bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interspecific effects of forest fragmentation on bats
Authors: Segers J.L. , Broders H.G.
Published: May 2014

Wind-farm development may be an important contributor to forest fragmentation, but how such developments impact bats is poorly understood. We hypothesized that bat activity at a wind farm would be explained, at least in part, by attraction and avoidance behaviours caused by deforestation. We tested predictions of this hypothesis via a landscape-level acoustic, capture, and radiotelemetry survey of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus (Le Conte, 1831)) and northern long-eared myotis (Myotis septentrionalis (Trouessart, 1897)). Acoustic and capture data indicated no significant difference in magnitude of activity between the fragmented wind farm and the less-fragmented surrounding areas. However, only 2 of 19 radio-tracked bats were ever located inside the wind farm despite being captured adjacent to it. Bat locations were compared against randomly generated locations within the same area in a logistic regression framework to rank landscape variables in order of association with bats. A multicriteria evaluation of forest metrics showed that, over a 3-year period, there was an increase of suitable habitat inside the wind farm for M. lucifugus and a decrease for M. septentrionalis. These results support the contention that, at this level of disturbance, M. lucifugus may use the cleared areas, while M. septentrionalis is negatively impacted by increased deforestation caused by wind-farm development.
Review of the factors relevant to the design and operation of an electrocoagulation system for wastewater treatment
Authors: Lee Sin Yin , Gagnon Graham A.
Published: May 2014

Electrocoagulation (EC) is a water treatment technology that has been proven effective at the bench scale for the removal of a wide variety of contaminants from water and wastewater. It is an electrochemical process that involves using a sacrificial anode to generate cations for coagulation. It also evolves hydrogen gas at the cathode, which some researchers have suggested can be used for natural flotation. EC has a number of advantages over conventional chemical coagulation (CC). For instance, solid metal electrodes tend to be easier to move and store than corrosive chemical salts. Furthermore, EC tends to increase solution pH, rather than consume alkalinity like chemical coagulants. However, unlike with CC, there are no standardized procedures for jar testing with EC, or for designing EC systems. Much of the current EC literature focuses on the treatment of a specific water or wastewater using custom EC systems. In an attempt to provide guidance for EC cell design, this paper reviews some of the current literature in four parts: electrodes, electrolyte, power source, and operational parameters.
The Higgs connection — Flavor and dark matter
Authors: Ma Ernest
Published: May 2014

Three families of quarks and leptons, one Higgs to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them.
Female sex hormones protect against salt-sensitive hypertension but not essential hypertension
Authors: Brinson Krystal N. , Rafikova Olga , Sullivan Jennifer C.
Published: May 2014

Initial studies found that female Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) rats exhibit greater blood pressure (BP) salt sensitivity than female spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). On the basis of the central role played by NO in sodium excretion and BP control, we further tested the hypothesis that blunted increases in BP in female SHR will be accompanied by greater increases in renal inner medullary nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and expression in response to a high-salt (HS) diet compared with DS rats. Gonad-intact and ovariectomized (OVX) female SHR and DS rats were placed on normal salt (NS; 0.4% salt) or HS (4% salt) diet for 2 wk. OVX did not alter BP in SHR, and HS diet produced a modest increase in BP. OVX significantly increased BP in DS rats on NS; HS further increased BP in all DS rats, although OVX had a greater increase in BP. Renal inner medullary NOS activity, total NOS3 protein, and NOS3 phosphorylated on serine residue 1177 were not altered by salt or OVX in either strain. NOS1 protein expression, however, significantly increased with HS only in SHR, and this corresponded to an increase in urinary nitrate/nitrite excretion. SHR also exhibit greater NOS1 and NOS3 protein expression than DS rats. These data indicate that female sex hormones offer protection against HS-mediated elevations in BP in DS rats but not SHR. We propose that the relative resistance to HS-mediated increases in BP in SHR is related to greater NOS expression and the ability to increase NOS1 protein expression compared with DS rats.
Chronic subordination stress phase advances adrenal and anterior pituitary clock gene rhythms
Authors: Razzoli Maria , Karsten Carley , Yoder J. Marina , Bartolomucci Alessandro , Engeland William C.
Published: May 2014

Circadian rhythms in glucocorticoids are the product of interactions between the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the mammalian clock gene system. The adrenal clock can generate the glucocorticoid rhythm that in turn synchronizes other peripheral clocks to maintain homeostasis. Stress acutely activates and chronically upregulates the HPA axis, suggesting that the adrenal clock could be modulated by stress. However, there is no direct evidence that stress affects the adrenal clock rhythm. We tested the hypothesis that a model of chronic subordination stress (CSS) that has a major impact on HPA axis regulation, metabolism, and emotional behavior alters adrenal and pituitary clock gene rhythms. Clock gene rhythms were assessed using mPER2::Luciferase (PER2Luc) knockin mice in which in vitro bioluminescence rhythms reflect the Per2 clock gene expression. PER2Luc mice that experienced CSS for 2 wk showed positive energy balance reflected by increased body weight and food intake. Additionally, CSS phase advanced the adrenal (∼2 h) and the pituitary (∼1 h) PER2Luc rhythm compared with control mice. The activity rhythm was not affected. The adrenal clock phase shift was associated with increased feed conversion efficiency, suggesting that the metabolic phenotype in CSS mice may be related to altered adrenal clock rhythmicity. Interestingly, a single subordination experience followed by 8 h sensory housing also phase advanced the adrenal, but not the pituitary, PER2Luc rhythm. Overall, these data demonstrate a stress-induced phase shift in a peripheral clock gene rhythm and differential stress sensitivity of two peripheral clocks within the HPA axis, suggesting a link between clock desynchrony and individual vulnerability to stress.
Altered L-type Ca2+channel activity contributes to exacerbated hypoperfusion and mortality in smooth muscle cell BK channel-deficient septic mice
Authors: Xu Hui , Garver Hannah , Fernandes Roxanne , Galligan James J. , Fink Gregory D.
Published: May 2014

