bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Electroweak measurements from W, Z and photon final states
Authors: Yin Hang ,   (On behalf of ATLAS, CDF, CMS, D0, and LHCb collaborations)
Published: May 2014

We present the most recent precision electroweak measurements of single W and Z boson cross section and properties from the LHC and Tevatron colliders, analyzing data collected by ATLAS, CDF, CMS, D0, and LHCb detectors. The results include the measurement of the single W and Z boson cross section at LHC, the differential cross section measurements, the measurement of W boson mass, the measurement of W and Z charge asymmetry. These measurements provide precision tests on the electroweak theory, high order predictions and the information can be used to constraint parton distribution functions.
Diboson production at LHC and Tevatron
Authors: Wang Jian ,   (On Behalf of the ATLAS, CMS, CDF, DØ Collaborations)
Published: May 2014

This is a report at the conference Physics In Collision 2013. The experimental results on physics of diboson production are reviewed. The measurements use pp collision at the LHC with center-of-mass energy [Formula: see text] and 8 TeV, and [Formula: see text] collision at the Tevatron with [Formula: see text]. These include measurements of Wγ, Zγ, WW, WZ and ZZ production. The results are compared with Standard Model predictions, and are interpreted in terms of constraints on charged and neutral anomalous triple gauge couplings.
Reactor antineutrino experiments
Authors: Lu Haoqi
Published: May 2014

Neutrinos are elementary particles in the standard model of particle physics. There are three flavors of neutrinos that oscillate among themselves. Their oscillation can be described by a 3×3 unitary matrix, containing three mixing angles θ12, θ23, θ13, and one CP phase. Both θ12 and θ23 are known from previous experiments. θ13 was unknown just two years ago. The Daya Bay experiment gave the first definitive non-zero value in 2012. An improved measurement of the oscillation amplitude [Formula: see text] and the first direct measurement of the [Formula: see text] mass-squared difference [Formula: see text] were obtained recently. The large value of θ13 boosts the next generation of reactor antineutrino experiments designed to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy, such as JUNO and RENO-50.
Low energy neutrinos
Authors: Ranucci G. , Bellini G. , Benziger J. , Bick D. , Bonfini G. , Bravo D. , Buizza Avanzini M. , Caccianiga B. , Cadonati L. , Calaprice F. , Cavalcante P. , Chavarria A. , Chepurnov A. , D'angelo D. , Davini S. , Derbin A. , Empl A. , Etenko A. , Fomenko K. , Franco D. , Galbiati C. , Gazzana S. , Ghiano C. , Giammarchi M. , Goeger-Neff M. , Goretti A. , Grandi L. , Hagner C. , Hungenford E. , Ianni Al. , Ianni An. , Kobychev V. , Korablev D. , Korga G. , Kryn D. , Laubenstein M. , Lewke T. , Litvinovich E. , Loer B. , Lombardi F. , Lombardi P. , Ludhova L. , Lukyanchenko G. , Machulin I. , Manecki S. , Maneschg W. , Manuzio G. , Meindl Q. , Meroni E. , Miramonti L. , Misiaszek M. , MLlenberg R. , Mosteiro P. , Muratova V. , Oberauer L. , Obolensky M. , Ortica F. , Otis K. , Pallavicini M. , Papp L. , Perasso L. , Perasso S. , Pocar A. , Raghavan R. S. , Ranucci G. , Razeto A. , Re A. , Romani A. , Rossi N. , Saldanha R. , Salvo C. , Schönert S. , Simgen H. , Skorokhvatov M. , Smirnov O. , Sotnikov A. , Sukhotin S. , Suvorov Y. , Tartaglia R. , Testera G. , Vignaud D. , Vogelaar R. B. , Von Feilitzsch F. , Winter J. , Wojcik M. , Wright A. , Wurm M. , Xu J. , Zaimidoroga O. , Zavatarelli S. , Zuzel G. ,   (Borexino Collaboration)
Published: May 2014

Low energy neutrino investigation has been one of the most active fields of particle physics research over the past decades, accumulating important and sometimes unexpected achievements. In this work some of the most recent impressive successes will be reviewed, as well as the future perspectives of this exciting area of study.
$D\bar{D}$ mixing and CP-symmetry violation in the charm sector, and rare D-meson decays
Authors: Barsuk Sergey ,   (For the LHCB Collaboration)
Published: May 2014

An overview of selected recent results on [Formula: see text] mixing and CP-symmetry violation in the charm sector, and D meson rare decays, was presented at the Physics In Collision conference 2013 in Beijing.
The CMS high level trigger
Authors: Gori Valentina
Published: May 2014

The CMS experiment has been designed with a 2-level trigger system: the Level 1 Trigger, implemented on custom-designed electronics, and the High Level Trigger (HLT), a streamlined version of the CMS offline reconstruction software running on a computer farm. A software trigger system requires a tradeoff between the complexity of the algorithms running on the available computing power, the sustainable output rate, and the selection efficiency. Here we will present the performance of the main triggers used during the 2012 data taking, ranging from simpler single-object selections to more complex algorithms combining different objects, and applying analysis-level reconstruction and selection. We will discuss the optimisation of the triggers and the specific techniques to cope with the increasing LHC pile-up, reducing its impact on the physics performance.
MRPC detector for the upgrade of BESIII E-TOF
Authors: Yang Rong-Xing , Sun Yong-Jie , Li Cheng
Published: May 2014

