bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Vector System for ABC Transporter-Mediated Secretion and Purification of Recombinant Proteins in Pseudomonas Species
Authors: Ryu Jaewook , Lee Ukjin , Park Jiye , Yoo Do-Hyun , Ahn Jung Hoon
Published: December 2014

Pseudomonas fluorescens
is an efficient platform for recombinant protein production.
P. fluorescens
has an ABC transporter secreting endogenous thermostable lipase (TliA) and protease, which can be exploited to transport recombinant proteins across the cell membrane. In this study, the expression vector pDART was constructed by inserting
tliDEF
, genes encoding the ABC transporter, along with the construct of the lipase ABC transporter recognition domain (LARD), into pDSK519, a widely used shuttle vector. When the gene for the target protein was inserted into the vector, the C-terminally fused LARD allowed it to be secreted through the ABC transporter into the extracellular medium. After secretion of the fused target protein, the LARD containing a hydrophobic C terminus enabled its purification through hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) using a methyl-Sepharose column. Alkaline phosphatase (AP) and green fluorescent protein (GFP) were used to validate the expression, export, and purification of target proteins by the pDART system. Both proteins were secreted into the extracellular medium in
P. fluorescens
. In particular, AP was secreted in several
Pseudomonas
species with its enzymatic activity in extracellular media. Furthermore, purification of the target protein using HIC yielded some degree of AP and GFP purification, where AP was purified to almost a single product. The pDART system will provide greater convenience for the secretory production and purification of recombinant proteins in Gram-negative bacteria, such as
Pseudomonas
species.
Field and Experimental Evidence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus as the Causative Agent of Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease of Cultured Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) in Northwestern Mexico
Authors: Soto-Rodriguez Sonia A. , Gomez-Gil Bruno , Lozano-Olvera Rodolfo , Betancourt-Lozano Miguel , Morales-Covarrubias Maria Soledad
Published: December 2014

Moribund shrimp affected by acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) from farms in northwestern Mexico were sampled for bacteriological and histological analysis. Bacterial isolates were molecularly identified as
Vibrio parahaemolyticus
by the presence of the
tlh
gene. The
tdh
-negative,
trh
-negative, and
tlh
-positive
V. parahaemolyticus
strains were further characterized by repetitive extragenic palindromic element-PCR (rep-PCR), and primers AP1, AP2, AP3, and AP and an ems2 IQ2000 detection kit (GeneReach, Taiwan) were used in the diagnostic tests for AHPND. The
V. parahaemolyticus
strains were used in immersion challenges with shrimp, and farmed and challenged shrimp presented the same clinical and pathological symptoms: lethargy, empty gut, pale and aqueous hepatopancreas, and expanded chromatophores. Using histological analysis and bacterial density count, three stages of AHNPD (initial, acute, and terminal) were identified in the affected shrimp. The pathognomonic lesions indicating severe desquamation of tubular epithelial cells of the hepatopancreas were observed in both challenged and pond-infected shrimp. The results showed that different
V. parahaemolyticus
strains have different virulences; some of the less virulent strains do not induce 100% mortality, and mortality rates also rise more slowly than they do for the more virulent strains. The virulence of
V. parahaemolyticus
strains was dose dependent, where the threshold infective density was 10
4
CFU ml
−1
; below that density, no mortality was observed. The AP3 primer set had the best sensitivity and specificity. Field and experimental results showed that the
V. parahaemolyticus
strain that causes AHPND acts as a primary pathogen for shrimp in Mexico compared with the
V. parahaemolyticus
strains reported to date.
Reassessment of the Role of Aromatic Amino Acid Hydroxylases and the Effect of Infection by Toxoplasma gondii on Host Dopamine
Authors: Wang Zi T. , Harmon Steve , O'Malley Karen L. , Sibley L. David
Published: December 2014

Toxoplasma gondiiinfection has been described previously to cause infected mice to lose their fear of cat urine. This behavioral manipulation has been proposed to involve alterations of host dopamine pathways due to parasite-encoded aromatic amino acid hydroxylases. Here, we report successful knockout and complementation of the aromatic amino acid hydroxylaseAAH2gene, with no observable phenotype in parasite growth or differentiationin vitroandin vivo. Additionally, expression levels of the two aromatic amino acid hydroxylases were negligible both in tachyzoites and in bradyzoites. Finally, we were unable to confirm previously described effects of parasite infection on host dopamine eitherin vitroorin vivo, even whenAAH2was overexpressed using theBAG1promoter. Together, these data indicate that AAH enzymes in the parasite do not cause global or regional alterations of dopamine in the host brain, although they may affect this pathway locally. Additionally, our findings suggest alternative roles for theAHHenzymes inT. gondii, sinceAAH1is essential for growth in nondopaminergic cells.
CX
3
CR1 Is Dispensable for Control of Mucosal Candida albicans Infections in Mice and Humans
Authors: Break Timothy J. , Jaeger Martin , Solis Norma V. , Filler Scott G. , Rodriguez Carlos A. , Lim Jean K. , Lee Chyi-Chia Richard , Sobel Jack D. , Netea Mihai G. , Lionakis Michail S.
Published: December 2014

