bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Review of the historical data characterizing Latrobe Valley brown coal consolidation behaviour
Authors: Moein F. , Xue J. , Dent B. , Mackay R.
Published: September 2016

Victoria, Australia contains 25% of the world's known brown coal reserves. Much of the coal is located in thick seams overlain by a thin veneer of sands and clays. Three brown coal open-cut mines are presently operating in the Latrobe Valley. As a result of the mining activity, ground movements can be significant within and around the mines. Slope stability has to be managed during all mine development phases. Recent stability issues at some mines have highlighted a need to review the historical geotechnical information and data with a view to guiding future data collection. To support this purpose, the existing understanding of the geomechanical properties of the brown coal has been revisited, with emphasis on impacts of unloading. The coal has low density (specific gravity <1.2) and high water content (>60% by volume). Given this background, historical data for 49 consolidation tests on one of the major mined upper coal seams, the Morwell seam, were extracted from the historical records. Additionally, 44 consolidation tests for interseam materials were also extracted for the same area. These data have been analysed by re-evaluation of the consolidation data. The analysis shows that the behaviour of brown coal differs from that of typical engineering soils, in that at lower load the stress v. strain gradient is higher than for greater loads. At higher loads the stress v. strain gradient is almost constant. These observations indicate that reassessment of the unloading parameters for slope design in the open cuts is required.
Urban Futures: the sustainable management of the ground beneath cities
Authors: Price S. J. , Ford J. R. , Campbell S. D. G. , Jefferson I.
Published: September 2016

Over half of the world's population now live in cities. In 2011 it was estimated that the global population exceeded 7 billion. Pressures on the environment including land use are increasing. The ground beneath cities and the interaction between physical, biological and chemical processes provides natural capital on which society depends. These benefits and the ground properties and processes that support and deliver them can be considered ecosystem services. Characterizing the ground properties on which ecosystem services depend involves a qualitative assessment of positive and negative impacts of proposed urban sustainability solutions, including use of the ground. The sustainability of a proposed solution depends on how the future might unfold. Future scenario analysis allows consideration of the social, technological, economic, environmental and political changes that may determine the ability of a proposed solution to deliver its benefits now and in the future. Analysis of the positive and negative impacts of a proposed use of the ground on ecosystem function, measured against future scenarios of change, can be integrated to deliver strategies for the future management of the ground and the wider environment beneath cities.
Effects of saline coal seam gas water on consistency limits, compaction characteristics and hydraulic conductivities of clays used for liners
Authors: Indrawan I. G. B. , Williams D. J. , Scheuermann A.
Published: September 2016

Four kaolinite-dominant clays were moisture-conditioned with coal seam gas (CSG) water (CW) and deionized water (DW) and their consistency limits and compaction characteristics were compared. Further, two of the four clay samples were moisture-conditioned with CW, compacted in compaction mould permeameters and permeated with DW, CW and brine water (BW) under a 100 kPa hydraulic loading, simulating a pond water depth of 10 m in the field. The test results show that CW tended to increase the liquid and plastic limits and decrease the compaction densities of the clay samples. The hydraulic conductivities of the clay samples tended to decrease with decreasing concentration of salt and increasing pH value of the permeating waters. The hydraulic conductivities of the clay samples that were permeated with DW and CW were about one order of magnitude lower than those permeated with BW. At pH values above the isoelectric point of the edges (IEP
edge
) of the clay particles, the hydraulic conductivities of the clay samples tended to increase with increasing concentration of salt of the permeating water. The changes in the index and hydraulic parameters of the clay samples were attributed to changes in the net interparticle forces and in the associated clay structure.
Urban planning: the geoscience input
Authors: Marker B. R.
Published: September 2016

Over half of the world's population is urbanized. Urban planners aim at sustainable development but often take more account of social and economic information than geoscience. Many authorities do not employ geoscientists. This leads to poor policies and decisions and increased costs and risks. Planning systems are complicated and lengthy, involving many participants from planners to elected members as well as the public who may have limited understanding of the importance of geoscience information, scientific methods and uncertainties in results. Careful presentation focusing on the requirements of each audience is needed. Researchers should engage with stakeholders to develop trust and understanding. Planners should be included in research teams. Information on resources, hazards and emissions should be combined with social and economic material. Collaboration with other specialists is important. Work is not over when the results are written up. Thorough dissemination is required for results to be used fully and properly. It is wise to train geoscientists in writing for, and communicating with, the public and media. Ongoing advice and guidance is needed not least when plans are reviewed and updated but that is often prevented by funding mechanisms.
Study of geology and Carboniferous subcrop topography upon engineering geological mapping of Moscow territory
Authors: Kozlyakova I. V. , Eremina O. N. , Anisimova N. G. , Kozhevnikova I. A.
Published: September 2016

