bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Use of real-time PCR with propidium monoazide for enumeration of viable Escherichia coli in anaerobic digestion
Authors: Ruike Wataru , Higashimori Atsushi , Yaguchi Junichi , Li Yu-you
Published: July 2016

A combination of propidium monoazide (PMA) with real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PMA-qPCR) was optimized to enumerate only viable Escherichia coli in anaerobic digestion processes. Repeating the PMA treatment twice and a final concentration of 100 μM resulted in an effective exclusion of DNA from heat-treated E. coli cells. In three anaerobic digestion processes, real-time PCR, PMA-qPCR, and the most probable number method (MPN) were used to estimate the numbers of total, viable, and culturable E. coli cells, respectively. Culturable concentrations of fecal coliforms were also measured by the membrane filter method. For thermophilic digestion, the reductions in total and viable E. coli cells from the digester influent to the effluent were significantly lower than those in culturable cells and fecal coliforms by two to four orders of magnitude. For mesophilic digestion, the differences in the reductions in E. coli and fecal coliforms counts were less than two orders of magnitude. Based on the measurements of viable E. coli determined by the PMA-qPCR method, the microbial quality of digester effluents was discussed for agricultural application, and pasteurization after anaerobic digestion was suggested for the destruction of viable pathogens.
Caracterización de macroinvertebrados bentónicos de dos ramales estuarinos afectados por la actividad industrial, Estero Salado-Ecuador
Authors: Cárdenas Maritza , Mair James
Published: July 2016

El propósito de este estudio fue evaluar la composición, abundancia y diversidad de los macroinvertebrados en dos zonas afectadas por aguas residuales industriales y domésticas en dos ramales estuarinos en la ciudad de Guayaquil: Aventura Plaza y la Universidad de Guayaquil. Se realizaron tres muestreos por sitio, utilizando una draga Van Veen de 0,1 m durante la marea baja en septiembre de 2012. No se encontraron diferencias significativas entre las varianzas de la riqueza y abundancia de especies, registrándose la mayor abundancia en el ramal estuarino cercano a la  Universidad de Guayaquil, donde el taxón más abundante fueron los oligoquetos y donde se presentó la más alta temperatura y mayor salinidad. Los sitios estudiados fueron muy pobres y poco diversos debido posiblemente a las emisiones de aguas residuales de uso doméstico e industrial que alteran parámetros claves para la supervivencia de especies estuarinas como la salinidad, la temperatura y el pH.
Variación espacio-temporal de microalgas acuáticas del embalse de Betania – Huila y su relación con la calidad del agua
Authors: Martínez-Silva Paula
Published: July 2016

El embalse de Betania es uno de los cuerpos de agua lénticos más importantes de Colombia, no solo por su importancia como generador de energía eléctrica sino por su uso como fuente de productividad económica a través de la piscicultura. Durante más de un año, se realizaron muestreos combinados de fitoplancton en diez estaciones del embalse de Betania. Las muestras se llevaron a un análisis cualitativo-cuantitativo, con el fin de poder establecer mediante el uso de índices ecológicos (Shannon-Weiver, Índice de Equidad de Pielou, Whilm y Dorris), el nivel de contaminación del agua y determinar si existe alguna fluctuación de ésta, entre las diferentes estaciones a lo largo del año. Los resultados permitieron concluir que el embalse de Betania presenta niveles de eutrofización, que se ven reflejados en la composición de organismos planctónicos registrados en los puntos de muestreo. Este proceso se intensifica cuando disminuyen las lluvias y coincide con una mayor mortandad de los peces. Es importante tomar medidas de manejo apropiadas, si se pretende prolongar la vida útil de este cuerpo de agua.
Tesla’s inventions of importance for medicine: Reality or new visions of science (In honor of the 160th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla)
Authors: Ristanovic Elizabeta
Published: July 2016

nema
Benign Vascular Malformation at the Ischial Tuberosity
Authors: Said Rami , Bevelaqua Anna-Christina
Published: July 2016

A 31-year-old female student was referred to physical therapy with a chief complaint of proximal, posterior left thigh pain that began insidiously 12 months prior, and progressively worsened while training for a half-marathon. A mobile, soft mass was identified just inferior to the ischial tuberosity that was tender and painful to palpation, recreating the patient's chief complaint. Radiographic findings were negative for a suspected avulsion fracture at the ischial tuberosity. Therefore, the physician performed musculoskeletal ultrasonography, which revealed a superficial hypoechoic mass with vascular flow. Magnetic resonance imaging and a subsequent biopsy led to the diagnosis of a benign vascular malformation.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2016;46(7):607. doi:10.2519/jospt.2016.0410
Scrub Typhus in Nepal
Authors: Nayak Niranjan
Published: July 2016

Unfortunately, it is not feasible to prepare an effective vaccine against scrub typhus, because of the extreme antigenic variation seen amongst the strains of O tsutsugamushi. Immunity acquired naturally against one antigenic type may not be protective against another type which might be currently circulating in the locality.  This complexity continues and the problem of making an effective vaccine against this disease still persists.
Age specific incidence of five major cancers in Nepal, 2012
Authors: Poudel Krishna Kanta , Huang Zhibi , Neupane Prakash Raj
Published: July 2016