Candida albicans
is part of the normal commensal microbiota of mucosal surfaces in a large percentage of the human population. However, perturbations of the host's immune response or bacterial microbiota have been shown to predispose individuals to the development of opportunistic
Candida
infections. It was recently discovered that a defect in the chemokine receptor CX
3
CR1 increases susceptibility of mice and humans to systemic candidiasis. However, whether CX
3
CR1 confers protection against mucosal
C. albicans
infection has not been investigated. Using two different mouse models, we found that Cx3cr1 is dispensable for the induction of interleukin 17A (IL-17A), IL-22, and IL-23 in the tongue after infection, as well as for the clearance of mucosal candidiasis from the tongue or lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract colonization. Furthermore, the dysfunctional human CX
3
CR1 allele

CX
3
CR1-M280

was not associated with development of recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) in women. Taken together, these data indicate that CX
3
CR1 is not essential for protection of the host against mucosal candidiasis, underscoring the dependence on different mammalian immune factors for control of mucosal versus systemic
Candida
infections.
Identification of Host Proteins Involved in Rickettsial Invasion of Tick Cells
Authors: Petchampai Natthida , Sunyakumthorn Piyanate , Banajee Kaikhushroo H. , Verhoeve Victoria I. , Kearney Michael T. , Macaluso Kevin R.
Published: December 2014

Tick-borne spotted fever group (SFG)
Rickettsia
species are obligate intracellular bacteria capable of infecting both vertebrate and invertebrate host cells, an essential process for subsequent bacterial survival in distinct hosts. The host cell signaling molecules involved in the uptake of
Rickettsia
into mammalian and
Drosophila
cells have been identified; however, invasion into tick cells is understudied. Considering the movement of SFG
Rickettsia
between vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, the hypothesis is that conserved mechanisms are utilized for host cell invasion. The current study employed biochemical inhibition assays to determine the tick proteins involved in
Rickettsia montanensis
infection of tick-derived cells from a natural host,
Dermacentor variabilis
. The results revealed several tick proteins important for rickettsial invasion, including actin filaments, actin-related protein 2/3 complex, phosphatidylinositol-3′-kinase, protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs), Src family PTK, focal adhesion kinase, Rho GTPase Rac1, and neural Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein. Delineating the molecular mechanisms of rickettsial infection is critical to a thorough understanding of rickettsial transmission in tick populations and the ecology of tick-borne rickettsial diseases.
New Role for Human α-Defensin 5 in the Fight against Hypervirulent Clostridium difficile Strains
Authors: Furci Lucinda , Baldan Rossella , Bianchini Valentina , Trovato Alberto , Ossi Cristina , Cichero Paola , Cirillo Daniela M.
Published: December 2014

Clostridium difficile
infection (CDI), one of the most common hospital-acquired infections, is increasing in incidence and severity with the emergence and diffusion of hypervirulent strains. CDI is precipitated by antibiotic treatment that destroys the equilibrium of the gut microbiota. Human α-defensin 5 (HD5), the most abundant enteric antimicrobial peptide, is a key regulator of gut microbiota homeostasis, yet it is still unknown if
C. difficile
, which successfully evades killing by other host microbicidal peptides, is susceptible to HD5. We evaluated, by means of viability assay, fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis, and electron microscopy, the antimicrobial activities of α-defensins 1 and 5 against a panel of
C. difficile
strains encompassing the most prevalent epidemic and hypervirulent PCR ribotypes in Europe (012, 014/020, 106, 018, 027, and 078). Here we show that (i) concentrations of HD5 within the intestinal physiological range produced massive
C. difficile
cell killing; (ii) HD5 bactericidal activity was mediated by membrane depolarization and bacterial fragmentation with a pattern of damage peculiar to
C. difficile
bacilli, compared to commensals like
Escherichia coli
and
Enterococcus faecalis
; and (iii) unexpectedly, hypervirulent ribotypes were among the most susceptible to both defensins. These results support the notion that HD5, naturally present at very high concentrations in the mucosa of the small intestine, could indeed control the very early steps of CDI by killing
C. difficile
bacilli at their germination site. As a consequence, HD5 can be regarded as a good candidate for the containment of hypervirulent
C. difficile
strains, and it could be exploited in the therapy of CDI and relapsing
C. difficile
-associated disease.
Nuclease Activity of Legionella pneumophila Cas2 Promotes Intracellular Infection of Amoebal Host Cells
Authors: Gunderson Felizza F. , Mallama Celeste A. , Fairbairn Stephanie G. , Cianciotto Nicholas P.
Published: December 2014

Legionella pneumophila
, the primary agent of Legionnaires' disease, flourishes in both natural and man-made environments by growing in a wide variety of aquatic amoebae. Recently, we determined that the Cas2 protein of
L. pneumophila
promotes intracellular infection of
Acanthamoeba castellanii
and
Hartmannella vermiformis
, the two amoebae most commonly linked to cases of disease. The Cas2 family of proteins is best known for its role in the bacterial and archeal clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)–CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) system that constitutes a form of adaptive immunity against phage and plasmid. However, the infection event mediated by
L. pneumophila
Cas2 appeared to be distinct from this function, because
cas2
mutants exhibited infectivity defects in the absence of added phage or plasmid and since mutants lacking the CRISPR array or any one of the other
cas
genes were not impaired in infection ability. We now report that the Cas2 protein of
L. pneumophila
has both RNase and DNase activities, with the RNase activity being more pronounced. By characterizing a catalytically deficient version of Cas2, we determined that nuclease activity is critical for promoting infection of amoebae. Also, introduction of Cas2, but not its catalytic mutant form, into a strain of
L. pneumophila
that naturally lacks a CRISPR-Cas locus caused that strain to be 40- to 80-fold more infective for amoebae, unequivocally demonstrating that Cas2 facilitates the infection process independently of any other component encoded within the CRISPR-Cas locus. Finally, a
cas2
mutant was impaired for infection of
Willaertia magna
but not
Naegleria lovaniensis
, suggesting that Cas2 promotes infection of most but not all amoebal hosts.
Cj1386, an Atypical Hemin-Binding Protein, Mediates Hemin Trafficking to KatA in Campylobacter jejuni
Authors: Flint Annika , Stintzi Alain
Published: December 2014

