects of geometry (groove width and radius, orifice size) on these characteristics. Furthermore, the mechanics and hydraulics analyses are employed to validate the CFD model, and there is an excellent agreement between simulation and analytical results. The simulation results show that the sealing land radius, orifice size and groove width all dramatically affect the slipper behavior, and an optimum tradeoff among these factors is conducive to optimizing the pump design. (C) 2015 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics."}
{"ID": 280, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical network", "abstract": "A computational method to determine the shielding effectiveness against electromagnetic interference of carbon nanotube (CNTs)-based nanocomposites through modelling of its electrical properties is presented. Specifically, simulations based on Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) were implemented to evaluate the electrical conductivity (sigma) of CNTs (used as a filler in a polymer matrix) that formed electrical network inside a representative cuboid volume of the sample. A pseudo three-dimensional (3D) percolation model was developed to study the effects of random connectivity of CNTs to one another on the conductivity of nanocomposites. In our approach, both contact and intrinsic resistances were taken into account. The tunneling resistance between CNTs was also taken into account while dealing with single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs). A resistor network recognition method that optimizes connective paths was built using ACO method and conductivity was subsequently computed as a function of CNTs concentration. Then, the shielding effectiveness was computed using the conductivity data. It is remarkable that the calculated SE values as a function of frequency of EM waves at a constant weight percent of CNTs were in agreement with the experimental data for CNT-based nanocomposites reported in literature. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 281, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Internal combustion engine", "abstract": "A computationally efficient spray model is presented for the simulation of transient vaporizing engine sprays. It is applied to simulate high-pressure fuel injections in a constant volume chamber and in mixture preparation experiments in a light-duty internal combustion engine. The model is based on the Lagrangian-Particle/Eulerian-Fluid approach, and an improved blob injection model is used that removes numerical dependency on the injected number of computational parcels. Atomization is modeled with the hybrid Kelvin-Helmholtz/Rayleigh-Taylor scheme, in combination with a drop drag model that includes Mach number and Knudsen number effects. A computationally efficient drop collision scheme is presented, tailored for large numbers of parcels, using a deterministic collision impact definition and kd-tree data search structure to perform radius-of-influence based, grid-independent collision probability estimations. A near-nozzle sub-grid scale flow-field representation is introduced to reduce numerical grid dependency, which uses a turbulent transient gas-jet model with a Stokes-Strouhal analogy assumption. An implicit coupling method was developed for the Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) turbulent flow solver. A multi-objective genetic algorithm was used to study the interactions of the various model constants, and to provide an optimal calibration. The optimal set showed similar values of the primary breakup constants as values used in the literature. However, different values were seen for the gas-jet model constants for accurate simulations of the initial spray transient. The results show that there is a direct correlation between the predicted initial liquid-phase transient and the global gas-phase jet penetration. Model validation was also performed in engine simulations with the same set of constants. The model captured mixture preparation well in all cases, proving its suitability for simulations of transient spray injection in engines. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 282, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer vision", "abstract": "A computer vision-based autonomous fire suppression system with real-time feedback of fire size and spray direction is presented in this paper. The system has been developed for use in a firefighting robot for close-range, localized fire suppression tasks in enclosed environments. A probabilistic water classification method was developed for segmenting water spray in a pair of IR cameras. Stereo processing was performed to localize points along the spray path for use in yaw and pitch angle estimation. A Golden Section Search with linear least squares optimization was used to determine the optimal pitch angle of the spray position at each sampling time. Kalman filtering was used to remove noise from the angle measurements and obtain a better estimate of the current nozzle orientation. A decision tree was used to determine the correct nozzle positioning mode using image feedback to suppress the fire and accounts for errors in direction, fire size during suppression, and when to adjust the nozzle based on IR feedback. Through implementation of a PI controller, the system is able to correct for unknown disturbances causing erroneous targeting of a localized fire. Experiments are presented with the initial nozzle angled correctly and with forced offsets in the system to set the initial spray position incorrectly in order for the system to correct. Suppression times ranged from 7.2 s to 16.3 s with a standard deviation of 3.9 s and average time of 11.2 s. A total of 12 tests demonstrated performance of the system given a forced offset to the initial nozzle orientation resulting in an error between the spray location and the fire target. Suppression times ranged from 8.1 s to 27.9 s with a mean of 16.9 s and standard deviation of 6.2 s. The proposed system can be implemented on a robotic firefighting platform to autonomously detect a fire, choose a proper manipulation goal and suppress full scale fires given disturbances causing erroneous targeting."}
{"ID": 283, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Strength of materials", "abstract": "A concept map heuristic is offered as a tool for teaching and learning in Mechanics of Materials courses. In this paper, we present a literature review wherein we list previous efforts to improve Mechanics of Materials learning and the use of concept maps for teaching. We provide our \"common concept map,\" we detail several ways in which we've used the heuristic, and finally describe preliminary results assessing its efficacy."}
{"ID": 284, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Nonverbal communication", "abstract": "A conceptual model is proposed that explains how gene environment correlations and the multiplier effect function in the context of social development in individuals with autism. The review discusses the current state of autism genetic research, including its challenges, such as the genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity of the disorder, and its limitations, such as the lack of interdisciplinary work between geneticists and social scientists. We discuss literature on gene environment correlations in the context of social development and draw implications for individuals with autism. The review expands upon genes, behaviors, types of environmental exposure, and exogenous variables relevant to social development in individuals on the autism spectrum, and explains these factors in the context of the conceptual model to provide a more in-depth understanding of how the effects of certain genetic variants can be multiplied by the environment to cause largely phenotypic individual differences. Using the knowledge gathered from gene environment correlations and the multiplier effect, we outline novel intervention directions and implications."}
{"ID": 285, "domain": "CS", "area": "Algorithm design", "abstract": "A conceptually new algorithm of sea ice concentration retrieval in polar regions from satellite microwave radiometry data is discussed. The algorithm design favorably contrasts with that of known modern algorithms. Its design is based on a physical emission model of the \"sea surface - sea ice - snow cover - atmosphere\" system. No tie-points are used in the algorithm. All the calculation expressions are derived from theoretical modeling. The design of the algorithm minimizes the impact of atmospheric variability on sea ice concentration retrieval. Beside estimating sea ice concentration, the algorithm makes it possible to indicate ice areas with melting snow and melt ponds. The algorithm is simple to use, no complicated or time consuming calculations are involved. (C) 2015 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 286, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A configuration for the realization of voltage-mode second-order filters employing a single operational transresistance amplifier (OTRA) as the active element is presented. This topology can synthesize lowpass, highpass, bandpass, notch and allpass filtering functions. The presented filters are suitable for MOS-C implementation, yielding the filter parameters to be electronically tunable. Theoretical analysis is verified with PSPICE simulation. (C) 2008 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 287, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Prenatal development", "abstract": "A constant supply of epithelial cells from dental epithelial stem cell (DESC) niches in the cervical loop (CL) enables mouse incisors to grow continuously throughout life. Elucidation of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this unlimited growth potential is of broad interest for tooth regenerative therapies. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling is essential for the development of mouse incisors and for maintenance of the CL during prenatal development. However, how FGF signaling in DESCs controls the self-renewal and differentiation of the cells is not well understood. Herein, we report that FGF signaling is essential for self-renewal and the prevention of cell differentiation of DESCs in the CL as well as in DESC spheres. Inhibiting the FGF signaling pathway decreased proliferation and increased apoptosis of the cells in DESC spheres. Suppressing FGFR or its downstream signal transduction pathways diminished Lgr5-expressing cells in the CL and promoted cell differentiation both in DESC spheres and the CL. Furthermore, disruption of the FGF pathway abrogated Wnt signaling to promote Lgr5 expression in DESCs both in vitro and in vivo. This study sheds new light on understanding the mechanism by which the homeostasis, expansion, and differentiation of DESCs are regulated."}
{"ID": 288, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A constant tension towing winch maintains constant towing rope tension between the cable ship and the cable laying machine. In this paper, an active constant tension controller based upon a hybrid FUZZY P+ID strategy is proposed to improve the performance yield of the conventional PID controller that was implemented on the towing winch. The FUZZY P+ID controller replaces the P item of the conventional PID with the FUZZY P item, but the I and D items remain unchanged. The comparative studies of the FUZZY P+ID and traditional PID controllers were conducted, and the numerical simulation results show that the performance of the proposed FUZZY P+ID controller is superior to that of the PID controller. The proposed FUZZY P+ID controller was implemented in the constant tension towing winch to substitute for the existing PID controller. The real applications for driving the submarine cable laying ship under harsh undersea conditions demonstrated the robustness of the FUZZY P+ID for a number of unmeasurable disturbances, such as the buoyancy, the drag force, and wave effects."}
{"ID": 289, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A constant-gm, rail-to-rail operational amplifier circuit topology is presented in this paper. The amplifier input stage is realized using single NMOS pair at 0.13 mu m bulk-CMOS process technology. The overall gain variation is within the range of +/- 2.338% for the rail-to-rail common mode input range. The proposed design is able to reject the common mode input response with 115dB of common mode rejection ratio (CMRR). High slew rate is achieved and the simulated value is +19/-43 (V/mu s) of an unity gain buffer op-amp at 5pF of CL. The variation in overall gm and gain are also simulated at different corner temperatures. The circuit simulation is done in Tanner EDA at 1.8V of power supply which dissipates the power of 6.1mW."}
{"ID": 290, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A constrained output feedback model predictive control approach for nonlinear systems is presented in this paper. The state variables are observed using an unscented Kalman filter, which offers some advantages over an extended Kalman filter. A nonlinear dynamic model of the system, considered in this investigation, is developed considering all possible effective elements. The model is then adaptively linearized along the prediction horizon using a state-dependent state space representation. In order to improve the performance of the control system as many linearized models as the number of prediction horizons are obtained at each sample time. The optimum results of the previous sample time are utilized for linearization at the current sample time. Subsequently, a linear quadratic objective function with constraints is formulated using the developed governing equations of the plant. The performance and effectiveness of the proposed control approach is validated both in simulation and through real-time experimentation using a constrained highly nonlinear aerodynamic test rig, a twin rotor MIMO system (TRMS). (c) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 291, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Voltage law", "abstract": "A contact-free method to obtain the current-voltage characteristics (CVC) of hard superconductors by measuring the relaxation of the magnetization in a perpendicular magnetic field is developed. The relaxation curves obtained for melt-textured YBCO samples are well fitted by curves calculated within the electrodynamic model using a power-law CVC. This procedure uses only two fitting parameters, namely, the critical sheet current J(c) and the exponent tit of the power-law CVC. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 292, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Leadership", "abstract": "A continuing challenge for the education system is how to evaluate the wider outcomes of schools. Wider measures of success - such as citizenship or lifelong learning - influence each other and emerge over time from complex interactions between students, teachers and leaders, and the wider community. Unless methods are found to evaluate these broader outcomes, which are able to do justice to learning and achievement as emergent properties of the learner's engagement with his or her world the education system will continue to focus on narrow measures of school effectiveness which do not properly account for complexity. In this article we describe the rationale and methodology underpinning a pilot research project that applied hierarchical process modelling to a group of schools as complex living systems, using software developed by engineers at the University of Bristol, called Perimeta. The aim was to generate a stakeholder owned systems design which was better able to account for the full range of outcomes valued by each school, and for the complex processes which facilitate or inhibit them, thus providing a more nuanced leadership decision-making analytic. The project involved three academies in the UK."}
{"ID": 293, "domain": "CS", "area": "Algorithm design", "abstract": "A Continuous Monitoring System (CMS) model is presented, having new improved capabilities. The system is based on the actual real-time configuration of the system. Existing risk scoring models assume damage potential is estimated by systems' owner, thus rejecting the information relying in the technological configuration. The assumption underlying this research is based on users' ability to estimate business impacts relating to systems' external interfaces which they use regularly in their business activities, but are unable to assess business impacts relating to internal technological components. According to the proposed model systems' damage potential is calculated using technical information on systems' components using a directed graph. The graph is incorporated into the Common Vulnerability Scoring Systems' (CVSS) algorithm to produce risk scoring measures. Framework presentation includes system design, damage potential scoring algorithm design and an illustration of scoring computations."}
{"ID": 294, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A control method for improving tracking performance with respect to a reference trajectory has been developed. The proposed control system has an inner/outer control structure. The inner control system is the existing control system based on a conventional PID controller, which is designed in advance and is independent of the outer control system. In order to improve tracking performance, the outer control system is designed based on optimal preview control theory and is added to the outside of the inner control system. A polynomial trajectory is used as the reference trajectory and is fed to the outer control system. The reference trajectory is modified online to minimize tracking error. The modified reference trajectory is derived as a control input signal from the outer control system and is fed to the inner control system. The effectiveness of the proposed control method is confirmed using numerical simulations in a benchmark problem for hard disk drives (HDDs)."}
{"ID": 295, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical network", "abstract": "A control scheme is proposed for an islanded lowinertia three-phase inverter-based microgrid with a high penetration of photovoltaic (PV) generation resources. The output of each inverter is programmed to emulate the dynamics of a nonlinear oscillator. The virtual oscillators within each controller are implicitly coupled through the physical electrical network. The asymptotic synchronization of the oscillators can be guaranteed by design, and as a result, a stable power system emerges innately with no communication between the inverters. Time-domain switching-level simulation results for a 45-kW microgrid with 33% PV penetration demonstrate the merits of the proposed technique; in particular they show that the load voltage can be maintained between prescribed bounds in spite of variations in incident irradiance and step changes in the load."}
{"ID": 296, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A control-oriented, two-timescale, linear, dynamic, response model of the rotational transform iota profile and the normalized beta beta(N) is proposed based on experimental data from the DIII-D tokamak. Dedicated system-identification experiments without feedback control have been carried out to generate data for the development of this model. The data-driven dynamic model, which is both device-specific and scenario-specific, represents the response of the iota profile and beta(N) to the electric field due to induction as well as to the heating and current drive (H&CD) systems during the flat-top phase of an H-mode discharge in DIII-D. The control goal is to use both induction and the H&CD systems to locally regulate the plasma iota profile and beta(N) around particular target values close to the reference state used for system identification. A singular value decomposition (SVD) of the plasma model at steady state is carried out to decouple the system and identify the most relevant control channels. A mixed-sensitivity robust control design problem is formulated based on the dynamic model to synthesize a stabilizing feedback controller without input constraints that minimizes the reference tracking error and rejects external disturbances with minimal control energy. The feedback controller is then augmented with an anti-windup compensator, which keeps the given controller well-behaved in the presence of magnitude constraints in the actuators and leaves the nominal closed-loop system unmodified when no saturation is present. The proposed controller represents one of the first feedback profile controllers integrating magnetic and kinetic variables ever implemented and experimentally tested in DIII-D. The preliminary experimental results presented in this work, although limited in number and constrained by actuator problems and design limitations, as it will be reported, show good progress towards routine current profile control in DIII-D and leave valuable lessons for further advancements in the field. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 297, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Fungal Infection", "abstract": "A controversy arose decades ago whether the DG42 gene product expressed during frog embryogenesis synthesized hyaluronan or chitin. Both sets of investigators were correct. It is now possible to understand how prescient those findings were. Synthesis of a seven to nine chitin sugar chain fragment is required before hyaluronan synthesis begins. Thus, DG42 indeed synthesizes both hyaluronan and chitin. Hyaluronan turns over rapidly in vertebrate tissues, but chitin oligomers are difficult to degrade. They accumulate and can cause pathology. Chitin is a simple beta-linked repeating sugar homopolymer found prominently in the building block structures of fungi, molluscs, arthropods, and other forms of invertebrate life. It is a highly resistant insoluble material requiring chitin synthases for production and chitinases for degradation. Mysteriously, chitins and chitinases also occur in vertebrate tissues, while it had previously been assumed that no chitins were contained therein. That assumption is now challenged based on recent biochemical evidence. Chitin does accumulate in many tissues, but may be particularly toxic to neurons. Its accumulation in the brain may account for the cognitive decline found in patients with Alzheimer's disease. The DG42 observations together with the participation of chitins and chitinases in several human diseases, among which in addition to Alzheimer's disease include Gaucher's disease, asthma, and aspects of abnormal immune recognition justify a reexamination of these topics. The purpose of this review is to summarize data in order to place chitins and their attendant enzymes in a rational framework in an attempt to create a cohesive story."}
{"ID": 298, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Prosocial behavior", "abstract": "A cooperative organizational climate is often argued to promote knowledge-sharing behaviors among employees. However, research indicates that managerial interventions aimed at shaping the organizational climate can be difficult to execute. We develop and test a contingency model of intrinsic motivation and job autonomy as moderators of this relationship. We find that the social climate for cooperation better predicts knowledge sharing when employees show low levels of intrinsic motivation and have high levels of job autonomy. This suggests that a cooperative climate and intrinsic motivation are substitutes with respect to their impact on knowledge-sharing behaviors, while climate and job autonomy are complements. We find support for these ideas in data gathered from a sample of 170 employees of a knowledge-intensive firm. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 299, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis", "abstract": "A corona is a layer of macromolecules formed on a nanoparticle surface in vivo. It can substantially change the biological identity of nanomaterials and possibly trigger adverse responses from the body tissues. Dissecting the role of the corona in the development of a particular disease may provide profound insights for understanding toxicity of nanomaterials in general. In our present study, we explored the capability of different silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) to induce silicosis in the mouse lung and analyzed the composition of coronas formed on these particles. We found that SiNPs of certain size and surface chemistry could specifically recruit transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1)intotheircorona, which subsequently induces the development of lung fibrosis. Once embedded into the corona on SiNPs, TGF-beta l was remarkably more stable than in its free form, and its fibrosis-triggering activity was significantly prolonged. Our study meaningfully demonstrates that a specific corona component on a certain nanoparticle could initiate a particular pathogenic process in a clinically relevant disease model. Our findings may shed light on the understanding of molecular mechanisms of human health risks correlated with exposure to small-scale substances."}
{"ID": 300, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical circuits", "abstract": "A correct diagnosis of electrical circuits is very essential in industrial plants. An article deals with a recognition method of early fault detection of induction motor. The described approach is based on patterns recognition. Acoustic signals of specific induction motor are analyzed patterns. Acoustic signals include information about motor state. The analysis of the patterns was conducted for three states of induction motor using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), shortened method of frequencies selection (SMoFS-10) and Linear Support Vector Machine (LSVM). The results of calculations suggest that the method is efficient and can be also used for diagnostic purposes."}
{"ID": 301, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Child abuse", "abstract": "A correlation between socioeconomic disadvantage and child maltreatment has long been observed, but the drivers of this association are poorly understood. We sought to estimate the effects of economic factors on risk of child maltreatment after adjusting for other known influences using the Australian Temperament Project, a population-based birth cohort of 2443 individuals and their parents. We used logistic regression to estimate associations of childhood economic factors (parental education, occupation, and unemployment; type of housing; and retrospective perception of poverty) with retrospective reports of perceived child maltreatment (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and witnessing of domestic violence), controlling for demographic factors, parental mental health and substance use, and child health. We then used these estimates to approximate the proportions of child maltreatment population attributable fractions that are theoretically preventable by addressing childhood economic disadvantage. Economic factors were associated with all types of child maltreatment. For the most part, these associations diminished only partially when controlling for noneconomic con-founders, supporting hypotheses of causal relationships. Jointly, economic factors were significant predictors of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and witnessing of domestic violence but not of emotional abuse or neglect. Retrospective perceptions of childhood poverty were, in particular, strongly associated with most forms of child maltreatment but not with sexual abuse after accounting for other economic factors. We estimated that 27% of all child maltreatment was jointly attributable to economic factors. These findings suggest that strategies that reduce economic disadvantage are likely to hold significant potential to reduce the prevalence of child maltreatment. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 302, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A correlation, based on fluid mechanics, has been investigated for the mean particle diameter of crosslinked dextran microgels (CDMs) prepared via a water/oil emulsification methodology conducted in a single-stirred vessel. To this end, non-dimensional correlations were developed to predict the mean particle size of CDMs as a function of Weber number, Reynolds number and viscosity number similar to ones introduced for liquid-liquid dispersions. Moreover, a Rosin-Rammler distribution function has been successfully applied to the microgel particle size distributions. The correlations were validated using experimentally obtained mean particle sizes for CDMs prepared at different stirring conditions. The validated correlation is especially applicable to medical and pharmaceutical applications where strict control on the mean particle size and size distribution of CDMs are extremely essential."}
{"ID": 303, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Prejudice", "abstract": "A correlational study investigated extended contact as a strategy to improve outgroup attitudes and stereotyping and to prepare children for future contact. Additional aims were to investigate when and why the effects of extended contact occur. In particular, intergroup empathy was tested as a mediator and direct contact (i.e. cross-group friendship) as a moderator of extended contact. Participants were Italian and immigrant elementary school children. Results showed that extended contact was associated with improved intergroup empathy, which, in turn, was associated with more positive outgroup attitudes, stereotypes and behavioural intentions. These effects were significant only among participants with a low or moderate level of direct contact. The theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 304, "domain": "CS", "area": "Data structures", "abstract": "A correspondence is a set of mappings that establishes a relation between the elements of two data structures (i.e. sets of points, strings, trees or graphs). If we consider several correspondences between the same two structures, one option to define a representative of them is through the generalised median correspondence. In general, the computation of the generalised median is an NP-complete task. In this paper, we present two methods to calculate the generalised median correspondence of multiple correspondences. The first one obtains the optimal solution in cubic time, but it is restricted to the Hamming distance. The second one obtains a sub-optimal solution through an iterative approach, but does not have any restrictions with respect to the used distance. We compare both proposals in terms of the distance to the true generalised median and runtime."}
{"ID": 305, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Child abuse", "abstract": "A cost of illness (COI) study was undertaken to estimate the magnitude and range of lifetime effects associated with child maltreatment in Australia, using an incidence-based approach. Costs were primarily estimated through calculation of population attributable fractions (PAFs) to determine the marginal effects of child maltreatment on a range of outcomes. PAFs were then applied to estimates of expenditure, inflated to 2014-15 Australian dollars, projected over the life course, according to a baseline age of incident cases for child maltreatment in 2012-13, and discounted at 7% per annum. Sensitivity analysis was conducted using a best and lower bound estimate of incidence of child abuse. The best estimate of the total estimated lifetime financial costs for incident cases of child maltreatment in 2012-13 was $9.3 billion (a cost per child maltreated of $176,437), with a lower bound of $5.8 billion. The best estimate of lifetime costs associated with reduced quality of life and premature mortality (non-financial costs) for all incident cases of child maltreatment in 2012-13 was $17.4 billion, or $328,757 per child maltreated. The considerable lifetime costs associated with child maltreatment warrants an expansion of existing investment in primary and secondary prevention and targeted support services for children and families at risk. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 306, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A critical aspect of applying modern computational solution methods to complex multi-physics systems of relevance to nuclear reactor modeling, is the assessment of the predictive capability of specific proposed mathematical models. In this respect the understanding of numerical error, the sensitivity of the solution to parameters associated with input data, boundary condition uncertainty, and mathematical models is critical. Additionally, the ability to evaluate and or approximate the model efficiently, to allow development of a reasonable level of statistical diagnostics of the mathematical model and the physical system, is of central importance. In this study we report on initial efforts to apply integrated adjoint-based computational analysis and automatic differentiation tools to begin to address these issues. The study is carried out in the context of a Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes approximation to turbulent fluid flow and heat transfer using a particular spatial discretization based on implicit fully-coupled stabilized FE methods. Initial results are presented that show the promise of these computational techniques in the context of nuclear reactor relevant prototype thermal-hydraulics problems. Published by Elsevier Inc."}
{"ID": 307, "domain": "CS", "area": "Machine learning", "abstract": "A critical aspect of dimensionality reduction is to assess the quality of selected (or produced) feature subsets properly. Feature subset assessment in machine learning refers to split a given feature subset into a training set, which is used to estimate the parameters of a classification model, and a test set used to estimate the predictive performance of the model. Then, averaging the results of multiple splitting (i.e., Cross-Validation, CV) is commonly used to decrease the variance of the estimator. But in practice, CV scheme is very computationally expensive. In this paper, we propose a new statistics index method called LW-index for evaluation of feature subset and dimensionality reduction algorithms in general. The proposed method is a type of \"classical statistics\" approach that uses the feature subset to compute an empirical estimate of the quality of feature subset. A large number of performance comparisons with the machine learning approach conducted on fourteen benchmark collections show that the proposed LW index is highly correlated with the external indices (i.e., MacroF(1), MicroF(1)) of SVM and Centroid-Based Classifier (CBC) trained by five-fold CV scheme. Furthermore, the experimental results indicate that LW index has the same performance as the traditional CV scheme for evaluating the dimensionality reduction algorithms and it is more efficient than the traditional methodology. Therefore, one contribution of this paper is to present an alternative methodology, based on an internal index typically used in the unsupervised learning context, that is computationally cheaper than the traditional CV methodology. Another contribution is to propose a new internal index that behaves better than other similar indices widely used in clustering and shows high correlation with the results obtained by the traditional methodology. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V."}
{"ID": 308, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Cell biology", "abstract": "A critical barrier for the successful prevention and treatment of recurrent prostate cancer is detection and eradication of metastatic and therapy-resistant disease. Despite the fall in diagnoses and mortality, the reported incidence of metastatic disease has increased 72% since 2004. Prostate cancer arises in cohesive groups as intraepithelial neoplasia, migrates through muscle and leaves the gland via perineural invasion for hematogenous dissemination. Current technological advances have shown cohesive-clusters of tumor (also known as microemboli) within the circulation. Circulating tumor cell (CTC) profiles are indicative of disseminated prostate cancer, and disseminated tumor cells (DTC) are found in cohesive-clusters, a phenotypic characteristic of both radiation- and drug-resistant tumors. Recent reports in cell biology and informatics, coupled with mass spectrometry, indicate that the integrin adhesome network provides an explanation for the biophysical ability of cohesive-clusters of tumor cells to invade thorough muscle and nerve microenvironments while maintaining adhesion-dependent therapeutic resistance. Targeting cohesive-clusters takes advantage of the known ability of extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion to promote tumor cell survival and represents an approach that has the potential to avoid the progression to drug- and radiotherapy-resistance. In the following review we will examine the evidence for development and dissemination of cohesive-clusters in metastatic prostate cancer. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V."}
{"ID": 309, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Molecular biology", "abstract": "A critical process in apoptosis is the permeabilization of the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM). This process is known to be regulated by the multi-domain Bcl-2 family proteins. For example, the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and Bak are responsible for forming pores at MOM. The anti-apoptotic proteins (including Bcl-2, Mcl-1 and Bcl-xL), on the other hand, can inhibit this pore-forming process. Interestingly, although these two subgroups of proteins perform opposite apoptotic functions, their structures are very similar. This raises two highly interesting questions: (1) Why do these structurally similar proteins play opposite roles in apoptosis? (2) What are the roles of different functional domains of a Bcl-2 family protein in determining its apoptotic property? In this study, we generated a series of deletion mutants and substitution chimera, and used a combination of molecular biology, bio-informatics and living cell imaging techniques to answer these questions. Our major findings are: (1) All of the Bcl-2 family proteins appear to possess an intrinsic pro-apoptotic property. (2) The N-termini of these proteins play an active role in suppressing their pro-apoptotic function. (3) The apoptotic potency is positively correlated with membrane affinity of the alpha 5/6 helix domains. (4) Charge distribution flanking the alpha 5/6 helices is also important for the apoptotic potency. These findings explain why different members of Bcl-2 family proteins with similar domain composition can function oppositely in the apoptotic process."}
{"ID": 310, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Prenatal development", "abstract": "A critical question in brain development is whether different brain circuits mature concurrently or with different timescales. To characterize the anatomical and functional development of different visual cortical areas, one must be able to distinguish these areas. Here, we show that zinc histochemistry, which reveals a subset of glutamatergic processes, can be used to reliably distinguish visual areas in juvenile and adult ferret cerebral cortex, and that the postnatal decline in levels of synaptic zinc follows a broadly similar developmental trajectory in multiple areas of ferret visual cortex. Zinc staining in all areas examined (17, 18, 19, 21, and Suprasylvian) is greater in the 5-week-old than in the adult. Furthermore, there is less laminar variation in zinc staining in the 5-week-old visual cortex than in the adult. Despite differences in staining intensity, areal boundaries can be discerned in the juvenile as in the adult. By 6 weeks of age, we observe a significant decline in visual cortical synaptic zinc; this decline was most pronounced in layer IV of areas 17 and 18, with much less change in higher-order extrastriate areas during the important period in visual cortical development following eye opening. By 10 weeks of age, the laminar pattern of zinc staining in all visual areas is essentially adultlike. The decline in synaptic zinc in the supra- and infragranular layers in all areas proceeds at the same rate, though the decline in layer IV does not. These results suggest that the timecourse of synaptic zinc decline is lamina specific, and further confirm and extend the notion that at least some aspects of cortical maturation follow a similar developmental timecourse in multiple areas. The postnatal decline in synaptic zinc we observe during the second postnatal month begins after eye opening, consistent with evidence that synaptic zinc is regulated by sensory experience."}
{"ID": 311, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Cancer", "abstract": "A critical step in metastases formation is cancer-cell invasion through tissue. During invasion, cells change morphology and apply forces to their surroundings. We have previously shown that single, metastatic breast-cancer cells will mechanically indent a synthetic, impenetrable polyacrylamide gel with physiological-stiffness in attempted invasion; benign breast cells do not indent the gels. In solid tumors, e.g., breast cancers, metastases occur predominantly by collective cell-invasion. Thus, here we evaluate the effects of cell proximity on mechanical invasiveness, specifically through changes in gel indention. Gel indentation is induced by 56, 33 and 2% (in >1000 cells), respectively, of adjacent high metastatic potential (MP), low MP and benign breast cells, being double the amounts observed in single, well-separated cells. Single cells exhibited a distribution of indentation depths below 10 A mu m, while adjacent cells also showed a second peak of deeper indentations. The second peak included 65% of indenting high MP cells as compared to 15% in the low MP cells, illustrating the difference in their invasiveness. Thus, proximity of the metastatic cells enhances their mechanical ability to invade, demonstrating why collective cancer-cell migration is likely more efficient. This could potentially provide a rapid, quantitative approach to identify metastatic cells, and to determine their metastatic potential."}
{"ID": 312, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Mental Health", "abstract": "A cross section, questionnaire based study was carried out from January 2012 till December 2014 to compare intellectual wellness (IW) awareness on the basis of gender in teachers of basic sciences at medical universities of Karachi, Pakistan. Data was collected from 3 public and 5 private medical universities of Karachi, Pakistan. Questionnaire was tailored from \"Wellness Wheel\" and responses were aggregated for eight questions in the dimension of IW to obtain aggregate IW score. Reliability of the questionnaire was measured using Cronbach's alpha. The average intellectual score was 24.99 +/- 3.93 with a minimum score of 8 and maximum 32. The frequency of keeping informed about research updates was significantly higher in males (p = 0.043) that emphasized significantly better IW awareness of male medical teachers involved in teaching of medical sciences in both public and private medical universities of Pakistan."}
{"ID": 313, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Dementia", "abstract": "A cross sectional study was conducted in a group of 317 subjects older than 60 in Malaysia, aimed to determine risk factors associated with cognitive impairment in older adults, focusing on trace elements and DNA damage. Cognitive decline was determined by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Oxidative stress markers (malondialdehyde-MDA and superoxide dismutase-SOD) were determined and DNA damage was assayed using Alkaline Comet Assay. Toenail samples were taken and analyzed using ICP-MS to determine trace element levels. A total of 62.1 % of subjects had cognitive impairment. Subjects with cognitive impairment had significantly higher levels of MDA and DNA damage as compared to the group with normal cognitive function; MDA (2.07 +/- 0.05 nmol/L vs 1.85 +/- 0.06 nmol/L) (p < 0.05) and DNA damage (% Tail Density, 14.52 +/- 0.32 vs 10.31 +/- 0.42; Tail Moment, 1.79 +/- 0.06 vs 1.28 +/- 0.06) (p < 0.05 for all parameters). However, the level of SOD among subjects with cognitive impairment (6.67 +/- 0.33 u.e/min/mg protein) was lower than the level among those with normal cognitive functions (11.36 +/- 0.65 u.e/min/mg protein) (p < 0.05). Multiple logistic regression revealed the predictors for cognitive impairment among the subjects were DNA damage (Adjusted odd ratio [OR], 1.37; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18-1.59), level of trace elements in toenails namely, lead (OR, 2.471; CI, 1.535-3.980) and copper (OR, 1.275; CI, 1.047-1.552) (p < 0.05). High levels of lead and copper can lead to increase in oxidative stress levels and are associated with DNA damage that eventually could be associated with cognitive decline."}
{"ID": 314, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Thermodynamics", "abstract": "A cross-linked polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) nanohybrid is synthesized through Schiff base chemistry by using octa-amino POSS as building blocks and glutaraldehyde as dual functional reagent. The obtained nanohybrid is characterized by FT-IR, solid-state Si-29 NMR, SEM, TEM, TGA and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, and the results demonstrate the successful cross-linkage between POSS molecules, forming block-like irregular nanoparticles with a specific surface area of 42.8 m(2) g(-1). As a novel solid-phase adsorbent, cross-linked POSS nanohybrid exhibits selective adsorption properties for acidic dyes, i.e., methyl orange (MO) in the present case. The strong electrostatic interactions between MO species and the nanohybrid are the main driving forces for MO adsorption. The kinetic data are well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The adsorption isotherm studies demonstrate that the data are well fit with Langmuir model at 293 K and a maximum adsorption capacity of 237.5 mg g(-1) is obtained. Thermodynamic studies indicate that the adsorption of MO is spontaneous and exothermal, along with reduced randomness. The adsorbed MO species could be effectively recovered by using methanol/NaOH (9/1, viv, 0.1 mol L-1 NaOH) as eluent. The practical application for textile wastewater treatment demonstrates that cross-linked POSS nanohybrid appears to be a promising material in dye removal field. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 315, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Rheumatoid Arthritis", "abstract": "A cross-sectional reliability study was conducted with 23 normal participants to establish normal values, and the repeatability and validity of distal radioulnar joint translation measurements using ultrasound imaging. Static transverse images of maximal supination, neutral and maximal pronation were examined to assess translation, using a method consistent with the rheumatoid arthritis subluxation ratio. Translation while gripping a 1kg weight in supinated and pronated positions was then compared with non-gripping translation. There was significantly more ulnar radial translation found with pronation than supination, when compared with neutral. Gripping in pronation did not produce statistically significant changes in translation, whereas the changes produced by gripping in supination were significant. Internal consistency was deemed very high and the rheumatoid arthritis subluxation ratio values measured using ultrasound imaging were consistent with previously documented values measured by computerized tomography. This study demonstrated that translational movement of the distal radioulnar joint can be reliably detected in healthy participants using ultrasound imaging. This may reduce dependency on other imaging modalities to diagnose distal radioulnar joint instability. Level of Evidence: 2."}
{"ID": 316, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Osteoporosis", "abstract": "A cross-sectional study was conducted on a group of pharmacy students to assess the relation between nutritional knowledge and awareness of university students and their nutrition habits and health related performance and indicators. The students were subjected to a questionnaire designed to approach four health related topics including nutrition literacy, health awareness, nutritional habits and health related performance. Answers on each topic were collected and statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism 5 software including a measure of gender differences and correlative studies. No significant difference between genders in the overall responses but discrepancies in certain questions were observed. Female students showed higher awareness of nutrition concepts and practices but poor implementation from their side was observed. The study revealed that a positive and significant correlation existed between health related performance and nutrition literacy (r = 0.32). Healthier eating habits and lifestyle were associated more with nutrition conscious students (r = 0.73) than knowledgeable students (r = 0.56). It was concluded that knowledge alone is not enough to stimulate individuals to practice healthy habits. Other implementations are required to raise awareness of the issues at hand."}
{"ID": 317, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Prejudice", "abstract": "A crucial element of navigating group conflict is how group members manage stigma imposed on them by other groups. Across three experiments, we propose that group identification is a cause and consequence of self-labeling with stigmatizing group labels, a practice known to reduce stigma. Experiment 1 found that group identification increased self-labeling with a stigmatizing group label. In Experiment 2, individuals who self-labeled with a stigmatizing group label felt more identified with their group, which reduced the label's perceived negativity; they also persisted longer on an in-group helping task, an effect that was partially mediated by group identification. In Experiment 3, observers perceived self-labelers as more identified with their group and as viewing the label less negatively; perceived group identification mediated the relationship. Group identification is a critical component in reappropriating stigmatizing labels and provides insight into how highly identified members can navigate group conflict by negotiating their group's identity."}
{"ID": 318, "domain": "CS", "area": "Relational databases", "abstract": "A crucial operation in the maintenance of data quality in relational databases is to remove tuples that mutually describe the same entity (i.e., duplicate tuples) and to replace them with a tuple that minimizes information loss. A function that combines multiple tuples into one is called a fusion function. In this paper, we investigate fusion functions for attributes of which the values can be sorted by means of an order relation that reflects a notion of generality. It is shown that providing such an order relation a priori, let alone keeping it up-to-date, is a costly operation. Therefore, the Dynamical Order Construction (DOC) algorithm is proposed that constructs an order relation in an automated fashion upon inspecting the data that need to be fused. Such order relations can be immediately deployed in a framework of selectional fusion functions, which are fusion functions that adopt the sort-and-select principle. These fusion functions are investigated closely in terms of their selection strategies. An experimental evaluation of our method shows the influence of the parameters and the benefit with respect to using a fixed and predefined taxonomy. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 319, "domain": "CS", "area": "Software engineering", "abstract": "A crucial problem in modern software engineering is maturity assessment of organizations developing software, however, research has shown that efficiency is a clearer indicator of agile transformation readiness. We propose utilizing a process model of RUP development methodology, as a pattern for comparing it with the examined process. Two factors were proposed to assess maturity and factor determining the efficiency of the RUP process. The above mentioned RUP model concept is based on a multi-agent based simulation (MABS). It presents goals and behaviours of agents as well as components of the agent system environment. To confirm the usefulness of the method for assessment of organization's maturity, a two-fold experiment was undertaken. The results confirm the usefulness of the model in efficiency and maturity assessment. First part consisted of tuning the simulation internal parameters to the development process. In the second part we propose three factors that can be used to assess efficiency and maturity of a RUP IT organization. The proposed coefficients are an extension of previous research by the authors, devoted to the assessment of organizational readiness for agile processes transformation."}
{"ID": 320, "domain": "CS", "area": "Bioinformatics", "abstract": "A crucial step in the use of DNA markers for biodiversity surveys is the assignment of Linnaean taxonomies (species, genus, etc.) to sequence reads. This allows the use of all the information known based on the taxonomic names. Taxonomic placement of DNA barcoding sequences is inherently probabilistic because DNA sequences contain errors, because there is natural variation among sequences within a species, and because reference data bases are incomplete and can have false annotations. However, most existing bioinformatics methods for taxonomic placement either exclude uncertainty, or quantify it using metrics other than probability. In this paper we evaluate the performance of the recently proposed probabilistic taxonomic placement method PROTAX by applying it to both annotated reference sequence data as well as to unknown environmental data. Our four case studies include contrasting taxonomic groups (fungi, bacteria, mammals and insects), variation in the length and quality of the barcoding sequences (from individually Sanger-sequenced sequences to short Illumina reads), variation in the structures and sizes of the taxonomies (800-130000 species) and variation in the completeness of the reference data bases (representing 15-100% of known species). Our results demonstrate that PROTAX yields essentially unbiased probabilities of taxonomic placement, which means its quantification of species identification uncertainty is reliable. As expected, the accuracy of taxonomic placement increases with increasing coverage of taxonomic and reference sequence data bases, and with increasing ratio of genetic variation among taxonomic levels over within taxonomic levels. We conclude that reliable species-level identification from environmental samples is still challenging and that neglecting identification uncertainty can lead to spurious inference. A key aim for future research is the completion of taxonomic and reference sequence data bases and making these two types of data compatible."}
{"ID": 321, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Strength of materials", "abstract": "A cumulative fatigue damage model is presented to estimate fatigue life for high-strength steels in high-cycle and very-high-cycle fatigue regimes with fish-eye mode failure, and a simple formula is obtained. The model takes into account the inclusion size, fine granular area (FGA) size, and tensile strength of materials. Then, the equivalent crack growth rate of FGA is proposed. The model is used to estimate the fatigue life and equivalent crack growth rate for a bearing steel (GCr15) of present investigation and four high-strength steels in the literature. The equivalent crack growth rate of FGA is calculated to be of the order of magnitude of 10-1410-11 m/cycle. The estimated results accord well with the present experimental results and prior predictions and experimental results in the literature. Moreover, the effect of inclusion size on fatigue life is discussed. It is indicated that the inclusion size has an important influence on the fatigue life, and the effect is related to the relative size of inclusion for FGA. For the inclusion size close to the FGA size, the former has a substantial effect on the fatigue life. While for the relatively large value of FGA size to inclusion size, it has little effect on the fatigue life."}
{"ID": 322, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Cell biology", "abstract": "A current approach to obtain bioengineered lungs as a future alternative for transplantation is based on seeding stem cells on decellularized lung scaffolds. A fundamental question to be solved in this approach is how to drive stem cell differentiation onto the different lung cell phenotypes. Whereas the use of soluble factors as agents to modulate the fate of stem cells was established from an early stage of the research with this type of cells, it took longer to recognize that the physical microenvironment locally sensed by stem cells (e.g. substrate stiffness, 3D architecture, cyclic stretch, shear stress, air-liquid interface, oxygenation gradient) also contributes to their differentiation. The potential role played by physical stimuli would be particularly relevant in lung bioengineering since cells within the organ are physiologically subjected to two main stimuli required to facilitate efficient gas exchange: air ventilation and blood perfusion across the organ. The present review focuses on describing how the cell mechanical microenvironment can modulate stem cell differentiation and how these stimuli could be incorporated into lung bioreactors for optimizing organ bioengineering."}
{"ID": 323, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A current fed push pull converters cascaded with a buck pre-regulator is proposed. Voltage stress of the push pull switches is reduced by buck pre regulation. Pulse width modulation is done only to the switch in buck stage. Output voltage and the buck inductor current is controlled using average current mode control. The closed loop simulation of a 20W, 100V, 0.2A cascaded buck push pull converter with analog control circuit is done using PSIM. Closed loop simulation using digital control circuit is done by using a SIMCOUPLER module which couples power electronic circuit in PSIM and digital control circuit in MATLAB. Further, hardware implementation of digital controllers on two platforms is explained. Switching pulses are generated using digital circuit are fed to the converter switches and the converter is tested for the open loop operation."}
{"ID": 324, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Molecular biology", "abstract": "A current goal of molecular biology is to identify transcriptional networks that regulate cell differentiation. However, identifying functional gene regulatory elements has been challenging in the context of developing tissues where material is limited and cell types are mixed. To identify regulatory sites during sex determination, we subjected Sertoli cells from mouse fetal testes to DNaseI-seq and ChIP-seq for H3K27ac. DNaseI-seq identified putative regulatory sites around genes enriched in Sertoli and pregranulosa cells; however, active enhancers marked by H3K27ac were enriched proximal to only Sertoli-enriched genes. Sequence analysis identified putative binding sites of known and novel transcription factors likely controlling Sertoli cell differentiation. As a validation of this approach, we identified a novel Sertoli cell enhancer upstream of Wt1, and used it to drive expression of a transgenic reporter in Sertoli cells. This work furthers our understanding of the complex genetic network that underlies sex determination and identifies regions that potentially harbor non-coding mutations underlying disorders of sexual development."}
{"ID": 325, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Crohn's Disease", "abstract": "A current major challenge in leprosy control is the prevention of permanent disabilities. Host pathological inflammatory responses termed type 1 reaction (T1R) are a leading cause of nerve damage for leprosy patients. The environmental or inherited factors that predispose leprosy cases to undergo T1R are not known. However, studies have shown an important contribution of host genetics for susceptibility to T1R. We have previously identified variants encompassing the TNFSF15/TNFSF8 genes as T1R risk factors in a Vietnamese sample and replicated this association in a Brazilian sample. However, we failed to validate in Brazilian patients the strong association of TNFSF15/TNFSF8 markers rs6478108 and rs7863183 with T1R that we had observed in Vietnamese patients. Here, we investigated if the lack of validation of these variants was due to age-dependent effects on association using four independent population samples, two from Brazil and two from Vietnam. In the combined analysis across the four samples, we observed a strong association of the TNFSF15/TNFSF8 variants rs6478108, rs7863183, and rs3181348 with T1R (p(combined) = 1.5E-05, p(combined) = 1.8E-05, and p(combined) = 6.5E-06, respectively). However, the association of rs6478108 with T1R was more pronounced in leprosy cases under 30 years of age compared to the global sample [odds ratio (OR) = 1.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.54-2.46, p(combined) = 2.5E-08 versus OR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.23-1.73, p(combined) = 1.5E-05]. A multivariable analysis indicated that the association of rs6478108 with T1R was independent of either rs7863183 or rs3181348. These three variants are known regulators of the TNFSF8 gene transcription level in multiple tissues. The age dependency of association of rs6478108 and T1R suggests that the genetic control of gene expression varies across the human life span."}
{"ID": 326, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A current-mode universal biquadratic filter with five inputs and one output employing three inverting second-generation current conveyors (ICCIIs), two grounded capacitors and two resistors is presented. The new circuit offers the following advantage features: very low active and passive sensitivities, using of grounded capacitors that is ideal for integrated circuit implementation, the versatility to synthesize any type of active filter transfer functions without requirements for critical component matching conditions, very high output impedance and needs not another current follower to duplicate the input current signal for the realization of notch or allpass responses."}
{"ID": 327, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Manufacturing engineering", "abstract": "A curriculum wide initiative to enrich course content and increase student engagement in experiential learning through the adoption of new learning modalities is underway in the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Miami University, OH. The projects entail the development of online learning modules which interweave experimental and computational analysis. The modules incorporate multimedia content which has been prepared with undergraduate and graduate to enable easy uploading/updating of material. The distinctive feature of the ComEx studios is the thematic linking of the content which allows them to be used for multiple classes with a progressive advancement in technical content. This paper presents details of the studio model: motivation, methodology, implementation and assessment. The learning modules can utilized by faculty to introduce new lab derived content, which may be related to their research, into a traditional class only course format. Additional benefits of the modules include the ability to independently review specific topics in preparation of advanced courses or for a research project. Assessment of the efficacy of the modules is being performed by students surveys completed online, and by four external (faculty) reviewers. Continuous improvement of the modules is underway."}
{"ID": 328, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A cysteine protease inhibitor (CPI) with an apparent molecular mass of 11.5 kDa was purified from larval hemolymph of the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) by gel filtration on Sephadex G-50 followed by hydrophobic and ion-exchange column chromatographies. The purified cysteine proteinase inhibitor, denoted as MsCPI, strongly inhibited the plant cysteine protease, papain, with a K-i value of 5.5 x 10(-9)M. Nucleotide sequence analysis of a partial cDNA encoding MsCPI indicated that MsCPI consists of 105 amino acid residues in a sequence that is similar to sarcocystatin A from Sarcophaga peregrina. However, northern blotting and PCR analyses using the specific primers of MsCPI suggested that the mRNA encoding MsCPI had a size of more than 12 kilobases, which included at least six tandemly repeated MsCPI segments. MsCPI was expressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant protein effectively inhibited cysteine proteases from plants as well as from animals such as cathepsins B (K-i, 6.8 nM), H (3.0 nM), and L (0.87 nM). There was no inhibition exhibited toward trypsin, chymotrypsin, subtilisin, pepsin or themolysin. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 329, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Smoking Cessation", "abstract": "A daily black carbon (BC) exposure assessment of forty 10-12 years-old children was conducted in the Seoul Metropolitan Area from August 2015 to January 2016. Each participant carried a microaethalometer to measure BC concentrations for 24 h while their whereabouts and microenvironments (MEs) were recorded via a time-activity diary (TAD) and follow-up interviews. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to compare average BC levels by potential risk factors including demographic, temporal, residential, and indoor/outdoor/transportation activity variables. The children's average daily exposure was 1.93 g/m(3), with a range of 0.2-85.43 g/m(3) (mean daily individual exposure ranges from 0.54 to 4.80 g/m(3)). Even children attending the same elementary school reported BC exposures which differed by approximately 40%, primarily because of individually distinct time-activity patterns and the MEs with which each child interacted. On weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) (1.86 2.50 g/m(3)) and holidays (Saturdays, Sundays, and vacation) (1.71 2.48 g/m(3)), children were subject to reduced exposures to BC, likely due to decreased surrounding traffic volumes and different time-activity patterns on weekend days compared to on weekdays (from Mondays to Fridays) (1.95 2.44 g/m(3)) or school days (weekdays during the school semesters) (2.05 2.43 mu g/m(3)). Commuting in diesel vehicles (often to private academies) or in the subway, cooking, and environmental tobacco smoke were all found to elevate BC exposure. Likewise, proximity to traffic sources and parental indoor smoking contributed to the enhancement of residential BC concentrations. Our findings suggested a need to emplace proactive measures including diesel fleet regulation and smoking cessation campaigns to protect children from high levels of BC exposure. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 330, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer vision", "abstract": "A damage detection methodology is proposed by integrating a nonlinear recursive filter and a non-contact computer vision based algorithm to measure structural dynamic responses. A phase-based optical flow algorithm inspired by the motion magnification technique is used to measure structural displacements, and the unscented Kalman filter is used to predict structural properties such as stiffness and damping coefficients. This non-contact displacement measurement methodology does not require an intensive instrumentation process, does not add any additional mass to the structure which may skew measurements, and can measure more signals compared to traditional methods. This measurement methodology still needs improvement as a tool due to its higher noise level relative to traditional accelerometer and laser vibrometer measurements. In order to detect structural damage using measured displacements from video, an unscented Kalman filter is used to remove noise from the displacement measurement and simultaneously detect damage by identifying the current stiffness and damping coefficient values, given a known mass, which are used to detect damage. To validate the proposed damage detection method state-space equations are derived without external excitation input and experimental tests are carried out. The experimental results show reasonable and accurate predictions of the stiffness and damping properties compared to dynamic analysis calculations. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 331, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A damage localization algorithm based on Operational Deformed Shapes and known as Interpolation Damage Detection Method, is herein applied to the finite element model of a cable stayed bridge for detecting and localizing damages in the stays and the supporting steel beams under the bridge deck. Frequency Response Functions have been calculated basing on the responses of the bridge model to low intensity seismic excitations and used to recover the Operational Deformed Shapes both in the transversal and in the vertical direction. The analyses have been carried in the undamaged configuration and repeated in several different damaged configurations. Results show that the method is able to detect the damage and its correct location, provided an accurate estimation of the Operational Deformed Shapes is available. Furthermore, the damage detection algorithm results effective also when damages coexist at the same time at several location of the cable-stayed bridge members."}
{"ID": 332, "domain": "CS", "area": "network security", "abstract": "A darknet monitoring system is developed to grasp malicious activities on the Internet in an early stage and to cope with them. The darknet monitoring system consists of network sensors deployed widely on the Internet. The sensors capture incoming unsolicited packets. A goal of this system analyzes captured malicious packets and provides effective information for protecting good Internet users from malicious activities. To provide effective and reliable information, sensors must be deployed in secret and hidden from outside. On the other hand, attackers intend to detect sensors for evading them. This attempt is known as localization attacks to darknet monitoring systems. If actual location of sensors is revealed to attackers, it is almost impossible to grasp the latest tactics used by attackers. Thus in our previous work, we proposed a packet sampling method, which samples incoming packets based on an attribute of packets sender, to increase a tolerance to a localization attack and to keep a high quality of information publicized by the system. As a result, we almost succeeded to counter from a localization attack, which generates spike on the publicized graph to detect a sensor. However in some cases, proposed sampling method works to attacker's advantage and spikes appear clearly on the graph. Therefore, we propose advanced sampling methods, which sample incoming packets based on multiple attributes of packets sender. In this paper, we present our improved methods and show a promising evaluation result obtained from the simulation."}
{"ID": 333, "domain": "CS", "area": "Relational databases", "abstract": "A database is a structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer so that it can be consulted by a program to answer queries. Records retrieved through queries become information that can be used to make decisions. A database consists of one or more tables containing records of values for fields that pertain to the attributes of the object being represented by the table. Relational databases contain multiple tables that are linked by means of key fields. A database management system is the computer program that manages the database and queries the data to produce reports of information. Examples of simple databases and how they are produced are described in this article."}
{"ID": 334, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Nonverbal communication", "abstract": "A dearth of scientific knowledge currently exists regarding human nonverbal predictors of violence. Using a sample of 178 adults, this study sought to identify a series of nonverbal behaviors the research participants perceived to be associated with the communication of imminent violence. Assuming a boxer's stance, invading personal space, clenched hands, and threatening remarks were almost uniformly associated with impending violence. Several other gestures and behaviors were also perceived to be associated with violence to a lesser degree. Behaviors least perceived to be associated with violence were crying, rapid eye blinking, placing hands on hips, and avoiding eye contact. Analyses by sex and race found only minor, and substantively insignificant, differences, suggesting these perceptions may be innate rather than cultural."}
{"ID": 335, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Prenatal development", "abstract": "A decade old theory hypothesizes that brain exposure to androgens promotes involvement in criminal behavior. General support for this hypothesis has been provided by studies of postpubertal circulating levels of testosterone, at least among males. However, the theory also predicts that for both genders, prenatal androgens will be positively correlated with persistent offending, an idea for which no evidence currently exists. The present study used an indirect measure of prenatal androgen exposurethe relative length of the second and fourth fingers of the right hand (r2D:4D)to test the hypothesis that elevated prenatal androgens promote criminal tendencies later in life for males and females. Questionnaires were administered to 2,059 college students in Malaysia and 1,291 college students in the United States. Respondents reported their r2D:4D relative finger lengths along with involvement in 13 categories of delinquent and criminal acts. Statistically significant correlations between the commission of most types of offenses and r2D:4D ratios were found for males and females even after controlling for age. It is concluded that high exposure to androgens during prenatal development contributes to most forms of offending following the onset of puberty."}
{"ID": 336, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Manufacturing engineering", "abstract": "A decision tree is one of the techniques in data mining for prediction. Using this method, hidden information from abundant of data can be taken out and interpret the information into useful knowledge. In this paper the academic performance of the student will be examined from 2002 to 2012 from two faculties; Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering and Faculty of Microelectronic Engineering in University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP). The objectives of this study are to determine and compare the factors that affect the students' academic achievement between the two faculties. The prediction results show there are five attributes that have been considered as factors that influence the students' academic performance."}
{"ID": 337, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Medicare", "abstract": "A decrease in live donor pediatric kidney transplants has occurred in the United States. This study investigates barriers that may influence access to live donor kidney transplants in children. Retrospective chart review was conducted for 91 children (69% male, mean age 11.9 years) who underwent pretransplant workup from 2005 to 2015 at an urban pediatric hospital. Fifty-four percent were African American, 32% Caucasian, 8% Arabic, 3% Hispanic, and 3% Others. Government-sponsored insurance (Medicaid/Medicare) was utilized by 73%,and 54% had dual caregivers. Only nine of 68 kidney transplants were live donor transplants. Live donor transplants (11%) were significantly (P=.008) lower than deceased donor transplants (59%) in African Americans. Private insurance was reported by 56% of live donor recipients and 25% of deceased donor recipients. Among live donor recipients, 78% were from dual caregiver families. Caregiver, health-related, financial, and religious/cultural barriers to live donor transplants were reported, several of which may be amenable to positive intervention."}
{"ID": 338, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Asthma", "abstract": "A decreased responsiveness of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis to stress stimuli in patients with atopy is well documented. The aim of this study was to investigate personality traits, salivary alpha amylase activity and the aldosterone response to psychosocial stress procedure based on public speech in atopic patients with respect to sex and the menstrual cycle (MC) phase. The study was performed in 106 subjects of both sexes, 53 atopic patients suffering from allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma or atopic dermatitis and 53 age-, sex-, the MC phase- and BMI- matched healthy controls. Substantially attenuated activity of alpha-amylase and reduced secretion of aldosterone during the psychosocial stress were observed in the whole sample of patients with atopy. Higher activity of alpha-amylase observed in the follicular compared to the luteal phase in healthy women was not present in atopic patients. In both males and females, atopy was associated with blunted cortisol response but no changes in the heart rate. Psychological characterization revealed a significantly higher trait anxiety and higher preference for avoidance-oriented coping strategy in female but not male atopic patients. These findings provide evidence that patients with atopy exhibit insufficient alpha-amylase and aldosterone responsiveness to psychosocial stress, thus suggesting decreased sympathetic activity. Potential disturbances in sex hormone status during the MC in female patients with atopy have to be considered in future research. Changes in personality traits were demonstrated in female atopic patients, but not in male patients. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd."}
{"ID": 339, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A deflection theory of earth-anchored suspension bridges having the fabrication camber is presented considering tower effects and large deflection effects of main cables. And the Unstrained Length Method (ULM), which keeps unstrained lengths of both cable and frame elements constant in the iteration process, is extendedly applied to nonlinear FE analyses of suspension bridges under live load combinations. Finally, one cable without the suspended girder and two earth-anchored suspension bridge models are analytically and numerically solved. And the numerical results are compared to demonstrate accuracy and validity of both the deflection theory and ULM. In particulars, it is emphasized that the load effects of suspension bridges under live loads can be effectively evaluated by applying the semi-linearized theory without relying on nonlinear FE analyses."}
{"ID": 340, "domain": "CS", "area": "Parallel computing", "abstract": "A design approach for determining the optimal flow pattern in a landscape lake is proposed based on FLUENT simulation, multiple objective optimization, and parallel computing. This paper formulates the design into a multi-objective optimization problem, with lake circulation effects and operation cost as two objectives, and solves the optimization problem with non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II. The lake flow pattern is modelled in FLUENT. The parallelization aims at multiple FLUENT instance runs, which is different from the FLUENT internal parallel solver. This approach: (1) proposes lake flow pattern metrics, i.e. weighted average water flow velocity, water volume percentage of low flow velocity, and variance of flow velocity, (2) defines user defined functions for boundary setting, objective and constraints calculation, and (3) parallels the execution of multiple FLUENT instances runs to significantly reduce the optimization wall-clock time. The proposed approach is demonstrated through a case study for Meijiang Lake in Tianjin, China."}
{"ID": 341, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A design methodology for three-stage CMOS OTAs operating in the subthreshold region is presented. The procedure is focused on the development of ultra-low-power amplifiers requiring low silicon area but being able to drive high capacitive loads. Indeed, by following the presented methodology we designed a CMOS OTA in a 0.35-mu m technology that occupies only 4.4 . 10(-3) mm(2), is powered with a 1-V supply, exhibits 120-dB DC gain and is able to drive a capacitive load up to 200 pF. Thanks to proposed methodology, the OTA is able to provide a 20-kHz unity gain bandwidth while consuming 195 nW, even under the high load considered. Moreover, the slew rate enhancer circuit in addition to the class AB output stage allows an average slew rate higher than 5 mV/mu s with the 200 pF load. Comparison with prior art shows an improvement factor in the figures of merit higher than 5."}
{"ID": 342, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A design of a new hybrid-type digital pulsewidth modulator (DPWM) with a wide frequency range of 1000 : 1, from 10 kHz to 10 MHz, is presented. The proposed DPWM has the maximum duty-cycle resolution of 11 bits and consumes the power of 17.5 mu W at 10 kHz and 2.36 mW at 10 MHz, respectively. The proposed DPWM realizes the upper 5-bit resolution using a programmable digital counter and the lower 6-bit resolution using a current-integrating-type phase interpolator, employing an M2M-ladder current-steering digital-to-analog converter for low power consumption. The operating clock is generated in on-chip using a relaxation oscillator. The prototype integrated circuit fabricated in a 0.25-mu m high-voltage complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor demonstrates that the proposed DPWM maintains a good linearity across the entire operating range."}
{"ID": 343, "domain": "CS", "area": "Operating systems", "abstract": "A design of an advanced-reliability piezoelectric transducer of acoustic emission (AE) is suggested. The advanced reliability is achieved by eliminating the main reasons that lead to failures; duplicating/backing the main operating systems; and imparting redundant or extended technical capabilities to the transducer design that make it possible to compensate for partial or complete performance loss of the antenna group. It is shown that given such a design approach, it is feasible to achieve technical characteristics that are stipulated for industrial acoustic-emission transducers. Theoretical estimates of transducer reliability are presented that show that a combination of backing of AE registration channels with different versions of their connection gives ample opportunities for governing the reliability of sensors during their usage/service life."}
{"ID": 344, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A design of fuzzy-based hierarchal approach is proposedto improve the frequency control in the power system. The simplified Great Britain (GB) frequency control model, was used as a single bus machine. A new simple tuning method is proposed with the aid of the conventional PID controller gains. The same gains are used to feed the fuzzy controller in the same loop without re-tuning the fuzzy gains. This method allows the fuzzy structure to supplement the conventional control rather than replacing it. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is proposed to find the optimal value of the controller gains. Five modeling scenarios for the fuzzy control and two cases of uncertain parameters were considered to validate the model. Structures of fuzzy controller offered high stability and robustness in the simulation results. Therefore, the proposed hierarchal structuresare used in the real-time applications of the load frequency control in the power systems. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 345, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A design solution for bulk-driven tunable transconductor capable of working under extremely low supply/consumption with rail-to-rail input common-mode range is presented in this work. The proposed transconductor topology consists of six bulk-driven CMOS inverters, and it uses a very simple biasing circuit for the transconductance tuning. The design robustness was verified for 0.5 and 0.25 V power supplies offering the advantages of the current-controlled input transconductance. For 0.5 V power supply, the proposed transconductor has 0.075-10.2 transconductance tuning range, input-referred intercept point IP3 = 1.81 V, and 4.62 MHz bandwidth for 3 current consumption. The design robustness of the tunable transconductor was verified by means of computer simulation using triple-well 0.18 CMOS process."}
{"ID": 346, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Alzheimer's Disease", "abstract": "A designed nontoxic, nonhemolytiC 11-residue peptide, NF11 (NAVRWSLMRPF), not only inhibits the aggregation of amyloid beta (A beta 40) protein but also,disaggregates the preformed oligomers and mature A beta fibrils, thereby reducing associated-toxicity. NMR experiments provide evidence of NF11's ability to inhibit fibril formation, primarily through interaction with the N-terminus region as well as the central hydrophobic cluster of A beta 40. NF11 has micromolar binding affinity toward both monomeric and aggregated species for efficient clearance of toxic aggregates. From these in vitro results, the future development of a next generation peptidomimetic therapeutic agent for amyloid disease may be possible."}
{"ID": 347, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A detailed discussion on genesis, determinant and algorithmic method of the harmonic distortion of Switched Capacitor integrator and Switched-Capacitor based second order Sigma-Delta modulator is presented. In many instances, people make harmonic distortion analysis of signal through expanding periodic signal into Fourier series or making Fourier transformation for non-periodic signal respectively. Actually, due to the complexity of transient response of Switched-Capacitor integrator, the output expression of second-order Sigma-Delta modulator loop filter is also not trivial, so we will be in great trouble if traditional method is employed when its harmonics are analyzed and calculated in such a way. A fact that is noteworthy is no matter how complicated the output response of the second integrator of the modulator is, its harmonic expression has the same functional form whether in the whole time domain or at the discrete time moments. From this we turn the harmonic analysis of the continuous-time transient response into another thing, namely computing the harmonic coefficients of the transient response at discrete time moments. The least square method is adopted in process of calculation. When developing the output expression of second-order Sigma-Delta modulator, the following point is clarified, that the harmonic distortion is dominated by the first Switched-Capacitor integrator, owing to the suppression resulted from the closed feedback of harmonic distortion of the second stage is much greater than the first stage. In addition, it is avoided that the harmonic distortion is once again brought into the feedback signal in calculation, through the way that first the additive harmonic error model is utilized to get the transfer function, second replaced by gain model in the form of power series. And by doing so, both the feasibility and simplicity of the analysis and mathematical derivation are enhanced effectively."}
{"ID": 348, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Weight Loss", "abstract": "A detailed transformation process of cation exchange (CE) chemistry from hexagonal phase CdS to CdS-Cu7S4 core-shell heterostructures nanorods and eventually to monoclinic phase Cu7S4 nanorods is reported. Applications of the nanorods in environmental pollution removal, photothermal conversion and light-induced water evaporation were investigated. The influence of the reaction time, morphology, and crystal phase on the photocatalysis, photothermal conversion and light-induced water evaporation was discussed. The results showed maximum removal value of rhodamine B by 97.8% at 1 h timepoint. Aqueous dispersion of the core-shell CdS-Cu7S4 heterostructures nanorods prepared with 2 h (1.0 g/L) exhibited a good photothermal conversion performance as it saw increase in sample temperature by 37.8 C-circle in 300 s under the irradiation of 980 nm laser. The exposure of as-obtained sample film to simulated sunlight irradiation at 2 h (8 mg) increased the weight loss of pure water by 0.62 g in 30 min with the water evaporation efficiency up to 48.4%. We are reporting an excellent light-induced water evaporation performance potential of the nanorods discussed."}
{"ID": 349, "domain": "CS", "area": "Parallel computing", "abstract": "A deterministic Boltzmann model equation solver called dugksFoam has been developed in the framework of the open source CFD toolbox OpenFOAM. The solver adopts the discrete unified gas kinetic scheme (Guo et al., 2015) with the Shakhov collision model. It has been validated by simulating several test cases covering different flow regimes including the one dimensional shock tube problem, a two dimensional thermal induced flow and the three dimensional lid-driven cavity flow. The solver features a parallel computing ability based on the velocity space decomposition, which is different from the physical space decomposition based approach provided by the OpenFOAM framework. The two decomposition approaches have been compared in both two and three dimensional cases. The parallel performance improves significantly using the newly implemented approach. A speed up by two orders of magnitudes has been observed using 256 cores on a small cluster. Program summary Program Title: dugksFoam Program Files doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/zwn7t9cf5w.1 Licensing provisions: The MIT License Programming language: C++ External routines/libraries: OpenFOAM (http://www.openfoam.org) Nature of problem: Solving the Boltzmann equation with Shakhov model explicitly. Solution method: Discrete unified gas kinetic scheme (DUGKS) Restrictions: Symmetric boundary condition can only be applied at walls parallel to axis directions. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 350, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Prenatal development", "abstract": "A developing organism exposed to a toxicant will have a response that ranges from none to severe (i.e., death or malformation). The response at a given dosage may be termed teratogenic (or developmental toxic) severity and is dependent on exposure conditions. Prenatal/embryo-fetal developmental (EFD) toxicity studies in rodents and rabbits are the most consistent and definitive assessments of teratogenic severity, and teratogenesis screening assays are best validated against their results. A formula is presented that estimates teratogenic severity for each group, including control, within an EFD study. The developmental components include embryonic/fetal death, malformations, variations, and mean fetal weight. The contribution of maternal toxicity is included with multiplication factors to adjust for the extent of mortality, maternal body weight change, and other parameters deemed important. The derivation of the formula to calculate teratogenic severity is described. Various EFD data sets from the literature are presented to highlight considerations to the calculation of the various components of the formula. Each score is compared to the concurrent control group to obtain a relative teratogenic severity. The limited studies presented suggest relative scores of two- to <fivefold higher than control have detectable but a low level of teratogenic severity, and scores fivefold higher than control have increasingly more severe teratogenicity. Such scores may help refine the concept of an exposure-based validation list for use by proponents of screening assays (Daston etal., 2014) by estimating the severity of positive exposures, or in other situations by defining the severity of a LOAEL (lowest observed adverse effect level). (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc."}
{"ID": 351, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Control engineering", "abstract": "A development of advanced control methods based on robustness, optimality and prediction is an important and challenging task. In recent years, a new control approaches have emerged to replace or augment conventional control engineering methods. The paper presents: design, verification and comparison of three advanced methods (IMC, MPC, PLM) applied in the control of dynamic processes with complex dynamics. In this paper three different methods were tested and applied to the position control of pneumatic servodrives. The presented and tested methods guarantee robust stability and high performance of the pneumatic servodrives control."}
{"ID": 352, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A development of smart materials has become a prominent issue on present industries. A smart material, included in functions, is needed for microfabrication. Complex design is able to become simply and reduce weight of parts as functionalized materials. In the traditional mechanical polishing method, even though surface roughness is good after polishing, there still remains very slight polish mark and deformed layer. Therefore, such method is not applicable to the product which requires ultra-clean surface quality. Thus, it has introduced electrochemical polishing method that electrochemical elution is applied, excluding the traditional processing method that contact between tool and workpiece always happens. In the study, Taguchi design method was introduced. By applying Taguchi design, one can significantly reduce the time required for experimental investigation, as it is effective in investigating the effects of multiple factors on performance as well as to study the influence of individual factors to determine which factor has more influence, which less. Experimental results, increases the processing time in the case of electrochemical polishing Stainless steel 316L plates were able to confirm that the improved surface quality. Start cutting after 120 s elapsed when rapidly improved surface quality showed that of the 120 s that exceeded in one area, the surface quality of the degree of improvement is slowing."}
{"ID": 353, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Polycythemia Vera", "abstract": "A diagnostic approach of myeloproliferative neoplasms, according to the 2008 WHO classification system for hematological malignancies, has to consider clinical, molecular, and cytogenetic information as well as bone marrow histology. A diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia requires the presence of BCR-ABL-1, and the Philadelphia chromosome-negative (Ph-1-negative) myeloproliferative neoplasms constitute three main subtypes, including primary myelofibrosis, polycythemia rubra vera, and essential thrombocythemia. These three Ph-1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms share many pathogenic characteristic such as JAK2 mutations; however, they differ in prognosis, progression to myelofibrosis, and risk of leukemic transformation. There are currently various major points of interest in bone marrow examination in myeloproliferative neoplasms. One is the morphology of megakaryocytes, which are the hallmark of Ph-1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms and play a crucial role in separating the different subtypes of myeloproliferative neoplasms. Another is reticulin fibrosis or collagen fibrosis, which may only be detected on a bone marrow biopsy specimen by reticulin and trichrome stains, respectively, and immunohistochemistry and certain molecular techniques may be applied in bone marrow biopsies as supporting evidence of certain features of myeloproliferative neoplasms."}
{"ID": 354, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Alzheimer's Disease", "abstract": "A dicyanoisophorone-based probe with two-photon absorption and NIR emission was developed for the in vivo fluorescence imaging of amyloid-beta plaques, which exhibited high selectivity toward A beta aggregates over other intracellular proteins. The detection limit was calculated to be as low as 109 nM. In vivo imaging studies indicated that the probe could penetrate the blood brain barrier and label A beta plaques in the living transgenic mice, and its specific binding to cerebral A beta plaques was further confirmed by one and two-photon ex vivo fluorescence imaging. All these results featured its promising application prospects for amyloid-beta sensing in basic research and biomedical research. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 355, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Strength of materials", "abstract": "A die-quenching process is one of the hot forming processes for making sturdy automobile parts. The process has some problems; low productivity, variation of temperature of dies and strength of materials, and all that. These problems are disordered for extending and upgrading the die-quenching process. The solution of this problem is figured out the characteristics of the die-quenching process. For the experiments, water-cooling dies were made from stainless steel and an installed chamber of a high-precision compress testing machine. In the experiment, temperature of dies and a workpiece was measured. Then, martensitic transformation time of the workpiece and maximum temperature of the die were obtained from these data for evaluation of quenching. After the experiment, hardness and microstructure of high-strength steel were obtained from an observation of the quenched workpiece. From these results, a new valuation method on the effect of die-quenching parameters is proposed and relationship among forming time, cooling rate of workpiece and temperature of dies was verified in this investigation."}
{"ID": 356, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Irritable Bowel Syndrome", "abstract": "A diet low in poorly absorbed, fermentable, short chain carbohydrates (FODMAPs) is an effective strategy to manage symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The diet has gained traction since its original description in Australia 10 years ago and is now an internationally accepted dietary management strategy for IBS. Randomized controlled trials have raised the profile of the low-FODMAP diet to become a viable first-line therapy for IBS, when implemented under a dietitian's guidance. Importantly, the diagnosis of IBS should be confirmed before commencement of the dietary approach. The skill set of the dietitian is then paramount to the success of the diet. Experience in gastrointestinal disorder management, consideration of symptom types, severity, baseline FODMAP intake, and overall nutritional content and meal pattern are vital in the assessment of the patient. If a strict low-FODMAP diet is deemed necessary, it should only be for an initial period of 4 to 6 weeks. Research suggests that a strict long-term, low-FODMAP diet may negatively impact intestinal microbiome. After the initial strict period, follow up with the dietitian should be conducted to achieve the overall goal-a relaxed FODMAP restriction that enables inclusion of prebiotic FODMAPs while still maintaining symptom relief. The diet will be effective in the vast majority of patients. For those in which it fails, FODMAPs should be reintroduced to the diet, and other dietary (or non-dietary) approaches should be considered."}
{"ID": 357, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A differential-hybrid charge sensitive preamplifier (CSP) was designed by taking a monolithic dual N-Channel Junction Field-effect Transistor (JFET) and a high-speed, low-noise, operational amplifier as the core parts. Input-stage of the circuit employs low-noise differential dual JFET, which ensures high input impedance and low noise. The differential dual transistor makes the quiescent point of the first-stage differential output stable, which is convenient for connecting with the post stage high-speed operational amplifier. Broadband could be amplified by connecting to the double differential dual transistors through the folded cascode-bootstrap. The amplifying circuit which replaces the interstage and post stage discrete components of a traditional CSP with integrated operational amplifier is simpler and more reliable. It simplifies the design of the quiescent point, gives full play to advantages of releasing large open-loop gain, and improves charge-voltage conversion gain stability. Particularly, the charge-voltage conversion gain is larger under a smaller feedback capacitor, thus enabling to gain better signal-noise ratio. The designed CSP was tested, reporting 3.3 x10(13) V/C charge sensitivity, about 90 ns rise time of signals, 35:1 signal-noise ratio to gamma-rays of Cs-137 (662 keV) and a 0.023 fC/pF noise slope. Gamma-rays of Am-241 (59.5 keV) were measured by the BPX66 detector and the designed CSP under room temperature, providing 1.97% energy resolution."}
{"ID": 358, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A digital control method combining primary-side sensing, observer and model-predictive-control techniques is proposed. A conventional isolated Flyback converter is chosen for demonstrating the method. The only measured signal is the drain-source voltage over the switch. Following a procedure of signal processing, state estimation and constraint problem formulation, the controller determines the optimal duty cycle ratio. The advantages of the proposed method include minimal overshoot and fast stabilization, converter state restriction, and measurement network simplification."}
{"ID": 359, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A digital dead-beat current controller for voltage source converters is presented in this paper. The control structure is specified in a digital hardware description language, synthesized, and deployed on a field-programmable gate array chip. By updating, with negligible computation delay, the duty cycle twice in a switching period, the reference current error is nulled in half a modulation period, so that the controller's small-signal bandwidth is maximized. In addition, due to a simple transient detection circuit, the large-signal response delay is reduced to a small fraction of the modulation period, which is determined by the chosen current signal oversampling rate. The controller can effectively support different voltage-source inverter applications, such as active filters, uninterruptible power supplies, microgrid distributed energy resource controllers, and dc-dc converter applications, including interface converters for renewable energy sources, laboratory battery chargers, and electronic welding machines."}
{"ID": 360, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A digital dual-mode linear quadratic regulator (LQR) with feedforward optimal controller is presented, which allows voltage control of a boost converter for wide-load-range condition, whether in continuous conduction mode (CCM) or in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). Based on the conventional LQR method, the proposed controller is designed and makes the following two improvements. First, in order to eliminate the phase error caused by right-half-phase zero emerged in non-minimum phase boost converter, a feedforward controller is implemented by zero phase error tracking control technique because the inverse of non-minimum phase system is unstable. Second, since the models of DC-DC converter in CCM or DCM are different, the proposed control strategy allows boost converter to autonomously operate in CCM or DCM controller by utilising a mode detector. The proposed mode detector greatly enhances the control performance in both operating modes. Finally, the proposed controller has been implemented for voltage control of a boost converter. The simulation and experimental results show the proposed controller offers better performance in both transient response and frequency response than the conventional LQR controller."}
{"ID": 361, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A digital low dropout regulator (D-LDO) manages to operate at low voltage and scale with process. But, the tradeoff between current efficiency and transient response speed limits its applications. In this work, a coarse-fine-tuning technique with burst-mode operation is employed to advance this trade-off. Once the output voltage under/overshoot is detected, the power MOS array changes with x16 unit size at 500 MHz sampling frequency for a fixed time, comparing with xi size and 50 MHz in steady state. The limit cycle oscillation (LCO) in steady state is reduced by a feed-forward compensation zero with negligible power and area overheads. The proposed D-LDO is simulated in a 65 nm CMOS process, achieving a 60 mV voltage undershoot and 0.36 ps FOM of speed with a 60 mu A quiescent current, and mode-1 LCO in steady state."}
{"ID": 362, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A digital predictive peak current control (PPCC) employing the adaptive slope compensation is proposed in this paper. The PPCC precisely predicts the peak current reference with the adaptive slope compensation according to operation regions and load conditions. Thereby, the PPCC can control the peak inductor current, and it significantly reduces the total harmonic distortion compared to that of the conventional digital average current control with duty ratio feed-forward which is widely used. In addition, parts of the PPCC are implemented by utilizing the internal high-resolution ramp generator and comparator of a digital signal processor without external components. The principle and analysis of the PPCC are presented, and the performance and feasibility are verified by experimental results with universal input (90 V-rms similar to 260 V-rms) and 750 W - 400 V output laboratory prototype."}
{"ID": 363, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A digital pulse-frequency-modulated controller is designed by discretizing an analog integral controller for an LLC resonant DC-DC converter using the so called IA-PIM digital redesign method. It regulates the output voltage by adjusting the frequency of the input switching, which in turn changes the gain of the LLC converter. Its performances to sudden changes in the load are evaluated though extensive simulations. These results show that the digital controller can realize the performance of an analog controller at a sampling frequency that can be much lower than those currently prevail, which may be advantageous in terms of reduced computational requirements and power consumption."}
{"ID": 364, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A digitally controlled operational amplifier (op-amp) with level-crossing-based approximation is proposed. A high gain is effectively obtained by means of a damping control without a stability problem occurring in the multiple gain stages. Compared to the previous version of the zero-crossing-based algorithmic approximation, the proposed scheme further improves the settling time with the class AB operation obtained by switching of multiple driving paths. For verification, the designed op-amp is applied to a 10-bit pipeline ADC and implemented in a 0.18 mu m CMOS technology. Measured results show that the designed op-amp successfully operates at 10-bit resolution, 10 MSample/s pipeline ADC and achieves an effective gain of more than 60 dB."}
{"ID": 365, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A digitally controlled sonar power amplifier for underwater transmitter is explained in this paper. It proposes a method of generating unipolar Sine Pulse Width Modulation (SPWM) signals for echo ranging sonar. This method can be effectively used in all kinds of inverters including high frequency inverters. A low cost digital signal controller was used to generate SPWM signals and used as gating pulses for a Controlled Full Bridge Circuit (CFBC). The power required, frequency, pulse-width and pulse repetition interval are given as the inputs to the digital controller and gating pulses for the CFBC are generated as output from the controller. A power transformer connected across CFBC boosts output voltage followed by power filter which removes unwanted harmonics present in the output. The output after the power filter is used to excite electro-acoustic transducer elements underwater. The voltage and current of the load were given as feedback to the same controller for voltage mode control loop implementation of the system. A prototype of 1kW Switch Mode Power Amplifier (SMPA) for echo ranging sonar has been designed and digital control has been implemented. Salient results are presented."}
{"ID": 366, "domain": "CS", "area": "Parallel computing", "abstract": "A dimension splitting method (DSM) with Crank-Nicolson time discrete strategy for a three-dimensional heat equation is proposed. The basic idea is to simulate the three-Dimensional problem by numerically solving a series of two-dimensional problems in parallel fashion. Convergence and error estimation for the DSM scheme are derived in the paper. Numerical experiments demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of the DSM scheme. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 367, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "A direct structural identification, and quantitative assessment below the 50 nmol/ml level, of the full pattern of renally excreted metabolites is made possible by C-13 NMR measurements of untreated urine samples when stable isotope-labelled (C-13) drug analogues are administered to humans. The full potential of the new ex vivo NMR approach is exemplified by a study, for a group of volunteers, of S-carboxymethyl-L-cysteine metabolism. The metabolic sulphoxidation pathway fo S-caroxymethyl-L-cysteine in man, accepted so far, needs to be profoundly revised on the basis of the C-13 NMR results."}