We determined the contribution of vascular large conductance Ca2+-activated K+(BK) and L-type Ca2+channel dysregulation to exaggerated mortality in cecal ligation/puncture (CLP)-induced septic BK channel β1-subunit knockout (BK β1-KO, smooth muscle specific) mice. CLP-induced hemodynamic changes and mortality were assessed over 7 days in wild-type (WT) and BK β1-KO mice that were either untreated, given volume resuscitation (saline), or saline + calcium channel blocker nicardipine. Some mice were euthanized 24 h post-CLP to measure tissue injury and vascular and immune responses. CLP-induced hypotension was similar in untreated WT and BK β1-KO mice, but BK β1-KO mice died sooner. At 24 h post-CLP (mortality latency in BK β1-KO mice), untreated CLP-BK β1-KO mice showed more severe hypothermia, lower tissue perfusion, polymorphonuclear neutrophil infiltration-independent severe intestinal necrosis, and higher serum cytokine levels than CLP-WT mice. Saline resuscitation improved survival in CLP-WT but not CLP-BK β1-KO mice. Saline + nicardipine-treated CLP-BK β1-KO mice exhibited longer survival times, higher tissue perfusion, less intestinal injury, and lower cytokines versus untreated CLP-BK β1-KO mice. These improvements were absent in treated CLP-WT mice, although saline + nicardipine improved blood pressure similarly in both septic mice. At 24 h post-CLP, BK and L-type Ca2+channel functions in vitro were maintained in mesenteric arteries from WT mice. Mesenteric arteries from BK β1-KO mice had blunted BK/enhanced L-type Ca2+channel function. We conclude that vascular BK channel deficiency exaggerates mortality in septic BK β1-KO mice by activating L-type Ca2+channels leading to blood pressure-independent tissue ischemia.
Effects of acid challenges on type 2 angiotensin II receptor-sensitive ammonia production by the proximal tubule
Authors: Nagami Glenn T. , Plumer Alexandria K. , Beyda Raymond M. , Schachter Oran
Published: May 2014

Angiotensin II (ANG II) acting through its type 1 (AT1) receptor stimulates total ammonia (tNH3) production by the proximal tubule. The present studies explored the role of ANG II type 2 (AT2) receptors in modulating the stimulatory effects of ANG II on tNH3production. Mouse S2 proximal tubule segments derived from 18-h and 7-day acid-loaded mice, and non-acid-loaded controls were dissected and microperfused in vitro. Adding ANG II to the luminal perfusion solution resulted in different increments in tNH3production rates in tubules derived from 18-h vs. 7-day acid-loaded mice such that the increase in tNH3production with ANG II was higher in tubules derived from 18-h acid-loaded mice compared with those derived from control and 7-day acid-loaded mice. Adding the AT2receptor blocker PD123319 with ANG II increased ANG II-stimulated tNH3production in S2 segments from control and 7-day acid-loaded mice but not in those from 18-h acid-loaded mice, and this increased effect of PD123319 was associated with higher AT2receptor protein levels in brush-border membranes. Studies in cultured proximal tubule cells demonstrated that 2-h exposure to pH 7.0 reduced the modulating effect of PD123319 on ANG II-simulated tNH3production and reduced cell surface AT2receptor levels. We concluded that AT2receptors reduce the stimulatory effect of ANG II on proximal tubule tNH3production and that the time-dependent impact of AT2receptor blockade on the ANG II-stimulated tNH3production corresponded to time-dependent changes in AT2receptor cell surface expression in the proximal tubule.
Neuromechanical interference of posture on movement: evidence from Alexander technique teachers rising from a chair
Authors: Cacciatore Timothy W. , Mian Omar S. , Peters Amy , Day Brian L.
Published: May 2014

While Alexander technique (AT) teachers have been reported to stand up by shifting weight gradually as they incline the trunk forward, healthy untrained (HU) adults appear unable to rise in this way. This study examines the hypothesis that HU have difficulty rising smoothly, and that this difficulty relates to reported differences in postural stiffness between groups. A wide range of movement durations (1–8 s) and anteroposterior foot placements were studied under the instruction to rise at a uniform rate. Before seat-off (SO) there were clear and profound performance differences between groups, particularly for slower movements, that could not be explained by strength differences. For each movement duration, HU used approximately twice the forward center-of-mass (CoM) velocity and vertical feet-loading rate as AT. For slow movements, HU violated task instruction by abruptly speeding up and rapidly shifting weight just before SO. In contrast, AT shifted weight gradually while smoothly advancing the CoM, achieving a more anterior CoM at SO. A neuromechanical model revealed a mechanism whereby stiffness affects standing up by exacerbating a conflict between postural and balance constraints. Thus activating leg extensors to take body weight hinders forward CoM progression toward the feet. HU's abrupt weight shift can be explained by reliance on momentum to stretch stiff leg extensors. AT's smooth rises can be explained by heightened dynamic tone control that reduces leg extensor resistance and improves force transmission across the trunk. Our results suggest postural control shapes movement coordination through a dynamic “postural frame” that affects the resistive behavior of the body.
Intrinsic Ca2+-dependent theta oscillations in apical dendrites of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells in vitro
Authors: Hansen Allan Kjeldsen , Nedergaard Steen , Andreasen Mogens
Published: May 2014

