bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of platelet pathogen inactivation on blood component utilization and patient safety in a large Austrian Regional Medical Centre
Authors: Amato M. , Schennach H. , Astl M. , Chen C. Y. , Lin J.‐S. , Benjamin R. J. , Nussbaumer W.
Published: December 2016

Background

In clinical studies, pathogen inactivation (PI) of platelet concentrates (PC) with amotosalen and UVA light did not impact patient risk for haemorrhage but may affect transfusion frequency and component utilization. We evaluated the influence of platelet PI on PC, red cell concentrate (RCC) and plasma use and safety in routine practice in a large regional hospital.

Study Design and Methods

Comparative effectiveness of conventional vs. PI‐treated PC was analysed during two 21‐month periods, before and after PI implementation.

Results

Similar numbers of patients were transfused in the pre‐PI (control, 1797) and post‐PI (test, 1694) periods with comparable numbers of PC (8611 and 7705, respectively). The mean numbers of PC per patient transfused (4·8 vs. 4·5, P = 0·43) were not different but days of PC support (5·9 vs. 5·0, P < 0·01) decreased. Most patients received RCC (86·8% control vs. 84·8% test, P = 0·90) with similar mean numbers transfused (10·8 vs. 10·2 RCC, P = 0·22), and fewer patients (55·4% control vs. 44·7% test, P < 0·01) received less plasma units (mean 9·9 vs. 7·8, respectively, P < 0·01) in the test period. The frequencies of transfusion‐related adverse events (AE) were comparable (1·3% vs. 1·4%, P = 0·95). Analysis of haematology–oncology (522 control, 452 test), cardiac surgery (739 control, 711 test), paediatric (157 control, 130 test) and neonate (23 control, 20 test) patients revealed no increase in PC, plasma and RCC utilization, or AE.

Conclusion

Component utilization and patient safety were not impacted by adoption of PI for PC. RCC use per patient was comparable, suggestive of no increase in significant bleeding.
Experiences with semi‐routine production of riboflavin and UV‐B pathogen‐inactivated platelet concentrates in three blood centres
Authors: van der Meer P. F. , Couture C. , Hervig T. , Kruit G. , Devine D. V. , de Korte D. , Kerkhoffs J.‐L.
Published: December 2016

Background

For a clinical platelet (PLT) transfusion trial conducted in three countries, the production of PLT concentrates (PCs) that were pathogen inactivated with the Mirasol technology was set up and validated. While the Mirasol procedure is applied to an established PLT product, the PLT processing procedure still had to be modified to ensure a treated PC was of sufficient quality. Further, the effect of simulated transport conditions and the effect of ambient light on Mirasol‐treated PCs was determined.

Study Design and Methods

Platelet concentrates in plasma were made from pooled buffy coats followed by Mirasol treatment. To mimic transport conditions, units were left unagitated for 6 h at room temperature. To mimic ambient light exposure, units were held unagitated for 4 h in direct fluorescent tube light.

Results

Measures had to be taken to allow 7‐day storage of treated concentrates. In one site, PCs made from five buffy coats with >450 × 109 PLTs were removed from inventory. Another site went from five to four buffy coats per pool. Interruption of agitation for 6 h on day 3 did not induce meaningful changes in in vitro measures, even when stored up to 7 days. Exposure to ambient light for 4 h, either on day 3 or 6, had no effect on in vitro measures.

Conclusion

The Mirasol pathogen inactivation process can be implemented in routine, but changes to current PLT processing methods might be needed. Transport conditions and 4‐h‐long ambient light exposure have no negative effect on the in vitro quality of Mirasol‐treated PCs.
Storage of red blood cells in a novel polyolefin blood container: a pilot in vitro study
Authors: Gulliksson H. , Meinke S. , Ravizza A. , Larsson L. , Höglund P.
Published: December 2016

Background and Objectives

The present general plasticizer di‐2‐ethylhexyl‐phthalate in polyvinylchloride (PVC) blood bags is only physically dispersed in PVC and will therefore leach into blood components. The objective of this study was to perform a first preliminary red blood cell (RBC) storage evaluation in a new blood bag manufactured of polyolefin without any inclusion of potentially migrating substances.

Study Design and Methods

This is a RBC storage study for 42 days. Blood collection was performed in a polyolefin‐based PVC‐free blood bag. RBCs were prepared within 8 h. Two different RBC additive solutions were used, either PAGGS‐M or PAGGG‐M. We weekly measured pH, K+, glucose, lactate, haemolysis, red cell ATP and 2,3‐DPG.

Results

RBC storage in PAGGS‐M resulted in high haemolysis levels already after 21 days, exceeding the European maximum limit of 0·8%, and low ATP levels by the end of the storage period. With PAGGG‐M, haemolysis exceeded 0·8% after 28 days of storage. For additional parameters, the results were comparable to those of previous studies in conventional blood bags.

