bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neural and neurogenic tumours of the gastroenteropancreaticobiliary tract
Authors: McCarthy Aoife J , Karamchandani Dipti M , Chetty Runjan
Published: February 2018

Neural lesions occur uncommonly in the gastroenteropancreaticobiliary tract. However, due to the growing number of screening colonoscopy procedures, polypoid neural lesions of the colon are being recognised increasingly and range from benign tumours to high-grade malignant neoplasms. Morphological variability of neural tumours can be wide, although some entities share pathological features, and, as such, these lesions can be diagnostically challenging. We review the spectrum of pathology of neural tumours in the gastroenteropancreaticobiliary tract, with the goal of providing a practical approach for practising surgical pathologists.
Sidewinder syndrome associated with partial rupture of the ligamentum capitis ossis femoris
Authors: Paulussen Ellen , Versnaeyen Han , Deneut Kelly , Chiers Koen , van Loon Gunther
Published: February 2018

A 25‐year‐old Welsh Cob stallion was presented with a sudden onset of abnormal hind limb gait. Being led at walk on a straight line, the hindquarters were shifted to the right and the horse was walking on three tracks. Treatment with corticosteroids and non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs was attempted but ineffective and eventually the horse was euthanased. Postmortem examination of the coxofemoral joints revealed a bilateral degeneration of the articular cartilage of both the acetabulum and the femoral head, as well as a partial rupture of the left ligamentum capitis ossis femoris. Histological examination of this ligament showed collagen fibre fragmentation, increased proteoglycan and cellular infiltrates. The irreversible clinical signs were compatible with so‐called ‘sidewinder syndrome’ and ‘crabwalking’ to the right and were associated with partial rupture of the left ligamentum capitis ossis femoris and bilateral degenerative joint disease of the coxofemoral joint, but the exact aetiology remains unknown.
Knockdown of aquaporin-5 sensitizes colorectal cancer cells to 5-fluorouracil via inhibition of the Wnt–β-catenin signaling pathway
Authors: Li Qing , Yang Tao , Li Dongsheng , Ding Feng , Bai Guang , Wang Wei , Sun Hongzhi
Published: February 2018

Aquaporin-5 (AQP5), a water channel protein, has been reported to possess oncogenic potential in multiple types of malignancies, including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, its effect on the chemosensitivity of CRC cells remains elusive. Hence, this study investigated the effect of AQP5 silencing in CRC cells on 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) sensitivity and attempted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. A short hairpin RNA construct targeting AQP5 was transfected into HCT116 or HT29 cells to generate stable AQP5-silenced cell lines. The effects of AQP5 knockdown on cell viability, apoptosis, tumor growth, and 5-FU chemoresistance were evaluated. Relative protein levels of Wnt–β-catenin pathway effectors were also measured. The results showed that silencing of AQP5 increased the chemosensitivity of CRC cells to 5-FU, facilitated 5-FU-mediated apoptosis, suppressed tumor growth, and reduced 5-FU chemoresistance in vivo. Furthermore, the effect of AQP5 on 5-FU chemosensitivity was mediated by the Wnt–β-catenin pathway. Silencing of AQP5 inhibited Wnt–β-catenin signaling, whereas overexpression of the degradation-resistant mutant of β-catenin (S33Y) reversed apoptosis induced by AQP5 silencing. Taken together, these results suggest that AQP5 silencing enhances the sensitivity of CRC cells to 5-FU, and the underlying mechanism is related to inhibition of the Wnt–β-catenin pathway. AQP5 could be a useful therapeutic target for CRC treatment.
Effects of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecumL.) seed extract supplementation in different energy density diets on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood characteristics, fecal microbiota, and fecal gas emission in growing pigs
Authors: Hossain M.M. , Begum M. , Kim I.H.
Published: February 2018

This study evaluated the efficacy of fenugreek seed extract (FSE) in growing pigs. About 140 growing pigs [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc] with an average body weight (BW) of 23.70 ± 2.80 kg were used in a 6 wk trial. Treatments were (on as-fed basis) two levels of FSE (FSE0, 0 or FSE0.2, 2 g kg−1basal diet), and two levels of energy [low-energy diet (LED); 3160 or high-energy diet (HED); 3260 kcal kg−1metabolizable energy (ME)]. Pigs in HED and FSE0.2 diets had higher final BW, average daily gain, and gain:feed ratio (G:F) compared with in LED, and FSE0 diets, respectively (P < 0.05). Pigs fed the FSE0.2 and HED diets had higher energy (E) digestibility than the FSE0 and LED diets, respectively (P < 0.05). Pigs fed the FSE0.2 diet increased serum immunoglobulin G (IgG), and reduced total cholesterol (TC) concentration than the FSE0 diet (P < 0.05). Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and ammonia (NH3) gas emission in FSE0.2 diet were lower than that in FSE0 group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, results indicated that dietary supplementation of FSE improved growth performance, digestibility, serum IgG, reduced serum TC, and noxious gas emission in growing pigs.
Pyridine, thiophosphine, and selenophosphine complexes of the phenylphosphine dication
Authors: Sinclair Hannah , Suter Riccardo , Burford Neil , McDonald Robert , Ferguson Michael J.
Published: February 2018

