bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Trans-inhibition of activation and proliferation signals by Fc receptors in mast cells and basophils
Authors: Malbec Odile , Cassard Lydie , Albanesi Marcello , Jönsson Friederike , Mancardi David , Chicanne Gaëtan , Payrastre Bernard , Dubreuil Patrice , Vivier Eric , Daëron Marc
Published: December 2016

By recruiting the lipid phosphatase SHIP1, Fc receptors mediate not only cis-inhibition but also trans-inhibition.
Science Signaling
Podcast for 20 December 2016: Trans-inhibition by Fc receptors
Authors: Daëron Marc , VanHook Annalisa M.
Published: December 2016

Recruitment of the lipid phosphatase SHIP1 enables trans-inhibition by Fc receptors (Malbec
et al
., in 20 December 2016 issue).
Inflammation helps tumors evade immune detection
Authors: Ferrarelli Leslie K.
Published: December 2016

A little less NF-κB signaling in tumor cells may be sufficient to enable cytotoxic T cells to attack the tumor.
The ecology of oceanic dispersal and survival of anguillid leptocephali
Authors: Miller Michael J. , Tsukamoto Katsumi
Published: December 2016

Recruitment declines of anguillid eels are difficult to understand because both anthropogenic impacts on juveniles and adults and oceanic changes affecting larval survival or dispersal may be contributing. Anguillid larvae may passively disperse widely from offshore spawning areas but late-stage larvae or glass eels apparently must swim directionally to reach recruitment habitats. Their long larval durations vary among tropical (∼3–4 months) and temperate species (5 months to >1 year). The bodies of anguillid leptocephali are filled with transparent gelatinous material, possibly reducing predation rates and providing an energy reserve for swimming and metamorphosis. Leptocephali feed on marine snow making their first-feeding success linked to primary producers contributing to marine snow production. Alternations between ubiquitous cyanobacteria dominating in low-nutrient conditions and eukaryotic phytoplankton such as diatoms that are important for marine snow production dominating in high-nutrient conditions may influence early-larval survival at first-feeding due to many eggs simultaneously hatching within sympatric spawning areas. Fewer spawning eels resulting from population reductions and variations in early-larval survival may offer some explanations for lower and fluctuating recruitment in recent decades.
The development of probiotics for women’s health
Authors: Reid Gregor
Published: December 2016

The idea you could use lactic acid bacteria to treat and prevent recurrence of vaginal infections was ridiculed in the early 1980s. Bacteria were the bad guys to be eradicated by current and emerging antibiotic classes. Thirty years later, probiotic administration of microbes is widespread worldwide, including for vaginal and bladder health in women, and the scientific basis and clinical efficacy data for this and multiple other applications prove the viability of this concept. The development of this approach, the creation of a definition for probiotics, and the expansion to other areas of women’s health form the basis of this review.
A general formula for calculation of the two-dimensional Franck–Condon factors
Authors: Koç H. , Mamedov B.A. , Eser E.
Published: December 2016

Knowledge of the Franck–Condon factors (FCFs) and related quantities is essential to understand and to estimate many important aspects of the astrophysical molecules, such as kinetics of the energy transfer, radiative lifetimes, band intensity, and vibrational temperatures. In this view, we propose a new analytical formula of the Franck–Condon integral for two-dimensional harmonic oscillators taking into account the Duschinsky effect. This method is based on the use of the binomial expansion theorem and the Hermite polynomials. With the formula obtained, the FCF of any transition can be computed independently. In this study, the method for FCF calculations was applied to the NO2 molecule.
Duncan and Son: changing professional boundaries in the geological and medical sciences in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
Authors: Carter Tim , Spurgeon Anne
Published: December 2016

The concept of the professional changed markedly from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century. The contrasting careers of Peter Martin Duncan, father, and Cecil Cooke Duncan, son, provide a vignette of these changes in two people who were both actively engaged in geological and medical activities. Peter Martin trained as a doctor and practised for some 20 years. He later became Professor of Geology at Kings College, London and both Secretary and President of the Geological Society. He was a prolific author of both learned articles and books on science for the general public. In his time it was acceptable to combine all these roles into a single career. Cecil trained as a chemist. His career was as the public analyst in Worcester at a time when these posts were becoming professionalized. He contributed to control of health risks in the county. To him geology and natural history were serious leisure pastimes rather than part of his professionally defined career. Father and son therefore show the move from the time when there were fluid disciplinary boundaries to one where a single professional discipline defined and bounded working life and other areas of study became a matter for non-working hours.
Updatable, Accurate, Diverse, and Scalable Recommendations for Interactive Applications
Authors: Paudel Bibek , Christoffel Fabian , Newell Chris , Bernstein Abraham
Published: December 2016

Recommender systems form the backbone of many interactive systems. They incorporate user feedback to personalize the user experience typically via personalized recommendation lists. As users interact with a system, an increasing amount of data about a user’s preferences becomes available, which can be leveraged for improving the systems’ performance. Incorporating these new data into the underlying recommendation model is, however, not always straightforward. Many models used by recommender systems are computationally expensive and, therefore, have to perform offline computations to compile the recommendation lists. For interactive applications, it is desirable to be able to update the computed values as soon as new user interaction data is available: updating recommendations in interactive time using new feedback data leads to better accuracy and increases the attraction of the system to the users. Additionally, there is a growing consensus that accuracy alone is not enough and user satisfaction is also dependent on diverse recommendations.

