bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Varicella-Zoster Virus RNA Sequences in Human Neurons and Fibroblasts
Authors: Baird Nicholas L. , Bowlin Jacqueline L. , Cohrs Randall J. , Gilden Don , Jones Kenneth L.
Published: March 2014

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection causes varicella, after which the virus becomes latent in ganglionic neurons. In tissue culture, VZV-infected human neurons remain viable at 2 weeks, whereas fibroblasts develop cytopathology. Next-generation RNA sequencing was used to compare VZV transcriptomes in neurons and fibroblasts and identified only 12 differentially transcribed genes of the 70 annotated VZV open reading frames (ORFs), suggesting that defective virus transcription does not account for the lack of cell death in VZV-infected neurons
in vitro
.
Host MicroRNA Regulation of Human Cytomegalovirus Immediate Early Protein Translation Promotes Viral Latency
Authors: O'Connor Christine M. , Vanicek Jiri , Murphy Eain A.
Published: March 2014

Reactivation of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a significant cause of disease and death in immunocompromised patients, underscoring the need to understand how latency is controlled. Here we demonstrate that HCMV has evolved to utilize cellular microRNAs (miRNAs) in cells that promote latency to regulate expression of a viral protein critical for viral reactivation. Our data reveal that hsa-miR-200 miRNA family members target theUL122(immediate early protein 2) 3′ untranslated region, resulting in repression of this viral protein. Utilizing recombinant viruses that mutate the miRNA-binding site compared to the sequence of the wild-type virus results in lytic rather than latent infections inex vivoinfections of primary CD34+cells. Cells permissive for lytic replication demonstrate low levels of these miRNAs. We propose that cellular miRNA regulation of HCMV is critical for maintenance of viral latency.

IMPORTANCEHuman cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a herpesvirus that infects a majority of the population. Once acquired, individuals harbor the virus for life, where the virus remains, for the most part, in a quiet or latent state. Under weakened immune conditions, the virus can reactivate, which can cause severe disease and often death. We have found that members of a family of small RNAs, termed microRNAs, encoded by human myeloid progenitor cells are capable of repressing a key viral protein, thus enabling the virus to ensure a quiet/latent state. As these progenitor cells mature further down the myeloid lineage toward cells that support active viral replication, the levels of these microRNAs decrease. Together, our data suggest that host cell microRNA regulation of HCMV is important for the quiet/latent state of this pathogen.
Higher-Order Structure of the Rous Sarcoma Virus SP Assembly Domain
Authors: Bush Di L. , Monroe Eric B. , Bedwell Gregory J. , Prevelige Peter E. , Phillips Judith M. , Vogt Volker M.
Published: March 2014

Purified retroviral Gag proteins can assemble
in vitro
to form immature virus-like particles (VLPs). By cryoelectron tomography, Rous sarcoma virus VLPs show an organized hexameric lattice consisting chiefly of the capsid (CA) domain, with periodic stalk-like densities below the lattice. We hypothesize that the structure represented by these densities is formed by amino acid residues immediately downstream of the folded CA, namely, the short spacer peptide SP, along with a dozen flanking residues. These 24 residues comprise the SP assembly (SPA) domain, and we propose that neighboring SPA units in a Gag hexamer coalesce to form a six-helix bundle. Using
in vitro
assembly, alanine scanning mutagenesis, and biophysical analyses, we have further characterized the structure and function of SPA. Most of the amino acid residues in SPA could not be mutated individually without abrogating assembly, with the exception of a few residues near the N and C termini, as well as three hydrophilic residues within SPA. We interpret these results to mean that the amino acids that do not tolerate mutations contribute to higher-order structures in VLPs. Hydrogen-deuterium exchange analyses of unassembled Gag compared that of assembled VLPs showed strong protection at the SPA region, consistent with a higher-order structure. Circular dichroism revealed that a 29mer SPA peptide shifts from a random coil to a helix in a concentration-dependent manner. Analytical ultracentrifugation showed concentration-dependent self-association of the peptide into a hexamer. Taken together, these results provide strong evidence for the formation of a critical six-helix bundle in Gag assembly.

IMPORTANCE
The structure of a retrovirus like HIV is created by several thousand molecules of the viral Gag protein, which assemble to form the known hexagonal protein lattice in the virus particle. How the Gag proteins pack together in the lattice is incompletely understood. A short segment of Gag known to be critical for proper assembly has been hypothesized to form a six-helix bundle, which may be the nucleating event that leads to lattice formation. The experiments reported here, using the avian Rous sarcoma virus as a model system, further define the nature of this segment of Gag, show that it is in a higher-order structure in the virus particle, and provide the first direct evidence that it forms a six-helix bundle in retrovirus assembly. Such knowledge may provide underpinnings for the development of antiretroviral drugs that interfere with virus assembly.
The Host Protease TMPRSS2 Plays a Major Role in
In Vivo
Replication of Emerging H7N9 and Seasonal Influenza Viruses
Authors: Sakai Kouji , Ami Yasushi , Tahara Maino , Kubota Toru , Anraku Masaki , Abe Masako , Nakajima Noriko , Sekizuka Tsuyoshi , Shirato Kazuya , Suzaki Yuriko , Ainai Akira , Nakatsu Yuichiro , Kanou Kazuhiko , Nakamura Kazuya , Suzuki Tadaki , Komase Katsuhiro , Nobusawa Eri , Maenaka Katsumi , Kuroda Makoto , Hasegawa Hideki , Kawaoka Yoshihiro , Tashiro Masato , Takeda Makoto
Published: March 2014