Behavior-associated theta-frequency oscillation in the hippocampal network involves a patterned activation of place cells in the CA1, which can be accounted for by a somatic-dendritic interference model predicting the existence of an intrinsic dendritic oscillator. Here we describe an intrinsic oscillatory mechanism in apical dendrites of in vitro CA1 pyramidal cells, which is induced by suprathreshold depolarization and consists of rhythmic firing of slow spikes in the theta-frequency band. The incidence of slow spiking (29%) increased to 78% and 100% in the presence of the β-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol (2 μM) or 4-aminopyridine (2 mM), respectively. Prior depolarization facilitated the induction of slow spiking. Applied electrical field polarization revealed a distal dendritic origin of slow spikes. The oscillations were largely insensitive to tetrodotoxin, but blocked by nimodipine (10 μM), indicating that they depend on activation of L-type Ca2+channels. Antagonists of T-, R-, N-, and P/Q-type Ca2+channels had no detectable effect. The slow spike dimension and frequency was sensitive to 4-aminopyridine (0.1–2 mM) and TEA (10 mM), suggesting the contribution from voltage-dependent K+channels to the oscillation mechanism. α-Dendrotoxin (10 μM), stromatoxin (2 μM), iberiotoxin (0.2 μM), apamin (0.5 μM), linorpidine (30 μM), and ZD7288 (20 μM) were without effect. Oscillations induced by sine-wave current injection or theta-burst synaptic stimulation were voltage-dependently attenuated by nimodipine, indicating an amplifying function of L-type Ca2+channels on imposed signals. These results show that the apical dendrites have intrinsic oscillatory properties capable of generating rhythmic voltage fluctuations in the theta-frequency band.
Microbubble-Mediated Ultrasound Enhances the Lethal Effect of Gentamicin on PlanktonicEscherichia coli
Authors: Zhu Han-Xiao , Cai Xun-Zi , Shi Zhong-Li , Hu Bin , Yan Shi-Gui
Published: May 2014

Previous research has found that low-intensity ultrasound enhanced the lethal effect of gentamicin on planktonicE. coli. We aimed to further investigate whether microbubble-mediated low-intensity ultrasound could further enhance the antimicrobial efficacy of gentamicin. The planktonicE. coli(ATCC 25922) was distributed to four different interventions: control (GCON), microbubble only (GMB), ultrasound only (GUS), and microbubble-mediated ultrasound (GMUS). Ultrasound was applied with 100 mW/cm2(average intensity) and 46.5 KHz, which presented no bactericidal activity. After 12 h, plate counting was used to estimate the number of bacteria, and bacterial micromorphology was observed with transmission electron microscope. The results showed that the viable counts ofE. coliinGMUSwere decreased by 1.01 to 1.42 log10 CFU/mL compared withGUS(P<0.01). The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of gentamicin againstE. coliwas 1 μg/mL in theGMUSandGUSgroups, lower than that in theGCONandGMBgroups (2 μg/mL). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images exhibited more destruction and higher thickness of bacterial cell membranes in theGMUSthan those in other groups. The reason might be the increased permeability of cell membranes for gentamicin caused by acoustic cavitation.
Hapten-Induced Contact Hypersensitivity, Autoimmune Reactions, and Tumor Regression: Plausibility of Mediating Antitumor Immunity
Authors: Erkes Dan A. , Selvan Senthamil R.
Published: May 2014

Haptens are small molecule irritants that bind to proteins and elicit an immune response. Haptens have been commonly used to study allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) using animal contact hypersensitivity (CHS) models. However, extensive research into contact hypersensitivity has offered a confusing and intriguing mechanism of allergic reactions occurring in the skin. The abilities of haptens to induce such reactions have been frequently utilized to study the mechanisms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to induce autoimmune-like responses such as autoimmune hemolytic anemia and to elicit viral wart and tumor regression. Hapten-induced tumor regression has been studied since the mid-1900s and relies on four major concepts: (1)ex vivohaptenation, (2)in situhaptenation, (3) epifocal hapten application, and (4) antigen-hapten conjugate injection. Each of these approaches elicits unique responses in mice and humans. The present review attempts to provide a critical appraisal of the hapten-mediated tumor treatments and offers insights for future development of the field.
Polymorphism ofXRCC1,XRCC3, andXPDGenes and Risk of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
Authors: Bănescu Claudia , Trifa Adrian P. , Demian Smaranda , Benedek Lazar Erzsebeth , Dima Delia , Duicu Carmen , Dobreanu Minodora
Published: May 2014