In this work, we tackle this problem of updating personalized recommendation lists for interactive applications in order to provide both accurate and diverse recommendations. To that end, we explore algorithms that exploit random walks as a sampling technique to obtain diverse recommendations without compromising on efficiency and accuracy. Specifically, we present a novel graph vertex ranking recommendation algorithm called RP
3
β
that reranks items based on three-hop random walk transition probabilities. We show empirically that RP
3
β
provides accurate recommendations with high long-tail item frequency at the top of the recommendation list. We also present approximate versions of RP
3
β
and the two most accurate previously published vertex ranking algorithms based on random walk transition probabilities and show that these approximations converge with an increasing number of samples.

To obtain interactively updatable recommendations, we additionally show how our algorithm can be extended for online updates at interactive speeds. The underlying random walk sampling technique makes it possible to perform the updates without having to recompute the values for the entire dataset.

In an empirical evaluation with three real-world datasets, we show that RP
3
β
provides highly accurate and diverse recommendations that can easily be updated with newly gathered information at interactive speeds (≪ 100
ms
).
A Survey on Systems Security Metrics
Authors: Pendleton Marcus , Garcia-Lebron Richard , Cho Jin-Hee , Xu Shouhuai
Published: December 2016

Security metrics have received significant attention. However, they have not been systematically explored based on the understanding of attack-defense interactions, which are affected by various factors, including the degree of system vulnerabilities, the power of system defense mechanisms, attack (or threat) severity, and situations a system at risk faces. This survey particularly focuses on how a system security state can evolve as an outcome of cyber attack-defense interactions. This survey concerns how to measure system-level security by proposing a security metrics framework based on the following four sub-metrics: (1) metrics ofsystem vulnerabilities, (2) metrics ofdefense power, (3) metrics ofattack or threat severity, and (4) metrics ofsituations. To investigate the relationships among these four sub-metrics, we propose a hierarchical ontology with four sub-ontologies corresponding to the four sub-metrics and discuss how they are related to each other. Using the four sub-metrics, we discuss the state-of-art existing security metrics and their advantages and disadvantages (or limitations) to obtain lessons and insight in order to achieve an ideal goal in developing security metrics. Finally, we discuss open research questions in the security metrics research domain and we suggest key factors to enhance security metrics from a system security perspective.
A Survey on Crossover Operators
Authors: Pavai G. , Geetha T. V.
Published: December 2016

Crossover is an important operation in the Genetic Algorithms (GA). Crossover operation is responsible for producing offspring for the next generation so as to explore a much wider area of the solution space. There are many crossover operators designed to cater to different needs of different optimization problems. Despite the many analyses, it is still difficult to decide which crossover to use when. In this article, we have considered the various existing crossover operators based on the application for which they were designed for and the purpose that they were designed for. We have classified the existing crossover operators into two broad categories, namely (1) Crossover operators for representation of applications -- where the crossover operators designed to suit the representation aspect of applications are discussed along with how the crossover operators work and (2) Crossover operators for improving GA performance of applications -- where crossover operators designed to influence the quality of the solution and speed of GA are discussed. We have also come up with some interesting future directions in the area of designing new crossover operators as a result of our survey.
A Survey of Link Prediction in Complex Networks
Authors: Martínez Víctor , Berzal Fernando , Cubero Juan-Carlos
Published: December 2016

Networks have become increasingly important to model complex systems composed of interacting elements. Network data mining has a large number of applications in many disciplines including protein-protein interaction networks, social networks, transportation networks, and telecommunication networks. Different empirical studies have shown that it is possible to predict new relationships between elements attending to the topology of the network and the properties of its elements. The problem of predicting new relationships in networks is called link prediction. Link prediction aims to infer the behavior of the network link formation process by predicting missed or future relationships based on currently observed connections. It has become an attractive area of study since it allows us to predict how networks will evolve. In this survey, we will review the general-purpose techniques at the heart of the link prediction problem, which can be complemented by domain-specific heuristic methods in practice.
Arnold Sommerfeld and Condensed Matter Physics
Authors: Joas Christian , Eckert Michael
Published: December 2016

Arnold Sommerfeld (1868–1951), one of the founders of modern theoretical physics and a pioneer of quantum theory, was no condensed matter physicist. He nevertheless played a crucial role for the history of the field. Besides his important contributions to the study of condensed matter systems, among which his seminal electron gas theory of metallic conduction probably stands out, he influenced the field through his very approach to science, through his way of “doing” physics. Sommerfeld's specific style permeated not only his research but also his teaching and his promoting of physics. This has had a lasting influence on the practices of physicists to this day, and not only, but importantly, on those of condensed matter physicists. This article aims to provide a concise account of Sommerfeld's influence on the study of condensed matter systems, with regard to both his research and his practice.
Macro Trends and the Future of Public Health Practice
Authors: Erwin Paul Campbell , Brownson Ross C.
Published: December 2016