Conclusion

This is a first preliminary study of RBC storage in a new type of blood bags. PAGGG‐M gave encouraging results except for its inability to prevent increased haemolysis. There will be room for further development of RBC additive solutions to address the haemolysis problems. Plasma should also be tested regarding the stability of coagulation and activation pathway variables. There may also be a potential for future use of the bag for preparation of pooled buffy‐coat‐derived platelets.
Critical re‐appraisal of blood component quality after overnight hold of whole blood outside current room temperature limits
Authors: Bontekoe I. J. , van der Meer P. F. , de Korte D.
Published: December 2016

Background and Objectives

According to European guidelines, the temperature of whole blood (WB) has to be maintained at 20–24°C until processing within 24 h, but in blood bank practice, WB is frequently held at temperatures between 18–25°C. We aimed to assess the impact of these small temperature deviations on the quality of the blood components.

Materials and Methods

After rapid cooling, 7 WB units were held overnight at 18°C and 8 units at 25°C, reflecting worst case holding conditions, and separated into a red cell concentrate (RCC), plasma and buffy coat (BC). RCCs were filtered at test temperature and stored for 42 days at 2–6°C. BCs were processed to single‐BC platelet concentrates (sPC) and stored up to Day 8 at 20–24°C.

Results

After overnight hold at 18°C, 2,3‐DPG in WB decreased by 34 ± 9%, while at 25°C the decrease was 82 ± 6%. Accordingly, the 2,3‐DPG levels in the RCCs in the 25°C group were significantly lower than in the 18°C group (2·2 ± 1·4 vs. 10·4 ± 2·9 μmol/g Hb). RCCs and sPCs in the 25°C group showed higher initial lactate levels and lower pH compared to the 18°C group, but these differences levelled off at the end of storage. RCCs showed small differences in ATP levels and haemolysis. Plasma in both groups showed comparable Factor VIII:C levels.

Conclusion

The temperature of WB during overnight hold strongly affects initial 2,3‐DPG levels of RCCs and supports the maintenance of temperature limits between 20 and 24°C. Other in vitro effects of the temperature deviations were small and of no practical relevance.
The Analysis of the 5th Grade Students’ Attitudes and Self-efficacy for Physical Education Course in terms of Demographic Characteristics
Authors: Aydoğan Hayri
Published: December 2016

The aim of the study is to analyze the 5th grade students’ attitudes and self-efficacy for the physical education course that they have come across for the first time which is taught by physical education and sports teachers. Law No. 6287 was issued by the Turkish Grand National Assembly National Education Culture Youth and Sports Commission on March 30, 2012 and put in the practice on April 11, 2012. It enforced compulsory education system from 8 years to 12 years and graded the education system as 4 + 4 + 4 years (URL-1). 329 fifth grade students studying at 13 public schools in the districts and villages of Rize and Trabzon cities joined the study. In addition to the Personal Information Form, “Physical Education Susceptibility Scale” (PESS) developed by Hilland et al. (2009) and adapted to Turkish by Öncü, Gürbüz, Küçükkılıç and Keskin (2015) checking its validity and reliability as a data collection tool covering 11 items were used. According to the findings of the analysis made for the "Attitude" subtitle of the 5th grade students towards physical education course; "Gender Variable"(t = 2,211; p <0.05) had a significant difference compared to "Location of School" (F = 3,044; p <0,05). In addition, according to the findings of the analysis made for the "Self-efficacy" subtitle for the physical education course of the 5th grade students, there was a significant difference in terms of “Mother’s Educational Level” (F = 2,766; p <0,05). The difference was meaningful between the groups of elementary school-post graduate, and high school-secondary school.
A Task-Driven Approach to Unified Synthesis of Planar Four-Bar Linkages Using Algebraic Fitting of a Pencil of G-Manifolds
Authors: Ge Q. J. , Purwar Anurag , Zhao Ping , Deshpande Shrinath
Published: December 2016

This paper studies the problem of planar four-bar motion generation from the viewpoint of extraction of geometric constraints from a given set of planar displacements. Using the image space of planar displacements, we obtain a class of quadrics, called generalized- or G-manifolds, with eight linear and homogeneous coefficients as a unified representation for constraint manifolds of all four types of planar dyads, RR, PR, and PR, and PP. Given a set of image points that represent planar displacements, the problem of synthesizing a planar four-bar linkage is reduced to finding a pencil of G-manifolds that best fit the image points in the least squares sense. This least squares problem is solved using singular value decomposition (SVD). The linear coefficients associated with the smallest singular values are used to define a pencil of quadrics. Additional constraints on the linear coefficients are then imposed to obtain a planar four-bar linkage that best guides the coupler through the given displacements. The result is an efficient and linear algorithm that naturally extracts the geometric constraints of a motion and leads directly to the type and dimensions of a mechanism for motion generation.
Understanding Social Identity and Intrateam Moral Behavior in Competitive Youth Ice Hockey: A Narrative Perspective
Authors: Bruner Mark W. , Boardley Ian D. , Allan Veronica , Forrest Christopher , Root Zachary , Côté Jean
Published: December 2016

Social identity has been found to play a salient role in regulating teammate behavior among youth participating in a range of sports (Bruner, Boardley, & Côté, 2014). This study aimed to better understand social identity by examining how it may influence intrateam moral behavior specifically in competitive youth ice hockey. Thirty-six male and female competitive youth ice hockey players from nine teams participated in narrative interviews. Using a thematic narrative analysis, three distinct narratives were identified: (1) family-oriented team narrative, (2) performance-oriented team narrative, and (3) dominance-oriented team narrative. Within each of the narratives, a reciprocal relationship between social identity and intrateam moral behavior was reported such that young athletes’ social identities developed through team membership may influence and be influenced by their moral behavior toward teammates. Collectively, the results extend previous research by providing an in-depth qualitative understanding of social identity and intrateam moral behavior in youth sport.
Goal-Directed, Spontaneous, and Stimulus-Independent Thoughts and Mindwandering in a Competitive Context
Authors: Latinjak Alexander Tibor
Published: December 2016