Carboniferous deposits in Moscow are composed of interlaying carbonate and clay-marl massifs. The roof of Carboniferous deposits occurs at a depth 5–150 m below the surface. It has been affected by several generations of river erosion. Carbonate layers consist mainly of limestones karstified to a different extent. Suffosion development in overlaying sandy-clayey and sandy horizons resulting in karst-suffosion sinkholes and surface subsidence are related to the ancient buried karst forms. The geological map of Carboniferous deposits is compiled to a scale of 1: 10 000 for the entire territory of Moscow. The map shows the geological structure at the roof of Carboniferous deposits. It also displays the spatial distribution of various stratigraphical and lithological series of Carboniferous system, the subcrop topography of the Carboniferous deposits and thalwegs of pre-Jurassic and pre-Pleistocene (pre-glacial) buried river valleys and gullies. The specifics of karst development in Carboniferous limestone massifs are studied. Karstification and fracturing distribution is analysed in connection with the ancient topography. The geological map of Carboniferous deposits is one of the principal maps for compiling the map of karst and karst-suffosion hazard and the map of engineering geological zoning of Moscow.
Sustainable management of aggregate resources in İstanbul
Authors: Tuğrul A. , Yilmaz M. , Sönmez İ. , Hasdemir S.
Published: September 2016

One of the principle strategies of the European Community is efficient and sustainable usage of aggregate resources. The appropriation and implementation of these strategies are highly important. Rapid reductions in the usable aggregate resources, the possibility of future closure of quarries near the city centre and inefficient use of the resources are major problems for İstanbul. To provide efficient use of aggregate resources in İstanbul and its vicinity, it is therefore necessary to review the regional plan and develop new strategies for sustainable management of resources. However, sustainability is affected by local factors such as availability of a suitable transportation infrastructure and a lack of detailed knowledge of the geology. It is therefore important to manage existing resources effectively, and maximize the resources through use of operational systems that maintain quality.
Geophysics, geochemistry and engineering geology: how disciplines combine to improve mine slope design in the Pilbara detrital valleys of Western Australia
Authors: Baxter H.
Published: September 2016

Cenozoic age detrital sequences in the Pilbara region of Western Australia are becoming a focus for engineering geological and hydrogeological investigations with an increasing number of final open-pit walls developed in these materials for iron ore mining. Historically, detrital sequences were classified chronostratigraphically. However, within each chronostratigraphic unit exist sub-units of variable engineering geological and hydrogeological character. As the majority of drill-hole data from Pilbara iron ore mines is derived from reverse circulation techniques, a methodology to identify the engineering geological units through downhole geophysics and geochemical assays was required to progress model development to the level of detail required for geotechnical and hydrogeological studies. The methodology entails a review of cored hole data and use of twin holes to assess the typical geochemical and geophysical signatures of units identified. Improved interpretation of reverse circulation drill-holes has resulted in the development of detailed 3D engineering geological models, which have improved the understanding of geological variability and engineering properties for geotechnical and hydrogeological studies.
Developing an engineering geological model in the fractured and brecciated rocks of a copper porphyry deposit
Authors: Cammack R.
Published: September 2016

Successful open-pit slope design depends on the formulation of a representative geotechnical model. This paper presents the development of an engineering geological rock-mass model as part of a feasibility geotechnical study for the Tampakan copper/gold open-pit mine in the Philippines. This porphyry deposit has been subjected to several cycles of volcanism, chemical alteration and tectonic disturbance resulting in a complex, highly fractured and brecciated rock mass. The model requirements for design were identified early in the project and a unique geotechnical logging system was developed to effectively capture the relevant rock-mass characteristics.
SPrank
Authors: Noia Tommaso Di , Ostuni Vito Claudio , Tomeo Paolo , Sciascio Eugenio Di
Published: September 2016

In most real-world scenarios, the ultimate goal of recommender system applications is to suggest a short ranked list of items, namely top-
N
recommendations, that will appeal to the end user. Often, the problem of computing top-
N
recommendations is mainly tackled with a two-step approach. The system focuses first on predicting the unknown ratings, which are eventually used to generate a ranked recommendation list. Actually, the top-
N
recommendation task can be directly seen as a ranking problem where the main goal is not to accurately predict ratings but to directly find the best-ranked list of items to recommend. In this article we present SPrank, a novel hybrid recommendation algorithm able to compute top-
N
recommendations exploiting freely available knowledge in the Web of Data. In particular, we employ DBpedia, a well-known encyclopedic knowledge base in the Linked Open Data cloud, to extract semantic path-based features and to eventually compute top-
N
recommendations in a learning-to-rank fashion. Experiments with three datasets related to different domains (books, music, and movies) prove the effectiveness of our approach compared to state-of-the-art recommendation algorithms.
Inapproximability of the Multilevel Uncapacitated Facility Location Problem
Authors: Krishnaswamy Ravishankar , Sviridenko Maxim
Published: September 2016

In this article, we present improved inapproximability results for the
k
-level uncapacitated facility location problem. In particular, we show that there is no polynomial time approximation algorithm with performance guarantee better than 1.539 unless
P
=
NP
for the case when
k
= 2. For the case of general
k
(tending to infinity), we obtain a better hardness factor of 1.61.

