bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A holstein cow–calf model for the transfer of ciprofloxacin through milk after a long‐term intravenous infusion
Authors: Chiesa O. A. , Idowu O. R. , Heller D. , Smith M. , Nochetto C. , Chamberlain P. L. , Gehring R. , von Bredow J.
Published: October 2012

This study is part of an ongoing effort to develop animal models that provide milk and sufficient infant (offspring) plasma samples to fully describe a drug's pharmacokinetics to quantitate the risk to the nursing infant. Ciprofloxacin was administered to six healthy Holstein cows as a constant rate intravenous infusion (flow rate was weight adjusted) to achieve a steady‐state concentration of approximately 300 ng/mL for 7 days. Plasma and milk samples were collected from the cow at regular intervals over the course of the 7 days. The plasma and milk samples were analyzed for ciprofloxacin by high‐performance liquid chromatography. The milk was fed to calves, and calf plasma samples were analyzed to study the lactational transfer of ciprofloxacin from dam to nursing neonate. Remarkably, concentrations of ciprofloxacin in milk were 45 times higher than plasma drug concentrations in the dam. Approximately 6% of the administered dose was transferred to the milk, resulting in an average oral dose of 0.5 mg/kg to the calves with every feeding. The drug did not accumulate in the calves, and plasma concentrations were between one‐tenth and one‐fifth the plasma concentrations of the dam.
Sequencing of two novel HLA‐A*29 alleles, A*29:39 and A*29:40
Authors: Santos S. , Balas A. , García‐Sánchez F. , Vesga M. A. , Vicario J. L.
Published: October 2012

A*29:39 differs from A*29:02:01 by three clustered amino acid replacements at α1 domain, T73>I73, A76>V76 and N77>D77. A*29:40 shows one nucleotide difference regarding A*29:02:01 allele, resulting in one amino acid substitution at position 154, E154>G154.
Kinematic Analysis of Epicyclic Bevel Gear Trains With Matroid Method
Authors: Talpasanu Ilie , Simionescu P. A.
Published: October 2012

The paper presents a novel technique for the kinematic analysis of bevel gear trains using the incidence matrices of an edge-oriented graph of the mechanism. The kinematic equations are then obtained in matrix form using a cycle basis from a cycle matroid. These equations can be systematically generated, and allow for an efficient computation of the angular velocities of the gears and planet carriers of the mechanism without employing time derivative operations. As illustrated in the paper, the method is applicable to bevel gear trains of any number of gears or degrees of freedom.
Shape Design From Exemplar Sketches Using Graph-Based Sketch Analysis
Authors: Orbay Günay , Burak Kara Levent
Published: October 2012

We describe a new technique that works from a set of concept sketches to support the exploration and engineering of products. Our approach allows the capture and reuse of geometric shape information contained in concept sketches, as a means to generate solutions that can concurrently satisfy aesthetic and functional requirements. At the heart of our approach is a graph-based representation of sketches that allows the determination of topological and geometric similarities in the input sketches. This analysis, when combined with a geometric deformation analysis, results in a design space from which new shapes can be synthesized, or a developing design can be optimized to satisfy prescribed objectives. Moreover, it facilitates a sketch-based, interactive editing of existing designs that preserves the shape characteristics captured in the design space. A key advantage of the proposed method is that shape features common to all sketches as well as those unique to each sketch can be separately identified, thus allowing a mixing of different sketches to generate a topologically and geometrically rich set of conceptual alternatives. We demonstrate our technique with 2D and 3D examples.
A Market-Based Design Strategy for a Universal Product Family
Authors: Ki Moon Seung , McAdams Daniel A.
Published: October 2012

Companies that generate a variety of products and services are creating, and increasing research on, mass-customized products in order to satisfy customers’ specific needs. Currently, the majority of effort is focused on consumers who are without disabilities. The research presented here is motivated by the need to provide a basis of product design methods for users with some disability—often called universal design (UD). Product family design is a way to achieve cost-effective mass customization by allowing highly differentiated products serving distinct market segments to be developed from a common platform. By extending concepts from product family design and mass customization to universal design, we propose a method for developing and evaluating a universal product family within uncertain market environments. We will model design strategies for a universal product family as a market economy where product family platform configurations are generated through market segments based on a product platform and customers’ preferences. A coalitional game is employed to evaluate which design strategies provide more benefit when included in the platform based on the marginal profit contribution of each strategy. To demonstrate an implementation of the proposed method, we use a case study involving a family of light-duty trucks.
Symmetric–asymmetric transformation of an image on GaAs(001)-c(4 × 4)α surface using scanning tunneling microscopy
Authors: Yagyu Kazuma , Kaku Shigeru , Yoshino Junji
Published: October 2012

Many studies have observed a clean GaAs(001)-c(4 × 4) surface using scanning tunneling microscopy. These studies have reported the observation of an asymmetric pattern formed from three asymmetric Ga–As dimers. In this study, however, a symmetric pattern was also observed depending on the applied bias voltage. These symmetric (asymmetric) patterns were observed at positive (negative) sample biases.
Analysis and comparison of two methods for motion correction in PET imaging
Authors: Polycarpou I. , Tsoumpas C. , Marsden P. K.
Published: October 2012

Purpose:

Although there have been various proposed methods for positron emission tomography (PET) motion correction, there is not sufficient evidence to answer which method is better in practice. This investigation aims to characterize the behavior of the two main motion‐correction approaches in terms of convergence and image properties.