Background: Population based cancer registry is inevitable to measure the indicators of cancer. This retrospective study was conducted to perform the age specific incidence and age standardized rate of cancer by sex, age and sites in Nepal, 2012. Materials and Methods: The data collected by hospital based National cancer registry programme of Nepal were used to calculate the age specific incidence of five major cancers by sex and sites. The age standardized rate of ten major cancers, both in males and females of 2012 was also performed.Results: The 70-74 years age group had the highest incidence rate (188.08) for men while for women the age group of 65-69 years had the highest incidence (140.61) per 100,000. For male, lung cancer had the highest incidence rate (4.45) whereas bladder had the lowest rate (0.98). Similarly for female, Cervix Uteri cancer had the highest incidence rate (5.35) whereas stomach had the lowest (1.06).Conclusion: This study presented that cancer was increased with age both in males and females. The leading cancer in males was bronchus and lung while in females it was cervix uteri.
Technique and nuances of an S-2 alar iliac screw for lumbosacral fixation in patients with transitional and normal anatomy
Authors: Ohya Junichi , Vogel Todd D. , Dhall Sanjay S. , Berven Sigurd , Mummaneni Praveen V.
Published: July 2016

S-2 alar iliac (S2AI) screw fixation has recently been recognized as a useful technique for pelvic fixation. The authors demonstrate two cases where S2AI fixation was indicated: one case was a sacral insufficiency fracture following a long-segment fusion in a patient with a transitional S-1 vertebra; the other case involved pseudarthrosis following lumbosacral fixation. S2AI screws offer rigid fixation, low profile, and allow easy connection to the lumbosacral rod. The authors describe and demonstrate the surgical technique and nuances for the S2AI screw in a case with transitional S-1 anatomy and in a case with normal S-1 anatomy.

The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/Sj21lk13_aw.
Head injury in heroes of the Civil War and its lasting influence
Authors: Sabourin Victor M. , Holland Ryan , Mau Christine , Gandhi Chirag D. , Prestigiacomo Charles J.
Published: July 2016

The Civil War era was an age-defining period in the history of the United States of America, the effects of which are still seen in the nation today. In this era, the issue of head injury pervaded society. From the president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, to the officers and soldiers of the Union and Confederate armies, and to the population at large, head injury and its ramifications gripped the nation. This article focuses on 3 individuals: Major General John Sedgwick, First Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing, and Harriet Tubman, as examples of the impact that head injury had during this era. These 3 individuals were chosen for this article because of their lasting legacies, contributions to society, and interesting connections to one another.
The strokes that killed Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin
Authors: Ali Rohaid , Connolly Ian D. , Li Amy , Choudhri Omar A. , Pendharkar Arjun V. , Steinberg Gary K.
Published: July 2016

From February 4 to 11, 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States, Soviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met near Yalta in Crimea to discuss how post–World War II (WWII) Europe should be organized. Within 2 decades of this conference, all 3 men had died. President Roosevelt died 2 months after the Yalta Conference due to a hemorrhagic stroke. Premier Stalin died 8 years later, also due to a hemorrhagic stroke. Finally, Prime Minister Churchill died 20 years after the conference because of complications due to stroke. At the time of Yalta, these 3 men were the leaders of the most powerful countries in the world. The subsequent deterioration of their health and eventual death had varying degrees of historical significance. Churchill's illness forced him to resign as British prime minister, and the events that unfolded immediately after his resignation included Britain's mismanagement of the Egyptian Suez Crisis and also a period of mistrust with the United States. Furthermore, Roosevelt was still president and Stalin was still premier at their times of passing, so their deaths carried huge political ramifications not only for their respective countries but also for international relations. The early death of Roosevelt, in particular, may have exacerbated post-WWII miscommunication between America and the Soviet Union—miscommunication that may have helped precipitate the Cold War.
A prospective analysis of hypovitaminosis D and mortality in 400 patients in the neurocritical care setting
Authors: Guan Jian , Karsy Michael , Brock Andrea A. , Eli Ilyas M. , Ledyard Holly K. , Hawryluk Gregory W. J. , Park Min S.
Published: July 2016

OBJECTIVE

Hypovitaminosis D is highly prevalent among the general population. Studies have shown an association between hypovitaminosis D and multiple negative outcomes in critical care patients, but there has been no prospective evaluation of vitamin D in the neurological critical care population. The authors examined the impact of vitamin D deficiency on in-hospital mortality and a variety of secondary outcomes.

METHODS

The authors prospectively collected 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels of all patients admitted to the neurocritical care unit (NCCU) of a quaternary-care center over a 3-month period. Demographic data, illness acuity, in-hospital mortality, infection, and length of hospitalization were collected. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression were used to examine the effects of vitamin D deficiency.

RESULTS

Four hundred fifteen patients met the inclusion criteria. In-hospital mortality was slightly worse (9.3% vs 4.5%; p = 0.059) among patients with deficient vitamin D (≤ 20 ng/dl). There was also a higher rate of urinary tract infection in patients with vitamin D deficiency (12.4% vs 4.2%; p = 0.002). For patients admitted to the NCCU on an emergency basis (n = 285), higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (OR 13.8, 95% CI 1.7–110.8; p = 0.014), and vitamin D deficiency (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.0–8.6; p = 0.042) were significantly associated with increased in-hospital mortality after adjusting for other factors.