Compounds of the generic formula [PhPL][OTf]2 with L = bipyridine (bipy) and 4,4′-di(tert-butyl)-2,2′-bipyridine (Bbipy) and [PhPL2][OTf]2 with L = 4-dimethylaminopyridine (dmap), tricyclohexyl-thiophosphine, and tricyclohexyl-selenophosphine have been prepared by the reaction of dichlorophenylphosphine with two equivalents of trimethylsilyl triflate and the respective ligand. The new complexes of the phenylphosphine dication with this variety of ligands expands the scope of coordination complexes involving phosphorus as an acceptor.
Genotypic variation in the response of chickpea to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and non-mycorrhizal fungal endophytes
Authors: Bazghaleh Navid , Hamel Chantal , Gan Yantai , Tar’an Bunyamin , Knight Joan Diane
Published: February 2018

Plant roots host symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and other fungal endophytes that can impact plant growth and health. The impact of microbial interactions in roots may depend on the genetic properties of the host plant and its interactions with root-associated fungi. We conducted a controlled condition experiment to investigate the effect of several chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes on the efficiency of the symbiosis with AM fungi and non-AM fungal endophytes. Whereas the AM symbiosis increased the biomass of most of the chickpea cultivars, inoculation with non-AM fungal endophytes had a neutral effect. The chickpea cultivars responded differently to co-inoculation with AM fungi and non-AM fungal endophytes. Co-inoculation had additive effects on the biomass of some cultivars (CDC Corrine, CDC Anna, and CDC Cory), but non-AM fungal endophytes reduced the positive effect of AM fungi on Amit and CDC Vanguard. This study demonstrated that the response of plant genotypes to an AM symbiosis can be modified by the simultaneous colonization of the roots by non-AM fungal endophytes. Intraspecific variations in the response of chickpea to AM fungi and non-AM fungal endophytes indicate that the selection of suitable genotypes may improve the ability of crop plants to take advantage of soil ecosystem services.
BatScope manages acoustic recordings, analyses calls, and classifies bat species automatically
Authors: Obrist M.K. , Boesch R.
Published: February 2018

BatScope is a free application for processing acoustic high-frequency recordings of bats. It can import data, including meta-data information, from recorders such as Batlogger. The resulting content can be filtered visually as spectrograms or according to data fields and can be displayed. Automated processing includes detecting and extracting of echolocation calls, filtering noise, and measuring statistical parameters. Calls are classified to species by statistically matching to a reference database. A weighted list of classifiers helps to assign the most likely species per call. Classifiers were trained on 19 636 echolocation calls of 27 European bat species. When classifiers all agree on a species (76.4% of all cases), the mean correct classification rate reaches 95.7%. A sequence’s summary statistic indicates the most likely species occurring therein. Classifications can be verified visually, by filtering, and by acoustic comparison with reference calls. Procedures are available for, e.g., excluding dubious cutouts from the statistics and for accepting or overriding the proposed species assignment. Acoustic recordings can be exported and exchanged with other users. Finally, the verified results can be exported to spreadsheets for further analyses and reporting. We currently reprogram BatScope using Java, PostgreSQL, and R to reach a unified and portable software architecture.
Coherence analysis of a class of weighted tree-like polymer networks
Authors: He Jiaojiao , Dai Meifeng , Zong Yue , Zou Jiahui , Sun Yu , Su Weiyi
Published: February 2018

Complex networks have elicited considerable attention from scientific communities. This paper investigates consensus dynamics in a linear dynamical system with additive stochastic disturbances, which is characterized as network coherence by the Laplacian spectrum. Firstly, we introduce a class of weighted tree-like polymer networks with the weight factor. Then, we deduce the recursive relationship of the eigenvalues of Laplacian matrix at two successive generations. Finally, we calculate the first- and second-order network coherence quantifying as the sum and square sum of reciprocals of all nonzero Laplacian eigenvalues. The obtained results show that the scalings of first-order coherence with network size obey four laws along with the range of the weight factor and the scalings of second-order coherence with network size obey five laws along with the range of the weight factor.
A Proof of Donsker’s Invariance Principle Based on Support Functions of Fuzzy Random Vectors
Authors: Schneider Jan , Urban Roman
Published: February 2018

In this note — starting from d-dimensional (with d > 1) fuzzy vectors — we prove Donsker’s classical invariance principle. We consider a fuzzy random walk [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is a sequence of mutually independent and identically distributed d-dimensional fuzzy random variables whose α-cuts are assumed to be compact and convex.

Our reasoning and technique are based on the well known conjugacy correspondence between convex sets and support functions, which allows for the association of an appropriately normalized and interpolated time-continuous fuzzy random process with a real valued random process in the space of support functions.

We show that each member of the associated family of dual sequences tends in distribution to a standard Brownian motion.
Interval Methods in Knowledge Representation
Authors: Kreinovich Vladik
Published: February 2018

Please send your abstracts (or copies of papers that you want to see reviewed here) to vladik@utep.edu, or by regular mail to Vladik Kreinovich, Department of Computer Science, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA.
Concept and Attention-Based CNN for Question Retrieval in Multi-View Learning
Authors: Wang Pengwei , Ji Lei , Yan Jun , Dou Dejing , Silva Nisansa De , Zhang Yong , Jin Lianwen
Published: February 2018