Proteolytic cleavage of the hemagglutinin (HA) protein is essential for influenza A virus (IAV) to acquire infectivity. This process is mediated by a host cell protease(s)
in vivo
. The type II transmembrane serine protease TMPRSS2 is expressed in the respiratory tract and is capable of activating a variety of respiratory viruses, including low-pathogenic (LP) IAVs possessing a single arginine residue at the cleavage site. Here we show that TMPRSS2 plays an essential role in the proteolytic activation of LP IAVs, including a recently emerged H7N9 subtype,
in vivo
. We generated TMPRSS2 knockout (KO) mice. The TMPRSS2 KO mice showed normal reproduction, development, and growth phenotypes. In TMPRSS2 KO mice infected with LP IAVs, cleavage of HA was severely impaired, and consequently, the majority of LP IAV progeny particles failed to gain infectivity, while the viruses were fully activated proteolytically in TMPRSS2
+/+
wild-type (WT) mice. Accordingly, in contrast to WT mice, TMPRSS2 KO mice were highly tolerant of challenge infection by LP IAVs (H1N1, H3N2, and H7N9) with ≥1,000 50% lethal doses (LD
50
) for WT mice. On the other hand, a high-pathogenic H5N1 subtype IAV possessing a multibasic cleavage site was successfully activated in the lungs of TMPRSS2 KO mice and killed these mice, as observed for WT mice. Our results demonstrate that recently emerged H7N9 as well as seasonal IAVs mainly use the specific protease TMPRSS2 for HA cleavage
in vivo
and, thus, that TMPRSS2 expression is essential for IAV replication
in vivo
.

IMPORTANCE
Influenza A virus (IAV) is a leading pathogen that infects and kills many humans every year. We clarified that the infectivity and pathogenicity of IAVs, including a recently emerged H7N9 subtype, are determined primarily by a host protease, TMPRSS2. Our data showed that TMPRSS2 is the key host protease that activates IAVs
in vivo
through proteolytic cleavage of their HA proteins. Hence, TMPRSS2 is a good target for the development of anti-IAV drugs. Such drugs could also be effective for many other respiratory viruses, including the recently emerged Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus, because they are also activated by TMPRSS2
in vitro
. Consequently, the present paper could have a large impact on the battle against respiratory virus infections and contribute greatly to human health.
Template Role of Double-Stranded RNA in Tombusvirus Replication
Authors: Kovalev Nikolay , Pogany Judit , Nagy Peter D.
Published: March 2014

Replication of plus-strand RNA [(+)RNA] viruses of plants is a relatively simple process that involves complementary minus-strand RNA [(−)RNA] synthesis and subsequent (+)RNA synthesis. However, the actual replicative form of the (−)RNA template in the case of plant (+)RNA viruses is not yet established unambiguously. In this paper, using a cell-free replication assay supporting a full cycle of viral replication, we show that replication of
Tomato bushy stunt virus
(TBSV) leads to the formation of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Using RNase digestion, DNAzyme, and RNA mobility shift assays, we demonstrate the absence of naked (−)RNA templates during replication. Time course experiments showed the rapid appearance of dsRNA earlier than the bulk production of new (+)RNAs, suggesting an active role for dsRNA in replication. Radioactive nucleotide chase experiments showed that the mechanism of TBSV replication involves the use of dsRNA templates in strand displacement reactions, where the newly synthesized plus strand replaces the original (+)RNA in the dsRNA. We propose that the use of dsRNA as a template for (+)RNA synthesis by the viral replicase is facilitated by recruited host DEAD box helicases and the viral p33 RNA chaperone protein. Altogether, this replication strategy allows TBSV to separate minus- and plus-strand syntheses in time and regulate asymmetrical RNA replication that leads to abundant (+)RNA progeny.