CONCLUSIONS

In the subset of patients admitted to the NCCU on an emergency basis, vitamin D deficiency is significantly associated with higher in-hospital mortality. Larger studies are needed to confirm these findings and to investigate the role of vitamin D supplementation in these patients.
ActiGait implantable drop foot stimulator in multiple sclerosis: a new indication
Authors: Martin K. Daniel , Polanski Witold H. , Schulz Anne-Kathrin , Jöbges Michael , Ziemssen Tjalf , Schackert Gabriele , Pinzer Thomas , Sobottka Stephan B.
Published: July 2016

OBJECTIVE

Direct stimulation of the peroneal nerve by the ActiGait implantable drop foot stimulator is a potent therapy that was described previously for stroke-related drop foot. The authors report here successful long-term application of the ActiGait implantable drop foot stimulator in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

METHODS

Six patients with MS and 2 years of persisting central leg paresis received an implantable ActiGait drop foot stimulator after successful surface test stimulation. Ten weeks and 1 year after surgery, their gait speed, endurance, and safety were evaluated. Patient satisfaction was assessed with a questionnaire.

RESULTS

In the 20-m gait test, stimulation with the ActiGait stimulator significantly reduced the time needed, on average, by approximately 23.6% 10 weeks after surgery, and the time improved further by 36.3% after 1 year. The median distance covered by patients with the stimulator after 6 minutes of walking increased significantly from 217 m to 321 m and remained stable for 1 year; the distance covered by patients after surface stimulation was 264 m. Patients with an implanted ActiGait stimulator noticed pronounced improvement in their mobility, social participation, and quality of life.

CONCLUSIONS

The ActiGait implantable drop foot stimulator improved gait speed, endurance, and quality of life in all patients over a period of 1 year. It may serve as a new therapeutic option for patients with MS-related drop foot.
Delivery of neoadjuvant chemoradiation for patients with stage II and III rectal cancer is suboptimal
Authors: Barton Mary Kay
Published: July 2016

Key Points

The use of guideline‐recommended therapy of neoadjuvant chemoradiation and surgery for patients with rectal cancer has increased over the past decade, but nevertheless only 55% of patients received such treatment.

Being of nonwhite race or Hispanic ethnicity, lacking private insurance, and living in an area with low aggregate educational levels were associated with a lower probability of receiving trimodality therapy.
A New Kinematic Model of Portable Articulated Coordinate Measuring Machine
Authors: Zhao Hui-Ning , Yu Lian-Dong , Jia Hua-Kun , Li Wei-Shi , Sun Jing-Qi
Published: July 2016

Portable articulated coordinate measuring machine (PACMM) is a kind of high accuracy coordinate measurement instrument and it has been widely applied in manufacturing and assembly. A number of key problems should be taken into consideration to achieve the required accuracy, such as structural design, mathematical measurement model and calibration method. Although the classical kinematic model of PACMM is the Denavit-Hartenberg (D-H) model, the representation of D-H encounters the badly-conditioned problem when the consecutive joint axes are parallel or nearly parallel. In this paper, a new kinematic model of PACMM based on a generalized geometric error model which eliminates the inadequacies of D-H model has been proposed. Furthermore, the generalized geometric error parameters of PACMM are optimized by the Levenberg-Marquard (L-M) algorithm. The experimental result demonstrates that the measurement of standard deviation of PACMM based on the generalized geometric error model has been reduced from 0.0627 mm to 0.0452 mm with respect to the D-H model.
Influence of Steep Time on Polyphenol Content and Antioxidant Capacity of Black, Green, Rooibos, and Herbal Teas
Authors: McAlpine Michael , Ward Wendy
Published: July 2016

Potential health benefits of tea consumption are often attributed to the antioxidant activity of polyphenols. Whether steep time, often variable in a real-life situation, makes a biological difference in terms of polyphenol content and antioxidant activity is uncertain. The study objective was to characterize eight popular and commercially available teas for total polyphenol content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity in relation to steep time. Dragonwell (DW), Sencha (S), English Breakfast (EB), Golden Monkey (GM), Green Rooibos (GR), Red Rooibos (RR), Chamomile (C), and Peppermint (P) loose leaf teas were individually steeped in water for 1–10 min at 1 min intervals. TPC increased with longer durations of steep time; however, the majority of polyphenols observed after 10 minutes were extracted in the first 5 min regardless of tea type. After 5 min of steeping, differences (p < 0.05) in TPC were observed across teas (JS~EB~P > DW > GM~GR~RR > C). Different teas also varied in their ability to inhibit the free radical 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) when normalized for polyphenol concentration (1 µg/mL) and there was no effect due to steep time. Predicted antioxidant capacity of teas also demonstrated significant differences among teas after 5 and 10 min. In conclusion, steep time modulates TPC but not the antioxidative capacity of tea polyphenols.
Recasting the Significant: The Transcultural Memory of Alexander von Humboldt’s Visit to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Authors: Howell James
Published: July 2016

Alexander von Humboldt was internationally known as a world traveler, having collected data and analyzed samples from five of the world’s seven continents. He spoke several languages fluently, and split most of his adult life between the cosmopolitan centers of Berlin and Paris. The great deal of time Humboldt spent in Latin America, along with his staunch belief in human equality, led to his reverence in those countries. Indeed, Humboldt was a world citizen in the truest sense of the word. But what of the United States? What claim can this nation make to the heritage and legacy of the world-exploring baron? A brief stop in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. at the end of Humboldt’s expedition to the equatorial regions of the Americas seems to suffice. This short stay, along with the Humboldt-Jefferson correspondence, constitutes the great American link in Humboldt studies, a link whose nature and importance has, over the years, received an exaggerated amount of attention from authors writing for an American audience. The following analysis, using the tools of transcultural memory studies, investigates why this relatively insignificant event in a long and storied life assumes an inflated role in current accounts of the life and work of Alexander von Humboldt.
Discovery of a Potential HER2 Inhibitor from Natural Products for the Treatment of HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
Authors: Li Jianzong , Wang Haiyang , Li Junjie , Bao Jinku , Wu Chuanfang
Published: July 2016

