Serial Approach Research Articles

Serial vs. parallel approach to screen sleep disorders: an exploratory study

Aiming to verify which is the most effective screening approach for sleep disorders between the serial (first step: sleep self-report measure; second step only in case of positive outcome at the first: objective tool) and parallel (unique step, with the concurrent use of sleep self-report measure and objective tool), a first secondary analysis of previously collected data (study 1) was carried out examining primary insomniacs (PI) and healthy controls (HC). Aiming to verify the implementation of such approaches in clinical populations presenting high comorbidity with sleep disorder, an additional secondary analysis (study 2) was carried out, investigating hypertensive patients (HP) and severe obese patients (SOP). 84 HC and 47 PI were examined in study 1, while 36 SOP, and 30 HP in study 2. All participants originally underwent actigraphic recordings for seven consecutive days, using the Actiwatch device (objective tool). At the end of the recording week, participants filled the Mini Sleep Questionnaire (sleep self-report measure). As regards the study 1, the parallel and serial approaches allowed to correctly identify the 97.87% and 55.32% of PI, respectively. With reference to the study 2, the 36.11% and 80.56% of SOP were identified as positive at the serial and parallel approaches, respectively, while the corresponding percentages of HP were 30% and 70%. Study 1 showed that parallel screening approach is the most effective in PI, allowing to correctly identifying almost the entirety of these patients. Study 2 highlighted that serial screening approach is more useful in SOP and HP, identifying a percentage of positive patients overall in line with the documented comorbidity with sleep disorder in these clinical populations.

Productive infection of human neural progenitor cells by R5 tropic HIV-1: opiate co-exposure heightens infectivity and functional vulnerability.

HIV type-1 (HIV-1) causes a spectrum of central nervous system (CNS) complications; many are worsened by opiate co-exposure. Human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) give rise to all CNS neurons and macroglia. We tested the hypothesis that hNPC maturation and fate are altered by HIV and opiates, contributing to HIV-1-related neuropathology. Reports of hNPC infection remain controversial. We rigorously examined this question, testing whether hNPCs propogated infection, and whether HIV affected hNPCs absent their infection. Primary hNPCs were characterized over multiple passages. Following R5 HIV-1BaL exposure, p24, Nef, and tat assays monitored infection; a serial dilution approach tested infection transfer to naive hNPCs. Bromodeoxyuridine uptake, population doubling time, and immunostaining assessed proliferation and differentiation. Morphine co-exposure assessed opiate interactions. Supernatant from HIV-1BaL-infected PBMCs (HIVsup), HIV-1BaL, and ultraviolet light-inactivated HIVsup were compared to test effects of inflammatory milieu versus virus or infection per se. The hNPCs (CD4/CD8/Iba/CXC3CL1/CD11b) were infectable and could transfer infection to naive hNPCs. Infection was partly blocked by maraviroc, implicating CCR5. HIVsup reduced hNPC proliferation and caused premature differentiation into neurons/astroglia. Effects on proliferation were due to soluble factors/viral proteins, not infection per se. Morphine co-exposure exacerbated certain functional consequences of HIVsup, and sustained the infection of hNPCs. hNPCs can be infected and propagate virus in vitro. hNPCs or their progeny may represent an underappreciated viral reservoir. Factors from infected cells alter hNPC proliferation and neural cell maturation, which likely compromises CNS structure and function. Morphine-HIV interactions may worsen dysfunction and sustain infection.

A parallel structure exploiting nonlinear programming algorithm for multiperiod dynamic optimization

This article develops a sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm that utilizes a parallel interior-point method (IPM) for the QP subproblems. Our approach is able to efficiently decompose and solve large-scale multiperiod nonlinear programming (NLP) formulations with embedded dynamic model representations, through the use of an explicit Schur-complement decomposition within the IPM. The algorithm implementation makes use of a computing environment that uses the parallel distributed computing message passing interface (MPI) and specialized vector-matrix class representations, as implemented in the third-party software package, OOPS. The proposed approach is assessed, with a focus on computational speedup, using several benchmark examples involving applications of parameter estimation and design under uncertainty which utilize static and dynamic models. Results indicate significant improvements in the NLP solution speedup when moving from a serial full-space direct factorization approach, to a serial Schur-complement decomposition, to a parallelized Schur-complement decomposition for the primal-dual linear system solution within the IPM.