IMPORTANCE
Positive-stranded RNA viruses of plants use their RNAs as the templates for replication. First, the minus strand is synthesized by the viral replicase complex (VRC), which then serves as a template for new plus-strand synthesis. To characterize the nature of the (−)RNA in the membrane-bound viral replicase, we performed complete RNA replication of
Tomato bushy stunt virus
(TBSV) in yeast cell-free extracts and in plant extracts. The experiments demonstrated that the TBSV (−)RNA is present as a double-stranded RNA that serves as the template for TBSV replication. During the production of new plus strands, the viral replicase displaces the old plus strand in the dsRNA template, leading to asymmetrical RNA synthesis. The presented data are in agreement with the model that the dsRNA is present in nuclease-resistant membranous VRCs. This strategy likely allows TBSV to protect the replicating viral RNA from degradation as well as to evade the early detection of viral dsRNAs by the host surveillance system.
Diagnostic dilemma in a case of osteolytic lesions
Authors: Mandal Sanjay Kumar , Ganguly Jacky , Sil Koelina , Mondal Soumya Sarathi
Published: March 2014

A middle-aged male patient presented with fever, polyarthralgia, polyuria, easy fatigability and weight loss for 1 month. Clinically, there was only significant pallor and a swelling over the right sternoclavicular joint. On investigation, there was anaemia, raised urea, creatinine and pus cells in urine with growth ofEscherichia coli. There were also hypercalcaemia and osteolytic lesions over the ribs, scapula, clavicle and skull along with distorted renal corticomedullary differentiation. Although the initial diagnosis was likely to be a case of multiple myeloma, serum protein electrophoresis was negative for the monoclonal band and no Bence-Jones protein was detected in urine. Bone marrow plasma cells were less than 10%, but the serum-free light chain assay revealed altered κ:λ ratio. Later in the course of the disease, a cervical lymph node appeared. The biopsy and immunohistochemistry of this lymph node revealed a CD5 positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, but unfortunately the patient succumbed to his illness after receiving the first cycle of Rituximab-Cyclophosphamide-Hydroxydoxorubicin-Oncovin-Prednisolone.
An atypical case of neuroleptic malignant syndrome precipitated by valproate
Authors: Verma Rajesh , Junewar Vivek , Rathaur Bhanu Pratap Singh
Published: March 2014

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) can be caused by various drugs. We report a case of a 60-year-old woman who presented with high-grade fever, muscular rigidity, tachycardia, tachypnoea and altered sensorium along with seizures. She had been taking olanzapine for the past 2 years for psychosis. For the last month valproate was added to her treatment. Her blood investigations revealed hyponatraemia and raised serum ammonia and creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) levels. In view of hyperthermia, muscular rigidity, autonomic disturbances, altered mental status and raised CPK, a diagnosis of NMS was made. Valproate could have probably precipitated NMS; although the patient was taking antipsychotics for a long time, it was only with the addition of valproate that she developed these symptoms. Raised serum ammonia levels also indicated the presence of valproate toxicity. Seizures were probably due to electrolyte disturbances. Offending drugs were withdrawn. The patient improved with treatment by dopamine agonist and other supportive treatments.
Acute intestinal obstruction complicating pregnancy: diagnosis and surgical management
Authors: Zachariah Sanoop Koshy , Fenn Miriam George
Published: March 2014

Intestinal obstruction during pregnancy is an uncommon and serious non-obstetric surgical condition which may be associated with significant maternal and fetal mortality. Surgeons who are called upon to manage these patients are often confronted with a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge due to the rarity of the condition, overlapping symptomatology, concerns over radiological evaluation and risks involved with surgery and anaesthesia. We report a 31-year-old woman who presented with acute intestinal obstruction during the third trimester of pregnancy. Plain abdominal X-ray was diagnostic of intestinal obstruction. Conservative treatment was unsuccessful. On laparotomy, the small bowel was found to have twisted at three different sites due to adhesive bands from previous abdominal surgeries. Division of these bands released the obstruction. The child was delivered through a concomitant caesarean section. A high index of clinical suspicion coupled with timely surgical intervention increases the chances for a favourable outcome in these situations.
Early warnings, weak signals and learning from healthcare disasters
Authors: Macrae Carl
Published: March 2014

In the wake of healthcare disasters, such as the appalling failures of care uncovered in Mid Staffordshire, inquiries and investigations often point to a litany of early warnings and weak signals that were missed, misunderstood or discounted by the professionals and organisations charged with monitoring the safety and quality of care. Some of the most urgent challenges facing those responsible for improving and regulating patient safety are therefore how to identify, interpret, integrate and act on the early warnings and weak signals of emerging risks—before those risks contribute to a disastrous failure of care. These challenges are fundamentally organisational and cultural: they relate to what information is routinely noticed, communicated and attended to within and between healthcare organisations—and, most critically, what is assumed and ignored. Analysing these organisational and cultural challenges suggests three practical ways that healthcare organisations and their regulators can improve safety and address emerging risks. First, engage in practices that actively produce and amplify fleeting signs of ignorance. Second, work to continually define and update a set of specific fears of failure. And third, routinely uncover and publicly circulate knowledge on the sources of systemic risks to patient safety and the improvements required to address them.
The Spectrum of Children's Palliative Care Needs: a classification framework for children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions
Authors: Shaw Karen L , Brook Lynda , Mpundu-Kaambwa Christine , Harris Nicky , Lapwood Susie , Randall Duncan
Published: March 2014

Objectives

This paper examined the potential of a new classification framework,The Spectrum of Children's Palliative Care Needs, to facilitate identification of children with palliative care needs for the purposes of minimum data set collection and population needs assessment.