Breast cancer is one of the most lethal types of cancer in women worldwide due to the late stage detection and resistance to traditional chemotherapy. The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is considered as a validated target in breast cancer therapy. Even though a substantial effort has been made to develop HER2 inhibitors, only lapatinib has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Side effects were observed in a majority of the patients within one year of treatment initiation. Here, we took advantage of bioinformatics tools to identify novel effective HER2 inhibitors. The structure-based virtual screening combined with ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity) prediction was explored. In total, 11,247 natural compounds were screened. The top hits were evaluated by an in vitro HER2 kinase inhibition assay. The cell proliferation inhibition effect of identified inhibitors was evaluated in HER2-overexpressing SKBR3 and BT474 cell lines. We found that ZINC15122021 showed favorable ADMET properties and attained high binding affinity against HER2. Moreover, ZINC15122021 showed high kinase inhibition activity against HER2 and presented outstanding cell proliferation inhibition activity against both SKBR3 and BT474 cell lines. Results reveal that ZINC15122021 can be a potential HER2 inhibitor.
Increased Efficacy of Brentuximab Vedotin (SGN-35) in Combination with Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells in Lymphoma
Authors: Esser Laura , Weiher Hans , Schmidt-Wolf Ingo
Published: July 2016

Brentuximab vedotin (SGN-35) is an antibody–drug conjugate with a high selectivity against CD30+ cell lines and more than 300-fold less activity against antigen-negative cells. In the last years, the results of many in vitro and in vivo studies have led to the fast approval of this drug to treat lymphoma patients. Another innovative method to treat tumor cells including lymphoma cells is the use cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells, which have also been approved and proven to be a safe treatment with only minor adverse events. In this study, a possible additive effect when combining SGN-35 with CIK cells was investigated. The combinational treatment showed that it reduces the viability of CD30+ cell lines significantly in vitro. Additionally, the amount of lymphoma cells was significantly reduced when exposed to CIK cells as well as when exposed to SGN-35. A significant negative effect of SGN-35 on the function of CIK cells could be excluded. These results lead to the assumption that SGN-35 and CIK cells in combination might achieve better results in an in vitro setting compared to the single use of SGN-35 and CIK cells. Further investigations in in vivo models must be conducted to obtain a better understanding of the exact mechanisms of both treatments when applied in combination.
Effects and Mechanisms of Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound for Chronic Prostatitis and Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome
Authors: Lin Guiting , Reed-Maldonado Amanda , Lin Maofan , Xin Zhongcheng , Lue Tom
Published: July 2016

Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/CPPS) is one of the most common urologic diseases, and no curative treatments have been identified. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) has been successfully used in promoting tissue healing, inhibiting inflammation and pain, differentiating stem cells, and stimulating nerve regeneration/muscle regeneration, as well as enhancing angiogenesis. Very recently, LIPUS has been proven an effective approach for CP/CPPS. This review summarizes the possible mechanisms responsible for the therapeutic effect of LIPUS for CP/CPPS. To search publications relevant to the topics of this review, the search engine for life sciences of Entrez was used. We reviewed the available evidence from 1954 through 2015 concerning LIPUS for CP/CPPS. According to the literature, both transrectal and transperineal approaches of LIPUS are effective for CP/CPPS.
Open Source Laser Polymer Welding System: Design and Characterization of Linear Low-Density Polyethylene Multilayer Welds
Authors: Laureto John , Dessiatoun Serguei , Ohadi Michael , Pearce Joshua
Published: July 2016

The use of lasers to weld polymer sheets provides a means of highly-adaptive and custom additive manufacturing for a wide array of industrial, medical, and end user/consumer applications. This paper provides an open source design for a laser polymer welding system, which can be fabricated with low-cost fused filament fabrication and off-the-shelf mechanical and electrical parts. The system is controlled with free and open source software and firmware. The operation of the machine is validated and the performance of the system is quantified for the mechanical properties (peak load) and weld width of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) lap welds manufactured with the system as a function of linear energy density. The results provide incident laser power and machine parameters that enable both dual (two layers) and multilayer (three layers while welding only two sheets) polymer welded systems. The application of these parameter sets provides users of the open source laser polymer welder with the fundamental requirements to produce mechanically stable LLDPE multi-layer welded products, such as heat exchangers.
A Distributed Learning Method for ℓ 1 -Regularized Kernel Machine over Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Ji Xinrong , Hou Cuiqin , Hou Yibin , Gao Fang , Wang Shulong
Published: July 2016