The aim of this study was to analyze the functions of goal-directed thoughts and the content of spontaneous and stimulus-independent thoughts and mindwandering in a competitive setting and to explore links between different types of thoughts. Therefore, 17 young sport science students competed in a card-sorting task, while their recorded thoughts were collected between trials. Afterwards, the participants classified their own transcripts into different types of thoughts. The results indicated that goal-directed thinking serves a variety of functions, that spontaneous thought content might reflect a series of psychological states and processes relevant for performance, and that the content of mindwandering was idiosyncratic. Moreover, goal-directed thinking increased during competition, whereas mindwandering diminished. Lastly, mindwandering was rarely connected to other types of thinking, whereas the most recurrent connection between thoughts was found between goal-directed and spontaneous thinking.
Women Referees’ Experiences Officiating Rugby Union
Authors: Baldwin Christopher F. , Vallance Roger
Published: December 2016

Five women rugby union referees who officiated in the New South Wales (NSW) suburban rugby union premiership were interviewed about their experiences refereeing men. After a comprehensive analysis of the interview transcripts, four themes emerged around barriers and challenges to women’s participation in officiating, these themes are: 1) Barriers experienced by women rugby union referees; 2) Success in refereeing male rugby union players; 3) Challenges of women participating in refereeing rugby union; 4) Ways to bring about change. The findings imply that there is discrimination and marginalization present in women’s sports officiating at male games which is in line with the literature in women’s sports coaching. The findings also suggest that women have to be superior and elite athletes with a history of success to be appointed to the best male rugby union matches. Support both on and off the field is crucial to the development and success of female referees.
Detection of prions in the plasma of presymptomatic and symptomatic patients with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Authors: Bougard Daisy , Brandel Jean-Philippe , Bélondrade Maxime , Béringue Vincent , Segarra Christiane , Fleury Hervé , Laplanche Jean-Louis , Mayran Charly , Nicot Simon , Green Alison , Welaratne Arlette , Narbey David , Fournier-Wirth Chantal , Knight Richard , Will Robert , Tiberghien Pierre , Haïk Stéphane , Coste Joliette
Published: December 2016

A sensitive blood diagnostic assay can identify patients with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease before symptoms appear and during the clinical phase.
SSUnique: Detecting Sequence Novelty in Microbiome Surveys
Authors: Lynch Michael D. J. , Neufeld Josh D.
Published: December 2016

Extensive SSU rRNA gene sequence libraries, constructed from DNA extracts of environmental or host-associated samples, often contain many unclassified sequences, many representing organisms with novel taxonomy (taxonomic “blind spots”) and potentially unique ecology. This novelty is poorly explored in standard workflows, which narrows the breadth and discovery potential of such studies. Here we present the SSUnique analysis pipeline, which will promote the exploration of unclassified diversity in microbiome research and, importantly, enable the discovery of substantial novel taxonomic lineages through the analysis of a large variety of existing data sets.
Effects of changing permafrost and snow conditions on tundra wildlife: critical places and times
Authors: Berteaux Dominique , Gauthier Gilles , Domine Florent , Ims Rolf A. , Lamoureux Scott F. , Lévesque Esther , Yoccoz Nigel
Published: December 2016

The change of water phase around 0 °C has considerable impacts on wildlife ecology because liquid and solid water strongly differ in their insulating capability, mechanical resistance, and light reflectance. Freeze and melt events thus have strong ecological relevance, particularly in the Arctic where snow and ice are omnipresent and their conditions are changing due to climate warming. We first review the mechanisms linking water phase transitions to wildlife ecology, with emphasis on seven key processes. These processes are illustrated with examples or detailed case studies, such as snowmelt and icing events affecting herbivore populations, thaw-induced collapse of structures used by wildlife for reproduction, and thermal erosion of ice wedges reducing waterfowl habitat. We infer that water phase transitions generate some critical places and critical times that play a disproportionate role in the ecology of tundra wildlife. We map these critical places and times to help structure future research on the effects of climate change on tundra wildlife in a context where changing permafrost and snow conditions might trigger abrupt ecological responses in the Arctic tundra.
Does riparian disturbance alter stream amphibian antipredator behaviors?
Authors: Liford A.N. , Cecala K.K.
Published: December 2016

