bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reasons for readmission in an underserved high-risk population: a qualitative analysis of a series of inpatient interviews
Authors: Long Theodore , Genao Inginia , Horwitz Leora I
Published: September 2013

Objective

To gather qualitative data to elucidate the reasons for readmissions in a high-risk population of underserved patients.

Design

We created an instrument with 27 open-ended questions based on current interventions.

Setting

Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Patients

Patients at the Yale Adult Primary Care Center (PCC).

Measurements

We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews of patients who had four or more admissions in the previous 6 months and were currently readmitted to the hospital.

Results

We completed 17 interviews and identified themes relating to risk of readmission. We found that patients went directly to the emergency department (ED) when they experienced a change in health status without contacting their primary provider. Reasons for this included poor telephone or urgent care access and the belief that the PCC could not treat acute illness. Many patients could not name their primary provider. Conversely, every patient except one reported being able to obtain medications without undue financial burden, and every patient reported receiving adequate home care services.

Conclusions

These high-risk patients were receiving the formal services that they needed, but were making the decision to go to the ED because of inadequate access to care and fragmented primary care relationships. Formal transitional care services are unlikely to be adequate in reducing readmissions without also addressing primary care access and continuity.
Cigarette pack design and adolescent smoking susceptibility: a cross-sectional survey
Authors: Ford Allison , MacKintosh Anne Marie , Moodie Crawford , Richardson Sol , Hastings Gerard
Published: September 2013

Objectives

To compare adolescents’ responses to three different styles of cigarette packaging:novelty(branded packs designed with a distinctive shape, opening style or bright colour),regular(branded pack with no special design features) andplain(brown pack with a standard shape and opening and all branding removed, aside from brand name).

Design

Cross-sectional in-home survey.

Setting

UK.

Participants

Random location quota sample of 1025 never smokers aged 11–16 years.

Main outcome measures

Susceptibility to smoking and composite measures of pack appraisal and pack receptivity derived from 11 survey items.

Results

Mean responses to the three pack types were negative for all survey items. However, ‘novelty’ packs were rated significantly less negatively than the ‘regular’ pack on most items, and the novelty and regular packs were rated less negatively than the ‘plain’ pack. For the novelty packs, logistic regressions, controlling for factors known to influence youth smoking, showed that susceptibility was associated with positive appraisal and also receptivity. For example, those receptive to the innovative Silk Cut Superslims pack were more than four times as likely to be susceptible to smoking than those not receptive to this pack (AOR=4.42, 95% CI 2.50 to 7.81, p<0.001). For the regular pack, an association was found between positive appraisal and susceptibility but not with receptivity and susceptibility. There was no association with pack appraisal or receptivity for the plain pack.

Conclusions

Pack structure (shape and opening style) and colour are independently associated, not just with appreciation of and receptivity to the pack, but also with susceptibility to smoke. In other words, those who think most highly of novelty cigarette packaging are also the ones who indicate that they are most likely to go on to smoke. Plain packaging, in contrast, was found to directly reduce the appeal of smoking to adolescents.
Burden of disease attributable to the Hebei Spirit oil spill in Taean, Korea
Authors: Kim Young-Min , Park Jae-Hyun , Choi Kyusik , Noh Su Ryeon , Choi Young-Hyun , Cheong Hae-Kwan
Published: September 2013

Objectives

We aimed to assess the burden of disease (BOD) of the residents living in contaminated coastal area with oil spill and also analysed the BOD attributable to the oil spill by disease, age, sex and subregion.

Design

Health impact assessment by measuring years lived with disability (YLD) due to an oil spill.

Setting

A whole population of a community affected by an anthropogenic environmental disaster and secondary health outcome data.

Participants

Based on the health outcome survey including 10 171 individuals (male 4354; female 5817), BOD of 66 473 populations (male 33 441; female 33 032) was measured.

Interventions

None. Observational study on the effect of a specific environmental health hazard.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Using disability adjusted life year (DALY) method, BOD including physical and mental diseases was measured. For the BOD measurement, excess incidences of illnesses related to oil spill were estimated from the comparison of prevalence of the health outcomes between contaminated areas and reference area without contamination.

Results

YLD attributable to the oil spill were estimated to be 14 724 DALYs (male 7425 DALYs; female 7299 DALYs) for the year 2008. The YLD of mental diseases including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression for men were higher than that for women. The YLD for women was higher in asthma and allergies (rhinitis, dermatitis, conjunctivitis) than that for men. The effects of asthma and allergies were the greatest for people in their 40s, with the burden of mental illness being the greatest for those in their 20s. Proximity to the spill site was associated with increased BOD.