Catalase enzymes detoxify H
2
O
2
by the dismutation of H
2
O
2
into O
2
and H
2
O through the use of hemin cofactors. While the structure and biochemical properties of catalase enzymes have been well characterized over many decades of research, it remained unclear how catalases acquire hemin. We have previously reported that Cj1386 is essential for ensuring proper hemin content in
Campylobacter jejuni
catalase (KatA) (A. Flint, Y. Q. Sun, and A. Stintzi, J Bacteriol
194:
334–345, 2012). In this report, an in-depth molecular characterization of Cj1386 was performed to elucidate the mechanistic details of this association. Coimmunoprecipitation assays revealed that KatA-Cj1386 transiently interact
in vivo
, and UV-visible spectroscopy demonstrated that purified Cj1386 protein binds hemin. Furthermore, hemin titration experiments determined that hemin binds to Cj1386 in a 1:1 ratio with hexacoordinate hemin binding. Mutagenesis of potential hemin-coordinating residues in Cj1386 showed that tyrosine 57 was essential for hemin coordination when Cj1386 was overexpressed in
Escherichia coli
. The importance of tyrosine 57 in hemin trafficking
in vivo
was confirmed by introducing the
cj1386

Y57A

allele into a
C. jejuni
Δ
cj1386
mutant background. The
cj1386

Y57A

mutation resulted in increased sensitivity toward H
2
O
2
relative to the wild type, suggesting that KatA was not functional in this strain. In support of this finding, KatA immunoprecipitated from the Δ
cj1386+cj1386

Y57A

mutant had significantly reduced hemin content compared to that of the
cj1386

WT

background. Overall, these findings indicate that Cj1386 is involved in directly trafficking hemin to KatA and that tyrosine 57 plays a key role in this function.
Extending PowerPack for Profiling and Analysis of High-Performance Accelerator-Based Systems
Authors: Li Bo , Chang Hung-Ching , Song Shuaiwen , Su Chun-Yi , Meyer Timmy , Mooring John , Cameron Kirk
Published: December 2014

Accelerators offer a substantial increase in efficiency for high-performance systems offering speedups for computational applications that leverage hardware support for highly-parallel codes. However, the power use of some accelerators exceeds 200 watts at idle which means use at exascale comes at a significant increase in power at a time when we face a power ceiling of about 20 megawatts. Despite the growing domination of accelerator-based systems in the Top500 and Green500 lists of fastest and most efficient supercomputers, there are few detailed studies comparing the power and energy use of common accelerators. In this work, we conduct detailed experimental studies of the power usage and distribution of Xeon-Phi-based systems in comparison to the NVIDIA Tesla and an Intel Sandy Bridge multicore host processor. In contrast to previous work, we focus on separating individual component power and correlating power use to code behavior. Our results help explain the causes of power-performance scalability for a set of HPC applications.
HMC-SIM: A Simulation Framework for Hybrid Memory Cube Devices
Authors: Leidel John D. , Chen Yong
Published: December 2014

The recent advent of stacked die memory and logic technologies has lead to a resurgence in research associated with fundamental architectural techniques. Many architecture research projects begin with ample simulation of the target theoretical functions and approach. However, the logical and physical nature three-dimensional stacked devices, such as the Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) specification, fundamentally do not align with traditional memory simulation techniques. As such, there currently exists a chasm in the capabilities of modern architectural simulation frameworks. This work introduces a new simulation framework developed specifically for the Hybrid Memory Cube specification. We present a set of novel techniques implemented on an associated development framework that provide an infrastructure to flexibly simulate one or more Hybrid Memory Cube stacked die memory devices attached to an arbitrary core processor. The goal of this development infrastructure is to provide architectural simulation frameworks the ability to begin migrating current banked DRAM memory models to stacked HMC-based designs without a reduction in simulation fidelity or functionality. In addition to the core architecture, this work also presents a series of memory workload test results that represent unit stride and random access memory patterns using the HMC-Sim infrastructure. These evaluations confirm that HMC-Sim can provide insightful guidance in designing and developing highly efficient systems, algorithms, and applications, considering the next-generation three-dimensional stacked memory devices.
NUMA-Aware Multicore Matrix Multiplication
Authors: ALKOWAILEET WAIL Y. , CARRILLO-CISNEROS DAVID , LIM ROBERT V. , SCHERSON ISAAC D.
Published: December 2014