Alternative data processing techniques for serial NMR experiments

AbstractNMR measurements are often performed in a serial manner, that is, the acquisition of an FID signal is repeated under various conditions, either controlled (as temperature or pH changes) or uncontrolled (as reaction progress). The traditional approach to process “serial” data is to perform the Fourier transform of each FID in a series. However, it suffers from several problems, in particular, from the need to sample full Nyquist grid and reach a sufficient signal‐to‐noise ratio in each separate spectrum. The problems become particularly cumbersome in the case of multidimensional signals, where sampling is costly and sensitivity is an issue. Over the years, several methods of alternative, “joint” processing of FID series have been proposed. In this paper, we discuss the principles of some of them: Accordion Spectroscopy, Multidimensional Decomposition, Radon transform, a combination of Compressed Sensing and the Laplace transform. According to our knowledge, this is the first review on serial NMR data processing approaches. The reader is provided with MATLAB scripts allowing to perform simulations and processing using these algorithms.

Proboscidean isotopic compositions provide insight into ancient humans and their environments

Isotopic analyses of proboscidean remains (e.g., mammoth, mastodon, gompothere, elephant) can provide significant insights into past environmental conditions and animal behaviour. Because they are associated with humans over a broad geographical and temporal scale, proboscidean remains can also be used to understand the activities and environmental contexts of ancient humans. This paper reviews the isotopic literature on proboscideans, including (1) bulk tissue approaches to understanding past climate, vegetation patterns, and migrations, (2) serial sampling approaches to understanding seasonal variations, and (3) direct uses of proboscidean isotopic compositions to investigate human lifeways, including Neandertal and Upper Paleolithic humans in Europe and Paleoindian/Clovis people in North America.

A new serial approach of the forward kinematic model of spherical parallel manipulators for real-time applications

Parallel architectures are increasingly used as haptic devices to provide low inertia, high stiffness and compactness. Thus, spherical parallel manipulators have been developed to generate the three rotational movements in a sufficient workspace. However, these parallel structures have complex kinematic models and can suffer from critical singularity issues. This paper proposes a serial approach to solve the forward kinematic model of a spherical parallel manipulator, which is used as a haptic device in minimally invasive surgery. The new forward kinematic model is based on the serial positioning of the three sensors on one leg rather than placing the three sensors on the three actuated base joints. The forward kinematic model calculation is thus simplified to be suitable for real-time applications (computing time around 5 µs) without cost increase. Parallel singularity effects are removed using this approach and the accuracy of the forward kinematic model is highly enhanced. Simulations were carried out to show the benefits of this approach. The resulting errors of the forward kinematic model calculation due to measurement noises do not exceed 0.2° along the workspace. Experiments were carried out to demonstrate the control of a surgical robot.

A Fast Synthetic Aperture Radar Raw Data Simulation Using Cloud Computing.

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) raw data simulation is a fundamental problem in radar system design and imaging algorithm research. The growth of surveying swath and resolution results in a significant increase in data volume and simulation period, which can be considered to be a comprehensive data intensive and computing intensive issue. Although several high performance computing (HPC) methods have demonstrated their potential for accelerating simulation, the input/output (I/O) bottleneck of huge raw data has not been eased. In this paper, we propose a cloud computing based SAR raw data simulation algorithm, which employs the MapReduce model to accelerate the raw data computing and the Hadoop distributed file system (HDFS) for fast I/O access. The MapReduce model is designed for the irregular parallel accumulation of raw data simulation, which greatly reduces the parallel efficiency of graphics processing unit (GPU) based simulation methods. In addition, three kinds of optimization strategies are put forward from the aspects of programming model, HDFS configuration and scheduling. The experimental results show that the cloud computing based algorithm achieves speedup over the baseline serial approach in an 8-node cloud environment, and each optimization strategy can improve about 20%. This work proves that the proposed cloud algorithm is capable of solving the computing intensive and data intensive issues in SAR raw data simulation, and is easily extended to large scale computing to achieve higher acceleration.