Methods

Health and social care professionals (n=50) in a range of paediatric palliative care settings applied The Spectrum to (i) clinical vignettes and (ii) consecutive children on their caseloads. They also provided confidence ratings and written comments about their experiences. Inter-rater reliability, conceptual validity, acceptability, feasibility and sustainability were examined. A subset of professionals (n=9) also participated in semistructured telephone interviews to provide further insight.

Results

Inter-rater reliability for the vignettes (κ=0.255) was fair. However, professionals were more confident applying The Spectrum to their caseloads, which included children (n=74) with a range of life-limiting/life-threatening conditions. The Spectrum made conceptual sense in relation to these children and was considered to offer a meaningful way to define the eligible population in service mapping. Benefits for clinical work (eg, facilitating patient review, workload management, clinical audit) and research were also identified. However, important threats to reliability were highlighted.

Conclusions

Preliminary assessment of The Spectrum confirms its potential to promote consistent data set collection in children's palliative care. The results have been used to produce a revised version and user guidelines to address issues raised by participants. However, further research is required to further validate the framework and establish its relevance to families’ self-defined needs.
Parents and end-of-life decision-making for their child: roles and responsibilities
Authors: Sullivan Jane , Gillam Lynn , Monagle Paul
Published: March 2014

Background

Whether parents want to be and should be the decision-maker for their child in end-of-life matters are contested clinical and ethical questions. Previous research outcomes are equivocal.

Method

A qualitative interview method was used to examine the views and experiences of 25 bereaved parents in end-of-life decision-making for their child. Data were analysed thematically.

Results

Three types of decision-making roles were identified: self-determined, guided (both involving active decision-making) and acquiescent (passive).The majority of parents had been active in the decision-making process for their child. They perceived themselves as the ultimate end-of-life decision-maker. This was perceived as part of their parental responsibility. A minority of parents did not consider that they had been an active, ultimate decision-maker. Generally, parents in the self-determined and guided groups reported no negative consequences from their decision-making involvement. Importantly, parents in the acquiescent group described their experience as difficult at the time and subsequently, although not all difficulties related directly to decision-making. Parents considered that in principle parents should be the end-of-life decision-maker for their child, but understood personal characteristics and preference could prevent some parents from taking this role.

Conclusions

This study unequivocally supports parents’ desire to fulfil the end-of-life decision-making role. It provides a nuanced understanding of parents’ roles and contributes evidence for the ethical position that parents should be the end-of-life decision-makers for their child, unless not in the child's best interests. On the whole, parents want this role and can manage its consequences. Indeed, not being the end-of-life decision-maker could be detrimental to parents’ well-being.
Service user perspectives on palliative care education for health and social care professionals supporting people with learning disabilities
Authors: McLaughlin Dorry , Barr Owen , McIlfatrick Sonja , McConkey Roy
Published: March 2014

Background and objectives

Evidence from European and American studies indicates limited referrals of people with learning (intellectual) disabilities to palliative care services. Although professionals’ perceptions of their training needs in this area have been studied, the perceptions of people with learning disabilities and family carers are not known. This study aimed to elicit the views of people with learning disabilities, and their family carers concerning palliative care, to inform healthcare professional education and training.

Methods

A qualitative, exploratory design was used. A total of 17 people with learning disabilities were recruited to two focus groups which took place within an advocacy network. Additionally, three family carers of someone with a learning disability, requiring palliative care, and two family carers who had been bereaved recently were also interviewed.

Results

Combined data identified the perceived learning needs for healthcare professionals. Three subthemes emerged: ‘information and preparation’, ‘provision of care’ and ‘family-centred care’.

Conclusions

This study shows that people with learning disabilities can have conversations about death and dying, and their preferred end-of-life care, but require information that they can understand. They also need to have people around familiar to them and with them. Healthcare professionals require skills and knowledge to effectively provide palliative care for people with learning disabilities and should also work in partnership with their family carers who have expertise from their long-term caring role. These findings have implications for educators and clinicians.
From model to molecules: the development and experimental manipulation of anin vivocontaminated extremity war wound
Authors: Eardley Will G P , Guthrie H C
Published: March 2014

Wound infection is a key determinant of outcome in survivors of armed conflict. One factor having potential for promoting healing, decreasing bacterial burden and influencing prognosis is the dressing that covers the ballistic-injured extremity. Although antiseptic and silver dressings are applied to acute wounds, evidence to support their use is scarce with no controlled studies reported of antimicrobial wound dressings in extremity trauma. Given the recent burden of ballistic extremity injury, the requirement to investigate the role of antimicrobial dressings in contaminated wounds is transparent. This paper details a programme of work undertaken at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory of developing and trialling a recovery model to investigate the early management of contaminated war wounds. A New Zealand White rabbit flexor carpi ulnaris muscle belly, isolated and then injured by a drop rig mechanism, was contaminated withStaphylococcus aureusto provide a reproducible contaminated muscle wound. This model was developed to support a series of randomised controlled trials to determine the impact of antimicrobial dressings on decreasing the bacterial burden of combat related extremity wounds. The results of the initial trial indicated that over a 48-h period, dressings augmented with antiseptic or silver offer no advantage over saline-soaked gauze in reducing the bacterial burden of a contaminated soft tissue injury. The model has subsequently been used to investigate the efficacy of dressings over a 7-day study period and impact of antibiotics and to evaluate biofilm formation and wound cytokines.
EPILEPTIC EEG CLASSIFICATION BASED ON KERNEL SPARSE REPRESENTATION
Authors: YUAN QI , ZHOU WEIDONG , YUAN SHASHA , LI XUELI , WANG JIWEN , JIA GUIJUAN
Published: March 2014