Interestingly, our results show that the two-level problem is
computationally harder
than the well-known uncapacitated facility location problem (
k
= 1) since the best-known approximation guarantee for the latter problem is 1.488 due to Li [2013], and our inapproximability is a factor of 1.539 for the two-level problem. The only inapproximability result known before for this class of metric facility location problems is the bound of 1.463 due to Guha and Khuller [1999], which holds even for the case of
k
= 1.
Efficient Processing of Relevant Nearest-Neighbor Queries
Authors: Efstathiades Christodoulos , Efentakis Alexandros , Pfoser Dieter
Published: September 2016

Novel Web technologies and resulting applications have led to a participatory data ecosystem that, when utilized properly, will lead to more rewarding services. In this work, we investigate the case of Location-Based Services, specifically how to improve the typical location-based Point-of-Interest (POI) request processed as a
k
-Nearest-Neighbor query. This work introduces Links-of-Interest (LOI) between POIs as a means to increase the relevance and overall result quality of such queries. By analyzing user-contributed content in the form of travel blogs, we establish the overall popularity of an LOI, that is, how frequently the respective POI pair was visited and is mentioned in the same context. Our contribution is a query-processing method for so-called
k
-Relevant Nearest Neighbor (
k
-RNN) queries that considers spatial proximity in combination with LOI information to retrieve close-by and relevant (as judged by the crowd) POIs. Our method is based on intelligently combining indices for spatial data (a spatial grid) and for relevance data (a graph) during query processing. Using landmarks as a means to prune the search space in the Relevance Graph, we improve the proposed methods. Using in addition A*-directed search, the query performance can be further improved. An experimental evaluation using real and synthetic data establishes that our approach efficiently solves the
k
-RNN problem.
False-Positive Probability and Compression Optimization for Tree-Structured Bloom Filters
Authors: Fu Yongquan , Biersack Ernst
Published: September 2016

Bloom filters are frequently used to to check the membership of an item in a set. However, Bloom filters face a dilemma: the transmission bandwidth and the accuracy cannot be optimized simultaneously. This dilemma is particularly severe for transmitting Bloom filters to remote nodes when the network bandwidth is limited. We propose a novel Bloom filter called
BloomTree
that consists of a tree-structured organization of smaller Bloom filters, each using a set of independent hash functions. BloomTree spreads items across levels that are compressed to reduce the transmission bandwidth need. We show how to find optimal configurations for BloomTree and investigate in detail by how much BloomTree outperforms the standard Bloom filter or the compressed Bloom filter. Finally, we use the intersection of BloomTrees to predict the set intersection, decreasing the false-positive probabilities by several orders of magnitude compared to both the compressed Bloom filter and the standard Bloom filter.
Analysis of an Offloading Scheme for Data Centers in the Framework of Fog Computing
Authors: Fricker Christine , Guillemin Fabrice , Robert Philippe , Thompson Guilherme
Published: September 2016

In the context of fog computing, we consider a simple case where data centers are installed at the edge of the network and assume that if a request arrives at an overloaded data center, then it is forwarded to a neighboring data center with some probability. Data centers are assumed to have a large number of servers, and traffic at some of them is assumed to cause saturation. In this case, the other data centers may help to cope with this saturation regime by accepting some of the rejected requests. Our aim is to qualitatively estimate the gain achieved via cooperation between neighboring data centers. After proving some convergence results related to the scaling limits of loss systems for the process describing the number of free servers at both data centers, we show that the performance of the system can be expressed in terms of the invariant distribution of a random walk in the quarter plane. By using and developing existing results in the technical literature, explicit formulas for the blocking rates of such a system are derived.
An introduction to gamification in human-computer interaction
Authors: Tondello Gustavo Fortes
Published: September 2016

Improving user experience through game play.
Black holes, quantum mechanics, and the limits of polynomial-time computability
Authors: Jordan Stephen P.
Published: September 2016

Which computational problems can be solved in polynomial-time and which cannot? Though seemingly technical, this question has wide-ranging implications and brings us to the heart of both theoretical computer science and modern physics.
Programming quantum computers using 3-D puzzles, coffee cups, and doughnuts
Authors: Devitt Simon J.
Published: September 2016

Programming a quantum computer is a task as baffling as quantum mechanics itself. But it now looks like a simple 3-D puzzle may hold the solution.
Quantifying rates of glucose production in vivo following an intraperitoneal tracer bolus
Authors: Wang Sheng-Ping , Zhou Dan , Yao Zuliang , Satapati Santhosh , Chen Ying , Daurio Natalie A. , Petrov Aleksandr , Shen Xiaolan , Metzger Daniel , Yin Wu , Nawrocki Andrea R. , Eiermann George J. , Hwa Joyce , Fancourt Craig , Miller Corin , Herath Kithsiri , Roddy Thomas P. , Slipetz Deborah , Erion Mark D. , Previs Stephen F. , Kelley David E.
Published: September 2016