Imaging the 3D trace metal and metalloid distribution in mature wheat and rye grains via laser ablation-ICP-mass spectrometry and micro-X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

In this work, a serial sectioning approach, based on polishing an epoxy-embedded sample, is used to image trace metals in cereal grains in 3D.

Give People What They Expect: John Hughes Family Films and Seriality in 1990s Hollywood

This article explores serial production strategies and textual seriality in Hollywood cinema during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Focusing on John Hughes‘ high concept family comedies, it examines how Hughes exploited the commercial opportunities offered by serial approaches to both production and film narrative. This article first considers why Hughes‘ production set-up enabled him to standardise his movies and respond quickly to audience demand. The analysis then explores how the Home Alone films (1990–97), Dennis the Menace (1993) and Baby‘s Day Out (1994) balanced demands for textual repetition and novelty.

A Serial OT Approach to English Consonantal Harmony

A Serial OT Approach to English Consonantal Harmony

Sex reversal of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) by 17α-methyltestosterone exposure: A serial experimental approach to determine optimal timing and delivery regimes

Commercial culture of Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Tasmania was partly abandoned due to sexual maturation of male fish early on during the estuarine rearing phase. Maturation adversely affects body mass, flesh quality and immunocompetency effectively. Sex reversal techniques such as the in-feed addition of a synthetic androgen have proven difficult to adapt in brook trout. An appropriate timing, duration and delivery vehicle for administration of 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) to produce phenotypic males (neomales) from genotypically female brook trout required further investigation. In this study, groups of brook trout eggs (n=1000) maintained at 9.5±0.15−10±0.14°C, were immersed in MT (400μgL−1) for four hours on two alternate days (two immersions/group) staggered over a two week period surrounding the hatch of embryos (control groups excluded). The groups were then split and half received MT-supplemented feed for 60days and the other a standard diet. Following an 11 month on-growing period sex phenotypes were determined by gross & histological gonad morphology. The highest proportion of male phenotypes (75%) was found in fish immersed six and four days pre-hatch and subsequently fed a normal diet. Fish fed a MT supplemented diet and immersed in MT showed significantly higher proportions of sterile fish. These data indicate that a pre-hatch immersion-only regime (4–6days pre-hatch at 9.5°C) should be pursued as a target for optimization studies to further refine the effective concentration and duration of exposure to MT for the successful production of neo-male brook trout.

Single-cell imaging of normal and malignant cell engraftment into optically clear prkdc-null SCID zebrafish.

Cell transplantation into immunodeficient mice has revolutionized our understanding of regeneration, stem cell self-renewal, and cancer; yet models for direct imaging of engrafted cells has been limited. Here, we characterize zebrafish with mutations in recombination activating gene 2 (rag2), DNA-dependent protein kinase (prkdc), and janus kinase 3 (jak3). Histology, RNA sequencing, and single-cell transcriptional profiling of blood showed that rag2 hypomorphic mutant zebrafish lack T cells, whereas prkdc deficiency results in loss of mature T and B cells and jak3 in T and putative Natural Killer cells. Although all mutant lines engraft fluorescently labeled normal and malignant cells, only the prkdc mutant fish reproduced as homozygotes and also survived injury after cell transplantation. Engraftment into optically clear casper, prkdc-mutant zebrafish facilitated dynamic live cell imaging of muscle regeneration, repopulation of muscle stem cells within their endogenous niche, and muscle fiber fusion at single-cell resolution. Serial imaging approaches also uncovered stochasticity in fluorescently labeled leukemia regrowth after competitive cell transplantation into prkdc mutant fish, providing refined models to assess clonal dominance and progression in the zebrafish. Our experiments provide an optimized and facile transplantation model, the casper, prkdc mutant zebrafish, for efficient engraftment and direct visualization of fluorescently labeled normal and malignant cells at single-cell resolution.