Question retrieval, which aims to find similar versions of a given question, is playing a pivotal role in various question answering (QA) systems. This task is quite challenging, mainly in regard to five aspects: synonymy, polysemy, word order, question length, and data sparsity. In this article, we propose a unified framework to simultaneously handle these five problems. We use the word combined with corresponding concept information to handle the synonymy problem and the polysemous problem. Concept embedding and word embedding are learned at the same time from both the context-dependent and context-independent views. To handle the word-order problem, we propose a high-level feature-embedded convolutional semantic model to learn question embedding by inputting concept embedding and word embedding. Due to the fact that the lengths of some questions are long, we propose a value-based convolutional attentional method to enhance the proposed high-level feature-embedded convolutional semantic model in learning the key parts of the question and the answer. The proposed high-level feature-embedded convolutional semantic model nicely represents the hierarchical structures of word information and concept information in sentences with their layer-by-layer convolution and pooling. Finally, to resolve data sparsity, we propose using the multi-view learning method to train the attention-based convolutional semantic model on question–answer pairs. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to propose simultaneously handling the above five problems in question retrieval using one framework. Experiments on three real question-answering datasets show that the proposed framework significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art solutions.
A Green and Efficient Method for the Preconcentration and Determination of Gallic Acid, Bergenin, Quercitrin, and Embelin from Ardisia japonica Using Nononic Surfactant Genapol X-080 as the Extraction Solvent
Authors: Chen Ying , Du Kunze , Li Jin , Bai Yun , An Mingrui , Tan Zhijing , Chang Yan-xu
Published: February 2018

A simple cloud point preconcentration method was developed and validated for the determination of gallic acid, bergenin, quercitrin, and embelin in Ardisia japonica by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using ultrasonic assisted micellar extraction. Nonionic surfactant Genapol X-080 was selected as the extraction solvent. The effects of various experimental conditions such as the type and concentration of surfactant and salt, temperature, and solution pH on the extraction of these components were studied to optimize the conditions of Ardisia japonica. The solution was incubated in a thermostatic water bath at 60°C for 10 min, and 35% NaH2PO4 (w/v) was added to the solution to promote the phase separation and increase the preconcentration factor. The intraday and interday precision (RSD) were both below 5.0% and the limits of detection (LOD) for the analytes were between 10 and 20 ng·mL−1. The proposed method provides a simple, efficient, and organic solvent-free method to analyze gallic acid, bergenin, quercitrin, and embelin for the quality control of Ardisia japonica.
Nonvolatile Chemical Constituents from the Leaves of Ligusticopsis wallichiana (DC.) Pimenov & Kljuykov and Their Free Radical-Scavenging Activity
Authors: Devkota Hari Prasad , Adhikari Bibek , Watanabe Takashi , Yahara Shoji
Published: February 2018

Different plant parts of Ligusticopsis wallichiana (family: Apiaceae) are widely used as traditional medicines. Although many volatile constituents are already identified from the leaves of L. wallichiana, there is no detailed report on the nonvolatile constituents. In the present study, we aimed to isolate and identify the major chemical constituents from the leaves. Bhutkesoside A (1), falcarindiol (2), ferulic acid (3), cnidioside A (4), quercetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5), rutin (6), 4′-O-methylquercetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), scopoletin (8), umbelliferone (9), eugenol 4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (10) and pumilaside A (11) were isolated from the 70% MeOH extract. The structures of isolated compounds were elucidated on the basis of 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopic data. Compounds 4–11 are reported for the first time from L. wallichiana. Compounds 5 and 6 showed potent free radical-scavenging activity.
Interaction Modes for Emergency Mobile Apps
Authors: Nass Claudia , Jung Jessica , Groen Eduard C. , Villela Karina , Holl Konstantin
Published: February 2018

While seemingly irrational behaviors such as panicking or displaying antisocial behavior are the responses to emergency situations the media and movies lead us to believe, several studies show that people rather react based on decision-making such as acting altruistically and protectively. However, what can we really expect from people in a crowd in terms of participation in an emergency response system? In this paper, we present a mobile application called the RESCUER App, which allows civilians to participate in the emergency response process by providing information about the emergency to a command center and to receive instructions from this command center. We developed a human reaction model for emergencies to better understand the human–computer interaction capabilities of people in an emergency situation. Based on this model, we defined three different interaction modes: one-click interaction, guided interaction, and chat interaction. These interaction modes were implemented in an interactive prototype and evaluated in an experiment in which high cognitive load was induced to simulate a stress situation, similar to the stress experienced in an emergency. The experiment results showed that the three predefined interaction modes enabled people to interact with the RESCUER App even though they were in a stress situation.
Stowage Planning in Multiple Ports with Shifting Fee Minimization
Authors: Zhang E. , Mei Qihuang , Liu Ming , Zheng Feifeng
Published: February 2018

This paper studies the problem of stowage planning within a vessel bay in a multiple port transportation route, aiming at minimizing the total container shifting fee. Since the access to containers is in the top-to-bottom order for each stack, reshuffle operations occur when a target container to be unloaded at its destination port is not stowed on the top of a stack at the time. Each container shift via a quay crane induces one unit of shifting fee that depends on the charge policy of the local container port. Previous studies assume that each container shift consumes a uniform cost in all ports and thus focus on minimizing the total number of shifts or the turnaround time of the vessel. Motivated by the observation that different ports are of nonuniform fee for each container shift, we propose a mixed integer programming (MIP) model for the problem to produce an optimal stowage planning with minimum total shifting fee in this work. Moreover, as the considered problem is NP-hard due to the NP-hardness of its counterpart with uniform unit shifting fee, we propose an improved genetic algorithm to solve the problem. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated via numerical experiments.
Genetic Association of Interleukin-31 Gene Polymorphisms with Epithelial Ovarian Cancer in Chinese Population
Authors: Liu Chenlu , Wang Yanyun , Song Huizi , Li Qin , Zhang Yan , Chen Peng , Song Yaping , Su Min , Huang Qin , Wang Mei , Zhou Bin , Zhang Lin
Published: February 2018