Methods:

For the first method, reconstruct‐transform‐average (RTA), reconstructions of each gate are transformed to a reference gate and averaged. In the second method, motion‐compensated image reconstruction (MCIR), motion information is incorporated within the reconstruction. Both techniques studied were based on the ordered subsets expectation maximization algorithm. Motion information was obtained from a dynamic MR acquisition performed on a human volunteer and concurrent PET data were simulated from the dynamic MR data. The two approaches were assessed statistically using multiple realizations to accurately define the noise properties of the reconstructed images.

Results:

MCIR successfully recovers the true values of all regions, whereas RTA has high bias due to the limited count‐statistics and interpolation errors during the transformation step. In addition, RTA noise is very small and stabilized, whereas in MCIR noise becomes progressively greater with the number of iterations and therefore MCIR outperforms RTA in terms of MSE only if noise is treated. For example, MCIR with postfiltering results in MSE up to 42% lower than RTA.

Conclusions:

This study indicates that MCIR may provide superior performance overall to RTA if noise is minimized. However, in applications where quantification is not the main objective RTA can be a practical and simple method to correct for motion.
Definition of parameters for quality assurance of flattening filter free (FFF) photon beams in radiation therapy
Authors: Fogliata A. , Garcia R. , Knöös T. , Nicolini G. , Clivio A. , Vanetti E. , Khamphan C. , Cozzi L.
Published: October 2012

Purpose

: Flattening filter free (FFF) beams generated by medical linear accelerators have recently started to be used in radiotherapy clinical practice. Such beams present fundamental differences with respect to the standard filter flattened (FF) beams, making the generally used dosimetric parameters and definitions not always viable. The present study will propose possible definitions and suggestions for some dosimetric parameters for use in quality assurance of FFF beams generated by medical linacs in radiotherapy.

Methods

: The main characteristics of the photon beams have been analyzed using specific data generated by a Varian TrueBeam linac having both FFF and FF beams of 6 and 10 MV energy, respectively.

Results

: Definitions for dose profile parameters are suggested starting from the renormalization of the FFF with respect to the corresponding FF beam. From this point the flatness concept has been translated into one of “unflatness” and other definitions have been proposed, maintaining a strict parallelism between FFF and FF parameter concepts.

Conclusions

: Ideas for quality controls used in establishing a quality assurance program when introducing FFF beams into the clinical environment are given here, keeping them similar to those used for standard FF beams. By following the suggestions in this report, the authors foresee that the introduction of FFF beams into a clinical radiotherapy environment will be as safe and well controlled as standard beam modalities using the existing guidelines.
Acoustic radiation force on a spherical particle in a fluid-filled cavity
Authors: Zhuk Aleksandr P. , Kubenko Veniamin D. , Zhuk Yaroslav A.
Published: October 2012

The acoustic pressure and radiation force acting on the spherical rigid particle located in a fluid-filled cylindrical vessel are determined as a function of the primary wave frequency making use of the solution of a problem of plane harmonic wave scattering on a spherical body. The problem is solved by the variables separation method. To satisfy the boundary conditions on cylindrical and spherical surfaces, the mutual expansions of spherical wave functions over the cylindrical ones and vice versa are used. Required constants in the solution are calculated from an infinite system of algebraic equations which is solved by a truncation method. It is established that the value of the radiation force is affected significantly by the presence of the cylindrical boundary surface. Depending on the frequency of the incident wave, the radiation force can change its direction. It is established that there are peak values of the force at some discrete values of the frequency. The mentioned peculiarities can stipulate specific localization effects and influence the motion of the particles in the cylindrical cavity under the influence of an acoustic wave.
Fourier continuation methods for high-fidelity simulation of nonlinear acoustic beams
Authors: Albin Nathan , Bruno Oscar P. , Cheung Theresa Y. , Cleveland Robin O.
Published: October 2012

On the basis of recently developed Fourier continuation (FC) methods and associated efficient parallelization techniques, this text introduces numerical algorithms that, due to very low dispersive errors, can accurately and efficiently solve the types of nonlinear partial differential equation (PDE) models of nonlinear acoustics in hundred-wavelength domains as arise in the simulation of focused medical ultrasound. As demonstrated in the examples presented in this text, the FC approach can be used to produce solutions to nonlinear acoustics PDEs models with significantly reduced discretization requirements over those associated with finite-difference, finite-element and finite-volume methods, especially in cases involving waves that travel distances that are orders of magnitude longer than their respective wavelengths. In these examples, the FC methodology is shown to lead to improvements in computing times by factors of hundreds and even thousands over those required by the standard approaches. A variety of one-and two-dimensional examples presented in this text demonstrate the power and capabilities of the proposed methodology, including an example containing a number of scattering centers and nonlinear multiple-scattering events.
Analysis of equivalent anisotropy arising from dual isotropic layers of acoustic media
Authors: Cai Liang-Wu , Sánchez-Dehesa José
Published: October 2012