In wireless sensor networks, centralized learning methods have very high communication costs and energy consumption. These are caused by the need to transmit scattered training examples from various sensor nodes to the central fusion center where a classifier or a regression machine is trained. To reduce the communication cost, a distributed learning method for a kernel machine that incorporates ℓ 1 norm regularization ( ℓ 1 -regularized) is investigated, and a novel distributed learning algorithm for the ℓ 1 -regularized kernel minimum mean squared error (KMSE) machine is proposed. The proposed algorithm relies on in-network processing and a collaboration that transmits the sparse model only between single-hop neighboring nodes. This paper evaluates the proposed algorithm with respect to the prediction accuracy, the sparse rate of model, the communication cost and the number of iterations on synthetic and real datasets. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can obtain approximately the same prediction accuracy as that obtained by the batch learning method. Moreover, it is significantly superior in terms of the sparse rate of model and communication cost, and it can converge with fewer iterations. Finally, an experiment conducted on a wireless sensor network (WSN) test platform further shows the advantages of the proposed algorithm with respect to communication cost.
Collaboration-Centred Cities through Urban Apps Based on Open and User-Generated Data
Authors: Aguilera Unai , López-de-Ipiña Diego , Pérez Jorge
Published: July 2016

This paper describes the IES Cities platform conceived to streamline the development of urban apps that combine heterogeneous datasets provided by diverse entities, namely, government, citizens, sensor infrastructure and other information data sources. This work pursues the challenge of achieving effective citizen collaboration by empowering them to prosume urban data across time. Particularly, this paper focuses on the query mapper; a key component of the IES Cities platform devised to democratize the development of open data-based mobile urban apps. This component allows developers not only to use available data, but also to contribute to existing datasets with the execution of SQL sentences. In addition, the component allows developers to create ad hoc storages for their applications, publishable as new datasets accessible by other consumers. As multiple users could be contributing and using a dataset, our solution also provides a data level permission mechanism to control how the platform manages the access to its datasets. We have evaluated the advantages brought forward by IES Cities from the developers’ perspective by describing an exemplary urban app created on top of it. In addition, we include an evaluation of the main functionalities of the query mapper.
The Integration of the Image Sensor with a 3-DOF Pneumatic Parallel Manipulator
Authors: Lin Hao-Ting , Chiang Mao-Hsiung
Published: July 2016

The study aims to integrate the image sensor for a three-axial pneumatic parallel manipulator which can pick and place objects automatically by the feature information of the image processed through the SURF algorithm. The SURF algorithm is adopted for defining and matching the features of a target object and an object database. In order to accurately mark the center of target and strengthen the feature matching results, the random sample and consensus method (RANSAC) is utilized. The ASUS Xtion Pro Live depth camera which can directly estimate the 3-D location of the target point is used in this study. A set of coordinate estimation calibrations is developed for enhancing the accuracy of target location estimation. This study also presents hand gesture recognition exploiting skin detection and noise elimination to determine the active finger count for input signals of the parallel manipulator. The end-effector of the parallel manipulator can be manipulated to the desired poses according to the measured finger count. Finally, the proposed methods are successfully to achieve the feature recognition and pick and place of the target object.
Characterization of the Deep-Sea Streptomyces sp. SCSIO 02999 Derived VapC/VapB Toxin-Antitoxin System in Escherichia coli
Authors: Guo Yunxue , Yao Jianyun , Sun Chenglong , Wen Zhongling , Wang Xiaoxue
Published: July 2016

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are small genetic elements that are ubiquitous in prokaryotes. Most studies on TA systems have focused on commensal and pathogenic bacteria; yet very few studies have focused on TAs in marine bacteria, especially those isolated from a deep sea environment. Here, we characterized a type II VapC/VapB TA system from the deep-sea derived Streptomyces sp. SCSIO 02999. The VapC (virulence-associated protein) protein belongs to the PIN (PilT N-terminal) superfamily. Overproduction of VapC strongly inhibited cell growth and resulted in a bleb-containing morphology in E. coli. The toxicity of VapC was neutralized through direct protein–protein interaction by a small protein antitoxin VapB encoded by a neighboring gene. Antitoxin VapB alone or the VapB/VapC complex negatively regulated the vapBC promoter activity. We further revealed that three conserved Asp residues in the PIN domain were essential for the toxic effect of VapC. Additionally, the VapC/VapB TA system stabilized plasmid in E. coli. Furthermore, VapC cross-activated transcription of several TA operons via a partially Lon-dependent mechanism in E. coli, and the activated toxins accumulated more preferentially than their antitoxin partners. Collectively, we identified and characterized a new deep sea TA system in the deep sea Streptomyces sp. and demonstrated that the VapC toxin in this system can cross-activate TA operons in E. coli.
Tumor Targeting and Drug Delivery by Anthrax Toxin
Authors: Bachran Christopher , Leppla Stephen
Published: July 2016

Anthrax toxin is a potent tripartite protein toxin from Bacillus anthracis. It is one of the two virulence factors and causes the disease anthrax. The receptor-binding component of the toxin, protective antigen, needs to be cleaved by furin-like proteases to be activated and to deliver the enzymatic moieties lethal factor and edema factor to the cytosol of cells. Alteration of the protease cleavage site allows the activation of the toxin selectively in response to the presence of tumor-associated proteases. This initial idea of re-targeting anthrax toxin to tumor cells was further elaborated in recent years and resulted in the design of many modifications of anthrax toxin, which resulted in successful tumor therapy in animal models. These modifications include the combination of different toxin variants that require activation by two different tumor-associated proteases for increased specificity of toxin activation. The anthrax toxin system has proved to be a versatile system for drug delivery of several enzymatic moieties into cells. This highly efficient delivery system has recently been further modified by introducing ubiquitin as a cytosolic cleavage site into lethal factor fusion proteins. This review article describes the latest developments in this field of tumor targeting and drug delivery.
Relationship between VacA Toxin and Host Cell Autophagy in Helicobacter pylori Infection of the Human Stomach: A Few Answers, Many Questions
Authors: Ricci Vittorio
Published: July 2016

Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative bacterium that colonizes the stomach of about half the global population and represents the greatest risk factor for gastric malignancy. The relevance of H. pylori for gastric cancer development is equivalent to that of tobacco smoking for lung cancer. VacA toxin seems to play a pivotal role in the overall strategy of H. pylori towards achieving persistent gastric colonization. This strategy appears to involve the modulation of host cell autophagy. After an overview of autophagy and its role in infection and carcinogenesis, I critically review current knowledge about the action of VacA on host cell autophagy during H. pylori infection of the human stomach. Although VacA is a key player in modulation of H. pylori-induced autophagy, a few discrepancies in the data are also evident and many questions remain to be answered. We are thus still far from a definitive understanding of the molecular mechanisms through which VacA affects autophagy and the consequences of this toxin action on the overall pathogenic activity of H. pylori.
OUTLIER DETECTION METHOD USE FOR THE NETWORK FLOW ANOMALY DETECTION / IŠSKIRČIŲ RADIMO METODŲ TAIKYMAS ANOMALIJOMS KOMPIUTERIŲ TINKLO PAKETŲ SRAUTUOSE APTIKTI
Authors: Ciplinskas Rimas , Paulauskas Nerijus
Published: July 2016

New and existing methods of cyber-attack detection are constantly being developed and improved because there is a great number of attacks and the demand to protect from them. In prac-tice, current methods of attack detection operates like antivirus programs, i. e. known attacks signatures are created and attacks are detected by using them. These methods have a drawback – they cannot detect new attacks. As a solution, anomaly detection methods are used. They allow to detect deviations from normal network behaviour that may show a new type of attack. This article introduces a new method that allows to detect network flow anomalies by using local outlier factor algorithm. Accom-plished research allowed to identify groups of features which showed the best results of anomaly flow detection according the highest values of precision, recall and F-measure. Kibernetinių atakų gausa ir įvairovė bei siekis nuo jų apsisaugoti verčia nuolat kurti naujus ir tobulinti jau esamus atakų aptikimo metodus. Kaip rodo praktika, dabartiniai atakų atpažinimo metodai iš esmės veikia pagal antivirusinių programų principą, t.y. sudaromi žinomų atakų šablonai, kuriais remiantis yra aptinkamos atakos, tačiau pagrindinis tokių metodų trūkumas – negalėjimas aptikti naujų, dar nežinomų atakų. Šiai problemai spręsti yra pasitelkiami anomalijų aptikimo metodai, kurie leidžia aptikti nukrypimus nuo normalios tinklo būsenos. Straipsnyje yra pateiktas naujas metodas, leidžiantis aptikti kompiuterių tinklo paketų srauto anomalijas taikant lokalių išskirčių faktorių algoritmą. Atliktas tyrimas leido surasti požymių grupes, kurias taikant anomalūs tinklo srautai yra atpažįstami geriausiai, t. y. pasiekiamos didžiausios tikslumo, atkuriamumo ir F-mato reikšmės.
SELECTION OF ACTIVITIES IN DYNAMIC BUSINESS PROCESS SIMULATION / VEIKLŲ PASIRINKIMAS DINAMINIO VERSLO MODELIO SIMULIACIJOJE
Authors: Rusinaitė Toma , Savickas Titas , Vysockis Tadas , Vasilecas Olegas
Published: July 2016

Maintaining dynamicity of business processes is one of the core issues of today's business as it enables businesses to adapt to constantly changing environment. Upon changing the processes, it is vital to assess possible impact, which is achieved by using simulation of dynamic processes. In order to implement dynamicity in business processes, it is necessary to have an ability to change components of the process (a set of activities, a content of activity, a set of activity sequences, a set of rules, performers and resources) or dynamically select them during execution. This problem attracted attention of researches over the past few years; however, there is no proposed solution, which ensures the business process (BP) dynamicity. This paper proposes and specifies dynamic business process (DBP) simulation model, which satisfies all of the formulated DBP requirements. Šiuolaikiniam verslui svarbu vykdyti procesus dinamiškai, norint laiku prisitaikyti prie besikeičiančios aplinkos. Keičiant procesus reikia įvertinti keitimo pasekmes, o įvertinimui galima naudoti dinaminių procesų imitaciją. Siekiant realizuoti procesų dinamiką, reikia imitacijos metu turėti galimybę keisti proceso komponentus. Problema pritraukia daug dėmesio jau kelerius metus, tačiau vis dar nepasiūlytas sprendimas, kuris užtikrintų verslo proceso dinamiškumą. Šis straipsnis siūlo ir pateikia dinaminio verslo proceso imitacinį modelį, kuris atitinka anksčiau suformuotus dinaminio verslo proceso reikalavimus.
Ledipasvir and Sofosbuvir for HCV Infection in Patients Coinfected with HBV
Authors: Gane Edward J , Hyland Robert H , An Di , Svarovskaia Evguenia S , Brainard Diana , McHutchison John G
Published: July 2016

Background

Currently there are no all-oral treatment regimens for HCV in patients coinfected with HBV. In this pilot study, we evaluated whether ledipasvir and sofosbuvir therapy can suppress HCV infection in patients coinfected with HBV.