Aberrant regulation of glucose production makes a critical contribution to the impaired glycemic control that is observed in type 2 diabetes. Although isotopic tracer methods have proven to be informative in quantifying the magnitude of such alterations, it is presumed that one must rely on venous access to administer glucose tracers which therein presents obstacles for the routine application of tracer methods in rodent models. Since intraperitoneal injections are readily used to deliver glucose challenges and/or dose potential therapeutics, we hypothesized that this route could also be used to administer a glucose tracer. The ability to then reliably estimate glucose flux would require attention toward setting a schedule for collecting samples and choosing a distribution volume. For example, glucose production can be calculated by multiplying the fractional turnover rate by the pool size. We have taken a step-wise approach to examine the potential of using an intraperitoneal tracer administration in rat and mouse models. First, we compared the kinetics of [U-13C]glucose following either an intravenous or an intraperitoneal injection. Second, we tested whether the intraperitoneal method could detect a pharmacological manipulation of glucose production. Finally, we contrasted a potential application of the intraperitoneal method against the glucose-insulin clamp. We conclude that it is possible to 1) quantify glucose production using an intraperitoneal injection of tracer and 2) derive a “glucose production index” by coupling estimates of basal glucose production with measurements of fasting insulin concentration; this yields a proxy for clamp-derived assessments of insulin sensitivity of endogenous production.
Inflammation mediates the association between visceral adiposity and obstructive sleep apnea in adolescents
Authors: Gaines Jordan , Vgontzas Alexandros N. , Fernandez-Mendoza Julio , Calhoun Susan L. , He Fan , Liao Duanping , Sawyer Marjorie D. , Bixler Edward O.
Published: September 2016

Only a handful of studies, primarily in clinical samples, have reported an association between obesity, inflammation, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children and adolescents. No studies, however, have examined the pathogenetic link between visceral adiposity, systemic inflammation, and incident OSA in a large general population sample using objective measures of sleep and body fat. Adolescents ( n = 392; mean age 17.0 ± 2.2 yr, 54.0% male) from the Penn State Child Cohort (PSCC) underwent 9-h overnight polysomnography; a DXA scan to assess body fat distribution; and a single fasting blood draw for the assessment of plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-6 soluble receptor (IL-6 sR), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), tumor necrosis factor receptor 1A (TNFR1), C-reactive protein (CRP), leptin, and adiponectin levels via ELISA. Visceral fat area was significantly elevated in moderate OSA (AHI ≥ 5), especially in boys. IL-6, CRP, and leptin were highest in adolescents with moderate OSA, even after adjusting for BMI percentile. Mediation analysis revealed that 42% of the association between visceral fat and OSA in adolescents was mediated by IL-6 ( p = 0.03), while 82% of the association was mediated by CRP ( p = 0.01). These data are consistent with the model of a feed-forward, vicious cycle, in which the release of proinflammatory cytokines by visceral adipocytes largely explains the association between central obesity and OSA; in turn, inflammation is also elevated in OSA independent of BMI. These findings, in a large, representative, non-clinical sample of young people, add to our understanding of the developmental pathogenesis of sleep apnea.
Superentrainment of muscle sympathetic nerve activity during sinusoidal galvanic vestibular stimulation
Authors: Macefield Vaughan G. , James Cheree
Published: September 2016

Sinusoidal galvanic vestibular stimulation (sGVS), delivered at frequencies ranging from 0.08 to 2.0 Hz, induces vestibular illusions of side-to-side motion and robust modulation of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) to the lower legs. We have previously documented, in seated subjects, de novo synthesis of bursts of MSNA that are temporally locked to the sinusoidal stimulus rather than to the cardiac-related rhythm. Here we tested the hypothesis that this vestibular entrainment of MSNA is higher in the upright than in the supine position. MSNA was recorded from the common peroneal nerve in 10 subjects lying on a tilt table. Bipolar binaural sGVS (±2 mA, 200 cycles) was applied to the mastoid processes at 0.2, 0.8, and 1.4 Hz in the supine and upright (75°) positions. In four subjects, “superentrainment” of MSNA occurred during sGVS, with strong bursts locked to one phase of the sinusoidal stimulus. This occurred more prominently in the upright position. On average, cross-correlation analysis revealed comparable vestibular modulation of MSNA in both positions at 0.2 Hz (84.9 ± 3.6% and 78.7 ± 5.7%), 0.8 Hz (77.4 ± 3.9% and 74.4 ± 8.9%), and 1.4 Hz (69.8 ± 4.6% and 80.2 ± 7.4%). However, in the supine position there was a significant linear fall in the magnitude of vestibular modulation with increasing frequency, whereas this was not present in the upright position. We conclude that vestibular contributions to the control of blood pressure are higher in the upright position.
Edge orientation signals in tactile afferents of macaques
Authors: Suresh Aneesha K. , Saal Hannes P. , Bensmaia Sliman J.
Published: September 2016

The orientation of edges indented into the skin has been shown to be encoded in the responses of neurons in primary somatosensory cortex in a manner that draws remarkable analogies to their counterparts in primary visual cortex. According to the classical view, orientation tuning arises from the integration of untuned input from thalamic neurons with aligned but spatially displaced receptive fields (RFs). In a recent microneurography study with human subjects, the precise temporal structure of the responses of individual mechanoreceptive afferents to scanned edges was found to carry information about their orientation. This putative mechanism could in principle contribute to or complement the classical rate-based code for orientation. In the present study, we further examine orientation information carried by mechanoreceptive afferents of Rhesus monkeys. To this end, we record the activity evoked in cutaneous mechanoreceptive afferents when edges are indented into or scanned across the skin. First, we confirm that information about the edge orientation can be extracted from the temporal patterning in afferent responses of monkeys, as is the case in humans. Second, we find that while the coarse temporal profile of the response can be predicted linearly from the layout of the RF, the fine temporal profile cannot. Finally, we show that orientation signals in tactile afferents are often highly dependent on stimulus features other than orientation, which complicates putative decoding strategies. We discuss the challenges associated with establishing a neural code at the somatosensory periphery, where afferents are exquisitely sensitive and nearly deterministic.
Escherichia coliMeningitis after Rotavirus Gastroenteritis in an Infant
Authors: Ozgurhan Gamze , Vermezoglu Oznur , Ocal Topcu Didem , Karbuz Adem , Vehapoglu Aysel , Hacihamdioglu Bulent
Published: September 2016