{"ID": 368, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A discretization method is proposed for a rather general class of nonlinear continuous-time systems, which can have a piecewise-constant input, such as one under digital control via a zero-order-hold device. The resulting discrete-time model is expressed as a product of the integration-gain and the system function that governs the dynamics of the original continuous-time system. This is made possible with the use of the delta or Euler operator and makes comparisons of discrete and continuous time systems quite simple, since the difference between the two forms is concentrated into the integration-gain. This gain is determined in the paper by using the Riccati approximation of a certain gain condition that is imposed on the discretized system to be an exact model. The method is shown to produce a smaller error norm than one uses the linear approximation. Simulations are carried out for a Lotka-Volterra and an averaged van der Pol nonlinear systems to show the superior performance of the proposed model to ones known to be online computable, such as the forward-difference, Kahan's, and Mickens' methods. Insights obtained should be useful for developing digital control laws for nonlinear continuous-time systems, which is currently limited to the simplest forward-difference model."}
{"ID": 369, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Strength of materials", "abstract": "A dislocation is a topological defect where the atoms are out of position in a crystalline structure. It plays an important role in the theory of plasticity for the stability and the strength of materials and in melting processes. In this paper, we report an experimental and numerical study of the interaction between such a dislocation and a compressional solitary wave in 2-D strongly coupled plasma crystals. Complex plasmas consist of micrometer-sized spheres immersed into an ordinary ion-electron plasma. They can exist in solid, liquid, and gaseous states and are model systems to study dynamic phenomena."}
{"ID": 370, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A disrupted oppositional based gravitational search algorithm (DOGSA) tuned sliding mode controller (SMC) is proposed in this study for the solution of automatic generation control of interconnected multi-area power system under deregulated environment. The novelty of the control scheme is established by performing the sensitivity analysis under different conditions such as variation of the system load, turbine time constant, governor time constant and tie-line power coefficient. The dynamic response of the system under consideration is also studied and analysed in the presence of non-linear constraints namely generation rate constraint with reheat steam turbine, governor deadband and time delay during signal processing. Further, in order to validate the effectiveness of the proposed DOGSA tuning over the genetic algorithm and differential evolution tuned schemes reported in the literature, it is also employed to tune the integral (I), proportional-integral (PI), integral-derivative (ID) and proportional integral derivative (PID) controllers. Moreover, the performance of the optimised SMC scheme is also compared with I, PI, ID and PID controllers. The comparative results reveal that SMC scheme tuned using DOGSA gives better results than the conventional controllers."}
{"ID": 371, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Psoriatic Arthritis", "abstract": "A disruption of the crucial balance between regulatory T-cells (Tregs) and Th17-cells was recently implicated in various autoimmune disorders. Tregs are responsible for the maintenance of self-tolerance, thus inhibiting autoimmunity, whereas pro-inflammatory Th17-cells contribute to the induction and propagation of inflammation. Distortion of the Th17/Treg balance favoring the pro-inflammatory Th17 side is hence suspected to contribute to exacerbation of autoimmune disorders. This review aims to summarize recent data and advances in targeted therapeutic modification of the Th17/Treg-balance, as well as information on the efficacy of candidate therapeutics with respect to the treatment of autoimmune diseases."}
{"ID": 372, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Addiction", "abstract": "A disruption of the oxytocin system seems to affect a variety of brain functions including emotions, mood and social behavior possibly underlying severe social deficits and susceptibility for substance use and mental health disorders. Early life adversity, such as insecure attachment in childhood, has been suggested to influence oxytocin tone contributing to a condition of neurobiological vulnerability. Aim of the present study was to investigate oxytocin serum levels in abstinent heroin addicted patients, in comparison with healthy controls, and the possible correlation with co-occurring psychiatric symptoms, aggressiveness and perception of parental neglect. Eighteen (18) abstinent patients, affected by heroin use disorders, and 18 control subjects, who never used drugs or abused alcohol, were included in the study and submitted to 1) collection of a blood sample for oxytocin assay, 2) Symptoms Check List 90 for psychiatric symptoms evaluation 3) Buss Durkee Hostility Inventory to measure aggressiveness 4) Child Experience of Care and Abuse-Questionnaire to retrospectively test the perception of parental neglect. Heroin exposure extent and heroin dosages were also recorded. Oxytocin serum levels were unexpectedly significantly higher among abstinent patients affected by heroin use disorders and positively correlated with psychiatric symptoms, aggressiveness and mother neglect scores. No correlation was evidenced between oxytocin and heroin exposure extent or dosages. Our findings appear to contradict the simplistic view of oxytocin as a pro-social hormone and confirm previous evidence concerning the peptide levels direct association with aggressive behavior and mood disorders. Considering a more complex mechanism, oxytocin would increase the sensitivity to social salience cues related to contextual or inter-individual factors, promoting pro-sociality in \"safe\" conditions and, in contrast, inducing more defensive and \"anti-social\" emotions and behaviors when the social cues are interpreted as \"unsafe\". This latter condition is often characterizing the clinical history of addicted patients. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 373, "domain": "CS", "area": "network security", "abstract": "A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is an austere menace to extensively used Internet-based services. The in-time detection of DDoS attacks poses a tough challenge to network security. Revealing a low-rate DDoS (LR-DDoS) attack is comparatively more difficult in modern high speed networks, since it can easily conceal itself due to its similarity with legitimate traffic, and so eluding current anomaly based detection methods. This paper investigates the aptness and impetus of the information theory-based generalized entropy (GE) and generalized information distance (GID) metrics in detecting different types of DDoS attacks. The results of GE and GID metrics are compared with Shannon entropy and other popular information divergence measures. In addition, the feasibility of using these metrics in discriminating a high-rate DDoS (HR-DDoS) attack from a similar looking legitimate flash event (FE) is also verified. We used real and synthetically generated datasets to elucidate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed detection scheme in detecting different types of DDoS attacks and FEs. The results clearly show that the GE and GID metrics perform well in comparison with other metrics and have reduced false positive rate (FPR). (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 374, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Atopic Dermatitis", "abstract": "A diverse array of nucleic acids has been studied by several researchers for the management of several diseases. Among these compounds, small interfering RNA and antisense oligonucleotides have attracted considerable attention. Antisense oligonucleotides are synthetic single stranded strings of nucleic acids that bind to RNA and thereby alter or reduce expression of the target RNA while siRNAs, on the other hand, are double-stranded RNA molecules which can hybridize with a specific mRNA sequence and block the translation of numerous genes. One of the main obstacles in the dermal or transdermal delivery of these compounds is their low skin permeability. In this review, various techniques used to enhance the delivery of these molecules into or across the skin are described and in some cases, the correlation between enhanced dermal/transdermal delivery and therapeutic efficacy is highlighted. (C) 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 375, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Satellite radio", "abstract": "A diversity antenna system with antennas embedded in rear view mirrors of a vehicle is proposed for satellite digital audio radio system. Antenna diversity is needed because hidden antennas exhibit limited capability and composite body vehicles have poor reception due to no ground plane availability. Pattern gain diversity achieved with the proposed system is proven with on-vehicle antenna simulations and gain measurements. Selection combining diversity receiver architecture is also proposed and the system is tested in real time under two fading scenarios: weak satellite signal in dense foliage and multipath terrestrial environment with frequent satellite blockages. In both cases, the diversity system outperformed the reference antenna system with less mutes times (0.6% versus 0.8% in multipath, 0.1% versus 0.25% in dense foliage) and Reed-Solomon block errors (1.75% versus 2.18% in multipath, 0.87% versus 1.18% in dense foliage). The proposed rear-view mirror location is ideal for minimum signal degradation compared to windshield, backlite, and dashboard antenna installations."}
{"ID": 376, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Addiction", "abstract": "A diversity of synthetic cathinones has flooded the recreational drug marketplace worldwide. This variety is often a response to legal control actions for one specific compound (e.g. methcathinone) which has resulted in the emergence of closely related replacement. Based on recent trends, the nitrogen atom is one of the sites in the cathinone molecule being explored by designer type modifications. In this study, we designed and synthesized two new synthetic cathinones, (1) alpha-piperidinopropiophenone (PIPP) and (2) alpha-piperidinopentiothiophenone (PIVT), which have piperidine ring substituent on their nitrogen atom. Thereafter, we evaluated whether these two compounds have an abuse potential through the conditioned place preference (CPP) in mice and self-administration (SA) in rats. We also investigated whether the substances can induce locomotor sensitization in mice following 7 days daily injection and challenge. qRT-PCR analyses were conducted to determine their effects on dopamine-related genes in the striatum. PIPP (10 and 30 mg/kg) induced CPP in mice, but not PIVT. However, both synthetic cathinones were not self-administered by the rats and did not induce locomotor sensitization in mice. qRT-PCR analyses showed that PIPP, but not PIVT, reduced dopamine transporter gene expression in the striatum. These data indicate that PIPP, but not PIVT, has rewarding effects, which may be attributed to its ability to affect dopamine transporter gene expression. Altogether, this study suggests that PIPP may have abuse potential. Careful monitoring of this type of cathinone and related drugs are advocated."}
{"ID": 377, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A division-summation (D-Sigma) digital control for three-phase inverters to achieve active and reactive power injection has been presented. It can overcome the limitation of abc to dq frame transformation. However, the D-Sigma control requires four sets of control laws to cover four quadrant operations, namely, grid connection (power factor (PF) 1 similar to +/- 0.866), rectification with PF correction, PF leading (0 similar to 0.866), and PF lagging (0 similar to-0.866). Moreover, the switching sequences for the four modes are also different from each other, increasing complexity of firmware programming. In this paper, improvement of the control law derivation and region selection for the D-Sigma digital control is presented. By selecting the zero-crossing points of phase voltages as region transitions, the control laws and the related parameter tables for the four modes can be unified to a general form. The switching sequences of the four modes are also unified to the switching pattern of the grid-connectionmode. Additionally, a D-Sigma transformation matrix is identified to simplify the derivation procedure of the division (D) and summation (Sigma), which can obtain the control law directly. Measured results from a 10-kVA 3 phi bidirectional inverter have been presented to confirm the improvement."}
{"ID": 378, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Irritable Bowel Syndrome", "abstract": "A double-blind, placebo-controlled, gluten challenge has been proposed to confirm a diagnosis of nonceliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) in patients without celiac disease who respond to a gluten-free diet. To determine the accuracy of this approach, we analyzed data from 10 double-blind, placebo-controlled, gluten-challenge trials, comprising 1312 adults. The studies varied in the duration of the challenge (range, 1 d to 6 wk), daily doses for the gluten challenge (range, 2-52 g; 3 studies administered <8 g/d), and composition of the placebo (gluten-free products, xylose, whey protein, rice, or corn starch containing fermentable carbohydrates). Most of the studies found gluten challenge to significantly increase symptom scores compared with placebo. However, only 38 of 231 NCGS patients (16%) showed gluten-specific symptoms. Furthermore, 40% of these subjects had a nocebo response (similar or increased symptoms in response to placebo). These findings reveal heterogeneity and potential methodology flaws among studies of gluten challenge, cast doubt on gluten as the culprit food component in most patients with presumptive NCGS, and highlight the importance of the nocebo effect in these types of studies."}
{"ID": 379, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A double-cable system has wide application prospects in multispan suspension bridges. Longitudinal restraint stiffness of a double-cable system to the tower was studied in this paper. Two formulas were derived to calculate the longitudinal restraint stiffness of a double-cable system to the tower and the load distribution between the cables, respectively. A mathematical model of a two-span double-cable suspension bridge was created to verify the formulas. The tower-top displacement and the cable force were obtained by formulas, and the results are in good agreement with the results calculated by the FEM. The effects of some important design parameters on longitudinal restraint were studied. Analysis shows that the restraint stiffness increases with the increasing of unit weight of the bridge, dead load distribution to the top cable, sag ratio of the bottom cable, and elastic stiffness of the cables. Effects of tower-top displacement and span length were also analyzed, and some suggestions were given to design a double-cable suspension bridge."}
{"ID": 380, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A double-sided liquid cooling Nd: YAG disk oscillator working at a pump repetition rate of 20 Hz is demonstrated. The output energy of 376 mJ is realized, corresponding to the opticaloptical efficiency of 12.8% and the slope efficiency of 14%. The pump pulse width is 300 mu s and the laser pulse width is 260 mu s. Instead of being a damped signal, the output of laser comprises undamped spikes. A periodic intra-cavity loss was found by numerical analysis, which has a frequency component near the eigen frequency of the relaxation oscillation. Resonance effect will induce amplified spikes even though the loss fluctuates in a small range. The Shark-Hartmann sensor was used to investigate the wavefront aberration induced by turbulent flow and temperature gradient. According to the wavefront and fluid mechanics analysis, it is considered that the periodic intra-cavity loss can be attributed to turbulent flow and temperature gradient."}
{"ID": 381, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical generator", "abstract": "A dramatic consumption reduction of integrated circuits related to the development of mobile electronic devices has been reached over the past years, enabling the use of ambient energy instead of batteries. The focus is here on the transformation of ambient mechanical vibrations into electrical energy. This paper compares the performances of a vibration-powered electrical generator using PZT piezoelectric ceramics associated to two different power conditioning circuits. A new approach of the piezoelectric power conversion based on a nonlinear voltage processing is presented and implemented using a particular circuit. Theoretical predictions and experimental results show that the new technique may increase the power harvested by a factor up to 4 compared to the Standard technique. The power optimization problem is in particular examined in the case of broadband, random vibrations."}
{"ID": 382, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Cancer", "abstract": "A droplet electroporation system has been successfully demonstrated for transfection of Jurkat T cell with much higher transfection efficiency (66%) than that of conventional system (11.4%) with the advantages of superior cell viability, comparable throughput, and user-friendly interface. Because the productivity of the proposed system is much greater than previous microfluidic systems, flow cytometry is used for the analysis of transfection efficiency. The high transfection efficiency and cell viability of the droplet electroporation system is mainly attributed to small size which requires lower voltage and provides concentrated environment. The successful transfection of Jurkat cell using the droplet electroporation system broadens the applicability of the proposed technology to medical field. The implication of the present work and the future development direction for a fully automated cell engineering platform are discussed. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 383, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Satellite radio", "abstract": "A dual channel satellite radio receiver that solves the deep fading effect specific to the automotive mobile environment by using antenna diversity was realized in a 0.18 mu m SiGe BiCMOS technology. The tuner power dissipation was reduced by using a second-zero-IF dual conversion architecture that requires a lower ADC sampling frequency and resolution. A single PLL drives the RF and IF mixers of both signal paths, resulting in a smaller die area and lower power dissipation. Providing a digital baseband I/Q output allows the implementation of the channel decode IC in a standard digital CMOS process, reducing the overall receiver cost. SDARS tuner performance includes: 5dB noise figure, 55dB image rejection, -100dBm input sensitivity, +15dBm IIP3 at min gain, 40/60dB RF/IF AGC range, 200mA current consumption from a 3.3V supply in dual channel operation and 26mm(2) die area."}
{"ID": 384, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A dual input LED lighting scheme with constant illumination is proposed in this paper. The scheme employs a photovoltaic array as the first input and a battery as the second one. A microcontroller is programmed to operate a changeover switch as well as a DC-DC converter for uninterrupted and constant illumination in work place. The scheme is suitable for conference halls, laboratories, clean rooms, marriage halls, theaters, etc. The complete modeling, design and experimentation of the proposed scheme are explained and the economic viability of the scheme is justified."}
{"ID": 385, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Geotextile", "abstract": "A dyke construction was dealed with geotextile-encased sand columns. The dyke was used to enclose a polder in Hamburg-Finkenwerder, Germany. With the help of geotextile, the columns can be used in very soft soils, even undrained shear strength c(u) < 15 kN/m(2), without excessive bulging. After the system is installed, the dike can be filled immediately. To analysis observed data of the long-term settlements in the dyke, three stages can be gotten i.e. \"Primary settlements\" - \"Secondary settlements\" - \"Creep settlements\". Most settlements occurred during the primary filling, while, only little settlements appeared after that construction was accomplished. The settlement rate decreases from the first settlement stage to the last one. No jump takes place when unloading soft soil. Furthermore, the method shorten time and saved a lot of money."}
{"ID": 386, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer vision", "abstract": "A dynamic computer-vision control system incorporating open-source software technologies (Python, OpenCV) was used to automate a gravity based in-line liquid-liquid extraction during the iodination of enaminones in continuous flow. The system was able to cope with significant colouration of the organic reaction stream and with significant volume/flow changes in the aqueous and organic phase streams due to extraction of the water soluble acetonitrile co-solvent. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 387, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "False memories", "abstract": "A dynamic interplay is known to exist between auditory processing and human cognition. For example, prior investigations of speech-in-noise have revealed there is more to learning than just listening: Even if all words within a spoken list are correctly heard in noise, later memory for those words is typically impoverished. These investigations supported a view that there is a \"gap\" between the intelligibility of speech and memory for that speech. Here, the notion was that this gap between speech intelligibility and memorability is a function of the extent to which the spoken message seizes limited immediate memory resources (e.g., Kiellberg et al., 2008). Accordingly, the more difficult the processing of the spoken message, the less resources are available for elaboration, storage, and recall of that spoken material. However, it was not previously known how increasing that difficulty affected the memory processing of semantically rich spoken material. This investigation showed that noise impairs higher levels of cognitive analysis. A variant of the Deese-Roediger-McDermott procedure that encourages semantic elaborative processes was deployed. On each trial, participants listened to a 36-item list comprising 12 words blocked by each of 3 different themes. Each of those 12 words (e.g., bed, tired, snore...) was associated with a \"critical\" lure theme word that was not presented (e.g., sleep). Word lists were either presented without noise or at a signal-to-noise ratio of 5 decibels upon an A-weighting. Noise reduced false recall of the critical words, and decreased the semantic clustering of recall. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed."}
{"ID": 388, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A dynamic model for the wind flow in wind farms is developed in this paper. The model is based on the spatial discretization of the linearized Navier-Stokes equation combined with the vortex cylinder theory. The spatial discretization of the model is performed using the finite difference method, which provides the state-space form of the dynamic wind farm model. The model provides an approximation of the behavior of the flow in the wind farm and obtains the wind speed in the vicinity of each wind turbine. Afterwards, the model is validated using measurement data of Energy research Center of the Netherlands' Wind turbine Test site in Wieringermeer in the Netherlands and by employing the outcomes of two other wind flow models. The end goal of this work is to present the wind farm flow model by ordinary differential equations, to be applied in wind farm control algorithms along with load and power optimizations. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 389, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A dynamic particle swarm optimization with learning strategy (DPSO-LS) is proposed for key parameter estimation for permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs), where the voltage-source inverter (VSI) nonlinearities are taken into account in the parameter estimation model and can be estimated simultaneously with other machine parameters. In the DPSO-LS algorithm, a novel movement modification equation with variable exploration vector is designed to effectively update particles, enabling swarms to cover large areas of search space with large probability and thus the global search ability is enhanced. Moreover, a Gaussian-distribution-based dynamic opposition-based learning strategy is developed to help the pBest jump out local optima. The proposed DPSO-LS can significantly enhance the estimator model accuracy and dynamic performance. Finally, the proposed algorithm is applied to multiple parameter estimation including the VSI nonlinearities of a PMSM. The performance of DPSO-LS is compared with several existing PSO algorithms, and the comparison results show that the proposed parameters estimation method has better performance in tracking the variation of machine parameters effectively and estimating the VSI nonlinearities under different operation conditions."}
{"ID": 390, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Internal combustion engine", "abstract": "A dynamic simulation model for the micro-cogeneration unit based on ICE (internal combustion engine) is built as a new component on TRNSYS. This model considers dynamic processes including start-up, cool-down, and overheat protection controls. Through an experiment study, the steady and dynamic performances of the unit are presented and analyzed for calibrating the parameters of the dynamic model. Then the model is validated by the experiment data during steady and dynamic processes. The improvement of prediction accuracy of the model by considering dynamic processes is analyzed. The validation results show that the dynamic model can well predict the characteristics of the unit during start-up, cool-down, and overheat protection control processes. The cumulative prediction errors of the dynamic model decrease with the increase of the start stop interval. By considering the dynamic processes, 5.18% and 3.2% of Qth and eta(total) cumulative prediction errors are decreased respectively when the start stop interval is 0.5 h. The primary energy saving ratio and CO2 emission reduction ratio increases with the increase of the start stop interval. The start stop interval for the unit in this paper should be longer than 0.5 h, or the energy consumption of micro-cogeneration unit would be larger than that of conventional system. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 391, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A facile, controllable, inexpensive and green electrochemical synthesis of IrO2-graphene nanohybrid thin films is developed to fabricate an easyto-use integrated paper microfluidic electrochemical pH sensor for resource-limited settings. Taking advantages from both pH meters and strips, the pH sensing platform is composed of hydrophobic barrier-patterned paper micropad (mu PAD) using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), screen-printed electrode (SPE) modified with IrO2-graphene films and molded acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic holder. Repetitive cathodic potential cycling was employed for graphene oxide (GO) reduction which can completely remove electrochemically unstable oxygenated groups and generate a 2D defect-free homogeneous graphene thin film with excellent stability and electronic properties. A uniform and smooth IrO2 film in nanoscale grain size is anodically electrodeposited onto the graphene film, without any observable cracks. The resulting IrO2-RGO electrode showed slightly super-Nernstian responses from pH 2-12 in Britton-Robinson (B-R) buffers with good linearity, small hysteresis, low response time and reproducibility in different buffers, as well as low sensitivities to different interfering ionic species and dissolved oxygen. A simple portable digital pH meter is fabricated, whose signal is measured with a multimeter, using high input-impedance operational amplifier and consumer batteries. The pH values measured with the portable electrochemical paper-microfluidic pH sensors were consistent with those measured using a commercial laboratory pH meter with a glass electrode."}
{"ID": 392, "domain": "MAE", "area": "computer-aided design", "abstract": "A family 27 carbohydrate-binding module of a Thermotoga maritima beta-mannanase (TmCBM27) was chosen from the carbohydrate-active enzyme database by computer-aided design, possessing the lowest binding free energy with mannopentaose. To improve the enzymatic properties of a glycoside hydrolase family 5 beta-mannanase from Aspergillus usamii (AuMan5A), two fusion beta-mannanases, AuMan5A-F-M and AuMan5A-R-M, were designed by fusing a TmCBM27 into its C-terminus linked with a flexible peptide F (GGGGS)(3) and rigid peptide R (EAAAK)(3). Two fusion enzyme genes, Auman5A-F-m and Auman5A-R-m, were constructed as designed theoretically by overlapping PCR. Then, Auman5A and two fusion genes were expressed in Pichia pastoris GS115. Three recombinant beta-mannanases, reAuMan5A, reAuMan5A-F-M and reAuMan5A-R-M, were purified to homogeneity with specific activities of 230.6, 153.3 and 241.7 U/mg. The temperature optimum of reAuMan5A-R-M was 70 degrees C, identical with that of reAuMan5A, while its thermostability and melting temperature (T-m) reached 68 degrees C and 74.9 degrees C, being 8.0 degrees C and 8.4 degrees C higher than those of the latter, respectively. Additionally, the Km values of reAuMan5A-R-M, towards locust bean gum, konjac gum and guar gum, significantly decreased to 0.9, 1.9 and 2.5 mg/mL from 1.7, 3.8 and 4.2 mg/mL of reAuMan5A, while its k(cat)/K-m (catalytic efficiency) values increased to 287.8, 163.7 and 84.4 mL/mg.s from 171.2, 97.6 and 56.0 mL/ing.s of the latter, respectively. These results verified that the fusion of a TmCBM27 into the C-terminus of AuMan5A mediated by (EAAAIC)(3) linker contributed to its improved thermostability and catalytic efficiency. (C) 2016, The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 393, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Materials Engineering", "abstract": "A family of bamboo-like metal-organic nanotubes consisting of in situ synthesized macromolecular blocks (MB) is reported. The MBs are composed of six fac-(CO)(3)Re cores, one benzene-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexaolate plate, and six pyridine-derivative pillar ligands, which have a doubly tri-legged geometry and can be mutually assembled, piece by piece. This entire system is characterized as a simple but precise supramolecular complexation of these macromolecular blocks and further introduces an archetypal approach to systematically constructing a tunable form of dissectible molecular bamboo tubes."}
{"ID": 394, "domain": "CS", "area": "Symbolic computation", "abstract": "A family of conservative, truly nonlinear, oscillators with integer or non-integer order nonlinearity is considered. These oscillators have only one odd power-form elastic-term and exact expressions for their period and solution were found in terms of Gamma functions and a cosine-Ateb function, respectively. Only for a few values of the order of nonlinearity, is it possible to obtain the periodic solution in terms of more common functions. However, for this family of conservative truly nonlinear oscillators we show in this paper that it is possible to obtain the Fourier series expansion of the exact solution, even though this exact solution is unknown. The coefficients of the Fourier series expansion of the exact solution are obtained as an integral expression in which a regularized incomplete Beta function appears. These coefficients are a function of the order of nonlinearity only and are computed numerically. One application of this technique is to compare the amplitudes for the different harmonics of the solution obtained using approximate methods with the exact ones computed numerically as shown in this paper. As an example, the approximate amplitudes obtained via a modified Ritz method are compared with the exact ones computed numerically. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 395, "domain": "CS", "area": "Parallel computing", "abstract": "A fast adaptive parallel factor (PARAFAC) decomposition algorithm is proposed for a class of third order tensors that have one dimension growing linearly with time. It is based on an alternating least squares approach in conjunction with a Newton-type optimization technique. By preserving the Khatri-Rao product and exploiting the reduced-rank update structure of the estimated subspace at each time instant, the algorithm achieves linear complexity and superior convergence performance. A modified version of the algorithm is also proposed to deal with the non-negative constraint. In addition, parallel implementation issues are investigated. Finally, the performance of the algorithm is numerically studied and compared to several state-of-the-art algorithms. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 396, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A fast analytical technique based on T-matrix approach is formulated to solve the problem of direct electromagnetic scattering by an infinite circular cylinder buried in a dielectric half-space and illuminated by a normally incident transverse magnetic (TM) plane wave. The technique employs the signal-flow graph (SFG) model to include all multiple reflections that take place during the scattering process. The selection of the truncation order of the obtained T-matrix is also discussed."}
{"ID": 397, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Low Testosterone", "abstract": "A fast and sensitive GC-MS/MS method is proposed to determine pregnenolone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), testosterone and dihydrotestosterone from human plasma. Steroids were extracted by liquid/ liquid extraction, and derivatized with N-methyl-N-trimethylsilyl-trifluoracetamide. Electron ionization at 30 eV was applied to generate high abundant precursor ions. Specific precursor/product transitions were generated a priori for each compound of interest and these assays were then used to selectively detect and quantify these steroids. Using the selected reaction monitoring mode, detection limits in the pg/ml (sub nmol/l) range could be achieved for all four steroid compounds. The method was validated for imprecision, and recovery and applied in a pilot study in patients with hypercholesterolemia. Associations of increased cholesterol biosynthesis and low testosterone and dihydrotestosterone concentrations were found. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 398, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A fast Fourier transform (FFT)-based digital calibration method for 1.5 bit/stage pipeline analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is proposed in this paper. Capacitor mismatch and finite gain of the operational amplifier (OPAMP) can be overcome by the proposed calibration method. Given that the capacitor mismatch and the finite OPAMP gain cause the radix of all the stages of 1.5 bit/stage pipeline ADC to become unequal to 2, the FFT processor can be adopted to evaluate the actual radixes of all the stages and then generate new digital output to compensate for error caused by these non-ideal effects. Moreover, as capacitor mismatch and the finite gain of OPAMP can be compensated, low-gain OPAMP can be used in high-performance ADC to reduce power dissipation; a small capacitor can then be adopted to save on space. An example of a 10 bit 1.5 bit/stage pipelined ADC with only an 8 bit circuit performance is implemented in 0.18 mu m TSMC CMOS process. Circuit measurement result reveals that the signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio of 51.03 dB with 11 dB improvement after calibration can be achieved at the sample rate of 1 MHz. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 399, "domain": "MAE", "area": "computer-aided design", "abstract": "A fast technique for the full-wave optimization of transmission or reflection properties of general linear time-invariant high-frequency components is proposed. The method is based on the zeros and poles of the rational function representing the scattering parameters of the device being designed and it is the generalization of the technique developed for the design by optimization of microwave filters. The performance of the proposed technique is demonstrated with two examples: a patch antenna and a branchline coupler. Fast convergence was observed for all examples, regardless of the quality of the starting point."}
{"ID": 400, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A fast three-dimensional discrete cosine transform algorithm (3D FCT) and a fast 3D inverse cosine transform (3D IFCT) algorithm are presented, suitable for analysis of 3D data points. Many existing algorithms for three-dimensional data points make use of either the 1D cosine transform or both the 2D and 1D cosine transforms. Existing algorithms based on the 1D discrete cosine transform (DCT) apply the separable 1D transform to the data points in the x, y, and z directions, respectively, while those based on 2D and 1D transforms apply the 2D cosine transform for the x-y planes and then the 1D cosine transform in the z direction. The proposed 3D DCT algorithms handle the 3D data points directly and have been shown to be computationally efficient. They involve a 3D decomposition process where a data volume is recursively decomposed in each dimension until unit data cubes are obtained. The algorithms are presented in the form of a signal flow graph which captures the various computations involved. A complexity analysis along with empirical results is included, demonstrating the performance of the proposed direct 3D DCT algorithms. As 3D FCT and IFCT are symmetric and relatively fast, they can be used in any application requiring a real-time symmetric codec, such as video conferencing, online multiparty video games, and three-dimensional graphics rendering."}
{"ID": 401, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Strength of materials", "abstract": "A fatigue testing setup based on electromagnetic excitation was built to apply cyclic stresses to the specimens near their resonance frequency. A test near the resonance frequency has the advantage that higher stresses can be applied to test specimens at a reduced input power. Stress amplitude up to 1000 MPa can be applied to the test specimens and up to four specimens can be tested simultaneously. The setup can test specimens at high fatigue cycle regime i.e. 100 million stress cycles can be achieved in 48 hours. The setup has been used to study the effects of internal and external microstructure on the fatigue strength of materials. Specimens especially stainless steel-304 was prepared by different techniques i.e. electric discharge machining EDM, etching and laser cutting. Specimens prepared by these techniques were tested and their fatigue strengths were compared. To probe the material endurance limit, tests were also performed on the above mentioned steel specimens in very high stress cycle regime i.e. >10(9) cycles. In order to investigate the effect of internal microstructure on fatigue strength of material, CuZn37 fabricated by etching was tested and the effect of different grain size on fatigue strength was compared. SN curves have been plotted for materials with no prior fatigue strength data. Stainless steel-1.4404 specimens prepared by Rapid Prototyping (RP) has been tested for fatigue analysis. The test results showed higher degree of scattering when compared to the traditionally manufactured steel. Fractography revealed the existence of inherent material flaws which was the main reason of higher degree of test point scattering. In addition to these data, the SN curve was plotted for Innolot which is an important soldering alloy and prompts to fatigue failure in electronic assemblies."}
{"ID": 402, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Emergency Contraception", "abstract": "A favourable context for women with HIV to prevent unintended pregnancy is a cornerstone of reproductive rights and will contribute to achieving universal access to reproductive health, a Millennium Development Goal target. This analysis explores the reproductive trajectories of Mexican women with HIV post-diagnosis and their access to reproductive counselling and use of contraceptives. In-depth interviews and short surveys were conducted with women of reproductive age living with HIV. Results indicate that sexual and reproductive health counselling in HIV care focuses on the male condom and does not routinely address reproductive desires or provide information about or access to other contraceptive methods. Unintended pregnancies result from inconsistent condom use and condom breakage. Women experienced discriminatory denial of and pressure to accept particular contraceptive methods because of their HIV status. Mexican women with HIV are not enjoying their constitutionally guaranteed right to freely choose the number and spacing of their children. Mexico's commitment to reproductive rights and the Popular Health Insurance offer policy and financial frameworks for providing family planning services in public HIV clinics. To ensure respectful implementation, rights-based training for HIV healthcare providers and careful monitoring and evaluation will be needed."}
{"ID": 403, "domain": "MAE", "area": "computer-aided design", "abstract": "A feasibility study was performed in order to demonstrate the benefits of designing and manufacturing a customized foot orthosis by means of digital technologies, such as Reverse Engineering (RE), Generative Design (GD) and Additive Manufacturing (AM). The aim of this work was to define the complete design-manufacturing process, starting from the 3D scanning of the human foot anatomy to the direct fabricating of the customized foot orthosis. Moreover, this first methodological study tries to combine a user-friendly semi-automatic modelling approach with the use of low-cost devices for the 3D laser scanning and the 3D printing processes. Finally, the result of this approach, based on digital technologies, was also compared with that achieved by means of conventional manual techniques."}
{"ID": 404, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Immunology", "abstract": "A feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of different levels of dietary Lactobacillus plantarum on hemato-immunological parameters and resistance against Streptococcus iniae infection in juvenile Siberian sturgeon Acipenser baerii. Fish (14.6 +/- 2.3 g) were fed three experimental diets prepared by supplementing a basal diet with L. plantarum at different concentrations [1 x 10(7), 1 x 10(8) and 1 x 10(9) colony-forming units (cfu) g(-1)] and a control (non-supplemented basal) diet for 8 weeks. Innate immune responses (immunoglobulin (Ig), alternative complement activity (ACH50) and lysozyme activity) were significantly higher in fish fed the 1 x 10(8) and 1 x 10(9) cfu g(-1) L. plantarum diet compared to the other groups (P < 0.05). Furthermore, fish fed on various levels of L. plantarum significantly showed higher red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), white blood cell (WBC) and monocyte compared to those of the control group (P < 0.05). At the end of the feeding experiment, some fish were challenged with S. iniae to quantify the level of disease resistance. The mortality after S. iniae challenge was decreased in fish fed a probiotic. These results indicated that dietary supplementation of L. plantarum improved immune response and disease resistance of Siberian sturgeon juvenile."}
{"ID": 405, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Fungal Infection", "abstract": "A female, captive bred, juvenile swell shark (Cephaloscyllium ventriosum) was observed swimming in tight circles and rolling. Radiographs and computed tomography of this individual revealed extensive cartilage mineralization of the skull and cranial cervical vertebrae compared with diagnostic images of clinically healthy conspecifics. Gross necropsy and histopathologic examination revealed ossification and fibrosis of the cartilaginous matrix of the skull and cervical vertebrae with deep invasion by a pigmented hyphal fungus. There was no growth on fungal culture, but fungal polymerase chain reaction identified a DNA sequence compatible with Exophiala sp. (99%). Radiographs and computed tomography were helpful to determine a prognosis and course of action for this individual. This case emphasizes the need to include fungal infections as a differential diagnosis when evaluating elasmobranchs with abnormal swimming behaviors and mineralization of the skeletal structures."}
{"ID": 406, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Digestive Health", "abstract": "A field enquiry mentioned the potential positive impact of a feed restriction on the health of young rabbits, but no objective information relates the intake to digestive health. The effects of a post-weaning feed restriction strategy were thus studied on digestive health and growth and carcass parameters of the growing rabbit, using a monofactorial design that produces a quantitative linear reduction of the intake, from ad libitum (AL group) to 80%, 70% and 60% of AL. The study was performed simultaneously in six experimental sites, on 1984 growing rabbits (496 per treatment) collectively caged from weaning (34 to 38 days of age, depending on the site) to slaughter (68 to 72 days). The feeding programme was applied as followed: restriction during 21 days after weaning, and then ad libitum till slaughter During the feed restriction period the growth rate was linearly reduced with the restriction level, by 0.5 g/day for each percent of intake reduction. When returning to ad libitum intake (after 54 days old) a compensatory growth and a higher feed efficiency occurred. Therefore, the impact of the feeding programme on the slaughter weight (SW) was significant (-4.5 g/% of restriction), but relatively moderate: the weight loss of the more-restricted rabbits (60%) reached 7.7% (-200 g) compared to the AL group. Over the whole fattening period the feed restriction reduced linearly and significantly the feed conversion (FC) (-0.0077 unit/% of restriction). Carcass traits were little affected by the feeding programme, except for a slightly lower decrease of the dressing percentage (mean: 1.2 units between AL and the three restricted groups). On the six experimental sites, mortality and morbidity were always caused by acute digestive disorders, namely diarrhoea and/or caecal impaction. Independent of the treatment, the mortality rate strongly varied according to the site (between 7% and 18% from weaning to 54 days and for the AL group). During feed restriction, the mortality was significantly lower from a restriction threshold of 80% (meanly: -9% compared to AL). The morbidity was also significantly reduced (-6%) for the two most restricted groups (70% and 60%). The favourable effect of a lower intake on health did not persist after returning to ad libitum intake (54 days to slaughter), since mortality and morbidity were not significantly different among the treatments. Such a feeding strategy thus represents a double benefit in terms of feed costs and lower losses of young rabbits."}
{"ID": 407, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Nonverbal communication", "abstract": "A field experiment examined whether increasing opportunities for face-to-face interaction while eliminating the use of screen-based media and communication tools improved nonverbal emotion-cue recognition in preteens. Fifty-one preteens spent five days at an overnight nature camp where television, computers and mobile phones were not allowed; this group was compared with school-based matched controls (n = 54) that retained usual media practices. Both groups took pre- and post-tests that required participants to infer emotional states from photographs of facial expressions and videotaped scenes with verbal cues removed. Change scores for the two groups were compared using gender, ethnicity, media use, and age as covariates. After five days interacting face-to-face without the use of any screen-based media, preteens' recognition of nonverbal emotion cues improved significantly more than that of the control group for both facial expressions and videotaped scenes. Implications are that the short-term effects of increased opportunities for social interaction, combined with time away from screen-based media and digital communication tools, improves a preteen's understanding of nonverbal emotional cues. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd."}
{"ID": 408, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Asthma", "abstract": "A field study on indoor thermal environment and pollutants was conducted in 10 households with 10-12 years old children in Changsha, a south-central city in China. The aim is to identify and examine the main indoor pollutants which affect schoolchildren's health. The households were divided into two groups: 1) Group A, households with apparently unhealthy children, 2) Group B, households with healthy children. The findings for autumn and winter indicated that the differences in temperature and relative humidity (RH) between Groups A and B were not significant. The average concentrations of CO2, HCHO and acetaldehyde of Group A were lower than those of Group B. However, the average concentrations of PM2.5 and TVOCs of Group A were higher than those of Group B. In addition, the indoor PM2.5 concentrations in ten households, exceeded the upper limit of the Chinese national standard (75 mu g/m(3)) and the TVOCs concentration in two households exceeded the upper limit (600 mu g/m(3)) in winter. The average concentrations of Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) and Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) which could harm children's health were significantly higher in the Group A household than those in that of Group B. Cladosporium, Aspergillus and Penicillium in indoor air and house dust which could have lead to children's allergy and respiratory diseases correlated with the seasonal climate variation. It was found that high-level indoor PM2.5, TVOCs, DEHP and DBP in house dust were possibly the main risk factors for children's health, with Cladosporium, Aspergillus and Penicillium possibly providing associated health risks. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 409, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "A field survey indicated that the Elbe and Saale Rivers were contaminated with both clofibric acid and ibuprofen. In Elbe River water we could detect the metabolite hydroxy-ibuprofen. Analyses of the city of Saskatoon sewage effluent discharged to the South Saskatchewan river detected clofibric acid but neither ibuprofen nor any metabolite. Laboratory studies indicated that the pharmaceutical ibuprofen was readily degraded in a river biofilm reactor. Two metabolites were detected and identified as hydroxy- and carboxy-ibuprofen. Both metabolites were observed to degrade in the biofilm reactors. However, in human metabolism the metabolite carboxy-ibuprofen appears and degrades second whereas the opposite occurs in biofilm systems. In biofilms the pharmacologically inactive stereoisomere of ibuprofen is degraded predominantly. In contrast, clofibric acid was not biologically degraded during the experimental period of 21 days. Similar results were obtained using biofilms developed using waters from either the South Saskatchewan or Elbe River. In a sterile reactor no losses of ibuprofen were observed. These results suggested that abiotic losses and adsorption played only a minimal role in the fate of the pharmaceuticals in the river biofilm reactors. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved"}
{"ID": 410, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A field-programmable analog array (FPAA) using a standard-CMOS wide-dynamic-range translinear element (TE) is introduced. The FPAA configurable analog blocks (CABs) are based on a reconfigurable translinear cell (RTC), capable of implementing the basic circuit elements required by translinear and log-domain circuit design. The interfacing is provided by an I/O programmable cell, which allows for easier connectivity between the signal-processing core and the external circuitry. As a proof-of-concept, a 5 x 5 RTC FPAA testchip was implemented in 0.35-mu m CMOS technology. A set of various circuit primitives, such as one-and four-quadrant multipliers, an Euclidean distance operator and a fourth-order log-domain filter, were mapped on the chip in order to demonstrate the versatility of the approach. FPAA bandwidth reaches 20 MHz with a power consumption of 30 mu W/TE and precision errors below 3%."}
{"ID": 411, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A field-programmable analog array (FPAA) with 32 computational analog blocks (CABs) and occupying 3 x 3 mm(2) in 0.35-mu m CMOS is presented. Each CAB has a wide variety of subcircuits ranging in granularity from multipliers and programmable offset wide-linear-range Gm blocks to nMOS and pMOS transistors. The programmable interconnects and circuit elements in the CAB are implemented using floating-gate (FG) transistors, the total number of which exceeds fifty thousand. Using FG devices eliminates the need for SRAM to store configuration bits since the switch stores its own configuration. This system exhibits significant performance enhancements over its predecessor in terms of achievable dynamic range (>9 b of FG voltage) and speed (approximate to 20 gates/s) of accurate FG current programming and isolation between ON and OFF switches. An improved routing fabric has been designed that includes nearest neighbor connections to minimize the penalty on bandwidth due to routing parasitic. A maximum bandwidth of 57 MHz through the switch matrix and around 5 MHz for a first-order low-pass filter is achievable on this chip, the limitation being a \"program\" mode switch that will be rectified in the next chip. Programming performance improved drastically by implementing the entire algorithm on-chip with an SPI digital interface. Measured results of the individual subcircuits and two system examples including an AM receiver and a speech processor are presented."}
{"ID": 412, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Solar Energy", "abstract": "A first of its kind pilot-scale redox-based thermochemical storage system has been set up and operated under near-realistic conditions inside a solar power tower plant. The storage unit is made of inert honeycomb supports (cordierite) coated with 88 kg of redox active material (cobalt oxide). An experimental campaign has been carried out consisting of 22 thermochemical charge-discharge cycles. The heat absorbed or released by the chemical reaction became clearly evident through the temperature evolution inside the reactive material. It allows to store or release energy at constant temperature when crossing respectively the reduction/oxidation temperature of the Co3O4/CoO pair. A storage performance factor (P-F) was defined to evaluate how each experiment approaches the ideal behavior. During the complete campaign no measurable cycle-to-cycle degradation was observed and the system average capacity was very close to the ideal case of P-F = 0.84. The advantage of thermochemical storage could be quantified by comparing the storage capacity, to that of a sensible-only storage unit made of uncoated cordierite honeycombs. The thermochemical system offered almost double storage capacity (47.0 kW h) cf. the same volume of the sensible-only case (25.3 kW h). (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 413, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A fish egg envelope is composed of several glycoproteins, called zona pellucida (ZP) proteins, which are conserved among vertebrate species. Euteleost fishes synthesize ZP proteins in the liver, while otocephalans synthesize them in the growing oocyte. We investigated ZP proteins of the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica, belonging to Elopomorpha, which diverged earlier than Euteleostei and Otocephala. Five major components of the egg envelope were purified and their partial amino acid sequences were determined by sequencing. cDNA cloning revealed that the eel egg envelope was composed of four ZPC homologues and one ZPB homologue. Four of the five eel ZP (eZP) proteins possessed a transmembrane domain, which is not found in the ZP proteins of Euteleostei and Otocephala that diverged later, but is found in most other vertebrate ZP proteins. This result suggests that fish ZP proteins originally possessed a transmembrane domain and lost it during evolution. Northern blotting and RT-PCR revealed that all of the eZP transcripts were present in the ovary, but not in the liver. Phylogenetic analyses of fish zp genes showed that ezps formed a group with other fish zp genes that are expressed in the ovary, and which are distinct from the group of genes expressed in the liver. Our results support the hypothesis that fish ZP proteins were originally synthesized in the ovary, and then the site of synthesis was switched to the liver during the evolutionary pathway to Euteleostei."}
{"ID": 414, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A fission reactor utilizing low-enriched uranium cermet fuel and supercritical carbon dioxide as coolant was designed to provide electrical power for a manned Mars base. The reactor was designed to generate 1.67 MWth for a fifteen year operational lifetime, with an electric output of 333 kWe. The core has alternating rows of fuel elements and a breeder blanket, with nineteen coolant channels in the fuel element and a single coolant channel in the breeder blanket. The design uses 15% isotopic enriched U-235 based cermet fuel, and uranium dioxide fuelled blankets. S-CO2 is used as a coolant, which converts the heat generated by the reactor to electricity using a closed Brayton cycle. Cermet fuel is used in the form of hexagonal shaped elements with 19 coolant channels and a zirconium hydride neutron moderator. The reactor uses B4C based control drums for control and safety. ZrC is used as thermal insulator, and ensures that the ZrH moderator does not reach an unacceptably high temperature. The coolant channels have a cladding of tungsten to prevent the release of fission gas from the fuel into the coolant. Beryllium reflectors are used to moderate and reflect neutrons back into the active core. The active core has a bull's eye configuration, in which there are alternate fuel and blanket circular rows. Nuclear reactor modeling, neutronics, and depletion analysis were done using MCNP6. The neutronics analysis found the maximum peaking factor that would occur in the core. This was used to determine the greatest amount of thermal power that the core's fuel elements and breeder blanket would experience. This provided the basis for the thermal hydraulics, which sought to determine the maximum inlet and outlet temperatures of the S-CO2 that could be obtained while also keeping all of the reactor materials within an acceptable temperature range. Maximizing these temperatures would provide the highest performance for a power conversion system. Finding the coolant conditions that kept this section of the core below the maximum permissible temperature would ensure that the rest of the core would also remain within an acceptable temperature limit. Simulations were conducted at the different power levels the fuel element and breeder blanket would generate throughout the reactor's fifteen-year lifecycle. The thermal hydraulics which was done using COMSOL Multiphysics. This research presents a very viable reactor design that uses materials currently tested on other types of reactors. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 415, "domain": "CS", "area": "Parallel computing", "abstract": "A flexible and universal domain decomposition parallel scheme is proposed for the unconditionally stable finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The leapfrog alternating direction implicit FDTD (ADI-FDTD) method is employed to eliminate the restriction of the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy stability condition. The proposed domain decomposition parallel implementation of the leapfrog ADI-FDTD method is more flexible with process allocation and requires fewer data communications. A buffer region is introduced to decouple the interactions between neighboring subdomains at each time step. Electromagnetic simulations are presented to demonstrate the applicability, accuracy, and efficiency of the proposed method."}
{"ID": 416, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A flexible Cartesian manipulator is a coupling system with a moving rigid body and flexible structures. Thus, vibration suppression problem must be solved to guarantee the stability and control accuracy. A characteristic model based nonlinear golden section adaptive control (CMNGSAC) algorithm is implemented to suppress the vibration of a flexible Cartesian smart material manipulator driven by a ballscrew mechanism using an AC servomotor. The system modeling is derived to recognize the dynamical characteristics. The closed loop stability is analyzed based on the model. Also, an experimental setup is constructed to verify the adopted method. Experimental comparison studies are conducted for modal frequencies' identification and active vibration control of the flexible manipulator. The active vibration control experiments include set-point vibration control responses, vibration suppression under resonant excitation and simultaneous translating and vibration suppression using different control methods. The experimental results demonstrate that the controller can suppress both the larger and the lower amplitude vibration near the equilibrium point effectively. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 417, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A flexible snake robot has better navigation ability compare with the existing electrical motor-based rigid snake robot, due to its excellent bending capability during navigation inside a narrow maze. This paper discusses the modelling, simulation and experiment of a flexible snake robot. The modelling consists of the kinematic analysis and the dynamic analysis of the snake robot. A platform based on the Incompletely Restrained Positioning Mechanism (IRPM) is proposed, which uses the external force provided by a compliant flexible beam in each of the actuators. The compliant central column allows the configuration to achieve three degrees of freedom (3DOFs) with three tendons. The proposed flexible snake robot has been built using smart material, such as electroactive polymers (EAPs), which can be activated by applying power to it. Finally, the physical prototype of the snake robot has been built. An experiment has been performed in order to justify the proposed model."}
{"ID": 418, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A flexible synthesis procedure for nth-order current-mode low-pass filter using current controlled current differencing buffered amplifier (CC-CDBA) is given. The proposed method is based on drawing the signal-flow graph from the given transfer function and obtaining the circuit realization from the graph. The proposed configuration uses n+1 CC-CIDBAs and n capacitors. It is straightforward to find the values of the passive elements from the coefficients of the transfer function to be realized and the undamped natural frequency and quality factor can be adjusted electronically without changing the values of the passive components. The proposed structure uses the cascade connection of second and/or first order filter sections. Therefore it carries the general advantages of this type of structures. Further, any current ratio transfer function can be shown to be realized by adding a weighted summer without affecting the basic configuration. The simulation results for a fourth order band-pass elliptic filter are included for the verification of the theory."}
{"ID": 419, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A fluid flow along a semi-infinite plate with small periodic irregularities on the surface is considered for large Reynolds numbers. The boundary layer has a double-deck structure: a thin boundary layer (\"lower deck\") and a classical Prandtl boundary layer (\"upper deck\"). The aim of this paper is to prove the existence and uniqueness of the stationary solution of a Rayleigh-type equation, which describes oscillations of the vertical velocity component in the classical boundary layer."}
{"ID": 420, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A fluid mechanics problem relevant to foam fractionation processes is analysed. Specifically the fluid flow field transporting surfactant from foam Plateau borders (fed with surfactant-rich material) towards comparatively surfactant-lean foam films is considered. The extent to which this surfactant mass transfer is limited by surface viscous effects is studied. Previous work (Vitasari et al.. 2016) made assumptions about the likely flow field along the Plateau border surface. These assumptions suggested that 'high' surface viscosity (measured by a suitable dimensionless parameter) led to strong suppression of the rate of surfactant mass transfer from Plateau border to film, whereas 'low' surface viscosity did not suppress this mass transfer rate in any significant way. More detailed fluid mechanical calculations which are carried out here corroborate the aforementioned assumptions in the 'high' surface viscosity regime. However the calculations suggest that in the low' surface viscosity regime, in contrast to the findings from the previous assumptions, moderate reductions in the rate of surfactant mass transfer are also possible. Counterintuitively these moderate reductions in mass transfer rate potentially have more negative impact on fractionation processes than the aforementioned strong suppression. This is because they tend to arise under conditions for which the efficiency of the fractionation system is particularly sensitive to any reduction whatsoever in the surfactant mass transfer rate. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 421, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Remote Sensing", "abstract": "A forest fire started on August 8th, 2016 in several places on Madeira Island causing damage and casualties. As of August 10th the local media had reported the death of three people, over 200 people injured, over 950 habitants evacuated, and 50 houses damaged. This study presents the preliminary results of the assessment of several spectral indices to evaluate the burn severity of Madeira fires during August 2016. These spectral indices were calculated using the new European satellite Sentinel-2A launched in June 2015. The study confirmed the advantages of several spectral indices such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (GNDVI), Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVIreXn) using red-edge spectral bands to assess the post-fire conditions. Results showed high correlation between NDVI, GNDVI, NBR and NDVIreln spectral indices and the analysis performed by Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMSR175), considered as the reference truth. Regarding the red-edge spectral indices, the NDVIreln (using band B5, 705 nm) presented better results compared with B6 (740 nm) and B7 (783 nm) bands. These preliminary results allow us to assume that Sentinel-2 will be a valuable tool for post-fire monitoring. In the future, the two twin Sentinel-2 satellites will offer global coverage of the Madeira Archipelago every five days, therefore allowing the simultaneous study of the evolution of the burnt area and reforestation information with high spatial (up to 10 m) and temporal resolution (5 days). (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 422, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A four-dimensional visualization approach, featuring three dimensions in space and one dimension in time, is proposed to study local electrode degradation effects during voltage cycling in fuel cells. Noninvasive in situ micro X-ray computed tomography (XCT) with a custom fuel cell fixture is utilized to track the same cathode catalyst layer domain throughout various degradation times from beginning-of-life (BOL) to end-of-life (EOL). With this unique approach, new information regarding damage features and trends are revealed, including crack propagation and catalyst layer thinning being quantified by means of image processing and analysis methods. Degradation heterogeneities as a result of local environmental variations under land and channel are also explored, with a higher structural degradation rate under channels being observed. Density and compositional changes resulting from carbon corrosion and catalyst layer collapse and thinning are observed by changes in relative X-ray attenuation from BOL to EOL, which also indicate possible vulnerable regions where crack initiation and propagation may occur. Electrochemical diagnostics and morphological features observed by micro-XCT are correlated by additionally collecting effective catalyst surface area, double layer capacitance, and polarization curves prior to imaging at various stages of degradation. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 423, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Osteoporosis", "abstract": "A fracture is a clinical manifestation of osteoporosis and is one of the main causes of functional limitations and chronic pain in patients with osteoporosis. Muscle and coordination training are recommended to the patients as general measures. We inquired whether sling training is better than traditional physiotherapy in relieving pain and improving abilities of daily living. Fifty patients with osteoporosis were divided into two groups. Group A performed conventional physiotherapy, while Group B performed sling training exercises. Data were collected before and after the intervention and after 3 months. The registered parameters were stamina, posture, and pain. Posture, torques, and the associated strength of spinal muscles were studied in a biomechanical model in order to estimate the forces acting on the spine. Furthermore, the factors that exerted a positive impact on the success of therapy were registered. Forty-four patients (88%) completed the study. Positive effects of the training were noted in both groups, but significantly better effects were observed in the group that performed sling training. A reduction of pain independent of the number of fractures, significantly reduced torques, and reduced muscle strength were registered. Specific training programs helped to increase muscle strength and straightening the back thereby reducing the force needed on a permanent basis and decreasing torque in the spine. Sling training was more effective in that than traditional physiotherapy."}
{"ID": 424, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Materials Engineering", "abstract": "A framework for developing a product involving manufacturing processes was developed with integrated computational materials engineering approach. The key component in the framework is a process modeling tool which includes a thermal model, a microstructure model, a thermo-mechanical, and a property model. Using friction stir welding (FSW) process as an example, development of the process modeling tool was introduced in detail. The thermal model and the microstructure model of FSW of steels were validated with the experiment data. The model can predict reasonable temperature and hardness distributions as observed in the experiment. The model was applied to predict residual stress and joint strength of a pipe girth weld."}
{"ID": 425, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A framework is presented for investigating antenna coupling in arbitrary environments by way of antenna and environment scattering parameter matrices. The environment scattering parameter matrices are bona fide scattering parameters that describe the environment when all radiation ports are terminated with nonreflecting loads. Simplification of the antenna coupling equations leads to a second formulation that is compatible with classically-defined antenna scattering parameter matrices. A third formulation, based on an auxiliary set of matrices describing the environment's scattering when all unexcited radiation ports are open-circuited, extends the coupling formulation used in spherical near-field antenna measurements to arbitrary environments."}
{"ID": 426, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Solar Energy", "abstract": "A free-space optical communication system with a sun light directly pumped laser as the signal transmitter was demonstrated. A 0.6 x 0.6 m Fresnel lens was used as the primary concentrator to collect the solar light. 6.8 W continuous wave laser power was obtained from a 4 mm diameter grooved Nd:YAG rod. The output intensity was modulated with a video signal via a LiNbO3 Mach-Zehnder optoelectronic modulator. The video signal with a resolution of 1920 * 1080/frame and the frame rate of 25 Hz was transmitted over five-meter free-space in real time with high fidelity. The transmission rate was 125 Mbps and bit error rate was lower than 10(-6). This research shows the feasibility of applying a solar light directly pumped laser for free-space optical communication, which is significant for telecommunications between satellites."}
{"ID": 427, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A frequency response approach is taken to model unsteady aerodynamics resulting from plunging oscillations of an airfoil. The oscillations range covers high angles of attack (up to 65 degrees) and reduced frequencies (up to 0.95) with particular attention to the range of flow nonlinearities over which lift enhancement is observed. Experiments were performed in a wind tunnel on an airfoil section at a Reynolds number of 80,000. Airfoil acceleration and lift force data were used to determine the frequency response functions between the measured unsteady lift and the quasi-steady lift. The results show enhanced lift amplitude over the stall regime at a reduced frequency of 0.7. The flow dynamics associated with this observation were identified from water tunnel experiments. Particular attention is paid to the flow separation and consequent formation and convection of the leading edge vortex. An optimization-based system identification approach is performed to represent the unsteady lift by a fourth-order dynamical system. This representation is suitable for sensitivity, dynamics and control analyses especially for applications where unsteady aerodynamics can be exploited for the purpose of lift enhancement."}
{"ID": 428, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A frequency-domain approach to the design of digital feedback controls for SISO systems is presented. The noise gain is minimized, subject to a phase margin constraint. The controller is expressed as a repeated-pole expansion, which reduces the optimization to a quadratic problem and a linear system of equations. PID+filter controls are produced as a limiting case."}
{"ID": 429, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Atopic Dermatitis", "abstract": "A frequent empirical observation is that cold-induced counter-irritation may attenuate itch. The aim of this randomized, single-blinded, exploratory study was to evaluate the counter-irritation effects of cold-stimulation and topical application of transient receptor potential TRPA1/M8-agonists (trans-cinnamaldehyde/Lmenthol, respectively), on histamine-induced itch, wheals and neurogenic inflammation in 13 healthy volunteers. Histamine 1% was applied to the volar forearms using skin prick-test lancets. Recorded outcome-parameters were itch intensity, wheal reactions, and neurogenic inflammation (measured by laser-speckle perfusion-imaging). Homotopic thermal counter-irritation was performed with 6 temperatures, ranging from 4 degrees C to 37 degrees C, using a 3 x 3-cm thermal stimulator. Chemical \"cold-like\" counter-irritation was conducted with 40% L-men-thol and 10% trans-cinnamaldehyde, while 5% doxepin was used as a positive antipruritic control/comparator. Cold counter-irritation stimuli from 4 degrees C to 22 degrees C inhibited itch in a stimulus-intensitydependent manner (p < 0.05) and, to a lesser extent, also wheal reactions and neurogenic inflammation. Chemical \"cold-like\" counter-irritation with both Lmenthol and trans-cinnamaldehyde had antipruritic efficacy similar to doxepin (p < 0.05). Cold-induced counter-irritation had an inhibitory effect on histaminergic itch, suggesting that agonists of cold transduction receptors could be of potential antipruritic value."}
{"ID": 430, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A frequently occurring subcircuit consists of a loop of a resistor (R), a field-effect transistor (FET), and a capacitor (C). The FET acts as a switch, controlled at its gate terminal by a clock voltage. There may be many such identical circuits connected in parallel, each driven by a different phase of the clock. This subcircuit may be acting as a sample-and-hold (S/H), as a passive mixer (P-M), or as a bandpass filter or bandpass impedance. In this work, we will present a useful analysis that leads to a simple signal flow graph (SFG), which captures the FET-R-C circuit's action completely across a wide range of design parameters. The SFG dissects the circuit into three filtering functions and ideal sampling. This greatly simplifies analysis of frequency response, noise, input impedance, and conversion gain, and leads to guidelines for optimum design. The analysis is extended to multi- path realizations common in RF applications. Part I of this paper focuses on the analyses of a single-path FET-R-C circuit's signal transfer characteristics. Part II extends these analyses to multi- path FET-R-C circuit configurations, which is followed by the noise and driving-point impedance analyses."}
{"ID": 431, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A full length amphioxus cDNA, encoding a novel phosducin-like protein (Amphi-PhLP), was identified for the first time from the gut cDNA library of Branchiostoma belcheri. It is comprised of 1 550 bp and an open reading frame (ORF) of 241 amino acids, with a predicted molecular mass of approximately 28 kDa. In situ hybridization histochemistry revealed a tissue-specific expression pattern of Amphi-PhLP with the high levels in the ovary, and at a lower level in the hind gut and testis, hepatic caecum, gill, endostyle, and epipharyngeal groove, while it was absent in the muscle, neural tube and notochord. In the Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells transfected with the expression plasmid pEGFP-N1/Amphi-PhLP, the fusion protein was targeted in the cytoplasm of CHO cells, suggesting that Amphi-PhLP is a cytosolic protein. This work may provide a framework for further understanding of the physiological function of Amphi-PhLP in B. belcheri."}
{"ID": 432, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A full software radio receiver is supposed to receive any signals in a wide band within a range from 0 to 5 GHz. But, linearity constraints are very strong because of all the non-idealities of such a complex system. Those non-idealities generate some undesired signals (interferers) leading to a degradation of reception. They can be counteracted by compensation. This paper proposes a mixed system of wide-band linearization consisting in an analog spectral sensor (SASP), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) and an analog compensation signal generator. High-level simulation results in VHDL-AMS language exhibits a rejection of 60dB for continuous wave (CW) interferers."}
{"ID": 433, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A full understanding of the hydrodynamic processes within the jet produced by a manoeuvring ship's propeller is essential in the development and maintenance of ports, docks and harbours. In this investigation the predominant axial velocity component within a freely expanding wash was studied. The flow fields formed by four propellers, each operating at four power levels (speeds of rotation), were investigated under bollard pull conditions and in the absence of a rudder, within a large free surface tank using Laser Doppler Anemometry. The characteristics of these propellers extended the range over which high accuracy measurements have been previously attempted. Comparison were made to existing methodologies by which a prediction of the magnitudes of the axial velocity can be made, and where deficient modifications to the methodologies have been developed and presented. The jets were found to produce a maximum axial velocity along the initial efflux plane at a location near the blade mid-span. The position and magnitude of the axial velocity was seen to decrease as the jet entrained more flow and transitioned from the zone of flow establishment into the zone of established flow. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 434, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A full-length Beet black scorch virus (BBSV) cDNA clone (pUBF52) was constructed by RT-PCR. The clone contains an upstream T7 RNA polymerase promoter designed for in vitro transcription of infectious RNAs from the linearized plasmid that faithfully represent the viral cDNA. Leaves of Chenopodium amaranticolor inoculated with in vitro transcripts developed the same symptoms and disease phenotype as the wild type virus. The presence of BBSV RNA and coat protein in the leaves was confirmed respectively by Northern blotting and Western blotting. Comparisons of specific immunoreactions between the expression product of the BBSV p24 gene in E. coli and antiserum against purified BBSV virions demonstrated that the p24 gene encodes the coat protein. Based on the sequence of the pUBF52 cDNA, a frame-shift mutant and two deletion mutants were generated. One of the deletions encompasses the entire CP ORF and the other truncates 174 amino acids from the central region of the protein. Transcripts derived from the frame-shift CP mutant, which terminates the CP after the first 23 amino acids, elicited the same symptom phenotype and levels of RNA accumulation as the wild type virus, but the leaves infected with the CP deletion mutants exhibited greatly reduced RNA accumulation. In addition, leaves inoculated with in vitro transcripts of the mutant in which the entire CP gene was deleted had lower local lesions than wild type virus transcripts. Two expression vectors, pBGFP and pBGUS, were constructed by fusing the GFP and GUS genes to the 23 N-terminal amino acids of the CP gene, respectively. Leaves infected with in vitro transcripts of pBGFP and pBGUS exhibited expression of GFP and GUS proteins as assessed by laser confocal microscopy and histochemical staining, respectively. The high levels of expression of the GFP and GUS proteins provide tools that can be used for studies of replication and movement of the virus, and indicate that BBSV has considerable biotechnology potential as a plant virus expression vehicle."}
{"ID": 435, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A full-length cDNA (Slctlp2) encoding a chymotrypsin-like serine protease was cloned from Spodoptera litura. This cDNA encoded a putative serine protease with a predicted molecular mass of 30.6 kDa, which contained a serine protease catalytic motif GDSGGPL. Temporal and spatial expression of Slctlp2 mRNA and protein detected by Northern blotting, RT-PCR, qPCR and Western blotting analyses revealed that both Slctlp2 mRNA and protein were mainly present in the foregut and midgut of the 5th and 6th instar larvae during the feeding stages. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry confirmed that both Slctlp2 mRNA and protein were predominately present in the midgut. Expression of the gene was not induced by bacterial infection. Juvenile hormone III induced the gene expression, while 20-hydroxyecdysone had no impact on the expression. The expression of Slctlp2 mRNA and protein was down-regulated by starvation but up-regulated by re-feeding. The SlCTLP2 protein was detected in the lumen residues of the anterior, middle and posterior midgut and feces of the feeding 6th instar larvae, suggesting that it was secreted from the epithelium into the lumen of the gut. The results suggest that this Slctlp2 gene may be involved in digestive process of food proteins during the feeding stages of the larval development. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 436, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A full-length cDNA of an immunogenic protein was cloned from a cDNA library of the local Egyptian cattle tick Boophilus annulatus. Antibodies raised against B. annulatus larval proteins were used to screen a cDNA expression library. A 936 bp cloned fragment was sequenced and showed an open reading frame of 516 bp encoding a protein of 171 amino acids. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence with protein data bank revealed that the sequence is related to a sequence isolated from the hard tick Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis (Hq05). Southern blot analysis of B. annulatus genomic DNA showed that the cloned cDNA hybridized to double bands per restriction digest, suggesting that the cloned cDNA is a double copy gene. Amino acid analysis of the cloned gene revealed the presence of two casein kinase 11 phosphorylation sites in the N-terminal domain suggesting that this molecule may be involved in the signal transduction or gene expression pathways. RT-PCR and northern blotting revealed the presence of two isoforms of the Ba05 gene in salivary glands and in the 3-day-old eggs. The cloned gene without the signal peptide, was expressed in Escherichia coli under T7 promotor of pET-30b vector, and purified under denaturation conditions. The purified protein appeared as a single band on 12% SDS-PAGE with a molecular weight around 22.8 kDa including the histidine tag of the vector. Antibodies raised against the purified molecule were used to detect the B. annulatus homologue to the Hq05 gene in whole tick, larvae and gut protein extracts. Immunoblotting revealed the presence of this molecule Ba05 only in whole tick and larval protein extracts and not in the gut protein extract. Using the same antibodies, homologues to the Ba05 gene were detected in other tick species as Hyalomma dromedarii and Rhipicephalus sp. but not in Ornithodoros moubata. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 437, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A full-length cDNA, named LeEIN2 was cloned from tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) by RT-PCR and RACE. Then the genomic DNA sequence of Le EIN2 was isolated by LA (Long and Accurate) PCR and Inverse PCR. This DNA sequence was 6838 bp including six introns. The Le EIN2 cDNA was 4343 bp and contained a 3951 bp open reading frame, encoding a 142.63 kDa protein of 1316 amino acids. Comparison of this protein sequence with that of Arabidopsis and Petunia showed that the amino acid homology was 66 and 90%, respectively. Northern blotting analysis indicated that the expression level of the LeEIN2 in young leaves was higher than in mature leaves and senescent leaves. During the development of fruits, the expression of the Le EIN2 was detected before mature green stage and got up to maximum at mature green and breaker stages, then reduced rapidly after breaker stage. The expression level of LeEIN2 in wild type tomato fruit at mature green stage did not distinctively change when treated with exogenous ethylene."}
{"ID": 438, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Southern blotting", "abstract": "A full-length citrate synthase gene designated MaGCS was isolated from a banana fruit cDNA library, which contained a 1885 bp fragment carrying a 1542 bp open reading frame (ORF) that encodes a 513 amino acid protein. MaGCS includes the glyoxysomal targeting signal PST2, an oxaloacetic acid binding site and a citrate synthase active site. Southern blotting showed that the banana genome has two copies of MaGCS. MaGCS is constitutively expressed in all organs with high levels in the fruit and the lowest levels in the leaves. With natural ripening, the MaGCS expression pattern was similar to that of ethylene production and respiration rate. MaGCS expression could be induced by ethylene and inhibited by the ethylene receptor inhibitor 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), which is in accordance with ripening-related ethylene synthesis and respiration rate, and demonstrates that MaGCS is associated with ethylene biosynthesis. Oxaloacetic acid (OA) accelerated fruit ripening, and in contrast, citric acid (CA) delayed it. The expression of MaGCS, the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) oxidase gene 1 (MaACO1, AJ223232) and the ACC synthase gene I (MaACS1, AB021906) was evaluated by real-time quantitative PCR (QPCR), which showed that the expression of MaGCS, MaACO1, and MaACS1 were greatly improved by OA and suppressed by CA. These results indicate that MaGCS plays an important role in postharvest banana fruit ripening, and that OA and CA could affect fruit ripening. This effect on climacteric ethylene and ripening progress was due to the regulation of MaGCS, MaACO1, and MaACS1 expression. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 439, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A full-order and single-parameter searching method (F-S method) for analyzing coupled flutter instability of long-span bridges is proposed based on the full-discretized model of structure. Based on the proper approximation of the circular frequency of complex modes, the characteristic equation of the full-order system is expressed as a complex generalized eigenvalue equation that contains only two variables. The equation is used for flutter analysis by solving the complex generalized eigenvalue problem with an efficient simultaneous iteration method directly. Since its computation is reliable and efficient, the application of the proposed method on the flutter problems of long-span bridges is practical. Moreover, the flutter analysis is performed for Jiangyin Yangtze river suspension bridge with 1385 m main span in the completed stage to illustrate the reliability and effectiveness of the proposed method."}
{"ID": 440, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Geotextile", "abstract": "A full-scale test embankment was constructed on a soft deposit (S-u < 20 kPa) improved by geotextile-encased granular columns to assess its serviceability performance for a nearby stockyard foundation. The behaviour of the improved foundation was monitored by means of instrumentation with respect to surface settlements, excess pore pressures, total vertical stresses acting on the top of the encased column and surrounding soft soil as well as geotextile radial deformation. Two-dimensional finite-element analysis was performed using an axi-symmetric unit cell, and then the results were compared with field measurements. It was observed that the soil arching progressed during post-construction due to a decrease in apparent stiffness of soft clay from quasi undrained to drained stiffness. Furthermore, there was a difference in settlement between the top of the encased column and the surrounding soft soil, midpoint between the columns, which increased during both construction and consolidation stages. A measured relation was also found to correlate the geotextile expansion with the maximum settlement occurring below the embankment."}
{"ID": 441, "domain": "CS", "area": "Algorithm design", "abstract": "A fully autonomous intracranial device is built to continually record neural activities in different parts of the brain, process these sampled signals, decode features that correlate to behaviors and neuropsychiatric states, and use these features to deliver brain stimulation in a closed-loop fashion. In this paper, we describe the sampling and stimulation aspects of such a device. We first describe the signal processing algorithms of two unsupervised spike sorting methods. Next, we describe the LFP time-frequency analysis and feature derivation from the two spike sorting methods. Spike sorting includes a novel approach to constructing a dictionary learning algorithm in a Compressed Sensing (CS) framework. We present a joint prediction scheme to determine the class of neural spikes in the dictionary learning framework; and, the second approach is a modified OSort algorithm which is implemented in a distributed system optimized for power efficiency. Furthermore, sorted spikes and time-frequency analysis of LFP signals can be used to generate derived features (including cross-frequency coupling, spike-field coupling). We then show how these derived features can be used in the design and development of novel decode and closed-loop control algorithms that are optimized to apply deep brain stimulation based on a patient's neuropsychiatric state. For the control algorithm, we define the state vector as representative of a patient's impulsivity, avoidance, inhibition, etc. Controller parameters are optimized to apply stimulation based on the state vector's current state as well as its historical values. The overall algorithm and software design for our implantable neural recording and stimulation system uses an innovative, adaptable, and reprogrammable architecture that enables advancement of the state-of-the-art in closed-loop neural control while also meeting the challenges of system power constraints and concurrent development with ongoing scientific research designed to define brain network connectivity and neural network dynamics that vary at the individual patient level and vary over time."}
{"ID": 442, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A fully digital, nonlinear, wide-bandwidth current controller for dc-ac and dc-dc voltage source converters is presented in this paper. Exploiting over-sampling, the controller mimics an analog hysteresis current controller, but it does not employ analog comparators, digital-to-analog converters, or any other analog signal pre- or postprocessing circuitry. Indeed, it fully virtualizes the hysteresis controller's operation and, based only on a nonlinear, efficient current error processing algorithm, drives the power converter at almost constant switching frequency. Overall, it offers the same excellent dynamic performance of the analog hysteresis controller and, at the same time, solves most of the related problems. Because the current error sample processing algorithm is inherently parallel in structure, the controller is suited for VHDL synthesis and field-programmable gate-array implementation, which guarantees flexibility and low cost, together with minimum computation and signal conversion delays. Its intended application areas include active filters, uninterruptible power supplies, microgrid distributed energy resource controllers, laboratory battery testers, and welding machines."}
{"ID": 443, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A fully geometrically nonlinear finite element (FE) model is developed using large rotation shell theory for static analysis of composite and piezoelectric laminated thin-walled structures. The proposed large rotation theory is based on the first-order shear deformation (FOSD) hypothesis. It has six independent kinematic parameters which are expressed by five mechanical nodal degrees of freedom (DOFs). Linear electro-mechanically coupled constitutive equations with a constant electric field distribution through the thickness of each smart material layer are considered. Eight-node quadrilateral plate/shell elements with five mechanical DOFs per node and one electrical DOF per smart material layer are employed in the FE modeling. The present large rotation FE model is implemented into static analysis of both composite and piezoelectric laminated plates and shells. The equilibrium equation is solved by Newton-Raphson algorithm with system matrices updated in every iteration. The results are compared with those presented in the literature and others calculated by various simplified nonlinear shell theories. They indicate that large rotation theory has to be considered for the calculation of displacements and sensor output voltages of smart structures undergoing large deflections, since other simplified nonlinear theories fail to predict the static response precisely in many cases. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 444, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A fully integrated low-dropout-regulated step-down multiphase-switched-capacitor DC-DC converter (a.k.a. charge pump, CP) with a fast-response adaptive-phase (Fast-RAP) digital controller is designed using a 65-nm CMOS process. Different from conventional designs, a low-dropout regulator (LDO) with an NMOS power stage is used without the need for an additional step-up CP for driving. A clock tripler and a pulse divider are proposed to enable the Fast-RAP control. As the Fast-RAP digital controller is designed to be able to respond faster than the cascaded linear regulator, transient response will not be affected by the adaptive scheme. Thus, light-load efficiency is improved without sacrificing the response time. When the CP operates at 90 MHz with 80.3% CP efficiency, only small ripples would appear on the CP output with the 18-phase interleaving scheme, and be further attenuated at VOUT by the 50-mV dropout regulator with only 4.1% efficiency overhead and 6.5% area overhead. The output ripple is less than 2 mV for a load current of 20 mA."}
{"ID": 445, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Satellite radio", "abstract": "A fully-integrated tuner for digital satellite audio radio applications using a second-zero-IF dual conversion architecture was realized in a 0.2 mu m SiGe BiCMOS technology. An autonomous RF-AGC and a channel decoder IC controlled IF-AGC were used to optimize the signal path gain for a wide range of input signal levels. A single PLL drives both RF and IF mixers, resulting in a smaller die area and lower power dissipation. Down-converting the signal to baseband further reduces tuner's power due to a lower required ADC sampling frequency and resolution. Providing a digital baseband I/Q output allows the implementation of the channel decode IC in a standard digital CMOS process, reducing the overall receiver cost. SDARS tuner performance includes: 5dB noise figure, 55dB image rejection, -100dBm input sensitivity, +15dBm IIP3 at min gain, 40/60dB RF/IF AGC range, 120mA current consumption from a 3.3V supply and 15mm(2) die area."}
{"ID": 446, "domain": "CS", "area": "Symbolic computation", "abstract": "A function transformation is presented to change a kind of nonlinear coupled system into a set of two elliptic equations of the first kind. Then new infinite sequence complexion two-soliton solutions to a kind of nonlinear coupled system are constructed by new solutions and Backlund transformation of elliptic equation of the first kind."}
{"ID": 447, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A fundamental challenge in digital control arises when the controlled plant is subjected to a fast disturbance dynamics but is only equipped with a relatively slow sensor. Such intrinsic difficulties are, however, commonly encountered in many novel applications such as laser- and electron-beam-based additive manufacturing, human-machine interaction, etc. This paper provides a discrete-time regulation scheme for exact sampled-data rejection of disturbances beyond Nyquist frequency. By introducing a model-based multirate predictor and a forward-model disturbance observer, we show that the inter sample disturbances can be fully attenuated despite the limitations in sampling and sensing. The proposed control scheme offers several advantages in stability assurance and lucid design intuitions. Verification of the algorithm is conducted on a motion control platform that shares the general characteristics in several advanced manufacturing systems. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 448, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Construction Management", "abstract": "A fundamental process in construction cost estimation is the appropriate adjustment of costs to reflect project location. Unfortunately, location adjustment factors are not available for all locations. To overcome this lack of data, cost estimators in the United States often use adjustment factors from adjacent locations, referred to as the nearest neighbor (NN) method. However, these adjacent locations may not have similar economic conditions, which limit the accuracy of the NN method. This research proposes a new method of using nighttime light satellite imagery (NLSI) to estimate location adjustment factors where they do not exist. The NLSI method for estimating location adjustment factors was evaluated against an established cost index database, and results show that NLSI can be used to effectively estimate location adjustment factors. When compared with NN and other alternative proximity-based location adjustment methods, the proposed NLSI method leads to a 25-40% reduction of the median absolute error. This work contributes to the body of knowledge by introducing a more accurate method for estimating location adjustment factors which can improve cost estimates for construction projects where location adjustment factors do not currently exist. (C) 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers."}
{"ID": 449, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Cell biology", "abstract": "A fundamental question in cell biology is how cell and organelle sizes are regulated. It has long been recognized that the size of the nucleus generally scales with the size of the cell, notably during embryogenesis when dramatic reductions in both cell and nuclear sizes occur. Mechanisms of nuclear size regulation are largely unknown and may be relevant to cancer where altered nuclear size is a key diagnostic and prognostic parameter. In vivo approaches to identifying nuclear size regulators are complicated by the essential and complex nature of nuclear function. The in vitro approach described here to study nuclear size control takes advantage of the normal reductions in nuclear size that occur during Xenopus laevis development. First, nuclei are assembled in X. laevis egg extract. Then, these nuclei are isolated and resuspended in cytoplasm from late stage embryos. After a 30 - 90 min incubation period, nuclear surface area decreases by 20 - 60%, providing a useful assay to identify cytoplasmic components present in late stage embryos that contribute to developmental nuclear size scaling. A major advantage of this approach is the relative facility with which the egg and embryo extracts can be biochemically manipulated, allowing for the identification of novel proteins and activities that regulate nuclear size. As with any in vitro approach, validation of results in an in vivo system is important, and microinjection of X. laevis embryos is particularly appropriate for these studies."}
{"ID": 450, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Cell biology", "abstract": "A fundamental question in cell biology, under investigation for over six decades, is the structural organization of mitochondrial cristae. Long known to harbor electron transport chain proteins, crista membrane integrity is key to establishment of the proton gradient that drives oxidative phosphorylation. Visualization of cristae morphology by electron microscopy/tomography has provided evidence that cristae are tube-like extensions of the mitochondria] inner membrane (IM) that project into the matrix space. Reconciling ultrastructural data with the lipid composition of the IM provides support for a continuously curved cylindrical bilayer capped by a dome-shaped tip. Strain imposed by the degree of curvature is relieved by an asymmetric distribution of phospholipids in monolayer leaflets that comprise cristae membranes. The signature mitochondrial lipid, cardiolipin (similar to 18% of IM phospholipid mass), and phosphatidylethanolamine (34%) segregate to the negatively curved monolayer leaflet facing the crista lumen while the opposing, positively curved, matrix-facing monolayer leaflet contains predominantly phosphatidylcholine. Associated with cristae are numerous proteins that function in distinctive ways to establish and/or maintain their lipid repertoire and structural integrity. By combining unique lipid components with a set of protein modulators, crista membranes adopt and maintain their characteristic morphological and functional properties. Once established, cristae ultrastructure has a direct impact on oxidative phosphorylation, apoptosis, fusion/fission as well as diseases of compromised energy metabolism. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 451, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A fuzzy algorithm, the Takagi-Sugeno model, is implemented to develop a fuzzy inference system for predicting the holding capacity of suction caisson foundations for offshore platforms. The premise parameters of the fuzzy model are optimized by using a subtractive clustering algorithm. The consequent parameters are optimally determined via a weighted least square estimation. The input variables used for training the fuzzy model include the aspect ratio of the caisson, the undrained shear strength of the clay, and the angle that the chain force forms with the horizontal. The output of the proposed fuzzy model is the capacity of the suction caisson anchor. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the fuzzy modeling framework, the results of extensive finite element analyses are investigated. Comparisons of the trained fuzzy model with the data demonstrate that the proposed modeling framework is an effective method to estimate the holding capacity of offshore suction caisson systems. Moreover, the performance of the fuzzy model is robust against higher levels of input data uncertainties. Copyright (c) 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 452, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Water Pollution", "abstract": "A fuzzy improved water pollution index was proposed based on fuzzy inference systemand water pollution index. This method can not only give a comprehensive water quality rank, but also describe the water quality situation with a quantitative value, which is convenient for the water quality comparison between the same ranks. This proposed method is used to assess water quality of Qu River in Sichuan, China. Data used in the assessment were collected from four monitoring stations from 2006 to 2010. The assessment results show that Qu River water quality presents a downward trend and the overall water quality in 2010 is the worst. The spatial variation indicates that water quality of Nanbashequ section is the pessimal. For the sake of comparison, fuzzy comprehensive evaluation and grey relational method were also employed to assess water quality of Qu River. The comparisons of these three approaches' assessment results show that the proposed method is reliable. (C) 2016 The Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V."}
{"ID": 453, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Ambient Intelligence", "abstract": "A fuzzy just-in-time (JIT) ubiquitous service networked system is established in this study. This system is an innovative application of mobile commerce, ubiquitous computing, and ambient intelligence. The intended user is a traveler who must decide on the best service location along the planned route; the system arranges the service when the user demands it, so that when the user arrives at the service location the required service is ready. This system applies the \"just-in-time\" concept to mobile commerce, ubiquitous computing, and ambient intelligence. This innovation has great potential for providing better services in these fields. The issue of how to determine the JIT service location and path in a ubiquitous service network is critical; however, because data about the user's position is inaccurate, the task is difficult. To tackle this difficulty, a FINLP model is formulated, and a fuzzy version of Dijkstra's algorithm is proposed. A test system has been established to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed methodology. Based on the experimental results, the proposed JIT ubiquitous service networked system was able to reduce the user's average waiting time by 74%."}
{"ID": 454, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Geotextile", "abstract": "A fuzzy logic-based modeling approach using the universal soil-loss equation (USLE) along with selection and application of the appropriate coir geotextile (CG) in soil erosion control was attempted in this study. The fuzzy logic model was developed to address issues of soil erosion risk with constant rainfall intensity. Two simple and efficient fuzzy logic soil erosion models were developed, of which one was for predicting soil erosion intensity (fuzzy-soil erosion model, or F-SEM) and the other was for selecting an appropriate CG type for soil erosion control based on types of soil in various combinations of slope angle and length, crop cover, rainfall intensity, and so forth (fuzzy-CG model, or F-CGM). These two models were developed in such a way that the input data requirement was the minimum for model execution. The considered input parameters were the main primary governing factors that influence soil erosion intensity in the USLE platform. F-SEM and F-CGM was compared with actual field data and found to be very closely matching. F-SEM predicts the erosion intensity of an area, and F-CGM can be used in the selection of CGs for erosion control application. (c) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers."}
{"ID": 455, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A fuzzy sets intersection procedure to select the optimum sizes of analog circuits composed of metal-oxidesemiconductor field-effect-transistors (MOSFETs), is presented. The cases of study are voltage followers (VFs) and a current-feedback operational amplifier (CFOA), where the width (W) and length (L) of the MOSFETs are selected from the space of feasible solutions computed by swarm or evolutionary algorithms. The evaluation of three objectives, namely: gain, bandwidth and power consumption; is performed using HSPICE (TM) with standard integrated circuit (IC) technology of 0.35 mu m for the VFs and 180nm for the CFOA. Therefore, the intersection procedure among three fuzzy sets representing \"gain close to unity\", \"high bandwidth\" and \"minimum power consumption\", is presented. The main advantage relies on its usefulness to select feasible W/L sizes automatically but by considering deviation percentages from the desired target specifications. Basically, assigning a threshold to each fuzzy set does it. As a result, the proposed approach selects the best feasible sizes solutions to guarantee and to enhance the performances of the ICs in analog signal processing applications."}