Conclusions

An oil spill near a coastline can cause substantial adverse health effects. As the health effects of hazardous pollutants from oil spills are long-lasting, close follow-up studies are required to identify chronic health effects.
A comparison of the analytical level of agreement of nine treponemal assays for syphilis and possible implications for screening algorithms
Authors: Castro Arnold , Jost Heather , Cox David , Fakile Yetunde , Kikkert Susan , Tun Ye , Zaidi Akbar , Park Mahin
Published: September 2013

Objective

The serological diagnosis of syphilis requires the detection of two distinct antibodies, the non-treponemal and trepomenal. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends screening first with a non-treponemal test such as (Rapid Plasma Reagin/Venereal Disease Research Laboratory), and then confirming those results with one of the several treponemal tests (Fluorescent Treponemal Antibody-Absorption (FTA-ABS), Enzyme Immunoassay, chemiluminescence, treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TP-PA) or Point of Care). Owing to the high volume of samples processed by some laboratories using automated systems, the screening with treponemal assays and confirming with non-treponemal tests is becoming the established norm. The purpose of this study was to evaluate eight treponemal assays using TP-PA as the predicate assay.

Methods

290 stored serum samples were tested qualitatively according to the manufacturer's directions.

Results

Concordance with specimens tested as reactive or non-reactive using TP-PA was: FTA-ABS 94.5–100%, Trep-Sure 100–98.9%, BioELISA 100–98.9%, INNO-LIA 99.1–99.4%, BIOLINE 100–98.9%, CAPTIA IgG 100–97.2%, Trep-ID 100–100% and LIAISON 100–99.4%. In order to properly evaluate the performance of these assays, the analytical sensitivity was determined by endpoint titration of serial dilutions of the reactive serum samples in normal sera. The median endpoint titre varied from 1:4 for FTA-ABS to 1:512 for Trep-Sure.

Conclusions

The performance of the treponemal serological assays was comparable while using medium and high-titre sera. However, the varying performance on specimen dilutions suggests that there may be differences in sensitivity with low-titre sera that are more prevalent in primary and late syphilis cases.
Childhood happiness and violence: a retrospective study of their impacts on adult well-being
Authors: Bellis Mark A , Hughes Karen , Jones Alyson , Perkins Clare , McHale Philip
Published: September 2013

Objectives

To examine the hypothesis that adult well-being is related to childhood experiences independent of current adult sociodemographic conditions.

Design

A cross-sectional, stratified, randomised sample survey using self-assessed measures of current well-being and retrospective measures of childhood experiences.

Setting

Households in North West England (September 2012–March 2013).

Participants

The individual with the next birthday in randomly selected households (n=11 500; compliance 89.6% of eligible households). Analysis was limited to those aged ≥18 years and answering all pertinent questions (n=11 157).

Outcomes

The primary outcome was a validated multicomponent measure of mental well-being (MWB). Additional outcomes included self-assessed life satisfaction (LS), life worth and trust in others.

Results

Adult MWB, LS, life worth and trust were all significantly related to childhood violence and happiness. Relationships remained after controlling for sociodemographics. Thus, compared with those with happy, non-violent childhoods, respondents with unhappy, violent childhoods had adjusted ORs (95% CI, significance) of 3.10 (2.59 to 3.71, p<0.001) for low MWB, 3.62 (2.99 to 4.38, p<0.001) for low LS, 4.13 (3.40 to 5.01, p<0.001) for low life worth and 2.62 (2.20 to 3.11, p<0.001) for low trust. The impact of unhappy but non-violent childhoods were smaller but significant (p<0.001). The modelled impact of childhood factors predicted, for instance, that among unemployed white men aged 25–39 years from the most deprived communities, 27% of those with happy non-violent childhoods would have low MWB rising to 53% of those with unhappy violent childhoods.

Conclusions

Adult well-being is strongly linked to childhood experiences. The addition of well-being measures to outcomes already associated with adverse childhoods (eg, adolescent antisocial behaviour and risks of adult disease) strengthens the case for investment in interventions to improve childhood experiences. Public health systems are well placed to ensure that policy to improve adult well-being exploits the potential for this to be realised through appropriate interventions.
In utero exposure to antidepressant drugs and risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a nationwide Danish cohort study
Authors: Laugesen Kristina , Olsen Morten Smærup , Telén Andersen Ane Birgitte , Frøslev Trine , Toft Sørensen Henrik
Published: September 2013

Objective

To investigate whether in utero exposure to antidepressants is associated with increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Design

Cohort study.

Setting

Denmark.

Participants

All Danish singletons born alive from 1996 to 2009 were included. Using national medical registries, we defined in utero exposure to antidepressants as redemption of an antidepressant prescription by the mother 30 days prior to or during pregnancy. We defined maternal former users of antidepressants as women, who had redeemed a prescription up to 30 days prior to pregnancy, and never users as women who had never redeemed a prescription.

Main outcome measures

ADHD was defined as redemption of a prescription for ADHD medication or an ADHD hospital diagnosis. Children were followed through 2010, and we used proportional-hazards regression to compute adjusted HRs comparing children exposed in utero and children born to former antidepressant users with children born to never users. To adjust for confounding from family-related factors, we conducted a within-mother between-pregnancy analysis comparing exposed children with unexposed siblings using conditional logistic regression.