A user-level scheduling along with a specific data alignment for matrix multiplication in cache-coherent Non-Uniform Memory Access (ccNUMA) architectures is presented. Addressing the data locality problem that could occur in such systems potentially alleviates memory bottlenecks. We show experimentally that an agnostic thread scheduler (e.g., OpenMP 3.1) from the data placement on a ccNUMA machine produces a high number of cache-misses. To overcome this memory contention problem, we show how proper memory mapping and scheduling manage to tune an existing matrix multiplication implementation and reduce the number of cache-misses by 67% and consequently, reduce the computation time by up to 22%. Finally, we show a relationship between cache-misses and the gained speedup as a novel figure of merit to measure the quality of the method.
From symmetries to quarks and beyond
Authors: Meshkov Sydney
Published: December 2014

Attempts to understand the plethora of meson baryon and meson resonances by the introduction of symmetries, which led to the invention of quarks and the quark model, and finally to the formulation of QCD, are described.
Taylor and fugacity expansion for the effective ℤ3 spin model of QCD at finite density
Authors: Grünwald Eva , Mercado Ydalia Delgado , Gattringer Christof
Published: December 2014

Different series expansions in the chemical potential μ are studied and compared for an effective theory of QCD which has a flux representation where the complex action is overcome. In particular we consider fugacity series, Taylor expansion and a modified Taylor expansion and compare the outcome of these series to the reference results from a Monte Carlo simulation in the flux representation where arbitrary μ is accessible. It is shown that for most parameter values the fugacity expansion gives the best approximation to the data from the flux simulation, followed by our newly proposed modified Taylor expansion. For the conventional Taylor expansion we find that the results coincide with the flux data only for very small μ.
Connecting mirror symmetry in 3D and 2D via localization
Authors: Chen Heng-Yu , Chen Hsiao-Yi , Ho Jun-Kai
Published: December 2014

We explicitly apply localization results to study the interpolation between three- and two-dimensional mirror symmetries for Abelian gauge theories with four supercharges. We first use the ellipsoid [Formula: see text] partition functions to verify the mirror symmetry between a pair of general three-dimensional 𝒩 = 2 Abelian Chern–Simons quiver gauge theories. These expressions readily factorize into holomorphic blocks and their antiholomorphic copies, so we can also obtain the partition functions on S1×S2 via fusion procedure. We then demonstrate S1×S2 partition functions for the three-dimensional Abelian gauge theories can be dimensionally reduced to the S2 partition functions of 𝒩 = (2, 2) GLSM and Landau–Ginzburg model for the corresponding two-dimensional mirror pair, as anticipated previously in M. Aganagic et al., J. High Energy Phys.0107, 022 (2001). We also comment on the analogous interpolation for the non-Abelian gauge theories and compute the K-theory vortex partition function for a simple limit to verify the prediction from holomorphic block.
WEATHER SENSITIVITY OF RICE YIELD: EVIDENCE FROM INDIA
Authors: PATTANAYAK ANUBHAB , KUMAR K. S. KAVI
Published: December 2014

This study estimates the weather sensitivity of rice yield in India, using disaggregated (district) level information on rice and high resolution daily weather data over the period 1969–2007. Compared to existing India specific studies on rice which consider only the effects of nighttime (minimum) temperature, the present study takes into account the effects of both nighttime and daytime (maximum) temperatures along with other weather variables on rice yield. The results suggest that both nighttime and daytime temperatures adversely affect rice during different growth phases. The effect of higher nighttime temperature on rice yield was much lower than those estimated by previous studies. Further, the negative impact of higher daytime temperature on rice yield was much larger than the impact due to higher nighttime temperature. The study further estimates that average rice yield would have been 8.4% higher had the pre-1960 climatic conditions prevailed during the period of study. This translates into an annual average loss of 4.4 million tons/yr or a cumulative loss of 172 million tons over the 39 year period for India. The paper argues that such significant loss in rice production under climate change conditions in future will have strong implications for the region's food-security and poverty, given that a large number of producers and consumers depend on rice for their livelihood and sustenance.
Cryptocephaline Egg Case Provides Incomplete Protection from Generalist Predators (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
Authors: Schöller Matthias
Published: December 2014

The egg case ofCryptocephalus rufipes(Goeze) is described and illustrated. In laboratory trials, eggs of field-collectedC. rufipeswere observed for larval emergence (untreated control) or exposed to two species of generalist predators,Chrysoperla carnea(Stephens) orXylocoris flavipes(Reuter) in no-choice experiments. The behaviour of the predators upon contact with theC. rufipeseggs was observed. The number of hatching larvae was counted and compared. In the presence of each of the two species of predators, larval emergence was significantly reduced. Eggs that were not protected by an egg case were completely consumed by the predators.C. rufipeseggs were therefore incompletely protected from the studied generalist predators. This is the first study showing experimentally the protective function of cryptocephaline egg case.
Neonatal Sepsis and Inflammatory Mediators
Authors: Reis Machado Juliana , Soave Danilo Figueiredo , da Silva Marcos Vinícius , de Menezes Liliana Borges , Etchebehere Renata Margarida , Monteiro Maria Luiza Gonçalves dos Reis , Antônia dos Reis Marlene , Corrêa Rosana Rosa Miranda , Celes Mara Rúbia Nunes
Published: December 2014