An end-cap Time-of-Flight (E-TOF) system with higher granularity and intrinsic time resolution of better than 50 ps will extend the K/pion separation (2 sigma) pT range to 1.4 GeV/c and enhance the physics capability of Beijing Spectrometer (BESIII). A R&D work was carried out aiming at upgrading the current BESIII E-TOF with the Multi-gap resistive Plate Chamber (MRPC) detector. The latest best test for the prototype MRPC, together with the custom designed Front End Electronics (FEE) and TDC boards, was performed at the BEPC E3 line in July 2012. The test results show that time resolution of less than 50 ps can be achieved with such a system.
Measurement of strong phase in D0 → Kπ decay at BESIII
Authors: Zhou Xiao-Kang ,   (On Behalf of the BESIII Collaboration)
Published: May 2014

Based on 2.92 fb-1 of e+e- collision data collected with the BESIII detector at [Formula: see text] GeV, we measured the asymmetry [Formula: see text] of the branching fractions of DCP± → K-π+ (DCP± are the CP-odd and CP-even eigenstates) to be [Formula: see text]. [Formula: see text] is used to extract the strong phase difference δKπ between the doubly Cabibbo-suppressed process [Formula: see text] and Cabibbo-favored D0 → K-π+. By taking inputs of other parameters in world measurements, we obtain cos δKπ = 1.03 ± 0.12 ± 0.04 ± 0.01. This is the most accurate result of cos δKπ to date and can improve the world constrains on the mixing parameters and on γ/ϕ3 in the CKM matrix.
Observation of e+e- → γX(3872), X(3872) → π+π-J/ψ
Authors: Gao Qing , Li Ke ,   (on behalf of the BESIII Collaboration)
Published: May 2014

Using data samples collected with the BESIII detector operating at the BEPCII storage ring at central-of-mass (CM) energies from 4.009 to 4.420 GeV, the e+e- → γX(3872) process is observed with a statistical significance of more than 5σ. The measured mass is in agreement with previous measurements. The products of cross section of e+e- → γX(3872) and the branching fraction [Formula: see text] at CM energies 4.009, 4.229, 4.260, and 4.360 GeV is reported. The results support the possibility that Y(4260) → γX(3872).
Rare kaon decays with NA48/2 and NA62 at CERN
Authors: Cenci Patrizia
Published: May 2014

The Kaon physics program at CERN will be shortly presented, addressing the most recent results from the NA48/2 and NA62 experiments at the CERN SPS and future prospects.
A new inner drift chamber for BESIII MDC
Authors: Dong M. Y. , Qin Z. H. , Ma X. Y. , Zhang J. , Dong J. , Xie W. , Xiu Q. L. , Ju X. D. , Liu R. G. , Ouyang Q.
Published: May 2014

Due to the beam related background, the inner chamber of BESIII MDC has aging effect after 5 years running. The gains of the inner chamber cells decrease obviously, and the max gain decrease is about 26% for the first layer cells. A new inner drift chamber with eight stereo sense wire layers as a backup for MDC is under construction, which is almost the same as the current one but using stepped endplates to shorten the wire length beyond the effective solid angle. This new structure will be of benefit to reducing the counting rate of single cell. The manufacture of each component is going smoothly, and the new inner drift chamber will be finished by the end of April 2014.
Cosmic muon induced backgrounds in the Daya Bay reactor neutrino experiment
Authors: Li Dengjie
Published: May 2014

Muon induced neutrons and long-lived radioactive isotopes are important background sources for low-energy underground experiments. We study the produced processes and properties of cosmic muon induced backgrounds, show the muon veto system used for rejecting these backgrounds and the methods to estimate residual backgrounds in the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment.
Energy non-linearity studies at Daya Bay
Authors: Yang Masheng , Cheng Yaping ,   (On behalf of the Daya Bay Collaboration)
Published: May 2014

The Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment has measured a non-zero value of the neutrino mixing angle θ13 with a significance of 7.7 standard deviations by a rate-only analysis.1 The distortion of neutrino energy spectrum carries additional oscillation information and can improve the sensitivity of θ13 as well as measure neutrino mass splitting [Formula: see text]. A rate plus shape analysis is performed and the results have been published.2 Understanding detector energy non-linearity response is crucial for the rate plus shape analysis. In this contribution, we present a brief description of energy non-linearity studies at Daya Bay.
Bacterial Pathogens and Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns in Pediatric Urinary Tract Infections: A Four-Year Surveillance Study (2009–2012)
Authors: Mirsoleymani Seyed Reza , Salimi Morteza , Shareghi Brojeni Masoud , Ranjbar Masoud , Mehtarpoor Mojtaba
Published: May 2014