The automatic identification of epileptic EEG signals is significant in both relieving heavy workload of visual inspection of EEG recordings and treatment of epilepsy. This paper presents a novel method based on the theory of sparse representation to identify epileptic EEGs. At first, the raw EEG epochs are preprocessed via Gaussian low pass filtering and differential operation. Then, in the scheme of sparse representation based classification (SRC), a test EEG sample is sparsely represented on the training set by solving l1-minimization problem, and the represented residuals associated with ictal and interictal training samples are computed. The test EEG sample is categorized as the class that yields the minimum represented residual. So unlike the conventional EEG classification methods, the choice and calculation of EEG features are avoided in the proposed framework. Moreover, the kernel trick is employed to generate a kernel version of the SRC method for improving the separability between ictal and interictal classes. The satisfactory recognition accuracy of 98.63% for ictal and interictal EEG classification and for ictal and normal EEG classification has been achieved by the kernel SRC. In addition, the fast speed makes the kernel SRC suit for the real-time seizure monitoring application in the near future.
BREGMAN DIVERGENCES FOR GROWING HIERARCHICAL SELF-ORGANIZING NETWORKS
Authors: LÓPEZ-RUBIO EZEQUIEL , PALOMO ESTEBAN JOSÉ , DOMÍNGUEZ ENRIQUE
Published: March 2014

Growing hierarchical self-organizing models are characterized by the flexibility of their structure, which can easily accomodate for complex input datasets. However, most proposals use the Euclidean distance as the only error measure. Here we propose a way to introduce Bregman divergences in these models, which is based on stochastic approximation principles, so that more general distortion measures can be employed. A procedure is derived to compare the performance of networks using different divergences. Moreover, a probabilistic interpretation of the model is provided, which enables its use as a Bayesian classifier. Experimental results are presented for classification and data visualization applications, which show the advantages of these divergences with respect to the classical Euclidean distance.
GRAPH-BASED FEATURES EXTRACTION VIA DATUM ADAPTIVE WEIGHTED COLLABORATIVE REPRESENTATION FOR FACE RECOGNITION
Authors: WAQAS JADOON , ZHANG YI , ZHANG LEI
Published: March 2014

We propose a novel unsupervised subspace learning method to optimize graph construction for face recognition called Datum Adaptive Weighted Collaborative Representation (DAWCR). Different from sparsity preserving projection (SPP), a recently proposed linear dimensionality reduction method inspired by sparse representation, where graph is constructed using sparse reconstructive relationship by minimizing a l1-regularization-based objective function, DAWCR aims to optimize the graph construction by incorporating the locality structure and features variance among data elements into a unified framework using regularized linear representation i.e. weighted regularized least square using l2-minimization approach. The neighborhood selection method in DAWCR is datum dependent, moreover neighborhood size for each datum is chosen automatically by considering data distribution probability. Hence the resulting graph is sparse, models the nonlinear geometry of data set, and conveys more discriminate information. The DAWCR problem formulation has the algebraic solution without involving any parameter tuning for optimal neighbors selection, which makes it computationally efficient than SPP. Extensive experiments on several publicly available real-world face and some UCI data sets, are conducted to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves competitive performance with encouraging results.
A COMBINATION WEIGHTING ALGORITHM USING RELATIVE ENTROPY FOR DOCUMENT CLUSTERING
Authors: JI BO , YE YANGDONG , XIAO YU
Published: March 2014

This paper proposes a combination weighting algorithm using relative entropy for document clustering. Combination weighting is widely used in multiple attribute decision making (MADM) problem. However, there exist two difficulties to hinder the applications of combination weighting on document clustering. First, combination weighting is based on the integration of subjective weighting and objective weighting. However, there are so many attributes in documents that the subjective weights which rely on manual annotation by experts are impracticable. Secondly, a document data object might contain hundreds or even thousands of features. It is an extremely time-consuming task to calculate the combination weights. To address the issues, we suggest to simplify the combination weighting by not distinguishing subjective weight and objective weight. Meanwhile, we choose relative entropy method to reduce running time. In our algorithm, we obtain a combination weight set with 14 combination forms. The experiments on real document data show that both on the AC/PR/RE measures and the mutual information (MI) measure, the proposed CWRE-sIB algorithm is superior to the original sequential information bottleneck (sIB) algorithm and a series of weighting-sIB algorithms, which are built by applying a single weighting scheme to the original sIB algorithm.
UNCERTAIN DECISION MAKING AND ITS APPLICATION TO PORTFOLIO SELECTION PROBLEM
Authors: YAO KAI , JI XIAOYU
Published: March 2014