{"ID": 456, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A gain boosted operational amplifier designed using positive feedback technique is presented in this paper. In this design, a differential output differential amplifier merged with a single output differential amplifier is used so that positive feedback can be applied appropriately. The proposed Op-Amp is designed in 0.18 mu m CMOS process using gpdk45nm library in Cadence virtuoso analog design environment. The simulation of proposed circuit results in 116.2dB gain, 281MHz UGB, 72 degree phase margin and 620 mu W power consumption. The Monte Carlo analysis of the circuit indicates that the variation of power supply voltage produces minimal effect on the gain and phase of the circuit."}
{"ID": 457, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "A gas chromatographic-positive chemical ionisation-tandem mass spectrometric (GC-PCI-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous determination of 10 oxidative metabolites of the monoterpenoid hydrocarbons alpha-pinene,(R)-limonene, and Delta(3)-carene ((+)-3-carene) in human urine was developed and tested for the monoterpene biomonitoring of the general population (n = 36). The method involves enzymatic cleavage of the glucuronides followed by solid-supported liquid-liquid extraction and derivatisation using a two-step reaction with N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide and N-(trimethylsilyl)imidazole. The method proved to be both sensitive and reliable with detection limits ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 mu g L-1. In contrast to the frequent and distinct quantities of (1S,2S,4R)-limonene-1,2-diol, the (1R,2R,4R)-stereoisomer could not be detected. The expected metabolite of (+)-3-carene, 3-caren-10-ol was not detected in any of the samples. All other metabolites were detected in almost all urine samples. The procedure enables for the first time the analysis of trace levels of a broad spectrum of mono- and bicyclic monoterpenoid metabolites (alcohols, diols, and carboxylic acids) in human urine. This analytical procedure is a powerful tool for population studies as well as for the discovery of human metabolism and toxicokinetics of monoterpenes. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 458, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Birth Control", "abstract": "A gastrointestinal parasite survey of 411 stray and refuge dogs sampled from four geographical and climactically distinct locations in India revealed these animals to represent a significant source of environmental contamination for parasites that pose a zoonotic risk to the public. Hookworms were the most commonly identified parasite in dogs in Sikkim (71.3%), Mumbai (48.8%) and Delhi (39.1%). In Ladakh, which experiences harsh extremes in climate, a competitive advantage was observed for parasites such as Sarcocystis spp. (44.2%), Taenia hydatigena (30.3%) and Echinococcus granulosus (2.3%) that utilise intermediate hosts for the completion of their life cycle. PCR identified Ancylostoma ceylanicum and Ancylostoma caninum to occur sympatrically, either as single or mixed infections in Sikkim (Northeast) and Mumbai (West). In Delhi, A. caninum was the only species identified in dogs, probably owing to its ability to evade unfavourable climatic conditions by undergoing arrested development in host tissue. The expansion of the known distribution of A. ceylanicum to the west, as far as Mumbai, justifies the renewed interest in this emerging zoonosis and advocates for its surveillance in future human parasite surveys. Of interest was the absence of Trichuris vulpis in dogs, in support of previous canine surveys in India. This study advocates the continuation of birth control programmes in stray dogs that will undoubtedly have spill-over effects on reducing the levels of environmental contamination with parasite stages. In particular, owners of pet animals exposed to these environments must be extra vigilant in ensuring their animals are regularly dewormed and maintaining strict standards of household and personal hygiene. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 459, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "A gearless one-motor concept for contra-rotating fans is presented in this article. The rotors are mounted to an electric motor using only one shaft. The coupling between both rotors is realised by utilising the conservation of angular momentum. The contra-rotating fans has a diameter of 200mm at a design speed of 2100min(-1) for the first stage and 1200min(-1) for the second stage. It has been designed and investigated through a series of experiments by the Institute of Air Handling and Refrigeration in Dresden. The performance map and 2D particle image velocimetry measurements have been conducted. Numerical models for 3D quasi-steady state and transient simulations have been implemented and carried out by the Institute of Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics. The results show a good agreement between the quasi-steady, the transient simulations and the experiment. However, when close to stall, the time-resolved simulations show a superior performance compared with steady-state computations."}
{"ID": 460, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Gender roles", "abstract": "A gender role is a set of societal norms dictating what types of behaviors are considered desirable or appropriate for a person based on their sex. However, socially constructed gender roles can lead to equal rights between genders but also to severe disadvantages and discrimination with a remarkable variety between different countries. Based on social indicators and gender statistics, \"women in the Arab region are on average more disadvantaged economically, politically, and socially than women in other regions.\" According to Banduras' social learning theory, we argue that profound knowledge of the historical contributions of Ancient Egyptian female pioneers in science, arts, and even in ruling Egypt as Pharaohs can improve today's gender role in Egypt and Middle Eastern countries. Therefore, this article provides an elaborate review of the gender role of women in Ancient Egypt, outlining their prominence, influence, and admiration in ancient societies, and discusses the possible psychological impact of this knowledge on today's gender role. We suggest that future empirical research should investigate how enhancing the knowledge of women from Ancient Egypt can improve today's gender role in Egypt and the Middle East. Bandura's social learning theory is outlined as a possible framework for future research."}
{"ID": 461, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "A gene encoding a putative pectinesterase from Bacillus licheniformis DSM13 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The resulting recombinant enzyme (BliPME) was purified and characterized as a pectin methylesterase. The enzyme showed maximum activity at pH 8.0 and 50 degrees C. BliPME is able to release up to 100% of the methylesters from lime pectin (DM 34-76 ->DM 0) and up to 73% of all methylesters from SBPs (DM 30-73 ->DM 14). BliPME efficiently de-methylesterifies lemon pectins and SBPs in a blockwise manner and is quite tolerant towards the acetyl groups present within the SBPs. Detailed analysis of the BliPME-modified pectins using HILIC-MSn and the classical calcium reactivity measurement showed that the enzyme generates pectins with low methylesterification (lime and SBP) and high acetyl content (SBP) while creating blocks of nonmethylesterified galacturonic acid residues. The high activity of BliPME towards highly methylesterified and acetylated pectins makes this novel esterase more efficient in removing methylesters from highly esterified beet pectin compared to other PMEs, e.g. Aspergillus niger PME. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 462, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A general algorithm to derive the transfer functions of M-D discrete systems has been presented. The given M-D discrete system with arbitrary order and arbitrary topology structure can be analyzed. We construct the algorithm by nodal equations, M-D DFT, M-D signal flow graph. Resetting to the algorithm, we develop computer aid analysis software for deriving the transfer function of a M-D discrete system. An example for analyzing a 2-D lattice digital filter shows our algorithm to be valid."}
{"ID": 463, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical network", "abstract": "A general and systematic formulation based on the finite-element method, modified nodal analysis and multi-field system approach is presented for the analysis of multiple magnetic field systems that are electrically interconnected through circuit networks in the frequency domain. This approach permits simultaneous solution of any number of 2-D Cartesian and axisymmetric problems by considering the electrical terminals of each finite-element model as nonnatural elements of the modified nodal analysis, allowing their systematic incorporation into the global system of equations. This way, arbitrary electrical network topologies can be readily analyzed, where the magnetic systems are no more than simple elements of the circuit system. Moreover, a unified building block is introduced for the 2-D and axisymmetric models, leading to easy computer implementation. The effectiveness of our formulation is tested by determining the electromagnetic behavior of a double-squirrel cage induction motor that is connected to three feeding transformers. A 2-D Cartesian finite-element model is employed for the three-phase motor, whereas an axisymmetric representation is used for each transformer. Hence, four finite-element models are simultaneously solved, which are electrically coupled through circuit elements. Lumped circuit parameters model the end effects of the motor squirrel cage and stator as well as the associated stator feeding circuits. Previous work only considers coupling of Cartesian systems, while our formulation expands the capabilities of quasi-3-D finite-element modeling by systematically coupling 2-D and axisymmetric finite-element models."}
{"ID": 464, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A general formulation and solution of fractional optimal control problems (FOCPs) in terms of Caputo fractional derivatives (CFDs) of arbitrary order have been considered in this paper. The performance index (PI) of a FOCP is considered as a function of both the state and control. The dynamic constraint is expressed by a fractional differential equation (FDE) of arbitrary order. A general pseudo-state-space representation of the FDE is presented and based on that, FOCP has been developed. A numerical technique based on Grunwald-Letnikcov (G-L) approximation of the FDs is used for solving the resulting equations. Numerical example is presented to show the effectiveness of the formulation and solution scheme."}
{"ID": 465, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Digestive Health", "abstract": "A general idea of probiotics is given with some links to the dietary fibre. Human beings must be associated with microorganisms. The skin has hundreds grams of bacteria although, more surprisingly, the gastric tract is calculated to have I kg of microorganisms, the so-called intestinal flora. In other words, it is up to 10(11-12)/g of faeces. The most dominant genera (10(9-11)/g faeces) belonging to class I are anaerobic bacteria including Bifidobacteria. Group II includes facultative bacteria and their numbers are relatively low (10(5-8)/g faeces). The fewest bacteria such as pathogenic Clostridium perfringens and E. coli belong to class III (Mitsuoka., 1975). The small intestine possesses relatively low numbers of bacteria. However, this organ is very important because of a particular immune trap for bacteria, Peyer's patch scattering over the area. The large intestine is the largest house for the microbes. Aging is known to invite a significant reduction in Bifidobacteria, the most beneficial bacteria. Diet influences the intestinal flora balance as well. Probiotic bacteria should belong to group W. They are usually transient bacteria and proven to give beneficial effects on both digestive and immune systems. For example, Bifidobacterium breve strain Yakult improved the growth of preterm infants (Kitajima et al., 1997). Lactobacillus casei Shirota was reported to improve the constipation (Koebnick et al., 2001), and to increase natural killer cell activity. In this streamline, a habitual intake of this probiotic strain was reported to reduce the risk of bladder cancer (Aso et al., 1995, Ohashi et al., 2002). In addition there are many reports of other probiotic strains improving digestive health (Duggan et al., 2002)."}
{"ID": 466, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A general method for the stability analysis of power converters is presented in this paper. The method is based on Harmonic Linearisation and Linear Time Periodic (LTP) analysis techniques and a single-phase grid-feeding inverter with PLL is considered as case study. Although stability analysis has been developed using the average model of the converter, the obtained results can be extended to the switching model and it is possible to evaluate precisely the boundary between stability and instability."}
{"ID": 467, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A general numerical solution for the dynamics of microring resonator modulators is proposed by using signal flow graphs. Fields are calculated according to the signal flow graphs. The solution is suitable for many kinds of microring resonator modulators. Coupling modulation resonators with symmetric Mach-Zehnder Interferometer coupling regions are studied by the method. Results show that the method provides theoretical rigor and wide applicability to microring resonator devices."}
{"ID": 468, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A general similarity solution for water-entry problems of a wedge with its inner angle fixed and its sides in expansion is obtained with flow detachment, in which the speed of expansion is a free parameter. The known solutions for a wedge of a fixed length at the initial stage of water entry without flow detachment and at the final stage corresponding to Helmholtz flow are obtained as two special cases, at some finite and zero expansion speeds, respectively. An expanding horizontal plate impacting a flat free surface is considered as the special case of the general solution for a wedge inner angle equal to pi. An initial impulse solution for a plate of a fixed length is obtained as the special case of the present formulation, The general solution is obtained in the form of integral equations using the integral hodograph method. The results are presented in terms of free-surface shapes, streamlines and pressure distributions."}
{"ID": 469, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A general synthesis method for the realisation of nth-order current transfer function is derived from signal-flow graph. From the proposed method, a novel configuration of nth-order current-mode universal filter using differential voltage current conveyors (DVCCs) and multiple outputs DVCC (MODVCC) is obtained. The number of active elements in the configuration is reduced to n+1, which is a significant reduction in comparison with the previously reported methods. The proposed circuits employ the features of multifunctional, smallest number elements, simple in structure, easy to be cascaded and convenient for integration. As examples, a biquadratic filter and other four different orders filters are realised in 0.18 mu m CMOS process. Simulation results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the schemes. The simulation results are found to be in good agreement with the theory."}
{"ID": 470, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A general synthesis method is given for the realisation of an nth-order lowpass voltage transfer function, using the active RC circuit containing a minimum number of capacitors and n+1 current conveyors al most. All the current conveyors are of the noninverting type, and they act as voltage followers. This makes the proposed circuit simple and attractive."}
{"ID": 471, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A general synthesis procedure is given for a versatile signal flow graph realization of a general current transfer function by using multi-output second generation current controlled current conveyors (MO-CCCIIs). The proposed configuration uses n + 1 multi-output second generation cur-rent conveyors (MO-CCIIs), n capacitors and at most 2(n + 1) resistors. This number of resistors can be reduced to n for special cases. Using MO-CCCIIs instead of MO-CCIIs, the resistors can be removed completely for the nth-order universal structure. The general transfer function having any numerator dynamics can be derived from the universal structure by using a single MO-CCCII and at most n + I resistors. It is very easy to find the values of the passive elements from the coefficients of the transfer function to be realized. The validity of the proposed synthesis is verified through PSpice simulations. (C) 2007 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 472, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A general synthesis procedure is given for a versatile signal flow graph realization of a general transfer function by using current differencing buffered amplifier (CDBA). The proposed configuration uses n + 1 CDBAs, n capacitors and at most 2n + 4 resistors. This number of resistors can be reduced to n + I for special cases. The circuit is eligible to obtain a variety of transfer characteristics with the same common denominator polynomial, and it is easily converted to different modes of operations. It is straightforward to find the values of the passive elements from the coefficients of the transfer function to be realized. Simulations results are obtained by using commercially available active component AD844 and CMOS technology as well. All of these make the proposed circuit attractive. (c) 2006 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 473, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A generalized approach for determination of transmittance (transfer function) in Z-domain of optical waveguide based ring resonator is introduced in the present article. Delay line signal processing technique, developed by a few previous researchers, is used to develop the signal flow graph of different ring resonator architectures, and a rule, already established by a previous investigator, is implemented to determine its overall transmittance. Frequency responses of three different ring resonator architectures are presented in the article. The parameters describing the performance of optical filter can be directly estimated from the frequency response plot. The simulated results of single and double ring architectures are compared with those of previously published results. A waveguide based triple ring resonator architecture is proposed, and its frequency response analysis is carried out in the article. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V."}
{"ID": 474, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Strength of materials", "abstract": "A generalized cumulative damage approach is presented which yields a large family of accelerated test inverse Gaussian-type models for strength of materials that incorporate the size effect as the acceleration variable. Previous models are generalized here in three aspects: the cumulative damage model is more general and can include damage functions other than the additive and multiplicative damages; the strength reduction function due to initial damage existing in the material is taken to be a very general function; and the initial damage process is a more general stochastic process that includes those previously assumed as special cases. The approach taken here is therefore the most general cumulative damage model obtained to date and yields a large number of potentially more useful accelerated test models for material strength. Estimation of model parameters by maximum likelihood methods is discussed, and two examples using real tensile strength data for carbon micro-composites and single carbon fibers are presented, illustrating the improvement of the new approach over previous models. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 475, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Voltage law", "abstract": "A generalized partial-element equivalent-circuit (PEEC) method is proposed for modeling a planar circuit with a thin narrow slot on the ground. The approach is based on the coupled mixed potential integral equations for a problem with mixed electric and magnetic currents. The coupled integral equations are converted into a lumped-element circuit network using Kirchhoff's voltage law and Kirchhoff's current law of the circuit theory. The full-wave Green's functions for a grounded dielectric substrate problem are used. The interactions between electric current on a microstrip line and magnetic current on a slot are taken into account by introducing two kinds of controlled sources. This generalized PEEC model will be very useful in signal-integrity analysis for multilayered circuits. To validate the generalized model, three numerical examples consisting of microstrip lines and slots on the ground are presented. The results obtained by the proposed generalized PEEC model are compared with those obtained by commercial electromagnetic simulation software and published experimental results. Good agreement is obtained."}
{"ID": 476, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A generalized predictive closed-loop control strategy to improve the basal ganglia activity patterns in Parkinson's disease (PD) is explored in this paper. Based on system identification, an input-output model is established to reveal the relationship between external stimulation and neuronal responses. The model contributes to the implementation of the generalized predictive control (GPC) algorithm that generates the optimal stimulation waveform to modulate the activities of neuronal nuclei. By analyzing the roles of two critical control parameters within the GPC law, optimal closed-loop control that has the capability of restoring the normal relay reliability of the thalamus with the least stimulation energy expenditure can be achieved. In comparison with open-loop deep brain stimulation and traditional static control schemes, the generalized predictive closed-loop control strategy can optimize the stimulation waveform without requiring any particular knowledge of the physiological properties of the system. This type of closed-loop control strategy generates an adaptive stimulation waveform with low energy expenditure with the potential to improve the treatments for PD."}
{"ID": 477, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Thermodynamics", "abstract": "A generalized Schrodinger equation containing correction terms to classical kinetic energy, has been derived in the complex vector space by considering an extended particle structure in stochastic electrodynamics with spin. The correction terms are obtained by considering the internal complex structure of the particle which is a consequence of stochastic average of particle oscillations in the zeropoint field. Hence, the generalised Schrodinger equation may be called stochastic Schrodinger equation. It is found that the second order correction terms are similar to corresponding relativistic corrections. When higher order correction terms are neglected, the stochastic Schrodinger equation reduces to normal Schrodinger equation. It is found that the Schrodinger equation contains an internal structure in disguise and that can be revealed in the form of internal kinetic energy. The internal kinetic energy is found to be equal to the quantum potential obtained in the Madelung fluid theory or Bohm statistical theory. In the rest frame of the particle, the stochastic Schrodinger equation reduces to a Dirac type equation and its Lorentz boost gives the Dirac equation. Finally, the relativistic Klein-Gordon equation is derived by squaring the stochastic Schrodinger equation. The theory elucidates a logical understanding of classical approach to quantum mechanical foundations."}
{"ID": 478, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A generalized signal flow graph for the forward and inverse discrete cosine transform (DCT) based on the Hou's recursive algorithm is described. The regular structure of the generalized signal flow graph enables to realize the DCT and inverse DCT computation for any given N = 2m, m >0, and is effectively implementable on a VLSI chip. Computer program for the DCT and inverse DCT computation is also presented."}
{"ID": 479, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A generalized state space representation of dynamical systems with random modes switching according to a white random process is presented. The new formulation includes a term, in the dynamics equation, that depends on the most recent linear minimum mean squared error (LMMSE) estimate of the state. This can model the behavior of a feedback control system featuring a state estimator. The measurement equation is allowed to depend on the previous LMMSE estimate of the state, which can represent the fact that measurements are obtained from a validation window centered about the predicted measurement and not from the entire surveillance region. The LMMSE filter is derived for the considered problem. The approach is demonstrated in the context of target tracking in clutter and is shown to be competitive with several popular nonlinear methods."}
{"ID": 480, "domain": "CS", "area": "Symbolic computation", "abstract": "A generalized variable-coefficient KdV equation with perturbed and external-force terms is investigated in this Letter. Lax pair, Riccati-type auto-Backlund transformation and Wahlquist-Estabrook-type auto-Backlund transformation (WE-BT) are constructed. Based on the WE-BT, the nonlinear superposition formula is obtained and an infinite number of conservation laws are derived recursively, then the analytic solutions are provided including periodic, one-soliton-like and two-soliton-like solutions with inhomogeneous coefficients, external-force term and eigenvalue. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 481, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Rainwater Harvesting", "abstract": "A generic rainwater harvesting system including a catchment area and a command area is often equipped with rainwater storage tanks. The stochastic nature of precipitation dominates water balance of rainwater harvesting systems, and the theory of stochastic control better serves for determining optimal strategies for water management. A mathematical model consisting of stochastic differential equations, with few model parameters that can be identified from observed data, is developed to describe dynamics of rainwater harvesting systems for irrigation. Stochastic control problems are formulated and then solved to obtain the optimal irrigation strategies during dry spells. This procedure can be inversely applicable to designing dimensions of a system. Identification of the model parameters is demonstrated with the data observed in an experimental micro rainwater harvesting system in Japan as well as in semiarid savanna of Ghana. Then, a real life application is discussed in the context of the Jordan Rift Valley, where a rainwater harvesting system will be developed. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 482, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Southern blotting", "abstract": "A genetic transformation protocol for green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) hypocotyl explants was developed. Green ash hypocotyls were transformed using Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105 harboring binary vector pq35GR containing the neomycin phosphotransferase (nptII) and beta-glucuronidase (GUS) fusion gene, and an enhanced green fluorescent protein gene. Pre-cultured hypocotyl explants were transformed in the presence of 100 mu M acetosyringone using 90 s sonication plus 10 min vacuum-infiltration. Kanamycin at 20 mg l(-1) was used for selecting transformed cells. Adventitious shoots regenerated on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 13.3 mu M 6-benzylaminopurine, 4.5 mu M thidiazuron, 50 mg l(-1) adenine sulfate, and 10% coconut water. GUS- and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive shoots from the cut ends of hypocotyls were produced via an intermediate callus stage. Presence of the GUS and nptII genes in GUS-positive shoots were confirmed by PCR and copy number of the nptII gene in PCR-positive shoots was determined by Southern blotting. Three transgenic plantlets were acclimatized to the greenhouse. This transformation and regeneration system using hypocotyls provides a foundation for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of green ash. Studies are underway using a construct containing the Cry8Da protein of Bacillus thuringiensis for genetic transformation of green ash."}
{"ID": 483, "domain": "CS", "area": "Bioinformatics", "abstract": "A genome sequence assembly provides the foundation for studies of genotypic and phenotypic variation, genome structure, and evolution of the target organism. In the past four decades, there has been a surge of new sequencing technologies, and with these developments, computational scientists have developed new algorithms to improve genome assembly. Here we discuss the relationship between sequencing technology improvements and assembly algorithm development and how these are applied to extend and improve human and nonhuman genome assemblies."}
{"ID": 484, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Alzheimer's Disease", "abstract": "A genome-wide association study identified GAB2 rs2373115 to be associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk in European population. However, inconsistent results are reported in East Asian population. Here, we performed an updated analysis using 65,704 samples including 20,982 AD cases and 44,722 controls. First, we investigated the GAB2 rs2373115 variant in Asian population using 3974 AD cases and 7568 controls. To further evaluate the effect of rs2373115 in different populations, we selected 17,008 AD cases and 37,154 controls in European population. We used three genetic models, and found no significant heterogeneity in Asian population. A fixed effect model analysis showed no significant association between rs2373115 and AD in Asian population. There was no significant heterogeneity in the pooled East Asian and European populations. The fixed effect model analysis again showed no significant association between rs2373115 and AD in these pooled populations. Taken together, these findings suggest that GAB2 rs2373115 may contribute to AD susceptibility only in European population but not in East Asian population. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 485, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Cell biology", "abstract": "A genuine understanding of human exocrine pancreas biology and pathobiology has been hampered by a lack of suitable preparations and reliance on rodent models employing dispersed acini preparations. We have developed an organotypic slice preparation of the normal portions of human pancreas obtained from cancer resections. The preparation was assessed for physiologic and pathologic responses to the cholinergic agonist carbachol (Cch) and cholecystokinin (CCK-8), including 1) amylase secretion, 2) exocytosis, 3) intracellular Ca2+ responses, 4) cytoplasmic autophagic vacuole formation, and 5) protease activation. Cch and CCK-8 both dose-dependently stimulated secretory responses from human pancreas slices similar to those previously observed in dispersed rodent acini. Confocal microscopy imaging showed that these responses were accounted for by efficient apical exocytosis at physiologic doses of both agonists and by apical blockade and redirection of exocytosis to the basolateral plasma membrane at supramaximal doses. The secretory responses and exocytotic events evoked by CCK-8 were mediated by CCK-A and not CCK-B receptors. Physiologic agonist doses evoked oscillatory Ca2+ increases across the acini. Supraphysiologic doses induced formation of cytoplasmic autophagic vacuoles and activation of proteases (trypsin, chymotrypsin). Maximal atropine pretreatment that completely blocked all the Cch-evoked responses did not affect any of the CCK-8-evoked responses, indicating that rather than acting on the nerves within the pancreas slice, CCK cellular actions directly affected human acinar cells. Human pancreas slices represent excellent preparations to examine pancreatic cell biology and pathobiology and could help screen for potential treatments for human pancreatitis."}
{"ID": 486, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Geotextile", "abstract": "A geotextile tube is a type of geocontainer typically filled with sandy slurries and fine-grained dredged sediments. Its performance in strength, dewatering, fine-particle retention, and stacked stability has been studied extensively. However, very little is understood about the shape-deformation behavior of geotextile tubes. In this paper, slurry-settlement, constant head permeability, and seepage-force tests were conducted to determine the geocontainers' geotechnical design parameters. The characteristics of the dredged fill material determined from the slurry-settlement, constant head permeability, and seepage-force tests are presented. Large-scale tests on model geotextile tubes were also conducted. A large-scale apparatus for geotextile tube-filling test simulation is introduced. The apparatus consists of a slurry mixing station, a pumping and delivery station, a geotextile tube-filling station, and a data station. The results of the model tests conducted on a transparent geobag (undrained condition) and a geotextile tube (drained condition) are presented in this paper."}
{"ID": 487, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Southern blotting", "abstract": "A GGGGCC repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene was recently identified as a major cause of familial and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. There is suggestion that these expansions may be a rare cause of parkinsonian disorders such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and corticobasal degeneration (CBD). Screening the C9orf72 gene in 37 patients with features of corticobasal syndrome (CBS) detected an expansion in 3 patients, confirmed by Southern blotting. In a series of 22 patients with clinically diagnosed PSP, we found 1 patient with an intermediate repeat length. We also screened for the C9orf72 expansion in a large series of neuro-pathologically confirmed samples with MSA (n = 96), PSP (n = 177), and CBD (n = 18). Patients were found with no more than 22 GGGGCC repeats. Although these results still need to be confirmed in a larger cohort of CBS and/or CBD patients, these data suggest that in the presence of a family history and/or motor neuron disease features, patients with CBS or clinical PSP should be screened for the C9orf72 repeat expansion. In addition, we confirm that the C9orf72 expansions are not associated with pathologically confirmed MSA, PSP, or CBD in a large series of cases. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 488, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A giant leap has been made in the past couple of decades with the introduction of kernel-based learning as a mainstay for designing effective nonlinear computational learning algorithms. In view of the geometric interpretation of conditional expectation and the ubiquity of multiscale characteristics in highly complex nonlinear dynamic systems [1]-[3], this paper presents a new orthogonal projection operator wavelet kernel, aiming at developing an efficient computational learning approach for nonlinear dynamical system identification. In the framework of multiresolution analysis, the proposed projection operator wavelet kernel can fulfill the multiscale, multidimensional learning to estimate complex dependencies. The special advantage of the projection operator wavelet kernel developed in this paper lies in the fact that it has a closed-form expression, which greatly facilitates its application in kernel learning. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first closed-form orthogonal projection wavelet kernel reported in the literature. It provides a link between grid-based wavelets and mesh-free kernel-based methods. Simulation studies for identifying the parallel models of two benchmark nonlinear dynamical systems confirm its superiority in model accuracy and sparsity."}
{"ID": 489, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Green Building", "abstract": "A gigantic sustainable tourism project is taking shape in the city of Al Ain by order of the government in Abu Dhabi. The Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Center SZDLC is the first constructed building of the masterplan and functions as museum and research centre for desert environments and ecological issues. The building-owner set ambitious targets for sustainability and energy efficiency and the SZDLC has been already certified in the US program LEED (TM) (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) with the LEED (TM) Platinum Standard. With this paper two parts of the pioneering state-of-the-art architecture and technology of the SZDLC project are presented. Firstly a report on basic results of advanced energy modelling and simulation in the planning phase and for the certification method is given and secondly the authors publish energy performance data of the operating solar heat driven absorption cooling system. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd."}
{"ID": 490, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Rainwater Harvesting", "abstract": "A global map of drought risk has been elaborated at the sub-national administrative level. The motivation for this study is the observation that little research and no concerted efforts have been made at the global level to provide a consistent and equitable drought risk management framework for multiple regions, population groups and economic sectors. Drought risk is assessed for the period 20002014 and is based on the product of three independent determinants: hazard, exposure and vulnerability. Drought hazard is derived from a non-parametric analysis of historical precipitation deficits at the 0.5; drought exposure is based on a non-parametric aggregation of gridded indicators of population and livestock densities, crop cover and water stress; and drought vulnerability is computed as the arithmetic composite of high level factors of social, economic and infrastructural indicators, collected at both the national and sub-national levels. The performance evaluation of the proposed models underlines their statistical robustness and emphasizes an empirical resemblance between the geographic patterns of potential drought impacts and previous results presented in the literature. Our findings support the idea that drought risk is driven by an exponential growth of regional exposure, while hazard and vulnerability exhibit a weaker relationship with the geographic distribution of risk values. Drought risk is lower for remote regions, such as tundras and tropical forests, and higher for populated areas and regions extensively exploited for crop production and livestock farming, such as South-Central Asia, Southeast of South America, Central Europe and Southeast of the United States. As climate change projections foresee an increase of drought frequency and intensity for these regions, then there is an aggravated risk for global food security and potential for civil conflict in the medium- to long-term. Since most agricultural regions show high infrastructural vulnerability to drought, then regional adaptation to climate change may begin through implementing and fostering the widespread use of irrigation and rainwater harvesting systems. In this context, reduction in drought risk may also benefit from diversifying regional economies on different sectors of activity and reducing the dependence of their GDP on agriculture. (C) 2016 European Commission. Published by Elsevier Ltd."}
{"ID": 491, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A global, system-level thermal-hydraulic model of the EU DEMO tokamak fusion reactor is currently under development and implementation in a suitable software at Politecnico di Torino, including the relevant heat transfer and fluid dynamics phenomena, which affect the performance of the different cooling circuits and components and their integration in a consistent design. The model is based on an object-oriented approach using the Modelica language, which easily allows to preserve the high modularity required at this stage of the design. The first module of the global model will simulate the blanket cooling system and will be able to investigate different coolant options and different cooling schemes, to be adapted to the different blanket systems currently under development in the Breeding Blanket (BB) project. The paper presents the Helium-Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) module of the EU DEMO blanket cooling loops system model. The model is used to compare different schemes for the cooling of the different components of the HCPB BB, and to suggest improvements aimed at optimizing the pumping power required by the cooling system. The model is then used to analyse a pulsed scenario, characteristic of the EU DEMO operation. (C) 2016 EURATOM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 492, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A globally convergent and fully coupled 3D inverse model for smart materials is presented. In practice, stress and field (electric, magnetic, or temperature) are applied to smart materials whereas strain and flux density (electric, magnetic, or temperature) are measured. We refer to constitutive models that follow this scheme as direct models. In certain design and control situations, however, inverse models are necessary in which the field and stress are found from specified flux density and strain. This inversion typically involves an iterative procedure, which may be prone to convergence issues. An inverse model approach is proposed for arbitrary smart materials. The inversion requirement is a continuous and second order differentiable direct model for any chosen smart material. The approach is globally convergent, which makes it ideal for use in finite element frameworks. The premise of the proposed iterative system model is to constitute a recursive correction formula based on second order approximations of a novel scalar error function which offers a faster convergence rate. A continuation approach is then used to achieve global convergence for arbitrary input parameters. Magnetostrictive Galfenol is chosen to illustrate the effectiveness of the inverse model, and compact analytical derivations of the Jacobian and Hessian matrices are presented. The convergence rate of the proposed approach is superior to that of an existing inverse model. Finally, the inverse model's robustness is demonstrated through integration of the model into a finite-element framework to simulate a magnetostrictive composite plate actuator in full 3D. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 493, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Irritable Bowel Syndrome", "abstract": "A gluten-free diet (GFD) has been reported to negatively impact the quality of life (QoL) of coeliac disease (CD) patients. The gut-brain axis hormones ghrelin and leptin, with the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), may affect QoL of CD patients undergoing GFD. Our aims were to evaluate whether: (a) the circulating concentrations of leptin, ghrelin and BDNF in CD patients were different from those in healthy subjects; (b) GFD might induce changes in their levels; (c) BDNF Val66Met polymorphism variability might affect BDNF levels; and (d) serum BDNF levels were related to dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as a neurotrophin modulator. Nineteen adult coeliac patients and 21 healthy controls were included. A QoL questionnaire was administered, and serum concentrations of ghrelin, leptin, BDNF and red blood cell membrane DHA levels were determined at the enrolment and after 1 year of GFD. BDNF Val66Met polymorphism was analysed. Results from the questionnaire indicated a decline in QoL after GFD. Ghrelin and leptin levels were not significantly different between groups. BDNF levels were significantly (p = 0.0213) lower in patients after GFD (22.0 +/- 2.4 ng/ml) compared to controls (31.2 +/- 2.2 ng/ml) and patients at diagnosis (25.0 +/- 2.5 ng/ml). BDNF levels correlated with DHA levels (p = 0.008, r = 0.341) and the questionnaire total score (p = 0.041, r = 0.334). Ghrelin and leptin seem to not be associated with changes in QoL of patients undergoing dietetic treatment. In contrast, a link between BDNF reduction and the vulnerability of CD patients to psychological distress could be proposed, with DHA representing a possible intermediate."}
{"ID": 494, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Hepatitis C", "abstract": "A gold nanoparticle probe-based assay (GNPA) was developed for ultrasensitive detection of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core antigen. In the GNPA, after anti-HCV core antigen polyclonal antibodies and single stranded barcode signal DNA were labeled on gold nanoparticle probe (NP), DNA enzyme was used to degrade the unbound barcode DNA5. The anti-HCV core antigen monoclonal antibodies were coated on magnetic microparticles probe (MMP). Then the NP-HCV core antigen-MMP sandwich immunocomplex was formed when the target antigen protein was added and captured. Magnetically separated, the immuno-complex containing the single-stranded barcode signal DNA was characterized by TagMan probe based real-time fluorescence PCR. A detection limit of 1 fg/ml was determined for the HCV core antigen which is magnitude greater than that of ELISA (2 ng/ml). The coefficients of variation (CV) of intra-assay and inter-assay respectively ranged from 0.22-2.62% and 1.92-3.01%. The improved GNPA decreased the interference of unbound barcode DNAs and may be an new way for HCV core antigen detection. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V."}
{"ID": 495, "domain": "CS", "area": "Machine learning", "abstract": "A good skin detector that is capable of capturing skin tones under different conditions is important for human-machine interaction applications. In a general situation, skin detectors, such as skin probability maps or Gaussian mixture models, achieve acceptable skin segmentation results. However, the false positive rate increases significantly when the skin tones are in shadow or when skin-like background objects are under similar illumination. In this paper, we propose a novel skin feature learning algorithm based on stacked autoencoders, which are deep neural networks. To overcome the problems encountered in skin segmentation that are caused by different ethnicities and varying illumination conditions, the stacked autoencoders are utilized to learn more discriminative representations of the skin area in both the RGB color space and the HSV color space. Unlike traditional machine learning methods, instead of predicting each pixel individually, our algorithm utilizes blocks to learn the representations and detect the skin areas. The algorithm exploits the learning ability of deep neural networks to learn high-level representations of skin tones. Experiments on test images show that the proposed algorithm achieves acceptable results on several publicly available data sets. To reduce the difficulty of detecting skin pixels in these data sets, the ground truths of these data sets are commonly focused on foreground skin area detection. Our skin detector is also able to detect background areas, as shown in our experiments."}
{"ID": 496, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Healthy Sleep", "abstract": "A good sleep environment is essential to maintain a person's health and daily working performance. How to create comfortable and healthy sleep environments with less energy use is worth exploring. Findings, based on one questionnaire survey on sleep environments conditioned by different cooling modes have been reported. The study investigated the use of different cooling devices in relation to the effect on sleep. Human responses to thermal environments and air quality created by different cooling modes were also studied. Totally 229 completed questionnaires were statistically analysed. The results show that most of the respondents prefer to use air conditioner 3-6 months in a year with relatively low temperature settings especially for respondents living below fifth floor. It is better to choose relatively high temperature settings to reduce air conditioning intensity especially for elders and outdoor workers, which can not only avoid cold thermal discomfort but also reduce electric energy use. For elders, outdoor workers and persons living in higher floor levels, there was an increase usage of electrical fans or natural ventilation. Thermal comfort can be maintained by raised air movement and the perceived air quality could improve obviously by introducing outdoor air, which would create a good sleep environment to ensure sleep quality."}
{"ID": 497, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Machine design", "abstract": "A good task design improve the efficiency of the business, because reduces cost and helps you to analysis the risk classification, and permit manager the influence of human and organizational factors of the complexity of socio-technical systems. A discussion is held on the techniques proposed by Embrey, Lees, Hollnagel, Reason, Rasmussen and Avila dealing with the task of project subject and its forms of control. Understanding the complexity of production systems enables the development of suitable tools to prevent accidents and to mitigate their consequences. The task performance depends on cognitive and organizational requirements beyond the technical: (a) organizational climate for transparency in the reporting of incidents; (b) managerial profile to communicate routine operating and emergency; (c) indicators for decision-making on the task; (d) sufficient knowledge base for the team accomplish the task; (e) communication tools for the production shift and return the view for the staff; (f) trust, cooperation, understanding of the risks and the causal relationship of events to perform the task; (g) understanding of the work patterns and the resulting on the performance indicators in the control of production; and (h) the appropriate design technology, process and equipment to allow review on the man-machine interface or man procedure. David Embrey discusses the Hierarchical Task Analysis HTA and presents criteria from the risk and complexity of the task. Lees presents discussion on the need of the side project of machine and man presenting cognitive requirements for machine design and machine operating requirements for human knowledge. Rasmussen and Reason discuss level of knowledge, understanding of the rules and skills needed to perform the task. Holnagel presents a way to plan the task with the analysis of goals, steps and commitments. Avila discusses the technology, the complexity of the task, the risk environments, barriers, tooling, pattern, knowledge and commitment and propose Procedures and Standards (PADOP), considering the analysis of the critical task by quantifying efforts, level of parallelism in its realization, the discussion on acceptance level based on target performance indicators and their measurement to suggest changes. An exercise is developed based on operational control practice in the chemical industry sulfuric acid purification. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V."}
{"ID": 498, "domain": "CS", "area": "Relational databases", "abstract": "A good virtual Learning Space (LS) should convey pertinent learning information to the visitors at the most adequate time and locations to favor their knowledge acquisition. Considering the consolidation of the internet and the improvement of the interaction, searching, and learning mechanisms, we propose a generic architecture, called CaVa, to create virtual Learning Spaces building up on cultural institution documents. More precisely, our proposal is to automatically create ontology-based virtual learning environments. Thus, to impart relevant learning materials to the virtual LS, we propose the use of ontologies to represent the key concepts and semantic relations in an user- and machine-understandable format. These concepts together with the data (extracted from the real documents) stored in a digital storage format (XML datasets, relational databases, etc.) are displayed in an ontology-based learning space that enables the visitors to use the available features and tools to learn about a specific domain. According to the approach here discussed, each desired virtual LS must be specified rigorously through a domain specific language (DSL) that was designed and implemented. To validate the proposed architecture, three case studies will be used as instances of CaVa architecture. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V."}
{"ID": 499, "domain": "CS", "area": "Data structures", "abstract": "A gradient-statistic-based diagnostic measure is developed in the context of the generalized linear mixed models. Its performance is assessed by some real examples and simulation studies, in terms of ability in detecting influential data structures and of concordance with the most used influence measures."}
{"ID": 500, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical circuits", "abstract": "A graphene based ink for printing passive electrical components (conductive traces, resistors, capacitors, inductors) and circuitry on mechanically flexible polymer substrates is described in this paper. The ink is synthesized by using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), a hydrophilic cellulose derivative, to suspend the naturally hydrophobic graphene (G) sheets in an aqueous solvent composed of 70% DI water and 30% 2-butoxyethanol. Once deposited on the functionalized substrate the conductivity of the printed electrical components can be optimized by decomposing the cellulose stabilizer using thermal reduction. Several printed passive electrical circuits are fabricated and tested including an interdigitated capacitive chemical sensor and a low-pass electrical filter. The measured characteristics of the printed circuits are compared with theoretical values for performance validation. Mechanical bending tests were also performed to demonstrate that the thermally modified G-CMC films can absorb large levels of strain without fracturing or degrading the electrical properties."}
{"ID": 501, "domain": "CS", "area": "Symbolic computation", "abstract": "A graph-theoretic formulation for the sensitivity analysis of multi-domain dynamic systems is presented in this article. In this formulation, a linear graph is used to capture the system topology and a graph-theoretic formulation is used to generate the system equations and the sensitivity equations simultaneously from the linear graph. Symbolic generation ensures automated, accurate, and efficient generation of sensitivity equations. The proposed method of sensitivity analysis avoids differentiation of complicated algebraic expressions, and the corresponding equation swells, by using pre-formed (and stored) expressions that are combined according to the topology captured by the linear graph. To illustrate the application of graph-theoretic sensitivity analysis to multi-domain systems, an electric motor-driven slider-crank mechanism and an automotive torque converter are considered as examples. The generation of the sensitivity equations is demonstrated, and the results are validated using a finite difference formulation. Also, the efficiencies of the generated equations are gauged by measuring the associated computational costs. Finally, some features of multi-domain multibody systems that pose unique challenges to the theory and software implementation are presented, along with a brief description of the symbolic software platform that has been used to implement the algorithm."}
{"ID": 502, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Manufacturing engineering", "abstract": "A great deal of attention in manufacturing engineering has been focused on finishing operations of hard and brittle materials in recent years. This paper reports an experimental work on the analysis of surface roughness and material removal using design of experiment (DOE) method in magnetic abrasive finishing, (MAF) of flat surfaces. Change in surface roughness and material removal were found to increase with an increase in weight percentage of abrasive particles in magnetic abrasive brush, lubricant volume and decrease in working gap. Also, any decrease in the relative size of the abrasive particles vis-a-vis the iron particles would result into an increase of the surface roughness and decrease in material removal. It was observed that the work piece hardness had no considerable effect on the process results. The optimum parameter levels which lead into the best surface finish and highest material removal were also derived from these experimentations. Optimum levels included weight percentage of abrasive particles of 40%, Lubricant volume of 1 ml, working gap of 3 mm, relative size of abrasive particles vis-a-vis the iron particles of 0.22, and work piece hardness of 82-87 HBN. Disk type test pieces were selected from Al 7075 and their two side surfaces were under experiments. Experiments were made using a milling machine spindle as magnetic pole holder, and its table as fixture holder for work pieces."}
{"ID": 503, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Skin Care", "abstract": "A great number of people suffer from burning injuries all around the world each year. Applying an appropriate wound dressing can promote new tissue formation, prevent losing water and inhibit invasion of infectious organisms. In this study, egg white with a long standing history, as a homemade remedy, was fabricated as a wound dressing for burn injuries. For this reason, ovalbumin films were cross-linked by 1-ethyl-3-3-dimethyl aminopropyl carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) with different concentrations (1,5 and 10 mM) using three concentrations of ethanol. Physical chemical characterizations including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gas transmission rate (GTR), tensile mechanical tests, water uptake and degradation rate were performed on the samples. The sample with 5 mM crosslinking agent at 70% ethanol was considered as the optimized one with 417 kPa of ultimate tensile strength, 64% elongation at break and 230% water uptake. In addition, biological evaluations conducted by MTT and live/dead assay indicated no sign of cyto-toxicity for all the samples. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the fibroblast cells were well spread on the sample with the formation of filopodia. In conclusion, modified ovalbumin can be applied as the base material for fabrication of wound dressing and skin care products. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 504, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A great number of pipelines in China are in unsatisfactory condition and faced with problems of corrosion and cracking, but there are very few approaches for underwater pipeline detection. Pipeline detection autonomous underwater vehicle (PDAUV) is hereby designed to solve these problems when working with advanced optical, acoustical and electrical sensors for underwater pipeline detection. PDAUV is a test bed that not only examines the logical rationality of the program, effectiveness of the hardware architecture, accuracy of the software interface protocol as well as the reliability and stability of the control system but also verifies the effectiveness of the control system in tank experiments and sea trials. The motion control system of PDAUV, including both the hardware and software architectures, is introduced in this work. The software module and information flow of the motion control system of PDAUV and a novel neural network-based control (NNC) are also covered. Besides, a real-time identification method based on neural network is used to realize system identification. The tank experiments and sea trials are carried out to verify the feasibility and capability of PDAUV control system to complete underwater pipeline detection task."}
{"ID": 505, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Immunology", "abstract": "A great part of our knowledge on mammalian immunology has been established in laboratory settings. The use of inbred mouse strains enabled controlled studies of immune cell and molecule functions in defined settings. These studies were usually performed in specific-pathogen free (SPF) environments providing standardized conditions. In contrast, mammalians including humans living in their natural habitat are continuously facing pathogen encounters throughout their life. The influences of environmental conditions on the signatures of the immune system and on experimental outcomes are yet not well defined. Thus, the transferability of results obtained in current experimental systems to the physiological human situation has always been a matter of debate. Studies elucidating the diversity of wild immunology imprintings in detail and comparing it with those of clean lab mice are sparse. Here, we applied multidimensional mass cytometry to dissect phenotypic and functional differences between distinct groups of laboratory and pet shop mice as a source for wild mice. For this purpose, we developed a 31-antibody panel for murine leukocyte subsets identification and a 35-antibody panel assessing various cytokines. Established murine leukocyte populations were easily identified and diverse immune signatures indicative of numerous pathogen encounters were classified particularly in pet shop mice and to a lesser extent in quarantine and non-SPF mice as compared to SPF mice. In addition, unsupervised analysis identified distinct clusters that associated strongly with the degree of pathogenic priming, including increased frequencies of activated NK cells and antigen-experienced B- and T-cell subsets. Our study unravels the complexity of immune signatures altered under physiological pathogen challenges and highlights the importance of carefully adapting laboratory settings for immunological studies in mice, including drug and therapy testing. (c) 2016 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry"}
{"ID": 506, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A greater than twofold diversity in the expression level of aquaporin 5 (AQP5) has been observed in the membrane fraction of the submandibular gland (SMG) in Sprague-Dawley rats (Murdiastuti K, Miki O, Yao C, Parvin MN, Kosugi-Tanaka C, Akamatsu T, Kanamori N, and Hosoi K. Pflugers Arch 445: 405-412, 2002). In the present study, breeding between brother and sister rats was repeated within high AQP5 producers and low ones to obtain inbred offspring. High- and low-producer rats from 3rd to 18th generations were used for experiments. By Western blotting, levels of AQP5 proteins in the parotid and lacrimal glands, and lungs were all low in low producers, whereas they were all high in high producers, implying genetic variations of the gene for this water channel. Despite this implication, AQP5 mRNA levels were almost the same between the two groups by Northern blotting, suggesting the irrelevance of transcriptional regulation for this diversity. AQP5 cDNAs from the SMGs of the two groups were sequenced. The nucleotide sequence of AQP5 cDNA from low producers indicated the existence of a point mutation at nt 308 (G308A), leading to a replacement of (103)Gly with (103)Asp in the third transmembrane domain, but no alteration was detected in the Kozak area. The existence of such a mutation was confirmed by the assessment of genomic DNA also. This mutation may have resulted in an abnormal membrane insertion or ineffective trafficking of AQP5, since the rats having this mutation showed extremely low membrane expression of AQP5 in the SMG acinar cells and decreased water secretion from their salivary glands."}
{"ID": 507, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A grid-connected inverter is indispensable for photovoltaic power generation and smart grid systems, and it must be designed for stable operation. The impedance method based on the Nyquist criterion is often utilized to analyze the stability of grid-connected inverter systems. The impedance method is based on the eigenvalues of the product of the inverter output admittance and the line impedance matrices in the frequency domain. However, the frequency characteristics have so far been derived only for inverters with analog control systems. A new frequency analysis method for inverters with digital control systems is proposed in this paper. First, a stability analysis example for a three-phase LCL-type inverter controlled digitally is shown and the results are compared and validated with those by simulation using a Saber simulator. Finally, they are also compared and validated with experimental results digitally controlled by a DSP-based system. (C) 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc."}
{"ID": 508, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Water Pollution", "abstract": "A ground cover rice production system (GCRPS) has been reported to reduce the consumption of irrigation water while increasing grain yield and water use efficiency in regions where water and temperature are limiting factors for rice production. However, all fertilizer must be applied in a single basal dose before the soil surface is covered by plastic film in GCRPS resulting in excessive vegetative crop growth and nitrogen deficiency during the reproductive stage. Furthermore, a severe drawback of GCRPS is soil and water pollution from residuals polyethylene film used for ground cover. A two-year field experiment was conducted using biodegradable film together with treatments comparing all basal application of N with application of N as three splits and a single basal fertilization of urea plus manure. We examined N uptake and crop growth from transplanting harvest, rice grain yield, yield components, dynamics of tillers and shoot dry matter, and N recovery efficiency. Compared to basal application of all N fertilizer in GCRPS, split application of N or a basal combination of urea plus manure in conjunction with the use of biodegradable film 1) significantly increased rice grain yield, number of productive tillers, and spikelets per square meter; 2) improved crop growth rate and N uptake rate from panicle initiation to maturity; and 3) significantly increased agronomic efficiency of N fertilizer and recovery efficiency of N in grains. Our results highlight that using biodegradable film instead of standard plastic film allows for split application of fertilizers, which increases yield and N use efficiency as well as significantly reduce environmental pollution with plastic film in GCRPS. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 509, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer vision", "abstract": "A ground surface roughness measurement method is proposed to address current problems in the use of machine vision technology to measure roughness: the calculations are complex, and the measurement process is largely affected by the light source. Based on the area of diffusion regions between the virtual images formed by a light source on ground surfaces with different roughness levels are different, a reference light source containing two base color is designed. Red and green color space-based color distribution statistical matrices, as well as corresponding overlap indices, are proposed. A relationship model between overlap index and roughness is constructed. The effect of light source brightness and texture direction on the relationship model is discussed based on the experimental data. The results demonstrate that the surface roughness measurement method, which is based on the overlap degree of the color image, has relatively high accuracy and a relatively wide measurement range and is, to a certain degree, robust to the brightness of the light source and the texture direction. The surface roughness measurement method has huge potential for engineering applications. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 510, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Smoking Cessation", "abstract": "A group of 11 French medical experts has developed guidelines through a Delphi progressive consensus about smoking management at the e-cigarette era. The lack of scientific data about e-cigarettes led the experts to set out recommendations, mainly based on clinical practice while waiting for scientific validations. The validated smoking cessation treatments keep the first place in the prevention and the treatment of tobacco-induced damages. The e-cigarette, experimented by a large proportion of smokers, is a safer product than tobacco. The health professional must answer the patients about the e-cigarettes: (1) A smoker who questions about e-cigarettes should receive information. Even if there is a lack of data, e-cigarettes offer much lower risks than tobacco. (2) A dual user is at high risk of returning to exclusive tobacco use; he should also optimize other nicotine intakes by combining nicotine replacement therapy and/or optimizing the nicotine intake through the e-cigarette. (3) A smoker who wish to use the e-cigarette in order to quit with or without associated pharmacological treatment should be accompanied and not discouraged. (4) A vaper who is tired to continuing to vape should be accompanied to quit. Specific guidelines are also provided for adolescents, pregnant women, patients during perioperative periods and also for pulmonary, cardiac and schizophrenic patients. (C) 2017 SPLF. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 511, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Strength of materials", "abstract": "A group of buildings in West China Campus-Sichuan University (The Atherton Building for Biology and preventive Medicine, The Lamont Library and Harvard-Yenching Museum, and The Whiting Memorial Administration Building) featured both in Chinese and Western styles were built by five western churches together in 1910, under the name of \"Private West China United University\". To protect the buildings, the authors tested the strength of materials taken from the buildings and inspected the buildings in site to evaluate the structure of the historical constructions. The authors suggested protective measures which were adopted in the rehabilitation to the buildings and evaluated the repair effect by the method of Field Vibration Test. Through the test, inspection, analysis and evaluation of the buildings, lots of information data of historical constructions have been accumulated."}
{"ID": 512, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Construction Management", "abstract": "A group of plans recently found at the Construction Management of the Municipality of Santiago being part of the Official Plan of Urbanization of the Commune of Santiago in scales 1: 5,000 and 7: 7,000 dated in 1939 has enabled to carry out a research that, from representation, studies and analyzes the condition of \"modern city\" for our capital city. The plans were valid for fifty years in the management of the city's urban development. They find their origins in Karl Brunner's studies and proposals between 7929 and 7932 and in the draft project that made them possible during his second stay in 1934, which Robert Humeres finally developed in the five coming years. The problem we approach in this article is, therefore, related to the capacity of this cartography to contain a specific idea of \"modern city\". In fact, the thesis of this article is that the Official Plan gives an account of both, an existing city, rigorously registered, and a new one arising as a product of its transformation according to the indications represented on it. In this double intentionality underlies, from our point of view, a clearly \"modern\" bias, evidenced in both the willingness for understanding the new that comes from the pre-existent phenomenon, as the necessary abstraction its representation should achieve to allow both worlds to cohabitate in the plan. This observation is confirmed when we prove the plan is configured from three types of lines that synthetize the complexity of the public space."}
{"ID": 513, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Materials Engineering", "abstract": "A group of teachers of Materials Engineering degree belongs to the organizing committee of next National Conference on Composite Materials Spain that will be held in Rey Juan Carlos University (Madrid, Spain) in 2015. The objective of this new ECTS experience is to involve twenty students of the fourth year in the organization and development of the conference. Each activity will be worth up to 2 ECTS in the Rey Juan Carlos University. The proposed activities are related to two subjects that belong to composite materials discipline: \" Composite Materials\" (third year) and \" Manufacturing of Composite Materials\" (fourth year). The six activities are the following: 1) Review of the proceedings submitted by the participants of the conference; 2) Design a poster based on the composite materials manufacturing techniques at the labs of Rey Juan Carlos University; 3) Student stand; 4) Explanation of a conference poster by a student; 5) Proofreading and layout of the conference proceedings; and 6) Participation of the students in the organization of the conference. For example, in the first activity the students will review some papers which will have been revised previously by the teachers who will have made modifications to insert errors that the students should detect. The modifications will be related to the order of magnitude and units of the physical properties of the materials, scale and axis of the graphs, conditions of manufacturing processes, etc. The review activity will give to the students the opportunity of develop the general competences of critical reasoning, ability to apply the knowledge to the practice, etc., and the specific ones related to composite materials. Besides, it will be a good experience for the students to attend this conference. The conferences will be related to the last advances in composite materials and the more relevant companies of this sector will be present in two of the plenary sessions and in stands."}
{"ID": 514, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A group-delay engineered noncommensurate transmission line two-port all-pass network for analog signal-processing applications is presented, analytically modeled, and experimentally demonstrated. This network consists of transversally cascaded C-sections, which are distributed implementations of the bridged-T equalizer lumped circuit. It is obtained by interconnecting the alternate ports of adjacent lines of a 2N-port coupled transmission line network with transmission line sections, and it is modeled using multiconductor transmission line theory with per-unit-length capacitance matrix C and inductance matrix L. By allowing the different C-sections of the network to exhibit different lengths, a generalized group-delay engineering procedure is proposed, where quasi-arbitrary group-delay responses are achieved by combining the group-delay responses of C-sections with different lengths. A computer design approach based on genetic algorithms is applied for synthesis, which consists of determining the structural parameters of the different C-section groups. Using this approach, noncommensurate networks are group-delay engineered in edge-coupled stripline technology, and Gaussian, linear and quadratic group-delay responses are realized. The theoretical results are validated by experiment. Finally, two application examples of analog signal processing-a tunable impulse delay line and a real-time frequency discriminator-using the proposed dispersive noncommensurate all-pass networks are presented."}
{"ID": 515, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Menopause", "abstract": "A growing amount of evidence suggests that magnesium deficiency may play an important role in several clinical conditions concerning women health such as premenstrual syndrome, dysmenorrhea, and postmenopausal symptoms. A number of studies highlighted a positive correlation between magnesium administration and relief or prevention of these symptoms, thus suggesting that magnesium supplementation may represent a viable treatment for these conditions. Despite this amount of evidence describing the efficacy of magnesium, few and un-systematize data are available about the pharmacological mechanism of this ion for these conditions. Herein, we review and systematize the available evidence about the use of oral magnesium supplementation in several gynecological conditions and discuss the pharmacological mechanisms that characterize these interventions. The picture that emerges indicates that magnesium supplementation is effective in the prevention of dysmenorrhea, premenstrual syndrome, and menstrual migraine and in the prevention of climacteric symptoms."}
{"ID": 516, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Child abuse", "abstract": "A growing awareness of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the United Kingdom and throughout the world has prompted human service and legal/policy professionals to seek ways of engaging young people experiencing sexual exploitation, although much remains unknown regarding effective practice, and whether or not current knowledge regarding best practices with young people can be expanded to address CSE. This paper considers how principles of harm reduction, a public health approach widely used to engage adults and young people in help-seeking behaviours, can be considered as part of a children's rights-centred approach to policy and practice with young people experiencing CSE. (C) 2015 The Authors. Children & Society published by National Children's Bureau and John Wiley & Sons Ltd."}
{"ID": 517, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Immunology", "abstract": "A growing body of evidence indicates that lysozyme plays a significant role as an indicator for many diseases and a drug for treatment of infections, ulcers and to study the spatial conformation, enzyme kinetics, and molecular immunology. Therefore, highly sensitive determination of lysozyme is necessary and vital in a wide variety of fields. In this work, we put forward a simple but effective strategy for colorimetric visualization of lysozyme based on iodide-responsive Cu@Au nanoparticles (Cu@Au NPs) as well as the iodide-catalyzed H2O2-TMB (3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzidine) reaction system. Colorimetric detection is applied because of its simplicity, fast response for analysis, high detection limit, low costs and practicality. In our strategy, iodide is applied for the reason that it can induce an obvious color change of the Cu@Au nanoparticles solution from gray to red, along with the change of morphologies of the Cu@Au nanoparticles from irregular to spherical. Consequently, this phenomenon results in colorimetric signal variation of the iodide-catalytic H2O2-TMB system. What's more, by quite simple biomolecule modification on the Cu@Au nanoparticles surface, an all-purpose colorimetric platform is established for the accurate detection of lysozyme, which could lead to the change of Cu@Au NP concentration through molecular recognition. The results show that modified Cu-Au NPs successfully achieved a simple, selective, visualized, and ultrasensitive detection of lysozyme with a linear range from 10(-7) to 10(-3) M and a detection limit of 60 nM."}
{"ID": 518, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Antisocial personality disorder", "abstract": "A growing body of evidence suggests that the amygdala is central to handling the demands of complex social life in primates. In this paper, we synthesize extant anatomical and functional data from rodents, monkeys, and humans to describe the topography of three partially distinct large-scale brain networks anchored in the amygdala that each support unique functions for effectively managing social interactions and maintaining social relationships. These findings provide a powerful componential framework for parsing social behavior into partially distinct neural underpinnings that differ among healthy people and disintegrate or fail to develop in neuropsychiatric populations marked by social impairment, such as autism, antisocial personality disorder, and frontotemporal dementia. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 519, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Nonverbal communication", "abstract": "A growing body of international research demonstrates that supportive teacher-student relationships have multiple positive educational effects. In Scandinavia, the concept of relational competence is increasingly used to define the teacher's ability to develop 'good' relationships. The overall purpose of this article is to contribute to the field by adopting an interactionist perspective. Drawing chiefly on T. Shibutani, but also on G.H. Mead and T. Scheff, the article aims to: (i) examine how the teacher-student relationship is constructed through nonverbal communication and (ii) discuss the implications regarding teachers' relational competence in situated teaching. A detailed transcript of a classroom episode is interpreted and analysed using Shibutani's concepts. The analysis reveals two parallel relational matrices, one 'conventional' and the other 'interpersonal'. In the concluding section, it is argued that the relationship between the two matrices plays an important role in understanding teachers' relational competence: the relationally competent teacher takes responsibility for his/her own actions, both as an educator in a conventional system and as a fellow being in an interpersonal system. Expressed differently, relational incompetence means overemphasizing one system at the expense of the other."}
{"ID": 520, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Prejudice", "abstract": "A growing body of research points to the role social norms may play in both maintaining carbon intensive lifestyles and soliciting changes towards more sustainable ways of living. However, despite highlighting the importance of pro-environmental social norms, such literature has said far less about the processes by which such norms might develop. We present a new approach to conceptualising social norms that focuses on understanding their dynamics within social interaction, by positioning interpersonal confrontation as a potential mechanism of change. We examine the normative dynamics of environmentalism by comparing the costs of interpersonally confronting climate change disregard with those associated with confronting racism. In two experimental studies, we presented participants with scenarios describing a person confronting (versus not confronting) contentious comments in each domain. We identified social costs to interpersonal confrontation of climate change disregard but not racism, as indicated by reduced ratings of perceived warmth of and closeness to the confronter (Study 1), and this effect was mediated by the perceived morality of the issue in question (Study 2). Our findings highlight how wider social constructions of (im)morality around climate change impact upon social interactions in ways that have important implications for processes of social (and ultimately environmental) change. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 521, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Depression", "abstract": "A growing body of research suggests that bipolar spectrum disorders (BSDs) are associated with high aggression. However, little research has prospectively examined how aggression may affect time to onset of hypomanic/manic versus major depressive episodes. In a longitudinal study, we tested the hypothesis that aggression would prospectively predict a shorter time to the onset of hypomanic/manic episodes and a longer time to the onset of major depressive episodes, based on the behavioral approach system theory of BSDs. Young adults (N=120) diagnosed with cyclothymia, bipolar II disorder, or bipolar disorder not otherwise specified were followed every 4 months for an average of 3.55 years. Participants completed measures of depressive and manic symptoms, family history of mood disorder, impulsivity, and aggression at baseline and were followed prospectively with semistructured diagnostic interview assessments of hypomanic/manic and major depressive episodes and treatment seeking for mood problems. Cox proportional hazard regression analyses indicated that overall, physical, and verbal aggression predicted a longer time to major depressive episode onset, even after controlling for baseline depressive and manic symptoms, family history of mood disorder, treatment seeking for mood problems, and impulsivity. Aggression, however, did not significantly predict time to onset of hypomanic/manic episodes, controlling for the same covariates. The findings suggest that approach-related behaviors may be utilized to delay the onset of major depressive episodes among people with BSDs."}
{"ID": 522, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Social cognition", "abstract": "A growing body of research suggests that social contextual factors such as desires and goals, affective states and stereotypes can shape early perceptual processes. We suggest that a generative Bayesian approach towards perception provides a powerful theoretical framework to accommodate how such high-level social factors can influence low-level perceptual processes in their earliest stages. We review experimental findings that show how social factors shape the perception and evaluation of people, behaviour, and socially relevant objects or information. Subsequently, we summarize the generative view of perception within the `Bayesian brain', and show how such a framework can account for the pervasive effects of top-down social knowledge on social cognition. Finally, we sketch the theoretical and experimental implications of social predictive perception, indicating new directions for research on the effects and neurocognitive underpinnings of social cognition.(C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 523, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Addiction", "abstract": "A growing number of evidence suggests that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important part in modulating the activities on the basis of hippocampus neural plasticity, such as learning and memory. Heroin addiction has a series of cognitive impairments that may be associated with BDNF. In this study, we explored the association of BDNF with cognitive function in hero-independent patients. We enrolled 86 heroin-dependent patients and 238 normal control subjects and examined their cognition by the repeatable battery for the assessment of neuropsychological status (RBANS) and serum BDNF levels in 2 groups. BDNF levels were significantly higher in patients than controls (P < .001). Cognitive scores of the RBANS showed that attention and language index (P < .05) were significantly lower in heroin-dependent patients than control groups. Unfortunately, we found no positive association between BDNF and cognitive function in patients, except that BDNF was positively associated with visuospatial/ constructional index in control groups. Our findings suggest that BDNF may not be involved in the pathophysiology of heroin dependence, but more studies about cognitive impairment in heroin addiction are needed."}
{"ID": 524, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Parkinson's Disease", "abstract": "A growing number of reports have demonstrated that the widely-used herbicide Atrazine (ATR) can cause injury to dopamine (DA) neurons, but the exact mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we examined the effects of lactational ATR exposure in Sprague-Dawley rats on dopaminergic neuron health later in life. Compared with control rats, rats exposed to ATR during a critical period of neural development showed decreased striatal DA content and increased rates of DA turnover. The expression of Monoamine oxidase (MAO), which is associated with DA degradation, was up-regulated, and the expression of Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 2 (VMAT2), which is associated with DA transport, was down-regulated. The expression of transcription factor Nuclear Receptor Related Factor 1 (Nurr1), which is associated with DA neuron development, was down-regulated. Increased age (6-12 months old) increased the statistical significance of the differences of the above indicators in the ATR-treated rats compared to the control rats (P < 0.05). Taken together, our results indicate that ATR exposure during the critical neural development period causes a down-regulation of Nurr1, which in turn affects Nurr1 target genes, including MAO, VMAT2 and DAT, which are involved in DA degradation and transport. Reduced expression of these genes impairs the capacity for vesicular storage or reuptake of DA, causing decreased levels of striatal DA, which can ultimately lead to DA neuron injury. DA neuron injuries become more severe over time, which suggests that aging can synergistically promote the ATR-associated DA neuron injuries. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 525, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Anxiety", "abstract": "A growing number of studies have examined the immigrant paradox with respect to health behaviors in the United States. However, little research attention has been afforded to the study of adverse childhood experiences (ACE; neglect, physical and sexual abuse, and witnessing violence) among immigrants in the United States. The present study, using Waves I and II data from the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), aims to address these gaps by comparing forms of ACE of first- and second-generation immigrants with native-born American adults in the United States. We also examined the latent structure of ACE among immigrants and conducted analyses to assess the psychiatric correlates of identified latent classes. With the exception of neglect, the prevalence of ACE was markedly higher among native-born Americans and second-generation immigrants compared with first-generation immigrants. Four latent classes were identifiedlimited adverse experience (n = 3,497), emotional and physical abuse (n = 1,262), family violence (n = 358), and global adversity (n = 246). The latter three classes evinced greater likelihood of being diagnosed with a mood, anxiety, personality, and substance use disorder, and to report violent and non-violent antisocial behavior. Consistent with prior research examining the associations between the immigrant paradox and health outcomes, results suggest that first-generation immigrants to the United States are less likely to have experienced physical and sexual abuse and witness domestic violence. However, likely due to cultural circumstances, first-generation immigrants were more likely to report experiences that are deemed neglectful by Western standards."}
{"ID": 526, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "False memories", "abstract": "A half-century ago, at the dawn of the all-or-none learning era, Estes showed that finite Markov chains supply a tractable, comprehensive framework for discrete-change data of the sort that he envisioned for shifts in conditioning states in stimulus sampling theory. Shortly thereafter, such data rapidly accumulated in many spheres of human learning and animal conditioning, and Estes' work stimulated vigorous development of Markov models to handle them. A key outcome was that the data of the workhorse paradigms of episodic memory, recognition and recall, proved to be one- and two-stage Markovian, respectively, to close approximations. Subsequently, Markov modeling of recognition and recall all but disappeared from the literature, but it is now reemerging in the wake of dual-process conceptions of episodic memory. In recall, in particular, Markov models are being used to measure two retrieval operations (direct access and reconstruction) and a slave familiarity operation. In the present paper, we develop this family of models and present the requisite machinery for fit evaluation and significance testing. Results are reviewed from selected experiments in which the recall models were used to understand dual memory processes. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 527, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A hall sensor based simple technique was introduced to measure wheel slip and a microcontroller based embedded digital system was developed to display wheel slip data and warn the operator with audible and visible warnings if the optimum range is exceeds. Hall sensor slip measurement system was validated in controlled soil bin condition, tar macadam surface and actual field condition and compared with the commercial radar sensor. The developed system is simple in construction and can be mounted to any make and model of agricultural tractors by entering the appropriate rolling radius via the computer interface. Field trials were conducted to measure wheel slip and fuel consumption on farm use with and without activation of slip indicator; it was observed that, the amount of fuel saving during various agricultural operation was up 1.3I/h. (C) 2016 ISTVS. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 528, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "False memories", "abstract": "A hallmark of adaptive cognition is the ability to modulate learning in response to the demands posed by different types of tests and different types of materials. Here we evaluate how older adults process out-of-context words and sentences differently by examining patterns of memory errors. In two experiments, we explored younger and older adults' sensitivity to lures on a recognition test following study of words in these two types of contexts. Among the studied words were compound words such as \"blackmail\" and \"jailbird\" that were related to conjunction lures (e. g., \"blackbird\") and semantic lures (e. g., \"criminal\"). Participants engaged in a recognition test that included old items, conjunction lures, semantic lures, and unrelated new items. In both experiments, younger and older adults had the same general pattern of memory errors: more incorrect endorsements of semantic than conjunction lures following sentence study and more incorrect endorsements of conjunction than semantic lures following list study. The similar pattern reveals that older and younger adults responded to the constraints of the two different study contexts in similar ways. However, although younger and older adults showed similar levels of memory performance for the list study context, the sentence study context elicited superior memory performance in the older participants. It appears as though memory tasks that take advantage of greater expertise in older adults-in this case, greater experience with sentence processing-can reveal superior memory performance in the elderly."}
{"ID": 529, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A hallmark of male germ cell gene expression is the generation by alternative polyadenylation of cell-specific mRNAs, many of which utilize noncanonical A(A/U)UAAA-independent polyadenylation signals. Cleavage factor I (CFlm), a component of the pre-mRNA cleavage and polyadenylation protein complex, can direct A(A/U)UAAA-independent polyadenylation site selection of somatic cell mRNAs. Here we report that the CFlm subunits NUDT21/CPSF5 and CPSF6 are highly enriched in mouse male germ cells relative to somatic cells. Both subunits are expressed from spermatogenic cell mRNAs that are shorter than the corresponding somatic transcripts. Complementary DNA sequencing and Northern blotting revealed that the shorter Nudt21 and Cpsf6 mRNAs are generated by alternative polyadenylation in male germ cells using proximal poly(A) signals. Both sets of transcripts contain CFlm binding sites within their 3 '-untranslated regions, suggesting autoregulation of CFlm subunit formation in male germ cells. CFIm subunit mRNA and protein levels exhibit distinct developmental variation during spermatogenesis, indicating stage-dependent translational and/or posttranslational regulation. CFIm binding sites were identified near the 3 ' ends of numerous male germ cell transcripts utilizing A(A/U)UAAA-independent sites. Together these findings suggest that CFIm complexes participate in alternative polyadenylation directed by noncanonical poly(A) signals during spermatogenesis."}
{"ID": 530, "domain": "CS", "area": "Cryptography", "abstract": "A handover authentication protocol ensures secure and seamless roaming over multiple access points. A number of such protocols are proposed, but most of these protocols are inefficient or insecure. Very recently, Li et al. (Wireless Pers Commun 80(2):581-589, 2015) proposed a privacy-aware handover authentication protocol, and claimed their protocol to be more lightweight and secure than existing protocols. However, our analysis identifies that Li et al.'s protocol is insecure against access point impersonation attack. As a remedy, we proposed an improved protocol to fix the security weakness of Li et al.'s protocol. The improved protocol achieves the provable security in the random oracle model against the hardness assumptions of the elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem and elliptic curve computational Diffie-Hellman problem. The proposed handover authentication protocol is also formally analyzed with the automated tool ProVerif. The improved protocol not only enhances the security but is more lightweight than other related protocols."}
{"ID": 531, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer graphics", "abstract": "A handy system is presented for creating in real time a natural television image composed of a real scene and a computer graphics object. The light positions and colors (RGB values) in the real scene are estimated and then applied to the object by using simple equipment. Objective and subjective experiments demonstrated the effectiveness of this system. An enhanced algorithm is also presented that improves the accuracy of light estimation."}
{"ID": 532, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Control engineering", "abstract": "A hanging-type sand-retaining wall is a very common sand-blocking fence structure used to prevent sand movement. This type of wall is widely used along the Qinghai-Tibet and Gobi desert railways in Xinjiang, Western China. To analyze the characteristics of wind-sand flow fields under the effect of such a sand fence structure, a wind tunnel test and a field test were carried out. The wind tunnel test showed the zoning characteristics of the flow fields under the effect of the hanging-type sand-retaining wall, and the field test provided the sediment transport data for effective wind-proof interval and the sand resistance data in the front and behind the sand-retaining wall. The consistency of the wind-sand flow fields with the spatial distribution characteristic of wind-carried sand motion was verified by the correspondences of the acceleration zone in the flow field and the negative elevation points of the percentage variations of the sand collection rate. The spatial distribution characteristic of the field sand collection data further showed the spatial structural characteristic of the sandy air currents under the action of the hanging-type sand-retaining wall and the sand resistance characteristic of the sand-retaining wall. This systematic study on the wind-sand flow fields under the control of the hanging-type sand-retaining wall provides a theoretical basis for the rational layout of sand control engineering systems and the efficient utilization of a hanging-type sand-retaining wall."}
{"ID": 533, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A hardware accelerator is presented to compute the probabilistic inference for a Bayesian network (BN) in distributed sensing applications. For energy efficiency, the accelerator is operated at a near-threshold voltage of 0.5 V, while achieving a maximum clock frequency of 33 MHz. Clique-tree message passing algorithm is leveraged to compute the probabilistic inference. The theoretical maximum size of a factor that the proposed hardware accelerator can handle is 2((8x20)=160) entries, which is sufficient for handling massive BNs, such as PATHFINDER, MUNIN, and so on (>1000 nodes). A Logical Alarm Reduction Mechanism (ALARM) BN is used to benchmark the performance of the accelerator. The accelerator consumes 76 nJ to execute the ALARM network using a clique-tree message-passing algorithm, while the same algorithm executed on an ultralow-power microcontroller consumes 20 mJ."}
{"ID": 534, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system is a multi-variable strongly coupled large-scale system that is composed of several sub-systems. Considerable research, simulations, and experiments have been conducted on HVAC control. The optimization control of an HVAC system is now the popular issue. The ultimate goal of this paper was to achieve minimum energy consumption and improve system efficiency. Multi-zone variable air volume and variable water volume air-conditioning systems were developed. The dynamic models of HVAC sub-systems were built by the adaptive directional forgetting method. Control strategies such as the gearshift integral proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller and self-tuning PID controller were studied in the platform to improve the dynamic characteristics of the HVAC system. System performance was improved. The system saved 18.2% of energy with the integration of iterative learning control and sequential quadratic programming based on the steady-state hierarchical optimization control scheme."}
{"ID": 535, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A helicopter flight control system is a typical multi-input, multi-output system with strong channel coupling and nonlinear characteristics. This paper presents an explicit model predictive control (EMPC) for attitude regulation and tracking of a 3-Degree-of-Freedom (3-DOF) helicopter. A state-space representation of the system is established according to the characteristics of each degree-of-freedom motion. Multi-Parametric Quadratic Programming (MPQP) and online computation processes for explicit model predictive control and controller design for a 3-DOF helicopter are discussed. The controller design for set-point regulation and tracking time-varying reference signals of a 3-DOF helicopter are presented respectively. Numerical study of explicit model predictive control for attitude regulation and tracking of a 3-DOF helicopter are conducted. A hardware-in-the-loop experimental study of explicit model predictive control of a 3-DOF helicopter is made. To analyze the performances of an EMPC controlled helicopter system, an Active Mass Disturbance System and manual interference are considered in comparison with PID scheme. Numerical simulation and HIL experimental studies show that explicit model predictive control is valid and has satisfactory performance for a 3-DOF helicopter."}
{"ID": 536, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A herringbone water-sediment separation structure (hereinafter referred to as \"herringbone structure\") has been shown to be effective in separating coarse inorganic debris; however, less is known regarding the large wood (LW) filtration effect in this structure. This paper presents preliminary research on the wood filtration effect of the herringbone structure based on physical model tests. The results show that the herringbone structure exhibited effective performance in large wood size segregation, with a 100% component filtration rate for LW that diameter (D) larger than ribbed beam opening width (a). The total filtration rate also exceeded 80% when the Fraud number (Fr) is larger than 2.64 and increased with the increase of Fr. After exceeding Fr (max), total filtration rate would be decreased due to overflow. Beside flow condition, structure parameters influence significantly on LW filtration rate. We attempt to explain the filtration process via particle contact trajectory and particle movement trajectory. The inclined angle of ribbed beam (gamma) contributed the most variation to the filtration rate via influencing the coincidence with particle contact trajectory and particle movement trajectory. The high sensitivity coefficient of ribbed beam (theta) under relatively low Fr conditions implies remarkable influences on LW filtration effects by causing clogging problem. The ribbed beam opening width (a) together with LW diameter (D) influenced the size segregation performance."}
{"ID": 537, "domain": "CS", "area": "Machine learning", "abstract": "A heuristic procedure based on novel recursive formulation of sinusoid (RFS) and on regression with predictive least-squares (LS) enables to decompose both uniformly and nonuniformly sampled 1-d signals into a sparse set of sinusoids (SSS). An optimal SSS is found by Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) optimization of RFS parameters of near-optimal sinusoids combined with common criteria for the estimation of the number of sinusoids embedded in noise. The procedure estimates both the cardinality and the parameters of SSS. The proposed algorithm enables to identify the RFS parameters of a sinusoid from a data sequence containing only a fraction of its cycle. In extreme cases when the frequency of a sinusoid approaches zero the algorithm is able to detect a linear trend in data. Also, an irregular sampling pattern enables the algorithm to correctly reconstruct the under-sampled sinusoid. Parsimonious nature of the obtaining models opens the possibilities of using the proposed method in machine learning and in expert and intelligent systems needing analysis and simple representation of 1-d signals. The properties of the proposed algorithm are evaluated on examples of irregularly sampled artificial signals in noise and are compared with high accuracy frequency estimation algorithms based on linear prediction (LP) approach, particularly with respect to Cramer-Rao Bound (CRB). (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 538, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A hidden Markov model (HMM) consisting of a controlled Markov chain and a binary output is considered. The binary output reports the occurrence of a certain state (versus any other state) in the Markov chain. The transition matrix of the Markov chain depends on a control vector which is to be chosen to minimize a discounted infinite-horizon cost function. The information provided for decision making is the entire history of the binary output which presents an incomplete knowledge of the Markov chain and, as a consequence, leads to a stochastic control problem with partial observations. The solution to such a problem is a control policy consisting of two components: an estimator to derive the posterior probability distribution of the Markov chain from the observation set, and a nonlinear control law to map this estimate into the control vector. This paper introduces a nonlinear state-space representation for the estimator, develops analytical expressions for the control law, and presents numerical methods for efficient computation of the optimal control. Application of these results to optimal management of a class of inventory systems is discussed, and the performance of optimal control for this application is examined by numerical simulations."}
{"ID": 539, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Satellite radio", "abstract": "A hierarchical modulation scheme is proposed to upgrade an existing digital broadcast system, such as satellite TV, or satellite radio, by adding more data in its transmission. The hierarchical modulation consists of a basic constellation, which is the same as in the original system, and a secondary constellation, which carries the additional data for the upgraded system. The upgraded system with the hierarchical modulation is backward compatible in the sense that receivers that have been deployed in the original system can continue receiving data in the basic constellation. New receivers can be designed to receive data carried in the secondary constellation, as well as those in the basic constellation. Analysis will be performed to show the tradeoff between bit rate of the data in secondary constellation and the penalty to the performance of receiving the basic constellation."}
{"ID": 540, "domain": "CS", "area": "Machine learning", "abstract": "A high degree of uncertainty associated with the emission inventory for China tends to degrade the performance of chemical transport models in predicting PM2.5 concentrations especially on a daily basis. In this study a novel machine learning algorithm, Geographically -Weighted Gradient Boosting Machine (GW-GBM), was developed by improving GBM through building spatial smoothing kernels to weigh the loss function. This modification addressed the spatial nonstationarity of the relationships between PM2.5 concentrations and predictor variables such as aerosol optical depth (AOD) and meteorological conditions. GW-GBM also overcame the estimation bias of PM2.5 concentrations due to missing AOD retrievals, and thus potentially improved subsequent exposure analyses. GW-GBM showed good performance in predicting daily PM2.5 concentrations (R-2 = 0.76, RMSE = 23.0 g/m(3)) even with partially missing AOD data, which was better than the original GBM model (R-2 = 0.71, RMSE = 25.3 g/m(3)). On the basis of the continuous spatiotemporal prediction of PM2.5 concentrations, it was predicted that 95% of the population lived in areas where the estimated annual mean PM2.5 concentration was higher than 35 g/m(3), and 45% of the population was exposed to PM2.5 >75 g/m(3) for over 100 days in 2014. GW-GBM accurately predicted continuous daily PM2.5 concentrations in China for assessing acute human health effects. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 541, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A high frequency dual-buck full-bridge inverter for small power renewable energy applications is proposed in this paper. The implementation of the wide band gap SiC (Silicon Carbide) power device contributes to the high switching frequency of 400 kHz. This high frequency contributes to reduced converter volume as well as improved power density, which greatly strengthens its portability and application range. For the control strategy, a voltage-current dual loop controller is employed. A three-pole-three-zero (3P3Z) compensator is applied in the current loop in order to track the current reference without static error. A voltage loop two-pole two-zero (2P2Z) compensator is used to generate the current reference for stabilizing the DC bus voltage. Not only is the inner current loop analyzed in detail, which includes the modeling of the equivalent inductor-capacitor-inductor (LCL)-type inverter and the design of the 3P3Z compensator, but also the outer voltage loop is discussed, the model of which is established based on the energy balance. Furthermore, a feedback linearization method is adopted to simplify the duty cycle calculation and helps to accelerate the control speed. A second-order generalized integrator software phase lock loop (SOGI-SPLL) is employed to obtain the phase angle and to synchronize the inverter output current with the grid voltage. A parallel structure algorithm is conducted based on a dual-core microcontroller unit (MCU) for the first time to control the high frequency inverter. This approach avoids the contradiction between the high frequency operation and the limited computing capacity of the conventional single-core MCUs. The software structure, time-consuming distribution, and interactive communication method are analyzed in detailed. Finally, this paper verifies the feasibility of the theoretical analyses through simulation and experiments based on a 1 kW prototype."}