Roles of interleukin-31 (IL-31) in the development and progression of human epithelial ovarian cancer are largely unknown. Studies report that the polymorphisms, rs7977932 C>G and rs4758680 C>A in IL-31, affect the expression level of IL-31. In the present study, we examined 412 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer and 428 healthy individuals to explore whether these polymorphisms are associated with the epithelial ovarian cancer in Chinese women. The genotype of the polymorphisms in each individual was identified. The associations of the polymorphisms with patients’ clinical characteristics and outcomes were evaluated. For rs7977932, the frequency of the CG/GG was significantly decreased in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. However, the frequency of the rs4758680 CA/AA was significantly increased in those patients. Moreover, the frequency of rs7977932 CG/GG genotype was significantly higher in patients with less advanced FIGO stages. Kaplan-Meier curve showed that patients with CG/GG genotypes of rs7977932 had a decreased risk for recurrence compared to those with CC genotype. Our findings suggested that rs7977932 and rs4758680 of IL-31 may be associated with the development and progression of the epithelial ovarian cancer in the Chinese population. IL-31, therefore, may be a potential therapeutic target for the development of drugs to treat the disease.
Harmonic Analysis on Torque Ripple of Brushless DC Motor Based on Advanced Commutation Control
Authors: Ji Yanpeng , Li Bin , Sun Jingcheng
Published: February 2018

This paper investigates the relationship between current, back electromotive force (back-EMF), and torque for permanent-magnet brushless DC (PM BLDC) motors under advanced commutation control from the perspective of harmonics. Considering that the phase current is the influencing factor of both torque and torque ripple, this paper firstly analyzes the effects of advanced commutation on phase current and current harmonics. And then, based on the harmonics of the phase current and back-EMF, the torque harmonic expressions are deduced. The expressions reveal the relationship of harmonic order between the torque, phase current, and back-EMF and highlight the different contribution of individual torque harmonic to the total torque ripple. Finally, the proposed harmonic analysis method is verified by the experiments with different speed and load conditions.
Information-Fusion Methods Based Simultaneous Localization and Mapping for Robot Adapting to Search and Rescue Postdisaster Environments
Authors: Wang Hongling , Zhang Chengjin , Song Yong , Pang Bao
Published: February 2018

The first application of utilizing unique information-fusion SLAM (IF-SLAM) methods is developed for mobile robots performing simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) adapting to search and rescue (SAR) environments in this paper. Several fusion approaches, parallel measurements filtering, exploration trajectories fusing, and combination sensors’ measurements and mobile robots’ trajectories, are proposed. The novel integration particle filter (IPF) and optimal improved EKF (IEKF) algorithms are derived for information-fusion systems to perform SLAM task in SAR scenarios. The information-fusion architecture consists of multirobots and multisensors (MAM); multiple robots mount on-board laser range finder (LRF) sensors, localization sonars, gyro odometry, Kinect-sensor, RGB-D camera, and other proprioceptive sensors. This information-fusion SLAM (IF-SLAM) is compared with conventional methods, which indicates that fusion trajectory is more consistent with estimated trajectories and real observation trajectories. The simulations and experiments of SLAM process are conducted in both cluttered indoor environment and outdoor collapsed unstructured scenario, and experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed information-fusion methods in improving SLAM performances adapting to SAR scenarios.
Evaluating Stress during Pregnancy: Do We Have the Right Conceptions and the Correct Tools to Assess It?
Authors: González-Ochoa Raquel , Sánchez-Rodríguez Elly N. , Chavarría Anahi , Gutiérrez-Ospina Gabriel , Romo-González Tania
Published: February 2018

Gestational stress is believed to increase the risk of pregnancy failure and perinatal and adult morbidity and mortality in both the mother and her child or children. However, some contradictions might arise from methodological issues or even from differences in the philosophical grounds that guide the studies on gestational stress. Biased perspectives could lead us to use and/or design inadequate/incomplete panels of biochemical determinations and/or psychological instruments to diagnose it accurately during pregnancy, a psychoneuroimmune-endocrine state in which allostatic loads may be significant. Here, we review these notions and propose a model to evaluate and diagnose stress during pregnancy.
Energy and Exergy Analysis of Ocean Compressed Air Energy Storage Concepts
Authors: Patil Vikram C. , Ro Paul I.
Published: February 2018

Optimal utilization of renewable energy resources needs energy storage capability in integration with the electric grid. Ocean compressed air energy storage (OCAES) can provide promising large-scale energy storage. In OCAES, energy is stored in the form of compressed air under the ocean. Underwater energy storage results in a constant-pressure storage system which has potential to show high efficiency compared to constant-volume energy storage. Various OCAES concepts, namely, diabatic, adiabatic, and isothermal OCAES, are possible based on the handling of heat in the system. These OCAES concepts are assessed using energy and exergy analysis in this paper. Roundtrip efficiency of liquid piston based OCAES is also investigated using an experimental liquid piston compressor. Further, the potential of improved efficiency of liquid piston based OCAES with use of various heat transfer enhancement techniques is investigated. Results show that adiabatic OCAES shows improved efficiency over diabatic OCAES by storing thermal exergy in thermal energy storage and isothermal OCAES shows significantly higher efficiency over adiabatic and diabatic OCAES. Liquid piston based OCAES is estimated to show roundtrip efficiency of about 45% and use of heat transfer enhancement in liquid piston has potential to improve roundtrip efficiency of liquid piston based OCAES up to 62%.
The Effect of Marital Status on Survival of Patients with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors: A SEER Database Analysis
Authors: Song Wei , Tian Chuan
Published: February 2018