Results

We identified a cohort of 877 778 children, of whom 1.7% were exposed in utero. The overall median follow-up time was 8 years; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were the most commonly used class of antidepressant during pregnancy (78% of users). The adjusted HR comparing children exposed to any antidepressant in utero with children born to never users was 1.2 (95% CI 1.1 to 1.4), and 1.6 (95% CI 1.5 to 1.8) comparing children born to former users to children born to never users of antidepressants. In the within-mother between-pregnancy analysis (n=867), the adjusted OR was 0.7 (95% CI 0.4 to 1.4).

Conclusions

This study provides no evidence to support a causal association between in utero exposure to antidepressants and risk of ADHD.
The COMPlaints After Stroke (COMPAS) study: protocol for a Dutch cohort study on poststroke subjective cognitive complaints
Authors: van Rijsbergen Marielle W A , Mark Ruth E , de Kort Paul L M , Sitskoorn Margriet M
Published: September 2013

Background

Although many studies have assessed poststroke objective cognitive impairment, only a few have evaluated patients’ subjective cognitive complaints (SCC). Although these SCC are found to be common in the early and chronic phases after stroke, knowledge about their risk factors, course over time, differences with healthy controls and their diagnostic relevance is limited. The aim of the COMPlaints After Stroke (COMPAS) study is therefore to determine the possible risk factors, prognosis, time course and predictive value of SCC in the first 2 years after stroke.

Methods and design

A prospective cohort study is conducted in which patients are compared to non-stroke controls at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after stroke. Approximately 300 patients are recruited from the stroke units of three hospitals in the Netherlands, while 300 controls are sought among the relatives (spouses excluded) and social networks of participants. A wide range of subjective and objective variables is assessed in both groups using interviews, questionnaires and neuropsychological assessment. The primary outcomes include SCC and objective cognitive impairment, whereas secondary outcomes are quality of life, subjective recovery and daily life functioning.

Ethics and dissemination

The study is being carried out in agreement with the Declaration of Helsinki and the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act. The protocol has been approved by the medical ethics committees of the participating centres and all participants give written informed consent. The results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated to the medical society and general public.

Discussion

The COMPAS study is the first to systematically evaluate poststroke SCC in a prospective longitudinal design, taking a wide range of subjective and objective variables into account. The results obtained can be used to accurately inform patients and their families, as well as to develop patient-tailored intervention programmes to ultimately improve stroke patient care.
Phase I pilot clinical trial of antenatal maternally administered melatonin to decrease the level of oxidative stress in human pregnancies affected by pre-eclampsia (PAMPR): study protocol
Authors: Hobson Sebastian R , Lim Rebecca , Gardiner Elizabeth E , Alers Nicole O , Wallace Euan M
Published: September 2013

Introduction

Pre-eclampsia is a common pregnancy condition affecting between 3% and 7% of women. Unfortunately, the exact pathophysiology of the disease is unknown and as such there are no effective treatments that exist notwithstanding prompt delivery of the fetus and culprit placenta. As many cases of pre-eclampsia occur in preterm pregnancies, it remains a significant cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Recently, in vitro and animal studies have highlighted the potential role of antioxidants in mitigating the effects of the disease. Melatonin is a naturally occurring antioxidant hormone and provides an excellent safety profile combined with ease of oral administration. We present the protocol for a phase I pilot clinical trial investigating the efficacy and side effects of maternal treatment with oral melatonin in pregnancies affected by preterm pre-eclampsia.

Methods and analysis

We propose undertaking a single-arm open label clinical trial recruiting 20 women with preterm pre-eclampsia (24+0–35+6weeks). We will take baseline measurements of maternal and fetal well-being, levels of oxidative stress, ultrasound Doppler studies and other biomarkers of pre-eclampsia. Women will then be given oral melatonin (10 mg) three times daily until delivery. The primary outcome will be time interval between diagnosis and delivery compared to historical controls. Secondary outcomes will compare the baseline measurements previously mentioned with twice-weekly measurements during treatment and then 6 weeks postpartum.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval has been obtained from Monash Health Human Research Ethics Committee B (HREC 13076B). Data will be presented at international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals.

Trial registration number

ACTRN12613000476730 (ANZCTR).
The influence of maternal effects in larval survival on fishery harvest reference points for two life-history patterns
Authors: Spencer Paul D. , Kraak Sarah B.M. , Trippel Edward A.
Published: September 2013

Increased larval viability with increased spawner age (i.e., maternal effects) have been observed in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and Pacific rockfish (Sebastes spp.) stocks. Analytical results from a Beverton–Holt recruitment model indicate density-independent maternal effects affected the relative stock productivity and fishing rate reference points. We simulated populations based on Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) and Pacific ocean perch (Sebastes alutus) to explore how estimates of reference points Fmsy and Fcrash are affected by maternal effects and potential interactions with life-history pattern, recruitment autocorrelation, and exploitation rate. Estimates of Fmsy and Fcrash were made from populations with maternal effects using either total larvae (proportional to eggs) or viable larvae (incorporating the maternal effect). Maternal effects have the largest impact upon estimated population productivity at high fishing rates. Estimates of Fmsy and Fcrash for cod were also affected by autocorrelated recruitment variability because of their reduced longevity compared with Pacific ocean perch. These results suggest the importance of evaluating the influence of maternal effects on estimated stock productivity on a case-by-case basis, particularly for depleted stocks composed of relatively young spawners.
THEORY OF KINETICS OF MULTISTEP LIGAND–RECEPTOR ASSEMBLY IN DISSIPATING AND FLUCTUATING ENVIRONMENTS
Authors: TESLENKO VICTOR I. , KAPITANCHUK OLEKSIY L.
Published: September 2013