Methods

Patients with HBV and genotype-1 HCV received 90 mg ledipasvir and 400 mg sofosbuvir daily for 12 weeks. The efficacy end point was sustained virological response (HCV RNA <15 IU/ml) 12 weeks after the end of treatment.

Results

Of the eight patients enrolled, six (75%) were male, five (63%) were Polynesian, seven (88%) had the CC IL28B genotype and two (25%) had cirrhosis. All eight patients (100%; 95% CI 63%, 100%) reached the primary end point of HCV RNA <15 IU/ml 12 weeks after treatment. In seven of eight patients (88%), serum HBV DNA levels increased during treatment, but none of the increases were greater than 20,000 IU/ml, and none were associated with clinical HBV fares or required treatment. The most common adverse events were viral infection (63%), fatigue (25%) and upper respiratory tract infection (25%). No patients had serious adverse events and none discontinued treatment for any reason.

Conclusions

In this small sample, 12 weeks of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir was a safe and effective treatment for geno-type-1 HCV infection in patients coinfected with HBV. Larger studies with longer follow-up are warranted.
La implantación de las Gotas de Leche en España (1902-1935): un estudio a partir de la prensa histórica
Authors: Muñoz Pradas Francisco
Published: July 2016

Las Gotas de Leche eran instituciones sanitarias que intervinieron en la reducción de la mortalidad infantil en España promoviendo la mejora en la higiene alimentaria de los recién nacidos. Este artículo reconstruye la trayectoria de su implantación hasta la Guerra Civil. Dada la limitada información estadística disponible, se ha empleado como base documental las hemerotecas históricas digitalizadas. El análisis de la misma y de otros estudios permite estimar que el despliegue de esta institución entre 1902 y 1935 involucró, al menos, a 79 localidades. Se establecieron mayoritariamente en capitales de provincia, en todas las regiones, incluido el protectorado español en Marruecos. Antes de 1936 tuvo lugar una secuencia completa de expansión y estabilización en la apertura de estos centros. La creación de Gotas de Leche parece que respondió más a la influencia de las instituciones médicas y benéficas existentes en una localidad que a los niveles de mortalidad infantil. El examen de las noticias de prensa muestra como la creación de una Gota de Leche no acostumbró a ser fruto de un proceso de decisión ágil ejecutado rápidamente. La gestión tampoco estuvo exenta de dificultades. Una parte relevante de las mismas eran de origen financiero o derivadas de una mayor demanda de sus servicios.
Terapéutica para tratar el cólera en Yucatán, México (1833-1853). Medicina fisiológica, herbolaria local y régimen moral
Authors: Peniche Moreno Paola
Published: July 2016

Este artículo analiza los pilares que sostuvieron la práctica terapéutica en Yucatán para tratar a los enfermos de cólera durante los brotes registrados antes del descubrimiento de su etiología bacteriana, uno en 1833 y otro en 1853. Debido en parte a una importante evolución del pensamiento médico-científico y a la divulgación de los principios del positivismo, en esta época se vivió un profundo proceso de transformación que significó, entre otras cosas, nuevas percepciones sobre la enfermedad y esquemas distintos a los coloniales para afrontar las emergencias y procurar la salud pública. Sin embargo, ante la falta de consensos en cuanto al origen del cólera y sus medios de propagación, el gobierno estatal promovió la difusión de diferentes técnicas terapéuticas empleadas en Europa o Estados Unidos, que se sumaron al conocimiento local respecto al empleo medicinal de la herbolaria, retomando también antiguas ideas sobre la incidencia de las conductas morales individuales en la propensión al contagio y eventualmente a la muerte.
Los pacientes del Manicomio La Castañeda y sus diagnósticos. Una propuesta desde la historia cuantitativa (México, 1910-1968)
Authors: Ríos Molina Andrés , Sacristán Cristina , Ordorika Sacristán Teresa , López Carrillo Ximena
Published: July 2016

El Manicomio General La Castañeda, fundado en la Ciudad de México, albergó a 61.480 pacientes entre 1910 y 1968. El objetivo de este artículo es presentar un panorama general de la población que ingresó a esta institución y los diagnósticos que recibieron los internos, análisis realizado a partir de una base de datos construida con una muestra de 20% de la población total. El artículo se divide en tres partes: en la primera, proponemos tres etapas para comprender la historia de La Castañeda cuya periodización es definida por cambios demográficos que coinciden con reformas administrativas; en la segunda, exponemos las características generales de la población psiquiátrica de La Castañeda; y finalmente, describimos los principales cambios demográficos, los cuales obedecieron a factores socio-políticos, innovaciones tecnológicas y transformaciones en la clínica. Como características principales de la población de La Castañeda tenemos la brevedad del encierro (18 meses en promedio) y la reducida mortalidad (23.8%) en comparación con otras instituciones del mismo tipo. En dicha circulación poblacional encontramos que las familias desempeñaron un papel determinante al asumir el cuidado de sus parientes locos. Así, el encierro prolongado de pacientes crónicos no fue un problema que aquejara al Manicomio General de forma tan severa como se ha creído.
Evolución de las políticas de rehabilitación en Áreas de Rehabilitación Integrada en España (1978-2012)
Authors: Hernández Aja A. , Matesanz Parellada Á. , Rodríguez-Suárez I. , García Madruga C.
Published: July 2016