{"ID": 542, "domain": "CS", "area": "Operating systems", "abstract": "A high level of concern is placed on the storage, handling, transportation, and distribution of vaccines and other pharmaceutical products, particularly those that are time and temperature sensitive. While active and passive cooling equipment and monitoring devices are important, it is the various personnel responsible for executing and writing procedures, designing and operating systems, and investigating problems and helping prevent them who are paramount in establishing and maintaining a \"cold.chain\" for time and temperature sensitive pharmaceutical products (TTSPPs). These professionals must possess the required competencies, knowledge, skills and abilities so they can effectively perform these activities with appropriate levels of expertise. These are complex tasks that require the development of higher cognitive skills that cannot be adequately addressed through professional development opportunities based on simple information delivery and content acquisition. This paper describes two unique learning solutions (one on a bus called the \"wheels course\" and the other online called \"e-learning\") that have been developed by WHO Global Learning Opportunities (WHO/GLO) to provide participants with opportunities not just to learn about cold chain systems or vaccine management, but, rather, to develop high levels of expertise in their respective fields through experiential and authentic learning activities. In these interactive learning environments, participants have opportunities to address real-life situations in contexts similar to what they may face in their own work environments and develop solutions and critical thinking skills they can apply when they return to their jobs. This paper further delineates the managerial and operational vaccine management functions encompassed in these two unique learning environments. The paper also describes the alignment of the objectives addressed in the \"wheels course\" and the e-learning version with effective vaccine management (EVM) criteria as prescribed by WHO. The paper concludes with an example of a real world product developed by course graduates (specifically a decision tree that is now used by some national programmes). These types of products, valuable in their own right, often emerge when learning environments based on authentic learning principles are designed and implemented as they were by WHO/GLO. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd."}
{"ID": 543, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Emergency Contraception", "abstract": "A high level of unwanted pregnancies among young women is an urgent public health problem in South Africa. The study sought to establish awareness, utilisation, and attitude towards the use of emergency contraception (EC) among patients seen at the Commercial City Reproductive Health Clinic in Durban, South Africa. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted by means of a self-administered questionnaire among 103 sexually active females between the ages of 18-49 years. More than two-thirds (72.8%) of the participants heard about EC and among them 85.3% had used EC. Among those who heard about EC, 53.3% of them heard about are from clinics. About two-thirds (63.1%) participants knew the correct timing when EC should be taken following sexual intercourse, and majority (73.7%) indicated that EC is used to prevent unplanned pregnancy. Majority (77.6%) of the participants displayed a positive attitude towards the use of EC. About a third (31.1%) of the participants reported that EC was against their cultural beliefs or religions. Majority (82.5%) also indicated to recommend EC to other women as a family planning method. Awareness of utilisation of EC was good among the participants. Most of the women displayed positive attitudes towards EC and perceived it to be beneficial. Health professionals should inform and alert women/clients on the consequences of unprotected sex, and guide them to make informed choices by means of adequate information regarding EC."}
{"ID": 544, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Myelofibrosis", "abstract": "A high number of circulating CD34+ cells has been advocated to distinguish primary myelofibrosis from other Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms. We reevaluated the diagnostic interest of measuring circulating CD34+ cells in 26 healthy volunteers and 256 consecutive patients at diagnosis for whom a myeloproliferative neoplasm was suspected. The ROC curve analysis showed that a number of CD34+ < 10/mu l excludes the diagnosis of primary myelofibrosis with a sensitivity of 97% and a specificity of 90%(area under the curve: 0.93 [0.89-0.98]; p < 0.001). Patients with PMF harboring a CALR mutation had more circulating CD34+ cells than patients with either a JAK 2 or MPL mutation (p = 0.02 and p < 0.01, respectively). These results suggest that this fast, simple, non-invasive, and standardized test is of particular interest to exclude the diagnosis of primary myelofibrosis."}
{"ID": 545, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A high performance interface circuit of sigma-delta accelerometer with low harmonic distortion used many kinds of circuit processing techniques is presented in this work. Multi-bit, dynamic element matching, correlated-double-sampling and electrostatic force feedback linearization circuit are used simultaneously in order to achieve the design indicators. Because of the usage of multi-bit, the design to operational amplifier (OPA) becomes easier, and only a single-stage folded-cascode amplifier is used in the modulator, the OSR is only 64. It highly reduced the difficulty of circuit. The test results indicate that the chip area is only about 10mm(2) and the power dissipation is 10mW with a sampling frequency of 60 kHz. The dynamic range (DR) of the system can be lower than -130 dB, the SNR and SNDR reach to -120 dB and -110 dB respectively with a resolution about 17 bits when referred to 3g full scale DC acceleration under CMOS 0.5 mu m process. The dc nonlinearity of it is 0.2%. This paper realizes an approach which can both simplify the design of the interface circuit and improve the performance of it."}
{"ID": 546, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A high performance license plate recognition system (LPRS) is proposed in this work. The proposed LPRS is composed of the following three main stages: (i) plate region determination, (ii) character segmentation, and (iii) character recognition. During the plate region determination stage, the image is enhanced by image processing algorithms to increase system performance. The rectangular license plate region is obtained using edge-based image processing methods on the binarized image. With the help of skew correction, the plate region is prepared for the character segmentation stage. Characters are separated from each other using vertical projections on the plate region. Segmented characters are prepared for the character recognition stage by a thinning process. At the character recognition stage, a three-layer feedforward artificial neural network using a backpropagation learning algorithm is constructed and the characters are determined."}
{"ID": 547, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Osteoporosis", "abstract": "A high priority in imaging-based research is the identification of the structural basis that confers greater risk for spinal disorders. New evidence indicates that factors related to sex influence the fetal development of the axial skeleton. Girls are born with smaller vertebral cross-sectional area compared to boys-a sexual dimorphism that is present throughout life and independent of body size. The smaller female vertebra is associated with greater flexibility of the spine that could represent the human adaptation to fetal load. It also likely contributes to the higher prevalence of spinal deformities, such as exaggerated lordosis and progressive scoliosis in adolescent girls when compared to boys, and to the greater susceptibility for spinal osteoporosis and vertebral fractures in elderly women than men."}
{"ID": 548, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Skin Care", "abstract": "A high standard of newborn care, especially at a primary level, is needed to address the neonatal mortality rate in South Africa. The current approach to continuing training of health-care workers uses traditional methods of centralised teaching by formal tutors away from the place of work. This is no longer affordable, achievable or desirable, particularly in rural areas. An innovative system of self-directed learning by groups of nurses caring for mothers and their newborn infants uses specially prepared course books without the need for trainers. Using self-study supported by peer discussion groups, nurses can take responsibility for their own professional growth. This builds competence, confidence and a sense of pride. Since 1993, the Perinatal Education Programme has provided continuing learning opportunities for thousands of nurses in Southern Africa. A number of prospective trials have demonstrated that study groups can significantly improve knowledge and understanding, attitudes, clinical skills and quality of care provided to mothers and infants. A recent review of 10,000 successful participants across a wide range of provinces, ages and home languages documented the success of the project. Using a question-and-answer format to promote problem-solving, case studies, simple skills workshops and multiple choice tests, each module addresses common conditions with appropriate care practices such as thorough drying at birth, delayed cord-clamping, skin-to-skin care, breast feeding, basic resuscitation, correct use of oxygen therapy, hand-washing, blood glucose monitoring and promotion of parental bonding. The training material is now also available free of charge on an on-line website as well as being presented as e-books which can be downloaded onto personal computers, tablet readers and smart phones. This is supplemented by regular SMS text messages providing nurses with relevant 'knowledge bites'. All nurses caring for newborn infants now have easy, affordable access to continuing education which promises nationwide improvements in newborn care."}
{"ID": 549, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Rainwater Harvesting", "abstract": "A high-altitude (>1,500 m asl) integrated participatory watershed development programme was implemented between 2004 and 2008 in the West Khasi Hills, Meghalaya, North-Eastern Indian Himalaya. The aim was to assess and refine practices for integrating crop, fish and livestock production systems. Soil and water conservation measures, with the active participation of local inhabitants, included the construction and renovation of ponds, jalkunds (micro rainwater-harvesting structures) and bench and half-moon terraces. Impact analysis revealed that 4.3 million litres of water were harvested and enhanced potato and rice crop productivity by 30% to 40% and 45% to 50% respectively. Farmers are now able to earn net incomes of around $56.8 and $8.9 per month from community dairy units and fish ponds respectively."}
{"ID": 550, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A high-efficiency method is proposed to suppress magnetic core imbalance in phase-shifted full-bridge (PSFB) converters. Compared with conventional solutions, such as controlling peak current mode (PCM) or adding DC blocking capacitance, the proposed method has several advantages, such as lower power loss and smaller size, because the additional current sensor or blocking capacitor is removed. A time domain model of the secondary side is built to analyze the relationship between transformer core imbalance and cathode voltage of secondary side rectifiers. An approximate control algorithm is designed to achieve asymmetric phase control, which reduces the effects of imbalance. A 60 V/15 A prototype is built to verify the proposed method. Experimental results show that the numerical difference of primary side peak currents between two adjacent cycles is suppressed from 2 A to approximately 0 A. Meanwhile, compared with the PCM solution, the efficiency of the PSFB converter is slightly improved from 93% to 93.2%."}
{"ID": 551, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A high-efficiency, high-power-density buffer architecture is proposed for power pulsation decoupling in power conversion between dc and single-phase ac. We present an active decoupling solution that yields improved efficiency and reduced circuit complexity compared to existing solutions. In the proposed architecture, the main energy storage capacitor is connected in series with an active buffer converter across the dc bus. The series-stacked capacitor blocks the majority of the dc bus voltage to reduce the voltage stress on the buffer converter, such that fast, low-voltage transistors can be employed for the buffer converter. Moreover, the series capacitor provides the majority of the power pulsation decoupling through a wide voltage swing, and the buffer converter only needs to process a small fraction of the total power of the entire architecture, allowing a very small active circuit volume and very high system efficiency. The circuit operation and design constraints are analyzed in detail. In the proposed buffer architecture, the series stacking of a nearly lossless capacitor and a lossy converter presents a challenge of capacitor voltage balancing and power loss compensation. We propose a control scheme exploiting the small ripple in the bus voltage and dc input current to compensate for the power loss in the buffer converter while maintaining the voltage balance. Light-load techniques are also introduced to ensure that the buffer architecture meets strict ripple requirements while providing sufficient loss compensation. A 2-kW hardware prototype based on low-voltage GaN switches has been built to demonstrate the performance of the proposed solution. A power density of 25W/cm(3) (410 W/in(3)) by rectangular box volume and an efficiency above 98.9% across a wide load range has been experimentally verified."}
{"ID": 552, "domain": "MAE", "area": "computer-aided design", "abstract": "A higher kinematic pair that converts rotary motion into helical motion is presented as an alternative to the screw joint (a lower kinematic pair). First, the existence of a rolling transmission pair for a rotary-to-helical motion conversion is proven. Then, the corresponding pair of rolling surfaces (pitch surfaces) and their relative position is defined for any set of kinematic transmission parameters. Some calculated.examples are presented. A method for gear-tooth forming from the pitch surfaces using Boolean operations with a computer-aided design (CAD) program is proposed. Finally, applying this methodology, a pair of gears for rotary into helical transmission has been obtained using a 3D printer. The prototype presents negligible clearances and backlash, high reversibility, as well as continuous gearing without interference. The meshing equation for a simple generating surface is also provided."}
{"ID": 553, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A highly integrated Ku-band (10.7-12.75 GHz) planar phased array receiver of 64 antenna elements is presented. It features instantaneous reception of the full Ku-band (2.05 GHz wide) in two orthogonal polarizations with wide scan angles by using time delay instead of phase shift. The receiver is part of a system for satellite broadcast TV reception on board of moving vehicles. Two SiGe radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) were developed, packaged in ceramic BGAs and assembled onto a 15-layer printed circuit board (PCB) which integrates the antenna elements. An outline of the system is given along with a detailed description. It sets a new standard in integration density. The receiver has extensive analog signal processing at intermediate frequency (IF)-level. A novel bipolar implementation for true time delay is proposed, with a continuous programmable delay range of 0...80 ps with less than 2.5 ps group-delay variation in 2 GHz bandwidth (BW). The wide BW calls for a constant group-delay implementation in the IF chain. The receiver (RFIC) consumes only 132 mW per channel. Each channel has 40 dB gain."}
{"ID": 554, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A highly linear PGA with level shifter and class AB output stage for BLE receiver is reported in this paper. Both merits of degenerated PGA and operational amplifier based PGA are synthesized in proposed PGA. It is implemented in 0.18 mu m CMOS process and draws 290pA current from a supply of 1.8V when driving a capacitor load of 2p at the IF of 1MHz, while high SR up to 2.2 x 10(7) V/s is obtained. OIP3 of 40dBm is achieved under all gain modes due to the constant loop bandwidth. Proposed PGA has a gain range from 0dB to 14dB at the step of 2dB. The THD reaches 72.7dB at the frequency of 1MHz when proposed PGA outputs a 1.3Vpp differential voltage signal."}
{"ID": 555, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A highly reconfigurable merged analog baseband (MABB) with not only tunable bandwidth (BW), gain, and order but also reconfigurable power, noise, and linearity is proposed for multistandard integrated wireless receivers in this brief. The MABB could arrange the total gain to different stages for noise and linearity tradeoffs by introducing the merged biquad topology. To save power, the operational amplifier (Opamp) for the proposed MABB can reduce the GBW, as long as it meets the GBW requirement for different BW, gain, and order. A flexible power-efficient high-GBW Opamp with an adaptive common-mode bias circuit is also proposed for the eighth-order active-RC MABB. The proposed MABB covers a cutoff frequency range from 200 kHz to 20 MHz, whereas the gain could be tuned between 0 and 72 dB. The proposed highly reconfigurable MABB is suitable for multistandard integrated wireless receivers."}
{"ID": 556, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical network", "abstract": "A highly reliable and deterministic communication network is required to guarantee the protection switch control and data acquisition of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) pulsed power electrical network (PPEN) substation. This study aims at quantitatively assessing the availability indices and evaluating the end to end (ETE) time delay performance of PPEN communication network. The overall architecture of PPEN communication network is first introduced. Theoretical analysis of PPEN communication network under unrepairable and repairable condition are then examined and sensitivity analysis are carried out to find out the best way to improve the availability. Subsequently, OPNET modeler is used to simulate the message communication in PPEN communication network and time delay test was taken to prove the correctness of simulation model. The results indicate that PPEN communication network's availability indices meet ITER's requirement and the ETE time delay conforms to IEC 61850."}
{"ID": 557, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A high-order curvature-compensated bandgap reference (BGR) with low temperature coefficient (TC) is proposed in this paper. The curvature compensation is maintained through the use of Pplus poly resistor and Nplus poly resistor to achieve temperature-dependent resistor ratios. A T-resistor structure is adopted which enables the BGR to work under low supply voltage or high MOSFET threshold voltage and to reduce the mismatches in transistors and resistors. The design is implemented in 65-nm CMOS technology with a 1.8-V supply. The output reference voltage is 550 mV and shows a TC of 0.22 ppm/degrees C in a temperature range from -20 degrees C to 80 degrees C. A high gain operational amplifier is used that enhances the power supply rejection ratio to -117.8 dB at DC and -75 dB at 1 kHz. The effect of mismatch is 4.3%. The proposed BGR achieves a line regulation of 0.8 mV/V and total power consumption of 20.8 mu W."}
{"ID": 558, "domain": "CS", "area": "Parallel computing", "abstract": "A high-resolution (7 km) non-hydrostatic global mesoscale simulation using the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS-5) model is used to visualize the flow and fluxes of carbon dioxide throughout the year. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most important greenhouse gas affected by human activity. About half of the CO2 emitted from fossil fuel combustion remains in the atmosphere, contributing to rising temperatures, while the other half is absorbed by natural land and ocean carbon reservoirs. Despite the importance of CO2, many questions remain regarding the processes that control these fluxes and how they may change in response to a changing climate. This visualization shows how column CO2 mixing ratios are strongly affected by local emissions and large-scale weather systems. In order to fully understand carbon flux processes, observations and atmospheric models must work closely together to determine when and where observed CO2 came from. Together, the combination of high-resolution data and models will guide climate models towards more reliable predictions of future conditions. Published by Elsevier B.V."}
{"ID": 559, "domain": "CS", "area": "Machine learning", "abstract": "A high-resolution drought forecast model for ungauged areas was developed in this study. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) with 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month time scales were forecasted with 1-6-month lead times at 0.05 x 0.05 degrees resolution. The use of long-range climate forecast data was compared to the use of climatological data for periods with no observation data. Machine learning models utilizing drought-related variables based on remote sensing data were compared to the spatial interpolation of Kriging. Two performance measures were used; one is producer's drought accuracy, defined as the number of correctly classified samples in extreme, severe, and moderate drought classes over the total number of samples in those classes, and the other is user's drought accuracy, defined as the number of correctly classified samples in drought classes over the total number of samples classified to those classes. One of the machine learning models, extremely randomized trees, performed the best in most cases in terms of producer's accuracy reaching up to 64%, while spatial interpolation performed better in terms of user's accuracy up to 44%. The contribution of long-range climate forecast data was not significant under the conditions used in this study, but further improvement is expected if forecast skill is improved or a more sophisticated downscaling method is used. Simulated decreases of forecast error in precipitation and mean temperature were tested: the simulated decrease of forecast error in precipitation improves drought forecast while the decrease of forecast error in mean temperature does not contribute much. Although there is still some room for improvement, the developed model can be used for drought-related decision making in ungauged areas. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 560, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A high-speed folded-cascode OP amplifier with a dynamic switching bias circuit, which enables low power consumption, high gain stably, and a relatively wide dynamic range in low power supply voltages, is proposed. Through simulations, it was shown that the OP amplifier is able to operate at a 10 MHz dynamic switching rate and a dissipated power of 71 % of that observed in continuous operation. It also showed an open loop gain of 51 dB and a 0.996 V output dynamic range which is wider than that in a telescopic OP amplifier. The 10 MHz high-speed switching operation, allowing processing video signals, was confirmed by applying to a switched capacitor non-inverting amplifier with a gain of below 2. The simulation results showed that the output inaccuracy for a switched capacitor amplifier with a gain of below 2 is below 1.5 %, which is practicable. This inaccuracy was caused by the static nonlinearity of the OP amplifier, determined on its limited open loop gain."}
{"ID": 561, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Psoriasis", "abstract": "A high-throughput screen of the ligand binding domain of the nuclear receptor retinoic acid-related orphan receptor gamma t (ROR gamma t) employing a thermal shift assay yielded a quinoline tertiary alcohol hit. Optimization of the 2-, 3- and 4-positions of the quinoline core using structure-activity relationships and structure-based drug design methods led to the discovery of a series of modulators with improved ROR gamma t inhibitory potency and inverse agonism properties. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 562, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Cancer", "abstract": "A high-throughput, microfluidic flow cell array (MFCA) system has been modified to enable drug screening against small-volume cell-, and tissue cultures. The MFCA is composed of a 3D channel network that simultaneously flows fluids through forty-eight 830 mu m by 500 mu m flow cells, which physically divide and fluidically seal an existing culture into multiple compartments when docked onto the surface of a cell or tissue culture dish. The modified system provides temperature (37 degrees C) and CO2/pH level controls, while continuously flowing solutions (media or other liquid such as drug suspensions) over the cells/tissues. These assays were enhanced and validated using inverted microscopy and fluorescent staining techniques which also allow real time viability and toxicity assessments. This work presents the results of this new generation in vitro drug testing assay performed using this modified MFCA system. This setup allows the testing of 48 drug combinations on 48 different cell-, tissue specimen at once under flow conditions. All 48 flow cells were utilized to test 5 different concentrations of cisplatin (CDDP). CDDP solutions in various concentrations were continually flowed over cultured human ovarian cancer cells for 48 h. Viability assessments were performed using red-orange calcein and SYTOX (R) Green nucleic acid stains. Cells were imaged at the beginning and end of the experiment (48 h). In order to compare and validate MFCAs suitability as drug screening assay, MTT assays were performed on cells. We found that both, MTT and MFCA assays generated dose-response curves with similar profiles. Innovative advantages of the MFCA system include the ability of handling smaller amounts of solutions compared to conventional and current state of the art drug screening and cell viability/toxicity methods. It also provides the ability to continually deliver fresh solution to the cell samples, while eliminating wastes that are produced. Based on our here reported findings MFCA may have a strong potential of providing a more physiological model than current state of the art static MTT assays."}
{"ID": 563, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A high-voltage high-frequency power supply for ozone generation is presented in this paper. Ozone generation is intended to be used in air and in water disinfection. A power stage consisting of a single-phase full bridge inverter for regulating the output power, a current push-pull inverter (driver) and a control circuit are described and analyzed. This laboratory build power supply using a high voltage ferrite transformer and a PIC microcontroller was employed to energize a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) ozone generator. The inverter working on the basis of control strategy is of simple structure and has a variation range of the working frequency in order to obtain the optimal frequency value. The experimental results concerning electrical characterization and water treatment using a cylindrical DBD ozone generator supplied by this power supply are given in the end."}
{"ID": 564, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Allergies", "abstract": "A history of allergy or allergic condition has been reported to be associated with reduced risk of some types of malignancies. However, the understanding of this association for colorectal cancer (CRC) is controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis of CRC risk in individuals who had history of allergy compared to those without the history of allergic condition. Pumbed and Embase databases were searched for relevant studies. The adjusted relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were pooled using the random-effects model. Nine studies, including 775, 178 individuals, were eligible for inclusion. The pooled estimate showed no significant association between history of allergy and CRC risk (adjusted RR 1.01, 95 % CI 0.88-1.17). Subgroup analyses confirmed the neutral association stratified by tumor location (colon: n = 6 studies; adjusted RR 1.01, 95 % CI 0.81-1.25; rectum: n = 6 studies; adjusted RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.77-1.15; colorectum: n = 3 studies; adjusted RR 0.92, 95 % CI 0.70 to 1.21), sex (male: n = 4 studies; adjusted RR 0.93, 95 % CI 0.81-1.07; female: n = 6 studies; adjusted RR 0.94, 95 % CI 0.80-1.09) or by allery type (asthma: n = 5 studies; adjusted RR 1.16, 95 % CI 0.96-1.42; hay fever: n = 4 studies; adjusted RR 0.93, 95 % CI 0.86-1.03). Meta-analysis of existing evidence provides a neutral association between allergies and CRC risk. Future well-designed prospective cohort studies should be conducted to better understand this association."}
{"ID": 565, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Ankylosing Spondylitis", "abstract": "A history of ever-smoking appears to be associated with a more severe disease phenotype in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). However, evidence is sparse for the effect of increased smoking exposure on disease outcomes or whether smoking reduction or cessation improves outcomes. The aim of this study was to explore whether a dose-response relationship exists between pack-years and disease activity and functional impairment in axSpA. Consecutive patients meeting ASAS criteria for axial SpA were recruited from a spondyloarthritis service. The associations between pack-years of smoking and: (1) disease activity (BASDAI/ASDAS), (2) spinal pain, (3) functional impairment (BASFI) and (4) inflammatory markers were explored using multivariable linear models, adjusted for age, gender and use of TNF inhibition (TNFi) therapy. Pack-years were categorised into four groups (40) and analysed with light smoking (40, beta = 2.6 (0.54, 3.56)), higher BASFI (21-40, beta = 2.1 (0.42, 4.80); >40, beta = 3.2 (0.76, 5.71)), and higher ASDAS (21-40, beta = 0.82 (0.14, 1.51)). This cross-sectional study demonstrated that smoking is associated with increased axSpA severity markers in a dose-response manner. Particular effort should be made to restrict smoking exposure early before accruing a significant number of pack-years."}
{"ID": 566, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Geotextile", "abstract": "A host of mining practices produce fine-grained mineral sludge, such as mature fine tailing from oil-sand extraction. These sludges are hard to dewater because of their high clay content and their low hydraulic conductivity. This paper describes pressure filtration tests in which eight different nonwoven geotextiles (GTXs) were used to filter high-clay-content sludges. The sludges were formulated by mixing kaolinite and silt to obtain eight different grain-size distributions (GSDs) with d(50) ranging from 3 to 55 mu m and clay content ranging from 0% to 38% (d < 2 mu m). The sludges created for this research had the GSD and variability of real fine tailings. The results indicate that sludges can be filtered with nonwoven GTXs selected on the basis of their pore-opening size. Furthermore, calendered GTXs are more efficient in retaining particles than needle punched GTXs. In addition, only during the early stage of filtration do GTXs really influence filtering because it is at this stage that, by retaining coarser particles, they allow progressive formation of filter cake. Upon forming, the filter cake becomes the major contributor to particle retention. Finally, the sludge composition is found to be the most significant factor affecting the final state of dewatering. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 567, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Children's Health", "abstract": "A huge amount of literature in the last decades showed that sleep is essential for children's health and well-being and that short sleep duration is associated with several negative health outcomes. Many developmental phases in infancy and childhood are in strict relationship with an healthy sleep. In the last years some specific recommendations made for how much sleep children need have been published. The empirical evidences for contemporary sleep recommendations has changed and the new recommendations are clearly different from the previous ones and reflect clearly the changes in the sleep need of the children and adolescents in the last decades although seem still to be largely unfitting for preadolescence and adolescence. If sleep is to be treated as a therapeutic intervention, then consensus guidelines, statements, and evidence-based best-practice documents are needed to underpin sleep recommendations for children. Sleep recommendations for children play an important role for public policies and interventions, and to advertise parents and children of the negative consequences of sleep deprivation/reduction."}
{"ID": 568, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "A huge number of genes within the human genome code for proteins that mediate and/or control nutritional processes. Although a large body of information on the number of genes, on chromosomal localisation, gene structure and function has been gathered, we are far from understanding the orchestrated way of how they make metabolism. Nevertheless, based on the genetic information emerging on a daily basis, we are offered fantastic new tools that allow us new insights into the molecular basis of human metabolism under normal as well as pathophysiological conditions. Recent technological advancements have made it possible to analyse simultaneously large sets of mRNA and/or proteins expressed in a biological sample or to define genetic heterogeneity that may be important for the individual response of an organism to changes in its nutritional environment. Applications of the new techniques of genome and proteome analysis are central for the development of nutritional sciences in the next decade and its integration into the rapidly developing era of functional genomics."}
{"ID": 569, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Water Pollution", "abstract": "A human biomonitoring (HBM) survey in four areas affected by natural or anthropogenic arsenic pollution was conducted in Italy within the framework of the SEpiAs project. A questionnaire, including the exploration of risk perception (RP) regarding environmental hazards and access to and trust in information, was administered to 282 subjects stratified by area, gender and age. The survey was designed to investigate how populations living in polluted areas could adopt prevention-oriented habits, fostered by the awareness of existing risks and, in addition, how increased knowledge of RP and information flows could support researchers in identifying recommendations, and presenting and disseminating HBM results. This study characterizes the four areas in terms of RP and access to and trust in environmental information, and provides insights into the influence of RP and environmental information on food consumption. For the data analysis, a combined random forest (RF) and logistic regression approach was carried out. RF was applied to the variables derived from the questionnaire in order to identify the most important in terms of the aims defined. Associations were then tested using Fisher's exact test and assessed with logistic regression in order to adjust for confounders. Results showed that the perception of and personal exposure to atmospheric and water pollution, hazardous industries and waste, hazardous material transportation and waste was higher in geographical areas characterized by anthropogenic pollution. Citizens living in industrial areas appeared to be aware of environmental risks and had more confidence in environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) than in public authorities. In addition, they reported an insufficient circulation of information. Concerning the influence of RP and environmental information on food consumption, a high perception of personal exposure to atmospheric pollution and hazardous industries was associated with a lower consumption of local fish. In conclusion, different RPs and information flow patterns were observed in areas with arsenic of natural origin or in industrial contexts. These findings may be useful for targeted risk communication plans in support of risk management strategies. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 570, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A Human health control monitor system (HHCMSes) is a mobile medical application is used to detect continuous monitoring and manage the human body blood glucoses levels. HHCMS promises to give to extend the life period of human being. HHCMSes is a testing device very efficient to monitor the glucoses levels. Sensor can wear anywhere in our human body as like as wrist watches. A sensor connects to smart phones using HHCMSes software. Once connected this software continuously to monitor the blood glucoses levels in our body. In our body, when change the glucose levels is to intimate through smart mobile phones. HHCMS is easily to monitor the indoor and outdoor physical movement of blood levels changing often in our body. Existing approaches uses moment generate function (MGF) is support only statistical method of gathering the value, reviewing the value, survey the value, and give an interpreting the variable of numerical data, cannot identifying the transfer function between sensor and mobiles. In this paper, we can propose robust compatible, so we can uses Mason's gain formula (MGF) is a process to detect the transfer function by using linear signal-flow graph (SFG) and cyebyshev's theorem and Markov theorem uses to find out the desired result of HHCMSes."}
{"ID": 571, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "A human in vivo metabolism study was carried out to investigate the impact of the trimethylselenium ion (TMSe) status on metabolism and toxicokinetics of sodium selenite and selenized yeast. Nine healthy human volunteers were orally exposed to 200 A mu g selenium as sodium selenite and seven with selenized yeast (100 A mu g selenium). In each intervention group, three subjects belong to TMSe eliminators. Blood samples were withdrawn before and up to 6 h after administration. Urine samples were collected before and within 24 h after administration. Total selenium (Se) was quantified in blood plasma and urine and low molecular Se species in urine. Selenium concentration in plasma increased from 84.5 +/- A 13.2 A mu g Se/L before to 97.4 +/- A 13.2 A mu g Se/L 2-3 h after selenite supplementation and 89.5 +/- A 12.9 A mu g Se/L to 92.1 +/- A 13.9 A mu g Se/L after selenized yeast intake. The oral ingestion caused an additional Se elimination via urine of 16.9 +/- A 10.6 A mu g/24 h (TMSe elim.: 10.8 +/- A 6.9 A mu g/24 h; non-TMSe elim.: 20.0 +/- A 11.3 A mu g Se/24 h) after selenite exposure and 11.8 +/- A 4.1 A mu g/24 h (TMSe elim.: 10.8 +/- A 4.6 A mu g/24 h; non-TMSe elim.: 12.6 +/- A 4.2 A mu g Se/24 h) after selenized yeast exposure. Methyl-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-1-seleno-beta-d-galactopyranoside (SeSug1) was the main metabolite in all urine samples, whereas TMSe was another main metabolite in TMSe eliminators' urine. After selenite exposure, a small amount of the dose (0.5 +/- A 0.2 %) was oxidized to selenate and rapidly excreted via urine. With the exception of selenite exposure in TMSe eliminators, the comparison of total Se and the sum of quantified Se species revealed a high renal portion of unidentified species. The study indicated a different metabolism of inorganic and organic Se compounds in human, but also crucial differences of Se metabolism in TMSe eliminators and non-TMSe eliminators."}
{"ID": 572, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A hybrid 3D-1D-3D approach is proposed for the conceptual design of a blanket. Firstly, the neutron wall loading (NWL) of each blanket module is obtained through a neutronics calculation employing a 3D model, which contains the geometry outline of in-vacuum vessel components and the exact neutron source distribution. Secondly, a 1D cylindrical model with the blanket module containing a detailed radial building is adopted for the neutronics analysis, with the aim of calculating the tritium breeding ratio (TBR) and nuclear heating. Being normalized to the NWL, the nuclear heating is transferred to a 2D model for thermal-hydraulics analysis using the FLUENT code. Through a series analysis of nuclear-thermal iterations that considers the tritium breeding ratio (TBR) and thermal performance as optimization objectives, the optimized radial building of each module surrounding plasma can be obtained. Thirdly, the 3D structural design of each module is established by adding side walls, cover plates, stiffening plates, and other components based on the radial building. The 3D neutronics and thermal-hydraulics using the detailed blanket modules are re-analyzed. This approach has been successfully applied to the design of a water-cooled ceramic breeder blanket for the Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR). The radial building of each blanket module surrounding plasma is optimized. The global tritium breeding ratio (TBR) calculated by the 3D neutronics analysis is 1.21, and the temperature of all materials in the 3D blanket structure is below the upper limits. As indicated by the comparison of the 1D and 3D neutronics and thermal hydraulics analyses, the front zones adjacent to plasma present larger deviatiOns of nuclear heat, namely 45% and 36.5%, in tungsten and FW, respectively. The breeder zones, which influence the overall temperature, achieve significantly smaller deviations of less than 10%. The temperature of the 2D model in the front breeder zones is consistent with the results of the 3D model, and the deviation is only 9.2%. The largest deviation 35% occurs in the back breeder zone, because the manifolds are arranged there in the 3D blanket model, and this makes the temperature of the breeder much lower. These results provide a useful reference for further optimization design. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 573, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Internal combustion engine", "abstract": "A hybrid combined cooling heating and power (CCHP) system driven by biomass and solar energy is proposed, and their complementarity to enhance the system's energy efficiency is analyzed and shown. The CCHP system is primarily composed of a biomass gasification sub-system, solar evacuated collector, internal combustion engine and dual-source powered mixed-effect absorption chiller. The product gas produced by the gasifier drives the internal combustion engine to generate power, and the waste heat after generation is utilized to produce cooling and heating with the collected heat from the solar collectors. Under the design conditions, the thermodynamic performances under variable external conditions and energy ratios are investigated and analyzed. The results indicate that the primary energy ratio and the exergy efficiency are 57.9% and 16.1%, respectively, and the carbon emission reduction ratio is about 95.7%, at the design condition. The complementarity analysis between the biomass and solar energy shows that the biomass subsystem makes a greater contribution to the total system primary energy ratio and exergy efficiency than the contributions from the solar subsystem, and the participation of solar energy is conducive to the system emission reduction. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 574, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Solar Energy", "abstract": "A hybrid electric-thermal (HET) following method is proposed for a combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system driven by natural gas and solar energy, focusing on the supply matching of domestic hot water, space cooling/heating and electricity. The domestic hot water thermal demand (Class A) is set to be met preferentially due to its immediateness and timeliness, and the space cooling/heating (Class B) thermal demand matching condition will be discussed from the view of comfort reliability. Detailed strategy methods under summer and winter conditions are presented. Variable electric-thermal ratio (RA, the ratio of the thermal demand of domestic hot water to the electric demand, RE, the ratio of the thermal demand of space cooling/heating to the electric demand) load conditions are analyzed and a comparison of HET between the base following electric load and following thermal load strategies is discussed for hotel applications. The criteria including primary energy consumption, carbon dioxide emission, operation cost and exergy efficiency is employed to evaluate the performances in the HET strategy. The results indicate that HET can achieve more benefits than the base operation strategies. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 575, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Internal combustion engine", "abstract": "A hybrid energy system used in robotic-tractors for precision weed and pest control in agriculture is evaluated and its exhaiist emissions compared with the use of an internal combustion engine as a single power source. The agricultural implements require power for hydraulic pumps and fans which, initially, was provided by a power take-off system (PTO), wasting a lot of energy. The objectives of this work were to design and assess a hybrid energy system including the removal of the alternators from the tractor and the modification of the agricultural implements to replace the PTO power with electric power, using small pumps and small fans. These changes improved energy use and reduced the atmospheric pollution emission from the internal combustion engine. The hybrid energy system used the original combustion engine of the tractor in combination with a new electrical energy system, which consisted of a hydrogen fuel cell. An analysis of the exhaust gases using the internal combustion engine as the single power source and using the hybrid energy system was carried out to compare the results obtained. The results showed a reduction in emissions of almost 50% for the best case. (C) 2016 IAgrE. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 576, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Solar Energy", "abstract": "A hybrid photoelectrochemical and microbial fuel cell (HPMFC) is constructed for simultaneous utilization of solar energy and bioenergy by installing a TiO2 photoanode next to a bioanode that shares the same cathode in a microbial fuel cell (MFC). Connecting the photoelectrochemical (PEC) circuit results in enhanced cathode potentials for the MFC based on the differences in power output characteristics of MFC and PEC alone. The improved power production of the MFC is accompanied by a relatively small decline in the power density of the PEC, yielding an overall enhancement in power output for the HPMFC."}
{"ID": 577, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A hybrid power system uses many wind turbine generators (WTG) and solar photovoltaics (PV) in isolated small areas. However, the output power of these renewable sources is not constant and can diverge quickly, which has a serious effect on system frequency and the continuity of demand supply. In order to solve this problem, this paper presents a new frequency control scheme for a hybrid power system to ensure supplying a high-quality power in isolated areas. The proposed power system consists of a WTG, PV, aqua-electrolyzer (AE), fuel cell (FC), battery energy storage system (BESS), flywheel (FW) and diesel engine generator (DEG). Furthermore, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (EVs) are implemented at the customer side. A full-order observer is utilized to estimate the supply error. Then, the estimated supply error is considered in a frequency domain. The high-frequency component is reduced by BESS and FW; while the low-frequency component of supply error is mitigated using FC, EV and DEG. Two PI controllers are implemented in the proposed system to control the system frequency and reduce the supply error. The epsilon multi-objective genetic algorithm (epsilon-MOGA) is applied to optimize the controllers' parameters. The performance of the proposed control scheme is compared with that of recent well-established techniques, such as a PID controller tuned by the quasi-oppositional harmony search algorithm (QOHSA). The effectiveness and robustness of the hybrid power system are investigated under various operating conditions."}
{"ID": 578, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "A hybrid safety injection tank (H-SIT) can enhance the capability of an advanced power reactor plus (APR+) during a station black out (SBO) that is accompanied by a severe accident. It may a useful alternative to an electric motor. The operations strategy of the H-SIT has to be investigated to achieve maximum utilization of its function. In this study, the master logic diagram (i.e., an analysis for identifying the differences between an H-SIT and a safety injection pump) and an accident case classification were used to determine the parameters of the H-SIT operation. The conditions that require the use of an H-SIT were determined using a decision-making process. The proper timing for using an H-SIT was also analyzed by using the Multi-dimensional Analysis of Reactor Safety (MARS) 1.3 code (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon, South Korea). The operation strategy analysis indicates that a H-SIT can mitigate five types of failure: (1) failure of the safety injection pump, (2) failure of the passive auxiliary feedwater system, (3) failure of the depressurization system, (4) failure of the shutdown cooling pump (SCP), and (5) failure of the recirculation system. The results of the MARS code demonstrate that the time allowed for recovery can be extended when using an H-SIT, compared with the same situation in which an H-SIT is not used. Based on the results, the use of an H-SIT is recommended, especially after the pilot-operated safety relief valve (POSRV) is opened. Copyright (C) 2015, Published by Elsevier Korea LLC on behalf of Korean Nuclear Society."}
{"ID": 579, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Solar Energy", "abstract": "A hybrid solar energy conversion system described in this study is designed to exceed the efficiency of each type of technology alone by combining advantages of concentrated solar power (CSP) technology and high performance concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) cells. This hybrid system can be tilted at different inclination angles to track the solar power at different latitudes and different time zones. Thermal management is important to CPV cells, as 1000x concentrated solar radiation onto CPV not only leads to higher performance but also generates more waste heat flux. In this work, the effects of natural convection with and without the interaction of surface radiation in the system consisting of PV cells, optical funnels and a heatsink were numerically investigated with an experimentally validated model. The influence of inclination on the overall flow structure and heat transfer was examined. Under the effect of these funnels, the heat transfer was enhanced when the heat was transferred through PV cells to funnels. At the same time, the separation flow between the spaces of funnels would take the heat to the ambient. The minimum average temperature of surrogate PV cells occurred at the inclination angle of 60Ltd. When the inclination angle varied from 0 degrees to 90 degrees, the stagnation point moved from the downward surface of the heat sink towards the edge of heat sink. From 0 degrees to 60 degrees, the stagnation point was at the downward surface of heat sink and there was a dramatic decrease in the average temperature of the surrogate PV cells. When inclination angles were less than 60 degrees, except that there was a separation region above substrate, the side flow could flow in and out freely between adjacent funnels and then formed a pair of separation bubble, or spiral node, on top of the funnels. At these inclination angles, flow velocity was found to be the dominant factor influencing heat transfer because the flow pattern (separation bubble) was the same on top of the funnels. However, at inclination angles of 60 degrees to 90 degrees the stagnation point occurred at the edge of the heat sink, and the surrogate PV temperature increased. When the inclination angle reached 90, the flow was trapped and recirculated among funnels, and the vortical wake on top of the funnel disappeared. It can be concluded that from 60 degrees to 90 degrees, the dominant factor influencing heat transfer is funnel effect because the flow velocity stayed almost constant. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 580, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Solar Energy", "abstract": "A hybrid solar-biomass fluidized bed drying system was designed, evaluated and developed. The system was comprised of a fluidized bed, a solar collector, and a biomass furnace. This solar-assisted fluidized bed dryer integrated biomass furnace was used to investigated the drying kinetics of paddy. The average temperature of the air drying were 61 and 78 degrees C. The paddy's moisture content was dried to 14% from 20% (wet basis) with a mass flow rate of 0.125 kg/s. The performance of the fluidized bed drying system was assessed base on energy and exergy analyses. The specific energy consumption (SEC), solar fractions, biomass fractions, thermal and exergy efficiencies were obtained. The SEC and drying times were lower in hybrid solar-biomass fluidized bed drying system compared to solar dryers. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 581, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Solar Energy", "abstract": "A hybrid structure consisting of iron oxide nanoparticles decorated on titania (TiO2) nanotube arrays has been synthesized by a very rapid forced hydrolysis method, followed by post annealing treatment. The morphology and structure analysis of the hybrid TiO2/Fe2O3 composites indicated uniform, conformal coating of the hematite nanoparticles on the anatase titania nanotubes. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy was used to investigate the absorption properties of the TiO2/Fe2O3 structures. An increase in the absorbance of visible light in the range 380 nm to 600 nm has been observed when compared with pristine nanotubes. This is similar to the visible light absorbance enhancement observed in Ru-dye sensitized titania nanotubes. Thus iron oxide decorated titania nanotube demonstrate immense potential for use as inexpensive and robust materials for improved solar energy harvesting for photovoltaic applications."}
{"ID": 582, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A hybrid-cascade (HC) coupled-line phaser configuration is presented to synthesize enhanced group delay responses for high-resolution radio-analog signal processing. Using exact analytical transfer functions, the superiority of HC coupled-line phasers over conventional transversally cascaded C-section phasers is demonstrated and verified using full-wave simulations. (C) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc."}
{"ID": 583, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A hydrokinetic smart grid (KSG) concept powered by modules of hydrokinetic microturbines arranged in rows is proposed in this work. A complete description of each module: mechanical design, hydropower characteristics, power electronics and control strategies have been included. A complete dynamic simulation of an example of a KSG has been performed. It considers microturbine modules, power loads, energy storage modules and a grid tie inverter that interface with the mains using a single connection. Additionally, the control and power stages of a hydrokinetic microturbine has been validated. The satisfactory technical results obtained in addition with the acceptable results of an investment analysis, encourage future implementations of KSGs."}
{"ID": 584, "domain": "CS", "area": "Symbolic computation", "abstract": "A improvement of the expansion methods namely the improved tan(Phi(xi)/2)-expansion method for solving the Tzitzeica type nonlinear evolution equations is proposed. In this work, the dispersive optical solitons that are governed by the Tzitzeica type nonlinear evolution equations. As a result, many new and more general exact travelling wave solutions are obtained including periodic function solutions, soliton-like solutions and trigonometric function solutions. The exact particular solutions containing four types hyperbolic function solution, trigonometric function solution, exponential solution and rational solution. We obtained the further solutions comparing with other methods. Recently this method is developed for searching exact travelling wave solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations. Abundant exact travelling wave solutions including solitons, kink, periodic and rational solutions have been found. These solutions might play important role in engineering fields. It is shown that this method, with the help of symbolic computation, provides a straightforward and powerful mathematical tool for solving the nonlinear problems."}
{"ID": 585, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A In this paper, a robust control approach is used to address the problem of adaptive behavioral treatment design. Human behavior (e.g., smoking and exercise) and reactions to treatment are complex and depend on many unmeasurable external stimuli, some of which are unknown. Thus, it is crucial to model human behavior over many subject responses. We propose a simple (low order) uncertain affine model subject to uncertainties whose response covers the most probable behavioral responses. The proposed model contains two different types of uncertainties: uncertainty of the dynamics and external perturbations that patients face in their daily life. Once the uncertain model is defined, we demonstrate how least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (lasso) can be used as an identification tool. The lasso algorithm provides a way to directly estimate a model subject to sparse perturbations. With this estimated model, a robust control algorithm is developed, where one relies on the special structure of the uncertainty to develop efficient optimization algorithms. This paper concludes by using the proposed algorithm in a numerical experiment that simulates treatment for the urge to smoke."}
{"ID": 586, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Gender roles", "abstract": "A key area of interest is the way in which early years educators' perceptions about the concept of gender may influence their practice in relation to how children's ideas about gender might be supported and reinforced. However, this area has received little attention in the highly gender-segregated context of Pakistan. Understanding evidence-based issues related to gender in Pakistan is thus crucial to overcoming educational barriers. This article explored Pakistani female pre-primary teachers' perceptions and practices related to gender in the early years. Interview and observation data were collected with seven teachers in one urban, co-education school and were analysed thematically. Results indicated that teachers' perceptions reflect the complex and multifaceted dimensions of gender within the gradually shifting, but still traditional, cultures of Pakistani society. For the most part, female teachers' views are rooted in dominant patriarchal ideologies, for example, of boys as active and assertive and girls as passive and quiet. However, in a few instances such as in children's academic performance and play, their perceptions reflect attempts to push gender boundaries which challenge patriarchal ideologies. Teachers' gender perceptions have significant implications for young children's development and understanding of gender roles in Pakistan."}
{"ID": 587, "domain": "CS", "area": "network security", "abstract": "A key aspect of realizing the future smart grid communication solution is a balanced approach between the network performance and the network security during the network deployment. A high security communication flow path is not useful when the network path cannot support capacity and reachability requirements. The deployment phase in communication network can facilitate an optimal network path by focusing on both the network performance and the network security at the same time. In this paper, we describe a use case of smart grid application where security, network capacity and reachability needs to be optimal for successful network operation. We explain our proposed balancing approach of the network performance and the network security which can be useful for the optimal smart grid secure system design."}
{"ID": 588, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A key element in developing high-performance smart material electrohydraulic actuators is the design of improved check valves for high-frequency fluid rectification. One method to create valves with fast frequency response is to replace the single-reed valves typically used in these systems with an array of miniature-reed valves. A robust miniature-reed design is presented to overcome the fatigue and fabrication limitations observed in previous approaches. The fluid-structure interaction between an individual valve and hydraulic fluid is modeled using the multiphysics software COMSOL; the results are validated with experimental testing on an array of miniature reeds. The performance of this array in a smart material actuator is compared with a larger, single-reed valve design. The miniature-reed array is shown to reliably rectify flow in the high-pressure and high-frequency environment of a smart material pump."}
{"ID": 589, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A key issue in fruit export is classification and sorting for acceptable marketing. In the present work, the image processing technique was employed to grade three varieties of oranges (Bam, Khooni and Thompson) separately. The reason for choosing this fruit as the object of the study was its abundant consumption worldwide. In this study, 14 parameters were extracted: area, eccentricity, perimeter, length/ area, blue value, green value, red value, width, contrast, texture, width/ area, width/ length, roughness, and length. Further, the ANFIS (Adaptive Network-based Fuzzy Inference System) method was utilized to estimate the orange mass from the data obtained using the image processing in three varieties. In ANFIS model, samples were divided into two sets, one with 70% for training set and the other one with 30% for testing set. The results of the present study demonstrated that the coefficient of determination (R-2) of the best model for Bam, Khooni and Thompson measured 0.948, 0.99, and 0.98, respectively. In addition, the results indicated that the estimation accuracy of the best model for Bam, Khooni and Thompson was measured as +/- 3.7 g, +/- 1.28 g, +/- 3.2 g, respectively. This result was very satisfactory for the application of ANFIS to estimate the orange mass."}
{"ID": 590, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Machine design", "abstract": "A key pillar for the success of a company in business is its ability to succeed in a global, rapidly changing labour market. This can be achieved only if the workforce is qualified, skilled and flexible, thus it is clear that an emphasis should also be put on staff development. Development can be achieved in many ways; one of them is through lifelong learning supported by universities. This paper presents e-learning study materials developed by academics in the Department of Machine Design (DMD) at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FME) at the University of West Bohemia (UWB). The study materials focus on design projects from industrial practice. There are several projects and each one focuses on a specific machine. The outputs from all the projects are e-learning pdf files. These study materials contain all the important information which a designer usually comes into contact with, for example: drawing documentation, a 3D model, calculation reports, welding technology, etc. These study materials were developed primarily for full-time students at the Department of Machine Design to rectify their lack of practical knowledge. When the project was completed it became clear that these study materials could also be applied in the context of lifelong learning. The Institute of Lifelong Learning at the University of West Bohemia offers courses and training for companies and the general public. The courses for employees tend to be narrowly focused on an area specified by the company. Public courses are not designed for training individuals. Open courses are periodically arranged in the spring and autumn of each year to train groups. Due to the narrow specialization of engineers who work in industrial practice, there is a loss of continuity in education in other areas of mechanical engineering. The elearning study materials are comprehensive and include knowledge from different fields of engineering. In a new job, these study materials can help an employee to study the problematics before starting work in another field, and possibly even shorten in-company learning. Study materials can also help to a large extent during a job interview. The study materials were created in cooperation with experts from industry according to currently valid technical standards."}
{"ID": 591, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Prenatal development", "abstract": "A key question concerns the extent to which sexual differentiation of human behavior is influenced by sex hormones present during sensitive periods of development (organizational effects), as occurs in other mammalian species. The most important sensitive period has been considered to be prenatal, but there is increasing attention to puberty as another organizational period, with the possibility of decreasing sensitivity to sex hormones across the pubertal transition. In this paper, we review evidence that sex hormones present during the prenatal and pubertal periods produce permanent changes to behavior. There is good evidence that exposure to high levels of androgens during prenatal development results in masculinization of activity and occupational interests, sexual orientation, and some spatial abilities; prenatal androgens have a smaller effect on gender identity, and there is insufficient information about androgen effects on sex-linked behavior problems. There is little good evidence regarding long-lasting behavioral effects of pubertal hormones, but there is some suggestion that they influence gender identity and perhaps some sex-linked forms of psychopathology, and there are many opportunities to study this issue. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 592, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Cancer", "abstract": "A kind of core cross-linked poly(ethylene glycol)-graft-Dextran nanoparticles (CPD NPs) was prepared by a simple chemical cross-linking method for reduction and pH dual response drug delivery. The resultant CPD NPs are of homogeneous spherical structure with sizes from 69 +/- 11 to 107 +/- 18 nm. Doxorubicin (DOX) was then loaded into the CPD NPs in high efficiency, and showing typical reduction and pH dual responsive release profiles. The flow cytometric analysis and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) confirmed that the DOX-loaded CPD NPs could be internalized into cancer cell efficiently and release DOX in intracellular environment. Furthermore, cell cytotoxicity assays indicated that the CPD NPs had good biocompatibility toward both cancerous and normal cells, while the Dox-loaded CPD NPs exhibited significant inhibition of cell proliferation in various cancer cells. Therefore, this biocompatible CPD NP may have great potential for intracellular drug delivery in clinical cancer therapy. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 593, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Stealth Technology", "abstract": "A kind of novel electromagnetic structure of Cassini cross section is proposed and simulation is implemented with business microwave soft CST based on finite integral technique (FIT). The electromagnetic field mode type of Cassini wave-guide belongs to TE, and the electromagnetic field intensity is stronger near the neck region than at other areas. For Cassini electromagnetic patches and lumped elements, the radar cross section (RCS) is smaller around 7 CHz with -30.85 dBsm, and the absorbing property is better around 13 GHz with 4.56 dBsm difference of RCS from comparing of pure medium. For novel radiation structure of Cassini cross-section patches, the electromagnetic field value is larger in the neck areas of two half patches. At last, the potential application and development of Cassini oval structure are put forward in the electromagnetic stealth technology and antennae design."}
{"ID": 594, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Molecular biology", "abstract": "A kinesthetic classroom activity was designed to help students understand enzyme activity and catalysis of reaction rate. Students served the role of enzymes by manipulating Pop-It Beads as the catalytic event. This activity illuminates the relationship between reaction rate and reaction progress by allowing students to experience first-hand the effect of substrate depletion on catalyzed reaction rate. Preliminary findings based on survey results and exam performance suggest the activity could prove beneficial to students in the targeted learning outcomes. Unique to previous kinesthetic approaches that model Michaelis-Menten kinetics, this activity models the effects of substrate depletion on catalyzed reaction rate. Therefore, it could prove beneficial for conveying the reasoning behind the initial rate simplification used in Michaelis-Menten kinetics. (C) 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45( 2): 179183, 2017."}
{"ID": 595, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Lymphoma", "abstract": "A known HIV-1-positive intravenous drug user was found to be human T cell lymphoma/leukemia virus-II (HTLV-II) DNA positive by polymerase chain reaction but seronegative in a screening ELISA. He was consistently DNA positive but took 2 years to fully seroconvert. Sequencing of the HTLV-II strain in his cultured T lymphocytes indicated that it is a prototypical type A strain with no major differences in the long terminal repeat DNA sequence, nor major amino acid differences in the Gag, Env, Tax, and Rex proteins. However, a mutation in its pol gene created a stop codon at amino acid 543 of the Pol protein, a region that encodes for the RNase function. This mutation may account for the subject's slow seroconversion."}
{"ID": 596, "domain": "CS", "area": "Symbolic computation", "abstract": "A KP-like nonlinear differential equation is introduced through a generalised bilinear equation which possesses the same bilinear form as the standard KP bilinear equation. By symbolic computation, nine classes of rational solutions to the resulting KP-like equation are generated from a search for polynomial solutions to the corresponding generalised bilinear equation. Three generalised bilinear differential operators adopted are associated with the prime number p = 3."}
{"ID": 597, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "A label-free method for DNA sequencing based on the principle of the Millikan oil drop experiment was developed. This sequencing-by-synthesis approach sensed increases in bead charge as nucleotides were added by a polymerase to DNA templates attached to beads. The balance between an electrical force, which was dependent on the number of nucleotide charges on a bead, and opposing hydrodynamic drag and restoring tether forces resulted in a bead velocity that was a function of the number of nucleotides attached to the bead. The velocity of beads tethered via a polymer to a microfluidic channel and subjected to an oscillating electric field was measured using dark-field microscopy and used to determine how many nucleotides were incorporated during each sequencing-by-synthesis cycle. Increases in bead velocity of approximately 1% were reliably detected during DNA polymerization, allowing for sequencing of short DNA templates. The method could lead to a low-cost, high-throughput sequencing platform that could enable routine sequencing in medical applications. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 598, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Diabetes", "abstract": "A label-free porous silicon (pSi) based, optical biosensor, using both an antibody and aptamer bioreceptor motif has been developed for the detection of insulin. Two parallel biosensors were designed and optimised independently, based on each bioreceptor. Both bioreceptors were covalently attached to a thermally hydrosilylated pSi surface though amide coupling, with unreacted surface area rendered stable and low fouling by incorporation of PEG moieties. The insulin detection ability of each biosensor was determined using interferometric reflectance spectroscopy, using a range of different media both with and without serum. Sensing performance was compared in terms of response value, response time and limit of detection (LOD) for each platform. In order to demonstrate the capability of the best performing biosensor to detect insulin from real samples, an in vitro investigation with the aptamer-modified surface was performed. This biosensor was exposed to buffer conditioned by glucose-stimulated human islets, with the result showing a positive response and a high degree of selectivity towards insulin capture. The obtained results correlated well with the ELISA used in the clinic for assaying glucose-stimulated insulin release from donor islets. We anticipate that this type of sensor can be applied as a rapid point-of-use biosensor to assess the quality of donor islets in terms of their insulin production efficiency, prior to transplantation."}
{"ID": 599, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Attention", "abstract": "A lack of longitudinal studies impedes the understanding of whether visual processing skills significantly influence reading performance. The present study assessed if multi element processing (MEP), a visual processing task comprising only non-verbal stimuli, was predominantly related with decoding or sight-word reading. One hundred Spanish pre-reading children were evaluated on their MEP, naming speed (RAN), phonemic awareness (PA), letter knowledge (LK) and IQ. Early reading level was measured in first grade. In third grade, four reading lists consisting of short and long, high- and low-frequency words were administered. Results from path analyses revealed that, after controlling for RAN, PA, LK, IQ and early reading level, MEP was a significant predictor of the reading of long low frequency words only. This result suggests that, in the transparent Spanish orthography, pre-reading MEP is significantly linked to future decoding skill. This is the first study to provide empirical evidence that pre-reading MEP predicts future reading. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 600, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A Lagrangian numerical approach for the simulation of rapid landslide runouts is presented and discussed. The simulation approach is based on the so-called Particle Finite Element Method. The moving soil mass is assumed to obey a rigid-viscoplastic, non-dilatant Drucker-Prager constitutive law, which is cast in the form of a regularized, pressure-sensitive Bingham model. Unlike in classical formulations of computational fluid mechanics, where no-slip boundary conditions are assumed, basal slip boundary conditions are introduced to account for the specific nature of the landslide-basal surface interface. The basal slip conditions are formulated in the form of modified Navier boundary conditions, with a pressure-sensitive threshold. A special mixed Eulerian-Lagrangian formulation is used for the elements on the basal interface to accommodate the new slip conditions into the Particle Finite Element Method framework. To avoid inconsistencies in the presence of complex shapes of the basal surface, the no-flux condition through the basal surface is relaxed using a penalty approach. The proposed model is validated by simulating both laboratory tests and a real large-scale problem, and the critical role of the basal slip is elucidated. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 601, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Control engineering", "abstract": "A landslide susceptibility evaluation is vital for disaster management and development planning in the Yangtze River Three Gorges Reservoir Area. In this study, with the support of remote sensing and Geographic Information System, 4 factor groups comprising 10 separate subfactors of landslide-related data layers were selected to establish a susceptibility evaluation model based on the back-propagation neural network including slope, aspect, plan curvature, strata and lithology, distance to faults, land use/land cover, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Water Index, distance from roads, and effect of rivers. During model development, a three-layered interconnected neural network structure of 10 (input layer) x 20 (hidden layer) x 1 (output layer) was used for evaluating the landslide susceptibility in Guojiaba. At the same time, a back-propagation algorithm was applied to calculate the weights between the input layer and the hidden layer and between the hidden layer and the output layer. The results showed that the effect of slope has the highest weight value (0.2051), which is more than two times that of the other factors, followed by strata and lithology (0.1213) and then the effect of rivers (0.1201). At the end of the susceptibility evaluation, the area was divided into four zones such as very high, high, moderate and low susceptibility. For verification, the receiver operating characteristic curve for the back-propagation neural network-derived landslide susceptibility evaluation model was drawn, and the results showed that the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.8790 and the prediction accuracy was 88%. Furthermore, the results obtained from this article were then verified by comparing with the existing landslide historical data and multiple field-verified results. Lastly, the landslide susceptibility map will help decision makers in risk management, site selection, site planning, and the design of control engineering."}
{"ID": 602, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A large amount of methane releasing from the residual coal and the surrounding pressure-relieved gas bearing strata may accumulate in the longwall gob of gas-bearing coal seam, which is increasingly exploited as a major source of coalbed methane (CBM) development in coal mining areas. Meanwhile, if the gob methane emits into the working space along with air-leakage flow, they may impair the safety and productivity of underground coal mines. Thus, gob gas drainage is of great significance to both the CBM development and the control of gob gas emission. Currently, there exist two major technologies for gob gas drainage gob gas ventholes (GGVs) drainage and underground drainage (such as high-level suction tunnels, high-located boreholes and buried pipes in the upper-corner). In practical engineering applications, the GGVs. have greater advantage over the traditional underground drainage in the extraction flux of gob gas and the control of gob gas emission, but the theoretical mechanism of GGVs has not yet been revealed in previous studies. Consequently, the characteristics of gob gas flow with GGVs drainage needs further research. In this paper, the numerical simulation of gas flow in gob gas reservoirs and the in-situ assessment of GGVs drainage are carried out to investigate the mechanism of the control of gob gas flow with GGVs drainage. Firstly, based on fluid mechanics in porous media the mathematical model of gob gas transport is developed. Then, the gas pressure distribution, gas flow patterns and methane concentration distribution in the gob under the conditions of no drainage measures, drainage with buried pipe in the upper corner and GGVs in different locations are discussed by conducting numerical simulation, respectively. In addition, the influence of distance between GGV and return airway on the gob methane flow and the strong control scope of GGVs are analyzed in detail. It is found that: 1) GGVs has the \"flow-interception effect\" on the gas in the deep zone of the gob and the \"flow-reversal effect\" on the gas in the gob close to the longwall face, which accounts for that GGVs drainage advantage over underground drainage. 2) GGVs can be applied to drain the gas in the deep zone of the gob massively and to control the gob gas migration effectively, so they are a top choice for the extraction of gob gas and the control of gob gas emission. Finally, both GGVs drainage and underground drainage are adopted to extract gob gas in east-102 working face in Weijiadi coal mine. The comparison of the extracted and emitted volume of gob gas with two different technologies shows that, GGV can drain the gob gas with greater flux and can better control the gob gas emission, which validated the prediction of numerical stimulation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 603, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Solar Energy", "abstract": "A large amount of silicon in the form of silicon scraps is wasted annually in photovoltaic industry because of the presence of silicon carbide inclusions. Silicon carbide inclusions Must be eliminated so that silicon scraps can be recycled. This study investigated the electromagnetic separation of silicori carbide inclusions in multicrystalline silicon by imposition of supersonic-frequency magnetic field. Silicon carbide particles tend to migrate to the ingot side and to the top and bottom of the central region of the ingot under increasing holding time. During separation process, the penetrating aluminum can react with silicon carbide and then dissolve some of the inclusions. In this work, the separation efficiency reaches up to 893% at a holding time of 45 min. This method is a potentially effective means of recycling silicon scraps. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 604, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Eating disorders", "abstract": "A large body of research has documented that exposure to images of thin fashion models contributes to women's body dissatisfaction. The present study aimed to experimentally investigate the impact of attractive celebrity and peer images on women's body image. Participants were 138 female undergraduate students who were randomly assigned to view either a set of celebrity images, a set of equally attractive unknown peer images, or a control set of travel images. All images were sourced from public Instagram profiles. Results showed that exposure to celebrity and peer images increased negative mood and body dissatisfaction relative to travel images, with no significant difference between celebrity and peer images. This effect was mediated by state appearance comparison. In addition, celebrity worship moderated an increased effect of celebrity images on body dissatisfaction. It was concluded that exposure to attractive celebrity and peer images can be detrimental to women's body image. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 605, "domain": "CS", "area": "Symbolic computation", "abstract": "A large body of research into bilingualism has revealed that language processing is fundamentally non-selective; there is simultaneous, graded co-activation of mental representations from both of the speakers' languages. An equally deep tradition of research into code switching/mixing has revealed the important role that grammatical principles play in determining the nature of bilingual speech. We propose to integrate these two traditions within the formalism of Gradient Symbolic Computation. This allows us to formalize the integration of grammatical principles with gradient mental representations. We apply this framework to code mixing constructions where an element of an intended utterance appears in both languages within a single utterance and discuss the directions it suggests for future research."}
{"ID": 606, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Cell biology", "abstract": "A large group of small Rab GTPases which mediate secretory and endosomal membrane transport, as well as autophagosome biogenesis, are essential components of vesicle trafficking machinery. Specific Rab protein together with the cognate effectors coordinates the dynamics of trafficking pathway and determines the cargo proteins destination. Functional impairments of Rab proteins by mutations or post-translational modifications disrupting the regulatory network of vesicle trafficking have been implicated in tumorigenesis. Therefore, the vesicle transport regulators play essential roles in the mediation of cancer cell biology, including uncontrolled cell growth, invasion and metastasis. The context-dependent role of the same Rab to act as either an oncoprotein or tumor suppressor in different cancers is found. Such discrepancies may be due in part to the interaction of specific Rab protein with different effectors or cargos in various tumors. Here, we review recent advances in the roles of Rab GTPases in communicating with other effectors in tumor progression. In this review, we also emphasize dysregulation of Rab-mediated membrane delivery shifting normal cell behaviors toward malignancy. Thus, recovery of the dysregulated vesicle trafficking systems in cancer cells may provide future directions for potential strategy to restrain tumor progression."}
{"ID": 607, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Prenatal development", "abstract": "A large left hemisphere porencephalic cyst was incidentally found in a 48-year-old woman (MS) with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-5 diagnosis of schizophrenia. The encephaloclastic characteristics of the cyst indicated that it was acquired between the 22nd and 24th gestational weeks, after the major waves of neuronal migration had tapered off. The cyst destroyed the left temporal and occipital lobes, and the inferior parietal lobule. Surprisingly, MS had no evidence of aphasia, alexia, agraphia, or ideational apraxia; in contrast, cognitive functions dependent on the integrity of the right hemisphere were severely impaired. To test the hypothesis that the development of language in MS took place at the expense of functions that are normally carried out by the right hemisphere, we investigated MS's correlates of oral comprehension with fMRI as a proxy for auditory comprehension and other cognitive functions strongly lateralized to the posterior left hemisphere, such as ideational praxis and reading. Comprehension of spoken language engaged the homologous of Wernicke's area in the right planum temporale. Porencephaly may represent a natural model of neuroplasticity supervening at predictable epochs of prenatal development."}
{"ID": 608, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Depression", "abstract": "A large number of asthmatic patients, particularly females, present inadequate disease control. Depressive symptoms are reportedly common in asthma and have been related to poor disease control, but the mechanism of this association is still unclear. Poor quality sleep, frequently observed in asthmatics, is also a manifestation of depression and has been related to uncontrolled asthma. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between depressive symptoms, sleep quality, and asthma control. This was a cross-sectional study of 123 women with previous diagnosis of asthma from a reference center in Fortaleza, Brazil. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); quality of sleep was evaluated by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), daytime sleepiness by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and asthma control by the Asthma Control Test (ACT). Inadequate asthma control (ACT5) in 99 (80.49 %), and excessive daytime sleepiness (ESS >= 10) in 34 (27.64 %). Depressive symptoms were associated with both poor quality sleep (R = 0.326) and inadequate asthma control (R = -0.299). Regression analysis showed that depressive symptoms and sleep quality were independent predictors of the level of asthma control. Asthma control in women is independently associated with depressive symptoms and quality of sleep, suggesting that these patients might benefit from simple measures to promote healthy sleep behavior and sleep hygiene and also that routine screening for depression can be relevant, particularly, in poorly controlled cases."}
{"ID": 609, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer graphics", "abstract": "A large number of computer applications(like Computer Graphics, Control Systems, Modeling System, Simulators etc.) needed floating point arithmetic. However, most of the presently available methods are slow and inefficient because of sequential design however the recent development in the field of programmable logic devices such as FPLA and CPLD opens the new area of parallel and high speed floating point designs. Considering that the synchronous architectures requires that that all clock events happen at the same time over the complete circuit which it not possible due to clock skew also the latency and throughput of the circuit are directly linked to the worst-case delay of the slowest element which increases the delay. Hence this paper presents self-timed carry look ahead adder based implementation of IEEE 754 32 bit floating point multiplier for FPGA devices. The simulation results shows that the proposed design has lower latency than synchronous design as well as lower power requirements."}
{"ID": 610, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical circuits", "abstract": "A large number of electrical components are used in civil aircraft engines, whose electrical circuits are usually intricate and complicated. Continuity resistance is an important parameter for the operating state of electrical components. Electrical continuity fault has serious impact on the reliability of the aircraft engine. In this paper, mathematical models of electrical components are established, and simulation is made by Simulink to analyze the electrical continuity fault."}
{"ID": 611, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Green Building", "abstract": "A large number of energy inefficient buildings were constructed without taking into account the principles of green building, which requires efficient utilization of local resources. In this work hemp and peat fibres were used in order to produce effective ecological thermal insulating material. Tests were carried out using short dishevelled hemp and chopped peat fibres. Effective composites from local renewable resources were produced. Macro-and microstructures of composites as well as hemp and peat fibres have shown that activated peat allows getting ecological binder for insulating materials. Hemp and peat fibres are orientated chaotically and fibres consist of many yarns. Investigations have shown that thermal conductivity of natural fibres depends on material density and structure."}
{"ID": 612, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Stress Management", "abstract": "A large number of individuals experience mental health disorders, with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) emerging as a standard practice for reduction in psychiatric symptoms, including stress, anger, anxiety, and depression. However, CBT is associated with significant patient dropout and lacks the means to provide objective data regarding a patient's experience and symptoms between sessions. Emerging wearables and mobile health (mHealth) applications represent an approach that may provide objective data to the patient and provider between CBT sessions. Here, we describe the development of a classifier of real-time physiological stress in a healthy population (n = 35) and apply it in a controlled clinical evaluation for armed forces veterans undergoing CBT for stress and anger management (n = 16). Using cardiovascular and electrodermal inputs from a wearable device, the classifier was able to detect physiological stress in a non-clinical sample with accuracy greater than 90%. In a small clinical sample, patients who used the classifier and an associated mHealth application were less likely to discontinue therapy (p = 0.016, d = 1.34) and significantly improved on measures of stress (p = 0.032, d = 1.61), anxiety (p = 0.050, d = 1.26), and anger (p = 0.046, d = 1.41) compared to controls undergoing CBT alone. Given the large number of individuals that experience mental health disorders and the unmet need for treatment, especially in developing nations, such mHealth approaches have the potential to provide or augment treatment at low cost in the absence of in-person care."}
{"ID": 613, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Irritable Bowel Syndrome", "abstract": "A large number of medications and medical devices removed from the market by the US Food and Drug Administration over the past 4 decades specifically posed greater health risks to women. This article reviews the historical background of sex and gender in clinical research policy and describes several approved drugs and devices targeted for use in women that have caused major morbidity and mortality. The intended population for the medications and devices, population affected, approval process, and the basic and legal actions taken against the medication/drug company are also discussed. It is recognized that women are still at risk for harm from unsafe medications and devices, and continued improvements in legislation that promotes inclusion of sex and gender into the design and analysis of research will improve safety for both men and women. (C) 2017 Elsevier HS Journals, Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 614, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Water Pollution", "abstract": "A large number of methods have been applied to evaluate genotoxic damage in different aquatic species. Comet assay, as a method for detecting DNA alterations, and micronucleus test, as an index of chromosomal damage are the most widely used and authentic methods in laboratory and field studies. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the genotoxic effects of heavy metals generated by toxic industrial effluents and various kinds of pollutants from urban and agricultural areas and domestic waste on Catla catla and Cirrhinus mrigala due to water pollution in the Chenab River, Pakistan. The heavy metals Cd, Cu, Mn. Zn, Pb, Cr, Sn, and Hg were detected by atomic absorption spectrophotometry from water samples collected from predetermined sampling sites. All the physicochemical parameters and heavy metals were found to exceed the upper limits recommended by various agencies. Comet assays showed significant (p < 0.05) DNA damage in C. mrigala compared to C. catla for tail length and olive tail moment from three different sites. Significant (p0.05) findings were observed between fish collected from farmed and non-polluted upstream waters. Micronucleus assays showed similar findings for single and double micronucleus induction in C. catla and C. mrigala. A significantly (p < 0.05) higher micronuclei induction and percent tail DNA was observed in C. mrigala specimen collected from the polluted site. These findings infer that DNA damage could be used as a biomarker of pollution load and its early monitoring by using simple and reliable techniques such as the comet and micronucleus assays, expedient methods for toxicity screening of aquatic environments. Regular monitoring is necessary to assess eco-health of the Chenab River by choosing perhaps C. mrigala, being a bottom feeder, as a bioindicator that could provide more reliable information to determine the status of the environmental quality of the river."}
{"ID": 615, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Gender roles", "abstract": "A large number of scholars involved in producing English as a Foreign Language/English as a second language (EFL/ESL) materials hold that gender roles and representations can either motivate or de-motivate students when they are learning a foreign language such as English. Ever since the day scholars have pinpointed the importance of gender in EFL/ESL textbooks, a number of studies have been carried out to uncover the biases imbedded intentionally or unintentionally in different English textbooks taught all over the world. Linked to previous studies, the current study is aimed at investigating how social gender identity is defined via adjectives and photos used in World English Series published by Cengage Heinle Publication. To this end, the common adjectives used in the conversation section of World English 1 have been detected and counted. Then they were shown in relevant tables using frequencies. Moreover, the photos all extracted from National Geographic have been tested against gender biases. The results of the study show that World English 1 tries to show both men and women equally, albeit some instances of biases have been found in the photos. The results of the study can be used by syllabus designers, materials developers and EFL/ESL teachers who are interested in textbook analysis as well as gender biases."}
{"ID": 616, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Seasonal affective disorder", "abstract": "A large number of studies conducted in economic psychology, cognitive sciences and behavioural finances support the idea that economic actions are not a result of a rational utility maximising behaviour, but seem to be driven by other factors, such as personality traits, psychological factors, gender, age and genetic heritage. In this context, capital markets are sometimes non-efficient and an anomaly-based trading strategy could be used to enhance the returns, especially in the case of emergent markets. This article analyses the presence of the Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) effect on the Romanian stock market, in a time span that includes calm, growth periods and volatile periods as the one of the 2008 global financial crisis. The results support the existence of a correlation between the number of hours of daylight and market returns before and after the last financial crisis, even if the effect seems to change after the crisis."}
{"ID": 617, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Atopic Dermatitis", "abstract": "A large number of studies investigating various biomarkers for allergy have been published over the past decades. The aim of this review was to evaluate these biomarkers on their diagnostic and/or predictive value. To this date, no single or specific biomarker for allergy has been identified. As allergy is not one disease, but a collection of a number of allergic conditions, it is more plausible a combination of clinical history, clinical readouts, and diagnostic markers will be needed."}
{"ID": 618, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A large quantity of recent research into the harvesting of electrical energy from ambient vibration sources has been focused on the improvement of device performance via the deliberate introduction of dynamic nonlinearities. In addition to this, the realisation that most of these kinetic energy sources are stochastic in nature has led to many studies focusing on the response of energy harvesters to random vibrations (often Gaussian white noise). This differs from early studies in which it was assumed that ambient vibration sources were sinusoidal. The aim of the present study is to take current nonlinear energy harvesting solutions and to numerically analyse their effectiveness when two real ambient vibration sources are used: human walking motion and the oscillation of the midspan of a suspension bridge. This study shows that the potential improvements that can be realised through the introduction of nonlinearities into energy harvesters are sensitive to the type of ambient excitation to which they are subjected. Additionally, the need for more research into the development of low-frequency energy harvesters is emphasised."}
{"ID": 619, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Satellite radio", "abstract": "A large set of decimetric and microwave observations of solar millisecond radio spikes is compared and correlated with simultaneous hard X-ray observations in the 25-438 keV range, recorded by the Hard X-Ray Burst Spectrometer (HXRBS) on board the Solar Maximum Mission satellite. Radio spikes have time scales of 20-200 ms, while hard X-ray bursts rarely show fine structures shorter than 1 s. The main conclusions of a statistical analysis of a) the association rate, b) the correlation degree, and c) relative time delays between hard X-ray and radio spike emissions, are: 1) Radio spike bursts reveal the highest hard X-ray association rate of any kind of coherent solar radio emission; approximately 95% of the observed events occur during (mostly impulsive) hard X-ray bursts. Conversely, almost-equal-to 2% of all HXRBS flares produce radio millisecond spike bursts. 2) Spike bursts are preferentially associated with the impulsive phase of the hard X-ray event; about half of all observations are closely associated with the main peak of a simultaneous X-ray event. 3) We find a significant temporal correlation between spike clusters and hard X-ray events. About 43% of the compared events show hard X-ray time profiles that mimic the concentration of simultaneous radio spikes. This also holds for small fluctuations with time scales of the order of a few seconds. 4) The durations of spike events and associated hard X-ray bursts closely correlate, the X-ray bursts being somewhat longer than the radio events. 5) The radio emission is usually delayed in respect to hard X-ray bursts, typically a few seconds. The relative delays seem to be restricted to the following rules: The radio event usually starts before the peak time of the hard X-ray event (73 out of 84 cases), and similarly, the X-ray burst almost always starts before the maximum of spike burst activity (83 out of 84 cases). This is shown to hold for a wide range of burst durations. We have not found any convincing relation concerning the relative time differences of the end times, however. 6) The observed delays of the order of several seconds put some constraints on the acceleration and propagation of particles. The delays are found to be incompatible with the build-up time of a loss-cone distribution (for maser emission) by an order of magnitude, if the, same population of electrons is responsible for radio and X-ray radiation. Rather, considering the smallness of the radio spike sources, the proportionality of the X-ray flux with the spike rate, and the spatial 'spread of a propagating electron population, it is argued that both the time delays and the quantization into discrete radio events are caused by the operation of the accelerator."}
{"ID": 620, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A large set of earthquake records from the highly instrumented Samoa Channel bridge-ground system has been compiled and made available by the California Geological Survey. During six seismic events, more than 30 data channels have been documenting the seismic response of the bridge, abutments, and adjacent ground surface. Of special interest is the response of one of the bridge piers with records at the deck level, pile cap and within the underlying pile foundation. Response of this pile foundation is compared to that of the ground as documented by the nearby Eureka geotechnical downhole array. In this paper, records from the strongest to date 2010 Ferndale earthquake (PGA of about 0.16 g), along with other available low-amplitude events (2007-2014) are employed to evaluate the ground, pile foundation, and overall bridge seismic response. Spatial variation of the recorded motions is examined. Linear and nonlinear response of the ground and the bridge are assessed using system identification techniques. During the strong shaking phase of the 2010 Ferndale Earthquake, a clear and significant stiffness reduction was observed in the column as well as in the foundation of the instrumented pier."}
{"ID": 621, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "A large superfamily of enzymes have been identified that make use of radical intermediates derived by reductive cleavage of S-adenosylmethionine. The primary nature of the radical intermediates makes them highly reactive and potent oxidants. They are used to initiate biotransformations by hydrogen atom abstraction, a process that allows a particularly diverse range of substrates to be functionalized, including substrates with relatively inert chemical structures. In the first part of this review, we discuss the evidence supporting the mechanism of radical formation from S-adenosylmethionine. In the second part of the review, we examine the potential of reaction products arising from S-adenosylmethionine to cause product inhibition. The effects of this product inhibition on kinetic studies of 'radical S-adenosylmethionine' enzymes are discussed and strategies to overcome these issues are reviewed. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Radical SAM enzymes and Radical Enzymology. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 622, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Cancer", "abstract": "A large variety of molecular pathways in melanoma progression suggests that no individual molecular alteration is crucial in itself. Our aim was to define the molecular alterations underlying metastasis formation. Gene expression profiling was performed using microarray and qRT-PCR to define alterations between matched primary and metastatic melanoma cell lines. These data were integrated with publicly available unmatched tissue data. The invasiveness of cell lines was determined by Matrigel invasion assays and invasive clones from primary melanoma-derived cell lines were also selected. Two metastatic cell line models were created: the regional lymph node WM983A-WM983A(INV)-WM983B and the distant lung WM793B-WM793B(INV)-1205Lu metastatic models. The majority of metastasis genes were downregulated and enriched in adhesion and ITGA6-B4 pathways. Upregulation of immune pathways was characteristic of distant metastases, whereas increased Rap1 signaling was specific for regional (sub) cutaneous metastases. qRT-PCR analysis of selected integrins (A2, A3, A4, A9, B5, B8, A6, B1, and B3) highlighted the possible importance of ITGA3/4 and B8 in the metastatic process, distinguishing regional and distant metastases. We identified functionally relevant gene clusters that influenced metastasis formation. Our data provide further evidence that integrin expression patterns may be important in distant metastasis formation. Copyright (C) 2017 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 623, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Birth Control", "abstract": "A larger number of individuals born with congenital heart disease is living into adolescence and young adulthood. With this comes the responsibility to counsel these patients regarding their sexual and reproductive health. This study utilizes representative data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to compare sexual measures including percentage of that sexually active, age of first sexual activity, number of sexual partners, condom use, and history of sexually transmitted diseases in those with and without congenital heart disease. A total of 1086 patients (1057 without congenital heart disease and 29 with congenital heart disease) were included in this study. Likelihood of being sexually active, age of first sexual intercourse, and condom use did not differ significantly between the two groups after multivariate analysis. Incidence of sexually transmitted disease did not differ between the two groups after multivariate analysis except for genital warts. There are no major differences in sexual measures between those with and without congenital heart disease. The absence of significant differences in sexual measures in those with congenital heart disease compared with the general population places this group of individuals at increased health risk known to occur with pregnancy."}