The genetic polymorphisms of X-ray repair cross complementing group 1 (XRCC1), X-ray repair cross complementing group 3 (XRCC3), and xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group D (XPD) repair genes may lead to genetic instability and leukemogenesis. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the association betweenXRCC1Arg399Gln, Arg280His and Arg194Trp,XRCC3Thr241Met, andXPDLys751Gln polymorphisms and the risk of developing CML in Romanian patients. A total of 156 patients diagnosed with CML and 180 healthy controls were included in this study. We found no association between CML andXRCC1orXRCC3variant genotypes in any of the investigated cases. A significant difference was observed in the variant genotype frequencies of theXPDLys751Gln polymorphism between the patients with CML and control group (for variant homozygous genotypes,OR=2.37; 95%CI=1.20–4.67;Pvalue = 0.016 and for combined heterozygous and variant homozygous genotypes,OR=1.72; 95%CI=1.10–2.69;Pvalue = 0.019). This was also observed when analyzing the variant 751Gln allele (OR=1.54; 95%CI=1.13–2.11;Pvalue = 0.008). Our results suggest that theXPDLys751Gln variant genotype increases the risk of CML.
The Beneficial Effects of Valproic Acid in Thyroid Cancer Are Mediated through Promoting Redifferentiation and Reducing Stemness Level: AnIn VitroStudy
Authors: Haghpanah Vahid , Malehmir Mohsen , Larijani Bagher , Ahmadian Shahin , Alimoghaddam Kamran , Heshmat Ramin , Ghavamzadeh Ardeshir , Adabi Khadijeh , Ghaffari Seyed H.
Published: May 2014

Valproic acid (VPA) has been identified as a histone deacetylase inhibitor, inducing differentiation in transformed cells. However, no study has shown the effect of VPA in the redifferentiation induction and stemness of anaplastic thyroid. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of VPA as a differentiation therapy agent in human thyroid cancer based on its effect on stemness and differentiation process. Indications for differentiation of 8305C and B-CPAP cell lines following VPA treatment were obtained by analyzing cell proliferation rate, morphological changes, adherent-dependent colony formation, and Hoechst 33342 staining. The expressions of stemness, differentiation, and aggressiveness specific marker genes were measured by quantitative RT-PCR. VPA treatment effectively showed growth inhibition in both cell lines. The high nuclear-cytoplasmic (N : C) ratio of 8305C cells markedly decreased and treated cells became more epithelial-like. Treated cells showed stronger Hoechst 33342 fluorescence compared with control cells. The hTERT and OCT-4 reduction was paralleled with adherent-dependent colony formation decrement in both cell lines. VPA effectively induced NIS and TTF-1 in anaplastic cells, it whereas showed no clear pattern in papillary cell line. VPA treatment also resulted in the reduction of MMP-2 and MMP-9. These finding suggest that VPA could redifferentiate the anaplastic thyroid cancer cells.
Monthly Electric Energy Consumption Forecasting Using Multiwindow Moving Average and Hybrid Growth Models
Authors: Meng Ming , Shang Wei , Niu Dongxiao
Published: May 2014

Monthly electric energy consumption forecasting is important for electricity production planning and electric power engineering decision making. Multiwindow moving average algorithm is proposed to decompose the monthly electric energy consumption time series into several periodic waves and a long-term approximately exponential increasing trend. Radial basis function (RBF) artificial neural network (ANN) models are used to forecast the extracted periodic waves. A novel hybrid growth model, which includes a constant term, a linear term, and an exponential term, is proposed to forecast the extracted increasing trend. The forecasting results of the monthly electric energy consumption can be obtained by adding the forecasting values of each model. To test the performance by comparison, the proposed and other three models are used to forecast China's monthly electric energy consumption from January 2011 to December 2012. Results show that the proposed model exhibited the best performance in terms of mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and maximal absolute percentage error (MaxAPE).
A Mixed Traffic Assignment Problem and Its Upper Bound of Efficiency Loss
Authors: Yu Xiao-Jun , Long Jiancheng
Published: May 2014

A variational inequality (VI) formulation of a mixed traffic assignment problem associated with user equilibrium (UE) player and altruistic players (UE-AP) is developed. The users governed by the UE player use the paths with minimum actual travel cost, while the users governed by altruistic players use the paths with minimum perceived travel cost, which is a linear combination of the actual and marginal travel costs. A nonlinear programming method is adopted to derive the efficiency loss of the UE-AP mixed equilibrium with polynomial cost function. Finally, numerical examples are given to verify our analytical results.
Smoking Ban Policies in Italy and the Potential Impact of the So-Called Sirchia Law: State of the Art after Eight Years
Authors: Gualano Maria Rosaria , Bert Fabrizio , Scaioli Giacomo , Passi Stefano , La Torre Giuseppe , Siliquini Roberta
Published: May 2014