In the traditional decision theory, choice with undetermined consequence is usually regarded as random variable, which usually describes objective uncertainty. This paper first considers the human uncertainty in making decisions, and employs uncertain variable to describe the choice. Utility function is also employed in the paper, and expected utility is introduced as a criterion to rank the choices. At last, in order to illustrate the uncertain decision making method, a portfolio selection problem is considered.
Slacks-Based Efficiency Measurements with Undesirable Outputs in Data Envelopment Analysis
Authors: Wu Jie , Lu Xiang , Guo Dong , Liang Liang
Published: March 2014

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has recently gained great popularity in modeling environmental performance because it provides condensed information to decision makers when the production process includes undesirable outputs. In this paper, we develop a new slacks-based efficiency measurement for modeling environmental performance using the environmental DEA technology. The proposed index has more theoretical justification, and distinguishes among different decision making units (DMUs) better in practice. Then we further extend it to the nonoriented index with double aim of increasing desirable outputs and reducing undesirable outputs. Finally, we calculate the index for each of 25 OECD European countries in a model of CO2emission performance from 2007 to 2009 and the results obtained are presented.
Decision Support Model for Production Disturbance Estimation
Authors: Felea Ioan , Dzitac Simona , Vesselenyi Tiberiu , Dzitac Ioan
Published: March 2014

A current modeling framework for disturbance in manufacturing systems (MS) is given by concepts like discrete-event systems, stochastic fluid models and infinitesimal disturbance analysis. The goal of modeling is to achieve control and structural and functional optimization of MS. Objective functions of these optimization models are focused on quantities which reflect the level of reliability, the level of manufactured products, the quality of products or the impact on the environment of MS with disturbances. These models do not allow a dynamic evaluation of consequences of the disturbances which appears in the operation of MS machines and also do not allow an evaluation of the evolution in time of disturbance consequence indicators. Disturbances in technological lines of MS represent local bottlenecks of production with severe economic consequences in what regards production time losses. Good estimation of disturbances dynamics can be very helpful to both technological line designers, who can optimize their projects and production managers who can minimize their losses. Our model allows a dynamic evaluation of consequences of some disturbance of machine operation in MS, using indicators based on time, energy and costs. A MATLAB software package was developed for tests.
Cardinal and Rank Ordering of Criteria — Addressing Prescription within Weight Elicitation
Authors: Larsson Aron , Riabacke Mona , Danielson Mats , Ekenberg Love
Published: March 2014

Weight elicitation methods in multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) are often cognitively demanding, require too much precision, time and effort. Some of the issues may be remedied by connecting elicitation methods to an inference engine facilitating a quick and easy method for decision-makers to use weaker input statements, yet being able to utilize these statements in a method for decision evaluation. In this paper, we propose a fast and practically useful weight elicitation method, answering to many of the requirements. The method builds on the ideas of rank-order methods, but can also take imprecise cardinal information into account. The method is subsequently employed in two real-life case studies and compared to a case where a simple ratio weight procedure using exact input statements was employed.
METHOD APPLICATION IN NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND THE IMPACT ON CROSS-FUNCTIONAL COLLABORATION AND NEW PRODUCT SUCCESS
Authors: GRANER MARC , MIßLER-BEHR MAGDALENA
Published: March 2014

In recent years, scholars have devoted increasing attention to the use of methods in new product development. For the first time, we examine particularly the relationship between method application, cross-functional collaboration in new product development and new product success. The analysis of more than 400 new product development projects from 201 different companies shows that applying methods in new product development leads directly to the superior financial performance of the developed product (by reducing product costs, for example) and also leads indirectly to superior cross-functional collaboration during the development project. Both effects are analysed, showing how firms can actively improve on what in some cases are very high failure rates in the development of new products.
MULTIDIMENSIONAL EXTENSION OF SINGULAR SPECTRUM ANALYSIS BASED ON FILTERING INTERPRETATION
Authors: KUME KENJI , NOSE-TOGAWA NAOKO
Published: March 2014

Singular spectrum analysis is a nonparametric spectral decomposition of a time series. The singular spectrum analysis can be viewed as the two-step filtering with the complete set of eigenfilter adaptively constructed from the original time series. Based on this viewpoint, we present a flexible and quite simple algorithm for the singular spectrum analysis which can be applied to the multidimensional data series with arbitrary dimension. We have carried out the decomposition of two-dimensional image data, and the optimally constructed filters are found to be the smoothing or the edge enhancement filters of various type. We have also examined a simple example for the decomposition of 3D data.
EXERGY ANALYSIS OF A LiBr–H2O VAPOR ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION PLANT: A CASE STUDY
Authors: ANAND SANJEEV , GUPTA ANKUSH , TYAGI SUDHIR KUMAR
Published: March 2014