Background. Marital status has been reported to be a prognostic factor in multiple malignancies. However, its prognostic value on gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) have not yet been determined. The objective of the present analysis was to assess the effects of marital status on survival in patients with GISTs. Methods. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to analyze 6195 patients who were diagnosed with GISTs from 2001 to 2014. We also use Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression to analyze the impact of marital status on cancer-specific survival (CSS). Results. Patients in the married group had more frequency in white people, more high/moderate grade tumors, and were more likely to receive surgery. Widowed patients had a higher proportion of women, a greater proportion of older patients (>60 years), and more common site of the stomach. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that marital status was an independent prognostic factor for GISTs (P<0.001). Married patients had better CSS than unmarried patients (P<0.001). Subgroup analysis suggested that widowed patients had the lowest CSS compared with all other patients. Conclusions. Marital status is a prognostic factor for survival in patients with GISTs, and widowed patients are at greater risk of cancer-specific mortality.
Liraglutide, a GLP-1 Receptor Agonist, Which Decreases Hypothalamic 5-HT2A Receptor Expression, Reduces Appetite and Body Weight Independently of Serotonin Synthesis in Mice
Authors: Nonogaki Katsunori , Kaji Takao
Published: February 2018

A recent report suggested that brain-derived serotonin (5-HT) is critical for maintaining weight loss induced by glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor activation in rats and that 5-HT2A receptors mediate the feeding suppression and weight loss induced by GLP-1 receptor activation. Here, we show that changes in daily food intake and body weight induced by intraperitoneal administration of liraglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, over 4 days did not differ between mice treated with the tryptophan hydroxylase (Tph) inhibitor p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) for 3 days and mice without PCPA treatment. Treatment with PCPA did not affect hypothalamic 5-HT2A receptor expression. Despite the anorexic effect of liraglutide disappearing after the first day of treatment, the body weight loss induced by liraglutide persisted for 4 days in mice treated with or without PCPA. Intraperitoneal administration of liraglutide significantly decreased the gene expression of hypothalamic 5-HT2A receptors 1 h after injection. Moreover, the acute anorexic effects of liraglutide were blunted in mice treated with the high-affinity 5-HT2A agonist (4-bromo-3,6-dimethoxybenzocyclobuten-1-yl) methylamine hydrobromide 14 h or 24 h before liraglutide injection. These findings suggest that liraglutide reduces appetite and body weight independently of 5-HT synthesis in mice, whereas GLP-1 receptor activation downregulates the gene expression of hypothalamic 5-HT2A receptors.
Assessment of Salivary Adipokines Resistin, Visfatin, and Ghrelin as Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Biomarkers
Authors: Srinivasan Mythily , Meadows Melinda L. , Maxwell Lisa
Published: February 2018

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is emerging as a metabolic epidemic worldwide. Pathologically, dysregulation of many biological pathways precedes hyperglycemia and the clinical diagnosis of T2DM. Changing trajectories along the process of T2DM development necessitates frequent measurement of biomarkers for early identification of at-risk individuals and successful prevention. Increase in circulating inflammatory adipokines has been suggested as predictive of T2DM. Human saliva is an easily accessible biospecimen amenable for painless frequent collection and possesses nearly 50% of serum proteome. In this study, we measured the adipokines resistin, visfatin, TNF-α, and ghrelin as markers for T2DM in unstimulated whole saliva (UWS) using specific assay kits. Resistin and visfatin concentrations were significantly higher in T2DM saliva. Although the concentration of acylated or unacylated ghrelin was lower in diabetic saliva, the decrease was not significant. Since resistin and visfatin are biomarkers integral to T2DM pathology, their salivary assessments may receive clinical acceptance.
Ecological and Phytochemical Studies on Euphorbia retusa (Forssk.) from Egyptian Habitat
Authors: Shaaban Mohamed , Ali Mahmoud , Tala Michel Feussi , Hamed Abdelaaty , Hassan Amal Zaki
Published: February 2018