The aims of this study were to assess the common bacterial microorganisms causing UTI and their antimicrobial resistance patterns in Bandar Abbas (Southern Iran) during a four-year period. In this retrospective study, samples with a colony count of ≥105 CFU/mL bacteria were considered positive; for these samples, the bacteria were identified, and the profile of antibiotic susceptibility was characterized. From the 19223 samples analyzed, 1513 (7.87%) were positive for bacterial infection. UTI was more frequent in male (54.9%).E. coliwas reported the most common etiological agent of UTI (65.2%), followed byKlebsiellaspp. (26%),Pseudomonas aeruginosa(3.6%), andStaphylococcuscoagulase positive (3.7%). Results of antimicrobial susceptibility analysis forE. colito commonly used antibiotics are as follows: Amikacin (79.7%), Ofloxacin (78.3%), Gentamicin (71.6%), Ceftriaxone (41.8), Cefotaxime (41.4%), and Cefixime (27.8%). Empirical antibiotic selection should be based on awareness of the local prevalence of bacterial organisms and antibiotic sensitivities rather than on universal or even national guidelines. In this study, Amikacin and Gentamicin were shown to be the most appropriate antibiotics for empiric therapy of pyelonephritis, but empirical therapy should only be done by specialist physicians in cases where it is necessary while considering sex and age of children.
A Ti/Ti-Based-Metallic-Glass Interpenetrating Phase Composite with Remarkable Mutual Reinforcement Effect
Authors: Mu J. , Zhu Z. W. , Zhang H. F. , Zhang H. W. , Fu H. M. , Li H. , Wang A. M. , Hu Z. Q.
Published: May 2014

A Ti/Ti-based-metallic-glass interpenetrating phase composite (IPC) was prepared by infiltrating theTi34.3Zr31.5Ni5.5Cu5Be23.7melt into the porous Ti skeleton. Porous Ti limits the shear band (SB) propagation and promotes the SB multiplication, leading to the improved ductility. Moreover, the interpenetrating phase structure shows a mutual reinforcement effect for both amorphous and crystalline phases, making IPC possess higher strength than that calculated by the models held for the conventional composites. This finding will suggest a new way for preparing composites with high strength and ductility.
Early Treatment with Intranasal Neostigmine Reduces Mortality in a Mouse Model ofNaja naja(Indian Cobra) Envenomation
Authors: Lewin Matthew R. , Samuel Stephen P. , Wexler David S. , Bickler Philip , Vaiyapuri Sakthivel , Mensh Brett D.
Published: May 2014

Objective. Most snakebite deaths occur prior to hospital arrival; yet inexpensive, effective, and easy to administer out-of-hospital treatments do not exist. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors can be therapeutic in neurotoxic envenomations when administered intravenously, but nasally delivered drugs could facilitate prehospital therapy for these patients. We tested the feasibility of this idea in experimentally envenomed mice.Methods. Mice received intraperitoneal injections ofNaja najavenom 2.5 to 10 times the estimated LD50 and then received 5 μL neostigmine (0.5 mg/mL) or 5 μL normal saline by nasal administration. Animals were observed up to 12 hours and survivors were euthanized.Results. 100% of control mice died. Untreated mice injected with 2.5× LD50Naja najadied at average 193 minutes after injection, while 10 of 15 (67%) of treated mice survived and were behaviorally normal by 6 hours (P<0.02). In the 5× LD50 group, survival was prolonged from 45 minutes to 196 minutes (P=0.01) and for 10× LD50 mice, survival increased from 30 to 175 minutes (P<0.02).Conclusion. This pilot suggests that intranasal drugs can improve survival and is the first direct demonstration that such an approach is plausible, suggesting means by which treatment could be initiated before reaching the hospital. Further investigation of this approach to neurotoxic and other types of envenomation is warranted.
Supporting Seamless Mobility for P2P Live Streaming
Authors: Kim Eunsam , Kim Sangjin , Lee Choonhwa
Published: May 2014

With advent of various mobile devices with powerful networking and computing capabilities, the users' demand to enjoy live video streaming services such as IPTV with mobile devices has been increasing rapidly. However, it is challenging to get over the degradation of service quality due to data loss caused by the handover. Although many handover schemes were proposed at protocol layers below the application layer, they inherently suffer from data loss while the network is being disconnected during the handover. We therefore propose an efficient application-layer handover scheme to support seamless mobility for P2P live streaming. By simulation experiments, we show that the P2P live streaming system with our proposed handover scheme can improve the playback continuity significantly compared to that without our scheme.
Creation of Reliable Relevance Judgments in Information Retrieval Systems Evaluation Experimentation through Crowdsourcing: A Review
Authors: Samimi Parnia , Ravana Sri Devi
Published: May 2014

Test collection is used to evaluate the information retrieval systems in laboratory-based evaluation experimentation. In a classic setting, generating relevance judgments involves human assessors and is a costly and time consuming task. Researchers and practitioners are still being challenged in performing reliable and low-cost evaluation of retrieval systems. Crowdsourcing as a novel method of data acquisition is broadly used in many research fields. It has been proven that crowdsourcing is an inexpensive and quick solution as well as a reliable alternative for creating relevance judgments. One of the crowdsourcing applications in IR is to judge relevancy of query document pair. In order to have a successful crowdsourcing experiment, the relevance judgment tasks should be designed precisely to emphasize quality control. This paper is intended to explore different factors that have an influence on the accuracy of relevance judgments accomplished by workers and how to intensify the reliability of judgments in crowdsourcing experiment.
A Quantitative Ethnopharmacological Documentation of Natural Pharmacological Agents Used by Pediatric Patients in Mauritius
Authors: Mahomoodally M. Fawzi , Sreekeesoon D. Priyamka
Published: May 2014