Public health practice in the twenty-first century is in a state of significant flux. Several macro trends are impacting the current practice of governmental public health and will likely have effects for many years to come. These macro trends are described as forces of change, which are changes that affect the context in which the community and its public health system operate. This article focuses on seven such forces of change: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, public health agency accreditation, climate change, health in all policies, social media and informatics, demographic transitions, and globalized travel. Following the description of each of these, this article then turns to possible approaches to measuring, tracking, and understanding the impact of these forces of change on public health practice, including the use of evidence-based public health, practice-based research, and policy surveillance.
Public Health Surveillance Systems: Recent Advances in Their Use and Evaluation
Authors: Groseclose Samuel L. , Buckeridge David L.
Published: December 2016

Surveillance is critical for improving population health. Public health surveillance systems generate information that drives action, and the data must be of sufficient quality and with a resolution and timeliness that matches objectives. In the context of scientific advances in public health surveillance, changing health care and public health environments, and rapidly evolving technologies, the aim of this article is to review public health surveillance systems. We consider their current use to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the public health system, the role of system stakeholders, the analysis and interpretation of surveillance data, approaches to system monitoring and evaluation, and opportunities for future advances in terms of increased scientific rigor, outcomes-focused research, and health informatics.
An Appraisal of Social Network Theory and Analysis as Applied to Public Health: Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Valente Thomas W. , Pitts Stephanie R.
Published: December 2016

The use of social network theory and analysis methods as applied to public health has expanded greatly in the past decade, yielding a significant academic literature that spans almost every conceivable health issue. This review identifies several important theoretical challenges that confront the field but also provides opportunities for new research. These challenges include (a) measuring network influences, (b) identifying appropriate influence mechanisms, (c) the impact of social media and computerized communications, (d) the role of networks in evaluating public health interventions, and (e) ethics. Next steps for the field are outlined and the need for funding is emphasized. Recently developed network analysis techniques, technological innovations in communication, and changes in theoretical perspectives to include a focus on social and environmental behavioral influences have created opportunities for new theory and ever broader application of social networks to public health topics.
Adaptive Loss Inference Using Unicast End-to-End Measurements
Authors: Qiao Yan , Jiao Jun , Ma Huimin
Published: December 2016

We address the problem of inferring link loss rates from unicast end-to-end measurements on the basis of network tomography. Because measurement probes will incur additional traffic overheads, most tomography-based approaches perform the inference by collecting the measurements only on selected paths to reduce the overhead. However, all previous approaches select paths offline, which will inevitably miss many potential identifiable links, whose loss rates should be unbiasedly determined. Furthermore, if element failures exist, an appreciable number of the selected paths may become unavailable. In this paper, we creatively propose an adaptive loss inference approach in which the paths are selected sequentially depending on the previous measurement results. In each round, we compute the loss rates of links that can be unbiasedly determined based on the current measurement results and remove them from the system. Meanwhile, we locate the most possible failures based on the current measurement outcomes to avoid selecting unavailable paths in subsequent rounds. In this way, all identifiable and potential identifiable links can be determined unbiasedly using only 20% of all available end-to-end measurements. Compared with a previous classical approach through extensive simulations, the results strongly confirm the promising performance of our proposed approach.
Abdominal Pain in the Female Patient: A Case of Concurrent Acute Appendicitis and Ruptured Endometrioma
Authors: Louis Martine A. , Doubleday Amanda R. , Lin Elizabeth , Baek Ji Yoon , Andoni Alda , Wang Xiao Hui
Published: December 2016

General surgeons are often asked to evaluate acute abdominal pain which has an expanded differential diagnosis in women of childbearing age. Acute appendicitis accounts for many surgical emergencies as a common cause of nongynecologic pelvic pain. In some rare instances, acute appendicitis has been shown to occur simultaneously with a variety of gynecologic diseases. We report a case of concurrent acute appendicitis and ruptured ovarian endometrioma.
Metal/Metal-Oxide Nanoclusters for Gas Sensor Applications
Authors: Ayesh Ahmad I.
Published: December 2016

The development of gas sensors that are based on metal/metal-oxide nanoclusters has attracted intensive research interest in the last years. Nanoclusters are suitable candidates for gas sensor applications because of their large surface-to-volume ratio that can be utilized for selective and rapid detection of various gaseous species with low-power consuming electronics. Herein, nanoclusters are used as building blocks for the construction of gas sensor where the electrical conductivity of the nanoclusters changes dramatically upon exposure to the target gas. In this review, recent progress in the fabrication of size-selected metallic nanoclusters and their utilization for gas sensor applications is presented. Special focus will be given to the enhancement of the sensing performance through the rational functionalization and utilization of different nanocluster materials.
Elevated Levels of Plasma IgA Autoantibodies against Oxidized LDL Found in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy but Not in Nonproliferative Retinopathy
Authors: Vavuli Satu , Salonurmi Tuire , Loukovaara Sirpa , Nissinen Antti E. , Savolainen Markku J. , Liinamaa M. Johanna
Published: December 2016