Although rotavirus gastroenteritis is quite common in the pediatric population, secondary bacterial sepsis following rotavirus infection is a rare clinical entity. Gram-negative bacilli are the fifth most common cause of meningitis in infants but this infection rarely occurs after gastroenteritis. Here, we report a 2.5-month-old infant who developedEscherichia coli(E. coli) meningitis after acute rotavirus gastroenteritis. The 2.5-month-old male infant with fever, vomiting, and watery diarrhea that started 1 day earlier was admitted to the hospital. Rotavirus antigen in stool sample was positive. He was hospitalized, and fever was measured at 39.5°C on the second day. Lumbar puncture was done for suspicion of meningitis, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings suggested meningitis. Intravenous vancomycin and cefotaxime were started empirically. SinceE. colireproduction was seen in blood culture and CSF culture, treatment was continued with cefotaxime. The patient was discharged with minimal midlevel hydrocephalus findings in cranial ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging following 21 days of antibiotics treatment. Septicemia development following rotavirus gastroenteritis is an extremely rare clinical condition. It is vital to start prompt antibiotic treatment as soon as the diagnosis of secondary bacterial infection is made because of high mortality and morbidity rates.
Colocutaneous Fistula after Open Inguinal Hernia Repair
Authors: Isaia Maria , Christou Demetris , Kallis Panayiotis , Koronakis Nikolaos , Hadjicostas Panayiotis
Published: September 2016

The plug-and-patch technique is frequently used for the open repair of inguinal hernias; however, serious complications may arise on rare occasions. We present the case of a 69-year-old patient who presented with a colocutaneous fistula with the sigmoid colon 9 years after the repair of a left sliding inguinal hernia with the plug-and-patch technique. The patient underwent sigmoidectomy and excision of the fistulous track. He was discharged on postoperative day 5 and had an uneventful recovery. Although such complications are reported rarely, the surgeon must be aware of them when deciding upon the method of hernia repair.
Efficacy of Compound Kushen Injection in Combination with Induction Chemotherapy for Treating Adult Patients Newly Diagnosed with Acute Leukemia
Authors: Tu Honglei , Lei Bo , Meng Shan , Liu Hailing , Wei Yongchang , He Aili , Zhang Wanggang , Zhou Fuling
Published: September 2016

We assessed the clinical effectiveness and safety of CKI (compound Kushen injection) plus standard induction chemotherapy for treating adult acute leukemia (AL). We randomly assigned 332 patients with newly diagnosed AL to control (n = 165, receiving DA (daunorubicin and cytarabine) or hyper‐CVAD (fractionated cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and dexamethasone)) or treatment (n = 167, receiving CKI and DA or hyper‐CVAD) groups. Posttreatment, treatment group CD3+, CD4+, CD4+/CD8+, natural killer (NK) cell, and immunoglobulin (IgG, IgA, and IgM) levels were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < 0.05), and CD8+ levels were lower in the treatment group than in the control group (p < 0.05). Treatment group interleukin‐ (IL‐) 4 and IL‐10 levels were significantly higher compared to the control posttreatment (both p < 0.05) as were complete remission, overall response, and quality of life (QoL) improvement rates (p < 0.05). The control group had more incidences of grade 3/4 hematologic and nonhematologic toxicity (p < 0.05). Responses to induction chemotherapy, QoL improvement, and adverse events incidence between control group patients with acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphocytic leukemia were not significantly different. CKI plus standard induction chemotherapy is effective and safe for treating AL, possibly by increasing immunologic function.
Rapid Screening Method for Detecting Ethinyl Estradiol in Natural Water Employing Voltammetry
Authors: Nunes Chalder Nogueira , Pauluk Lucas Ely , Felsner Maria Lurdes , Egéa dos Anjos Vanessa , Quináia Sueli Pércio
Published: September 2016