Ecological traps occur when a species makes maladaptive habitat-selection decisions. Human-modified environments including deforested riparian habitats can change how organisms respond to environmental cues. Stream amphibians alter their habitat selection in response to abiotic cues associated with riparian clearing, but little research exists to determine if behavioral shifts to abiotic cues may make them more susceptible to predation. To evaluate if deforested habitats create ecological traps, we studied habitat-selection behavior of larval Black-bellied Salamander (Desmognathus quadramaculatus (Holbrook, 1840)) when given conflicting environmental cues. We also evaluated the potential for learning or adaptation to cues in deforested reaches by evaluating individuals from forested and deforested reaches. We anticipated that individuals from deforested reaches would make adaptive antipredator choices when presented with well-lit habitat, whereas individuals from forested reaches would select shaded habitat closer to a predator. We found that habitat origin, light, and predator presence all interacted to influence habitat selection. Although individuals from forested habitats selected shaded environments, all observed individuals adaptively avoided a predator. Individuals from deforested reaches were more willing to enter well-lit habitat to avoid the predator. Despite documented declines of salamanders associated with forest removal, it appears that individuals are capable of making adaptive antipredator decisions in degraded habitats.
A Novel Multi-GPU Parallel Optimization Model for The Sparse Matrix-Vector Multiplication
Authors: Gao Jiaquan , Zhou Yuanshen , Wu Kesong
Published: December 2016

Accelerating the sparse matrix-vector multiplication (SpMV) on the graphics processing units (GPUs) has attracted considerable attention recently. We observe that on a specific multiple-GPU platform, the SpMV performance can usually be greatly improved when a matrix is partitioned into several blocks according to a predetermined rule and each block is assigned to a GPU with an appropriate storage format. This motivates us to propose a novel multi-GPU parallel SpMV optimization model. Our model involves two stages. In the first stage, a simple rule is defined to divide any given matrix among multiple GPUs, and then a performance model, which is independent of the problems and dependent on the resources of devices, is proposed to accurately predict the execution time of SpMV kernels. Using these models, we construct in the second stage an optimally multi-GPU parallel SpMV algorithm that is automatically and rapidly generated for the platform for any problem. Given that our model for SpMV is general, independent of the problems, and dependent on the resources of devices, this model is constructed only once for each type of GPU. The experiments validate the high efficiency of our proposed model.
Evaluating Multiple Streams on Heterogeneous Platforms
Authors: Fang Jianbin , Zhang Peng , Li Zhaokui , Tang Tao , Chen Xuhao , Chen Cheng , Yang Canqun
Published: December 2016

Using multiple streams can improve the overall system performance by mitigating the data transfer overhead on heterogeneous systems. Prior work focuses a lot on GPUs but little is known about the performance impact on (Intel Xeon) Phi. In this work, we apply multiple streams into six real-world applications on Phi. We then systematically evaluate the performance benefits of using multiple streams. The evaluation work is performed at two levels: the microbenchmarking level and the real-world application level. Our experimental results at the microbenchmark level show that data transfers and kernel execution can be overlapped on Phi, while data transfers in both directions are performed in a serial manner. At the real-world application level, we show that both overlappable and non-overlappable applications can benefit from using multiple streams (with an performance improvement of up to 24%). We also quantify how task granularity and resource granularity impact the overall performance. Finally, we present a set of heuristics to reduce the search space when determining a proper task granularity and resource granularity. To conclude, our evaluation work provides lots of insights for runtime and architecture designers when using multiple streams on Phi.
A Self-Stabilizing Algorithm for Maximal Matching in Anonymous Networks
Authors: Cohen Johanne , Lefèvre Jonas , Maâmra Khaled , Pilard Laurence , Sohier Devan
Published: December 2016

We propose a self-stabilizing algorithm for computing a maximal matching in an anonymous network. The complexity is O(2) moves with high probability, under the adversarial distributed daemon. Among all adversarial distributed daemons and with the anonymous assumption, our algorithm provides the best known complexity. Moreover, the previous best known algorithm working under the same daemon and using identity has a O(m) complexity leading to the same order of growth than our anonymous algorithm. Finally, we do not make the common assumption that a node can determine whether one of its neighbors points to it or to another node, and still we present a solution with the same asymptotic behavior.
Trading off t-Resilience for Efficiency in Asynchronous Byzantine Reliable Broadcast
Authors: Imbs Damien , Raynal Michel
Published: December 2016

This paper presents a simple and efficient reliable broadcast algorithm for asynchronous message-passing systems made up of n processes, among which up to [Formula: see text] may behave arbitrarily (Byzantine processes). This algorithm requires two communication steps and n2 − 1 messages. When compared to Bracha’s algorithm, which is resilience optimal ([Formula: see text]) and requires three communication steps and [Formula: see text] messages, the proposed algorithm shows an interesting tradeoff between communication efficiency and t-resilience.
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON ĆIRIĆ TYPE THEOREMS
Authors: DUNG NGUYEN VAN
Published: December 2016

In this paper, we study open questions on Ćirić type theorems proposed by Petruşel.1 First, we prove two theorems similar to results of L. B. Ćirić2 and I. A. Rus3 which are positive answers to the question presented in Remark 2.3 of Petruşel’s paper.1 Then we construct a counterexample to illustrate obtained results and also to disprove results similar to Theorems 4.1 and 4.2 for a multi-fractal map generated by an iterated multi-valued system of multi-valued maps of Ćirić type, which is a negative answer to the question presented on page 243 of Petruşel’s paper.1 Our approach is to apply the argument for a metric to a distance between two bounded subsets of a metric space. This approach differs from the selection approach known in the literature.
A Colorful Life: Scientific Achievements of Tomás Torres in the Fields of Phthalocyanines, Molecular Materials and Nanoscience
Authors: Rodríguez-Morgade M. Salomé
Published: December 2016