El artículo estudia la evolución de las políticas de intervención en Áreas de Rehabilitación Integral (ARI) desarrolladas en España entre 1978 y 2012. Se analiza la aparición y consolidación del concepto en la política estatal de vivienda, desde el Real Decreto 3148/1978 hasta el Plan de Vivienda 2009-2012. Por otro lado se analiza la «integralidad» de las intervenciones en áreas urbanas, mediante el estudio de veinte casos representativos, entendiendo como integral aquella intervención que actúa en la ordenación urbana, el diseño urbano y el medioambiente local, la edificación y la dimensión socioeconómica. El trabajo procede de un estudio realizado para el Ministerio de Fomento mediante convenio suscrito con el Departamento de Urbanística y Ordenación del Territorio (ETSAM, UPM) para el Análisis de las políticas estatales y europeas en materia de regeneración urbana y rehabilitación de barrios.
Les dessous de la ville créative : Saint-Etienne, entre modèles théoriques et pratique
Authors: Sechi Giovanni
Published: July 2016

Pourquoi les gouvernements locaux choisissent-ils la culture et la créativité pour développer leurs villes ? Comment traduisent-ils empiriquement les modèles du développement par l’économie culturelle en politiques et projets ? La convergence des politiques de renouvellement urbain par la culture et la créativité s’inspire de « bonnes pratiques » : construction de bâtiments emblématiques, attraction de la classe créative, création de quartiers créatifs, etc. Ces opérations renvoient à différentes approches théoriques qui répondent à des principes et logiques différentes : le modèle de la classe créative, le modèle conventionnel, le modèle du cluster culturel, etc. L’étude du cas de Saint-Étienne nous montre que les villes ont tendance à adopter et articuler des modèles de développement par l’économie culturelle, réunis sous la notion de ville créative, pour des objectifs de développement conventionnels.
Synthesis and Characterization of Green Tea Stabilized Iron Nanocatalysts for Brymothymol Blue (BTB) Degradation
Authors: Katithi David Mutuku , Michira Immaculate N. , Guto Peterson M. , Baker Priscilla Gloria Lorraine , Kamau Geoffrey N. , Iwuoha Emmanuel Iheanyichukwu
Published: July 2016

Iron nanoparticles (FeNPs) were prepared from the green tea extracts at different temperatures through green synthesis procedure and characterized by various physicochemical techniques like UV-Visible spectroscopy, FTIR Spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), X-ray diffraction and high resolution tunneling microscopy (HRTEM) and the results confirmed the synthesis of polydisperse and stable FeNPs by the tea extracts. The catalytic activity of FeNPs was investigated using a common environmental pollutant BTB often used in textile industries for dyeing purposes. In these tests, catalytic degradation of BTB with FeNPs at a 10 μL or 30 μL concentration was done in the presence of 2% hydrogen peroxide. Results show no BTB degradation in the absence of the FeNPs. However, a 38% and 68% degradation of BTB was realized in the presence of 10μL and 30 μL FeNPs respectively indicating that the iron nanocatalysts were responsible for the dye degradation. The BTB degradation kinetics was found to follow pseudo-first order kinetics with rate constants at the two catalyst concentrations being 0.023 min-1 and 0.063 min-1 respectively.
Size Dependence Adsorption of Hydrogen on Cobalt Clusters: A DFT Study
Authors: Nakhaei Pour Ali , Karimi Javad , Keyvanloo Zahra , Hashemian Mohamadreza
Published: July 2016

Density functional theory was used to investigate the effect of size on the adsorption state of hydrogen atom on small cobalt particles. For this propose, we have performed series of DFT-GGA calculations on various sizes of Co clusters, between 4 and 24 atoms, and a Co FCC (100) slab, with and without hydrogen atom adsorbate. The results showed that the destabilization and the cohesive energies per atom in a metal cluster are represented as linear function of the surface-to-volume ratio of the metal clusters. In addition, the energy of the HOMO–LUMO gap from 4s and 3d valence orbitals of the cobalt atoms in the cluster is decreased with increasing in cobalt cluster size, which is size dependent parameter. We have studied the effect of the size of Co clusters and the infinite Co (100) surface, on the energy of adsorption of hydrogen atom. The calculated Eads for hydrogen atom in our considered cobalt clusters showed decreasing behavior with increasing of the number of atoms in cluster.
The Current Research Status of PLGA as Drug and Gene Carrier
Authors: Wu Ji Wei , Li Guo Hua , Cui Shu Qin , Wang Jing He , Gu Xiang Ling , Dong Ping Xuan , Sun Han Wen , Fu Chun Hua
Published: July 2016

PLGA, poly (lactic-co-glycolic-acid), is a kind of biodegradable functional macromolecular organic compounds. PLGA, certified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), possesses desirable features of biocompatibility, nontoxicity and no immune response, and is being widely applied to human clinical medical research. Because of its biodegradability, simple synthetic methods, controllability of degrading rate and desirable plasticity, PLGA was applied in large quantity into the carrier materials which is to control the release in recent years, gradually propelling PLGA microsphere controlled release system to be the most ideal drug-carrier system at present. As the carrier of drug and genes, PLGA is mainly researched on its features as the carrier, synthetic methods, different surface modification methods, and the applications on different drugs, genetic treatments and genetic vaccines.