Multistep kinetic processes play a key role in physics (excitation transfer, energy degradation), chemistry (ligand–receptor assembly, radical reactions) and biology (signal perception, molecular recognition). While a phenomenological thermodynamic approach for modeling the elementary acts of transitions underlying the maintaining of a system's stationary and equilibrium states is now well recognized, a more satisfying microscopic description based on the consistent understanding of dissipation and fluctuation processes accompanying the multistep relaxations remains elusive. In this paper, a microscopic theory of kinetics of a few-state system exhibited the energy fluctuations and coupled to a condensed medium is developed. The theory is formulated such as of being an example of the case of irreversible multistep ligand–receptor assembly in a dissipating environment. We first derive general expression for the probability of transitions between the system states valid on the whole timescale and then reduce this expression to the effectively slow times by making it an average over both the steady-state fluctuations of a system's energies and the equilibrium vibrations of the environment. Further, we calculate the populations of states for the sequence of cases of the three-to-two-to-single-step assemblage in dependence on the temperature, viscosity and ligand concentration. Finally, we discuss the results obtained with reference to the case of "negative" cooperativity emerging by virtue of the irreversibility of the last kinetic step.
MC-OFDMA FOR MULTI-USER DETECTION SCHEMES IN POWERLINE COMMUNICATION
Authors: ALANSI M. , ELSHAFIEY I. , AL-SANIE A. , ALGHUWAINEM S. , AL-SHARARI H.
Published: September 2013

Support of multiple users in wideband powerline communication (PLC) is essential to enhance the dependence on such emerging systems. This paper presents novel adaptations of the space division multiple access (SDMA) techniques to PLC. Multicarrier data transmission and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) techniques are invoked to mitigate the technical challenges of PLC channel impairments and enhance the spectral efficiency. Performance is enhanced using orthogonal Walsh–Hadamard codes. Linear and nonlinear multi-user detection (MUD) schemes are investigated, including the optimal maximum likelihood (ML) methods and the near-optimal sphere detectors(SDs). Presented results indicate the potential of the proposed scheme to enhance wideband PLC systems.
Idiom recognition framework using topological embedding
Authors: Kawahito Motohiro , Komatsu Hideaki , Moriyama Takao , Inoue Hiroshi , Nakatani Toshio
Published: September 2013

Modern processors support hardware-assist instructions (such as TRT and TROT instructions on the IBM System z) to accelerate certain functions such as delimiter search and character conversion. Such special instructions are often used in high-performance libraries, but their exploitation in optimizing compilers has been limited. We devised a new idiom recognition technique based on a topological embedding algorithm to detect idiom patterns in the input programs more aggressively than in previous approaches using exact pattern matching. Our approach can detect a pattern even if the code segment does not exactly match the idiom. For example, we can detect a code segment that includes additional code within the idiom pattern. We also propose an instruction simplification for the idiom recognition. This optimization analyzes all of the usages of the output of the optimized code for a specific idiom. If we find that we do not need an actual value for the output but only a value in a subrange, then we can assign a value in that subrange as the output. The code generation can generate faster code with this optimization. We implemented our new idiom recognition approach based on the Java Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler that is part of the J9 Java Virtual Machine, and we supported several important idioms for the special hardware-assist instructions on the IBM System z and on some models of the IBM System p. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our technique, we performed two experiments. The first experiment was to see how many more patterns we can detect compared to the previous approach. The second experiment measured the performance improvements over the previous approaches. For the first experiment, we used the Java Compatibility Kit (JCK) API tests. For the second experiment we used the IBM XML parser, SPECjvm98, and SPCjbb2000. In summary, relative to a baseline implementation using exact pattern matching, our algorithm converted 76% more loops in JCK tests. On a z9, we also observed significant average performance improvement of the XML parser by 54%, of SPECjvm98 by 1.9%, and of SPECjbb2000 by 4.4%. Finally, we observed that the JIT compilation time increased by only 0.32% to 0.44%.
Adaptive communication mechanism for accelerating MPI functions in NoC-based multicore processors
Authors: Huang Libo , Wang Zhiying , Xiao Nong , Wang Yongwen , Dou Qiang
Published: September 2013

Multicore designs have emerged as the dominant organization for future high-performance microprocessors. Communication in such designs is often enabled by Networks-on-Chip (NoCs). A new trend in such architectures is to fit a Message Passing Interface (MPI) programming model on NoCs to achieve optimal parallel application performance. A key issue in designing MPI over NoCs is communication protocol, which has not been explored in previous research.