Some of the most important achievements of Tomás Torres in the last few decades within the fields of Phthalocyanines and related compounds, Molecular Materials and Nanoscience are revised and his recognized international prestige in these areas highlighted on the occasion of his 65th birthday.
RISK ATTITUDES IN THE BOARD ROOM AND COMPANY PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FOR AN EMERGING ECONOMY
Authors: BODEUTSCH DENICE , FRANSES PHILIP HANS
Published: December 2016

We personally interview thirteen board members of seven (out of the ten) companies listed at the Suriname Stock Exchange and ask questions about their past and current decisions and on their risk attitudes. Next, we correlate the answers to company performance in between 2003–2011, like earnings per share, stock returns, book value and market value. Recent literature on risk attitudes in the board, which usually draws on western economies, guides our formulation of hypotheses. At the same time we also perform some exploratory analyses. Our main result is that, for this emerging economy, more risk adversity leads to better firm performance.
PSelInv—A Distributed Memory Parallel Algorithm for Selected Inversion
Authors: Jacquelin Mathias , Lin Lin , Yang Chao
Published: December 2016

We describe an efficient parallel implementation of the selected inversion algorithm for distributed memory computer systems, which we call PSelInv. The PSelInv method computes selected elements of a general sparse matrix
A
that can be decomposed as
A
=
LU
, where
L
is lower triangular and
U
is upper triangular. The implementation described in this article focuses on the case of sparse symmetric matrices. It contains an interface that is compatible with the distributed memory parallel sparse direct factorization SuperLU_DIST. However, the underlying data structure and design of PSelInv allows it to be easily combined with other factorization routines, such as PARDISO. We discuss general parallelization strategies such as data and task distribution schemes. In particular, we describe how to exploit the concurrency exposed by the elimination tree associated with the
LU
factorization of
A
. We demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of PSelInv by presenting several numerical experiments. In particular, we show that PSelInv can run efficiently on more than 4,000 cores for a modestly sized matrix. We also demonstrate how PSelInv can be used to accelerate large-scale electronic structure calculations.
Cell-graphs
Authors: Yener Bülent
Published: December 2016

Cell-graph construction methods are best served when physics-driven and data-driven paradigms are joined.
Exponential laws of computing growth
Authors: Denning Peter J. , Lewis Ted G.
Published: December 2016

Moore's Law is one small component in an exponentially growing planetary computing ecosystem.
Firedrake
Authors: Rathgeber Florian , Ham David A. , Mitchell Lawrence , Lange Michael , Luporini Fabio , Mcrae Andrew T. T. , Bercea Gheorghe-Teodor , Markall Graham R. , Kelly Paul H. J.
Published: December 2016

Firedrake is a new tool for automating the numerical solution of partial differential equations. Firedrake adopts the domain-specific language for the finite element method of the FEniCS project, but with a pure Python runtime-only implementation centered on the composition of several existing and new abstractions for particular aspects of scientific computing. The result is a more complete separation of concerns that eases the incorporation of separate contributions from computer scientists, numerical analysts, and application specialists. These contributions may add functionality or improve performance.

Firedrake benefits from automatically applying new optimizations. This includes factorizing mixed function spaces, transforming and vectorizing inner loops, and intrinsically supporting block matrix operations. Importantly, Firedrake presents a simple public API for escaping the UFL abstraction. This allows users to implement common operations that fall outside of pure variational formulations, such as flux limiters.
Faucet
Authors: Bailey Josh , Stuart Stephen
Published: December 2016

Using OpenFlow and DevOps for rapid development.
Resolving conflict
Authors: Matsudaira Kate
Published: December 2016

Don't "win." Resolve.
Is Google's alphabet a good bet?
Authors: Cusumano Michael A.
Published: December 2016

A relatively simple query raises myriad complicated issues.
Exogenous H2S regulates endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria cross-talk to inhibit apoptotic pathways in STZ-induced type I diabetes
Authors: Yang Fan , Yu Xiangjing , Li Ting , Wu Jianjun , Zhao Yajun , Liu Jiaqi , Sun Aili , Dong Shiyun , Wu Jichao , Zhong Xin , Xu Changqing , Lu Fanghao , Zhang Weihua
Published: December 2016

The upregulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a primary cause of cardiomyocyte apoptosis in diabetes cardiomyopathy (DCM). Mitofusin-2 (Mfn-2) is a key protein that bridges the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Hydrogen sulfide (H2S)-mediated cardioprotection is related to antioxidant effects. The present study demonstrated that H2S inhibited the interaction between the ER and mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. This study investigated cardiac function, ultrastructural changes in the ER and mitochondria, apoptotic rate using TUNEL, and the expression of ER stress-associated proteins and mitochondrial apoptotic proteins in cardiac tissues in STZ-induced type I diabetic rats treated with or without NaHS (donor of H2S). Mitochondria of cardiac tissues were isolated, and MPTP opening and cytochrome c (cyt C) and Mfn-2 expression were also detected. Our data showed that hyperglycemia decreased the cardiac function by ultrasound cardiogram, and the administration of exogenous H2S ameliorated these changes. We demonstrated that the expression of ER stress sensors and apoptotic rates were elevated in cardiac tissue of DCM and cultured H9C2 cells, but the expression of these proteins was reduced following exogenous H2S treatment. The expression of mitochondrial apoptotic proteins, cyt C, and mPTP opening was decreased following treatment with exogenous H2S. In our experiment, the expression and immunofluorescence of Mfn-2 were both decreased after transfection with Mfn-2-siRNA. Hyperglycemia stimulated ER interactions and mitochondrial apoptotic pathways, which were inhibited by exogenous H2S treatment through the regulation of Mfn-2 expression.
Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors control baseline activity and Hebbian stimulus timing-dependent plasticity in fusiform cells of the dorsal cochlear nucleus
Authors: Stefanescu Roxana A. , Shore Susan E.
Published: December 2016