Aims. This study investigated the association of autoantibodies binding to oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxLDL) in diabetic retinopathy (DR). Methods. Plasma from 229 types 1 and 2 patients with DR including diabetic macular edema (DME) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) was analysed with ELISA-based assay to determine IgA, IgG, and IgM autoantibody levels binding to oxLDL. The controls were 106 diabetic patients without retinopathy (NoDR) and 139 nondiabetic controls (C). Results. PDR group had significantly higher IgA autoantibody levels than DME or NoDR: mean 94.9 (SD 54.7) for PDR, 75.5 (41.8) for DME (p=0.001), and 76.1 (48.2) for NoDR (p=0.008). There were no differences in IgG, IgM, or IgA that would be specific for DR or for DME. Type 2 diabetic patients had higher levels of IgA autoantibodies than type 1 diabetic patients (86.0 and 65.5, resp., p=0.004) and the highest levels in IgA were found in type 2 diabetic patients with PDR (119.1, p>0.001). Conclusions. IgA autoantibodies were increased in PDR, especially in type 2 diabetes. The high levels of IgA in PDR, and especially in type 2 PDR patients, reflect the inflammatory process and enlighten the role of oxLDL and its autoantibodies in PDR.
Marine Subsurface Microbial Community Shifts Across a Hydrothermal Gradient in Okinawa Trough Sediments
Authors: Brandt Leah D. , House Christopher H.
Published: December 2016

Sediments within the Okinawa back-arc basin overlay a subsurface hydrothermal network, creating intense temperature gradients with sediment depth and potential limits for microbial diversity. We investigated taxonomic changes across 45 m of recovered core with a temperature gradient of 3°C/m from the dynamic Iheya North Hydrothermal System. The interval transitions sharply from low-temperature marine mud to hydrothermally altered clay at 10 meters below seafloor (mbsf). Here, we present taxonomic results from an analysis of the 16S rRNA gene that support a conceptual model in which common marine subsurface taxa persist into the subsurface, while high temperature adapted archaeal taxa show localized peaks in abundances in the hydrothermal clay horizons. Specifically, the bacterial phylum Chloroflexi accounts for a major proportion of the total microbial community within the upper 10 mbsf, whereas high temperature archaea (Terrestrial Hot Spring Crenarchaeotic Group and methanotrophic archaea) appear in varying local abundances in deeper, hydrothermal clay horizons with higherin situtemperatures (up to 55°C, 15 mbsf). In addition, geochemical evidence suggests that methanotrophy may be occurring in various horizons. There is also relict DNA (i.e., DNA preserved after cell death) that persists in horizons where the conditions suitable for microbial communities have ceased.
The Relationship between Inflammatory Marker Levels and Hepatitis C Virus Severity
Authors: He Qitian , He Quan , Qin Xue , Li Shan , Li Taijie , Xie Li , Deng Yan , He Yu , Chen Yongbin , Wei Zhifu
Published: December 2016

Background.Red cell distribution width (RDW) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have been studied in a variety of etiological diseases. We aim to investigate the relationship between RDW and PLR and the severity of hepatitis C virus- (HCV-) related liver disease.Methods.We included fifty-two chronic HCV and 42 HCV-related cirrhosis patients and 84 healthy controls. Hematological and virological parameters and liver function biomarkers of HCV-related patients at admission were recorded.Results.RDW, RDW-to-platelet (RPR), and 1/PLR values in HCV-related cirrhosis patients were significantly higher than in chronic HCV patients and healthy controls (allP<0.001). The aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio (AAR), AST-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), and fibrosis index based on the four factors (FIB-4) scores in HCV-related cirrhosis patients were significantly higher than in chronic HCV patients (allP<0.001). The areas under the curve of the RDW, RPR, and 1/PLR for predicting cirrhosis were 0.791, 0.960, and 0.713, respectively. Bivariate logistic regression analysis showed that RDW could independently predict the presence of cirrhosis in chronic HCV patients.Conclusions.RDW, RPR, and PLR may be potential markers for estimating HCV severity.
M1 and M2 Functional Imprinting of Primary Microglia: Role of P2X7 Activation and miR-125b
Authors: Parisi Chiara , Napoli Giulia , Pelegrin Pablo , Volonté Cinzia
Published: December 2016

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a most frequently occurring and severe form of motor neuron disease, causing death within 3–5 years from diagnosis and with a worldwide incidence of about 2 per 100,000 person-years. Mutations in over twenty genes associated with familial forms of ALS have provided insights into the mechanisms leading to motor neuron death. Moreover, mutations in two RNA binding proteins, TAR DNA binding protein 43 and fused in sarcoma, have raised the intriguing possibility that perturbations of RNA metabolism, including that of the small endogenous RNA molecules that repress target genes at the posttranscriptional level, that is, microRNAs, may contribute to disease pathogenesis. At present, the mechanisms by which microglia actively participate to both toxic and neuroprotective actions in ALS constitute an important matter of research. Among the pathways involved in ALS-altered microglia responses, in previous works we have uncovered the hyperactivation of P2X7 receptor by extracellular ATP and the overexpression of miR-125b, both leading to uncontrolled toxic M1 reactions. In order to shed further light on the complexity of these processes, in this short review we will describe the M1/M2 functional imprinting of primary microglia and a role played by P2X7 and miR-125b in ALS microglia activation.
Antimicrobial Properties of Plant Essential Oils against Human Pathogens and Their Mode of Action: An Updated Review
Authors: Swamy Mallappa Kumara , Akhtar Mohd Sayeed , Sinniah Uma Rani
Published: December 2016