Neonatal sepsis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality and its signs and symptoms are nonspecific, which makes the diagnosis difficult. The routinely used laboratory tests are not effective methods of analysis, as they are extremely nonspecific and often cause inappropriate use of antibiotics. Sepsis is the result of an infection associated with a systemic inflammatory response with production and release of a wide range of inflammatory mediators. Cytokines are potent inflammatory mediators and their serum levels are increased during infections, so changes from other inflammatory effector molecules may occur. Although proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines have been identified as probable markers of neonatal infection, in order to characterize the inflammatory response during sepsis, it is necessary to analyze a panel of cytokines and not only the measurement of individual cytokines. Measurements of inflammatory mediators bring new options for diagnosing and following up neonatal sepsis, thus enabling early treatment and, as a result, increased neonatal survival. By taking into account the magnitude of neonatal sepsis, the aim of this review is to address the role of cytokines in the pathogenesis of neonatal sepsis and its value as a diagnostic criterion.
Robustness in Weighted Networks with Cluster Structure
Authors: Zheng Yi , Liu Fang , Gong Yong-Wang
Published: December 2014

The vulnerability of complex systems induced by cascade failures revealed the comprehensive interaction of dynamics with network structure. The effect on cascade failures induced by cluster structure was investigated on three networks, small‐world, scale‐free, and module networks, of which the clustering coefficient is controllable by the random walk method. After analyzing the shifting process of load, we found that the betweenness centrality and the cluster structure play an important role in cascading model. Focusing on this point, properties of cascading failures were studied on model networks with adjustable clustering coefficient and fixed degree distribution. In the proposed weighting strategy, the path length of an edge is designed as the product of the clustering coefficient of its end nodes, and then the modified betweenness centrality of the edge is calculated and applied in cascade model as its weights. The optimal region of the weighting scheme and the size of the survival components were investigated by simulating the edge removing attack, under the rule of local redistribution based on edge weights. We found that the weighting scheme based on the modified betweenness centrality makes all three networks have better robustness against edge attack than the one based on the original betweenness centrality.
Endometriosis in a Patient with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser Syndrome
Authors: Troncon Júlia Kefalás , Zani Ana Carolina Tagliatti , Vieira Andrea Duarte Damasceno , Poli-Neto Omero Benedicto , Nogueira Antônio Alberto , Rosa-e-Silva Júlio César
Published: December 2014

Objective. To report a case of Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (MRKH) in which there were two nonfunctional rudimentary uteruses with the presence of ovarian endometrioma, corroborating that there are valid alternative theories to the existence of endometriosis, rather than Sampson’s theory alone, such as the coelomic metaplasia theory.Design. A case report.Setting. A tertiary referral center, which is also a university hospital.Patient. A fifteen-year-old patient with MRKH syndrome and endometriosis.Intervention. Laparoscopic approach for diagnostic confirmation and treatment of the endometrioma.Results. Evidence of endometriosis in a patient with no functional uterus.Conclusions. This case report and a few others that are available in the literature reinforce the possibility that coelomic metaplasia could be the origin of endometriosis. Patients with müllerian agenesis and pelvic pain should be carefully evaluated, and the presence of pelvic endometriosis should not be excluded.
The Effect of Simple Melodic Lines on Aesthetic Experience: Brain Response to Structural Manipulations
Authors: Ferri Stefania , Meini Cristina , Guiot Giorgio , Tagliafico Daniela , Gilli Gabriella , Di Dio Cinzia
Published: December 2014

This fMRI study investigates the effect of melody on aesthetic experience in listeners naïve to formal musical knowledge. Using simple melodic lines, whose syntactic structure was manipulated, we created systematic acoustic dissonance. Two stimulus categories were created: canonical (syntactically “correct,” in the Western culture) and modified (made of an altered version of the canonical melodies). The stimuli were presented under two tasks: listening and aesthetic judgment. Data were analyzed as a function of stimulus structure (canonical and modified) and stimulus aesthetics, as appraised by each participant during scanning. The critical contrast modified versus canonical stimuli produced enhanced activation of deep temporal regions, including the parahippocampus, suggesting that melody manipulation induced feelings of unpleasantness in the listeners. This was supported by our behavioral data indicating decreased aesthetic preference for the modified melodies. Medial temporal activation could also have been evoked by stimulus structural novelty determining increased memory load for the modified stimuli. The analysis of melodies judged as beautiful revealed that aesthetic judgment of simple melodies relied on a fine-structural analysis of the stimuli subserved by a left frontal activation and, possibly, on meaning attribution at the charge of right superior temporal sulcus for increasingly pleasurable stimuli.
Residual Probability Function, Associated Orderings, and Related Aging Classes
Authors: Kayid M. , Izadkhah S. , Alshami S.
Published: December 2014

The concept of residual probability plays an important role in reliability and life testing. In this investigation, we study further the residual probability order and its related aging classes. Several characterizations and preservation properties of this order under some statistical and reliability operations of monotone transformation, mixture, weighted distributions, and order statistics are discussed. In addition, by comparing the original distribution with its associated equilibrium distribution with respect to the residual probability order, new aging classes of life distributions are proposed and studied. Finally, a test of exponentiality against such classes is derived and sets of real data are used as examples to elucidate the use of the proposed test for practical problems.
Effect of Kegel Exercises on the Management of Female Stress Urinary Incontinence: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Park Seong-Hi , Kang Chang-Bum
Published: December 2014