Cholinergic modulation contributes to adaptive sensory processing by controlling spontaneous and stimulus-evoked neural activity and long-term synaptic plasticity. In the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN), in vitro activation of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) alters the spontaneous activity of DCN neurons and interacts with N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) and endocannabinoid receptors to modulate the plasticity of parallel fiber synapses onto fusiform cells by converting Hebbian long-term potentiation to anti-Hebbian long-term depression. Because noise exposure and tinnitus are known to increase spontaneous activity in fusiform cells as well as alter stimulus timing-dependent plasticity (StTDP), it is important to understand the contribution of mAChRs to in vivo spontaneous activity and plasticity in fusiform cells. In the present study, we blocked mAChRs actions by infusing atropine, a mAChR antagonist, into the DCN fusiform cell layer in normal hearing guinea pigs. Atropine delivery leads to decreased spontaneous firing rates and increased synchronization of fusiform cell spiking activity. Consistent with StTDP alterations observed in tinnitus animals, atropine infusion induced a dominant pattern of inversion of StTDP mean population learning rule from a Hebbian to an anti-Hebbian profile. Units preserving their initial Hebbian learning rules shifted toward more excitatory changes in StTDP, whereas units with initial suppressive learning rules transitioned toward a Hebbian profile. Together, these results implicate muscarinic cholinergic modulation as a factor in controlling in vivo fusiform cell baseline activity and plasticity, suggesting a central role in the maladaptive plasticity associated with tinnitus pathology.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study is the first to use a novel method of atropine infusion directly into the fusiform cell layer of the dorsal cochlear nucleus coupled with simultaneous recordings of neural activity to clarify the contribution of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) to in vivo fusiform cell baseline activity and auditory-somatosensory plasticity. We have determined that blocking the mAChRs increases the synchronization of spiking activity across the fusiform cell population and induces a dominant pattern of inversion in their stimulus timing-dependent plasticity. These modifications are consistent with similar changes established in previous tinnitus studies, suggesting that mAChRs might have a critical contribution in mediating the maladaptive alterations associated with tinnitus pathology. Blocking mAChRs also resulted in decreased fusiform cell spontaneous firing rates, which is in contrast with their tinnitus hyperactivity, suggesting that changes in the interactions between the cholinergic and GABAergic systems might also be an underlying factor in tinnitus pathology.
Intrinsic functional architecture of the macaque dorsal and ventral lateral frontal cortex
Authors: Goulas Alexandros , Stiers Peter , Hutchison R. Matthew , Everling Stefan , Petrides Michael , Margulies Daniel S.
Published: December 2016

Investigations of the cellular and connectional organization of the lateral frontal cortex (LFC) of the macaque monkey provide indispensable knowledge for generating hypotheses about the human LFC. However, despite numerous investigations, there are still debates on the organization of this brain region. In vivo neuroimaging techniques such as resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can be used to define the functional circuitry of brain areas, producing results largely consistent with gold-standard invasive tract-tracing techniques and offering the opportunity for cross-species comparisons within the same modality. Our results using resting-state fMRI from macaque monkeys to uncover the intrinsic functional architecture of the LFC corroborate previous findings and inform current debates. Specifically, within the dorsal LFC, we show that 1) the region along the midline and anterior to the superior arcuate sulcus is divided in two areas separated by the posterior supraprincipal dimple, 2) the cytoarchitectonically defined area 6DC/F2 contains two connectional divisions, and 3) a distinct area occupies the cortex around the spur of the arcuate sulcus, updating what was previously proposed to be the border between dorsal and ventral motor/premotor areas. Within the ventral LFC, the derived parcellation clearly suggests the presence of distinct areas: 1) an area with a somatomotor/orofacial connectional signature (putative area 44), 2) an area with an oculomotor connectional signature (putative frontal eye fields), and 3) premotor areas possibly hosting laryngeal and arm representations. Our results illustrate in detail the intrinsic functional architecture of the macaque LFC, thus providing valuable evidence for debates on its organization.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Resting-state functional MRI is used as a complementary method to invasive techniques to inform current debates on the organization of the macaque lateral frontal cortex. Given that the macaque cortex serves as a model for the human cortex, our results help generate more fine-tuned hypothesis for the organization of the human lateral frontal cortex.
High-velocity stimulation evokes “dense” population response in layer 2/3 vibrissal cortex
Authors: Ranjbar-Slamloo Yadollah , Arabzadeh Ehsan
Published: December 2016