The equivalence between a single mass-anisotropic layer and two isotropic layers is analyzed by studying two systems: one consists of an anisotropic layer sandwiched between two arbitrarily chosen isotropic media; and the other consists of two isotropic layers, of a total thickness equal to that of the anisotropic layer, sandwiched between the same pair of isotropic media. The equivalence is established by matching the transmission and reflection coefficients of the two systems for an arbitrarily chosen incident angle. The first-order equivalence leads to exactly the same set of relations as often quoted in the literature. However, it was concluded that a full second-order equivalence is not possible unless the incident is normal to the surface, or the materials are isotropic. One of the requirements for the second-order equivalence is that the two isotropic layers must have their impedances matched. Together with the first order equivalence requirements, this gives a complete set of conditions for determining all the materials properties of the two isotropic layers. On the other hand, the unattainable full second-order equivalence can be alleviated by a proper placement of layers: by placing the heavier layer adjacent to the medium of greater acoustic impedance. Numerical examples show that this remedy in fact is more important than following the partial requirement for the second order equivalence when the equivalent isotropic layers are used in acoustic cloaking applications.
Scaling of membrane-type locally resonant acoustic metamaterial arrays
Authors: Naify Christina J. , Chang Chia-Ming , McKnight Geoffrey , Nutt Steven R.
Published: October 2012

Metamaterials have emerged as promising solutions for manipulation of sound waves in a variety of applications. Locally resonant acoustic materials (LRAM) decrease sound transmission by 500% over acoustic mass law predictions at peak transmission loss (TL) frequencies with minimal added mass, making them appealing for weight-critical applications such as aerospace structures. In this study, potential issues associated with scale-up of the structure are addressed. TL of single-celled and multi-celled LRAM was measured using an impedance tube setup with systematic variation in geometric parameters to understand the effects of each parameter on acoustic response. Finite element analysis was performed to predict TL as a function of frequency for structures with varying complexity, including stacked structures and multi-celled arrays. Dynamic response of the array structures under discrete frequency excitation was investigated using laser vibrometry to verify negative dynamic mass behavior.
Temporal processing of low-frequency sounds by seals (L)
Authors: Reichmuth Colleen , Ghoul Asila , Southall Brandon L.
Published: October 2012

In a recent study, Kastelein et al. [(2010) J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 127, 1135–1145] reported auditory integration times for harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) exceeding 3000 ms for 200 Hz tonal signals. This finding is unexpected and potentially significant given that time constants measured in mammals for tones above 1 kHz are typically less than 500 ms. To further explore this result, the hearing of another harbor seal was measured in air and water for 200 Hz tones with durations of 500 and 2500 ms. Threshold comparisons, as well as reaction time measures, revealed no gain in audibility as signal duration increased above 500 ms.
A stochastic response surface formulation for the description of acoustic propagation through an uncertain internal wave field
Authors: Gerdes Frank , Finette Steven
Published: October 2012

A modeling and simulation study is performed in a littoral ocean waveguide subject to uncertainty in four quantities: source depth, tidal forcing, initial thermocline structure, and sediment sound speed. In this partially known shelf-break environment, tidal forcing over a density-stratified water column produces internal tides and solitary wave packets. The resulting uncertainty in the space-time oceanographic field is mapped into the sound speed distribution which, in turn, introduces uncertainty into the acoustic wave field. The latter is treated as a stochastic field whose intensity is described by a polynomial chaos expansion. The expansion coefficients are estimated through constrained multivariate linear regression, and an analysis of the chaos coefficients provides insight into the relative contribution of the uncertain acoustic and oceanographic quantities. Histograms of acoustic intensity are estimated and compared to a reference solution obtained through Latin Hypercube sampling. A sensitivity analysis is performed to illustrate the relative importance of the four contributions of incomplete information about the environment. The simulation methodology represents an end-to-end analysis approach including both oceanographic and acoustic field uncertainty where the latter is quantified using stochastic basis expansions in the form of a polynomial chaos representation.
Reconstruction of nonstationary sound fields based on the time domain plane wave superposition method
Authors: Zhang Xiao-Zheng , Thomas Jean-Hugh , Bi Chuan-Xing , Pascal Jean-Claude
Published: October 2012

A time-domain plane wave superposition method is proposed to reconstruct nonstationary sound fields. In this method, the sound field is expressed as a superposition of time convolutions between the estimated time-wavenumber spectrum of the sound pressure on a virtual source plane and the time-domain propagation kernel at each wavenumber. By discretizing the time convolutions directly, the reconstruction can be carried out iteratively in the time domain, thus providing the advantage of continuously reconstructing time-dependent pressure signals. In the reconstruction process, the Tikhonov regularization is introduced at each time step to obtain a relevant estimate of the time-wavenumber spectrum on the virtual source plane. Because the double infinite integral of the two-dimensional spatial Fourier transform is discretized directly in the wavenumber domain in the proposed method, it does not need to perform the two-dimensional spatial fast Fourier transform that is generally used in time domain holography and real-time near-field acoustic holography, and therefore it avoids some errors associated with the two-dimensional spatial fast Fourier transform in theory and makes possible to use an irregular microphone array. The feasibility of the proposed method is demonstrated by numerical simulations and an experiment with two speakers.
The prediction of flanking sound transmission below the critical frequency
Authors: Davy John L. , Mahn Jeffrey P. , Guigou-Carter Catherine , Villot Michel
Published: October 2012