Objective. The aim of the present work is to describe the state of the art of tobacco habits in Italy, eight years after the law was introduced.Methods. Time series analyses, based on estimates of smoking prevalence/consumption derived from the openly available data of national surveys performed during the 2001–2013 period, were performed. Data have been expressed in percentage of smokers and daily cigarettes consumption. Time changes are expressed as expected annual percentage change (EAPC).Results. Over time, the percentage of Italian smokers shows a constant and statistically significant decrease (from 28.9% in 2001 to 20.6% in 2013, EAPC = −2.6%, andP<0.001). Regarding data stratified by gender, we found a stronger reduction among men (EAPC = −2.9%,P<0.001) than in women (EAPC = −2.5%,P<0.001). Similarly, the consumption of tobacco smoking, measured as the number of daily cigarettes smoked, registered a downward trend (P<0.001). No join point (time point when a significant trend change is detected) resulted from the trend analysis.Conclusions. Data show a constant decrease of tobacco consumption in Italy, with no join point related to the introduction of the banning law. These findings require to reflect on the priorities of the smoking banning policies that may be focused on other intervention activities such as to increase the price of cigarettes.
Chaotic Behavior of One-Dimensional Cellular Automata Rule 24
Authors: Bie Zujie , Han Qi , Liu Chao , Huang Junjian , Song Lepeng , Pei Yangjun
Published: May 2014

Wolfram divided the 256 elementary cellular automata rules informally into four classes using dynamical concepts like periodicity, stability, and chaos. Rule 24, which is Bernoulliστ-shift rule and is member of Wolfram’s class II, is said to be simple as periodic before. Therefore, it is worthwhile studying dynamical behaviors of four rules, whether they possess chaotic attractors or not. In this paper, the complex dynamical behaviors of rule 24 of one-dimensional cellular automata are investigated from the viewpoint of symbolic dynamics. We find that rule 24 is chaotic in the sense of both Li-Yorke and Devaney on its attractor. Furthermore, we prove that four rules of global equivalenceε52of cellular automata are topologically conjugate. Then, we use diagrams to explain the attractor of rule 24, where characteristic function is used to describe the fact that all points fall into Bernoulli-shift map after two iterations under rule 24.
Bilateral Pseudarthrosis of the Femoral Neck in a 25-Year-Old Male with Hereditary Hypophosphatemic Rickets
Authors: Anthonissen Joris , Ossendorf Christian , Vetter Thomas , Habermann Björn , Rommens Pol M.
Published: May 2014

Hereditary hypophosphatemic rickets (HHR) is a rare disorder of renal phosphate wasting and the most common form of heritable rickets. Here, we report a case of an active 25-year-old male with HHR showing atraumatic bilateral femoral neck pseudarthrosis after 4 years of consecutive knee pain. A conservative therapy was administered, taking into account both the risks of surgical treatment and the little impairment even in the sport activities which the patient experienced.
An Efficient Collocation Method for a Class of Boundary Value Problems Arising in Mathematical Physics and Geometry
Authors: Bhrawy A. H. , Alofi A. S. , Van Gorder R. A.
Published: May 2014

We present a numerical method for a class of boundary value problems on the unit interval which feature a type of power-law nonlinearity. In order to numerically solve this type of nonlinear boundary value problems, we construct a kind of spectral collocation method. The spatial approximation is based on shifted Jacobi polynomialsJn(α,β)(r)withα,β∈(-1,∞),r∈(0,1)andnthe polynomial degree. The shifted Jacobi-Gauss points are used as collocation nodes for the spectral method. After deriving the method for a rather general class of equations, we apply it to several specific examples. One natural example is a nonlinear boundary value problem related to the Yamabe problem which arises in mathematical physics and geometry. A number of specific numerical experiments demonstrate the accuracy and the efficiency of the spectral method. We discuss the extension of the method to account for more complicated forms of nonlinearity.
An Analysis of Patients That Underwent Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography with the Prediagnosis of Pulmonary Embolism in the Emergency Department
Authors: Ozakin Engin , Kaya Filiz Baloglu , Acar Nurdan , Cevik Arif Alper
Published: May 2014

Introduction.The purpose of this study is to analyze the frequency of other diagnoses and findings in patients that were diagnosed with or not diagnosed with PE following the CTPA in the ED and to analyze the relationship between diagnosis and D-dimer.Instrument and Method.This study involves all patients that presented to the ED that underwent CTPA with the prediagnosis of PE. The items considered in this study were their reason for presenting to the ED and pretest clinical risks for PE, D-dimer, and CTPA results.Findings.Of the 696 cases, the most common cause was shortness of breath (59.3%). The CTPA showed that 145 (20.83%) patients were suffering from PE. Among the remaining cases, 464 (66.66%) patients had pathological findings other than PE and 87 (12.5%) patients were reported as normal. The most common pathological results other than PE found in CTPA were atelectasis in 244 (39.9%) and ground glass in 165 (23.7%), as well as nonpulmonary results in 70 (10.05%) patients. The differences in D-dimer results of patients diagnosed with PE, patients diagnosed with another pathology, and patients with normal CTPA results were statistically significant (P<0.001).Conclusion.CTPA scanning, performed on the basis of assessment scoring, helps in discovering other fatal pathologies in addition to PE.
GENDEP: Location-Aware Key Management for General Deployment of Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Lee JongHyup , Kwon Taekyoung
Published: May 2014

Limited capabilities of tiny sensor node make it difficult to build a secure wireless sensor network. To cope with this problem, location-aware key predistribution schemes have been studied but without considering irregularity of real sensing fields. They were designed for ideal sensing fields divided into uniform regular polygons but false is the real sensing field, where we face irregular obstacles, undulations, and boundaries. In this paper, we tackle this problem from practical sense and first introduce the general deployment model, comparable to the previous uniform deployment model. To construct a secure WSN in the general deployment model, we present a new framework called GenDep, which consists of two phases: group placement and key management. In the group placement phase, we find an optimal position for sensor groups so that both connectivity and global coverage are satisfied for secure communications. In the key management phase, we devise a new structure called extended groups to partition the whole deployment area into irregular subareas. GenDep can build secure and flexible WSNs by using the existing key predistribution schemes even designed in the uniform deployment model. To ensure practicality of GenDep, we also conduct rigorous analysis and simulation in this paper.
Laryngeal Giant Cell Tumor: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Nota Jumpei , Okochi Yoshihisa , Watanabe Futoshi , Saiki Tadahiko
Published: May 2014