Supragranular layers of sensory cortex are known to exhibit sparse firing. In rodent vibrissal cortex, a small fraction of neurons in layer 2 and 3 (L2/3) respond to whisker stimulation. In this study, we combined whole cell recording and two-photon imaging in anesthetized mice and quantified the synaptic response and spiking profile of L2/3 neurons. Previous literature has shown that neurons across layers of vibrissal cortex are tuned to the velocity of whisker movement. We therefore used a broad range of stimuli that included the standard range of velocities (0–1.2 deg/ms) and extended to a “sharp” high-velocity deflection (3.8 deg/ms). Consistent with previous literature, whole cell recording revealed a sparse response to the standard range of velocities: although all recorded cells showed tuning to velocity in their postsynaptic potentials, only a small fraction produced stimulus-evoked spikes. In contrast, the sharp stimulus evoked reliable spiking in the majority of neurons. The action potential threshold of spikes evoked by the sharp stimulus was significantly lower than that of the spontaneous spikes. Juxtacellular recordings confirmed that application of sharp stimulus to single or multiple whiskers produced temporally precise spiking with minimal trial-to-trial spike count variability (Fano factors equal or close to the theoretical minimum). Two-photon imaging further confirmed that most neurons that were not responsive to the standard deflections responded to the sharp stimulus. Altogether, our results indicate that sparseness in L2/3 cortex depends on the choice of stimulus: strong single- or multiwhisker stimulation can induce the transition from sparse to “dense” population response.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY In superficial layers of sensory cortex, only a small fraction of neurons fire most of the spontaneous and sensory evoked spikes. However, the functional relevance of such “sparse” activity remains unknown. We found that a “dense” population response is evoked by high-velocity micromotions applied to whiskers. Our results suggest that flashes of precisely timed population response on an almost silent background can provide a high capacity for coding of ecologically salient stimuli.
Rapid and flexible whole body postural responses are evoked from perturbations to the upper limb during goal-directed reaching
Authors: Lowrey Catherine R. , Nashed Joseph Y. , Scott Stephen H.
Published: December 2016

An important aspect of motor control is the ability to perform tasks with the upper limbs while maintaining whole body balance. However, little is known about the coordination of upper limb voluntary and whole body postural control after mechanical disturbances that require both upper limb motor corrections to attain a behavioral goal and lower limb motor responses to maintain whole body balance. The present study identified the temporal organization of muscle responses and center of pressure (COP) changes following mechanical perturbations during reaching. Our results demonstrate that muscle responses in the upper limb are evoked first (∼50 ms), with lower limb muscle activity occurring immediately after, in as little as ∼60 ms after perturbation. Hand motion was immediately altered by the load, while COP changes occurred after ∼100 ms, when lower limb muscle activity was already present. Our secondary findings showed that both muscle activity and COP changes were influenced by behavioral context (by altering target shape, circle vs. rectangle). Voluntary and postural actions initially directed the hand toward the center of both target types, but after the perturbation upper limb and postural responses redirected the hand toward different spatial locations along the rectangle. Muscle activity was increased for both upper and lower limbs when correcting to the circle vs. the rectangle, and these differences emerged as early as the long-latency epoch (∼75–120 ms). Our results demonstrate that postural responses are rapidly and flexibly altered to consider the behavioral goal of the upper limb.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY The present work establishes that, when reaching to a target while standing, perturbations applied to the upper limb elicit a rapid response in lower limb muscles. Unlike voluntary movements, postural responses do not occur before corrections of the upper limb. We show the first evidence that corrective postural adjustments are modulated by upper limb behavioral context (target shape). Importantly, this indicates that postural responses take into account upper limb feedback for online control.
Impact of Nonstandard Interactions on Neutrino-Nucleon Scattering
Authors: Papoulias D. K. , Kosmas T. S.
Published: December 2016

Nonstandard neutrino-nucleon interaction is formulated and explored within the energy range of quasi-elastic scattering. In particular, the study focuses on the neutral-current elastic (anti)neutrino scattering off nucleons described by the exotic reactionsνα(ν¯α)+n→νβ(ν¯β)+nandνα(ν¯α)+p→νβ(ν¯β)+p, which provide corrections to the dominant Standard Model processes. In this context, it is shown that the required exotic nucleon form factors may have a significant impact on the relevant cross sections. Besides cross sections, the event rate is expected to be rather sensitive to the magnitude of the lepton-flavour violating parameters resulting in an excess of events. The overlap of nonstandard interactions and strange quark contributions, in the region of few GeV neutrino energies, is also examined. The formalism is applied for the case of the relevant neutrino-nucleon scattering experiments (LSND, MiniBooNE, etc.) and motivates the notion that such facilities have high potential to probe NSI.
A Foregut Duplication Cyst of the Stomach in Association with a Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor and a Leiomyoma: A Case Report
Authors: Gagné Andréanne , Sazonova Olga , Marceau Simon , Périgny Martine , Joubert Philippe
Published: December 2016