17α-Ethinyl estradiol (EE2), which is used worldwide in the treatment of some cancers and as a contraceptive, is often found in aquatic systems and is considered a pharmaceutically active compound (PhACs) in the environment. Current methods for the determination of this compound, such as chromatography, are expensive and lengthy and require large amounts of toxic organic solvents. In this work, a voltammetric procedure is developed and validated as a screening tool for detecting EE2 in water samples without prior extraction, clean-up, or derivatization steps. Application of the method we elaborate here to EE2 analysis is unprecedented. EE2 detection was carried out using differential pulse adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (DP AdCSV) with a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) in pH 7.0 Britton-Robinson buffer. The electrochemical process of EE2 reduction was investigated by cyclic voltammetry at different scan rates. Electroreduction of the hormone on a mercury electrode exhibited a peak at −1.16±0.02 V versus Ag/AgCl. The experimental parameters were as follows: −0.7 V accumulation potential, 150 s accumulation time, and 60 mV s−1scan rate. The limit of detection was 0.49 μg L−1for a preconcentration time of 150 s. Relative standard deviations were less than 13%. The method was applied to the detection of EE2 in water samples with recoveries ranging from 93.7 to 102.5%.
Electrocardiographic Study in Adult Homozygous Sickle Cell Disease Patients in Lagos, Nigeria
Authors: Dosunmu Adedoyin , Akinbami Akinsegun , Uche Ebele , Adediran Adewumi , John-Olabode Sarah
Published: September 2016

Background. This study sought to identify the pattern of electrocardiographic changes in steady state adult sickle cell anaemia.Methods.A case-control, cross-sectional study was conducted amongst sickle cell patients attending the sickle cell clinic of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, and HbAA controls. All consenting participants had haemoglobin electrophoresis done and were subjected to electrocardiography (ECG). The descriptive data were given as means ± standard deviation (SD). The differences were considered to be statistically significant when thepvalue obtained was <0.05.Results.A total of ninety-three sickle cell anaemia (SCA) patients and ninety haemoglobin AA (controls) were enrolled. There was no significant difference in the age of the participants with SCA and that of the controls but the body mass index was significantly higher in controls (p=0.0001). Overall, 73.1% (68 of 93) had abnormal ECG while only 2 of 90 (2.2%) of controls had abnormal ECG. The common abnormalities observed were left ventricular hypertrophy, biventricular hypertrophy, and right ventricular hypertrophy.Conclusion.Patients with SCA in steady state tend to have normal heart rate but about 50% of them would have had ECG changes before the age of 20 years. ECG being a noninvasive test may be used to identify patients at risk for early intervention.
Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption Induced by Chronic Sleep Loss: Low-Grade Inflammation May Be the Link
Authors: Hurtado-Alvarado G. , Domínguez-Salazar E. , Pavon L. , Velázquez-Moctezuma J. , Gómez-González B.
Published: September 2016

Sleep is a vital phenomenon related to immunomodulation at the central and peripheral level. Sleep deficient in duration and/or quality is a common problem in the modern society and is considered a risk factor to develop neurodegenerative diseases. Sleep loss in rodents induces blood-brain barrier disruption and the underlying mechanism is still unknown. Several reports indicate that sleep loss induces a systemic low-grade inflammation characterized by the release of several molecules, such as cytokines, chemokines, and acute-phase proteins; all of them may promote changes in cellular components of the blood-brain barrier, particularly on brain endothelial cells. In the present review we discuss the role of inflammatory mediators that increase during sleep loss and their association with general disturbances in peripheral endothelium and epithelium and how those inflammatory mediators may alter the blood-brain barrier. Finally, this manuscript proposes a hypothetical mechanism by which sleep loss may induce blood-brain barrier disruption, emphasizing the regulatory effect of inflammatory molecules on tight junction proteins.
Influence of Dapagliflozin on Glycemic Variations in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Li Feng-fei , Gao Gu , Li Qian , Zhu Hong-hong , Su Xiao-fei , Wu Jin-dan , Ye Lei , Ma Jian-hua
Published: September 2016

Objectives. To observe changes in blood glycemic variations and oxidative stress level before and after dapagliflozin treatment in patients with newly diagnosed T2DM.Methods. This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. A total of 28 patients with newly diagnosed T2DM withHbA1clevels of 7.5–10.5% were randomly selected to receive dapagliflozin or placebo treatment for 24 weeks. After baseline data were collected, we analyzed glycemic variations and plasma 8-iso PGF2αlevel at baseline and at the endpoint. Primary outcome was the changes of mean amplitude glycemic excursion (MAGE) within groups.Results. After 24-week dapagliflozin therapy, our data showed the significant improvement of MAGE with dapagliflozin therapy (P=0.010). Compared with control group, patients in dapagliflozin group exhibited reduction in 24-hour MBG (P=0.026) and lower mean plasma glucose concentrations, especially during periods from 2400 to 0200 and 1300 to 1800 (P<0.05, resp.). In addition, plasma 8-iso PGF2αlevel was notably decreased in the treatment group compared to the control group (P=0.034).Conclusions.In conclusion, this study shows the ability of dapagliflozin to improve glycemic variations and associate with reduction of oxidative stress in patients with T2DM, which may benefit the cardiovascular system.
Aortic Dissection in a Healthy Male Athlete: A Unique Case with Comprehensive Literature Review
Authors: Singh Balraj , Treece Jennifer M. , Murtaza Ghulam , Bhatheja Samit , Lavine Steven J. , Paul Timir K.
Published: September 2016