Although reliable methods exist to predict the apparent sound reduction index of heavy, homogeneous isotopic building constructions, these methods are not appropriate for use with lightweight building constructions which typically have critical frequencies in or above the frequency range of interest. Three main methods have been proposed for extending the prediction of flanking sound transmission to frequencies below the critical frequency. The first method is the direct prediction which draws on a database of measurements of the flanking transmission of individual flanking paths. The second method would be a modification of the method in existing standards. This method requires the calculation of the resonant sound transmission factors. However, most of the approaches proposed to calculate the resonant sound transmission factor work only for the case of single leaf homogeneous isotropic building elements and therefore are not readily applicable to complex building elements. The third method is the measurement or prediction of the resonant radiation efficiency and the airborne diffuse field excited radiation efficiency which includes both the resonant and the non-resonant radiation efficiencies. The third method can currently deal with complex building elements if the radiation efficiencies can be measured or predicted. This paper examines these prediction methods.
Auditory global-local processing: Effects of attention and musical experience
Authors: Ouimet Tia , Foster Nicholas E.V. , Hyde Krista L.
Published: October 2012

In vision, global (whole) features are typically processed before local (detail) features (“global precedence effect”). However, the distinction between global and local processing is less clear in the auditory domain. The aims of the present study were to investigate: (i) the effects of directed versus divided attention, and (ii) the effect musical training on auditory global-local processing in 16 adult musicians and 16 non-musicians. Participants were presented with short nine-tone melodies, each comprised of three triplet sequences (three-tone units). In a “directed attention” task, participants were asked to focus on either the global or local pitch pattern and had to determine if the pitch pattern went up or down. In a “divided attention” task, participants judged whether the target pattern (up or down) was present or absent. Overall, global structure was perceived faster and more accurately than local structure. The global precedence effect was observed regardless of whether attention was directed to a specific level or divided between levels. Musicians performed more accurately than non-musicians overall, but non-musicians showed a more pronounced global advantage. This study provides evidence for an auditory global precedence effect across attention tasks, and for differences in auditory global-local processing associated with musical experience.
Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) song occurrence at American Samoa in long-term passive acoustic recordings, 2008–2009
Authors: Munger Lisa M. , Lammers Marc O. , Fisher-Pool Pollyanna , Wong Kevin
Published: October 2012

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) wintering in American Samoan waters belong to the endangered Oceania subpopulation (IUCN Red List), but survey effort in this region has been relatively limited. Humpback whale seasonal occurrence was assessed using long-term passive acoustic recordings from March 2008 to July 2009 at Tutuila, the most populous island of American Samoa, and October 2008 to September 2009 at the remote Rose Atoll, 240 km to the east. Humpback whale song occurred from mid-July through November at both locations. For days with song, the mean number of recordings per day with song was significantly greater at Tutuila than at Rose Atoll. Song incidence at Rose Atoll peaked at 82% of recordings/day in late September 2008, and at Tutuila 70–100 % of recordings contained song in late August through early September 2009, when recording ceased. Song incidence at Rose Atoll decreased at midday and increased at midnight, whereas there was no significant diurnal pattern at Tutuila. The lower overall incidence of song and its episodic nature at Rose Atoll suggest lower densities of whales traveling through the likely smaller detection area there, whereas greater song incidence and longer peak periods at Tutuila suggest greater whale densities and longer residence times.
Development and perceptual assessment of a synthesizer of disordered voices
Authors: Fraj Samia , Schoentgen Jean , Grenez Francis
Published: October 2012

A synthesizer is based on a nonlinear wave-shaping model of the glottal area, an algebraic model of the glottal aerodynamics as well as concatenated-tube models of the trachea and vocal tract. Voice disorders are simulated by way of models of vocal frequency jitter and tremor, vocal amplitude shimmer and tremor, as well as pulsatile additive noise. Six experiments have been carried out to assess the synthesizer perceptually. Three experiments involve the perceptual categorization of male synthetic and human stimuli and one the auditory discrimination between synthetic and human tokens. A fifth experiment reports the auditory discrimination between synthetic tokens with different levels of additive and modulation noise. A sixth experiment reports the scoring by expert listeners of male synthetic stimuli on equal-appearing interval scales grade-roughness-breathiness (GRB). A first objective is to demonstrate the ability of the synthesizer to simulate vowel sounds that are valid exemplars of speech sounds produced by humans with voice disorders. A second objective is to learn how human expert raters perceptually map vocal frequency, additive and modulation noise as well as vowel categories into scores on GRB scales.
Characterization of speech understanding in various types of noise
Authors: Wong Lena L. N. , Ng Elaine H. N. , Soli Sigfrid D.
Published: October 2012