A wide range of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) have been explored for their essential oils in the past few decades. Essential oils are complex volatile compounds, synthesized naturally in different plant parts during the process of secondary metabolism. Essential oils have great potential in the field of biomedicine as they effectively destroy several bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens. The presence of different types of aldehydes, phenolics, terpenes, and other antimicrobial compounds means that the essential oils are effective against a diverse range of pathogens. The reactivity of essential oil depends upon the nature, composition, and orientation of its functional groups. The aim of this article is to review the antimicrobial potential of essential oils secreted from MAPs and their possible mechanisms of action against human pathogens. This comprehensive review will benefit researchers who wish to explore the potential of essential oils in the development of novel broad‐spectrum key molecules against a broad range of drug‐resistant pathogenic microbes.
Preparation, Characterization, and Cationic Functionalization of Cellulose-Based Aerogels for Wastewater Clarification
Authors: Hu Yang , Li Shanshan , Jackson Tanya , Moussa Hanna , Abidi Noureddine
Published: December 2016

Aerogels are a series of materials with porous structure and light weight which can be applied to many industrial divisions as insulators, sensors, absorbents, and cushions. In this study, cellulose-based aerogels (aerocelluloses) were prepared from cellulosic material (microcrystalline cellulose) in sodium hydroxide/water solvent system followed by supercritical drying operation. The average specific surface area of aerocelluloses was 124 m2/g. The nitrogen gas (N2) adsorption/desorption isotherms revealed type H1 hysteresis loops for aerocelluloses, suggesting that aerocelluloses may possess a porous structure with cylindrically shaped pores open on both ends. FTIR and XRD analyses showed that the crystallinity of aerocelluloses was significantly decreased as compared to microcrystalline cellulose and that aerocelluloses exhibited a crystalline structure of cellulose II as compared to microcrystalline cellulose (cellulose I). To perform cationic functionalization, a cationic agent, (3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl) trimethylammonium chloride, was used to introduce positively charged sites on aerocelluloses. The cationized aerocelluloses exhibited a strong ability to remove anionic dyes from wastewater. Highly porous and low cost aerocelluloses prepared in this study would be also promising as a fast absorbent for environmental pollutants.
Collaboration and Evolution of E-Commerce and Express Delivery Industry Supply Chain
Authors: Xu Ying , Zhang Xuemei , Cao Jian , Chen Ya , Ye Xuhong
Published: December 2016

Considering the contradictions between the electronic commerce (e-commerce) and its matching express delivery service, this paper investigates a supply chain regarding e-commerce and express delivery industry, in which collaborative operations of enterprises are discussed. The profitability and collaboration capability acting as order parameters and the rest of the influential resources including logistics, fund, information, and commodity are selected with their interrelations being examined based on servo theory of synergetics. Besides, evolutionary model of the e-commerce and express delivery industry is established and analyzed according to self-organization method of system dynamic theory to illustrate order parameters’ role in system evolution, and numerical analyses emerged to intuitively demonstrate the solutions. We conclude the work along with its results of significant references for investigating resource integrations by combining the two closely related businesses in an entire cooperative supply chain and providing guidelines for e-commerce and express delivery enterprises and industries in effective collaboration and system evolution.
Performance Evaluation of a Dual Coverage System for Internet of Things Environments
Authors: Said Omar , Tolba Amr
Published: December 2016

A dual coverage system for Internet of Things (IoT) environments is introduced. This system is used to connect IoT nodes regardless of their locations. The proposed system has three different architectures, which are based on satellites and High Altitude Platforms (HAPs). In case of Internet coverage problems, the Internet coverage will be replaced with the Satellite/HAP network coverage under specific restrictions such as loss and delay. According to IoT requirements, the proposed architectures should include multiple levels of satellites or HAPs, or a combination of both, to cover the global Internet things. It was shown that the Satellite/HAP/HAP/Things architecture provides the largest coverage area. A network simulation package, NS2, was used to test the performance of the proposed multilevel architectures. The results indicated that the HAP/HAP/Things architecture has the best end-to-end delay, packet loss, throughput, energy consumption, and handover.
A Case Report of Bilateral Adrenal Sarcomatoid Carcinoma
Authors: Turhan Iyidir Ozlem , Cerit Ethem Turgay , Özkan Çiğdem , Altınova Eroğlu , Çimen Ali Rıza , Sözen Sinan , Kerem Mustafa , Aktürk Müjde , Memiş Leyla , Törüner Baloş , Çakır Nuri , Arslan Metin
Published: December 2016