A young otherwise healthy 27-year-old male who has been using anabolic steroids for a long time developed Type I aortic dissection associated with heavy weightlifting. The patient did not have a recent history of trauma to the chest, no history of hypertension, and no illicit drug use. He presented with severe chest pain radiating to back and syncopal event with exertion. Initial vitals were significant for blood pressure of 80/50 mmHg, pulse of 80 beats per minute, respirations of 24 per minute, and oxygen saturation of 92% on room air. Physical exam was significant for elevated jugular venous pressure, muffled heart sounds, and cold extremities with diminished pulses in upper and absent pulses in lower extremities. Bedside echocardiogram showed aortic root dilatation and cardiac tamponade. STAT computed tomography (CT) scan of chest revealed dissection of ascending aorta. Cardiothoracic surgery was consulted and patient underwent successful repair of ascending aorta. Hemodynamic stress of weightlifting can predispose to aortic dissection. Aortic dissection is a rare but often catastrophic condition if not diagnosed and managed acutely. Although rare, aortic dissection needs to be in the differential when a young weightlifter presents with chest pain as a delay in diagnosis may be fatal.
Pseudopheochromocytoma Associated with Domestic Assault
Authors: Le H. M. , Carbutti G. , Ilisei D. , Bouccin E. , Vandemergel X.
Published: September 2016

Pseudopheochromocytoma has a clinical presentation that is similar to pheochromocytoma. It manifests itself with paroxysmal hypertension crises, associated with various symptoms such as headaches, chest pain, nausea, palpitations, and dizziness. Patients are usually asymptomatic in between the crises. Unlike pheochromocytoma, there is no catecholamines overproduction in this pathology: hypertensive peaks are caused by a hyperactivation of the sympathetic nervous system, which is often triggered by a psychological trauma in the past. Treatment of pseudopheochromocytoma can be challenging due to normal blood pressure values in between the hypertensive peaks; it includes alpha- and beta-blockers for moderate crises and prevention and must be combined with psychopharmacologic agents such as anxiolytics or antidepressant drugs. Psychotherapy and dietetic treatment are also crucial in pseudopheochromocytoma management.
Backup Sourcing Decisions for Coping with Supply Disruptions under Long-Term Horizons
Authors: Hou Jing , Sun Lijun
Published: September 2016

This paper studies a buyer’s inventory control problem under a long-term horizon. The buyer has one major supplier that is prone to disruption risks and one backup supplier with higher wholesale price. Two kinds of sourcing methods are available for the buyer: single sourcing with/without contingent supply and dual sourcing. In contingent sourcing, the backup supplier is capacitated and/or has yield uncertainty, whereas in dual sourcing the backup supplier has an incentive to offer output flexibility during disrupted periods. The buyer’s expected cost functions and the optimal base-stock levels using each sourcing method under long-term horizon are obtained, respectively. The effects of three risk parameters, disruption probability, contingent capacity or uncertainty, and backup flexibility, are examined using comparative studies and numerical computations. Four sourcing methods, namely, single sourcing with contingent supply, dual sourcing, and single sourcing from either of the two suppliers, are also compared. These findings can be used as a valuable guideline for companies to select an appropriate sourcing strategy under supply disruption risks.
Experimental and Theoretical Study of Sandwich Panels with Steel Facesheets and GFRP Core
Authors: Fang Hai , Shi Huiyuan , Wang Yue , Qi Yujun , Liu Weiqing
Published: September 2016

This study presented a new form of composite sandwich panels, with steel plates as facesheets and bonded glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) pultruded hollow square tubes as core. In this novel panel, GFRP and steel were optimally combined to obtain high bending stiffness, strength, and good ductility. Four-point bending test was implemented to analyze the distribution of the stress, strain, mid-span deflection, and the ultimate failure mode. A section transformation method was used to evaluate the stress and the mid-span deflection of the sandwich panels. The theoretical values, experimental results, and FEM simulation values are compared and appeared to be in good agreement. The influence of thickness of steel facesheet on mid-span deflection and stress was simulated. The results showed that the mid-span deflection and stress decreased and the decent speed was getting smaller as the thickness of steel facesheet increases. A most effective thickness of steel facesheet was advised.
Alkaline Pretreatment of Sugarcane Bagasse and Filter Mud Codigested to Improve Biomethane Production
Authors: Talha Zahir , Ding Weimin , Mehryar Esmaeil , Hassan Muhammad , Bi Jinhua
Published: September 2016

To enhance the codigestion of degradation and improve biomethane production potential, sugarcane bagasse and filter mud were pretreated by sodium hydroxide NaOH 1 N at 100°C for 15, 30, and 45 minutes, respectively. Biomethane generation from 1-liter batch reactor was studied at mesophilic temperature (37±1)°C, solid concentrations of 6%, and five levels of mixing proportion with and without pretreatment. The results demonstrate that codigestion of filter mud with bagasse produces more biomethane than fermentation of filter mud as single substrate; even codigested substrate composition presented a better balance of nutrients (C/N ratio of 24.70) when codigestion ratio between filter mud and bagasse was 25 : 75 in comparison to filter mud as single substrate (C/N ratio 9.68). All the pretreatments tested led to solubilization of the organic matter, with a maximum lignin reduction of 86.27% and cumulative yield of biomethane (195.8 mL·gVS-1, digestion of pretreated bagasse as single substrate) obtained after 45 minutes of cooking by NaOH 1 N at 100°C. Under this pretreatment condition, significant increase in cumulative methane yield was observed (126.2 mL·gVS-1) at codigestion ratio of 25 : 75 between filter mud and bagasse by increase of 81.20% from untreated composition.
Modulation of Immunoregulatory Properties of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells by Toll‐Like Receptors: Potential Applications on GVHD
Authors: Sangiorgi Bruno , Panepucci Rodrigo Alexandre
Published: September 2016