{"ID": 624, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Geotextile", "abstract": "A layered monolithic filter consisting of a nonwoven needlepunched and a woven monofilament geotextile is presented in this paper. The two geotextiles are mechanically bonded in a needlepunching process to produce a hybrid geotextile on a commercial scale. The fuzzy woven side of the geotextile, resulting from the needlepunching process, is ideally suited for lamination to a geonet, although a standalone filter application is also possible. Filter press tests on the geotextile against a fly ash slurry of 500% yielded a retention efficiency of 99.6%. Gradient ratio values of 1.0-1.5 and hydraulic conductivity ratio values of 0.5-1.0 were obtained against fly ash and FGD gypsum from four power plants. Four field basin tests were performed under the CCRs wherein effluent parameters of total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, turbidity, conductivity and pH were monitored with time. The field tests showed that the fly ash and FGD gypsum contained in the test basins were not migrating with time. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 625, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Genetics", "abstract": "A leading intellectual challenge in evolutionary genetics is to identify the specific phenotypes that drive adaptation. Enzymes offer a particularly promising opportunity to pursue this question, because many enzymes' contributions to organismal fitness depend on a comparatively small number of experimentally accessible properties. Moreover, on first principles the demands of enzyme thermostability stand in opposition to the demands of catalytic activity. This observation, coupled with the fact that enzymes are only marginally thermostable, motivates the widely held hypothesis that mutations conferring functional improvement require compensatory mutations to restore thermostability. Here, we explicitly test this hypothesis for the first time, using four missense mutations in TEM-1 beta-lactamase that jointly increase cefotaxime Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) similar to 1500-fold. First, we report enzymatic efficiency (k(cat)/K-M) and thermostability (T-m, and thence Delta G of folding) for all combinations of these mutations. Next, we fit a quantitative model that predicts MIC as a function of k(cat)/K-M and Delta G. While k(cat)/K-M explains similar to 54% of the variance in cefotaxime MIC (similar to 92% after log transformation), Delta G does not improve explanatory power of the model. We also find that cefotaxime MIC rises more slowly in k(cat)/K-M than predicted. Several explanations for these discrepancies are suggested. Finally, we demonstrate substantial sign epistasis in MIC and k(cat)/K-M, and antagonistic pleiotropy between phenotypes, in spite of near numerical additivity in the system. Thus constraints on selectively accessible trajectories, as well as limitations in our ability to explain such constraints in terms of underlying mechanisms are observed in a comparatively \"well-behaved\" system."}
{"ID": 626, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A lightweight model predictive controller for a class of discrete event systems is developed. The target is first in first out (FIFO) systems, in which the precedence relations are represented by a directed acyclic graph. Using max-plus algebra, a system's behavior can be described by a set of linear equations referred to as the state space representation. Using this representation, we address the problem of adjusting system parameters and determining optimal control inputs for given reference signals. To determine system parameters, we formulate and solve an optimization problem using a branch-and-bound method, by which the number of constraints is reduced. Then, the optimal control inputs are determined. Since this part is often the bottleneck in online control, we propose two methods for the efficient computation thereof. The first method is beneficial for systems with sparse adjacency matrices and small-scale systems with a greater prediction horizon. In contrast, the second approach is beneficial for larger-scale systems with a smaller prediction horizon. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is verified through numerical simulations."}
{"ID": 627, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A linear convolution scheme involving first-order (linear) kernels for linear bridge aerodynamics is first reviewed and the significance of the selection of proper input parameters is emphasized. Following the concept of nonlinear indicial response function, the linear convolution scheme is extended to the nonlinear convolution scheme involving higher-order (nonlinear) kernels for the treatment of nonlinear bridge aerodynamics using a \"peeling-an-onion\" type procedure. Utilizing an impulse function as input, a comprehensive kernel identification scheme is developed. A numerical example of a long-span suspension bridge is investigated to verify the fidelity of the proposed nonlinear convolution scheme. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 628, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A linear single degree-of-freedom (SDOF) oscillator with fractional-order PID controller of acceleration feedback is investigated by the averaging method, and the approximately analytical solution is obtained. Moreover, the numerical solution of the system is obtained by the step-down order method and the power series method progressively. The effects of the parameters in fractional-order PID controller on the dynamical properties are characterized by some new equivalent parameters. The proportional component of fractional-order PID controller is characterized in the form of equivalent mass. The integral component of fractional-order PID controller is denoted in the form of the equivalent linear damping and equivalent mass. The differential component of fractional-order PID controller is denoted in the form of the equivalent linear negative damping and equivalent mass. Those equivalent parameters could distinctly illustrate the effects of the parameters in fractional PID controller on the dynamical response. A comparison between the analytical solution with the numerical results is made, and their satisfactory agreement verifies the correctness of the approximately analytical results. The effects of the parameters in fractional-order PID controller on control performance are further analyzed by some performance parameters of the time response. Finally, the robustness of the fractional-order PID controller based on acceleration feedback is demonstrated through the control of a SDOF quarter vehicle suspension model."}
{"ID": 629, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A linear stability analysis is performed on the base-state solution describing a pneumatically-transported system inclined at an angle theta. One of two modes was found to be dominant, depending on the tilting angle: a low-shear mode whose voidage eigenmode remains nearly symmetric from 0 degrees< thetatheta(c), marked by significant asymmetry throughout the domain and a high level of shear inside the thin regions adjacent to the walls. The critical angle theta(c) increases with the amount of momentum and energy lost to particle-wall friction and collisions, respectively. The time-evolution of the latter mode, superimposed onto the base-state solution, reveals an alternating train of dense and dilute regions near the top of the domain, which agrees qualitatively with the development and propagation of bubbles in inclined systems observed in experiment. An analytic solution corresponding to a vertical system with a uniform base state was also derived to identify the instability mechanisms responsible for a class of non-oscillatory transverse waves which exist in both vertical and tilted particle systems. (c) 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers"}
{"ID": 630, "domain": "CS", "area": "Parallel computing", "abstract": "A linear transformation method is proposed to handle the vector autoregression with mixed frequency time series data. Temporally aggregated observations impose linear constraints on the distribution of latent variables, which are converted such that each observation replaces a latent variable. Full-sample transformation yields a closed-form simulation smoother, while partial-sample transformation leads to a computationally efficient sampler suitable for parallel computing. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 631, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical generator", "abstract": "A linear tubular asynchronous generator to be used as generator driven by seawave is presented. The design criteria of a TLIM with hollowed iron induced part as well as the technological processes to be adopted and the materials utilized in the various parts are described. The methodologies for mechanical assembling and electric wiring are considered too. Finally, the prototype with bimetallic induced part that has been designed and built is presented and some experimental results on electrical and mechanical variables are shown."}
{"ID": 632, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A liquid jet injector is a biomedical device intended for drug delivery. Medication is delivered through a fluid stream that penetrates the skin. This small diameter liquid stream is created by a piston forcing a fluid column through a nozzle. These devices can be powered by springs or compressed gas. In this study, a CFD simulation is carried out to investigate the fluid mechanics and performance of needle free injectors powered specifically by compressed air. The motion of the internal mechanisms of the injector which propels a liquid jet through an orifice is simulated by the moving boundary method and the fluid dynamics is modeled using LES/VOF techniques. In this paper, numerical results are discussed by comparing the fluid stagnation pressures of the liquid jet with previously published experimental measurements obtained using a custom-built prototype of the air-powered needle free liquid injector. Performance plots as a function of various injector parameters are presented and explained."}
{"ID": 633, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "A liquid metal electric motor including a pair of concentric ring electrodes, permanent magnet and electrolyte solution is demonstrated. A liquid metal galinstan sphere, along with a NaOH solution, is stimulated to rotate centrifugally around the central electrode and the rotating speed increases with the voltage. The NaOH solution serves to rapidly remove the oxide on the liquid metal surface, reduce the motion friction and provide impetus to the liquid metal. As the mass of the liquid metal is increased to 12.16 g to form a kidney-like body, its rotating speed appears more controllable and the effect of the electrolytic action in the NaOH solution becomes weak in the range of 0-1.82 V. As the mass of the liquid metal is increased to 18.20 g to form a circular ring-shaped body, the ideal voltage range for controlling the rotating motion of the liquid metal is 0-0.81 V. The metal fluid rotates at a speed of 1.9 r.p.m., even at an extremely low voltage of 0.03 V. The liquid metal electric motor established here can find important applications in chip cooling, liquid metal pumps, material mixing, soft machine realization, etc."}
{"ID": 634, "domain": "CS", "area": "Machine learning", "abstract": "A literature review has identified the absence of a robust framework that guides the development of streamlined and valid multiple linear regression (MLR) predictive models for construction engineering applications. A reliable MLR model requires an appropriate set of input variables that can satisfy the underlying assumptions of best linear unbiased estimators (BLUE). In this research, an analytical framework is proposed for developing MLR-based predictive models by (1) selecting input variables based on a modified stepwise approach, (2) verifying the BLUE assumptions, and (3) validating the prediction performance of the regression model. The resulting MLR model only contains the most-relevant input variables while also fulfilling the BLUE assumptions. By utilizing statistical inference techniques, the MLR model also produces reliable range estimates around its point-value prediction according to a particular confidence level. To illustrate the application procedure of the proposed framework, a data set intended for workability control of ready-mixed concrete from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) machine learning repository is used. A practical case study based on a real-world bridge construction project is provided to further demonstrate the application of the proposed methodology in modeling the precast span installation cycle-time. (C) 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers."}
{"ID": 635, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Strength of materials", "abstract": "A literature review relating to problems connected with the evaluation of the fatigue strength of materials was carried out concerning appropriate probabilistic models. It was found out that fatigue strength could be described by the following distributions: exponential, Weibull's, normal, Gumbel's, Ferecht's, Reyleight's, Gamma and log-normal. However, for modeling the problems of fatigue strength durability of textile materials, probabilistic models based on Weibull's theory and those based on the log-normal distribution seem to be most useful. The considerations presented also proved that many factors, mainly the kind of material used, the length of fibers in the assembly, the evenness of the thickness of the yarn and the system of spinning, influenced the fatigue strength of linear textile articles."}
{"ID": 636, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Immunology", "abstract": "A live-attenuated malaria vaccine, Plasmodium falciparum sporozoite vaccine (PfSPZ Vaccine), confers sterile protection against controlled human malaria infection (CHMI) with Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) parasites homologous to the vaccine strain up to 14 mo after final vaccination. No injectable malaria vaccine has demonstrated long-term protection against CHMI using Pf parasites heterologous to the vaccine strain. Here, we conducted an open-label trial with PfSPZ Vaccine at a dose of 9.0 x 10(5) PfSPZ administered i.v. three times at 8-wk intervals to 15 malaria-naive adults. After CHMI with homologous Pf parasites 19 wk after final immunization, nine (64%) of 14 (95% CI, 35-87%) vaccinated volunteers remained without parasitemia compared with none of six nonvaccinated controls (P = 0.012). Of the nine nonparasitemic subjects, six underwent repeat CHMI with heterologous Pf7G8 parasites 33 wk after final immunization. Five (83%) of six (95% CI, 36-99%) remained without parasitemia compared with none of six nonvaccinated controls. PfSPZ- specific T-cell and antibody responses were detected in all vaccine recipients. Cytokine production by T cells from vaccinated subjects after in vitro stimulation with homologous (NF54) or heterologous (7G8) PfSPZ were highly correlated. Interestingly, PfSPZ-specific T-cell responses in the blood peaked after the first immunization and were not enhanced by subsequent immunizations. Collectively, these data suggest durable protection against homologous and heterologous Pf parasites can be achieved with PfSPZ Vaccine. Ongoing studies will determine whether protective efficacy can be enhanced by additional alterations in the vaccine dose and number of immunizations."}
{"ID": 637, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electricity", "abstract": "A load estimation algorithm based on k-means cluster analysis was developed. The algorithm applies cluster centres - of previously clustered load profiles - and distance functions to estimate missing and future measurements. Canberra, Manhattan, Euclidean, and Pearson correlation distances were investigated. Several case studies were implemented using daily and segmented load profiles of aggregated smart meters. Segmented profiles cover a time window that is less than or equal to 24 h. Simulation results show that Canberra distance outperforms the other distance functions. Results also show that the segmented cluster centres produce more accurate load estimates than daily cluster centres. Higher accuracy estimates were obtained with cluster centres in the range of 16-24 h. The developed load 'estimation algorithm can be integrated with state estimation or other network operational tools to enable better monitoring and control of distribution networks. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd."}
{"ID": 638, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Ambient Intelligence", "abstract": "A location-aware service (LAS) is an imperative topic in ambient intelligence; an LAS recommends suitable utilities to a user based on the user's location and context. However, current LASs have several problems, and most of these services do not last. This study proposes an optimization-based approach for enhancing the sustainability of an LAS. In this paper, problems related to optimizing an LAS system are presented. The distinct nature of an LAS optimization problem in comparison with traditional optimization problems is subsequently described. Existing methods applicable to solving an LAS optimization problem are also reviewed. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are then discussed as a motive for combining multiple optimization methods in this study, as illustrated by an example. Finally, opportunities and challenges faced by researchers in this field are presented."}
{"ID": 639, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Children's Health", "abstract": "A long literature in demography has debated the importance of place for health, especially children's health. In this study, we assess whether the importance of dense settlement for infant mortality and child height is moderated by exposure to local sanitation behavior. Is open defecation (i.e., without a toilet or latrine) worse for infant mortality and child height where population density is greater? Is poor sanitation is an important mechanism by which population density influences child health outcomes? We present two complementary analyses using newly assembled data sets, which represent two points in a trade-off between external and internal validity. First, we concentrate on external validity by studying infant mortality and child height in a large, international child-level data set of 172 Demographic and Health Surveys, matched to census population density data for 1,800 subnational regions. Second, we concentrate on internal validity by studying child height in Bangladeshi districts, using a new data set constructed with GIS techniques that allows us to control for fixed effects at a high level of geographic resolution. We find a statistically robust and quantitatively comparable interaction between sanitation and population density with both approaches: open defecation externalities are more important for child health outcomes where people live more closely together."}
{"ID": 640, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Rainwater Harvesting", "abstract": "A longitudinal harvested rainwater quality monitoring study was undertaken at 6 sites within Selangor, Malaysia over a period of 8 months. Overall, harvested rainwater is of good quality, falling within the Malaysian recreational water quality Class BB standards with exceptions for pH (18/92), ammonia (1/92), phosphates (3/92), and total coliforms (8/92). A large number of samples tested positive for Escherichia coli (22/92), total coliforms (64/92) and Chromobacterium violaceum (7/92), showing that disinfection of harvested rainwater is mandatory prior to reuse. 2/37 harvested rainwater samples exceeded lead limits in Malaysian drinking water standards, showing that consuming rainwater without additional treatment may pose a health risk. Mixing harvested rainwater with groundwater resulted in higher phosphates and total coliforms. Rainwater collected during the wet seasons have higher concentrations of suspended solids, turbidity, and Escherichia coli than dry seasons due to the antecedent dry period. Last but not least, both principal component analysis and positive matrix factorisation were conducted on 37 samples to apportion pollutant sources in harvested rainwater. 7 principal components were identified, namely: industrial dust, steel, roadside dust, faeces, organic decay, fertilisers, and plumbing. The results from principal component analysis and positive matrix factorisation were in agreement, although the latter identified mains water top-up as an additional factor responsible for dissolved solids. Both techniques are effective at apportioning pollutant sources in harvested rainwater, and show that a rainwater harvesting system should be designed carefully to reduce contributions from steel, plumbing, organic decay, bird faeces, industrial dust and roadside dust. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 641, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Mental Health", "abstract": "A long-standing belief is that sign language interferes with spoken language development in deaf children, despite a chronic lack of evidence supporting this belief. This deserves discussion as poor life outcomes continue to be seen in the deaf population. This commentary synthesizes research outcomes with signing and non-signing children and highlights fully accessible language as a protective factor for healthy development. Brain changes associated with language deprivation may be misrepresented as sign language interfering with spoken language outcomes of cochlear implants. This may lead to professionals and organizations advocating for preventing sign language exposure before implantation and spreading misinformation. The existence of one-time-sensitive-language acquisition window means a strong possibility of permanent brain changes when spoken language is not fully accessible to the deaf child and sign language exposure is delayed, as is often standard practice. There is no empirical evidence for the harm of sign language exposure but there is some evidence for its benefits, and there is growing evidence that lack of language access has negative implications. This includes cognitive delays, mental health difficulties, lower quality of life, higher trauma, and limited health literacy. Claims of cochlear implant- and spoken language-only approaches being more effective than sign language-inclusive approaches are not empirically supported. Cochlear implants are an unreliable standalone first-language intervention for deaf children. Priorities of deaf child development should focus on healthy growth of all developmental domains through a fully-accessible first language foundation such as sign language, rather than auditory deprivation and speech skills."}
{"ID": 642, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Emergency Contraception", "abstract": "A longstanding debate exists in population policy about the relationship between modern contraception and abortion. Although theory predicts that they should be substitutes, the empirical evidence is difficult to interpret. What is required is a large-scale intervention that alters the supply (or full price) of one or the other and, importantly, that does so in isolation (reproductive health programs often bundle primary health care and family planning-and in some instances, abortion services). In this article, we study Nepal's 2004 legalization of abortion provision and subsequent expansion of abortion services, an unusual and rapidly implemented policy meeting these requirements. Using four waves of rich individual-level data representative of fertile-age Nepalese women, we find robust evidence of substitution between modern contraception and abortion. This finding has important implications for public policy and foreign aid, suggesting that an effective strategy for reducing expensive and potentially unsafe abortions may be to expand the supply of modern contraceptives."}
{"ID": 643, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Alzheimer's Disease", "abstract": "A long-term goal of our field is to determine the sequence of pathological events, which ultimately lead to cognitive decline and dementia. In this study, we first assessed the patterns of brain tau tangle accumulation (measured with the positron emission tomography tracer F-18-AV-1451) associated with well-established Alzheimer's disease factors in a cohort including cognitively healthy elderly individuals and individuals at early symptomatic stages of Alzheimer's disease. We then explored highly associated patterns of greater F-18-AV-1451 binding and increased annualized change in cortical amyloid-beta plaques measured as florbetapir positron emission tomography binding antecedent to F-18-AV-1451 positron emission tomography scans, and to what extent these multimodal pattern associations explained the variance in cognitive performance and clinical outcome measures, independently and jointly. We found that: (i) F-18-AV-1451 positron emission tomography retention was differentially associated with age, and cross-sectional florbetapir positron emission tomography retention, but not with years of education, gender, or APOE genotype; (ii) increased annualized change in florbetapir retention, antecedent to F-18-AV-1451 positron emission tomography scans, in the parieto-temporal and precuneus brain regions was associated with greater F-18-AV-1451 PET retention most prominently in the inferior temporal and inferior parietal regions in the full cohort, with florbetapir positive/negative-associated variability; and (iii) this F-18-AV-1451 positron emission tomography retention pattern significantly explained the variance in cognitive performance and clinical outcome measures, independent of the associated antecedent increased annualized change in florbetapir positron emission tomography retention. These findings are in agreement with the pathology literature, which suggests that tau tangles but not amyloid-beta plaques correlate with cognition and clinical symptoms. Furthermore, non-local associations linking increased amyloid-beta accumulation rates with increased tau deposition are of great interest and support the idea that the amyloid-beta pathology might have remote effects in disease pathology spread potentially via the brain's intrinsic connectivity networks."}
{"ID": 644, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Remote Sensing", "abstract": "A long-term Northern Hemisphere (NH) daily 5-km snow cover extent (SCE) product (JASMES) was developed by the application of a consistent objective snow cover mapping algorithm to data from historical optical sensors on polar orbiting satellites from 1978 to 2015. A conventional decision tree algorithm with multiple threshold tests was employed to analyze radiances for the five spectral bands available across the full analysis period. The accuracies of the analyzed SCE maps were evaluated against in-situ snow data measured at ground stations along with the SCE maps from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Data Record (NOAA-CDR) product. The evaluation showed the JASMES product to have a more temporally stable producer's accuracy (PA; 1-omission error) than NOAA, which is a key factor in the analysis of long-term SCE trends. Comparison of seasonal NH SCE trends from the two products showed NOAA to have opposite trends to those of JASMES in the fall and winter seasons, and to have overestimated SCE decreasing trends in the spring and summer. These tendencies are consistent with the increasing spatial and temporal resolutions of information over time, which were used in generating the NOAA snow analysis. An estimation of unbiased SCEs based on the accuracies of SCE maps also endorses the long-term trends of the JASMES product The JASMES NH seasonal SCE exhibited negative slopes in all seasons but was only statistically significant in the summer (JJA) and fall (SON). Delayed snow cover onset was observed to be the main driver of decreasing annual snow duration (SCD) trends. The spatial pattern of annual SCD trends exhibited noticeable asymmetry between continents, with the largest significant decreases observed over western Eurasia with relatively few statistically significant decreases over North America. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc."}
{"ID": 645, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Geotextile", "abstract": "A long-term organic blueberry trial was planted in October 2006 in Aurora, Oregon, USA to investigate the effect of mulch on soil and plant nutrient status, plant growth, berry yield, irrigation requirements, and weed control efficacy. Mulch treatments were applied at planting: 1) weed mat (geotextile), 2) Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) sawdust, and 3) compost + sawdust (compost applied to soil, then covered with sawdust). This paper addresses mulch treatment effects on soil and plant nutrient status during the first two years of the trial, and the first berry harvest in year 2 (2008). Yard-debris compost used in the field experiment had a pH of 7.3 and low soluble salt (EC <1 mS/cm). The yard debris compost + sawdust treatment produced greater berry yields than sawdust alone in the first bearing season. Relative berry yields were 100% for weedmat, 90% for sawdust + compost, and 70% for sawdust mulch. The positive effects of compost on berry yield were observed across two cultivars, flat or raised beds, and for two organic fertilizer sources (fish emulsion or feather meal) applied at two rates (29 and 57 kg .ha(-1) N). Soil pH underlying the mulch was lowest (most acidic) with weed mat and highest under sawdust + compost mulch. After two years, compost increased soil organic matter (OM; 0-20 cm) by 9 g .kg(-1) vs. weedmat, while sawdust mulch did not increase soil OM. In summary, compost maintained soil pH in the optimum range for blueberry, provided plant-available cations, increased soil organic matter, and increased berry yield (relative to sawdust alone). The mechanism(s) behind the compost benefit deserve further investigation."}
{"ID": 646, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A look back at Skeletal Radiology in 2016 reveals a sizable number of publications that significantly advanced the state of knowledge about diseases of the musculoskeletal system. This review summarizes the content of some of the most intriguing papers of the year."}
{"ID": 647, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A loop stability compensation technique for continuous-time common-mode feedback (CMFB) circuits is presented. A Miller capacitor and nulling resistor in the compensation network provide a reliable and stable operation of the fully-differential operational amplifier without any performance degradation. The amplifier is designed in a 130 nm CMOS technology, achieves simulated performance of 57 dB open loop DC gain, 1.3-GHz unity-gain frequency and 65 degrees phase margin. Also, the loop gain, bandwidth and phase margin of the CMFB are 51 dB, 27 MHz, and 76 degrees, respectively."}
{"ID": 648, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) has always been significantly considered one of the most important initiating events. However, most probabilistic safety assessment models, up to now, have undoubtedly adopted the three groups of LOCA, and even an exact break size boundary that used in WASH-1400 reports was published in 1975. With an awareness of the importance of a realistic PSA for a risk informed application, several studies have tried to find the realistic thermal-hydraulic behavior of a LOCA, and improve the PSA model. The purpose of this research is to obtain realistic results of the LOCA core damage frequency based on a success criteria analysis using the best-estimate thermal hydraulics code. To do so, the Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP) was selected for this study. The MARS code was used for a thermal hydraulics analysis and the AIMS code was used for the core damage quantification. One of the major findings in the thermal hydraulics analysis was that the decay power is well removed by only a normal secondary cooling in LOCAs of below 1.4 in and by only a high pressure safety injection in LOCAs of 0.8-9.4 in. Based on the thermal hydraulics results regarding new break size boundaries and new success criteria, five new event trees (ETs) were developed. The core damage frequency of new LOCA ETs is 5.80E-07 (/y), which is 12% less than the conventional PSA ETs. In this research, we obtained not only thermal-hydraulics characteristics for the entire break size of a LOCA in view of the deterministic safety assessment, but also a more realistic core damage frequency of the LOCAs using updated information. The difference between the results of the present study and the conventional knowledge can be used to modify the current emergency operator procedures and to design another nuclear power plant type. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 649, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Strength of materials", "abstract": "A lot of research has been done to improve fatigue strength of materials by creating compressive residual stress field in their surface layers through shot peening. In this paper, fatigue strength of shot peened leaf springs has been calculated from laboratory samples. The axial fatigue strength of EN45A spring steel specimen is evaluated experimentally as a function of shot peening in the conditions used for full-scale leaf springs testing in industries. Optimum shot peening condition for specimen is found and SIN curves of the specimens are correlated with leaf springs curve. A mathematical model has been developed which predicts the fatigue life of leaf springs for a given stress at varying shot peening conditions. Predictions from this model are compared with experimental data. The estimation of fatigue life and relaxation of compressive residual stress field are discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 650, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Strength of materials", "abstract": "A lot of research has been done to improve the fatigue strength of materials by creating compressive residual stress field in their surface layers through the shot peening. In the present work, it is found that relaxed residual stress field varies with shot peening intensity and affects weight of EN 45A spring steel leaf springs. A stress approach model for weight reduction of leaf springs used in automotive vehicles has been experimentally developed simulating with industrial environment. Paper discusses a time saving and reliable method of predicting thickness and weight of leaf springs at various shot peening intensities for industrial applications. A model based on experimental results has been developed which predicts weight reduction of leaf springs for a given stress at varying shot peening conditions. (C) 2012 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of American Applied Science Research Institute"}
{"ID": 651, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A lot of work has taken place into the design and control of DC-DC converters, and various methodologies have been proposed. While traditionally only P or PI controllers have been employed, recent applications that require a fast transient performance impose the usage of the derivative, D, term. As it is well known, using the D-term can cause numerous problems in such converters that greatly downgrade their performance and lifetime. Having said that, in this paper, we first prove that by using the D-term, it is possible to increase the stability margin (and hence keep a low current ripple), and then, we present a novel method to tune the PID controller that guarantees a fast and stable response over a wide range of parameter values without using an unreasonably high value of the derivative gain that magnifies the presence of noise in the system. The controller is designed utilising Filippov's method, and a simple and easy to implement strategy is proposed. Furthermore, an adaptive PID controller is designed whose gains are changed depending on the value of the supply voltage or output load. Another important contribution of this work is the derivation of the saltation matrix when the switching manifold is discontinuous, the complete proof is presented, and the results validated. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 652, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A low component sensitivity band-pass filter has been proposed. The filter has only one operational amplifier as active component and three resistors and one grounded capacitor as passive components. Two resistors provide the positive feedback and one resistor is used for independent tuning of Q factor. The capacitor is grounded which is an advantage in integrated technology. The circuit uses the pole frequency of the operational amplifier for its working and can be operated at high frequency range. PSpice simulations have been presented to verify theoretical analysis."}
{"ID": 653, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A low cost, fast and reliable microcontroller based protection scheme using wavelet transform and artificial neural network has been proposed and its effectiveness evaluated in real time. The proposed scheme, based on the hardware co-simulation approach performs all the functions of transmission line protection i.e. fault detection/classification, fault zone/section identification and location estimation. The fault detection/classification and zone identification algorithms use fundamental frequency current component to estimate a fault index. The fault location estimation module uses wavelet transform coefficients in hybridization with a parallel artificial neural network structure. For hardware implementation, a 8-bit ATmega microcontroller is used and interfaced with the simulated power system model using Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The scheme is tested on a power system model of 400 kV, 50 Hz three phase double circuit line with source at both the ends. Laboratory tests have been performed in real time for 20,000 fault cases including evolving faults with varying fault resistance, fault inception angle, fault distance, direction of power flow angle and its magnitude. The tests confirm the suitability and reliability of proposed scheme even with Current Transformer (CT) saturation. The implementation of the proposed approach on a low cost microcontroller with the lesser execution time, makes the prototype ideal for implementation on a digital platform (digital relay), thus leading to financial viability and sustainability of the protection scheme. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 654, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A low energy- noise switched-capacitor (SC) sensor interface for resistive bridge sensor is presented. The SC amplifier achieves low-power metric with two operating modes using operation-phase-dependent biasing and compensation scheme in the op-amp design. This novel op-amp works in high-bandwidth high-power mode to sample the bridge signal for 13 mu s twice and in low-bandwidth low-power mode for 474 mu s over 500 mu s measurement interval. To further reduce the power of the SC amplifier in system level, a SC level-shift design is adopted. Regarding offset calibration, a capacitor divider based trimming scheme is implemented to generate the mid-point DC output voltage under the constraint of the feedback capacitor size. Implemented in 65 nm CMOS, the SC interface together with the regulator, voltage reference and trimming circuit occupies an area of 0.358 mm(2). For the first test setup utilizing Half Wheatstone Bridge, the proposed SC amplifier consumes 12.3 mu W at 1 V regulated supply with a 2 kHz system clock. The measured Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of SC circuit is 55.6 dB. In the second test setup using a commercial sensor with 0.092 mV/kPa sensitivity, the interface has demonstrated the sensing function with sensitivity of 3.52 mV/kPa. Finally, compared to the representative prior-arts, this work has achieved the best energy-noise figure-of-merit at identical fractional resistance change."}
{"ID": 655, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A low pass (LP) and complex band pass (CBP) reconfigurable analog baseband circuit for software-defined radio (SDR) receivers is presented. It achieves 1-15 MHz LP bandwidth, 2-8 MHz CBP bandwidth and 0-36 dB gain range with 1 dB step. Nulling-resistor Miller feed-forward (NRMFF) differential-mode compensation, passive left half-plane (LHP) zero common-mode compensation and Quasi-Floating Gate (QFG) technique are proposed to improve the high frequency performance and driving capability of the embedded fully differential operational amplifier (Op-Amp). The analog baseband circuit has been implemented in 65 nm CMOS. It achieves 15.2 dB m/27.1 dB m IB/OB-IIP3, -2 dB m IP1dB and 71 dB m IIP2 while consuming 3.6-9.1 mW from a 1.2 V power supply and 0.75 mm(2) chip area. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 656, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A low voltage and low power Operational amplifier (Opamp) using Process, temperature insensitive current source has been presented. The design methodology of the addition based current source and the Opamp implementation using this current source is presented. The spice simulations are carried out in GPDK 90 nm technology at 0.6 V supply. The results of addition based current source Opamp are compared with the MOSFET current source Opamp. The proposed Opamp shows better gain of 80.6db, GBW of 3MHz and low power consumption of 54 uW."}
{"ID": 657, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A low-cost and portable colorimeter was constructed featuring a low-voltage programmable color light sensor-to frequency converter, a CMOS 8-bit microcontroller, and an LCD display. The instrument has successfully facilitated the introduction and application of spectroscopy to groups of middle school, high school, and undergraduate students. A series of tried and tested laboratory experiments that demonstrate the utility and capabilities of the colorimeter have been developed. These laboratories not only help characterize the colorimeter but also feature challenging problems that allow students to realize the limitations of analytical instruments. The accompanying laboratories enable students to determine the concentration of a mixture of food dyes using simultaneous equations, quantify inorganic phosphate in various aqueous-based agricultural samples, calculate the concentration of salicylic acid in facial acne medication, and elucidate the stoichiometry of an iron salicylate reaction."}
{"ID": 658, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electricity", "abstract": "A low-cost mini tubular microbial fuel cell (MFC) was developed for treating groundwater that contained benzene in monitoring wells. Experimental results indicate that increasing the length and density, and reducing the size of the char particles in the anode effectively reduced the internal resistance. Additionally, a thinner polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel separator and PVA with a higher molecular weight improved electricity generation. The optimal parameters for the MFC were an anode density of 1.22 g cm(-3), a coke of 150 mu m: an anode length of 6 cm, a PVA of 105,600 g mol(-1), and a separator thickness of 1 cm. Results of continuous-flow experiments reveal that the increasing the sets of MFCs and connecting them in parallel markedly improved the degradation of benzene. More than 95% of benzene was removed and electricity of 38 mW m(-2) was generated. The MFC ran continuously up to 120 days without maintenance. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 659, "domain": "Medical", "area": "HIV/AIDS", "abstract": "A low-cost rodent model of HIV infection and which presents high application value is an effective tool to investigate HIV infection and pathogenesis. However, development of such a small animal model has been hampered by the unsuitability of rodent cells for HIV-1 replication given that the retrovirus HIV-1 has high selectivity to its host cell. Our study used the mouse leukemia cell lines L615 and L1210 that were induced by murine leukemia virus and transfected with hCD4/CCR5 loaded-lentiviral vector. Lentiviral vectors containing the genes hCD4/CCR5 under the transcriptional control of cytomegalovirus promoter were designed. Transfection efficiencies of human CD4 and CCR5 in L615 and L1210 cells were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot assay. Results showed that hCD4 and CCR5 proteins were expressed on the cell surface, demonstrating that the L615 and L1210 cells were humanized and that they possess the characteristics necessary for HIV infection of human host cells. Moreover, the sensitivity of human CD4/CCR5 transgenic mouse cells to HIV infection was confirmed by RT-PCR and ELISA. Mouse leukemia cell lines that could express hCD4 and CCR5 were thus established to facilitate normal entry of HIV-1 so that a human CD4/CCR5 transgenic mice cell model can be used to investigate the transmission and pathogenesis of HIV/AIDS and potential antiviral drugs against this disease."}
{"ID": 660, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Thermodynamics", "abstract": "A low-dimensional model that describes both saturated and unsaturated flow processes in a single equation is presented. Subsurface flow processes in the groundwater, the vadose zone, and the capillary fringe are accounted for through the computation of aggregated hydrodynamic parameters that result from the integration of the governing flow equations from the bedrock to the land surface. The three-dimensional subsurface flow dynamics are thus described by a two-dimensional equation, allowing for a drastic reduction of model unknowns and simplification of the model parameterizations. This approach is compared with a full resolution of the Richards equation in different synthetic test cases. Because the model reduction stems from the vertical integration of the flow equations, the test cases all use different configurations of heterogeneity for vertical cross-sections of a soil-aquifer system. The low-dimensional flow model shows strong consistency with results from a complete resolution of the Richards equation for both the water table and fluxes. The proposed approach is therefore well suited to the accurate reproduction of complex subsurface flow processes."}
{"ID": 661, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Stealth Technology", "abstract": "A low-emissive pigment of Al/SiO2/Fe2O3/FeO/Fe-4[Fe(CN)(6)](3)/Cr2O3/Cr (MAS) was prepared by chemical deposition method. The camouflage characteristics of the coated fabric with paint mixed with MAS, binder and other auxiliary in the thermal infrared (IR 8 similar to 14 mu m) and the optical (0.38 similar to 1.2 mu m) region, was studied by emissivity tester, visible light camera and thermal infrared imager. The results show that the MAS pigment has low emissivity and optical camouflage effectiveness compared with the Al/SiO2 pigment. Particularly, the MAS pigment is in green by depositing metal oxide, ferrocyanide and pure metal on the surface of Al/SiO2. The optical reflectance spectrum of coated fabric was similar to the natural grass. Furthermore, the surface emissivity of the coated fabric reached 0.51 in the IR region. The thermography of the coated fabric with 4 wt% MAS was similar to the natural grass. It can conclude that the coated fabric can perfectly imitate grass background."}
{"ID": 662, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Cell biology", "abstract": "A lower bone mass accompanied by a higher bone fragility with increased risk of fracture are observed in individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Low C-peptide levels are associated with low lumbar mineral density in postmenopausal woman. In this work, we investigated the role of C-peptide on the osteoblast cell biology in vitro. We examined intracellular pathways and we found that C peptide activates ERK1/2 in human osteoblast-like cells (Saos-2). We also observed that proinsulin C-peptide prevents a reduction of type I collagen expression and decreases, in combination with insulin, receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B (RANKL) levels. In this work we show for the first time that Cpeptide activates a specific intracellular pathway in osteoblasts and it modulates the expression of protein involved in bone remodeling. Our results suggest that both C-peptide may have a role in bone metabolism. Further studies are needing to fully clarify its role. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 663, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A low-power analog signal processing IC is presented for the low-power heart rhythm analysis. The ASIC features 3 identical, but independent intra-ECG readout channels each equipping an analog QRS feature extractor for low-power consumption and fast diagnosis of the fatal case. A 16-level digitized sine-wave synthesizer together with a synchronous readout circuit can measure bio-impedance in the range of 0.1-4.4 k Omega with 33 m Omega(rms) resolution and higher than 97% accuracy. The proposed 25 mm(2) ASIC consumes only 13 mu A from 2.2 V. It is a highly integrated solution offering all the functionality of acquiring multiple high quality intra-cardiac signals, requiring only a few limited numbers of external passives."}
{"ID": 664, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A low-power ASIC signal processor for a vestibular prosthesis (VP) is reported. Fabricated with TI 0.35 mu m CMOS technology and designed to interface with implanted inertial sensors, the digitally assisted analog signal processor operates extensively in the CMOS subthreshold region. During its operation the ASIC encodes head motion signals captured by the inertial sensors as electrical pulses ultimately targeted for in-vivo stimulation of vestibular nerve fibers. To achieve this, the ASIC implements a coordinate system transformation to correct for misalignment between natural sensors and implanted inertial sensors. It also mimics the frequency response characteristics and frequency encoding mappings of angular and linear head motions observed at the peripheral sense organs, semicircular canals and otolith. Overall the design occupies an area of 6.22 mm(2) and consumes 1.24 mW when supplied with +/- 1.6 V."}
{"ID": 665, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A low-power technique for a static random-access memory (SRAM)-based on-chip arbitrary-waveform generator (AWG) is proposed for two types of analog-signal-processing applications: multiresolution spectrum sensing and matched filter. The SRAM has an embedded address generator to limit the operation in a sequential-access mode of the AWG. Then, the power consumption of the AWG is analyzed according to the operation modes in multiresolution and multiwaveform spectrum-sensing functions. The low-power technique reduces power by 18% of the SRAM and the address generator and by about 2.2% of the entire AWG at a 1.8-V supply voltage. The AWG is fabricated in a 0.18-mu m CMOS technology and demonstrates a chirp signal and a Daubechies wavelet with a 45-dBc spurious-free dynamic range and a cross-correlation factor of 0.96-0.988 with ideal signals."}
{"ID": 666, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A low-quiescent high-performance class-AB headphone amplifier is presented. The effect of the input-referred offset on the quiescent power of audio power amplifier (APA) that drives very small resistive load is described and analyzed. A digitally assisted offset calibration-based APA topology together with improved frequency compensation is proposed. This permits the use of low quiescent power and small compensation capacitance. Implemented in 65-nm CMOS technology, the amplifier occupies an area of 0.15 mm(2) and consumes 0.4 mW at +/- 1 V supplies. At the load of 16 Omega//200 pF, the gain-bandwidth product is 1.78 MHz using a total compensation capacitance of 8.5 pF. Other performance metrics are measured with -89-dB total harmonic distortion (THD+ N), 93.5-dB signal-to-noise ratio, 84-dB power supply rejection ratio (PSRR+), and 105-dB PSRR-@ 217 Hz. It can deliver a peak power of 35 mW (1.5 Vpp swing) to the above load, yielding the best figure-of-merit (FOM) = (peak load power/quiescent power) and the best FOM2 = [peak load power/quiescent power * (THD+ N)%] with respect to other reported representative works."}
{"ID": 667, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A low-voltage bandgap reference implemented in 0.18 mu m CMOS process is designed. The bandgap reference circuit is optimized by adjusting the ratio of the resistors, and reducing the working voltage of operational amplifier. It achieves the performance of a temperature coefficient of 25 ppm/degrees C in the range of 0 similar to 100 degrees C which works under the voltage of 0.8V. The simulated power supply rejection ratio is 46.3dB @1Hz and the line regulation is 1.5mV/V in the range from 0.8V to 1.8V."}
{"ID": 668, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A lumped mass thermo-mechanical model for the dynamics of a damper filled with a magnetorheological fluid is described, analyzed, and numerically simulated. The model includes friction and temperature effects, and consists of a differential inclusion for the piston displacements coupled with the energy balance equation for the temperature. The fluid viscosity is assumed to be a function the temperature and electrical current, which in practice may be used as the control variable. Numerical simulations of the system behavior are presented. In particular, the simulations of an initial impact show how the subsequent oscillations can be effectively damped. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 669, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Fungal Infection", "abstract": "A lung transplant recipient was diagnosed with penicilliosis due to Talaromyces marneffei, a fungus endemic in South-East Asia, which was acquired by donor transmission. This first case of Talaromyces marneffei-transmission by transplantation underscores that current globalisation of travelling necessitates increased vigilance for transmission of unusual pathogens in organ recipients."}
{"ID": 670, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Machine design", "abstract": "A magnetizer design methodology that takes into account systematic errors such as the variation in flux density (B), and the z-component of the magnetic field (H-z), is proposed. The effect of the sample diameter and the effective length of the yoke, i.e. yoke depth on H-z are analysed. Experimental results at 1.5 T and 60 H-z showed a reduction of 81 %, 72 % and 30 % by a large magnetizer, shielding and reducing the yoke depth from 80 mm to 10 mm, respectively. This was in comparison to an unshielded compact magnetizer. H-z is also dependent on magnetic loading. Furthermore, at 2 T and 60 Hz, magnetic contributions dominated H-z such that the effectiveness of shielding and reducing the yoke depth decreased to 27 % and 4 %, respectively. To achieve these very high flux densities, the magnetizers were designed to be compact (sample diameter of <= 100 mm and narrow airgaps of <= 2 mm). This reduction in size increases the leakage field above and below the sample to the same level of magnitude as the applied field, which affects the measurement of the magnetic field (H). Two H-coil sizes with a sensitivity difference of 60 % are used to show that the measured H is independent of the coil size, but depends on the leakage field. Their measured core loss difference under pulsating and rotating fields was about 6 %."}
{"ID": 671, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) is a smart material that has a reversible and variable modulus in a magnetic field. Natural rubber, which has better physical properties than silicone matrices, was used as a matrix in the fabrication of the MREs used in this study. Carbonyl iron powder (CIP), which has a rapid magnetic reaction, was selected as a magnetic material to generate the magnetic-field-dependent modulus in the MREs. The MRE specimens were cured in an anisotropic mold, which could be used to induce a uniaxial magnetic field via permanent magnets, to control the orientation of the CIP, and the shear modulus of the MREs was evaluated under a magnetic field induced by using a magnetic flux generator (MFG). Because the use of a conventional evaluation system to determine the magnetic-field-dependent shear modulus of the MREs was difficult, an evaluation system based on single degree-of-freedom vibration and electromagnetics that included an MFG, which is a device that generates a magnetic field via a variable induced current, was designed. An electromagnetic finite element method (FEM) analysis and design of experiments (DoE) techniques were employed to optimize the magnetic flux density generated by the MFG. The optimized system was verified over the range to determine the magnetic flux density generated by the MFG in order to use a magnetic circuit analysis to identify the existence of magnetic saturation. A variation in the shear modulus was observed with increasing CIP volume fraction and induced current. The experimental results revealed that the maximum variation in the shear modulus was 76.3% for 40 vol% CIP at an induced current of 4 A. With these results, the appropriate CIP volume fraction, induced current, and design procedure of the MFG can be proposed as guidelines for applications of MREs based on natural rubber."}
{"ID": 672, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A magneto-rheological gel (MRG) is a kind of smart material fabricated by dispersing ferromagnetic particles in high viscosity polymer gel. The internal particles of MRG are uniformly dispersed under off-state. While with the precondition of an external applied magnetic field, the particles will form a reversible chain-like structure, in which process the electrical resistivity of MRG has an immense change. In order to deeply understand the changing mechanism of the magneto-resistance of MRG, a theoretical model based on both the magnetic-dipole behavior and the percolation theory was proposed in this work. This model incorporates the parameters of the magnetic field intensity and carbonyl iron powder (CIP) volume fraction. As a further effort to explore the magneto-resistance properties of MRG, a series of experimental testing were conducted. The magneto-resistance properties of MRG with different CIP volume fractions and under different magnetic fields were investigated. The experimental results indicated that the conductivity of MRG was significantly increased with the increasing magnetic field and CIP volume fraction. In addition, in order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed theoretical model, the experimental measured results and theoretically obtained results were compared. The validation results demonstrated that the theoretical model proposed in this work is capable of reproducing the field-dependent magneto-resistance properties of MRG. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 673, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Materials Engineering", "abstract": "A major by-product of biodiesel production is waste glycerol, which has numerous potential applications. In this study, we isolated a novel bacterium capable of producing cellulose from waste glycerol, and identified it as a novel strain (named NEDO-01) of Gluconacetobacter intermedius. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the morphology of the pellicle produced by NEDO-01 was similar to that of cellulose produced by Gluconacetobacter hansenii ATCC23769. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic analyses suggested that cellulose produced by NEDO-01 had molecular and crystalline structures similar to those of cellulose produced by ATCC23769. After the optimization of cultivation conditions, NEDO-01 mediated the one-step production of nanofibrillated bacterial cellulose (NFBC) from waste glycerol in a medium supplemented with carboxymethyl cellulose. Transmission electron microscopic analysis revealed that the NFBC was composed of relatively uniform fibers with diameters of approximately 20 nm. NFBC was produced as uniform water suspensions, the yield of which was 3.4 g/L from cultivation in 7.5 L medium in a 10-L jar fermenter. The bioconversion of waste glycerol to NFBC, which has superior fluidity, moldability, and miscibility, has a wide variety of applications, including potential uses in the medical and materials engineering fields."}
{"ID": 674, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Construction Management", "abstract": "A major cause of fatal construction accidents is falls from height (FFH). In this study, the Human Factor Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) was adopted and modified to assist in classifying the root causes of fatal FFH accidents in Hong Kong. The characteristics and root causes of the accidents were analyzed using frequency analysis. The associations among the causes were examined using Fisher's exact test and latent class analysis (LCA). The cases apparently share some common characteristics and certain HFACS factors are closely associated. According to LCA results, the factors in all the cases may be placed into four classes, named as ill planning, violation, hidden hazards created by others, and incapable staffing. Recommendations are made to reduce FFH construction accidents based on the characteristics and root causes. The paper contributes to the body of knowledge in construction management by developing a modified HFACS framework for extracting structured information from construction accident reports, finding the general characteristics and managerial causes behind the FFH accidents, and using LCA to identify the connections among the managerial causes."}
{"ID": 675, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "A major challenge in enzymology is the need to correlate the dynamic properties of enzymes with, and understand the impact on, their catalytic cycles. This is especially the case with large, multicenter enzymes such as the nitric oxide synthases (NOSs), where the importance of dynamics has been inferred from a variety of structural, single-molecule, and ensemble spectroscopic approaches but where motions have not been correlated experimentally with mechanistic steps in the reaction cycle. Here we take such an approach. Using time-resolved spectroscopy employing absorbance and Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) and exploiting the properties of a flavin analogue (5-deazaflavin mononucleotide (5-dFMN)) and isotopically labeled nicotinamide coenzymes, we correlate the timing of CaM structural changes when bound to neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) with the nNOS catalytic cycle. We show that remodeling of CaM occurs early in the electron transfer sequence (FAD reduction), not at later points in the reaction cycle (e.g., FMN reduction). Conformational changes are tightly correlated with FAD reduction kinetics and reflect a transient \"opening\" and then \"closure\" of the bound CaM molecule. We infer that displacement of the C-terminal tail on binding NADPH and subsequent FAD reduction are the likely triggers of conformational change. By combining the use of cofactor/coenzyme analogues and time resolved FRET/absorbance spectrophotometry, we show how the reaction cycles of complex enzymes can be simplified, enabling a detailed study of the relationship between protein dynamics and reaction cycle chemistry-an approach that can also be used with other complex multicenter enzymes."}
{"ID": 676, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A major challenge in urban water management is the identification of cost-effective and future-proof strategies that can cope with the rapid urbanization and changing environmental conditions. Water quantity modelling forms a key-element in the development of such strategies. Conventional detailed hydrodynamic models are not well suited for use in decision support systems due to several important drawbacks. Therefore, this paper presents a novel and computationally efficient conceptual modelling approach for sewer water quantity simulations. A modular framework is considered that combines well-established model structures with machine learning techniques. This flexible framework ensures that even complex flow dynamics can be emulated accurately. An accompanying software tool was developed to facilitate model configuration. As an example, a full hydrodynamic sewer model of a city in Belgium was transformed into a conceptual model. This model delivered precise results, while the calculation time was 10(6) times shorter than the detailed model."}
{"ID": 677, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Genetics", "abstract": "A major focus of ecology is understanding trophic relationships and energy flows in natural systems, associated food web dynamics and changes in food webs due to introduced species. Predator-prey interactions are often assessed by examining stomach contents. However, partially digested remains may be difficult to accurately identify by traditional visual analysis. Here we evaluate the effectiveness of DNA barcoding to identify digested piscine prey remains in invasive Blue Catfish Ictalurus furcatus, non-native, but established Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus and native White Catfish Ameiurus catus from Chesapeake Bay, USA. Stomach contents were examined and piscine prey items were scored as lightly digested, moderately digested or severely digested. A 652 base pair region of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI-5P) mitochondrial DNA gene was sequenced for each prey item. Edited barcode sequences were compared to locally-caught and validated reference sequences in BOLD (Barcode of Life Database). A large majority of prey items were sufficiently digested to limit morphological identification (9.4 % to species and an additional 12.1 % to family). However, overall barcoding success was high (90.3 %) with little difference among the digestion classifications. Combining morphological and genetic identifications, we classified 91.6 % of fish prey items to species. Twenty-three fish species were identified, including species undergoing active restoration efforts (e.g., Alosa spp.) and commercially important species, e.g., Striped Bass Morone saxatilis, White Perch Morone americana, American Eel Anguilla rostrata and Menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus. We found DNA barcoding highly successful at identifying all but the most heavily degraded prey items and to be an efficient and effective method for obtaining diet information to strengthen the resolution of trophic analyses including diet comparisons among sympatric native and non-native predators."}
{"ID": 678, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Birth Control", "abstract": "A major goal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is reducing healthcare spending by shifting the focus of healthcare toward preventive care. Preventive services, including all FDA-approved contraception, must be provided to patients without cost-sharing under the ACA. No-cost contraception has been shown to increase uptake of highly effective birth control methods and reduce unintended pregnancy and abortion; however, some institutions and corporations argue that providing contraceptive coverage infringes on their religious beliefs. The contraceptive coverage mandate is evolving due to legal challenges, but it has already demonstrated success in reducing costs and improving access to contraception."}
{"ID": 679, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Cell biology", "abstract": "A major question in cell biology concerns the biophysical mechanism underlying delivery of newly synthesized macromolecules to specific targets within a cell. A recent modeling paper investigated this phenomenon in the context of vesicular delivery to en passant synapses in neurons (Bressloff and Levien 2015 Phys. Rev. Lett.). It was shown how reversibility in vesicular delivery to synapses could play a crucial role in achieving uniformity in the distribution of resources throughout an axon, which is consistent with experimental observations in C. elegans and Drosophila. In this work we generalize the previous model by investigating steady-state vesicular distributions on a Cayley tree, a disk, and a sphere. We show that for irreversible transport on a tree, branching increases the rate of decay of the steady-state distribution of vesicles. On the other hand, the steady-state profiles for reversible transport are similar to the 1D case. In the case of higher-dimensional geometries, we consider two distinct types of radially-symmetric microtubular network: (i) a continuum and (ii) a discrete set. In the continuum case, we model the motor-cargo dynamics using a phenomenologically-based advection-diffusion equation in polar (2D) and spherical (3D) coordinates. On the other-hand, in the discrete case, we derive the population model from a stochastic model of a single motor switching between ballistic motion and diffusion. For all of the geometries we find that reversibility in vesicular delivery to target sites allows for a more uniform distribution of vesicles, provided that cargo-carrying motors are not significantly slowed by their cargo. In each case we characterize the loss of uniformity as a function of the dispersion in velocities."}
{"ID": 680, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Genetics", "abstract": "A major topic of interest in human prehistory is how the large-scale genetic structure of modern populations outside of Africa was established. Demographic models have been developed that capture the relationships among small numbers of populations or within particular geographical regions, but constructing a phylogenetic tree with gene flow events for a wide diversity of non-Africans remains a difficult problem. Here, we report a model that provides a good statistical fit to allele-frequency correlation patterns among East Asians, Australasians, Native Americans, and ancient western and northern Eurasians, together with archaic human groups. The model features a primary eastern/western bifurcation dating to at least 45,000 years ago, with Australasians nested inside the eastern clade, and a parsimonious set of admixture events. While our results still represent a simplified picture, they provide a useful summary of deep Eurasian population history that can serve as a null model for future studies and a baseline for further discoveries."}
{"ID": 681, "domain": "CS", "area": "Cryptography", "abstract": "A majority of RFID authentication scenarios involve a single tag that is identified independent of other tags in the field of the reader. However, there are situations that necessitate simultaneous authentication of multiple tags as well as the verification of their simultaneous physical proximity to the reader. Duels (2004) introduced yoking proof for simultaneous authentication of multiple RFID tags. Several researchers have since then developed variants of yoking proof using both symmetric and asymmetric cryptography. Given that the ambient conditions are bound to be very similar for all objects that are in close physical proximity to one another, we critically evaluate the use of various relevant ambient conditions for this purpose. Based on our evaluation, we choose to use tag temperature and develop a variant of yoking proof protocol for simultaneous authentication of multiple tags.(C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 682, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Genetics", "abstract": "A male neonate presented with CHARGE syndrome, a multiorgan genetic disorder involving the Coloboma of the eyes, congenital Heart defects, nasal choanal Atresia, growth and development Retardation, Genitourinary disorders, and Ear anomalies and deafness. Moreover, he had a rare case of vascular ring-consisting of a right aortic arch with retroesophageal brachiocephalic artery-combined with coarctation of the mid-aortic arch. He underwent both vascular ring and aortic arch repair at our institution. To our knowledge, this is the 4th documented case of this exceedingly rare type of aortic arch anomaly combined with aortic arch obstruction. Moreover, it is the first confirmed case of these combined disorders occurring in CHARGE syndrome. This report describes a truly rare case and reveals the limitations of echocardiography in detecting complex aortic arch anomalies while illustrating the benefits of advanced imaging prior to surgical intervention."}
{"ID": 683, "domain": "CS", "area": "Distributed computing", "abstract": "A MapReduce algorithm can be described by a mapping schema, which assigns inputs to a set of reducers, such that for each required output there exists a reducer that receives all the inputs participating in the computation of this output. Reducers have a capacity that limits the sets of inputs they can be assigned. However, individual inputs may vary in terms of size. We consider, for the first time, mapping schemas where input sizes are part of the considerations and restrictions. One of the significant parameters to optimize in any MapReduce job is communication cost between the map and reduce phases. The communication cost can be optimized by minimizing the number of copies of inputs sent to the reducers. The communication cost is closely related to the number of reducers of constrained capacity that are used to accommodate appropriately the inputs, so that the requirement of how the inputs must meet in a reducer is satisfied. In this work, we consider a family of problems where it is required that each input meets with each other input in at least one reducer. We also consider a slightly different family of problems in which each input of a list, X, is required to meet each input of another list, Y, in at least one reducer. We prove that finding an optimal mapping schema for these families of problems is NP-hard, and present a bin-packing-based approximation algorithm for finding a near optimal mapping schema."}
{"ID": 684, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Construction Management", "abstract": "A Mass Customisation model is discussed as a competitive positioning strategy in the marketplace adding value to the customer's end-use. It includes the user as part of the construction process responding to the customer's demands and wishes. To the present day, almost all proposals for Mass Customisation have been focused on the design phase and single family houses. The reality is that the processes carried out in the work execution are so inefficient that the costs of the Mass Customisation models are assumed by the customer and they do not offer solutions that support the change management. Furthermore, this inefficiency often makes Mass Customisation unfeasible in terms of deadlines and site management. Therefore, the present proposal focuses on achieving the paradigm of Mass Customisation in the traditional residential construction complementary to the existing proposals in the design phase. All this through the proposal of a framework for the integral management in the work execution, which will address change management introduced by the users offering an efficient and productive model that reduces costs in the process. This model will focus on the synergy between different strategies, techniques and technologies currently used in the construction management (such as Lean Construction or Six Sigma), together with, other strategies and technologies that have proven to be valid solutions in other fields (such as Business Process Management, Service Oriented Architecture, etc.)."}
{"ID": 685, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Parenting", "abstract": "A maternal authoritarian style has been related to the development of physical aggression during childhood and later future social problems; however, not too many studies have detected other than individual or family factors that may buffer this maternal effect. This work examines whether daycare center attendance may moderate the relationships between a mother authoritarian style and physical aggression. The study sample was 72 (40 girls) kindergarten children from Spain. Parents were asked to complete two questionnaires focused on individual family characteristics and parenting styles. At age 5, children physical aggression was assessed by direct observation at playtime; aggression scores at 6 was obtained by a peer-rated questionnaire. A least squared multiple regression was performed after controlling for children's level of physical aggression at 5, child sex and siblings. A positive contribution of maternal authoritarian style on physical aggression was detected. Daycare center attendance appears to attenuate the effect of the mother's authoritarian style on physical aggression, only in boys."}
{"ID": 686, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Child abuse", "abstract": "A maternal history of childhood maltreatment is thought to be a potent risk factor for child abuse and neglect, yet the extent of continuity across generations is unclear, with studies reporting vastly different rates of intergenerational transmission. Disparate findings may be due to lack of attention to the nature of maltreatment experiences in each generation. We sought to expand the current literature by examining the role of maltreatment type, perpetrator identity, and substantiation status of reports to child protective services (CPS) on intergenerational maltreatment among adolescent mothers (n = 417) and their children. We found that when mothers had at least one report of childhood maltreatment (substantiated or not), the odds that they maltreated their children increased by 72% (OR = 2.52), compared to mothers who are not maltreated, but the odds were considerably lower when we limited analysis to substantiated reports. Both a maternal history of substantiated neglect and multiple type maltreatment (neglect and physical or sexual abuse) were associated with increased risk of child maltreatment, yet the likelihood of children experiencing multiple maltreatment perpetrated with their mothers identified as perpetrators increased over 300% when mothers had a childhood history of multiple maltreatment. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 687, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A Mathematica application providing the user with a graphical interface (GUI) is presented and published, which can be used to interactively explore image filtering and segmentation methods to analyse variously shaped particles in a microscopic image. The application functionality is designed around Mathematica's in-built image processing capability with custom designed functions specialized at segmenting greyscale microscope images. The main contribution is a specially designed GUI which allows the characterization of segmented particles based on their morphological properties, with focus given to differentiation of the shapes of the segmented particles. The application provides a convenient way of navigating through the myriad of ways to analyse particles in micrographs. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 688, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical network", "abstract": "A mathematical model for calculating steady non-sinusoidal mode of a complex electrical network is proposed, taking into account the distribution of overhead transmission lines parameters, suspension geometry and brand wires, availability of overhead ground-wire cable and the way of their grounding along the route of the line. Based on the calculation of complex network steady mode the fundamental losses are accounted which were caused by positive-sequence currents of the fundamental frequency, and the total losses caused by the actual currents of the fundamental frequency and high harmonic currents in wires and ground wires. The paper introduces the example of the steady mode calculation and the results of study of the effect on the loss of electric power suspension geometry of wires and overhead ground-wire cable."}
{"ID": 689, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Internal combustion engine", "abstract": "A mathematical model of emissions was developed in a Twingo D7F engine. The effects of variations in compression ratio, fuel/air equivalence ratio, spark advanced and combustion duration under pollutant emissions were studied. Analysis and data collection were performed in an engine bank using a data acquisition system integrated to an Interactive Engineering Environment. A control strategy was implemented to guarantee emissions reduction."}
{"ID": 690, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Water Pollution", "abstract": "A mathematical model of the propagation in flooded mine lightweight contaminant due to allocation of groundwater is considered. Mathematical model was based on an analysis of experimental data and using concept and methods from reactive media mechanics. The boundary-value problem is solved numerically using the finite volume method. The distribution of fields of velocities and concentration of impurity particles in a flooded mine have been obtained at different times. These results can be used to analyze mining water treatment process due to environment and evaluate its further possible improvements."}
{"ID": 691, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Manufacturing engineering", "abstract": "A mathematical model of two competitive populations with migrations between two patches in manufacturing engineering is proposed. It is assumed that migration rates of the two populations are not constants but density-dependent which are led mainly by the pressure from interspecific competition. Conditions for the persistence of the system are obtained which shows that appropriate migration rates facilitate the two competitive populations to cooperate well such that both the populations are persistent in every patch. The results are confirmed by computer simulations. It is also found that the positive equilibrium which is globally stable changes into bitable equilibrium as the parameters vary."}
{"ID": 692, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A means to digitally generate a partially coherent beam with orbital angular momentum is presented. Our approach is based on encoding the randomness of broadband light passing through a spiral phase plate in a spatial light modulator. We illustrate the technique by generating partially coherent beams with orbital angular momentum content and different coherence lengths, with no moving optical elements. We study the cross correlation spectra which yields to good agreement with theory."}
{"ID": 693, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A measurement system was developed using micro-distance imaging technology to measure droplet sizes in the field. Legible droplet images were acquired with a single-lens reflex camera, a micro-distance lens and illumination source in the proper parameters. The droplets were extracted effectively based on the background subtraction, region-growing repair, shape-factor screening and concave points matching methods. The droplet characterizations, including projective area, diameter and volume were calculated using MATLAB image processing technology. The system displayed droplet sizes and distribution regulation in graphs that were convenient for obtaining experimental regulation. Indoor comparison experiments between the developed system and oil disk method was conducted, and the average relative errors were 6.03%, 5.50% and 6.25% for D-V (0.1), D-V 0.5, D-V 0.9, respectively. Field comparison experiments revealed that the relative error was 5.61% between the developed system and the oil disk method and 6.88% between the developed system and the laser instrument method. Application experiments in the field were conducted and the result revealed that fine droplets had better penetration than coarse droplets in the tree canopy. The system was simple in structure, had a lower cost compared with some instruments and reduced experimental time compared with the image processing methods that use oil disks. It has a good prospect for use. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 694, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A measurement-based method to evaluate the efficiency of antennas used in microwave tissue imaging is proposed. The method is versatile and, in principle, applicable to antennas operating in free space as well. Two identical antennas are employed, one transmitting and the other one receiving. A signal flow graph (SFG) is developed for the two-port network formed by the antennas and the medium between them. The medium's electrical properties mimic those of tissue and can vary according to the application. Several measurements are performed with one of the antennas being loaded with known loads. A system of equations is constructed from the acquired data. The solution of this system produces the efficiency of the antenna in addition to other unknown parameters of the SFG. The efficiencies of two antennas are estimated from measured and simulated data and are verified through comparisons."}
{"ID": 695, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A mechanomyogram (MMG) measured with a displacement sensor (displacement MMG) can provide a better estimation of longitudinal muscle stiffness than that measured with an acceleration sensor (acceleration MMG), but the displacement MMG cannot provide transverse muscle stiffness. We propose a method to estimate both longitudinal and transverse muscle stiffness from a velocity MMG using a system identification technique. The aims of this study are to show the advantages of the proposed method. The velocity MMG was measured using a capacitor microphone and a differential circuit, and the MMG, evoked by electrical stimulation, of the tibialis anterior muscle was measured five times in seven healthy young male volunteers. The evoked MMG system was identified using the singular value decomposition method and was approximated with a fourth-order model, which provides two undamped natural frequencies corresponding to the longitudinal and transverse muscle stiffness. The fluctuation of the undamped natural frequencies estimated from the velocity MMG was significantly smaller than that from the acceleration MMG. There was no significant difference between the fluctuations of the undamped natural frequencies estimated from the velocity MMG and that from the displacement MMG. The proposed method using the velocity MMG is thus more advantageous for muscle stiffness estimation. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 696, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A mechatronic based embedded digital draft force and wheel slip measuring devices was developed. It includes a load cell based dynamometer to measure the draft force, hall sensor based magnetic pins mounted discs to measure wheel slip, an amplifier to amplify the sensing unit signals of dynamometer, and a microcontroller to process the received load cells, hall sensors data to calculate draft force, wheel slip and display on the LCD screen as well as record the data in SD card module. To compare and assess the degree of accuracy of the developed draft measurement system, wheel slip measurement system, a system involving instrumented three point linkages was developed to measure draft force simultaneously and a non contact type radar sensor was used to validate the wheel slip measurement system. It was observed that, a maximum variation of +/- 410 N draft forces was observed between the developed and strain gauge dynamometer also found close to draft force values calculated by ASABE equation and a maximum variation of +/- 2.1% wheel slip was observed between developed and manual measured values. The developed devices are simple in construction and can be mounted on any make and model of agricultural tractor implements. The developed devices will be very much helpful for educational institutions and research needs in drawbar performance studies. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 697, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A medium selectivity notch filter has been proposed. The active RC filter has only one operational amplifier and three resistors with one floating capacitor as passive components. Two floating resistors provide the positive feedback and one grounded resistor is used for independent tuning of Q factor. The amplifier pole frequency is used for designing the circuit and amplifier used is in both positive and negative feedback configuration. The filter can be tuned for a wide frequency range between 10 kHz-250 kHz and a medium Q factor upto 25 is achievable by proposed configuration. The circuit shows low passive parameter sensitivity which is characteristic of a single pole model. PSpice simulations have been presented to verify theoretical analysis."}
{"ID": 698, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A membrane-based silencer using dielectric elastomer absorbers (DEAs) was developed and explored in the present study. Dielectric elastomer, a soft smart material, was used to fabricate this actuator. It has the characteristic of lightweight, high elastic energy density and large deformation under external direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC) voltages. The typical acoustic performances of this membrane-based silencer were experimentally identified using a transmission loss (TL) duct acoustic measurement system. It was found that the resonance peaks of this membrane-based silencer could be controlled by applying different external voltages, a maximum resonance frequency shift of 59.5 Hz for the resonance peaks was achieved which indicated that this membrane-based silencer could be adjusted to absorb the target noise without any addition mechanical part. Furthermore, the resonance shift and multiple resonances mechanisms using DEAs were proposed and discussed which was aiming to achieve multi-peaks noise reduction. The present results also provide insight into the appropriateness of the absorber for possible use as an acoustic treatment to replace the traditional acoustic treatment in the noise reduction technology. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 699, "domain": "CS", "area": "Cryptography", "abstract": "A meminductor is a new type of memory device. It is of importance to study meminductor model and its application in nonlinear circuit prospectively. For this purpose, we present a novel mathematical model of meminductor, which considers the effects of internal state variable and therefore will be more consistent with future actual meminductor device. By using several operational amplifiers, multipliers, capacitors and resistors, the equivalent circuit of the model is designed for exploring its characteristics. This equivalent circuit can be employed to design meminductor-based application circuits as a meminductor emulator. By employing simulation experiment, we investigate the characteristics of this meminductor driven by sinusoidal excitation. The characteristic curves of current-flux (i-phi), voltage-flux (v-phi), v-rho (internal variable of meminductor) and phi-rho for the meminductor model are given by theoretical analyses and simulations. The curve of current-flux (i-phi) is a pinched hysteretic loop passing through the origin. The area bounding each sub-loop deforms as the frequency varies, and with the increase of frequency, the shape of the pinched hysteretic loop tends to be a straight line, indicating a dependence on frequency for the meminductor. Based on the meminductor model, a meminductive Wien-bridge chaotic oscillator is designed and analyzed. Some dynamical properties, including equilibrium points and the stability, bifurcation and Lyapunov exponent of the oscillator, are investigated in detail by theoretical analyses and simulations. By utilizing Lyapunov spectrum, bifurcation diagram and dynamical map, it is found that the system has periodic, quasi-periodic and chaotic states. Furthermore, there exist some complicated nonlinear phenomena for the system, such as constant Lyapunov exponent spectrum and nonlinear amplitude modulation of chaotic signals. Moreover, we also find the nonlinear phenomena of coexisting bifurcation and coexisting attractors, including coexistence of two different chaotic attractors and coexistence of two different periodic attractors. The phenomenon shows that the state of this oscilator is highly sensitive to its initial valuse, not only for chaotic state but also for periodic state, which is called coexistent oscillation in this paper. The basic mechanism and potential applications of the existing attractors are illustrated, which can be used to generate robust pseudo random sequence, or multiplexed pseudo random sequence. Finally, by using the equivalent circuit of the proposed meminducive model, we realize an analog electronic circuit of the meminductive Wien-bridge chaotic system. The results of circuit experiment are displayed by the oscilloscope, which can verify the chaotic characteristics of the oscillator. The oscillator, as a pseudo random signal source, can be used to generate chaotic signals for the applications in chaotic cryptography and secret communications."}
{"ID": 700, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical circuits", "abstract": "A memristor is a resistor with memory that exhibits a pinched hysteretic relationship in cyclic voltammetry. Recently, we have found memristors in the electrical circuitry of plants and seeds. There are no publications in literature about the possible existence of memristors and electrical differentiators in fruits. Here we found that the electrostimulation of Golden Delicious or Arkansas Black apple fruits by bipolar periodic waves induces hysteresis loops with pinched points in cyclic voltammograms at low frequencies between 0.1 MHz and 1 MHz. At high frequencies of 1 kHz, the pinched hysteresis loop transforms to a non-pinched hysteresis loop instead of a single line I= V / R for ideal memristors because the amplitude of electrical current depends on capacitance of a fruit's tissue and electrodes, frequency and direction of scanning. Electrostimulation of electrical circuits in apple fruits by periodic voltage waves also induces electrotonic potential propagation due to cell-to-cell electrical coupling with electrical differentiators. A differentiator is an electrical circuit in which the output of the circuit is approximately directly proportional to the rate of change of the input. The information gained from electrostimulation can be used to elucidate and to observe electrochemical and electrophysiological properties of electrical circuits in fruits. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 701, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Mental Health", "abstract": "A mental health trial is analyzed using a dose-response model, in which the number of sessions attended by the patients is deemed indicative of the dose of psychotherapeutic treatment. Here, the parameter of interest is the difference in causal treatment effects between the subpopulations that take part in different numbers of therapy sessions. For this data set, interactions between random treatment allocation and prognostic baseline variables provide the requisite instrumental variables. While the corresponding two-stage least squares (TSLS) estimator tends to have smaller bias than the ordinary least squares (OLS) estimator; the TSLS suffers from larger variance. It is therefore appealing to combine the desirable properties of the OLS and TSLS estimators. Such a trade-off is achieved through an affine combination of these two estimators, using mean squared error as a criterion. This produces the semi-parametric Stein-like (SPSL) estimator as introduced by Judge and Mittelhammer (2004). The SPSL estimator is used in conjunction with multiple imputation with chained equations, to provide an estimator that can exploit all available information. Simulated data are also generated to illustrate the superiority of the SPSL estimator over its OLS and TSLS counterparts. A package entitled SteinIV implementing these methods has been made available through the R platform. (C) 2017 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd."}
{"ID": 702, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Machine design", "abstract": "A mesh-based magnetic equivalent circuit has been derived to model the dynamics of wound rotor synchronous machines (WRSMs). A particular focus has been placed on the derivation of flux tubes to model machines with an arbitrary number of damper bars placed at an arbitrary depth in the rotor pole tip. Faraday's Law is applied to establish a state model in which winding and damper bar flux linkages are selected as state variables. The resulting coupled magnetic equivalent circuit/state model is solved to predict machine dynamics. An important attribute of the model is that saturation is represented without the need for a relaxation factor, which enables its use as a practical tool in machine design. Data obtained from hardware experiment and a finite-element model are used to validate the proposed methods."}
{"ID": 703, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Southern blotting", "abstract": "A method for an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation with phosphomannose isomerase-based selection system was investigated for cotyledons explants of Lotus corniculatus L. cultivar Leo. The effects of mannose on shoot formation and rooting was evaluated to choose appropriate selection pressure for Lotus corniculatus L. transformation. Complete inhibition in Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 20 g/L mannose in the presence of 20 g/L sucrose was observed, indicating that Lotus corniculatus L. is incapable of utilizing mannose as a carbon source. The mannose-resistant shoots from individual transformed lines selected in early developmental stage were identified by PCR analysis, resulting in a transformation frequency of 16.2 %. Six randomly chosen PCR-positive plantlets were further confirmed by Southern-blotting and RT-PCR analysis to demonstrate integration of the phosphomannose isomerase (PMI) gene. Chlorophenol red assays were performed to determine PMI enzyme activity. These results demonstrate that the PMI-based selection is a highly efficient system for Lotus corniculatus L. transformation without requiring the use of conventional antibiotics or herbicide marker genes."}
{"ID": 704, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A method for analyzing the coupled wind-vehicle-bridge system is proposed that also considers the shielding effect of the bridge tower with triangular wind barriers. The static wind load and the buffeting wind load for both the bridge and the vehicle are included. The shielding effects of the bridge tower and the triangular wind barriers are incorporated by taking the surface integral of the wind load. The inter-history iteration is adopted to solve the vehicle-bridge dynamic equations with time-varying external loads. The results show that after installing the triangular wind barriers in the area of the bridge tower, the bridge response and the vehicle safety factors change slightly. The peak value of the train car body acceleration is significantly reduced when the wind barrier size is increased."}
{"ID": 705, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A method for constructing time-domain models including Drude materials from finite-element data in the frequency-domain is presented. To produce a model that is compact, projection-based order-reduction techniques are applied. The time-domain model is based on a state space representation and can be proven to be passive and causal. Moreover, the suggested approach provides an efficient way for reconstructing the transient electromagnetic fields."}
{"ID": 706, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A method for determining mRNA half-lives in the polymorphic fungus Candida albicans is described. It employs growth in a defined medium, the inhibition of transcription with thiolutin (10-20 mu g/mL), and quantitative Northern blotting. The method is effective for the A72, SC5314, and CAI-4 strains of C. albicans, and for mRNAs that have a wide variety of decay rates and steady-state abundances. The range of half-lives detected (from 4-168 min) shows that this method is effective for mRNAs with widely varying half-lives. The mRNA decay rates obtained are compared with those for orthologous mRNAs from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This procedure should work for a broad range of C. albicans strains and can be adapted to other fungal species."}
{"ID": 707, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A method for modeling fluid-solid interactions in saturated porous media is proposed. The main challenge is the combination of the material and spatial descriptions. The deformation of the solid, which serves as a \"container\" to the fluid, is studied by following the motion of its material particles, i.e., in Lagrangian description. On the other hand, the motion of the fluid is described in spatial form, i.e., by using a Eulerian approach. However, the solid deforms and this implies a certain difference regarding the standard formulation used in spatial description of fluid mechanics where a fixed grid dissects space into elementary volumes. Here the grid is no longer fixed, and the elementary volumes will follow the deformation of the solid. Moreover, for the solid as well as for the fluid the balance equations are formulated in the current configuration, where interaction forces and couples are taken into account. By using Zhilin's approach, entropy and temperature are incorporated in the system of equations. Constitutive equations are constructed for both elastic and inelastic components of force and couple stress tensors and interaction force and couple. The constitutive equations for elastic components are found on the basis of the energy balance equation; the constitutive equations for the inelastic components are proposed in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics. Particular emphasis is placed on the constitutive equations of the interaction force and couple, which result in a symmetric form only because of the \"hybrid\" approach combining the Lagrangian with the Eulerian description. Three possible examples of application of the theory have been presented. For each example, all required assumptions were first stated and discussed and then the complete set of the corresponding equations was presented."}
{"ID": 708, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A method for post-processing the velocity after a pressure projection is developed that helps to maintain stability in an under-resolved, inviscid, discontinuous element-based simulation for use in environmental fluid mechanics process studies. The post-processing method is needed because of spurious divergence growth at element interfaces due to the discontinuous nature of the discretization used. This spurious divergence eventually leads to a numerical instability. Previous work has shown that a discontinuous element-local projection onto the space of divergence-free basis functions is capable of stabilizing the projection method, but the discontinuity inherent in this technique may lead to instability in under-resolved simulations. By enforcing inter-element discontinuity and requiring a divergence-free result in the weak sense only, a new post-processing technique is developed that simultaneously improves smoothness and reduces divergence in the pressure-projected velocity field at the same time. When compared against a non-post-processed velocity field, the post-processed velocity field remains stable far longer and exhibits better smoothness and conservation properties. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 709, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Strength of materials", "abstract": "A method for predicting the shear strength of materials over multiple length scales is developed and tested. The method is based oil renormalizing the energies and shear displacements obtained through electronic structure calculations of nanoscale models of the material of interest. All material- and size-dependent quantities are incorporated into the renormalization factors, yielding a universal model that can be applied to many materials and length scales. The model is used to predict the shear strength of Cr2O3 along three relevant slip planes and slip directions. The results demonstrate that the shear strengths of the nanoscale Systems used in the calculations range from 19.4 to 29.4 GPa. These data are then renormalized to predict the shear strength of a grain that is 10 mu m thick, yielding shear strengths ranging from 189 to 342 MPa. The large decrease in the shear strength with increasing grain size is consistent with the behavior of many materials. The ability to capture this change using electronic structure calculations that do not require experimental input may be useful in developing cohesive laws of novel materials for use in large-scale mechanical engineering simulations of materials failure. (C) 2009 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 710, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical circuits", "abstract": "A method for the analysis and algorithm metrological evaluation of interference of radio frequency waves in distribution network supplying telecommunications facilities. We consider a model of electrical circuits supply substation and an algorithm for computing the equivalent parameters of circuits during switching impacts and lighting strokes."}
{"ID": 711, "domain": "CS", "area": "Symbolic computation", "abstract": "A method for the computation of inverses of a given matrix is derived, based on the full-rank decomposition of an appropriate matrix . As a corollary, a new method considering the advantages of full-rank decomposition is developed. It is then specialized to the set of polynomial matrices. Therefore, an algorithm for efficient symbolic computation of inverses of a polynomial matrix is proposed. An additional diagonal matrix yields to avoiding the computation of entries containing square roots of polynomials, therefore increasing the algorithm's performances. Some implementation details and comparative processing times to other similar methods are provided, illustrating the algorithm's efficiency."}
{"ID": 712, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A method for the shape finding of a specific type of self-anchored suspension bridge whose main cable is three-dimensionally curved is proposed in this study. The method, referred to as the coordinate iteration method (CIM), is developed from the force equilibrium features of the rational arch axis for suspension cables modeled by truss-cable elements. By establishing the linear iterative equations in terms of unknown coordinates and updating the relation matrices iteratively, a trial profile of the three-dimensional cable-only system easily and stably converges to the target system. The CIM is then extended to the shape finding of the total bridge system with the aid of a specific numerical model proposed in this study referred to as the indiscrimination coordinate rod model (ICRM). This model is used to simulate the core deformation effects of the total bridge. The detailed procedure undertaken to establish a finite-element model of the equilibrium system for the finished dead load state based on CIM and ICRM is also presented. The precision and efficiency of the method are demonstrated through actual numerical examples. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers."}
{"ID": 713, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer vision", "abstract": "A method has been developed to determine the fat content in different cold meat products by image processing using the camera of a mobile phone. Salchichon, chorizo, salami and cured ham pictures were taken with a Meizu M2 Mini mobile phone camera under fixed lighting conditions of the light emitting diode flash of the mobile phone. Images were treated with Matlab to obtain the mean pixels of average red, green and blue camera values colours (RGB) of the pixels and different data pretreatments were taken into account to correlate colour parameters with fat content values determined in a series of commercially available samples by the Soxhlet method. RGB values were used as input variable and its correlation with fat content of samples was studied using Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). The best correlation between fat content and RGB colour descriptors was found in salchichon and salami samples using SVM, with relative errors of calibration, cross-validation and prediction of 18%, 20% and 16%, respectively. So, the use of a Smartphone camera provides an easy, low-cost, eco-friendly and rapid method for fat content determination in cold meat products. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 714, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical network", "abstract": "A method is developed for reducing the power inverter electrical circuit of fourth order to an electrical network of second order. The reduction is based on the assumption that the output inverter voltage is practically with a sine-wave shape. The normalized form guarantees novelty and versatility of the investigation on one hand and independency in relation to the concrete inverter parameters like output power, supplying voltage and operating frequency on the other. From the whole power network of fourth order for the first time two sub circuits are suggested to be outlined: the output (load) sub circuit and the inverter commutating sub circuit. Both sub circuits of a second order define the parameters of the endmost inverter circuit again of the same order and consequently the mode of operation and parameters of the power inverter itself. The transformation is possible owing to the newly found fact that the frequency dependencies of the output (load) sub circuit can be separated from the dependencies that describe the structural relationships between the two sub circuits. The results from that conversion are of course more accurate when the resonant frequencies of the both sub circuits and the operating frequency do not differ substantially. The suggested approach is useful on order to obtain a simplified engineer method for precise and fast design of large class of static power converters applicable in electronic technology like induction heating and melting."}