Objective.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of Kegel exercises on reducing urinary incontinence symptoms in women with stress urinary incontinence.Methods.Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted on females with stress urinary incontinence who had done Kegel exercises and met inclusion criteria in articles published between 1966 and 2012. The articles from periodicals indexed in KoreaMed, NDSL, Ovid Medline, Embase, Scopus, and other databases were selected, using key terms such as “Kegel” or “pelvic floor exercise.” Cochrane’s risk of bias was applied to assess the internal validity of the RCTs. Eleven selected studies were analyzed by meta-analysis using RevMan 5.1.Results.Eleven trials involving 510 women met the inclusion criteria. All trials contributed data to one or more of the main or secondary outcomes. They indicated that Kegel exercises significantly reduced the urinary incontinence symptoms of female stress urinary incontinence. There was no heterogeneity in the selected studies except the standardized bladder volumes of the pad test.Conclusion.There is some evidence that, for women with stress urinary incontinence, Kegel exercises may help manage urinary incontinence. However, while these results are helpful for understanding how to treat or cure stress urinary incontinence, further research is still required.
Constraining the Parameters of Modified Chaplygin Gas in Einstein-Aether Gravity
Authors: Debnath Ujjal
Published: December 2014

We have assumed FRW model of the universe in Einstein-Aether gravity filled with dark matter and modified Chaplygin gas (MCG) type dark energy. We present the Hubble parameter in terms of some unknown parameters and observational parameters with the redshiftz. From observed Hubble data (OHD) set (12 points), we have obtained the bounds of the arbitrary parameters(A,B)of MCG by minimizing theχ2test. Next due to joint analysis of BAO and CMB observations, we have also obtained the best fit values and the bounds of the parameters(A,B)by fixing some other parameters. We have also taken type Ia supernovae data set (union 2 data set with 557 data points). Next due to joint analysis with SNe, we have obtained the best fit values of parameters. The best fit values and bounds of the parameters are obtained by 66%, 90%, and 99% confidence levels for OHD, OHD + BAO, OHD + BAO + CMB, and OHD + BAO + CMB + SNe joint analysis. The distance modulusμzagainst redshiftzfor our theoretical MCG model in Einstein-Aether gravity has been tested for the best fit values of the parameters and the observed SNe Ia union2 data sample.
Load Sharing of Wind Based Microgrid in Autonomous Operation
Authors: Gupta Aarti , Jain Dinesh Kumar , Dahiya Surender
Published: December 2014

Autonomous wind energy conversion systems sharing a common load consist of a number of voltage source converters operating in parallel. A suitable control system should ensure desired load sharing among these as a number of these sources operating in parallel are required to meet the load demand and load excursions should not lead to instability of the system. In absence of the grid there is no reference angle for synchronization. Hence, a control scheme for parallel-connected three-phase converters incorporating the desirable features needs to be developed in order to exploit the renewable energy sources, which are intermittent in nature as effectively as possible in case of an autonomous microgrid. A simple and effective droop control strategy without the use of conventional αβ technique incorporating only dq components has been proposed for load sharing among wind energy conversion systems connected by back to back voltage source converters in autonomous operation. The need for communication link should also be avoided, hence reducing the system cost. The system is modelled using Matlab and the control is authenticated by simulation results.
Effects of Countdown Signals in Red Phase on Drivers: A Comparative Study between Japan and Turkey
Authors: Yu Ke , Lu Huapu
Published: December 2014

Countdown signals can be found in many countries; however, there are only a few researches that study the impact of the signals on driver behavior. In this study, we focus particularly on the behavior of drivers reacting to countdown signals when the signal shifted from red to green. Although the countdown signal can reduce startup delay, it also causes drivers premature start. This paper determines the factors influencing the behaviors of drivers on startup delay, premature start, and headway due to countdown signals. The analysis results are compared between Japan and Turkey. From our findings, we propose countermeasures to reduce the problems caused by the countdown signals which can be a guideline for implementation or modification of countdown‐signalized intersections in many countries in order to increase safety of both drivers and pedestrians as well as drivers’ satisfactions.
High Frequency of CD8 Positive Lymphocyte Infiltration Correlates with Lack of Lymph Node Involvement in Early Rectal Cancer
Authors: Däster Silvio , Eppenberger-Castori Serenella , Hirt Christian , Zlobec Inti , Delko Tarik , Nebiker Christian A. , Soysal Savas D. , Amicarella Francesca , Iezzi Giandomenica , Sconocchia Giuseppe , Heberer Michael , Lugli Alessandro , Spagnoli Giulio C. , Kettelhack Christoph , Terracciano Luigi , Oertli Daniel , von Holzen Urs , Tornillo Luigi , Droeser Raoul A.
Published: December 2014

Aims. A trend towards local excision of early rectal cancers has prompted us to investigate if immunoprofiling might help in predicting lymph node involvement in this subgroup.Methods. A tissue microarray of 126 biopsies of early rectal cancer (T1 and T2) was stained for several immunomarkers of the innate and the adaptive immune response. Patients’ survival and nodal status were analyzed and correlated with infiltration of the different immune cells.Results. Of all tested markers, only CD8 (P=0.005) and TIA-1 (P=0.05) were significantly more frequently detectable in early rectal cancer biopsies of node negative as compared to node positive patients. Although these two immunomarkers did not display prognostic effect “per se,” CD8+ and, marginally, TIA-1 T cell infiltration could predict nodal involvement in univariate logistic regression analysis (OR 0.994; 95% CI 0.992–0.996;P=0.009and OR 0.988; 95% CI 0.984–0.994;P=0.05, resp.). An algorithm significantly predicting the nodal status in early rectal cancer based on CD8 together with vascular invasion and tumor border configuration could be calculated (P<0.00001).Conclusion. Our data indicate that in early rectal cancers absence of CD8+ T-cell infiltration helps in predicting patients’ nodal involvement.
Necrotizing Fasciitis of the Chest in a Neonate in Southern Nigeria
Authors: Awe Oluwafemi Olasupo , Kesieme Emeka B. , Kayode-Adedeji Babatunde , Aigbonoga Quinzy O.
Published: December 2014