This study deals with the ecology, phytochemistry, and biological activity investigation of Euphorbia retusa, belonging to Euphorbiaceae family, obtained from Egypt. Ecologically, Euphorbia retusa secretes white sap inhibiting the growth of the other species, so Euphorbia retusa is forming complete patches. Phytochemical study of the plant was visualized intensively based on its extraction with a protic organic solvent, working up and purifying its entire bioactive compounds using a series of different chromatographic techniques. A broad range of diverse compounds were isolated, namely, 1-hexacosanol (1), 3β-hydroxy-24-methylene-9,19-cyclolanostane; 24-methylenecycloartanol (2), 3β-hydroxy-9,19-cyclolanostane; cyclolaudanol (3), 3β,24S-Ergost-5-en-ol (4), and methyllinoleate. Additionally, GC-MS analysis of the unpolar fractions detected the existence of n-dodecane, methyllaurate, 6,10,14-trimethyl-pentadecan-2-one (5), 6,10-dimethyl-undecan-2-one (6), 2-methyl-hexadecanal (7), methylpalmitate, methyl-9,12,15-octadecatrienoate (8), and n-heneicosane (9). A full assignment for compounds 2 and 3 using 1 and 2 DNMR was carried out herein for the first time. The antimicrobial activity of the strain extract and obtained compounds was studied using a panel of pathogenic bacterial strains. The in vitro cytotoxicity of the compounds as well as the crude extract was studied against the human cervix carcinoma cell line (KB-3-1).
Ultrasound in Prenatal Diagnostics and Its Impact on the Epidemiology of Spina Bifida in a National Cohort from Denmark with a Comparison to Sweden
Authors: Bodin Charlotte Rosenkrantz , Rasmussen Mikkel Mylius , Tabor Ann , Westbom Lena , Tiblad Eleonor , Ekelund Charlotte Kvist , Wulff Camilla Bernt , Vogel Ida , Petersen Olav Bjørn
Published: February 2018

Objectives. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence, the prenatal detection rate by ultrasound, and the pregnancy outcome of spina bifida (SB) in Denmark (DK) in 2008–2015 and to compare results to national data from Sweden. Methods. Data were retrieved from the Danish Fetal Medicine Database, which includes International Classification of Diseases- (ICD-) 10 codes for pre- or postnatally diagnoses and pregnancy outcome. Missing data were obtained from the National Patient Register. Livebirth data with myelomeningocele (MMC) in Sweden were obtained from different databases. Results. There were 234 cases with SB in DK in 2008–2015. The incidence of SB was 4.9 : 10,000; 89% were detected with ultrasound prior to week 22; 90% of these pregnancies were terminated (ToP); 91% were isolated malformations of which 11% showed abnormal karyotype. The incidence of newborns with MMC was 1.3 : 10,000 in Sweden. Conclusions. Ultrasound screening has a major impact on the epidemiology of SB. The prenatal detection rate of SB was high, and most SB cases were isolated and had a normal karyotype. Among women with a prenatal fetal diagnosis of SB, 90% chose to have ToP. The incidence of newborns with SB was higher in Sweden than in DK.
Introducing Natural Farming in Black Pepper (Piper nigrumL.) Cultivation
Authors: Sulok Kevin Muyang Tawie , Ahmed Osumanu Haruna , Khew Choy Yuen , Zehnder Jarroop Augustine Mercer
Published: February 2018

This paper reviews the role of Natural Farming as an ecological farming method to produce organically grown food of safe and high quality and at the same time improve soil quality and soil health. Currently, there is a dearth of information on the effects of Natural Farming approach on black pepper farms particularly in Sarawak, Malaysia. Previous studies on other crops had indicated positive outcome using the Natural Farming method. Thus, this paper discusses the essential role of effective microorganisms in Natural Farming and their potential in pepper cultivation. Through the action of effective microorganisms, this approach should be able to transform a degraded soil ecosystem into one that is fertile and has high nutrients availability. The mixed culture of effective microorganisms applied must be mutually compatible and coexist with one another to ensure its favorable establishment and interaction in the soil. Therefore, it is anticipated that introducing Natural Farming in black pepper cultivation can enhance the predominance of effective microorganisms in the soil, which in turn could lead to promising growth and yield of the crop.
Modified Descemet’s Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty: The Use of Ophthalmic Viscoelastic Devices in Hypotonic Eyes That Had Undergone Glaucoma Filtering Surgeries
Authors: Oyakawa Itaru , Hayashi Takahiko , Shimizu Toshiki , Kato Naoko
Published: February 2018

Purpose. Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) is more difficult in hypotonic eyes with filtering bleb, due to the difficulties in elevating the intraocular pressure (IOP). We report a new method that uses ophthalmic viscoelastic devices (OVDs) to achieve good graft adhesion. Case Presentation. We performed modified DSAEK surgery on 2 eyes of 2 patients, who had previously undergone a trabeculectomy. Both eyes had functioning filtering blebs; the IOP was lower than 10 mmHg without medication. After the graft was inserted into the anterior chamber, the conjunctiva was penetrated, apart from the bleb, using a 30 G needle, and Healon V® was injected into the bleb until the encapsulated space was filled completely. Air was subsequently injected into the anterior chamber to promote the graft attachment to the back surface of the cornea. The IOP was elevated above 40 mmHg in both eyes 1 h after surgery and then decreased to less than 30 mmHg over the subsequent 3 h period. The implanted graft showed good adhesion and no dislocation. Conclusions. Our novel DSAEK procedure that adds one step of OVD injection into the filtering bleb may be useful for hypotonic eyes that had undergone filtering surgeries.
Minimally Invasive Salvage Operations for Esophageal Cancer after Definitive Chemoradiotherapy
Authors: Nakajima Masanobu , Kato Hiroyuki , Muroi Hiroto , Kikuchi Maiko , Takahashi Masakazu , Yamaguchi Satoru , Sasaki Kinro , Ishikawa Hitoshi , Sakurai Hideyuki , Kuwano Hiroyuki
Published: February 2018