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare and aggressive malignancy. Sarcomatoid adrenal carcinoma is even more aggressive type of ACC. Bilateral malignant adrenal tumors are extremely rare except for those that represent metastasis from an extra-adrenal organ. Here we report a 53-year-old woman who presented with abdominal pain and weight loss. Abdominal computed tomography revealed bilateral adrenal masses and a mass in her liver. Surgical specimens showed pleomorphic tumor cells with epithelial and spindle cell morphology and immunohistochemical staining was compatible with sarcomatoid carcinoma. Sarcomatoid adrenal carcinoma should be kept in mind during the management of bilateral adrenal masses.
New Role of Adult Lung c-kit+Cells in a Mouse Model of Airway Hyperresponsiveness
Authors: Spaziano Giuseppe , Cappetta Donato , Urbanek Konrad , Piegari Elena , Esposito Grazia , Matteis Maria , Sgambato Manuela , Tartaglione Gioia , Russo Rosa , De Palma Raffaele , Rossi Francesco , De Angelis Antonella , D’Agostino Bruno
Published: December 2016

Structural changes contribute to airway hyperresponsiveness and airflow obstruction in asthma. Emerging evidence points to the involvement of c-kit+cells in lung homeostasis, although their potential role in asthma is unknown. Our aim was to isolate c-kit+cells from normal mouse lungs and to test whether these cells can interfere with hallmarks of asthma in an animal model. Adult mouse GFP-tagged c-kit+cells, intratracheally delivered in the ovalbumin-induced airway hyperresponsiveness, positively affected airway remodeling and improved airway function. In bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of cell-treated animals, a reduction in the number of inflammatory cells and in IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 release, along with an increase of IL-10, was observed. In MSC-treated mice, the macrophage polarization to M2-like subset may explain, at least in part, the increment in the level of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. After in vitro stimulation of c-kit+cells with proinflammatory cytokines, the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase and TGFβwere upregulated. These data, together with the increased apoptosis of inflammatory cells in vivo, indicate that c-kit+cells downregulate immune response in asthma by influencing local environment, possibly by cell-to-cell contact combined to paracrine action. In conclusion, intratracheally administered c-kit+cells reduce inflammation, positively modulate airway remodeling, and improve function. These data document previously unrecognized properties of c-kit+cells, able to impede pathophysiological features of experimental airway hyperresponsiveness.
A Novel Fault Diagnosis Model for Bearing of Railway Vehicles Using Vibration Signals Based on Symmetric Alpha-Stable Distribution Feature Extraction
Authors: Li Yongjian , Zhang Weihua , Xiong Qing , Lu Tianwei , Mei Guiming
Published: December 2016

Axle box bearings are the most critical mechanical components of railway vehicles. Condition monitoring is of great benefit to ensure the healthy status of bearings in the railway train. In this paper, a novel fault diagnosis model for axle box bearing based on symmetric alpha-stable distribution feature extraction and least squares support vector machines (LS-SVM) using vibration signals is proposed which is conducted in three main steps. Firstly, fast nonlocal means is used for denoising and ensemble empirical mode decomposition is applied to extract fault feature information. Then a new statistical method of feature extraction, symmetric alpha-stable distribution, is employed to obtain representative features from intrinsic mode functions. Additionally, the hybrid fault feature sets are input into LS-SVM to identify the fault type. To enhance the performance of LS-SVM in the case of small-scale samples, Morlet wavelet kernel function is combined with LS-SVM for the classification of fault type and fault severity and the particle swarm optimization is used for the optimization of LS-WSVM parameters. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach performs more effectively and robustly than the other methods in small-scale samples for fault detection and classification of railway vehicle bearings.
Neurosteroids Involvement in the Epigenetic Control of Memory Formation and Storage
Authors: Colciago Alessandra , Magnaghi Valerio
Published: December 2016

Memory is our ability to store and remember past experiences; it is the result of changes in neuronal circuits of specific brain areas as the hippocampus. During memory formation, neurons integrate their functions and increase the strength of their connections, so that synaptic plasticity is improved and consolidated. All these processes recruit several proteins at the synapses, whose expression is highly regulated by DNA methylation and histone tails posttranslational modifications. Steroids are known to influence memory process, and, among them, neurosteroids are implicated in neurodegenerative disease related to memory loss and cognitive impairment. The epigenetic control of neurosteroids involvement in memory formation and maintenance could represent the basis for neuroregenerative therapies.
Epidural Catheter Migration in a Patient with Severe Spinal Stenosis
Authors: Smith Daryl I. , Anderson Ryan
Published: December 2016

Establishment of appropriate neuraxial catheter positioning is typically a straightforward procedural undertaking. It can, however, lead to deception of even the most experienced clinician and occur despite the most meticulous attention to detail. Written and verbal consent were obtained from the patient to prepare, discuss, and publish this case report; we describe the occurrence of what we believe was the intraoperative migration of an epidural catheter in the setting of significant tissue changes resulting from a previous spinal fusion.
NK-DC Crosstalk in Immunity to Microbial Infection
Authors: Thomas Rony , Yang Xi
Published: December 2016