Effect of different vaccination strategies on IBV QX population dynamics and clinical outbreaks

The extreme variability and rapid evolution of Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) has always represented the key challenge for its control because of the limited cross-protection among different strains. Several experimental trials have proven a broadening of the protection spectrum when animals are vaccinated with multiple genotypes. Nevertheless, the conditions of vaccine administration in field are so different that the generalization of experimental results is, at least, questionable. In the present study a large scale epidemiological-phylodynamic approach was used to reconstruct the demographic history of the major field genotype (i.e. the QX one) circulating in Italy and Spain. These two countries were selected because, even if they share a comparable epidemiological scenario, the implemented vaccination protocols did not vary in Spain while changed dramatically in Italy over the time period considered. One hundred and ninety-five Italian and 98 Spanish non-recombinant sequences of the hyper-variable region of the S1 gene obtained between 2012 and 2016 were analyzed using a serial coalescent-based approach to reconstruct viral population history over time. While the IBV QX population dynamics remained constant in Spain, a much more complex pattern was evidenced in Italy; both in terms of viral population size and clinical outbreak frequency. Remarkably, a strong association with changes in vaccination strategies was recognized. This allowed demonstrating, by accomplishing all Hill’s criteria for causation, the cause-effect relationship between the vaccine administration/withdrawal and the variation in viral population dynamics and, above all, IBV related outbreaks. Thus, a robust confirmation about the efficacy of IBV vaccination in field conditions was provided. Additionally, the history herein reported testifies the primary importance of rigorously planning not only the intervention strategies but also their monitoring and evaluation.

Distributed model predictive control for cooperative synchromodal freight transport

This paper investigates cooperative synchromodal freight transport planning among multiple intermodal freight transport operators in different and interconnected service networks. The cooperative planning is formulated as a cooperative model predictive container flow control problem, and solved with three Distributed Model Predictive Flow Control (DMPFC) approaches: the parallel and serial Augmented Lagrangian Relaxation (ALR) based DMPFC approaches, and the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) based DMPFC approach. The simulation results show that the serial ALR-based DMPFC approach requires the least iterations and information exchanges while the ADMM-based DMPFC approach takes the least amount of actual computation time.

Prediction and prevention of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

The most common classifications of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy consist of chronic hypertension, gestational hypertension, preeclampsia (PE) and superimposed PE. A common final pathophysiology of PE is endothelial dysfunction. The most successful translational research model for explaining the cause-effect relationship in the genesis of PE is the angiogenic/angiostatic balance theory, involving soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), placental growth factor (PlGF) and soluble endoglin (sEng). In a systematic review of articles on the prediction of early-onset PE using angiogenesis-related factors, we revealed that the prediction of early-onset PE in the first trimester is clinically possible, but the prediction of early-onset PE in the early third trimester might be ideal. In addition, an onset threshold or a serial approach appeared to be clinically useful for predicting the imminent onset of PE, with onset at <4 weeks after blood sampling in the second and early third trimesters, because the positive likelihood ratio was >10 and the positive predictive value was >20%. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines state that the Triage PlGF testing and Elecsys immunoassay for the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio could help to exclude PE in women with suspected PE at 20-34 weeks of gestation. Until now, we have not found any effective therapies to prevent PE. However, low-dose aspirin treatment starting at ⩽16 weeks of gestation might be associated with a marked reduction in PE. In addition, early statin treatment might prevent the occurrence of PE. Currently, a clinical trial using pravastatin for the prevention of PE is ongoing.

Development of an open-source cosimulation method of the knee.

Rigid body dynamics and soft tissue loads are solved simultaneously in a cosimulation framework to couple musculoskeletal dynamics and tissue mechanics. The goal of this work was to implement a validated, open-source cosimulation framework of the knee to determine how this coupling affects computed cartilage loads. The kinematic knee joint of a generic whole body model in the open-source software OpenSim was replaced by a previously developed discrete element knee model that consisted of a six degree of freedom (dof) tibiofemoral joint and one dof patellofemoral joint. A serial approach was initially used to estimate muscle forces and cartilage contact loads for a simple flexion movement. Then, a cosimulation framework was implemented for a simple knee flexion movement in which neuromusculoskeletal dynamics and knee mechanics were simultaneously solved using a computed muscle control (CMC) algorithm. This work highlights that the choice of computation method and the precise acquisition of all the dofs of the knee are important factors to consider when estimating soft tissue loads.