Giant cell tumor (GCT) is a benign neoplasm arising most commonly in the long bones. GCTs of the larynx (GCTL) are relatively rare, and only individual case reports are documented in the literature. Patients with such tumors may present with hoarseness and anterior neck swelling. We present a 59-year-old man with hoarseness and enlarging anterior neck mass for 3 months. A fiberscopy revealed a submucosal swelling of the left subglottic trachea. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the larynx demonstrated a large, well-defined, inhomogeneous enhancing mass at the left thyroid cartilage, which was obstructed entirely. The anterior neck mass was biopsied for histopathological analysis, which showed multinodularity with intervening vascularized connective tissues. The mass was made up of mononuclear cells and distributed multinucleated giant cells. The mitotic activity of the mononuclear cells was as high as 6 per 10 high-power fields. Pathologic consultation resulted in a diagnosis of giant cell tumor. The patient underwent total laryngectomy and, postoperatively, he did well without recurrence or metastasis for two and a half years.
Biosynthesis of Metal Nanoparticles: A Review
Authors: Kulkarni Narendra , Muddapur Uday
Published: May 2014

The synthesis of nanostructured materials, especially metallic nanoparticles, has accrued utmost interest over the past decade owing to their unique properties that make them applicable in different fields of science and technology. The limitation to the use of these nanoparticles is the paucity of an effective method of synthesis that will produce homogeneous size and shape nanoparticles as well as particles with limited or no toxicity to the human health and the environment. The biological method of nanoparticle synthesis is a relatively simple, cheap, and environmentally friendly method than the conventional chemical method of synthesis and thus gains an upper hand. The biomineralization of nanoparticles in protein cages is one of such biological approaches used in the generation of nanoparticles. This method of synthesis apart from being a safer method in the production of nanoparticles is also able to control particle morphology.
Influence of Polymorphism on Glycosylation of Serum Amyloid A4 Protein
Authors: Yamada Toshiyuki , Sato Jyunji , Kotani Kazuhiko , Tanaka Masafumi
Published: May 2014

Serum amyloid A4 (SAA4) is a constitutive apolipoprotein of high-density lipoprotein. It exhibits N-linked glycosylation in its second half. There are both glycosylated and nonglycosylated forms in plasma and the ratio of these two forms varies among individuals. This study was conducted to examine the influence of genetic polymorphism of SAA4 on its glycosylation status. In 55 healthy subjects, SAA4 polymorphism was analyzed by PCR combined direct sequencing and its glycosylation status was analyzed by immunoblotting. The results showed that the percentage of glycosylation in subjects with amino acid substitutions at positions 71 and/or 84 was significantly (P<0.05) higher than that in subjects with the wild type. The polymorphism had no influence on the plasma concentration of SAA4. These findings suggest that the changes in protein structures alter the efficiency of glycosylation in the SAA4 molecule. The functional implication of this should be of interest.
A Smartphone APP for Health and Tourism Promotion
Authors: Lin Ker-Cheng , Chang Lin-Sheng , Tseng Chien-Ming , Lin Hsuan-Hung , Chen Yung-Fu , Chao Chien-Lei
Published: May 2014

The main purpose of this study is to develop an APP by integrating GPS to provide the digitized information of local cultural spots to guide tourists for tourism promotion and the digitized information of mountaineering trails to monitor energy expenditure (EE) for health promotion. The provided cultural information is also adopted for educational purpose. Extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used to evaluate the usefulness and behavior intention of the provided information and functions in the developed system. Most users agreed that the system is useful for health promotion, tourism promotion, and folk‐culture education. They also showed strong intention and positive attitude toward continuous use of the APP.
Projection Methods for a System of Nonlinear Mixed Variational Inequalities in Banach Spaces
Authors: Wang Zhong-Bao , Tang Guo-Ji , Zhang Hong-Ling
Published: May 2014

The existence and uniqueness of solution for a system of nonlinear mixed variational inequality in Banach spaces is given firstly. A Mann iterative sequences with errors for this system of nonlinear mixed variational inequalities in Banach spaces is studied, by using the generalizedf-projection operatorπKf. Our results extend the main results in (Verma (2005); Verma (2001)) from Hilbert spaces to Banach spaces.
An Interior Projected-Like Subgradient Method for Mixed Variational Inequalities
Authors: Tang Guo-ji , Wang Xing
Published: May 2014

An interior projected-like subgradient method for mixed variational inequalities is proposed in finite dimensional spaces, which is based on using non-Euclidean projection-like operator. Under suitable assumptions, we prove that the sequence generated by the proposed method converges to a solution of the mixed variational inequality. Moreover, we give the convergence estimate of the method. The results presented in this paper generalize some recent results given in the literatures.
A Fast, Reliable, and Sensitive Method for Detection and Quantification ofListeria monocytogenesandEscherichia coliO157:H7 in Ready-to-Eat Fresh-Cut Products by MPN-qPCR
Authors: Russo Pasquale , Botticella Giuseppe , Capozzi Vittorio , Massa Salvatore , Spano Giuseppe , Beneduce Luciano
Published: May 2014