This study examined (1) the effects of noise on speech understanding and (2) whether performance in real-life noises could be predicted based on performance in steady-state speech-spectrum-shaped noise. The noise conditions included a steady-state speech-spectrum-shaped noise and six types of real-life noise. Thirty normal-hearing adults were tested using sentence materials from the Cantonese Hearing In Noise Test (CHINT). To achieve the first aim, the performance–intensity function slopes in these noise conditions were estimated and compared. Variations in performance–intensity function slopes were attributed to differences in the amount of amplitude fluctuations and the presence of competing background speech. How well the data obtained in real-life noises fit the performance–intensity functions obtained in steady-state speech-spectrum-shaped noises was examined for the second aim of the study. Four out of six types of noise yielded performance–intensity function slopes similar to that in steady-state speech-spectrum-shaped noise. After accounting for individual differences in sentence reception threshold (SRT) and the offset between the signal-to-noise ratio for 50% intelligibility across different types of noise, performance in steady-state speech-spectrum-shaped noise was found to predict well the performance in most of the real-life noise conditions.
Rho GEFs and Cancer: Linking Gene Expression and Metastatic Dissemination
Authors: Barrio-Real Laura , Kazanietz Marcelo G.
Published: October 2012

The guanine exchange factors Vav2 and Vav3 regulate gene expression to promote the metastasis of breast tumors to the lung.
HCN1 Channels: A New Therapeutic Target for Depressive Disorders?
Authors: Shah Mala M.
Published: October 2012

Reduced function of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channels alleviates depressive-like behavior in rodents.
Patterning Villi
Authors: Wong Wei
Published: October 2012

Hedgehog signaling in mesenchymal cell clusters dictates formation of villi from the intestinal epithelium.
ROCK Mediates Leptin Signaling
Authors: Foley John F.
Published: October 2012

Mice lacking Rho-associated kinase have impaired sensitivity to the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin.
The Battlefield of Rare Diseases: Where Uncommon Insights Are Common
Authors: Gahl William A.
Published: October 2012

The study of rare diseases reveals important insights about normal physiology and the pathogenesis of common disorders, pointing the way to new therapeutic options.
Eosinophilic Pneumonias
Authors: Akuthota Praveen , Weller Peter F.
Published: October 2012

This review starts with discussions of several infectious causes of eosinophilic pneumonia, which are almost exclusively parasitic in nature. Pulmonary infections due specifically to
Ascaris
, hookworms,
Strongyloides
,
Paragonimus
, filariasis, and
Toxocara
are considered in detail. The discussion then moves to noninfectious causes of eosinophilic pulmonary infiltration, including allergic sensitization to
Aspergillus
, acute and chronic eosinophilic pneumonias, Churg-Strauss syndrome, hypereosinophilic syndromes, and pulmonary eosinophilia due to exposure to specific medications or toxins.
MIC1-MAG1-SAG1 Chimeric Protein, a Most Effective Antigen for Detection of Human Toxoplasmosis
Authors: Holec-Gąsior Lucyna , Ferra Bartłomiej , Drapała Dorota
Published: October 2012

This study describes aToxoplasma gondiiIgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on a new chimeric antigen containing three immunodominant regions from the MIC1, MAG1, and SAG1 proteins of the parasite and shows that this test is useful for diagnostic purposes and may replace the lysed and whole-cell antigens.
In VitroSusceptibilities of Yeast Species to Fluconazole and Voriconazole as Determined by the 2010 National China Hospital Invasive Fungal Surveillance Net (CHIF-NET) Study
Authors: Wang He , Xiao Meng , Chen Sharon C.-A. , Kong Fanrong , Sun Zi-Yong , Liao Kang , Lu Juan , Shao Hai-Feng , Yan Yan , Fan Hong , Hu Zhi-Dong , Chu Yun-Zhuo , Hu Tie-Shi , Ni Yu-Xing , Zou Gui-Ling , Xu Ying-Chun
Published: October 2012

We conducted active, laboratory-based surveillance for isolates from patients with invasive infections across China from August 2009 to July 2010. DNA sequencing methods were used to define species, and susceptibility to fluconazole and voriconazole was determined by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute M44-A2 disk diffusion method but using up-to-date clinical breakpoints or epidemiological cutoff values.Candidaspp. made up 90.5% of the 814 yeast strains isolated, followed byCryptococcus neoformans(7.7%) and other non-Candidayeast strains (1.7%). Bloodstream isolates made up 42.9% of the strains, isolates from ascitic fluid made up 22.1%, but pus/tissue specimens yielded yeast strains in <5% of the cases. Among theCandidaisolates,Candida albicanswas the most common species from specimens other than blood (50.1%) but made up only 23% of the bloodstream isolates (P< 0.001).C. parapsilosiscomplex species were the most commonCandidaisolates from blood (33.2%). Uncommon bloodstream yeast strains includedTrichosporonspp.,C. pelliculosa, and the novel speciesC. quercitrusa, reported for the first time as a cause of candidemia. Most (>94%) of the isolates ofC. albicans,C. tropicalis, and theC. parapsilosiscomplex were susceptible to fluconazole and voriconazole, as were all of theTrichosporonstrains; however, 12.2% of theC. glabrata sensu strictoisolates were fluconazole resistant and 17.8% had non-wild-type susceptibility to voriconazole. SevenC. tropicalisstrains were cross-resistant to fluconazole and voriconazole; six were from patients in the same institution. Resistance to fluconazole and voriconazole was seen in 31.9% and 13.3% of the uncommonCandidaand non-Candidayeast strains, respectively. Causative species and azole susceptibility varied with the geographic region. This study provided clinically useful data on yeast strains and their antifungal susceptibilities in China.
A Novel Method for Genotyping the
Helicobacter pylori vacA
Intermediate Region Directly in Gastric Biopsy Specimens
Authors: Ferreira Rui M. , Machado Jose C. , Letley Darren , Atherton John C. , Pardo Maria L. , Gonzalez Carlos A. , Carneiro Fatima , Figueiredo Ceu
Published: October 2012