Background/Aims: Because salvage surgery after definitive chemoradiotherapy for esophageal cancer is associated with high postoperative mortality and morbidity, minimally invasive methods are desirable. We analyzed the validity of minimally invasive salvage operations (MISO). Methods: Twenty-five patients underwent salvage operation between 2010 and 2016 in our institution, 10 having undergone right transthoracic salvage esophagectomy (TTSE group), 6 transhiatal salvage esophagectomy (THSE), 6 salvage lymphadenectomy (SLA), and 3 salvage endoscopic submucosal dissection (SESD). Patients who had undergone THSE, SLA, or SESD were categorized as the MISO group. Short- and long-term outcomes were assessed. Results: The mean duration of surgery was significantly shorter in the SLA groups than in the TTSE group (p = 0.0248). Blood loss was significantly less in the SLA than the TTSE group (p = 0.0340). Intensive care unit stay was shorter in the THSE than the TTSE group (p = 0.0412). There was no significant difference in postoperative mortality between the MISO and THSE groups. Postoperative hospital stay was significantly shorter in the SLA than the TTSE group (p = 0.0061). Patients’ survivals did not differ significantly between the MISO and TTSE groups (p = 0.752). Multivariate analysis revealed that residual disease (R0; HR 4.872, 95% CI 1.387–17.110, p = 0.013) was the only independent factor influencing overall survival. Conclusion: MISO is preferable because short-term outcomes are better and long-term outcomes do not differ from those of TTSE.
Alternating Hypotropia with Pseudoptosis: A New Phenotype of Congenital Cranial Dysinnervation Disorder
Authors: Sedarous Fady , Chan Toby Y.B. , Makar Inas
Published: February 2018

Congenital cranial dysinnervation disorders, also known as CCDDs, are characterized by aberrant innervation to extraocular and facial muscles resulting in unusual forms of incomitant strabismus. Anomalous innervation to extraocular muscles can result in a wide variety of phenotypes causing various clinical conditions such as Duane syndrome, congenital fibrosis of the extraocular muscles, and Möbius syndrome. We report a case of bilateral dysinnervation disorder causing atypical ocular movements in both eyes as the patient changes fixation from one eye to the other and from right gaze to left gaze that fits with the wider diagnosis of CCDDs.
Eye-Sparing Treatment for Diffuse Invasive Conjunctival Melanoma
Authors: Chaves Leandro J. , Huth Bradley , Augsburger James J. , Correa Zelia M.
Published: February 2018

The management of patients with diffuse invasive conjunctival melanoma focuses on local tumor control and screening for metastasis. Despite the lack of consensus on the benefit of sentinel lymph node biopsy for these neoplasms, the information obtained by histopathology is useful for tumor staging and treatment planning. Due to the lack of evidence of survival improvement, orbital exenteration is being performed with diminishing frequency. We describe a patient with diffuse invasive conjunctival melanoma and lymph node involvement treated by tumor debulking, brachytherapy (custom unshielded radioactive device), and adjuvant ipilimumab who has had a favorable outcome without emergence of local tumor relapse or distant metastasis during 16 months of follow up.
2018 Update on Intravitreal Injections: Euretina Expert Consensus Recommendations
Authors: Grzybowski Andrzej , Told Reinhard , Sacu Stefan , Bandello Francesco , Moisseiev Elad , Loewenstein Anat , Schmidt-Erfurth Ursula ,   on behalf of the Euretina Board
Published: February 2018

Intravitreal injections (IVI) have become the most common intraocular procedure worldwide with increasing numbers every year. The article presents the most up-to-date review on IVI epidemiology and techniques. Unfortunately, important issues related to pre-, peri- and postinjection management lack randomized clinical trials for a final conclusion. Also, a great diversity of approaches exists worldwide. Therefore, expert consensus recommendations on IVI techniques are provided.
Impairment of the Missing Fundamental Phenomenon in Individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Neuropsychological and Voxel-Based Morphometric Study
Authors: Abe Makiko , Tabei Ken-ichi , Satoh Masayuki , Fukuda Mari , Daikuhara Hironobu , Shiga Mariko , Kida Hirotaka , Tomimoto Hidekazu
Published: February 2018

Background/Aims: The missing fundamental phenomenon (MFP) is a universal pitch perception illusion that occurs in animals and humans. In this study, we aimed to determine whether the MFP is impaired in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using an auditory pitch perception experiment. We further examined anatomical correlates of the MFP in patients with AD by measuring gray matter volume (GMV) on magnetic resonance images via voxel-based morphometric analysis. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 29 patients with AD and 20 healthy older adults. Auditory stimuli included 12 melodies of Japanese nursery songs that were expected to be familiar to participants. We constructed the melodies using pure and missing fundamental tones (MFTs). Results: Patients with AD exhibited significantly poorer performance on the MFT task than healthy controls. MFT scores were positively correlated with GMV in the bilateral insula and temporal poles, left inferior frontal gyrus, right entorhinal cortex, and right cerebellum. Conclusions: These results suggest that impairments in the MFP represent a manifestation of the degeneration of auditory-related brain regions in AD. Further studies are required to more fully elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying auditory impairments in patients with AD and related dementia disorders.
Differential Impact of Obesity on CD69 Expression in Individuals with Bipolar Disorder and Healthy Controls
Authors: Yamagata Ana S. , Rizzo Lucas B. , Cerqueira Raphael O. , Scott Janine , Cordeiro Quirino , McIntyre Roger S. , Mansur Rodrigo B. , Brietzke Elisa
Published: February 2018