The pediatric population constitutes the most vulnerable patients due to a dearth of approved drugs. Consequently, there is a pressing need to probe novel natural pharmacological agents in an endeavour to develop new drugs to address pediatric illnesses. To date, no studies have explored the use of natural therapies for pediatric health care in Mauritius. Parents (n=325) from different regions of the island were interviewed. Quantitative indexes such as fidelity level (FL), informant consensus factor (FIC), and use-value (UV) were calculated. Thirty-two plants were reported to be used by pediatric patients. Gastrointestinal disorders (FIC=0.97) encompassing regurgitation, infantile colic, and stomach aches were the most common ailments managed with herbs.Matricaria chamomillaused for infantile colic and its pharmacological properties has previously been documented for pediatric patients. Product fromA. mellifera(UV = 0.75) was the most utilized zootherapy for managing cough. Most plants and animal products reported in this study have bioactive constituents supported by existing scientific literature but their use for the pediatric population is scant. The present ethnopharmacological study has opened new perspectives for further research into their pharmacology, which can subsequently support and facilitate timely pediatric medicinal product development.
Quantum Chemical Study of Mixed-Ligand Monometallic Ruthenium(II) Complex of Composition [(bpy)2Ru(H3Imbzim)](ClO4)2·2H2O
Authors: Lone Mohsin Yousuf , Jha Prakash Chandra
Published: May 2014

On the basis of density functional theoretical approach, we have assessed the ground state geometries and absorption spectra of recently synthesized monometallic ruthenium (II) complex of composition [(bpy)2Ru(H3Imbzim)](ClO4)2·2H2O where bpy = 2,2′-bypyridine and H3Imbzim = 4,5-bis(benzimidazol-2-yl)imidazole. The all different kinds of charge transfers such as ligand-ligand, and metal-ligand have been quantified, compared, and contrasted with the experimental results. In addition, the effect of solvent on excitation energies has been evaluated. In spite of some digital discrepancies in calculated and observed geometries, as well as in absorption spectra, the density functional theory (DFT) seems to explain the main features of this complex.
Two-Dimensional Key Table-Based Group Key Distribution in Advanced Metering Infrastructure
Authors: Go Woong , Kawk Jin
Published: May 2014

A smart grid provides two-way communication by using the information and communication technology. In order to establish two-way communication, the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) is used in the smart grid as the core infrastructure. This infrastructure consists of smart meters, data collection units, maintenance data management systems, and so on. However, potential security problems of the AMI increase owing to the application of the public network. This is because the transmitted information is electricity consumption data for charging. Thus, in order to establish a secure connection to transmit electricity consumption data, encryption is necessary, for which key distribution is required. Further, a group key is more efficient than a pairwise key in the hierarchical structure of the AMI. Therefore, we propose a group key distribution scheme using a two-dimensional key table through the analysis result of the sensor network group key distribution scheme. The proposed scheme has three phases: group key predistribution, selection of group key generation element, and generation of group key.
Gene Expression Profile in Delay Graft Function: Inflammatory Markers Are Associated with Recipient and Donor Risk Factors
Authors: Guerrieri Diego , Re Luis , Petroni Jorgelina , Ambrosi Nella , Pilotti Roxana E. , Chuluyan H. Eduardo , Casadei Domingo , Incardona Claudio
Published: May 2014

Background.Delayed graft function (DGF) remains an important problem after kidney transplantation and reduced long-term graft survival of the transplanted organ. The aim of the present study was to determine if the development of DGF was associated with a specific pattern of inflammatory gene expression in expanded criteria of deceased donor kidney transplantation. Also, we explored the presence of correlations between DGF risk factors and the profile that was found.Methods.Seven days after kidney transplant, a cDNA microarray was performed on biopsies of graft from patients with and without DGF. Data was confirmed by real-time PCR. Correlations were performed between inflammatory gene expression and clinical risk factors.Results.From a total of 84 genes analyzed, 58 genes were upregulated while only 1 gene was downregulated in patients with DGF compared with no DGF (P=0.01). The most relevant genes fold changes observed was IFNA1, IL-10, IL-1F7, IL-1R1, HMOX-1, and TGF-β. The results were confirmed for IFNA1, IL-1R1, HMOX-1 and TGF-β. A correlation was observed between TGF-β, donor age, and preablation creatinine, but not body mass index (BMI). Also, TGF-βshowed an association with recipient age, while IFNA1 correlated with recipient BMI. Furthermore, TGF-β, IFNA1 and HMOX-1 correlated with several posttransplant kidney function markers, such as diuresis, ultrasound Doppler, and glycemia.Conclusions.Overall, the present study shows that DGF is associated with inflammatory markers, which are correlated with donor and recipient DGF risk factors.
The Roles of Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Review
Authors: Chang Ya-Ting , Chang Wen-Neng , Tsai Nai-Wen , Huang Chih-Cheng , Kung Chia-Te , Su Yu-Jih , Lin Wei-Che , Cheng Ben-Chung , Su Chih-Min , Chiang Yi-Fang , Lu Cheng-Hsien
Published: May 2014

Purpose. Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This paper aims to examine whether biomarkers of oxidative stress and antioxidants could be useful biomarkers in AD, which might form the bases of future clinical studies.Methods. PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science were systematically queried to obtain studies with available data regarding markers of oxidative stress and antioxidants from subjects with AD.Results and Conclusion. Although most studies show elevated serum markers of lipid peroxidation in AD, there is no sufficient evidence to justify the routine use of biomarkers as predictors of severity or outcome in AD.
Comparisons of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness after Indocyanine Green, Brilliant Blue G, or Triamcinolone Acetonide-Assisted Macular Hole Surgery
Authors: Toba Yoshiharu , Machida Shigeki , Kurosaka Daijiro
Published: May 2014