Objectives. Duplication cysts are rare benign lesions usually arising in the gastrointestinal tract. We report a case of a 52-year-old woman with an incidental gastric mass found on computed tomography during a pregraft workup for a familial cardiomyopathy.Methods. The mass was completely excised by partial gastrectomy and gross examination revealed a cystic lesion containing two small solid nodules in its wall. Microscopic evaluation and immunohistochemistry study were performed to further characterize the cyst and the nodules. A comprehensive literature review of the NCBI database PubMed was also carried out.Results. While the cyst was diagnosed as a foregut duplication cyst, the solid nodules proved to be concomitant gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) and leiomyoma. Both morphologic features and immunohistochemistry stains, including CD117, smooth muscle actin, and CD34 supported the diagnosis. Clinical course was benign and the patient had no clinical evidence of relapse ten months following the surgical procedure. The literature search did not reveal any other published case of a foregut duplication cyst presenting in combination with a GIST and a leiomyoma.Conclusions. To our knowledge, this is the first case of a composite lesion comprising a foregut duplication cyst of the stomach along with a leiomyoma and a GIST.
Spatholobus suberectus Column Extract Inhibits Estrogen Receptor Positive Breast Cancer via Suppressing ER MAPK PI3K/AKT Pathway
Authors: Sun Jia-Qi , Zhang Gan-Lin , Zhang Yi , Nan Nan , Sun Xu , Yu Ming-Wei , Wang Hong , Li Jin-Ping , Wang Xiao-Min
Published: December 2016

Although Chinese herbal compounds have long been alternatively applied for cancer treatment in China, their treatment effects have not been sufficiently investigated. The Chinese herb Spatholobus suberectus is commonly prescribed to cancer patients. HPLC analysis has shown that the main components of Spatholobus suberectus are flavonoids that can be classified as phytoestrogens, having a structure similar to estrogen. This study was designed to investigate the effects of Spatholobus suberectus column extract (SSCE) on the estrogen receptor‐positive (ER+) breast cancer cell line MCF‐7 and its possible molecular mechanism. In our study, MTT assay was performed to evaluate cell viability. The results show that SSCE (80, 160, and 320 μg/ml) significantly decreased the viability of MCF‐7 cells. SSCE also triggered apoptosis, arrested the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase, and inhibited cell migration. A dual‐luciferase reporter system showed that SSCE suppressed intranuclear p‐ER activity; Western blot analysis confirmed the repressed expression of phosphorylated‐ER alpha (p‐ERα), ERK1/2, p‐ERK1/2, AKT, p‐AKT, p‐mTOR, PI3K, and p‐PI3K, indicating that SSCE suppressed the MAPK PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Collectively, our results suggest that SSCE causes apoptosis, an arrest in the G0/G1 phase, and a decrease in migration in ER+ MCF‐7 cells via hypoactivity of the ER and suppression of the MAPK PI3K/AKT pathway.
Knowledge of the Disease, Perceived Social Support, and Cognitive Appraisals in Women with Urinary Incontinence
Authors: Szymona-Pałkowska Katarzyna , Janowski Konrad , Pedrycz Agnieszka , Mucha Dariusz , Ambroży Tadeusz , Siermontowski Piotr , Adamczuk Jolanta , Sapalska Marta , Mucha Dawid , Kraczkowski Janusz
Published: December 2016

Social support and knowledge of the disease have been shown to facilitate adaptation to a chronic disease. However, the adaptation process is not fully understood. We hypothesized that these factors can contribute to better adaptation to the disease through their impact on disease-related cognitive appraisal. To analyze the links between social support and the knowledge of the disease, on one hand, and disease-related appraisals, on the other hand, one hundred fifty-eight women with stress UI, aged 32 to 79, took part in the study. Questionnaire measures of knowledge of UI, social support, and disease-related appraisals were used in the study. The level of knowledge correlated significantly negatively with the appraisal of the disease as Harm. The global level of social support correlated significantly positively with three disease-related appraisals: Profit, Challenge, and Value. Four subgroups of patients with different constellations of social support and knowledge of the disease were identified in cluster analysis and were demonstrated to differ significantly on four disease-related appraisals: Profit, Challenge, Harm, and Value. Different cognitive appraisals of UI may be specifically related to social support and knowledge of the disease, with social support affective positive disease-related appraisals, and the knowledge affecting the appraisal of Harm.
Impact of Hydrolyzed Whey Protein on the Molecular Interactions and Cross-Linking Density in Whey Protein Isolate-Based Films
Authors: Schmid Markus , Pröls Sandra , Kainz Daniel M. , Hammann Felicia , Stäbler Andreas
Published: December 2016

The effect of the amount of hydrolyzed WPI (h-WPI) in WPI-based films on the technofunctional properties and structure of the films has not hitherto been systematically researched. The main objective of this study was therefore to explore the quantitative and qualitative molecular interactions and structures of these films. Different buffer systems were used for the solubility studies to obtain information about the qualitative molecular interactions. Swelling studies were performed to provide qualitative statements about the WPI network. In addition, the cross-linking density (CLD) of the WPI-based films was derived from the swelling tests. The measurements showed that increasing the h-WPI content decreases the CLD significantly. The CLD values of films with 0% and 50% h-WPI content were1.61·10-4 mol·cm−3and0.25·10-4 mol·cm−3. The study indicates that noncovalent interactions have more influence on barrier properties than the cross-linking density through disulphide bonds. In general, the results of the swelling tests correlated with the solubility studies.