The present report describes a novel method for genotyping the virulence-associated
vacA
intermediate (i) region of
Helicobacter pylori
in archive material.
vacA
i-region genotypes as determined by the novel method were completely concordant with those of sequence analysis and with those of functional vacuolation activity. The method was further validated directly in gastric biopsy specimens of 386
H. pylori
-positive cases, and effective characterization of the
vacA
i region was obtained in 191 of 192 (99.5%) frozen and in 186 of 194 (95.9%) formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded gastric biopsy specimens, respectively. The genotyping method was next used to address the relationship between the
vacA
genotypes and the
cagA
status. The
vacA
i1 genotype was associated with
vacA
s1 (where s indicates signal region),
vacA
m1 (where m indicates middle region), and
cagA
-positive genotypes (
P
< 0.0001), while the
vacA
i2 genotype was closely related with
vacA
s2,
vacA
m2, and
cagA
-negative genotypes (
P
< 0.0001). The relationship between
H. pylori vacA
i-region genotypes and gastric disease development was subsequently evaluated in the Portuguese population. Patients infected with
vacA
i1 strains showed an increased risk for gastric atrophy and for gastric carcinoma, with odds ratios of 8.0 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.3 to 27) and of 22 (95% CI, 7.9 to 63), respectively. Taken together, the results show that this novel
H. pylori vacA
i-region genotyping method can be applied directly to archive material, providing a fast evaluation of strain virulence determinants without the need of culture. The results further emphasize that the characterization of the
vacA
i region may be useful to identify patients at higher risk of gastric carcinoma development.
Does low-dose acetylsalicylic acid prevent cognitive decline in women with high cardiovascular risk? A 5-year follow-up of a non-demented population-based cohort of Swedish elderly women
Authors: Kern Silke , Skoog Ingmar , Östling Svante , Kern Jürgen , Börjesson-Hanson Anne
Published: October 2012

Objective

The aim of this study was to examine whether low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) influences the rate of cognitive change in elderly women.

Design

Prospective, population-based cohort study.

Setting

The city of Gothenburg, Sweden, including those living in private households as well as in residential care.

Participants

The sample was derived from the Prospective Population Study of Women and from the H70 Birth Cohort Study in Gothenburg, Sweden. Both samples were obtained from the Swedish Population Register, based on birth date, and included 789 (response rate 71%) women aged 70–92 years. After the exclusion of individuals with dementia and users of warfarin, clopidogrel or heparin at baseline, 681 women were examined. Among all participants, 95.4% (N=601) had a high cardiovascular risk (CVD), defined as 10% or higher 10-year risk of any CVD event according to the Framingham heart study and 129 used low-dose ASA (75–160 mg daily) at baseline. After 5 years a follow-up was completed by 489 women.

Primary outcome and secondary outcome measures

Cognitive decline and dementia incidence in relation to the use of low-dose ASA and cardiovascular risk factors. Cognition was measured using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), word fluency, naming ability and memory word tests. Dementia was diagnosed according to the DSM-III-R criterion. As secondary outcome incidence of stroke and peptic ulcer in relation to low-dose ASA use was studied.

Results

Women on regular low-dose ASA declined less on MMSE at follow-up than those not on ASA. This difference was even more pronounced in those who had ASA at both examinations (p=0.004 compared with never users; n=66 vs n=338). All other cognitive tests showed the same trends. There were no differences between the groups regarding short-term risk for dementia (N=41).

Conclusion

Low-dose ASA treatment may have a neuroprotective effect in elderly women at high cardiovascular risk.
EFFECTIVENESS OF A COMBINATION OF ML-EM AND STIM-CT IN PIXE-CT FOR BIOLOGICAL SPECIMEN
Authors: SATOH T. , KOKA M. , KADA W. , YOKOYAMA A. , OHKUBO T. , YAMAZAKI A. , ISHII Y. , KAMIYA T. , KOZAI N.
Published: October 2012