This article advocates a hardware-supported communication mechanism using a protocol-adaptive approach to adjust to varying NoC configurations (e.g., number of buffers) and workload behavior (e.g., number of messages). We propose the
ADaptive Communication Mechanism
(ADCM), a hybrid protocol that involves behavior similar to buffered communication when sufficient buffer is available in the receiver to that similar to a synchronous protocol when buffers in the receiver are limited. ADCM adapts dynamically by deciding communication protocol on a per-request basis using a local estimate of recent buffer utilization. ADCM attempts to combine both the advantages of buffered and synchronous communication modes to achieve enhanced throughput and performance. Simulations of various workloads show that the proposed communication mechanism can be effectively used in future NoC designs.
Acute hyperinsulinemia increases the contraction of retinal arterioles induced by elevated blood pressure
Authors: Jeppesen Peter , Knudsen Søren Tang , Poulsen Per Løgstrup , Hessellund Anders , Schmitz Ole , Bek Toke
Published: September 2013

Diabetic retinopathy is accompanied by disturbances in retinal blood flow, which is assumed to be related to the diabetic metabolic dysregulation. It has previously been shown that normoinsulinemic hyperglycemia has no effect on the diameter of retinal arterioles at rest and during an increase in the arterial blood pressure induced by isometric exercise. However, the influence of hyperinsulinemia on this response has not been studied in detail. In seven normal persons, the diameter response of retinal arterioles to an increased blood pressure induced by isometric exercise, to stimulation with flickering light, and to the combination of these stimuli was studied during euglycemic normoinsulinemia (protocol N) on one examination day, and euglycemic hyperinsulinemia (protocol H) on another examination day. Isometric exercise induced significant contraction of retinal arterioles at all examinations, but during a repeated examination the diameter response was significantly reduced in the test persons following the N protocol and increased in the persons following the H protocol. Flicker stimulation induced a significant dilatation of retinal arterioles at all examinations, and the response was significantly higher during a repeated examination, irrespective of the insulin level. Repeated exposure to isometric exercise reduces contraction, whereas repeated exposure to flickering light increases dilatation of retinal arterioles in vivo. Hyperinsulinemia increases contraction of retinal arterioles induced by isometric exercise.
Mitochondrial fragmentation in cigarette smoke-induced bronchial epithelial cell senescence
Authors: Hara Hiromichi , Araya Jun , Ito Saburo , Kobayashi Kenji , Takasaka Naoki , Yoshii Yutaka , Wakui Hiroshi , Kojima Jun , Shimizu Kenichiro , Numata Takanori , Kawaishi Makoto , Kamiya Noriki , Odaka Makoto , Morikawa Toshiaki , Kaneko Yumi , Nakayama Katsutoshi , Kuwano Kazuyoshi
Published: September 2013

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that continuously change their shape through fission and fusion. Disruption of mitochondrial dynamics is involved in disease pathology through excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Accelerated cellular senescence resulting from cigarette smoke exposure with excessive ROS production has been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Hence, we investigated the involvement of mitochondrial dynamics and ROS production in terms of cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-induced cellular senescence in human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC). Mitochondrial morphology was examined by electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy. Senescence-associated β-galactosidase staining and p21 Western blotting of primary HBEC were performed to evaluate cellular senescence. Mitochondrial-specific superoxide production was measured by MitoSOX staining. Mitochondrial fragmentation was induced by knockdown of mitochondrial fusion proteins (OPA1 or Mitofusins) by small-interfering RNA transfection. N-acetylcysteine and Mito-TEMPO were used as antioxidants. Mitochondria in bronchial epithelial cells were prone to be more fragmented in COPD lung tissues. CSE induced mitochondrial fragmentation and mitochondrial ROS production, which were responsible for acceleration of cellular senescence in HBEC. Mitochondrial fragmentation induced by knockdown of fusion proteins also increased mitochondrial ROS production and percentages of senescent cells. HBEC senescence and mitochondria fragmentation in response to CSE treatment were inhibited in the presence of antioxidants. CSE-induced mitochondrial fragmentation is involved in cellular senescence through the mechanism of mitochondrial ROS production. Hence, disruption of mitochondrial dynamics may be a part of the pathogenic sequence of COPD development.
Heterogeneity of lung mononuclear phagocytes during pneumonia: contribution of chemokine receptors
Authors: Chen Lanlin , Zhang Zhimin , Barletta Kathryn E. , Burdick Marie D. , Mehrad Borna
Published: September 2013