In the present work we developed a MPN quantitative real-time PCR (MPN-qPCR) method for a fast and reliable detection and quantification ofListeria monocytogenesandEscherichia coliO157:H7 in minimally processed vegetables. In order to validate the proposed technique, the results were compared with conventional MPN followed by phenotypic and biochemical assays methods. WhenL. monocytogenesandE. coliO157:H7 were artificially inoculated in fresh-cut vegetables, a concentration as low as 1 CFU g−1could be detected in 48 hours for both pathogens. qPCR alone allowed a limit of detection of 101 CFU g−1after 2 hours of enrichment forL. monocytogenesandE. coliO157:H7. Since minimally processed ready-to-eat vegetables are characterized by very short shelf life, our method can potentially address the consistent reduction of time for microbial analysis, allowing a better management of quality control. Moreover, the occurrences of both pathogenic bacteria in mixed salad samples and fresh-cut melons were monitored in two production plants from the receipt of the raw materials to the early stages of shelf life. No sample was found to be contaminated byL. monocytogenes. One sample of raw mixed salad was found positive to an H7 enterohemorrhagic serotype.
Letrozole Induced Hypercalcemia in a Patient with Breast Cancer
Authors: Ipekci Suleyman Hilmi , Baldane Suleyman , Ozturk Ercument , Araz Murat , Korkmaz Huseyin , Colkesen Fatih , Kebapcilar Levent
Published: May 2014

Hypersecretion of PTHrP is a relatively common cause of malignancy-related hypercalcemia. However, there is only one case report of letrozole induced hypercalcemia. A 52-year-old female patient was referred to our clinic because of the recent discovery of hypercalcemia (11.0 mg/dL). The patient had a history of left breast carcinoma. She had started a course of letrozole (aromatase inhibitor; 2.5 mg dose/day) ten months earlier. Patient’s parathyroid hormone-related protein levels were normal and a bone scintigram revealed no evidence of skeletal metastasis. Other potential causes of high calcium levels were ruled out. We recognized that, when letrozole was taken at one dose daily (2.5 mg), she had recurrent hypercalcemia. Our experience suggests that letrozole may precipitate hypercalcemia in a patient with breast cancer.
An Extension of Hypercyclicity forN-Linear Operators
Authors: Bès Juan , Conejero J. Alberto
Published: May 2014

Grosse-Erdmann and Kim recently introduced the notion of bihypercyclicity for studying the existence of dense orbits under bilinear operators. We propose an alternative notion of orbit forN-linear operators that is inspired by difference equations. Under this new notion, every separable infinite dimensional Fréchet space supports supercyclicN-linear operators, for eachN≥2. Indeed, the nonnormable spaces of entire functions and the countable product of lines supportN-linear operators with residual sets of hypercyclic vectors, forN=2.
Antiviral Perspectives for Chikungunya Virus
Authors: Parashar Deepti , Cherian Sarah
Published: May 2014

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne pathogen that has a major health impact in humans and causes acute febrile illness in humans accompanied by joint pains and, in many cases, persistent arthralgia lasting for weeks to years. CHIKV reemerged in 2005-2006 in several parts of the Indian Ocean islands and India after a gap of 32 years, causing millions of cases. The re-emergence of CHIKV has also resulted in numerous outbreaks in several countries in the eastern hemisphere, with a threat to further expand in the near future. However, there is no vaccine against CHIKV infection licensed for human use, and therapy for CHIKV infection is still mainly limited to supportive care as antiviral agents are yet in different stages of testing or development. In this review we explore the different perspectives for chikungunya treatment and the effectiveness of these treatment regimens and discuss the scope for future directions.
A Vehicle Detection Algorithm Based on Deep Belief Network
Authors: Wang Hai , Cai Yingfeng , Chen Long
Published: May 2014

Vision based vehicle detection is a critical technology that plays an important role in not only vehicle active safety but also road video surveillance application. Traditional shallow model based vehicle detection algorithm still cannot meet the requirement of accurate vehicle detection in these applications. In this work, a novel deep learning based vehicle detection algorithm with 2D deep belief network (2D-DBN) is proposed. In the algorithm, the proposed 2D-DBN architecture uses second-order planes instead of first-order vector as input and uses bilinear projection for retaining discriminative information so as to determine the size of the deep architecture which enhances the success rate of vehicle detection. On-road experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm performs better than state-of-the-art vehicle detection algorithm in testing data sets.
Growth Curves for Girls with Turner Syndrome
Authors: Bertapelli Fabio , Barros-Filho Antonio de Azevedo , Antonio Maria Ângela Reis de Góes Monteiro , Barbeta Camila Justino de Oliveira , de Lemos-Marini Sofia Helena Valente , Guerra-Junior Gil
Published: May 2014