In this study, we applied ML-EM (maximum likelihood expectation maximization) iterative algorithm and STIM-CT to a three dimension imaging technique of PIXE -CT for cellular analysis using 3 MeV proton microbeam with a diameter of 1 μm at TIARA (Takasaki Ion Accelerators for Advanced Radiation Application). The algorithm had been applied to tomography such as SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography). It is also possible and suitable to apply the algorithm to PIXE-CT because the algorithm can be used to project images taking into account errors due to rare events. Energy loss of incident particles and absorption of X-rays, however, affect quantitative values dramatically in the case of PIXE -CT. We estimated those effects from density distribution of major elements measured by STIM-CT in this work. In order to show the appropriateness of this method, X-ray yield and absorption were calculated using density distribution of two-dimensional Shepp phantom. The PIXE-CT experiments were carried out using a dried unicellulate as a test sample placed on an automatic rotation stage, which made a full turn by rotating 360° at each step of 18° in vacuum. The results of those simulation and experiments have proved that this method is effective.
SULFATE AEROSOL LEVELS DERIVED FROM SULFUR CONTENT DETERMINED BY PIXE IN ATMOSPHERIC PARTICLES COLLECTED IN THE MEXICO CITY METROPOLITAN AREA
Authors: FLORES M J. , ALDAPE F. , FLORES A J. , RETAMA-HERNÁNDEZ A. , RIVERA-HERNÁNDEZ O.
Published: October 2012

As part of a wide research project aimed to understand and eventually control atmospheric pollution in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA), the Secretaría del Medio Ambiente del Gobierno del Distrito Federal (SMA-GDF) operates, since 2003, an automated sampling network of fine airborne particulate matter (FAPM). In this study, the samples collected simultaneously in three sampling sites during years 2003–2004, and those collected (simultaneously) in seven sites during the whole of 2005 and the first three months of 2006, have been analyzed using the PIXE technique. The results have provided ample databases of elemental concentrations (ng/m3) of 13 elements, consistently detected in the samples. As it is well known, Mexico City and its conurbation has been ranked as one of the most densely populated areas in the world, enduring high levels of several pollutants such as PM2.5 fine particles (≤ 2.5 μm) and sulfates among others, which diminish air quality, visibility and endanger the health of the population. According to the emission inventories of the SMA-GDF, around eight thousand tons of SO2 are emitted to the atmosphere in the MCMA every year. Despite continuous efforts of the local authorities aimed to reduce SO2 emissions, S elemental concentrations determined in the PM2.5 samples collected by the fine particle sampling network still show significant levels of this element. Since sulfur compounds, particularly sulfates, are among the most important pollutants affecting the atmosphere, it is compulsory to evaluate its presence and concentrations. As it is has been pointed out by several authors, the ratio of sulfate content to S elemental content in FAPM, such as that determined by PIXE, is fairly constant (approximately three). Using this result, sulfate concentrations were calculated, and these were found in very good agreement with previous experimental results.
PIXE STUDY ON THE GROWTH ENVIRONMENT OF PLANTS
Authors: HIRAISHI S. , ISHII K. , MATSUYAMA S. , SUGAI H. , MIURA Y. , KARAHASHI M. , NOZAWA Y. , YAMAUCHI S. , YAMAZAKI H. , TADA T.
Published: October 2012

Growth environment of plants was investigated by analyzing the elemental concentration in leaves of the plants. Camellia was selected as the sample and the leaves of the camellias were collected from Miyagi and Chiba prefectures. The species of elements and their concentrations in the leaves were measured by the in-air PIXE system at Tohoku University. More than 10 elements were detected from the leaves. The concentrations of Mn , Fe , and Rb in the leaves were strongly affected by the place where the tree grew. On the other hand, the concentration of P, S, K, and Ca were less affected by the place of the tree. The determination of the place of the tree was also performed by evaluating the similarity of the elemental concentration in the leaves quantitatively. The difference due to the place was clearly identified and the sampling place was successfully determined by using the elemental concentrations in the leaves.
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF SULFUR DETERMINED BY PIXE IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE MEXICO CITY METROPOLITAN AREA
Authors: ALDAPE F. , FLORES M J. , FLORES A J. , RETAMA-HERNÁNDEZ A. , RIVERA-HERNÁNDEZ O.
Published: October 2012

An extensive investigation, aimed to study the fine fraction of airborne particulate matter (FAPM) in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA), started in 2003, after the FAPM sampling network of the Environmental Secretariat of the Federal District Government (Secretaría del Medio Ambiente del Gobierno del Distrito Federal, SMA-GDF) was put into operation. Formerly, several research institutions in Mexico, in collaboration with the local government, made continuous efforts during the last two decades, in order to improve air quality in the MCMA. Samples have been collected using US-EPA designated samplers, following the same agency protocols. In this study, 922 samples were analyzed by PIXE in order to determine the elemental concentrations (ng/m3) of the FAPM. The samples were collected every three days by the Atmospheric Sampling Network (Red Automática de Monitoreo Atmosférico, RAMA) of the SMA-GDF, starting by the end of 2003 and along 2004 on three sites, and during the whole 2005 to the beginning of 2006 in seven stations, taking samples every six days during this last stage. The sample collection has continued up to date at the latter pace. The results obtained have allowed determining the sulfur (S) spatial distribution over the area, showing a reasonable uniformity in space, but well marked time variability. The S spatial distribution has also showed similar patterns between equivalent seasons from year to year, although not a strict periodicity. Compared to other elements found consistently in the samples, S is mainly distributed over the area by a large amount of mobile (mainly transportation) sources, fairly distributed over it, while other elements come from fixed sources located at industrial or urban areas. Comparisons were also made among the sampling sites, and among the three climatic seasons (drycold, dry-hot and rain) from year to year. Correlations between temporal variations of pairs of sampling sites were also calculated for S and other elements, in order to support these conclusions.
APPLICATION OF PARTICLE-INDUCED X-RAY EMISSION, SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND BACKSCATTERING SPECTROMETRY IN THE ELEMENTAL QUANTIFICATION OF INCREMENTAL PATTERNS IN SCALES OF THE FISH Pomadasys kaakan: A 2-D STUDY
Authors: GUAMBE J. F. , MARS J. A. , DAY J.
Published: October 2012