IMPLEMENTATION OF SERIAL AND PARALLEL BUBBLE SORT ON FPGA

Sorting is common process in computational world. Its utilization are on many fields from research to industry. There are many sorting algorithm in nowadays. One of the simplest yet powerful is bubble sort. In this study, bubble sort is implemented on FPGA. The implementation was taken on serial and parallel approach. Serial and parallel bubble sort then compared by means of its memory, execution time, and utility which comprises slices and LUTs. The experiments show that serial bubble sort required smaller memory as well as utility compared to parallel bubble sort. Meanwhile, parallel bubble sort performed faster than serial bubble sort

Serial crystallography captures enzyme catalysis in copper nitrite reductase at atomic resolution from one crystal.

Relating individual protein crystal structures to an enzyme mechanism remains a major and challenging goal for structural biology. Serial crystallography using multiple crystals has recently been reported in both synchrotron-radiation and X-ray free-electron laser experiments. In this work, serial crystallography was used to obtain multiple structures serially from one crystal (MSOX) to study in crystallo enzyme catalysis. Rapid, shutterless X-ray detector technology on a synchrotron MX beamline was exploited to perform low-dose serial crystallography on a single copper nitrite reductase crystal, which survived long enough for 45 consecutive 100 K X-ray structures to be collected at 1.07-1.62 Å resolution, all sampled from the same crystal volume. This serial crystallography approach revealed the gradual conversion of the substrate bound at the catalytic type 2 Cu centre from nitrite to nitric oxide, following reduction of the type 1 Cu electron-transfer centre by X-ray-generated solvated electrons. Significant, well defined structural rearrangements in the active site are evident in the series as the enzyme moves through its catalytic cycle, namely nitrite reduction, which is a vital step in the global denitrification process. It is proposed that such a serial crystallography approach is widely applicable for studying any redox or electron-driven enzyme reactions from a single protein crystal. It can provide a 'catalytic reaction movie' highlighting the structural changes that occur during enzyme catalysis. The anticipated developments in the automation of data analysis and modelling are likely to allow seamless and near-real-time analysis of such data on-site at some of the powerful synchrotron crystallographic beamlines.

Removal of anthropogenic lead pollutions by a potent Bacillus species AS2 isolated from geogenic contaminated site

A total of 422 bacterial isolates were obtained from the lead (Pb) ore in north-eastern Iran. The Pb tolerances of these strains were studied using microbroth serial dilution approach and 35 strains could grow up to 3250 ppm Pb concentration. Of these strains, 10 of them represented qualitatively high levels of Pb adsorption and were selected for quantitative studies. Strain AS2 which is phylogenetically related to genus Bacillus showed the highest level of Pb remediation. The effects of different factors, including pH, initial Pb concentration, temperature and inoculum size, were studied on the remediation process. Pb remediation capacity was reached at 74.5 mg/g (99.5 % of initial Pb) at pH 4.5, temperature 30 °C, inoculum size 1.0 % (v/v) and an initial Pb concentration of 500 ppm after 24 h. Pb desorption capacity of strain was 66 %. The novel isolate could remove 98 % of Pb from the contaminated industrial wastes after 24 h. Pb uptaking to the cell surface was proven using scanning electron microscopic micrograph and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis. Most Pb removal efficiency was observed in the active cell culture as compared to the inactive cell and extracellular polymeric substances. The novel strain represents a good candidate for removal of environmental anthropogenic Pb pollutions.

Impact of integrated upper limb spasticity management including botulinum toxin A on patient-centred goal attainment: rationale and protocol for an international prospective, longitudinal cohort study (ULIS-III)

ObjectivesDescribe the rationale and protocol for the Upper Limb International Spasticity (ULIS)-III study, which aims to evaluate the impact of integrated spasticity management, involving multiple botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) injection...