The objective of this study was to review the growth curves for Turner syndrome, evaluate the methodological and statistical quality, and suggest potential growth curves for clinical practice guidelines. The search was carried out in the databases Medline and Embase. Of 1006 references identified, 15 were included. Studies constructed curves for weight, height, weight/height, body mass index, head circumference, height velocity, leg length, and sitting height. The sample ranged between 47 and 1,565 (total = 6,273) girls aged 0 to 24 y, born between 1950 and 2006. The number of measures ranged from 580 to 9,011 (total = 28,915). Most studies showed strengths such as sample size, exclusion of the use of growth hormone and androgen, and analysis of confounding variables. However, the growth curves were restricted to height, lack of information about selection bias, limited distributional properties, and smoothing aspects. In conclusion, we observe the need to construct an international growth reference for girls with Turner syndrome, in order to provide support for clinical practice guidelines.
A Novel Study of Methane-Rich Gas Reforming to Syngas and Its Kinetics over Semicoke Catalyst
Authors: Zhang Guojie , Su Aiting , Qu Jiangwen , Du Yannian
Published: May 2014

A small-size gasification unit is improved through process optimization to simulate industrial United Gas Improvement Company gasification. It finds that the reaction temperature has important impacts on semicoke catalyzed methane gas mixture. The addition of water vapor can enhance the catalytic activity of reforming, which is due to the fact that addition of water vapor not only removes carbon deposit produced in the reforming and gasification reaction processes, but also participates in gasification reaction with semicoke to generate some active oxygen-containing functional groups. The active oxygen-containing functional groups provide active sites for carbon dioxide reforming of methane, promoting the reforming reaction. It also finds that the addition of different proportions of methane-rich gas can yield synthesis gas with different H2/CO ratio. The kinetics study shows that the semicoke can reduce the activation energy of the reforming reaction and promote the occurrence of the reforming reaction. The kinetics model of methane reforming under the conditions of steam gasification over semicoke is as follows:k-=5.02×103·pCH40.71·pH20.26·exp(−74200/RT).
Characterization of Cu1.4Te Thin Films for CdTe Solar Cells
Authors: Luo Guangcan , Lv Bin , Li Wei , Feng Lianghuan , Zhang Jingquan , Wu Lili , Zeng Guanggen
Published: May 2014

The copper telluride thin films were prepared by a coevaporation technique. The single-phase Cu1.4Te thin films could be obtained after annealing, and annealing temperature higher than 220°C could induce the presence of cuprous telluride coexisting phase. Cu1.4Te thin films also demonstrate the high carrier concentration and high reflectance for potential photovoltaic applications from the UV-visible-IR transmittance and reflectance spectra, and Hall measurements. With contacts such as Cu1.4Te and Cu1.4Te/CuTe, cell efficiencies comparable to those with conventional back contacts have been achieved. Temperature cycle tests show that the Cu1.4Te contact buffer has also improved cell stability.
1-Bit Compressive Data Gathering for Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Xiong Jiping , Tang Qinghua
Published: May 2014

Compressive sensing (CS) has been widely used in wireless sensor networks for the purpose of reducing the data gathering communication overhead in recent years. In this paper, we firstly apply 1-bit compressive sensing to wireless sensor networks to further reduce the communication overhead that each sensor needs to send. Furthermore, we propose a novel blind 1-bit CS reconstruction algorithm which outperforms other state-of-the-art blind 1-bit CS reconstruction algorithms under the settings of WSN. Experimental results on real sensor datasets demonstrate the efficiency of our method.
A Positive Babinski Reflex Predicts Delayed Neuropsychiatric Sequelae in Chinese Patients with Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Authors: Zou Jian-Fang , Guo Qiming , Shao Hua , Li Bin , Du Yuxiu , Liu Maofeng , Liu Fengling , Dai Lixin , Chung Min-Hsien , Lin Hung-Jung , Guo How-Ran , Yang Tzu-Meng , Huang Chien-Cheng , Hsu Chien-Chin
Published: May 2014

As the human population increased in China, the carbon monoxide is a serious environmental toxin in public health. However, predicting the delayed neuropsychiatric sequelae (DNS) of carbon monoxide poisoning (COP) has not been well studied. We investigated the independent predictors of DNS in patients with COP. This study was conducted at four hospitals in China. Data were retrospectively collected from 258 patients with COP between November 1990 and October 2011. DNS was the primary endpoint. A positive Babinski reflex was the independent predictor for DNS: sensitivity = 53.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 26.1–79.6), specificity = 88.6% (95% CI: 83.7–92.1), positive predictive value (PPV) = 20.0% (95% CI: 9.1–37.5), and negative predictive value (NPV) = 97.3% (95% CI: 94.0–98.9). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.712 (95% CI: 0.544–0.880). A positive Babinski reflex was very memorable, immediately available, and applicable in clinical practice. Even when the sensitivity and PPV of a positive Babinski reflex were unsatisfactory, it had a good specificity and NPV for excluding the risk of DNS. In patients without a positive Babinski reflex, the risk for DNS was only 2.7%. This finding may help physicians make decisions about dispositions for patients with COP.
Binomial Schedule for an M/G/1 Type Queueing System with an Unreliable Server under N-Policy
Authors: Tadj Lotfi , Yoon K. Paul
Published: May 2014

We consider in this paper an M/G/1 type queueing system with the following extensions. First, the server is unreliable and is subject to random breakdowns. Second, the server also implements the well-known N-policy. Third, instead of a Bernoulli vacation schedule, the more general notion of binomial schedule with K vacations is applied. A cost function with two decision variables is developed. A numerical example shows the effect of the system parameters on the optimal management policy.