Bacterial pneumonia is a common and dangerous illness. Mononuclear phagocytes, which comprise monocyte, resident and recruited macrophage, and dendritic cell subsets, are critical to antimicrobial defenses, but the dynamics of their recruitment to the lungs in pneumonia is not established. We hypothesized that chemokine-mediated traffic of mononuclear phagocytes is important in defense against bacterial pneumonia. In a mouse model of Klebsiella pneumonia, circulating Ly6Chiand, to a lesser extent, Ly6Clomonocytes expanded in parallel with accumulation of inflammatory macrophages and CD11bhidendritic cells and plasmacytoid dendritic cells in the lungs, whereas numbers of alveolar macrophages remained constant. CCR2 was expressed by Ly6Chimonocytes, recruited macrophages, and airway dendritic cells; CCR6 was prominently expressed by airway dendritic cells; and CX3CR1 was ubiquitously expressed by blood monocytes and lung CD11bhidendritic cells during infection. CCR2-deficient, but not CCL2-, CX3CR1-, or CCR6-deficient animals exhibited worse outcomes of infection. The absence of CCR2 had no detectable effect on neutrophils but resulted in reduction of all subsets of lung mononuclear phagocytes in the lungs, including alveolar macrophages and airway and plasmacytoid dendritic cells. In addition, absence of CCR2 skewed the phenotype of lung mononuclear phagocytes, abrogating the appearance of M1 macrophages and TNF-producing dendritic cells in the lungs. Taken together, these data define the dynamics of mononuclear phagocytes during pneumonia.
Frataxin mRNA Isoforms in FRDA Patients and Normal Subjects: Effect of Tocotrienol Supplementation
Authors: Abruzzo Provvidenza Maria , Marini Marina , Bolotta Alessandra , Malisardi Gemma , Manfredini Stefano , Ghezzo Alessandro , Pini Antonella , Tasco Gianluca , Casadio Rita
Published: September 2013

Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA) is caused by deficient expression of the mitochondrial protein frataxin involved in the formation of iron-sulphur complexes and by consequent oxidative stress. We analysed low-dose tocotrienol supplementation effects on the expression of the three splice variant isoforms (FXN-1,FXN-2, andFXN-3) in mononuclear blood cells of FRDA patients and healthy subjects. In FRDA patients, tocotrienol leads to a specific and significant increase ofFXN-3expression while not affectingFXN-1andFXN-2expression. Since no structural and functional details were available for FNX-2 and FXN-3, 3D models were built. FXN-1, the canonical isoform, was then docked on the human iron-sulphur complex, and functional interactions were computed; when FXN-1 was replaced by FXN-2 or FNX-3, we found that the interactions were maintained, thus suggesting a possible biological role for both isoforms in human cells. Finally, in order to evaluate whether tocotrienol enhancement ofFXN-3was mediated by an increase in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ(PPARG),PPARGexpression was evaluated. At a low dose of tocotrienol, the increase ofFXN-3expression appeared to be independent ofPPARGexpression. Our data show that it is possible to modulate the mRNA expression of the minor frataxin isoforms and that they may have a functional role.
Synthesis and Antioxidant Activities of Novel 5-Chlorocurcumin, Complemented by Semiempirical Calculations
Authors: Al-Amiery Ahmed A. , Kadhum Abdul Amir H. , Obayes Hasan R. , Mohamad Abu Bakar
Published: September 2013

The novel curcumin derivative (1E,4Z,6E)-5-chloro-1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)hepta-1,4,6-trien-3-one (5-chlorocurcumin) was prepared from natural curcumin. The newly synthesised compound was characterised by spectral studies (IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR). The free radical scavenging activity of 5-chlorocurcumin has been determined by measuring interaction with the stable free radical DPPH, and 5-chlorocurcumin has shown encouraging antioxidant activities. Theory calculations of the synthesised 5-chlorocurcumin were performed using molecular structures with optimised geometries. Molecular orbital calculations provided a detailed description of the orbitals, including spatial characteristics, nodal patterns, and the contributions of individual atoms.
Ontology-Based Methodology for Managing Heterogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Kim Dae-Young , Cha Si-Ho , Cho Kuk-Hyun
Published: September 2013

With the growing interest in ubiquitous technologies recently, many studies have been conducted in order to manage wireless sensor network, which is the central component in ubiquitous environment. To manage a certain wireless sensor network, a variety of techniques can be applied and thereby the network can be managed. However, it is very complicated and time-consuming to incorporate and manage more than a heterogeneous wireless sensor network since each network has different data, meanings, and terms. Instead of conducting verification through examining the detailed technology or simulation in order to manage a variety of wireless sensor networks, we suggest a methodology which manages data coming from the various sensors mentioned above, a technique by which those data from various sensor networks are managed in each different network, and a methodology which manages sensor networks where management languages exist. This paper defined the network-related terminology using Protégé for the tools and definitions necessary for ontology-based methodology, thereby defined OWL and the related rules, and suggested a methodology for incorporated management. In addition, this study showed that the methodology presented in this study has expandability and it can incorporate and manage a variety of wireless sensor networks.
Principal Feature Analysis: A Multivariate Feature Selection Method for fMRI Data
Authors: Wang Lijun , Lei Yu , Zeng Ying , Tong Li , Yan Bin
Published: September 2013