This communication presents the energy and exergy analysis of an actual double effect steam powered LiBr – H 2 O vapor absorption refrigeration plant. Exergy loss, COP, exergy efficiency and heat rate for each component of the system are calculated. The effect of generator as well as evaporator temperature on the COP and exergy efficiency is evaluated and it is found that the irreversibility rate is highest in the generator while it is found to be the lowest in the case of absorber and condenser. It is also found that the COP of the system increases with the increase in the evaporator temperature while it is found to be reverse in case of exergy efficiency. Results revealed that average exergy loss is highest in the generator as compared to other components. The results obtained are helpful for designers to bring changes in the actual system for performance optimization and less wastage of energy. The study clearly explain the operational and maintenance problems in the machine and point out the areas of energy wastage which the operational engineer should look into for the optimum operation of the plant.
The uncertainties associated with the application of through-diffusion, the steady-state method: a case study of strontium diffusion
Authors: Gondolli J. , Večerník P.
Published: March 2014

In this study, the uncertainties associated with through-diffusion, the steady-state method used for determination of the pore diffusion coefficient (
D
p
), were analysed and evaluated. The diffusion of strontium through the sample of compacted bentonite was studied to evaluate various sources of uncertainties and compare their contribution with uncertainty of
D
p
. Different diffusion experiment arrangements were used to test the effect of solution accessibility to the filter membranes. Three main general factors influencing the uncertainty of
D
p
at given conditions were identified: (a) the compacted sample preparation and its physical properties; (b) the properties of the diffusion cell; and (c) the strontium concentration analyses. Some of the identified sources can be treated as fixed with limited extent (e.g. the deformation of components of the diffusion cell), but some sources must be treated as variable with wide extent depending on the experimental conditions (e.g. the physical properties of the compacted bentonite sample – moisture, density, porosity). The variable uncertainty sources have to be taken into account, especially in repeatability and reproducibility tests. It was concluded that each of the diffusion cells with compacted bentonite sample represents a unique diffusion system. It is preferable to present the results of diffusion experiments as a range of values rather than as one average value with an uncertainty.
Signal transduction meets vesicle traffic: the software and hardware of GLUT4 translocation
Authors: Klip Amira , Sun Yi , Chiu Tim Ting , Foley Kevin P.
Published: March 2014

Skeletal muscle is the major tissue disposing of dietary glucose, a function regulated by insulin-elicited signals that impart mobilization of GLUT4 glucose transporters to the plasma membrane. This phenomenon, also central to adipocyte biology, has been the subject of intense and productive research for decades. We focus on muscle cell studies scrutinizing insulin signals and vesicle traffic in a spatiotemporal manner. Using the analogy of an integrated circuit to approach the intersection between signal transduction and vesicle mobilization, we identify signaling relays (“software”) that engage structural/mechanical elements (“hardware”) to enact the rapid mobilization and incorporation of GLUT4 into the cell surface. We emphasize how insulin signal transduction switches from tyrosine through lipid and serine phosphorylation down to activation of small G proteins of the Rab and Rho families, describe key negative regulation step of Rab GTPases through the GTPase-activating protein activity of the Akt substrate of 160 kDa (AS160), and focus on the mechanical effectors engaged by Rabs 8A and 10 (the molecular motor myosin Va), and the Rho GTPase Rac1 (actin filament branching and severing through Arp2/3 and cofilin). Finally, we illustrate how actin filaments interact with myosin 1c and α-Actinin4 to promote vesicle tethering as preamble to fusion with the membrane.
Regulation of macromolecular modulators of urinary stone formation by reactive oxygen species: transcriptional study in an animal model of hyperoxaluria
Authors: Khan Saeed R. , Joshi Sunil , Wang Wei , Peck Ammon B.
Published: March 2014

We used an unbiased approach of gene expression profiling to determine differential gene expression of all the macromolecular modulators (MMs) considered to be involved in stone formation, in hyperoxaluric rats, with and without treatment with the NADPH oxidase inhibitor apocynin. Male rats were fed rat chow or chow supplemented with 5% wt/wt hydroxy-l-proline (HLP) with or without apocynin-supplemented water. After 28 days, rats were euthanized and their kidneys explanted. Total RNA was isolated and microarray analysis was conducted using the Illumina bead array reader. Gene ontology analysis and the pathway analyses of the genes were done using Database for Annotation, Visualization of Integrated Discovery enrichment analysis tool. Quantitative RT-PCR of selected genes was carried out to verify the microarray results. Expression of selected gene products was confirmed using immunohistochemistry. Administration of HLP led to crystal deposition. Genes encoding for fibronectin, CD 44, fetuin B, osteopontin, and matrix-gla protein were upregulated while those encoding for heavy chains of inter-alpha-inhibitor 1, 3, and 4, calgranulin B, prothrombin, and Tamm-Horsfall protein were downregulated. HLP-fed rats receiving apocynin had a significant reversal in gene expression profiles: those that were upregulated came down while those that were downregulated stepped up. Apocynin treatment resulted in near complete absence of crystals. Clearly, there are two types of MMs; one is downregulated while the other is upregulated during hyperoxaluria and crystal deposition. Apparently gene and protein expressions of known macromolecular modulators of CaOx crystallization are likely regulated by ROS produced in part through the activation of NADPH oxidase.
Renal oxygenation in acute renal ischemia-reperfusion injury
Authors: Abdelkader Amany , Ho Julie , Ow Connie P. C. , Eppel Gabriela A. , Rajapakse Niwanthi W. , Schlaich Markus P. , Evans Roger G.
Published: March 2014