The interaction between natural killer (NK) cell and dendritic cell (DC), two important cellular components of innate immunity, started to be elucidated in the last years. The crosstalk between NK cells and DC, which leads to NK cell activation, DC maturation, or apoptosis, involves cell-cell contacts and soluble factors. This interaction either in the periphery or in the secondary lymphoid organs acts as a key player linking innate and adaptive immune responses to microbial stimuli. This review focuses on the mechanisms of NK-DC interaction and their relevance in antimicrobial responses. We specifically aim to emphasize the ability of various microbial infections to differently influence NK-DC crosstalk thereby contributing to distinct adaptive immune response.
Design of CPW-Fed Antenna with Defected Substrate for Wideband Applications
Authors: Sharma Amar , Khanna Puneet , Shinghal Kshitij , Kumar Arun
Published: December 2016

A CPW-fed defected substrate microstrip antenna is proposed. The proposed antenna shows wideband applications by choosing suitable defected crown shaped substrate. Defected substrate also reduces the size of an antenna. The radiating patch of proposed antenna is taken in the form of extended U-shape. The space around the radiator is utilized by extending the ground plane on both sides of radiator. Simulation of proposed antenna is done on Ansoft’s High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS v. 14). Measured results are in good agreement with simulated results. The prototype is taken with dimensions 36 mm × 42 mm × 1.6 mm that achieves good return loss, constant group delay, and good radiation characteristics within the entire operating band from 4.5 to 13.5 GHz (9.0 GHz) with 100% impedance bandwidth at 9.0 GHz centre frequency. Thus, the proposed antenna is applicable for C and X band applications.
Evaluation of Two Methods for Determination of CD64 as a Diagnostic Marker of Infection in Critically Ill Adults
Authors: Zinsly Sampaio Camargo Thiago , Marra Alexandre R. , Bacal Nydia Strachman , Casaroto Eduardo , Pinto Lilian Moreira , Pasternak Jacyr , Victor Elivane da Silva , dos Santos Oscar Fernando Pavão , Edmond Michael B.
Published: December 2016

Objectives. Diagnostic markers of infection have had little innovation over the last few decades. CD64, a marker expressed on the surface of neutrophils, may have utility for this purpose.Methods. This study was conducted in an adult intensive care unit (ICU) in São Paulo, Brazil, with 89 patients. We evaluated CD64 in patients with documented or clinically diagnosed infection (infection group) and controls (patients without any evidence of infection) by two different methodologies: method #1, an in house assay, and method #2, the commercial kit Leuko64 (Trillium Diagnostics).Results. CD64 displayed good discriminating power with a 91.2% sensitivity (95% CI 90.7–91.6%) for detecting infection. The commercial kit (Leuko64) demonstrated higher specificity (87.3%) compared with method #1 as well as better accuracy (88.8%).Conclusions. CD64 seems to be a promising marker of infection in the intensive care setting, with Leuko64 showing a slight advantage.
Evaluation of TRMM Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis in the Yangtze River Basin with a Typical Monsoon Climate
Authors: Zhang Zengxin , Jin Qiu , Chen Xi , Xu Chong-Yu , Chen Sheng , Moss Elica M. , Huang Yuhan
Published: December 2016

Satellite-based precipitation products are expected to offer an alternative to ground-based rainfall estimates in the present and the foreseeable future. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of TRMM 3B42 precipitation products in the Yangtze River basin for the period of 2003~2010. The results are as follows: (1) the performance of RTV7 (V7) products is generally better than that of RTV6 (V6) in the Yangtze River basin, and the percentage of best performance (bias ranging within −10%~10%) for the annual mean precipitation increases from 21.72% (54.79%) to 36.70% (59.85%) as the RTV6 (V6) improved to the RTV7 (V7); (2) the TMPA products have better performance in the wet period than that in the dry period in the Yangtze River basin; (3) the performance of TMPA precipitation has been affected by the elevation and a downward trend can be found with the increasing elevation in the Yangtze River basin. The average CC between the V7 and observed precipitation in July decreases from 0.71 to 0.40 with the elevation of gauge stations increasing from 500 m below to 4000 m above in the Yangtze River basin. More attention should be paid to the influence of complex climate and topography.
Kaybob Revisited: What We Have Learned about Compressor Stability from Self-Excited Whirling
Authors: Gunter Edgar J. , Weaver Brian K.
Published: December 2016

The Kaybob compressor failure of 1971 was an excellent historic example of rotordynamic instability and the design factors that affect this phenomenon. In the case of Kaybob, the use of poorly designed bearings produced unstable whirling in both the low and high pressure compressors. This required over five months of vibration troubleshooting and redesign along with over 100 million modern U.S. dollars in total costs and lost revenue. In this paper, the history of the Kaybob compressor failure is discussed in detail including a discussion of the ineffective bearing designs that were considered. Modern bearing and rotordynamic analysis tools are then employed to study both designs that were considered along with new designs for the bearings that could have ultimately restored stability to the machine. These designs include four-pad, load-between-pad bearings and squeeze film dampers with a central groove. Simple relationships based on the physics of the system are also used to show how the bearings could be tuned to produce optimum bearing stiffness and damping of the rotor vibration, producing insights which can inform the designers as they perform more comprehensive analyses of these systems.
Pharmacological Evaluation of Chrozophora tinctoria as Wound Healing Potential in Diabetic Rat’s Model
Authors: Maurya Harikesh , Semwal Monika , Dubey Susheel Kumar
Published: December 2016