Brain decoding with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) requires analysis of complex, multivariate data. Multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) has been widely used in recent years. MVPA treats the activation of multiple voxels from fMRI data as a pattern and decodes brain states using pattern classification methods. Feature selection is a critical procedure of MVPA because it decides which features will be included in the classification analysis of fMRI data, thereby improving the performance of the classifier. Features can be selected by limiting the analysis to specific anatomical regions or by computing univariate (voxel-wise) or multivariate statistics. However, these methods either discard some informative features or select features with redundant information. This paper introduces the principal feature analysis as a novel multivariate feature selection method for fMRI data processing. This multivariate approach aims to remove features with redundant information, thereby selecting fewer features, while retaining the most information.
In SituSynthesis and Deposition of Gold Nanoparticles with Different Morphologies on Glass and ITO Substrate by Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis
Authors: de la Garza María , López Israel , Gómez Idalia
Published: September 2013

Gold nanoparticles were synthesized and depositedin situby ultrasonic spray pyrolysis on glass and indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates. This technique led to the formation of gold nanoparticles with different morphologies without the use of any capping agent. The gold nanoparticles deposited on glass substrate were obtained as nanospheres with an average particle size of 30 nm with some agglomerates; however, the nanoparticles deposited on ITO substrate were obtained with different morphologies, such as triangular nanoprisms, nanorods, nanocubes, and nanorhombus, with particle sizes between 40 and 100 nm. The ITO substrate influenced the morphology of the gold nanoparticles obtained due to changes in the deposition temperature, which also change the crystalline structure of the ITO film on the substrate.
Paroxysmal Nonkinesigenic Dyskinesia with Tremor
Authors: Fekete Robert
Published: September 2013

Introduction. Paroxysmal nonkinesigenic dyskinesia (PNKD) consists of episodes of chorea, athetosis, or dystonia which are not triggered by movement, with complete remission between episodes. A case of genetically confirmed PNKD with simultaneous tremor has not been previously reported.Case Report. The patient is an 86-year-old right-handed female who presented with episodic stiffness, with onset at age 9. Attacks have a prodrome of difficulty in speaking, followed by abnormal sensation in extremities. Episodes consist of dystonia of trunk associated with upper and lower extremity chorea. There is complete resolution between attacks except for persistent mild head tremor and action tremor of both extremities. Attack frequency and duration as well as tremor amplitude escalated two and a half years ago, in correlation with development of breast carcinoma. Episodes improved after successful cancer treatment, but higher amplitude tremor persisted. There is an autosomal dominant family history of similar episodes but not tremor. Genetic diagnosis was confirmed via A7V mutation of the myofibrillogenesis regulator (MR-1) gene.Conclusion. Exacerbation due to another medical or psychiatric condition should be considered if there is unexpected deterioration in episode frequency or length. PNKD due to MR-1 mutation may exist even in the presence of action tremor.
Improvement of Mechanical Properties of Noil Hemp Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Composites by Resin Modification and Fiber Treatment
Authors: Yan Zili , Zhang Jianchun , Zhang Hua , Wang Hao
Published: September 2013

The present study aims to improve the reinforcement of hemp fibre to polypropylene (PP) by simple resin modification and fibre treatment. Maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP) was used as resin modifier by direct mixing with PP, and hydrophobically modified hydroxyethyl cellulose (HMHEC) was used as fibre treatment reagent by immersing fibre into its aqueous solution. The influences of fibre content, resin modification, and fibre treatment on the mechanical properties (tensile, flexural, and impact strengths) of composites were investigated. The change of interfacial bonding between fibre and resin in composites caused by MAPP and HMHEC was studied by scanning electron microscopy and dynamic mechanical analysis. Resin modification and fibre treatment were effective to enhance the mechanical properties of the composites. The improvement in interfacial bonding is quantitatively evaluated with adhesion factor.
Hybrid DE-SQP Method for Solving Combined Heat and Power Dynamic Economic Dispatch Problem
Authors: Elaiw A. M. , Xia X. , Shehata A. M.
Published: September 2013

Combined heat and power dynamic economic dispatch (CHPDED) plays a key role in economic operation of power systems. CHPDED determines the optimal heat and power schedule of committed generating units by minimizing the fuel cost under ramp rate constraints and other constraints. Due to complex characteristics, heuristic and evolutionary based optimization approaches have became effective tools to solve the CHPDED problem. This paper proposes hybrid differential evolution (DE) and sequential quadratic programming (SQP) to solve the CHPDED problem with nonsmooth and nonconvex cost function due to valve point effects. DE is used as a global optimizer and SQP is used as a fine tuning to determine the optimal solution at the final. The proposed hybrid DE-SQP method has been tested and compared to demonstrate its effectiveness.
Serologic Autoantibodies as Diagnostic Cancer Biomarkers—A Review
Authors: Zaenker Pauline , Ziman Melanie R.
Published: September 2013