Pollution events are at times difficult to detect because of continuous river flow. Changes in the chemical composition of the water are incorporated into the matrix of fish scales as growth occurs, and, as a result, pollutants in the water may be identified by the analysis of fish scales. The structure of growth patterns on fish scales is characteristically anisotropic. The respective growth patterns appear to be intermittent, convergent, divergent, continuous or discontinuous probably depending on the conditions. Because of anisotropy, fish-scale growth can be described in a mathematical discrete model based on fuzzy terms. The incremental band area was fitted with the saddle-type asymmetric sigmoidal function. There is no significant difference between the composition of keratin in the annuli and the chemical composition of keratin in the circuli. This indicates that there is not acute chemical composition demarcation between the area of the circulus and the incremental band. In the regions of the circuli structure, disruption occurred and the incremental band area is smaller. However, the acute chemical composition demarcation still exists.
TRACE AND MAJOR ELEMENTS IN BLOOD SERUM OF MELANOMA PATIENTS BY PIXE
Authors: BERNARDES S. , TABACNIKS M. H. , SANTOS I. D. A. O. , BOSCO F. A. R. , OLIVEIRA A. F. , SHIE J. N.
Published: October 2012

Melanoma is a serious skin cancer that, if found and treated in its early stages can be cured before it gets invasive and develops metastasis. The incidence of this disease has steadily increased in white populations throughout the world in the last decades. Although the basis for this rise is incompletely understood, it is known that solar exposure and genetic factors are important precursors of melanoma. Nowadays, some studies are correlating some trace elements in blood and tissues with the disease. In this work, trace element concentrations in blood serum of patients with melanoma where measured by PIXE (Particle Induced X-ray Emission) to verify if there is a link between the concentrations of elements in the blood serum and melanoma. If the hypothesis is proven, elements in the blood serum could also be used as markers for melanoma. The samples were collected in the São Paulo Hospital and analyzed by PIXE after an internal standard addition. Concentrations of Chlorine (Cl), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn) and Bromine (Br) were measured in serum of 30 patients with melanoma and 116 control individuals. The elemental concentrations were calculated relative to an internal Gallium standard. The accuracy of the method was verified analyzing an IAEA A-13 Blood (International Atomic Energy Agency) and a QMEQAS08S-06 serum (National Institute of Public Health). The results of this work showed no significant difference between melanoma and control group (independent t-test and U-test, p = 0.05).
MEASURES AGAINST RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION DUE TO FUKUSHIMA FIRST NUCLEAR POWER PLANT ACCIDENTS PART I: DAMAGE SITUATION OF THE GREAT EAST JAPAN EARTHQUAKE
Authors: ISHII K. , TERAKAWA A. , MATSUYAMA S. , HASEGAWA A. , NAGAKUBO K. , SAKURADA T. , KIKUCHI Y. , FUJIWARA M. , YAMAZAKI H. , YUHKI H. , KIM S. , SATOH I.
Published: October 2012

The great East Japan earthquake consisted of three catastrophes. The first one was the earthquake, the second one was the tsunami and the third one was nuclear power plant accidents. The magnitude 9 was recorded. After the earth quake, huge tsunami waves of above 16m height hit the east coast of Northeastern Japan. Many people died and many things were lost. The tsunami caused the accident of Fukushima first nuclear power plant which resulted in a serious radioactive pollution.
SIMILARITY-BASED RELATIONS IN DATALOG PROGRAMS
Authors: HAJDINJAK MELITA , BAUER ANDREJ
Published: October 2012

We consider similarity-based relational databases that allow to retrieve approximate data, find data within a given range of distance or similarity, and support imprecise queries. We focus on the recently introduced relational algebra with similarities on [Formula: see text]-relations, which are annotated with multi-dimensional similarity values with each dimension referring to a single attribute. The codomains of the annotated relations are De Morgan frames, and the annotations express the relevance of the tuples as answers to a similarity-based query. In this paper, we study Datalog programs on [Formula: see text]-relations, with and without negation. We describe the least-fixpoint algorithm for safe and rectified Datalog programs on [Formula: see text]-relations with finite support but without negative literals in the body. We further describe the perfect-minimal-fixpoint algorithm of a Datalog program on [Formula: see text]-relations with finite support and negative literals in the body when rules are safe, rectified and stratified. We introduce the idea of controlling the calculation of the annotations such that the tuples that enter an IDB relation last will be announced less desirable than those that enter first. For this we define a damping function that augments/diminishes the individual annotations that contribute to the final annotations of tuples. With a damping function, for instance, long chains of inferences may be made significantly less desirable or even totally undesirable.