Preliminary evidence suggests that premature immunosenescence is involved in bipolar disorder (BD) pathophysiology. The cellular marker CD69 is expressed in T lymphocyte surface during their activation and its expression is negatively correlated with age. The objective of this study was to assess the moderating effects of obesity on the reduction of expression of CD69, a marker of immunosenescence. Forty euthymic patients with BD type I, aged 18–65 years, were included in this study. The healthy comparison group consisted of 39 volunteers who had no current or lifetime history of mental disorders, no use of psychotropic medications, and no known family history of mood disorders or psychosis. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from BD patients and healthy controls were collected and isolated. The cells were allowed to grow in culture and stimulated for 3 days. CD69 was marked and read in flow cytometry. We found that the lower expression of CD69 in BD patients was moderated by body mass index (BMI) in both CD4+ (RR = 0.977, 95% CI 0.960–0.995, p = 0.013) and CD8+ cells (RR = 0.972, 95% CI 0.954–0.990, p = 0.003). Our findings indicate that BMI could potentially influence the process of premature aging in BD.
The Role of Immune Escape and Immune Cell Infiltration in Breast Cancer
Authors: Steven André , Seliger Barbara
Published: February 2018

While detailed analysis of aberrant cancer cell signaling pathways and changes in cancer cell DNA has dominated the field of breast cancer biology for years, there now exists increasing evidence that the tumor microenvironment (TME) including tumor-infiltrating immune cells support the growth and development of breast cancer and further facilitate invasion and metastasis formation as well as sensitivity to drug therapy. Furthermore, breast cancer cells have developed different strategies to escape surveillance from the adaptive and innate immune system. These include loss of expression of immunostimulatory molecules, gain of expression of immunoinhibitory molecules such as PD-L1 and HLA-G, and altered expression of components involved in apoptosis. Furthermore, the composition of the TME plays a key role in breast cancer development and treatment response. In this review we will focus on i) the different immune evasion mechanisms used by breast cancer cells, ii) the role of immune cell infiltration in this disease, and (iii) implication for breast cancer-based immunotherapies.
Prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease, Thrombotic Cardiovascular Events, and Use of Oral P2Y12 Inhibitors among Veterans
Authors: Singh Manisha , Raghavan Deepa , Williams James S. , Martin Bradley C. , Hudson Teresa J. , Owen Richard R. , Jain Nishank
Published: February 2018

Background: Contemporary prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and thrombotic cardiovascular (CV) events remains unclear in Veterans enrolled in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System (VA) care. Although oral P2Y12 inhibitors (P2Y12i) are increasingly being prescribed to this patient population, the overall prescription trend for P2Y12i remains unclear. Methods: Using national VA corporate warehouse data, we used International Classification of Diseases-9 codes to identify Veterans with CKD, dialysis-dependent CKD, and CV events. VA pharmacy data were used to count P2Y12i prescriptions for the federal fiscal years (FY) 2011 through 2015. Results: The period prevalence of Veterans with CKD was 378,233 (6.1%). The point prevalence of CKD increased by 49% from 132,979 (2.30%) in FY11 to 213,444 (3.42%) in FY15. The period prevalence of Veterans with dialysis-dependent CKD was 150,298 (2.4%). In all, 128,703 (56.7%) CV events occurred in Veterans with CKD. Veterans with CKD were given 50.1% of prescriptions for clopidogrel, 49.3% for prasugrel, and 60.4% for ticagrelor. In this patient population, year-to-year increases in P2Y12i prescriptions were observed with a dramatic increase in ticagrelor prescriptions. Conclusion: CKD is common among Veterans and its true prevalence is likely being underestimated. The prevalence of dialysis-dependent CKD is higher among Veterans than the non-Veteran US population. CV events are widely co-prevalent and these patients are commonly prescribed P2Y12i. The recent increase in ticagrelor prescriptions in this patient population and large cost differences between the 3 P2Y12i underline the need for future studies to identify the preferred P2Y12i for these patients.
Primary Fused Teeth and Findings in Permanent Dentition
Authors: Açıkel Hatice , İbiş Sevgin , Şen Tunç Emine
Published: February 2018

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of primary fused teeth (PFT) and their effect on permanent dentition in a group of Turkish children. Subjects and Methods: Dental records of 13,450 pediatric patients who attended the Pediatric Dental Clinic in northern Turkey between 2015 and 2017 were reviewed. Forty patients had been diagnosed with PFT and were included in the study. Clinical and radiographic examinations were conducted, and the distribution of PFT was calculated by type, sex, affected jaw, associated dental anomalies, and clinical complications. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 50 PFT were detected in the 40 patients. The mean age of patients was 6.7 ± 0.3 years (range 3–10 years). The most common PFT were the mandibular lateral incisors and canines (34, 68%). The most prevalent type of PFT was type III (20, 40%). Of the 40 patients with PFT, 34 (85%) also ex­hibited other dental anomalies such as tooth aplasia, peg-shaped incisors, talon cusps, ectopic eruption, and delayed eruption in both related and unrelated areas. The most common complications of PFT were fusion-related tooth aplasia (n = 26 [76%]) and caries formation in the affected teeth (24 [48%]). Conclusion: In this study, PFT were frequently observed in the mandibular anterior region. Caries formation and dental anomalies, especially permanent tooth aplasia, were often encountered in areas where PFT were seen. Hence, parents should be informed about possible dental problems associated with PFT and be encouraged to schedule regular follow-up appointments.