Purpose. To compare the postoperative changes of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in patients with macular holes (MHs) treated with vitrectomy with indocyanine green- (ICG-), brilliant blue G- (BBG-), or triamcinolone acetonide- (TA-)assisted internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling.Methods. Sixty-one eyes of 61 consecutive patients with MHs were studied. Each eye was randomly selected to undergo either ICG- (n=18), BBG- (n=21), or TA-assisted (n=22) ILM peeling. The circumferential retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness was determined by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) before and 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months postoperatively. The mean overall and the sectoral thicknesses of the RNFL were obtained for each group.Results. A transient increase of the RNFL thickness was seen in the mean overall and sectoral thicknesses except for the nasal/inferior sector at 1 month after surgery for the three groups. Then, the thickness gradually decreased and returned to the baseline level in all sectors except for the nasal/inferior sector. The differences in the RNFL thickness among the groups were not significant for at least 12 months postoperatively.Conclusions. The degree of change of the RNFL thickness was not significantly related to the type of vital stain used during MH surgery.
Impaired Intestinal Mucosal Barrier upon Ischemia-Reperfusion: “Patching Holes in the Shield with a Simple Surgical Method”
Authors: Rosero Olivér , Ónody Péter , Kovács Tibor , Molnár Dávid , Lotz Gábor , Tóth Szilárd , Turóczi Zsolt , Fülöp András , Garbaisz Dávid , Harsányi László , Szijártó Attila
Published: May 2014

Mesenteric ischemia-reperfusion (IR) is associated with impairment of the gut barrier function and the initiation of a proinflammatory cascade with life-threatening results. Therefore methods directed to ameliorate IR injury are of great importance. We aimed at describing the effects of postconditioning (PC) on the alterations of the intestinal mucosal function and the inflammatory response upon mesenteric IR.Methods. Male Wistar rats were gavaged with green fluorescent protein-expressingE. colisuspensions. Animals were randomized into three groups (n=15), sham-operated, IR-, and PC-groups, and underwent 60 minutes of superior mesenteric artery occlusion, followed by 6 hours of reperfusion. Postconditioning was performed at the onset of reperfusion. Blood and tissue samples were taken at the end of reperfusion, for histological, bacteriological, and plasma examinations.Results. The PC-group presented a more favorable claudin-2, claudin-3, claudin-4, and zonula occludens-1 membrane expression profile, and significantly lower rates of bacterial translocation to distant organs and plasma D-lactate levels compared to the IR-group. Histopathological lesions, plasma I-FABP, IL-6, and TNF-αlevels were significantly lower in the PC-group compared to the IR-group.Conclusion. The use of postconditioning improved the integrity of the intestinal mucosal barrier upon mesenteric IR, and thus reduced the incidence of bacterial translocation and development of a systemic inflammatory response.
Noise Removal in Color Images Based on Image Gradient Information
Authors: Zhang Rui , He Wei
Published: May 2014

We propose a novel noise removal algorithm in color images. First, gradient is extended for color images. On this extended gradient, an algorithm called gradient peer group is used to detect the noise in color images and the peer group averaging algorithm is applied to remove the noise detected. The experiment shows that the proposed algorithm can detect and remove noise in color images effectively. The quality of images after noise removal is better than the ones reconstructed by other algorithms.
Hepatoprotective and Antioxidant Effect ofBauhinia hookeriExtract against Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Mice and Characterization of Its Bioactive Compounds by HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS/MS
Authors: Al-Sayed Eman , Martiskainen Olli , Seif el-Din Sayed H. , Sabra Abdel-Nasser A. , Hammam Olfat A. , El-Lakkany Naglaa M. , Abdel-Daim Mohamed M.
Published: May 2014

The hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity ofBauhinia hookeriethanol extract (BHE) against CCl4-induced liver injury was investigated in mice. BHE was administered (500 and 1000 mg/kg/day) along with CCl4for 6 weeks. The hepatic marker enzymes: alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were determined in the serum. The antioxidant parameters: glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione transferase (GST), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were estimated in the liver homogenate. BHE treatment significantly inhibited the CCl4-induced increase in ALT (44 and 64%), AST (36 and 46%), ALP (28 and 42%), and MDA (39 and 51%) levels at the tested doses, respectively. Moreover, BHE treatment markedly increased the activity of antioxidant parameters GSH, GPx, GR, GST, and SOD. Histological observations confirmed the strong hepatoprotective activity. These results suggest that a dietary supplement of BHE could exert a beneficial effect against oxidative stress and various liver diseases by enhancing the antioxidant defense status, reducing lipid peroxidation, and protecting against the pathological changes of the liver. The hepatoprotective activity of BHE is mediated, at least in part, by the antioxidant effect of its constituents. The active constituents of BHE were identified by HPLC-PDA-ESI/MS/MS.
Episodic Reasoning for Vision-Based Human Action Recognition
Authors: Santofimia Maria J. , Martinez-del-Rincon Jesus , Nebel Jean-Christophe
Published: May 2014