We discuss the successful saving of a male neonate with necrotizing fasciitis of the chest following a hot fomentation of the umbilicus with exposure of the ribs and the pleural space on the right side. He recovered 5 weeks after admission. We stressed the need to recognize necrotizing fasciitis extending from the upper anterior abdominal wall to the chest following hot fomentation of the umbilicus. The need for multidisciplinary cooperation for excellent outcome is very important, that is, neonatologist, medical microbiologist, and plastic and chest surgeons.
Motor Responses and Weight Gaining in Neonates through Use of Two Methods of Earmuff and Receiving Silence in NICU
Authors: Abdeyazdan Z. , Ghasemi S. , Marofi M. , Berjis N.
Published: December 2014

Background and Aims. With technological advances in NICUs the survival rate of preterm infants has been increased. Because NICU environment is a potent source of stress for infants, its modification is an essential measure to decrease infants’ morbidity. The purposes of this study were to compare the effects of wearing earmuff and provision silence for infants on their motor responses and gaining weight.Methods. In a randomized clinical trial 96 preterm infants were enrolled. Their motor responses were evaluated for two consecutive days in the morning and afternoon shifts, in the groups of earmuff and silence, and at similar time points in the control group. Also their weight was measured at days 1 and 10.Results. In the two intervention groups, means of motor responses in infants were significantly less than in the control group, and weight gain of infants was more than the control group. However weight gain was more pronounced in the earmuff group.Conclusion. Both interventions led to decreasing number of motor responses and improvement of weight gain pattern, but these effects were more pronounced in earmuff group; thus because implementation of silence in NICUs has many barriers, it is suggested to use earmuff for preterm infants in these units. This trial obtained IRCT registration numberIRCT2012092010812N2.
Effects of Surfactants on the Rate of Chemical Reactions
Authors: Samiey B. , Cheng C.-H. , Wu J.
Published: December 2014

Surfactants are self-assembled compounds that depend on their structure and electric charge can interact as monomer or micelle with other compounds (substrates). These interactions which may catalyze or inhibit the reaction rates are studied with pseudophase, cooperativity, and stoichiometric (classical) models. In this review, we discuss applying these models to study surfactant-substrate interactions and their effects on Diels-Alder, redox, photochemical, decomposition, enzymatic, isomerization, ligand exchange, radical, and nucleophilic reactions.
Image Processing Method for Automatic Discrimination of Hoverfly Species
Authors: Crnojević Vladimir , Panić Marko , Brkljač Branko , Ćulibrk Dubravko , Ačanski Jelena , Vujić Ante
Published: December 2014

An approach to automatic hoverfly species discrimination based on detection and extraction of vein junctions in wing venation patterns of insects is presented in the paper. The dataset used in our experiments consists of high resolution microscopic wing images of several hoverfly species collected over a relatively long period of time at different geographic locations. Junctions are detected using the combination of the well known HOG (histograms of oriented gradients) and the robust version of recently proposed CLBP (complete local binary pattern). These features are used to train an SVM classifier to detect junctions in wing images. Once the junctions are identified they are used to extract statistics characterizing the constellations of these points. Such simple features can be used to automatically discriminate four selected hoverfly species with polynomial kernel SVM and achieve high classification accuracy.
Effect of magnetic field on thermal instability of a rotating Rivlin-Ericksen viscoelastic fluid
Authors: Kumar Pardeep , Mohan Hari , Lal Roshan
Published: December 2014

The thermal instability of a rotating Rivlin-Ericksen viscoelastic fluid in the presence of uniform vertical magnetic field is considered. For the case of stationary convection, Rivlin-Ericksen viscoelastic fluid behaves like a Newtonian fluid. It is found that rotation has a stabilizing effect, whereas the magnetic field has both stabilizing and destabilizing effects. Graphs have been plotted by giving numerical values to the parameters, to depict the stability characteristics. The rotation and magnetic field are found to introduce oscillatory modes in the system which were nonexistent in their absence.
A Serum MicroRNA Signature Predicts Tumor Relapse and Survival in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Patients
Authors: Kleivi Sahlberg Kristine , Bottai Giulia , Naume Bjørn , Burwinkel Barbara , Calin George A. , Børresen-Dale Anne-Lise , Santarpia Libero
Published: December 2014

Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are associated with high risk of early tumor recurrence and poor outcome. Common prognostic biomarkers give very restricted predictive information of tumor recurrences in TNBC. Human serum contains stably expressed microRNAs (miRNAs), which have been discovered to predict prognosis in patients with cancer. The purpose of this study was to identify circulating biomarkers able to predict clinical outcome in TNBC.

Experimental Design: We performed genome-wide serum miRNA expression and real-time PCR analyses to investigate the ability of miRNAs in predicting tumor relapse in serum samples from 60 primary TNBC. Patients were divided into training and testing cohorts.