Current diagnostic techniques used for the early detection of cancers are successful but subject to detection bias. A recent focus lies in the development of more accurate diagnostic tools. An increase in serologic autoantibody levels has been shown to precede the development of cancer disease symptoms. Therefore, autoantibody levels in patient blood serum have been proposed as diagnostic biomarkers for early-stage diagnosis of cancers. Their clinical application has, however, been hindered by low sensitivity, specificity, and low predictive value scores. These scores have been shown to improve when panels of multiple diagnostic autoantibody biomarkers are used. A five-marker biomarker panel has been shown to increase the sensitivity of prostate cancer diagnosis to 95% as compared with 12.2% for prostate-specific antigen alone. New potential biomarker panels were also discovered for lung, colon, and stomach cancer diagnosis with sensitivity of 76%, 65.4%, and 50.8%, respectively. Studies in breast and liver cancer, however, seem to favor single markers, namely α-2-HS-glycoprotein and des-γ-carboxyprothrombin with sensitivities of 79% and 89% for the early detection of the cancers. The aim of this review is to discuss the relevance of autoantibodies in cancer diagnosis and to outline the current methodologies used in the detection of autoantibodies. The review concludes with a discussion of the autoantibodies currently used in the diagnosis of cancers of the prostate, breast, lung, colon, stomach, and liver. A discussion of the potential future use of autoantibodies as diagnostic cancer biomarkers is also included in this review. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(12); 2161–81. ©2013 AACR.
Margin-Infiltrating CD20+ B Cells Display an Atypical Memory Phenotype and Correlate with Favorable Prognosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Shi Jie-Yi , Gao Qiang , Wang Zhi-Chao , Zhou Jian , Wang Xiao-Ying , Min Zhi-Hui , Shi Ying-Hong , Shi Guo-Ming , Ding Zhen-Bin , Ke Ai-Wu , Dai Zhi , Qiu Shuang-Jian , Song Kang , Fan Jia
Published: September 2013

Purpose: The role of infiltrating B cells in hepatocellular carcinoma has been overlooked for many years. This study is aimed to delineate the distribution, prognostic value, and functional status of B cells in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

Experimental design: Immunohistochemistry was used to investigate the distribution and clinical significance of infiltrating CD20+ B cells in a series of 120 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The results were further tested in an independent series of 200 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The functional status of CD20+ B cells was determined by flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, and in vitro coculture assay.

Results: Infiltrating CD20+ B cells were predominantly concentrated in the tumor invasive margin, compared with the peri- and intratumor areas. High density of margin-infiltrating B lymphocytes (MIL-B) positively correlated with small tumor size, absence of vascular invasion, and increased density of CD8+ T cells (P < 0.05). Survival analyses revealed that increased number of MIL-Bs and their penetration through the tumor capsule were significantly associated with improved overall and recurrence-free survival, and were identified as independent prognosticators for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (P < 0.05). Importantly, the results were further validated in another independent hepatocellular carcinoma cohort. Moreover, we found that MIL-Bs featured an atypical memory phenotype (IgD−IgG+CD27−CD38−), expressed surface markers characteristic of antigen-presenting cells, possessed tumor-killing potential by producing IFN-γ, interleukin 12p40 (IL-12p40), granzyme B, and TRAIL, and acted in cooperation with CD8+ T cells.

Conclusions: The profile of CD20+ B cells in situ is a new predictor of prognosis for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and provides a novel target for an optimal immunotherapy against this fatal malignancy. Clin Cancer Res; 19(21); 5994–6005. ©2013 AACR.
mTOR Inhibition Improves Antitumor Effects of Vaccination with Antigen-Encoding RNA
Authors: Diken Mustafa , Kreiter Sebastian , Vascotto Fulvia , Selmi Abderraouf , Attig Sebastian , Diekmann Jan , Huber Christoph , Türeci Özlem , Sahin Ugur
Published: September 2013

Vaccination with in vitro transcribed RNA encoding tumor antigens is an emerging approach in cancer immunotherapy. Attempting to further improve RNA vaccine efficacy, we have explored combining RNA with immunomodulators such as rapamycin. Rapamycin, the inhibitor of mTOR, was used originally for immunosuppression. Recent reports in mouse systems, however, suggest that mTOR inhibition may enhance the formation and differentiation of the memory CD8+ T-cell pool. Because memory T-cell formation is critical to the outcome of vaccination aproaches, we studied the impact of rapamycin on the in vivo primed RNA vaccine-induced immune response using the chicken ovalbumin-expressing B16 melanoma model in C57BL/6 mice. Our data show that treatment with rapamycin at the effector-to-memory transition phase skews the vaccine-induced immune response toward the formation of a quantitatively and qualitatively superior memory pool and results in a better recall response. Tumor-infiltrating immune cells from these mice display a favorable ratio of effector versus suppressor cell populations. Survival of mice treated with the combined regimen of RNA vaccination with rapamycin is significantly longer (91.5 days) than that in the control groups receiving only one of these compounds (32 and 46 days, respectively). Our findings indicate that rapamycin enhances therapeutic efficacy of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells induced by RNA vaccination, and we propose further clinical exploration of rapamycin as a component of immunotherapeutic regimens. Cancer Immunol Res; 1(6); 386–92. ©2013 AACR.