Smart Spaces, Ambient Intelligence, and Ambient Assisted Living are environmental paradigms that strongly depend on their capability to recognize human actions. While most solutions rest on sensor value interpretations and video analysis applications, few have realized the importance of incorporating common-sense capabilities to support the recognition process. Unfortunately, human action recognition cannot be successfully accomplished by only analyzing body postures. On the contrary, this task should be supported by profound knowledge of human agency nature and its tight connection to the reasons and motivations that explain it. The combination of this knowledge and the knowledge about how the world works is essential for recognizing and understanding human actions without committing common-senseless mistakes. This work demonstrates the impact that episodic reasoning has in improving the accuracy of a computer vision system for human action recognition. This work also presents formalization, implementation, and evaluation details of the knowledge model that supports the episodic reasoning.
Scheduling Performance Evaluation of Logistics Service Supply Chain Based on the Dynamic Index Weight
Authors: Liu Weihua , Liang Zhicheng , Wang Shuqing , Liu Yang , Xie Wenchen
Published: May 2014

Scheduling is crucial to the operation of logistics service supply chain (LSSC), so scientific performance evaluation method is required to evaluate the scheduling performance. Different from general project performance evaluation, scheduling activities are usually continuous and multiperiod. Therefore, the weight of scheduling performance evaluation index is not unchanged, but dynamically varied. In this paper, the factors that influence the scheduling performance are analyzed in three levels which are strategic environment, operating process, and scheduling results. Based on these three levels, the scheduling performance evaluation index system of LSSC is established. In all, a new performance evaluation method proposed based on dynamic index weight will have three innovation points. Firstly, a multiphase dynamic interaction method is introduced to improve the quality of quantification. Secondly, due to the large quantity of second‐level indexes and the requirements of dynamic weight adjustment, the maximum attribute deviation method is introduced to determine weight of second‐level indexes, which can remove the uncertainty of subjective factors. Thirdly, an adjustment coefficient method based on set‐valued statistics is introduced to determine the first‐level indexes weight. In the end, an application example from a logistics company in China is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Diversity, Biocontrol, and Plant Growth Promoting Abilities of Xylem Residing Bacteria from Solanaceous Crops
Authors: Achari Gauri A. , Ramesh Raman
Published: May 2014

Eggplant (Solanum melongenaL.) is one of the solanaceous crops of economic and cultural importance and is widely cultivated in the state of Goa, India. Eggplant cultivation is severely affected by bacterial wilt caused byRalstonia solanacearumthat colonizes the xylem tissue. In this study, 167 bacteria were isolated from the xylem of healthy eggplant, chilli, andSolanum torvumSw. by vacuum infiltration and maceration. Amplified rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) grouped these xylem residing bacteria (XRB) into 38 haplotypes. Twenty-eight strains inhibited growth ofR. solanacearumand produced volatile and diffusible antagonistic compounds and plant growth promoting substancesin vitro. Antagonistic strains XB86, XB169, XB177, and XB200 recorded a biocontrol efficacy greater than 85% against BW and exhibited 12%–22 % increase in shoot length in eggplant in the greenhouse screening. 16S rRNA based identification revealed the presence of 23 different bacterial genera. XRB with high biocontrol and plant growth promoting activities were identified as strains ofStaphylococcussp.,Bacillussp.,Streptomycessp.,Enterobactersp., andAgrobacteriumsp. This study is the first report on identity of bacteria from the xylem of solanaceous crops having traits useful in cultivation of eggplant.
Global Uniform Asymptotic Stability of a Class of Switched Linear Systems with an Infinite Number of Subsystems
Authors: Araghi L. F. , Suratgar A. A. , Feizi E.
Published: May 2014

Stability of switching systems with an infinite number of subsystems is important in some structure of systems, like fuzzy systems, neural networks, and so forth. Because of the relationship between stability of a set of matrices and switching systems, this paper first studies the stability of a set of matrices, then and the results are applied for stability of switching systems. Some new conditions for globally uniformly asymptotically stability (GUAS) of discrete-time switched linear systems with an infinite number of subsystems are proposed. The paper considers some examples and simulation results.
Recognition Functions of Pentameric C-Reactive Protein in Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Agrawal Alok , Gang Toh B. , Rusiñol Antonio E.
Published: May 2014

C-reactive protein (CRP) performs two recognition functions that are relevant to cardiovascular disease. First, in its native pentameric conformation, CRP recognizes molecules and cells with exposed phosphocholine (PCh) groups, such as microbial pathogens and damaged cells. PCh-containing ligand-bound CRP activates the complement system to destroy the ligand. Thus, the PCh-binding function of CRP is defensive if it occurs on foreign pathogens because it results in the killing of the pathogen via complement activation. On the other hand, the PCh-binding function of CRP is detrimental if it occurs on injured host cells because it causes more damage to the tissue via complement activation; this is how CRP worsens acute myocardial infarction and ischemia/reperfusion injury. Second, in its nonnative pentameric conformation, CRP also recognizes atherogenic low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Recent data suggest that the LDL-binding function of CRP is beneficial because it prevents formation of macrophage foam cells, attenuates inflammatory effects of LDL, inhibits LDL oxidation, and reduces proatherogenic effects of macrophages, raising the possibility that nonnative CRP may show atheroprotective effects in experimental animals. In conclusion, temporarily inhibiting the PCh-binding function of CRP along with facilitating localized presence of nonnative pentameric CRP could be a promising approach to treat atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction. There is no need to stop the biosynthesis of CRP.
Detection of Hepatitis C Virus Coinfection in Patients with Dengue Diagnosis
Authors: Machain-Williams Carlos , Talavera-Aguilar Lourdes , Cetina-Trejo Rosa Carmina , Carrillo-Navarrete Jaquelin , Rivero-Cárdenas Nubia , Salazar Ma. Isabel , Farfán-Ale José Arturo , Puerto Fernando I. , Castro-Mussot María Eugenia
Published: May 2014