Results: By Cox regression analysis, we identified a four-miRNA signature (miR-18b, miR-103, miR-107, and miR-652) that predicted tumor relapse and overall survival. This miRNA signature was further validated in an independent cohort of 70 TNBC. A high-risk signature score was developed and significantly associated with tumor recurrence and reduced survival. Multivariate Cox regression models indicated that the risk score based on the four-miRNA signature was an independent prognostic classifier of patients with TNBC.

Conclusions: This signature may serve as a minimally invasive predictor of tumor relapse and overall survival for patients with TNBC. This prediction model may ultimately lead to better treatment options for patients with TNBC. Clin Cancer Res; 21(5); 1207–14. ©2014 AACR.
Contribution of Kv7 Channels to Natriuretic Peptide Mediated Vasodilation in Normal and Hypertensive Rats
Authors: Stott Jennifer B. , Barrese Vincenzo , Jepps Thomas A. , Leighton Emma V. , Greenwood Iain A.
Published: December 2014

The Kv7 family of voltage-gated potassium channels are expressed within the vasculature where they are key regulators of vascular tone and mediate cAMP-linked endogenous vasodilator responses, a pathway that is compromised in hypertension. However, the role of Kv7 channels in non–cAMP-linked vasodilator pathways has not been investigated. Natriuretic peptides are potent vasodilators, which operate primarily through the activation of a cGMP-dependent signaling pathway. This study investigated the putative role of Kv7 channels in natriuretic peptide–dependent relaxations in the vasculature of normal and hypertensive animals. Relaxant responses of rat aorta to both atrial and C-type natriuretic peptides and the nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside were impaired by the Kv7 blocker linopirdine (10 μmol/L) but not by the Kv7.1-specific blocker HMR1556 (10 μmol/L) and other K
+
channel blockers. In contrast, only the atrial natriuretic peptide response was sensitive to linopirdine in the renal artery. These Kv7-mediated responses were attenuated in arteries from hypertensive rats. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction showed that A- and B-type natriuretic peptide receptors were expressed at high levels in the aorta and renal artery from normal and spontaneously hypertensive rats. This study provides the first evidence that natriuretic peptide responses are impaired in hypertension and that recruitment of Kv7 channels is a key component of natriuretic peptide–dependent vasodilations.
Loss of Functional Endothelial Connexin40 Results in Exercise-Induced Hypertension in Mice
Authors: Morton Susan K. , Chaston Daniel J. , Howitt Lauren , Heisler Jillian , Nicholson Bruce J. , Fairweather Stephen , Bröer Stefan , Ashton Anthony W. , Matthaei Klaus I. , Hill Caryl E.
Published: December 2014

During activity, coordinated vasodilation of microcirculatory networks with upstream supply vessels increases blood flow to skeletal and cardiac muscles and reduces peripheral resistance. Endothelial dysfunction in humans attenuates activity-dependent vasodilation, resulting in exercise-induced hypertension in otherwise normotensive individuals. Underpinning activity-dependent hyperemia is an ascending vasodilation in which the endothelial gap junction protein, connexin (Cx)40, plays an essential role. Because exercise-induced hypertension is proposed as a forerunner to clinical hypertension, we hypothesized that endothelial disruption of Cx40 function in mice may create an animal model of this condition. To this end, we created mice in which a mutant Cx40T152A was expressed alongside wildtype Cx40 selectively in the endothelium. Expression of the Cx40T152A transgene in
Xenopus
oocytes and mouse coronary endothelial cells in vitro impaired both electric and chemical conductance and acted as a dominant-negative against wildtype Cx40, Cx43, and Cx45, but not Cx37. Endothelial expression of Cx40T152A in Cx40T152ATg mice attenuated ascending vasodilation, without effect on radial coupling through myoendothelial gap junctions. Using radiotelemetry, Cx40T152ATg mice showed an activity-dependent increase in blood pressure, which was significantly greater than in wildtype mice, but significantly less than in chronically hypertensive, Cx40knockout mice. The increase in heart rate with activity was also greater than in wildtype or Cx40knockout mice. We conclude that the endothelial Cx40T152A mutation attenuates activity-dependent vasodilation, producing a model of exercise-induced hypertension. These data highlight the importance of endothelial coupling through Cx40 in regulating blood pressure during activity.
High diversity of Ocellularia (Ascomycota: Graphidaceae) in the Colombian Llanos, including two species new to science
Authors: Peláez Rouchi N. , Moncada Bibiana , Lücking Robert
Published: December 2014

An inventory of crustose epiphytic lichens in gallery forests dominated by the Moriche palm, Mauritia flexuosa, in the Colombian Llanos revealed a high diversity of species of the genus Ocellularia s.str. Thirteen species were identified in the material, some of them previously known from very few collections only. Two species are new to science and ten are new records for Colombia. The two new species are O. umbilicatoides Peláez, Moncada & Lücking, differing from O. umbilicata in the presence of a (carbonized) columella, and O. usnicolor Peláez, Moncada & Lücking, differing from O. psorbarroensis in the carbonized columella and dark brown to carbonized excipulum and the mottled white-yellowish green thallus. We also revised the nomenclature of species of Ocellularia previously listed for Colombia and propose the new combination Ocellularia dodecamera (Nyl.) Peláez, Moncada & Lücking.