Objective. The study was designed to evaluate pharmacological potential of hydroalcoholic leaves extract of Chrozophora tinctoria intended for wound healing in diabetic rats’ model. Methods. The method used to evaluate the pharmacological potential of hydroalcoholic leave extract was physical incision rat model. In this model, cutting of the skin and/or other tissues with a sharp blade has been made and the rapid disruption of tissue integrity with minimal collateral damage was observed shortly. Animals used in the study were divided into four groups that consist of six animals in each group. Group I serves as normal control, Group II serves as disease control, Group III was used as standard treatment (Povidone iodine 50 mg/kg b.w.), and Group IV was used for test drug (C. tinctoria 50 mg/kg b.w.). Result. The hydroalcoholic leave extract of Chrozophora tinctoria has been significantly observed to heal the wound (98%) in diabetic rats within 21 days, while standard drug (Povidone iodine) healed the wound about 95% in the same condition. The oral dose (50 mg/kg b.w.) of Chrozophora tinctoria was also found to improve the elevated blood glucose level in comparison to disease control group, which increased after the oral administration of Streptozotocin. Conclusion. The Chrozophora tinctoria has significant wound healing potential in the animal having physically damaged tissue in diabetic condition.
Fractal Modeling of Pore Structure and Ionic Diffusivity for Cement Paste
Authors: Gao Yun , Jiang Jin-yang , Wu Kai
Published: December 2016

Pore structure in cement based composites is of paramount importance to ionic diffusivity. In this paper, pore structure in cement paste is modeled by means of the recently proposed solid mass fractal model. Moreover, an enhanced Maxwell homogenization method that incorporates the solid mass fractal model is proposed to determine the associated ionic diffusivity. Experiments are performed to validate the modeling, that is, mercury intrusion porosimetry and rapid chloride migration. Results indicate that modeling agrees well with those obtained from experiments.
Flare-Up Diverticulitis in the Terminal Ileum in Short Interval after Conservative Therapy: Report of a Case
Authors: Nakatani Kensuke , Kato Takaharu , Okada Shinichiro , Matsumoto Risa , Nishida Kazuhiro , Komuro Hiroyasu , Iida Maki , Tsujimoto Shiro , Suganuma Toshiyuki
Published: December 2016

Diverticulitis in the terminal ileum is uncommon. Past reports suggested that conservative therapy may be feasible to treat terminal ileum diverticulitis without perforation; however, there is no consensus on the therapeutic strategy for small bowel diverticulitis. We present a 37-year-old man who was referred to our hospital for sudden onset of abdominal pain and nausea. He was diagnosed with diverticulitis in the terminal ileum by computed tomography (CT). Tazobactam/piperacillin hydrate (18 g/day) was administered. The antibiotic treatment was maintained for 7 days, and the symptoms disappeared after the treatment. Thirty-eight days after antibiotic therapy, he noticed severe abdominal pain again. He was diagnosed with diverticulitis in terminal ileum which was flare-up of inflammation. He was given antibiotic therapy again. Nine days after antibiotic therapy, laparoscopy assisted right hemicolectomy and resection of 20 cm of terminal ileum were performed. Histopathology report confirmed multiple ileal diverticulitis. He was discharged from our hospital 12 days after the surgery. Colonoscopy was performed two months after the surgery and it revealed no finding suggesting inflammatory bowel disease. Surgical treatment should be taken into account as a potential treatment option to manage the diverticulitis in the terminal ileum even though it is not perforated.
Automated Bearing Fault Diagnosis Using 2D Analysis of Vibration Acceleration Signals under Variable Speed Conditions
Authors: Khan Sheraz Ali , Kim Jong-Myon
Published: December 2016

Traditional fault diagnosis methods of bearings detect characteristic defect frequencies in the envelope power spectrum of the vibration signal. These defect frequencies depend upon the inherently nonstationary shaft speed. Time-frequency and subband signal analysis of vibration signals has been used to deal with random variations in speed, whereas design variations require retraining a new instance of the classifier for each operating speed. This paper presents an automated approach for fault diagnosis in bearings based upon the 2D analysis of vibration acceleration signals under variable speed conditions. Images created from the vibration signals exhibit unique textures for each fault, which show minimal variation with shaft speed. Microtexture analysis of these images is used to generate distinctive fault signatures for each fault type, which can be used to detect those faults at different speeds. A k-nearest neighbor classifier trained using fault signatures generated for one operating speed is used to detect faults at all the other operating speeds. The proposed approach is tested on the bearing fault dataset of Case Western Reserve University, and the results are compared with those of a spectrum imaging-based approach.