In the last decade, the immunomodulatory properties of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have attracted a lot of attention, due to their potential applicability in the treatment of graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD), a condition frequently associated with opportunistic infections. The present review addresses how Pathogen‐Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPS) modulate the immunosuppressive phenotype of human MSCs by signaling through Toll‐like receptors (TLRs). Overall, we observed that regardless of the source tissue, human MSCs express TLR2, TLR3, TLR4, and TLR9. Stimulation of distinct TLRs on MSCs elicits distinct inflammatory signaling pathways, differentially influencing the expression of inflammatory factors and the ability of MSCs to suppress the proliferation of immune system cells. The capacity to enhance the immunosuppressive phenotype of MSCs through TLRs stimulation might be properly elucidated in order to improve the MSC‐based immunotherapy against GVHD.
Neuroprotective Effects of Salidroside in the MPTP Mouse Model of Parkinson’s Disease: Involvement of the PI3K/Akt/GSK3βPathway
Authors: Zhang Wei , He Hong , Song Hujie , Zhao Junjie , Li Tao , Wu Leitao , Zhang Xiaojun , Chen Jianzong
Published: September 2016

The degenerative loss through apoptosis of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta plays a primary role in the progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Our in vitro experiments suggested that salidroside (Sal) could protect against 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine-induced cell apoptosis in part by regulating the PI3K/Akt/GSK3βpathway. The current study aims to increase our understanding of the protective mechanisms of Sal in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropypridine- (MPTP-) induced PD mouse model. We found that pretreatment with Sal could protect against MPTP-induced increase of the time of turning downwards and climbing down to the floor. Sal also prevented MPTP-induced decrease of locomotion frequency and the increase of the immobile time. Sal provided a protection of in MPTP-induced loss of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons in SNpc and the level of DA, DOPAC, and HVA in the striatum. Furthermore, Sal could increase the phosphorylation level of Akt and GSK3β, upregulate the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax, and inhibit the activation of caspase-3, caspase-6, and caspase-9. These results show that Sal prevents the loss of dopaminergic neurons and the PI3K/Akt/GSK3βpathway signaling pathway may have mediated the protection of Sal against MPTP, suggesting that Sal may be a potential candidate in neuroprotective treatment for PD.
An Optimal Decision Assessment Model Based on the Acceptable Maximum LGD of Commercial Banks and Its Application
Authors: Shi Baofeng , Meng Bin , Wang Jing
Published: September 2016

This paper introduces a novel decision assessment method which is suitable for customers’ credit risk evaluation and credit decision. First of all, the paper creates an optimal credit rating model, and it consisted of an objective function and two constraint conditions. The first constraint condition of the strictly increasing LGDs eliminates the unreasonable phenomenon that the higher the credit rating is, the higher the LGD (loss given default) is. Secondly, on the basis of the credit rating results, a credit decision-making assessment model based on measuring the acceptable maximum LGD of commercial banks is established. Thirdly, empirical results using the data on 2817 farmers’ microfinance of a Chinese commercial bank suggest that the proposed approach can accurately find out the good customers from all the loan applications. Moreover, our approach contributes to providing a reference for decision assessment of customers in other commercial banks in the world.
In Vivo Imaging of Tumor Metabolism and Acidosis by Combining PET and MRI-CEST pH Imaging
Authors: Longo Dario L. , Bartoli Antonietta , Consolino Lorena , Bardini Paola , Arena Francesca , Schwaiger Markus , Aime Silvio
Published: September 2016

The vast majority of cancers exhibit increased glucose uptake and glycolysis regardless of oxygen availability. This metabolic shift leads to an enhanced production of lactic acid that decreases extracellular pH (pHe), a hallmark of the tumor microenvironment. In this way, dysregulated tumor pHe and upregulated glucose metabolism are linked tightly and their relative assessment may be useful to gain understanding of the underlying biology. Here we investigated noninvasively the in vivo correlation between tumor 18F-FDG uptake and extracellular pH values in a murine model of HER2+ breast cancer. Tumor extracellular pH and perfusion were assessed by acquiring MRI-CEST (chemical exchange saturation transfer) images on a 3T scanner after intravenous administration of a pH-responsive contrast agent (iopamidol). Static PET images were recorded immediately after MRI acquisitions to quantify the extent of 18F-FDG uptake. We demonstrated the occurrence of tumor pHe changes that report on acidification of the interstitial fluid caused by an accelerated glycolysis. Combined PET and MRI-CEST images reported complementary spatial information of the altered glucose metabolism. Notably, a significant inverse correlation was found between extracellular tumor pH and 18F-FDG uptake, as a high 18F-FDG uptake corresponds to lower extracellular pH values. These results show how merging the information from 18F-FDG-uptake and extracellular pH measurements can improve characterization of the tumor microenvironment. Cancer Res; 76(22); 6463–70. ©2016 AACR.