Coinfection produced by dengue virus (DENV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a serious problem of public health in Mexico, as they both circulate in tropical zones and may lead to masking or complicating symptoms. In this research, we detected active coinfected patients by HCV residing in the endemic city of Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, with positive diagnosis to dengue during the acute phase. We performed a retrospective analysis of 240 serum samples from dengue patients. The IgM-ELISA serological test was used for dengue diagnosis, as well as viral isolation to confirm infection. DENV and HCV were detected by RT-PCR. Thus, 31 (12.9%) samples showed DENV-HCV coinfection, but interestingly the highest frequency of coinfection cases was found in male patients presenting hemorrhagic dengue in 19/31 (61.29%), with a predominance of 12 : 7 in males. Firstly, coinfection of DENV-HCV in Mérida, Mexico, was detected in young dengue patients, between 11 and 20 years old (38.7%), followed by those between 21 and 30 years old (32%); only 16.13% were between 0 and 10 years of age. Diagnosis of HCV infection in patients with dengue is highly recommended in order to establish potential risk in clinical manifestations as well as dictate patients' special care.
Study of Rheological Properties of Industrial Lubricants
Authors: Vasishth Ajay , Kuchhal Piyush , Anand Gagan
Published: May 2014

The most important rheological parameter for lubricants is viscosity as it also affects the tribological properties like friction between interacting surfaces and wear. This research intends to study the relationship between viscosity and temperature at different shear rates for multiple grades of three different categories of lubricants used for different applications viz. L1: MG20W50 (engine oil), L2: SAE20W50 (engine oil), L3: MC20W50 (mineral engine oil), L4: EP90 (gear oil), and L5: DXTIII (steering fluid). Constant high dynamic viscosity, shear stress, and low compressibility at different temperatures in multigrade as well as single grade industrial oil will help to maintain the surface film over the period of time and hence the reduction in wear. The dynamic viscosity of these chosen samples has been measured experimentally in temperature range of 20 to 50°C. The measurements have been extended to observe the dependence of shear rate, time, and temperature on the dynamic viscosity. All the samples are observed to behave like Newtonian fluids in the entire temperature range of study. Further, all samples seem to obey the Arrhenius relationship with temperature. Shear stress shows linear variation with shear rate exhibiting uniform viscosity which is substantiated by almost no variation in dynamic viscosity with shear rate for value above 5 per second.
Humanin Rescues Cultured Rat Cortical Neurons from NMDA-Induced Toxicity Not by NMDA Receptor
Authors: Cui Ai-Ling , Li Jian-Zhong , Feng Zhi-Bo , Ma Guo-Lin , Gong Liang , Li Chun-Ling , Zhang Ce , Li Kefeng
Published: May 2014

Excitatory neurotoxicity has been implicated in many pathological situations and there is no effective treatment available. Humanin is a 24-aa peptide cloned from the brain of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In the present study, excitatory toxicity was induced by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) in primarily cultured rat cortical neurons. MTT assessment, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, and calcein staining were employed to evaluate the protective activity of humanin on NMDA induced toxicity. The results suggested that NMDA (100 μmol/L, 2.5 hr) triggered neuronal morphological changes, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release (166% of the control), reduction of cell viability (about 50% of the control), and the decrease of living cell density (about 50% of the control). When pretreated with humanin, the toxicity was suppressed. The living cells’ density of humanin treated group was similar to that of control. The cell viability was attenuated dose-dependently (IC50= 0.132 nmol/L). The LDH release was also neutralized in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the intracellular Ca2+overloading triggered by NMDA reverted quickly and humanin could not inhibit it. These findings indicate that humanin can rescue cortical neurons from NMDA-induced toxicity in rat but not through interfering with NMDA receptor directly.
A Modified Fluorimetric Method for Determination of Hydrogen Peroxide Using Homovanillic Acid Oxidation Principle
Authors: Paital Biswaranjan
Published: May 2014

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) level in biological samples is used as an important index in various studies. Quantification of H2O2level in tissue fractions in presence of H2O2metabolizing enzymes may always provide an incorrect result. A modification is proposed for the spectrofluorimetric determination of H2O2in homovanillic acid (HVA) oxidation method. The modification was included to precipitate biological samples with cold trichloroacetic acid (TCA, 5% w/v) followed by its neutralization with K2HPO4before the fluorimetric estimation of H2O2is performed. TCA was used to precipitate the protein portions contained in the tissue fractions. After employing the above modification, it was observed that H2O2content in tissue samples was ≥2 fold higher than the content observed in unmodified method. Minimum 2 h incubation of samples in reaction mixture was required for completion of the reaction. The stability of the HVA dimer as reaction product was found to be >12 h. The method was validated by using known concentrations of H2O2and catalase enzyme that quenches H2O2as substrate. This method can be used efficiently to determine more accurate tissue H2O2level without using internal standard and multiple samples can be processed at a time with additional low cost reagents such as TCA and K2HPO4.
Gene Modification of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Articular Chondrocytes to Enhance Chondrogenesis
Authors: Gurusinghe Saliya , Strappe Padraig
Published: May 2014