Tissue hypoxia has been demonstrated, in both the renal cortex and medulla, during the acute phase of reperfusion after ischemia induced by occlusion of the aorta upstream from the kidney. However, there are also recent clinical observations indicating relatively well preserved oxygenation in the nonfunctional transplanted kidney. To test whether severe acute kidney injury can occur in the absence of widespread renal tissue hypoxia, we measured cortical and inner medullary tissue Po2 as well as total renal O2 delivery (Do2) and O2 consumption (V̇o2) during the first 2 h of reperfusion after 60 min of occlusion of the renal artery in anesthetized rats. To perform this experiment, we used a new method for measuring kidney Do2 and V̇o2 that relies on implantation of fluorescence optodes in the femoral artery and renal vein. We were unable to detect reductions in renal cortical or inner medullary tissue Po2 during reperfusion after ischemia localized to the kidney. This is likely explained by the observation that V̇o2 (−57%) was reduced by at least as much as Do2 (−45%), due to a large reduction in glomerular filtration (−94%). However, localized tissue hypoxia, as evidence by pimonidazole adduct immunohistochemistry, was detected in kidneys subjected to ischemia and reperfusion, particularly in, but not exclusive to, the outer medulla. Thus, cellular hypoxia, particularly in the outer medulla, may still be present during reperfusion even when reductions in tissue Po2 are not detected in the cortex or inner medulla.
WldSameliorates renal injury in a type 1 diabetic mouse model
Authors: Zhu Shuaishuai , Yang Yelin , Hu Jin , Qian Lingling , Jiang Yuchen , Li Xiaoyu , Yang Qing , Bai Hui , Chen Qi
Published: March 2014

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease worldwide. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the WldS(slow Wallerian degeneration; also known as Wld) gene plays a renoprotective role during the progression of DN. Diabetes was induced in 8-wk-old male wild-type (WT) and C57BL/WldSmice by streptozotocin (STZ) injection. Blood and urinary variables including blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin (GHb), insulin, urea nitrogen, and albumin/creatinine ratio were assessed 4, 7, and 14 wk after STZ injection. Periodic acid-Schiff staining, Masson staining, and silver staining were performed for renal pathological analyses. In addition, the renal ultrastructure was observed by electron microscope. The activities of p38 and ERK signaling in renal cortical tissues were evaluated by Western blotting. NAD+/NADH ratio and NADPH oxidase activity were also measured. Moreover, the expressions of TNF-α, IL-1, and IL-6 were examined. We provide experimental evidence demonstrating that the WldSgene is expressed in kidney cells and protects against the early stage of diabetes-induced renal dysfunction and extracellular matrix accumulation through delaying the reduction of the NAD+/NADH ratio, inhibiting the activation of p38 and ERK signaling, and suppressing oxidative stress as evidenced by the decreased NADPH oxidase activity and lower expression of TNF-α, IL-1, and IL-6.
The physiological and pathophysiological functions of renal and extrarenal vasopressin V2 receptors
Authors: Juul Kristian Vinter , Bichet Daniel G. , Nielsen Søren , Nørgaard Jens Peter
Published: March 2014

The arginine vasopressin (AVP) type 2 receptor (V2R) is unique among AVP receptor subtypes in signaling through cAMP. Its key function is in the kidneys, facilitating the urine concentrating mechanism through the AVP/V2 type receptor/aquaporin 2 system in the medullary and cortical collecting ducts. Recent clinical and research observations strongly support the existence of an extrarenal V2R. The clinical importance of the extrarenal V2R spans widely from stimulation of coagulation factor in the endothelium to as yet untested potential therapeutic targets. These include V2R-regulated membranous fluid turnover in the inner ear, V2R-regulated mitogensis and apoptosis in certain tumor tissues, and numerous other cell types where the physiological role of V2Rs still requires further research. Here, we review current evidence on the physiological and pathophysiological functions of renal and extrarenal V2Rs. These functions of V2R are important, not only in rare diseases with loss or gain of function of V2R but also in relation to the recent use of nonpeptide V2R antagonists to treat hyponatremia and possibly retard the growth of cysts and development of renal failure in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. The main functions of V2R in principal cells of the collecting duct are water, salt, and urea transport by modifying the trafficking of aquaporin 2, epithelial Na+channels, and urea transporters and vasodilation and stimulation of coagulation factor properties, mainly seen with pharmacological doses of 1-desamino-8-D-AVP. The AVPR2 gene is located on the X chromosome, in a region with high probability of escape from inactivation; this may lead to phenotypic sex differences, with females expressing higher levels of transcript than males.