{"ID": 715, "domain": "MAE", "area": "computer-aided design", "abstract": "A method is presented for modeling the tensile behavior of multifilament twisted yarns. A filament assembly model and a computer-aided design/computer-aided engineering (CAD/CAE) approach are proposed for the tensile analysis. The geometry of the twisted yarn and the nonlinear filament properties were considered. The finite element method (FEM) and large deformation effects were applied for computation of the stress-extension curves. Ideal yarn structures of five layers with different twist angles were simulated to predict the tensile behavior of each filament and each layer. The stress acting on the filaments after yarn extension could be directly analyzed by the FEM. The stress distribution in the filaments showed that the highest stress regions were located at the filament in the center of the yarn and decreased slightly to the yarn surface. The stress-extensions of the filaments were converted to yarn tensile behavior that is shown in terms of the maximum and average stress-extension curves. The results of this prediction model were compared with the stress-strain curves of high-tenacity rayon yarn and the energy method. The maximum stress-extension curves showed very good agreement with experimental results and are more accurate than those obtained by previous methods."}
{"ID": 716, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Birth Control", "abstract": "A method of birth control often called 'revolutionary' was implemented in many Western countries in the 1960s. The contraceptive pill allowed women to engage in sexual experiences without the permanent fear of pregnancy. This safe method was especially important for the group of unmarried or newlywed women who were in the middle of their academic or vocational education and wanted to combine career and family life. In the 1970s, however, and especially under the influence of the Women's Liberation Movement, attitudes towards the Pill changed. It was no longer seen as an emancipation of female sexuality, but as an instrument of the on-going male domination of sexuality and society in general. According to this point of view, issues such as sexuality and contraception that had so far been regarded as 'private' became political. Women now directly linked their very personal intimate experiences and questions of power and gender relations in society, and this often meant stopping taking the Pill. This article examines the particular reasons for the shift in contraceptive behaviour in West Germany and England. It analyses the changing attitudes of feminist activists toward the Pill and their influence on women's decisions about birth control."}
{"ID": 717, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A method of chemistry tabulation combined with presumed probability density function (PDF) is applied to simulate piloted premixed jet burner flames with high Karlovitz number using large eddy simulation. Thermo-chemistry states are tabulated by the combination of auto-ignition and extended auto-ignition model. To evaluate the predictive capability of the proposed tabulation method to represent the thermo-chemistry states under the condition of different fresh gases temperature, a-priori study is conducted by performing idealised transient one-dimensional premixed flame simulations. Presumed PDF is used to involve the interaction of turbulence and flame with beta PDF to model the reaction progress variable distribution. Two presumed PDF models, Dirichlet distribution and independent beta distribution, respectively, are applied for representing the interaction between two mixture fractions that are associated with three inlet streams. Comparisons of statistical results show that two presumed PDF models for the two mixture fractions are both capable of predicting temperature and major species profiles, however, they are shown to have a significant effect on the predictions for intermediate species. An analysis of the thermo-chemical state-space representation of the sub-grid scale (SGS) combustion model is performed by comparing correlations between the carbon monoxide mass fraction and temperature. The SGS combustion model based on the proposed chemistry tabulation can reasonably capture the peak value and change trend of intermediate species. Aspects regarding model extensions to adequately predict the peak location of intermediate species are discussed."}
{"ID": 718, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A method of system identification for force transducers against the oscillation force is developed. In this method, force transducers are equipped with an additional top mass and excited by a facility with the sine mechanism. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is employed to identify the parameters of the derived mathematical models. For improving the convergence speed of PSO, exponential transformation is introduced to the fitness function. Subsequently, numerical simulations and experiments are carried out, and consistent results demonstrate that the identification method proposed in this investigation is feasible and efficient for estimating the transfer functions from sinusoidal force calibration measurements."}
{"ID": 719, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical network", "abstract": "A method of voltage stabilization based upon Static Var Generator (SVG) was proposed in this paper to solve the prominent problems of high energy loss and low terminal voltage of country electrical network in Chaoyang (Lingcheng electric line, 66kV). Relying on the control strategy and the selection of closed loop control amount and regulator, as well as the closed-loop current control of SVG, it is possible to make the output status of SVG change with the actual situation of the system and thus stabilize the voltage of power system."}
{"ID": 720, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A method that can be used to more easily perform human body communication, (HBC) has been developed. In the proposed method, Arduino technology is used as a wearable device. Baseband communication is used in this study. Baseband communication uses an operational amplifier to amplify the signal generated by the Arduino, device and uses a comparator to remove noise. This study experimented with a biological tissue equivalent phantom. An application was developed to measure temperature and confirm the transmission and reception of a string. We successfully transmitted a string using HBC with a simple circuit. In addition, changes in impedance and voltage in the electrode were measured. Our experimental results confirm effective HBC in the 300 Hz band."}
{"ID": 721, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Internal combustion engine", "abstract": "A method that enables evaluation on new construction machine concepts, such as diesel-electric hybrid construction machines, is presented. The method is unbiased from control engineer experience, development time and tuning of algorithms for each concept. The impact of inconsistent operator behavior and deviations in complete machine tests are also minimized. The method is based on dynamic programming and finds the global optimum in regards to fuel efficiency [ton/l] at any given productivity [ton/h] for each concept to enable an objective comparison between the concepts. In the method, a system optimization is included that ensures that each concept is evaluated with the optimal setup of component sizes, within the boundary conditions set by machine performance requirements. Two different diesel-electric hybrid machine concepts, including both drive line and working hydraulics, are investigated; parallel hybrid and series hybrid. Both are compared to the conventional machine. The main focus is on evaluating concepts that are so different that control algorithms and machine models cannot be based on a conventional machine. The wheel loader is used as an example due to the complex nature of the system, with a driveline and working hydraulics that have to work together throughout the work cycle. The interaction between the gravel pile and bucket is also considered, in order to simulate, and optimize, the complete work cycle. A wheel loader in a bucket application, performing a \"short loading cycle\" as part of a production chain is used as an example. This is a common application for larger wheel loaders, hence an important application to optimize for. The main result is that the method and algorithms presented in this paper works. Additional results show that a parallel hybrid wheel loader has approximately 5% higher fuel efficiency and a series hybrid approximately 23% higher comparing to the conventional machine, in the investigated application. The system optimization shows that for example a correctly sized genset, internal combustion engine and electrical machine, in a series hybrid can improve the fuel efficiency approximately 6%, in this application. The comparison is between the optimal downsized genset and a genset in the same size as the internal combustion engine in a conventional machine. The method presented can also be used in other complex machines, such as; agriculture, forestry and road vehicles."}
{"ID": 722, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Satellite radio", "abstract": "A method that makes it possible to increase the precision with which the coordinates of a user in a differential mode of operation of a satellite radio navigation system are determined, is considered. The increased precision is achieved through separate introduction of corrections to the predicted coordinates of the satellite and the results of navigation measurements."}
{"ID": 723, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A method to characterize small antennas in their actual operating conditions is presented. The proposed procedure is based on the radar cross section (RCS) measurement technique using backscattering modulation. A theoretical description of the measurement setup based on the signal flow graph representation is presented. The experimental validation includes the measurement of one and two port antennas, as well as the measurement of a small integrated antenna. Results show how the effect of the environment on the antenna impedance can be adequately measured with the proposed system."}
{"ID": 724, "domain": "MAE", "area": "computer-aided design", "abstract": "A method to deal with the design of automatic parting in calibrator computer-aided design (CAD) for plastic profile extrusion dies via feature recognitions is presented. An integral design method to design all the calibrator plates simultaneously is presented. The approach to automatic parting in calibrators is proposed. For a given calibrator integral plate, the positions of calibrators' parting faces are identified automatically based on recognitions of the visibility, attribute adjacent graphs of calibrator cavity surfaces. To meet the machining process requirements of calibrators, a parting process to achieve the final position of the calibrator parting faces is presented. A case study is presented to validate the proposed methodology."}
{"ID": 725, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Voltage law", "abstract": "A method to estimate line parameter of power grid based on innovation graph is proposed. This method identifies network parameter error location according to feature that the innovation values of the branch with parameter error and the correlated branches are larger than other branches in the network, and then estimates the real parameter value based on the Kirchhoff's voltage Law by using PMU measurements. This method can identify and estimate network parameter errors quickly, simply and effectively. The calculation of the example in IEEE-5 bus system demonstrates that this method can estimate network parameter errors exactly, and this example shows that this method is also effective when network parameter errors, bad data and topology errors take place at the same time."}
{"ID": 726, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer graphics", "abstract": "A method to visualize polytopes in a four-dimensional euclidian space (x, y, z, w) is proposed. A polytope is sliced by multiple hyperplanes that are parallel to each other and separated by uniform intervals. Since the hyperplanes are perpendicular to the w-axis, the resulting multiple slices appear in the three-dimensional (x, y, z) space and they are shown by the standard computer graphics. The polytope is rotated extrinsically in the four-dimensional space by means of a simple input method based on keyboard typings. The multiple slices are placed on a parabola curve in the three-dimensional world coordinates. The slices in a view window form an oval appearance. Both the simple and the double rotations in the four-dimensional space are applied to the polytope. All slices synchronously change their shapes when a rotation is applied to the polytope. The compact display in the oval of many slices with the help of quick rotations facilitate a grasp of the four-dimensional configuration of the polytope."}
{"ID": 727, "domain": "CS", "area": "Parallel computing", "abstract": "A methodology based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and an Analog Ensemble (AnEn) is presented to generate 72 h deterministic and probabilistic forecasts of power generated by photovoltaic (PV) power plants using input from a numerical weather prediction model and computed astronomical variables. ANN and AnEn are used individually and in combination to generate forecasts for three solar power plants located in Italy. The computational scalability of the proposed solution is tested using synthetic data simulating 4450 PV power stations. The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Yellowstone supercomputer is employed to test the parallel implementation of the proposed solution, ranging from one node (32 cores) to 4450 nodes (141,140 cores). Results show that a combined AnEn + ANN solution yields best results, and that the proposed solution is well suited for massive scale computation. Published by Elsevier Ltd."}
{"ID": 728, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical generator", "abstract": "A methodology for optimum sizing of different components (i.e., rotor diameter, electrical generator rating, and battery capacity) of a standalone wind-battery system is proposed in this paper. On the basis of time series simulation of the system performance along with different design constraints, the entire set of feasible design options, also known as the design space, has been identified on a rotor diameter vs. rated power diagram. The design space of a standalone wind-battery system identifies the entire envelope within which a feasible system may be designed. The optimum configuration of the standalone system is identified on the basis of minimum cost of energy (US$/kWh). It is observed that the cost of energy is sensitive to the magnitude of average demand and the wind regime. Sensitivity of the capital cost on the minimum cost of energy is also studied. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 729, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A methodology for predicting scaling in membrane distillation (MD), which considers thermodynamics, kinetics, and fluid mechanics, is developed and experimentally validated with calcium sulfate. The theory predicts the incidence of scaling as a function of temperature, concentration, and flow conditions by comparing the nucleation induction time to the residence time and applying an experimental correction factor. The relevant residence time is identified by considering a volume of solution near the membrane surface that contains enough ions to form a nucleus of critical size. The theory is validated with fouling experiments using calcium sulfate as a model sealant over a range of temperatures (40-70 degrees C) saturation indices, and flow rates. Although the model is validated with a bench-scale MD system, it is hoped to be compatible with large-scale systems that may have significant changes in concentration, temperature, and flow rate along the flow direction. At lower temperatures, the saturation index can be as high as 0.4-0.5 without scaling, but the safe concentration limit decreases with increasing temperature. Increasing the feed flow rate reduces concentration polarization and fluid residence time, both of which decrease the likelihood of fouling. The model is translated into easily readable maps outlining safe operating regimes for MD. The theory and maps can be used to choose safe operating conditions in MD over a wide range of conditions and system geometries."}
{"ID": 730, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Manufacturing engineering", "abstract": "A methodology for seminars developing in manufacturing engineering is presented. Often, when planning similar seminars, it is noted that seminars have a very limited duration. A normal way to overcome this limitation is to prepare the seminar educational documents, at students' disposal, before the seminar date. In this point, ICT tools used for virtual teaching, like eXe-Learning, become a significant advancement. However, in this paper is not only considered the elaboration of seminar materials for students, but also a whole educational strategy for seminars developing in manufacturing engineering is stated."}
{"ID": 731, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Internal combustion engine", "abstract": "A methodology for the analysis of wear in internal combustion engine valves is proposed, which is the result of the combined use of numerical and experimental techniques. The numerical solutions are obtained using a specialized Finite Element Method, where a mortar contact algorithm is used to model a flexible-flexible contact along with an adhesive wear law. The experimental results are obtained in a wear testing rig specifically designed to evaluate wear parameters in valve operating conditions. A good agreement was found between the experimental worn profiles and the numerical computations of wear at the contact surfaces. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 732, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A methodology for the design of a thermal distortion compensation system is presented which will assist the manufacturing processes to reach higher levels of accuracy when working with large machines in common shop floor environments. A parametric state-space representation was selected as model architecture, providing multiple inputs and outputs capability and a compact formulation that takes into account previous thermal states of the machine. Inputs for the model are spindle speed and temperatures of main motor gearbox and room air. Outputs are the estimations of the thermal drift of the machine tool centre point along the three axes in different positions within the working volume. Model parameters were numerically identified with initial experimental tests performed in a large gantry-type milling machine, measuring mentioned variables and also thermal distortion values using a reference artifact along with non-contact proximity sensors. Proposed model was finally verified with a new validation measurement in the machine. Obtained results revealed 80% of error reduction in the vertical axis which comprised 70% of total thermal effects and 50% in the longitudinal X axis which comprised 25% of total thermal effects. Also it was concluded that the model benefits from using valuable information about the machine state from previous spindle speed register instead of using only temperature values. Proposed methodology benefits from providing a feasible implementation in real shop floor conditions without the necessity of including additional temperature sensors or probing systems in the machine. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 733, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "A methodology has been developed for selection of gear number and transmission gear ratios in mechanical part of a wheel-type tractor with electro-mechanical transmission containing a propulsion asynchronous electric motor with variable-frequency control. The paper proposes to determine a transmission gear ratio on the basis of the following: provision of wheel torque dependence on tractor speed which is the best one for a traction process and during transfer from one gear to the other; provision of nominal operational mode of the electric motor for all tractor operations where it is working for a long period of time; provision of minimum possible number of gears; complete realization of internal combustion engine power on the tractor wheels at limit operational mode of the electric motor. As a characteristic of the asynchronous electric motor with variable-frequency control contains various portions which can be used either completely or partially due to operating conditions, the gear number is determined in the process of transmission gear ration finding but not prior to this. A wheel torque of the tractor with electro-mechanical transmission can be limited according to the following factors: grip of wheel with supporting surface; maximum power of an internal combustion engine which can be transferred to the wheels and a torque which is developed by a propulsion electric motor. It is not proposed to exceed nominal operational mode of the propulsion electric motor for all the operations of the tractor if it is working for a long period of time because in the case of significant excess of the nominal operational mode of the asynchronous electric motor its rather long operation leads to low efficiency and high losses in power, large heat liberation and consequently requires to develop more complicated system for electric motor cooling. An excess of nominal electric motor torque can be justified for short-term operational modes because in this case there is no need to select more powerful electric motor and create an additional gear in the gear-box."}
{"ID": 734, "domain": "CS", "area": "Relational databases", "abstract": "A methodology is presented for obtaining and processing data from the Web of Science (WoS) for bibliometric purposes. The R statistical software is used as a tool for creating functions that facilitate bibliometric work. In addition, a relational database was created that enhances both data management and the generation of bibliometric indicators."}
{"ID": 735, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A methodology is proposed to update mechanics-based nonlinear finite element (FE) models of civil structures subjected to unknown input excitation. The approach allows to jointly estimate unknown time-invariant model parameters of a nonlinear FE model of the structure and the unknown time histories of input excitations using spatially-sparse output response measurements recorded during an earthquake event. The unscented. Kalman filter, which circumvents the computation of FE response sensitivities with respect to the unknown model parameters and unknown input excitations by using a deterministic sampling approach, is employed as the estimation tool. The use of measurement data obtained from arrays of heterogeneous sensors, including accelerometers, displacement sensors, and strain gauges is investigated. Based on the estimated FE model parameters and input excitations, the updated nonlinear FE model can be interrogated to detect, localize, classify, and assess damage in the structure. Numerically simulated response data of a three-dimensional 4-story 2-by-1 bay steel frame structure with six unknown model parameters subjected to unknown bi-directional horizontal seismic excitation, and a three-dimensional 5-story 2-by-1 bay reinforced concrete frame structure with nine unknown model parameters subjected to unknown bi-directional horizontal seismic excitation are used to illustrate and validate the proposed methodology. The results of the validation studies show the excellent performance and robustness of the proposed algorithm to jointly estimate unknown FE model parameters and unknown input excitations. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 736, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A methodology to realize continuous-time current-mode tunable ladder filters of any order has been presented. This proposed technique individually simulates signal flow graph (SFG) of each branch element from passive filter prototype using only multi-output second generation current controlled conveyors (MCCCIIs) and grounded capacitors. This leads to simple structure, ease of design and suitability for IC fabrication. A third-order Butterworth low-pass filter, a third-order elliptic low-pass filter and a sixth-order Chebyshev band-pass filter are employed to demonstrate the proposed realization scheme. These simulated filters retain minimum requirement of passive and active elements and provide the filter corner frequency tunability. Moreover, the method allows an implementation of the elliptic filters by simply adding floating capacitors to all-pole filter structures. (C) 2007 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 737, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electricity", "abstract": "A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a very promising way to remove organic pollutants. Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is a widely used agricultural pesticide. In this study, single-chamber and membrane-less soil MFCs were constructed. The HCB was degraded to pentachlorobenzene (PeCB), tetrachlorobenzene (TeCB), and trichlorobenzene (TCB) in sequence by a reductive dechlorination process in soil MFCs. The influences of the external resistance, concentration of phosphate buffer, and electrode spacing in soil MFCs on the degradation rate and removal efficiency of HCB were analyzed. The results showed that the degradation rate and removal efficiency of HCB were increased when the external resistance decreased from 2000 to 20 (1, and also when the concentration of phosphate buffer increased. The anode area played a significant role in dechlorination of HCB. Altering the spacing of the reducing electrode resulted in a lower ohmic resistance in the soil MFCs. The ohmic resistance was negatively correlated with the removal efficiency and degradation rate (P < 0.05). In conclusion, HCB removal efficiency could be enhanced by soil MFCs, the performance of which was improved by a decrease in external resistance and internal resistance, and an increase in phosphate buffer concentration, rather than just by shortening the electrode spacing."}
{"ID": 738, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer vision", "abstract": "A microscope vision system to retrieve small metallic surface via micro laser line scanning and genetic algorithms is presented. In this technique, a 36 pm laser line is projected on the metallic surface through a laser diode head, which is placed to a small distance away from the target. The micro laser line is captured by a CCD camera, which is attached to the microscope. The surface topography is computed by triangulation by means of the line position and microscope vision parameters. The calibration of the microscope vision system is carried out by an adaptive genetic algorithm based on the line position. In this algorithm, an objective function is constructed from the microscope geometry to determine the microscope vision parameters. Also, the genetic algorithm provides the search space to calculate the microscope vision parameters with high accuracy in fast form. This procedure avoids errors produced by the missing of references and physical measurements, which are employed by the traditional microscope vision systems. The contribution of the proposed system is corroborated by an evaluation via accuracy and speed of the traditional microscope vision systems, which retrieve micro-scale surface topography."}
{"ID": 739, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A microstrip shunt open-stub overlapping a shorted slotline is presented and used to design a novel wideband dispersive delay line. The inherent periodic transmission zeros due to the resonances of an open-stub and a shorted slotline can be removed by using the complementary configuration. Moreover, the phase response of the complementary stub is frequency dependant which is used to design a dispersive delay line. The group delay profile of the complementary stub is smooth and continuous while at the same time maintaining a flat magnitude response over an ultra-wide bandwidth. Several units can be cascaded to obtain a desired group delay profile. This configuration can be used in analog signal processing or to reduce the signal distortion from other wideband components."}
{"ID": 740, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A microstructure-based modeling method is developed to predict the mechanical behaviors of lithium ion battery separators. Existing battery separator modeling methods cannot capture the structural features on the microscale. To overcome this issue, we propose an image-based microstructure Representative Volume Element (RVE) modeling method, which facilitates the understanding of the separators complex macro mechanical behaviors from the perspective of microstructural features. A generic image processing workflow is developed to identify different phases in the microscopic image. The processed RVE image supplies microstructural information to the Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Both mechanical behavior and microstructure evolution are obtained from the simulation. The evolution of microstructure features is quantified using the stochastic microstructure characterization methods. The proposed method successfully captures the anisotropic behavior of the separator under tensile test, and provides insights into the microstructure deformation, such as the growth of voids. We apply the proposed method to a commercially available separator as the demonstration. The analysis results are validated using experimental testing results that are reported in literature. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 741, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Asthma", "abstract": "A mild and eco-friendly method has been developed for the synthesis of a series of 1,3-diaminopropan-2-ols 8a-n. The epoxide of epichlorohydrin undergoes ring-opening with amines using MgSO4 or mixed metal oxides catalysts under mild and neutral conditions to afford the corresponding beta-amino alcohols in excellent yields. Preliminary evaluation of relaxant activity of 8b-n was carried out on rat tracheal rings contracted by carbachol 1 mu M. Most of the tested compounds exhibited significantly relaxant effects in a concentration-dependent manner. Compound 8n was found to be the most active, being twofolds more potent than theophylline (positive control). This compound has the potential for development as an anti-asthma drug."}
{"ID": 742, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Menopause", "abstract": "A milestone in women's lives, the menopause can be a source of worry and anxiety. It is the cause of a certain number of physiological changes and unwelcome symptoms which it is possible to prevent or manage in the pharmacy. (C) 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved"}
{"ID": 743, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical generator", "abstract": "A miniature thermoacoustic stirling engine was simulated and designed, having overall size of length 0.65 m and height of 0.22 in. The acoustic field generated in this miniature system has been described and analyzed. Some efforts had been paid to coupling and matching, and a miniature thermoacoustic engine and some extra experimental components have been constructed. Analysis and experimental results showed that to obtain better performance of the engine, the diameter of the resonance tube must be chosen appropriately according to the looped tube dimension and the input heating power. It provided an effective way to miniaturize the thermoacoustic stirling heat engine. The experimental results showed that the engine had low onset temperature and high pressure amplitude and ratio. With the filling helium gas of 2 MPa and heating power of 637 W, the maximal peak to peak pressure amplitude and pressure ratio reached 2.2 bar and 1.116, respectively, which was able to drive a refrigerator, a heat pump or a linear electrical generator. The operating frequency of the engine was steady at 282 Hz. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 744, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Green Building", "abstract": "A miniaturized thin film transparent ultrawideband (UWB) antenna design with a band notch is presented. A pair of split-ring resonators (SRRs) is placed besides the radiating element to realize the band notch centered at 5.5 GHz. The proposed transparent antenna covers the whole 3.1 to 10.6 GHz UWB frequency band with a notch from 5 to 6 GHz to isolate interferences from wireless local area network (WLAN) and dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) applications. The transparency of this antenna of up to 80% is enabled by the fabrication on a conductive silver coated thin film (AgHT-8). Hence, the proposed transparent antenna is a suitable for UWB home entertainment network (IEEE 1394 over UWB network) for green building applications, where high data rates are required for multimedia transfer. Implementation of the proposed transparent antenna will reduce the space consumption due to its very low thickness and low profile, while at the same time increasing the aesthetic values of the installed wireless system due to its high transparency."}
{"ID": 745, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Problem-solving", "abstract": "A minimal amount of research has examined the cognitive predictors of children's performance in naturalistic, errand-type planning tasks such as the Zoo Map task of the Behavioral Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome for Children (BADS-C). Thus, the current study examined prospection (i.e., the ability to remember to carry out a future intention), executive functioning, and intelligence markers as predictors of performance in this widely used naturalistic planning task in 56 children aged 7- to 12-years-old. Measures of planning, prospection, inhibition, crystallized intelligence, and fluid intelligence were collected in an individual differences study. Regression analyses showed that prospection (rather than traditional measures of intelligence or inhibition) predicted planning, suggesting that naturalistic planning tasks such as the Zoo Map task may rely on future-oriented cognitive processes rather than executive problem solving or general knowledge."}
{"ID": 746, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "A misconception regarding the human metabolism has been shown to be widespread among high school students. The students consider glucose as the sole metabolic fuel, disregarding that lipids and amino acids can be oxidized for ATP production by human cells. This misconception seems to be a consequence of formal teaching in grade and high schools. The present study reports the evaluation of a teaching strategy based on the use of a dialogic teaching methodology within a conceptual change approach to remediate that misconception. Students were stimulated to formulate hypotheses, outline experiments, and to discuss their outcomes. The results showed that students were able to reformulate their original concepts immediately after teaching. The majority of the students showed adequate learning of the topic eight months after the application of the teaching strategy, although some level of misconception recurrence was observed. The educational consequences of the teaching unit are discussed in the context of the possible reasons for its success as well as the need for similar initiatives at grade school to avoid the establishment of the misconception. (c) 2013 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology"}
{"ID": 747, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Gender roles", "abstract": "A mix of fantasy, history, spirituality, and political engagement, Elvira Giallanella's film, Umanita (1920), is a sort of Carrollian 'through the looking glass' in which reality resembles itself but upside-down. In the immediate aftermath of WWI, Giallanella's film - a revision of Vittorio Emanuele Bravetta's 1916 children's story from 1916 children's story - both reflects and critiques gender roles that had been temporarily fissured by the war itself. A feminist position transpires in the juxtaposition of the pre-war male-authored text with the postwar female-directed film, further revised by men. An invaluable historical source, Umanita not only offers insight into a woman's and a feminist's perspective on the Great War and its aftermath but also sheds light on the moral, political, and philosophical atmosphere of destabilization at the time. Coming full circle, Umanita suffered from the very same revisions by the re-established postwar patriarchy, and by the end of the 1920s, cinema itself had been reclaimed as male territory, leaving the film lost amongst the debris. Umanita's resurfacing in 2007 allows us to reflect on the process of history-making in itself: what is omitted, what is included, and more importantly whose voices will be validated enough to be heard along the way. This instance - one amongst several - can serve as an example of how history is indeed a continuous process made up of (re)visions, and never a singular, univocal one."}
{"ID": 748, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Hepatitis C", "abstract": "A model for hepatitis C is formulated to study the effects of treatment and public concern on HCV transmission dynamics. The stability of equilibria and persistence of the model are analyzed, and an optimal control measure is performed to prevent the spread of HCV with minimal infected individuals and cost. The dynamical analysis reveals that the disease-free equilibrium of the model is asymptotically stable if the basic reproductive number R-0 is less than unity. On the other hand, if R-0 >1, the disease is uniformly persistent. Numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the influence of different vital parameters on R-0. For the corresponding optimality system, the optimal solution is discussed by Pontryagin Maximum Principle, and the comparisons of model-predicted consequences with control or not are presented. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 749, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Thermodynamics", "abstract": "A model for the description of crystal nucleation is proposed incorporating into classical nucleation theory concepts of spatial heterogeneity of glass-forming liquids. It is assumed that nucleation processes may proceed with detectable rates only in liquid-like (soft) regions and are suppressed in solid-like (rigid) parts. Determining appropriately the fraction of liquid-like solid-like regions in dependence on temperature this approach allows one to achieve a satisfactory agreement between classical nucleation theory and experiment not only at relatively high temperatures but also at temperatures lower than that of the nucleation rate maximum. The model was tested successfully on several silicate glasses revealing homogeneous volume nucleation. Some other phenomena in the interplay of crystallization and glass transition are also discussed giving an independent verification of the validity of our basic assumption. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 750, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Thermodynamics", "abstract": "A model for the mathematical description of inulin biosynthesis with particular focus on the dynamics of the sucrose and 1-kestose concentration has been developed. The model takes into account the specific action of the two involved enzymes SST and FFT. In principle, inulin biosynthesis can thus be described as a thermodynamically stabilizing process leading into a stable nodal sink over time. In the initial phases of the reaction, oscillation of sucrose and 1-kestose concentration is observed, dampening rapidly for both products into a stable steady state condition. Applying the same boundary conditions, a higher number average degree of polymerization will lead to a higher frequency and amplitude in oscillation."}
{"ID": 751, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A model has been created for calculating the balanced diversion ratios of flow rate and sediment in the branches of a bifurcated river. The model is based on the extremity law of energy dissipation rate, and involves solving the simultaneous equations of flow and sediment motion for uniform flow in an open channel. The model has been verified by measured data obtained from the Meizizhou and Baguazhou branches of the Yangtze River in China. The parameters that influence the diversion ratios, such as river width, channel roughness and the total inflow, have been analysed. It was found that balanced diversion ratios are more sensitive to river width and roughness than to total inflow. Measures to regulate the Baguazhou branch have been compared further and analysed. The conclusions of this study can provide a theoretical basis for future regulation of the Baguazhou river branch."}
{"ID": 752, "domain": "CS", "area": "Parallel computing", "abstract": "A model has been developed to simulate electromigration degradation in an interconnect segment in two dimensions using finite differences. The model was deployed on a parallel computer to statistically assess the lifetimes. The simulation takes into account the diffusion paths for electromigration mass transport along the grain boundaries and the capping layer. The microstructure is generated with a Monte Carlo algorithm, using a modified Potts model. Diffusivities along the grain boundaries and the capping layers were applied as multiples of a base diffusivity and were statistically scattered. The simulation results correlate well with electromigration tests. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 753, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Thermodynamics", "abstract": "A model is proposed for calculating the composition of GaAsxP1-x solid solutions, based on the iterative determination of the equilibrium partial pressures of the pyrolysis products of the starting reagents, followed by calculation of the composition of the solid solution in an adsorption-desorption model. The proposed model ensures good agreement between calculation results and experimental data."}
{"ID": 754, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Addiction", "abstract": "A model of the dynamics of self-regulation describes two patterns of commitment or progress that individuals may follow when selecting goal directed behaviors. In the commitment pattern, individuals are more likely to highlight congruent goal behavior choices while in the progress pattern individuals are more likely to balance between incongruent and congruent goal behavior choices. This study set out to test the model in the context of problematic Internet usage. After being primed about problematic Internet usage, a sample of 97 undergraduate university students completed an online survey rating the value of Internet, academic and social-related behaviors across three conditions. The three conditions paired behaviors so that they appeared to complement each other, appeared to compete against each other, and presented them individually. Results showed that Internet behaviors were rated more highly when presented as complementary than when presented as competing, supporting the prediction that presentation format primes progress and commitment frameworks and leads to higher ratings of incongruent goal behavior in the progress condition. While results did not fully support the model's predictions regarding congruent goal behavior, they were in the predicted direction with small to moderate effect sizes. This study may inform clinical interventions by suggesting that individuals experiencing issues with problematic Internet usage would benefit from framing self-regulatory dilemmas in a competing format. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 755, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A model of the operational amplifier based on VHDL-AMS is proposed. According to needs of simulating the total ionizing dose (TED) radiation effect, parameters of operational amplifier are taken into account when the performance is specified. The operational amplifier model used for the TID radiation effect simulation is completed after verifying each modeled parameter. And a parameter for describing the external environment is introduced to make the model combined with TID. Finally, an example is used to illustrate the TID effect on the operational amplifier of MC14573, proving the validity of the model."}
{"ID": 756, "domain": "CS", "area": "Machine learning", "abstract": "A model that accurately predicts, at the time of admission, the Length of Stay (LOS) for hospitalized patients could be an effective tool for healthcare providers. It could enable early interventions to prevent complications, enabling more efficient utilization of manpower and facilities in hospitals. In this study, we apply a regression tree (Cubist) model for predicting the LOS, based on static inputs, that is, values that are known at the time of admission and that do not change during patient's hospital stay. The model was trained and validated on de-identified administrative data from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals in Pittsburgh, PA. We chose to use a Cubist model because it produced more accurate predictions than did alternative techniques. In addition, tree models enable us to examine the classification rules learned from the data, in order to better understand the factors that are most correlated with hospital LOS. Cubist recursively partitions the data set as it estimates linear regressions for each partition, and the error level differs for different partitions, so that it is possible to deduce what are the characteristics of patients whose LOS can be accurately predicted at admission, and what are the characteristics of patients for whom the LOS estimate at that point in time is more highly uncertain. For example, our model indicates that the prediction error is greater for patients who had more admissions in the recent past, and for those who had longer previous hospital stays. Our approach suggests that mapping the cases into a higher dimensional space, using a Radial Basis Function (RBF) kernel, helps to separate them by their level of Cubist error, using a Support Vector Machine (SVM). (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 757, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "A model to predict the motor temperature of an electrical submersible pump (ESP), under variable conditions of flow rate and loading, has been developed. This model takes into account the coupled behavior between motor, pump and production system. Thus, given a defined frequency in the variable speed drive, the motor temperature was determined as a result of the equilibrium between the heat generation, calculated from the power that the pump demands from the motor, and the heat extraction resistance, calculated from the production flow rate around the motor. Furthermore, in real field operations, the measurement of the motor temperature is made at the lower end of the stator winding, which is not exactly the maximum temperature point. In order to predict the maximum motor temperature value, the model developed in this work determines the motor temperature distribution. A convective heat transfer study has also been made comparing models based on fully developed temperature profile to models that consider the development of the thermal boundary layer. A case study has been made with several oil viscosities and water cut. The results showed a fact commonly observed in ESP field operations, that is, the motor temperature rises when the motor speed is continuously increased. It was also shown that neglecting the effect of the thermal boundary layer development may result in an overheated motor prediction where actually, the motor maximum temperature is much lower than its upper limit. Thus, it was observed that fully developed temperature profile models suffer from inaccuracy when used in viscous oil applications, because of their great thermal entry length. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 758, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Thermodynamics", "abstract": "A model-independent statistical framework is presented to interpret data from systems where the mean time derivative of positional cross correlation between world lines, a measure of spreading in a quantum geometrical wave function, is measured with a precision smaller than the Planck time. The framework provides a general way to constrain possible departures from perfect independence of classical world lines, associated with Planck scale bounds on positional information. A parameterized candidate set of possible correlation functions is shown to be consistent with the known causal structure of the classical geometry measured by an apparatus, and the holographic scaling of information suggested by gravity. Frequency-domain power spectra are derived that can be compared with interferometer data. Simple projections of sensitivity for realistic experimental set-ups suggests that measurements will confirm or rule out a class of Planck scale departures from classical geometry."}
{"ID": 759, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical circuits", "abstract": "A modeling approach based on domain partitioning and use of the electromagnetic circuit formulation for full wave electromagnetic field is applied for high frequency integrated passive components, including MEMS switches. The procedure is completed by model order reduction and generation of a small compact model that describes with high accuracy the input-output behavior of the device. The main benefit of the approach is that it allows the saving of computational resources, that will be further used to refine the most complicated part of the domain, and thus obtain a more accurate model for the full device. The procedure is validated for real benchmarks for which measurements are available, as well as for a RF MEMS switch test, described in the literature."}
{"ID": 760, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A modeling approach for battery as an Electrical Energy Storage System is proposed in this paper. The model aims to predict non-linear power delivery dynamics, given charge and discharge demand as a controllable input, not only in normal operating range of batteries, but also in extreme cases such as battery over-charging. In order to achieve that, the model is composed of separated voltage and current models. Several non-linear models, including Hammerstein model, non-linear open-circuit voltage characteristics, and Takacs hysteresis model are combined in the voltage and the current model, respectively. The state of charge of the battery can also be estimated in a recursive optimization fashion by the model. The parameterization and estimation methods of the model are described and also demonstrated on experimental data from a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) cell. The experiment validation shows excellent agreement between measured and simulated voltage and current signals provided by the model during both normal operating and over-charging conditions. The contribution of this paper is given by the unique combination of data-based models used to capture linear dynamics, static non-linearity, and non-linear hysteresis effects in a single dynamic voltage/current model to simulate and predict the non-linear dynamic behavior of a battery as an energy storage/delivery system. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 761, "domain": "CS", "area": "Symbolic computation", "abstract": "A modeling language for hybrid systems HydLa and its implementation HyLaGI are described. HydLa is a constraint-based language that can handle uncertainties of models smoothly. HyLaGI calculates trajectories by symbolic formula manipulation to exclude errors resulting from floating-point arithmetic. HyLaGI features a nondeterministic simulation algorithm so it can calculate all possible qualitative different trajectories of models with uncertainties."}
{"ID": 762, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Depression", "abstract": "A modern understanding of how cerebral cortical lesions develop after acute brain injury is based on Aristides Le (a) over tilde $o's historic discoveries of spreading depression and asphyxial/anoxic depolarization. Treated as separate entities for decades, we now appreciate that these events define a continuum of spreading mass depolarizations, a concept that is central to understanding their pathologic effects. Within minutes of acute severe ischemia, the onset of persistent depolarization triggers the breakdown of ion homeostasis and development of cytotoxic edema. These persistent changes are diagnosed as diffusion restriction in magnetic resonance imaging and define the ischemic core. In delayed lesion growth, transient spreading depolarizations arise spontaneously in the ischemic penumbra and induce further persistent depolarization and excitotoxic damage, progressively expanding the ischemic core. The causal role of these waves in lesion development has been proven by real-time monitoring of electrophysiology, blood flow, and cytotoxic edema. The spreading depolarization continuum further applies to other models of acute cortical lesions, suggesting that it is a universal principle of cortical lesion development. These pathophysiologic concepts establish a working hypothesis for translation to human disease, where complex patterns of depolarizations are observed in acute brain injury and appear to mediate and signal ongoing secondary damage."}
{"ID": 763, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Internal combustion engine", "abstract": "A modified form of the sequential function specification method (SFSM) is developed with specific consideration given to multiple time scales in an effort to avoid overregularization of the solution estimates. The authors extend their approach to solve the inverse heat conduction problem (IHCP) associated with the application of thermal barrier coatings (TBC) to in-cylinder surfaces of an internal combustion engine. Subsurface temperature measurements are used to calculate surface heat flux profiles. The modified inverse solver is validated ex situ using a custom fabricated radiation chamber. The solution methodology is extended in situ to evaluate temperature data collected from a single-cylinder research engine operating in homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) mode. Crank angle resolved, thermal barrier coating surface temperature and heat flux profiles are produced-enabling correlation of thermal conditions at the gas-wall boundary with engine performance, emission, and efficiency metrics."}
{"ID": 764, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A modified Gaussian current density is put forward, which is used to simulate the dynamic process of AZ31B magnesium alloy double-electrode gas metal arc welding (DE-GMAW) droplet transfer. The process of droplet transfer in the AZ31B magnesium alloy DE-GMAW was simulated using FLUENT software. The influence of different bypass welding currents was investigated with a constant total current. The simulated results revealed that when the bypass current was 0 A, the process was the globular transfer type, the droplet transfer with a bypass current of 80 A was a projected transfer type and the droplet transfer at a bypass current of 170 A was a spray transfer type. The critical current is decreased so that spray transfer would occur at a lower current level in the DE-GMAW process. As the bypass current was increased, the shape of droplet changed from oval to round and the transition frequency of the droplet increased in a stepwise fashion. To confirm the accuracy of the simulated results, welding experiments were performed and the image processing method was used to obtain the droplet size. The simulated and experimental results were found to be in good agreement."}
{"ID": 765, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Internal combustion engine", "abstract": "A modified thermostatic control strategy is applied to the powertrain control of a parallel mild hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) to improve fuel economy. This strategy can improve the fuel economy of a parallel mild HEV by operating internal combustion engine (ICE) in a high-efficiency region. Thus, in this study, experiments of a parallel mild HEY were conducted to analyze the characteristics of the hybrid electric powertrain and a numerical model is developed for the vehicle. Based on the results, the thermostatic control strategy was modified and applied to the vehicle model. Also, battery protection logic by using electrochemical battery model is applied because the active usage of battery by thermostatic control strategy can damage the battery. The simulation results of the vehicle under urban driving conditions show that the thermostatic control strategy can improve the vehicle's fuel economy by 3.7 % compared with that of the conventional strategy. The results also suggest that the trade-off between the fuel economy improvement by efficient ICE operation and the battery life reduction by active battery usage should be carefully investigated when a thermostatic control strategy is applied to a parallel mild HEV."}
{"ID": 766, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "False memories", "abstract": "A modified version of the original Derived Relational Intrusions Following Training paradigm (DRIFT; Guinther & Dougher, Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 93, 329-347; 2010) was used in an attempt to engineer contextually controlled semantic false memories. Participants completed a contextually controlled interrelated conditional discrimination training procedure (match to sample) without tests of symmetry or transitivity. Study list words were nominally assigned to participate in a functional equivalence class with 1 set of non-study words in 1 context but with a different set of non-study words in a different context. The study list words were then presented in 1 of the 2 contexts, between subjects, for free-recall memory testing. Subsequent transfer of the study list words' remembering function to non-study words (i.e., false recall) was found to be partially dependent upon the context in which the free recall test was administered, thus demonstrating partial contextual control of semantic false memory."}
{"ID": 767, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Water Pollution", "abstract": "A modular typed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) device is designed and tested for air and water remediation. The module is made of a number of DBD tubes that can be arranged in series or parallel. Each of the DBD tubes comprises inner electrode enclosed with dielectric barrier and arranged as such to provide a gap for the passage of gases. Non-thermal plasma generated in the gap effectively creates gaseous chemical reactions. Its efficacy in the remediation of gas stream containing high NOx, similar to diesel emission and wastewater containing latex, are presented. A six tubes DBD module has successfully removed more than 80% of nitric oxide from the gas stream. In another arrangement, oxygen was fed into a two tubes DBD to generate ozone for treatment of wastewater. Samples of wastewater were collected from a treatment pond of a rubber vulcanization pilot plant. The water pollution load was evaluated by the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD5) values. Preliminary results showed some improvement (about 13%) on the COD after treatment and at the same time had increased the BOD5 by 42%. This results in higher BOD5/COD ratio after ozonation which indicate better biodegradability of the wastewater. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 768, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Atopic Dermatitis", "abstract": "A moisturizing cream mixed with a steroid ointment is frequently prescribed to patients suffering from atopic dermatitis. However, there is a concern that the mixing operation causes destabilization. The present study was performed to investigate the stability of such preparations closely using magnetic resonance imaging (MR1). As sample preparations, five commercial moisturizing creams that are popular in Japan were mixed with an ointment base, a white petrolatum, at a volume ratio of 1:1. The mixed preparations were stored at 60 degrees C to accelerate the destabilization processes. Subsequently, the phase separations induced by the storage test were monitored using MR1. Using advanced MR technologies including spin spin relaxation time (T-2) mapping and MR spectroscopy, we successfully characterized the phase-separation behavior of the test samples. For most samples, phase separations developed by the bleeding of liquid oil components. From a sample consisting of an oil-in-water-type cream, Urepearl Cream 10%, a distinct phase-separation mode was observed, which was initiated by the aqueous component separating from the bottom part of the sample. The resultant phase separation was the most distinct among the test samples. To investigate the phase separation quantitatively and objectively, we conducted a histogram analysis on the acquired T-2 maps. The water-in-oil type creams were found to be much more stable after mixing with ointment base than those of oil-in-water type creams. This finding strongly supported the validity of the mixing operation traditionally conducted in pharmacies."}
{"ID": 769, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A monolithic integrated low-voltage deep brain stimulator with wireless power and data transmission is presented. Data and power are transmitted to the stimulator by mutual inductance coupling, while the in-vitro controller encodes the stimulation parameters. The stimulator integrates the digital control module and can generate the bipolar current with equal amplitude in four channels. In order to reduce power consumption, a novel controlled threshold voltage cancellation rectifier is proposed in this paper to provide the supply voltage of the stimulator. The monolithic stimulator was fabricated in a SMIC 0.18 mu m 1-poly 6-metal mixed-signal CMOS process, occupying 0.23 mm(2), and consumes 180 mu W on average. Compared with previously published stimulators, this design has advantages of large stimulated current (0-0.8 mA) with the double low-voltage supply (1.8 and 3.3 V), and high-level integration."}
{"ID": 770, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Anxiety", "abstract": "A more profound investigation about the responses in activity levels following pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in patients with COPD is needed. We aimed to describe groups of patients with COPD according to patterns of change in physical activity and sedentary behaviour following PR. 90 patients with COPD (60% male; mean age 67 +/- 8; median FEV1 47 (32-62) % pred) completed a comprehensive PR programme. A triaxial accelerometer was used to assess the time in sedentary behaviour, light activities and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Additionally, exercise capacity, quality of life, and symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed before and after PR. Six groups with different patterns of change in physical activity and sedentary behaviour were identified. The two most prevalent patterns were represented by good responders (increase in physical activity and reduction in sedentary behaviour, 34%) and poor responders (decrease in physical activity and increase in sedentary behaviour, 30%). Good responders had greater improvements in six-minute walk distance (6MWD) and symptoms of depression than poor responders (P < 0.05 for all). Strong correlation was found between changes in sedentary behaviour and changes in light activities (r(s) = -0.89; P < 0.0001). Changes in 6MWD correlated fairly with changes in sedentary behaviour (r(s) = -0.26), light activities (r(s) = 0.25), and MVPA (r(s) = 0.24); P < 0.05 for all. Different patterns of change in activity levels following PR can be found in patients with COPD. Focusing on light physical activities might be a potential strategy to make patients less sedentary, but for this to be achieved prior (or at least parallel) improvements in functional capacity seem to be necessary. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 771, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A multi-channel mixed-signal full-customized CMOS integrated biopotential sensor chip and microcontroller based electronic system have been developed for in vitro extracellular recording of neural signals. The multi-site planar microelectrode array sensors for simultaneous neural signal recording have been designed and prototyped with on-chip fully integrated analog signal processing circuitry and control system. The biosensor system is built with hierarchical modules that incorporate microelectrode electrophysiological sensors, analog signal buffers configured with two-stage amplifier, gain providing amplifiers based on operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) with capacitive feedback and digital logic and interface units including clock generation and time division multiplexing control circuitry. The prototype IC was fabricated by MOSIS using AMI C5 0.5 mu m, double poly, triple metal layer CMOS technology. The electroless gold plating process is used to replace the aluminum material obtained from the standard CMOS process with biocompatible metal gold in the planar microelectrode array sensors to prevent cell poisoning and undesirable electrochemical corrosion. The post-CMOS processing and packaging techniques applied to the biosensor chip promotes biocompatibility and stability in the aqueous cell culture environment. A microcontroller based electronic system interfacing the biosensor IC with a client PC for the post processing of the action potential signals sensed by the biopotential sensor chip was also developed. The biosensor has been tested electrically in the presence of electrolyte environment and is shown to provide a satisfactory signal-to-noise ratio for neural signals with amplitudes in the range of 600 mu V-2mV and frequencies in the range of 100 Hz - 10 kHz. Biological example in vitro recordings conducted with neurons from Aplysia californica are shown in this research work, which proves the full functionality in neural recording of the biosensor chip incorporated with the interfacing electronic system based on 32-bit Motorola ColdFire MCF5307 RISC processor. On-chip amplification and time division multiplexing techniques of the multi-channel biosensor chip allow the large-scale simultaneous recording of biological activities of neurons."}
{"ID": 772, "domain": "CS", "area": "Relational databases", "abstract": "A multi-craft asteroid survey has significant data synchronization needs. Limited communication speeds drive exacting performance requirements. Tables have been used in Relational Databases, which are structure; however, DOMBA (Distributed Objects Management Based Articulation) deals with data in terms of collections. With this, no read/write roadblocks to the data exist. A master/slave architecture is created by utilizing the Gossip protocol. This facilitates expanding a mission that makes an important discovery via the launch of another spacecraft. The Open Space Box Framework facilitates the foregoing while also providing a virtual caching layer to make sure that continuously accessed data is available in memory and that, upon closing the data file, recharging is applied to the data."}
{"ID": 773, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Water Pollution", "abstract": "A multidisciplinary research project series has sought to identify and better understand multiple hygienic-microbiological and chemical contaminations from both point sources and diffuse pollution to contribute to the improvement in surface water quality. In the catchment area of the river Swist (Germany), municipal sewage treatment plants were investigated, followed by event-based investigation of combined sewer overflows, rainwater retention basins and diffuse pollution by surface and subsurface run-off as well as drain pipes. Recently, retention soil filters installed between stormwater storage basins and receiving surface waters in order to provide further treatment of combined sewer overflows were investigated. Geographical information system analysis helped to examine the data in their temporal and spatial dimensions. A model for calculating microbial and chemical loads within a catchment area was developed (\"Swistbox\") which provides an efficient tool for risk assessment. Nearly two decades of investigation has demonstrated that several elements of the landscape's water balance account for surface water pollution from both diffuse and point sources. Depending on land cover characteristics, wastewater technology and the proportion of wastewater as compared to total river water flow, a source can vary in its importance for the catchment area. The findings can be applied for sustainable and health-sensitive catchment management in relation to recreational or agricultural water use as well as ecological aspects."}
{"ID": 774, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A multifunctional catalyst electrode mimicking external stimuli-responsive property has been prepared by the in situ growth of nitrogen (N)-doped NiFe double layered hydroxide (N-NiFe LDH) nanolayers on a 3D nickel foam substrate framework. The electrode demonstrates superior performance toward catalyzing oxygen evolution reaction (OER), affording a low overpotential of 0.23 V at the current density of 10 mA cm(-2), high Faradaic efficiency of approximate to 98%, and stable operation for >60 h. Meanwhile, the electrode can dynamically change its color from gray silver to dark black with the OER happening, and the coloration/bleaching processes persist for at least 5000 cycles, rendering it a useful tool to monitor the catalytic process. Mechanism study reveals that the excellent structural properties of electrode such as 3D conductive framework, ultra thickness of N-NiFe LDH nanolayer (approximate to 0.8 nm), and high N-doping content (approximate to 17.8%) make significant contribution to achieving enhanced catalytic performance, while N-NiFe LDH nanolayer on electrode is the main contributor to the stimuli-responsive property with the reversible extraction/insertion of electrons from/into N-NiFe LDH leading to the coloration/bleaching processes. Potential application of this electrode has been further demonstrated by integrating it into a Zn-air battery device to identify the charging process during electrochemical cycling."}
{"ID": 775, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A multifunctional control strategy for a single-phase asymmetrical cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter (ACHMI), suitable for microgrid systems with nonlinear loads, is presented. The primary advantage of ACHMI is to produce a staircase output voltage with low harmonic content utilizing unequal dc voltages on the individual H-bridge cells. In a grid-connected mode of operation, the control strategy of theACHMIis based on the conservative power theory, providing selective disturbing current compensation besides injecting its available energy. In autonomous mode of operation, two different control methods along with a damping resistor in the filter circuit are developed for regulation of the ACHMI instantaneous output voltage in a variety of load conditions. The first method is a single-loop voltage control scheme without the need of any current measurement. The second one is a multiloop voltage control scheme with a load current feedforward compensation strategy and preservation of the grid-connected current control scheme. The steady-state response and stability of both voltage control schemes are analyzed, and based on the application requirement, the control schemes are implemented individually. The effectiveness of each control strategy is experimentally verified using a hardware-in-the-loop setup with the control algorithm implemented in the TMSF28335 DSP microcontroller."}
{"ID": 776, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A multifunctional platform based on the microhotplate was developed for applications including a Pirani vacuum gauge, temperature, and gas sensor. It consisted of a tungsten microhotplate and an on-chip operational amplifier. The platform was fabricated in a standard complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. A tungsten plug in standard CMOS process was specially designed as the serpentine resistor for the microhotplate, acting as both heater and thermister. With the sacrificial layer technology, the microhotplate was suspended over the silicon substrate with a 340 nm gap. The on-chip operational amplifier provided a bias current for the microhotplate. This platform has been used to develop different kinds of sensors. The first one was a Pirani vacuum gauge ranging from 10(-1) to 10(5) Pa. The second one was a temperature sensor ranging from -20 to 70 degrees C. The third one was a thermal-conductivity gas sensor, which could distinguish gases with different thermal conductivities in constant gas pressure and environment temperature. In the fourth application, with extra fabrication processes including the deposition of gas-sensitive film, the platform was used as a metal-oxide gas sensor for the detection of gas concentration."}
{"ID": 777, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Green Building", "abstract": "A multigeneration system, which consists of wind turbine, concentrated solar collector, organic Rankine cycle, and ground source heat pump, is proposed, analyzed and assessed energetically and exergetically for residential applications. The useful outputs of the system are electricity, hot water, heating and cooling. The proposed system is designed for a green building and evaluated with energy and exergy efficiencies. The effects of varying several parameters on the energy and exergy efficiencies of the system are investigated. Furthermore, the levelized cost of electricity and net present cost are determined, and the proposed system is optimized based on these parameters. The optimization determines the net present cost to be $345,481 and the levelized cost of electricity to be $0.181/kWh. The energy and exergy efficiencies of the overall system are found to be 46.1% and 7.3%, respectively. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 778, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "A multimodal actuator is proposed to fulfil the different walking patterns of a power-assisted knee exoskeleton. With this actuator, the exoskeleton leg can realize several modes of operation, including series elastic actuation, stiff position control and energy storage and release. The energy amplification characteristics of the multimodal actuator in the series elastic mode are analysed. A dynamics model was established to study how series elasticity and the equivalent mass of transmission influence a power source, such as an electric motor. The results, in both simulation and experiment, show that series elasticity can amplify actuator power output, and the power output of a multi modal actuator is greater when the equivalent mass of the transmission mechanism is smaller. This research into multimodal actuator energy amplification supplies important insights into the design of artificial systems that can more closely approximate the performance of biological systems."}
{"ID": 779, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical network", "abstract": "A multimodal damping strategy is implemented by coupling a beam to its analogue electrical network. This network comes from the direct electromechanical analogy applied to a transverse lattice of point masses that represents the discrete model of a beam. The mechanical and electrical structures are connected together through an array of piezoelectric patches. A discrete and a semi-continuous model are proposed to describe the piezoelectric coupling. Both are based on the transfer matrix formulation and consider a finite number of patches. It is shown that a simple coupling condition gives a network that approximates the modal properties of the beam. A multimodal tuned mass effect is then obtained and a wide-band damping is introduced by choosing a suitable positioning for resistors in the network. The strategy and the models are experimentally validated by coupling a free-free beam to a completely passive network. A multimodal vibration reduction is observed, which proves the efficiency of the control solution and its potential in term of practical implementation."}
{"ID": 780, "domain": "CS", "area": "Parallel computing", "abstract": "A multiphysics simulation technique based on the finite element method is developed for the reliability analysis of interconnects. The multiphysics simulation characterizes multidisciplinary, including electrical, thermal, and mechanical, aspects of interconnects. It is well known that the major bottleneck preventing 3-D simulations from gaining further popularity is the computational efficiency in dealing with practically large-scale problems. To address this problem, the proposed multiphysics simulation is devised for analyzing large-scale problems with a significantly improved computational efficiency through utilizing a domain decomposition scheme called the finite element tearing and interconnecting, parallel computing, and the localized nature of thermal stresses in the interconnect structures. Both the capability and efficiency of the multiphysics simulation are demonstrated through analyzing large-scale interconnect structures including arrays of solder bumps and bonding wires. Detailed temperature distributions and localized stresses of large amplitude are obtained through the proposed simulation in a highly efficient manner."}
{"ID": 781, "domain": "CS", "area": "Parallel computing", "abstract": "A multiphysics-based co-simulation technique is developed based on the finite element method for the characterization of 3-D high-frequency integrated circuits (ICs) with integrated microchannel cooling. The multiphysics in the cosimulation includes full-wave electromagnetic, fluid, and transient conjugate heat transfer analyses. For incompressible and fully developed flows, the governing equations of fluid flow are decoupled from temperature, and the velocity field is obtained analytically. The full-wave electromagnetic and the transient conjugate heat transfer analyses are coupled through temperature-dependent material properties. The efficiency of the co-simulation is enhanced through an adaptive time-stepping scheme, a domain decomposition scheme called the finite element tearing and interconnecting (FETI), and FETI-enabled parallel computing. The capability and the efficiency of the proposed co-simulation in analyzing practical and large-scale 3-D ICs are demonstrated through numerical examples. The effectiveness of heat removal through integrated microchannel cooling and the thermal impact on high-frequency characteristics of 3-D IC designs are also demonstrated."}
{"ID": 782, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical generator", "abstract": "-A multiple-input-multiple-output linear-quadratic servo controller is proposed for a synchronous generator operating in a nuclear power plant that keeps the active power at the desired level and performs reactive power reference tracking using the reacti"}
{"ID": 783, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A multi-pump, multi-piston power take-off wave energy converter ((MPPTO)-P-2 WEC) has been proposed for use with a novel renewable energy harvester termed the Ocean Grazer. The (MPPTO)-P-2 WEC utilizes wave motion to pump via buoys connected to pistons working fluid within a closed circuit and store it as potential energy that can be converted to electricity via turbines. This paper introduces the mechanical design and model-based performance prediction of a single-piston pump that constitutes the basic building block for the (MPPTO)-P-2 WEC. Results provide preliminary validation of aqueous lubrication as a viable means of reducing friction and wear, suggesting that water-based hydraulic fluids can prohibit solid contact at the piston-cylinder interface while reducing volumetric leakage, and allowing for an estimation of the energy extraction efficiency for the mechanical pumping system. Pending more thorough and extended tribological investigations using the methodology introduced in this paper, findings suggest that the overall system efficiency will be dictated by the hydrodynamics of the buoys actuating the pumping system. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 784, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "A multi-rigid-body model which contains the structure system and transmission system of bridge crane gearbox is established with internal excitations such as the time-varying mesh stiffness, tooth backlash, bearing stiffness and damping and the external torque excitation caused by electric motor, and to calculate the dynamic mesh force of gears and the reaction force of bears. Then calculate the modes of the flexibility gearbox. Afterward, a vibro-acoustic coupling model of this gear system is built by taking the frequency histories of bearing reaction force as the boundary conditions, and the surface sound pressure and the radiation noise of outer sound field are calculated. The results show that the peaks of dynamic mesh force, reaction forces of bearings and dynamic responses of gearbox appear at the position of the frequency of shaft orders, mesh orders and its harmonic frequency; the maximum of radiated noise appear at 500Hz, where the surface sound pressure and the outer sound field are 82.9dB and 72.8dB."}
{"ID": 785, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical generator", "abstract": "A multiscale approach is pursued to develop a modified shear-lag model for capturing size-scale effects on electrostatic potential generated by a zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire (NW) in a nanocomposite electrical generator (NCEG). The size-scale effect on elastic modulus of ZnO NWs is captured using a core-surface model. Closed form of governing equations is derived considering linear elasticity for axisymmetric problem and cylindrical coordinate system. Two different configurations based on parallel and series connecting of NCEGs for application in NEMS/MEMS devices are also studied. Parametric studies are performed for sample cases to demonstrate application of the developed model. It is shown that aspect ratio and diameter of NWs are crucial controlling parameters for determining the performance of nanocomposite electrical generators. Numerical results disclose that there is an optimum aspect ratio for each NW of specific diameter. It was also shown that despite the symmetry of loading with respect to mid-plane normal to the NW's axis, the electric potential is not symmetric.(C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 786, "domain": "CS", "area": "Algorithm design", "abstract": "A multistage graph is center problem of computer science, many coordination and consistency problems can be convert into multistage graph problem. We obtained the fitness function by coding the vertex of multistage graph, and designed the genetic algorithm for solving multistage graph problem. Experiment results show that this algorithm is very effective and feasible."}
{"ID": 787, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A multi-tap microwave photonic filter (MPF) with its center frequency tuned by a single parameter is proposed and demonstrated based on polarization modulation. By simply adjusting the amplitude of a sawtooth wave signal to a polarization modulator, the MPF is tuned with the shape and the free spectral range (FSR) unchanged. The proposed system has advantages in terms of simple operation, fast tunability and large bandwidth."}
{"ID": 788, "domain": "CS", "area": "Distributed computing", "abstract": "A multitude of contemporary applications now involve graph data whose size continuously grows and this trend shows no signs of subsiding. This has caused the emergence of many distributed graph processing systems including Pre-gel and Apache Giraph. However, the unprecedented scale now reached by real-world graphs hardens the task of graph processing even in distributed environments and the current memory usage patterns rapidly become a primary concern for such contemporary graph processing systems. We seek to address this challenge by exploiting empirically-observed properties demonstrated by graphs that are generated by human activity. In this paper, we propose three space-efficient adjacency list representations that can be applied to any distributed graph processing system. Our suggested compact representations reduce respective memory requirements for accommodating the graph elements up to 5 times if compared with state-of-the-art methods. At the same time, our memory-optimized methods retain the efficiency of uncompressed structures and enable the execution of algorithms for large scale graphs in settings where contemporary alternative structures fail due to memory errors."}
{"ID": 789, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A multi-view content generation method for three-dimensional (3D) display without depth-reversed area is demonstrated. The viewing zone periodicity of an autostereoscopic display is utilized to eliminate the depth-reversal by adjusting the light field alignment in the 3D light field. The conditions that a multi-view sequence should satisfies to form a depth-reversal-free sequence are given and detailed processes for converting the multi-view sequence into a depth-reversal-free sequence are presented. Experimental results show that the depth-reversed area is well eliminated, and the smooth motion parallax can be achieved when the viewer moves in front of the display within a 60 degrees viewing angle. The number of presented perspectives can be 8 times more than the viewpoint number of the autostereoscopic display with the help of viewing zones integration."}
{"ID": 790, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A multiWatt RF power amplifier operating in the frequency range 0.5 to 1.2 GHz is reported, whose output amplitude is determined by digital input words (\"RF Power DAC operation\"). The amplifier employs a CMOS IC for digital control, directly connected to a GaN FET operating in common-gate mode. The use of the GaN FET allows power supply voltages in excess of 15 V to be used. A load resistance of 50 ohms can be directly connected to the GaN FET, thereby avoiding bandwidth limitations from output matching networks. Output power in the range 2 to 3 W and drain efficiencies above 50% are obtained over more than an octave of bandwidth."}
{"ID": 791, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Molecular biology", "abstract": "A mutant strain of Clostridium beijerinckii, with high tolerance to ferulic acid, was generated using atmospheric pressure glow discharge and high-throughput screening of C. beijerinckii NCIMB 8052. The mutant strain M11 produced 7.24g/L of butanol when grown in P2 medium containing 30g/L of glucose and 0.5g/L of ferulic acid, which is comparable to the production from non-ferulic acid cultures (8.11g/L of butanol). When 0.8g/L of ferulic acid was introduced into the P2 medium, C. beijerinckii M11 grew well and produced 4.91g/L of butanol. Both cell growth and butanol production of C. beijerinckii M11 were seriously inhibited when 0.9g/L of ferulic acid was added into the P2 medium. Furthermore, C. beijerinckii M11 could produce 6.13g/L of butanol using non-detoxified hemicellulosic hydrolysate from diluted sulfuric acid-treated corn fiber (SAHHC) as the carbon source. These results demonstrate that C. beijerinckii M11 has a high ferulic acid tolerance and is able to use non-detoxified SAHHC for butanol production. (C) 2015 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc."}
{"ID": 792, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Molecular biology", "abstract": "A mycelium-bound lipase from Aspergillus oryzae (AOL) exhibited excellent enantioselectivity for kinetic resolution of (RS)-1-phenylethanol ((RS)-1-PE) in organic solvent. The various reaction parameters affecting the conversion and enantioselectivity were studied, including type of acyl donor, solvent, molar ratio, temperature, enzyme amount, and substrate concentration. The optimum reaction conditions were found to be transesterification with vinyl acetate at 30 degrees C in methyl tert-butyl ether with a vinyl acetate: (RS)-1-PE molar ratio of 1: 1 and an enzyme concentration of 60 g/L. At the optimum reaction conditions, the conversion could reach above 46% with >99% enantiomeric excess of the product, (R)-1-phenylethyl acetate, when the substrate concentration was below 1.4 M. The enzyme displayed an excellent enantioselectivity with an E-value of >200 and a strong tolerance for high substrate concentration of up to 1.8 M. Those results indicated that AOL was a promising biocatalyst in the kinetic resolution of (RS)-1-PE. (C) 2016 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc."}
{"ID": 793, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical generator", "abstract": "A nanocomposite electrical generator composed of Zinc oxide nanowires (ZnO NWs) was modeled using continuum mechanics and Maxwell's equations. Axial loading was considered and the optimum aspect ratio of ZnO NWs for getting to maximum electric potential was calculated. The bonding between the ZnO NWs and the polymer matrix was considered to be perfect and the linear piezoelectric behavior was assumed. It was shown that the electric potential has maximum and minimum values of opposite signs at the extreme ends along the nanowire length. The maximum generated electric potential varies from 0.01717 for a NW with an aspect ratio of one to 0.61107 for a NW with an aspect ratio of thirty. The optimum aspect ratio of ZnO NW was defined as the difference between the maximum generated electric potential at which the difference becomes less than 1%, which results in an aspect ratio of 16. The results are a major step toward producing ZnO NWs for nanocomposite electrical generators with maximum performance."}
{"ID": 794, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Materials Engineering", "abstract": "A nanoscale, visible-light, self-sensing stress probe would be highly desirable in a variety of biological, imaging, and materials engineering applications, especially a device that does not alter the mechanical properties of the material it seeks to probe. Here we present the CdSe-CdS tetrapod quantum dot, incorporated into polymer matrices via electrospinning, as an in situ luminescent stress probe for the mechanical properties of polymer fibers. The mechanooptical sensing performance is enhanced with increasing nanocrystal concentration while causing minimal change in the mechanical properties even up to 20 wt % incorporation. The tetrapod nanoprobe is elastic and recoverable and undergoes no permanent change in sensing ability even upon many cycles of loading to failure. Direct comparisons to side-by-side traditional mechanical tests further validate the tetrapod as a luminescent stress probe. The tetrapod fluorescence stress-strain curve shape matches well with uniaxial stress-strain curves measured mechanically at all filler concentrations reported."}
{"ID": 795, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Manufacturing engineering", "abstract": "A National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored project was initiated in 2011 at the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (MME), Miami University, with the aim of creating online learning modules to increase the efficacy of the coursework. The modules were designed to instil proficiency in computational and experimental analysis, and were grouped along five thematic lines in the form of subject studios. The modules contain multimedia content and are designed for use as supplementary course material, or independently by students in preparation for research tasks or review of specific concepts from prior courses. When used to augment existing courses, a salient feature of the modules is the ability to introduce lab/experiment derived content to lecture-only course formats. This has been found to be particularly effective in engaging students and enabling the introduction of new topics with minimal disruption to the existing daily syllabus of a course. The project's development and implementation phase will end mid-year. Since assessment and continuous improvement were integral parts of the project, this paper presents data from the two year assessment process and describes the changes to the project. The paper also includes a discussion of plans for expansion of modules and practices for keeping content current."}
{"ID": 796, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Sprains and Strains", "abstract": "A national study of exercise related morbidity (ERM) in England and Wales was carried out using a postal questionnaire sent to 28857 adults aged 16-45 years. The questionnaire asked about regular participation in sports or other recreational fitness activities involving physical exercise, and for details of any injuries occurring during a 28 d reference period. A return rate of 68% was achieved. Comparisons with other national data sources indicated that the information obtained was reliable. It is estimated that each year there are 29 million incidents resulting in new or recurrent injuries, however minor, of which 9.8 million (95% confidence interval 8.1 to 11.4 million) result in new 'substantive' injuries which are potentially serious, result in treatment, or in participants being unable to take part in their usual activities. Soccer accounted for more than 25% of ail ERM, but the risk of a substantive injury in rugby was three times that in soccer. Over one third of ERR-I occurred in men aged 16-25 years. The most frequently reported injuries were sprains and strains of the lower limbs. Treatment was sought in approximately 25% of ERM incidents and 7% of all new ERM incidents involved at-tendance at a hospital accident and emergency department. The treatment provider most likely to be consulted was a general practitioner, but physiotherapists and complementary medicine practitioners were also consulted frequently. To maximize the health benefits of exercise, research strategies to reduce the volume and severity of ERM and to identify the most appropriate ways of managing ERM should be set."}
{"ID": 797, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A necessary condition for stability of a class of recurrent type-2 TSK fuzzy systems is presented. In this system, the antecedent part is indeed represented by interval Gaussian type-2 fuzzy set, and the consequent part is an ordinary nonlinear function of the system's inputs. In the proposed method, at first a type-2 fuzzy model is established, and then an LMI-based stability analysis of the model is fully discussed. Two first-order systems (one stable and one unstable) and two second-order systems (one stable and one unstable) are then considered as proper case studies. The simulation results easily approve the effectiveness of the proposed method."}
{"ID": 798, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Diabetes", "abstract": "A neglected tropical disease, melioidosis is known to have variability in clinical presentations. Here, we described clinical features that should alert the physicians on the possibility of melioidosis. In this review of 86 cases from 2001 to 2011, the common presentations of melioidosis in the Emergency Department (ED), Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia were; male gender (79.1 %), in working age group (47.8 +/- 15.2 year-old), worked in contact with soil (73.3 %), presented with fever (91.9 %), in rainy season (55.8 %), have underlying diabetes mellitus (79.1 %), have leukocytosis (67.4 %) and high blood glucose (62.8 %) during presentation. In 34.9 % of cases, the antimicrobials were initiated at the ED and only 10.5 % include antimelioid drugs. Thirty-one patients (36.0 %) died due to melioidosis and 51.6 % of this were within 48 h of admission. Despite high mortality rate, the clinical awareness on the possibility of melioidosis among emergency physicians is still low and need to be strengthened."}
{"ID": 799, "domain": "CS", "area": "network security", "abstract": "A network traffic detection model based on swarm intelligent optimization neural network algorithm is proposed in this paper. QAPSO algorithm is used to optimize the basis function center and base function width of RBF neural network, and the connection weights of the output layer and the hidden layer as well. This paper analyzes the detection model studied in this paper by an example, and use the collected data to train the network traffic identification system and test its performance. The comparison between the proposed method and the conventional PSO algorithm based on the HPSO algorithm shows that the proposed method has faster recognition speed and better recognition accuracy, and avoids the problem of falling into the local optimal solution. Situation."}
{"ID": 800, "domain": "CS", "area": "Operating systems", "abstract": "A networking laboratory is an essential tool for teaching communications engineering. However, the effort and cost invested in creating a networking laboratory with physical equipment are significantly high, especially if the students are to work on realistic scenarios. By substituting physical networking devices by virtualized ones, virtualization technologies may contribute to simplify the laboratory management tasks and allow the creation of affordable and more complex network scenarios. In this way, students can work and experiment on realistic network scenarios, so that their learning experience is greatly improved. In this paper a detailed description of a virtualization-based networking laboratory model, evolved over the last 10 years of authors experience in teaching computer networking, is provided. This laboratory model is implemented using Virtual Networks over linuX (VNX), an open source tool specifically designed and developed to define, build, deploy and manage networking scenarios taking full advantage of virtualization, and supporting hybrid virtual/physical scenarios and heterogeneous operating systems. The features of the VNX tool, illustrated with an example of a complex network scenario used by more than 300 students, are described. A survey-based assessment of the usage experience of VNX is included in the paper, showing the validity and efficacy of the proposed laboratory model and of the VNX tool for teaching computer networking in laboratory assignments."}
{"ID": 801, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A neural circuit to solve a system of simultaneous linear equations is presented. The circuit employs non-linear feedback to achieve a transcendental energy function that ensures fast convergence to the exact solution while enjoying reduction in hardware complexity over existing schemes. A new building block for analog signal processing, the digitally controlled differential voltage current conveyor (DC-DVCC) is introduced and is utilized for the non-linear synaptic interconnections between neurons. The proof of the energy function has been given and it is shown that the gradient network converges exactly to the solution of the system of equations. PSPICE simulation results are presented for linear systems of equations of various sizes and are found to be in close agreement with the algebraic solution. The use of CMOS DC-DVCCs and operational amplifiers facilitates monolithic integration."}
{"ID": 802, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A neural network (NN)-based cascade control system is developed, in which the primary proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is constructed by NN. A new entropy-based measure, named the centred error entropy (CEE) index, which is a weighted combination of the error cross-correntropy (ECC) criterion and the error entropy criterion (EEC), is proposed to tune the NN-PID controller. The purpose of introducing CEE in controller design is to ensure that the uncertainty in the tracking error is minimised and also the peak value of the error probability density function being controlled toward zero. The NN-controller design based on this new performance function is developed and the convergent conditions are investigated using a linearisation technique. During the control process, the CEE index is estimated by a Gaussian kernel function. Adaptive rules are developed to update the kernel size in order to achieve more accurate estimation of the CEE index. This NN cascade control approach is applied to superheated steam temperature control of a simulated power plant system, from which the effectiveness and strength of the proposed strategy are discussed by comparison with NN-PID controllers tuned with EEC and ECC criterions."}
{"ID": 803, "domain": "CS", "area": "Algorithm design", "abstract": "A neural network technique known as Kohonen unsupervised training is coupled with a modified version of the particle swarm optimization technique in an effort to develop an algorithm capable of finding multiple optimal solutions for a given problem. The results of five example problems of increasing difficulty validate the Alternative Analysis Networking algorithm's functionality."}
{"ID": 804, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Anxiety", "abstract": "A neurochemical target at which cannabinoids interact to have global effects on behavior is brain noradrenergic circuitry. Acute and repeated administration of a cannabinoid receptor synthetic agonist is capable of increasing multiple indices of noradrenergic activity. This includes cannabinoid-induced 1) increases in norepinephrine (NE) release in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC); 2) desensitization of cortical alpha 2-adrenoceptor-mediated effects; 3) activation of c-Fos in brainstem locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic neurons; and 4) increases in anxiety like behaviors. In the present study, we sought to examine adaptations in adrenoceptor expression and function under conditions of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1r) deletion using knockout (KO) mice and compare these to wild type (WT) controls. Electrophysiological analysis of alpha 2-adrenoceptor-mediated responses in mPFC slices in WT mice showed a clonidine-induced a2-adrenoceptor-mediated increase in mPFC cell excitability coupled with an increase in input resistance. In contrast, CB1r KO mice showed an alpha 2-adrenoceptor-mediated decrease in mPFC cell excitability. We then examined protein expression levels of alpha 2- and beta 1-adrenoceptor subtypes in the mPFC as well as TH expression in the locus coeruleus (LC) of mice deficient in CB1r. Both alpha 2- and inadrenoceptors exhibited a significant decrease in expression levels in CB1r KO mice when compared to WT in the mPFC, while a significant increase in TH was observed in the LC. To better define whether the same cortical neurons express alpha 2A-adrenoceptor and CB1r in mPFC, we utilized high-resolution immunoelectron microscopy. We localized alpha 2A-adrenoceptors in a knock-in mouse that expressed a hemoagglutinin (HA) tag downstream of the alpha 2A-adrenoceptor promoter. Although the alpha 2A-adrenoceptor was often identifiedpre-synaptically, we observed co-localization of CB1r with alpha 2-adrenoceptors post-synaptically in the same mPFC neurons. Finally, using receptor binding, we confirmed prior results showing that alpha 2A-adrenoceptor is unchanged in mPFC following acute or chronic exposure to the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist, WIN 55,212-2, but is increased, following chronic treatment followed by a period of abstinence. Taken together, these data provide convergent lines of evidence indicating cannabinoid regulation of the cortical adrenergic system. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 805, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A new active element for analog signal processing, namely the Current Inverter Buffered Differential Input Transconductance Amplifier (CIBDITA), is proposed It combines some features of the well-known current differencing buffered and transconductance amplifiers, simplifies their current input stage, and increases their universality by introducing an additional voltage-type input. The usefulness of this new element is demonstrated on the example of a 2(nd)-order filter which employs only one active element, two grounded capacitors, and one resistor."}
{"ID": 806, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A new adaptive filtering algorithm for time-series data based on the QRD inverse-updates method of Pan and Plemmons is derived from first principles. In common with other fast algorithms for time-series adaptive filtering, this algorithm only requires O(p) operations for the solution of a pth-order problem. Unlike previous fast algorithms based on the QRD technique, the algorithm presented here explicitly produces the transversal filter weights. Furthermore the derivation of the algorithm is achieved, quite simply, by means of signal-flow-graph manipulation. The relationship between this fast QRD inverse-updates algorithm and the FTF algorithm is briefly discussed. The results of some preliminary computer simulations of the algorithm, using finite-precision floating-point arithmetic, are presented."}
{"ID": 807, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "A new alkalophilic low-molecular-mass chitinase of 14 kD from the potent biocontrol agent Bacillus subtilis JN032305 was partially purified and enzymology of the chitinase was studied. The enzyme showed optimal pH of 9.0 and temperature of 50 degrees C. The enzyme was found stable during the 60-min incubation at 50 degrees C. The chitinase was inhibited by group specific agents like IAA, DAN, TLCK, and SDS and metal ions Mg2+, Ca2+, Fe2+, Mn2+, Ba2+, and Hg2+, whereas Zn2+ did not show significant inhibitory effect against the chitinase. PMSF partially inhibited the enzyme. Substrates specificity tests indicated that the enzyme showed 75% of relative activity on glycol chitin, 58% on carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), 33% on chitin flakes, and 166% laminarin compared to that on colloidal chitin. The enzyme also hydrolyzed 4-methylumbelliferyl-N-acetyl-D-glucosaminide, indicating its chitobiase activity. The chitinase of this study has broad specificity, which could hydrolyze not only the glycosidic bond in GlcNAc-GlcNAc but also that of related carbohydrates with glycosidic linkages. The partially purified chitinase not only showed antifungal activity against Rhizoctonia solani and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, two potent phytopathogens of chilli, but also increased the germination of chilli seeds when infected with the two potent phytopathogenic fungi."}
{"ID": 808, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A new all-pass (AP) Log-domain filter is presented. The circuit is based on integrator loop and the current sources. The filter circuit has a very simple structure since it uses only bipolar junction transistors (BJT's) and a grounded capacitor. The configuration offers large dynamic range at low power supply and higher frequency operation. The filter has a large bandwidth due to its inherent current-mode (CM) nature and Log-domain properties. Phase angle can be electronically tuned through the bias current. The circuit can be implemented in integrated form. PSPICE simulations are given to confirm the theoretical analysis."}
{"ID": 809, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Borderline personality disorder", "abstract": "A new application for omega-3 fatty acids has recently emerged, concerning the treatment of several mental disorders. This indication is supported by data of neurobiological research, as highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs) are highly concentrated in neural phospholipids and are important components of the neuronal cell membrane. They modulate the mechanisms of brain cell signaling, including the dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways. The aim of this review is to provide a complete and updated account of the empirical evidence of the efficacy and safety that are currently available for omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. The main evidence for the effectiveness of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has been obtained in mood disorders, in particular in the treatment of depressive symptoms in unipolar and bipolar depression. There is some evidence to support the use of omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of conditions characterized by a high level of impulsivity and aggression and borderline personality disorders. In patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, small-to-modest effects of omega-3 HUFAs have been found. The most promising results have been reported by studies using high doses of EPA or the association of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. In schizophrenia, current data are not conclusive and do not allow us either to refuse or support the indication of omega-3 fatty acids. For the remaining psychiatric disturbances, including autism spectrum disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders and substance use disorder, the data are too scarce to draw any conclusion. Concerning tolerability, several studies concluded that omega-3 can be considered safe and well tolerated at doses up to 5 g/day."}
{"ID": 810, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Thermodynamics", "abstract": "A new application of aqueous NH3 based post-combustion CO2 and SO2 combined capture process was proposed to simultaneously capture CO2 and SO2, and remove sulfite by solid (K2SO4) precipitation method. The thermodynamic model of the NH3-CO2-SO2-K2SO4-H2O system for the combined CO2 and SO2 capture process was developed and validated in this work to analyze the heat of CO2 and SO2 absorption in the NH3-CO2-SO2-H2O system, and the K2SO4 precipitation characteristics in the NH3-CO2-SO2-K2SO4-H2O system. The average heat of CO2 absorption in the NH3-CO2-H2O system at 40 degrees C is around -73 kJ/mol CO2 in 2.5 wt% NH3 with CO2 loading between 0.2 and 0.5 C/N. The average heat of SO2 absorption in the NH3-SO2-H2O system at 40 degrees C is around -120 kJ/mol SO2 in 2.5 wt% NH3 with SO2 loading between 0 and 0.5 S/N. The average heat of CO2 absorption in the NH3-CO2-SO2-H2O system at 40 degrees C is 77, 68, and 58 kJ/mol CO2 in 2.5 wt% NH3 with CO2 loading between 0.2 and 0.5 C/N, when SO2 loading is 0, 0.1, 0.2 S/N, respectively. The solubility of K2SO4 increases with temperature, CO2 and SO2 loadings, but decreases with NH3 concentration in the CO2 and SO2 loaded aqueous NH3. The thermodynamic evaluation indicates that the combined CO2 and SO2 capture process could employ the typical absorption/regeneration process to simultaneously capture CO2 and SO2 in an absorber, thermally desorb CO2 in a stripper, and feasibly remove sulfite (oxidized to sulfate) content by precipitating K2SO4 from the lean NH3 solvent after the lean/rich heat exchanger. (C) Elsevier Ltd. All rights Reserved."}