Current cell based treatment for articular cartilage and osteochondral defects are hampered by issues such as cellular dedifferentiation and hypertrophy of the resident or transplanted cells. The reduced expression of chondrogenic signalling molecules and transcription factors is a major contributing factor to changes in cell phenotype. Gene modification of chondrocytes may be one approach to redirect cells to their primary phenotype and recent advances in nonviral and viral gene delivery technologies have enabled the expression of these lost factors at high efficiency and specificity to regain chondrocyte function. This review focuses on the various candidate genes that encode signalling molecules and transcription factors that are specific for the enhancement of the chondrogenic phenotype and also how epigenetic regulators of chondrogenesis in the form of microRNA may also play an important role.
Wireless Power Transfer to a Microaerial Vehicle with a Microwave Active Phased Array
Authors: Nako Shotaro , Okuda Kenta , Miyashiro Kengo , Komurasaki Kimiya , Koizumi Hiroyuki
Published: May 2014

A wireless power transfer system using a microwave active phased array was developed. In the system, power is transferred to a circling microaerial vehicle (MAV) by a microwave beam of 5.8 GHz, which is formed and directed to the MAV using an active phased array antenna. The MAV is expected to support observation of areas that humans cannot reach. The power beam is formed by the phased array with eight antenna elements. Input power is about 5.6 W. The peak power density at 1,500 mm altitude was 2.63 mW/cm2. The power is sent to a circling MAV. Therefore, the transfer beam should be polarized circularly to achieve a constant power supply independent of its yaw angle. To minimize the polarization loss, a sequentially routed antenna (SRA) was applied to the transmitter antenna. Results show that the axial ratio of 0.440 dB was accomplished and that power fluctuation was kept below 1%.
Pricing Convertible Bonds with Credit Risk under Regime Switching and Numerical Solutions
Authors: Zhang Wei-Guo , Liao Ping-Kang
Published: May 2014

This paper discusses the convertible bonds pricing problem with regime switching and credit risk in the convertible bond market. We derive a Black‐Scholes‐type partial differential equation of convertible bonds and propose a convertible bond pricing model with boundary conditions. We explore the impact of dilution effect and debt leverage on the value of the convertible bond and also give an adjustment method. Furthermore, we present two numerical solutions for the convertible bond pricing model and prove their consistency. Finally, the pricing results by comparing the finite difference method with the trinomial tree show that the strength of the effect of regime switching on the convertible bond depends on the generator matrix or the regime switching strength.
Antileishmanial, Toxicity, and Phytochemical Evaluation of Medicinal Plants Collected from Pakistan
Authors: Shah Naseer Ali , Khan Muhammad Rashid , Nadhman Akhtar
Published: May 2014

Leishmaniasis is an important parasitic problem and is in focus for development of new drugs all over the world. Objective of the present study was to evaluate phytochemical, toxicity, and antileishmanial potential ofJurinea dolomiaea,Asparagus gracilis,Sida cordata,andStellaria mediacollected from different areas of Pakistan. Dry powder of plants was extracted with crude methanol and fractionated withn-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate,n-butanol, and water solvents in escalating polarity order. Qualitative phytochemical analysis of different class of compounds, that is, alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, anthraquinones, cardiac glycosides, coumarins, phlobatannins, flavonoids, phenolics, and tannins, was tested. Its appearance was observed varying with polarity of solvent used for fractionation. Antileishmanial activity was performed againstLeishmania tropicaKWH23 promastigote. Potent antileishmanial activity was observed forJ. dolomiaeamethanol extract (IC50=10.9±1.1 μg/mL) in comparison to other plant extracts. However,J. dolomiaea“ethyl acetate fraction” was more active (IC50=5.3±0.2 μg/mL) againstLeishmania tropicaKWH23 among all plant fractions as well as standard Glucantime drug (6.0±0.1 μg/mL). All the plants extract and its derived fraction exhibited toxicity in safety range (LC50 >100) in brine shrimp toxicity evaluation assay.
Concurrent Validity of Physiological Cost Index in Walking over Ground and during Robotic Training in Subacute Stroke Patients
Authors: Delussu Anna Sofia , Morone Giovanni , Iosa Marco , Bragoni Maura , Paolucci Stefano , Traballesi Marco
Published: May 2014

Physiological Cost Index (PCI) has been proposed to assess gait demand. The purpose of the study was to establish whether PCI is a valid indicator in subacute stroke patients of energy cost of walking in different walking conditions, that is, over ground and on the Gait Trainer (GT) with body weight support (BWS). The study tested if correlations exist between PCI and ECW, indicating validity of the measure and, by implication, validity of PCI. Six patients (patient group (PG)) with subacute stroke and 6 healthy age- and size-matched subjects as control group (CG) performed, in a random sequence in different days, walking tests overground and on the GT with 0, 30, and 50% BWS. There was a good to excellent correlation between PCI and ECW in the observed walking conditions: in PG Pearson correlation was 0.919 (p<0.001); in CG Pearson correlation was 0.852 (p<0.001). In conclusion, the high significant correlations between PCI and ECW, in all the observed walking conditions, suggest that PCI is a valid outcome measure in subacute stroke patients.