{"ID": 811, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Geotextile", "abstract": "A new application of geosynthetic tube for offshore dike construction is geosynthetic mattress in which its horizontal dimension is much greater than the vertical one. This makes it more stable than the sausage shaped geosynthetic tube. However, the existing analytical or numerical methods developed for the sausage shaped geosynthetic tube may not be applicable directly to geosynthetic mattresses as the solution may not converge. In this paper, a closed-form solution was derived for a direct determination of the cross-section of geosynthetic mattress. Laboratory large scale model tests were also carried out to verify the proposed analytical method. The cross-sections of the geosynthetic mattresses obtained from the closed-form solutions agreed well with the data obtained from model tests. The tensile forces measured from the model tests were rather scattered but showed a consistent thread as those from the closed-form solutions. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 812, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A new application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), the high-speed charge-to-time converter (QTC) IWATSU CLC101, provides three channels, each consisting of preamplifier, discriminator, low-pass filter, and charge integration circuitry, optimized for the waveform of a photomultiplier tube (PMT). This ASIC detects PMT signals using individual built-in discriminators and drives output timing signals whose width represents the integrated charge of the PMT signal. Combined with external input circuits composed of passive elements, the QTC provides full analog signal processing for the detector's PMTs, ready for further processing by time-to-digital converters (TDCs). High-rate ( >1 MHz) signal processing is achieved by short-charge-conversion-time and baseline-restoration circuits. Wide-range charge measurements are enabled by offering three gain ranges while maintaining a short cycle time. QTC chip test results show good analog performance, with efficient detection for a single photoelectron signal, four orders of magnitude dynamic range (0.3 mV similar to 3 V; 0.2 similar to 2500 pC). 1% charge linearity, 0.2 pC charge resolution, and 0.1 ns timing resolution. Test results on ambient temperature dependence, channel isolation, and rate dependence also meet specifications. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 813, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Solar Energy", "abstract": "A new approach for solar electricity generation and storage is proposed, based on the concept of thermally regenerative batteries. Concentrated sunlight is used for external thermo-chemical charging of a flow battery, and electricity is produced by conventional electro-chemical discharge of the battery. The battery replaces the steam turbine, currently used in commercial concentrated solar power (CSP) plants, potentially leading to much higher conversion efficiency. This approach offers potential performance, cost and operational advantages compared to existing solar technologies, and to existing storage solutions for management of an electrical grid with a significant contribution of intermittent solar electricity generation. Here we analyze the theoretical conversion efficiency for new thermo-electro-chemical storage (TECS) plant schemes based on the electro-chemical systems of sodium-sulfur (Na-S) and zinc-air. The thermodynamic upper limit of solar to electricity conversion efficiency for an ideal TECS cycle is about 60% for Na-S at reactor temperature of 1550 K, and 65% for the zinc-air system at 1750 K, both under sunlight concentration of 3000. A hybrid process with carbothermic reduction in the zinc-air system reaches 60% theoretical efficiency at the more practical conditions of reaction temperature <1200 K and concentration <1000. Practical TECS plant efficiency, estimated from these upper limits, may then be much higher compared to existing solar electricity technologies. The technical and economical feasibility of the proposed cycle are also discussed. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 814, "domain": "CS", "area": "Algorithm design", "abstract": "A new approach for the unified treatment of frictional contact and orthotropic plasticity at finite strains using semi-smooth Newton methods is presented. The contact discretization is based on the well-known mortar finite element method using dual Lagrange multipliers to facilitate the handling of the additional Lagrange multiplier degrees of freedom. Exploiting the similarity of the typical inequality constraints of plasticity and friction, all involved discrete inequalities are reformulated as nonlinear non-smooth equations using complementarity functions. The resulting set of discrete semi-smooth equations can be solved efficiently by a variant of Newton's method, where all additionally introduced variables are condensed from the global system so that a linear system only consisting of the displacement degrees of freedom has to be solved in each iteration step. In contrast to classical radial return mapping methods for computational plasticity, the plastic constraints are not required to hold at every iterate in the nonlinear solution procedure, but only at convergence. This relaxation in the pre-asymptotic behavior results in an increased flexibility regarding algorithm design and a potentially higher robustness compared to radial return mapping algorithms. The presented elasto-plasticity algorithm includes arbitrary isotropic hyperelasticity, an anisotropic Hill-type yield function with isotropic and kinematic hardening, plastic spin and appropriate finite element technology for nearly incompressible materials. Therefore, it is well suited for the modeling of sheet metal forming and similar processes. Several numerical examples underline the robustness of the proposed plasticity algorithm and the efficient treatment of elasto-plastic contact problems. (c) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 815, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A new approach is proposed to improve a graphical approach with considering intensity coupling loss coefficients in the analytical derivation of the optical transfer functions for a symmetric double stage vertically coupled microring resonator. An optimum transmission coupling condition is determined with considering terms of couplers intensity loss which leads to low insertion loss of 1.2 dB, finesse of 1525, the out of band rejection ratio of 61.8 dB. The resonating system is used as an optical force sensing system to make the benefit of the accuracy of measurements in micro and nano scales. The sensitivity of proposed force sensor in terms of wavelength-shift is 33 nm/nN and the limit of detection is 1.6 x 10 (2) nN. The proposed sensing system has the advantages of self-calibration and the low power consumption due to the low intensity. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 816, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "A new approach is reported, based on Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (H-1 NMR) spectral data, to study qualitatively and quantitatively the hydrolysis level in complex lipid mixtures. It is based on a detailed study of the spectra of tri-, di-, mono-glycerides and fatty acids. It has been validated by using mixtures of standard compounds which simulate the complex mixtures formed in lipid digestion. To this aim the 1H NMR spectra of pure compounds, as well as of mixtures containing different known proportions of triglycerides, 1,2-diglycerides, 1,3-diglycerides, 1-monoglycerides, 2-monoglycerides and fatty acids, were acquired. These mixtures cover a very broad range of concentrations and simulate edible oils and fats of vegetable and animal origins, including fish, with different levels of hydrolysis. Equations based on spectral data are proposed to determine the molar percentage of the different kinds of compounds that may be formed in lipid digestion, thus allowing quantification of the advance of lipolysis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a method based on 1H NMR spectral data to quantify triglycerides, as well as partial glycerides and fatty acids in complex lipid mixtures coming from lipolysis is proposed. This methodology offers many advantages and is useful not only in the fields of food technology and nutrition, but also in others like enzymology, pharmacology, medicine and petrochemistry, among others. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd."}
{"ID": 817, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical generator", "abstract": "A new approach of energy reclamation from mechanical vibrations is presented in this paper. The conversion from IF mechanical energy into electrical energy is achieved using piezoelectric materials. The originality of the proposed approach is based on a nonlinear treatment of the voltage delivered by a piezoelectric insert embedded in a vibrating structure. This nonlinear processing induces a strong increase of the power conversion capability of the piezoelectric insert. The theoretical principle of the nonlinear treatment is exposed, and the analytical model of an electrical generator a is developed. The results given by the model are compared to those of an experimental set-up. Experimental results C show that the extracted electrical energy may be increased beyond 400%."}
{"ID": 818, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Thermodynamics", "abstract": "A new approach to constructing adsorption thermodynamics that provides the derivation of rigorous thermodynamic relationships for any adsorption system, particularly for a system with a deformable adsorbent, is proposed. Expressions for the thermodynamic functions of an adsorption system in the form of an arbitrary control volume containing the adsorbent and the adsorbed gas are derived. In the derived expressions, the role of adsorption is played by the total adsorbate content in the system. If the control volume boundaries are set appropriately, this quantity is identical to absolute adsorption."}
{"ID": 819, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Ambient Intelligence", "abstract": "A new approach to implement a smart ecosystem for freight transportation is proposed. It is aimed to improve efficiency, safety, security and sustainability by including ambient intelligence in both the containers and the infrastructure that supports them. It involves technological as well as organizational and logistic improvements to achieve this goal. The approach is developed in an R+D project named ECOTRANSIT funded by the Spanish MINECO and involving the University of Seville and the Public University of Navarre. The proposal represents a qualitative step beyond existing projects, with innovation in key areas such as logistics and in critical enabling technologies like microelectronics and ICTs."}
{"ID": 820, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A new approach to the control of electro-magneto-mechanical system is proposed in this paper. Conventionally, these systems are controlled based on the Maxwell system model via an on-off or PID control technique, which displays acceptable performance in the low frequency region, but not in the high frequency region where position control performance is greatly degraded. In order to improve the performance, a newly developed virtual 2(nd) order system modeling technique, SSID, is adopted for a complex electro-magnetomechanical system in the study. This technique states that any unknown system exposed to a random disturbance with unknown intensity can be identified in terms of a virtual 2(nd) order system model via the inverse process of a certain stochastic analysis. As a typical hybrid system, a solenoid valve is used as the target electro-magneto-mechanical system to study the modeling of the virtual 2(nd) order system. In order to confirm the performance of the proposed control strategy, autotuning PID controller in PWM mode is utilized. Simulations based on the conventional Maxwell system model with control via the bang-bang, autotuning PID, and the proposed virtual 2(nd) order system model approaches are conducted using MATLAB Simulink. Performance of these three systems in the low and high frequency bands is also compared. The simulation results reveal that the control performance of the virtual 2(nd) order system model is much improved compared with that of the Maxwell system model under autotuning PID and bang-bang controls in both low and high frequency regions, where the error is drastically reduced to approximately 1/5 of the original value."}
{"ID": 821, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "A new approach to the optimized automatic design of a stator of the squirrel cage induction motor is presented. The objective is to develop an algorithm to design in Gmsh software automatically through the differential evolution algorithm, reducing the cost and volume of the stator materials. The stator is a part of the motor and its main function is to generate a magnetic field, thus, an interesting research theme, since it is related to the production cost of the electric motor. To solve this case study is used the MODE algorithm (VIultiobjective Optimization Differential Evolution) and the outcome is compared to the NSGA II algorithm (Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II). A discussion on the limitations and advantage of the proposed design approach concludes the paper."}
{"ID": 822, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Satellite radio", "abstract": "A new approach, based in part on diffusive equilibrium, has been developed to model the dynamic H+ content of plsmaspheric magnetic flux tubes. Called the Global Plasmasphere lonosphere Density (GPID) model, its aim is to reproduce the main dynamic features of the more complete Field Line Interhemispheric Plasma (FLIP) model, with a simpler formulation that allows for more rapid computation of the ions temporal variation in a magnetic flux tube. By simultaneously modelling several thousand flux tubes, a global representation of the plasmasphere can be obtained in a realistic time frame. A global model allows the plasmaspheric contribution to the Total Electron Content (TEC), measured from Global Position System (GPS) satellite radio signals, to be determined and removed, hence permitting the underlying ionosphere to be observed. This paper presents the approach used to model a single magnetic flux tube. GPID assumes an lonosphere/plasmasphere composition of O+ and H+, and includes chemical processes and simple diffusive transport. In almost all situations, GPID reproduces the predictions of the FLIP model. Comparisons between GPID and the refilling fluxes obtained from whistler observations generally show good agreement, both in diurnal variations and during prolonged refilling of empty flux tubes. Comparisons to seasonal variations during solar maximum at L = 2.5 show good agreement with observations, but at solar minimum there is variable agreement. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 823, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A new broadband reflective phaser, which is based on shunt stubs, is presented in this paper. The proposed phaser, designed using shunt transmission-line stubs and inserted transmission line sections, exhibits a broad bandwidth. The corresponding design procedure is presented. Implementation of shunt stubs is subsequently derived based on Kuroda's Identity for mono-port circuit network. Three numerical examples and an experimental validation are finally provided to illustrate the proposed design approach."}
{"ID": 824, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A new cascadable voltage-input, current-output first-order all-pass filter and its applications in second-order filter and oscillator are presented. The proposed circuit employs a single active element namely extra-X current-controlled current conveyor (EX-CCCII) and only a single grounded capacitor. The circuit exhibits high input and high output impedances, so that the filter can be cascaded without additional buffers. The pole frequency is electronically tunable and the circuit requires no component matching constraints. Effects of nonidealities and parasitics are also discussed. As applications, a second-order transadmittance (TA)-mode all-pass filter and a quadrature oscillator are also realized using the proposed voltage-input, current-output first-order all-pass filter. These examples validate easy cascading feature of the proposed circuit. The validity of the proposed circuit is verified through PSPICE simulations using 0.25 mu m parameters with a supply voltage of +/- 1.25 V."}
{"ID": 825, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Materials Engineering", "abstract": "A new class of soft-matter actuator, the liquid crystal elastomer (LCE), shows promise for application in a wide variety of mechanical microsystems. Frequently referred to as an ` artificial muscle', this family of materials exhibits large actuation stroke and generates considerable force, in a compact form which may easily be combined with the structures and devices commonly used in microsystems and MEMS. We show here how standard microfabrication techniques may be used to integrate LCEs into mechanical microsystems and present an in-depth analysis of their mechanical and actuation properties. Using an example from micro-optics and optical MEMS, we demonstrate that their performance and flexibility allows realization of entirely new types of tunable optical functionality."}
{"ID": 826, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Solar Energy", "abstract": "A new class of the all electric airship to globally transport both passengers and freight using a 'feeder-cruiser' concept, and powered by renewable electric energy, is considered. Specific focus is given to photo-electric harvesting as the primary energy source and the associated hydrogen-based energy storage systems. Furthermore, it is shown that the total PV output may be significantly increased by utilising cloud albedo effects. Appropriate power architectures and energy audits required for life support, and the propulsion and ancillary loads to support the continuous daily operation of the primary airship (cruiser) at stratospheric altitudes (circa 18 km), are also considered. The presented solution is substantially different from those of conventional aircraft due to the airship size and the inherent requirement to harvest and store sufficient energy during \"daylight\" operation, when subject to varying seasonal conditions and latitudes, to ensure its safe and continued operation during the corresponding varying \"dark hours\". This is particularly apparent when the sizing of the proposed electrolyser is considered, as its size and mass increase nonlinearly with decreasing day-night duty. As such, a Unitized Regenerative Fuel Cell is proposed. For the first time the study also discusses the potential benefits of integrating the photo-voltaic cells into airship canopy structures utilising TENSAIRITY (R)-based elements in order to eliminate the requirements for separate inter-PV array wiring and the transport of low pressure hydrogen between fuel cells."}
{"ID": 827, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer graphics", "abstract": "A new compact combinatorial coordinate system is presented to address not only the voxels (truncated octahedra) of the body-centered cubic grid but also the lower-dimensional cells - faces, edges and vertices. Almost all integer triples address some cell in the grid, and incidence and adjacency relations between cells can easily be captured by the coordinate values. The new coordinate system can effectively and efficiently be applied in topological shape analysis and modeling, image processing and computer graphics applications. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 828, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A new compact scheme has been developed for any non-uniform grid. The compact scheme has been developed for spatial discretization and is analyzed here in conjunction with four-stage, fourth order Runge-Kutta (RK4) scheme for time integration while solving the one-dimensional convection equation. The space-time discretization combination is calibrated by subjecting the system to global spectral analysis (GSA) which was developed by the authors' group. Here, the compact scheme has been obtained by using a combination of two bi-diagonal schemes. The novel aspect of this scheme is its application in the physical plane directly without the necessity of mapping or transformations. Some typical cases for problems in acoustics, as well as fluid mechanics, have been studied here and potential use in large eddy simulations (LES) has been demonstrated by solving Navier-Stokes equation for lid driven cavity. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 829, "domain": "MAE", "area": "computer-aided design", "abstract": "A new concept is proposed for the full-wave computer-aided design of microwave filters. The method consists of two stages and operates on the zeros and poles of the transfer function and their derivatives. These quantities are evaluated from the response computed by a full-wave electromagnetic solver with two levels of accuracy. The two stages make use of different models that are optimized using a low-accuracy electromagnetic solver. The design involves one coarse-level optimization in the first stage and a few iterations in the second stage, each requiring a single computation of a high-accuracy response. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is demonstrated with two examples, in which design closure was achieved with just three evaluations of the high-accuracy full-wave solutions irrespective of the quality of the initial design."}
{"ID": 830, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical circuits", "abstract": "A new concept of an electrical shunt with different materials (aluminum and copper) has been developed to be used as an alternative current measurement device. The device provides better current measurement characteristics compared with the conventional current measurement devices such as a shunt resistor with an ammeter or the multiple shunts consisting of molybdenum having a low temperature coefficient and a Rogowski coil with an integrated circuit. The currents in several electrical circuits have been measured using the developed current-voltage transferring device (CVTD) as voltages between the aluminum and copper elements. The measured voltages (V-m) are proportional to measuring currents (I-m), which is shown as the following the experimental equation V-m [mV] =kI(m) [A], in which k is a coefficient depending on the configuration of the CVTD. (c) 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc."}
{"ID": 831, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A new current-mode squaring circuit that can be used as a basic building block in analog signal processing systems is proposed. The design is based on MOS operating in the subthreshold region to assure low voltage and low power consumption. The performance of the design was confirmed by HSPICE simulation in 0.18 m CMOS process. The circuit is operated by 0.7V supply voltage and consumes 0.2 W and maximum linearity error of 1.4%."}
{"ID": 832, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A new cytochrome P450 gene, CYP4G25, was identified as a differentially expressed gene between the diapausing and post-diapausing pharate first instar larvae of the wild silkmoth Antheraea yamamai, using subtractive cDNA hybridization. The cDNA sequence of CYP4G25 has an open reading frame of 1674 nucleotides encoding 557 amino acid residues. Sequence analysis of the putative CYP4G25 protein disclosed the motif FXXGXRXCXG that is essential for heme binding in P450 cytochromes. Hybridization in situ demonstrated predominant expression of CYP4G25 in the integument of pharate first instar larvae. Northern blotting analysis showed an intensive signal after the initiation of diapause and no or weak expression throughout the periods of pre-diapause and post-diapause, including larval development. These results indicate that CYP4G25 is strongly associated with diapause in pharate first instar larvae. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 833, "domain": "CS", "area": "Cryptography", "abstract": "A new data encryption scheme is proposed based on the position substitution, shuffling and a diffusion process. The algorithm searches for the position of a text symbol in randomly generated 3-D matrix and subsequently replaces the symbol. The positions in matrix are shuffled in a retraceable manner depending upon the encryption key. Further, the substituted positions are diffused so that all the cipher text get affected even if a single symbol is changed. The system uses a Logistic map for matrix generation and position shuffling. The algorithm also checks the integrity of cipher text by including its parity in encrypted form. As the system includes substitution, permutation and diffusion, high level of cryptographic complexity is achieved in cipher text. The proposed method is key sensitive output cipher text is random in nature and has avalanche effect. The key length chosen is sufficient to resist a brute force attack. The cryptographic model as a whole demonstrate remarkable resistance to statistical attacks which is a key feature. Detailed runtime comparison with different known cryptographic systems is given. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 834, "domain": "CS", "area": "Machine learning", "abstract": "A new data-driven model has been developed to determine 1D/2D particle size distribution (PSD) from measured FBRM chord-length distribution (CLD) data. The structure of the model consists of three steps: first, the measured CLDs are compressed down to a small set of parameters; second, these parameters are correlated with low order moments or a small number of percentiles of the PSD using regression models; third, the PSD low order moments are used as input variables, and a two layer-network sub-model is built to predict the PSD in a form of a histogram. Two key aspects of this modeling strategy are noteworthy, namely the construction of specialized parameterized functions (herein called generating functions) that reduce the number of parameters needed to train the model's two layer network component, as well as its ability to model a 2D size distribution. To demonstrate this paradigm, the model was used to determine the PSD of particles with an elongated morphology. It is shown that even with a limited data set, models could be trained to predict PSD generated by laser diffraction, minor size PSD generated by image analysis, and 2D minor-major PSD measured by image analysis. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 835, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Stealth Technology", "abstract": "A new design for metamaterial absorber with triple band in X band range is proposed for Radar cross section reduction in stealth technology. The proposed metamaterial absorber has the advantage of ease design. It is a three layered structure, designed with modified ring resonators printed on a dielectric material with a metal ground. By proper tuning of the geometry parameters of the structure, a triple band metamaterial absorber is achieved and it is adjusted to match the effective impedance of metamaterial absorber to the free space. Hence, there is no wave transmission, minimized reflection and the absorption rate is maximized in all the bands. The resonant frequency bands are at 7.7 GHz, 9.2 GHz and 11.1 GHz with absorption rates of 99.7%, 98% and 94% respectively. The bandwidths measured at the triple band are 0.2757 GHz, 0.311 GHz and 0.2182 GHz. The total miniaturized metamaterial absorber unit cell size is 6 mm x 12 mm x 0.705 mm. Simulation results show that the proposed absorber with triple band and with high absorption rate is well suited for Radar cross section reduction in stealth technology."}
{"ID": 836, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Stealth Technology", "abstract": "A new design method for multilayer composite glass with absorbing thin film is presented, This composite glass has a high microwave reflective factor and good transparency in the visible light region, It is useful in vehicle stealth technology and microwave protection of a large-capacity microwave transmission system."}
{"ID": 837, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A new design method of a stable dynamic output feedback (DOF) controller in linear MIMO systems is presented on the frame of real Grassmann spaces. For the analysis, the DOF systems are decomposed into augmented static output feedback (SOF) systems using signal flow graph analysis of all DOF loops. For synthesis and design, the characteristic polynomial of the augmented SOF system for the system's stable poles and the sub-characteristic polynomial of the sub-SOF system for the controller's stable poles are parametrized within their Grassmann invariants in real Grassmann spaces, whose coordinates are defined in the real coefficient function spaces of their augmented SOF variables. The numerical parametrization and computation algorithm for a stable controller design is illustrated over a MIMO plant of a practical aircraft carrier model."}
{"ID": 838, "domain": "Medical", "area": "HIV/AIDS", "abstract": "A new deterministic model for HIV/AIDS that incorporates pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is designed and used to assess the population-level impact of the use of PrEP on the transmission dynamics of the disease within an MSM population. Conditions for the effective control (or elimination) and persistence of HIV/AIDS in the MSM population are determined by rigorously analyzing this model. Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis is carried out, using data relevant to HIV transmission dynamics in the MSM community in the U.S. State of Minnesota, to determine the effect of the uncertainties in the parameter values on the outcome (response) variable (the associated reproduction number) and to identify the parameters that have the most effect on the disease transmission dynamics. Numerical simulations show that, with the current rate of administration of antiretroviral treatment (to HIV-infected individuals), HIV burden decreases with increasing PrEP coverage. Furthermore, for this setting, this study suggests that HIV can be effectively controlled in the MSM population if, in addition to the current rate of administration of anti-retroviral therapy in the community, at least 61-77% (with mean of about 70%) of the susceptible members of the MSM community are on PrEP (adjusted by PrEP efficacy). (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 839, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A new device for continuous measurement of fruit or stem growth on the basis of an optoelectronic reflex sensor and a microcontroller board was developed and successfully tested under open field conditions. The principle of the system is based on the detection of alternating narrow white and blacks bars printed on a flexible tape, which is tightened as a loop around the measured object and slides under an infrared reflex sensor in response to the object's radial growth. The design of this new sensor allows continuous, long term measurements without the need of periodic maintenance or physical adjustments of the measurement device. The new system measures changes of fruit or stem perimeter rather than diameter, thus yielding a more relevant information about the growth of objects which are intrinsically not of perfectly circular cross-sectional shape. The described sensor is very lightweight and does not require any mechanical frame or support structure. The tested prototypes had a measurement resolution of 0.5 mm of perimeter, corresponding to a resolution of about 0.16 mm of diameter for a spherical object. The cost of the sensor is very modest, as it consists of only few and inexpensive components. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 840, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A new diffusion sign subband adaptive filtering algorithm with an individual weighting factor (IWF-DSSAF) for each subband is proposed for distributed estimation in the impulsive noise environment. Since the inherent decorrelating property of subband adaptive filtering is fully used, the proposed algorithm obtains better performance in terms of convergence rate and tracking capability as compared with the diffusion sign subband adaptive filtering (DSSAF) algorithm. In addition, the stability analysis of the IWF-DSSAF algorithm is performed based on Price's theorem. After that, in order to obtain a faster convergence rate in sparse distributed system identification, the improved proportionate IWF-DSSAF algorithm is proposed, in which a gain distribution matrix is incorporated into the IWF-DSSAF algorithm. Finally, simulations are carried out in the distributed system identification context. The results of simulations demonstrate that the proposed algorithms achieve better convergence performance than their counterparts."}
{"ID": 841, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A new digital predictive control strategy for a single-phase boost power factor correction (PFC) converter is presented in this paper, to reduce the harmonic distortion and improve the dynamic response. Based on the converter circuit structure, the values of output voltage and inductor current of next switching cycle are predicted in advance. The steady-state algorithm and the dynamic-state algorithm are implemented respectively, the duty cycle is calculated only via the predicted output voltage and inductor current values during the steady process, and the optimized duty cycle is predicted during the dynamic process, to improve the characters of PFC converter. The single-phase boost PFC converter with the proposed digital predictive control strategy has been implemented via the field programmable gate array (FPGA). The experimental results indicate that the proposed digital control strategy can improve the power factor and the dynamic response of PFC converter simultaneously."}
{"ID": 842, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical network", "abstract": "A new directional solidification technique has been presented. This technique employs the pyrolytic graphite for heat dissipation by conduction and does not withdraw the cast. The furnace design was presented for this static solid cooling (SSC) method. A heat dissipation model was put forward for evaluating the cooling efficiency by calculating the total thermal resistance in directional solidification. The total thermal resistance in the SSC method is the minimum compared with other methods. The solidification process is simulated and the results show that the axial temperature gradient increases to 130 degrees C/cm from 52 degrees C/cm (Bridgman method) and the growth rate is improved to 10.84 mm/min from 3.86 mm/min (Bridgman method). The solidification time is reduced by 64.4%. The cooling rate increases dramatically as well. Additionally, the heat insulation of the hot and cool zones is improved substantially in the SSC method. The thermal resistance of the mould is reduced as well due to the thin mould. Besides, the SSC method employs the electrical network to control the growth rate. The solidification condition is much uniform due to the position control by the electrical network. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 843, "domain": "CS", "area": "Machine learning", "abstract": "A new disturbance automated reference toolset (DART) was developed to monitor human land surface impacts using soil-type and ecological context. DART identifies reference areas with similar soils, topography, and geology; and compares the disturbance condition to the reference area condition using a quantile-based approach based on a satellite vegetation index. DART was able to represent 26-55% of variation of relative differences in bare ground and 26-41% of variation in total foliar cover when comparing sites with nearby ecological reference areas using the Soil Adjusted Total Vegetation Index (SATVI). Assessment of ecological recovery at oil and gas pads on the Colorado Plateau with DART revealed that more than half of well-pads were below the 25th percentile of reference areas. Machine learning trend analysis of poorly recovering well-pads (quantile < 0.23) had out of-bag error rates between 37 and 40% indicating moderate association with environmental and management variables hypothesized to influence recovery. Well-pads in grasslands (median quantile (MQ] = 13%), blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima) shrublands (MQ = 18%), arid canyon complexes (MQ = 18%), warmer areas with more summer-dominated precipitation, and state administered areas (MQ = 12%) had low recovery rates. Results showcase the usefulness of DART for assessing discrete surface land disturbances, and highlight the need for more targeted rehabilitation efforts at oil and gas well-pads in the arid southwest US. Published by Elsevier B.V."}
{"ID": 844, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A new electronic interface for inductive sensors is presented. The proposed circuit is basically a current-feedback operational-amplifier (CFOA)-based sinusoidal oscillator circuit. The circuit uses only one externally connected inductor and exploits to advantage the internal poles of the CFOA. Sinusoidal oscillation at frequency of 122.1 MHz was obtained using the AD844 CFOA and an inductor of inductance = 0.14 mu H with peak-to-peak output voltage = 700 mV."}
{"ID": 845, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical circuits", "abstract": "A new enveloped following (EF) method based on high-order Obreshkov integration formula is presented. The new method is suitable for transient analysis of highly oscillatory circuits with widely separated time-scales. In addition, the proposed algorithm is capable of producing high-order numerically stable approximation of the transient response. The use of high-order formulas leads to a significant reduction in the computational time compared to low-order EF methods because it allows taking large steps in time while keeping the same accuracy."}
{"ID": 846, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A new experimental, image-based methodology suitable to track the changes in orientation of non-spherical particles and their influence on the drag coefficient as they settle in fluids is presented. Given the fact that non spherical solids naturally develop variations in their angular orientation during the fall, none-intrusiveness of the technique of analysis is of paramount importance in order to preserve the particle/fluid interaction undisturbed. Three-dimensional quantitative data about the motion parameters is obtained through single-camera stereo vision whilst qualitative visualizations of the adjacent fluid patterns are achieved with Schlieren photography. The methodology was validated by comparing the magnitudes of the drag coefficient of a set of spherical particles at terminal velocity conditions against those estimated from drag correlations published in the literature. A noteworthy similarity was attained. During the fall of non-spherical solids, once the particle Reynolds number approximated 163 for disks, and 240 for cylinders, or exceeded those values, secondary motions composed by regular oscillations and tumbling were present They altered the angular orientation of the particles with respect to the main motion direction and caused complete turbulent patterns in the surrounding flow, therefore affecting the instantaneous projected area, drag force, and coefficient of resistance. The impact of the changes in angular orientation onto the drag coefficient was shown graphically as a means for reinforcing existing numerical approaches, however, an explicit relation between both variables could not be observed. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 847, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electricity", "abstract": "A new facultative anaerobic exoelectrogenic strain LZ-1, belonging to Citrobacter freundii, has been isolated. This strain can produce current densities of 843.9 and 865.6 mu A cm(-2) using citrate or acetate as carbon source in a three-electrode configuration. The electricity generation performance was also analyzed in a dual-chamber MFC system, reaching a maximum power density of 1233 mW m(-2). In addition to acetate and citrate, other carbon sources such as pyruvate, formate, acetate, citrate and fumarate could also be utilized to produce current by strain LZ-1. Data supports the presence of electroacfive c-type cytochromes in C. freundii sp. when grown on ITO electrodes, by linking spectroscopy and electrochemistry in situ. Since facultative strains possess many desirable properties compared to anaerobic strains, strain LZ-1 represents a promising exoelectrogenic species in engineering of biological catalysts for microbial electrochemistry."}
{"ID": 848, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A new fast computational structure identical both for the forward and backward modified discrete cosine/sine transform (MDCT/MDST) computation is described. It is the result of a systematic construction of a fast algorithm for an efficient implementation of the complete time domain aliasing cancellation (TDAC) analysis/synthesis MDCT/MDST filter banks. It is shown that the same computational structure can be used both for the encoder and the decoder, thus significantly reducing design time and resources. The corresponding generalized signal flow graph is regular and defines new sparse matrix factorizations of the discrete cosine transform of type IV (DCT-IV) and MDCT/MDST matrices. The identical fast MDCT computational structure provides an efficient implementation of the MDCT in MPEG layer III (MP3) audio coding and the Dolby Labs AC-3 codec. All steps to derive the computational structure are described in detail, and to put them into perspective a comprehensive list of references classified into categories is provided covering new research results achieved in the time period 1999-2008 in theoretical and practical developments of TDAC analysis/synthesis MDCT/MDST filter banks (general mathematical, symmetry and special properties, fast MDCT/MDST algorithms and efficient software/hardware implementations of the MDCT in MP3). Crown Copyright (c) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 849, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A new fatigue reliability assessment function which takes into account the vehicle and temperature loadings has been developed in this study. The vehicle and temperature loadings are important parameters as they can cause fatigue failure of the welds in a steel box girder. The temperature affects the traffic loading effect by changing the elastic modulus of asphalt pavement. The effect of the temperature difference has been considered based on the measured data and the finite element analysis. Linear regression equations between the equivalent stress and the temperature for different vehicle types have been developed. Using the thermal stress analysis and the rain-flow counting method, the temperature difference fatigue stress spectrum has been determined. Further, a limit equation for the fatigue reliability assessment, which takes into account both the vehicle and temperature loadings, has been developed. Finally, the effects of the temperature and the traffic growth rate on the fatigue reliability of two welding types of Nan-xi Yangtze River Suspension Bridge have been assessed. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 850, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A new fault diagnosis method based on multi-signal flow graph (MSFG) has been proposed to deal with online complex system diagnosis. This method has three steps. The first step is to develop a multi-signal graph model for the object system and generate a dependency matrix as diagnostic knowledge. The second step is to generate conflict sets by the dependency matrix and the system observation vector, and then the problem of finding the minimal diagnosis set is transformed into a problem of integer programming. In the final step, the optimal solution of the problem of integer programming is calculated by using a branch-and-bound algorithm for diagnosis. In this way, explosion problem caused by enumeration can be avoided. In order to facilitate the application of MSFG modeling and on-line diagnosis in real problems, an Intelligent Diagnostic Platform (IDP) that provides a MSFG modeling environment and employs the branch-and-bound algorithm for Complex System diagnosis is developed. The structure of the software IDP is presented. Finally, a case study for a fuel system of aircraft is described in detail to illustrate the procedure of using IDP for diagnostic problems and to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method."}
{"ID": 851, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Lorentz force law", "abstract": "A new framework of electromagnetic theory is presented on the basis of conservation principles of energy and momentum. First, Maxwell's equations and Lorentz force law in vacuum are derived as theorems from the conservation principles. Next, new kinds of averaging procedure, transversal and longitudinal, are introduced to deal with the macroscopic media. Electromagnetic field (E, H) and flux density (D, B) are defined as the longitudinal and transversal averages of the corresponding microscopic field. The polarization P and magnetization M defined as P = D-epsilon(0) E, M = B-mu(0) H are given explicit expressions in terms of microscopic electromagnetic structure of the matter. Lorentz transformation of space-time and electromagnetic field can be derived entirely within the framework of electromagnetic theory."}
{"ID": 852, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A new framework on the representation of signal processing that considers multi-domain information flow of the signal is proposed. Elementary information processing and their diagrams are identified to analyze the components of an algorithm, which is to be translated to the diagram. Intra- and extra-domain relationships are represented as graphs that connect the corresponding domains by suitable mappings or transforms and corresponding emissions or absorption of information. Various examples: convolution, wavelet filtering, projection imaging and coding in noisy channel; are presented to show the ubiquity and to illustrate the usability of the proposed framework."}
{"ID": 853, "domain": "CS", "area": "Parallel computing", "abstract": "A new full-precision algorithm to solve the Debye scattering equation has been developed for high-performance computing of powder diffraction line profiles from large-scale atomistic models of nanomaterials. The Debye function was evaluated using a pair distribution function computed with high accuracy, exploiting the series expansion of the error between calculated and equispace-sampled pair distances of atoms. The intensity uncertainty (standard deviation) of the computed diffraction profile was estimated as a function of the algorithm-intrinsic approximations and coordinate precision of the atomic positions, confirming the high accuracy of the simulated pattern. Based on the propagation of uncertainty, the new algorithm provides a more accurate powder diffraction profile than a brute-force calculation. Indeed, the precision of floating-point numbers employed in brute-force computations is worse than the estimated accuracy provided by the new algorithm. A software application, ROSE-X, has been implemented for parallel computing on CPU/GPU multi-core processors and distributed clusters. The computing performance is directly proportional to the total processor speed of the devices. An average speed of similar to 30 x 10(9) computed pair distances per second was measured, allowing simulation of the powder diffraction pattern of an similar to 23 million atom microstructure in a couple of hours. Moreover, the pair distribution function was recorded and reused to evaluate powder diffraction profiles of the same system with different properties (i.e. Q rather than 2 theta range, step and wavelength), avoiding additional pair distance computations. This approach was used to investigate a large collection of monoatomic and polyatomic microstructures, isolating the contribution from atoms belonging to different moieties (e.g. different species or crystalline domains)."}
{"ID": 854, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A new gain enhancement technique for an operational amplifier (opamp) using a replica amplifier is presented to reduce a sensitivity of a gain mismatch between the main amplifier and the replica amplifier which limits a gain-enhancement factor in the conventional replica-amp techniques. In the proposed technique, the replica amplifier is used to only amplify an error voltage of the main amplifier. The outputs of the main amplifier and the replica amplifier are added to cancel the error voltage of the main amplifier. The proposed technique can also achieve a higher output voltage swing because the replica amplifier amplifies only the error voltage. In case of using a fully-differential common-source opamp for the main amplifier and a telescopic opamp for the replica amplifier, Monte Carlo simulation at 100 iterations shows that the proposed amplifier has almost the same gain variation with 15.5 dB gain enhancement and about five times output voltage swing expanding for a supply voltage of 1.2V compared with the single closed-loop amplifier using the telescopic opamp."}
{"ID": 855, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Machine design", "abstract": "A new gear set consisting of a planar noncircular gear and a specific face gear called undulating face gear is presented, which are able to transmit varying angular velocity. Based on the kinematics of planar noncircular pinion and rack, the formation mechanism of pitch curves of the undulating face gear is given, with the continuous transmission condition of the gear set discussed. Tooth surfaces of the undulating face gear are enveloped by the teeth of a shaper cutter when its pitch circle rolls on the pitch curve of the undulating face gear without sliding. According to the spatial meshing theory, the mathematical model of the face gear tooth surface is built. The phenomenon of tooth undercutting and tip-cutting of the face gear is investigated through three-dimensional machine design software to obtain its minimum inner radius and maximum outer radius. Furthermore, a computer program is developed to calculate the data of the face gear tooth surface and a motion simulation of the gear set without undercutting and tip-cutting is made, which is able to illustrate validity and correctness of the design theory. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 856, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer programming", "abstract": "A new generation of computer games has taken over during the last few years, called Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG). In parallel, the usage of games in education has increased, exploiting the fact that young people are familiarized with them and would be more motivated to learn while entertained. However, MMORPG require significant amounts of resources, such as bandwidth, RAM and CPU capacity to support learning. In this paper, we propose a new methodology to achieve monitoring and optimization of the load balancing, so that the essential resources for the proper execution of an educational MMORPG for computer programming can be foreseen and bestowed without overloading the system. Moreover, we present an educational MMORPG called CMX, which aims to teach computer programming through interactive activities and role-playing. We finally apply the proposed model to CMX by conducting an experiment and conclude that the server's performance is indeed increased."}
{"ID": 857, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A new generator control unit (GCU) must be designed to work in a wide frequency range in order to obtain better control performance in variable frequency AC power system. Control algorithms make improvements in terms of determining the control parameters and analyze the influence of the controller parameters on system stability, and compensate for the loss of signals generated in the conditioning process. This paper compares the pros and cons of different RMS algorithms and determine the final RMS calculation scheme. Test results show a considerable performance improvement for the proposed design in dynamic performance and adjustment precision."}
{"ID": 858, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A new Grounded-Capacitor Single Resistance Controlled Sinusoidal Oscillator (SRCO) with explicit current output using two Current Conveyors (CCs) and five passive elements is presented. The proposed circuit offers (i) independent control of condition of oscillation and frequency of oscillation, (ii) low active and passive sensitivities, (iii) use of both the grounded capacitors (suitable for IC implementation) and (iv) reasonably good frequency stability. The workability of the proposed configuration has been confirmed by the PSPICE simulations."}
{"ID": 859, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A new high-accuracy current-mode function generator circuit will be presented, the proposed computational structure being designed for implementing a multitude of circuit functions with many applications in VLSI designs. The realization of the original function generator is based on the utilization of a new third-order approximation function that allows to strongly reduce the approximation error for the implemented functions. The circuit requires a much smaller silicon area comparing to similar previouslys reported circuits. The current-mode operation and the independence of the output current of the function generator on technological parameters and on temperature variations additionally increase the overall circuit accuracy. The simulations confirm the theoretical estimated results, showing an accuracy of the functional squaring core equal with 0.97 %. The new proposed function generator based on the third-order approximation function permits to obtain a wide output dynamic range of 28dB for a maximal error of 1dB, when implementing the exponential function. The proposed function generator is designed for a low-voltage operation, being supplied at V-DD=1V."}
{"ID": 860, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Human Metabolism", "abstract": "A new high-performance capillary electrophoresis assay for aminothiols in human blood, including homocysteine, a marker of several human metabolism disorders, has been developed. Sample preparation involves conversion of disulfides to free thiols with triphenylphosphine, precipitation of proteins with sulfosalicylic acid, and conjugation of the thiols with monobromobimane. Derivatized thiols were separated in a sodium phosphate buffer using a fused-silica capillary (65 cmx50 mum I.D.) at 30 degreesC. With the electric field of 250 V cm(-1), separation of homocysteine, glutathione and cysteine occurred at less than 10 min. Detection at 250 or 234 nm was used to confirm the monobimane-thiols peaks. The detection Limit was similar to5 nmol/ml for all labeled aminothiols. The proposed method for these compounds' analysis included simple sample preparation, high selectivity, good linearity (r(2)>0.999), high reproducibility (within-run precision for derivatized aminothiol peaks area RSD<5% for three times consequently injected sample); high reliability and the small volumes required for analysis made it suitable for clinical studies. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 861, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A new hydraulic circuit is introduced, packaged as a singular component and referred to as a multifunctional flow control (MFC) valve, for usage in conjunction with self-circulating hydraulic cylinders. Unlike conventional check valves, whose directional flow restrictions are permanent, the restriction on the flow direction in the MFC valve can be changed. In addition to being able to act as a check valve in either direction, this valve can allow free flow or no flow of the fluid when required, that is, a total of four positions. The proposed circuit for the MFC valve can effectively be represented as a two-way four-position valve. Furthermore, the design for the valve is validated through experimentation. Additionally, an aerospace application for this valve is presented and discussed herein."}
{"ID": 862, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A new hysteresis window method is proposed as a solution for avoiding the operational dead zone that exists at the transition between buck and boost operating modes in all noninverting buck-boost converters. In addition, this method also eliminates the discontinuities in the converter's steady-state output voltage transfer characteristic, which is a function of the duty cycle. The converter's output voltage function is surjective and, therefore, smooth mode transitions are achieved. The negative effects of operating within the dead zone are shown by the presence of subharmonics in the output voltage, increased output voltage ripple, poor regulation, and the instability of the converter during the transition between buck and boost operating modes. The dead-zone avoidance technique proposed in this paper eliminates all these issues while at the same time ensures highly efficient operation of the converter. An additional advantage of the technique is its simplicity, which allows for implementation into low-cost digital signal controllers, as well as into analog control circuits. The advantageous features of the proposed approach were evaluated on the basis of comparisons with three other dead-zone avoidance approaches and the initial case, which does not utilize any dead-zone avoidance technique. All the experiments were carried out on a purpose-built prototype of a noninverting buck-boost converter with magnetically coupled inductors."}
{"ID": 863, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer vision", "abstract": "A new image analysis algorithm based on mathematical morphology and pixel classification for grapevine berry counting is presented in this paper. First, a set of berry candidates represented by connected components was extracted. Then, six descriptors were calculated using key features of these components, and were employed for false positive (FP) discrimination using a supervised approach. More specifically, the set of descriptors modelled the grapes' distinctive shape, light reflection pattern and colour. Two classifiers were tested, a three-layer neural network and an optimised support vector machine. A dataset of 152 images was acquired with a low-cost smart phone camera. Images came from seven grapevine varieties, 18 per variety, at the two phenological stages in the Baggiolini scale between berry set (named stage K; 94 images) and cluster-closure (named stage L; 32 images). 126 of these images were kept for external validation and the remaining 26 were used for training (12 at stage L and 14 at K). From these training images, 5438 true/false positive samples were generated and labelled in terms of the six descriptors. The neural network performed better than the support vector machine, yielding consistent Recall and Precision average values of 0.9572 and 0.8705, respectively. The presented algorithm, implemented as a smartphone application, can constitute a useful diagnosis tool for the in-the-field and non-destructive yield prediction and berry set assessing for the grape and wine industry. (C) 2017 IAgrE. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 864, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Atopic Dermatitis", "abstract": "A new in vitro model based on the electrical resistance properties of the skin barrier has been established in this laboratory. The model utilises a tape stripping procedure in dermatomed pig skin that removes a specific proportion of the stratum corneum, mimicking impaired barrier function observed in humans with damaged skin. The skin penetration and distribution of chemicals with differing physicochemical properties, namely; Benzoic acid, 3-Aminophenol, Caffeine and Sucrose has been assessed in this model. Although, skin penetration over 24 h differed for each chemical, compromising the skin did not alter the shape of the time course profile, although absorption into receptor fluid was higher for each chemical. Systemic exposure (receptor fluid, epidermis and dermis), was marginally higher in compromised skin following exposure to the fast penetrant, Benzoic acid, and the slow penetrant Sucrose. The systemically available dose of 3-Aminophenol increased to a greater extent and the absorption of Caffeine was more than double in compromised skin, suggesting that Molecular Weight and Log P-ow are not the only determinants for assessing systemic exposure under these conditions. Although further investigations are required, this in vitro model may be useful for prediction of dermal route exposure under conditions where skin barrier is impaired. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 865, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A new intelligent hybrid structure used for online tuning of a PID controller is proposed in this paper. The structure is based on two adaptive neural networks, both with built-in Chebyshev orthogonal polynomials. First substructure network is a regular orthogonal neural network with implemented artificial endocrine factor (OENN), in the form of environmental stimuli, to its weights. It is used for approximation of control signals and for processing system deviation/disturbance signals which are introduced in the form of environmental stimuli. The output values of OENN are used to calculate artificial environmental stimuli (AES), which represent required adaptation measure of a second network orthogonal endocrine adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (OEANFIS). OEANFIS is used to process control, output and error signals of a system and to generate adjustable values of proportional, derivative, and integral parameters, used for online tuning of a PID controller. The developed structure is experimentally tested on a laboratory model of the 3D crane system in terms of analysing tracking performances and deviation signals (error signals) of a payload. OENN-OEANFIS performances are compared with traditional PID and 6 intelligent PID type controllers. Tracking performance comparisons (in transient and steady-state period) showed that the proposed adaptive controller possesses performances within the range of other tested controllers. The main contribution of OENN-OEANFIS structure is significant minimization of deviation signals (17%-79%) compared to other controllers. It is recommended to exploit it when dealing with a highly nonlinear system which operates in the presence of undesirable disturbances. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 866, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Cancer", "abstract": "A new iridoid glycoside; 6-O-beta-D-xylopyranoside-shanzhiside methyl ester (1) along with six known compounds; shanzhiside methyl ester (2), lamalbid (3), geniposidic acid (4), theveside (5), verbascoside (6) and arenarioside (7) were isolated from the roots of Lantana montevidensis. The structures of the compounds were determined through 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data analysis, HRESIMS, electronic circular dichorism and UPLC-UV/MS method. The total extract, chloroformic (F1) and aqueous (F2) fractions together with the isolated compounds were tested for their antimicrobial, antiprotozoal, antiplasmodial, anti-inflammatory, monoamine oxidase inhibition and cell viability activities in addition to free radical scavenging activity using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The phenylpropanoid compounds (6 and 7) resulted in a potent antioxidant activity. Total methanolic extract together with the aqueous fraction (F2) showed decrease in reactive oxidative stress with 57 and 66%, respectively, while the chloroformic fraction (F1), together with the total methanolic extract, showed a decrease in iNOS with IC50 values 5 and 30 mu g/mL, respectively. Compounds 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 showed inhibition in the reactive oxidative stress with values 50, 60, 57, 63, and 52%, respectively. Both F1 and F2 fractions demonstrated measurable inhibition of MCF-7 breast cancer cell growth, with IC50 value 0.3 mg/mL. Compounds 2 and 7 showed mild monoamine oxidase inhibition. None of the tested compounds showed antimicrobial, antiplasmodial or antiprotozoal activity."}
{"ID": 867, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A new joint mechanical and electrical simulation platform of a motion stage (reticle or wafer stage) was introduced of a step-and-scan lithography. In this platform the motion stage control object model represented in the form of a state-space model was extracted from its finite element (FE) model, which was then inserted into the other control models built by Matlab/simulink to form this simulation platform. Because a state-space FE model has not only the stiff-body information but also that of the mechanical structure modals of a motion stage, hence when compared with a stiff-body model or a theoretic one it is much closer to an actual motion stage. A simulation example of a reticle stage control system was given of a step-and-scan lithography, in which the time and frequent performance indices were compared with both a stiff-body model and a state-space one respectively, and it further showed that the state-space model was much more adapted to meet the modeling requirements of an actual motion stage than that of a stiff-body one."}
{"ID": 868, "domain": "CS", "area": "Relational databases", "abstract": "A new kind of cloud service, called Database-as-aservice (DaaS), provides a novel paradigm which allows data to be stored in remote databases. The types of database used in remote sites can be divided into two categories: Relational Databases (RDB) and NoSQL. NoSQL databases store data in a flexible format, and without schema, so NoSQL databases can be easily scaled across multiple devices. Because of the advantages of the NoSQL databases, many large data applications use NoSQL databases as the backend data management system. Because NoSQL databases usually access the stored data as files, through a distributed file system, the problem of decentralized data management is critical in NoSQL databases. In order to address this issue, many energy-efficient algorithms for file placement are used in distributed file systems. However, these energy-efficient algorithms only focus on reducing the power consumption of storage systems and they ignore the cost of data reliability, which is affected by frequently setting the disk status to standby mode. To maintain data reliability, energy-efficient storage systems usually combine framework of power conservation and a fault tolerance mechanism. However, most developers of energy-efficient frameworks do not consider whether the fault tolerance mechanism can avoid data loss when this combination is used for energy-efficient storage systems. This study proposes a general energy-efficient framework that can be integrated different fault tolerance mechanisms. The experimental results show that the capability of the proposed framework with different erasure code algorithms."}
{"ID": 869, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A new large dynamic-range variable gain amplifier (VGA) with improved dB linearity is presented. The traditional cascade VGA has the disadvantages of gain mismatch between sub-stages and difficulty of employing mismatch cancelation or suppression algorithms. In this paper, switch arrays were used to make the sub-stages or called gain cells in the coarse-tuning stage (CTS) work independently and therefore prevent the integral operation of the gain errors. Then, a second-order mismatch-shaping DEM was applied conveniently to the CTS and shown to be a useful design technique in improving the dB-linearity performance. The cascade VGA and its second-order mismatch-shaping DEM had been integrated in a 2.4-GHz receiver chip which was fabricated in a 0.18-mu m CMOS technology with a supply voltage of 1.8V. Measurement results showed that the gain errors were significantly reduced with second-order mismatch-shaping DEM with respect to the traditionally thermometric decoding over a temperature range of [-40, 80] degrees C. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 870, "domain": "CS", "area": "Computer graphics", "abstract": "A new lightning shielding failure evaluation method based on the electro-geometric method aided by 3D graphics technology is introduced. The approach is based on the collection surface method. Shielding devices and protected equipment are equally considered as targets of lightning strikes when generating collection surfaces. The collection surfaces are then projected to a 2D bitmap, identified by colors to represent protected and unprotected areas respectively. An integral is performed on the amplitude of the stroke current (weighted by the probability distribution of this amplitude) to account for the dependency of the shape and size of the unprotected surface on the stroke current. By using the collection surfaces of equipment instead of the unprotected area, empty areas where no equipment is to be protected are eliminated from contributing to the failure analysis. The technique applies to structures or substations of any shape, and can use different striking distances to horizontal and vertical objects. The example 69 kV substation described in IEEE Standard 998 is used to demonstrate the usage of this technique. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 871, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Remote Sensing", "abstract": "A new look at the description of the phenomenon of electromagnetic wave radiation as a phase transition of a quasi-static field state (near zone) in the field of running wave (far zone) is suggested. It is demonstrated that the boundary of this transition, called the causal surface, is sufficiently localized. The position of the causal surface depends on the chosen radiation frequency. The skin layer in media with strong absorption is formed at the boundary of the causal surface, and this can be used for depth sensing of such media."}
{"ID": 872, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A new major version of the European severe accident integral code ASTEC, developed by IRSN with some GRS support, was delivered in November 2015 to the ASTEC worldwide community. Main modelling features of this V2.1 version are summarised in this paper. In particular, the in-vessel coupling technique between the reactor coolant system thermal-hydraulics module and the core degradation module has been strongly re-engineered to remove some well-known weaknesses of the former V2.0 series. The V2.1 version also includes new core degradation models specifically addressing BWR and PHWR reactor types, as well as several other physical modelling improvements, notably on reflooding of severely damaged cores, Zircaloy oxidation under air atmosphere, corium coolability during corium concrete interaction and source term evaluation. Moreover, this V2.1 version constitutes the back-bone of the CESAM FP7 project, which final objective is to further improve ASTEC for use in Severe Accident Management analysis of the Gen.II-III nuclear power plants presently under operation or foreseen in near future in Europe. As part of this European project, IRSN efforts to continuously improve both code numerical robustness and computing performances at plant scale as well as users' tools are being intensified. Besides, ASTEC will continue capitalising the whole knowledge on severe accidents phenomenology by progressively keeping physical models at the state of the art through a regular feed-back from the interpretation of the current and future experimental programs performed in the international frame. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 873, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Weight Loss", "abstract": "A new material from clay was developed that has a resistance to carbon dioxide flow in upstream for plugging CO2 storage wells. Thermogravimetric and thermal stability of this material showed a minimal variation in weight loss with incremental heating up to 420 degrees C. Adsorption-desorption of CO2 at various modeled temperature showed an exothermic and spontaneous process with maximum adsorption capacity of 775 mg/g obtained at 640 psi (43.5 bar) and 50 degrees C. Higher pressure led to more storage capacity with physisorption hysteresis curves. Freundlich and BET models best fit the equilibrium adsorption data with average regression coefficient of 0.995. The new material can substitute the conventional cement plugs for upstream carbon sequestration and prevents the migration of the stored CO2 through the cement plug to the surface. Also the developed new cement showed no chemical interaction which confirms the economical impact of using this cement to plug the CO2 sequestrations wells. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 874, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Enzymology", "abstract": "A new mathematical formula referred to as the Planckian distribution equation (PDE) has been found to fit long-tailed histograms generated in various fields of studies, ranging from atomic physics to single-molecule enzymology, cell biology, brain neurobiology, glottometrics, econophysics, and to cosmology. PDE can be derived from a Gaussian-like equation (GLE) by non-linearly transforming its variable, x, while keeping the y coordinate constant. Assuming that GLE represents a random distribution (due to its symmetry), it is possible to define a binary logarithm of the ratio between the areas under the curves of PDE and GLE as a measure of the non-randomness (or order) underlying the biophysicochemical processes generating long-tailed histograms that fit PDE. This new function has been named the Planckian information, IP, which (i) may be a new measure of order that can be applied widely to both natural and human sciences and (ii) can serve as the opposite of the Boltzmann-Gibbs entropy, S, which is a measure of disorder. The possible rationales for the universality of PDE may include (i) the universality of the wave-particle duality embedded in PDE, (ii) the selection of subsets of random processes (thereby breaking the symmetry of GLE) as the basic mechanism of generating order, organization, and function, and (iii) the quantity-quality complementarity as the connection between PDE and Peircean semiotics."}
{"ID": 875, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A new member of antimicrobial protein genes of the Crustin family was cloned from haemocytes of the Chinese shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis by 3' and 5' RACE. The full-length cDNA of Crustin-like gene contains a 390 bp open reading frame, encoding 130 amino acids. The deduced peptide contains a putative signal peptide of 17 amino acids and mature peptide of 113 amino acids. The molecular mass of the deduced mature peptide is 12.3 ku. It is highly cationic with a theoretical isoelectric point of 8.5. The deduced amino acids sequence of this Crustin showed high homology with those of Penaeus (Litopenaeas) setferus. Northern blotting showed that the cloned Crustin gene was mainly expressed in haemocytes, gill, intestine, and RNA in situ hybridization indicated that the Crustin gene was constitutively expressed exclusively in haemocytes of these tissues. Capillary electrophoresis RT-PCR analysis showed that Crustin was up-regulated dramatically from 12 to 48 h after a brief decrease of mRNA during first 6 h in response to microbe infection. The level of Crustin mRNA began to restore at 72 h post-challenge. This indicated that Crustin gene might play an important role when shrimps are infected by bacterial pathogen."}
{"ID": 876, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Remote Sensing", "abstract": "A new method based on modified self-organizing maps is presented for the reconstruction of deep ocean current velocities from surface information provided by satellites. This method takes advantage of local correlations in the data-space to improve the accuracy of the reconstructed deep velocities. No assumptions regarding the structure of the water column, nor the underlying dynamics of the flow field, are made. Using satellite observations of surface velocity, sea-surface height and sea-surface temperature, as well as observations of the deep current velocity from autonomous Argo floats to train the map, we are able to reconstruct realistic high-resolution velocity fields at a depth of 1000 m. Validation reveals promising results, with a speed root mean squared error of similar to 2.8 cm.s(-1), more than a factor of two smaller than competing methods, and direction errors consistently smaller than 30 degrees. Finally, we discuss the merits and shortcomings of this methodology."}
{"ID": 877, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A new method for estimating the nonparametric time-variant frequency response function (TV-FRF) and its variance of a hybrid time-varying system is proposed. By para-meterizing the hybrid time variation using Legendre polynomials and Haar multiresolution wavelets, the TV-FRF identification problem is reduced to a time-invariant FRF estimation problem. The stepwise regression method and Akaike information criterion are applied to select the significant basis functions without manual intervention. This method can achieve high estimation accuracy and small uncertainty without requiring prior knowledge of the time variation of system dynamics. Simulations and an experiment are included to illustrate the method."}
{"ID": 878, "domain": "CS", "area": "Cryptography", "abstract": "A new method for obtaining random bijective S-boxes based on discrete chaotic map is presented. The proposed method uses a discrete chaotic map based on the composition of permutations. The obtained S-boxes have been tested on the number of criteria, such as bijection, nonlinearity, strict avalanche criterion, output bits independence criterion, equiprobable input/output XOR distribution and maximum expected linear probability. The results of performance test show that the S-box presented in this paper has good cryptographic properties. The advantage of the proposed method is the possibility to achieve large key space, which makes it suitable for generation of S-boxes for larger values of n. Also, because this method uses discrete chaotic map based on the composition of permutations which has finite space domain, there is no need for discretization of continuous values of chaotic map, so the process of generation of S-boxes is not affected by approximations of any kind."}
{"ID": 879, "domain": "CS", "area": "Cryptography", "abstract": "A new method for obtaining strong S-boxes based on chaotic map and Teaching-Learning-Based Optimization (TLBO) is presented in this paper. Our method presents eight rounds; each round contains two transformations: row left shifting and columnwise rotation. The vectors for the transformations are different from one round to another, and they are controlled by two keys to the logistic map. These two keys are optimized by using TLBO which aims to construct a strong S-box that satisfies to the criteria set in advance. Test for the following criteria such as bijectivity, nonlinearity, strict avalanche criteria, equiprobable inputs/outputs XOR distribution is analyzed. Additionally, we will provide many comparisons with other S-boxes and test of the sensitivity to keys. The results of performance test show that the proposed design S-boxes presents good cryptography proprieties and can resist to several attacks."}
{"ID": 880, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A new method is implemented in designing of self-oscillating loop for driving piezoelectric transformers. The implemented method is based on combining both analog and digital control systems. Digitized delay, or digitized phase shift through the self-oscillating loop results in a very precise frequency control and ensures an optimum operation of the piezoelectric transformer in terms of voltage gain and efficiency. In this work, additional time delay is implemented digitally for the first time through 16 bit digital-to-analog converter to the self-oscillating loop. Delay control setpoints updates at a rate of 417 kHz. This allows the control loop to dynamically follow frequency changes of the transformer in each resonant cycle. The operation principle behind self-oscillating is discussed in this paper. Moreover, experimental results are reported."}
{"ID": 881, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical circuits", "abstract": "A new method of reliability monitoring of electrical devices based on carbon fibres is presented. Due to the thermo-mechanical stress on electronic circuits a loss of fibre network integrity can take place and potential difference may appear between the edges of broken carbon fibres. This potential difference causes an intensive field-emission from surfaces of these broken carbon fibres and an acceleration of emitted electrons. Due to the acceleration of electrons a microwave emission is generated. A CFRP was used to simulate the behaviour of a carbon based electronic device. The sequence of microwave impulses was detected in a frequency bandwidth from 8 to 12 GHz. The rise time of detected microwave impulses is about of few nanoseconds. This time is in agreement with crack formation time in carbon fibre. The correlation between the change of electrical resistance of composites and microwave impulses by fibres fracture is observed. Thus, the breakdown of current that flows through carbon fibres induces detectable microwave emission. That means that defects in electrical circuits can be wireless detected online."}
{"ID": 882, "domain": "CS", "area": "Symbolic computation", "abstract": "A new method to obtain second-order reductions for ordinary differential equations which are polynomial in the derivatives of the dependent variable is presented. The method is applied to obtain reductions and new solutions to several well-known equations of mathematical physics: a lubrication equation, a thin-film equation, the Zoomeron equation and a family of 5th - order partial differential equations which includes the Caudrey-Dodd-Gibbon-Sawada-Kotera, Kaup-Kupershmidt, Ito and Lax equations. Some pieces of computer algebra code to derive the reductions are also included. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 883, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A new method to reconfigure, tune or program an antenna is presented and validated through a fabricated proof-of-concept prototype. The method relies on the changing electrical properties of a smart material, vanadium dioxide (VO2), across its solid-to-solid phase transition. The phase change in the material is induced thermally. The developed device is a monolithically integrated VO2-based antenna that changes resonant frequency on demand. Details and challenges related to the design, fabrication and integration of VO2 thin films with antennas, as well as the measurement setup, are discussed. Measurement results match well with theory and simulations. Results unveil a new technique for reconfiguring antennas and suggest further studies and improvements could lead to more exciting results and make vanadium dioxide thin-films an alternate solution for multi-functional antennas. This work is the first prototype to implement this new reconfiguration mechanism in antennas in the gigahertz range and to present results during the VO2 metal-to-insulator phase transition."}
{"ID": 884, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A new methodology to determine the safety of suspension bridge main cables is proposed in this paper and illustrated by simulating the failure of a corrosion-deteriorated cable composed of 9,061 wires. The approach is the first to use a finite-element (FE) model to predict the failure load, account for load recovery due to friction in broken wires, and simulate the reduced strength of the cable as a three-dimensional random field. To obtain cable failure load, the load is increased gradually, causing individual wires break according to their residual strength variability. Because of the load transfer to surrounding wires, the breakage of an individual wire affects the stress state of its surrounding wires. Consequently, as the load is increased, this local damage spreads to its immediate vicinity, and eventually the entire cable fails. Because of the complexity of the problem, the critical failure load is determined through a Monte Carlo simulation approach that accounts for the uncertainty in the spatial variability of the residual strength of the individual wires. The probability distribution of the load that will drive a suspension bridge cable to failure is reported and investigated in the paper. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers."}
{"ID": 885, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electricity", "abstract": "A new microbent in-line microfiber interferometer (MI-MI) is proposed and demonstrated as a compact temperature and current sensor. The MI-MI is capable of generating interference fringes with a high extinction ratio of about 12.0 dB and a free spectral range of 1.9 nm at a wavelength of 1545 nm. When employed as a temperature sensor, a copper wire carrying a direct current is placed against the MI-MI sensor, and the interference fringes of the MI-MI sensor shifts toward the longer wavelength as the heat generated by the copper wire increases. As the temperature increase corresponds linearly to the current, thus the measurement of the current can be extrapolated as well. The sensor has a temperature responsivity of 33.0 pm/degrees C with a linearity of more than 0.97 as well as a current responsitivity of 1.46 degrees C/A(2), and has significant potential for application as a health and warning sensor for electricity generation and distribution grids."}
{"ID": 886, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Thermodynamics", "abstract": "A new model for interface problems with capillary effects in compressible fluids is presented together with a specific numerical method to treat capillary flows and pressure waves propagation. This new multiphase model is in agreement with physical principles of conservation and respects the second law of thermodynamics. A new numerical method is also proposed where the global system of equations is split into several submodels. Each submodel is hyperbolic or weakly hyperbolic and can be solved with an adequate numerical method. This method is tested and validated thanks to comparisons with analytical solutions (Laplace law) and with experimental results on droplet breakup induced by a shock wave. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 887, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "A new model of power-assisted bicycle has been designed, set up and tested. The main innovative solutions for the pedelec prototype are described in the present paper: the electric motor position; the new mechanical transmission; the low cost measurement system of the driving torque; the special test rig. Differently from a common approach, in which the electric motor is located on one of the three hubs of the bicycle, the idea of the pedelec prototype consists of an electrical motor in the central position that, by means of a bevel gear, transmits the torque on the central hub. The other innovative solution is represented by the motion transmission from the motor to the pedal shaft, achieved by two different gearboxes: the first one is a planetary gearbox and the second one is a simple bevel gear. The pedelec prototype contains also a new low cost measurement system of the driving torque based on a strain gauge load cell located on one side of the rear wheel, between the hub and the frame. Moreover, a commercial cycling simulator has been suitably modified in order to properly install the different sensors for the measurement of the performance of the pedelec. The test rig is able to reproduce an aforethought route or paths acquired during road tests, to measure the performance of the e-bike in terms of instantaneous power and speed. The experimental test rig can simulate the resistant torque of a predetermined track and it aims to test and to optimize the control strategy available on the electronic control unit. The authors have also conducted an environmental analysis of the developed pedelec, in particular comparing the e-bike with a thermal moped, in terms of environmental impact. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license."}
{"ID": 888, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A new multi-level Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm for Approximate Bayesian Computation, ABC-SubSim, has recently appeared that exploits the Subset Simulation method for efficient rare-event simulation. ABC-SubSim adaptively creates a nested decreasing sequence of data-approximating regions in the output space that correspond to increasingly closer approximations of the observed output vector in this output space. At each level, multiple samples of the model parameter vector are generated by a component-wise Metropolis algorithm so that the predicted output corresponding to each parameter value falls in the current data-approximating region. Theoretically, if continued to the limit, the sequence of data-approximating regions would converge on to the observed output vector and the approximate posterior distributions, which are conditional on the data approximation region, would become exact, but this is not practically feasible. In this paper we study the performance of the ABC-SubSim algorithm for Bayesian updating of the parameters of dynamical systems using a general hierarchical state-space model. We note that the ABC methodology gives an approximate posterior distribution that actually corresponds to an exact posterior where a uniformly distributed combined measurement and modeling error is added. We also note that ABC algorithms have a problem with learning the uncertain error variances in a stochastic state-space model and so we treat them as nuisance parameters and analytically integrate them out of the posterior distribution. In addition, the statistical efficiency of the original ABC-SubSim algorithm is improved by developing a novel strategy to regulate the proposal variance for the component-wise Metropolis algorithm at each level. We demonstrate that Self-regulated ABC-SubSim is well suited for Bayesian system identification by first applying it successfully to model updating of a two degree-of-freedom linear structure for three cases: globally, locally and unidentifiable model classes, and then to model updating of a two degree-of-freedom nonlinear structure with Duffing nonlinearities in its interstory force-deflection relationship. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 889, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "A new nonisolated multiinput multioutput dc-dc boost converter is proposed in this paper. This converter is applicable in hybridizing alternative energy sources in electric vehicles. In fact, by hybridization of energy sources, advantages of different sources are achievable. In this converter, the loads power can be flexibly distributed between input sources. Also, charging or discharging of energy storages by other input sources can be controlled properly. The proposed converter has several outputs with different voltage levels which makes it suitable for interfacing to multilevel inverters. Using of a multilevel inverter leads to reduction of voltage harmonics which, consequently, reduces torque ripple of electric motor in electric vehicles. Also, electric vehicles which using dc motor have at least two different dc voltage levels, one for ventilation system and cabin lightening and other for supplying electric motor. The proposed converter has just one inductor. Depending on charging and discharging states of the energy storage system (ESS), two different power operation modes are defined for the converter. In order to design the converter control system, small-signal model for each operation mode is extracted. The validity of the proposed converter and its control performance are verified by simulation and experimental results for different operation conditions."}
{"ID": 890, "domain": "CS", "area": "Data structures", "abstract": "A new nonlinear dimensionality reduction method called kernel global-local preserving projections (KGLPP) is developed and applied for fault detection. KGLPP has the advantage of preserving global and local data structures simultaneously. The kernel principal component analysis (KPCA), which only preserves the global Euclidean structure of data, and the kernel locality preserving projections (KLPP), which only preserves the local neighborhood structure of data, are unified in the KGLPP framework. KPCA and KLPP can be easily derived from KGLPP by choosing some particular values of parameters. As a result, KGLPP is more powerful than KPCA and KLPP in capturing useful data characteristics. A KGLPP-based monitoring method is proposed for nonlinear processes. T-2 and SPE statistics are constructed in the feature space for fault detection. Case studies in a nonlinear system and in the Tennessee Eastman process demonstrate that the KGLPP-based method significantly outperforms KPCA, KLPP and GLPP-based methods, in terms of higher fault detection rates and better fault sensitivity. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 891, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A new normalized least mean square (NLMS)-based identification algorithm is proposed for sparse systems. In the proposed algorithm, a tap-selection matrix is utilized to adaptively locate the nonzero coefficients during the convergence process. The so-called tap-selection matrix is a diagonal matrix consisting of zeros and ones, with ones indicating the locations of the active coefficients. At each iteration, tap weights update based on the product of the tap-selection matrix and previous tap-weight vector in the NLMS style. The tap-selection matrix updates by comparing each tap weight with a pre-determined threshold value. Parameter choice guidelines for the threshold value are provided to facilitate practical use. Steady-state mean square deviation is also analyzed for performance evaluation. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed NLMS algorithm with tap-selection matrix can effectively locate the nonzero coefficients of the unknown system impulse response, outperforming the existing NLMS-based algorithms for sparse system identifications."}
{"ID": 892, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A new of voltage-mode first-order allpass filter using only three single-ended operational transconductance amplifiers (OTAs) and one capacitor is proposed. The pole frequency can be controlled electronically by adjusting the transconductance value of the OTA. Moreover, for realizing first-order allpass reposed no any conditions of component-matching are required. The characteristics of the proposed filter circuit are also simulated using PSPICE simulations to verify the theory."}
{"ID": 893, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Materials Engineering", "abstract": "A new open-source project evaluation tool, entitled the Materials Engineering Tetrahedron (MET), has been developed to determine the economic viability of materials design, selection, processing, and validation costs associated with any infrastructure-based project. MET improves project design by providing an economic perspective to the traditional materials science tetrahedron, relating microstructure, processing, property, and performance through the introduction of value-based economic costs for each side of the tetrahedron. The resulting size and distortion, from a regular tetrahedron illustrates the balance between the system, component, or material fabrication project detailed. The MET model also allows for increased budget efficiency and the potential for improved identification of cost saving mechanisms. The use of financial tools, such MET, will aid engineering project management by providing easy and reliable metrics to compare projected costs versus desired outcomes. Expansion and use of these types of tools will reduce risks during the initial stages of project design. To illustrate the strength of MET, several example tetrahedra were generated demonstrating the various uses and applications of this new program."}
{"ID": 894, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A new operational amplifier cell for high voltage current sensing applications is presented in this paper. The proposed structure employs a fully low voltage input stage capable of tracking input common modes (CMs) ranging from GND rail to above the supply rail. Furthermore, a solution for ensuring the linearity of the amplifier over the entire operating voltages is discussed. The proposed circuit was implemented in a typical 0.25 mu m CMOS BCD technology and its performances were confirmed by simulations and silicon measurements."}
{"ID": 895, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Manufacturing engineering", "abstract": "A new photochromic diarylethene bearing naphthyl unit was synthesized efficiently. Its photochromic properties and the fluorescence property were examined in hexane solution and in PMMA film. The concentration effect in hexane solution was investigated also. The results indicated that the photochromic diarylethene have good photochromic property and exhibit remarkable fluorescence switching property and when the concentration at 2 x 10(-5) mol/L the fluorescence peak have the maximum."}
{"ID": 896, "domain": "MAE", "area": "computer-aided design", "abstract": "A new procedure to extract the parameters of mathematical models that describe charge flow phenomena through thin dielectrics is proposed for characterizing undesirable leakage current mechanisms in modern MOSFETs' gates. The procedure's basis is the small signal conductance-to-current ratio of the I-V characteristics. It is an alternative to, and has advantages over, the other presently used methods that extract those models' parameters from the slope and intercept of phenomenon-specific linear plots. In contrast, this is a generic method that may be directly applied to the I-V characteristics, regardless of the specific leakage mechanism involved. The procedure inherently reduces by one the number of unknowns that needs to be determined during numerical optimization. In addition, it does not require, as other traditional methods do, a prior knowledge of the exact relationship between the applied voltage and the effective internal electric field strength, which in this case is determined together with the other parameters. The procedure is illustrated by three examples with different kinds of data: mathematically synthesized, Computer Aided Design simulated, and experimentally measured leakage I-V characteristics of MOS capacitors."}
{"ID": 897, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Solar Energy", "abstract": "A new process based on thermal-hydraulic conversion actuated by low-grade thermal energy is investigated. Input thermal energy can be provided by the means of solar collectors, as well as other low temperature energy sources. In the following article, \"thermo-hydraulic\" term refers to a process involving an incompressible fluid used as an intermediate medium to transfer work hydraulically between different thermal operated components or sub-systems. The system aims at providing trigeneration energy features for the residential sector, that is providing heating, cooling and electrical power for meeting the energy needs of domestic houses. This innovative system is made of two dithermal processes (working at two different levels of temperatures) and featuring two different working fluids. The first process is able to directly supply either electrical energy generated by an hydraulic turbine or drives the second process thanks to the incompressible fluid, which is similar to a heat pump effect for heating or cooling purposes. The innovative aspect of this process relies on the use of an hydraulic transfer fluid to transfer the work between each sub-system and therefore simplifying the conversion chain. A model, assuming steady-state operation, is developed to assess the energy performances of different variants of this thermo-hydraulic process with various heat source temperatures (80-110 degrees C) or heat sinks (0-30 degrees C), as well as various pairs of working fluids. For instance, in the frame of a single-family home, located in the Mediterranean region, the working fluid pairs (R1234yf/R1233zd) is investigated in detail in order to estimate the annual performances. For domestic houses, the process aims at amplifying the solar energy collected by a factor of 1.32 for heating purpose, provides a cold production with a coefficient of performance of 0.4 and generates electricity from the remaining solar energy with an efficiency of 3.7%, reducing the electrical or auxiliary consumption and overall greenhouse gas emissions. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 898, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A new pulsed-flow design of hose-based solar collector is presented, which uses a long hose connected to district-grid water in the same way that the basic hose design does. But on contrary that this last, here the exit is not connected directly to consumption and instead the hot water flow is controlled by a thermostat that purges the hose to an insulated tank every time it reaches the desired temperature. So, this water-pond collector works close its maximum efficiency along the day and minimizes nocturnal cooling effect, improving noticeably the performance of the original hose design. As was demonstrated by thermal modeling, this new pulsed-flow design could satisfy the domestic demand of sanitary hot water even in high-latitude locations and furthermore, its performance could be noticeably improved by adding a smart microcontroller. The economic analysis shows this design could be highly competitive applied to large hot-water demands and relatively good for single family demands. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 899, "domain": "CS", "area": "Cryptography", "abstract": "A new quantum dialogue protocol is designed by using the continuous-variable two-mode squeezed vacuum states due to its entanglement property. The two communication parties encode their own secret information into the entangled optical modes with the translation operations. Each communication party could deduce the secret information of their counterparts with the help of his or her secret information and the Bell-basis measurement results. The security of the proposed quantum dialogue protocol is guaranteed by the correlation between two-mode squeezed vacuum states and the decoy states performed with translation operations in randomly selected time slots. Compared with the discrete variable quantum dialogue protocols, the proposed continuous-variable quantum dialogue protocol is easy to realize with perfect utilization of quantum bits."}
{"ID": 900, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A new randomized algorithm is suggested, for extracting static-output-stabilizing-feedbacks, with approximately minimal-norm, for LTI systems. The algorithm has two similar stages, where in the first one the feasibility problem is solved, and in the second one the optimization problem is solved. The formulation is unified for the feasibility and for the optimization problems, as well as for continuous-time or discrete-time systems. The method is demonstrated by applying it to the hard (conjectured to be NP-hard) problem of the minimal-gain static-output-stabilizing-feedback, and to the hard (conjectured to be NP-hard) problem of regional pole-placement via static-output-feedback in non-convex or unconnected regions. A proof of convergence (in probability) that captures the two rounds of the algorithm is given, and complexity analysis is provided, under some mild assumptions. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 901, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Depression", "abstract": "A new research field in translational neuroscience has opened as a result of the recognition since 2002 that \"spreading depression of Le (a) over tilde $o'' can be detected in many patients with acute brain injury, whether vascular and spontaneous, or traumatic in origin, as well as in those many individuals experiencing the visual (or sensorimotor) aura of migraine. In this review, we trace from their first description in rabbits through to their detection and study in migraine and the injured human brain, and from our personal perspectives, the evolution of understanding of the importance of spread of mass depolarisations in cerebral grey matter. Detection of spontaneous depolarisations occurring and spreading in the periphery or penumbra of experimental focal cortical ischemic lesions and of their adverse effects on the cerebral cortical microcirculation and on the tissue glucose and oxygen pools has led to clearer concepts of how ischaemic and traumatic lesions evolve in the injured human brain, and of how to seek to improve clinical management and outcome. Recognition of the likely fundamental significance of spreading depolarisations for this wide range of serious acute encephalopathies in humans provides a powerful case for a fresh examination of neuroprotection strategies."}
{"ID": 902, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Depression", "abstract": "A new sandwich structure which core is made of thin-walled semi-ellipsoidal shell is designed, column cell sandwich composite was prepared by pre-panel preparation process. A series of quasi-static axial compression experiments were carried out on 2 x 2 thin-walled semi-ellipsoidal shell, the compression deformation and yield behavior of thin wall semi-ellipsoidal shells with different materials, diameters and wall thicknesses were studied by means of ANSYS/LS-DYNA finite element simulation and experiment. Then, the effect of filling mode of epoxy resin on the mechanical properties of Column-cell sandwich composites was studied. The results show that the deformation process of the thin spherical shell can be divided into local flattening, axisymmetric depression, non-axisymmetric depression and compaction stage. As the wall thickness increases, the deformation\"mode changes from the polygon to the ring and the deformation process become three stages; small diameter requires larger force under the conditions of the same compression displacement, as the diameter increases, the critical displacement of flipping and asymmetric buckling increases; Epoxy filled in the spherical shell of the sample specific compression performance is better than filled in the outer shell and better than unfilled with epoxy resin. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 903, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A new scanning system named \"Vertex picker\" has been developed to rapid collect alpha decay events, which are calibration sources for the range-energy relation in nuclear emulsion. A computer-controlled optical microscope scans emulsion layers exhaustively, and a high-speed and high-resolution camera takes their micrographs. A dedicated image processing picks out vertex-like shapes. Practical operations of alpha decay search were demonstrated by emulsion sheets of the ICEK-PS E373 experiment. Alpha decays of nearly 28 events were detected in eye-check work on a PC monitor per hour. This yield is nearly 20 times more effective than that by the conventional eye-scan method. The speed and quality is acceptable for the coming new experiment, J-PARC E07."}
{"ID": 904, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A new second-order accurate, hybrid, incremental projection method for time-dependent incompressible viscous flow is introduced in this paper. The hybrid finite-element/finite-volume discretization circumvents the well-known Ladyzhenskaya-Babuska-Brezzi conditions for stability, and does not require special treatment to filter pressure modes by either Rhie-Chow interpolation or by using a Petrov-Galerkin finite element formulation. The use of a co-velocity with a high-resolution advection method and a linearly consistent edge-based treatment of viscous/diffusive terms yields a robust algorithm for a broad spectrum of incompressible flows. The high-resolution advection method is shown to deliver second-order spatial convergence on mixed element topology meshes, and the implicit advective treatment significantly increases the stable time-step size. The algorithm is robust and extensible, permitting the incorporation of features such as porous media flow, RANS and LES turbulence models, and semi-/fully-implicit time stepping. A series of verification and validation problems are used to illustrate the convergence properties of the algorithm. The temporal stability properties are demonstrated on a range of problems with 2 <= CFL <= 100. The new flow solver is built using the Hydra multiphysics toolkit. The Hydra toolkit is written in C++ and provides a rich suite of extensible and fully-parallel components that permit rapid application development, supports multiple discretization techniques, provides I/O interfaces, dynamic run-time load balancing and data migration, and interfaces to scalable popular linear solvers, e.g., in open-source packages such as HYPRE, PETSc, and Trilinos. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 905, "domain": "CS", "area": "Cryptography", "abstract": "A new secure key distribution scheme based on the dynamic chaos synchronization of two cascaded semiconductor laser systems (CSLSs) subject to common chaotic injection and random phase-modulated optical feedback is demonstrated. In this scheme, Alice and Bob adopt two independent random sequences to control the phase modulators of CSLSs, which induces a dynamic perturbation to the chaos synchronization. We thoroughly investigate the chaos synchronization performance under different phase-shift conditions with cross-correlation function, and systematically discuss the feasibility and security of the system. The results show that, with proper injection and feedback strength, the correlation coefficient gap between phase shift match and mismatch is clear and robust to the parameter mismatches in the CSLSs and those between the two CSLSs. Based on this, high-quality key distribution can be performed by picking out the identical random bits from the two independent random sequences according to the computational correlation. Moreover, the investigations on the information theoretic security and rate of the key distribution show that the security of the key distribution scheme can be further enhanced by properly increasing the number of layers in the CSLSs or employing highorder modulation format."}
{"ID": 906, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A new sensor placement problem is formulated to cover two objectives of: (1) assuring quality of water delivered to consumers; and (2) detection of any contamination event at the earliest so as to minimize its consequences, through maximization of: (1) demand coverage; and (2) time-constrained detection likelihood for pressure deficient networks. The network may become pressure-deficient owing to continued use of water distribution network beyond its design life. The two objectives are combined using weights. Genetic algorithm is used to obtain optimum sensor locations. The methodology is applied to a pressure-deficient network in the Dharampeth zone of Nagpur city (India). The pressure-dependent analysis is carried out using WaterGem v8i to simulate the system hydraulics. Performance objectives are evaluated considering the availability of flows at nodes and velocity of flow in pipes under pressure-deficient conditions. Comparison of optimal sensor network design is carried out with that obtained by demand-dependent analysis."}
{"ID": 907, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A new simulation based automated CMOS analog circuit design method which applies a multi-objective non-Darwinian-type evolutionary algorithm based on Learnable Evolution Model (LEM) is proposed in this article. The multi-objective property of this automated design of CMOS analog circuits is governed by a modified Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm (SPEA) incorporated in the LEM algorithm presented here. LEM includes a machine learning method such as the decision trees that makes a distinction between high- and low-fitness areas in the design space. The learning process can detect the right directions of the evolution and lead to high steps in the evolution of the individuals. The learning phase shortens the evolution process and makes remarkable reduction in the number of individual evaluations. The expert designer's knowledge on circuit is applied in the design process in order to reduce the design space as well as the design time. The circuit evaluation is made by HSPICE simulator. In order to improve the design accuracy, bsim3v3 CMOS transistor model is adopted in this proposed design method. This proposed design method is tested on three different operational amplifier circuits. The performance of this proposed design method is verified by comparing it with the evolutionary strategy algorithm and other similar methods."}
{"ID": 908, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical generator", "abstract": "A new single stage AC to AC converter has been designed in a grid-connected wind energy conversion system which changes the variable-frequency AC output of electrical generator into a constant-frequency supply which can be fed into an electrical grid. The single stage converter eliminates multistage operation, the DC-link filter elements and thus resolves the size, weight and reliability issues. The complete system has been simulated using MATLAB/SPS for different wind conditions and results have demonstrated. The generator current is regulated to follow the optimized reference current corresponding to variation of wind speed in order to reduce the losses and increase the power capability of the system."}
{"ID": 909, "domain": "MAE", "area": "computer-aided design", "abstract": "A new slicing algorithm that uses multiple sets of cutting planes to automatically determine parting curves for three-dimensional parts is proposed. In this algorithm, one set of cutting planes is used to generate the slicing profiles, and two others are used to determine the intersection points with the inner and outer loops of the parting curves. The algorithm provides a highly effective solution for handling complicated models that contain free-form surfaces. The features of the algorithm are highlighted in three case studies using tessellated geometry in STL file format as the input. The resultant parting curves overcome many problems inherent in the current methods and can be used by various downstream computer-aided design systems for three-dimensional mold design."}
{"ID": 910, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Thermodynamics", "abstract": "A new solar-biomass power generation system that integrates a two-stage gasifier is proposed in this paper. In this system, two different types of solar collectors, concentrating solar thermal energy at different temperature levels, are applied to drive solar-biomass thermochemical processes of pyrolysis (at about 643 K) and gasification (at about 1150 K) for production of solar fuel. The produced solar fuel, namely gasified syngas, is directly utilized by an advanced combined cycle system for power generation. Numerical simulations are implemented to evaluate the on-design and off-design thermodynamic performances of the system. Results indicate that the proposed system can achieve an overall energy efficiency of 27.93% and a net solar-to-electric efficiency of 19.89% under the nominal condition. The proposed two stage solar-biomass gasification routine exhibits improved system thermodynamic performance compared to that in one-stage gasification technical mode, and the provided heat resource is in a good match with the requirements for the biomass gasification procedure. Under given simulation conditions in this paper, the energy level upgrade ratio in the proposed two-stage solar-biomass gasification system for the introduced solar thermal energy is as high as 32.35% compared to 21.62% in one-stage gasification mode. Meanwhile, the daily average net solar-to-electric efficiency on the representative days reaches to the range of 8.88-19.04%, while that of 9.97-15.71% in one-stage model. The research findings provide a promising approach for efficient utilization of the abundant solar and biomass resources in western China and reduction of CO2 emission. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd."}
{"ID": 911, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Osteoporosis", "abstract": "A new solid-phase extraction mode was developed for separation some flavones from the complex interference system. In the experiment, rhein anchored on magnetic chitosan microparticles, prepared facilely without removal of the template molecule, was used as sorbents for the extraction of target analytes; after completion of the extraction process, Fe3O4 particles acted as carrier to retrieve rhein functionalized magnetic chitosan microparticles (RMCMPs) from the sample solution. RMCMPs showed excellent selective adsorption capacity of isoflavones. The result suggested that the method was useful for fast determination and quantification of isoflavones in soymilk. The RMCMPs were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transforms infrared spectrometer (FTIR). (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 912, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A new solution for an ultra-low-voltage, low-power, bulk-driven operational amplifier is presented in the paper. The amplifier is based on a new input stage, exploiting the concept of partial positive feedback. As compared with prior work, the proposed input stage offers improvement of all basic performance metrics, including such important parameters as input-referred noise and offset voltage. In order to improve the DC voltage gain of the overall op-amp, a novel solution for an ultra-low-voltage, high-input-resistance common-mode amplifier has also been proposed. Simulated performance of the overall operational amplifier for a 50 nm CMOS process and supply voltage of 0.4 V shows power dissipation of 24 W, the open-loop voltage gain of 60dB, and the gain-bandwidth product of 2.18 MHz for 20 pF load capacitance."}
{"ID": 913, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Genetics", "abstract": "A new species of the genus Microhyla is described from Jamun Khadi, Jhapa district of eastern Nepal, based on molecular and morphological comparisons. This species is the sister taxon of Microhyla ornata and can be distinguished by a unique vocalization, morphology and molecular phylogeny. The uncorrected genetic divergences based on rRNA gene between the new species and its closest congeners, M. nilphamariensis, M. ornata and M. rubra were 5.34%, 6.67%, and 8.31%, respectively. The new species, Microhyla taraiensis sp. nov., is distinguished from each other of Microhyla by a combination of the following morphological characters: (1) relatively larger body size (SVL ranges 19.9-20.3 mm, n = 4 in the males and 22.1-24.9 mm, n = 3 in the females); (2) dorsal surface of head and body with light red dots; (3) toes webbing poorly developed or absent; (4) a large round inner metacarpal tubercle; and an (5) elongated outer metacarpal tubercle. In addition, our study also provides a new record of Microhyla nilphamariensis from Nepal."}
{"ID": 914, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A new state space approach is proposed to model the time-dependence in an extreme value process. The generalized extreme value distribution is extended to incorporate the time-dependence using a state space representation where the state variables either follow an autoregressive (AR) process or a moving average (MA) process with innovations arising from a Gumbel distribution. Using a Bayesian approach, an efficient algorithm is proposed to implement Markov chain Monte Carlo method where we exploit an accurate approximation of the Gumbel distribution by a ten-component mixture of normal distributions. The methodology is illustrated using extreme returns of daily stock data. The model is fitted to a monthly series of minimum returns and the empirical results support strong evidence of time-dependence among the observed minimum returns. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 915, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A new state space representation for a class of combinatorial optimization problems, related to minimal Hamiltonian cycles, enables efficient implementation of exhaustive search for the minimal cycle in optimization problems with a relatively small number of vertices and heuristic search for problems with large number of vertices. This paper surveys structures for representing Hamiltonian cycles, the use of these structures in heuristic optimization techniques, and efficient mapping of these structures along with respective operators to a newly proposed electrooptical vector by matrix multiplication (VMM) architecture. Record keeping mechanisms are used to improve solution quality and execution time of these heuristics using the VMM. Finally, the utility of a low-power VMM based implementation is evaluated."}
{"ID": 916, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A new stochastic finite element model calibration framework for estimation of the uncertainty in model parameters and predictions from the measured frequency responses is proposed in this paper. It combines the principles of bootstrapping with the technique of FE model calibration with damping equalization. The challenge for the calibration problem is to find an initial estimate of the parameters that is reasonably close to the global minimum of the deviation between model predictions and measurement data. The idea of model calibration with damping equalization is to formulate the calibration metric as the deviation between the logarithm of the frequency responses of FE model and a test data model found from measurement where the same level of modal damping is imposed on all modes. This formulation gives a smooth metric with a large radius of convergence to the global minimum. In this study, practical suggestions are made to improve the performance of this calibration procedure in dealing with noisy measurements. A dedicated frequency sampling strategy is suggested for measurement of frequency responses in order to improve the estimate of a test data model. The deviation metric at each frequency line is weighted using the signal-to-noise ratio of the measured frequency responses. The solution to the improved calibration procedure with damping equalization is viewed as a starting value for the optimization procedure used for uncertainty quantification. The experimental data is then resampled using the bootstrapping approach and the FE model calibration problem, initiating from the estimated starting value, is solved on each individual resampled dataset to produce uncertainty bounds on the model parameters and predictions. The proposed stochastic model calibration framework is demonstrated on a six degree-of-freedom spring-mass system prior to being applied to a general purpose satellite structure."}
{"ID": 917, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical network", "abstract": "A new structure of paralleling four leg shunt active power filters is presented in order to compensate the four-wire electrical network supplying the high power of non-linear single-phase loads. An effective selectivity of control with fuzzy logic and Three Dimensional Space Vector Modulation (3D-SVM) introduced in this configuration of SAPFs to maintain the same amplitude and frequency of output current of each inverter, this is necessary to determine the numbers of inverters in service and their frequency of commutation according to the power of non-linear single-phase loads, to make operating or stopping the inverters without disturbing the performance of paralleling SAPFs. The fuzzy logic controller (FLC) and Three Dimensional Space Vector Modulation (3D-SVM) is necessary to robustness, minimizing the harmonics of source currents, reducing the magnitude of neutral current, eliminating the zero-sequence current, compensating reactive power in the four-wire distribution network, stabilizing the DC bus voltage, switching losses, and to fixe switching frequency in inverters. Also, a instantaneous real, imaginary and zero-sequence powers pq0 theory in the alpha beta omicron-axes is presented to generate the reference currents which should be injected by the paralleled four leg SAPFs."}
{"ID": 918, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Voltage law", "abstract": "A new sub-space max-monomial modeling scheme for CMOS transistors in sub-micron technologies is proposed to improve the modeling accuracy. Major electrical parameters of CMOS transistors in each sub-space from the design space are modeled with max-monomials. This approach is demonstrated to have a better accuracy for sub-micron technologies than singlespace models. Sub-space modeling based geometric programming power optimization has been successfully applied to three different op-amps in 0.18 mu m technology. HSPICE simulation results show that sub-space modeling based GP optimization can allow efficient and accurate analog design. Computational effort can be managed to an acceptable level when searching sub-spaces for transistors by using practical constraints. An efficient scheme in dealing with non-convex constraint inherent in Kirchhoff's voltage law is suggested in this paper. By using this scheme, the nonconvex constraint, such as posynomial equality, can be relaxed to a convex constraint without affecting the result."}
{"ID": 919, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A new system model based on state space representation of the received signal for Narrow-band interference suppression in Direct Sequence-Spread Spectrum (DS-SS) system is given. This model recursively estimates the interfering signal in the presence of desired information and white Gaussian noise. To further improve the performance, we employ MMSE criteria to estimate the transmitted symbols. The MMSE estimate requires low computational complexity than Code-aided techniques. Our simulation results demonstrate that this technique provides better SINR improvement over to Nonlinear predictor, Linear predictor, Kalman-Bucy predictor for -65 dB to -5 dB input SINR and up to 10 dB AWGN power. For high interfering signal and noise power, our results clearly show that our SINR improvement performance exceeds the SINR improvement upper-bound calculated for the prediction based techniques. Besides reducing the effect of interfering signal, our technique also reduces AWGN noise. Our model also provides better BER performance than Nonlinear predictor."}
{"ID": 920, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A new systematic approach to state of charge (Sac) observer design for battery cells is presented. It is based on a purely data driven model and a nonlinear observer constructed from it. As a key novelty, a unified and generic framework for model generation (i.e. design of experiments, nonlinear model structure) and observer parametrisation is presented. An integral part of SoC observers in hybrid electrical vehicles is a dynamic battery model which describes the nonlinear system behaviour of the cell terminal voltage. In order to enable the application of the proposed concepts for any type of battery chemistry, a data based modelling approach using the architecture of local model networks (LMNs) is proposed. As an important prerequisite, optimal model based experiment design ensures proper excitation of the system dynamics while the desired SoC operating range is covered. For SoC estimation, an augmented state space representation of the LMN is derived and the nonlinear observer design is presented. In particular, the use of a fuzzy observer is beneficial in combination with LMNs since the local observers are time-invariant which greatly reduces the complexity of the global estimator. The proposed concepts are validated experimentally by means of a Lithium Ion power cell. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 921, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A new systematic design procedure for square-root-domain (rootx-domain) circuits, which is based on the signal flow graph (SFG) synthesis approach, is introduced in this paper. The SFG of the prototype system is modified, using a proposed set of operators, in such a way that rootx--domain building blocks could be used for the corresponding implementations. For this purpose, new rootx-domain integrator circuits have been proposed which were constructed from new current-mode geometric-mean and multiplier/divider circuits. The main advantages of the proposed circuits are the accuracy due to its immunity to the body effect, low circuit complexity and potential for low-voltage operation. As an example, a fifth-order Chebyshev low-pass filter was designed using the proposed technique. Simulation results confirm the validity of the proposed design technique and the high performance of the proposed circuits."}
{"ID": 922, "domain": "Psychology", "area": "Child abuse", "abstract": "A new task force on postmortem imaging was established at the annual meeting of the European Society of Paediatric Radiology (ESPR) in Graz, Austria, in 2015. The postmortem task force is separate from the child abuse task force as it covers all aspects of fetal, neonatal and non-forensic postmortem imaging. The main focus of the task force is the guidance and standardization of non-radiographic postmortem imaging, particularly postmortem CT and postmortem MRI. This manuscript outlines the starting point of the task force, with a mission statement, outline of current experience, and short- and long-term goals."}
{"ID": 923, "domain": "MAE", "area": "computer-aided design", "abstract": "A new taxonomy of issues related to CAD model quality is presented, which distinguishes between explicit and procedural models. For each type of model, morphologic, syntactic, and semantic errors are characterized. The taxonomy was validated successfully when used to classify quality testing tools, which are aimed at detecting and repairing data errors that may affect the simplification, interoperability, and reusability of CAD models. The study shows that low semantic level errors that hamper simplification are reasonably covered in explicit representations, although many CAD quality testers are still unaffordable for Small and Medium Enterprises, both in terms of cost and training time. Interoperability has been reasonably solved by standards like STEP AP 203 and AP214, but model reusability is not feasible in explicit representations. Procedural representations are promising, as interactive modeling editors automatically prevent most morphologic errors derived from unsuitable modeling strategies. Interoperability problems between procedural representations are expected to decrease dramatically with STEP AP242. Higher semantic aspects of quality such as assurance of design intent, however, are hardly supported by current CAD quality testers. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 924, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Geotextile", "abstract": "A new technique called geotextile mattress with floating curtain (GMFC) may be an advisable alternative countermeasure against seabed erosion, since it can allow deposited sediment dunes to form naturally at upstream and downstream sides of GMFC when installed in erosive flow. However, cyclic loading of wave actions can lead to liquefaction of the seabed under the mattress, reducing the maximum friction resistance of the mattress, even leading to instability of the GMFC structure. Thus, in this study a series of physical model tests in a rectangular flume were carried out to investigate the behavior of a single GMFC and the hydrodynamic environment around GMFC subjected to wave loading. The wave force on seabed was recorded by pressure gauges installed on the flume bed. Experimental results indicated that some area of the unmovable bed around GMFC suffered much higher hydrodynamic pressure under the wave action. The areas directly facing the bottom openings of GMFC are more prone to bear higher cyclic force of wave actions. Moreover, the results also illustrated that the highest cyclic force of wave actions on the seabed appears at a distance of the mattress-curtain height to the GMFC centerline. The parametric study indicated that the opening ratio has a significant impact on the wave force properties."}
{"ID": 925, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A new technique to measure a capacitor or a capacitive sensor by means of a direct sensor-to-microcontroller interface circuit that does not need a calibration capacitor is proposed. Basically, the measurement process consists of three consecutive steps of charge, discharge and charge of the capacitor under test. A non-linear equation is obtained and solved that is dependent only on known circuit parameters. Experimental results show that it is possible to measure a wide range of capacitor values with a maximum deviation of 2% from the reference value, and that temperature changes from 18 to 70 degrees C yield relative errors below 0.1%. For the lowest measured capacitor range (33 pF-4.7 nF) the uncertainty holds below 1 pF which enables measurement of commercially available capacitive sensors. The main advantage of the proposed technique is cost and space reduction of the final design."}
{"ID": 926, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Ankylosing Spondylitis", "abstract": "A new three-dimensional (3-D) Zn-based metal-organic framework with the formula of [Zn-2(L)(bpy)](CI) (1, H3L = 2,6-dihydroxypyridine-4-carboxylate, bpy = 4,4'-bipyridine), has been synthesized under hydrothermal condition. X-Ray diffraction analyse reveals that compound 1 exhibits the unique 3-D two-fold interpenetrated coordination framework with 3,4-connected fsx-3,4-C2 network topology, in which the L ligand adopts the mu(3)-bridging fashion. In addition, the experimental results of anti-inflammatory activity showed that compared with organic ligands H3L and bpy, the title compound 1 exerted rather potent activity."}
{"ID": 927, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electric motor", "abstract": "A new topology of single-phase two stage AC to DC SEPIC converter in step down configuration with high efficiency at extremely low voltage gain is proposed with high input power factor and low input current total harmonic distortion. In this work, proposal has be given to modify conventional two stage AC to DC SEPIC converter introducing a switched capacitor branch in between the stages. The input current THD is kept low. The input power factor is high with two-loop feedback control. The proposed schemes can be used in the application of battery charging of electric motor vehicles."}
{"ID": 928, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Geotextile", "abstract": "A new type of mechanically stabilised earth structure composed of geosynthetic tubes filled with expanded clay lightweight aggregate and backfill with geosynthetic reinforcement is introduced. The results of the study demonstrate that alternative solutions such as expanded clay lightweight aggregates can be used in interaction with geosynthetics in comparison to classical soil. The new type of geosynthetic tubes filled dynamically with expanded clay lightweight aggregate was tested in situ under compressive loading. The geosynthetic tube was instrumented with load cell transducers and the characteristic cross-section was obtained from three-dimensional scanner measurements after loading. Next, a simplified engineering formulation for geosynthetic tubes under compressive loading and unloading was evaluated including the influence of volume variation of the tube. It is based on the classical approach from soil mechanics and it produces the required design tensile force of the tube dependent on geosynthetic stiffness. The experimental results of compressive loading tests were compared with analytical equations. The results are discussed and show the influence of the geosynthetic stiffness on the behaviour of the tube in terms of loading capacity, volume variation and cross-section of the tube. The agreement between theoretical analyses and experimental results was reasonably good and can be formally accepted for a given volume variation of the geosynthetic tube."}
{"ID": 929, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A new type of seismic isolator with adjustable stiffness is proposed, based on the smart material of magnetorheological elastomers (MREs). This paper specifies the working principle of the isolator, analyses magnetic induction distribution of three different types of MRE isolators, which are unicoil magnetic energy input, twin coil magnetic energy input, and laminated steel plate coiling magnetic energy input respectively. The research shows that the third type of input produces relatively greater magnetic induction in the elastomer area, compared with the first two, and the magnetic field is evenly distributed in MRE area, therefore, it is the best structure. Eventually, the mechanical model of MRE isolator made of two steel slices and one elastomer slice is established together with the mechanical model made of multi-steel slices and multi-elastomer laminated structure. Furthermore, the numerical analysis is completed and the results show that MRE isolators have content adjustable behaviour."}
{"ID": 930, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A new type of smart material namely magneto-thixotropic gel is proposed in this study. To investigate its rheological behaviour, an experiment is designed to predict the interaction among the shear strain rate, shear stress, magnetic induction and viscosity. By theoretical analysis and interactive processing on the testing data, compared with magneto-rheological fluids, the experimental results indicate that the magneto-thixotropic gel possesses better linear magnetization property and higher shear yield stress, with the shear strain rate changes, the shear stress keeps relatively stable trend when exposed to certain magnetic field, meanwhile, the computational viscosity will rise with the decrease of the shear strain rate and increasing of magnetic induction and keeps linearly increase with the increasing of magnetic induction under the same shear strain rate."}
{"ID": 931, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Geotextile", "abstract": "A new type of woven geotextile, referred to as wicking geotextile, was developed and introduced to the market. Since this wicking geotextile consists of wicking fibers, they can wick water out from unsaturated soils in a pavement structure thus resulting in an increase of soil resilient modulus and enhance performance of roadways. In this study, a physical model test was developed to evaluate the effectiveness of the wicking geotextile in soil moisture reduction for roadway applications. A test box with a dimension of 1041 mm in length, 686 mm in width, and 584 mm in heighr was used in this study. Two HDPE plastic panels were used to separate the box into two sections, one containing a dehumidifier and the other backfilled with soil. The dehumidifier was adopted to collect the water, which was wicked out from the soil by the wicking geotextile and evaporated into air. Test results show that (1) the wicking geotextile wicked water out from the soil even at the moisture content close to the optimum moisture content and (2) the comparison of soil moisture contents before and after rainfall demonstrated that the wicking geotextile maintained the soil moisture contents after rainfall close to those before rainfall and had an effective distance for the soil moisture reduction. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 932, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A new universal current-mode biquad filter using current differencing transconductance amplifier (CDTA) is proposed. The proposed configuration can realize the second-order low pass, high pass, band pass, and band reject responses simultaneously. The circuit employs both grounded capacitors (ideal for integrated circuit implementation), and offers low active and passive sensitivities. The workability of the proposed configuration has been verified using SPICE simulation. (C) 2008 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 933, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Thermodynamics", "abstract": "A new version of extended irreversible thermodynamics (EIT) satisfying a Hamiltonian structure is proposed. For pedagogical purpose, the simple problem of linear heat conduction in a rigid body is investigated to illustrate the general framework. In contrast with earlier versions of EIT wherein the heat flux was upgraded to the status of state variables, we select here its conjugate dual and higher order fluxes as new independent variables. Their time-evolution equations are formed of reversible and irreversible terms but they cannot take any arbitrary form. Restrictions are placed on the reversible terms by imposing a Hamiltonian structure while the irreversible contribution is subject to the requirement to satisfy the second law of thermodynamics. Explicit expressions of the temperature and heat flux waves are also derived."}
{"ID": 934, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A new vision-based system is designed for the identification of chatter vibration. Chatter vibration is a major obstacle in CNC machining as it causes bad surface finishes and increases tooling damage and costs. This research proposes the use of machine vision for the detection of chatter vibration frequencies during high-speed milling operations. The vision system utilizes digital image processing and texture analysis to determine the frequencies of the chatter marks on the surface of a machined workpiece. The developed system provides a solution to machinists at ease without any expensive measuring equipment. The vision system was verified and compared with other chatter detection methods by identifying and creating tests based on the dynamics of a machine tool."}
{"ID": 935, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A new voltage mode multi input single output (MISO) type biquad is proposed. The proposed configuration employs one voltage differencing transconductance amplifier (VDTA) as the active element, two capacitors and a grounded resistor. The configuration realizes all five filter functions [i.e. Low Pass (LP), High Pass (HP), Band Pass (BP), Notch (BR) and All Pass (AP)] without any matching condition. The natural frequency (omega(0)) and bandwidth (BW) are independently tunable. The workability of proposed configuration has been verified using SPICE simulation with TSMC CMOS 0.18 mu m process parameters."}
{"ID": 936, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A new voltage-mode (VM) single-input single-output circuit for realizing proportional-integral-derivative (ND) controller is proposed in this study. The proposed PID controller employs a canonical number of only grounded passive components without requiring any critical passive component matching conditions and cancellation constraints. Therefore, it is easily implemented in integrated circuit (IC) process. Also, it uses three plus-type differential difference current conveyors. It has high input and low output impedances; thus, it can be easily cascaded with other VM configurations. Proportional, integral and derivative parameters of the proposed PID controller can be easily adjusted via only resistors for fix valued capacitors in IC fabrication. A number of analyses with SPICE program and an experimental test result are included to demonstrate performance of the proposed PID controller."}
{"ID": 937, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A new voltage-mode bandpass shadow filter is presented. The filter is built around the current-feedback operational-amplifier. The parameters of the filter can be controlled by adjusting the gains of external amplifiers built around the current-feedback operational-amplifier. Contrary to the conjecture based on the current-mode shadow filter realization where a summing junction must be used, no summing amplifiers are used in this voltage-mode realization. Experimental results obtained using the AD844 current-feedback operational-amplifier are presented. The results obtained confirm the functionality of the proposed circuit."}
{"ID": 938, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A new voltage-mode multifunction biquadratic filter using one differential difference current conveyor (DDCC), two grounded capacitors and three resistors is presented. The proposed circuit offers the following attractive advantages: realizing highpass, bandpass, lowpass and notch filter functions, simultaneously, from the same circuit configuration; employing grounded capacitors, which is ideal for integration and simpler circuit configuration."}
{"ID": 939, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A new, algorithm-driven methodology is introduced for the synthesis of data conversion systems, It employs a combination of symbolic signal flow graph techniques to generate a canonical representation of the algorithm description, together with pattern recognition techniques, to determine the appropriate functional building blocks for the converter architecture and knowledge-based rules to instantiate such building blocks by electrical subcircuits, By allowing the synthesis process to move to higher levels of abstraction the proposed methodology provides a computer-based framework for the systematic and uniform treatment of various types of conversion systems, including the search for new conversion algorithms and/or new implementation architectures."}
{"ID": 940, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Construction Management", "abstract": "A new, process-oriented approach is needed in construction management. Lean construction emphasizes the concept of flow as a way to understand production in construction, yet there is still no accepted metric for measurement of flow quality. This has hampered research and practice. The proposed construction flow index (CFI) is a composite measure that reflects the quality of production flow in repetitive construction projects. It incorporates measures of work continuity for crews, processing continuity for locations, production rate variation, amounts of work in progress, interference and operation sequence logic. Expert knowledge was acquired to establish weights for the CFI parameters, and its use was tested in evaluating the planned and actual production flows for a number of projects. Project managers can use the CFI to evaluate the quality of their construction plans and to measure and communicate production flow quality status to trade crews, enabling management and improvement of production flow. The CFI is also a valuable tool for construction research. The CFI challenges traditional construction management by measuring flow, where standard practice only measures transformation (earned value). It challenges lean construction practice using the Last Planner System, suggesting that the percent plan complete measure of plan reliability is insufficient."}
{"ID": 941, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A new, small and efficient voltage regulator, realized using a resonant switched-capacitor converter technology, is introduced. Voltage regulation is implemented by means of simple digital pulse density modulation. It displays an ideal transient response with a zero-order nature to all disturbance types. The newly developed topology acts as a gyrator with awide range of voltage conversion ratios (below as well as above unity) with constant efficiency characteristics for the entire operation range. The operation of the voltage regulator is verified on a 20 W experimental prototype, demonstrating ideal transient recovery without over/undershoots in response to load and line transients. Simple design guidelines for the voltage regulation system are provided and verified by experiments."}
{"ID": 942, "domain": "CS", "area": "Operating systems", "abstract": "A next generation B factory and the detector counterpart, SuperKEKB and Belle II, are being built in Japan, as the upgrades of KEKB and Belle, respectively. The new collider will start its commissioning in 2015. This is an ambitious project. The luminosity of the e(+) e(-) collider will be upgraded by a factor of 40, which will create a 50 times larger data set compared to the Belle sample. Both the background and the triggered event rates will be increased by a factor of at least 10. The Belle II software system is designed to accommodate these challenges and to run on grid, cloud, and local resources around the world. Various external software packages are employed to enhance the user interface. The software system, basf2, is structured as a framework built with dynamic module loading and the ability of parallel processing. The system is written in C++ with Python steering scripts, compatible with common Linux operating systems. A full detector simulation library is created based on Geant4. In this paper, we will explain the design of the Belle II software structure and the current status of the software development."}
{"ID": 943, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A nifU- like gene exhibiting similarity to nifU of nitrogen fixation gene cluster was identified for the first time from the gut cDNA library of amphioxus Branchiostoma belcheri. Both RT- PCR and Northern blotting as well as in situ hybridization histochemistry verified that the cDNA represents an amphioxus nifU- like gene rather than a microbial contaminant. The nifUlike gene encodes a protein of 164 amino acid residues including a highly- conserved U- type motif ( C-X-26 -C-X-43 -C), and shares 66 - 86% identity to NifU- like proteins from a variety of species including vertebrates, invertebrates and microbes. It is expressed in a tissue- specific manner in the digestive system including epipharyngeal groove, endostyle, hepatic caecum and hindgut and in the gill, ovary and testis. Taken together, it is highly likely that NifU- like protein plays some tissue- dependent and critical role in amphioxus."}
{"ID": 944, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A nifU-Iike gene exhibiting similarity to nifU of nitrogen fixation gene cluster was identified for the first time from the gut cDNA library of amphioxus Branchiostoma belcheri. Both RT-PCR and Northern blotting as well as in situ hybridization histochemistry verified that the cDNA represents an amphioxus nifU-Iike gene rather than a microbial contaminant. The nifU-like gene encodes a protein of 164 amino acid residues including a highly conserved U-type motif (C-X-26-C-X-43-C), and shares 66-86% identity to NifU-like proteins from a variety of species including vertebrates, invertebrates and microbes. It is expressed in a tissue-specific manner in the digestive system including epipharyngeal groove, endostyle, hepatic caecum and hind-gut and in the gill, ovary and testis. Taken together, it is highly likely that NifU-like protein plays some tissue-dependent and critical role in amphioxus."}
{"ID": 945, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A non-contact type force actuator is necessary for studying the dynamic performance of a high-speed spindle system owing to its high-speed operating conditions. A non-contact electromagnetic exciter is designed for identifying the dynamic coefficients of journal bearings in high-speed grinding spindles. A linear force control method is developed based on PID controller. The influence of amplitude and frequency of current, misalignment and rotational speed on magnetic field and excitation force is investigated based on two-dimensional finite element analysis. The electromagnetic excitation force is measured with the auxiliary coils and calibrated by load cells. The design is validated by the experimental results. Theoretical and experimental investigations show that the proposed design can accurately generate linear excitation force with sufficiently large amplitude and higher signal to noise ratio. Moreover, the fluctuations in force amplitude are reduced to a greater extent with the designed linear control method even when the air gap changes due to the rotor vibration at high-speed conditions. Besides, it is possible to apply various types of excitations: constant, synchronous, and non-synchronous excitation forces based on the proposed linear control method. This exciter can be used as linear-force exciting and controlling system for dynamic performance study of different high-speed rotor-bearing systems."}
{"ID": 946, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A nondestructive method was developed for assessing total viable count (TVC) in pork during refrigerated storage by using hyperspectral imaging technique in this study. The hyperspectral images in the visible/near-infrared (VIS/NIR) region of 400-1100 nm were acquired for fifty pork samples, and their VIS/NIR diffuse reflectance spectra were extracted from the images. The reference values of TVC in pork samples were determined by classical microbiological plating method. Both partial least square regression (PLSR) model and support vector machine regression model (SVR) of TVC were built for comparative analysis to achieve better results. Different transformation methods and filtering methods were applied to improve the models. The results show that both the optimized PLSR model and SVR model can predict the TVC very well, while the SVR model based on second derivation was better, which achieved with R-P (correlation coefficient of prediction set) = 0.94 and SEP (standard error of prediction set) = 0.4570 log CFU/g in the prediction set. An image processing algorithm was then developed to transfer the prediction model to every pixel of the image of the entire sample; the visualizing map of TVC would be displayed in real-time during the detection process due to the simplicity of the model. The results demonstrated that hyperspectral imaging is a potential reliable approach for non-destructive and real-time prediction of TVC in pork."}
{"ID": 947, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A non-destructive methodology was developed to automatically detect and quantify bruise volumes in the equatorial region of apples, using X-ray CT images. Grey level threshold values were calculated to segment bruises in 'Jonagold', 'Joly Red' and 'Kanzi' apple fruit using the multi-level Otsu's threshold method. Comparisons were made between the CT-based bruise volume estimates and bruise volume estimates that were based on destructive measurements in combination with simple geometric assumptions. Visualisation of the bruises in both 2 and 3D showed that bruises, resulting from a pendulum impact with a spherical impactor, can be highly irregularly shaped which implies that the bruise volume estimations based on simple geometric assumptions cannot deliver accurate results. (C) 2017 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 948, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Control engineering", "abstract": "A non-invasive and automatic control method based on real-time virtual reality and reinforcement learning is reported to modulate insects' flight behaviour. The online configurable LED display system is proposed to present the visual stimulus within ultra-low latency. State-action-reward-state-action (SARSA) coupled with sequential K-means clustering is applied to generate optimal control sequence automatically to ensure the satisfactory control performance. By evaluating the control results of 15 bumblebees, it shows that the proposed method achieves to modulate the abdominal waving pattern quickly (less than six steps) with small deviation (<0.03)."}
{"ID": 949, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Control engineering", "abstract": "A Non-isothermal jacketed Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) is extensively used in chemical as well as in other process industries to manufacture different products. The dynamics of non-isothermal CSTR are highly nonlinear and open-loop unstable in nature. Moreover, it may have parametric uncertainties, disturbances and un-modeled side reactions which may cause the reactor temperature to deviate from the reference value. This deviation may degrade quality of the product because the chemical reaction inside the CSTR depends on reactor temperature. For such a nonlinear, unstable and uncertain process, designing a control scheme with the ability to reject the effects of disturbances along with a good reference tracking capability is a challenging control engineering problem. In this work, a novel robust sliding mode control technique named as Improved Integral Sliding Mode Control (IISMC) has been presented for uncertain non-isothermal jacketed CSTR process. Moreover, a variety of recently developed sliding mode control techniques such as Classical Integral Sliding Mode Control (CISMC) and Super Twisted Algorithm based Sliding Mode Control (STA-SMC) have also been devised and compared with the proposed approach in order to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. A Lyapunov based analysis has also been provided to assure the robust stability of the closed loop process. Furthermore, in order to extend the state feedback approach to the output feedback scheme, two robust observers; High Gain Observer (HGO) and Extended High Gain Observer (EHGO), are also designed for the very process. They have also been compared with each other and have been investigated for robust stability using Lyapunov based approach. Finally, an output feedback control scheme using IISMC and EHGO has been presented and its performance has been examined and compared with the IISMC based state feedback approach. The simulation results show that the proposed control scheme effectively rejects the uncertainties and disturbances without leading the process to instability and offers good reference tracking capabilities. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 950, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Suspension Bridge", "abstract": "A nonlinear analysis framework for bluff-body aerodynamics based on Volterra theory is introduced to capture the linear and nonlinear aerodynamic effects. The Volterra kernels based on the impulse function concept are identified by way of the simulation of Navier-Stokes equations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The computational schemes used here are validated through theoretical consideration, i.e., Blasius solution for the steady-state and Theodorsen solution for the system dynamic-state simulation. The source of nonlinearities in the aerodynamics of bluff bodies is systematically investigated. The simulation of bluff-body aerodynamics based on the Volterra reduced-order modeling scheme is obtained by the convolution of the identified kernels with the external inputs, e.g., turbulent inflow or body motion for aerodynamic or aeroelastic response, respectively. It is demonstrated that the Volterra theory-based nonlinear analysis framework for bluff-body aerodynamics combined with the identification of kernels using CFD promises to capture the salient features of bluff-body aerodynamics and offers an accurate reduced-order approximation of the Navier-Stokes equations with reduced level of computational effort. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 951, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Materials Engineering", "abstract": "A nonlinear control strategy to enhance the transient stability and voltage regulation in a Single Machine Infmite Bus (SMIB) with a static VAR compensator (SVC) connected to a transmission line is explained, as part of an advanced course of Materials for Power Lines design. The generator excitation and the SVC regulator controllers are designed independently, considering the uncertainties of the generator structure and the interconnection between subsystems as perturbations. A high-order sliding-mode (HOSM) control scheme is developed for this purpose, obtaining robustness in presence of uncertainties and parameter variations. Numerical simulations developed in this work provide an innovative training tool for teachers in the area of automatic control and materials engineering, to expand the understanding of the underlying dynamics of these control systems."}
{"ID": 952, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A nonlinear dynamic coupled model for hydropower station system, which contains the model of water-carriage system, water turbine system, speed governor system, generator's electromagnetic system, grid, shaft system of hydroelectric generating set, as well as the powerhouse, is established in this paper. Firstly, the simultaneous differential equations for coupled hydraulic-mechanical-electric transient process are set up based upon the theories of hydraulics, electrical machinery, etc., while the coupled structural models for shaft system of unit and powerhouse are built by means of finite element method. Secondly, a new method for investigating nonlinear dynamic properties of structures influenced by coupled hydraulic-mechanical-electric factors in different conditions is introduced with the help of user-programmable features from Ansys software. Finally, in order to verify the rationality, several numerical calculation methods are used to study the starting-up process of hydropower station. The results indicate that the model presented in this paper is adoptable for simulating specified condition and reflect the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of hydropower station comprehensively. In addition, the model can also be used to assess the operation safety and predict the structures reliability of hydropower station system, so as to provide some profitable reference for dynamic regulation during limited and transient conditions for hydropower station."}
{"ID": 953, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A nonlinear dynamic model for a passively cooled small modular reactor (SMR) is developed. The nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) model includes representations for reactor core, steam generator, pressurizer, hot leg riser and downcomers. The reactor core is modeled with the combination of: (1) neutronics, and (2) thermal-hydraulics. For the helical-coil once-through steam generator, a single tube depiction with time-varying boundaries and three regions, i.e., subcooled, boiling, and superheated, is adopted. The pressurizer model is developed based upon the conservation of fluid mass, volume, and energy. Hot leg riser and downcomers are treated as first-order lags. Finally, the NSSS model is incorporated with a turbine model which permits observing the mechanical power. The overall nonlinear system is simulated for typical perturbations, e.g., control rod withdrawal and increase in steam demand. A detailed analysis of the results show that the steady-state values for full power are in good agreement with design data and the model is capable of predicting the dynamics of the SMR. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 954, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Hydraulics", "abstract": "A nonlinear reactivity model with thermal-hydraulic feedback is presented for analysis of PWR fuel with various cladding materials. The simplified, batch-wise neutronic model requires batch reactivities and migration areas as predetermined functions of burnup, temperature (fuel and coolant), and any design parameters having neutronic significance (e.g., enrichment or cladding composition). Here, such functions are found by using symbolic regression, a unique approach that finds both a functional form and any model coefficients simultaneously. Core thermal-hydraulics are modeled using single-channel, axially-averaged values. The models were implemented in an open-source, Python-based tool, used here to the analyze fuel with Zr-based cladding having outer, protective layers of either FeCrAl or SiC, two materials proposed for use in next-generation, accident-tolerant fuel. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 955, "domain": "CS", "area": "Symbolic computation", "abstract": "A nonlinear Schrodinger equation with self-consistent sources can be used to describe the interaction between an high-frequency electrostatic wave and an ion-acoustic wave in two-component homogeneous plasmas. In this paper, breather and rogue waves solutions for such a system are investigated via the Darboux transformation. The spatially and temporally periodic breathers have been found. When the cubic nonlinearity coefficient and the background amplitude are varied, the propagating trajectories of breather are changed. The interaction between two breathers are also studied, which shows that when the wave numbers are close, the two breathers are partially coalesced. All of the first-, second-, and third-order rogue waves present certain lumps or valleys around a center in the temporal-spatial distribution, and the peak heights of the ion-acoustic waves are more than three times those of the background. However, for the high-frequency electrostatic waves, the values around the centers are less than the background intensity."}
{"ID": 956, "domain": "CS", "area": "Distributed computing", "abstract": "A nonrelational, distributed computing, data warehouse, and analytics environment (Energy-CRADLE) was developed for the analysis of field and laboratory data from multiple heterogeneous photovoltaic (PV) test sites. This data informatics and analytics infrastructure was designed to process diverse formats of PV performance data and climatic telemetry time-series data collected from a PV outdoor test network, i.e., the Solar Durability and Lifetime Extension global SunFarm network, as well as point-in-time laboratory spectral and image measurements of PV material samples. Using Hadoop/HBase for the distributed data warehouse, Energy-CRADLE does not have a predefined data table schema, which enables ingestion of data in diverse and changing formats. For easy data ingestion and data retrieval, Energy-CRADLE utilizes Hadoop streaming to enable Python MapReduce and provides a graphical user interface, i.e., py-CRADLE. By developing the Hadoop distributed computing platform and the HBase NoSQL database schema for solar energy, Energy-CRADLE exemplifies an integrated, scalable, secure, and user-friendly data informatics and analytics system for PV researchers. An example of Energy-CRADLE enabled scalable, data-driven, analytics is presented, where machine learning is used for anomaly detection across 2.2 million real-world current-voltage (I-V) curves of PV modules in three distinct Koppen-Geiger climatic zones."}
{"ID": 957, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electricity", "abstract": "A Non-Technical Loss (NTL) fraud occurs when a fraudster tampers with a smart meter so that the meter registers less electricity consumption than the actual consumed amount, and therefore the utility becomes the victim who suffers the corresponding economic loss. In the literature, many detection schemes have been proposed to detect NTL frauds. However, some NTL frauds are far more complicated than what the existing schemes expect. We recently discovered a new potential type of frauds, a variant of NTL frauds, called Colluded Non-Technical Loss (CNTL) frauds in the Smart Grid. In a CNTL fraud, multiple fraudsters can co-exist or collaborate to commit the fraud. Existing detection schemes cannot detect CNTL frauds since these methods do not consider the co-existing or collaborating fraudsters, and therefore cannot distinguish one from many fraudsters. In this paper, we propose a CNTL fraud detector to detect CNTL frauds. The proposed method can quickly detect a tampered meter based on recursive least squares. After identifying the tampered meter, the proposed scheme can detect different fraudsters using mathematical models. Our experiments show that our method is effective in detecting CNTL frauds. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 958, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A non-uniform C-section phaser is introduced as a powerful approach to enhance the design flexibility of uniform phasers. Moreover, an efficient synthesis technique is provided to design such phasers. Two design examples are presented. The first example is a single non-uniform C-section phaser. The second one is a cascaded double non-uniform C-section phaser featuring larger group delay swing and bandwidth, and hence higher resolution in Radio Analog Signal Processing (R-ASP)."}
{"ID": 959, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A nonuniform stub-loaded and coupling-free broadband phaser is proposed as an alternative to conventional coupled-line sections based phasers for enhanced design flexibility, reduced complexity and lower cost in Radio Analog Signal Processing (R-ASP) systems. Nonuniform open- and short-terminated stub-loaded sections are employed to achieve specified highly flexible group delays with flat transmission magnitude responses. The phaser does not require multilayer or wire-bonding technologies since it consists of couplingfree transmission lines. The principle and synthesis procedure of the phaser are presented and two design examples with diverse specifications are presented with theory and full-wave simulation results. The phaser can be realized using microstrip technology and integrate with different lumped components and planar structures."}
{"ID": 960, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Geotextile", "abstract": "A nonwoven fabric has been widely used in geotextile engineering in recent years; its tensile strength is an important behaviour. Since the fibre distributions in nonwoven fabrics are random and discontinuous, the unit-cell model of a nonwoven fabric cannot be developed to simulate its tensile behaviour. This article presents our research on using finite element method (FEM) to study the tensile behaviour of a nonwoven fabric in macro-scale based on the classical laminate composite theory. The laminate orientation was considered with orientation distribution function of fibres, which has been obtained by analysing the data acquired from scanning electron microscopy with Hough Transform. The FE model of a nonwoven fabric was developed using ABAQUS software; the required engineering constants of a nonwoven fabric were obtained from experimental data. Finally, the nonwoven specimens were stretched along with machine direction and cross direction. The experimental stress-strain curves were compared with the results of FE simulations. The approximate agreement proves the validity of an FE model, which could be used to precisely simulate the stress relaxation, strain creep, bending and shear property of a nonwoven fabric."}
{"ID": 961, "domain": "CS", "area": "Relational databases", "abstract": "A NoSQL, also called a \"Non-Relational\" or \"Not only SQL,\" database system provides an approach to data management and database design for very large sets of distributed data and real-time web applications. A NoSQL database system is also a popular data storage for information retrieval because it supports better scalability, availability, and faster data access while comparing with traditional relational database management systems (RDBMS). What the RDBMS data needs is predictable as its data is stored in structured tables by defining the relationship between the different columns. In contrary the data in NoSQL databases does not need to be stored in a structured or fixed fashion. When performance and realtime access are more concerned than consistency, such as indexing and retrieving large numbers of records, NoSQL databases are more suitable than relational databases. With their obvious advantages in better performance, scalability, and flexibility, NoSQL databases have been adopted lately by many small businesses as they are moving their increasing business data into the clouds. However, the research on the security of a specific NoSQL database system or NoSQL database systems in general is very limited. Although there are many storage advantages in NoSQL databases, the need of quick and easy access to data has been seriously affected by the security issue of NoSQL databases. This paper examines the maturity of security measures for MongoDB, a typical NoSQL database system, with aspects in both attack and defense at the code level. The experimental testing on NoSQL injections is performed with JavaScript and PHP. After the demonstration on how a server-side JavaScript injection attack against a NoSQL database system reveals the customer's private data, two methods are discussed in preventing this type of security problems from happening. It is believed that our study will help database developers not only realizing that NoSQL database systems are not designed with security as a priority but also learning how to build a security layer to their organizations' NoSQL applications to avoid NoSQL injections."}
{"ID": 962, "domain": "CS", "area": "Distributed computing", "abstract": "A notion of a universal construction suited to distributed computing has been introduced by Herlihy in his celebrated paper \"Wait-free synchronization\" (ACM Trans Program Lang Syst 13(1):124-149, 1991). A universal construction is an algorithm that can be used to wait-free implement any object defined by a sequential specification. Herlihy's paper shows that the basic system model, which supports only atomic read/write registers, has to be enriched with consensus objects to allow the design of universal constructions. The generalized notion of a k -universal construction has been recently introduced by Gafni and Guerraoui (Proceedings of 22nd international conference on concurrency theory (CONCUR'11), Springer LNCS 6901, pp 17-27, 2011). A k-universal construction is an algorithm that can be used to simultaneously implement k objects (instead of just one object), with the guarantee that at least one of the k constructed objects progresses forever. While Herlihy's universal construction relies on atomic registers and consensus objects, a k-universal construction relies on atomic registers and k-simultaneous consensus objects (which are wait-free equivalent to k-set agreement objects in the read/write system model). This paper significantly extends the universality results introduced by Herlihy and Gafni-Guerraoui. In particular, we present a k-universal construction which satisfies the following five desired properties, which are not satisfied by the previous k-universal construction: (1) among the k objects that are constructed, at least objects (and not just one) are guaranteed to progress forever; (2) the progress condition for processes is wait-freedom, which means that each correct process executes an infinite number of operations on each object that progresses forever; (3) if any of the k constructed objects stops progressing, all its copies (one at each process) stop in the same state; (4) the proposed construction is contention-aware, in the sense that it uses only read/write registers in the absence of contention; and (5) it is generous with respect to the obstruction-freedom progress condition, which means that each process is able to complete any one of its pending operations on the k objects if all the other processes hold still long enough. The proposed construction, which is based on new design principles, is called a -universal construction. It uses a natural extension of k-simultaneous consensus objects, called -simultaneous consensus objects (-SC). Together with atomic registers, -SC objects are shown to be necessary and sufficient for building a -universal construction, and, in that sense, -SC objects are -."}
{"ID": 963, "domain": "CS", "area": "Cryptography", "abstract": "A notion of asymmetric quantum dialogue (AQD) is introduced. Conventional protocols of quantum dialogue are essentially symmetric as the users (Alice and Bob) can encode the same amount of classical information. In contrast, the proposed scheme for AQD provides different amount of communication powers to Alice and Bob. The proposed scheme offers an architecture, where the entangled state to be used and the encoding scheme to be shared between Alice and Bob depend on the amount of classical information they want to exchange with each other. The general structure for the AQD scheme has been obtained using a group theoretic structure of the operators introduced in Shukla et al. (Phys Lett A 377: 518, 2013). The effect of different types of noises (e.g., amplitude damping and phase damping noise) on the proposed scheme is investigated, and it is shown that the proposed scheme for AQD is robust and it uses an optimized amount of quantum resources."}
{"ID": 964, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A novel \"dynamic ligament\" smart material that exhibits a strongly rate-dependent response in extension is developed and characterized. The devices, based on elastomeric polymers and shear thickening fluids, exhibit low resistance to extension at rates below 10 mm/s, but when stretched at 100 mm/s or higher resist with up to 7x. higher force. A link between the shear thickening fluid's rheology and the dynamic ligament's tensile performance is presented to explain the rate-dependent response. Future recommendations for improving device performance are presented, along with a host of different potential application areas including safety equipment, adaptive braces, sporting goods, and military equipment."}
{"ID": 965, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A novel adaptive filter combining the affine projection algorithm (APA) and the affine projection sign algorithm (APSA) is proposed using an impulsive noise indicator. This indicator is proposed to use the APA as the component filter in impulsive noise environments, and it is easily obtained with convex combination schemes. From this, the proposed algorithm achieves robustness against impulsive noise regardless of the convergence state. In addition, the proposed algorithm exhibits a fast convergence rate of the APA for various noise environments. Simulation results verify that the proposed algorithm adequately combines the advantages of the two component filters for system identification scenarios. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 966, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A novel adaptive weight online sequential extreme learning machine (AWOS-ELM) is proposed for predicting time series problems based on an online sequential extreme learning machine (OS-ELM) in this paper. In real-world online applications, the sequentially coming data chunk usually possesses varying confidence coefficients, and the data chunk with a low confidence coefficient tends to mislead the subsequent training process. The proposed AWOS-ELM can improve the training process by accessing the confidence coefficient adaptively and determining the training weight accordingly. Experiments on six time series prediction data sets have verified that the AWOS-ELM algorithm performs better in generalization performance, stability, and prediction ability than the OS-ELM algorithm. In addition, a real-world mechanical system identification problem is considered to test the feasibility and efficacy of the AWOS-ELM algorithm."}
{"ID": 967, "domain": "Medical", "area": "Skin Care", "abstract": "A novel amphiphilic hydroquinone derivative having a C18 alkyl chain phosphate attached to the hydroquinone (HQ) moiety was chemically synthesized. The thermal stability, distribution between organic and aqueous phases, and in vitro skin permeability were evaluated. This HQ derivative was identified as disodium p-phenylene diisostearyl diphosphate (HQ-2P2IS) by UV, infrared, mass, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies. Product HQ-2P2IS was obtained in good yield (56%), and it exhibited satisfactory stability in neutral solution, comparable to that of HQ. Its skin permeability was also higher than that of HQ. HQ-2P2IS is susceptible to enzymatic hydrolysis by tissue phosphatase, which releases HQ in the skin tissues. Thus, these characteristics indicate that the novel hydroquinone derivative presented herein, i.e., HQ-2P2IS, may serve as an effective pro-hydroquinone for skin care applications."}
{"ID": 968, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Cell biology", "abstract": "A novel animal model involving chimeric mice with humanized livers established via human hepatocyte transplantation has been developed. These mice, in which the liver has been repopulated with functional human hepatocytes, could serve as a useful tool for investigating human hepatic cell biology, drug metabolism, and other preclinical applications. One of the key factors required for successful transplantation of human hepatocytes into mice is the elimination of the endogenous hepatocytes to prevent competition with the human cells and provide a suitable space and microenvironment for promoting human donor cell expansion and differentiation. To date, two major liver injury mouse models utilizing fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (Fah) and uroplasminogen activator (uPA) mice have been established. However, Fah mice are used mainly with mature hepatocytes and the application of the uPA model is limited by decreased breeding. To overcome these limitations, Albtoxin receptor mediated cell knockout (TRECK)/SCID mice were used for in vivo differentiation of immature human hepatocytes and humanized liver generation. Human hepatic stem cells (HpSCs) successfully repopulated the livers of Alb-TRECK/SCID mice that had developed lethal fulminant hepatic failure following diphtheria toxin (DT) treatment. This model of a humanized liver in Alb-TRECK/SCID mice will have functional applications in studies involving drug metabolism and drug-drug interactions and will promote other in vivo and in vitro studies."}
{"ID": 969, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Thermodynamics", "abstract": "A novel application of coal gangue as inexpensive adsorbents is considered in this study. The structural and surface properties of natural and modified gangue were studied via nitrdgen adsorption. Four types of samples were studied: natural, modified with H2NO3 and H2O2 and calcined at 250 degrees C and 600 degrees C. The specific surface area and porosity of the samples were determined using various methods. The raw material is mainly mesoporous with relatively small specific surface area. The chemical modification enlarged the total pore volume and the specific surface area. The calcination at 250 degrees C enlarged slightly the pore volume and lowered the specific surface area, but did not cause significant changes in the structural properties. The calcination at 600 degrees C resulted in a significant increase in pore volume and a decrease in specific surface area. These results suggest that the coal gangue studied here could be used as inexpensive adsorbent in industrial wastewater pretreatment. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 970, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Molecular biology", "abstract": "A novel approach for stem cell generation is the attempt to induce conversion of the adult somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells so called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by introducing specific transcription factors. iPSCs have two essential cell characteristics, they are pluripotent and posses long term cell-renewal capacity. Additionally, iPSCs can be derived from patient-specific somatic cells, thus bypassing ethical and immunological issues. The aim of our study was to reprogram long-term cryopreserved human neonatal fibroblasts by new method using lipid nano-particle technology (Lipofectamine 3000 reagent transfection system) in combination with Epi 5 reprogramming vectors. Obtained iPSCs were characterized by several sophisticated methods of molecular biology and microscopy. Distinct colonies of iPSCs started to appear by day 20 after reprogramming. The presence of iPSCs colonies was proved by alkaline phosphatase (AP) live staining. After manual picking the colonies and their subsequent passaging, they did not lose ability to form embryoid bodies, they were positive for AP, Tra-1-60, and SSEA-5. Moreover, obtained iPSCs expressed pluripotency markers Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog, and the expression levels of chondrogenic, osteogenic and adipogenic markers were significantly higher in comparison to control (p < 0.05). In summary, we have demonstrated that long-term cryopreserved human neonatal fibroblasts can be reprogrammed into iPSCs and after further analysis concerns on their biological safety they may be used as patient-specific cells in regenerative medicine."}
{"ID": 971, "domain": "ECE", "area": "State space representation", "abstract": "A novel approach is proposed in this study to eliminate the chaotic motion by a fuzzy controller and an appropriate dither. First, a back-propagation (BP) neural-network (NN) model is used to approximate the multiple time-delay chaotic system. Then, a linear differential inclusion (LDI) state-space representation is established for the dynamics of the NN model. Based on the LDI state-space representation, this study proposes a delay-dependent stability criterion derived in terms of Lyapunov's direct method to guarantee that the trajectories of the multiple time-delay chaotic (MTDC) system under fuzzy control can be steered into a periodic orbit. Subsequently, the stability condition of this criterion is reformulated into a linear matrix inequality (LMI). According to the LMI, a fuzzy controller is then synthesized to tame the multiple time-delay chaotic (MTDC) system. If the fuzzy controller cannot suppress the chaos, a high frequency signal, commonly called dither, is simultaneously injected to eliminate the chaotic motion by regulating the dither's parameters. If the frequency of dither is high enough, the trajectories of the dithered chaotic system and its corresponding mathematical model-the relaxed system can be made as close as desired. This make it possible to obtain a rigorous prediction of the dithered chaotic system's behavior by establishing the relaxed system. Finally, this study provides a numerical example of the Chen's chaotic system with simulations to illustrate the concepts discussed throughout this paper. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V."}
{"ID": 972, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A novel approach to tuning an inverted F antenna is investigated by using PZT materials that switch elements into contact using a dc control voltage to reconfigure the IFA structure. This produces a prototype reconfigurable antenna which can be finely tuned over a 9% bandwidth."}
{"ID": 973, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A novel approach using microresonating system with low power consumption is proposed for determining Young's modulus of mirco and nano-sized waveguide material. Based on the Mason rule with signal flow graph (SFG) method in the Z-domain, the optical transfer function is derived for resonating layout consists of two single microring resonators which are indirectly coupled to an add-drop micro resonator. A mathematical function is determined for critical coupling coefficient and the optimum optical transmission of proposed system. For the resonant mode numbers of 5;3;3, the free spectral range (FSR) is extended to 182 nm with the out of band rejection ratio(OBRR) of 50 dB and the Q factor is 8593. The Young's modulus is determined based on a change in the sensing ring radius due to the applied external force on the waveguide that causes the wavelength shift in resonant peaks. The Young's modulus for the lateral surface of the SOI waveguide with 250 nm height and 1.5 mu m radius is determined to be 147.72 GPa and for the upper surface of the SOI waveguide with 440 nm average width and 1.5 mu m radius is determined to be 83.93 GPa. The proposed resonating system is a potential candidate for measuring Young's modulus of materials in mirco and nano size with high resolution and has the advantages of the low power consumption due to the low intensity source."}
{"ID": 974, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Microcontroller", "abstract": "A novel automated method for the determination of boron based on the use of pulsed flows was developed and applied to the determination of this element in samples of tap water, ocean water and eye drops. The method was implemented by means of a multi-pumping system consisting of three solenoid micropumps and a photometric detector and exploits the reaction of azomethine-H in the presence of boron. The system runs under control of an open-source microcontroller. The main operational parameters were optimized. Given the particular kinetics of the reaction, a stopped-flow period (1 or 5 min) was included to allow for color development. The method presents linearity in the range 0.35-3.0 mg L-1, good precision (s(r) <3%), and detection and quantification limits of 0.10 and 0.35 mg L-1 respectively. Samples of tap water or eye drops could be successfully analyzed employing a 1-minute stop time, providing a maximum sampling frequency of 32 samples h(-1). In order to overcome matrix effect caused by the high saline concentration, ocean water samples required stop times of 5 min, providing a sampling frequency of 10 samples h(-1). Recoveries of 102% (eye drops), 94% (drinking water) and 93% (ocean water) were obtained. The method was considered accurate and fit for the purpose. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 975, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A novel bias scheme for realizing low-voltage second-order translinear loops is introduced in this paper. The provided design examples include current geometric-mean, squarer/divider, and multiplier/divider cells. The performed comparison shows that the derived analog signal processing blocks offer reduced circuit complexity and improved performance, compared with the corresponding already published counterparts."}
{"ID": 976, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Southern blotting", "abstract": "A novel bovine cDNA has been isolated by EST assembly and subsequently confirmed by using RT-PCR and designated bovine B-cell activating factor belonging to TNF family (bBAFF). The open reading frame (ORF) of this cDNA covers 843 bp, encoding 280 amino acids. The functional soluble part of bBAFF (bsBAFF) shows 96% and 91% identity with its pig and human counterparts, respectively, at the level of the primary protein structure. The bBAFF genomic sequence consists of six exons and five introns, is approximately 30 kb in size, and maps to bovine chromosome 12q. Southern blotting analysis indicated that the bBAFF gene is a single copy gene. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis revealed that bBAFF is predominantly expressed in bovine lymphoid tissues PBLs and spleen. The predicted three dimensional (3D) structure of the bsBAFF monomer analyzed by \"comparative protein modeling\" revealed that it is very similar to its human counterpart. In western blotting analysis, His(6)-tagged bsBAFF protein expressed in E. coli could be recognized not only by an anti-HiS(6.)tag m Ab but also by an anti-human sBAFF mAb, indicating immunological cross-reactivity occurs between bovine and human sBAFF protein. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 977, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A novel carbon monoxide (CO) sensor is fabricated based on quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) using commercial piezoelectric crystal, modified with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) through spin-coating technique. For this purpose, a 10.00 +/- 0.03-V alternative-current (AC) potential with frequency of 4.62 +/- 0.02 MHz as an optimum surface acoustic wave (SAW) is applied to the piezoelectric crystal (SAW device). To follow the linear correlation between mass difference and frequency gradient, a frequency-to-voltage converter is adopted using an integrated circuit. Output potential is then filtered by electrical high-pass filter, followed by 10 fold samplification using an operational amplifier and finally connection to a PC through a voltmeter. According to figures of merit, fabricated sensor is linear from 35 to 280 parts per million (ppm). Detection limit is also similar to 5.3 ppm. Relative standard deviation for six replicate analyses is 3.04%. Based on 90% of maximum response (t(90)), response time is 5.0 s. Recovery time is also evaluated to similar to 30 s at 1.0 atmosphere pressure. Calibration sensitivity is measured to 0.057 mV/ppm. No significant interference is observed, when introducing at least 500 folds of various foreign species in air as diluents. Reliability of the sensor is finally evaluated via determination of the CO in two samples."}
{"ID": 978, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A novel closed-loop process is demonstrated to control deposition microstructure during laser additive manufacturing (LAM) in real-time. An infrared imaging system is developed to monitor surface temperatures during the process as feedback signals. Cooling rates and melt pool temperatures are recorded in real-time to provide adequate information regarding thermal gradients, and thus control the deposition microstructure affected by cooling rates during LAM. Using correlations between the cooling rate, traveling speed, and the clad microstructure, a novel feedback PID controller is established to control the cooling rate. The controller is designed to maintain the cooling rate around a desired point by tuning the traveling speed. The performance of the controller is examined on several single-track and multi-track closed-loop claddings in order to achieve desired microstructures with specific properties. Results indicate that the closed-loop controller is capable of generating a consistent controlled microstructure during the LAM process in real-time."}
{"ID": 979, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Signal-flow graph", "abstract": "A novel configuration of current mirrors differentiators-based continuous-time current-mode low pass filter is proposed in this paper. The filter only consists of current mirrors differentiators and capacitors. The topology is really simple, the sensitivity is very low, so it suits full integration. The computer simulation of transistor is carried out and the results show that the proposed circuits are effective."}
{"ID": 980, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A novel controller is proposed to regulate the DC-link voltage of a single phase active power filter (SPAPF). The proposed switched fractional controller (SFC) consists of a conventional PI controller, a fractional order PI (FO-PI) controller and a decision maker that switches between them. Commonly, the conventional PI controller is used in regulation loops due to its advantages in steady-state but it is limited in transient state. On the other hand, the FO-PI controller overcomes these drawbacks but it causes dramatic degradation in control performances in steady-state because of the fractional calculus theory and the approximation method used to implement this kind of controller. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to switch to the PI controller in steady-state to obtain the best power quality and to switch to the FO-PI controller when external disturbances are detected to guarantee a fast transient state. To investigate the efficiency and accuracy of the SFC considering all robustness tests, an experimental setup has been established. The results of the SFC fulfill the requirements, confirm its high performances in steady and transient states and demonstrate its feasibility and effectiveness. The experiment results have satisfied the limit specified by the IEEE harmonic standard 519."}
{"ID": 981, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A novel cytochrome P450, CYP4x1, was identified in EST databases on the basis of similarity to a conserved region in the C-helix of the CYP4A family. The human and mouse CYP4x1 cDNAs were cloned and found to encode putative cytochrome P450 proteins. Molecular modelling of CYP4x1 predicted an unusual substrate binding channel for the CYP4 family. Expression of human CYP4x1 was detected in brain by EST analysis, and in aorta by northern blotting. The mouse cDNA was used to demonstrate that the Cyp4x RNA was expressed principally in brain, and at much lower levels in liver; hepatic levels of the Cyp4x1 RNA were not affected by treatment with the inducing agents phenobarbital, dioxin, dexamethasone or ciprofibrate, nor were the levels affected in PPAR alpha-/- mice. A specific antibody for Cyp4x1 was developed, and shown to detect Cyp4x1 in brain; quantitation of the Cyp4x1 protein in brain demonstrated approximate to 10 ng of Cyp4x1 protein.mg(-1) microsomal protein, showing that Cyp4x1 is a major brain P450. Immunohistochemical localization of the Cyp4x1 protein in brain showed specific staining of neurons, choroids epithelial cells and vascular endothelial cells. These data suggest an important role for Cyp4x1 in the brain."}
{"ID": 982, "domain": "CS", "area": "Image processing", "abstract": "A novel depth from defocus (DFD) measurement system is presented, where the extension of the measurement range is performed using an emergent technology based on liquid lenses. A suitable set of different focal lengths, obtained by properly changing the liquid lens supply voltage, provides multiple camera settings without duplicating the system elements or using moving parts. A simple and compact setup, with a single camera/illuminator coaxial assembly, is obtained. The measurement is based on an active DFD technique using modulation measurement profilometry for the estimation of the contrast at each image point as a function of the depth range. Two different measurement methods are proposed, both based on a combination of multiple contrast curves, each derived at a specific focal length. In the first method (intensity contrast method), the depth information is recovered directly from the contrast curves, whereas in the second (differential contrast method), the depth is measured using contrast curve pairs. We obtained a measurement sigma(0) of 0.55 mm over a depth range of 60 mm with the intensity contrast method (0.92% of the total range) and an sigma(0) of 0.76 mm over a depth range of 135 mm with the differential contrast method (0.56% of the total range). Thus, the intensity contrast method is within the state-of-the-art DFD systems, whereas the differential contrast method allows, sigma(0) being almost equal, a remarkable extension of the depth range."}
{"ID": 983, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A novel digital envelope modulator for envelope tracking radio frequency power amplifier is presented in this paper. The proposed modulator consists of a parallel combination of linear class AB and switching class D power amplifiers that are controlled digitally. In the previous analog architectures, the requirements needed for the AB operational amplifier such as high-current driving capability, high bandwidth and large output swing is usually obtainable at high overall static power dissipation. The digitally controlled power opamp presented here not only provides the aforementioned requirements but also reduces power dissipation compared with previous work. Furthermore, the digital control of the modulator makes it adaptive to the input signal variations in comparison with conventional analog parallel hybrid envelope modulators. The digital processor of the modulator is evaluated with a 45-nm complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology. The overall power consumption of the digital processor is around 142mW at 1.5-GHz clock frequency. As an application, the designed digital class AB is incorporated in a complete envelope modulator architecture. The overall efficiency of the modulator, including the digital processor power consumption, is around 82% at an average 32dBm output power for a 5-MHz input signal. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."}
{"ID": 984, "domain": "CS", "area": "Data structures", "abstract": "A novel dimensionality reduction method named nonlocal and local structure preserving projection (NLLSPP) is proposed and used for process monitoring. NLLSPP can simultaneously preserve the nonlocal structure (i.e., data variance) and the local structure (i.e., neighborhood relationships between data points) of the data set. According to nonadjacent or neighboring relationships of different pairs of data points, NLLSPP defines nonlocal or local similarity weight coefficients for pairwise data points on the basis of their distances. The nonlocal similarity weight coefficients force two nonadjacent data points to be projected far apart from each other. The local similarity weight coefficients force two neighboring data points to be projected near each other. In this way, nonlocal and local structures of the data set are naturally preserved and highlighted in a lower-dimensional space. Because of this advantage, NLLSPP is more powerful than principal component analysis (PCA) and locality preserving projections (LPP) in extracting important data characteristics. A process monitoring method is developed based on the NLLSPP algorithm. Its advantages are illustrated by a case study on the Tennessee Eastman process. The results indicate that the NLLSPP-based method has better monitoring performance that the PCA-based and LPP-based methods. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 985, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A novel dispersive delay structure (DDS) based on a composite right/left-handed (CRLH)-CRLH coupler is proposed and demonstrated by both full-wave and experimental results. The experimental prototypes are compact and shielded multilayer DDSs implemented in low-temperature co-fired ceramics technology. Compared to the conventional all-pass C-section DDS, the proposed CRLH C-section DDS exhibit a larger group-delay swing, which leads to higher resolution in analog signal processing applications, as a result of their higher coupling capability. Moreover, they feature a larger bandwidth and a smaller size. A generalized wave-interference analysis is presented to both rigorously derive the transfer functions and group-delay characteristics of C-section DDSs and provide deeper insight into their operating mechanisms in both their left-and right-handed regimes."}
{"ID": 986, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Digital control", "abstract": "A novel driving method implemented with high frequency electromagnetic isolation is proposed in this paper. And the hardware designing schematic diagram and the software configuration method are presented. Then the corresponding operating principle is analyzed in detail based on digital control chip and analog circuits. The proposed driving method can be applied to real-time varying pulse width of the control signal and the duty-cycle ratio of this control pulse can be regulated in the range of 0-100 %. This novel driving method can achieve not only the advantages of high insulation and high common-mode suppression, but also the merits of low cost and fast dynamic response speed, and it is suitable for the isolation and amplification of high frequency switching control pulse signal. Finally, the experimental results show that the proposed driving method in this paper is effective."}
{"ID": 987, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Southern blotting", "abstract": "A novel drought-response transcription factor gene PeDREB2b cloned from Populus euphratica Oliv. was successfully transferred into white clover (Trifolium repens L.) 'Hai Fa' by soaking seeds with Agrobacterium tumefaciens. In total, 52 kanamycin-resistant primary transformants were obtained. PCR analysis confirmed that 6 of them carry the PeDREB2b gene. Southern blotting and GUS assay confirmed that that the PeDREB2b gene had been integrated into the plant genome. The transformation efficiency was 0.96%, calculated on the basis of the total number of the germinated seeds. The transgenic plants showed significant stronger drought-tolerance than non-transgenic plants. Our research suggested that the transformation method of soaking seeds with A. tumefaciens is effective for white clover and PeDREB2b can be used as an approach to enhance drought tolerance in white clover."}
{"ID": 988, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Lorentz force law", "abstract": "A novel dual Halbach array is proposed in this paper to increase the output performance of tubular linear machines. The magnetic field distribution in three-dimensional (3D) space is formulated with Bessel functions analytically. Following that, the modeling of force output for linear machines with three-phase windings is carried out based on Lorentz force law. The formula component of force ripple is separated from the analytical expression of total force. It is found that for multi-phase tubular linear machines, the force output and force ripple are not only closely related to the instantaneous position of the mover, but also the starting position. Therefore, the force output of the linear machine is formulated for three typical starting positions as a function of mover positions. The derived models are simulated with respect to the mover's motion. They are also validated with numerical results from finite element calculation. The study shows that an appropriate starting position of the mover helps to improve the output performance of the tubular linear machines. The proposed analytical force model can also be employed to analyze the influence of the structure parameters on the force output of linear machines with similar structures."}
{"ID": 989, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Smart Material", "abstract": "A novel duct silencer was developed using dielectric elastomer absorbers (DEAs). Dielectric elastomer, a lightweight, high elastic energy density and large deformation under high DC/AC voltages smart material, was used to fabricate this new generation actuator. The acoustic performances of this duct silencer were experimentally investigated in a transmission loss (TL) measurement system using two-load method. It was found that the resonance peaks of this new duct silencer could be controlled by applying various DC voltages, a maximum resonance shift of 59.5Hz for the resonance peaks was achieved which indicated that this duct silencer could be adjusted to absorb broadband range noise without any addition mechanical part. Furthermore, the resonance shift and multiple resonances mechanisms using DEAs were proposed and discussed in the present paper which was aiming to achieve broadband noise reduction. The present results also provide insight into the appropriateness of the absorber for possible use as new acoustic treatment to replace the traditional acoustic treatment."}
{"ID": 990, "domain": "CS", "area": "Distributed computing", "abstract": "A novel dynamic radio-cooperation strategy is proposed for a Cloud Radio Access Network (Cloud-RAN) consisting of multiple Remote Radio Heads connected to a central Virtual Base Station (VBS) pool. In particular, the key capabilities of Cloud-RAN in computing-resource sharing and real-time communication among the VBSs are leveraged to design a joint dynamic radio clustering and cooperative beamforming scheme that maximizes the downlink Weighted Sum-Rate System Utility (WSRSU). Due to the combinatorial nature of the radio clustering process and to the non-convexity of the cooperative beamforming design, the underlying optimization problem is NP-hard, and is extremely difficult to solve for a large network. The proposed approach aims for a suboptimal solution by transforming the original problem into a Mixed-Integer Second-Order Cone Program (MI-SOCP) and applying Sequential Convex Approximation (SCA) to derive a novel iterative algorithm. Numerical simulation results show that our low-complexity algorithm provides near-optimal performance in terms of WSRSU while significantly outperforming conventional radio clustering and beamforming schemes. Additionally, the results also demonstrate the significant improvement in computing-resource utilization of Cloud-RAN over a traditional RAN with distributed computing resources."}
{"ID": 991, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Electrical circuits", "abstract": "A novel Envelope Following (EF) method is presented for fast and accurate transient simulation of microwave and RF circuits with almost-periodic responses. Targeted circuits contain high-frequency components whose amplitudes vary slowly. The proposed high-order EF method is based on a stable and high-order Obreshkov formula (ObF). Use of high-order formula allows accurate and fast analysis while keeping the same accuracy as the conventional low-order integration methods and is validated by the presented numerical example."}
{"ID": 992, "domain": "ECE", "area": "System identification", "abstract": "A novel estimator for the identification of continuous-time linear time-varying systems is presented in this paper. The estimator uses kernel-based regression to identify the time-varying coefficients of a linear ordinary differential equation, based on noisy samples of the input and output signals. The estimator adopts a mixed time- and frequency-domain formulation, which allows it to be formulated as the solution of a set of algebraic equations, without relying on finite differences to approximate the time derivatives. Since a kernel-based approach is used, the model complexity selection of the time-varying parameters is formulated as an optimisation problem with continuous variables. Variance and bias expressions of the estimate are derived and validated on a simulation example. Also, it is shown that, in highly noisy environments, the proposed kernel-based estimator provides more reliable results than an Oracle'-based estimator which is deprived of regularisation."}
{"ID": 993, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Machine design", "abstract": "A novel expert hydro/aero-static spindle design system strategy is presented in this paper. It is based on the comprehensive principles of machine design, machining dynamics and metal cutting mechanics. The transmission and lubrication types of the spindle are decided by a selection system, which utilize a dedicated logical choice algorithm in the light of the specifications of both workpiece material and desired cutting condition. Hydro/aero-static spindles are designed by this system from its dynamics perspective. The chatter vibration of the spindle is automatically improved by optimizing the structural parameters of the spindle. Meanwhile, the predicted Frequency Response Function (FRF) of the spindle based on the rotor dynamics is integrated to the chatter vibration stability law. Consequently, the expert design system enables the structure of machine tools to be designed efficiently with a higher precision. The proposed system was demonstrated through an aerostatic spindle design for micro-array structures machining. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."}
{"ID": 994, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Analog signal processing", "abstract": "A novel first-order all-pass current-mode filter realized by employing a minimum number of discrete OTA components is introduced in this paper. Attractive characteristics of the proposed topology are the requirement for a grounded capacitor, and its high output impedance. Experimental results confirm the correct operation of the novel all-pass filter topology."}
{"ID": 995, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A novel folded-cascode operational amplifier (opamp) employing the nested gain-boosted technique is presented. The gain-booster in the signal path consists of two-level recursive folded-cascode amplifier to achieve high gain and high speed. The opamp is designed and simulated in 0.13 mu m CMOS technology, bode-plot results that an open-loop gain over 90dB and a unity-gain frequency up to 4.75G for loads of 1.6pF have been obtained. Settling measurements shows that the opamp has a settling time less than 2.5ns. So the proposed opamp can be employed in high speed and high resolution Analog-to-Digital converters (ADCs) such as pipelined ADC."}
{"ID": 996, "domain": "ECE", "area": "Operational amplifier", "abstract": "A novel frequency compensation technique, named Regular Miller plus Reversed Indirect Compensation (RMRIC), is presented in this paper for fast-settling three-stage amplifiers. The RMRIC topology includes, on the one hand, a Miller capacitor combined with one nulling resistor connected between the first stage and the third stage, and on the other hand, an indirect compensation capacitor in series with a resistor added between the first and the second stage, which improves remarkably the performance such as gain-bandwidth product (GBW) and sensitivity of the proposed amplifier. Detailed design considerations are carried out to demonstrate the stability of the compensation technique. Circuit simulation results show the amplifier driving a 2-pF load capacitance achieves a 9.25-GHz GBW dissipating only 16.5 mW with a 1.2 V supply voltage using a TSMC 65 nm CMOS technology, which shows a significant improvement in figure of merits. The implemented amplifier reaches a settling time of 3.35 ns with 0.006 % accuracy."}
{"ID": 997, "domain": "biochemistry", "area": "Northern blotting", "abstract": "A novel gene, named NgAOX1a, was isolated from Nicotiana glutinosa by RT-PCR (reverse transcription-PCR). The full-length cDNA of NgAOX1a was 1448 bp, including a 1062-bp ORF (open reading frame), a 124 bp 5' UTR (untranslated region) and a 262 bp 3' UTR. The ORF encodes a 353-amino-acid protein which contains two conserved cysteine residues, four iron-binding motifs, five alpha-helix regions and six conserved histidine residues. The phylogenetic tree showed that NgAOX1a belongs to the AQX1 (alternative oxidase 1)-type group. Alignment analysis showed that NgAOX1a shares a high similarity with other known AOXs. Four exons and three introns were detected in the genomic DNA sequence, and Southern-blotting analysis suggested that NgAOX1a is a single-copy gene. A series of putative cis-acting elements were examined in the 5'-flanking region of NgAOX1a. Northern-blotting analysis showed that the transcript levels of NgAOX1a can be markedly accumulated when tobacco seedlings are treated with various abiotic stimuli, such as exogenous signalling molecules for plant defence response, salicylic acid and H2O2, and the exogenous TCA (tricarboxylic acid) cycle metabolite citrate. However, it could be suppressed by abiotic stress, such as CoCl2, an inhibitor of ethylene, which indicates that the expression of NgAOX1a may be regulated by ethylene. In addition, NgAOX1a can also be strongly induced by three viral pathogens, tobacco mosaic virus, potato virus X and potato virus Y. These results indicate that NgAOX1a may be involved in multi-signal transduction pathways and may play an important role in defence response."}
{"ID": 998, "domain": "Civil", "area": "Remote Sensing", "abstract": "A novel generalized pattern search (GPS)-based cellular automata (GPS-CA) model was developed to simulate urban land-use change in a GIS environment. The model is built on a fitness function that computes the difference between the observed results produced from remote-sensing images and the simulated results produced by a general CA model. GPS optimization incorporating genetic algorithms (GAs) searches for the minimum difference, i.e. the smallest accumulated residuals, in fitting the CA transition rules. The CA coefficients captured by the GPS method have clear physical meanings that are closely associated with the dynamic mechanisms of land-use change. The GPS-CA model was applied to simulate urban land-use change in Kunshan City in the Yangtze River Delta from 2000 to 2015. The results show that the GPS method had a smaller root mean squared error (0.2821) than a logistic regression (LR) method (0.5256) in fitting the CA transition rules. The GPS-CA model thus outperformed the LR-CA model, with an overall accuracy improvement of 4.7%. As a result, the GPS-CA model should be a superior tool for modeling land-use change as well as predicting future scenarios in response to different conditions to support the sustainable urban development."}
{"ID": 999, "domain": "MAE", "area": "Fluid mechanics", "abstract": "A novel generic method of silica supported catalyst system generation from a fluid state is presented. The technique is based on the combined flow and radiation (such as microwave, thermal or UV) induced co-assembly of the support and catalyst precursors forming nano-reactors, followed by catalyst precursor decomposition. The transformation from the precursor to supported catalyst oxide state can be controlled from a few seconds to several minutes. The resulting nano-structured micro-porous silica supported catalyst system has a surface area approaching 300 m(2)/g and X-ray Diffraction (XRD)-based catalyst size controlled in the range of 1-10 nm in which the catalyst structure appears as lamellar sheets sandwiched between the catalyst support. These catalyst characteristics are dependent primarily on the processing history as well as the catalyst (Fe, Co and Ni studied) when the catalyst/support molar ratio is typically 0.1-2. In addition, Ca, Mn and Cu were used as co-catalysts with Fe and Co in the evaluation of the mechanism of catalyst generation. Based on extensive XRD, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) studies, the micro-and nano-structure of the catalyst system were evaluated. It was found that the catalyst and silica support form extensive 0.6-2 nm thick lamellar sheets of 10-100 nm planar dimensions. In these lamellae, the alternate silica support and catalyst layer appear in the form of a bar-code structure. When these lamellae structures pack, they form the walls of a micro-porous catalyst system which typically has a density of 0.2 g/cm(3). A tentative mechanism of catalyst nano-structure formation is provided based on the rheology and fluid mechanics of the catalyst/support precursor fluid as well as co-assembly nano-reactor formation during processing. In order to achieve these structures and characteristics, catalyst support must be in the form of silane coated silica nano-particles dispersed in water which also contains the catalyst precursor nitrate salt. This support-catalyst precursor fluid must have a sufficiently low viscosity but high elastic modulus (high extensional viscosity) to form films and bubbles when exposed to processing energy sources such as microwave, thermal, ultra-sound or UV-radiation or their combination. The micro-to-nano structures of the catalyst system are essentially formed at an early stage of energy input. It is shown that the primary particles of silica are transformed to a proto-silica particle state and form lamellar structures with the catalyst precursor. While the nano-structure is forming, water is evaporated leaving a highly porous solid support-catalyst precursor which then undergoes decomposition to form a silica-catalyst oxide system. The final catalyst system is obtained after catalyst oxide reduction. Although the XRD-based catalyst size changes slightly during the subsequent heat treatments, the nano-structure of the catalyst system remains substantially unaltered as evaluated through TEM images. However, if the catalyst preparation is carried out without film formation, the XRD-based catalyst size increases substantially by a factor of 2-8, with no significant alteration in surface area."}
{"ID": 1000, "domain": "ECE", "area": "PID controller", "abstract": "A novel global PID control scheme for nonlinear MIMO systems is proposed and implemented for a robot as study case, this scheme is called AWFPID from its adaptive wavelet fuzzy PID control structure. Basically, it identifies inverse error dynamics using a radial basis neural network with daughter RASP1 wavelets activation function; its output is in cascaded with an infinite impulse response (IIR) filter to prune irrelevant signals and nodes as well as to recover a canonical form. Then, online adaptive fuzzy tuning of a discrete PID regulator is proposed, whose closed-loop guarantees global regulation for nonlinear dynamical plants. The wavelet network includes a fuzzy inference system for online tuning of learning rates. A real-time experimental study on a three degrees of freedom haptic interface, the PHANToM Premium 1.0A, highlights the regulation with smooth control effort without using the mathematical model of the robot. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved."}